I'm spitting out these chapters faster than you guys can read them, I think. This is probably the most I've updated in years!

Amy47101 does not own pokémon. Only her OCs Sara and Vale.

o.0.o.0.o

The Adventure Saga

Enlightening the Soul

o.0.o.0.o

Everything happens for a reason.
People change so that you can learn to let go.
Things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right.
You believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself.
Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can come together.

But someday, everything will make perfect sense. So for now…

Laugh at the confusion, smile through the tears, and keep reminding yourself, that surely, everything happens for a reason.

o.0.o.0.o

The white light soon faded into the background as the scenery was replaced with forest. Before Lyra could even think to move, an explosion sent her flying back. In all actuality, if Silver hadn't yanked her out of the way, Lyra was fairly certain that she most certainly would have been missing a limb.

"You okay?" Silver grunted as both regained their footing.

"I'm fine." Lyra shot back. "Krys? Ethan?"

"Here!" Ethan shouted.

"I'm fine too!"

Lyra sighed in relief, but flinched as she felt something burning against her chest. She glanced down and saw the Rainbow Wing, still safely clasped around her neck, glowing golden and floating. She wrapped her hand around it, worriedly looking up.

"Ho-oh!" she exclaimed, seeing the pokémon standing overhead. A shiver ran down her spine when the god-like pokémon of Johto looked down at her with cold eyes. While Ho-oh was a legend in every sense of the word, and rightfully could look down on humans as lesser beings, she recalled being absolutely entranced by him. She recalled a serious look in his eyes, but also accepting. Approving. Now, it was cold, cold as ice.

"Silver, something isn't right." she whispered under her breath. "Silver, there's something seriously wrong with Ho-oh!"

"How can you tell?!" Ethan exclaimed.

"How sad," a new voice sneered. "Wouldn't the chosen one of Raikou recognize when something is wrong with his partner?"

"Hun." Lyra could see Silver rolling his eyes as the silver-haired woman approached them. Clearly, he didn't see her as a threat.

"Missing your lapdog? Where's Attila?" Ethan teased with a smirk. That seemed to strike a cord with Hun, almost like she was remembering a particularly bad experience. But even then, while Ethan was always more of a supportive unit in battle rather than a fighting unit. While he was not particularly weak, he didn't really have any right in taunting anyone. She looked back at the woman. Was she really not that much of a threat?

"Right here, weakling."

Lyra looked up and saw a buff, strong looking man approached them, though not on foot. Rather, he was in a machine with what looked like at least two dozen arms. Attached to the end was transparent shell, resembling almost like a pokéball.

"Oh my Arceus." she heard Krystal gasped. She had her hands over her mouth, horrified. "Guys, look inside them! Mask has already begun!"

Lyra looked closer, and in two of the cells, saw small babies with raven black hair. Both were wailing, it looked, but the glass must be soundproofed, as she couldn't hear anything. But bright red faces and streams of tears made her heart lurch, tiny fists clenched tightly against their chests as they cried.

"Good to see you again, Second Dexholders."

At that point, Mask came through the Ilex shrine. Lyra noticed the shrine was open, a glowing light beyond it. Overhead was Celebi, fluttering in place with some sort of collar around it's neck. In one of his arms as another baby, this one peacefully sleeping. Proton, standing near the entrance, took the infant. A few words were exchanged, and Proton snapped what looked like a medical bracelet around the baby's wrist.

"I suppose I should introduce you." Proton said with a triumphant grin as he turned towards them, the little, blue adorned baby still in his arms. This guaranteed that they wouldn't attack, less hurting one of the infants. "These are your juniors, the youngest of the 'named dexholders'. Those given a title much like your own. The recognizable ones. The ones who bear the responsibility to represent their region as paragons of strength and hope. Introducing," he grinned, thrusting out an arm towards the machine holding the two still wailing infants. "Selene and Elio Violet."

Lyra felt a shiver go down her spine as Proton seemed to look at the infants with an obsessed look. His gaze was crazy, obsessive, like an explorer had discovered something that they've been searching for for years. Except for… these were infants. Little babies snatched from their cribs.

"I can imagine their talents." Proton continued with a grin. "I'll bet she's very manipulative in some way. And the boy… Possibly a researcher? Clearly he can detect something… Possibly lies and acts. The exact opposite of his sister… These are wonderful contributions to this organization!"

