"You can't quit now!" argued Gardevoir. She couldn't believe that Infernape was leaving after all that had happened.

"I told you that I'd leave when fate gave me a sign. I think getting my arm snapped like a twig is a sign." He explained to Gardevoir.

"You lived! Why do you still think that you're cursed?"

"It's a warning. It's my last chance to quit while I'm ahead before... you know." Gardevoir was growing frustrated. It felt like she was talking to a brick wall.

"What about Umbreon trying to use your past against you?"

"That was a mistake. I was mad and I wasn't thinking." Infernape insisted. Gardevoir was about to yell at him when she had an idea.

"Why would fate give you a warning?" She asked him with a deviously innocent smile. Infernape froze,

"W-What do you mean?"

"'Fate' only warned you once previously and even then, you went out of your way to hear it. Why wouldn't fate just kill you when it had the chance twice now?" Gardevoir questioned further. Infernape shook his head in denial,

"No, you're wrong! You don't know what you're talking about!" He snapped at her.

"Do you?" Gardevoir asked with a smug grin. Infernape didn't say a word, he looked as though she had a point but didn't want to admit it. Gardevoir left him alone to think. There he stood, alone with his thoughts.

The group left Stalagmiton rather quickly after Gardevoir's recovery. They didn't want to deal with anyone who still thought that Garchomp was guilty. So they packed up their things and went off to find the next possible location for the Darkrai cult to hide: The nearby town of Ginko Toshi. It was one of the oldest cities in the country, dating back to the 900s. As such, the architecture was so much more traditional than in the rest of the country. Square wooden buildings with tatami floors were all over the place, tightly placed together to form a web of paths and roads throughout the city. Beautiful gardens with flowers and cherry blossoms floating down onto the streets were a frequent sight. The townsfolk even wore yukata and komon outfits to maintain the heritage of such a historic city.

Infernape, Aggron, Gengar, Sceptile, and Garchomp saw no need to dress up. They weren't staying here for long so why wear them? Gardevoir, however, was more than excited to try on a yukata. Ampharos was too worried about offending the local populace to refuse, so he let Gardevoir guide him to one of the fitting shops. Garchomp smiled warmly as she watched her. Her heart fluttered at the sight. She then looked at the asphalt road in front of her, the only one in town. It was quite a surreal sight to see stoplights and walk signs in such a historic location

Gengar then started to walk across the street. Immediately, Garchomp grabbed him by the ear and pulled him back. Gengar yelped in surprise,

"What the hell?!"

"No jaywalking," said Garchomp. The ghost type had to take a second to process how nitpicky that justification was, before responding,

"There's no one on the road."

"That is no excuse to break the law," insisted Garchomp. Scoffing like a teenager being told he couldn't go out past curfew, Gengar simply raised his hands and waited until the light turns green and they could cross the street.

Infernape and Aggron joined Sceptile in questioning the civilian populace about the location of the Darkrai cult. So far, no one knew what they were talking about. The best they had was pointing them towards the old Darkrai temples. Infernape volunteered to head there but Aggron insisted on coming,

"If the cult is there, you're gonna need some extra firepower."

"Well, I am a fire type so I've got that covered," said Infernape, "but I appreciate the help."

The Darkrai temples were situated in a nearby forest. It consisted of a decently sized monastery with a few smaller ones littered about. The two Pokemon had to go up a lengthy flight of stairs to reach them, so they were a bit exhausted. Aggron looked at the place,

"So much reverence for an evil god."

"Actually, the Darkrai in myth seemed like a fairly chill guy," said Infernape, "He's been demonized by a few groups but, the true, honest-to-goodness worshippers preached that Darkrai had no grudge against us. Fear is a survival instinct. It's not his fault that we don't like being afraid. At least that's what they say."

"Huh, never thought about it that way," said Aggron. Refocusing, the two then started to carefully look through the temple.

