Author's Note: It's finally here! This chapter had a bunch of small bits that took a long time to figure out-who should be present for what scene, that sort of thing. But I'm really happy with how it turned out in the end. Hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 39: Burning Spirit

A bright quarter moon pierced the sky overhead, which was now red with twilight. Our group—me, Ajia, Starr, Rudy, and Darren—had just arrived at a large cabin deeper in the woods west of the Ranger Union HQ. I was riding with Ajia on Aerodactyl since all three of my fliers were out of commission. I'd basically felt numb ever since we left Indigo, and was looking forward to not doing anything for the rest of the night. The day had been far, far too long. Watching Rudy's last preliminary match this morning felt like it had happened a lifetime ago. In a way, it had. I was chosen now. That life was in the past.

"This watch station isn't currently in active use, so we should have some privacy," Ajia explained as we all dismounted the fliers and made our way inside. "Dad said we could crash here since the tournament site is still an emergency zone, and probably won't be cleared for a while."

The cabin was two stories tall with an array of antennas and platforms on the roof. Inside was a cozy interior with a common room to the right, a kitchen to the left, and a wall covered in belts, tools, and other gear just ahead of us.

"Just don't touch any equipment or anything," Ajia added with a wink.

Darren elbowed Rudy, who had just picked up some kind of colorful, remote-like device from a shelf. It looked a lot like the ones that rangers used to calm raging Pokémon on TV. (Granted, it probably didn't work anything like it did on TV, but the device itself was real.) Rudy hastily set it down, then opted to go raid the kitchen cupboards for whatever nonperishable foods had been left here. I considered following him—I was pretty ravenous after all—but exhaustion ended up winning out. I shuffled over to one of the common room chairs and sank into it, feeling vaguely lightheaded. Absentmindedly, I reached for my Pokéballs, only to remember that they weren't there.

I'd dropped my team off at the main Ranger HQ healing station. My memory of the encounter was a bit fuzzy. After the adrenaline from the mission had worn off, it'd been replaced by a wave of sheer panic as I'd rushed straight there and made them swear that they absolutely would not open Swift's Pokéball until they were ready to stabilize him. And they'd reassured me, over and over, that yes, they'd be able to handle it, and yes, from my description of the injury and the speed he'd been recalled, he was almost certainly going to recover. And now, an hour later, their words were starting to stick, and I could feel myself relaxing slightly. But the mental image of what had happened still burned, leaving a sickly anxiety worming through my insides.

[You really shouldn't work yourself up so much about it,] Lugia had said. [Didn't they say he was going to be fine?] And I knew that it was right, but my brain didn't want to listen to that right now. Especially since it was coming from Lugia.

I could have died. My whole team could have died, and having contact with Lugia hadn't helped one bit. I wanted to say something, but what was there to say? We'd all known, going into that mission, that the Legendaries wouldn't be able to fight by our side. Obviously, that meant that they couldn't step in to save us without putting themselves at risk. But we were the ones risking our lives to save them. It wasn't fair.

But that was what I'd signed up for when I agreed to be chosen.

Looking for something to busy myself with, I found myself idly reaching for my bag, which was currently sitting on the coffee table. At least Mew had managed to recover our stuff from the hotel in Indigo. Something told me that returning to the emergency zone a second time for such a stupid reason would be slightly frowned upon.

I dragged the bag closer to my chair and started digging through it, like I was looking for something. I wasn't really sure what, but I continued to shove the bag's contents to the side until I reached the bottom. And there it was. Like I'd been looking for it all along. The strange metallic orb that I'd recovered from the basement of the Midnight Island ruins. I'd been carrying this thing around for nearly a year now, and I still had no idea what it was. I slowly clasped my fingers around it, feeling its cool, airy surface, a metallic tingle running through my fingertips.

When I'd first gotten it, there wasn't anyone I could ask about it other than Stalker. And I'd never gotten the chance to ask him. But now? I was acquainted with multiple Legendary Pokémon, all of whom were familiar with the chosen pact. They'd definitely know something about the orb, right?

Something else prodded at the back of my mind. What had that pedestal said? That the alliance between human and legend… would fail? I hadn't paid it much thought at the time. But now I'd seen the proof that the alliance itself was more than just a myth. Now the idea was a lot more unpleasant. Lugia and Mew didn't seem to be under the impression that our efforts would fail. And we'd just had a major success too…

Something bumped my chair, and I glanced over my shoulder to see that Starr was leaning against it with her arms crossed over the headrest.

As expected, Starr's mood had bounced between outrage and worry ever since we'd gotten back from Indigo. It wasn't as if I could pretend we hadn't just hurled ourselves into another deadly situation when she wasn't looking—the evidence was written all over my arms. In between her ranting over the way we'd just up and left the moment her back was turned, she'd dragged me off to the medical office so I could get my arms bandaged up. None of the cuts were too deep—not like the bullet wound from last year. Still, it was probably good that she made me do something about it, because I sure as hell wasn't in the mood for it after what my team had gone through.

"I still can't believe you guys just went and did that," Starr said with a rather unimpressed tone. "Could have at least told me."

I rubbed the back of my head. "I thought Ajia tried to."

Starr opened her mouth to speak but then froze. "Yeah. She did." Something in her voice told me that fact didn't really make a difference.

I exhaled slowly through my nose, unsure what I was supposed to be feeling right now. I hadn't meant to just turn my back on everything I'd said to her when we were back at the Ranger HQ. But… becoming chosen kind of changed things a bit.

"I'm guessing it went alright?" Starr asked, trying too hard to make it sound casual.

I blinked. "Well yeah—like Ajia said, we did it. We freed Moltres." We freed Moltres. Saying it out loud made the reality of it sink into my mind a bit deeper. In spite of everything, we'd succeeded.

