Chapter 10: Whiteout: The Crossblade Cataclysm
Note: The single longest chapter of Crossblade so far. Finally, it's here! After a month of work... Mostly schoolwork. My life's been the Indian Jones ride for the past few weeks. Moving to a new house, starting homeschool, so many things. I've been a busy boy. I apologize for that... So, aside from that, yeah. Long part. And it is a LOT to take in. There're like three things that seem like they -happen- in this part, but don't. BECAUSE I'M CRAZY. Not really. Just fickle.
Note 2: Characters from other Final Fantasy games are scheduled to join the nonsense. I can do that because it's Kingdom Hearts~. Which leads me to the next thing in bold.
Disclaimer: I don't claim possession over characters originating from the franchises of Square Enix, Disney, Game Freak, and The Pokémon Company, Chun Soft, or Nintendo. They belong to their rightful owners. Few characters are original.
…
A vision...
…
Sora stared blankly into unfading darkness. Slowly, his senses bled back into him. It took but a few seconds for him to understand his stance; that is, he was standing on two feet. A rapid take in both directions came before distress. Alone, he stood upon a decorated glass pillar, much like the last he had seen in his Dive to the Heart. The gear shape had puzzled him once more. Although, he possessed more of a lead to figuring this gear out. Perhaps it was... …
Sora, indeed human for the time being, witnessed a beacon of light begin to take form on the other side of the pillar. It spliced into two separate lights, both shaping into humanoids of different sorts; one female and the other male... The female's her was a sort of sunless blond, her short white dress torn very slightly. The male's hair was spiked in a fashion much like Sora's, though distinct in its own way. The style of his attire also showed some parallelism to Sora, though colored differently. Other features were clear as daylight, though it was hardly believable that this was occurring. Who were these two...? Sora was unable to recall.
He had known them in his life. It was the only viable conclusion he could make that led to them existing here: his dream.
"I've been doing what I can." The female spoke, her voice quite serene. "Be brave. Your memory will return to you in time... Find your friends, and deliver them from this world."
Sora did not speak. He remained stunned at the idea that this girl was repairing his memory. It was obvious that it was a daunting task, yet she had managed to return to him the memories of his most precious friends... He knew in his heart that there were a million more memories to come.
"Thank Naminé." The male spoke, a grin of sincerity on his face.
"Hmhm." The girl called Naminé chuckled. "Do your best not to come into contact with the C-" Her voice, along with everything else surrounding her, "glitched" out of existence in a dream scape whiteout.
…
The night succumbed to the day, but its dark atmosphere remained. The infinite shade of the deep clouds ran eternal across the world. Their tears subsided for the time being. All eyes were shut in the tranquility of sleep. All but Grovyle's. Having placed a note securely near the resting place of Wigglytuff, who had returned alongside Futachi, he approached the sleeping allies Sora and Riolu. He cautioned himself not to disturb any of the sleeping Pokémon as he made his way over. It was successfully done. Grovyle nudged at each of his partner Pokémon.
"It's time." He whispered, receiving different responses from each of the two. Riolu sat up a few seconds afterward, very familiar with the habit of waking up early, not to mention being awakened early. He rolled his fists against his eyes, feeling empowered with the resolve to strive on. Sora rolled to the opposite side, his ears back as he gave the gesture of "five more minutes". Prior to yawning, Riolu noticed what Grovyle failed to—he was tending to an explorer's bag strapped across his shoulder—and poked at Sora's chest.
"Sora. We have to go." Riolu spoke, followed by a second yawn with a bit of his voice attached. Vulpix's ears flickered twice, her tails raising as she witnessed, though blurry, the sight of these three Pokémon. She buried her face in her paws, rubbing at her eyes before lifting her head to attempt to visualize this clearly...
Grovyle's intentions were to beat the storm, thus the three were outside within a moment's notice. As was Futachi, once more against a wall with his head down and arms crossed.
