Traveler

by The Straight Elf

Ash Ketchum has been determined to become the best since he was a toddler. He has his eyes set on a charmander, but a twist of fate led him to the humble Nidoran. Note: Mix between anime and the games.

31. Chapter 31: The Prophecy

"You know, Ash," Jonathan began, "I just realized that you never really got around to telling us what happened to you after the St. Anne. Wanna enlighten us?"

Ash, who had reclined against the couch as the rest of the Pallet rookies jabbered on about whatever entered their minds, opened his eyes.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but Johnny has a decent point," Gary grimaced. Jonathan scowled and started a venomous retort but Amelia's soothing hand calmed him down. "Ugh, I feel like I've lowered my standing in the universe by saying that."

He cracked a smile and pulled himself up until his forearms rested on his knees. Sneasel whined when he realized that Ash wasn't petting him anymore and scurried off with an annoyed hiss. Ash didn't have to say anything for Dazed, who had lurked in the corner that was dark with the swirling clouds that had sprung up suddenly outside, to head off after him to make sure the dark-type didn't do anything too obnoxious in his spite.

"It's a long story."

"We've got plenty of time," Amelia gestured to the windows where fat drops of rain had begun to spatter against the pane of glass. "I don't know about any of you, but I really don't want to get caught up in that."

Gary looked like he was in pain as he nodded alongside Jonathan. He hadn't formed anything resembling respect for either of the other two rookies over the three weeks they'd remained in Pallet Town after the Indigo Conference and took a great deal of pleasure in clobbering Jonathan's team again and again with his own highly-trained pokemon.

"Fine," Ash relented. He knew he wouldn't be able to tell them everything that happened since some things were too personal or too dangerous to tell them about. None of his experienced with the Legends would be told to them. Not yet. "Make yourselves comfortable."

"So, I suppose I should start at the beginning…"

XX

"Then I met Michael after I left Celadon," Ash continued as his audience listened on intently over the swirling storm outside that had come out of nowhere. He absentmindedly rubbed his forearms to try and get some heat back into them. It was oddly cold for late April.

"Awesome! We ran into him in Fuchsia, but he didn't have time to talk," Jonathan interrupted. "Man, too bad he didn't get past Lorelei…I really thought he could have made it to Agatha at least."

Ash waited for Jonathan to stop talking and didn't bother to explain that Michael had far more important things on his mind than an Elite Four challenge. He wouldn't have been surprised if Michael hadn't put forth his full strength just so he could return to Orre without anywhere near as much media attention.

While any Conference Champion would have a few days or weeks of fame, it was the rare contender able to push their way past one or more of the Elite Four that were mobbed by the media. Defeating any of the Elite Four was a huge event, as it could lead to an upheaval in the well-established ranks and invite quite a bit of potential change if the Conference Champion proved skilled enough.

"Shut up, Johnny-boy," Gary sneered. "I don't think I heard anyone say they were interested in your opinion. Did you?"

Jonathan glared at Gary and reached for a pokeball, but Ash cleared his throat to cut the two of them off. He wasn't in the mood for this right now.

"Anyways," he frowned in thought as he skipped past meeting the First's Rhydon, "I made it to Saffron, where I challenged Sabrina and lost terribly. Infernus put up a decent fight but her Alakazam crushed us."

All of the others nodded, as though they sympathized with his former self. At least he knew he wasn't the only one arrogant enough to have believed himself ready to face a Gym Leader that didn't take pity on weaker trainers and use a younger team.

That was never in question with Gary, of course.

"Afterwards I left and met Gary on the way out," he smirked at his former rival. Gary made a face and almost cringed at what he knew was coming next. Jonathan and Amelia both leaned forward, hungry for a tale of Gary's humiliation. The Oak's pride hadn't endeared him to either of the other Pallet rookies. "So I —"

He was cut off by a thunderous crash as Bruiser barreled through the door and nearly tore it off his hinges in his desperation to get inside. Seeker was held tightly in his arms, shivering and covered in —

"Snow?" Ash murmured as he accepted the cold body of Seeker into his grasp. She squirmed into his heat and he held her underneath the light jacket he'd stayed in the habit of wearing. "Bruiser, what's going on?"

His friend grunted quietly and shrugged with great effort. The Machoke looked as though he were fighting off an invisible force that desired to yank him back into the cold, which had evidently intensified as great clouds of black and grey swept into Pallet and cast the small town into darkness.

He could see it now in the light of his porch. Snow pounded down in endless flurries and wind roared as it pulled the light flecks of ice with it into the breeze. What little light there was reflected off of a small layer of it that stretched as far as he could see.

"Where are the others?" He demanded of his friend and rose, although he was sure to keep Seeker's cold body in contact with his own heat. She was too small to take this kind of intense cold for long.

Bruiser shrugged again and tensed as he shivered uncontrollably, although he knew it was not from the cold.

Ash bit back a curse, which would have disturbed his fellow trainers even more than they already were. He was almost as rattled as they were at the sudden blizzard, which appeared from absolutely nowhere. Nothing in the news had mentioned anything about this freak storm, let alone snow.

It was only when a gust of icy air swept through and seemed to wrap around him with an oppressive familiarity that froze him to the bone that his memory kindled and he realized that this was even worse than what he'd expected.

Articuno, the Bird of Ice. Winter's Lord, Blizzard Incarnate.

A terror that he had awoken all those months ago when he had been naive to the existence of the Legendaries.

The others gasped as their breath was stolen away and fell back into their seats as they shivered. Their strength was sapped by the frozen air that seemed to caress them and drag their spirits away with a wave of cold.

"Focus," he snapped. Ash had nearly succumbed to it himself before the Feather bonded to his chest flooded with heat. Each of the tiny obsidian membranes glowed red and gold and shone from beneath his shirt as every cell felt a rush of energy. "Stay here and keep warm. I need to find my team before this gets any worse."

"No," Gary slurred, eyes unfocused. Articuno's power seemed to have affected him the worst, as he barely seemed to be awake. "We've got — gotta stick together. I'm gonna help you find them, man. Just give me a sec, alright?"

Ash's mouth quirked up into a smile at that but he shook his head. "No. Stay here. You can barely talk, let alone go running around in this kind of cold."

"No!" Gary growled and started to pull himself up before his arms collapsed beneath him. "I'ma get up, believe it! And I'm gonna help you."

His eyes shut and he fell into a deep slumber moments later.

He will arise within the hour, Friend-Trainer Ash. Shall I subdue the other humans as well? They will only hurt themselves in attempting to aid us.

"Don't bother," he nodded to Dazed, who'd shuffled in the open doorway without his notice. "Jonathan, Amelia, you need to stay here and keep an eye on Gary. It's too dangerous to go out there right now."

"Then what're you doing?" Amelia managed to get out. "You need help finding your team, right?"

You do not. I have gathered those I could. They should be present shortly — Ice's wrath is not a subtle thing and I acted when I felt it approach. The Pidgeot is gathering those I could not detect — the insolent child is her responsibility.

"Thank you," Ash told Dazed, relieved. "Amelia, they're coming here. Just try to stay awake, alright?"

"Kay," she yawned and tried to start a conversation with a sluggish Jonathan. Ash didn't pay attention to them as he held Seeker tighter. She'd started to shiver less, which was a good sign.

"What's going on?" Ash demanded. "Why is Articuno doing this?"

Dazed idly polished her pendulum as she regarded him with her sharp eyes that were completely absent of any sort of fatigue. It was clear that she'd fed quite well on him last night, which was only a good thing with the current situation.

I do not know. Ice's power is unleashed now in a manner more dangerous than that of Lightning's Storm. It is swift and relentless. The Storm was a result of Lightning's presence. This Blizzard is born of fury. Conflict makes up its very essence.

"Can you feel anything else?" Ash questioned, desperate for any sort of answer. Articuno's Blizzard was far worse than Zapdos' storm. Whereas the Storm was a slow, ruinous growth that threatened all of Kanto in time the Blizzard was vicious and brutal in comparison. It stole life and vigor from humans and seemed to create an inescapable yearning in pokemon. "Where's it coming from?"

Many miles to the southeast.

Dazed's voice was harsh then, as though mentioning the beacon unleashed by Articuno had only made her want to leave for the source even more.

A short roar drew his attention from Dazed. Ash barely had time to react before Nidoking barreled into the house with fury in his eyes and tendrils of frosty air drifting from his horn. The poison-type found him instantly and rushed over to his side where he stood guard.

"I'm glad to see you too, Nidoking," Ash smiled and patted his starter's armored shoulder. "Stay calm. We have to wait on the others — I have to make sure they're safe."

Nidoking snorted and bowed his head in deference, although he angled himself so that he stayed between Ash and the gales of icy air that invaded the house with all the force of Articuno's fury. He smiled softly at his friend's gesture, even if the Feather helped to stave off the worst of the Ice Bird's power.

They draw near.

"Thank you," he directed to Dazed. She didn't move but her eyes curved upward in the way he knew so well. "Bruiser, could you find something to put over the others? I don't want them staying here like this without any cover."

Bruiser nodded and set off to follow Ash's request. He knew the house best of any of the team thanks to how much of his time was spent in the house since Seeker generally spent the long days sequestered safely in Ash's closet. The Machoke always ventured out to train or work personally with Ash on perfecting Rampage, but most of his activities took place at night when he could walk with Seeker as she flitted through the air.

Ash gently nudged Seeker to the side as he reached for his PokeNav. He needed to get in contact with Lance. He was sure that the Indigo Champion was already aware of the situation, but he also needed to know what to do.

He would probably get involved even he wasn't the newest member of Indigo's Elite Four, but with his official position it was imperative to react quickly.

His fingers were flush with the Feather's warmth as he typed in the number he'd made sure to memorize after the debacle in Viridian.

"Ash — hear me?" Lance's distorted voice called out. The PokeNav's screen was reduced to static and the odd blur that might have been Lance's head. "St — Orange Isl — s — Al —"

It went black.

Ash scowled and clipped it back onto his belt. He should have known technology would have been useless. The Blizzard itself would be enough to scramble communications and the added influence of Articuno couldn't have done humanity's inventions any favors.

But he'd gotten all that he needed from Lance. Even if he'd only managed to ascertain static and a few words he'd heard enough.

The Orange Islands. That's where this apocalyptic Blizzard had been birthed and that was where he would go.

Somehow. It wouldn't be an easy journey — far from it, in fact. The Orange Islands were nearly three hundred miles away from Pallet Town and he'd have to find a way to cross the ocean to get there.

He needed a source of teleportation. That was the only way he'd get there in time to see what was going on.

His only hope for that happening was if the Champion had sent an Alakazam for him. There was a good chance of that if Lance wanted to bring him into the situation, which he certainly would. Ash was the only in modern times to have seen the full Trinity of Fire, Ice, and Lightning — or have even the barest amount of contact with the living winter that was the source of their current ills.

Still, he wasn't sure if any Alakazam could pierce the Blizzard. He remembered very well that Zapdos' Storm had stopped teleportation somehow. It was the reason that they had to spend weeks trekking through the vicious tempest rather than materializing at the power plant, realizing that Zapdos had taken roost, and leaving.

Ash frowned at that tangent of thought. What had sparked Zapdos' sudden appearance in the first place? There had been no records of storms like that except for the old stories from untold centuries ago.

Oak's Alakazam could help him, but he doubted even she had the ability to teleport him all the way to the Orange Islands. He'd probably need at least two Alakazam working in tandem to get through the Blizzard.

So that was a possibility, although he wasn't sure that Oak's Alakazam would be willing to leave her trainer behind in this kind of situation.

Her great power and wisdom did give her a deeper insight into the workings of the universe, though. Ash frowned as his mind flashed back to her words to him before and after he went to New Island…

New Island.

Mewtwo.

A cold fire rushed through his veins then and he felt a faint sense of amusement that was not his own. Power coiled within him, potent and far beyond even Articuno's ability to disrupt and —

He clenched his fists and forced that thought away.

He was not that desperate.

Yet.

The icy power waned and he felt one last chuckle echo through his every cell before it vanished almost entirely, the last remnant of Mewtwo's continued influence a light, constant pressure in the back of his mind.

Friend-Trainer Ash, are you alright?

"Yes," he replied tersely. "I'm fine. Where are the others?"

His response was a small white blur with the odd fleck of inky black that rushed into the house, little more than a ball of excitement that couldn't sit still if its life depended on it. A tall, white shapeless mass bounced in after the first blur, although it shook itself off to reveal Tangrowth's huge form with only a few traces of snow left on him.

"I'm glad to see you too, Tangrowth," Ash allowed himself a smile as he patted Tangrowth's worried vine. "Could you get Sneasel under control? I need to stay focused."

Tangrowth gurgled back an affirmative and sent a few seeking vines after Sneasel, who deftly avoided them and raced around the room at speeds Ash barely believed possible.

That only left Oz, Plume, and Torrent to recover. They were almost certainly on their way. Oz's fur would stave off the worst of the cold and she knew Pallet Town as well as he did from her frequent chases of Sneasel, who'd decided to test out his rapidly increasing abilities by ambushing her at every opportunity.

This was hardly a hindrance to Torrent. His body could survive under the crushing pressure and icy cold of the abyss without any sort of strain. The cold was his domain and frost, even that spawned from Ice itself, was his plaything.

Plume was weakest to the Blizzard's wrath but he held faith in her. The Pidgeot's strong wings would be more than enough to carve a path to him.

All he could do now was —

Trainee Ketchum?

A snide voice cut into his head, crisp and sharp as the gales that ate at his skin.

"Yes?" He frowned thoughtfully at the Alakazam that had just appeared beside Dazed. The powerful psychic didn't even spare the Hypno a glance — he actually seemed to focus more on keeping his gaze away from Dazed. "You're from the —"

The League? Yes, obviously. I'm glad to see that the Champion chose you for your keen intellect.

Ash sighed at that. The Alakazam practically reeked arrogance and sarcasm. With any luck its personality wouldn't be psychically projected onto his friends — especially Gary, of course. The youngest Oak really didn't need any help in that department.

If only you were so lucky, human.

"What's your name?" Ash asked in an attempt to get to the point and avoid the Alakazam's obnoxious personality.

My name is Robert, Captain of the Third Teleportation Squad. I have been assigned to you as your personal Alakazam in case of emergency. Are you as disappointed as I am?

"I'm sure you can answer that question yourself," Ash snapped. He didn't have time for this. "I doubt my thoughts are especially subtle at the moment."

How scathing. I don't know how my superiors could ever think a delicate flower such as myself could work with a brute like you. If I weren't so humble I'd call say they're a bunch of gibbering simpletons whose job could easily by done by a simple Hypno.

"Shut up," Ash growled as Dazed's eyes flashed. "I don't have time for your crap, Bob. We are going to wait for the rest of my team and then you will teleport me to the Orange Islands so that I can fix this. And you'll apologize to Dazed."

Is that all? Do you want me to lick your boots before or after I accomplish a feat of teleportation that would require a team of no less than seventeen Alakazam as highly-trained as I am in the current climate? It took a decent bit of energy just to reach you from the Indigo Plateau, Trainee. You do have such a group ready, I'm sure?

Ash gave Robert — what a ridiculous name for an Alakazam — a hollow smirk. "I think I can provide as much energy as you need."

What are you — oh. OH. That is FANTASTIC! Perhaps you aren't as useless as the rest of your kind after all. My my, you just reek of the Pillars. Flame and something else. Something more powerful than I can even imagine…it's intoxicating.

"Are you done?" Ash asked Robert, who stared at him with something close to giddiness. The irritating psychic's eyes lit up — there was a literal glow as he touched upon the remnant's of Mewtwo's presence — and its spoons trembled with excitement.

Oh yes. I'll take you to the Orange Islands. I'll take you across the world and back again if you'd like. I could solve this nasty business with the Blizzard right now if you'd like.

"Keep dreaming," he said drily. The Alakazam's mustache twitched in annoyance but Robert didn't reply. "Just because you can leech off of Mewtwo's power doesn't mean you're a match for Articuno."

In this moment I am euphoric! I am made the Cosmos itself! Ice is a mere Facet of existence and I am its Whole! The entirety of the universe's passing has led to this moment!

"You aren't wrong," Ash muttered. "Just not especially right either. Dazed, could you fix him or —"

Plume shrieked with indignation as she hopped into the house covered in shards of ice and a soft blanket of white snow. She ruffled her feathers and puffed them up to try and shake some of the cold material off but it stubbornly clung to the glossy lengths.

"Dazed?"

His friend nodded and squeezed her eyes shut. Light glowed faintly from behind the lightly-furred lids as she exerted her power. Moments later the snow collapsed to the ground in an odd heap.

"Thank you, Dazed. Plume, do you —"

He was cut off yet again as Oz rushed through the door in a manic blur, electricity coiled about her as she fled the freezing cold. Her entire body was puffed up in an effort to stave off the biting wind and her tail looked thick enough to block the doorway. If the situation weren't so dire Ash would have given a reaction beyond a slight twitch of his lips.

Torrent levitated in moments later, regal and composed as always. The ice and snow refused to touch the Kingdra and billowed about him in a freezing cloak until he reached the doorway, where the chips of frozen water fell lifeless to the ground.

