WARNING

THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS CONTENT INAPPROPRIATE FOR READERS UNDER THE AGE OF 18

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It was an air of celebration that night within the hotel, giddy pokegirls congratulating Jade by mobbing the Golurk and there was more than enough of her to go around. "Now THIS is a set of armor!" Adalinda laughed, smacking her palm against Jade's arm a few times. "And that move! Nothing can escape your grasp, eh?"

Jade's eyes danced behind her helmet. "By my Keeper, all will suffer my hand."

"He's looking forward to it." Nicholas sat on the edge of a table and waved the soda he was drinking in Jade's direction. "I've always demanded you be more for me, Jade. Well. You finally figured out what I meant."

The sound of tinkling crystal filled the air as Jade laughed. "I did, Keeper," she replied as she spread her arms. "Look at how much more I have become."

Nicholas grinned. "I can't wait to get you out of that armor and see what's hiding inside."

Jade lowered her arms as she fixed her gaze on his. "I am sorry, Keeper," she said softly. "I will not be leaving my armor for anything."

"How do you expect to get tamed then, huh?" Nicholas grumbled. "You were the same way when we first met, I'm sure you'll relax a bit with time…"

"I will not be leaving my armor," Jade repeated firmly. "But there is nothing stopping you from coming inside with me, Keeper."

Nicholas let off his grumbling to blink at the Golurk in surprise. "Huh?"

"I would welcome you inside my armor, Keeper," Jade repeated. "In fact I would accept your presence with great joy."

Nicholas blinked at her a few times before dropping his drink onto the table and hopping off himself. "You've got me curious. How?"

Jade knelt and her breastplate dissolved into sand. And inside was just… nothing? The glow of jade's energy but no body, no form like there had been as a Golett?

"Well that's… different," Nicholas managed after a few moments. "Jade?"

"Please join me, Keeper."

Nicholas slowly reached out, taking hold of the edges of the gap Jade had created for him and poking his head inside. She was hollow. The interior of Jade's armor was coated with her glowing energy but there was a massive empty space in between. "Are you… in here somewhere? Jade? Whoa!"

He toppled forwards when the Golurk shifted, her arms coming around in an embrace that knocked him into her armor before her limbs crossed across the open hole and effectively closed it up again. "You are my Keeper," Jade's voice whispered from everywhere around him as Nicholas struggled upright and gazed around at the softly pulsing light. "But I am the one to keep you safe."

"Where are you?" Nicholas asked. "Is all this armor… you? Do you no longer have a soft form?" He made a dejected face. "No more taming?"

The light coating Jade's armor quivered and suddenly it was detaching, Nicholas sputtering when he was swallowed up before being ejected by Jade's condensing body. All around them her armor went limp, clattering as it settled onto itself until it was completely lifeless. All of the life was focused on something else. It was the Golett, but there was more of her. That was all it was. Much, much more as Jade wrapped herself around Nicholas and pressed their lips together. "I'm right here, Keeper," she purred. "Here, secure and together with you."

"Wait so you're-" Nicholas began, leaning back a bit to take a better feel for Jade's proportions. "You're not much larger than you were as a Golett! What's up with this massive set of armor, then?"

"I need to stretch," Jade replied with a suppressed laugh. "And did you not always say you wished me to be more, Keeper?"

"Oh, Jade," Nicholas whispered, caressing her cheek as the two met for another long, sensual kiss. "I didn't mean that like this."

"I guess I'll have to keep getting it wrong until I finally get it right, Keeper," Jade murmured back when the two broke apart again. "I might make myself more in every way before I finally figure it out."

Nicholas cracked a small smile. "Now why would my sentinel lie to her Keeper? Methinks she knows exactly what it is I mean when I wish for her to be greater than what she is." He helped Jade move into a better position straddling him as his hands explored her new curves. "And I believe she has gotten it wonderfully right."

Jade didn't reply. She just pressed him up against the back of her armor and began working her way under his clothes until the pokegirls loitering outside were listening to pleasured grunts and cries.

Adalinda whooped, the others laughing as the Serperior encouraged the Golurk while slapping at her lifeless armor. "ATTAGIRL, JADE!" she called, turning to grin at the rest of the harem. "So which one of you taught her that big blast-off slammy thing? Feels like the kind of attack you'd pull off, Alpha."

Kiana let out a barking laugh. "Not me. The end seemed like something you might do, Melody."

"Me?" the Seismitoad asked in surprise. "I don't chase my enemies like that, Alpha."

"Well SOMEONE did," Adalinda laughed. "Hey, you think it was Nicholas?"

"Nick can fly?" Melody asked.

"No, but if it wasn't any of us…?" Adalinda said. When the others shook their heads she looked at where Cindy was sitting apart from the group. "I mean I doubt it was you, Cindy, but maybe?"

Cindy glanced away with a sneer. "Hardly."

"It's got to be something she learned from Nicholas, then…" Adalinda continued, turning from the broody Galvantula as Cindy's sneer etched itself deeper and deeper into a furious scowl.

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Nicholas stood and breathed in the crisp air blowing over them off the cliffs ahead. "Twist Mountain, and from there to Icirrus." He gestured. "Roads here are maintained more than Chargestone Cave, considering Clay's apparently got his hands on things, but that won't mean it'll be without wild pokegirls. Kiana, mind taking the lead? Melody, back her up, and Jade," he said, looking at the massive Golurk, "just go wherever you like."

Jade snickered and slammed her fists together with an earsplitting crack. "Yes, Keeper."

"Ada, could you cover Jade?" Nicholas asked. "Let's have Cindy remain with me. Twist Mountain is supposed to have tight tunnels, not the open spaces of Chargestone Cave that she's used to."

The others nodded and spread out, Nicholas and Cindy walking for a minute in silence before he spoke. "Now we're alone."

"Pah."

Nicholas gave Cindy a sideways glance. "'Pah'? That doesn't sound like a silken dominatrix." He turned his eyes back forwards. "Not at all like what you've made yourself out to be."

"Who put you up to this."

"Ada, actually," Nicholas replied. "You know, your Beta? She told me you were struggling over what happened in that gym."

Cindy's jaw clenched down so abruptly that her mandibles stabbed into her own neck and drew blood. "Nothing happened in that gym."

"I believe there was a Swoobat who overpowered a Galvantula…?"

Anger seared across Cindy's expression and she threw her hands back, drawing silk free that she sent lashing towards the unaware man. "I said NOTHING, little boy, and you will not SPEAK of-!"

Nicholas let the threads attach across his shoulder before whirling, wrapping his arms across Cindy's webbing to take up the slack in an instant and yank the Galvantula towards him. Cindy was thrown off balance and stumbled, her words cutting off when she faceplanted into the ground. "Oh, shut up," he snarled, Cindy pushing herself to her hands and knees and starting to look up with an angry expression that froze when she saw the aura bleeding from Nicholas' eyes and the spectral dragon cloaking his form. "I've tolerated your clumsy attempts but you haven't the faintest clue what it means to take control." Cindy shrank back when he stepped forwards to loom over her. "You're not the first foolish pokegirl I've seen try matching someone out of their depth. But you're the first to have the misfortune of trying to match against me."