"Futachi..." Sora mentioned the Pokémon's name, met with a glint of sheer power. Grovyle and Riolu faced in the water-type's direction.
"So you're awake." Grovyle spoke, not caught on the positive side of this apprentice after seeing exactly how his attitude merited the unbiased assault on allies.
"Yes. Eevee, you get off lucky. Wigglytuff is kind of heart. Allow Futachi to investigate... Futachi will not fight you now. But if he find any lead that you terrible cause... Will meet fate early." With a grunt, Futachi concluded this sobering explanation.
Grovyle paid little attention to this. He familiarized himself with the fierceness in Futachi's eyes, though he was assured that his experience could topple Futachi's with ease, in part of his being a grass-type. His eyes shifted to the left of Futachi; the entrance of the village's last building. From it came a sleepy Vulpix.
"Vulpix..." Sora's mentioning of her name came prior to Grovyle's. To this, the seemingly worried vixen approached an equally drowsy Sora. She placed a paw on one of his, smiling wide.
"Sora, we may have only known each other for a short time, but I want you to be very careful out there... okay? Promise to return to us in one piece."
"I will, I promise, Vulpix." Sora paused, his focus dropping to the girl's paw atop his. His cheeks revealed a hint of pink. "We'll see each other again soon, Kairi." Sora slipped verbally yet again, failing to remedy this pestering similarity between the two girls... Why did he continuously do this? What was so critical of this Vulpix person which poked at his memory of Kairi? ...Who was Kairi as a human? The Eevee, beginning to doubt whether or not he truly had a past as a human, recalled two basic facts about Riku and Kairi: they existed, and they were his close friends.
"Uh, hello?" Vulpix questioned the other fox Pokémon, her head tilted and lips forming a playful smirk. "Wake up, sleepyhead. You called me 'Kye-ree' again. I'm Vulpix, you silly thing."
"O-oh." Sora regained perfect consciousness simply by blinking a couple times. "Right, I zoned out again."
"You won't want to do that on your big journey! Now go out there and strut your stuff, you three!" Vulpix exclaimed, allowing her spirit to bolster that of the three adventurers'. They were seen off by Futachi and Vulpix, though not quite literally. Futachi had long since dismissed his attention from who he would consider to be reckless; an ironic thought for an iconic Pokémon.
…
The second ascent of Shadow Summit feigned difficulty, though happened to be simplistic, as the lack of hostile Pokémon made differences clearer than day. Although, the mountain appeared more awe-inspiring and humbling during that kind of clear day. The previously mentioned "hellions" which replaced the hostiles consisted highly of the Heartless shadows and bit snipers. Rarely were any other varieties of purebloods seen.
The two natural-born explorers handled navigating the mountain while Sora dealt with the brunt of the Heartless, as he was the most capable. They crossed a threshold of height regarding the point of rainfall, as the shift in weather occurred in the blink of an eye. At this point, however, they were already in close range of the summit. By now, Riolu's mind raced with questions...
"Grovyle!" The blue Pokémon called out, forearm against his forehead wiping a few drops of sweat and rain. "What are our plans once we reach the summit?" He found that the answer arrived later than expected. Grovyle hesitated to reply until the summit was but a brief stretch away.
"I have enlisted the aid of one of the kind local Shaymin! He has agreed to fly us to the other masses of land." The grass-type explained, igniting disbelief in the other two effective immediately.
"The Shaymin can do that?" Sora started. "They're awfully small. Can they carry all of us?"
"Certainly. They are small, of course. But they are powerful Pokémon. Through the use of the Gracidea flower, they change into a state known as sky forme. It enables flight, though not through the use of wings. Shaymin are among the most mysterious of Pokémon. The one we will be working with is... unique, I would say. He reminds me of a friend of mine from the future." As Grovyle's explanation came to a conclusion, so did the scaling of the darkened Sky Peak. The three moved forward, a sky-converted Shaymin awaiting them at the ridge of the summit. Its appearance was rather ominous in the rainfall, though, as stated, its size was none too impressive. The variations on this Shaymin, presenting itself in its sky forme, were quite intriguing. Its eyes, though unseen at the time, were deep blue. At both of its sides were eerie dot-shaped scars arranged in a triangular formation. (They appeared similar to Chillarmy's tattoos, though spaced out a tad more.)