"They're infants!" Lyra finally cried out. "Mask, Proton, they didn't even get a chance to prove their worth or their strength, what's the point in any of this?! Why would you kidnap them?! Do you realize you can stunt them before they could even accomplish anything? Some of their talents might need to develop over the course of their journey, so all of this would be pointless otherwise!"

"Are you referring to yourself, Treasurer?" Mask suddenly asked. "Because you are entirely wrong. I've looked into your pasts as well as the pasts of the future dexholders. Your talent was not something that was developed over the course of this journey. You've always been as you are now, someone who greatly values life. In turn, everyone around you works harder for your benefit. Your skill allows you to make others around you stronger. And in fact," Lyra could almost sense the sick smirk on his face. "How could living your life with me be any different than living your life with your mother?"

"Don't listen to him." Silver said. "It's the same as with that letter, he's trying to manipulate you."

"I know." Lyra said quietly. She knew this, but still…

"Geez, after all the trouble we went through," another new voice said. There was a long sigh. A flash of light, and behind them, their seniors appeared. Gary Oak stood, arms crossed, then he spoke. "Don't start doubting yourself now."

"Perfect timing." Mask said. No doubt his expression matched his mask. "Proton, deposit the boy, I'm going back to get Serenity."

"Serenity…!" Dayna gasped behind her hands. Leaf snapped her gaze up, her expression no longer cold, but a mix between shock-horror and recognition. Lyra knew that name, she followed the dexholders like the legends they were. So she knew about the ongoing search for the missing Green sister.

"Is… Is Serenity destined to be a dexholder?" Fire asked. Mask looked over his shoulder, but said nothing. Then, he stepped closer through the portal. Celebi almost immediately began to wail as loud as the children, the collar emitting some sort of probes as they forced it to activate it's power.

As Mask stepped through, Leaf ran after him. Proton, distracted with 'depositing the boy', couldn't stop her, and when Hun tried to get in the way, Leaf sent out her Venasaur and made her move.

"Leaf, we don't know the conditions of stepping into time, it might have altered space as well, you need-"

Krystal cut herself off as Leaf reached her hand through, and to all their horror, her arm, from the elbow to the tips of her fingers, suddenly warped and distorted like it was made of liquid rather than flesh and bone.

Gary, who was right behind her, panicked and yanked her free. Leaf held her arm close to her, clenching her fist as if checking to see if her bones are functioning.

"What on earth…?"

Before they could properly question what the heck was happening, a Steelix attacked them, nearly sending Leaf and Gary into the distorted space.

"If you all want to follow after Mask so bad, we'll send you through, unprepared!" Proton cackled as Hun continued to attack. Leaf snapped her gaze up to the Steelix, gaze filled with pure fury.

"Stay out of my way." she hissed.

And like that, a battle erupted. Attila and Hun were both sending out their pokémon, and they were no pushovers. And on top of it all, Ho-oh was fighting them as well. Lyra could feel her conflicting emotions as she tried to make heads or tails of what was going on.

Ho-oh, answer me! Why are you like this? Why won't you talk to me, look at me? Ho-oh, please! PLEASE!

Feather…

Protection…

The feather? Lyra looked down at the feather that was dangling around her neck, then slowly looked over at where Celebi was.

"Meganium!" she called out to her starter. Meganium threw off on of the attacks then began galloping towards her. Lyra, in one, well placed jump, leapt onto the back of her pokémon.

"Lyra, what are you doing?!"

She glanced back, and locked eyes with Silver, and she smiled.

And then she galloped into time.

o.0.o.0.o

Lyra could feel her mind being boggled as images of her past began to form around her. She tried her best to ignore the scenes before her journey, day in and day out of living with her mother… But it was difficult. She felt like crying, but before she could think od allowing a single tear to fall, she shook her head and toughened up.

As she stumbled through time, she stumbled through one particular path. She wasn't even sure how she ended up here, but somehow, she did. As she looked around, she realized this wasn't the Ilex Forest. Looking around, she saw a man wearing all black. In horror, she realized that the man in black was none other than the notorious Giovanni, boss of Team Rocket. Looking to her right, she saw Viridian City, smoke plumes rising from the city.

"Dad! Dad wait!"

Hiding in the foliage, Lyra watched as a red-headed boy wearing a sickeningly familiar mask ran up to Giovanni. He couldn't be any older than eleven or twelve… Giovanni stopped as the boy finally caught up, then slowly turned around.

