Chapter 150 – Into Thirds

". . . and with that, we'll be heading to the Abyssal Sea now."

"Wonderful. Good luck, Team Alloy." Dialga nodded firmly and looked at Palkia. "Well, it seems that Team Alloy is making good time. They're about two days ahead of schedule. Darkrai's nightmares weren't an obstacle for them at all."

"Perhaps he's gone soft," Palkia said. "Ah, well. I'm sure they're fine. Now then!" Palkia cheerily turned around. "Let's inform the others and—hm, just where did my prototype Dungeon Gun go?"

"Your what?"

"Well, in the cosmic sense, it's mine, though I suppose, technically, it's not mine," Palkia said. "You see, my Alakazam half, before he fled, had left behind schemati—"

"I don't care what half made it, why does it exist?!"

Palkia raised a claw to answer, but when none came, he tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"Bloooo."

Palkia perked up. "Hm?"

The source of the little noise was a tiny Charmander with a black and white flame. She held a device with strange crystals on the top containers and a small opening on the front.

"Ah." Palkia dipped his paw into the air. It emerged from a small portal by the gun, plucking it from her grasp. She yelped in surprise and grasped where it had been, tearing up.

A second later, a squeaking toy of a tiny Rattata landed in front of her. She giggled, biting and squeezing it several times.

"Found it!" Palkia said cheerily to Dialga, who looked utterly horrified.

"Why in the world did they leave her under YOUR care?!"

"Oh, she isn't under my care," Palkia said. "Frankly I'm not sure how she got here."

"And you didn't think to tell anyone?!"

"I'm far too busy with my research, Dialga, you know this!"

"Did you not have a child in the human world?" Dialga chided. "How can you be so… so…"

"Now, that was thousands of years ago!" Palkia said. "Apparently. Memory of that era fuzzy. And my time as a Legend is still so very young! I'm not the god of child-rearing, I'm the god of space!"

"And yet here you are, wasting your time with… with…"

"Oh, this is hardly a waste," Palkia said. "I tried to think of a satisfying answer for you, Dialga, but I suppose I'll just give mine instead. This Dungeon Gun will save us, I assure you. With it, we can freely connect to the Voidlands, just as my other half can. And connect out all the same, without any risk of Void Shadows mucking up the passageway! Well, at first. We will need to close and reopen it, too."

"I still don't see the merit in this," Dialga said. "I'm… going to take Charmander home. Who is supposed to be watching her?" He paused. "I'll just ask. Yes, hello"—He activated the communicator—"Do you know who is taking care of Charmander today?"

"What's wrong?" Owen's voice came immediately.

"Ah—nothing's wrong! We were just… wondering."

"Charmander?" Brandon called next. "Oh, the new girl. That's supposed to be Spice."

"Excuse me? I haven't seen her all day. I thought Anam was looking after her."

"Anam is still resting, I think," Leo called. "Didn't Madeline take over?"

"How do you guys not know who is supposed to have Charmander?!" Owen squeaked. "Haven't even… come up with a name yet. Did she like any of the names suggested?"

"Not yet," Brandon said. "You know you can just pick one, right? Not like she cares."

"Ahem," Barky interrupted. "Charmander was given to Madeline, who was busy, and gave her to Palkia to deliver back to Spice."

"…Why would you give Palkia a child?" Brandon asked.

"Don't—make me come back there," Owen said.

"Owen, calm down, she can handle herself."

"She's two! Days!"

"Ahh, now I remember!" Palkia exclaimed. "Madeline did hand her off to me to deliver to Spice! But then my test results chimed that they were done processing, so I looked them over. It must have slipped my mind!"

Silence.

"Please," Owen said, "Please, just… bring her to Hot Spot. Mom can look after her. Don't just… move her around everywhere, she's too young for that."

"I—I will. I'm sorry, Owen," Dialga said hastily.

