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.

7. Sheridan Village

Chapter 2: Redemption

Sheridan Village

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

---

That same day, Will packed enough Pokemon food, human food and water to last him a few days, then headed out.

The journey back across Route 2 to Amethyst Cave was every bit the challenge he expected it to be, and not because it was so physically demanding. Just like the Silent Grove would forever be the place where Melia and him started getting to know each other, Amethyst Cave would always be the place where'd lost her. The place he'd failed her. Nothing he could do would ever take that away.

But Ren was right, He needed to be stronger, He needed to be better. He couldn't fail his mother as well. So with Combusken by his side and Pidgeotto soaring overhead, he began traversing Route 2 once more. The weather was calm, the sky warm and devoid of clouds. Will battled a hiker who'd gotten a bit lost, beat her handily, then started making his way to the cave proper.

Less than half an hour later, Will stood before those same jagged teeth of crystal and that same little sign. He took a deep breath, recalled Pidgeotto, then shot Combusken a look.

"You were right, you know," he said. "Time to start stomping ahead again."

Combusken cooed happily. It wasn't a sound he'd heard her make before.

"Got your stompy boots?"

She did.

Together, they stomped inside Amethyst Cave.

That strange cloaked guy was gone, leaving the road ahead without any obstacles. Will halted at the intersection, then looked to his right, where the passageway had led them deep inside of the bowels of the earth before.

His confidence ebbed away. His determination suddenly seemed childish and ridiculous. He couldn't move.

Combusken snapped at his hand.

"Ouch!" Will quickly jerked his hand away. "I…yeah, no, sorry, you're right. Let's…just keep moving."

Combusken and him began making their way through the cave proper. They crossed that stranger's bridge, made their way up a small set of carefully-hewn stairs, then stopped when a random technician exploded at them for walking over a trail of footsteps he'd been studying there.

One quick trainer battle later, and Will could begin exploring the cave in earnest. Through flocks of Woobat and Gtoo many Geodudes pretending to be rocks, Combusken and him continued onwards. Apart from the occasional eccentric trainer, the road towards Sheridan seemed relatively open, so it came as no surprise to Will when he came around a bend and suddenly found himself face to face with that same masked man as before. The guy stood leaning against a wall, calmly staring at Will as he approached the man.

Combusken immediately got ready for a fight, and Will had to admit that he wasn't in a talkative mood either.

"So…it seems like you've failed?" The man spoke. "That's hardly a surprise."

Which, as far as greetings went, wasn't exactly the best thing to say.

"It tried to warn you three that this was a hopeless endeavor. But now you know the pain of losing someone. That pain will stick with you forever."

"What do you expect me to do now?" Will said. "Give up?"

"You've seen where fighting led you."

"Does that mean I have to stop fighting forever? Run away from every conflict" Will shook his head. "I won't become a coward. I have to move forward."

"Move forward?" The man repeated, mulling over the words as if he'd never heard them before. "You want to move forward? There is no such thing. Only endless pain and despair."

It began to dawn on Will that the bitterness in the man's voice might not be aimed entirely at him. But before he could ask the guy about what he meant, the guy spun on his heels and marched off.

Endless pain and despair…

Will had friends. He had trusted partners in his Pokemon. He still had a chance of saving his mother and an amazing confidant in Tesla. If someone took all of them away from him, leaving him with nothing and nobody left…yeah, he might begin to understand what the man meant then.

But only then. His mother wanted him to live with hope, with friends and, eventually, with love. Giving in to despair sounded like he'd only be tarnishing that.

"Come on," he told Combusken.

He continued making his way through the cave, heading through a doorway reinforced with wood and emerging in another mineshaft, surrounded on both sides by a river. He saw more wooden bridges lit by lanterns, more stacks of old, moldy boxes and more old rails. Nothing he hadn't seen before.

Whatever company had worked here must have left in a hurry. The next chamber revealed entire drilling installations just standing out in the open, unmanned, unmaintained. Will counted them as he walked by, occasionally looking at Combusken as she chased after wild Pokemon.

One…two…

It looked like there was a lot more to explore on the other side of that underground river. If only he had a Pokemon who knew how to swim…he could get on their back, hop across, and start exploring.

Four…five…

He might even come across rare jewels. Nidorino was a big eater, and he himself might need new shoes if the rocky floor got even more craggy.

Another doorway reinforced with wooden structures. Will made it through and emerged into a wider passage, wide enough for someone to drive their car through.

A girl stood on the far side of the passage, just before a double set of stairs. She whirled around just as Will was about to pass her by, and she flashed a camera at him.

Flash!

"Say cheese!" The girl said happily, before lowering the camera again and looking puzzled. "Oh, wait! I think I was supposed to say that before firing away. Oh well~!"

"I…hello?" Will said. She seemed like a nice girl, with two long tails tied into braids that reached to her waist. Her blue eyes bore into his expectantly, but he wasn't sure what she wanted. She looked a few years older than him, but she radiated a childish energy he found difficult to place. All in all, she was an attractive young woman.

He wondered what her business with him was?

"That aside, I suppose you're in my memory banks now," the girl continued. "Guess what? You've been randomly selected to participate in the Fun Games!"

"The…the what games?"

"Your prize for winning the game? Entrance to Sheridan Village!" The girl happily exclaimed. She spread out her arms in a gesture that reminded Will too much of Crescent's Gothitelle and said, "Let the Fun Games begin!"

Bright light erupted in his vision, familiar and disorienting. Will only barely realized that he was about to be teleported when the light-headedness struck and his entire world popped out of existence. He cried out in surprise and rematerialized in what looked like a forest.

He doubled over and clutched his stomach, half expecting the sudden trip to take its toll on his body like before, but the nausea never came.

He…was fine?

Surprised, Will began looking around. He didn't vomit, which was a plus, but he also appeared to be stuck atop an island that floated above an abyss of utter darkness and nothingness, which was definitely a minus.

"Hey, over here!" That girl yelled at him from up ahead. "This way"

Will shrugged. She didn't seem like she wanted to hurt him, so what was the harm in playing along?

He approached the black-haired…he guessed she was human? It didn't look like she used a Pokemon to teleport him. Although her Pokemon could have stayed hidden for dramatic effect…

Anyway, the young woman stood in-between a pair of hedges decorated with purple flowers. Three large boulders lay between her and Will, and she casually leant against the central one as she watched Will approach. "Welcome to the first game we're going to play! Hidden in a rock lies a special purple pebble! Choose one and destroy it! If there's a purple pebble found within a rock, you'll proceed! Easy enough right? Come on, let's play!"

Bemused, Will sent Nidorino out, and took a closer look at the three rocks the girl had placed before him. The central one seemed too obvious. Something told him the right one would be a good pick. "Nidorino, wanna smash a rock?"

Nidorino sure did. He reared back on two legs and rammed his horn straight into the rightmost rock. His horn, driven by powerful muscles and millennia of rock-smashing instincts, sank deep into the rock and it crumbled open. One savage swing his neck later and he'd carved the rock to bits.

Will supposed the debris left looked purple enough.

"Wow, you got it!" The dark-haired girl exclaimed, happily clapping her hands as if Will had just finished painting a masterpiece. "You found the purple pebble! Get it? Cause you created the pebble by breaking down the purple rock?" She laughed, and it felt so genuine that the strangeness of it all didn't bother Will in the slightest.

"Alright, game number 1's over!" The declared.

And then she freaking teleported away, reappearing a couple of meters further to the rear, between another two hedges. This time, she stood behind two thin trees that didn't reach much higher than Will's chin, and a thicker tree that was about a foot taller than him.

"Okaaayy, Game number 2! This one will be a bit more difficult. For this game, you need to choose which one is the fake tree. That's it! Let the games begin!'

...the thick tree moved.

Will stared at what was obviously a person cosplaying as a tree, then looked back at the girl.

She looked at him with baited breath, all starry-eyed. Her expression was one of the most adorable things he'd ever seen. Big, hopeful peepers that were laser-focused on his next action, as if his choice was the most important thing in her life.

It made him feel a bit uncomfortable, if only because he didn't have a clue as to who she was.

Will poked the thick tree.

The thick tree wiggled in discomfort.

"I mean…" Will said, poking the tree again.

"Photosynthesis," the tree murmured. "Photosynthesis…"

"Are you sure this is the right one?" The girl asked. "I'll give you another shot! Is this tree the fake one?"

She almost made him hesitate. "…no, it has to be this one!"

"What!" The tree exclaimed, before whirling around to show that it was, in fact, a hiker wearing a tree costume. "How'd you know?"

"Wow, you got it again!" The girl exclaimed. "That's super impressive! Off to the third and final game! Oh, I'm so excited!"

She did it again. She, together with the trees and the tree-man, teleported away.

Will walked forward, and found her maybe half a minute later. She stood in her own little grove, standing underneath a beautiful tree covered in blooming cherry blossoms.

"Now…for the third and final game. Game number three! I've been preparing this particular game for a while! For this game, we'll battle!"

"A battle?"

She nodded vigorously. "I've been watching you for a while! I was there when you fought Venam! I wanted to talk to you before then, too, but I got scared."

She'd…she'd been watching him? He never knew. That thought…it was kind of frightening.