"Dad, I need your help. When I… When I was really little, mom told me... you were the number one in the world!" with that, he reached up and tore his mask off, revealing a set of familiar silver eyes.

"Silver…" Lyra found herself gasping. Giovanni stared at him, almost disdainfully.

"Are you gonna quit? What are you going to do now?" Silver continued to beg.

"… Listen to me, child. One must acknowledge one's defeat before he can move on... I will go solo...for now...So that one day I will form a stronger organization! With monsters more powerful than Mewtwo! And I will crush Leaf Green, just like I crushed her father!"

Silver looked taken aback, then the confrontation formed on his face.

"What aspect of you was number one?" he snarled. "Gathering so many only to be defeated by a fourteen-year-old girl! I saw what happened, Dad, you were beat! Beaten by Leaf Green!"

With that, the man in black raised his hand. Lyra recognized the action from her own mother, and she flinched away. The resounding smack made her cry out for Silver. When she dared to look at the younger version of him again, she saw his head had snapped in her direction, eyes wide and mouth gaping.

"Putting together the potential of many is how you produce a huge power... That's what an organization is... That's the strength of an organization! I failed... to make the best use of my subordinates potential...! But one day… Everyone shall witness the revival of me and my Team Rocket!"

"Please, Dad, leave it behind!" Silver was begging now, holding his cheek. "Please, I need your help now! I need you! Please!"

"Why should I help you?" Giovannie sneered. "I have no son."

Silver looked like he got smacked in the face all over again. As Lyra looked between Silver and Giovanni, she felt her stomach lurch. This man… Giovanni… He didn't say that to be spiteful or mean to Silver, he said that because it looked like he honestly didn't recognize Silver in the slightest.

Lyra began doing the math in her head. She didn't know a lot about Silver and his past, other than he was a captive of Mask. He was a year older than her, she knew, and she also knew he escaped Mask when he was eight. Right here, he looked to be twelve. Shortly after their own battle with Team Rocket, Silver had told her about his mother leaving the Team Rocket when he was just born. Just up and left the hospital, supposedly, and never went back. When he was three, he was kidnapped… Eight, he escaped… Four years later he sought out Giovanni… So he was twelve. Three more years later, he was fifteen when they met…

Adding on the time of their journey, it was a pretty decent estimate that this timeline worked perfectly with Silver's age and what information she had on him. But could it be possible that Arianna… never told Giovanni about Silver?

"I don't understand you! You don't make any sense! How could you abandon me? Abandon Mom?!"

Giovanni left, not even bothering to look back at him.

"I don't want to understand you! I will never become someone like you!" Silver shouted after him, tears glistening in his eyes. "A coward when you're alone and acting like a tyrant when you're in front of other cowards! I will become strong! I will become a stronger man all by myself! I'll save Vale and pave my own path! ALL BY MYSELF!"

And with that, the younger Silver ran off. Lyra could see tears glistening around his eyes, and she felt her heart throb for him. He was all alone. Even when she was a kid, she still had Krys and Ethan…

"So what do you think of Silver origins?"

Lyra slowly exhaled, then turned to Mask. In his arms was a small infant girl. She only knew it was a girl based on the flowery onesie she was wearing. Light brown tufts of hair were on her head, and she was asleep.

"Serenity…" she whispered under her breath.

"Ah, yes." he glanced down at the infant. "The irony is strong, isn't it? To have the elder sister loose the younger, only to eventually be reunited in my cause. Tell me, wouldn't that make me a good person, Treasurer?"

"It's wrong to kidnap them. It's wrong, so wrong, on so many levels!"

"I wonder about that." Mask continued. "Tell me, if I took Serenity and Leaf as infants, wouldn't they be together as siblings? If I took you from your mother, wouldn't you grow up healthy, with a flourishing self-esteem and personality? And Silver… Had I taken Silver and kept him, he would never have to know of the pain and hurt of betrayal, by anyone or from anyone."

He continued talking.

"Dayna Yellow, abused and cast aside to her uncle. Fire Red, smothered by overbearing parents with to high of expectations. Gary Oak, and orphan who can't remember a shred of his parents. All this and so much more that could be avoided if these children were under my care! Lyra, you treasure life, do you not? Do you not see how this will work?"

"You'll hurt them. All of them. And what is the point of their characters growing through the challenges of loss and fear if you're going to stunt their emotions to begin with?"

