Act Three: Trickster

Scene One: Tricks and Gods

(Sira's POV)

When the world opened back up around us, I figured whatever happened must've been some kind of glitch. I mean, nobody ever saw the process of teleportation we dubbed Travel. It didn't even look like we ended up anywhere, so to speak. Everything was dark.

I vaguely detected the presence of the others around me, though. Will always had an earthy sort of aroma – it was as though he grew up among the trees with an added manly spice to his atmosphere. Lusari's aura reminded me of watching the rain from afar, sitting at a fire with a nostalgic feeling in the air.

Then, naturally, Ryoku stood out. He had a sort of light feeling to him, something like the sun streaming through the boughs of tall, wise trees, dancing rays across the scattered stones. With him, I couldn't help it – I expected the worst. Men weren't easy to trust in general. Even Will, his charming etiquette, bold voice, and charming personality, felt like it could be a ruse, meant to pierce the thousand shields every sane woman put around herself. I expected the same of Ryoku, naturally.

That all changed when he woke up. Since then, I was annoyed. His forest-green eyes were like a pair of shining stars through the night, already piercing me with questions from the moment we met. His voice came light and casual, but with careful thought behind his words. He was perceptive, but not enough to see the way I started to look at him. All of that was enough to piss me off – I didn't like letting people in, and it was as if those green eyes of his rolled out the red carpet for themselves, straight into my life. I couldn't decide if that carpet was made of velvet or flames.

What a terrible, annoying pain.

It was taking a moment, but everything slowly came into focus. It was dark as night, but the dark seemed unsettling, even for me. I felt dry, crisp grass crunching beneath my boots as I shifted, trying to glean something about our location. I started to pick out eerie, twisted trees around us. Given time, my eyes might keep adjusting.

Then I remembered what Lusari said. The last thing before everything went dark. Somebody was tailing us.

My hand shot to Sinistra, my other hand to Infernix's ball. No matter how dark it may be, I knew where to find both. Snacks emitted a worried chirp. Lusari's strange Ralts, Starlight, stared at me, its little eyes like portals. Will released Valor at the same instant Infernix hit the ground, and his fiery presence brought a bit of light to us. Even in that, I could barely see Lusari and Starlight.

"What is this?" Will asked. "This darkness…" Then he sighed, staring down at the grass. "No. I know where we must be. This is the territory of Lysvid."

"Oh, joy," I groaned. "We're in for a seriously dumb time."

Ryoku looked confused. Will, probably sensing this like a curious child, elaborated. "This is the home of vampires. As far as is known, it could be their capital. That is, a place where all of them gather – and it is cast in eternal shadow. You see, although there is grass beneath our feet and trees around us, we are underground by a good score."

"Are they going to attack us?" Ryoku asked, clutching Snacks tighter against his wrist.

"They should not," Will said. "Laws in their Capital generally forbid snacking on travelers. That is, unless we should encounter the Ritual. A cult, one which essentially believes humans and Pokemon are just walking snacks for their kind."

Ryoku sighed. "Okay. Great. This is fine." Reaching for the one Pokeball at his belt, he let out Shimmer. The Mareep let out an initial hopeful 'baa!', and the light from its tail lit a small area around us. "Do we have anything else for light?"

Will sent out his Growlithe, Blaze, and I chose to add Embera to the mix. She hissed, gazing around at the darkness, then back at me. "I know, girl," I told her softly. "No battle yet, but stay ready."

Embera hissed, blinking twice, and let herself gain a bit more of a fiery aura around her. I turned away just in time to see Lusari pull out her little staff – and then an absurdly bright light blinked on.

"Ouch! What gives?"

Lusari just giggled timidly. "Sorry – I thought you wanted light."

"You're doing that with… your staff?" Ryoku asked, rubbing his eyes. "A little warning would've been nice, though."

Only Will didn't look bothered. I suspected he had a soft spot for Lusari, but I didn't dare voice it. Will was perceptive as all hell, and I knew he saw how I looked at Ryoku.

"Well," Will started, looking around. "Seems we appeared far out of the city. Usually the Travel sites bring us right to the city, but…"

He broke off as he turned to the path behind him, and suddenly reached for his lance. I tightened my grip on Sinistra.

"What?" Ryoku asked, turning to follow where we looked.

Lusari held up her staff, throwing light over what seemed to be a portal of some kind that now stretched into seemingly nothing, appearing like a fresh wound splitting skin. Within looked like a swirling void of violet energy, mist seeping onto the path.

"Somebody approaches," Will warned. "That is no Travel portal. Whoever it is…"

"They must have been the one who tracked us!" Lusari cried.

My heart suddenly felt like Snowball encased it in an ice beam. All I could think of was the emperor of my home stepping out before us, ready to kill us and take our shards of the stones.

