FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"...Amun?" Ben posited curiously. The absol that entered the room had silvery fur in various patches among its body. He gazed at the company through dull, weary red eyes and lied down, previous anxiety dashed. A small smile crossed his face.

"That is indeed my name," the absol replied confidently. "I have never told it to anyone else. I would ask how you know my name, but you two are the ones I foresaw in my vision."

"How? What happened to you?" Summer asked. "Did you...?"

"No, no. I did not pass on," he interrupted. "I merely had my life extended."

"So this is what happened to that human," Ledian muttered as he entered the room, bringing Ampharos and Primeape with him. "How did this happen, old man?" So many things seemed to be happening at once for the trio. A pokémon of human origin was truly a rare thing to see.

"I can't believe I never managed to piece it together," Ampharos said. "No wonder we never saw him leave this room."

"I always thought that human fell into a pit all those years ago," Primeape added. "I never would have imagined something so insane. Not that you're insane, of course."

"In my vision," Amun continued, "I saw the return of the Sky Fortress, the destruction it wreaked," Pichu shuddered upon hearing that, remembering his pokémon friends' close scrape, "and the return of the heroes of Oblivia. In all the books I uncovered and the places I explored," he mused, "never did I expect such a fantastic turn of events in my life."

"Amun, how did this happen to you?" Ben asked, slightly frustrated that his partner's question was not answered. "Can you please tell us?"

The absol stood up and stretched. "Very well. I shall. However, I am the last trial you must face before the Rainbow Grail can be yours. Show me the bond that guided you so far and I will answer your questions." He jumped back as Ledian, Ampharos, and Primeape backed away to watch. "Have at you!" With one swing of his horn, he launched a series of Razor Wind attacks. In their surprise, both dragon-and-psychic-type pokémon were hit by the small black crescents and knocked back a few feet. They quickly recovered and readied their Stylers.

"Ready, Ben?" Summer asked her counterpart. Ben replied with a silent nod and fired the Capture Disc. Amun was perplexed by the strange object that constantly looped around him and temporarily stopped his assault. The latias fired her own Capture Disc and had it travel in the opposite direction.

"What are these strange things?" he wondered. The absol's eyes began to lose what little radiance they had left as his steps became unstable. "What is this calming feeling surging through my being?" He concentrated and used Double Team to interrupt both lines. He jumped away from the Eon duo and shook himself.

"It looks like he isn't quite used to this," the latios confidently said to his partner. "It seems we have the advantage after all."

"Right. Pichu, hop on my back and do your thing," Summer commanded. Pichu was all too happy to oblige. As he played, the same aura that protected him and Luxray on Layuda Island surrounded him once more.

"A pichu with a ukulele? ...He's talented, I'll give him that," Amun said as he listened to the Tiny Mouse pokémon playing, "but I won't let that stop me." He pressed his forepaws against the ground and unleashed a Dark Pulse. Ben cried out in surprise as the attack erupted underneath him and sent him crashing into the wall behind him.

"Ben!" Pichu cried, interrupting his playing out of shock.

"I'm fine. Finish the job, Summer!" His Styler buzzed for a moment and undid the damage he took, taking its total energy into the yellow zone, though it could not undo how winded the attack made him. Summer nodded determinedly and charged her Styler just as before.

"Pichu, I'll need you to distract him," she said. Pichu jumped off her back and onto Amun's and fired a Thunder Shock attack. He attempted to buck him off but Pichu held on as tightly as possible. Once Summer's Capture Disc had enough power, she fired it just as Pichu was flung away. Before he could fall into the chasm, Ben reached out and caught him with Psychic, then safely moved his friend into his awaiting paws. The disc looped around the absol ten more times before returning to Summer.

"Capture complete!" Amun's body shuddered as he was forcibly calmed, his will to fight completely gone. Once he stopped shuddering, he lied down, weary from the battle, and smiled.

"Well, that was quite unusual. I see that your coming here was no fluke. It would seem that you two-no, three-have completed all the trials. I am proud to say that you have now claimed the Rainbow Grail as your own," Amun remarked. Everyone cheered in delight as the container holding the item opened. Summer picked it up immediately in glee.

"I was certainly impressed by how quick that battle was," Ampharos said. "You three work really well together, and you barely even used any attacks."

"Looks like I was wrong about strength being everything," Primeape admitted. "I guess you can win without knocking anyone out, not that I'm gonna go for that anytime soon." Ledian agreed with a nod. Ben got up and shook himself.

"Amun, will you tell us what happened to you?" he asked him. Amun nodded.

"Very well. I shall be brief," he responded. "You may have noticed my name placed all over several key points in Oblivia. It is true that I managed to pass every rigorous trial in here except the last one, quite a feat for someone who no longer had the youth to do so adequately. With every trial passed, I left behind notes for individuals who aspired to obtain the Rainbow Grail for the festival. The hardest one was surviving the onslaught of pokémon attacks, but I digress.

