A New Chance For Adventure

by ArcyAnderson

Sequel to A New Chance At Life. Finishing the Johto region while traveling with two Legendary Pokémon, Latias and Latios, was certainly a joyous experience for Ash. With that region behind him, Ash has now set his sights on a new tournament: The Hoenn League. A journey that promises new challenges, new friends and rivals to be met, and a powerful evil ready to rise…

7. Return Of A Legend

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Telepathy"

Author Notes: Chapter 7 here, enjoy!

Last Revision: March 3rd, 2016.

Chapter 7 - Return Of A Legend

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"Oh wow…" Max uttered with total fascination, eyes widening in awe behind his glasses as he looked up at the blue dragon hovering over him, the one Pokémon he had become absolutely obsessed with ever since he'd first seen him personally during his trip to the Silver Conference with his dad a few months ago, from the far distance of the stadium's crowds. Now he finally had the chance to see his idol up close and right in front of him. "Latios is so awesome…" the boy voiced quietly again, a barely audible whisper due to the sheer sense of amazement coursing through the boy, who was completely frozen on the spot in pure awe, despite the peril that was going on around him.

"Caroline, get the children back here!" Norman called out immediately, seeing that the robot's attack had been stopped dead in its mechanical tracks, giving him the perfect chance to get his kids to safety. Caroline nodded once and quickly grabbed May and Max's wrists before pulling them behind Norman and Slaking, where she knew would be safer. Bianca also got to safety, slowly backing away until she was next to Ash.

"Not you three crooks again!" Ash bellowed angrily, irritation clearly visible on his face and body language. "Can't you leave us alone for once? You just interrupted my Gym Battle!" he complained, clearly ticked off. Pikachu jumped off his shoulder and stood in front of him at the same time as Pidgeot flew in and landed before Ash and Bianca, both Pokémon sporting protective looks on their faces. Latias and Latios reunited with their trainer and the other two Pokémon. Within seconds Ash and Bianca were behind the safety of all four Pokémon.

"Don't you dare interrupt our motto!" Jessie screamed indignantly over the loudspeaker, making her voice thunder ominously as their robot towered over the group. She was angry as well that their precious and very important motto had been interrupted. "No one interrupts it! Not even you, twerp!" she screamed in a complete state of rage.

"Yes! Now where were we?" James asked, forgetting which part of the motto they were on before they were interrupted.

Jessie snorted. "Let's just start over from the beginning," she suggested.

"Okay!" James agreed instantly. He loved to recite their motto.

"Prepare for trouble!" Jessie began, making her voice as loud and intimidating as possible; this was assisted greatly by the huge loudspeakers installed on the Slaking robot.

"And-" James began, attempting to make his voice big and scary like Jessie's, but he was interrupted before he could continue.

Ash growled with a mix of anger and irritation. "I don't care about your stupid motto!" he shot back. "I'll interrupt it as many times as I want to! Shut up and just go away already!"

"Huh? You don't care!?" James roared angrily at the youth's rather harsh reply. "We'll just make you care about it, then!" The trio quickly grabbed the robot's controls and began their assault. The titanic robot reared its right arm back, the hand tightening into a fist. At the same time, many tiny hatches opened across the fist's hull, spewing flames that covered the fist in a large coat of fire in seconds.

"Take this, twerp! Fire Punch!" Jessie's voice roared over the loudspeakers. The SlaKing Kong threw the fire-imbued fist of steel towards Ash, the robot's metallic body creaking loudly as the massive blow loomed over them.

"Watch out!" Norman cried out worriedly, but the size and sheer power behind the robot's attack greatly discouraged him in terms of ordering Slaking to try and defend them. Plus, Norman reasoned, Ash did have two legendaries; surely they could defend their trainer themselves.

The eon twins were the first to react. Before the SlaKing Kong's fire-coated fist was even halfway in its progress towards Ash, the debris of the gym's external rock wall seemed to come to life as it flew between them and the robot. The rubble formed a huge rock wall, held together and reinforced by the dragon twin's powerful psychic abilities.

The force behind the robot's fire punch was massive as the iron fist smashed into the wall with a huge explosion. The rock wall, instead of falling apart like the three villains expected, sprang forward under the control of an invisible force and covered the arm in a layer of debris, putting out the fire. Using the rocky 'glove' that the eon dragons had crafted over the robot's arm, the twins froze the limb in place.

"Dammit!" James cursed, his voice carrying over through the speakers.

Latias frowned as she noticed something very important when she tried to use her mental powers on the robot itself. "Huh…I can't touch the robot. Nor feel the three bad guys inside it. It must be psychic proof…" she muttered sadly. The fact that their psychic powers were useless against the steel-laden adversary meant that the fight was going to be perhaps a little harder than they had originally expected.

"Typical," Latios commented with a shrug. "It was almost expected they'd start making their toys psychic-proof. But remember what we used against Team Magma's Pokémon, Latias. We can't hurt things or Pokémon that are immune to Psychic, but…we can affect everything around them that isn't immune."

"Dey stopped da punch!" Meowth cried incredulously. He grabbed a lever and pushed it to the maximum setting, putting as much mechanical power into the robot's arm as possible. Both twins growled as the robot started to push against them, but their eyes gleamed solidly as they took hold of the robot's right arm with the use of the rocks coating it, making any further movement impossible.

"Awesome!" Max exclaimed happily, voice filled with admiration. "Did you see how much stuff they lifted with their telekinesis and how fast!? Wow! They're stopping the robot!" he ranted, his mind completely focused on the two Legendaries before them.

Norman wasn't too interested in the same things as Max was for obvious reasons. "Ash, do you know these people?" he questioned while glancing at the young Pokémon trainer, his voice sharp and barely hiding a tone of anger.

Ash nodded once. "Yeah, they're a trio of thieves who steal trainer's Pokémon, though they've been following me for over two years while trying to steal my Pokémon," he answered, turning to look back at the Gym Leader briefly. "And they always fail."

May frowned. "So they're the same guys with the silly robot from last time?" she asked, already dreading the answer.

Bianca nodded with a sad expression. "Yeah, they are," she responded.

Norman glared at the robot, his fists clenching at his sides as an immense level of fury built inside the Gym Leader's mind. "You… you dare… HOW DARE YOU!?" he roared suddenly, causing Team Rocket to involuntarily cringe backwards in their seats at the immense anger in the man's voice. "You three have the nerve, the absolute gall, to come in here, to interrupt an official Pokémon League gym match, to lay waste to my gym itself, and in doing so, almost succeeded in bringing harm to myself, to Ash, our Pokémon, and to my very family?! You are truly the lowest, most despicable form of scum imaginable, and I will not allow your transgressions to me and my family to go unpunished! As Leader of the Petalburg City Gym, as a representative of the Hoenn League, and as a husband and father… I am going to beat the living hell out of you!" he threatened the Rocket operatives with a dark and menacing voice. To his side, Slaking banged his well-built fists against his chest and bellowed intimidating to show his raw power, backing up his trainer's threat. Norman was very thankful for a moment that his gym was on the far woody outskirts of Petalburg City; this meant that the potentially catastrophic battle he knew was going to occur would not harm anyone or damage the city itself.

Jessie gulped. She had to admit the tone the Gym Leader used was scary, but it was easy to brush it off from the safety of a cockpit inside a massive robot so she laughed contemptuously instead. "What are you going to do to us? We have a huge robot. You have a measly tired Slaking. We're on the winning side here."

Ash smirked at Jessie's comment and chuckled lowly. "Winning side? I think you forgot some very important details before you can claim that," he stated firmly, not a single doubt in his voice.

Meowth sighed exasperatedly. "And just what would dat be?" He asked impatiently.

"Latios, Latias, Pidgeot and Pikachu," Ash answered, voice confident. "We have the winning side! Ready, guys?"

"Yes!" All four of his trusted Pokémon cried out at the same time.

"Five if you count Slaking!" Norman added. Slaking leaped into the fray and joined Ash's Pokémon, ready to fight against the robot.

"Six!" Torchic cried happily, jumping out of May's arms and dashing forward to join up with the other five Pokémon.

"No!" May shouted as her arms darted forward, catching the Fire-type before he hopped too far into the field. "No fighting for you," the beginner Pokémon trainer chided the tiny fire-type.

"Aw," Torchic murmured sadly.

Caroline held her children's wrists and backed up slightly, putting more distance between the fight and her children. "Go beat them, honey," she said, smiling. Norman nodded back with a confident smile.

May frowned. "Isn't Ash going to do most of the fighting? He has four Pokémon in the battle and two of them are apparently super awesome, according to Max," she commented, looking at Ash. Norman sweatdropped at his daughter's lack of support for him with her comment, and he sadly admitted that it was rather true.

James smirked from inside the robot's cockpit. "We'll show you how your Pokémon will fall against our new robot!" He claimed boldly. "This time we'll win!"

Ash snorted. "You lose every time you fight me," he shot back with a laugh.

Pikachu smirked at Ash's comment. "I forget, what's the count now as to how many times we've blasted their butts off? Like two hundred and eighty-six something times?" he asked wryly.

Ash chuckled. "Your guess is as good as mine, buddy," he said in response.

"We'll see about that!" James shouted in retaliation. "You stopped a Fire Punch, but can you stop a Thunder Punch?" The SlaKing Kong machine reared its left arm back as several powerful electric conduits lining the arm began to spark violently with electrical power.

"I don't think we'll have enough rocks to stop both fists, Ash!" Latios informed his trainer with a sense of worry, not glancing back at him to keep his focus on the psychic-proof robot.

"We won't need them at all," Ash answered the dragon, his mind already forming a plan. "Pidgeot, use Giga Impact on one of the robot's legs! Latias and Latios, keep the fire arm exactly where it is! When Pidgeot attacks, use it to pull the robot!" He commanded boldly.

"On it, Ash!" Pidgeot chirped proudly, nodding as she flapped her wings with mighty force, taking flight and charging straight at the mechanical Slaking. A huge sphere of golden energy appeared in front of her, and moments later, the orb exploded into a series of long golden streaks that ran all around her. A bright purple flash followed as the attack was covered in a big veil of lavender energy.

"Do we aim at the Pidgey or the twerp?" Jessie asked, looking at Pidgeot and then at Ash, biting her lip in confusion as to which target to prioritize in her attack.

