-Chapter IV: Treasures Untold, Stories Unfold-

-Connor-

After that awkward introduction was out of the way, Cassandra and Galatia led them to an entirely different wing. They all gawked at the different colored coral walls with blue flames illuminating the hallways. Alice stared, wide-eyed, as a Mantine soared just a few feet over their heads and through the opposite window. "How big is this place?"

"Not that big for an ocean base," Galatia clarified. "One of the perks of living in the ocean: Living space isn't in short supply, so your base can span for miles and nobody will care."

Connor smiled in sheer amazement as he swam with them. "Is that so? Sounds pretty cool."

Vulcan glided next to him and stared wordlessly ahead while Cassandra snaked through the next set of double doors and looked back to him. "Come on, we haven't got all day!"
Connor looked out the top of the domed room they came into, and he was awestruck. It was massive, easily the size of Temporal Tower. Cassandra twirled around after Alice let go and looked down at them, the sunlight trickling down from above illuminating the room with wave patterns and reflecting off of the polished coral. He tilted his head and squinted at the bright light. "But… Wasn't it almost sunset? Why's it like midday here?"

She smiled and giggled. "Well, this isn't the sun as your world knows it. It's our own light source! It's an aquatic plant that emits a bioluminescence at least a thousand times brighter than ember moss!"

Basileus humphed and nodded. "Dilucid bractia... Impressive."

She winked at him. "Seems like you know what it is! Hee-hee!"

Connor found himself staring at her scales again as she floated in the water. This time they seemed to be black and red, not white and pink and blue like normal. He blinked and they were a gorgeous shade of green. He scrunched his eyebrows as Cassandra's scales continued to change to even prettier colors. That's weird…

He saw a faint glimmer in the corner of his eye, and his eyes widened when he looked down. "Whoa..."

Beneath him, the entire floor was covered in heaps of rare items and poké and jewels, each mound easily the size of the hill that Wigglytuff's Guild was perched on. He reached his hand out towards the mountains of treasure, but withdrew and looked at Cassandra. "May we…? Sorry, I've just... never seen this much before..."

The Milotic smiled. "Of course! Take whatever you'd like!"

Caroline shook her head. "Pardon?"

"Take as much as you want! We always have a surplus. It seems like such a waste to let it sit here unused."

Grovyle ran his hands through the mountains of coins experimentally, then looked around for a moment. "How did you get so much?"

"We're an ocean exploration team," she beamed. "You name the water dungeon, we've discovered or explored it first! Bottomless Sea, Surrounded Sea, Miracle Sea, Fantasy Strait, Tirtouga Isles-"

"Is that an Aqua Monica…?" Alice picked it up gently, as if it might shatter at the slightest disturbance. "I… I thought there was only one… Kyogre was guarding it at-"

"At the end of the Bottomless Sea, yes. We claimed that prize from Kyogre… seven months ago, I believe."

"But we have one back in Kangaskhan's storage… Connor and… one of our other members beat him a few months ago."

Connor nodded slowly. Vincent and I… That's right. how do they have one?

"Really?" The Milotic didn't sound that surprised. Then again, they were in this team's home environment. They must know a lot more than them about ocean-based stuff. Jade actually grabbed an exclusive item from the heap of gold and stared at it wistfully. Connor swam over to her. "What's that?"

"A rare item. It looks interesting." It was a pitch black armlet that had a crimson oval design on both sides. It was cold to the touch when he brushed his fingers against it. "Um… That's not an exclusive item for you, is it?"

She shook her head slowly. "...No. Not for my species. But… I will keep it." She put it in her paint-woven treasure bag. He didn't understand why the paint-based bags didn't dissolve in the water, or why they stayed together after Vincent...

He gritted his teeth and chided himself for thinking of his deceased comrade and friend at a time like this. Come on… Not now, man.

"Cassandra, we cannot delay." Galatia insisted.

The Milotic stared at Connor, making him shudder uncomfortably. She quickly diverted her gaze and shook her head slowly. "I see no harm in letting them stay here a while longer to recover. After all, the Charizard's wings are too damaged for flight, and they all appear to be exhausted."