Cindy did her best to lift her chin and scowl at him. "Try me, pet."

"No, no, that's losing already," Nicholas sighed, his looming presence vanishing to the bewilderment of the Galvantula. "You're on your knees and still trying to act like you're in charge? This position clearly places you on the defensive, right?" He squatted down to face her more evenly. "You can't be, if you were actually doing things properly. No matter what. I mean, to have the sub win any control you didn't grant is just… it ruins the whole dynamic, you know?" he asked. "You get that much, don't you?"

"I-" Cindy began haughtily.

"No, seriously, enough with what you think is dominating," Nicholas interrupted. "Stop. You have no idea what you're doing and it's just embarrassing. Or annoying, that's a good word for it." His eyes narrowed. "Insist, and I will remove you from this harem." He waited a moment. "Well?"

Cindy's expression was flickering but she eventually shifted her gaze away slightly and lowered her voice to a grumble. "Speak."

"Thank you," Nicholas replied easily. "Here's what's going to happen. I am going to speak. You are going to listen. When I ask a question, you will answer. Am I understood?"

Cindy grunted. "Yes."

"And so comes the first lesson," Nicholas said quietly. "Who is in control right now, Cindy?"

Cindy glanced back at him, responding after a few seconds. "You… Master."

"Yes. I am," Nicholas said. "I won't bother going into the details to why. But there is no question, is there?"

"…No."

"And yet, I am doing nothing to truly force your position, am I?" Nicholas asked. "I am not binding you, or taking any other physical action, at least beyond when I responded to your aggression. I am not attacking your senses or your mind. I am not berating you, cowing you with my voice… In fact I would say I am being quite pleasant, wouldn't you?"

"Yes, Master."

"And yet you submit with little resistance," Nicholas said softly. "Now, you could say it is because of my presence. I will not deny that I used it to cow you in the first place." He leaned in to stare into Cindy's eyes and lowered his voice. "But it goes far, far beyond a show of strength, doesn't it? The reason, Cindy, why you have submitted, is because I gave you no other option." He gave the Galvantula a small smile. "Resistance? Fighting back? Hopeless. And so you fold. That, 'little spider', is what you lack. You are loud – you are aggressive. That makes you abrasive. It does not make you domineering. It makes you annoying." He pulled back slightly. "I remember us saying we would discuss our places after the gym battle in Virbank. It is time for us to talk."

Cindy grunted as he let her breathe again and her eyes flicked slightly, but she didn't respond. Nicholas waited for a few seconds before chuckling. "I release you," he murmured. "We're alone here – I've made sure of it. Speak."

"What do I lack."

Nicholas smiled and stood, extending a hand to help Cindy up after him. "That depends. Are you willing to take my advice, little spider?"

Cindy lowered her eyes away from his gaze. "To not would be… stupid, right?"

"I'd say so," Nicholas said. "Look, Cindy. You just don't have it in you to truly be a mistress, to dominate and control. Lilith revealed that plainly to everyone in that gym yesterday. She conquered you easily. But it's perfectly fine for what you have and what you want to be different." He chuckled. "In fact, with the truth being out there, I think it's probably better this way. Because if it had been the other way around, if you had truly, truly been the kind of pokegirl you were making yourself out to be?" Nicholas' smile grew cold. "Morgana only gets away with it because we learned what she was together. I accepted her long before she began to stand up to me. And most importantly, at the end of the day, if I put my foot down?" Nicholas' smile faded. "She yields. Because at the end of the day, I am her Master. Without question. Whereas you," he said, taking Cindy by the chin and pulling her back around so she was forced to look into his eyes, "you tried to pretend that didn't matter. If you had truly believed that? You would have been gone. But you don't. So I can work with you."

Cindy grunted and started to look away again when Nicholas released her but stopped just at the edge of breaking their gaze, her eyes fixed at a point somewhere above Nicholas' shoulder. "There is or there isn't, isn't there?" she hissed. "What I want can't exist if I kiss your boot. If I submit, then that's the end of it. Wasn't that what you were talking about earlier?"

"Ah, but you only think that because of your inexperience," Nicholas said with a slight smile. "When I first tamed you, Cindy, you called me a friend. Remember that?"

Cindy grimaced. "I'm not that Joltik anymore."

"No. But you're still that same pokegirl," Nicholas replied kindly. "I liked that pokegirl. She evolved, and it seemed like she wasn't what I'd first met, but she still is, isn't she? She just doesn't quite understand what she's wanting now." He stepped in and this time his touch was soft as he took hold of Cindy's arms. "You called me a friend. Let your friend help you, Cindy. Let him help you learn how to be what you want to be."

"How?" Cindy asked. "I don't even know why I want what I do. It's just- the moment I evolved, it was like I was seeing the world through new eyes. It felt… good."

Nicholas chuckled and winked at the extra glossy domes on her forehead. "New eyes? You certainly grew a pair." When Cindy's lips turned down in a scowl he quickly refocused on her primary eyes. "You're a feralborn. A bit of euphoria from evolving is to be expected, honestly. If you'd done that in the wilds you'd be challenging your pack Alpha for the title, or breaking off a pack of your own. It would mean you were strong. And you are strong, you just happen to be a part of a stronger pack now." He patted her on the shoulder. "Honestly, the control thing might be an extension of N's blessing on you. Now that you're not feral anymore it's kind of pulling you back in that direction, towards instinct and those primal urges. If I had to guess I'd say it's an extension of your breed. All your talk about prey, the web play – it's simply what you are, Cindy. As a Galvantula. You want to prey on things. Ensnare them in your web, wrap them tight until they're helpless in your hands." He watched a shiver run through Cindy's body. "That excites you, doesn't it? You were handsy as a Joltik too. You just had to have me in your grip, and now that your silk is strong enough you want more."

"…But it didn't feel like enough," Cindy said. "When I wrapped you up, when… it was too easy. I wanted you to fight." Her mandibles curled. "I wanted… And then I tried to find that challenge. To take."

"Mm. I suppose I can understand that. You're inexperienced, and I was toying with you from the start. No wonder you were so confused." Nicholas stepped back. "I'll teach you. But outside of the bedroom? Cut the queen crap. Sultry, teasing, go for it. Practice. I'll give you feedback on the persona. Save the dominatrix for when we're alone, at least until you can learn how to do it properly. Alright?"

Cindy let out her breath and nodded. "Alright."

"Good." Nicholas turned to look down the road. "Then let's get moving. The others are probably a bit far ahead by now."

He blinked when a pair of arms wrapped around his neck and he heard Cindy's purring voice in his ear. "Then I suppose I have you all to myself… Master."

Nicholas glanced at her with a smirking smile. "Suppose you do."

"Can't have you wandering too far from me, then," the Galvantula crooned. "I'd hate to lose my favorite snack."

Nicholas just chuckled and started walking with Cindy close on his heels. "Much better. When we make camp I'll give you your first object lesson." He glanced aside with a small smile. "I'll play the role of the prey."

Cindy's mandibles vibrated with her excitement as the two vanished down the road.

