Watcher of Arceus - Path of the Immortal

by The Shadow Master of Weapons

Watchers, the direct descendants of Arceus herself, sets of twins born with her power. Born in pairs, these twins were meant to bridge the gap that had come between humans and pokémon, one a gifted human, born beside a pokémon. Inseparable immortal twins, the godchildren wandered the world. But now, a single pair remains. Full summary inside. Reboot of Watcher of Arceus.

33. Chapter 33 : Journey to Serene Sanctuary

Watcher of Arceus

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. Only the idea and OC's.

Author Notes:

-X-This will be used for scene breaks and for when the story switches to another character, but it does not mean that a new section of the story has started.

~xXx~ This will identify where each paragraph breaks.

"Human Speech" 'Character Thought' {Pokémon Speech}

Co-author: Catsithx

The following is a total and complete Reboot of the story "Watcher of Arceus".

~xXx~

Chapter 33 : Journey to Serene Sanctuary

The night after Samantha's departure was filled with small discussions about everything and quickly poured into the next day. Sarah and Thomas were looking through all sorts of information about how to manage themselves while their proper pokemon accounts were under a federal criminal suspension. The internet was abuzz with all sorts of talks about them all and by midday, Thomas, Sarah, and Xent's names were everywhere, with everyone wanting to know everything. Images and more were all over and the sheer magnitude of trainers now trying to personally investigate them only made things so much worse.

They had hoped that they had some more time to stay hidden, but with so many trainers demanding to know about Thomas and how he was the first pokemon trainer to capture a legendary pokemon, there was no hope of hiding in a larger gatherings of trainers. Devon Corp was forced to schedule a public announcement and would be doing so hours before the supposed mystery information drop by this unknown user who hid behind an upside down pokeball.

By midday, Xent's pokedex finally dinged as well, his own suspension finally showing up, but Xent's solution was simple as he popped open his model and just swapped out a few storage chips to use his ghost account. The discussion continued into the night and Thomas finally went to bed with Rebecca, setting his alarm to wake up far more early then usual so that they could arrive in the city before the sun rose proper.

-x-

Without the fear of Dahlia's fate cemented over them, it was the first actual night of proper rest any of them had had since the day before the Cameran Castle Incident. The alarm that Thomas set went off quietly, but it was enough. Thomas awake in his bed, gently holding onto Rebecca, his arms wrapped around her stomach as she was laying back against him on their bed. It was nice to be free to do this, to enjoy her company on an actual bed and not in some tent. While still small, they had room to stretch and get fully comfortable, and the sheets and blankets that Dahlia had picked out for them were just nice, soft and warm.

Even Radara was happy with her little arrangement, a few pillows and folded sheet in the open closet, sleeping contently as they enjoyed some privacy. Even just simple things as this helped melt away some of the pressures of the world as Thomas lightly nuzzled Rebecca a bit feeling her wake up. 'Oh... this is just so nice.' Rebecca murred lightly, her tail barely squeezing Thomas's leg that she had wrapped up with it.

"I know... You should thank Dahlia again for this when you have a chance." Thomas smiled, giving her a small kiss to her cheek from over her shoulder.

For Rebecca, it was like heaven and the rest of the world didn't matter right now in this moment. Even as Thomas slowly rose up, she gave a small whimper, but let him go, her tail freeing his leg as he started to get up.

'We're going to another sanctuary right? Will this be another date?' Rebecca asked very hopefully as she let Thomas get up and grab some clothing.

"No, not just yet." Thomas smirked, but still rubbed her head. "We will have those kinds of dates only under a full moon. I would prefer to be at a sanctuary to enjoy the moon as it was meant to be seen yes, but Serene Sanctuary is a... Its not the place I would like to continue with our Crests." Thomas stated thinking about the sanctuary.

"But, what we can do though is give you another piece of the blessing over your eyes. When Suicune wakes, we'll ask her to purify the water in the tank for the shower and then we can wash each other." Thomas smiled, a hand on her chin and lightly rubbing her cheek with his thumb before giving her another small kiss. He could tell that she enjoyed it though as she heard her tail smack the bed a few times in delight.

"We should be there by midday or early evening though, and we'll likely spend the night there if Dahlia wants to feel the peace of the sanctuary. After that... I guess we head north, and maybe we'll be on the open waters under the next full moon if the weather permits. That's when we'll continue making our crests and I can share more of myself with you." Thomas said, letting her go as stood up again, and even helped her stand.

Rebecca just kept murring some, and gave him a careful hug before starting to do some small stretches to help her wake up fully.

Thomas just smiled a bit more as he had his clothing picked out, and then started up the stairs seeing all the other doors closed. He didn't know who else was up yet, but he'd know soon enough as wanted to wait for Suicune to wake up and then help purify some water so that he could another crystal sheet over Rebecca's eyes, further enhancing her vision to see the world more like he could.

The thought of putting so much effort into courting Rebecca was a strange feeling for him though, it having been generations since he had done this. Still, it was something needed right now as he walked into the kitchen, intent to just start making everyone something basic to eat, part of his usual routine.

