Butterflies crowded around Audino Agatha as she stood out on the grass. If it weren't for the low-flying bees searching for flowers, she would wave the crowding bugs away. She hated bee stingers. She stood outside waiting for Meowstic Alondra and Lucario Annette to show.
The mid-morning sun sank through the leafy-green canopy overhead. The sweltering heat tiptoed on the edge of forcing her to take off her black leather jacket. Agatha kicked at the dirt and nearly began her retreat inside when she heard footsteps; only a single pair. They fell fast, rough, and heavy on the grass, echoing and rumbling through her gold earring. It sounded like a far cry from a morning jog, someone running as fast they could.
Meowstic Alondra sprinted out from behind a tree. She gasped for every breath. Sweat dripped down the sides of her face. Her eyes trembled.
"Alondra?" Agatha called. "Hey?"
Alondra didn't answer. She lost her balance and staggered the last few steps to Agatha. She raised her arms and caught her before she fell over.
"Talk to me," Agatha said, lowering her head. "What's wrong?"
"Attacker," she breathed, "we have to run."
"Where's miss Annette?"
"Run."
Alondra shoved her. Agatha staggered back and turned around. Alondra snatched her paw and ran.
Annette would blow up any normal thug. The fear in Alondra's voice leaked into Agatha's chest. She joined her in using every breath to run through cramped trees and wrestling through sticky foliage.
"That's a pitiful shield to hide behind."
A deep, youthful voice rumbled in Agatha's ears. Alondra yanked her hand and stood in front of her. Agatha's back brushed against a tree trunk.
"You're hiding behind people who think they're still young enough to play hero. They think they're still Wayfarers, but from what I've seen, they're sloppy. Just clinging to whatever new hope for 'adventure' they can find. They're using you, Agatha..."
"Alondra?" Agatha whispered.
"We were attacked by a Scion on our way here," she said. "The others are coming."
"Then let's go to the Old World and hide."
"You don't want to do that," the voice warned. "Listen to me, you don't have time. You need to force me to retreat or you're done for, and you need to strike now! Shut up!"
Yellow whips swung mere paces away from them. Agatha yanked on Alondra's paw.'
A pair of trees leaned forward. Agatha pulled Alondra through the air as she ran back. The crash and boom faded into the background of her thoughts.
"I think we need to fight!" Agatha yelled over the crashing trees. "We're on a time limit, remember?"
"Right," said Alondra. "Try to figure him out as we go, okay?"
"On it."
Audino Agatha continued. They reached a small clearing in the maze of trees with more room to fight. She stood side by side with Meowstic Alondra as the Scion walked closer.
Yellow whips floated into view first, followed by a Jirachi with a strange, torn expression. His left eye shimmered pink in the sunlight. His right appeared like a black pit, a small black hole where it should be. A chill rushed up Agatha's spine as she stared into it.
She reached down, pulled each foot up, and slipped off each pink and black sock. She tucked them into her black leather jacket's pockets.
Jirachi disappeared. She lost sight of him in an instant. If it had been Teleport, she would've been able to feel a small buzz of energy where he would appear next. It had to be some sort of illusion, or some other Scion power. She needed to understand it fast.
Alondra shoved her. Agatha tripped and fell back. A glimmering, white object flew over her head. Jirachi appeared and caught it in his hand.
Jirachi smashed two shields against Alondra's forehead. Agatha leapt forward and struck with her right arm. Her hand hit metal. The impact didn't go through. Jirachi pulled his arm back.
Agatha chose not to resist a small psychic tug on her back. She hopped up in the air to accept Alondra's bail out and landed three paces away, resetting her approach. In each arm, Jirachi held pearly white shields with purple accents. She recognized them.
Each shield looked like a smaller version of Palkia's shoulders, apparently where its space controlling powers centered around, assuming her research proved correct. They must've had some trick to them. She needed to figure it out.
Jirachi threw one for her head. Agatha ducked under. She kept her eyes locked on Jirachi.
He vanished again. It clicked.
Agatha whipped around with her fist clenched. Jirachi had both shields on hand. She met his attempted blow to the back of her head with her own. Her arm held up against his. She began pushing back.
Agatha's heart leaped. She recognized the artificial fear and pain from her last experience. The closer she was to him, the quicker it would bring her down. She couldn't afford to lose. Fighting with that strange disease affecting her would be impossible.
