Ch.3: Merriment Turned Serious! A Secret Lost in Myth!

Don't you just hate it when you're having a wonderful dream where you have the perfect future, where everything goes right and nothing could go wrong, where you've reached the top and succeeded in your goals…and you wake up to the sound of a door knock?

That's how Wes felt as his eyes slowly fluttered open. The room was dark, but he could see a bit of light shining through his blinds. He sat up groggily and made a clicking sound with his tongue, tasting the awful morning taste people usually get upon waking. He rubbed his eyes, wiping the crud that formed in them overnight. He flinched when he heard a second series of knocks.

He grumbled a bit. He was normally a morning person, happy to wake up early and start an adventure. But, the one day he decides to sleep in, someone ruins his sleep. He knew he should have placed a note on the door. It would probably have said, 'Leave me alone! I'm sleeping!' or something like that. Sounds rude, but how would you feel if you were woken up on your day off?

Another knock forced him out of bed. He went over to his bag and pulled out a baseball bat, holding it in his teeth. He had a pretty good idea who was at the door. I swear, if he keeps bugging me about my rent, I'm going to scream!

He made his way to the door and placed his paw on the door. The fourth knock made him cringe. That sound must die. So he threw the door open with a vicious glare. "I have your freakin' rent! Now hit the road before I-" He stopped his angry shout upon seeing who was at the door. Not his landlord, but his older brother, Flint, whose knees were shaking with a fearful expression.

"Is…this a bad time?" he asked nervously.

Wes' eyes were wide with shock as he spat the bat out of his mouth and kicked it back inside. "Flint…hey. Didn't expect you to stop by."

"Yeah…I came to talk. May I come in?"

The Umbreon nodded and stepped to the side. Flint walked in and flinched at the state of the apartment. Though, it was a bit cleaner compared to when he last visited.

Wes pulled his undershirt off and reached into his drawers for a new one. "So, what's the occasion?"

The Flareon nearly gagged stepping on old ramen noodles. "Well…I've been thinking about yesterday and I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

He placed the new undershirt on. "Oh yeah, I'm fine."

"I'm sure you are. But, I felt kind of bad for what I said. I'm not as adventurous as I use to be."

The younger brother smirked. "This is coming from the guy who gets excited over old temples."

"Hey, they are amazing to study!" This made the Umbreon laugh. It wasn't a taunting laugh, more like a friendly laugh. Flint shook his head with a smile. "Okay, very funny."

"Sorry, couldn't help myself." He pulled out a blue, long sleeve shirt and placed it on. "Any other reason you came by?"

"Yeah…I was wondering if you wanted to join me for a late breakfast. My treat."

His growling stomach did make the offer sound tempting. "I can't let you do that."

"You're on a tight budget. I insist. You need to save up for rent, after all."

He chuckled. "At this point, I might consider sleeping outside. Camping doesn't sound like a bad thing."

"Always looking on the positives, aren't you?" Flint commented.

Wes stuck his tongue out playfully. "That's what I live for." He smiled. "But sure…I guess I can go for a bite."

He smiled. "Great! I'll wait for you outside." He walked out.

Wes placed on some new pants and grabbed his hat. Before he went outside, he couldn't help but be curious. Flint obviously felt like he needed to make up for yesterday. The thought is sweet, but he felt there was a little more to it than just that. Maybe he was overthinking everything. He was just going out to a nice breakfast with his brother, nothing wrong with that.

He shook his head and walked outside, where his brother was patiently waiting. "So, where are we going?"

"How about the Enchanted Bar?"

"Sounds great!" They started making their way there.

Their waiter had them seated and handed them some menus. "Would you like a drink to start off?"

They nodded. "Coffee," Flint said.

"I'll take an apple juice." The waiter nodded and walked off.

Flint held his menu up. "Order anything you want. Like I said, my treat."

The Umbreon chuckled mischievously. "I'm going to make you regret that." The Flareon rolled his eyes and went back to scanning his menu. "I might get a stack of flapjacks. Ooh, and drizzled in delicious maple syrup and honey! And chocolate!"

"O-Okay, slow down there, buddy. You don't want to get a stomach ache, do you?"

Wes pouted, but smiled. "Oh, alright."

"Thank you. Well, I'll just take some hash browns and bacon."

"Ooh, sounds yummy!"

He chuckled. "Yummy? What are you, five?"