His thoughts still kept turning towards Serene Sanctuary though, and how long it had been since he was there. It was one of their largest Sanctuaries, a former almost temple site and a garden that was now just hidden away for over four hundred years. The knights were the reason it was hidden, and the passage to its gate was forgotten. He wondered how much it had changed since the last time he was there, humans no longer welcome there in most cases, but he wondered if the offspring of the pokemon who had tended it would still be there caring for the gardens.

No one was at the controls, so it was safe to say that he was the first one up as he decided to check the navigation terminal and checked the distance from Pastoria City, just a few miles away now and they could docked there in minutes, Xent having clearly gotten them close, but still in open waters.

He at least set the last portion of the course, and then just got it ready for after breakfast was made. He set about working on the usual, scrambled eggs, toast, and was in the mood for bacon today, as he looked over the kitchen. So far, Sarah and Xent had been the ones to do most of the cooking, with Verna helping frequently, but not actually using the stove.

It was new to say the least, and Thomas had never quite cooked on electric burner before. He had used an electric griddle at some pokemon centers, but this would be new. He took a moment to turn it on which was easy enough and there was even a temperature setting digital display. Watching the coil heat up under the case, he got the general idea of it worked, but it still looked different for him. He took his time making the eggs, but already he has having a few issues. The eggs weren't cooking the same as he knew, but he managed to adjust until he got the bacon and then the issues the started.

The bacon wasn't cooking as usual and so he tried to adjust the temperature a few times to find the right heat setting that would work, but it didn't seem to heat properly as Xent came up. "How do you manage this?" Thomas asked as Xent looked over.

"You used the wrong burner for meat in that pan. The heat's all focused directly over the coil and there's no flames to lick the side of the pot and heat up the sides as thoroughly as it does in the middle. You should have used a smaller skillet or the larger burner." Xent stated as he looked it over. "You'll need to rotate them out to get them cook evenly now... if you can, that is."

"Can you fix this? I'd rather try to salvage this first." Thomas asked and Xent just grumbled, but nodded.

"Load up the coffee machine, I've already input the recipe for my preferred cup, just set it to Xent's Wakeup Call and let it do its thing." Xent stated and then moved to take over and see if he could fix it. "No offense, but you made mess of this..."

"I've never cooked on an electric burner like this before. I prefer wood fire or a well trained fire type companion. Juno does wonders on the road." Thomas stated as he looked over the coffee machine and started going through its digital menu. He quickly found Xent's brew, and it listed what all it needed, from amount of beans and even what flavor cup to use.

Xent just grumbled a bit though, trying to be keep his words to himself, but Thomas was easily still able to hear his words. "The guy with electric powers... can't even work an electric burner..." He grumbled, Xent still annoyed, but Thomas didn't bring it up as he kept working on the coffee.

This was a lot easier and Thomas quickly started up Xent's cup as he turned and saw Rebecca and Dahlia coming up the stairs. "We are still going to Serene Sanctuary right? From Pastoria City?" Dahlia asked as she looked in on them.

"We can be there in about ten minutes, I'm just waiting for everyone to wake up. The quick guide on the navigation menu said there are docks there we can rent for a day or two while we walk the rest of the way and as long as keep hidden. That hotel nearby has better rates, more docks, and better service according to the navigation controls which is apparently full of ads for some things, but Pastoria is much better if we want to hide." Thomas nodded, taking a chance to look her over. She seemed to be doing well and was fairly easy going right now, even having a more confident feel about her again.

"We'll have to rent a dock. For a whole day?" Xent asked as kept up his work trying to salvage the bacon, but it wasn't exactly working well.

"It will be about a six hour walk one way from Pastoria City to the sanctuary entrance. We could cut that down heavily if we stick with the coast the full time, and we could probably get it down to about an hour as there is a stream that spills out of the sanctuary, but I'm not leaving the boat unattended out in the open for hours without knowing how long we'll be staying at the sanctuary. If we are lucky, the entrance remains hidden." Thomas explained.

"Is it behind another set of giant stone doors?" Xent called out listening in a bit.

"Serene Sanctuary has no door, its merely hidden away in the woods." Dahlia quickly replied. "You'd never find it without being guided there."

"Seems like an easy way for someone to just walk in on it. People have more reason then ever to explore these days." Xent countered.

"The woods themselves turn away anyone trying to find the sanctuary or just wandering into the woods. There are a few bloodlines of pokemon who lived in the woods who were given a blessing that would carry along their bloodlines, but that's if they choose to stay that long." Thomas added.

"What... so like the Lost Woods or something?" Xent asked.

"More like a mix of the original Death Mountain and various Lost Woods mechanics tossed into a blender. A bit of fog, some mental distortion to make a mind feel lost and impair their sense of direction, and constantly be turned away from the sanctuary is an easy trick of the mind, and most things then forget why they were in the woods in the first place." Dahlia explained Thomas and Rebecca giving them some very confused looks.

"Video games." Both Dahlia and Xent just noted, Xent looking up and turning towards her though.

