CHAPTER 38
"So, you wrote the message on the wall?" Wingull asked. "Oh, this is Wingull, by the way. Pleased to meet you."
"Yes…" Aerodactyl sighed. "I don't have the slightest idea what the clue means. Both parts of it contradict themselves."
"Let's see here…" Gallade said. "Right and wrong… Well, you are right about that. If something is right, it cannot be wrong. As for left and right, that is also contradictory. If one were to turn around, though, their left would become their right. I'm not sure how that applies here, if at all."
"Hmm… I think I might have some idea," said Zorian. "Maybe you have to look at the statement in a different context."
"Different context?" asked Nidoran.
"No doubt it's a riddle of sorts," said Zorian. "We just need to figure it out."
"Any ideas?" asked Vulpix.
"Well, the word "right" is used twice in the sentence, but its context may not be the same given that it has two meanings in our language," said Zorian.
"Zorian, that just might work!" Rylan said happily.
"Huh… I never gave that much thought," said Aerodactyl.
"Nor did I," said Gallade. "I suppose being human has its perks. You seem to give more insight into words and language than normal Pokémon."
"Now that I recall, 'twas a human who first gave me the clue," said Aerodactyl.
"Okay, so if left is right… Does that mean left is correct?" Zorian wondered. "But right is wrong… Correct is incorrect? That would mean we should proceed to the right."
"I don't know," said Buizel. "Sounds fishy to me."
"Well, trying something is better than sitting here and doing nothing," said Rylan. "Let's head to the right."
"Strictly right, then?" Zorian asked. "Let's try. Remember, we need to communicate with each other as we proceed since we can't see or feel each other."
The group of Pokémon headed into the maze together, utilizing only the rightmost paths as they travelled. They didn't need to communicate much with each other since they were walking down the same halls.
"The atmosphere feels a little different down this way," said Wingull as they continued onward.
"Hopefully that's a good sign," said Nidoran. "You're pretty good at sensing…hey, what's that?"
Just ahead, Rylan noticed what appeared to be a large door barring the path down one hall. The left side of the door was black and the right side was white.
"You guys seeing this door?" he asked, walking a bit closer to it.
"Sure am," Zorian replied.
"There's something engraved into the door," Gallade said. "Let's see… 'The clue has led you here, but has it led you astray? Behind this door is either what you seek or what you would rather avoid. The only way to find out is to open it.'"
"What would we rather avoid?" asked Vulpix.
"My guess? A fight," replied Buizel. "There may be enemies behind that door."
"But it did say that the clue led us here," said Vulpix. "That means we went the right way, no?"
"Only one way to find out. Be ready for anything," said Gallade.
"Wait," said Zorian. "Who's going to open the door?"
"Let me try," suggested Rylan. "I think I can pry it open. Hopefully it won't be too difficult."
Rylan walked up to the door and wedged his paws between the small opening, then attempted to pull the door open. To his surprise, it was much easier to open than he thought it would be.
A black fog hovered silently on the other side of the door, as though it was meant to conceal something. Moments after the door was fully opened, the Pokémon felt a trembling sensation and heard the sound of large stone slabs sliding against each other.
"What's happening?" asked Vulpix.
"Look! What are those?" asked Nidoran.
Several large figures emerged from the black haze beyond the doorway. They seemed to be roughly half the height of Kyurem, as Rylan remembered him. They resembled dragons, some black and some white.
"They look like the dragons we are here to meet," said Gallade. "Reshiram and Zekrom. But there are so many of them…"
"Some kind of automatons?" asked Zorian.
"They look like sentinels," said Gallade. "They may be guarding this place. Try not to escalate a battle with them unless you have no choice; we don't know how strong they are."
"I guess this means we went the wrong way," said Buizel. "Can anyone figure out what we did wrong?"
"I think I got it!" Rylan said. "If right is wrong…that is, going to the right is incorrect…but going to the left is 'right' as in 'correct'…"
"Good thinking, little bro," said Zorian. "Guess this means we need to take an exit and start heading left from the beginning of the labyrinth."
"Careful, everyone," said Aerodactyl. "I just made it back to the start, and I can see a ton of sentinels wandering the halls looking for a fight. It's rather exciting for me, though. I've never seen anything else here since arriving, so I'm itching for a good scrap."
"Just don't be reckless," Gallade warned. "All right, everyone, find a nearby exit and let's start over."
Hastily turning away from the Reshiram and Zekrom sentinels, Rylan walked down another hallway, spotted an exit, and ran into the faintly twinkling light. The light shone in his face brightly for a split second, then he found himself at the start of the labyrinth once more. As Aerodactyl had mentioned, there were sentinels patrolling the halls this time.
Taking caution in communicating with each other, the Pokémon made their way through the leftmost routes. Rylan did have to fight several sentinels along the way, but fortunately for him, they weren't as strong as he thought they'd be. Still, they would be quite a challenge if they attacked in abundance.
"I'm getting that sensation again," said Wingull after the group passed a certain number of halls. "It's like a change in the atmosphere here. I think we're on to something."
Picking up the pace a little, the Pokémon fought their way past more and more sentinels until they finally reached another door. It was emblazoned with the same message found on the first set of doors they came across.
"I'll open this one," said Rylan as he walked up to it.
Before Rylan could touch the doors, however, another trembling sensation caught everyone's attention. It felt stronger this time.
"I don't like this one bit…" said Buizel.
"Oh no!" Vulpix yelled. "Behind us!"
A large swarm of sentinels were marching toward the Pokémon. On top of that, the labyrinth walls were starting to crumble away, causing large masses of stone to come raining down as the sentinels marched.
"Get that door open!" yelled Gallade. "Hurry!"
Rylan pulled at the door. It began to open just as easily as the other one did, but the process was still quite slow.
"Quick! Through the door!" Rylan shouted. "Let me know when you're in!"
Rylan held the door until he heard all of his companions, including Aerodactyl, shout "I'm in!" in response. He hurried through the door himself immediately after.