"I suggest da twerp, one measly attack isn't gonna put no dent in our robot," Meowth answered before pressing one of the buttons with his right paw. The robot's electrified fist swung towards Ash directly. Pidgeot sped up her flight and rammed into the robot's right leg with all her might. Her Giga Impact smashed into the armored limb, generating a huge metallic clang that rang throughout the destroyed gym. The crash was so strong the robot shook violently and lost its footing. The eon twins quickly used the debris coating the right arm to pull the robot downwards, making it fall to its side, causing its Thunder Punch attack to miss completely and harmlessly dissipate.

Norman hummed, analyzing the robot keenly for any logical weakness they could exploit. He noted the 'eyes' of the robotic Slaking had a distinct sheen when hit by the sun's rays. "That's… glass… Ash! The robot's eyes! They could be a weak spot!" he called out before turning to his Pokémon and ordering, "Slaking, use Return on the right eye!"

Ash nodded in agreement, seeing as he didn't have any ideas other than making the robot fall over. "Pikachu, use Iron Tail on the left eye!" He shouted, pointing dramatically at the left optic of the machine.

Both Slaking and Pikachu charged towards the robot's head, now accessible at ground level with the robot toppled over on its side. Slaking's body was covered in a pink veil of energy powered by all his love for his trainer, Norman. At the same time, Pikachu's tail began to shine a bright white as it hardened to Steel.

"They're coming right towards us!" James cried out, terrified.

Jessie growled with frustration. "The cabin's windshield is made of super-resistant glass, so two meek attacks won't crack it!" she announced proudly, and then frowned as the Pokémon got even closer. "Even if that's the case, I'm not eager to test it, so let's get up! Just in case…"

Meowth agreed instantly. "Yes to dat!" All three Team Rocket agents quickly retook control of the robot and began to maneuver it to a standing position, but it was too late. Before the robot could properly lift itself back up in time, Slaking and Pikachu's attacks smashed into the eyes.

The glass cracked and broke into dozens of pieces, both eyes completely destroyed from the power of the two attacks. Pikachu smirked and entered the cabin through the broken windshield. "Hello," he greeted, cheeks sparkling.

Meowth mewled in horror. "Hello, Pikachu, how have you been?" He asked with an unsettled tone, shaking nervously and already dreading the electrical shock that was to come.

"Oh, I've been good. But right now, I'm in the mood for shocking someone," Pikachu answered coolly, his cheeks sparkling with deadly electrical energy. "So I think I'll shock you three." Pikachu readied himself to release a massive Thunder attack on the three villains, but before he could unleash his mighty electric charge, a bright white flash interrupted him. Barely a second had passed before he suddenly found himself under the assault of a barrage of venomous purple needles, courtesy of Jessie's Arbok.

"Take that!" Arbok hissed menacingly towards the Electric-type he despised so much. The two Team Rocket agents quickly regained control of the downed robot, pulling up the robotic Slaking and making it stand up. Pikachu wobbled on the window's edge as the robot's sudden movements made him lose his balance.

Jessie immediately took the opportunity. "Arbok, quick, push him off!" She shouted. Arbok lashed his tail at Pikachu immediately, hitting him in the chest and shoving him off the robot's eye.

"Aaaah!" Pikachu screamed as he fell off the robot's eye. With the robot on its feet, it was quite a big fall.

Latios flew around, catching Pikachu on his back. "Are you okay?" the eon dragon asked, his attention still centered on the Team Rocket robot.

"Yeah, that failed badly," Pikachu lamented, frowning. "I should have just shocked them instead of wasting my time talking to Meowth."

Latios rolled his eyes. "I'll drop you by the robot's eye again. Get that Thunder ready!"

Pikachu nodded with an expression of confidence. "Will do!"

"Here they come!" Jessie gasped.

"Meowth, do something!" James cried with a terrified voice.

"Take dis!" Meowth yelled, mashing a button. The Slaking Robot began to buzz as a powerful dark generator inside it flared, creating a huge force field of concentrated dark energies all around it.

"Aaaahh!" Latias and Latios screamed as the field enveloped them rapidly. The force field's super-powered dark energies tore at their senses and minds, bombarding them with pain.

The Rocket trio seized the moment Latios was paralyzed in mid-air due to the pain as the perfect opportunity to counterattack. "We've got you now, take this!" the three villains yelled at the same time as the robot's left arm began to rear back. Many hatches along the arm opened, releasing a potent freezing energy, immediately coating the robot's fist with a thick layer of ice. "Ice Punch, Go!" the trio of operatives laughed simultaneously. The robot threw the ice-coated fist at the still screaming immobilized Latios at full power. The icy punch struck Latios harshly, sending him crashing into the rocky remains of the gym, throwing up a huge dust cloud from the sheer force of the impact and sending a small quake over the rubble.

"No!" Max sobbed at the sight of his idol being injured.

"Latios!" Ash cried out, deeply worried. He gritted his teeth angrily and turned to the robot. "Pidgeot, use Giga Impact, aim for the face!" He ordered.

"Slaking, use Focus Punch, aim for the leg that Pidgeot didn't hit!" Norman shouted his own order.

Pidgeot immediately sped towards the robot, a powerful blazing aura of gold and lavender colored-energy surrounding her as her Giga Impact attack activated. Slaking focused for a second, concentrated his power onto his right fist, and then charged toward the robot as the fist started glowing with a deep and bright white color.

Jessie clenched her fists in anger. "Oh no you don't!" she interrupted, immediately taking control of the robot and readying another Ice Punch, this time aiming at the incoming Pidgeot.

"Pidgeot, spiral around it!" Ash cried out. Pidgeot flapped her wings inside the Giga Impact and pushed to the side, doing an abrupt spinning turn that made the SlaKing Kong's Ice Punch miss completely. The Normal/Flying-type shrieked loudly and rammed into the robot's face at full power, heavily denting the machine's face and making it actually stumble back a pair of steps from the sheer force of the Bird Pokémon's attack.

A second clang echoed as Norman's Slaking crashed a colossal Focus Punch in the robot's left knee joint. This caused the robot to stumble back and fall over again. It landed on its back with a heavy crash, generating a small tremor across the badly damaged gym.

Latias stopped screaming as the robot's dark field finally disappeared. "Uuuhhh," She groaned, eyes closed tightly as she held her head from the splitting headache she had. Even her levitation seemed to drop a couple feet.

"Are you okay, Latias?" Ash asked worriedly, putting his arms around her neck to help stabilize her.

"I'm not sure; that was very painful," Latias wheezed, her voice heavy with exhaustion and still hinting pain. "I think I'll need a bit of time to recover. How's Latios?" She asked, concerned about the heavy attack her brother had taken, which she barely noticed due to her own pain.

Ash looked towards where Latios had crashed after being subjected to the dark energies. To his relief, the blue dragon was slowly hovering back up with Pikachu at his side. "He's okay…I think," Ash answered with a small tone of worry.

Latias looked up. The robot began to shakily regain its footing but the damage dealt to it was extensive. Both legs were badly damaged, with cracks adorning the heavily dented metal. "Any new plans for taking down that thing?" Latias asked, already feeling rather tired and annoyed with the battle. Even her telepathy was a bit difficult right now. "We can keep attacking that thing's hide, but it won't really do much."

Bianca hummed in thought, her thoughts drifting towards the three attacks the robot had used so far, which were a fire punch, an ice punch, and finally a thunder punch. "I have an idea," she declared, eyes lighting up as she smiled.

Ash turned to look at her. "Oh?"

"It used a fire punch, right? Well, it had to have some kind of fuel to make and sustain the fire, maybe flammable gas or gasoline, I don't know. Well, find where the robot keeps the fuel for the fire punches stored, and ignite it. It should blow it up," Bianca suggested.

Ash looked over at the heavily ruined Slaking robot. "It used the fire punch with the right hand. So… where would its fuel tank be?" he questioned. "Maybe it's along the arm or inside the body?"

Norman frowned slightly. "More importantly, how would you get to it? That metal hide still looks rather tough and Pidgeot and Slaking's attacks haven't exactly done much to it other than just bump it or crack it. It'll take a while before they actually break it completely."

Latios, who had finally recovered from his migraine and was listening in on their idea, smirked at the prospect of trying out their hypothesis. "I've got an idea on how to pull off Bianca's idea," he said to them telepathically so Bianca could understand him, and then he quickly turned to Pikachu. "When I tell you to, use a Thunderbolt, okay?" he informed the Electric-type.

Pikachu nodded keenly. "Uh, sure. You can count on me."

"Latias, follow my attack!" Latios called out as his eyes glowed. Latias followed his mental attack with a Psychic attack of her own. The twins grabbed the ice still covering one of the robot's fists, separating the chunk of ice and then seizing it under their control.

"Hey!" Jessie screamed, indignantly. "That's our ice!"

James snarled as the situation began to deteriorate on their part. "Dammit, both legs are beaten up badly! This thing is having some serious problems standing up!" he said, clearly irritated. Latias and Latios immediately broke the ice they had gathered from the robot into many, many small chunks, and quickly polished them all with their psychic powers into sharp spears of ice.

Bianca smirked. "I get it… they'll trick them into using the Fire Punch…" She whispered, keeping her voice quiet so as to not alert the villains of Latios' plan.

Ash nodded. "Brilliant! Why didn't I think of it?"

Pikachu smirked. "You're actually asking that question?" he joked. Ash glared at him.

Jessie's expression paled at the sight of the icicle spears. "Incoming ice attack!" she screamed as the twins launched the barrage of ice spears at their Slaking machine.

"Let's Fire Punch them into oblivion!" James spoke quickly, his hands working on the controls as he activated the robot's Fire Punch capability, sealing their defeat.

"Now, Pikachu!" Latios shouted, eyes glowing as the robot's right arm reared back. Pikachu's cheeks sparkled with electrical power as he released a potent Thunderbolt directed straight towards the robot. Latios rapidly 'grabbed' the electric attack with his mind, splitting the thunderbolt into a dozen smaller bolts.

Hundreds of hatches across the robot's right fist opened up, and Latios quickly redirected the electric attack into the hatches, causing the fuel still inside the arm to ignite prematurely.

Meowth laughed at the Dragon/Psychic-type's attempt. "Dose pathetic bolts aren't go-" He was interrupted by an alarm blaring in their cabin. "What's dat?" he asked, blinking confusedly.

James sighed as he looked at the screens. "It's the alarm that basically says we're about to blast off again," he admitted sadly, bracing himself for the imminent explosion. The fire inside the fuel lines quickly reached the fuel tank, causing it to ignite too.