"I'm glad to see the three of you," Ash nodded to the new arrivals. "Now we can leave. This is Robert, an Alakazam from the League. He's going to teleport us to the Orange Islands, where the source of the Blizzard is located. I don't know what we can do to help, but we need to do something. I'm going to recall you now, but when I release you be ready for action."

His friends nodded seriously before they disappeared in a series of red flashes. There was no time to waste with pleasantries. Lance needed his help and Ash wasn't going to let the Champion down.

"Focus!" Ash snapped at Robert. The Feather burned with his urgency and he had to fight the urge to wince. It was almost painfully hot now but he couldn't afford to tear the Feather away from his skin. Not now. "Do you know where to take me?"

Of course I do you insolent brat! I am Robert, a genius amongst Alakazam. I knew where to go as soon as Lady Sabrina did.

"I see you're back to normal," Ash remarked as he shut the door and draped as many blankets as he could find over his slumbering friends. Amelia and Jonathan had succumbed to Articuno's power at some point. "So take me. Show me what the 'Whole of Creation' can accomplish."

Robert's eyes narrowed and burned with an icy fire that Ash had seen but a few times before. The pressure in the back of his head slackened for the briefest of moments as the Alakazam tapped into Mewtwo's presence and took the whole of reality in his hands.

Ash looked on at a wasteland of ice. A fell tempest brewed in the black sky, so thick that he could see less than a mile into the distance. Only a few rays of light managed to break through the thick layer of clouds in order to illuminate what Articuno's fury had wrought on this unfortunate land.

"These are the Orange Islands?" Ash whispered as he looked out upon icebergs that tore apart the monotony of the frozen plain. In some places the icebergs were so close together that they seemed to form a great wall of ice that stretched as far as the eye could see. "How long has this been going on?"

The disturbance that attracted the League's attention occurred roughly eight hours ago. Truly impressive what even a mere Fragment can accomplish, isn't it? I had heard the old tales of Ice's power, but I admit to have been a skeptic. Now I see that it was the Passer of Tales herself who doubted the stories' veracity.

Robert's spoons had already formed a thin layer of ice as he spoke into Ash's mind.

I must say that I'm glad this isn't my problem. Have fun, Trainee.

In that moment Ash thought he truly hated Robert the Alakazam. Especially since he felt Mewtwo's pressure recede for a moment as the Alakazam teleported away.

"You made it. I was worried — Robert's very good but this Blizzard neutralizes any sort of controlled techniques like teleportation," Lance said grimly from behind him. Ash whirled around and barely held back a grin as he saw the Champion, who looked like a hero of legend as his cape billowed in Articuno's gales. "I was lucky enough to arrive in the early stages, before the Blizzard had spread beyond this place. I don't expect anyone that doesn't have a Legend's power behind them to make it."

"Mewtwo turned out to be good for something after all," Ash snorted. "What's going on, Lance? This morning it was fine. Now there's an apocalypse."

"That's a very good question and one that I wish I had the answer to," the Champion scowled. "Sabrina told me to head to the Orange Islands last night. By the time I got here this," he gestured to the frozen sea, "had already happened. All of the pokemon are going insane and I've barely been able to reach any other members of the League. The order's out to get Lorelei here while the rest organize emergency procedures before the Blizzard arrives in full to Indigo."

"How long do you think it'll take before she gets here?"

Lance glanced out at the raging Blizzard that would have left a normal human inert and drained in mere seconds. He didn't even flinch as a particularly fierce wind sliced at his flesh with sharp shards of ice. His Feather blazed and consumed his arm with golden fire, holding the ice at bay with its long fiery tongues.

"Too long. She's making her way here on her pokemon. Faster than foot but not fast enough. We have to act sooner."

"Do you have any kind of plan?" Ash asked, desperate. He was still trying to adjust to the situation. Just minutes ago he'd been recounting the early stages of his journey to his friends. Now he was desperate enough to contemplate fighting Articuno. "Could Moltres help? It came to fight Mewtwo."

"That won't happen. Moltres is conflicted. I can sense its presence near, but it's also very far away. It's strange — it won't communicate with me with anything other than a few vague images that it doesn't mean to give," Lance lightly kicked the ground, frustrated. "I've been busy working with the Orange League to keep everything under control, so at least I've accomplished something while I'm here."

"Is everyone safe?"

Lance snorted. "Look around, Ash. You know better than I do how dangerous a Legend can be. Articuno might not have the calculated malice of Mewtwo but it is just as large a threat. But most everyone's out of danger. I managed to get Drake to declare a state of emergency before communications went down, so no one was exposed when the worst of it hit."

Ash frowned out at the frozen wasteland begotten by Articuno's presence. This wouldn't just affect people. Pokemon and the environment would be devastated as well by this sudden shift. They could resist such a drastic drop in temperature for a time but even a full day of this would leave serious damage. A prolonged exposure like what had happened with Zapdos' Storm could leave permanent ruin.

"We can't just leave the situation to sort itself out," Ash remarked. "We've got to do something. Do you know what's behind those icebergs?"

"Three unnamed islands under the authority of Shamouti Island, which is what we're on now," Lance said with a troubled frown. "Three islands in the formation of a triangle. Restricted from all but the…Orange Crew. Damn it, Drake…"

"I think I know why they don't want anyone going near them," Ash scowled. "They didn't tell you that Articuno rests there?"

"They did not," Lance took on a stormy countenance. "I'll be having words with Drake after this is all over. I think there's more than just Articuno. The Feather is calling out for something — it's only like this when I'm around you or the Flame of Moltres."

Ash shook his head at that, wary of the thought of challenging more than one Legend at a time. Even Articuno would have been beyond them if they tried to take it on in a straight battle. One couldn't fight it any more than one could fight a snowstorm.

But if two Legends were this furious around one another then there was no hope. They were liable to destroy both him and Lance in an errant flap of their wings.

"We need to know what we're going up against. The Blizzard's too thick to even see past the icebergs and it's only getting worse."

Lance nodded. "I agree. I wasn't able to get past them before — the winds were too strong for me to stay on Dragonite. When you got here I was about to try and burn my way through."

"Maybe Dazed can help…" Ash muttered. Psychics were particularly adept at sensing Legends it seemed, even though Dazed's strengths didn't lie in the mental arts. Her powers were based upon physical manipulation mostly. "It's too bad Robert left."

"He wouldn't have been much help," Lance cut in. "Most sensitive psychics have fallen unconscious under the Blizzard's influence just like the last time Articuno was active. It doesn't restrain itself like Moltres — if Robert hadn't left when he did he wouldn't have lasted more than a few minutes here."

Ash nodded at that and released Dazed. Hopefully she'd been around enough Legends to have built up a sort of resistance to their power. At the very least she could draw upon the power of Mewtwo locked within him in order to shield herself.

His lips quirked up at that. He never thought he'd see the day when he actually felt a measure of gratitude for Mewtwo. Strange times invited strange thoughts, he supposed.

A pulse of icy fire seemed to agree.

Were I any other I would flee from this accursed place. We of mortal stock should not be here.

"I'm well-aware of that, Dazed," Ash let a slight smirk play across his features. He idly wriggled his fingers and embraced the scalding heat of the Feather as it sang through his blood and staved off the deathly chill that had taken the Orange Islands into its grip. "Were I any other I would agree with you. But we have a job to do."

Indeed. Balance must be restored — I know not the cause, but I can sense the clash now. Fire's rage, Lightning's aggression, Ice's pride all arrayed against one another as they battle to establish the dominant. It is a primal thing and the world trembles before it.

"How far away are they?" Ash demanded. Any form of politeness was thrown out the window in the wake of Dazed's news. All three Birds battling amongst each other? That was much worse than he ever could have expected. Moltres and Articuno would be grounds for the evacuation of the Orange League. This demanded the evacuation of the world, if it were possible.

Dazed hesitated and stopped polishing her pendulum. Her eyes squeezed shut and her shoulders slunk as the little loop of stone trembled.

…I do not know. I am sorry, Friend-Trainer. They are too strong, too large for me to differentiate. They are near but their power saturates the world for as long as I can sense. They could be a mile away or a hundred.

"Thanks, Dazed. I appreciate your help."

With that his friend disappeared in a flash of scarlet. Ash turned to Lance, who studied the icebergs intently.

"With all three in place we can't afford to wait. I tried to call Moltres again but it refused my call."

"I'd imagine it's rather busy at the moment," he remarked as lightly as he could given the circumstances.

Lance shook his head. "No. It's not nearby but it is at the same time. Moltres is ignoring me and I don't like it. It might be the only hope of resolving this. Not unless another Legend decides to step in."

Ash's mind flickered to — no.

Not yet.

"We have to get past those icebergs if we want to accomplish anything. I say we go for it," Ash said. "Dazed could ride one of your Dragonite and keep us from falling off. The Blizzard isn't so potent as to block minor uses of psychic power."

"That could actually work," Lance muttered. "Good thinking, Ash. Do you want Plume or Dov?"

"Plume," Ash said firmly. While he trusted Dov, he had much more experience flying with Plume. Not to mention that she would do everything in her power to keep him safe. Dov's first priority would be to tend to Lance. "Can Dazed ride on Dov? I don't think Plume can support the both of us."

"Of course," the Indigo Champion nodded and released their mounts. Plume joined them a second later, the light just barely bright to pierce through the quickly strengthening Blizzard.

Ash felt a slight grin worm its way across his face as he placed a hand against Plume's glossy feathers to share the Feather's warmth. His friend shivered and leaned into his touch as the full power of the Blizzard lashed her with shards of ice and cutting winds, eager for whatever heat she could salvage.

"Dazed?" He prompted. Moments later Plume was shielded with a layer of deep blue energy that moved easily with her, as the Pidgeot proved with a few experimental flaps of her wings. "Thank you. We need your help. Could you —"

I understand what you require, Friend-Trainer. Do not fret: my power is strong and my will stronger. I will protect you as you venture to soothe the fighting. We all shall.

His grin became more genuine. "I never would have thought otherwise. Can you get onto —"

Dazed teleported atop Dov before the words could leave his lips. Ash withheld a sigh. He didn't know whether the power of the warring Birds had caused Mewtwo's power to leak from him or not, but something was giving the Hypno access to more power than usual. She had grown much more skilled with telepathy and accessing the minds of others but even now it took concentration.

For her to so easily pluck the thoughts out of his mind revealed something more at play.

Not to mention that it was slightly annoying. Aside from her habit of staring intently at whatever caught her interest for hours at end his friend had avoided the common tics of psychics.

Now it looked like he might have to adjust.

Do not fear, Friend-Trainer. In times less dire I shall not resort to such crude measures.

Ash rolled his eyes and climbed onto Plume's back. The energy flowing from Dazed — who had locked herself onto Dov in what looked to be an extremely awkward position despite her humanoid form — instantly stuck itself to him and locked his body in place.

"Ready, Ash?" Lance's baritone roared over the Blizzard's din. The Indigo Champion was bound to Dragonite with a determined scowl plastered onto his draconic features.

"Ready," Ash shouted back and looked out to the raging skies ahead. Every now and then he could see a brief flash of white just barely enough to pierce Articuno's ridiculously thick storm. A dim glow still brighter than what little of the sun he could see raged for a few moments before it was extinguished.

"Then let's be off!"

Ash reflexively gripped Plume tightly when she shot off into the Blizzard. He had just begun to futilely shield his face from the chips of swirling ice that threatened to carve him to pieces when Dazed's shield extended to cover his body as well.

He breathed a sigh of relief when the instant of sharp pain faded away. Ash hadn't realized just how dangerous flying through the Blizzard at these speeds could be. If it weren't for Dazed's shields then they would have been cut to shreds by now — Articuno's spawn had only strengthened, if anything. It only seemed to grow in viciousness and power as they slowly carved their way closer.

Plume shrieked determinedly as she shot forward and just barely managed to gain a bit of altitude, not that he would have been able to tell if not for the angle of her wings. Ash didn't know what was up or down at this point — the Blizzard was so thick that he couldn't even see Plume's head. Dazed and the others might as well have been invisible, although he knew that they couldn't be far.

If it weren't for Dazed this would have been impossible. They'd have all gotten lost and probably crashed into the ground at this point. He could easily see why Lance had failed to pierce through this icy tempest.

Ash shivered as Articuno's influence slowly overcame Moltres' and cold seeped past the psychic shield molded by Dazed. Now he wished that he hadn't been so overconfident in the Feather's ability to stave off the cold. A fragment of Moltres couldn't compete with the Bird of Ice in the center of its power.

His hands went numb in seconds in the subzero temperatures. The shield slowly began to crack and flicker in and out of existence as the abuse reached levels beyond even the enhanced power Dazed wielded — not even Sabrina's Alakazam wouldn't have been able to sustain a barrier in these conditions.

Even his well-disciplined body couldn't resist a hiss of pain as a shard of ice slashed his cheek deep enough to scrape the bone, although he reacted instantly to the threat and ducked his head against Plume's icy feathers. If his face wasn't dead to any sort of pain he probably wouldn't even be able to think through the agony.

Worry thrashed in his gut as he realized that Plume would be suffering much worse than he, as would all the others as Dazed's power failed them. She was actually flying through this and bearing the worst of the pain without a single shriek.

His fear was assuaged as he realized that the shield still covered Plume — Dazed must have lost control or been forced to sacrifice his in order to protect Plume. It was a calculated gambit and proof that she was about to lose her war with Articuno.

He pulled his numb hand up to his face and grimaced when he felt slick ice. When he looked down at his fingertips they had a few drops of red on them. His blood had already frozen.

Ash squinted and turned his head to look down — or what he thought was down — in the hopes that they'd have finally made it over the walls of ice shaped by Articuno. They needed to get down to the ground if they had a hope of getting through this relatively unscathed.

As expected he could see nothing. Just an endless flurry of white and blue.

He ran an unfeeling hand over his pokeballs. Ash couldn't actually feel anything other than the pressure but just knowing that his friends were still with him was enough to calm the drumming of his heart.

Ash rubbed his gloved hands together for warmth, confident in Dazed's abilities to keep him locked on. She would maintain his anchor as long as she could.

The trainer stopped when the temperature shot even farther down, something he had thought impossible. His skin burned from it and he could barely see the outline of his own hand as the Blizzard strengthened exponentially. The shield flickered and slowly began to die and the cold bit and gnawed at him even more.

He felt as though his eyes were about to freeze in their sockets as a presence swept over them, the embodiment of the absence of heat. A void of energy. Twin orbs that shown with a horribly familiar icy glow — not the suns of Mewtwo but the very essence of ice, every component of Winter and Frost and Cold's identity revealed — passed him over with disinterest as the great Bird of Ice flew by at speeds even Plume couldn't match.

The Feather ceased to matter. What little warmth Moltres' token poured into him slowed and died, the trickle useless in the face of Articuno's mere presence.

Plume screamed.

Ash felt a wordless cry leave his lips as Plume fell deep into the Blizzard, the pulsing blue energy that had once surrounded them gone and vanished as Articuno's passing triumphed over Dazed's fiercest efforts. He clutched as tightly to his friend as he could even as he felt like his stomach would fly from his mouth and his exposed skin would be left nothing but red mulch.

He couldn't even breathe as they fell to their doom — almost a mercy given that his lungs felt as though they had frozen over — and black spots began to fill his vision as they were buffeted by ruthlessly strong gales that seemed to take delight in slashing at the two.

Friend…

Time slowed. What little he could see almost stopped. Ice shards moved at such a sluggish pace that he could track a hundred with his stinging eyes. Snow's dance had been reduced to a tiny swirl of motion.

Articuno's black shadow had left them. The Bird cared not for the deaths of mere mortals — it probably couldn't even realize that they were there. It simply saw a few tiny creatures as potent as a blade of grass in the face of its glory.

Plume's every feather rustled gently, the only sign of their peril a few lines of blood that flowed from her front. If he could see her head then he was sure he would see the slack of unconsciousness. Nothing else could stop her from fighting this.

Not yet.

He grimaced at the resurgence of the icy fire that enveloped him in its all-powerful shell and yanked him through the Blizzard at impossible speeds. Plume followed straight behind, still unconscious from the sheer cold and damage she'd taken in their foolhardy feat.

Ash didn't bother to fight as he was pulled through the sky, utterly immune to the cold and pain. He was actually grateful for the intervention, which was something he never thought he'd feel for the creature that acted through him.

His fuzzy thoughts were torn from their current direction when he saw a dim glow far away, powerful enough to pierce through and banish Articuno's Blizzard as it grew closer and closer. Before several seconds were gone it was so bright he couldn't even stand to look at the second sun that blazed its way towards him.

The Feather, finally relieved from Articuno's overwhelming presence, ignited to life with renewed vigor. He grit his teeth to avoid letting out a cry as the obsidian seemed to melt into his skin and the golden flame seared his entire body to the point that he could actually feel it despite his frozen skin and nerves.

It never let up but he soon grew used to it. Ash just closed his eyes and embraced the heat as it grew stronger and stronger until it felt as though he would burst into flames as surely as the Feather had.

When he opened his eyes the glow he'd seen before had engulfed the entire sky in an inferno of gold and red and white, the whole of his existence seemingly engulfed in flames that could melt steel as surely as flesh.