"Who are you, really?" Will asked.

"The name's Nim!" She said, and two Poke Balls floated by as if being carried forth by telekinesis – which Will was starting to suspect they were. It just wasn't a Pokemon that did it. "I'm a traveling gal with a ton of vitality and spirit! We're going to be besties, okay? I won't take no for an answer!"

Nim's a psychic herself! Will realized as Nim happily sent out two of her Pokemon. With her mind, she joggled two more Poke Balls out of…a hidden pocket, he guessed. They whirled gently around her head as her first two Pokemon entered the fray.

"Fair enough," Will said, sending out Pidgeotto and Mightyena. "Let's go!"

Although Nim was the one who had challenged him to this fight, it quickly became obvious that it was all for fun and games for her. As their Pokemon clashed, Will began understanding Nim's actual intentions, and he scaled down in proportion to her own actions.

It was the first fight Will had fought that wasn't about winning or losing. A new experience for sure, it actually helped him unwind. No stress, no consequences, just two friends having fun underneath a blossoming tree in a pocket dimension.

"You're top notch, you know that?" Nim said. "I knew we were tied by fate the moment I saw you beat Venam! So cool…!"

"You call me cool? You have psychic powers!" Will replied. "And you can teleport. How do you do that?"

"Heh, don't you know a girl's gotta have her secrets? Sorry, but I have one more game to play."

"Sure, let's go," Will said, unable to keep himself from smiling.

"Here are the rules!" Nim held up a finger. "Answer this question with the truth, no matter what it is. And that question is…Did I cheer you up?"

.Ah.

With a start, Will realized what Nim had meant when she told him that she wanted to talk to him before he fought Venam. Even now, he was walking around with a bloody hole in his jacket and a cut that casually morphed into a black eye on his face.

She knew.

Will felt his throat tighten. "Did you just do all this…for me? To cheer me up?"

"Maaaybe," Nim drawled. "Did I?"

"Yeah," Will quietly replied. 'You did. Thank you."

"Yes!" Nim said, throwing her fist in the air. "I wanted my first impression to be a real good one! That way you wouldn't forget about me~!" She stepped aside and patted the tree. "Come chill with me for a sec."

Will sat down next to Nim. The grass underneath the tree was soft and warm, the blades gently tickling his skin as he leant back against the bark.

"Does that hurt?" Nim said. She ran a slender finger across his flank, stopping just short of the actual wound.

"Yeah," Will admitted.

"And that?" She pointed at his face.

"…it does."

"I don't know how to heal people, or I would have," Nim said. "But I know that hurts." She pointed her finger at his chest…and that puzzled Will. He hadn't missed an injury there, had he? "And I know that Ren guy gave you the whole speech about grief and what not. But I thought I'd pitch in and spread the happiness or somethin'."

Something in his chest tightened. "You…you saw that"

"Uh-huh."

Shame crept into his limbs. It was a sluggish, nauseating feeling. "You saw…saw what happened in the cave?"

"Ayup," Nim confirmed. "I was watching you guys when you were fighting Zetta." She frowned, looking away as if she'd said something she shouldn't have. "Okay, confession time. I wanted to help, but I…just…I couldn't."

"I tried," Will said. "I did I – I really did. But I couldn't…I wasn't…"

Soft, cold fingers wrapped around his chin and cupped his head aside. "Hey," Nim said. "Are you…blaming yourself?"

"I promised Melia I would protect her," he hoarsely whispered. "She's dead. And I'm still here. It wasn't enough."

Nim blinked in confusion. "Are you saying it's a bad thing you're here? Because you lived, and she didn't? If you had died, and she had lived? Would she have thought the same?"

"I…I don't know."

"Well, I think you'd both forget the jerks who put you there," Nim continued. "They tried to do it, you tried to stop them. I don't think you should forget that. Also…when I saw you three being dragged into that Rift, Zetta threw Melia's bag off the side of the cliff. I decided to go into the depths and look for it, and…" she rummaged around behind her. "I found it. It had been completely destroyed by the water on the lower levels, but I was able to retrieve this."

She handed him a keycard. A room ID card. "This…is Melia's…"

"Sorry there wasn't anything else around," Nim said, flashing him an apologetic look. "The world sucks a lot. I've been through some of its horrors myself! I was traveling with someone for a while, but we had to separate eventually. But you gotta keep stayin' weird and zany or else this world just gets so boring!" She reached out and took his hands with hers. It surprised him just how cold her hands were. "There's so much out there, so much adventure! I want you to continue with your head held high. And don't you forget – you tried to do good when a lot of people tried to do bad. They took Melia. Not you."

Will blinked back his tears. "I won't forget. Thank you, Nim."

"Yeah, sorry for dragging you here," She said, grinning again. "I just wanted a chance to talk! So…I'm going to send you back now, okay? I wish I could do more than simply keeping an eye on you, but I believe in you. Don't forget about me, Nim. Your bestie!'

"My bestie," Will said. "I won't forget, Nim."

"Bye-bye!"

Even as the world began to fade, and Will felt Nim teleport him away, he heard her passing words echo through his mind.

"Don't forget! I'll always be watching! I'm like your guardian angel!"

When he opened his eyes again, he stood in front of Amethyst Cave's exit. Nim was nowhere to be seen.

"My guardian angel…" Will said. Between his mother looking down at him, and Nim watching over him, was it a wonder he'd survived until now?

Crescent had told him that he couldn't do anything. That he was too weak to make a difference. Maybe that was true. But everybody had to start somewhere. He'd been a trainer for a week now. He had given almost everything to keep Melia safe and he had failed. But he had acted. And he would continue to act.

Nim's words had pulled a weight from his shoulders he hadn't even known was there. He wouldn't disappoint her.

Will stepped through the exit and back into the light.

The forest that separated Amethyst Cave from Sheridan Village provided his Pokemon with many opportunities to stretch their legs. He sent them all out, including Pidgeotto, and began walking.

The forest was calm and serene, though far from quiet. Wind howled through the branches, distant Pokemon howled and cried and Combusken wouldn't shut up. She yelped and screeched and cried as she ran through the forest, kicking off trees and attacking branches.

Something about self-improvement and intimidation of foes…it was simply the way her species worked, but that didn't make it less…peculiar.

Nidorino happily trotted along with him, his spiky ears ever vigilant. Pidgeotto soared above them, occasionally casting his shadow across the land below. Mightyena was…well, he was somewhere. He saw him occasionally as a silent shadow moving from tree to tree; motion and shadow and the occasional muted flash of his gray fur, then gone again.

His Pokedex had told him that Mightyena normally hunted in a pack, taking down larger prey with superior teamwork and perfect coordination. Right now, he wasn't sure if Mightyena was stalking something, or avoiding being stalked himself.

It didn't matter to Will. Mightyena had been amazing during their escape from Goldenwood Forest. Having an invisible, silent predator skulking around him was just another way to outmaneuver Team Xen when they inevitably reared their heads again.

As his Pokemon did their thing, Will let his thoughts drift. They instantly drifted straight towards Nim. Nim, the lovable psychic. Nim, the girl who had tried so hard to cheer him up.

Nim…who had pulled Will into a pocket dimension with less effort than it took him to sneeze.

Just like Crescent had done to Zetta.

Two extremely dangerous psychic women, one an apparent sociopath and the other a sweet cinnamon roll, had both watched him, Ren and Venam disappear into that Rift. Had they been aware of each other?

It didn't make sense and thinking about it hurt his brain. Best to let his thoughts linger to the future. New tactics, new teammates, new moves and new evolutions. Those were his key to victory.

When he finally approached the gate to the Village, he realized that he wasn't the only one there. He heard what sounded like people arguing. He walked underneath the large, wooden shrine and spotted an elderly woman with a cane. Standing next to her was a young woman with purple hair stuck up in a high ponytail. She wore a gray shirt with purple shorts, revealing lithe and well-toned limbs.

"It's hopeless Eldest," she said. "Things are just too broken. It's been like this for an entire year, but now it's getting far worse. He won't come out to eat – heck, he won't come out of his house in general. Staying inside all day isn't healthy. He's neglecting all of his duties!"

The older woman sighed. "I'm sure the Sensei has his reasons. He's lived…a complicated life. Something that only he can understand. But – "

"Sheridan Village is a place of community!" The girl insisted. "We're here for him! I'm here for him….why won't he just trust me? It's been said time and time again that if the leader of Sheridan Village isn't in sync with his people…it'll fall."

Will crossed his arms and tried his best to blend in with the environment. This didn't sound like something he ought to be listening in on, but simply stomping forwards and pretending he hadn't heard a thing would be too awkward.

"In all my time in this village, this has happened once before," the woman – the Elder? – calmly replied. "And even through that dark hour, we rose victorious in the end. Standing strong. So please believe me when I say things are going to be alright."

The girl sighed explosively. "Okay, I'll put my faith in you, Eldest. For now, the Inn needs me. I'll head back now."

"As you wish," the Eldest said. She watched the young woman walk off, then turned towards Will, as if she'd known he was there this entire time. Even from that distance, Will saw her gasp and clutch her walking stick with both hands when she got a closer look at his face. "Oh dear!"

Thinking he might have startled her, Will emerged from the trees and calmly approached her. "Good day, ma'am," he said, smiling in what he hoped to be a reassuring manner.