The mechanical Slaking immediately detonated in a massive explosion, destroying the entire thing completely and launching metallic debris and remains in all directions. The violent reaction would have harmed everyone nearby, but thankfully that was stopped by a powerful psychic shield pulled up by the legendary dragon twins. "Team Rocket's blasting off again!" the trio cried out as they flew in the distance, quickly becoming nothing more than a twinkle on the horizon.

Latios smiled, very pleased. "Got them," he said.

Max clapped happily after the show ended. "That was so awesome! Latios, you are the best! And Latias too!" He yelled with amazement while jumping up and down. "So awesome and cool and amazing and great and splendid and terrific and cool and awesome!"

May blinked. "Uh, you repeated cool and awesome," she said to him.

"I know! They deserve a double cool and awesome, don't they?" Max said, grinning. May giggled, enjoying the clear happiness of her beloved little brother.

Norman sighed sadly. "They escaped? That's too bad. I wanted to capture them and get back at them for this mess. Now I'll have to call the Pokémon League, the police, and the insurance company, just so I can get my gym fixed," he lamented, already dreading the work to come to repair his destroyed gym. "The Pokémon League's gonna kill me for this."

Ash winced. "Sorry about that," he apologized.

"It's perfectly fine Ash, considering you've had to deal with them for a lot longer," Norman articulated calmly, smiling as he looked at the trainer. "Well, Ash… you have my sincerest thanks for saving my family from those crooks. You're an admirable and powerful trainer, and you've proved that to me enough times. First in the battle where you showed your amazing Pokémon raising skills with your Pidgeot, your creative and smart battling strategies with your Larvitar, and overall, you showed an astounding ability to react to the way the opponent changes battle tactics and directly counter them," the Gym Leader said proudly, stopping for a bit to let all his words sink in. "After that, you showed you have amazing raw power in defeating that gigantic robot. You showed you are great at controlling several Pokémon and trusting them. Overall Ash, you are the most amazing trainer that's ever challenged me, and for that…" he paused as he dug one hand into his pocket, taking something out and offering it to Ash on his outstretched palm. "I give you the Balance Badge. You're proved yourself worthy of receiving it."

Ash blinked in surprise. He was clearly not expecting to be awarded the badge already. "But… we haven't finished our battle," he protested, confused as to why he'd be offered the badge so early.

"I know," Norman replied, smiling. "I've already stated my reasons. Badges are not necessarily won by defeating the Gym Leader; they can be given out in special situations as long as the trainer proved himself or herself in the eyes of the Gym Leader, and today is no exception. You've certainly proved yourself over the course of our battle before it was interrupted, and then by defeating that robot and saving my family. You've earned the Balance Badge, so take it as a token of my gratitude."

Ash slowly reached for the badge and took it, looking at it closely. The Balance Badge was two circles united by a line in the middle. When held sideways it signified balance. "Well…" Ash began, frowning. Accepting the badge would be easy, but it didn't feel right. Since Ash felt that he hadn't quite earned it yet, he felt that it was an empty victory. He then smiled and returned it to Norman's palm. "Sorry, but I won't accept it," he announced, much to everyone's surprise.

Norman blinked in surprise. "You… don't accept it?" He asked incredulously. That was the first time any trainer had said that to him.

Ash shook his head. "No. I'm way past accepting badges out of kindness or favors. Slaking is still standing, and so is Pidgeot. If I'm getting that Badge there's only one way, and that's defeating you in a battle."

Pikachu gasped in surprise at his trainer's display of honor. "Wow, Ash… just… wow. Now you have really surprised me," he said, smiling in pride for his trainer. "If Brock or Misty could see this, they'd definitively be proud of you, just like I am."

Ash grinned back at his eternally faithful companion. "I won enough badges in Kanto out of favors or pity, but I've grown past that. Today, I walk out with a Balance Badge after I defeat Norman and Slaking! Pidgeot, are you ready?"

Pidgeot nodded eagerly. "For you, Ash, always," she said, her mind filled with pride and joy at the fact that she was now traveling with Ash and once again fighting for him; even more so after how much the young boy had grown.

Ash grinned and turned to Norman. "If you are ready, we'll continue."

Norman stood there as he faced Ash with a look of surprise. A few moments later, a small smile crept to his lips. "You really are something else, Ash. My gym is completely demolished though, so I guess this means we'll just finish battling in the debris…" He turned around and strode to the other side, heading a suitable distance away to continue the battle.

Caroline grabbed May and Max's hands and led them to the sidelines while Bianca followed them. Kenny, the gym's referee, stood in the middle and fixed his eyes upon both sides until both contestants were ready. "The battle between challenger Ash Ketchum and Gym Leader Norman will continue as planned. Challengers, begin the battle!" he announced with a clear and authoritative voice.

Ash looked up and smirked. With the gym ruined, a new advantage was available to him; there were no more walls or ceiling that would hinder or limit Pidgeot's flight capabilities. "Pidgeot, take to the sky!" Ash ordered, seizing the opportunity. Pidgeot nodded and flapped her wings, gaining altitude quickly.

"Careful Ash, while both Pidgeot and Slaking took part in fighting Team Rocket's robot, Pidgeot had more active participation and thus is more tired, don't do anything drastic," Latios advised.

Ash nodded. "I know, Latios."

Latios chuckled. "No you didn't."

Ash frowned. "Right, I didn't. Damn psychic reading."

Norman took advantage of Ash's temporary distraction at talking with Latios, and quickly ordered Slaking to counter Pidgeot's airborne supremacy. "Slaking, use the gym's remains to improvise a Rock Throw!" he ordered. Slaking nodded in confirmation before reaching down and grabbing two large pieces of debris from the gym's remains. As fast as he could, he observed his opponent's flight movements and proceeded to throw them with all his might towards his airborne adversary.

Ash quickly refocused on the battle after Norman's Pokémon had made his move. "Pidgeot, dodge that!" he countered. The Normal/Flying-type chirped and flapped her wings to bolt up, dodging the two rocks that had been thrown her way. "Now, counter with Air Slash!" Ash followed up, changing his strategy to an offensive-based one.

Pidgeot reared back her great wings and flapped them with tremendous force, generating a great clap as she sent a pair of blades produced with winds so strong they were a clearly visible bright white in color flying through the air. Slaking raised his bulky hands and braced himself for the worst of the imminent impact. The wind blades collided against the Normal-type's hands with a harsh sound echoing along with Slaking's cry of pain, but he stayed vigilant, resisting the collision without budging an inch.

Norman growled softly, heavily disliking the new situation that he was now stuck in. 'I need to bring Pidgeot closer to the ground. From the air she'd just pick on Slaking bit by bit with long range attacks, and Slaking will never get a hit on her with that kind of speed…' he thought direly as he looked towards the new battlefield.

Ash smirked. "Pidgeot, use Air Slash again!" He commanded. Pidgeot flapped her great wings again, sending a second pair of bright white-colored wind blades towards the Lazy Pokémon.

Norman brightened up just as Pidgeot began her second offensive. "That's it! Ugh, why didn't I think of it earlier!? Slaking, grab a big rock and shield yourself with it!" the Gym Leader yelled forcefully. "That'll do the trick!"

Slaking roared loudly and grabbed a rather big chunk of rock and held it in front of him, using it as a huge shield to protect himself against the Normal/Flying-type's attack. Sadly for Norman, it didn't do the trick as he had expected. Pidgeot's wind blades smashed into the rock with unprecedented force, completely cleaving through it and splitting the improvised barrier in three. The blades then smashed into Slaking's face and chest with lessened power, but there was still a respectable amount of strength behind the attack. Slaking cried out loudly in pain and was hurled back a few feet; the recoil made him lose his balance on the unsteady debris-covered ground and he tripped before landing heavily on his stomach, panting and coughing. Then he cried out again as the rock slabs that failed as his shield landed on top of him, further injuring him. Norman groaned in dismay. "What!? Just how powerful is your Pidgeot, Ash!?" he asked incredulously, eyeing the avian Pokémon with surprise.

Ash grinned enthusiastically. "She's plenty powerful!" He answered with pride. Pidgeot nodded joyously in agreement, visibly very glad her trainer was happy and proud for her.

"No! Dad, you can do it! Don't let your awesome Slaking be defeated!" Max cheered with a mixture of desperation and hope. May and Caroline nodded, silently cheering their family member on. Bianca, along with Latios, Latias and Pikachu, simply watched the battle silently, since Ash was doing pretty well on his own and didn't seem to need any help.

Norman growled as he clenched his fists. "Slaking, you can do it! Stand up!" he encouraged the Pokémon that was his trump card and last hope against Pokémon Trainer challengers. Slaking slowly used his arms to force himself up as exhaustion and fatigue began to overtake the Pokémon. Admittedly, Pidgeot had her own fair share of damage and exhaustion, but she was clearly in better shape to handle it.

Ash smiled. "Let's give him a chance. Pidgeot, get close and use a Peck Attack!" He ordered. Pidgeot chirped to confirm the order and then dove towards Slaking.

Latios sighed. "And I told him not to do anything drastic…" he muttered quickly. Pikachu frowned and nodded. Ash didn't seem to notice the comment, though.

Norman did not like the taunt Ash had fired at him, and it only served to rile up his and Slaking's determinations to continue the battle. "Slaking, give that Pidgeot a Thunder Punch!" Slaking nodded, growled, and raised his right fist, the clenched hand crackling with electricity.

"Pidgeot, stop!" Ash shouted. Pidgeot quickly spread her wings and balanced her body upright, coming to an abrupt halt just as Slaking hurled the electric punch at her. With her sudden stop in the air, the punch missed completely, but it did come short of her by a few feet. "Now land and use Wing Attack!" Ash continued, not letting go of his attacking momentum. Pidgeot landed and her talons gripped the rocks firmly, using it as leverage to smack a glowing wing into Slaking's side, opposite of his electrified fist. He yelped in pain and fell to the debris again, landing with a heavy thud.

"Hurry, strike back with Focus Punch!" Norman quickly followed, trying to change the match in his favor, but the effort almost seemed futile. Slaking stood on his hands and knees, panting heavily from the damage that was rapidly building up. He closed his eyes to calm his mind for a second as he focused, one arm beginning to glow brightly as he channeled all his power to it.

