Ties of Fate

by Fusion Phoenix

Follow behind Rio and his group of friends as they prepare themselves to save the world! From what, or how, they don't know, but by god will they try anyway! They might be under qualified, and mostly inexperienced, but it can't be that hard to save a world, right? Right?

33. The Right Thing

Aside from the soft, dull footsteps of Z and Rio, it was uncomfortably silent traversing this battle damaged chamber. Both because Rio still feared what Jirachi would do to him if he did so much as breathe too loudly, and because the Lucario was still trying to figure out why all of this seemed so off. It felt like it was on the tip of his tongue, like he knew what was up but just couldn't recall. He would've asked Orion but… Jirachi was still here. If only Z would just… say something, so Rio didn't have to be the one to start talking.

Suddenly, Z started to slow down, eventually coming to a full stop. "I should, I should tell you…" he muttered, and for a moment Rio thought that Z was actually going to tell him what was going on. But, then, the Zoroark shook his head and sighed. "I should tell you how… good it is to see you, again. I really don't like it down here."

Rio paused, a bit disappointed that Z went in a different direction, but honestly any conversation felt better than the deathly quiet they were walking in. "Me neither. I'm ready to get out as soon as possible, and I'm glad you're, uh, well, doing decent." Rio looked over to Jirachi, who didn't have the look of death in his eyes, so Rio decided it was safe enough to press further. "What happened to you, by the way. First outside the dungeon, since it's kinda fuzzy what happened before we got down here, and… why you're all beat up and stuff."

"It's… a long story," Z chuckled weakly, taking a deep, shaky breath before starting to walk again. "Just more fighting. Everyone was fighting, a-and I tried to stop it! I really did, I promise I tried, but…" his voice trailed off, followed by a quiet sniffle. "Now we're down here, and all we've done is run and fight. And the first chance I get to see the rest of… your friends–" It was subtle, but Rio noticed Z flinched and his body shook after saying that, "-all together again, we got into another fight."

The already conflicting and confusing feelings in Rio doubled; Z needed some form of comfort, but something kept telling him that he shouldn't even be anywhere near him. So… Rio found a middle ground and just didn't approach. "That sounds awful, honestly," Rio said, shaking his head, sympathetic. "I, uh, guess I should say sorry for everyone else then, right?" he tittered, then snapped as he took in everything Z just said. "Oh, wait, you mean everyone's already down here?! Like, on this floor? Everyone, everyone?"

"Y-Yes, everyone. Diana and Kane, Zeke and Nate, Eva and Minerva, and Mia too. There was even this… really clingy floating cat girl," Z replied, with a confused tone in his voice when mentioning the aforementioned cat. "I uh… don't know where she came from, but I don't think I like wherever it is if it's making Pokemon like that."

Jirachi, as he rarely does, seemed interested enough to speak. "Mew's here?" he asked abruptly, floating up to Z. "Where? Is that where we are headed?"

"A-Ah!" Z jumped, giving Jirachi a frantic, confused stare before sighing and nodding. "Uh, I mean, yes. Are you her… sibling?"

"That's none of your business. Just tell me where she is. What "room" is she trapped in?" Jirachi asked, the amount of emotion in his voice, being any at all that weren't "pissed," making him sound unfamiliar to Rio. More unfamiliar, that is.

"I-It's hard to explain, but we're close," Z replied, looking back up ahead. When Jirachi did the same, he fell somehow more silent than he was before. Rio quickened his pace to catch up, blinking at the unbelievable sight of something different for once.

The stone floors and walls were blending into a polished, and very aged marble. Yellowed-white tiles, broken up by long, splintering cracks, made up the floor and walls, and even the ceiling. Few crystals even appeared here, but the ones that did were smaller than the more natural looking formations. Any that weren't outright shattered looked to be chiseled into a more uniform, easy-to-handle size, and hand entirely lost their glow and aura. Some of them were fixed onto handle-like stones by some irreversibly rusted metal, which made Rio think they were torches, or some rudimentary weapon maybe?

"Wow…" Rio gasped, in awe at how fancy it all looked despite its age, and relieved that this could mean they were getting closer to some sort of exit. Finally.

"That's what I said when Lee and I first fell down here," Z tittered, then sighed. He turned back to Rio, putting on a smile. "I wonder what it looked like when it was all new. Don't you? Rio?"

The Lucario nodded, wincing slightly at Z's sad smile. "Yeah… uh, are you sure you're feeling alright?"

"I'm… fine. Don't worry about me," Z reassured Rio, or at least tried to. He turned back down the hall, then sighed again. "We're getting really close to everyone now. Hopefully… we won't have to fight any more."

As Rio followed behind Z again, he noticed that Jirachi wasn't following as fast as he usually was. Looking back, Rio saw that Jirachi looked… unnerved? Anxious? Hesitant? Something along those lines. He knew he shouldn't try and say something, but he just couldn't stop himself this time. "Uh, Jirachi..?"

The star sprite's gaze locked with Rio's, and a grimace formed on his face. "What?" he hissed, and Rio instantly shrank.

Turns out, the bad idea was still bad. Rio knew that asking Jirachi about how he was feeling would probably only piss him off more, so he decided to change the subject before it was even addressed. "I-I wanted to ask if you know where we are?" Rio muttered, sheepish.

Jirachi stared at him a moment or two longer, then simply floated past him. "Make a wild guess."

A long wheeze of air left Rio as he deflated and slid to the ground, relieved that he was spared Jirachi's wrath. Which also indirectly told Rio that he could talk with Orion in peace, as long as the both of them didn't say anything to draw Jirachi's ire.

'Hey, Orion? I gotta ask… you feel like something's off too, right? It's not just me?' Rio asked the voice in his head. Oddly enough, there wasn't a response. 'Hello? Orion?' Still nothing… Maybe Orion was still playing it safe? Not that Rio could blame him. But now Orion's silence was feeling like another red flag. It's not like Rio knew him inside and out, but being quiet when he didn't have to be felt very much unlike him.

Oh well, if Orion wanted to stay quiet, Rio couldn't force him to talk. Best he could do was proceed with caution and keep hoping for the best.

---

The further the trio went into the chamber, the wider and more decorated it got. As decorated as ancient architecture could get, at least. More "makeshift" or ancient items were scattered over the floor, empty torch holders remained attached to the walls, and empty gems were abundant decorations for the marble flooring. It really sold the "Abandoned" look this floor was trying to push. Notably, there actually were some doorways cropping up too… but most of them were blocked off by rubble, and others led to basically nowhere. At best, a big, empty room. At worst, a closet barely big enough for Rio to fit.

"How much further?" Jirachi asked. He seemed more and more unnerved as time went on; tapping his side with a digit, looking around more anxiously, taking deeper breaths, and holding them for slightly longer.

Even Z looked concerned about Jirachi, but seemed to have known better than to pry and ask him what was wrong. "They're just up ahead. Down that hall, to the left." As Z explained that, a much larger doorway came into view.

This one was certainly more important looking than the other smaller ones before it; the frame of the entryway was made of a giant, rusted metal arch, with tiny jewels embedded into it. They weren't like those aura gems at all, they were just gems. Just emeralds to be exact, but if there were jewels in this frame, then it had to lead somewhere important, Rio thought.

It looked like Jirachi had the same idea, as he flew down the hall ahead of Rio and Z. A decent handful of doorways lined the walls, ranging from "barely big enough for Rio to squeeze into it," to the one furthest in the back being "unreasonably tall." The doors were also… mostly physically intact, but there were really faint marks of color on all of them, which Rio assumed would've been some sort of pattern or design.

"Wow… again," Rio muttered, amazement and slight excitement rising in his chest. He turned to Z, flinching as he again noticed Lee in his arms, then took another cautious step back. Those conflicted feelings welled up inside him again, but he gave in to the more friendly side and tried to cheer the fox up. "So, uh, you said the others are around here, right? I'm gonna guess they're behind door number…" he tapped his chin, pretending to think, then pointed at the largest one, sitting proudly at the end of the hall, and grinned. "That one! Door number one!"

Z blinked and stared at him for a moment, and Rio thought that maybe he blew it and was about to apologize, when Z exhaled briefly and looked away. "Not everyone, but I'll give you points for guessing partially right."

"R-Really?" Rio beamed, his tail wagging happily behind him.

"Yep, but uh…" Z tittered, lighting back up for a moment before letting out a sigh and dimming again. "We might have to open that door last…"

Well now Rio had to press further on this. "Why?" the Outlander asked, tilting his head. "Is it because you think everyone will keep fighting? If Lee's out of commission, then why would they even want to…" Rio paused, staring at Z and the Wolf in his arms as the realization slowly came to him. "Oh, right, you. And I bet seeing you carry his body isn't going to help you out either."

The Zoroark turned his head to the side and bit his lip. "No… no it wouldn't." Z then turned fully away from Rio, taking a deep breath and holding onto Lee's body tighter. "R-Rio… can I ask you something? Please?"

"Me?" Rio blinked, reminded again that he was totally clueless of what was going on as that uncertain mess of emotion started welling up inside him once more. "Uh, sure? What is it?"

It took Z a moment to actually say anything, and he didn't try to face Rio again either. "It's just… I-I dunno. I guess I wanted to ask…" Z's voice trailed off, then his shoulders slumped. "I haven't exactly… told you everything yet. A-And I wanted to ask that you please… please don't be mad at me?"

Now, Rio wasn't an expert on phrases or whatever, but he felt like anything following "please don't be mad at me," was likely going to make him mad. Even worse, his conflicted feelings were feeling less conflicted and confusing, and more suspicious and skeptical of Z. Still… while he didn't have any solid proof that Z was not to be trusted, Rio decided to again give Z the benefit of the doubt. "No, I won't."

