Hello everyone, sorry for the last post. Things have been crazy, my troubles starting my new job, and crazy things in life. Things have been busy, and really rough, my new job has me away from my computer for most of the day.
But I hope you all found a little joy in my triple crossover The Last Black and White Dragons, and read the latest chapter of The Legend Of Korra And The Forgotten Trainers(there's a little surprise at the end of the chapter).
Another reason I've been slow to post chapters is because I've been working on a new story on the side. With A Trainer Journeys In Grace only having one chapter left, I thought of posting a new story to replace it in the order.
It's called "Mysticons And The Great Powers of Pokemon". As you can guess, it's the Mysticon and Pokemon crossover from the vote. You see I was hoping Mysticons would win the vote, but it didn't, so I made Violet Iron & Scarlet Beast; The Abyss Riders. But I still wanted to do the Mysticon story, so I changed the original idea and still made the Mysticon story. (And before you ask, no I'm not going to do any of the other stories from the vote, I just really wanted to do Mysticons.)
Now I would explain more about the story, but I want you all to be surprised, but I can say that it will be an interesting one, and play an important part in something I'm planning for much later, so I hope you like it when it comes out, but first let's finish A Trainer Journeys In Grace and announce it on my other stories.
Before we start, two things. 1 Some of you have asked to let everyone that went to Kumandra get their memories back, so I'll have their memories returned in this chapter, you'll see how in a bit.
And 2 this isn't the start of season 4, as many of you know the graphic novel, Through the Moon, happens between season 3 and 4 and I felt like I had to add that story to this story. But don't worry, I won't split it, this whole chapter will be the Through the Moon graphic novel, now that we have that taken care of let's start. Now Chapter 28.
Chapter 28
Through The Moon And Into The Phantom's Territory
Storm Spire
In the Storm Spire, Rayla was alone and freaking out, and she was surrounded by monsters made of black smoke with a purple light inside them. Rayla looked around, and noticed Runaan and her parents as stone statues. This caused Rayla to freak out a little.
"What do you think of my collection Rayla?" A male voice asked Rayla, making Rayla turn to see a cloaked figure, with two sleeves in the cloak but only the left sleeve had an arm in it. The cloak figure pulled down his hood, revealing it to be Viren, and then Viren pulled out his right arm and staff from under his cloak.
"Look here I've added a couple more." Viren said to Rayla, as the smoke monsters moved, revealing Callum and Gliscor as statues. Then Viren touched Callum's statue. "Stay away from him!" Rayla said to Viren, pulling out her blades and pointing them at Viren.
"It's too late Rayla. But don't worry. You'll be joining them very soon." Viren said to Rayla, as the smoke monsters started to circle Rayla.
But that's when a giant glowing blue father came down on them.
The Castle In Katolis
But it was all a bad dream, and Rayla woke up to Callum using Phoe-Phoe's feather to wake her, and she was wearing white pants and a tan pj shirt. "Ack! All right! I'm up! I'm up already!" Rayla said, as she forced Callum away from them. That's when Rayla noticed Ezran, Drake, and all of their Pokemon in her new room, with Drake only having Samurott out of his Pokeball and Darumaka on Samurott's back.
"Why are you coming after me with a great big awful feather? What's happening?" Rayla asked Callum, with messy hair and half open eyes. "I thought you'd make a cute face, but-." Callum said to Rayla, but stopped talking. "But what?" Rayla asked Callum. "It's more of a, uh, angry cute." Callum said to Rayla, earning a mean look from Rayla.
"Callum you really shouldn't use Phoe-Phoe's feather like that!" Ezran said to Callum, as he took Phoe-Phoe's feather away from Callum. "Phoe-Phoe? Wait, you were tickling me with a feather from Lujanne's dead phoenix?" Rayla asked Callum. "Uh, yeah, but-" Callum said to Ryla, but was interrupted by Ezran.
"We got a letter from Lujanne about the feather! Phoe-Phoe sacrificed herself to get me to the Strom Spire- I owe her everything! She left this glowing feather behind when she died. Lujanne says we need to bring the "Ghost Feather" to the moon nexus before the next new moon so she can perform a ritual. Phoe-Phoe is a moon phoenix! This must be how she gets reborn!" Ezran said to everyone.
"The new moon? That's only three days away!" Rayla said to everyone. "Yeah she really should have sent this sooner." Ezran said to everyone. "Yes, she should have. I already sent Braviary to Xadia to deliver a message to Allen and Kali. Hopley they'll meet us at the Nexus." Drake said to Rayla.
"Well then. We'd better get moving! What are you all doing up so early anyway?" Rayla asked everyone, as she got out of bed. "It's… everyone else has been up for hours, Rayla." Callum said to Rayla. "Yeah, it's almost noon." Drake said to Rayla. "Oh." Rayla said.
"Oh. Uh, Hey Ez, can you and Drake go with us? Don't you have all sorts of kingly duties now Ez? And Drake, are you and Allen rebuilding the Black and White Dragon Flights?" Rayla asked Ezran and Drake, as she cleaned up her messy hair.
"Well yes. But this is important. Soren, our Pokemon, and I can be away for a little while. I left a note for Opeli that explains everything. She'll be fine!" Ezran said to Rayla.
In Opeli's office, she had an annoyed look on her face, with Chimecho doing her best to comfort Opeli.
"As for me. Like Ezran, I can stay away for a couple days, and Abigail will be joining us. Just so we know the food is safe." Drake said to Rayla. "Good call." Rayla said to Drake. "I'm going to get packed- Soren and I will meet you at the courtyard in an hour!" Ezran said to everyone, before leaving with Lycanroc. "I will gather Abigail and some food and meet you all in the courtyard in an hour as well." Drake said to everyone, before leaving with Samurott.
That's when Rayla walked up to a desk and picked up her stuff and clothes. "Up late again?" Callum asked Rayla. "Yeah. I couldn't rest. I just… lay awake thinking too much, and even when I did get to sleep… I see those monsters and that cloak man, before it's revealed to be Viren." Rayla said to Callum.
"I couldn't have been Viren." Callum said to Rayla, as Rayla took a seat on the bed next to Callum. "We never found his body Callum, we looked everywhere. I know he fell from the moon but we should have found something anything!" Rayla said to Callum. "Viren is dead, Rayla. There's no possible way he could have-" Callum said to Rayla, but was interrupted by Rayla. "You don't know that!" Rayla said to Callum.
"Yes I do. Everyone saw the twins turn him to ice and smash him. If we didn't find anything, it's because he was smashed into a million pieces." Callum said to Rayla. "Still, everyone wants to move on! But what if it's not over?" Rayla asked Callum.
"Rayla, what if it is the time to move on?" Callum asked Rayla. "How am I supposed to do that? I lost my parents, I lost Runaan, and I still don't know what happened to them!" Ryala said to Callum, with a worried look on her face, before turning away from Callum.
"Sorry Rayla. I just hate seeing you like this." Callum said to Rayla. "I guess I have been a bit of a mess." Rayla said to Callum, as she put her head on his shoulder. "We're all a mess, sometimes. Me? I'm usually a mess." Callum said to Rayla.
"It's true. You've been wearing this same scarf for as long as I've known you." Rayla said to Callum, as she playfully pulled on his scarf. "Uh, listen, why don't we think of this trip to the Nexus… As a vacation. There's a beautiful lake, some really neat ruins, and all the grubs you can eat!" Callum said to Rayla.
"Sounds lovely. Thanks Callum. A vacation is probably exactly what I need." Rayla said to Callum, hugging Callum.
The Cursed Caldera
A couple days later, Ezran, Callum, Rayla, Soren, Drake, Abigail and all of their Pokemon were walking up the Curse Caldera. "Is it just me, or has this place gotten creepier?" Callum asked everyone. "Hm. I think it's about the same level of creepy." Ezran said to Callum.
"This is still really creepy." Abigail said to everyone. "I told you, you should have let me find some Pokemon to ride, but no you wanted to walk up the Cursed Caldera." Drake said to Ezran, before they heard skittering. "Hey, you hear that?" Soren asked everyone.
That's when the illusion spider appeared before them and roared in their faces, messing up their hair. "Ugh. Illusions again?" Rayla said to the spider. "Skree?" The spider said. "Hm, yes, that's a good point- but why does it feel like we've had this conversation before? You're about as solid as the wind you were blow-." Rayla said to the spider, before touching it, only to find it was solid.
"Ew, ew! I touched it!" Rayla said, as she backed away freaking out, as everyone else was surprised by the fact the spider was solid. Then everyone heard laughter. "What?" Rayla asked, before they noticed some lights moving.
That's when Lujanne, Allen, Kali, and their Pokemon appeared out of thin air, with an extra person and Pokemon with them. The person was the man that got his bid sword slashed by the Sunforge Dagger, and the Pokemon was a giant round rabbit, with patches of brown fur around it mouth, neck, belly, legs, and on the end of it's massive arm ears, with three claws at the end of the arm ears.