"Finally," the woman mumbled to herself. "So it begins."

"I'm…sorry?"

"Oh, oh please, excuse my rude disposition," the Eldest quickly said, as if shaking herself from her thoughts. "I was just…taken aback. Welcome to Sheridan Village! You look like you need a place to stay, young man. I run the Inn just northeast of here. If you need some rest, do drop by. Have a good day."

Puzzled, Will watched her leave. Just elder people being elder, he guessed.

Sheridan Village seemed like a small community. It was supposed to have somewhere between fifteen-hundred and two-thousand citizens. A modern agricultural village, rural and peaceful.

After the enormous mess that Gearen City had turned out to be, Will started to get the appeal of such a small, quiet place.

He took his time slowly taking in the village's surroundings, taking note of intersections, important buildings, entrances and exits. Sheridan Village couldn't be more than twenty square kilometers. From what he was able to see, with Sheridan stretching out to the north, stretching against the surface of a minor mountain, he guessed the area was about three by seven kilometers. Lots of trees and grassland.

Many places for Team Xen to camp out before an attack.

Will stopped by the inn for the moment. He saw the same elderly woman as before, engaged in a casual conversation with the owner of the inn. Upon seeing Will enter the inn, the older woman seemed to break off their conversation to take her leave.

"Welcome to the Cherry Blossom Inn!" The woman behind the desk said. "Would you like to stay the night?"

"Yeah," Will said, retrieving his wallet. "Do you have a doctor here?"

"We do have a healer here. Are you in need of medical attention then?"

She sounded polite and professional, but Will didn't want to bother her with the details. "Just an old wound that's been bothering me. Could you point me the way?"

"Of course."

The lady kindly gave him the directions he needed, and after receiving the key to his room, Will took his leave again.

His next stop was the local medical post. A straight shot past the gate that led up the mountain, across a stream of blue sparkling water and then up a hill. It was actually part of the local Day-Care, albeit much smaller.

Though more than half of Sheridan's population consisted of the elderly, the doctor's office was practically abandoned. Will stood in front of the counter for almost five minutes, just taking in the sights, before someone realized that he was there.

"Good afternoon. Do you have an appointment?" An older woman with graying hair asked him, tying back her hair as she approached the desk.

"Uh, no. Do I need to?"

"Depends on your needs. What seems to be the problem?"

Right. This was the part where he had to explain how he got his very specific combat-related injury. "I have a wound that was recently patched up. I wanted to make sure it won't pull open and start bleeding…everywhere."

She nodded thoughtfully as she wrote that down. "How did that happen?"

"…I angered the wrong Pokemon, in East Gearen City."

She flashed him a stern look.

"By accident," Will quickly added. "Didn't see it was there."

"Yeah, well, Gearen is a dangerous place to be. Accidents happen. The name of the doctor who treated you?"

Right. The medical professional he sought out after his injury. "A friend with bandages and wound-packing stuff."

She stopped writing and cast him the type of look mothers typically served for very ill behaving children. "Wound packing stuff?" She repeated, raising her eyebrows.

"Y-Yes ma'am. The kind you…" he mimicked the gesture with his thumbs. "Jam into a wound till it stops bleeding."

She blinked a few times. "I am aware of the procedure, yes. And did you seek out medical attention after the stopgap measure?"

"…hi," he awkwardly said, not sure what else to say. He hadn't had another choice in the matter, but there was no way he'd be convincing this lady of that.

"Young man, are you telling me you hiked from East Gearen city all the way to Sheridan Village with a bleeding injury temporarily stemmed by woundpacking?"

"And some bandages to keep them in place," Will protested.

"…the examination room is right there. Head in, take off your shirt, we'll be taking a look," she said.

Less than a minute later, the woman – whom he took to be a nurse – began prodding at the bandages Ren had applied, inspecting them with great care.

"At least your friend was not an absolute Mankey," she said as she began cutting away at the bandages with a pair of scissors. "What kind of Pokemon caused this?"

"The kind that makes shrapnel fly at terminal velocity," Will said, biting back a cry of pain as she began inspecting the wound proper.

"Shrapnel? Is it still there? What am I saying, of course it's still in there."

"No, no, he took it out already," Will protested.

"Nonsense. Do you have any idea what kind of damage leftover micro-shrapnel can cause? Just a moment…"

In a very pleasant and not at all painful experience, the woman dabbed his wound with disinfectant, sprayed a local anesthetic straight into his wound and began cleaning it out with a couple of cotton wads and the kind of metal implements most people would have expected to see in a gnarly interrogation session.

All the way, she muttered under her breath about irresponsible teenagers and the frustrating lethality of Gearen City. But she was fast and efficient. Somehow, she extracted the packing without tearing his wound open again, then began carefully stitching it back together.

"You're awfully lucky your ribs were in the way," she said as she worked. "If that had nicked your lungs, you would have been much farther from home."

Will thought he was already pretty far from home to begin with. He'd save punctured lungs for when things got really intense.

After patching him up again, the nurse started putting together an online dossier, considering she was unable to find an existing one for him in the system.

Will, with the sneaking suspicion that dossier might get a bit thicker in the future, simply nodded when she told him to stay out of trouble.

With that taken care of, it was time to find the local Gym Leader and inform them of the looming threat.

Sheridan's upper part, the Sheridan Arena, was a misty section of forest that stretched out for about half a kilometer up the mountain. As Will trekked upwards, he spotted several outdoor pools, a training area with enough bars and constructions to train and hone every single muscle group in the body and a large open field dominated by Pokemon Trainers battling each other. A large waterfall cascaded down in the center of the area, separating the lower section of the area from the higher.

Not everybody was keen on allowing an outsider to visit their reclusive Sensei. Not one, but two different trainers stopped him on his approach and demanded he turn back. Both altercations turned into battles and both times, the offending party backed off upon realizing that Will wasn't an ordinary kid with a Rattata.

With the last trainer taken care of, Will began ascending the final set of stairs…a hefty climb of at least a hundred wooden steps that led him all the way into what surely had to be the freaking skies.

As he made his way up the wooden steps, that same girl he saw before came back down, looking dejected and thoughtful. When she saw him heading up, she stopped. "Oh, you're a new face around here. Did you just make it to Sheridan?"

She was more right than she thought. "Yeah. I'm Will."

"Hi Will. My name is Aelita, I help run the Cherry Blossom Inn. I assume you're here because you want to challenge the Sensei to a battle, right?"

Will fidgeted. "That's…part of it, yes."

Aelita cast a worried look at the abode at the top of the stairs. "Well…I don't think you're going to have much luck there…the Sensei is pretty distant. Lately, he hasn't even spoken to the villagers. But I guess I can't stop you…hopefully it works out."

The Sensei, then.

When he finally arrived in front of the Sense's home, his calves were burning and his lungs were screaming. His Pokemon weren't the only thing that needed more training; if he wanted to have a shot at surviving more confrontations with Team Xen, it might not be a bad idea to go work on some cardio as well. Maybe start doing some heavy exercises, built up more muscle.

Will knocked on the door.

Nothing happened.

He frowned, then knocked again.

Nothing.

Maybe it was better to come back later?

At least the road down wasn't as bad…

Will returned to the inn, where he'd probably have to ask for a drawing board to get back to.

Upon entering the Cherry Blossom Inn, he saw that Aelita had also returned. She was in deep conversation with someone's grandmother. When she finished up, and the grandmother left, Aelita spotted Will standing. "O-Oh, hello Ehm, Will, wasn't it? Did you have any luck with the Sensei?"

Will grimaced, shaking his head.

"I-I see…I expected as much…I'm very sorry about that. He's been neglecting his duties as of late. It's hard for him to open up to people. But I still believe in him! I won't stop believing in him!"

Everybody here spoke about the Sensei being this amazing man…so what gave? Why was he being like this?

"Listen, Will…I…have a room upstairs. Mind visiting me there? I have something to ask of you."

"Sure," he said. It wasn't as if he had anything better to do.

He followed Aelita up to the first floor, where she unlocked one of the first rooms and walked inside. Will followed her in, looking around at what had to be the tidiest room he'd ever seen in his life. Perfectly sorted books, clothes folded so neatly that he could hold a ruler next to them and a floor that was so spotless that it had to have been mopped literal minutes before.

And the air…it smelled clean and fresh. The inn really lived up to its name.

"Thank you so much for hearing me out," Aelita said. "I don't spent much time here so there's not much, but – "

"Aelita?" A voice spoke from right outside the door. "What did you want to speak to me about?"

Will glanced around as the door opened, turning so that he could keep an eye on Aelita, just in case. She struck him as a really nice girl, but Jenner had seemed nice as well.

It was the Eldest. She walked inside the room, cast one look at Will then nodded, as if everything made sense to her. "Oh…I see."

Wordlessly, the Eldest took her side next to Aelita, and Will couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. His improvised tour of the village had shown him that almost everybody here practiced some form of martial art or body-strengthening routine. All it took for this pair to do him harm was for the Eldest to be an experienced Pokemon battler to keep his team distracted…

"Be at peace my dear boy, we mean you no harm," the Eldest said.

A look of confusion spread across Aelita's face. "Harm? Why would we – no, it's nothing like that!"

