Interceptor's Wish

by Masterdude21

What started as a young man's search for his abducted mother spirals out of control. Soon, he is fighting a desperate war for survival against greater odds than a more generous God would have allowed. The enemy is everywhere and allies are far too few. With the entire region at stake, who can prevail when fate itself seems set against you? - Novelization of Pokemon Rejuvenation.

31. Calm Before the Storm

~~~~~~~(0)~~~~~~~

Chapter 8 – Those we Lose

Calm Before the Storm

~~~~~~~(I)~~~~~~~

---

The door to her cell creaked open and Amber looked up from the chair they'd handcuffed her to that day.

That black-haired edgelord bitch swaggered inside of his cell. He was but one of the four assholes who ran this whole clown-show in the mountain. The other, a sardonic blond dickwad, sometimes dropped by to ask her questions and shit, while the red-haired harpy never even bothered to show her stupid mug in the first place.

Where was that fourth bastard? That big fucker, with the scar and ink? He had overseen their capture back in Aquamarine Cave, but after that he'd just dropped off the face of the earth.

"Hello Amber," the Xen asshole drawled. Geara, that was his name. Geara. Stupid fucking name. "How are you today?"

Amber noticed that he hadn't brought her any food or water today. Not that she expected him to; they usually sent their flunkies to do that.

Her stomach had been howling with hunger for hours now and her muscles felt sore and weak. She had no idea how much time had passed – one of the bastards had told her this morning that it had been a week already – but she wasn't sure if they were fucking with her or not. Without the sun, she had no way of telling the time anyway.

"Fuck off," Amber growled at the admin.

"That's not very nice of you Amber. I really wouldn't be talking like that if I were you."

"Fuck you, limpdick," Amber snarled at the punk. "You think I'm scared of you? You ain't shit. Go fuck yourself."

She saw the rage in his eyes and knew she'd scored a good hit. "You know, that mouth of yours is really starting to piss me off," he bit at her.

"See if I care. You bitches fucking kidnapped us, that's on you! Go cry me a fucking river limpdick!"

Geara didn't immediately answer to that. He pulled out a switchblade – stupid piece of shit thinks he's scary he's not, he's not scaring me fuck off with that piece don't get close – and flicked the knife out. It was longer than Amber had expected. She had one of those too, buried beneath a bunch of crap back in one of her desks.

"You know, keeping you and that lowlife Professor alive has been a draaag," Geara started, staring down at his knife as he pulled up a chair. "Getting all that food and water to you guys, and having to look at your mother's face every time she starts getting uppity, it's such – "

"Oh fuck off or something, you bastards thought it necessary to drag us here, the least you could do is keep us alive," Amber spat. "If my mom breaks free she's gonna break every bone in your fucking bodies, so enjoy your gloating while you can."

Geara snorted. "If she gets free. Yeah. Funny that. We have something in place for…well, let's keep that a surprise, hmm?" He flicked the edge of his knife and began to smile. It sent a fucking chill running right down Amber's spine but she kept her face defiant. Hanging out here in this goddamn cell for a week was agony, but at least they were still alive. Every day was a day her mom could be cooking up some badass plan to spring them all out. And when she did…

"Scared?" Amber challenged him, because she had nothing else to do than cuss these fuckers out every chance they had. If she didn't get that bit of defiance out, she would lose her damn mind. "You should be! Do you know who my mom is? Do you know what she can do to punks like you?"

Geara shrugged. "I think what I can do to her is much worse than what she can do to us."

"Yeah limpdick? You wanna be a big man, start making threats? How about you cut me loose and I'll show you what the fuck kind of shit I can do to – "

"I think," Geara said in a horribly calm, factual voice, "That I am going to cut off your tongue. Give it to your mommy as a present. See how tough she is when I do that."

That horrified Amber so much that she completely forgot what she was about to say next. She stared at the punk in shock because holy fuck, this psychopath who worked with a bunch of terrorists was serious, he was serious and he would fucking mutilate her and didn't people die from that, didn't people die from blood-loss or some shit and - ?

And then her horror exploded in panic and agony and mind-shattering terror because Geara was right in her face, right in her fucking face with that knife and he put his fucking hand on her chin and he startled wrestling her mouth open and Amber struggled and fought and screamed and –

He punched her, he punched her right in her stomach and she gasped with pain and he got his thumb between her teeth and she tried to bite down, but then his fucking knife was in her mouth, it was inside her mouth and she stopped fighting, stopped struggling, stopped thinking or breathing.

Geara grinned as he slowly pressed the flat edge of his knife against her tongue, delicately sliding it back and forth with such care that it wouldn't have surprised Amber if the sick fuck got some sort of sick pleasure out of this.

Amber fought so hard not to tremble, not to tremble and accidentally cut herself on the knife and she felt the tears burn in her eyes which she couldn't allow because fuck these guys but she couldn't fight them, she couldn't do this because she was fucking terrified –

"Now you're shutting up," Geara whispered, bringing his face real close. "What was that? Got a smart remark now?"

She couldn't fight back a whimper. Never before in her life had she felt this scared. Never before had she longed for her mom's warm embrace, to hear her whisper that it was going to be alright, that things would be fine. ]

They wouldn't be fine.

"Hmm. Didn't think so. Never forget that you're not a hostage, Von Brandt. You're bait. The second things don't go according to our wishes, the second you outlive your usefulness, I'm gonna like, cut your throat, bleed you out and dump your body in the sea or something. And if not, if we win without having to shed more blood, well…" Slowly, ever so slowly, he pulled his knife out again and Amber felt the tears starting to roll down her cheek. "Well, then you and I get to spend some quality time together. Why don't you think about that? Instead of resisting?"

Amber waited until the sick fuck was gone before she started feeling the inside of her mouth with her tongue. She felt the vaguest hint of copper, some tiny little cuts but nothing serious, nothing…nothing…

More tears. Something hysterical bubbled up within her stomach. She fought against sobbing, fought against crying for her mom because she wouldn't give the fucks the satisfaction, wouldn't show them how terrified and alone she felt.

She wouldn't.

The tears fell to the dirty, stone floor.

She wouldn't.

The first sob racked her body. It came so suddenly that it startled her. After that, she couldn't stop the others. A dam broke in her mind.

She cried.