"Now, now. This is my responsibility," Palkia said. "I'm feeling generous." Palkia tilted his head, confused about the sudden concern. Really, was it that much of a problem? This strange Charmander was probably more powerful than they imagined. "Well, goodbye, for now, Dialga," he said. "I have a baby to deliver."


"Again, I'm very sorry," Dialga's voice echoed in the room.

"Oh, it's not a problem, just me slowly realizing gods shouldn't raise kids," Spice echoed back. And as the communicators slowly quieted out into inactivity, Star leaned back against her bed and sighed.

She'd napped through the whole thing. Only through Barky did she realize what had happened to Owen, and what nearly had made everything go wrong.

Star turned her gaze to the space next to her bed, where Hecto wasn't. A hundred bodies and he couldn't spare even one for her. He'd become more and more distant ever since the rift between the Voidlands and Kilo had widened. He had said it was because his memories of that time had returned, or were returning.

They'd returned for her, too, of course. Hecto wasn't of this world; he wasn't of Barky's creation at all. He'd been visiting to watch over something, and things had become… complicated afterward. After her rescue.

Star rolled in her bed for timeless moments until someone knocked on her door.

"Yeah?" Star called, sending a pulse of aura to read who it was. She had trouble recognizing the aura distinctly, which could only mean…

"Hey," called Charmander Owen's voice, though it was Eon. The door slid closed behind him, though he didn't approach further.

"Eon?" Star asked, tilting her head. She crawled to the very edge of her cushions and frowned. "What's the matter? Aren't you supposed to be fighting with the Titan crowd?"

"The rift closed before I could get through," Eon said ruefully. "I'm kinda lost. I had been sent over to message everyone and help Teleport them back, but I was too slow to get through myself. Turns out, Teleporting into the rift doesn't work. I just appeared behind it."

"Oh. Yeah, common mistake with Teleporting into a portal," Star said. "Well, they have enough backup… If they can restore the rift or do something else to get you in… you'll be fine."

"Yeah…" Eon continued to stand awkwardly by the entrance.

"…So, you want to take a seat, or?"

"Oh—okay. Sorry. I didn't really know if I was…"

"It's okay," Star said with an annoyed sigh. "Why does everyone treat me like I'm some…"

"It's just, the way we saw you, and…"

"I'm fine," Star lied. "Just find somewhere to sit. I'm feeling a little better. Had a nap, and I made amends with Owen."

"You did?" Eon said. "So that actually—so you're fine now? Or, no, not fine, but, just, between you two, I mean—"

"I don't… want to talk about it too much. But it's okay. We're okay." Star sighed. "Are you asking because you still want to talk to him?"

"I think… we're okay. But I want to talk to him for real, and not over those communicator things. Everyone can hear it, and that's awkward…"

"Yeah…"

Eon had finally settled against the wall, crossing his arms. And for a little while, they didn't say anything to each other. It was a quiet moment where they both awkwardly stared at the walls. Star occasionally stole a glance at Eon, who happened to glance away when she did. He'd also transformed into another Mew, and Star flicked her ear.

"Hey," she said, "do you remember being a Mew before?"

"Yeah, a little," Eon said.

"I can't remember what changed to turn you into a Ditto."

"Oh." Eon rubbed the back of his head. "The details are sort of foggy for me still, but I think it happened at the split."

"Split. I wasn't there for that… I might've been fighting somewhere else. First Dark War, right?"

Eon nodded. "I was fighting Emily."

"Emily? Oh, geez, that's, uh…"

"I took a Shadow Blast directly while transformed. I couldn't replicate the sheer power, and ever since then, I think… it just broke my aura."

Star winced. "Shadows tend to do that," she said.

Eon sighed, curling his paws up. It was weird to hear her own voice, but the tone was always Eon's. She knew how Eon spoke, and while they'd picked up a few vocal habits from each other, he was still distinct. People like Barky or Hecto or Owen would tell them apart.

"I don't want to talk about it too much. Is that okay?" Eon asked.

