"Big brother!"

"Sis! Go! Get outta here!"

Everything was dark. Not a spec of light. The two voices sounded desperate as though they were running from something.

"Sis, hurry! They'll catch up soon!"

"Big brother!"

"Get going! GO!"

A sudden wave of icy-cold went through the body. A brief windfall was fell as a distant cry could be heard. "BIG BROTHER~!"

Wartortle popped out of his shell with a gasp. He sat up and looked feverishly around. When he recognized the familiar surroundings, he realized that he was in Juvia's apartment, sleeping on a blue bean pillow near Vaporeon and Azumarill as they were sound asleep.

Taking a moment to relax, Wartortle let out a small sigh. 'It was that dream again…' He looked down at his claws. He noticed how stiff they were…just like the rest of his shivering body. He didn't know why, but he felt really cold.

Azumarill's ears twitched, her sensitive hearing causing her to stir awake and open an eye towards her teammate. "Mmmm…Wartortle?"

His wing-like ears twitching, he turned towards her. "Huh? Oh, sorry Azumarill. Did I wake you?"

"It's fine…you sure you're okay? You've been waking up in the middle of the night recently. Bad dreams?"

Wartortle thought about it, but all he did was look down with a distant expression. "…nothing to worry about. I was having a…nostalgic dream."

Nostalgic. That was the only word that came to mind for him. Strangely enough, it didn't feel like a lie. But even with his own vague memories, the young, feminine voice that called out to him made him feel good. And right after he would feel cold. It was hard to convey into words.

Azumarill, still sleepy, let out a yawn and dozed off again. "Well, okay…see you in the morning…"

"Yeah, same here." Wartortle fell silent as he looked over towards Juvia, who was holding a small Gray plushie in between her buxom. He shouldn't let such things bother him. He had his own place to be right now.

Tucking his limbs back into his shell, he dozed back to sleep again…but his body still shivered like he was cold.

Morning dawned through Fairy Hills. The sun was shining, the air was warm, and everyone was bustling as Combee gathering Honey.

Inside her room, Juvia put on the finishing touches to her attire for the day. With a perky smile, she pumped her fists ready to go. "There, all set!" She smiled brightly, turning towards her Pokémon. "So, we all ready to go?"

"You bet!" Azumarill leaped with joy.

"Sure am." Vaporeon nodded.

"Ready when you are, Boss-Ma'am." Wartortle dutifully said.

Juvia's smile widened. She looked at all her Pokémon with pride. Ever since their return from Pokétopia, Juvia had made it her personal mission to balance her love life between Gray and her Pokémon. She knew that being a Pokémon Trainer was a great responsibility, but she knew responsibility came with sacrifices. But the smiles on all their faces made it all worth it for them. Yesterday, she spent the whole day with them training and enjoying their time by the beach. That meant today was all about being productive with her guildmates, especially Gray.

With a beat in her step, she made way to the front entrance of Fairy Hills. To her upmost joy, she saw Gray standing in front, looking casually bored until he saw her walk out.

"Hey, I was wondering when you'd be ready." He nonchalantly greeted his significant other.

"Good morning, Gray darling!" Juvia returned with a higher octave. "Sorry to keep you waiting for so long."

He shrugged. "It's cool. Wasn't waiting that long." He turned towards the dirt road, jutting out his elbow. "So, ready?"

Juvia took the hint and whisked to his side, draping her arm around his. "Whenever you are!"

Gray had a small grin as he and Juvia went arm-and-arm towards Magnolia, the latter's Pokémon following close behind. Juvia was genuinely pleased to see Gray more progressive with their relationship. She found that he was more forward ever since they left the island, with him asking her out on a date that she had to postpone. Still, the few small outings they had that he suggested really made Juvia happy.

With it being late August, even in the morning, it was rather warm, but tolerable. It would be another month and something days before the postponed Grand Magic Games were underway, and today the two planned to go to work.

As they were walking through Magnolia's streets, Juvia turned towards Gray. "So Gray, what kind of job are we going to do today?"

"If we're lucky, we'll get another with one of those stamps we need." He chimed. "How many more does our guild need before we're qualified now?"

"Last I counted, we had about 12, so we need 18 more." She recited.

"And they're pretty hard to come by. Plus our workload's increased since this whole rebellion thing's settled down." Gray bemoaned.

"But look on the positives Gray, it means more work for us."

"Yeah, guess that's true. Gotta make a living somehow, right?"

As they were making idle conversation towards the guild hall, Azumarill and Vaporeon were close behind. Wartortle was in tow, though he was keeping his distance for some reason.

"Huh? Hey, Wartortle!" Azumarill chirped. "What're you doing lagging behind? You a Slowpoke or what?"

Wartortle perked up. "Huh? Oh, sorry about that…"

Juvia looked back, frowning. "Have you been having troubles sleeping again?"

"Nothing to deter me. I'm fine." Wartortle assured.

"I'm not sure…you've been keeping your distance from Gray and his Pokémon. Or Ice-types in general." Vaporeon pointed out. "Is it because you don't like the cold?"

"Now that I think about it, why don't you like the cold, Wartortle?" Juvia inquired. "Water-types are supposed to be resistant to Ice-types if I recall."

Wartortle tilted his head down, grimacing with thought. "Sorry. It's not like I'm trying to worry you or anything, really." His brow furrowed. "But honestly for the life of me…even I'm not sure why. It's like it's ingrained into my mind one way or another."

Juvia and everyone looked at Wartortle before glancing at each other. Granted, they never really did understand his apparent Cryophobia, nor did they find it to be a major issue. But they'd be lying if they said they weren't concerned with how it's been affecting their colleague's mentality as of late.

"…well, let's just try and do our best today. We've gotta get more jobs to enter those games, right?" Azumarill chimed, getting everyone off the touchy subject.

Juvia nodded. "Yes, you're right. Hopefully there's some decent posts for us today."

As the group made way through Magnolia's thriving streets, they were unaware that they caught the eyes of someone amongst the populace. The pair were walking by when the shorter of the two looked over and noticed the emblem that was on Juvia's thigh.

"Miss, look." The smaller of the two pointed a claw in their direction.

The person that turned had eyes locked onto the guild mark. From the fleshy frown she had, she was human. "That mark…then they must be them."

"Only one way to be sure."

As soon as the pair walked their way through the guild's saloon doors, they saw that the place was surprisingly quieter than usual. A quick glance around confirmed that the reason was because a lot of their usual patrons were absent, save for a few.

"Hey there cool drink, wondered when you'd show." Cana chimed from the bar, already drinking booze from a mug. For some reason, nobody was surprised.

"Morning, Cana." Juvia greeted her lush guildmate. She paused to take another scope around the guild hall. "Where is everyone?"

The brunette shrugged. "Busy. Everyone went out on jobs as soon as the request board was filled this morning. Didn't wanna get caught up in the rush so I figured that I'd sit this one out until the heat simmered."

"Even still, there's plenty of jobs available." Mirajane sang, walking by with a tray of drinks. "And because of the busy season we're in, the board will be filled in no time."

"Guess everyone had the same idea as we did." Gray shrugged, deciding not to get heated over the facts.

Cana shrugged. "You'll be lucky if there's any with a stamp at all. You can try though."

"She's right." Juvia was over by the board, alongside Nab. Her frown dampened when she came to a realization. "Doesn't look like there's one issued by the Cambire Foundation at this time."

"Sorry. I think Natsu, Happy, and Lucy took one this morning. It was the only one we got today." Mirajane chimed.

Gray sighed, putting hands to his hips. "Typical. Guess it can't be helped." He turned towards Juvia. "Well, what now?"

"Well, a job is still a job. Perhaps we can find one that'll-"

Azumarill's hearing suddenly kicked in, her large ears picking up sounds from the entrance. "Oh! Someone's coming!"

Just as she said that, the saloon girls opened once more, revealing two figments standing beside one another. One was clearly a human female, while the other was a Wartortle. All eyes around the guild turned towards the unfamiliar faces as they made their way into the guild hall.

The human female was of average height with light skin. She had long, midnight blue hair that was covered up by a rather stylish black and white cap, but didn't hide the ponytail the rest of her hair fell through. Her outfit consisted of brown fingerless gloves with a matching sleeveless vest along with a red-orange short-sleeved shirt and blue shirt shorts. She also had long socks that went up to her knees, with black and white shoes.

Besides her was another shocking site. And for a good reason. Standing by her side was a Wartortle.

Her hazel eyes locked around the guild hall, seeing the numerous patrons that instantly garnered attention.

Both looked rather dirty and exhausted, evidence that they have been through a lot.

"Who's she?"

"Don't recognize a face like that around here."

"Think she got lost?"

Numerous questions and observations came from the few members that were available. But no one bothered to confront her about it.

The girl cautiously looked around, her eyes eventually following Mirajane the moment she stepped in front to greet her. "Hello. Is there anything we can help you with?" she greeted.

"Hello. Is…this Fairy Tail?" The visitor asked unsurely.

Mirajane nodded. "Yes, we are. Why, is there something you need from us?"

Juvia's focus was on a different matter altogether. 'That Pokémon…she has a Wartortle too?'

Wartortle's eyes immediately glued onto the other Wartortle. His frown remained steadfast as he remained silent.

The girl opened her mouth to speak. "We were…"

Growlllll…

A low growl echoed from the guild hall. The girl and her Wartortle's stomachs vibrated, pausing any and all tension and turning it into mild embarrassment. Everyone sweatdropped as the girl's face went beet red with embarrassment.

Her Wartortle cleared her throat. "Um, Miss…"

"Right. Um…you wouldn't suppose to have anything to eat around here…do you?"

One hardy meal later, the unfamiliar face and her Wartortle were sitting at one of the guild's many tables with her plate nearly depleted of all sustenance that Mirajane cooked up. Her Wartortle was more reserved, taking her time eating at the Pokémon Food that sat in a large bowl. It was clear who had the appetite between the pair.

The girl's glistening expression as comedic tears ran down her face showed how genuinely pleased she was. Definitely her first decent meal in a long time. "Mmmm…sho hood…" she mumbled.

"Please Miss, not with your mouth full." Her Wartortle lightly chastised.

"Geez, here I thought Natsu was a glutton." Gray lowly muttered.

"Poor thing's must have been starving, darling. Can't say you blame them." Juvia countered.

The girl eventually swallowed another large sum, letting out a sigh. "Phew…thank you. I feel so much better now."

"Glad you liked it." Mirajane chimed.

Gray folded his arms. "We're relieved and all, but think you can let us in on what's going on now?"

The girl nodded solemnly. "Right, my bad." She bowed her head properly, as did her Wartortle. "Sorry for the late introductions. My name is Francesca Flores." She gestured towards her Wartortle. "And this is my partner, Wartortle."

Wartortle humbly bowed to them. "Salutations. Thank you all for hosting us. We greatly appreciate it."

"Is it me, or does she look the same as Juvia's?" Wendy whispered to Carla.

"Well, Pokémon do look alike. Especially when they share a species. Just take Arcelia and her mother for example." Carla pointed out. "Still…it is a rather rare chance to come across a Pokémon like that."

"Some odds…" Wendy trailed off.

With pleasantries out of the way, Juvia leaned closer. "So what brings you both to our guild? Is there something we can assist you with?"

Francesca straightened her back, trying to look more serious. "Well...you can say that. The truth is, I was hoping that I would find Nic Pularis here. He works here, right?"

Gray cocked a brow. "Nic?"

Francesca nodded in confirmation.

"This is the second time someone came in person for Nic." Macao muttered to Wakaba. "I'm starting to see a pattern here."

"Yeah, but the difference with this one is that it's a cutie." Wakaba chimed.

Romeo, who was sitting at the same table as them, eyerolled at their perverted thoughts. 'Geez, seriously? These guys have any standards anymore?'

Juvia blinked, tilting her head. "Nic? Why him specifically?"

"Yeah, and besides that, the guy's not big on company. Not just anyone can meet him." Gray followed, his tone more assertive with suspicion. 'Besides, he's already got enough people on his back as it is. The Cambire Foundation and that Shiin guy's already prying into his space.'

"Please, at least listen to what we have to say." Francesca's Wartortle reasoned, turning towards her Trainer. "Miss, go ahead."

"Right." Francesca continued. "I'm sure you all know about this whole thing going on called the Crossing, right? Well to tell the truth…we were also…kinda misplaced."

Juvia's eyes narrowed. "Wait, so that means…!"

"She's not from this world either." Carla surmised. "Just like Joey and The Freaks."

"Yeah, guess that seems to be the case…" Vijeeter spoke.

Francesca let out a solemn sigh. "You see, I heard that Nic has the power to shift between this world and PokéEarth. So I was hoping that he would be able to send us back to our own world. We heard how he's part of this guild called Fairy Tail located here in this country."

"'This country'?" Gray felt his curiosity mixed with unease. 'Just how far did she have to travel to get to here?'

"You've been in this world for four months now, right? Surely you've thought about joining a guild or something to keep you stable." Juvia inquired.

"We've tried, but…it never worked out." Francesca's Wartortle spoke in a brisk tone.

"What do you mean?" Vaporeon asked.

"At first, it was rather difficult to find a means to sustain ourselves. You can imagine how tough it was being placed in a world with magic while not having any yourself. Add to it that you're surrounded by 'magical creatures'. Numerous guilds turned us away just for that reason alone. We did find a few jobs…but it didn't last long, or the guilds closed down."

The notion drove a stake in everyone's chests, for a lack of better word. A lot of them know of hardships when they weren't part of the guild. The year that they were all apart really drove that point home. Admittedly, some did better than others, but they were mature enough to not throw in their two cents.