"I know that," she said with a slight huff. "But you're okay, right?"

"I mean…"—I gestured to myself—"I'm here, aren't I?"

Starr groaned exasperatedly and rubbed her knuckles against my scalp. "Alive and alright are two different things. Quit being dense."

Okay, she had a point there. I'd made it back from all the Rebellion missions alive too, but… not entirely alright. And the various injuries I'd received were nothing compared to the anxious nausea from what my team had gone through.

"Yeah. I'm fine," I said, my mouth dry.

She seemed to realize how I'd said it. "But someone else isn't?"

I wrapped my arms around my knees, pulling them close to my chest. "Swift was… injured." Everyone was injured, but… not like that.

Starr paused. "Is he gonna be alright?"

"The rangers said he would be, but…"

"But you're worrying yourself about it 'cause that's what you do," she finished.

I tilted my head back to look at her directly. "Kinda like what you've been doing."

To my immense surprise, she let out a snort. "Got me there." She sank against the back of the chair so that her chin was resting on the top of my head. "Just tell me we're done for the day, alright? No more surprises."

Given the fact that I had absolutely no desire to do anything else for the rest of the day—heck, the rest of the week—I said, "I'm okay with that, yeah."

Eventually we'd have to deal with the fallout from all this. Eventually, Mew and Lugia would come up with the next plan of action, and I'd have to help them with it. But for now, I was content to just stay here like this.

There was a knock against the wooden doorframe. I glanced around the side of the armchair to see a ranger now standing in the entryway. My heart leaped for a moment upon seeing a Pidgeot behind her. But no, it wasn't Swift—darker belly, longer markings, shorter crest. The moment I gave it a second thought, I felt like an idiot for getting my hopes up. Obviously, he wouldn't have recovered yet. I don't know what I was expecting.

"You really are something else, you know that, Ajia?" Kari said. Her voice was half accusatory, half reluctantly impressed.

Ajia spun around to face her. "Oh yeah?" she asked, in a tone suggesting that she knew exactly what was coming.

Kari leaned against the doorframe, arms folded. "It's pretty obvious you guys are working together with the guardians. No idea how, but it's the only way you could have pulled that last mission off."

Ajia grinned sheepishly. "Saw through that, huh?"

The Rockets had seen through it too. What was it that Ender had said? 'We'll have to take that into consideration next time.' I didn't like the sound of that.

Something else was bothering me. From what the others had said, Raven and Ender were the only executives at that mission. Only two. Two top-class, legendary-handing executives, sure. But only two? Where were the rest of them? Did the Rockets really care so little about that mission? They'd taken a huge gamble by putting Moltres in such a vulnerable position… there had to be a good reason.

Kari's expression turned darkly serious. "How long have you all had contact with the guardians? Was it since before the Viridian attack?"

Starr stood bolt upright. "Yeah, hold up. That's Ajia's deal, alright? The rest of us aren't insane." I found myself sinking lower into my chair.

Kari's gaze slid back to Ajia, looking weary. "Please don't tell me you had contact with them during the attack."

What? She didn't seriously think that we'd just stood by and let that happen, did she?

I threw myself around the side of the chair so that I was staring straight at her. "We tried to stop the Viridian incident! If all it took was just talking to the Legendaries, don't you think we would have tried that?"

Kari paused, considering me closely. "…Fair. Sorry for jumping to conclusions."

I sank back into the chair, still feeling a bit on-edge. The Legendary I had just made an alliance with… was one of the ones responsible for the attack on Viridian. And I didn't feel remotely comfortable talking to it about that. Besides, Mew had been 100% against the attack. Mew had confronted Lugia about it, right?

I was chosen now. I was supposed to protect the Legendaries. Even if...

"So, looks like the big secret is out… again," Ajia said, looking more relieved than anything. She'd been holding onto Legendary secrets a lot longer than I had. It had to be getting tiring, especially having to hide things from friends or allies.

At the point I finally noticed Rudy standing at the entrance to the kitchen, staring at Ajia with his mouth hanging open. And from the looks of things, he'd been like that for the past minute or so.

He blinked a few times to regain himself before saying, "You've been working with the Legendaries?"

Ajia gave him an amused smile. "What's with that look? You've helped save them yourself, haven't you?"

He shook his head. "That's not the same. It's not like I've ever talked to them."

"Guess this explains why you guys were so sure we could pull off freeing Moltres, huh?" Darren asked me with a sideways grin. "Seemed like a crazy plan otherwise."

"You went along with the plan," I pointed out.

He shrugged. "Never said I was smart."

"Okay, hang on," Kari said, putting a hand to her forehead like she was still trying to work something out. "The guardians. If you're working with them, they're still nearby, aren't they? What about Moltres? Are you actually keeping it here? Where is it?"

Whoa. Okay, this was a lot of questions, how were we supposed to explain any of this? We couldn't just tell everyone about the chosen pact. But now Rudy, Darren, and Kari were staring at Ajia expectantly. And heck, even Starr of all people was giving Ajia a curious glance, waiting to see what her response would be.

Kari walked over to Ajia, staring her straight in the eyes. "Where. Is. Moltres?"

Ajia let out a defeated sigh. "Alright, alright. I'll show you."

The five of us trudged through the darkening woods on our way to a nearby clearing, where Latias had apparently released Moltres from its Master Ball. Mew led the way, trotting in front of us as an Espeon. I kept expecting someone to question why Espeon of all people knew where the Legendaries were, but no one did. As for me, I was just conveniently going along with the fact that Starr had pinned the blame on Ajia to avoid bringing up the fact that I was chosen as well. Not that it did much to stave off the avalanche of questions from Rudy.