"I got you good!" Lujanne said to everyone. "Wha- I- I knew it was fake." Rayla said to Lujanne. "Yep, me too. Definitely was not fooled." Soren said to everyone. "Liers." Allen said to Rayla and Soren.
"Oh wow, I didn't know you could make illusions seem solid! Is that a new spell?" Callum asked Lujanne. "Oh no. No, it's not a spell. That part of the trick is thanks to Big Al here." Lujanne said to Callum, placing a hand on the man's shoulder.
"Big Al?" Rayla asked. "His name is also Allen. So we don't get it confused with my name. We nicknamed him Big Al. And that Diggersby is his partner." Allen said to Rayla. "Diggersby?" Rayla asked. "Here." Drake said, pulling out his Pokedex.
Diggersby / Digging Pokemon / Normal and Ground Type / With power equal to an excavator, it can dig through dense bedrock. It's a huge help during tunnel construction.
"Well go on Big Al, say hi." Kali said to Big Al, as Drake put his Pokedex away. "Uh, hi. Hello. How are you?" Big Al said to everyone. "Wait! I know you! You're the guy with the big sword that got chopped in half by Kali's Sun-Forge Blade." Rayla said to Big Al. "Oh! Right! And then ran off crying!" Callum said to Big Al.
"Oh? You didn't tell me that part." Lujanne said to Big Al. "There's nothing wrong with crying." Big Al said to Lujanne. "Big strong man with big strong feelings." Lujanne said to Big Al.
"Anyway, you asked about this trick Callum?" Lujanne said to Callum. "You there shoo." Lujanne said to the spider, making the spider move, revealing a wooden form under it.
"You see? No Magic- Just wood and hides to give my illusions some solidity! Big Al is quite the carpenter! It's fun to have a collaborator." Lujanne said to Callum, patting Big Al's stomach. "Aw, now Janey-Lu…" Big Al said to Lujanne. "Wait, are you two… a thing?" Callum asked Lujanne, earning a wink from Lujanne.
"Uh, Lujanne?" Ezran asked Lujanne, get Lujanne's attention. "Hello, Ezran. Thank you for coming so quickly." Lujanne said to Ezran. "Phoe-Phoe sacrificed herself for me. I have to honor that." Ezran said to Lujanne, handing her Phoe-Phoe's feather. "Oh. I know she'll be back, but this part of the cycle is still hard. It aches to miss her." Lujanne said, with a sad look on her face, and holding the feather to her chest.
"So… She really will come back? With this ritual?" Ezran asked Lujanne. "She will moon phoenix feathers are special. They're tethered to both life and death. Especially here at the Moon Nexus. When the time is right, during the ceremony, I'll ask you to place this feather on the water. After that… Well, you'll see. Please hold onto it until then." Lujanne said to Ezran, before handing Ezran the feather.
"Thank you, Lujanne." Ezran said to Lujanne, as he looked at the feather in his hands. "Well! You all are probably hungry from your journey. We have a little more time- Why don't we head up the rest of the way and I'll get dinner prepared?" Lujanne said to everyone.
"Wait!" Soren said to Lujanne. "Thanks but-." Rayla said to Lujanne. "We brought food!" Callum said to Lujanne. "And someone to make food." Drake said to Lujanne, pulling Abigail to his side. "We don't need the grubs!" Ezran said to Lujanne.
The Moon Nexus
Later that day everyone was enjoying a large dinner that Abigail made. "So how long have you two been a thing? The same goes for you two." Lujanne asked Rayla and Callum, then Allen and Kali.
"Uh-." Callum said, feeling proud. "Yeah-." Kali said, feeling embarrassed. "Well-." Allen said, feeling happy. "Is it obvious?" Rayla asked Lujanne, feeling great. "A little." Lujanne said to them. "But I have to ask, how did you all fall in love?" Abigail asked Callum, Allen, Rayla, and Kali.
"Uh, let's see. We were at an oasis in the midnight desert-." Callum said to Lujanne, but was interrupted by Rayla. "No! Nope, don't bring that up!" Rayla said to Callum, getting embarrassed, and covering her face with her hands.
"What's wrong? Don't you want to tell everyone, how you kiss him out of the blue, after he gave you a motivational speech, how after another speech he kissed you, and when he apologized for it, you told him to shut up and kissed him again?" Kali asked Rayla, with a sheepish smile on her face, and making Rayla's face turn bright red.
"Ha ha! That's all right. I'm happy for you all. Hm. Things are changing aren't they? Between humans and elves." Lujanne said to everyone. "So, uh, how did you and Big Al meet?" Callum asked Lujanne.
"It was right after Ezran over on Phoe-Phoe with Drake and the Pokemon actually. I was disguised as a human with Vale being my dog, just planning to mess with a few towns on my way back but. I met Big Al, and one thing led to another. Those things being in order: a date, someone noticing I only had four fingers, and then a lot of pitchforks." Lujanne said to everyone, holding up some fingers.
"Oh yeah! You got to remember the gloves. That's a common mistake." Rayla said to Lujanne. "I'm glad Phoe-Phoe was able to help Ezran. Glade her sacrifice made a difference. And it seems like everything worked out in the end!" Lujanne said to everyone.
"Did it? Viren, the most dangerous man in the world, up and disappeared. Just, poof, gone! And everyone wants to believe that he's dead, but-" Rayla said to everyone, but was interrupted by Callum. "Oh, uh, Lujanne! There was something I wanted to show you!" Callum said to Lujanne, as Allen gave Rayla a serious look.
"I know the Sky Arcanum now!" Callum said to Lujanne, making Rayla feel a little better. "Callum, we've been over this. You weren't born with a connection to an arcanum, you can't-." Lujanne said to Callum, but was interrupted by Callum.
"Asprio!" Clalum said, casting his wind spell, and blowing the dinner away, with the gang using their arms to block the flying food. "Oh." Lujanne said, with a very shocked look on her face. "Dinner might be ruined. But the look on your face is worth it." Drake said to Lujanne.
"Sorry! Sorry, that was way more powerful than I was, uh-. Still getting the hang of-" Callum said to everyone, but was interrupted by Ezran. "Aaa! Come back!" Ezran said, as he lost the feather and tried to grab it. "Sorry! Sorry!" Callum said, as he helped Ezran get the feather.
Then Bait tried to grab the feather with his tongue. "No, bait! Don't eat it!" Ezran said to Bait, before Drake grabbed Bait's tongue. "Control that grab of your Bait." Drake said to Bait, as Callum and Ezran tried to get the feather but kept missing it.
Rayla giggled at this, but soon went quiet, with a sad look on her face, with only Allen noticing this.
Later that night under the sky of the new moon. Lujanne and Ezran were at the edge of the lake, with everyone else standing behind them. "Now is a good time. You can place it in the water." Lujanne said to Ezran. Ezran then let the feather go out into the lake.
"There is a cycle in the world. Life and death. It is at the core of all things. The moon embodies this cycle. Bit by bit it will fade away; then bit by bit it will brighten. Come together. Hold one another's hands." Lujanne said to everyone, but no one moved. "No, really. It's part of the ritual." Lujanne said to everyone.
Everyone then formed a circle and held hands. "Death is frightening. Birth can be as well. Yet they are two things that connect us all. Kings and commoners, ric and poor, elf and human- each one is equally vulnerable in the beginning and in the end." Lujanne said to everyone.
"Let that be humbling. Let it bring us together. Remember that as life inevitably leads to death, so also does life come from death. This is a cycle not an ending." Lujanne said, as Callum and Rayla looked at each other, with Rayla feeling bad and tightening her grip on Callum's hand.
"For those you have left behind, think on all they given you. For those will come after you, think on all you will give to them. A phoenix dies, yet from its death it lives again. A phoenix is uniquely tethered in both life and death, and yet it is like the rest of us: a part of the cycle. Let us remember Phoe-Phoe, who was tireless and brave, and always there when we needed her most. And let us welcome Phoe-Phoe s she begins her cycle anew." Lujanne said to everyone, finishing her speech. But nothing happened.
"Give it a moment. I never get this timing right." Lujanne said, before the feather burst into a dark blue flame. The flame floated out of the water and became a dark blue egg. The egg floated by to shore, and Lujanne pulled it out of the water.
"Oh! It's so pretty!" Ezran said to Lujanne. "I've never seen an egg that looks like it before." Drake said to Lujanne. "Please tell me we don't have to go on a big quest to hatch this one." Callum asked Lujanne. "I don't think Phoe-Phoe's egg will be harder to hatch then Zym's egg." Allen said to Callum, as Lujanne looked at everyone with a blank look, and cracked the egg like she was making eggs.
"See." Allen said to Callum. "Ezran, hold out your hands." Lujanne said to Ezran. "O-okay." Ezran said to Lujanne, as he held out his hands. Then Lujanne opened the egg, letting a chick version of Phoe-Phoe land in his hands.
