FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 11

I blinked in confusion as the two pokémon stared each other down. I was relieved that Lucian had arrived just in time, but questions sprung through my mind all at once at what I was hearing and seeing.

"Lu-Lucian..." I tried to speak but the paralysis seemed to be affecting my speech.

A breath of wind passed at my head as suddenly Psy appeared next to me. His eyes glowed purple under his blindfold and I felt the paralysis and Morgana's mental attack suddenly pass. I coughed in surprise and Psy spoke to me in my head.

Save your questions, we must focus on the task at hand. With that, Psy vanished as quickly as he had appeared.

While I recovered from my cough Lucian held his left paw out to me, the other still holding his bone staff behind himself but he did not take his gaze off of the Gardevoir in front of him. I reached and grasped his paw with mine and he lifted me up easily to my feet.

"How..." Morgana started, her voice still stunned, "How is this possible...? HOW ARE YOU ALIVE?!"

Silently, Lucian held my paw and he brought his bone staff around his body and he placed the weapon in my paw. He let go and I grasped it, feeling a sudden flood of energy enter me. The blue staff changed color to green as I held it and then Lucian stepped forward. Morgana stepped back as Lucian spun his paws once. Two new blue bone weapons appeared in each, smaller and pointed at the end like swords.

"Hope you can learn how to use that on the fly Ruli." Lucian growled to me. I didn't respond, staring at the weapon in my paw, not really knowing what to think anymore. What the heck was going on?

"Ruli!" Lucian barked at me when I didn't answer and I looked at the back of his head, "I know you have questions, but right now I need you to focus. We need to protect this world!"

I stared at the back of his head momentarily and I realized he was right. I nodded and I brought my other paw to hold the staff, mimicking Lucians stance as I came up beside him.

"Morgana!" Lucian barked and the Gardevoir jumped, clearly still shaken by the development, "You won't be harming this world today or any other day!"

"How..." Morgana said again, "How are you alive...?" She whispered just barely loud enough for us to hear and suddenly she grit her teeth, her calm demeanor lost and she clenched her rapier tightly in her hand.

"Now there are two traitors!" She shouted and she waved her other hand again, this time summoning two spears of psychic which she sent at both of us. I made to block with my weapon but Lucian did not move, the psychic energy merely vanishing feet away from our bodies.

Lucian's left eye had begun to glow purple, "There are no traitors here! Just defenders!" With that he dashed forward, brandishing his weapons to strike.

He clashed with Morgana, attacking with such speed that he had her on the constant defense, using her rapier and reflecting walls as shields. He would dart and dash in and out, jumping around her to try flanking her from the side but she was just barely able to keep up, putting up shields just in time to block him.

I wondered if I should try to help, gripping the staff in my paws tightly, but the look in Lucian's eyes and the look on his face as he fought held me back. I was afraid I would just get in his way. He was being so furious, he shouted and howled with each strike he made, jumping nimbly through the air and shifting left and right. He dodged Morgana's attempts to strike back and though she would try to summon her spears to strike him they would fail to peirce the dark type barrier he made with his Absol eye. He had said he wouldn't but he had definitely been holding back in our training.

Lucian did a jump into the air and he came down upon Morgana, who lifted held her hand up above her to make another reflect shield. The Lucario hit the shield with one sword, then as he started to fall he brought his footpaws back down stand on the pink colored shield.

Lucian shouted out as he kicked off the solid force into the air once more, striking again at Morgana's shield before kicking off once again to come back down and strike once more. He bared his teeth at her as he kept at it, her shield starting to crack but still holding strong.

I realized my chance and dashed at the enemy, moving my staff to hold it at the very end and I shouted as I swung at Morgana's body. She didn't even notice me coming, she was too focused on Lucian striking her from above. Just as Lucian jumped up a forth time from her shield, I hit her gut with as much force I could muster.

She gasped in surprise as I knocked her off her feet and sent her tumbling. Lucian landed beside me and I stood beside him again as Morgana stopped and laid on the floor close to the edge of the Tower. She rose to her knees and held her gut with a hand, coughing slightly while she glared at us both.

"I..." She started to say slowly, voice dark and ominous as her eyes glowed, "Will not..." She stood up and let go of her gut, and slowly another rapier appeared in her other hand. "Let..." She snapped a finger as about thirty spears of energy appeared in the air around her, "You rotten..." She snapped her other finger and thirty more appeared, "Traitors stand in the way..."

Suddenly she dashed forward and Lucian did as well, shouting out in anger as he met her halfway. The spears darted forward and I watched in amazement as Lucian did flips and sidesteps, even while clashing weapons with her. What he couldn't dodge he was using his eye to destroy, the spears vanishing a foot before hitting him.

They traded blows that I could barely keep up with, occasionally crossing swords and pushing against each other violently, eyes glaring anger at each other before they would separate and start their insane dance of combat again.

Eventually all the spears were gone and Lucian began growling back at Morgana as they fought, shouting between his attacks.

"You still think..." He said as he made a wild swing which Morgana blocked with her rapier and he then stabbed with his other paw, which she twirled out of the way.

"That just because you have the ability to..." He continued while following up with a sharp kick to Morgana's side which she was not able to block. She gasped out and stumbled back, holding her side and Lucian stood a few yards in front of her.

"You just think you can rob this world of its life to save your own?" He continued and pointed a finger from his paw at her accusingly.

"You were all for it too!" She shouted back and he lowered his paw then, looking down at the ground briefly.

"That...was before I had to live an entire life as a denizen of this world..." Lucian mumbled and he looked to the side at the ground.

"You've been here for all those forty years!?" She shouted at him in shock, "Do you have any idea how worried we all were!?" Lucian stayed looking at the ground as she continued, her voice growing frantic as she waved her arms dramatically, "When we sent you here and you just...vanished?! How worried I was!? How much I cried when they told me you were lost?"

Morgana started walking forward, her rapiers vanishing from her hands, her voice calming slightly as she stared at him. "Lucian...I don't want to fight you...forty years have passed...things there are only getting worse...please help me..."

Lucian's head shot up and he held out his left paw, holding the bone sword out at her, the tip ending just under Morgana's chin. She stared in surprise once more at Lucian, who stared back at her, eyes wavering in internal conflict. I noticed a few tears running down his face as he shook his head, his voice shaking as he spoke.