"This is nuts. I can't believe your friend knows Legendaries. Which ones? How did she meet them? Have you met them?"

"Look, one thing at a time, alright?" I said, though I wasn't exactly sure which one to start with.

"Yeah, give Jade time to make something up," Darren added with a chuckle. I glared at him and he just gave me a wry grin.

It also didn't help that I was having a hard time thinking on account of Lugia complaining in my head the entire time.

[It's not like we have a choice,] I reminded the legend. [They're not going to leave us alone until we give them answers.]

[Of course you have a choice,] Lugia snapped. [You can refuse to tell them anything. Simple.]

I rubbed my eyes in frustration. [How are we supposed to explain why?]

[They do not require an explanation.]

[Um, yes, they do. If you want someone to help you then they have to be able to trust you,] I said flatly.

Lugia paused, unwilling to agree with what I'd said, but also struggling to think of a shutdown. It finally settled on, [Well… those two interlopers are one thing, but what about the others? What about her?]

I raised an eyebrow. [You're gonna need to be a little more specific.]

[I'm not good with human names,] Lugia mumbled. [The one that you and Mew's chosen are close to.]

I tensed up, feeling uneasy. [Starr? What about her. She already knows about the chosen pact, remember?]

[I'm aware,] Lugia said sharply. [That doesn't give her the right to be privy to our plans. Particularly considering her… colorful past.]

I bristled. So Lugia knew about that. [Look, I don't want to have this conversation. Starr betrayed Team Rocket. I trust her with my life.]

Lugia was silent for some time. Scattered bubbles of frustration drifted through its thoughts, but it didn't put any of them into words. […Fine,] it said grudgingly, and then its presence retreated into the corner of my mind where I had a harder time feeling it.

I let out a deep sigh of relief, already feeling a lot better. Dealing with my own emotions was one thing, but getting a double dose of anxiety was too much to handle.

"Oh crap, is that it?" Rudy said, suddenly breaking into a run.

I squinted. Some fifty yards ahead of us, an orange glow was visible through the trees. We emerged into a warm, brightly-lit clearing, and there it was. The gigantic firebird lay on its side, flames flickering gently on its head, wings, and tail. There was something oddly peaceful about it. I was so used to seeing it flying overhead, raining down death and destruction. I'd seen it used to kill escaping rebels. Earlier today, I'd barely escaped from it with my life. And even though I knew none of that was its own doing… it was still hard not to feel uncomfortable being so close to it.

The ground had been swept free of any leaves, needles, or other forest debris, which made it all the easier to spot the purple shards that lay next to Moltres. So Latias had destroyed the Master Ball. Well, of course she had, that was the only way to deactivate the mind control. She also must have healed Moltres, as most of its battle injuries were gone. Was she still nearby, guarding the firebird invisibly? I couldn't help letting my eyes scan the air above the clearing, hunting for the telltale distortion.

Rudy was slowly inching closer to Moltres with a look of disturbed fascination. Meanwhile, Starr was glancing around the scene with a disapproving look on her face.

"So we've just got the Legendary bird of fire unconscious right here, huh?" she said. "No big deal, right?"

I gave her a look. "You're acting like this is the first time you've seen Moltres."

"Yeah, well, I am not letting myself get desensitized to this crap," she said, rubbing her eyes. "This is not normal, okay?"

Kari and her Pidgeot hadn't moved since we got here. The former was staring at Moltres with a somber look. Pidgeot's head was lowered, eyes trained on the ground. It was easy to forget that those two—and most people, for that matter—weren't used to being in the presence of Legendaries. Starr was right. We really had gotten desensitized to it.

After a minute of silence, Kari straightened suddenly, turning toward Ajia. "So what's your plan?" she asked. "Moltres gonna be staying here or what?"

Ajia laughed. "No way. The other Legendaries are gonna explain the situation to Moltres when it wakes up. And… I guess it'll go with them."

Kari gave her a sideways glance. "So what, does everything go back to normal now? Moltres is free, the day is saved, no more Legendary attacks?" From the look on her face, it was obvious she didn't trust that for a second.

Ajia rubbed the back of her head. "Not… exactly. But Indigo should be safe now."

Kari nodded distantly, not taking her eyes off Moltres. "Don't suppose you know where the next attack is gonna be?"

"The next one?" Ajia said, looking confused. "I mean… the goal is to prevent this from happening again."

"Hm," Kari just said, absentmindedly running a hand through Pidgeot's crest. "Well. I guess I'll let everyone know that there shouldn't be any more trouble from Moltres. I should be getting back to base anyway." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "God, this is gonna be hard to explain. And you haven't even given me half of it, I can tell."

The ranger motioned to Pidgeot, who leaned forward for her to climb onto its back. She paused, glancing over the five of us in turn. "You know there were news crews at Indigo, right? I dunno if they saw you, but… whatever you're hiding, word's gonna get out eventually."

"We'll deal with that when the time comes," Ajia said simply.

Kari was silent for several seconds. Finally, she threw one last glance at Moltres before nodding. "Alright. Good luck," she said with a small wave. "And try not to cause any more trouble."

With a few powerful flaps, Pidgeot took off from the forest floor and the two of them flew off into the twilight skies.

"You two seem like real great friends," Starr said dryly.

Ajia waved a hand dismissively. "Ah, don't worry about her, I'm always getting into trouble and making things hard for her, and she's always giving me crap about it. It's kind of our thing."

Starr just shrugged. Still, despite Ajia's casual tone, I couldn't help feeling bad. It was another reminder of just how badly this whole Rocket mess was stressing the rangers out. We could fight the Rockets, but they were the ones that had to deal with the fallout.

I was jolted from my thoughts by Rudy's voice: "Oh crap, it's waking up."

