[Pokémon] The End

[Delirious Absol]

18 – Failure​

A plate of berries and meats was shoved through the bars of the cell. Cleo stared down at it with the others. It was coated with a thick berry sauce of an unappealing colour, but she was hungry and it smelled good. Besides, they were going to need their strength if they had to put up a fight against Enigma and plan an escape from this place.

Spark didn't even hesitate. She snatched a large Oran berry from the plate and bit into it. A euphoric smile spread across her face and she looked at her cell mates.

"It's good. Dig in."

Harlequin crinkled her nose at the Dedenne. "You didn't even think to check if it was poisoned first?"

Spark swallowed her mouthful of berry. "Why would they poison us? They want us alive, right?"

Harlequin shrugged and grabbed a piece of meat from the plate, swallowing it in one bite before grabbing another.

Cleo reached for one and examined it. "I trust from your reaction, it's not poisoned?"

The Zorua licked her lips. "Like I said, I'm not suicidal. I wouldn't eat poisoned food just to trick you."

Cleo snorted at Harlequin's overly convoluted way of saying 'no' and tucked into what she assumed was dried fish. She glanced over at Mischief, still sitting against the wall and staring blankly through the bars.

"Aren't you having anything?"

He didn't look at her, but she thought from the slight movement he made that he may have sighed. She returned one of her own and looked away. It had been this way since their conversation earlier. He refused to speak to any of them. She had to admit she couldn't exactly blame him either. She wasn't convinced she wouldn't behave the same way if her friends had kept something so crucial from her.

She grabbed a berry from the rapidly depleting plate and moved to his side.

"Here." She handed it to him.

He said nothing, continuing to stare off into space.

Cleo stifled a flustered sigh. "Look. You need your strength if we're going to get out of here. Take it. We probably won't get another plate, and we're running out of time."

"What's the point?"

His words startled her. She wasn't actually expecting him to speak after sitting for so long in silence. She opened her mouth to reply, but he cut her off before she could even form words.

"I belong here anyway, don't I?"

Cleo fell back onto her haunches, still clasping the berry in both paws. His words had almost wounded her and she searched her mind for the right response. The silence that followed was a clear indication that the other two had ceased their meal to listen in to their conversation, clearly much more interesting than what was on the plate.

"No." Cleo finally said. "No, you don't belong here. You belong in the Guild."

Mischief said nothing. He leant his head back against the wall, adopting the art of silence once more.

Cleo let out that flustered sigh and placed the berry down next to him. If her words meant nothing, then there wasn't much else she could do.

No... help him get out of here, that's what she could do.

She turned away from the Whimsicott and her vision was dazzled by a few stray sparks of electricity. She looked down at Spark, her whiskers crackling as the Dedenne rubbed her paws over them.

"Spark?" Cleo moved over to her friend. "Are you all right?"

Spark looked up at her. "I think my whiskers have shorted."

Harlequin flopped to the floor beside her and yawned widely. For a moment Cleo thought the Zorua was mocking them, but the dull hum she had grown accustomed to hearing throughout her lifetime had come to a sudden stop, and every sound around them seemed so much more concentrated that her fur stood on end.

"What's going on?" She pressed her paws over her ears and her eyes fell to the near-empty plate beside Spark.

"It's the sauce," slurred the Zorua.

"So it was poisoned?" Cleo's fur bristled but not because of Harlequin. Footsteps were echoing across the floor and two Pokemon appeared at the cell.

"Poison?" The male Meowstic crooned at them. "You offend me."

She looked up at the Meowstic and Vigoroth. The latter was fumbling with the lock and with a shrill creak, the cell door opened.

"It was a concoction of berries designed to sap your strength," the Meowstic told them. "Wacan for electricity, Rindo for grass, Payapa for psychic and Colbur for dark. Normally they'd reduce the damage taken by the specified attack received by the Pokemon that had eaten it. Interestingly, like your little sparky friend here, eating a Wacan berry reduces the power of electrical attacks. So... for a short while she might be feeling a little... out of sorts."

The Vigoroth grabbed Mischief by the arm and dragged him to his feet. "Come on, we're moving you to another cell."

"Grass..." Cleo's eyes widened. "Mischief! You've not eaten anything, stop them!"

Her words fell on deaf ears. The Whimsicott stumbled along after the Vigoroth while the Meowstic locked their cell.

"Mischief!" Cleo leapt to her feet. She unfurled her ears to try and stop them, but nothing happened. She fell to her knees and growled.

"Don't worry," the other Meowstic purred. "You won't be here for much longer. But your friend there, oh we have big plans for him."

Cleo snapped to fix the Meowstic with a glare. "What are you doing to him?"

He feigned a pathetic expression and inclined his head on one side. "Oh, I'm afraid I can't tell you that. It's confidential."

"Leave him alone," Cleo growled. "He's not done anything to you."

"He failed his mission, he's done enough." He turned away, swinging the keys around in his paw as he made for the door.

"Leave him alone!" Cleo stood and launched herself against the bars of the cell. The reverberations echoed around the white room, creating a din that caused her to push her paws over her ears and fall back from the bars, landing on her bottom on the cold, hard floor.

A deep chuckle came from the Zorua but Cleo didn't give her so much as a glance.

"Failed his mission." Harlequin chuckled again. "I can relate to that."

...​

Night had fallen, casting the squat building in deep shadows from the surrounding trees. Harbinger and the Pawniard twins stood between the trees, a clear map of the building's interior and outer perimeter in their minds. The Pawniard brothers had breached the inside and had a quick look around before returning to Harbinger to formulate a plan. The inside was small. A lab, an office, a small room with a table and food stash, and a room that was closed off, needing a key to enter. This likely held the captive Pokemon. The building itself had two exits – the front and back doors. The back was locked from the inside and had no guards. The front had guards – two – both of them anxious and fidgety, clearly awaiting Enigma.

Harbinger guessed they didn't even have until midnight. He clutched a large tree branch in his jaws, his red eyes focused on Scratch's claws as he whipped them together to create a flurry of dangerous sparks. After several attempts, the sparks struck the branch and lit the dry, brittle bark aflame. The orange light danced and flickered, causing the shadows around them to jerk about in an unsettling manner.

The Absol turned his head to look at the building. The torch wasn't for light and would likely burn out faster than he desired. He had to work fast.

The two Pawniard followed his plan smoothly. The branch was lit. Now they had to climb through the office window, take out any Pokemon that was lurking within it, and smash through the doors that led to the closed room to free all the caged Pokemon.

Harbinger gave them a moment before launching himself through the window. The office was empty, like he expected it to be. He didn't need to be careful with the torch. All the paper work here screamed at him to be burned.

...​

Spark sat bolt upright.

"Do you smell smoke?"

Cleo's nose twitched. Yes... yes, that was smoke. It was unmistakable. Her body went cold and she began to shake.

Not fire.

Not them.

Not here.

Harlequin shot to her feet and paced up and down the cell, examining the bars. The rest of the room was thrown into distress as the other caged Pokemon cried out and shouted for help. Spark joined in the fray, clutching the bars of their cell and shouting at the top of her lungs.

"Oi! We smell fire! Let us out!"

Almost on cue, the opposite wall seemed to explode. Two dark shapes shot through it, orange light flickering off the surface of their bodies. Sharp blades lit up a deep orange, poking out of their bodies in a uniform fashion. Pawniard. They paused briefly as they surveyed the room then bolted in opposite directions towards the surrounding cells.

Spark looked over at Harlequin. "Friends of yours?"

Harlequin shook her head, not looking at the Dedenne. Cleo looked away from her cell mates, her attention drawn to the sharp clink that echoed through the room. The voices of the other Pokemon raised as they flooded into the room, trying to gain some sense of order as they decided which way to leave. Into the flames, or find another exit? None of them knew of one.

One of the Pawniard shot past their cell, its blades raised. In a split second, the lock was sliced from the cell and the door opened an inch with the impact. Cleo didn't need any instruction. She leapt to her feet and slipped through the cell door with Harlequin and Spark in tow. The Dedenne leapt to her shoulder for a better view of the chaos around them.

"Which way?" She asked.

The Pokemon grouped together, tens of voices rising at once. Cleo pushed through them towards the door. The two Pawniard stood in the entrance, glancing back and forth, the light from the fire reflecting off their steel bodies.

There was no way out. They were trapped. Why they had rescued them was a mystery, but in doing so, they were stuck.

Trapped.

Cleo looked back over her shoulder and took a deep breath.

"Listen!"

Her voice barely broke over the din. She turned to face the group of confused Pokemon and opened her mouth to try again. A few were looking her way, and amongst them was a large Azumarill.

"You!" She pointed a claw at the water Pokemon. "Can you lead the way and put out those flames?"

"I can try!" She called back. "But I only know physical water attacks. I'd have to literally throw myself through the fire."

Cleo lowered her paw. That wasn't much good.

"I can try though. Let me go ahead of you." The Azumarill strode past Cleo towards the hallway.

The Pawniard watched her go then looked at one another.

Cleo felt a small spark of hope rise in her chest. Then an idea hit her. She trotted after the water Pokemon, oblivious to the din of the other Pokemon swarming into the hallway after her.

"Wait!" She caught up with the Azumarill. "You need to create water to launch your attacks. But you don't need to throw yourself with it. Let me control the water."

The Azumarill gave her an amused stare. "You? Control the water?"

"Yes. I'm a psychic Pokemon. I can use my abilities to control where the water goes. We can put it out together."

The Azumarill gave a nod and the two of them ran down the corridor towards the source of the fire. It opened up into a blazing room. A window lay on the far side, just visible through the thick smoke and fire.

The Azumarill set to work, covering her body in a large veil of water. Spark made the wise choice to remove herself from Cleo's shoulder as the Meowstic opened her ears and that familiar humming sound intensified. Good, her abilities were back. She'd gone into this quite blindly with no idea what to do if the plan failed. She stifled a sigh of relief and focused on her task. Carefully, she drew water from the water Pokemon's body, sending it into the room like a tornado. It grew with every twist, racing around the room and drowning the flames as it went. Before long, the room was safe enough to cross.

The crowd of Pokemon rushed to the window, flowing out one after the next. Cleo and the Azumarill stood aside to fight what was left of the fire, making sure it was safe enough for the other Pokemon to escape. Once the room was empty, Cleo and her ally made for the window, joining the Pokemon on the other side. Harlequin was last through, landing in a crumpled heap at Cleo's feet. She shot her a snarl as she pushed herself up, then glanced around at the chaos outside.

Cleo followed her gaze. There was no sign of the Pawniard that had helped them.

"Hey, Meowstic."

Cleo looked back at the Azumarill.

"Thanks for the help." She gave Cleo a wide smile. "I'm afraid this is where we part ways."

Cleo nodded. "Where will you go?"

The Azumarill shrugged. "No idea. I have friends here, so I'm sure we'll think of somewhere. All I can say is far away from these Heretic crack-pots." She grinned again. "You never know, we might meet again some day." She skipped away from Cleo then looked back. "My name's Blossom!"

Cleo smiled. "Cleo. Take care now. I have to find my friend..."

Her words froze in her mouth. Standing apart from the crowd was Mischief. She ran over to him, dragging the Zorua behind her and forcing her to run to keep up. He gave her a half-smile when he saw her.

"Looks like no one belongs here." He gave a small laugh and looked up at the smouldering building. "Maybe... it's a good thing I forgot this place..."

A roar split through the air, bringing the crowd of Pokemon to a silence. This seemed to prompt them to gather themselves and run, heading for the forest.

"What was that?" Spark asked.

"I don't know," said Cleo. "And I don't really think we should stay around here to find out either."

She ushered Mischief ahead of her, and they followed after the fleeing Pokemon. She didn't know where the Meowstic or the other Heretics had gone. Maybe they'd fled the fire, leaving their test subjects to burn. Maybe they were the source of that roar. Whatever the case, Cleo didn't want to wait around to find out.

...​

"An Absol!" Rio roared. He paced back and forth, his paws balled into fists. "An Absol brought disaster on my lab!"

Tantrum tugged on one of the iron chains confining the rampaging Tyranitar.

"Think we have somethin' bigger t'worry 'bout right now, Rio."

The other members of Rio's group stood around the massive Pokemon, each clutching a heavy chain. The Plusle and Minun duo seemed to be having the most trouble, both clutching the same chain while trying to avoid the Tyranitar's thrashing tail.

Rio looked at his team-mates briefly. None of them could do anything to subdue the large Pokemon. A Meowstic's abilities wouldn't affect it, and the Raichu, Heliolisk, Plusle and Minun would barely dent it with its high defences. Tantrum would likely break his claws. The Sandslash alone stood the best chance but if he used his skills he would likely knock his allies over in the process. And there'd been enough disasters for one day.

Rio nibbled his claw in thought. If his message had reached him, Enigma should be here any minute.

Any minute now.

And he'd lost them all.

A soft chime from an unseen bell sent chills through Rio and his team. The Tyranitar almost broke free of its confines, but the group regathered themselves and commenced trying to pull the Tyranitar to the ground.

"My my." Enigma materialised on a branch above their heads. "This is quite the situation you've found yourselves in isn't it?"

"Enigma! Let me explain." Rio tore himself away from the working Pokemon and looked up at Enigma. "It was an Absol. He set the place on fire then ran, just like that. He must have freed all my test subjects, the forest is full of-"

"Fleeing Pokemon." Enigma examined his claws. "Amongst which I believe I spotted a Meowstic and Whimsicott." He tutted. "So careless. Whatever am I going to tell my boss?"

Rio raised his paws. "I can get them back. Trust me, I can get them all back. Well... maybe not all... but I'll get that Meowstic and her friends. You have my word. I'll bring them back and send word to you-"

Enigma pulled a blue feather from his mouth, examined it, then sent it flowing down to the floor. Rio watched the feather, a cold chill running through his body.

"Thanks for sending me a snack, by the way."

Rio looked up at the Banette, dumbfounded.

Enigma inclined his head on one side and stared down at Rio for a moment before letting out a chuckle. "I told you not to let me down."

"B-but... I wasn't expecting the Absol-"

Enigma waved a paw in dismissal. "Excuses, excuses. The fact is, Rio, you let them get away." He looked over at the Tyranitar, thrashing against the heavy chains. "You let them get away so you could control your pet."

Rio pointed at it. "If this thing gets loose, Enigma, it'll spell disaster!"

Enigma chuckled and kicked himself away from the tree. In one swift motion, he warped beside the Tyranitar, floating just below its jaw line. His claws vanished beyond the rock Pokemon's chest plate. The beast let out a shrill howl and twisted its body wildly, thrashing all five limbs, its tail swerving through the air and sending the Plusle and Minun duo rolling along the ground. The other Pokemon abandoned their attempts to confine it and fled to a safer distance. Its thrashes came to an end as the Tyranitar crumbled to the ground in a motionless heap.

Enigma examined his claws, dripping with fresh blood and flicked them a few times before wiping them in the dirt. Rio looked away from the Banette to stare down at his fallen experiment.

Ruined.

Everything was ruined.

Enigma strode past him, drawing stares from Rio's team-mates but not from the Meowstic. He paused by Rio and spoke softly to his ear.

"I'm done with you, Rio. You failed me."

The Banette adjusted his scarf and strode away into the shadows, the soft jingling from his bell fading away into the distance.

 

[Delirious Absol]

19 – Ruins​

Pet.

Pet was the word he'd used to describe that thing.

'That thing'.

'Pokemon' hadn't even occurred to him as a suitable word to describe it.

Enigma nibbled on his claw as he trudged through the thick mound of mountain plants as he left the forest. He'd not been paying much attention to where he was going and it wasn't until a heavy thorn bush snagged his scarf that he snapped into realisation and glanced back over his shoulder at the mass of closely-knitted trees.

An Absol. Rio had told him an Absol had caused all that chaos.

What would an Absol want with a Heretic lab? And why free all their captive Pokemon and unleash a monster like that Tyranitar?

Maybe the Absol knew something Enigma didn't.

Something that Rio had kept from him.

That Tyranitar... after thinking about it, there was only one word he could use to describe it.

'Insane'.

That reaction wouldn't have been befitting of a sane Pokemon, no matter how scared or frantic. It would have been spouting words for one thing, but all that... Pokemon... was doing was roaring and thrashing and showing a desperate attempt to harm those who tried to subdue it in the process.

Yes. That creature was insane. Dangerous.

So why was Rio holding on to it? Other than causing mayhem, why had he not told his workers to kill it and then stop the fleeing captives? What was so important that Rio had completely violated his commitment to Enigma to hold Boomer's killers?

Enigma chuckled and smoothed out his scarf, plucking free some of the embedded thorns from the thick material.

Yes... he was hiding something. And the Absol knew it.

It was the only explanation.

Absol are dark Pokemon. The Pokemon he freed were Heretic lab subjects and the Outcast Guild members. Outcasts don't pal around with dark Pokemon. He'd never seen an Absol in close proximity to them. Any dark Pokemon (or ghost or dragon) were met with speculation and accusation, and often imprisoned never to be seen again, or killed.

Of course the 'never to be seen again' and 'killed' are likely one in the same thing.

That led him to the other thing that was bothering him.

That fleeing Meowstic and her companions were accompanied by a dark Pokemon, one he thought he knew quite well.

Harlequin...

He flicked a thorn he'd been staring at into the bushes and turned back to the forest, staring up at the enclosed canopy.

The sun was setting. They'd be settling down now, trying to hide from the prying eyes of any lurking dark Pokemon.

He planned to be that Pokemon. He just had to find them first.

...​

Cleo had been running for what felt like an eternity.

The lab was far behind them now, and the other escapees had long since scattered, going their separate ways in small groups.

It was a sensible move to make. There may be safety in numbers, but a large group of Pokemon running through the forest would have stood out to any Pokemon that may be waiting for such a golden opportunity.

None of them had said a word for a while now, all of them focusing on just getting as far away from that lab as possible.

Her lungs felt fit to burst and she finally slowed, bending over with her paws on her knees.

Harlequin had no choice but to stop but the others carried on ahead for a moment then looked back as they realised she was no longer following them.

"Yeh." Spark fell to her bottom on the dry ground. "I'm exhausted too."

Mischief nodded and leant back against a tree. "Do we plan to camp here? Or..." He waved a paw. "Just... carry on more slowly?"

Harlequin sat down and puffed out her chest. "I'm all for waiting here, if I'm honest."

Spark pointed a claw at the Zorua. "Oh no... we're not falling for that one. What do you take us for?"

Harlequin grinned. "Fools."

Spark frowned and little jolts of electricity danced across her whiskers, but she bit her tongue and remained quiet. Now was no time to argue.

Cleo looked from one Pokemon to the next and straightened up.

"We should find shelter," she told them. "Somewhere secluded and quiet. And maybe gag this one." She nodded to the Zorua.

Harlequin snarled. "You can try, but I'll bite you."

Spark huffed. "I'm not going anywhere near that maw."

Mischief shrugged. "I'll do it. Spark can always paralyse him if need be anyway."

Cleo frowned. "No one is paralysing anyone. Understand? We need to co-operate." She looked around at the forest. It grew thicker here, obscuring any hint of daylight. Diurnal Pokemon often avoided dark parts of the forest such as this, since it was hard to tell what time of day it was, and the nocturnal Pokemon that hunted them often took advantage of this.

A chill ran down her spine as the image of burning trees and the sounds of screams briefly filled her mind. She shook her head sharply and moved confidently forwards.

"Come on. Anywhere secluded should be fine."

A tug at her bracelet told her Harlequin was reluctantly following after them, mumbling incoherently to herself.

Mischief picked up pace and trotted on ahead of them, keeping an eye on Cleo, not that she knew where she was going. This part of the forest was alien to them, and they'd lost the river. She wasn't sure if they were heading away from New City towards the Glen or blindly making their way into the Shadow Lands.

Cleo gave the Whimsicott a glance and focused on moving forwards. He hadn't said anything about the events in the lab since they'd left. But his demeanour showed he certainly hadn't forgotten it. He seemed... distant. Of course, that was understandable. He'd found out he once belonged to an evil organisation, was a test subject and was infected by a virus that gave him uncontrollable bouts of madness and memory loss.

Anyone would become distant after hearing about that.

Cleo grit her teeth. If she'd found out that about herself she'd be devastated. All in all, Mischief seemed to be handling it quite well.

Or maybe this was just the calm before the storm.

Once again they fell into silence. Spark trudged along beside Mischief, occasionally vanishing into a shrubbery. She'd decided to walk on ahead as an extra defence should they be ambushed. Being difficult to spot and easier to hide with her small size, she made an ideal lead in battle; one that was able to surprise their enemies.

The only sounds were those of their own breathing and the crunch of debris beneath their paws. All ears were pricked for any sound that would indicate a possible attack, their eyes straining against the thick shadows. Several times Cleo considered asking Spark to light the way to reveal anything that may be hiding, and several times she decided against it. It would be a disastrous mistake to make. She'd become a beacon, attracting their enemies like Mothim to a Combee hive.

They hadn't made much headway when something moving a few feet away froze them in their tracks.

Amongst the branches of a tree, something shifted and hopped across a couple of limbs. It was small and moved with the familiar jerky motions of a bird Pokemon.

Cleo licked her dry lips and glanced from side to side, looking for the nearest escape route. Everywhere was submerged in shadows.

Which meant they themselves were also submerged in shadows.

There was every possibility the Murkrow hadn't seen them. But they never travelled alone. One Murkrow meant there were at least five others somewhere, and it was often a lot more.

Cleo scanned the canopy, straining to spot any more movements. Nothing but leaves blowing in the breeze.

No wait... they weren't leaves.

She took a step sideways and edged through the trees, tiptoeing over the debris, desperate to not make a single sound. The others were following her movements. All except...

The tug at her wrist was followed by a dramatic fall. A snap of dry twigs and crunch of leaves sounded like an explosion in the drawn out silence.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion. She could almost feel the hundreds of sharp eyes all snap onto them. Harlequin's loud, faked cry added to their plight. If the Murkrow hadn't spotted them already, they certainly had now.

Cleo bolted through the trees, dragging the reluctant Zorua behind her. Harlequin kicked and screamed, crying out for help, drawing the Murkrow after them. Mischief ran on ahead while Spark covered her rear, the flash of Spark's electrical attacks occasionally illuminating the forest, taking out the Murkrow and lighting the way for them, revealing more of the birds swooping at them from ahead. Mischief fired off his sparkling attack, striking the Murkrow and knocking them to the ground. The dark birds fell like flies before they could even stick their beaks into them.

Cleo hopped over the fallen Pokemon, followed by a cry as Harlequin scraped herself across the sharp beaks and claws.

The Meowstic silently thanked their encounter with Mischief. If it were just her and Spark, they'd be impaled on wicked beaks by now. One at the back, one at the front. Their attacks burst through the thick cloud of birds, eradicating them en-mass.

The light from another discharge from Spark bounced off a stone surface mere feet away from them. Cleo braced herself to come to a halt and watched in disbelief as Mischief vanished between a thick wall of ivy. She picked up pace and followed after him, dry stone scraping against her fur and cutting into her skin. Harlequin wailed and struggled against her confines. Cleo finally came to a stop and looked back. Spark hopped over the Zorua's body and stood at Cleo's side, her large black eyes scanning the area.

Cleo was too preoccupied with Harlequin, standing against the wall and waiting until the Zorua finally struggled to her feet and wriggled through the narrow gap. She shot Cleo a venomous look then paused to look about herself.

Then it finally hit Cleo. They weren't in the forest any more. She looked around at the stone wall that surrounded them, spreading for acres. The wall was crumbling in places as nature took over, thick ivy and strangling plants dragging the wall down and dislodging stones, scattering them onto the ground where they lay dotted in small piles. In the distance Cleo could make out a tree which had grown at an elaborate angle and burst through the wall at some point in its life. Its branches stretched and curved towards the ground like a deep-green waterfall. In the dark it looked wildly unwelcoming.

The most striking thing about this area was the building that stood in the centre of it. A large stone structure, as equally crumbling and overgrown with plants as the wall. The building stood in sections, each one coming off from it at a right angle. It was squat with a flat roof that was trimmed with crenellations.

She tore her eyes away from the building and looked back with a start. The onslaught of Murkrow had stopped.

The sky above them was silent. Had they all been defeated?

"What is this place?"

It was Mischief who'd spoken. She turned to follow his gaze back to the large building.

"I..." She paused and scratched her ears. "I think it was an abbey."

"Really?" Spark glanced at her. "I've only heard about them in stories. Never seen one." She paused. "I didn't think they existed."

"Well by the looks of this building, it's ancient." Cleo ventured over to it and ran a paw gingerly over the cold surface, almost scared that it might fall down at any moment. It really was old. The smell of moss and rot rose from it. From the smell, there was clearly wood somewhere in its structure.

"I kinda want to go inside," said Spark. "The explorer in me is tingling with excitement."

'Go inside...' Cleo looked up at the building, the idea causing a war with her conscience. Sure, they could go inside and have a look, maybe shelter for the night. But there was also the distinct chance that dark Pokemon had already beaten them to it.

She looked back at her friends. "If we go inside, you have to be prepared to fight."

"Fight?" Harlequin snorted. "A fight might bring the entire building down!"

"Good." Cleo turned and moved along the perimeter, searching for an entrance. "That means if any of your 'friends' are inside, they might not pick a fight with us."

A few feet along the wall revealed a door hidden behind a curtain of climbing ivy. Cleo brushed it aside to access the door handle... only to discover there wasn't one.

"Oh fantastic." Spark crossed her paws and huffed. "How are we meant to get in?"

"Maybe there's a doorknob on the other side?" Cleo suggested. She tapped a paw against a covered slat at eye level. "It seems this place had some level of security. Maybe they didn't make it easy for Pokemon to get inside without being investigated first?"

"Sure, that would make sense now, but how old is this building?"

"Look."

Their attention was drawn to Mischief, leaning over what at first glance seemed to be yet another plant. He looked up at them and beckoned them closer.

"There's a hole here." He stuffed his paw into a small hole beside the door. "Maybe we can get in through this?"

Cleo raised an eyebrow at him. "The only one of us who could fit through that hole is Spark."

Harlequin snorted. "So her size does come in use at times?"

"Oi!" Spark waved a tiny fist at the Zorua. "You've felt my electricity, so unless you want another dousing-"

"Spark!" Cleo cut the Dedenne off. "Twist her words to make it a compliment. Out of all of us here, your size is the advantage. If you can get in there then you can let us in."

"If she can reach the doorknob," Harlequin mumbled.

Spark turned on her. "I heard that!"

"Good." The Zorua turned two blue eyes on her. "Because I intended it."

Cleo let out an exasperated sigh. "Spark, just ignore her. I'm sure you could let us in."

"Erm..." Mischief raised a paw. "Or I could do it?"

"You?" The three other Pokemon looked at him.

Mischief nodded. "Yes. It saves argument. I won't be long."

He turned to the small hole and wriggled inside, his body distorting like a soft jelly, leaving behind wisps of downy fluff on the floor and wall. After he vanished out of sight, the wiry plant sprang back into place, scattering the dust into the air like dandelion seeds.

Spark blinked a couple of times. "I don't know whether to be impressed or weirded out."

They waited in silence as Mischief made his way round to the door and with a sharp snap of breaking vines and creaking wood, the door was slowly forced open. Mischief's orange eyes appeared in the shadows between the door and the wall and he smiled at them.

"It's quiet inside here."

Cleo didn't waste any time. She ushered Spark ahead of her and followed her inside with Harlequin slipping in last.

The little Dedenne stood on her tiptoes and sniffed the air, then sneezed. The sound was amplified by the vast space of what was once an entrance hall.

"Wow," she said. "It's dusty in here. Where's a Minccino when you need one?"

"Yes." Harlequin nodded. "And damp too. Not very good for your health really is it?"

Cleo ignored the Zorua's comment and narrowed her eyes to peer at what she thought might be a door on the far wall.

"Spark, do you think you could light it up a bit for us?"

"Sure!" With a flash, the Dedenne's body lit up with electricity causing them to shield their eyes from the sudden bright light. "Wow... this place really is ancient."

