FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Bet you didn't see that coming, did you, my lovelies? How beautiful was that, eh?

I'm so glad to be back and gently prod Fox in an interesting direction again. Why,

This return, you ask? Go away, you say? I'm afraid I can't do that my lovelies.

Could you imagine how poor Fox felt when someone decided to "complain" over

Horribly stupid things? So, in honor of this momentous occasion...

I'm Back,

X

P.S. There may or may not be a hidden message in there for you~

Fox: Yet another turn for the interesting. Fair warning, heavy stuff ahoy. Didn't want to risk spoiling by tagging stuff.

Chapter 35: Instigation

While we were flying, I kept mostly to myself. I didn't feel like shouting into the wind to talk to Joy at the moment. She looked a little preoccupied from my point of view. It looked like she was thinking of something, so it was convenient for me overall. What did Lance expect to find in this Cave of Origin? I've heard of the name before, but obviously I've never been there. My parents have mentioned it in passing before, scoffing at the suggestion that all life began there. My parents would think that the person was an idiot at best or damn retarded at worst.

I've looked into it myself, both using whatever research my parents have done of the place and what others have reported in books or to my parents in private. There's a lot of conflicting information to say the least. From interviews that people have done, personal notes of individuals that have gone inside the Cave of Origin, and pictures taken, there seems to be some kind of crystal formation at the bottom level of the cave itself. No one knows what purpose it serves. It has random behavior, like it begins to glow when someone is near but then it stops altogether after a few minutes. The formation itself seems to look important as there are some kind of pillars that still stand around it. At least they were present at the time the pictures were taken. The pictures are older than I am, so it's information that I can't trust completely. Who knows who's gone in there in the meantime, or what could have happened naturally.

Or unnaturally as the case may be.

I could feel Joy move as she adjusted her position. Our eyes met for a moment as she looked towards me. She smiled as she put both of her hands on mine, gripping mine tightly. It was a reassuring gesture and I smiled back at her. She didn't say anything but the look on her face told me she was worried about me. I shook my head, forcing a smile. She didn't look convinced but she turned around to focus on flying. Water was everything we could see from where we were. Ahead of us, the two Dragonites were flying close together almost vying for lead position. I wasn't sure why to be honest. Maybe both had a competitive nature at seeing another of their species. I wasn't sure, but at least it seemed playful and not aggressive. The last thing I wanted to see at the moment were some kind of energy beam being shot or deflected in our direction.

But something still bothered me. I felt like there were still missing parts of the puzzle, or at least to the individuals in this fight. How long has this been going on between Giratina and the ones opposed to him? Have any other legendary Pokémon stood up to him other than Suicune? Moltres technically did, but was that the representation of their entire species? Do they all stand against Giratina, or was that just some fluke?

There's a lot of questions but the answers elude me like a peaceful sleep. I still have no damn clue what in the world this stupid feather is for either. As if on cue, a warmth spread from my pants where it currently was being kept. I managed to pry my arm out of Joy's grip to touch the pocket where the feather was. It pulsed a gentle warmth through the denim of my jeans, almost like a heartbeat beating against my skin. It was a weird feeling but it didn't really bother me as much as my worries about our situation.

Hopefully something will get explained when we arrive at Sootopolis City. Lance hasn't really given us a lot of information. At least, not as much as Cynthia claimed he did. I'm not actually sure what I expected to find. All I want to do is end this nonsense in a way that no one had to get hurt. Was that really so bad?

The feather in my pocket pulsed, growing warmer. It wasn't uncomfortable but it let me know it was there. I touched it gently as if letting it know I could feel it. It didn't stop the pulsing so I brought my hand back to Joy's waist. Holding her tightly, I pressed my cheek against her back. Closing my eyes, I did my best to stop my nervousness from mounting.

Always with caves. Why does it have to be a cave?

=====================/////////////////////////////////==================

Sootopolis looked very elaborate from the sky. Joy pointed out over the wind that it was a giant volcano that formed over time but became inactive after breaking the oceans surface. I thought it was pretty convenient after everything was said and done. I told her so and she smirked at me.

"Smartass!" she shouted over the rushing wind around us.

I grinned but left it at that. Zefyra roared loudly as we dove downwards recklessly. My heart skipped a beat and I felt momentarily weightless as we headed towards the ground. The ground rushed up to us, and all I could do was keep my calm about me. I don't think that Spirit likes to do this kind of stuff while Zefyra enjoyed the adrenaline rush. Zefyra's wings opened wide, our speed slowing considerably as we reached the edge of the mountains and the tops of the highest buildings. Now that we weren't diving straight down I could finally take a good look at the city.

There was a large building that looked like some kind of watch post. Maybe there was another way for ships to come in? That would make sense. While flying is a pretty common way of transportation, it was a pretty inconvenient way to get in goods and products in large quantities. Judging by the size and amount of buildings, it was a good guess that there's a sizable population. It doesn't look industrialized, or at least the pollution output is minimized or negated somehow. There are quite a number of wind turbines on each cardinal point. I'd imagine that the winds out here can get pretty intense if they have so many to generate electricity.

Where we were headed didn't look too populated. The homes and buildings began to thin out long before we reached the northern part of the city. There was a path paved out, but no obvious dwellings anywhere nearby. Unfortunately there wasn't much in the way of greenery either. As we hovered over, I noticed that there were mostly stone posts and walkways decorated with some kind of ivy or something growing over them. Nothing natural was growing from the ground though. It looked like the plants were being sustained from the posts themselves.

When Zefyra landed on the ground we got off to let the dragon stretch her necks. Jon landed alongside us a moment later. He shook his head, stopping me from asking what was on my mind.

"Lance will land in a minute." he said. "He wants to check out something."

"Is something wrong?" I asked. It was what I wanted to ask anyway.

"He mentioned that someone is missing." he said, frowning.

"Well, shouldn't we be helping?" I asked.

A gust of wind stopped any further questions as Lance landed next to us. Jumping off his Dragonite, he looked angry for some reason.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Yes, there's something wrong. The old man that guards the Cave of Origin isn't here."

"Why would there be someone standing guard?" I asked. "That sounds a bit silly, unless it's dangerous."

"The people of Sootopolis have a taboo of going inside the Cave of Origin. No one that's native born is allowed inside."

"That sounds really dumb," I said.

"It's where both Groudon and Kyogre reign," he said.

"And why in the fucking hell are we going in there?!" I exclaimed. "Shouldn't you have mentioned this sooner?"

"They might not be there." he said with a shrug. "This could be our only chance."

"You're playing with my life on a maybe?" I demanded. "Are you out of your damn mind?!"

He stared at me as if I was crazy or something. "We'll be here to protect you. Besides, while they might not get along, they have a standing truce."

"How do you know that?"

"Noticed that there hasn't been any widespread drought or rain?" he pointed out. "If Groudon or Kyogre were rampaging or fighting, this city wouldn't be here."

"That's still kinda far fetched." I growled. "Do we know on which side they are on? What's to stop them from attacking us because we're trespassing?"

"They wont." Lance said.

"You don't know that." I snarled. "Fuck this plan. I don't know what I'll do, but it isn't going inside that cave! That's suicide!"

"You'll be safe." he said again.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You're not budging from this are you."

"I honestly believe that whatever answers you seek will be inside the Cave of Origin. Legendary Pokémon or not. And I do believe that you will be safe from harm while inside."

The urge to sock Lance in the face was overwhelming. Joy grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back before I did something.

"It's probably for the best if we did this tomorrow, or thought it out more thoroughly." she said, stepping in front of me. "Let's get a plan ready and talk about it in the morning, alright?"

By Arceus I wanted to punch that dumbass in the gut. What didn't sink in when we told him earlier that there's been numerous times that some Pokémon has tried to kill me or anyone nearby? I didn't talk, only allowing Joy to take the lead when she grabbed my shoulders and pushed me to where she wanted me to go. Obviously Lance thought that I would have absolutely no problems in the possibility of walking into a death trap. Either that, or he feels that we can take on whatever is in there if they were hostile.

My feet moved for the only reason to avoid falling face first against the stone under me. I wasn't paying any attention to where we were headed. Maybe to the Pokémon Center? This place didn't seem to have any place like a park from up above. Maybe Joy knew of somewhere? She wasn't very talkative, and Zefyra followed us mutely. At least I inferred that she was following since Joy didn't recall her back.

The lack of trees bothered me so much. It was just rock, stone pavement, and buildings. How did anyone really live here without trees? Ivy hanging from a few posts here and there doesn't count. It looked like something completely devoid of natural life. Other than humans walking about with their Pokémon next to them. What got my attention now that I wasn't flying over the city was the smell of salt and water. It made me feel uncomfortable.

"Something wrong?" Joy asked.

"No." I lied. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere so that Lance won't talk to you for the rest of the day." she said decisively.

I took a deep breath before releasing it. "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it." she said, patting my back with both hands. "Zefyra looked like she was about to bite him to pieces, so it was for the best anyway."

A low growl came from behind, confirming that the Hydreigon was behind us. I pushed the image of Lance being bitten in half out of my mind. "What's up with this city?" I asked. "I mean, there aren't any trees around."

"Volcanic soil is too much for most plants around here." she said. "Also, the ground is extremely hot. I wouldn't recommend actually leaving the city itself unless you're flying. There aren't many paved areas outside of the main city. Though there are the crazy people that parachute off the high cliffs for the thrill of it."

"People are insane." I muttered.

Joy laughed. "Takes one to know one." she said.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked again.

"Don't worry about it."

"I can walk by myself without you pushing me."

"But this is fun!" she said with a laugh. "Alright, just follow me."

We lapsed into a comfortable silence as we continued walking. She took the lead, walking in front of me. Joy didn't let go completely, grabbing hold of my hand and holding on tightly. One of Zefyra's heads rested on my shoulder. I couldn't tell which one from my peripheral vision but I didn't let it bother me. It was a bit surprising that she was so trusting, especially given that she was hostile towards me the first few times. Maybe she's beginning to trust me a bit more. Even though she said to follow her, I didn't have much choice in the matter.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if it was due to whatever part of Arceus was inside of me. If that was what it was, anyway. Part of me was still a bit skeptical about that whole idea that there's a piece of a god in me. It made sense, especially after hearing Mist confirm it, but it's still a bit too much to swallow. The evidence has been piling up quickly in favor of that outcome. I just wanted this whole stupid thing to stop already.

"Are you alright?" Joy asked.

I shook my head. "Just hoping this whole nonsense stops soon." I answered. "I'm getting tired of feeling like everything will happen if we drop our guard."

"Like what?"

"Like we'll get attacked or something." I elaborated.

"With the way you snore?" she chided, poking a finger against my chest. "You don't seem like you worry about it."

I snore? "I don't try to show it just because I know everyone would just get bent out of shape worrying." I elaborated. "Have you seen how... nevermind, that's a rhetorical question."

"What?"

"I was about to ask if you've seen how attached my Pokémon are to me."

The grin that creeped on her face was a bit amusing. Pressing on, I continued. "Well, I didn't really feel like handling that side of drama. Though it doesn't seem to matter since, for the most part, things have calmed down between everyone."

"Everyone's in agreement?" Joy asked.

"For now, anyway." I answered with a shrug. "Anyway, nobody really needs Zin demanding explanations from everyone. Especially when we consider the fact that she feels entitled to know everything that happens."

"She seems really attached to you." Joy noted.

I shifted my eyes around to see if there was anyone near us. With only Zefyra as our witness, I nodded. "She really is." I agreed. "But I know for a fact that if she knew what we were doing, she'd say something. What exactly I'd rather not know. She seems to favor the 'jump first and ask questions maybe afterwards' mentality, but I don't think she'll like the fact that I'm going to be knowingly put myself in danger. Especially around two Pokémon that may be involved in this whole power struggle going on."

