To the siblings Kyogre and Groudon, the Firstborn whispered of betrayal, and set the two against each other. Forevermore must the Skykeeper watch them, lest their feud drown the land and boil away the seas.

In Yveltal he inspired hunger, and in Xerneas fear, that each may be forever wary of the others' duties.

And to tragic Kyurem he brought madness, an insanity so profound that it sundered him in two, leaving nothing but bitter rivals and a broken husk.

With these and countless other atrocities, the Firstborn brought strife unto the world.

We'd gathered at Shimmerlake's dock where Talonflame, the haughty leader of Team Gladius, was waiting with Swellow at his side. Reuniclus, Torterra, Audino, and Virgil were also present, although Artemis had been forced to stay back in the infirmary at risk of Audino's ire.

That was probably for the best, anyway. Artemis hated Talonflame's guts, for reasons that had quickly become clear to me over the past few weeks - he was insufferably arrogant, insisted that Federation rules be followed to the letter, and had little patience for those he considered beneath him. The fact that his team also had more successful missions in their name than the next two exploration teams put together only made his acidic personality all the more unbearable.

"I'm honestly surprised he made it so easy," Talonflame continued. "After his failed attack on Leavanny's Orchard, it seems the zoroark was too concerned with his immediate safety to bother covering his tracks." The bird glanced in my direction, just long enough to let me know he wouldn't soon forget who the zoroark had been so afraid of. "We followed his trail back to a cave on the southwestern edge of the forest. Pidgeot stayed behind to monitor the area in case the outlaw attempts to flee."

"And you're certain this is where he's been hiding?" Torterra asked.

Talonflame nodded. "Yes, Guildmaster. Track marks around the entrance indicated frequent foot traffic, and if the amount of garbage he's dumped outside is any indication, he's been living there for at least the past two months. Probably longer."

Torterra furrowed her brow. "That doesn't make any sense. According to the wonder maps, the nearest cave is half a day's journey from there. The only things in that area are trees and a minor mystery dungeon."

"Then the maps are wrong," Talonflame replied.

Reuniclus shook his head. "Impossible. These maps are linked directly to the master map at Federation Headquarters. The only way they could be wrong is if this cave was completely undiscovered, and I doubt anything this close to Shimmerlake could've stayed hidden for long."

"That's… not completely true."

All eyes turned to Audino, who stood absently tugging on one of her feelers, her eyes fixed on the map she had spread out in front of her.

"Make no mistake, wonder maps are rarely wrong. The spells they're based on, however, are centuries old. They weren't designed to work with mystery dungeons, and federation thaumaturgists have never really been able to chart them properly. Current maps just use a kludge, really - anywhere a dungeon is supposed to be, wonder maps just fill in the area with details from the surrounding terrain. That works fine most of the time, but every now and then a dungeon completely absorbs a landmark, which tricks the maps into thinking it doesn't exist at all."

Even Talonflame seemed surprised. "That is… impressive. How do you know this, and why is this not common knowledge?"

Audino beamed. "I studied thaumaturgy at the Federation Academy before I switched over to medical. And good luck finding a thaumaturgist who's willing to admit there's such a glaring flaw in their pride and joy." She stepped forward and tapped her foot on the map where Talonflame had indicated. "According to this, the cave you mentioned would be right in the middle of the Reticent Grove mystery dungeon. Reticent Grove is old, but stable - it only grows a few feet a year at most - and its boundaries are well marked. The locals know how to avoid it, so we almost never get requests for the area. If there really was a cave at its center, it'd make the perfect hiding place."

"That still doesn't explain why we were only able to find the cave now," Talonflame pointed out. "I've personally flown over that area before, and I've never seen anything like it."

Virgil, who had been quiet up to this point, hummed contemplatively. "Perhaps your eyes are not what they used to be, hm? These things happen as one gets older-"

"No," Talonflame interrupted. "I do not make such trivial mistakes. That cave wasn't there before."

Virgil chuckled. "Relax. I was merely joking." His expression grew serious. "No, I suspect something far more sinister is at work here." He turned to face me. "Darkrai, you encountered a creature during Artemis' dream, the serpent that called itself Giratina. Describe it, if you would."

