FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Fox: Hope your theories were right!

Brim: Well, it just so happens...

Disclaimer: Pokémon is copyright of Nintendo, Game Freak, etc. Individual characters are my own imagining, and are not intended to be any part of main cannon / plotline. Individual characters like Aaron, Song, Zin, etc, are my own creations, so please ask before using. Thank you.

Chapter 31: Faith

Try as I could, it was extremely hard to stop shaking. A number of factors contributed to this. Having my Pokémon stolen from me being high in the list. Joy and her Pokémon, as well as Jon's. It was infuriating that someone would do this! But somehow do it without anyone noticing? This wasn't a case of some_one_, but of some_thing_.

This wasn't a human act, unless they were some sort of psychic. It was my understanding that the League kept a lot of resources to train people with psychic powers so they wouldn't be misused. So this, for example, wouldn't happen. There was a case in the news about it a few years back. Something about some guy that had psychic powers was using it to manipulate other trainer's minds to abandon their Pokémon. He then would come in and 'save' them. Don't know what happened to him. The news stations suddenly stopped mentioning him in any way.

Either way, I highly doubted it was a psychic. And if it was, they were fucking stupid. All they can do is parlor tricks at birthday parties anyway.

Also, there was that bit with the Unown written on the walls. That wasn't usual psychic powers. From my understanding, anyway. We were dealing with something non-human. But what is another matter. My body twitched against Jon's. He turned towards me, his face showing concern for me. I shook my head, patting his shoulder with my free hand. It's a good thing he turned, or didn't see my other hand. The one currently busy holding on to Song's staff was doing what I wanted to do to the throat of whoever did this to us.

It was a trap. It had to be. No one in their right mind would leave a calling card like that. It wasn't even close to being subtle. The sentences? Nothing made any sense. They asked how we were doing, for Arceus' sake! The simple code of putting in an incorrect word to create a more complex message didn't evade me. Most Unown writing is basically code, anyway. My brain just picked up on it. No, someone knew that I could decipher the writing. I don't think this was a random attack, either.

Someone wanted my attention. Well, they fucking got it alright.

I willed Zapdos to go faster. Clouds blurred past as we flew by them. Roads and hills meshed together under us. The chain of mountains that separated Johto and Kanto grew in front of us. We veered to our left, the wind screaming in my ears. Did Zapdos detect something? I turned around as much as possible, looking behind us. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. Perhaps a feeling? Too many possibilities, including if Zapdos felt like just going this way instead.

I sighed in frustration. The more time we spent flying meant less time on the ground in this Violet City. My ability to hold my feelings was reaching the breaking point by now. Zapdos screeched, the sound reverberating through me. Somehow, it made me feel better. It might just be my imagination, but maybe she understood more than she let on. The clouds around us were starting to turn from their normal white color to gray. Lightning was starting to spark with every flap of her wings.

Underneath us, a building linked to a road that lead back towards Kanto while also leading towards Johto. Jon nodding, pointing down. He turned towards me so the wind wouldn't blow the words away.

"That's the infamous reception gate!" Jon yelled. "We're almost in Johto now!"

Infamous? I shrugged, but nodded to acknowledge that I heard him. My mind focused on one thing. We were almost in Johto. That's all that mattered.

The clouds rumbled menacingly around us. The occasional pop of electricity could be heard through the roar of the wind. For a moment, nothing felt like it was moving as we continued to fly over whatever was underneath us. Suddenly, Zapdos screeched as loudly as possible. My world was coated in white for a moment. The sound of lightning striking made my hair stand on end. I blinked once, putting up with the blinking spots that danced in my vision.

We were in Johto. I could feel it.

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

We landed in front of the Pokémon Center with a flourish. People were looking at us with a mixture of surprise and fear. Someone started yelling. I turned towards him.

"You fucki-"

The rest of their sentence was cut as I approached the guy in question and grabbed his collar. His spiked hair did not look good on him.

"What the fu-"

Song's staff was handy sometimes. Driving it into his stomach wasn't that hard, either. I did it again for good measure.

"You're going to shut the fuck up right now." I said, my voice sounding eery in my ears. "Thank you for volunteering. Can you point us towards the Ruins of Alph, please?"

"And why shou-"

Another punch to the gut cut off his sentence. "I'm sorry. You're not answering my question with another question. Can you or can you not take us to the Ruins of Alph? Lives are at stake, and you're slowing me down."

"Aaron!"

Lightning flashed above as Jon pulled me away from the idiot in front of me. It registered in my mind that he was showing surprise or fear. I wonder at what, though?

"I know where the Ruins of Alph are." Jon said, pulling me away from the spiky haired guy.

My hand let go of the grip it had on the bystander. I ignored him anything he said, following Jon's lead. Drops of rain began to fall. Inconsistent at first, but gained strength faster than it looked like it should. A large decorated gate stood in front of us proclaiming the entrance of the Ruins of Alph in a crude form of Unown. A part of me pointed out that it was just using the literal words for it. Another side of me pointed out that standing out here wasn't going to do shit.

Also, I was starting to get wet. It began to annoy me.

I walked inside without saying a word. My free hand grabbed Iolanthe's Pokéball, releasing her to the world. She didn't say anything, but gripped my arm tightly. Iolanthe turned me towards her sharply. Her oval eyes glowed, and her presence in my mind wasn't subtle.

"Master." she whispered.

"I know." I said. "Don't remind me of it. Please. I'm too fucking angry to think of anything else but getting everyone back safely."

She nodded, but didn't speak any further. I sighed. Estranging her right now was the last thing I wanted to do. Her grip on my arm didn't loosen.

"I understand. At least, I think I do." Iolanthe said softly.

"Aaron!" Jon called.

I turned to see him and Zapdos coming inside the Ruins. Admittedly, the entrance chamber was huge. It probably allowed Zapdos to at least extend her wings fully. There was enough space above for her to fly up, as well. My attention was on Jon, so smaller weren't relevant.

"Aaron, are you alright?"

"No, I'm not."

"I understand what you're going through. My team got stolen, too. I don't even know if my team and yours are in the same spot, but you have to calm down."