"We don't know if they're directly involved." Joy cautioned. "They may be against both sides."

"That's true, we don't really know. But still, not knowing doesn't really excuse us from not looking at all our options."

"What do you suggest then?" she asked. "Seriously."

"We can look at pictures and records that others have taken from the Cave of Origin. I know they exist, even if my parents have some of the copies. At least that will keep us outside of potential encounters."

Joy nodded. "Sounds like a plan to me." she said, nodding. "The problem is how could we get that information? It would take at least a few days or weeks for your parents to send you whatever books or whatever it is that you're looking for."

"We can just call them." I said with a shrug. "They might find it weird, but I can say that I don't particularly want to go inside the Cave of Origin. They might insist either way, but that's what I was thinking. Also, I'm pretty sure that a city of this size has to have some kind of library. I mean, this looks like some kind of major hub."

"Well, technically the League isn't far away from Sootopolis." Joy mused. "We could go there if worse comes to worse."

I shook my head. "Worse situation would actually be stepping inside the Cave of Origin and having both Kyogre and Groudon working against me."

"That sounds grim as fuck."

"Yeah, it really does."

"Then stop fucking thinking about it!"

"Too late." I said with a grin.

Her grip tightened slightly, but not enough to be painful, though I just rolled with the punch so to speak. "What about you?" I asked. "We still don't look like we have a destination in mind."

"Making sure that Lance isn't following us, mainly." she said.

"Zefyra stands out a bit." I pointed out. I heard a huff from my side. My arm rubbed her scaled hide in an attempt to keep her from roaring. "No offense, but you're quite unique."

The Hydreigon seemed satisfied with my statement. "Yeah, that's true, but I'm hoping that Jon took the hint and keeps him busy with something." Joy said with a shrug. "In the meantime, we can figure out what to do ourselves and come back tomorrow with a plan."

"You still want to go down there, don't you."

She nodded. "Yeah. This isn't the first time people have gone down there to investigate the ruins. You've said so yourself, too. None have been injured while the two are down there you know."

"You seem to forget that I'm not just anyone." I said, tapping my chest to emphasize my point. "And if they were there in the first place. No one has bothered to mention that in any of the reports my parents received."

"So you're worried about a maybe." she said.

"This 'maybe' might get us in a fight with two Pokémon."

"You don't know that." she hissed. "What if both of them don't give a shit about this fight? What if both are willing to help us?"

"I feel like the odds are pretty slim." I said. "While it's true that it might work out the way you say, we have no idea if that's going to be the case."

"Not knowing it was dangerous never seemed to stop you from doing something a little stupid." Joy pointed out. "And this time, you won't be alone either."

"This is true." I said. "I just don't know right now. It feels like a huge risk."

"Because you going alone and getting jumped by Cresselia was a good idea."

"I had no clue that there would be someone jumping me from out of the blue." I countered. "Here we're knowingly going where two Pokémon are and willingly going inside."

"I still think that you're freaking out about this a little too much." she said, frowning. "I'm pretty sure that between all of us we can keep you safe."

I sighed, but she continued. "Besides, where else could we go? Do you know anywhere else to get more information?"

She did have a point. We didn't have any information to go on, and no one's approached us to illuminate our situation. Neither any of the Darkrai or Suicune has said much recently that would help me solve this mystery. Unless we found out something, and soon, I didn't have anything else to say about refusing to go into the Cave of Origin.

I almost ran into Joy when she stopped moving. One of Zefyra's heads stopped me from bumping into Joy's back. Patting the dragon's neck, I looked up to see that we stopped in front of a large building. The letters above the entrance claimed that it was the Sootopolis City Library.

"Why are we here?" I asked.

"To see what other places we could go than the Cave of Origin." Joy explained. "If there's anywhere else to go, we might find it here. At least, that's what I hope. If not, we might not have a choice."

I nodded, a sense of dread flowing through me. "Well, we might as well go in and see what we can find."

=====================/////////////////////////======================

With some help from Song, Mist, and Zefyra, We managed to isolate ourselves from everyone inside the archeological section. I was pretty surprised that they had a section dedicated to just archeology, but they also seemed to have one for paintings as well. Though it was probably lumping it with an art section, but the archaeological side wasn't lumped up with anything else.

"Found anything yet?" Joy asked.

"Unless you count some ruins in route one-hundred one." I said, closing the book in my hands. "But that's in the middle of the desert and I'm not sure how we would go through that."

Joy cringed. "We would have to get some Go-Goggles for that. Those things aren't cheap, either."

I shrugged. "It's the only place with alleged Unown writing. It's theorized that there's a connection, but no books make a reference to it other than this one."

"How many have you gone through?" Joy asked.

Song took my book and put it on the pile. "Twenty so far." I sighed. "You?"

"Just about as much as you have, and I haven't found anything else either. I had Mist pull someone to help us, but they weren't much help unfortunately."

"Have you found anything on the Cave of Origin? None of the books I've read mention it."

"Remember that it's a pretty controversial subject here." Joy reminded me. "But no, I haven't found any either."

"Master." Mist called. "I do not think that you should be too careful."

I raised an eyebrow at the ghost. "Why do you say that?" I asked.

She lifted one of the books we put away a few moments ago. After opening it to a specific page, she passed it to me and pointed to a specific paragraph. I looked at it again, trying to see what Mist wanted me to see.

"The guardians of Earth and Sea have settled their disputes." I read aloud. "Binding them together towards a common cause, the guardian of the Sky brought the three into a truce to last the ages."

"That would make sense." Joy said, nodding to herself. "There's been a lot of talk that Rayquaza made the entire Hoenn area much more stable due to Groudon and Kyogre fighting constantly."

"What made them fight in the first place?" I asked. "Does anyone know that?"

Joy shrugged, shaking her head. Song raised her hand. "If I may, Master?"

I nodded, waving my hand to her. "Please."

"There was someone that mentioned this in passing while I was training in the monastery, Master. I only overheard part of their conversation but they mentioned that there was some incident that two organizations stole the two orbs that would allow control of the guardians. I think that perhaps since that incident has been resolved both Groudon and Kyogre have been able to work out some sort of agreement."

I shrugged. "Guess it makes sense." I grumbled. "Still though..."

"Can you please stop being a complete pussy?" Joy growled out, raising her voice. "I know you're scared. We get it. I'm scared shitless, too. We all have pretty damn good reasons NOT to go in there, but need I remind you that YOU'RE the one that wanted answers!"

A librarian came from around the corner behind Joy and glared at us. He raised a finger to his lips, shushing us softly. Joy gave him the one finger salute without any hesitation. He stormed away from us quickly. Joy shrugged, not physically caring that she just flipped off someone that worked here.

"Let's just go." I said while standing up. "I don't want to get into trouble today."

Nobody argued against my wish. Thank Arceus for small miracles. Everyone stayed close to me as we left the library. I was surprised at the time had flown by so quickly. While I knew that sometimes time went quickly when you didn't pay attention, it being night time was a little ridiculous. Then again, neither of us wondered what time it was while we researched more information about Kyogre and Groudon.

"Now what?" Joy asked. "What are you going to do?"

"Sleep." I said, frowning.

"And tomorrow?" she asked, sounding impatient. "What about the Cave of Origin? Are you going or not?"

"We'll go. Together." I said, nodding. "Whatever happens, we'll kick ass and chew bubblegum."

Joy groaned. "Never say that, alright? That was a horrible attempt at a joke and I'll kick you in the balls if you try again today."

======================/////////////////////=======================

"So, what are we doing today?" Lance asked.

We were walking towards the Cave of Origin together. I felt short of breath just by walking. A sense of dread filled me, hovering over my thoughts. I sincerely hoped that Lance and Jon were still backing me up on this.

"We're going to the Cave of Origin." I said after a moment. "I feel that you guys are right. I trust you."

Lance chuckled. "About time. You owe me ten, Jon."

"Yeah yeah, don't rub it in." Jon said. He leaned over to me and whispered in my ear. "Don't tell Baast. I won't stop hearing it from her that I bet against you."

I grinned but shook my head. "Maybe." I said with a shrug. "Depends if we get out alive."

"I still don't understand why you think that we'll be attacked by Groudon or Kyogre in here." Lance said.

"I don't know exactly who to trust." I said, frowning. "There's a lot of lines, and I'm not sure where we stand at the moment. Suicune so far is working towards helping us, but who can tell if her opinion will change? The same thing could be said about the Darkrai. Originally they were working against us because of Giratina, but now that Giratina is all but helping us, the Darkrai aren't hostile. That doesn't clear up why Cresselia attacked me that one time, and that a Moltres showed up to help me."

As we reached the entrance of the Cave of Origin, I stopped to take a deep breath. "I'm not sure how all these Pokémon are working together or against each other. All of our encounters, except one, weren't planned willingly by us."

"You'd rather not know that you're going into Kyogre's and Groudon's home." Lance said.

"If you hadn't told me, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have freaked out yesterday."

"I'll stay quiet from now on." he said with a grin.

"Just don't talk unless it's ridiculously important." I said, shaking my head. "Like, for example, if a boulder is headed my way."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"So, we're all ready?" Joy asked, grabbing my shoulder tightly.

I nodded. "Let's go."

Lance pulled out one of his Pokéballs, the flash revealing a gigantic red lizard with large wings on its back. Its tail tip glowed brightly due to the fire burning out of it. The Charizard didn't roar, but snorted a puff of flame. It didn't seem that hostile, though it gave us a leer that sent a shiver down my spine. The Charizard walked along with Lance without any vocal complaints. The fire on its tail grew bright as they lead the way down into the Cave of Origin.

Jon sighed, pulling one of his Pokéballs from his waist. When the flash of the Pokéball, his Sceptile, Fern, stood next to him for a moment. The flickering light from Lance's Charizard made her blue skin look strange in my eyes. Joy pulled me against her suddenly. I wasn't sure what was going on until I could feel Zefyra's heads pulling me off my feet.

"You don't have to carry me all the time, Zefyra." I said. The three headed dragon ignored me, causing Joy to laugh. Her laughter sounded extremely close. Looking to my left, we almost bumped our heads together.

"She has a way with people." Joy said. "You should know that by now."

I guess so. "Mist?" I called.

"Yes Master?"

"Just making sure that you were with us is all." I said.

"Everyone is rested and ready to fight should they be called." Mist said, trying to keep me calm.

I patted my chest in response, feeling a warmth that kept me confident in my friends around me. No one spoke as we marched downwards into the Cave of Origin. None of the books explained what was actually down here. It was a little creepy to actually see crude sketches of what possibly could be Pokémon on the walls. There were no odd stairs leading downward, just a natural slope leading deeper into the earth. The light behind us grew dimmer with each step we took. Lance's Charizard made his tail glow brighter as the darkness began to take dim our vision. I could feel my heart beating faster the deeper we went. When I rubbed my palms together, they were soaked in sweat.

The incline finally stopped, the tunnel opening into a large cavern. Lance passed out some flashlights to Jon, which then Jon passed to me and Joy. what their light showed wasn't encouraging me to continue. Ruins of buildings lay scattered about appeared by the light of the flashlights. Was this similar to what we found inside the Cerulean Cave? I frowned, trying to memorize all that we could see. Most of the material on the ground was wood, in varying states of decomposition. It looked like it hasn't been tampered with for the most part. I couldn't say for sure, since we know for a fact that people have been down here before. We also can't rule out that Pokémon haven't been down here either. Which ones is a good question, if that idea is correct in the first place.

"What is this?" Jon asked.

"Could be that Sootopolis censored the notes of the scientists that came in here." Lance said with a shrug. "Wouldn't be the first time it's happened."

I looked over to Lance. "The Sootopolis policy is that nothing really leaves this place. Pictures are destroyed and notes are censored. At least, that's what Wallace says."

"Why? That doesn't really make any sense." I said.