"Moltres," he whispered in awe at the sight of the Bird of Fire. It was no less resplendent than when he and Lance had dared to challenge it at its own seat of power. His Feather's obsidian frame felt as though it was seeping into his very skin but he couldn't find it in himself to care as the raging firestorm that enshrouded Moltres' golden form swirled toward him in a fit of divine wrath.

The Inferno seared every remnant of the Blizzard in its wake. From what little Ash could see through the veil of shimmering power that protected him and the conflagration that had ignited the sky Articuno's icebergs had been reduced to nothing but water vapor. The sea itself boiled and writhed at Moltres' mere passing.

And then the Storm arrived from behind Moltres. An infinite expanse of black clouds reclaimed the sunny spots Moltres had created and roiled dangerously as it illuminated the entire world with thousands of lightning strikes every second, razing the sea beneath it and lashing out ruthlessly at Moltres.

Petty creatures. Tearing apart my world for nothing but their own satisfaction. And you humans revere them as gods. Rather telling, don't you agree?

Ash just scowled and refused to answer. The icy fire that had saved him flickered in amusement and fell silent.

He just stared out at the skies that would only remain clear for a few more seconds before the clashing powers of Moltres and Zapdos would consume his world once more.

Three islands, easily visible now that the raging Blizzard had been replaced with clear, burning skies, were arrayed before him. To his left there was a volcano that shone with a brilliant orange which emanated from its heart. Plumes of molten lava and thick billows of smoke shot out periodically, the rate increasing as the Storm mingled hatefully with Moltres' Inferno.

In the center there was a mountain that jutted proudly into the heavens. Even in Articuno's absence it was cloaked in an eternal snowstorm, although the Inferno licked and tested the Blizzard with all the fury of a wildfire. He could see the left side of the mountain flickered orange as brilliant white flames threatened to devour Articuno's haven.

To the right lay a relatively flat island. It had no mountain on it but it looked almost like a meteor had smashed into it and rent the center of the mass in two. He could scarcely make out the details, however, since the sky above it would have been entirely black with storm clouds were it not for the constant lashing of lightning that shot from the blackness like glowing rain.

The world flashed and he recoiled even from behind the shield granted to him by his unwelcome tenant. Moltres' form had dissolved to match that of its fellow Legendaries and was accompanied by a vicious roar of protesting earth that heralded the sudden explosion of the volcano — acrid smoke black as Zapdos' Storm poured unrelentingly from the volcano's crown and filled the sky with a torrent of lava and fire that seemed to ignite the atmosphere itself.

Moltres was no longer visible to him even with the protection of the shield, which had made looking at the white-hot form of the Fire Bird no issue before. It had dissolve into an Inferno that could devour the entire world in time, the same elemental state he had seen it face Mewtwo with before.

He could only hope that this time it won its battle. The sight of the glorious Bird of Fire entombed at the bottom of the sea, held captive by pressure powerful enough to compress a human into a fleshy pulp in an instant.

Ash frowned even as the speed yanking him and Plume — he wasn't able to move his head easily and couldn't check on the others — almost doubled in an effort to escape the terrible power unveiled by the Friend of Man.

How was this Moltres connected to the one that had granted him a tiny fragment of its essence? He doubted they were the same. The Moltres of Knot Island seemed to like its home in Mt. Ember and he figured this one would be just as attached to its volcano. And someone would have had to have tracked it if it flew here. Even the Blizzard or Storm could have been rationalized as the movements of some strange group of Dragonair — hardly solid for any scientist but at least semi-plausible.

A horrifying realization came through him when it finally clicked that this was a different entity.

There were more.

At least two of each if these truly were different beings. Two of each Bird, two of each force of nature. Two of each Legend that would hardly notice if humans were snuffed out by their unrestrained power — only Moltres even appeared to care for them slightly. Articuno was antagonistic at worst and territorial at best. Zapdos didn't seem to care in their one meeting.

How many more were there? How long had these Legends slept undisturbed in the far places of the world, out of sight and out of mind of mortal men?

And was this just the beginning of their return?

Was this the end?

He let a scowl slip over his face and resolved not to let those thoughts consume him. He had a duty to the world and he would not allow it to be torn asunder by the Birds.

If he had to beg for Mewtwo's aid he would. Whatever was necessary to stop this madness was what he would accomplish.

An icy fire flickered more brazenly, still amused. The baritone he'd hated for so long did not appear, however, and left him in peace.

Ash's eyebrows furrowed in confusion when he felt himself thrown downward — his stomach lurched up before it adjusted and settled into place with a sickening squelch, although he was far more worried that he couldn't even see the ground or his companions and that —

His momentum was stolen from him, transferred elsewhere by the dominating force that shielded his body, and he fell gently onto hard stone. Ash squeezed his eyes shut, just a little stunned by the weak force, and groaned slightly as his battered body pulled itself to his feet.

"Dazed!" He cried out. The icy fire had vanished and he was all alone but for Plume, who was still helpless as she struggled to rise. Ash rushed over to her and gently stroked her crest as he frantically searched for his friend. Now that he could actually control his movements the sheer urgency of the situation fell upon him. "Lance!"

"Fear not!" A voice echoed simultaneously in both ears and mind. "Your companions are safe, albeit wounded. I have tended to their wounds but I fear that even my skills may not restore their vigor in this time of strife."

Ash's head snapped to the source of the noise quickly enough to almost give him whiplash. "Who are you?"

The speaker smiled down at him from a pale pink face. Ash blinked in surprise at the Slowking, who had appeared as if from nowhere. Not what he expected, especially considering that it had spoke. He'd heard of a few pokemon speaking the human tongue rather than communicating via telepathy but this was his first true experience.

Unfortunately he was too numbed to fantastic events to even begin to feel any sort of awe at this strange creature.

"I am a Servant to the Great Guardian, Lugia."

"Lugia…" Ash whispered, his fear and glee at the Guardian's name powerful enough to pierce his shell of numbness. "Can you summon it? I can't stop the Birds!"

Slowking's wide face turned upwards in a mysterious smile. It pointed to the center of the shrine he had been placed in, where frozen steps led up to an altar that held some sort of ancient slab.

"Read."

Ash tiredly nodded and ascended the steps, which were still slick with half-frozen water.

He felt the pinpricks of tiny blades of ice cutting against his mostly-recovered skin, the heat of Moltres' fury roasting the sky, the scent of ozone harsh against his nose.

Every sensation intensified.

Every breath allowed him to feel what must have been millions molecule of air rushing into his lungs.

Every heartbeat sent a flush of heat and pain through him, making him acutely aware of the gaping gash on his cheek but even mores his own life.

Every blink opened him up to an entirely new world of Fire, Ice, and Lightning when his eyes opened once more.

Every second allowed a song older than the waves themselves to ring through his ears, every rising note telling a million stories joined into one.

Every step sucked him toward the altar which stood eternal amidst the primordial forces that warred around it.

He looked upon the gaping maw of some fierce creature immortalized in stone. Three shapes were hewn into the ancient rock with perfection far removed from simple hammers and chisels. Something more had carved the geometric figures.

Ash frowned. In front of each shape was a small pedestal, as though something were meant to be placed upon it. He knew it had to be important for the Slowking — Lugia's Servant, a being as wise and noble as Chinatsu — to send him here.

"Read."

The boy nodded and looked upon the tablet that must have sat there for an eternity. It seemed to repel the elements — it bore no sign of the cataclysm that raged about less than a mile from this island and didn't seem to have aged a single day since it was first laid upon the altar.

Its characters were ancient, even older than the rough characters carved into the First's tomb. They barely even seemed to be based off the Unown, like they were from an entirely different system! That was practically unheard of as far as Ash knew. Every culture had some form of contact with the Unown and had drawn their alphabets from it.

This was incomprehensible to him.

And then something changed. The characters were identical to what they had been before but comprehension appeared as if from nowhere. He could see every loving line in this eternal tale and understood it as well as anything else he could read — better, even.

"Disturb not the harmony of Fire, Ice, or Lightning lest these titans wreak destruction upon the world in which they clash," he began. A warm, foreign pressure melded with his mind and joined its voice with his own. "Though the Water's Great Guardian shall arise to quell the fighting, alone its Song will fail, and thus the Earth shall turn to ash. O Chosen One, into thine hands bring together all Three. Their treasures combined tame the Beast of the Sea."

The tablet was incomprehensible once more, just odd rows of strange designs and figures.

The song in his heart faded but never died.

Ash exhaled and became aware of the world and the terror that had consumed it once more. He was free of the tablet's spell and could see the primordial forces that raged about him — Moltres' Inferno had melded with Zapdos' own Storm perfectly, intermixing and boiling the sea faster than more seawater could move to fill that which had been displace. Articuno's cries rent the air as the Blizzard regained prominence once more, blocking the sun itself and leaving the ocean an unending layer of thick white.

"A prophecy?" He muttered to Slowking, who had moved behind him as he was spellbound. "I don't believe in prophecy."

"And on most days your belief would be correct. Peddlers of cheap tales often sell it to those who wish for fate," Slowking acknowledged. "But there is power in this…Ash."

He tensed and placed a hand on the row of pokeballs at his waist for comfort but didn't respond.

"Millennia ago a dying man sought enlightenment on this very spot…he received a vision instead. He saw the sky aflame and the world crumble under the might of the disturbed Titans who have claimed these islands. Fearful, the man fled the shrine and shared his tale with all those who would listen. Only the psychics, the movers of the universe, saw the truth in his tale and came together."

Slowking looked very old then, older than any mortal had a right to be. "A thousand psychics found themselves here from every corner of the young world. All found their purpose in this spot. I was young in those days, scarcely risen from my youthful obliviousness. But I guarded this holy place."

"One thousand psychics channeled their power in this spot and defied fate. They unmade themselves so as to shape a single constant in the twisting uncertainty of the universe. Their hope became Prophecy, intertwined with the nature of reality itself."

"When the time came one capable of quelling this clash would arise. There are many Chosen, but only One would find themselves here. You might fail, but within you lies the potential to end this Cataclysm."

Ash was silent under the enormity of the burden placed upon his shoulders. He couldn't quite wrap his head around what spouted from the Slowking's mouth. Prophecy and fate were never something he believed in but to learn it was true even in one instance was hard for him to swallow.

But in the end it didn't matter if he was "fated" to do anything.

He would stop this anyway.

"What do I need to do?" He began wearily. Slowking smiled down at him with its wide face.

"On each island there is an altar that contains a Sphere. Take it and return them here by any means necessary. A single Elemental Sphere will serve to stabilize the earth but all must be brought here should we hope to return balance to the world."

The song that had been calling to his very soul grew stronger then but he paid no heed.

"And how am I supposed to get past that?" Ash scowled and jabbed a finger at the three raging disasters. The Birds had long abandoned anything recognizable as a physical form in favor of the all-consuming power of dissolving into their basest nature. The combatting forces sundered the very world where they met, tearing apart the ocean's molecules and leaving air nothing but a single massive explosion.

If he left the safety of this shrine he'd be torn apart and reduced to nothing but dust and ash.

Slowking was silent. Shards of ice drifted down from the heavens, slowed by whatever power sheltered this shrine.

Articuno must have regained dominance, at least for a short while. Ash doubted it would last — his Feather had just roared to life once more and seared his chest with tongues of golden flame as Moltres' fury overtook the world in a storm of fire.

"Be patient."

Ash ground his teeth and turned away from Slowking to watch the Birds follow a cycle that had bound them for longer than humans had existed. How could he be patient when he watched the very things that could destroy everything?!

It wasn't in his nature to feel truly lasting fury but that was what powered him now. He was going to force these Titans to stop and acknowledge him. He would take their Spheres, fulfill this damn prophecy, and bind the quarreling Legends to their accursed islands for an eternity.

Perhaps this Moltres was as benevolent as its counterpart. Perhaps it was good and just to humans in the past.

But in this state it was no better than the others. Just a wildfire that needed to be extinguished.

"I had hoped it would never come to this — I never thought you humans would ever be powerful enough to wake one of the sleeping Titans." Slowking sighed and watched the waves with its ancient eyes. "So long as they rested the world was safe."

"Who awoke them?" Ash's fists clenched until his fingernails pierced his skin. "I'll need to meet them personally after this."

Slowking smiled tiredly and pointed out at the Storm. "I don't believe that will be possible unless you intend to search the abyss. The human who attacked Fire's Island is long dead. When it realized what it had awoken it futilely fled in its ship — Fire consumed it."

"So why didn't Moltres just sleep again?" Ash murmured. "The Moltres I've seen —"

"The Fire you've seen is different," Slowking said quietly. "Calmer and older. When it tore itself from Fire's essence and went its own way it found freedom as its kin was bound to a pale shadow of existence. In its freedom it found purpose. In its purpose it found wisdom."

Ash nodded slowly and idly traced the Feather beneath his shirt. The golden glow was bright enough to be a constant distraction despite his best efforts to ignore it and he dearly hoped it wouldn't come to interfere in his quest.

"Where's Dazed and Lance?" He spoke up, a hard edge in his voice. "I'm not leaving until I'm sure they're safe."

"And how safe can they be while the world tears itself apart at the seams?" Slowking retorted. "But yes, they are —"

Fine.

Ash's face lit up as Dazed shuffled out from a cave well-hidden by the slush and blackness that still dominated the sky. Her lightly-furred body shivered under Articuno's spell, although she seemed relatively unscathed.

I am unscathed in body. Do not fear for me. Only my power was broken in the Blizzard.

"And Lance? Dragonite? Dov?"

Dazed froze and stared past Ash to where the three Birds clashed.

The Champion-Mentor lives. He fell from the Alpha's back when I lost control of their shields. Had the Blight not intervened sooner they would have been slain. It was by the Sentinel's power that they still draw breath.

Her mental voice was as cold as the Blizzard itself.

"Thank you," he smiled softly at her. "And Dazed? I know you did your best. Nobody else could have even gotten us half as far as you did."

She was silent and looked down at her pendulum as she gently polished the ring of gem in her snow-white mane.

He turned from her to the Slowking. He'd given Dazed all she needed to hear.

"I'm ready to go. But how am I supposed to survive —"

Trainer-Friend. Prepare yourself.

Dazed's warning echoed within the walls of his skull as he wheeled about only to blanch in horror. Even the Feather couldn't stave off the icy feeling that shot through his veins as he saw the Storm and Blizzard devour their way across the skies to Shamouti, intent upon their prey.

A wall of black on one side and a wall of white on the other. Between them red and gold and white raged futilely as it tried to fight its way outside of the overwhelming force brought to bear against it, icy winds slashing and penetrating like knives while innumerable lances of lightning probed and sundered the Firestorm's guard.

He actually saw Zapdos then. A vague figure with wings of condensed storm clouds and a beak of golden power shot out of its Storm, wreathed in enough lightning to raze the world beneath it. Were it not for a sudden film of psychic energy covering his eyes courtesy of Dazed he would have been struck blind from staring at the splendor of the terrible Bird of Lightning that screamed — a sound that rattled his bones and knocked him to his knees.

Zapdos' golden figure tore its way out of its own Storm as fast as its own element and through Moltres' Inferno, fearless and ferocious as any creature to soar the heavens. The Inferno parted at Zapdos' fury and failed to recover as Zapdos' power flooded in behind him until Moltres was as much in Zapdos' territory as its own.

And the world was nothing.

The Storm's blackness, the Inferno's light, the Blizzard's whiteness…they all vanished in the face of Zapdos. Dazed's shields were torn apart and he couldn't see a thing other than an infinite explosion of electricity that lanced across the horizon, banishing Fire and Ice and leaving the world with naught but Lightning as its master.

Then Zapdos' cry of victory reached him, a sound of thunder that was beyond anything he'd heard before.

He screamed as the sound hit him and forced him to his knees. His bones shook inside of their suit of flesh and he was afraid that his own body would come apart at the seams. His eardrums were just barely protected from bursting by Slowking and he still tore at his ears just to feel something other than the terrible enormity of Zapdos' cry of victory.

Shamouti Island quaked and rocked precariously. Much of the cliffside shattered and fell into the ocean's depths, causing vast tsunamis that were obliterated a second later by an errant blast of lightning. The world rocked and the ocean itself seemed to tear apart around Zapdos — a single massive wave shot out from all around it from the force behind its cry.

Open your eyes.

He was so lost within his own mind, so lost within his own primal urges to flee from such terrible power that he couldn't even determine if it was Dazed or Slowking that had reached into his mind.

But he did.

It was much the same as before, although filtered through as powerful a lens of psychic energy as Dazed could create. Zapdos still hung victoriously in the air releasing its power until it looked brighter than the sun itself, all in the name of its triumph over the Inferno.

Moltres' flames flickered and tried to twist and writhe against Zapdos' Storm in order to sear away the black clouds and terrible blasts of lightning but were utterly helpless as they were extinguished under the power of Zapdos' lightning, winds, and rain.

The Feather raged to life once more before it dimmed to little more than an ember. Ash felt as though a hole had been torn through his chest as he felt the full weight of dead obsidian rather than the fluid liquid it had dissolved into during the course of this battle.

He fought to remain on his feet as he saw the Inferno recede and condense until it had become Moltres once more — a towering Bird of living flame and a frame of delicate obsidian that seemed terribly lifeless all of a sudden.