"They're here all right." I growled out. "The same fucker who took mine took yours as well."

"What was written in the walls inside the Pokémon Center?" he asked.

"Come to the Ruins of Alph, so you can witness the glory of His return." I rattled off without a second thought. "The souls of the living will bring back the Lost One."

"The Lost One?"

"Fuck if I know." I said with a shrug. "Time's being wasted standing here. Let's move and talk, at the very least."

He nodded. "Do you have any clue as to where to go?"

I shook my head. "No, I don't. Probably somewhere deep inside of this place, though. Pick somewhere at random, but let's start."

"If it's deep, we should head this direction." Jon said, pointing towards his right.

"Lead on."

A soft humming sound surrounded us as we walked. Jon didn't seem to mind it so much as I did.

"Did you hear that?" I asked.

"Probably the Unown." he said with a shrug.

"Probably." I echoed.

"They don't do anything." he said.

A swarm of black and white surrounded us. It was hard to tell what shape they were. They looked a little too similar. But then again, it's hard to keep up with things moving quickly.

"Unown!" Zapdos screeched out.

A few stopped suddenly, making a crude beginning of a sentence. More and more were added, and the message was clear. I ran forward, dragging Iolanthe with me. Jon yelled at me, which seemed to anger the Unown. Running into an invisible brick wall can't be good for my health. Iolanthe picked me up from the ground as Jon came along to help her.

"I was trying to warn you." he said, patting the dust off.

I shrugged. "No harm no foul." I responded.

"What are they saying?" Iolanthe asked.

"They're spelling it out pretty plainly." I muttered. "'They will die' is what they spelled out right now. Which we can prevent if you STOP INTERFERING!"

All of the Unown stopped moving as I yelled out. The original line was replaced with a simple question. 'How?' the Unown spelled out with four individuals.

"First, we get to where everyone is. Second, if possible, reason with whoever did this. If that's not an option, we go straight to the third step. Kick their ass."

"I don't think they understand us Aaron." Jon said, his hand grabbing my shoulder.

"They understand us plenty." I growled. "COME ON! YOU'RE NOT REALLY HERE TO STAND IN OUR WAY! OR ARE YOU?!"

The cloud of Unown shook as one. Slowly, they spelled their answer. 'No'. After doing so, they disappeared into thin air or through the walls surrounding us. I sighed, rubbing my eyes but otherwise not acknowledging what happened. The footsteps of my friends reached my ears. A hand grabbed my shoulder, stopping me from continuing forward.

"What is it?" I asked.

"What in the blazes is wrong with you? You look like a Primape that has a Pecha berry up his ass."

"If you haven't noticed, someone took away almost everything I love in this world." I answered levely. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to keep moving before they decide to do something more drastic."

"Like what?"

"You're probably better off not knowing. You'd be running ahead of me if you knew. Like I said before, they'll die."

"They weren't joking?"

"It's my parents understanding, through the research they've conducted, that lying in the old language was punishable by death." I answered. "Considering that Unown are believed to be how legendary Pokémon communicated throughout the world, I'm inclined to believe they wouldn't lie either."

"But Arceus is supposed to be dead."

"And what happens if someone's taken Arceus' place by now?" I asked rhetorically. "The world's kept spinning after that. If that story is true. Could be some random shit that he cooked up when he was bored, for all we know. Keep moving. I'm not standing still any longer."

I didn't wait for his response. My feet were muffled. Torches lined the walls every few feet, illuminating the ruins with light. Looking down, the center of the stone floor was covered in some sort of carpet. I could sense Jon opening his mouth to say something. When I turned to face him, my annoyance must have been obvious on my face. His mouth clamped shut instantly, as he nodded mutely.

Silence settled around us as we traveled onward. I coughed, feeling the dust clinging to my throat. Iolanthe's tentacles rested on my shoulder, grabbing my attention. She looked worriedly at me, her oval eyes radiating concern. I forced a smile, but she didn't look convinced at all. Her pace matched mine and her tentacles never stopped touching my body.

Our path twisted and turned every so often. Going down some stairs, sometimes going upwards to other sections of previous floors. Whoever designed this must have had a split personality or something. Perhaps it was that psychotic Cresselia that wanted me dead for some Arceus forsaken reason. Though I wouldn't put it past fanatics to 'appease the deities' for some reason or another. If I was in any other state of mind, my appreciation for the artwork on the walls and the intricate carvings of the stone would appeal to my natural curiosity for the ancient.

Right now, though, there was someone to have a serious 'talk' to.

I looked back to see Jon and Zapdos reaching the top of the last set of stairs we climbed. Zapdos looked a little winded, but was doing her best to hide it. She wasn't doing a very good job of it.

"Zapdos, I think this might be easier for you if you were inside your Pokéball." I said.

"And leave you two undefended? No! I'll do whatever it takes to see my mate and you safe."

I blinked, surprised by her statement. "Thank you. Still, would you like a moment to catch your breath? These stairs can't be easy to climb."

"I thought we were in a hurry." Jon said, frowning.

"Yeah, we are." I agreed. "But if we aren't ready to fight, it won't do us good either."

"I'll be fine." Zapdos squawked out.

"Jon, keep an eye on her please." I called out. At his nod, we continued forward.

The bird muttered something that I didn't quite catch. A monumental pressure came out of nowhere. Iolanthe's body was shaking. I touched her shoulder, her eyes snapping open towards me. Both of her eyes were glowing an angry red color. We stared at each other momentarily, until she calmed down and the pressure disappeared. Iolanthe shook her head at my curious look at her.

"I'm fine." she said softly.

I gave her a forced smile. "Stay focused." I said.

She nodded, giving me a kind look. We stayed close to each other, my head resting against her right shoulder. It annoyed me that things were so damn quiet. Out of the corner of my eyes, it looked like we were being followed. Or at least being watched.

"Do you see that?" I asked softly.

"Yes, I did. We're being watched by the Unown." Iolanthe answered.

At least that confirms my suspicions. "Good. Let whoever did this know we're coming. His head will be next."