What? Moltres was—?! I threw a hurried look back at the firebird, whose eyelids were twitching. Its head shifted slightly. Flames burned a bit brighter. Ajia glanced sharply at Mew, and the two of them nodded to each other for a bit while they talked mind-to-mind.

Starr took a few steps back, raising both arms. "Allllright, I'm good. I've seen enough. Heading back to the cabin now. I do not need to be near that thing when it wakes up."

She turned and walked off into the forest, making it abound thirty feet before pausing like she'd just realized something. Then she turned to look back at me expectantly, waiting. She was expecting me to follow her. But if the Legendaries were going to be explaining the situation to Moltres soon, wouldn't it be best if the chosen were present for it? Not that I could say I was chosen, but…

I gave Starr a helpless shrug that hopefully conveyed the fact that I wanted to follow her but couldn't. She scowled and turned away, walking further away until she was out of sight.

I sighed, turning to face Rudy and Darren. "You two should probably head back too."

Rudy gaped at me like he'd never been more insulted in his life. "What? Why are you allowed to stay here, then?"

I was spared the trouble of having to invent a reason when Ajia jumped in with, "At least hide, we don't want to freak it out, alright?"

Rudy paused, still looking dissatisfied, but struggling to think of a counterargument.

"Come on, let's listen to her," Darren said, grabbing the back of his shirt and dragging him off toward the trees, ignoring his protests.

Ajia and I were the last ones to step back, leaving Moltres alone in the center of the clearing. Well, alone except for Mew. She threw a glance back at us to make sure we were all out of the way, then vanished. Several seconds passed. And then in a flash, she reappeared—in her normal body—with Lugia and Ho-oh. Even though I'd been expecting them, it was still jarring to see two gigantic birds suddenly appear out of thin air, making the clearing feel that much smaller. I couldn't help letting my eyes slide over to Rudy who was now gaping at the trio of Legendaries in stunned disbelief.

Ho-oh nodded toward us, then took a slow, cautious step towards Moltres, leaning down to tap its beak against the smaller firebird's shoulder.

"Can you hear me?" it asked.

Moltres stirred slightly. "*What's going on…?*" it mumbled. "*Everything hurts…*"

"Easy," Ho-oh said in a calm, measured voice. "You're safe now."

Moltres took several slow, shuddering breaths, struggling to fold its wings and pull its talons under its body. Then its eyes shot open. "*Wait, what?*" It glanced down at itself frantically, flames intensifying with a crackle. Then it threw an incredulous look back at Ho-oh, eyes wide with shock. "*I'm… how?*"

"The humans no longer control you. You are free now."

The flames slowly lowered to a calm smolder. Moltres blinked a few times, lost for words.

"How are you feeling?" Ho-oh asked.

Moltres opened its beak to answer, but then it tilted its head at Ho-oh, squinting at the larger phoenix like it had only just realized something. "*Why are you speaking as though—?*" And then the firebird paused sharply, its eyes tracing the clearing and the humans standing nearby. It tensed, letting the flames on its body flare up once again. I felt a sudden desire to melt into the ground.

"Ah. That would be why," Moltres said dryly, and it took me a second to realize that it had switched from Pokéspeech to common. "Seems we have humans in our midst." It turned back to face Ho-oh. "Why is this acceptable?"

"These humans freed you from your capture," the larger phoenix replied simply.

Moltres glanced back at us once more, narrowing its eyes. "I see. I would like to leave now."

"You can if you must, but I would quite prefer if you'd remain," Ho-oh said, closing its eyes matter-of-factly.

Moltres didn't respond to that. But it also didn't move. It just sat there, eyeing us suspiciously. I kept my eyes on the ground to avoid making eye contact.

Ho-oh turned to face the rest of us, the four humans standing at the edge of the trees. "I must thank you all for your assistance." Its gaze fell on me, and I couldn't help shrinking back a bit. "I don't believe I've made your acquaintance," the phoenix said, bowing its head. "You are aligned with my sibling, are you not?"

I blinked in surprise. It took me a second to realize it was talking about my chosen pact with Lugia. "Oh, uh, that's right." Unsure of what else to do, I bowed back and said, "It's nice to meet you?"

Ho-oh nodded. "Likewise."

"Where are my siblings?" Moltres spoke up suddenly, its expression somewhat conflicted.

Ho-oh shifted its wings uncomfortably. "Articuno is still within their grasp. We weren't given an opportunity to free them like we were with you."

Moltres was silent for several seconds. "I see…" it said, the emotion in its voice hard to place. It then glanced at each of the Legendaries in turn. "And what of Zapdos? Were they not a part of this effort?"

Ho-oh's face fell. It glanced back at Mew imploringly.

[Zapdos has… not been speaking with me,] she said softly, curling her tail around herself.

Moltres blinked, and this time it was easier to see the heaviness that had taken hold in its eyes. But then its gaze hardened, and it said, "Never mind them. What happens next?"

[Well… now that we've freed you, we'll be setting our sights on freeing the others,] Mew said. She gestured for Ajia to step forward, who did so with all the confidence of someone who wasn't surrounded by Legendaries.

"The Rockets still have four Legendaries in their possession," Ajia explained. "We're not going to stop until we've freed them all. If we can pull it off, that will definitely prevent the war, won't it?"

[That's optimistic,] Lugia said with a snort.

[We need the optimism,] Mew replied, giving the dragon-bird a hard look.

"Well, that's one way of looking at it," Ho-oh said, considering her carefully. "But we must also prepare for the worst—if we are unable to prevent the war, we must ensure that the pact is completed. It may become difficult to locate more suitable candidates. We will have to take that into consideration."

Moltres glanced between the other legends, mulling something over in its mind. "Still aiming to fulfill the chosen pact, are you?"