"Aw, you're so small and new! But I can see… so many lifetimes of wisdom in your eyes. Welcome back." Ezran said to Phoe-Phoe, with Phoe-Phoe cheeping and cooing.
After that everyone started to move back to their rooms for some sleep, everyone feeling good. Everyone but Rayla, who felt bad and sneaked away from everyone, with only Callum, Yanmega, and Gliscor noticing her running away.
Rayla kept moving until she found a large rock with a few small rocks on it. Rayla got on top of the rock, sat down on it, and started to toss small rocks into the lake every now and then.
That's when Rayla heard rustling in the bushes next to her, and saw Callum stumbling out of the bush, with Yanmega and Gliscor in the air over him. "Uh, Rayla! What are you doing here?" Callum asked Rayla, acting like he didn't just stumble out of the bushes, or followed her here.
"Oh you know. Sneaking off to a quiet place so I could be around other people." Rayla said to Callum, with a blank look on her face. "Oh, uh,. Oh right. Sorry I can-." Callum said to Rayla, before Rayla interrupted him. "Come over here, dummy." Rayla said to Callum, patting a spot next to her on the rock.
Callum said nothing, as he climbed up to Rayla, with Yanmega and Gliscor taking a set at the base of the rock. "The big death ceremony didn't do much to distract me, honestly." Rayla said to Callum. "Sort of a positive-spin-on-death ceremony though." Callum said to Rayla.
"Doesn't seem fair that only phoenixes get to come back." Rayla said to Callum. "I guess, but I'm glad there are some people who can't come back." Callum said to Rayla.
"I'm not thinking about him. Lujanne said this is a cycle, not an ending, what does that even mean? Life from death? My parents aren't going to come back inside some silver egg. I don't want a metaphor- I want to see them again. The Nexus used to be a portal to a place between life and death, did you know that?" Rayla said to Callum.
"Lujanne did mention that…" Callum said to Rayla, but was interrupted by Rayla. "Why can't she open that? Do something useful? Open the portal, let me check if my parents are actually there? All she has are fancy words and fake… fake everything!" Rayla said to Callum, before burying her head into her legs.
"Trust me. I understand what-" Callum said to Rayla, but Rayla interrupted him. "Do you? You wanted me to "move on" remember? You wanted me to forget! To give up!" Rayla said to Callum, as she stood up, getting agitated. "That's not- You're not the only one who lost people Rayla!" Callum said to Rayla, as he stood up, getting agitated as well.
"But you know! You know what happened to them! I don't have answers!" Rayla yelled at Callum. "Yes, I know what happened to them! One of the people you're so worried about killed my stepfather!" Callum yelled at Rayla. That's when they both caught their breath.
"You know what? You haven't moved on. No one has "moved on" I haven't, you haven't, the world hasn't. Keep believing in illusions if it makes you feel better." Rayla said to Callum, before running away. "Rayla, wait! Come back…" Callum said to Rayla, feeling bad.
After Rayla left, she went to her room, and went to sleep. But this only brought her back to her nightmare. And this time when she saw Callum's statue body, she noticed Viren standing beside Callum's statue. That's when a blade popped out of the cloak of viren's left arm. The blade was covered in scratches and covered in red lines that made it looked like it would break. Viren then rammed his blade into Callum's chest, shattering Callum, with a wicked smile on his face.
"CALLUM!" Rayla yelled as she woke up, with a freaked out look on her face. That's when she noticed Callum, Yanmega, and Gliscor sleeping on the other side of the room. "Okay. Okay." Rayla said, before changing out of her pjs and leaving the room.
Some time later, Callum, Yanmega, and Gliscor woke up, and found Rayla was missing. "Rayla left. She didn't even stick around to say hi. I must have really screwed up last night. Why am I so dumb? Why do I always say dumb things? Maybe I need some advice." Callum said to himself.
"Well I'm always up for giving you some advice." a male voice said to Callum. Callum turned to see Allen sitting in a chair next to him. "Allen! What are you doing here?" Callum asked Allen.
"Me and Kali are heading back to Xadia. I said goodbye to everyone but you and Rayla. I came in here to see if you two were awake and said my goodbyes. But Rayla was gone when I got here. Curious, I waited for you to wake up and ask if you know what's up with Rayla, but it sounds like you two had a fight." Allen said to Callum.
"Yeah. we did." Callum said to Allen, not looking at Allen. "About what? And please be honest, I can't help if you're not honest" Allen asked Callum. "Rayla's been having nightmares. And she can't stop thinking about her parents or Runaan, and it's driving her crazy not knowing what happened to them. And when I told her to move on, she told me she could not simply forget or give up until she knew what happened to them. And when I told her that I know what happened to Runaan with a little anger in my voice. She told me no one has moved on, and left." Callum said to Allen.
"I see. Well for starters, Rayla is kinda right about no one has moved on. Remember the Battle at Storm Spire left deep wounds, in both body and mind for all races, It'll take time for those wounds to heal, some longer than others. As for why her parents and Runaan's fate is on her mind. I think I have an idea." Allen said to Callum.
"And the idea is?" Callum asked Allen. "I'm just guessing. But she might be worried about us." Allen said to Callum. "What makes you that?" Callum asked Allen.
"Callum, from what you told me. I think Rayla is worried that whatever happened to them will happen to us. And with no idea what happened to them, it freaks her out even more. She must think that if she knew what happened to her parents and Runaan, she could prevent it from happening again. But that's not something she could control." Allen said to Callum.
"What do you mean?" Callum asked Allen. "Callum, we have no idea when or where we'll die, and try as we may, we can't run away from it forever. So the best we can do is live our life to the fullest, remembering those that came before us, and leaving behind some good memories for our young ones." Allen said to Callum.
"That's kinda like what Lujanne said." Callum said to Allen. "Well she's not that far off. All life is born and all living things must come to an end sooner or later. That's what gives life its value. But some people are more concerned about how it starts and how it ends to see the beauty in it." Allen said to Callum.
"Like Rayla?" Callum asked Allen. "Yes. She's so worried about not knowing how her parents and Runaan story ended, that she forgot any wisdom they left her." Allen said to Callum. "But you said, she worried about what happened to them, happening to us." Callum said to Allen.
"Yes I did. But if her parents were here, I think they would tell her that everything is alright, and to live her life. That's just a guess anyway, I don't really know them well enough to say how they would act." Allen said to Callum.
"What about Runaan? What would he say?" Callum asked Allen. "Given how things went the last time they talked to each other, and she's dating you. I won't be surprised if he wanted nothing to do with her." Allen said to Callum.
"That sounds harsh." Callum said to Allen. "Well I'm basing this guess off my experience with Runaan, and how he acted when we showed him Zym. Besides, it's not like we can ask them ourselves." Allen said to Callum.
"Maybe we can." Callum said, earning a curious look from Allen. "What are you talking about?" Allen asked Callum. "Didn't I tell you about the Nexus' portal?" Callum asked Allen. "Either you did and I forgot, or you didn't. So tell me anyway." Allen said to Callum.
"Lujanne told me the Nexus can be a portal to a space between life and death." Callum said to Allen, not looking at Allen, and missing the worry look on Allen's face. "Maybe if we open the portal, Rayla can talk to them, and get some peace." Callum said, before getting lost in thought trying to figure out how to do it.
But he lost his thought, when Allen graded his head, and made Callum look into his very serious eyes. "Callum if you only listen to me for once in all our life, and I mean really listen to me, as in do exactly as I say. Then let this be it. You will abandon this train of thought, and never EVER get back on it!" Allen said to Callum, before letting Callum go.
"Why?" Callum asked Allen. "Because we too have stories like that back on our birth world. But they're stories of letting the dead go. And while they all vary in details, one thing stays the same. And that thing is, once you cross that line, there's a good chance of never coming back. The reason, because most of those people who try it are those that miss their loved ones so much they'll gladly cross that line to see them. But once they find their loved one, they can't say goodbye a second time, and end up staying in the land of the dead side, thus ending their life. So tell me at the moment, is Rayla mentally ready to handle that?" Allen asked Callum.
"Maybe." Callum said to Allen. "I'm going to assume that's the optimist in you talking. Because the true answer is NO! Even if she goes down there just to talk to them. How can Rayla face her parents after having so long believed the worst in them. Or why would Runaan want to talk to her, he must have died thinking the worst of her." Allen said to Callum. "You don't know that. Maybe they'll understand." Callum said to Allen.
"Fine! If you're not going to listen to me. Then go talk to Lujanne, and I'm sure she'll tell you the danger of messing with the dead. And when Rayla dies from this stupid idea, know that I warned you, and it'll all be your fault." Allen said to Callum, before leaving the room in a rage, and slamming the door on his way out.
Callum then got dressed and went to talk to Lujanne with Yanmega and Gliscor following him. Lujanne was in the library, meditating with Vale, when Callum, Yanmega, and Gliscor walked into the room, interrupting their meditation.