Sora's fur stood on edge. A chill crept down his spine yet again. Everything in his mind, soul, heart, and body favored a savage offense against this Shaymin. It was necessary to be honest with oneself in this scenario. Sora had felt this way before. It was at the Woodland Refuge. A Shaymin with tendrils curving to the tree's leaves stood with a frightening valor, more than willing to face him. This was the same Pokémon. And this time, Vulpix was not present to prevent Sora's volatile instinct from triggering a battle. He stood low, his Keyblade shimmering into existence within his mouth. Grovle and Riolu took note of the noise it caused and faced the Eevee with unrest.
"Sora? What are you doing?" Riolu was first to object to Sora's behavior.
Time decelerated as the Shaymin began to face the other direction. For every second, which came to Sora as about three, a pulsing heartbeat was both heard and felt. What seemed like nine seconds was, in actuality, three. Regardless, the Shaymin's expression was rather grim.
"There you are." He spoke, contrasting his soul-piercing glare. His lips formed a smirk as he identified the Eevee. "So that's why I felt the urge to break something. No sooner is the universe flat out giving me something to break." He stated, affirming to Sora that he shared the illogical feelings of hostility.
"You two are at it again?" Grovyle exclaimed, now in awareness of the dilemma. "Sora, your memory is in need of repair! Yet you remember this Shaymin in enough detail to wield that Keyblade against him?"
"Keyblade...?" Shaymin questioned, his head high but his eyes focused down on the Eevee. "You're telling me there's another blade out there?"
"Yes?" Grovyle spun around, anticipating what the mysterious Pokémon might have known. "Do you perhaps know of the Crossblade?"
"You're right. Why do I know about it? Well, I own it." ...
"Cruce!" Grovyle suddenly called out, the Shaymin's response nearly causing him to fall off of the peak.
Before Cruce was able to respond, a voice reverberated on the storm's disorderly winds. It belonged to a female.
"Ohohohoho! Finally, there you are! What else have you to mar?" There was no physical origin of this voice. It manifested as a spiritual echo. In spite of this, a spherical void of purple transmogrified the air betwixt Sora and Cruce. It pulsed outward, then inward in about a second, a small humanoid figure already walking from it. By now, the portal had vanished, and this tiny female—she was no taller than Riolu—had stopped before Cruce, one hand on her hip and the other pointing at the Shaymin. "I don't care how cute you may be, you and your antics, unfortunately, are coming with me." She declared sternly. Although she was wearing the black cloak, her hood was lowered, revealing her blond hair, which was styled into short pigtails. Her facial features replicated a human's, with the exception of her dark brown nose.
"H-how does EVERYONE suddenly have to do with me?" Cruce staggered, unable to keep up with the rapidly occurring events. "Who are you?"
"And why are you wearing the Organization's coat?" Grovyle added.
"Professor Shantotto to you. Now, I say, shoo! These are not your affairs." She answered quite curtly.
"I assure you Cruce is very much my business as, for some reason, he is yours." Grovyle turned his attention to Sora. "As he also seems to be the wielder of the Keyblade's."
"Keyblade? That Sora boy I've heard about is here?" Shantotto turned in both directions twice, looking over her arms each second glance. "All I see are animals, I fear."
"Well, he's holding the Keyblade right now! It's this Eevee right here!" Riolu clarified, simply playing along with these events.
