Episode 28: Daybreak Destiny Part I

"How long've we got left air-wise?" Kayla asked.

"About twenty minutes. We should think about escaping once those units are in the red, however," May answered, arms tucked behind her back as she walked. Shannon had taken to transporting Ashe for now, while everyone else had given up on swimming.

Beyond the cave was the foot of the mountain in the centre of the orchard. This section was cleaner and more ancient than the rest of the area, with an arrangement of bright white, perfectly smooth and square pillars jutting out of the mountain in random spots. The path led directly into the side of the mountain for some reason, where a white hallway awaited them, its distance dark and fuzzy. Kayla walked right in without a second of thought, drawn to the red spheres embedded into the strange patterns on the walls. This hallway looked like an ancient ruin, but it was far too clean, smooth and unnatural feeling to be one.

"Think it's some kinda secret exit to the shrine?" Pola guessed.

"That would make sense, but the floor's like a kitchen floor. Er, the sorta refined one you'd find in a city home. If this is meant to be old, it feels really new," Kayla remarked. She glanced at her map, confirming they were in the centre of the orchard. Without the moonlight, darkness soon took over, so she turned to Pola.

"Oh, hold on. I've got this this time," Shannon said. He clenched his muscles and cheeks, and then strained, making his body glow the colour of his fur.

"Probably could've used that earlier, y'know," Pola rolled her eyes.

"I didn't want to alert us to the enemy. But I'd be surprised if Mathildaath doesn't know that we're here by now," he reasoned.

It's a fair thought, Kayla paid attention to the walls, hoping to find something, anything of note. However, the patterns weren't consistent, and implied nothing in the way they were laid out. At least the hallway started to slope upward here. She could even see the surface. "Ah, finally!"

Upon saying that, her heart jolted as she suddenly choked. She instinctively snapped her mouth shut and stalled. She was out of air all of a sudden, and unlike a few moments ago, her instincts were saying she was underwater proper. A gurgling Kari and Pola suddenly scrambled past her, both flailing their arms as though they were struggling, so Kayla took off after them. All three gasped for air once they jumped out of the water.

"Ah, what the heck just happened?" Pola cried. "Did the PET? Just? That wasn't just me, was it?"

"I couldn't breathe!" Kari squeaked. Her ears flicked, and she beamed up. "Oh my gods, Shannon, May!"

The remaining trio came out just before she dove back in after them. Shannon fell on all fours and choked to get his breath back, while May and Ashe seemed unaffected.

"You girls okay? What just happened there?" Kayla asked.

"It seems we left the vicinity of the mystery dungeon. Usually the PET warns us of that, or when we're nearing the edge of the mystery dungeon," May explained. "If this is Mathildaath's work, it means we're being toyed with."

"She just… got rid of the mystery dungeon state? Just like that? Will the other teams be okay?" Kayla grew concerned. No one could answer, so May cleared her throat.

"Either they drown out in the orchard, or they were already back at camp with their guardians defeated. As for us, we're lucky this hallway ascends the mountain. Our Escape Orb wouldn't have worked," May answered.

"May!" Kayla raised her voice. "If you're teasing now, that's not funny!"

"I'm not teasing, I'm stating facts. As it stands, we're essentially trapped here. We can't go back through the orchard, so proceeding forward is our only option," the Pichu continued. Her face was unbothered but stern, and she kept her paws tucked behind her back.

"Ugh… alright, sure," Kayla huffed, and faced forward. She shook herself off and put on a stern look. "Uh, keep your weapons out, everyone. If this is the game Mathildaath's playing, then we need to be ready for anything."

She didn't get an answer, prompting her to turn around after a moment. "Girls?"

Pola and Kari both had their hands over their mouths, but neither could hide their puffed cheeks or giggly grins. Shannon's face was red too, while May and Ashe had sneaky smirks of their own. "What's gotten into…"

"Ehee hee, hahaha! Okay, ya weren't kiddin' Kari, that's gold!" Pola howled. "Not gonna lie Kayla, puffy 'fro totally suits you!"

"Puffy 'fro- oh gods, it's my hair and fluff, isn't it," Kayla slumped.

"I'm sorry!" Kari cried, rolling into a giggling fit.