"Do all gardevoirs like video games or something?" Xent asked.

"I needed something to do while locked up with the knights. They at least gave me some escape from the stupidity I had to witness. I take it Verna likes them?" Dahlia explained.

"She's rather found of this Link character and his adventures. The puzzles make her think and its not like I let her deprive herself of sleep or get out of her chores because of them, so I allow it. Good music in some games though." Xent replied as he turned back to the food. "Okay, I did what I could, but you really messed that up. It cooked all the way through though, but I wouldn't call it good. Akra will enjoy some, he likes his bacon even if its cooked wrong, but I'm not giving him all of that."

"Did you mess up a meal?" Dahlia almost gasped looking to Thomas now, in a bit of shock.

"I have never cooked on an electric burner before." Thomas shrugged.

"And after all that time with Andrew and Vivian, you didn't have access to them? I thought Devon Corp was on a very green initiative lately, going almost full electric and minimizing pollutants as much as possible after what all happened in Gringy City in Kanto." Dahlia asked.

"Most of our meals were prepared by someone else at home aside from Vivian doing some cooking herself and by the time that I was doing cooking myself, we still had gas burners or it was all mostly on the road and Juno helped. Pokemon Centers prefer small electric griddles or outdoor grills, by the time that Devon Corp encouraged my foster parents to renovate the kitchen, Vivian wanted to do all the cooking for me when I was there." Thomas explained.

"Oh we need to fix this. We'll start lessons after we get back from the Serene Sanctuary." Dahlia stated firmly.

"When did you learn? You usually prefer baking and an open fire over any other type of cooking?" Thomas asked.

"They let me have a small wall oven after a while but the knights refused to let me have a stove until electric burners were fully rolled out. No gas options at all, less risk of me blowing them up. It was a hassle enough just to get a grill before then and even then they were touchy about it." Dahlia grumbled as she moved to the kitchen.

"And even then, they still enforced the rule about plastic cutlery. Someone else would always dice, cut, or chunk any meat or heavy plants I couldn't do so with what they let me have." She continued moving over and taking a seat.

'It sounds like you really had it rough.' Rebecca said, following her and waiting beside Dahlia for now.

"Is Suicune awake yet?" Thomas asked however as he started back for the kitchen, just pulling out some more eggs, while Xent pulled out some more bacon.

"She was stirring a bit when I came up and bumped into your new lover." Dahlia stated. "Is something wrong?"

"I need some more pure water." Thomas replied, and Dahlia quickly turned towards Rebecca, even gently taking her face in her hands and looking straight into her eyes.

"You're blessing her eyes?" Dahlia quickly asked, Rebecca smiling and giving a nod when Dahlia let her go.

'He wants me to see the world like he does.' Rebecca murred some.

"Then you truly do intend to make her your first wife in over five generations." Dahlia said, slowly getting a large and dominant smile. "I want to help. I still have some of my powers left, and I want to help bless her as well. How many crystal sheets have you given her so far?"

"Two, and this will be three. In a week or so, we can apply the final sheet and she'll the world as we are meant to." Thomas smiled, taking a seat beside Rebeca who eagerly moved into his lap.

"Radara picked well for you... you two look nice together." Dahlia smiled, her hand on her sigil again, rubbing it a between her fingers and even holding it up for a moment while looking over it.

"As soon as she's awake, we'll ask Suicune to bless some water." Dahlia continued, thinking it over. "Running water works best for the last two applications of crystals so that they can sink into the eyes better, so... Ah, we'll ask Suicune to bless the water in the purifier tank. Then we can do it in the shower, and after that, you two can cozy up and share some time caring for each other." Dahlia grinned as both Thomas and Rebecca blushed hard.

"Dahlia! I'm still courting Rebecca!" Thomas half shouted, but Rebecca couldn't deny that she liked that idea.

"Oh come off it, she's practically family now. You can still enjoy her company physically and court her. You're already giving her our eyes, Radara made it clear that you can't deny her, and you're making Lover's Union Crests. She is your wife and I demand a new sibling!" Dahlia countered and a bit aggressively.

"The bacon can't be saved." Xent sighed, shaking his head. "But my morning was." He grinned a smugly earning a hard angry look from Thomas.

"Don't encourage her. I'm way to young to even think of a child right now." Thomas grumbled.

"Lots of people have children this young." Xent countered, rather pleased a bit seeing Thomas squirm a bit, only for a new voice to chime in.

"No... seriously. I can't have a..." Thomas stated, still very red, and biting his lip now only to realizing that he was about to continue nearly shouting the fact that he couldn't have a child until near the end of this life right into Rebecca's ear. This realization hit him hard though and Rebecca could easily see something wrong with his aura, even as she was busy trying to curl her tail around him to pull him closer, really wanting him to take her.

'Thomas... what's wrong?' Rebecca asked.

'I am sorry Rebecca... but Thomas indeed cannot have a child with you. As much as I would like such a thought, the life cycle of us twins is unique, and we can only sire a child at the end of our current life.' Radara's voice sounded as she walked up the stairs now, awake herself and looking on.