"The poor things must have had a hard time." Azumarill grimaced.

Francesca continued. "Look…I don't want to sound rude or anything, but it really…hasn't been so easy. We don't expect you to understand how it feels to be misplaced in an entirely new world. But some of us had lives back home…" her frown dampened. "And friends and family that miss you. So we tried tracking down your guild with what money we had…and I guess the rest is history."

With the anecdote assessed, there was a small silence amongst the guildmembers as they pondered Francesca's predicament. They didn't have anything against her, but they certainly did sympathize with her plight.

Juvia turned towards Gray. "Gray."

Rubbing the back of his head, Gray let out a small groan. "Well…it isn't like we're doing anything. If you really came all this way for Nic, then…guess that's that." He stood up. "Come on, we'll show you where he lives and talk with him. I'm sure we'll work something out."

Francesca looked genuinely surprised. "Y-you serious?"

Gray shrugged, smirking. "Why not? You wanna head home, right? It isn't up to us to decide where that is. Right?"

Juvia followed suit. "Right. After all, that's the point of a guild. We help people whenever they need it."

Francesca didn't know what to say. It could have been from the gratitude that she was given after so long, so the pent-up stress of everything she had to deal with as of late, but the young Trainer felt tears swell at the corners of her eyes as she tried to hold back her sobs of relief. "Thank you…"

Meanwhile, Juvia's Wartortle looked over towards Francesca's Wartortle, the two exchanging gazes for a brief moment. The air between them was so thick that a Sacred Sword could carve through. It looked as though they were briefly inspecting each other, but didn't dawdle on it as the female counterpart took the initiative to follow her Trainer out the guild's saloon doors.

Francesca and her Wartortle found themselves standing before what was supposedly their destination. However, their impressions conveyed their blunt wonder of their hope's abode.

"This is his house?" Francesca glazed over the cottage, her tone indicating a sense of doubt.

"For someone so prestige, you figured he'd be living in something more broad." Her Wartortle admitted.

"Believe me, you wouldn't be the first to have that thought." Gray clarified, walking ahead of them. "It was a little bigger awhile back, but things happened."

"It's probably not common knowledge, but Nic can get by with just the bare minimum." Juvia whimsically noted. "He prefers small and stable."

Francesca wordlessly hummed. She understood, but she still held her reservations. If it were up to her, she'd settle for no less than a villa.

Gray made his way up the porch and knocked on the door. "Yo, Nic! You there, man? Hate to drop in on short notice, but you've got some company." He called out in hopes of a reply.

A short while passed before they could get any semblance of a response. Francesca and Wartortle looked towards each other anxiously. Juvia put a calming hand on the former's shoulder and gave a reassured smile. Everything was going to be fine, she was conveying.

Just when Gray was about to knock again, they heard the door handle open. They all watched the door open…only it wasn't Nic who stood there. In fact, what they saw caused them all to nearly floor.

"Yo!" Answering the door was Joey Haycliff, that much they understood. But what they couldn't fathom was why he was wearing a frilly maid outfit. He even had the stockings and the frilly tiara on his head to match the ensemble.

Even more bizarre was that he didn't seem the least bit bothered by it.

Francesca leaned closer towards her Wartortle. "I didn't know Nic had these kinds of kinks…"

"You never know what you find behind closed doors until you open them." Her Wartortle noted. "…though in this case, perhaps those doors should stay shut."

Getting over his shivering spine, Gray got his bearings and spoke. "Joey? What's the deal? And why're you in Nic's house of all places?"

Joey shifted his weight to one hip, holding a feather duster up. "Nic-senpai gave me permission to be his maid and tidy up the place. He and Erza liked how it looked when they came back from their honeymoon, so they asked me to do it again." He smirked with such pride.

"And by that, he means mostly me." Dereece quipped as he passed by sweeping with a broom.

"Um…do I want to know why you're wearing that?" Juvia worriedly asked, pointing out his maid outfit.

Joey took a brief glance down and shrugged. "Oh, this? Well you see, yesterday our job was to investigate this noble who was supposedly capturing Pokémon for market reasons. So I wore this, splashed a little makeup on, and boom! In like flint…and then, I kinda never took this off, so yeah."

The others stared blankly at him, not sure how to respond to that.

Joey furrowed his brow, taking a sassy pose. "Don't gimme that look. It's not my fault I rock this better than you guys. And hey, I got a stamp too. Can't complain with me there."

'I'm not even sure how to complain to that.' Juvia inwardly admitted.

Gray groaned heavily. "Look, is Nic home? We need a favor from him."

Joey shook his head. "Sorry buddy, you just missed him. He said he needed to head to Crocus to discuss the games with the committee. And Erza left with Vanessa on a job together. They'll probably get back later today."

"Great…" Gray grimaced.

"Look, I need to finish polishing the wooden floors. Once that's done, us Freaks will be out on our own job again." Joey turned to walk back inside. "Dereece, get the floor wax! This place ain't clean till I see my pretty face on these wooden boards!"

The door shut behind him, leaving his guildmates and guest baffled.

"Well, he's certainly an…interesting character." Francesca chimed.

"Trust me, you have no idea." Gray replied, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "Well this bites. Guess we'll just have to wait until Nic gets back."

"In the meantime, why don't we show you around Magnolia? It wouldn't be the worse idea to spend your last day before returning home, right?" Juvia suggested with a warm smile.

Though Francesca didn't hide her disappointment at her ticket to returning home absent, she did feel a little more relaxed with Juvia offering her closure. The girl smiled sincerely at her attempt to make her feel more welcome. "Sure…I'd like that."

The small group took their time to look around Magnolia. Francesca didn't say anything before, but the place certainly had this charm towards it. She hadn't seen it before because she was mentally and physically fatigued. But now that she bared a slower pace, she could see all the numerous shops and accessories being bought and sold.

Numerous stands in the market were occupied by people; some accompanied by Pokémon. Despite the setbacks they've endured a short while ago, there weren't any public tiffs to speak of.

Though, it was clear by some passing scowls that they weren't as fond of Pokémon. They were most likely hurt and hadn't recovered, even with the story of the rebellion being pressed as manipulation.

Still, despite these shortcomings, it didn't stop Gray and Juvia from feeling some semblance of relief seeing that everything worked out for the most part.

After a while of walking around, the group settled upon a small café where they sat outside underneath an umbrella. The trio settled for a small serving cup of sherbet and lemon ice; a new item that the owner added a while go.

Juvia took a spoonful of her lemon ice and held it up to Gray with a soft smile. "Gray, darling, say ah~"

"Really? In front of others?" Gray sheepishly asked, his embarrassment showing. However, Juvia's insistence was a point that even his ice couldn't freeze over. Despite his chagrin, he acquiesced and opened his mouth, allowing Juvia the delight to feed him the novelty. Her chuckle was the metaphorical cherry on top.

After a minute of tasting, Gray looked back at her. "It's not bad."

Her smile widened. "Glad you thought so!"

Francesca couldn't help but display a saucy grin at the display. "You two sure got a thing going on."

"That's right!" Juvia chirped, much to Gray's embarrassment.

In an effort to sway from them, Gray tried to make conversation. "So Francesca, would you mind telling us a little about yourself?"

"Hm?" Francesca paused, making sure not to get a brain freeze from swallowing her sherbet too fast. "Oh, sure. Well, you see, I grew up in a region called Johto. It's actually neighbors with another region called Kanto. Just a trip through Mt. Silver is all it takes."

"You don't say. So you're not from Kalos like Nic and Joey?" Juvia chimed in.

Francesca shook her head. "No. I lived in Olivine City with my mom, my dad, and two younger sisters. I was actually heading back that way after defeating the Ecruteak Gym and earning my Fog Badge."

"Huh, so in like one of those Gym Battles we saw Vanessa compete in that one time?" Juvia pondered thoughtfully, recalling how she and the guild watched Vanessa battle Valerie that one time for a badge.

"Guess the system is the same in other regions, too." Gray figured.

"Anyways, it was mid-morning, and I was taking the pastures west of the city south. Then…I stopped and noticed the sky gleaming with shooting stars…" She trailed off. She remembered how fast it all happened, especially when one of them rained down and blinded her. The next thing she knew, she was in a desert. She continued. "…and, well, guess that explains why I'm here."

"I'm sorry. It must have been very difficult for you." Juvia offered her condolences.

Francesca waved her off. "It's fine, really. And besides…" She paused to eat and swallowed another spoonful of sherbet. "I wasn't alone the while time. I met Wartortle, so it's not all bad. She's been a big help to me."

Her Wartortle closed her eyes. "You give me too much credit, Miss Francesca. I'm certain that I would be struggling as well. Our partnership benefits both of us."

"So you guys met after coming to this world too?" Vaporeon hummed, taking a break from her own serving of lemon ice served in a small cup.

"Wow, ain't that a coincidence. Just like a certain someone we know with a shell." Azumarill turned towards Juvia's Wartortle, who was absent – voluntarily - of a frozen novelty. "You sure you don't want one?"

"I'm fine. Thanks." He folded his arms, showing no interest.

"You're not a fan of sweets or human foods?" Francesca's Wartortle questioned.

"It's not that. It's another matter entirely."

Francesca dug her spoon into her sherbet, but she dug a little too deep, making the plastic spoon hard to budge. After sone tries, he managed to dislodge it, but a chunk of sherbet flung into the air. "Shoot!"

"Huh?" When Juvia's Wartortle looked up, he only saw a glimpse of orange, cold, frozen cream before he felt it land atop his head. At the moment of contact, Wartortle's entire body froze up, as if his entire being had frozen solid.

"Not again!" Juvia panicked, seeing her Pokémon going into shock again. "Wartortle? Wartortle! Can you hear me?"

"What's wrong? Is he okay?" Francesca asked worriedly.

"He has a problem with the cold. He's very sensitive towards it." Azumarill answered before tapping his shell's underside. "Hey, it's us! Wartortle! Hello~?"

Francesca blinked. She and her Wartortle exchanged contemplative looks. It was odd enough that they've come across a fellow Wartortle, but one that did do well with the cold. They'd be lying if they said this didn't pique their interests.

After several seconds, Wartortle's goosebumps eventually subsided. He shivered feverishly until he settled down. Blinking once again, he looked up and saw Juvia there. "Y-yes, Boss-Ma'am? Sorry, did I freeze up again?"

"Yes, you did." Juvia frowned.

"This is starting to get concerning." Vaporeon finally spoke up.

"Yeah. He's not a fan of ice." Azumarill pouted, tilting her head. "And you said you really don't know why?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Wartortle answered as he rubbed his head. "Honestly, I can't even remember why. I just…do."

Juvia frowned. She wished that she knew a way to help solve this dilemma, but she wasn't sure how. Being with Gray, she had gotten used to lower temperatures. She was starting to worry how this was going to affect their dynamic in the future.

"Um…can I say something?" Francesca raised her hand.

"What's wrong, Francesca?" Gray asked.

"Usually when someone has a reaction like that, it's induced by some kind of past physical trauma. Maybe something happened that caused you to get triggered by the cold." Francesca leaned closer. "Did anything happen that you know of that may have caused you to feel sensitive to the cold?"

Wartortle looked down, his eyes squinting. "Not a thing. Everything up until a while ago was a blank. The first thing I remember…is waking up in the middle of a beach at night. I was still a Squirtle at the time and didn't know what happened before that, or how I got there."

Azumarill's ears drooped. "Man, I wish we knew a way to fix that…" Her ears shit up like a lightbulb lighting up. "Oh! I got it!"

"What is it, Azumarill?" Juvia wondered.

"If Wartortle is having problems with his memories, then he'll just need to visit someone who can fix that!"

"Like who?" Gray's eyes slowly widened. "Wait, hold on…you mean Sophie?"

Azumarill winked. "Yeah, maybe she can help! She has magic related to memories. Maybe she can help us."

Juvia put a hand to her chin and looked down. "I suppose that's true…but she went through that crisis awhile back."

Gray frowned heavily. "Yeah, that's true." He glanced down at Wartortle. "But still, even if it's a long shot, it's better than beating around the bush."

"Yes, that's true…"

"Well, something's there. Maybe you have a mental blockage of some kind." Vaporeon chimed in.

"So…all we gotta do is remove that block and everything'll come back to him?" Azumarill wondered. "Well that seems pretty forward to me."

"Okay, but can Sophie really fix that?"

Azumarill hopped away. "Only one way to find out! C'mon, let's go!"

"Hold on guys." Gray butted in. "Aren't we supposed to focus on Francesca and showing her around?"

"I don't mind, really." Francesca countered. "This is actually interesting. It's not everyday you get to go psychology work on a Pokémon using magic." she admitted. "What do you think, Wartortle?"

Her Wartortle solemnly closed her eyes. "Guess it's fine…at least one of us will have satisfaction out of this."

The others took a pause. They all looked towards Juvia's Wartortle, who seemed awfully quiet. However, after several moments, he hummed. "Well…I'd be lying if I said I want to figure this out too. Guess there's no other choice." He started walking. "Let's see what answers we can find."

After the group finished their desserts, they started through Magnolia's streets once more, this time with a specific destination in mind.

Along the way, Francesca's Wartortle was fairly quiet, her glare fixed on the back of Juvia's Wartortle's head. No matter what, her brown eyes were honed in on the fellow turtle's head as she quietly inspected him.

"You know, Wartortle can't learn Glare if that's what you were trying to do."

Speaking up, Juvia's Wartortle caused Francesca's to cringe. "Apologies…I didn't realize until now."

"It's fine. You have something on your mind, too?"