"Promise?" Z asked, turning back to the jackal.

"Promise," Rio nodded, giving Z a grin. "Hell, if the others try and beat you up too once we get them out of these rooms, I'll even try and convince them not to." Emphasis on try, with "and fail" being implied since he doubted he could actually stop anyone if they really wanted to beat Z to a pulp.

Z himself probably knew that too, but hearing Rio's promise, the fox gave back a grin of his own and a relieved sigh. "Thanks." Z then straightened up, taking another deep breath. "I guess it's pretty obvious at this point, but… I've been working with Lee. I promise, we didn't want any of this to happen! We… I never wanted anyone to get hurt! All Lee wanted was the Time Gear and some crystal, and I just wanted to…" he paused, then shook his head. "It's not important."

So that's why everything felt off, or at least part of why. Z and Lee were teammates. The enemy. But Z was so nice and fun and all that, and right now Z was so vulnerable it hurt! Which must've been why Rio was so quick to believe him. "Well… alright. If what you wanted from all this really isn't important, I won't pry."

"Thank you, a-again," Z tittered, then took in a deep breath and sighed. "And there's another thing… uh, the doors with scratch marks are the ones you should check out first, hehe…"

Before Rio could ask what that even meant, he heard a frustrated Jirachi cussing nearby. "Dammit," the star sprite hissed, catching Rio's attention. He was floating before a pretty short door that had four distinct traces of color; pink to the right, blue on the bottom, yellow on the left… and enough space for one more on the top, but there wasn't anything there. And it had scratch marks, just like Z just told him about. "Who the hell closed this? Why can't I…" Jirachi muttered, then sucked his teeth and turned away. "Rio, get over here, now."

"On it." Knowing better than to oppose, or to even ask why Jirachi thought the door should've been opened, Rio came right on over. He pressed his paws against the door, and a bright green glow shined through the cracks of it. Just before Rio could try to push it, the door swung wide open, and something tackled Rio to the ground. It was pink, it was clingy, and it made Rio regret being so quick to do what Jirachi said.

"Rachi! You came for me! I was so worried, and I thought I was gonna have to save you, and you're so fluffy and soft and you smell like blueberries! And sugar!" Mew's voice was, for better or for worse, unmistakable. As was her surprisingly strong grip in spite of her stubby little arms.

Rio tried to pry himself from the feline, but his comparatively longer and bigger arms were utterly useless. "M-Mew! Please! I-I can't breathe!" the Lucario groaned, flailing his legs and squirming desperately to free himself.

Unfortunately for Rio, Mew decided to tighten her hold on him instead of letting go. "Oh my god, Rio! You really do care about me!" she squealed, lifting Rio with her as she floated into the air and got face-to-face with Jirachi. "There you are, Rachi! I missed you so much!"

All Jirachi did was nod, and the edges of his mouth twitched, the possibility of a positive emotion showing on the star sprite's face so tantalizingly close. But, before more could come from that, another figure exited the door. Another small, fluffy creature, an Eevee to be exact. Whose brown fur and tan highlights looked remarkably clean for however long they were down in this dungeon.

"Hey look, Rio! I found this nice lil doggy in that room too! I know she has a name but… I forgot it!" Mew giggled, spinning Rio around to the quiet kit, as if to show him off. "Say hi~!"

Rio's face burned bright red, and he waved a defeated "hello" to the Eevee. "Hey… Mia," he groaned. Mia waved back, a look of quiet sympathy on her face.

"Finally! I couldn't get that stupid thing open for nothin! Thought we weren't ever gonna get the he–, er, ehem…" A tomboyish voice emerged, getting everyone's attention. Her short stature, cream colored fur, powerful purple eyes… It wasn't any surprise that it was Minerva, was it? She fixed a glare at Mew, crossing her arms. "I take my eyes off of ya for a second and ya already throwin' Rio around like a toy?" she spat, growling.

Mew grinned and giggled, swaying Rio from side to side. "Oh come on! You wouldn't let me hold you! My arms were really lonely!"

"Like he– tsk. As if that's an excuse! Let the dog down!" Minerva barked, and just as she was ordered, Mew dropped Rio onto the floor. The Jackal fell to his knees, head hung low, ashamed and embarrassed. Minerva walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder. "Quit bein' a drama queen, Blue. Not that I really blame ya…" she muttered, shooting another glare at Mew. The pink feline gave back a wink in return. Minerva shuddered and hissed.

"How…" Rio said under his breath. "How am I… one of the t-tallest ones here… and I get swung around like a doll..?"

Minerva sputtered, then let out a loud laugh and smacked Rio on the back. "Seriously! It… probably wasn't that bad!" she scoffed, grabbing the Lucario by his shoulders and shaking him gently. "If ya don't get up now, I'll just keep teasin' ya about this until ya do. Honestly, Doll is just as fittin' a nickname as Blue, ain't it?"

"Wh-What? No!" Rio sputtered, shaking his head and jumping to his feet. "Like I said, I'm the tallest one here! If anyone here's a doll it would be literally anyone else here! Well, except I guess…" he looked around quickly, then blinked, surprised. Z… wasn't anywhere to be seen. Which was honestly an achievement for someone that big and unmissable. "Huh… where's Z?"

At the mention of that Zoroark, Minerva gritted her teeth and crossed her arms."Z? That fox traitor bi– uh, ba–... Shoot," she glanced back at Mia, then sucked her teeth. "God da– uhg… can someone cover the kid's ears? I can barely get a da– haaaaaa!" the Meowth stomped her foot and huffed.

Rio snickered, rolling his eyes. "Didn't think I'd see you have a filter. It feels totally wrong, hehe."

"Ya tellin' me. I couldn't tell that creep Mew off for nothin' with Mia around," Minerva sighed, hopping onto Rio's shoulder. "Alright, whatever, how the he–" She closed her eyes, letting out a furious exhale and resting her head against the side of Rio's. "Where. Is. The. Exit."

Rio stopped himself from laughing out loud, sparing himself both from Minerva's wrath and Jirachi's. "I-I think we gotta check the other doors. If you guys were stuck behind one, I wanna make sure no one else is."

"Why did you idiots close the door behind you anyway? Although, it would be optimistic to believe any of you knew where you were in the first place," Jirachi groaned, his gaze drifting to Mew, where it sharpened and he crossed his arms. "Mew. Explain. Please."

"Roger!" Mew smacked her head with a salute, letting out a pained hiss and rubbing her eye. "Ow! Anyway, that tall fox looking thingy chased us into it! I don't think I caught their name, I was too busy wondering what kinda cloud their hair was!"

Jirachi blinked, staring for a moment before turning to Minerva. "Explain," he demanded.

"Geez, nice to see ya too, prick," Minerva rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "A Zoroark locked us behind that door. One we got all buddy-buddy with on the surface but, because screw us, was workin' with god da– Lee. That jerk Lee."

That was certainly news to Rio… although he supposed that made sense. Z did know where Minerva and the other two girls were. Still, the fact he didn't tell him outright felt… off. "Wow, uh…" he began, then sighed. "Geez, alright… I don't wanna assume the worst but that sounds pretty bad."

"Tsk, and that fox has already vanished," Jirachi hissed. "He's much smarter than he looks. I would have paid back his kindness in full, if I were any of you."

"Heh, somethin' we can agree on. I woulda beat that prick to a bloody pulp," Minerva smirked, pounding her fists together.

"B-Before we get into all that, let's, uh, make sure no one else is trapped," Rio tittered, swallowing. Having to play the neutral party in this was feeling more and more like the wrong choice. What the hell?

The Lucario went further down the hall, coming up on the next scratched door pretty quickly. This was pretty tall, twice the size of Rio himself, and had faded black, white, and grey colors on it. "...Cool, I think," Rio hummed.

"I guess," Minerva shrugged. "I ain't impressed, it's just some smudges on stone.

"I think I can fix that," Rio snickered, pressing his paws against the door. The same flash of bright green, trailing up and creating its own design on the stone, then the door slowly started to open. Rio looked back up to Minerva and grinned. "How about now?"

"Eh, still ain't that impressed," Minerva said, smug. Rio should've known she'd never just give him the satisfaction of being cool. "Why's the light green, though? If anythin' I'd thought ya'd make a piss yellow light. Or is that only when ya get all zappy an' shit?"

"Shut. Your face. And Mia can still hear you!" Rio puffed, pulling on the door to open it faster and not give Minerva any more attention. That jerk.

Minerva gritted her teeth, cursing under her breath. "I was doin' so well too…"

As the door finally opened, a black blur with a trail of sparks dashed out. The blur stopped before the others, giving them time to recognize who it was. Clearly, it was a Zoroark, but their shortened mane was a clear distinction between the other two Rio knew.

"Phew, I thought I'd be able to get that door open with enough force," Diana said, dusting off her paws and turning around, which is when she noticed the others and instantly lit up. "Oh thank Arceus, the rest of you are alright! I see you even managed to convince Jirachi to follow along!"

The star sprite grimaced almost instantly, furrowing his glare with obvious resentment, yet he remained quiet still. Instead, Mew wrapped her arms around her grumpy brother and laughed all giddy-like. "He woulda been worried sick about all of us if he didn't! You can see just how much he missed you on his pudgy wittle face!" the feline giggled, smooshing Jirachi's face into a kissy face. Somehow, that made him look even more pissed off. "See?"

Diana clapped her paws together and smiled warmly. "Indeed I do! I'm touched, Jirachi. Truly."

The next to arrive from the door was Zeke, who shook his fists painfully and looked, more or less, exhausted. "I really don't think we broke down the door, Diana. Otherwise it would've opened forever ago." He then, belatedly, waved to the others. Wincing as he quickly clutched his fist and sighed. "Nice to see more familiar faces. Oh, and Mia too."