"Oh—yeah, sure. Yeah." Star mumbled a curse to herself. "Not like I can't relate to that…"

Another silence settled in, but this one felt a little less awkward. It was relaxing to have that sort of company again.

"Can I ask you something?" Star asked.

"Sure."

"Are you mad at me for bringing you here at all?" she asked.

His ear flicked and he rolled to face her. "…Like… two thousand years ago, you mean?"

"Or maybe even when I evolved Owen way back when to help you guys get free. That's what put the targets on your back in the first place."

That vacant stare from Eon suggested he had to think back to recall what she was talking about.

He smiled a little and rolled so he was facing the ceiling.

"That was too many lifetimes ago for me to dwell on it that way, Star. But… you let Owen and I stay together. You gave him that power, and we used it to stay together. And we owed it to you to save you from whatever that organization was doing to you after. If anything, I'd… be pretty upset at the way Barky decided to get his retribution for it, since that got us in the crossfire.

"You just felt bad afterward and tried to give us a second chance."

"But… I was the careless one," Star said, playing with her paws. "If I didn't go into the land of mortals, making myself vulnerable, none of this would have happened."

"Blaming yourself for getting caught?" Eon asked. "Barky was the one who actively decided to destroy an entire island for what a small group of people on it did. I still would resent him for that above everything. He's the sort of wrathful Legend they talk about in stories meant to demonize them. You? You just wanted to help people more directly."

"But that's not how we're supposed to act," Star said.

"Who told you that?"

Star sighed. "It's just… Look at what happens?" she evaded. "I don't know. It's just been on my mind. How, if we didn't interfere at all, it would've—" She exhaled sharply. "Sorry. I'm dwelling. I've been dwelling for moons now, feels like. I… had nothing to do but dwell and be spiteful to Alexander's cronies." Her paws were shaking a little. She tried to hide it by pressing them against her sides.

"Star…"

Star sighed. "…How do you deal with it?" she finally asked. "With all that regret. You messed up, too, right?"

"Don't give me a loaded question like that," Eon said with a wince. "I don't know. I'm just trying to… atone."

She laughed genuinely at that. "Atone? How in the world can a god atone? Who do I atone to?"

Eon tilted his head. "…Your people," he said. "I thought that was obvious."

"W-well, yeah, totally," Star mumbled back.

Eon stared at her, skeptical.

"It's just, what I mean is, I thought that… like, you'd look for forgiveness from someone… but like, who are we held accountable to?" Star paused. "Well, I guess that'd be an Overseer, but—like, they don't really step in unless things get super bad."

Eon squinted. "Wait, but isn't Hecto an Overseer thing?"

"…Things got bad."

The false Mew winced and shook his head. "Okay," he said. "Either way… I think it's the same way a Pokémon Trainer would have to atone to their Pokémon if, you know, they messed up. In the human world, sure, humans had more authority, but that didn't mean they weren't still… you know, obligated to be good to their Pokémon. Otherwise, the Pokémon would rise against them. They're stronger, even if humans are smarter."

"So what, in this analogy, a Pokémon Trainer is like what I am to you all?"

"It's not perfect, but, ehh…" Eon shrugged nervously. "Look, I'm just looking at it like how I'm looking at Owen. And I really… messed up being his Trainer. That's all."

"Yeah, Messed Up with a capital MU," Star said.

Despite that, though, she did feel a little better about herself. She wasn't alone in trying to 'atone' despite being the one people usually atoned toward. In the Books, at least… which she had yet to read.

She wondered how those Books depicted her…

"Alright," Star finally sighed, sitting up. "I'm tired of staring at the ceiling feeling like garbage. Want to go somewhere?"

"Wh—uh?" Eon blinked. "What're you talking about?"

"I dunno," Star said. "I'm… tired of sitting around. I want to get moving."

Always spontaneous, aren't you? Star heard an echo of Barky. Something he'd told her a long time ago. Her tail flicked in defiance. Her spontaneity was what got her into trouble, but this time it was to help her.