"I gave up on that world...this is my world now...and I will defend it with my life." He growled at her and he gripped the sword tightly with his paw, showing his teeth again as he did, "We wrought that destruction ourselves...Once upon a time, I might have stood beside you...but now I won't allow this world to pay the price for our foolishness."

Morgona stared at him and surprisingly she smiled.

"So...this really is the way you feel...I understand...but I won't fight you...but I won't live knowing I can't bring you back..." She said sadly and then suddenly puffed her body out, pressing her neck against Lucian's blade. She stared at him pointedly, tears in her eyes.

"Do it then..." She told him bluntly.

Lucian stared at her for several moments and I felt my heart beating rapidly in my chest as I watched, wondering what he was going to do and again what the heck was going on.

Suddenly Lucian grit his teeth and he whispered something to Morgana that I could not hear. Morgana nodded and she whispered something back, before Lucian pulled his sword back and he held it at his right side.

Morgana stared at him a moment longer and then she closed her eyes, still baring her body out to him and I gasped as I saw he really was going to do it.

"Lucian! Don't!" I shouted and started to run and try to intercept, but he did not seem to listen to me. Rather, he seemed to act when he heard me, howling out as he swung his weapon.

With a swift movement, Lucian slashed his sword through the air at Morgana diagonally. At first, it seemed he had missed her, but as I ran forward, she silently slumped to the side and fell, the dress of her body flapping down around her...

I slowed as I saw it happen, coming to a stop just a few yards from them, eyes wide as Lucian held his sword in the air still with his eyes closed and tears streaming from them. My paw fell open in my shock and released the green bone staff, it vanished before hitting the ground.

Suddenly Lucian fell to his knees and paws in front of Morgana's body, the swords falling from his paws and vanishing before even hitting the ground just like my staff had. His tears dripped to the ground in front of himself. I stood silently to the side in shock and confusion as I watched him.

Psy reappeared beside me, but I didn't acknowledge or look at him, stunned speechless.

Several minutes past until he spoke up, "Do you feel it had to come to that...?" Psy asked calmly to Lucian.

He did not respond at first, tears still falling to the ground in front of him before he suddenly seemed to pull himself together. He rose to his feet and stared down at Morgana before him.

"Those that threaten this world must not be allowed to live..." He said sternly and turned away, beginning to walk to the exit.

______________________

When Chora found out what happened at the top of the tower, she reluctantly called a temporary cease fire to investigate fully on what had happened. The other Elders were called and quickly the whole assault turned into country wide news.

Lucian and I were both bound in vines and placed under guard, leaving Psy, Axel, and the others to explain all that had happened. Our arms were bound to our side and our paws tied together. We were placed into the darkness of a den, the entrance securely sealed with walls of leaves. We sat silently for hours in the darkness. There was light that filtered into the den, allowing me to at least see.

I had so many questions to ask but the look in Lucian's eyes in the darkness was haunting and I couldn't think of anything to say.

"You can ask what you need..." Lucian eventually said without moving and I looked at him from the side, tilting my head slightly. He didn't look back as he continued, "You must have plenty of questions...ask." He said and I sighed softly while closing my eyes and shaking my head.

"I don't know where to start..." I told him lightly and he chuckled lightly.

"I figured." He shuffled a bit to get more comfortable where he was sitting, "I wouldn't know where to start either, I don't blame you."

"What are you I guess will be as good a place as any to start. What do you know about all this?" I said and he nodded softly while sighing.

"I'm a human...just like you..." Lucian closed his eyes, "The world of the humans is dying..."

"Dying?"

Lucian nodded, "I'll just start at the beginning...I don't know if you know this, but a long time ago pokémon and mankind did live together, in our world, the human world. We lived in harmony together, each helping the other for our liveliness."

"Eventually though..." Lucian shook his head, "Things got...bad. Someone greedy found out that inside pokémon is a form of energy that lasts for many millennium, and began kidnapping them for that energy. This new energy spawned hundreds of new inventions, improving the lives of both human and pokémon, but with each creation a pokémon had to be sacrificed to keep it working...Unknowingly the world went on for years, enjoying increasing luxuries."

"It wasn't long until the truth came to light though. People got angry, and so did pokémon. One in particular choose to take its kind out of the picture all together. Arceus opened the way for pokémon to flee, opening a gate into a whole new dimension. Humans were not able to stop them. Millions of pokémon abandoned our world, the only ones that stayed were those that were too attached to their human families. Arceus, from the many plates that give him shape, created seven mirrors, these mirrors he gave to the pokémon in the other world, then he closed the gate and vanished."

Lucian chuckled as he shook his head, "That's just what history teaches us though."

"History?" I asked and tilted my head, "How long ago did this happen?"

"Twenty thousand years..."

I gasped "Wh-what?" I gaped, "Twenty thousand years?!"

Lucian nodded, "I wasn't kidding when I said the energy could last several millennium..." He opened his eyes to look at me while he kept going with his story, "Time past, humans eventually forgot about the conflict, only really noting it in textbooks. They had nearly unlimited energy, they weren't worried."

"Until it began to run out." I summed it up and Lucian nodded.

"Those few pokémon that remained after Arceus closed the gate were soon taken from their families and used for several more machines. The rate at which they created was too fast even for controlled breeding to keep up with. Pokémon are extinct in the world of humans."

"Extinct..." I whispered in surprise and thought, "But...I remember so much about pokémon! I know the species before they even introduce themselves!"

Lucian shook his head, "You only recognize them because of the studies you did before being sent here, even if you don't remember doing such studies. You are exactly like me, you were one of them once."

"One of them?"

"She told you about project Ouroboros?" Lucian asked and I thought back.

"Yeah, she did mention that." I nodded.

"When the energy first began to fail about two hundred years ago, mankind realized we were at the last of our rope. We had become so dependant on the energy. It powered our irrigation systems, our electronics, our very way of life. Without it, we would regress to the point of anarchy and wars over resources and possibly...our own extinction. Desperately, scientists began trying to think of solutions, and eventually, they found one. Using the energy from the pokémon, we could trace Arceus' "gate" through space and time. We found this world. The millions of pokémon that had fled all those years ago had been found."