But nobody was around to hear her.

~~~~~~~(II)~~~~~~~

---

Sheridan Village

September 14th

Kirlia hopped along as Will made his way back to Amethyst Cave. Her head was in constant motion as she glanced from the left to the right, staring in the dozens of Pokemon that scurried around in the forest around them. Her green hair fluttered in the wind, occasionally getting in front of her large, ruby eyes.

According to the Pokedex, Kirlia was an emotional Pokemon, highly attuned to the emotions of the people around it but especially that of their trainer. They loved dancing, particularly when their experienced positive emotions for them to latch on to.

She couldn't have chosen a worse moment to evolve into a Kirlia if that were true. Will was sure that doing so had allowed her to save his life – again – but he hadn't felt this low since Madame X took his mother from him.

It felt like walking around with a big, yawning hole in his chest. He felt bitter and tired. Angry and riddled with guilt.

But he could set things right. He could fix this.

It…didn't look like Kirlia was too bothered by his emotional state. Her expression was one of mild curiosity, but not much else. But what did he know?

Amethyst Cave loomed up ahead. Unbidden, his thoughts went back to Ren. Ren, who had cast his lot with Team Xen. Ren, who had fought alongside Neved to hurt him.

So many questions. Even if he had all the time in the world he probably wouldn't be able to answer them. It was time to accept the facts. Face the reality.

Ren was now the enemy.

The enemy held Nim, Amber, Tesla and Professor Jenner captive.

The enemy had no reason not to kill them once he stormed their mountain lair. The only way to make sure Team Xen would not kill their hostages was by waiting out their attack and then weather that storm.

Will could think of better ways to commit suicide. If Team Xen got their shit together enough to storm all of Terajuma at once, they would do so with a horrible superweapon or Legendary Pokemon. They would not risk the entire island uniting against them with that threat unless they were a hundred percent certain they could do it.

Team Xen did not make empty threats.

Waiting out their attack was not an option. They had to go on the attack, they had to take the initiative. Aelita might very well have given her life to ensure that they could strike first.

Which meant they had to besiege Valor Mountain which meant that Team Xen had every reason to start murdering their captives.

This nightmare never ended.

Will made it inside the cave. Kirlia stopped moving for a second. She glanced around, as if disturbed by something. She glanced up –

And Will froze.

There, up ahead, the shadow of a person came into view. It wasn't just any shadow, and it wasn't just any person.

It was his mother.

"Mom?" Will whispered.

She stood perhaps a dozen meters away, looking like she could have just stepped off the Oceana. The way her pink hair fell around her face, the assured, gentle way with which she walked…that ever-loving, sympatric look in her eyes…

It couldn't be. She was dead. He'd seen her die!

But it was.

"Will…" she said, and it was her voice. "Find me on the highest peak of the cave…"

This wasn't…but she…it couldn't…

"Wait…" he said.

He saw his mother smile, and then her body faded away

"Wait!"

Kirlia winced when he shouted. He ran deeper into the cave, skidding to halt when he reached the point where he saw her stand.

It was her, he'd seen her with his own eyes, but she…he didn't see any footsteps, anything to indicate that another person had been there. This had to be a trick. Some sort of way to lure him into an ambush, or someone like Madelis feeling particularly cruel, hoping to rile him up some more.

Will spun around. He didn't see her. He didn't see anything but Kirlia staring at him with that blank, impassive look of hers.

"It' been a day and I'm already losing my mind," he said.

Adam and Braixen were still in bed. People were taking care of Aelita. Ensuring that her body would stay healthy while she…while she rested.

That meant he could start making himself useful.

Kirlia accompanied him as he hiked all the way back to the part of the cave where he had placed Keta's pendant. Along the way, as he tried to keep his situational awareness up. There existed every possibility that he was walking into one big trap. There would he signs along the way, tiny indicators that something wasn't right, and if he just looked, he might see them.

Try as he might, neither him nor Kirlia saw signs of Team Xen's treachery. What he did see however, was Kirlia suddenly veering off-course and then teleporting on top of a large, bulky console of sorts. He'd seen those thing before, stashed amidst all the excavation machines. Back then he had other things on his mind.

"What's up?" He asked.

Kirlia sat down atop the console and dangled her slender legs over the edge. She regarded him with her crimson gaze.

"I know someone who looks at me the exact same way."

Kirlia gave no indication that she cared. That too was familiar.

Frowning, Will approached the console. Big and bulky and white. It reminded him of the crap Team Xen had fielded in their myriad of labs, except this one was inactive.

"Yeah? What now?"

Kirlia slowly tapped her feet against the face of the console.

Will sighed. He wasn't above pressing random buttons, and this console didn't seem to be very complicated. It had a few small levers and a big activation button.

"We're here for a reason," he told her. "Let's focus."

Kirlia glanced around the cave, drawing her crimson gaze over things he couldn't see.

"Yes, that was my mother. She's dead. They murdered her. Did you see her too? Or am I just losing my marbles?"

She looked up at him with an inscrutable expression.

"That's a metaphor," he growled.

Screw it. Obviously, Kirlia wanted something out of him and obviously, he lacked the ability to figure out what that was.

Will sighed and slammed his fist into the activation button, harder than was necessary. The console began thrumming and green lines of code flickered across its screen.

"There, are you – "

Kirlia teleported away from the console and back into the main hall of the tunnel.

" – satisfied. Right."

There wasn't much else to it. Will headed deeper into the cave, occasionally stopping to indulge in Kirlia's newfound whims. A couple of consoles scattered amidst the heavy equipment, chasing down the occasional wild Pokemon that got a bit too close for comfort, those sort of things.

He was glad to see her coming into her own right, just like Froslass had after her evolution. When Pokemon evolved, they matured. Their personalities and minds changed with their bodies, but how much of who a Pokemon was at their core was beholden to their form? How much change could he expect of her when she evolved again? Of Axew, when he evolved?

Maybe Melia knew. She always knew the things he didn't. Heck, she'd worked with Professor Jenner on studying Pokemon for her entire life.

Finally, after half an hour of navigating the interior of Amethyst Cave, Will found the stone formation where he had once placed Keta's pendant. It felt like a lifetime ago since he had descended into that hidden grove.

The entrance to Keta's sanctuary was still there. Nobody had disturbed it, it seemed.

Amethyst Grotto was still as quiet and tranquil as before. Keta's statue was still there. So were the trees and the flowers. It was as silent and tranquil as before.

But…

"Keta?" Will yelled. "Keta, I need your help!"

It looked like that was it.

"Keta! It's Aelita! She's in danger!"

The grotto was silent.

"I don't know how to help her!"

Silent and empty.

And there was nobody to answer his cry for help.

Frustration and helplessness came over him like a wave. He gritted his teeth and spun around, searching for anything there that could help, any sign that he wasn't alone, that somehow…

Nothing.

A cry of frustration wrestled its way through his lips. He took a shaky breath. Pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes until he saw stars.

This wasn't a surprise. He'd known that it was a long shot, but…a part of him had hoped. A part of him had hoped that after all the crap Aelita had gone through, somehow, someone would have given her a hand. Wasn't that what people kept telling him? Keep up hope, keep up hope…

Kirlia tore her ruby gaze from the statue back to him.

"Looks like plan B, then," Will forced himself to say, forced himself to stay level and grounded.

Knowing that the familiar route wouldn't lead him to the place where his mother – it can't have been her stop thinking that way it's a trap you know it is – had asked him to go, Will decided to head down into the depths.

This time, instead of going around the corner past the abandoned excavation equipment, Will had Nidoking help him down a steep slide towards a lower level. Nidoking accepted his request with childlike glee, holding his trainer carefully against his chest as he slid down the wall.

The second the massive Poison-type set him down again, he turned around and climbed back up again. There, Nidoking decided the best course of action was to roll down the steep wall. Like everything in his life, he did so with reckless abandon. Kirlia watched impassively as Nidoking slammed into the excavation equipment a couple of meters to Will's right, putting a massive dent in the steel equipment as he did.

It was a violent, noisy affair but Nidoking climbed back to his feet, shook the electric cables and pieces of glass off and gave Will a very content look.

At least someone was having fun down here.

Still, Nidoking's idea of fun had probably alerted everybody down on this level that something was going on, so it came as no surprise when another person came walking down one of the hallways. She…

It was as if Nim had let her hair down, donned a cool new outfit and approached him as if nothing had happened, nothing at all, and she'd simply busted out of Team Xen's confinement with her awesome powers and escaped that lonely, cruel fate on her own, like somehow, somehow -

Will felt his body jerk a little. No, no of course she wasn't. Nim was still held hostage in Valor Mountain and this woman just resembled her, resembled her so much that he felt his thoughts getting jumbled again.

"Hey there! Don't often see other trainers down here. Oh, just look at your Pokemon! They look so unique and strong! Hi there big guy, how are you doing? Are you having fun?"

Will stared at the big Nido, realizing that he was wagging his tail.

The newcomer was a woman with long, black hair that reached all the way down to her knees. Her purple eyes were soft and thoughtful. They matched her boots, Will noted. She wore long, black pants and a gray shirt. It was accented with light purple stripes, just like her jacket, which flared out into a ragged, cut pattern towards the bottom and the cuffs of her sleeves.

Before he could fully recollect himself, the woman was up in his face. She was very attractive, and didn't seem to care much about personal boundaries. She happily took one of his hands and shook it. "You must be a very special trainer. Your aura is so incredibly vibrant! What is your name?"

"Uh…Will?"

The woman smiled at him. It was so genuine, so out of nowhere that he didn't know what to do with it. "So, you were born with the name Will? Oh, what a nice and exotic name! Well, I was born with the name…" She stopped talking as if she'd caught herself doing something wrong. "Ah, let's not give my birth name actually. I think it would be better for both of us if we use a nickname, no?"

What?

"Well, personally I like the name April, so let's go with that! So what brings you to Amethyst Cave, Will?"

"I…"

He wanted to lie, tell her that he was just passing through and not looking for anything in particular. A non-answer would be better, something like training or exploring, vague and easy to maintain.

But…bringing himself to lie to this young woman suddenly felt impossible, so impossible that admitting the truth soon felt much easier in comparison.

"My friend got hurt," Will found himself saying. "In a Garufan ruin. She…she's not waking up. I'm searching for something that might help."

"In Amethyst Cave?" April said, her purple eyes large and surprised. "I don't know. You might be better off searching for the Hidden Library in East Gearen City."

"I tried that, but I couldn't find it," Will replied.

"Well yeah, it's in the name isn't it? Someone put up a request at the Help Center a few days ago, I have a feeling they might be able to help you on that front. I'm sorry about your friend, Will."

"Yeah, so am I," he mumbled back. "What are you doing down here?"

"Me? Oh, I'm actually looking for something! Something that's been hidden by the very same Garufa as you and your friend unfortunately found. I believe I've found it, but unfortunately I can't get to it. Down that stream over there lies a huge door. You can actually see it from the entrance. There's a hole in the door that looks like you can fit something in it, but I have nothing like that. I'm actually going to go back to investigate it more! If you're interested in the Garufa, you should follow! We might be able to help each other!"

Hoping against hope that somehow April could help him like Nim had helped him in this very cave so long ago, Will nodded. "Okay."

"Yes!" She exclaimed, eagerly taking his hand and pulling him along. "Come, I'll show you the way. Watch out, the stream gets bigger and the path gets narrower. You said your friend got hurt? Do you know what ails her?"

Will had to struggle to find his voice for a moment. "A curse. Somehow, the Gsrufa cursed her. She won't wake up."

April winced. "That's not good. The Garufa were insanely powerful. So powerful that they had to seal their power away. You'll see soon enough."

Eventually, the long-haired woman led him to a door that could very well have been the entrance to the world's largest bank vault. It was a mechanical contraption easily four times the size of a normal person. It too bore the painfully-familiar mark of the ancient Garufa.

Sure enough he spotted a hole in the door, just like April had told him. So far, she'd been telling the truth about everything.

"So, this is the door I've talked quite a bit about. I believe what I want is somewhere behind this door." Large, lilac eyes regarded him. "Did you know that the Garufa sealed their power behind huge doors like this one to keep out foreigners? They knew they wouldn't last forever, but they didn't want their power to be out in the open."

As she talked, the curiosity and wonder in her eyes changed. Her features hardened, her voice grew louder. "I don't care how much they don't want me to have it. I want it and that's all that matters!" Something like desire burned in those purple eyes. "No…I need this power. I need it if I'm going to accomplish my goal."

This was starting to sound disturbingly familiar. Tension seeped into Will's body as he shifted his weight, making himself ready for when...he didn't know, when April lost her mind or something. "This door…is it Garufa? Or Garufan?"

April seemed to snap herself out of her thoughts. She shot him a bemused look and laughed a bit. "Grammar Isn't your strong suit then? Garufa singular, Garufa plural. I think. Uh…sorry if I disturbed you a bit there. Look, the fact of the matter is that I can't open the door without something else. Since you're here anyway, would you do me a favor and keep an eye out? I'm sure whatever we need is somewhere in this cave. All we need to do is find it."

Will promised he would, and then left April at the door, wondering what exactly the woman was really looking for.

Whoever April was, she knew about the Garufa tribe, which meant that she might be able to help Aelita. For now, with everything going on, that was all he would focus on.

Eventually, he made it back to the Route 2 entrance. The only way he hadn't explored was the Amethyst Depths.

This was where everything had changed. Right beneath his feet was the place where Team Xen had "killed" Melia. It was the place where he, in turn, had killed the Rift Galvantula. That had been the first time he took another life. The violence hadn't stopped since then.

Hell, if everything went according to plan, there would be a lot more violence in the near future. A lot of people would be hurt. Some of them would die, that much was certain.

After some hesitation, Will started heading down.

Knowing that Melia was safe back in Kristiline made being down here different. More bearable. Less suffocating. The memories would never leave, but he could put them in a different light, alter their context.

With Kirlia walking by his side, Will kept an eye out for the routes that had been blocked off the last time. He heard the faint noise of an excavation in the distance.