Cleo looked around in silent awe. Yes, it was ancient, but probably not as old as its exterior made it out to be. Heavy red curtains hung off the wall by the front door, which didn't have a doorknob. Instead it had a metal latch that fell into place and was pushed from the inside to swing out onto the courtyard. A window overgrown with ivy and weeds once supplied the room with natural light and opposite that hung a tapestry depicting a faded image of a glorious meadow with Pokemon frolicking amongst wild flowers. What struck her was the variety of Pokemon, all happily playing together – Eevee, Pikachu and Espurr running alongside Poochyena, Axew and Bagon. In the back sat under a tree was a Gardevoir and Altaria sharing drinks with a Shuppet. What really drew her eye was a hill in the back. Standing on top of it, submerged in sunlight, was a Pokemon she hadn't seen before. A stag who's antlers seemed to radiate light.

"Whoa." Spark's voice snapped Cleo's attention back to reality. "You just wouldn't find that in this day and age, would you?"

"No."

"And who's that Pokemon in the back?"

"I don't know." Cleo tore herself away from the tapestry and paced along the hall, pausing briefly as Harlequin stalled behind her. She glanced back to find Mischief and Harlequin still staring at the tapestry.

Mischief seemed to notice her stare and glanced at her.

"Is this..." He paused. "Is this what life used to be like?"

Cleo shrugged. "Apparently. Or some Pokemon's view of what the world should be like. I don't remember it." She looked away to take in more of the hallway. Other than the tapestry there wasn't much to see. "Spark and I were born in this war. This is all we know."

"Yup," Spark quipped. "All we know is division. You won't find many psychic Pokemon let alone a Gardevoir anywhere. They were the first to be wiped out." She sighed. "And the idea of being friends with dark or dragon types? It's nothing more than an idealistic fantasy."

Harlequin snorted. "There are divisions amongst those as well, you're just too blind to see it."

All eyes snapped to the Zorua and Spark literally sparked.

"Blind?!"

Harlequin fixed one blue eye on them. "Were you even listening to that Meowstic Heretic? He told you about the outlaws."

"Oh..." Cleo nodded. "He mentioned them but I've never heard of them."

"The outcasts are rebels!" Harlequin snapped. "It's not surprising you've never heard of them since you're so involved in your own personal Guild affairs! You talk about how this is a war, of divisions and how certain types have been pushed to extinction, but there are divisions in the Shadow Lands too! Families and friendships have been fractured, pushing some Pokemon out from the walls to live in hiding in the borders because they're also unwelcome on Guild territory! Idealistic fantasy indeed..." She snorted. "What you're clearly too blind to see is that in the Shadow Lands it's either obey, run for your life, or die!"

The other three Pokemon stood staring at the Zorua. Her breaths were coming in quick bursts as she tried to suppress built up hysteria.

"Then..." Spark ventured. "Why don't you just run?"

Harlequin's sapphire glare shot to the Dedenne. "Because then I'd be living like you! Scared of every little shadow, trying to hide all the time! I might be a Zorua, but illusion is tiring. I can't use it indefinitely. And unlike you, I actually look different to others of my kind. I stand out." She looked back at the tapestry then tore her eyes away, screwing them shut and striding past Cleo."An ideal world... it's nothing but some artist's fantasy. Not even worth latching on to."

The others exchanged glances.

"We hadn't," Spark said flatly.

"It's fiction, okay!" Harlequin snapped. "Just... shut up..."

They stood in momentary silence, watching Harlequin cautiously. She stood with her back to them, her head held low, still warring with some kind of emotional turmoil.

"Okay." Cleo paused and looked away. "We shall."

Spark cleared her throat and drew the Meowstic's attention. "Are you still wanting a look around this place?"

Cleo nodded. "Yes. I think there's a door over there." She pointed at the far wall.

Another of those heavy red curtains was hanging suspiciously from it. From the length of it, it was likely a door but could easily have been a window. But from the shape of the building outside, Cleo doubted it was the latter. She moved over to it, dragging Harlequin with her. The Zorua didn't even mutter a sound.

With a sweep of her paw, Cleo brushed the curtain aside and revealed a heavy, iron door engraved with a large X, the top of which was designed to resemble the horns of a stag. Around it were engravings of Altaria singing jovially.

"What is this place?" Spark asked.

Cleo didn't hesitate. With a hefty shove, the door split down the middle to swing inwards. The room beyond was immediately filled with light from the Dedenne's small body. They strode into the room, decorated with yet more tapestries and at the far end between two narrow windows hung a massive painting of the stag they'd seen in the entrance hall. Dusty mats were lay in neat rows along the walls.

Spark's jaw dropped and she said again, "What is this place?!"

The tapestries here depicted a long story sequence of a world ravaged by war. The first section showed hundreds of Pokemon fleeing from a town under attack from a dark army led by a red and black bird Pokemon. The following sequence showed the victims being captured and the ones who refused were slaughtered. After that, the captured Pokemon then became consumed by darkness, forced to join the bird's ranks.

A handful of Pokemon had escaped, and a little light touched them. Standing before them was the stag, radiating light. These Pokemon had turned away from the darkness, but now were able to fight off their pursuers.

The stag amassed an army of light, giving his followers the power to defeat this darkness. The attacks in the paintings were reminiscent of the ones Cleo had seen Mischief use. Some of the stag's followers wore odd stones that caused them to transform and become more powerful, taking down foes twice their size.

The dark bird was furious and returned with his own army, throwing himself into the thick of battle. The final section showed the bird being defeated by the stag. The words below this square were the only words on the tapestry:

'Yvel is defeated by the X'

The large painting of the stag was framed in gold and engraved beneath it was what could be assumed was his name – 'Xerneas'.

The opposite tapestry showed different stages of the world being filled with light. Each picture showed more and more Pokemon playing together, each one overlooked by Xerneas. These images themselves seemed to radiate tranquillity and hope. Cleo couldn't deny she felt moved by them. Was there... hope that this could be the world they lived in? There could be an end to this war?

"Is he real?"

Mischief's voice snapped her out of her reverie and she looked at him.

"Xerneas," Mischief explained. "Is he real?"

Cleo was suddenly aware she'd been wondering the same thing. She looked back at the tapestries in closer detail, trying to find some evidence that these pictures might be portraits of a time once past.

"I dunno," said Spark. "But it's nice to think, isn't it?"

Harlequin was oddly silent. Cleo glanced at her. The Zorua was frozen to the spot, her head turning left and right as she seemed to be comparing the two tapestries. A combination of confusion and fear was written in her eyes.

"I've never heard of these two Pokemon," Cleo said. "I don't know what that black bird is called, but never in my life have I heard the name 'Xerneas' anywhere."

"Me neither." Spark turned back to the story on the war and craned her neck to look up at it. "Don't those stones look familiar though?"

Cleo followed the Dedenne's stare. The odd stones the Pokemon were wearing were indeed familiar. Round and clear with coloured stripes twisting up the centre of them. A loud yell caused Spark and Cleo to almost leap out of their skin. They span round to face the source.

Harlequin was staring at the same picture, her eyes wide with shock. She span to examine her own body then rounded on Mischief.

"It's gone! You lost it!"

Mischief pointed to himself. "Me?"

"My bag!" Harlequin fell to the floor and placed her paws over her head. "You lost it!"

Cleo instinctively looked down at herself then sighed. Of course. The Heretics had taken them when they'd been captured. They'd been too busy fleeing the burning building to think about grabbing their belongings.

"It had..." Harlequin looked back up at the picture then closed her eyes and let out a pained groan, tears flowing over the fur of her cheeks. "It was all I had left and now it's gone!"

Cleo stared down at the Zorua, speechless. That odd orb that had roused such suspicious behaviour from her... was really nothing more than a memento? She looked back at the image of the transforming Pokemon, each one wearing a similar stone.

A memento...

If these pictures did indeed hold some truth to them, then that stone was more valuable than even Harlequin was aware.

She looked back down at the sobbing Zorua. "Harlequin... do you really not know what that stone is?"

The Zorua's blue eyes snapped open, sudden fury filling them.

"Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you!"

Cleo shook her head and sighed. "Very well. Let's see if there's anything else in this place."

She strode from the room, Spark skipping past her to illuminate the way. As Mischief closed the door, a dreamy expression seemed to cross his face.

"He's truly amazing isn't he?"

Cleo looked back at the door with it's large 'X' embellishment. "Xerneas?"

"Yes." Mischief nodded. "To defeat an evil foe like that so easily and then fill the world with light... pretty amazing."

Cleo mulled this over. In a world like this one, full of pain, war and suffering, it caused her to wonder if such a story had been made to give the Pokemon that lived here hope.

Then there was those stones... stones she'd never seen before, and Harlequin carried one around. Was that stone from this abbey, or was it a mere coincidence?

Or was it a sign that this story was actually...

She turned from the door and turned right down the hallway. Spark had to trot to take over her as she was just walking blindly through the shadows. The light spread out before them, lighting up walls dotted here and there with pictures of random, peaceful-living Pokemon and profiles and sculptures of Xerneas. They passed several doors, but opening them just revealed empty rooms that would have been used as sleeping areas.

Every room and hallway in this massive abbey was empty save for the odd sculpture and decoration.

They had no idea how long they'd been exploring the place. They reached the hallway again and Cleo gave one last look around it, deep in thought.

No dark Pokemon, Not a single one.

What had happened here to cause it to become so empty and desolate?

Why hadn't the Murkrow followed them in? The only logical answer she had to that one was they'd defeated them all.

Spark stretched and let out a loud yawn. "Shall we sleep here then? I'm exhausted."

Cleo nodded slowly. "I think it's safe enough to."

"No." Harlequin shook her head. "I want to leave."

Spark snorted. "Because none of your cronies can find you in here and cause us any bother?"

Harlequin said nothing. She was looking away from them, down at the floor. Something had bothered her. Her revelation earlier, or the loss of that strange stone... whatever it was, Cleo knew if she asked she wouldn't get a straight answer.

"Look," she said, "it's safe here. And quiet. Let's get a good night's sleep and be off at sunrise."

They turned into the corridor again and slipped into the first room they found. It was once a cozy little sleeping room with an old, stagnant pile of hay at the side of the room. Cleo didn't feel right to move it. Instead she flopped to the floor beside it and looked at Mischief and Spark in turn.

"Who'll take first watch?"

"Me." Spark stood up and moved to the open door. "I'll only be grumpy if someone wakes me later. I might as well stay awake for longer."

"Okay." Cleo yawned. "Just don't fall asleep on us, okay?"

"No promises."

Cleo lay back on the cold floor and stared at the ceiling. Engraved upon it was the pattern of a sun, its rays reaching out to touch the sides of the room. Whoever had built this abbey hadn't overlooked a thing. So much care and detail had gone into this places décor, creating what once would have been a tranquil, happy environment. She could almost hear the joyful voices of its former occupants, almost see them bustling down the hallways going about their peaceful days.

She closed her eyes, letting that image occupy her mind as she was lulled to sleep.

...​

Harlequin couldn't sleep, instead pacing back and forth as much as the ridiculous collar would allow. The Dedenne didn't appear to notice this. She probably didn't care, likely had fallen asleep.

Good.

Outside.

Outside was what Harlequin wanted.

To be somewhere familiar.

It wasn't that the building was bad. The building was confusing.

The Zorua put both paws on the windowsill and peered out. It was still night time. Still dark. With perfect night vision, Harlequin could make out all of the courtyard – the spindly weeds, the crumbling wall, the stars that dotted the sky between thick clouds black in the night sky.

Something moved to the left of the courtyard, drawing the Zorua's attention to it. It moved with graceful movements and with every step, green plants dotted with colour sprang up around its feet. It stopped to look at Harlequin, its large antlers framed with a light that seemed to chase away any shadows from the courtyard.

A stag.

Almost instantly, it faded from view.

But it had been there. Those vibrant plants and little flowers stayed, marking the path the stag had taken.

Wordlessly, Harlequin slipped back down from the window into a crumpled heap on the floor.

 

[NidoKingdra]

After reading everything so far, I'm really really impressed at the storytelling here. The characters are all really well thought out and don't feel plain at all, and the plot and setting are both fun to read about. Good job so far, looking forward to more.

 

[Delirious Absol]

After reading everything so far, I'm really really impressed at the storytelling here. The characters are all really well thought out and don't feel plain at all, and the plot and setting are both fun to read about. Good job so far, looking forward to more.

Thank you! =D I really enjoy character development in stories. They continue to grow as the story unfolds. I hope you continue to enjoy it!

 

[Delirious Absol]

20 – Run​

Harbinger was not impressed.

He scurried through the shadows the trees provided, clutching two bags in his jaws by the straps.

He was certain they belonged to the Pokemon he'd seen be captured by the Heretics. One bag sported a Guild badge, and the other which he'd assumed belonged to the Whimsicott had the sharp smell of poisons to it.

His nose crinkled in disgust. It certainly had not belonged to the Whimsicott but to that Zorua that accompanied them.

The one that had been crying for help.

A prisoner to the Guild.

Harbinger was beginning to question his sanity, returning such a bag. He should just cast it aside and trash it. The Zorua worked for Hydreigon after all. A Pokemon he hated with a passion.

He hated all who worked for such a monster.

And here he was returning their bag.

He was such an idiot. They'd be powerless without it. But something was driving him to return it. Something he didn't understand.

A nagging voice in his conscience.

He grimaced and choked on the stench of various toxins. Surely this could only result in disaster?

...​

Cleo stepped outside into the abbey's courtyard, followed quickly by Spark who yawned and stretched widely.

"Ahh! I slept like a log!" She licked her lips. "I'm hungry now. Where's the closest breakfast?"

Cleo shrugged. "Well we've lost our bag."

Spark waved her arms in despair. "Don't remind my stomach of such a fate!" She paused and looked over at Harlequin. "What? No nasty retort?"

Harlequin was staring at the ground with a worried, fearful expression in her eyes. Tiny, colourful flowers were poking up from a trail of vibrant green leaves.

Spark ventured over to her and looked from the flowers to the Zorua.

"They're wild flowers," the Dedenne said bluntly.

Harlequin shot her a glare. "I know."

"Then why are you staring at them as though they've done you a great injustice?"

"They..." Harlequin looked away and strolled towards Cleo. "They just weren't there yesterday, that's all."

"Flowers do that." Spark hopped up onto Cleo's shoulder and they moved on across the courtyard. "They pop up randomly, splashing the world with awesome colour! I love flowers. They're so spontaneous."

Harlequin grinned. "And it doesn't bother you that it's almost the cold season?"

"Hmm." Spark was thoughtful. "Maybe it's a late blooming variety."

"Really? It's been pretty cold recently. Too cold for flowers to start popping up."

Spark crossed her paws. "Not necessarily. Some grow in winter."

Mischief zipped past them and hopped into a small tree. "I found us breakfast!"

"Oh fantastic!" Spark leapt off Cleo's shoulder and stood beneath the tree with her paws open. "Throw one at me!"

A large berry dropped from the tree and Spark caught it, stumbling back slightly. A look of pure elation spread across her little face.

"They're cheri berries! My favourite!" She took a huge bite out of it and sat down.

Mischief swung down from the tree, cradling several berries in his arms. "I got enough for all of us I think."

Harlequin snorted. "You're gonna need extra for short and dumpy there." She nodded at Spark.

The Zorua was instantly engulfed in a surge of electricity. Her fur stood on end and she flopped to the floor.

Cleo handed Harlequin a berry. "Fortunately cheri's heal paralysis."

Once they'd eaten, they moved on out of the abbey. In the far wall stood an old rusty gate, the stone crumbling around it. Attempting to open the gate caused loose stones to fall free, clattering to the floor around them. The gate eventually creaked open and they slipped out, pausing to examine their new surroundings.

They now stood in an open plane – not quite a moor or a meadow but something in between. The grass was lush and green, growing in thick clumps in places with the occasional overgrown weed and thistle patch. Odd trees dotted the plane, congregating mostly in the distance to the right and left and heavy bramble bushes laden with berries grew alongside them. As Cleo gave it thought, the bushes and trees may have provided an orchard for the abbey.

As they stepped out, a cool surface reached her paw pads. Unnoticed at first was a stone path leading away from the abbey, almost entirely hidden by long grass and stiff shoots growing out from between the cracks.

Cleo was slightly hesitant. Without a map she didn't know where they were going. This area was entirely unfamiliar and they could be heading in anywhere right now. She shrugged it off and kept moving. The only way to find out was to venture on. Hopefully they'd find an Outcast town before long.

They moved on, sticking to the stone path at first until it wound off towards one of the fruit-laden orchards.

"It's a pity we don't have our bag," said Spark. "We could have stocked up."

"I agree," said Cleo. "But sadly, this is the case."

"I'm going to miss that abbey," said Mischief suddenly. "It felt welcoming and safe."

Spark looked back at him. "Despite falling to bits, it did feel oddly safe."

"And I liked the stories," he went on. "They made the world feel a little less dark for a while."

Cleo looked back at him. He was walking slowly behind them, out of reach of Harlequin. He seemed sombre still. However, being more willing to speak was a good sign, she hoped.

And he was still with them. Had he forgiven her for not telling him all she'd found out about him?

She tore herself away and focused once more on moving forwards. This was an open plane, and in the dark would prove to be equally, if not more so, dangerous than hiding in a forest.

Something arced through the air towards them and the four Pokemon scattered, Harlequin falling flat on her face as she ran a step too far. With a soft thud, two bags lay on the ground where they'd been standing. Cleo did a small double-take. The bags looked familiar. Surely they couldn't be...

"Aha!" Spark had clambered into one and came out carrying a rolled up scroll. She unfurled it to reveal a map, scrawled with red crosses and names of Outcast towns. "It's our map!"

"So this is..." Cleo picked up the tan bag and looked inside. Sure enough, there was her coin pouch still full of coins, several berries, the stone she'd confiscated off Harlequin, and there on the strap was her Guild badge.

Then the other bag...

She span to look at it, but in its place stood a very cross looking Zorua. She was snarling at Mischief who'd snatched the bag in time. Cleo let out a silent sigh of relief.

"Let me check inside!" Harlequin barked. "I want to know if it's okay!"

"And poison us?" Mischief cocked his head on one side. "This bag does have poisons in it."

"Harlequin?"

The Zorua span to face Cleo. "What?!"

Cleo held up her paw, and hanging from it was the strange stone still held between the copper ring. Harlequin's eyes widened with a brief joy before fixing on Cleo's with blind fury.

"So you stole it!"

"No, you just forgot I had it." Cleo slipped it back into her bag.

The Zorua snarled. "You enjoy this don't you? Just give it back!"

Cleo stared at Harlequin. She remembered that look of despair when she discovered she'd lost her bag. Her words: 'It's all I had left...'

When Cleo had fled her home, all she had was Spark. No memento of her family, nothing but memories and the horrific mental image of a blazing fire. Then there was Harlequin, clutching on to an odd little stone with some unknown personal meaning.

Was it really just a memento?

She slipped her paw back into her bag and pulled out the stone, letting it dangle once more in the Zorua's reach.

Harlequin lunged forwards and snatched it between her jaws. Cleo let the thong slip out of her paws effortlessly. A look of alarm swiftly replaced Harlequin's rage-filled eyes and the stone dropped from her mouth to the floor with a thunk.

"Y-you're giving it back?"

"It's yours," Cleo said flatly. "It clearly means a lot to you."

"Yes. It does." Harlequin picked up the stone by the string and slipped it over her neck, letting it hang down just below her chest. She was silent for a moment then without looking at Cleo mumbled, "Thank you."

Cleo felt a jolt of surprise. Spark even dropped the berry she'd been holding.

"You're welcome." Cleo turned away and led them onward.

They walked in silence for a while, making slow progress over the thick grass. They kept managing to get their paws tangled in the thin, stringy roots of some invisible weed clearly hidden in the vast expanse of grass. The blades came up to Cleo's waist. It stretched on for miles, showing no sign of letting up.

"I really don't know what it is." Harlequin's voice broke the silence and Cleo glanced down at her.

The Zorua was walking at her side, her head kept low.

"Huh?"

"The stone," Harlequin explained. "I don't know what it is, it's just a keep sake."

"I gathered that," said Cleo.

"From a friend," she went on. "I keep it for memories. If it's special like those pictures showed, I've no idea."

"Must be nice," said Mischief from behind them. "I don't have anything like that. Not even memories."

Harlequin looked back at him. She seemed to be about to say something but a look of terror crossed her face and her ears twitched.

Cleo froze, straining her ears to pick up whatever had startled the Zorua.

Ringing.

A chiming bell, jingling just audible over the sound of grass rustling in the breeze.

She'd never heard it before, but all Guild members needed to be aware of such a sound. The bell meant only one thing.

Enigma.

The wise thing to do would be to run, but run where? Nothing that cast a shadow was safe. Trees, buildings, even their own shadows... nothing.

She twisted and turned, straining to spot the slightest movement. Then... they'd run the other way.

"Well, what do you know. I found you."

A chill ran down her spine and she turned, along with the rest of the Pokemon, to look behind them, back the way they came.

Standing grinning at them was a Banette wearing a heavy, black scarf. He looked at each Pokemon in turn, his grin growing wider.

"Four little Pokemon out in the open with nowhere to hide... you make this too easy for me."

Harlequin's blue eyes widened and she stuttered. "Four?! Enigma, I'm not with them!"

The Banette's smile faltered as he looked down at Harlequin. "Then what are you doing, Harle? Leading them to Hydreigon?"

"I'm not with them by choice!" Harlequin barked.

A fleeting thought passed through Cleo's mind – say nothing. If he thinks Harlequin's betrayed Hydreigon and takes her out, it's one less assassin to worry about. But for some reason, the words that came out of her mouth had other ideas.

"We don't really care for your presence either, Harlequin."

"Not remotely!" Spark quipped. "She's felt my electricity enough times due to her stinking attitude."

Harlequin shot Spark a vicious glare.

Enigma snorted. "Yet you've stuck by them all this way?"

"I've been forced to!" The Zorua yelled.

This was it. While he was distracted, this was their chance. Enigma was purely a ghost type, so he didn't resist Cleo's psychic attacks. She, however, was weak against his. She had to time this carefully.

Enigma visibly sighed.

"You should know me better than this, Enigma, we've been friends for years!"

"Enough!" He snapped, causing Harlequin to leap back a step. The Banette chuckled, hiding his face in one paw. "You're delusional. What ever made you think we were friends?"

Harlequin's jaw dropped and she stood, speechless, staring back at Enigma. The look in her eyes was one Cleo hadn't seen before. Wounded. Her blue eyes had welled up with tears which she tried to blink back.

Now. Cleo prepared herself to launch a confusion, but in the time it took her to unfurl her ears, the Banette vanished into the ground. In the next instant, a sharp, searing pain shot up her back and she wailed, crumpling to the floor like a sack of hay.

"Cleo!" Spark cried.

The Dedenne fired a jolt of electricity at Enigma but it just struck empty ground alongside a flash from a green energy ball. He popped up again behind Spark with the same sneak attack, raking her back with his claws. He followed this with a effortless flick of his wrist, sending Spark bowling tail over head through the long grass.

He nimbly dodged another energy ball fired from Mischief and with the same vanishing movement avoided that new purple light attack. Mischief let out a cry as Enigma struck him but he didn't go down. He turned to face the Banette but was sent flying backwards as a shadow ball struck him point blank in the stomach.

Enigma turned his wild eyes onto Harlequin. The Zorua turned to run away and stumbled at the end of her confines. Enigma vanished into the ground and popped up in front of her, lunging at her and pinning her to the ground.

"Enigma, no!" She cried. "You know I'm not your enemy!"

She flinched as his claws touched her neck, but he wasn't going for the kill. He pawed through her fur and latched on to the collar. Her eyes snapped open to look at him.

"What are you doing?"

"Freeing you!"

He pulled at the device, twisting it around to try and find an opening, his face twisted with confusion.

"No." Harlequin shook her head. "Only the Meowstic can remove it."

Enigma mumbled something under his breath and stood up, staring down at Harlequin, his expression serious. He raised his claws and they radiated with an eerie black light.

"Sorry, Harle. I'm going to have to destroy it."

She screwed her eyes shut, bracing herself for the inevitable impact.

A shrill cry filled the air and her eyes snapped open again. She flipped herself onto her feat and stared in horror as Enigma went rolling backwards, trying to wrestle off a crazed Whimsicott.

"No!" She cried. "Get off him!"

The Whimsicott let out an explosion of maniacal, high-pitched laughter and pinned Enigma to the ground, striking him a few times with his paws. Enigma tried to defend himself by rolling the Whimsicott off him, but it was in vain. His last ditch attempt was to reduce his density and slip away.

But it failed.

A look off horror filled his eyes as the Whimsicott's attacks still struck him. He was still trapped under the maniacal monster's body.

Harlequin tore her eyes from the bloody scene and rounded on Cleo's crumpled form.

"Oi! Get up! He's going to kill him!"

No response. Her cries fell on deaf ears. She turned and ran in the direction she'd seen the Dedenne roll, but she was forced to stop, almost falling flat on her face.

"Spark!" She wailed. "Do something! Paralyse him, get him off!" She gasped, glancing back at Enigma's futile attempts to remove the Whimsicott.

He was giving up.

Harlequin flinched and ran back to the fallen Meowstic. "Cleo! Help!" She closed her eyes and blinked back tears. It was hopeless.

A flash caused her to look up. Cleo had pushed herself up and had trapped the Whimsicott in a field of psychic energy, lifting him from the Banette's beaten body.

Cleo took a deep, pained breath and steadied herself on her paw, fixing Enigma with a warning glare. "Run."

Enigma pushed himself to his feet and without looking back, warped away.

Cleo knew she couldn't hold Mischief for long. She wanted to wait until Enigma was out of view, but her strength failed and she fell back, letting Mischief drop to the floor. The last noise to reach her ears was an enraged shriek.

...​

Harbinger had watched the horrific scene unfold as he worked his way around the plane, keeping himself out of sight. He thought that Banette would have gone down in that battle, but the Meowstic had been foolish enough to spare him.

Now the Whimsicott had its eyes on the Meowstic.

The Zorua stood in front of her, his canines bared at the crazed Pokemon.

So he was willing to give his life? Noble for an assassin.

Harbinger ventured out of his hiding spot and in two nimble bounds stood a mere two feet away, crouching in the long grass. He opened his mouth and fired a pulse of dark blue energy at the Whimsicott, striking it in the back of the head.

That got its attention.

It turned to face him as he made his presence briefly aware. He turned and bounded away, the Whimsicott hot on his trail.

Whether or not the Zorua had seen him... he'd deal with that later.

 

[AwesomeOnix]

I really like this! :) How long did it take to write this whole thing?

 

[Delirious Absol]

I really like this! :) How long did it take to write this whole thing?

Thank you!! =D I've been working on it since I think last May, so... over a year. So far I have 59 chapters written. I'm uploading here slower than I am on on Fanfiction(dot)net, which was recommended to me as it doesn't move as quickly here or on Serebii. I don't want to overwhelm readers by submitting so frequently XD I'm really enjoying writing it, so thank you so much for your feedback! =D I love to know people are enjoying reading it.

I'll try to get another chapter uploaded here on Friday.

 

[Delirious Absol]

21 – Schemes and Separation​

The vast plane stretched on for what felt like miles with rapidly failing strength. Enigma was forced to halt when the dreadful pain in his chest commanded him to stop running. He clutched a paw to his ribs and tried to steady his breathing as he searched his surroundings for what he needed.

Somewhere quiet to lie low for a while.

And berries.

Every Pokemon's go-to for the nutrients they provided. If he wanted to recover, he needed to keep up his strength.

Not that he liked berries, but they were easy to come by.

One would think.

Ahead of him was nothing, just more grass and sharp, unwelcoming thistles growing thickly between the blades. Beyond that, in the distance, he could make out the edge of a wooded area. He strained to look behind him, staggering back as he lost his balance. Back the way he came lay a few scattered
bushes. Brambles with lumpy berries on them. That would have to do.

He staggered forward a few paces when something else caught his eye. A large tree stood a few feet beyond the brambles, and hanging off its thick branches were round, yellow sitrus berries.

