A Dragon's Tail
Tail 8: Sirius' Tail - Monstrosity
Tail 8-7: The Stage of Venturnome
'… Finally, Solar Village…'
The return trip from Tower of the God to Solar Village was much shorter than the forward trip. One reason was that, without the accursed mask, my speed drastically increased, allowing me to run much faster while also being able to conserved stamina better too. Another reason was the surprisingly lack of enemies along the way. It was as if a large group of warriors had routed the route between Solar Village and Tower of the God…
'Now…' I ran along the street of Solar Village, trying to avoid as many Pokemon as possible. 'If Korben's still in Solar Village, he should be at the dojo. I'll go and see if he's there or not—'
"What do you mean by that he was already sent away?!"
'Hm? That voice.' The voice I heard was a familiar high-pitch female voice, as if someone was shouting angrily. The direction of the voice seemed to come from… Temple of Yggdrasil.
'…' Unable to suppress my curiosity, I changed my path and headed to the temple instead. As I approached the temple, I saw six Pokemon stood near the entrance of the temple. Two of them were the Knights of Yggdrasil. One of them was the Priest of Yggdrasil. And the other three…
'Ridley, Eva, Katarina?!' I quickly found a place to hide from their sight, while still allowed me to listened to their conversation. From the look of it, Katarina seemed very upset, and Ridley and Eva weren't seem to be happy too.
"You have heard it right, my child." The Priest of Yggdrasil spoke, unfazed by Katarina's upset comment earlier. "The sinner who committed a crime of killing Archbishop Zira had been successfully arrested, and he was already being sent to the capital to be brough to justice."
"But Korben isn't the killer!" Ridley spoke up with an upset voice. "He has an alibi! He was with me all the time at the entrance of the village during the time of murder!"
'Wait, what?!' The Lucario's words sent a chill down my spine. 'Korben was arrested for killing Zira?! How?!'
"There're so many things wrong with this!" Katarina said, clearly unable to hide her anger. "First of all, weren't all of us, our Kommo-o friend included, proved innocent earlier?! He has an airtight alibi, and since he had just arrived at Solar Village one day before the incident, he has no motive to kill Archbishop Zira too!"
"You are wrong, my child." The priest continued speaking. "The Dragon Scales we found at the crime scene proved that the perpetrator was a sinful Dragon type, and the Kommo-o's arrival was just one day before the incident. That much is suspicious, wasn't it?"
"What about the alibi?" Ridley spoke up again. "I swear with my life that he was with me all the time. He couldn't be the killer!"
"The alibi… is no longer relevant." The Priest said. "We had found a new evidence that proved it beyond a doubt that the sinful Kommo-o was the sinner who took our beloved Archbishop Zira away from us."
"New evidence?!" Katarina almost screamed to the Priest of Yggdrasil. "Why wasn't I informed of this?! Moreover, as the member of the investigation team, why wasn't I inform of everything regarding our Kommo-o friend's arrest?! The Knights of Yggdrasil just showed up at Tower of the God and arrested him without my prior knowledge. What's the meaning of this?!"
"My child, haven't you heard that the investigation team was already disbanded?" The priest said, much to the surprise to the trio.
"W… What?!" Katarina couldn't hide her surprise. "W… What's the meaning of this?!"
"We have already found the sinful killer, so there's no need for more investigation. That is all." The priest answered with a calm voice.
"T… This is absurd!" Katarina said with high-pitch voice. "First, you arrested your friend so sudden, and now you are saying that the investigation team was already disbanded?! This is outrageous!"
"… What about the evidence you mentioned earlier?" Ridley spoke up. "You said you have found a concrete evidence to prove that Korben is the killer. What is the evidence you speak of?"
"I am sorry, my child, but that's confidential information." The Priest shook their head.
'So… They said they had a concrete proof against Korben, and they wouldn't reveal what it was…' I thought while eavesdropping to the conversation. 'Knowing how rotten the Temple of Yggdrasil was, I wouldn't be surprise if they actually falsified the evidence against Korben.'
"You have done well in uncovering the truth behind the tragic incident that happened to our village." The priest continued speaking. "But now, your work is over. Please leave the rest to Temple of Yggdrasil. We swear to bring the sinner to justice."
After finished speaking, the Priest of Yggdrasil, along with two Knights of Yggdrasil accompanied him, entered Temple of Yggdrasil, leaving Ridley, Eva, and Katarina in front of the temple.
'… Time to go.' I decided that I had heard enough. It was time to move. From their conversation, Korben was arrested by the Temple of Yggdrasil and was sent to the capital, which meant my destination was clear.
'…' I turned back and started running, heading toward the exit of Solar Village. My destination was Venturnome City, the capital of Theocracy of Venturnome. I would have to travel across Venturnome Meadow. It would take some time for me to go, and I couldn't waste anymore time!
Venturnome City, the ancient capital of Theocracy of Venturnome, was much further from Solar Village than Tower of the God, so my journey would take quite some time, even after the accursed mask was removed from my face. Luckily, like the route from Tower of the God to Solar Village, the route from Solar Village to Venturnome City was clear, with no enemy in my way.
'The Knights of Yggdrasil had arrested Korben at Tower of the God, and they brought him to Venturnome City. This must be why the routes were routed earlier.'
"GRRR!"
'… Though it seems like they missed some.' Very soon, I found myself encountering Shadow Pokemon along the way. This one was a Shadow Ursaring, and they looked very aggressive!
'… I hate to do this, but this seems like a chance for me to test my new power!' I got into a battle stance, ready for the incoming attack!
"GRRAAAA!" Shadow Ursaring lifted their claw and tried to strike me down!
"GRRRR!" I jumped away to dodge the attack before I striked them down with my claws cloaked in mysterious force, attacking them with a new attack!
"GRAAA?!" Shadow Ursaring staggered back after getting hit by my attack. It seemed like my new attack was very powerful, indeed.
'Wow…' Even I was awed by my newfound power, however, I didn't have time to admire it as Shadow Ursaring charged at me, trying to tackle me out of its away, forcing me to dodge once again.
'… I don't have time for this, so I'll have to end it now!' I focused my power at my head before I charged head-on at the Shadow Ursaring, countering their attack with the move Iron Head!
"GRAAAA!" Shadow Ursaring was hit head-on, which was enough for them to collapse on the ground before their body dissipated into black mist.
'Whew! Done… Now, time to go…' I looked at where Shadow Ursaring's body disappeared earlier before I continued running toward my destination.
"… T seemeth liketh thou art getting hath used to thy new f'rm."
'Huh?!' I was surprised by the sudden voice that I heard in my head. It took a couple seconds before I recognized that it was the voice of my pactbound Legendary coming into my head directly. The source of the voice seemed to be the diadem I was wearing on my head.
"I am s'rry f'r startle thee, Sirius." Arceus spoke to me again. "I wast obs'rving thy battleth earli'r, and i might not but sayeth yond thee very much knoweth how to handleth thy foe."
'I can't take all the credits. I also have to thank you, as well as Rachael, Richard for taking care of my body, as well as to Diego for upgrading my weapon.' I spoke to Arceus while thinking back of the day before the Pendragon left for Theocracy of Venturnome. Despite that Diego couldn't upgrade most of our weapons, he was able to upgrade mine and Korben's as ours were only upgraded once while everyone else' were upgraded at least twice now.
For Korben, his Noble's Fist was upgraded into Lord's Fist. The stat-boosting effect from the upgrade was a modest boost in both offensive and defensive stats. The main focus of this upgrade was that it somehow reduced the supereffective damage taken by Korben by 10% as if Korben possessed a weaker version of the Solid Rock ability. This improved the Kommo-o' defensive capability, suiting the defensive battle style of the Kommo-o.
As for me, my Gamma Chip was upgraded into Beta Chip. Like the last one, this upgrade gave me a huge boost in all of my stats, HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed. However, this time it also came with a special perk of increasing my supereffective damage to the enemy by 10%, as if I was holding an Expert Belt all the time, similar to the first upgrade of Korben's weapon. This, coupled with my newfound power, turned me into a very powerful fighter.
"Thou art did bless with valorous comrades, forsooth." Arceus commented. "So, thou art heading f'r the ancient capital of Venturnome."
'Indeed I am.' I said before I remembered something. 'That reminds me… I have to pass through the city gate to get inside the capital, but it wouldn't be easy for someone like me to do so. Arceus, do you know anything that could help me with that?'
"… The f'rest locat'd nearby the ancient capital…" Arceus slowly answered me. "Seeketh the statue in the middle of the f'rest. Th're shall beest a enshielf passageway to the ch'rry blossom parketh inside the ancient capital."
'Got it. Thanks, Arceus' I nodded to Arceus.
"Seeketh to me again if 't be true thee require mine own guidance, Sirius." Arceus said before I felt the connection between me and my pactbound Legendary stopped, indicating that our conversation had ended.
'The statue in the middle of the forest outside the capital…' I thought to myself as I ran forward. 'I hope that I could still make it in time. Just wait for me, Korben…'
-Meanwhile…
"I couldn't believe all of this. This is so absurd!" Katarina spoke with an upset voice.
"Katarina…" Eva spoke up with a sad voice as she looked at the Florges. Right now, the trio was back at the dojo after their meeting with the Priest of Yggdrasil at the temple, and they were as upset as they seemed to be.
"For a magistrate, evidence is everything!" Katarina continued ranting. "And all the evidences we have prove that Korben isn't guilty, and I won't believe otherwise until I have truly seen the prove they claimed!"
"… I… I also feel the same as you." Eva spoke up. "Korben… Since the moment I met him, I feel that he has some sort of darkness within him, as if he has met with something very terrible. However, after getting to know more of him, I now see that he isn't a bad guy! And he is with Ridley during the time of the… the incident too. I believe that he isn't the killer!"
