Infernape couldn't move. His body froze in place as his friends fought for their lives. Numb. Practically a prisoner in his own skin, he desperately tried to stand up and help. Alas, his body refused to move. All he could do was lie there, staring into the rubble. He was surprised to be alive, yet that felt like more of a curse as he overheard the suffering of his friends.

Thankfully, they were teleported away. Taken somewhere safe that was far from here. However, he wouldn't be so lucky. Whoever saved the others either didn't notice him or thought he was dead. That left him alone with him. But that's fine. Donquixote would leave and someone would come to save him.

"Master, There's one that got left behind." Infernape's heart stopped. In another desperate attempt to flee, he attempted to claw his way to free. But he was frozen, paralyzed even. A low, subtle, droning hum and exhausted breathing grew closer and closer, followed shortly by the thunderous footsteps of Dreadnaught. An overwhelming feeling of sheer hopeless terror threatened to drown him. Like he were stranded in the ocean during a storm, he was completely helpless.

Feeling returned to his body. He hissed as the sharp pain from his spine. He reached up to grab at the pain, only to freeze realizing he could move now. Had-Had Donquixote healed him? Infernape's mind raced to find some sort of vague indication of an answer. Was this pity? Was this an attempt to win him over? How dare he? The monster attacked his friends, and by the sound of it, made them suffer, and now he was expecting him to suddenly throw it all away and join the Phantom Corp? Infernape gritted his teeth and clenched his fists yet relented. He didn't stand a chance. He didn't need to die here.

Donquixote stomped onto Infernape's right arm. Infernape screamed in pain as he clutched it tightly. It had broken. Donquixote remarked in a somewhat winded tone,

"Dying unable to move is an awful fate that I wouldn't wish upon anyone. Still, your actions won't go unpunished." Infernape glared at Donquixote yet dared not move. His mind worked overtime. Arceus knew what Donquixote would do once he left so he had to play this very carefully. Stall for as much time as possible, that was his plan.

"Why? Why are you doing this? What did we do to you?" he asked, backing away and leaning against the wall. Donquixote stood over him, waving off his words,

"It's nothing personal. Believe me, it must be done."

"What could possibly be worth hurting my friends?" Donquixote tsk'd condescendingly at Infernape, wagging his finger like he was telling off a dog,

"Memory is but the greatest curse that sapient life has struggled with. Every failure, every mistake, all of it is stuck with you like a parasite for the rest of your life. They linger, leaving you a terrified animal controlled by fear and self-loathing. That fear of reliving your past memories keeps you from living your life as freely as possible. It is a horrible experience, and I wish to bring an end to it all."

"What's your point?" asked Infernape

"My point, monkey, is that the simple cure for all Pokémon suffering is to simply forget your worries. Remembering is dangerous. It fills your mind with needless worry and anxiety. One day, you are enjoying the sheer bliss of childhood, the growing and maturing of puberty, the love of everyone you've ever known. However, the next moment leads you down a path you don't want to go. Somewhere dark and cold, filled with ambiguous shapes that you hoped you had forgotten. Your own personal hell."

Infernape nodded in pseudo understanding. At the very least, he knew Donquixote's motive now. However, Infernape had more questions and more time to waste.

"How do you intend to get everyone to forget their pasts? I mean, that's a pretty hard sell. What about your happiest memories? Like marrying the love of your life, or getting your dream job." countered Infernape.

"That is a sacrifice I am willing to make. Besides, those memories blind you to how cruel the world can be. Only a select handful of memories shall be allowed in my world."

"B-But our memories are what reason is based on! If we deny them, we deny reason itself!" Infernape countered, upping the resistance by a bit. If he let Donquixote preach, perhaps he could get out of this alive.

"Our reason is clouded by memories, forcing us to make worse decisions just on the off chance we don't have to relieve that humiliating memory."

Months ago, Infernape would've found the idea incredibly tempting. He would've jumped at the opportunity to forget what had happened to him. But to deliberately forget is a slippery slope. This wasn't solving anything. As horrible as the past can be, it is the single greatest teacher in the world. Every failure and every success is a lesson. A question of what you did or didn't do well and how you can improve for next time. He hated what happened to him, but as much as Infernape wished it never happened, he wouldn't have met the group.

Bees suddenly swarmed Infernape's arm, stinging at it. Infernape screamed as each sting ripped into his arm like knives, burning with the slightest prickle. The sheer volume of bee's amplified the agony to such a degree, that Infernape was seriously considering attacking Donquixote and letting the monster kill him. Vespiquen hissed as she covered her ears,

"Stop screaming! Because of you, I lost a chance to experiment with a hybrid."

