The Contender's Ascent

by Insane Dominator

Third installment to "The Fairy Contender". Months passed since Nic and Erza finally united, but now things get really interesting. New challenges face Nic as Pokemon begin to rise, more complex foes challenge him and his powers, and something darker than darkness itself seeks Nic. With friends new and old joining forces, Nic and two worlds unite in ways unimaginable. OCxErza

47. Look Before You Leap

Pink sparkles fluttered around Route 8, sprinkling the dirt and grass with a scaly pink gloss. It stuck to grass blades like glitter gloss for a few seconds before fading. Nic and Erza raced past the dazzling display and watched the trail lengthen beyond the oncoming Memorial Hill. With the sun having just set, seeing these pink sparkles made them easier to trace.

"Where does it think it's going?" Erza gritted her teeth, jumping over a root sticking out of the ground.

"I think I saw her heading up past the outskirts!" Nic shouted. His eyes were glazed at the sparkling rainfall that petered to a higher elevation towards the hillside cliffs. It could have been his artificial left eye, but he could have sworn he saw Tapu Lele at the end disappearing past the rocks. "Where does she get the energy to move that fast?"

"That's hard to say. It could be part of her power." Erza furrowed her brow. "We need to speed up. We're starting to lose her tail."

"I know." Nic extended his arm out to his side. "Erza, hold onto me. I'm gonna go fast again!"

"Again?" She dryly mused. Of course she wasn't in any position to say no. This was an important matter, and she knew Nic could get there faster than her Flight Armor. She hopped onto his back, making sure to hold onto his shoulders with her slender fingers.

Once his wife was mounted on his back piggyback style, Nic focused in the trail ahead that was bathed in moonlight. "Extreme Speed!"

In a burst of bright green, Nic's running turned into a sonic sprint as a bright green trail followed him up the path. He was wasting no expense getting to the bottom of this.

---

Olivia hurried up the trail as fast as she good, but her pace was surprisingly slow. 'What did I just see back there? Did I actually see Tapu Lele? She wouldn't go out of her way to play tricks like these on a whim. Why would she suddenly attack those tourists?' She recalled when she felt something odd coming from the deity just the other night. She sensed something for sure that time. 'Is she curious about something that I'm not aware of?'

Suddenly, she saw a bright green dash line race at top speed in the far distance. It moved so fast that she could barely keep track of it as it went up towards the outskirt hills.

'What's that? It looks like a Pokémon?' She started up her pace again. 'I need to do something, as Island Kahuna of Akala!'

---

Tapu Lele hummed merrily as she shifted through the air, drifting over the mountains over her prestigious ruins within the mountain groves. "(Ah~, well that was fun! Haven't done anything like that in what I could feel to be ages! Teehee! And here Fini said that I was too cheeky for my own good. Why, I think I scored myself some…uh…brownie points! Yeah, that's the one! Boy do these humans come up with such strange sayings. I don't see why the others try them.)"

She looked around, seeing that it was just her and the two gray tiki stones that stood on either side. "(Hm, it'll probably be a while before them two get here.)" She balled her fingerless hand and hit her palm. "(Oh, I know! I can set up a trap for them! Yup! A little Land Spirit trap like the old days! That always scared the people crazy when I use Nature's Madness!)"

Suddenly, in a green spritz, something swift dashed up the outskirts, beelining right for the ruins across the bridge. When Tapu Lele whipped around, she saw a green light speed across the small bridge, shuddering the wood and rope that the bridge made up of. The spritz came to a stop and sent a shockwave that drifted Tapu Lele a few feet back.

"(My goodness!)"

"Found ya." Standing several meters away, Nic glared down Tapu Lele while Erza got off his back. They stood side-by-side as the land spirit drifted upwards.

"(Oh my, wasn't expecting you to catch up to me that quickly.)" she teased nonchalantly. "(Oh well, you found me!)"

"Enough of your games. Tell us, are you really the guardian deity of Akala?" Erza demanded.

"(Well…since you asked so nicely, I guess I can play along. Allow me to introduce myself to y'all!)" She retreated into her shell and spun around in place, sprinkling the ground with pink scales. She ascended in a small burst and popped her head out. "(Yo, yo, yo! What's the sitch'? I'm your kindred of Akala herself, the cutest and most dazzling deity of them all! Your little life bringer, and protector of Alola itself! Give it up for Tapu Lele, yo!)" She ended by striking a jab-like pose and a wink, sending a small burst of scales like confetti around her.

Nic and Erza looked on, having slightly disturbed expressions written on their faces. There was a very stale atmosphere as the pink scales glittered the ground around Tapu Lele as she waited for a response.

"(…oh wow, tough crowd. And after I rehearsed that, too!)" She balled her fists in frustration. "(The least you could do is clap for me! Man, you freaks really are killjoys!)"

"She doesn't seem to act anything like Tapu Koko, that's for sure." Erza whispered to Nic.

"Yeah…a bit, uh…scattered, I think." He muttered back.

Tapu Lele drifted closer, lifting a hand to her curly pink hair. "(H'oh, what are you whispering about over there? I hate it when I'm excluded from stuff!)"

Nic and Erza separated, the latter taking the lead on talking. "Tell us something. Why did you attack us back there?"

Tapu Lele tilted her head. "(Why? Oh, well you know. I was just doing my island duty is all. You sure picked up a serious tussle with ole' Koko, and now he's as ruffled as a Rufflet rollin' around in dry dirt. Y'all be causing such a big ruckus these past few nights, so I'm here to set the ground rules for you!)"

Nic furrowed his brow as he interpreted. "She said she heard about what happened to Tapu Koko and is blaming us for what happened."

"It wasn't like we did anything wrong back then. We didn't do anything to provoke him…did we?"

Nic kept his eyes fixed on Tapu Lele. "Not sure. We didn't get a chance, remember? He fled out of sight just before we could explain ourselves. If that's the case…we need to fix this now."

"You're right." Erza decided to be the one to step forward. "Listen, what happened back on Melemele was a complete misunderstanding. It wasn't intentional."

"(Not intentional?)" Tapu Lele blinked. "(So you didn't end up hurting him in the end?)"

Nic led on due to being able to understand. "No, he attacked us first. We weren't trying to pick a fight with him. We were after something else."

"(What's that supposed to mean…?)" She suddenly jerked back. "(Wait, I know! You…)" She pointed accusingly at them. "(...are after taking over Alola, aren't you?! Yeah, that's it! You want to go around and get our attention, and then show off these freaky alien powers you have to get the jump on us! Well I'll tell you this!)" She drifted higher to show her superiority. "(I may be called a ditz, but ain't no fool! We Tapus won't give up Alola so easily to Ultra Beasts or freaks like you!)"

Nic furrowed his brow. 'Is she serious or is she just playing with us?' He didn't like the looks of this situation. He tried his best to stay calm despite the accusation. "Calm down, we didn't come to pick any kinds of fights with any of you. We just want to talk."

Tapu Lele gave a loud "Hmphf!" as she glared them down. "(Heard that one before! But Pokémon Hunters themselves never learn when they're around me. You take me for a fool?!)"

Erza leered in defense. "Looks like she's not having it, is she?"

Nic grunted as he could feel the air change around them. He didn't know what to say to get her to settle down.

"(As Akala's deity, I'll cast anything that's a threat! Even freaks like you! For ole' Koko!)" She twirled around, her body expelling a distorted hot pink wave that spread out around them. The terrain around them gave off a bright pink hue, making a tingling sensation run along their hairs.

"Nic! This field!" Erza glanced around, taking a defensive stance. "It's just like Tapu Koko."

Nic grunted. "Damnit! Guess we don't have much choice, do we?" He looked around them, seeing the distorted hue's kinetic force shuffling. "The last one was something like Electric Terrain, but this looks like a Psychic kind of battlefield. She must ne part Psychic-type!"

"In that case, look alive!" Erza warned.

Tapu Lele giggled as rainbow kinetic energy gathered in her palms. "(Alright! Here I go! Extrasensory!)"

A blast wave of enhanced kinetic energy rippled after Nic and Erza, distorting the air around its wake. Nic was quick enough to flash his body, becoming a cross of Normal/Dark. The coat and pants were of the Psychic typing, but the edging and accessories were for the Dark-type half. He stood in Erza's way as he took the Extrasensory, sustaining no damage. With a grunt, his eyes brightened up, expelling a bright Flash that enflamed Tapu Lele's eyes, causing her to turn away as her accuracy dropped.

"Erza!"

"I know!" She pulled out a Poke Ball, throwing it into the air. "Houndoom, prepare for battle!"

Nic swiped his arm, sending out his aid. "Staraptor, let's go!"

Both capsules flung open, sending energy that solidified into Houndoom and Staraptor respectively. Both Pokémon exerted a huff of flames, along with a loud caw with a harsh wing flap.

The bright light soon receded within Nic's eyes, allowing Tapu Lele to shake her head and look forward. "(Hnngh…huh? Say, who invited the other Pokémon here? So sorry, but I'm afraid this little party doesn't have enough room for you two!)"

"(Yeah, you say that.)" Houndoom barked, taking a pouncing position. "(Alright, hate to do this to you, but can't say you didn't ask for it.)"

Staraptor's glare was fixed on Tapu Lele, causing a blue aura to envelop her body to symbolize her Intimidate Ability having taken effect. She could feel her own Attack lowering, but tried remaining innocent.

"(Eep, so scary.)"

Erza closed her eyes, standing firm as she requipped at last into her Black Wing Armor. She held her long blade. "This this, my own attacks should have their own boost." She took a striking position. "Listen, Tapu Lele, this is your last warning! We just want to explain what's been happening! Stand down, and we can solve this without anyone getting hurt!"

