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Shadow and Light

chosen_one386

Angel of Chaos
As usual, your Gym Battles are great.

I also like how you portrayed the theft. Things liek that really liven a story up.

Also, it was a nice change, with Team Galactic not appearing at all(they are very nice to read, but a break now and then does wonders, and adds to the suspense).

Thanks. I'm trying to liven up the gym battles now that we only have a few left.

Ah, nothing like a few good thieves to liven up a story, eh? This isn't the last we've seen on Michael, however.

Yeah, I really like writing about Team Galactic, but we need to have at least a short break before everything explodes.

Anyway, this is as good a time as ever to tell you guys that the big climax is coming soon. It's going to be a whirlwind of battles and revelations, so get ready. :)
 

harryheart

Well-Known Member
Chapter 4

Wowee this was an awesome plot developing chapter, and I loved the interactions with Cyrus and this Scarlet, they seem to be interesting people and I love what you're doing with Cyrus, it's nice to see a good side in someone at last. Also I'm particularly interested with the mystery demonic chosen one and I have a feeling it's someone we've already met, that would be intriguing to say the least. Anyway another great chapter. Well done :D
 

chosen_one386

Angel of Chaos
Chapter 4

Wowee this was an awesome plot developing chapter, and I loved the interactions with Cyrus and this Scarlet, they seem to be interesting people and I love what you're doing with Cyrus, it's nice to see a good side in someone at last. Also I'm particularly interested with the mystery demonic chosen one and I have a feeling it's someone we've already met, that would be intriguing to say the least. Anyway another great chapter. Well done :D

Aw...thank you. :) May I ask, by any chance, have you read Aftermath?

Merry Christmas Eve to you all!
 

harryheart

Well-Known Member
Aw...thank you. :) May I ask, by any chance, have you read Aftermath?

Merry Christmas Eve to you all!

I read the first couple of chapters and then stopped.... bad me.... and Merry Christmas Eve to you too! It's 2 hours and a half until Christmas Day here! WOOP WOOP
 

harryheart

Well-Known Member
Chapter 5

Again an amazing Chapter. You are just filled with them Chosen. Awesome work here and I'm loving the characters developments that are occurring in these chapters and also how they are really filled out and worked upon. I can't wait until I catch up now because of the epicness of your writing. I also loved the moon and how it managed to transform Katie with its temptations. Overall another brilliant chapter, brilliant plot developments and brilliant writing. Well done
 

chosen_one386

Angel of Chaos
I go back to school next Monday, so writing will slow down greatly next week. Please be patient for the upcoming chapters.

This will be the last chapter before the climax of the story begins, so be prepared.



Chapter Twenty-Five



Before Byron could order his massive Steelix to strike out at Katie’s Blaziken, she quickly snatched her fire-type’s Poke Ball from its place on her belt and recalled her Pokemon. With Steelix’s ability to learn ground attacks, it was too much of a risk to leave a fire-type in the fight, even though both of Blaziken’s types were strong against the steel Pokemon. She quickly flipped another Poke Ball out into the arena, releasing her hulking strong Swampert into the battle. The water and ground mudfish Pokemon dropped on all fours and glared at his opponent, his yellow eyes meeting Steelix’s black gaze.

Byron took a few seconds to decide what he was going to order his Pokemon to do. Swampert had a double advantage against Steelix as well as a resistance to his steel attacks. Byron would have to step lightly to keep his Pokemon in the battle. “Steelix, Iron Tail!”

Katie watched as Steelix’s tail started to glow with a soft white light and glanced at the boulders all around the stadium. If hit with the right momentum, they could become projectiles powerful enough to hit Swampert with a large force. She thought a few steps ahead of the gym leader, telling her Pokemon to stay put.

Steelix’s attack cut a wide bearth across the arena, smashing into nearly every boulder that stood on the battlefield. Katie watched carefully as shards of rock flew in dangerous angles all around them. “Muddy Water!” She shouted seconds before the rocks came close to her Pokemon. Swampert hunkered down and spread its arms wide, spreading a torrent of water around it to protect itself from the rocks. The small slices were too small to withstand the force of the torrent and were stopped completely.

“Earthquake!” Katie commanded as fast as she possibly could in order to keep Byron from having any time to mentally recover from her defense. She lifted herself off of the ground a bit so as not to feel the full force of the attack as it coursed through the gym, strong enough to knock both of her steel-type opponents to the ground. When trainers used attacks like Earthquake that affected the entire arena, they had to be careful to keep themselves off of the floor so as not to be knocked off their feet themselves. Byron should have been used to this attack after years of using part ground Pokemon, but her Swampert’s Earthquake was especially strong and backed up by the power of its Muddy Water attack.

Byron, a steel-type and unable to levitate, felt part of the shock that rocked his Steelix to the ground, rattling his nerves quite a bit. Katie levitated off of the ground a bit more until the Earthquake attack fully stopped and Steelix dropped to the ground, knocked unconscious by the powerful attack. Byron struggled to lift his arm to recall his Pokemon as the electronic referee spoke again.
“Steelix is unable to battle. Swampert wins this round.”

Byron slowly pushed himself to his feet, enlargening another Poke Ball. “Go, Bastiodon!” He shouted, releasing the steel and rock-type into the arena with a shaking voice. The Pokemon appeared and roared at Swampert, who roared back as Bastiodon stomped his feet several times on the arena floor. “Iron Head!”

Bastiodon lowered its head and raced toward Swampert. “Muddy Water!” Katie shouted. A torrent of water surged toward Bastiodon.

“Earthquake!” The water was sent flying backwards as a shockwave surged across the floor toward Swampert, who jumped into the air to avoid being hit.

“Muddy Water in the air!” This time, the torrent came from above, crashing into Bastiodon full force. “Earthquake!” Swampert followed after the water, slamming his fist into the ground and sending Bastiodon flying into the far wall, knocked out.

“Bastiodon is unable to battle. Swampert wins this round! The match goes to the challenger Katie Karasuma!”

By this time, Byron stood steady on his own two feet. He recalled Bastiodon as Katie smiled triumphantly.