"Truth be told, this last trial did not exist until I made it to this room." Everyone gasped at this. "Once I entered this room, I found myself in another dimension, where I was greeted by the Original One. I was told that I had fulfilled my role by recording history and was granted this new, younger form. The Original One left me with one last task: test anyone who came for the treasure you now hold." He stood up and closed his eyes, and within moments a white, glowing panel appeared on the ground in front of him.

"What will you do now, Amun?" Summer asked him. He smiled at the latias.

"Now that my task has been fulfilled, I do not know. I have had no visions of my own future, but I'm sure I can think of something. Perhaps I'll leave to join an aspiring youth on their journey or settle down with someone. Anyways, enough about me. You have a region to save. This panel will warp you outside." Both Eon pokémon and Pichu stepped on the panel and waved goodbye to the other pokémon as they disappeared.

"Good luck..."

---

Ben and Summer changed into their disguises before leaving Teakwood Forest and entering Cocona Village.

"There you are!" Leanne called out to them. Accompanying her was Murph, Rand, Nema, and Booker. "Booker filled us in on what was going on. So, did you managed to get the Rainbow Grail?"

"We sure did!" Summer proudly responded, presenting the rainbow-colored grail to the group who looked on in awe. "It wasn't easy, but we did it. It's too bad the Rainbow Dais here won't work."

"I know. I came to tell you that I was unable to find any information about where it could be. The mural depicting it left no clue about its location." Ben stared at his Styler as an image came to him, and he momentarily tuned everyone out.

"After all that work finding the Rainbow Grail..." Rand grumbled. "This sure is frustrating." At this point Ben's staring was noticed by everyone.

"Um, Ben?" Nema wondered. "What's up? Why the blank stare?"

"Is there something on your mind, Ben?" Rand asked him. Ben broke the odd staring contest he was having with his Styler and looked up.

"Actually, I remember seeing something that looked a lot like the dais," the disguised latios responded. "When I fell into the ocean and chased a mantyke that made off with my Styler, I ended up in some underwater ruins. The stone my Styler fell on... definitely had the same image as the stone in the mural."

"...Really?! That's good news!"

"Are you sure you weren't dreamin' or something?" Booker wondered. "Ya did have a long tumble in the sky, after all."

"Maybe what Ben saw shouldn't be dismissed so readily," Leanne chided. "It comes up often in gossip among archaeologists, with it's location garnering the most speculation."

"That's gotta be it!" Murph cried. "I'm positive!"

"Ben," Summer said, "do you remember where you fell?" Ben paused for a moment before sadly shaking his head.

"Well, without any hints, finding it is next to impossible in such a watery region," Rand commented. Booker took one step forward.

"Ben washed up on Dolce Island." Pichu shuddered and clutched his ears for a moment before letting them go. "Sorry, Pichu. The current runs there, but that doesn't help much 'cause it goes everywhere." Suddenly, Nema had an idea.

"Perhaps Ben's Styler remembers where he landed!"

"It's good, but I'm not so sure. Last I remember, it was cracked and seawater had gotten inside it," Summer replied. "I don't know if it saved his position successfully." Without any prompting from either of the rangers, Ben's Styler began looking into its memory for the coordinates.

"Searching... searching..." it announced, startling everyone.

"Whoa, take it easy Voice Nav.! I know you can do it!" Murph cheered. Eventually it stopped searching.

"Search complete," it announced. "This Styler received impact shock at X Coordinate 055621, Y Coordinate 355693. Thank you very much... Murph." Everyone cheered upon hearing this news.

"Did anyone catch that last part?" Murph wondered aloud. "I couldn't understand it clearly from all the cheering."

"I did," Ben replied. "You're a great ally, Murph. Right now we need to head to that spot on the Union!" Murph nodded and hurried to Tilt Village to prepare things.

"This is makin' me all teary-eyed," Booker said, wiping his eyes. "My ship, long thought to be retired, is settin' sail to save Oblivia. It's plumb astoundin'. I'll be at home, wishing for your success and safety."

---

"Now arriving at X Coordinate 055621, Y Coordinate 355693," Ben's Styler announced.

"Well, it looks like we've reached the Rainbow Dais," Murph said. "Got anything you want to get off your chest? Hopefully not a tentacool?" Both rangers looked at each other for a moment before nodding.

"Actually, there is one thing, and we think we should show you now instead of later," Ben answered. Murph looked at the two apprehensively before a bright flash forced him to shield his eyes. When he looked again, he saw a latias and latios looking back at him. Both Eon dragons still had the yellow scarves around their necks, the goggles on their heads, and the Stylers attached to one of their claws.