"Mm?" The professor finally noticed the small fox holding a key-shaped weapon in his mouth. "Ohohoho!" She laughed, a small hand over her mouth. "Oh, just look at you two. He says your 'Eevee'; I say 'Who'? I'd love to stay under the rain and chat, but not really. Cruce, it's time we return to the others, you see." As quickly as she appeared to the four, she walked in a tad of a waddle fashion to the Shaymin, who, despite Shantotto's size, was far smaller than she. In addition, she motioned with both hands whilst locating a proper return point for her supposed spell. "I have a place in mind."
"Wait! You can't take him!" Riolu's called out. "He's our only way to the Time Gears! We need his help!"
His help? Riolu's words echoed throughout Sora's battle-driven mind. Riolu was correct. The three of them required Cruce to get anywhere, and Sora's impulse to wage a brawl could jeopardize an entire world. The thought of this was enough to cause him to ease his stance.
"Oh? Is this a refusal to cooperate from those who would just be better off tucked away safely?" Shantotto froze, her body still facing Cruce.
"We're not weaklings!" Riolu retorted, stepping forth with a fist raised. "And we're not animals! We're Pokémon!"
"Hmph!" Shantotto huffed, suddenly shifting around and facing the other three, arms crossed. "You try my patience with your overconfidence. Very well!" She clapped a couple times, keeping her small hands clasped together before speaking again. "How about I give you a little test, just to be sure chaos is what you can digest?"
"Excuse me, but we do not have the time for games." Grovyle shunned her offer, looking away from the doctor.
"Ohohoho, what a pity! I'll be taking Cruce with me." Again, she faced the Shaymin. Before any further action occurred, Riolu spoke out.
"Wait! What is this test? What happens if we complete it?"
"Good inquiry." The doctor started, her eyes closed. "Should you somehow pass this test, I will be willing to teach you the best. Not to mention allow you to follow us and do 'whatever it is you need or want to do'. But, you do need the 'best' to venture alongside the rest..." Shantotto paused, turning her head back to the three with a smirk. "...Of all of us. And perhaps, just perhaps, you will come clean from these mishaps."
"Come clean? Well, 'Professor Shantotto', you still have yet to explain what the test is." Grovyle noted, Shantotto now absorbing more of his interest.
"Simple and clean." Shantotto started. Once more, she faced the trio. "Or so I deem. Face me, yes in the center of the summit we're upon. Do you have what it takes to be strong, Pokémon?"
"Face you?" Riolu asked, hesitant.
"But that's kind of unfair. It's three on one. Unless you're counting Cruce." Sora spoke, the Keyblade absent from his maw.
"Cruce, if you would stay put..." Shantotto demanded, Cruce's response living up to these demands. He was irritated by the arrogance of the small humanlike creature, though he was very interested in the coming battle between these forces. "You're off to a bad beginning. Numbers do not decide the chance of winning. Not always. Enough chitter chatter. Time to play."
…
Grovyle, Sora, and Riolu faced their rather small opponent, unaware of what to expect. Grovyle possesses healthy intuition, however.
"Be careful, you two. She wears the coat. There is a reason."
…
"How about this!" Shantotto called out, fanning both of her arms out so that they are parallel to the ground. A pulse of shimmering air escaped her body. A grounded halo of fire glowed beneath the three before jetting upwards. Luckily, each of them managed to leap out of the way, albeit lunging in three different directions: Grovyle forward, Riolu to the right, and Sora to the left, his Keyblade in his mouth. Grovyle, being a grass-type, obtained the most severe damage from this, which was not all that significant.
"WHOA!" Riolu shouted, staring at the scorch mark from this phenomenon. "WHAT IS SHE?"
"I have seen this! It is another kind of magic! Be prepared for anything! Spread the attack!" Grovyle instructed, knowing that if they were to be too closed in to each other, another spell like that could easily bring them down. At least, it would harm Grovyle dramatically more than the other two.