'As much as you desire a new child to our number Dahlia, Thomas cannot give Rebecca that. Articuno holds the eggs of the lives of her new life and that of her brothers though. When they are laid, we shall try to make a trip to visit them, and you can greet them to the world.' Radara stated giving a small glare to Dahlia for a moment, before shaking her head and letting it go. She couldn't even image what Dahlia was going through, and while the sigil that Arceus had given her would surely help, there were many things that would pull hard at Dahlia's inner thoughts and desires at the moment.

Already seeing how much the mood change, Xent just turned and headed back for the kitchen, going to let them talk. This was news to him as well, but it didn't really concern him too much right now and knew that they needed to talk, so he tried to give them some privacy.

"I... I'm sorry Rebecca... A child is one of the few things I can't give you." Thomas said softly, just holding her a bit more, leaning into her while wrapping his arms around her chest and stomach.

'W-what do you mean?' Rebecca asked, a little concerned now. 'I know how children are born... why can't I carry your egg in me? I thought you could mate with anyone?'

"I... can take any female capable of birth as the one to give birth to my next life." Thomas admitted slowly, but biting his lip for a moment afterwards. "But, there is only a small time that I can sire a child, late in my life... Almost a hundred years from now."

'What do you mean... why can't I carry your pup?' Rebecca asked, confused about it, having some trouble understanding what he meant.

'We watchers can only have a single child in any of our life times. The next child that me and my brother shall have between us shall be my next life. As a female, I can carry my next life myself, and if necessary, I don't truly need a male to assist me, but that shall still be in another forty-one years at least.' Radara stated.

'I apologize for not revealing this sooner, but I felt that it was more of Thomas's place to explain to this to you and I understand him not sharing this so soon as it is a very hard topic for him, his past love lives have not been kind and things have been complicated. Despite Dahlia's strong feelings and desires for you to carry Thomas's next life within you and add to our family, our life cycle is very specific compared to other creatures.' Radara stated, jumping up between Dahlia and Rebecca who was still on Thomas's lap.

"You won't know unless you try." Dahlia stated after a moment, knowing the facts of the watcher's life cycle and exactly how their reincanation worked. This didn't stop her from being hopeful though, from needing to feel hopeful that maybe somehow, someway she could see a new god-child be born.

'Then... I-i can't have Thomas's pup?' Rebecca asked slowly, thinking of all the romance movies that Vivian loved to watch and she would watch with her when they were back home at times. Thomas just held her a little more tightly and nuzzled her a bit more.

"I would love nothing more then if you could, but I can't see anyway that you can. I can only have a child... my next life, in almost a hundred years from now. I won't love you any less though and you really are what I need most right now." Thomas said, Rebecca's tail getting a little tighter over him as he held her.

-x-

The news of not being able to carry Thomas's cub was a little rough on Rebecca and didn't help the mood that morning even though Suicune and Dahlia both readily helped to pass the blessing of their sight to Rebecca. It was strange for her, able to see so many strange new aspects of the world, and her eyes now had a constant small red tint around the sides sorta like Dahlia's and even Radara's when she chose to use her full proper eyes.

Sarah was woken up by Dahlia while Thomas was taking his shower with Rebecca and Xent took them into Pastoria City, before heading out with a now finally sober Zia to rent the day for a few days while it was still dark out.

As he came though, he came up to a weird sight. Thomas was holding a new pokeball in his hands, that was currently shaking showing a capture. It was overly fancy though, a very high end pokeball that was out of place on the ship appearing to be silver plated with a gold lining, and a high fancy crest on the top before it stopped and even gave a small jingle showing a successful capture.

"Is that..." Xent started as Thomas quickly released the pokemon, Dahlia coming out now with a minor shiver.

"I will never get use to that..." She grumbled, but quickly relaxed after a few breathes.

"That's a very fancy pokeball." Xent noted as Sarah finally came up, dressed and ready to go herself.

"What was that... woah, that's a fancy piece of art right there." Sarah stated, finally noticing the pokeball in Thomas's hand.

"I... did not know that pokeballs played music when they captured a pokemon." Thomas stated, even Radara looking it over.

"Its the highest level of luxury ball there is currently. Or at least it was when I hand selected and commissioned it in private. Occassionally, I was... forced to stay in a pokeball for transportation. The knights preferred to keep me restrained with a harness since there wasn't a pokeball I couldn't break out of, but business sometimes required a delicate touch and to get to some places was a hassle if... I wasn't acting like a normal gardevoir and abiding by those basic standards." Dahlia explained.

"Look, I hate it in that thing, but … I'll survive with my brother at my side. It will be uncomfortable, but its a lot better then the last time I was in one. Thankfully I managed to sabotage my former one just before leaving for that nursery so I was free to let myself be placed under your care for now, but I'm only staying in that when I have to. You let me back out after we get away from the city and any cameras."

"Wait... is that... That's a Paragons Elite's Commission? They only deal with the top one percent of trainers or coordinators world wide. That's real silver and gold, not just fancy paint!" Sarah gasped out a bit. "How much... how much did that cost? I mean, I've only ever seen the Grandmaster Coordinators with those!"