"Use Peck before he can attack!" Ash countered rapidly. Pidgeot hopped forward as her beak began to glow white and enlarged slightly. Slaking whirled around rapidly, swinging his glowing fist towards her, but it was too late as Ash's Pokémon was right up in his face. She smashed her beak on his forehead, and then followed up with a series of very rapid stabs with her beak at his chest. With his focus broken, his Focus Punch attack dissipated harmlessly. Slaking cried out in pain at each stab, stumbling back. He fell onto his knees, crying out in pain and exhaustion. He looked up at Pidgeot, growling in anger. Pidgeot panted softly as she too was getting tired, but she didn't let it get the better of her. She spread her beautiful wings coolly, proudly displaying her power.

Norman growled in frustration. 'No! This can't be… no matter what I do, Ash is simply two steps ahead of me, and he is just too good… I need to beat him fast before Slaking runs out of juice. His Pidgeot is tired as well, so all I need is one clean hit…' the Gym Leader thought, deeply concerned at the way Pidgeot and Ash were dominating the battle. It was the first time in months that a trainer was good enough to put him in this predicament. "Slaking, use Return!" he roared. "Defeat her once and for all!" Slaking roared in unison with Norman, banging his arms on his chest with all his might without caring for his injuries. A veil of powerful pink energy began to slowly encircle Slaking.

"Pidgeot, fly back and them come around with an Aerial Ace!" Ash dictated. Pidgeot flapped her wings and took flight, easily ascending a couple dozen feet in seconds. She turned around, diving towards the ground and then pulling up just a couple of feet over it, charging at Slaking with the Flying-type attack. Dozens of streaks of wind surrounded the avian Pokémon as she made her quick approach.

Slaking roared and charged at Pidgeot, the energy around him blazing furiously as he drew upon every single feeling he had for Norman to make his attack as strong as possible and win this battle for him. "Beat her down!" Norman encouraged his most trusted Pokémon.

Ash smirked coolly as he switched tactics, a plan long ago formed in his mind. "Dodge and use Giga Impact."

Norman gasped. "What? But she's already attacking with Aerial Ace!"

Slaking threw himself at Pidgeot with all his might, but the flying type vanished in a burst of speed, leaving only a gust of wind from her movement which blew past the confused Slaking. He looked around as the Return attack dissipated, fearing where the next attack could come from. Norman's eyes widened as he caught sight of the Pokémon directly above his own. "Slaking, above you!" he warned, but it was far too late. The Lazy Pokémon breathed convulsively and looked up, just in time to see a massive Pidgeot-sized lavender and golden beam of energy streaking towards him. Pidgeot rammed into Slaking from a perfect upright angle, smashing him into the rocks. A huge blast followed as the Giga Impact's energy was released all in one strike, the end result shaking the ground and making everyone cover their eyes at the amount of dust the detonation of energy lifted.

Latios smiled. "It's over," he muttered quickly.

When the blast was over, silence descended across the devastated gym. "No! Slaking!" Norman yelled in concern as the dust began to slowly settle. When visibility was again available, Norman saw the scene he was dreading. Slaking was lying face down in a rather sizeable crater in the rocky debris, his eyes turned to swirls that signaled his unconsciousness. Pidgeot was standing over him proudly, her talons digging slightly into his fur and wings spread wide in victory. She herself was also panting, exhaustion rippling through her, but she won the fight. She displayed her triumph with immense pride.

Ash cheered happily as he leapt up and down joyously. "We won! We won!" he cried out excitedly before sprinting towards Pidgeot. She hopped off Slaking and received her beloved trainer with a warm and loving embrace with her wings.

"Noooooo!" Max cried out, sobbing his eyes out on Caroline's blouse. May just smiled sadly, glad to have witnessed such a great battle but not liking how much Norman's defeat upset Max.

Norman sighed, knowing it was over. He held up a Pokéball and returned his defeated Slaking. "You did great, my friend…I'm proud of you," he whispered to the Pokéball.

Kenny raised the corresponding flag. "And the winner of this gym battle with a three to one score, due to Pidgeot and Phanpy still being able to fight, is Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!" He declared officially.

"We won! The first Gym badge is ours!" Ash cried happily, wrapped tightly in Pidgeot's wings as the Flying-Type Pokémon nuzzled him carefully, making sure not to injure her trainer with her beak like their first reunion. Latias smiled tenderly at the cute scene.

Norman walked to Ash, a soft smile on his face. "Well Ash, you won fair and square. I already said all I needed to say earlier, so there is nothing new I have to praise for you. All I can do now is give you this, the Balance Badge. Congratulations," he said, holding the small badge out to Ash once again.

This time, Ash gladly took the badge. He raised it proudly and posed dramatically. "Yes! I've won the Balance Badge!" the Pokémon trainer announced excitedly.

Pikachu chuckled at the sight. "That simply never gets old," he commented in amusement.

May hummed. "You know dad, Ash beat you and he didn't use his strongest Pokémon, you're losing your touch," she teased.

Norman sweatdropped. "Thanks for pointing that out May," he returned uncertainly. He couldn't help but wonder how the battle would have gone if Ash had used Latias or Latios against him.

"Waaaah!" Max kept crying inconsolably on Caroline's blouse, completely heartbroken. The mother just sighed wearily and hugged her dear son while hoping that her child would calm down somehow. Latias frowned, feeling saddened for the kid; witnessing one's idol being defeated that badly was certainly detrimental to one's emotions.

"Why don't you give him a small ride, Latios? He'd love that," Bianca suggested.

Latios sighed. "But… I've only carried two humans on my back, you and Ash," he protested. "I'm not exactly eager to carry another."

Bianca smiled softly and slowly petted his neck, scratching the barely noticeable feathers. "One little flight isn't gonna hurt, so I don't see why you can't give him a ride." Latios frowned at his peers' recommendations but nodded nevertheless. He went over to Caroline and Max and lowered his neck, silently offering a free ride.

Caroline smiled. "Hey, Max, look who's here."

Max looked up, and immediately brightened up when he saw Latios so close. He wiped his tears, trying to calm down. "H-hi Latios!"

Caroline grabbed Max by his armpits before slowly lifting him up and placing him on Latios's back, making the young child squeal in delight. "Hold on tight, Max," Caroline advised. The child nodded eagerly and held onto Latios's neck tightly, eyes filled with admiration and happiness. The eon Pokémon took off, flying around the nearby woods with no real course in mind, just flying around in wide circles and turns while giving his emotional passenger a thrilling ride. Through it all, Max kept squealing and laughing in joy, his pain at Norman's defeat forgotten for the time being.

Norman smiled as he watched his son flying with Latios in the distance. "So, Ash," he began as means to stir up a conversation. "What are you going to do now?"

"Well, I'll go to the Pokémon Center to get everyone healed from the battle and spend the night there," Ash answered the Gym Leader's question. "After that I'll set out for the next Gym first thing in the morning!"

Norman nodded. "That's the spirit. What about you, May?" He inquired, turning to look at his daughter.

May hummed, looking down at Torchic. "I think I'll stay here at home a couple more days. The Gym was destroyed, so I guess I'll remain here for a bit, just in case. And also, I want to get used to Torchic and get along with him better while with your Pokémon, Dad, before I set out myself."

"A wise choice, May," Caroline said, approving of her older child's decision. "It's better to set out to the unknown while already being in sync with your Pokémon, than when you are untrained."

Ash snorted. "That reminds me of me and Pikachu. I set out and we hated each other at first. That got us into a lot of trouble and a near-death encounter," he said, glaring at Pikachu with a death-defying stare. The Electric-type simply whistled innocently as if he didn't remember a thing about that fateful day. Norman, Caroline and Kenny laughed while May looked down at Torchic in concern. The little Fire-type just chirped at her.

Fifteen minutes later, the setting sun adorned the landscape as Latios finally returned and dropped the thrilled and happy Max back to his parents. The boy immediately ran and hugged his dad in joy. "Well, I'll be going now," Ash announced, returning Pidgeot back to her Pokéball.

"Alright," Norman said, hugging his son back. "I hope we meet again Ash, and I wish you the best of luck on your journey onwards to the Hoenn League. If today's battle was anything to go by, you'll really be an opponent to be careful of."

Ash smirked. "I'm always a tough opponent. Anyways, bye! It's getting late!" he called out as he turned and walked towards the city, hoping to come across any useful signs to get to the Pokémon Center. His fellow companions passed the time in their own ways. Bianca simply followed him while admiring the scenery while Latias squealed childishly, turned invisible and tackled Latios, and then flew away, inviting him to a game of tag while they walked. Her older brother shrugged, activated his cloaking powers as well and raced after her, letting her have her fun.

Norman just watched them leave, but frowned as he turned towards the sight of his destroyed gym. "This… is going to be troublesome. Let's go home honey; it looks like I've got plenty of phone calls to make." He walked to Caroline's side, kissed her softly, and then walked down the street. His family followed him.

---

The next day…

A warm and tranquil morning greeted the metropolis of the sea, the vivid sun in the sky giving the vast blue ocean and the scenic city in the middle of it a bright, warm morning hue. Alto Mare was active even from early hours with tourist's boats and large cargo ships going in and out of the city continuously, and every once in a while large ferries were also present on the scene, each of them filled with tourists who were traveling to and from the island city.

Meanwhile, near the southern edge of the city. The father Latios floated calmly at the very edge of the city's coastline, watching with a fond smile as his beloved mate left the ocean city. They had spent the rest of yesterday and the night on the city, but right now on this morning she was required to do some important tasks and as such had to leave. No one in the city noticed the Legendary Pokémon leave the city because of Latios' powerful illusion abilities, easily concealing his mate as she made her departure.

The ancient Latios sent her a couple more telepathic temporary farewells, and after deciding when and where they'd meet later in the day, he turned and flew back into the city. He had his own little matters to attend to…

In another area of the city inside a small wooden workshop, an elderly man with a robust physical complex, a white round beard and a clean bald head, wearing blue overalls and a red shirt was working with great effort constructing the main support of a new gondola. He was Lorenzo, the caretaker of the Alto Mare Museum and a traditional gondola builder. He wiped sweat from his brow and put his tools down, taking a deep breath and inspecting his work. Nodding once, he approved of his handiwork.

He had gotten out of bed very early, like every day, to start working. His daily tasks involved going to open the museum and getting everything ready there and then returning to his shop to work on the gondolas for the rest of the morning. After that was taken care of, he'd then return to Alto Mare's museum in the early noon. But age was beginning to catch up to him; he found his efficiency dropping each day as much as he hated to admit the truth. He sat down to take a few minutes of rest. 'Well, I might as well check on the garden to rest a little,' Lorenzo thought, thus deciding what to do.