He saw the bridge that had been blocked off the last time and figured that it looked official enough. He crossed it, then spotted an entrance into another cave atop a large slab of stone. At one point, it could have been reached via the wooden stairs grafted onto the stone, but it wasn't an option now. Either due to the fighting with Team Xen or the vibrations of the ongoing excavations, a part of the ceiling had collapsed and the resulting rubble had smashed the stairs to pieces.

Now he could send out Nidoking and ask for a boost, but…

You have to learn to use your Pokemon.

He was still struggling to figure that one out. The clock was ticking. Crescent had chosen her message with care, so it was something he had to think about. They needed every advantage they could get, after all.

"Kirlia, you teleported, right?"

Kirlia looked at him. Obviously, her gaze seemed to tell him.

"Could you…" He gestured with his head to the entrance. "Teleport me?"

Kirlia shifted her gaze to the ruined stairs, then to the passageway just out of reach. She raised her arms and Will felt the familiar sensation of Psychic energy rushing through the air. Reality around Kirlia shifted and bubbled, flashes of purple energy boiling into existence –

But then she lowered her arms again. Her crimson eyes narrowed and she looked up at him again. She shook her head.

"Okay," he said, his mind racing. "That's fine."

Kirlia wasn't trying to tell him that it was impossible; after all, other Pokemon had clearly shown the capability to do so. She was telling him that she couldn't do it. Was it a question of power? Finesse? Training?

...could teleporting go wrong? What happened if a teleport went wrong?

Deciding that he wouldn't be concerning himself with that particular line of thinking, Will decided to go for the more reliable option of having someone really strong throw him really high.

You have to learn to use your Pokemon…

What was the point of being so damn cryptic? Did Crescent like keeping him confused and in the dark? At least Saki's jokes were fun to consider.

He got deeper and deeper into the cave as he let his thoughts wander. Eventually he made it to an area that likely hadn't seen any traffic in a long time. It looked to be the deepest part of the cave, but it was a long drop. With a steep cliff to his right and a solid stone wall to his left, Will felt like he wasn't really heading in the right direction. Maybe he ought to -

He halted. It looked like someone had built some sort of underground laboratory up ahead here. Its side poked out of the wall, sporting a singular steel door that was just begging for someone to rip open. Six power generators or something had been erected in front of the lab's entrance, with another white console jutting out in their midst.

There, a Team Xen grunt stood cursing to himself as he slapped the side of the console, before typing in a string of commands and stepping back to wait. Nothing happened, so he cursed again and started typing in a different command…

What was he supposed to make of this? Was there any place where these bastards hadn't ruined things yet?

For a moment, Will felt nothing but the overwhelming desire to have Kirlia throw the guy off the cliff behind them. These people had done nothing but bring misery and death to the people he loved.

But…

Right now, this man wasn't a direct threat to him. Blindly throwing him to his death when he had his back turned was…wrong. He didn't have a better way to describe it. It would be wrong.

As he stood there contemplating what to do, the Xen grunt murmured an apology, put his back to the console and just sank through his knees. The man was halfway through burying his face in his hands when he noticed that he wasn't alone.

"Oh, great," he muttered. He showed zero intent to reach for his Pokeballs so Will stayed his hand. "It's you. We haven't met before, but you're well known amongst us grunts…well, I guess I'm technically not one of them anymore. I've been fired for something I didn't do. Something about deleting Nastasia's hard drive and ruining a really important project…"

Will stared at him. When was the last time he'd been face to face with his enemy and they hadn't tried to attack him? Even that man in the Garufan Sanctuary had tried to defend himself before Adam and Aelita put a halt to that.

This guy looked young. He couldn't have been older than twenty or something. Aside from that, he looked tired. He had bags underneath his eyes, his skin was pale and clam and his whole body just exuded hopelessness.

"I'm talking to a brick wall, aren't I?" The guy sighed. "In short, I got fired, ran away and now I'm down here. Go ahead and do…whatever it is you do. I wanted to see my mother's grave before…it happens…don't think you can do much worse to me."

It.

Will thought he knew what it was. They called it termination. He called it what it was: murder.

If this guy wasn't lying – which he honestly didn't think he was – then he was about to be murdered for a stupid screw-up he hadn't committed. And he had accepted that. He didn't howl. He didn't fight. He just...went along with his fate. One more look at his mother's grave before he went quietly into the night.

Will knew he should not care – he had no reason to care about these people, not after what they had done, what they would all still do – but he couldn't bring himself to be that apathetic.

His mother didn't have a grave. He didn't have a place he could visit and talk to her before all the violence broke loose.

But that didn't mean he had any right to stop others from doing that.

"The layout of this place has changed so much since I was here last," the Xen grunt continued. "I made it all the way here and ran into this grid. It won't let me through without the right amount of power. Why don't you take a look?"

Puzzled by the man's utter indifference to the situation, Will observed the console. The six generators around him were all active, so it wasn't a matter of power. It seemed like it was the console itself that lacked power.

Pressing a few buttons and pulling on a small lever at the side didn't seem to do anything either, so…

Will frowned, kneeling down next to the console. What appeared to be some sort of emergency panel had been haphazardly taped to the back. He peeled the cover away and found something that looked like a plastic sphere half-inserted into the back of the console. He reached out, tapped against the plastic cover with his knuckle and found that it wasn't electrified or anything.

But it could move.

Which made it a button.

He twisted the sphere back into place.

With a loud mechanical stutter, the entire front of the laboratory folded in on itself and moved to the side. It wasn't a lab at all, but some sort of heavy, steel gate.

Who designed all this crap?

"Hey!" The Xen grunt exclaimed, shoving himself back to his feet. "It looks like that worked! My mother's grave should be really close by! Thank you!"

"There's a graveyard here?" Will asked.

The guy nodded. "Yeah. The only way to reach it is by either flying to the top, or taking this route. I…could show you? It's the least I could do."

"…sure."

Will let the grunt go first, still not completely trusting the situation. The young man hurried towards the ladder that the retracted gates had revealed and he began climbing it.

After a few moments, Will decided to follow him up.

After a minute of silently ascending the ladder, the two of them emerged into what looked like the ruined remains of an old Xen lab. All overturned consoles, broken machines and defunct cameras.

Hesitantly, the grunt looked around. "Everything is so destroyed and dug up…I hope the graveyard wasn't destroyed. I…huh? Hey, there's another one of those panel thingies. It says…production line? It's looking for an input from someone. See it?"

Will glanced at Kirlia, who had yet to take her eyes off of the Xen grunt. With a little shrug, Will approached the man, still keeping his distance just in case the man had a knife or something on him.

"See? The green glowy button."

He did, in fact, see the green glowy button.

Proving himself to be just as human as the next guy, the Xen grunt pressed the button without a second thought.

A droning voice emanated from a rusty speaker. "RESPONSE ACCEPTED. STARTING PRODUCTION LINE."

The conveyer belt to their left suddenly roared to life. It dragged a cluster of blood-red crystals across its belt, before depositing it in a large, bulky machine that looked more like an electric furnace than anything else.

"WARNING! VITAL COMPONENT CORE NUMBER ONE MISSING! TEN SECONDS BEFORE AUTOMATIC COMPLETION!"

"Vital core number one…? Should we…?"

"FIVE SECONDS REMAINING BEFORE AUTOMATIC COMPLETION."

A bit nervous, the grunt turned towards Will. "Should we stop the production?"

Maybe they should have never started the production. Regardless, it was too late now.

"AUTOMATIC COMPLETION IS NOW ONLINE. PRODUCT COMPLETED. EJECTING."

That was when Madame X of all people jumped from the center-most machine and both Will as his new Xen companion leapt back, startled by the sudden appearance.

But…it wasn't her, was it? It was her suit, but it lacked any colors or her cape, and it wasn't moving. It was like this machine had just fabricated this thing in the span of a minute. Was that how Team Xen got all their stuff? They used massive 3D printers to fabricate them?

The Xen grunt dropped to his knees in front of the empty suit of armor. "Ma'am, I am so sorry about erasing Nastasia's hard drive! I don't even remember doing it! Please spare me…" he begged, putting his hands together as he cried, "I promise I'll do better!"

Will coughed into his hand.

The penny started dropping.

"Wait a minute…this…this isn't Madame X at all!"

There it was.

Man, was this what it felt like to be on the other end of someone not grasping the obvious?

"This suit definitely resembles Madame X, but…it's missing something. It's…ah! That's it. It's missing murderous intent. Yes, that must be why it's so off putting!"

"Why do you guys even work for someone like her?" Will asked.

The grunt shook his head. "Look, I can't tell you. It's not something that can be told. I – "

A massive quake shook the ground. Suddenly sharp and alert, Will started looking around, remembering the last time the ground had started mysteriously shaking underground.

"Wh-Whoa! What was that!" The Xen grunt yelped.

"Who knows," Will muttered.

"Well I want to know! I don't want it to happen again!" The guy shouted, frantically whirling around as he tried to locate the cause of the tremors. "I'm very afraid of earthquakes! Ever since, uh…Yeah, never mind."

Will shot him a questioning look.

"Let's just say that I…uh…had a very bad experience with an earthquake once."

"What - "

Why have you come here?

The voice echoed around his thoughts, nestling within his skull like Keta's voice all those weeks ago

"What was that? Another quake? Is this place unstable or something?"

Will put a hand to his forehead. Unlike Keta, this voice wasn't gentle about it; it raged inside of his head, grief and anger whipping around his mind.

Why have you come here? This is MY resting place. Those that trespass will not be allowed to leave unpunished!

Without warning, a damn Dimensional Rift tore itself into existence right behind the statue of Madame X. It swirled around like a whirlpool, oozing malice and otherworldly energies.

"Th-That's a Dimensional Rift!" The Xen member shouted as he backed away in horror. "But why here? Zetta hasn't reported anything like this!"

Become LOST in my sight!

The Rift expanded and -

…

The rising sun paints the flowers in a soothing, yellowish gleam. He cannot remember their names but they are large and they all bloom in the direction of the sun.

There are many things he cannot remember. Important things, too. In a way, that makes the things he can remember far more important.

"Hey mom. You told me to find friends and love. Here's how I did."

He remembers a tall, kind woman who saves his life.

He remembers a blond girl with the world's most beautiful smile.

He remembers a cocky, cheerful Gym Leader who is way too cool to be his friend, but she wants to be regardless.

He remembers a happy young woman with psychic powers who does not know him, but makes it her mission to make him happy.

Those are the people he loves, now. They are his family, his friends.

"Things fell apart after that, but I put them back together. There are more, now."

A man whose body is like stone, but his heart is like a campfire. A woman who loves the ocean, but loves her friends more. A teenage genius who does not care what the world does and just lives her life the way she wants it. A cheeky Pokemon who goes with the flow.

But someone is missing. Someone who goes right in-between the loving psychic and the man who puts him back together when the enemy breaks his body the first time.

A girl who vowed to help him on his path. As he fights to protect the people he loves the most, she fights to protect him. She is his best friend, his partner in crime.

She is a pillar he leans on when his thoughts stop working.

But she is gone now.

"And I can't figure it out. Can you help me, mom? Just this once? How do I get her back, without losing the others? Can you tell me, mom?"

He walks through the blooming field of –

Sunflowers

- and reaches the bluff on the other side.

There, his mother waits for him. She is difficult to see at first, her body translucent at first. That makes sense, because she died, and she can't –

Be here

- but she is regardless.

"My sweet boy," she says. "Where have you been? Mother has been here. Waiting just for you. But it's okay now. We're together now. Please be with me."

He does. He is. He walks to the edge of the bluff. He looks down. He can't see through the clouds. It wasn't –

Real

She cradles him. She caresses his face.

She is the first person he remembers. Before the others, he wakes up and sees her. She is his mother and he loves her. He would have ripped Aevium apart to find her.

But.

This isn't real.

And he knows this.

Because his mother is dead.

"How are you here?" He asks.

Her body is clearer now. He sees the vibrant pink of her hair, the cloudy white of her dress.

"Is that really the right question?" She chastises him.

No.

"Why are you here?"

She smiles at him. He cannot remember the last time her smile wasn't sad. "You know why I'm here."

A part of him does. "I can't remember our life, mom," he admits. His voice is shaky and vulnerable, like a child admitting it had broken something precious. "I can't remember dad, or if I had siblings. Are you…are you lonely?"

"I'm never lonely," she says calmly. "I'm always with you."

"I don't know how to do this," he says, and his voice breaks. He stares down at the clouds. "I have to fight like hell. I have to bring Aelita back. I have to protect my family. I…have to move on. But I can't."

"I know," his mother whispers. "Will…you and I both know what's happening isn't real."

He knows.

He knows because his mother always had the answers. This right here is him. It is him through and through. The only answers he has are more questions.

"My poor boy…you've been through so much. They've hurt you so much…you haven't moved on. I know what I must do. You cannot leave without moving on," she says, and something is different this time. He cannot see her eyes. He only sees the tension in her body.

"I'm sorry mom," he says. "I can't stay here. I have to fight."

"I know you do. You have the conviction. But do you have the mental and physical fortitude to get out?"

They fight. Everything blends together in a chaotic hazy dream. He pictures the type of Pokemon his mother would use. He remembers the Pokemon who have fought by his side all this time. He sees Sylveon.

The dreamlike, fuzzy state changes as they fight. The sunflowers die. The sky darkens.

Still he fights. Everything falls into a pattern of moving, of attacking and defending. The noise hammers at his senses. It comes apart and fades together in a haze.

Something heavy and disturbing reaches fruition in his mind. A realization that weighs heavily on his shoulders. It is something Crescent had once told him, too.

"Will…you are doing so well…even through your pain, you've fought your hardest…I know you can live your life without me. Do not worry about me; I can rest easy, knowing that. But…"

Lightning flashes behind them. A Dimensional Rift flickers into existence.

This one

This one is real

"This world was built out of the pain and suffering of a loved one."

"Who?" He asks.

"You will learn in due time. As you have eased my pain, so must you ease theirs…"

The sky split open. His mother is gone. Rather, she was never there. In her stead the broken, yet whole spirit of the lonely Chandelure descends upon him, mad with grief and fury.