"Um…" I thought back to the nightmare. "It was big, obviously. Looked like a snake, with these big, spiky tentacles coming from its back. Beyond that, I can't really say. It was hard to look at, like my eyes just wouldn't focus right. Everything seemed to ripple around it." I shuddered. "That thing was seriously creepy."

"Hmm…" Virgil closed his eyes. "Then I fear I know how this cave managed to elude us for so long. The creature you describe… it matches many descriptions of the Dweller in the Unknown, including your own." The gyarados turned away, deep in thought. "Despite its absolute presence, we know almost nothing about the Dweller. It is a monster, a terror at least as old as the most ancient of mystery dungeons. Far too many good pokémon have crossed its path, and precious few live to tell of it. And yet, if your account is to be believed, the Dweller is far more of a threat than we dared imagine." He turned to face us once more. "I fear that the Dweller is indeed Giratina, firstborn of Arceus. And I fear that, somehow, this monster has achieved dominion over the mystery dungeons."

"Well," I said after several long moments of silence, "this just keeps getting better and better."

Audino whirled towards me. "Do you have any idea what this means? If one of the legends is connected to mystery dungeons, it could explain… well, everything!" She began restlessly pacing up and down the dock. "Think about it! Mystery dungeons appear throughout the world, often surrounding major nodes of power. Hundreds of pokémon disappear inside them every year, not to mention all the land and resources they've consumed. Add to that items that exist only because of mystery dungeons, their influence on time and space, and the fact that dungeons, without fail, expand, and it all makes sense!"

"Audino," Torterra said sternly, "what are you getting at?"

"Don't you see?" she asked. "Mystery dungeons… they're predatory! Every single one draws in energy and, presumably, feeds it to Giratina! That's why you couldn't find the cave - Giratina didn't want you to find it!"

"Almighty Arceus and all His legends," Virgil swore. "For the sake of us all, I hope against hope you are wrong."

"As do I," Torterra added. "As much as I dislike the idea of playing into Giratina's plans, we cannot allow the zoroark to go free, especially since he is our best hope of finding out what the Firstborn is up to. Talonflame, you will lead Darkrai to the cave. Link up with Pidgeot and bring that outlaw in. Audino, I want you and Virgil working together to track down any information you can find on Giratina and its interaction with mystery dungeons. As for you, Swellow, I need you on patrol. If any of the nearby mystery dungeons change, I want to know about it. Any questions, explorers?"

"Yeah," came a new voice, "what do you want me doing?"

It was Artemis. The crazy Absol stood, somewhat unsteadily, at the edge of the dock, her eyes burning with a fierce determination that didn't so much as flicker when Audino shot her a deadly glare.

"Artemis…" Torterra sighed. "You know I can't send you out there. Not in your condition."

"Really?" she asked, defiant. "Because I feel fine, and it sounds to me like you could use all the experienced pokémon you can get."

Torterra shook her head. "No, Artemis. You need time to recover, and I can't in good conscience let you push yourself right now."

Artemis snarled. "So what, you expect me to just sit around in the infirmary while my teammate's putting his neck on the line?"

"Not at all," Torterra replied, a slight smile spreading across her face. "You're up and about, after all. I think I can come up with something to keep you busy."

I couldn't believe it.

I was laying on a bench, my left foreleg dangling off the side, staring sullenly at a large wall of bark while my friends were out risking their lives to track down one of the most dangerous criminals we'd ever encountered.

I should've been out there chasing that scumbag of a zoroark down alongside Darkrai and Talonflame. I was the one who the Guildmaster had tasked to bring him in. I was the one who'd spent months tracking him down, hunting through every cave and crevice. I was the one who had, one dungeon run at a time, destroyed his stashes and captured his suppliers.

And yet here I was, safe and sound in Shimmerlake, stuck on babysitting duty.

"That was amazing…" Meowstic sighed, his face smeared with pastry crumbs and syrup. "Thanks a bunch, Artemis."

"Remind me why I bought you this again?" I asked.

"Because pecha pie is great!" he replied with a grin.

"Yeah, and definitely not because I'm a sucker who's stuck with you for the rest of the day."

Meowstic giggled. "That's not true! All I did was ask… hey, are you gonna eat that?"

I sighed and nudged my pastry, entirely untouched, towards him. I wasn't exactly in the mood for sweets anyway. "It's all yours."