"Mostly just to keep people from coming here in the first place." Lance said, stepping in front of his Charizard. "Unless there's something more that we don't know."

"There's always something more than what we know." I said with a frown. "Obviously someone doesn't want anyone to know about this. Why would they stop that information from coming out if they wouldn't benefit from it?"

We moved slowly, inspecting the ruins that we could safely go through without risking it collapsing or possibly becoming injured. To be honest, it was enough to just look at them. Zefyra didn't approach any of the ruins, only following Joy close enough to help her if there was any danger. Jon and Lance stayed close to each other as we continued to find a way deeper into the caves.

"Let's try to go towards that wall." Lance said, pointing with his flashlight. "Getting lost in these ruins isn't the best idea."

No shit. "Alright." I called. Zefyra stopped and lowered herself so Joy could climb on.

We grouped up soon after and began moving with Lance and his Charizard in the lead. Things only became weirder the further we went inside the cave. Joy whispered something to Zefyra and one of the heads nodded. We slowed down, Joy reaching towards me to help me down. The dragon began to beat her wings, leaving the ground with ease under her. We continued on with Zefyra's gaze above us. It helped ease some of the fear that I felt at the very least. It was odd that there weren't any wild Pokémon. Is this going to be like the Cerulean Cave?

"Is it normal not to find any wild Pokémon here?" I asked. My voice echoed in the silent cave.

"I've heard that there are some wild Pokémon that hide here." Lance said. "I haven't been here myself. That's all I know."

I worried about the dragon being by herself, but Joy hit me on the shoulder. "Don't worry about Zefyra. She can take care of herself."

Even with her reassurance, it didn't settle well that she would be alone up there. I called on Mist, silently asking her to keep an eye out for her if she was able to.

"Of course, Master." she responded. "Though I was already keeping an eye above us."

I assured her that it was welcomed. Though now I felt a little better knowing that Zefyra won't be completely alone. Lance threw a glance in my direction but didn't seem all that concerned. It probably was to make sure we were actually there and not gotten lost. The thought that he actually cared didn't really cross my mind before. Maybe he did but I had a lot of doubts.

"Is it me or is it getting hotter?" Joy asked.

"At least I'm not the only crazy one." Jon muttered. "What about you, Aaron?"

I shook my head. "I don't feel anything."

"That would be because I am helping your body deal with the excess heat, Master." Mist whispered in my mind.

Can she do that? The ghost's laughter surrounded me. "It's not as difficult as you humans try to understand it. Just understand that I am aiding your own biological functions."

So she's literally a part of me when she resides in me. A good thing to keep in mind from now on. I'm not entirely sure what is the scope of a ghosts powers. There weren't a lot of books on the subject of ghosts, and even less of trainers allowing ghost Pokémon inside of them. Maybe I should end up writing this down for future study. Mist laughed.

"Perhaps. Though right now you should pay more attention to what is happening. You are walking down another tunnel and you are not looking."

I focused back to my immediate surroundings, and the first thing I feel is Joy holding me. She rolled her eyes, looking a bit worried.

"You alright?" she asked. "You zoned out for a while there."

I blinked, my vision hazy. My eyes stung from something. Did something land in my eye? Joy's hands stopped my squirming around, grabbing my head. I felt her blowing into one of my eyes, then the other. She inspected my eyes thoroughly, making sure that things were to her satisfaction.

"Why would it be getting hotter?" I asked aloud. "If anything, it would be cooler than outside."

"Not this cave." Lance said. "This is the place where lava and ocean meet. It's the only place that Groudon would appear."

We continued forward, the ruins from earlier becoming more and more frequent. There were times when even Zefyra had to join us on the ground so as to keep her vigil. Ruins of buildings and forgotten things lay abandoned all around us. I imagine that any explorer worth his or her salt could figure out what exactly happened here, or at least find clues. Me, on the other hand, had no idea what could have happened. A fire, perhaps? There was obvious evidence that fires broke out through parts that we passed through. Bones that crumbled to dust at the slightest touch, the burned stone, and the smell of burnt wood permeated the air. Could this have been a city devoted to the rulers of land and ocean? If so, what happened here so many years ago? Did Kyogre intervene? There didn't seem... to be... oh.

"Well, fuck." Joy said.

There wasn't a stone floor ahead of us anymore. Somehow, there was an ocean ahead, the ground cut unevenly in front of us. Judging from the tops of the buildings that broke the water's surface, it was pretty deep water as well. Lance kicked a rock into the water, the shine from our flashlights making it a little hard to see how long it floated downwards.

"Yeah, that shit is really fucking deep." Joy said.

I don't think I saw the rock actually settle to the bottom. It just looked like the rock kept falling through the water. Just how big were the buildings? Or are.... since some of them are still standing with their roofs unflooded. Somehow thinking that these buildings were sound was a really bad idea. The water was clear enough to see that rubble was everywhere. These buildings might fall at any moment. Though how they haven't up to now is a really good question.

"What now?" I asked.

"We swim." Lance said. "All this water comes from somewhere."

"If we have to go underwater, I'm going to have a really bad time." I said, frowning.

"Why?"

"I can't swim." I said. "Also, we don't know about finding air pockets in any deeper parts of the cave. If this part is flooded like this, what makes you think that going underwater will find us points to breathe?"

"Mist and Gem should be able to explore them without much problems." Jon suggested.

Something cold pushed outward through my chest as Mist left my body. As her face reformed to normal, her eyes studied me intensely. It looked like she wanted to say something, but I already had a good idea what it was.

"Well?" she asked Jon. "We do not have forever to wait for you. You will die eventually."

He frowned, but released Gem. The Sableye looked confused for a moment before turning towards Mist. The two seemed to communicate silently as we looked at them. Without any warning, they both moved together towards the water. While Mist didn't have to worry about positioning, she stayed nearby Gem as the other ghost jumped on floating debris to keep up. Both ghosts were hard to see, almost disappearing into the distance and in between rooftops.

"What now?"

"We wait." Jon said. "Hopefully they can find something."

"There's probably a cave or something that's feeding the water here." I said, frowning. "Or maybe somewhere that there's water flowing? I find it really hard to believe that this just appeared out of thin air."

"You would be surprised." Lance said.

Joy snapped her fingers, pulling out a Pokéball and summoned her Kingdra. Her Pokémon looked confused for a moment, spinning around in a circle in the water as she took in her surroundings.

"Calliope, I want you to check if there's a cave underwater." Joy instructed.

I pulled on my belt for Xola's Pokéball and released the Milotic. She didn't complain, enjoying the water next to the Kingdra. Calliope's eyes narrowed, but when I repeated Joy's orders and to follow her she eased up. It looks like the Kingdra is a bit competitive. They both dove underwater, leaving ripples on the surface in their wake.

Lance sat down on the ground with a sigh. "Looks like it's just our luck to wait." he said.

"Have you ever been inside here Lance?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Like I said before, no, but this wasn't like this. At least, not from my understanding." he said with a frown. "Though this doesn't look that new either. Maybe it's been like this since the last group of researchers came in."

I nodded. "This sucks. I really don't want to swim. At least it's been quiet."

Jon nodded. "No wild Gravelers to break your arm this time."

"Yeah, not looking forward to swimming either."

"I know." he said with a frown. "Still, we might have to. You think they've found something?"

"Who?"

"Any of them. They seem to be taking their time."

"Maybe they're trying to figure out something?" I asked. "Mist could have gotten distracted."

"That doesn't explain Calliope, though." Joy said. "She's extremely focused on a task."

"Explain to me something." Lance said suddenly. "Can any of you explain why there aren't any wild Pokémon here?"

"That's been bothering me for a while." I said. "It was like this in the Cerulean Cave as well."

"Like what?" Lance asked.

"Abandoned. It didn't look this advanced though. There weren't any buildings like in here. Also there were these odd crystals that seemed to grow out of the ground and react to our presence."

Lance stood up suddenly, his face looking like he wanted to rip something to pieces. His Charizard reacted with his trainer, growling deeply as the giant Pokémon stood next to him. I backed up from him, bumping into something large. Jon's Sceptile held onto my shoulders, making sure I didn't fall into the water.

"Crystals? Explain." Lance demanded.

I frowned. "I don't know, they glowed purple and seemed to shine with some kind of inner light. They looked like the crystal formations inside the Ice Path, except they weren't everywhere. Also, they exploded. I think I still have a bump on my head from where I got hit."

"What happened before." Lance demanded.

I was honestly starting to get worried. "There was some Unown text at the end of the cave. Crudely written. The part that Misty said to me was fine, but the rest of it was jumbled up. Either on purpose or by accident I have no idea. Within a few minutes of us reaching the end of the cave the crystals started blowing up and stuff."

"Is that why you say that you were attacked?"

"I don't think my imagination would make up a Pokémon just to fuck with me and everyone that fought it. Nevermind the Moltres that showed up to save my ass." I pointed out.

Mist and Gem appeared suddenly before Lance could say anything. I blinked, making sure that it wasn't some trick of the Charizard's tail that made me see what I saw. Mist floated up to me and frowned while shaking her head. Before she said anything, water splashed upwards as both Calliope and Xola both returning safely. They looked ragged as Joy recalled her Kingdra and Xola pulled herself out of the water.

"What happened?" I asked.

"The currents are too strong." she said with a frown. "I don't think that swimming is the best idea."

"I am in agreement with Xola, Master." Mist said. "All the caverns we found are flooded with either water or lava. The currents from either fluid are not suitable for travel. Not that I suggest we go through lava. I do not think that your bodies are suitable for such travel."

Gem nodded, motioning towards Mist. Jon shrugged while Joy looked confused. "What do we do now?" she asked.

"Is there any other way through or around to get deeper?" I asked Mist.

She nodded. "I only mentioned the things that were underwater. There is one cavern that is not flooded, but we would have to go through the far wall to reach it."

"Any suggestions?."

Lance shrugged, but grabbed onto his Charizard's back. "Where is it?" he asked.

Mist looked towards me, and I shrugged. "Follow me." she said, floating over the water towards the wall. Lance's Charizard took off, quickly following Mist towards wherever she headed.

"Should we go with him?" I asked.

Joy shrugged. "I highly doubt that anything can stop that dude." she said. "Zefyra can reach him if he needs help. Besides, we can see him from here."

I followed her gaze. It was pretty easy to spot them since all we have to look for was a wagging tail on fire. I shook my head, looking towards Xola. She was breathing hard, but she didn't look injured. Kneeling down next to her, Xola smiled at me as her head rested on my shoulder. My hands rested on her head, rubbing her scales gently as she finally started to relax.

"Did you see anything?" I asked.

"I think so." she whispered. "Something big in the water."

"Was it a Pokémon?"

"If it is, it's really big." she responded.

"How big?" Jon asked, his voice wavering.

"Big enough to shadow over me and Calliope." Xola answered. "Really big."

A splash got us to look over towards Lance. Where once there was a solid wall a large hole as tall as Lance's Charizard was tall stood.

"Did Mist say that it was occupied?" I asked, standing up slowly.

"What?"

"The cavern that she was talking about."

"Oh, no. I don't think she mentioned anything about it being occupied." Jon said. "Why?"

"I think we're in some deep shit then." I answered, pointing towards Lance.

"Why do you...?"

That's as far as Jon got to say. A deluge of water bursted forward, quickly rising the water level to go over my shoes. That didn't bother me that much. What really got my attention was the gigantic white eye staring at us through the hole.

"Aaron, you better climb on." Joy said, grabbing my arm and pulling me towards her. Zefyra lowered herself as Joy reached out for me from the dragons back. I recalled Xola before Zefyra got too high up in the air. Securing the Pokéball on my waist, I saw Jon on top of his Dragonite coming to our altitude.

"Where's Lance?" he yelled. I shrugged in response.

"That's not normal." Joy said.

"What isn't?"