~~~~~~~(III)~~~~~~~

---

With a big yawn, Braixen stepped into the first rays of light of the rising sun. She stretched her arms above her head and turned to look at the big log where Will had said they could find him.

It didn't even surprise her when she saw that the log was suspiciously lacking in Wills.

It didn't surprise her, but the kick of disappointment was even heavier.

Looking up at the rising sun, Braixen plucked her wand from her bushy tail and clutched it tightly in her right paw.

Will was a dear, but he was also a big, stupid idiot! It hadn't been more than four days since that scary lady had nearly killed him and already he was sneaking out, going on self-imposed missions to do Arceus-knew what!

Oh when she found him she would be so mad at him! She would whack him over the head with her wand, she would set his socks on fire, she would…she would…

Braixen sat down on the log. She didn't know what she would do because at this point, concern was starting to turn into something deeper, something more…well, concerning.

At her core, she was what Will called a social butterfly. She saw things in humans that other humans tended to miss. Whenever Will wasn't having one of his steel-faced moments, she didn't need to be a Psychic-type to understand what bounced around that head of his.

The door to the Inn opened and closed again. Heavy footfalls that could only belong to Adam approached her.

Glancing up, Braixen confirmed that it was, in fact, her favorite stone-faced boulder of a man. "Morning Adam."

"Braixen," he greeted her. He eased himself onto the log next to her.

"How'd you sleep?"

She expected him to say something along the lines of like a rock, and he would mean it unironically because he was an absolute sweetheart but he tended to be a bit slow at times.

That made her all the more surprised when he simply grunted in response. If she knew her Adams - and she liked to think she did - that meant his night had sucked.

"Soooo I guess you didn't see Will leave this morning?" She asked.

Another grunt. That one was Adams for no.

Braixen groaned and rested her chin atop her elbows. "Do you think he went back to that Garufa place?"

"Don't know."

"Adam!" Braixen whined. "What do you mean, don't know? You know how his brain works, don't you?"

Adam looked at her, fixing her with those baby blues of his. "I"m not Melia, Braix. I didn't write the book on Will's mind."

Something like frustration clawed at her chest. Melia wasn't here, Melia was still recovering from a nasty smack and a big heaping of hypothermia. "What do we do then? Do we go looking for him? Do we tell the Eldest?"