Galatia glanced back and forth between him and the Milotic, then said, "They can find their way back and heal on land. We will give them provisions and send them on their way."

Connor raised an eyebrow at her sudden defensiveness. Why's she suddenly so against letting us stay?

Cassandra glanced at him, then the rest of the group. "I believe that when hospitality is extended, it will be repaid in kind by those that received it." She nodded her head slightly. "They can stay here for a few more days, if they so desire."

Grovyle shook his head and swam up to meet her. "We do appreciate the offer, but we must return to land. The rest of our group is in danger back on Immanis."

"Immanis?" Galatia scoffed. "That's Unown for big. Why such a straightforward name?"

Grovyle crossed his arms as a smug smile appeared. "What do you call it? The mainland, if I'm not mistaken?"

Galatia narrowed her eyes, then let out a short laugh. "Fair point, land-dweller."

"Wait a minute," Connor broke in. "We have to get back to the rest of the team!"

Cassandra nodded slowly. "If that is your decision… It is your choice. We will guide you back to the mainland at your request."

"Of course," he replied. "My team's more important than anything right now."

"...Very well. Galatia, gather provisions."

The Empoleon swam through a hole in the coral wall, leaving them with the Milotic. She kept looking at Connor and diverting her gaze, and after the third time, he asked, "So… Do I look like that swampert or something…? 'Cuz you keep looking at me, and-"

"No! Not at all!" the Milotic hastily said. "It's nothing."

He shrugged and looked at Alice, hoping she would use her emotion sensing ability to figure it out. Her eyebrows raised and she pursed her lips. She glanced at Connor and gave him a reassuring nod. She likes you. At least, that's what he figured she was trying to say. His eyes widened, but he stayed calm. She won't hit on me. Even if she does, I'll explain that my team's the priority. He reassured himself. She's really pretty, though… And Ocean Exploring sounds pretty cool- He shook the thoughts out of his head. "No."

Not realizing he said that last part aloud and had a strained look on his face, the Milotic tilted her head. "Is something the matter?"

He quickly shook his head and did his best not-stressed expression. "Nothing! ...Nothing's wrong. Just… Trying to figure out where my team went, or if they stayed on the bluff…"

Her eyes lit up for a second, but were quickly calm again. She blinked heavily and smiled. "As soon as Galatia returns, we will send you on your way."

They waited in awkward silence for about a minute before Galatia glided back in with two semi-large bags. She gave one to Connor and the other to Vulcan. "Provisions. Nothing too fancy. Basic cloth bags… Waterproof, of course." She patted Connor on the back, then turned to Cassandra. "Let's get these guys home."

-Roy-

"I do admit that I was sort of being foolish in the way I acted earlier. I know this is a big deal to them… and me! But… I don't know. I know that we'll be fine. We have to be. After all, I can't even leave until my purpose is complete." He shifted his eyes towards Dusknoir before diverting his gaze. "Then again, I don't really remember… What that purpose was." They floated further behind the rest of the group, Roy making sure he was out of earshot when he spoke. "Blast it all…"

Dusknoir's eyebrow arched slightly. "You say you have a purpose?..."

"Well… Yes. And no. I don't know what it is… But… At the same time, I get hints. It's like pieces of my memories are being returned bit by bit. It's like a whisper in the back of my head… Just loud enough to where you can hear it, but it's all garbled and you can only understand a handful of sentences, and none of them make any sense. I… I want to know why I'm here." He began tearing up, but scorned himself.

Dusknoir narrowed his eye and looked down slightly. "...I presume that you haven't told any others of this. That you were not born a ghost."

He let out a short laugh. "Please, I'm already enough of a freak as it is. You don't exactly see a lot of ghost-types running around. Especially Mismagius. If I had a poké for every time some pokémon's called me a girl… Even when I was a Misdreavus..."

Dusknoir chuckled, "Hm-hm-hm-ha-ha! You'd be rich, no doubt!"

Roy smiled slightly. "Yeah… But no. I haven't told anyone else. The less they know, the better off they are."

Dusknoir tilted his head quizzically. "Then why trust me, whom you've only known for a few minutes -putting aside the fact that I have betrayed your team's trust and attempted to annihilate your leaders- over those that you've known for two years?"