Lucian gritted his teeth, "I was one of those scientists...and apparently so were you, they wouldn't have sent you here if you weren't..."

I blinked at him and I tried to take it all in, only saying the first thing that came to mind next, "But I'm like...fifteen years old?"

"Old enough to be an expert on pokémon species. That's why you seem to know so much about them before you meet them." Lucian returned, relaxing from his tense posture then and shaking his head once more.

"What happened then?" I asked in interest.

"With the discovery of the pokémon world, it was easy to get everything we needed to create a dimensional teleporter. It took several years but we were finally ready to make a test of it. I was the test subject. I readily volunteered, I wanted to be the first human to touch this world, wanted my name to go down in history, so to speak..." Lucian chuckled, "What a joke...when they turned it on everything instantly went wrong. All the tests, predictions, and calculations couldn't have really readied us for actually sending someone through time and space. We hadn't realized until then something critical. The mirrors. They made a barrier we had not detected until actually trying to penetrate this world. It was going to stop me from getting through, but the machine had already been turned on and I already locked inside the capsule, it was too late."

Lucian looked up at the sky through the branches over our heads, "I was lost to the space between dimensions...floating endless through empty air...unable to die..."

I looked at him, "But you're here now, how did you get out?"

"Arceus..."

I blinked, "You met the god of pokémon...?" I asked him in awe and Lucian nodded.

"He found me floating helplessly..." He fell silent a moment and he shivered, "I remember his stare...pure, unbridled hatred for what I was. I begged him...begged him to give me a way out of that place, vowed I would do whatever he wished even if it was to destroy our teleporter. Instead, he told me he would have me born as a pokémon. He told me he would make me live a life where I was hated by my own "people", so that I could feel the same betrayal he had when we had betrayed him all those years ago. He stated he would let me keep my memories, so that I could remember who I was once was, so that I could know exactly what my greed had won me..." Lucian looked at his feet, "And thus I was remade and born a half breed...hated, misunderstood and unloved by my own species."

"You have no idea how hard it is to pretend that you're a clueless kid to a bunch of adults..." Lucian growled in anger, "I was stronger than all the kids my age because I simply had more experience. Of course though, that skill was turned against me as well. They blamed my eye, they blamed the bad luck it could bring...sure its got a little bit of dark type power in it...but it wasn't that that made me so powerful. They all mistrusted and hated me...except for just one..."

"Ruli's father..." I realized quietly and Lucian nodded rapidly, sniffling a bit, then laughing,

"Who would've thought...One pokémon could show me the error my ways?" He looked at me then and he was smiling, more tears flowing down his face. It felt strange to see him like this, the Lucian I knew before had been so cold and distance. "I told him what I was...I told him what I had been sent here to do...I told him everything...and all he did...all he did was state a simple fact...he said-"

"So what if you were?" I interrupted him, looking down myself now at the ground and he gulped at me in surprise.

"Y-yeah...how did you know?"

"Axel said the same thing to me..." I said softly and Lucian laughed lightly from the irony of it.

"From that moment on, I vowed that whenever the others managed to get here...I would fight them to my very last breath, I would not allow them to destroy this world. Even if mankind did get their hands on these pokémon to turn into energy, it would only be delaying the inevitable. We doomed ourselves the moment we discovered that energy source. There was no point in dragging this world to its doom with us."

"What about me?" I asked then. He shrugged at me and I continued, "Morgana said they sent me in as a test subject too. She said they had found a hole in the barrier and tried to send me through it, but failed. My mind went trough, but not my body, so I randomly took someone over close to my age it seemed, and it just so happened to be Ruli. It caused me to forgot who I was and what I had been sent here to do..."

"They sent you because you were expendable if something still went wrong." Lucian determined, shrugging again, "They had to perfect their formula to get through the barrier undamaged, and it seems they did that."

I nodded and then looked at Lucian, "Did you know what I was the whole time? Is that why you started training me?"

Lucian shook his head, "No, I didn't. I really was taking it upon myself to train you only because you were your father's son. The promise I stated is true, I promised him I would be his child's godfather. At the same time it does not surprise me that it ended up being you. If I had known before I might've attacked you thinking you were here to harm the mirrors..."

"What about Psy? He was with you but I had heard he was captured as a traitor."

"He was. When I returned that day to the clearing and you had vanished, I returned to my cave but didn't find you there, instead Elder Xio'en was waiting for me. He reluctantly told me what was going on and that he had already warned you back in the forest. He knew full well you were innocent and were with me the whole time, so he did not give away that you were actually with me when the Eeveelutions came looking for you. I ran without rest to the coast town, it took me until just this morning to reach it." I realized that had been around the time that I had met up with Mistress Chandelure, and the distance seemed about accurate.

"When I arrived I quickly discovered the situation, the town was torn between some blasted Infernape trying to scare everyone and those that wanted to help you." Lucian growled and I couldn't but grin a little as he continued, "I punched his lights out and then a Treeko told me what had happened when the Eeveelutions came looking for you. I found where they were holding Psy and Pangoro and freed them both. Psy seemed to know everything about me, and so he more than readily revealed to me what you were and what was happening. I had knocked out all the guards stationed there as well and an Espeon teleported into the middle of town and shouted out that the Leafeon Tower was under attack before he realized all the guards were out cold."

"He teleported away before I could get at him, but Psy calmed me and he teleported me here instead, inside the tower. I saw Axel and the Chandelure holding the Leafeon at bay, and when Axel recognized who I was he told me you were at the top of the Tower, and then such I climbed. I got to the top just in time..."

"Morgana was waiting for me...she had used the distraction to get herself up to the top as well..." I recalled.

Lucian nodded and he fell silent, and I figured now was the best time to ask this.

"Who was Morgana to you Lucian?" I asked softly.

Lucian grimaced and he closed his eyes, then he silently told me, "She was my wife...I wish it hadn't been her...I wish it would've been anyone else but her..." Lucian curled up tightly, hiding his face between his legs then and fell silent.

I looked at the ground between my legs as well and feel silent too, sadness filling me as I thought about how horrible and hard it must of been for him to do what he did...