Adam didn't answer her at first. He turned his head away, glancing at the tree line for a few seconds before looking at the firepit. "No point."

Braixen growled in frustration. She recalled, with much more clarity and detail than she wanted, the sickening noise of Angie's weapon piercing straight through his sternum. The terror she had felt at that moment had been so intense that it had frozen her to the spot, rooted her to the ground and rendered her all but useless.

And now this? It was too much, far too much. She needed Will right here, right now, so she could spend the entire day scolding him for being stupid and idiotic.

And then she would hug him. Because hugs always made people feel better and Will hadn't had enough hugs lately.

"What do you mean no point?" Braixen demanded.

Adam sighed. "I think, if Will wanted to be found, he'd be with Aelita. He's not. Is he here?"

"Uhm - "

"No. So he doesn't want to be found."

"Then we look for him! You know he's, like, the dumbest smart person around, right? He's going to do stupid things and he's going to get hurt. Stupidly."

Frustration turned into legitimate anger because she had the sneaking suspicion that Adam didn't get how serious this was. Will was like a very angry force of nature. Capable of great destruction but completely unguided. Back on Blacksteeple, he had needed Val to talk him out of doing something stupid. Then also on Blacksteeple, he had needed Melia to talk him out of doing something stupid! And still on Blacksteeple…Melia again!

After that, that stinky swamp island and after that, it had been the horrible, violent, no-good jerk Neved and while she hadn't been around to witness that, being told what had happened had been even worse because she still couldn't believe it. She just refused to believe that their Will, precious and keeping in mind all the things Saki had teased him about, could do such violent things.

"Braixen, use that fur between your ears for something other than keeping your brain warm," Adam said. "If he's on his own, not wanting to be found, who's gonna find him?"

"We will!" Braixen snapped. "Because he's our friend, right? You said it yourself! That's what friends do!"

"Yeah. That's why I'm gonna stay here."

Braixen could have pulled at her ears, that was how angry she was! "He's alone! He could be hurt!"

Adam fixed her with a surprising and very rare glare. "Aelita is alone. Aelita is hurt. What would help him more? You and me searching for a needle in a haystack, or you and me staying put and keeping an eye on Aelita?"

Braixen glowered at Adam, but he kept staring, and his stare was stronger than her glower because he was right. If, heaven forbid, Team Xen infiltrated this village like they had before and somehow got their evil clutches on Aelita, she knew that Will would stuff all three Relics in his backpack and fly straight towards Valor Mountain.

With them around, not only could they deter the bastards, they could also interfere if they showed their evil faces.

Adam was right.

Stupid Adam.

But two could play that game. "Fine. You know he hasn't slept a wink last night either. I haven't seen him eat or rest once since he got up from, you know, nearly dying! What if he slips up? What if he does something too stupid and he gets hurt again? Hmm? How are we going to face Melia! How are we going to tell her and the others that we let him go out on his own and didn't bother looking for him!"

Adam took a deep breath. "He knows better than to do something stupid like that."

"And how do you know?"

Adam did that annoying thing where he looked at people like they were the slow and dimwitted ones. And he dared to do that right to her face! "Because Will's smart. He can't help Aelita by being reckless. Can't protect Melia and Venam if he's dead."

Braixen grumbled to herself to keep up appearances, but Adam's logic was sound, and it actually helped ease the painful sense of unease that had crept into her fur.

Translating from Adams, he'd told her to have faith in their friend, and trust that he would do what he needed to do and then come back to them.

Which he would. Because Braixen would have faith in him. She would smack him with her wand and scold him for hours.