He smirked. "You're being a meanie-pants, big brother." There was a bit of a pause before they broke out in laughter.

The Flareon shook his head as he continued to chuckle. "Always know how to make me laugh."

He proudly took a bow. "Thank you, thank you. I'll be here all week."

"Hehe…yeah." He sighed. "So, uh…listen, about what I said yesterday. If I offended you in anyway-"

Wes raised his paw to silence him. "Flint, you could never do anything to make me mad." He tapped his chin. "Except stealing my blankie when I was four, taking my stuff without asking-"

Flint deadpanned. "That last one was you."

Wes blinked before smiling. "Oh yeah, you're right." They laughed a bit. "But you get my point."

"Yes, I do…sort of." He sighed. "But listen, I know how you feel about treasure hunting and I don't want to come between you and your goals. I'm only saying…maybe you should take a different approach."

"Different approach?"

"Your job consists of hunting random artifacts that you would pick up on from eavesdropping conversations. Half the time, you don't even know what you're searching for. Remember when we went to that abandon mine shaft and nearly got trapped by the cave-in? We risked our lives to get out of there and all we found was a lousy Freeze Charm."

"I thought that guy said Breeze Charm!"

"There is no such thing as a Breeze Charm!"

"Well now you tell me!"

"I did tell you!" He collected his thoughts and exhaled his frustration. "Look, you said you wanted to be like Dad, right?" He nodded. "Well, do what he does when he goes treasure hunting."

"You mean leave my family for extended periods of time and only staying for two to three weeks?" He didn't say it with any malice or sarcasm. He was being legitimately serious.

Flint blinked. "Uh…no. I mean, focus on one magical item. You go hunting for random objects every single day that you've turned into a hoarder."

Wes crossed his arms. "I am not a hoarder."

He deadpanned. "Let me see your bag."

"Uh…no."

"And why?" He got no response. "That's what I thought."

"Okay, so I may pick up some things from time to time." He pulled out a bowling pin. "When did I get a bowling pin?" He looked into his bag. "When did I get a grand piano?"

He fitted a grand piano in there? Flint shook his head. "You see my point? You're too scatterbrained and unfocused. Whenever Dad went on hunts, he focused on researching and looking for one thing."

The Umbreon groaned. "That sounds like homework!"

Flint rubbed his head. "How on earth did you ever find artifacts beforehand?"

"Because I had someone like you to keep me on track."

They stared at each other in silence. They used to have fun going on treasure hunts. But Flint wanted to focus on passing college and Wes just wanted to have fun. They just couldn't find the time to hang out like before. They've really bonded over their adventures and that bond seemed to have weakened over time.

Flint may not look it, but he missed going on adventures with his brother. He had a lot of fun, despite the constant danger he would bring them into. The excitement made him feel energized for a brand new day and new adventure that was just waiting to come.

But, when they graduated from school, he wanted to focus his time on becoming an archeologist. Digging up old temples, uncovering ancient history, and learning about other cultures from the past was something he was interested in. So he frequently stopped coming on adventures with Wes until, one day, he just stopped. He kept to his work and Wes kept doing what he has always done.

Sometimes he felt their relationship has been strained because of that. He felt he somehow hurt Wes' feelings. He never did show it, so he doesn't think about it much. But Wes was good at hiding his feelings and lying, so there was no telling if he was being true or not.

He wanted to join his brother on another adventure, but he simply didn't have the time. Though, he does know Wes wants him along. Flint was the main reason they found amazing treasures. It's because he actually did research on the item rather than blindly charging into the closest temple near him. They were an amazing team. Wes was great at tracking and spotting near impossible-to-find entrances. Flint would do the research on the area and would plan accordingly for what they might encounter. And, when Ella would come along, she would help translate text or warnings they would occasionally encounter, helping to guide them through impossible labyrinths and mazes.

He missed those times. He really did.

He sighed and said, "Wes…I just want you to know that I'll always be here to help you. If you ever need my help or a place to stay, my place is always available to you."

He smiled a bit. "Thanks bro…"

"No problem. Anyway…I need to tell you something. I…"

Before he could continue, the waiter came back with their drinks. "Here you go." He set them down and took out a note pad. "Are you ready to order?" They nodded and gave their orders to him. "I'll be back with your meal soon." He walked away.