"Hey, Lujanne. Are you meditating?" Callum asked Lujanne, as he, Yanmega, and Gliscor walked up to Lujanne and Vale. "Less them before I meet all of you. What is it?" Lujanne asked Callum, with a flat annoyed look on her face. "Uh, I just need a little help." Callum said to Lujanne.
"Let me guess. Romantic troubles?" Lujanne asked Callum. "We had a.. Fight? Spat? S thing where I said something stupid?" Callum said to Lujanne. "Little fights are just a part of any relationship." Lujanne said to Callum.
"I- I know. It's just… Rayla is in a lot of pain and nothing I say seems to help! She's stuck worrying about her parents. About what happened to Runnaan. She can't move one, not without knowing the truth of what happened." Callum said to Lujanne, walking back and fourth.
"Maybe the truth isn't what she needs. Or even what she wants." Lujanne said to Callum. "How… How many husbands have you had, again?" Callum asked Lujanne.
"Enough to know a thing or two. Here's a little illusionist wisdom. White lies are illusions you build with your words to protect the hearts of those you love. If the truth doesn't work. Perhaps you just need to make the right illusions." Lujanne said to Callum, as she pulled out two Moon Opal necklaces.
"Wh-what Moon Opals?" Callum asked Lujanne. I was planning to give them to you later but, since you're here." Lujanne said to Callum, before handing Callum the necklaces. "Apparently, I was wrong about humans learning magic. Consider this an apology- and maybe a way to help. I don't think there is a spell that can assist Rayla, but the Moon Arcanum is about change and seeing things differently. Maybe that's what you need." Lujanne said to Callum.
"I… Maybe? I'm still not sure that lying is- wait. Wait. Maybe there is a spell! You told me about some sort of portal the last time I was here. To a place between life and death!" Callum said to Lujanne. "Ah." Lujanne said, not knowing what to say. "Zoroark." Vale said to Lujanne, shaking her head no. but Lujanne diced to tell Callum the spell.
"With a full moon and the Nexus at the height of its power, yes. The Moon Nexus could become a portal. It was even used in ceases like this, to help loved ones find closure. But it was used really. It was incredibly dangerous." Lujanne said to Callum, with Callum getting excited by the sound of this spell.
"You could get lost and trapped there. Lose your mind. You'd be pulled to the souls of the dead you share a connection to. Whether that connection was made of love or hate." Lujanne said to Callum, pulling Callum back to reality.
"Anyway, the Moonhenge was destroyed, so it doesn't matter. You can't open the portal without it," Lujanne said to Callum, feeling like telling Callum wasn't a problem. "I suppose not. But if the Moon Arcanum is all about change… Maybe it's time to rebuild it! Maybe humans and elves don't have to be so divided anymore!" Callum said to Lujanne. "No." Lujanne said to Callum, holding up her right hand.
"The Moonhenge was destroyed for a reason. Humans cannot be trusted with its power. I hope you find a way to help Rayla, but the ruins must remain the way they are." Lujanne said to Callum, before Callum left, with Yanmega, and Gliscor following him.
Back outside, Big Al and Soren were sword fighting, as Diggersby and Rhyhorn tried to push each other. Watching this from a Rock was Ezran, Drake, Abigail, Bait, all of their Pokemon, and even Phoe-Phoe was with them.
"Ha ha! It's been a while since I had a good fair fight!" Big Al said to Soren. "Ha! Not bad big guy!" Soren said to Big Al. "Woo! Go, Soren!" Ezran said to Soren. "Hey now, don't go choosing favorites!" Big Al said to Ezran.
From the tree tops Rayla watched the fight, and had a fun idea. She lunged out of the tree, surprising Soren and Big Al. Rayla landed next to Big Al, and hit the back of his legs as she ran , causing Big Al to fall.
Rayla then stopped and turned to Soren, and charged at Soren. But Soren was able to see what Rayla was doing, and moved to the side, tripping Rayla in the process, and making Rayla fall into a puddle of mud. This ended the fights.
"Ha ha! I bet you didn't expect that!" Soren said to Rayla, as he went to help Rayla out of the mud. "That was almost really cool, Rayla!" Ezran said to Rayla. "And entertaining." Drake said to everyone, as he held back a laugh.
"Actually, I didn't expect that to work." Soren said to Rayla, as he pulled her out of the mud. "Ugh. Guess I've been off my game lately." Rayla said to Soren. "Nothing like staying in shape! Want to join? Big AL made these really great practice swords!" Soren asked Rayla.
"Maybe in a minute. I, uh, actually wanted to talk." Rayla said to Soren. "You… jumped out of a tree at me- with swords- to talk?" Soren asked Rayla, not understanding her logic.
"Well, I was going to do some cool moves and embarrass you first, but, you know." Rayla said to Soren. "Sure." Soren said to Rayla. "I'll be back Big Al! Don't run off." Soren said to Big Al, before Soren and Rayla walked up with Rhyhorn following them.
"For the record, I was winning." Big Al said to everyone. "He wasn't." Ezran quietly said to everyone else, with all of them quietly agreeing with Ezran.
With Callum he was at Moonhenge looking at one of the Moon Opals Lujanne gave him. "I wonder." Callum said, before rushing the Moon Opal. "Historia Viventem!" Callum said, thinking of the ritual for the portal.
That's when illusions of Moonhenge of the ancient past appeared around Callum, as well as the illusions of Moonshadow elves performing the ritual. Callum watched all of this, until he figured out how it worked. That's when the illusion ended. "Huh, I see. Maybe this is possible." Callum said, touching one of the stones.
Back with Rayla and Soren, they took a seat on some moss covered rocks. "So? What is it?" Soren asked Rayla. 'The night we- The night the assassins attacked." Rayla said to Soren, making Soren feel bad. "Yeah. I was there. Right in the middle of it." Soren said to Rayla.
"I'm sorry, I just- I need to know. What happened to them? All the elves?" Rayla asked Soren. Soren got a serious look on his face. "They were all killed. My fath- Viren took their bodies and turned them to magic stuff, I guess. All but one of them." Soren said to Rayla.
"All but one?" Rayla asked Soren. "Yeah. One made it out to the balcony. Shot an arrow that did magic stuff? Turned into a red smoke bird thing and flew away." Soren said to Rayla. "A shadowhawk arrow! Runaan! That must have been him- what happened to him?" Rayla asked Soren.
"Look, do we really have to talk about this-." Soren said to Rayla, not wanting to keep talking about this. "Soren! What happened to Runaan? What did Viren do to him?!" Rayla asked Soren.
"I don't know. I mean we captured him! But after that… Viren took him. I doubt he lived very long." Soren said to Rayla. "But you don't know?" Rayla asked Soren. That's when Soren slammed his wooden sword into the ground, and his hand shook.
"I thought I killed my father at the battle of Storm Spire. When I saw that I hadn't, that it was only an illusion, I was… so relieved. But maybe it would have been better if I really did kill him and not the Twins. Soren said to Rayla, pulling the sword out of the ground, and looked at it. That's when Rhyhorn nuzzled Soren, trying to make Soren feel better.
"Does it bother you that we never found Viren's body?" Rayla asked Soren. "He's been good at fooling people. Maybe he did it again? But I saw the twins finish him, and I trust them when they say they finished him." Soren said to Rayla.
Later that night, Rayla entered their room, where Callum was working on something, and with Yanmega and Gliscor asleep already. When Rayla walked in the room, Callum turned to see her walk in. "Rayla!" Callum said to Rayla. "Hey." Rayla said to Callum, before things got a little awkward.
"So, uh. I didn't see you this morning." Callum said to Rayla. "No. Sorry, Callum. I thought Soren might know something about Runaan, so I went to talk with him." Rayla said to Callum, before going quiet.
"But anyway, then we spared a bit with Big Al! He's all right. He barely knows how to swing a sword, but I like him! What were you up to?" Rayla asked Callum, acting like she was alright. "Research?" Callum said to Rayla. "Oh? More magic stuff?" Rayla asked Callum.
"Yeah, sort of. I talked to Lujanne and asked her about the portal. The one you mentioned yesterday. I thought maybe…" Callum said to Rayla. "The portal?" Rayla asked Callum, not believing what she was hearing.
"You said it might help you, and, uh… I might know how to make it work? Maybe?" Callum said to Rayla. "Callum, are you serious?" Rayla asked Callum, liking this idea.
"I'm not sure how serious. We'd have to repair some of the Moonhenge. Which will be a problem. Partially because she said going through the portal was extremely dangerous. You could be lost forever. Your mind could be shattered." Callum said to Rayla. "I'm not afraid." Rayla said to Callum, feeling ready.
"You need to swim. In water." Callum said to Rayla. This made Rayla feel uneasy. "Never mind. It's probably a bad idea anyway." Callum said to Rayla, taking her hand. "No." Rayla said, with a dark look on her face.