------------

Michael kicked an empty tin can out of his way as he strode down the street to his house, his mind on the raven-haired trainer and her Pokemon. There was no way he could try the theft again and run from town. He wasn’t about to take Allison away from her one and only home. He unlocked their front door and stepped aside.

“Allison, I’m home!” He shouted as his Flareon stepped in behind him. He paused for a few seconds, then shouted again, “Allison?” He stepped into her room and looked at the sparse litter of toys on the floor. His sister wasn’t there. He checked in the bathroom and in his room.

“Allison?!” He ran into the street. Still, no sign of his sister. His foot scraped across something metallic on the ground and he looked down. There was a gold medallion under his foot with the letter “G” on it…

------------

“Man, that second match against Steelix was intense,” David said as the group started to make their way onto the bridge that connected the two halves of Canalave. “Byron was pretty good, but you were much faster.”

Katie glanced down at the badge in her hand before she put it in its case. “Well, I’m just lucky my Pokemon are fast enough to match up with my mind.”

Samantha pointed to a ferry that was docked nearby. “Didn’t we agree earlier that we wanted to head out to Iron Island for the rest of the day?”

“Well…yeah…” Katie said, glancing at the ferry. “I guess since it’s here now, we better go ahead…”

------------

The weather on Iron Island was bright and sunny with a cool breeze. The group stood on a cliff overlooking the beach, enjoying the view.

“Hey! There are ruins on this island, you know?” Chichiri said, glancing behind him to the middle of the island. “Thousands of years old, too! Anyone want to go take a look?”

Ashley tossed back her dark blue hair and sighed. “No, I’m fine with some beach time right now. Got to work on my tan…”

“I’d rather stay here,” Samantha added. “But ya’ll can go ahead.”

“David? You coming with us?” Katie asked.

David shook his head. “I’d like to get some beach time in before we hit Coronet for a while.”

She shrugged. “Okay, okay. I guess Chichiri and I will go by ourselves then.” She stepped after Chichiri, who was already making his way toward the middle of the island.

------------

Michael watched as the Iron Island ferry slid back into port. Allison liked to explore on Iron Island. Maybe she wandered onto the ferry by herself? He rushed toward the ferry, dread filling his stomach.

------------

Colin tried to stand up taller next to Adrian and Kevin, who were both on edge. Pluto had not joined the meeting yet, which was setting Aphrodite’s nerves on edge.

“Where is he?” She murmured to herself, swinging her leg from side to side in a nervous tick. She glanced at her three commanders, sizing each one up. They were ready for anything, she believed.
As the time for the fruition of her plans drew closer and closer, Aphrodite felt an excited feeling fill her chest, making her hyper and giddy inside. Mad at herself for feeling such a strong emotion, she pushed the feeling aside, determined not to let her commanders see that she was so caught up in emotion over the end of their journey. The only way to achieve her goals, she believed, was to push aside any emotion that kept her trapped in this world and attached to anyone else. In time, she would even give her own commanders lives to see that her dream was achieved. After all, there was no Chosen One to stop her as there had been in her predecessor’s time, and by applying Cyrus’ philosophy to her life and goals, she was sure that she would achieve the greatness she sought.

As always, however, her mind roamed in places she wished she had forgotten years ago. Golden eyes haunted her whenever she closed her own, beckoning her to the life she had lived years beforehand. They were so much warmer, though, than the coal black eyes of the other who had accompanied her through life in her recent years. Warmth than cold gripped her, and she shook her head, casting aside both good and haunting memories as Pluto finally joined the other commanders.

Angry at her giddiness and the haunting memories, she snapped at the newcomer. “Where have you been? I called this meeting half an hour ago!” To her dissatisfaction, the older commander did not flinch, merely glared back at her. She gritted her teeth. She had taken Pluto in because he had knowledge from his time working with Cyrus in the old Team Galactic. However, the old commander did not see eye-to-eye on anything she did. She would have thought he would be happy to help with a goal so similar to his former leader’s.

Pluto glanced at Hermes before giving Aphrodite an answer. “I was checking to make sure that our…prisoners are not planning an escape.” It was a weak excuse, but Aphrodite could check on it later. Her dark purple eyes narrowed, surveying the old man’s red ones to see if any traces of detection lay in them. He simply glared at her with the hatred she was used to seeing from him after all these years.

“With our security system, there is no need to worry about our prisoners,” she muttered, tossing her long light purple hair back over her shoulders. Its light blue streaks shone in the overhead lights. “Now, we are to look forward to the dawn of a new world,” she whispered, trying to control the emotion in her voice. Cyrus had had years to kill his emotions. Unfortunately, she had not had that kind of time, seeing as she was nearly three decades younger than he was.

Hermes, Apollo, and Poseidon stood up a bit straighter. She glanced over each of her commanders. Apollo looked as excited as she felt. This was a day that his father had pictured, though not in the same way. His father had worked for years trying to develop the ultimate Shadow Pokemon under the Shadow Lord, but had, in the end, failed because of the Chosen One’s meddling. Poseidon’s father had also received heavy losses in his goals due to the golden haired angel. Luckily, the girl was no longer around to fool with Neo Team Galactic’s plans.
“Apollo, get the temple ready for the ritual,” she said, her eyes on the dark-haired scientist. He nodded. “Poseidon, have your agents ready to defend the temple whenever necessary.” Adrian’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t say a word. “Pluto, you’ll be looking after our prisoners.” The old scientist glared back at her. She ignored him as she finally turned to Colin. “Hermes, go and fetch the Daughter of Shadow and Light. By now, you’re well acquainted with her…enough so that she’ll go anywhere with you.” She sneered. “I warned you not to get to close, but luckily she got close enough to you to trust you enough with anything.”

Colin nodded, gritting his teeth together.

------------

Katie turned to study another set of ruins on the temple walls, her eyes sliding across the writing as Chichiri gazed at the images of legendary Pokemon that adorned the other, further walls. “This is one of the oldest temples in Aquapolis,” he said, running his hand across an image of Darkrai, the legendary of shadow. “The only temple that’s older is the Cave of Origin.”

Katie nodded, gazing at another image of Giratina that took up nearly half of the wall she stood by. She felt calm in this temple, as if she were meant to be there. She let her shoulders relax and her tension over the last months’ events flow free.