_______________________

"You are brought before this council to determine the penalty of your actions against our world-"

"This is a bunch of crap and you know it!" Machop interrupted Epa from behind us in a large crowd of pokémon consisting of the residents of the coast town. We were at the base of the Leafeon Tower and still in their encampment, everyone that was summoned being teleported here by the Espeons.

I looked back behind myself and watched as Machop's parents hid him from view, then looked to the ground at my side sadly as Epa continued, not showing any sign she acknowledged the interruption, "the penalty of your actions against our world and those living in it, from the laws handed down by our ancestors."

I looked back to her and the six other Eeveelutions standing before us, with Epa sitting in the middle, her body too frail to stand. After several more hours of brooding in the den, we had finally been called to stand trail before the Council of Elders. Lucian and I stood side by side, the bindings that kept our arms at our sides were removed but now we had vines around our ankles as well as our wrists. We had been warned if we tried to run the vines would tighten to trip us.

"What do you both say in your defense?" Epa looked at us both and Lucian stepped forward once.

"I will not deny what I am..." Lucian said readily and he stared across all of the Elders, "I am a halfbreed Lucario, my father was a Absol and my mother a Lucario...and I was once a human..."

"You do not deny it?" Epa asked and Lucian shook his head.

"I do not, though I will say I am not proud to have been one...I have learned we are deplorable...we hunger for power and do anything to attain it..."

"A reasonable thing to say when trying to fool us into thinking you won't harm us." The Elder Jolteon stated, and I realized that he must have been chosen to lead after Axel's parents had been killed. "My clan has already been destroyed by one of you, it will take more than words to convince me."

"Then what about what they just did on the Tower? They saved that mirror!" Another of the kids shouted out behind us, which I recognized as Timburr. I didn't turn this time as I heard a rapid shuffling as his own parents probably tried to shield him from view as well. Their parents were probably worried, their kids had assisted in the assault and if they continued to incriminate themselves they might end up on trail next as traitors.

"What happened on the Tower is still under discussion, but the identity of these invaders has already been determined." The Flareon stated next to the Jolteon.

"You're dodging the truth!" Treeko shouted and several other pokémon began to mumble and suddenly Epa yowled.

"Silence!" She shouted out and the crowd quickly became deathly silent, "The truths are the evident factors here! The only words stating otherwise of what happened on the Tower are only from one witness."

"And what about the body of that Gardevoir huh? Clear evidence isn't enough?" Axel shouted out behind us and Epa snarled, the crowd starting up again.

"Silence!" She repeated again, but this time it didn't have as much affect, instead she focused on Axel, "Your banishment was already carried out but don't me kill you as well Axel!"

I clenched my paws into fists as she threatened Axel, but remained as calm as I could while the crowd behind us was not stopping its jeers.

"He saved us from the ghosts!" I heard the younger Hitmontop shout out.

"He helped me carry in apples rather than stealing them." Treeko added eagerly.

"I've never seen Ruli care about someone as much as he did when Axel was in the nursery." Milotic said thoughtfully.

The crowd was again chattering despite Epa's efforts, and she seemed to let them go this time. As this went on though me and Lucian stayed as still as possible, calmly staring at the Espeon.

Suddenly another voice called out in the crowd, "Do you all forget how rotten of a brat he was?"

I couldn't help my ears flicking back a moment at the sound of Infernape's voice. He was in the very back of the crowd, and as everyone focused on him he kept going, "Do you forget the grief he's caused? The things he's stolen, lies he's told, and your own children he's hurt while he's lived here? You all just suddenly forgot about all that because he did a few good deeds?!"

"That," Epa shouted back, then lowered her voice as she caught everyone's attention once more. "Was before this human took over Ruli's body, the character of the one who was once Ruli is not in question here, only the character of the human that now controls his body."

I blinked in surprise at Epa as she stared at me. Had she just defended me against Infernape?

The other Elders seemed to pick up on it as well, shuffling where they stood and the crowd murmured still behind us as Epa continued. "Lucian, would you please tell us if you had ever had plans to harm the mirrors?"

Lucian bowed his head and he folded his ears back, "I had came here with that original intention...yes."

"And why did you abandon those intentions?"

Lucian paused a moment and he eventually answered, "I was shown the error of my ways."

"How?" Epa pushed.

"I...I revealed myself to a trusted friend, just a normal, pure blood Lucario." I looked at him as I realized he was explaining when he had told Ruli's father what he was.

"You revealed yourself?" Chora asked in surprise, "What would possess you to do that?"

Lucian stayed silent another moment, "You all know the way this conflict began yes?" He questioned all the Elders and the Jolteon bristled.

"We are asking the questions here human not you."

"We are aware of the history between human and pokémon." Epa instead answered, the Jolteon glaring at her and she stared back briefly. He turned his gaze away soon after, clearly not willing to challenge her.

"I realized that I had been given a second chance..." Lucian said, and I stared at him, again seeing the similarity in how he had been affected by Ruli's father like Axle affected me. "I believe I had been given this body, this life...not as a punishment, but as a second chance to learn..."

"You speak as if you had been gifted with your body and abilities. Who gave it to you?" Chora commented and asked.

"If I tell you you would still not believe me..." Lucian stated, holding his gaze to her, "I had been born into this world, naturally, from the womb of a mother I do not even know the name of. Ruli and the other humans...they came to this world in their own bodies at first, Ruli being an exception as something had gone wrong that caused only his mind to pass through to this world. The others though, like Morgana, get her as a whole human, body mind and all. This world rejects our very existence though, it molds us into pokémon to better suit it."

"All the more proof that you do not belong here." The Elder Glaceon stated then and he continued, "But you are slightly dodging the question. You say we will not believe who gave you your "Second chance" but try us anyway."

Lucian lowered his head, "The one who gave me this second chance...was Arceus..."

Gasps and mumbles of the pokémon behind us rose and Epa seemed just as shocked as she spoke.

"Arceus sacrificed himself when he gave us the mirrors...you speak of something that is not possible."

"Arceus does still exist." Lucian pressed, bringing his head back up to stare at Epa pointedly, "His plates made the mirrors, his energy is within them...he lives on inside them, he is the barrier. I met him in the space between this world and the human world."