"Listen, Callum, Soren was worried about Viren too. Worried that we never found his body. But unlike me, he trusted the twins' words, when they said they killed him. But not me. We need to know what happened to Viren. He's a threat to the whole world. This might be the only way to be sure he's actually gone!" Rayla said to Callum, before realizing a small problem.
"Wait, did you say you can open the portal? You can do Moon Magic now?" Rayla asked Callum. "Oh, uh. Lujanne gave me a few Moon Opals. As a gift." Callum said to Rayla, pulling out the last Moon Opal he's got.
"Of course she also explicitly forbade me from messing with the portal. Even Allen says this is a very bad idea." Callum said to Rayla. "I see." Rayla said to Callum. "So we'll just lie to her. She's an illusionist, and she would do the same thing. And with Allen leaving, we don't have to worry about him." Callum said to Rayla.
"Callum, I don't know if that makes it right…" Rayla said to Callum, but was interrupted by Callum. "No, it does! Lujanne said "White lies are illusions you build with your words to protect the hearts of those you love"." Callum said to Rayla.
"Okay- Let's do this. Just one more thing. I go into the portal alone." Rayla said to Callum. "Rayla-." Callum said to Rayla, but was interrupted by Rayla. "No. You said it was Dangerous. I'm not going to risk both of us." Rayla said to Callum.
"Fine. But the second it seems like you're in danger, I'm jumping in after you." Callum said to Rayla. "Callum, no!" Rayla said to Callum. "Sorry, just how it is." Callum said to Rayla, acting tough.
"All right. Thanks Callum." Rayla said to Callum, as she playfully placed her head on Callum's head. "I hope you find out about your parents and Runaan." Callum said to Rayla, as they closed their eyes. "Me too." Rayla said to Callum, before they moved their heads back. "Hey, would you say you and Big Al are friends now?" Callum asked Rayla.
The next morning, Callum and Rayla walked to Big Al's workshop, with Big Al and Diggersby carving wood, and Yanmega and Gliscor off somewhere playing together. "Hello Big Al!" Rayla said to Big Al, as they walked up to Big Al. "Hey. How's… wood chopping?" Callum asked Big Al.
"Oh! Hello. Can I… help you?" Big Al asked them, as he wiped his hands clean of any saw dust on them. "This is pretty good! You're way better at woodwork than you are fighting!" Rayla said to Big Al, looking at his workshop. "Thank… you?" Big Al said to Rayla, not knowing how to feel about Rayla's words.
"Sorry, uh- We're looking for a little help building something. Or rebuilding something." Callum said to Big Al, showing him the drawing of Moonhenge, and Big Al putting on some reading glasses. "Huh. Oh. Huh! A little help? Does Lujanne know about this?" Big Al asked Callum.
"Uh, no. It'll be, you know, a surprise! She loves surprises!" Callum said to Big Al, feeling nervous. "Sure. although she's usually doing the surprising." Big Al said to Callum, thinking this might be a bad idea.
"Big Al. things are changing. Elves and humans we're not so divided anymore, right? The Moonhenge was destroyed because elves were afraid of humans. Though they were all evil. But they were wrong. Maybe it's time to build something new from these old ruins. Show that humans and elves can work together?" Rayla said to Big Al. "But for now we need to keep this secret from her, okay? White lies are illusions you build with your words to protect the hearts of those you love." Callum said to Big Al.
"Well, that does sound like something Lujanne would say. And it would be fun to pull one over on ol' Janey-Lu. But. This is a big project. You'd need a team- stonemasons, laborers, all kinds of people. And you couldn't hide it." Big Al said to everyone, pointing to Callum's drawing.
"Okay, but what if we don't rebuild the structure, just get it started? There's some big rubble we could get back into place, see?" Callum asked Big Al, as he changed the drawing. "I suppose… Wait. what if… uh. Hey, these are really good drawings." Big Al said to Callum, looking at the drawings. "Thanks." Callum said to Big Al.
"We could build a crane and hold things in place with some support. We'd need to check the place first, see what rubble fits where. But we have the same problem. How are we going to hide everything? Big Al asked Callum.
"You make scaffolds for Lujanne all the time, right? What if we don't hide it?" Callum said to Big Al, giving Big Al a look. It took Big Al a couple seconds to figure out what Callum was thinking. "Ha! I think I see." Big Al said to Callum.
"Uh… what do you see?" Rayla asked everyone, not knowing what's going on. "If we pre-build everything, could we do it in a day?" Callum said to Big Al. "Maybe. Lujanne spends most of the day before a full moon meditating… that could work. Ha! All right. This will be fun." Big Al said to everyone.
Some time after lunch, Drake walked up to the workshop, with Callum and Big Al working. The sight of this made Drake squint at them, with a look that said "He better not be doing what I think he's doing".
Drake then walked up to Callum and Big Al. "Callum, I hate to bother you, but can we please talk, in private?" Drake asked Callum. "Sure." Callum said to Drake. "Be right back." Callum said to Big Al, as he and Drake walked into the woods.
After a couple minutes, they stopped walking. "So what do you want to talk about?" Callum asked Drake. "Before Allen left, he told me that you thought about opening a door to the realm of the dead. And I'm worry, that even after his warning, you're still going to do it." Drake said to Callum.
Knowing that Drake would tell Lujanne or try to stop him, Callum chose to tell him some white lies. "What no. I'm planning to fix Moonhenge up for Lujanne. To show her that we don't need to keep things in ruins. But please keep it a secret. We're trying to surprise her." Callum said to Drake.
"Are you telling me the truth?" Drake asked Callum, with a mean look. "Yes. I'm just fixing the Moonhenge." Callum said to Drake. Drake moved closer to Callum, still with the mean look in his eyes. "You swear?" Drake asked Callum. "Yes. Yes. Now can you please back up a little." Callum said to Drake.
"Fine, I won't tell Lujanne. But if I think even for a moment you're planning something crazy, I will tell Lujanne. Understood." Drake said to Callum, before backing away. "Understood. Now if you excuse me." Callum said to Drake, before leaving, not letting Drake see his worried face, or him not seeing Drake's mean look of curiosity.
Later that evening, Lujanne and Vale were walking around, when she noticed Callum and Big All working, with Yanmega and Diggersby building some scaffolding, with Rayla and Gliscor watching them. "What's this?" Lujanne asked everyone, making everyone notice Lujanne, and hid their plains.
"Oh! It, uh, it's for a big illusion!" Callum said to Lujanne. "I don't remember asking for anything quite this big." Lujanne said to Callum. "It's for me. Actually. You did say I should spend some time learning Moon Magic!" Callum said to Lujanne.
"I supposed I did say that. What's it going to be?" Lujanne asked Callum, looking at the scaffolding. "Why Lujanne, it's going to be a surprise." Big Al said to Lujanne, as he and Callum gave each other looks and thumbs up.
They worked as fast as they could, but with them trying to avoid the attention of Lujanne and Drake, progress was slow. But thanks to their hard work, they got it done right on time, under the very full moon they were waiting for.
"Huf… Y-yay… huf… We did it." Rayla said to everyone, as everyone but Big all try and catch their breath. "This was… one of the dumber things I've agreed to do." Soren said to everyone, laying on the ground. "That's it? Really? Hah." Big Al said, surprised by Soren's words.
"That was the last one! We did it!" Callum said to everyone, as they looked at the "fixed" Moonhenge. "Ha! Think that's about all I have in me. Why don't we all take a breather tonight, come back here in the morning, and show Lujanne what we've done?" Big Al asked everyone.
"Yep. I'm going to need a minute." Callum said to Big Al. "Good work team." Rayla said to everyone, before Big Al, Soren, and their Pokemon left.
"So." Rayla asked Callum. "Are we really going to do this?" Callum asked Rayla. "It's now or never." Rayla said to Callum. "Let's get moving." Callum said to Rayla, as they stood up.
"Are you sure this is enough? Just sticking a few rocks back in place?" Rayla asked Callum. "These were the parts that looked important when I used the memory spell. It'll work. Probably." Callum said to Rayla, before crushing the Moon Opal, and started to dance.
"What are you doing?" Rayla asked Callum, with a confused look on her face. "No idea! Just following the ritual I saw!" Callum said to Rayla, as he felt a little embarrassed. That's when the rocks started to glow and the scaffolding started to break.
"Are you dancing?" Rayla asked Callum. "Uh?" Callum said, not knowing what to say. "You're doing great!" Rayla said to Callum, as she joined the dance. But that's when the stones started to glow white. "Gliscor." Gliscor said, tapping Rayla's shoulder, making Rayla notice the stones glowing.
"Callum?" Rayla asked Callum, wondering what's going on. But Callum knew what was going on, and finished the spell. "Mors Aperta!" Callum said, as energy flows threw stones, before Moonhenge exploded, destroying it even more then it was when they started. The explosions caused Rayla to tackle Callum to the ground. But Gliscor wasn't so lucky, as part of the rubble landed on her wing, and pinned her to the ground.