Will still didn't let his guard down.

"I don't think I introduced myself back when," the Eldest remarked. "I am the Eldest of this village, hence the name. I am also the Sensei's advisor. It is a pleasure to finally meet you like this, Will."

Will…hadn't ever told the Eldest his name, had he?

"Oh? You already know his name?" Aelita said. "But I thought you said you hadn't introduced yourself?"

"Ah…W-Well, I overheard you calling their name while I was outside," the Eldest replied. "It matters not. What did you need?"

"Oh, yeah," Aelita said, still looking a bit puzzled. "I wanted to explain to Will about our little situation. Will came to visit the Sensei for a battle, but…yeah."

"Ah, say no more," the Eldest said. "Will, first and foremost, I want to apologize for Keta's behavior. Ketai s our Sensei – he has been for ten years now. But in the past year or so, something has happened to him. Suddenly he came home from a long trip with a face as white as snow. Ever since then he's secluded himself within his year."

Having been through something like what the Eldest described himself, Will could relate in some part, but…a year? A full year of seclusion?

"Which brings me to why I asked you here," Aelita chimed in. "For the past couple of weeks I've tried confronting Sensei on my own. But each time it ended in failure or my dismissal. Please, Will...would you help me confront Sensei?"

"Me?" Will said. "The man doesn't know me. Aren't I just another outsider to him?"

"I've been trying to get through to him for months now," Aelita urged him. "I need someone to back me up. And if I can get him to come to his senses, you can get the battle you came here for!"

"Yeah, sure," Will found himself agreeing. "If it helps."

"But why Will though?" The Eldest asked. "What about him has led you to that conclusion?"

Aelita sucked in a breath. "It's hard to explain, but something deep within my mind is telling me I can trust them. I-It's a little weird, but somehow I feel like we're bound by fate or something, for him to appear on our doorstep right now. Sorry if that's strange to hear, Will. Maybe it's just my intuition speaking!"

Fate…if there was such a thing as fate, Will had a few choice words to tell them. It. Whatever. But he hadn't come here to this village to insult the local beliefs. Aelita seemed nice and earnest, so what did it matter?

"Ah…well, I have no qualms with your intuition," the Eldest said. "In that case, if you must do this, it is better if you wait a few days. There are certain…matters this village must attend to. Feel free to spend the night here, Will. You may sleep in the inn, free of charge."

"Wow, thank you so much," Will said, taken aback by the Eldest's sudden kindness. They really did put a lot of faith in his ability to change this Keta's mind.

"Thank you so much for agreeing to help!" Aelita exclaimed. "Let's meet by the bonfire in the evening, iron out some plans.

That would still be a few hours away, so he had some time to kill. He checked out the Help Center situated a few hundred meters away from the inn and took a look at the requests there. A couple of things stood out to him, including a request from someone within the inn to go look for her boyfriend in the Amethyst Caves and a second request for someone to please check out the noise complaints in the Chrisola Hotel in Gearen City.

Will wasn't about to head back all the way to East Gearen, but checking out Amethyst Cave was no problem at all. A little errand to run, and an opportunity for his Pokemon to do some training. By the end of it, he'd pulled a man from the depths who'd been about to have his day rocked by an angry Solrock. It earned him a reasonable reward sum as well as the sight of a loving couple embracing each other when both had thought they'd never see the other again…which quickly devolved into something a lot more passionate as the reunited pair began making out atop their bed.

Guessing that it wouldn't take long for the clothes to start flying across the room, Will quickly left, feeling a bit warmer than the weather would have suggested.

Evening fell, and he went to join Aelita by the large bonfire in the inn's yard. The fire was nice and warm, but the scent of soot and burning wood made him feel restless and uneasy. His stomach knitted itself into a ball of stress and anxiety as he sat down amidst the other people, and he tightened his hands into white-knuckled fists just to keep himself from leaping upright again when a dry piece of wood suddenly crackled in the fire.

"Thank you for joining me," Aelita said. "Like the Eldest said, it'll be a while before we can get this ball rolling. I've got a plan, but I'm still working out the details of it."

"Hmm," Will replied.

"He won't like it, but he also won't be able to walk away from it all. He's been good to our village, and we're there for him. We want to help him, but we can't do that if he doesn't let us."

Will stared at the fire. It occurred to him that, the darker it became, the worse the fire would mess with his night vision. He wouldn't be able to see Team Xen coming even if he were looking for them.

Aelita glanced at him, the glow of the flames reflected in her purple eyes. "You okay?"

He nodded. "Been a rough few days. Still getting my bearings."

"Well, you've come to the right place, then. Sheridan Village is a place of healing and spiritual recovery. If you're feeling troubled, this might be the best place for you to be."

God, he wished that were true. "Maybe."

"It's also a good place to work at yourself, if that's something you'd want."

"…maybe?" He met Aelita's searching gaze. "I noticed the people here are…kinda fit."

She grinned. "Yeah, that's part of our culture I suppose. A healthy body sustains a healthy soul, and a healthy soul in turn strengthens your body."

He liked that idea.

"Do you think that's something you could get into? I mean, now that you're here for a few days, you might as well make the most of it, right?"

"You know what…why not?" Will said.

Aelita sprang to her feet the moment he agreed. She pumped her fist and said, "Heck yeah! It's been a while since I've had a training buddy!"

"It's been a while since I've run of my own volition," Will replied. "So when did you want to start?"

Aelita just smiled at him, and Will got the creeping suspicion that he was about to start training a whole lot sooner than he expected. "Nothing beats a good evening run! Except maybe a very early morning run."

"I might need some better shoes for that," Will mused.

"Don't worry! Joe lives nearby. He's got a pickup truck that's rugged enough to make the drive to Gearen if you need to. I think he said it's half an hour away for him? He works there."

Welp. That was his last excuse. "Time for an evening run, I guess," Will said.

Back when he first saw Aelita, his first impression of her was that she seemed kinda fit. Now, having spent half an hour running after her across a hiking trail in a forest with entirely too many hills and slopes to make sense, he had to amend his opinion of her somewhat.

Aelita was very fit.

"Come on, breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth. Chin up! Your lungs need to pull in that oxygen. Whoah, watch where you're going!"

Will didn't bother replying. He needed every bit of oxygen to keep his legs operational. Aelita took him jogging down a well-traveled path that snaked around a lake. It seemed to go on forever; they went across alongside a river, across a bridge, then back to the same river but somehow on the other side.

His legs burned and sweat trickled down his back.

Eventually, Aelita realized that she had a gap of about twenty meters behind her and him and she stopped. "I…think it might be time for a break."

She found them a fallen tree log to sit down on, where Will took a minute to get his breathing back under control. Aelita helped, showing him the best way to quickly push down his heart rate.

"So where are you from, if you don't mind me asking?" She eventually asked.

"Outside of Aevium," Will replied. "I recently moved in."

"By boat?"

"Yeah. Docked in Gearen City."

"Did you start your own Gym Challenge from there?"

"In a way."

Aelita nodded listfully. "That sounds so cool. I haven't been outside of Sheridan Village in…well, ever, as far as I can remember. What I wouldn't give to be able to travel around Aevium…"

"So why don't you?"

She reached back to her ponytail to let her hair loose, then tied it back tightly "Responsibilities. I have to help the Eldest with the inn, but also the ceremonies and other activities. She's always insisted on the importance of staying within the community."

"Understandable…I guess. So a quick question. What happens if we can't get the Sensei to come out of his shell?"

Aelita winced. "I don't know. I mean, this has to work .If it doesn't…maybe we'll be able to think of something else."

"Maybe."

"Anyway, did you catch your breath? We still need to head back, you know."

"...there's a back?"

Will had thought they'd almost ran a complete circle, but apparently his mind had just been making that up.

Aelita took him back to the village. Thankfully, she kept a slower pace this time, and Will was able to keep up with her, if barely so.

When they made it back to the inn again, it was almost midnight. Aelita thanked him again for agreeing to help the Sensei, then asked if he had any plans for the coming days.

"Not really," he replied. "Training my team. Target practice in the woods, I guess."

"If you'd like, I can show you our calisthenics field! It's like a gym, but outside. Could be fun?"

Will thought back to the amount of Xen grunts that had been so eager to get their hands on Melia that they'd physically assaulted the two of them. How lucky they'd been that Xen hadn't simply overwhelmed them with superior numbers before going in themselves.

…in the end, it hadn't even mattered.

"Yeah, I think I'd like that," he said.

Aelita's big grin was a sight to behold. "Great! I'll pick you up in the morning. How's six o'clock?"

Will spent the next few days with a semi-regular schedule of getting up, eating breakfast and training with Aelita in the morning. They were far from the only ones at the training facility the first morning. Other people their age had already started their workout there.

He threw himself into lifting weights the moment Aelita and him had finished their warming up. He couldn't lift much - and his freshly stitched-up wound didn't help matters - but Aelita never judged. She never berated him when he couldn't finish a set, or complete a certain exercise. She kept encouraging him to go for more - more repetitions, more weight - but the moment he reached his actual limit, she'd drop it in an instant.

Will hadn't expected it, but he came to like exercising alongside her. That being said, he could barely move the next day, and they'd have to throw their schedule overboard to focus on a muscle group he could move.