"(Hmmm…nope!)" She shook her head. "(I think this will a much more fun way to do things! Like this!)" She concentrated lunar energy to a singular point, creating a powerful Moonblast that fired at them.

"Houndoom, Shadow Ball!" Erza commanded. Houndoom opened his maw, channeling energy to create a dark orb of energy with a dark core. The solidified shadow orb was fired directly at the oncoming brighter orb, resulting in a small explosion throughout the area.

"Staraptor, Double Team!" Nic ordered.

Tapu Lele was on the other side if the smoke cloud, her impatience showing. She suddenly jerked back when she saw not one, but dozens of Staraptor clones burst out of the smoke cloud, flocking sporadically around her. The illusions left her more than a little surprised, for a lack of better word.

"(Woah now, where did y'all come from?! Is it me, or am I seeing double now?!)" she chimed.

'She's distracted. We can't show too much of our hand. We don't want to hurt her that badly.' He looked over at Erza, who nodded. He reached over, gripping Erza's wrist tightly to apply pressure. "Acupressure!" A red aura enflamed her body, which dissipated into her body. "Go, now!"

"Right!" Erza suddenly blitzed through the air, speeding at the disrupted deity with speed that surprised even her. It was the Speed boost that Acupressure gave, which she processed and used to close the gap on Tapu Lele.

"(Hm…huh?!)" Suddenly, the clones fanned out around Tapu Lele as her blurry vision saw a red-haired dark figure bring a blade back.

"Moon Flash!"

Erza slashed her blade in a cross-shape, passing Tapu Lele in a swift, dark blur. An explosion of energy resulted in a shriek of pain, followed by said deity spiraling through the atmosphere in her enclosed shell. She spiraled until she slammed into the ground with a painful thump, bouncing several times until her shell opened with her body exposed.

On her body, there was a gash as she laid there. She groaned loudly as she sat up, shaken badly by that blow. "(O-oooowie. That really hurt! Now I see why Koko was so overwhelmed…)"

Erza struck a pose while Houndoom snarled beside her. "Enough of this. Stand down now." She demanded, her brown eyes gleaming heavily. "I will not ask you again."

Tapu Lele's eyes got a little more focused than before. She slowly levitated back up, though she buffered some in the process. "(Nu-uh…no can do, Missy. I'm a spirit of Alola. And as one, I ain't gonna shirk because some freaky alien girl told me too! Now try this!)"

Erza narrowed her eyes, waiting to see what she would do. Suddenly, a spotlight appeared beside her, raining down confetti that faded away quickly. She looked back at Tapu Lele to see her squirm.

"(Shoot! Stupid light ruined my vision!)"

'Her accuracy was hampered by Nic's Flash!' she realized.

Nic saw the opening, but rather than go for a hostile attack, he remembered using swift attacks wouldn't work. Instead, he opted on an alternative. "Glare!" His gaze sharpened and fixated with a bright aura, similar to when his Arbok used to use it. Tapu Lele was completely unprepared when her body suddenly stiffened with thin static crackling on her shell.

His eyes narrowed on his target. With her paralyzed, he spread his arms out, his nails glowing and lengthening into sharp nails, via Hone Claws. He spun around as a red aura engulfed his body to enhance his Attack and accuracy. He made off in a quick sprint across the grassy field after her.

Tapu Lele blinked several times before she saw the swift cloak that was supposedly Nic beaming right for her. Giving a huff, she drifted backwards and chimed loudly. "(Let's have some fun…with Nature's Madness!)" She jabbed her hand onto the ground, causing a bright light to echo around and summon rainbow sparks that fanned out.

Nic closed in when he saw the familiar attack used. 'That's the same one Tapu Koko used.'

Tapu Lele pressed harder, sending glittering ripples that engulfed the ground and expanded towards Nic. As it drew closer, Nic raised his heel high into the air, before grunting harshly and plummeting down harshly via Mega Kick. The axe kick went straight into the ground, causing a depression, followed by an airwave that fanned out. Seconds later, a large-scale shockwave exploded from the impact, expanding all around with dirt and air. The counterforce quickly met the glittering land mass in the center. The two forces resulted in a huge wall of rock and earth that went horizontally across the area. Dirt and dust fell on either side, giving Erza and the Pokémon time to veer back for a safe distance.

With rock coming down onto her, Tapu Lele got defensive. "(Eep!)" She huffed hastily and fired another Extrasensory shockwave that permeated the wave of earth, completely severing it.

When it did, much to her own disbelief, there was nobody on the other side. It was all nothing but a dusk-brimmed view of the outskirts and sea.

"(Huh…did I accidentally use too much force?)" She was confused, until she felt another telekinetic force from above. Her psychic instincts made her look up, seeing that she was totally wrong. "(Huh?!)"

Nic was in his Normal/Psychic Form, his hands out as everyone's bodies were encased in a green telekinetic outline, via Telekinesis. He was floating besides Erza with Staraptor and Houndoom defying gravity.

The terrain started to dissipate around them, revealing clear nightly visage for everyone.

"The terrain timed out. This is it!" Erza shouted, requipping herself once again. This time, she adorned her Heaven's Wheel Armor, with twenty other blades surrounding her. She stretched both her arms out, holding two similar blades outwards. "Dance, my blades!"

The blades started rotating around her clockwise, much to Tapu Lele's slight confusion. Rather than take a chance, she concentrated power to make another Moonblast directly for Erza. "(Oh no you don't!)" Houndoom opened his maw wide and unleashed a massive wake of blue flames. His Inferno attack jettisoned across the air bridging the space between them and the deity faster than the oncoming lunar hemisphere.

Both attacks met in the middle, generating another explosion that fumed throughout the skies. Blue flames mixed with bright energy that buffered into Tapu Lele's direction. Her already blurred vision got heated and caused her to cover up to avoid any smoke proliferating whatever field of vision she had.

"Nice work, Houndoom! Now…" Erza swung her blades forward. "Circle Sword!"

All her swords danced until enough momentum was met to make them jet downwards towards Tapu Lele. The island deity was left shocked, but just as she was prepared to be impaled, the sounds of stabbing were executed around her. She waited for some aftershock, but still felt nothing. It was like it completely missed.

When she looked around, Tapu Lele was left confused when she found the ground around her surroundings impaled by thick blades with winged hilts, rather than herself in a very small perimeter boxing herself in. When she drifted backwards, she bumped into one o the blades, immediately jumping forward.

'Now!' Nic reached out, manifesting energy into what looked like a baton. "Baton Pass!" He flung it skywards, making it twirl around until Staraptor caught it. Immediately Nic drifted a short distance backwards as Staraptor glided around, the baton fading into her talons as she gained the stat increases. Her strength and accurate vision seemed sharper as she beelined for Tapu Lele.

"Steel Wing!" Nic commanded.

Staraptor's wings glowed an intense metal gray as she sped for Tapu Lele. With her closing in so swiftly, the spirit was left taken back. Unable to get a lock on her, she quickly made a plan.

'(I-I'll use my Nature's Madness to send all these swords up so she can't-!)' She was about to act, when her body crackled with a paralyzing static. '(Gngh! Paralysis?!)'

Staraptor let out a loud caw as she barreled into Tapu Lele, unable to give the spirit time to process the viscous blow. The results were a loud, metallic explosion of energy that rattled the earth. The metal winged drill continued grinding Tapu Lele across the earth until the momentum left the spirit in midair. Time slowed down for just a brief second before Staraptor brought a wing back, then ferociously swatted forward into her face, smashing her into the ground with a huge dust cloud.

Staraptor flapped her wings abruptly and glided backwards towards the others. The telekinesis on all their bodies deflated as the move's limit was breached. Looking ahead, they all saw the dust dissipate, revealing Tapu Lele lying on her back, her shell dirtied and spirals in her eyes.

"(Well that could have gone better.)" Houndoom scoffed, his tail whipping the air.

Erza closed her eyes and hummed. "Looks like we did her in."

Nic kept a small scowl as he eyes Tapu Lele's defeated form. He wasn't mad about the outmaneuvering they accomplished, but rather how circumstances didn't lead to a better resolution. He sighed. "At least she won't be pulling any other tricks for a short while." He didn't waste another second as he teleported to the fallen Tapu's side. He kneeled down, looking over the injuries that were sustained from that attack.

Looking at them more closely, she was covered in dirt, with her entire body lightly twitching from the nerves that were shot by the paralysis. 'We definitely held back this time. These injuries aren't as bad as when they were with Tapu Koko yesterday.' He frowned. 'She also didn't want to listen…do they really us as a huge threat?'

Shaking his head, he returned towards Erza. "She's fine. We should get a Revival Herb or Max Revive in her as soon as possible…! Behind you!"

Erza took the warning and turned around, seeing a glowing blue column of stones that race towards her. She sliced the top half of a pillar heading right for her torso, making it dice to shrapnel and fall around her skirt. She glided backwards for a better proximity.

"(The hell is this?!)" Houndoom barked, his nose suddenly shuffling with a smell. "(Wait a minute…I know this smell.)"

The dust and stones settled, revealing Lycanroc with his red eyes glowing brightly within the evening sky. With it darker out than usual, he looked more intimidating than he was in the day.

"That's Lycanroc. But that means…!" Erza turned her gaze behind Lycanroc, seeing a familiar dark-skinned human looking more than a little shocked. "Olivia!"

'Shit.' Nic grunted.

The Island Kahuna had wide eyes as she saw the scene before her, her hair standing on end. She saw Tapu Lele unconscious right beside Nic. "Tapu Lele! What happened?!" She turned towards Erza, seeing her enchanted armor. "Erza…is that you? What are you wearing?"