Perfect.

With the last burst of strength he could muster, he warped into the branches and sat back against the trunk, grabbing one of the fat berries. He didn't even bother to peel it. The first bite filled his mouth with a sour, tart juice and he grimaced, forcing himself to swallow it. Something sharp caught in his throat, and his body racked with a violent choke causing a stab of pain to shoot through the right of his chest. He caught the offensive item in his claws and leered at it.

Stupid seeds.

He dropped it to the floor and stared at the remains of the berry, resigning himself to finish it and be more careful this time.

As he took another, smaller mouthful, he finally took the time to examine himself. He was bleeding, but he wasn't sure from where. His torso was riddled with dark patches and a deep purple was visible under his smokey grey fur, especially on the right side. He was sure something was broken.

Oh well. It would heal.

He'd just have to go non-combat for a while.

He couldn't see his own face, but he could feel a bruise had developed by his left eye. He'd managed to fend off enough head attacks from that violent Whimsicott, as such his arms were black and blue.

That Whimsicott.

He finished the berry and grimaced, not from the flavour, but from the effort to turn his head and look back the way he'd come.

That Whimsicott was the one that had killed Boomer. He hadn't known what to expect, but the expression it wore was one he'd only seen once before. Seen very recently.

It was the exact same one that Tyranitar had worn.

Madness. Insanity.

Rio had been keeping it in his lab, like some wild pet.

That Whimsicott must have come from the Heretics.

Which meant the ones to blame for Boomer's death weren't the Outcasts. It was the Heretics.

They'd unleashed such a monster, and it was travelling free with the Outcasts and Harlequin.

Harlequin...

Enigma closed his eyes and flinched.

He'd ran, leaving that thing behind. Harlequin and the other two Pokemon were likely dead by now.

He'd ran like a coward.

He took another berry from the tree and stared at it. With a sigh he let his arm drop to his side. There was nothing he could do. He couldn't fight that thing. Its attacks still managed to hit him when he'd tried to slip away. No standard attacks could hit him when he faded. So it was using some strange attack he hadn't recognised.

He almost jumped at the thought.

No... it couldn't be that new type Rio was talking about? He'd said it was purple light, but the Whimsicott had just pounded him, repeatedly. Over and over with a wild hysteria. If you removed the insanity, it was reminiscent of the way young Pokemon would play. Childish and normally futile, but this had been a crazed and insanely powerful attack that he couldn't escape from.

No wonder Boomer had been reduced to such a pitiful state.

Enigma covered his face with one paw and laughed, the pain causing him to flinch with the effort. It was so obvious now. Rio had been hiding something from him, and he could safely bet the sly Meowstic knew that Whimsicott.

The Tyranitar, the madness... it all added up.

The Heretics were up to something and he was going to find out what.

...​

"Aww, come on! Get up, get up, get up!"

Harlequin paced back and forth beside the fallen Meowstic, growing increasingly impatient. That Whimsicott had long since vanished, leaving his friends lying there as though they were nothing to him.

"Oi." Spark stumbled backwards through the grass, dragging something heavy over the tangle of spindly roots. "I found your bag."

"Ah!" Harlequin skipped over to her then stopped short as the collar snapped sharply backwards. "So he didn't run off with it."

"Nope." Spark turned to face the Zorua. "So, what do you want out of this?"

"I know what I'm looking for, just bring it here."

"No way!" Spark crossed her paws. "There's poisons in this bag. How am I meant to know you're not just gonna stuff some poison down Cleo's throat?"

Harlequin snarled. "Because it wouldn't benefit me!"

"You'd have one less Pokemon to worry about."

"Yes, and I'd be stuck to the spot with a dead weight! Or did you forget only she can remove this collar?!"

"Hmm." Spark twitched her nose thoughtfully. "Good point. All right." She dragged the bag closer to Harlequin. "Find what you're looking for."

Spark watched as Harlequin pawed through the bag, dragging out various berries and dried meat. The Dedenne's mouth watered involuntarily as one stopped by her paw. With a jovial 'aha!', Harlequin stepped back with a green herb hanging from her mouth, dotted with orange flowers.

"What's that?" Spark snorted.

"A bitter herb," Harlequin explained. "Nasty stuff. This ought to wake her up." She turned to Cleo and paused. "Want to lend a paw?"

"Sure." Spark skipped over and took the herb from Harlequin. "Mind if I have a berry after? That pecha looks rather tasty."

Harlequin shrugged. "Whatever."

Spark hopped onto Cleo's chest and with both paws stuffed the bitter herb into her mouth. It had the desired effect. Cleo immediately sputtered and sat up so quickly she sent Spark tumbling back off her.

"What on earth...?!" Cleo wiped the back of her paw over her mouth.

"She's up!" Spark cheered.

Cleo let out a huge sigh and reached for her bag. "How long was I out?"

"Too long!" Said Spark. "When I came too, Harlequin was panicking and I was out for long enough."

Cleo found an oran berry in her bag and took a bite out of it. "And Mischief?"

"Long gone." Spark gathered the pink pecha berry and sat by Cleo's side, tucking into its sweet flesh.

Cleo's eyes widened. "He's gone?!"

"Yes," Harlequin snarled. "Something attacked him so he turned and took off after it."

"Did you see what it was?"

"No. It vanished before I got the chance."

Harlequin looked away from her. Cleo felt she had more to say, but whatever it was it never came. She sighed and finished her oran berry.

"Well, we need to go after him."

Harlequin looked at her. "Enigma?"

"No," Cleo said flatly. "Mischief."

Harlequin made a snort of derision. "Why?!"

"Because he's our friend and he might need help."

"Enigma's my friend and he does need help!" Harlequin stood up and glared at her. "You saw what that monster you call a friend was doing to him!"

"Hmm." Spark licked berry juice off her paws. "Friend you say? I honestly didn't get that impression."

"Shut up!" Harlequin span and snapped her jaws at Spark. The Dedenne just managed to leap out of the way and hopped onto the other side of Cleo.

"Hey!" Cleo stood up suddenly and flinched at the pain in her back. She gave Harlequin a hard glare. "There'll be none of that."

"None of..." Harlequin growled. "If she comes within range again I'll bite off her puny head!"

Spark hopped onto Cleo's shoulder and waved her fist at the Zorua. "And if you even attempt that, I'll fry your insides!"

"Stop arguing!" Cleo's voice cut sharp through the din bringing both Pokemon to silence. She looked down at Harlequin, that wounded expression back on her face. Spark had clearly struck a nerve. "Look, Harlequin... friends argue. He probably didn't mean what he said."

Harlequin glanced up at her then shook her head sharply. "I don't know. I've known him for years and even I can't figure him out."

"But I will say this, Harlequin." Cleo narrowed her eyes. "Like you, he's not our friend. He's our enemy, and I am not going to put Spark or myself at risk by looking for a wounded assassin."

Harlequin turned her livid blue eyes onto Cleo. "Then let me go and look for him."

"No. You're our prisoner. I don't imagine if the tables were turned and Spark was injured that you'd let me go and look for her, would you?" She paused, returning Harlequin's glare with a calm expression. "Sorry, but this is war."

She turned away and paused. Mischief was gone, and the only Pokemon that had witnessed this was Harlequin. Both Cleo and Spark had no idea which direction Mischief had taken. She had some idea which way Enigma ran, but as far as she was aware, Mischief could have ran in the same direction.

Unless whatever had distracted him had intended to keep him away from Enigma and Harlequin. There was no saying that whoever rescued them was on the Guild's side.

"I'm going to take a long shot here," said Cleo. "Which way did Mischief run?"

Harlequin laughed. "Oh! You're stuck! You have to ask me." The Zorua gave her a wicked grin. "I could tell you anything, couldn't I?"

...​

Harbinger sat patiently by the unconscious Whimsicott. They'd managed to reach the edge of the plane when he suddenly collapsed. He'd never seen anything like this and it puzzled him.

He'd seen this Whimsicott with the other Pokemon, following them around often silently and other times leading the way. Again, often silently. He didn't look like a dangerous Pokemon. His expression was often friendly, or confused. At first glance one would never think that this Pokemon was remotely dangerous, nor had the tendency to suddenly snap like that.

Harbinger frowned. So this is how it worked. The Heretic's mutated Pokerus virus. It took an innocent Pokemon, and turned it into a monster, just like he'd read in those documents. The Pokemon battled, then snapped, collapsed and had no memory of it.

No... monster wasn't the right word. It wasn't fair to call an innocent Pokemon a monster.

A victim maybe. A victim of madness.

The poor Pokemon couldn't even defend his friends without putting them in danger from himself.

Wait.

Harbinger clenched his teeth and growled. He was showing pity to another Pokemon? He was going soft.

A murmur came from between the Whimsicott's lips and his eyes fluttered open, focusing on the Absol briefly before he pushed himself up. His orange eyes widened as he looked around sharply.

"Where am I? Where's Cleo?"

There it was. Memory loss.

"They're back that way." Harbinger nodded behind the confused Whimsicott. "I don't know if they're still there or not, however."

The Absol stood up and turned away. He'd told Scratch and Claw to go on ahead. They'd be in the Endless Woods by now.

"Wait."

He looked back at the Whimsicott. He sat fixing him with his confused eyes.

"What?" Harbinger demanded.

"Why aren't I with them any more? When I wake up I'm normally with them, or in a medical ward at least..." The Whimsicott trailed off, realisation dawning on his face.

"I saved them," said Harbinger. "From you. You'd gone mad."

"Mad..." The Whimsicott put his head in his paws and groaned. "Great... so I attacked them. I thought... that ghost Pokemon attacked them... the one that jingles."

"Enigma," Harbinger growled. "You almost killed him." He paused and continued heading towards the woods. "And what a great thing it would be if you had."

"No!" The Whimsicott stood up, his voice freezing Harbinger in his tracks. "I don't want to kill other Pokemon! It would be a terrible thing if I'd killed him!"

"He would probably have killed you. He's an assassin. Or to put it bluntly... a heartless murderer."

"It's still not fair! Pokemon can change! I was told that once by Rose, and I believe her."

Harbinger blinked at the Whimsicott. He stood there, staring at him as though awaiting a response. Harbinger had no idea who this Rose was, but the idea of Pokemon changing was absurd. He'd been in the Shadow Lands, and he'd been outside them. The Darkness killed and the Outcasts ran. The Heretics... well... they do what Heretics do. And as for Absol... they just stay away.

"Believe what you want," he said boredly. "I'm leaving. You can go back to your friends."

"I can't."

"Nonsense." Harbinger kept moving forwards, but not a single footstep resounded from the Whimsicott. With a sigh of exasperation at his own actions, he looked back. He was just standing there, looking down at his paws, clearly not sure what to do with himself. "What now?!"

"I can't go back!" The Whimsicott wailed. "What if I hurt them?"

Harbinger narrowed his eyes. "Think of it this way. At least you have friends."

The Whimsicott stared back at him with another confused expression which Harbinger was growing rather frustrated with.

"Did they already know this about you?" Harbinger asked.

The Whimsicott nodded. "Yes. Apparently." He paused and looked away. "And they never told me."

"Then they don't seem to care."

"They don't care about me?"

"They don't care that you're mad!" Harbinger barked. "They stick by you knowing that you have these outbursts? Then return the favour and do the same!" He turned and stormed away from him, making for the trees that marked the outskirts of the Endless Woods.

There, now he could hear the Whimsicott's footsteps. But they weren't moving away from him. He grit his teeth and closed his eyes.

"Why are you following me?"

"I... need help looking for them."

"Well you're not getting that from me."

"You saved them from me. So why not help us find each other?"

"Because your friends won't be very happy to see me."

"Why not?"

"You really don't have a clue do you?" Harbinger sat and looked down at him. "Do you even know what I am?"

The grass Pokemon shook his head.

Harbinger's brow furrowed in confusion. Was this Pokemon serious?

"I'm an Absol."

The Whimsicott looked thoughtful. Maybe that had rung some bells.

"Now tell me," Harbinger went on. "What do you Pokemon think Absol do?"

"Erm..." The Whimsicott shrugged. "I don't know. I don't have any memories."

Harbinger let out a single laugh. "This all makes sense then." He shook his head slowly. "Other Pokemon all think that Absol bring disaster and misfortune."

"But you don't?"

"Not usually." Harbinger stood up. "But I live up to my reputation. Every Pokemon in this world is my enemy. From Hydreigon to the Guild."

"I don't believe you."

Harbinger felt his eyes widen with surprise.

"If we're all your enemy," the Whimsicott began, "then why save my friends?"

"I wasn't saving your friends. I was stopping you from killing that Zorua."

"Harlequin? Why?"

Harbinger lowered his head so he was almost nose to nose with the Whimsicott. "Because he's mine."

 

[Delirious Absol]

22 – Setbacks​

"Does the map say anything?"

Spark peered down at the scroll from Cleo's shoulders. The Meowstic held it between both paws, wondering if she was holding it at the correct angle. The Moorland's Forest was behind them but ahead of them after this vast plane were more trees. The map had 'Endless Woods' scrawled onto it. The plane itself had no name given, likely because it had long since been forgotten about. The ruins weren't on the map either, which made it hard for her to orient herself. Cleo made a mental note to mark it down the next time they found somewhere to rest.

She looked up from the map at the trees dotting the horizon. "I guess that must be the Endless Woods."

"You guess?" Spark raised an eyebrow.

"Well the ruins aren't on this map." Cleo looked back down at it with a frown. "And this plane apparently has trees all around it, which I sincerely doubt is the case. This area seems to be an error." She prodded their location on the map. "If we head the wrong way... then we're going to get lost."

"I thought we were going after Mischief?"

"We are. But we don't know which way he ran."

Spark clicked her tongue. "So... isn't this a little pointless?"

"No." Cleo rolled up the map and stuffed it back into her satchel. "If he'd gone back the way we came, and was back to his normal self which is very likely by this point, he'd have rejoined us by now. We've not come very far. If he's gone ahead of us, then he's going to be somewhere in this plane, or lost in the Endless Woods."

"Well, if they really are endless..."

"This is no time for jokes, Spark." Cleo pushed herself onwards. "This has become a setback and we need to find him."

Harlequin snorted, but Cleo ignored her. She'd not had much to say since their little argument earlier, and Spark was giving the Zorua even more of a cold shoulder than usual. There was no time for arguing now, anyway. Mischief was lost, and if Enigma was still out there and had recovered enough of his strength, then they were in a lot of danger.

However, the latter was unlikely. Cleo had seen the state of the Banette when she lifted Mischief off him. Her eyes might have been blurred by weakness, but it was very clear he was in no fit state to go on battling.

Cleo faltered as her eye caught sight of something on the grass. Something red and sticky. Her paw hovered over it for a moment and she stepped aside gingerly. Blood.

Spark peered down at it and her nose twitched as she sniffed the air. "That's not Mischief's is it?"

"No. As far as I could tell he wasn't wounded."

Harlequin zipped past her and put her nose to the grass. Her head snapped up again and twisted left and right, her ears pricked up straight.

Cleo cleared her throat and deviated to the left, giving the patch of blood a wide girth. "I don't think we should go that way."

"But he's this way!" Harlequin wailed.

Cleo looked back at her and frowned. "Enigma? Yes, I know. That's why we're avoiding it."

Harlequin bared her canines. "You're fuzzy friend went that way too. I can smell it."

Cleo closed her eyes and turned away. "You're lying."

"I'm not lying, I'm worried! What if he snaps again and kills him?!"

Cleo could feel the Zorua's eyes boring into the back of her head.

"I know you don't want that to happen," Harlequin went on. "You wouldn't have stopped him if you did."

The Meowstic closed her eyes again. This was war, Pokemon were killed left, right and centre, but she didn't like it. No one liked it. And if word got back to the Guild she'd spared one of Hydreigon's top assassins, she'd probably be locked away in that damp cell herself. She sighed and scratched the back of her head. Why did she do it?

"I know I'm right," Harlequin said slowly. "You're too soft."

Cleo looked back at the Zorua. She knew why she did it. It was Harlequin's reaction. It reminded her too much of herself. To see someone you care about defenceless, in trouble, near death... and to not be able to do anything about it... if she'd ever been in that situation, she'd have reacted exactly the same way.

She'd have panicked.

And if Spark had ran, and Cleo couldn't check if she was okay, she'd want to know, she'd fight with all the strength she had.

She sighed again. "All right, Harlequin, we'll go that way but on one condition – you tell me the truth." She met the Zorua's bright blue eyes and a look of surprise crossed them. "Did Mischief really go that way?"

Harlequin stared back at her, confusion spreading across her face as she tried to work the Meowstic out. Finally, she shook her head.

"No. He didn't." She nodded in the direction Cleo had been heading. "He went that way."

Cleo looked over her shoulder at the vast plane. It didn't fork off into two, but it was large enough that Pokemon could traverse it without running into each other. This wasn't going to be easy. If Mischief headed back to find them, and they'd gone in the other direction, the chances their paths would cross were minuscule.

Spark leapt off Cleo's shoulder. "I'll go find him."

"What?!" Cleo's eyes widened with surprise. "You'll get lost! You're drowned in that long grass!"

"Exactly, I can hide!" Spark gave Cleo a huge grin. "I'll find him, don't you worry. You just go with Harlequin, check on that Banette, and we'll meet you at the edge of the woods. We'll work our way along it until we find you. And you do the same."

Cleo felt her shoulders sag with defeat. "Fine. Just... be careful."

Spark gave Cleo a little wave then turned and vanished into the grass. Cleo watched the Dedenne's tail disappear out of view then turned reluctantly to face the Zorua.

"You can trail his scent," she told her. "So lead the way."

The Zorua turned sharply and lowered her nose to the grass, sniffing in a few different areas until she was satisfied and picked up her pace. Cleo made sure to stick close to her to give her room to move. Restricting her movements would have only made slow progress and she didn't have time to waste.

She swallowed drily, trying to dislodge the lump of worry that had risen in her throat. She'd lost Mischief, and now Spark had been separated from her. She felt alone, stuck with an assassin hired to kill her and her friends and now they were hunting for their wounded ally. Harlequin was right. She really had gone soft. She considered rushing after Spark, dragging the Zorua along with her, kicking and screaming in protest and calling her a liar, but she decided against it.

She wouldn't have liked it herself. It was better to just get things over with.

A small whine from Harlequin snapped Cleo back to reality. The Zorua had stumbled across more drops of blood on the grass. With another whine of distress, she picked up pace, almost reaching the end of her tether. Cleo sped up, causing the Zorua's ears to prick and swivel backwards. She'd noticed this, breaking into a trot with her nose to the ground.

Well, this would certainly speed things up. Cleo summoned all her energy and jogged after the Zorua, stumbling several times over those annoying spindly roots. Harlequin seemed to have the dexterity to avoid these as they didn't appear to give her any trouble.

When she began to feel breathless, Cleo looked up briefly. The edge of the woods was growing nearer. She had no idea how long they'd been trailing Enigma for, but her lungs were feeling almost fit to burst. Harlequin showed no sign of slowing down, her nose trailing over the grass, avoiding any blood splatters and hopping over what Cleo guessed were those tricky trip hazards. Cleo tried to follow her style with no avail. She almost fell face first into the grass.

Finally, Harlequin came to a sudden stop, turning and curving back until she reached a patch of bramble bushes with lumpy berries on them. She peered into them then sniffed the ground again.

Cleo parted the leaves to look into them, avoiding any thorns. It was empty.

"The trail ends here," Harlequin said, somewhat confused. She looked round at the bushes again then glanced round at the planes, her eyes searching the area frantically. "Hey, Enigma?! Are you here?!"

The Zorua's voice echoed slightly and Cleo's body tensed. She looked around sharply, ears pricked and alert. Any Pokemon nearby would have heard the Zorua's cry. Did Enigma have back up? Cleo really hoped not.

The Zorua let out a sharp breath and stood back, searching around the berry bush once more before turning to face Cleo.

"I can't see him."

Cleo glanced around at each bush in turn then shook her head. "Maybe he warped." She looked back the way they'd come and her eyes fell on a large sitrus tree. Its branches were empty. No Pokemon rested in them.

Harlequin followed her gaze, and her face dropped. He wasn't here and she knew it.

"I'm sorry, Harlequin," Cleo said sadly. "We tried."

The Zorua nodded and turned away from the tree, plodding alongside Cleo as they made for the woods.

"If he's not here," she told the Meowstic, "then maybe he's recovered and warped away."

"Maybe." Cleo licked her lips nervously. Recovered. That meant he could be anywhere, tailing them. Or tailing Spark.

...​

Enigma watched the Zorua turn away and follow the Meowstic. He'd seen them coming and to avoid trouble had reduced his density until he was completely invisible. That Meowstic may have let him get away but he wasn't willing to put himself in any danger of an attack in his current state.

Then there was Harlequin, following after that Meowstic. Apparently he had no choice. That collar worked in some strange way it didn't let him move away from the Meowstic.

But why were they looking for him? No right-minded Pokemon would willingly go searching for an assassin sent to kill them. He licked bitter berry juice from his claws and grimaced. Maybe Harlequin wasn't on his side after all. His mind had been warped and he was helping the Meowstic to find him and finish him off. Harlequin wasn't his ally any more.

That meant he'd have to kill him.

He crossed his arms over his stomach and closed his eyes, his breath coming in painful, shallow bursts. That thought made him feel sick.

...​

"Oi!"

Spark bounded forwards through the grass, catching the Whimsicott's eye. He beamed when he spotted her.

"Spark!" He ran towards her then faltered, looking past her at the waving grass. "Where's Cleo?"

"With Harlequin." Spark stood up on her hind legs and scrutinized Mischief, her nose crinkled in confusion. "Is something wrong? You look funny."

Mischief pointed at his face. "Me? No... I'm..." He shifted from foot to foot and looked back over his shoulder as though he expected someone to be there. He looked back at Spark and lowered himself to her level, keeping his voice low. "I've been told something."

Spark's ears twitched. "What? Is it bad? Does it concern me?" She paused. "Does it concern food?"

"Yes, no and no."

He glanced back again then stooped to pick up Spark, setting her on his shoulder. She almost drowned in his downy fluff and stuck her head out, spitting out tufts of cotton.

"There, I can whisper now." He gave her a sideways glance. "Where are we going?"

"Erm." Spark pointed to his left. "That way. We need to find Cleo. I said we'd meet her at the edge of the trees."

Mischief began walking, his gait bouncy and light compared to Cleo's.

"So... the news," she said impatiently.

"Oh right yes! Erm..." He glanced at her again. "I was told not to tell anybody."

"Then why bring it up!" Spark quipped. "You know I have no patience!"

"Argh." Mischief rubbed a paw over his head. "Because it's bad, Spark, it's bad." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Someone wants to kill Harlequin."

Spark let out a rather loud, rather long "Whaaaat?!" She instantly covered her mouth with both paws. "I'm sorry, that was loud."

Mischief gave her a look of dismay. "Yes, it was."

Spark spoke much quieter this time. "Who is it?"

"He says he's an Absol." Mischief rubbed his paws together and glanced back over his shoulder.

"Suspicious movements." Spark gave him a small kick in the shoulder. "Stop it."

"Okay." He nodded. "Thing is, I've never heard of an Absol."

"You probably have. They just might have been removed from your mind." She paused. "They're generally bad news. Even the Shadow Lands don't want them."

"Because they believe they bring disasters."

Mischief's matter-of-fact response caused Spark to pause again.

"He told you that huh?"

Mischief nodded. "Yeh. Spark... what do we do?"

"Nothin'." Spark crossed her paws. "We don't need the extra stress of telling Harlequin."

"But he wants to kill him!"

"Well she probably won't handle it well."

"You... you really think Harlequin's a she?"

Spark snorted. "Yeh."

Mischief shrugged. "The Absol didn't seem to think so."

"Huh." Spark scratched her chin. "Interesting."

"But I don't think it matters right now. Because we need to do something."

"No. We don't."

"I don't want anyone to die, Spark!"

Spark looked round at Mischief. His eyes were wide and panicked and he was staring down at his paws. Staring at them as though they'd deceived him by committing a violent crime.

Spark crinkled her nose. It wouldn't be a false accusation but it was one he hated.

"Mischief... have you noticed something?"

He broke his attention away from his paws to glance at her. "No?"

"You only go mad when you fight."

He opened his mouth a few times and looked away. "So I shouldn't fight?"

"I'm not saying that." Spark looked ahead to try and spot Cleo. "You've used attacks without losing your mind. I think you need to try and look for the signs."

"But I've not noticed anything."

"You don't feel anything? No light-headedness? No... snap?"

"No." He paused. "My mind just goes blank. Then I wake up somewhere different."

Spark thought about this for a moment. No signs. No signs at all. He just went mad. There was nothing they could do to help him.

"Is there a cure?" He asked quietly. "Can we fix me?"

Spark felt a sharp stab of sadness. There really was nothing they could do to help him. No one had ever bothered to find a cure for Pokerus. It was a beneficial virus. There had been no point. Until now. But how was she going to tell him that?

"We'll speak to Cleo," she said. "Maybe there might be a cure somewhere in the world but... hang onto hope, okay?" She gave him a grin.

He returned it with a half smile. "Okay. I'll hang on."

"Oh, speaking of which!" Spark waved wildly. "Hey! Cleo!"

The Meowstic's eyes fixed on her and she picked up pace, Harlequin trotting behind her. Mischief skipped towards them, covering the rest of the distance as he almost glided in the air.

"You're too loud," Cleo told Spark firmly. "You need to keep your voice down."

"Ahh." Spark slumped. "Sorry."

Cleo looked up at the trees. "We need to take these woods and I've no idea what's in them."

"Did you find Enigma?"

Cleo glanced at her. "No."

Spark looked down at Harlequin. The Zorua was downcast, her head held lower than usual, looking up at them with her canines bared. Enigma was going to be a sore spot for a while it seemed.

And she also had no idea an Absol wanted to kill her.

She wanted to tell her but she decided against it. There was also the possibility doing so might put Mischief's life at risk. Which also meant theirs. But then there was the risk the Absol thought they were Harlequin's allies and would be taken out with her. But then why spare Mischief?And she couldn't tell Cleo because Harlequin was too close by. She pulled her head into the Whimsicott's fur. This was tricky.

"Spark?" Cleo asked. "Are you okay?"

"Just sleepy."

"Well, you'll need to keep your wits about you. It'll be darker in these woods and the sun may set soon."

...​

An entire day had passed since Tinker had spoken to the Guild Elites. The reaction had been somewhat mixed, leaning more towards speculations concerning the Riolu's sanity.

As such, Tinker had barely left his office. He paced back and forth, occasionally giving the egg a cautious glance. The beating was stronger. Despite the lack of a warm body to keep it safe, the egg was going to hatch. It had clearly been close to hatching before the mother had left.

'Tinker, this is madness! We can't have a baby dragon-type Pokemon running rampant around New City!'

'But he has a point. It doesn't hatch as a dragon type, it gains it upon evolution.'

'Yeh, just give it an everstone like you're wearing, Tinker, then it shouldn't be a problem.'

'Not a problem? Are you crazy?! It's still a baby Altaria, it's still in the same evolution line!'

'But it doesn't hatch with built-in morals, we can raise it to be one of us.'

'Until it learns what it is...'

Tinker stopped his pacing and stared at the bump beneath the blanket. Mixed opinions, each one making a firm point. But the decision was obvious.

He had to get rid of it.

Without a second thought, he strode over to the egg and whipped off the blanket. The momentum sent the egg toppling sideways out of its nest and onto his desk. Small cracks appeared along the side of it. Now the egg was ruined, his decision finalised. With both paws, he made to pick the egg up, but a small cry stopped him in his tracks. The egg flipped to the other side, the cracks spreading across it, criss-crossing the smooth surface. In a flurry of fine shards, the egg shattered, scattering jagged pieces across his desk.

Tinker blinked a few times, rubbing a paw across his eyes. He'd thought the egg had been close to hatching, but it had taken him quite by surprise. Sat on his desk amongst the scattered shards was a baby Swablu, its feathers still moist from its time in the egg.

