Corphish and the rest of the guild finally arrive near the location of the statue. A few of the members whisper to one another about the statue, pointing at a small red stone squished into a hole in the statue. Chatot attempts to calm everyone down, but they are all chattering away about the mysterious statue. Finally, Loudred yells for quiet and the guild members quiet down.

"Ahem, alright Corphish. You said that you ran into the Guildmaster here?" Chatot looks around, unconvinced. "I don't see him, so where could he possibly be?"

"U-uh…I don't really know. I mean, he was here before I ran into Team Future and I thought he'd still be here…" Corphish stops when he notices Chatot narrowing his eyes.

"I promise, the Guildmaster was here!" Corphish points a claw to the right of him and exclaims frantically, "He was singin' about perfect apples and dancin'. Then after that, I guess he wandered away…or…some…thin'." Corphish cowers as Chatot hops closer to him, his glare menacing. Before he could yell at Corphish, the earth beneath them shudders ever so slightly.

"W-what was that?" "I-I dunno, maybe a pokemon?" "What kind of pokemon would make the ground shake?" The guild members whisper about, each with their own opinions of the small tremor. Corphish sighs with relief, as Chatot once again tries to calm the excited pokemon.

The earth shudders again, this one a little more violent than the first. A faint growl can be heard following the ground shaking and the clouds begin to scatter away from the sound, as if frightened by the thing itself. Chatot looks up, his mouth slightly open while the rest of the guild members are chattering away, fears and worries overwhelming their once excited atmosphere.

"We should hurry before something else happens. You said Riolu and Mana came went ahead?" Chatot looks over at Corphish, who nods quickly. "Okay guys, let's try and catch up to them and hopefully, we might come across the Guildmaster as well." With that, Chatot leads the way and everyone else follows after him, careful not stay too far away from him.

"B-Boss… Did you hear that?" Zubat asks, forcing the words to come out. His wings are bent at odd angles and his breathing is heavy as he tries to catch his breath. Next to him lies Koffing, who is less round and seems to be completely knocked unconscious.

"B-Boss-"

"I know," Skuntank flinches, his injuries much worse than before. What was he thinking trying to take on that monster? He should have followed his instincts and ran after those pipsqueaks, but he had to be stupid didn't he?

"Never again will I ever…do that for some measly treasure." A wave of exhaustion slams into Skuntank and he allows it to carry him into the depths of his subconscious. Zubat's voice is drowned out and everything else with it as the pokemon forgets his aches and pains.

A huge red pokemon towers over Mana, its eyes blazing with hatred. Mana gulps, feeling very small. Another familiar feeling washes over Mana and she observes this pokemon closely.

"HAVE YOU COME TO TRESPASS ON SUCH A SACRED PLACE? LEAVE NOW WHILE YOU ARE STILL ABLE."

Mana's feet dig in to the ground to keep from being flung away from the towering pokemon. Wait a minute, this pokemon looks just like that Groudon statue me and Riolu came across, Mana thinks to herself. She looks down sadly, still thinking about the words she had spoken to Riolu not long ago. He's probably crying somewhere right now because of what I said and I can't blame him for hating me afterwards… But he has something precious to him. He has his life ahead of him and he can do all sorts of things later, but what about me? There is no way I could just go on knowing that I couldn't get the one thing I've always wanted because my desire to live was too strong.

Mana looks up again, her eyes meeting with the live Groudon's glare.

"I need to go to Fogbound Lake. Please, you have to-"

"I, GROUDON, AM THE GUARDIAN OF FOGBOUND LAKE! I WILL NOT ALLOW TRESPASSERS TO ENTER!"

"Wait, just hear me out!" Mana yells, pleading with Groudon. She can't have come all this way just to be kicked out.

"SILENCE! YOU HAVE INCURRED THE WRATH OF THE GUARDIAN SO PREPARE YOURSELF, LITTLE ONE, FOR I WILL TAKE YOUR LIFE."

"N-no, wait! I need to speak with Uxie, I need to know about my memories!" Mana yells, but the pokemon is hearing none of it, its mind already made up. This is an enemy and what is an enemy must be eliminated because that is Groudon's job.

"You would only get me killed… Better off without you!"

"Stop it! I thought we were friends, but you…you lied to me, Mana!" Riolu trips, his tearstained face hitting the ground. He tries to get back up, but his legs have given out on him and Riolu lets out a wail. It was not his fault he was a coward, but he thought he had gotten a little stronger since his and Mana's first meeting at the beach. How could he have been so stupid?

"A-After all we've been through… I thought…I thought we'd still be friends," Riolu cries, his nose running. Sounds of him echo throughout the walls of the cave, bouncing back and forth from all different sides.

I-I'm so sorry Mana, but I can't do it anymore…

"This place DOESN'T look safe, you SURE Mana and Riolu went through?" Loudred's voice booms. Riolu gasps, wiping his eyes quickly. Are they here to save Riolu and Mana? The rookie allows himself to get up off the cold ground. He is about to open his mouth, but Chatot's voice stops him.

"I hope we can catch up to them soon, I'm worried about that Groudon legend-"

"HA! GROUDON? That's just bedtime stories the VILLAGERS whispered about. No Groudon-"

"Even bedtime stories holds truth, Loudred. Hopefully, those two don't run into him. It is said that anyone who goes up against…" Chatot's voice disappears.

What? What happens to anyone who faces Groudon? Could this mean that the scary sounds were made from a Groudon? Does this mean that Mana is fighting by herself? No. No, I'm too scared! But Mana is… Mana… Her words ripples into his memory and he hears those horrible words over and over again.

"She said she didn't want me there, so I should leave her alone. But she's facing Groudon… She said I was a burden so what am I good for except slowing her down? Ahhh!" Riolu holds his head with his paws, as if to keep his head from exploding. He fights going and staying, but in the end, he cannot decide what it is he wants or should do. Should he follow what Mana said and just disappear? Or should he fight against his fear and stay with Mana, knowing she didn't want him around?

"But if I leave her, she might get hurt. Kabuto hurt her really bad, so I…" Riolu stands up, his arms falling to his sides. His crimson eyes burn with anger, that feeling still lingering within him. He remembers how he felt then and hated to feel that again, but if Mana is battling with Groudon-

"-Then I will fight to protect her. Wait for me, Mana!" With that, Riolu pushes aside his insecurities and races back to where his friend is, hoping that he gets there in time.