Iolanthe was radiating concern. It didn't take a genius to figure that out. Her hold on my arm alternated between tightening and loosening at random. I could feel Jon's eyes on the back of my head. He was probably wondering just what in the world is going on with me. The only one of us that probably wasn't that worried about me was Zapdos. She didn't know me well, so there is that. But I think I haven't given her the impression that I'm like this all the time. Especially with how Io and Jon are acting.

One thing I did notice is that we were being guided deeper and deeper into the ruins. It wasn't very deliberate or obvious, but it was there. How did I know this? No one was suggesting where to go. All we did was keep walking forward. Unless we were extremely lost. But as they say, places to see aren't in maps nowadays anyway.

The torches looked like they stopped ahead. I didn't let that deter me away from continuing forward. Reaching the point where light and darkness met, a sharp stairway leading downwards appeared. I don't think it just appeared out of nowhere. A torch flickered to life by itself, illuminating the stairwell. Another one sparked to life further down the stairs. Jon walked next to me, looking forward into the darkness and then looking down towards the stairs.

"Go down?" he asked.

I nodded. "I think so."

"Maybe we can talk some sense into whoever did this." he reasoned.

I looked at him. I really looked at him. His eyes fell on me, a questioning look settling on his face.

"Do you really think it'll be that easy?" I asked. "This person deliberately took our friends away from us. I don't think things will be that simple."

"We still have to try." he said. "At least try to be peaceful."

"It's going to be really hard, you know that?" I asked.

I didn't wait for him to answer, beginning to walk down the stairs. Iolanthe was still at my side. Her hold on me never faltered ever since she grabbed hold of me. Jon's footsteps followed after us. Zapdos was muttering all the while about how stairs and her didn't go well together. Torches flickered to life as we moved forward. Behind Zapdos, the torches were dark. The odd thought of being inside a bubble of light surrounded by darkness surfaced in my mind. My grip on Song's staff tightened. The anger that was beginning to smoulder began to rekindle once more.

By the time we reached the end of the stairs, my stomach was giving me issues. I don't think I've been this angry in my life. I've been frustrated or displeased before, but never like this.

We continued walking until we encountered an open room. Torches began to spring to life in rapid succession along the walls. The ceiling could barely be made out above us. A few pillars were spaced along the room. Pictures that must be thousands of years old adorned them. None of that mattered to me right now. Ahead of us, Joy was floating in the air as she was surrounded by some purple energy.

I ran forward, wielding Song's staff at my side. My momentum was stopped instantly when I ran into something invisible in front of me. Iolanthe came over, her tentacles grabbing hold of me and pulling me to my feet. While my vision was slightly blurry, it didn't take away that we've reached our destination.

"Are you alright, Master?" Io asked.

I nodded. "Don't worry about me." I answered. "Can you break this barrier?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment as Jon and Zapdos joined us. "There's something preventing us from leaving." Jon said.

"I didn't want to leave anyway." I said.

The sound of shattered glass echoed in the air. I stood up, grabbing hold of Io's tentacles and pulling her with me. She didn't complain, keeping pace with me easily. Iolanthe's free tentacles lashed forward as the sound of shattering glass echoed again. She must have broken another barrier. Once more she did it, but this time it was met with solid resistance.

We stopped short of ramming into it. Iolanthe slammed both tentacles against the invisible barrier, but it didn't seem to budge. Laughter echoed around us. Someone found this funny. That wasn't the right thing to do in my current state of mind.

A bright purple ball appeared in front of us, behind the invisible barrier that Iolanthe couldn't break. It was small at first, about the size of my fist, but grew quickly. It didn't grow to any ridiculous proportions, but it was bigger than my head by the time it stopped. It wasn't fully transparent, but inside was some kind of creature. Laughter again echoed around us, and that was the last straw. I lashed forward, using Song's staff to try to break through the barrier. The laughter only seemed to grow stronger, and all it did was push me to break this barrier more.

"You can stop now. No human will break that barrier. ESPECIALLY one without any psychic powers."

I blinked, the voice startling me. The purple ball popped audibly, as a strange creature hovered in thin air. It was blue furred, and very small. It couldn't stand higher than waist high if it stood on the ground. The one very defining feature was the very long tail that extended behind the creature's body. It had two feet and two arms. The arms were very small compared to the legs however. It didn't look like it had a mouth, but that could just be my angle at the moment.

"Mew?" Jon said, his voice almost in awe. Or shock.

The creature laughed, the echoing sound sparking rage inside of my mind again. This thing captured everyone? What the fuck!?

"Oh, don't feel so bad." he said, rolling around the air lazily. "It's so nice to see someone that can read the old tongue so well! We must speak at length."

"The only speaking that we'll do is this staff through your fucking skull!" I screamed. I smashed Song's staff hard against the barrier.

"It's not going to work." he said. At least, I think it's a he. Sounded like a male anyway.

"You don't know that." I snarled.

Another attempt to hit the barrier pushed me backwards. I picked myself up again, ready to hit the barrier again. Zapdos tried to stop me by placing a wing in my way. I kept running forward, stopping only to the electricity coursing through me when I brushed against her feathers.

"What do you want with everyone?" Jon asked. Look at him, being the voice of reason in this situation.

"Like it matters if I told you or not." Mew answered airily. "In the end, we'll all meet the same fate. Except me. The other Exemplars want their precious Arceus reborn, and so they'll have their wish! Except I'll be the one reborn!"

"How are you going to do that?" Jon asked. What in Arceus' name are you doing, Jon?

"Simple. Only the Exemplars live on, continuing to exemplify the way of our kind. It's the same as all the other Pokémon that have been deemed 'legendary' by you humans. I don't want to move on. I don't want to die. So, I'll be the thing that everyone wants! Everyone wins!"

I growled, my hands twitching. My fingers held onto Zapdos' wing for support. She turned her head down towards me. Her eyes showed concern. Not entirely sure if it was for me.

"What do you need to do this?" Jon asked. Again with the questions! Just shut up!