When the dust cleared, Callum and Rayla got up, and noticed the Nexus was now thwumming and glowing a bright light blue light. "The Nexus!" Callum said, as Yanmega tried to help Gliscor.
Meanwhile, Lujanne and Vale were walking around, when they noticed the Nexus acting up. This made Lujanne's eyes widen. "They couldn't!" Lujanne said, before she started to run as fast as she could, with Vale right behind her.
This made them run past Soren, Big Al, and their Pokemon. "Wha-?" Big Al asked, as he noticed Lujanne and Vale running past them like their lives depend on it.
Drake and Darumaka also noticed the Nexus acting up. "Those fools! They're going to get themselves killed." Drake said, as he hopped onto his staff and flew in the direction of Moonhenge, hoping to top them, leaving Darumaka.
"Did it work?" Rayla asked Callum. "Rayla! Callum!" Lujanne said, as they noticed Lujanne and Vale running at them. "Go! Run! Get to the Nexus!" Callum said to Rayla, making Rayla run." Rayla! Wait!" Lujanne said to Rayla. But Rayla kept running.
Rayla ran as fast as she could to the Nexus, but that's when lightning started to strike around her, causing Rayla to get knocked to the ground. That's when Rayla noticed Drake attacking her. "I'm sorry Rayla, but I can't let you do this. Nothing is worth crossing that line before your time." Drake said to Rayla.
"Yes it is." Rayla said to Drake, before getting up and ran to the portal. "I'm sorry Rayla, but if you want to continue this insane idea, then you're not leaving me no choice." Drake said to Rayla, before he fired more electricity at Rayla.
Rayla kept running, as she dodged electricity. And thanks to her running, she ended up jumping off a cliff, with Drake flying right behind her. "No, this was a bad-!" Rayla said, before hitting the water, and Drake failed to catch Rayla at the last second.
Drake then flew to a nearby shore of the lake, with Lujanne, Callum, Vale, Yanmega, and Gliscor walking up to them. That's when Rayla's lifeless body came floating out of the water.
"What did you do?" Lujanne asked Callum. "Uh…" Callum said, not knowing what to say. "I'll tell you what he did. He may have just killed Rayla." Drake said to Lujanne, giving Callum a very mean and upset look.
The Realm Of The Dead
Rayla came bursting out of black water, and swam to shore. "Why… did it have… to be… water." Rayla asked herself, before she pulled herself out of the water. That's when she noticed she was back in the Nexus, but everything was made out of pink, green, light blue, and black energy.
"Okau. Viren. My parents. Runaan. Mom… Dad… Are you here?" Rayla asked, as she walked around. "Anyone?" Rayla asked, noticing no one around. That's when a shadow of an elf appeared behind Rayla. Rayla felt this, and pulled out her weapons and turned around, only to see nothing.
That's when it started to rain, and everything around her changed. Now Rayla found herself outside the Castle of Katolis. "It's like the night before the attack." Rayla said, before running towards the castle.
But while Rayla was running, she didn't notice the black ghost of the elves that died that night standing behind her.
The Moon Nexus
Back in the land of the living, everyone was at the shore, looking at Rayla's lifeless body in the water, with worried looks on their faces. "Do we need to do anything? Is Rayla okay?" Callum asked Lujanne, as she and Drake both gave him frowns.
"Is she okay? For the moment. But she certainly isn't safe. I told you this was dangerous. I told you not to try anything. Honestly, I didn't think you could do anything. Underestimating humans again, I suppose." Lujanne said to Callum, pinching her nose. "Lujanne's right. You and Rayla have played with powers you both don't understand, and it might have cost Rayla her soul." Drake said to Callum.
"Can't we just pull her out?" Callum asked, as she reached out a hand. "NO!" Lujanne said to Callum, grabbing Callum's hand.
"If you pull her out now, her mind will stay trapped on the other side. She'll just be an empty husk! What we'll do is we'll wait. Wait and hope that Rayla finds her way before sunrise. Before the portal closes. And she's lost forever.
The Realm Of The Dead
Back in the Realm of the Dead, Rayla was running, when she noticed something jumping around in the trees. But this caused Rayla to fall down a rock. When she got up, she saw the ghost of the elves that died the night Harrow did, standing in her way. This caused Rayla to raise her weapons at them.
"Traitor! What good is an assassin who's afraid to kill?!" One of the ghosts asked Rayla, before all four of them attacked Rayla. "You lied to us!" a ghost said to Rayla, as Rayla blocked its attack, and she jumped back.
"You let a human live, but you killed us all!" Another ghost said, as its weapon barely missed hitting Rayla's head. "Our mission was a failure." the same ghost said, twisting it's weapon, and hitting Rayla in the side of her head, forcing Rayla into the rock wall.
Rayla got back into a fighting stance, feeling tired, but the ghost was still feeling angry and wanted to kill her. "Wait! You don't understand, we didn't-." Rayla said to the ghost, but was interrupted by one of the ghosts. "ENOUGH!" The Ghost said to Rayla, planning to finish Rayla.
But that's when black energy blades burst out of the ghost elves chest. All the ghost elves gasped, before breaking down into particles. That's when Rayla noticed a cloaked figure, with two sleeves in the cloak but only the left sleeve had an arm in it, and the right sleeve hanging on his side.
"You!" Rayla said to the cloak figure, before she got a killer headache. The reason is many images flash in her head at the same time, mixing them up. Rayla couldn't understand what she was seeing, one second she saw herself dodging Sol Regem attacks in the canyon. Then herself saving people in Steel Fang during the Druun's attack, not that she knew what she was seeing.
The cloak figure got curious, and moved to Rayla. The cloak figure placed his left hand on Rayla's chin and forced her to look at him. Then the cloak figure could see shadows moving around in Rayla's eyes. "I see. One second." The cloak figure said to Rayla, with a male voice, letting go of Rayla and holding out his hand.
That's when dark energy flew out of Rayla's eyes, and formed a black ball of energy in his hand. Then the cloak figure crushed the ball. "There, that should help. Give yourself a few seconds to gather your thoughts." The cloak figure said to Rayla, as Rayla fell to her knees, taking some deep breath, as he mind settled.
A few seconds later, Rayla's mind was calming down, and she remembered everything that happened on Kumandra. Rayla then looked up at the cloak figure. "You! What are you doing here?!" Rayla asked the cloak figure, as she stood up.
"That's my question, you're still alive. What are you doing here?" The cloak figure asked Rayla. "I was looking for my parents, Runaan, and Viren, who I thought was you. That's what I was doing before you showed up and killed my old team." Rayla to the cloak figure.
"One, I save you from them, so you're welcome. And two you can't kill anything down here." The cloak figure said to Rayla. "What do you mean?" Rayla asked the cloak figure.
"Right, you don't know how this place works. You see that Realm of the Dead isn't some kind of afterlife where everyone lives in eternal peace or surfing if they are good or bad. It is a place where the living memories and experiences are dumped." The cloak figure said to Rayla.
"What do you mean?" Rayla asked the cloak figure. "You see a person's soul is actually one little thing like a core, surrounded by memories and experiences. When a person dies their core is harvested, then the cores are sent to start new lives, on worlds that would need people with those kinds of cores. As for their memories and experiences, they're left down here." The cloak figure said to Rayla.
"What are you talking about?" Rayla asked the cloak figure. "It's like Lujanne said, from death comes life. When you die, your core is harvested, and you start your new life. You lose your memories and experiences, but you don't lose the part of yourself that makes you, you. In other words, no one truly stays dead." The cloak figure said to Rayla.
"Then what is this place?" Rayla asked the cloak figure. "This is a place where memories of the dead are stored. The reason we're in the rain near the Castle of Katolis is because this night is on your mind. The night that would be a key moment in your life, if you killed that human this night, then things would have only gotten worse for your people. But you chose to spare the human, and because of that, you started your path that would end with you and your friends bringing a real chance for peace back home." The cloak figure said to Rayla.
"Like that makes me feel better." Rayla said to the cloak figure, looking at the spots, the ghost elves were standing. "Rayla, what happened to them wasn't your fault. It was Runaan's. You tried to stop them, but Runaan wouldn't turn back from the vengeance they were after. So don't let their words get to you, they think they got cheated out of their lives because their little killing mission went south." The cloak figure said to Rayla.
"But where is Runaan, why isn't he here? He should be here? Shouldn't he?" Rayla asked the cloak figure. The cloak figure said nothing. "You know something? Don't you?" Rayla asked the cloak figure.
"I know many things. But I also know that you won't get the answers down here. After all, what's down here is echo, unable to think outside of their mindset they were in when they died. So even if you found Runaan or your parents down here, they wouldn't talk to you, with Runaan mad at you, and your parents so ashamed by their failure, they wouldn't want to show their faces. So sorry kid. But this little trip to the land of the dead is a pointless one." The cloak figure said to Rayla.
"What do you want? Why are you even here?" Rayla asked the cloak figure. "I'm here, because soon, you'll work for me. And I try to be a good boss to my subordinates." The cloak figure said to Rayla. "I will never work for you!" Rayla said to the cloak figure.