He slowly stood up and walked towards the back of his shop, opening a large hidden doorway that led towards the Secret Garden. He smiled as the wonderful sight of the ever-green garden came into view, huge towering trees and crystal clear water, flowers of many different colors and a fresh natural scent, it was all wonderful. The Secret Garden was indeed a great treasure, hidden right in the middle of a city.

He smiled and walked into it, marveling at the wondrous sight across all directions that the hidden paradise offered. He followed one of the marble walkways towards the center of the garden, where a magnificent pedestal stood. He walked in a very slow pace almost matching his age. He wanted to enjoy the scenery and beauty of nature for as long as he could, of the garden that so lovingly held so many memories of his life.

'Though… nothing will ever be the same without Latias and Latios…' Lorenzo lamented sadly as he tried to hold back tears. As beautiful as the garden was, nothing in it could replace the beauty and life that Latias and Latios brought to it. Without the two siblings, it seemed that the sanctuary lacked a soul. Perhaps, it just felt too plain and simple without the two Legendary Dragons.

Lorenzo looked at the fountain as he slowly walked towards it, focusing on the soft stream of water flowing from it and into the garden's main pond fondly. Everything seemed perfectly fine, of course, save for the perpetual hole in the garden's heart that Latias and Latios leaving with Ash left behind. He slowly walked up the steps of the shrine towards the pedestal. He smiled and looked down into it.

And that's when he noticed something was very, very wrong. The Soul Dew wasn't there. It was gone. The Pedestal was empty.

Lorenzo gasped, his eyes slowly widening in fear. "Oh no…" He whispered, his voice filled with dread and terror. He looked around desperately, hoping to find any sign of a thief or the Soul Dew, but there was nothing; the usual green scenery of the Secret Garden was all that greeted his sight. He gulped and took a few steps back. "Calm down Lorenzo," he said to himself level-headedly, hoping to calm the heart attack he was sure he'd get in a few seconds. He kept looking around, trying to calm himself. He prayed to the bottom of his heart that the thief wasn't someone like Annie and Oakley.

Then he realized something even more puzzling. Even without the Soul Dew, the water was still flowing. "Huh?" he questioned, completely clueless. 'When I entered the garden… the water was still flowing… how could it do that if the Soul Dew is gone?' he questioned himself, looking around for any sign of an impending danger due to the Soul Dew being missing, but there was none. No signs of the water retreating and destroying Alto Mare, no sign of anything out of the ordinary.

A small, clearly not-human chuckle reached Lorenzo's ears, nearly making him jump in surprise. The elderly human quickly whirled around, facing the back of the garden where he presumed the sound had come from. "Who's there!?" He asked sharply with a strong and defensive tone.

"Oh, it's just me," the father Latios answered telepathically, slowly hovering down from the canopies of the Secret Garden's highest trees.

Lorenzo's breath hitched slightly, but he did feel relieved that the other person in the garden wasn't a threat, though for some reason he could swear the telepathic voice sounded rather different than he remembered. "Latios! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Lorenzo scolded the slowly incoming eon dragon, huffing in deep breaths as he felt relieved. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Ash? Wh-" He froze when the Latios got closer, suddenly noticing that this Latios clearly wasn't the Latios he was thinking about. It was very easy to see the Latios before him was not Ash's Latios. But if he wasn't Ash's Latios… then who was he?

The ancient eon Pokémon chuckled again in a soft tone, stopping his descent until he hovered a few feet off the ground while staying a few feet from the human before him. "You're right. I'm not him," he answered curtly.

"Y-yeah, I can see that," Lorenzo answered, still frozen in shock. It was clear this Latios wasn't the one that departed with Ash a while ago. He wasn't the one he had known since he was a child and grown up with. It was someone else. The color of this Latios' feathers was a bit darker and duller than the Latios he used to know, whose down was a bright, vivid and intense blue. Another clear difference was the size. The Latios before him was clearly a lot bigger than Ash's Latios, perhaps five or six feet longer, with his chest and wingspan also joining the drastic size increase. His eyes were also darker, approaching a wine-red color, which clearly differed from the bright red Ash's Latios had. Lorenzo found those eyes captivating, they felt so… powerful, so wise, so old. Like countless centuries of life were reflected in the wine-colored orbs, yet at the same time they had a gentle feeling to them. The Latios' eyes had a deep look in them that held a power and age that the teenage Latios he knew couldn't possibly possess. Lorenzo gasped loudly; it was then that it clicked into place who this Latios was. As impossible and unrealistic as it sounded, it was the only answer possible. Lorenzo looked at the stone pedestal, thinking about the missing Soul Dew, and then looked back at the Latios hovering before him. "Y-you… you a-are… no… it's not possible… you are the father… the fa-father Latios… the one who brought the water and created Alto Mare… you… are h-him?" He asked, stuttering from the sheer shock his presence brought as well as the torrent of questions raging in his mind. In the process, he staggered a few steps back from the emotions that his mind was bombarded with.

Latios smiled softly, his body looking completely calm and relaxed. "Yes, you are correct," he answered mentally.

Lorenzo nodded slowly, still having a lot of trouble processing this. "But… how?" He asked breathlessly. "You should… you were…" He spoke, the shock rendering him unable to finish his sentence. "Dead?" he uttered incredulously.

"Yes, I was dead. And it was only made worse by many unfortunate circumstances. But ultimately, I am a Legendary Pokémon and nothing can change that. Death isn't something that can truly stop a deity like me forever," Latios answered simply, a soft smile on his features. "If I 'die' I'll be back sooner or later. I am immortal. Death is a mere triviality for me and all Legendary Pokémon. We are eternal. We are everlasting for reality and existence."

Lorenzo blinked in confusion, as what the eon dragon said was not the answer he was expecting. "That sounds… rather complicated," he commented, still struggling to process the entire situation. Lorenzo looked over at the Latios. He looked so different from the Latios he knew his entire life and another clear difference that Lorenzo just realized was their mental voice. Ash's Latios, who had only learned telepathy a few days before leaving Alto Mare, had a more youthful and bright voice, like the young teen he was. The Latios before him had a very strong, deep and masculine voice, clearly resembling that of a full grown adult, a very authoritative and powerful one.

Latios chuckled at Lorenzo's thoughts but didn't say anything about that, so instead he decided to provide an answer to the old man's comment. "It's actually much simpler once it's understood," he explained telepathically. "We Legendary Pokémon are deities who protect and manage the world. We can't be gone, for nature needs us to remain stable. Even if we die, ultimately we still exist and our wills still rule nature, one way or another. It's made in our very souls, we are gods. Death does not mean the end of us," Latios explained as briefly and clearly as he could.

"That's… just… wow," Lorenzo said in awe, shocked at the apparent power and importance Legendaries had, he'd never realized they were like that. But as amazing as the story was, another big worry quickly shot back to the front of Lorenzo's thoughts. He took a deep breath to calm his shock and steady his voice. "Latios, with you now back from the dead… without the Soul Dew, what will happen with the water? What will happen to Alto Mare?" Lorenzo asked in concern, still very worried about Alto Mare's safety.

Latios smiled at the human. "Oh, don't worry about Alto Mare's safety. A dear friend of mine, Kyogre, took care of that," he said telepathically. "Alto Mare will forever be safe."

Lorenzo sighed in relief, happy to know his beloved hometown was not in any immediate danger. "May I ask how Kyogre managed to do that?" he questioned curiously, his attention fully centered on the older eon Pokémon.

"Kyogre is a Legendary Pokémon. She's the goddess who created the world's water and oceans and thus is their eternal and ultimate ruler. The area that surrounded Alto Mare was grassland in the past, connected to the Johto Region. But during a rather unfortunate event that ultimately resulted in my 'death', I turned this entire area into an ocean. That's why the water needed me, in the Soul Dew, to remain here. I was the anchor that kept the water linked to this area. When I was revived, I asked Kyogre to bind the water to this place, and she did that. As such, this place is now a natural ocean no longer tied to me. There will be no more dangers to Alto Mare in the future," Latios explained with great detail. "In fact, it is even safer with Kyogre's power here."

"Wow," Lorenzo couldn't help but utter out in a low tone of voice. "That's… really nice," he said slowly, finding it hard to find any other comment to compliment or answer the elder Latios.

"Yeah, for this city it is," Latios agreed with a slight and barely noticeable nod. "As much as my feelings for Alto Mare are bittersweet, perhaps even with a hint of resentment for it, I still created the place and cherish it. Its only right I see to its well-being."

Lorenzo frowned as still many questions raged in his mind, so he decided to start asking by the ones that'd make the best start. "It's… really nice to see you're back among the living Latios, but there is something that greatly confuses me. You said that death wasn't a bother for you and other Legendaries, but then why did you spend over a century dead in the Soul Dew?" He asked curiously, a somber tone in his question. "And… you know… that made you unable to properly be the father of Latias and Latios, your kids… they grew up as orphans."

Latios sighed, a sad look flashing across his face, making Lorenzo wince and wonder if he had asked that too bluntly. The large eon dragon recovered quickly, making Lorenzo feel relieved as the dragon seemed fine. "Well, technically, I never died, because my soul never left the plane of the living. I think 'incapacitated' would be a more fitting word than death, but I guess it can be called death in your terms of knowledge, so I'll refer to it as such," Latios said, pausing slightly once his comment ended to change the topic. "And ah, about that… all the events revolving around why I was forced to spend such a long time in the Soul Dew, about why the twins had to grow up as orphans, about why their mother couldn't reveal her identity to them, about why their mother couldn't take them away from Alto Mare and raise them on her own in our home, or at least have other legendaries take them and raise them for that matter, why it all turned as bad as it did regarding the early life of my children…It's a very long, dark and complicated story."

"Sorry if I'm bringing up anything painful but I am a bit curious about all that… I care for Latias and Latios and wish to know the reason they've lived as they have so far," Lorenzo muttered, his gaze silently asking Latios to continue.