"Simple. Arceus needs a thousand souls to be reborn. I have the Unown here, plus a few others that I've captured and killed for this purpose. It's unfortunate that humans have to be part of the equation, but you were created by Arceus too, I guess." Mew said with the same airy tone. "Either way, everything ends tonight. With this group, everything that I've been working towards finally comes to fruit!

"Three centuries! Three hundred years I've been waiting for this!" Mew continued, this time with a laugh.

"FUCK NO!" I yelled out, pushing past Zapdos.

Song's staff hit the invisible barrier one more time. The sound of glass shattering echoed once more throughout the chamber. Particles of broken psychic energy fell around me. I stumbled slightly, but I managed to get my feet under me once more. A roar came out of my throat, my arms swinging Song's staff as far as I could, aiming for the little rats head. Mew formed a barrier, absorbing the blow. The next instant, something slammed into my gut leaving me breathless.

"You sure care about them." Mew said. "I'll sacrifice you, too. I'll end your suffering."

Iolanthe came forward to my defense, two tentacles picking me up while the other two fired beams of ice towards Mew. The small blue Pokémon didn't hesitate to raise another purple barrier around himself to absorb the attacks. Human fingers wrapped themselves around my arm, pulling me away from Iolanthe. Jon looked at me like I've lost my mind.

"Are you insane!?" he asked.

I nodded. "What of it? More important is how did that barrier break?"

"You do not keep track of your surroundings, do you, human?"

"Oh behave! Not every human you meet is a psychic, Mewtwo."

I stiffened immediately at the two new voices that entered the room. Turning around, two other creatures floated in the air behind us. One looked exactly like the blue Mew, except this one was pink. The other one was something completely different. It was much larger than the pink one hovering next to it. It also had grey skin, with a very prominent purple tail. Slender arms contrasted the powerful looking legs. Its head was turned to the side, looking towards the pink Mew. What was odd was that there was some kind of odd connection that extended from the back of its head and attached back to its body.

I blinked, shaking my head a few times to make sure that I wasn't seeing things. After looking again and seeing the two newcomers still floating in the air, I decided that trying again wasn't worth the effort. Joy was still within view, but the question was where everybody else was. I silently hoped that they were somewhere on Joy's person.

Getting back up on wobbly legs, I rushed forward. Jon yelled at me to stop, but it went in one ear and out the other. The blue Mew once again hovered in front of me to bar my way. It didn't matter to me. I once again swung Song's staff towards it, the purple barrier once again absorbing the blow. I moved this time, hoping to avoid the blow to my stomach. My arms swung the staff once more, trying to just push the blue Mew away. It was a partial success, as he rolled away but stopped and flew towards me again.

A pair of thin tentacles pulled me sideways behind a pillar. Iolanthe was looking at me, her eyes narrowed. We didn't say anything, but she nodded to me. On impulse, I gave her a quick kiss on her face. She shook her head briefly, before pulling me towards her. It wasn't to be intimate. Part of the pillar was blown off, rocks brushing against my back.

Iolanthe looked down at me, determination set in her eyes. She held me tightly, carrying me towards Joy. We took a handful of steps before Io came to a sudden halt. She extended her tentacles out, stopping only when she touched another barrier. Letting me go, she used all four tentacles to break what stood in our way. Unfortunately, it didn't look like it was doing any good. Didn't stop her from trying some more, though.

I brought Song's staff into the picture, hammering away at the invisible barrier. It was solid enough. It was still a mystery how the other barrier broke. This was annoying. Maybe we could go back. The slight twinge of pain that came from my nose told me that the idea wasn't possible. My foot made contact with the invisible barrier again. We were caught.

Lightning flashed in front of me from Zapdos, aimed towards the blue Mew. Being inside its bubble, it didn't look like it would do anything. Maybe stall for time, or perhaps his attention. A deep laugh echoed inside my head. It was very different from Io's voice and that blue Mew's voice.

"What do you aim to accomplish here, little one?" the deep voice asked.

"You have no authority over me, Mewtwo! Neither do you, Exemplar!" the blue Mew shouted.

"Come back home." a feminine voice said. "We can talk this through."

That must be the pink Mew speaking. Well, at least it was easy to tell the difference.

"Why?" the blue Mew demanded. "You chose to keep us all in the dark over what happened when you became Exemplar. You chose to keep us neutral in this battle. I'm just picking the winning side!"

"Abducting innocent bystanders to sacrifice?" the deep voice asked. My eyes settled on Mewtwo. It has to be his voice.

"If that's what is needed to accomplish what I'm doing, yes!"

"A shame. I've done the same, and all it brought was misery. Egotistical to the end."

"Takes one to know one!"

"I do not refute your statement. What I do suggest is to listen to the voice of reason."

"NO! I've worked for too long for this specific moment. I've sacrificed a thousand souls for it! I will become Arceus!"

It sounded like the blue Mew was past the point of insanity. Didn't matter to me too much. Iolanthe pulled me backwards, continuing forward. The barrier must have been shattered when I wasn't looking. It didn't make a sound when it did. Did she break it? The answer didn't matter.

We finally got to Joy. She looked like she was sleeping, except she was hovering a foot or two off the ground. Surrounding her were miniaturized Pokéballs. I didn't bother counting who was there at the moment. Song's staff rattled on the stone floor as my hands touched her skin, only to feel like fire was running up my arms. I pulled away from her only to try again. My fingers contoured to her face, whatever surrounded her stopping me from touching her skin.

"Master?" Io called.

"Is she alive?" I asked. "Can you tell, Iolanthe?"

She stayed quiet for a moment. "No, I cannot tell right now. The barrier surrounding her is too powerful to pierce."

"How did the other one break? The one from before."

"It wasn't me."

I shook my head. "Doesn't matter. The problem now is how to get her free."

"She's useless to me."

We turned around, the blue Mew hovering over us. I wanted to reach out to Song's staff, but my hand was paralyzed. While my head could move, it doesn't do me any good in fighting this overgrown pest.

"Then let her go." I growled out.

"Fine. Enjoy."