"If it's any consolation, I don't think I'll be floating anytime soon," Ashe admitted. Kayla wanted to question it until the Jigglypuff walked, which generated and audible slosh. "I think I got waterlogged somehow…"

"At least we won't have to carry you anymore?" Shannon laughed nervously.

"Grr, this is what I mean! Water sucks!" Kayla yelled.

"Girls, you shouldn't laugh. This is a serious mission, and laughing at your friends isn't nice," Ashe told them off, squeezing Kayla's fluff to get the water out. Kayla was surprised, but allowed her to help. Once free, she shook the rest of herself dry, though she still felt uncomfortable and soggy.

"It's fine, 'cos I look silly, too!" Kari giggled. Even though she was dry, her hair had fallen over her face to make a ridiculous fringe.

"You're not in the water anymore, so get it together," Pola grumbled as she wrung out her shirt. "And don't worry about Kayla. I've laughed at her for worse, she can take it."

"Gee, thanks," Kayla rolled her eyes.

…

Once they were back on track, it didn't take long for Kayla to return to her own world. There was a certain electronic ambience to this hallway she felt comfortable in, enough that she could walk fast even as the hall continued to slope upward. A constant hum vibrated through the walls and floor, while the spheres in the wall shone as the glowing Shannon passed them, showing off their low transparency. It was also quite warm here, unlike the chill of the water dungeon before.

The only thing she couldn't get with was the design on the walls, or where this path was going. There were no branching paths, just a hallway that turned ninety-degree angles as it ascended the mountain from the inside. Meanwhile, the glyphs on the walls could only be described as wannabe ancient murals, even less authentic than a basic stage prop. If these were Mathildaath's designs, then it was surprisingly childish, wanting to look old but missing the mark entirely. They weren't even patterned right as the repeats weren't sequenced correctly, and paying attention to them, she couldn't depict any story or writing. They were just markings for markings sake.

"So… no one gonna talk about the archfiend back there?" Pola spoke up. Everyone glanced at her, but kept walking. "She just like… 'got rid of' the mystery dungeon? You're telling me the whole orchard just turned into a normal underwater orchard? No magical flash or symbolic sign or anything?"

"It's hard to believe, but I can't think how else our oxygen would run out so suddenly. I've been in underwater dungeons before, and I can assure you, I haven't told a single lie about the way it functions," May answered.

"If it was that easy, then that means Mathildaath could've drowned us at any time, and that's kinda scary to think about," Kari shuddered.

"No use worrying about what-ifs," Kayla smiled. "We're here now, and we're safe."

"Safe being heavily subjective," Shannon rolled his eyes.

"Heh, I feel safe with you around. All we've gotta do is get through this place and then win against the fiend. Her shrine's not exactly a maze," Kayla said cheerfully.

"Speaking of, think we're going in circles again?" Pola asked, arms tucked behind her head.

"I've been mapping the place like a mystery dungeon. No possible circles thus far," May answered, flashing her PET screen.

Wait, this layout, Kayla looked up to run it through her head. It's exactly the same as the pyramid in my dream. Except, not a pyramid anymore. A palette swap. My dream is still coming true, just, bits of it are different. Then that means, not much further ahead is…

Instead of coming to a large set of doors, they found themselves in a huge room that almost looked like an arena. Perfectly clean, square blocks created a formation down in the centre, while a ledge hung opposite, looking like it led outside. The walls here ditched the faux ancient murals in place of giant pipes, large lights, and motherboard-looking circuitry that glowed as energy ran through it. As the team entered, the lights came on and quiet sirens went off, illuminating the middle of the room.

"Anyone else get the feeling our archfiend ain't much of an artist?" Kayla commented, half-lidded.

"Hmm?" Kari replied.

"Ancient shrine in an orchard into whatever this is. Pick a theme and stick with it," Kayla spat, and then hopped down.

"I'm getting that toyed with feeling for sure. We all know what's coming, don't we?" Shannon added, sounding annoyed.

Right on cue, the moment Kayla bounced up to the blocks in the middle of the arena, a large droplet of black liquid splashed in front of her. She shifted back in warning, and it formed into a mirror image of her, only it was coloured with dark shades, and its eyes glowed red with robotic threat.