'I was afraid of this.' Erza's teeth gnashed behind her lips. "Listen, don't be alarmed, Olivia. We can explain this business if you just calm down."

Olivia wanted to believe Erza, but seeing Tapu Lele completely disarmed was leaving her extremely defensive about her position on the line. "Whatever is happening, step away from Akala's guardian this instant!"

Lycanroc snarled, baring his teeth and claws. Houndoom retorted back with his own snarl.

"Erza…" The knight looked back at Nic, who was trying to stay as composed as possible. He tried to comply as he stepped away from Tapu Lele, allowing room for Olivia to get through.

Though she thought otherwise, Erza knew they had to play it safe for now. "Houndoom." The hellhound backed off and retracted himself. Staraptor followed Nic as they backed away to allow Olivia safe passage towards Tapu Lele. The Kahuna reached he and got to a knee.

"Tapu Lele, what happened? Are you alright?" she asked softly. She leaned closer. "Tapu Lele…?"

She grunted as she tried to come around, but the shock was finally kicking in. Tapu Lele yelped when she felt her whole body jolt with enflamed nerves and scrapes. She muffled in the dirt in a whiny tone.

"Olivia…" Erza stepped forward, only for Lycanroc to bare his teeth at her.

It was very subtle, but as Olivia stood back up, she slowly glared over at Nic and Erza. She eyed everything about them; their weapons, their clothing, everything. They even had matching wedding rings. The little details aside, she sensed something odd about them that she hadn't before. "What happened to both of you? What's become of you to turn to something like this?" her questions had a rather crude tone to them.

"She attacked us." Nic reasoned, trying to maintain reason. "We had to defend ourselves. That reason enough for you?"

"Even so, the island deities never attack anything without any reason for provocation. And it looks like I know why now." She spread her legs, taking a battle stance. "Whatever you are, it's clear that the guardian saw this as a threat. And as Island Kahuna, I shall act in her place! Lycanroc!"

Lycanroc snarled aggressively. "(With pleasure.)"

Nic grunted angrily. Even though they were complying, they weren't getting any levity. He started listening to his instincts: Fight.

"We don't have time for this." He suddenly teleported, vanishing from his spot. Moments later, he reappeared in front of Olivia, startling her when he suddenly grabbed her head of hair. "Sorry about this. Hypnosis!"

His eyes brightened, emitting a bright, hypnotic ray that Olivia couldn't turn away from. She looked straight into his gaze, lost in the rays that were slowly dulling the light from her eyes. Her eyelids were getting heavier by the second, and as much as she tried to hold on, she was gradually losing consciousness. She slumped down into his left arm, with him holding her up without much trouble.

"(Olivia!)" Lycanroc scowled, before lunging for Nic. "(You bastard!)"

Nic glanced back over. His eyes immediately met Lycanroc's as he drew closer. Another hypnotic ray hit him, and as he fell forward, Nic sidestepped and the wolf fell onto his stomach, almost immediately snoring.

He sat Olivia down beside the sleep induced Lycanroc, on her back gently so that no discomfort would come to them. He acted quickly and pressed both of his hands against their foreheads, making a purple glow emanate and fade away. He stood back up, looking over their bodies carefully.

"…damnit."

Erza requipped back into her vacation wear, in case they woke up too soon. She slowly approached, taking a pause as she folded her arms. "What a shame. This is becoming just like the predicament we've had on the previous island."

"This is starting to get out of hand." Nic looked at Erza, sharing a mutual look of displeasure with his wife. "We've had to erase the minds of two Kahunas…and defend ourselves against these guardians on top of that. We need to make do with what we've got, and fast."

Erza nodded. "Agreed." She turned towards Houndoom with his Poke Ball out. "Thanks, Houndoom, now get some rest."

"(Yeah, sure thing.)" The hellhound was hit with a red laser by the Poke Ball, converting him into energy that went back inside.

"You too, Staraptor. Thanks for the help." Nic complimented.

"(It was nothing.)" Staraptor tossed her red-tipped mane covering her face. A red laser met her body as well, placing her back into her Poke Ball for Nic to minimize down to his pockets.

With the air clear of threats for the time being, Nic looked around to see the hot mess that was made in less than a few minutes. Tapu Lele was unconscious and otherwise disoriented, and Olivia had to be put fast asleep to secure their own privacy. If déjà vu wasn't a thing, this situation would have been the kickstart to the phrase being driven to overdrive.

Erza beat him to an exasperated sigh. "Let's try and tend to some of the more urgent matters right now. Let's take care of Tapu Lele first, shall we?" She walked back, holding up the Revival Herb that she had when she purchased it from the shops earlier. She was mentally thankful they passed by there to get some herbal remedies.

She and Nic went over to check on Tapu Lele, who was still dazed and mumbling in her unconscious wake. Erza gave Nic a look before deciding to kneel and turn her over onto her back on her lap. She gave the herb a look and started to fold it up until it was consumable size. She placed it where a mouth would be – as close to one that is – and it mysteriously went away.

Almost immediately, Tapu Lele arose, hunching over. "(Bleck! Oh my goodness!)" She gagged, coughing out flakes of the herb. "(That taste is so bitter! Geez! It's like a Poison-type played with my tongue or something…wait, where am I? What happened?)" She looked around, her eyes widening when she met Nic and Erza. Instantly she shifted backwards. "(You two!)"

"Calm down, we're not here to hurt you. The Revival Herb's effects have just kicked in." Erza told her.

Tapu Lele stopped and jerked a little. "(Wait…a Revival Herb…so that's this nasty taste in my mouth! Pew!)"

"Maybe we should have gone with a Max Revive…" Nic mumbled. He shook his head and approached slowly. "Sorry about that, but we had to defend ourselves. You didn't give us room to explain."

"(No room to…explain?)" She raised her head to think of what happened. "(The last thing I remember was…that's right! You freaks!)" She pointed accusingly at them. "(Y-you hit me! Just like what you did to Koko! How did you do all those tricks anyway?!)"

Nic furrowed his brow. "You know, it isn't very nice outright calling us freaks, you know."

"(Stay away from me! I'll get back at you! Triple hard for this and before!)" Tapu Lele turned her backs towards them and drifted as quickly as she could towards the sanctuary of her temple groves.

"Hey, hold on a second-!" Nic reached out, but Erza cut him off.

"Let her go for now. I think we'll only make things worse for her and ourselves if we digress onto her instead of Olivia."

Nic paused, watching the pink sparkle trail fade into the temple. He thought about it, but in the long run it was best to assess that issue at a more appropriate time of day. "…yeah, guess you're right." He turned back to Olivia and her Lycanroc, seeing how they were still sound asleep. "Guess we should take these two back to Konikoni City."

"I'm afraid so. Leaving them out here wouldn't do good for anyone. They might send backup if they learn their Kahuna hadn't return." Erza noted. "I assume that you've already figured out a story they'll follow along with?"

Nic walked over, bending over to haul Lycanroc and Olivia in his arms. "Yeah. We'll teleport beside the building. Once we turn the corner, we'll bring them inside. If her Probopass or one of her clerks are still there, we'll tell them that Tapu Lele fought her and she got caught in a blast." He looked uneasily at them. "At least, that's the plan. It's what we have to work with at the moment."

"So I take it that we'll be spending the night elsewhere, huh?" Erza figured.

"That's our best bet. Ready?" Nic waited for Erza to get closer and put her arm on his back, before he teleported off the scene.

---

The hot day finally cooling down, Vanessa was finally able to crack open one of the windows to allow cool night air to proliferate the apartment. She backpedaled and turned towards the hallway bathroom, where she noticed a light beneath the door. She knew someone was inside.

She moved closer, knocking with her knuckles. "Sophie, is everything alright in there? You've been in there for a while now?"

On the other side, the bathroom was hovered in a heated mist that fogged up the mirror in front of the sink. Sophie was without her makeup as she laid in the bathtub, her legs spread out with suds tickling her skin. She was so relaxed that she almost didn't hear her roommate. "Hmmm, oh, sorry Vanessa. Yes, I'm fine."

"I don't suppose that you're taking a bath, are you?"

"Yes, I am. I'll be out soon enough, I'm sure." She sunk deeper until her chin barely touched the water. "Mmmm, this is nice."

"Just be sure to leave enough hot water for me later on."

"Yeah, sure thing." Sophie hung her head back against the smooth porcelain, which oddly felt nice to the back of her head. "Vanessa, where were you this afternoon? You missed a good battle between Natsu and Joey."

"So I've heard." On the other side of the door, Vanessa turned around and leaned her back against the wood and folded her arms with an amused smirk. "I also heard how nearly everyone in the guild hall nearly lost their hearing when Joey's Palpitoad used Hyper Voice. I'm sure Natsu's Dragon Slayer hearing wasn't very appreciative of that."

Sophie chuckled. "Well, either way, he was left sour for a while after that. I never thought Joey would be that strong. I've heard of how strong Natsu was. I'm honestly shocked that he was able to beat him…then again, he did have Mud Shot that lowered Charmeleon' Speed."

"That's one of the advantages of typing. Water and Ground-types suite well over him." Vanessa trailed off in her thoughts. A short silence fell before she spoke again, this time a frown taking over. "Sophie."

The sound of water shifting could be heard on the opposite side. "Yes, Vanessa?"

"Be honest with me…what do you think of Pokémon in your life? Or rather, if you never had Kadabra, or Araquanid or Finneon for that matter…what would you feel?"

"What brought that on?"

Vanessa closed her eyes. "Just a hunch. Nothing more."