Meowstic swiped it and unceremoniously began stuffing his face. How someone so small managed to fit so many sweets into his stomach without throwing up was beyond me, but sure enough, the pie was gone a few moments later. It was actually kind of impressive.

The little psychic leaned back and let out a long, contented belch.

"Well at least someone's happy about this," I grumbled.

"Aw, cheer up, Artemis!" Meowstic said. "You needed a break, and besides, I'm sure Darkrai will be able to catch the zoroark, no problem." He smiled broadly. "He's your teammate, after all!"

"Yeah. He is." I rested my head on my paws. When Darkrai set his mind to something, he either got it done or leveled everything in the immediate area trying. Since the day I'd met him, I'd never seen him give up.

That's what worried me.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't think Darkrai was a bad guy. Borderline psychotic, maybe, but I wasn't really in any position to talk there. No, the real problem was his past. Darkrai had set his mind on finding out who he really was. I could sympathize - I'd asked myself that question a lot over the past few years - but I was starting to wonder if the answer he found would be a good one.

Try as I might, I couldn't forget what had happened at Leavanny's Orchard. I didn't blame him for the whole "traumatic injury" part - I'd underestimated my opponent just as much as he had - but during that fight, I'd seen a side of Darkrai I didn't think I'd want to see again. Everything's kinda blurry, but I remember seeing the sky go dark, feeling a cold wind tear through the orchard. I remembered Darkrai floating above me, his eyes literally glowing with pure, calculated hatred.

And then Reuniclus told me the rest. He told me how they'd found an entire swath of the orchard torn to pieces, bits of blood and torn fur scattered about. He told me how the area was still humming with the leftover energy from Darkrai's attacks. And he told me exactly what Darkrai had done to the pangoro after he woke up.

Honestly? It scared me. The thing I'd seen that day, full of cold anger and ready to kill without any hesitation or remorse… that wasn't the Darkrai I knew. Sure, he could brood up a storm when he felt like it, and his people skills were all but nonexistent, but when push came to shove, Darkrai had made it clear he would step up and do the right thing. He'd probably complain about it the whole time, too, but that just came with the territory.

But after all I'd seen and heard, I couldn't help but wonder which one was the real Darkrai. If he really did find a way to recover his memories, would he still be the same person I'd come to know these past few weeks? Because, if he wasn't, if his recent outbursts were echoes of his real self… gah, all this deep philosophy stuff was going to give me a headache. I lifted my head and looked over at Meowstic, only to find him staring intensly at me, his face strained as if he were trying his hardest to focus on something.

"Look, Meowstic," I said, "if you're going to throw up, would you please aim somewhere other than directly at me?"

That seemed to startle him out of his trance… so much so that he promptly fell sideways off the bench with a yelp.

"Hey!" he shouted, leaping to his feet. "Why'd you have to go surprising me like that? I was trying to-" Suddenly, he clamped his mouth shut, as if realizing he was about to say something he really shouldn't.

I mean, I couldn't just let something like that go, could I? "Meowstic," I began, giving him my best glare, "what were you just doing?"

His eyes went wide. "I… um, I was just-"

I raised an eyebrow, and the little psychic nearly fell over again.

"Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry!" he yelled, throwing his arms up to shield himself. "I was reading your mind! I'm sorry!"

"Okay, what?" I asked, cutting off my glare before the little guy had a nervous breakdown. "How could you possibly read my mind?"

"I-I, well..." Meowstic stammered. "I mean, I don't really know how. I just figured out that if I focus really hard on one person, it's kinda like I open my eyes and can see what they're thinking, even if they're a dark type. I mean, I only really get to practice on Auntie Weavile, and she doesn't know I can do it, so…" His eyes bulged again. "You aren't gonna tell Auntie Weavile, are you? She'd kill me if she found out I've been reading her mind!"

I smirked, trying to to let the sudden spike of anxiety I was feeling show. "I don't know. I might do just that, if you don't tell me what you saw."

"N-not much!" he said hastily. "Just that you're worried about Darkrai, and about how he's been acting lately."

I breathed a quiet sigh of relief. It looked like the little psychic hadn't had time to go any deeper than surface thoughts. There were some things in my head that I really didn't need anyone else asking questions about.

"Alright, you conniving little spy," I began, letting my voice soften, "you already know what I'm thinking about, so I might as well get your take on it."