"Can't even come up with an original foe, either? So far I'm disappointed," Kayla said, cracking a smirk. "Concentrate, Kayla. Anything can happen," May warned, shielding her face with her fan.

"Just because you're comfortable, doesn't mean we should be complacent," Ashe added, Otamatone at the ready.

"Yeah, right," she replied, charging her feet with Quick Attack. She zigzagged toward her clone at high speed, but just as she was about to hit, the dark clone bolted off with a Quick Attack of its own at the same speed. Kayla wound up tackling nothing, and stopped on a dime. "What the?"

Her senses picked up and put her in battle straight away. The clone came back for her, prompting her to dodge, letting it crash down with such force it broke the floor and left an indent. Kayla didn't let up on her speed this time, but neither did her clone. The two of them took off, darting and bouncing around the room like high-speed flies, occasionally bashing into one another or the floor. Thanks to Kayla's shirt and cape, she appeared as a blue blur, while her clone was a black blur.

"I uh, can't get a read on 'em if they're gonna go that fast," Pola gasped, posed to cast.

"I can't even tell who's who!" Kari complained, though her eyes followed them perfectly.

"Just when we told her not to play hero. She'll lose!" Shannon shouted.

Ashe moaned a little at their comments. With a spin and a pose, she had her Otamatone by her mouth, and began to sing. It was the same song as she first showed them, with its indiscernible lyrics and unsettling tone.

For Kayla, one second she was in a tough fight with this shadow Buneary that copied her moves to a T, the next, that Buneary was struggling to stand as purple lights and fatigue struck its form. She glanced at her friends for a moment, and then braced for her strongest Quick Attack yet, hoping to finish it in one strike. Kayla bolted toward the shadow Buneary, hopped off the ground, and kept all her energy in her feet, making for a mighty kick that sent the enemy rocketing into the wall at the far end of the room. The enemy crashed so hard that smoke enshrouded the impact.

"Girls I had that!" Kayla complained. The sirens went off again, making her glance around.

"And hog all the fun for yourself? Didn't we just tell ya to take it easy?" Pola snapped.

"What if your wounds open up?" Shannon shouted.

Their argument was cut short by more droplets falling from above, two this time. One formed into a clone of Kari, while the other turned into Pola. Both had dark tones and red eyes, and from the way they posed, the same powers, too. Kari's clone had dangly arms, while Pola's clone began to silently mouth something, keeping a paw by its mouth.

"Well then, these are all yours," Kayla sung.

"S-seriously? You're such a hassle," Pola took her usual pose.

Kari sounded unsure about the proposition but jumped into battle anyway. Her clone began to dart around her, running a full circle before stretching a claw out to try and hammer her. Kari rolled away and thrust a claw of her own, but it met her clone's other claw. She thrust again, but the clone caught it, locking them both together by their paws. In her efforts to push or throw her clone aside, Kari didn't notice its tail stretching and curling up above her, looking like a scorpion's tail ready to whip.

"Ah shit!" Pola hissed. Her clone had finishing casting before her, and used the worst move it could have used right now: Surf. A giant wave of water rose up behind the other party, and came crashing down towards Kayla and the others. Shannon dove forward and cried out in an effort to use Protect, erecting a green barrier which everyone huddled behind. The barrier shattered, but it took the impact of the wave, leaving the water to soak over the team.

"I don't think we should pit 'em against ourselves," Shannon huffed, falling onto all fours.

"And definitely don't let fake me attack again," Pola complained.

"So I'm free to fight?" Kayla teased.

"Oh whatever, just take me out already!"

"Heh, next time I'll dress fancy for ya!" Kayla took off. Pola's clone was no threat to her whatsoever, and stumbled as Kayla circled it. It couldn't keep up with her speed at all, and was knocked out by a single kick the same way as Kayla's clone.

Meanwhile, Kari competed with her clone again, only Ashe's song began to weaken it this time. With the fake Furret cringing on all fours, Kari drew her arms back and then thrust them with a cry, piercing the enemy Furret. It splattered into flakes of dark energy that vanished into the air soon after.