"Oh, don't worry. See, you could consider children like Vale as test runs. There are others you know, and I realize that some children do require at least a little love in order to flourish. After all, Vale was successful enough with as little love I gave her."

"You used as a tool! You used the love she needed and deserved as a way to manipulate her!"

"And where did that love get her?" Mask snapped back. "The love she couldn't obtain, the love she felt for Silver and for her pokémon… It ended up killing her! It made her so weak and overwhelmed that she drowned herself! When it comes to certain talents, I've realized certain children need to be embraced fully, like my son, while others, such as Vale, need every emotion beaten out of them! Vale is a failure! The love I manipulated her with ended up being her very demise! What is the point of a destroyer if it can be brought down by something as simple as words?"

Lyra knew his question was rhetorical. But she answered anyways.

"Words can be powerful, and that's why you used them to your advantage." Lyra responded. "But you weren't careful enough. And because you deprived her of the words she needed, you killed her."

"Impressive." Mask said with obvious sarcasm. "You almost made my heart twinge with guilt. Yes, I will accept full responsibility. I killed Vale, my destroyer, my creation! The creation that malfunctioned horribly because I haven't beaten the love out of her! So, like the rest of my secrets, I wiped it clean so that no one would ever know the full extent of my plans. If I see no need for it, then I can replace it or get rid of it. It is useless! Besides," he shook his head, chuckling. "I think I've already found a liable replacement for Vale. One of your juniors ends up being titled 'The Conquerer'. Seems just as menacing as The Destroyer, no?"

"You're insane."

"They've said the same about geniuses." Mask responded. "But I'm better than any genius, any leader. I am perfection and I deserve nothing less!"

The world began to warp and then faded away with a pop, showing a spiraling dark colors with slashes of purple and green. There were small pockets, showing the past of various people, some recognizable, others, not. She could see the resemblance of her seniors and her friends and Silver, their childhoods and their struggles, and the other, unknown faces… They must be her juniors. Future dexholders who are yet to be known.

"Welcome, Treasurer, to the Tunnel of Time!"

Lyra could feel shivers going down her spine as the images flashed past her, some of her own, some of others. She felt like she was dipping her toes into something to personal. Meganium stood at guard, looking ready to defend her.

"Treasurer, while you are a dexholder, know that you were a last minute thought, an add-on, I will give it that your ability makes people happy. You give them some form of hope. And for that reason," he reached up a gloved hand and pressed it over the baby's nose and mouth. "You must cease to exist."

"Wha- Meganium, stop him!" Lyra exclaimed in horror as bright brown eyes opened up, tearing up as muffled cries fell against his large hand. Little fists and feet kicked and lashed out, trying to survive. Meganium didn't move. "Meganium?" It was at that moment that she noticed that Meganium looked a little… transparent, almost. Transparent, and weak. "Meganium, what's wrong? Meganium? Meganium!"

Not sure what was wrong, Lyra turned to Mask. Not even considering her other pokémon, she ran towards him, desperate to save the child. But instead of coming into contact with his arm, her arms went straight through him.

"Wh-What…?" she looked at her hands, fading in and out of existence.

"The Treasurer, she who treasures all life, and she who gives a sense of hope. Children of mine do not need hope. That is what made Vale and Silver malfunction. They had hope for the outside world, hope for each other, hope for something. And that hope made them failures. So, I need to destroy the paragon of hope. Lyra Kotone, while you were watching Silver's last betrayal unfold, I took my time to snatch both Serenity and yourself from your cribs. Serenity is safe, and I already have a plan to recapture Ho-oh, so don't worry. I know if I kill the infant version of you,"

Lyra could feel herself growing weaker, and she slowly slipped to her knees.

"Then the you of now will never exist. Thus, I extinguished hope."

o.0.o.0.o

"Lyra!" Silver almost leapt into the time passage himself if it hadn't been for Ethan grabbing him under the arms and pulling him back.

"That place is unstable, you'll kill yourself!" Ethan yelled at him.

"What about Lyra?!" Silver growled back. He was prepared to get into a fistfight with Ethan, everything else be damned! As if to answer his distress, Entei leapt in front of the portal, protecting him from doing anything stupid.

"She's protected by Ho-oh." Leaf said, staring at the warping portal.

"How?" Silver asked.

"Ho-oh is considered the God-Guardian of this region, right?" Gary chimed in, looking into the warping portal. "Of course, his power would overrule everything. So is it that much of a shock that Lyra, chosen trainer of Ho-oh, would be fine diving into the portal?"

