They weren't lying; that mountain is in a permanent frost.

The thin sheet of snow in the woods eventually turns into a heavy blanket. Even with my fur scarf I'm shivering a little.

Looking up at the mountain it's…well it's a mountain. It's tall. Looks like a lot of walking ahead.

I feel my legs complaining already.

And it's not just the cold—with the setting sun, it's getting dark too. I'm starting to regret our decision to travel at night, despite it keeping us out of sight.

"Look, over there!" Skitty points out a well-worn path, somehow clear of snow. Odd stones are embedded in the ground, bordering its sides and offering a soft glow. "Oh! Are these firestones?" Noibat asks, eyes sparkling, "using them to keep the path clear of snow…that's amazing!" "Still, I think I'll hang on to the blanket for now." Serperior says, clutching it around himself "I may consider selling it to the highest bidder later. We'll see." He smiles. "He was always such a lightweight with the cold," Rotom whispers to Skitty, both giggling. "I heard that! Besides, I can't help being a grass type!" "Yeah, but you don't see Dragalge complaining every time they go through a grassy field!" "Need I remind you again I'm not a water type? This one always forgets," they say about Rotom, leaning to me. I laugh, then feel the cold chill through my fur, "I might actually make the first bid on the blanket," I joke. "Gwen, for you? On the house," he says, bowing slightly as I laugh again.

We chatter while traveling the path. The chill steadily grows, snow swirling in the wind. The sun fully sets, the last rays of light dipping below the horizon. The combined light of the firestones, twinkling stars, and full moon bathe the snowy mountain in a gentle glow, the snow glittering from every angle. As the conditions worsen, we eventually fall silent, focusing on following the path, one step at a time. The warmth emanating from the firestones offers some relief, but it's still bone-chillingly cold.

After trudging along for a couple of hours more in the darkness, I think I see something ahead, a small structure of sorts. That, or my tired mind is playing tricks on me. "Look…there's a…rest stop, for travelers" Skitty says between chattering teeth. "Let's hurry." We make it to the cabin; it's really more of a hut, just a single room with a fireplace, although there's no wood, only ash remains. But, fire or not, we need a break.

"So…when we get there…" Skitty starts, then trails off. "He uh…he talked about his plans before," Noibat says, "he said he intended to build something out of things he found in this world, a structure to help stabilize the wormhole." Stabilize it? I guess that makes sense, to just have such a thing freely floating in space…how could you control it? "In his communications with the others back home, he described the situation, and, by giving his exact location as noted in older observations, he thinks they can open the wormhole from the lab, and that he can kind of…receive it…on this end." It's sounds like a fine-tuned process , but one thing still bothers me. "He explained the situation…but what did he say about…all of us?" I say, indicating Rotom, Dragalge, Serperior and myself. Noibat looks at the ground for a moment before continuing. "He…he told them you were nowhere to be found. That he looked for days, but couldn't find a trace of you. He proposed that you'd ended up in another world altogether, was using it as justification for the lab to continue creating other wormholes and searching for other worlds in his absence."

Wow. So he hasn't even attained power in this world, and is already setting his sights on others? This all has to stop.

We take a moment to absorb the new information. "So, if we destroy this…'stabilizing structure,' and his…phone? Do you think he'll be stopped?" Skitty asks. "…it's hard to say for sure. I mean, it would stop him from communicating with our world, so successfully coordinating a wormhole opening would be…less likely, I think." Less likely, but not 100%. Still, it seems to be the best option we have right now. "Well folks, this is the best we can do, and if we don't stop him now, he'll get the wormhole open for sure!" Skitty announces, leading again. "We'll rest up, then scale the rest of the mountain! Right to the peak!"

The others are looking a little too worn-down to match her enthusiasm, but everyone is in agreement. We rest long enough to make sure we're ready for whatever we find. After a brief nap and another pep-talk from Skitty, we're off.