Donquixote raised a hand,

"Settle down, Vida." Vespiquen glanced at Donquixote and surrendered. Freeing Infernape from the swarm of bees. Infernape fought tears as he grasped at his arm, panting wildly like had run a marathon. The fire type growled at Vespiquen like an animal,

"She's a Pokémon. Just like you and me!"

"I don't think you understand," said Vespiquen, "That subject is one of the rarest Pokemon breeds in the world. "

"She has a name, you bitch!" yelled Infernape

"Can it!" Dreadnaught demanded. Infernape furrowed his brow yet remained silent for a moment before asking his next question.

"What's your game here, monster?!"

"Whatever do you mean?"

"I know you cult leader types! You pretend you have this moral high ground yet it's all just fake bullshit!" said Infernape. He knew that there was a hidden agenda here. No way it would be that simple. What sort of childhood would you have to live in order to even develop an ideology like that? Dreadnaught took a step forward,

"He's stalling, Don. Just kill him," but Don stopped him.

Donquixote bent over on the knee and stared into Infernape's eyes. The sight of this stone statue with elongated teeth grinning down at him shook Lee to his very core.

"You know what I want, when this is all said and done?" he asked. Infernape defiantly nodded in response.

"I want to live in a little house, on a little island, on a little hammock, with a piña colada in one hand, and a shrimp scampi in the other."

Infernape glared. He had to be lying. He had just watched. Donquixote chuckled at the monkey's confusion, standing up and facing away from him,

"I do not want anything that you said I wanted. I have lived long enough to the point that none of those matter to me. Once the world realizes the truth I espouse," Donquixote then turned around and pointed a finger at Infernape, a black and red light flashed on the top as the sound of energy charging filled the air. Infernape pressed his back against the wall,

"Wait!"

He couldn't die here! His friends… his family. They were probably worried sick for him. He had to come back. And Lopunny, he couldn't leave her. He wasn't ready to leave her! Gardevoir, Aggron, Gengar, Ampharos, Sceptile, Garchomp, Blastoise and Lopunny were all waiting for him and he had to return. His life flashed before his eyes; the sight of Torterra and Empoleon leaving for their Senshi training played back to them. In his own self-pity and spite, he threw them away like trash, despite doing everything they could to help. Now he would never have the chance to apologize. Hell, he'll never get to see them again.

"I deserve a hero's retirement."

A pillar of water then exploded from beneath Infernape. Donquixote flinched as the water circled in the air and plunged down about thirty feet away. Infernape was taken for the ride and landed in winged arms. His eyes were shut by the rapids around him. Once the water began to clear, he began to make out a penguin-like figure with a trident shape on his face. Infernape's eyes widened,

"Shin?"

"Pardon me," Empoleon said to Donquixote, "Do not lay a finger on my brother!"

Infernape welled up. They…They called him brother. He struggled to stop himself from crying, sniffing and fighting a sobbing fit. Empoleon looked down at Lee and smiled warmly

"You're safe now."

Donquixote smiled and prepared to fire that finger blast again. However, a stone fist plowed into his chest. Donquixote was thrown back, a subtle imprint of the attack was left behind. The ground itself seemed to come alive, rising and forming a colosseum of dirt, rubble and rock. A large figure then slammed into the dirt.

Green and brown coated his body. A proud oak stood on his back alongside mountain-like spikes, as though an entire continent were on his back. His scarlet eyes stared daggers into the Phantom Corp. Infernape watched in awe,

"Mitsu?" Torterra then roared at Donquixote,

"Leave him ALONE!" as a storm of razor sharp leaves and tree branches launched from the walls. Spikes of rock rapidly shot from the ground towards the trio. The sheer volume of plant life and earth moving around made it impossible to see past a few feet. Vida, as a Vespiquen, flew up to escape the onslaught yet felt something snake around her waist. She looked to see a vine had caught her. With a violent whip, she was thrown onto the floor

Dreadnaught sprinted through the barrage, swiping away leaves and tearing apart branches that got in his way. As a navy captain, he knew how to attack something he couldn't see. He leaped into the air, forming a high pressure net of water around him to saw through any attack. A large vine followed after him and was torn to ribbons. A spike was shredded into minuscule chunks. Dreadnaught coated his arm in aura before landing, striking with everything he had.

His fist connected with nothing. Dreadnaught quietly gasped as the leaf storm cleared up.

All three were gone.

Donquixote frowned as his breathing relaxed. His stamina restored. He then shrugged,

"Oh well, whether he lives or dies doesn't really matter. What matters is that he learns. Killing him is simply a cherry on top." Dreadnaught nodded as Vida floated down. Donquixote grabbed the two by the shoulder and they teleported away, to celebrate their macabre game.