And then she would hug him. Because that too was what friends did.

~~~~~~~(IV)~~~~~~~

---

The very peak of Amethyst Cave was a flat piece of grassy land dotted with pink cherry blossom trees. Seeing those all the way up here reminded him of Aelita; did she know this place was here? It was very likely she would, but then again, the only visible entry had been barricaded by a Xen lab, so maybe not.

He could see all of Sheridan Village around him. Aevium stretched out for miles around him. The view could have been beautiful, had he not been surrounded by gravestones.

"There you are," Will said as he stepped out onto the graveyard. He wasn't sure what he should have expected, but obviously not…not this.

"Will! You're alright!" The Xen member said, getting up from his kneeling position in front of one particular grave. "You disappeared back there with the Rift…I didn't know what to do so I just came out here to my mother's grave. "She…she was a good woman. Always did what was best for me."

"That's alright," Will said, feeling the bizarre urge to reassure the guy. It was the little details that betrayed what was about to happen. The tears in the young man's eyes. The redness on his cheeks. The way his clenched fists trembled and the tightness in his neck.

"I hope she's proud of me. Despite my mistakes," the man said. It sounded like he had to keep back a sob.

"What's your name?" Will asked him quietly.

The Xen member swallowed. "My name is Manny," he said, his voice sounding very close to breaking. "Listen. I'm really appreciative of your help. I know Team Xen has caused you a bunch of problems in the past, but we're not bad people. Okay? I've made a lot of friends during my time here and I'm thankful for that."

Will nodded to Manny. This was a man who knew he was about to die. A man who faced that death with dignity. What could he even say in a moment like this? "I wish I got to know you under better circumstances, Manny."

Manny smiled. "Thank you Will. For everything."

Will wanted nothing more than to avert his eyes when it happened. To look away and spare himself seeing another horrible death endlessly replaying when he closed his eyes, seeing another person ceasing to be.

So he kept watching. He felt like Manny deserved at least that.

Manny didn't scream or cry when it happened. The light consumed him as it had consumed Tommen. Starting from the feet, incinerating him within seconds.

He didn't scream.

Moments later, the motes of light were gone too.

Will felt his emotions swirl around in his head, tearing him in every direction. He'd need days to process what he had just witnessed. Weeks to come to accept it. Months to come to terms with it.

So he didn't. He allowed the emotions to tug at him from direction. He allowed himself to simmer in quiet rage for Team Xen. He allowed his heart to bleed for this young idiot who had signed up with what was increasingly starting to look like a death cult. He allowed the memories of his mother to comfort him as he sat down on the grass and stared out over the graves.

Here lies Larissa. 1960-2010.

Rest in peace, Eli.

Rest in peace, Taelia.

Rest in peace, Vivian.

And above all.

Rest in peace, my darling Chandelure. Mommy misses you very much. I will love you always. – Narcissa.

Maybe that was the link between his mother and Chandelure. Maybe it was more than just a fabrication of his mind. Maybe not. He was tired and felt like he was bleeding inside. He welcomed the numbness.

The last grave at the far end of the graveyard was a broken tombstone. There seemed to be an indent on top of it that was meant for a candle.

Will whipped out his journal. He wrote down Manny's name. He wrote down a reminder to return here one day with an appropriate candle.

And he wrote down a reminder to ask Narcissa what happened to her first Chandelure. Dead Pokemon didn't linger to create a Dimensional Rift all on their own. They didn't simmer in their own pocket dimension, playing mind games on any hapless humans who tried heading up to the graveyard.

But that would come later. For now, he had one more matter to attend to.

Roughly an hour later, having fought lumbering titans of rock and steel deep within the bowels of the earth, he finally offered the oddly shaped pendant he found in the deepest chamber to a very surprised April.

"Will, that item, is that a Moon Dial?" She gasped as if those words should mean anything to him.

Too tired to come up with a smart remark, he just nodded.

"Do you mind if I take that from you for a moment? This is exactly what I needed to complete this contraption…thingy."

Thingy.

She even talked like Nim.

Wordlessly he handed her the Moon Dial and she all but snatched out from his hand. "Take the Moon Dial and combine it with…that there and…take that there and insert it into the Moon Dial…ah, and voila! It is done! Perfected, completed!" Grinning, she offered him a contraption that looked like a Lunatone and a Solrock fused together. "This is a Phase Dial! I found this Sun Dial in front of this door when I first got here. I figured, if the Sun Dial was here, then the Moon Dial wouldn't be too far off…that's when I met you and decided to put you to the test!"

"And?" Will said, arching an eyebrow.

"It's okay, you passed with flying colors! Now we'll take the Phase Dial and use it as a key to open this door! Kaaa-chunk!"

The literal second she inserted the dial into the door, the Garufa symbol burst into a shimmering golden light.

April sighed contently. "I've been waiting a long time for this Will. I'm finally going to see the secret his door has been hiding from me for years! Well, there's no time like the present." She jerked the Phase Dial from the door again. "Let's go."

He followed her into the Garufan chamber.

Expecting another ruin overgrown by vegetation and costly puzzles, Will wasn't ready for the interior of this particular Garufa chamber.

The hallway simmered and changed with every step April and he took. Parting shadows of massive overhead clouds glided across the floor, but when they looked up they saw only an endless expanse of inky black with tiny, twinkling stars.

Moons and suns wheeled overhead amidst the stars, silver-gray orbs and dazzling burning spheres. Along the walls, statues of Lunatone and Solrock jutted up from the ground. The pedestals could have been solid gold for all Will knew.

At the far end of the chamber, just before some sort of altar, floated two very familiar Pokemon. Real ones.

"These two are Solrock and Lunatone," April explained. "Pokemon that have been rumored to come from space. But what are they doing here?"

The two stellar Pokemon circled around them, producing strange, grinding noises like someone started scraping rocks against each other.

"Huh?" April gasped. "It seems like they want something from us."

The contraption in her left hand began glowing, emitting intermittent pulses of golden energy and light,

"The Phase Dial is reacting to them! Will, let's give it to them!"

She handed him the Dial, which he accepted without really thinking about it. He placed the Dial on the ground in the middle of the two floating Rock-types and took a step back to observe them.

"Hmm…" April murmured as she eyed the two intently.

In response, the two stellar beings rumored to have come from space…started dancing.

It involved a lot of spinning in place and hovering back and forth, but the intent was there alright. It reminded him a lot of himself, back in Venam's Gym.

"They're…dancing?" April stared at the two floaty Pokemon for a moment, before cracking a grin. Then, she too began dancing.

It wasn't something that Will would expect to see in any club or something, but…it wasn't bad. Quite the contrary, in fact.

"I dunno, I'm kinda feelin' this?" She said. She struck a pose. "Oh yeah, this is a bop. My brother said I can't dance…and he's probably right! But seeing Pokemon so happy makes me so happy!"

She spun around, putting her hips into it. Even if she wasn't good at dancing, it was obvious that she liked to dance and she did so with gusto and soul. She moved with the sort of sensual grace only a woman could muster, and –

Then April spun towards him, seizing his wrists and pulling him against her body. She laughed as she whirled around with him, taking him along in the throes of her joy.

Will was a man who could only boogie, so this came as a big surprise to him. He struggled to keep up, but something about the gleeful abandon with which April moved made him lower his inhibitions as well, and he soon joined her across the star-filled chamber. Back and forth they went, spinning and laughing. April smiled as she guided his hand to her back and she all but flung herself backwards, lifting one leg in the air as she blindly trusted Will to react.

Which he did, because even though he couldn't dance, he could still boogie. He easily held April's weight in his arm as her outstretched fingers found his free hand and she pulled it up, reaching for the stars –

A pulse of black energy exploded across the chamber and suddenly, both Lunatone and Solrock stopped their own dance.

"I don't dance that badly do I?!" April gasped.

Solrock and Lunatone regarded the Phase Dial and again, a burst of dark energy shot forth. The Phase Dial started glowing fiercely, so fiercely that both April as Will moved to cover their eyes. When the light faded, the two Stellar Pokemon were gone, and a monstrous amalgamation of both hovered in the air.

"The Solrock and Lunatone! They have merged!" April shouted, but Will was already on the move. He sent out Kirlia and Froslass, before thrusting his arm out to warn April back.

One part of him felt horrified at the way the Garufan magic had twisted and broken these two living creatures into one body, one amalgamation, for seemingly no purpose at all. Another part of him saw the fused creature and thought it looked like a giant cookie if all things and the sheer absurdity of that snap reaction to this new horror was good enough for him. He grasped at it, holding into the idea tightly as he sent out his Pokemon to deal with this threat.

Lunatone and Solrock were both Psychic types, which meant that Blaziken and Nidoking were at a severe disadvantage. The room was too small and confined for Pidgeot to truly shine as well, leaving him with no other choice. Axew was a potential backup. If that didn't work out, he hoped that his heavy hitters could dish out enough damage to prevent this thing from sweeping them aside.

All three Pokemon moved at the exact same time. Froslass flung a massive Shadow Ball at her fused opponent, which replied by lashing out with a burning whip of flames that scorched the tiles underneath. Kirlia flung up a Light Screen, protecting herself from the fire as it rolled across the chamber.

The Shadow Ball splashed across the stoney amalgamation and sent it flying back, ghostly energy eating into the grooves that separated the malformed Pokemon.

Meanwhile, the fiery whip struck Froslass head-on and she crashed to the ground. immediately, Kirlia swept the scattered remains of her Light Screen forwards, flinging the shards of psychic energy towards the fused Pokemon and pinning it in place with them before it could unleash a second whop.

Steam hissed up from across Froslass' face. She brought a white limb to the mask that covered her face, then pulled together more ghostly energy.

With the way the room was structured and the ease with which the foe commanded those flames, Will didn't see a point in fighting with ice. No, instead, he ordered Froslass to keep up the pressure, pelting her foe with one Shadow Ball after another while Kirlia teleported to the other end of the chamber and sent a pulse of Psychic energy tearing through the air.

Purple energy exploded in front of the fused Pokemon's face, but it didn't seem to have much of an effect.

Their foe struck with another lash of fire. It cracked through the air and narrowly missed Froslass' head as she dropped to the ground. Heat washed across her body and she couldn't phase through the walls. It came as a surprise to her, too, as she came to a rough, jerky halt right below the ceiling.

The only reason why the fused creature didn't instantly knock her out with another flaming whip was because Kirlia managed to get a Reflect in the way, which bought Froslass just enough time to zip out of the way.

Will had seen enough. He recalled the Ice-type, hesitated for a brief moment and then sent out Axew. The little dragon seemed confused for a second, looking around as if he didn't see the giant, cookie-shaped abomination getting ready to give him a lashing. He leveled his curious gaze at April of all things.

"Axew, head's up!" Will shouted.

Axew snapped to attention a second too late. The fused creature flung a whip of fire his way. It snaked through the air in half a second only to come to a sudden, violent halt against Kirlia's protective Reflect screen. She'd teleported herself in the way a fraction of a second before the attack could slam into Axew and her barrier held, if only barely.