Meowstic slumped over, clearly relieved by my response. "Well," he said, folding his arms in a manner suspiciously similar to a certain teammate of mine, "Darkrai got pretty upset back at the orchard, I think. I mean, he doesn't talk about it - ever - but he really does want to find out more about his past. It really bugs him."

"Oh really," I replied. "And how do you know this?"

"Um…" The psychic gave me a nervous smile. "Lucky guess?"

I chuckled and shook my head. "You are unbelievable."

"Like I was saying," Meowstic continued as if I hadn't said anything, "Darkrai really wants to know what happened to him, and he's pretty sure the zoroark is behind it. So it kinda makes sense that Darkrai would go all crazy and stuff when he finally caught up to him."

"Fair enough," I conceded. "But what about earlier today? The thing with the pangoro?"

Meowstic furrowed his brow. "I dunno. Darkrai's mind is pretty weird. It's like…" Suddenly, he sat upright, his face brightening. "It's like a puzzle!" he exclaimed. "A puzzle, but with a bunch of the pieces missing! You can kinda tell there's a bigger picture, but there are big gaps."

"Yeah, I already know Darkrai's messed up. What's that have to do with anything?" I asked.

"It's kinda hard to explain," the little psychic said, his tone that of a teacher working with a particularly slow student. "People change over time, because of what they learn and what happens to them. But… even if you take those memories away, they still affect who you are."

"So, you're saying that even though he might not remember his past, it still influences his personality?" I asked.

"Exactly!" he replied, beaming. "It's hard to tell with a bunch of his memories missing, but I think he used to be really lonely. When you got hurt… I guess he was worried he'd be all alone again."

"That's… surprisingly insightful," I said. "How old are you, again?"

"Nine and a half!" he answered happily.

"Remind me never to let you talk to Virgil. The last thing he needs is a protégé."

"What's a protojay?"

I laughed, wincing as my body protested the action. "Alright, pipsqueak. Let's go see if we can't steal a couple seats at Milotic's in time for the next play."

Meowstic leaped to his feet at the suggestion and, after stretching out the cramp I'd gotten from sitting still for so long, I jumped down beside him, when suddenly my injured leg twisted under me, sending me tumbling to the ground. My shoulder slammed into the cobblestone path, and a burst of stars flooded my vision. After a few moments, I was able to make out Meowstic's panicked face, along with a bayleaf I didn't recognize.

I groaned and tried to stand, only to stumble as my leg struggled to bear my weight. This time, however, the bayleaf caught me with her long, vine-like tendrils.

"You okay?" she asked, her tone one of genuine concern. "That looked pretty nasty."

"I'm fine!" I snapped, yanking myself free of her grip. The bayleaf let me loose, surprised by my outburst.

I leaned against the nearby wall and sighed. "Sorry," I said, "it's been a long week."

"I can see that," the bayleaf replied with a smile. "Don't worry about it. I'm Flora, by the way. Nice to meet you."

"Artemis," I replied curtly.

"And I'm Meowstic!" Meowstic added. "I've never seen you around here before. Are you moving here?"

Flora laughed. "No, no! I'm just visiting town with a friend."

"Well, you picked a good time to do it," I said, trying to take my mind off things. "The Lifegiver's Festival starts tomorrow, and everyone's going crazy trying to get ready for it."

"That would explain the decorations,' Flora replied, referring to the multitude of green banners and flags that had sprung up throughout the village overnight. "What's the festival supposed to celebrate?"

"Officially?" I asked. "Something about an ancient battle between Xerneas and Yveltal near here. Really, though, most of us just use it as an excuse to party, drink too much berry juice, and make really bad decisions."

Flora laughed once more as we entered the market square. "Well, I can't blame you for that. Being an explorer is tough business." The bayleaf caught herself. "I mean, you are explorers, right?"

"Not yet," Meowstic grumbled. "Ms. Torterra said I can't join until I'm older."

I chuckled. "Pipsqueak here isn't, but I am. What gave it away?"

Flora raised an eyebrow. "No offense, but the only time I've seen someone outside the guilds that badly beat up was when someone tried to rob the kecleons."

"People still do that?" I asked, genuinely surprised. "Yeesh. You'd think they'd have learned after the first few examples."