------------

Michael ran up another hill, shouting his sister’s name to the wind. He sighed, worry striking his heart again. Where could she be? “Allison!” He shouted again. Suddenly, he spotted David, Samantha, and Ashley on the beach, sitting and chilling out. They had been with Katie before he attempted to steal her Pokemon. It was worth a shot to as them.

“Hey!” He called out as he stepped closer to the trio. David looked up at him, his blue eyes calm. “Have you seen a little girl with dark red hair walking around out here?”

David shook his head. “No, sorry.”

Michael’s face fell as his heart sank. He lifted the “G” symbol in his hand, trying to make some sense of it. David’s eyes widened at the sight of the symbol. “Where did you get that?” He demanded.

The thief looked up at him, surprised. “This was outside my house when I realized my sister was gone.” By this time, Ashley and Samantha had shifted their attention to him. Ashley gasped.

“That’s the symbol that was at our parents’ house when they disappeared!”

The three teenagers turned to look at each other with surprised faces. This was worse than they had ever imagined. Neo Team Galactic had kidnapped two sets of their parents, which was bad enough, but now the new alliance of Galactics had stooped so low as to kidnap children? David frowned, his brows drawing together in an angry “v.” “We’ve got to tell Katie and Chichiri about this. It looks like we’re up against monsters.”
 

hailflameblast

I'm coming...
I like the portrayal of Team Galactic being truly evil, but I would like to suggest a bit more panic be thrown into the fray. Rather than having everyone recovering very fast from these with vengeance etc. I think this situation would be better warranted by a good dose of panic, what with it being a kidnapping of a child and all.

My 2 cents, keep writing!
 

chosen_one386

Angel of Chaos
I like the portrayal of Team Galactic being truly evil, but I would like to suggest a bit more panic be thrown into the fray. Rather than having everyone recovering very fast from these with vengeance etc. I think this situation would be better warranted by a good dose of panic, what with it being a kidnapping of a child and all.

My 2 cents, keep writing!

Well, the scene isn't completely finished yet. More panic is yet to come. Thank you for reading. :)

Next chapter is coming along...slowly. IDK when it will be up.
 

chosen_one386

Angel of Chaos
For any of you who have not checked out the website in my sig named The Chronicles of the Chosen One, check it out soon! It has character biographies and such and a look at my new fanfic, For the Sake of the World!

And so the climax begins...


Chapter Twenty-Six



“Katie?”

Katie looked up to see Colin standing a few feet away from her. She smiled. “Colin! It’s been a while!”

Chichiri turned around and gave him a puzzled look, but didn’t say anything. Colin gave her a warm smile back. “I was just in the area, and I wanted to know if you’d like to take a short trip with me this afternoon.”

Katie paused, thinking. Chichiri spoke up. “Go ahead, Katie. I’ll head back to the beach with the others.”

“Really? You don’t mind…?” Katie asked.

He shook his head. “Go on, I’m fine,” he said, smiling. Katie smiled back as the blue-haired psychic walked back toward the beach. She turned to Colin.

“So, where are we going?”

“Mt. Coronet. I know the best view on the mountain.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. We’ll teleport to Eterna and hike up from there, okay?”

She nodded back, smiling as she took his hand to teleport away.

------------

“There’s Chichiri!” Samantha exclaimed as he made his way up the sand dunes to where the four teenagers stood. Michael spun around to see him. “Where’s Katie?” Samantha asked.

“Oh, she and some guy left to go somewhere. She seemed to know him well…”

“What did he look like?” David demanded.

“He had white hair and dark purple eyes…”

“Colin!” David growled. “I knew it!”

“Why are you so suspicious of him, David?” Samantha asked.
David turned to the green-haired electric-type, his crystal blue eyes narrowing slightly before taking in the worried expression in her dark purple ones. He sighed, willing his heart to slow down. It wasn’t as if he were jealous of the trainer who had swept Katie off of her feet only months beforehand. Katie was just a friend and strong rival, not near as precious to him as Samantha was. Something about Colin just seemed…off to him. He was merely worried about Katie’s safety. He didn’t want her to get physically or emotionally hurt by a guy who was likely to swoop in and out of her life at a moment’s notice.

However, his appearance on Iron Island at this particular moment confirmed a few of David’s suspicions and brought to light a new, horrible realization that made him sick to his stomach. What if Colin was involved with Team Galactic, and, worse than that, was the one who had kidnapped this kid’s little sister? That made him dangerous…and now Katie was alone with him. Skipping over the fact that the others may not believe him or write his suspicions off as paranoia, he launched into his theory.

“We don’t know anything about this guy. All we know is that he’s related to Professors Brendan and Seth Birch from Hoenn and is going to compete in the next Platinum Conference. We don’t know anything about his background…and he’s refused to talk about it…”

“Katie said that he doesn’t get along with his dad and grandfather,” Samantha interjected. David tried to keep from glaring at her. That wasn’t going to help his theory at all. She shut up at the pained look on his face, her purple eyes sliding down to the sand underneath her sandaled feet.

“I say we go and corner this guy!” Michael exclaimed, snatching a Poke Ball off his belt in frustration. Ashley felt a rare wave of sympathy wash over her. She knew what it was like to not know where a loved family member was, possibly taken by Neo-Team Galactic…Allison sounded like she was all of the family Michael had left, and, worse, he was in charge of her safety. He must have been beating himself up inside.

Chichiri nodded, talking in a calmer voice than the others. Though he was just as worried as the other Aquapolian teenagers, his years of psychic training on Mr. Pyre had calmed his mind and focused it when times of panic rose. “Yes, but let’s not be too confrontational. I say that Michael, David, and I go and speak to Colin while Samantha and Ashley call the Legendary Team and tell them of your sister’s disappearance.”

“The Legendary Team?” Michael asked, confused, as Samantha and Ashley furiously dialed Professor Rowan and Kirio Karasuma on their Pokealls. His frustration broke again, signaling to Chichiri that they needed to do something soon to calm down the hot-headed teen. “What are they going to be able to do…?!”

“Let’s go find Katie now,” David interrupted. Michael glared at him, and he glared back. “Now.”