"Not really." Ethan agreed.

"We need to get in there." Silver insisted. "Mask is dangerous, and he's going to be using babies as bargaining chips. Lyra won't let a little baby get hurt over her, and what's worse, she'll try to bargain with him and fix him."

"Space and time are unstable in there. You go in there unprotected, you'll be lost." Gary warned him. "Lyra was protected, so we might just have to leave it up to her."

"I won't allow it." Silver shook his head.

"Silver-" Ethan began.

"I don't care if I'm being paranoid or overbearing." Silver shot back, practically throwing Ethan off him. "Mask is dangerous and Mask is my problem. I've lost way to much because of him, and I swear to Arceus or whatever god you people believe in, I'm going to loose my shit if I loose one more thing to that man! So don't expect me to stand here idly and wait for her to be killed, because he's going to kill her!"

"Feathers of the sacred bird protect those who are normal, but the chosen are free to roam. Go, heroes of thunder, fire, and rain, take the feathers of Ho-oh's rainbow wings, and transcend time and space."

The proclamation from Leaf was so long and sudden that it caught most of them off guard. She slowly lowered her almost glassy gaze from the bird above them, bringing her gaze back to them. Her eyes almost cleared immediately, again cold and steely.

"Leaf, where did you get that from?" Gary asked slowly. Leaf simply stared at him, then turned her gaze to the left, towards the trees. Gary pursed his lips, as if irritated. "Is he here?"

Leaf didn't respond for a few moments. Then she gave him a somewhat cryptic answer.

"If Mewtwo is helping us, why should we remember past transgressions?"

"The same beast who put you in a coma before previously stalking you and messing with you mentally? And now he's stalking you too?" Gary snarled back. Leaf shot him a cold glare, as if telling him to drop it. "Don't give me that look-"

"Now isn't the time for a lovers quarrel!" Silver and Ethan snapped at them in union. They glanced at each other, and Ethan smirked.

"Seems we're on the same page." he said. "Leaf said we need Ho-oh's feathers to get through, right? Mask must have captured Lyra to get Ho-oh to go through with his plan to travel through time."

"One would think with the beasts being resurrected by Ho-oh would be enough." Silver sighed. "That's fine. Entei, do you have anything against attacking your master?"

"My so-called master is under the control of a madman. He is not himself." Entei responded.

"Good." Silver responded, leaping onto Entei's back. Leaf leaned towards Gary, muttering something.

"EVERYONE!" Gary shouted. "Krystal, Ethan, ignore the Rockets, we'll handle it!"

Krystal, who was in the midst of a fight with Hun, glanced over and nodded. Suicune brushed by her, and in a graceful movement, she leapt onto the beasts back. Fire and Dayna took charge and had their pokémon shadow her until she too was by their sides.

"Are you sure you want us to handle it?" Krystal said slowly. "We may be dexholders, but we're not-"

"What did I tell you about doubting yourself?" Gary rolled his eyes. "This is your region, isn't it? Be the heroes who saves it."

"We'll handle everything on this side." Fire gave them an encouraging thumbs up. "Those three aren't stupid enough to let the babies get hurt. Mask wants them to be healthy little soldiers after all."

With that, Leaf sent out her entire team to assault the opposing side, hardly even waiting a moment. Silver didn't need to look closely to realize the last child Mask brought through was Serenity. But much like her, Silver didn't think twice before he steered Entei towards Ho-oh.

"Entei, Fire Blast!" he shouted. Entei reared his head back and let out a spew of flames at Ho-oh. The pokémon nimbly dodged, screeching at them. From it's left came a rush of water, no doubt from Suicune.

"Alrighty Raikou, lets show them what we can do!" Ethan shouted. "Thunder!"

Storm clouds rumbled overhead, and lightening crashed with a booming clap of thunder. Naturally, the lightening was attracted to the water that doused Ho-oh, shocking the huge bird. The great legend screeched, clearly caught off guard by the three beasts he raised and created attacking him. It flapped its wings angrily, kicking up dust, but also doing exactly what he wanted.

"Entei, now!" Silver shouted, gripping the pokémons mane. Entei obeyed, leaping into the air. It took everything in Silver to hold on while they soared through the air. Against the winds and dust that stung at his eyes and dried out his mouth, Silver reached out with one hand and snatched a few loose, slightly burnt feathers from the air.