Sophie folded her arms in the tepid water and looked up at the white ceiling. After a long day of memorizing a lot of material, she was close to getting a headache. And only now was it starting to alleviate some. But a question like that, that was something she didn't think about. "Hmmm…honestly, Vanessa, I'm not sure if I'm the right person you should be asking. Because, well…"

Understanding her sacrificial past, Vanessa's gaze grew halfhearted as it veered towards the tan carpeting. "I know…forgive me if this is getting too personal." She stood back up to go to her bedroom, but she heard more water shift on the other side.

"It's fine, honestly. Actually…now that I'm looking at it this way…I'm honestly glad that I have Kadabra and everyone else by my side." Sophie tilted her head. "I might not have a past to remember anymore; if I did, perhaps I'd be more inciteful…but if you were talking about if I didn't have Kadabra, Araquanid, or Finneon anymore…I guess I would be sad. Very sad now that I think about it. I mean…they're my friends. Sure, Araquanid makes my hair wet when he's overprotective, but he means well. And, well…they've been by my side since I awoke that one day." She hugged herself as she looked away sheepishly. "If it weren't for them, I'm sure I would have been in a much different place right now. And I think they know it, too."

Vanessa was reading the mood straight through the door. The insight left an impression to say the least. "I see…"

"Vanessa…did something happen today to make you feel like there's something wrong with Pokémon?"

"I guess in some way…you can say that. You recall that Shiin person, right? The one who's here to observe as a representative for his kingdom. I've spoken with him earlier today." She sneered lowly. "Or rather, it's more appropriate to say he interrogated me."

"Interrogate you say?" Sophie sounded genuinely shocked. "Should we tell Master Laxus about this?"

"No. I'm sure that he has his reasons." She looked up at the ceiling lights, heavily frowning. "But when I answered him earlier, well…suppose you can say he was rather displeased. As stern as he is, it's not that hard to tell when he's hiding his sense of urgency."

"Do you think that he has a hate for Pokémon?" Sophie questioned.

"That's not an impossibility, but making such assumption in the open like that might only lead to problems for all of us." She found her gaze heading towards the floor again, recalling a time when the Magic Council's prejudices led to war. "Sophie, just make sure you're careful around him, alright? He's trying to find some answers from us. And I think if he doesn't like what he hears…we might be knee-deep in trouble."

A light miff was heard on the other side. "Well I'm knee-deep in water…but I'll keep that in mind." A splash came from Sophie rising from the tub. "I'm getting out now. I'll be out shortly."

"Alright, see you in the morning." Vanessa walked down the hallway to her bedroom, but not before walking past the balcony view outside the window showing a view of Magnolia at night. She could see quite a few people with Pokémon out by their sides right now. 'What are you thinking about this world that's so wrong, Shiin?'

---

Inside of a two-story building south of Heahea City, it was the dead of night, and the stars were twinkling above. There were lab assistants wearing white lab coats as they were reading graphs and monitors. Some were jotting down notes as they were watching a Drowzee induce sleep on an Alolan Rattata. They could see the dream of it flying over puffy clouds, which the scientists made quite the note of.

One of the scientists on duty was the professor herself. She was a dark caramel skin color, with short white hair and sported anything but a professor's attire. She had on a gray tank top, with a black jacket tied around her waist with a blue skirt over her tight black leggings. A loud yawn escaped her as she stretched her right arm overhead.

"Professor Burnet." One of her male associates walked up with his Drowzee. "We're heading home for the day. We've got those notes saved on file like you've wanted."

She turned around, giving him a warm smile. "That's good enough. Thanks for your help today. You both have a safe trip home."

"Will do, ma'am. C'mon, Drowzee." The assistant turned and walked away, with Drowzee sauntering right behind him. Once they were out of sight, Burnet sighed.

"Well, at least they get to go home…" She looked towards the monitors showing spatial wavelengths in ripples across Alola, along with a periodic layer with times and days. "Meanwhile, this is something else. The spatial charts are acting up again. Maybe the sensory mechanism needs to be replaced…" She looked at the newspaper that came out earlier this morning, which sat on the stand right next to the monitor. "Too many coincidences are happening all at once. Is there a pattern?"

In her pondering state, she nearly jumped when her phone vibrated. She reached into her pockets and pulled it up to her ear. "Yes?"

"Professor Burnet." On the opposite line, a familiar voice made her hazel-green eyes widen.

"Miss Lusamine? What are you doing calling at this time of night?"

"If you're as busy as me, sleep isn't the easiest thing to come by these days." The foundation CEO chuckled on the other end, much to Burnet's chagrin. "Anyways, I was calling on important business. Has there been any updates regarding these Ultra Wormholes?"

Burnet shook her head. "Over the last 12 hours, unfortunately we haven't gotten any readings." She glanced at the monitors. "The readings we've been getting have been heavily sporadic for the past week. Ever since that sudden surge of spatial energy we've detected a few days back, our scanners have been picking up all forms of spatial activity."

"Are you getting some form of pattern at least?"

"We're still trying to figure that out. We've been working around the clock to tell where the energy's link came from." She looked towards the few scientists still jotting down notes from the sleeping Rattata. "But, if you couldn't tell already, we're facing a double-edged sword on matters."

"Oh, right. I almost forgot that your lab on Akala studies the differences between reality and dreams. There's a space in between that you've been researching on, right? I think I read up on that a little while ago."

"Thanks. You'd be surprised with what you find in the Dream World. I can try and get in contact with Fennel over in Unova…" She rolled her eyes. "Then again, now's not the right time. The energy marking has been very strange."

"What do you mean?" It wasn't seen on the other end, but Burnet could have sworn she heard Lusamine's seat shift about.

"There was a spike of spatial energy on Ula'Ula that happened ta the same time the incident happened to those associates. But the strangest thing is, over here, our spatial monitors are picking up faint spatial energies."

"Hmm…that is odd. Are you looking into that right now?"

Burnet looked at the monitor that was on the large screen in front of her. It showed the geographical landscape of all of Alola. A light green wave was covering the southern part of Akala, and it moved very slowly up towards Brooklet Hill.

"Yeah, I am. And get this, it looks like…the signature is actually moving." She stepped closer towards the monitor, raising a brow. "I don't think normal wormholes are supposed to do that. Normally, they spike when they appear and leave a small energy trace behind. But this one hasn't spiked at all. It's been faint and physically moving this whole time."

"Please look into that as fast as you can. For all we know, it might be linked to the Ultra Beast incidents we've been having as of recently. If it's not too much trouble, how soon can you get to a scouting for that signature?"

Burnet rubbed the back of her head. "I'd say as soon as tomorrow morning. I need to trace its whereabouts. It's been going back and forth between Konikoni City, then near the Ruins of Life."

"The Ruins of Life?" Lusamine's voice perked on the other end. "Now this can't be coincidental, wouldn't you say?"

"You're right about that. I'll…" Burnet expelled a loud yawn. "Excuse me. I'll get to that as soon as dawn rises. I'll keep sending you reports for your little Ultra Beast insurance."

"Thank you. I look forward to hearing from you, Professor. Please, try and rest up the best you can/" Lusamine hung up on the other line, leaving a long ring on a singular note.

Burnet took the hint and tapped the red button to discontinue. Another yawn suddenly crept up on her. "She certainly wasn't kidding. Better set up for tonight." She sighed heavily and slouched her shoulders. "And here I was looking forward to eating some more of my husband's cooking. Guess I'll have to call him so he doesn't leave it out for Rockruff to eat, again."

---

"Keep this flight path, Garchomp. We should be there soon." Nic urged, holding onto the dragon's backfin. Erza was holding on was well, her gauntlet's armor around the fingers denting into the fin's skin.

Garchomp jettisoned at high speed, keeping his direct path across Akala Island towards northwest. The Mach Pokémon didn't hesitate to speed up some, brushing Nic and Erza's faces with a serious case of windburn.

"Nic, not that I can't handle Garchomp, but what about Charizard?" Erza questioned, her voice a little louder so it could breach the wind.

"His tail would give away our position." He advised, keeping his eyes forward. "We need to stay as far out of sight as we can for the time being…especially since I don't think Tapu Lele would be in our favor after that incident." He saw that looked like alcoves up ahead. "Garchomp, down there!"

The dragon slowed down and glided his way to a drift. He gradually came down on a shoreline that was pleasantly smooth to his clawed toes. Nic and Erza dismounted his back and looked around, getting a notable view of the surroundings they were in.

Compared to what they were accustomed to earlier, they were surrounded by masses of waterfalls and large, gray cliffs that kept streaming from clear ponds with cascading water that was transparent, even in the dead of night. Soft dirt mixed with sand around the edges of the water to make it feel soft and eroded. All the tidal pools were connected by waterfalls that carried endless amounts of water and irrigated it out towards the sea, which was bordered by large rocks.

"I believe this place was called…'Brooklet Hill' if I recall correctly." Erza pinpointed. "Nic?"

Nic took a good look around and saw that no one was around. He transformed into his Splash Form and walked over towards the basin's edge and kneeled. He placed his hand into the water to feel any salt, but he sensed none of the sort. "It's clean. At least we'll have some drinking water for a little while to hold us over." He turned towards Erza. "Let's set up camp here for tonight."

Erza closed her eyes. "And when did you decide to become trail boss, I wonder?" Her musings aside, she decided to reach out and requip the massive luggage that she took with them. She beamed with pride. "And not a hair out of place. Let's just hope none of the ingredients we've packed went stale so soon."

Nic went over to help unpack, but not before turning back and petting Garchomp on the snout. "Thanks, Garchomp." The dragon gave a small purr and turned away to keep watch, while his Trainer would go help settle things down. "Let's get out the food for the Pokémon first."

"Very well then. Now, which suitcase was it…?" Erza looked around, seeing the numerous cases that she carried with her for the trip. She looked around the many suitcases they packed, all of which belonged to her person. "This one? No, I think those are for the cheesecakes. And I think that's for the clothes. And…oh, let's see what Joey packed, shall we?"