At the mention of her name, Mia hopped onto Rio's free shoulder and smiled brightly. Rio started to wonder when he became the perch for the vertically challenged, but he'd be lying if he said he minded all that much. The Lucario waved back to Zeke and puffed out his chest. "You're right, because I opened the door. Also hi again, and hi Diana," he grinned.

"Oh my, really?" Diana blinked, looking down at her fists. She frowned for a moment, before turning back to Rio with a smile. "Then I'm supremely grateful you showed when you did, sweetheart. I wouldn't have wanted to sprain my wrist, like it seems Zeke has."

Rio was going to say "thanks," realized that made no sense, then went to say "you're welcome," but all that came out was a bubbly mess of shy noises. He quickly shut himself up and tapped his fingertips together. Minerva managed to wait all of ten second before laughing right into his ear.

"We were literally punching unbreakable stone! I'm surprised that all I got was a sprained wrist!" Zeke puffed at Diana, crossing his arms, wincing once more.

"Zeke, dear, I'm just teasing. No need to get your feathers all ruffled!" Diana giggled, then cleared her throat and faced Rio again. "Now then, Rio, sweetheart, have you seen or heard anything about Kora? I am certain I was following him up until that door locked behind me and Zeke."

Regaining his composure, Rio shook his head. "The only Zoroark I've seen other than you is Z, who kinda… vanished."

"Yea, that jerk mighta tricked ya into gettin' locked in there," Minerva added, gritting her teeth. "Did the same for us… but I was tryin' to knock his lights out for bein' on Lee's side."

Zeke nodded, shaking his head. "Yeah… that's what I was thinking, too," he said, then glanced over at Diana and rolled his eyes. "But…"

As if taking her cue, Diana spoke up, her paws over her heart, a look of certainty in her eyes. "I don't know who this Z character is, but I am positive I was following Kora, Minerva. There is no mistaking it, I know my son when I see him. When I sense him. Even after a year apart, my son is unmistakable."

"Really?" Rio blinked, genuinely surprised. "Well, if Kora is down here, he might be behind one of these doors. I'll open the other ones Z marked, maybe we'll be really lucky and find him with everyone else." He started further down the hall, paying a close eye to the doors and looking out for Z's scratches.

Minerva grinned, leaning against Rio's head coolly. "Hell yea! Speakin' of, who're me missin'? I know lizard breath is one, an' Eva…"

"Did you already forget Nate? Geez, Minerva, and here I thought the bond between a teacher and student was one of a kind," Zeke chuckled, as he and the others followed.

"And surely you remember that Kai is still missing. Unless there's some other Zorua with a name almost as fake sounding as "Z," that I also don't know about," Diana scoffed. "Also, please watch your mouth. Mia is right beside you, and I would prefer she didn't pick up your dirty mouth should she ever decide to open her own."

"The he–, er, heck, are ya gangin' up on me for? I just wanted to make sure we knew everyone down here!" Minerva spat, crossing her arms as her face heated up. "And heck ain't a bad word, neither!"

Rio rolled his eyes, snickering. "Which is why you changed it immediately. And, also, you actually did forget about Zen. He's definitely down here."

"Uhg, as if I'd wanna have Scales and Sir Edge in the same thought," the Meowth groaned, bopping Rio's head.

"Y-You know of… S-S-Sir Zen..?" Suddenly, from behind everyone, came a quiet, skittery voice. It almost wasn't heard, if it hadn't spoken up just between the others conversing. As everyone turned to the source, and spotted a rather large, mushroomless Paras that shook and cowered under their gaze… it was understandable that they didn't know what to do just then.

The silence grew longer and more awkward as everyone just stared at the bug, and the bug shakily stared back. Eventually, though, Rio broke that silence with a question. "What… is wrong with that thing?"

"Why's it shakin' so much? We ain't even said nothin' to it yet…" Minerva muttered, tilting her head at it. As did Mia, possibly wondering the same thing.

"It looks kinda… naked," Zeke hummed, tapping his chin. "Wait, didn't it speak? Is this not a feral?"

"The feather brain thinks ferals can't speak, tsk," Jirachi gritted his teeth, growing quickly disinterested and floating ahead. "Remember we have shit to do, idiots."

Paras shrank under everyone talking about it, its eyes darting between each Pokemon as it slowly started to back away. To say it looked uncomfortable would've been a vast understatement. "S-Sir Zen…" it muttered sheepishly. "Wh-Where are y-you..?"

Realizing that, yes, this shaky and scared little bug thing was sapient enough to feel scared and afraid, Rio thought it'd be smart to not talk about it directly in front of it. "U-Uh, yeah, sorry. We're looking for Zen too, he's one of our friends, actually," the Lucario said, trying to be as friendly as possible.

"Speak for yaself, that bladed jerk can shove it," Minerva sucked her teeth, crossing her arms.

"O-Oh, so, uh, y-you have not seen him?" Paras asked, downtrodden. "I-I seem to have lost him. There was some… commotion, a-and I hid away in this room. I b-believed he would have settled it swiftly! But, surely… surely he has not passed? Not before his vengeance has been served?"

Once again, everyone stared at Paras, just as confused as he was shaking and terrified. This time, Zeke spoke up for the group. "Vengeance? That definitely sounds like something Zen would be after… But if you know him enough to know he, well, "seeks vengeance," then you should know he's not going to die any time soon. Gotta give him credit where it's due, the kid's tough as nails."

"N-Nails?" Paras stuttered, curious, then frightened. "A-Are Nails another sort of beast? I-Is it after Sir Zen? Like that L-Lee thing?"

Diana tittered, holding her paws together and sighing. "It is very safe indeed to say this large Paras is a feral. But, instead of giving it a history lesson on nails and metaphors, let us just… move along? I still have my sons waiting for me, after all."

"I call dibs on watching the big bug!" Mew suddenly blurted out as a pink blur tackled the panicky insect. The two rolled across the ground until Mew lifted her and Paras back into the air. "Look at it! It's so big and cuddly! It's like another Minerva! But it's not nearly as punchy or bitey or kicky!" Mew giggled, showing Paras off. It looked as if the bug hadn't yet processed that it was tackled and lifted off the ground yet. Or it passed out thanks to its anxiety instantaneously skyrocketing, courtesy of Mew and her refusal to acknowledge personal space was a thing.

A look of sympathy fell over the rest of the group. They had just met Paras, but all of them silently agreed that it didn't deserve this. Wanting to get this over with as soon as possible, Rio took the lead and refocused everyone back to the task at hand. "With that handled, I guess, let's save the rest of our friends."

The Lucario went up to Jirachi, who was annoyedly waiting before the next door. The faded colors on this were green at the bottom, then white, and… either red or orange, it was hard to tell, above it. Rio rested his paw against the stone door, it began to glow, and finally started to open.

Out came a torrent of water so strong that it knocked Rio flat on his back, and sent Mia and Minerva flying off of him. Luckily, Minerva caught Mia before she hit the ground. The water was then followed by someone cheering proudly and the sound of a high-five. "Oh yeah! I knew if we kept blasting it the door would open!"

"Somethin's tellin' me that ain't what happened," another voice chuckled. Out came the two sources of the voices; a big, beefy Feraligatr, and a tight-skinned Scrafty. The latter, Kane, spotted Rio on the floor and fought back his laughter. "S-Sorry 'bout that, we weren't expectin' guests."

Rio spat out some water and raised a shaky thumb. "No… I should've knocked first…"

Zeke went to help Rio up, managed to grab the jackal's paw before noticing who the water came from. The Blaziken's eyes brightened, and he dropped Rio's paw, a bright grin on his beak. "Oh thank the gods you're still alive!" he laughed, only to be tackled to the ground seconds later by the big gator himself. "Hngh-!"

"Zeke! You had me worried, getting hit like that!" Nate exclaimed, squeezing the life out of the fighting avian. "I almost lost my damn mind!"

Zeke wheezed, patting Nate on the back. "N-Nice to see you too, buddy..! But y-you're gonna crush me worse than Lee did, i-ig you don't let up..!"

"Oh, uh, sorry, hehe," Nate tittered, sitting up and rubbing the back of his head. He then realized that he tackled Zeke onto something. Or someone, really. He lifted Zeke up to see a flattened Rio beneath him. "O-Oh geez… Sorry Rio," the gator squeaked.

Kane walked over and pulled Rio off the ground, patting the Lucario off as if that was gonna do something. "There, good as new," he said, turning to the others expectantly. Although, his face fell further and further as he looked at the other faces and noticed one in particular was missing. "...Where's Eva?"

"Ain't that a "thank" you if I ever heard one," Minerva scoffed, setting Mia down and crossing her arms. "Why're ya askin' us for? Wasn't she with Nate? And… Mia, actually?"

"Right, she did come down here as well, didn't she?" Diana hummed, thoughtful. "She hasn't been in any other room we've checked. I was assuming she'd be with you two."

"Shoot, about that…" Nate muttered, tapping his claws together. "I mighta… maybe… kinda sorta split us up on accident? We were fighting Lee, and he kept being so evasive and hard to hit, so I tried to flood the place for an advantage. That, uh, didn't really work." Diana and Minerva both narrowed a glare on the gator, causing him to shrink up. "I'm sorry! I was just… really angry. Guess I still get like that sometimes, hehe… shoot."

Minerva rolled her eyes, returning to Rio's shoulder with Mia. "Then how did ya get stuck with Kane? Ya came down with Mia and her, right?"

"At first, but when I split us up, I ran into Kane outta nowhere and we chased a fake Lee and Z together. Right into this room," Nate explained, shrinking once more. "I already feel really stupid about it…" He then noticed Jirachi and Mew, and the spaced-out bug in the latter's arms. "Uh, who're they?"