"Sweet, my juice!" Wes picked up his glass and drank the apple juice.

Flint leaned back and looked to the side. "Uh…Wes?"

He set the glass down, which was half full. "Oh yeah, what were you saying?"

He sighed. Might as well get it over with. "Look…once I complete college, you know I'm going to be doing a lot of traveling. Meaning I won't be able to see you or Mom for quite some time."

"Oh…yeah." Wes took another sip of his juice.

"Well…I thought that since we won't be seeing each other for years when that happens…maybe we could, I don't know…go on one last big treasure hunt together?"

Time seemed to stop around the Umbreon as his eyes widened. As if his entire world was shattered from a dark abyss into a bright colorful world over elation. It was like the words that came out of his brother's mouth were cursed. Only this wasn't a curse that was going to turn him into a puddle of water or some slimy creature. The words felt unnatural to hear, after not hearing them for so long. He needed to take a deep breath to release the sheer joy that would be flowing out of him in a moment.

Unfortunately, the juice that was currently swishing in his mouth after such a long pause decided to join the large exhale that soon followed after and flew across the table. It sprayed across Flint's face, dripping into his large mane of fur.

He was not amused. "I'm…guessing that was a yes."

Wes stood up on the table in shock. "Are you serious?! Please tell me this isn't some heinous joke you're pulling on me!"

The Flareon grabbed some napkins off the table and dried himself off. He would have to take a shower later to get the stickiness out of his fur. "I'm being serious, Wes. I feel we could have one last adventure before I go on with my future."

His brother smiled with a squeal and hugged him from across the table. "Oh thank you so much! This is going to be awesome! I already have so many places we could check out! How about the Aqua Zone? We can go deep sea diving and look for some magical artifacts down there!"

Flint pushed him back into his seat. "Hold on for a minute, bro. Remember what I said before. You always end up finding something useless when you go off random leads. I'll only go on the adventure with you if you find something worth looking for. No charms, no jewels, no nothing but a magical artifact that would be worth searching for."

The Umbreon blinked. "But…I don't even know about any other artifacts."

"You could look at a book. In the library."

He blinked in confusion. "We have a library?"

He face-palmed. "Yes, we do. We've passed it several times before-"

"I know we have a library. What do you take me for? An idiot?" he asked with a smirk.

Flint smirked back. "Hardy har. But seriously, just look up something that hasn't been discovered or found yet and start from there." He took a sip form his coffee. "And no random searching."

"Okay, okay, I get it." He looked at the clock. "Hey, uh, shouldn't we be heading to classes later?"

"We don't have any today. We can just hang out if you want."

He smiled. "I would like that a lot."

"Cool." He pulled his backpack off and looked inside. He frowned. "Oh dang it."

"What? Forgot your money?"

"No, I never forget it. But I am missing a book I was reading."

"Did you leave back at your place?"

"No, I don't remember taking it out of my bag."

"It could be back in class."

"Yeah, probably." He slung the bag back on. "You wouldn't mind if we made a quick stop to the college to get it, right?"

He waved it off. "Sure, I'm cool with it. But you owe me a sundae."

He smirked. "I'm not giving you ice cream."

"Aww, come on!"

"You're getting breakfast, that's it."

"You're still a meanie pants." They shared a laugh together, happy to be spending time with each other again.

The classes were filled with students as Wes and Flint walked down the halls. Geno's class was busy, so they had to wait until it ended. So they decided to wander the halls for a bit.

"I never really explored the building," Wes muttered as he looked around. The walls were a brilliant white with marble columns against them. The floors were tiled black and white. "You would think I'd explore every inch of this place by now."

Flint chuckled. "That is a shocker. YOU not being curious about something."

Wes gasped and clenched his chest. "Oh the agony! Not my curiosity! Curse you, giant college building!" They laughed and continued forward. "Still, I have to admit, this is a nice place." His eyes sparkled with excitement. "Let's do some exploring!"

"Wes, we should really stick around here and wait for Prof. Geno's class to end."

He grabbed his shirt collar. "It'll just be a quick search, come on!"

Flint sighed and looked at the clock. Classes won't end for another forty-five minutes, so perhaps a quick look around the school wouldn't hurt. Then again, he was going to be exploring with his brother. Whether it be a school, town, warehouse, temple, or somewhere, Wes always found a way to get in trouble. It was an uncanny talent when you think about it. They once went into an abandoned warehouse and somehow came out being chased by pirates. How does that even happen?