A shadow appeared within the portal, becoming clearer as the portal extended to human height. Then, it abruptly vanished, leaving a well-built man standing in the middle of the path next to a Pokemon. The man was almost as dark as the world around us, but his hair and pants stood out as stark white. I caught the steel glistening of thick bracers on his arms, but I couldn't spot another weapon. Honestly, by the size of him, he might as well be a weapon.

The floating Pokemon beside him cackled. It was about half the size of the human, a grin spanning from end to end of its oval-shaped head, rimmed with horns that dangled with gold rings. Its eyes gleamed with an otherworldly glow. It looked to be a ghost type of some kind, but beyond that, I'd never seen it before.

The man and his strange Pokemon walked toward us with a purposeful gait as though he hadn't stopped walking when they opened this portal. As soon as the man dropped into our space, I could sense a power he radiated, like the coming of a storm as electricity crackled in the air. I harbored no doubts: this man was extremely dangerous.

We kept close to Ryoku, weapons drawn out, our Pokemon defensive. The man sauntered toward us with the ease of a cougar. His ghostly Pokemon smirked at us, giggling maniacally. As the man closed in, I noticed the most unsettling fact about this man: his eyes were jet-black. I thought it must be a trick of the darkness at first, but there was no mistaking it.

Ryoku and Snacks held their ground, the little Eevee glaring defiantly up at the stranger. Looking at them, the man laughed. I associated the noise with a lion looming over paralyzed prey. His eyes remained on Ryoku.

"You are Ryoku Dragontalen? Guardian of the Stones?"

The man's voice came deep and rich, tinged with a bit of accent. I tried to place his realm of origin, but it was near impossible.

Ryoku nodded slowly. "And you are?"

Ryoku's voice made the bottom of my stomach feel like it iced over. There it was again. His darkness. It was the way he spoke to the raider captain in Harohto. The same voice that, I believed, linked to his and Snacks' past, and their connection to the stones. It was equally thrilling and terrifying.

If the stranger thought anything of how Ryoku addressed him, he said nothing. A cold, wry grin eked out over his face as though it were slowly painted on, until it matched the deranged quality of his Pokemon. "At last, I have found you. I am Jesanht Olace. Perhaps you do not recall, damaged as you are. My family was killed by your deeds. My father was a protector of the Ghost Stone until he crossed your path."

I didn't suspect Ryoku knew what the man spoke of, but he didn't respond, either. Jesanht stepped back and pressed two Pokeballs at his belt. The first that appeared was a tall black and red Pokemon, a bird-type on two legs, fiery whips streaming from its clawed arms. It stood up on one leg, raising the other in a fighting stance. I recognized it to be a Blaziken, though it looked different than most.

The other was about as tall, dark-blue with red and gold markings. Its head was as though a shark walked on land, and its mighty tail ended in a similar fin. Each arm ended in long, curved scythes. An unconscious shudder ran down my spine as I placed it to be a Garchomp.

"Your friends are free to go as they wish," Jesanht said, not removing his eyes from Ryoku. "Once Ryoku Dragontalen and Eos are exterminated, there is nothing binding you here. My quarrel is not with you."

He raised one bracer-clad arm, a signal that set both his Blaziken and Garchomp into motion like arrows loosed from a bow. Without needing a spoken command, Embera and Infernix sprang forward, forming a protective barrier in front of Ryoku. Embera unleashed a stream of corrosive acid aimed at the Garchomp, while Infernix let loose a sinister dark beam that streaked toward the approaching Blaziken.

"Snacks, stay close!" Ryoku's plea went unanswered, replaced instead by an enigmatic hum emanating from the vicinity of his position. Sensing danger, Starlight quickly conjured a shimmering psychic barrier to shield both Ryoku and herself from harm.

Blaziken took Infernix's dark blast and countered with a swift, punishing kick to Infernix's hip. Despite the pain, Infernix held his ground. Meanwhile, Glimmer bounded into action, emitting an enthusiastic 'baa!' before discharging a potent bolt of electricity directly at the Blaziken.

"Protect Ryoku!" Will's command prompted his Pokémon into immediate action. Rocky surged out from his Pokeball, latching onto the Garchomp's tail with a tenacious bite. Blaze positioned herself protectively in front of Glimmer, emitting a low, threatening growl.

Nearby, I was hardly surprised as Snacks reappeared next to Embera, her form undergoing a remarkable transformation. Ears and tail elongated, legs lengthened, and a vibrant green hue enveloped her form. Emitting a fierce battle cry, Snacks, now a Leafeon, struck out at the Garchomp, using verdant vines that emerged from the leafy appendages around her shoulders. Uttering a small sound of satisfaction, I turned my attention to my team.

"Press the advantage!" I yelled, summoning Shadowfang from his Poké Ball. Shadowfang lunged into the fray, clamping his formidable jaws down on Blaziken's arm. "Don't relent! Keep them on the defensive!"