Hundreds of feet below the ground, Torterra carved out a little cave for the three to rest. Empoleon set Infernape down as Torterra snapped a branch to create a splint. Infernape playfully remarked at Empoleon,

"Got any hand soap?"

"What did I tell you about always bringing soap with you?" Empoleon said as he pulled out some soap from a small bag.

"You went to a rodeo with a face mask and gloves." Infernape laughed. Empoleon rolled his eyes as he squirted some onto Infernape's arm,

"You're laughing, garçon germe, but you need these for the stings." Once a thick enough layer was lathered onto Infernape's arm, Empoleon raised his wing and sprayed the fire type's arm with it.

Torterra patted Infernape on the shoulder with a vine,

"Glad to see you holding up, buddy."

"Same here," Empoleon said, "Wish we could've come and visit but we didn't know where you lived." Infernape rubbed the back of his head bashfully,

"Yeah, I may have…not…told you my address or phone number out of spite."

"Ooooh. That's why I was banned from calling that pizza place." Torterra said.

Infernape felt nostalgia washing over him. Torterra and Empoleon were here. They listened to him. He threw them away, he was furious at them. He didn't even give them his address or phone number. Yet they didn't care. The monkey welled up at the kindness. The two noticed and simply grinned at him. Infernape then lunged towards them and caught them in a teary-eyed, yet relatively calm bear hug.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!"

Torterra and Empoleon simply let Infernape vent. He had been through a lot. He deserved to cry a little. The three simply remained there. The room was filled only the the faintly sniffling of Infernape. Three brothers, after pain and strife, finally reunited. Torterra laughed out loud,

"Don't apologize! We've got your back no matter what!" Empoleon nodded in agreement.

"Yes, you don't need to worry about it. If anything, we need to apologize to you," he said. Infernape shook his head

"No, no, I was lashing out. You don't to-"

"Lee," said Torterra softly. Infernape looked over at him with wide eyes. Torterra sighed,

"We're sorry. After…everything, Shin and I thought that we let you down. We were brothers, and we couldn't protect you," he said, getting misty-eyed. Empoleon took over from there,

"We decided that maybe you'd be better off without us, so…we left, and, while we managed to become Senshi…" Empoleon trailed off, shutting his eyes as he fell on his knees before Infernape.

"I'm sorry. For everything," he said. Infernape shook his head,

"No, guys. You don't need to apologize for anything. I forgave you two a long time ago. I…I don't to hold myself back because of what happened. I'm just happy to see you guys again." With that, the trio embraced. Torterra wrapping vines around Infernape and Empoleon to simulate hands. Just like that, after eight long years, the three brothers were back together

Infernape then asked the two,

"Did you see what happened?"

"Yuppers," Torterra said, "It was a hassle to get here. The Kalolian government just wouldn't give permission until we revealed we were Senshi. Little did we know."

"Donquixote was doing his thing."

"So that's his name. Very catchy." remarked Torterra.

"He's a terrorist!"

"That doesn't mean he can't have a cool name." Empoleon continued where Torterra left off,

"We were teleported to Boltein. No one had any idea what was happening. The soldiers said that there was some kind of attack."

"Wait, an attack?" Infernape asked. Empoleon somberly nodded,

"We wanted to see if you were okay first. We arrived just after that destruction ball disappeared. That Donquixote seems incredibly powerful."

"Yeah, but I gave him a good ol' smack. Looked like it hurt too!" said Torterra. Infernape then stared into the floor. He crossed his arms in a self-embrace,

"He's invincible. Nothing can defeat…" he trailed off.

Infernape's logical mind went into overdrive. Torterra actually did some damage to him. Not only that, Donquixote seemed winded after fighting everyone. Not to mention, he dished out an incredibly unrelenting onslaught, all unleashed in one go. It wasn't rock solid but, like a true scientist, he used logic and educated guesswork to form a hypothesis. Infernape then stood up,

"Where are the others?" Torterra answered,

"The soldiers said that Hydroton had become a medical hub. If they were taken anywhere, it has to be there."

"We need to go there!"

"Wait." Empoleon said. Infernape paused as Torterra reached some vines into his tree.

"We wanted to give you something to make up for lost time. It may need to be retuned." Torterra explained. Infernape's jaw fell slack. No way. He-he got rid of that thing years ago. When he lost everything. They…didn't actually keep that, did they?" From the branches, Torterra revealed a red and orange guitar. A deep red and orange flame pattern covered the entire thing with bright yellow strings to stand out. He quickly snatched it from the two and glided his finger across the strings, each one tuned to perfection. That was his signature, each string was tuned to a very specific frequency and sound.

It was his old childhood guitar.