The suitcase was removed from the others, in which Erza unhooked and opened it. Inside, there were the assortments that Joey packed for them. Almost immediately, Erza saw the leather book that Joey packed and decided to open it. She saw the pictures that Joey had taken for…questionable means. But taking a look closer, she saw the poses he did and raised a brow. "How did he have time to take these…some of these shots aren't half-bad."

As Nic was helping unpack a suitcase full of berries, he sat it down beside the aforementioned suitcase. He looked over, his eyes noting the Escape Rope and the Super Repels that Joey packed for them. 'We actually had those on us?' He thought back to earlier when he used the Cleanse Tag. 'Maybe I should have used that instead…'

Now that he had time to think about it, why did he figure he needed to use the tag earlier? It didn't really occur to him to use such items. Actually, now that he thought of it, his Staraptor's Intimidate Ability would have helped deter the wild inhabitance. But at the end, he just sped through with Extreme Speed like none of that was important when push came to shove. He could feel his own lips pursing as his thoughts were derailing towards the incidents that led to their honeymoon turning to what felt like a game of cat and mouse.

"Nic? Are you going to stand there all night?"

"Hm?" Snapping at the lustrous voice, he looked towards Erza. "Oh…right. Sorry." He kneeled and undid the case, which had a number of berries that were specifically for cooking. "We should have enough for that spicy Tamato Berry stew. Still have the recipe?"

"The one Johanna gave to me? Of course." Erza held up a small sheet of paper and smirked. "Now, let's get to cooking, shall we?"

Nic sighed in defeat. "Alright, I'll find the pots and pans." He went to open another suitcase. But instead of finding the metal for the pots or the broth, it ended up being a regular suitcase with numerous undergarments for Erza.

He paused for a moment, and very slowly closed it with an embarrassed scowl. 'Would it kill her to at least label these damn things next time?'

---

In the sanctuary that was his room, Shiin gazed out towards Magnolia's streets. Everybody was starting to turn in while others were out on strolls or loving dates. With enough of a view, he slid the curtains in front and walked away.

As soon as he found a suitable position on the wooden chair, the lamp was turned onto a dull setting to make minimal light in case any eyes were to somehow get through the curtains. He pulled out a pen and began writing.

June 27th, X793

21:35

It was rather hot today in the town of Magnolia, home to the Fairy Tail guild. Because of the humid weather, guild activity was kept primarily indoors. I found the guild to have been rather crowded with many in the area to have felt the inability to show discipline through this pettifogging condition. However, the guild's personnel imposed their own compromise. In order to sustain themselves from humidity, Gray Fullbuster used his Pokémon's abilities to diminish the temperature, similar to how Ice Magic is implemented to cool down material. This acted as an air-conditioner for the guild for the time being.

I have recently discovered something else. Apparently, Mages are able to capture new Pokémon for themselves, using a special capsule designed by the humans of PokeEarth called "Poke Balls". This was proven when Fairy Tail Mage, Juvia Lockser, a Water Mage, arrived at the guild hall at 12:02, showing her new Pokémon, Wartortle.

The Pokémon known as Wartortle carries with it a very formal and gentleman disposition. I have seen its capabilities in battle. It uses its teeth in battle, and fires bubbles at its opponents to inflict damage. It is capable of creating a barrier that protects it from all attacks. And lastly, it is able to withdraw back into its shell and spin rapidly for a more defensive attack. Its power in battle was subpar, but lost to Natsu Dragneel's Charmeleon.

Much later, I have seen many more of the guild's mages engage in battle. I have seen many of whom battled in order to gain "experience", as they said. A prominent battle that I have taken note of, was one of the Pokémon Trainers that was sent here from PokeEarth, Joey Haycliff. He is a character who is mildly defensive about the positions of Nic Pularis. I might also like to add that his fashion designing is questionable at best, though I'd rather not say anymore than that. He is accompanied in a three-man team known as "The Freaks". The fellow members are all Pokémon Trainers that have crossed over. Dereece Iwoda, and Duncan Roserto. I have yet to see any of their capabilities as of yet. I will continue to investigate their abilities of handling these creatures.

However, as of today at 17:18, I have come across an epiphany that you will find enlightening. I've come to the conclusion that Nic Pularis has a younger sibling, otherwise known as Vanessa Pularis. Using her under credible means, I was able to finally get some matter of a lead regarding Nic Pularis. I used my Truth's Eye spell in order for her to comply.

The details were as followed: I asked her affiliation regarding Nic Pularis, to which she said that she was his biological younger sister. Unlike those who crossed over from the event known as "The Crossing", she was not amongst many of them to have arrived at a familiarized point. Rather, it appears that she arrived at a much earlier point from Poke Earth during the time period in which the beings known as the Dark Legendaries have taken astronomical reign for over seven years. She appears to have extensive knowledge of Earth Land, as well as magic. To my disbelief, I learned that even Pokémon Trainers are capable of learning magic, just like we are. Unlike Nic Pularis' powers, Vanessa Pularis does not share the same abilities. Unlike her relative, she specializes in Earth Land magic known as Aura Magic.

Beyond her personal information, which I will continue to investigate upon with the other Trainers, she told of Nic Pularis' ambitions after the fall of the Dark Legendaries. She explained that his intentions from henceforth was to 'live a modern life'. He apparently has no ill intentions towards our kind, despite having the powers of supposed Pokémon that are also Gods in his realm.

I will continue to keep a close eye on those who are related and come into contact with Vanessa Pularis. I shall begin my approach tomorrow by studying the fellow Pokémon Trainers and their statures in the world of magic.

I will also be requesting for Captain In-Sue's version of the Magic Disabling Cloak. That will come out of the Division budget.

With highest regards, I shall maintain the lead that I have ascertained on our target's true objectives. He is currently on a secret mission back on PokeEarth. And unfortunately, none are familiar with when he shall return. But when he does, I shall do my best to provide information so that we may better prepare ourselves for said time.

~Shiin Verdade

21:58

Shiin inspected the letter, making sure there were no misspellings before folding it. He placed a seal on it for approval, as well as security. He closed his eyes and sensed anyone who was around him. When he found no magical signatures, he reached for his grimoire off to the left-hand side and opened a bookmarked page. He opened the page with the magic seal and reached out, activating the runes inscribed into it. A magic circle expanded out from the page that he placed the letter over, which dissipated it into blue energy particles. With the daily parcel send, the magic circle faded back into the grimoire.

"And just before I ran out of time." He mumbled. He stood up and pushed the chair in. Noting the time, he decided it was time to retire for the evening. I supposed that it's best that I turn in for now."

He noticed something else as well. As he went over towards the curtains, he didn't sense any presence, but at the same time caution piqued him. He slowly peeked behind the curtain, seeing no sign of what he presumed would have been the Butterfree. 'Looks like it stopped following me for the day.'

His eyes widened upon something else. As he was going through his coat, he could feel something firm and possible half-eaten. He pulled it out of his pocket, looking at what appeared to be the partially eaten Oran Berry dropped by the Butterfree before.

"I supposed…it would be a waste to have such an item not exploited." He reached into his coat, pulling out another item. It looked to be another diamond-like lacrima. He placed both items on the bed and stepped back to watch the diamond lacrima shudder in the presence of the Oran Berry. The midsection opened wide, revealing sharp teeth that lunged and swallowed the Oran Berry whole and clamping shut.

As soon as the diamond went completely still, Shiin walked over and held up the clear view of the berry inside. "If I can learn more about everything these Trainers do, then it will be but a step closer to restoring the balance that our world once had. Every aspect of information is essential. Especially in a time that we are in now…"

---

Tapu Fini crossed her arms and faded her fingerless hand against her elbow. It was evident that her patience was wearing thin. Not far off to her right, electricity crackled. "(Tapu Koko, contain yourself before I get paralyzed.)"

"(You can't get paralyzed inside of your subconscious.)" He argued. "Besides, aren't you at least bit anxious as I am?"

Tapu Fini shifted her gaze away. "(I'd be lying if I said the situation wasn't entirely unsettling. How's your injuries faring? Are you well by now?)"

"(Yeah…at least I think so. Can't say that I'm one-hundred percent, though.)" Tapu Koko looked down at his hands, seeing them still lightly shake. "(I just can't shake this feeling that something unfathomable is going to happen. I can barely sit still.)"

"(Anxiety paves the way to poor choices, as some might say. That being said, I don't completely misunderstand your feelings towards this…melee we're in. I won't misjudge you again like last time, I promise.)"

He turned away. "(It's fine. Now where's Tapu Lele? She's the one who called this meeting, didn't she?)"

"(She should be here momentarily. I'm starting to sense another energy linkup right now.)" Tapu Fini turned towards her right, seeing a shining ball of green energy flicker in and out, slowly growing to a sizeable mass until it was big enough to rival their sizes.

The energy mass gradually faded away, dissolving into bright green particles to present Tapu Bulu. He held a hoof over his nonexistent mouth as he let out a loud yawn. "(Hey, did somebody call?)" he slurred.

"(Tapu Bulu?)" Tapu Koko observed, raising an inquired brow.

Tapu Bulu turned in his direction. "(Hm? Yeah, it's me. What, you think I'm somebody else?)"

"(No, no…it's just…this is a first. You're usually like one of the last ones to show up here. Isn't he?)" he looked towards Tapu Fini, her head nodding in confirmation. The uneasy feeling they both had suddenly increased tenfold.

"(Huh…now that you mention it, guess that is rather odd.)" he answered, rubbing a hood against the side of his red headpiece. "(I actually thought I was late. And if there's three of us here…er…should we do something about this?)"