A Legend picked bare by its comrades.

Were Ash not rendered deaf by Zapdos' thunder he would have heard Moltres' last cries of rage before it fell into the endless expanse of the ocean and was consumed by the vast waves created by Zapdos' supremacy.

He was struck dumb as he watched Moltres' descent.

The Titan of Fire had been extinguished. It was still alive — he could see its flames still feebly flickering as they burned away the water around it — but it would not return to the surface for a long time yet. It was too weak to escape the depths.

This is rather nostalgic, is it not?

Ash grit his teeth and ignored the amused jabs from Mewtwo. He didn't have time for the Creature's games.

Zapdos flew after Articuno next. It allowed its Storm to wrap around it once more except this time its body was still distinct, more massive than Ash had ever seen it.

Its figure was nothing but living lightning at its core. The essence of gold extended off into wings that spanned a hundred feet in either direction in its empowered state before storm clouds that poured off of them added miles more to their length. Zapdos' body was too bright to look at, just a gigantic, ferocious ball of plasma that sparked dozens of lightning bolts every second as it chased its next victim.

When Articuno met it with all the cold fury of the Blizzard it was Ash could watch no more. He lost both of the Titans in their cloaks of black and white and didn't care to watch as the two remaining Birds did their utmost to utterly destroy one another in their unending battle for supremacy.

Calm yourself, Chosen One. Fire yet burns. But your quest is ever more urgent.

"How am I supposed to fight that?" He mouthed. Ash was still so dazed that he wasn't sure if the words had actually left his lips.

You will not. You cannot.

Ash scowled and stalked past Slowking to glare at the altar. His eyes were still filled with stars and he couldn't see the delicate script, although his mind whispered the words of the Prophecy to him again and again, engraving them into his very essence.

A shiver ran down his spine and distracted him from his distraught fury. Moltres' warmth was gone. He didn't even have the protection of the Feather anymore.

He was on his own. Only his team stood beside him.

Mortals standing defiant in the face of gods.

"I'm going to stop this," he announced and released Plume, who shivered under the weight of her wounds. "Plume, are you ready to fly? We're going to need every bit of strength you have."

She nodded tiredly, although Slowking stopped her. The powerful psychic shut its eyes and allowed a film of energy blue as the sea to envelop her massive body. Plume's head bowed in relief as the energy pulsed steadily for what seemed like an eternity.

Your task will be simpler now. Your ally is healed, at least for the moment. Ice's power is purged from her body and I restored her body to what it once was.

"Thank you," Ash dipped his head gratefully. A bead of fear gnawed its way deep in his stomach as his thoughts turned to Lance. "Could you check on my friend? He's a —"

Bearer of the Golden Feather. His connection runs far deeper than yours. Do not worry. The bond he shares is tied intimately to the Fragment you have encountered previously. His health will wane until he is in death's hands but he will live. For now. You must hurry if you want him to draw breath in the future, however.

He breathed a sigh of relief and squeezed his eyes shut before he turned to stare out at the Titans' struggle. They both seemed fairly even now. The Storm still attacked and flooded the skies with terrible ferocity but the Blizzard held strong and had even moved over Moltres' island in a sign of dominance.

Ash feared that this stalemate would not last. Without Moltres to mediate and maintain the balance one of them would eventually gain the edge and consume the other as they had the Titan of Fire. It was only a matter of time.

Time is of the essence. The Fire you know has sensed the imbalance and comes to restore order upon Ice and Lightning. Its wrath will be terrible and swift with little regard for lesser creatures. Its fellow Fragments are drawn here as well with the shift. In a few hours the three will converge upon this place and the Great Guardian will be helpless to stop them.

"Where is Lugia?" Ash growled, his patience nonexistent as he stood by Plume. How could he stay calm when he'd just heard that this situation could be even worse?! "Its duty is to stop the Birds, and I could use the —"

Here.

Ash froze as a haunting song swept through his soul. It transcended his deaf ears or even the telepathic call to his mind. It reverberated inside him, a forgotten melody more powerful in its soothing tones than all the thunder of Zapdos or howling Blizzard of Articuno.

He looked out to the sea. Torrent appeared beside him in a flash of light, drawn by the melody. His body quivered in excitement and his red eyes almost shone with glee. Even Nidoking's devotion to the Moon Stone paled in comparison to the sheer power of the spell Torrent found himself caught in.

And Ash fully understood. He wasn't just an onlooker as he had been with Nidoking's fervor. He was part of this, as was all life.

The entire span of the sea froze in the grip of a deep blue glow — the water was almost blinding in its intensity as immeasurable power bent it to the will of an ancient force.

The song echoed again, stronger this time, and even the Storm and Blizzard calmed. Whether in fear or peace Ash knew not.

He felt them. Zapdos and Articuno. The primordial beings had finally found something powerful enough to remind them of their own limits.

There was one they feared.

Ash was frozen as the entirety of the glowing ocean shot upwards — for miles around the sea had been lifted as high as his eyes could see until the waters and heavens were as one. As Articuno had made his world a Blizzard, this newcomer had made it an ocean.

The Blizzard was drowned and the Storm snuffed out. There was no spreading frost he could see, no furious explosion of lightning. Just the endless, all-encompassing walls of water. Black and blue and still as ice.

A shadow twisted within the ocean's depths, a hundred feet long and its only discernible features a pair of fierce eyes that glowed with the power of twin suns.

Eyes hauntingly familiar to Mewtwo's but infinitely kinder and older.

It is time.

The Sea spoke.

No, that was not right. It did not speak so much as simply reveal what he already knew. Those words had been a part of him since he was first conceived. It was only now that the Sea saw fit to open his eyes to the deepest waters of his soul that held the statement.

Its eyes focused upon Ash and he felt an enormous presence fall upon his shoulders, an abyss to his droplet.

The voice was ageless and kind, utterly peaceful. There was no exertion behind it, no sign that it had levitated an entire ocean with the casualness he would expect from Dazed levitating a pebble. No care that it had bound Ice and Lightning in watery prisons.

They will break free, child. They have struck a terrible blow against themselves but even as two I may not bind them for eternity. Even now they struggle against their binds.

I offer time. My Song will maintain the balance in the absence of the Third but it will not be restored without your aid. Recover the Spheres. I shall protect you.

"I will!" Ash shouted back and hurriedly mounted Plume. Torrent stared longingly at the shadow of Lugia as the Guardian darted deeper into the sea. Dazed allowed herself to be recalled even as Plume shot into the sky and Torrent finally allowed himself to do the same. "Let's go, Plume! Every second counts!"

Plume screamed and shot through the air faster than she ever had before. Ash felt his stomach drop and fought the urge to wretch as she sped up vertically mere feet away from the risen ocean — he could see their reflection in the water that was frozen in his time, albeit as a mere blur.

He held on tightly, although he found himself bound to Plume in a layer of impossibly strong psychic energy. It covered them completely, rendering him immune to the vicious wind and secondary effects of Plume's absurd speeds and Plume free of concern for him.

By the time they had soared above Lugia's walls of water Plume had flown just above the low-hanging clouds. Ash looked around greedily, eager to take advantage of this unique opportunity. He could breathe perfectly, see without any sort of inhibition.

As they skimmed the surface of the ocean — how odd that was when they were thousands and thousands of feet in the air — Ash took in everything he could. Freed of mortal limitations he could truly appreciate all of creation.

A smile played over his face and whatever wounds and injuries he had suffered were soothed as Lugia's power knit flesh back together and restored his body to what it had once been.

If this was how Plume felt whenever she took to the skies he couldn't blame her for flying at every opportunity.

"We're going to have to do this more often!" He laughed to Plume, who lightly cooed back at him with a joyful glimmer in her fierce eyes. "Now let's go!"

Plume shrieked and just a bit of mischief entered her bearing. He couldn't hold back and reflexively let out a cry of surprise when her whole body tensed up and suddenly entered Super Speed. The world was nothing but a blur as she flashed forward as fast as his eyes could track and he let out a wild scream before a grin settled its way onto his face — this was speed! What she'd attained before was nothing more than a pale shadow of this.

He let his torso rise from where it had been stuck to Plume's back and he looked around. It was almost eerie to be up here with no wind, no sound that wasn't from within the psychic membrane.

But he loved it.

Everything else just melted away. His pain, his fear, his worries. All gone as he enjoyed this brief moment of respite. The weight on his shoulders was nothing with Plume bearing him.

Right now he knew he could do anything.

Restore the balance. Protect the world from the warring Birds. Keep those he loved safe.

Fulfill his duty.

The "prophecy" didn't matter — this was his his responsibility as a member of the Indigo Elite Four and, more importantly, as a person.

It was his duty to protect those weaker than himself and fight those who would abuse their power with no regard for others. It was his duty to right the wrongs in the world and balance the scales.

It was his duty to do more good for the world than Giovanni had done wrong.

Then Plume sped up again and everything flooded away. Ash laughed and kept a bright smile on his face until she had finally crossed over the expanse of ocean Lugia had entombed the Birds in and —

His face fell into grim determination. The Feather pulsed.

Moltres flew far beneath them as the prison ended. Tongues of flame trailed behind its terribly weakened form — its obsidian frame was visible to his eyes and the Inferno that normally wreathed about it was almost entirely absent.

Lugia had allowed it to go free — had raised it from the abyss as it emerged.

Why?

He shook himself back into focus. It didn't matter. He'd deal with that when he had to. Right now he was operating on a time limit. Ash's keen eyes caught twin glows behind the walls of water and the outermost layers had begun to tremble as Lugia's hold was contested by Zapdos and Articuno.

"To Articuno's island first!" He directed. Ash blinked in surprise when he actually heard his own voice clearly. Lugia's power worked quickly. "We can deal with the Storm if we have to. The Blizzard is beyond us."

Plume shrieked — it was almost painfully loud in the contained space of the membrane — and dove down to the frozen island. It was practically an iceberg even with its Master bound and a steady white cloud dropped an endless flurry of snow and ice down onto the mountain.

He was grateful for the membrane as Plume dove through the cloud, dispersing large swathes of it with her mighty wings until they shot through and looked down upon the interior of the glacier.

Ash had to admit that he was surprised to see that Articuno's mountain actually bore quite a bit of resemblance to its temple at the Seafoam Caverns. He'd expected little more than rugged ice for the Bird to rest within but instead the interior of the mountain had been carefully shaped at some time.

A massive outcropping of rock had been chipped into a proper perch for the slumbering Legend as the huge gouges ripped into its by Articuno's terrible talons attested to. There were dozens of idols in the Bird's form that adorned the area, each covered in enough ice to almost mimic the real Bird in appearance.

He paused for a moment in respect to whatever beings were devoted enough to brave Articuno's presence in order to build this shrine. They would have suffered terribly in this endeavor.

But he was most interested in the frozen altar that held the largest position of prominence.

Smooth, ice-slicked steps led up to a simple construct of stone, although it was heavy and white with Articuno's element.

A beautifully crafted embodiment of the Titan of Ice stared at him with frozen eyes that seemed almost alive. It was angular and geometric, carved with the same inhuman precision as Lugia's altar at Shamouti.

Ash paused for a moment and bowed his head to the altar before he dismounted from Plume and ascended the steps. A presence filled his heart, cold and regal beyond mortal bounds. It seemed to hover about him and tested Lugia's protections.

When it failed to so much as chill his skin it seemed to give up and receded.

He frowned at that as he stared at the Sphere stuck within the idol's beak. What was this treasure?

Ash shrugged it off. That wasn't his problem right now. The growing howls of the Blizzard that had slowly begun to form over Articuno's island was.

He grabbed the Sphere.

Winter. Cold. Ice.

All concepts he had known of before but he hadn't truly understood until this moment, when he held its very essence in his hand. Every snowflake and drifting shard of ice was part of him, an extension of his very being.

He saw the history of the world in his mind's eye, the first winter to the last.

Winter was his body. Cold was his cloak. Ice was his soul.

Everything before this moment seemed meaningless. Every victory paled in comparison to this understanding. Every sorrow was but an afterthought in the face of his new history. Every love forgotten in the realization of this perfection.

Whiteness filled his vision but he did not need sight. The snowflakes were his hands, the cold his touch.

He was Ice.

He was Ash Ketchum.

Two identities warred.

Blizzard and Boy.

What was he? The Sphere, that which had existed for aeons before it was bound to this place for eternity, a Titan cut off from the freedom of the world? Or the Boy, that which had existed as a blink of an eye in the infinity of the universe, a tiny strand of space and time that would venture forth until he was no more?

He was Ash Ketchum and always would be.

Ash breathed and stared down at the Sphere in awe. What was this? Was it Articuno's spirit or something else?

He ruthlessly quashed the Sphere's will and placed it into his pack. The Feather sluggishly pulsed to life again but he ignored even that familiar heat.

He would not allow the Legends any more authority over him. Not now.

"Let's go," he said tersely as he hurried down the slick steps as fast as he dared. Ash did his best to forget how close he'd come to losing himself to the Sphere. It had been so powerful…he didn't even realize how overwhelming Articuno's will was until its power had already passed. "Lugia can't hold them much longer — I can feel it."

Plume cooed to him as he mounted her and the layer of psychic power bound them together once more. She screamed to the heavens as she flapped her wings and shot into the air without any form of visible effort, eyes fierce as she soared towards Zapdos' massive island.

Ash kept an eye on Lugia's prison, which had begun to dissolve at the sides as Articuno and Zapdos slowly managed to overwhelm the Guardian's hold. Half of what he saw was slowly crystallizing into a thick sheer of ice while the other hissed and boiled as Zapdos' power surged unrelentingly.

That didn't matter even as they passed hundreds and hundreds of feet every second. Plume had already entered Super Speed and there was nothing in the sky that could catch her as she made her way through Zapdos' Storm.

He grit his teeth as they met the first bit of resistance. They were surrounded by blackness and rain and wind and lightning that buffeted and struck them hard enough for Lugia's shield to flash and waver. No lightning had struck them yet despite the absurd amount of it that illuminated the dark clouds around them but he feared that it was only a matter of time.

Taking the Ice Sphere must have enraged them somehow — the Storm and Blizzard had both radically intensified, although that could have been a result of Lugia's own failure to keep them contained. Still, he felt a bit unnerved as the winds picked up and howled loud enough for the din to make itself known through Lugia's shields.

"Keep it steady," he shouted to Plume as he felt the whole world around him shift — the entire sky was suddenly consumed by thousands and thousands of lightning bolts until he was almost blind even behind the powerful shields provided by Lugia. Tiny shocks ran through his body until he was twitching and helpless to control anything other than his thoughts as innumerable blasts of electricity ran about their barrier, leaving nothing but the bitter cut of ozone in his nostrils and eyes filled with white stars.

She shrieked back but he could barely hear over the thunder that rolled throughout the Storm like the angry grumbles of an awakening god, reverberating through his bones and forcing the shield to tremble and waver — he grit his teeth and forced himself to ignore the call of the Ice Sphere.

It was still a haunting call that did its very best to hook its talons into his mind and disrupt the eternal song of Lugia in his heart. The Sphere wanted to be used, wanted the freedom he offered it in its own simple mindset.

Plume screamed and dipped in as controlled of a manner as she could — the Pidgeot's wings were held closely to her side as she dove in an effort to escape the blackness of the Storm.

Ash narrowed his eyes and held on as tightly as he could as the rumbling of the Storm increased in response to a short, sharp cry that heralded the eruption of another thousand lightning bolts that crackled uncontrolled.

A presence grew near. The storm clouds receded, shaped into endless black wings that could engulf the entire horizon should their bearer so desire. Twin eyes of pulsing yellow-white energy stared at him with dispassionate fury as the core of lightning flashed and flickered in the sheets of rain.

Zapdos looked at him. He looked at Zapdos.

Their eyes met.

An electric current raged throughout Ash's body that had nothing to do with the Storm.

He was in the power plant. His friends knelt to the Bird that cocked its head at them with an expression that wasn't quite curiosity. Alien yellow eyes that shone as Lightning personified pulsed with light as the shell of electricity dispersed about it.

Only Infernus stood by Ash's side, a believer in only his own power. And it was with Infernus that Ash first defied a Legend.

It was then that he first saw what Zapdos was. Not a large Bird of blood and bone, feathers and flesh…Stormclouds and Thunder and all the aloofness Lightning regarded earth with from the heavens.

Ash met Zapdos' eyes and the true essence of it flooded his mind.

Zapdos paused and seemed to hang in the air for a moment, distracted. Ash clutched his head with shaking fingers and whispered quick, desperate encouragements to Plume as they darted past the Legend.

The Storm rumbled its discontent and a rain of lightning fell from the skies once more. Ash grit his teeth and glanced back to see Zapdos look upon him once more. Its yellow eyes shone bright enough to be distinguished from its body of lightning and gazed at him with true purpose rather than raw nature.

It knew him now.

Zapdos made a noise that wasn't recognizable as something from a Bird, but something like the din of a hurricane as it made landfall. It extended its massive wings and swooped down at Ash and Plume as they finally made landfall on its black rock.