He ran his paw through his hair and sighed. "Oh…what the heck? Let's do it."

"Woo!" He dragged him down the hallway. And thus, their adventure began.

Wes opened some doors, leading to a theatre room. "Does this this place have a drama club or something?"

"Yes. We went to one of the plays last year, remember?"

He tapped his head, trying to recall the event. His brain scavenged up any remnants of the night, making him smile. "Oh yeah, right. Wasn't it about the original Grand Wizards or something?"

"Yeah. It was a pretty good play, I'll admit."

They closed the doors and looked around for another area to explore. They headed to the fifth floor of the building, up a spiral staircase. This gave the Umbreon a fun idea.

"Hey Flint! Race you downstairs!" He jumped onto the railing.

"Wes, that's dangerous!"

"Danger is my middle name!" He flew down with a cheerful scream.

"No it isn't!" he shouted down at him. He looked at the railing for a bit. Well, it did look like fun. He tended to follow the rules and not get into trouble, but his brother's influence would rub off on him from time to time. Like now for instance. "Oh, to heck with it!" He jumped on and flew down, laughing cheerfully while keeping a hold on his hat.

Wes had his tongue sticking out as he descended faster and faster down the railing. "This is so awesome!" He made it to the bottom and landed on his feet. "Perfect landing! Thank you, you're a wonderful audience!" He could hear his brother coming down the stairs. "Heh, he actually did it!" He turned around and frowned. "Ah crud…" was all he could say as a mass of orange and whitish fur rammed into him.

The force of the impact sent them skidding across the floor. They would have stopped if it weren't for the flight of stairs that led to the basement being in their way. They careened down them and were heading straight towards a wall that should stop their tumbling.

But they never did stop. They rammed into the wall with enough force to smash right through it. The impact was brief, but it felt like it was hollowed out. A strong enough force could smash right through it. And, in their spinning, they crashed into a pile of boxes that fell on top of them.

Wes' head was the first to surface. He held it with a dizzied expression. "Lookie Flint…the world is spinning…"

Flint crawled out from the bottom and laid on his stomach. "Now I remember why I don't ride stair railings…stupid stuff like this happens."

The Umbreon stood up and dusted himself off. "But still, wasn't that fun?"

Flint stood up, rubbing his head. "I don't recall head injuries being entertaining…" He flinched a bit and sighed. "I really hope we didn't break anything."

"Uh…Flint?" He saw his brother pointing toward the way the rolled in from. He turned and saw the hole they made. Oddly enough, there was a wooden frame against the wall that looked like a door could be placed in it.

"Wha…" He looked around and gasped. "Wes…where are we?"

He looked and his jaw dropped. "Oh…my…Arceus…"

They were in a dark room full of strange oddities. Magic circles made of chalk drawn on the ground, bookshelves with scattered books littered everywhere, a desk full of notes and documents laying lazily about, and much more. There were pipes running along the ceiling, leaking every so often. The walls were made of eroded stone, along with the floor. There were some chests next to the book shelves full of miscellaneous items.

"What…is this place?" Wes asked, though he doubted Flint had the answer himself.

"This is…what is this? Does anyone know this exists?"

"Well, it was boarded up and covered by a wall. So…eh, no."

Flint walked closer in, his mind racing hundreds of miles a second. "What is with all this stuff? Why is it all here? Who does it belong to?"

Wes saw a piece of bread on the floor and…it has not aged well. "Well, judging by the state of this room, someone who couldn't keep anything tidy."

"So…you?"

"Hey, I've never seen this room before, so don't go blaming me!"

"Sorry, sorry…" Flint went up to the desk and looked through some of the papers. Some of them were just withered documents that were too illegible to make any sense. But the ones he was most interested in was the magic circles. "Wes…come look at these."

He walked over and took a glance. The circles were drawn out very detailed and intricate, the rim of it being lined with glyphs. Someone was trying to use a powerful spell and were sketching out a magic circle as perfectly as possible. But as they shuffled through the papers, they saw they became increasingly sloppy and disorganized. The state of the drawings showed the drawer was in a fit of rage as time went on until they stopped on one that was half completed. They just gave up.

"Freaky…" Wes mumbled. "This guy looks like he needed a nap."