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Nicholas ambled up to stand beside the motionless figure. "How are the visions?"

Fiona gazed out over the unclaimed wilderness around them. "They are… vivid. And there are more of them. With every step we take more fill my mind."

"All of the threat?"

"…No," Fiona breathed. "As my hooves sink into the loam of this place, it… whispers to me. I do not know why."

"Well, Icirrus City is just ahead," Nicholas said. "We can take some time there, rest up, give you time to explore what you're experiencing." He smiled at the view. "Last time I heard one of the eternal talking about a place calling to her, it turned out to be her home."

"Home…?" Fiona murmured. "I… have no home. No place, none to claim as my kin. None but you, Lord Nicholas."

"The three spoke of you all being formed by this land," Nicholas replied. "They never specified exactly what that meant. Perhaps here is where you first came to be."

Fiona was silent as she gazed out, lost in her thoughts. "I do not know," she finally whispered. "But by your leave, my Master, I will search for the answer."

"A leave I grant without hesitation," Nicholas replied. "Once we have settled in Icirrus I will release you to your search."

Fiona turned to him and sank into a deep bow. "Thank you, Lord Nicholas."

"Always." Nicholas nodded out towards where the road was working its way down into the moors. "The others are already on the move. Ready to go?"

It was just after noon when the group stepped from the marshy forests into a marshy clearing, Icirrus City spreading out before them, every building built up on the higher ground and relinquishing the paths and roads that dipped into the lower valleys to the water that pooled there. "Quaint," Nicholas observed. "Well, let's find a place to stay and then take the rest of the day off."

Fiona was visibly distracted while they walked through the city until a nod from Nicholas sent her hurrying off on her own. "I think I see a nice place over there," Nicholas said, gesturing at a two-story inn. "What do you all say? Settle in, or something else?"

"Is there a gym here, Master?" Kiana asked.

"Maybe. I'm actually not sure," Nicholas replied. "I think Brycen might have officially stepped down by now…?" After a few moments he grinned. "I could just check online, but where's the fun in that? Let's show up and ask for ourselves."

The Icirrus Gym turned out to be an unassuming building that seemed to be built straight into the side of a hill. "Lights look to be on," Nicholas observed as they got closer. "I don't see any signs or anything… Hm, I think we're primed from the trip here, so might as well give it a shot. Kiana, it'll mostly be on you. Fire to melt the ice."

The Arcanine's lips were already drawn all the way back in a wicked, toothy grin. "I can't wait, Master."

To his surprise Nicholas stepped into the building to find an actual lobby. "Good afternoon, Sir!" a chipper voice called, and Nicholas turned to see a receptionist seated behind a nearby desk. "A tamer looking to challenge…?" they trailed off. "Oh… Champion Nicholas?"

"Afternoon! I'm looking to challenge Brycen if he's still accepting them, yes," Nicholas replied as he wandered over. "I know I could have just checked online, but I was in the area anyways."

"I regret to inform you that Leader Brycen is, well, a Gym Leader no longer," the receptionist apologized. "The gym is currently closed as it undergoes renovations."

"And they stuck you out here to deal with the fools like me, eh?" Nicholas chuckled, laughing out loud when the receptionist's eyes widened and they began stammering out a response. "No, no, it's alright. I really was just in the area. Although…" He tapped his chin. "You wouldn't happen to be able to maybe help me find something, would you?"

"Anything, sir."

"It has to do with Unovan legend," Nicholas explained. "The only real hint we've had so far is 'Cold'. I figured coming north might be a good first step."

"…I admit that I am not aware of many, or any legends that have to do with the cold," the receptionist replied. "The legendary pokegirls and other myths of Unova are all very much about the opposite of that. Fire, storms, power, glory, the defenders of a ravaged land and those who nurture it back to life… There is much of that in Unova. But not cold."

"Cold being the antithesis, then," Nicholas mused mostly to himself, "of everything Unova stands for."

The receptionist was staring at him. "That… makes some sense, sir." After a moment's pause they stood. "We have no libraries here in Icirrus, but Leader Brycen may know more. Let me get him for you."

"Thank you." Nicholas watched the receptionist vanish into the gym. "So he's officially stepped down. Who's taken his place, Kalmiya?"

"A young man by the name of Marlin has opened a Water-type gym on Unova's eastern coast, Master. In Humilau City."

Nicholas grunted. "Water-types are a solid type, though with Ada and Cindy we'll have an easier time with them I think. Too bad. I feel like Brycen would have given us a good fight." He shrugged and turned to the others. "The Ice-type is a scary thing to have to face. Let it take control of the battlefield for even a moment and you may never regain an advantage."

"And one of the few to give you 'Dragon Masters' a healthy pause, eh?" Nicholas turned back to see Brycen walking out with the receptionist close behind. "I'm curious. Your words there, are those just your experiences being on the receiving end of a good blizzard? Or something else?"

"Good to see you, Brycen," Nicholas said. The man was in one of his kimonos as usual but was far more normally dressed otherwise, his hair hanging loose without a mask tied over his face. "What do you mean by that?"

"Jordan here was telling me you're looking for information," Brycen replied. "That you'd heard whispers of cold, a cold that chills not just the body but the very soul." He folded his arms inside his robe. "A cold that lingers even well after those touched by it have been pulled from its deadly grasp. An evil that freezes you in fear."

Nicholas blinked. Brycen was unusually somber. "You know something."

"I might," Brycen replied. "But while I am no longer a Gym Leader, I hold a duty, Nicholas. Just as you do. So I ask you again – your words, as you spoke about the Ice-type. What experiences formed them?"

"One of my Alphas is a Glaceon," Nicholas replied. "I've witnessed what she can do firsthand. And I've also stood against blizzards beyond anything a pokegirl can normally create. It took great sacrifice, but I've prevailed against them. That's why I hold a healthy respect for the Ice-type. Not simply because I'm a 'Dragon Master'."

"I've heard of your Glaceon. Miyuki, I believe?" Brycen asked. "I'd like to meet her."

"Before you'll help me, I assume."

"What you seek is no ordinary cold," Brycen explained. "While I don't doubt you have witnessed ice of great power, you have never experienced this. Even the eternal are said to freeze in the face of its malice." He unfolded his arms. "I will not feel comfortable helping you until I know you can face it. Prove that you are a master, not only of the dragon, but of its greatest weakness. Prove to me that you are worthy to be our World Champion, and I will tell you what you seek."

Nicholas cracked a slight smile. "Are you asking to fight me, Leader Brycen?"

Brycen cracked a grin of his own, the only hint in his body language of the flamboyant personality he usually portrayed. "I'm no gym leader anymore, Nicholas. But I'll be damned if I let you leave my city without testing your skills."

"Fine. Then you'll have your test." Nicholas glanced slightly to the side and mimed triggering his radio. "Kalmiya? Good, you're there. I'm in Icirrus and need Miyuki. Is she available?"

"I've already contacted her, Master," Kalmiya's amused voice replied in his ear. "She can be ready within minutes."

Nicholas turned back to Brycen. "You want to do this now?"

Brycen's eyes narrowed slightly. "If you can."