As he prayed for any sort of respite from the lightning and thunder that tested Lugia's shields over and over again Zapdos swooped and stretched out what could have been talons and —

The Storm was dispersed in a single instant, blown away as it was shattered into tiny wisps of black clouds that struggled to connect to each other once more as a thin beam — probably as thick as Ash's body — shot through Zapdos' elemental cloak and carried all the power of a hurricane behind it.

Zapdos was hurled far away by the blast, its own mastery of wind and rain nothing in the face of the Guardian that appeared bereft of any sort of protection.

Ash spared a moment to glance up at Lugia as it hung above Zapdos' island. It didn't actually fly — it just moved itself with its psychic powers. The Guardian's wings were held tightly to its sides as it regarded Zapdos, whose entire body had been shattered by the force carried behind the blast. It had only just begun to reform from the lightning arcing from cloud to cloud when Articuno made its appearance, the Blizzard raging at Lugia with renewed power in an effort to destroy the one that had interfered with their battle.

This was his chance. He dismounted from Plume when she landed on the very edge of the cliff. that held the small altar. She eyed the battle above with just the hint of fear and a healthy bit of awe in her keen eyes.

He slowed to a cautious walk as he walked out to the altar. The cold stone was slick and he had no desire to lose time getting to the Sphere. Ash didn't have the luxury of the Birds being entombed in the sea anymore. They were active and very real threats right now, especially since they seemed to have a sense of where the Spheres were.

There was no other reason for Zapdos to have actually noticed him. He and Plume should have been nonexistent to the Bird when it had a problem like Lugia to deal with — they could barely survive its Storm, let alone hurt it. Even the bit of power Lugia had invested in their shields would be nothing in comparison to the Guardian itself.

But this time he didn't hesitate, not even as the Blizzard circled around the Guardian and headed straight for him. Lugia had already headed it off and raised the ocean once more around the Blizzard, although that only slowed Articuno for a few moments before it froze millions upon millions of gallons and added the newfound glacier to its cloak.

That was all the time Lugia needed.

As the Blizzard raged toward him the Guardian allowed the power restraining its wings to dissipate. Lugia extended its great wings, white with thick, downy feathers that shone with a luster akin to that of the moon, and flapped once.

Articuno's shriek was nothing compared to the roar of the gale whipped up by Lugia's wings. Ash cried out and sunk to his knees at the sound, which reverberated as loudly as Zapdos' thunder even in the opposite direction.

The Titan of Ice and its Blizzard were effortlessly hurled backwards and were followed by a tidal wave spawned by the winds and larger than anything Ash had ever seen, which engulfed the Bird and dragged it down into the ocean's depths.

Ash rose to his feet and took just the shortest of seconds to gaze upon the altar. It was almost identical to Articuno's aside from the general shape of the idol. The entire work of stone held tiny arcs of energy that danced across the surface in an endless series of jumps and twists.

He grabbed the Sphere.

Spring. Storm. Lightning.

He felt the world through every rain drop that still fell from Zapdos' rapidly recovering Storm, every bolt of lightning that still sought to renew its master. Every cloud that circled and whirled under Lightning — under his influence — was his own.

Ash blinked.

The Sphere struck then in his weakest moment as he overcame the brief moment of unity they shared.

It was terrible. What must have been a hundred lightning bolts of electricity flooded through him so as to let him know the Sphere's essence, to dominate him and subjugate his mortal flesh to its will.

Thunder rolled through his bones as the Sphere shone brightly. It crackled and roiled in displeasure as it felt the dead weight of the Feather's lifeless frame and consumed it, channeling endless amounts of power through it in order to overtake Moltres' own influence.

He collapsed under the strain and fought as best he could against the sheer enormity of the Sphere's will. It wasn't even truly intelligent in its desires — it was just a primal urge to dominate, to control that which was not its own. The Sphere attacked with all the ferocity of a thunderstorm and Ash could scarcely think, let alone banish its electrifying power.

It attacked and attacked without mercy — it didn't even understand the concept. It just saw Ash as an obstacle to its freedom and wanted to remove that obstacle. It was utterly selfish in the way only a force of nature could be, without malice or mercy in its basest thoughts.

When he felt his hands clench of a will that was not his own something within him snapped.

His mind rose up through the storm clouds that had engulfed his spirit and raged, attacking with the raw desperation only a cornered creature new.

He had not fallen to Mewtwo and he would never fall to this Sphere.

If there was one thing that defined him it was his will to survive, to strive past his limits and reach into the impossible.

He would win and he would force this Sphere to acknowledge him as an entity in his own right. He was not just a somewhat autonomous mass of flesh. He knew his right to exist and now he would make the Sphere know it too.

And he did.

The Sphere recoiled as his thoughts and emotion overcame it, driven by the unflinching will that had carried him through much worse than this.

He had died once already. He would not return so soon.

He found himself on the ground, still engulfed in Lugia's power and holding the Sphere in his hand. The cool surface sent a continuous shock up his arm and always tested him in an effort to find itself free to wander once more, although it never pressed its desire against him.

Whatever power remained in the Sphere was coiled and tight, confused. Ash felt that it had never been defied before by anything less than a Legendary. To have its will contested by anything else than a force of nature manifested must have been disconcerting, to say the least.

Ash just scowled at the Sphere and placed it in his pack alongside the Ice Sphere. The two glowed and trembled as they neared one another, although he couldn't tell whether they were attracted or repelled by their opposing element. They finally stopped moving, though, and just pulsed erratically.

He really was tired of these Legends. The threat of Mewtwo had been more than enough for his lifetime and he wasn't eager to see any of the Birds again after this catastrophe. What awe he'd felt for them was still there but it was bitter and jaded now.

The Birds were majestic, beautiful, and powerful. They would always hold a spell over him. But they were as lofty and dispassionate for lesser beings as their own element. With the exception of Moltres they didn't even recognize anything lesser than themselves. They just fought and destroyed at their own leisure.

He'd return them to their slumber and then be done. Ash would have them bound forever to their islands until it was time for the world to feel their power once more, whenever that would be. Thousands and thousands of years, he hoped.

These Titans would never fly free again until Lugia allowed them. And he was more than happy with that. The Birds he'd already encountered were more than enough for the world. Too much, even.

Ash shook his head to focus himself. This wasn't a time to think. This was time to act.

He hurried over to Plume and spared the battle a glance. Articuno had risen with renewed power and had focused all of its considerable power on attacking Lugia. Its Blizzard was actually testing the Guardian now, resisting the psychic beams and massive swathes of ocean Lugia attempted to drown it with in a way Ash hadn't expected — Articuno's power had waxed to the point that it managed to freeze almost all the ocean the moment it touched the Blizzard.

But that wasn't his problem. Not yet anyways. No, his problem was —

Thunder shook the island and if it weren't for Lugia's shield suddenly bracing him he would have been hurled to the ground. Plume shrieked in surprise and barely managed to stabilize herself — it seemed most of the shield had gone to keeping him, the vulnerable human, safe.

Zapdos' scream was drowned in another wave of thunder that rolled through him. The Lightning Sphere hummed and heated as a bolt of lightning lanced and struck near Ash, an event that almost blinded the boy.

He saw the core of lightning moments before it flew over him and razed the world with an unending rain of electricity that scorched the ground and pushed his shield to its absolute limits. Zapdos shrieked and circled again, utterly ignoring the battle between Lugia and Articuno which was quickly becoming one-sided as Lugia fired another one of its absurdly powerful beams that tore the Blizzard apart with the sheer winds it carried with it.

The Titan of Lightning stared at him and opened its terrible, spear-like beak to rage at his possession of the Sphere one last time. Dozens of lightning bolts arced down and attacked his shield, finally disintegrating it as Lugia's focus was split by a stabbing lance from the Blizzard that threatened to engulf the Guardian.

He collapsed as a concussive blast knocked him to his back with enough force to break his ribs and moaned in pain. His vision was blurry with pain and he futilely clutched his hands to his ears as thunder broke the world again, so loud and powerful that he felt himself become deaf in an instant.

A glow passed above him, a Bird of Lightning and Thunder and Storm. Thunderclaps echoed out with every wingbeat and he felt the lightning rage about him more than he saw it.

The Spheres called out for him and in his weakest state he was sorely tested to allow them to dominate his will and possess his body in the merest hopes of survival. A primordial instinct to live reared its ugly head and he had to clutch his head ever harder lest he lose himself to the Spheres' power.

When the heat grew too intense and the ozone seared his nostrils he clutched two orbs.

Ash recoiled from the massive rise in temperature and sense that his very flesh would ignite and opened his eyes.

Twin figures stood beside him, protective of their human as he struggled to rise once more.

Nidoking lent him an arm and snarled up at the blackening sky with rage he'd never seen before as Zapdos wheeled about, dissatisfied with Ash's survival. Infernus was white-hot, barely distinguishable within the cloak of fire and warped air his heat had created around him.

"Thank you," he rasped and clutched his chest as molten heat and coiled electricity fought for dominance. The Feather glowed with renewed life, albeit still meager compared to the furnace it had been before. "Just give me a minute! Lugia can shield me again — Articuno's almost defeated."

Nidoking growled and huddled close to him. Ash quickly found himself pulled beneath the ground-type's powerful arm in a protective manner as the poison-type glared at the rapidly approaching Zapdos with black eyes more hateful than he'd ever seen them.

Infernus stood stock-still. His face was twisted into a terrible snarl and cones of white flame licked out of his cannons as the air warped and twisted around him. No sign of his normal glee for battle was present beneath his fiery cloak, just a restrained grimness that unnerved Ash more than any of his smirks or smiles.

It was these two masters of battle that Zapdos paid no heed to as it flew over and flapped its wings of solid black cloud a single time. Zapdos flew past as it allowed a hundred lightning bolts to spark from its wings and left them for Lugia, which had begun to regain its supremacy over the lone Titan that opposed it.

Zapdos should have waited.

Nidoking shielded Ash with his massive body the moment Zapdos' wings had twitched and clearly meant for Ash to stay just a little away from him so that the current from the lightning wouldn't be redirected into his own vulnerable body.

But that didn't stop Ash from seeing what happened.

Infernus' face twisted into an expression of monumental exertion and his fires flared about him to match.

And then he actually teleported in the midst of this battle of Legends, appearing just beneath Zapdos' terrible form the instant before the rain of electricity fell.

His body hung for an instant in the air, a black silhouette outlined as a brilliant flash illuminated the sky. Ash cried out for his friend as Infernus dispersed and absorbed dozens and dozens of lightning bolts with Air Lens — more electricity than the technique was ever designed for.

Infernus fell, obviously unconscious and probably near death. He was powerful but no mortal pokemon was supposed to bear the power of a Legend alone.

Ash's vision turned red as he recalled the Magmortar and recalled Nidoking after he thanked his first friend with a dip of his head. Nidoking's eyes mirrored the rage he saw and the poison-type's fangs had been exposed in a terrible snarl as several beads of poison leaked from his horn.

Nidoking didn't need telepathy for Ash to know what he was thinking. And Ash heartily approved. They were as one in that moment.

He was going to kill Zapdos.

"PLUME!" He roared to his friend, who had just fluttered over to him. Her entire bearing reflected her sorrow at Infernus' fall. Ash knew that Infernus wasn't her favorite companion but he was family nonetheless. And family was something they all protected. "To Moltres' island. We're ending this now!"

She shrieked and took to the skies. Ash didn't even notice as the shield that still covered her extended to him and slowly began to soothe his pain and mend his wounds.

It didn't matter. What pain he had suffered was irrelevant.

Only one thing in the world made any sort of sense to him any more and that was putting a stop to this madness.

The world rushed around him as Plume flew faster than she ever had — he could scarcely see anything other than great swathes of white and black as Articuno and Zapdos finally worked in tandem against Lugia.

It took less than thirty seconds to reach Moltres' island, which was nearly ten miles off of Zapdos' island and that was with Plume having to evade the clashing elements that had practically sundered the sea with their might.

Ash's eyes were still filled with rage as Plume wheeled around the dead volcano in order to ensure that it was safe. The great torrents of smoke that had belched forth from the mountain earlier had long since been blown away by its kin and master. The volcano's rain of magma was cold and lifeless, frozen over by Articuno's touch.

Only the dimmest of fires still burned deep within the volcano's heart and Ash couldn't find it in himself to fear them. Moltres had been brought to the precipice of death — at least what semblance of death a Legend could experience — and would take more than a few minutes to recover from that terrible blow.

He didn't even feel much more than what might have been heat pouring from the frame of the Feather. It was just a reflection of the volcano in that regard.

Ash gnashed his teeth as his anger continued to roil and write deep within his chest, heedless to anything other than the altar set on a small strip of stone in the midst of the volcano. The only thing that lit the mountain's heart was the weak glow of Moltres at the bottom where it nursed its wounds.

"There!"

Plume was silent as she landed on the last bit of wide, solid ground. Ash hopped off of her and practically sprinted toward the altar, although even his blind rage faltered in the deep rumbling that quaked the earth. The glow pulsed deeper and deeper and a semblance of life flooded back into the Feather, although Ash was tempted to tear it off and hurl it into the volcano at this point.

A cry like the crackling of a wildfire split the air, although it lacked the overpowering qualities of Zapdos' thunderous roars and Articuno's harsh howls. Flames licked the rim of the volcano as the heat exploded, enough to the point that he felt a lick of the high temperature past his shield.

Moltres' wings of fire and smoke paled in comparison to Zapdos' as the Titan of Fire arose from its sanctum, glowing eyes ablaze with the mindless rage that had consumed it. Flames covered the entirety of its body and he had to hold in a breath at the sight of its majesty — he hadn't been able to truly see one of the Birds yet, not when they had released their full power and guarded themselves in their elemental cloaks.

The beauty — the sheer nature of it — checked his own fury for just a few moments as he took in the Titan.

Long wings of golden flame, talons and legs and beak of obsidian that continually melted but somehow retained its expertly crafted shape, a crest of white flame that could burn even Infernus.

Moltres truly was beautiful. Beautiful yet terrible. The majesty of a wildfire mixed with all the knowledge that this being could burn the seas away should it so desire.

And the Bird knew it as well, even lost as it was in the berserker frenzy this clash had reduced it to. It spread its wings and hung in the air, held aloft by the burning air that rose from the volcano's deepest places.

It cried again and blazed on before it settled itself atop its altar, which glowed cherry red at the touch. The Sphere shined and pulsed frantically and erratically, as though it sought to reach out and touch the Bird.

Ash felt himself clench his fists. Moltres' message was clear.

It would not allow him to take the Sphere.

But he couldn't find it in himself to care at the moment. He looked at it again and saw the weakness it had tried so desperately to hide.

The exposed obsidian, the orange-red flames rather than white, the lack of its Inferno to burn him away.

Moltres was at its weakest now, brought lower than any Legend had ever been. Even its counterpart had been stronger when Mewtwo had torn open the sea and cast it into the abyss.

It shrieked and beat its wings angrily as Ash conquered what little fear remained in him and met its deep red eyes.

Nothing happened. No exchange of information, no melding of mind and essence. Just a flood of warmth that couldn't even revive the Feather, which still crackled with Zapdos' energy.

A dangerous smile slid onto his face and he reached down to his belt.

Moltres let loose another cry that sent waves of fire burning through the sky but it did nothing to intimidate Ash or those that had joined him.

Nidoking, Torrent, Dazed, Bruiser, and Tangrowth stood behind him. Oz and Sneasel were only absent because he feared they would evolve in such close proximity to the incarnations of their elements and the Spheres, which was something neither was yet ready for. It would have too many complications and permanently stunt their potential if they evolved now. Seeker was just too fragile for this deadly environment, especially when it seemed that Lugia was too distracted to shield his team.

He broke his hard stare to glance at his friends, all of whom nodded or dipped their head to him to signify that they were ready for anything. Ash could see in their posture that each fought an instinctive urge to submit to the Legend but they did not fall as they had to Zapdos in the power plant.

No, they would not shame themselves like that again. This time they stood strong and followed their trainer's ire, although none could bring themselves to meet Fire's eyes.

"Leave!" Ash shouted to Moltres, whose flaming head cocked at him with just a blur of comprehension. "Let me take the Sphere!"

Moltres shrieked and beat its wings furiously. Shields of shimmering blue appeared around his team to protect them from the heat courtesy of Dazed and they prepared for a confrontation the likes of which they hoped never to see again.

Ash wasn't done.

"Let me leave or I will kill you."

Moltres' rage dimmed and it actually paused. Ash met its fiery gaze unflinchingly.

It seemed to struggle as a bit of intelligence broke through the veneer of primordial instinct that dominated its being. The great wings lowered slightly and its fires cooled and died as its fury finally broke.

A connection formed then. His Feather flared to life for a single instant and Moltres knew him body, mind, and soul.

Fire retreated into the volcano, its presence gone but for a dim glow that drove away the rains and gloom and cold of Articuno and Zapdos as they fled from Lugia in search of their Spheres at the shift.

"Thank you," he muttered to his friends. "Prepare yourselves. You know what's coming."

His family nodded their assent and watched as he made his way across the bridge of blackened stone to the altar, which was as cool and lifeless as though Moltres had never touched it at all.

He grabbed the Sphere, which held a flame that danced and writhed as his hand clutched the impossibly smooth material.

Summer. Inferno. Fire.