The Swablu blinked its tiny black eyes and looked up at him, squinting in the candlelight that filled his office. When it finally focused on him, its eyes widened with a look of fondness and it flapped its little wings, skittering across the desk towards him.

In a flash, Tinker caught the baby Pokemon before it slipped off the edge of his desk. He set it back in its nest and sat down heavily in his chair, staring back at the baby Swablu. It inclined its head on one side and let out a small chirp.

It was too late. He couldn't get rid of it now. It would never be able to defend itself. He was stuck with it.

Regardless, he found a small smile playing across his face. The little Swablu, still fixing him with fond eyes, chirped again.

"Well." Tinker stood up and reached for a plate of berries across the table. "I guess you're hungry?"

 

[Delirious Absol]

23 – The Fairy Garden​

The Endless Woods were indeed darker, and lived up to their name. It felt like they'd been walking for more than a day.

Spark was back on Cleo's shoulder, the both of them feeling tense and not just from the darkness cast by the trees. Mischief had taken to walking on ahead again, which in the circumstances was definitely the right decision. Harlequin had not been pleased to see him, despite the Whimsicott's pleas that he had no recollection of his attack on Enigma.

Mischief had apologised incessantly until Cleo told him to drop it, it didn't matter. If he hadn't taken down Enigma, they'd be dead.

Spark kept her head poked out of Cleo's fur, looking around at passing trees and shrubs.

"Is it just me?" she asked. "Or does this wood all look the same?"

"I think we're just getting bored," Cleo said flatly. "All these trees don't give much variety to the scenery."

Harlequin snorted laughter.

Cleo glanced back at her. "I take it you agree?"

"Not remotely." Harlequin chuckled again. "You're clearly lost."

Cleo rubbed her paws together and looked round at the trees. She hadn't thought to mark their way, but she guessed right now would be the time to start. That tree with the sparse leaves... they'd passed that before, she was sure.

She flexed her claws and scratched a large cross into the trunk of the tree. There. That should help them at least.

They kept on walking, and every few paces, Cleo left another mark. They continued on in silence, winding along the well-trodden path through the trees. It was a safe option. One would assume a well-trodden path was one that had been used by Pokemon frequently passing through the woods at one time or another. The oncoming cold season had encouraged the trees to shed their leaves, and occasionally a blanket of them covered the path, but not enough to obscure complete view of where they should go.

A small groan came from Spark and Cleo stopped, following the Dedenne's gaze to the large tree, sporting a cross clawed into the bark.

Harlequin burst into fits of laughter, her legs buckling beneath her as she rolled onto the floor.

"You're lost!" she gasped. "You're well and truly lost!"

"Laugh all you want," said Cleo. "Because if we're lost, so are you."

"Oh, I'm not lost." Harlequin rolled back onto her front and looked up at her. "I've just been following your pathetic endeavours to make it through this place."

"So you know how to get out of here?" Spark snapped. "Then why not help us?!"

"Why would I help you?" Harlequin growled. "I'm a prisoner!"

"Yes." Spark crossed her paws. "One that is stuck in this wood for as long as we're stuck in it."

"Spark has a point," said Cleo. "If you can get out of here, then it would be very helpful for all of us if you showed us."

"Or we could go this way." Mischief pointed at a smaller, less worn path leading off their current one. "We've not tried this way."

Harlequin grinned. "Go on. Try it. Follow your crack-pot friend."

Cleo sharply looked from Mischief's pained expression to Harlequin. "Hey! There'll be none of that!"

"Watch your tongue, Zorua!" Spark yelled over Cleo.

"He hurt my friend!" Harlequin barked.

"He's not your friend!" Spark retorted. "He made that very clear!"

Harlequin's eyes turned livid and she lunged at Spark. Spark flinched, but before Harlequin could make contact, she rolled back from the collar's resistance.

"Enough!" Cleo screamed.

Harlequin let out a low growl. "When you're off that shoulder, pipsqueak, I'll shut that mouth of yours!"

"Oh yeah?!" Spark bristled. "We'll see about that!"

"I said enough!" Cleo's voice cut through the Pokemons' squabbles, bringing them both to silence.

Harlequin lay on her back, leering at Spark, her breath coming in quick, heavy bursts. Spark stood sparking on Cleo's shoulder, her electricity tickling the Meowstic's fur.

"This is getting us nowhere." Cleo turned away from Harlequin, forcing the Zorua to climb to her feet and follow reluctantly behind them. "Let's just try Mischief''s suggestion and see where it leads us."

Mischief slumped on ahead, dragging his feet through the scattering of red and orange leaves. Harlequin's words had clearly wounded him. Cleo looked away from him and focused on marking the trees. She wanted to talk to him about all this, but it would be near impossible with Harlequin constantly by her side. Her only other option was to have Spark pass whispered messages back and forth, and that was just long winded and tedious.

Another tree marked, another stretch of ground to cover. Being in these woods was becoming irksome. It was quiet, too quiet. Empty. Nothing else was in these trees apart from them. That was how it felt.

Cleo flinched as her eyes settled on a tree she was about to mark. There they were. Claw marks. They'd gone full circle again.

"You really don't have a clue about this place do you?" Harlequin grumbled.

Cleo looked back at her. "And you do?"

"Yes." Harlequin gave a single nod. "It's called the Endless Woods for a reason."

"Because it sends you in circles?" Spark snorted. "Certainly fitting."

"No, because it's former Gardevoir territory." A small smile crossed the Zorua's face as she stared at the other Pokemons' bewildered expressions. "They enchanted it. It's meant to keep other Pokemon away from their home."

"But..." Cleo faltered, pulling her map from her bag. It hadn't been marked with a cross, but the Endless Woods were clearly named. She'd not known this was their home. "But Gardevoir were wiped out at the start of the war."

"Yes," Harlequin stated. "That's why their enchantment doesn't effect me. It's weakened over the years since there have been no Pokemon here to maintain it."

Cleo looked up from the map to give Harlequin a quizzical look. "How do you know about this?"

"It's common knowledge," Harlequin snorted. "When the war started, Hydreigon commanded all psychic Pokemon be wiped out, as you well know." She gave Cleo a mocking half-smile that sent the Meowstic's fur on end and she clutched the map tight in her claws. "Hydreigon's armies had a hard time in these woods however. High level stuff, this enchantment. They only found a handful of Gardevoir over the space of several years. After that, nothing. They've clearly been wiped out." Harlequin looked round at the trees. "Especially if the weakening enchantment is anything to go by."

Spark spoke quietly in Cleo's ear. "Is this similar to Grey's illusion do you think?"

Cleo made a thoughtful noise. It sounded like it. Together, a group of Gardevoir could indeed create an illusion that would affect dark Pokemon, disorienting them until they got lost in the woods. Normally she'd be able to detect other psychic Pokemon's abilities but this hadn't occurred to her at all, like Grey's illusion. It was subtle.

"Are you saying it's weakened enough to no longer effect you?" she asked the Zorua.

Harlequin grinned. "Like water off a Ducklett's back."

Cleo looked around at the trees, her ears twitching as she strained to pick up any disturbances. There was nothing.

Spark shifted in her fur. "Do you think you can pick it up now you're aware of it?"

"Unfortunately not." Cleo sighed. "We'll just keep going in circles."

"No you won't." Harlequin stood and moved past her. "I'm tired of this. Just let me lead for a while."

Spark let out a laugh. "What? So you can lead us into the Shadow Lands?"

Harlequin raised an eyebrow at her. "How big do you think this wood is?"

Spark shrugged. "Big enough to get lost in."

"It doesn't spread that far. So long as I'm stuck in this blasted collar, I can't force you to go anywhere can I?"

"Fine." Cleo sighed. "Lead the way."

Harlequin took a few steps forward pausing briefly by Mischief. She shot him a warning glare.

"You stay out of my way."

Mischief fell back until he was beside Cleo, his eyes welling up with tears. Cleo felt a pang in her chest and she ran a paw down her face. Again, there was nothing she could do in these circumstances. They had no choice but to press on.

In silence, they followed the Zorua along the less used path. Cleo watched marked trees pass them by and she had a moment of doubt. Harlequin may have been lying when she said this enchantment didn't effect her.

The worn path wound to the right and Cleo turned to follow it. But Harlequin moved on, breaking off the path and plodding through thick undergrowth. She reached the end of her tether and looked back.

"Are you coming?"

Cleo looked down the narrow, worn path, something ringing deep within her that told her to go that way. The certainty that it was the right way.

That was it. The enchantment.

She tore herself away from it and followed after Harlequin. Mischief faltered, looking from Cleo to the path and back. She grabbed his paw and pulled him after her, following Harlequin through the thick weeds.

That feeling still rang out, commanding her to go back. It wasn't the right way. She was getting lost.

Fighting against the enchantment made it feel so obvious now. It was a psychic ability, one that didn't have much effect on her considering her resistance. A familiar feeling from the days her childhood playmates had used confusion on her. It was disorienting, but a familiar feeling. Mischief, however, was lagging behind as he battled with the uncertainty that Cleo was doing the right thing.

"Cleo I can't stand this," said Spark. "We're lost. I want to go back."

"We're not lost," said Cleo. "Ignore it."

Spark stood up on tiptoes on her shoulder and looked back. "We are so lost! We need to go back before we get more lost!"

"We're fine."

"You're fine!" Harlequin called back to them. "Just follow me and stop whining!"

"We can't follow you, you're the enemy!" said Spark.

Harlequin faced forward again. "Fine. Go back. Get lost."

Cleo cast a sideways glance at Spark, twisting left and right with uncertainty. "Don't you dare leave my shoulder."

"I can't stand it-"

"I'll put you in my bag?"

Spark sat down and crossed her arms, glancing back the way they came.

As they moved on, the enchantment didn't let up. Harlequin skipped along, completely immune to it. Cleo was growing tired battling the resistance that tried to force them back. Spark was growing more and more jittery, and Mischief was beginning to battle against her paw. She clutched onto him tighter, dragging the lagging Whimsicott behind her.

The trees looked more imposing, their limbs reaching down like claws, reaching out to push them back, deter them, intimidate them, force them to go the other way. Cleo closed her eyes, picking up her pace and affirming her grip on Mischief's paw. The Whimsicott let out a small whimper and lagged slightly before picking up his own pace, clearly deciding companionship was better than being lost and alone.

Forcing herself to open her eyes in a desperate bid to not lose their path, Cleo focused on Harlequin's black tail bobbing along ahead. The trees here grew closer together, as though they were members of an army closing in to block them off. Harlequin slipped between two large trunks, hopping over their raised roots as if they were nothing. Cleo scrambled over them, scraping her limbs on the rough bark. A flurry of white fluff scattered behind them as Mischief reluctantly followed her through. The path here widened out and Harlequin paused to wait for them to catch up. In a flash, she took off again, following the wider, more trodden path away from them.

Cleo faltered. Something was ringing out to them, something blaring over the enchantment.

She looked to her right. Large thorn bushes wound between the trees, obscuring the view of what lay beyond. Despite its appearance, it was an inviting feeling. A good feeling.

She deviated from the path, heading towards the thorn bushes. A yell came from Harlequin as she found herself pulled along behind them.

"That's not the way! Follow me, I can get us out of here!"

Cleo ignored her cries, peering over the thorn bushes. Beyond it, a soft jingling reached her ears. Not a bell, but a soft jingle. She pushed herself through the brambles, the thorns barely touching her fur. She'd released Mischief, but he followed her, clearly as curious as she was. Harlequin's cries had stopped and Cleo could hear her light footsteps following behind her. The thorn bush opened up into an area with sparse trees and a small oran berry bush where the jingling was coming from. Something shot out of the bush, hovering a mere few inches from the ground. It spotted them and froze. A small Pokemon with long limbs clutching several keys below it. They clattered together with a soft chime as it turned away from them and shot across the clearing.

"Hey!" Cleo called out. "Wait!"

She darted after the fleeing Pokemon, Harlequin and Mischief jogging to keep up with her. Then the clearing warped.

Lush grass spread out beneath their feet, reaching as far back and as far forward as it could go. Bushes and trees thick with berries grew up out of the ground, scattered across the lush plane. Flowers lay in abundance in vibrant flower beds and in the distance Cleo could make out a large, sparkling river flowing down a green hillside.

The most striking thing was the Pokemon. They were everywhere. Ones she recognised and ones she didn't. Little Pokemon hanging on to flowers floated over the flower beds, laughing amongst each other and dancing around a group of larger Pokemon with thick petals around their heads. Tiny Hoppip floated past, dancing in the breeze that carried them. A flock of Mareep and and Flaaffy lay sprawled alongside a flock of Skidoo and Gogoat. Hundreds of other Pokemon of varying species filled this large, beautiful garden. Cleo couldn't think of another word to describe it. Meadow, plane, clearing, glade... none of them seemed to fit. It had everything.

"Cleo, look!" Mischief pointed a paw at a group of Cottonee floating past in the distance. "They're my family!" He bolted away from her.

"Mischief, wait!" Cleo reached out a paw to stop him.

"Well, hello there."

Mischief froze in his tracks and looked back, and the other three Pokemon turned to face the voice. Two Pokemon stood to their left smiling at them. A Mawile and a Gardevoir.

"I'm Faith!" said the Mawile, the one that had spoken. "And this is Hope." She indicated the Gardevoir who gave them a warm smile.

Cleo was speechless. Her mouth fell open but nothing came out. Spark was rendered as oddly speechless. Mischief and Harlequin had gone back to staring at their new surroundings, Mischief's eyes not leaving the group of Cottonee.

"You seem surprised," said Faith. "That's normal. Every Pokemon seems to react this way when they find this place."

Cleo finally found her words and she looked around again. "What is this place?"

"The Fairy Garden," said Hope.

Cleo looked back at her. "Fairy Garden?"

Faith nodded. "Yup!"

"I've never heard of it."

"Me neither," said Spark.

Hope smiled. "Well, you were looking for it."

Mischief turned to her. "Looking for it?"

Spark raised an eyebrow. "But we've never heard of it. How can we be looking for it?"

"You were seeking solitude." The Gardevoir spread an arm over the garden. "All the Pokemon here were seeking solitude. That's how they found this place."

Solitude. Cleo looked out at the happy Pokemon filling the garden. Peaceful. Not afraid. Not a dark Pokemon in sight.

Dark Pokemon! She looked down at Harlequin. The Zorua stood, mouth agape, staring speechlessly at the garden.

"Well, isn't this an odd development?" Faith chuckled, walking over to the Zorua. "You're the first dark Pokemon to find this place."

"Careful." Cleo held out a paw to block the Mawile. "She's leashed to me. She can't touch you if you stay more than two feet away from me."

"Nonsense. She wouldn't be able to enter this garden if she weren't looking for it." Faith laughed.

"I wouldn't be so sure. She's chained to me, so she had no choice."

Hope and Faith shook their heads.

"Nope," chirruped the Mawile. "If she didn't want to be here, she'd be stood in an empty clearing wondering where you'd vanished to."

"Seeking solitude..." Harlequin's breathing increased and she took a step back. "It's not real, I'm dreaming..."

"My." Hope covered her mouth. "Yes, it must seem like a dream after all that time in the Shadow Lands."

Harlequin shook her head. "It's because I saw those tapestries... I'm dreaming." She looked to her left and let out a choked gasp. "I'm dreaming..."

"Oh!" Faith leapt from foot to foot and clapped. "Xerneas!"

Cleo followed her gaze and stifled a gasp of her own. Walking towards them was the stag they'd seen in the painting, even more graceful than the pictures made him out to be. He walked with an air of majesty, the antlers on his head radiating with a soft prism of light.

Accompanying him were two blue, slender Pokemon with white downy wings. Altaria. Two dragon type Pokemon flying gracefully in circles above him, humming a joyous melody. They perched on the bough of a large tree and peered down at them with friendly, curious eyes.

Hope and Faith both bowed deeply. Cleo felt it only right she do the same. Spark hopped from her shoulder and copied her and she could hear Mischief flopping to his knees in the grass behind them.

Xerneas stopped beside Hope and Faith and looked from Cleo to each of her companions in turn. His eyes were warm and friendly, and he gave them an affectionate smile.

"Welcome. You don't need to be afraid. You can leave your troubles behind, there's nothing to fear here."

Cleo was at a loss for words, and she wasn't the only one. Before any of them had a chance to speak, he looked at Harlequin and gave her a nod.

"Young Zorua. Come with me."

The Zorua was shaking from head to foot, but she didn't back away. Instead, she followed nervously after him.

Cleo took a step forward and raised her paw. "Wait, she-"

Harlequin kept on moving, past the two foot limit without so much as a snag. Cleo stared at her bracelet then back at the vanishing Zorua. The two Altaria were following after them, circling and dancing in the air, their melody ringing out across the Fairy Garden.

"Wow," came Mischief's voice from behind her. "So that's Xerneas?"

Spark nodded. "I guess so."

"Yep! That's Xerneas!" Faith closed her eyes and smiled, skipping over to Cleo and her friends. "Maybe we can show you around and explain this place? I bet you have hundreds of questions!"

"In fact, we do." Cleo looked at Hope and Faith, her eyes picking out for the first time the stones they both wore. Faith's was fastened in the centre of a pink bow around her horn, and Hope had one hanging around her neck. The both of them also wore dainty bracelets on their wrists. "Wow, you-!" She pointed but was cut off as Faith instead grabbed her paw.

"Come on! Ooh this is exciting!" She skipped ahead, dragging Cleo behind her.

"Wait!" Mischief trotted to keep up with them alongside Spark, Hope following behind them.

"Oh, Faith," she said. "We have plenty of time, you don't need to rush."

 

[Delirious Absol]

24 – Mega Evolution​

Tinker sat watching the little Swablu hatchling, tucking into a small bowl of berries on his desk. The newly named Starshine seemed rather content, interspersing each mouthful with a little chirp and a glance in his direction probably to make sure he was still there.

"Decided to keep it then, aye?"

Tinker looked sharply at his office door. He hadn't even heard the knock. Skipper leant against the door frame, half in and half out of his room. The Riolu looked back at the baby Pokemon and let out a small sigh.

"Told anyone yet?" Skipper closed the door and moved to stand beside him.

"No." Tinker leant back in his seat and rubbed his paws over his face. "I don't know how."

"Ye ne'er told anyone ye were gonna get rid of it though, did ye?"

"No... no, I didn't." He looked up at his friend. "But I doubt this will be met with joy, Skipper."

The Marshstomp shrugged. "Nae, I agree wi' that. However..." He adjusted his goggles on his head and stared thoughtfully at the little Swablu. "Ye can't keep 'im a secret, Tinker. Sooner or later he's gonna be runnin' 'round New City like th' rest o' the hatchlings."

Tinker stared down at the baby, completely unaware of their conversation.

"Laughin'," Skipper went on. "Yellin', playin', makin' friends-"

"Making friends?" Tinker looked up at him sharply. That was a thought that had never occurred to him before.

Skipper raised an eyebrow. "Ye ne'er considered that?"

"No..." Tinker looked back at the Swablu. He was watching him now with his little black eyes. "That's... brilliant."

"Oh?"

Tinker stood up, sending his chair toppling backwards with a loud clatter. "Skipper, you're a genius!"

"Ahh, Tink. I was only sayin' like t'other kids-"

"Yes! Starshine is just like other kids." Tinker turned to face him, a large smile beaming on his face. "If he mixes with the other Pokemon and makes friends..." He trailed off, his smile faltering.

"You think he mightn't make friends?"

"No, it's not that." Tinker scratched his ear and let out a flustered breath. "It's the mothers. Hatchlings don't tend to be judgemental. But the mothers won't want their children playing with a Swablu."

Skipper looked thoughtful, glancing at the door then back at Starshine. "I could ask my sis? Wee Tad ain't much older."

"Your sister? That hadn't occurred to me... of course, she has a child."

"Aye, my nephew." Skipper fiddled with his goggles again. "Trouble is she's a wee bit protective, ya know. There ain't many of us left alive now."

Tinker nodded. He was strongly considering this. He stared down at Starshine who had abandoned the bowl of berries, perching near the edge of his desk and fixing them both with his tiny eyes.

"How much do you think he can understand?" Tinker asked Skipper. "Do you think he'd be able to play with anyone at his age?"

"I dunno." Skipper made for the door. "I'll be back soon, aye? Sis is only at th' market."

Tinker nodded and picked up his chair, falling heavily onto the seat. Starshine inclined his head on one side and chirped. It sounded like a question. Tinker stared at him and gave a small smile. The little Swablu bounced up and down with glee and ran back to the bowl of berries.

"Still hungry?" Tinker asked.

Starshine turned to face him, a cheri berry clutched in his beak. He flopped across the desk towards Tinker, the edge completely obscured from his view by the large fruit.

Tinker's heart almost struck his throat. He stuck out both paws and caught the baby Swablu before he plummeted to the floor. A sigh of relief escaped his lips and he set the Swablu on his lap. Starshine chirped and dropped the berry, smiling and flapping his wings, oblivious to his narrowly avoided demise.

Tinker laughed. "You just wanted to share?" He ran a paw across his forehead. "That's no reason to rush off the desk, Starshine."

"Tinker!"

The door to his office flew open and he leapt from his seat, holding the Swablu in his arms. He fixed wide eyes on a female Marshstomp, a large red ribbon adorning her head. Standing behind her was a shrewd-looking Skipper, and a small Mudkip peered at him behind her ankle.

"Is this ano'er one o' ye mad experiments?!"

Tinker shushed her and shook his head. "Can you come inside and talk about this? You'll have all of New City in an uproar."

"An' rightly so, ye mad fool!" Regardless, she stepped inside, ushering her son ahead of her.

Skipper closed the door quietly and leant against it, giving Tinker an apologetic look.

This was Skipper's sister. Unlike her brother, Lily rarely left New City. However, she was well known amongst the other mothers. If this didn't go down well, word would quickly spread about the Swablu and Tinker might find himself on the receiving end of a very unpleasant riot.

Lily put her paws on her hips and leant in until she was almost nose to nose with Tinker.

"What on earth made ye think ye could just bring a Swablu down here into New City?"

Tinker's mouth hung open but all that came out was, "I... I..."

"It's a dragon, Tinker!" Lily growled. "What if it turns on us, gets out and reveals New City to Hydreigon?!"

"It's a baby!" Tinker's voice took himself by surprise. Lily just blinked at him, waiting for him to elaborate. "It's a baby, Lily. If we raise it with our morals, and it makes friends amongst us... maybe even joins our ranks to fight in this war. This could give us a strong advantage."

"And a glaring weakness."

Tinker stared at the female Marshstomp. She crossed her arms and looked from Starshine to Tinker.

"Ye know the dragon type's weak t'itself. It wouldn't take much for 'em t'pick it off. One Altaria in the army ain't gonna give us much of an advantage, ye old fool."

Tinker stared down at the Swablu in his arms and sighed.

"I think ye went soft," Lily went on. "Ye found an egg an' wanted t'hatch it. A little baby abandoned in th' wild an' ye couldn't leave it." She paused, observing Tinker's sullen expression. "I'm right ain't I?"

Tinker couldn't say anything. Her words struck him hard and he flinched. She was right, of course she was right. He glanced up at her, but the look of fury was gone from her face.

"C'mon, Tinker, I ain't 'eartless." She smiled. "I'd've done the same."

Tinker's jaw dropped. "You're not angry?"

"Oh I'm angry!" She crossed her arms. "Angry ye lied! Why not just admit it that ye went soft an' rescued a defenceless egg?"

"Because I feared the Pokemon here wouldn't understand."

"They already know it's 'ere, Tinker. The Elites didn't exactly keep their yaps shut ye know?" She laughed. "Anyway, Tad 'ere knows moves t'defend himself if need be."

Tinker's eyes widened. "Are you saying-"

"I'll 'elp ye? Yeh sure, why not." She smiled warmly at him. "But I'm tellin' ye... anythin' goes wrong, that Swablu's out. All right?"

Tinker gave her a smile and nodded. "Yes."

"Whew!" Skipper slipped down the door and fell to his bottom. "Seriously, sis. Ah thought ye were gonna 'ave 'is 'ead off!"

Lily ignored her brother, instead looking down at the Swablu. "What've ye named it then?"

"He's called Starshine," Tinker explained.

The Swablu chirped at her.

"Can't speak yet, eh?" Lily chuckled and took Starshine from Tinker, setting him down on the floor. "C'mon, Tad, don't be shy. Say hello."

The little Mudkip glanced up at his uncle with uncertainty, then ventured slowly towards the Swablu. Starshine was too busy observing the room from his new position on the floor to give Tad much attention. The Mudkip stopped a few paces away from the new hatchling and cleared his throat.

"Hi there."

Starshine glanced at him, chirped, then hopped in a little circle with his eyes on the ceiling.

Tad looked up at his mother. "Don't do much does he?"

Lily chuckled. "O'course not, lad, he's only just hatched! Give 'im a few weeks 'n' he'll be laughin' and playin' on your level." She turned to Tinker and gave him a serious look. "This is you're responsibility now, Tinker."

"I'm aware." Tinker nodded. "If he turns on us, I'm to blame."

"I wasn't sayin' that!" Lily frowned. "I'm sayin' yer his surrogate dad. It ain't easy bein' a parent. Come on, Tad. It's almost dinner time."

Tad gave Starshine one last glance before following his mother from Tinker's office. Lily paused in the open doorway and fired a look at Skipper.

"As fer you. Don't keep serious matters like this from me again, aye?"

"I was sworn t' secrecy, sis!"

"Yes, well." Lily gave Skipper and Tinker a smile. "I could've helped ye. If ye need anythin' just ask, all right?" She gave them a wave and closed the door quietly.

"By 'eck." Skipper flopped against Tinker's desk. "She can be a wee bit intimidatin', that one."

Tinker nodded and gave a sigh of relief as he fell back into his chair. "I didn't expect that at all."

"At least ye have some hope of 'im makin' friends now, aye?"

"Certainly."

Tinker watched the little Swablu flop along the floor, inspecting every piece of paper and clutter he came across. Hope of making friends... he was starting to feel he had hope of a little more than that.

...​

Cleo struggled to keep up with Faith. The Mawile kept pausing to look back at them with a cry of 'come on come on!' before skipping on ahead again, almost losing them in the spread of exuberant flower beds.

Cleo had asked her where she was taking them, but all the Mawile had replied with was a chirpy, "You'll see!"

They were led through a massive orchard, the smell of flowers and ripe fruit tickling their noses and igniting their appetite. But this wasn't where Faith was trying to take them. They passed by each well cared for tree and bush until they exploded through to the other side. There it was. A large building looming towards them, the sun's rays embracing the surface in a warm, gentle light.

"What is that?" Cleo gasped between breaths.

Faith looked back at her. "The abbey!"

"Abbey?!" The exclamation had come from both Cleo and Spark.

Faith's large eyes sparkled in amusement. "You seem surprised!"

Cleo was too breathless with the strain of keeping up with the excitable Mawile to explain. When they finally reached a stop, she buckled over with her paws on her knees to catch her breath.

Spark flopped onto her back in the soft grass, her breath coming in rapid gasps. Mischief sat down next to her and wiped a paw across his brow.

Hope stopped behind them and chuckled. "I see that run has tired you out?"

Cleo looked back at the Gardevoir. "How are you not tired?"

"You get used to it." She smiled. "Faith is always darting about like a Beautifly on the first day of the flower season."

Faith grinned at them and folded her paws behind her back. "Want me to show you around?"

Spark wafted a paw in the air. "Gimme a minute. I think I've died."

Mischief looked up at the Mawile. "You say this is an abbey?"

She nodded. "Yes! It's the Fairy Garden's main building too! Filled with warm nest rooms, a massive dinner hall-"

Spark sat bolt upright. "Dinner?"

Faith chuckled. "Yes. And a courtyard filled with flowers and a pretty willow in the middle with a pond... oh it's lovely!" She clapped her paws together. "You simply must see it at night time! The Illumise and Volbeat light up the sky with the most exquisite dance you've ever seen."

Mischief smiled. "It sounds wonderful!"

"Ah, then let me show you!" Faith took Mischief's paws and pulled him to his feet. "Then I can show you your rooms."