Joy's body fell hard against the ground. A flash of lightning allowed me to see her face. Her eyes didn't open. I tried to move my hands, and I grabbed Song's staff quickly. Turning around, the blue Mew was baiting Zapdos around the gigantic room. More lightning came from the giant thunderbird, easily deflected away from her target. A part of me frowned at the possibility of losing ancient history. That part of my brain was quickly crushed by the other part of me being more concerned for Joy's safety.

I placed my hand on her cheek, feeling the cold skin underneath my fingers. I leaned forward, putting my ear over her mouth and nose. She wasn't breathing. For how long? My fingers pressed against her throat gently, trying to find the faint trace of a pulse. Nothing.

A cold feeling made its way through my guts. My body twitched slightly as my fingers went through her hair. I grinded my teeth as my body shook. Iolanthe's eyes were on me as my right hand took hold of Song's staff again. It was pretty obvious that she was worried. I reached for her, her tentacles wrapping around my arm to pull me up. As soon as my feet were under me, suddenly not a lot of things mattered. The blue Mew's floating inside its shield was all that I could focus on. Everything felt weightless. I don't think I've jumped this high in my life. Not even when getting jumped by a horny Houndoom.

The blue Mew turned around just in time to see me bring the staff to its small face. It would have connected if not for the thin line of energy that was in the way. His eyes widened instantly when our eyes met. An invisible force pushed me away. My landing was as graceful as a rock, the pain making everything more acute than before. I rolled over and over a few times until stopping to a halt next to Joy's still body.

I scrambled to my feet again, only to be pushed away by another wall. Though leaving me winded, I tried to smash through it. Song's staff went through, smashing the barrier in front of me. Out of the corner of my eye, a long and slender arm was surrounded in dark energies. Turning slightly to see who it belonged to, the one that was named Mewtwo was standing beside me. When I tried to move forward, his three digit hand grabbed my shoulder.

His eyes met mine. An unusual sense of vertigo hit me, but disappeared when he let go of my shoulder. I rushed towards the blue Mew once more, my arms feeling numb. My chest hurt as I swung Song's staff again through the air. A faint sheen of energy surrounded the blue Mew. I braced myself as much as possible for the impact. The sound of shattered glass echoed in front of me as the staff went through where the shimmer was. The impact against the blue Mew's head made a part of me wince.

The blue Mew rolled sideways through the air, almost falling to the ground. He recovered, though, but not before I was on top of him again. I swung from above my head, my target sidestepping the attack. The staff bounced off the stone floor, and used that momentum to swing towards the blue Mew once more. He flew above me this time, an invisible force pushing me downwards. My legs gave out from under me as the weight increased on top of me.

"Give up, or this human dies!"

I held onto Song's staff with one hand. It was almost like a lifeline to me. Trying to lift it was like pushing a Golem with one hand up a cliff. A more direct approach was called for. I wasn't on my knees yet! My free hand shook as the force holding me down increased. Lightning struck the blue Mew, freeing me from whatever was holding me down. Instead of moving away from the blue Pokémon, I got up on my feet once more to attack again.

The temperature dropped around me as my staff swung to its target. It didn't stop me, and it didn't soften the blow on my target. Something wet splashed on my face. A blue mist obscured everything around me. Looking around, I couldn't see anyone. My eyes wandered over to Song's staff, noticing a rather off color liquid dripping off the tip. It didn't match the color of the wood, nor of any liquid that I was familiar with.

I shivered slightly, gathering my wits. My grip tightened on Song's staff. Nothing made a sound except for the odd dripping sound that sounded extremely close by. My ears twitched every time it happened. I looked down, noticing that whatever was splattered on the staff was falling. On closer inspection, it was an odd mix of red and blue. I touched it with my free hand, the substance sticky and thick. Blood can be many colors, but consistency seems to be the same.

An odd sense of satisfaction filled me. It wasn't enough, though. Anger pushed my feet forward, following the blood splatters that stood out against the golden stone floor. My immediate surroundings were filled with obscuring blue mist. It settled in my mind that my actions might have harmed that Mew severely. I grinned. That's exactly what I wanted.

I noticed a splatter of blood ahead of me, and willed my body to follow. Iolanthe appeared through the mists, her eyes wide. She grabbed hold of my body, tightly holding me against her.

"Io, let me go."

She shook her head. "Please don't hurt yourself anymore. Song won't forgive me." she pleaded.

I stayed silent. It felt like a caged Primeape was inside my head. All it wanted was to make this thing pay.

My feet kept walking forward. Io didn't let me go, but let me walk forward. All four tentacles had a hold on my body somewhere. She walked beside me to my left. Jon's voice called my name somewhere from my right. I looked towards Io, who was already pushing me in that direction. I sighed, my grip on the staff tightening once more. The pink Mew and Mewtwo were the first things I saw appear from the mist. Jon's prone form was leaning over Zapdos, who was on the ground. From my angle, it didn't look like she was hurt. Everyone was standing around Joy's motionless body. Numerous Pokéballs were on the ground and against Joy's body.

As we approached, everyone turned to face us. Jon stood up, slugging me in the face. It didn't do much to improve my overall mood. The pain didn't help much, either.

"Are you sure that was a good idea?" I snarled.

"You need to calm the fuck down!" he screamed. "You could have gotten yourself killed!"

I stared at him in silence. Whatever anger he had towards me didn't look like it compared to mine. His angry expression disappeared, turning to concern and worry. I shook my head before he spoke.

"No, I'm not fine. I don't think I'll be alright, either."

The pink Mew floated over Jon's shoulder. She stared at me with her blue eyes.

"You killed him." she stated flatly.

"He killed people I loved." I snarled back. "An eye for a fucking eye."

"He was one of my kin."

"Nothing to do with you. You're only involvement was to be here."

She shook her head as Mewtwo approached. "I'm responsible for him."

I laughed. "We're each responsible for our own mistakes. He probably didn't think that I'd hit him like that. You're no more responsible for that worthless piece of trash than I am of anyone else."

"So you don't feel mercy?" Mewtwo's voice asked, echoing in my mind.

I snorted. "You don't know me very well, then." I answered, rolling my eyes. "I feel mercy. Not to people that kidnapped and killed my Pokémon and friend!"