Before the three could even make another maneuver, Shantotto was already well into casting her next spell. Another wave of shimmering air left her body. This time, the skies produced a glowing blue kind of energy, which then transmogrified into a torrential cascade of water. It was focused above Grovyle. Sensing this, Grovyle sprang forward, the waterfall crashing down behind him. Its splash forced Riolu and Sora to the ground. Upon attempting to strike, Shantotto anticipated Grovyle's quick attack with a rapid third spell. It was unlike the other two. Following the burst of air, three golden rings of an unknown energy phased into Grovyle. He fell to the ground, momentarily stunned.
"Grovyle!" Riolu grunted, hopping to his feet and breaking into a sprint at the spellcaster. With the intention of slamming down on Shantotto with a single fist to the ground, he leaped through the rain. His expression changed as he saw the casting effect of this professor's. Unknowing of the properties of her spells, he was slammed into the ground by a small meteorite of stone, though not too harmed. Sora took saw this as an opening and jolted through the plume of shattering rock and rainfall. Before striking, the debris cleared, his eyes met with a certain doctor's. His muscles were paralyzed. He was frozen. All sensations of touch were lost as the doctor held him telekinetically off the ground. One of her arms were raised, a palm opened in Sora's face.
"Ohoho! How about a swim?" A second after the unanswerable question, a heavy burst of water erupted from her gloved palm, undoing Sora's advance. Mud slid down upon Sora, engulfing him in a moist blackness...
He felt a burning sensation deep within his heart. It came from the Keyblade. It was not necessarily a fiery burning. It was more of the presence of a magical light. Just then, he experienced a blinding pulse of azure blue, his insides feeling cool, as if emerged in seawater. It was a moment of solace as his appearance shifted ever so quickly...
She's powerful... Cruce thought to himself, now sitting on all fours and watching this seemingly uneven brawl. Maybe I do have business with her. I can't assume anything, because I can't remember anything... Hmph... I remember the Crossblade being pretty powerful, and now I see it's got a bit of a counterpart. Too bad that counterpart's a weakling.
Sensation having returned to him, Grovyle bolted back to his feet, retreating from the direct vicinity of the mage by cartwheeling backwards, only needing one arm to do so. Just as well, Riolu emerged from the pile of rock, bursting upwards and landing safely beside Grovyle. They eyed the doctor carefully...
"How many moves does she know...?" Riolu mused, his fascination for these abilities evident in his lack of a decisive assault. The same could be said for Grovyle.
"I am unsure. We may be fighting a losing battle."
"G-Grovyle! Are you serious?" Riolu's fists tightened as he examined his partner's expression.
"Indeed. But that does not mean she is untouchable. Notice her choice of an arena. She is able to use a magic we have seen very little of, at least I have thus far. It can be used at a variety of ranges. She can very easily blow us right off of the mountain."
"Oh..." Riolu swallowed spit, trying not to think of the fall of unfortunate events. He turned to face the spellcaster, who was awaiting another attempt at the offense. "What do we do?"
"We have to think. She is a professor, therefore she is expecting both the expected and unexpected... Charge up an aura sphere. I have a plan."
"I hear you; do you think I'm deaf?" Shantotto called out, shaking her head, spotting Cruce in her peripheral vision. "Cruce, you do look as though you're a ref."
"You could say that. You're winning." Cruce smirked, stating the obvious. "Far be it from me to take a doctor from her work."
As another chuckle from Shantotto is heard through the rain, Riolu shifts his stance, ready to release a sphere of his azure aura. Upon doing so, he noticed Grovyle move in front of him, his position showing a charge was imminent. He turned his head slightly, gesturing a brief statement to Riolu.
"This is risky. I am, after all, weak to fire and ice..." Grovyle faced forward again, hearing a nervous gulp from behind him.
Shantotto raised her eyebrows, a very sinister smile crossing her face.
In an instant, Grovyle shot forward, Shantotto responding with well timed magical reflexes. Grovyle witnessed the physical motion of her casting and unleashed his planned move: dig. As if with supernatural strength, he dove into the mud of the summit, burrowing down out of sight. Before this, however, he managed to holler out to Riolu.