"You see, under normal circumstances, I could have very easily been brought back within hours, if not minutes, after my death. But on this occasion, my death was different," Latios began explaining, pausing slightly to let that sink in, before continuing. "Over a century ago, when the twins were still unborn eggs, an evil entity who is a bitter enemy of mine tried to kill me and my children's eggs. The attack came at an unfortunate time as my mate wasn't there, since it was my turn to watch over our eggs. As such, I had to defend them alone. The reason the situation turned so dire was because it wasn't just the natural kind of death that all mortals experience sooner or later; it's a different kind of death, one that delves deeper into the very fabric of existence and life than that. The death of one's very soul. This evil entity has, over the course of time, discovered how to do that. He learned how to end a soul's existence."

Lorenzo blinked in clear confusion. "Soul Death? Wow… I… I didn't know a soul could die."

Latios nodded. "They can and it is very possible. It is something only few beings know how to do. Soul Deaths are extremely dangerous. It is not something to be taken lightly. Reviving someone physically dead is possible and actually rather easy for the correct deities, but reviving a soul that has perished is something extremely complicated that takes a very long time to restore and can only be done by Arceus himself. And, for unborn souls like those of my children, it was irreversible. It was definitive death and cessation of existence. Arceus is able to through a rather long and complicated process restore a deceased soul or a soul that has stopped existing, but one that died before it was properly born, it is even out of his grasp."

Lorenzo nodded slowly, as that terrible truth sank in. "That's… just horrible. I mean… I can't understand how souls work, but… just hearing it it's despicable," he said, shaking slightly. He couldn't imagine what it would be like if the Latias and Latios he knew and loved all his life had never existed to begin with.

Latios frowned, gaze held low. "While I could have recovered from a soul death, though after a very long time, my unborn babies could not, which is why this entity chose that precise time to attack, when my children were at their most vulnerable and would be affected the most, the only gap of time where he could truly do permanent damage to them. As I said, all Legendaries are everlasting, and to those who are conceived, their time as eggs are the only time they are ever vulnerable. So, knowing the cost of a defeat, I fought hard with all my power to protect them, and I was able to beat the evil entity and save my children, but it cost me my life, and… that evil entity managed to curse me before I defeated him. My weakened soul was trapped in the Soul Dew, preventing my revival, and dooming my children to their orphaned and lonely childhood," he said, his mental tone saddened and let down, disappointed in himself for being unable to save his children from the fate of being orphans. 'That curse trapped me and my children in Alto Mare, the danger of a soul death still lingering for me. Which is why, they were unable to leave the city.'

"Oh… my…" Lorenzo muttered, clearly impacted by the story. "Latios… I'm really sorry to hear that…"

"The curse is finally gone now; it was broken by Annie and Oakley's stupidity and Ash's bravery. I am free at last," Latios said changing the subject to a brighter topic. "That is why I allowed the twins to leave the city that day. They were safe and free to explore the world they were denied."

Lorenzo nodded. "Latias and Latios… their childhood was so hard Latios, they were orphans… there were times when they truly needed a parent to be there for them. My dad and myself did our best, but we could never fill that gap. What will happen to them now?" He asked.

Latios smiled fondly as feelings of bringing the entire family back together washed into his mind. "They'll meet me very soon and learn who their mother is at last. It is time for them to learn the truth surrounding their life at Alto Mare and their parents, and finally reunite with us as a family," he answered, life and happiness flowing back into his voice.

Lorenzo smiled, heart warmed by that. "That's… really wonderful Latios. It might be a little hard for them, to suddenly be introduced to the parents they've lacked… but Latias and Latios will be thrilled in the end, Latios," Lorenzo said kindly, but then he frowned. "Latios… Latios… I meant, the first time I said Latios was Ash's, the second was you," he clarified, and then sighed. "Both you and your child are Latios. How are we supposed to tell you two apart?" Lorenzo asked, rather mixed up with the names seeing as both eons could be referred to as Latios.

Latios laughed softly. "That's actually rather easy. I am named Latios, seeing as I'm the first Latios that ever existed. And as for my son, he has a name. My mate and I were unable to name them due to the curse and the circumstances I mentioned to you earlier. But, when we reunite with them soon, they'll be given the names they should have always had," he answered, a fond smile tracing his lips. "The true names they should have received the second they hatched, the names that have always been their birthright."

Lorenzo nodded once. "Oh, I didn't know Latios and Latias had names," he said, chuckling softly. "But I can see why, any parent names their children. So, what are their names?" He asked eagerly, wanting to know the names the twin's parents had decided for them.

Latios shook his head once. "Sorry, can't say," he said, his mental voice oddly serious.

Lorenzo frowned. "Huh, why not?" He asked, confused as to why the father didn't want to say the names the two young eon dragons currently traveling with Ash would receive.

"While there are many who already know their names, I promised myself that the second I was revived the next two souls who would have the privilege of hearing the names from me would be my children themselves. It's only right for them to have that privilege. You can learn their names next time you see them," Latios answered, a kind tone to his telepathic voice. "After all they've gone through, they deserve the honor, so I'm not speaking them to anyone until I meet them at last."

Lorenzo sighed. "Oh, well… I guess it's only right that the first ones you tell their names to after you come back to life is them." The old caretaker smiled. "It's okay Latios, I think I can wait until I see them again."

Latios nodded with a slightly faded smile. "Thank you for understanding my wish."

"You're welcome, Latios," Lorenzo said. He hummed, eyeing the large eon dragon. "Latios? When… when will you go back and meet your children? They need their parents."

"I know they do, I know," Latios said softly, his thoughts centered on his beloved children. "Soon, very soon, they'll meet their mother and father. They'll meet us at last. I think in a week, two at most."

"Why take that long? You're a Latios, you're fast, you could go and meet them now," Lorenzo asked.

"I want our meeting to be perfect. There are some things I need to prepare for it. And most importantly, there are some loose ends I need to tie up before I can join my children," Latios answered, his mental voice a bit hard when he said that. "I'm a little busy at the moment."

Lorenzo blinked. "Tie up some loose ends? I don't like the sound of that the last bit."

"Nor should you. Remember that evil entity I mentioned that caused all this misery?" Latios asked.

Lorenzo frowned, dreading the worst, but sadly it was too obvious and too easy to expect. "Let me guess, he's still out there."

"Yes, as much as I'd love to simply ignore everything and go to my children right now without a care in the world to shower them with my love, I can't. I need to settle some things first to ensure the safety of those I care for," Latios answered sadly. "He's out there. Waiting… Watching… Plotting… Preparing… Since he failed to carry out his task to soul kill me and my children, it's almost certain he'll try again, even if the results won't be as good as if he had succeeded when they were eggs. I know he will come again, or he'll strike another legendary, I'm not his only enemy among our kind. But next time, I'll be ready."

Lorenzo shivered, looking around almost in a sense of paranoia. "What if he does something to Alto Mare? He cursed you here, so it's a pretty safe bet Alto Mare is always present in his mind. It's… unsafe… with no guardians anymore… We're helpless."

Latios nodded, understanding the elderly man's concern. "That's also part of what I meant with loose ends. When I meet my children, I want to spend time with them without a worry in the world, so before I head out to meet them, I'll make sure this guy can't do anything to Alto Mare, and most importantly, my kids themselves. I'll make sure everything's perfect so nothing interrupts my family reunion."

"Yeah," Lorenzo agreed. "Latias and Latios wouldn't like it if you met them and then had to go take care of this evil thing right away. But… are they safe right now?" He asked, concerned for the two teen Legends. "Seeing as, well, you're here."

Latios nodded once again. "They are safe. Another Legendary Pokémon who is a very close friend of mine is silently watching over them and protecting them while I'm here. If he tries to get them, he'll be stopped."

"It's good to know that they are safe, but who is this so-called evil entity that seems to be the cause of all this?" Lorenzo asked.

Latios shook his head as he refused to provide the identity of the threat. "You wouldn't understand much of him or his origins or what he stands for; explaining his deeds and power will only worry you or make you afraid. It is not your concern. Only know that his days of being free are counted."

Lorenzo frowned, but nodded. "Yeah, I guess that's true," he said, not really eager to learn about a really dangerous evil thing that had Alto Mare close on his mind.

"Once I'm done making sure this guy can't harm Alto Mare or my children, I'll get ready to meet them," Latios added, just to clarify his objectives. "If I can't find him before the time to reunite with my family arrives, I'll just make sure he can't get near this city or anything important. I'm making sure to lock out as much of his options as I can."

Lorenzo nodded. "Okay. It's great that your family will finally be together at last Latios," He said kindly, feeling happy for the events that were promised to come. "And I'm sorry this had to happen to you. It's so sad, such a beautiful family that ended up torn apart like this," he added sadly, feeling very pained. He began to feel tears building in his eyes as he thought about the eon twins when they were younger; they had to live a life where they weren't able to see their parents, no matter how much they desired or needed them.

Latios frowned with an extremely sad expression. "Yes. It was a horrible experience for me and even now that it's over, it is still very painful. For millions of years my mate and I desired to have children, and when we finally became parents, this tragedy happened. Watching my children's hatching, their early childhood, and their growth into the young teens they are now, all from the Soul Dew, being completely unable to talk to them, raise them, care for them, educate them, teach them, or just show them each day how much I love them. It was very hurtful for me even as I lay in the Soul Dew. It was like a never-ending nightmare, being so close to my children yet so far away at the same time. I wished every day I could help them and raise them. Every time my kids truly needed a father to be there for them it hurt my soul to know I was there, but that I was unable to do anything for them. The most I could do was watch as other legendaries and their first human caretakers, your parents, aided me and my mate in taking care of them instead of us, watching helplessly as others did the job that was rightfully ours," he said in a genuinely hurt tone as his gaze slowly drifted to the pedestal where the Soul Dew used to lay. "But it will soon change, for the better," he added, a shine of light returning to his deep voice, revealing how eager he was to finally meet his children in flesh and blood.

Lorenzo struggled to hold back tears at the father's emotional speech. "I… I wish the best for your meeting to come. You've been through enough already, it is time things become better on your part."

Latios looked at him and smiled. "Thank you. My children hatched and were taken care of at first by your parents Lorenzo, and when they were unable to, you continued to take care of them. Even if there was always heavy assistance from the several Legendaries that took time from their duties to help them in their early childhood, I am still in your debt for your family's part," Latios said gratefully, bowing his neck slightly in respect to the elderly man. "Thank you."

"You're welcome Latios, it was my pleasure to help raise Latias and Latios as best as I could," Lorenzo said back with a kind smile, glad to be recognized for it by the elder deity. "Could I ask a small favor in return?"

Latios nodded. "Sure."