"I do have to say," Jirachi said, "You look just like your mother."
Agatha stopped. Jirachi's pink eye lit up with fire underneath. He almost looked like a different person.
"Don't give up!" he ordered. "You need to survive. Predict and- ngh!"
With two shields, Agatha wouldn't have many opportunities to hit his body. She slugged him in the face.
It made contact. Jirachi flew back and hit a tree. Agatha didn't celebrate, her hand burned. She waved it around in the cool morning air, but it didn't settle. She focused through the pain to hold it still.
Black spread up the side of her arm. The pain stopped her from clenching her fist together. Physical contact made it spread too fast for her to manage. Her legs were already giving way.
"Agatha!"
From behind Audino Agatha, a lightning bolt flew past her head. It struck Jirachi. From the fallen trees, Luxray Imani stomped out and next to Agatha. She stole a short glance at her and froze on her arm.
"Try not to touch him," Agatha hissed. "He's warping himself with those shields somehow. We h-have to beat him fast…"
Jirachi dragged himself up against the tree. That flicker passed through his pink eye again.
"Push me… b-b-back," Jirachi groaned. "Keep your distance and…"
"The hell…?" Imani breathed. "Something's up with this guy. Alondra?"
Meowstic Alondra slapped both sides of her own head in an attempt to refous. She grit her teeth and honed in.
"I think I know," she said. "Pay attention to what he says. Force him to retreat, and fast."
Screeching noise nearly blew Agatha's ears off. She crumpled to the rumbling earth and clenched her ear strands.
A white beam of light soared over her head. It slammed into Jirachi and shoved him back against the tree. The tree cracked and shattered under the pressure. It pushed him out of sight.
From behind, Mightyena Claire staggered out of the bushes and from behind trees. Her head drooped low as she forced her feet to glide over the ground. She fell on her side.
Agatha couldn't get up to check on her. The pain spread to her back and pinned her down. She used her free arm to push up enough to see ahead. Jirachi stepped forward again without any noticeable difference. The burnt grass and scraps of bark on the ground didn't reach him.
"Agatha," Luxray Imani called, "throw the ring down. We can force him away."
Agatha obeyed. She pulled the gold earring from the strand of her ear and tossed it on the dirt. It grew and opened up into a black pit.
Jirachi flew forward. Agatha fell down from the pain coursing through her center. Imani realized and stepped forward to handle it. They ran at each other.
"Wait," Agatha breathed. "Hey. Hey hey hey hey hey!"
Imani leapt up and grasped his shields in her claws. She stopped him from throwing the shields away and dragged him down into the portal. Agatha's arm gave way as they fell in. She crawled on the dirt towards the ring with the last of her strength.
Audino Agatha's head shot up. Fatigue and dizziness struck her back down to lying on her back. She quieted for a moment, closed her eyes, and pressured down in her forward for relief.
"Take it slow."
Agatha's eyes shot open. She knew that voice. She looked up and saw who she expected to.
Cinccino Hannah stood over her, at least until Agatha scrambled back across dry dirt. Unlike other times, Hannah wasn't wearing her sharp, blue mask. Her exposed face seemed gentler, like how it did on Mount Ài. The once bright blue sky behind her changed into a whirlpool of purples, yellow, and oranges, twisting up to infinity. Around them, stone statues replicating western white pine trees stood idle.
"Are you alright?" Hannah asked. "You looked like you were in pain up until a moment ago."
"Why are you here?" Agatha demanded.
"I don't know. Why are you here?"
"I dunno. Are you back to kidnapping me?"
"U-uh, no…"
Hannah's eyes darted around as Agatha stood. She frowned as Hannah stole a quick step back. She didn't have time to deal with her, she needed to find whoever else ended up here. Their only way out, the gold ring, hung from the strand of Agatha's ear.
"Is there anyone else here?" Agatha asked. "Do you know?"
"I sense… five others," said Hannah, turning around in a circle. "Two are worried, but close together. Another one is by themself. Two others are Scions… Only one of them has emotions. The other is asleep."
"Asleep?"
"Yes. They're… a Scion, but I'm sure they're asleep."
"How can you tell?" she questioned, folding her arms.