"NOW!" Grovyle shouted, underground within less than a second.
Riolu followed the instruction and hurdled is shimmering aura sphere straight for Shantotto. Though, she had completed formulating her quick spell. Upon casting, a giant structure of ice crystals rocketed from the ground Grovyle dug into. With it skyrocketed Grovyle, though Riolu's aura sphere shattered this spell only milliseconds following its cast. Fragments of mind-manifested ice littered the summit in addition to raindrops. The fight-type's move pummeled through the ice, though struck Grovyle as he was shot from it as well. His grass-type partner absorbed the full force of the aura sphere, which was enough to launch him at the unsuspecting Shantotto. In a fair amount of agony, Grovyle retained his bearings and pivoted his entire body and following through with a devastating leaf blade directed at the doctor. It struck. Grovyle slid on his chest a good two feet before coming to a stop, Shantotto nearly knocked off the edge. Cruce stepped forth, in awe at Grovyle's sacrifice.
"G-Grovyle! Are you okay?" Riolu shouted, both paws still forward from his earlier move.
"I...I'll be... fine..." The noble Pokémon struggled to stand. He failed to even get upon his hands and knees, his body heavily battered by the vicious spells. He noticed that Riolu was not intent on joining him at this time. There was a reason. There she stood above him, arms crossed as if nothing had happened. She frowned upon Grovyle.
"Well I have to say, this is not child's play. You sustained damage to damage your foe?" The small professor asked, shaking her head as though it was the wrong choice.
"So long as I can get us out of a stalemate, I trust my friends will come through for me. For everyone."
"Oh?" Shantotto raised a hand in the same fashion she had done directed at Sora. The air simmered around her palm. Grovyle felt the heat from his position on the wet ground. "How much do you trust these friends?"
"With my everything." Grovyle affirmed.
…
"Well then... Three". Shantotto began counting down. Quite suddenly.
Riolu made the attempt to dash for Grovyle. His pace was defeated by a blue blur. Who was this? Where was Sora? Panicked, he glanced back over both shoulders before facing forward again, sprinting ahead.
"Two."
The intensity from the short battle produced a terrain hazard, in addition to the slick mud. Riolu fell forward, tumbling ahead a couple times before trying to recover and regain his balance.
"One."
Shantotto released the magic energy, which happened to be a swift ball of fire. Just as swift as the spell itself, a blue image burst through the professor's spell, dousing it within a split second, and tackling her to the edge of the mountain. (Keyblade...) In this freakish surge of power, both she and Cruce were hurdled over the edge of the summit. Cruce recovered in midair, now in legitimate flight without the use of wings. He appeared to be levitating. Acting quickly, he grasped the hood of Shantotto's coat within his mouth and set her back on the smooth soil. (...Crossblade) She toppled forward, overwhelmed at the amount of mana energy she had consumed in this short battle, fairly in addition to the force of the attacks directed at her. For the doctor, all appeared white to her. It was a complete whiteout. Two opposing celestial energies had made contact with her, and it was a sensation not even Shantotto could have predicted. She was humbled by this excruciating force. It felt as though it were tearing her apart...
"A little... too much play? Perhaps...?" She pushed herself back up with her arms, though they trembled as if about to give way. Her cloak, despite its endurance, was torn and burnt. It was a contradictory sight to the number of times she had actually been dealt damage in the battle. "Extraordinary, fascinating power... How I hope this isn't my final hour..." ...It was unlike the doctor to say such things. For some reason, Cruce knew this. The Shaymin watched the three with vigorous intentions.
"What did you do to her...?" He asked softly, noting that Sora's physical appearance had possibly changed. He was taller, as well as blue with a white, collar-like fin around his neck. He appeared to be an experimental aquatic dragon-fox combination gone right. "You changeling freak!"
"A Vaporeon...?" Grovyle noticed, aghast. It distracted him from the pain of previous attacks. "But how?"