"Look at the water! It's still rising."

"Well, yeah."

"You're not noticing how it ISN'T flooding everything else."

I blinked, taking a better look to see what she meant. That's when I noticed how a wall of water was still rising but not flooding the rest of the cavern. The water level was rising extremely quickly, so it wasn't too long before the water actually reached the cave roof and blocked all the view of anything past it. Where was Lance? Did he escape?

Something was distorting the water, but I couldn't see exactly what. What really got my attention was the growing shadow that slowly approached us. Whatever was distorting the water in front of the shadow burst out of the water. Orange in color, Lance's Dragonite aligned itself upright with him safely sitting on its back. A wave of relief washed over me knowing that he was safe at the very least.

"Lance!" Joy yelled out. "You alive?"

He raised his hand up. He coughed loudly, catching his breath. "You better get ready." he said loudly.

"For what?"

"Kyogre."

I looked dumbly at Lance's direction before looking towards Joy. Zefyra was slowly backing away from the wall of water that stood ahead of us. The shadow in the water still approached, and it was becoming a little easier to see some of its features. Two large wing looking things stood out the most, other than the massive size of the creature itself. A red glow began to appear from the front of the shadow, illuminating the thing hiding in the water. The shadows themselves didn't hide much of the creatures size, that much I could say for sure. Especially when the red light reached the two wings and began to glow brightly.

The wall of water began to come down. How it wasn't just falling everywhere was anyone's guess by this point. What sounded like a yawn echoed all around us. The air itself shook with the sound, as if something just woke up. When the water retracted to its original level, what was in front of us wasn't a regular Pokémon. It's skin was blue, and it was ridiculously huge. The face was separated by the red line we saw earlier except now it pulsed almost like a heartbeat. The lower part of the body that we could see as it moved about was white. A long tail splashed behind the Pokémon, though it wasn't just one solid mass like how it was on other Pokémon. Instead, it was split into four parts, two on each half of the body.

It's mouth opened and I covered my ears, expecting some sort of high pitched sound. Sharp teeth lined the Pokémon's mouth. Seeing how Joy wasn't mimicking my precaution, I lowered my arms from my ears. A soft chuckling reached me. Joy looked back at me with a grin before motioning to land. The dragon seemed reluctant to follow the order, but did so as requested. As we approached the cave floor, how large Kyogre stood in front of us dawned on me. The Pokémon was easily twice my size, never mind how wide it was.

Lance and Jon made their way towards us, both of their Dragonites standing behind their respective trainer. Any hint of rivalry they may have had was suppressed for the moment. I guess having a legendary Pokémon in front of them put things in perspective.

Nobody said anything, but the silence was a welcome pace than what usually happened when running into a Pokémon like this. At least Kyogre wasn't attacking us. We weren't in the best of positions to defend ourselves if that was the case. I felt something tug on my left arm. Looking over, Joy was giving me a look that I should say something. Especially when she pointed her thumb at Kyogre.

I scratched my throat and took a deep breath. I took another one to buy myself some time. I didn't even know what to ask.

"It seems that Suicune was correct after all."

I backed away from the giant Pokémon and bumping into Zefyra. The voice matched the chuckle from earlier. It was a soft tone that could easily match what a trickle of water would make.

"So, what brings you here little one?" Kyogre asked softly.

Taking another breath to sort out my thoughts, I shook my head to clear out my nervousness. It wasn't working. "I want to know what's going on. What's with everyone wanting me dead or alive?"

Kyogre didn't answer immediately. I'm pretty sure this was an obvious question, especially knowing that Suicune has mentioned me already to Kyogre. "Well, I can't say that wasn't expected." Kyogre said with a splash of its tail. "You very well know why."

"That's great and all, but what's going on? Do you know what happened? Why Arceus-?"

"Died?"

I stopped, my question dying on my tongue. That wasn't exactly how I wanted to put it and I said so. Kyogre laughed softly, water splashing about around the Pokémon. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all.

"Unlike some other Pokémon that have ascended to become what you humans refer to as 'legendary', there are a few of us that only one was created. Why, I'm not sure. Perhaps it's to keep our guardianship sacred. Only Arceus would know the answer to that.

"We were there, though, when that happened. We were foolish, all of us. We all paid a heavy price that day. I cannot say exactly what drove Arceus to stop the fighting the way he did. Maybe it was to teach us a lesson. Maybe he wasn't as smart as we are all lead to believe. Either way, we lost our Creator that day. I believe even Regigigas cried, and I wasn't aware that the mover of continents could cry.

"I wasn't made aware until relatively recently that Giratina was collecting the pieces of Arceus. Well, relatively recent, if you count in the last three-hundred or so years. I don't necessarily keep track of time."

Well, at least there's some confirmation about things. "Wait a second, you were there? Like, when everyone was fighting?"

Kyogre nodded, water splashing as the Pokémon's head moved. "I had the dubious honor to fight my brother." Kyogre said.

"Your brother?" I asked.

"Groudon." Lance answered.

"Indeed." Kyogre confirmed. "It wasn't the first, and it wasn't the last. It's only because Rayquaza insisted on peace that we stopped."

"You can't stop fighting?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, no. Arceus created us to be polar opposites. I never understood why, but it was never malevolent. Though they did get rather violent every few decades or centuries, depending on how things felt like taking shape. It was through this that the world we know of was created."

I was having a discussion on the creation of every single continent known like we were discussing what kind of party we were having later in the week. The worst part is that it didn't bother me as much as it should. Maybe I was getting used to running into legendaries every other week. The thought scared me. Silence followed Kyogre's words for a moment as the giant Pokémon turned to its side. It's right eye peered at the four of us, moving as if committing our faces to memory.

"So, what do you know about me?" I asked. "You know about the soul I carry, right?"

"Yes, I do." Kyogre answered. "Suicune did not mention you by name, but you match how she described you to me. It's always an honor to meet a vessel of our Father."

"So you probably know what I'm about to ask. Is there any way to stop all these attacks from happening? Other Pokémon want to kill me to get the piece of whatever from me and resurrect Arceus, while there are others that want to prevent that from happening. It sounds like you're with the latter."

Kyogre nodded. "Yes, I am, though I am reconsidering my stance on the matter."

That's not a good thing to hear. "Is that so?"

The ground rumbled, though from what I had no idea. The sound of something crashing from behind us made everyone turn around to see part of the right wall begin to fall. Hot air filled the cavern as lava began to flow quickly towards us. Zefyra quickly scooped me up along with Joy while Jon and Lance got on their Dragonites. Dust fell from above, and the entire cave visibly shook as whatever approached. A giant stepped through the nearby wall. The giants skin looked like it was wearing glowing red armor from a fantasy story, heat shimmering all around it. It's head barely cleared the ceiling of the cave, and every lumbering step caused more shaking to occur. It's claws were white, matching the colors of the spikes on the sides of its body as well as the tail. The plates on the giants body weren't fully connected, but a bright blue would pulse through the Pokémon's body. It looked at us with green eyes that shimmered brightly in the intense heat. While I felt the heat before when Mist left my body, it wasn't so bothersome. Now, it was clear that there was something more underneath Sootopolis than just previous volcanic activity.

A roar came from the towering beast, shaking the cavern and my body. The sound felt like it bounced through my bones. My heart felt like it jumped to my throat, and only when a gout of flame headed our way that my mind snapped into focus. Sitting behind Joy didn't let me control Zefyra very easily, but she responded when I dug my shoes into her sides and leaned forward. One of her heads gave me a dirty look, but she didn't respond in any other way. At least she wasn't trying to throw me off, but it might as well be to protect her trainer.

Where was Mist? I hope that she's alright. She was with Lance before all this nonsense started happening. Looking around briefly, it was impossible to see where anyone else was at the moment. A wall of fire stopped us from moving forward and Zefyra made a hard left turn, nearly smashing us into a building. The Hydreigon took the obstacle in stride, tilting sideways to fly in between the gap between the building and the lava. I leaned on top of Joy, bringing her down so we would minimize the risk of being hit. We were still huge on top of her back, but we made it on the other side unscathed. A roar echoed from behind, different from the first ones. The urge to check behind me was pretty high but a sudden jolt from Zefyra made me put that urge away. There was no way I could focus on anything less than keeping myself from bashing my head against whatever was in the way.

A hissing sound echoed loudly in the cavern and Zefyra flew straight up. Something landed on my right arm. I didn't pay it any attention until it felt like something was burning! Turning to face my arm, something wet slid across my skin. What really was bad was that a pillar of water was rising under us! A hard left from Zefyra sent us tumbling downwards as the rising water surged against the ceiling of the cave. Burning water rained on top of us and it took me biting my tongue not to scream. I still haven't seen where either Jon or Lance were. Maybe they ran? I would if I could.

"Zefyra, get us out of here!" Joy yelled suddenly. The dragon acknowledged her request, flapping harder than she was before. She turned and smiled at me, her eyes reflecting something bright behind us. I didn't bother to look but I smiled back at her.

It reassured me a little bit when she tightened her grip on my hands. I could finally see what's been going on. Groudon and Kyogre were standing near each other, the steam created by the water touching lava rising from the meeting point. Both Pokémon glared towards us but didn't do anything else at the moment. Lava churned underneath us as buildings around us slowly sank. It was an eerie feeling. History was being destroyed right now, right in front of my eyes.

"Hey, where's everyone else?" Joy asked.

"I'm not sure." I answered. "I haven't seen anyone since Groudon appeared, and Mist hasn't shown up since she went with Lance."

"She's probably with him." Joy said.

A giggle echoed from somewhere in my head. "Both of the other humans are fine. They left while their dragons flew with their tails between their legs." Mist said coldly. "While I do appreciate the effort, Lance did not hesitate to fly."

"And Jon?" I asked aloud.

"I am not sure. When Lance didn't do anything to come back to make sure you were alright, I came to make sure."

"We need to get out of here, then." I said. "This really isn't the best place for us to defend ourselves."

Joy nodded. Zefyra seemed to agree with the idea. With a giant flap of her wings, we started headed for the surface.

====================//////////////////////////======================

Chaos.

That's the only word that could be used to sum up what was going on in Sootopolis. We definitely weren't inside the Cave of Origin for more than a few hours. Dark clouds covered the sky, lightning criss-crossing the clouds in random patterns. The few people outside the cave were being stopped by Lance and Jon. Someone else stood with them, trying to keep curious bystanders at bay. Probably for the best, too.

As I approached, someone pointed towards me and yelled something I didn't quite catch. Lance and the new stranger came towards us as we dismounted Zefyra.

"You two have some explaining to do." Lance said.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I shot back. "You pussied out, you sack of shit!"

He glared at me. "Better a coward than dead."

"You don't see me lying on the floor, do you?"

"Enough!" the newcomer said. He had a thick accent that made his words flow together like a train wreck. "As Sootopolis' gym leader, it's my responsibility as to what happens here."

Lance didn't say anything but shrugged and turned away. The new guy slowly nodded and gave a short bow. His clothes made him look like someone from a rich upbringing or a wealthy job. It made me think of a captain or something of that sort. "My name is Juan, gym leader of Sootopolis. I would like to ask you a few questions."

"If it's about the cave, you better save them for a better time." I said, pushing past him. "Sorry, but I'm not staying here in order to die because Groudon and Kyogre are working to kill me."

"Did you say that they are working together?" Juan asked.

"Yeah." I said dismissively. "I think that you should start evacuating."

The side of the rim of the city blew up, the sound making my ears ring. A roar drowned out everything else that I could hear. Dizziness washed over me, my stomach threatening to empty its contents as I slowly pushed my way off the ground. I didn't even realize I fell. A pair of strong hands helped pull me off the ground. Mist whispering inside my head didn't help. She stopped when I complained, thankfully, as Joy started saying something. My ears were still ringing, and I asked her to stop while I shook my head.