"… If only there is a way for me to do something…" Katarina said. "But with the investigation team disbanded, I wouldn't be able to do anything, and a junior magistrate like me won't be put in charge of a huge case like this too. If only…"
"… Let's go, everyone." Another voice turned the attention of the Florges and the Eevee from each other to the third Pokemon, a Lucario, in the dojo, who was also the current owner of the said dojo. Right now, the Lucario was holding something in his paw.
"R… Ridley?!" Eva looked at the Lucario. "G… Go where?"
"Venturnome City, of course." Ridley said. "Like you two, I believed in Korben's innocence, and since he's my friend who helped me before, it's time for me to repay his kindness. I wouldn't leave him while he's in need for help."
"I can see your convinction, Ridley. We all feel the same." Katarina looked at the Lucario. "Going to the capital right now is a sudden decision, but not unexpected one from what I know about you and your sense of justice and righteousness... And that's what I like about you." The Florges deliberately lowered her voice at the last part of her words so no one would hear her.
"And also… There's one more reason why we have to go to Venturnome City…" Ridley said as he showed the things he was holding in his paw. They were three envelopes, with one of them had already been opened. "I found these letters inside the dojo's mailbox earlier, and each of them is address to each of us."
"A letter to the three of us?" Katarina said as she and Eva received the letter from the Lucario. The Florges and the Eevee opened the envelope and read the letter inside.
To: The Star of Life
This world is but a stage, and every living creature is but an actor. Each living creature, like every actor on the stage, was assigned the role since when their 'story' started. Who was the one who assigned their role? We will never know…
Among all the living creatures, there is a group of actors who shined much brighter than any of their fellow performers, and they were tasked with a much greater role than any other actors as well… If the stars on the sky are all the actors that currently play their show on the stage, then this group of actors is the eighteen brightest stars on the sky.
However, wherever there is light, there must be darkness… Wherever there are the stars on the sky, there must be the voids in the very same sky… And now, the voids are swallowed the shining light on the sky that gave hope to the living creature on earth.
For me… I was assigned the duty of being the director of the show on the stage. In ordinary cases, it would be considered inappropriate for the director to play the role on the stage too.
The stars told me everything… The ten voids had extinguished one more Fallen star. Only one shining star of the past remained.
How do you like the show so far, the star of life? The show of the heroes, villains, and the world. The world was destroyed by the villains. The villains were destroyed by the heroes. And the heroes were destroyed by the world. The cycle of the show would continue endlessly, drowning everything in the neverending greif. Such a regretful truth was the fate of this show.
But for this chapter, this tale, the show had already proceed long enough. The bright stars were gathering, and only one void remained elusive. The finale was approaching. The stage was set. Soon enough, we could bring this tale to their end at last. How would this chapter ended? You would have to see it for yourself. And thus, I'd like to invite you, the star of life, to come and witness the finale of this chapter with your very own eyes. The stage of the finale shall be the Starlight Theatre of the ancient capital. It would gladden me if you decide to join us, for that I have also invited the Star of Light, the Star of Dawn, the Star of Forest, the Star of Insect, the Star of Flame, the Star of Stone, the Star of Water, the Star of Thunder, the Star of Metal, the Star of Earth, the Star of Wind, the Star of Darkness, the Star of Dusk, and the Star of Spirit to the finale too. With your presence, the constellation will finally form, and the finale shall be even more spectacular!
Thank you for your time
The Star of Magic
"U… Um…" Eva seemed to be baffled after she finished reading her letter. "W… What is this letter? W… Why am I called the Star of Dawn in this letter? And what is it about the show, the finale?"
"I was puzzled after reading the letter too." Ridley said as he looked at the remaining letter in his paw. "It seems like the content of our letters are the same, except that I am called the Star of Light instead."
"I… I see…" Eva looked at her letter again. "A… And the sender of the letter… The name is 'Star of Magic'. W… Who is that?"
"I don't know." Ridley said before turning his attention to another Pokemon. "What about you, Katarina?"
"… It's him, isn't it?" Katarina sighed after reading her letter. "Again with his usual antic…"
"K… Katarina?" Eva also looked at the Florges too.
"Well, the content of my letter seems to be the same as you two, except that I am called the Star of Life." Katarina continued speaking. "… And this manner of speech… There is only one Pokemon on the entire continent who speaks like this… It's our pontifex."
"Our pontifex!?" Ridley spoke up. "You mean the new Pontifex of Venturnome, the son of the late Pontifex Hawkins and Archsage Iris?!"
"Yes, the very same." Katarina said. "I had encountered him in the capital several times before his ascension to the title of Pontifex, and he always speaks in a cryptic way, talking about the stage and the stars. And moreover… He also calls me the Star of Life."
"I see…" Eva said. "So… This letter is from the pontifex himself… And… He wants us to go to the Starlight Theatre in Venturnome City?"
"Yes, it seems to be that case." Katarina said. "But the question is, why did he summon us there? The letter says that he wants us to 'witness the finale of this chapter', whatever that means."
"… The letter mentions me as Star of Light, Eva as Star of Dawn, and Katarina as Star of Life…" Ridley said as he read the letter again. "The sender of the letter at the end… The Star of Magic… That must be the Pontifex himself. And there are still 13 more stars mentioning in the letter, Forest, Insect, Flame, Stone, Water, Snow, Thunder, Metal, Earth, Wind, Darkness, Dusk, and Spirit. Combining all of that and we got 17 stars…"
"W… wait!" Eva looked at the Lucario. "A… Are you saying that…"
"… From the look of it, the pontifex is summoning the Hero/ine of Legend, and he calls all of us with the title of 'star'." Ridley said. "If that's true, then, Star of Forest is Joshua, Star of Thunder is Viola, Star of Water is Bismarck, and Star of Insect is Zenpai."
"S… Star of Metal is my brother, Grimlock…" Eva said. "Star of Earth is Emperor Terrus. Star of Dusk is Princess Natasha. Star of Spirit is Prince Largo."
"Queen Misvale of Riverbrine is Star of Snow, and my brother, Fenrir Jr, is the Star of Darkness." Ridley said. "That leaves the Star of Flame, the Star of Stone, and the Star of Wind that we haven't met yet."
"W… Wait…" Eva looked at her letter again. "I… If the stars in the letter are the Hero/ine of Legend, then… The Star of Life… Katarina…"
"… So… This is what Archsage Iris meant…" Katarina said with a faint smile on her face. "… Back when I was studying under Archsage Iris, she told me that a great responsibility is waiting for me in the future, and I should prepare myself for the day my destiny arrives, which is today."
"Katarina…" Ridley and Eva looked at the Florges.
"… I, Katarina Pixillia the Florges, am the Heroine of Fairy type." Katarina said as she unfold her fan to conceal her face. "And this is the heirloom passing down in my family. Never I know that this is none other than the sacred weapon of legend, Tourmaline Fan."
"K… Katarina!" Eva said with a smile on her face. "S… So… It turns out that the three of us are all Hero/ine of Legend…"
"Right, my dear Eva." Katarina said as she fold and put away her fan. "And now that the pontifex is summoning all the Hero/ine of Legend, it means that another crisis is upon us, and it is our duty to protect the world from evil."
"R… Right!" Eva said. "M… My parents protected the world from the Fallen Crisis before, a.. and now it's time for me to follow their path."
"And we also need to rescue Korben too." Ridley said. "Let's get ourselves prepared, Eva, Katarina. It's time for us to go to the ancient capital of Venturnome."
"Right." The Eevee and the Florges nodded in response to the Lucario.
-Several Hours Later…
'This must be the place… The forest near Venturnome City.' After several hours of running (and resting along the way), I had arrived at a small forest near the ancient capital of Venturnome. 'Next, I need to find a statue, then the statue should reveal the hidden passageway to inside the city...'
I spent the next 10 minutes searching the forest until I found what I was looking for, a statue in the middle of the forest… Or what it used to be. Right now, most of the statue was in ruins, leaving only the base and the 'feet' of the statue standing.
'This statue…' I started inspecting the statue. Other than the feet and the base, there wasn't much left to see. The only notable thing I found on the statue was the notable lump on the base, as well as the stone plate with faded words written on it.
F…st….c…he….y….r….m
A…mp… D…g…n….h….al….s…n….ov…it…th….F…ir…Pr…ce…
'... Those words…' I looked at the faded words on the stone plate. For some reason, I felt like those words somehow resonant with me, as if they meant something for me…
And then…
'… Wait…' I felt something flowing into my head again, just like back then, at Tower of the God. '… I remember now!'
"!"
"So, we finally met… Aleph, isn't it? The mysterious Silvally who is assisting the Hero/ine of Legend to fight the war against me and my dragon armies."
"… And you… You are the leader of the dragons, the one who started this war, the ultimate enemy of our quest… You are… the King of Emptiness…"
"King of Emptiness? So, that's what I am known as… Considering that almost the entire population of this world now see me as the ultimate evil, that is still such a tame name you gave me…"
"You… Because of you… Countless Pokemon had to die… The entire continent was turned into the war zone… How many more people would have to die until you are satisfied?!"
"… I don't know. I am merely a shell, the empty shell with no will on their own. I only exist as the proxy, the avatar of the Dragon God themselves. Their will is my will. If they want to turn the entire continent into the living hell… Then I am obliged to do so."
"How could you…"
"Aren't you the same as me, Aleph? Or should I call you Arceus' puppet instead?"
"!"
"You don't have a will on your own. You merely exist as Arceus' avatar, for Arceus to pretend to live a mortal life. You don't even have a soul of your own. With all of this, how could you even deny that we are the same as each other?"
"N… No… T… That's not…"
"You exist only as Arceus' puppet. I exist only as the Dragon God's puppet. Both of us have neither will nor soul of our own. You fight to protect the world, per Arceus' will. I fight to destroy it, per the Dragon God's will. We may seem like two sides of the same coin, but in the end, we both are still the same coin."
"Shut up… Shut up… SHUT UP!"