Landing, he barely skidded to a stop in front of Krystal and Ethan.

"Here, we have to move!" Silver ordered. Both took a feather, and before he could give them a chance, Silver turned to Celebi. "Celebi!" he shouted to the pokémon overhead. "Please! Take us to Lyra!"

Celebi looked down at them with glassy eyes, then as if recognizing them, it's eyes lit up. Grimacing, the little pokémon tilted it's head back and the portal flashed. Silver hardly hesitated, urging Entei to leap through to the boundary of space and time.

At first, and he would admit, upon crossing the threshold, he was sure that he would feel some sort of pain. But almost immediately, the mark on his hand flashed through the glove, resonating with the plate on Entei's face. The feather shined in a brilliant golden light. His body, alongside Entei's, was surrounded by a red aura. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw similar happenings with Krystal and Ethan. In his ear was faint murmurings, murmurings that he couldn't quite place. As he looked to his left and right, he saw flashes of faces and people, a few he recognized.

Suddenly, his surroundings flashed and faltered, colors swirling and blurring until it became a full image. Entei came to a grinding halt on the edge of a city.

"What is this?" Krystal asked slowly.

"I don't know, but don't get of Suicune, for safety." Ethan cautioned. Silver glanced around again. Eyes catching familiar, if not slightly newer, sights.

"I think we'll be fine." Silver said slowly. "It's only the tunnel that is dangerous. As long as we have the feathers, we should be protected. I think this is Cerulean City."

"How would you know?" Ethan asked. Silver glanced around again.

"I know because after I escaped from Mask, I got a lead on my father in Kanto. I travelled by a small raft until I hit land, which turned out to be the outer edges of Saffron, south of here. I travelled up to Cerulean, and eventually…" he trailed off, remembering the difficult journey and the fear of stumbling upon the Final Battle between the Kanto holders and his father, followed by the scathing rejection of the same man. Closing his eyes, he exhaled, as if to get rid of the memories along with the breath. "If I'm remembering correctly… This should be Cerulean."

"It looks kind of underdeveloped though." Krystal said. "I've travelled a good deal with my parents as well, and we have stopped in Cerulean. Something about this is different."

Silver hopped off Entei, testing the land. Seeing that his arm isn't warping like Leaf's did and he didn't feel any different, he concluded they would be fine.

"Yeah, we're fine." he said, crossing his arms. "I think it's only the tunnel of time that is dangerous, where space is warped. Since we're in a solid 'space' in the past, we should be fine."

"We should be careful though." Ethan said slowly. "Krystal, didn't you and Gary say something about everything being altered if we change something of the past?"

"Yes, which is why it is so detrimental that Mask is carrying out this grand scheme." Krystal said. "If what our future juniors do is anywhere near as remarkable as our seniors and what we are doing now…"

"But why Cerulean?" Ethan insisted. "Why here?"

Silver looked south, heart sinking.

"I asked Celebi to take us to Lyra." he said slowly. "And Lyra's father ran the daycare center here in Kanto."

"The center is on route five." Krystal murmured. "So…"

"Lyra's from Cerulean?!" Ethan exclaimed.

"It's not that big of a shock." Krystal said. She turned to Silver. "We both knew she was from Kanto, she just never specified on where she was from."

"I never knew Lyra was a breeders daughter." Ethan said with an awestruck look. "I wonder if-"

"She doesn't." Silver cut him off. She didn't tell them anything, anything at all. So what was the purpose of this? They walked through town, leaving the legends behind. The town was quiet, with a few people loitering through the streets. As Silver and Ethan walked past, Krystal suddenly stopped, grabbing onto Ethan's sleeve.

"Krystal?" Ethan looked back. Silver glanced over his shoulder, and he saw a wide-eyed Krystal staring at something.

"Ethan, look." Krystal muttered. She pointed towards something, and both boys turned their heads towards what she saw. Silver narrowed his eyes, seeing a man and a woman. The woman looked remarkably like Lyra, with the exception of the violet hue her brown hair seemed to have and the gray eyes. Next to her was a man, sporting light brown hair and hazel eyes.

"She looks like Mrs. Kotone…" Ethan murmured under his breath.

"No, it is. That's my Aunt, no doubt. She just… looks happy." Krystal furrowed her brow. She turned to Silver. "Mckenzie was always scowling whenever I saw her. So then I guess that man next to her is Uncle Haruto."