"The Jirachi and Mew I was tellin' you about," Kane said, tilting his head at the big bug. "But, uh, what's with that thing? Is it… dead? Are you carryin' around a dead thing?"

Mew beamed, holding Paras above her head. "I dunno! But this is our new friend!" she cheered. "I think he likes us!"

Feeling that things were getting more surreal by the minute, Rio quickly tried to change the subject to anything not regarding Mew directly. "Alright! So! If Eva's down here, then she's behind one of these doors," he said after loudly clearing his throat. Which hurt, actually.

"Then go ahead an' open one, Blue," Minerva scoffed, nudging Rio's head with her elbow. "It ain't like any o' us can open these dumb chunks of fancy brick."

"Oh, right. Then I guess I'll go do that then," Rio tittered, facing the end of the hall one more time.

The jackal looked over the remaining few doors, and there weren't that many more to go. Not only because there were maybe a handful left, but because most of them didn't have any scratches on them. They almost went all the way to the giant door at the end of the hall, when Rio noticed another door with scratch marks on it. It felt more bare than the rest, with the only colors on it being green and pink, and it was shorter than all except the first door they had opened.

Rio did his thing; putting his paws on the door, watching it glow a pleasant green color, and started pulling it of someone tackling Rio to the ground, or blasting him with a torrent of water, a shaky Zangoose walked out, cautious and careful. Her fur was a mess, the pink marking on her body had faded almost entirely into red from the lack of care and the surplus of things to mess it up, her claws looked duller than usual, and deep black soot coated the edges of her mouth.

Silence fell over the group. Rio almost didn't recognize her until she spoke, and he thought it was possible that the others were in the same boat. "G-Guys..?" Eva coughed, her voice weak and forced. "I-Is that really you..?"

"Eva? What the hell happened to you?" Minerva asked, as soft and gentle as the stone that made up most of this place. Well, it's not like Rio could judge… he was about to say the same thing.

Kane walked up to Rio's said, looking over Eva, worry plentiful on his face. "E-Eva? You look… uh…" he paused, thoughtful, before speaking again, "You look like you've seen better days."

Eva looked at the Scrafty as if he was a stranger, tilting her head and coughing up a puff of black smoke. "Wh-Who are you? How d-do you… wait…" As the realization slowly came to her, Eva's eyes widened. "K-Kane? Is that you?"

"Uh, yeah, in the fle–" Kane began, before being quickly wrapped up in Eva's still-really-strong arms. He let out a long wheeze, confused, and his worry doubled over. "W-Was it somethin' I said? I-I didn't mean to off-fend ya, I swear..!"

Instead of a verbal answer, all Kane got in response was the sound of someone gently sobbing. That someone being Eva, as her tears started pouring down her face and onto his chest. "Y-You're ok..! Thank Arceus you're ok!" she cried out, squeezing Kane tighter. Her legs wobbled and shook, and she had to bear all her weight against Kane to keep herself from falling. "I'm sorry we couldn't find you, we really tried! E-Everyone did..!"

Figuring out that he wasn't in any danger, a small smile grew on Kane's face, and he hugged Eva back. "Hey, it's alright. Ya didn't think some blizzard would get the best of me, did ya?" he snickered, readjusting the both of them to properly hold her up. "And I never thought I'd get to see ya tear up 'cause of me… Ya must've had it rough."

"Rough d-doesn't even begin to cover it…" Eva tittered, letting out a shaky breath and keeping her hold on Kane tight. "This place is awful. I-I couldn't even get any sleep. I had those stupid… stupid nightmares again, and…" she sniffled, taking in deep breaths before letting go of Kane and looking him in his eyes. "I-I'll tell you about it later, I just want to go home and sleep in my bed."

Mew, suddenly, flew up to the pair, as bright and cheery as she ever was. "You have a bed!? I didn't know we had all the fancy people with us!" she cooed, then suddenly shoved Paras up to Kane and Eva's faces. "I bet this lil thingy doesn't even know what a bed is! Hehe!"

A loud, strained scream left Eva's mouth as Paras was shoved into her face, which brought her into a coughing fit of black smoke. Kane held her in his arms, glaring at Mew with death in his eyes. A faint, sinister aura flickered around his body. "Move."

"Eeeek!" Mew peeped, instantly backing away. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Wh-When did you get so scary!?"

For better or worse, this snapped Paras back to reality. Which only made it scream as well. "AHHHHH! Let me go! Let me go!" it cried, squirming and fighting its way out of Mew's arms. The insect managed to get Mew by surprise and actually managed to escape. It skittered over to Rio with haste, hiding behind the jackal's legs, muttering some unintelligible language to itself.

Irritated, Jirachi floated to the front to stop all the sudden commotion, glaring at Kane and opening his mouth… but didn't say anything. He and Kane locked eyes, and that was it. The star sprite scoffed and crossed his arms, then turned to Mew and nodded back to Kane and Eva.

Mew floated to Jirachi's side, shy and ashamed with a deep pink blush on her face. "I-I'm sorry, Kane," she muttered, wrapping her tail around herself.

At the very least Mew sounded genuine, and with a sigh, Kane accepted the apology. "I forgive you, but seriously, cut the shi–"

And just like that, Mew went over and hugged Kane and Eva tightly, giddy and bubbly yet again. "Yay! Thank you thank you Thank You!" Mew cheered, swinging both Kane and Eva back and forth with surprisingly little effort.

"Uhg…" Kane groaned, gritting his teeth. "Let us go, Mew."

"Oh, ok!" Mew chirped, doing as she was told, then actually waving to Eva and smiling brightly. "Hi there! I don't think we've met yet, right? I'm Mew!"

Still a bit shaken up, Eva gave a weak wave and nodded. "H-Hi…" Eva then looked past Mew and to the others, and held as relieved a smile as she could. "All of y-you are alright. Man… That's, really n-nice to see," she sighed, but with the absence of three others, her smile faded. "Where's Zen? And Kora and Kai?"

"I would hope they are behind this last door," Diana responded, giving Eva a warm look and gentle wave. "And it is nice to see you once again, Eva. I want to say you've grown, but you look just like I remember."

Eva chuckled, then coughed, holding onto Kane again. "R-Really? I thought I looked like a mess… Actually, uh, you aren't Diana are you?" she asked, getting a nod from the mother Zoroark. Eva blinked back, surprised as she looked Diana over again and again. "Wow… uh, just wow. I love what you did with your hair. And I never realized how… buff you were."

"Oh please, you'll make me blush!" Diana cooed, clapping her paws together.

"A-hem!" Zeke loudly cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. He seemed a bit on edge, as did Nate beside him. "I hate to cut this sweet little reunion short, but we have company," he said, glaring past the others.

Following Zeke's gaze, standing before the grande stone door, hidden behind a crimson mane, was a Zoroark. Unlike the others, joy and relief fell over Diana as she hurried over to the fox, her arms opened wide, but stopped short when Zeke grabbed her shoulder.

"Zeke, please, he's right there," Diana said, grabbing his claw and pulling it off herself.

"That's not Kora," Zeke replied bluntly, turning back to the other Zoroark. "Z, you have a lot of explaining to do."

Confused, Diana looked between Z and Zeke, then back at the others as they joined Zeke's and hers side. "What? But, no, that's..?"

The other Zoroark turned around, holding in his arms still an unconscious Lee. Remorse, regret, sadness… were all more than apparent on his face. "I know, I do. If you'll let me explain, I will… but first, I have a favor to ask."

"Ya got a better chance swimmin' in the ocean with an anchor tied around ya leg than us doin' ya a favor, prick!" Minerva snapped, her fur standing on end, already prepared for a fight.

Z let out a whimper, but swallowed and tried to stay standing tall. "Th-This is all a big misunderstanding. I'll make it up to you, all of you, I swear, just…" he took a deep breath, then let it all out. "We don't have much time, and neither does your friend," Seeing practically everyone tense up, ready to pounce on him in an instant, Z doubled back and corrected himself. "I-It's not a threat! It's not a threat! I mean it literally! Zen is in danger!"

"Whoever you are, you are doing a terrible job at explaining," Diana said, her voice calm but her eyes burning with a silent fury, and electricity sparking off her body angrily. "Correct that."

"Y-Y-Yes ma'am," Z swallowed again, fighting to regain his composure. "When we f-first got down here, m-me and Lee, we felt this… chill in the air. I-It was unnaturally powerful, s-so we investigated, and we found this door," he started, gesturing to the grand slabs of stone in question, and taking a few breaths as well.

"Lee wanted to investigate it, b-but then Zen showed up and tried to fight Lee on sight. I-I managed to distract Zen long enough with an illusion to get away, b-but then me and Lee ran into Nate, Eva, and Mia…" Z paused again, flinching slightly, breathing more shaky breaths.

"After that, Nate flooded everything, and we got split up, a-and I had to make illusions to stay safe! But then Zeke and Kane and Minerva showed up, and Lee was gone somewhere, and I couldn't find him!" the Zoroark's breathing grew more rapid, and tears formed in his eyes. By now, the others were less ready to fight, and more curious and taken aback by Z's reaction.

"I just wanted to talk, b-but none of you would listen to me, and just kept fighting and fighting and, a-and…" Z stopped, panting heavily as he fell to his knees. Lee's body dropped to the ground without a sound, then fading into a could of black, glittery dust. Despite what everyone else felt at first about Z, most of them couldn't help but recoil at the sight. Rio himself felt a pit form in his chest.