'Ah!'
I snapped back from the trance and returned to reality. It seemed like I had recovered even more of my past life's memory, and this time, it's about…
'…' I gazed at the ruined statue in front of me, and then looked at the stone plate at the base of the statue, at the faded words. Somehow, I was able to read the missing letters of the words now.
Frostic the Kyurem
An Empty Dragon Who Had Fallen In Love With the Fairy Princess
'Frostic… The King of Emptiness… And the final enemy of War of the God II…' I thought to myself, recalling the memory of my first encounter with the Kyurem. 'He was just like me… An empty shell with no will on their own…'
"That gent wast the puppet, the avatar of the Dragon God, aiming to bringeth upon the destruction of the w'rld." Arceus' voice was heard in my head again. "As a punishment f'r his action, I hadst did remove his ability to feeleth emotion, though yond actually didst nothing, f'r yond that gent wast just a puppet with nay soul since the starteth."
'…' I closed my eyes and thought of my encounter with the King of Emptiness. Both he and I had no soul. We both were just puppets for the gods. But now, I had gained my own soul, and I finally had a will of my own. I wondered…
"During War of the God III, the w'rld wast did attack by the Ancient Demon who is't aim'd to seize mine own pow'r and did rule the w'rld und'r his t'rr'r. Leaving with nay choice, Frostic did sacrifice himself to hath brought backeth the dragon god from their sealeth, und'r mine own p'rmission." Arceus continued speaking, as if they could read my mind. "Howev'r, the Dragon God still did allow Frostic to existeth as a diff'rent entity from their owneth, though those gents w're still m'rely a puppet to the Dragon God… Until that gent hath met Yggdrasil…"
'Yggdrasil?' I looked at the stone plate again. 'Then… The part about Frostic falling in love with the Fairy Princess…'
"… The st'ry of the King of Emptiness and the Fairy Princess... T wouldst beest bett'r if 't be true thee hath heard t from those folk directly…" Arceus said. "Aft'r all, the King of Emptiness is anon pactbound with one of thy comrades."
'Pactbound with… Wait…' Hearing Arceus' words reminded me of something, that the King of Emptiness, my ultimate enemy in the past life, was much closer to me than I thought. "If I remember correctly… Frostic the Kyurem… Is the pactbound Dragon Legend of Diego!"
"Correct, Sirius." Arceus said. "To bid the sooth, I findeth the action of Frostic f'rming a pact with a m'rtal... P'rplexing. I still haven't grasp his decision to f'rm a pact with a m'rtal, and if 't be true possible, i wouldst liketh to heareth t from his owneth that from which we speak."
'…' I closed my eyes and thought to myself. What did Arceus mean by all of that? And what was the story behind Frostic and Goddess Yggdrasil?
"Yond, howev'r, can waiteth, because thee has't did waste enow timeth h're." Arceus' voice brought me back from my train of thought. "T is anon timeth to wend, Sirius."
'Right…' I turned my attention to the ruined statue, to the weird lump on the base of it. After I pressed it, the statue started moving, revealing the entrance to the hidden passageway underneath!
'Time to go, but first...' I inspected the hidden passageway. The passageway was very dark, which made sense since they seemed to be completely underground. And so, in order to safely navigating through this place…
'!' I concentrated my power to the space in front of me, which caused a small sphere of light to appear in front of me! 'I did it!' I looked at the golden sphere of light that I summoned. The ability to summon it was one of the abilities I received from Arceus after I formed a back with them, which was why this sphere of light was similar to the one Arceus summoned when they used the move Judgement. My light sphere, however, was much smaller and couldn't harm anything. They could only be used as a source of light, which was more than enough in this case.
'Let's go.' I steered myself before I entered the hidden passageway.
The journey through the hidden passageway was short and uneventful. It took me about 30 minutes to run across the dark passageway. As expected from a hidden place, I didn't encounter anything along the way. No enemy. No usual stuffs. Nothing. Only the darkness. The only time I encountered something unusual was near the end, when I found a separated path, which led downstairs to somewhere below. I was curious and wanted to know what it led to, but I sensed a strong force coming there, and I didn't really have time for sidetracking, so I had to keep moving. And finally, I arrived at the staircase at the end that led upward. The exit, however, was closed, but it wasn't a problem since I easily found the switch to open the exit near the stair.
'At last…' I climbed the stair and exited the hidden passageway, and I found myself in…
If I had to describe the appearance of the place I was in right now in one word, it would be 'breathtaking'. This place was a park, like the one found in many major cities, except that most trees in the park was the Cherry Blossom trees, the symbol flower of Theocracy of Venturnome. Right now, it seemed to be the Cherry Blossom season, so the entire trees were covered in pink Cherry Blossom. The gentle breeze blowing through the park caused the petal of the Cherry Blossom to dance on the wind before they gracefully fell onto the ground. It was simply a breathtaking sight to see.
'This must be the Cherry Blossom Park…' I looked around the park as I exited the hidden passageway, which also started closing itself, just like when I entered the hidden passageway at the forest outside the city. 'This place really lived up to its name… It's full of Cherry Blossom every where…'
"… S… Sirius?!"
'!' I was startled when I heard the voice of someone calling my name. I quickly turned my attention to the source of the voice and saw that it came from behind the bushes not too far from me, and the owner of the voice was none other than…
'Freya!' I quickly approached the bush and jumped behind it. Here, I found myself in an unexpected reunion with the Flygon, one of my comrades.
"I… It is really you, Sirius!" Freya said with a relieved voice. "I… I am so glad to see you alright! Thanks the god and the goddess!"
'Heh…' I couldn't help but chuckle to the Flygon's words, as the part of her words about 'thanking the god' was actually more true than she thought.
"And… You look different too… Y… You no longer have that scary mask on your face, and I could see your head now, but your body still looks the same." Freya said as she looked at me. "I… I saw you exiting through the hidden passageway, a… and it took me a while to recognize you…"
'Right. I have broken the accursed mask and regained my true power.' I nodded to the Flygon.
"B… But wait…" Freya continued speaking. "If you are here, then… Where's Korben?! I… Is he with you?"
'… I'm sorry.' I shook my head to the Flygon in an apologic way.
"Oh, no… So, Korben was lost too…" Freya said. "Which means… It's only just three of us now…"
'Three?' At this point, I just noticed that me and Freya weren't the only one around here, as another Pokemon, a Draconic Lapras, was also here too, though…
"…" Snow didn't look at me or Freya. Instead, his eyes looked into the distance, as if he was deeply in thought.
"S… Snow!" Freya called out the Draconic Lapras.
"Ah!" The Flygon's voice brought the Draconic Lapras back to reality. "Please pardon me for being lost in my own thought. What do you need, Freya?"
"S… Sirius is here, Snow…" Freya said before she directed her attention to me.
"Sirius?" The Draconic Lapras turned his attention to me, gazing directly at my head. "… So… You somehow got your mask removed, and I have to express my congratulation to you, for that even I could see that that mask must be very uncomfortable for you."
'Yeah, you could say that again…' I thought to myself as I looked at the Draconic Lapras. Despite that he was looking at me, his eyes seemed to be distant, as if he was still not out of trance.
"A… Anyway…" Freya spoke up again. "I was with my brother for our journey to Venturnome City. Since we couldn't pass through the city gate, we contacted Anastasia, and she told us about the hidden passageway. I used that passageway to come here, but my brother insisted to stay behind and told me to go ahead. I eventually ended up here and met up with Snow, but my brother never shows up…"
"… As for me…" Snow spoke up after a while. "I have been staying in Cherry Blossom Park… Along with Anastasia, for a few days now. However, we… separated for just a few minutes… And the next thing I know, she was nowhere to be found… And I was alone until Freya showed up."
'Zetarus and Anastasia… It seems like both of them were lost too…' I thought to myself after hearing the story from Freya and Snow. '9 of us, Claura, Diego, Baromyteus, Xavier, Rachael, Richard, Zetarus, Anastasia, and Korben, are lost to us. Richard said that someone is trying to get in our way. Does 'someone' like that really exist? Is there really someone behind the disappearance of the Pendragon? No… That might be true for 8 of us, but not for Korben. After all, Korben wasn't 'kidnapped' in the same way as others. Instead, he was arrested by the Knight of Yggdrasil…'
'But what if… Korben's arrest was part of someone's plan to get in our way?' I continued thinking. 'Korben's arrest is unlawful no matter how look at it, since it's already proved beyond any doubt that Korben is innocent, and yet they pinned the crime on him. What if this isn't just the Temple of Yggdrasil being its corrupted self, but someone else was using Archbishop Zira's death to subdue Korben. If that's true, then not only Korben, but the other members of the Pendragon must also be somewhere in Venturnome City too. And the most suspicious place is the headquarter of the Temple of Yggdrasil, Venturnome Palace.'
'But still… This doesn't sound right…' I thought even more. 'If they really want to kidnap us Pendragon, then why didn't they already kidnap Freya and Snow? After all, Freya was alone when she travelled through the hidden passageway, and Snow was alone after Anastasia disappeared, until both of them met up with each other. And even so… Freya and Snow are pretty much the weakest among the Pendragon, and the kidnapper is someone who is strong enough to kidnap both Baromyteus and Xavier together. Why didn't they kidnap Freya and Snow? Or maybe… It is not the matter of why they didn't kidnap them. It is a matter of they could not kidnap them, which creates another question of why they can't kidnap them…'
"So… What should we do next?" Freya spoke up, bringing my attention back to the reality. "It's just three of us here."
"… We have zero lead of where everyone else might be…" Snow spoke up with a thoughtful voice. "This won't be easy…"
"If only we could contact any of them…" Freya said. "But I didn't form a pact with any Legendary Pokemon like my brother and others."
"So do I." Snow said.