"Rooms?" Cleo stood up straight to face the Mawile. "What rooms?"

"Why, your quarters of course! Where else will you sleep?" She glanced at the trees. "Or do you prefer more traditional nests? We have those for arboreal Pokemon but-"

"Faith, we're not staying here indefinitely," Cleo explained. "There's a war."

"Yes?"

Cleo narrowed her eyes. "You do know there's a war?"

Faith nodded. "Yes."

"It's been going on for many many years now," Hope added.

Cleo looked from one to the other. "And you just stay here... safe?"

"We fight when we're needed," Hope explained. "Right now, two of our warriors are out there helping Pokemon in desperate need of solitude. When they come back, two more will be sent out to help them."

Spark looked up at the Gardevoir. "So even this place is at war?"

"Yes, but the Fairy Garden is protected. Nothing evil can enter here." She gave the Dedenne a warm smile. "The war goes on outside this garden while the Pokemon inside it can rest assured they are perfectly safe. We warriors can come and go and help those in need, and we do. "

"That's what I'm saying!" Faith clapped her paws and grinned. "You have a place here, you have rooms. You can come and go and fight this war along side us! Alongside Xerneas!"

Cleo's eyes widened. Fight alongside these Pokemon? Like an army?

"You can train with us," Hope explained. "You just need to rest up from your journey then you'll be ready to learn how to fight the Darkness."

"We've been fighting for years." Spark rubbed a paw over her whiskers. "I think we're trained."

Faith shook her head. "No, you're not trained."

Spark was about to retort but Faith cut her off.

"You don't know the right attacks," she added.

"Oh?" Spark raised an eyebrow. "My Thunder Wave hasn't failed me yet."

"And while that's a good strategy, how do you take down a Zweillos?" Hope asked. "Dragons resist electricity." She looked at Cleo. "And dark Pokemon are immune to your psychic attacks."

Cleo and Spark both looked at Mischief.

Spark pointed at him. "That's where he comes in."

Mischief inclined his head on one side. "Me? But... I don't want to fight."

"But you can!" Faith grinned. "You're a fairy Pokemon!"

"Fairy?" Spark and Cleo looked at each other in shock.

"Yup!" Faith chirped. "Part grass, part fairy."

"Is that.. the new type?" Cleo asked.

"New?" Faith laughed and waved a paw. "Fairy Pokemon have been around for years! Those little ones holding the flowers, they're Flabebe. They're pure fairy type. And I myself am part fairy, like Mischief here! And so's Hope!" She nudged the Gardevoir with her elbow.

"Yes." Hope blinked a couple of times as she took in the situation. "I'm surprised you didn't know this."

"No..." Cleo looked down at Mischief. "It's a new thing. No Pokemon we've ran into knows about the fairy type."

"That's odd." Hope exchanged glances with Faith. "They used to."

"Yeh." Faith turned to look at Cleo. "Xerneas is pure fairy type, and the source of it. He gives us all this power. Pokemon know about Xerneas, don't they?"

Cleo rubbed the back of her head, exchanging silent looks with Spark and Mischief. None of them had heard of Xerneas before they came across the ruined abbey. None of them had even heard of the fairy type before. What was going on?

"Oh no." Faith put both paws over her mouth. "You never knew?"

"No," said Cleo.

Spark shook her head. "Nope. First time we even saw Xerneas was a picture in a ruined building yesterday."

"Oh..." Faith slumped. "What has the world come to?"

"Let's not lose heart." Hope gave her a pat on the shoulder. "We can teach these Pokemon how to fight alongside us tomorrow. Right now, there's a feast and a dazzle dance to attend."

"Feast?!" Spark leapt into the air. "You mean berries galore?!"

Faith laughed. "Berries, vegetable stew, cake, juice... I can see you're going to love it!"

"Argh, I've only read about feasts! I've never had one!"

"Okay, well." Faith grinned widely. "Let me show you around the abbey and then we can go to the dinner hall, okay?"

Spark hopped after the Mawile. "I think I've found new energy!"

...​

"Wow. This is a big library."

Cleo and Spark looked up at the walls lined with shelves filled with books. They stretched the entire height of the room. The higher shelves needed a ladder to reach them.

"I don't think I've ever read a book before," said Spark.

"Well these ones are the same size as you," said Cleo.

"I don't care for that comment, Cleo."

"But it's true."

"I know, but I still don't care for it."

The two of them stood transfixed, gazing at the endless rows of shelves. Faith couldn't help chuckling at them.

"I've never been in a library before," said Mischief. "I don't think so, anyway. I don't remember it." He scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"Well, as you can see we're not exactly short on reading material," said Faith. "So help yourselves any time."

Cleo made a thoughtful noise and looked round at the Mawile and Gardevoir. "Is there anything on those stones you're wearing?"

"What, these?" Faith removed the bow from her head and looked down at the stone fastened in it, then back at Cleo. "You've never seen one before, huh?"

"I have, but I don't know what it is."

"Where have you seen one?" Hope asked. "They're pretty rare."

"Harlequin has one."

"Harlequin?" Hope and Faith exchanged glances.

Hope scratched her head and looked up at the book shelves. "I don't think a Zoruite exists."

"It isn't ringing any bells. Want me to check?" Faith scooted over to the ladder.

"No, no." Hope waved a paw which went unseen by the Mawile. "You don't need to check, I'm pretty sure."

"Oh, all right." Faith turned back to them and grinned. "Shall we show them, Hope?"

"You're going to show us?" Mischief almost bounced with glee. "I've only seen it in those tapestries!"

"Hold on, Faith." Hope held up a paw. "I don't think they're ready for this yet. The look of confusion on Cleo's face tells me that much."

"Of course I'm confused," said Cleo. "All this is happening pretty fast. We see a picture of Xerneas and an epic battle the day before and now we're standing in a library in a secret place called The Fairy Garden."

"Firstly, this place isn't secret," said Faith. "At least, it isn't meant to be. Secondly... this is a Mega Stone."

Hope put a paw over her face and sighed. "Faith, I told you they aren't ready."

Faith bounced up and down. "They are so ready, Hope! They're fighting this war!"

"Mega Stone?" Spark's nose twitched. "I've really never heard of them before. Have you?" She looked up at Cleo.

Cleo shook her head. "They change your form, am I right?"

"Yup!" Faith closed her eyes and smiled. "The one I wear is a Mawilite. Hope is wearing a Gardevoirite."

Hope lifted her wrist so the others could see clearly. "Yes, and this bracelet activates it. Mine activates Faith's and vice-versa. We can do it ourselves, but it is more convenient to have a partner as it uses less energy."

"Energy? How does it work?" Cleo asked.

Mischief put his paws together. "Can we see? Please?"

Faith fastened the bow back around her horn. "Well, Hope. The best way to learn is by example."

"Okay, but let's do this in the courtyard. I don't want to knock all the books down."

They followed the Gardevoir out of the library and down a corridor lined with arched windows overlooking a wide courtyard with a decorative gazebo in the centre. A pond reflected the soft sunlight, and a gentle breeze wafted through the lush branches of a delicate willow tree kindly shading a spot by the pond where two Volbeat sat chatting happily.

It was such a stark contrast to the world outside the Fairy Garden. Cleo couldn't help feeling like she was walking in a dream. Any minute, she would wake up and this peaceful world would fade away to be replaced by desolation and war once more.

She shook her head sharply and followed Hope and Faith through an archway out into the courtyard.

"There's more space here," said Hope. "I think we can demonstrate now."

"Yes! Let's hop to it, Hope!" Faith raised her wrist and turned to look at Cleo and the others. "Are you ready for this? Because it might come as a bit of a shock."

Cleo glanced at Spark and Mischief. Spark seemed a little uncertain but Mischief's wide, orange eyes reflected his enthusiasm.

Faith grinned at them and her bracelet began to glow. Hope's lit up alongside it and the two of them were engulfed in a bright light. There was a flash, so bright it dazzled their eyes and Cleo had to shield them with both paws. The sound of shattering glass cut through the tranquil silence. Hope and Faith stood before them again, now significantly altered. The air around them seemed to flicker for a moment, as though it was unsure about touching them, before deciding it was actually safe.

Hope was now almost completely white, the lower half of her body resembling a flowing gown. The fur on her face was longer, curling upwards as though it was defying gravity. The spike on her chest seemed to have been split in two and was sticking out in opposite directions.

Faith was now significantly taller and sported two massive horns, both of which looked like vicious jaws. The left one still had her bow attached to it, detracting from its fierce appearance. Her legs were purple rather than cream, along with her formerly black forearms. If it weren't for her friendly, wide smile, Cleo would have thought she'd been replaced by a completely different Pokemon.

"This is Mega Evolution," she told them. "In these forms, our powers are greatly amplified!"

Cleo and Spark stood with their mouths agape, both of them at a loss for words. The only one who had something to say was Mischief.

"Wow!" he gasped. "And this is how you two fight?!"

Hope smiled warmly. "When we need to."

He flexed his paws a few times and shifted on the spot, glancing nervously around him. Something was bothering him, Cleo knew. But right now, she had no idea what to say to him. She was still reeling from the shock of the two Pokemon's sudden transformation. It had been similar to evolution, but much more intense.

"I think I need to sit down." Spark fell to her bottom in the grass.

Faith chuckled. "I have to admit, I reacted the same way you three have."

"I think they've seen enough." Hope gave a nod and her body shrank into itself until her normal form returned.

"Aww, I guess so." Faith shrank down to her previous height and once again resembled a normal Mawile.

Spark blinked, rubbed her eyes and blinked again. "What? What?"

"It's temporary?" Cleo gasped.

It sounded like a stupid question now she'd voiced it. She didn't know why she hadn't assumed it was temporary. If they'd done it before, and it wasn't, then they wouldn't appear like a standard Gardevoir and Mawile.

Hope and Faith both giggled.

"Yes. It's temporary," said Faith.

Mischief made a little noise that drew the other Pokemons' attention. He looked from Hope to Faith and back.

"Can... can anyone do it?"

"That remains to be seen," Hope explained. "But if you were wondering about yourself, not yet."

Faith shook her head. "Never seen a Whimsicottite."

Mischief nodded and folded his paws behind his back. "I think I'd like a walk if that's okay?"

"Okay, but be back soon," Faith told him. "The feast will be starting shortly."

Mischief gave another nod and turned away from them, heading back towards the archway.

Cleo looked back at him. His words and actions had filled her with concern. "Mischief... do you want me to come with you?"

He turned his head to look at her for a moment, then shook it slowly. "No. I'll be okay."

They watched him vanish into the corridor. Once he was out of sight, Faith turned to Cleo.

"Is he all right?"

Cleo shrugged. "I'm honestly not sure."

Spark looked up at her, her black eyes wide with worry. That look alone made Cleo feel like a lead ball had struck the pit of her stomach.

"Cleo... I need to talk to you."

 

[Delirious Absol]

25 – Promise​

A bell's erratic ringing cut through the silent night air of the vast plane as Enigma staggered through the grass, retracing his steps towards where he'd encountered Harlequin. His energy had been restored sufficiently enough to allow him to move at least. However, he had no intention of engaging in combat. Everything hurt. He knew those Pokemon were no longer there, which filled him with enough relief to brave the journey back to the Moorland's Forest.

The Heretics. That's who he was after.

Rio had kept something from him, and he had every intention of finding out what it was.

Hopefully the trip back would grant him with enough time to gather his strength. He hardly expected his encounter with the Heretics to be a pleasant one after destroying their Tyranitar.

The shadows provided enough shelter for him, obscuring him from view of any Pokemon that might be lurking near by. His bell also served as a warning should anyone be passing through. However, if any Pokemon saw him in his current state they likely wouldn't hesitate to finish him off. His reputation was hardly a good one.

A dry chuckle escaped his throat. Assassins weren't thought highly of amongst their own kin, never mind those that feared them.

His foot caught in a snare of thin, spindly roots causing his breath to catch painfully in his throat and he cursed loudly. Those annoying things had almost been the death of him on his journey back. He was too tired to warp and there weren't enough trees to hop along the canopy, not that he could manage that in his state.

That stupid Whimsicott.

He untangled his foot and stumbled on. The end of the plane was in sight. A massive wall covered in ivy faced him now. A high wall.

A high, intriguing wall.

He stared up at it, considering using what was left of his strength to warp onto it and see what was on the other side.

He stumbled over the grass, snatching his feet from the death-trap of stringy roots, and finally reached the wall. It was almost completely covered in ivy, and moving it revealed nothing more than cold, damp stone. A massive wall that was three times his height. From this angle there was no indication what lay beyond it.

It was maddeningly intriguing.

He stared up at it again, trying to summon the energy and motivation to scale it. It might provide shelter, somewhere to get some more rest after battling those roots and struggling all the way back across the plane.

Nope. He was much too tired to scale that wall.

He turned away, instead deciding to go around it.

...​

Cleo and Spark sat with hundreds of other Pokemon around a massive banquet table. It wasn't the only one in the great hall either. All tables were filled with so much food Spark's eyes couldn't take it all in. It was the first time Cleo had ever seen the Dedenne struggle to fill her plate as she was so spoilt for choice she didn't know where to begin.

Cleo didn't have such a problem. She'd lost her appetite.

'I think we've all noticed Mischief is seeming a little off?' Spark asked.

'Yes, I'm getting a little worried.'

'He told me he doesn't want anyone to die, Cleo.'

Cleo stared down at the Dedenne. She seemed distracted. It was clear she was concerned about Mischief. She couldn't deny she was concerned herself.

'He has no memories of it, Cleo,' Spark went on. 'He told me he doesn't even notice when it happens. It just does.' She paused. 'He thinks he shouldn't fight any more.'

Then it hit Cleo. That one thing he'd said that she'd missed before. 'But... I don't want to fight.' It was when Faith had pointed out he was a fairy Pokemon. Spark had pointed out he could take out dragon and dark type Pokemon.

And those words had gone straight over their heads.

'What do we do?' Cleo asked her.

'We help him,' said Spark. 'As best we can.'

Cleo stared at Spark for a moment, her mind searching for a solution. But Spark beat her to the punch.

'We find a cure.'

A cure.

Cleo stared down at her empty plate. Did such a thing exist? No one had tried to make a cure for Pokerus. There'd been no point. Catching it was a blessing. It granted strength. Those who had Pokerus were hunted down by other Pokemon that also wanted it. Some had tried to make a living by passing it on, but it never remained contagious for long. The benefits always stayed, but the contagion went away.

Mischief had got the short end of the stick. He'd been given a Pokerus virus that had made him ill. Stronger, yes. But ill. He suffered with it.

And there was no cure.

"Cleo!" Faith loomed in over her shoulder. "You've not touched your vegetable soup!"

"Oh..." Cleo looked up from her plate at the still steaming bowl of soup. "Oh, sorry. I'm... not very hungry."

"Really?" Faith turned round in her seat to look at her. "Are you not feeling well?"

Cleo let out a long sigh. "I'm just... thinking."

"If you're worried about your friend, I can understand that. He's not back yet."

Faith craned her neck to look over the table at the doors to the great hall. There was no sign of Mischief. Cleo had shrugged it off until now. Where had he got to?

"Maybe he got talking to someone?" Spark suggested. She stuffed a berry in her mouth.

It was a possibility, but given his current state of mind, it wasn't the most likely scenario. Cleo might have thought so a few days ago, but not any more.

She pushed herself away from the table and turned to leave.

"Oh don't go alone!" Faith followed after her. "If you need friends, then-"

"Faith." Cleo turned to face her, her tone taking the Mawile by surprise. She softened her tone and faked a smile. "Sorry, Faith. I can understand you're concerned about me, but really. I'm fine. I just want to look for him alone."

The Mawile hesitated for a moment then nodded. "Okay. But if you need me, I'll be here with Spark."

Cleo looked over at the Dedenne. Her cheeks were full to bursting but the look of concern in her eyes was plain to see.

Cleo smiled. "You wait here, Spark. Finish your dinner."

Spark tried to respond with an 'okay' that came out as more of a 'mmkf' and turned back to her plate.

Cleo cut her way between the large tables and made for the double-doors. They were wide open, leading out into the courtyard. It was far from empty. Volbeat and Illumise were getting ready for their performance, lining the courtyard with chairs and decorating the gazebo. Several of them gave her a friendly wave as she passed which she politely returned.

The corridor was empty, the low light of dusk breaking through the narrow windows which created intermittent shadows along the floor. Normally such a scenario would make her feel nervous, but the Fairy Garden was safe, free from any dangers. For the first time in her life, she appreciated the beauty of dusk. She could see the scattered stars through the windows, spreading across a dark blue sky. The moon wasn't quite full, occasionally vanishing behind a cloud.

When she finally exited the long corridor she found herself standing on an open plane. The orchard was on her left, and a stretch of flower beds on her right. She had no idea where to find Mischief amongst all this. The Fairy Garden was huge; in fact it appeared endless.

She stood, staring across the flower beds. In the distance not too far away she could make out a lake with large trees one one side of it. She'd not seen that area yet, so she decided to give it a try. If Mischief wasn't there, she could just keep looking, and sight see on the way.

The flower beds were empty. In fact, the entire outside was. All Pokemon were in the abbey or the dining hall, so it was incredibly quiet. Her footsteps sounded oddly loud on the soft grass and she had to remind herself she didn't need to adjust her footing. She had no reason to move quietly anymore, not here.

As she drew closer to the lake she could make out a small shape underneath one of the trees, sat cast in shadow. She squinted at it, trying to make it out. There was no mistaking it. She kept going at her normal pace until she finally stopped beside it.

"We missed you at dinner."

Mischief looked up at her then back at the lake. "Sorry, I'm not hungry."

Cleo flopped down to the floor next to him and stared out at the lake. The stars were reflected off the still surface, making it look like a liquid sky.

"I like it here."

Cleo glanced at him. He was staring ahead into nothing with an almost dreamy expression on his face.

"I think we all do," said Cleo. "It's peaceful."

There was a long pause, and Cleo found her eyes drawn to the surface of the lake again. She couldn't get over how peaceful it was. It was just like those tapestries – Pokemon living peacefully together, playing together, eating together. Not scattered or broken into groups. Not running from every shadow. Not rushing indoors at the first sign of nightfall.

"I think I might stay."

She snapped to look round at Mischief. He was now looking down at his paws resting in his lap.

"You... want to stay?" she asked.

"Yes. Don't you?"

"Yes. I do, but..." She looked back out at the lake again. But what? But there's a war? But we have to fight? But we need you to fight Hydreigon with us? She grit her teeth. That last one sounded so selfish.

"I don't need to fight here." His voice came out meek and small.

Cleo closed her eyes as she felt something inside her twinge.

"If I stay here, there's no need to fight," he went on. "I can't keep fighting, it makes me a monster."

The problem was he enjoyed fighting. She saw it on his face. Cheerful, naïve. The tests run on Tinker's machine were still fresh in her mind. It was fun to him.

She sighed. "You enjoy it though, don't you?"

"I did." He paused. "Not any more. Now it scares me."

"Because you're scared of going mad?"

"Because I'm scared of hurting you."

Cleo jumped at those words. She span her head round to look at him, but he was still staring down at his paws.

"Or Spark," he added. "Or anyone. I don't want to hurt anyone."

Cleo looked down at her own paws. She didn't know what to say.

"I killed that Noivern," Mischief went on. "Me. I did it. I didn't see what it looked like afterwards, but I have nightmares. I can't sleep at night because I get this horrible image of it looking like those Seviper. Mangled and unrecognisable. It haunts me."

He paused, unconsciously giving Cleo the time to let all that sink in.

"I'd never forgive myself if I hurt you," he said quietly.

They sat in silence, both of them watching the lake as a breeze passed over it, stirring up the water into gentle ripples and distorting the twinkling stars on the surface.

"Spark says you want to find a cure," said Cleo.

Mischief glanced at her. "That's all I'm hanging onto right now."

Cleo closed her eyes, feeling her heart sink into her stomach. She hid it behind a small smile.

"Then we'll find one," she said. "And we'll bring it back here for you."

"Thanks Cleo." He gave her a sad smile and leant his head back against the tree. "I'll miss you, but I think you're safer if I just stay here."

Cleo crossed her arms to hug herself, not taking her eyes off the lake. She could feel them welling up, and she didn't want to show it.

Safer... if it weren't for him, her and Spark would be dead by now. She had a lot to thank him for.

 

[Delirious Absol]

26 – Preparing for Battle​

Harbinger had completely lost track of Harlequin and his friends. This bothered him.

He grit his teeth and turned his back on the narrow trail to retrace his steps through the Endless Woods. Like Scratch and Claw, he was immune to the effects of the Gardevoirs' enchantment. Getting back out would be no problem at all.

He just couldn't get his head around it. They'd entered the woods, hadn't they? He'd not seen them since they passed through the trees. He'd kept out of the way so as to avoid being seen, but they'd completely eluded him. Where had they gone?

Backtracking was all he could do now. Backtrack and follow the scent trail.

No.

Harbinger froze, staring blindly at the ground.

Backtracking was pointless. This wood was vast. They could be anywhere. He didn't know where they were going, what their destination was or what it was they were even out to do. But he knew these woods. He knew the surrounding areas. If they were going to go anywhere...

He looked back over his shoulder and the Pawniard twins copied him, Scratch rubbing his claws together while crouching slightly behind his brother.

On the other side of these woods were more mountains, rising high and capped with a thick layer of snow. At this time of year, the snowfall would be increasing. If they'd gone up there, then they may well end up caught in a blizzard.

And he dealt well with blizzards.

He smirked and turned back to head towards the mountains. Their only other option was a hazardous field of thistles that ended at a Heretic settlement with a fantastic view of the mountains. They wouldn't have gone that way if they knew what was good for them. Even he didn't know what was beyond there. No sooner had he set eyes on it he'd triggered a landslide, destroying their village. It was too dangerous to venture while the land was still unsettled.

...​

"Cleo?"

Cleo tore her eyes off the ceiling. Spark was standing in the doorway to their room, her large black eyes wide with concern.

"You missed the Dazzle Dance," the Dedenne said.

"Sorry, I wasn't in the mood." Cleo turned her head to look back at the ceiling.

She was lay on her back on the bed of hay, her arms spread-eagled at her side. It was how she'd landed when she came back indoors, and she'd barely moved except to wipe tears from her face.

Spark had clearly noticed the salty trails in her fur because she'd strutted over and fallen back against her shoulder with a hefty sigh for a Pokemon her size.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "Come on, tell me."

Cleo rubbed a paw over her forehead. "Mischief wants to stay here."

Spark jolted in surprise. "Oh!" She looked up at Cleo. "Oh dear. Why's that?"

"I think it's obvious."

"Yeh." Spark's shoulders sagged. "Still, I'm a little surprised." She paused. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know." Cleo sighed and stared up at the ornate ceiling, for the first time taking in the intricate paintings of singing Altaria dancing around a sun. "Go back to New City I guess."

"Tinker isn't gonna be very happy."

"Well we can't fight the Darkness alone, Spark."

"It's not stopped us before."

"I guess we could go back to doing missions?" Cleo closed her eyes, a sharp stab of fear running through her chest. They couldn't go back to doing missions. They had a price on their heads. Harlequin had been sent after them, Enigma had tried to kill them, all because Mischief had killed Boomer.

Harlequin was now with them, Enigma was greatly wounded. That meant they might have more of Hydreigon's aces sent after them.

That meant they might have to face off against The Wildfires...

Cleo's eyes snapped back open and she felt her heart pound violently against her ribs.

Spark shifted and looked back at her. "Cleo? Are you all right?"

"No." Cleo sat up and rubbed her eyes with both paws. "We're in a lot of trouble, Spark."

"We're not, Cleo." Spark hopped onto her knee to look her in the face. "We're not because like Mischief we can stay here. We don't have to go back to New City."

"But there's a war, Spark. So many Pokemon are still fighting for their lives out there."

"But we're just two." Spark spread her paws and shrugged. "Just two. Against... hundreds... thousands..."

Two. Just two.

Cleo closed her eyes, her breath coming in heavy bursts as the image of a burning wood filled her mind. A wood filled with Meowstic and Dedenne amongst many other Pokemon, swiftly overrun by a pack of vicious Houndour lead by a fierce Houndoom.

There had been hundreds of Pokemon in that wood and most of them had been wiped out in one day.

Just two. What could she and Spark do?

"Hey."

They both looked round at the door as Cleo tried to calm her breathing. Faith stood smiling at them, one paw on the door-frame. Harlequin stood behind her, her head turning in all directions as though the building was just too much to take in.

"I heard some heated discussion back there." Faith inclined her head on one side and narrowed her eyes at Cleo. "Are you okay?"

Cleo sighed and rubbed a paw across her eyes. Tears had started to leak out again and for some reason she was a little embarrassed to let Faith see it.

"How much did you hear?" she asked the Mawile.

"Enough to say one thing." Faith strolled inside and folded both paws behind her back, leaning towards Cleo and Spark with a wide smile. "Just two can make a difference."

"But..." Spark looked up at her. "But... the type advantage isn't-"

"Type advantage?" Faith chuckled. "Nonsense! What matters is not backing down." She straightened but kept her paws clasped behind her back. "You might be just two, but you are two members in a massive army. And that army needs you."

Cleo looked up at her. "What about Mischief?"

"We're all in that army." Faith smiled. "Anyway, I came here to drop Harlequin off, and to tell you Xerneas wants to see you all first thing tomorrow. Get some sleep, okay?"

Cleo and Spark stared open-mouthed at the Mawile.

"He wants to see us?" Spark asked.

"Yup!" Faith grinned and reversed out of the room. "Sleep, okay?"

"Sure." Spark stared at the door as Faith vanished out of sight.

Harlequin paced slowly across the room to stop at the window, staring out at the Fairy Garden. She said nothing, but she didn't look afraid any more. Overwhelmed would have been the better word to use.

Cleo looked away from her to look down at Spark still perched on her knee. Both of them were thinking the same thing. Xerneas wanted to see them, but about what?

Spark blinked her large eyes and yawned widely. "Faith's right. We need to sleep."

"Yes. I'll try." Cleo let Spark hop to the floor before lying down on the soft, fresh hay.

She closed her eyes, worrying that sleep wouldn't come. However, she was just drifting off when Harlequin's voice cut through the silence.

"The world's a mess... isn't it?"

Cleo's eyes cracked open and she stared at the wall. Did those words really just come from the Zorua?

She looked over her shoulder. Harlequin was still by the window, but she'd curled up on the floor, her back to them. Had she imagined it?

Regardless, she ventured a reply. "Yes. It is."

When Harlequin didn't reply, Cleo turned back to the wall. Maybe she'd imagined it after all?

Harlequin let out a strangled noise that could have been a sob. "A real mess."

...​

No matter how much Hope and Faith urged them, Cleo couldn't eat a thing that morning. Spark had her usual nervous eating marathon, still stuffing a berry into her mouth as they trotted after Faith to the library. There had been no sign of Mischief, but Faith had assured Cleo that he'd be there.

They turned out of the external corridor into a garden with a fountain in the middle of it. It was smaller than the courtyard and separated the abbey from its adjoining library. They had to follow the cobbled path across it to the library's huge double doors.

Outside the library, Xerneas was waiting for them. Mischief was already there, standing silently beside the majestic Pokemon.

As they approached, Hope and Faith came to a stop and bowed deeply. Cleo and Spark bowed automatically, even Harlequin bowed low taking Cleo by surprise. When they stood, Xerneas smiled down at them.

"You hadn't heard of the Fairy Garden before entering the ruined abbey." He spoke matter-of-factly.

Cleo shook her head. "No, we hadn't."

"The fairy type is new to you, yet you already know it is much more powerful than dark and dragon Pokemon."

All they could do was nod, and Cleo found herself rubbing her paws together. Xerneas smiled at them and looked at the library door.

"I want to show you how to use the fairy type's power to fight against the Darkness."

"But..." Spark paused and glanced at her feet. "But we're not fairy Pokemon."

"No, not all of you have the fairy type, but you can still use it's power." He looked at Harlequin. "No matter how much practice you think it might take, you will manage it and succeed in this war."