[Of course,] Mew said, as though nothing were more obvious. [Why would we stray from that path now?]

"Hm," Moltres just said, disapproval crossing its face. "And how do any of you know that your… selected humans will remain by your side when this conflict escalates and their small lives are threatened?" I couldn't help but notice its eyes briefly slide toward me.

Mew shook her head. [Moltres. You are like the rest of us. You'll have to select an interloper eventually.]

The firebird narrowed its eyes. "So you say. I still am not convinced that humans possess the resolve necessary for something like this."

[The humans freed you,] Mew pointed out.

Moltres tossed its head indignantly. "Your point? It's one thing to naïvely charge forward into danger with no grasp of what it means. It's another thing to see the reality of it, and to continue putting one's life on the line."

I… hated to admit it, but Moltres's words did strike a chord inside me. It had been easy to agree to joining the Rebellion, knowing that it was dangerous, but not truly grasping the reality of risking my life for this cause. It had been a lot harder to keep pressing on after seeing that reality firsthand. But… I'd done it anyway. And I wasn't exactly the strongest-willed person around. That had to count for something, right?

But no one had said anything to the contrary, so Moltres gave a smug grin and went on, "Humans don't have the resolve necessary for something like this. They lack passion."

"You're wrong."

Just those two words brought the world crashing to a halt. Everyone's eyes widened in shock, even Moltres's. I whirled around to locate the source… and saw the one person whose expression was one of anger rather than shock.

It was Rudy. Rudy was the one who had said it.

Moltres blinked, clearly not used to having a human talk back to it. "Excuse me?" it said, slowly striding across the clearing. A chill ran through me as the great firebird towered over Rudy, bearing down on him.

Rudy took a deep breath to steel himself and then said, "You're wrong about humans. We're not gonna run away just because it's dangerous. We already know what's at stake. We've been a part of this for too long." There was pain in his words. That heaviness that I knew all too well.

"There is no true reason for you to be involved in this war," Moltres said, waving a wing dismissively. "I cannot expect you to risk your life for this cause when you could leave at any time with no personal cost."

Rudy clenched his fists. "What'll it take for me to prove it?"

Moltres tilted its head at him, bemused. "Is… is that a challenge?"

"I guess it is," Rudy said with a forced laugh. Like he wasn't really planning on it, but wasn't about to back down now.

The firebird stared blankly, almost like it was having a hard time processing his reaction. "Do you… honestly believe you can defeat me?"

He scoffed. "Like that matters to me."

Moltres paused, and for once, it didn't have an immediate comeback. Several seconds passed. Then, the firebird began to laugh. "I like that. Alright. Come at me, then."

Rudy was going to fight Moltres. What even was any of this. My brain refused to accept it, even though I'd seen the entire conversation leading up to it.

[Is this really necessary?] Lugia asked, taking a step forward.

"You're invited to keep quiet," Moltres snapped. Lugia rolled its eyes, but said nothing.

Rudy spun around and let out his team. Six Pokéballs opened with a flash and materialized into Fearow, Raichu, Tauros, Nidoking, Ebony, and Pupitar. All six of them immediately snapped their attention to the huge fiery Legendary standing right in front of them, varying degrees of fear and awe crossing their features.

"In case some of you didn't know, we freed Moltres from the Rockets," he said, gesturing over his shoulder unnecessarily. "Except now it apparently doesn't think we're good enough to help it." (Moltres raised a brow at that, but didn't interject.) "Who wants to show it that we know what we're getting into?"

Ebony's mouth hung open, stars in her eyes. Raichu gave a devilish smirk, sparks leaping from her cheeks. Nidoking cocked an eyebrow but put up his fists just the same. Pupitar didn't complain, which was about as close to a yes as she ever gave. Tauros glanced uncertainly at Moltres. He hadn't been on the team during the Rebellion days; seeing Legendaries in person was totally new to him. And the idea of fighting them had to be equally weird. But after several seconds' hesitation, the bull's eyes sharpened. He pawed the ground and let out a snort, leveling his horns at the Legendary.

And in the midst of them all, Fearow glanced back and forth at her teammates incredulously. She drew herself back, ruffling her feathers. "*I'm out. This is crazy.*"

Rudy closed his eyes. "That's fine. I'm the crazy one here," he said, taking her Pokéball in his hand. He gave her a soft look. "But I don't want you to have any regrets."

Fearow scoffed, turning away dismissively. But then she glanced back at him out of the corner of her eye with just the slightest bit of uncertainty. Rudy held out the ball, and she snapped her gaze to him.

"*Stop,*" Fearow said sharply. "*You're right.*" She took a deep breath, throwing a sideways glance at Pupitar. "*No regrets this time.*"

Rudy nodded forcefully, replacing her Pokéball on his belt. Then he spun around to face Moltres and said, "We're ready."

"Such conviction," the firebird said mockingly. But then it crouched low and spread its wings, flames intensifying with a crackle.

Rudy pointed forward and the team leaped into action—Nidoking and Raichu firing off bolts of lightning, Fearow letting blades of wind fly from her wingtips, Ebony barking out a pulsing wave of dark energy, Tauros charging powerfully, sparks coursing through his mane. Moltres lazily waved a wing to raise a wall of flame in front of its face, blocking the attacks. It then swept both wings forward, unleashing a hail of fireballs from its blazing feathers.

"Fearow, Nidoking, shield the others with Protect!" Rudy yelled.

The two of them banded together in the center with practiced coordination, and everyone else didn't waste a second ducking behind the duo. Flames spilled out around the pair of shields, the entire group of Pokémon flinching from the waves of heat that scorched the air. I stepped back instinctively, but the fireballs rebounded off a psychic barrier that Mew had raised to keep the forest around us from catching fire.