"You have no proof of it." Epa stated firmly and Lucian grinned slightly as he shot back.

"And you, guardians of the mirrors, still have no clue how the mirrors work."

A few of the Elders' fur bristled at Lucian's comment and Epa tried to keep control, "That's enough." She said firmly again and she looked at me, "Ruli, step forward." She was trying to turn the subject away before it got out of hand it seemed.

I stepped forward and Lucian stepped back, bowing his head and closing his eyes. I flicked my ears back a bit in anxiety but forced myself to remain calm as I stood.

"Explain to us what made you decide to not harm the mirrors." Epa stated and I nodded.

"I...I never really wanted to harm them..."

"You were sent here with the mission to do so, how can you say you did not want to harm them?" The Flareon stated beside Epa and I really felt my ears fold back this time.

"I mean to say that I don't remember ever wanting to harm them. I came to this world remembering nothing of my life as a human. As far as I can tell you, it was like being born as a fifteen year old Riolu..."

"But able to still speak?" The Glaceon scoffed. "If you lost your memories you should have been a babbling fool."

"Common knowledge did not escape me." I explained, "As well as some knowledge about other pokémon species...but the knowledge of the mirrors, what my reasoning for coming here, anything like that I had no clue of. It is as if all memories related to anything being human were the only things I forgot."

"And so it was that Psy, being perfectly aware of what you were, brought you to the mirror at my tower, calling on old favors to get me to look the other way." Chora stated and she tilted her head, "What did you see in the mirror?"

"Human or not Chora, we are not able to get anyone to tell us what they see in their mirror visions." Epa stated, making the Elders stare at her in surprise that she was saying that, "It is a law of this world just like anything else. If someone does not wish to speak of what they see in the mirror, then they do not have to."

"It is all right." I told her and I nodded briefly to Chora and I took a breath to calm my nerves again.

"I saw a vision through my own eyes." At this, the Elders were already bristling, but I continued "I saw myself standing before the teleporter that brought me here, and four humans standing around me, one of which I know now was Morgana. They told me I was going to be sent to this world, and that my mission was to destroy the mirrors. I stepped into the pod, there was a flash of blue lightning, and that was where it ended."

A few moments of silence fell and it was the Vaporeon that spoke next, her voice soft and startled, "What you just spoke breaks every law of the mirrors we have ever known."

"And yet is the truth." I heard Psy speak behind us, his mental voice projected, "I had already shown you my own memory of the visit to the mirror, and what I truly saw in his head."

"Hearing him say it makes it sound even crazier..." The Flareon Elder shook his head gravely and the Glaceon nodded in agreement.

"What you saw, if it is to be true, was a vision of the past. You had already been sent to this world. Why would the mirrors, that up to this point have only ever shown a pokémon the future, show you an image of the past? On top of that, visions are never seen from one's own eyes, they are shown like watching from the eyes of another, seeing yourself from the outside."

"Perhaps it is the fact that he is human that it happened." The Jolteon stated, voice still laced with distrust and I looked at him, "His kind are the opposite this world desires, so they are transformed into pokémon when arriving. It is easy to think the mirrors would similarly react backwards to them."

"There is one way to find out..." Epa stated and suddenly there was a noise from way back in the crowd. A pair of Espeons were walking up to us, between them floating the mirror from the Leafeon Tower.

They came to stop beside me and Lucian and we both were staring into the glass of the mirror looking at ourselves, me with my scarf around my neck and Lucian with his scarred face and blind eye.

"Lucian." Epa stated and we looked to her, "Please look into the mirror."

Lucian blinked and he stared back at the mirror. A few seconds past as I watched him standing and staring at his own reflection, when his eyes went wide and his mouth fell open slightly. As more seconds went by, Lucian suddenly closed eyes and shook his head rapidly. "No...no...NO!"

I made to try and calm him, but the vines around my feet suddenly tightened as apparently I was stepping out of line, keeping me from moving my leg anymore than that.

"What do you see?" Epa asked over his shouting as Lucian kept shaking his head.

"Get it away! I don't want to see that!" Lucian shouted, shutting his eyes and I growled as I watched him.

"Tell us!" The Jolteon shouted as well and then I snapped, turning my head and barking at them all, making several of them jump in surprise as they had been so focused on Lucian. Lucian fell to his knees in shock behind me as I growled, his eyes still squeezed shut and he appeared to be having trouble breathing.

"Wasn't it you who said that even human, you have no right to force us to tell you what we see!?" I shouted at them and they stared at me.

I pointed with my bound paws at the Lucario behind me, "This Lucario, once human he may be, but he has risked his life to safe you and this world!" I stomped my foot as I continued, anger flooding me as I kept at it.

"I watched him fight with strength and determination none of you could hope to achieve! You throw his words of peace in his face and call him an abomination when he's just trying to help! This pokémon..." I growled as I clenched my fists and shouted as loud as I could at them, "He killed his own mate for you!!!"

The Elders stared at me still as I panted and breathed heavily, sweat dripping down my face as I bared my teeth at them. Psy appeared in front of me, facing the Eeveelutions and he slapped his tail as he spoke mentally again.

"I believe forcing the issue of the mirror is not going to happen here..." He stated calmly while staring straight at Epa, who then nodded to the other Espeon nearby. The Espeons turned and the mirror floated between them, away from Lucian and back through the crowd, who were all shocked from my outburst as well.

"You are right Ruli..." Epa spoke to me evenly, "We don't have the right to force him...but not being able to clarify why the mirror acts the way it does to you will not help us make clear decisions."

"That's just gonna have to be the way it is then." I growled softly and stood more straight, huffing as I started to calm down.

"Your passion is fiery..." The Flareon stated, voice hinting a spec of respect, "You said he killed his own mate for us, what do you mean by that?"

I realized that not even Psy probably knew the connection between Morgana and Lucian, and as such had not told them that detail. I looked behind myself at the other Lucario. Lucian stayed on his knees, his head bowed and eyes still closed. He seemed completely out of it, whatever he had seen in the mirror must have really been jarring to him. He didn't make any sign that he was even hearing us anymore.

"Morgana..." I said softly and turned to face them again, "As humans...Morgana was his mate..."