"Oh, that. Well when I commissioned it, it was only forty thousand, give or take. I had special discounts though. I hate the emptiness of generic pokeballs. At least in that I feel cozy and comfortable. The massage like ripples it gives me at least let me feel something and try to stay calm inside it." Dahlia said softly.

"You really didn't spare much in the way of expenses." Thomas stated, seeing how much Dahlia had spent on everything so far.

"In order to stay sane, I took to luxury comforts. I also made it a point to spend my fortune as I wanted and endulged myself just to rub in the faces of some of the other less savory knights. Doing it too much though over the years and... I'm not sure I can go back to simple pleasures anymore so readily, and there are somethings I won't comprise on." Dahlia explained.

'Your time with the knights has really changed you.' Radara said softly, knowing that Dahlia wasn't lying and could feel that she wanted to enjoy some of the older things she use to, but would have some troubles do it.

"My time without Argyle changed me more then anything... I lived purely to spite them, everything I did was for me first and just to make them suffer however I could. I want to try and … and be myself again, to … to go back to how I was before my time is up, but growing up into adulthood under their care... I don't know how much I can … be myself again like I should." Dahlia replied after a moment, before looking back to Xent.

"Did you get us a rental pass for a few days while we're at Serene Sanctuary?" She asked after a moment.

"Two day rental pass. Only major hotel guests can get longer passes for the fancy wide docks we need for your ship. Rates double each day we're late to check out, and they impound it on the second day we're late without being here in person. Full coverage package though. It will get a basic wash to stay shiny tonight, and locks will be checked once at night and once in the morning to make sure things are still secure. They will take care of anything on the outside of the ship, but anything inside is our problem unless we can prove a break in. Fuel will be topped off tonight and the battery charged as well so we can leave as soon as we get back." Xent explained, holding up the folder of documentation.

"It shall suffice." Dahlia stated as she looked to Thomas again. "Just... don't dwaddle and hurry up and get out of town." She said, and then with a nod allowed herself to be returned back to the fancy pokeball again.

"We should move quickly. Remember, hoods up and try to keep your head down." Xent stated knowing that in a large city like this, they could be spotted easily enough on a random camera and that alone might attract some attention with how much unwelcome publicity they had in the past week.

Thomas just nodded as he picked up his satchel back, and the larger camping bag letting Xent and Sarah each take their own satchel bags as well. Even Sarah could tell something was a bit off though as Thomas seemed a bit distracted and moved a bit slower then usual while walking along through the city.

"Did... something happen this morning?" She asked after several minutes of silence following Thomas as he just moved along down the city streets.

"Eh... well. Oh screw it, you might as well find out now. Appearently, the watcher life cycle means that they can only have a single child, in the last year of their life. Dahlia kinda pushed for Thomas and Rebecca to... enjoy each other's company in the shower after doing something about blessing her eyes for the third time and to hurry up and make a child, but Thomas apparently can't, as he put it, sire a child until after he turns one hundred and nineteen years old." Xent explained, recalling the conversation from earlier before Sarah was woken up.

"Simply put, Rebecca can't have his cub even though Thomas would want her too and its kinda hard on him to think about. Dahlia's push to try anyway wasn't helping and I'm not sure how well he is taking that." Xent stated as he walked along with Sarah. Sarah got a bit of a blush going from the news, but just nodded as she stayed at his side, trying to keep her head down until they got out of the city and wouldn't need to hide their faces so thoroughly.

"Wow... and after all the romance movies she's watched, its easy to see how much she's kinda been dreaming about life with him..." Sarah said after a moment.

"Rebecca... watches a lot of romance movies?" Xent asked, a bit confused about it that. From what he saw, Thomas didn't exactly seem the type to do that himself, or carry much technology with him so he had to wonder how that worked.

"And a lot of books. And some comics. Vivian, Thomas's foster mother was a big time romantic, like the kind that dreamed about it a lot and even after they were married, Andrew still took her on fancy dates and sometimes made a show of things. It was their escape from work. Thomas would sometimes spend a month or more at home doing his schooling just to work through it in peace and Rebecca was free to roam their estate. Vivian liked to treat all of Thomas's pokemon well just like any of the pokemon on the estate, but Rebecca liked the attention and enjoyed the movies and books that were shared with her." Sarah explained.

"Ouch... No wonder he's taking it so hard." Xent stated after hearing that.

"Thomas wasn't going to stop her, she seemed to enjoy it, but now. That news must have been hard on them. Not being able to have a family like that, knowing it before you even want to start seriously dating someone." Sarah nodded.

"Can't say I envy him right now, not with how the world's treated him so poorly lately. And after everything that's happened in the past week, its no wonder he hide from the world for a while." Xent added, Sarah giving a nod.

"At least he's found some more family and he's not as alone as he thinks anymore." Sarah added looking around some, already seeing a few more early news lines on the contest hall about how she was currently under investigation now and her status as a contender was now pending.

