~Special thanks to MYTHICBOY. For being here since the beginning~

~And a very special thanks to Djeremy, my comrade, and my #1 Fan~

It was late at night and the wind was still. The starry sky shined strongly tonight with no clouds present in the black night sky. The full moon was reflected almost perfectly on the still ocean waters. However, despite this peaceful night, there was one who could not bring himself to sleep, no matter how hard he tried. He tossed and turned in his bed, hoping to find the sweet surrender of slumber but to no avail. He brought his body up with a groan and began to formulate plans on how to fall asleep. He heard the muffled noises of the outside world and shrugged; perhaps he may have an easier time falling asleep to the serenade of nature. He pulled the covers from atop his body and silently walked to the window. Pushing the blinds to the side, he unlocked the windows and pushed them open. A gentle but salty breeze entered the room. With a satisfied smile, he went back to bed. His eyes slowly closed and he fell asleep.

Suddenly his eyes shot open as he heard the faintest of noises. It was the sound of a soft churr coming from outside. He sat up again and looked out the window. The silhouette of a head quickly darted outside. If it wasn't for the drapes moving he would've never had suspected anything. Taking a deep breath, he got out of bed once again and looked outside. He gasped at the moon-bathed image before him. It resembled a bird, a large bird covered in feathers of majestic silver that seldom gleamed in the night. Any part of the bird that wasn't silver was a deep navy blue. Its eyes were a magnificent shade of emerald green. Around its eyes were blue, almond shaped appendages; it vaguely resembled a mask.

He wanted to scream, he wanted to scream and run away from the beast before him. Yet as they continued to stare, the overpowering emotions of fear and doubt subsided, and then ultimately disappeared. In its place was a refreshing feeling of peace and serenity. Somehow, he knew he could trust it. As he proceeded to assure himself of his safety, he brought a hand out to the creature, beckoning it to come closer. Slowly the creature brought its head towards his hand. With only a few inches spared between the two, the creature extended its long, thin tongue and quickly licked his hand a few times. The boy squirmed slightly, while it did tickle him he didn't want to ruin the creature's fun by pulling his arm away. It stopped licking and purred silently as the boy dried his saliva covered hand by rubbing it up and down his side.

The boy watched curiously as the creature slowly shuffled. It turned around to reveal its back; ten blue plates adorned the other side. The boy remained at the window, wondering what was happening before the creature turned its head around with an inviting purr. It was then he knew what it wanted; it wanted him to get on. He began climbing onto the windowsill as the creature's tail rose up beside him and picked him up. The beast delicately placed the boy on its upper back, near its shoulders. The boy gazed in marvel at the nighttime view as he felt movement below him; he quickly realized that the creature was running for takeoff. He watched its hand-like wings spread wide before finally, with one powerful flap, the bird and the boy were airborne, the boy's home quickly faded from view as the two flew farther away.

Fear instantly flooded his senses once again as he buried his head into the bird's nape and shut his eyes forcefully; he despised flying and cursed himself foe being so easily enthralled by this beast. He wished he was back at home, safe and sound under the covers in his bed. He gripped the silver feathers harder, realizing that his wish may not be fulfilled anytime soon. He shuddered in fear as the thought of never returning home. The creature however, sensed the boy's concerned mind. It turned its head around with a soft purr. It smiled pleasantly as the boy's shaking stopped slowly but surely. The bird nuzzled the boy's head, encouraging him to look up. The boy tilted his head upward and squinted, hoping to not see that they were hundreds of feet above the ground and possibly still climbing higher. The birds calming gaze once again pierced his clouded mind, ensuring him of his safety. The boy brought his body to rise.