Her Wartortle frowned heavily, her brow furrowing. "Nothing of your concern. It's just…I was reminded of someone I knew."

"Hm? Like who?" Azumarill chimed.

"…my brother."

Everyone slowed to a stop at her words. The momentum that was fixed on Juvia's Wartortle shifted towards the female counterpart in a matter of seconds. They were all perplexed for a short while with yet another truth bomb coming down onto them.

"Your…brother?" Juvia blinked.

Francesca turned towards her partner, showing genuine concern. "Wartortle, you never told me you had a brother."

"It isn't my fault you never asked in the first place." She quipped. "Besides, that was years ago…and I can't see him anymore."

"What happened?"

Francesca's Wartortle sighed out her nostrils, closing her eyes as she recounted her own past with a fellow Squirtle. "When I was but a Squirtle, there were two eggs that our parents had. My brother's egg hatched first by a few days, but even then…I still remember how warm it was when he was holding onto my egg." She fondly recalled the warmth when a small silhouette outside the egg was embracing her. It was what helped her hatch faster than usual.

"I see. Sounds like you had a very good brother." Juvia's Wartortle noted.

"I did. I admired him because he always looked out for me. He was kind, compassionate, and we were able to get by once we were mature enough to set out on our own. I was truly happy and proud to call him my brother."

"What happened to him?" Juvia asked. From how it sounded, she didn't like where it was heading.

The vivid vibe Francesca's Wartortle was giving off was blanketed by a somber expression. "Then one day…it happened."

Footsteps moved at a swift rate through the dirt-stained valley. Two stout pairs of legs followed in tow of the other as dirt stained the soles of their feet.

Two Squirtle were running in a hurry through the valley. The look of desperation on their faces was evident they were in a hurry. One Squirtle dragged his lagging sister by the hand to move them along.

"(Hurry, sis! They're catching up to us!)" The older Squirtle urged as he pulled his sibling up the incline.

"(I'm trying!)" She shouted back, tripping over a rock. Her brother was able to continue pulling her along so as to not drastically slow them down.

As they were hurrying away as fast as their little legs could carry them, slowly, the ground behind them was starting to frost and freeze over. Even from a distance, a chilled breeze stung the two Squirtles' backs.

"We were passing through some territory we weren't aware of. Before we knew it, we were ambushed."

The older Squirtle kept running when a silhouette shifted in front, impeding their passage. They were forced to stop momentarily from their path being cut off. Gradually, the ice wave crept up to them from behind, drawing closer with only a couple meters separating them.

"(Hang on! I'm about to try something!)"

"(Hurry!)" His sister stayed close.

Squirtle held his sister close when he aimed for the ground and fired a Water Gun with all his strength. The makeshift launcher shot him and his sister into the air and over their impediment. As soon as they were a short distance over, Squirtle exhausted his pressure and landed soundly with his sibling. The two resumed their pace.

"He was smart, and very calm under pressure. No matter what happened to us, he was always able to keep a level head. We were able to get by thanks to him." Francesca's Wartortle's tone was steady despite the morose number playing. "But our luck soon ran out."

As the two were fleeing, they were forced to come to a stop yet again when they were met with yet another obstacle.

Over the ravine with rushing water from a neighboring waterfall, there was a long rope bridge. The wooden planks looked aged, and the ropes looked withered. It was amazing that the structure hadn't collapsed by this point.

"(B-Big Brother…?)" The younger Squirtle quivered.

"(It's okay, sis. I'll be behind you the whole way.)"

"(You…you promise?)"

The brother gave her a nod. "(Yes.)" He looked over his shoulder, noticing the chilly air current. He saw numerous silhouettes floating their way. "(Let's move. Just don't look down, no matter what.)"

The two started their way over the bridge, their pace slow due to many factors. The high winds, the age of the bridge, and also the younger Squirtle's lack of courage. But the older brother, while feeling the uneasy dread loom upon them, knew better than to make his sibling worry. He needed to keep her safe – no matter what happened.

One step at a time, the sounds of wooden boards creaked with every step as they drew further away from land. They were halfway through when the older brother gazed down towards the rushing river that lied beneath them. One wrong move, and they would plummet straight into it.

However, as they were moving at a literal turtle's pace, several bright beams fired from behind past them. Barely missing, the older Squirtle instinctively pushed his sister, making her quicken her pace.

They ran across the bridge, avoiding the Aurora Beam barrage at all costs. They had only a quarter of the way to go before a stray beam went past them, striking the boards in front.

"(AH!)" The younger sister screamed in fear. Her brother pulled her back to keep her from falling with the shattered wood into the river below.

"(I got you!)" He looked around, seeing the numerous silhouettes looming over them. It was hard to look directly at them because their bodies gave off a glare from refracted sunlight. It did little to ease the distress they were in.

The many silhouettes slowly parted, revealing an even larger silhouette. Its bright blue eyes glowed and glared straight into the older Squirtle. The latter could tell clearly it had its sights on him.

"(Sis…listen to me.)" The older brother instructed calmly. "(I need you to get as far away from here once you reach the other side.)"

The younger sister gasped, fear-stricken. "(But…what about you…?)"

The numerous silhouettes slowly were reaching down towards them with ice chains. The chains wrapped themselves around the rope, slowly freezing it over. The ice slowly spread towards the wooden boards and began coating frost.

"(Big brother!)"

"(Sis! Go! Get outta here!)"

The huge silhouette generated an orb of icy-cold energy, readying to unleash it.

"(Sis, hurry! They'll catch up soon!)"

"(Big brother!)"

"(Get going! GO!)" Without another word, Squirtle turned towards his sister and took a deep breath. He blasted her with a Water Gun head-on, sending her flying across the remainder of the bridge towards the other side.

The younger Squirtle only saw a blur from there, but she saw it nonetheless. An Ice Beam blitzed across the air, beelining straight into her brother's head. The impact created ice that froze upon impact with his face frozen in pain.

With the extra weight of the ice, the boarding beneath ultimately snapped, sending the sister's brother to the rushing waves below.

"(BIG BROTHER~!)"

"That was the last time I ever saw him." Francesca's Wartortle tone was vacant, if not brittle. "I lost him right before my eyes…and I couldn't do a thing to stop that from happening."

Everyone retained silence as they listened to her tale. Not one person was in a good mood after hearing such a story. While everyone was frowning in pity of her circumstances, they knew that what happened was out of their hands.

Amongst them, Juvia's Wartortle seemed to be taking it in stride. "I see…my condolences."

"Thank you…I appreciate it." She huffed. "But still, it doesn't change the fact that I was too weak to keep the only family I had. And even if he did survive, I'd have no idea where he'd be."

Juvia found herself looking down, getting lost in her own thoughts. She thought about what life could've been without Gray or her Pokémon. Probably miserable and empty. It ached her heart just thinking about it.

Gray looked over at her and saw the uneasiness on her face. He reached over and grabbed her hand, shaking her out of her trance. "Hey…you good?"

Blinking twice, Juvia dismissed her pessimistic thoughts and smiled warmly. "Yes, I'm fine. Thanks, dear."

Francesca's Wartortle then huffed. "Well, at least one of us will feel fulfillment if this pulls through."

Her counterpart frowned wistfully, staring up at the clear blue sky. "We'll see."

In the northern lands of Magnolia, the forest was as lively as it ever was. As everywhere else, Pokémon teemed where it was most convenient for them to be.

"So tell us more about what you saw in your time amongst the humans." A wild Rattata spoke. He was sitting on a small horde of forest-dwelling Pokémon that were centered around a Drowzee.

"Well, let's see…" The Drowzee thought briefly before responding. "For one thing, all the houses that they live in have these particular rooms with a special chair that has a large hole in it."

"A chair? With a hole in it?" A Pidgey tilted his head, dumbfounded.

Drowzee nodded and hummed. "Yes. I believe they call it a 'toilet'. And it's where they go to expel their waste."

A Mankey cringed. "Gross."

He nodded in agreement. "Yes, and it gets worse…everyone uses the same toilet."

Everyone cringed with voices of disgust. Drowzee sagely nodded and took it all in stride.

"Man, that's really messed up." A Farfetch'd said.

"Yeah. Still, sorry it didn't work out with them. Heard those humans are going through a tough time right now." A Psyduck empathized.

"Thanks, brethren. It was a shame, but at least now I can connect with my roots again." Drowzee didn't show any signs of negativity despite his circumstances. "I'm plenty certain there's more of us who were forsaken because of this apparent 'rebellion' that happened."

A Paras lifted a pincer. "Hey! Hey! Tell us more about these human contraptions! What did they do for food?"

Drowzee hummed in response. "Hmmm…oh! Well for food, they use these strange boxes that they call a 'refrigerator'. Apparently they use it to store their food at a cold temperatures, supposedly to keep them fresh for longer periods of time."

"Well that's dumb. Why use that when they can eat berries off trees or bushes?" A Gulpin scoffed.

The Psyduck shivered. "I don't know about you all, but I feel like I'm in a refrigerator."

"Now that you mention it, I'm feeling nippy…huh?" The Farfetch'd turned around, only for him to see a wave of ice head his way. "What the-?!"

In an instant, everything was swept up in frost and cold air. The wake was brief, but when it dissipated, all the Pokémon that were gathered were all frozen in place in ice blocks. The grass was coated in frost, and the tree leaves were frozen stiff as well.

With the scene completely in complete cryostasis, silhouettes levitated from the depths of the frozen forest. As they fanned out through the area, a larger one watched them make headway.

Its bright blue eyes gleamed brightly through the misty coating of the frozen land overlooking Magnolia.

Gray knocked on the front door to Sophie and Vanessa's apartment. It didn't take long for a response as the door opened, revealing their blonde guildmate in question.

"Yes?" She briefly scanned the party. "Oh…Gray and Juvia? What's going on?"

"Hey, Sophie. You busy right now?" Gray inquired.

Sophie shook her head. "Not at the moment. Vanessa went out on a job with Erza a while ago, so it's just me for the moment…I was actually finishing up on my nail work. See?" She showed them one of her hands, which had the nails all having a smooth, neon-blue polish with well-defined ocean blue wavy lines evenly spread out.

"Wow! Those look beautiful!" Juvia admired.

Sophie smiled in appreciation. "Thanks. Joey taught me. That guy sure knows his cosmetics."

"Of course he does." Gray had to suppress an eyeroll. "But anyways, we've got a favor to ask you."

The blonde blinked in curiosity. "Like what?"

"Well, you see…"

For the next minute, Gray relayed everything that transpired since their arrival at the guild hall earlier that day. He kept the details blunt and to the point, revolving mainly around Francesca. When it came to Juvia's Wartortle, that's when the blonde got an inkling of what was going on.

The group decided to move their little conclave into Sophie's living room. Sitting on couches and sofas that were freshly bought from the insurance on them – as per Vanessa's cautions of Krookodile – they all had a comfortable seat while discussing the matter at hand.

"I see…that is rather troublesome." Sophie spoke, before turning towards Juvia's Wartortle. "And you mention that you have these vague dreams at night?"

Wartortle nodded. "Yes. It was more spontaneous at first, but now it's quite often…I feel like it's a sign."

"We were hoping that you could possibly look into it for us." Juvia spoke up. "Your magic revolved around memories after all." She then cringed at herself, realizing the irony of Sophie's own memory issues. "Um…n-not that it's a major issue if you're too sensitive about it! We totally understand!"

Gray scratched the back of his head, looking away. It only hit him that he almost forgot about Sophie's potential lack of insight due to her limited memories.

Sophie put a hand to her chin as she thought about it for a moment. "Well…it might not be a complete fix, but there has been something I've been meaning to try."

Everyone's eyes widened.

"Wait, you serious?" Juvia's Wartortle gasped.

"Yeah. It's the same technique my cousin used on me when he came to visit. Luckily, I memorized how he did it, but I never had the ideal chance to try it."

"So, how's it work exactly?" Gray inquired.

Sophie leaned towards her side, resting her elbow on the sofa's armrest. "Well, it's supposed to help search through your subconscious and bring up your memories you may have lost. It didn't work on me because all my memories were stripped completely." She didn't sound too concerned despite Gray and Juvia's deep frowns. "But in Wartortle's case it's amnesia, so it might work."

Azumarill tilted herself in curiosity. "You sure about this? Seems sketchy to me."

"What other option we have?" Vaporeon reasoned. "Besides, I'm sure we'll all be able to rest easy knowing what's been making you so afraid of ice."

Wartortle looked down at the carpet, his brown eyes laser focused as he was gathering his thoughts for a moment. While it wasn't his intentions, he didn't want to bring the others into his personal matters. He figured it wouldn't ruin their dynamic if that were the case. Clearly things didn't go the way he had wanted.

Though, as much as he wanted to berate himself, one look at Juvia's soft smile and nod suppressed all the doubts he had about this decision. He turned back towards Sophie with a small smile of determination.

"Well…don't see why not. I'm in your care, Miss Sophie. Thank you."

Sophie smiled. She didn't forget how mature and respectable Wartortle was. The blonde got up and positioned herself in front of him. She kneeled to his level and reached her hand out.

"Alright, be still, okay? This'll be my first time doing this." she instructed.

Wartortle nodded and fell silent as her palm reached out to his forehead.

As Sophie closed her eyes, she took a long, leveled breath through her nose. As she focused, her palm emitted a soft glow as she was channeling her energy into Wartortle's head. In a few moments, chains of memories started revolving around them.

Francesca gasped in surprise. "Is…is that her magic?"

"Sure is. Memory-Make mages are able to make and mold magic based on memory alone. Plus it helps them remember things better than the average person." Gray elaborated.