"Sorry for this. I know it has to be rough on you too." Xent noted as he looked saw the same news lines across the contest hall for now. Even though it was shut down for the night, it was just replaying the news from last night when her official suspension began. "It can't be any easier on you. I'm just fucking stupid and let my ego get in the way and look where that got me. You were just... dragged along unknowingly by no fault of your own."

"All that matters right now is just staying safe. Its hard, but it will protect my family and hopefully my other pokemon. And hey, maybe if I can help save the world at some point during this, it will all be worth it." Sarah tried to joke, but it was still a bit rough anyway as she tried to force a smile.

"Only one way to find out. Going to be a long time waiting for this to get play out though." Xent sighed as he just continued along.

~xXx~

A few hours along the road and Dahlia was released from her pokeball once they were out of the city. Between her own abilities and Zia's illusions no one around them would notice her in her new gown, and while there was a chance to be recorded at some point out on the road, it was safe enough that no one would be able to follow them quickly as their actual faces weren't records. It wasn't too uncommon for people to dress up pokemon after all, so it wouldn't stand enough on it own and that was enough for the moment.

Thomas and Radara were still in a busy conversation as they lead the way for now, with Dahlia staying by Sarah's side to present the image that she belonged to Sarah and Zia of course hid herself behind an illusion staying at Xent's side letting them all walk freely for the most part, if still keeping their hoods up.

The back road that they had taken had a few people on it, but no on cared as they moved in the general direction of Lake Valor and the forest that surrounded it. As they walked up one last hill though, a loud firework going off, in the middle of the day no less, caught everyone's attention and they all doubled their pace to the top of the hill.

"HEY! Watch it dumbasses!" An angry voice called out as they looked down over the massive crowd on the shore of Lake Valor.

"That's it, we're cursed. I want a talk with all of your brothers and sisters to demand to know whose doing this." Xent demanded walking right up to Thomas and Radara. There on the shore of Lake Valor was a fair of some kind, a crew setting up fireworks for that night or taking down the rest from the night prior. A few thousand people and dozens of attractions were set up along the coast and then some.

"We're not cursed, and actually that is a good thing." Thomas countered as he just slowed back down just to keep walking.

'See that old shrine way off to the side up there, the one far behind that larger new statue of Azelf.' Radara noted, gently turning his head in the proper direction to make out the ruined little shrine that was clearly in disrepair, now replaced with the much larger statue and shrine build into the base.

"The passage we seek is there. That fair will keep attention from us as we just... vanish into the woods." Thomas explained as he just kept walking along. Dahlia did swap sides of Sarah though, keeping Sarah and Xent between her and the fair since she didn't want to go back into her pokeball right now.

"I'll admit it is annoying, but far more people will be interested in the fair then us. Even those attending the new shrine will be a bit distracted to notice us. Plus, having such a convenient thing to encourage other people to look at is much easier then just trying to make up an excuse." Dahlia added as they just kept walking, for now ignoring the fair. The rest of the walk had a few more people walking past and some groups were camping on the outskirts of the fair, but things went smoothly despite the events as they walked up to the old shrine.

As they approached the woods though following the path up to the shrine, a small fog seemed to just barely leak out of the woods and there was even a small plague by the shrine noting the usual mystery of the woods, of its fog and how there was supposed to be some connection to this mystery and the hidden resident of Lake Valor, the legendary pokemon Azelf.

"Do we need offer tribute again?" Sarah asked as they approached, but Thomas and Radara just shook their heads.

"Not here, no." Dahlia stated. "Just... stay close."

Sarah and Xent nodded lightly and followed along, sparing a look back and sure enough they were just ignored as they followed Thomas into the woods down a path that wasn't there a second ago. Walking in a little bit, Thomas and Radara stopped before opening the bag he had as the turned around to face them. The path behind them was hidden entirely by fog an eerie silence surrounded them now.

"Now that we're here, let's not take any chances. Put these clips and rope on your belt, and tie Zia to it as well. No need to make it tight, just make sure it won't come off accidentally." Thomas explained.

"Talk about spooky... I can see why this place was left alone now. I can't see much of anything and my head feels a little fuzzy." Sarah stated, but did as she was told. She tied a clip to the rope and then clipped it lightly to her belt, before letting Xent do the same, and then made a loop on the end for Zia to wear around her neck.

With the lot of them now secured together so that they wouldn't get lost on the passage, it turned into just a long through the woods. Fog wafted around them, their minds were just a little fuzzy, and the silence was a test in and of itself, before at last there was the sound of water flowing as they made one more turn.

"Thank Arcues that's over." Sarah shivered a bit, not liking the walk at all.

"I'll agree with that... that was … unnerving." Xent added as they finally saw some kind of clearing and a stream with a large mass of vines and flowers.

"It looks like the descendants of the former care takers have chosen their own lives." Dahlia stated looking over the place and now walking ahead of them. Lifting one arm up and then to the side, a series of large vines were lifted from whatever they were covering, several vines tearing to reveal a large open archway now leading into some kind of structure.

"Is it... safe for us to walk in?" Xent asked as he approached.