On his own, Infernape entered what appeared to be a library. Hundreds of scrolls were all carefully placed on top of each other to form a beehive of paper that covered the walls. The room itself was very dark, which in normal circumstances wouldn't be an issue. However, Infernape was a fire type. With all of the wood, tatami, and of course the scrolls, he couldn't risk lighting even the smallest of fires. So worried was he that he deactivated the flames on his head. In its place was long white hair that stretched to his lower back. All he could do was open up the door as wide as he could and hope the sun could do the work for him.

He stepped onto the soft floor beneath him. There appeared to be a few additional rooms so Infernape decided to check those out. It should not have been a surprise to see that in these other rooms were more scrolls.

"At least no one can sneak up on me here," thought Infernape, not wanting a repeat of the Umbreon incident. However, this loneliness seemed to force Infernape to think. He had never seen the rest of the cult, not that he thought about it. Umbreon, for what it's worth, seemed to at least have some regret for her actions. And her body language seemed like she was scared of angering someone. Was their leader dangerous to both ally and foe?

Infernape was too lost in thought to notice his tail had swiped into one of the scrolls, knocking it out of place. Immediately, he rushed to fill to stop the rest from falling, expertly placing his hand where the scroll's place. He sighed in relief and used his tail to grab that paper but wasn't able to get a solid grip, unfurling the scroll. On it was a series of pictures with kanji written along the sides. The light was just bright enough for him to get a good look at the letters. It was an older dialect but with some inference skills, he could at least decipher a general idea of what was happening.

The story began with a long-winded explanation of the main character's bloodline. They were a family of merchants that traveled all around Nihonera, but the main guy's father happened to be the most successful. The main character decided to use their inherited wealth to help a friend. Tragically, that friend tricked them, stealing a large amount of money for himself. This led the main character to isolate themselves from society, fearful of their trust being misused. This would lead to the main character becoming so lonely and terrified, that they died.

However, Darkrai took pity on them. He deeply apologized for what happened and made a deal with Dialga to rewind time to the day after the betrayal. There was a catch, Darkrai told the person that isolating themselves again would mean they would be sent down to hell. So the person, with the knowledge that another backstab wouldn't happen, broke out of their shell and found the love of their life. It was a simple story with a simple theme.

Something about it seemed to resonate within Infernape. He had never heard of this story before but it seemed just so familiar, yet so distinct. It was oddly cathartic to see that person move on. They got to live without the fear of that betrayal happening ever again. Imagining how happy that life must've been almost made Infernape misty-eyed. At that point, it clicked. That was why it hit him so hard because it was what he had always wanted, freedom from that fear that controlled him every single day in his life like the strings on a marionette, forever binding him to the path destined for him. But he couldn't.

That person had the benefit of hindsight. They knew what was going to happen, so they could learn. But he, he couldn't risk that. He couldn't possibly know what was in the future. Hypothetically, he could just let go and live his life, but if he did, he'd give Arceus or fate or whatever was in charge a chance to tear him down piece by piece all over again. Reliving all of that pain again, he couldn't take it, no one could.

But how had he made it this far?

It had been, what, a few months or so since they started this journey. He had survived poison, a mega evolution, and a giant explosion. His friends managed to recover from their injuries and were still alive after all this time. Why was he here, in this temple, searching for a cult, instead of back in Normstall hiding away in his home until his will to live ran dry? That ominous force who had taken everything from him had every opportunity to make history rhyme once more but instead, they abruptly changed into free verse. It simply didn't make any sense. Xatu predicted it. She said that he was destined to be a nobody, to have everything he had ever loved and taken for granted ripped away from him. But in complete defiance, he had a group of friends that had his back and he had succeeded.

"INFERNAPE!" Aggron yelled from the other side of the temple casually, "THERE'S SOMETHING YOU'VE GOTTA CHECK OUT HERE!" Deciding to ruminate on this idea later, Infernape quickly returned the scroll to its proper place just as his hand was starting to hurt. He had a job to do. He could worry about all of that later.