"I have to agree with you there. But why would someone spend so much time trying to make a magic circle? And for what purpose?" Magic circles were very unique. The more detailed they were, the more power you gain from them. There were many ways they could be used. Summoning, power enhancement, tracking, and other special properties.

"Clearly for whatever he was researching."

"Researching?"

"Bro, I may not enjoy going to college, but I do know what dedicated research looks like. And this…" He gestured to the whole room. "…looks like dedicated research."

Flint rubbed his chin in thought. "You're right." He walked around some more. "But still, how come no one has found this place yet?"

"Well, not a lot of people go tumbling down the stairs or punch walls with enough force to break them down. So your guess is as good as mine."

"I can do without the sarcasm," Flint muttered, making his brother chuckle. He walked over to some books and pulled them out. "Huh…get a load of this. Most of these are titled 'Mythology'."

"Whoa…wait, what does that mean?"

"The word or just in general?"

Wes rolled his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is someone was researching ancient legends."

"Ancient legends, you say?" They jumped with high pitch yelps and rammed into each other. They shook their heads and looked at the figure leaning against the large entrance. "What did you two do this time?"

Wes chuckled. "Hey Ella…"

She rolled her eyes and walked in. She didn't wear her work uniform and instead wore a green shirt, black vest, and pale jeans. "I heard the commotion, so I thought I'd come and investigate. And, what do you know, I find you two breaking down walls and finding secret rooms."

The Umbreon rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Uh…well, we didn't mean to do that first one on purpose. Hehe…"

She smirked and walked pass him. "So, what did you dorks find? Some sort of old and creepy library?"

Flint explained, "From what we've gathered, this seems to be an abandoned study room that has been converted into a hideout. Judging by the condition of the room, I can only assume this place has been abandoned for nearly a decade."

Ella gave an impressed whistle. "A school full of magic users and they couldn't find a room? Not sure if I should be impressed by the guy who made this or ashamed at how oblivious everyone is."

"Probably the former." He pointed at the walls that had glyphs etched into them. "Cloaking glyphs. Blocks out ability to sense this place from the outside."

"Someone must really hate having their stuff touched."

"We're not even sure if whoever was here was sane. Take a look at these drawings we found."

He handed her the magic circle drawings. She shuffled through them and raised a brow. "Either this guy shattered his hand and couldn't draw anymore or he needed some serious anger management classes."

Wes, feeling his curiosity take over, walked back over to the chest and started digging through it. As he threw stuff out, he said, "So, what do you suppose he was working on?"

Flint held his chin in his paw. "Hard to say. On the one hand, he could be making a new spell. Magic circles can help in perfecting a new form of magic. On the other hand, this guy was planning for something big."

Ella picked up the scattered documents and scanned through them. "Well, these look like some diary entries. But they're too faded. Except this part." She showed him the bottom, which had the letter 'G' on the bottom and in cursive. "Could be the guy's name."

"We'll investigate that part later. For now, we need to figure out what he was working on."

As they talked, Wes dug deeper and deeper into the chest until he hit the bottom. He felt something. It was withered and full of cuts and holes, most likely from old age. He carefully pulled it up and blew on it lightly, removing the dust that has collected over it. He eyed it carefully.

The map had a golden color to it, almost reflective. It had a peculiar shape drawn on it. It almost looked like…

"The Mysto Region?" he whispered to himself. He looked at the text printed on the top. It was in a language he didn't know. It didn't look like anything he has ever seen. Maybe Ella could translate it.

Speaking of which, Ella was searching through some books, levitating around her with her Psychic. "Nothing but myths and legend books. How do these help with research?" She spotted some off about most of the books she was looking through. "Flint, you might want to see this."

She showed him one of the book pages, page 54 and page 65. A few pages were torn out, as shown in the middle of the current pages. He held it in his paws and scratched his head. "Wha…"

"It's the same for most of these books. A certain section has been torn out."

"What does the table of contents say about them? Maybe that can help."

She flipped to the table and sighed. "Some of them just give a vague title and the others are just worn down."

The Flareon scratched his head, becoming far more puzzled than ever. "This doesn't make any sense. Why bother tearing out the pages?"

"Could have something to do with this." They turned around to see Wes presenting a tattered map to them. "Found this in that chest over there. Looks pretty old."

Flint took it in his paws and scrunched up in confusion. "This…This can't be real…"

"Pretty sure it's real, bro."