"(If you mean go check on Tapu Lele, then do so on your own accord.)" Tapu Fini pressed on. "(We only know so much about this enemy aside from the fact that one of them can transform her armor, and the other who possesses powers not unlike ourselves. If you must, but if you do, just try and not doze off. Your narcolepsy is alarming enough as it is.)"

"(Ouch…)" He shirked back, his cowbell ringing.

A light pink orb suddenly manifested between Tapu Koko and Tapu Bulu, immediately causing them to get room. They all turned and watched the energy deviate into Tapu Lele, who looked more than a little worn down for words.

"(Um…Tapu Lele? Are you feeling alright?)" Tapu Fini asked, genuinely concerned. "(You seem rather…not you.)"

Tapu Lele slouched forward, huffing exasperatedly. "(Guys, the most awful thing just happened that just totally ruined my day!)" She whined. "(I tried, Koko, I really, really did! But they were just too much for little ole' me!)"

"(Hey, hey. Slow down, what?)" Tapu Koko tilted his head. "(Say that again, clearer, if you will.)"

She exhaled heavily. "(Well, okay. So, you know those freaks that messed you up, Tapu Koko? Well, I found them, and I decided to see what they were made of. I was trying to back them into a corner, and then, eh…l-let's just say…they, uh…kinda caught me off guard?)"

"(Wait…)" Tapu Koko's eyes widened. "(You mean you've fought them, too, Tapu Lele?!)"

"(Yeah, brotha! I was getting' that revenge for my homie, y'know? But my groove was completely flipped over my head, and the next thing I knew, everything was a blur! It was so uncool! For real!)"

Tapu Fini sighed. "(First of all, fix your lingo. It's not easy following along when you play your games in a precarious situation. Second of all, what happened? Are you in any danger right now?)"

"(What? Aw, nah girlfriend, I'm fine now…aside from this stupid bitter taste in my mouth.)" She turned and spat out into the empty space. "(Eewie! I think it's still in the back of my tongue!)"

"(Well, I guess that's a good sign if she has enough energy to complain.)" Tapu Bulu noted.

"(Yeah, but it's still a very bad sign. I knew it when I first came here, I had something to be anxious about!)" Tapu Koko's body crackled with static again. "(There's something odd going on here, and now we know where the source is coming from!)"

"(As ironic as it is for me to say, I have to agree with Taou Koko on this one.)" Tapu Fini grimaced. "(Having not one, but two of us having been targeted by an unknown entity. That's a red flag itself.)"

"(See? Even she agrees with me. That settles it, these guys are officially top priority to get rid of.)" Tapu Koko declared.

"(Yeah, Koko! Those meanies weren't playing fair with me! They're gonna get one up before the weekend closes if you catch my drift, yo!)" Tapu Lele harrumphed, holding a fist high.

Tapu Bulu let out a loud yawn. "(Guess I don't get a say in this either way.)"

"(Sorry, Bulu. Might wanna do a headcount.)" Tapu Lele chimed. She leaned over to Tapu Koko, sprinkling pink scales like confetti. She leaned then into Tapu Fini, peppering her with confetti scales. "(And yours truly!)" She reached both arms up, spreading an arch that sprinkled herself with scales. "(Unanimous rules! I win! Teehee!)"

"(Alright, I get it. I get it.)" Tapu Bulu waved a hoof at her.

Tapu Fini turned towards Tapu Lele. "(Are they still on Akala Island, do you know?)"

"(Oh don't worry, this little island guardian is still packing some energy after I smell and wrestle myself in a couple flowerbeds. If I still sense them, even by a fraction of an atom, I'll be sure to redesign Akala until they're stuck in the ground like Alolan Diglett!)"

"(Maybe tone it down when you do that, alright? We don't want another repeat of what happened when Tapu Bulu got upset.)" Tapu Koko glanced over at Tapu Bulu, who snorted in defense.

"(Hey, it was one time! And they had it coming! They wanted to mess up the island so bad I just had to do something.)"

Tapu Fini shook her head. "(Then I supposed we're all in agreement. Let's be prepared. If you sense them, treat them like we treat any Ultra Beast.)"

"(Oof! You don't have to tell me twice, girlfriend! Next time, I'll wail them with so much scales they'll explode! But I'll be sure that y'all gets a front-row seat to the action! Over and out!)" With mock salute, Tapu Lele's body glowed bright pink and retreated into a hemisphere that shrank down to pink particles that dispersed into the dark space.

Tapu Bulu let out a snort. "(Guess I better get the rest I need, too. Ain't gonna squash no parasites running on empty.)" His body turned bright green, transforming into a hemisphere that shrank to green atoms.

"(I have a bad feeling about this…)" Tapu Fini shook her head.

"(Yeah, but it's too late for that. But look at it this way, the sooner these two are taken cared of, the sooner everything should settle down. Maybe then you can settle back into your ruins.)" Tapu Koko sniped.

"(That's ironic coming from you, ole' guardians of the 'Ruins of Conflict'.)" she countered, stifling a snort. "(There's been plenty of situation that we've jumped the gun. Let's just try and be a little more…precarious if we can.)" She was next to fade from view, leaving only Tapu Koko left.

Tapu Koko looked down, glancing away. "(When you have a sense of urgency and actually decide to act rather than observe and critique, maybe then I might consider those words to heart.)"

His silhouette faded to a yellow energy, reducing to sparkles in the psyche plain.

---

As morning breached the horizon, Olivia stirred in her bed. Her somewhat pleasant expression was an indication to the sweet dreams she was having, until she rolled over enough that she fell off the bed entirely, faceplanting the floor hard. "Ow…"

"(Gah! Hey, who dropped that on me?!)"

Olivia's world immediately faded away when reality hit like her body to the floor, when Lycanroc snapped right up. "Ow! Hey bub, watch it!" She sat up, but rapidly blinked when she found herself on her wooden flooring in front of her bed. "Wait…what happened? How did I end up in my room? And…why does my head hurt so much?" She furrowed her brow as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"(Tch, probably because you weren't looking when you rolled onto me.)" Lycanroc scoffed, shaking his rocky fur mane, before running his claws through the rocky mane.

"Huh? Oh, sorry about that, Lycanroc." Olivia got her feet underneath and looked around. She didn't see a hair out of place in her room. 'It's weird. My head feels like a dense fog. Everything is so hazy. I hope that it was just that fall I had…'

"(Olivia? Is that you?!)"

Olivia heard a mechanical echo that made way up the stairs. Turning the corner, her Probopass levitated over the ground and presented himself in front of her. "Probopass? Is that really you?" She stepped closer. "What happened? Did I drink something bad from last night?"

Her answer came in the form of a mini-nose that drifted from Probopass' behind. The Mini-Nose had taped onto it what looked like a note that Olivia took hold of. She pried the tape off and inspected the yellow paper as the magnetic appendage retreated.

"Is this…a note?" She squinted at the penmanship. She tried making out what it said, but to her utter disbelief, the writing was so…gaudy. She squinted further as her concentrated was thrown off by the borderline Pidgey-scratch. "I…can't read this at all. Is this some kind of ransom note?"

Deciding t do herself a favor, she opted to head straight for the ending, where even a crudely written name was made that spelled. 'Erza'.

"Erza? Erza…" Her eyes widened at the realization. "Wait, hold on! Erza! Now it's coming back to me! I was going up to the Ruins of Life, after I saw Tapu Lele confront Nic and Erza!" She looked back at the note, raising a brow. "If she wrote this…does this mean that they got out okay?"

A loud knock echoed from downstairs.

"Hm? A customer? What time is it?" She turned towards the clock, seeing that it was a little past 7AM. "At this hour? We don't open for another three hours…"

She moved herself passed her Probopass and Lycanroc, turning and heading down the stairs towards the door to the shop. "I'm coming, just hold on!" She paddled her feet down the steps until flat ground was met. She moved her hand to unlock the handle, quickly opening the door to find a tanned woman standing there. "Um…yes, can I help you?"

"You must be Miss Olivia, right?" Professor Burnet tilted her head and gave the Alolan hand wave. "Alola, and good morning to you."

"Yes, I am. Alola to you as well." She mimicked the gesture with her two hands. "Were you hoping to buy some jewelry before the rush starts? So sorry, we're not open yet until 10."

Burnet giggled. "Thanks for the offer. Maybe when I'm free I'll take you up on some of your best deals." She straightened up. "But that's not why I'm here. There's actually another reason concerning my research."

Olivia blinked, before raising a brow. "Research, you say?"

"Yes. You see, my area of expertise is the realm of space that exists between dimensions. I work at the Dimensional Research Lab just south from Heahea City. I'm Professor Burnet. So glad to finally meet the Kahuna formally."

"The Dimensional Research Lab…" It felt like a brick fell on top of her head. How could she be so stupid?! "Oh! Right! I totally forgot! I'm so sorry, I had a very rough night, so I'm not up to speed. Forgive my rudeness." She bowed in deep apology.

"Oh no, it's no trouble, really. But if you have time, can I ask you if anything happened regarding the Ruins of Life?"

"The Ruins of Life? You mean Tapu Lele's sanctum? What does that have to do with space?"

"My monitors were picking up very strange wavelengths that ranged all across this part of the island over the last 24 hours." Burnet held up a device to Olivia's face, which looked like a controller with two antennae and a few buttons and modulators on the sides of a widescreen panel. It showed a bright green hue between Konikoni City and Ruins of Life. Though there was a thin trail that was a brighter shade that went up towards Brooklet Hill. "This graph was taken given the spatial signals that we've been receiving all of yesterday. I was hoping to know if you've seen anything suspicious yesterday that might be related to this strange occurrence."