"Okay. Um, what did you want to do?" Eon asked, floating a little higher from the ground.

"No idea. Nothing high pressure since I'm apparently 'in a fragile state' or whatever, but I dunno. Pick something!"

"…Seeing how Owen's parents are doing?"

"Something else!"

"What's wrong with that?" Eon asked. "…Oh, right."

"Yeah, kinda on their naughty list," Star said.

"What?"

"Never mind, how about—you know what?" Star balled up her fists and nodded. "Sure! Hot Spot. Wanna go now?"

"You're really spontaneous, aren't you?" Eon tittered.

Star suppressed the urge to contest that. Sure, it was true. But maybe some socializing was what she needed.


"All in favor of never letting Charmander near Palkia again?" Spice asked, raising her hand.

"Yeah!" Enet cheered, raising a paw. She didn't seem to know what they were talking about.

"I… wouldn't want her near any experiments, no," Alex added, putting one of his smaller heads to his chin.

Hot Spot was a calming place for Spice. The heated caverns reminded her of Pyrock.

Crawling around where Owen used to sleep was that black-white flamed Charmander, who took a liking to the bedding. And since Owen wasn't around, they figured he wouldn't mind if she used it for the time being.

Though, Spice had more on her mind.

"Tomorrow we'll be doing rounds of Kilo. Whole planet, just to find oddities and Dungeons to seal with Anam, except the useful ones we already have," Spice said. "But I'm a little more worried about… us."

Enet tilted her head, left ear twitching. "Us?" she asked.

"Yeah. The fact that we're the same person. And apparently, one of the spirits in your Electric Orb right now is also the final third."

"Mmmm." Enet's other ear twitched, and then the Zoroark snorted and paced into the other room.

Spice sighed. "What, did I bore you again?"

"She's just wandering and exploring her old environment," Alex said. "Zoroark often have whole territories that they guard. I heard stories that the strongest ones conjure illusions to protect their space, just like that. Amazing, don't you think?"

"And probably just scary stories," Spice dismissed. "I hope she's focusing on finding that last fragment of… me. Otherwise… I don't know."

"Otherwise what, dear?" Amia slipped into the room. "Oh, you mean… being 'whole' again, like all the Legends?"

"I feel whole already," Spice defended. "I would be a whole lot happier if I could just live my new life with Sugar and be done with all this. But according to Arceus Himself, that's not how this works."

Amia only frowned. "Just like everyone else… The same soul can't stay apart forever. Eventually, you'll reunite, right?"

"Yeah, by whose command? Didn't sound like He was gonna force it…"

"Also true," Alex said nervously. "I don't know. But maybe—"

Heads turned to the entrance as everyone felt a powerful force approaching. "What's that?" Amia whispered, her hair glowing with blue flames bubbling to the surface of her skin.

"Hold on, Amia," Alex said. "It could be a friend."

"I have bad memories of this power… who is this?" Amia said.

"He-ey!" Star called. "Sorry for the surprise visit!"

"Oh." Alex sighed. "Amia, it's just Star. You remember Star, don't you?"

Amia was quiet and the flames didn't die away. "I remember how she killed me, yes."

"A-ah…" Alex nodded. "I'll… talk to her."

"Hold on. What if she's here for some ulterior motive?" Amia asked. "Dear… I think you should withdraw for now."

Alex winced, but obeyed, disappearing as a flurry of embers that returned to Amia.

"Hello?" Star called.

"Wait, did I miss something? I thought she was, like, one of the good gods," Spice said.

Enet returned with armfuls of berries, which she set in front of Spice.

"What?"

"Food!" Enet said. "Feel better."

"I feel fine."

"Lie!" Enet accused.

"Enet, you should probably take Charmander and hide somewhere," Amia said.

Enet tilted her head and picked up the food again, placing it in front of Amia this time. When the nearest berries to the Gardevoir began to sizzle, Enet crawled away and plucked Charmander from the bed, stuffing her in her mane. She waited in the corner of the room with a confused, anxious expression.