He became them all for a single instant as the Sphere's essence rushed up his arm like molten lava, an infinite will for change and freedom. It merged with him and fought for ownership of his body with a fury neither of its kin had mustered.

The Feather pulsed and aided it as a vessel of Fire, the instrument gifted to him by the Moltres he respected corrupted and turned against him as a weapon by the Sphere's desperation to live once more.

Ash's being was assaulted by twin forces, one overwhelming and immense and the other waxing and feeding off of the first's endless power.

His vision flashed red and the world burned around him, the shield fading as the Sphere unleashed the enormity of its will upon his spirit and that which protected him from the physical manifestation of its energies.

Fire and Ash.

He lost himself for a moment as the twin spirits warred — one impossibly powerful and the other absolutely unbreakable.

For what seemed like an eternity he was in balance, his body frozen as the Sphere grew hotter and hotter in his hand. But it could never claim the vessel each desired.

It was Lightning that tipped the scales. The little bit of its essence he retained awoke and crackled, attacking the Sphere and Fire with territorial instincts no mortal could match.

Ash found his focus and overwhelmed them all, crushing the warring forces into submission and binding them to their own inanimate vessels.

You have retained yourself?

"Yes…I have," Ash gasped to Dazed. She gently pulled him over to her with telekinesis and examined him. His whole body ached with searing pain like it had been burned from the inside out and his throat was torn and raw as though it had reverted to its horribly damage state from after his first battle with Moltres. "Take me to Plume…I have to —"

There is no time. Ice and Lightning feel the Fragments. They come now to reclaim that which is theirs.

"Then we need to make time!" Ash rasped and hacked into his elbow. "I have them all! Where's Lugia?!"

I know not — the Guardian's power has weakened. Its battle has taken a toll. But Ice and Lightning flee here to find their power once more. Their essence has grown weak and tired. They seek their only hope in the Fragments.

"Then they'll be disappointed," Ash scowled up at the blackening sky as twin natural disasters raged his way faster than he'd ever seen them move. He saw the lightning flash and thunder shake the sea and earth as Zapdos made its displeasure known. The ocean and air froze where Articuno went and he saw brief glimpses of terrible white wings that swallowed the world. "I'd throw the things in the volcano before I let them reclaim the Spheres."

His heart pounded as the Titans sought him out. Lugia was still strong, or so Dazed said, but it clearly wasn't able to defeat the two Birds without his aid. It could just maintain the balance and buy him time.

He decided to go for it. Plume might be fast enough to escape the incoming Birds, although he feared what would happen if they focused their full might against the two of them. Even Lugia's shields couldn't withstand that kind of devastation.

But he had to try — Infernus and the rest of the world were counting on him.

"Plume, get ready to fly!" He shouted to his friend as he rushed over to her, hands going to his pokeballs as he prepared to return the rest of the team. "I need you to go faster than —"

The Blizzard engulfed them, or at least the skies above. Ash felt chilled talons grip his heart as a white shadow passed over him, its cry colder than the deepest days of winter. Twin white eyes looked upon him and he felt Articuno's sapping cold swallow his shields with directed intent.

His friends had already collapsed, only saved from unconsciousness by Dazed as she drew upon every last reserve of her power to sustain their shields. Ash found himself collapsing by them as vicious winds shot innumerable blades of ice into the shield, pushing it closer and closer to its limit every second.

He was lost in the Blizzard when thunder rolled through the volcano, a foreboding rumble that was far worse than any earthquake. Rain intermixed with snow and ice and lances of lightning carved their jagged path across the sky, piercing the Blizzard with the full might of Zapdos.

Hold yourself, child. Your trial will be over soon.

Ash found himself on his back and looked up at the sky, which was just a mass of white wind with the occasional flash of lightning. It was almost peaceful now.

The Spheres pulsed against his back, the desire to meet with their respective Legendaries evident. He had to fight back the urge to grasp one and surrender himself to their power.

Instead he fell into Lugia's song, which echoed eternally in his mind. It grew louder and louder as the whiteness intensified and a great shadow loomed over him. The shadow's wings were outstretched and sharp as icicles and a vicious beak of crystalline ice opened and a dreadful howl echoed forth that intensified the cold and slowly drained their shields of their strength.

The Ice Sphere froze against his back and Ash just barely managed to catch himself before he reached for the smooth surface of the ancient artifact and allowed its great power to consume him.

And then the Song reverberated inside his skull and a thin beam of light pierced the Blizzard just a little above Articuno's physical body. The Titan of Ice seemed to retreat within itself in fear just before a mighty gale roared behind the light beam and carried the entire Blizzard away, dispersing it as though it were just a wispy cloud.

Articuno's scream of shock echoed throughout the dim volcano, although it was soon carried away by the absurd power behind the attack. Ash saw one of its vast wings torn off by the gale, although it reformed almost instantaneously.

Ash sprung to his feet the moment he could, as did his friends. They all looked weary and drained — Dazed had done her best but there was only so much she could do. Lugia hadn't bothered to shield them, although Ash couldn't blame it after that attack.

But that wasn't his concern. Not right now.

What he did need to worry about was getting to Shamouti Island and ending this, although he wasn't sure how that would work. Zapdos' Storm had replaced the Blizzard and it was more vicious than he had ever seen it — outside of the volcano, which Moltres seemed to retain some small amount of control over, lightning fell as frequently as rain to the point there was just a continuous flash of light coming from all direction and a steady rumble of thunder.

It wouldn't be possible for Plume to cross that even with Lugia's help. They'd nearly died going through the Storm when Zapdos had been entombed within Lugia's prison. With its power unrestrained it would be a death sentence.

His mind ran constantly with ideas as the seconds ticked by. Dozens were discarded before they were even fully formed and most just couldn't work.

Frustrated, Ash gripped Infernus' pokeball. He had to hurry this up. Ash hadn't gotten a good look at Infernus before he recalled the Magmortar mid-fall but he did know that his friend was probably dying. Air Lens wasn't able to handle that much electricity even if he was empowered by Moltres' presence.

He froze.

He looked at the pokeball.

He released Infernus.

Ash withheld a choke in his torn throat as he saw Infernus. The Magmortar was limp and unmoving, mouth agape as his head lolled back. His entire body was blackened as though his magma-like blood had frozen inside of him. There was still life in him but his fire was waning.

His mind was made up. Ash didn't even know if a lava pit would be enough to heal his friend in this state and he doubted this Moltres was in any condition to heal or resurrect him again even if it was willing…which Ash felt it wouldn't.

The rest of the team was circled around him with fearful eyes. Dazed had lost her normal impassivity in favor of eyes dark with concern. Her pendulum trembled and jumped wildly, betraying her emotional state.

Even Tangrowth understood the situation as he ran his thick vines over Infernus' cooling body and assuaged old curiosities about the Magmortar's form. He gurgled piteously and his vines wriggled erratically as a few massive tears dripped from his saucer-like eyes and were lost in his shell of vines.

Bruiser knelt by Infernus' body and growled a series of noises as his reptilian face twisted in sorrow. His soft noises never stopped and he drew out a series of symbols in the air above Infernus, which was cold for the first time Ash could remember.

Nidoking and Torrent were the most restrained. Each dipped their head to their fallen comrade, although Nidoking made sure to shuffle over to Ash in order to support him. Ash didn't respond other than to clench Nidoking's plated shoulder as he stared at Infernus.

Plume cried out as she fluttered over and lowered her head to Infernus' side. She cooed softly to the cooling Magmortar and shut her eyes before she started to sing softly to him, a series of high, clear noises that made Ash want to collapse down at his friend's side and forget about this damned apocalypse.

He joined his friends at Infernus' side and knelt. His face was stone as he laid a callused hand across his brother-in-arms' chest for the first and probably last time as a Magmortar.

It was only the second time he'd actually touched Infernus, he dimly realized. His body was just too hot normally. He'd be burned if he got within a foot of hi now, let alone actual contact.

The last time was after the battle with Pierce, when Infernus had been struck by Metagross' Hyper Beam. It had been a bad wound, although he almost smiled at how naive he'd been back then. He'd seen much worse now.

"Back up, all of you."

His team obeyed, although they looked at him oddly. Only Dazed seemed to understand what he was doing, if her wide eyes were anything to go by.

This is madness, Friend-Trainer. The risk —

"Is worth it," he finished. "Please, Dazed."

Her eyes narrowed in disapproval but she relented. Ash could sense the fear and concern she radiated but knew he had to move on. Infernus didn't have much longer. His breaths were a rare thing now and certainly not enough to sustain him.

A cold power uncoiled within him and watched through his eyes, truly interested for the first time he could remember.

Ash couldn't find it in himself to give a damn.

He reached into his pack and grasped the Fire Sphere. It burned his hand and molten lava rushed up his arm to test his will once more but he shut it down with a thought.

He had already proven his mastery over it. He would not bother doing so again.

Ash took a deep breath and looked at his friend one last time.

"I think it's about time we introduce a balance of our own."

With that he pressed the Fire Sphere to Infernus' chest. It shone with the power of a sun and the blackness that had spread all over Infernus' body seemed to be burned away as his molten blood began pumping once more, bringing warmth and fire back to his body.

He did not move, though, other than to grasp the Fire Sphere with his claws so tightly Ash would have feared it would break had he not known what it was.

Infernus trembled as fire exploded from him and heat comparable to that of a volcano's heart oozed out of the Sphere and filled his body. The air around him was warped to the point he was but a blur even from a foot away and if Lugia's shield wasn't in place Ash would have been burned alive.

Ash feared his own heart stop as Infernus' body shook and jerked as he contested the Sphere's power over himself and tore his way back to life. Horribly familiar red eyes flashed from behind Infernus' closed lids and Ash feared that he might have condemned his friend to certain death as the Sphere's new body.

That fear did not wane as the fierce red glow refused to fade. Infernus' body, now completely restored by the Sphere's energies, slowly rose on unsteady legs. The heat that emanated from him now was absolutely horrific — even Dazed's shields had begun to fail just from being in his proximity. All of his other teammates had been forced to retreat, leaving the lone human standing in an aura of flame that unconsciously spread further and further from its master.

He clenched his fists and froze as Infernus' body turned around to look at the only one that dared to remain close.

Time seemed to stop as Infernus turned, all of his hopes and fears bound up in this one moment.

The Sphere was nowhere to be seen, presumably absorbed into his body. Infernus' body had been turned white-hot and the stone around him had already partially liquefied just from his presence, which had settled around the entire volcano like a heavy pressure that wanted to suffocate everything around it.

Infernus was almost invisible in his white-hot flames as they billowed around him, expanding further and further as the Sphere melded with its host, but Ash could see just enough to determine whether his friend had been mastered by the Sphere's will or not.

It was not red eyes that stared back at him. It was not the Sphere that had pulled its lips back into a smirk that reeked of well-deserved arrogance.

Infernus had returned to him.

As his renewed fires licked closer and closer to his team Ash was grateful as Lugia, having sensed their plight, spread its shields to his family as well. He knew very well that it was a good decision.

His feelings were only renewed when Infernus' blindingly white form smirked and raised one of his cannons to the sky. The volcano rumbled and quaked beneath Infernus' feet as he accessed some of his newfound power, which was that to rival the sun.

And then it was released.

Ash nearly tripped on himself in surprise when a blast of flame that swallowed the entire sky and banished all remnants of Articuno and Zapdos' waning powers emerged forth from his cannon, a blinding flare that devoured every last bit of the atmosphere it touched and left it in glowing embers.

When the first gout of flame finally faded and the volcano's rumblings had ceased Infernus was left in his cloak of fire. A childish smile had wormed its way onto his face and his eyes were wide with delight at what he had become with his second resurrection.

Then he pointed both cannons up at the sky and poured his full strength into the blast — it was beyond anything Ash had ever seen. Moltres' Inferno was but a campfire in comparison, the explosions of the volcano a mere firework.

Crackling thunder raged throughout the earth and magma belched forth from the volcano as Fire's power waxed to its zenith, unleashed to its fullest potential by he who had conquered the Sphere.

They were in the epicenter of this divine birth, engulfed in a maelstrom of flames that boiled the seas and had already begun to liquefy the outer layers of Moltres' volcano.

Ash and the team stood still in the midst of flames that would reduce them all to charred bones were they not shielded by Lugia's full power. It took the Sea itself to quench Fire, it seemed.

After an eternity of being consumed by his own fire Infernus finally stopped the flow of power from his cannons and seemed to recognize that other beings were still present.

His eyes recognized Ash first, although they quickly flitted from him to the others. Infernus' eyes didn't show any sort of recognition aside from pausing longer on some of them than the others.

Ash felt a little uncertainty worm its way into his mind but didn't allow himself to show it. He could not appear weak in front of Infernus — he knew his friend far too well to allow that.

It didn't matter what kind of power Infernus had attained. Ash didn't believe the core foundation of his personality could be altered by all the Legends in the world.

His mind was centered around strength. That was how every interaction, every relationship, every decision he made was decided. How strong was the other party in comparison to himself? Could they make him stronger? Were they strong enough to bother keeping around?

It was all down to power.

And power was what defined Infernus at this moment.

He was infinitely weaker than Infernus right now. He could not possibly make him any stronger. He was not strong enough to bother keeping around, not when Infernus seemed to have become a Legend himself.

The question was whether Infernus had developed true loyalty — true camaraderie — with Ash and the team. There was nothing they could do to stop him should he decide to strike them down in this moment

So Ash met Infernus' eyes impassively, awaiting his decision.

It would determine the fate of the world.

A moment stretched into an eternity.

The Inferno swirled around him, Infernus' soul made manifest. It seemed to taste and lash at the shields, although Ash couldn't feel any real malice behind it.

Ash trusted Infernus. He trusted the brutish Magmortar with his life and the lives of his comrades. He trusted him as a brother.

But even he had to admit that he was a bit surprised when Infernus dipped his head to him in respect and even bent his knees. It was more blatant respect than the Magmortar had ever shown him.

The flames coalesced around him in a manner that was almost soft, although they still possessed that deadly heat that was decidedly Infernus.

"How do you feel?" Ash grinned at the ascended Magmortar. He didn't truly need an answer but Infernus wasn't about to pass on an opportunity to show off this new strength.

Infernus' brilliantly white form flared even hotter as though he were trying to burn away any remaining shreds of mortality and casually raised one of his cannons, although nothing shot out other than a few licks of flame that were quickly reeled in.

The ground rumbled, black smoke poured from the volcano's mouth, and magma exploded from its heart in a great geyser of molten rock that fell around them in a fiery heap that built and built upon Moltres' volcano until had been claimed by its new master.

Their shields kept them from dying from the mere heat that radiated from the fires and lava but he could feel that they were stretching Lugia's barriers to their absolute limit — it would not be wise for them to remain here for much longer.

Despite his own perceptions of the Guardian, Lugia was not omnipotent. He'd be wise to remember that.

"I suppose I have my answer," he laughed, ignoring the danger for now. Ash was just able to make out enough definition from the white-hot being in front of him to see Infernus' lips turn upwards in a gleeful smirk.

Ash's head snapped to the west when he heard a terrible rumbling from the skies. He could just make out a wall of white engulfing a comparatively small figure shielded in a sphere of oceanic blue energy, although most of the Blizzard was obliterated by the effort.

The shields waned and he finally began to feel some of the horrific heat that would melt the flesh off his bones in seconds if he were unprotected.

"Infernus, listen to me!" Ash rasped. His throat burned with bitter smoke and old tears reopened.

He who was Fire obeyed.

"I don't know about you, but I'm tired of the Birds. They're tearing the world apart and we're the only ones who can stop it — you can restore balance and force these Legends to acknowledge that we — this team — have a right to exist greater than their own," he said. "Go, Infernus, and see if gods can bleed."

Infernus smiled that savage grin that spelled doom for those that opposed him. He grew brighter and brighter as power flooded his body unrestricted and he let all of his self-imposed limits fall away like superheated chains.

When he feared that Infernus' presence would leave him naught but blackened ash the Magmortar leapt far, far into the air. He propelled himself hundreds of feet with his cannons, which now had enough combustive force behind them to keep Infernus aloft with no effort.

Ash couldn't help but ignore his own safety and comfort in favor of watching Infernus soar off with a mighty roar as he cried out his challenge to the Lords of the Sky. The Inferno burned once more and left the entire atmosphere ablaze in his wake — he burned so hot and so fast that nothing could burn behind him.

"Let's go — we've bought our time," he said to his friends. They all nodded their assent, although each still seem dumbstruck by what had just happened.

To be honest, so was he. He just didn't have time to show it.

Ash had to ignore

I fear you have tipped the scales too far, Friend-Trainer. This new beast you have created is fresh and strong with his new power. Ice and Lightning have been terribly drained by the Guardian — even were they at the apex of their power I do not believe they would be prepared for a master of a Sphere such as the brute. He is as vicious and unpredictable as the worst aspects of the element he has become. His bloodlust will not be sated with the destruction of Ice and Lightning.

Dazed's svelte voice had lost any sort of calm. Although she still retained her tight emotional control and her diction was precise as always he could hear genuine panic in her — a fear he'd never truly seen in her before.

She polished her pendulum with a shaking hand, her fur raised by the psychic power flooding off of her thanks to her agitated state. The Hypno's eyes were wide and intense, reduced to a near-animalistic state by the reality of Infernus' new status.