Olivia shifted her weight to her hip, putting a hand to her chin to ponder. "Hm, did anything happen related to space? I'm sure if an Ultra Wormhole opened up, I would have figured it out, or Tapu Lele if that were the case…wait, is that why you were asking about the Ruins of Life from before?"

"That's right." Burnet nodded. "I know you just said that you've been feeling…hazy, I suppose that's the right word? But if you have anything to say, any and everything would suit just fine."

"That's…asking for quite a lot, don't you think? Give me a moment, I need to think about what happened first." Olivia closed her eyes and hummed. "Well, I visited Heahea City for their daily shopping deals around this time of day, and then I returned to Konikoni City. The rest of that day, I was manning down the shop until Nic and Erza arrived."

"Nic and Erza, you say?"

"Oh that's right. They're from the Kalos Region. They were here on their honeymoon. I told them to come here for anything they might need, and they brought a Z-Ring stone that I happily carved for them. I then took them towards Akala's Outskirts to demonstrate a Z-Move for them afterwards."

Burnet put a hand to her chin. That area was directly south of the Ruins of Life, and coincidentally enough, the trail of spatial energy wasn't too far off. The graphs weren't off from what she read that Olivia's tale wasn't too off.

"And then…last night after that…that's when things got hazy. Suddenly, the island guardian appeared in the middle of town. Nic and Erza went after her, and I took pursuit…I think along the way, I blacked out. Which I guess explains this headache I have." She rubbed her head, nervously laughing.

Burnet raised a brow. "Huh, that is rather peculiar. I've heard about Akala's guardian being something of a prankster in her spare time. But was that a normal occurrence, do you believe?"

"Well…" Olivia stopped to think about it, but nothing came to mind. Her train of thought was still so slow. "I suppose Tapu Lele was being rather bold. She's a rather unpredictable spirit I'm afraid. But if she did pick up anything, she might have done something about it."

"I see, so there's no evidence of Ultra Wormholes around then. This is weird."

Olivia shook her head and had a slightly more focused expression. "Don't worry. I won't be down for very long. As Island Kahuna, it's my duty to make sure nothing goes without a trace unbound. Now you said that those energy trails were from yesterday, right? I was at all those locations yesterday. So are you saying…that it might have to do with me?"

Burnet looked down at the spatial reader, pointing at Olivia. "Not according to these readings. But…did you find anything about this Nic or erza that you might have found peculiar perhaps?"

"No, nothing of the sorts…hold on, you think Tapu Lele appeared before them because of something special about them? You think they might be connected to space?"

"Honestly, I'm just as perplexed as you. It feels more coincidental if anything. These were all locations where you've visited, so there could have been a number of people in the area that might share some of that influence. The energy at the moment is centering around Brooklet Hill. If I find any people that are there, then that just might verify that theory."

"Thank you for the information, Professor." Olivia bowed.

Burnet flashed a wink. "Hey. Don't sweat it. Now if you give me a special discount, consider that a repayment." She turned away, pulling out a Ride Pager to call for her Pager Charizard. "Now to see what this recent trail leads to…"

Olivia closed the door and turned the lock once more. She sighed heavily. Yesterday was left so fuzzy in detail, but this talk with Burnet was starting to give her some incentives on what might have caused it. 'Does the spirit of Akala sense something amiss? There was that sensation from a few days ago that startled Tapu Lele. If she had any other reason to be out in the open like she did…' She pulled out the yellow note that Erza had left. She tried making out the words, but they only induced more of her headache. "What a whacky day this has been. I think I need to go lie down a little longer. Hopefully nothing crazy happens again…"

She sauntered back up the stairs, going for her shower to get her morning started on the right foot.

---

A loud splash alerted the nearby Wishiwashi, causing them to swim a safe distance as Greninja popped his head out of the water.

"(Gotta say, the water here is pretty nice.)" he commented at Garchomp, who was swimming in the cool water with his shark fin sticking out.

"(Heh, not bad, I suppose.)" He reared up and saw the morning sun in the east making the hill's waterfalls glow.

"(Guess it's morning already, huh?)" Houndoom grunted, lying down on his forepaws against the shoreline. "(Man, guess I must have dozed off a little too hard after that berry stew. Tellin' ya, that stuff hit the spot.)"

"(I wouldn't say that. I think it was alright…though honestly if it were a little more mild, I'd be fine with it.)" Scizor said, perching herself atop of a rock.

"(Heh, you only say that because you're a Bug and Steel-type. Fire-types like myself, well, can't say that I relate.)" He flashed a smirk as his tail whipped the sand.

Scizor raised a brow. "(I suppose that shows what you know.)"

The hound opened an eye at her. "(Eh? What's that's supposed to mean?)"

"(Package delivery~!)" Everyone looked up as an invisible force came down into the water, making a large splash that made waves that caused Houndoom to backpedal away.

"(Hey, hey! You trying to get my fur wet?!)" he barked. "(Wait a minute…Kecleon, was that you just now?)"

There was a moment of silence as Houndoom glared at the clear water. He waited for an answer that eventually came when Kecleon reappeared slowly, tilting her head. "(Hello…may I take your order?)"

"(Yeah, watch where you're coming down from next time.)" He dabbed his forepaw against the dryer areas of the cool sand. "Seriously though, I am not a doggy-paddler. Sheesh.)" Suddenly, an equally large splash came down close by, this time spraying Houndoom and making him yelp back. "(Gyah! Alright, who's the wise guys this time?!)"

Kecleon looked over as bubbles were surfacing. Springing out of the water, Slurpuff's doughy body sagged and kicked her feet underneath. "(Aaaah, that cleared the sinuses.)" she sighed.

Kecleon tilted her head. "(I give that a 6.)"

"(Good grief.)" Houndoom shook his head and turned away towards inland.

Kecleon turned towards Garchomp. "(Garchomp…wanna swim swifty?)" She pointed a claw in the direction of Brooklet Hill's waterfalls coming from above. The collective water came from various ponds that flowed by waterfalls into the next one. The dragon showed interest in a menacing smirk.

"(Ha, suits fine with me.)" He jetted out of the water; Kecleon opened her mouth and shot her tongue and stuck to his backfin as he shot skywards past Talonflame and Charizard as they stretched their wings.

The whole two parties were enjoying a nice relaxing morning, one that Brooklet Hill had to offer them for the time being anyway. But small as it was, they made the best of it, and that was enough for them. Cloyster kept his shell open while he was submerged underneath a waterfall. The pummeling water against the surface just ten feet above was oddly relaxing. Arbok was being no bother as he swam about in the cool water a safe distance away.

On the surface, Staraptor was in the shallows, taking a birdbath as she nipped at a sprinkle of pink left by Tapu Lele from last night. She dipped her right wing into the water, trying to get it out. "Here, let me." Nic walked up, kneeling with a small black comb. He picked up Staraptor's wing with two fingers and patiently swept the comb through the plumage of her wing, scraping off the distracting particle in the process. "There you go, that should do it."

"(Thank you for that, Nic.)" Staraptor smiled, before she flapped and ascended back into the air. She twisted her body and spiraled into the water, where she dove to beneath and swam using her talons.

Nic continued spotting his Pokémon as they all enjoyed themselves. Even Greninja seemed relaxed enough as he jumped by Nic's side, setting one leg down. "(Looks like everyone's enjoying themselves.)" he croaked.

"Yeah, you can say that again." Nic smiled. "The beach wasn't bad at all, but…" He sat down using his knee to support his arm. Greninja mimicked him. "I honestly prefer more private areas. This suits just fine."

"(Yeah…)" Greninja watched as Staraptor suddenly sprung out of the water, flying high until she made a strong and graceful somersault. "(Looks like everyone's enjoying themselves to say the least. We're not social Butterfree like your guild is…but it's social enough for us.)"

Nic smirked. "It's good to see at least you're relishing in this little getaway." He looked up at the growing blue sky. "So far this has been something…"

Something. Perhaps Nic could have thought to put a better label on what to describe their honeymoon. Maybe that was the lightest it could have been described, because if anything, this felt more like a run from the law. He felt like a fugitive with the incidents happening up to now resulting in conflict that he actually didn't start this time. It's true that in the past, he would stand his ground until it eventually met with violence, but he has since learned to better and learn to grow, if only by a little. For all he knew, he didn't do anything. Yet just being here is enough to rile up the supposed guardians of Alola? Was he really that big of a threat that they had to come out for him like that?

There were so many questions that went on inside of his head that he didn't have answers for. His frown became more defined the deeper he went into thought. Not even the sounds of splashing when Arbok sprung out of the water, landing in coils and rustling his scales to get the water off deterred him from his shallow epiphanies. Greninja looked on, but his blank eyes turned red and serious as he glanced over at Nic. He didn't have to say anything to know what was on his mind. He already had a pretty good indication given the actions and the experiences placed in hand.

He's been trying new things, he really has. It was a hectic struggle alone just to get the prospect of cooperation within his cranium. For as long as he could remember, there was always a rhythm to how he did things. And he always did them his way. Yet for some perpetual reason, Arceus decided to pull the irony switch, because when he tried to play nice, when he tried using items that he wasn't familiar with, what happened? Both ended up inconvenient. And in the end, it still ended up to the same confliction that ends in a battle, one way or another. He wasn't like Natsu. Natsu always loved a good fight and aimed to challenge anything in his path. Though he has been starting to use his head a little more, that was still his core aspect that Nic had to accept, and that took so very long for him to do so. At his core, Nic was his own person, someone who preferred neither the high road nor the low one…but to make his own bridge. He hated war, but he still wanted to fight whoever pointed a finger at him. A part of him wanted to crush whomever it was, and the experience he was having right now was fueling that fire. But he knew to keep that same experience from driving him back.

He always moved forward, but at the same time, he would take the backroads to go his way.