Spark's mouth dropped open. "You have that much faith in us?"

Hope and Faith jumped at her words, but Xerneas smiled down at her.

"Do you have faith in me?" he asked.

Spark diverted her gaze from him briefly. "You defeated that... thing called Yvel, right?"

"Yveltal. Yes, I did." He turned to the library doors and pushed them open. "If you are to fight in my army, then go inside. There is a training room in the back. There you shall find the Pokemon you will be training with."

Cleo wanted to ask why a training room was in the back of a library, but she didn't question it. Instead, she followed Xerneas inside.

They followed the path through the tidy, massive towering book cases and wide, heavy tables. A winding flight of stairs stretched up to the second floor above them. Xerneas craned his head to look up at a large table by the top of the stairs.

"Reshiram."

An elegant white dragon Pokemon with feathered wings looked down at them. Cleo let out a strangled gasp.

"Don't worry," Xerneas told them. "Reshiram is a dragon in search of truth. As such, he found me and has been in the Fairy Garden for many years."

Faith clapped her paws together. "Yes! He helps in training Xerneas's army!"

"That I do." The massive white dragon leapt over the stair rail and landed beside them.

He towered over Cleo, but his face was warm and friendly. She felt herself relax and let her arms hang at her side.

"Are you needing my help?" Reshiram asked Xerneas.

"Yes, we are training these Pokemon here." He looked at Cleo and Spark in turn. "Cleo here is going to learn disarming voice. Spark will learn play rough." He smiled at Hope and Faith. "You two are both experts in these moves. I shall leave them in your hands. I shall see you again after lunch."

Xerneas turned and left the library, the double doors closing behind him.

"Well." Reshiram waved a paw at a large door at the back of the library. "Shall we get started?"

They followed the dragon across the library, his large feet barely making any sound on the wooden floor. He threw the door open and ducked inside.

Cleo followed Hope and Faith inside the room, and was a little taken aback. The room was huge with bare walls. The only decoration was on the ceiling, another painting of a bright sun with Altaria singing around it. This one had more detail to it though. The sun was the light coming off Xerneas's antlers, and the edge of the ceiling was decorated with intricate, fine flowers and curled leaves.

The far wall was dotted with huge punching bags held firmly on heavy stands. They were clearly designed to take a great deal of power.

Faith strolled over to one of them. "Okay, we'll demonstrate what these attacks look like and then you try." She flashed a smile at Cleo and Spark.

"So we learn from example?" Spark scratched her chin. "Am I the only one who thought that because this was a library we were going to learn through books?"

Reshiram laughed. "No, Pokemon do think that when they come in here, it's all purely academic. Personally I requested this training room built here because I spend a lot of time in the library."

"A lot of time?" Faith chided. "You're in here all the time!"

"Are you saying when we were in this library yesterday he was in here?" Spark pointed at the white dragon.

"Yes," said Faith.

Spark blinked. "So I just overlooked a massive white dragon? … all right..."

Cleo looked down at Spark and shook her head. "I didn't see him either," she whispered.

Faith clapped loudly. "Okay! Watch this! I'll be asking you to copy me after." She winked at Spark.

Turning her back to the punching bag, Faith lurched backwards and grabbed it in the massive jaws of her horn. She shook it violently and let go, letting the back swing side to side dramatically on its stand.

She flashed Spark a grin. "You try!"

"But..." Spark stared at the punching bag. "I don't have a second jaw, let alone one big enough to bite that thing!"

Faith laughed heartily. "It's called play rough! How would a baby Pokemon play with its friends?"

Spark made a thoughtful noise and approached the still-swinging punching bag. She looked down at one of her paws and flexed her claws, then back at the target. With a powerful leap, she pounced at it and dug her claws in... then latched on to the bag as it swung back and forth, her long tail streaming out behind her.

Faith doubled over laughing. "Oh dear! That bag's a little big for you isn't it?"

"Hey!" Spark snapped. "If I weren't clinging on for dear life right now, you'd be sparking all over!"

The swinging bag was caught in a wave of psychic energy and came to an abrupt halt. Hope plucked Spark from its surface and set her down on the floor.

"It was a valiant effort, but you have to remember your striking an enemy, not playing with a sibling."

"Also," Reshiram raised a claw, "you're not striking an inanimate object either. The bag is your enemy."

"Okay! Let me try again." Spark braced herself and lunged at the punching bag.

She struck the surface of it and hung on as it swung wildly forwards, then swung back with as much force, causing the Dedenne to lose her grip and go flying across the room with a wail of surprise.

Cleo thought fast and caught her in a psychic bubble, lowering her gently to the floor.

Harlequin fell to the floor in fits of laughter so hard she was barely able to breathe.

Spark huffed. "Well I'd like to see you do any better!"

"Fine!" Harlequin chuckled as she clambered to her feet.

Facing the punching bag, she dived at it with tooth and claw bared, latching on and snarling as she tugged on the fabric of the bag, swinging it violently as she tried to pull it free from its stand.

"A good effort," Faith told her. "But that is closer to foul play than play rough."

"What's the difference?" Harlequin's voice was muffled by the bag.

"Foul play is a dark attack executed out of malice."

Harlequin released the bag and Faith smiled at her.

"Play rough is more naïve in nature," the Mawile went on. "But performed with purpose. It can either be used by younger Pokemon playing together, or by warriors taking down foes several times their size."

Spark's eyes widened. "Hang on a second! You mean like-" She lunged at Harlequin, bowling the Zorua over. She struck her with her paws while trying to dodge the Zorua's flailing limbs.

"Hey!" Harlequin barked. "What are you- get off!"

Hope plucked Spark from the Zorua's body. Harlequin flipped herself over onto her front and snarled at Spark.

"Yes." Hope set Spark down on the ground. "Exactly like that. But why attack Harlequin?"

"Yes, why?!" Harlequin barked.

Spark shrugged. "I could land on you better than that swinging bag."

Harlequin growled and looked away.

Cleo was speechless. She stared dumbfounded at the Dedenne. That attack was all too familiar.

"Methods aside, you learn fast!" Faith beamed at her. "I'm impressed!"

What neither of them noticed was that Spark was staring in Mischief's direction. The Whimsicott was oblivious however, instead watching the other Pokemon with mere fascination.

Learning from example... Spark hadn't learned that move from Faith... she'd learned it from Mischief. Cleo covered her mouth and looked away.

Hope was facing one of the punching bags now. She spread her arms and let out a yell. A pink shock wave shot out from her, spreading out and striking three of the punching bags hard.

"Disarming voice." She turned to Cleo. "Now you try."

Cleo copied her exactly. Spreading her arms and letting out a yell.

Nothing.

"Just what I expected." Hope gave her a smile. "Disarming voice aims to disarm your opponent – to take them by surprise. Xerneas gave us these attacks to defeat his enemies. With his power, we can wipe out the Darkness. Remember that and try again."

Cleo nodded. Wipe out his enemies. With Xerneas's power.

She spread her arms and tried again, letting out another yell. Almost on impulse her ears unfurled. But instead of psychic energy a pink shock wave went out from them, expanding and hitting three of the punching bags.

Cleo stared, wide-eyed at the swaying bags.

"You did it!" Faith leapt into the air and cheered. "Well done!"

"Yes, well done." Reshiram loomed over her and grinned. "Now, as per your training, you are to try those attacks on me!"

"Are you kidding?!" Spark wailed. "You're a dragon, won't they hurt you?!"

"Of course, if I take a barrage of them!" Reshiram laughed. "I volunteered for this, and I wouldn't have done so if I didn't think I could do it. I've helped train hundreds of Pokemon in my time in the Fairy Garden. Helping Xerneas is what I do." He straightened and took two large steps backwards. "Now... Spark first, then Cleo."

Spark strolled towards the large white dragon. Compared to him, she didn't even come higher than one of his rear claws. She braced herself and lunged at his ankle, landing on his foot and demonstrating that vicious attack.

Reshiram chuckled. "Okay. You can stop that now."

Spark hopped off his foot and stared up at him as best she could. "How was it?"

"It needs work but certainly has potential."

"Potential?" Spark scratched her head. "What does that mean?"

"It means you have potential to take down larger foes." He smiled.

"Huh." Spark nodded. "I'll take it." She turned and strolled past Cleo. "You're next."

Cleo looked up at Reshiram and he gave her a nod.

On that cue, she unleashed her disarming voice. It struck Reshiram in the chest and he flinched.

"Okay. Not bad." He grinned. "You two really do learn fast." He looked at Mischief. "What can you do?"

"Erm..." Mischief shook his head. "I'm not here to fight."

"Nonsense!" Faith trotted over to him. "You're part fairy! Come on, show us what you can do!"

Mischief sighed. "Okay fine, but just this once okay?"

"Once is all we need!" Faith grinned.

Mischief moved until he was standing before Reshiram. He closed his eyes and took in a steadying breath. Then, he threw his arms open and that dazzling purple light shot out and struck the white dragon, sending him rolling backwards into the wall with an almighty crash.

Faith covered her mouth with both paws and fell to her bottom. Hope raced past her to check on the dragon, crouching down beside him. She looked back at Faith.

"He's out cold."

"No!" Faith shot to her feet and raced out of the library.

Mischief took a step back, then another, then ran from the library as fast as he could.

"Mischief!" Cleo took off after him, leaving a gob-smacked Spark and Harlequin standing rooted to the spot.

 

[Delirious Absol]

27 – The Next Step​

"Did you see his face?" Harlequin paced back and forth behind Spark. "That look he had?"

"Yes." Spark was sitting watching Hope helplessly as she busied herself trying to get Reshiram into a comfortable position. "Yes, I saw his face."

"He regretted it!" Harlequin exclaimed. "When he attacked Enigma he looked manic, but this time it's like he didn't want to attack, and doing so was devastating!" She paused to look at Reshiram, then continued pacing restlessly. "What's wrong with him? Doesn't he know his own strength?"

"No," Spark said bluntly. "But he's learning."

"He doesn't know his own strength?" Hope looked up at them. "How is that so?"

"He has Pokerus," Spark explained. "And not by choice." She paused as she took in the Gardevoir's look of concern. "He doesn't have any memories, doesn't know the name of his attacks and..."

"And?"

"Well, you know. You saw what happened." She shrugged. "He's scared of hurting others, this will have crushed him."

"Yes, I can imagine. He needs to learn how to control that power." She paused. "Does he know any other moves?"

"Energy ball," said Spark. "And that fairy move – play rough – that I learned earlier."

"Play rough?!" Hope snapped her head round to look at her. "That's illegal on a Whimsicott!" She ran a paw over her head. "How has he learned that without being in the Fairy Garden?"

"Illegal move?!" Spark gasped. "Well, I'm guessing he got it from the Heretics. He's... an experiment of theirs. I don't know the details, but they've tampered with him." She paused. "Clearly more than we're aware."

"Where is he?!" The door flew open and a panicked Audino ran in, followed by Faith. The Audino spotted the large dragon instantly and dropped down at his side. She grabbed his head in her arms and held him to her chest. A pulsating light throbbed out of her and thrummed in the air like an amplified heart beat.

"Will he be okay?" Harlequin asked quietly. She'd finally sat down, watching the Audino intently.

"He'll be fine." Faith gave her a smile.

Harlequin blushed and shifted uneasily, diverting her attention away from the scene. Spark wondered if she'd even intended to ask the question.

"Did you find Mischief?" Hope asked Faith.

Faith shook her head. "No. I went to get Joy." She nodded at the Audino. "There's no sign of them around the library."

Hope looked up at her. "It might be a good idea to find them and make sure he's okay."

"I'd give them time." Spark stood in front of Faith to block the door. "It might just upset him more."

"But we're not angry with him," Faith explained. "We know an accident when we see it."

"Yes but..." Spark rubbed her paws together and shifted uneasily. "To be honest, it might be a good idea to tell him that. Go ahead." She stood aside.

Faith smiled. "Why don't you come with me? You're his friend, right?"

Spark nodded at Harlequin. "I'm watchin' her. Last thing he needs is her there."

Harlequin flashed her canines. "I'm not going to chide him!"

"You did the last time!" Spark bristled.

"Oh my." The voice came from Reshiram.

They turned to look at the fallen dragon. He pushed himself up with one of his wings and fixed them with his blue eyes.

"Why are you arguing?" he asked.

"He's up!" Hope cheered.

Joy clapped her paws. "Oh, thank goodness!"

Reshiram was still watching Spark and Harlequin curiously. He inclined his head on one side and cleared his throat.

"Where is that... Whimsicott friend of yours?"

"He ran away," Faith said sadly. "He feels rather guilty."

"Ran away?" Reshiram tried to push himself to his feet but Joy stopped him. "Well, I'd like to speak to him. That was the most powerful dazzling gleam I've ever felt!"

"You're not annoyed?" Spark squeaked with surprise.

"Annoyed?" Reshiram laughed. "Why, young Dedenne, I'm not remotely annoyed! I'm rather impressed!" He paused and gave her a smile. "Besides, I'm the one who asked him to hit me in the first place."

Spark crinkled her nose. "That's true."

"Let's go get him!" Faith scooped up Spark with one paw causing her to let out a little yell, and grabbed Harlequin by the back of her collar.

"Why are you dragging me along?" Harlequin growled.

"He's our friend, right? So it's only right we help him!"

"He's not my friend!"

Faith scurried out of the library, ignoring the Zorua's protests.

"She's a wild one, that one." Reshiram pushed himself into a sitting position and leant back against the wall.

Hope sat back and looked at him. "Xerneas bought her here to be trained with you yesterday, didn't he?"

"Yes."

"Any success?"

Reshiram smiled down at her. "A dark Pokemon entering the Fairy Garden is a huge success in itself. It means things are changing." He chuckled. "Right now, she's scared and confused. I remember how scared I was when I first entered here. Once she settles, she'll be fine."

...​

"It's too dangerous for me to even stay here, isn't it?"

Mischief had been sitting quietly for a while now and his voice startled Cleo a little. She stared down at her paws wordlessly.

They were sitting under a tree a few yards away from the lake. It was now filled with water Pokemon and she could just see little Azurill playing on the bank supervised by an Azumarill.

Not fighting, just playful splashes in the water. They had no need to fight amongst each other. It was peaceful, as always.

She looked up at Mischief briefly. "No."

He shrugged. "But I'm a monster."

"For the last time, you're not a monster."

"But I didn't want to fight," Mischief told her. "Yet one attack from me, and I hurt Reshiram!"

"He asked you to attack him with a fairy move," said Cleo. "He's a dragon. Of course it would have hurt him."

"Your attack didn't hurt him like mine did."

"It hurt him enough to make him flinch."

"I don't even want to make anyone flinch." Mischief sighed and stared out at the lake. "When I woke up near the Outcast Town I had no idea what the world was like, or myself. Now I've found out the world is a mess, and I'm a mess. I just hurt everyone."

"Mischief." Cleo grabbed him by the shoulder and gave him a shake. "When I first met you, you were a friendly, playful nuisance. Seeing the world has depressed you. I have to admit, I've been worried. Now you've said you want to stay here, where it's peaceful and I agree. Here, you don't have to fight so you can go back to being a friendly, playful nuisance. Okay?"

Mischief gave her a sideways glance. "Nuisance?"

"Yep!" Faith leaned over him and Cleo almost leapt to her feet.

"Where did you come from?" she gasped.

Faith chuckled and sat down next to Mischief. "You caused quite the stir back there! I've never seen a dazzling gleam that strong before!"

Mischief crossed his paws. "Well you won't need to see it again because I'm not fighting any more."

Spark plopped down into the grass beside Cleo, and she watched Harlequin stroll past them and sit a couple of feet away to watch the Azurill by the lake. Cleo glanced at Mischief and sighed. So, they now had an audience. She'd have to continue this conversation later.

"Not fighting?" Faith gasped. "But you have all that talent!"

Cleo shook her head at Faith and when the Mawile noticed, her face fell a little.

"But, you don't have to use it," she added. "If it upsets you, then it's just going to be soul crushing."

Mischief nodded. "It doesn't just upset me though. It upsets others."

Harlequin turned her head to look at him. She licked her lips thoughtfully and looked away.

"I believe you," she said.

"Believe what?" Mischief asked.

"You said you didn't mean to hurt Enigma," she explained. "I believe you."

Mischief looked down at his paws. "I wanted him to stop hurting my friends, but I didn't want to-"

"I know."

"Enigma?" Faith asked. "Isn't that one of Hydreigon's assassins?"

"Yes," said Cleo. "He's been sent after us."

"Goodness!" Faith covered her mouth with a paw. "What for?"

Mischief covered his face with his paws and leant back against the tree.

A look of realisation crossed Faith's face and she looked away from him. "Oh..."

Cleo wondered if she had heard of the recent events to put two and two together, or if she'd just accepted Mischief had done something that had caused Hydreigon to unleash his assassins after them. Before she could enquire, a large shadow was cast over them and they looked up to see Xerneas standing over them with Reshiram and Hope. They automatically dipped their heads in a respectful bow.

"You're okay!" Mischief gasped. "I'm so sorry, Reshiram, I-"

Reshiram waved a wing in dismissal and grinned. "It's no problem, Mischief. I'm actually very impressed with your strength!"

Mischief shifted and looked down at his paws. The look on his face showed he wasn't impressed with his own strength at all.

"You don't realise the strength you have," Xerneas told him. "That dazzling gleam you used was strong enough to take down Reshiram."

"I know," Mischief said sadly.

"It's nothing to be sad about, Mischief. Your skills will be very useful in this war."

"But I don't want to fight."

"Not even to wipe out the Darkness and bring more Pokemon to the Fairy Garden?"

Mischief stared up at him but said nothing.

Xerneas smiled. "I have a request of you. You've all learned how to use the fairy power during your time here, and I'd like you to go out and use that power to fight against the Darkness."

"All of us?" Cleo looked over at Harlequin who returned her look with one of sheer shock.

"Yes. All of you." Xerneas looked from one to the other. "You all have your own strengths and weaknesses, but when situations seem to be turning dire, those weaknesses can become your greatest strengths." He paused as he looked at Mischief. "Will you go out and fight, and help bring more lost Pokemon to the Fairy Garden?"

"I..." Cleo paused and scratched her head. "Actually, we have assassins after us. That's how we found her." She nodded at Harlequin. "She's a prisoner, she's not our ally."

Xerneas looked back at Harlequin and smiled warmly. "Young Zorua, that Absolite you're wearing around your neck."

Harlequin looked down at the stone just visible under her ruff of black fur.

"When you return that to the Pokemon it belongs to, send him back here and I'll teach him how to use it."

Harlequin looked up at Xerneas. "But... he's dead..."

Xerneas smiled down at her.

Harlequin's blue eyes widened. "He's alive?"

"He's alive."

"He's alive!" Harlequin leapt to her feet. "Then... I should go and find him!"

"Wait."

Harlequin froze, staring at Xerneas transfixed.

"He's just one of many Pokemon I'd like you to send back here. However, it won't be safe for any of you. Particularly you three." He looked down at Mischief, Cleo and Spark. "You will need help removing Howlinger and the Wildfires."

Cleo felt her body turn cold. She looked down at Spark anxiously.

"For those, you should fight fire with fire. There is one Pokemon who can help you."

"Who?" Spark looked up at him.

Xerneas smiled. "You'll know him when you find him."

Spark looked like she wanted to say more but held it in.

"Xerneas." Faith stood up and bowed deeply. "I would like to go with them, if that's okay."

"You're going with them?" Hope asked.

"Their story has saddened me. There are so many Pokemon out there who haven't even heard of Xerneas or the Fairy Garden. The situation must be diabolical right now, so I want to go out there and fight alongside these four and help the Pokemon who need to find their way here!"

Xerneas smiled. "Very well. I'm sure these four will be glad of your help?" He looked at them to prompt a response.

"Yes." Cleo nodded. "I'd be delighted if Faith joined us."

"Me too!" Spark stretched up to her full five inches of height. "You never know, she might teach me how to mega evolve!"

Faith laughed. "If we find a stone for you I'd be glad to."

Xerneas smiled down at Spark and took a step back. "I shall leave you now to be on your way." He looked at Hope. "Could you teleport them back to New City?"

"New City?" Cleo gasped. "Is that where the Pokemon we're looking for is?"

"No. But there is someone there who wants to know more about the fairy type."

Cleo and Spark exchanged glances.

Hope moved over to Faith and removed her bracelet. "You'll need this. Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"I'll be fine!" Faith grinned. "I'll be back before you know it!"

"Okay, gather round." She fastened her own bracelet onto her wrist and looked round at the other four Pokemon. "Where shall I drop you?"

"A few feet from the big tree," Cleo answered. "Tinker will not be impressed if I drag Harlequin into the main city."

Mischief looked up at Hope then to Cleo. "I'm really leaving..."

"You'll be fine, Mischief!" Reshiram boomed. He waved at him. "We'll see you again!"

Xerneas and Reshiram warped before their eyes, along with the rest of the Fairy Garden. The colourful, bright scenery was replaced by the canopy of the Moorland's Forest.

Hope looked around at the shadow-covered trees then down at Cleo and her friends.

"Is this the right place?"

Cleo looked over her shoulder at the thorny bushes and nettles. "Yes, this is the right place."

"Okay. I'll leave you here." Hope turned to face them and folded her hands in front of her. "Do take care."

"We will!" Faith waved.

"Thanks for helping us get back here." Cleo smiled at her.

"It saves you a long walk." Hope smiled. "See you soon." With that, she warped out of sight.

"Okay, I need to let you know there is an illusion blocking the tree." Cleo looked at Faith and Mischief in particular. "It shows your worst fear. Just push through it and close your eyes if need be."

"That sounds similar to the Endless Woods," said Faith.

"It's very similar. Okay, shall we move on?" Cleo turned to the thick foliage.

"You go that way," said Harlequin. "I'm going to find Harbinger."

Cleo looked back at her. The Zorua skipped on ahead, but came to an abrupt halt as the collar snapped back against Cleo's bracelet.

She turned her head sharply to stare at Cleo. "It's working again?!"

Cleo looked down at the bracelet. That was right, it hadn't worked in the Fairy Garden.

"I guess it does," she said. "Oh well, you're stuck with us."

"No!" Harlequin followed reluctantly behind them and growled. "This can't be happening."

"Don't worry," Faith told her. "We'll find your friend."

...​

Enigma sat unnoticed amongst the branches of one of the many trees, watching Harlequin and his companions. They had someone new with them now. Interesting.

He pushed himself up and watched them stroll into the thick foliage. Why would they willingly walk through all those stinging nettles? That was curious indeed. He could feel his boredom easing.

He decided to wait until they were a little further away before he followed them.

 

[NidoKingdra]

Still really excellent so far! I'm finally caught up. :)

 

[Delirious Absol]

Part 3

28 – A Change of Heart​

That group of Pokemon had displayed some odd behaviour before vanishing through the opening in the massive tree. Enigma had watched in fascination from the branches of a nearby tree as the Dedenne closed her eyes and bolted towards the opening, urging the Meowstic to follow after her. That new Mawile had seemed somewhat unfazed, grabbing Harlequin and dragging him after her. Harlequin had suddenly gone faint, screaming in despair and putting up a fight as the Mawile tried to convince him it was okay. Once they'd reached the tree, she pushed him on ahead of her.

What had spooked them? Nothing he could see, that was for sure.

Once all of them were out of sight, Enigma gave them a few minutes before venturing towards the tree himself. He wanted to make sure they were well out of the way before he slipped into their little hiding place.

With a small chuckle, he warped himself from the tree's branches to a spot just before the large tree. He had a quick scan around to make sure no Pokemon were waiting on guard. Satisfied there were none, he then looked up at the large tree. It was massive, possibly the largest tree in the woods. How had they expected this to be a secure hiding place? The opening gave it away immediately.

He shrugged and strode towards it, keeping a ear open for any lurking guards. This was insane. Those Pokemon were out of sight, no sign of them anywhere amongst the shadows of that gaping hole.

All his curiosity about those vanishing Pokemon was suddenly sucked out of him as an overwhelming despair swept through him. His paw shot to his chest and he froze.

He was alone.

He looked around sharply at the unwelcoming scenery. Empty, dark and desolate. Not a Pokemon in sight.

He had nobody to run to.

He was unwanted.

He had no purpose.

He was empty.

He had no one.

He was alone.

He staggered forwards and reached out, his paw touching cold, unwelcoming bark. He just wanted to hide. Climb in a hole, curl up and cry himself to sleep.

He dragged himself into the shadows inside the tree, and suddenly that awful feeling went away. What on earth was that? His heart was racing. Panting, he leant against something cold and damp.

Wait... that wasn't part of the tree.

Realising he'd closed his eyes, he opened them and stared dumbfounded at a cold stone slab. It had a small indentation in the shape of a sun, deliberately carved in place.

Intriguing.

Those Pokemon couldn't have vanished into thin air. This was clearly blocking the entrance to some secret underground base. The Outcasts couldn't seriously be this foolish? That was their symbol! They all wore it!

He let out a small, dry chuckle and lowered his density, slipping through the stone slab like a grey mist. He solidified on the other side, but not enough to let himself become visible to the naked eye. It was too risky. Much too risky. If this was indeed an Outcast base, it must be heavily guarded.

Nothing.

No one was standing guard. There wasn't a soul in sight.

Enigma frowned at his surroundings. It was damp, musty and lined with doors.

He plodded along lightly, a light jingle falling in rhythm with his steps. Those doors were solid with no indication what was on the other side, but he could hear movement behind them as he passed. He didn't want to risk popping inside to check what it was, however. It was much too risky in his current state.

One of the doors ahead of him opened suddenly and he froze to the spot. A Riolu strolled out of it followed by that Meowstic and her friends. Including that Whimsicott.

Enigma felt his face twist with rage. He wanted to launch a surprise attack on the wretched Pokemon, but doing so would make him visible, and he was in no shape to fight all of them.

"Don't worry, Faith," said the Riolu. "She'll be perfectly looked after, I assure you."

"Oh I do hope so." The Mawile closed the door behind them and turned to the Riolu. "She's not all that bad, you know."

"Yes, well, I don't trust her. She's one of Hydreigon's assassins and I am not willing to let her run riot around New City."

New City? Enigma frowned. He'd never heard of it.

"Now, if you'll join me," the Riolu went on, "you can tell me everything over some berry juice."

"Didn't you say you have something to show us?" the Meowstic asked.

They vanished into another room at the end of the corridor and the door clicked shut behind them, reducing their voices to mere mumbles.

Enigma looked back at the room they'd come out of. The door was shut but that wasn't a problem for him. He smirked. Dark Pokemon... that meant beyond that door was Harlequin.

This was being made too easy for him.

He strolled over to it, his bell echoing ominously through the corridor. Within moments he was beyond that door and he found himself standing in a room with iron bars sectioning off one half of it. He solidified and marched across the room to the iron bars.

Curled up beyond them was Harlequin. He stared out at Enigma through the bars and his blue eyes widened as Enigma approached him. A look of fear crossed his face but he didn't move.

Foolishness. Was he really going to make this easy?

He stopped just outside the bars and stared down at the Zorua. His ears were pulled back slightly and he curled his paws beneath him. He wasn't going to fight, he just lay there looking small and defenceless. Enigma's eyes picked out something just beneath his fur – that strange collar that restricted his movements. That thing he couldn't remove. That thing that had distracted him and left him with his guard down before that Whimsicott...

'No! Get off him!'

Enigma didn't have any friends.

Friends and loved ones were a weakness. For someone with his reputation they could be used against him.

He didn't need friends.

He didn't need Harlequin.

That feeling of loneliness washed over him again and he was suddenly aware his heart was still racing. He leant against the iron bars and closed his eyes.

He couldn't do it.

It hurt.

He felt sick.

"Enigma?"

His eyes snapped open and he stared down at the Zorua. He'd climbed to his feet now and was staring at him with an intense concern.

Enigma chuckled and pushed himself back from the bars, masking his solemn demeanour with amusement.

"I suppose I should get you out." He moved over to the desk and tugged at one of the drawers.

"Not possible," said Harlequin. "Tinker has the keys."

"Tinker?" Enigma looked back at him. "The Riolu?"