"L-Lee was gone, b-but I know he's in there. Zen too. I only know because this door was closed, a-and I looked everywhere else for him, for anyone, after I… I-I tricked you guys into going into the other doors," Z held his chest, breathing heavier, shakier, and for longer. "N-None of you would listen… W-We were already s-so tired… I'm s-sorry…"

Silence fell over the hall once more. In place of fury and resentment, the air was filled with pity toward Z, and the other Zoroark's exhausted panting. For Rio, it all felt like too much, this heavy atmosphere. He knew he was trapped in a giant underground nightmare of a dungeon, but right now it was suffocating.

"So… Zen, and Lee, are behind this door?" Kane asked, gritting his teeth. He reached into his hood and pulled out small fragments of aura gems, then sucked his teeth and sorted through the shards to find a normal gem shard. "Diana, ya got any gems left on ya?" he asked, holding the shard between him and Eva, crushing it, and letting it flow into her body. Her shakes lessened, but the Zangoose still used Kane for support.

Diana shook her head. "Unfortunately no. All I had on me were electric ones anyway."

Kane scoffed, finding a fire shard and breaking it, watching the tiny aura-embers flow into Eva again. "Great, wonderful. How many of us are fit to fight?"

"We can. I think," Nate said, gesturing to him and Zeke. "I didn't use too much to blast that door open. Or to try to… whatever, you get it, I can fight."

"I can… try, but I'd rather err on the side of caution this time around. I got hit by Lee once, and I'd rather keep it that way," Zeke answered.

Minerva scoffed and crossed her arms, grinning proudly. "Hell yeah I can fight! Ya think I'm just gonna stand here lookin' pretty?"

For his own sake, Rio didn't comment on that sarcastically like he would have. "I can fight too, I guess. But since we're out of gems, uh… maybe not?"

Eva let go of Kane to see if she could stand on her own, and when she actually could and didn't look ready to fall over instantly, she gave Kane a nod. "I'll do what I can," she said, her voice almost back to normal already.

Nervous chittering sounded from Rio's legs, and Paras was skittering anxiously around Rio. "O-Oh no, oh dear, S-Sir Zen. Sir Zen..!" It was safe to assume it wasn't going to fight.

"F-Fight?" Z stuttered, looking up at Kane and the others, his body shaking with every inhale. "Y-You want to fight more?"

The Scrafty nodded. "If Zen's gone berserk, then we'll have to fight him anyway. Knowin' him, he's gonna be furious and dangerous, just like at the hot springs." Kane looked at Mew and Jirachi, raising a brow. "Can… the two of ya actually fight?"

"No," Jirachi said, blunt and cold. Rio would have called BS on that but wanted to stay alive at least until Zen could rip him to shreds.

"Just more great news," Kane rolled his eyes, grimacing.

Diana patted Kane on the shoulder, her usual warm smile on her snout. "It's alright, Kane. Don't forget that I'm here, and no matter how strong Zen has gotten, I should be plenty to handle him." She looked to Rio, her smile remaining. "Be a dear and get ready to open the door, alright sweetheart?"

"O-Ok," Rio nodded.

"Good, now, everyone else–" Diana started, facing the rest of the group. "If you can fight, be at my side. If you can't, please find someone to hide?" she asked, although that was a lot more like a gentle commande than a request. "Oh, and Zeke? I know you might want to fight alongside Nate, but…" she looked back to Z, staring for a moment, then shaking her head. "Keep an eye on this Z, please. For his sake."

"Roger," Zeke nodded, going over to Z and offering him his claw. "Can you stand?" Speechless, Z nodded and took Zeke's claw with his own. The Blaziken pulled Z off the ground and guided him back down the hall, with Mew and Jirachi following behind him, as well as Paras.

Standing before the giant door, Rio took a moment to admire how well kept this one in particular still was. While every other door's paint or colors were faded and made it pretty much impossible to tell what it was originally of, these at least had some form to them. The blue markings on the left looked like some giant quadruped, and on the right were white markings of some tall thing with only two legs. There was also plenty of space on the bottom for another figure, and Rio saw some faint gold traces, but it was mostly scrubbed out rather than faded or scratched by Z.

"Weird…" Rio muttered to himself.

'You're tellin' me.'

The Lucario jumped slightly, surprised by the voice. He looked around for the source, only to realize that no one else was nearby, or at least not close enough to hear him mutter to himself, yet sound so crystal clear in his head. Wait… in his… head..?

'O-Orion?' Rio thought, a grin forming along his snout. 'For a second I thought you had finally left! Why were you so quiet this whole time? Jirachi's not that scary, is he?'

'Oh so now yo–' Orion began, sounding irritated, then paused for a moment. 'W-Wait, you weren't ignoring me this whole time? You actually thought I was gone?'

Rio blinked, tilting his head. 'Uh, yeah? It's kinda hard to ignore a voice in your head, unless they stop talking for, like, half an hour? I dunno how long it's been, I lost track for like the hundredth time.'

A relieved sigh left the voice in Rio's head. 'I should've figured that was the case. The whole you not actually hearing me part, not the losing track of time bit. I already knew you'd do that.'

'Douche.'

'And we're already back to the status quo! I missed you too!' Orion laughed, then sighed. 'Heard we're gonna walk into a fight, you think you're ready for that?'

Rio shrugged. 'Ready as I'll ever be. Zen was gonna beat me up eventually, might as well be ready for it all the time so i'm not surprised by it.'

'I like that thought process, kiddo! Now you should start paying attention to everyone else again. Not that I blame you for having me being the only thing on your mind,' Orion said.

Right after, Rio felt Minerva knocking on his head. "Earth to Blue, ya in there? Ya ain't gettin' could feet right now, are ya?"

"H-Huh? Oh, no, and please stop doing that," Rio responded, rubbing his head.

"Then don't zone out on me, we're ready to open the door," Minerva huffed, tensing up slightly. "Can't believe I gotta beat up that sharp idiot to save his sorry butt. Again."

Rio thought that Minerva should've led with that instead of bonking his head to get his attention. Whatever, it was fine. Rio took a deep breath, feeling more antsy by the second about opening the door. The suspense would probably kill him before Zen had the chance. The Lucario looked back at the others. Diana, Nate, and Kane stood in front, and Eva was just behind the Scrafty. Diana gave Rio a nod and a warm smile, and the Lucario returned his gaze to the door. Minerva gripped his shoulder anxiously, and Mia seemed more calm than anyone else here. With shaky breaths and sweat palms, Rio placed his paws on the door.

The green light that raced up the door and shined from Rio's band was far brighter than it was for any other door, bright enough to blind everyone for a moment. A sharp, sudden pain raced up Rio's arms. He hissed painfully, stumbling back and clutching his paws tightly to try and force through it. Before anyone thought to see what was wrong, the door started to open. The loud scraping of stone against stone was bad enough, but even worse, this heavy, dark air bled from the opening and filled the hall in an instant. Rio fell to his knees, struggling to even stand under this wild, unforgiving pressure… this aura. Orion quickly shut off Rio's ability to sense aura, but his body being naturally sensitive to it still felt the weight of this aura.

Fortunately, after a moment or so had passed, the aura was just barely bearable enough to stand in. Rio panted heavily, checking that Minerva and Mia were alright. Props to them, they managed to stay firmly on Rio's shoulders, and neither seemed nearly as worn out as Rio was. Lucky them. The Lucario glanced into the now open doorway, and all he saw was darkness. Much like the darkness that every floor's exist seemed to lead into.

Looking back, the same couldn't be said for everyone. As Rio expected, Diana looked fine, but everyone else was struggling to stand back up. Especially Eva. Further back, Zeke carried Z's arm over his shoulder, but other than that they were fine. Mew and Jirachi looked practically untouched as well. And, aside from its usual shaking, Paras looked… about as normal as it could be.

"Alright, th-this is good. And bad. But kinda good," Rio muttered to himself, those nervous butterflies in his stomach increasing further.

"That was far from what I was expecting…" Diana said, helping Nate back up to his feet. "We'll need to be as cautious as possible. Everyone who can stand, behind me." She turned back to Mew and Jirachi. "Can you two help whoever can't move get out of the way?"

"Henry!" Mew chirped, floating over to Kane and Eva. The feline grabbed onto them both and helped them up, giddy, but still careful.

"It's Roger, Mew," Kane corrected her, chuckling lightly. He put Eva's arm over his shoulder and nodded at Mew, grateful. "I think I got it from here. Let's go Ev–" As soon as Kane took a step away from Mew, he nearly collapsed again.

Mew quickly helped Kane back up again. "I thought your name was Kane?" she purred, then looked a bit more worried. "I'll just help you both outta the way, Roger."

"N-No, I mean…" Kane stuttered, then sucked his teeth and let out a groan. "Whatever. Thanks, Mew."

That little interaction was so lighthearted that Rio almost forgot he was gearing up to fight a possibly rampaging Zen, o-or maybe something even worse? The thought was always at the back of his mind, but after feeling that pressure only moments prior, Rio's mind started spiraling into a panic because he really could not tell what he was getting into. What monsters could have been locked down here, that Zen was locked behind this door with? Where would this door even lead?

For better or worse, an answer of sorts would soon reveal itself. From the darkness came the soft, recognizable sound of paws walking on stone. With it, another rush of aura, similar but coldly different to the one that nearly crushed everyone else before. It was more compact, more controlled, but endlessly more cold and sinister. Followed by a familiar voice, one Rio hoped he didn't have to hear so soon…

"Ah, so the door has opened again. A pity, this fight was just getting interesting."

There was no mistaking it, the source of that voice, that aura… Lee.

The Wolf revealed himself, appearing from the doorway in the blink of an eye. He looked no different than how Rio remembered him; tall, beastly, powerful. A smug, vile grin cracked along his snout as he scanned over the others, and a low chuckle escaped his chest. But… there was something different about him. Lee acted like his usual self, but he looked unkempt and manic. There was a glint in his eyes that felt all sorts of wrong. Rio clutched his chest and swallowed, feeling as if his knees were about to give out right then and there. His aura sense was still off but that didn't seem to matter. Everything felt wrong.