"Amazing…" Francesca's Wartortle marveled at the wonders of humans using such powers.

The dome of glowing memory chains continued to orbit the two individuals. As time passed, Sophie was maintaining her focus as her magic was seeping through the clogs inside Wartortle's subconscious. The mature turtle was doing his best to remain calm despite the tingly sensation going throughout his entire body.

Everyone kept quiet as they waited for any kind of reaction that could unfold at any moment. The most anxious out of all of them was Juvia, and it showed through her clenched fists and the lump she swallowed.

'What's this feeling? It's like I'm feeling something deep rising up all of a sudden…!' Wartortle's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden pain that went through his head.

A flood of visions combusted all at once. Various visions of him as a Squirtle, swimming, eating, and living life. But something else – he wasn't alone. Vague imagery of another Squirtle always behind him who always called out to him. Then there was a blast of ice.

He doubled over and used the sofa to catch himself. That caused the dome of memory chains to vanish around them.

"Wartortle!" Juvia immediately got up and rushed to his side. "Are you okay?!"

"B-Boss-Ma'am…no, I'll be alright. Just a sudden headache was all." He breathed out and relaxed, but kept a hand on his head. "But…what was that rush just now?"

"I used my magic to look into your memories." Sophie explained as she stood back up. "It wasn't easy…but this should fix your blockage. I didn't account for the backlash. The memories must have slammed you all at once. Sorry."

"No, it's quite alright." Wartortle reasoned, still looking unsound. "Still…it all hit me so fast at once. I think it'll take some time for me to process it all."

Juvia turned towards Sophie. "Then, what did you find, Sophie?"

Sophie started. "Well, let's see…"

Suddenly, a faint sound made Azumarill's ears stand straight up. "Huh? You guys hear that?"

"Hear what?" Gray asked.

Everyone fell silent at Azumarill's warning. They all took a pause as they could make out a faint sound, similar to a panic.

"Hey, I hear it too." Vaporeon stated. "Sounds like it's coming from outside."

Gray obliged to the inquiries and got up first. When he went towards the door, he peeked outside the small lens and saw nothing. He opened in everyone's stead and was greeted by numerous shadows flying right past him. "What the heck…?"

"Look, up there!" Azumarill pointed towards the sky.

Everyone followed her direction and averted towards the skies above Magnolia. To their complete bewilderment, dozens of Flying-type Pokémon were in large groups flying over their heads southward.

"What's going on? Are all those Pokémon?" Gray inquired.

"A migration, maybe?" Juvia doubted it, but it wasn't out of the norm. She knows a few species of Earthland birds that migrate even at this time of year.

Francesca's Wartortle noticed an oncoming Fletchling that was at a low enough altitude to get a shout in. "Hey, you up there!"

"Eep!" The Fletchling was caught off guard and quickly looked around.

"Down here!"

Fletchling looked down, noticing the serious looking Wartortle speaking to her. She drifted a little closer down to speak. "Y-yes?"

"What's all the commotion about?"

The Fletchling looked frightened. "I-it's horrible! The forest…it's starting to freeze up!"

Gray scrunched his brow. "Freeze up?"

"Yeah. It happened so suddenly. Before we knew it, all these Pokémon were frozen over. We're taking off while we can."

Francesca's Wartortle stood puzzled. She didn't know why, but this was starting to send shivers down her shell. Her eyes shrank as she was coming to a conclusion. 'No…don't tell me…' As if instinct took over, she suddenly darted off in the opposite direction.

"Wartortle?!" Francesca reached out in a panic. "Hold on! Where are you going?!"

"This sounds bad. C'mon, we better go check it out." Gray followed in pursuit of the root cause, with everyone else in tow.

"Wait, what? Are you crazy?!" Fletchling called out in worry. "That's the opposite of where you're supposed to go!"

"Maybe running to safety is a good idea for you, but us guild mages handle those problems." Gray's words made Juvia and Sophie hum as they agreed.

Juvia's Wartortle took up the rear, his pace slow due to numerous factors of his lack of sleep, as well as the mental strain he was undergoing. He paused briefly as he felt another mild irritation.

"C'mon, get it together. Boss-Ma'am and the others are counting on you!" He quietly berated himself, shaking off the pain and hurriedly quickened his pace.

Francesca's Wartortle frowned heavily as her gut was stirring uncomfortably. Just like her fellow Wartortle, she had a bad feeling about this in the back of her mind. But she needed to be sure.

The group hastily ventured northward towards their destination afoot.

It didn't take long for them to eventually reach their destination. When the grass was starting to frost over, they all saw for themselves what caused the commotion earlier.

True to what the local Fletchling said, everything as far as the eye could see was coated in either dense frost or ice, the latter mostly. Thankfully the ground wasn't frozen, so they were able to get around easily. But the further in they got, the colder it got, and the more ice covered the bushes and wildlife.

"Man, they weren't exaggerating. It really did freeze over…" Francesca was perplexed to say the least.

"Yeah, big déjà vu." Gray frowned as he looked around. He was getting reminders of Sun Village when it was frozen over.

"Just look around. Even the leaves are frozen." Juvia walked by a frozen leaf moments before it dropped to the ground like a soiled lump.

"It's still summer, isn't it? Shouldn't it be warm out?" Azumarill casually chimed in.

"Maybe, but it looks like mother nature had other plans." Vaporeon's gaze fell towards something off to her side. "Look."

Everyone's eyes followed her gaze. To their shock, they saw a Paras completely frozen within ice. Nearby, a Fomantis and several Flabebe suffered the same frigid fate. It didn't do anyone favors seeing how even their shocked looks were frozen.

"Looks like those guys that flew by got a better start than others, huh." Gray figured.

"Those poor things." Juvia grimaced.

Francesca's Wartortle slowly sauntered over the cold, firm grass, each step crunching beneath her. She gazed steadily at the frozen Pokémon with deep thought. Seeing them frozen bitterly reminded her the fate that her brother suffered. It frustrated her.

"Wartortle…?" Francesca walked closer towards her partner.

Wartortle maintained her composure and stayed calm. "I'm fine, Francesca. Really."

Her Trainer had her own doubts, but she chose to keep that to herself for the time being.

While everyone was more or less satiated, a certain someone was another story entirely. Behind them, Juvia's Wartortle was struggling to put one foot ahead of the other. His body was so stiff that he was borderline waddling. Touching the frosted ground felt like torture to his body. Every step he took resulted in cringing and goosebumps that stiffened all over him.

Juvia looked back at her Pokémon in deep concerned. "Wartortle, are you sure you're okay being out here like this? We can put you back into your ball if that's more comfortable."

"…I-I'm okay, Boss-Ma'am…really." He lied. "Don't worry about me, I won't slow you down…"

Juvia frowned heavily. She looked towards Vaporeon and Azumarill to find they had similar emotions conveyed about their friend. But they didn't want to disrespect his resolve, so they chose to let him have his way.

"Okay…but we're right beside you the whole way. Don't forget that." Juvia pleaded.

"I won't…I appreciate it…" As he was trudging along, Wartortle passed by a frozen puddle. Looking at the frozen water suddenly caused something to make him have nostalgia.

A little Squirtle was swimming merrily through a clear stream, moving gracefully and freely. He performed various twists and nimble movement that gave a Swanna some competition.

As soon as he popped his head out of the water, he heard a shout. "(Big Brother! Over here!)"

Squirtle turned his head towards the shore. He saw a smaller Squirtle with a handful of Razz Berries she found growing nearby. Seeing her innocent smile made him smile back. Before long, he rushed over towards her.

Blinking several times, Wartortle came back to reality. 'What was that? Was that me? But…who was that other Squirtle? She felt familiar somehow…'

"I wonder what could've caused all this?" Juvia wondered, her gaze wandering aimlessly.

"Beats me…!" His eyes widened when he saw something. "Get down!" He hurriedly dove for Juvia and pushed her to the ground, narrowly escaping an Ice Beam that struck a tree, quickly covering it in ice.

Gray hovered over Juvia to protect her. "That was close. You okay?"

"I-I am. Thanks." Juvia couldn't hide the blush she had spread across her face. He was so close to her that she could almost feel his breath. But she snapped herself straight and got up with him.

"What was that?" Vaporeon worried. "Ice?"

Azumarill's ears twitched again. "Something's heading this way…and I don't think they wanna play nicely."

Everyone turned towards the direction the attack came from and felt the air get chillier. Bright blue eyes bored through the haze as fairly large silhouettes floated all around them. The clicking of ice was like eerie wind chimes that echoed through the chilled breeze.

Gray took a stance, his eyes squinting. "Looks like we've got company."

Slowly emerging from hiding, everyone got a good look at who their attackers were. Around them were near a dozen large, snowflake-shaped Pokémon. They all looked to have crystalline blue bodies with edging shifting to lighter and darker shades, with some exposure of black undersides. They all had bright blue glowing eyes and two icy chains hanging from the bottom of their bodies.

They all shifted about, glaring down the intruders to their newly established territory.

"Are these Pokémon?" Gray questioned.

"Not ones I recognize." Juvia fret.

"They're Cryogonal!" Francesca announced.

"Cryogonal?" Gray parroted. To appease all their inquiries, he reached for his PokéDex and analyzed a nearby dubbed Cryogonal.

"Cryogonal, the Crystallizing Pokémon. They are composed of ice crystals. They capture prey with chains of ice, freezing prey at -147 Degrees Fahrenheit."

Hearing this information, Juvia's eyes widened as they redirected towards the Cryogonal. "Then…are they the ones responsible for all this?"

"Mt. Hakobe's just north of here. My guess is that these guys must've wandered down from there for some new turf." Gray sneered. "Too bad they just picked the wrong place and wrong time."

The hexagonal snowflakes' frozen expressions had aggression instilled into them that made it hard for the others to tell if they were deliberately angry or not. In their curiosity, a large echo of icy chains rung through the air. As if on que, all the Cryogonal began parting to make room for something.

Everyone was on edge as they glared at something shifting their way. As it drew closer, Francesca's Wartortle's eyes slowly shrank, her ears tilting backwards in shock.

"No…it can't be…" she muttered, slowly backing away in shock. "Not you…"

Dense, bright blue eyes shined brightly. Amongst the Cryogonal, a larger one that was nearly twice their size emerged, letting out a crystalline cry that chattered in the frozen air.

"That's a big one." Gray figured. "Their head honcho you think?"

The head Cryogonal's eyes glowed brightly as it gave Gray a cold glare. Whether or not it chose to keep quiet was still up in the air, but the aggressive vibe they were all getting before suddenly intensified.

Juvia's Wartortle continued shivering, feeling a vague chill run from the base of his tail up towards his head. Staring into bright blue eyes, he felt another wave of nostalgia rush through him.

The two Squirtle were walking within a valley, their curiosity and need to find fresh water taking them across a baren valley. However, an icy chain reached out to them, forcing them to run away.

Wartortle blinked, seeing the icy chains on the Alpha Cryogonal's body. He put two and two together. 'Wait, hold on…I feel like I know them too.'

"You…" Francesca's Wartortle shivered for a completely different reason. She looked at the Alpha Cryogonal with boiling anger. "You! It was you!"

"Wartortle, what's wrong?" Francesca asked her.

Her Wartortle kept her glare locked on and point a claw. "That one…that's the one that attacked me and my brother all those years ago. That's the same one."

"You serious?" Gray gave the Cryogonal another look. Looking back, he didn't put it past that assumption.

Sophie glared at the few Cryogonal adjacent to her. "I don't think they're here to welcome us."

As if on que, the Alpha Cryogonal let out another crystalline-toned cry. The surrounding Cryogonal all let out a cry of their own with flashing blue eyes. All their chains suddenly started moving and lashed out towards them.

Juvia raised an arm overhead as she readied a spell. "Water Dome!" Summoning water around her, she conjured a dome of deep blue water around her allies.

The water veiled everyone from the icy chains that ended up in contact with them. Gradually, the water started freezing over until the entire thing was a dome of ice.

Alpha Cryogonal's eyes glowed again as it grunted. The numerous grunt Cryogonal around it started closing in around the makeshift dome. They all started generating attacks ranging from Ice Beam to Aurora Beam to be fired onto their captive targets.

"Aqua Tail!"

A loud cry followed by a rushing force of crashing water suddenly exploded. The ice dome instantly shattered to pieces swept by water throughout the vicinity. All the Cryogonal backed away out of caution.

Standing before everyone, Azumarill stood unfazed with upbeat determination. "Wanna play freeze tag, huh? Okay, I can play that!"

With open space again, Gray and Francesca pulled out his Poké Balls to lend assistance.

"Bergmite! Snorunt! You're up!"

"Quilava, I need you now!"

The selected Pokémon emerged from their Poké Balls and appeared alongside Juvia's Pokémon. While Bergmite and Snorunt stood readily, Francesca's Quilava stood on his four legs, ready to go.

Sophie was next. "If we're dealing with Ice-types, then we'll use this!" She held a Pokémon Ball in one and a Heal Ball in the other. She twirled before lobbing both over her head. "Araquanid! Salazzle!"

The capsules flung open, revealing Sophie's two selected Pokémon. Araquanid emerged with a strong hiss, asserting his dominance with glowing blue lenses.

Sophie's Totem Salazzle emerged on her hindlegs, a hand to her hip as she browsed her surroundings. "Ugh, great. Fresh air and it's in winter wonderland. Thanks." She clearly relayed her enthusiasm.

The Alpha Cryogonal's eyes glowed bright blue as it pointed one of its icy chains from the distance. All the surrounding Cryogonal unleashed an onslaught of Ice Beam and Aurora Beam at everyone below. Gray careened his head upwards as he waited for all the ice to come close.