Garchomp roared in frustration, its massive fist crashing into the earth with cataclysmic force. The ground beneath our feet quaked violently as a colossal fissure cracked open, a seismic shockwave rippling outward from the point of impact. Most agile Pokémon took to the skies to evade the earth-shattering assault, while Rocky, determined and unwavering, held steadfast to Garchomp's tail, his snarls echoing with fury.

Nearby, Valor burst from the sky, emitting a piercing cry before her wing struck Blaziken's back, forcing it to kneel in submission. At the same moment, Snowball unleashed a frigid icy beam that struck Garchomp square in the chest, driving the colossal beast back several feet.

Embera, reeling from the seismic attack and struggling to regain her footing on the tumultuous ground, launched another burst of acid at Garchomp. Infernix tried to rear around and bite Blaziken, but it looked like the hit he took to his hip impeded him.

Ryoku's desperate attempts to regain control over Snacks fell on deaf ears. Snacks lashed out at Garchomp, battering its shoulder with her long vines. It looked like she tried to grip its shoulders and drag it down, but to little use. Lusari, sensing the perilous situation, directed Starlight to create another psychic barrier around Snacks.

Blaziken wasn't relenting, rising from its kneeling position, and rained a relentless barrage of fiery punches into Infernix and Shadowfang. Shadowfang yipped in pain as the attacks rained down on him. Infernix glanced at Shadowfang, then caught Blaziken's clawed fist in its maw, chomping hard.

Glimmer darted past an escaped Shadowfang and Blaze, and loosed another electric bolt at Blaziken to back Infernix up, getting dangerously in range of Blaziken's strikes. Before Blaziken could round on Glimmer, Valor shot down and lanced its neck with a mighty steel wing.

The mighty Garchomp swung, knocking Rocky off its tail with a heavy strike. Blaze dashed in to tackle Snacks aside as Garchomp hurtled ahead like a shot, aiming for Snowball. Before the giant Pokemon could strike, however, Starlight shot her small arms forward and repelled it with a psionic burst of energy.

"Enough!" Jesanht's voice called out. I saw his arm raise – toward the ghost Pokemon, who had stayed back with him. "Now, Hoopa, finish this. Send the fool and his Eevee back in time!"

The eerie Pokemon grinned from ear-to-ear and lifted the golden ring it carried, which started expanding. In it, I could see the strange, violet energy that we saw before Jesanht strolled up.

But before Hoopa could finish whatever it was about to do, a sudden bolt of lightning crackled through the air, striking the Hoopa's ring and knocking it from its hands. The Pokemon's grin vanished for the first time, and it snarled as a new Pokemon appeared before it. Whatever it was, it moved almost too fast to see, zipping around Hoopa in streaks of blue lightning.

Out of nowhere, a new figure emerged. Taller than some and wiry, with spiky golden hair and an angular face, dressed in a light green tunic and a kingly ruby-encrusted sword hanging from his hip. Next to him stood a Pokemon that was almost the size of him: a Luxray, its mane a wild arc of black fur, its tail ending in a sharp golden star. Four powerful limbs braced themselves to lunge.

"Who are you?" Jesanht asked, quietly and vehemently.

"Leave now, Jesanht. Put the past behind ya, or you shan't live to regret it." His voice came smooth and quick, like cracks of lightning.

Jesanht raised a brow, but didn't move. "I don't believe you heard me, stranger. I asked your name."

The man chuckled like wind chimes in the breeze. "I suppose I could tell ya, but you'd have to run along before I kill ya for it. Oh, and you can get the word out too." He gestured toward us in an extravagant manner and a swirl of his hand, and I saw his emerald-green eyes shimmer. "Pokemon League Warden, Loki, is looking out for this guy."

I stared at him incredulously. Was he for real? Loki, one of the Wardens of the Pokemon League? Nevertheless, even as he sounded boastful, the energy of his team backed him up.

When I looked to see Jesanht's reaction, he was already stepping into another of Hoopa's portals. I caught his black-eyed glance, the inky shimmering of his eyes, before he disappeared, a pale afterimage in the night. He'd even recalled Blaziken and Garchomp, somehow, in the chaos.

Seeing him go, Loki smirked, folding his hands behind his head. "You're welcome," he told Ryoku, as sincerely as though Ryoku actually spoke. "You alright? Pretty sure I got him in time, but with a Pokemon like Hoopa, you can't be too careful. You all still here? No arms in the distortion world?"

Ryoku stared at him. "You said you were a Pokemon League Warden, right? What's that?"

Loki met his gaze for a second, shoulders sagging. "You… You don't remember?"

"Remember what?" Ryoku asked.

