CHAPTER 37
Rylan wandered about, trying to feel his way through the darkness. It was as though light itself could not enter. The ground was still covered in water, though there was nothing to reflect. All Rylan could hear was the soft splashing of his feet pacing through the water.
"Can't see a darn thing in here…" he murmured.
After a moment, the ground began to tremble softly. Rylan braced himself.
Two bright columns of light started to descend from up high. They reached the ground, but seemed to completely pass through ground level and continue to descend, as though there was no ground at all. The lights were bright white and they contrasted sharply with what was apparently an empty black void. Coupled with the fact that Rylan's feet were submerged in what felt like water, this was a strange sight to behold.
The light allowed Rylan to see himself but there was nothing else to see. Before he could wonder what was happening, however, several gigantic stone slabs started to appear, both descending from high and rising from below. They extended up and down to seemingly infinite heights and depths, forming walls on either side of Rylan. Judging from how many of them Rylan could see before his vision was obstructed by the walls, he knew what this meant.
"This has got to be a labyrinth of some sort," Rylan guessed. "Let's see…"
Some of the stone walls were pitch black while others were the palest white. As Rylan began walking through the maze, he noticed some archaic-looking Pokémon handwriting on a white wall. He approached it for a closer look.
"Time is nothing in this domain," Rylan read. "I fear I may be trapped here forever with no way out. I only know one thing that will help. Right is wrong, left is right."
Rylan scratched his head. "Time is nothing?" he wondered. "Trapped here forever? Maybe time doesn't flow in this labyrinth. Right is wrong, left is right? What's that supposed to mean?"
Rylan looked around. "I guess someone came in here and hasn't made it out yet. Oh, well. I gotta start somewhere."
Rylan proceeded further into the labyrinth, hoping that the route he was taking would lead to the exit.
Each hall seemed to lead to progressively more and more pathways branching out. It was quite difficult to choose one, and there didn't seem to be any dead ends.
Soon Rylan found a hall with a faint white light shining at the end. Quickly assuming it was an exit, he sprinted towards it.
"Please be the exit, please be the exit," he said under his breath as he ran. As soon as he entered the light, it started to shine brightly, forcing him to shield his eyes. As soon as the light faded, Rylan opened his eyes. To his surprise, he was back where he started. The faint message was still on the white stone wall.
"What the heck?" he asked. "I'm back at square one!"
"Rylan?" a female voice echoed. "Is that you?"
"Huh?" Rylan looked around, seeing nobody nearby. "Who's there?"
"It's me! It's Vulpix!" exclaimed the voice.
"Vulpix!" Rylan said. "Am I glad to hear your voice right now. Where are you?"
"I don't know!" Vulpix replied. "I'm in some kind of weird labyrinth!"
"Wait…guys?" asked another voice.
"Buizel?" asked Vulpix's voice. "Hey, who else is in here?"
"I'm willing to bet we all are," said Zorian's voice.
"So we're all in the same black and white labyrinth?" Gallade's voice asked.
"It's so great to hear you guys!" exclaimed Nidoran.
"Are you okay, Nidoran?" asked Wingull.
"I'm fine!" Nidoran replied. "But here's the real question: How can we hear each other talking?"
"I haven't the slightest idea," said Buizel. "Your voices sound close but I can't tell where any of you are."
Rylan sighed with relief; he didn't have to face this challenge alone. He decided to take another look at the message on the wall.
"Does anyone here know what 'Right is wrong, left is right' means?" he asked.
"Beats me," replied Zorian. "I'm still trying to figure that out myself."
"Wait…huh?" Rylan asked. "You've seen the message on the wall?"
"I'm looking at it right now, as a matter of fact," said Zorian.
Rylan wheeled around in the hopes that his brother was nearby, but he saw nobody.
"But I was looking at it just now as well!" said Rylan.
"What?" Zorian asked. "But that would mean we're in the same exact spot!"
"I can't see you, though!" Rylan said.
"I'm looking at the message as well," said Gallade. "It's odd, but if I had to guess, I'd say that this labyrinth is preventing us from seeing or touching each other. We can only hear each other's voices."
"I can see how that is a challenge," Vulpix said. "Getting everyone out of this place will not be easy."
"H-hello?" asked a different voice.
"Huh?" asked Wingull. "Who's that? Is someone else here?"
"Oh, thank goodness!" the voice exclaimed happily. "I thought I'd never be able to speak to anyone ever again!"
"Who are you?" asked Gallade.
"Name's Aerodactyl," said the voice. "I've been looking for a way out of this accursed labyrinth for ages and never found the exit. There are just far too many pathways in this place."
"Come again?" asked Gallade. "Aerodactyl? Your kind has been on the verge of extinction for centuries."
"Centuries, eh?" Aerodactyl sighed. "I knew it's been a long time, but to know it's been this long…"
"I'm sorry," said Gallade.
"Don't worry about it," said Aerodactyl. "Would it be too much to ask for you all to introduce yourselves to me? I'd appreciate the companionship right about now."
"I'm Gallade," said Gallade. "I serve under Aggron's Exploration Guild. With me are several of my comrades: Buizel, Vulpix, Wingull, Nidoran, and a Riolu named Rylan. Zorian, a Zoroark who is Rylan's brother, is also with us."
"I've never heard such names before," said Aerodactyl, sounding amazed. "I guess time does change things after all."
"This is Vulpix speaking," said Vulpix. "Pleased to meet you, Aerodactyl. If I may ask, what are you doing in this labyrinth?"
"I needed to speak to the legendary dragons," Aerodactyl replied. "A fight had divided my great nation and I was hoping they could make things right by talking to the Pokémon and helping create peace. Guess it's a little late for that now…"
"Buizel speaking. We're here to stop a Pokémon named Slowking from changing the world to the way he sees fit," said Buizel. "He thinks he can perfect the imperfections of the world and make everyone happy."
"Well, that's quite nonsensical," said Aerodactyl.
"My thoughts exactly," said Buizel.
"Rylan speaking," said Rylan. "Aerodactyl, you wouldn't happen to know what 'Right is wrong, left is right' means, would you?"
"That was the only clue I was given before I came here," Aerodactyl replied. "If I knew what it meant, I wouldn't have written it on the wall, waiting for someone to come by and help me."