"Dragon Rage! Take that thing ou!" Will ordered.

Axew did not hesitate again. His stomach gloweed a bright white as he gathered draconic energy to himself. Their foe must have sensed something, as it attempted to relocate, but again Kirlia swept her protective screens forwards and again, she managed to bind her enemy in place long enough.

Then, Axew launched a powerful blast of blue and white energy in a cone-shaped beam towards the amalgamation. There was no way he could miss, and he didn't. The draconic blast of energy splashed over his foe and detonated in a flash of brilliant light, sending shockwaves through the cave that nearly flung the humans to their feet. .

The explosion disrupted the energies that held the collective together, ate into the gaps and wounds left behind by Froslass and when the smoke cleared, both Lunatone and the Solrock clattered to the ground.

With that done, Axew turned his searching gaze back to April. His eyes probed her features as if searching for something specific, and Will actually saw the realization and subsequent disappointment when Axew decided April wasn't it.

With a start, he realized it. He finally realized why Axew spent every waking moment searching for something, ever since they came to Terajuma.

It wasn't something, but someone he missed.

"That dial…" April said quietly. "It is imbued with the power of the Garufan magic. It's a powerful energy that shouldn't be in the hands of someone sinister."

"I thought you wanted power?" Will said, lowering his voice to match hers. He reached out for Axew, gave him a reassuring ruffle over his head, then silently recalled him. The Solrock and Lunatone, meanwhile, recovered their wits and floated away.

Shaking her head, April moved to pick up the dial. "Not like that. Not like this. Please, you keep it and keep it close."

Will hesitated. "What makes you think it's better with me than you?"

She thrust the dial into his hands regardless. "I know," she simply said. "And if anyone should use this power, it's someone who completely has their Pokemon's trust. I know it will become a great asset in the fight against Team Xen." Will raised his eyebrows at her, but she merely giggled. "Yeah, I know who you are, Will. I know what awaits."

"Then…" his hands closed around the dial. "My friend…Aelita…will she…?"

"Garufa magic is potent and powerful, but it is not absolute. At least, I don't think so. Every power must interact with another form of power. I dunno. What I'm trying to say, Will, is that there's no reason to think your friend is beyond saving."

Will stared down at the artifact in his hands, unsure how to feel about that. He didn't want to hold on to idle hope, but…if there existed a power that could wake Aelita from her slumber, he would find it.

As he pondered her words, April gasped and darted towards the altar. "Is that another Phase Dial? Leaving it there is a disaster waiting to happen." Quickly, she stashed it in a pocket Will hadn't even known she had. "Thank you for all your help, Will. I believe it's time for me to return to Terajuma, now. After all, the threat of Team Xen looms ever over our shoulders – "

"Do you know Nim?" Will said, picking the moment where April's focus would be the least, where his question would surprise her the most

And in doing so, he saw a glint of recognition in her eyes. If there was one thing he'd learned, it was that people had a very hard time hiding it when they recognized something or someone.

April knew.

"Uh, who?" She stammered, quickly wiping everything off her face but her puzzled innocence. "Is that another friend?"

Refusing to answer that was damning. So much so that it was now Will who had to wipe the emotions from his face and pretend he didn't know what that meant. "She is."

"Huh…no, can't say that I know. I should really get going now, Will, but don't you worry! I think you and I will be seeing each other again in the future. Don't let Team Xen beat you, okay?"

"Okay," he whispered as April hurried out of the chamber. "Bye, April."

His head was starting to hurt. He felt like a little Nidoking had nestled within his brain, constantly pounding away at a spot right between his eyes.

It was time to head back to the Inn and…have Adam bonk him over the head with a heavy rock or something, he didn't know.

He didn't know.

The journey back through Amethyst Cave was almost as much of a haze as his memories of Chandelure's Rift. He was numb from creeping exhaustion, hunger and thinking. Slowly, the realization started dawning on him that he couldn't help Aelita.

Helplessness was a sickening, crushing feeling. He was right back at the start, when his mother had just been kidnapped and he didn't even have a single Pokemon to help him. Now, he was two months and seven Gym Badges into this war and nothing had changed. The people he loved kept slipping away.

But they weren't lost to him yet. He would choose to believe in what April had told him, if only to maintain his sanity. Aelita wasn't beyond saving. After he was through with Team Xen, he'd find a way to help her. The same went for Nim and Amber and Tesla. All of them gone, none of them lost.

Until then…Aelita was safe in Sheridan Village. He would sorely miss her presence during the assault, but they would manage.

They always did.

It was late in the morning when he returned to the village. Its people were up and working already. He didn't see Adam and Braixen as he made his way back to the Cherry Blossom Inn, but that was alright. They'd find him here later.

Will brushed past a pair of older men as he headed up the wooden stairs. He found the door to Aelita's room and quietly opened it.

The Eldest sat by Aelita's bed, tenderly brushing the girl's hair as she leaned on her staff. She looked up when she heard the door open. "Ah, Will. Welcome back. Your friends were wondering where you went."

Aelita looked as peaceful as when he left her. She could have been sleeping. Nobody would know the difference if they hadn't been there when it happened.

Even her expression was serene. Was she dreaming? Did she have nightmares? If so, what about? Her father? The way Neved had hurt her at Blacksteeple Castle? She'd only been there for the last moments of the fight with Angie, but…the way Melia described that made him realize that was enough to give everyone there nightmares.

He looked closer. It didn't look like she had nightmares. People tended to act all weird if they did, right? They'd struggle and moan. Their eyes would move beneath their lids.

"How is she?" He asked.

"There is no change. Our doctors and healers could not help." The Eldest turned away from Aelita and slowly eased herself into one of the padded chairs. "I expected as much. There is a line where modern medicine fails. We have found it."

"Is she in pain?"

Wordlessly, the Eldest shook her head.

"Okay," Will said, feeling his throat tighten. If the Eldest said so, it was pretty much a fact to him. "Okay."

"She will be cared for, Will," the older woman said. Her voice had so much sympathy and understanding in it that it robbed him of his response. "She will be safe."

"...I found a grave, up at the mountain over Amethyst Cave," he admitted. He didn't know why he did. He would have preferred to remain silent, but something in him thought that information was important, that the Eldest needed to know.

"I am aware," she gently said.

"Taelia and Vivian…Vivian. Who were they, Eldest?"

"Will, come here, would you?" She said, inviting him to the chair next to her. When he did, she placed her hand on his arm and gave it a little squeeze. "There is a time and a place for everything. You will learn about this. Just not from me. It is important that you do not seek out knowledge before you are ready."

Frustration had him whip out a retort before he could truly think about her words. "That doesn't mean anything."

Much to his surprise, the Eldest threw back her head and started laughing. "Oh, Will, I would assume not. Not to the majority. But it will, to you. And…a word of advice, if I may be so bold?"

"Yeah?"

She padded his arm. "Get some rest. Sleep is as dangerous a weapon as any."

Will looked at her in surprise. Combat advice from the Eldest?

He recalled how easily the Eldest had handled Cera when the murder-maid had held every advantage. He'd been ready to play along with the servant's twisted game, but the Eldest had decided she wanted none of that. And she had kicked Ceta's dainty ass.

Combat advice from the Eldest.

He'd be a fool to ignore that.

"Alright," he said. "I will. Just…could you give us a moment, please?"

"Of course," the wise woman merely said. Will offered to help her out of the chair but she merely threw him a bemused look and did it herself.

Sheridan Village just built them differently.

When the Eldest gently shut the door behind her, Will turned his attention back to Aelita. He gently brushed an errand strand of lilac hair out of her eyes.

"Don't worry about a thing," he told her. "You did everything you could, getting us this far. When you wake up, the world will be a better place."

Saying anything else would have aggravated the tightness in his throat and probably ruin what little composure he had left. He took her hand, gave it a reassuring squeeze and then left, knowing that of all of his friends, Aelita was now the safest.

She would hate it. She would despise it for years to come.

But she would be safe.

And to him, that knowledge made it easier to face what was to come.

He left the Inn and approached the fire pit. Knowing that the Eldest would never have told on him, he guessed that Braixen and Adam must have been laying in ambush, just waiting for him to wander by.

Adam gave him a hard look. Braixen, too. He held their gaze for a moment, before sighing and sitting down on the log as well. "Look…" he started.

"Did you do what you needed to?" Adam simply asked.

Wordless, Will nodded.

"Do you feel better now?"

"It didn't work. I couldn't find a way to help her."

Adam's look was persistent. "That's not what I asked."

He thought about it. "Yeah," he admitted. "I think I do."

"I think we should leave," Adam said.

Okay. Will had not seen that coming.

"What?" Braixen demanded. "What do you mean?"

"It's time we head back to Terajuma and get that third relic. Then, we start planning. There is nothing more we can do for Aelita," Adam explained, calmly, evenly, like he always did.

"But…what about Aelita?" Braixen hesitantly said. "Why are we leaving her?"

"Because she'll be safe here," Will said. Adam was right. They had to keep moving.

Adam nodded in approval. "A coma patient can't exactly defend themselves, right?"

A pained look came over Braixen's features. "I know, I know," she said. "It's just…Aelita was our friend. She is our friend."

"And that is exactly why we are leaving," Adam said with a hint of finality. "She's done her part. No more suffering."

"No more suffering," Braixen repeated in a soft tone.

No more suffering. Not for Aelita.

This wasn't a goodbye, because they would be coming back. Until then, the Eldest was right. And Adam and Braixen were right, too. He couldn't plan ahead for the battle if half his mind was stuck in the past.

He would explore his options after the fight with Team Xen…if there even was an after. A gut feeling told him it wouldn't be that simple.

With Aerodactyl and Pidgeot, they headed straight back to Angie's tower. The journey took them two hours to even get the cursed tower in view, and Will spent every second of it strategizing for the coming fight.

Without Professor Jenner's materials, he didn't have the explosives he needed to make one part of his attack work. Though perhaps, he didn't need them.

You have to learn to use your Pokemon.

Her words weren't about true force, that much was obvious. He wasn't sure if he could command Blaziken or Nidoking in a better way. No, Crescent was a lot of things, but she wasn't a person who believed in brute force. She believed in violence, but those two weren't interchangeable.

When they reached the church it was as if nothing had changed. The bitter cold still seeped through their clothes, the empty hallways and chambers were still as foreboding and hostile and every second they spent making their way to the basement was a second Will's nerves screamed at him. Every fiber of his being told him that he was in danger, in mortal danger and that he had to fight for his life to get out -

But it wasn't like that. The cellar was just like the rest of the tower. Empty. Silent as a grave.

Except it had frozen over.

Will glanced at the exact spot where Angie had first ambushed him, sealing him in the same icy tomb as the others.

Adam was unaware. Braixen and him marched straight past the ambush site, depending on Gigalith to smash through the frozen patches of ice in their way.

When they found the iron-wrought gate that sealed off the altar with the Ocean Relic, it almost felt anticlimactic.