Sometimes it sucked. Sometimes, it hurt. But it kept him from dwelling on the past. Kept the memories from plaguing him.

Four days went by in the blink of an eye before the Eldest suddenly stood in-between Aelita and Will on the training field

"It is time," she declared.

And together, Aelita and Will made their way to the front of the abode again.

Time to put their plan into action.

"This is it," Aelita quietly said. "I've done this many times before, but it's always so uncomfortable. Right. Well. Let's try this out." She took a deep breath, grimaced, and then yelled, "Sensei? It's me, Aelita. Please let me in."

For several long seconds, nothing happened. Then, a faint click reverberated through the door.

It unlocked.

"Yes!" Aelita said. "I can't believe it! Come on Will, let's go!"

They filed into the house together. It was a beautiful home, neatly kept and decorated by someone who obviously valued comfort and warmth.

The man, Keta, stood opposite a large dining table. His sunken, dull eyes shot towards the two intruders and narrowed dangerously. "Aelita? What is it now? I told you not to come near this house."

"I know, but," Aelita started.

Keta's eyes drifted to Will. His frustrated expression slowly turned into one of suspicion and anger. "I don't remember inviting you into my house. It must be customary for trainers to waltz into people's houses unannounced but this is crossing a line."

Something about his…it was familiar. Will wasn't sure where, but it was almost as if he'd heard this man speak before.

"I-It's okay Sensei, I brought Will here," Aelita quickly said, stepping closer to Will to prove her point.

"And why exactly did you invite them here?" Keta continued.

Aelita took a breath. "I…no, we came here because we're concerned about you. You've been stuck in this place for months. You haven't left or spoken to anyone…the people in this village are starting to believe that you're abandoning them. No one has said anything outright, but we fear that people will leave soon."

Keta averted his eyes. "That would probably be best anyway. There's no future here."

No future.

Hopeless.

Could it be? This man…?

"Sensei!" Aelita snapped. "How could you…!"

"It's all a hopeless endeavor," Keta continued and his dead voice raised Will's hackles. "There's no point in any of this."

Will wanted to confront the man, ask him if he was who he thought he was, but seeing Aelita's desperation to help this man made him hold off. Still…seeing his apathetic reaction to this girl who so obviously cared about his well being pissed him off.

"But I just want to know why?" Aelita cried out. "Why won't you just talk to us? Why won't you just give us a chance?"

Keta worked his jaw. His fists tightened, and for a long second it was if he were fighting against himself, struggling to do or say something to rebuke Aelita.

Aelita, who looked like she was about to cry, who had been fighting for months to get this man to acknowledge himself.

"I think I know you," Will spoke up. "We met before, haven't we?"

"What?" Aelita said. She looked back and forth between Keta and him. "Sensei?"

Keta stared at him. Something shone through the deadness in his eyes. "William…please meet me in my garden. I have to speak to you. Aelita…if you would give us a moment."

"But – " Aelita started.

"I'm giving you your chance."

Aelita straightened up as if jolted. "I…I understand!"

Will followed Keta towards the back door, fully expecting this to be some sort of trap. After all, if this man was who he thought he was, he had stood by and watched as Melia died without lifting a finger.

Instead of taking him to a back room, Keta revealed an actual garden in the back. It was more of a shrine than a garden however. A single, small tree stood in the center and a grave had been carefully dug in front of it.

Slowly, the pieces started coming together.

"Taelia…I try so hard to smile…but that is just impossible," Keta said with a weary voice. Up close, he didn't look like a tough Sensei or a Gym Leader. Will looked at him and saw a frail, tired man who had lost far too much weight in far little time. "What was her name again? The girl?"

"Melia," Will quietly said. "Her name was Melia."

"And now you are here," Keta continued. "You've come all this way just to bother a man already in a pit of despair? You're either despicable, or clueless."

Will stared at the man he had felt so much contempt for, harbored so much anger for, and felt nothing but pity. Endless pain…suddenly didn't feel so hyperbole anymore. "Have you considered a third option? Someone who fell down, but got back up?"

A look of disgust crossed Keta's features. "You haven't fallen enough."

"No," Will conceded. "But until I do, people depend on me standing."

Keta sighed. "You dragged Aelita into this. I've promised her that I would give her at least a chance. That's something we all want, don't we? Melia…it seems her life was left up to that very chance."

"What I want is gone now,," Will shot back, and he felt the anger slowly clawing its way inside his head. "And you're to blame as well."

Keta gave him a wry, bitter smile. "We're all to blame for this, William. Even you."

That was nothing he hadn't told himself.

"I bet your friends said something like "If only I were stronger"."

"Stronger," Will agreed. "Better."

"But that's all bullshit. There's nothing that could've been done in that cave. Fate is already written."

…at that moment, Will felt a strange sense of kinship with Keta. He didn't get it, he didn't get it at all. Melia's death had messed with his head too much. "A week ago, a woman might have given her life to save mine."

"So?" Keta said.

"If fate exists, it wanted me to lose then and there. But my mother had different plans. She took them all on, Keta. Alone."

"What is your point?" Keta demanded, a hint of frustration creeping into his voice.

"I'm still here."

"You've suffered – "

"I'm still here!"

"While your friend perished – "

"I'm. Still. Here," Will insisted. "Melia is gone. Nothing can change that. But I'm still here. Nothing can change that, either."

Keta stared at him, his expression impossible to read. "Then perhaps, fate intends something far crueler for you instead," he then said.

And…Will hadn't thought of that one. Since he liked to sleep at night, he would keep not thinking about that one as well. At least for the remainder of the day. "Maybe."

"Maybe," Keta said, nodding. "And…perhaps…I have a test for you, Will. Are you up for this task?"

"Why not? Hit me."

A hint of approval. "Very good. In that case, listen closely. Do you remember where we met in Amethyst Cave? By that bridge?"

Like he could ever forget. "Yeah."

"Just west of that bridge is a rock with a pendant attached to it. Touch the stone. If something happens, proceed. The way to the Amethyst Grotto will open and within this place, the Soul Stone lies. Retrieve the stone and...well, we'll see."

"I – "

"Also, you are to do this alone. Leave Aelita out of this."

Somewhere within that pit of despair, Keta still cared about Aelita then? "Fine. I'll come back when it's done."

"If' it's done," Keta corrected him.

Will didn't argue.

Aelita waited for him outside of the grove, concerned and restless. "And?" She said.

"I have a task," Will said. "I must do this alone."

"The Sensei is sending you off somewhere?" Aelita asked, her brow furrowing. "This is all so strange. What's the point of this?"

"I'll find out," Will promised.

With nothing else to say, he began making his way back down the village, through the entry gate and all the way through the forest back to Amethyst Cave. It took him an hour or two to even get back to the cave. At least he'd brought plenty of water…

Nim, if you're watching, does any of this make sense to you?

He was lucky that the cave wasn't that big. He made it back to the entrance without too much trouble. There, he spotted the rock Keta mentioned. Just like the man had promised, a pink pendant hung around the rock.

Will reached out and placed his palm atop the stone.

A tremor ran through the ground. The noise of stone grinding against stone split the silent air. Somewhat alarmed, Will looked up to see that a section of the wall had collapsed, revealing an entrance just large enough for someone to pass through.

Just like that mural. God, that felt so long ago…

Will passed through the secret entrance he'd opened up. The only way forward was a ladder leading down into the darkness below.

"It's gonna be like that, huh?" Will muttered. He wasn't going to complain. Melia had spent her final hours in the darkness. The least he could do was endure the same.

Will descended the ladder for what felt like hours. Slowly, the darkness began fading, a pleasant light slowly replacing the endless void of his surroundings.

At first, Will thought he was losing his mind down there. Something about a lack of oxygen or something.

But…the grass underneath his feet felt real. The scent of the pine trees and the flower patches was real.

And the voice that drifted out to him across this hidden meadow was real.

"Welcome. Please, come forward."

He did as the voice instructed him and came across the strangest place he'd seen so far – and that was saying something.

A large, mechanical triangle had been grafted into the ground. Three even spheres made up the three corners, with a fourth sphere placed within the heart of the triangle, A

Six steel constructions protruded from the ground around him, like mechanical podiums, or the upper surfaces of buried machines.

And at the center of the grove, planted within an elevated section, stood a statue that looked like it came straight from Jenner's lab. A strange, purple crystal had been placed atop, the meaning of which completely eluded Will.

"Ah…so you've made it to this place. I must say, I'm surprised by this."

Keta stepped out from behind the statue. Not Keta as he was now, but Keta as he would have been at his best. His skin looked less ghastly and much healthier. His eyes weren't sunken, soulless orbs anymore, and his entire demeanor was calm and serene, like that of the Eldest.

But…even though Keta had stepped in front of the statue, Will could still see the statue. That was, he could see straight through the man. Was this a hallucination? An illusion conjured by someone's Pokemon

"For you to be here means you must have a pure heart," Keta said, his voice warm and reassuring. "Astounding…it looks like Taelia was right after all…"

"Keta?" Will whispered. "How are you here? No, why are you here?"