Back in the present, Infernape smiled as his friends rushed towards him one after the other. Lopunny's eyes sparkled as she leaped onto him. She practically crushed him in a tight bear hug, like the kindred embrace of a tiger. Lopunny nuzzled her head into his shoulder, the fuzzy fur felt like a massage to Infernape. He gently rubbed her ears and whispered to her,

"Don't worry. I'm here."

"OH MY GOD! YOU'VE GOT A GIRLFRIEND!" Torterra gushed. Lopunny raised an eyebrow,

"Who dis?"

"He's Mitsurin, and that's Shinshi." Infernape explained. Lopunny was surprised. He was using their actual names. She smiled, sensing that this was something important for Lee. Torterra rushed over to him and Lopunny,

"You two look so cute together! Who asked who out?! Did you kiss? Did he woo you with his awesome music?"

One of the 'Dristovian' terrorists got up spontaneously. He pulled out a knife and charged towards Infernape and Lopunny, screaming,

"Surprise knife attack!"

A stone tentacle grabbed the terrorist by the ankles and comically slammed him into the ground. Torterra's eyes were completely blacked out with rage. The terrorist was smacked repeatedly into the floor. Finally, Torterra threw the guy away, yeeting him across the city, before he pathetically splashed into the ocean.

Everyone watched on in shock. They stared, intimidated by the raw power of the tortoise. Torterra then turned around and smiled at Lopunny,

"So how did you guys first meet?"

"...Lee, yes, and hell yes~" said Lopunny

Lopunny led Torterra away as Infernape and Gardevoir focused on each other. They quietly stared into each other's eyes. Years of history, hate, sadness and regret seemed to fade away at that moment. Right now, they're shared suffering was the great unifier. Infernape's spite and pettiness and Gardevoir's regret and pride didn't matter anymore.

Silently, the two embraced. Too emotionally drained to cry, the two just stood in each other's arms. The sun finally began to set behind them. Vanishing underneath the horizon, the sun let out one last ray of sun onto Infernape and Gardevoir before twilight consumed the land. In this city turned graveyard, peppered in rubble, death all around them, for a brief moment, they could escape.

The sound of hundreds of WristOn's flickering erupted throughout the area. Every single one had the call icon open with a visual. Infernape, Gardevoir and the rest of the group joined the crowd as they saw static crackling on screen before a shape began to form. Long ears, somewhat round body, pink and cream fur. Lopunny's eyes went wide once she recognized the figure. She didn't say anything, however, she didn't want to compromise her identity. Alas, Audino did that herself.

"To the entire nation of Nihonera, to all of those hurt by this attack, please heed my words. I would've preferred to give this later but the operation went ahead sooner than expected." Audino began. She appeared to be in a very dark room. No discernible detail was visible. The normal type evened out some papers and continued.

"My name is Shinjitsu Tenshi. I am an agent appointed by the Nihoneran Senshi Organization covert operations department. I have worked for a decade investigating and infiltrating criminal organizations that have the potential to endanger not just Nihonera, but nations abroad." She began. Lopunny realized what she was going to do. All she could do was silently pray that he didn't find her.

"I don't have much time so I'll keep this brief. I have been assigned to investigate the Phantom Corp. A terrorist organization led by Donquixote. They were the ones responsible for this attack. Donquixote planned this attack for years. He called it Operation Blackout. I have uploaded these documents to the internet for proof."

Roserade covered her mouth in horror. Scizor's jaw was left agape. Who was this? Why were they saying all of this? However, they needed good news and luckily, this Audino seemed to have credibility.

"This plan was a large-scale, false flag operation, designed to start a war between Dristov and Nihonera that would lead to a world war similar, if not worse, than the Blood Decade. His plan was to spread a fanatic ideology to erase who we are." Audino then looked back behind her anxiously. Visibly nervous, she grabbed her stack of papers and shuffled it once more, "I need it hurry. These documents cover five years worth of names, plans, diagnostics, and everything in between."

A loud knocking erupted from behind Audino. Audino frightfully looked back behind her and she started to pack her things. She then turned towards the camera,

"I need to go but there's one more thing I have to say. A now former member of the Phantom Corp has agreed to assist the Nihoneran government and Senshi in exchange for the protection of a specific group of people who shall not be named."

The sound of a door being pounded against grew louder and louder. Yelling and screaming began to escape from the gaps in the wall. Everyone watching was horrified. This was very real. However, the group collectively realized the truth in this terrifying image.

In their attempt to stop their identities from leaking, The Phantom Corp inadvertently legitimized Audino's claims.

Then Audino said a name. For most, it was completely irrelevant. Good news for sure, yet that was all it was. However, For Infernape and the others, that name was a relief. Knowledge that someone they cared about was, at the very least, safe and vaguely on their side. Before the video cut out, Audino uttered these last words,

"Kage Miyasako."

Gengar.