Note: Despite what I said, I managed to get things done this week and I'm quite happy with it. This chapter proved to be a bit difficult to me as I wanted to rely on it to establish Rose's character but I'm not sure I did a good job of it... Oh well, why not read it first so that I can stop talking?

Rose's POV:

In this mysterious world we live in, the Seven Treasures exist somewhere in the four corners of the world.

In the desert scarred by the unending drought lay the buried Terra Cymbal.

In the depths of a bottomless ocean, the harsh waves hide the Aqua Monica.

In the heavens above, hidden by the vast clouds the Sky Melodica soars.

In the clearing above the peak of a frozen mountain, the hollow wind blows through the Icy Flute.

In the midst of the burning lava, the Fiery Drum is bathed in magma.

In the depths of a forest where hope is born, the melody of the Grass Cornet plays.

In an endless pit where all life ends, the hollow tune of the Rock Horn plays.

Each of the seven is heavily guarded. A guardian of the desert, the ocean, the neverending sky, a bird of ice, a beast tempered through iron and heat, the playful phantom, and the one that stands on the other side.

That is the Legend of the Seven Treasures. I wondered how a myth like this found its way to a newspaper, when the newspaper only has room for facts.

According to the newspaper, an Explorer believes that he had found one of the aforementioned locations in the legend.

I snorted and began to laugh. It was so stupid that they had to use a legend, a myth, as basis for an exploration which could cost some money in getting the proper and necessary equipment ready. It made those Normal Rank freaks back there seem so impressive it wasn't even funny.

... and so we continue this article on page 9.

I turned the newspaper over to page 9 to read the rest of the article, still laughing about my views of how pathetic they were. As soon as I saw the black and white picture, I stopped laughing. The article continued on as follows:

With wings that caused snowfall every time they flapped, the blue-feathered creature charged forward. It fired a beam of ice directly at me, and I could tell from firsthand experience that the Guardian's power was not exaggerated from the legend. I thawed out of the ice and stared back at my foe, wishing that what I had seen was merely an illusion... For standing before me, was the fabled Guardian of Ice in the legend. The blue avian guardian, Articuno, readied an attack of ultimate coldness that I began to feel numb six feet away. I recognized that cold pulse of such intensity to be the ultimate Ice-Type attack, Sheer Cold!

I jumped sideways and narrowly escaped the impact of the freezing blast. I looked back at the spot where I stood before... A huge pillar of ice with sharp icicle spears jutting out from various corners stood there. I gulped as I looked back at the pristine figure of Articuno itself. The Guardian merely stared coldly back at me.

"Only if you can prove yourself to me can I bestow upon you the Icy Flute," it answered, its red eyes locking onto my body which I presumed was the attack Mind Reader.

I immediately knew what was coming next, Sheer Cold. With Mind Reader, Sheer Cold would NEVER miss. It would hit me dead on with a 0% chance of missing no matter what I would have done. I began to shudder hoping that I was mistaken.

I decided to take a gamble... Being a Typhlosion, the strongest attack in my arsenal was Blast Burn, but that move had a nasty aftershock that would render me immobile, making me fall easy prey to Sheer Cold.

I launched the attack, feeling the warmth biting off the numbness the battle had caused.

It hit Articuno directly and I was certain that I would win.

But Articuno stood up and flew towards me. I closed my eyes thinking this was the end but Articuno merely dropped a chest in front of me.

"Take these as a token of having proven yourself," was all the legendary bird muttered before fading into the snowstorm.

I opened it up and just stood there like an idiot after realizing that I was holding the legendary Icy Flute with my very hands.

So I assure you, fellow Exploration Teams... The Seven Treasures are as real as I am to you...

This concludes the report from a local Explorer named Blaze, a Typhlosion who has made a major discovery.

I choked on my own saliva after reading the article. That Typhlosion suddenly seemed a lot more impressive than those Normal Rank rookies I ran into earlier.