And Spice was in the middle of an awkward reunion. Wonderful.

"Star," Amia greeted. "Why are you here?"

But then, she tensed even more, and that fire atop her head got a little hotter. The Gardevoir took a breath and nodded. "Eon, too. You're both here?"

"Yeah, uh, I sort of… didn't want to mope in my room anymore and I'm trying to seize the opportunity to just say hi," Star said. "I know we've already been, like, around here and there for the meetings, but…"

"Yes, I remember that."

There was an odd weight in Amia's tone.

"I… just wanted to try to apologize. I'm sorry," Star said. "…For everything that you remember, and everything you might not yet. I figured you'd react this way, so—if you want me to go, I will."

Perhaps Amia would have agreed that she wanted Star gone. She never had the opportunity to reply, because Enet blurted, "Hi, Star!"

"Saaaa!" Charmander added, poking out of the fur just behind Enet's head.

Amia's hair was still on fire as the two Mew floated closer. Spice tried to figure out which was which. The more nervous one was probably Eon. The one taking the lead seemed more like how Star was trying to present herself.

Spice wasn't sure what convinced Amia to relent, but the fire finally went out. "Just to talk?" she asked.

"Yeah. Again, I'm just… trying to take action. By talking, this time, instead of doing something totally stupid. And hasty. And probably put us all in this mess in the first place… I'm trying to do better. I don't know what I can do to start, though. Do you, like… have any suggestions?"

"Suggestions?" Amia repeated, her cold tone melting a little. "Well… How are things with Owen? He left recently, and…"

"We're doing better. We talked just before he left," Star said. "I gave him my blessing. Literally and figuratively."

"Oh, goodness—is that something you can take back?" Amia asked.

"Nope." Star tapped her chin. "Once a god gives a blessing to someone, that's it. It's theirs. Means you have to be pretty selective about it, but Necrozma was like that."

"Doesn't Angelo have the same blessing from his parents?" Amia questioned.

"I, uh, I wasn't as careful. Back then! I think Owen is a good choice! Right?"

"Of course he is!" Amia said with a laugh. "I have nothing but good thoughts about Owen!"

"H-ha, yeah." Star nervously made eye contact with Spice, who finally remembered she wasn't watching a play and was actually there.

"Uh, hi."

"Hiii!" Charmander waved at Star, who waved back.

"Aww, hi, little guy!" Star greeted, but then glanced at the others, as if for permission. With great apprehension, Amia didn't seem to object, so Star floated over and kept low. "What's your name? I'm Mew Star!"

"Hiii!" Charmander said again, reaching out to her. "Muuu!"

"And part of your name is Charmander," Star explained. "Can you say that for me, huh? Chaaar-maaan-derrr?"

"Muuu!"

Star giggled. "That's my name!" she explained. Then, glancing at the others, she asked, "Have you come up with a name yet?"

"Not yet," Amia said. "We've been thinking of one that she'd smile to. Small, silly tradition when thinking of new names that aren't passed down…" She knelt by Enet, who crouched down in response. Charmander giggled and spat a few flames toward her; they were the same color as her tail's flame.

"Wow, look at that," Star whispered. "Hey, do those hurt you?"

"Yes, a little," Amia admitted. "They aren't normal flames, and they aren't Dragon flames either."

"Figured…"

"Muuu!" Charmander said again, grasping for Amia's cheeks.

"Hmm?" Amia leaned forward and Charmander giggled, squeezing her pale skin before falling into Enet's fur, swimming around it like some tall nest.

"Having fun with Enet, Charmander?" Amia asked.

"Fu-un!" Charmander repeated, which earned several gasps from the room.

"No way!" Amia whispered.

"Wow," Star drifted forward.

"Words!" Enet cheered, digging through her mane to find her.

Amia rushed into the other room and fiddled with the silver badge they'd been given. "Hello? Hello, is this on?" she called.

"Yes, what's wrong?" called Dialga from the other end.