I lack the gift of foresight so many of my peers possess but I do not believe that the uncouth savage will be satisfied until the entire world burns before him. He will burn and burn until nothing else remains but himself.

I implore you to find a way to subdue him — even the Blight's dominion is preferable to the terrors I anticipate. It at least has some sense of intelligence.

Ash was silent for a few moments as magma pooled around them, casting them all as silhouettes outlined by liquid heat.

His friends watched him intently, all with differing expressions.

Nidoking was guarded, reserved. He was always the cautious one, the one most aware of real threats. Ash looked to his first friend but could find nothing in Nidoking's black eyes.

Plume was the same. She seemed more concerned with escaping the rapidly encroaching magma than any debates, however, and squawked with a bit of worry as she flapped her wings as hard as she could to cool the lava and blast it away with her powerful gales.

Torrent's scarlet eyes betrayed the worry he had in regards to Infernus. He was on good terms with the Magmortar — they both respected each other's immense strength, although Ash wasn't sure how that relationship might have been altered just now — but was hardly blind to the reality of Infernus' nature.

Tangrowth was oblivious and was content with trying to raise globs of molten lava with Ancient Power — something Ash would have had a great deal of interest in at literally any other time, especially given that the grass-type was actually having some measure of success — and cautiously playing with chunks of the molten stone by layering as much of it on his shielded vines as he could before it slipped away.

Bruiser was much the same as Torrent. He respected Infernus' strength and skill if not his attitude, but knew just how terrifying the Magmortar could be to those he saw as beneath him.

Ash hesitated. "I trust Infernus and I trust Lugia to resolve things if they get out of hand. Lugia is still strong."

"We need to deal with this later," he continued and eyed the glowing streams that came closer and closer. He didn't want to test the shields any more than they had to. "Plume, get ready to go as fast as you can. We have to end this now — hopefully Lugia will be able to make use of the two Spheres we still have. I'll have to find a way to get the last from Infernus."

Very well. We will all do what we can to assist you with that task.

"Glad to hear it. Start thinking on ways to get it done," he ordered before he strode over to Plume. "I'm returning you now. With any luck I won't have to release you before this is all over."

His team nodded as they disappeared in a flash of red light, although Nidoking held on long enough to gently tap Ash's shoulder and meet his eyes before he too vanished. Ash paused for a moment and took a deep breath as he readied himself.

"Let's go, Plume," he said quietly and mounted the great bird. She spread her wings as far as she could and flapped, leaving the encroaching magma billowing around them in a heavy spray of pulsing orange and black as they soared into the sky.

Ash felt a grin spread across his face, although the side that had been slashed to the bone by Articuno's Blizzard was uncomfortably tight even after Lugia had healed him.

He raised a hand to his face and winced at the slight tenderness. His fingertips lightly traced over a thick, ropey mass of scar tissue that pressed onto his mended cheek bone.

It was unexpected but he didn't really care. The scar wasn't debilitating and was infinitely preferable to bleeding all over the place. If Articuno's presence hadn't frozen his blood the moment it left the safe confines of his body he would probably have fallen unconscious a long time ago.

Ash pulled himself away from those thoughts and just looked over to the mass of clashing elements about a mile to the west of Moltres' island.

Lugia had escaped the Blizzard with ease, it seemed, and hung far from the maelstrom of Fire, Ice, and Lightning that swallowed the world where they touched. Its white radiance was brighter than the full moon and its eyes were closed — wind swirled peacefully around it, as the small cyclone thousands of feet beneath it that yearned and reached for Lugia showed.

He frowned at Lugia, although he relaxed when a gentle, kind power touched his soul through the shields and the calming melody drifted into his mind. The scent of salty sea air drifted into his nostrils and he looked away from Lugia, more interested to see how Infernus was doing.

Neither Zapdos nor Articuno had been ready for Infernus, it seemed. The Storm did its best to engulf the Inferno but was burned away at every movement with contemptuous ease as Infernus charged at the Titan of Lightning like a white comet of heat, banishing the Storm's power as he pounded on Zapdos' physical body with a vicious single-mindedness only Infernus could muster.

Articuno fared little better — it did its best to attack the newcomer but Infernus burned too bright and too hot for the Blizzard to do much more than chill the outermost edges of the Inferno. An icy howl like the crashing of an avalanche rang out through the sky as Infernus' white body appeared in the midst of the Blizzard and exploded, searing away the entirety of the white mass of snow and wind and ice before he grasped Articuno's neck with a single arm and disappeared with Ice in tow.

Ash's eyes were probably as wide as Tangrowth's as he watched Infernus appear before Zapdos and its Storm an instant later with a certain Bird of Ice noticeably absent.

Aside from the fact that Infernus still retained his ability to teleport and apparently had the power to bring even Legends with him he was very confused as to just where Infernus had taken Articuno — where would he see as a fitting resting place for the Bird, at least for the moment?

His answer was given when Lugia's long neck curved down so the Guardian could look oddly at the sea, which had just created a massive bulge before ice covered the sudden displacement and slowly began to spread.

Lugia's eyes flashed and the ice was shattered and the sea lit up once more as the Guardian sealed one of its Birds in a prison it lacked the power to escape this time.

Zapdos thundered its surprise at its kin's sudden disappearance and disappeared into its Storm once more before it swept back to attack Infernus, who had just exploded into his full cloak of fire once more.

As Storm met Inferno for the last battle they would face this day Plulme shrieked to let Ash know that they were descending. He reflexively kept a tight grip on Plume's body as she shot down and his organs climbed up into his throat.

She landed in the midst of the stone shrine with perfect grace, her talons gripping tightly as she lowered herself to allow Ash to leap off. He graced her with a grateful smile and a stroke of her feathers before he turned to Slowking, who smiled at him as the ageless creature stood over Lance.

His breath hitched as he laid his eyes on Lance. The Champion was pale as bone, although he still drew breath. Were it not for the slight rise and fall of his chest Ash would have been certain that the greatest Dragon Master the Wataru had ever produced was long dead.

"Yes, he is in dire straits," Slowking agreed as it looked upon Ash's horrified face. "But his heart is still strong. He rose minutes ago as Fire asserted itself once more and sought to aid you, although I was forced to restrain him. Now, as Fire hides and seeks to recover its power he sleeps."

"I suppose that's the price for being so intimately connected with Moltres," Ash murmured as he knelt besides Lance. The Champion's Feather was aglow with life, smoldering tirelessly as Moltres was rejuvenated within the volcano. "He's stable?"

Slowking nodded. "I have tended his wounds. It's his connection to Fire that causes him the most harm. Otherwise he would have left to find you long ago — his will dwarfs that of man and pokemon alike."

"That he does," Ash smiled, his mind flashing back to Lance's willingness to put his own life on the line to save that of a boy's…and the will he had displayed in attempting to match the Moltres that still retained Ash's respect.

Once he was certain that Lance was fine he rose to his feet again, although he spared the Champion another glance. As he was now the mightiest of all trainers looked rather…small.

"I have the Ice and Lightning Spheres," he said. At his words the two artifacts pulsed, seeking to entrance him into accepting their power once more. Ash crushed their illusions as easily as he would a leaf. "The Fire Sphere…"

"I can see," Slowking remarked as it stared out at the Inferno that threatened to swallow the Storm whole. "An unorthodox use of its power, to be certain. The lone Fragment of a Bird devoted to maintaining the balance has instead been used to destroy it further."

Ash didn't look away from Slowking as it chided him. "I needed to save my friend's life."

The Sentinel nodded slowly at that. "Ah, yes. Friends…my apologies. I seem to have gotten distracted."

"Place the Spheres on the altar," Slowking instructed hurriedly. "The Fire Sphere must be added to return balance to the world but the Great Guardian may make use of these two."

Ash nodded and kept his focus tight as he rose to the top of the shrine — he idly noted that the ice from before had been completely melted off and it seemed dry as normal stone — and touched the Ice Sphere to put it in the center pedestal.

The Ice Sphere's primordial will struggled against him but his own snuffed it out in an instant. He had already mastered the Sphere's cold power and he would not suffer it to fight against him once more.

He eyed it curiously as the smooth Sphere was set on its pedestal and flared to life. Icy mist swirled incessantly and it shone with a frozen white power that seemed as though it would suck all the heat from his body if he laid a single finger upon it.

Ash broke his interested gaze off and grabbed the Lightning Sphere, ready for the wild, coiled power to leap into his arm and contest his will for the second time.

It did not.

The Lightning Sphere flashed and a live current ran up his arm at the contact but he did not find himself tested. It simply existed in harmony with him, always poking and prodding at his will but never attacking and seeking to annihilate his spirit in order to replace him with its own.

He spared the Sphere a moment of consideration before he placed it on its own pedestal and the bolt of living lightning that dwelled within coiled and danced, driven by some power he could not detect.

Ash peered past the single empty altar to look upon what Infernus had wrought.

The Inferno filled the sky with eternal summer — at least in the vast expanse where it did not simply burn and burn until there was nothing left. It had dwarfed the Storm and almost encapsulated it, although Zapdos' form was still visible flitting about and thundering defiantly as Infernus' comet-like body appeared to burn and attack at every turn. The Titan of Lightning's unmatched speed was nothing in the face of Infernus' teleportation.

Lugia still hung in the sky watching the proceedings with what Ash assumed to be curiosity. The ocean was still a vibrant blue and the ice was still held back, so Articuno had been restrained. He doubted it had any strength left after Infernus had savaged it.

His lips quirked up into a smile at that.

The Birds had not been ready for Infernus.

They were powerful on a level that he could only truly comprehend after he touched the Spheres and became them for the briefest of instants. They were fierce and immortal as the elements they embodied, so far above the rest of the world that the only true connection they had to the mortals was a primordial territorial urge to dominate and protect their own claimed land.

But that was their weakness. They were right to be confident in their power — they were old, terribly old, and had only ever been mastered by the Sea itself. Their only equals had been themselves. Their power was unchanging and eternal.

That was why they would never be a match for something like Infernus. Not when he had mastered the power of one of their own and ascended to their own level.

The Titans did not fight. Not as most saw it. They clashed with terribly destructive results but they simply vied for dominance, testing one another to see which could claim dominion over their kin. All the destruction was just a side effect they barely noticed when it did not assist them in their primordial ritual.

It was all an endless cycle that they had not partaken in for millennia upon millennia. Blinded by their ancient fury and desire to conquer their fellow Titans to the exception of the rest of the world.

Infernus was their bane. The Birds scarcely realized they fought — Infernus lived for it. His every breath, every action, every thought was all devoted to the thrill of combat and the satisfaction of watching his enemies driven pathetically before him while he razed all that mattered to them.

He wasn't just releasing his power to its fullest extent like a hammer, allowing his Inferno to rage against the Storm or Blizzard until one or the other gave way in the face of the others' great power.

He attacked. He sought his foes out within their own cloaks, hunting and burning until he could find that which he desired to dominate and tear them apart. He honed the Inferno into the focused fires he controlled subconsciously thanks to years of constant combat, razing through the Storm like a hot knife through butter.

It was clear how well the Birds had taken to Infernus' abilities. They could scarcely comprehend that something was actually fighting them instead of just vying for dominance. Death and injury were practically foreign concepts to immortal, infinite beings such as themselves and Infernus was doing his best to force them to realize those aspects.

He taught them fear, a lesson Ash doubted they had ever received before.

They respected Lugia's might, its power to shape and calm the world. It was a gentle being that did not revel in combat. It subdued and restrained the Birds, forced them to cease their combat, but they did not fear for their own existence in its face.

Infernus did.

Perhaps the lesson hadn't sunk in completely, he mused. Zapdos still fought on futilely, a constant flash of hundreds of bolts of lightning that razed the sky and cut their way into the Inferno, although they dissipated almost instantly.

Ash had to hold back a laugh at that.

Air Lens.

Air Lens on a scale that had never been seen in ages past or ever would be again if Ash had his way.

He kept his eyes focused as Zapdos' Storm was finally seared away to little but a few wispy clouds that billowed around the dimming Titan as though they could actually protect it from Infernus' fierce hunt.

The world slowed as Infernus' white-hot body appeared just above Zapdos as it recoiled from the sudden loss of so much of its power and lowered a cannon. Zapdos' physical shell looked up with its glowing golden eyes to see he who had become Fire.

Zapdos thundered for just a moment before it was cut off by the raging and crackling of a firestorm that swallowed the Titan of Lightning whole and shot all the way down to the sea, which barely reacted thanks to being held in place by Lugia's power.

Infernus roared his victory and bathed the world liberally in his unending fires, a terrible sound that deafened Ash and heralded the sudden eruption of the volcano, which spewed what seemed to be an infinite amount of thick black smoke and molten rock into the air before it fell into the ocean and erupted into vast clouds of hissing steam. Several massive waves were spawned from the mass of magma collapsing but an errant thought by Lugia put an end to that.

The Thunder Bird's form was held helpless in the air, shielded by a vortex of swirling air that was only visible to Ash because of the fire that twisted around it before being extinguished. Lugia pulled Zapdos away from the flames that would consume it and looked upon Infernus, who hovered in the air with terrible anger burning around him.

Ash winced as the Inferno condensed around his friend and left Infernus in the semblance of a living star. It didn't change the air that warped around him or the sea that boiled even beneath Lugia's shields but did serve to make the Magmortar even more fearsome.

Infernus shot forward then, exploding into action so fast that Ash could barely track him through the warped air. Trails of plasma burned behind him as he approached Lugia, who appeared serene as ever even in the face of Infernus' most terrible fury.

When the Great Guardian did act, it was faster than anything Ash could hope to track. One moment it was utterly still and the next it had opened its great maw and released a thin beam of intense energy that shot straight at Infernus, the unbelievably powerful wind it carried behind it enough to part the sea hundreds of feet down beneath it.

The Magmortar, lost in his battle-rage and indignant at losing the chance to kill Zapdos, took the beam head on.

Ash saw the world freeze for a single instant as the star met the gale.

Then Infernus teleported just a hundred feet above Lugia, still in motion.

Lugia's head snapped up and the last remnants of the beam shot into Infernus' cloak of compressed fire.

His Inferno held on for a moment, wavered, then, all at once, was stripped away by the Guardian of the Sea's most powerful attack. Trails of flames and sparks filled the air before they dissipated into nothingness.

Infernus roared and shot a massive blast of flame at Lugia, although it was harmlessly snuffed out by a shield of swirling air. The Magmortar shot down in an effort to match Lugia up close, but let out a furious roar as the ocean suddenly reared up with impossible speed and swallowed him whole.

"Infernus!" Ash cried out, fearful of what the full weight of the ocean would do to Infernus without the elemental cloak burning it away. He doubted Infernus could simply teleport out — Lugia's power would probably disrupt it. Legends like Lugia had power so great that keeping him from teleporting would be trivial.

Fear not, my friend. I have simply restrained him. Your ally is not so attuned to the power of the Sphere that he may recover so quickly.

It is time to restore what has been lost. The Prophecy must be fulfilled.

With that Ash felt the power of his shields amplified a hundredfold and the world around him was similarly affected. He had just a moment to realize what was coming before the world was consumed by Fire.

Infernus stood before him bereft of his Inferno but still white-hot and more powerful than he had ever been. Flames licked their way across the ground as the Magmortar snarled and raised a cannon only to realize it was pointed at Ash.

"I'm proud of you, Infernus," Ash began with a smile. He stepped down the stone stairs with perfect grace, every movement easier than it had ever been. "It seems that gods can bleed after all."

The Magmortar calmed and the billowing flames slowly compressed around his body. A smirk crossed his lips and he nodded before he lowered his cannon.

"You've just forged a legend of your own," Ash grinned. "One that's not going to be easily forgotten — least of all by the Birds themselves. It's not everyday that they come to know fear. This is a day they'll remember for as long as the earth still stands."

Infernus' smirk grew wider and smugger. Fires flared about him in anticipation as he awaited Ash's next words.

Ash hesitated before he spoke. "But you need to give up this power and return the Sphere."

The Magmortar's response was swift.

Flames exploded out of his very being, consuming the world and testing just how far Lugia's shields could go. The sky was white with heat and flame, warped until he could scarcely see more than a foot in front of him. When it died down smoke billowed everywhere and small embers danced incessantly throughout the entire sky.

Ash frowned. That seemed to be a no.

"I know you don't want to give it up," he said to the tense form of Infernus. "I don't know if I would either. But we need to restore balance."

Infernus growled and allowed magma to leak off of his body. There was so much heat radiating from him that what little bits of earth and stone weren't protected by Lugia nearly a hundred feet away melted and twisted into magma and molten glass.

Ash stared his friend down and crossed his arms. "Remember that this is not your power. It's just borrowed. Do you really want to be known for what isn't yours? Give the Sphere up and come with me again — I'm going to find a way to get you and all the others this strong one day and when we reach that point, know that it's your power that took you there, not something borrowed."

That struck a nerve. Infernus hesitated, his pride in his own abilities taking over. His fires died down, although he was still impossibly hot.

"Give me the Sphere," Ash pressed. "For me and the rest of the team, if not your own peace of mind."