"The blessing of Arceus you were given back at Spear Pillar will grant you passage here." Thomas added, before reaching under his hoodie and pulling out his three pokeballs, releasing Suicune, Rebecca, and Juno now that they were at the entrance of the temple.

Following his example, Xent and Sarah did the same for their pokemon.

"Don't stray from the building or this clearing. You will get lost and there's like twelve miles worth of woods that you could come out in." Thomas warned them all as Radara joined Dahlia walking into the structure, reaching into his bag and pulling out the sleeve that contained Tahu's spear now.

As he walked in, Dahlia was clearing away some more vines from other passages, the place easily over grown and then some as Radara squeezed through a more tangle mess into another room and went to check to see if anyone was in the inner garden ahead of them.

Taking a chance to look over the spear again, Thomas looking at a number of vines blocking their path and merely nodded to Dahlia who pulled them taunt and then Thomas made a few quick jabs into the vines to cut into the thickest parts and make them easier to pull away without tearing up the structure underneath.

Sarah and Xent just watched for now with the rest of the pokemon as Thomas and Dahlia made quick work of the vines barring their path and then finally gave them access to the inner garden, Suicune leading the way.

A large circular open room with lots of sun light, there was a fair deal of fog above them that still let the light through, but hid the place regardless. Stone columns surrounded and now entangled with vines with dozens of flowering blossoms and hundreds of various berries provided food and there in the middle was a single crystalline tree not unlike the Tree of Beginnings, but significantly smaller and a more gentle shade of blue. The tree was on a large rock in the middle of a pond, an small crystal pipe pouring water constantly into it pond behind the tree also over grown showed the age of the place and how no one had set foot there in centuries.

Thomas and Dahlia just looked it over in silence as they slowly walked into the garden, Radara walking in from the far side and shaking her head a bit.

'The descendants of those who were watching over this place have chosen their own lives, as was their choice. We are the first to set foot in here in maybe three hundred years.' Radara explained as she moved to join Thomas and Dahlia who were walking up to a small carved stone arch that was somehow untouched by the vines that grew over everything else, Suicune moving to the water beside the grave.

"To Zini, the sister's whose fate we may never know." Thomas stated looking over the small arch with a golden plaque within.

"To Zini." Suicune, Dahlia, and Radara all stated at once, Radara of course using telepathy still, but spoke in time with the others.

Both Radara and Dahlia just followed along while Thomas held up the spear for the them to look at, the last true connection to Zini that any of them could think of. Suicune merely watched for now though, letting her younger kin take the lead here, knowing that this was far more then them while the others all just watched.

"May she be resting in peace, whatever her fate." Dahlia added after a moment, looking over the small stone grave, leaning down and getting on her knees in front of the grave, a hand on her sigil once more.

Radara moved up as well, and placed a paw on the grave beside Dahlia's hand, the whole thing giving off a soft golden glow now while Thomas slowly moved around behind the grave. Dahlia and Radara both poured what power they could into the grave and the crystals underneath the stone began to shine through. With the grave glowing now, Thomas carefully placed one of the spear's blade against the top of the grave and then started to push, letting the crystal take hold and grip the spear for a moment.

It took them all a minute, but then Thomas let the spear go and now it remained upright, held in place and part of the grave as well as he walked back around in front of it.

"I want a take a little time here to clean up the garden some." Dahlia stated as she slowly stood up again. With her standing up though, Xent just walked up slowly, looking over the gravestone, there a small blank golden plague on it and just a simple crystal rose resting underneath.

"I will go awaken the sanctuary a little bit. Remind it that has guests for a day." Suicune stated, turning and then walking off away from the entrance and deeper into the structure, using her vines to move some vines away.

"If I may... what kind of... sister was Zini?" Xent asked after a moment, just following along and willing to help as he set down his bag to join Dahlia as she looked over the garden and how messy it was.

"Zini was the one of the first, sister to Tavu. She was of the budew family, and often favored her time as Roselia. She was a kind but passionate girl, who often let her emotions get the better of her. Sometimes anger, but more often it was the need to be generous and help others." Dahlia explained as Sarah and Thomas both moved up to help as well when Dahlia reached down to start pulling some vines off the larger rocks.

"Zini was... tried to be the older sister we all needed. She usually caused more problems then she solved, but she helped us all learn and would try to help each of us be true to ourselves. She liked poetry and flowers." Thomas added, taking a few of the vines around the largest stone with Dahlia and using psychic like her to just carefully snap them one at time, before handing them over to Sarah and Xent. Verna also moved up to help while Zia just kept looking around along with Serenity now.

Even Rebecca started to help as well, finding a large stone barrel that she carefully looked over and then picked up slowly. It was heavy for her being made of stone still, but it would give them something to put some vines and trimmings and whatever else in to be carried off.

Radara though walked off, back into one of the side rooms while they started, looking for something else.

"You said... something about not knowing her fate?" Sarah asked.

"I do not want to talk about that here." Dahlia stated, a bit cold all of sudden, but still working to clean up some of the rocks.