"Sora, is that you?" Riolu voiced a very good, yet obvious, question. He received a single nod as an answer.
"I don't know how I did it, but I did. It happened right after she casted that water spell on me. I felt it... enter my body..." The newly shifted Vaporeon glanced back at his long, finned tail before facing the furious Shaymin, who now had a type advantage over Sora. Even worse: Sora was unable to conjure the Kingdom Key at the moment.
"I was so freaking close to figuring something out. Then you have to come along and ruin it!" Cruce was shouting again, his cloudy ears back, yet high.
"Calm down. She'll be fine." Grovyle began, raising an arm. "Cruce, I am not sure what became of you since we parted. I don't know any of the new faces you have run into. You may not even remember me, but I remember you. I can tell you who you are. Just please calm yourself."
"Get real!" The angered Pokémon shook his head once, lowering his body into a more aggressive stance. "You think I'm about to trust someone who's with the cause of this whole thing?" This outburst alarmed Riolu and Grovyle. It was the second time they had heard that Sora had instigated the end of a world.
"You liar!" Sora snapped, stepping forth. "I haven't done a single thing to contribute to whatever it is those Heartless or Nobodies want with this world! I have friends here... And I want to save them! I'll come through for them and this world! If anything, you're the problem! You turned on Grovyle! Give him a chance! He knew your name! That's something, ri-"
"SHUT UP!" Cruce interrupted, snarling at the Vaporeon. Silenced followed this verbal retaliation... Seconds later, Cruce spoke up. "...Grovyle... And you. With the mask. You too." Cruce started, his gaze moving to the we soil beneath his green paws. "Get away from him. You don't know what I know. What I feel. This... kid... He's not who you think he is. His... Keyblade. The hearts he collects... They... trap the souls. Our souls. Seal them away. Until they're ready to burst. He locked the world's... th-the world's soul in its heart—encased it—and let the darkness grow within that void. It ruptured... It ruptured everything." The Shaymin was speaking in a jittery, almost insane tone of voice. He gave the impression that of all of this spoken information had just been discovered.
"You're wrong!" Sora argued, his anger sinking away. His tone became sincere. "I'm not trapping souls. I don't do that. That's not what the Keyblade... That's not..." He trembled, his eyes shutting tightly. "Not... what I do...? I don't remember... D-did I really do that? Was I... that?" By now, his two fellows' suspicions grew at an incredible rate. Sympathy was felt, however. Sora was unable to remember any dastardly deeds he may have committed. However, it was true that his memory was returning to him. That struck Grovyle.
"I did not want to doubt you, but you seem to be doubting yourself." He focused on the Shaymin, still standing over Shantotto. "Cruce. Hear me. I know the spiritual properties of the Crossblade are pure and true. I cannot say I know all of the events having taken place prior to this meeting, but I can bring you back to the roots of this. It must lead up to our meeting again..." The passionate Pokémon reached out to Cruce, palm upwards. "Come with us. You were, and still are, a good friend of mine. And you can be a good friend of ours. Celebi misses you too. We have a lot to catch up on..."
Grovyle...? Riolu spotted a very awkward similarity here. The similarity was tied to he and Grovyle's reunion in the Woodland Refuge. Had he truly known Cruce like he had known Team Crimsongleam? Riolu's gaze shifted to Sora. His face spelled doubt, and a lack of confidence. I don't know what to think, Sora. Maybe you are evil, but you have forgotten that, right? Just like... Just like Darkrai has forgotten his evildoing. He can restart. So can you. But... your memory of that past... is it returning?
…
Is the Crossblade doing that to you...?