"What sort of conviction does it take to risk your companions in a pointless battle?" Moltres called out. "What does this say of you?"

Rudy clenched his teeth, glaring at the Legendary. "They've got the same conviction as me. We've all got each other's back; we all make each other stronger."

"Such statements are meaningless," Moltres said with a scoff. "Any risk you would take is borne by them, not you!"

The hail of fireballs lessened. But before any of them could prepare for another attack, Moltres swept its wings together, and another wall of flames burst up from the ground, right in front of Rudy's team. The firebird stared down at them with a smirk as though daring them to break past the wall.

"Fearow, carry Raichu over the flames!" Rudy yelled.

Fearow paused just long enough to let Raichu leap onto her back before flapping harder to gain altitude. The electric-type leaped down from above, landing on Moltres's back and discharging a flood of lightning. The firebird squinted for a moment as the electricity surged through its body. It began to glow. Then a beam of red shot forward, dissolving Raichu just seconds before flames erupted from the spot where she'd been standing.

Rudy re-released Raichu next to himself. Moltres snapped its attention to the two, starting slightly upon seeing that its target was standing right next to him. Then its eyes narrowed.

"You think I'll hold back simply because you're in the way?" it demanded.

Rudy smirked. "It made you pause, didn't it?" Did he seriously just say that?

Moltres's eyes went wide for a second. And in that moment's hesitation, Nidoking burst up from the dirt, horn already crackling with electricity. A bolt of lightning shot through the Legendary. Moltres kicked the ground-type away, annoyed, but then Tauros slammed into it at full force, sparks leaping from his mane.

"I've made that mistake before," Rudy muttered, staring downward, fists clenched. "I put my Pokémon at risk when I wasn't willing to do the same for him. I'm not letting anything like that happen ever again."

Moltres tilted its head incredulously, but then the corners of its beak turned up. "Oh? Then how will you protect them? How will you protect anyone? What strength can the legends possibly derive from you?"

"I…"—he grit his teeth—"I can't answer that."

Moltres smirked. "Better find an answer, then." It unleashed another torrent of fire. "Before my patience is through!"

This time Ebony leaped in front, struggling to shield her teammates. Her pelt glowed red, absorbing the flames, but it was too much for her. Fearow flapped her wings, trying in vain to blow away the wall of fire. Raichu retaliated with bursts of lightning. It wasn't enough. Ebony let out a whimper and sank to the ground. Nidoking struggled to raise a Protect, but it hadn't been long enough since the last time he'd used it. The barrier flickered with the heat of the flames, then sputtered and died. The lineup broke, Nidoking retreating underground and Raichu hopping on Tauros's back to escape the Flamethrower.

"I suppose you think that teaching this lot a few amusing tricks makes you worth something, is that it?" Moltres asked, its eyes lit with anticipation. Like it couldn't wait to see how he'd respond.

But Rudy didn't give an answer. He just kept his eyes on his team and called out, "Tauros, power up Raichu; Fearow, cover them with Mirror Move!"

Sparks coursed through Tauros's mane, this time flowing into Raichu. She used the boost to fire off another lightning bolt, twice as thick as the last one. Moltres's eyes twitched from the hit, and it swept another wing forward, sending more fireballs raining down from above. Fearow copied its motions exactly—a shimmering, reflective surface trailed from her wings, spawning an identical barrage to intercept Moltres's attack. Nidoking used that opportunity to emerge from underground and fire off yet another Thunderbolt at the Legendary.

"Enough!" Moltres snapped, stamping the ground with a talon. The dirt began to glow.

"Get back!" Rudy yelled.

Fearow shot toward him with a Quick Attack while Tauros and Nidoking dashed after her. Seconds later, flames erupted from the ground where they'd been standing. Rudy staggered backward, shielding his face from the waves of hot air rushing outward. Even from where I was standing, the heat was stifling.

Finally, the flames cleared. I could see Tauros panting hard, Raichu clinging to his mane. Nidoking holding a tuckered-out Ebony under one arm. Fearow landing next to them, feathers scorched. They were still standing. But only because Moltres wasn't remotely using its full power. How long until it got bored with this game? What would it do then? It wouldn't… actually attack Rudy, would it? Mew would put a stop to things if it came to that… right?

Moltres chuckled lowly. "Such passion you instill in your comrades. Truly a sight to behold." Its eyes scanned Rudy's battered and tired lineup… and settled on Pupitar, who hadn't moved this entire time.

"What of this one?" Moltres asked, cocking its head. "Has your stirring inspiration failed to move them?" It would've been easy to miss the way Pupitar's eyes twitched slightly at the Legendary's words.

Rudy scowled. "Leave her alone, she can do what she wants."

"Oh? What happened to your talk of shared conviction?" Moltres asked eagerly. "Clearly you are not the great motivator you believe yourself to be."

Rudy opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but then clenched his teeth and remained silent. His team glared daggers at the firebird, but none of them had the strength to do anything about it.

At least, not until Pupitar hopped in front of all of them, facing down Moltres alone.

Rudy stared. "You don't…" he struggled to find the words. "You don't have to if you don't wanna." But Pupitar didn't acknowledge that he'd said anything.

"Am I wrong?" Moltres asked her. "Why don't you show me?"

Without warning, Pupitar fired a burst of gas and shot forward, plowing into the firebird's belly. Moltres stopped laughing. The Legendary opened its beak and retaliated with a vicious Flamethrower, completely enveloping the rock-type in an overwhelming blaze.

"Use Protect!" Rudy yelled.

A shimmering white barrier formed around the pupa's body, but the swirling torrent of fire completely surrounded her on all sides, immobilizing her. It was only a matter of time before the Protect shattered from sheer force of it, and then what? Moltres grinned wildly, adding more and more fire to the vortex. Flames spilled out around the barrier relentlessly. Pupitar's armor glowed white-hot from the heat.