"Right, I suppose this would be a confusing situation for anyone," Keta said. "We are Keta, yes. Or rather, a piece of him. We are part of Keta's soul that he has severed. Our emotions, our humanity…I am the manifestation of them."

A thousand questions bounced through his mind. Will wasn't that surprised by the existence of a soul; people had been debating that for years now, and the existence of all kinds of Ghost-type Pokemon suggested that something existed beyond death.

That being said…"Keta is still alive. How did he - ?"

"Keta has sealed away this part of his soul. Still, it is clear that my influence has not left him. Although we are separate, we are still one and the same."

Will shook his head. He couldn't wrap his head around this. "I have so many questions."

"No doubt. Do you have the right one?"

No.

Maybe.

He'd give it a shot. Since Keta was here, and the Keta back there still seemed to care about Aelita in some way, the removal of his…his humanity and emotions had failed. Which suggested that wasn't possible. But…"Why? Why did Keta do this?"

Keta smiled sadly. "We suffered a great loss years ago, and because of that…we suffered a massive amount of mental, physical and emotional pain. We wanted to separate ourselves from that pain, and with the help of a friend…our humanity has been lost. Even though he threw me away, I did not disappear. I could be disconnected, but not destroyed. As a result, I was banished to this land. I still exist, and I know why you are here."

Keta's…lost humanity and discarded emotions, then? Will couldn't imagine the kind of pain someone had to go through to want to rid themselves of that. Like sustaining an injury so debilitating, so torturous that you'd rather cut off the entire limb than live with the pain.

He couldn't imagine the desperation. The agony.

He didn't want to imagine.

Keta's soul removed the gem from the top of the statue, then offered it to Will with the solemnity of someone handing over the crown to a kingdom. Will saw how much this meant for him, and he took the stone with all the gravitas it deserved.

"Please, take it," Keta said.

Will wordlessly took the Soul Stone and he carefully stashed it away in his backpack.

That seemed to relieve Keta's soul somewhat. He sagged as if someone had removed a great weight from his shoulders. "There is much I want to say, but I feel…faint. I suppose there's only so much I can do in this realm. Will…I wish you luck. Show us your pure heart. Bring Keta his humanity back."

Will nodded.

The fragment of Keta's humanity smiled at him, and then faded away in the starry sunlight.

He hoped that, if at all possible, this remnant of Keta would be at peace.

Will's departure from the grotto felt fleeting and strange. The descent felt like it had taken hours. Ascending felt like the darkness swallowed him back up in seconds. Before he knew it, he stood outside of the secret entrance he'd created, and he saw nothing to indicate what truly was down there.

That place…had it been real? The Soul Stone rested heavily in his backpack, so it couldn't have been an illusion.

Will didn't understand. Unlike the vast majority of things he didn't understand, he felt like this he wasn't meant to understand.

He turned back the way he came, but he didn't make it ten steps before Keta came rushing down the bridge, looking pale and shaken.

Like he'd just seen a ghost.

"Y-You…Will, you were able to enter the Grotto?" He asked with a trembling voice.

Words didn't seem sufficient to describe what he'd seen. What he'd heard. So he nodded in confirmation. "I have the stone."

Keta opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He closed it again, mulled over his words, then carefully said, "Will, come with me for a moment. There is something I wish to try."

Will followed him, this time without hesitation. After what he'd just seen, he knew that Keta wouldn't try to trick him. He wasn't sure if Keta was even capable of doing so, as he was now.

Keta took him back to where Melia had died. Back to the wretched place where Zetta had tried to murder him, Venam and Ren in one last act of spiteful defiance.

Back to the place where Crescent had issued her final warning.

The one he'd trampled all over mere days later.

He didn't want to think about how incredibly pissed Crescent must have been with him for ignoring her again. He suddenly felt very, very small, and grateful for Keta's presence. What little was left of the man, anyway.

"This is the spot, right?" Keta said, stopping where the Rift had disappeared.

Will silently nodded. This place…being here hurt. He felt like, if he spoke now, he'd fall down all over again. Nim and Ren had fought so hard to lift him up. He didn't want to fall again.

"Then let us see…" Keta murmured. He held out his hand, and Will took the Soul Stone and gave it to him.

Keta placed it on the ground, passively watching for any changes.

But nothing happened.

"There's no reaction at all…" he breathed. "Fate favors the fool…Incredible. It does seem Melia truly is gone."

"Is that why we came here?" Will asked. "To confirm…what?"

Keta shook his head, as if those words simply didn't matter. "Will…I must admit it, I'm taken aback by all of this. You've passed my test. I've given you a chance, and you've taken it."

"What does this all mean?"

"You will learn soon. I have a request for you too, Will. You've come all the way to Sheridan to battle me, is that right?"

"Among others. I came here to warn the village about a group of people. Since you watched it all happen, you know them, right?"

"Team Xen," Keta nodded.

A little odd he knew their name. "We thought Melia would be safe in Sheridan Village. But…Sheridan might not be safe at all. As the leader of the village, their Sensei…I thought you should know."

Keta started pacing slowly in front of Will, taking in what he'd just heard. His face was like a mask of stone, and betrayed nothing of what was going through his mind. "Will, I wish to challenge you too. Meet me back at my arena in Sheridan. I'll be a little late. I…have something I have to do first."

A little odd to dismiss the threat to his village. Will wasn't going to judge, but this entire situation made him feel uneasy. Perhaps it was just being down here that screwed with his head.

Back at the arena, it looked like Aelita had been waiting for him the entire time. Though it had taken him hours to get to Amethyst Cave, do what needed to be done and return, she still waited for him?

Her resolve was something else.

"Will, there you are!" She said, leaping up from her resting position when she saw him trekking back up the mountain path. "I wondered when you would return. Sensei walked out after you were gone for an hour and a half, but he wouldn't tell me where he was going."

"No need to wonder," Keta said. "I'm right here."

Will glanced back to see that Keta made his way back up as well. Despite how thin and worn-out he looked, he moved with a vigor and strength that Will could only dream of.

"Sensei!" Aelita exclaimed. Her eyes darted from Will to Keta and back again. "So…how did it go? Did Will pass your test?"

"Will passed my test," Keta agreed.

Aelita's eyes widened. "So then…you'll give us a chance? You'll open up to us? All we want to do is help you get through whatever it is you're going through."

If her words meant anything to him, he didn't show it. "Aelita, I have decided that I will face Will in battle. There are some things I must settle with myself that can only be done this way."

"Oh! You're going to battle Will? This is great news!" Aelita cried out.

"That is correct," Keta said, his voice as dead and emotionless as ever.

"O-Okay! I got it! In that case, I'll be right back!'

Keta's thin brow knitted together in confusion. "Aelita?"

But Aelita didn't hear him. She bounded down the mountain path, and Will thought he knew what she was going to do. Her plan, it seemed, had come together after all.

"There's no stopping that girl once she's started," Keta said as he watched her disappear.

"Did you expect anything less?" Will asked.

"I suppose not," Keta quietly replied. "Before, you spoke of your mother. Am I right to assume it was Team Xen who did the deed?"

Will nodded.

"And they took your friend next. I wonder what more they need to take before you come to understand."

"And react the same way you did?" Will asked.

Keta raised an eyebrow at that.

"I don't know. Can't judge. Maybe Team Xen will take more. Maybe that'll make me more like you. I don't know. Until it does, I have to keep going."

"If fate has decided Team Xen will win, there is nothing you can do to stop that," Keta replied. "Men are hopeless if fate is set against them."

"Sensei…screw fate."

Keta shot him a strange look. "We will see. Please stand on the other side of the ring when you are ready. We'll…no, I'll figure things out with this. How many Pokemon are there on your team?"

"Four."

"Then I shall commit to four as well."

With that, Keta made his way to the right side of the large ring. He leapt across two meters of flowing river like it was nothing, then crossed his arms and stood there, waiting for Will to take his own position at the other side of the ring.

Knowing that the rest was all up to Aelita, Will made his way to the opposite end of the arena and took his place there. Enough stalling, enough talking. They would settle this the only way left.

"Are you prepared?" Keta asked.

"Yes."

"Then let us begin."

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

---

"Did you hear? The Sensei is about to battle someone at the peak of Sheridan!" The old woman exclaimed for all to hear.

"It's been so long since Sensei's done anything like this! We have to get there ASAP!"

As the people began hurrying towards the top, Aelita continued rallying the villagers. Over at the inn, the Eldest had gathered as many people as possible, and she too sent them to the arena, sending them to bear witness to the Sensei's return.

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

---

"What is this?" Keta said, eying the influx of villagers with suspicion and concern. "What did you do?"

"I gathered everyone I could from the village!" Aelita said. She hopped across the stream as well – did everybody here have superpowers? – and approached the center of the arena. "People have been waiting for so long for you to show yourself. We need your guidance! Please, let them see!"

Keta sighed. "Very well. This, again, is hopeless. There's nothing to be done."

Hopeless? Maybe. Nothing to be done? Will had a few things to say about that.

"Aelita? If you would please referee for us?" Keta asked.

"Definitely!" Aelita said.

Keta turned his dead gaze back to Will. "Forgive the audience, William. They are inconsequential for this battle. I am troubled…I will not lose this."

Immediately, Keta sent out two Pokemon at once: an unusual-looking Farfetch'd and a Combusken of his own.