'And I won't be useful here, since my pact can't be use to contact others… Wait a minute…' I thought after hearing the words of the Flygon and the Draconic Lapras. 'Freya and Snow… One thing they have in common is that they don't have a pact with Legendary Pokemon. Could that be the reason why they didn't get kidnap? That… might actually explain my case too, as I was without any pact until recently, and even so, my pact isn't the standard pact like everyone too. Then, does it mean that the kidnapper isn't trying to kidnap the Pendragon, but they are trying to kidnap the pactbound Pokemon instead?'
And why I was losing in my own thought…
"… Can you three hear me?"
'!?'
"A… Ah!?"
"Hm?!"
Suddenly, I heard a voice speaking to me inside my head, and it seemed like both Freya and Snow also heard it too. The voice was cold and emotionless, and yet somehow…
"If you three could hear me, then listen well to me." The voice continued speaking. "Do not afraid of me. In fact, I am your ally, for that I am pactbound to one of your comrades."
"P… Pactbound with one of our comrades…" Freya repeated the words we just heard. "W… Who are you, then?!"
"That isn't important now. What is more important is that my champion, along with the rest of your comrades, are in danger." The voice continued speaking. "They were kidnapped by someone… Someone who is strong enough to sabotage the link between me and my champion, as well as between other Dragon Legend and their champions. Luckily, I can still contact with you three, for that you three aren't far from me, and yet it took me a while to finally reach out to you three."
"W… Who is that 'someone'? And where is everyone right now?" Freya asked.
"I don't exactly know who they are, except that they are also another pactbound Pokemon like my champion, and they are very powerful creature." The voice answered. "As for where they are… They are currently at a place called Starlight Theatre in the ancient capital. I must ask that you three to head there and rescue my champion and other pactbound Pokemon at once."
"S… Starlight Theatre? Got it." Freya said. "But… Could you at least tell me who you are. please?"
"… There is no need for that." The voice said. "If you and your friends are still directed toward your goal, then we will meet each other again soon. For now, go!"
"W… Wait!" Freya tried to call out to the mysterious voice, but it was no use. We could no longer hear the mysterious voice, and I could no longer sense any connection with the owner of the mysterious voice earlier.
"So… Everyone is at Starlight Theatre… " Snow spoke up. "But should we just believe in that voice? What if the owner of that voice is actually the one who kidnapped everyone? This might be a trap set for the three of us."
"… But we don't really have any choice…" Freya said. "This is the only lead we got right now, and even if it's a trap, it's still better than nothing, and we might still get a lead from this."
"… You are right." Snow said. "Then, let us depart. I have studied the map of Venturnome City during my time after arriving here, so I know its location, and it isn't far from this park either."
"I see." Freya said. "Lead the way, Snow."
"Hm" The Draconic Lapras nodded before he started heading toward the exit of Cherry Blossom Park, with Freya and me following him behind.
But still…
'That voice earlier…' I thought as I followed behind Snow. 'I have heard it before, just very recently too. Who could that be? And why are they here?'
A Moment Later…
Following Snow's lead, the three of us navigated through the streets of Venturnome City, avoiding as many Pokemon as Freya was the princess of Dustorm Empire while Snow and I weren't exactly 'normal', so other Pokemon seeing us might lead to future problem. The ancient capital of Venturnome was one of the biggest and the most important cities on the entire continent of Symmetria due to the fact that it used to be one of two capitals of Symmetria before the Fallen Crisis, which was before the seven nations came to existence. According to what Richard told me, Venturnome City used to be the capital of the Continent of Luminus, which was one of three continents that survived the Apocalypse. After Luminus was merged with the Continent of Origia and the Continent of Mytherel during War of the God III into Symmetria, Venturnome City became the capital of the newly-merged Symmetria alongside Gamma City, the capital of Origia. Despite that both of them were named the capital of pre-Fallen Crisis Symmetria, the ruling house of Symmetria didn't locate on any of two. Instead, it's located on Purgust Sky Isle, which used to be the capital of the Continent of Mytherel pre-War of the God III.
Due to the difference in cultures, structures, and society, Venturnome City was known as the Ancient Capital while Gamma City was known as the Civilized Capital. After the Fallen Crisis, Symmetria was divided into seven nation, with Venturnome City becoming the capital of Theocracy of Venturnome while Gamma City becoming the capital of Republic of Civilight. Meanwhile, Purgust Sky Isle fell down onto the ground after the Fallen Crisis, becoming Windsky Plateau, and it became a part of Theocracy of Venturnome until it was conquered by Dustorm Empire during War over the Windsky Plateau.
"Here we are."
At last, the three of us stood in the alley next to a large building located not too far from Cherry Blossom Park. Most parts of this building were made from wood in an exotic style of Venturnome, except for its roof, which was made into a dome.
"This is the Starlight Theatre, the national theatre of Venturnome." Snow explained. "It is one of the must-see places if you want to witness a performing art. The Starlight Theatre itself specializes on a stage show, and Pokemon from around the entire continent would come to this theatre to watch the best show of the entire continent."
'Which means that there would be a lot of Pokemon inside…' I thought as I looked at the entrance of the theatre from the alley. 'Such a strange place for the kidnapper to keep everyone else in. Why didn't they choose a less crowded place to hide everyone? Or is there a reason why they keep everyone here?'
"S… So… What should we do next?" Freya spoke up with a concerned voice. "W… We couldn't just enter the theatre through the front entrance, could we?"
"Absolutely not." Snow said. "And I doubt any of us is dexterous enough to enter through windows, not that I could see any."
"M… Maybe there's a back entrance that we can use…" Freya said.
"Maybe there is, but it would either be guarded or locked." Snow said.
"A… At least let us go and find it." Freya said and started walking toward the back of the theatre.
"… I guess we don't have any choice." Snow followed the Flygon.
'…' I was about to follow them when I noticed something in front of the theatre. I saw five Pokemon standing in front of the theatre. They were a Sceptile in Leafburg Samurai armor suit, a Scyther in Leafburg Ninja cloak, a Heliolisk in a modern cloth, a Feraligatr in a pirate uniform, and an Aggron in heavy armor suit, which I immediately recognized.
'Grimlock?!' I thought as I looked at the Aggron and the four other Pokemon in front of Starlight Theatre. 'Why is he here?! Eva said that he went to Venturnome border to get the four other Pokemon, which must be those four, but then, why are they here? Shouldn't they go to Solar Village instead—'
"Sirius? Come, quick!" Freya's voice called me.
'Ah!' Realizing that I had been standing there thinking, I snapped out of my thought and ran to join up with the two. The last thing I saw of the five in front of the theatre was them entering the Starlight Theatre, but I wasn't aware of their conversation after I left.
"…"
"… Is there something wrong, Viola?" The Aggron asked after noticing the Heliolisk staring at the alley next to the theatre instead of following others into the theatre.
"… I think I saw… No, it's nothing." The Heliolisk shook her head before following the Aggron and others into the theatre. "Let's get this over it."
-A Few Minutes Later…
"Who would have thought…" Snow mumbled.
The three of us stood in the small alley behind the theatre. In front of us was the door that seemed to be the back entrance into the theatre. Unlike what Snow said earlier, there was no one guarding the door (in fact, there was NO ONE around here at all.), no security camera, and the door was…
'…' I grabbed the doorknob with my insect-like paw and turned it, causing the door to easily open.
"They didn't even lock the door?" Snow said. "Now this is unusual. Very, very unusual. This really looks like a trap."
"I… I agree with you, Snow." Freya said. "W… What should we do?"
'…' I looked at the door led into the theatre. Snow was right. This was definitely a trap, but we didn't have any other choice, and the more we wait, the more danger we might expose everyone to.
So… There's only one thing we could do now, and since I hadn't learnt how to use Telepathy properly yet...
"Sirius?" Freya spoke up as she noticed me walking toward the door as if I would enter it. Then I stopped and used my paw to point at myself then at the door, before using my paw to point at Snow and Freya and then pointed at the alley.
"Wait…" Freya seemed to get what I tried to say. "Are you suggesting that you will enter alone and have me and Snow wait outside?!"
'Yes.' I nodded to the Flygon with a firm look on my face. Well, at least expressing myself through my face was way easier now.
"Y… You can't do that!" Freya exclaimed. "That's too dangerous!"
'Yes, it is very dangerous, but we don't have any choice.' I stood still with a firm look on my face, trying to reassure the Flygon.
"A… At least let one of us coming with you." Freya said.
'No…' I shook my head to the Flygon. 'Our enemy is strong enough to kidnap both Baromyteus and Xavier at the same time, so you two would be an easy target for the enemy.'
"Sirius…" Freya said with a concerned voice.
"… You are either very brave or very stupid, Sirius." Snow spoke up. "I can see that you are smarter than average Pokemon, so you must have a plan. Unfortunately, neither Freya nor I could understand you…"
'Yeah. That's the problem…' I thought after hearing Snow's words.
"… However, given that we don't have any choice, I'll place my trust on you, Sirius." Snow finished his words.
'!'
"S… Snow?!" Freya looked at the Draconic Lapras.
"As I said, we don't really have any other choice." Snow looked at the Flygon. "Beside, among the three of us, Sirius is the strongest, while you and I are more of a support, and we aren't strong either."
"True…" Freya said. "If we go in, we would be more of a burden than a help."
'Freya… Snow… I am sorry.' I lowered my head in an apologic manner.
"But how about this?" Snow spoke up. "If you go in and didn't come out in an hour, then Freya and I will follow you inside."
"T… That would do." Freya said. "I couldn't just stand still and do nothing."
'Okay.' I nodded to the Flygon and the Draconic Lapras.
"Then, good luck, and please be safe..." Freya said.
"Be careful, Sirius." Snow said.
'…' I nodded to both of them before I turned my attention to the door, steering myself and heading into the theatre.
-Meanwhile…
"So… This is the Starlight Theatre." Ridley spoke up. Right now, the Lucario, the Eevee, and the Florges were standing in front of the most famous theatre of the entire continent, Starlight Theatre.