Gardevoir was waiting for Ampharos to get fitted in his yukata outside the shop. Hers was a nice white that was covered in a cherry blossom pattern. Perfectly cut to fit her, she looked great. She decided to look around and saw Garchomp heading her way. She waved at the dragon-type, who appeared to blush slightly. Was something in the air? It was pollon season after all.

"You look amazing," said Garchomp. Gardevoir spun around to show off all of the intricate details in the yukata,

"Yup, the shopkeep is really good at his job." Garchomp then warmly grinned at the psychic type. She really knew how to be adorable. At that point, Garchomp then smelled a nice, savory smell in the air. A smell that she knew quite well. Hanitama. Turning around, Garchomp saw it, a stall in the nearby market that sold the delectable treat, an opportunity that was ripe for the taking.

Hanitama was a honeycomb toffee rolled up into a ball, chilled, and fried with a healthy layer of breading that tasted of ginger with a hint of lime. It was often served with a nice tea to help wash everything down, usually something with cinnamon or even sriracha to add a spicy kick that compliments the sweetness. Garchomp grew up close to a candy store that sold prepackaged stuff, but the real deal tasted heavenly.

"There's some nice candy over there. It would also be a good place to ask about the cult."

"Oh," Gardevoir exclaimed, "That sound's lovely. But I can't just leave Ampharos." However, it seemed that Ampharos had heard everything. He yelled out meekly,

"G-Go on ahead. The guy told me it would take a while." With his blessing, the two headed off towards the crowded market.

After ordering their food, Gardevoir and Garchomp became more focused on the task at hand. They too began to ask around about the movements of Bisharp and the others. At first, as with Infernape and Aggron, they found nothing. No one seemed to know anything about them. It was getting quite tiring, tiring enough that Gardevoir began to think back to Stalagmiton.

It was such a relief to start anew. No longer would she make that same mistake she did eight years ago. Infernape was wrong about her for this was a brand new beginning for her, with the world being her oyster. Sure, it would take a while for Infernape to forgive her, but she could start to whittle away at his pettiness. That guilt for her prior actions was still there, but she wasn't going to dwell on it and spiral into a pit of self-loathing. Instead, she would use it as a tool to make herself a better person than before.

About an hour passed and still, no new information was gleaned from the townsfolk. Garchomp was starting to get frustrated,

"Did we go to the wrong town? How did no one see them?" she questioned out loud. Gardevoir looked around, questioning that anomaly herself.

"Perhaps we are going about this the wrong way," she suggested. Garchomp looked down at Gardevoir, who had shut her eyes and focused her energy. This was illegal, but times were desperate, and the longer Bisharp was allowed to thrive, the more innocent lives he could claim.

Her eyes began to glow as she began to search through the minds of everyone around. Only looking for anything relevant to their current investigations. Once again, nothing of note was found in the beginning. However, suddenly, a memory played out before her. Viewing from the perspective of what appeared to be one of the shopkeepers, she could see that they were talking to a couple when she noticed what appeared to be Umbreon in the background. She was talking to someone whom she couldn't see not hear from all the noise. However, Umbreon then walked away from that person and walked through the market. Meanwhile, the couple appeared to making a mess of themselves, being so clumsy that it was no wonder this man remembered them. Umbreon then started talking to a rug salesman before leaving.

Gardevoir finally returned to reality and looked frantically for that rug salesmen. She pointed him out and rushed towards him. However, Garchomp grabbed Gardevoir by the arm, stopping her.

"What? What are you doing?" she asked.

"What did you just do? You cannot read mi-" Gardevoir then immediately covered Garchomp's mouth.

"Don't say that out loud. I know I'm not supposed to but I've got a lead," whispered Gardevoir before releasing the dragon type's mouth. Garchomp wanted to press the issue, but her feelings got into the way. Her legal mind and her love mind were completely at odds, and the love mind was winning. Deciding to let this infraction go, Garchomp simply followed behind. She tried not to think about the fine Gardevoir would have to pay.