"No, I mean the paper the map is made from. This hasn't been used in centuries. It was made by hand and from old enchanted oak trees. But ever since they started going extinct, we've stopped making paper out of them."

"There's also some weird text on the top," Wes pointed out. "Ella, think you can-"

"-translate it? HA! Just watch me." She took it from Flint and looked at it with a confident expression. With the same expression, she handed it back to Flint. "Yeah, I have no idea what it says." The brothers face-planted. "Hey, I'm still learning! Don't go blaming me!"

Flint got up and shook his head. "Well, who else could we ask?"

"Perhaps Prof. Geno," Wes suggested.

"He's a history professor. I doubt he studied in this kind of stuff."

He shrugged. "Worth a shot, right?"

"…" He sighed. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try."

"Why can't we just ask another professor who DOES study this kind of stuff?" Ella asked.

"If Geno does know what this says, he'll also probably give us some answers to what this map is about." He rolled up the map. "We better get moving."

"Uh, bro? What about the giant hole?"

He glanced at it, then sighed. "After…we cover that up."

Students walked out of Geno's classroom as he gathered up the papers on his desk. He prepared to leave when he saw Wes, Flint, and Ella run it. "Oh, hello you three. Do you need anything-"

"We found a secret room!" Wes blurted out, then giving his best poker face. Flint and Ella face-palmed.

"Way to be subtle, bro…"

Geno blinked in confusion. "I'm…sorry, what?"

Flint slammed the doors shut and locked them. "Okay, look, we can't have anyone else knowing about this. We need your help with something."

He stood there for a few seconds, contemplating the request. Well, he could stay for a little bit. "Very well." He set his stuff back down. "What is it?"

Flint pulled out the map and gently handed it to him. "After Wes and I…ahem, accidentally fell down the stairs, we smashed through a wall that led to some secret room."

"It was crazy. Whoever used it was more disorganized than me. And that's saying a lot!" Wes exclaimed.

Geno unrolled the map and examined it carefully. "I must say…this is very strange. This paper hasn't been made-"

"In centuries, yes! We've already covered that! Do you KNOW what it's for?!"

"Wes, don't be rude!" Ella scolded, jabbing his side.

"I-It's quite fine, Ms. Cipher." The professor set the map down and rubbed his head. "Okay…I don't know what it says, but I know the text. Flint, go into my bottom drawer and pull out the blue book."

He went behind the desk and pulled it out. "This it?"

"Yes." He threw it over to him. He opened it up and started matching the words. "Let's see…" He muttered to himself as he looked back and forth between text and English. His eyes widened as he translated the words. "No…"

"What's wrong?" Ella asked.

He shook his head and placed the book down. He rubbed his forehead with his eyes closed. "There's no way it's true…"

Now Wes was getting interested. "What? What is it?!"

"It's…the Idol of Origin."

Silence suddenly washed over all of them. Wes and Flint stared at the professor with almost emotionless expressions. They weren't even sure if they heard the man right. Maybe he said something else. Like…pedal of porridge? Okay, so maybe they heard him right, but that still doesn't excuse the sheer bizarreness of such a thought. What he was saying was impossible. It couldn't be true.

"The…Idol of Origin?" Flint slowly repeated.

"Y…Yes…"

"That's…impossible…" Wes muttered.

"The Idol of Origin is just a legend," Flint said, holding his head. "A bedtime story, no less. There's no way something that powerful could possibly exist. Are you sure you read it right?"

"I double checked. I'm positive."

"Unbelievable…"

Ella stared back and forth, shuffling on her feet with an expression of puzzlement. She raised her paw. "Uh…what's the Idol of Origin?"

Wes let out a sharp gasp that could have shattered glass. He grabbed her cheeks and pressed his face up to hers. "You never heard of the Idol of Origin?!"

"Wes…personal space," she reminded. He took a step back. "I never did get into learning about myths and legends. Plus, my parents never told me bedtime stories."

"Well, the name isn't for show, that much I can assure you," the Scrafty said as he gestured them over to the map. "According to legend, the world was in a state of disarray, caused by an evil magic user who could destroy anything with a single touch. The chaos that unfurled was apocalyptic. The world was in a state of unrest and disorder.

"As the story goes, Arceus and the members of the Hall of Origin sought to correct the disturbances across the land. However, their power alone wouldn't be enough to stop him. That's when Arceus devised a plan to use their combined powers to create a single artifact that would reverse the effects of the madness."