The creature turned its head back around as the boy observed their surroundings. Ahead of them was nothing but the horizon of night. He forced himself to look below and saw the dark blue ocean waters rush past them. He looked above and saw a thick patch of clouds slowly come towards them. He realized quickly that they were still ascending and in due time, they would be traveling through those clouds. When they finally did, his breath froze in fear; however, he was quickly soothed once again by the soft humming of the bird below him. He found peace in staring at the creature's slender, silver neck, it gave him a reassuring feeling of protection in the mystery that was the clouds. When the two finally pierced the clouds line the boy dropped his jaw slightly. It looked as though they had entered an entirely new world. The once gray clouds had transformed into a white puffy sea. Auroras of blue, green and purple streaked across the skies; reflecting lights across the sea of white below and the creatures back. The cosmos above them shined brightly upon them as well.

The boy was stunned, never had he ever seen such an amazingly beautiful sight in his life. The creature craned its head to see the boy. He seemed to understand what it was trying to ask despite no words. He nodded slowly as he brought himself close to the creature, preparing himself for what was to come. The bird began to dive smoothly in and out of the clouds like they were rolling up and down hills. The boy brought himself to a smile as the up and down movements soothed him more so, like he was being rocked in one's arms, except vertically. Then the creature moaned in a tone that sounded like it was asking a question. He wasn't sure why, but the boy guessed that it asked if he was enjoying himself, to which he nodded again. With a smile, the bird brought its flipper-like wings to its side and brought its head down slightly; it was preparing to dive. The boy kept his eyes wide open, wanting to watch. He did however; clench the bird's feathers harder than before. Finally, they began to descend at an incredible rate. He began to pant and lean in to the dive; adrenaline coursing through him as a sudden desire to go faster crept into his mind. The bird took note of his actions and adjusted its body so it would dive faster than before. In seconds the two had returned to the cloudy nightscape with the sea closing in fast. With just meters before they impacted with the sea, the creature opened its wings, making a bumpy but dry finish. The two laughed at the almost wet ending.

The bird tilted its whole body, allowing one wing to slice through the waters with ease. The boy watched this spectacle for a few minutes longer before the bird tilted further. The boy was given a chance to look at himself; the dark bags beneath his eyes showed he had been up all night, which he laughed at. He decided to mimic the bird and brought his fingertips to the water; cutting the water much like the bird did moments ago. The bird evened itself and flapped its wings a few times, bringing them higher into the air. The boy watched the bird crane its neck upwards and quickly realized what it was about to do, a flip to turn around. The boy held his breath as the bird began flying up to turn around. The boy threw his head back to see his world turn upside down. As the two normalized, the boy noticed that the clouds seemed to disappear and the morning sky appeared in a flash of vibrant orange. The low hanging sun reflected brightly on the waters below. The boy suddenly saw the bird's eyes glow a faint blue. At first he didn't know what was happening, but then he saw the water below them warp and twist before finally snaking up and around the two. The boy's eyes went wide with marvel at the tendrils of the ocean surrounding them. He apprehensively reached out with one hand still grasping the bird's neck to touch one tendril only to see his arm pass right through it, drenching his entire arm. He smirked as he heard the creature below him snicker.

The boy wasn't entirely sure whether his fatigue altered his mind or if he did not fear his situation anymore but he looked down at his hands that were still gripping the bird's neck. He continued to stare at his hands, attempting to force himself to let go. Finally, in one quick motion, the boy released his grip from the bird and allowed his arms to fall to his side slowly. The bird turned its head around to see what the boy had done and quickly shook its neck, glad to have felt there once again. Finally, with a drawn out sigh, the boy began to spread his arms wide. The farther his arms grew apart, the bigger the smile on his face grew and the quicker his breathing became. At last, with his arms drawn out as far as they could manage, the boy let out a scream of pure excitement, never had he ever felt anything like this in his life and he simply loved it. The bird accompanied the boy with a long wail, clearly excited for him as well. The boy closed his eyes to better feel the salty ocean wind rushing past him.

The boy and the bird finally touched on an island in the heart of the ocean. The bird touched down, allowing the boy to hop off and look around, it was still late, the sound of unfamiliar bird calls and ocean waves the only sound he could hear. He finally looked back towards the majestic bird, watching as one of its fingered wings reached down, touching him on the forehead.