I heard the crowd behind us start to murmur again and the Elders looked between each other a bit before the Vaporeon spoke gently.

"What about you Ruli?" The Vaporeon asked, "How did you fight on top of the tower?"

I shook my head, "Not nearly as well as Lucian did..."

"You fought barely at all from what we were told." The Jolteon stated, "You stood back and watched the fight unfold."

"I got in one hit when I could." I defended, "I have nowhere near the strength of what Lucian and Morgana were doing...This body and myself are young and untrained. While I may know some things about pokémon, the abilities and talents of Riolu and Lucario were not something I have deep knowledge of. Morgana came to this world as a fully grown Gardivoir and with all her memories intact. Lucian has been here for forty years, he was brought up by the Lucario clan and had trained his whole life."

"So you were just not up to their level yet." Chora noted and I nodded lightly.

"Then lets move on to the next unclear. Why was it the Lucario clan summoned you from the coast town?" The Vaporeon asked

I blinked and I tilted my head, I brought my arms up to brush my scarf with my paws.

"This scarf was a keepsake from Ruli's mother." I explained, "The clan summoned me to give it to me."

"Why did they summon you at such a time though? They could have just sent the scarf to you."

"I can answer that." I turned just to see Elder Xio'en walking across the crowd, "I'm sorry I am late, I'm not as quick as I used to be." He said as he waved through the crowd and eventually came to stand slightly behind me. He placed his paw on his chest and bowed to the Elders.

"I am Xio'en, the Lucario clan Elder." Xio'en stated first before standing straight again, "I summoned Ruli upon finding out that he was in fact the child of his mother and father, a vision through the aura came to me and showed me him, whispering the names of his parents."

"Why were you not aware of his existence to start with though?" Chora asked and then yet another voice chimed in.

"And I'm afraid that is my doing." Pangoro grunted from where he stood in the crowd. As heads turned to him he chewed the shot leaf in his mouth to the other side of his lips, "Ruli's father told me when we were traveling together that if he ever had a child, that he wanted it to grow up outside of the clan. He was not very fond of the Lucario clan's formal living styles, he wanted his child to grow up as normally as possible. So it was that I hid Ruli's existence from his clan, until about a year past, and then I reported to them that we had found a random Riolu in the forest."

"And as such is what you had also been telling Ruli for years until just recently." Chora concluded, "But really his parents had died from a terrible stormed that caused a part of this cliff to fall into the sea..."

Pangoro nodded sadly, "Correct..."

Xio'en sighed sadly as well and he continued, "We gave Pangoro permission to raise the lost Riolu, believing perhaps someone in the clan, exiled, or even banished, had a child out of place and abandoned it to avoid unwanted eyes. When I found out the truth through my vision, I sent a summons for him right away, but only to give him the scarf, nothing more."

"Nothing more?" Epa pressed pointedly and Xio'en shook his head.

"Nothing more." He repeated and looked back at Lucian, "It was after giving Ruli the scarf though that Lucian showed up to take the boy into his custody, stating he would train Ruli how to fight."

"Did Lucian tell you why he wanted to take Ruli?" Epa asked and Xio'en shook his head once more.

"He informed me he had made a promise to Ruli's father, and that to tell me would be to break his honor."

"Lucian." Epa said firmly and she stared at the third Lucario, who was still kneeling and with his eyes closed, "Explain why you wanted to take Ruli into your care."

"It is exactly as he just told you." Lucian said softly, still a little shaken. Grunting, he began trying to stand up with the vines around his ankles.

Lucian stood up and he walked back up beside me, the calculating look back into his eyes. "When I revealed myself to Ruli's father, his father had me promise him that I would be his child's godfather. I had no idea at the time of meeting Ruli that he was a human, I truly believed him to be my friend's son..."

"This further begs a question then as well." The Glaceon said and he stared right at the older Lucario beside us, "Elder Xio'en, why did you lie to the Eeveelutions when we came looking for Ruli? You told us that he had never arrived to your summons."

Xio'en appeared very nervous as he continued, "When I asked for reasoning, the team that arrived told me that the Towers had been attacked and that Ruli was a suspect of the attack. I knew full well that during almost the whole last month Ruli had been training with Lucian in the forests below the mountains...I knew he could not possibly have been involved in the attacks."

"So you lied because you knew Ruli was innocent?"

"I did not know Ruli was a human as well." Xio'en quickly added, "Even so, my own duty as an Elder is to protect the well being of my clan."

"And you did that within reason." Epa concluded, "No one can fault you for that."

"Epa you cannot be serious." The Jolteon suddenly spoke up, "I've been noticing more and more that you have been agreeing to all these reasons and excuses. You can't ignore-"

"I am simply connecting all the facts." Epa interrupted him, waving her tail through the air, "All the testimonies so far are adding up. It is our job to come to a conclusion based on the facts." Epa turned her head then to stare at the Jolteon, "Or do you mean to challenge my ruling over this Court?"

The Jolteon bristled, his fur spiking up and he bared his teeth. The other Elders stared at him, eyes furrowing and as he saw this he shrunk down, looking away and to the ground again.

A moment of silence passed and then Epa continued, "Xio'en, you then proceeded to find and warn Ruli that he was suspect to the Tower attacks did you not?"

"Yes." Xio'en nodded, "I informed him the Eeveelutions were searching for him a suspect of the attacks."

"What did you do then Ruli?"

"I returned to Lucian's cave to find Axel waiting for me."

"I wondered where he had ran off to..." The Umbreon Elder finally spoke and I couldn't help the shiver on my spine, his voice was very low and rather well...dark. "Clearly, Axel also knew that Ruli was innocent, and tried to find him."

I nodded, "I evolved from the training Lucian put me through while running up the mountain, and through that we used it to disguise myself so that I could attempt to met with Epa face to face and try and convince her I was not a threat."

The Elder's heads all turned to Epa then and I continued, "She attacked me though, but Axel's dark type energies negated her abilities, we fled." I did not mention how she had in fact let us go, thinking that the other Elders probably did not need to know that.

"We returned to and hid in Lucian's cave to think of a plan of action. We were outnumbered by the Eeveelutions by hundreds. So it was that I thought of the perfect allies for the situation."