Wait. That glow. It wasn't the heat—Pupitar's body was glowing by itself. With a resounding crack, her armor split open. Arms and legs shot out, claws digging into the dirt. Rows upon rows of spikes erupted though the shell. Moltres paused its fire breath, staring down at its opponent with intrigue. Where there had once been a limbless pupa, a rock-armored beast slowly raised herself from the dirt, shaking bits of broken armor to the ground. Her eyes snapped open. She looked down at herself, flexing her claws experimentally.

She'd evolved. She'd evolved! I didn't think she'd have the strength to pull that off for several more months. Maybe it was the sheer pressure of fighting a Legendary. Maybe it was the force of taking Moltres's attack. Maybe it was determination alone. But however it happened, she'd evolved.

All five of her teammates suddenly broke into wild cheering—Ebony practically jumping for joy in spite of her burns and Nidoking pounding his chest wildly and Raichu firing sparks into the air. Rudy stared at the dinosaur, eyes wide with awe and pride. Finally he jumped several feet into the air, throwing both arms up. "I told you you could do it! I told you! You did it!"

And then Pupitar, or rather Tyranitar—who had always looked perpetually bored with everything, even battling—flashed a toothy grin back at them all and said, "*I like this.*"

And then she charged forward. Every footfall sent jagged blades of stone ripping up from the earth, and for the first time, I saw a flicker of alarm in Moltres's eyes before the Stone Edge dug into its body. The firebird recoiled backwards, screeching in pain and rage before unleashing an explosive burst of flame, shattering the stones to bits and consuming Tyranitar in a whirlwind of fire. The rock-type stood her ground, pushing on through the raging inferno. Raising both arms straight up, she pulled a hail of boulders from the dirt and sent them crashing into Moltres.

But the tips of Tyranitar's spikes had started to melt away. The rock-type sank to her knees. She glanced back at Rudy, and his hand hovered over his Pokéball belt.

Tyranitar shook her head. "*Not yet. Took this long to get this body. Might as well see what it can do.*" She stomped the ground again and more rocks exploded up from under Moltres. The Legendary easily could have avoided the rocks. But it didn't. Almost like it was making a point by sitting there and taking them. Stones dug into it over and over, but it kept up the relentless stream of fire, waiting until Tyranitar was doubled over, panting hard. The dinosaur screwed her eyes shut, digging her claws into the dirt. One last rock ripped itself from the ground, smacking Moltres in the side of the face. Then another fireball and she was down. Sprawled out on the dirt, the faintest trace of a grin still visible on her face.

"You were badass, Tyranitar," Rudy whispered before recalling her in a beam of red light.

They'd lost. Well, there was never any question that they would. But Rudy didn't seem bothered by that fact. He'd known full well there was zero chance of him coming out ahead, and he'd done it anyway, and he obviously wanted it to mean something, though I wasn't sure what.

Moltres took several slow, menacing steps forward, eyes glued to Rudy the entire time. Part of me wanted to run over to him, but the other part was glued to the spot, unable to do anything but watch.

"I should kill you for such a foolish move," it said poisonously, looming over him.

Rudy craned his neck upward to glare at the phoenix, defiance written all over his face. "I thought you wanted to see some passion. Now you're saying it's foolish?"

Moltres laughed, and the sound echoed around us with an eerie reverberating quality.

Rudy wasn't fazed. "I want to make a difference. So if you won't believe me, then let me prove that humans aren't weak."

The firebird tilted its head back, looking genuinely surprised. "Such conviction… but I wonder… will it be able to endure the flames of war?"

Rudy grinned. "We'll find out, won't we?"

Moltres opened its eyes wide as though it had been slapped, but then immediately broke into reverberating laughter once more. "Speaking as though I have already decided?! Ha! Very well! Let us see how you handle it!"

And in a flash, Rudy was completely engulfed in flames.

"Rudy!" I screamed, eyes wide, but then Ajia held me back with a knowing look.

"Just watch," she said quietly.

Just watch?! Just watch as Rudy was—wait. The flames swirled around in a vortex, sending waves of heat radiating around the clearing. Every few seconds, a gap appeared, and I caught a glimpse of him in the center. Face scrunched up in pain, but still standing, not charred to ash. And then I saw myself in his shoes, that moment when I felt myself torn apart as Lugia and I were joined together.

Mew had to stop Rudy's team from rushing in to pull him from the flames. They all stared at her wide-eyed as she explained. Rudy was on his knees now, fists clenched at his side. Moltres's eyes were closed in deep concentration. A faint red glow emanated from the firebird, visible even through all the firelight.

And then, in a flash, the flames cleared. Moltres's eyes snapped open. Rudy fell forward onto all fours, breathing hard. At once, his team crowded around him, Nidoking helping him stand while Ebony nuzzled his side.

"What… what the hell just happened?" Rudy asked, sounding dazed.

Moltres folded its wings, peering down at him. "You wanted the chance to prove yourself. You have gotten it. You are now my chosen. You will fight by my side until the end of the war."

He grinned weakly. "Sounds good."

"Do not take this commitment lightly," Moltres snapped, its voice heating up.

Rudy's expression sharpened. "That's not it. I know it's a big deal." His eyes slid to the ground. "I just… I know I'll be able to help out a lot more if I combine my strength with yours. This is my chance to do something right. I wanna feel good about it."

Moltres considered his response carefully. Finally it nodded and straightened itself, glancing around at the rest of us for the first time in a while. All of us were frozen, staring at the two of them with varying degrees of shock.

"So. I've sealed my pact, as you wished," Moltres announced, throwing a sideways glance at Mew. "Does this satisfy you?"