Knowing that the Sheridan leader would specialize in Fighting-type Pokemon the same way Venam specialized in Poison-types, Will had spent every free moment thinking up tactics and methods to close the gap. Combusken's ranged abilities had just thrown half his ideas out the window.

Will sent his own Combusken together with Pidgeotto. Pidgeotto took to the sky in an instant, while the two Combusken faced each other down, circling each other around the gym area in a mutual attempt at intimidation.

"Forget the other one, focus on the sky," Keta ordered his Farfetch'd.

The two Combusken fell on each other in a garbled mess of shrieks and cries. They engaged each other in a furious hand-to-hand fight, unleashing a flurry of kicks, slashes and fire-wreathed punches at the other.

Pidgeotto took to the sky, soaring high to gain enough altitude, before spinning around and speeding back down towards the two fighting Combusken

Even though the two Fire-types constantly leapt back and forth, exchanging positions half a dozen times in a couple of seconds, Pidgeotto still managed to single out his foe. He spread his wings at the last moment -

- only fir Farfetch'd to leap in-between them, driving his weaponized leek against Pidgeotto's abdomen.

Pidgeotto swiftly recovered and took to the sky again, but it was obvious that the hit-and-run tactic from the forest wouldn't cut it. The battle swifty devolved into a dangerous cat-and-mouse game between Pidgeotto and Farfetch'd as they both fought to interfere, and prevent the other from interfering, with the two fighting Combusken.

In those brutal, swift skirmishes, Will came to recognize that it was more important to fight for his Combusken's advantage than for Pidgeotto's. He had to decide which of the two Pokemon would have a greater chance of taking down Keta's other Pokemon in the battle…and Will knew that Combusken stood the better chance.

Pidgeotto had to have realized that, but it didn't stop him from giving it his all. He came down again and again, constantly attempting to clip Keta's Combusken while taking hit after hit from Farfetch'd. It didn't take long for him to burn through all his energy, and Will was forced to recall Pidgeotto before he could get seriously hurt.

But both Farfetch'd and Combusken were growing tired. Farfetch'd especially had given everything it had to put a stop to Pidgeotto. A single good hit would knock him out, Will was sure of that.

He sent out Nidorino. "Focus on that Farfetch'd. Start with Poison Sting!"

The Pokemon continued to maneuver back and forth across the battlefield. Both Combusken were a whirlwind of kicks and claws as they darted to and fro, never standing still for more than a moment, always on the move.

Nidorino blasted Farfetch'd with a burst of poisonous needle-shaped energy, which the Fighting-type was barely able to block with the blade-like leek it carried.

Nidorino did not let up. He advanced steadily, spaying his foe with needles to keep it pinned while slowly getting close enough to engage him.

But Keta wasn't fooled. "Don't bother defending. Go on the offensive."

Farfetch'd whirled out of Nidorino's line of fire, then flew towards him with a sudden burst of speed. His wings glowed a bright white. Within seconds, he was on top of Nidorino. He slammed his wings down hard, and managed to avoid hurting himself on Nidorino's spies.

But Nidorino had taken more damaging attacks from tougher foes in the past. He wouldn't buckle that easily.

Farfetch'd kept up a steady stream of attacks, raining down blow after blow on Nidorino's body. It was so focused on where and when to aim its attacks that it didn't notice that Will's Combusken was now engaging her foe right behind it.

Combusken, having labored to steadily bring her fight closer and closer to Nidorino's location without it getting noticed. She paused just long enough to slam her elbow against Farfetch'd's neck.

The blow sent Farfetch'd stumbling forwards. It lost its footing -

- and Nidorino struck. Lightning-fast, it rammed its diamond-hard horn into his opponent's chest. Farfetch'd muscles and feathers could have protected its internal organs from the worst of it, but it wasn't Nidorino's bad temper that made him so dangerous.

Even as the Farfetch'd pulled itself off and away from Nidorino's horn, his poison had already been delivered. Weakened as he was, Farfetch'd wouldn't be able to keep the fight up for long and Keta knew that.

"Tch. Farfetch'd, come back," he said, recalling his Pokemon without even the slightest hint of concern/

Next, Keta sent out a Machoke.

That spooked Will. Combusken was strong, but her strength lay in how agile and fast she was. This thing was all rippling muscles and sturdy bones. One versus one, Combusken would have to run circles around Machoke or risk getting knocked out by single hits. Since he still had that angry Farfetch'd at his side too to run interference, that might be a challenge.

And he still had that other Combusken to fend off.

"Keep that Machoke off her!" Will ordered.

Nidorino roared a challenge, clawing at the ground as he got ready for another charge.

Will could barely follow the two Combusken as they furiously duked it out. They were so fast, no hesitation. If he tried to interfere, chances were high he'd accidentally hit his own Pokemon.

He had to have faith in his Pokemon that she would be able to pull this off on her own.

Machoke broke into a light jog, which quickly became a full sprint. He crossed his arms in front of himself in the shape of an X, glowing with white energy just like Farfetch'd had.

Nidorino was not fast or agile enough to dodge the attack - so he didn't. With Will's command, Nidorino countercharged, attempting to drive his horn home and deliver a dose of poison.

Machoke landed a vicious, double-armed bow, avoiding getting hit by Nidorino's horn. It was the worst matchup; being quadrupedal and focused on defense, Nidorino wasn't fast or agile enough to get in a hit.

Shrugging off the blow that would have knocked any other of Will's Pokemon to the ground, Nidorino whipped around and slammed his tail against Machoke's foot. The Machoke growled, striking back with the side of his palm. He struck Nidorino's ribs once, twice, three times from several different angles before Nidorino managed to twist his body in such a way as to finally get his spines in-between himself and his foe. As Machoke recoiled, Nidorino blasted him at close range with a barrage of Poison Sting.

Keta's Machoke quickly leapt back, covering one of his hands with a meaty hand. He glared at Nidorino, then came at him for another round.

Nidorino stood his ground, carefully watching Machoke's movements. Right before he made contact, Machoke dropped into a low slide, kicking up dirt and rocks with his bare feet. Nidorino swung his horn through the cloud, but he missed, and Machoke wrapped his muscular legs around Nidorino's body. His momentum carried him onwards and the pair rolled across the ground, Machoke pulling his arms around Nidorino's body in a full-body grapple.

As they rolled across the ground, Nidorino bit down on Machoke's shoulder. He couldn't counter-grapple or break free, so Will had Nidorino do what he did best; tuck in and endure. He tightened and relaxed his muscles in intermittent phases and the flexible spines on his back moved back and forth unpredictably.

It worked. As Machoke shifted his grip, he accidentally grabbed a fistful of poisonous spike. He jerked his hand back and Nidorino took that opportunity to work his way closer to Machoke's throat. While not as dangerous as Mightyena when it came to biting down on weak spots, Nidorino's neck muscles were like banded cords of iron. He wouldn't be letting go soon.

it wasn't a situation that could last and Keta acted accordingly.

"Get rid of him, fast," He ordered.

Machoke obeyed immediately. In the next instant, he rolled across his back and flung Nidorino across the arena with all his might.

Nidorino's back slammed against the ground and the stones underneath shattered. There, he slowly shoved himself back to his feet, pulling himself out of the rubble with slow, pained motions.

Machoke came sprinting towards him for another round. Nidorino opened his mouth and launched another burst of Poison Sting -

- at Keta's Combusken, who had just disengaged from Will's own Combusken to swing up a ranged attack. In that instant, the enemy Combusken was vulnerable. The spray of needle-like energy washed across its torso and it flinched, moving to guard its head from the poisonous spray.

It was the opening Will needed. His Combusken struck a double-clawed hammer blow against her foe while Machoke came down atop Nidorino with one final Cross Chop.

And Nidorino, scraping together what little strength he had left, surged forwards and met Machoke's assault with one final Horn Attack of his own.

For a moment, nobody moved, and the crowd of gathered villagers fell silent.

When the dust settled, only Will's Combusken remained standing. Nidorino and Machoke had knocked each other out.

"You continue to get stronger, Nidorino," Will quietly said. "Go rest. You've earned it. Mightyena, your turn."

That left Keta with one final Pokemon. Will knew it would be his strongest. He couldn't fail now.

"To push me this far…" Keta said. "Very well."

He sent out his last Pokemon - and it was one that Will recognized even without his Pokedex.

A Lucario. One of the very few Pokemon capable of seeing spirit energy as manifested by a person's Aura.

This fight was about to get a lot more difficult. Combusken and Mightyena stared down their opponent. Combusken had been fighting this entire time and she was starting to hit her limits. Lucario, on the other hand, was well rested and hadn't taken on three other Pokemon before. In a drawn-out battle, he would be the victor. He had the clear advantage over Mightyena, too. His Aura-sensing abilities would render any attempts at surprise or stealth attacks useless.

The Lucario hesitated, before looking at his trainer over his shoulder.

"Don't look at me like that," Keta said. "You have your opponents."

Hesitantly, the Lucario turned its attention back to Will's Pokemon, before settling for a fighting stance.

"We win this quickly or we don't win this at all," Will told his team. "Let's go!"