"Then you don't know me very well, do you?"

I stiffened at that voice. Turning to my left, Suicune stood over Joy's still body. She walked toward me, her steps not making a sound. Her nose poked against my chest once before pulling away from me.

"You truly stink." she said in a sad tone. "What happened here?"

"The blue Mew took Joy, her Pokémon, mine and Aaron's to perform some ritual here to make himself Arceus." Jon answered quickly.

"That's impossible to do." Suicune muttered. "Exemplar! Why are you here?"

Who did Suicune refer to? The pink Mew spoke. "And what about you?"

Silence followed that last question. They only stared at each other. Mew's tail would twitch on occasion, mimicked by Suicune's tails. I rubbed my face where Jon hit me. It didn't sting as much as before.

"How long have they've been staring at each other?"

I shrugged. "For a while now." I muttered.

"They tend to do this. These two don't see eye to eye on many things."

"It looks like it." I agreed.

"Humans don't tend to come in here very often, or this deep."

"You can blame that blue Mew." I said airily. "If he's not dead."

"Oh, he's dead. You made sure of that."

"Well, good." I snarled.

"And why do you say that? Shouldn't you be angry at who commanded him to do so?"

"He's as much as responsible for this as that blue Mew." I answered.

"And what would you do to me?"

I turned around to see a black mist behind me. Two red orbs stood out from the darkness. It felt like I was staring at something massive, even if the two orbs were level with me. The darkness spread around the blue mist, extending behind the red eyes. The sounds of something heavy landing nearby made me jump. Two large things made of shadow were sticking out of the black mess in front of me. The shadows extended around the eyes as they rose up from my level.

Black slowly turned to either grey, red, or gold. The large framework of wings hung over the sides of whatever was appearing in front of me. The tips of the wings slowly went from black to red. A golden mask looked to be over the things face, and extending to the huge neck it was perched on. Stripes of red contrasted against the grey of its body, while golden spikes hugged tightly against its neck. It didn't look like it had any legs.

Suicune stepped over next to me, as whatever had just appeared brought forth the blue Mew's body. The injuries were pretty clear that it was Song's staff that did the damage. Suicune growled next to me, but didn't move.

"Send him to rest, Giratina." Suicune said.

"The human should see what he has done." Giratina said in a deep voice.

I stared straight at the unmoving body. Afterwards, I moved my sight to Giratina's large red eyes. "Your point?" I asked.

"Giratina!" Suicune shouted.

"Don't get your tails tied in a knot." he said with a chuckle. "At least he got what I wanted done."

Darkness surrounded the body before dissipating into thin air. There was nothing left when Giratina turned his focus down to us.

"You should thank me, you know." Giratina said smugly.

"Perhaps, if you explained yourself." I said.

"I didn't tell him to kill your friends, as you put it." he said. "All I said was to get you here."

My arms reacted without much thinking. Swinging the staff was easier than speaking anyway. The impact reverberated through me, my arm protesting to the act.

"Human!" Suicune yelled next to me.

No one moved around me. I expected something to happen, at the very least. Laughter wasn't one of them, though. Looking up, Giratina was shaking his large head side to side.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked softly.

"Yeah. Your point is?"

"Why would you attack me?"

"Because you made that Mew attack me. You asked what I would do to you? I'll kick your fucking head in!"

Suicune grabbed my shirt with her teeth, pulling me away from Giratina. I pulled away from her. The tearing of cloth was loud in my ears. Joy would be mad. If there was a Joy to be mad.

Making it towards the giant Pokémon, Song's staff hit once more. My hands felt like they were on fire. I ignored the feeling, pulling the staff back to swing once more. This time my swing went through Giratina. Off balance, my feet stumbled. Io's grasp came around to pull me back. I struggled silently, but it wasn't any use.

"Master!" she called. "Calm down, please!"

"I'll calm down when I'm dead!" I shouted.

"That could be arranged." Giratina said with a laugh.

"Stop it, Giratina!" Suicune exclaimed. "This is not your decision to make anymore!"

"And it's neither yours to stop." he continued.

"But it's against the laws to act." Mew said softly.

"Suicune broke that law a long time ago." Giratina stated confidently.

I ignored them, especially when Suicune started growling and shouting. Mew's voice didn't help matters, either. Jon and Zapdos were with Mewtwo, sitting next to Joy's corpse. Mewtwo looked directly at me as I kneeled next to Joy. Putting down Song's staff made me feel completely powerless. Then again, the weight of what I just did was starting to sink in. I really just killed someone, didn't I?

Either way, the grim reality was in front of me. Jon had a Pokéball in his hands. He looked at me, as if waiting for me to say something.

"What?"

"Do you think everyone else is gone?" he asked.

I didn't answer. My silence was enough of an answer at this point. He shook his head.

"I have to find out anyway."

"Master." Zapdos spoke. "Just..."

Her words got drowned out as the sound of the Pokéball that Jon threw opening up. The unmoving form of Song made me lose all feeling in my body. I struggled against Iolanthe's grasp for a moment. It didn't look like she was letting me go any time soon. My hands shook as they moved to hold her. Her head slumped backwards as I lifted her up by her shoulders. It was eerie not seeing her move.

I cradled her head to my chest, shivering all the while. Io's body leaned against my back. Her cheek leaned against my own as I sat on the ground. Jon touched my arm in an attempt to get my attention. He looked worried. His mouth opened and he was about to say something, but he stayed silent. My guess was Iolanthe gave him a look that kept him quiet. It didn't matter in the end. The sound of another Pokéball opening made Jon gasp. More and more Pokémon kept appearing. It was frustrating that nothing we did made any difference.

Frustrating? No. It was infuriating.

I could hear Suicune growl loudly behind us. Mew gasped in surprise as Giratina laughed loudly. I ignored them. Iolanthe stood up, bringing more still bodies towards me. It was difficult to see her carry Aurora or Akalia in her grasp. Spirit's motionless body floated behind her, accompanied by Zin's and Mist's. As Iolanthe gently placed the bodies around me, Jon brought Baast to me. Her head rested against right my shoulder. If I didn't know any better I would think that she's just resting. When Io brought Xola to me, she gently laid her on the stone floor. Her head rested on Baast's lap, the rest of her length stretched out.