"Whoa!" he shouted. "Oh my... T-This is... this is incredible! It... this... how?"

"The feelings we had earlier," Ben explained, "led to this discovery. I'm still not sure we're the original Latias and Latios, or if there's a way to turn back, but we'll worry about that later."

"Well, those Pinchers sure won't know what hit them now. I have so many questions, but you really should get going. The fate of the world rests in your hands... er, claws. That... sounded a lot better in my head." With that, they put on their goggles, grabbed the Rainbow Grail, and dived as quickly as possible. Upon reaching the Rainbow Dais, they set the oversized cup on its surface. Moments later the water around them vibrated intensely, and they barely managed to swim out of the way before the rising platform could hit them.

"Whoa!" Pichu cried as he saw the dais erupt from the water. The Eon pokémon soon followed it out of the water, with Summer pausing to grab Pichu, and stopped at the top. "So, what happens now?"

"I think-" Ben started to say before they heard the sound of flapping wings. Their eyes widened in surprise as Ho-Oh flew onto the scene. The giant phoenix landed in front of them and smiled as much as it could.

"It pleases me to see you two again," Ho-Oh greeted warmly. "I am glad to see that my wish has been granted, and I am even more pleased by your continued efforts in your human forms."

"Wait a minute, your voice... I can't help but feel like I've heard it before," Ben said, holding a claw under his mouth.

"You do sound familiar. Have we met before?" Summer asked, feeling the same way.

"We have indeed met before," she spoke. "You may not remember the events of long ago, but I do. Where did you get the knowledge of how to move yourselves and utilize your abilities? Surely the source could not have been your instincts."

"Hold on," Ben realized. "You... you were the voice in our heads? How? And why us?"

"You may have learned this by now, but you two are indeed the very same Latias and Latios that saved Oblivia a long time ago," the fire-type pokémon revealed. "I made a promise to have the both of you reincarnated for your deeds so that you would live out the rest of your lives in a peaceful world. It would seem, however," she lamented as she closed her eyes, "that you must repeat history and end this crisis."

"We promise to see this through," Summer said.

"I thank you. Ben, I can sense the anger in your heart," Ho-Oh spoke. "You are right to feel this way."

"Huh? I'm not angry," the latios responded, confused. "Why should I be?"

"I have felt it since the moment you and your partner received those visions," she continued, sounding guilty. "Your human lives were taken away at that point. I did not want to believe it at first, but seeing you in person has made me realize just how rashly I acted. For that, I am truly sorry for both of you." Ben was silent for a moment as he processed Ho-Oh's words.

"...Don't worry. It's okay," Ben replied. "I already accepted that I won't be getting back to normal, albeit reluctantly. I now know for sure that's not happening, but right now that's not important. What matters is saving our... yes, our home." He held a paw on the triangle on his chest as he looked at the Sky Fortress, then at Ho-Oh. "There are bad people that mean to enslave us all, and I refuse to put my needs over that of Oblivia while I have the power to stop them," he pledged.

"I'm with Ben," Summer said. "Besides, you were carrying out a promise you made to us. You're a true friend, Ho-Oh." Now it was the phoenix's turn to be silent as she ran their words through her mind. Her smile returned moments later.

"...I see that your valiant spirits have not changed after all this time. It is no coincidence that you two work together after all. You used to be a couple before tragedy befell you." The dragons couldn't help but blush from her statement while Pichu chuckled to himself. He looked at the fortress and coughed.

"Ho-Oh, we need your help. Can you set Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno free?" Pichu pleaded. Ho-Oh gazed at the Sky Fortress and narrowed her eyes.

"Yes, of course," she replied, straightening up. "I remember why I have been summoned. We must speak at a less tumultuous, my friends." With that, she shook herself, spread her wings and took flight. Ben, Summer, and Pichu flew by her side. Flames surged across Ho-Oh's body as she flew forward, trailing a rainbow behind her. Once she flew over the barrier, the Legendary Birds flew after her, removing the barrier protecting the fortress.

"Danger! Danger!" the Eon pokémon's Stylers exclaimed. "Multiple energy signatures detected originating from the main cannon. Proceed with caution." Ho-Oh looped around and hovered in front of the rangers.

"I will clear a path. It has been a while since I last displayed my power and I want to keep my skills sharp. Fly alongside me, you two, and follow my lead." All three legendary pokémon combined their powers, forming a large shield, and flew directly to the middle of the Sky Fortress. All attacks launched by the fortress's defense cannons were immediately disintegrated on impact. Once they were close enough, Ho-Oh broke from the formation to take Zapdos, Moltres, and Articuno away from the scene. "The rest is up to you. Save Oblivia once more!"