"Kalmiya, tell Miyuki to transport to the Icirrus City pokecenter," Nicholas said. "I'll pick her up in a few minutes."

"Our transporter is still active," Brycen interrupted. "I can send a request from here instead. Where is she transporting from?"

"She's still at Pokestar, Master."

"Actually Kalmiya, where is…?" Nicholas trailed off, waiting a few seconds so it seemed like he was listening to Kalmiya. "Yeah, perfect. Then tell her there will be a transport request there for her to go directly to the Icirrus Gym. Sounds good." He lowered his hand. "She'll be transporting from Pokestar Studios in ten minutes."

Brycen turned and gestured for Nicholas to follow. "This way."

They stepped through half-constructed hallways until Brycen led the group into what looked like a former break room for the gym staff. There was a stripped down pokeball transporter in the corner and Brycen activated it, tapping at the controls until the receiver began to glow and a hum could be heard from within the machine. It wasn't long before the transport request was accepted and the hum increased in volume, energy crackling across the receiver until a pokeball popped into existence.

Brycen stepped back and gestured. "Transfer complete."

Nicholas walked over and pulled Miyuki's pokeball from the machine before tossing it lightly into the air. "You there, Miyuki?"

The pokeball responded by popping open, the Glaceon coalescing upright and reaching out her hand to catch her pokeball as it fell back to the ground. "Of course I am, Nicholas." She turned to give Brycen a smile. "Hello, Brycen. Mistress Sabrina has told me all about you."

"And I've heard of you," Brycen replied. "Tell me. Is your Master a master of ice?"

Miyuki glanced in Nicholas' direction. "Will you forgive me if I…?"

Nicholas grunted. "He wants to be convinced. You can convince him."

Miyuki nodded and turned back to Brycen. "Once, I was meant to serve the eternal phoenix," she said clearly, her voice thrumming with conviction as a light glow suffused the Glaceon's skin. "But now I serve something greater. I serve my god, and he has named me his High Priestess. You ask if he wields ice. I chose him, and once I had, ice chose me."

Brycen leaned back slowly. "Then I wish to witness your ice, Miyuki. Will you face Callissa, and give my arena a proper farewell?"

Miyuki smiled. "I would be honored."

Lights popped on down the length of the arena when the group entered, shining across an icy expanse littered with piles of construction supplies and other debris. At a whistle from Brycen one of the piles shifted, uncurling to reveal Brycen's Alpha.

"Callissa! Get the girls clearing the arena. We're going to have one last battle and give it a proper farewell." Brycen turned to Nicholas as the Beartic shoved to her feet and began barking at some doors further into the gym. "I saw Sabrina's performance. Any chance you can get her to reconsider taking a part in one of my movies?"

Nicholas chuckled. "You'll have to reach out to her agent. That's not me anymore. You remember Karen?"

"Yeah, that Houndoom that was giving Sabrina so much grief…" Brycen blinked. "No."

"Yes."

"The hell'd that happen?" Brycen asked incredulously. "Last I knew you two hated her guts."

"I decided she'd be more valuable working for us than against us," Nicholas replied. "You know what they say."

"Yeah, keep your enemies closer, but I've never heard of anyone actually following that advice," Brycen said. "Damn. Well okay then. But do you think she'd be interested?"

"I think that her success so far has given Sabrina a massive confidence boost," Nicholas replied with a smile. "I'm sure that if you offered her the right part she'd be happy to consider it."

"Good, because I want to steal her before Harbor can lock her into some kind of long-term contract," Brycen grumbled. "He'd be stupid not to. Through the Mystical Door has already made it into the top ten grossing Wonder Fighters releases and its theatrical run hasn't even finished yet. The Magic Queen Bellelba is the face of that installment and so Sabrina is the face of its success."

"Speaking of movies, what have you got coming up?" Nicholas asked. "Since you've retired now I assume you're going full time into acting."

"I've got some new ideas," Brycen replied. "Nothing concrete yet. Well, looks like the girls have gotten the arena cleared up." He stepped out, perfectly surefooted on the slippery floor. "Gena, would you head up and turn on the machinery?"

"Machinery?" Nicholas asked as a pokegirl who looked as if she was formed from obsidian inclined her head and began levitating towards the ceiling, her arms extending and separating into orbs of icy blue light to more easily reach into the rafters. "What kind of machinery?"

"Just a little something I cooked up for the gym," Brycen replied. "We've pulled out all the control panels already but the important bits are still operational. Ready to get this started?"

"Sure. What are we looking at, just a one-on-one battle?" Nicholas asked, moving towards where a tamer's box appeared to be.

"What I'm looking for, is proof," Brycen replied as he walked over and thumped a fist against Callissa's. "Your High Priestess over there claims ice chose her." He turned and settled slightly lower into his stance, lifting his hands into a martial pose while Callissa took up position in front of him. "Prove it."

Miyuki was gazing at the Beartic as her fur began to puff up. "That's supposed to be the challenger's box, right, Nicholas?"

Nicholas looked down at his feet. "Probably. It's a tamer's box for sure. Why?"

"I don't want you standing in it." Miyuki walked over and gently pushed him out of the arena. "I just want you to watch. It's been years since I've had a chance to stretch."

Nicholas chuckled and let her push him all the way out. "Do I hear my High Priestess presenting me with an offering?"

"Don't tease me," Miyuki replied quietly, her eyes staring into his. "Will you accept one?"

"I've already given you permission, haven't I?" Nicholas murmured, bending in to take Miyuki in a sensual kiss. "Brycen wants proof. He wants you to convince him that you are what you say you are." As they pulled apart Nicholas squeezed her shoulders. "Show him. Show him what you showed me, all those years ago." He reached over and pressed his palm against the shard woven into her dress, pushing it against her skin to send a rare shiver through the Glaceon's body. "Show him the power of your ice, High Priestess. Show him the power of your god."

Miyuki's breaths were beginning to come slower, her chest rising further with each one as the Glaceon took deeper and deeper inhalations. As she breathed out there was first mist, then chilling fog, and then Nicholas felt tiny ice crystals sticking to his skin. "…As you demand," Miyuki whispered, lifting her eyes to his to reveal that they were beginning to cloud over white. "Thank you."

"Where are you going, Nicholas?" Brycen called when Nicholas walked away from the arena to rejoin the Unovan harem in the spectator area. "Aren't you going to support your Glaceon?"

"Miyuki has promised me a show," Nicholas replied, taking a seat as he gazed at the motionless Glaceon. "I wanted a better view." He glanced over at the other man. "She's ready. Make sure Callissa is too."

Brycen frowned slightly but raised his hand, triggering someone to activate the arena barriers. "Gena, go ahead and turn things on! She promised you a show, did she?" A grin was forcing its way back onto Brycen's face. "Then let's have one. Callissa!"

Callissa shook out her arms and roared, stamping her feet to hype herself up as across from her Miyuki just slowly lifted her eyes towards the ceiling, her own hands turning up slightly until she was standing as if basking in an unseen light. Her fingers curled in. And with a white flash ice lanced from her feet, crackling as it raced out to form towering jagged spikes in a semicircle behind her.