------------

“What?!” Kirio shouted into the phone.

“She’s only about five years old, Mr. Karasuma,” Samantha said. “Why would Neo-Team Galactic take her?”

“I don’t know…The rest of the Legendary Team is starting to search for her now. What about Katie? Who is this Colin she’s gone off with?”

“He’s a friend of hers…Colin Birch. She’s nowhere on the island, though. Michael, Chichiri, and David have already searched every square inch of it…”

“Birch? As in Seth and Brendan Birch?”

“Yes, sir…”

“Hold on a minute, Samantha…” Kirio pressed a button on his intercom. “Stacy, can you connect me with the Birch Pokemon Laboratory in Hoenn?”

“Yes, Mr. Karasuma.”

He switched back to Samantha’s line. “I’m going to get in touch with both Professors Birch. You hold tight and stay on Iron Island, okay? Some of the Legendary Team members will be there shortly.”

“Yes, sir…”

A beep on the other line forced Kirio to press a button. “Hello?”

“Yes, this is Brendan Birch…Is that you Karasuma?”

“Yes, listen, do you know a Colin Birch?”

Brendan paused on the other end of the line, shocked by Kirio’s question. “Yes…that’s my son…”

“When was the last time you spoke to him?”

Brendan paused again. “I haven’t spoken to him in years, Karasuma…”

Kirio’s eyes widened in panic. “Th…thanks, Brendan. I’ll call you later…” He slammed down the phone, looking up toward the door. He hesitated only a few more seconds before bolting from his chair and bursting through his office door, startling his secretary. She jumped out of her chair, sensing the panic in his movements as he crossed the lobby, his black eyes staring straight ahead, his mind on past events, in past worlds.

“M…Mr. Karasuma?” Stacy stuttered, moving around her desk in an attempt to follow him. He was walking with a determined pace that told her he was on a personal mission and would not be stopped easily. “Is everything…”

“I won’t be back to the office for a while, Stacy. Just take down all of my messages and keep them for me until I return,” he barked, charging through the large glass doors that led into Akagi International. He gritted his teeth when he spotted the company’s name on the front of the glass building in bold white letters. He needed to speak to the company’s founder as soon as possible… It was his fault in the first place.

------------

I felt the air pulse around me, signaling a change in forces below. “Cyrus is on the move again,” I muttered.

“Hm?” Grayson asked behind me, stepping up to hear me better.

“Things are changing down below…” I murmured, running my hand across the marble floor absentmindedly. I looked up at the marble ceiling, studying the engravings above my head.

Grayson sighed. “You can’t return, Kris…”

“I know…” I muttered, tears filling my eyes. “I know…” The engravings blurred in my vision.

------------

The fire crackled, throwing light and warmth across Aphrodite’s figure. She gripped the photo tightly in her hand, staring down at it with stubborn intensity. It depicted a blonde man and purple-haired woman with a young purple-haired girl with blue streaks in her hair. She flicked her wrist, sending it into the fire. The flames engulfed it, and she watched for only a few seconds.

“It has begun…”

------------

Katie concentrated on putting one foot after the other as she made her way up the mountainside behind Colin, whose hand was tightly grasped around hers. She gazed out at the scenery around them, wondering where he was taking her. Mt. Coronet was the highest mountain in Aquapolis, scaling thousands of feet into the air. Its views were breathtaking, though not literally to Aquapolians, who were not affected by low air pressure at high climates. She shivered as a cold breeze brushed against them, lifting her black hair off her shoulders and behind her. She had on her sleeveless black collared dress with black biking shorts underneath, not suitable enough attire for the cold mountain air, but she had been so excited about seeing Colin again and going away with him that she had not had enough time to change.

Colin’s grip on her hand tightened for a slight second, causing her to inwardly gasp, her cheeks blushing. Something about him made her heart flip. However, something was off about the way he moved up the mountain in front of her. He hadn’t glanced back at her since they had left the cliffs above Eterna, nor had he spoken to her. Maybe he had a hard time keeping the secret to himself and found it easier if he didn’t look at her or talk to her. She hoped he would say something soon, or else the suspense would kill her.

Meanwhile, so many feelings rushed through Colin’s head and body that he could hardly think straight. Aphrodite had given him a direct order to bring Katie up the mountain, and to insure that his and Pluto’s plans succeeded, he needed to follow her commands right up to the very end. His hand tightened its grip around Katie’s.

Katie gasped again. “Is something wrong Colin? Will we be there soon?”

He glanced back at her, their eyes meeting only briefly. “Nothing’s wrong. We’ll be there soon,” he said shortly, before turning his eyes back to the road ahead of him.

------------

Kirio ran to the entrance to the Cave of Origin, stopping to catch his breath for a few seconds before plunging inside. The front entranceway was lit with torches and completely empty. Kirio frowned.

“Cyrus?!” He shouted, his voice echoing off the marble walls. “I know you can hear me! Where are you?!”

“Kirio.” Cyrus materialized behind him. He swung around, his black eyes furious. Cyrus’ pearl eyes narrowed. “What’s going on?”

“Katie’s gone missing! It’s this Neo-Team Galactic that’s behind this, I know it!” He snapped.

Cyrus paused for a few minutes, tilting his head to the side as he thought. “And you think I’m to blame for this new leader’s actions?”

Kirio’s eyes widened and he glanced down at the ground. Cyrus frowned. “Instead of laying blame, we need to look for her.”

Kirio looked back up, his eyes hardened into resolution. He nodded. “I think I know just where we need to look.”
 

chosen_one386

Angel of Chaos
I must have too much free time on my hands. It hasn't even been a week since my last update. Be assured this will not continue past midterms...



Chapter Twenty-Seven



On Iron Island, Samantha gripped her PokeAll to her ear, listening as Professor Rowan barked instructions to her from his lab in Sandgem.

“Come directly to Sandgem. Don’t stop for any reason, and if you run into this Neo Team Galactic, run, don’t fight.”

Samantha nodded. “Yes, sir. We’ll be right there.”

“Where are we going?” Michael demanded as she turned her PokeAll off.

“To Sandgem town. To Professor Rowan’s research laboratory to meet with the Legendary Team.”