"I didn't say they were all that smart," Flora said with a grin. "Anyway, I'm an explorer too, if it wasn't obvious. My teammate and I split up to look around, but he should be around here somewhere... oh! There he is!"

The bayleaf extended a vine and waved excitedly, catching the attention of a tall charmeleon that stood a short distance away.

"Flora!" he called out, rushing towards us. "I was wondering where you'd run off to." He stopped short a moment later, eyes fixed on the ragged lump of bandages on the side of my head. "Who's this?" he asked.

"This is Artemis, an explorer with Torterra's Guild, and her friend Meowstic," Flora replied, apparently not noticing his reaction.

"I wouldn't call him a friend," I remarked, doing my best to ignore the charmeleon's stare. "He's more like a leech, really. Only with more of a sweet tooth."

"Reminds me of a hatchling that stayed with us a while back," the charmeleon said, cracking a smile. "The kid burned through our entire stash of blue gummis in an afternoon." He extended a clawed hand, which I shook. "My name's Kellyn."

Meowstic nearly fell over in a fit of shock. "You… y-you're…" he sputtered, eyes darting between the two explorers, "you're Team Fragment!"

Kellyn gave a nervous laugh. "Looks like our cover's been blown," he said, nudging Flora. "I told you they'd figure us out."

"Oh, be quiet," she replied. "It was worth a shot."

Meowstic, however, was still trying to process his revelation. "B-but… you're here! I mean, Ms. Torterra told us you'd be coming, but you weren't supposed to get here until tomorrow!"

"Well, the trip didn't take as long as we thought it would," Kellyn explained, at which Flora chuckled.

"More like you got so seasick that Lapras had to rush us across the ocean," she remarked. The charmeleon shot her a friendly glare, which she happily ignored.

"So you two really stopped the temporal crisis?" I asked. "I mean, everyone's heard the story, but I kinda wonder how much of it was true."

"Yeah!" Meowstic chimed in. "Were you really a human from the future? With a teammate and everything?"

Instantly, the explorers' smiles vanished.

"Um…" Meowstic eyed the two nervously. "Did I say something bad?"

Kellyn sighed. "No, it's fine. I did come from the future, and I guess I looked a lot different back then. I can't really remember anything before I woke up outside Treasure Town."

Flora nodded solemnly. "That's… kinda why we're here, actually. A few months after Kellyn came back we… well, we found out someone had caused the crisis on purpose. We think the bandit that's been causing trouble around here is the same person."

"Wait a minute," I said, "you're saying someone intentionally broke time?"

"Yeah," Kellyn replied, "which is why we need to find out where this outlaw is and what he's planning as soon as possible. We were going to head straight for the guild, but another one of the members said that everyone was busy and we'd have to come back later."

I furrowed my brow. "That's… not good. I mean, the guy we're after is pretty bad - I've got the scars to prove it - but if he was really behind the temporal crisis-"

"Wait," Flora interrupted, "you mean you actually fought him?"

I nodded. "A few days ago, in fact. In case you haven't noticed, it didn't go so well."

"I'm so sorry," the bayleaf said. "If we'd known he'd gotten so violent, we would've tried to send a warning or something."

"It's nothing to worry about," I replied. "I'll recover. Besides, we've already tracked the guy down to a cave inside Reticent Grove. The whole guild's out trying to catch him right now. It's probably why the Guildmaster couldn't see you."

Flora and Kellyn traded glances, clearly alarmed by the news.

"Oh no…" Flora muttered.

"This is bad," the charmeleon said quietly. "They have no idea what they're getting into."

"What are you talking about?" I asked warily.

"I'm sorry," Kellyn said, "but we have to go. Now. If Darkrai let them find him, then they're walking right into a trap." With that, the explorers turned and sprinted through the crowd.

"Hey, wait!" I shouted after them, trying to give chase. I made it halfway across the square before my bad leg gave out under me. Meowstic caught up a moment later.

"Artemis, we gotta stop them!" he cried, trying to help me to my feet. "Kellyn, he… he-"

"Calm down, pipsqueak," I said, resting a paw on his shoulder. "Breathe." He gulped, then took a deep breath. I nodded my approval. "Alright, now tell me what just happened there."

"I read Kellyn's mind," he said, his voice still edged with panic. "They think Darkrai's the bandit. They're gonna kill him!"