Before either pokegirl could attack, however, there was another noise. A loud thump as unseen machinery sprang to life and air began to swirl through the arena. Suddenly powdered snow spewed from the ceiling and the Beartic and Glaceon were standing in a raging blizzard, visibility just high enough to still see the two figures within the arena but the blowing snow hiding most details.

"Now that's more like it," Brycen said in satisfaction. Callissa was starting to hop in place, her hulking figure seeming to slip through the falling flakes as if it was a fluid. "Let's see it, Miyuki!"

Miyuki was letting the snow fall over her skin and at Brycen's challenge she brought her eyes down to look past the driving snow. "Are you a fool?" she asked, her voice rising no higher than necessary to reach the man. "I am one with snow. You've just done my work for me."

"We'll see," Callissa growled. Then she was moving, a ghost flickering rapidly through the blizzard until she was in Miyuki's face, heavy hands with claws bared striking out to batter the Glaceon across the head.

Miyuki spun away, her fangs slipping out as she snarled her displeasure at the Beartic. "So, you dance with the blizzard," she hissed. "It will not matter. THE BLIZZARD AND I ARE ONE!"

At Miyuki's command the air in the arena turned, swirling along unnatural lines until it roared past the screaming Glaceon and drove Callissa back, the Beartic's grunts of pain coming as the driving ice sliced into her skin and drew blood. Meanwhile Miyuki was slipping away, the ice sticking to her body and refracting light to give the Glaceon an eerie glow as she drew power from the storm. Callissa managed to push past Miyuki's blizzard and flickered again, but as she got close the wind blasted in between the two pokegirls. Callissa's blood mixed with the driving snow as it drew a distinct line across the ground that, at a gesture from Miyuki, surged upwards in a dense red ice wall. The Beartic smashed into it, a loud crunch heralding the appearance of a massive web of cracks through Miyuki's defense, and at another roaring strike from Callissa the wall had shattered, revealing that the Glaceon had vanished.

Callissa's eyes narrowed and she slunk back, slipping past another blast of frozen air before her nose twitched and she whirled to throw a haymaker into her blind spot.

Red painted the ice of the arena as Miyuki was ripped from her icy shell, the Glaceon tumbling across the floor while pieces of her torn dress were whipped up into the storm. Before Callissa could press her advantage lines of spikes burst out towards her and she was battered back, giving Miyuki time to get back to her feet and focus long enough so that by the time Callissa was charging for her again she could raise another defense. The precious moments it took for the Beartic to break through allowed Miyuki to draw ice back over the gaping wounds Callissa's claws had torn, halting the bleeding and allowing her to be ready when Callissa obliterated the wall and sent deadly shards spraying into the Glaceon's space.

Miyuki hissed in pain as a few shards bypassed what ice armor she'd been able to reform and sank into her flesh, but the shards were just a side effect of Callissa's attack. Miyuki was forced to throw herself out of the way when her wall crumbled, slamming down unnaturally quickly as an avalanche of ice and snow that completely obliterated the spot she'd been a moment before. As Callissa emerged through the driving snow, the Beartic's eyes burning, Miyuki began to laugh.

"You grow weaker with every strike," she taunted, lowering her arms so she could stare down the approaching Beartic face-to-face. "What are you going to-"

Callissa silenced her with a lightning-fast swipe, her open palm crashing against Miyuki's ear and sending the Glaceon tumbling away. "And you grow more cowardly," she growled, stalking after the feebly stirring figure. "Go on. Hide again."

Miyuki panted, pushing onto her hands before glancing back over her shoulder to see Callissa's fur beginning to stand on end. A sneer crossed the Glaceon's face as she forced herself to her feet. "You're a fool for believing I was ever hiding," she replied. "You should have hit me harder."

Callissa laced her claws together, snarling as she drew them across each other and a pale energy suffused her body, but when she went to move she blinked. The snow no longer fell around her. "What…"

Miyuki's eyes were consumed in pure white light. "Did you not listen?" Miyuki hissed, the blizzard raging around the pair but never crossing the threshold of where the two pokegirls stood. "The snow and I are one. You merely borrow its power. I, can deny it from you." She raised her hand. "Now. Fall into despair before me."

Callissa roared. Took a heavy step forwards, two. But without the blizzard to push her faster she was slow. Agonizingly slow. Too slow to stop the beam of ice that blasted from Miyuki's hand to crash into her chest. Too slow, too powerless to break it as she was driven back, still howling, towards the spiked wall Miyuki had formed what felt like ages ago. The one she had been manipulating the Beartic in front of the entire time. Callissa's roar became a gurgle as she was impaled, spears of ice piercing her body and blood soaking her perfect white fur a crimson hue.

Miyuki slowly lowered her hand and as she did the snow fell once more, swirling around her while the Glaceon's tension eased, a deep sigh escaping her lips when the wounds Callissa had caused began to knit themselves closed.

Nicholas watched her while Brycen recalled Callissa from the bloodied spikes. The howling blizzard was slowing, as the machines went silent and the only thing left to manipulate the snow in the arena was Miyuki's power. The flakes drifted, sparkling in the light, and when the Glaceon turned to face him it was like the air was filled with glittering diamonds instead of ice.

"I certainly can't deny that," Brycen said as he turned to Nicholas. "Come over here, World Champion. I will tell you what you want to know."

Nicholas rejoined Miyuki and before he turned his attention to Brycen he lifted a hand to cup the Glaceon's cheek. "I accept your offering, High Priestess," he murmured, as the glittering points of light drifted around them. "Your devotion and service are recognized." He turned to Brycen as a beatific smile spread across Miyuki's face. "This malevolent cold. What do you know?"

Brycen grunted. "Void. The absence of everything. Are you familiar with the concept?"

"Of course."

"In a space with nothing, then there is also no heat," Brycen explained. "Against something that is the essence of nothing, then what would be left, but an eternal cold?"

"My Rotom takes an Ice-type form by doing that," Nicholas said. "She absorbs all the heat of her physical body into her core and freezes. You're saying this cold is similar?"

"Yes. A being of void, and so a being of unimaginable cold," Brycen replied. "But it is not simply the physical that it is known to freeze. As I mentioned before, even being in this being's vicinity is said to freeze all in fear, as their will is drawn away just like the heat ripped from their flesh."

"What is it, then?" Nicholas asked. "An eternal one? A legendary pokegirl? Some more primal entity or force, or something else entirely?"

"That, I do not know," Brycen replied quietly. "It is said to have existed since the old kingdom fell, though its origins are not entirely agreed upon. Some say it fell from the sky, and without the ancients to stop it began to feed on any unfortunate enough to cross its path. Some say it rose from the emptiness left behind by the fall of the kingdom itself, a manifestation of the dread and hopelessness that held Unova in its clutches. And most believe it a fairy tale. Why is 'it' so unknown, then, they ask? Why does 'it' have no name, no form, unlike the many champions that fill our history?" Brycen snorted. "Because humanity has desperately tried to forget it. It has a name. It has a form. And there is a place that feels its influence, even today." He gazed into Nicholas' eyes. "A town that still cowers within its walls, taking shelter in their homes every night, for fear that the old tales of a cold wind that devoured humans and pokegirls alike are true. It is known as Lacunosa, and the wind they fear was once called Kyurem."