There wasn't time to take a breather. The moment's Kari's clone disappeared, sirens sounded again and more droplets fell from above, a whole six this time. Each one morphed into a clone of Team Daybreak, all retaining dark colours and glowing red eyes. The clones surrounded the team, and all posed exactly the same to use their signature powers.

"Kayla, take Pola! Kari, take Ashe! You can't allow either of them to attack!" May ordered sternly. The Pichu got right into her strategy on her own, and thrust a palm as if to draw in metal. Shannon's clone was pulled toward her, which let her slash it with it her fan. The dark Pachirisu was sliced in two, splattering dark flakes in place of blood.

Kayla knew May had the best plan, but that didn't make this any less manic. Herself and her clone bolted around the room at blinding speed, Kayla trying to keep out of her team's way as they fought the other clones. She hopped up and down blocks, sprinted far away, anything to try and reach Pola's clone, but her own clone wouldn't leave her alone, hot on her trail with Quick Attack of its own. She coughed and growled as she kicked and tackled, but the dark Buneary clashed with her at every opportunity, copying her attacks perfectly.

"Kayla, behind you!" Shannon shouted.

Kayla glanced back, spotting the Pachirisu tensed up and crackling with electricity. She brought her battle back to the centre of the room, where he released, letting his Thunder Wave come out as a large shockwave. Kayla flinched and guarded on instinct, even though she was protected. Meanwhile her clone was hit fully, and began to spasm as electricity sizzled over its form. Seeing that, Kayla coughed and tackled as hard as she could, knocking it out.

While that was happening, the others barely got through their own. Pola and her clone were flinging Hidden Power fireballs at each other until Ashe's song came in, where Pola immediately took advantage. She held a fireball back to charge it huge, and then fired it with a cry, engulfing her clone in flames that incinerated it. Kari had gotten tangled up by her clone coiling around her, but completely ignored it to stretch after Ashe's clone, where she managed to slice it in two.

"Two left," Kayla huffed, looking for them. Kari's clone wouldn't let up, squeezing Kari's waist as hard as she could. "Kari, grow big!"

"Rrgh, I can't!" the Furret cried as she fell to the floor, whining in pain.

Kayla growled, frantically running through options. A flash of sparks got her attention, revealing May's clone taking on the real May. Both Pichu swung their metal fans at each other like knives, fast enough to draw sparks on each hit. The real May suddenly thrust a palm to use her magnetism, but the clone reacted with the same move, generating a dark orb in between them. The orb quickly burst, knocking them away from each other.

Kayla used the opportunity to rush in, attempting to kick the Pichu clone. The clone managed to guard it with their fan, although the force still sent them further back. "What the?"

"Outta the way!" Pola snapped. Kayla hopped up high, and Pola's Tri Attack came from behind, smacking the surprised Pichu clone square in the front. The clone disappeared into dust. "Aww yeah, that felt so good."

"Maybe someday I'll get the opportunity to do that to you," May commented smugly.

"Good luck trying," Pola gave a flaunty pose.

"Girls, you got my back?" Shannon asked. Everyone posed around him, except for May. "Hey fake Kari, I ordered curry noodles, not squid ink!"

Shannon pointed a paw as high as he could, and it gleamed like a beacon. Kari's clone was immediately drawn to it. It detached from Kari and scrambled over like a feral, claws bared and mouth agape with rage. With everyone ready however, they met it halfway. The clone didn't even reach Shannon before a large blast of smoke came from everyone's attacks and destroyed it.

"Any more?" Kayla huffed, glancing side to side. Her world of battle was still active, for some reason. Flickering circuitry patterns and the occasional red sphere all rotated around her quickly.

"I… don't think so," Shannon replied, paws over Kari as he soothed her with Life Dew. No more shadows seemed to be dropping.

But I still sense… breathing. Angst. Energy charged up for a Pokémon attack, Kayla tensed up and frowned. The shadows all came from above…

And there it was. The likely perpetrator. Floating above them was a Pokémon Kayla hadn't seen before. It was definitely a water type; its blue fur made that clear. However, she was drawn to its eyes, which had an eerie purple glow to them, not unlike the dark colour scheme the clones had. The monster slowly floated down to their level, urging the others to prepare for the worst.