Harlequin nodded and sat down. "I'll be out soon, don't worry."

"Out and tied to that Meowstic again," Enigma snorted.

Harlequin shrugged and looked away from him. Something wasn't right. There was something about him he couldn't put his claw on. Something... different.

"Have you just resigned yourself to your fate?" he asked.

The Zorua sighed. "You shouldn't be here. They'll find you."

"You mean you don't want me here." Enigma slipped through the bars and flopped to the floor with his back against the damp wall.

"I don't know." Harlequin didn't look at him. "You wanted to kill me, didn't you?"

Enigma gave a bitter laugh and ran a paw down his face. "Life would be pretty dull without you, Harle."

"Is that your way of apologising?"

"For coming here to kill you?" Enigma stared at him over his paw. "Isn't sparing your life enough?"

Harlequin still didn't look at him. He stared down at the floor trying to hide the tears forming in his blue eyes.

Enigma sighed. "You're an odd one, Harle." He paused and leant his head back against the wall. "I didn't want to kill you. I had to."

"Had to?"

"You're a traitor," Enigma said flatly. "You're fraternizing with the enemy."

Harlequin snapped his head round to look at him. "Fraternizing?! I've been captured!"

Enigma stared at him for a moment, trying to spot any sign Harlequin was telling the truth. He may very well have been captured, but there was something he'd noticed that the Zorua was trying to hide.

He chuckled. "I've seen you being friendly with them."

Harlequin snarled. "When?!"

"That collar restricts your movements, doesn't it? But those Pokemon you're 'captured' by have been close enough for you to attack." Enigma closed his eyes and shrugged. "And you seem perfectly content to wait here for them."

"I don't have much choice."

"Yes you do." Enigma held out his paws. "I could get rid of them for you."

"You're not killing them!"

Enigma stared at Harlequin. He was speechless. Not killing them? He actually hadn't expected that.

He chuckled. "So I was right. You are a traitor."

"Traitor..." Harlequin shrugged. "I'd prefer to say I've had my eyes opened."

"You're switching sides."

"This world is a mess, Enigma. Can't you see it?" Harlequin turned so he was completely facing him and sat down. "This Darkness... it's evil! It's consuming the world and killing innocent Pokemon! That's what we're hired to do – kill and slaughter anyone who doesn't fall under the right 'type'. It's forced the world to be split into three! It's not natural! We should be... living happily alongside each other. No division, no blind fear of being killed because we put a paw out of line. It's crazy... I wouldn't have believed it until I saw it with my own eyes."

"That's a nice little scenario you dreamt up." Enigma chuckled. "What did you drink before you fell asleep? Cos I'd like some."

"I didn't dream it!" Harlequin paused and glanced at the wall. "We found a place called the Fairy Garden. That's where this new type is from, the one that killed Boomer. It comes from Xerneas."

"Xerneas?" Enigma looked up at the ceiling. "Where have I heard that name...?"

"The fairy type can overpower dragon and dark Pokemon. We've been taught to use it and Xerneas has asked us to fight against the Darkness."

"Wait..." Enigma stared at him. "I remember where I heard that name now. You're saying you met a character from a book?"

"A book? He's real, Enigma. I met him. The Fairy Garden is also where Faith is from."

"Faith?"

"She's a Mawile."

Enigma licked his lips in thought and glanced away. "Fairy type, eh?"

Harlequin stared at him for a moment, then asked, "Why did you call him a character from a book?"

"Because that's where I know the name from. I found this book in Hydreigon's library before his son burned it down."

"Son?"

Enigma stared at Harlequin, the Zorua's face twisted with shock and confusion.

"He has a son?" Harlequin asked.

"No." Enigma folded his arms behind his head. "I suppose I'd better explain since I brought it up. The Hydreigon you're familiar with his the second."

"I... I never knew that."

"That's not surprising. You were probably still in your egg when the mass slaughter took place."

"Mass slaughter?"

"Yep. Anyone who knew about Hydreigon killing his father to take the throne was wiped out."

"Why... would he do that?"

"He wanted more power. His father was perfectly happy just taking the Shadow Mountains and recruiting the ghost types from it, but that wasn't enough for his son. So... when he refused to take over more of the land, his son killed him and decided to take matters into his own hands. Anyone who knew of this move was killed, or sworn to secrecy in fear of death."

"Then why are you telling me all this?" Harlequin looked up at Enigma, his voice wavering.

"Because you aint going back are you?" Enigma shrugged. "So you're not exactly going to go around announcing it."

"No, but you are."

Enigma shrugged again. "Not for a while."

Harlequin stared out from the bars of the cell. "I can't believe you just told me all this... what were you thinking?"

"I wanted to see your reaction?"

Harlequin stood suddenly and began pacing back and forth. "You just... stayed there... knowing that he'd done all that? Working for him?!"

"I had no choice!"

Harlequin stopped to look at him. "No choice?!"

"No." Enigma stared back at him. "I was just a Shuppet when he took over. Have you even noticed how there are hardly any ghosts in the Shadow Lands? It's because he killed them all. They knew. It was shortly after his father had claimed the Shadow Mountains, so of course they knew. That was my home. The only reason I survived is because my father offered me to Hydreigon as an assassin to work for him, pleading that he'd let me and my mother live. Hydreigon liked the idea of having a sneaky ghost do his dirty work, but he killed both my parents right in front of me."

Harlequin sagged to the floor. "I never knew..."

"No. You didn't. I was raised an orphan in the barracks like you." Enigma smirked. "Haven't you even noticed I have no respect for the foul dragon? I don't exactly address him as 'lord' like everyone else in the Shadow Lands."

"To be honest I thought that was just because you're a joker."

"No. It's because I have no respect for someone who would mercilessly murder my parents."

"Then... why didn't you just run to the borders like the outlaws?"

"Because my parents would have been devastated if he'd killed me. I wasn't going to give him that satisfaction."

Harlequin snorted. "So you just give him the satisfaction of owning you?"

"He doesn't own me!"

Even Enigma was surprised at his own voice. He looked away from Harlequin and folded his arms across his stomach. Why had he said all that? He flinched and sank down inside himself. He was foolish. What had prompted all that? The idea of Pokemon living peacefully together? Even as a child he'd never had that. Any opportunity of it had been snatched away from him.

All he remembered was war.

"You don't have to go back."

He opened his eyes to look at Harlequin. The Zorua was staring down at his paws, his blue fur contrasting with the dark, damp floor.

Enigma laughed. "If life with the Outcasts involves sitting in a filthy cell for chunks of my life, sorry, but I'm sticking with jumping through trees."

"So you're remaining an assassin?"

"It's all I know." He closed his eyes and folded his arms behind his head again, leaning back against the wall. "Now if you don't mind, I want to get some rest."

"Rest? ...Are you still wounded?"

"A little."

He felt something paw at his ribs followed by a blinding pain. He swung his arm down and swatted Harlequin away. The Zorua stood a few paces from him and shook his head sharply.

"What are you doing?" Enigma hissed.

"I was examining you," said Harlequin bluntly. "Your ribs are broken. You need to see someone."

Enigma snorted. "They'll heal."

"Not well!"

"Whatever." He shifted and stretched out on his back on the floor. "Rest is what I need."

"Rose could help you, she's a peace maker."

"Peace maker?!" Enigma laughed. "What a joke. Just quiet down so I can sleep, will you?"

Harlequin sighed. "Fine. But you'd better wake up before they come back, or you'll be locked up as well."

"I can get out of here, don't worry."

Harlequin didn't reply. No retort. No joke.

Enigma opened his eyes. He was sat a couple of feet away, staring out of the bars.

"What are you doing? Keeping watch?" Enigma scoffed.

"Of course. Just... get some sleep. I'll wake you up if I hear anything."

Enigma tutted and closed his eyes. Sleep wasn't something that came easy to him, but for some reason he managed to fall into a deep slumber.

 

[Delirious Absol]

29 – Tinker's Concern​

Tinker sat in silence, leaning on the table with his head resting on both paws as he took in everything Cleo and her friends had told him. The only sound came from Spark munching away at an apple while she sat on the table in front of Cleo, occasionally glancing at the Riolu as they all waited for him to say something.

Mischief hadn't said a word since they'd gathered in the staff room. He was clearly unhappy about having to leave the Fairy Garden, but Tinker hadn't enquired about his solemn demeanour. Cleo hadn't mentioned anything about him wanting to stay either. She didn't feel it was her place to put Mischief on the spot like that, so the situation remained unvoiced.

Finally, Tinker looked up.

"Well, I don't know what to make of all this."

Faith smiled. "I can imagine it's a lot to take in."

"The Fairy Garden?" Tinker shook his head. "You're seriously telling me this type has been around for years?"

Faith nodded. "For as long as any other type."

"And... Mega Evolution?"

"As old as the fairy type!"

Tinker sat back on the stool, being careful not to topple off it, and stared at the Mawile. He shook his head again and stood up.

"Well, I suppose I'd better show you what we've discovered since your time away frolicking amongst the flowers."

"Frolicking?" Cleo gasped.

Faith appeared as equally perplexed but said nothing.

"Yes. Frolicking. What else are you doing in that supposed garden? You're not out here defending us against the Darkness are you?"

"Actually we are," Faith explained. "Why else do you think I'm here?"

"Yes, you're here now." Tinker stared at her. "But where were you when Cleo and Spark's families were annihilated?"

"I-"

"And what about all the Pokemon in New City? They've also lost their homes and loved ones in all this chaos." Faith was about to respond again but Tinker cut her off with a wave of his paw. "You say there are hundreds of Pokemon in the Fairy Garden that possess this type. If that were the case then why haven't you put an end to the Shadow Lands if you possess that power?"

"It's more complicated than that!" Faith gasped. "We can't just run in there blowing on trumpets and running them down, it doesn't work like that. We'd be massacred ourselves!"

"But you're immune to dragon attacks!"

Faith just stared at him, dumbfounded.

"And what about Xerneas?" Tinker asked. "Where is he right now?"

"Out there," Faith answered flatly. "Helping those who need it."

"Really?" Tinker didn't seem convinced.

"He works through us as well," Faith went on. "We also leave the Fairy Garden in groups or pairs to help those who need it. Your reaction isn't exactly new to me, but no matter how many times I encounter it, it still makes me sad."

"Then be sad." Tinker stood up and turned to the others. "Follow me. I need to show you something."

"No!"

Tinker span to look at Mischief.

"You can't talk to her like that!" The Whimsicott practically bristled. "You have no idea how much hard work Xerneas puts into training up Pokemon like Faith to come out here and help us."

"The state of the world gives me an idea, Mischief. You've seen it yourself."

"Yes. And here we are, fighting."

"You mean arguing."

"No. Fighting. We're all together fighting the same thing." Mischief paused. "Doesn't that mean something?"

"No. You're spouting nonsense." Tinker moved past them towards the door.

"I think what he's trying to say," Cleo said slowly, "is that there's a little hope in all this."

"And that hope has to have come from somewhere." Faith smiled and closed her eyes. "I like it."

"You're reading between the lines," Tinker said flatly. "That is not what he just said at all."

"But it's what I meant!" Mischief snapped.

"No, they're putting words in your mouth." Tinker opened the door. "Are you coming with me or are we going to stand in here arguing all day?"

Cleo balled her fists. "We're coming with you but I'm seriously unimpressed with you right now."

"Then you're about to become even more unimpressed."

He closed the door after them and led them further down the hallway. A small grate lay just above the ground ahead of them. Tinker pulled it out from the wall and ushered them inside.

"You may have to wriggle," he told Cleo. "It's not designed to allow larger Pokemon inside."

"Where does it lead?" Cleo asked.

"New City."

"It's connected to the cells?" Cleo gasped.

"Yes, how else do you think we get here?" He gave Cleo a shove inside and followed after her, making sure everyone was inside before sliding the grate back in place.

"But what about the prisoners?" Cleo went on. "If any of them got out, they could find this spot and enter New City!"

"Already dealt with." Tinker nodded to a stone slab in the floor. He used his badge to unlock it and it slid into the ground, revealing a staircase. "Quick. Like the others, it's on a timer."

They trotted down the stairs before the stone slab clicked back into place.

"They could always get a badge off the guards," said Cleo. "This place isn't secure, Tinker!"

"I said it's already dealt with. The walls along here are equipped with sensors. If they detect a dark, dragon or ghost type Pokemon, it will send an alert to New City, then this floor and ceiling will give way, dragging them down onto a pit of spikes several miles down."

Faith gasped and placed her paws over her mouth, staring down at the floor warily.

"Nice set up," said Cleo. "What if it were to malfunction?"

"Then I'd be in a lot of trouble!" said Tinker. "I take this route quite frequently."

"I'd like to point something out," said Spark. "That trap wouldn't work on ghost Pokemon. They'd be able to slip through the rocks."

"Nevertheless, it's set up to go off if they enter," Tinker explained. "We don't keep ghosts in here, but it's best to be prepared."

"I still think its foolish to have this tunnel," said Cleo. "It's a weakness."

"You also thought the badge working as a key was a weakness," Tinker reminded her.

Cleo shrugged. "I still do. Any Pokemon could obtain it and put two and two together when they see those slabs."

"Don't go off on one," Spark whined.

"No, please don't." Tinker led them up a small stairway to another stone slab in the ceiling. He opened it and led them through.

It opened out into a narrow corridor where two Growlithe guards sat on duty. They eyed Faith curiously but neither said a word.

Tinker led them silently through the corridor until it opened up into a wider one. This part of New City was like a maze. Cleo found herself thinking that should any enemy Pokemon breach that security system, they'd be lost in these tunnels for days.

It finally ended in the massive marketplace where hundreds of voices buzzed through the air.

Faith stared at the Pokemon in awe then looked up at the high ceiling with its ventilation tubes and and criss-crossed pattern of thick tree roots that stretched across from the woods.

"This is where you live?" she asked.

"Yes," said Tinker. "This is where all these Pokemon live."

"You have to hide," she said sadly. "Underground..."

"It's not ideal but it works." Tinker nudged her along. "Come on. You can't stand here staring all day."

"This is heartbreaking." She looked back over her shoulder at the bustling market. "Pokemon shouldn't live like this."

Tinker bit his tongue and moved past Faith, leaving Cleo to usher her along. As much as Faith meant well, she was definitely pushing his buttons. Cleo placed a hand on her shoulder and steered her around the market to the little corridor that led to Tinker's office.

"It's not another one of your mad inventions again is it?" Cleo asked.

"Not quite." Tinker opened his door and stood aside for them to enter.

"Ahh, ye back!" Skipper waved at them from Tinker's desk chair.

"Yes, with guests," Tinker replied.

"Aye, I know these lot." The Marshstomp looked at Faith. "I dinnae this one though."

Faith looked at Cleo. "Dinnae?"

"Skipper isn't from here," Tinker told her. "He's from an island just off the coast. You've probably never heard of it. It's nothing more than a dry, desert wasteland now."

Faith's face fell. "Oh. I'm sorry."

"Ahh, don' worry yerseln!" Skipper waved a paw and laughed. "It was years ago. I dinnae remember the auld place."

A small chirp drew their attention to the desk. A small Swablu stood on it beside a plate of berries, scrutinizing them with its tiny black eyes.

"Oh my!" Faith trotted over to it and scooped it up in her arms. "A little hatchling!"

"Tinker?" Cleo looked round at the Riolu slowly. "Why is their a Swablu in your office?"

Tinker nodded. "Yes, that's what I wanted to show you."

"This is the reason I'm going to be even more unimpressed with you?"

"Yes. How is that looking?"

"It's looking like you're right." Cleo looked back at the Swablu. "How is the rest of New City reacting to you having a potential dragon?"

"Not too well, I must say."

"Cleo, wait!" Faith turned to her, still cradling the little Swablu. "This little one will become an Altaria. Don't you remember seeing them in the Fairy Garden?"

"Fairy Garden?" Skipper raised an eyebrow. "That's a folk tale, aye?"

Faith looked at him. "Oh not at all!"

"Wait! Faith?" Cleo moved over to her to look at the Swablu. "You're right, there were Altaria in the Fairy Garden, but there was also Reshiram. What's your point?"

"The Altaria back home are loyal to Xerneas," the Mawile explained. "What's striking is that you have one of their offspring right here in New City."

"Offspring?" Tinker scoffed. "I found that egg by the poisoned river! It was either abandoned or its parents had died!"

"I'm not saying its the child of one of our Altaria," Faith explained. "But as far as I'm aware, there are none in the Shadow Lands. The Altaria outside the Fairy Garden all apparently vanished."

"Vanished?" Tinker asked. "How?"

"Rumour has it they fled to the Fairy Garden and those that didn't were tracked down and killed for rebellion. But I don't know how much of that is true."

"Rebellion?" Tinker scratched his head. "Maybe that is why the river was poisoned?"

"Aye, maybe," said Skipper. "But it'd been deliberately sent flowin' th'other way, right?"

"Yes." Tinker sighed and crossed his arms, leaning back against the wall. "I was actually going to part with that egg, but it hatched, solidifying my initial idea to keep a dragon amongst us. That way, we'd have something that could effectively fight against the Darkness alongside us." He paused and rubbed his ear. "Until Lily pointed out dragons are weak to their own type."

"Then things are drastically in your favour!" Faith smiled at him. "Altaria have a Mega Evolution."

"What?" The gasp came from Cleo, Spark and Tinker.

Skipper just raised an eyebrow. "I might need fillin' in 'ere."

"The Mega form of an Altaria is part dragon, part fairy. That makes them immune to dragon attacks, and completely capable of fighting against them." Faith beamed. "You have a potential fairy amongst you and you never even knew!" She lifted the Swablu to her face and smiled. "What's your name, little one?"

"We call him Starshine," said Tinker.

Faith looked at the Riolu. "Because he shines a little bit of hope into your life, am I right?"

Tinker stuttered. "Well... you could say that." He took the Swablu from Faith gently.

Cleo crossed her arms and gave him a half-smile. "You might come across as bitter but you're revealing your soft side."

Faith chuckled.

"Nonsense!" Tinker scoffed. He set Starshine back on his desk. "I'm merely thinking about what's best for New City."

"Whilst fathering a hatchling," added Cleo.

"Aye, a born dad, this'n!" Skipper nodded at Tinker, causing the Riolu to blush red under his blue fur. "Hey, Tink! He said his first word earlier, yanno!"

"Really?" Tinker looked at the Marshstomp sharply then turned away and cleared his throat. "He'll evolve in no time then."

Faith clapped her paws. "Ooh what was it?"

"Ask 'im." Skipper nodded at the Swablu.

The little hatchling had returned to the plate of berries. The Marshstomp leant over to him.

"What have ye got there then, Starshine?"

The Swablu looked back at him briefly. "Berry."

Spark clutched her stomach with laughter. "Ahh, that's my boy!"

Tinker covered his face with a paw. "Another Pokemon with an appetite the size of a Steelix? What will become of our food store?"

"You're gonna have to stock up!" Spark told him. "Cos we're planning to stay here tonight!"

"Yes, quite." Tinker turned to Cleo. "Your usual room is set up. I trust it will be comfortable for the three of you." He then looked at Mischief. "You, however... I may need to send you back to a cell."

Mischief's orange eyes widened. "Me? Why? I thought I was a Guild member?"

"You are. However, I'm still not completely sure where your loyalties lie. As such I cannot leave you unattended."

"Then leave me with Cleo."

Tinker narrowed his eyes. "Absolutely not."

Mischief looked away from him. "It's because of my condition isn't it?"

Tinker huffed. "When did you find out about that?"

Mischief balled his paws into fists but before he could snap back, Cleo cut him off.

"Tinker, Mischief has showed his loyalty countless times. I'm sure you can find him a room? And if not, he is perfectly fine to stay with us."

Tinker put a paw to his head and took in a long breath. "Cleo, you know full well our guest quarters are single-sex rooms."

"It's okay, I understand," Mischief mumbled. "I'll stay in a cell with Harlequin. I'm sure he won't mind."

The sarcasm was thick in his voice. Cleo looked at Tinker and gave him a glare that he took to mean he'd better sort this out fast. The Riolu gave a flustered sigh and turned to Mischief.

"Fine. We can find you a room. But at the first sign of trouble, my young fellow, you'll be permanently stuffed in one of our cells. Is that clear?"

Mischief gave a single nod. "Crystal."

"Now, please leave," Tinker told them. "I need to speak with Skipper privately. I'll see you at dinner."

Cleo opened the door and let her friends out before her. She looked back at Tinker and frowned.

"What is the matter with you?"

Tinker waved his paw to shoo her out. "Go. I have stuff to do."

Cleo grit her teeth and shook her head. She stormed out, slamming the door behind her. Each of her companions wore a different look – Spark one of amusement, Faith somewhat concerned and Mischief looking incredibly miserable.

"I am so sorry he treated you like that," she told Faith and Mischief.

Mischief shrugged. "Whatever. He's never liked me."

"That's because he's jealous," Spark said a little too loudly.

"He's not jealous!" Cleo gasped.

"Jealous of what?" asked Mischief.

"Oh come on, Cleo, he's had a crush on you for years! He's obviously jealous that you're spending so much time with..." Spark nodded at Mischief.

"Oh my!" Faith covered her mouth and chuckled. "I hadn't picked up on that!"

"Because it's all in Spark's head." Cleo nudged the Dedenne playfully with her foot. "Come on. We can't hang around in this corridor all day."

Mischief plodded behind Cleo as they headed back to the market hall. He looked down at Spark.

"Is he really jealous of me?"

"Oh please!" Spark laughed. "It's so obvious!"

"Oh." Mischief gave a small smile. "I thought he just didn't like me because I'm... you know... mad."

"Nah!" Spark waved a paw. "He's mad himself."

"Really?"

"You've seen his contraptions! Plus, anyone who plucks out their own eye for an experiment must be mad."

Cleo looked back at her. "Spark! There's no evidence that's true!"

"He told me himself."

"He was joking."

"Oh." Spark's face fell and she shrugged. "Darn it, I'm curious again now."

"Well... maybe he'll come up with another scenario to shut you up again."

Faith chuckled and looked back at the office. "You three know each other quite well then?"

Cleo nodded. "Yes, we've been friends for quite a while now."

"That's nice." Faith smiled. "I can tell he cares a lot about this city and you two."

"Really?" Cleo was aghast. "After the way he treated you?"

Faith gave her a smile. "I'm used to it. Pokemon never really know how to react when they hear of the Fairy Garden. He'll come round."

Cleo laughed. "You're something else."

"So!" Faith clapped. "Where are these nest rooms? And how big is this place? Can you show me around?"

"Certainly!" Cleo moved on ahead, leading Faith back into the market with Mischief.

"Start with the dinner hall!" said Spark as she took off after them.

 

[Delirious Absol]

30 – The Start of Project C
​

Rio stomped around his office, gathering up what was left of the debris of his research. Several nights had passed since disaster struck his lab. They'd been clearing up the mess since the repairs on the building's structure had been completed. But despite all their repairs, nothing could bring back the huge amount of paperwork that had been torched in those flames.

He grit his teeth and launched the remains into the bin.

Ruined.

It was all ruined.

He turned to the window, looking out at the small team he'd assembled. Tantrum was shouting commands to the Plusle and Minun brothers Rowap and Spelon. Those two had been chosen to scout the area for new members to Rio's team, but their search had only bought a Furret and her son.

Rio tutted. The Furret was currently out gathering berries for the upcoming meal. Her only talent, apparently.

The door to his office opened slightly and a scratchy voice spoke through the crack.

"Boss?"

"What is it?" Rio grumbled. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

The voice muttered something incoherent and the door opened fully, revealing Razorclaw the Sandslash. He scratched his head spines and looked anywhere in the room but at Rio.

"We've had no joy," he said.

"No joy?" Rio frowned. "You've come here to interrupt me to tell me you've had no joy in finding any more escapees?"

"They've just..." the Sandslash shrugged. "They've vanished."

Rio let out a flustered sigh. "Fine. Call off the search, we'll make do with the handful we have."

"I do have some news though."

Rio looked up at the Sandslash. "Oh? What is it?"

"Mint's just arrived."

"Mint?" Rio raised an eyebrow. "She's here?"

"Yeh, shall I send her in?"

Rio licked his lips and looked away from Razorclaw. So his message reached her. If Mint decided to join their team, then their numbers may increase significantly. That would provide a much stronger defence against any more freak attacks.

Maybe they'd also find that Absol...

"Yes," he said with a nod. "Send her in."

Razorclaw vanished from the door and within moments the small green head of a Grovyle poked around it.

"Rio?"

Rio tried to hide his relief to see her by looking round at his damaged office. "Do come in."

The Grovyle slipped round the door and closed it behind her. She turned to Rio and inclined her head on one side.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yes. Did you bring it?"

Mint rummaged through her large bag and pulled out a hefty file, dropping it onto Rio's desk. 'Pokerus' was scrawled across the front in red ink.

"Is this all you have?" Rio asked.

"It's all you gave me," she told him. "I didn't follow up with any of your experiments. All that's here is the original research we conducted."

Rio stared down at the file. "Then why did you keep it?"

Mint turned and leant back against the desk. "A part of me hoped you might need me back some day."

"Well, that day has arrived." Rio sat down in his chair and flipped open the file. It was all there, all the research that had sparked from that strange Pokerus strain.

"So what happened to your lab?" Mint looked around at the remains of the burned shelves and water damaged walls. "You said there'd been an attack?"

"Absol," Rio said flatly. "It broke in, released all my test subjects and torched the place."

"All of them?" Mint gasped. "Did you get any of them back?"

"A handful." Rio put his head in his paws. "None of them are holding Type 18 however."

"Type 18?"

Rio rubbed a paw over his mouth and stared off into space. Of course, Mint new nothing of the new type. That had come up after they'd parted ways.

"I can explain everything to you later. That is, if you wish to re-join me here?"

Mint gave a tinkling laugh. "Of course. But you have to promise you won't get all power-hungry on me again." She gave him a firm stare. "And give me some credit."

"Credit given. You've saved the day."

"Thank you." Mint whipped a paw through her bag and held out a small veil. "I think you might need this."

Rio took it gingerly and stared at it in disbelief, watching the pink liquid settle inside. "Where did you get this?"

Mint shrugged. "I've had it for years."

Rio laughed and his eyes widened with joy. "This is perfect!"

The Grovyle raised an eyebrow. "You have a plan?"

Rio grinned at the little tube, turning it between his paws. With this he could finally rebuild all he'd lost, putting his plan back in action. A perfect revenge plan for the desolation and destruction that had befallen his family, his friends, his home.

But first, he needed test subjects to fatten out his now rather tiny army.

"Rio?"

Rio placed the veil gently on his desk. He grabbed a wad of blank paper from his desk drawer and shoved the old file to the floor. "We start Project C."

"Project C?"

"Yes. But first we need to catch our main test subject, and I have the perfect candidate in mind."

"Oh no... is this about your revenge plan?" Mint scratched her head nervously. "You don't plan on catching that Absol?"

"No, not the Absol." Rio chuckled and grabbed a pen, scrawling the title to his new document. "I have a much better Pokemon in mind. The one who ruined my prized experiment."

"Who's that?" Mint asked nervously.

"Enigma."

...​

"Enigma!"

Harlequin looked back over his shoulder at the bars then lowered his head to the sleeping Banette.

"Enigma!" he hissed. "Get up, someone's coming."

Enigma groaned and rubbed a paw over his eyes. "What?"

"They'll find you!"

The Banette sighed and sat up, his body becoming translucent. He tried to stand, placing his paw against the wall, his bell echoing in the damp cell.

The door opened and voices flooded the room, freezing Enigma to the spot. A happy Audino strutted in and smiled at Harlequin.

"I've brought you some supper," she said cheerfully.

Harlequin was silent as he watched the Audino slide a tray of berries and dried meat under the door to his cell. She remained crouching by the bars, staring at the Zorua curiously.

"You seem anxious," she said. "Are you okay?"

Harlequin nodded stiffly and lowered his head to the plate, sniffing at the food, likely to check for poisons or to satisfy the Audino's curiosity.