"Oh, but you will. The cowardice in you is forming quite well. It's only a matter of time before you give into darkness and destroy your life. And when that happens you will become one of my subordinates." The cloak figure said to Rayla. "What are you talking about? I'll never give into darkness! Nore am I a coward!" Rayla said to the cloak figure.
"Oh, but Rayla you are giving into darkness and becoming a coward. Coming down here helps prove that. After all, you're down here for what? To figure out what happened to your parents and Runaan. To make sure, without a shadow of a doubt Viren's dead. And all because you've been having nightmares about them, with Viren taking Callum and Gliscor next." The cloak figure said to Ryala, surprising Rayla.
"How do you know about that?" Rayla asked the cloak figure, getting on edge. "When I pulled the Malevolence out of your head, I was about to see what was making it." The cloak figure said to Rayla.
"So what are you going to tell me to move on?" Rayla asked the cloak figure. "Nope. After all, what you're feeling is natural after what happened to you. The problem is, you're letting your fears control you. You're so worried about something, that you don't know, that may never come, will come for Callum. And instead of enjoying your life with Callum and facing the problem when it shows up, together. You're going to ruin it, out of fear of what may never come." The cloak figure to Rayla.
"But if there's a chance he's alive, I have to stop him, before he does anything else." Rayla said to the cloak figure. "Rayla, Viren is dead. The one you should be worried about isn't Viren, it's Claudia. At the moment, she's still a threat, a small threat, but a threat nonetheless, and she also has all the answers to your questions." The cloak figure said to Rayla.
"Then I need to find her." Rayla said to the cloak figure. "Easier said than done." The cloak figure said to Rayla. "Explain." Rayla said to the cloak figure.
"Rayla, here's the thing about light and dark. They're not to sides are war, there is a cycle. Much like night and day. Once Viren died at the Stormspire, a time of light began. If Claudia tires anything big, then a time of darkness will begin. But like the day and night, they are not things you can force." The cloak figure said to Rayla.
"And this means what?" Rayla asked the cloak figure. "It means that until the time of darkness, Claudia will be hidden. Try as you may, you'll never find her." The cloak figure said to Rayla. "I have to find her." Rayla said to the cloak figure, making the cloak figure sigh.
"I see that talking to you is pointless, so let me give you a choice." The cloak figure said to Rayla. "A choice?" Rayla asked the cloak figure. "Yes. After all, it's something I vault a lot." The cloak figure said to Rayla, as she snapped his fingers, making the area around them become a path with a fork in the road.
"You have two choices. One you work for me, and I help you find Claudia and end her before she becomes a threat, all I ask is you kill a few other problems as well. And if you choose this option, you get a fancy new armor that'll help you become a master assassin." The cloak figure said to Rayla, as assassin armor appeared on one of the paths.
"On the other hand. You can go home, and we will never see each other again. Live your life as you see fit. And if you choose this path, I offer you the lessons you've seemed to forget from Raya and the others on Kumandra, even after getting your memories back." The cloak figure said to Rayla, as a wood box that looked like it had a Kumandra water dragon wrapped around it appeared on the other path.
"What's in the box?" Rayla asked the cloak figure. "A painting, some of Callum's drawings, and the charms Sisu gave Zym. All the stuff I took from you when you finished your work. These things will remind your friends back home of Kumandra." The cloak figure to Rayla.
"And are you giving this back, why?" Rayla asked the cloak figure. "Because that is the choice. Do you choose to forsake your future, so that the threats you worry about will not come to pass and learn the truth about your parents and Runaan's fate. Or do you choose to learn from your past, and face your things together with your friends and love. So what do you pick?" The cloak figure asked Rayla.
Rayla walked up and picked the box. "I'm taking back what you took from us. I don't need your help. I can handle Claudia myself." Rayla said to the cloak figure. "Aw, I see we have some conceit growing in you as well as cowardice. I wonder which one will break you." The cloak figure said to Rayla, sounding like he had a smirk on his face.
"They will not break me." Rayla said to the cloak figure. "That's what they all say. But trust me, denying your darkness will only make things worse. But now that you made your choice. Time you live with it." The cloak figure said to Rayla, before taking the box from Rayla and putting it on her back, making it sink into her back.
"There. Now it'll be on your back when you return to the land of the living, so please leave." The cloak figure said to Rayla, before turning around, like he was getting ready to leave.
"And how do I get out of here?" Rayla asked the cloak figure. "At the moment, you're still caught between the worlds, if you think of an exit out of this place, you can leave. But if you go deeper into this place, then you can never leave. So just think of an exit and leave while you still can. And think of anything, after all this place is of the mind, just think and it will happen." The cloak figure said to Rayla, before disappearing.
"Wait, if this place is all about the mind then." Rayla said to herself, before thinking hard about Viren. This caused the area around her to become a deep cave. "Okay, not what I was expecting." Rayla said, as she looked around.
That's when she noticed light coming from deeper in the cave. She followed the light, and found out that the light was coming from a cocoon, and in the cocoon was the fragment remains of Viren.
"This can't be…" Rayla said, as she got a closer look at Viren, not noticing the souls of the people that Viren turned into monsters, phasing through the rock around her. Then as Rayla got a closer look at Viren, Viren's broken eyes opened and looked at Rayla. This caused Rayla to yell and fall back into the ghost army's arms.
The Moon Nexus
Back in the land of the living, everyone watched Rayla's body sink in the water. "Rayla!" Callum said, as he tried to jump into the water. "Callum! Wait!" Lujanne said to Callum, stopping Callum from jumping into the water.
"Let me go! I need to help her!" Callum said to Lujanne. "No! You'll be trapped between life and death forever!" Lujanne said to Callum. "Lujanne! Didn't you say that a moon phoenix is magically tethered to both life and death?" Ezran asked Lujanne.
"Wh- Yes! That's right!" Lujanne said to Ezran. "Phoe-Phoe! We need a feather!" Ezran said to Phoe-Phoe. "I'm sorry little one but we need to borrow this from you…" Callum said to Phoe-Phoe, as she pulled out one of her feathers. "Thank you." Callum said to Phoe-Phoe, as he took the feather. "That will keep you tethered to the living world. Whatever you do, do not let go of it!" Lujanne said to Callum. Callum then jumped into the water.
The Realm Of The Dead
In the Realm of the Dead, Callum saw Rayla getting dragged down into darkness, and swam after her. Rayla saw this, and reached out her hand. But once Callum grabbed Rayla, a ghost soldier appeared next to Callum, scaring Callum, and making Callum lose the feather.
Soon Rayla and Callum landed on some rocks, but were surrounded by ghost soldiers and a large rock to their back. "What are you doing here? Now we're both trapped!" Rayla said to Callum, as they got ready to fight. "Rayla! We need to get the feather!" Callum said to Rayla.
"What?" Rayla asked Callum. "It'll guide us back!" Callum said to Rayla. "What are you- Oh! I see it!" Rayla said to Callum, as she looked up to see the feather floating in the air, like it was in water. "Can you get it?" Callum asked Rayla. "I can try." Rayla said to Callum.
That's when the ghost soldiers charged at Callum and Rayla. But that's when balls of black energy came flying from above them, hitting around the ghost army, and caused massive explosions, making the ghost army disappear.
That's when the cloak figure came floating down from above. "I told you to leave. Now look at what you've done. You've completely agitated this place, and brought another person here, making it even worse." The cloak figure said to Rayla.
That's when Callum looked at the cloak figure, and all his memories of Kumandra flooded back to him. "You again? What are you doing here?" Callum said to the cloak figure.
"Saving her hide, again. I swear. You're the sole reason I didn't let you and your friends keep your memories of Kumandra." The cloak figure said to everyone. "What do you mean?" Callum asked the cloak figure.
"I mean, you're a smart idiot, smart enough to do incredible things, but stupid enough to ignore the danger of what you're playing with. I didn't want you to remember, because I didn't want you to play with forces beyond your control, and end up making a disaster." The cloak figure said to Callum.
"Oh, come on, I'm not that bad." Callum said to the cloak figure. "Yes, you are. You think just because you can, it's all right. But you have yet to learn that all choices have consequences. For example, your choice to come down here has only made things worse." The cloak figure said to Callum.
That's when the ghost soldiers started to get back up, and there was a very, very, very large amount of them. "See what I mean." The cloak figure said to Callum. "There's no way we can face all of them." Callum said to everyone.
"You two get out of here. I'll handle this." The cloak figure said to Rayla and Callum. "What are you crazy, there's gotta be over 6,000 of them." Callum said to the cloak figure.
"Only 6,000. I might break a sweat then." The cloak figure said to Callum, with a playful tune in his voice. "You can't be serious? They'll keep getting back up" Rayla asked the cloak figure. "I don't have to bet them all. I just need to distract them until you two leave. So get going." The cloak figure said to Rayla.