"What was that again?" I asked.

"We need to help evacuate the city." Joy said, frowning. "Before things get worse."

I sighed. "Fine. Let's get to it."

My head felt like the biggest headache was trying to split me in two. I could feel a cool touch on my shoulder as Mist helped as much as she could. Grabbing Spirit's Pokéball, I released my Flygon. She looked confused, but after filling her in she was crouched low to let me on her back. Lance and Jon approached, both looking confused.

"We have to help get people to safety. Anyone got any bright ideas?" I asked.

"The boats." Lance said with a snap of his fingers. "There are piers all along the city. It would be the best way to get people off the island en masse."

I nodded. "Let's get to it, before Kyogre and Groudon get out. What's the furthest section?"

"The south side." Lance said, pointing towards said direction. "Why?"

"Zefyra and both Dragonites have been flying for a while now. I'll take care of the farthest side so they don't have to exert themselves more than they already have."

"We have to get to the other sides of the city." he said.

"Would YOU like to go to the southern side, knowing full well what we have to do AND how you're FUCKING WASTING TIME HERE!?" I yelled out.

I didn't bother waiting for his response, urging Spirit to fly towards our destination. She was eager to fly, though if it was to get me away from Lance or because she's been cramped in her Pokéball all day was a good question. It felt cold inside my chest, like I shouldn't have yelled at him. He was wasting time, though, no matter how well thought out a plan should have been. People have a good chance of dying right now if we don't do something.

By the time we reached the southern part of the city, people were already boarding the ships. Police officers were funneling the panicking masses onto the boats as orderly as possible. Spirit landed nearby which allowed me to grab a passing officer.

"What do you want, kid? Can't you see we're busy here?!" she demanded.

"I know. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Yeah, get out of the way!"

Spirit shuffled out of the way, letting the guard pass by. Another explosion rocked the city nearby, washing everything in sight bleach white. Dots bounced around in my eyes as my ears rang. Waves of heat seared my skin as the air quickly became hot. Rubbing my eyes, I could finally see that another nearby peak had exploded.

The ringing slowly faded, only to be replaced by the screams of people. The water levels were rising, and the pier was slowly being swallowed by the sea. The more worrying part was that the water itself was bubbling and churning, as if it were boiling. Whatever connected the piers to the boats fell to the water. A few people fell into the water, their screams jolting me into action. I was suddenly very glad that I was still on top of Spirit. My Flygon didn't need to be told what to do, instantly flying towards the people that were in the water. Pulling people that were writhing in pain wasn't the easiest thing to do, but we managed to get two or three at a time.

A few weren't so lucky. Spirit was about to grab someone when a bright blue tentacle thing came up and dragged him under the waves. I almost jumped in after him, but Spirit was having none of that. It sent a shiver down my spine. That wasn't normal. Were there Pokémon hunting humans, preventing us from escaping Sootopolis? Were these Pokémon working with Kyogre and Groudon? The thought terrified me.

Grabbing Iolanthe's Pokéball from my waist and releasing her, she floated next to us as she quietly listened to the current scenario. She nodded, her eyes silently waiting for my command.

"Can you teleport these people to those boats?"

She nodded.

"Please! They won't survive if they try to swim."

Io didn't ask questions, proceeding to do as I asked by immediately getting hold of four people and just disappearing from where she was. When she returned, she did it again. I have no clue if this would wear her out quickly, but I hoped that she would still be alright to continue if need be. At the rate she was going now, it wouldn't take long to get everyone nearby to safety. Spirit and I tried to keep everyone as calm as we could, and I think my Flygon did an admirable job considering that the entire city was going up in flames.

Being on her back made me privy to little things that told me she was terrified. Her upper wings would twitch, brushing against my legs. Her breathing was quick and shallow as she shifted underneath me. When I tried to get off her back, she instantly refused. Both her claws still held onto my legs tightly and have refused to let me go.

Io reappeared by herself. She didn't look shaken or worn out from teleporting what probably was over a hundred people to safety.

"Are you alright?" I asked. She nodded silently. "Then why aren't you talking? It makes me feel a little nervous when you stay silent."

"I apologize, Master. I was merely staying focused on the task at hand." she answered quickly.

"That's fine. I guess I wanted to make sure." I responded with a wave. "Let's see if-"

A loud roar cut me off as a Kyogre broke the surface of the water. I turned towards the sound, horrified to see that Kyogre was above one of the ships. Gravity did the rest as the giant fell on top of the doomed ship. The splash was the only thing we could see from this angle, but there wasn't a single doubt in my mind of what just happened. Iolanthe pulled on my face, making me look at her instead of what we just witnessed.

"Focus. We still have a lot to do."

I nodded, trying to fight down this wave of dread that filled me at this moment. The guard that we spoke with was still beside me, looking at the sea. Right now, all I could feel is that we've unleashed something horrible on the world. All I had to do was not stick my nose in shit I didn't need to know.

=====================/////////////////////////======================

As we flew towards the western side of the city, Groudon appeared on the south side of the city. The spectacle was as sudden as a volcanic eruption, with all the spectacle and ferocity of the Pokémon emerging from the ground. It was easy to see the devastation that the emergence caused. Why were they attacking the surface? I understand that it's because of me, but why attack anything in their way? Maybe they're just clearing anything that gets in their way instead of attacking deliberately. I just didn't know anymore.

What I did know was that this was almost useless. Groudon was attacking, and more likely killing, anyone on the island while Kyogre took care of the any boats that left. The sinking feeling that I haven't done anything for those people out there felt heavy in my heart. Why didn't I? Oh yes, I didn't have the resources to help, and I would have to contend with Kyogre as well. It was very deliberate that I left those people to their fate. As cold as that sounded in my mind, I don't think anyone present at the moment would agree to help even if I wanted. I'm pretty sure that Mist would have done her damndest to stop me.

"You are quite correct, Master." she quipped, giggling inside my head.

Now wasn't the time, Mist. She stopped laughing at my request. Silently thanking the ghost, we flew towards the Cave of Origin again. Maybe someone has come back from their section after finishing. Looking at the devastation around me, it didn't look like that was very likely. Hopefully they've had better success than me.

A more familiar roar broke me out of my reverie. Looking around for the sound, Zefyra's outline made me relax slightly. As Joy and her dragon aligned with me, I could see that something happened. I wanted to ask what, but the look she gave me as I opened my mouth told me not to ask. She shook her head, smiling at me briefly.

Lance and Jon were both at the entrance of the Cave of Origin. Both were talking to each other as we approached. They were covered in dirt and other things. There was a bruise easily visible on Jon's side of his face, while Lance looked like he's been through a thorn bush. They stopped talking when Jon noticed us. Lance looked troubled as Jon approached me and Joy.

"Are you two alright?" he asked as I dismounted from Spirit. "Did you see Groudon?"

"Yeah, I did." I said, frowning. "It happened as I was leaving the area."

He looked relieved for a moment. "What about you?" I asked. "What happened?"

"We were taking care of survivors and trapped civilians." Lance said. "We had to go inside a few buildings."

I was grateful that I didn't have to explain what I saw out in the ocean. Joy shook her head before Jon spoke. "Please don't ask." she said with a frown. "I don't want to talk about it."

It bothered me that she wasn't willing to talk about it. Then again, what I saw wasn't something I wanted to talk to anyone at the moment either. Mist was thankfully quiet about the whole thing. My gaze fell on Lance as he looked over towards where Groudon was.

"I just want to point out that I warned you about this." I said with a smirk.

"Don't remind me." he said.

"I probably will. Constantly, because you're an idiot." I snarled. "You completely ignored me, with you saying that 'we'll be fine,' bullshit Congratulations on you running away like a pussy by the way. But what now? You've got an entire city dying right now and you're not doing much at the moment."

He turned around, swinging his fist at me. The pain didn't help me feel any better, but at least he got what I was saying. Stumbling backwards, I rubbed my face with my left hand. Lance moved towards me, another punch in the way. This time I moved out of the way while throwing my own punch towards him. It didn't feel like it hurt him too much, but his feet shifted his weight a little bit. Opening my hand flat against his chest, I pushed hard, forcing him to move where I wanted him to. Which, coincidentally, was the ground.

He pushed my hand away from his chest, swinging his feet around to trip me. My world tumbled as I hit the ground. I pushed my body to roll away from Lance, scrambling to stand quickly and defend myself. As Lance moved towards me, Mist flew out of me and slipping inside of him. He stopped moving, though his face showed a great deal of surprise at what just happened. A grin formed on my face.

"Forgot about her, didn't you?" I asked.

He suddenly fell to the ground, his eyes wide. Mist slipped out of his body through his chest, laughing like a maniac. "He won't be forgetting this anytime soon." she cackled.

"What did you do, Mist?" I asked.

"No permanent damage, I assure you." she said, still laughing gleefully. "Though I do suggest that we send him off. He will not be in any condition to be of any use for quite some time."

Jon and Joy both picked Lance off the ground. "We'll get his Dragonite or something." Jon said, before going the steps. I looked at Mist intensely as she shook. Before I could ask, she started laughing loudly again.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"Humans dying, the screams of souls passing to the next world," she answered lightly, spinning in place. "It is an exhilarating experience! Their howls entrance me like the finest of symphonies!"

I stared at her. She looked at me, smiling brightly as she floated towards me. "There is much more to it than that," she said with a wicked grin. "There will be much work on the other side to do."

"We have to worry about the people that are still alive, though." I said, trying to bring her out of her reverie. "Let's focus here."

"Do you really have to?" she asked. "You can just run, get away and save your own hide."

"And then what happens to everyone here?" I asked.

"They would die, to be reborn when they are ready." Mist answered with a shrug. "We tried saving people already, remember? Kyogre saw to it that they wouldn't live. People die, Master, and sometimes there is nothing we can do about that."

"Maybe we can do better." I said with a frown.

"You don't seem to understand," she said, her laughter being replaced with deadly seriousness. "Pokémon and humans suffer all the same. This isn't because of some error in the plan. It's because Arceus planned it that way. Souls get recycled constantly, being reborn after they've accepted what they learned in their previous life."

"Why are you philosophizing now? When we're safe, you can intellectually masturbate all you want, but for now we need to focus!" Joy demanded.

"Where's Lance?"

"Not here." she answered. "Answer my question."

I frowned. "Mist thinks that we should get out of here."

"Bail? Yeah, I'm down for that plan." Joy said, nodding.

"Finally, a human that listens to reason!" Mist exclaimed.

"I think we should at least try to help." Jon said with a frown. "I'm kind of obligated to, seeing as I'm a Ranger."

"Master, I don't think you remember seeing Kyogre jumping over that ship and sinking it." Mist stated. "Nevermind that it may have just sunk any ship around Sootopolis and Groudon rampaging through the city as we speak."

"Then maybe we can redirect Groudon." I said. "I'll go and do that. You two, try to get as many people out of Sootopolis as you can."

"What about Kyogre?" Joy asked.

"You're not going to like what I'm about to say. Jon, you have Zapdos. That's our best bet."

"You think that she'll listen?" he asked warily.

"She'll listen to you, I'm sure." I said, nodding.

He frowned, but accepted my suggestion. "I hope so."

"She will. We still have to talk anyway."

He looked like that was the last thing he wanted to do. I forced a smile as he walked past Spirit. Joy gave me a worried look, frowning.

"Do you want me to come along with you?" she asked.

I shook my head. "No. I think we can distract Groudon from a rather safe distance. It also doesn't look like there's anything helping the rampage. There are other Pokémon out there in the water helping Kyogre kill people."

Joy pulled out a Pokéball and opened it, releasing Victini. "Heya!" she shouted happily with a large smile. "What's wrong?"

"Take a good look around." Joy said with a frown.

Victini did so, the smile disappearing quickly. She didn't even finish an entire circle before spinning towards Joy. "Orders?"