"Wait, what!?" Cody snapped with a gasp, looking around, realizing that he was no longer back in the bed at Quinn's house with the others, he was indeed on an island, that dream, if he could even call it that anymore, was very real "Where am I? Who am I? How did I…-!?" Cody whipped back around at the massive bird that brought him here in the first place. A pokemon for sure, but just who was this?

"Hello, Cody." The massive bird spoke casually, looking down at Cody with what he could imagine was a simple smile, but it was hard to smile with a beak like that.

"Uhm…hi?" Cody responded, very scared. Hello. Hello!? This massive bird pokemon who knew his name, who hijacked his dream and made him go through…all of that…and the first thing he says is 'Hello'.

Cody swallowed "Can I…help you?"

"You can actually, yes." the pokemon continued, walking around Cody "But first, I can sense your apprehension. I'm what is known as a Lugia in this world. I'm a pokemon. Like you've already guessed."

Cody nodded wordlessly "Sure that's…good to know…but that's not why I'm worried."

"Ah yes." the pokemon, Lugia apparently, continued "You've fought so many different pokemon, so many different struggles. You suspect I am some other enemy concocted, Ed, right?"

Cody blinked, eyes to the sky and relieved that it remained the same starry night as before; no horrid dark aura either. This wasn't the anomaly or one of his possessed pokemon. This was just a Lugia. He sighed in relief before looking back to the Lugia "Ed?"

"Oh right, you call it the anomaly, so formal. Ed is the name that we went for when we had to fight it."

Cody's brow furrowed "I think we'll stick with the anomaly, thanks…" Cody's mind was racing as he tried to figure out why he was brought here by this Lugia. It had kidnapped him in his sleep (he thought, he wasn't entirely sure of the logic here). But if this Lugia fought the anomaly before. Maybe it was a friend here?

"See, there we go, I'm a friend here." Lugia smiled. Cody glowered, this pokemon really liked reading minds, much to his chagrin.

"Okay…okay sure but…" Cody looked while backing up "Why bring me here? Where's Keldeo and the others?" Lugia brought its head close, eyes closed. In a blink of an eye, he could see a vision, him, alongside the others, resting peacefully in Quinn's house. Keldeo not too far away, sleeping at the foot of the bed. Cody blinked back, looking at Lugia "You're being really suspicious and I don't like that." Cody backed up.

Lugia blinked in surprise and stepped forward "Wait wait…sorry it's just…" Lugia sighed "It's been so long since I've seen a human…like a real human, not just a human soul in a pokemon body."

Cody looked at the bird pokemon, thinking back to what Keldeo said before, none of the other pokemon had ever seen a real human, only humans in pokemon form "You're telling me you've seen a real human before me?" Cody looked at Lugia incredulously.

Lugia chuckled, wagging a finger "Go Dodgers!" he winked, noticing the confused look on Cody's face "L.A Dodgers…baseball? I saw most of a game one time…like ten years ago…"

Cody blinked in surprise, he knew nothing about sports. The fact that this pokemon knew something he could have never plucked from his mind was proof enough for him. This pokemon, this Lugia, really did know about the human world.

"Okay…so maybe you do know." Cody stepped forward "But you're not answering my question. Why seek me out? Keldeo's the one you wanna talk to." Cody asked.

Lugia frowned, "Just wanted to touch base with you, actually." Lugia looked out over the sea, sitting down, guiding Cody to sit down as well. When he refused to sit, Lugia sighed and continued. Lugia looked back to Cody "How are you feeling about it all?"

Cody's brow furrowed "What kind of question is that?"

"I'm just asking how you're feeling." Lugia said "You've seen a lot of things, made a lot of friends. And I'm wondering if you're aware of what's going to happen once it's all said and done."

Cody looked at Lugia then back out over the sea "Well…we beat Kyurem, get rid of the anomaly, the barriers between worlds will return to normal and we all go back to…-!" Cody didn't finish that sentence, eyes growing wide as he looked back at the Lugia "You said it's been…ten years since you've been to our world?" Lugia simply nodded.