Sluuuurrrrrp!

His mouth wide open, Gray began ingesting the ice as it redirected into his maw. All the attacks congregated onto him as he was gulping down loads of ice like it was spaghetti.

"Wait…what?!" Francesca's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets at what she saw. "Is he…actually eating the ice?!"

"Oh yeah! And it gets better from there!" Snorunt cheered on.

Gray finished gulping down the last of the ice, wiping his mouth, he smirked. "Thanks for the meal. Now…" Out of instinct, he threw off his shirt, as Juvia did with her top. "Let's give'em what they asked for!"

"Right!" Juvia agreed.

"Gyah!?" Francesca's face flushed as she saw the two strip their top layers off, save for Juvia's girdle.

Both brought their hands up as Juvia summoned water, which she directed around Gray as he rapidly colled it into ice and locked onto the enemy.

"Ice-Make: Shotgun!"

A torrent of ice shard rained like bullets at the horde. The Cryogonal all scattered away, even though some of them were misfortunate to have been struck and buffered. Those ones were quickly targeted.

"Quilava, use Flame Wheel!" Francesca commanded.

"Azumarill, Play Rough!"

With Francesca and Juvia's calls, Quilava leaped into the air rotating at a high velocity, endowed in a wheel of swirling fire. She flew into the Cryogonal in front of her, striking it hard enough to repel it backwards.

Azumarill was no different, leaping in to unleash a flurry of slaps and tail whacks in a smoke cloud brimming with cute shapes. With a final tail smack, she sent the Cryogonal crashing into its counterpart, both slamming into the ground.

"Tag, you're it!" As she chimed merrily, Azumarill's ears picked up crackling from behind. She gasped and saw a Cryogonal just as it charged up another Aurora Beam.

"Bubble Beam!"

A blast of intense bubbles shot at the oncoming Ice-type move, interjecting before the latter could hit Azumarill. When Azumarill recovered from her shock, she looked back and saw Araquanid glaring ahead. "Thank you, old friend!" She smiled merrily.

"Whatever!" Araquanid huffed aggressively. His larger lenses caught sight of a Cryogonal attempting to flank his left. With his strong legs, he leaped just in time to avoid an Ice Beam that froze the frosty grass where he was at. In the air, he hissed aggressively as he came down onto the Cryogonal.

"Bug Bite!" Sophie ordered.

Araquanid's fangs glowed brightly and elongated before he bit down onto the Cryogonal, causing it to let out a cry of pain as it doubled over into a nearby log.

Salazzle winced at the impact. "Yeesh. That's gonna leave a bite mark."

"Bergmite, Snorunt! Use Icy Wind!" Gray commanded.

"Vaporeon! Give them support! Swift!" Juvia followed.

Bergmite and Snorunt steadied themselves as their horn and mouth glowed respectively. They both exhausted a cool blast of wind with blue sparkles at the Cryogonal. Vaporeon was quick to follow up by swinging her tail, releasing glistening stars that traveled through the winds at them.

"CRY!" The Alpha Cryogonal let out a crystalized cry – no bilingual coding for them to decipher.

However, the Cryogonal seemingly understood. One of them extended their icy chains out as its eyes shimmered rainbow. Bright pink translucent walls stacked in front of each Cryogonal before the Icy Wind and Swift combo went through them, though their size and damage were mitigated by half.

All the ones hit had dense blue auras that indicated their Speed loss from the two Icy Wind.

Gray's eyes widened. "What's that?"

"That's Light Screen! That'll reduce the damage of special attacks by half for a while!" Francesca warned.

"Well that isn't annoying." He clearly wasn't amused. Others shared that sentiment.

"If that's the case…then we'll just stall!" Sophie turned towards her Salazzle. "Salazzle."

"Eh?" Salazzle, who was lazying on her side as the battle dragged on, glanced over towards her apparent Trainer. "Whaddya want? I'm trying to watch the show."

"Can you use Poison Gas?"

Salazzle huffed. "Are Pikipek covered in feathers? I can, but…" She let out a loud yawn. "I think I'm getting sleepy. How's about you try again after my nap?"

"You serious?!" Gray exasperated, before he saw a shift over his head. "Hey, watch out!"

Sophie and Araquanid were vigilant in seeing the Cryogonal that fired an Ice Beam at them. They both moved out of the way…leaving Salazzle exposed.

"Heh…?" Just when Salazzle saw the attack, the reduced speed helped her react in time to jolt out of the way. Her lazy demeanor took a complete 180 as her tail flared with annoyance. "…y'know what? I take back what I said…I'm in the mood to ruin someone's day after all."

She got on all fours and opened her maw wide. Her Poison Gas quickly spread across the area around her. With the exception of her allies, the Cryogonal were too slow to get away as they were enveloped by the corrosive toxic cloud. Anguish groans and cries went off like a symphony. They all had toxic flushes on their faces as the poison took its tool.

"The poison's taking effect!" Juvia realized.

"That'll slow'em down." Gray smirked.

Salazzle finished her exhale, getting back up. "Satisfied?"

Sophie nodded appreciatively. "Yes. Now, let's turn up the heat. shall we?" She pointed a finger to her forehead as a chain of memories flourished. "Memory-Make: Burning Soul!" A cyclone of teal aura flamed spun around her, quickly fanning out around her across the area.

All around, the heat given off from the flames immediately melted the ice and frost. A circular wall of teal flames surrounded Sophie's party as all the poisoned Cryogonal pulled away out of caution.

"That'll give us some breathing room." Sophie remarked.

Francesca looked around, her marvel mounting even more at the usage of Memory-Make Magic. "So insane…" If she wasn't impressed before, she was now.

"Miss Francesca, focus!" Her Wartortle chastised.

Snapping back to reality, Francesca regained her focus. "Right!" She reached an arm out. "Quilava, Flame Wheel! Wartortle, Aqua Tail!"

Both Pokémon glared ahead. "Right!"

Quilava went first, with Wartortle right behind. The former rushed ahead and rolled into another inferno wheel that raced across the ground. She tore a hole through the other side, taking the Cryogonal closest by surprise before ramming it head-on.

As it went flying backwards, the other Cryogonal retaliated with arrays of Aurora Beam and Ice Beam.

"HRAH!" Francesca's Wartortle flew in from behind, spinning her body with a wave of water extending from her tail. She swung it across, using the large wake like a brake to stop the ineffective attacks.

"Amazing…" Juvia's Wartortle looked on in awe at the sight.

All the Cryogonal cringed again as the poison took its toll on them.

"Keep wearing them down! Eventually the poison will get to them!" Sophie exclaimed.

The Cryogonal recovered and made another attempt to attack. But as their icy rays and borealis blasts met the flaming wall surrounding their foes, they turned to vapor, leaving them completely unscathed.

Juvia was being careful, making sure to not let her guard down. 'We keep this up, they shouldn't last much longer.'

Suddenly, her Wartortle's sensitivity to cold kicked in. He felt goosebumps when he felt the air chill. "Get down!"

Catching his warning, Francesca's Wartortle gasped and saw a hole break in the wall of aura flames. Luckily, Juvia's managed to sweep in front and brought up Protect. The barrier deflected all the dry-cold air in the blast around, much to everyone's shock.

All eyes turned towards the rift caused by the path of ice that went straight across the ground, acting as a bridge. Slowly levitating over it in their line of sight, everyone felt uneasy – but none more so than Francesca's and Juvia's Wartortle.

"You again…" Francesca's exhaled.

Slowly drifting over the bridge of ice, the Alpha Cryogonal's eyes glowed bright blue as it let out a crystallized groan. Its mouth-like area glowed bright blue again as air rapidly cooled, alarming everyone.

Juvia's Wartortle narrowed his eyes. Even with the teal flames making it warmer, he still felt chills from looking at this one. 'This one…I feel like I know it.'

Francesca furrowed her brow, refusing to be deterred. "It's still an Ice-type, right? Let's take care of it! Quilava, Flame Wheel!"

"Right!" Her Quilava careened back and gathered momentum. Flames erupted from her body as she rolled into a wheel across the ground. "Here I come!"

Despite the advantage, Juvia's Wartortle didn't feel the least bit assured. 'Wait a minute…there's something different about this one!' His eyes widened at a realization. "Wait, hold on!"

Francesca and the others gasped, but it was too late.

The Alpha Cryogonal remained stationary as it charged up a silver ball of energy that was as hard as rock. It aimed carefully before unleashing its Ancient Power at Quilava head-on. The impact was a clean hit with a loud explosion, resulting in repelling Quilava as she cried out in pain.

"Quilava, no!" Francesca panicked.

Quilava slammed into the ground and rolled over onto her side. She laid with her eyes brimming with swirls, indicating she had fainted.

"With only one shot?" Vaporeon worried.

"And it gets worse. Look." Vaporeon pointed a paw ahead. Everyone saw what she meant as Cryogonal's body was engrossed in a red aura, all its stats increasing from the secondary effects of Ancient Power.

"It just got stronger because of Ancient Power." Sophie's gaze narrowed. This wasn't looking easy for them, even with numbers.

"Well shit…guess we're screwed, aren't we?" Salazzle mused, losing her morale yet again.

"No, not yet!" Francesca's Wartortle denied, her glare as sharp as knives.

"Wait, hold on. Let's think about this for a moment." Juvia's Wartortle reasoned.

Francesca's paced forward until she stood before everyone. "I've lost my brother because of this Pokémon. I've been waiting a long time for this moment. I won't let this chance slip by me again." She thought about her brother again, causing her eyes to squint further. "I'm gonna make it pay…for everything it's worth!"

"Wartortle…" Francesca didn't know what to say. She's always known her Wartortle as someone very calm and to the point. This was the first time she's seen a hostile emotion from her. And it was scary.

'It doesn't look like it was poisoned.' Sophie observed, seeing the lack of a purple blush on the alpha. 'Did it use the others to see our moves and tricks?'

"You!" She yelled back at Juvia's Wartortle. "You wanna get over your ice problem, right? Well…now's your chance. Help me crack this thing for good."

Wartortle had a moment of hesitation. He wasn't too certain at this point, but despite his insecurities and the mulling of his problems with ice, he knew he had to persevere for his sake. "…right. Ready."

Both Wartortle glared at the Alpha Cryogonal, the massive snowflake letting out a deep, crystalline growl before extending its ice chains at them.

Juvia reached her arms out. "Water Lock!" Vapor instantly liquefied into two spheres that anchored the two chains at their end before they could reach them. "Go now, Wartortle!"

"Wartortle, you as well!" Francesca insisted.

"Right!" With gusto, the two Wartortle rushed towards the alpha with jaws wide open and tail enveloped in water, via Bite and Aqua Tail.

The alpha groaned weakly, almost like a sneer. In an instant, the two water spheres around its chains flash froze into solid ice. With surprising skill, it lifted them and swung them like a wrecking ball towards them. Luckily, they caught on and ducked beneath the initial swing. However, the alpha's increased speed wasn't just for show as the wrecking balls lashed out again.

"Salazzle, Flame Burst!" Sophie called out.

Salazzle rolled her eyes again, unenthused. "Not feeling it anymore. Sorry."

Sophie frowned heavily, but she didn't have time to lecture her. She would have to deal with her lazy attitude later. "Araquanid, Bug Bite!"

"Azumarill, Aqua Tail!" Juvia called out.

Araquanid lunged ahead, shrieking as his fangs glowed and elongated. Azumarill wasn't far behind, crying out as she swung her tail around with a torrent of water in her wake. They sprung over their shelled comrades and struck the wrecking balls, shattering them.

"Now's your chance!" Azumarill insisted.

"Move it already!" Araquanid shouted.

"Right, thanks guys!" Juvia's Wartortle continued darting alongside Francesca's. He didn't know why, but he was getting intense waves of nostalgia flowing through him like water. 'It's strange. Despite the cold, I feel so calm. Is it because of that Squirtle I saw?'

The two Squirtle were eating wild Oran Berries right along a riverbed. As the two were enjoying their meal, they heard a loud cry from close by.

Instinctively, the older brother got in front and felt the ground shake. The earth erupted an Onix that let out a loud roar right over their heads. The younger sister looked startle, but that only made the older brother standing firmer against the threat.

The wild Onix looked down, seeing the Squirtle firing a Water Gun at it.

"Water Pulse!"

At his Trainer's call, Wartortle generated a sphere of water. 'My knees are shaking, yet I feel so compelled to fight…' He threw the sphere at the alpha, but just when it was about to land its mark, the Light Screen appeared and minimized it, causing the sphere to half its size and quickly burst into a mist cloud that cooled upon contact.

"That Light Screen again…" Juvia fretted.

"Wartortle, go!" Francesca shouted.

Francesca's Wartortle grunted angrily and darted straight for her target.

The alpha sneered before it started generating an orb of icy energy, via Ice Beam. It launched three dense beams from the orb at Francesca's Wartortle, but they were blocked by a circular forcefield that appeared suddenly.

"Cry?!"

Juvia's Wartortle held up his Protect, looking unfazed. "I got it! Go!"

"Thanks!" Francesca's Wartortle used the Protect barrier's surface and ricocheted off it. She sprung into the air and cried out as she jumped for the alpha. She brought her right arm back, which started to glow brightly.

"Brick Break!"

She punched forward with all her might straight into the Cryogonal. As she did, the Light Screen barrier shattered like glass as the fist went straight through, meeting the alpha's face. The blow had such force that it made a burst of energy and repelled it.

A critical hit!

Juvia's Wartortle looked stunned by the display, completely taken aback by the move. "Brick Break…?"