For a moment, Loki looked perplexed, and, I thought, a bit sad. Then, clearing away his expression, he put his hands on his hips and stood gallantly. "Of course! My mistake! Well, my friend, a Pokemon League Warden is as it sounds – we're representing the Pokemon League as its top trainers! You do the gym challenge, gather enough badges, and you'll find yourself facing me and my cohorts – the Wardens!"

In a moment of silence that followed, Will lifted a finger. "You earn badges by defeating tough trainers like Mosten," he chirped. "Earn enough of them, and you can take on our world's toughest trainers."

Ryoku looked between Will and Loki. "Why, though?"

Loki looked like he was struck. Will scratched his head aimlessly. "Uh, because that's one of a trainer's biggest goals?" Loki asked, dumbstruck. "To get stronger and challenge the Pokemon League?" He then seemed to relax a little, deflating like a balloon, and smirked. "I guess you were never really that into it, huh?"

But Ryoku's frantic little mind had moved on as he picked up Snacks, who shifted back into an Eevee and passed out in his arms. "Why was that guy after us?"

Loki frowned a little, scratching his head. "Uh, beats me. Didn't he say why?"

"Nothing that made any sense," Will said. "Why are you here anyway, Loki? Should we treat you, too, as a threat? You claimed to be looking out for Ryoku, but I did not catch you doing so while we, actually, have been doing so for a while."

I raised a brow in amused surprise. "Go, Will!" I commented. "But no kidding. Aren't you Wardens supposed to be looking out for the stones, too?"

Loki didn't seem to hear me. "Most consider me a threat, Will Ramun," Loki professed, giving Will a sidelong glance. "I wouldn't dismiss the idea from your earthen head just yet, boy. Still, you're quite wrong in one aspect: I did help Ryoku. On that note—"

"How do you know our names?" Ryoku asked, cutting him off in a way that made Loki's brow twitch. "And Sira just said you are supposed to be looking out for the stones?"

I had to choke back a laugh as Loki scowled at Ryoku. "I'm getting to that, my friend! All in due time. The fact is, I've been unable to track your signal until you entered Celebi Travel – only something caught onto it first. I had to call in backup to get you on track. Something tried to do a number on your travel. If I'm correct… Girl, did you check your Travel Node?"

Looking perplexed, still clutching Starlight close, Lusari reached for her Travel Node she'd just used, and her eyes widened a little. She lifted the small machine up – it was clearly fried. The screen cracked, puffs of smoke emanating from within.

Will crossed his arms thoughtfully. "So I did not imagine that interference. Not many are ever conscious once the process of Travel, but…" He looked at Loki, scowling slightly. "Are you saying you are from Ryoku and Snacks' past?"

Loki opened his mouth, but faltered. "Snacks?" he asked in a low hiss, looking at the Eevee in Ryoku's arms. "You… didn't….?"

Ryoku smiled thinly. "She ate all my snacks. So, Snacks."

Loki blinked several times rapidly before shaking his head, and raised his arm. In an instant, the lightning-fast Pokemon he'd used earlier reappeared on his arm. I'd never seen something like it. It was small and orange, with animated, excited eyes. The energy around it rippled with blue electricity, and I wasn't sure how it didn't harm Loki's bare arm.

At our quizzical looks, he held up the little Pokemon, who emitted several static noises that might be happy. "This is Gizmo, the Rotom. His type is common in some worlds, rare in others. You see, he's a ghost-type who can possess most types of technology. Anything from cellphones, to Travel Nodes, to appliances like ovens. He travels through electric cords, so anything supplied by electricity is capable of being hacked by him."

He then patted the large Luxray at his side. "This is Solaris, my Luxray, a guardian of the Electric Stone." At Ryoku's look, he gently pulled aside a dark tuft of Solaris' mane, revealing a surprisingly long, jagged pillar of golden stone. It had to be at least a foot in length, far bigger than what Will's Valor or my Infernix carried.

Seeing the stone, Ryoku gripped Snacks tighter, holding his wrist. "In that case… Loki, we have urgent things to discuss. I—"

Loki raised his hand. "I figured you would get to the point. Let's talk on the road to this realm's Capital – it ain't far from here, and your Pokemon all took some solid hits back there, didn't they?"

He was right. I stooped down to check over Infernix, Shadowfang, and Embera. All three took bad hits against those two. Infernix's side was swollen badly where the Blaziken kicked him, and he hesitated to put weight on that leg. Shadowfang's face bore some bruising, too. Shaking my head, I called all three of them back. Will, Lusari, and Ryoku all did the same with their partners, Lusari keeping Starlight and her bright staff out. Ryoku clutched Snacks, looking sheepishly down at her.

Seeing this, Loki's expression appeared to soften a little. "Sorry I didn't get here sooner. I'll explain everything – but we should get to that Pokemon Center. Lysvid ain't a very safe place. The readier your teams are, the better."