"Is this where I come in?" I looked up to the air to see Mistress Chandelure boldly swinging her way through the air to us all, a few Haunter following behind her.

"Mistress Chandelure." Epa stated as the ghost type queen settled down in front of me and between the Council, the Haunters vanishing though. "Can you explain your connection to Ruli from the first time you met him?"

"Of course." She gave a slight bow and began, "It was during when Psy was bringing Ruli and Axel to the Leafon Tower. Halfway through their journey they found the lost village children, possessed by my ghosts."

"How did they get possessed, what were they doing there?" Chora asked.

"It was because the children had attacked Ruli during a school training exercise," Pangoro said from the crowd. "Axel knocked Ruli out of the way of the attack and got seriously injured. In fright of what may happen to them for injuring an Eevee, the children ran away from home and into the forest."

"Assaulting an Eeveelution clan member is a serious offense." The Glaceon mused, "I can see why they would try to run from it."

"The children became lost in my forest and eventually four of my children found them." The Mistress continued, "My children tricked most of the kids into letting them possess their bodies. Only one of them was really aiming to help them, and that is the ghost that is currently the mental partner of the Timburr child living here. The other three, though enjoying their new bodies were soon beset by hunger. They happened upon an exiled Skitty that was picking berries, and chased her for the food."

"Skitty happened upon us during our travels," Psy took over, "and soon also the ghosts did as well. They tried to use the kids memories to fool us by speaking our names. I teleported the Machop child away and incapacitated him, then teleported to and alerted Mistress Chandelure. Axel and Ruli fought and incapacitated the Hitmontop brothers."

"When I arrived I removed my children from their hosts, and I have already grounded them. They are not allowed to haunt for ten years. I tracked down and spoke with Timburr who told me that rather than fully possessing his body, the Litwick actually assisted him in finding his way home through the forest. It was decided between his parents and I that letting the two stay together may be beneficial." Mistress Chandelure concluded.

"But what about Ruli?" The Flareon pressed, "What did you see of him?"

Mistress Chandelure brandished her flames a moment, "You mortal pokémon, so impatient..." She grumbled slightly then continued, "When I met Ruli, I of course could instantly tell what he was by sensing his very soul."

"Why didn't you report him to me?" Chora stated then, "I thought we had an understanding letting some of the ghosts become our mental partners."

The Mistress gave a laugh, "An understanding?" She tutted, "My dear...we are ageless. I have been a ghost for two thousand years, and my parents were alive for five thousand years giving me my own spark of life. You really think I care what happens to you? I don't." I grinned knowingly from behind Chandelure as she spoke. I knew she was bluffing, she did care about us mortals, just in very strange ways. "What did I care if Ruli was a human? I actually found it rather interesting."

"Then why did you lead an attack on the Tower?" The grass asked.

"An attack?" Chandelure repeated and she giggled again, "You were merely victims of a haunting, nothing more. We have done it several times in the past. It is true that it was Ruli that helped organize the haunt, but we did not kill anyone. We merely aimed to distract and prevent you from chasing Ruli and Axel."

"Why did you help him then?" The Umbreon asked coldly, "If you do not care about this world, then why did you see fit to help?"

"My dears..." Mistress Chandelure stopped her giggling and she became deathly serious, her words darkening, "I said I did not care what happens to you. Despite my ageless life...I do reside in this world. Knowing something threatened it angered me, and so I did what I had to do to protect it."

"But why the attack on the tower?" Chora repeated.

Mistress Chandelure returned to a more relaxed pose as she continued, "When Ruli and Axel came to my forest, they met Skitty for the second time. Skitty knew what was happening and knew the Eeveelutions were after Ruli. However, his previous rescue of her from the ghost possessed children convinced her to help him. She came to me and alerted me he was looking to speak with me, and so I came to him. At the same time, I sent a mental image to the ghost now partnered to Timburr, who informed the children of Ruli's need of aid as well. We all gathered in the forest to plan a course of action, and it was determined that the best way to flush out the real enemies of this world was to get them to come to us. And so it was that we planned to raid the Tower and steal it's mirror."

"You planned to steal a mirror?" The Vaporeon asked in shock, "For trying to prove you were on our side, you were going about it the wrong way."

The Mistress shook her head, "Ruli told us of his attempt to meet with Epa, and that she had told them that no matter what the Eeveelutions would kill him on sight. Without your support, we had no hope of finding out where the invaders could be hiding the mirror that was stolen from the Jolteon tower. We had little options and the best idea was to steal our own mirror and wait for the invaders to eventually come to us for it."

"I see." Epa nodded, "In keeping a mirror for yourselves, you planned to force the remaining humans to come to you instead of trying to find them."

"Exactly." The Mistress agreed, "I led my ghosts in the haunting to distract and allow Ruli to get to the top of the Tower to take the mirror. I had several ghosts waiting close to the top to assist him in moving it, but I later found out they had been attacked before he even started climbing."

"By the Gardevoir?" Chora asked to confirm and Mistress Chandelure nodded her domed head.

"Preciously. In creating our diversion for Ruli, we inadvertently gave her the chance to slip in unseen as well."

Mistress Chandelure started to float up above us, "If my testimony is done, I must be going." She turned in the air and as she put her back to the Council and looked down at me she winked before vanishing. The Elders, except for the Umbreon and Epa, all suddenly shouted in surprise as a Haunter suddenly appeared between them all and stuck out his tongue while laughing like a maniac. As he too vanished, I heard Mistress Chandelure laughing in the air, "Ohohohoh that was a good one dear!"

"Ruli." Epa called to me again right after and I jumped a bit at her suddenness, "Please explain what happened at the top of the Tower."

"I reached the top of the Tower noticing right away that the ghosts that were meant to help me were not there, but I didn't think about it at the time. I approached the mirror and began to examine it. I crouched down at one point to examine the base before standing up and seeing Morgana in the mirror behind me, reaching out with her hand glowing. I reacted and dodged the touch and struck back at her."

"You were lucky." The Jolteon noted then, speaking up again since he had last. "The mirrors are not fooled by invisibility."