"How, our ticket out of there is all the way up there." Callum said to the cloak figure, pointing to the feather. "For Giratina's sake, do I have to do everything myself?" The cloak figure said, before black energy came out of his right sleeve and grabbed Rayla and Callum.
"Now for the last time. GET LOST AND NEVER COME BACK!" The cloak figure said to Rayla and Callum, before throwing them up into the air. Rayla and Callum slowed down, as they got closer to the feather.
Rayla then grabbed the feather. "I got the feather! Come on Callum!" Rayla said to Callum, as she held out a hand. Callum said nothing and took her hand. That's when more ghost soldiers appeared. "Swim." Rayla said to Callum, as they swam as fast as they could. "I'm trying!" Callum said to Rayla, as the ghost soldiers got closer.
But that's when shadow tendrils came up from below and grabbed the ghost soldiers by the necks, before snapping their necks, breaking the ghost soldiers apart. That's when Callum and Rayla looked down, and saw the cloak figure standing in the middle of a black pool with many shadow tendrils coming out of the pool, and easily breaking the soldiers apart.
Seeing this as they're only chance, Rayla and Callum swam to the surface, as fast as they could.
The Moon Nexus
Back in the land of the living, Rayla and Callum burst out of the water, gasping for air. Rayla and Callum swam to shore, and once they got close enough everyone else pulled them out of the water.
"Welcome back. I'm glad to see you too are safe, but you're both getting an earful later." Drake said to Rayla and Callum "I can live with that." Rayla said to Drake. "Are you okay Callum?" Rayla asked Callum.
That's when Callum gave Rayla a big hug. "I couldn't lose you." Callum said to Rayla. "I really hate water." Rayla said to Callum, as she returned the hug. "It is really awful." Callum said to Rayla, before they loosened their hug. But then they kissed each other. Everyone watched this with a happy look on their face.
But while Callum and Rayla were kissing, Drake noticed the box on Rayla's back, and took it off her back. "What is this?" Drake asked, as he opened the box, and saw all the stuff in it. But when Drake pulled out a drawing of Raya, and he and Ezran saw it, all their memories from Kumandra flooded back to them.
"Allen's not going to believe this." Drake said, holding a hand to his head. "Believe what?" Soren asked Drake. "Soren. Do we have a story to tell you." Drake said to Soren, with a big smile on his face.
The next morning, while Drake and Ezran told Soren, Lujanne, and Big Al about their adventure in Kumandra, with all of their Pokemon acting it out, Callum and Rayla were alone on their rock.
"How are you doing?" Callum asked Rayla. Rayla let out a puff of air. "I don't know. I didn't see my parents or Runaan. That cloak figure said I didn't see them, because they didn't want to see me one way or another. And I choose our Kumandra memories over finding the answers. I still have no answer on what happened to them, but…" Said to Callum, looking at Phoe-Phoe's feather.
"They're gone Callum. I'm never going to be okay with that, but I guess I have to face it." Rayla said to Callum, on the edge of crying. Callum hugged Rayla, and when he broke the hug, he held Rayla's head in his chest.
"You know I'm always here for you. Right?" Callum asked Rayla. Rayla said nothing. "Maybe we should have a real vacation. With fewer ghosts. We can go back to Xadia, spend some time exploring together-." Callum said to Rayla, but was interrupted by Rayla.
"Callum." Rayla said to Callum, as she moved away from Callum. "Huh? Wiat, does my scarf smell? I washed-." Callum said to Rayla, but was interrupted by Rayla again. "Wha- no! It's just- there was something." Rayla said to Callum. "Huh?" Callum asked Rayla.
"I didn't find my parents or Runaan, but… I did find Viren." Rayla said to Callum. "What?" Callum asked Rayla. "He was in some… wired magic cocoon. It wasn't like anything else I saw there. It looked wrong." Rayla said to Callum, whipping her eyes, but she kept crying.
"But… this means he's gone, right? You saw his ghost!" Callum asked Rayla. "Right before you found me, he opened his eyes, and I knew… he may be caught between life and death somehow… But Viren, even as pieces, he's on this side of things. He's alive, Callum!" Rayla said to Callum.
"I don't know Rayla. I didn't understand half of what I saw in there." Callum said to Rayla, pulling his legs into his chest. "He's alive. And I need to make sure he never hurts anyone ever again." Rayla said to Callum, as she pulled her legs in. Then things got quiet between them.
"I trust you, and you're right. We should go. As soon as we can. If he's in the real world, we'll find him." Callum said to Rayla. "No! I'm going alone. Viren has taken away everyone I love- everyone except you and Gliscor. I can't risk you coming with me. And I can say the same for Gliscor." Rayla said to Callum.
"No, you're not doing without me, let alone without our Pokemon. I let you jump into the Nexus alone, and I knew right away I made the biggest mistake of my life. I should have listened to the twins when they told me it was a terrible idea." Callum said to Rayla. "Callum." Rayla said to Callum, with a long tune in his voice.
"I could have lost you. We do this together. Don't try changing my mind." Callum said to Rayla, before they stood up. "Okay, Callum. We'll go… together." Rayla said to Callum, as they held hands.
"Good! We'll leave first thing tomorrow! Together. That's the most important thing. Together." Callum said to Rayla. "I never want to lose you either. I love you Callum." Rayla said to Callum. "I love you too." Callum said to Rayla.
Later that night, Rayla broke her word, and got ready to leave, leaving Callum and Gliscor behind. She left them a letter and put it on Callum's night stand.
"White lies are illusions you build with your words to protect the hearts of those you love. I'm sorry. You can't come with me. Take care of Gliscor for me." Rayla said to Callum, before kissing him on the forehead goodbye. Rayla then petted Gliscor's head, before leaving the room, and sneaking away under the cover of a dark stormy night.
A Twisted Realm
In a Twisted Realm where canyons with twisted walls go in all directions, where the colors shift from one to another every second, the cloak figured watched Rayla leave. "I see you gave into your cowardice after all. And left on a foolish quest that ends with you losing what little love you have left and gaining nothing." The cloak figure said, as a dark portal opened behind him.
That when a giant white fox, standing on two legs, mainly it's toes, it has two arms, yellow eyes, three long sharp black claws on its hands and feet, red bumps on it's arms and legs, wavy ghost like white fur on the back joints of its arms and legs, a large fluff of fur around its neck with a red base and white tip, and on the back and top of its head was a very large about of white hair, with wavy ghost like red tips, walked out of the portal.
"Eshu, my Hisui Zoroark, once again I was right. Even after reusing my help. Rayla chose the path of darkness. You know what that means, right?" The cloak figure asked the fox. "Of course, and I found the perfect Ghost Types to keep an eye on them both." Eshu said to the cloak figure, before moving out of the way, revealing four small creatures.
One was a purple balloon, with a yellow X on its face, and black spots for eyes, strings with upside down yellow hearts at the end, and a cloud puff on the top of its head.
The other three were wired floating green serpent creatures, with three points on the lower tail, two flat oval hands on its tiny arms, big yellow eyes, and green plain wing-like fins on the side of their heads.
"Ah a Drifloon and three Dreepy. Good idea." The cloak figure said to Eshu. "Drifloon, you will keep an eye on Callum, Rayla's betrayal will break him, let him feel his pain as it is what he should feel in this moment. But make sure he doesn't go down a dangerous path because of that pain." The cloak figure said to Drifloon. "Of course." Drifloon said to The cloak figure, with a female voice.
"And you Dreepys will follow Rayla. She's on a path to nowhere. Stay with her and keep her safe. And when she learns that path is a feudal one, guide her back to the others. What happens after that is up to her and their others." The cloak figure said to the Dreepys. "As you wish." The Dreepys said to The cloak figure, with a male voice that sounded a little different form each other.
Then two black portals opened up, with Drifloon going through one, and the Dreepys going through the other one. Once they were through the portals, the portals closed.
But that's when another portal opened up. From it a a large rodent like creature, with a black back tan front, standing on two legs, a clam face, and a collar of black fur and out of that collar wisp like flames came out of it, with the flames begin as red color, but ended in a dark purple color, walked out of it.
"Aguya my Hisui Typhlosion, why are you here?" The cloak figure asked the rodent. "Well I was going to tell you how the Scarlet and Violet belts are coming along, but a more imitend problem has come up." Aguya said to the cloak figure.
"And the problem is?" The cloak figure asked Aguya. "Her. She's running around free again. Trieu and the hunters are already on her trail." Aguya said to The cloak figure. "Her again! This is the last thing I need here today, Aguya. I'm still annoyed by Rayla and Callum entering the land of the dead, and now she's running around again." The cloak figure said, before huffing.
"What will we do?" Eshu asked the cloak figure. "We're going after her. And I'm going to make sure this is the last time she gets to avoid her fate." The cloak figure said to Eshu, before he opened a portal, and they all walked through it.
Hello everyone, I hope you like this chapter. Please follow or review if you like this story.