Roy adjusted his ghostly hat and smiled wistfully. "Maybe… Maybe it's because I just need someone to relate to. I never had that on this team. The closest I got was Jade, since she was part-ghost, but she's always irritable and doesn't like me to begin with. Even so, Rose seemed to get my way of thinking… Even if it was only slightly." He grimaced. "But she's dead now. All that's left is Connor, perhaps Vulcan, and maybe Caroline. But she never had any real moments, did she? I haven't really gotten to know her..." He furrowed his brows. "Strange, now that I think about it."

"What about Atlas, the Flygon or the Lopunny?" Dusknoir suggested.

Roy sighed. "They're all much too… They just don't understand how I think. Alice is too wrapped up in emotion-land. I mean, seriously! That's all she talks about! She can manipulate emotions, sense emotions, blah blah blah! Not a ghosts kind of thing, you know? And then Atlas is mad at me because I'm taking this whole 'getting blown up thing' a little too well, which makes absolutely no sense, and… I don't know about Mirage. She has her moments, no doubt about that, but… I never really took time to know her either. She never got scared by my pranks. That's the only thing I really remember about her."

They continued floating behind the group, letting some distance build between them before Dusknoir replied, "I understand where you are coming from, Roy… I truly do. My parents perished when I was still a Duskull. But I am afraid that I don't understand what your 'purpose' is, in the context you've provided…"

He laughed skittishly. "I don't know either. But knowing that you do, in fact, still possess a plethora of knowledge from your last visit to this era, I figured you might be able to help me figure it out."

The heavyset ghost placed a massive hand on Roy's back and nodded. "Of course. I would be delighted to learn something new while finding a solution this situation!"

He looked up at the fellow ghost-type and closed his eyes for a moment. "Thank you."

Dusknoir retracted his hand, which was nearly as big as Roy's body. "It's not a problem, really!"

Roy heard sound from up ahead and saw everyone circling around and murmuring urgently. He and Dusknoir met each other's' eyes for a brief moment before nodding and soaring over to the commotion. Dusknoir shoved his way through, pushing aside Mirage and Tyranitar, and Amber was collapsed on the ground, her breathing sporadic and her skin turning from pitch black to dark grey. His eye widened. "No…"

Briar knelt over her and closed her eyes, her lip quivering. "Her wounds… They are too great. Even for her."

Amber's eyes were closed, and Roy floated forward. He felt her soul preparing to leave her body, and couldn't help but almost burst into tears. Then he furrowed his brows as a new memory emerged, more clearly than ever before. The voices echoed in his head.

"We'll get you out of here! Just help me push!"

"...I love you, Castiel."

"Don't you say that! You're going to be alright! Just focus on my voice!"

I've been too late once before… I won't be again. He said to himself with determination.

He removed his Misdrea Cape and gave it to Dusknoir with psychic, dawning the most serious expression he had ever put on. His eyes narrowed and began glowing yellow and orange, his mouth downturning slightly. "Hold this. It's my favorite cape."

Dusknoir grabbed the garment out of midair, and Roy glanced at Briar. "Brace yourself. She'll be thrashing in a moment." and he dove into Amber's body without waiting for a response.

Okay, I know it's a bit early, and here's why: my whole school situation changed on a dime. I basically got pulled out of school by my parents and am now being home schooled. But since I now have a lot more flexibility, they're making me get a full-time job during the day, and work on school in the evenings, and during the in-between hours I will be working around my house. Due to that, my uploading schedule will vary most days. But I will still upload two chapters a week, and try to do the firestorm Battle Royale battles once a week as well.

What this also means is that I won't have hardly any time for writing my stories. But I will have Fridays and the weekends off. So I can dedicate that time to writing.

Now don't leave comments about this school thing in the review sections, please. PM me if you have any questions or concerns about that. Let's leave the review area for things concerning the story! ^_^ Okay, so that being said, let me know how the chapter was! I wonder what will happen to Amber! What is Roy's 'purpose'? Leave your theories in the form of a review if you wish, and I will see you all with the next Firestorm Battle Royale tomorrow! Much Love!

-PL