Io stood up again, helping to bring Joy and Jon's Pokémon closer to their respective owners. Jon was holding in his arms a small Pokémon. Perhaps his Sableye? I wasn't sure. Behind him, Io helped carry Joy's Beartic and Jon's Carracosta.

Mewtwo watched the two of them in silence. It was a bit unnerving to be honest. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. His gaze turned to me. Before I could say anything he spoke.

"I will help."

He lifted one slender arm in front of him. His head had a soft blue corona surrounding it, matched on his outstretched arm. I looked towards where he was looking to see something being lifted into the air. It dawned on me that they were all Pokémon, specifically Jon's and Joy's. I shivered as they were placed around their respective owners, their bodies devoid of any movements.

As Mewtwo gently placed the last Pokémon next to Joy, it choked me to realize that it was Victini. My body shook uncontrollably at this, my fingers clutching against Song's neck and shoulder. Iolanthe came to me again, wrapping me in her embrace. I've been surrounded by dead Pokémon before while inside the Lost Tower. Not like this, though. I couldn't take it anymore. Tears finally began to come down my face, blurring my vision. Nothing else mattered at this moment.

Iolanthe's gentle touch was the only thing that kept me sane. I've never felt like this. I didn't even know what to feel. Disappointment? Negligence? The only thing I knew was an overwhelming sadness. Only one thing kept burning in the back of my mind. The one responsible for this was behind me. But what could I do now? The damage was done already. Not only to me, but to two others as well. One lost their life for it, too. For what? What was the FUCKING POINT?!

I slowly pulled myself away from Song's lifeless body. Supporting her neck, I gently put her down on the ground in front of me. After that, I focused on Baast. Slipping my arms around her, she fell forwards but my arms caught her. She was heavy, but I did my best to lay her down softly. My arms felt like dead weight. Iolanthe stood up first, allowing me to stand up. She still kept her grasp on me, which was good. My legs felt like they would give out on me at any moment. I carefully made my way towards Jon, but hesitated. It wouldn't be right to get him involved. He looked as confused as I was right now anyway. Turning around, I focused my attention to the three legendary Pokémon that argued over whatever the fuck they were arguing over. I walked towards them, only to be stopped by Mewtwo standing in my way.

"What is it?" I asked. My focus was on the three behind him.

"What do you intend to accomplish?" he asked.

"I have no idea. I've lost a lot today. Someone needs to pay up. No one is getting away from this unscathed. Not if I have something to say about it."

"So you're willing to destroy everything for the sake of vengeance?"

I stayed quiet, my mind refusing to think beyond a small scope at this moment. Nothing else seemed to matter. Everything was so simple.

"My advice to you is to accept that you killed one of Mew's kin. Technically one of my own, but only by relation." he said softly.

"Right, because what I did was very wrong." I snarled, walking past Mewtwo.

He grabbed my shoulder, stopping my advance. I turned around and swung to his face. My fist met a barrier that felt like I just punched a brick wall.

"Calm down." he suggested. In a very obnoxious calm voice.

"I'll be calm when all this nonsense is over!" I yelled.

"I agree."

Mew floated over to me, nodding. Her glare would be comical, as was her tail swishing back and forth through the air. I chuckled darkly, attempting to walk past Mew. Mewtwo's grip on me didn't falter. Suicune and Giratina approached us instead. I idly noticed that Giratina was floating, his long body undulating in the air.

"Did you listen to anything we discussed?" Mew demanded.

I shook my head. "No, I had more important things to deal with."

Her expression turned livid, her little paws curling into fists. Her tail looked like it was on fire, judging by the movements. It would have been hilarious. I chuckled at her anger.

"Why are you laughing?" Suicune's voice demanded.

"Because she's having a tantrum." I pointed, still chuckling.

Suicune's tails waved through the air like whips. "You're laughing after you just killed one of her kin?" she demanded.

I stopped chuckling at that accusation. "Unless you have a better explanation what that blue Mew did to my Pokémon, to Joy, her Pokémon, and Jon's, it'll be pretty hard to stop laughing."

"You think that they're gone?" Suicune asked, her tone softening.

I glared at her. "That's an ignorant question if I've ever heard one. Yeah, I think that they're gone. None of them are breathing, and I don't think that Jon would fuck with me THAT much. Also, the Mew's message didn't leave much to the imagination as to his final goal was anyway. So, yeah, I do think they're gone."

"Do not make me remind you that you are in-" Mew began to say.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I roared. "I don't give a damn that you're all legendary Pokémon! What are you going to do, kill me too?! DO IT! For fuck's sake! Don't threaten me if you're scared shitless of one Arceus damned human!"

Mew's eyes pulsed brightly for a moment, a sheen of pink stopping right in front of me. The shimmer of black was visible before disappearing.

"Giratina!" Mew exclaimed.

"No. He's too important, and you know it." Giratina said, floating towards me.

Important? What were they talking about?

"Why am I so important to your plans?" I asked before they could deflect the situation.

"You wouldn't understand." Giratina answered, sadness in his voice.

"TRY ME!" I yelled.

"These secrets have stayed privy to only the Exemplars for the entire existence of this world." Giratina said darkly. "Do you think that your threats will make me move."

"Then why do you consider me a threat!? Why the hell have you wanted me dead ever since I started my shitty little adventure!?"

"A mistake in the chain of command." he said.

"I call bullshit! There had to be a reason to even SEND Darkrai after me in the first place!"

"A mistranslated order. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Then would you care to explain what everyone is doing dead right now?!" I demanded.

No one answered my demand. At most it was met with odd glances towards me. "Fine. Explain your 'mistranslated order' then. If you would be so kind."

"To see if you were indeed one of the many I was looking for my goal." Giratina answered.

"You mean for me to meet 'Father'. Unless YOU are the Father?" I asked. "And who is 'Mother' to the Darkrai?"