"Bianca. She'll travel with Ash's group. Could you make sure she's okay? Latios and Latias care for her, but, it's always good to be sure," Lorenzo requested.

"Bianca is a good girl; I've watched her interacting with my children from the Soul Dew. Don't worry, I'll see to her safety," Latios promised.

"Thanks, Latios," Lorenzo said gratefully. "So, what are you going to do now?"

"I came to check the garden. Now I'm going to the Alto Mare museum to make some changes to the Defense Mechanism of Alto Mare," Latios replied.

"I'll go with you, just give me a minute to close my shop," Lorenzo said as he turned around to make the walk back to his workshop.

Latios' eyes glowed softly. "Done."

Lorenzo blinked. "What?"

"I already locked your shop's doors," was Latios' rather blunt response.

"Ah," Lorenzo muttered. "But what about my tools and all that? It might be dangerous leaving them on the floor."

Latios' eyes glowed again, tapping into his psychic powers and putting all of the items and tools in Lorenzo's workshop in order. "Done, again."

Lorenzo chuckled. "Psychic powers. I suppose they're very useful?"

"Yes, they are," Latios answered.

Lorenzo frowned. "Mind waiting for me? I'm rather old, so the walk to the Museum will take a bit of time for me. Sorry."

Latios laughed softly. "I've got that covered too." His eyes glowed brightly, and the world around them turned into a searing white color, making Lorenzo cover his eyes.

As fast as they came, the lights died down not even a second later. Lorenzo opened his eyes when he felt it was safe, only to gasp in surprise when he noticed they were in the Museum, right in front of the Defense Mechanism of Alto Mare. Lorenzo looked around, confirming they were indeed in front of the DMA. "Wow, I didn't know you could teleport, Latios," he commented, idly surprised.

Latios shook his head. "I can't teleport. Teleportation would be a rather redundant ability on a Latios or Latias. I simply flew from the garden to here."

Lorenzo gasped again. "But… that felt as fast as the blink of an eye!" he protested in shock.

"I'm that fast," Latios said simply, a sly smirk on his features.

Lorenzo frowned. "But you'd have to go at supersonic speeds for that, and that'd be deadly to an unprotected human."

Latios nodded, not really feeling weary from the fact that he had to answer so much of this elderly human's questions. "I know. Remember that light you saw? I created a protective sphere of psychic power around us, locking the air inside it. That way, even if I flew many times faster than the speed of sound, nothing dangerous happened inside. All the dangerous heat from the wind friction, the air pressure, or the dangerous kinetic energy, I protected your frail body from all of it," he explained. "And also made sure those physical forces didn't cause trouble at my arrival point."

"Okay," Lorenzo said, rather shocked by it. "That's… rather impressive. Stuff like that is dangerous."

Latios chuckled. "Not for me. I know all the laws of the universe per their exact writing by Arceus. I know my ways around those that are within my powers to mess with."

"Oh," Lorenzo said quietly, and then he looked around, noting that the museum was filled with tourists and numerous visitors, as well as the museum staff. Oddly, they didn't seem to have noticed the rather big eon dragon yet. "Latios… uh, you're visible, shouldn't you hide?" He asked, feeling rather confused as to why no one seemed to notice them yet.

Latios shook his head. "They can't see me. I'm projecting an illusion over the entire area, manipulating what everyone sees to my desires. As such, you can see and hear me perfectly, but no one else in the room can."

"What about me? They'll think I'm crazy if they see me talking to thin air, in that case," Lorenzo said, chuckling softly.

"I'm hiding you in the illusion too, so no one interrupts our conversation," Latios answered, looking up at the Defense Mechanism of Alto Mare.

"You… you're really something else Latios," Lorenzo said, more and more impressed by the eon dragon's abilities by the second. The difference in power between the father and his son was very clear with each passing minute. Just how much was he capable of?

"Thanks," Latios said appreciatively.

Lorenzo followed his gaze, up towards the Defense Mechanism of Alto Mare. "What happened that night, Latios? Is… is this machine evil or something? It nearly killed us all in the aftermath that it generated."

"It's not evil. My mate and I made it," Latios said back, his tone rather offended.

"Oh… then why did you, as the Soul Dew, got corrupted and shattered and all that when the Machine was used?" Lorenzo asked, curious as to that dark night's events, knowing he could get many answers from the elder eon.

"For starters, the Soul Dew would have been okay even if it was taken outside the pedestal. That is merely where I rested, but as long as I remained within the boundaries of Alto Mare, nothing bad would happen to me, so the Soul Dew being taken out of the pedestal pool was not what went wrong that night," Latios began, his tone neutral and calm. "Under a normal situation in which the DMA is used, one of my children and I would willingly give the DMA all the power it demanded to obey the orders its user gave it. As such, it'd function normally without hurting anyone, but that was not the case that night."

"Well… I guess that's logical," Lorenzo agreed. "It wouldn't work as well as our treasured defense system if it made a deadly suicide tidal wave every time it was used."

"Yeah," Latios said, nodding in agreement. "It wouldn't be useful if it killed you all every time it was used. My mate and I didn't make it that way."

Lorenzo hummed, letting that sink in. "So… what's next?" he asked.

"When Annie and Oakley took me out of the pedestal forcefully and kidnapped my son to start the DMA, we resisted the DMA and we denied it our power. As such it malfunctioned and the DMA was depraved of the power that under normal circumstances we'd willingly give it. They started trying to gain that power by force, trying to make me and my son give it power. That's why it became painful for my son, the DMA's normal power extraction process is harmless. However, since the DMA started trying to drain my power too forcefully and I was denying it…" Latios smiled widely. "It accidentally latched onto something else while pulling at my power, the only dark and corrupt-looking thing on me."

Lorenzo's eyes widened slowly. "The curse…"

Latios nodded again. "Yes. The DMA accidentally started using the curse to fuel its power demand and as such, it began ripping the curse away from me. That's why my Soul Dew appeared 'corrupted' and a rather evil shade of color. It wasn't just any corruption; it was the curse itself being torn away from me. Now, as a full grown legendary, that curse was already weakening over time. And that night was its last day. The DMA ripped the curse away from me, freeing my children and me from our prison here in Alto Mare. Of course, my Soul Dew was then shattered and things didn't go as nicely as I'd have hoped, but, thanks to Ash, it went well in the end," Latios explained. "That's why I encouraged Latias and Latios to leave Alto Mare with Ash. I wanted them to explore the world as they were no longer bound to this place. And also, maybe catch a legendary's attention and speed up my revival. Being stuck over a century in a crystal sphere is boring."

"So that's what happened that night. The Soul Dew was never corrupted, in fact, it was freed! And I guess that the twins got the attention of a Legendary, and since the Legendaries knew you were cursed, seeing them out of the city made them guess you were free, and as such you were revived," Lorenzo finished, already expecting his guess to be true.

"Yes," Latios said back, smiling. "My children are free and the curse is gone. Now it's time to reunite, and hunt down the one who caused all of this."

Lorenzo hummed. "If you were… cursed, along with the twins, to Alto Mare…why were they guardians of Alto Mare?" He asked, confused. "I understand the need to protect the Soul Dew, but… protect the place they are cursed to?"

Latios sighed, sad. "It was all a story we made up to try and help them cope with all of this. To keep our children in Alto Mare without making them suspect it was in fact a prison for us. Imagine their daily lives if they knew their paradise home was in fact a prison? They wouldn't have been able to grow up knowing the truth of what Alto Mare really is, a gilded cage. It was very hard for all of us… that was the best we could come up with to help them settle and live with it. I know my kids won't like to know they were lied to, but it was necessary, and the best I can do is hope they'll forgive me for it," Latios said, frowning.

"I don't really feel happy about Alto Mare being a prison…" Lorenzo commented sadly.

"I understand why, but it's the truth. Alto Mare was a gilded cage, golden and pretty, but still a prison," Latios said back. "We prettied it up and disguised it so our children could grow up happy and in a nice home, without knowing the dreadful reality behind it, for if they knew, they'd have been unable to handle it."

"I… I know it was hard. Sorry to bring it up," Lorenzo apologized, bowing slightly.

"It's okay," Latios said solemnly. "It's all over now, and we can finally start afresh as a complete family."

"So, what are you going to do to the DMA?" Lorenzo asked, very curious. He looked at the Soul Dew-holding pedestal that sprouted from the middle of the machine. "I don't think it can work, seeing as there's no Soul Dew anymore."

"Precisely, I don't really think the DMA has much practical use anymore… but I'll leave it working, just so it continues being a tourist attraction to Alto Mare, which I'm sure you'll appreciate. And who knows, it might be useful one day," Latios said, shrugging. "But to answer your question, I am going to modify it to fit its new functions and the new conditions, such as the fact that there is no more Soul Dew."

"Modify it? And how are you going to do that?" Lorenzo asked, confused as he looked towards the towering Machine. "It doesn't look like it can be modified. It's a huge metallic machine. How are you going to change it?"

Latios smiled. "Like this." His eyes glowed, and his body followed, shining a soft blue color. Lorenzo watched in awe as the DMA began to glow a soft gold color. Slowly, metal cracked as the DMA's external support and lock pillars began to move, giving the machine freedom.

"Uh… okay, this is odd," Lorenzo commented nervously, looking around at the many, many tourists and Museum staff that wandered in and out of the DMA chamber, yet none of them noticed the fact that the ancient machine was glowing or moving. "Your illusion is hiding it all, right Latios?" he asked, just to be sure.

"Don't worry. No matter what I do, no one's going to notice a thing as long as my illusion is in place," Latios answered. His eyes began to glow a stronger shade of bluish white as he exerted his powers over the ancient machine. The DMA's glow began to change in some places to a pinkish light, but it still remained mostly gold-colored everywhere else. Lorenzo took a few steps back as the glow increased in strength, and finally he yelped in surprise and jumped back as a huge halo of energy shot out of the DMA, creating a very dense sphere of mostly golden light around it, with some spots of the sphere glowing in pink and some others glowing blue. The sphere of light covering the entire DMA wasn't just a simple glow of light, as it seemed to have a solid surface, almost like the light was a sphere of glass. It was really beautiful. The sight made Lorenzo think of a miniature sun of pure gorgeous ethereal light, not fire. And on that 'surface' the light seemed to have thousands of tiny inscriptions and symbols on it.