"Another guardian? Did one of the others lose?" Pola gasped.

Now that Kayla could get a clearer look at them, this monster resembled several different Pokémon merged together. Their body shape was that of an Oshawott, but had the white bubble markings of an Azumarill, and the scarf of a Cinccino. Their hair was unlike other Pokémon she had seen however, a mess of grey spikes that somehow had Azumarill ears sticking out of it. Hiding their mouth behind their scarf, the monster slowly drew its scalchop from its belly, and held it aside like a sword.

Something's different about this one, Kayla said in her head. Just being near them, with no attacks charged or drawn, somehow triggered her senses. She could tell they wanted to attack, yet there was zero visual indication other than them holding that scalchop. Razor Shell didn't even surround the weapon.

"Heh. Fine. Just means this gets to be interesting at last," Kayla cocked a grin. She charged her feet with Quick Attack and bolted toward them, and then darted to the side at the last moment, hoping to strike them off-guard. The creature didn't react at first, and then turned at the last moment, somehow keeping up with her speed. Kayla felt a heavy impact, but took a second to realise what had just happened. There was that Razor Shell, clashing directly with her feet. The monster wasn't even nudged in a direction, blocking it perfectly. Their eyes moved, making her gasp and focus.

What followed was close combat she didn't like. The monster made several attempts to slash at her, to which Kayla dodged with a duck, a spin, or a bend of her body. She attempted to kick them away, but they avoided her with the same manner of close shaves, sometimes even clashing with her feet. This creature was the same height as her and seemed to be just as fast. Kayla caught sight of a Water Pulse attack and shot Ice Beam just as suddenly, creating a blast of mist and energy that sent them both skidding across the floor.

"Move Theory!" Kayla gasped. This is what it's like to fight someone with Move theory?

The monster gave no indication that they were attacking whatsoever, but she could feel it. Like a swarm of Joltik crawling through her fur right down to her skin, the very atmosphere was fluctuating with energy around her, around them. Them proving to be just as fast as her only made her heart race with angst and adrenaline, and not in a way she liked to feel. If she messed up even once, this was a foe who could actually kill her. Settling that in her mind, Kayla gulped, shifted a foot back, and then glared at the monster intently, which prompted it to do similar, poised to attack.

"Wait, wait, wait, STOOOOOOP!" Kari yelled at the top of her voice, flailing her arms as she ran between them.

"Kari!" Kayla gasped in horror.

"Kayla, stop!" Kari snapped at her, making her flinch. "You as well! What's the big idea? We're doing something here!"

All eyes turned to the monster, and in Kayla's case, genuine panic filled her mind. Yet still, the monster didn't attack. They stared back, unmoving, surrounded by energy like they could launch an attack at any time. If they did, Kari would be hit dead on for sure.

"Seriously, cut it out!" Kari shouted again. "We're here to stop Mathildaath, not play games!"

"Kari, I don't think this is…" Kayla mumbled between her teeth, but cut herself off as the intensity in the air calmed. The monster's scarf slowly flowed away from their face, revealing it was actually just a long, bushy tail that they had wrapped around themselves like a scarf. "Wait, what?"

"This guy isn't under Mathildaath's control at all!" Kari announced, surprising everyone. "He was just fighting us for the heck of it!"

The team stared at them and they glared back for a moment, and then sighed, shutting their eyes as they finally calmed down. Seeing that, Pola bounced forward. "Aw what, are you serious? What's up with that?"

"You looked like strong opponents," the monster replied. Kayla was surprised by their voice, which was a little rough and high pitched. Their eyes had stopped glowing too, but their purple pupils still stood out.

"Hate to break it to you, but the lady's right. Normally I'm cool for a fight, but now couldn't be worse timing," Kayla frowned, calming down too. "If you're not under Mathildaath's control, I suggest you leave. This place is dangerous."

"Well, it's not a complete lie," the monster turned away guiltily. "I came here in search of magic, but fell to the effects of that moon. Though short, our little scramble with the shadow clones there allowed me to break free."

"Then you kept on fighting 'cos it was fun or something?" Kari pouted.