I began to feel spiteful against that Typhlosion, however. Again, I felt that this was the world's way of mocking me. Let the accepted be more famous, let the rejected be spat on even more.

It made me believe that I had the right to steal the Icy Flute from him. It would make him feel the same way I had felt, to be kicked down after exerting so much effort.

I slid down the tree but immediately hid behind a bush when I heard several presences approaching.

"I heard that there have been a series of thefts lately," the first voice said.

"Yeah, Sir Shiftry managed to unmask the thief as a Gardevoir," the second one replied.

The two voices burst into laughter.

"Hahaha," the first one continued, "no one ever believes that loser. He always makes up tales of his so-called exploits to compensate for him being in Normal Rank."

"How right that even in his pathetic lie that he got defeated by a girl too," the second one laughed.

"By the way, did you know Sir Blaze actually managed to get a hold of the Icy Flute?" the first one asked.

"Hmm... So I've heard," the second one replied, trying to control his laughter.

I slyly smiled, news of my identity were still unclear meaning that I still have access to Treasure Town.

I began to ready my equipment for the heist that I was about to do. That was something that I should never have done, for this led me to exploit my ultimate weakness.

I cautiously walked out from my hiding spot and greeted the two strangers, who appeared to be a pair of Lombre.

"Hello, good sirs," I greeted, "Do any of you happen to know about this Typhlosion named Blaze, like, say, where he resides?"

They both looked at each other and murmured among themselves. I didn't know what they were muttering about but I managed to catch the words "hot" and "Gardevoir" there.

"Well, yes Missie," one of them answered.

"But we're not allowed to speak about it to outsiders," the other one continued.

Both suddenly grinned at the same time, "Unless... You do us a favour..."

I wasted no time in using Captivate on them, while they were too busy to notice. That probably ratted away on their common sense and I'm sure that would also hinder them by weakening their attacks should they try to harm me.

"Oh," I smiled, "but I couldn't help notice while we were speaking that the both of you look undeniably handsome..."

"Well... Yes, I do get that a lot," the first one said, blushing with the effects of Captivate.

"She was speaking to me, idiot!" the second one argued, still dazed by the effects of Captivate.

I rolled my eyes and tried not to laugh at their pathetic show of idiocy. Heck, I didn't know why I even bothered to extract information that way if I could simply do it by force.

I silently smirked. Maybe I just liked the idea of toying with their minds.

I smiled slowly at the two, trying to look as captivating as possible.

"Why, no need to fight," I flirtatiously said, "I meant that I found the both of you quite good-looking."

They both shared the same goofy smile. Half of me was thinking that I should just send them flying to Zero Isle with a quick and precise jolt of Psychic but I resisted the urge to do so.

"Well, if only one of you two could be a true gentleman and do me a favour..." I continued, reversing the positions of predator and prey.

"I will!" they both said in unison and began to shove each other away.

"Well... I could use some help finding where this Blaze resides..." I continued on, trickling false sweetness into my voice.

They both went into a frenzy quarrelling with each other until one of them was knocked out and the other one triumphantly stood on top of the fainted body of the second Lombre.

"Why, it's on the southern portion of Treasure Town... It's the only house there, Madame," he answered, leaning forward to me expecting a kiss.

I smiled. Heck, this was easier than I imagined.

"Thank you," I replied as I snapped my fingers and unleashed a Psychic attack, "Your services are no longer needed."

The attack sent the two fools flying off in the opposite direction.

Now that that was taken care of, I took out their Explorer's Badges which I had managed to pickpocket from them.

I had much to do, such as utilizing these badges to fake an identity and planning my big heist.

I smiled.

Yep, I was gonna be very busy...

Note: Hmm... I guess that's it for now. Again, I cannot guarantee another update next week as my schedule in school is quite unpredictable... But I'll do my best to try to get an update done next week too. Oh, and as for "You're the Only Fish in the Sea"... I already have the next chapter in my computer so I'm going to have it uploaded on Saturday again. One last thing that I ask is to kindly leave a review... Now that that's done... I gotta go... So... Bye~