Silence followed my question, filling the gaps between us. It annoyed me that they wanted me to happily follow along without a complaint from me.

"Fine." I said, raising a one fingered salute. "Fuck all of you. I'm sick of all your bullshit. Fuck you and your progeny. Fuck you for your silence. Fuck you for trying to kill me. I'm going home."

"Wait!" Suicune exclaimed.

"What now, Suicune? I'm tired. I think that much is obvious right now."

"Your friends... they're alive."

That statement left me a bit dazed. "What."

"They're alive, mostly." she responded. "A part of them is still there."

"So this is like what happened to Xola?" I asked. "Can you do something about this?!"

Mew looked at me incredulously. "You have the gall to-"

"It's possible. Giratina?"

Giratina gave a loud sigh, shaking his head. "Do we really have to do this?" he asked.

"This is partly your fault in the first place." Suicune said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Perhaps." he said, shaking his head once more.

Suicune moved towards where Jon was standing, her silent footsteps making her look like a ghost. Giratina floated over closer to me. His gaze fell on me for a moment. A small part of me wanted to look away. I ignored it, looking straight at him. He didn't say anything when Suicune called for his attention. All he did was turn away from me. His eyes were focused, a black shimmer appearing across his body. Looking towards Suicune, her body was surrounded by a blue aura. Black and blue mist fell, hiding everything from my vision.

My body shivered as Giratina hovered next to me. It felt like everything was becoming cold around me. Something touched my shoulder, startling me. Turning to see who it was, Mewtwo stood there. His face was unreadable, but he didn't show any hostile actions. The mist didn't have a balanced color scheme, alternating from being mostly black with blue outlines and the opposite. Oddly, some of the blue was turning white. I was grateful that it didn't turn anywhere near a blinding white, though it was a bit disturbing seeing black and white clouds fight for dominance around and in front of me.

The mist didn't last for too long, disappearing quickly. A thin layer of the mist stayed close to the floor, it didn't hamper my vision of anyone inside of it. An odd bit of movement caught my eye. At first I thought it was Jon or Zapdos, perhaps even Io. Multiple groans echoed, as once still bodies moved. Joy's voice was the first to speak.

"What in the FUCK just happened!?" she demanded.

This was real, wasn't it? I turned to face Giratina, who was slowly closing his eyes and shaking his head. Mewtwo gave me a push from behind, and I didn't hesitate after that. I moved in between waking Pokémon, dodging paws and legs to make my way to Joy. When she saw me, her eyes widened and she gasped. My arms wrapped around her, my lips meeting hers. She stiffened immediately, her hands pushing me away after a moment. When she pushed me off, a slap was my greeting from her.

"You did NOT just kiss me."

I blinked at her, dumbfounded and lost as to what to say. Her hands grabbed the back of my head, her lips meeting mine forcefully. My body couldn't do anything else beside try to sort out that Joy was kissing me right now. No part of me wanted to work how I wanted it to. Though I was just as content to know that she really was alright. When she pulled away from me, she shook her head. Her hand slapped me again.

"Why did you slap me again?" I asked breathlessly.

"That one was just for good measure." she said softly.

"Wha-"

I wasn't allowed to respond. She pulled me towards her once more, our lips meeting once more. A familiar bark caught my attention, but Joy wasn't listening.

"Do you think you'll be having him all day today?"

I reached down to her voice, feeling her horns between my fingers. She pulled away, her teeth nipping against my skin. Joy allowed me to breath normally once more, resting against my chest. I looked around, seeing everyone slowly sitting up or helping someone up. Victini floated over by me, shaking her head.

"What just happened?" she asked. "It feels like I just woke up from a long sleep."

I could feel everyone's eyes fall on me. I shivered, but I shook my head.

"Kind of, yeah." I supplied unhelpfully.

"To this day, the antics of humans and their companions continue to amaze and baffle me." Mewtwo stated loudly.

I stiffened at the words, forgetting completely that there were four other Pokémon that had their own agendas here. When I turned around, no one was there. Victini raised an eyebrow as she floated in front of me.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"I think so." I said.

Jon walked over to us, all of his Pokémon standing around him. He looked like he was just done crying. Though I probably didn't look any better.

"Let's get out of here." he said.

I couldn't agree with him more. Song and Baast helped me and Joy get on our two feet. Her Beartic, Skadi, walked up to us on all fours. She dropped her body down close to the ground, letting Joy step on her giant foreleg so she could ride on her back. As I pulled away from Skadi, but Joy grabbed hold of my arm and shook her head. Looking at Skadi, the giant Pokémon nodded. Baast's paws lifted me up and placed me behind Joy.

My arms instantly went around Joy's waist as Skadi moved underneath me. Joy's arm grabbed hold of my head as she leaned backwards. "You look like you've been through a lot just now."

That's an understatement. "You could say that."

"Sleep." she ordered softly. "It sounds like you could use it."

I shook my head. "I'll be fine for a little while longer."

"Mist? Could you give me a hand here, please?"

"But of course."

A cold sensation came from my back. Exhaustion settled in fast. Unable to react to it, my head slumped down on Joy's shoulder. Mist's soft words sealed whatever resistance I had away. Skadi's steps became a gentle sway in my mind, helping Mist put me to sleep.

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

I'm not entirely sure when I woke up. I was surrounded by bodies as my eyes adjusted to my new surroundings. A shiver went down my spine. My hands clenched in fear. Something beat on my chest.

"Don't scratch my back like that. It hurts."

Joy's voice brought my mind back down to reality. It took all my willpower not to tighten my hold on her. Her hand touched my cheek, my eyes meeting hers. She looked worried.

"Are you alright?" she asked. "You look like you haven't slept at all."

"I'm fine." I said with a smile. "Just glad that you're safe now."

"What happened? Why won't you tell me?"

I shivered, my mind knowing that it wasn't that long ago that I held her motionless body next to mine.

"Maybe in the morning, when everyone is awake?" I offered. "It would save me a lot of trouble."

She frowned, but nodded. "I don't want you to hide anything from me when that happens." she demanded.

I leaned down, kissing her forehead. "I promise."