There was a pause. "Yes. You're not ordinary Pokémon. Perhaps you have the powers I'm looking for."

"Speaking of ordinary Pokémon, who are you? You're quite a hybrid of species I haven't seen before," May asked, rubbing her chin.

The monster paused again, and this time faced her. "Haru. It's Haru. I'm a traveller in search of the world's greatest magic."

Kayla tensed up a little. For all I know, this thing's a Dreamer… if they turn out to be a disturbance, I'm not looking forward to it.

"I know a thing or two about sticking a foot too deep into legend and lore. Trust us, you won't find what you're looking for here," Ashe came forward. "If you aren't going to help us, please see yourself out."

"As I've now figured. But I found something else more interesting," Haru replied, and turned to Kayla. The Buneary couldn't help but grumble and shuffle back a little. "I would like a battle, sometime in the future. Perhaps when your powers are more honed. That is why I search for magic."

"There's no magic here, though! Pola's the one with magic!" Kayla cried, bouncing.

"Hey, don't sick 'em on me. They said they wanted to fight you!" Pola barked.

"I mean all of you, really. And I mean magic as in powers, abilities. The skills only Pokémon deemed heroes could use," Haru explained. "I owe you greatly for setting me free of the archfiend's control, so I'll do as you say for now. But we'll likely meet again."

The group watched Haru as they walked around to leave, but they stopped again. "If you are going ahead, the area out there is directly under the moon's influence. Be careful."

"That way's not exactly safe anymore, either," Pola replied.

"Now that I know the moon's effects, you don't need to worry about me. I will be fine," Haru said. With a surprisingly cute wave, they were off, tail flowing behind them as they walked. The group waited until they were gone, but once they were sure, Kayla let out a breath and sunk to the floor.

"You tuckered out? Those clones were easy," Pola put a paw on her hip.

"Yeah, they were, but that one…" she sighed, and slowly got up. "They know Move Theory. And not like Moby, either. For the first time when fighting, I felt like I could've died."

"You're too dumb to feel that, that's why you fight Netherworld generals," Pola snickered. She stopped when she saw Kayla's face. "O-kay, that's a scary look."

"How did you notice they weren't under Mathildaath's control, Kari?" Ashe wondered.

"Their eyes were different, and they just seemed too good, y'know?" Kari swayed her head. "Jellicent and stuff were slow and kinda zombie-like, but Haru was a pro."

"A pro that was holding back. A lot," Kayla admitted.

"Well then, with that caper done with, shall we move on?" May said, a snide smirk on her face.

Kayla took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "Yeah. I'm ready for this to be over, after that."

…

The hallway ahead kept the computer theme and was also brightly lit, meaning the team could relax at last. That said, deep down Kayla couldn't. Everything about this was psyching her up for the inevitable confrontation. Slopes turned to stairs, indoor warmth turned to chilly wind, and the slow pace and silence of her team said the rest. Even Kari had taken to walking close beside Kayla instead of her usual bouncing.

Soon enough, they reached the end of the hallway, an exit that led to a large outer plateau. Directly in front of them waited Mathildaath's shrine, an ancient structure made almost entirely out of luminous pillars. Tapestries adorned the surface, each one aglow with ancient text and gothic imagery. Mathildaath's moon was situated directly behind the shrine, brightening the whole world in its accursed blue glow. Nature resembled a normal nighttime world, but everything of the sky and the shrine was tinted and luminous in these shades of white and blue.

"Gema!" Kayla shouted, noticing the group of Pokémon collapsed outside of it. She feared the moon might put her to sleep, but rushed out anyway.

"Kayla! God damn it, can that girl just think for one second?" Pola growled. The others rushed after her.

Gema was just outside the shrine, but was struggling to stay upright on one knee. Beside him was a collapsed Uxie, Paris, and Moby.

"Kayla… Team Daybreak? Is that you?" the Tyranitar gave a dry huff.

"Save the adulting. What happened?" Kayla asked hastily.

"Mathildaath… that archfiend… turned out to be stronger than I ever imagined," Gema panted between words. He growled in an effort to stand up, but didn't get halfway before he fell on one hand again. "You aren't… the only team… who disobeyed the order to go up here… yet still you're late…"

Kayla actually grinned at that. "What do you mean? Heroes always arrive on time."