"I'm using the Veritan blessing," she said. "Their emotions are different if they're asleep. I don't know how to describe it…"
"Alright then... Well, trying to avoid the one that's asleep, can you take me to the others? I'll take it as… a repayment for all that trouble you put me through. How does that sound?"
"O-of course. I would be glad to help…"
Hannah grabbed onto a rectangular, black pole sticking out of the dirt. She flicked her arm out, and a massive, silvery fan unfolded. She lifted it in the air and loosened her grip.
It floated by itself. Hannah hopped up and lowered herself on top of it. She reached out her paw.
"Get on," she said. "We should hurry."
"Alright…"
Agatha accepted her paw and held tight as she pulled her up. The fan didn't budge from her weight. Agatha bent low as they rose. She crept to Hannah's side to avoid her waving fur from whipping her across the face. She held the fan's edge as it soared.
Hannah flew low and slow over the stone trees. As she focused ahead, Agatha scanned the ground looking for anyone she recognized. Powerful silence, stale air, and gray, inactive soil filled the forest.
"I don't like this place," Hannah said. Agatha looked at her face, but she continued facing forward. "There's swirling misery everywhere, leftover from something. And more than that, the strength of a Scion is coursing through here like some massive torrent."
"A Scion?" she asked.
"Yes. But, I also sense… Something else. I don't like this place."
"Me neither. So let's get them and leave."
"That would be best."
The flight continued for another minute. The silver fan lowered to the ground and slowed to a smooth stop. Agatha hopped off and glanced around.
Lucario Annette sat with her back against a tree. She shivered, but didn't show signs of the strange disease. It took her a moment to register their arrival. Her eyes lit up as they walked closer.
"Agatha," she breathed. "Oh. I… Where are we?"
"The Old World," Agatha answered. "We have to find the others."
"I can't."
Agatha froze. She inched closer to Annette. She didn't move.
"Annette?" she asked.
"I'll weigh you down," Annette explained. "I can't move very well. I was hit with that disease. It's gone now, but I'm out of strength. I think it'd make more sense to send me back. I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I'm just glad we found you. Are you still in pain?"
"No, just… tired beyond belief."
"Okay. Let's get you back."
"Thanks."
Annette's head fell after she strained to hold it up. Agatha pulled the gold earring off and tossed it on the ground. Thinking of the green grass back home set it to the right destination.
As it opened, Cinccino Hannah helped Audino Agatha pull Annette up to her feet and walk her forward two steps to the ring. Annette summoned up enough strength to hop down and land. She waved as the ring closed.
As Agatha picked the ring off the ground, Hannah boarded the fan again. More confident in its strength, Agatha hopped up, repositioned, and held on again as they flew up and away.
"Agatha," Hannah said, "all of the others are now in the same area, including both Scions. If they're not fighting now, they will be."
"Do you think you can distract him?" she asked. "We just want to get away for now."
"I've… recently realized that I have a lot to learn about fighting as a Scion. I'm not sure how much time I can give."
"To sum up what I've learned, he's a Jirachi. I think he can warp space around his two shields, so he sort of teleports between them. Then there's that disease."
"Disease?"
"I don't know how it works, but this disease originating from his body causes panic attacks and pain. It starts more quickly the closer you are and the longer you're near him. But you have the Valorian royal blessing, right?"
"Yes," Hannah said.
"Then maybe you won't have to deal with the panic attacks."
"We'll see in a moment."
The fan stopped. Agatha jolted forward. They entered free fall until they stopped a few inches above the ground.
The sounds of clanging metal and wisps of psychic attacks echoed and bounced off stone trees. Agatha and Hannah stepped off of the fan behind one of them. Behind two of the trees, Luxray Imani and Mightyena Claire huddled for cover. As Agatha hid behind one, she observed they were in the same shape as Annette; their heads drooped and limbs crumbled under invisible weight.
"Alondra's up ahead," Claire huffed in a hushed voice. "She's able to stave off the disease, but he's too powerful…"
"You two need to go," Agatha said, pulling off her earring. "We'll go get Alondra."
"...Alright."
Agatha tossed the ring on the ground. As it opened, Claire and Imani hoisted themselves up and pushed forward to its edge. They both stepped forward and fell to the grass below. Agatha leaned over and checked on them before the ring closed. She slipped it back on her ear.
"Let's go," Hannah said.
"Right."