“What?” Michael’s eyes widened. “Who is this Legendary Team you keep talking about?”

“We’ll explain it to you on the way there,” David snapped. “Let’s just get going!”

Chichiri frowned as they started to make their way to the port. He could sense something was extremely wrong with this situation.

------------

Katie and Colin finally made it to a large ridge carved into the mountain. They stopped to catch their breaths, and Katie took in the view around them. She smiled at the beautiful landscape, taking it all in. Colin glanced back at the cave in the side of the mountain, frowning. “In here,” he said, taking her hand. She pulled back from the view and quizzically followed him into the cave.

------------

“What?!”

Scarlet’s voice rang out in the spacious office of the Champion. Her golden eyes widened as she sprang up from behind her desk, sending papers flying. “Why didn’t I know of this sooner?!” She demanded.

“We didn’t need the government getting involved in this, Scarlet,” Kirio argued. “You understand how ineffective the government in Sinnoh can be…”

“For once, you can treat me as a member of the Legendary Team, Kirio!” She spat. “NOT the champion! As the Dimensional Warrior, it is my job to fight these types of threats!”

Kirio’s eyes widened at her outburst. Cyrus looked thoughtfully at the ground, thinking of the last time Scarlet used her powers as the Dimensional Warrior, when a demon name Ojinan threatened to destroy the six powers. Scarlet was right. It was her job to fight threats against the six powers.

“We’re going to travel up Mt. Coronet without the rest of the Legendary Team,” he said, lifting his gaze back up to the angered Champion. “I hate to admit it, but if we are truly up against the force I imagine awaits us there…we’re the only three powerful enough to help stop it.”

Scarlet’s golden eyes calmed a bit, and she nodded. “The rest of the Legendary Team will go separately?”

Kirio nodded. “I’ll call Rowan. We’ll leave immediately.”

------------

Samantha, David, Ashley, Chichiri, and Michael stood in Rowan’s main laboratory, each with a different emotion running through them. Samantha seemed on the edge of tears. David’s fists shook with anger. Ashley tried to hold back any semblance of emotion, but every once and a while a pained look shot through her ice blue eyes. Chichiri was calm, only centered by his years of psychic training on Pyre. Michael’s eyes flashed with rage over and over again, and every once in a while, the ground around his feet froze over, prompting his Flareon to melt it into an ever-growing puddle.

Rowan looked out at the group of kids and sighed. He had seen this range of emotions in the Legendary Team generation of kids beforehand. He could easily picture Ash Ketchum ready to leap into trouble or Max Petalburg shouting instructions to his new PokeAll to his sister and Dawn Twinleaf. Kris, of course, would have been in the middle of it all.

He cleared his throat. “The other Legendary Team members will be here shortly. I suggest you all start preparing for action.” A few nods from the group made him sigh again.

There was a knock at the door to the lab, prompting Rowan to step forward and open it. Mars Ayanokoji walked in, her red eyes blazing with determination.

“Mars!” Samantha and David exclaimed, relieved to see their old friend from Veilstone.

Mars’ eyes widened at the sight of new members of the Legendary Team. “I see you’ve gathered some new friends. We don’t have much time, though…”

A ringing sound filled the laboratory and Rowan took his PokeAll out of his lab coat pocket, answering it. “Hello?”

“Professor, are Samantha and the other new members of the Legendary Team there?” It was Kirio.

“Yes. All of them.”

“Good. You and Mars should take them with you in your group. The other Legendary Team members are splitting up amongst themselves. Scarlet and I are going up the mountain…alone.” There was hesitation in his voice, as if he were leaving out something.

“Okay. We’ll leave immediately.” Rowan hung up his phone.

“Was that Kirio?” Mars asked.

He nodded. “We’re to head up the south side of Mt. Coronet as soon as possible.”

The teenagers’ eyes widened. “We’re going after Neo-Team Galactic?” David asked. “Head on?”

Rowan nodded. “We’re going to make sure that whatever they’re after remains out of their reach.”

------------

I could feel her growing closer and closer to that dark place. Though it was warm in the temple, I threw my arms around myself and shivered as a view of a dark altar and blood obscured my vision.

“Are you okay?” Grayson asked.

I nodded. “We don’t have much time left, though…”

Grayson groaned. “We aren’t doing anything in this fight. It’s not our place.”

My eyes flew open as a wave of power came over me. Dimension was drawing closer.

------------

The tunnels were black as night for a while, causing Katie to struggle to see ahead. Finally, bright spots of light filled the corridor from the other side. She and Colin stepped into a large chamber lit by tourches on all sides. A huge stone altar stood in the middle and a large engraved wall stood on the other side, depicting Giratina, the power of dimension. Katie’s mouth fell open.

“Where are we?” She gasped.

“The Temple of Dimension.”

Katie’s eyes widened. She had expected Colin to answer, but a young woman’s voice had sounded instead. She turned to the dark corner near Giratina’s picture. A young woman her age stepped out of the shadows, revealing light purple hair with blue streaks through it and dark, cruel eyes. She wore a short black dress with tall white boots. White straps encircled her arms. Katie’s eyes widened even more at the Galactic “G” on her dress. She took a few steps back, her eyes staring unbelievingly at the young woman.

“Colin…she must be part of Neo-Team Galactic…We should go…”

The young woman smiled. “The Daughter of Shadow and Light. How nice to finally meet you.”

Katie gasped. “H…How do you know that’s my legendary name?”

She smirked and swept her hair off her shoulder. “I know many things about you…mainly that you are about to help me achieve my goal of calling forth Giratina from its dimension.”

Katie glared at her. “I don’t think so.”

The young woman smirked again. “I don’t think you have a choice. Hermes.” She turned to Colin. “Tie her to the wall in the back. Once Apollo and Poseidon get here, we’ll get started.”

“What?!” Katie swung around, taking in the cold expression in Colin’s eyes. She could feel her own starting to water. “Hermes?”

He ducked his head as the young woman laughed. “Yes. Your dear…Colin…is one of my prized commanders, Hermes.”

“Who are you?!” She demanded, swinging to face her.