"Impressive, isn't it?" Katarina said. "This place is one of the pride and joy of our Theocracy of Venturnome. I have been here several times, and the stage shows of this place never disappointed me. Every show here is a show of a lifetime."
"I see…" Ridley said. "Should we head inside now? We shouldn't keep our host waiting too long."
"R… Right…" Eva said. "L… Let's go…"
The Lucario, the Eevee, and the Florges entered the theatre, finding themselves in the large foyer of the theatre. The foyer was decorated in the traditional Venturnome style. There were several Pokemon in the foyer, most of them were in elegant and high-end clothes, and they all talking about the show that they would either about to watch or already watched.
"There are so many Pokemon here." Ridley commented. "And they seem to be Pokemon with high social status."
"Spectacular, isn't it?" Katarina said. "Most patrons of the theatre are either rich Pokemon or nobles. The ticket for one show here costs a fortune, after all."
"W… Wow…" Eva looked around the theatre.
"Welcome to Starlight Theatre."
A voice greeted the trio. It came from a Clefable in a traditional kimono with star-pattern.
"You three must be Ridley Couraura the Lucario, Eva Daystar the Eevee, and Lady Katarina Pixillia the Florges." The Clefable did a curtsy. "We have been expecting you three."
"Hohoho!" Katarina unfolded her fan to shield her face and laughed. "It seems like we are the esteem guests today."
"Indeed you are." The Clefable said. "You three are the Pontifex's guests, after all, and he had reserved the Celestial Chamber of the theatre for himself and his guests."
"Celestial Chamber?" Ridley repeated the words he just heard.
"Please allow me to explain. Our Starlight Theatre has several chambers, each with their own stage and seatings, so that we could house several shows at the same time." The Clefable explained. "We have everything from the Standard Chambers, the VIP Chambers, and the best and the most special chamber of the theatre, the Celestial Chamber, which is where the Pontifex has reserved for his guests today."
"So… The pontifex has reserved the best chamber for us? What an honor!" Ridley said.
"Now, please allow me to escort you to the Celestial Chamber." The Clefable did a curtsy to the trio while also gestured her paw toward the elevator.
"Okay." The trio nodded to the Clefable.
The Clefable led Ridley, Eva and Katarina to the elevator, which brought the four of them to the highest floor of the theatre. After leaving the elevator, they found themselves in a hallway with a single large door at the end.
"The three of you are the last of pontifex's guests to arrive." The Clefable said as she led the trio to the door at the end of the hall way. "The pontifex has informed us earlier that the show will be ready soon. For now, please relax and enjoy yourself, and don't hesitate to call us if you need anything."
"I see." Katarina said. "Thank you for your help."
The Clefable did another curtsy before she walked toward the elevator and took it to go back, leaving the trio at the hallway.
"So…" Ridley spoke up. "She said that we are the last to arrive. That means everyone else, other Hero/ine of Legend, are here too."
"T… Then…" Eva said. "T… That means my brither and others are here… I… I am kinda nervous…"
"Yes. They must also be here, just beyond this door." Katarina said. "Now, let us not waste anymore time. It's time to greet our new comrades."
The trio nodded to each other before they opened the door and headed inside.
The trio of Lucario, Eevee, and Florges found themselves in a large chamber decorated with several luxurious furnitures and trinkets. True to its name, the chamber was decorated with the theme of night sky. However, the chamber itself paled when compared to the Pokemon that were already inside the room. As the trio entered the chamber, they found that 13 other Pokemon were already in the chamber. Not too far from the entrance of the chamber was a group consisted of a Sceptile in a Leafburg Samurai armor suit, a Scyther in a Leafburg Ninja cloak, a Helioptile in a modern cloth, an Aggron in a heavy armor suit, and a Feraligatr in a pirate uniform, all which were talking to each other. On the left side of the chamber was another group consisted of a Charizard in a traditional shaman cloth, a Tyrantrum in a battle armor suit, and an Aurorus in a regal dress. On the right side of the chamber was a group of a Garchomp in a suit, a Dragalge in a simple dress, an Alolan Marowak in an armor suit made from bone, and an Aerodactyl in a light armor suit. Finally, on the other side of the chamber was a Zoroark in a dark clothing who was standing alone, away from everyone else.
"Hey, you make it!"
The first one who spoke up was the Aggron, who greeted the trio as they walked into the chamber and joined up with him and others.
"H… How are you, brother?" Eva greeted her elder brother.
"I am good." Grimlock said to his younger sister. "How about you?"
"I… I am good too." Eva replied.
"Glad to hear that." Grimlock said before he turned his attention o Ridley. "Nice to see you here too, Ridley."
"You too, Grimlock." Ridley said before he turned his attention to the four other Pokemon who were standing beside the Aggron. "And it's also nice to see you all again, Jasper, Zenpai, Viola, Bismarck."
"Good to see you too, Ridley." The Feraligatr greeted with a cheerful voice.
"Hm." The Heliolisk nodded in response to the Lucario. "A lot has passed since the last time we saw each other."
"Yes." The Sceptile spoke up. "And it's always nice to see you all again."
"… Which means something terrible might happen soon…" The Scyther spoke up as he glanced at the rest of the chamber, in which everyone else seemed to already notice the presence of the Lucario, Eevee, and the Florges "… Since the Hero/ine of Legend are gathering here."
"Right…" Ridley said. "I wonder why the Pontifex call us here."
"Who knows." The Heliolisk shrugged.
"And that makes 16."
"What?" Everyone seemed to be taken aback by the voice of someone suddenly spoke up, and it didn't take very long for everyone to realize that the voice came from the Pokemon who was standing alone, away from everyone else.
"I'm talking about us. There are 16 of us—all of different types." The Zoroark said with his eyes closed, arms crossed, and his body leaning on the wall of the chamber. "What do you think that mean?"
"Y… You?!" Katarina said with an upset voice as she noticed the presence of the Zoroark.
"Let me tell you what it means, then…" The Zoroark opened his eyes, stood up normally, and turned his attention to everyone else. "If all of us gather at the top of Tower of the God, the almighty Arceus will descend down and bestow us his blessing, granting us any wish we desire, in exchange for being cursed to lose something in our life."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Oh? It seems like none of you find my joke humorous." The Zoroark chuckled. "My apology. My words are entirely impossible, for that all of us here already received the blessing from the omnipotent god, didn't we?"
"Hm!" Katarina concealed her face with her unfolded fan. "Still the same unpleasant Pokemon as ever…"
"… I think that's enough." Another voice was heard by everyone. This time, it was a regal and powerful voice full of authority from the Garchomp in a suit. "There are 16 of us here, indeed, but the reason why we are here, being summoned by the pontifex of Venturnome, is because we all share the same duty toward this world, for that we inherited the Blood of Legend from our ancestors. We are… the Hero/ine of Legend."
The sound of mumbling was heard throughout the chamber as the Pokemon inside mumbled to themselves or to their friends after hearing the words of the Garchomp.
"Before we go any further, I think we should introduce ourselves first, for that we are now comrades in our future ordeal." The Garchomp continued speaking. "My name is Terrus Quakersand the Garchomp. I am the first prince and the current emperor of Dustorm Empire, succeeding my late father. But you all may simply call me Terrus. I am the Hero of Ground type, and my sacred weapon is the Garnet Blade."
"My name is Natasha Venomist the Dragalge." The Dragalge next to Terrus spoke up with a calm voice. "I am the first princess of Dustorm Empire and Terrus' younger sister, but you may call me Natasha too. I am the Heroine of Poison type, and my sacred weapon is the Beryl Whip."
"And I am Largo Boneskull the Alolan Marowak." The Alolan Marowak who stood next to Natasha spoke up with a strong voice. "I am the sec—no, third prince of Dustorm Empire, as well as the younger brother of Terrus and Natasha. Again, no title needed for me. I am the Hero of Ghost type, and my sacred weapon is the Zircon Club."
"As for me, my name is Soryl Hurricloud the Aerodactyl." The Aerodactyl who stood near the Dustorm siblings spoke up with a calm voice. "I am the son of Windsky Plateau's elder, as well as Emperor Terrus' retainer. I am the Hero of Flying type, and my sacred weapon is the Amethyst Chakram."
"… I am Misvale Tundrafrost the Aurorus." Seeing that the four Pokemon on the right side of the room had finished their introduction, one of three Pokemon on the left side of the room spoke up with a gentle voice. "I am the current queen of Queendom of Riverbrine, but I would be glad if you all simply call me Misvale. I am the Heroine of Ice type, and my sacred weapon is the Lapis Parasol."
"The name's Chronos Orestone the Tyrantrum!" The Tyrantrum next to Misvale spoke up with a strong and heavy voice. "I used to be just a part-time gladiator at Flame Arena, but not I serve as Val—I mean, Queen Misvale's bodyguard. I am the Hero of Rock type, and my sacred weapon is the Citrine Hammer."
"… I am Dinus Novaflare the Charizard." The Charizard next to the Tyrantrum spoke up with a calm voice. "I am the current volcano guardian of Fireview Kingdom, inheriting the role from my late father. I am the Hero of Fire type, and my sacred weapon is the Ruby Spear."
"… My turn. My name is Jasper Floratree the Sceptile." After the second group finished their introduction, the Sceptile in the group near the entrance of the chamber spoke up with a calm voice. "I am a swordman of Principality of Leafburg and the one who inherited the cursed blade from my late father. I am the Hero of Grass type, and my sacred weapon is the Emerald Katana."
"… Zenpai Bugslash the Scyther." The Scyther next to Jasper spoke up with a hushed voice. "A ninja and the third son of my village's Hokage, and… That's all. I am the Hero of Bug type, and my sacred weapon is the Peridot Kunai."