"I'll... share that story later. Zini and Dahlia were close and courted the same male a few times in friendly competition. Zini's... her personal brother has to do with the creation of the knights." Thomas replied slowly.

'I have some tools here. Crystal knives, a small spade, and a few others. While their proper handles are all rotted away, we can still use some of them as small hand tools.' Radara's voice sounded a moment later.

"Well... have pretty much a full day here, so let's try to make the most of what we can." Xent stated, seeing where Radara was and moving over, pulling some of the vines away from the passage she was at and then looking over the collection of crystalline tool parts.

"Do you guys just make... well everything out of the these crystals?" He asked.

'Only what smaller things we truly need to last that doesn't need to be... flexible. When forged proper, they only need minor maintenance and the occasionally sharpening for blades and such, so we would just replace handles, grips, the occasional binding.' Radara explained.

"And they just last forever?" Xent asked pulling out a number of the very old tools.

"Something like that. Time doesn't erode them at least. As long as their essence remains intact, they stay in their general shape and won't decay." Thomas stated. "The crystals are perfect for tool tips and such, but can crack and then they will break down fast after that. Just go easy with them and they should be fine though."

"Be extra careful with those knifes. Those edges can still slice through bone." Dahlia called out, the stone pillars now starting to glow a bit more and giving them a bit more light, Suicune having woken up the structure a bit.

"Who needs knifes that good for yard work?" Sarah asked a bit confused.

"Those tools are over a thousand years old. Times have changed a lot." Dahlia merely replied.

-x-

As day passed into night, the group just kept the work to clean up the garden space some. None of them were too concerned about much more then garden itself, just following Dahlia's example for now. The vines were cut back, the flowers were given more room to bloom in full and the largest bits of grass and of course weeds were pulled while they worked.

Dahlia choose to remain in the garden as night fell Suicune resting with her beside the grave while Radara picked out a room for them to rest in. This left Thomas to make something for them to eat tonight, and with them out of ear shot of Dahlia, Xent took up Thomas's offer to explain.

"So... what's the deal Zini?" Xent finally asked since Thomas had offered to talk about it.

"Its not Zini that's the issue, its her brother." Thomas sighed loudly as he started a meal with Juno assisting him, Sarah listening in as well while Radara lead their pokemon around to a large heated room in the back where they clear up some space to sleep that night.

"Tavu and Zini were the first of our kind. They were the first twins born of our line, our personal eldest brothers and sisters. We all had our own little grouping of preferred family members and who we got along best with, but what large family doesn't and ours was perhaps a bit larger then most. Dahlia and Zini were close and like I said before, would court the same male at times, partially a game, partially to give into lust and just have a male join them." Thomas started as Juno seemed to stay quiet, already knowing this story. It didn't stop the mystery of things though.

"The two of them had similar taste in desired traits for mates and while they never admitted it, we're pretty sure that they were lovers in one life cycle. The problem is that Tavu is... Tavu is partially why we were all hunted, his actions were the excuse needed by the founder of the Knights to take up arms, and set the ideals of those who hunt me now and captured her. Tavu attacked our mother one night, during a time we can only call the Days of the Traitor. He attempted to … end the cycle of rebirth and none of us know why. He merely showed up one day at the temple where it all happened, and he was alone. It wasn't too uncommon. Sometimes one of us just want a day or two to ourselves, we want a bit more privacy then usual and none of us ever questioned it at first." Thomas continued as he kept up work on the food.

"He arrived around midday, and none of us could see the bloodshed that came that night. We were forced to kill him after he killed... he took a lot of lives during those three days." Thomas stated quietly.

"Including his own sister?" Sarah asked, but Thomas just shook his head.

"We don't know. We never found her. We spent a month trying to track her down and know where she went for a while before Tavu... changed and came to the temple that day. People said that Tavu and Zini were acting a little strange, but we could never find her. Its like she vanished a day before Tavu met up with at the Gali's Temple." Thomas explained, giving a long quiet pause, only stirring when Juno poked him with a tail to mix up the rice a bit more.

"We never found what happened to her. And that's when we discovered what we would later name Twin Sickness, and its effects on us. We could all feel the strikes of pain when each of our brothers and sisters fell during .. during Tavu's attack, but we never felt such a feeling before then. We don't know if she lived to see her life to the end of her cycle or something else happened." Thomas started.

"And... he didn't say anything? I'm sure you had a thousand questions for him the whole time. You said three days when referring to the attack, so it took that long to … well." Xent asked.

"It took us almost two full days of fighting to defeat him... and he never spoke even a whisper the whole time that I know of." Thomas replied. "Dahlia and Argyle late into the fighting, and Dahlia tried to demand as many answers as any one else, even demanding to know about Zini, but he just... never spoke."

"I understand why she doesn't want to talk about that here." Sarah stated.

"Did you ever find out what happened?" Xent asked, and Thomas just shook his head.

"None of us have any proper idea why Tavu did what he did... but Dahlia blames him heavily for the death of Zini, and the knights." Thomas said finishing the rice and then finished mixing in the seasonings.