"Follow Aaron." she said. "I want you to make sure that nothing happens to him."

Victini gave Joy a salute. "Will do!"

Joy turned towards me, a smile forming on her face. "Take care."

"We'll be fine." I assured her.

She nodded, pulling out another Pokéball and summoning Zefyra. The Hydreigon roared as she took off, leaving me with my Pokémon and Victini. The small Pokémon floated over to me, a rather large smile on her face given the circumstances.

"Don't worry!" she exclaimed. "With me on your side, victory is guaranteed!"

A chuckle escaped me. "With enthusiasm like that, I don't doubt it."

====================////////////////////////=======================

We flew above Groudon as the giant continued to mindlessly destroy anything in its path. I was still trying to figure out something to do. Maybe it would retrace its steps if it saw me? I didn't want to put Spirit in danger but nothing else came to mind. Victini grinned at me as we made our first pass. It was now or never to be honest. We stopped moving, hovering in place as we started our plan. I grabbed Io's Pokéball, releasing her next to me. She looked surprised for a moment as Victini flew past her, but didn't say anything out loud. Both Victini and Io flew downwards together to Groudon's back.

Both Pokémon took advantage that Groudon hasn't bothered to notice us yet. Io launched two purple waves of energy, while Victini attacked with a Flamethrower. Both attacks landed simultaneously against the giant's back. The behemoth stopped moving for a moment before slowly turning in place. Its tail toppled over what remains of buildings the claws couldn't reach on the first go around. A part of me hoped that there weren't any people still down there.

A large claw swung towards Io and Victini faster than I would have have given the titan credit for. Both Pokémon avoided the attack and immediately counter-attacked. Victini launched a barrage of Swift, the small projectiles bouncing off Groudon's armored skin. Iolanthe was holding what looked like a multi-colored ball in her tentacles. She held it for a few moments, as if waiting for a good opportunity, before throwing it towards Groudon's face. The giant didn't look too worried, until it exploded in his face. A veritable rainbow erupted in front of us. As the light faded, colors didn't match up to what they normally would. Groudon looked yellow in my eyes, though the yellow was slowly bleeding back to the normal red color.

Groudon turned towards me, opening its mouth wide and attacking with a Flamethrower attack. Spirit flew upward, the heat making me feel like my skin was burning. The wall of flame followed us upwards as Spirit suddenly stalled in the air. As the attack reached us, she flapped her wings hard, pushing us away from the fire. Feeling the power behind the attack personally, it felt like we were trying to fight back the weight of the world itself.

Another roar came from the giant as Spirit repositioned herself. Groudon thankfully turned its attention to either Iolanthe or Victini, its arms swinging wildly in an attempt to hit the smaller targets. We needed a bigger attack! What we were throwing at Groudon hasn't even been enough to stagger the titan. While the destruction was already high, we weren't really using all our power either.

"Spirit!" I yelled. "I want you to use that attack you used on Darkrai that one time at the temple!"

I felt the Flygon tense underneath me. Mist was quick to voice her disapproval of my idea.

"What are you thinking, Master?" the ghost demanded loudly inside my mind.

"Any other plan would be wonderful at this moment, Mist." I said aloud.

She pushed out of my chest suddenly. I didn't feel the odd temperature difference that I normally feel when that happens. "I will help," she said.

She didn't wait for me to say anything, immediately flying down towards Io and Victini. Immediately a group of black spheres appeared around the ghost as she lobbed them towards the fire giant. It felt like we couldn't do anything to Groudon other than making it angrier. None of the attacks thrown at the giant seemed to make it really stop. It felt like it was treating us as an inconvenience at best, or insects at worst.

How can we slow the giant down? I have no idea how Mist is planning in turning Groudon around, or at least direct him somewhere else. If Groudon kept going, there won't be anything left to save. Something clicked in my mind. It was crazy enough for it to work. I yelled out for Iolanthe, hoping that she could hear me through the haze of battle. Thankfully she did, aligning herself next to me and Spirit.

"Io, I want you to use your most powerful attack." I said.

She didn't show any kind of outward emotion. I imagined that she was taking the time to talk to both Mist and Victini but I don't know. Iolanthe nodded silently, her four tentacles almost wrapping around her body as the tips pointed towards the jewel on her chest. Small sparks of energy would jump over her shoulders as she turned in place to face where her target was standing. Victini and Mist seemed to do a good job keeping Groudon in one place.

"Master, I am ready for my attack." Io called in my mind. "Please call those two back to safety."

A bit of panic rushed through me at that moment. How was I going to get their attention? Spirit's voice suddenly echoed in my ears. It wasn't words, but it was more than just a normal roar or sound. I don't have words that would give it the right description. Either way, both Victini and Mist heard it and moved. Iolanthe took her shot, releasing her attack that she's been building up. It was a dull orange beam that crossed the space between her and her target near instantaneously.

Groudon roared loudly as the beam hit. It didn't look like the giant had any time to block or prepare itself for the attack. It looked like now we definitely had its attention. I thought that the attack would be a concentrated attack, but Iolanthe's Hyper Beam kept going. I hoped that she wasn't wearing herself out. The sound of water splashing made me turn my focus back towards Groudon. It looked like Io was pushing the giant away from the buildings and to a place where he couldn't do too much harm. At least I hoped that being in the middle of the water would slow it down considerably.

Iolanthe only stopped when Groudon was almost fully submerged. Was that it? Spirit seemed to think so, bouncing in place while forgetting I was still on her back. The movement surprised me, but it wasn't hard to keep her from throwing me off on accident. Mist and Victini floated next to us. While it was hard to see if Mist was satisfied with what happened, Victini was more than obviously happy with the results.

"Now THAT'S some firepower!" Victini shouted loudly. "You show that overgrown lizard the ol' one-two!"

"Victini, I do not think we should be celebrating." Iolanthe said sternly.

"Oh, give me a break!" Victini exclaimed. "Groudon is gone! Give me a sec to celebrate here!"

Io narrowed her eyes, but didn't bother to stop the smaller Pokémon from her gloating. It was a bit amusing to see so much energy coming from her. Perhaps that's her real power? Not to discredit her own strength, but it seemed like working with others made Victini stronger. I don't think I've seen Victini fight before though, so perhaps that is a bit presumptuous of me.

It looks like I'll be leaning more on Joy and Jon, as much as I'd hate to admit that. I still didn't see why they stuck around, but I was extremely grateful. Shaking my head, I forced those thoughts out of my head. Now wasn't the best time to think about this.

"Alright, enough gloating." I said. "Let's see if we can find anyone down there and get them out of here."

Victini closed her mouth immediately, giving me a salute. "Yessir!" she exclaimed. "What are you two waiting for, let's go!"

Mist and Io looked at me for guidance, but I just shrugged. Victini seemed enthusiastic enough to help with little prompt to do so. It didn't surprise me too much though. Victini gave me the impression that she would do a lot for the people she cares about. I closed my eyes, rubbing them gently as I brought those thoughts to a halt to take care of what was more important right now. It was a little overwhelming seeing so much devastation. Thankfully, everyone was finding people that somehow have survived the carnage that Groudon brought upon. Io was carrying as many people as she could wrap her tentacles around, blinking out of sight the moment she was full. I don't know where she was dropping them off, because when she reappeared there wouldn't be anyone with her. Anywhere is just about better than Sootopolis right now.

"Spirit, are you alright?" I asked.

She nodded in response. I rubbed her neck gently. "Maybe we should help, too? They look like they have things under control, though."

She didn't move, which lead me to believe that she agreed that we weren't needed to help. I felt Spirit lurch suddenly, as something red stuck out from her shoulder. That's not normal. I looked down to see Groudon leaning over Kyogre, one of the red giants claws pointed towards us. My body began to slip from Spirit's back as we began to fall.

My heart pounded in my chest, ideas of how to get out of this situation bouncing around in my mind. None of the Pokémon on my belt could help me. Maybe Song, but would her powers be enough? Was Iolanthe around? Could Mist help? I wasn't entirely sure what was about to happen. My vision spun as my body fell through the air. I could see Spirit falling next to me, multiple spikes sticking out of her stomach and body. It startled me, but not as much as when she moved. Her claws grabbed hold of my hand, her wings beating hard to pull us up into the air. Part of me wanted to yell at her to stop, but she could only get us so far up.

It didn't take long before we crashed onto a stone path. Pain spread throughout my entire body, but I forced myself to get up and check on Spirit. Dark purple blood poured out of Spirit's wounds through the red spears sticking out of her body. Reaching to my back on instinct, I realized that I didn't have my backpack on me! Did I really just leave all of my shit at the Pokémon Center? Fuck me!

"Spirit!" I yelled. "Don't you die on me. Dammit! Focus on me, girl. Just hold on!"

I grabbed hold of her Pokéball, hoping that putting her inside would put her in some kind of stasis or make her in less pain. The device didn't activate however, only making an odd pinging noise. My pocket with my Pokédex made an odd sound. Opening it, an odd warning went through the main screen.

"Warning! Pokémon with hazardous materials cannot be transported inside the Pokéball! Please remove and try again!"

The message kept repeating. After the third time I let the gadget and Pokéball out of my hands. Inspecting the giant spikes, they were hot to the touch. One of them must have shattered her left google, since it was broken. I didn't even see the barrage come. I should have been paying more damn attention!

Her claw brushed against my cheek, making me turn all my focus back on Spirit. Tears began to flow down her cheeks as I held onto her. My fingers brushed them away, forcing a smile on my face.

"You're going to be fine, Spirit." I said aloud. "Just hold on. Iolanthe is on her way."

I wasn't so sure about that. Maybe she knew that I didn't know. Regardless, her claw never left my cheek, her talons pressing softly against my skin. My eyes felt heavy, and my chest felt soaked. I didn't want to look down to see with what, though I had a distinct idea of what it would be. The ground shook, bits of stone from the nearby buildings falling down. I didn't need to look to know that Groudon was nearby. The temperature spiked around us, and I closed my eyes to await the end.

My heart was the only thing I kept track of. After the idle thought that the ground wasn't shaking, I opened my eyes to see what was going on. Victini was floating over us, a fiery halo floating over the diminutive Pokémon.

"You ungrateful idiots!" she yelled, the halo spinning rapidly above her head. "What have you done?!"

She didn't give them the time to respond to her question. The fiery halo turned horizontal, splitting down the middle to form the letter V. With a throwing motion, the deadly fire letter zoomed towards Groudon and Kyogre. It was fast, and before I registered the hit, a large wound appeared on Groudon's armor-like skin. Likewise with Kyogre, but where the wound seemed superficial on Groudon it looked like it burned for the giant water Pokémon.

Both giants pulled away, going underwater together. Their eyes never left me, following me until they went under water. The last thing I saw was Groudon actually smiling brightly at me. Turning towards Spirit, with her eyes closed and still body, it was obvious what he was so happy about. My hands shook Spirit gently, trying to get her to respond. Two of my fingers pressed against her throat gently, trying to feel for any sign of a pulse. Finding none, I tried to move myself to do something until a small hand touched my shoulder. Turning to see Victini floating next to me with such an unhappy face made my heart turn cold.

"I'm sorry." Victini whispered softly. "I should have protected her, too."

I didn't say anything. I wasn't in the right mind to say anything at the moment. I was more afraid that I would just break down and scream if my mouth opened. It was obvious that she didn't need me to say anything. Victini was probably reading my thoughts right now, so it didn't really matter at the end of the day. While I really didn't want to inspect Spirit's wounds any more, it didn't settle with me just saying that she...

Shaking my head, I steeled myself for what I was about to do. Looking at my chest and stomach, my clothes were stained with her blood. The warm purple liquid stained her scales and belly, oozing out of the multiple wounds. My hands shivered as they passed over her, her blood sticking to my fingers and leaving traces of them as I inspected. I felt sick, my stomach rebelling actively against what I was doing.