"I am Viola Sparkvolt the Heliolisk." The Heliolisk next to Jasper and Zenpai spoke up with a calm voice. "I am the leader of the rebel group in Republic of Civilight, aiming to purge the corruption of my homeland. I am the Heroine of Electric type, and my sacred weapon is the Topaz Crossbow."
"Me? The name's Bismarck Aquamarine the Feraligatr." The Feraligatr next to the Heliolisk spoke up. "I used to be the leader of a infamous pirate group in the Riverbrine Archipelago called Seacross, but that was a history. Nowaday I just assist Viola in whatever she's doing. I am the Hero of Water type, and my sacred weapon is the Sapphire Axe."
"I am Grimlock Rusteel the Aggron." The Aggron next to Bismarck spoke up with a strong voice. "I was once a gang leader in Gamma City of Civlight, but now I stay at Solar Village dojo alongside my sister and used to work as an unofficial Knight of Yggdrasil… until one week ago. I am the Hero of Steel type, and my sacred weapon is the Quartz Bazooka."
"I… I… I am Eva Daystar the Eevee…" After the five Pokemon finished their introduction, it's now the turn of the newly-arrived trio. The first one who spoke up was the Eevee with a nervous voice. "I… I… I am… a Priest of Yggdrasil at T… Temple of Yggdrasil at the S… Solar Village to the south, and I am also Grimlock's younger sister. I am the Heroine of Normal type, and my sacred weapon is the Amber Staff."
"Ho! Ho! Ho! My turn, isn't it? My name is Lady Katarina Pixillia the Florges." The Florges next to Eva folded the fan that she used to cover her face earlier and spoke up with sharp voice. "I am the heir to the esteem Pixillia family of Theocracy of Venturnome, and me myself is a magistrate-in-training. You all may call me Lady Katarina, but I also don't mind if you simply call me Katarina. I am the Heroine of Fairy type, and my sacred weapon is the Tourmaline Fan."
"Hi, everyone. My name is Ridley Couraura the Lucario." The Lucario next to the Florges and the Eevee spoke up with energetic voice. "I am the son of the Hero of Justice, and the current master of Solar Village dojo, though I still have a long way to go to be as good as my father. I am the Hero of Fighting type, and my sacred weapon is the Crystal Pole."
"… And the final one here would be me, isn't it?" The Zoroark who stood away from everyone else spoke up with sinister voice after seeing that everyone else had finished their introduction. "My name is Fenrir Illunight Jr. the Zoroark. I am the current Chancellor of the land of darkness, Shadowlost Territory. Oh, and I guess I am the elder brother of the Lucario over there too. I am the Hero of Dark type, and my sacred weapon is the Jasper Scythe, not to be confused with the Hero of Grass type over there, of course."
"That really make it 16, isn't it?" Soryl spoke up after everyone had finished introducing themselves. "Though it seemed like we still miss 2 more Hero/ine of Legend to make it 18."
"The one who invited all of us here is the current pontifex of Venturnome, isn't it?" Katarina spoke up. "He is the Hero of Psychic type, as far as I know."
"That make it 17." Dinus spoke up. "Which means we still miss the last type, the Dragon type."
"That… might prove to be difficult…" Natasha spoke up. "From what I learnt about the Hero/ine of Legend, the former generation of Hero/ine of Legend, the one who saved Symmetria from the Fallen Crisis, consisted of 1 Hero and 1 Heroine of Dragon type. However, both had betrayed the rest of the Hero/ine of Legend, as well as the entire world, and they paid the ultimate price for that."
"… I also heard that they disappeared after the Fallen Crisis, after being defeated by the former generation of Hero/ine of Legend." Grimlock spoke up. "No one know where they are right now, or even if they are still alive or not. In either case, I doubt that either of them or their descendant, if they have one, would serve as the Hero/ine of Dragon type right now."
"Which means we don't know the identity of the current Hero/ine of Dragon type, or where they are right now." Viola said. "That's gonna be a pain."
"Indeed. That's such a sad turn of event." Terrus spoke up. "From what I found after studying the history of this world, since War of the God II, there were never the case that all Hero/ine of Legend are together at the same time, whether it be the Twilight Crisis, the Daybreak Crisis, the Fallen Crisis, or even War of the God III. This could be the first time in the modern history that every Hero/ine of Legend are reunited…"
"But the fact that 17 out of 18 Hero/ine of Legend are here is already impressive enough, isn't it?" Ridley spoke up.
"… Which also means that something terrible, really, really terrible is about to happen." Fenrir Jr. spoke up. "The Fallen Crisis had 14 Hero/ine of Legend, not counting the two traitors. Now we have 17. That means the crisis that is looming toward us is going to be a large one, even larger than the Fallen Crisis. Maybe it might be the end of the world…"
"Don't you dare jinx it!" Katarina spoke up.
"… Whatever might be, the pontifex of Venturnome seems to know about it." Zenpai spoke up. "After all, that must be why he's summoning all of us here."
"And it looks like… It's about to start." Viola said.
Everyone's attention was turned to the large curtain at the wall opposite of the entrance of the chamber, near where Fenrir Jr was standing. The curtain slowly opened itself, revealing the area concealed by darkness surrounding it, though everyone could faintly see a stage in the darkness.
"Yeah." Bismarck said. "It's showtime."
-Meanwhile…
It's been almost half an hour since when I started infiltrating Starlight Theatre. The front of the theatre might seem to be crowded, but the back was almost voided of any Pokemon. That, coupled with the fact that I no longer had an accursed mask weighting me down, made it easy for me to sneak around… Too easy, in fact. This was definitely a trapped, and that was why I decided to enter this place alone. It would be easier to sneak around this way, and it wouldn't bring Snow and Freya into harm too.
So far, I have investigated the basement of the theatre. After all, basement was the most obvious and suspicious place for hiding dark secrets. However, all I could find about the basement was that it was used as storage to store props, stage sets, uniforms, and all other stuffs related to the stage show. So, I moved on to investigate each floor of the theatre one by one. Of course, I couldn't directly investigate most chambers on each floor as they were used for the show right now, so I only managed to investigate the back stage of each chamber, but I still didn't find anything suspicious.
'… They wouldn't hide something in such a place like this…' I thought as I sneaked around to the the higher floor of the theatre. 'Most chambers are always used for stage show. They wouldn't risk hiding them in a place where people come and go. They would have to hide them in a place that isn't used often, which leaves…'
I stopped at the end of the stairs as I found myself on the highest floor of the theatre. From what I gathered earlier, the earliest floor only contained one chamber, the Celestial Chamber, which was reserved for people of the highest social status, or people with the heaviest bag of money, which meant this chamber was rarely used for a stage show comparing to other chambers.
'This is definitely a place worth investigating…' I thought as I approached the backdoor of the Celestial Chamber. The top floor, like any other floors of the theatre, had 2 stairways leading to it. However, unlike other floors, each stairs only led to one side of the floor, the front and the back, and the only way to go between the front and the back of the floor was through the Celestrial Chamber themselves. This made it easy for me to use the stairway in the back to go up to the top floor without anyone noticing.
'As I though, there's no one around here… If this chamber is used today, there would be the staffs preparing the show around here right now already…' I thought as I stopped in front of the back door of the Celestial Chamber. 'Well, it's showtime.' I slowly opened the backdoor, trying to make as little noise as possible, and entered the back stage of Celestial Chamber.
'…'
'…'
'…'
Dark… It's so dark… That was what I felt as soon as the backdoor was closed after I entered the Celestial Chamber. Unlike the other chamber, where the light from the front of the stage would seeped to the back, allowing me to see things around. However, for this place, I couldn't see anything at all. It was like I was walking in the cave with no exit, in the depth of the deepest ocean trench, in the black hole with no light.
'Why… is it so dark here?' I thought as I carefully stepped around, feeling myself in the darkness. 'Should I summon the light sphere? No… If there's someone here, it would alert my presence to them…'
I continued walking around, using my paw to feel the way in the darkness. After a few more minutes, my eyes started to adjust to the darkness, and now I can faintly see the place I found myself in.
'Wait…' I looked around myself, trying to see through the darkness. 'How did I—'
"This world is but a stage, and every living creature is but an actor."
"Click!"
'!'
Suddenly, the darkness was expelled as the spotlights above were turned on, shining the light onto the room below. This action took me by surprised, and it took me a few seconds to adjust to the sudden brightness. That was when I saw that I was now standing on the stage, which was also the same thing that I realized right before the spotlights were turned on. This puzzled me as I didn't remembered myself walking up the stairs or through the curtain. However, that still paled comparing to what I witnessed in front of me right now'
'!'
In front of me were a group of Pokemon. There were 9 of them in total. The first glance could tell that one thing they all had in common was that they all were Dragon type Pokemon, as they were consisted of a Kingdra, a Mega Charizard, a Shiny Haxorus, a Dragonite, a Latios, a Latias, a Garchomp, a Goodra, and a Kommo-o…
'E… Everyone?!' That's right. It wasn't a mistake. The group of Pokemon right in front of me was my missing comrades! All of them had been missing for some times, and now I had finally found them!
Except that…
'Wait…' Almost at the same second that I recognized my missing comrades, I realized that there was something very, very wrong with them. First of all, their bearing, the way they stood, was unnatural. They all looked as if they were like dolls that were made to stand up. Second, all of them were just standing there, on the other side of the stage, looking right at me. They didn't move at all, even after seeing me. And lastly… All of them had their face concealed by something. It was a mask, the same kind of mask that was commonly used on the stage show. The masks they wore were black and had a frown expression.
"Each living creature, like every actor on the stage, was assigned the role since when their 'story' started."
Not long after the spotlights were turned on, the 9 Pokemon in front of me started moving, and they didn't seem to be friendly to me at all!
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the finale, the final show, of this chapter, on this very stage! What will be the outcome of this? The stars know everything."