"Are the tales true?"

"Who knows?" Brycen asked. "But the ancient residents of Lacunosa Town must have believed so. They built great walls around their settlement to keep something out."

Nicholas nodded. "Lacunosa Town. Thank you."

"Is it wrong for me to wish you don't find what you're looking for?" Brycen said. "Wrong for me to hope that it truly is just an old tale?"

"It's not," Nicholas replied quietly. "And it's coming."

Brycen watched him for a few moments before snorting and sticking out his hand. "Nicholas Topolski. The legendary tamer. Good luck."

"Thanks, Brycen," Nicholas replied, taking the offer and giving Brycen a firm shake. "I appreciate the information."

"And I appreciate what Miyuki has given today," Brycen replied. "I'm satisfied. Can close the gym without regret, now that it's borne witness to today."

"It was my pleasure, Leader Brycen," Miyuki replied from behind Nicholas. "Please, pass my compliments to Callissa. One wrong step and I would have been the one buried beneath her avalanche."

"She'll appreciate hearing that from you." Brycen let go of Nicholas' hand. "I suppose I know where you're headed next."

"Yep."

"Travel safe, Nicholas." Brycen let out a sigh. "I hope the next time we meet we can share a drink like the good old days."

Nicholas cracked a smile at that. "I'll see what I can do."

.

.

Fiona did not return for two full days, leaving Nicholas and the others to pass the time in training. But return she did, eventually, and when Nicholas saw the silent figure pushing into the arena towards him he turned his full attention to her. "Fiona! You're back. Did you find what you were looking for?"

Fiona stopped in front of him. "Yes," she said so quietly that it was almost a whisper. "I found it and more." Her eyes lifted to his. "You were correct. This land… This land is my home. It is where I was born. Formed, to be its protector. For the threat I have seen is not far away."

Nicholas nodded slightly. "I dug up some information while you were gone. There's a human settlement to the east called Lacunosa Town. It is there that legends whisper of the cold wind called Kyurem."

Fiona slowly blinked back. "When do we leave?"

"We were just waiting for you." Nicholas turned and waved at Kiana to prompt her to start wrapping up the training session. "I've already contacted the rest of my harem and they're heading to Lacunosa too. With any luck they'll find something before we even get there."

Keldeo's fingers wrapped over the hilt of her sword. "This fight is mine."

"Kyurem is yours," Nicholas agreed. "But Kyurem will not be alone. Neo Plasma is looking to use its power, so I'm sure there will be plenty for the rest of us to handle while you face Kyurem itself."

Fiona nodded after a few moments. "This is a fair prediction." She stepped up beside him and glanced in Nicholas' direction. "I believe it is time you learned how to wear a sword, my Lord."

"I believe you may be correct."

The group shared a late lunch before getting back on the road, Nicholas chatting with Kalmiya and Fiona as they walked. "There are how many major factions in play here?" he mused. "Myself, the World Police, Neo Plasma… can we count Anthea and Concordia's Plasma as well?"

"They did not seem very militaristic," Fiona replied.

Nicholas grunted. "Not really, no. At least not as a whole. The sage… Rood, was it? And the guy we first met, Patrick. They were ready to pursue violence, if necessary. But not Anthea or Concordia I think. Just as before there are two factions within Plasma. Only this time both are fighting for the same cause." He let out a sigh. "I don't know if we should count them or not, but it's best to keep them in mind. Just like we should keep in mind other rogue elements."

"The boy Hugh," Kalmiya said.

"Him, and any others like him," Nicholas agreed. "Once again I don't know how much we should count on them, or if we should hope for them to appear at all. But they exist. We will see what part they all have to play."

"Was a name and possible location all you learned of this… threat, my Lord?" Fiona asked. "If so, then perhaps more allies would be beneficial in our search."

"Brycen had some other pieces of information, but nothing concrete, no," Nicholas replied. "He couldn't even tell me what this Kyurem is – pokegirl, force of nature, or otherwise. Although…"

Fiona waited as Nicholas trailed off. "Although?"

A thoughtful frown had grown across Nicholas' face. "Brycen did say one other thing that might be important. Or at least might give us another hint. He said that Kyurem has been known of since the fall of the old kingdom."

Fiona's brow furrowed. "Do you believe it is related to that event, Lord Nicholas?"

"I have no idea how it would be, but it's possible," Nicholas said. "If it was… If it was, then I know someone who might know more."

"Who?"

"Someone who was there for the kingdom's fall," Nicholas replied. "Nikki, otherwise known as Victini. Kalmiya, do you know where Nikki is?"

"I am afraid I do not, Master," Kalmiya apologized. "Nikki, Zinnia, Celine… Those pokegirls come and go as they please, and do not often talk about their plans where I might be able to hear them. I could search for her if you wish?"

"No, don't bother," Nicholas muttered. "By the time she popped up it would probably be too late anyways. Damn." He blinked. "There's someone who I know we'll be able to find, though. There's a chance she'd remember." He turned to Fiona. "Reshiram."

Fiona's eyes widened. "Lady Reshiram?"

"The others told you of her?" Nicholas asked. "I suppose they must have, when they were talking about me. Yeah. The dragon of truth. It's a long shot, but she might know more." A smile began to push at his lips. "And we go to fight a dreadful cold? What better than the flames of truth to combat the chill?"

"Where is Lady Reshiram, Lord Nicholas?" Fiona asked eagerly. "I believe I can accept a detour if it is not too far out of the way."

Nicholas chuckled. "You're in luck, because the detour won't be very far at all. She lives just north of here, in a tower near Eindoak Town."

"You say the others are on their way to Lacunosa now?" Fiona bit her lip when Nicholas nodded. "And it would take us how long to travel by foot…?"

"A week or so, give or take a few days."

"And if," Fiona murmured, "the others discover this Kyurem, and we are not yet there?"

"Then we won't be travelling by foot any longer."

Fiona nodded slowly. "Then I can accept this detour, Lord Nicholas. Especially if it has a chance to uncover more information on what I go to face."

Nicholas nodded back. "Agreed. Let's turn north. We can be in Eindoak tomorrow."

.

.

Nicholas arched his spine with a grunt and gazed up at the Sword of the Vale with both hands pressed into the small of his back. "Makes me dizzy every time." After a few moments he let go of his stretch and returned his eyes to the ground. "And Nikki carried that, she said. Psychically I'd assume but still… It's always good to remind myself of the strength of the eternal." He gave Fiona a teasing smile from the corner of his eye. "Even you, young as you are, Fiona. The careless cut to seal your oaths expanded the grove by quite a bit, what with all the trees you felled."

Fiona lifted her chin proudly. "My mark will never fade."

"It certainly won't. Not until the stone and the grove are ground to dust under the relentless wheel of time." He nodded at the tower rising ahead of them. "That's Dragonspiral up ahead. Are you ready to meet Reshiram?"

Fiona grasped her sword, her fingers clenching tight for a few moments before she relaxed and nodded, a determined glint in her eyes while her horn glowed softly. "I am, Lord Nicholas."