The young woman’s smile faded, and she stepped forward, her black-purple eyes focused on Katie’s Aquapolian crystal ones. “I am Aphrodite, leader of Neo-Team Galactic. Student of the former Team Galactic leader Cyrus. Goddess of the New Dimension.” She raised her head, looking down at Katie and gageing the teenager’s reaction to her declaration. In the torchlight, the combination of Aphrodite’s powerful eyes, almost ethereal hair shade, and flowing dress that fit her curves, she almost looked like a goddess, albeit one that had only started her reign recently. Still, Katie gaped at her last title, the fact that this was the leader of Neo-Team Galactic only racing through her mind for a few seconds. How could someone claim to be a goddess? The Aquapolian religion was monotheistic…unless this girl was planning on becoming a goddess through whatever means necessary. It was blasphemy in its purest form. Something inside of Katie flamed, burning angrier and angrier at this thought. Her cheeks burned in rage now, completely forgetting Colin’s betrayal for a few seconds.

“Anyway,” Aphrodite continued, looking toward the altar. “To become the goddess of a new world, I need to have your blood. Cyrus sacrificed nearly all of your mother’s blood when he raised Giratina before…however, only because he didn’t know a few drops would suffice.” She smiled cruelly. “Don’t worry. I won’t slit your throat. I want to borrow only a bit.”

“No!” Katie spat. “I’m NOT helping you!” She backed up, ready to flee. Colin snatched up her arm, causing her to gasp in surprise as he pulled her back. He refused to look at her, keeping his eyes on his leader.

“You...” Katie struggled through the tears in her eyes. “Why are you doing this, Colin?”

“Why not?” He said gruffly. “This was my job all along. I was part of Neo-Team Galactic before we even met.”

Tears started to fall down her cheeks as he drug her over to the far wall. “Chain her there,” Aphrodite said, gesturing to the large metal chains that hung from the ceiling. “I don’t want her running away.”

Katie tried to dig her feet into the ground to slow Colin down. She tried teleporting, but something in the chamber stopped her before she could cross dimensions. She struggled against his grip, trying to push him away with her powers. There was no use. He gripped her wrists and wrapped the chains around them, pulling tight enough for the metal to cut into her skin. She whimpered, ducking her head.

“I…trusted you…” She whispered only enough for him to hear.

He paused, then whispered back. “Maybe you shouldn’t have…” Then walked away as tears started to wet the ground beneath her overturned head. Aphrodite gazed at her for only a few minutes before fixing her eyes on Colin.

“Where is Pluto?” She asked.

“He’s back at the main base.”

“Call him and tell him to come down here immediately,” she said.

“Yes ma’am.”
 

harryheart

Well-Known Member
Chapter 6

As good as ever. Amazing twist there, I loved the battle scene and how although at the end of the last chapter Katie was really managing to defeat the Galactics, Apollo managed to come back and we actually found out some intriguing differences because of this. Such as the Psychic attacks, and the Light medicine as well. Being Shadow and Light, which is the title as well, should mean that both work, but it'll be interesting to see if she becomes dependent on her dark side.

Contest was good as well, and I loved the interaction between Samantha and Katie, it is a shame she cant be there but I hope Samantha does really well!
 

chosen_one386

Angel of Chaos
Chapter 6

As good as ever. Amazing twist there, I loved the battle scene and how although at the end of the last chapter Katie was really managing to defeat the Galactics, Apollo managed to come back and we actually found out some intriguing differences because of this. Such as the Psychic attacks, and the Light medicine as well. Being Shadow and Light, which is the title as well, should mean that both work, but it'll be interesting to see if she becomes dependent on her dark side.

Contest was good as well, and I loved the interaction between Samantha and Katie, it is a shame she cant be there but I hope Samantha does really well!

Seeing as Katie is a descendent of StarClan, she is technically a Light-type when in Aquapolian form and a dark-type when in her Umbreon form, so sometimes it can be confusing.

More contests to come, though! Katie will get to see more of Samantha's contests.
 

chosen_one386

Angel of Chaos
I had an extremely hectic week last week, which was why I didn't write at all. However, here is the next chapter, continuing all of the events of the climax! (you get a bonus flashback with it, too!) :D



Chapter Twenty-Eight



Scarlet, Kirio, and Cyrus stood at the base of Mt. Coronet, their gazes lifted upward at the mountain’s top. “We’ll have to teleport to where the Spear Pillar once stood, then backtrack down to the Temple of Dimension,” Cyrus said.

Kirio turned to him. “Are you sure that’s where they took her?”

He nodded. “Positive. If they’re truly after Giratina, they’ll need to perform the ritual in the Temple of Dimension.”

Kirio’s eyes narrowed. Scarlet sensed a fight and interjected. “Is there any way that I could possibly stop them from raising Giratina once they’ve performed the ritual?” She asked Cyrus.

“I don’t know. Your connection to the power of dimension runs deep…but I still don’t know its. We shouldn’t take any chances.”

Kirio nodded. “Up we go.”

------------

The newest members of the Legendary Team ran up the mountain slopes behind Mars and Rowan, careful not to slip off of any cliff edges. They could spot a huge building ahead, and Mars gasped. “I thought our original headquarters had collapsed years ago!”

“What?!” Michael yelled from the back.

David sighed. “She said that she thought the original Galactic headquarters had collapsed years ago.” Mars looked back, a question in her ruby eyes, but David shook his head at her to keep quiet. She rolled her eyes and faced forward again.

“Stop!”

A voice rang out from the cliff above them and they froze, everyone getting into fighting stances. Mars’ eyes widened at the person who stepped onto the cliff’s edge. “Pluto!” A smile crept across her face. “I haven’t seen you in years!” Samantha and David looked at each other with a meaningful look while Ashley, Chichiri, and Michael stayed rooted in their confusion.

“Mars. Nice to see you at the old headquarters again,” Pluto said. Her smile grew wider. “This new leader has disgraced our team’s name. I trust you have some idea of what she is up to?”
Though she didn’t know the identity of the Neo-Galactic leader, Mars could suspect exactly what she was up to. Years ago, on this very peak, Cyrus had raised Giratina from its dimension under the Sinnoh region, threatening to have it destroy this universe and create a new one without shadow…one in which he would be god. Fortunately, the Chosen One had stepped in and stopped him from unleashing Giratina’s true powers. In the process, she also showed him the error of his ways…but that hadn’t been for several months after their showdown on Mt. Coronet...after months of heartache for both of them. This new leader obviously didn’t know what Cyrus had known for decades. The destruction of this world only led to bloodshed and heartache.