"Mom?" Owen said.

"Oh?" Star drifted closer. "Isn't Owen flying across the Voidlands right now?"

"As long as one Dungeon remains open, the connection should still work," Owen said. "What's going on?"

"It's Charmander! She said her first word!"

"What?! What was it?!" Owen asked.

"Is something wrong, Owen?" Zena called, her voice cutting in and out.

The audio from their side went out, presumably as they conversed, and then Owen returned.

"What was the word?"

"It was 'fun!' Just a repeat of what Star was saying, she probably doesn't know the word, but…"

"She's learning so fast…"

"Hmm, I wonder why," Dialga chimed in. "That Charmander is certainly someone of many talents. But Xerneas said she was just born…"

"Oh, so serious!" Amia dismissed. "Um, that's all, though. We're still deciding on a name."

"A name?" Palkia called over some whirring. "I'd love to—" There was a sharp explosion, and then his feed cut out.

"I'll… take care of that later," Dialga murmured.

"Owen, do you mind if we come up with some names?" Star asked.

"Oh, no, that's fine. I kind of want to think, too, but… I'm not that good at names."

"Hmm…"

Charmander squealed when she rolled out of Enet's fur and into her arms. Enet tilted her head and sniffed the top of Charmander's head, then set her down. She waddled her way to Amia next, falling onto her dress when she tried to lean down.

"Na-ame," Charmander said.

"W-was that her?" Owen whispered. "That was! She really is talking!"

"Amazing," Zena also said.

"Hah, she's a genius!" Gahi declared.

"More likely, it's innate knowledge, somehow," Mhynt said, "or some kind of… hm. I'm not sure. Could she be passively absorbing it…? Or just very good at mimicry?"

"Why is mimicry the last option you thought of?" Demitri asked. "Babies mimic all the time!"

"Uh, I mean, I had to learn Mimic from—"

"Wrong Mimic, Owen." Mhynt sighed.

"Muuu!" Charmander declared again.

"Is he calling for you, Star?"

"I think so," Star said with a little titter. "Hey, yep, that's my name! Or, species I guess," she added.

"Na-ame!" Charmander said again. "Muuu!"

"Yes!" Star said with a nod. "Good job, Charmander!"

"Muu!"

Spice tilted her head, tapping her chest's gem in thought. "Hang on. Is she trying to tell us something?"

"Name is Mew!" Enet declared, which earned a positive squeal from Charmander.

"Well, uhh…" Star tittered. "I mean, that'd just get confusing, wouldn't it?"

"Chaaarmaaaander… Mu!" Charmander declared again.

"Maybe if we spelled it differently?" Owen asked. "It is a little odd, but…"

Amia sighed. "Well, it's what she likes," she said. "Besides, it's not like it's a hard name to mistake."

"I… I guess so," Owen finally said. "Charmander Mu. You know… maybe if we spelled it a little different, I wouldn't… be against it."

"Sorry if, um… I made it awkward," Star said.

"Mu!" Charmander declared.

Amia seemed a little disapproving, but she gave a smile anyway. "We've tried to get a name she'd like for a while, and you got it. Fair's fair," she said. "How does that name sound, hm? Mu?"

"Name Mu!" Charmander agreed, clapping before spitting more flames of bright darkness.

"Then Mu it is," Amia said.

Spice smiled a little and glanced at Enet, who yipped at her. She winced and glanced away. Gods, were they going to be the same person one day?

"…By the way, Enet," Spice said, "did you find who our third is?"

"Third?" Enet asked. "Oh! Mhm!"

Spice blinked. "Oh? Who?"

"Amelia!" Enet tapped her claws together. "Oh, but… Klent's sad."

"Klent…"

Star tilted her head. "What's this about?" she asked. "Amelia's… your third? The—oh, wait…" Star gasped. "Wait! How? I thought Klent… adopted her kinda recently? I mean, not recently by your standards, but—you know, like, way after Remi died. What's up with that?"