Agatha ran out from behind the tree. Hannah's fan crumpled into a black staff she held in front of her as they ran.
Bruises coated Meowstic Alondra's fur. Agatha made eye contact with her for a split second. Alondra's head snapped back when a pink shield flew around the tree. She blasted it with a wave of pink psychic energy, but Jirachi didn't appear. The shield flew off out of sight.
A yellow whip smacked her. She fell over on her side. With one shield in hand, Jirachi stepped forward from the other side of the stone tree. He dropped the shield on the ground, then vanished. Half a second later, he reappeared with both shields on him. Agatha put the process together.
Jirachi dropped his shield to give himself a warp point back while he warped to retrieve the shield he threw. He faked out whether or not he would warp when he threw them.
Agatha understood what Hannah meant now: she only blasted wind and swung her weight around. This Jirachi had premeditated battle strategies, tricks, and training. He would only ever be vulnerable when he had both shields still in his grasp. He'd warp out of danger otherwise.
Jirachi tossed his shield up and over the trees behind him out of sight. He strutted closer to Hannah and Agatha.
Agatha made eye contact again with Alondra as she stood up. She headed towards where Jirachi threw the other shield. Luckily, Alondra understood and ran off. With Alondra keeping one shield in check, a chance bloomed for Hannah and Agatha to handle the other together.
"We have to limit his options," Agatha said. "But more importantly, we have to reach Alondra and get out of here without him straggling and following us."
Agatha flinched at the shriek of grinding metal. A sharp, blue mask grew onto Hannah's face. A spring breeze washed over her fur from her direction. Hannah's eyes sharpened into the predator's gaze Agatha remembered her donning before.
"He will have no options," she said.
Jirachi built up momentum with a spin and arched back. He threw the shield hard.
Hannah swirled and waved her fan. The motions conjured up a miniature typhoon to push back against it. The shield resisted. Surrounded by sparkling psychic energy, it continued to fly forward. Hannah shouted. The wind pushed the shield back.
Hannah ended the push and used the seconds it bought. She curled her paws together and formed a tight, glowing ball of energy. Seeing the strain on her face, Agatha reached out and used Helping Hand to give her some fuel. A small stream of pure, white energy flew into Hannah's grasp, making all the difference.
Jirachi reclaimed his shield when Hannah blasted wind. Agatha turned away and protected her face from it. Though not the target, Agatha's feet gave way from being on the side of it. She curled up on the ground as the howling wind kicked up a sandstorm and cut through the stone trees. She looked up when it ended.
Jirachi disappeared. One shield wouldn't have been enough for that onslaught.
Horrible screams came to the forefront when the wind calmed. Hannah collapsed. Agatha chose to prioritize Alondra and ran. She boosted forward with every step, leapt over crossed fallen trees, traced the screams to their source.
She stopped near the edge of a massive, shifting dust cloud. She considered shouting out, but it would've given away her position. Lucky for her, Meowstic Alondra ran out within sight. She snagged Agatha's hand and ran again.
Agatha didn't want to waste time. She picked up Alondra and ran back for Hannah. Jirachi's groans and growls chased behind them. Cinccino Hannah dragged her feet across the ground to close the distance faster.
"Get back here!" Jirachi's voice rose. "C'mon! Don't you want your comeuppance?"
Agatha didn't reply. At that moment, she wanted to go home. She ripped the ring off her ear strand and tossed it on the ground. When the colors finished forming into a view of grass, Hannah toppled over and fell in. Alondra jumped in after her.
She hesitated. Agatha stood back and watched the ring close. When it finished, she picked it up off the ground and slid it back on her ear strand.
"No! What are you doing!?"
Audino Agatha's chest burned. She turned and faced Jirachi. Leftover fear in his face and voice vanished. She raised her hands. She angled her feet to burst forward.
Jirachi threw his shield towards her in an overhead arc. He rushed forward under it. Agatha had no way to predict his next move. She'd strike to force him to make one.
He vanished. Agatha turned up. He fell down with an arm out. She kicked her leg up, hoping to outrange his punch.
A psychic tug on her other foot broke her balance. Agatha's breath soared out of her mouth. She didn't let it stop her from rolling away and back up to her feet.