"You don't know your own uncle?" Silver asked.

"Not very well. My mother and her sister were never close. I only got close to Lyra because I was often left with her and Uncle Haruto when my parents had to go somewhere that they deemed to dangerous for me. Uncle Haruto acted as a go between between the two women, I guess. I was to young to remember, but I know my mother speaks kinder of her brother-in-law than her sister." Krystal looked over at them. Mckenzie was clinging to her husbands arm while he looked embarrassed about the whole ordeal. "… I don't remember ever seeing Aunt Mckenzie look happy, though."

"Yeah." Ethan crinkled his nose. "She was either locked in her house or scowling at the world."

The couple approached them. Silver was beginning to pick up pieces of their conversation.

"… I kind of like it here, Mckenzie. Maybe we should settle here and start that family I was talking about."

"Ugh, children? No thank you. The last thing we need is a raise in taxes to afford a kid."

A flash of pain crossed Haruto's face.

"You don't think that having anymore children is a good idea?"

"Not at all. After all," Mckenzie crinkled her nose. Then, her face went from disgusted to simpering. "I just, ever since we lost little Lyra, I can't bear to replace her!"

With a loud, attention gathering wail, Mckenzie buried her face in her hands. Haruto looked flustered and embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up." he said quickly, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I know you didn't." Mckenzie sniffled loudly. "Please, lets just go back to Saffron."

Silver felt his face curl into a snarl. He could tell she wasn't genuine in the slightest. The man, Haruto, however…

"Excuse me!" Krystal approached a random man on the street. "I'm sorry, but what's the date today?"

"March fifteenth." the man answered without a passing glance, continuing on his way. Krystal looked visibly shaken.

"Lyra should have been with them." Krystal muttered. "Her birthday is June twenty-first of last year."

"Mask must have gotten her, then." Silver growled under his breath.

"Correct."

The world suddenly warped and popped, sending them back into the time warp. The marks and feathers glowed again, protecting them.

"You're quite intuitive, Silver. I congratulate you on that." he walked towards them, causing Silver to stand on guard. Mask paused. "Don't be so cautious. Here. Your Treasurer, Silver."

Silver faltered, seeing him holding out a small baby wearing a white dress. Tufts of light brown hair on her head. Shoving the baby into his arms, Silver found himself awkwardly positioning his arms so he was cradling the infant. His heart felt relief, for only a moment. He had Lyra back, right here. He just had to return her to where she came from and he'd have his Lyra back.

But then he noticed the small trail of blood trailing from her nose, and her lips were blue. Around her lower face was severe bruising and she… hardly looked good.

If it weren't for the fact that this baby was Lyra, he would have dropped her out of sheer horror. Instead, he stumbled back, away from Mask, falling on his behind as he tried to put as much distance between them as possible. Ethan looked to be in the same shellshocked horror, and Krystal, the only calm one, brought her fingers down at the baby's neck. But Silver knew. His hand fell over her chest, and he couldn't feel the tiny thrumming of a heartbeat.

In contrast to her still heart, his heart was hammering in dismay. All he could do was stare at Mask in dread and genuine fear. He knew Mask was a bad, despicable bastard, but he never expected him to outright murder anyone. Yet here he was, holding the corpse of baby Lyra.

"There's no room in my organization," Mask said coldly. "For an ability as useless and as dangerous as 'The Treasurer'. A ability that provides love… an ability that provides hope… Useless!"

He said that as if Lyra was something that was in his way, something that was a nuisance that he simply had to get rid of. Alongside it, it was almost as if he was using his organization as an excuse. But all in all… it was cold, to cold, even for him.

He could feel his body trembling and shaking as he simply stared at Mask, unable to comprehend it all. But Lyra… was gone. Dead. And it wasn't just that he was holding her little corpse in his arms right now, but the fact that he wasn't going to see her ever again. The Lyra he knew and the Lyra he loved was gone, lost. She had faded from existence because Mask took her and killed her.

"You…" Ethan growled out, clenching his fists, and then snapping his gaze up. "YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Mask cocked his head.

"Not the reaction I was expecting from you. You seem more docile… I would've expected you to start crying."

"What kind of sicko kills babies?! What's wrong with you?!" Ethan's voice cracked and went hoarse on the last few words.