"Aaron." Victini said. "She's gone, you know that."

That was the last thing I could ever possibly want to hear. I was so angry, but I focused myself. Spirit seemed to try really hard to keep me happy. Picking her up would be a huge endeavour for me. I wasn't tall in the first place, and she was taller than me. Her weight was becoming more apparent now as well.

"Victini, could you get my Pokédex for me, please?" I asked. My voice sounded strange in my ears.

"Sure."

She floated over to where the device was on the ground, passing it to me silently. Taking the device, I opened it thoughtlessly to my see the status of my team. Spirit's name was crossed out in bold red, the word deceased scrolling over it. A wracking sob escaped me, and this time there was nothing I could do to stop it. I didn't care what happened anymore. All that mattered is that this ends soon before someone else gets hurt. Victini stayed silent, though I couldn't hear anything else other than myself right now. I closed my eyes in a vain attempt to push Spirit's image out of my head. It didn't help much, as her weight on my arms and the feeling of her blood on me still didn't make this any less true.

"Master?"

My eyes snapped open at the sound of Io calling me. She was standing in front of me, her eyes telling me everything that needed to be said. I didn't resist when Io moved my hands away from Spirit's body. Mist was alongside her, the ghost watching stoically. The ghost looked troubled, but I couldn't place her expression if she was worried or curious. Iolanthe's tentacles held me up, her eyes narrowing as she noticed my current state. She didn't say anything, however, but wiping my tears gently.

"Steady." she said softly in my mind. "I dare not speak any more than this to you privately. Your mind is very unstable, but I wish you to know that we are all here for you."

I wanted to thank her, but a tentacle pressed against my lips gently. It didn't look like she needed me to voice anything right now. I leaned against Io for support, wrapping my arms around her narrow waist. Her touch helped calm me down somewhat.

"Giratina comes." Mist said without any warning.

"Oh yes, I do indeed."

Oh Arceus above, not him. Iolanthe turned me around slowly, Giratina entering my vision like a black cloud. His long, serpent-like body coiled upon itself as if to take up less space. Giratina seemed somber, frowning down at me.

"This is rather unbecoming of you." Giratina said. "Come now, we all die sooner or later."

The words stung. My mouth worked, but the retort I had didn't want to come out. Giratina moved slowly next to us, his head leaning over Spirit's still body. He opened his mouth, and for a second I thought that he intended to eat her corpse. Instead, he let out a slow exhale over her body, the air taking a sudden dip in temperature.

"Groudon used something rather unorthodox against you." Giratina said, shaking his head. "While it looked painful, I can at least say that this little one didn't suffer like you seem to think."

I looked at Giratina questionly. What was he doing here? Mocking me for my failure?

"Just go. Please." I pleaded.

"I didn't come here to gloat, as you seem to think." Giratina said. "I wanted to comfort you with some words of advice."

I snorted. Giratina didn't seem to get the hint.

"Everyone dies, boy. Sooner or later, everyone comes to my realm. The great and the small, it matters nothing to me. Sooner or later, you will die, and this cycle will continue. Such is the great mystery of life. You exist for a brief glimmer of time, and then you cease to exist. To be reborn at a later time perhaps, but you will not be the same individual that was here first.

"The sooner you understand this, the sooner you will stop feeling sorry for your friend and yourself. Death is another gift from Arceus, and a natural progression of existence that was created in His vision. So there is no reason to be saddened by their passing."

"So, all the people you killed for the shards of Arceus are in your realm?" Iolanthe asked.

Giratina blinked at her for a moment before laughing. His motions threatened to crush us, though thankfully Giratina was conscious of his own form. Though why wasn't he attacking us is a very good question. Maybe he didn't like to get personal with his prey.

"Do you honestly believe we killed all the carriers of the shards in cold blood?" he asked.

"Isn't that why you sent the Darkrai after me?" I asked.

My question was answered with more laughter. "Oh, those two." Giratina said, after calming down. "They were very enthusiastic. You know how young ones are. They took my orders to a very far extreme. To clear up any misunderstandings, no, I didn't order them to be killed on sight. We asked to kill them. Completely different."

"So why are there more and more Pokémon trying to kill me!?" I yelled, demanding to know the answer.

Giratina's laughter stopped suddenly. "Because you're the last one. Out of all one thousand shards of our Father, Arceus, you're the final piece of the puzzle. For millennia, we have waited, died, and been reborn, waiting to see our Creator one more time. It is your hesitation that drives us to desperation. Desperation that seems like we are insane, or wish to cause you harm intentionally.

"There are some that seek you more violently than I, though I have asked them on multiple occasions to leave this to me and my children. Desperation tends to release the darkest parts of our hearts, though, so that may explain your experiences that you had in the past."

"So when Cresselia showed up, that wasn't you?"

Giratina shook his head. "No. She has been reprimanded severely. I highly doubt she will see the moon for the rest of her life for what she tried to do."

"And what would have happened if she had succeeded?" I asked.

"We would have brought Father back to our world." Giratina answered.

"Even if she acted outside of your direct orders?" Iolanthe pressed.

"She would have still been punished. Perhaps not as severely as she is currently, but still punished to a degree. It is my understanding that being banished to the moon for a thousand years is a rather mild punishment for their kind."

Maybe she thought she could be a hero, or something of the like. It wasn't my position to figure this out. Giratina looked down at me. The look he was giving me did not make comfortable in the slightest bit.

"We need to speak when you have taken the time to deal with this turn of events." Giratina said. "We will meet soon. However, I suggest you make peace with yourself by then. I cannot and will not wait for you to do so."

With those words said, Giratina began to disappear by melding into the surrounding darkness. Shadows seemed to cling on him, the giant slowly dissolving into shadows. It didn't take much to dissipate the haze that Giratina left behind. Wisps of smoke and shadows seemed to linger slightly on me as the wind blew them about. It was a long shot that Giratina would give me enough time to sort myself out. But given the situation at hand, that's a really long shot to hope for. I scoffed. Hope. What the hell did it matter if my spirit wasn't in it anymore?

"Where's everyone?" I asked.

"I got the humans to the nearest city from here." Iolanthe said. "I imagine that both Joy and Jon are there as well."

I stayed silent for a moment, contemplating my thoughts. Coming to a swift decision, it didn't sit right with me to leave Spirit here. I left Io's side, clumsily supporting myself as I made my way to my Flygon's side. Seeing her again like this made me almost puke, but the feeling was suppressed. Iolanthe came next to me, gently holding me at bay before I tried to lift Spirit's body by myself.

Gently touching her arm, Spirit's body stirred. My heart leaped in my throat as she began to move on her own volition. Was Giratina behind this? Surprise and horror mixed together with a bit of anger, my hands clenching tightly into fists.

"What's going on!?" I demanded.

Her eyes opened, lifeless windows suddenly moving on their own accord. Blood oozed from her wounds as her body moved. My stomach protested at the sight of seeing the wounds open up further. Her wings twitched slightly, opening up after a moment. The layer of skin on her wings was torn in multiple places, exposing the ruins of what was probably a building not too long ago.

I frowned, feeling a sense of dread wash over me as I approached Spirit's body. It wasn't until I touched her that Mist's laughter echoed inside my head.

"Oh, the look on your face!" she cackled. "You should have seen it!"

"Mist, get out of her." I said.

"But she's dead," she stated, shrugging Spirit's shoulders. "It's not like-"

"GET OUT OF HER, NOW!" I yelled.

The sound of fire consuming whatever it burned on was the only thing that I could hear. Iolanthe slowly supported the body, allowing Mist to exit while not doing any more damage to Spirit's body. Io turned to me, her face turning way farther than any humans could, looking for instructions.

"Can you take us all at once when you teleport?" I asked her.

She nodded. "Yes. However, you will all need to get close to me for my power to warp us all together."

We got close to her, Victini floating just above Iolanthe's head. Mist stayed at arms length away from me, but I grabbed hold of the ghost. Surprisingly, she was solid for me to grab hold of. I held her against my chest tightly as I did my best to keep my emotions under control.

"You may wish to close your eyes, Master." Io said. "First time teleporting isn't the easiest thing to experience."

I did as was prompted, closing my eyes and waiting for something to happen. Oddly, it didn't feel like it, but that didn't really mean much. It wasn't until something tackled me that I opened my eyes. Joy hugged me tightly against her, her lips pressing against mine. While it wasn't unwelcomed, thankfully she kept it short.

"What in the fuck happened to you?!" she demanded. "What... oh shit! Sis!"

"Don't." I said. "Spirit's gone."

"What happened?" Jon asked.

"I don't really know. Groudon shot out these spikes or something. Io used a Hyper Beam that pushed it under water, but apparently that wasn't enough. Kyogre made sure that it could reach us. Victini gave them both a black eye, but the damage was done before we could do anything. Also, I lost all my stuff since we left it all at the Pokémon Center."

Joy frowned. "Damn. This isn't... I'm sorry, Aaron." she said gently.

"Are you alright?" Jon asked.

I shook my head. "No, I'm not. I don't think I will be, either. Io, can you follow me, please?"

"Yes, Master."

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" Joy demanded.

"To bury my Flygon." I said, frowning. "What else is there to do?"

------------------------------------///////////////////////////////////////-----------------------------------

This wasn't a very large island. No matter where we went in Mossdeep City, there were people. Refugees from Sootopolis or a friendly neighbor. Nobody asked what I was doing when I went to the cliffs of the island. At first the idea of digging her grave here was a good idea. Trying to dig with my own hands, not so much. Iolanthe suggested we go to the beach instead. Following her, many people offered gratitude to Io as we passed by. Some thanked her, some gave us condolences. It was a very tender moment in an otherwise heartless situation.

As we reached the shore, the sound of the waves breaking on the sand was soft and soothing. My thoughts were anything but calm, conflicting thoughts waging war for my attention. I walked in a daze ahead of Io, finding a spot behind a pair of palm trees and away from would-be prying eyes. I don't think many people would come back here on purpose. Maybe to avoid the heat, but hopefully if that's the case they will be respectful.

"Master, let me do this." Iolanthe said. "May I put her down?"

I nodded, Iolanthe lowering Spirit onto the ground. Taking my eyes off her, I moved next to Io as she began to dig at the sand. It wasn't very easy for me, but the work helped me focus. What could I do now? What was the motivation to continue? With every scoop of sand, more grains fell. Slowly, we made a small area where we could actually bury her.

"Io?" I called, turning to face her.

"Yes, Master?"

"Do you think it would be better if we take out those spikes? I don't want those things to be with her when we bury her."

She looked at me curiously. "Why?"

I shifted my eyes towards the body. "I don't feel right leaving what killed her there." I said. "I don't know. It just doesn't."

Io stood up, walking towards Spirit. I quickly followed her, as she took one of the spikes sticking out of her. As she pulled, no sound came like in the movies or whatever. Blood flowed, but it wasn't spurting violently as my imagination lead me to believe. That relief didn't help as we continued to pull the others out. The spikes were heavy, still hot to the touch even after everything that's happened. It hasn't been too long since then, though.

Io helped me carry her to where we dug her grave. As we placed her inside of it, it was obvious we would need more sand than what we dug out. Thankfully, it didn't look like there was anyone else around. Also, I didn't think anyone would complain about taking more sand for my own purposes. Io didn't seem to wait, taking a large clump in her psychic energy and slowly pouring it over Spirit's body.

A part of me thought that she would love doing this, playing on the beach. It's a chance we never got to act on. Tears fell from my eyes as Iolanthe covered Spirit's face under the falling sands. With her body completely hidden away, any composure left was swept away. I grabbed hold of Io, sobbing. Her tentacles wrapped gently around me, holding me tightly against her.

"You should let this out, Master." she said. "The sooner you do, the sooner we can move on."