"April the sixth. That's when it all started. I was in your position once." the Lugia chuckled "I had my own adventure jumping between worlds. Stopping Ed."

"You did?" Cody asked meekly, Lugia simply nodded.

"I remember what she said before she left 'This isn't goodbye, so I won't say it'" the Lugia chuckled despite himself. "I think deep down we both knew that wasn't gonna happen, even then."

Cody watched this pokemon, this mythical creature, sit there forlornly, remembering something he could only guess at. But the message was clear to him from this story. If they succeeded, it would mean saving the worlds from Kyurem, but it also meant saying goodbye to Keldeo.

Would it even mean saying goodbye to the others? Terry, Vera, Quinn? Would their friendships dissolve once the worlds were saved and this was over. Nothing left to keep the friendship together. Would it all just fall apart?

Cody finally sat down, staring out into the sea alongside the Lugia, the sound of the softly crashing waves was the sound they heard for a while. He started huddling in on himself, his breathing getting short and shallow "Why tell me this?" Cody spoke, barely above a whisper.

"Because I sense the bond you share with Keldeo. You need to be ready to say goodbye when the time comes. And make sure that there is nothing left unspoken between you and him. This isn't your story anymore. It's Keldeo's now." the Lugia didn't look away from the ocean as he stood up, they could see the sunset, rising up over the ocean waves. Lugia looked at Cody, grimacing as Cody didn't look back at him, barely even getting a wave goodbye "Please remember my words, Cody. I wish you the best.'' The Lugia waited a moment longer for a reaction, but ultimately dove back down into the water. Swimming off back the way they came.

Cody watched the shadow of the Lugia for a moment longer before falling backwards, looking up at the sky as morning came. He closed his eyes, the sting of tears falling down his face hitting him as he sat there, a pressure building in his chest that he had to grab in order to feel any kind of peace.

Cody blinked away, the smell of saltwater and tears still present, proving to him that whatever had happened was far from a normal dream. He sat up in bed, still in Quinn's guest room. The pain in his chest never really disappeared, still able to feel the scarring that occurred from the cut Keldeo gave him, that had to have been a week ago by now.

His phone vibrated, breaking him from his stupor. He reached over and grabbed it: Two messages, one from Quinn and one from Vera. He opened Quinn's first.

"Hey man. We're almost done packing for the trip to Keldeo's world. We let you sleep in today. Just waiting on you. See you soon."

He could hear them now, muffled from outside, all of them talking excitedly about the new world they were all about to go to. He smiled despite himself, looking back at this phone, opening the text from Vera. They were pictures, presumably ones that were taken during their time at Quinn's house.

"Been sneaking these while we were all hanging out. Enjoy!" Cody could hear her bright voice in his mind as he opened each picture. His thoughts turned to his friends as they showed up in the pictures.

Terry, who taught him strength. It was a picture of everyone trying to work out just like him. He and Quinn were struggling to keep up. He could still feel the soreness in his muscles

Vera, who taught him compassion. It was all of them together, she had taught them how to paint their nails and they were showing off the colors. He instinctively started scratching at the paint.

Quinn, who taught him understanding. Quinn and Genesect had set up some kind of presentation about the lore of the game they used to play, a projector and everything. Cody smiled, he could keep up with it easily enough. But the others looked like they were short circuiting from the information overload.

Keldeo, who taught him friendship…real friendship. It was a dark photo, but easy enough to make out. Apparently at one point during these nights together, Keldeo had hopped on to the foot of the bed, sleeping at Cody's feet. Keldeo never mentioned he had done that, nor did anybody else.

The screen was on Keldeo's picture for a long time, feeling the lump in his throat returning. He swallowed it back down. The sun was beginning to peek through the curtains of the dark room, signaling it was almost afternoon. He figured it was time to get up. He did his best to push those feelings down, they were only going to get in the way of the battle to come. He put on his familiar denim jacket and rushed out the bedroom door.

This was it, this was the beginning of the end, and he didn't know what he was going to do.

ACT II: Promise