"Kayla, don't!" Gema snapped, managing to give her a vicious glare. "If you fall here, that is it for all of us."

"And the other girls are still in there, right? Mesprit and Azelf?" Kayla said, and stood up tall. The shrine was wide open, although its interior was shrouded in darkness somehow. "Try not to get too much beauty sleep."

"We're going all the way?" Kari asked.

" All the way. And we're not stoppin' 'till this place has a natural sunrise!" Kayla announced, posing for her team. "Quickly, before the curse affects us!"

"Where'd this bravado suddenly come from? Whatever, it's nothing new," Pola shrugged.

"Team Daybreak, don't!" Gema growled and wrenched in another effort to stand. "May, Ashe, what're you doing? You promised me…"

"You, need to rest. My only job is to take care of these kids," May replied. "Don't pay him any mind, Kayla. Let's see how far you can really take this."

"If things go really bad, we have a way out. Trust us," Ashe added.

"Figured you girls did. Unless you believe in hunches, too?" Kayla asked, smirking at them. Neither replied, though their faces gave away their thoughts. These two didn't like to be challenged, in spite of accepting Kayla as their leader. "Let's do it!"

"Kayla!" Gema hissed a dry effort to roar at her, but she was gone. The last thing he saw was everyone's tails as they vanished into the shrine.

Kayla sprinted in, immediately skidding to a stop once she was under a roof. Inside the shrine was surprisingly bright and well lit. Every surface here resembled smooth crystal; beautiful, gleaming, and shimmering in the moonlight that shone through the enormous windows. It was cold enough for frost to form from her breath, but at least the carpet made it comfortable to walk on. Kayla had no doubt a feeling of familiarity; this carpet was the same as the one in the pyramid in her dream.

Keeping out of the moonlight, she scanned the area first. This place looked more like a castle or a palace than it did an ancient shrine. Crystal stones for walls, tapestries hung up as décor, even fancy chandeliers that didn't seem to emit light. There was nothing of note besides stairs in front of them, but the pillars had fancy statues on them at their ends.

"This is all you," Pola commented, reminding Kayla that her friends were there. "I don't wanna admit it, but this is kinda cool. Besides the imminent death, of course."

"Unbelievable… I thought you had more taste than this, Pola," May shrugged.

"Don't you start running your mouth."

"At least it keeps to a theme. Kayla had a point earlier," Shannon added.

"Can we focus, please? The archfiend's sense of interior design doesn't matter," Ashe complained, and then went quiet. "… That said, the crystals are pretty…"

"Kari, you've got permission to dig 'em out, if you wanna," Kayla shut her eyes.

"These? We couldn't sell these or decorate our room with 'em!" she leaned back.

"Yeah, if I had to look at this every day, I think I'd go nuts," Pola confirmed. "I just thought it looked cool, that's all."

"Just making sure," Kayla replied, beginning to walk. She expected the statues to come to life or something, but they didn't move even as the group climbed the stairs. She still kept slow all the way up, and stopped again on the second floor. This area was outside, but walled in by pillar fences and a roof with a tapestry on it. Unlike all the other markings, this one actually had a cohesive design.

What's this? Kayla furrowed a brow. Is that… Jirachi? And it looks like a meteorite going between two planets. But it almost looks like those planets… are breaking… No, wait. Is that Isnomia?

"It is detailing the legend of Isnomia," Jirachi said, coming out of Kayla's ponytail. "I am surprised to see it in this much accuracy. Why has Mathildaath visualised this?"

"You don't know?" Kayla asked in concern.

"This is her realm made manifest. I don't know her plans, only that they cause a great disturbance to the real world, and for that, we must stop her," Jirachi replied.

"Think if we asked nicely, she'll tell us?" Kari wondered. Everyone was silent, so she scratched her back. "Ehee hee hee, someone had to lighten the mood."

"I'm more concerned about this," Ashe said. Kayla was confused until she looked ahead.

"It's another statue. Someone made it all the way here before Cursola stoned 'em," Pola commented. The group approached, and then Kayla was hit with a massive chill.

"What?" Kayla gasped beyond her control.