"Wow…" Lorenzo whispered in an awe-filled voice, his eyes looking without distraction at the swirling light that emitted from the DMA, and the solid-surfaced light sphere lined with the thousands of symbols across it. "What… what is all this…" he reached his hand forward, and found to his surprise that he could touch the solid surface of light. "It's so beautiful," Lorenzo commented softly, eyes still wide. The light felt tingly, gentle and warm to his touch. To the aged man, it was perhaps the most wonderful feeling he had felt in his decades of life. "What… what does it say?"

"This light is an independent discarded part of a Legendary Pokémon's power. It is the core power that makes up the DMA and gives it the energy to do all its functions," Latios began, pointing at the sphere of light. "All these symbols and inscriptions you see are in fact an ancient language created by Arceus himself for the use of Legendary Pokémon only. These symbols and inscriptions are the DMA's programming. They explain how my mate and I made it, and how the DMA is made to work and operate even if we are not here to give it orders."

"Wow… this is… Amazing," Lorenzo said slowly, still dumbfounded at the sight. "How… how did you make all this?" He asked.

Latios shook his head before going onto yet another detailed explanation. "Well, I didn't make it entirely, as I stated. I was in the Soul Dew when this was made. The power that makes up the DMA and what makes it so strong isn't mine, it's my mate's. She's a lot stronger than I am, so she has an easier time doing things like this. The power recognizes me as her mate; as such I can edit it and reprogram it to my desires," the Dragon/Psychic-type spoke as he glided towards the sphere of light. He placed his claws on the surface, his crimson-tinted eyes glowing brightly. The glow that was emitting from his body began to seep into his claws, before entering the sphere of light that sprouted out of the DMA. It began to shine as he started to modify the DMA's core power. The surface of the sphere of light began shifting in many areas, rearranging entire sections and changing inscriptions as Latios moved it to his wishes. Power came and went by, fragments splitting and then reuniting at different places to form entirely different orders and programming for the DMA, changing the way it worked in many aspects and modifying its physical structure.

Lorenzo watched in awe at the impressive show of dancing lights that played in his eyes, the gorgeous light of a high goddess, how it seemed to flow naturally as Latios rearranged it and manipulated it. "Wow…" the shocked elder muttered, unable to tear his eyes from the splendid show of lights.

Latios moved a final part of the power and pressed it back, and the sphere of light ceased to move after all the changes and rearrangements to it were finished. He nodded. "There, this will do," Latios said, mostly to himself. The DMA rumbled, its power making the air vibrate. The sphere of light surrounding it slowly started to dim as it seeped back inside the DMA, until all of it had poured back inside. The room fell silent, at least for Lorenzo and Latios, because the elderly human could still see the odd sight of tourists, locals or museum workers walking by the DMA chamber and none noticing anything of the older eon's activities.

"What did you do?" Lorenzo questioned, still looking around nervously. All of the museum's tourists and staff kept going around and about in their business, none noticing what had happened even in the slightest. Latios' illusion was indeed powerful.

"Like I said, I modified it. I made many changes regarding the way it operates and draws power, the way it is activated, what it can and can't do, and made it safer, overall. Also, within the DMA is now a powerful protective instruction that will forever keep that evil entity, my dreaded enemy, away from Alto Mare. Now, just wait and see for the actual changes to take effect," Latios answered, his mental tone simple and without any significant feeling to it. The DMA began to shake slightly as the changes in its power began to take effect on it. Many pieces of it began to change shape, some disappeared entirely and even new ones began to create themselves. The arm with the holding pedestal for the Soul Dew jutting out of the side of the machine slowly began to melt into the machine's bulk, disappearing completely. With no Soul Dew, it was unnecessary. The floor shook slightly as many lines of metal began to pave their way through the floor tiles, following perfect symmetry with the ones on the other side of the machine, where the rings that 'imprisoned' Latios were. Another set of rings began to appear on the floor, and with a heavy metallic click, the carving was finished. Now, the DMA had two eon dragon holding rings carved into the floor. The machine's overall shape remained similar, but it was still easy to appreciate the many changes that had been made to it. The machine looked more bulky now, and it seemed to radiate a feeling that it was now stronger and more benevolent.

Lorenzo gulped. "Uh… Latios?"

Latios looked at him. "Yes?"

"Don't get me wrong, the show of lights was amazing and gorgeous," Lorenzo began. "But this is bad. How the hell am I supposed to explain to everyone that the DMA suddenly changed the way it looks so drastically!?" He asked, rather upset and nervous at the barrage of questions it'd generate from pretty much everyone, and as the head of the museum's staff it'd be him who'd be on the receiving end of the questions.

Latios laughed softly. "That's easy. Say that the change happened out of nowhere without any feasible explanation and attribute it to the Guardian Latios and Latias. That'll add a lot of mystery and wonder to the tale of the guardian eon dragons of Alto Mare," he suggested, looking at the elderly human with an amused look.

Lorenzo blinked, thinking about that idea. "That's a good idea," he decided finally. "Really good, it'd only add to Alto Mare's glamour about Latias and Latios."

Latios nodded. "Yes, indeed." He paused, looked at Lorenzo, and smiled. "That reminds me," he said. His eyes glowed as a small crystal sphere appeared in his claws. It looked like a miniature Soul Dew.

"What's that?" Lorenzo asked, curious.

"I've put a small amount of my power in here, and with it you can control the numerous illusions hiding the Secret Garden," Latios announced, holding out the small orb to Lorenzo. "As long as it's intact, the illusions protecting the garden will remain in place. Shatter it, and all the illusions of the garden will disappear, leaving it open for everyone to see."

Lorenzo's eyes widened. "Does that mean…" He began, but was unable to continue.

Latios nodded. "Yes. I am giving you complete ownership of the Secret Garden of Alto Mare. My children have a new home, and that is with their parents. And with no Soul Dew anymore or danger to Alto Mare, there is no need to keep the Secret Garden a secret. I know you are the best to choose what to do with it. If you decide to keep it a secret, that's perfectly fine. If you decide to open it to the public in Alto Mare, that is also fine. The responsibility of the garden now belongs to you," the eon dragon said telepathically, depositing the small glassy sphere in Lorenzo's hand.

"I… I don't know what to say Latios…" Lorenzo muttered in complete shock, eyes locked on the small orb in his hands.

"You don't need to say anything. What will become of the Secret Garden is your decision. But, if you ultimately decide to share its beauty with the city, I ask that you make sure it remains as beautiful as it has always been," Latios added, a small smile tainting his lips.

Lorenzo carefully deposited the orb in one of his pockets. "I'll leave it as it is for now as I need to think about what's best for it. I might eventually share it with the city, but that's a decision I'll make later. Thank you, Latios," He said, his tone still filled with awe and shock.

"Well Lorenzo, it was nice talking with you. Once again, I thank you for the support you granted my children throughout their lives," Latios said, slowly hovering away from the Museum and into Alto Mare's main plaza. Lorenzo walked beside him, thankful the dragon was levitating at a pace he could keep up with. "I'll be leaving now."

"Please take care of Bianca," Lorenzo reminded the large eon dragon. "Will we meet again?"

"I will take care of her, don't worry," Latios reassured him. "And, I am not sure about that, but, I'm pretty certain you'll meet my children again." He made a small pause. "Speaking of Bianca, if you talk to her in the upcoming weeks, please, do not tell her about me. I don't want the surprise to be spoiled for my children."

Lorenzo nodded. "I'll keep it a secret, don't worry. Oh, wait. You never told me, who is your mate?" he asked, curiously, realizing until now that he couldn't quite picture who the dragon's mate and mother of his children was. Another Latias?

Latios smiled fondly at the thought of his eternal partner, his soul mate and one true love. "The most gorgeous, amazing, gentle, caring and beautiful sweetheart of a goddess there is," he answered, his tone filled with admiration and love.

"That sounds rather cheesy," Lorenzo commented in amusement, holding back his chuckles as he did so. "Though romantic, that doesn't tell me who she is."

"You felt her power. When you touched the light of the DMA, you felt it. It should tell you immediately who she is. You can figure it out," Latios said, his telepathic tone of voice soft and with a rather testing air to it. "Remember the touch of her power, it will tell you who she is."

Lorenzo frowned, feeling rather confused as to why Latios didn't just tell him, but maybe it was a test of some sorts. He closed his eyes, thinking back as to how that power felt against him. His eyes shot open as he realized who she was, it was all so clear now. "Latios! She's…" Lorenzo paused, looking around as he realized Latios was no longer beside him. "Latios? Latios!? Where are you?"

"Goodbye Lorenzo, it was a pleasure talking with you," Latios' telepathic voice drifted hazily in his mind, almost compelling Lorenzo to look up, and so he did. High in the sky, a few hundred feet up, he saw Latios, hovering there calmly, idly centered along the position of the two pillars with the statues of Latias and Latios. Latios lifted his illusion hiding Lorenzo and the DMA's changes at that precise moment when no one would notice Lorenzo appearing out of nowhere, so as far as anyone could tell he'd been there all along.

Latios smiled, and took a small breath, and then released a very loud and powerful but very beautiful and melodic cry, immediately catching the attention of everyone who was in the city plaza, museum, and the nearing coastline and streets. They all looked up in wonder and shock at the Latios hovering above Alto Mare, the sighting and appearance immediately causing a huge impact on the city.

"Alto Mare's eternal guardian deity is here…" Lorenzo whispered softly, smiling at the beautiful tune in the Dragon's song. Immediately, many people took out cameras and mobile phones and took pictures and videos of the dragon. Latios kept the song of support for Alto Mare for a few more seconds, letting everyone enjoy the tune and the sighting and then stopped. He looked down at the city, smiled one last time, and turned invisible, disappearing completely from everyone's sight, and under the cover of his invisibility, he flew away.

"Lorenzo! Lorenzo!" One of the museum's staff members came running towards him, stopping in front of him. "Something happened to the DMA, you need to see this! Come quick!" he said before quickly running back towards the museum.

However, Lorenzo merely smiled and slowly walked towards the commotion. 'Thank you Latios…' Lorenzo thought as he slowly made his way back to the DMA's chamber.

---

Author Notes: And this brings A New Chance for Adventure's Chapter 7 to a close! Also, I know the explanations here were vague, but the countdown has been set! For Latios to meet his children! The entire story regarding the 'evil entity' and all about the creation of Alto Mare and Latios' mate (and the twin's mother) will be revealed at that meeting in great detail! In the meantime, enjoy the unanswered torturing questions! xD