The Puppet Master's Marionettes
Korben Couraura the Kommo-o
Claura Pulsawhirl the Kingdra
Xavier Stormwing the Dragonite
Anastasia Wyrmscale the Goodra
Baromyteus Drawyvern the Shiny Haxorus
Diego Pyrotorch the Mega Charizard X
Zetarus Quakersand the Garchomp
Rachael Lustermist the Latias
Richard Lustermist the Latios
'… Do I really have to fight everyone here? GRRRR!' I thought to myself as Baromyteus started attacking me by slashing me with his sword, in which I easily dodged, only for Claura to appear behind my back and strike me with her anchor, knocking me backward.
'It's just me against 9 Pokemon here… This will be tough…' I didn't have a lot of time to recover as Diego attacked me with his naginaga, trying to pin me down onto the floor, but I managed to dodge that.
'Also, I can't just attack them. That would surely hurt them, and we are still in a dangerouws territory too.' This time, I had to dodge several long range attacks, from Zetarus' bullets and the magic attack from Rachael and Richard.
'Which means… I need to subdue them instead. Sorry about this, everyone.' I thought while scanning my opponents, trying to find the one who was an easy target. Baromyteus, Diego, Claura, Xavier, and Korben were all trained frontline fighters, so they would be tough. Zetarus, Rachael, and Richard weren't as much of a frontline fighters as the rest, but they stayed in the back, which meant I needed to break to the frontline to attack them. That just left…
'…' I turned my attention toward Anastasia. She was standing between the frontline fighters and the backline fighters. Despite being a support, she didn't seem to be inexperience in direct combat, as if she had an experience wielding a real weapon before. Nevertheless, I charged toward the Goodra with my head aim at her, attacking her with the move Iron Head.
"!" The attack seemed to work as Anastasia staggered back from my attack. However, that was when Zetarus barraged me with bullets, forcing me to put a distance from the Goodra again.
'…' I tried to catch my break as I got back to my starting position, trying to analyze the situation again. From the start, everything about this was weird, and now I had seen one unusual thing. I attacked Anastasia, but the one who counterattacked me was Zetarus. Normally, it should be Baromyteus who attacked anyone who hurted his sister.
'… None of them is themselves right now.' That was a conclusion that I arrived at.
Before Anastasia could recover, I charged at her again. This time, however, she was able to dodge my attack, causing me to ram into Richard in the back instead!
'!' Richard staggered back from my Iron Head attack. That, however caused him to drop someone onto the floor.
It was a box containing something inside, and I felt myself getting drawn to it, so I grabbed it with my mouth before jumping backward as Rachael attacked me with her magic.
'Now, what could this be?' After landing onto the back, I opened the box I got from Richard. Inside the box were several flat, round objects that looked like disks, in which I remembered that they were the same disks Zetarus discovered earlier and brought them to Richard. And if I remember correctly…
'…' I grabbed the box with my mouth before throwing it upward, causing the disks to scatter from the box… 17 disks in total. However, instead of scattering everywhere on the stage, the disks all hovered toward me, in which at the same time I felt a part of my body next to my head opened up, and the disks were going inside, one by one, until all 17 disks went inside my head!
'!' As each disk, each Memory, entered my head, I felt strange sensations coursing through my body, from hot, chilly, happy, gloomy, angry, depressing, etc. After the final Memory entered my head, I felt one final sensation. It was a surge of strength, as if I had just received a tremendous power that let me do anything in this world! However, before I could analyze the new sensations I received, Baromyteus attacked me with Dragon Claw, and I was too slow to dodge too!
"…" I received… no damage at all from his attack, and at the same time I felt a light and supple sensation inside my body. It took me a while to recognize what it was. Somehow, I had transformed into a Fairy type!
'Those Memories…' I thought as I tried to concentrate in my head, feeling the light sensation disappeared, replacing with the sensation of power and bravery. I had become a Fighting type Pokemon. 'They… They let me change my type at will!'
I looked at the 9 opponents in front of me, feeling a new surge of confident emerging in my body. 'Time to tip the scale!'
I changed into Fairy type again and striked Baromyteus with my claw, attacking him with the move Multi-Attack, which also changed its type to match my type too. The attack was powerful enough to send Baromyteus backward, but I didn't have a lot of time to celebrate as Zetarus suddenly charged forward, trying to hit me with the move Iron Head. The Garchomp's speed was too fast for me to dodge, so I switched to Water type to lessen the damage done to me, before quickly switching into Ground type as Richard did a follow-up attack by summoning lighting bolt to strike me.
'… Hm…' As I changed to Grass type to defend against Claura's Scald attack, I started to notice something. Despite that there were 9 of them, my opponents didn't attack me all at once, let alone attack me more than one at a time. For example, Rachael attacked me with Energy Ball (in which I switched to Fire type), following by Zetarus striking me with Earthquake (in which I changed to Flying type), and Richard attacked me with lightning bolt again (causing me to change into Ground type)
'They attack me one by one… This makes it easy for me to telegraph their attack…' I thought as I changed into Electric type to avoid Xavier's Air Slash attack, before changing into Psychic type again to avoid Korben's Sky Uppercut attack. 'But… Why? Is there a reason why they attack me one by one? Or rather… Why they HAVE TO attack me one by one—'
'!'
Diego tried to attack me with Flamethrower right after Korben attacked me, so I had to change into Rock type to avoid his attack immediately afterward, but just for less than a second before Diego attacked me, I managed to catch a glimsp of something.
'What was that?' I thought to myself as I got away from my opponents while trying to find what I saw before, but I couldn't see it now. I only saw it before Diego attacked me, right before I changed into Rock type…
'…' I changed myself into Psychic type, the same type I was when Korben attacked me. And that was when I saw it…
'… What… is that?!' I couldn't believe in what I saw. It was everyone's body. Everyone had several strings attached to their body, arms, legs, and head, and all the strings were link to the above, in which I couldn't see because of the darkness above the stage.
'Strings?!' I thought as I dodged incoming attack from Zetarus. 'Wait a minute… Everyone's movement and bearing… They are unnatural… Right. They all look more like a puppets that are controlled by something or someone! This meant that all of these… There was someone, a puppet master, who is behind all of these!'
'If they are being commanded by the puppet master via those strings, all I had to do is cut the strings off…' I thought while dodging the bullets from Zetarus' attack. 'But those strings are surely not the typical one. After all, they let the puppet master command everyone, and I could only see it when I change into Psychic type… Psychic type… Psychic type's major weakness is…'
'… Wait a minute… Now that I think about it, that also explained why only one of them attacks me at one time. Even though the puppet master could command everyone's action, they wouldn't be able to command everyone's at the same time!' I thought as I defended myself against Claura's Dragon Pulse by changing into Fairy type. 'Which meant while one of them attacks me, everyone else is defenseless! I can use that to my advantage… Except that it wouldn't be easy… The puppet master would clearly anticipate me trying to exploit this weak point, and if I cut the strings one by one, the puppet master might be able to fix the cut string, or they even if they didn't, by the time only one left, the puppet master would have a full control of that Pokemon, making it much harder to cut the strings.'
'… Which means… There is only one thing I could do…' I looked up to the dark ceiling above the stage, to where all the puppet strings were linked to. 'I'll have to attack the puppet master directly, but how do I get up there?'
My thought was interrupted as Baromyteus attacked me, forcing me to move out of his way, only to notice Diego flying upward before diving down, his body cloaked in flame and his weapon pointed toward me. The attack took me by surprised, thought it wasn't a direct hit, so I only suffered a minor injury from it.
'Wait a minute…' I look at Diego who now stayed still while Korben now moved to strike me with his fist, making me dodge his attack. 'I can use that to my advantage! Now I need to wait for the right moment...'
I continued dodging everyone's attack, while also looking for the right moment that I could use. Eventually, I saw Diego flying upward, preparing for the dive attack again!
'Now!' I jumped at Baromyteus, attacking him with Multi-Attack, before using the momentum gained from the attack to strike Xavier, who was flying above the ground. The momentum gained from attacking the Dragonite allowed me to reach Diego, who was flying above everyone. I wasted no time and strike the Mega Charizard X with another Muti-Attack, which gave me enough momentum to jump even higher, to the steel frames above the stage, where I found a cloaked figure standing there, with their fingers commanding the strings that link to everyone's body!
"?!"
'You are done! GRRRRRR!' I let out a roar before I quickly changed to Dark type and charged at them, hitting them with the move Multi-Attack.
"!"
It was a direct hit. My attack hit the puppet master right-on. The impact from the attack sent both of us down from the above to the stage floor below!
"SNAP!"
"THUD!"
I heard the sound of something snapping, like the sound of rope breaking, and the next thing I knew was everyone's body hitting the ground, like marionettes with broken strings, which meant that attacking the puppet master worked!
'Everyone!' I was able to safely land onto the stage floor. I wasted no time and ran up toward everyone, in which I saw that the stage mask that each of them were wearing was now gone, and…
"Ouch… My head…" One of them, the Mega Charizard X, slowly stood up, while also rubbing his head. "I feel like I just fell down from a fucking skyscraper…"
"ZZZZ… Morning already?" Xavier yawned as he, along with the rest of the Pendragon, slowly regained their consciousness and stood up. "Five more hours please."
"Not now, Xavier…" Claura said while trying to shake off the strange sensation she felt. "I felt like I have been sleeping forever…"
"Me too…" Korben spoke up. "It wasn't a good sleep either. I felt like I was stuck in and endless nightmare."
"Diego, I miss you…" Zetarus said as he lazily approached the Mega Charizard X. "I feel like I have been separated from you for so long. Come here and let me take a bite at your tail, please."
"Not a chance, fucker." Diego said before delivering a light knock onto the Garchomp's head.
"Ouch" Zetarus let out a small yelp.
"Rachael, are you alright?" Richard spoke to his younger sister.
"I am fine, brother." Rachael replied to her brother before turning her attention to me. "Wait… Sirius, is that you? What happened to your mask?"