Jirachi pushed his arms out and rolled the shields across the ground. They rolled out of Agatha's peripheral vision when he lashed out with the yellow streamers on his back. They tore across Agatha's arm. Strong, steel type energy coated their surface and hardened them into whips. He folded his arms behind his back and pushed her back as he kept striking.
Agatha's arm stung more with every blow. She managed to endure, but her lungs heaved to make up what ground she had lost. In the middle of the onslaught, Jirachi vanished.
The huff of his breath turned Agatha around, quick enough to see him throw a shield. She sidestepped it and kept an arm raised in case he warped again. He did. She glanced at the shield he threw. It continued to fly further away. By now, she lost track of his other one.
A humming whir fell on her head. She looked up.
Jirachi slammed down on her back. Agatha stayed standing for a second, then her body fell down. Only her arms responded. She reached for her earring. A lash forced her arm back down.
"Welcome to your revenge," he said. "Enjoy."
Agatha focused energy to her feet and boosted. She rolled away from Jirachi across the dirt, and grabbed her ring in the process. Still in range, Jirachi blasted her with Psychic. She flew and crashed into a tree. Despite her grip, the ring flew out of her hand and landed on the ground.
In her newfound desperation, the ring reacted to Agatha's thoughts and opened up. She crawled for it. Jirachi's steps sped up. In a last ditch attempt to outrun him, she activated her boosters again.
A psychic leash pulled on her foot. Agatha clawed at the ground as it yanked her up and suspended her in the air upside down.
"Now what did I tell you about trying to fill the void?" Jirachi asked.
Agatha twisted and turned to try and free herself. Jirachi's body gathered silvery light. It expanded around his center and encased his body. She whimpered.
Before Jirachi fired, the ring closed. Agatha used Psychic to pull it back to her ear strand.
A thousand needles pierced her.
Winds whipped at her for a few seconds, but it felt like so much longer. She smashed into a stone tree, and blacked out for a few seconds. When she came to, her body refused to respond. Jirachi's footsteps slapped against her ears through the ground. A drop of fear pushed her to stand up against the tree. A glance down showed the black color had reached down the length of her arm again. It didn't hurt nearly as much as the first time.
Agatha pushed off the tree. The pink shield smashed through the trunk. She strained her energy to push it away from her with Psychic; a guarantee it wouldn't fall on her.
Another psychic force pushed the tree to topple on her, and twice as fast. Agatha raised her arms. She put all she had into Psychic to keep it from flattening her. The weight nearly crumpled her knees.
Jirachi shot out from under it and struck her in the gut. Agatha tumbled back. Despite more pain, relief came from the weight being taken off.
The tree still remained floating in the air. Jirachi had one of his arms raised. He whipped it forward.
Agatha had limited responses to a tree flying at her. As it rolled on the ground, it broke apart into a rocky avalanche. She used her boosters and jumped over it.
Jirachi appeared over her head. He slammed his shield down. She hit the ground on her back, and flipped over landing on her chest. As soon as her pained back allowed, she stood.
Silver light gathered again. Agatha took a step to find cover behind a tree, and fell down. She settled on using Protect to dull the blow. The silver light snapped through it.
Her eyes cracked open. Thin trails of steam rose up from her fur.
"Mother?" she asked.
"Agatha? Agatha. Come on," a voice cried. "No, no. Stay with me. You're okay. You'll be okay."
The voice faded out.
Audino Agatha's body forced her into a fitful sleep. A wall of numbness shielded her from sharp pain. After some hours, both sensations disappeared, replaced by a cool ocean breeze. She woke up to the sound of waves.
Underneath her, a thick, soft mattress cushioned her from a hard cave floor. White blankets and a pillow leaning over her head protected her from water dripping off the ceiling.
"Hey… How are you feeling?"
Agatha turned over away from the back wall towards the cave entrance. A Litten stood against the blue horizon beach underneath it. Bushes and vines reached out towards his sides. Some snapped off as he entered. In her attempt to answer him, she discovered she had little to no strength. Her response came out as a heavier huff of air. She had been in pain to a much higher degree, but never felt this weak before. Even if she wanted to sit up, her prosthetic feet were gone.
Litten stepped closer and sat at her bedside. His eyes fell down.
"I… uh, sorry."
"Who are you?" Agatha strained to raise her voice.
"I'm the second comet," he answered reactively. "I brought you here from the Old World. We're at Valor's southern coast."