"All…of them?" Ella uttered in shock.

"Yes. The powers of Arceus, Dialga, Celebi, Darkrai, Palkia, Groudon, all of them. An artifact so powerful, it can bend the very fabric of the universe to the user's will. But, after the transfer of power, they were left weak and frail. They required a champion to take the idol's power and restore the world to its proper state. A champion of righteousness and virtue. The legendary hero, Apollo.

"They gave him the idol in exchange for his help. He gladly accepted, in order to protect his loved ones from danger. With his newfound magical power, he confronted the warlock. Battle raged on between the two combatants. According to legend, the battle lasted for seven days without stop."

"Seven whole days?!" the Espeon shout in disbelief.

"It would have gone on longer, but Apollo's patience with the warlock ran thin. He summoned up his energy to form one last attack that was able to destroy the evil warlock, reducing him into nothing but dust. He used his magic once more and restored the planet to its natural, beautiful state. He was praised for his valor and celebrated across the world. The world went into a state of peace.

"But, as time went on, the hero soon came to the realization of how powerful the idol really was. While magic can already change the properties of our world, this idol could change the universe into his image. The thought of such power frightened the hero. Then came the realization of how this power could fall into the wrong hands. The consequences would be devastating.

"So, he devised a plan to protect the idol and keep it out of the hands of evil. Using its power for the last time, he hid it away in a location that exists outside our realm. And, to ensure this power can be used again to protect the world from another apocalypse, he has hidden clues throughout the world, keys that unlock the secrets to his location.

"To this day…some people still believe the tales, while others drowned it in myth." He took a deep breath and sat in his chair.

Ella scratched her head. "Trippy…"

Wes tilted his head. "I wonder why no one found it yet. I mean, that story took place many millennia ago. You'd think someone would have found it by now."

"That's because it doesn't exist," Flint said, rolling the map up. "The gods would never make something that powerful, apocalypse or not. Besides, even if it did exist, it would have been found by now. Many generations of treasure hunters have explored the land of Mysto. Infinite or not, someone could have found those clues by now. And, since no one did, that makes it just a myth."

Wes pouted. "Party pooper…I say it is real!"

"It is not!"

"Is too!"

Before they could get into a screaming match with each other, Geno interrupted. "Whatever the case, the fact this map was made from a material that would be impossible to get in today's time is worth looking into. I don't know if the legend is true. For all we know, this was just an elaborate college prank."

"That secret room we found doesn't look like a simple prank," Flint said.

He nodded. "I understand, Flint. I'll stay here until nightfall to do a little more research on this secret room."

"You sure?" Wes asked with concern.

He nodded. "I don't mind. I always look forward to a little excitement from time to time." He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, giving them all a firm look. "However, this is much more serious than we intend it to be. Maybe it is a prank…maybe there's some crazy lunatic running among us, drowning himself in these legends…maybe the legend is real…but one thing is certain: If this kind of information gets out to the public, there could be mass panic."

Wes chuckled. "Mass panic? Why would people freak out about this?"

"We live in a world full of pirates, thieves, bandits, and other professions. Legend or not, if they were to get word of a map like this, they will take any means to get it. Even hurting innocent lives."

His ears drooped. "Oh…"

"Everything said in this room must remain secret. We can't put our town in danger because of this." He stood up and took the map. "Meet me in the morning and I'll have a determined answer to this whole thing. For our sake and everyone else's…it better be just an old tale."

The Eeveelutions nodded and started exiting his class, thought Flint made a quick turnaround to retrieve his book before following the others out. "We'll see you tomorrow, professor," Flint said with a wave.

"Goodbye everyone." The door slammed shut. He unfurled the map and took a close look at it. "Unbelievable…" He rolled it back up and started making his way the secret room.

Far off from the town laid a dark forest, vacant of life. Fog made of darkness seeped throughout the trees, covering the atmosphere in shadows. The trees were wilted, dry of life. Not a single plant bloomed in the harsh environment. Only death covered the land.

Through the darkness came a purple orb, glowing eerily throughout. Its movements were odd and irregular, like a ghost trying to find its way to the spirit world. But this glowing orb wasn't lost. It was in search of something. Something important.