A cold thermos touched his cheek, snapping him out of his deep thoughts. "Fresh water?" Erza offered, standing over him with the thermos that was packed from Joey's case. Aegislash floated by her side, but remained docile.

"Oh…yeah, thanks." He took the thermos and started chugging away. One large gulp after another as they watched him down the water like it was nothing. He looked over at Aegislash, noticing her sheen was brighter than usual. "Hm? You just finished polishing her?"

"Indeed. It took a while, but getting between those crevices aren't always easy." She looked towards Aegislash, seeing her purple eye blink. "No offense, of course." She rubbed her hilt head to appease her.

"(It's no trouble, really.)" Aegislash dismissed.

Erza moved closer towards Nic and sat along the water's edge, letting her heels dangle a few feet above the water. Her head craned just enough to show she was paying full attention towards him. "You look like you have something on your mind."

Nic blinked, but he swayed the other way. "Is it that obvious…?"

Erza smirked. "It's as plain as day. Did you need to talk about it?"

He paused for a moment, glaring out at the far horizon where the sun was illuminating the seas beyond the shade of the hilly falls. After all this time, he knew better to keep things from his wife. If the incident with Jellal meant anything, it's that it was best to communicate and keep a bridge. He sighed heavily. "Erza…thinking back to it, tell me…has anything changed about me at all?"

"What do you mean?" She replied, genuinely concerned for what he was referring to. Greninja and Aegislash sat by and watched them.

Nic's gaze fell towards his reflection. "Looking back at it, I've been trying out some new things to stay up to speed. Everything else around us is gradually changing and adapting. If we didn't stay up to speed with things, we would have probably gotten around much smoother than we would have, probably. I'm not saying I dislike what we're doing…it's just…" Erza leaned closer. "Trying out new things…hasn't really been working out for us, hasn't it?"

She quickly thought about anything that had brought him to that conclusion. "You mean the Cleanse Tag and standing down, right?"

Nic's frown grew heavier as he stared at his distorted reflection. "Yeah. I know I haven't been…very negotiable with authority. I just do my thing, that's just who I am. Imagine my instincts when Olivia still chose to get on the offensive with us even after. Honestly…I just hate people. They're so one-sided out of fear that when we try to sympathize, they don't try and break out of that corner. Honestly, I don't know whether to be sorry for them, or sorry for myself for thinking this way…"

"Nic…" Greninja silently sympathized.

Erza continued looking at Nic, seeing the genuine contemplation on his face. She recognized this look when he was struggling. And that doesn't happen very often. But she shifted closer to his side until their shoulders were touching.

"Nic…there's nothing wrong with trying out new things. Sometimes they don't work out at first, and not everyone is willing to accept change like they are of the unknown." She tilted her head, resting it against the side of his head. She giggled when she felt him stiffen some. "Believe it or not, you've changed. If your new style of battling means anything, it's that you're bearing fruit with stronger quality at the end of the day."

Nic raised a brow. "I'm thinking that you're picking up a bit much on how Kecleon explains things."

"Not every change will go smoothly. Believe me, I'm sure the endeavors with back home speaks volumes that not every change comes without a few sacrifices along the way…still, that's the sad reality we live in. And I know you all too well. You're not like the other guild members. You grew up and disclosed yourself from society and other people, so you struggle quite a bit with new people and their views."

"I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult." He smirked.

"It's okay. It's just who you are. There's nothing wrong with how you feel about people." She moved her arm around his neck, her slender skin draping on his to make him feel a little warmer in the shade. "Just don't forget, change is a very slow process. It's not something that should feel like it should be rushed to get anywhere. Just remember to pace yourself when you're seeing anew, alright? I'm sure you'll find a better opportunity to use battle items after we uncover the whole Z-Ring mystery. And just maybe…you might get used to the idea of Z-Moves if we ever get to use them."

"Hey, c'mon. I never said that I was ever against the idea." He looked away, folding his arms. "I'm just not a fan of those poses. Honestly, those stances are just so ridiculous."

"Really? I kinda like the poses. I think they bring the energy into you." She chimed.

"Yeah? Well you don't have to strike a pose during Mega Evolution." He countered.

Erza smirked at his defensive demeanor. "And that's just fine, too. See? Even though there are some aspects of new things that don't suit you, you're still open enough to get an understanding. I think that itself is proof that you've come out of that shell."

Nic thought about what she said, and noticed that the basin was settling just enough that he could see his colors. It wasn't a solid reflection, but he could make out himself, Erza, Greninja, and Aegislash by their sides. A soft smiled was returning to his lips.

"…yeah, you're right. Thanks, Erza."

Erza leaned over, kissing him on the cheek. "That's what I'm here for. Not everyone is against you, you know. They'll come around. And if they don't, I'll be there to stand by your side to teach them the lesson they refuse to acknowledge."

"Going back to basics, aren't we?" he mused.

"Perhaps, if push comes to shove. For now, let's focus on what we can change. Starting with adjusting our priorities for now."

A massive spray of water was followed by a large volume of rock that fell from the falls. Time slowed down as everyone looked over their heads to see Kecleon and Garchomp gliding off the falls, diving head-first into the water below. Garchomp's body was folded like a fighter jet, and Kecleon was – questionably enough – facing backwards like Cloyster would, using her tongue like a rudder that jettisoned her at a familiar pace over the basin.

Their momentum carried them like two missiles whistling through the air until they closed in on Brooklet Hill's border, which were large-scale boulders blocking the way. Garchomp snarled as he beelined with the momentum, but Kecleon twisted in midair, firing her tong against his head appendage and slingshot herself just a hair's width further…before her foot and Garchomp's head smashed into one of the center boulders, smashing it to smithereens.

All the fish Pokémon in the area grew alarmed and swam for the nearest cover. The basin sent waves that splashed against the shores, reaching levels that alarmed Houndoom. "(Oh come on! Is everyone trying to get on my bad side today?!)" He barked.

The waves eventually settled, revealing shattered boulder rock that fell to the rock bed below. They all grew alarmed in case they didn't come up.

"(Are they alright?)" Aegislash worried.

"(Wait for it.)" Greninja calmly replied.

A few moments later, there was a splash as Garchomp suddenly burst out of the water. He planted his two feet on one of the neighboring boulders and looked down at the debris sunken below. His eyes suddenly darted left when he noticed a drenched silhouette dripping, which narrowed at what he concluded.

Slowly fading into view, Kecleon was standing perfectly upright, tilting her head at him. "(I win!)"

"(Bah! You just got lucky that time! Round 2?)" he sneered.

Nic chuckled and smirked at the scene. "Sorry Garchomp, but that'll have to wait for now." He stood up, getting all his Pokémon's attention. "Alright, hope you all had a good swim. Get ready, we'll be heading out shortly."

"(Right beside you.)" Greninja picked himself up, but not before giving an approving glance at Erza. He joined Nic as they went towards the shorelines.

---

On the most eastern region of Alola's four islands, there was an especially large island, far more than any of the two previous islands due to the sheer mountain ranges covered. There were a couple mountains with dry top, but at the center of the mountainous island was a snow-white top, where the highest point of all of Alola was said to be held.

Northeast of the island, there was a city that had a very exotic theme to it. There was green tiling with old-style Japanese homes that were evenly spaced apart. There was a massive garden that reminisced of the Moon Drip shrine.

The sun rising directly across the shoreline, there was a pale man with red eyes that covered his mouth as he yawned. He walked along the sidewalk, along some of the reserved buildings that bordered along the docks. Once he saw the sunlight's border, he stayed in the shade to prevent the sun from reaching his pale skin.

'He a no-show or what? I knew I should have turned down the chance once I got that phone call. I really should have just stayed over on the other side of the island. At least there not everyone has half a mind to give me a call in the middle of the freaking night to meet up in Malie City.'

The ocean waves swayed about along Malie City's coastline, where the figure turned and saw a small white motorboat drawing near. He watched it slowly dock along the pier and the person carried a lasso rope and threw it over one of the stone pikes to anchor the boat.

Stepping onto shore, a man wearing a tan drench coat with a brown fedora hat touched base with the stone pier. He turned left and right, getting a good view of Malie City and the massive mountains that burned brightly in the morning sun. He saw that the coast was clear and walked towards the side of one of the buildings; the same one that the shaded figure was leaning up against.

The newcomer lowered his fedora to keep his eyes shaded from the sun. "Got a call to be here."

The shady man grunted. "Hmph, can you be anymore obvious? What's the matter, I thought that you were called here 'undercover' by the Aether Foundation."

"You know we can't say that out cloud. You don't know who might be listening in on us." The newcomer reprimanded.

The shady man's melancholic frown gradually turned to a smirk. "Heh, that's ironic coming from you of all people. Now, isn't it?"

The person scoffed. "I see that your attitude hasn't changed after all this time…Nanu." The shaded person's red eyes reopened as he smirked in self-satisfaction.

"Yeah, yeah, I was given the heads up just a while ago. It's kinda ironic seeing my protégé here on such a short notice. If I had anymore time, I would have invited you for coffee over at my place."

The person snickered. "Thank you kindly for the offer, but I'll settle for some tea. I heard Malie City took some of its rooting from Ecruteak City. I'm wondering if their tea here is just as good as the service is there."

"Heh, well you're on your own there pal. The best I can offer ya is our clothing commercial shops. You wanna blend in and look around, don't ya? Then you might wanna look the part. Just follow me and keep up…Looker."

"After you." He replied, walking behind the man into Malie City.

---

Sorry for the delay. I really could have updated this sooner, but my brain crashed a few times, and I digressed more often than I should. But I thought this was a fair stopping point for the chapter. Hope that you guys enjoyed, and I look forward to hearing what you have to say!