"How very nice it is to see you all again. And more or less in one piece," Lee hummed, his eyes falling on Nate, who could barely stand yet his fierce glare was fixated on Lee solely. "And what, prey tell, has gotten you so riled up?"

"Sh-Shove it," Nate growled, a watery glow appearing around him.

"I would much rather not," Lee chuckled, then wagged a claw dismissively at the Feraligatr. "And I would not do that if I were you. I do not know about you, but I remember the last time you flooded this place, it ended up not being in your teammates' favor."

Ignoring Lee's warning, Nate fired a powerful Hydro Pump at the crimson canine, and Lee simply grinned instead of moving out of the way. Just before the attack landed, Lee moved out of the way. Nate let out an agitated hiss, readying another attack.

"You simply are not one to listen, are you? Like I have said before, I have already won," Lee laughed, shaking his head. He held his paw out, and everyone braced for an incoming attack. One that never came. Instead, Lee pierced his own chest. But… no blood came out, no grunts or signs of pain, only a deep, dark aura that oozed out around his arm. He yanked his arm out, wielding a shimmering, light jade gear. Pulsing with an otherworldly… no, a divine glow. The "wound" on his chest closed as soon as his arm was pulled out, leaving a dark scar that faded more and more. Rio couldn't pull his eyes away from Lee, being mystified and terrified by the wolf's display, and the gear he held. Rio didn't know what it was but… it was definitely important.

Diana recognized it first, her glare narrowing on Lee as static crackled off her body. "You villain… Using the Instruments of the Divine like it's your plaything…"

"And a beautiful plaything it is, is it not? Regardless of their creator, the Time Gears are indeed a work of art. But it pales in comparison to this." Another jab to his chest, and out from it came a roughly cut crystal, shining with every color imaginable. Yet, in spite of its radiance and color, a stronger, colder, darker aura than Lee's radiated from it. The chills Rio felt before were like rays of sunshine in comparison.

Other than Rio, Z was the only one to have any reaction to the gem. "Holy… one of the shards were here?"

"I was surprised as well, Z. What luck, we both share. As for the rest of you, you imperfect creatures, while you know not who this is, I can assure you… As long as he is within my grasp, I am untouchable." Lee placed the two items back within himself, letting out a low chuckle. "As such, I will be taking my leave."

Furious, Minerva grabbed a nearby stone and chucked it at Lee's head. It missed, just barely too, and shattered into dust on the opposite wall. "Like hell! Ya gotta be braindead to think we'll just let ya go without a fight!" she barked, grabbing another stone and throwing it.

Lee once again evaded it, then gave the Meowth a dismissive glare. "Oh, it is you. That is to be expected, your infatuation with that brute surely would have brought you down here. And your temper is just as I recall. Far too short."

"Wanna run that by me again, asshole?!" Minerva spat, running towards the Wolf, claws primed to slice into him.

When Minerva was close enough to hit him, Lee kicked out his foot, striking her in the stomach and bringing her to her knees. Lee then kneeled down, grinning smugly. "Your temper is far, too, short."

As Lee leaned down to mock her, Minerva's body crackled with electricity. She suddenly leapt up, swiping at Lee's face. Lee dodged it so fast that it looked like he vanished… and he "reappeared" behind them all, right before Zeke and Z. Z, Lee's partner, looked at the Wolf as if he had seen a ghost. Zeke put on a tough face, but his arms shook, and beads of sweat rolled down his cheek.

Lee smiled, cold and sinister, seeing through the facade easily. "I am glad I left a proper impression on someone," he hummed, then waved the Blaziken off. "I thank you for taking care of Z for a time. Now, let go." Zeke opened his beak to speak, but no words came out, so… he let go of Z and stepped back. Lee glaned Jirachi, the two shared an oddly long stare, then the Wolf frowned and addressed the others. "Now then, I have everything I came here for. And if you lot will excuse us, we shall be taking our leave."

"W-We can't let you do that..!" Eva choked out, clutching Kane tightly. She looked on the verge of passing out, and as if she desperately wanted to hide behind the Scrafty.

Distorted laughter shook Lee's body, and faint dark wisps floated off of him before he snapped his gaze to Eva, grinning from ear to ear. "That was not a request, as I am more than sure you realize. To see yet another of you insects trembling in fear… truly this victory of mines was destined to be."

"And I believe it is equally apparent that you are overestimating your own ability," Diana said sternly, her quiet fury rising to a boil. Her electric aura sparked to life around her, actually pushing away some of that overbearing aura that filled the hall. "By the name of Arceus, I will not allow you to set foot upon our island again."

"Oh yes, the mighty axe of Arceus. Do not worry, I have no reason to return here. And besides, your island was never truly in any danger," Lee hummed, nodding his head.

There was a sudden clap of thunder. Diana launched an attack faster than anyone else could see, a powerful punch aimed for Lee and only Lee. She… missed. Diana's fist was mere inches from striking Zeke instead. Diana stared at the Blaziken in disbelief, then turned to face Lee, who looked like he hadn't even moved.

"I can already tell what you are thinking, but before I answer, allow me to ask a question of you instead," Lee spoke, crossing his arms behind his back, his toothy smile growing further than what felt natural. "How dearly do you wish to see your sons again?"

Another thunderclap. Diana attempted to land an electrified uppercut, putting so much force behind it that she went airborne. But her fist hit nothing but air. Lee was back before the giant stone door, Z by his side, both of them perfectly untouched by the mother Zoroark.

"My my, how aggressive," Lee laughed, giving Diana a round of applause. "Were it not for the Gear in my possession, I believe that would have been closer to grazing me, yes?" The Wolf put on a sinister grin, beckoning Diana with a claw. "Now, come. Your children are waiting."

As soon as Diana hit the ground, she blasted off with another thunderclap, and her, Lee, and Z were gone. Silence fell over the hall, the gravity of the situation starting to bear down on the others.

"Wh-What… just happened..?" Rio stammered, taking in deep breaths. He honestly couldn't tell if he was breathing during that whole event… certainly didn't feel like it.

Minerva clenched her fists furiously, sparks shooting off her body. "That asshole…" she growled, a blind fury in her eyes as she marched towards the door. "I'm gonna rip that prick in half…"

"You aren't the only one with a bone to pick with that guy, Minerva," Nate said through gritted teeth, just as furious as her, if not, more.

"A-And I don't need to remind you guys but… he's out of any of our leagues. He already has a Time Gear, a-and that aura…" Zeke added, joining Nate's side. His body still shook, and his eyes were filled with panic. Quick to notice this in Zeke, Nate let out a brief sigh and placed his claw on Zeke's shoulder. The Blaziken flinched, but smiled and nodded at the attempt to calm him.

Kane sucked his teeth and shook his head. "Best we can do is head in there and give Diana our support…" he sighed, until a sudden realization dawned on him. "W-Wait… Oh no… no no no… If that was Lee, then where's..?"

Eva quickly followed where Kane was going, her eyes widening as she gripped onto Kane tighter. "N-No he's… he's Zen. Zen. Even if Lee was s-stronger than him, Zen wouldn't…" Whether she didn't believe her own words, or just didn't have the strength to say it, Eva stopped herself from finishing and shook her head.

"Of course that prideful bastard's alive, it's Zen," Minerva scoffed, rolling her eyes. "If ya wanna be worried about anyone, be worried about Lee." She continued through the door, more and more static sparking off of her. "Whether he knows where Kora is or not, I'm gonna make 'im bleed for sayin' all that."

Kane and Eva stared at Minerva as she left, then looked back at each other. They shared a small smile and a nod, standing just that little bit straighter. "Yeah," Kane huffed, putting a fist to his chest and laughing. "The hell was I even gettin' worried about, Zen's tougher than all of us combined!"

"H-Hell yeah," Eva said, coughing a bit. "I bet we only saw Lee 'cuz he was running away from Zen. P-Putting on all that bravado… I bet he had his tail between his legs until he realized it was us and not him."

"Then we better get a few hits in before Zen beats him to a bloody pulp!" Kane said, grinning proudly. He then turned back to the rest of the group. "We're keepin' the strategy from earlier; whoever can fight goes on the frontlines, those who can't hang in the back, but we're all goin' got that?"

Nate smirked, pounding his fists together. "You didn't even need to remind me, honestly. It's about time Lee and I went for a second round."

Zeke chuckled, patting Nate on the head. "Oooooo, really? Should I be jealous?"

"Wha-?" Nate blinked, before a faint shade of red rose to his face and he elbowed Zeke in the side. "Shut it, I'm leaving."

Zeke clutched his side, somewhat winded. "L-Leaving me for Lee, huh?" he wheezed. The smart-alec bird didn't seem to learn his lesson.

"SHUT. UP." Nate groaned, grabbing Zeke by his hair and pulling him through the door.

A brief silence came right after, broken by Kane with a loud clearing of his throat. "Well, uh, we might as well follow their lead. Through the door," he tittered, then sighed as he made his way out. Eva snickered as she did the same.

"Yeah, we should too," Rio said, looking at Mia on his shoulder, and was totally surprised to see her curled up and quietly snoring. 'H-How? Why?' he thought, blinking, flabbergasted. Mia let out an adorable yawn and unfurled, rubbing her eyes.

Realizing just how odd Mia was, Rio was about to go through the door to save himself the brain cells from trying to think the answer over, but stopped when he noticed Mew and Jirachi weren't moving. "You two alright?" Rio asked, against his better judgement

Fortunately, this time, Jirachi didn't threaten the Lucario's life. In fact, he didn't answer at all. The star sprite stared at the open door in total silence. Mew had to speak up for him. "It's just… you know… last minute nerves and all that," the feline tittered, herself fidgeting and shaking slightly. "W-We'll be fine, though! You go on ahead, and we'll catch up!"