I was crouched behind a small cluster of bushes, eyes fixed on the cave's entrance. Calling it a cave was generous - it was more of a hole in the ground, its lip edged with ragged dirt and patches of grass. The ground around it was littered with rotting berry husks, bits of bone, and dozens of empty crates and torn bags.

"I mean, seriously," I muttered to the stern looking pidgeot that sat next to me, "how did we not find this? The smell alone should've given this place away."

The pidgeot shot me a glare, which I barely even noticed. After having spend some time around Artemis, any facial expression that couldn't curdle milk just didn't register anymore. Clearly annoyed by my lack of a response, the bird turned her gaze back towards the cave.

"I suggest you spend less time complaining and more time listening," she said quietly. "Unless, of course, you wanted to let the zoroark know we're here."

I sighed and tried to shift into a more comfortable position, with little success. "Ever heard of friendly banter? You know, talking to your teammates?"

"Not in the field I haven't," she replied. "Completing the mission is more important than making friends."

Thankfully, Talonflame landed just behind us before I could say anything really stupid. "The target is inbound," he said without so much as a hint of irony. "Pidgeot, when he arrives, I want you covering the exit from the air. Darkrai, you're going in with me."

I raised an eyebrow. "Who put you in charge?" I asked defiantly. "Maybe I want to go in alone and have a friendly chat, ask if he'll let us stay for tea."

Talonflame ignored me, and a few moments later, the zoroark entered the clearing. He looked exhausted - his eyes were bloodshot, his fur was matted with twigs and clumps of dirt, and his movements were sluggish and weary. He carried a large bag thrown over one shoulder, although it seemed mostly empty. He tossed it aside as he entered the cave.

We waited for several minutes before Talonflame motioned for us to follow him. The pidgeot took to the sky, and I began gathering energy in preparation for a fight.

"No!" Talonflame snapped. "I've heard about your… difficulty with mystery dungeons. This area may not be active right now, but I'm not taking any chances. You've got thorns - use them."

Although my gut reaction was to keep drawing in power just to spite him, Talonflame had a point. I didn't know what Giratina's angle on this was, but I got the feeling I shouldn't give it an excuse to come knocking. I let the cloud of dark energy dissipate, and instead drew a pair of thorns. We entered the cave without another word.

The air just past the entrance made me gag. The stench was nearly unbearable - how the zoroark could stand living in it was beyond me. The damp floor squelched underfoot as we walked, and the low roof forced me to hunch over at several points. Still, we kept going, and the cave slowly widened until we reached a broad chamber at its end. A mound of hay and dirty blankets sat against a nearby wall, while a spring of water pooled just past it.

The zoroark stood at the end of the room. His back was turned to us, and he leaned headfirst against the wall. As we drew closer, I realized he was talking.

"I've done everything you asked," he said, his voice rough. "I got the orb, tracked down every last piece, even made sure that knew I was looking. What more do you want from me?"

There was no reply.

"Answer me!" he screamed, shoving himself away from the wall. Suddenly, he whirled to face us, eyes wide with shock.

I waved. "Hi. Nice to see you again."

"No," he muttered, "you can't be here. It's not possible. No one can get here without-"

"Without what?" I asked. "Giratina's help? Hate to break it to you, but your creepy friend sold you out."

"Outlaw Zoroark," Talonflame said, striding forward, "by order of the Exploration Team Federation, you are hereby under arrest for the crimes of banditry, assault, kidnapping, robbery, and attempted murder. Surrender, or we will make you surrender."

The zoroark screamed, a sound of pure, desperate hate, and lunged towards us. Ribbons of light spun off him as he charged, blurring his position as they coalesced into perfect illusory copies that rushed us from all angles.

"Darkrai, block the door!" Talonflame shouted. "Do not let him escape!"

I nodded and held my thorns ready as one of the zoroarks rushed towards me. At the last moment, I jumped to one side, holding my blades in its path. The zoroark shattered as it struck them, exploding in a burst of rainbow light.

"Cheater," I mumbled, turning my attention to the remaining figures.

Talonflame, meanwhile, was being more aggressive. Unable to maneuver in the cramped quarters of the cave, he had instead resorted to a series of low, sweeping strikes, his body wreathed in flames as he charged the zoroarks one by one. The first proved insubstantial, while the second leaped aside as he rushed it, only to vanish as I hurled a thorn through it. Reaching the far end of the cavern, Talonflame dragged himself to a stop only to be launched back into the fight by a sudden burst of wind. Only two zoroarks remained, both standing close together, and the bird opted to skip the guessing game and instead charged both with his outstretched wings.