Mew chuckled slightly. [There's no need to put it like that,] she said with a smile. [But yes… I'm glad.]

Lugia gave an unimpressed snort. [So I suppose we are completely throwing secrecy to the winds, then?]

Mew curled her tail around herself. [For our missions to work from now on, we might have to. It was a great advantage in rescuing Moltres, but now the Rockets know that their enemies are getting help from the legends, one way or another.]

Lugia squinted at her. [Need I remind you that you were the one so insistent on keeping the secrecy in the first place?]

[I know…] she said, closing her eyes. [Times have changed.] She refused to look at Lugia.

[Why are you so worried about secrecy, anyway?] I asked Lugia privately. [I understand that it's dangerous to let too many people too close, but everyone in our group has already proved they're trying to help, haven't they?]

Lugia was silent for some time, its mind flitting between two different things. It felt conflicted. [With humans, you can never know when they will turn on you. The Order has already learned that lesson the hard way.]

I blinked. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to take that. [So what you're saying is, you don't trust us.]

A prickle of annoyance. [You have had more dealings with humans than I. Can you honestly say that they have never betrayed you?]

I paused. Memories from last year surfaced in my mind. I'd trusted that Stalker wanted to help the Legendaries, and that had turned out to be a lie. Lugia must have sensed my doubts, because I felt a wisp of self-satisfaction from it.

[No. I can't. But…] But I didn't have a good argument. There wasn't much point in continuing this conversation, so I decided to drop it for now.

"Today has brought us not one, but two great victories," Ho-oh said, nodding toward Rudy and Moltres. "I wish you both nothing but the best."

Moltres tossed its head indifferently. "So what next?"

Next? After everything we'd been through today, the idea of there even being a 'next' was too exhausting to think about.

Fortunately, Ajia was on the same page. She jumped in with, "We've all had a long day. We should call it a night; worry about tomorrow when it comes, alright?" She looked up at the Legendaries imploringly.

Mew nodded. [I agree. You all deserve rest.]

Thank god. Even if we'd be sleeping in tiny cabin bunks as opposed to the plush beds in the hotel room back at Indigo, it still sounded like heaven after all this. And… some of us had gone through more than others.

I glanced back at Rudy. He was giving his team a reassuring smile as he talked with them, having to hold Ebony down from licking his face repeatedly.

"You guys were awesome, you know that?" I said as I walked over. Ebony beamed up at me while Fearow closed her eyes with just the slightest bit of a self-satisfied grin. Rudy smiled faintly, holding a hand against his temple. I couldn't help noticing him swaying a bit, like he might lose his balance at any moment.

"Hey, so… congrats," I added, unsure if that was an appropriate thing to say in this situation. "How you feeling?"

"It's wild," Rudy said distantly. "I saw… things." He closed his eyes and shuddered. All the negative emotions associated with the fight, all at once—that's what he'd just had to endure. Having gone through that myself, I couldn't blame him for feeling out of it.

Rudy finally opened his eyes, forcing a smile. "I made a lot of stupid mistakes, huh?"

"We all did," I said slowly. "You could say that joining the Rebellion was the stupidest mistake of all."

Rudy shook his head. "That's the one thing I don't regret. I mean… I know what it led to. But that was my fault. Just joining the team in the first place? I don't regret that."

I paused, meeting his eye. "Me neither."

As we walked toward the edge of the clearing, I happened to glance over and see Darren leaning against a tree, hands buried in his pockets and an awkward look plastered on his face.

"Right, so… this is a thing, I guess," he said with a forced laugh, his eyes tracing the various Legendaries still standing around the clearing, discussing things amongst each other. "Should I really be here?"

"Why the hell not?" Rudy asked heatedly. "You're on our team, aren't you?"

Darren chuckled. "The Rebellion ended a long time ago."

"That doesn't matter," Rudy said, waving a hand like he didn't want to hear it. "The Rebellion's over but that Rocket mess is still happening, yeah? That didn't magically go away."

Darren gave a noncommittal shrug. Then his eyes fell on me, and he gave me a curious look. "So Jade… you're obviously one of the ones who's allowed to be here, I guess. Did you… make a deal with one of them?"

I swallowed. No point in hiding it. "Yeah." Rudy snapped his head toward me in surprise—he must not have pieced that together yet.

"Which one?" Darren asked.

"Huh?" I hadn't been expecting that question to sound so casual. "Oh, uh… Lugia."

He folded his arms behind his head and gave a crooked smile. "You know, that's pretty sweet."

I had a hard time framing it like that, but... yeah. It kind of was.

"Wait, seriously? You're partnered with Lugia?!" Rudy exclaimed, and his tone ripped me back to a distant time. Back when he'd gush about meeting Legendaries and proving himself to them. Back before the weight of the world had crashed down on us.

Unsure of how else to respond, I just said, "Yeah."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Rudy demanded.

I almost laughed out loud. "Why do you think? I wasn't allowed to, that's why."

He scowled. "That's dumb, why not?"

I opened my mouth to speak… and then realized that Moltres really hadn't explained much of anything about the chosen pact to Rudy. Maybe it planned on doing so privately later. Either way, silly as it was, Rudy had a point. While it made sense that we couldn't go blabbing Legendary secrets to the world, I was absolutely fed up with keeping secrets from friends and allies. No more.

"You're right. I guess it was dumb."

Rudy nodded sharply like he'd sure showed me. Like I hadn't just agreed with him.

"C'mon, let's head back now. You look like you're about to pass out," Darren said.

"I'm just fine," Rudy snapped. Nidoking rolled his eyes at that, as he was probably the only thing keeping his trainer standing.

It had been a very, very long day. But in the end, I couldn't help feeling pretty okay about how it had all turned out.