Skeptical, Rio tilted his head and crossed his arms. "It's alright, I can wait for you two. It's not like I'm that much of a fighter, I'm pretty sure everyone else can handle Lee without me."

"B-But do you not wish to witness Sir Zen's wrath?" Paras spoke up suddenly, causing Rio to jump. Startled, Mia slipped off Rio's shoulder and into his arms, looking up at him all annoyed and huffy.

"H-Holy–!" Rio yelped, then cleared his throat and tittered "I thought that was your thing, right? Why didn't you run off after him?"

"I was w-waiting for everyone else to leave, s-so I could follow behind them. I do not like h-having creatures behind m-me," Paras chittered, anxious. "I cannot see them, and that is where we are all most vulnerable…"

Rio crouched down and chuckled lightly. "It's not like we're gonna attack you. A friend of Zen is a friend of ours! Or at least a friend of mines," he said, extending his paw. Paras, being itself, backed away and stared at Rio cautiously. The Lucario tittered, knowing he should have expected that. "R-Right, sorry. I'm Rio by the way. If you're scared of being attacked from behind, then I promise not to let anything happen to you, alright?"

"R-Really..?" Paras blinked, its anxious chitters quieting slightly. When Rio gave it a nod, Paras carefully approached Rio's paw and snipped gently at it. It then placed both of its pincers on top.

"Is, uh, that some sort of buggy handshake?" Rio asked.

"What is a… hand? Why would you shake it?" Paras asked, chittering curiously.

"Oh, nevermind," Rio tittered, then stood back up and cleared his throat. "Then we're off, little bug guy." He quickly focused back to Mew and Jirachi. "What about you two? I'm not leaving without either of you."

Mew flinched slightly, then put on a smile and patted Rio on the head. "You're so nice, Blue! We were just getting ready to go, actually," Mew said, grabbing hold of Jirachi's hand and snapping him out of his trance. "Right Rachi?"

"Huh? Wait, what?" Jirachi blinked, totally lost.

"I'll take that as a yes!" Mew purred, and before Jirachi could make sense of anything, pulled him on through the door. "See ya in a bit Riooooooo!" her voice echoed, before fading into silence.

Which only left Rio, Mia, and Paras. Apparently not getting the memo that one had to comment on the exit of the others and make your own, Paras started walking into the door on its own. It only stopped to stare at Rio since he wasn't moving, silent, waiting. It felt like the insect's near-lifeless eyes were peering into Rio's soul.

'What a creepy little guy…' Rio thought, giving Paras a smile and a wave before walking beside it.

'Yeah…' Orion agreed. 'Remember to wash your paws when we get topside again, I don't want us to catch whatever the hell this bug thing has. Oh, also, try not to get us killed. Contrary to popular belief, dying hurts.'

Rio had literally no idea how that was a "popular belief," but decided not to press on that at all. There were better things to waste his brain cells over, surely.

---

Walking through the darkness, Rio was met with a sudden, bright flash of white. It felt exactly like the white void from before, but it didn't last nearly as long, and Rio barely "fell" either. When he opened his eyes, Rio found himself standing In another hall, but a different hall than he was used to. Instead of stone, the walls and floors were made of marble, lit up by metal lanterns holding bright, aura-filled clusters of gems. The light was… pleasant, in a way. Comforting. Even the oddly preserved state of this hall in comparison to the last was calming at first.

But Rio didn't have the time to dwell on it, on any of this. That powerful, crushing aura was back and even stronger here. It was going rampant, rising and crashing like waves against the shore during a terrible storm. Rio wasn't sure how he was even standing in it, let alone how bad it'd be if his aura sense was active at all. At least, very slowly, Rio felt the aura less and less, but it sure was taking him a long time to acclimate to it.

Ever full of surprises, Mia sat on Rio's shoulder unfazed through it all, and scuttling on the ground nearby, Paras seemed more or less the same. Rio was impressed, surprised, and honestly a bit jealous. Why did he have to be the one struggling to stand upright under all this, huh?

"Yes… Yes, I can sense it…" Paras muttered, marching down the hall as if in a trance. "Sir Zen… Sir Zen… He's here, he's here! I can sense it! I can taste it! His fury, his anguish, his wrath!" The insect suddenly ran off. "I must bear witness! I must! I must! I MUST!"

Not exactly having anything better to do, Rio ran after it. Well, "ran" is a bit exaggerated, it was more like he quickly… slowly stumbled behind Paras. It was then Rio realized the disadvantage of two legs compared to six. The hall being as long as it was, didn't help him out either.

Just as fast as the comfort and calm the light gave to Rio welcomed him with open arms, it was just as quickly taken away the deeper he went into his hall. It all started to fall in ruin, with cracks and scorch marks and indentations steadily decorating everything. Lanterns started to dim and flicker, and some of them were drained entirely and left as empty husks. The air got colder and colder, heavier and heavier… suffocatingly so.

At the end of the hall was a vast chamber, with a staircase leading downwards, and the sounds of battle came from the bottom of it. There was no light, Rio could barely see, but as Paras practically threw himself down the stairs Rio didn't hesitate to follow him. The walls were just bare close enough for Rio to tell that there was some sort of coloration on them, pictures or mosaics, but in the darkness they might as well have been blank. However, at the bottom of the staircase, light finally returned. Before him was another doorway, but this one being the largest he had ever seen, decorated with gold and jewels, with what looked like a golden crest with four spikes forming around it. What took Rio's attention the most was that the source of the aura bearing down on him, where the sounds of battle echoed from, was close.

This final chamber was vast as well, but broken from the battle held within it. In the center rested a cracked, triangular, marble pedestal, with broken glass all around it. Ruined images decorated the ceiling above, with only scuffed traces of color being left behind, much like the colors on the giant door at the end of that earlier hall. Three more halls, each one being tall and long, led outside of this chamber, but the centermost one was blocked by debris. He couldn't tell why, but Rio had a feeling that this place was beautiful before all of this.

"Wh-Why is this place… so b-big?" Rio said, winded from running down the stairs so fast. "Is this normal? It can't be normal…" Mia simply shrugged in response, then nodded towards the eastern hall. Sparks of light flashed within it, and the longer Rio stared down it, the more a creeping dread filled his body. "I-Is that really where you wanna go?" he swallowed, looking at Mia as if he'd seen a ghost. Ever silent, the Eevee nodded. And as if to further emphasize that this was the path he had to go down, Paras let out an excited… choking sound and scuttled down it first.

'Oh… it probably isn't that bad, Rio! Remember, everyone else is already down here!' Orion said, attempting to be encouraging. 'At the very least, Diana's down here! So we'll be fine! Most…'

Rio tensed up, a twitch in his eye. 'You are not helping. You are far from helping.'

'In my defense, I'm the one who's still sensing everything in full. I can only suspend my disbelief for so long,' Orion huffed back. 'Now get a move on… gotta pull the bandage off quick, and whether that puts us in another, bigger bandage is for us to not think about until we get the hospital bill.'

Another twitch, and the sudden urge to book it down the other hall blared in Rio's mind. He was about to follow it without a second thought when Mia kinda just… placed her paw on Rio's cheek. Much like anything else that has happened recently, Rio didn't know why, but this simple, gentle act calmed him down immensely. For the first time in a while, Rio felt relaxed, almost.

"...Thanks, uh, Mia," Rio muttered and nodded. The Eevee gave him a smile, nodding towards the hall again. "Yeah, I know, I know. Let's just get this over with, right? Gotta make it quick. Like pulling off a bandage." Rio took a quick breath before running down the hall, full sprint, devil may care!

---

Turns out, making a headlong charge into somewhere you didn't know wasn't the best idea. Rio rather carelessly collided with someone, bouncing right off of them. Before he could even hit the ground, whoever he ran into grabbed him by his arm, and after that everything got all spinny and disorientating as he was carried around faster than he thought was possible. All while coated in a powerful electric aura. And, also, with him screaming at the top of his lungs as every one of his senses were thrown way off.

When everything stopped moving, Rio found himself in the strong, sturdy arms of Diana, with Mia in his own arms and Minerva standing on Diana's shoulder. Rio blinked, still processing everything, before nervously tittering and asking, "U-Uh, don't tell anyone about this?"

Diana looked down at him, stern and serious, until hearing his request and letting out a sigh. "Please be more careful, Rio. You could have gotten killed," she said as she set him down, far colder than usual.

"Killed? By what?" Rio asked, letting his head hang back to see Lee, grinning right back at him. Arm outstretched with the remnants of his black aura burning off of it. "O-O-Oh! I see!" Rio stammered. He glanced to his sides, seeing both the wide hall they stood in, and the rest of his friends, most of them ready to battle. Mew and Jirachi floated far from everyone else, and Paras… was frantically looking for something.

"And, finally, you all have arrived," Lee chuckled, holding his arms behind his back. "I can quit with the games and let the real fun begin. I just want to say, this little back and forth between us has been truly eye opening…" Lee's grin grew even further, and his dense, black aura burned close to his body, darkening his fur, and causing his eyes to glow brighter. "I truly have none who equal me now, and you lot? Are hardly a concern."

Minerva hissed, crackling with electricity. "How about ya stand still and let us show ya just how hard a concern we can be."

Distorted, manic laughter filled the hall. "But of course! Perhaps I should hold your paw as you cross the street, or tuck you into your cradle when the moon rises into the night sky! Would you prefer warm milk and cookies as well? A bedtime story?" he cackled, wiping a black tear from his eye.

"You little…" Minerva growled, her glare sharpening on Lee.