It was a mistake. Seeing his reckless attack, the zoroarks stepped apart, sweeping their claws towards his wings in perfect unison. The leftmost one vanished, while the other seized the wing and turned Talonflame's own momentum against him, swinging him around and slamming him into a wall. Panicked, the bird tried to change his angle, but only succeeded in bringing one of his wings between him and the hard stone. I heard the sharp snap of bone, and he squawked in pain.

I threw myself into action, charging the zoroark's exposed back. He heard me coming and threw himself to one side, but I still sliced clear through his hair and drew a line of blood across his back. The zoroark snarled, apparently displeased with his lopsided haircut, and hurled a blast of energy at me.

I charged through the hastily-formed attack, grimacing as it washed over me like a wave of tiny needles. and rammed my shoulder into the zoroark's chest, pinning him against the cave wall. He struggled, briefly, only to freeze as I brought the tip of my thorn to his throat.

"No running," I spat, "no tricks. You so much as twitch and I'll drive this clear through your neck. Got it?"

He nodded, only to cringe as I pressed the blade into his skin.

"I said no moving. Now then, I'm going to ask you a question, and you're going to answer it. If I don't like your answer, you die. If I think you're lying to me, you die. If I decide I just don't like your tone, you die. Understand?"

This time, he didn't nod.

"Good," I began, careful to keep my voice level, "you're learning. Now, what do you know about me?"

"I-I don't know much," he stammered, ears twitching nervously. "I just- I was told to find you the night you showed up, get your attention. I don't know anything else about you, I swear!"

"Alright," I said, "let's say that, for the sake of argument, I believe you. Who are you working for?"

"Giratina," he replied. "I… I just do what Giratina says. I don't know what it wants."

"That's a pretty flimsy story," I pointed out. "What's a criminal like you doing working for a giant snake monster?"

"I'm not a criminal!" he snapped, drawing back a moment later. "I'm not a criminal. I'm just… I'm just trying to save him."

"Save who?"

The zoroark closed his eyes. For just a moment, he wore an expression that could've been confused for regret. "Marowak," he whispered. "Giratina captured him when we were exploring a dungeon a few months ago, said I'd either do what it wanted or-"

I cut him off. "You honestly expect me to believe that? That you're just the innocent victim here?" I leaned in closer. "Your little friend nearly killed my teammate. I don't know, maybe you really are working for Giratina, maybe you aren't. Either way, it looks like I'm not going to be learning anything useful from you." I drove the blade a little further in, drawing blood. "Is there anything you'd like to suddenly remember before I end your miserable little-"

"Let him go, Darkrai!"

I looked over my shoulder only to be met with a sudden blast of smoke and heat. I stumbled, trying to shield my eyes from the stinging haze, when several whirling, grassy blades tore through my skin.

I'll be honest, I panicked. My vision was so blurry that I couldn't even see my attackers, and whoever they were, they hit hard. I stumbled backwards and threw my thorn towards where I thought they might be, only to hear it clang against the stone a moment later. Deciding I didn't like my odds if I had to keep attacking blindly, I called up a wave of energy around me and sent it rolling through the cavern. It wasn't strong enough to cause any actual damage, but hopefully it would trip my attackers and give me enough time to clear my vision.

I was partially successful. I'd managed to clear my eyes enough to make out my adversaries - a charmeleon and a bayleaf - when the former hurled a blast of fire right at me.

Fire is a funny thing - you don't have to be weak to it for it to cause a lot of damage, and once it's hit you, it has a nasty habit of setting you and anything you're carrying aflame. I scrambled out of the way, but the blast slammed into my shoulder, sending a wave of searing pain lancing across my body. I screamed, my vision went red, and I collapsed, clutching at my burned side as I tried to smother the flames.

The charmeleon was on top of me a moment later, eyes burning with anger as he raked his claws across my chest, tearing my treasure bag away from me in one clean cut. I learned a whole new kind of pain as he pressed his foot into my injured shoulder, pinning me to the ground.

"You aren't getting away this time," he snarled, then slammed his fist into the side of my head.