Mercifully, it's stopped snowing for now, but the cold still cuts to the core. Slowly, the sun starts to creep over the horizon—how long did we sleep, I wonder?

"Wow…look at that…" Skitty says, drawing our attention to the sun, it's rays scattering light across the snow, making the whole mountain sparkle and glitter. We pause for a moment to catch our breath and appreciate the sight. In the morning light, I can finally appreciate the magnificent view—the Frosty Forest is a blur below, barely visible. Looking beyond, the snowy trees eventually give way to more lush forests with the shimmer of small lakes and rivers scattered throughout. I wonder absentmindedly if I can see the Center from here, but it's impressive trees are either too far away, or just not in our line of sight. Beyond the forests and stretch of land, I notice the ocean, the horizon of which blends with the sky.

"It's…incredible," I breathe. And it really is—with everything that's been happening, I hadn't had much time to consider the full implications of being in this world. It's really…really a whole entire world, one I've only seen the tiniest fraction of. I know we still have a big challenge again, but I feel my heart race in excitement—I can't believe I'll really get to…explore all this. With Skitty and all the others. I really can't wait, I think with a smile.

We take a few more moments to appreciate the view, then set off again. We trudge along in silence, until we finally see the summit.

As we approach, voices eventually become audible. Taking cover behind some of the sparsely placed trees, we can see the summit undetected (as undetected as possible, at least. My fur blends quite well in the snow, but the others are…relatively out of place. Although Serperior and Dragalge are huddled together under the blanket, so that helps). A couple of figures become visible; the backs of Dr. Laurel and Audino. They appear to be in the middle of important preparations. Dr. Laurel is furiously typing on his phone (if only it was his that got destroyed instead of mine!) while barking orders to Audino, who's diligently making adjustments to an odd structure.

Constructed with various pieces of metal, is a large…thing, for lack of a better word. It has a wide base, holding it securely on the ground, from which extends a huge ring, reaching up to the sky.

No…it's more like a gaping hole. This must be where he intends to 'receive' the wormhole.

"Wow…" Skitty whispers, "what's that even made of? It looks like a weird art project." She's right, but it's sub-par appearance isn't what catches my attention the most.

At first I think I imagine it. Squinting, I focus, and then am certain. It's there, in the very center of the ring.

A small, almost imperceivable flicker of light.

—

If I survive this expedition, I vow to be more diligent in my training here on out.

I love my hammer; she's my pride and joy, but dang if she ain't heavy.

Lurantis, fueled by rage, has had us in hot pursuit of Team Starburst and co since the butt crack of dawn. It's been a treacherous climb; no path, no nothing; it's for good reason folks don't come 'round here for their afternoon stroll. I tried telling her we ought to take a break, heal up and such, or else how could we expect to fight six pokemon by ourselves, win, and bring 'em back home? But she wasn't interested in any of that. She just wants to get her feelers on them. Now.

Maybe when I collapse of exhaustion she'll realize.

But probably not.

I guess it's paid off in a way; we're just getting to the summit of Permafrost Mountain. I should have noted when we started—we've probably broken a record for speed in scaling this thing. The very top is just out of sight, when we start hearing voices. They're talking about things I don't understand, there's a familiar voice barking out orders, and…it's unmistakable. That Audino we took in at the Center is responding. I steal a glance over the edge, and see a mighty strange thing…it's like a huge ring, mounted on a stand, with Phantump in front of it, focusing intently on something vaguely familiar.

I realize a moment later. It's a metal rectangle…just like the one…just like…the one we put on display in the Artifacts Wing from Gwen's bag.

Human technology.

But…but how would little Phantump get ahold of something like that?

"Master Lurantis, you seeing this?" From the nasty color she's turning, I can tell she has, and has reached the same conclusions. Somehow, and it makes no sense to me, Phantump is involved with humans. I don't have long to dwell on that though; Lurantis jumps up to confront him.

Arceus save us.