The world was silent for a moment other than the quiet crackling of Infernus' flames.

His friend finally nodded and plunged a hand deep into his chest, tearing apart dense muscle, bone, and flesh with ease. Ash hid back a wince and he saw Plume do the same. He recoiled even more when he saw that Infernus had already healed the wound around his hand as his claws grasped for the Fire Sphere and had to reopen the gaping wound before it knit itself together once more thanks to the Sphere's energies.

Infernus lightly leapt atop the altar where the other Spheres were held and, after a moment's hesitation, offered it to Ash.

He took it and for just a moment the three entities were connected.

The Sphere's will was crushed beneath the combined might of Ash and Infernus'. It struggled for just a moment before he dominated it, although he did not partake in its power. He would not give it even that much influence over him.

No, he was more interested in Infernus' essence.

It was a thing of fiery passion, all hot-blooded and every scrap of devotion it was capable of poured into combat and Ash and the team, the latter of which brought a tiny smile to Ash's lips. But then, as he began to take in the whole of Infernus, he tore the Sphere away.

Curious as he was he would not violate Infernus' privacy like that. His mind was his own.

"Thank you," Ash rasped as the wounds in his throat reopened and tore faster than Lugia's energy could restore them. The Fire Sphere seared his hand and he had to fight for every word. "You're a good friend, Infernus."

Infernus, whose eyes looked dimmer than he had ever seen them, nodded with an odd expression on his face. The Magmortar took the one chance he would ever had and placed a molten hand on Ash, face unreadable as touched his trainer for the first time.

Ash took in the molten heat that was just barely warm behind his shields and let Infernus take this opportunity. Infernus' mouth twisted up into a genuine smile — one of the few Ash had ever seen not related to fighting or training — and the Magmortar who had been Fire nodded at him before he removed his hand and leapt off the altar to stand by Plume.

He wasted no time in setting the Fire Sphere on its pedestal. It flared to life just like the others, twisting and crackling inside of its smooth prison.

Aside from that nothing happened.

The world was the same — hot and cold and humid all at once — and the remnants of the Birds' clash still reached as far as his eyes could see. Their power had been broken but the damage was already done.

He stepped back and stared at the Spheres, frustrated.

What had been the point of all this? The Birds had been defeated, yes, but the sky was still black and rain and snow alternately pelted him as the weather continued to foul. It didn't have the power of the Birds to drive its expansion anymore but anywhere the Blizzard or Storm touched would be ravaged.

Then the winds calmed and a peace took hold over all creation. The song echoed within his heart and a gentle call reverberated throughout every molecule in his world.

Everything silenced and Lugia rose from the sea with grace beyond any ordinary creature. It shimmered in an odd ray of sunlight that pierced through the gloomy clouds and allowed the psychic bonds that locked its wings into place to dissolve, enabling it to free the mighty clouds of white and raise them high into the air.

It looked upon him with old, kind eyes and salty sea air drifted through his nostrils. He met the eyes that shone with power as ancient and strong as that of the ocean itself and found himself drowning.

He saw the darkest depths of the sea where pokemon no human had ever seen before skulked and hid, where the deep-sea fissures leaked geothermal heat that was all that sustained life in those terrible conditions. He twisted and turned through all the waves that had ever been, danced through the waters and met hundreds of pokemon all in an instant.

After an eternity of life in the deep, hidden places of the world through Lugia's eyes he broke away, the memories fading already.

You honor us with your assistance, Ash Ketchum. Few could have taken upon the mantle of Chosen One and fewer could have succeeded in their quest.

But the Prophecy is not yet fulfilled. To restore what is Now to what Should Be there is but one deed you must perform.

"What is it?" Ash asked, mouth dry and throat still raw. Warmth surrounded him and the psychic shields Lugia had placed over his fragile body for what felt like hours slipped away. He stretched his fingers, shivering as cold winds whipped against him and fat droplets of rain pelted his skin.

Slowking tapped his shoulder and offered him what looked to be a thin, simple flute formed of a pearly material that was impossibly smooth to the touch — Ash was afraid he wouldn't be able to hold it without the instrument sliding out of his hands. It shone brightly as a ray of sunlight cast down from the heavens touched it and possessed an inner glow that pulsed at his touch.

Join your soul with mine, O Chosen One, and tame the tempest which claims our world.

Ash took the flute with great care and jolted as the Song that ran constantly through his mind intensified a hundred-fold, almost audible in his own ears. He looked upon the beautiful instrument in awe. It was simple and plain, but there was unmistakable care placed into its creation.

It was perfect.

"I don't know how to play," he admitted to the Guardian. "I don't think I've ever even touched a flute before."

Warmth surrounded him and he felt something akin to amusement brush his mind.

Do not fear — join me.

Ash nodded and slowly placed the flute to his lips. It was an odd motion, one that he'd never encountered before. He'd never had much of an interest in music before — he certainly appreciated it, but he'd never cared to try and create his own or learn how to play. He'd always had his head stuck in a book about pokemon or battling and he didn't regret it for a second.

Until now.

Well-aware that he had absolutely no idea what he was doing, Ash closed his eyes and waited.

A warm power flooded him, salty air ran down his throat, and he played.

The song that echoed in his soul translated perfectly to sound. His hands moved fluidly, governed by the power he had given himself over to. His breath whistled through the flute with the skill of a master and joined the haunting notes that bound the entire world in its spell, calming the wild elements and those bound by their nature to do harm.

He existed there for an eternity. There was peace in him as note after note played — he felt more presences join them, his friends released from their pokeballs. He felt a great light appear into existence before him and heat flush his chest.

Note after note after note he played as Lugia sang, their melodies mingling in perfect harmony. The world itself listened — warm air arose from where there was none, the natural heat of this land found itself dominant once more. Gentle waves lapped at the island's base and three great presences found the fury bleeding from their hearts.

And, finally, the Guardian's Song ended.

His hands lost their deft skill, his breath failed to flow through the flute.

Only the Song remained, still playing eternally through his soul.

Ash opened his eyes.

The world was restored — Lugia's titanic body was suffused in a soft green glow that reflected the ocean that no longer glowed with the power of the Guardian or boiled or froze under the terrible energies commanded by the Birds.

It was odd just how stark the change was. He'd gotten so used the ravaged expanses of sea and black, gloomy storms that he'd completely forgotten Shamouti was a tropical paradise.

There was a very satisfying feeling as he looked out on what he had wrought. This time he wasn't helpless, just a weak bystander useless to interfere in the workings of Legends. He and his team were responsible for this, the healing of the world itself.

Lugia's Song still rang throughout the world and he felt it now deeper than ever before — he felt the notes of the melody strum through his spirit before they slid their way through the air. The connection with the flute amplified it and he had to focus to avoid closing his eyes and basking in it.

The workings of Lugia were enough to keep that focus strong, however. As the green energy that sprung from the Spheres — all were connected to one another by the ethereal cord, which then flowed to the Guardian — swirled around it in a pale mist the Guardian made use of its power.

Far on the horizon he could see black clouds peeled away, rains stop, lightning die. Ice melted, snow was banished. Magma cooled, painfully hot air calmed, and the soot and ash that poured from the volcano in droves was banished.

The sun shone without any obstacles and maintained the gentle heat that touched him.

How long he stood there watching Lugia channel the united power of all three Spheres he knew not. It could have been a minute or it could have been an eternity. Time had lost all meaning and he lost himself to the Song once more.

But, as all good things must, it came to an end and he found himself staring blissfully out at the calm azure seas. His friends were all gathered around the shrine with similar expressions — Torrent and Dazed in particular looked like they'd never awake from the trance — and he snapped himself out of the spell and looked back, worried for Lance.

"He will wake in a few minutes," Slowking explained as Ash stepped down from the shrine and examined the pale Champion. There was a bit more color in him, at least, and his breaths were more frequent. "With balance restored the Golden Fire will ignite soon."

"Thank you," he nodded to the Sentinel. "When will he make a full recovery?"

Slowking stared past Ash as he pondered the question. "A few days — I healed what damage he and his partners suffered before you were delivered to me. His own body is in perfect health. It is merely the result of the Fire here usurping his bond and its defeat that ails him."

"Good, good," he muttered.

The sound of a massive weight dropping against the stone with feather-like grace drew him away from his inspection. The adoring snort from Torrent and the great shadow that fell over him was what made him finally turn to examine the newcomer.

His eyes widened and he had to keep himself from taking when he saw Lugia mere feet from him.

Its long feet which ended in three massive toe-like structures that clenched around two of the shrine's pillars that stood four feet apart were the first things he saw. Then his gaze travelled up to the massive white body with feathers so small and delicate that he could scarcely make out anything but a solid wall of whiteness even from this short distance.

Finally he reached the wings, which extended a hundred feet out on either side and blotted out the sun with ease. They appeared almost similar to hands or a Zubat's wings in their construct, as they were so large comparing them to a bird's wings wouldn't do them justice.

And then extended the long, thick neck that nonetheless held grace that any Persian would be jealous of.

Then there were the eyes, which had been drained of the soft green energy that emanated from the Spheres and were clear of Lugia's own power for the first time he had seen them. They melded almost perfectly with the pure white of its ghostly-pale feathers but stood out starkly against the blue crests about its eyes.

Lugia lowered its head down a little past Ash so that its neck was clearly extended. Torrent, who Lugia had moved closest to, trembled with religious fervor at the Guardian's proximity. Ash saw Lugia's eyes flash for just the briefest moment and Torrent grow rigid in response, although the Legend didn't reveal whatever it was to him.

The Guardian looked back at him.

Climb.

Ash froze and looked back at the Guardian at that command, unsure if he truly understood what the Legendary desired. Lugia nodded, and Ash's hands shook as he mounted the Guardian's neck.

He had just enough time to glance over at his family before Lugia formed a psychic shell around the two of them and shot into the sky, using levitation in order to circumvent the raw, destructive power that accompanied the beats of its wings.

He looked down at the world, which seemed so small but so beautiful from the aether.

It is beautiful, is it not? It is the Sea which takes hold of my heart, but the realm of Light is a gem I may gaze upon but rarely. My home is the abyss, and Light is a force I see only in the dreams of those that dwell above.

Ash nodded silently and looked down at the tropical paradise of the Orange Islands — what tiny portion he could see, anyway. Shamouti and the Elemental Islands were only a small fragment of the Orange Archipelago but he thought they might be more than enough for him after this day.

You performed your duty well, my friend. The world honors you in this moment, as do I. This is a day I knew would come from the moment I laid eyes upon your kind and realized what I must do to preserve you.

"What do you mean?" Ash's brow furrowed.

Your people interested me from the moment you touched the sea with your crafts of bound wood and simple oars. I saw their worth, but I saw the fragile position they occupied as well.

That which you know as Legendaries have always reigned over the world which we embody. We are eternal. We are the Foundations of this world, imbued with that which is Creation.

It is only with the emergence of your kind that we have receded for millennia for yet another long sleep.

I am a cause for the withdrawal. I called out to Fire, Ice, and Lightning and brought them to this place, the cradle of life. It is here that I met those that raged wild across the world, free as they been since the beginning. They were great then, powerful as I am now. Each altered the world in their wake, doing as they would and existing according to their natures.

It is here that I bound them. I put forth all that I am and created these islands. I took their Nature and sundered it into their current states: One to Fly, One to Roost, and One to Bind.

When the Nine looked upon me I imprisoned them so that they would no longer alter the world in their image as they had before. I placed the Spheres on their prison — they were to call out to their soul-kin and bind them to their islands, always seeking to reunite with the Original and restore themselves to what they once were. The Original Incarnations of Fire, Ice, and Lightning could not leave a part of themselves, not when they were so close to the Fragment I had taken.

I made them sleep.

The Thirds left this place for an eternity to fly the world once again. They were that which once was but sought to become what could be. You have met them, the last of the shards. Beyond mortal reach but nothing to the force which they once embodied.

When my work was done, I slept for many human lifetimes. I had chained that which was by its nature free and my essence was broken by it. When I awoke I was but a shadow of my former greatness, just as Fire, Ice, and Lightning were shattered into thirds.

"Only a third of your power…" Ash trailed off as he tried to process the sheer enormity of the statement he'd been given. It seemed impossible — Lugia could raise the sea itself and crush the Birds individually with ease. No matter how hard his mind worked he couldn't comprehend something three times stronger. "So the Birds were as strong as you are now?"

Yes. They were beautiful, then. They were Fire, Ice, and Lightning and all that accompanied them. If I hold one regret in my heart it is quenching them, no matter what has resulted while they were locked away. To see them together…you could not comprehend it. Fire's flight shaped deserts, Ice's froze the world to its heart. Lightning flattened forests and tore mountains asunder.

Lugia's connection with him brought vague pictures of great walls of swirling fire and raging blizzards and storms that swallowed vast swathes of the earth beneath their black clouds.

Yet he knew it scarcely compared to what had truly happened — only a psychic could truly appreciate the enormity of what had occurred in those elder days. Mere vision could only give him the barest glances and peeks at the power Moltres, Articuno, and Zapdos had once embodied.

"How did they wake up?" He asked finally. "You said you put them to sleep."

Yes. They were dormant for many thousands of years, undisturbed by any that braved the legends of these islands to lay eyes upon them. Their will remained latent but it was all that remained. It banished intruders, entranced those that would make their current embodiment things of legend.

It was months ago that they first stirred. Powers that had not touched the earth for longer than your histories record made themselves known. The Shade — the one you know as Mewtwo — brought imbalance with its birth.

When its mind swept across the world it awoke the Lightning you know, which had slept in the far places of your lands for many centuries. It agitated Ice and hastened its movements. Even Fire, which had forced its kin into exile to free your kind of the Thirds' influence, felt its touch shape the universe.

It was when the Guardian of Life and its Shade clashed that the Originals roused. Their minds, long dormant, shuddered with power long forgotten.

They would have slept for decades more had one of your kind not sought their capture. He attacked Fire and awoke it in true — his life was lost moments after but Fire's consciousness awoke the others and they lost themselves to their rage.

"Mewtwo!" Ash hissed, although the expected icy fire failed to make an appearance. He didn't even feel a flicker of its presence within his mind. Mewtwo had abandoned him for the moment. "It's all its fault…"

Perhaps. It did not realize what it had done. It possessed power unrivaled amongst those it had encountered and did not understand the repercussions of exerting its will upon the world.

But its battle with the Guardian of Life has far deeper implications.

Concepts that have slumbered and retreated from the age of humanity stir. They will roam the earth once more. That is inevitable, despite my own efforts.

Ash's breath hitched at that. More Legends walking around and destroying everything around him? The world could scarcely deal with three Fragments of Legends awakening. What were they supposed to do when more and more woke up and discovered the world that had grown without them?

Yes. Dark times are coming — many will reject this new world and sleep once more, but some will rise to the call your Mewtwo sounded. throughout all Creation. In its ignorance it was their Herald. Not all Incarnations were gifted with reason. Some are simple Concepts, mindless except for that which is their very Nature.

And those that do are terrible in their power — even in my prime I would scarcely be a hindrance to the most powerful of Concepts.

There are few of them, but they exist. They will awaken, and they will reshape this planet in their image.

This is my gift to you, Ash Ketchum. I gift you Knowledge:

Land and Sea, Behemoth and Leviathan…they breathe.

With that Lugia finally started to move from their perch high in the heavens, gently maneuvering its way across the skies.

I know I have placed a terrible burden upon you, my friend. But all knowledge has its price, and it seems that are the one cursed to pay it.

Lugia sounded genuinely regretful at that. Ash nodded slowly but found himself lost in Lugia's Song as it breathed joyfully, moving away from the dark tidings it brought and instead focusing on what they had achieved in the present.

With his spirit lifted by the Song, Ash looked out onto the lapping waves of the sea and smiled.

If Lugia's words were true then he'd have a hard time ahead of him.

He'd just have to make sure to enjoy every second until then.

His good mood was torn away when he heard three ancient voices join Lugia's Song and his lips curled up into a fierce snarl as he saw the powerful bodies of Moltres, Articuno, and Zapdos flank Lugia as they lazily drifted with the wind.

They do not come for battle. They come for their last flight.

Ash calmed and looked back at the Birds as they sang in perfect harmony with the Guardian. The crackling of flames, the low roar of an avalanche, the soft thunder that preceded the coming storm…they completed the melody in a way that he didn't even know was there.

He left himself open to their own Songs.

There was emotion there. Emotion he hadn't even been sure the forces of nature could even feel.

Sorrow, regret, the knowledge of what they had lost…it was all there. And it pulled at him.

His earlier hate for the Birds softened. Ash doubted that he could ever forgive the creatures for the havoc they'd wreaked but he held a bit more sympathy at feeling their own strange emotion.

He knew what they once were and what they had been reduced to. What Lugia had forced itself to do in order to protect his own species from the true might of Fire, Ice, and Lightning.

He couldn't forgive or forget.

But he could understand.

A/N: And there it is! Sorry for the long wait, but it's my first semester of college and I had a lot of changes going on. The next chapter will be out as soon as I can write it and lead the story into Hoenn — I'll definitely enjoy going back to what I believe Traveler is about. Plus I think I've gotten back into writing this again, so the quality will hopefully be better than this one.

Thanks for reading and make sure to review!