She believed that. The question became how they got there. He seemed to answer enough so far, but "second comet" seemed to be a strange nickname to have; long-winded and nonsensical.
"How did we get here?" she asked.
"I have greater control over entering and exiting the Old World. I can enter and leave anywhere I want. I just picked this place since, I… I guess I just like it."
Agatha couldn't speak much more. He didn't answer quite how she wanted him to.
"Agatha," Litten said, "I want to ask you a favor. Please, stop going to the Old World."
Agatha couldn't do that. She hadn't solved anything yet. She shook her head.
"What will it take?" Litten asked, growing desperate. "What can I give you that'd make you stop?"
"Answers," she said.
Litten stood up and walked in a short circle, as if debating what to say. He sat back down with hardened eyes.
"I'm the cause," he explained. "Your family nearly found information that would've changed the world for the worse, so I stopped them. That night was a last resort. I tried to slow them down at every turn, but nothing worked. Your parents were too strong for me."
Agatha didn't have any rage left to burn. She blanked out.
"The Old World used to look just like yours," Litten said. "Us Pharaohs ruled the entire planet for thousands of years. Legendary pokemon like Reshiram and Palkia served us as leaders scattered across the globe." Litten glanced away. "Then something happened. When it all broke down, their domains transformed into the mystery dungeons you're hoping to find. When your new world was created, they stayed behind and continued to try to bring peace through the use of Scions.
"But I have things in a… precarious place right now," he continued.
"You thought my family," Agatha took in a breath, "was worth less than this knowledge?"
"It wasn't a matter of worth. You survived because of a risk: that you wouldn't go into the Old World or tell other people. Now luckily, you only told those explorers. You can still all just walk away. Why don't we just keep it between us?" he suggested as his eyes flickered.
Agatha breathed in the cool wind. Her eyes began to close on their own. A pulsing headache ate away at her stamina.
"I know it means nothing," Litten sighed, "but I'm sorry."
"For what you did?" she asked.
"That you're suffering."
She reignited.
Agatha's prosthetic feet were at the foot of her bed. She had enough practice putting them on to do it in secret under the covers. He needed to look away so she could pull them up with Psychic. A baleful thought brought notice to his thin neck. His head would probably pop right off.
"It's been hard," she said, faking a crack in her voice. "I miss them."
Litten faced towards the blue sky outside. Agatha pulled her prosthetic feet up with Psychic and started the process. The thick cover of blankets hid her movement.
As she put them on, she realized and hesitated; Litten told her everything her family struggled so hard to find out. If she died here, the accomplished dream and chance to continue it would die with her. She couldn't be sure how strong this Litten really was. He could be a Scion, or worse. The idea came to her to make the right choice this time: run and cut her losses. Her gold earring weighed down on her ear strand.
"The Pharaoh bloodline doesn't have what it used to have," Litten said. "A special sort of power."
"What was it?" Agatha asked.
"The ability to become… I don't want to tell you just yet. But I will."
"Why wait and not just tell me now?"
"I want you to be ready. We didn't rule the world with tophats and canes, we did it with power. You've gone through enough today."
"More than enough of your high and mighty attitude."
Agatha grabbed her blankets and flung them over Litten's head. She whipped the earring and threw it for the cave entrance. To buy extra seconds, she kicked the mass of blankets and Litten towards the back wall. By then, the ring opened. She sprinted.
Small pins struck her back. Agatha froze up mid step and landed on her face. She couldn't push herself up.
"You have a knack for technology too, don't you? We have that in common."
Litten walked in front of Agatha, between her and the floating ring. The ring fell as he raised up a small, metal needle.
"These needles are made from the same energy cancelling metal as most swords and weapons nowadays," he explained. "I hate them especially, since they cause immobilization. In the Old World, us Pharaohs had the deepest understanding of how the energy in a pokemon's body worked, and we used it to the fullest to tighten our grip on the world, and its people."
Litten yanked out the needle from Agatha's back. Her airways opened up.
"When comets get closer to the sun, they heat up and expand. The burning material turns into their tails. The truth is bringing you closer to realizing who you are."
Agatha got up slowly. Litten sat on his haunches. As she stared, her brain glitched out. She couldn't make direct eye contact, no matter how hard she tried. An invisible wall stopped her cold. Even with peripheral vision, she couldn't see him.