"Then let's make our presence known," Nicholas replied. "It's been a while. Think she'll remember me?"

"Hasn't it only been-?" Adalinda began to ask before her words stopped in her throat. Nicholas was rolling his shoulders, his aura rising over his form, and as he focused on the tower before them he had completely transformed. She'd never witnessed him like this before, and a burning flame exploded within her at the sight. He wasn't putting on a show for some humans, like in Nimbasa. He was calling to Reshiram. To an eternal one. As her equal. Her… better.

The other pokegirls felt themselves stir in response to Nicholas' roaring bellow but none had it hit them as forcefully as Adalinda did. As Nicholas' lips drew back, his slit eyes narrowing, and he announced his presence to the silent tower, Adalinda collapsed, only barely catching herself on her hands as her entire body trembled and jerked. Her own back was arching, her lips drawn all the way back past the joints of her jaw as her eyes drilled into the ground below her and her bared fangs hissed at the dirt.

Nicholas didn't even notice the panting Serperior, because there had been an answer. Thundering over the mountains came Reshiram's response, and his lips turned up in a wild grin at what he heard. "She's waiting for us. Let's go."

Adalinda found herself getting pulled upright and half-carried, her eyes snapping to the side to see Kiana supporting her while the group hurried after Nicholas. "Compose yourself, Beta," the Arcanine growled quietly. "I know. What burns inside of me felt that too." She gave Adalinda a slight look. "Which is it going to be. Will you rise to his challenge, to stand with him, or will you surrender to it?" Her nose crinkled. "Because all I smell right now is submission."

Adalinda hissed weakly in reply but before she could do much else Kiana was turning away. "JADE!" she barked, gesturing at the Golurk hovering above the group. "Stand with the Master while I take care of something."

"Gladly, Alpha!" Jade replied brightly, her energy popping as she sped up to fly beside Nicholas. Kiana slowed, still holding Adalinda, to let the others pass before she let go of the Serperior.

Adalinda slammed to the ground at the unexpected release and groaned, pushing herself back onto her tail while Kiana walked around to face her. "The hell was that for?" she grumbled, brushing herself off and feeling the bruises tenderly. "They're getting ahead-"

"Look at me," Kiana replied curtly, and Adalinda found herself unable to resist the command. She turned her eyes towards Kiana to find the Arcanine's locked on her, and deep within them the burning energy that had just overcome her. "Look well. This is what he demands of us, Ada. But because he is kind, he has not forced it upon us until today. I have seen it from the beginning. You…" Kiana hesitated. "Perhaps it is because I have known what to look for. You didn't. But you've seen it now. So I ask you again." Adalinda yelped when Kiana reached down and yanked her groin covering up to reveal her vagina, lips swollen with arousal and leaking fluid down the length of her tail. "Is this the best you can respond to him with?"

"Don't fucking- UNGH!" Adalinda tried, her muscles nearly giving out when Kiana shoved her to the ground and buried her face in her cunt. "Th-The fu-hu-huCK ARE YOU DOING!"

"Cleaning you up," Kiana growled, worming her tongue deep into Adalinda's pussy as the Serperior thrashed about in orgasmic throes. "Clearing your head," she continued once she had pulled up again and spat Adalinda's juices onto the ground. "Because I know you, Ada. My Beta." She got to her feet and held out a hand to Adalinda, watching the panting Serperior come down from her high. "I've seen it. You are proud. Far too proud to let anyone, even our Master, reduce you to nothing more than a pokegirl cocksleeve."

Adalinda's panting breaths slowed, eventually allowing her to lift a hand to accept Kiana's and let the Arcanine pull her back upright. "You can't tell me hearing… that… didn't make you feel the same way, Kiana. It was like-"

"The roar of an Alpha," Kiana finished for her with a smirking grin. "Oh, I heard it. I felt it, too." She tapped her own groin. "It burns just as much as yours, Ada. I want nothing more than for him to fill me right now." Her claws squeezed down on Adalinda's hand. "But I know he expects more of me than that. I stand as his Alpha. I can not allow myself to give in to my carnal desire unless he allows me to. He calls you his dragon." Her eyes narrowed. "So, Ada, you have no right giving in to yours. Am I understood?"

Adalinda's eyes slid shut, a shiver racing through her body, and when they finally opened again Kiana grinned at what she saw. "So easy to lose myself," Adalinda growled. "I'd thought that meant keeping the dragon at arm's length. That was my mistake, wasn't it? If I hadn't, maybe hearing my… Weyrleader… assert himself wouldn't have broken me. I broke because I am no dragon. Not yet." Her forked tongue flicked out between her fangs. "But I will be, Alpha Kiana. Because you're right. I refuse to be reduced to nothing more than a pussy yearning for Nicholas' cock."

"Attagirl," Kiana growled as she released her grip on the Serperior's hand. "They've gotten a bit ahead of us. But they're all rather slow, wouldn't you say?"

Adalinda's mouth widened into a grin. "Race you to the tower, Alpha."

Kiana chuckled, her tail beginning to sway side to side as she focused her energy. "I'm sure you'll do your best to outrun me, Beta."

"How could I possibly do that?" Adalinda quipped, her tail bunching up. "I don't have any legs."

With a barking laugh Kiana flashed forwards, Adalinda blitzing after the white streak that bounded towards the others.

They had rejoined the group by the time Nicholas reached the door of the tower and he paused a moment, marveling at the heavy wood that had replaced the empty portal from before. "Do I see renovations?" he asked teasingly, raising a hand to knock before throwing etiquette aside and just shoving the door open instead. "RESHIRAM!" he roared, his grin widening when he stepped into the tower. "Okay, I love what you've done with the place."

He'd stepped into an entryway adorned with tapestries and lavish furniture, a bright and welcoming atmosphere in contrast to the ruined, decaying place he had first found the legendary dragon's shade clinging to. The others clamored as they filed in behind him and Nicholas turned his grin to the stairs when he felt the presence descending towards them.

It was their first meeting all over again, and yet nothing alike as the barefooted woman stepped her way down the stairs. "Good morning," Reshiram said teasingly, clad in the transparent gossamer gown so that her alabaster body was on full display. "Tell me, Champion of Truth. What brings you to me and my sister's home?"

"I feel like my answer might have just changed," Nicholas joked, and Reshiram laughed, tilting her head back as her wings appeared from where she'd been hiding them behind her. "Wings in this form now? That's new."

"I feel naked without them," Reshiram replied, winking at him as she stretched her wings and the motion drew her gown tightly against her breasts so her nipples formed tents in the fabric. "I am sure there is no other reason I feel exposed."

"None at all," Nicholas chuckled back. "Reshiram, may we enter your home? I have someone who would like to meet you, and questions, if you are willing to answer them."

"Always, for my champion," Reshiram replied fondly. "Though I may demand some payment in return. Perhaps the warmth of your touch?" She batted her eyelashes at him. "It has been many lonely nights since last we spoke, after all."

"I'm sure that can be arranged," Nicholas said with a grin.