It passed through the trees and made its way to a stone tomb. A gravestone sat behind it, the words faded from erosion. The sides were crumbly, small pieces or rock chipping off from small breezes. The top was sealed off by a large stone lid, which had a strange symbol etched into it. The marking was a skull inside a circle and surrounded in symbols.

The orb examined the lid carefully. It was too heavy for it to do anything. But, it didn't matter. It isn't the one who will be opening it.

It floated over the stone and shook lightly, releasing a black dust onto it. Upon contact with the stone, it turned into goo. As more dust turned to goo, they started converging into a small mass. A black blob that jiggled with each movement.

It slowly started slithering towards the edge of the lid and seeped its way through the thin cracks. It took some time as it was sealed shut, but it eventually made it through. The orb moved back a bit, preparing for whatever was going to come out.

Nothing happened for a few minutes. The eerie breeze passed by as the orb floated and waited for any sign of change. Perhaps it had the wrong tomb. Then again, how many tombs would one put in this kind of forest.

Boom!

The ground shook from underneath, shaking the trees and toppling a few over due to their poor stability.

Boom!

The thunderous noise grew louder. Something was crawling back to the top. The sound of a menacing cackle could be heard from the ground. The sound of claws digging its way into the stone.

Boom!

The lid jutted up a bit. The mysterious creature has reached the top. It thrashed furiously, trying to break its way out of the stone prison. But it couldn't. The mark placed on the lid glowed yellow, cascading the stone in a yellow aura. The creature couldn't lift the lid. It was being anchored down by magic.

The orb flew up to the lid and glowed brightly. A small ball of magic formed into front of it before firing a laser into the marking, deforming it and ruining the spell.

The moment the seal was broken, the lid blasted off, high into the sky. It nearly reached the clouds from the force. The force even knocked the orb back.

A large mass of shadow flew out, cackling. "Free! I am free!" It spoke with a deep, shadowy voice. Its figure didn't look like a Pokémon. Its entire form was made of shadows. Its bottom half was a ragged ghost tail, swishing. Its arms were long and thin, each with five claws that could slice through metal. Its mouth was shaped to look like jagged teeth. Its eyes glowed a bloody red of pure evil. It also possessed long shadow hair that defied gravity. The creature rubbed its hands together. "Now to exact my revenge on those villagers who imprisoned me."

"Not so fast." The shadow turned around and saw the orb. But something was different. It showed an image of a man cloaked in black. He wore a black mask with white lenses. A white scar went over the right eye of it.

The shadow snarled and pointed a claw at him. "You dare give me an order? I only take orders from my master, the leader of the Tribe of Shadows. Explain to me where I am or I shall find you and rip your throat out."

"You were asleep for five hundred years. Your master is dead. I'm the acting leader of the tribe now."

The shadow's eyes widened. He recognized the mask he was wearing. It was a mask only worn by members of the Tribe of Shadows. Almost hastily, he bowed to his new master. "F-Forgive me, my master. I spoke out of term."

"You are forgiven. Now, give me your name, shadow."

"Yes, master. I am known as the Being of Nightmares. You may refer to me as Nightmare, master."

"Hmm…very well, Nightmare."

"How may I be of service to you, my master?"

While obscured in his cloak, the shadow could feel the menacing smirk coming from behind his mask. "I've felt a great power wash over the air. Can you feel it?"

Nightmare closed his eyes for a moment before reopening it. "Yes…I sense an unusual power. What is it?"

"I have sensed this power once before. It is merely a speck of power created from the Idol of Origin. The map."

"The Idol of Origin?" Nightmare smirked. "So, the legends were true?"

"It would appear so. We must obtain that map if we are to find the idol. Once we obtain its power, the world shall belong to the Tribe of Shadows. Our numbers may be limited, but soon our forces shall rise once again. Then the world will feel our immense wrath."

"Where is the map, master?"

His orb dissolved and was replaced with one of the college. "In this building of a town just north of your current position. Wait until nightfall before retrieving it." He chuckled evilly. "And use whatever means necessary to get it."

Nightmare smirked widely. "I shall raise my men from their slumbers and complete the task, master."

"Good. Report back to me when the mission is complete." The orb flickered off and dropped into the shadow's hand.

He looked back at his tomb stone. He swayed his hand through the fog, parting the blackness and revealing hundreds of tombs. He cackled loudly. "Time to rise, my Legion of Shadows."