With their respective orders clear, the three Pokemon charged at each other. Combusken wreathed herself in flames and charged, performing several quick leaps to close the distance with Lucario. As she did that, Mighyena sprinted along the battlefield's side, hurrying towards a more advantageous position.

Combusken lashed out Lucario with several quick kicks, but Lucario easily dodged them. She mixed her attacks up with several lightning-fast slashes and Lucario dodged, ducked and weaved past her attacks, before intercepting the last one with his bare arm. With incredible speed he performed a cross-counter and slugged Combusken across her face, knocking her back.

A second later, Mightyena was on top of him. Snarling, Mightyena struggled to lock his jaws around Lucario's neck, but Lucario was too experienced to fall for that. He caught Mightyena by his jaws, pivoted and flung him across his shoulders.

Mightyena landed on all fours and immediately countered with a Snarl, sending out several pulses of dark energy.

Lucario blitzed to the side, narrowly avoiding the pulses, then put his hands together and created a ball of bright, blue energy.

"Combusken, you have to interrupt him!" Will called.

Combusken leapt to her feet and blasted Lucario with bolts of flames. Lucario stood his ground, closed his eyes to protect himself against the searing heat and then let it fly.

Mighteyena saw it coming and leapt .The Aura Sphere clipped his shoulder however, and he wasn't able to get out of the way fast enough before Lucario suddenly appeared in front of him. He lashed out with his leg and kicked Mighyena in his ribs, sending him tumbling across the battlefield.

Combusken didn't sit still. The second Lucario's leg connected with Mightyena's flank, she used Aerial Ace. Will was barely able to follow her movements now; to his sluggish senses, it was as if she simply disappeared and reappeared behind Lucario. As Mightyena took the full brunt of Lucario's kick, Combusken leg snapped and caught Lucario against the right part of his hip.

Lucario cried out in pain, but he stood his ground and immediately counter-attacked. For several moments, the two Pokemon were a blur as they punched, blocked, countered and counter-struck each other, moving with such speed that Will simply couldn't keep up.

Mightyena struggled back to his feet, panting and drooling with exertion, but still capable of fighting.

Will saw an opening. If he didnt take it, he wasn't sure if he would ever find another one again in this fight. "Mightyena, this is going to hurt. Are you up for this?"

Mightyena raised his head to the sky and howled. Several of the onlookers nervously backpedaled away from the battlefield.

"Then let's do this. Combusken, break off. Next time, go for the head."

Lucario swept at Combusken with a backhanded blow, but Combusken quickly backflipped away, and his sharp claw only hit empty air.

"Finish them. Aura Sphere!" Keta ordered.

Lucario sank through one knee and brought his hands together for another attack. He began gathering energy and will - a truly staggering amount of it - and Will had no doubt that the next Aura Sphere would be a doozy. He really only had one shot at this.

"Mightyena, I need you to stand your ground and use your Swagger," Will quietly ordered Mightyena. "It has to land."

Mightyena knew what that meant. He lowered his head, glared at his foe, then barked aggressively. They were on the same page here.

Lucario launched their Aura Sphere. There could have been no dodging it, no anticipating it. The blast tore a path of destruction across the gym ground as it covered the fifty or so meters in about one second.

In that one second, Mightyena made direct eye contact with Lucario and exuded the same kind of force and will as a Ghost-type Pokemon could - the ability to enforce one's will on the opponent.

A fraction of a second before the Aura Sphere struck him, Mighyena established a connection. Lucario staggered back, his eyes glowing a faint red as he reached for his head, a deep state of irrational anger and confusion wrestling away his thoughts.

A Pokemon as experienced and capable as Lucario would not have taken more than a few moments to snap out of it. A few moments was all Combusken needed. She darted across the battlefield, her Flash Fire ability having finally kicked in. She leapt in the air and threw herself into a flying spinning kick, trailing fire like a comet.

Lucario looked up, snapped out of his confusion and moved to defend himself -

The heel of Cumbusken's clawed leg slammed against Lucario's neck with the force to shatter concrete and rip through steel.

The sheer impact of the blow sent Lucario tumbling across the ground. His arm shot out and ripped into the rocky ground below, gouging a deep furrow as he brought himself to a sudden and jarring stop, He pulled himself back to his feet, waved unsteadily on his feet…and then sank through his knees.

"The way you battled!" Keta exclaimed. He took an uncertain step backwards. "It was just like her!"

"The match is set!" Aelita called. "Lucario can no longer battle! Will is the victor!"

Will heard her words, but he barely registered them. The intensity of the fight had wracked him with adrenaline, and it took him a few moments to recognize that it had worked,

Combusken flopped backwards, landing on her feathery behind as she panted in exertion.

"You're a legend, Mightyena," WIll said, before recalling his fainted partner. "Combusken, well done! I felt that kick from here,"

Then, Will locked eyes with Keta. Some people cheered. Others shouted words of encouragement at Keta. Will didn't hear them. His gaze remained locked on the man in front of him, searching for a change, anything at all, no matter how insignificant. What had Keta been looking for? Had he found it?

"It seems that I don't even have enough sense of self to even have the power to defeat you," Keta said. He leapt across the stream, then faced Aelita. "I've failed everyone. Everything that's happened up to this point. It's all just…"

"Keta! Sensei!" One of the younger guys yelled. "You were so cool out there!"

"Sensei!" A girl joined in. "You tried your best!"

Keta turned back towards the crowd. "What?"

The cheers grew in intensity and volume as the rest of the villagers began shouting their praise for him. One bad year didn't seem to have erased the literal decade he had looked after these people, protected them and given them his all.

Just like Aelita had said, the village had never forgotten.

"Sensei! Even if you lost, you were so cool!"

"Yes…it was like the days of old, you were most impressive!"

"GO Sensei!"

It went on, and Keta didn't understand. He looked around like a lost child, his mouth opening and closing as he searched for something to say. "What? But I don't…I don't understand?"

"Don't you see Sensei?" Aelita told him. "Everyone here in the village…through thick or thin, we love you! We'll always have your back!"

"The people…" Keta's gaze grew distant and he stared at the ground. Memories seemed to flood back to him. He gasped, and his head jerked back up. "I can't believe I've been such a fool, Taelia…I've forgotten something you told me so long ago. I promised I wouldn't. I…what must be done..." He balled his fists. "I already know the answer!"

"Sensei?" Aelita hesitantly said.

"Aelita!" Keta snapped. "Don't follow me! They – they must be stopped!"

Keta cast one last look at Will, as if trying to impart one final message, one final piece of wisdom. It lasted maybe a second. He pivoted and turned around, sprinting towards the waterfall below. Within moments, he was gone.

"Sensei!" Aelita yelled. "Where are you going? What is going on? Eldest!"

"Aelita…" the older woman said.

"Eldest, wherever the Sensei is going, he might end up in trouble!"

But the Eldest shook her head. "It would not be wise to follow the Sensei in unknown territory. We should stay home and wait for his return."

"But what if he doesn't?" Aelita insisted. "I'll never be able to forgive myself if something happened to him! Sorry Eldest, but I'm going ahead!"

"Aelita!" The Eldest cried out, but it was too late. Aelita bounded off, running after Keta towards that waterfall.

"Everyone, please disperse!" The Eldest ordered. "Go to your homes! The Sensei shall return…I know he will…Have faith!"

"Eldest," Will said. "What's back there?" Keta's words bothered him greatly. A horrible suspicion had taken root in his thoughts, and he had to make sure. "What has the Sensei been doing the past year?"

"I do not know," the Eldest said. "Nobody knows. Will…please. I am old, and my bones are not what they used to be. Aelita – "

"I'll find her," Will said. "And I'll bring her back."

Then, he too descended the path and headed to the waterfall.

Keta had opened a path that had definitely not been there before. It led them into the mountain, but something was wrong. The moment Will entered, a wave of heat blasted his face. The rocks around him looked craggy and hot.

He was pretty sure that he'd wandered into an active volcano.

Great.

Aelita stood in the center of the first chamber, looking around confused. "What's going on? Carotos Mountain isn't a volcano, so why is this place…?"

"Aelita…" Will said, and she spun around to face him.

"Will! The Eldest said this place was supposed to be a damp, calm mountain. But this…this is nothing close to what she described! Carotos Mountain isn't a volcano…everything was going so well! I thought that Sensei had his eyes opened by your battle…"

"Aelita, listen – "

She barely heard him. "I feel like I started something terrible. Please Will, help me find the Sensei!'

"Aelita, I think the Sensei was already involved with something terrible before this." Will said. "I think he made an enormous mistake, somewhere around a year ago."

Her expression became thunderous. "Will, how could you say that! You don't know what the Sensei has done for – "

"Aelita, please," Will quietly urged her. "I know, because I've seen him before. Back then, I was involved in something terrible, and so was he."

Aelita didn't understand. How could she? If she spent her life in this village, she wouldn't know.

The suspicion had been nagging at him ever since he first laid eyes on the man, standing so ominously on the bridge. The terrible loss he'd incurred…the year of isolation and disappearances.

They must be stopped.

His insistence to keep Aelita out of his. His familiarity with Team Xen and his dismissal of the threat they posed.

The sudden, frantic realization. His single-minded determination to immediately rush towards this place…

This place…was very likely a Team Xen outpost.

And Keta was working with them.

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