Enet shrugged. "Just know. I feel it. She felt it."

"Felt it… Yeah. Like Owen was sorta familiar." Spice sighed. "Guess with the Voidlands' open and its barrier breaking, the feelings and memories are manipulating us to feel a certain way. Not too happy about it, but…"

Amia nodded solemnly. "I'm sorry," she said. "If you want to talk it out at all…"

"You know, I think we should," Spice said as Mu began climbing into her lap, then reaching for her shoulders. Spice picked her up and let her crawl on top of her head. "Maybe tomorrow. Or tonight. Whatever works. Not now, I'm gonna just… I dunno. Talk to Leo."

Enet's ear flicked and she tilted her head. "Not now?"

"No. Later," Spice evaded. "…Anyway, I think that's enough socializing for me, yeah? I'll be back."

Not wanting to think about it anymore, she set Mu back in Enet's mane and wandered out of Amia's home.

She was just deferring it, she thought to herself.

But if she wanted to stay as "Spice," what else was she supposed to do?


"Alexander," Qitlan reported, stepping into his room.

"Mmmgh… Qitlan. You're walking again." The Hydreigon raised his main head out from his bed, but the rest of him was too lethargic to do much more.

It was a lot lonelier in the bedroom without Mhynt or someone else there, but that was only because that infernal lizard had stolen her away, along with everything else good that had been going on in Cipher City. He hadn't even bothered with the State of the City, leaving it to his speakers to handle. They knew how to run it. Why did it matter? He had to focus on getting his power back.

"Yes. My strength is returning," Qitlan said, though there was a noticeable limp in his gait, and faded parts of his body where he hadn't properly healed. Not yet. Maybe some treatments would restore that, too. "I have some good news."

"Always welcome," Alexander said, grunting.

"We found Owen and know precisely where he's going." Qitlan smirked and placed the papers on a table for Alexander to look over later.

That gave him enough strength to rise from bed and float to him, grasping Qitlan by the shoulders. "Really? With certainty?"

"With sightings and aura signatures," Qitlan replied, placing his fingers on Alexander's smaller heads. He gripped them a little tightly, probably as a show of strength. He always liked that in Qitlan.

"Where?"

"The Abyssal Sea. They hid a boat there and it's well-defended. They're going to try to cross it and get to Zero Isle Void."

Alexander's grin widened further, and Qitlan's had the same energy. He leaned a little closer as if to whisper a secret, but none came. Alexander simply replied, "Then we have a plan. How close are they? How fast is the ship?"

"They will likely get there in a day, and will cross the sea, depending on how well their sailing is done, in two weeks." Qitlan pulled back. "In other words… a trivial matter for you to catch up if you want to take them where they are most vulnerable."

"Yes… yes!" This was it. The break he finally needed to get Owen back. But then he paused. "And who is with him?"

"It seems he brought a small team. The Trio of Mind, their counterparts, some random Milotic, and… Mhynt."

"More than enough of a reason to go," Alexander said, giddy. "Prepare some countermeasures for me to take. And I will go. Alone. Anything else will slow me down and we won't catch up."

"You don't want a backup crew?"

"Mmf, fine, but I will go ahead to give them a proper assault. I will be enough to sink their ship and let the sea claim the ones I don't care about. Maybe we can get more Titans out of this…"

"Then I'll do everything you want," Qitlan said, "and… more. If you'd like, of course."

"As much as you can," Alexander said, shoving Qitlan away to get to work. "Wonderful as always, Qitlan."

"Ah, Alexander!" Qitlan called. "I wondered if I could… come with you, as well?"

"No!" Alexander replied. "You're far too valuable as a lead for the backup. I will see you when we have Mhynt and the others under my claws once more!"

He wasn't sure why he sensed a bit of negativity from Qitlan just then, but he didn't care. This was going to be it.

Owen, Mhynt—both would finally be in his grasp again. For good this time. Just two weeks to race against… and the power of Shadow and Radiance would be in his grasp.