However…the realization hit Mars as she remembered the day Cyrus changed so many decades ago. It had taken a revelation that everything Cyrus held dear in this world would be destroyed…even with his best-laid plans to save it. What if this leader had no ties to this world as Cyrus had? Even if she could be stopped…would she really see the error of her ways and turn from her life goal?

“Mars?” Pluto’s voice brought her back to the present. She lifted her red gaze up to the cliff. Even from a distance, she could see the worried frown on the scientist’s face. “What’s wrong?” He asked, with unusually warm concern. Something in her smiled. After Cyrus’ cold demeanor had been broken by the Chosen One years ago, his commanders had shed their own coldness, each one gaining warmth over the years. Even old Pluto was developing a soft heart.

“Nothing,” she said, laughing at her own foolishness. The teenagers behind her exchanged confused looks, and even Rowan stared at her as if she were crazy. She sighed. She, Cyrus, and her brother Maxie shared one thing in common with Katie’s father.

How many lives…no…souls had Kris saved so many years ago?

<<<<<<>>>>>>

Images swam in front of my face. I could feel the cold marble of the temple’s floor underneath my cheek, but I ignored it. I wanted to give myself over to the past. All I could think of were the consequences of raising Giratina that Cyrus and I had learned so many years beforehand. I had the special ability to literally walk in my own memories. An ability I had shared with Scarlet so many years beforehand.

I could see the dust and glass that filled the air of the laboratory, making me cough and cover my mouth so that I could breathe without inhaling bits of glass particles. I had to struggle to see through the thick cloud that spun through the room. My eyes watered as the dust stung them. I glanced down at my feet and froze. My own blood iced through as I took in the puddles of blood that spotted the floor around me. With horrible realization, I knew that only one person had been in the room at the time of the blast.
“Cyrus!” I called out, stepping over glass and wires and trying to see through the dust. “Cyrus!” I finally spotted him. He was slumped against the far wall, his eyes closed. Blood was running down part of his face. I gasped and rushed to kneel in front of him. “Cyrus…” I laid a hand on his shoulder and shook him to see if he was conscious. He opened his eyes and looked up at me.

“Are you okay?”

He paused before nodding. I breathed a sigh of relief, then froze. “What were you doing?”

He lifted his right arm slowly to point at the remnants of a machine behind me. “It…broke down…unexpectedly.”

I frowned. “I thought you told Pluto you were taking these machines apart…How could it have exploded if there wasn’t any power running to it?” Realization flashed through me, and I felt tears rush to my eyes. “Were you trying to see if it still worked? Wh…why?” I demanded.

He fixed me with his light blue eyes, not saying a word. My grip tightened on his shoulder as tears started to flow down my cheeks. “Why…won’t you…let it go?!” I could feel my voice growing softer around the tears. “Why can’t you just walk away? This is futile.” I closed my eyes and dropped my head.

“The Shadow’s still out there. There must be something here that could help us…”

“Destroying the world won’t help!” I snapped, my eyes flying open and my head shooting upwards to look at him. “Would you like to know what would happen if you succeeded in destroying this world?” The question came from a deep part of me, as if I weren’t speaking at all. It surprised me. I myself didn’t want to know what would happen if his goals had gone to completion. It was as if that part of me that had existed three thousand years before spoke on my behalf. Did I even have the power to show him myself?

As that thought flew through my brain, the space shifted around us, causing me to fall backwards in shock. No….I didn’t want to see it… But something was changing the space around us…Someone was answering my question. I jumped to my feet, feeling the air swirl away the dust and glass. Cyrus shakily stood as well, favoring his right leg. I should have instantly taken him to the nearest Pokemon Center after finding him…I shouldn’t have stayed to question why he had been hurt…

Finally, the air around us calmed down, allowing a clear view of the peaks of Mt. Coronet. Shock raced through me as I realized where we were. This very spot of the Spear Pillar was where Cyrus and I had fought only a few months beforehand. The spot where I stopped him from using Giratina to destroy the Earth. I swung around to see if he realized what was going on, then froze, the most terrifying feeling running through me.

Cyrus, the man who wasn’t afraid of anything, who showed emotion very rarely and never fear, was shaking, his cold blue eyes fixed on the legendary that rose above the mountain in front of us. Giratina seemed larger than life, nearly blocking out the sun with its immense body. The shadows around us started to turn, and I looked down at my feet. My shadow was shifting to the side. Time was passing by…but only for our surroundings. We were stuck in a time-free zone.

I took a few steps forward, drawing in deep breaths to keep myself from completely losing my senses, and gazed out at the landscape around us. Terror gripped me, and I nearly stopped breathing. The trees on the mountains around us were dying…as were all of the plants…Life had stopped for every living thing that surrounded the mountain. Thankfully, I couldn’t spot any Aquapolians or Pokemon around us, but I knew that they were dying as well. This thought nearly made me sick.

Cyrus’ eyes were still on Giratina as time continued to pass. Since I stood behind him, I couldn’t see the expression on his face. Suddenly, the sun started to grow closer and closer to the Earth, filling the entire sky. I took a few steps back, shaking in fear, and closed my eyes. A rushing sound filled my ears for only a few seconds before I heard silence. I opened my eyes, only to fall to my knees in terror.

Everything around us was black with only a few stars’ light in the distance. The Earth was gone. The sun was gone. We were on a forcefield that kept us from falling into nothing. Stars started to disappear one by one around us. Finally….everything went completely black.

“Cyrus!” I screamed, jumping to my feet. Terror gripped me as I flailed around in the darkness. I could only see the faint glow of my pendent, but nothing else. I felt a hand on my arm, and relief washed over me. I could see the glow of Cyrus’ pendent and gripped his arm tightly. He was shaking almost uncontrollably, causing my panic to grow even larger. I could only sense him and Giratina. Everything else was gone.