"… It seems like Sirius has found a way to break their mask at last." Richard said as he and Rachael approached me. "And so, this is how their face truly look like."
"Wow! Your face is so cute!" Rachael said as she petted me on my head, a gesture that I really appreciated.
"By the way…" Korben spoke up while looking around. "Where are we now? The last thing I remember was me being arrested and be taken away."
"… This place… It seems like we are on a stage…" Anastasia said after inspecting her surrounding. "… I remember now. Each of us disappeared one by one. We deduced that someone was behind this. The last thing I remembered was Cherry Blossom Park, which means that I was one of the last to be kidnapped."
"And it seems like our culprit, the one responsible for all of this, is here." Baromyteus spoke up. His gaze was directed at where I landed from the ceiling earlier, or rather, at the cloaked figure, who now stood right on the other side of the stage, facing us!
"!" All of us quickly grabbed our weapon and got into a battle stance, preparing for another battle. However…
"Bravo! Spectacular! Simply wonderful!"
"W… What the—" All of us were taken aback by the cloaked figure's words. Instead of engaging us in a battle, they simply spoke in tone of congratulation, as if they had just witnessed a great show on the stage.
"That was such an excellent performance by all of you." The cloak figure spoke up again. "The show performed on this very stage shall not be forgotten, and today will be a day to remember!"
"The hell?!" Diego said. "What are you talking about, you fucker?!"
"I was referring to the performance earlier, of course." The cloaked figure replied. "After all, the world is but a stage, and everyone is but an actor, being guided by the will of the stars on the celestial sky."
"That quote…" Zetarus said. "Who are you?!"
"Me?" The cloaked figure reached their arms to the side of their body before they slowly floated upward to the air. That was when I could properly see their appearance. This Pokemon was bipedal with most parts of their body being light gray except for their torso and their tail, which were violet. Their paws had 3 fingers, and their feet had 2 toes and a single thumb on each of them. Their neck was slender, and they had an extra 'tube' linking the back of their shoulder to the back of their head. I couldn't see their face as it was obscured by the mask they were wearing. Their mask was the same kind of stage mask that my comrades were wearing earlier, except that only one half of the mask was black with a frown, while the other hald was white with a smile instead. Other than the mask, they also wore a white silk top hat on their head. They also wore a white suit with a white bowtie, and their cloak were white on its backside, while the other side of the cloak was dark blue with starry pattern, as if itself was a depiction of the night sky. Even though I couldn't see their face, and their body didn't have many details, I could still recognize the species of this Pokemon, for that I had encountered another Pokemon of this species before… once.
This Pokemon was of the same species as Archsage Iris. This Pokemon was… a Mewtwo.
"The world is but a stage, and everyone is but an actor, with the role to perform for the show." The Mewtwo spoke as they floated upward while also summoning several cards, which surrounded their body in a circle. "As for me, I was given the role of the royal child of the holy Theocracy of Venturnome, the offspring of the former Pontifex. Now, I have inherited the role of the sacred land's ruler, as well as the role of those who received the blessing of the omnipotent god, from my demised parents. However, my rule role is to be the director of the show, the one who overseers the performing on the stage, the one who guides the actors to perform according to their role, the one who foresaw the upcoming show with the guidance of the stars on the celestial sky, for that the stars know everything. To the other actors, I am the current Pontifex of Theocracy of Venturnome, as well as the current Hero of Psychic type, the owner of the sacred weapon Opal Cards, but to this world, I am the director of the stage, as well as the prophet of the stars. My name is Astra Mysteric the Mewtwo."
To Be Continued…
Dragon of Vale: Another chapter is done. You might notice that my story doesn't have that many battle scenes. It's because I am not good at writing them. I try to write the boss battle of this chapter to be as long as possible, though I still feel like it isn't that long comparing to the other events of this chapter, despite that it is supposed to be the main focus of this chapter.
Only one more chapter of Tail 8 remains! Once it's done then it will be interlude's turn, and then we can finally move on to the next tail… Probably.
Q&A Session:
Tail 8-7 - Question: If you can chose an instrument to play, which instrument would you choose? And why would you choose that instrument?
Answer:
-Korben: I came from the tribe that lived in isolation for so long, so I don't have a lot of knowledge regarding modern world's music. Well, I guess I can go with percussions, something like congas, tambourine, triangle, or cowbell.
-Claura: With my mouth shaping like this, the only choice I really have are either woodwind, which some already chose, or brass. Hm… I would go with a saxophone, since other brass instruments are too bulky for me… What? What do you mean that saxophone isn't a brass instrument?!
-Xavier: Woodwind? No, thanks. I am not Diego or Zetarus, so I am not expert at blowing. Brass? That's even more of a pain. Keyboard? Nope. String? Maybe. But ultimately, my best choice would be drum sets. After all, I already smash enemies' skull on basic, so playing drums is pretty much the same thing.
-Anastasia: A question about music, I see… Well, my answer is already crystal clear. My instrument-of-choice is a harp. The sound it makes when I play them is so soothing… Divine, even. That is also why I chose harp as my weapon of choice, as I can ease everyone's fatigue with the sound of music.
-Baromyteus: Okay, I know you all would say that this is an unexpected answer coming from me, but my answer is a trumpet. Why? Because I don't see anyone else choosing brass, and among brass instrument, trumpet seems to be the best one for playing solo, which fits someone like me.
-Diego: Hm… I heard that there are two similar instruments that are prominent in many music bands. One is electric guitar while another one is electric bass. Hm… I could go with electric guitar. It's so damn cool whenever someone plays it, but I'll need to practice a lot in order to master it.
-Zetarus: So, Diego chose electric guitar? Then I'll pick electric bass. After all, electric guitar and electric bass are like butter and jam, aren't they? That will be just like me and Diego. Hm? Electric guitar is usually a more dominant instrument than electric bass? Well, I guess I could let Diego be a dom for once.
-Rachael: Oh! I have played instrument before! Both before and during my time living in Leafburg! Well, the only instrument I have played before is a recorder, which is really easy but fun to play, and I am really good at it too! So, my answer is a recorder!
-Richard: Just like Rachael, I have an experience with playing an instrument before I came to live in Civilight. My instrument of choice is a violin. Hm? Why did I choose violin? Well… Back then, I read a story of a detective who would play violin in his free time, and I want to be smart like him, so… Yeah.
-Freya: Being a royal child, I was taught how to play instrument since young age. Me and my siblings once formed a band as a hobby too. Back then, Terrus played electric guitar, Natasha played synthesizer, Largo played drum sets, and I played flute, in which would be my answer.
-Snow: Hm… So far I haven't seen anyone choosing keyboard instrument yet, in which I will take an honor to perform… I still don't remember my past, but I have a faint reminiscence of myself taking a piano lesson alongside someone, but I digress. My answer would be piano, or electone or synthesizer.
-Sirius: AWOOOOOO! (Dragon of Vale: Sirius said that it's hard for them to choose an instrument to play since it's quadruple. So… No, Sirius. Howling doesn't count as an instrument… Fine, I'll allow it, since you basically can't play anything else.)
Question From RKType-0
To: Diego Pyrotorch
I believe there might be someone who shares many similarities to you, so you can at least get to be otherworldly buddies... and you can get to talk about your boyfriend (or rather, you're his bitch) while he gets to speak about his girlfriend.
(Throws Zakh Stor into the area and disappears before he could react)
...Have fun.
Zakh: Where am I now this time...? (See the question) ...W-WHAT!? I'M NOT SAFKA'S HUBBY, SHE IS NOT MY GIRLFRIEND, AND I AM NOT HER BITCH! GOT IT!?
Diego: What do you mean by- (See the question) BOYFRIEND?! BITCH?! HOW DARE YOU CALL ME LIKE THAT?! I AM NEITHER BOYFRIEND NOR BITCH OF ZETARUS! AND I SHALL EVISCERATE WHOEVER CALL ME LIKE THAT!
Zakh: ... (Both were looking at each other... their reactions to the question...) ...You too?
Diego: (sigh) That fucking Garchomp always messes around with me, and he always tries to bite my tail. He's so goddamn annoying!
Zakh: ...And that Seviper... she suddenly catches me by surprise, coils around me, feels my body... And everyone's closer to believing that we're a couple...
Diego: Normally, I would just cut his head by now, but... (sigh) Sometimes, I don't understand what I think
Zakh: Me neither with her... ...So, your name?
Diego: Diego, a former gladiator. You?
Zakh: Zakh. I was part of engaging on missions, but now I usually handle communications. ...Guessing that there is a reason why you're on a permanent state of Mega Evolution?
Diego: My old body was destroyed when I fell into the volcano, so this new body was created as a replacement. My mega form is also a part of my pact with my Dragon Legend (Looked at Zakh's prosthetic arm and eye, he could tell that there is a large stomach scar.) What's the story behind the wounds on your body?
Zakh: ...I lost my arm and eye during a mission about four years ago from where I am at when I faced a bladed enemy. I got too cocky, that monster got the better of me... and it sliced my arm off... right after my eye was stabbed by gravel... I was really lucky I was able to survive through then when support came and I got into surgery and they gave me a new arm, eye, fixed my body...
Diego: As a former gladiator, I have seen a lot of people like you. You are lucky that you are still alive, while many others never have a second chance
Zakh: Yeah... Since then, I usually have an irrational fear of seeing large bladed weapons, I got these from them after all...
Diego: ... Though I didn't have a fear of something like you, the battle has left a mental scar on me that might never heal.
Zakh: Huh... ... We have so much in common.
Diego: I am not the sentimental type, but... Yeah, I agree with you
Zakh: Mhm. How about a spar?
Diego: If you think you can handle a former gladiator, then, sure
Zakh: Alright, get yourself ready and we'll start! (Readies three-part staff)
Diego: *grab a naginata, his flame lit even brighter, and get into a battle stance*
(Special thanks to RKType-0 for helping me with writing the dialogue answer of this question!)