"A Fighting-type move?" Juvia questioned.

Francesca's Wartortle landed, keeping herself supported with one hand on the ground. "I've been waiting years to use that on you. I didn't want to fall short like before…so I learned this move. Your defenses are meaningless now!"

The alpha recovered from the blow and let out a crystallized cry. It was pissed.

Both Wartortle looked at each other knowingly and nodded. They knew what the other wanted to do.

The alpha generated another orb and fired another swift blast of Ice Beam. As it drew closer, Juvia's Wartortle tucked in his limb and spun rapidly, via Rapid Spin. He glided past the piercing ice blast and right in front of his counterpart. With a strong pivot, Francesca's Wartortle brought her tail back and readied Aqua Tail.

"HRAH!" With a strong swing, the wave smacked Wartortle's shell, sending him beelining at a velocity and force that was too fast to keep track. Everyone's shock was paramount as they watched Wartortle f;y straight into the alpha.

CRASH!

"CRYYYYYY!" Cryogonal let out a piercing cry as it recoiled from the blow. The impact with its icy cold body crept along the surface of his shell even as he was in freefall.

To him, it felt like time was slowing down for him to process it all. 'My body is chilly, but my mind is on fire. Why?'

As he landed, Francesca's Wartortle ran past him and leaped into the air with her fist reeled back with Brick Break.

"Cry?" The alpha looked up, seeing the bright glow that was about to rain down upon it. The fierce look in her vengeful brown eyes had a bright hue that made her look even more terrifying.

"This…WILL FINSIH IT!" Her fist plunged with all her might.

Clutch!

Everyone had shock on their faces at what they saw. It happened so fast that they didn't realize it before it happened. Francesca's Wartortle was only a few inches away from impact when an icy chain wrapped around her shell, suspending her in the air and incapacitating her.

"Crap! It's got her!" Gray shouted.

"Oh no! Wartortle!" Francesca panicked.

Wartortle struggled within her icy confinement, but despite her struggles, she was unable to break herself from the firm hold. Gritting her teeth, she shot the alpha a damned sneer. "Damn you…!"

The alpha paid no heed to her plight. It stared blankly at her as its mouth was glowing bright blue, the air cooling rapidly and getting dry. It was readying its finishing blow.

Juvia's Wartortle was shivering. Everything was cold around him to where he found it hard to move at this point. He looked up and felt the air cool around Cryogonal, but what he found himself focused on…was the scared look on Francesca's Wartortle.

His eyes slowly widened, the world turning white around him as time came to a standstill for that one brief moment of fixation.

The numerous silhouettes slowly were reaching down towards them with ice chains. The chains wrapped themselves around the rope, slowly freezing it over. The ice slowly spread towards the wooden boards and began coating frost.

"(Big brother!)"

"(Sis! Go! Get outta here!)"

The huge silhouette generated an orb of icy-cold energy, readying to unleash it.

"(Sis, hurry! They'll catch up soon!)"

"(Big brother!)"

"(Get going! GO!)" Without another word, Squirtle turned towards his sister and took a deep breath. He blasted her with a Water Gun head-on, sending her flying across the remainder of the bridge towards the other side.

At that moment, he only saw the brief yet horrified look his sister had before something heavy and cold met the back of his head.

It all came back to him. Everything that he was slowly recovering in his mind was finally starting to piece together. The silhouettes he recalled, the cold feeling…and the horrified look Francesca's Wartortle had. The déjà vu became reality.

'She…she's my…'

The attack Cryogonal was readying was charged up. Its Freeze-Dry exhaled, unleashing a wave of cold air into Francesca's Wartortle.

"Wartortle, no!" Francesca cried out.

In the fraction of a second, a hand shoved Francesca's Wartortle away. Time slowed down as everyone's faces were painted with shock as Juvia's Wartortle moved directly in front of the cold wave, meeting it with desperation.

Francesca's Wartortle, however, had horror and surprise at what she saw. In front of her, the two Pokémon's eyes locked on each other. Their emotions were laid bare at how the other felt.

Moments later, Juvia's Wartortle was struck by the cold air stream, his body instantly freezing over with a look of shock on his suspended face.

"WARTORTLE!" Juvia cried out.

Gray was quick to recover from shock and saw the frozen turtle plummeting towards the ground. He brought his hands together and conjured more ice. "Ice-Make: Thieving Hand!" A long arm of static ice grew with a grip below Wartortle.

The frozen turtle dropped right onto the ice chunk, which Gray remotely withdrew immediately afterwards. Once their frozen comrade was out of harm's way, Juvia rushed to his side and dropped to her knees.

"Wartortle? Wartortle!" She cried out, but no answer.

"Snorunt!" Gray called out.

"Gotcha!" Snorunt knew what to do. He opened his mouth and chomped down on the ice surrounding Wartortle. Gradually, he ate away at the ice until enough of it was off Wartortle. The turtle laid still as his eyes were shut with no signs of waking up.

"Wartortle…" Juvia looked downtrodden, if not horrified. She picked Wartortle up in her hands and almost cringed. "He's so cold…"

"Is he gonna be okay?" Vaporeon worried.

"I thought Ice-type moves weren't that effective against Water-types. Was that one just too strong?" Gray questioned.

"No…that was Freeze-Dry." Everyone turned towards Francesca, she had a perplexed look on her face. "Freeze-Dry is an Ice-type attack, but it's super-effective on Water-types."

"Well that's not an issue." Sophie sarcastically chimed, turning towards the threat with furrowed eyebrows.

Francesca's Wartortle stood in shock over what just happened. This was the second time now that someone saved her from a deathly frozen attack. And while she was still in question over the feeling she felt with that Wartortle just now, the trauma of her brother resurfaced with a passion.

Realizing she had to be saved again, she angrily glared back at the alpha. "You bastard…!" She seethed between her gritting teeth. "GRAH!" She rushed after it again recklessly.

"Wartortle, no! Stop!" Francesca shouted, but it fell on deaf ears.

Wartortle charged and leaped into the air, readying another Aqua Tail. She swung the giant wake around several times to gather momentum before bringing it down onto the alpha, only for the Cryogonal to expel another round of Freeze-Dry. The cold air instantly freeze-dried the water, slowly making its way up towards Wartortle. She pulled away at the last second and fell back to the ground unsteady.

"CRY~!" The Alpha Cryogonal angled its shot down towards the ground. The cold gust instantly froze up the ground once more. The ice quickly spread as the gust panned out towards everyone. Gray brought his hands together as an icy magic seal formulated.

"Ice-Make: Shield!"

A hexagonal barrier of hard ice appeared in front of him. Everyone took cover behind it as the Freeze-Dry grazed across the area. The teal flames of Sophie's spell were quickly snuffed out by the freeze-dried air. The cover they all once had froze completely once more a cold, icy landscape.

The surrounding Cryogonal all congregated, no longer held back by the flames. Although it was clear the poison had taken its toll on so many that a handful were on the verge of collapsing.

"Oh dear…looks like the game just got harder for us." Azumarill fretted.

"We gotta take these guys out, now!" Gray shouted. "Juvia, you still with us?"

Shaken out of her somber shock, Juvia looked towards her beloved. "Oh, um, yes?"

"We'll buy you time. You focus on getting Wartortle better!"

"You can count us in, too!" Vaporeon reeled on all fours, her fins rising. "These guys are gonna pay!"

"Lemme first! I wanna know what they taste like first!" Snorunt energetically bounced.

"Rectification. Wear down enemies." Bergmite stoically noted.

Juvia nodded in appreciation. "Right. Be careful, everyone." She meant it; not just for Gray, but for Vaporeon and Azumarill. Her gaze fixed on them was clarification of that. Azumarill and Vaporeon looked back and nodded in understanding.

"Make sure Wartortle is okay." Vaporeon insisted.

"Me too." Azumarill agreed.

"We'll help, too!" Francesca was able to steady herself out. Despite how cold it was, she didn't want to be left out. "I'll help however I can! We'll make sure these guys don't turn us to ice!"

Francesca's Wartortle got back to her feet and glared at the alpha again. Her fists balled tight, she glared harshly. "I'm not running away this time…" She charged ahead. "NOT UNTIL I PUNCH A HOLE IN YOUR FACE, YOU ICE BASTARD!"

"CRY!" Alpha Cryogonal exerted another cry, reaching his icy chains out. The numerous Cryogonal around obeyed and drifted after them all.

Given the space and time, Juvia turned her attention back onto her fainted Pokémon. She wasted no time grabbing her coat that she threw off earlier and hurriedly put it over Wartortle as a makeshift blanket. She had a better tolerance to the cold thanks to being around Gray for so long, so it wasn't a bother for her at this temperature.

"I know I have one here as well…where is it…?" Juvia reached for her belt with all her supplies. After some scrounging, she felt what she needed and pulled out a Revive. "Yes!" She hurriedly applied the medicine and placed it between Wartortle's lips. A green wave of energy enveloped him, and yet despite the medicine doing its job and healing him, he wasn't responding.

"C'mon, stay with me…" Juvia was starting to get frantic. She pulled out a Super Potion and sprayed the cold spots on Wartortle's face and shell, supposedly recovering him fully. Yet still, he refused to respond.

Figuring he needed to warm up, Juvia started rubbing her hands to get some heat friction going. She rubbed her vest over Wartortle's in an attempt to heat him up. "Wartortle, please wake up. Please…" Juvia pleaded. "Wartortle!"

Wartortle found himself somewhere dark and rather frigid. The only source of light he had was the blue spotlight that shined down upon him from nowhere in particular above.

"W-where…am I…?" He tried to make sense of everything, but everything was all a haze.

"Hey."

Taken aback by the voice, he pivoted and turned around. To his shock, there was someone else with him several paces away – a Squirtle. Only this one had a brighter spotlight than his evolution.

Wartortle stared at the smaller form, processing the familiar look in his eyes. He may have been lost before, but because of the epiphanies he's had, he knew from staring at him who this was. And it was by no means a stranger to him.

"Y-you…" he started. "You're me…the real me."

"It's been a while." Squirtle greeted calmly.

Wartortle couldn't agree more with that statement. It felt strange talking to himself like this. Like talking to an old friend, yet at the same time a complete stranger. But given everything that he's been through, he only felt the pit in his stomach broaden with guilt. He knew what he did, and by no means did he feel any pride in it.

He dropped to a knee, lowering his head to his younger self. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry? For what?" Squirtle asked, genuinely confused.

"For everything. For forgetting my identity. For being to weak to begin with." He lifted his head. "And more importantly…"

He stared off into the far distance, where a third spotlight shined down on a smaller, younger Squirtle. Despite how far she was, her cries of sadness and grief echoed well for him to hear clearly. Her tears ran down her face as she continued sobbing her broken heart out.

"Big…brother…" she sobbed.

"…my sister." Wartortle's words had a heavy tone of regret. He never felt this shameful of himself before, after everything he's been through up until now. He didn't have it in him to lift his head up.

"Go to her. She's waiting." Squirtle insisted.

"I can't. Not after all this time's passed." Wartortle denied. He stood back up, turning away from himself. "You go instead. It's your life to begin with."

Squirtle let out a small gasp of surprise. "Are you saying…that you're willing to give yourself up for me? But if that happens, you know what will happen to you?" He had a feeling of what he would say, and he didn't like it.

Wartortle started sauntering away, the spotlight following him as he walked away from it all. "You don't get it. I'm just your substitute that wore your shell this whole time. I'm someone born form in the shallows while you were in the depths this whole time…now it's time for this shadow to sink back to those depths where he belongs."

The spotlight on him began dimming away the further he walked into the darkness.

Squirtle watched with a stoic frown as he walked away. To a certain standpoint, he could understand where he was coming from. He knew that is that happened, he'd have his sister again. But he knew what his older counterpart had been through, and he had his two cents to put in.

"You want to vanish for my sake making it sound so selfless…but you're wrong." Suddenly, the darkness enveloping them faded away. In an instant, Wartortle found himself in a lush field of golden flowers with a bright blue sky. The cold air that he was willing to embrace was no longer present as the air felt very warm.

Seeing all the faces around him, Wartortle froze with shock as he recognized all the smiling faces. He saw the ones ahead of him first. "Boss-Ma'am…Gray…" He turned towards his left. "Vaporeon…Azumarill…" He turned towards his right. "Miss Sophie…Araquanid…"

It didn't stop there. His eyes widened as lips parted. Behind them, there were more Pokémon and humans composing of Fairy Tail. All of them looking at him expectantly with soft smiles. He was left speechless.

"You might have been born in my place, but the people and friends that you've made are very much real. These people care about you with all their hearts."

"They…they do, don't they…" Wartortle's voice cracked, feeling emotions swirl around inside that made him feel warm.

"I don't want you making the same mistake that I've made long ago." Squirtle's smile returned as his younger sister race up to his side, embracing him with an affectionate hug. They both smiled at Wartortle. "So you see, I won't let your life end here. You have so much more to live for than what I had."

Wartortle turned back towards him. "But then…what'll happen to you?"

"Don't worry…don't forget, I'm you. No matter how much time passes, I'm always with you…" As Squirtle smiled endearingly, his body radiated a strong light. "Take care of everyone, including my sister, for both our sakes, okay?"

Before Wartortle could utter out a response, he shakily reached out a hand as the light enveloped him.

When Wartortle came to, he felt something warm running across his body. His eyes shuttered before they slowly opened. The first thing his blurry vision saw was light blue hair that he instantly recognized. "Boss-Ma'am…?"

Juvia ceased her friction and embraced Wartortle. "Wartortle! Thank goodness! I was so worried about you!"