"What is it?" the others replied in just as much surprise. Kayla uttered a response, staring and blinking to try and make sure she was mistaken. However, she wasn't.

That statue, there's no doubt about it. It's the Raichu from my dream, but now that I look, it's not just any Raichu. Is this May, as a Raichu? Kayla slowly glanced back and forth between the Pichu and the statue. The statue had her scarf and ear band, her hairstyle, and even the missing notch on its tail to imply it was female. A tapestry of Isnomia's legend that has nothing to do with Mathildaath, that I still don't even get. Now a statue of May? What the heck does all this mean?

"Do you think that if we defeat Mathildaath, all the Pokémon will turn back to normal?" Kari asked, carefully moving the statue aside.

"That depends. If it was the archfiend's curse that made them like this, then it would be easy to believe they also have the power to reverse it. However, if it were the Cursola…" May trailed off. "The… Cursola… who… wh-who…"

"Yo, May? You good there?" Pola cocked her head.

For some reason, the Pichu started to sway weakly. She grunted and grumbled, and even started panting as if short of breath, prompting Shannon to keep her from falling over. Whatever was wrong, she wouldn't take her eyes off the statue. May's eyes began to glow bright yellow, and a moment later, the statue began to glow the same colour.

"What the?" Kayla gasped, and shifted back.

Sparkles and lights took over the statue, which began to burst like harmless, miniature fireworks. Each of these lights swirled right into May, engulfing her in golden light. Shannon grunted in worry something might happen to him, but it remained harmless. No one said anything, they just watched in amazement as the statue faded into these lights that melted into May's form. About a minute later it was done, leaving nothing behind besides the same old Pichu, who had even gone back to her normal colours. May slowly opened her eyes as if she had been asleep.

"You! Don't touch me!" May violently barked, and slapped out of Shannon's hold. He stuck out a paw, but her livid glare stopped him.

"May!" Ashe gasped. The Pichu took a moment to realise everyone was staring, and then took a deep breath.

"I thought it obvious from my interactions with you up until now. I don't give you, or any other male for that matter, permission to so much as talk to me," May demanded. "If it weren't for our current circumstances, I would request you don't stand anywhere near me."

"That's not fair, is it? Shannon was only trying to help," Kari said.

"And what's up with this? Ya treat Gema just fine, but Shannon like he's not even there," Pola argued.

"This is not up for debate. You cast your heals from a distance, and that's that. Do I make myself clear?" May replied. Shannon had a solemn, empty stare. "Be miserable all you like. It changes nothing."

"Why you gotta act like such a shit head at a time like this, huh? Shannon was just being nice!" Pola raised her voice.

Great, just what we needed right before the big battle. Mistrust, Kayla sighed. "What just happened? What was all that?"

May hesitated to answer this time, and tucked her hands behind her back. "This may seem concerning after my outburst. But I can assure you Kayla, you needn't worry. What just occurred is only a good thing."

"Just talk. It's better that I know," Kayla groaned.

"Did you notice that until now, I did not use any electric type attacks?" May said. "What just occurred has allowed me to use them. Every single one I know. I recalled them all."

"That's… cool. I didn't even know you forgot," Kari remarked. "Yeah, that's a super good thing, isn't it?"

"It is. I did wonder why you didn't try to shock the Jellicent, but I assumed it had to do with the water or something," Kayla cocked her head. "Is that really all that was?"

"There are many more specifics, but now is hardly the time to bore you all with them," May smiled. "What's important now is that statue is out of the way. We can move forward now."

"Right…" Kayla muttered, facing forward. Speaking of remembering things, she quickly realised the doors were the same as the one in her dream, minus the obnoxious signs and arrows all over it. "This is it, girls. Mathildaath is behind these doors."

"We're finally here," Shannon breathed out. "Can we really do this?"

"Of course we can. Weapons out and no mercy. Let's end this," Kayla smiled at everyone.

"Yeah, yeah! I'm not scared at all. 'Cos if I know Kayla, you've got a plan!" Kari cheered.

"Are you saying you don't?" Pola raised an eyebrow.

"When do I ever?"

There was a pause.

"How the hell are we still alive?" Pola groaned.