"Fret not, child, I have the perfect tale for you. Tell me, have you heard the story of the Foolish Swordsman?" Lee asked, but instead of waiting for an answer, plunged his claws into his chest once more. His darkness spread further and stronger over his body, leaving only his eyes and hair visible. Diana sped over to attack him, but she couldn't even get close.

"There was a myth of a Pokemon of great prowess and skill, who sliced every foe who stood in his way," Lee continued on, pulling his arm out of himself, and the Time Gear along with it. Diana threw a punch, and a bolt of lightning shot from it. It burned through the air, but nothing else.

"That Swordsman was met with a righteous, frightening, unfathomable being. One who sought out this Swordsman to end his reign of malice and destruction. They clashed, steel against claw, raw might against a force of nature, until, well…" Lee's grin flashed at the group, and his distorted laughter echoed through the halls. "Would it not be more fun to let you see how this story ends? It can be a… learning experience." He threw his arm back, aimed further down the hall, and flashed a bright jade. Lee's laughter grew louder and louder, his grin wider and toothier, then he was gone without a trace.

The others didn't have a second to rest as an overbearing over rushed in, the same they felt when Rio first opened the door, and something metallic was sent rocketing their way. Diana was the only one fast enough to react and catch it, and she just barely did so, crashing down hard on the floor with a Bisharp now in her arms.

"Z-Zen?" Diana choked, one of Zen's body blades digging into her side, drawing blood. One, specifically, because the others were cracked and broken. Even his helm blade was chipped and shattered, and his body armor didn't fare much better. With his black, berserk aura still burning around his body, and the series of cracks in his armor… he looked on the verge of falling apart.

"N-Ngh…" Zen muttered, pressing a gauntlet on the ground to push himself up, but fell back onto Diana. "D-Diana..? How… Why..?"

"Sir Zen!" Paras exclaimed, scuttling to Diana and Zen's side. "Oh, oh no! This cannot be! This cannot be! Sir Zen!"

"Par-as..? Even y-you?" Zen said weakly. The insect let out a worried chitter and pressed up against Zen's body. Zen barely reacted to its touch, letting out a pained grunt. "Why a-are you–"

Minerva, seeing Zen's horrible state, let her electric aura spark to life and fixed her glare down the hall. "G-Guys! We got trouble!" she called out, a frantic look in her eyes. Nate, Kane, and even Rio joined Minerva's side.

From the darkness emerged a creature totally engulfed in it, the only thing visible being the two sets of lifeless, crimson eyes that pierced it. It towered over everyone else, with maybe only Zen and Zeke being close to its height. Long wisps of its abyssal, inky-black aura rose into the air, pooling on the ceiling and spreading that impossible coldness all throughout the hall. Each step it took felt like it shook the dungeon itself, and the silence it brought was deafening.

"WOO-HOOO! He went flying!" a familiar, if distorted, voice called from the… shadowy figure. Specifically from the top pair of eyes. It was young and… boyish? The same pair glanced down at the others, and the voice spoke again. "Oh! Hey guys!"

Ever the fastest person in any room, Diana's eyes widened and she rather quickly pushed Zen aside to stand before this shadowy creature, staring at the eyes on top. "K-Kai?!"

More worried about the battle-worn Zen, Eva and Kane hurried over to him, kneeling beside the fallen warrior and… well, look worried for him. Eva reached for his gauntlet, but it was so cold that she pulled away and hissed, holding her paw to her chest.

The top pair of eyes laughed and smiled back at Diana. "Hi Mom! Me and Kora just got done playing with Zen! It was so so so so SO much FUN!" it replied, snickering and laughing and cackling all at once. "But Zen got all sleepy and stuff, he's so boring!"

"Oh my Arceus…" Diana muttered, holding her paws over her mouth. "Wh-What happened to you?"

"Wh-What?" Rio said, staring at the tall creature in disbelief. "There's no way, how..?" Mia stared as well, but less confused and more serious.

Minerva's aura fizzled out, and she backed away. "Th-That thing's Kai?"

"Uh, duhhh! I didn't know you needed to get glasses, Minerva!" Kai snickered. "Don't tell me ya can't see Kora either, he's right here! Say high Kora!" The Zorua leaned over and patted just above the eyes beneath him. It let out a low, feral growl, then barked and snarled. "He says hi, hehe!"

"Oh, really? Hi thingy!" Mew cheered from behind the group. "I mean, uh, Kora!"

Diana reached up and held what she thought to be Kora's face in her paws, tears welling in her eyes. The Zoroark stared back at her, or rather, through her, totally uncaring. "Kora… Arceus, please…"

"Wha– We're fine mom! Geez! So what if he doesn't talk as much, I still think he's super funny!" Kai laughed, more of that abyssal aura rising from both him and his brother. "Come on, let's play! Let's play! When was the last time Kora and I played with you, huh? Huh?"

"Kai, we need to get out of here. We need to fix… this," Diana spoke, soft and shaky. "My dear boys, what did this to you..?"

Instead of his bubbliness, Kai groaned and rolled his eyes. "Mom! I just said we're fine! Look, ehem… Kora, do something totally awesome!" And just as Kai spoke, Kora suddenly threw a punch at Diana. The mother Zoroark managed to dodge it, but only by a hair. Kai clapped his paws and cheered, more of his distorted laughter escaping him. "See? He almost had ya! Now let's play! I wanna play! Quick, I can feel myself dying of boredom!"

"H-Hey, uh, little buddy," Zeke spoke, staying by Nate's side. "Look, we've all had a really rough day, and we really just wanna get out of this dungeon and rest! Don't you wanna do that too? You must've been here for a long time, right?"

Kai nodded. "Uh-huh! It's been… a really really REALLY long time! But I had my super awesome big bro with me the whole time, so the dark wasn't even bad! We played and played and played, but then Zen found us! But he didn't wanna play with us, so we had to make 'im! We played for an even longer time after that!"

The Bisharp in question coughed, rolling onto his back and propping himself up on his elbow. "The rest of you… r-run. None of you… N-None of you can…" Exhausted, he fell back down. Paras stood anxiously beside him, scuttling back and forth and chittering to itself.

"Hey, quit tryin' to move you idiot," Kane said, his voice shaky as he looked Zen over. "H-Holy shit…"

"Kai, what the hell?!" Minerva barked, panic and frustration clear on her face. "Y-Ya ain't tellin' us ya did that?" she asked, gesturing towards Zen.

"Yeah we did! Kora was all like "Bam pow!" And Zen was all, "Shing Zam!" And I was right here like "Oooooo! Aaaaaaaah!" But we won anyway! There's nothin' stronger than us bros! Right big bro?" Kai beamed, looking down at Kora's face. For some reason, Kora never put his arm back down. Kai tilted his shadowed head. "Bro? Hellooooooo? Anyone in there? Bro minor to bro majoooooooor? Small medium to large? Pupsicle to Broberg?"

Then Kora's eyes suddenly snapped to Diana, who stared back with a quiet, pained look. Kora's gaze then shifted to Rio, who flinched and stepped back, then Zeke and Nate, Kane and Eva and Zen, before finally falling on Minerva. Naturally, the feline flinched and her body shook, paralyzed, and worry rose on her face. Kora's eyes widened slightly, some recognition and life flickering behind them.

"K-Kora? Kora!" Diana held Kora's face again, directing his gaze to her own. "Kora it's me, it's Mommy. P-Please, say something!"

The aura around Kai and Kora grew stronger, and the Zorua groaned again. "I just said he can't talk and we're FINE, Mom! We're fine! We're fine! Just play with us!" he whined, slamming his paws on Kora's head. "Leave him alone and play with us!"

Kora's mouth opened slightly, and more aura emerged from it. As well as a dull, distorted groan. "A-Ah–"

"Quickly… Y-You must…" Zen creaked, coughing and choking. "H-Hurry… Y-You idiots…" But Zen's warning was ignored, as Diana and even Minerva tried to approach Kora.

"Geez…" Minerva said softly, sympathetic.

"It's alright, I'm here, I came to save you," Diana said as she pressed her forehead to Kora's. "I'm here, my son, everything is alright."

The aura around the two shadowed foxes rapidly expanded, now like a fire burning around them. "Are you all deaf too?!" Kai snapped, the red of his eyes turning a fiery shade of red. "What about me?! I just wanna play! Play with me! PLAY WITH ME!"

Rio swallowed, thinking that maybe he should speak up. "Uh, Kai, er, n-now's really not the time. And you guys clearly aren't fine either, you shouldn't be playing like that. I-I think."

"What do YOU know?! You barely know anything!" Kai puffed, glaring daggers at Rio and sending chills through his body. "I know what we should do, and that is play! What's so hard to understand about that?!"

Diana turned back to Kai and shook her head. "Please, dear, calm down. We can play when we're safe and nobody is hurt. You must understa–"

"NO!" Kai shouted, the aura around him and Kora now so strong that Diana couldn't stand anywhere near them. "I don't want to play later, I want to play NOW! If you won't play with me, then I'll FORCE YOU!" The Zorua raised both his forepaws and jabbed them into Kora's head. A painful, warped cry left Kora, which was actually painful to hear, but it only lasted a few seconds before Kora stood lifeless once more. Then, as Kai glared at Diana, so too did Kora. "I'm goin' all out, so you better do it too! I want this to be FUN!" Kai said, throwing his head back in distorted cackling. He then snapped his head back down, a sinister, toothy grin on his snout. "LET'S GET 'EM KORA!"

"RAAAAHHHHHHH!" a beastly roar exploded from Kora as his and Kai's shared aura suddenly ruptured from their bodies in all directions. What little light was present got quickly snuffed out as a deep, impenetrable darkness enveloped everyone in an instant.