"I believe I've answered that already." Mask responded. He fixed his gaze on Silver. Silver could feel it, shivers travelled up and down his spine as he felt Mask analyzing his every move and reaction. And while Silver knew better than to give him what he wanted, he still found himself crying.

Long, silver streaks of tears went down his face. He couldn't look away. He wanted to look away, but he simply couldn't. Spastic bits of physical affection he would never receive again. Bright eyes that would never view everything in an optimistic light. A smile of hope. His hope.

He felt like he couldn't breathe. His heart was palpitating and his chest was tight. The tears wouldn't stop. So this… is despair. He didn't know what dying felt like, but this certainly felt like it.

He bowed his head, everything suddenly quiet. He knew Ethan and Krystal were yelling and arguing with Mask. He knew the murmurs of dexholders future and past were all around him in this swirling tunnel of time… But he knew something else.

A world without Lyra isn't a world worth my time.

If it weren't for the heart wrenching pain that practically consumed him, he would have laughed. To think, a girl as simple as her suddenly made a him view the world in a completely different light. But then again, how was he supposed to feel when she was only one of two people who was ever nice to him? Now, both Vale and Lyra were gone, indirectly killed by Mask.

He slowly looked up, and in the midst of Mask's cloak, he made out a faint, glowing amber color. Ho-ohs feather.

But I… I could fix this. All of this.

"Krystal." his voice sounded hoarse, like he was heaving out her name rather than trying to tell her something. The calmer of the two turned to him. Tears were glimmering along the bottom lashes of her eyes. Silver rose, and held out baby Lyra to her. "I… Please, bury her in a place where she would be happy. I'm sure you would know better than me."

Krystal looked hesitantly at the body in his arms, then shed her jacket and slowly took it into her arms, wrapping her in it out of respect.

"Ethan." Silver turned to the other boy. He took Vale's pokémon, still over his shoulder, and passed them to Ethan. "I don't know what will happen, but if Vale's pokémon make it through this all, could you take care of them for me?"

"...What are you trying to do?" Ethan asked suspiciously, slowly taking the belt. Silver said nothing.

"Whatever has been undone by his actions, you need to fix, understand? I'm not sure what the outcome of Lyra's loss of existence would be. Team Rocket may still be running rampant. Someone needs to pick up where we left off."

"We?" Krystal questioned. Silver was quiet.

"You two…" he sighed, then looked over his shoulder at them. "I think, somewhere along the way, I came to tolerate your presence in my life. So, thanks."

Silver.

He ignored Entei's warning tone, as if daring him to do something reckless.

"Do me a favor, Entei," he said calmly in his mind. "Keep Lyra's friends safe. Consider it the last act of a lovesick fool who failed entirely."

No response. Silver didn't particularly care. He turned his gaze back to Mask, who was walking away, back in time. He probably thought that he had won. He broke the heroes beyond comprehension. Silver clenched his fists, the feather in his hand crinkling slightly.

Then he sprinting, shooting into time while Krystal and Ethan let out exclamations of shock behind him. Images blurred past him, and in one moment, he slammed into Mask, tearing at his cloak and trying to tear the feather from him.

o.0.o.0.o

Krystal and Ethan were forcefully carried back to the present by Entei, Suicune and Raikou following behind them. As they popped through the portal, tumbling into each other, their seniors were standing there, waiting for him.

"Hey, heroes of Johto!" Fire greeted cheerfully. "Glad to see you're okay."

Krystal looked to the side, seeing Gary and Leaf breaking open the capsules. Leaf was already cradling one, honey-haired baby while Gary awkwardly held a boy. Dayna was cooing and tickling to the original two babies, Elio and Selene. Everything looked happy, like they had won.

Proton, Hun, and Attila were no where to be seen.

Ho-oh was gone.

"We need to go back!" Ethan exclaimed, scrambling up. "Mask is there, and I think Silver is going to do something really dangerous!"

"And Lyra…" Krystal trailed off, crying a little.

Fire looked utterly confused, like he had no clue what he was talking about. Cocking his head, he spoke.

"Krystal, Ethan, who's Lyra?"

"Lyra's-" Krystal began. Ethan suddenly placed a hand on her shoulder. His eyes was fixed on the portal. Fluttering out of the portal was two rainbow golden feathers.

Then the portal warped and disappeared, the shrine returning to normal.

o.0.o.0.o

Hm. Cliffhanger, I guess. Possibly the last chapter of the year. Thanks for reading!

Amy47101 signing off! ^.^