…
"I can't. Not yet. There's something I have to take care of." Cruce explained, his focus off to the side. He yawned... then shut his mouth tightly on a grayish vapor presence. It solidified into a cross shape. Two of the black, jeweled symbolic blades were serrated. The one that was not was the blade parallel to the staff portion of the weapon. It resembled a black spearhead. The handle, which was the previously mentioned stafflike section, was strapped with white and black leather, which was thinner around the grasping point. At the opposite end of the blade was a rhombus shaped, radiant white jewel. Indeed, Cruce wielded the Crossblade in a fashion much like Sora. He avoided Shantotto, approaching the silent Vaporeon whilst floating.
"Mm?" Shantotto groaned, her eyes fixed on a blurred image of Cruce hovering near a blue canine creature. It was not the masked one. "Cross...blade...? Cruce, no..." The rainfall drowned out her soft objection. "Axel said... ...Against the Keyblade bearer... will..." Her voice was cut off by the thunder's growl.
"Wha-what are you doing?" Riolu asked, eyes unblinking.
"...Cruce...?" Grovyle spoke.
Without responding, let alone being incapable of actually doing so, he stared down at the solemn Eevee... ...Sora had reverted in a minuscule amount of time. It had gone nearly unnoticed, and resembled an illusion of a sort. Cruce no longer needed to float to be equal in height to the other Pokémon. He stood on all fours...
...A voice...
Sora...
Sora, I'm...
The voice failed to come to the estranged hero in its fullest. It was easy to recognize. It was feminine... It reminded Sora heavily of the girl dressed in white within his dream. Perhaps it was. Naminé.
Sora... I can't... ...fading... ...Cr... -ade... Whate-... -ou do, please do not come into contac-... ...-de!
Sora's heart screamed. He began shivering uncontrollably. Despite the mayhem that was his body, his pulse froze.
Cruce lifted his head to strike.
…
An echo.
"CRUUUUUCE!"
…
The storm carried the thunderous echo...
…
Wigglytuff, awake and refreshed, had left the building to investigate Futachi's sudden decision to leave the refuge. When he discovered that his instincts were wrong, he approached the solitary water-type, who had still been leaning against the gathering hut with his arms crossed, his face emotionless.
"There you are! I thought you had gone! Why are you out here in this gloomy gloomy weather? Come inside and join everyone! It's warm!"
"Guildmaster..." Futachi began, responding more quickly than usual. Or at least beginning a response. "Eevee go with Time One and Riolu to summit."
"Oh, I know." Wigglytuff clarified. "I got the note. Chatot wasn't too happy about that! I guess I am kinda sad too. They didn't even say 'see ya soon!'"
"...Mm..." Futachi grunted softly. He opened his eyes, facing his guildmaster now. "Futachi no sure if they have reason to say such thing."
"Oh, come on! Have faith in your friends!" At this comment, Futachi averted his attention from his guildmaster once again.
"...Hmph. Time One say things... Things about Organization. Guildmaster... Futachi hear many things of Organization XIII."
"I've heard a little about them too! They sound so strange. Vulpix told us she was almost kidnapped by them."
"Vulpix strange one. But Organization stranger. We must locate if we to know more."
"Hm..." Wigglytuff's tone of voice was much lower than usual. A disturbingly serious side of him was showing at the moment. Futachi never objected to this. "Futachi, on our way down the summit last night, you told me about a hooded human with strange creatures that told you to hunt a boy bearing a 'blade'." The guildmaster faced the apex of the famous mountain... Futachi imitated him.
"Futachi remember. Of Organization, Futachi think."
…
"...Grovyle's note..." Wigglytuff referenced. He took a deep breath. "Maybe that hooded person... meant the Crossblade..."
…
"Cross...blade...?"
…
An echo of despair.
The mountain erupted into a scintillant white light. The sound of an enormous explosion accompanied a blinding nova. The light intensified with an endless thunder. It breached the skies, torching the clouds and enveloping the world in a burst of hyper-radiant light...
It lasted for minutes. It also lasted for days. Months. Years. An eternity.
Time was in turmoil.
…
Desecration.
On a floating land scarred with marks of darkness, three Pokémon lay. Shaymin. Riolu. Eevee.
...The world was still alive.