I didn't ask, and she didn't elaborate. I continued to cry until exhaustion claimed me.

------------------------------------//////////////////////////////////---------------------------------------

The sun was setting when I woke up. I was laying on Io's lap, her tentacles holding my arms tightly against my chest. A little self-conscious, I began to move away from her. Io's tentacles wrapped around me tighter around me the more I moved. Moving my arms around, I managed to reach her face and move her towards me. Her eyes were closed, so was she sleeping?

"Good evening, Master." she said. "Is there something wrong?"

"I have to tell everyone what happened." I said softly.

"Are you sure that is wise?" she asked.

"I have to tell them." I repeated. "Everyone has a right to know what happened to her."

She opened her eyes slowly, looking at me with worry. "If you are sure, Master."

"Where's Mist?" I asked.

"She's around." Io answered. "I am not sure as to her exact location. However, she did say that she would come if you called her."

I shook my head. "I don't think there's need of her being here. She saw what happened."

She nodded, helping me stand on the sand. I helped her up, pulling her up from her sitting position. With just us two, it was a little easier. How was I going to confront everyone about this? I sighed, pulling on Spirit's Pokéball from my belt with one hand, opening the rest one by one with the other.

"Hey, a beach!"

Before I could open my mouth, Zin took off running. Soon, everyone was following her in or near the water. The sunset reflected off the water, reflecting its dying orange and red light. It wouldn't be long before someone would suspect something was wrong. None of the girls were stupid enough not to notice that someone was missing. We also didn't get rid of the spikes from Spirit's body. Those were sure to stand out.

Song walked up to me, a smile on her face as she looked at me. Her gaze wandered, and her smile quickly disappeared.

"Master!" she yelled, closing the distance between us quickly. "What happened?! Are you injured?"

"No, Song. I'm fine."

If that wasn't the greatest lie ever told, I don't know what was. Song was fiddling with my clothes as everyone approached. The Gardevoir looked frantic, trying to take off everything I was wearing.

"Can't you wait until after you two are alone?" Baast asked.

"Someone's feeling a little frisky?" Zin asked, laughing.

"Don't you see Master is covered in blood!?" Song demanded.

The laughter ceased immediately. Everyone came over, voices demanding that I answer them all. The cacophony reached a point where Io stepped in.

"ENOUGH!" she yelled, her voice echoing inside my mind and my ears simultaneously. "Let Master speak!"

I walked forward, placing a hand on Io's shoulder so she steps back a step. My mouth felt dry like the sand underneath my shoes. This was the last thing I ever wanted to say to anyone. The words I told Io echoed in my mind. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down.

"Spirit's dead." I said without any preamble. "I'm.... Groudon killed her earlier today."

Nobody reacted. I pointed over to the spikes and the mound behind me. "I wanted to let you all know, and apologize for my incompetence. I'll... I'll let you all make peace with what I just said."

Everyone looked at me in silence. It made me extremely uncomfortable. I could feel their eyes staring at me, like if this was some sick practical joke. I looked away, leaving the group and headed for the shoreline. My arms shook against my sides. The cold ocean water washed over my shoes, soaking them. It gave me something else to think about, even if it was just temporary.

What was I going to do now? Was I ready to just give up everything and let Giratina have his soul so nobody else got hurt? Is that the right answer? It sure seemed like it at the moment. I mean, it's not like.... no, stop that. Thinking like that isn't going to get me anywhere. There was one thing that needed my full attention, and that was what to do with my team. I can't let them keep taking hits for me. It wasn't fair to them. None of them should be in this much danger. None of them signed up for this. They're smart enough to know that. Even if they insist, they have to see reason, right?

I think that there's a word for people that constantly seek danger. Suicidal. Though I never planned on dying during my adventure, that didn't stop Spirit from receiving that fate. The philosophical debate of fate wasn't something I was going to argue with my own self. It didn't sound productive, though it might be entertaining if someone was to listen to me argue with myself.

Something pressed against my leg. I didn't have to look to know that it was Zin doing so. The Houndoom's warmth flowing into me through my legs was enough to let me know.

"Can we back up from the water, Master?" she asked. "If I'm going to warm you up, standing in the water isn't going to help me get that done."

I sighed, but complied with her wish. I walked a bit farther away from the surf, the bit of spray cooling my skin somewhat as I sat down. Zin jumped on my lap, her face taking up everything I could see. Her tongue passed over my eyes, licking my face wherever she pleased. I stiffened under her ministrations, but slowly forced myself to relax. It didn't look like she would stop until I did.

"So what happened?" she asked.

I explained what was going on in the Cave of Origin. Zin stayed silent as I spoke, keeping what happened in the last day as brief as possible. When Spirit was hit, my voice stopped. Zin shook her head, her horns rubbing against my chest.

"You don't have to explain what happened to her. I understand." she said.

"Thank you." I said, hugging the Houndoom.

"So, what are we going to do now?" she asked.

"You all are going home." I said. "No one else is going to get hurt because of me."

Her teeth were on my throat in a flash, the jagged edges pressing against my skin. I didn't feel as threatened as I probably should. My hands went to her horns, gently stroking them. She growled angrily, sounding like a demon from a fantasy story. We stayed locked for a few breaths, until she pulled away from me. Her eyes glowed brightly, her lips curled back angrily.

"Don't you dare say that to anyone else." she said. "I'll make you regret the day you were born a male if you do."

"Noted." I said.

Silence followed, neither of us saying anything. The sound of the waves breaking filled the void that we left, helping to put me at ease. Sobbing reached my ears. I couldn't tell who was crying at the moment. Zin took notice of my curiosity.

"Song is taking it pretty hard." she said, frowning.

"Fuck." I swore softly. Zin shook her head, her paws working the sand next to my legs.

"I don't think she'll blame you." the Houndoom stated. "I don't think anyone will."

"What about you?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Me? Nah. You don't send us on stupid errands, we only fight when we have to. To be honest, I'd like to fight more often but I'm not really complaining. When we do get to fight, we get to go all out."

"Don't tell me you actually enjoy fighting all these legendary Pokémon looking for me." I groaned.

"Of course I do!" she exclaimed, her spade-tipped tail wagging enthusiastically. "Hearing you take charge is pretty exciting. It doesn't matter to me what we fight, to be honest. I just like being around you."

I frowned. "Do you think-"

"I don't think, I do." Zin stated. "I want to do everything I can to get to your goal. If that goal is to find out what's going on, then so be it. What I want you to understand, is that everyone here so far will do everything they can to do the same. Oh, and I hope that you weren't thinking of threatening us, either."

"Threaten?" I asked.

"To release us." she said, her eyes narrowing. "I've heard you do it to Mist. That's not very nice, especially those of us that have given you everything we have."

"Mist possessed Spirit's corpse because she thought it was funny." I said.

Zin blinked at me. "Are you serious?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Was it?"

"In a very morbid sort of way, I guess it could be funny." I said, shrugging. "It wasn't at the time."

"How about now?"

"No, not really. It hurt to see at the time."

"Did you tell her that?"

I shook my head. The Houndoom smirked, her tongue sticking out of her muzzle. "Maybe you should talk to us next time, alright?"

I nodded. "I'll keep that in mind." I said softly.

Zin moved her head, a smile appearing on her muzzle. I was curious as to what was so funny.

"Are you ready for everyone?" Zin asked.

"What?"

"Get him."

I was suddenly piled on by bodies. Hands, tentacles, paws, and legs grabbed hold of some part of my body. No one spoke, even as a wave got a little closer than before. The water soaked my pants, but it didn't bother me. I held as many of my Pokémon as I could grab close to me, tears forming in my eyes.

"Thank you."

-------------------------------------/////////////////////////////------------------------------------------

I didn't get much sleep after coming back to civilization. Nurse Joy looked at me with sadness, speaking to me in a cautious tone. I'm willing to guess that it's between either the fact that I look horrible, or that my clothes are still the same from yesterday.

"Where's Joy and Jonathan?" I asked Nurse Joy.

"They said they would be back soon." she said. "I can get a hold of them if you'd like."

I shook my head. "No, that's fine." I said. "I'll go wait in my room."

Heading back, a plan started forming in my mind. I have no idea if this will work, or if Io would be willing to go along with it in the first place. Regardless, I had to try. Opening the door to my room, the first part was to actually take a shower. It wasn't really enough to be wearing some of Jon's clothes, but at least I wouldn't be wearing anything blood stained.

I shed my clothes as the water began to reach a temperature I liked. After getting under the shower head, my motivation for getting clean went out the window. Remembering what happened yesterday dampened my hopes. What was I supposed to do now? What did Giratina want with me? The thought of leaving everyone in Jon and Joy's care came and went through my mind. No, that wasn't fair to anyone here.

To my chagrin, I think that Zin was right. If they wanted to fight with me, I think they have that right. It was something they were doing willingly, right? Being their trainer wasn't anything that was forced upon them. I did ask, though. This was so frustrating! I breathed in, coughing when water went up my nose instead of air.

After clearing out my lungs, I refocused on the problems at hand. Where do we go? We have no future leads now. The Cave of Origin was a bust, and Sootopolis was left in ruins. A shiver went up my spine. Was this what would keep happening if Giratina doesn't get his way? It all seemed to point in that direction. He wouldn't be to blame, but it would rest somewhere in his realm of responsibility. At least that's what I want to believe.

I needed to ask Joy and Jon what they wanted to do. Jon would probably have, or might have already, new orders if he's reported to his superiors. Something tells me that he's doing that right now before we meet this morning. It would make sense. If, somehow, they haven't heard of this incident already. The thought of trying to tune in on the radio popped into my mind. I don't know, but somehow I wouldn't doubt it. News this big would be pretty hard to hide.

I turned off the water, grabbing a towel and began to dry myself quickly. I left my hair wet for the time being. A knock on the door got my attention. Putting on my borrowed clothes quickly, I answered the door. Jon and Joy were both there, Nurse Joy behind them. All three looked worried about something.

"Looks like we got you just in time." Jon said. "You have the shirt on backwards."

I shrugged. "Doesn't matter right now. Is something the matter? You three look like something is wrong."

Joy looked at Jon, who sighed. "Calling this situation 'wrong' would be an understatement."

"What is it?"

"The Articuno have made a high demand." Jon said. "Either we find and turn you in, or else they're going to start lowering the worlds temperature."

"How the hell are they going to do that?" I asked. "Doesn't Rayquaza have the ability to control the weather?"

"It might be that Rayquaza doesn't care, unable to, or is aiding the Articuno." Jon said. "I'm not entirely sure."

"Then we need to head over to where he is!" I said. "At least, that's what sounds pretty obvious."

"There's a problem." Joy said. "We need Ho-Oh's favor to get in."

"Well, that sucks." I said. "Wait, would the feather work?"

Jon shrugged. "It might. That's a wild guess, though. But it's try or die at this point. From the tone my boss was yelling at me, it sounds like the Articuno aren't messing around."

"Have they affected anywhere?"

All three of them looked at each other worriedly. Nurse Joy stepped forward, walking around them to stand in front of me.

"Yes, they have. In Sinnoh. We just got told by my sister. It was Solaceon Town."

Fuck a Farfetch'd. "Is everyone alright?" I asked, my stomach twisting. If my parents are injured, or worse, I don't know what I'll do anymore.

"Everyone was fine from what my sister told me." Nurse Joy said, smiling. "But snow was beginning to pile higher and higher. We don't know what they're planning, but it doesn't seem like a well-thought out idea."

"For now." I said grimly. "We need to meet and talk to Rayquaza, then. I don't care how! We have to get there and try to talk to him. Or her... whatever it just so happens to be, I don't particularly care too much. The point is, we have to get Rayquaza to stop the Articuno."

"What if Rayquaza is with Giratina?" Joy asked.

"We'll figure that out when the time comes. I have an idea or two on how to deal with that."