Despite the surprise embrace, Wartortle took it in stride. "Sorry about that." He really did appreciate Juvia and how much he meant to her…but he knew what he had to do right now. He pulled away from her and started ahead. "Excuse me."

Juvia watched him off, looking concerned. "W-wait! Wartortle…where are you going?"

He stopped for a moment, looking away from her with resolution in his posture. "…to keep a promise I made to someone important, that's all."

…

Gray brought his hands together before making two small magic circles.

"Ice-Make: Grappling Hook!"

The seals shot their own chains of ice with grappling hooks on the ends. The chains swiftly snared numerous Cryogonal and bind them in one large clump bound by the icy chains and hooks.

"Now!"

"Right!" Sophie put a finger to her forehead, summoning a magic seal with chains of memories flowing around her. "Memory-Make: Blooming Dragonbomb Garden!"

The frozen ground shuddered beneath the cluttered Cryogonal. The ice shattered, revealing thorny plants and briars sprouting up and separating, revealing a massive petal flytrap opening wide and swallowing all the Cryogonal whole. In an instant, the closed petals exploded into a smoldering blaze over everyone's heads, quickly melting away some of the ice in the area.

They all watched as the embers and smoke above receded, revealing the Cryogonal all falling limply with heavy thuds to the ground with swirls in their eyes.

"Nice!" Gray smirked, managing to hide how startled he was at the new spell. It was actually terrifying.

"If you could create fire yourselves, why bother have me out anymore?" Salazzle dryly asked.

"Then that just leaves…" Francesca turned towards another direction, the others following her lead.

The object of their attention floated in place while Vaporeon jumped into the air and swished her tail around, unleashing a barrage of Swift. The alpha used its two chains and violently whipped them around, bashing all the stars before they could make contact with it. Vaporeon gasped in shock.

"Our turn!" Snorunt raced across the ice, whereas Bergmite skated across in tow.

The alpha's eyes followed them as he watched both flank its sides and lunge up with their mouth pieces glowing for their Bite. With a scoff, it snared them in its icy chains and whirled them around numerous times to gain momentum. Once enough was gathered, it lobbed them into the sky, both screaming in shock.

In their helpless states, the alpha's body glowed and made an afterimage that crystalized into an Ancient Power, firing it at them. The Rock-type move met its mark and enveloped both in an explosion.

"Crap!" Gray cursed as he watched his two Pokémon drop like flies to the ground, both laying with swirls in their eyes.

"You'll pay for that, bub!" Azumarill charged after the alpha, her expression genuinely upset.

"Be careful!" Vaporeon reminded her.

Azumarill came to a stop in front with Araquanid right beside her. Both Water-types' mouths glowed bright blue before unleashing Bubble Beam. The double barrage closed in as the alpha's own mouth piece glowed bright blue.

Sophie knew what was coming. "It's gonna use Freeze Dry! Watch it!"

True to her warning, Cryogonal exhaled a freeze-dried blast of cold air that instantly froze the double Bubble Beam. The solid bubbles were blown back towards them, which took them by surprise.

"Wartortle!" Francesca shouted.

Heeding her voice, her Wartortle diligently got in front and enveloped her fists in white energy. Her Brick Break smashed the frozen bubbles to sparkles, leaving all of them unscathed.

"CRY~!" The alpha cried out as its eyes glowed brightly. Its icy chains flailed with rage.

"You're annoyed…good." Francesca's Wartortle sneered. "Then you're gonna know what being pissed is after I hammer it into you!"

"Brick Break!" Francesca commanded.

Wartortle jumped into the air and cried out, her fists glowing once more. She bridged the distance and slugged straightforward…only for her shot to be shorthanded by icy chains that reached out and snagged her arms, holding her up before slamming and pinning her to the ground.

"Gngh!" Wartortle cringed at the force. The weight and the cold air didn't help with her dilemma.

The alpha's mouth glowed again, charging up another Freeze-Dry at point-blank. And this time, Wartortle had no leverage to work with. Her face was painted with horror and anger for her predicament.

"Wartortle, look out!" Francesca pleaded.

A sphere of Water Pulse struck Cryogonal's side, causing it to buffer. Wartortle immediately looked over as she saw through the mist of a silhouette standing firm and calm, a fixated glare just like her own.

Her eyes widened. "You…"

"Wartortle?!" Azumarill gasped.

"You're okay! Thank goodness." Vaporeon smiled in relief.

"Apologies for troubling you all." He started, his tone controlled yet stern. "But I swear…" He balled his fists, his eyes bright with life. "That ends now!"

"You're okay…" Francesca's Wartortle was so shocked that she almost forgot about her predicament.

Juvia's Wartortle sprung ahead and opened his mouth, his fangs glowing for Bite. He snapped down on an icy chain, causing Cryogonal to wince in pain. It recoiled, consequently freeing Francesca's Wartortle from its grasp.

"Hey, listen…I'm sorry about before…so let me make up for that this time."

Francesca's Wartortle blinked, confused by what he meant. But she felt like they had a much deeper meaning to them directed at something else. "…it's fine."

"Still, I intend to rectify my mistakes. So we're settling things here with this thing…together."

She nodded wholeheartedly. "Fine by me. Just don't cringe up on me, alright?"

"I promise, this is as personal for me as it is you." He meant it.

"CRY!" The alpha let out an angered cry as its mouth part glowed again, expelling another Freeze-Dry that froze the ground as it traveled their way. The older brother brought his arms up and summoned a Protect, shielding him from the cold gust.

As if on que, the younger sister leaped off the barrier's top and overhead. The alpha saw the glowing fist heading its way and reached up around its icy breath, but Wartortle chopped them away and continued her attack. Unwilling to take any chances, it backpedaled and successfully evaded the blow.

However, it soon realized that it was a flaw; its focused shifted for a second, it didn't see the male Wartortle before it felt a breeze beneath it. When it looked down, it saw a spinning shell ricochet off a frozen rock and hit its back, shoving it forward.

The female Wartortle's fist struck the frozen ground, churning the ice to chunks. Using her tail, she smacked the newfound ammunition into Cryogonal's front, causing it to cringe.

"Now!" The brother shouted.

As if both understood, they leaped off the ground at the same time and grabbed its two ice chains. With all their might, they dragged the alpha down to the ground and slammed it harshly into the earth with a thunderous thud.

"Nice work!" Gray commended.

"They're actually outmaneuvering Cryogonal!" Juvia smiled.

With their opponent temporarily ground, the two Wartortle locked eyes briefly. Together, they lunged with Bite and Brick Break onto its back, ready to finish it.

"Cry…!" The alpha, however, had other intentions.

Before they made contact, they both felt cold, icy chains latching their shells. Both siblings didn't have time to exhibit shock when Cryogonal dragged them around and threw them both in separate directions; a tree trunk for Francesca's, and a rock for Juvia's.

"Cry!" Not wanting this to drag on any further, Cryogonal turned towards Francesca's first, generating an orb of icy energy.

"Wartortle, look out!" Francesca warned.

Juvia's Wartortle was quicker to rebound. He saw the attack aimed for his sister and saw she was still struggling to stand. He knew that he also wouldn't be able to make it by foot from this distance. He saw the rock behind him and got an idea.

"CRY!" The alpha's rage flourished in its glowing eyes.

"Gnnngh…" Francesca's Wartortle strained to get to a knee in time to dodge.

Meanwhile, Juvia's Wartortle turned towards the rock behind him and opened his mouth, generating a Water Pulse. With haste, he blasted the rock, creating a repulsion force from the misty explosion that sent him flying across the ice towards his sibling.

Cryogonal screeched, unleashing its Ice Beam onto the helpless turtle.

"HRAAAAAAH!" With all his might, Wartortle managed to bridge the gap between him and his sister before the Ice Beam got too close. He rushed up to his feet and stood ready as the beam met him head-on.

In a bright blue flash, the beam met his head, sending a harsh shock that caused his eyes to shrink. Time slowed down as everything around Wartortle drew to a cold blank once more as his body froze up before everyone's eyes a second time.

"Wartortle!?" Juvia panicked.

Everyone's eyes widened as they gasped in shock. Azumarill and Vaporeon were speechless. Gray and Francesca displayed their own annoyance as well.

The surprise save jolted Francesca's Wartortle back to her feet, her shock evident. "No…"

"Cry." The alpha scoffed. It was relieved to finally have one pest down.

"No…" Juvia looked horrified, stepping forward with panic stricken on her face. "WARTORTLE!"

Her voice echoed through the air. Even in his frozen state, Wartortle's body remained completely still; not just because he was keeping his nerves controlled in the cold now, but because of the revelations flowing through his mind.

Images and memories of his time with his sister steadily flowed through his mind. He thought about the time she hatched, how he taught her to swim…leading up to the smile she had.

But that wasn't the only thing that he thought of.

Memories of his time with Juvia, Vaporeon, and Azumarill went through him like a torrent. How his Trainer saved him, how they fought together, and grew together…with one thing echoing through his mind.

"You see, I have someone I'm waiting for. If I never did, what would I have to wait for? I'm sure that, somewhere…there has to be someone waiting for you. Maybe you just have to look."

Juvia's words from their meeting sent a warmth through his body, a warmth that the ice couldn't freeze completely.

"In that case, Miss Juvia, let me swear this. No matter what, I will forever be humble and respect your wishes. I'll beside you for as long as the sun rises with the moon. That oath I swear."

'I swear…' He tensed up, feeling a dense power stirring inside of him. 'This time…I WILL PROTECT MY FAMILY!'

Suddenly, Wartortle's body was enveloped in a dense glow that shot through the ice. The frozen encasement around him shattered completely, much to everyone's shock.

"The heck?!" Gray shouted.

Juvia used her forearms to cover from any ice fragments, but also to block out the glow around Wartortle. When she opened an eye, she couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Wartortle…is he…?"

"He's evolving!" Francesca gasped.

"CRY?!" The alpha's voice strained with shock as it backed away from the glow.

Francesca's Wartortle hung open, completely speechless as she witnessed her counterpart's transformation.

Wartortle's body gradually grew in size, his limbs not only getting longer, but far bulkier too. His wing-like ears receded, as did his long, fluffy tail. However, his shell grew to enormous proportions and he towered in place.

When the light exploded, the newly evolved Pokémon emerged with a loud battle cry. Now standing before everyone was a large, bipedal turtle with a blue body hidden beneath his tough, brown shell; having a cream underside with dense white ridges separating the two halves. His head had triangular ears and a cream-colored lower jaw. His narrow brown eyes were focused dead ahead with no obstruction.

Everyone's jaws nearly hit the floor at the large turtle standing on his bulky legs. Shock and elation filled the area.

"Wartortle evolved!" Azumarill cheered.

"That's right…he's Blastoise now." Francesca beamed.

"Blastoise?" Curious, Juvia got out her PokéDex and analyzed her new partner.

"Blastoise, the Shellfish Pokémon. The rocket cannons on its shell fire jets of water capable of punching holes through thick steel."

Juvia processed this information and looked back up, visibly astounded. "He's gotten even stronger…"

Wartortle stood behind the newly evolved savior, completely speechless. All she saw was his thick brown shell and a stubby blue tail.

"Sorry, big guy." His voice was deeper, while still carrying that mature accent. "But we're finishing things…like we should have."

The alpha Cryogonal's eyes glowed brightly. "CRY!" It ascended a few feet and channeled cold air into a gust blown at Blastoise, via Freeze-Dry.

As the air grew chillier the closer it got, Blastoise showed no signs of cringing. In fact, he didn't look the least bit bothered. The tops of his shell on both shoulders suddenly opened, revealing two cannons for everyone to see.

"Are those cannons?!" Vaporeon gasped.

Blastoise tensed up his legs to hold himself in place. The insides of his cannons glowed bright as energy materialized. In a flash, two dense white and light blue beams jettisoned with intense force through the air into the cold breeze.

The two forces met briefly, but the lustrous, bright cannon blast gradually ate its way through the Ice-type move, startling Alpha Cryogonal. The attack struck it head-on, enveloping it in an explosion of bright energy.

"Insane! It broke through that Freeze-Dry like it was nothing!" Vaporeon gawked.

"That was Flash Cannon!" Francesca gawked.

Once again, Juvia found herself shocked by the revelation. "A Steel-type move…?" If she recalled, Steel-types were strong to Ice-types, while the reverse was the opposite. She knew from the few times Gray battled Gajeel. 'Then…we can finish this!'

As the explosion dissipated, Cryogonal was tilting forward with considerable slack in its chains. It was getting worn out from all the damage it sustained, and it didn't do it favors that its opponents learned a move type that it did very little against. Still, it refused to go down!

"Hey, Wartortle." Blastoise spoke back to his sister.

"H-huh?" Gathering her bearings, she snapped out of her shock.

Blastoise looked back at her, smirking proudly. "You with me on this one?" He reached his hand out to her.

She looked at hand and back at Blastoise. The gesture gave her serious nostalgia, similar to how her brother would reassure and guide her when she was scared. She felt her confidence and clarity restored as she accepted his hand.

"CRY!" Cryogonal exasperated a cry as it lifted itself up once more.

"Hurry, before it attacks again!" Francesca implored.

"Right! Let's finish this, Blastoise!" Juvia held up her Z-Ring, looking absolutely serious.

"I'm with you, Boss-Ma'am!" Blastoise nodded.

Juvia hummed and picked up the Steelium-Z she had. She never had a reason to use it – since none of her Pokémon had a Steel-type move – but now she did. As soon as it clicked in, a metallic insignia appeared briefly as light suddenly drained from the surroundings, enveloping only Juvia and Blastoise. Silver Z-Power radiated off Juvia and arched over onto Blastoise.