"This place feels COLD!" Braixen exclaimed as Will struggled to get the key into the lock. "Open that door already!"

The lock clicked open and the heavy gate swung inwards. The Relic was right there.

Wordlessly, Will swiped the blue gem from the altar. So much trouble for such a small thing…

"The hunt for these stupid rocks is finally over!" Braixen said.

"Yeah, but it didn't come without a price," Adam sighed. "Team Xen and Angie are the reason our friends have suffered. We brought justice to the people of Kristiline, and we're gonna do it for the rest of Terajuma. Come on Will. Let's leave this wasteland."

When they made it back to their hideout on the mainland of Kristiline Town, Will was grateful to be done with this mess. He would take a few hours to gather his wits, eat and drink enough to recover his strength and then start planning. Crawli knew Valor Mountain better than him so he could take him aside and ask for the information he needed. And then -

Adam opened the front door and Melia and Venam were right there, sitting on the couch, deep in conversation with Crawli.

Will stopped in his tracks. His thoughts crashed to a sudden halt.

He should have been elated that his friends were right in front of him, all healed up and looking better than before, but he didn't, he couldn't, because he hadn't brought everybody back with him.

Melia looked up, saw Adam and Braixen walk inside and she completely perked up, She leapt to her feet - effortlessly Will noted - and darted towards them. "You guys! You're back!"

"Hold on, Melia, Venam?" Adam said with surprise. "You guys are up?"

"You can thank Talu Lele for that," Venam said, kicking back on the couch with her boots on the nearest stool. Kreiss scowled at her heavily and jabbed at her boots with a walking cane of sorts and Venam blew him a raspberry.

"She couldn't heal you guys a little earlier!" Braixen demanded.

"It's fine, we're just grateful that she healed us at all," Melia smiled. "Hey Will, watcha standing around for? Come in!" Her expression fell. He'd done his best to keep his expression guadred and neutral but Melia saw right through him, she always did. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Then…

Then Melia moved to look behind him, her eyes searching.

"Where's Aelita?"

And her words set him on fire.

He'd steeled himself for this. He'd planned this conversation a hundred times in his head. He thought he could do this if he just followed the words as he put them together during the flight here.

He was wrong.

Will took a deep breath. He marched inside of the room. Didn't meet anyone's eyes. He slammed the Ocean Relic on the table. He opened his mouth to respond. He'd promised Melia he would talk. No words came.

"Aelita got hurt," Adam said, his voice heavy and reluctant. "She's alive. But she's in a coma."

"Oh my god," Melia breathed and she rocked back on her heels, unsteady. "Aelita - how - what happened?"

Will didn't think he'd ever see Venam go so still. He saw the confidence and bravado he'd come to associate with her evaporate. She stared at him, disbelief on her face.

"Oh no…" Crawli sighed. "Aelita…"

"What happened!" Melia cried out.

Adam and Braixen told them. They told them about the Garufan Sanctuary. About that guy Tommen and the trials of the envoys right up to the point where their knowledge failed them, because they hadn't been there, they hadn't seen Esther lying in a pool of her own blood, her intestines splayed across the room like a macabre puzzle as Groudon tore the entire sanctuary apart -

Melia's hands came up to grip his wrists, squeezing lightly. "Will, come on, sit, please?" she urged him. Her voice shook him out of the memory and he looked around to see that he was the only one still standing, that he hadn't moved an inch since he'd put the Ocean Relic down and that now, everybody was staring.

She gently tugged his wrists towards her. He sat down. Rubbed a hand over his face. She still held on to his wrists. Slowly, he found the words he needed to continue Adam's explanation. "The Eldest and I found the Earth Heart," he said. "We fought Cera. Got the Heart. When we came back, we found Aelita on the floor. Opening the way…it got her cursed by the Garufa."

"The Garufa Tribe, you say?" Kreiss spoke up. "Oh dear. That is a situation."

Speaking of. "Cera got a small fragment too. We can expect Angie to return in the future."

Melia sucked in a panicked breath. Her hands went to her face. Venam leapt to her feet, nearly knocking the stool over as she yelled, "Are you fucking kidding me? Seriously?" She tugged at her hair with her fists, cursing again as she turned away from them. "This is so fucked!"

"Venam, come on," Crawli said uncertainly. "We don't know that for sure - "

"It is a reasonable assumption to make," Kreiss sighed. "The servants would not have returned empty-handed."

"Dude! Not helping!"

"Yes, it is fucked," Adam's voice cut through the room and everybody was silent in an instance. They'd rarely, if ever heard him yell before. "But there's nothing we can do about it now. Let's save Terajuma and find some way to heal Aelita too, okay? If we lose our morale then we're done for." He too had to take a breath. "Look. I'm no Valarie. I'm terrible at making people feel better. But you have to trust in the people here and now. If we lose here, then Aelita really is gone for good. Fight for your lives and fight for hers."

"Adam…" Melia murmured.

"He's right," Crawli then spoke up. "We've been planning our attack since Team Xen made their ultimatum. Them now having more hostages complicates things, but it doesn't change them. Will, I've got the maps you asked of me. Detailed maps of the mountain's interior."

"Good," Will whispered. He cleared his throat. "Good," he repeated, louder and with more force. This was nothing new. Nothing he hadn't told himself already. Fight like hell. Get the hostages out. Fix Aelita. Those were his objectives and he would do everything in his power to achieve them. "Let's have them, then."

"Aelita wouldn't want us to be scared for her," Melia said. She clenched her hands in her lap. "We can't sit around moping! We have to turn our sadness into fuel to keep fighting!"

"Yeah…" Venam muttered. She looked at Will and something in her eyes hardened. "Yeah, fuck it. We'll deal with that ice bitch when the time comes. You're making plans? I want in!"

Things came together, then. Adam and Braixen left to go find Saki and Valarie. Crawli dragged a large backpack into the open and pulled out bundles of ranger MREs, to which Kreiss could only viciously roll his eyes before snatching a handful of the bags and dragging them into the kitchen, his every move dripping disdain.

Will followed Crawli into a side-room, where the head ranger unfolded several massive maps detailing every floor of Valor Mountain.

Melia and Venam joined them, there. Crawli went over the various stages of the mountain, explaining about its different emotional states - neutral, angry and calm - but the explanation didn't stick. Will kept thinking about the first approach to the mountain, the massive blockade and Crescent's advice that he still couldn't place.

He felt exhausted and distracted and kept saying "what?" in response to Crawli's words every time, several seconds too late. Four times that happened before Venam shoved the map aside and brought her face towards his, glowering.

"Okay, break time," she ordered in a voice that tolerated no resistance. "Holy fuck dude, you can't look that serious and not understand a thing you're hearing at the same time!"

"I - " He started, but Venam cut him off the second he opened his mouth. She snatched him by his left arm and began pulling him away.

"Look, you've been through some bullshit, okay? That's what it is, it's all bullshit. Some psychopath stabbed you, them some stupid fucking curse laid Aelita out and it's not fair. So you're going to sit, you're going to eat and you're going to chill."

Helpless, Will turned to Melia for aid, but she didn't pull the map back on the table or save him from Venam's clutches. Worse, she joined Venam, spiriting him away from the planning room back to the living room.

He was too tired to argue. Considering he'd already forgotten everything Crawli had told him about Valor Mountain, maybe they were onto something.

Kreiss barged out of the kitchen again wearing an apron of all things. He held the empty, unsealed bag that had held the rations with a look of absolute disgust on his face. "Thirteen-hundred kilocalories for one meal! Preposterous. How do you ranger folk maintain a healthy shape while you ingest that much?"

"Jungle work, my man," Crawli's voice drifted from the planning room. "These are field rations. For in the field. Don't forget the energy powders and ration bars, either."

"I saw those disgusting powders of yours, young man!" Kreiss retorted. He put down a steaming plate of food on the table. It looked like someone had cooked a sizable amount of curry, boiled it into a soup, pureed it until it was slime and then let it dry in the sun until it became chunky again. "The package says four-thousand and six-hundred kilocalories in twenty-four hours!"

Will stared at the food.

"Uhm, how much do we need again to stay healthy?" Venam asked.

Melia's brow knitted together as she gave that a thought. "Around twenty-four hundred, I believe. I think it's a bit higher for guys."

He picked up a spoon.

"Have you tried walking and working and fighting all day, Mister Kreiss? You're not gonna cut it with anything less than four-thousand," Crawli argued.

Venam started counting on her fingers. "That's like, half the shit in those ranger rations. How's a girl supposed to double that in twenty-four hours?"

He started eating. He'd been wrong. It wasn't curry at all. The goop just looked like curry. What it was, he didn't know. It was salty and contained chunks of what he believed to be meat and smaller chunks that he hoped were rice.

"Well," Melia said, all of a sudden looking smug and superior. "Some of us don't have to mind our calorie intake at all."

"God, you can be so insufferable sometimes," Venam glowered.

Melia simply smirked. "I know."

Will wasn't sure if they were putting up an act, or if Adam's words had genuinely inspired so much confidence in them. He wondered, not for the first time, where he would have been without Adam. Without Val and Braixen and even Saki.

Where would any of them be?

"Wow, you really inhaled that goop, didn't you?" Melia said, looking genuinely impressed when Will shoved the plate away a minute later. "How was it?"

"Much better than the slop they served at Blacksteeple," Will said.

Kreiss sighed. "Goop…slop…heavens, I know there is only so much a chef can do with the ingredients he has been provided, but to phrase it like that…"

Venam grinned. "Well, my mom always said that you didn't get dessert unless you finished breathing in your goop."

"What's for dessert?" Melia asked with a stifled laugh..

Venam mimed opening a menu. "Uh, yeah, more goop!"

"Yes, yes, very funny," Kreiss said as he put down a steaming kettle and a handful of glasses. "I cannot believe that I am starting to miss the anarchist…" He lobbed a few satchels containing energy powder on the table. "Drink up."

Will picked up one package of…milkshake powder. "Vanilla flavored," he read.

"Milkshake…powder?" Venam said with a look of disgust. "Ah, gross. No thanks."

"What's that look like?" Melia asked, leaning towards him in fascination.

With a shrug, Will ripped the satchel open and dumped its contents in a glass. "Let's take a look." He poured hot water in the glass and watched with morbid fascination how the milkshake powder utterly failed to dissolve. He stuck the end of his spoon in the glass and gave it a swirl, but all that ended up doing was turning the powder into dozens of tiny little clumps floating around in milky white water.

He held up the glass and exchanged a disturbed look with Melia. "Believe it or not," Will said, "It's also goop."

Their laughter pealed out of them in a surprised burst, echoing throughout the living room. It was stupid and dumb and it was genuine and…

And Will decided that seeing Melia laugh really was the most beautiful sight in the world.

~~~~~~~(V)~~~~~~~

---

AN: I know, I know. Hurting Amber is a mortal crime and I am guilty. I will take my punishment when this is over.

For now, with everything taken care of, it is time to start planning for the greatest battle of the story's first Story Arc: the Battle of Valor Mountain. To me, it was the highlight of an already epic story arc and I plan on expanding on it as much as I can to make it the most epic finale possible. Expect more planning scenes, some final moments of fluff and comfort and then a crapton of violence.

Until then, let me know what you thought of this chapter - I always appreciate reading your thoughts and feedback regarding this story - and I will see you all with the next update!