"Then please, be welcome!" Reshiram cried, sweeping her arm up the stairs. "Come up out of that waiting area. It's all dusty from disuse – without keepers to handle my visitors I've been forced to meet them directly." Nicholas could hear her giggling as the group followed Reshiram up the stairs. "And for them, this form is hardly suitable. No, they seek Reshiram, the Dragon of Truth. And that is what they find." As Nicholas stepped up onto the next floor he was greeted by Reshiram grinning at him, her fangs in full view and scales having raced across much of her exposed skin as she slipped a bit into her true self. "So many with falsehoods in their hearts. But I have been kind, my champion. You taught me mercy, after all."

Nicholas chuckled and moved towards the grand lounge that dominated one half of the room. "I am sure the ones who have needed yours are thankful. Has that been how you've spent your time? Entertaining pilgrims, redecorating your tower?"

"It is how I have spent most of it, yes," Reshiram replied, following him and daintily placing herself across his lap when Nicholas sat down, humming when his hands moved to caress her body and leaning up to brush her lips against his cheek. "I have also spent it thinking. Experiencing. Being… alive again."

"As we all should," Nicholas replied with a smile and turned to meet her lips with his own. "So. I said I had someone who would like to meet you, and while each of the pokegirls I've brought with me today are new to you, the one with the horn is here specifically for you." He turned and gestured for Fiona to come closer. "Fiona, this is Reshiram. She never let me give her one of my names."

Reshiram was still nuzzling against Nicholas' cheek but her eyes flicked sideways to look at Fiona. "While you did, I assume? What, then, is your true name?"

Fiona swallowed nervously. "I am known as Keldeo, Lady Reshiram."

Reshiram's eyebrow shot up. "'Lady' Reshiram? You offer me deference, when I do not even know of you?"

"Fiona, or Keldeo, is rather young," Nicholas replied. "But that's not why she says that. She is the newest of the Swords, formed of Unova itself. Respect and honor are her very being."

Reshiram blinked and turned from Nicholas to fully face Fiona. "I know of the Swords of Justice," she replied, "though only since my reawakening. I welcome you to my tower, Madame Keldeo. What questions may I answer for you?"

Fiona's eyes widened in shock and she physically had to stop herself from taking a surprised step back. "W-Wait," she stammered, "did you just call me Madame-?"

"From what I have learned of the Swords, you exist to oppose what I once was," Reshiram replied quietly. "To safeguard the land I turned against. So I grant you all of the respect you deserve."

"B-But I'm just…"

"Too young?" Reshiram interrupted. "If you think about it, so am I, at least as I am now. My champion awoke me barely a year ago. Before that, I was nothing. Before that, I was death. I was not Reshiram. I was merely a broken fragment of Tirakan that burned the Vale without care." She glanced away. "If you said your purpose here was to bring me to your justice, I would not resist."

"N-No, that's not- not at all!" Fiona exclaimed. "Lady Reshiram, the three speak of you in reverence, not in disdain. They care- I care not for what you once were, only what you are now. And you are a paragon of justice!"

Reshiram was silent as she gazed out the window. "A paragon of justice," she eventually said quietly. "Perhaps. Justice does stand with what is true. But not of my own will."

"I had to force you a bit, that's true," Nicholas replied. Reshiram's eyes closed when his arm wrapped around her body and pulled her into a hug. "But you've seen the truth of it now, right? You're acting upon what you've discovered for yourself? So it's hardly fair to say that the paragon Fiona sees you as is not of your own making."

Reshiram let out a quiet sigh. "I am not sure if I can agree, if I still require my champion to make me see truth." She turned and opened her eyes to gaze at him. "But truth still fills his words. Thank you."

"Hey," Nicholas said with a cheeky grin, "that's what I'm here for."

Reshiram smiled at him before turning back to Fiona. "It is, I suppose. If you are not here to put me to your sword, Keldeo, then what do you seek? Or," she amended, "what do you seek, Fiona? For you to take one of my champion's names… I understand that the bond you hold with him is more absolute than my own."

"Nikki calls you Leshi," Nicholas said as he stroked Reshiram's wings. "If you're still not comfortable taking a name from me, why not embrace hers? I think it's a cute little nickname, personally."

Reshiram stilled. "You think…?"

"You don't have to, of course," Nicholas continued, pretending as if he hadn't heard Reshiram's reaction. "You could leave that between the two of you, that's fine too."

Reshiram awkwardly cleared her throat and pulled her attention back towards Fiona. "It is… something I must think on. But not now. What do you seek from me, Fiona?"

Fiona nodded. "Um. Right. I am here, because… because I have seen a vision, a vision of something approaching, something great, and dark, and terrible," she explained. "Something full of malice, of a deadly cold that seeks to consume Unova. Lord Nicholas found someone who knew of this thing, and they named it Kyurem. They also said this Kyurem has been whispered of since… the fall of the first kingdom." She bit her lip as Reshiram remained silent. "I'd hoped… maybe you knew something? Since… you were there. When the Vale fell."

Reshiram did not move from her position for nearly a minute, and when she finally did, it was to close her eyes and grimace in pain. "I thought you said you were not here to have me suffer for my actions, Fiona," she whispered. "Yet you ask me to relive my memories of my betrayal?"

"I-I…"

"Yes. I was there, of course," Reshiram interrupted. "But my memories will not help you. I was broken. Even if I had witnessed this 'Kyurem' the only thing I remember from that time is my rage and pain." She opened her eyes again. "I am sorry, Madame Fiona. I can not help you, though if it would have helped to atone for my sins, I would have suffered gladly."

"I'd figured it was a long shot," Nicholas said quietly as he continued soothing the tensed muscles under his fingers. "Thank you for even trying."

"…I remember Tirakan, me," Reshiram breathed. "I remember her anguish. I remember my… flesh, my essence, tearing apart." Reshiram had begun adopting a hunched posture as she curled in on herself. "I was scattered. In all directions. I died. And then opened my eyes, to suffer all of it again."

"You are no longer that beast," Nicholas murmured to the agonized legendary. "No longer a mere fragment. You are Reshiram, and you are your own being."

"…I am so sorry," Fiona whispered, her head sunk deep in a bow, "to have asked you to relive that moment, Lady Reshiram."

"Shattered," Reshiram choked out. "So many pieces, such emptiness from what was lost…"

Nicholas rose, pulling Reshiram into his arms as he did. "I'll see to her recovery," he said to the room. "I promise that we won't delay here any longer than necessary, Fiona. But I will not leave Reshiram like this either."

"I understand, Lord Nicholas," Fiona whispered to the floor.

Nicholas nodded and, leaving her bowed and the others murmuring to each other, swept up the stairs deeper into the tower.

.

.

POKEDEX UPDATED

Tamer: Nicholas Topolski

Badges:

Basic Badge

Insect Badge

Bolt Badge

Quake Badge

Toxic Badge

Jet Badge

Harem:

Kiana, Arcanine (Alpha) – Level 44

Adalinda, Serperior – Level 43

Jade, Golurk – Level 44

Melody, Seismitoad – Level 44

Cindy, Galvantula – Level 43

Non-Com Harem:

Kalmiya, Porygon-Z – Level 35
Cathy, Miltank – Level 72