"Ask yourself," Litten said, "are you really a leader? You acted recklessly and nearly got yourself killed. If I didn't save you, you were done, your teammates would've never been able to go into the Old World again. You would've been dead in the dirt of another world because you're a child. You fell for a taunt for revenge that people half your age wouldn't have fallen for. You act level-headed all the time, but you couldn't be any further from what it really means to be called 'Neon Star.'. Your whole family's gone, and you think acting cool all the time makes you strong when it doesn't. I've been watching you do it every day."
"...I really don't care about anything you have to say," Agatha groaned out. "You're willing to sacrifice people for information's sake," she spat. "Nothing you could say or do would mean anything to me. 'I'm sorry that you're suffering' just seals the deal that you don't have any connection to what you actually do."
With Psychic, Agatha pulled the ring back up to her hand. She didn't care that he saw.
"Fine," he said. "No common ground. I get it. But before you go, I should probably warn you. I misestimated a certain… factor. Palkia, and the Scion under his control, they'll both end up striking again. And it's not just Palkia, but the Glass Reshiram, too. I bet Lugia was already on its way out the sanity door. After a week, you should be ready for him anywhere, at anytime."
"You're saying Reshiram and Lugia were your fault?"
"I'm trying to retake our world. Unfortunately, I can't afford to take my time anymore."
Agatha's senses dulled. Even the help of fiery rage in her chest didn't help the rest of her body have its strength back. If Litten decided to get aggressive with more "technology", it wouldn't go well.
"You should rest here before you go back to the Old World," Litten said. "When you enter from here, you'll have a bit of a walk to get back, but it's safe. There's not much bent reality between here and your home in the Old World. Good luck."
A buzz vibrated Agatha's head. She fell asleep.
Rain pitter pattered on top of a dark rooftop. Dim, blue and white lights danced across the tops of skyscrapers. Down below, the streetlamps shone on empty streets. The dead of night and rain united to create the deep, rumbling silence.
Buneary Luke stared off the roof. A brown, leather cape on his back twirled in the wind. He glanced back hearing his footsteps. Tears trailed down his face.
"Adrian," he said. "Was this really worth it?"
"You're worth it," said Adrian. "No matter what happens now, you're worth it. You know what we have to do."
"But Adrian…"
"The Peacekeeper is the ultimate power in this world. Only an otherworldly power can kill Mother. We must find a human."
"Adrian, what if she's right?"
Adrian lowered his gaze to Luke's level. "Who do you trust more? The madness, or me?"
"You…"
"Right," he smiled. "We're your brothers, to the end. We'll keep you safe no matter what."
"They'll come for us."
"We'll kill them if they do. You deserve to live, and you have every right to defend yourself. We'll fly out tonight. Are you ready?"
"Yeah…"
Luke turned towards a shadow looming over the city in the distance.
"Think we'll ever go back home?"
"The sooner we'll leave, the sooner we'll get back. Do you have your pegasi wings ready?"
"Yeah," Luke said. "I just wish I could go back to my old room. Or yours. Grab your guitar…"
"Me too, but I'll be alright. C'mon. We should head out soon."
"Right."
Luke picked up a cloth bracelet off the roof. He clicked a button.
A minute later, a fiery comet flew down. It slowed to a stop and hovered in the air. The flames dissipated and revealed six black, metal tubes.
Black spines aligned themselves along Luke's back. The bracelet glimmered with a yellow signal. It turned green when they finished. He hopped off the roof.
Flames spewed out of the tubes. The spines rotated and twisted metal joints to change his balance. Luke turned around in the air and nodded. He blasted off through the maze of skyscrapers. Adrian called his wings and followed.
The curtain of night fell over Agatha's house. She walked up to the door and knocked once, hard. With her focus, she cut through the mess of cricket songs and owl calls to hear shuffling inside. The door opened.
Her body buckled under Mightyena Claire and Meowstic Alondra's weighty hugs. She barely kept upright, frowned, staring at the ceiling.
"Sorry," she said. "I'm good."
"Well we're not!" Alondra screamed. "What were you thinking!?"
"Sorry, okay?"
"It wasn't okay, Agatha," Claire murmured. "Please never make me feel like this again."
"...Sorry."
Tears warmed and dampened Agatha's shoulders. She kept staring ahead.