The two balled their fists and bashed them together twice, the sound of metal clanging. They thrust both their fists out as all the Z-Power fully enveloped Blastoise as he grabbed Wartortle's hand.

"What is that…?" Francesca marveled.

"A Z-Move." Gray smirked. Even he wasn't expecting this.

Together, both Blastoise and Wartortle glared the weakened alpha. "Let's do this!"

"CORKSCREW CRASH!"

"BRICK BREAK!"

Blastoise tucked in his limbs with the exception of one arm. He began rotating his shell at a high velocity and formed a massive silver drill-like energy spiraling around him. Wartortle's left arm glowed bright white for her move, adding a layer of thick white to the silver as it shot full force straight at the Alpha Cryogonal.

Seeing the attacks coming, it brought up its icy chains once more, its eyes shimmering multiple colors as it used Light Screen to hopefully mitigate the damage. The glowing drill spun straight into the layers of translucent screens, violently vibrating them and making Cryogonal cringe.

"Cryyy…" It desperately tried to hold on despite the opposition.

The drill composing Blastoise and Wartortle kept rotating, with both crying out together. "HRAAAAAAAH~!"

The drill suddenly picked up speed, and the glow from Brick Break broadened. The Light Screen gradually cracked apart, much to Cryogonal's shock.

CRACK!

The Light Screen shattered, just like the Cryogonal's hopes of evading or holding off the attack as the drill hammered into its face. The sounds of ice being bored into was like nails on a chalkboard as the drill went through multiple frozen trees, shattering their trunks and making them fall over. A trail of destruction bore into the frozen forest, churning all the ice and snow to pave way to a stop in the far distance.

"CRRYYYYYYYYY~!" The alpha exuded a howling agony that went hoarse through the impact.

The air churned for several minutes until the power managed to subside. Everyone rushed through the dense trail created by the Z-Move and saw what happened.

There, at the end of the trail, Blastoise and Wartortle stood side-by-side in front of the alpha. Its eyes were dense swirls as its body was severely cracked, but still intact. It was lodged in a crater on a rock with spiral-like crevices from the wake of the Z-Move.

"They did it…they actually won." Francesca breathed out the air she was unconsciously holding in.

"Well I'll be." Sophie chimed, folding her arms.

Gray was surprised as much as everyone else, but he was more focused on something else. His gaze fell towards Juvia, who stepped towards her newly evolved Pokémon.

"Blastoise…" Her hushed tone was mixed with awe and suspense.

Blastoise paused before he turned around. The two met eyes, their gazes telling the emotions and certainty that Blastoise had. No longer was there any doubt in them. No shifting or dilation. It was all thoroughly clear and steady. The small smile he had didn't go unnoticed by his Trainer as well. Juvia was quick to recover and offered a proud smile back.

A deep sigh was followed by a thud. Everyone turned towards Francesca's Wartortle, who was on her hands and knees. Her Trainer paced towards her. "W-Wartortle?"

Wartortle exhaled exhaustingly louder. "It…it's finally over. Finally…I was able to…" Her body started to shake from the emotions she was feeling. All the grief and spite she had for her lack of strength back then was finally starting to open. She started to sob lowly. "Big brother…I…I wish you were here to see this."

"Wartortle…"

Wartortle sniffled and held back a choke. "I did it, big brother…I've gotten stronger…I really have…" She trailed off as she fell over, sobbing into the ground.

Everyone watching frowned mournfully. They didn't know what to say? What could they say? It was clear she had spent years of turmoil and regrets for not saving the only family she had. Now that she got her payback, she didn't know what to do. It ached them just watching.

Blastoise watched his sister weep out her relief and distresses alike. He could just tell her everything up front and fix this whole guilt…but he had another idea.

He walked up to Wartortle, leaving Juvia confused. "Blastoise?"

Blastoise walked over and stood before Wartortle. Looking down with his bulky knees slightly bent, he tried to console her. "I'm sure that your brother misses you deeply, too." He paused, thinking of what else to say to remedy her heart. "You know something? I finally remembered something thanks to that battle. I believe that I met your brother before."

Wartortle gasped loudly, looking up at him like her whole world was coming back to her. "Wait…you mean it?"

"I'm certain. He told me how he's so sorry for leaving his beloved sister behind, how he thinks about her and what she's doing now." He lied with a straight face. "He actually had a message for her if I ever meet her."

Her eyes shrank as she stumbled towards his knee, looking up at him desperately. "W-what did he say…?"

"He told me to tell her…that he wants her to find her happiness. To know that she's being treated right, and doing her best for others than him. If someone comes along and takes her in, that she'll have someone there by her side." His smile returned as he glanced at Juvia. "Just like he does. A kind, caring person, who's willing to bring out the best in their Pokémon. They don't need to be perfect, just someone who genuinely cares and loves you for who you are…so he'll have nothing to worry about."

Wartortle blinked twice. Slowly, she realized the meaning behind it and turned towards a certain someone. She and Francesca locked eyes with each other, the Trainer looking at her sympathetically. 'Francesca…'

"And that no matter how far apart they are, or what happens…he will always be proud of you. And that he's the happiest Pokémon in the world knowing that his sister's living her life freely."

That seemed to have finally broken the dam as Wartortle's body finally started giving way. Tears brimmed the corners of her eyes once more as she turned towards Blastoise to console her. Embracing his shell tight, she let it all out. The grief, the stress, the new joy of knowing her brother was alive and had hopes for her moving on. It was all too much.

"Waaaaahhhh!" She sobbed loudly, holding onto Blastoise tighter.

Blastoise passively bent down and embraced her. It was strange, but at the same time nostalgic. Even he never thought he'd see his sister again, and yet here she was, crying into his arms just like the day she was hatched. It made him remember how comforting it was being a big brother again.

Everyone watched from a short distance, not wanting to break the moment that the two so needed. Despite her reservations, Juvia knew it wasn't her place to pry into this. She could tell how badly this meant to them. She reached over towards Gray, sticking her hand out hoping he would give her that sense of levity.

Luckily, he caught on and held her hand. It took a little longer, but their fingers slowly began interlocking the more time went on.

After a quick call, the Cambire Foundation and the Rune Knights that were under their employment hurried over to apprehend the Cryogonal horde. After giving a subtle report on everything that happened, everyone was discharged with thanks for their help on the preemptive matter.

The situation took so much of their time that before they realized it, evening was upon them. By that time, the moment came for Francesca to bid farewell.

Standing in front of Nic's house, said occupant was finally back from his appointment. He stood casually as Francesca pleaded her case and her reasoning for wanting to head home. It almost brought her to her knees when she heard Nic was willing to help her out.

The sun was setting in the distance, painting the skies a bright orange shade. Once all the details were ironed out between them, that just left the final sendoff.

"You sure about this?" Nic asked, wanting her certainty on the decision.

Francesca nodded. "Yes…I am. I know that this world's interesting and all…but I think I've had my fill." A soft smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "Still…it wasn't all bad in the end. I got to know some good people who were willing to help a stranger like me."

Her mind wandered off to three people in particular when she said that. She thought about Gray, Juvia, Sophie, and the Pokémon that helped her out. It really pained her that she didn't see them when it was her sendoff, but in the back of her mind, she figured that this was for the best. It would've been too painful to say goodbye to her new friends. It would've made her rethink about her decision that brought her here in the first place.

"Tell Juvia, Gray, and Sophie thanks for everything. Your guild…it's really fun to be in, isn't it?"

Nic hummed, a small smile tugging the corner of his lips as he folded his arms. "Trust me, you have no idea."

Francesca's smile returned as she turned towards Wartortle. "You ready to go?"

For once – to Francesca – Wartortle was smiling leisurely. "Yeah, I think I'm ready too."

Francesca raised a brow. "You seem to be in a better mood."

Wartortle hummed, shrugging. "Yeah, well…guess you can say that today was full of surprises. That cold feeling I had in my chest this whole time…it's almost melted away. For the first time in a long while, I feel…blessed." Her smile widened towards her Trainer. "Thank you…for taking care of me, Francesca. I appreciate it."

The human didn't know what to say. It could have been after everything that happened today, but her eyes were getting misty. She was glad that the last words she could understand of her Pokémon were those of sincere gratitude.

Not wanting to dawdle after a long day, Nic turned and swiped his arm across. A portal appeared in front, revealing a pasture and hills with a setting sun in the distance. "This is the closest I can get you to Olivine City. Will this work?"

"Yes, of course. Thank you." She lowered her head and bowed towards him. "We'll remember this forever. Thank you."

Nic nodded and stepped off to the side to allow passage. As Francesca walked towards her way home, Wartortle followed behind and came to a pause. She looked towards Magnolia one last time with a thoughtful look on her face. She thought about what that Blastoise said earlier and how his embrace made her feel weirdly nostalgic. It almost felt familiar to how her brother would hold her.

'I wonder. Could he…?' She briefly thought about it, but decided to leave it at that. Even if that were the case, he had his own life with his own friends and a happy Trainer. Something that he wanted her to have. She wondered how things could have been if that wasn't the case.

And yet, in the back of her mind…she had a feeling that he wanted it this way.

As she smiled, a faint, warm wind brushing her back and shifting her tails. 'Big brother…I'll live more peacefully now, thanks to you.'

Watching them off from a high balcony, Gray, Juvia, Blastoise, Vaporeon, Azumarill, and Sophie watched with wistful expressions. After what Blastoise told them, they decided to watch from afar than in person.

The tension was mildly awkward, yet the only one who seemed to be taking it in stride was Blastoise as he stoically watched the sunset amongst his silent peers.

"So, Blastoise." Juvia broke the silence. "You remember everything now?"

"Yeah, thanks to all of you." He replied, not looking away from the view.

Juvia was grateful to hear that. It honestly made her happy knowing that her dear Pokémon's life had meaning again. As a Trainer, she felt so proud of him. But that happiness didn't last forever as she clutched her arm, an aching feeling crawling up her spine.

"So then…what are you gonna do now? I mean, that's your sister. Would you rather be…with her instead? I won't blame you if that's what you want."

"Juvia?" Gray turned towards her, shocked at her proposition.

"I appreciate that, Boss-Ma'am." Blastoise noted.

Juvia frowned heavily. Her Pokémon's happiness was her happiness. And after everything Blastoise had to go through, he deserved to be just that. And as someone who was forced to keep beloved family separated forever, she didn't want to be held responsible for another. She still has dreams of that moment she indirectly killed Silver every now and again. She clutched her arm tighter as she awaited for the inevitable answer that awaited her.

"...but you know, I think I prefer to keep things as they are."

Everyone looked astonished at his answer, especially Juvia.

"For starters, Boss-Ma'am, I care for you, Vaporeon, and Azumarill. So much in fact that I call you all family. Secondly, I swore an oath to you when you gave me a place to call home now. I won't go back on it, even for something like this."

"Blastoise…" Vaporeon muttered. She and Azumarill didn't know what to say, they were touched.

Juvia turned towards him in genuine shock. "A-are you sure about this?"

He nodded. "Afterall, I was able to overcome my trauma thanks to this. And I found out my younger sister is being cared for by a good Trainer. That's good enough for me. Thank you…all of you."

"You've got yourself a good Pokémon there, Juvia." Gray grinned.

Juvia smiled happily, holding back a sniffle. "Yes…I most certainly do."

Vaporeon turned towards each other, their smiles evident.

Sophie was beside them, leaning over the railing with a small smile of her own. She had to admit that she felt a little envious about Blastoise's happy ending. It may not fix what she unknowingly left behind, but she wasn't bothered with such touching scenes. She would definitely remember this.

She looked down at her Heal Ball in her clutch. Salazzle may have been finicky, but she knew she would open up eventually. It would just take more time.

"So…guess it's time to head back?" Gray asked.

Juvia nodded. "Yes. You guys ready?"

"Lead on, Boss-Ma'am. Lead on." Blastoise hummed.

Thousands of miles away from Fiore, night had fallen upon Earthland. Mest appeared out of thin air, wearing a dark cloak over his body to blend in with his surroundings. Taking a look around, he saw that he was still alone.

'I should be close. This is the farthest my Direct Line took me so far.' He let out a dense sigh. Having Teleportation Magic was extremely convenient, but oftentimes, convenience came with costs. Using his magic repetitively over the extent of two days took a toll on his magic reserves. He wasn't sure if he could do another Direct Line at this point.

Walking up the small incline through the forest, he made way towards the top where he would have a better view. The moment he got to the cliff, his eyes widened at what he saw.

A massive city, which had to be at least five times the size of Crocus, was laid out in the distance. There were numerous tall structures and walls helping keep the city streets and sectors organized. However, what caught his eye was the enormous circular border that had various lavish buildings within its area, with architecture that he had not seen before.

He had no doubts where he was. "I've made it…Pergrande's capitol: The Magic Government."

I was able to get an update in for November! Decided that I wanted to tackle one more character plot for a unique chapter, and this time it revolved around Juvia's Wartortle, now evolved and fully past his ice trauma. Juvia's team got a serious buff now because of this!

Things are starting to pick up now that Mest arrived in the Pergrande Kingdom. But still, I have one more surprise coming next chapter. A small arc – the Rainbow Rocket Arc!

Nic may have god-like powers, but what if he comes to realize what it would be like if he never had his way? If he never had powers to begin with? Everything he learned up until now using his head will be tested against an evil organization with Legendary Pokémon at their disposal. With the inclusion of some special individuals that Nic will have to trust to help bring an end to this organization's domination once and for all.

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Reviews are always appreciated!