I nodded in agreement to him for once as I continued, "Morgana told me she was a human as well and a little about the human's plans. She told me about how I had been sent here but that someone had gone wrong and because of it I was stripped of my memory. She said that, while my body had not passed through the barrier, my mind had."

"After taunting me with further knowledge, she attacked me, and we fought for a bit...but she was stronger than me, as I've said. She eventually hit me with a paralyzing attack, leaving me open. She was about to finish me off when Lucian arrived just in time."

"And I have already told you what happened after he arrived." Psy pointed out to the Elders, and Epa nodded briefly.

"I believe we have heard all that we can..." Epa stared around at the other Elders then and stated, "We will now take a vote...Elders, remember to keep personal feelings out of this." Epa gave a stern glare over at the Jolteon pointedly before continuing, "We base our judgement on the facts and actions of those we are judging. We agreed before this hearing that all of us must be in agreement to clear these humans of their crime of being human. Chora, we will start with you and go down the line."

Chora stepped forward and she stared at me as she spoke, "I must apologize to you for what I said Ruli...what I smelled on you was not the stench of humanity. I now believe it was the smell of a pure heart born into a world that was strange and hostile..." She looked at the other Elders "The Leafeon Clan votes Innocent."

She stepped back as the Glaceon next to her stepped forward. He stared at me and Lucian sternly as he said, "I hear honestly in your words, and you have captured the hearts of the denizens of this town. They defend your names almost violently. It would be foolish of me not to see that. The Glaceon Clan votes Innocent."

The crowd behind me was starting to murmur and I felt my heart starting to quicken in my chest as I heard him. Would this seriously be it?

The Glaceon stepped back and now the Umbreon stood forward, his voice again low and dark as he said, "Axel trusted you enough to betray his clans...and I smell him on you..." I blinked in surprise as the Umbreon grinned slightly and he said, "The Umbreon Clan votes Innocent."

I blinked still as he stepped back and then suddenly realized what he meant, blushing heavily as Epa then spoke, unable to step forward though she simply raised her tail up in the air, "I respect what you attempted to do in trying to meet and convince me you were our friend...I regret that I did not allow you more of the chance, but the laws of our clans spoke more than my own emotions at the time. Now though, I am happy I got to know you more as Ruli. The Espeon Clan votes Innocent."

The crows was starting to clap excitedly, apparently taking Epa's vote as a final verdict since she was the leader of the Elders. I heard one of the Hitmontop brothers shout out, "YES!" and the hammering in my chest was growing. I looked back behind myself at Lucian, but for some reason he was only standing there with his head bowed, eyes closed. My focus was brought back to the Council as the Flareon stood in front of me.

"You spoke with such a fiery passion about your friend Lucian...I believe you truly felt that emotion as raw power. You have the ability to lead others through just being yourself, the way they speak about you and defend you without worry for their own benefit speaks volumes I wish you could understand. You are a natural leader for sure. The Flareon Clan votes Innocent."

He stepped back and now the Vaporeon was speaking, "In the end of the storm...a single raindrop builds the ocean by joining the massive waters...you too have joined this world and become one with it. I cannot permit you to be destroyed. The Vaporeon Clan votes Innocent."

"The Jolteon Clan votes Guilty..." The Jolteon spoke before the Vaporeon was even able to step back. Everyone instantly stared at the electric type, who was staring at the ground to avoid everyone's gaze. The crowd behind us fell silent as he growled, the claws of his forepaws digging into the ground where he stood.

"Epa...you told us to not let emotions get in our way and cloud our judgement. I can sense you have mistrusted me since I was voted in as Elder of what remains of my clan...so fine, I will not let my feelings of anger and vengeance for my slaughtered brothers and sisters stop me from giving a just ruling...but I still will not let them live."

He looked up and stared at the Elders, his gaze moving among them as he continued, "You forget our history. You forget it was humans that first brought about the disasters that befell pokémon all those thousands of years ago. I will not forget though." The Jolteon glared right to Lucian.

"He said it himself. Humans are deplorable and power hungry. They may say they are our friends now, they were our friends once upon a time as well. Then they betrayed us. Eventually, even these two will betray us again for more power."

The crowd behind us started to shout and I felt shock, anger, and sadness over what he said. As the crowd roared on Epa eventually had to use her psychic power to shout for silence. The crowd fell silent as we looked to Epa, who shook her heard silently and sighed deeply.

"As much as I disagree...he follows the laws..." Epa stared at me and Lucian sadly, her voice laced with the sadness as she tried to keep her composure as leader. "You will be executed for the crime of being human...on a date to be later decided..." The crowd roared out in anger again and I looked down at the ground at my feet, shaking softly and I spoke lightly.

"Can I say something?" I asked and Epa nodded.

"Yes..."

I turned to the Jolteon, still looking at the ground at my feet.

"I can't tell you I know what you feel...I can't tell you I can bring them back...I couldn't even tell you what it feels like to loose someone I'd consider a clanmate. I can't possibly know what you are going through."

"That's right." The Jolteon said back to me, "You don't."

I clenched my paws into fists and I looked up at him, keeping my eyes stern and my voice even as I continued, "But if I could...I would make whoever it was responsible for your slain clanmate's pay with their own life over and over again..."

The Jolteon stared at me a moment longer, before turning his gaze away and looking out to the ocean beyond the coast town, "Useless words..." He said and closed his eyes.

I bowed my head and felt a gentle tug at my feet as the vines began to force me to walk, turning me away from the Jolteon and Lucian walked beside me, his head still bowed and eyes closed. The crowd parted silently as we walked through them.

"I knew as soon as she said they had to all come to unanimous vote that we were doomed..." Lucian said softly, "That Jolteon has lost his whole clan...none of them know the pain he's in right now..."

I nodded softly to his words and stayed silent as we were forced to march back to our makeshift prison by the vines, and soon we were enclosed into the darkness of it once more. I sat down and curled up against my legs, staring once more at the ground and wondering what was going to happen? Was I really going to be executed? Perhaps Epa, Psy, or someone could manage to change the Jolteon's vote?

I whimpered and pulled myself into a ball even tighter, a pain slicing through my heart as I realized the implications of what the Jolteon had just done.

"Axel...I guess I won't be seeing your vision come true..."