Whichever it was, the Audino stood up and smiled at him, turning to leave the room.

"I'll see you again at breakfast," she said.

The door closed, drowning out the voices outside to a mere dull drone.

Enigma re-materialised and flopped back to the floor with a sharp jingle.

Harlequin didn't look at him. "You need to leave."

"I don't need to go anywhere," Enigma snorted.

"What are you going to do when Cleo comes back here to get me?" Harlequin asked. "Are you planning to launch a sneak attack in your condition?"

Enigma stared at him wordlessly, his paw absently clutching the right side of his chest.

"You can try all you want." Harlequin turned to look at him and shook his head sadly. "I'm not going back."

Enigma pulled himself to his feet. "I never thought I'd see the day when you chose to live in fear with the Outcasts."

"I'm not living in fear, I'm fighting."

Enigma chuckled bitterly.

"You don't have to go back either," Harlequin told him. "If you don't want to join the Outcasts then become an outlaw."

Enigma snorted. "Look, Harle. I've got stuff to do."

"Fine." The Zorua grabbed a piece of meat and tossed it to Enigma. "Take that with you. You'll need your strength."

Enigma caught it and stared at it for a moment before stuffing it into his scarf.

"Just remember," said Harlequin. "The second you leave this place, we're enemies."

Enigma felt that awful wave of loneliness flow through him once again. He grit his teeth and turned away from Harlequin, forcing himself to vanish from sight before he slipped through the bars of his cell.

Without a word, he slipped through the door, ignoring the guards waiting outside one of the open rooms. Whether or not they heard his bell, he didn't wait around to find out. Within moments, he was outside and that pang of loneliness became a wave of despair as he staggered away from the giant tree into the dark forest.

He was alone.

 

[Delirious Absol]

31 – Where To Next?​

"Ooh, this is a cosy little den!" Faith flopped onto her back on the small pile of hay.

"Yup! Nothing like a good sleep after a good meal." Spark copied her, falling onto the pile Cleo had separated from her own bed.

"Do you think Mischief will be okay?" Faith asked. "Since he's staying on his own?"

"He'll be fine," said Cleo. "Anyway, we'll see him first thing in the morning."

"At breakfast right?" Spark's voice wavered slightly. "Because... you know... sometimes you miss that, and rush us out all hungry."

"To be honest, I wasn't planning on staying for breakfast." Cleo sat down on her bed and looked at Spark and Faith who had both sat back up to talk to her.

Spark's mouth hung open in utter shock. "No breakfast?!"

Cleo threw herself onto her back. "No. I don't want to risk running into Tinker before we leave."

"Why not?! You're gonna starve me just 'cos of that?!"

"Yes."

"Naw!" Spark fell onto her back and wailed. "That's so unfair!"

"Don't worry, I grabbed provisions while you were finishing your supper. You can snack on the way."

Spark raised a claw. "Does it include apples?"

"And cheri berries."

"Yes!" Spark cheered. "Okay, I forgive you."

Faith chuckled. "You've got a big appetite for such a small Pokemon haven't you?"

Spark shot her a glare. "Don't call me small."

"But it's a good thing! You're a huge personality compressed into a small, adorable body!"

"You can call me adorable but don't call me small."

Faith laughed and lay back down. "So where are we headed tomorrow?"

"I've no idea," said Cleo. "Xerneas said something about fighting fire with fire. But that concerns me."

"Why?" Spark yawned.

"Well aren't the Wildfires fire types?"

"Oh yeh... hmm..." Spark scratched her nose. "That's a strange one."

Faith made a thoughtful noise. "I'm at a loss there too. But if he said to fight fire with fire, then I'm guessing we find a fire Pokemon that can handle them."

Cleo placed an arm across her eyes. "I just don't want to come face to face with them again."

"Again?" Faith looked over at her.

"Yes." Cleo paused, feeling the Mawile's eyes watching her. "I'm sorry, I don't like re-living it."

"Oh, that's understandable." Faith shifted on her bed. "I won't press you for details."

"Thank you."

They lay in silence for a while, the light from the candles causing shadows to flicker across the room. Cleo tried to block out the dancing light, not wanting to think about flames or flickering shadows at that moment. She briefly considered blowing them out, but unfortunately the light was needed in case of emergencies.

Then... there was always Spark. She could use flash if need be.

"So where do we look?" the Dedenne asked.

"Hmm?" Cleo removed her arm from her eyes to look at her.

"For the fire Pokemon," Spark explained. "Where do we look?"

"I've no idea."

"I mean... do we just keep moving on visiting various Outcast towns? Hoping we find a fire Pokemon that can help us? There's also the Growlithe brothers here in New City."

"That's true." Cleo rubbed her head as she let this sink in. "There are the Growlithe brothers."

"What do we do? Ask them?"

"I don't think so," said Faith. "Xerneas said you'd know when you found them."

"Oh yeh." Spark sighed.

"And you just had to remind yourself of those," said Faith. "Despite the fact we walked straight past them earlier."

"That's true." Spark stretched and yawned. "Well, I'm flat out of ideas."

"Me too," said Cleo. "Also, Outcast towns are hard to come by around here, since any Outcasts here move to New City." She paused. "We'd have to move quite far."

Faith let out a small 'hmm.' "Are there any deserts nearby?"

"Deserts?"

"Yes. Anywhere that might be warm enough to appeal to a fire type Pokemon."

"Not close by, no."

"Oh great," Spark whined. "We're gonna be on the road for days, aren't we?"

"Unless we can think of a way for us to move along quickly to cover more ground?" Faith suggested. "Any Pokemon who can fly and carry us?"

Spark sat up and looked at Faith. "The only Pokemon I've seen big enough to carry all five of us is Reshiram!"

"Ordinarily I'd ask him," said Faith. "But if we were carried around by him it would defeat the object of looking for this fire Pokemon, since we'd be missing out villages and towns in favour of finding a desert."

"The river." Cleo opened her eyes.

"I'm sorry?" Spark turned to look at her friend.

"We could use the river," Cleo explained. "If we found a small boat or a raft, we could travel down the river and cover more ground that way."

"Where are we gonna get a boat?!"

"We ask Skipper." Cleo lay back down. "I'll catch him in the morning and ask."

"All right." Spark flopped back onto the hay. "But you do know that means you might run into Tinker."

"I'll deal with the consequences."

Spark made kissing noises and laughed.

Cleo frowned. "Cut that out."

Spark and Faith giggled and rolled over on their beds, falling into silence.

A boat... Cleo opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. She'd never considered that before. It would certainly make travelling easier. The question was... did the guild have one?

...​

"This is crazy!" Mint gasped.

Her words were becoming monotonous. Rio stood aside as he watched his small group put together the cage he'd designed. It hadn't taken him long to design it at all. The cage was to be an iron box with the bars forming a criss-crossed mesh so even a Weedle couldn't wriggle its way through them. The bottom was a sheet of non-conductive plastic that sat on the mesh base. The idea was to have an electrical current running through it so no ghost Pokemon could slip out of it and escape.

It was pure genius.

Rio smirked and crossed his arms, admiring the swift construction of the cage.

"You can't be serious about actually using Enigma as a test subject?" Mint shook her head in disbelief.

"You've been saying that all night!" Rio groaned, rubbing his temples. He turned to the Grovyle and waved a paw at the cage. "This is fool-proof. It will hold him, I can assure you."

"Yes, but you need to catch him first. May I remind you that he is a trained, professional assassin?"

"And may I remind you that a paralysed Pokemon can't get very far. Assassin or not." Rio nodded at the Raichu and Heliolisk. "Thunder and Ray are both proficient in electrical attacks. If they can take out that Whimsicott, they can take out Enigma."

Mint crossed her arms and leant back against the wall, watching the small team at work. Rio had explained the situation to her, the reason Enigma had trashed Project B. A little understanding on her part wasn't much to ask, was it?

"I'm not sure about this," she told him.

Rio rolled his eyes. "You're scared of him."

"I have reason to be! He visited me before he found this lab. If he comes back-"

"He visited you?" Rio looked at her. "How long ago?"

Mint shrugged. "A few days ago? He was looking for Heretics that had given information to Boomer." She shot him a sideways glare. "And that was you."

"Ha." Rio clicked his tongue. "Did you tell him about Pokerus?"

"Of course not!"

"Good. Then this should be a nice surprise for him."

Mint glanced about nervously, muttering incoherently to herself.

"Is there a problem?" Rio asked. "How much did you actually tell him?"

"Nothing!" She rubbed her paws together and glanced at the door. "I think I have to leave."

"It doesn't sound like nothing."

"Listen, Rio." She rounded on him. "I kept that information secret. When he left, he told me if he found I'd been keeping anything from him then... he'd be back to deal with me."

A look of concern crossed Rio's face and he looked away. "Well, I can assure you he won't lay a claw on you." He looked up at the cage. The team were raising it from the floor to fasten the base in place. "Besides, when we're finished with him, he won't even remember who you are."

...​

"I'm sorry, Cleo." Skipper scratched the back of his head. "I'm afraid I cannae help ye."

Cleo sighed and leant back against the wall of Tinker's office. "So there's no boat?"

"Aye, not fer rivers I'm afraid." The Marshstomp gave her an apologetic look and turned to Starshine who was eyeing her curiously. "This is Cleo. You know Cleo?"

"Cleo." The Swablu inclined his head on one side then looked up at Skipper. "Berry."

"Don' ye worry, little'un. Ye dad's gone t'get some." Skipper looked back at Cleo. "If ye wanna avoid runnin' into Tinker, I'd suggest ye get a wiggle on."

"Okay." Cleo sighed and placed her paw on the door handle. "Just to clarify, why don't you have a river boat?"

"Too dangerous, sure enough. River's fast down th'mountain an' full o' rocks 'n' fallen trees. Ye'd smash right up 'n' find yeselves caught in that fierce current." Skipper shook his head. "Such a sad way t'go n'all that. So we dinnae keep river boats for th'mountain rivers."

Cleo nodded. She hadn't considered all that. Thinking back, it made sense. There was a fallen tree a little way down that the 'peaceful Pokemon' had been using as a make-shift bridge.

"Well, thank you anyway, Skipper." Cleo gave him a smile and opened the door.

"Oh!" Tinker blinked at her from the other side, clutching a plate full of fresh berries. "I didn't expect to see you there, Cleo. Do you have a moment?"

"No. Sorry." Cleo slipped past him, catching the confused look he gave her.

"Seriously, Cleo. I have a request of you." He turned to her fully, still clutching the plate in both paws.

"I'm afraid we already have a mission," Cleo told him. "A rather important one."

"Oh?"

"Yes. We need to find a fire Pokemon."

"There are many in the Guild."

"Not from here," she said flatly.

Tinker narrowed his eyes. "Cleo, you work for the Guild. You can't shirk your duties. When I assign you a mission, you-"

"This is important." Cleo crossed her arms. "We are doing it. If you want to assign us missions, then wait until we are done."

Tinker let out an exasperated sigh. "I don't want to fire you, Cleo."

Cleo shrugged. "I'm sorry, but this mission takes priority."

"Well, I don't think my request will take you too far out of your way."

Tinker strode into his office and set the plate beside Starshine. The little Swablu chirped cheerfully and dived in. Skipper looked from the Riolu to Cleo and back, blinking in surprise, clearly rendered speechless.

"I need you to deliver something to the next Outcast town just past the Glen," Tinker told her. "It's been requested by their elite, Meredith. They have some sick Pokemon from the tainted river. It's not as serious further down the mountain as it was diluted significantly by the time it reached the lake, so most of the Pokemon that drank the water have merely been induced with a fever, but they are low on Pecha berries. I would like you to take some to them."

Cleo mulled this over for a moment. They needed to go to the next Outcast town anyway, so it wasn't putting them off their mission remotely, but it wasn't something that could be delayed either.

She nodded. "Very well. We'll take them."

"Excellent. I shall assure you your endeavours will be rewarded once the items are delivered." He picked up a small bag from under his desk and handed it to her.

"Sure thing." Cleo deposited the bag in her satchel. "But after this, our attention is fully focused on finding a fire Pokemon." She slipped through the door then looked back at the little Swablu nibbling away at an oran berry. "You know, Tinker, you can't hide him in here all the time like one of your inventions. He needs a bit of freedom."

With that, Cleo left his office and closed the door behind her. Her next stop was the dining hall. The sound of chattering Pokemon reached her ears before she even reached the door. Inside was heaving with various Pokemon sat around the massive table or milling around clearing away empty plates and glasses.

Spark, Faith and Mischief were sat together about half way along, but the only one still eating was Spark.

Faith noticed her first and pointed, and Spark looked up from her plate to wave at her.

"Hey!" she said as Cleo reached them. "Did you get the boat?"

"No." Cleo took a piece of dry fish that Faith handed to her. "We hadn't really thought it through. A boat for a mountain river would be much too dangerous with all the rocks and fallen trees."

"Ah." Spark nodded and turned back to her plate. "Well, it was a good idea anyway. It meant there was time for breakfast." She grinned.

"Sadly, Spark, the major drawback is we're retracing our footsteps all the way back to the Glen."

"Why would we be retracing our footsteps?"

"Because Tinker has asked us to deliver a medicinal package to the Outcast town there." Cleo tapped her bag. "The lake is still tainted. So if you finish up, we'll be on our way. We'll get Harlequin and head straight for the river."

"Actually, Cleo..." Spark placed the large berry in her paws back onto her plate. "I don't think that's the best idea. It's not rained in a few days."

"So?"

"Our trail is still there by that river. If we go back, and the Wildfires do come after us..."

Cleo felt herself go pale. Spark was right. Three out of the four of them had a major disadvantage against at least one of the Wildfires signature attacks. Spark was the only one who didn't, but alone against a pack of vicious Houndour... Yes, following the river all the way back to the Glen in these circumstances would be asking for trouble. She sighed and ran a paw over her head.

"So where do we go?"

"To the Glen just... we detour."

"Through the forest?"

Spark nodded. "That's the best decision!"

Faith beamed. "Detour or not, I'm always up for a little adventure!"

"Well, be prepared for one," said Cleo. "Without the river to mark our way, we'll be struggling to find our way through that forest."

Faith shook her head. "No we won't. There'll be another path surely."

Mischief stared at his empty plate. "Not to mention the Heretics might still be looking for us."

"Ah." Cleo nibbled at the piece of dried fish. That was true.

"Wildfires and Heretics," said Spark. "Wow, this is going to be fun."

"We don't even know if the Wildfires are a risk yet," Cleo told her. "Besides, it doesn't hurt to be prepared." She stopped Spark reaching for a fresh plate of berries. "Come on. We have a town full of sick Pokemon waiting for this delivery."

"All right, just let me take this one for the road." Spark stuffed an oran berry into her cheek pouch and hopped up onto Cleo's shoulder.

The next stop would be to get Harlequin, and hope they could cover enough ground before nightfall.

 

[Delirious Absol]

32 – The Watch​

Enigma had spent most of the night clambering through the treetops, not paying much attention to where he was going. He hadn't made much progress, making a wide circle around that large tree. He was distracted.

He hated being distracted.

When the sun reached its highest point, he stopped on the bough of a sturdy tree looking out at the forest. It all looked the same. Green and brown and dull. He quickly finished the snack Harlequin had given him, barely tasting it. Right now, it was more a necessity than an enjoyment.

Alone.

He had no reason to head back to the Shadow Lands. No reason to quickly finish his task.

But he wanted to find out what the Heretics were doing. He couldn't shake the curiosity that had aroused when he'd seen that Tyranitar. The same curiosity that had followed him after he'd been the target of that crazed Whimsicott's attack.

He had to forget about Harlequin. He had to go back to that lab. There was a chance Rio was still there, and he wanted answers.

He had to admit, he was fearing an all-out war. Whatever it was the Heretics were doing with that new type, news would reach Hydreigon sooner or later and he wouldn't be impressed. One way or another he'd end up involved in that war, be it fighting against Heretics and Outcasts or being one of the targets of Hydreigon's vicious attempt to wipe out anything that wasn't dark or dragon.

Right now, his survival was unpredictable.

He felt all strength leave his body and he flopped back against the trunk of the tree, staring up at the rust-coloured canopy. Dry leaves were slowly floating to the ground, removed from their place in the branches by a gentle, wintry breeze.

Why had things become so complicated?

...​

"Any idea where we are?" Spark flopped forward on Cleo's shoulder, as glum as she sounded.

"No," answered Cleo. "Unfortunately, without the river to go by, I'm not entirely sure if we're even heading in the right direction any more."

They'd been walking since morning and from what they could see of the sun through the mottled canopy it had moved over them now, and would likely be setting soon. Even with the trees shedding their leaves, it wasn't easy to gauge direction from the sun either. So as to what direction they were heading in, they had no idea.

"I wouldn't be too disheartened," Faith told them. "Either way, we'll make it out of the forest eventually."

Spark glanced back at her. "Yes, but that may mean we end up miles away from the next town."

"I'd sooner be out of these trees," said Mischief. "I'm worried we'll end up running into those Heretics again."

"Then be prepared," Cleo told him. "We're not even sure how close to the lab we are."

"Do you think they'll even still be using it?" asked Spark.

Cleo shrugged. "Who knows? Either way, I doubt they'll have left the forest and moved on elsewhere."

Mischief made a thoughtful noise but said nothing. He shuffled along beside her, keeping a watchful eye on the passing shadows.

Harlequin had been oddly quiet. No arguments or snide remarks, not even a snarl when Cleo had ventured to ask her if there was anything wrong. What had struck her as very odd was that she'd willingly followed them from the cells without so much as a retort when Cleo had activated the collar again. No struggle, keeping a steady pace behind them as they moved on.

Well, it made things easier and they had less to worry about without an assassin screaming for help and snapping at them.

They pressed on, their paws crunching over the thick blanket of dry leaves on the forest floor. The sound triggered Cleo's memory of Spark's comment during breakfast – it hadn't rained for a while. She found herself wondering when it had last rained. It hadn't in days. That was odd for this time of year. Wind and rain normally helped the trees shed their leaves as they went dormant in time for the cold season to hit. A spurt of dry weather like this normally foreshadowed a harsh storm. If that was anything to go by, then it was going to be a bitter, cold winter.

She shook off that thought and picked up her pace. The sooner they were out of this forest, the sooner they could find shelter should that actually happen.

Spark yawned widely. "I'm worried we're going to have to sleep in this forest."

"That was always the case," said Cleo. "Besides, there are more of us this time."

Faith chuckled. "Don't worry. We'll be fine."

Spark looked back at her. "How often do you leave the Fairy Garden?"

The Mawile didn't answer, but Cleo could guess she likely chuckled or gave a nonchalant shrug. Regardless, she did feel safer with Faith on their side. It did increase their numbers and their strength significantly. An extra fairy Pokemon gave them a solid advantage, plus Cleo and Spark could now use a fairy attack each.

She had to keep reminding herself that. She'd not learned a new attack in a long time so it was still alien to her.

The canopy above them dimmed and she looked up. So the sun was setting now... it was time to find somewhere to spend the night before the forest was plunged into the dark of night.

She scrambled over a large tree root and moved off their path, looking for a wide enough space to set up their little tent.

"We won't lose this path will we?" Mischief asked.

"No. We'll find it again in the morning," Cleo told him. "I just want to make sure we're away from where any patrolling Pokemon might look." She paused and looked around at a small clearing shielded from sight by some thick brambles and nettles. "Here will do."

"Do they normally patrol the forest?" Faith asked.

"It's not been recorded before that Noivern showed up." Cleo pulled the yellow sheet out of her bag. "And we've recently discovered Heretics in the mountains. As for that lab, I don't even know how close we are too it either."

"And now we're going to set up a tent right in their garden," said Spark.

Cleo looked up sharply and stared through the trees. She then looked down at the Dedenne.

Spark blinked. "I'm joking."

"Don't do that," said Cleo.

Spark shrugged. "Just trying to lighten the mood."

Faith laughed and took the other half of the sheet from Cleo. "Where are we hanging this?"

"Over this low bough." Cleo looked up at a spindly tree branch. "It's a little high up but I think it'll do."

They flicked the large sheet up at the branch and it fell in place. Cleo handed Faith two iron thorns and they both secured the four corners into the dry ground.

"It's going to be cosy in here," said Spark.

Faith chuckled. "It certainly is!"

"Well," Spark turned away from the tent to look at Cleo. "Let's have supper and decide when we'll take watch."

"How good is your night vision?" Cleo asked Faith.

"It's okay. Why do you ask?"

"Just to see if you prefer early night or early morning. You'll need to be able to see well if you're helping with the watch."

"Oh!" Faith smiled. "I can see in the dark. Mawile are used to living in caves after all."

"Then I'll take first watch," said Cleo. "Which inevitably means Harlequin will be with me."

"Huh?" Harlequin looked up at her with surprise then shrugged. "Fair enough."

"I'll go second then," said Faith.

Mischief raised a paw. "I'll go after Faith."

Spark snorted. "Guess I'm last then. Oh well." She shrugged. "That means I don't have to have a broken sleep."

"Oh no." Faith grinned. "No one wants a grumpy Spark."

Spark shook her head. "They do not."

Cleo flopped onto the grass and pulled out several berries and various dried meat.

"Let's get ourselves fed then," she said. "We'll need our energy."

...​

Enigma had watched all this with great interest. He'd spotted the little group of Outcasts as he warped through the forest and had been tracking them from a distance. He knew they'd have to rest at some point and like any sensible Pokemon should, they'd have at least one of them keep watch while the others slept.

It was that Mawile that interested him.

There was something about her. She'd not been with them before, and Harlequin had mentioned her. She must have had some influence over the Zorua's decision to turn against him.

He had to be patient now and wait for her turn to keep watch.

He made himself comfortable in the canopy and watched the boring spectacle of the Meowstic sitting silently beside Harlequin, occasionally glancing around at any slight noise. Even the wind rustling the dry leaves seemed to set her on edge.

He chuckled, considering briefly throwing something just to watch her jump. But that would be foolish. If either of them spotted him, his entire plan would be blown to bits.

Harlequin was much more relaxed, curled up next to the Meowstic keeping an eye on his surroundings. It was a striking difference between the two Pokemon. The world didn't frighten Harlequin like it did the Meowstic. He was sensible. He knew what made those noises. He wasn't jumpy.

Enigma snorted and closed his eyes, leaning back against the tree. This was going to take forever. He couldn't wait for them to switch their shifts, then he could get his plan into action and find out as much as he could from that meddling Mawile.

The night seemed to drag by, the wind stirring the branches of the trees and causing them to drop their lingering leaves to the forest floor. The rustle it created sounded oddly loud in the silent forest. He was growing bored of watching the pathetic Meowstic glance up every time the wind stirred the debris.

Finally, she looked back into the tent as the Mawile came out. They spoke in hushed voices that Enigma couldn't pick up from his position. The Mawile gave a little wave to Harlequin and the Meowstic as they went into the tent, then sat herself down in the opening. She seemed a lot more relaxed than the previous Pokemon, leaning back on her paws and looking up at the night sky through the canopy.

Enigma followed her gaze. A scattering of stars were visible, which meant there were few clouds in the sky. It was almost peaceful... he shook it off and looked back down at the Mawile.

She was completely oblivious to his presence. He was going to wait a little though, since he'd need to get close enough to get at her. He didn't want to risk waking any of the other Pokemon, nor did he want to risk the Meowstic or Harlequin still being awake.

So he waited... remaining in the shadows cast by the tree's branches, out of sight from the unsuspecting Pokemon.

After what felt like an eternity, the time finally felt right. He warped down from the trees, reappearing a few feet from the tent. This was going to be tricky. If he got too close, she would hear him and she'd likely wake the others up. He needed to do this tactfully, to draw her attention and see if he could lure her out.

He grabbed a twig from the floor and tossed it towards the Mawile. It landed just on the edge of her vision, disturbing the bed of still leaves. She looked up at the spot then looked behind her, squinting into the shadows. She'd noticed... but she didn't look like she was going to get up and investigate.

Enigma cursed silently. If he tried another stunt like that, she'd probably be more inclined to wake up the others than come and seek him out solo. He'd probably blown his chance. His only other option was to creep towards her and snatch her aside, and that might cause her to scream.

Oh well. He'd have to try and avoid that.

He kept his breath low and crept towards her, his bell making nothing more than a gentle grating sound. Barely audible. Those in the tent shouldn't hear it, and neither should the Mawile until it was too late.

Closer... closer...

Her head snapped round, her violet eyes wide. She'd heard him.

He grit his teeth, planning a swift get-away, but she didn't go into the tent. No... she stood up and ventured away from it, searching for the source of the sound.

He grinned. So she was curious. That was foolish. What if he'd brought an army? She'd be defenceless.

Using the shadows of the trees to his advantage, he watched as she crept towards him, her eyes scanning the trees and shrubberies carefully. As she ventured close enough, he shot out of the shadows and grabbed her, whisking her off the path. She let out a surprised gasp and he pressed his paw over her mouth and rammed her hard against a tree.

A look of realisation crossed her face but what he thought was fear reflected in her eyes was nothing more than surprise. So she wasn't scared? Did she even know who he was?

Keeping his left paw securely around her arm, he carefully removed his other paw from her mouth and brushed a ribbon of soft fur back from her face. A smirk played across his lips and he scanned her with his eyes.

"Well, aren't you a pretty one."

She raised an eyebrow. "Enigma, isn't it?"

"I'm surprised you know me." He chuckled then fixed her with a venomous glare. "Because you're not acting like you know me."

"I think addressing you by name is enough evidence that I know you," she said. "Not to mention your bell gives you away. There aren't many assassins who are so confident in their ability that they use a bell to shock fear into the hearts of their targets."

He grinned. "You flatter me."

"So... why did you lure me out?"

Enigma felt his face twist with confusion. Was this Mawile serious?

"You knew someone was luring you out yet you came alone?" he snorted.

"Well it was clearly not an ambush." She stared at him. "You threw a stick. If someone wanted to ambush me, or my friends, they would have stormed us. You, however, were clearly working alone."

"And you've left your friends completely unprotected."

Her violet eyes widened and she glanced sideways. Hah. She'd not considered that.

He laughed. "You're foolish."

She fixed him with an exasperated stare. "What do you want with me?"

"I want to know what you've done to Harlequin," he said flatly. "Why has he become all soft, turning his back on the Shadow Lands to pal around with Outcasts."

"He?" She seemed surprised. "I've not done anything to Harlequin. She entered the Fairy Garden and the change went from there. As far as I know, she's not with the Outcasts willingly."

Enigma frowned. "He told me he's not going back, and you tell me he's not staying with you willingly?"

The Mawile shook her head. "She wants to go and look for her friend. Xerneas told her he's alive."

Xerneas? There was that name again. He clenched his teeth and glanced away from her. A friend? That Absol?

"Is that everything you want to know?" she asked. "Are you going to let me go back now?"

He snapped his attention back to her and a massive grin spread across his face.

"Oh, not quite yet," he purred. "You see, I was going to see the Heretics... but I think I'd much rather play with you."

He slid his paw up her arm to press against her chest. This would be too easy.

A bored expression crossed her face and she sighed. Then her body jerked and her massive horn connected with his left ribcage, knocking the wind out of him. He was launched sideways, landing painfully on the ground.

He coughed and rolled onto his back, clutching his right side. The impact with the floor had sent a shock wave of pain through his ribs. That stupid Whimsicott.

"Oh my!" The Mawile covered her mouth with a paw and trotted over to him. "Are you injured? I'm so sorry, I had no idea!"

He growled and pushed himself up, wincing with the effort. "You'd better get out of here before I slaughter you."

"Are you sure I can't help you?"

He looked up at her, fury filling his crimson eyes. "You really don't know how to save your own life do you? You're pathetic."

She stared down at him for a moment, then let out a small sigh and turned away.

"You should recognise who your friends are," she said. "Because the Darkness is no one's friend. It just destroys." She glanced back at him. "And that can make someone feel very lonely."

She marched away from him, leaving him sitting in the foliage coughing into his paw. He took in a painful breath and dragged himself to his feet.

That hadn't been as insightful or as fun as he thought it would be.

It had just left him feeling sore and bitter.