The Orbeetle was just finishing a transaction, handing off a rug to a paying customer, when he noticed the Gardevoir and Garchomp heading towards him,

"Howdy, you two. I've got a fine selection here behind me." Gardevoir politely shook her head and asked him,

"Excuse me, we are looking for a certain group of Pokemon. Could you help us please?" Orbeetle simply shrugged,

"Eh, why not? So who are you looking for?

"Have you seen an Umbreon in the past few days?" asked Garchomp, "We think that she and her friends went through here." Thinking for a moment, Orbeetle snapped his fingers,

"Well, there was one yesterday. Quite a cutie, too. Wish I got her number. Anyway, she was kinda on edge and was asking for directions."
"Where was she heading?" asked Gardevoir.

"I couldn't hear much of what she said. Hydro-something. Said she had some family there."

Hydro. Not too far away from here was the city of Hydroton. With that, they had a destination but with no motive. Hydroton was a heavily populated area. Wouldn't it make more sense to head toward some obscure town or neighborhood? Why there? Gardevoir looked back at Garchomp and nodded. Even without a motive, they had a destination, and Infernape and Aggron had probably found something worth some value.

Someone then tapped Gardevoir lightly on the shoulder. She turned around and saw an anxious-looking Zeraora.

"What is wrong?" she asked.

"Sorry for bothering you," he began, "It's just that I need some advice on something." Not seeing any issue with this Gardevoir let him tell her about his situation,

"So, I am finally about to do something that mom and dad will be proud of but…I'm scared that they won't approve." With a genuinely sweet smile, Gardevoir patted him on the shoulder,

"Don't worry. They are your mom and dad. They'll support you no matter what," she said. However, it seemed that Zeraora wasn't so easily soothed. He meekly grabbed his other arm,

"It's not that simple. Every single time I try to impress them, they keep shooting me down," he said with growing frustration in his voice. Gardevoir took a step back, clearly, this was much more complicated than she initially thought. Hesitantly, she began to think about what to say, unaware of how to handle a situation like this. Most wouldn't think having loving parents would be a privilege.

This was where Garchomp stepped in. She approached him and told him,

"Listen, you don't need to make them happy. You need to do what makes you happy, and if they can't appreciate that, then let go." Zeraora cringed slightly but seemed more receptive. Noticing this, Garchomp gave him some more advice, "If you really want to do it, then do it. But this should be the last straw." Nodding his head in self-reassurance, Zeraora grinned at two women,

"Thank you so much. I…I really needed this," he said, "I'm going to do it." He then ran off. Gardevoir looked up at Garchomp,

"That was really sweet of you," she complimented. Garchomp blushed subtly,

"Hey, it was the least I could do. I do hope his parents learn to appreciate him. A loveless family can do far more than an injury." At that point, Gardevoir frowned. She couldn't imagine how that felt. That no matter how hard you try, your efforts will never be recognized. Not even by the ones who love you. It was enough to make her wonder, is that, at least in some way, how Infernape felt for all those years? She shook her head. This was her new leaf. Her mistakes were in the past.

Infernape rushed over to where Aggron called. He entered the temple to see that this one had been ransacked. Aggron commented,

"Looks like someone was looking for something. Urgently too."

"We should look around. Keep track of the scrolls and take count of everyone that's missing. Maybe we can figure out which one's they took," said Infernape. However, this task was considerably easier said than done, especially without a catalog. So began the tedious task of searching through every scroll on the floor. Opening them, reading them, closing them back up, and labeling them with a little burn mark, courtesy of Infernape being extraordinarily careful. This took them over the course of several hours. It was so tedious, that one would hope that some crazy coincidence would pull this out of this monotony. And that coincidence came.

It just didn't happen to them.