After a few minutes of silence, I started to feel a deep pain in my chest. My body went numb, and I let go of Cyrus’ arm, falling to the forcefield floor as my body surged with pain. The pain disappeared a few seconds later, and two figures swam before my eyes.

Something had changed about my point of view. I was now standing on the other side of Cyrus, who I could see clearly. My eyes fell to the figure writhing in pain at his feet. It was me. But I wasn’t there…I looked down at my hands. Was I outside of my body? I had a terrible compulsion to cry out to him as he bent down to see if my other body was okay.

“Kristal?” Though I would normally have had to struggle to hear his voice, I heard it loud and clear from where I stood. I stepped closer to see if my other self was okay…just in time to see the Aquapolian pendent disappear from around my neck. Terror gripped me. I was dead. Was this why I was looking on from outside of my body?

Suddenly, I heard myself speak to the figure hunched over my body, looking as if he were the most torn person in the world. I could feel the harsh words rise in my head, but I said them anyway, no matter how much they hurt him.

“Do you see now what your new universe will be like?” He swung around to look at me, and my heart broke. His eyes were lighter, but with pain and grief shining through them. This was an unusual day. First he had been afraid, now sad. Something momentous was happening. I knew it. I continued to speak as if possessed by someone else.

“She cannot live without a heaven. She’s an angel, after all. Once you destroyed it, you cut off her lifeline.” I tilted my head to the side. Someone was controlling my actions. Had I really been possessed? The thoughts and memories flying through my head were not my own….at least in the present. Snippets of my life from three thousand years before flashed in my mind. This was my angel soul…I was sure of it.

“You wanted to destroy the Shadow, did you not? You wanted to create a new, perfect universe? Well, now you know…that universe would be impossible to create with what you imagined. The only person you’ve ever loved cannot live in it.”

As I said them, the words struck me hard. How did I know this? Or did the other me know this? Was it true? Did Cyrus really, truly, love me despite all of the ways he had pushed me away since we met? The scene in front of me started to spin. I was losing consciousness. Before I finally blacked out, I saw the tears fall from his eyes.

<<<<<<>>>>>>

I lifted my head from the marble floor, surprised to see tears pooled around the spot where I had lain. The flashback had been so real…and so terrifying. I wondered if this new leader of Team Galactic had anyone in her life whom she loved so much that she would give up this dream of raising Giratina to save them. The questions that had been swimming in my head before I blacked out years ago had been proven true. Though Cyrus was not my biological father, he had become even closer to me over the years…

I looked up at where Grayson stood a few yards away from me, leaning against the far temple wall, his blonde head bowed in thought. With a few tears…a few pleading words…I thought I could persuade him to let me go through the portal. He was loyal to Cyrus…but he was even more loyal to me. Pushing myself to my feet, I started at the portal a few minutes before turning to Grayson.
“She’s my daughter.”

Grayson looked up, surprised at these few simple words. His Aquapolian crystal eyes widened for only a few seconds, then narrowed as he thought through my words. “I know, Kris, I know. You’d do anything to protect her.” He stood up straight. “But you know the implications of returning to Earth.”

No, the implications were fuzzy to me. No one had directly told me why I couldn’t return to Earth. I thought I was being punished by the Angel Council. Continuouly punished for things I had done throughout my life on Earth. According to them, I was the most sin-filled angel they knew. I laughed inwardly. Did that make me a demon? Maybe Katharine’s demon side came from me instead of Kirio?

I grew sober again, turning back to the portal. “I’ll face the consequences later.” I said simply, stepping forward, imagining myself stepping several feet through space toward the portal. Grayson tried to follow me, but I was too fast. I could feel his fingertips brushing against the back of my dress as I faded away, my soul heading back down to Earth once again.
 

chosen_one386

Angel of Chaos
Now we're really getting into the climax with this chapter...Surprising twists...surprising cameo...and surprising changes at the end! Hope you guys are enjoying this part of the story. It's my favorite, at least. :)


Chapter Twenty-Nine



Pluto led the group of teenagers, Mars, and Rowan into the Neo-Team Galactic base. They passed very few agents on the way to the basement. Below stood a line of cells that contained a group of Aquapolians.

“Mom! Dad!” Ashley exclaimed, running to the bars as the McCauleys turned to see their son and daughter enter the room. They stepped forward to where Ashley and David gripped the bars, tears filling their eyes.

“Mom, Dad, you’re safe!” Samantha cried out, stepping forward toward her own parents.

“Grandpa, grandma.” Chichiri stepped forward to his grandparents.

“Michael!” Allison ran to the bars, putting out her hand for Michael to grip in his.

“Who are all these people?” Rowan asked, his eyes widening at the site.

“Hostages,” Pluto said. “In case we had to escape from the authorities or a stand-off occurred.”

Mars turned to him. “How much of a chance is there that the leader will notice if we take them away now?”

“Zero chance. She already has the Daughter of Shadow and Light and what she needs to raise Giratina.”

Mars frowned. “We need to stop her.”

“Leave that to the rest of the Legendary Team. For now, we need to make sure we get all of these people to safety and stop the other commanders from helping Aphrodite.”

“Aphrodite?” Mars’ eyebrows shot up.

“Yeah. I’m entirely sure that’s not her real name,” he said as he opened the cells. “I’ll take you all to the Pokemon Center in Eterna.” He turned back. “Rowan, Mars, you’ll help stop the commanders. Look for three young men with large Galactic symbols on their chests. One of them, however, is on our side. His commander name is Hermes, but his real name is Colin Birch.”

“Wait a minute!” Rowan exclaimed, his eyebrows drawing together as he frowned. “You mean the boy who kidnapped Katharine? This was part of your plan?!” His voice grew louder, causing several of the people in the room, teenagers and adults alike, to flinch. “What if she succeeds in raising Giratina? There is no Chosen One to help us now!”

“Wrong,” Mars said. Everyone turned to look at her. “We have the Dimensional Warrior. She may not be as powerful as the Chosen One, but she contains some of Giratina’s power and is powerful in her own right.”

Rowan relaxed and nodded.

------------

All four commanders gathered in the Temple of Dimension around Aphrodite, who held a sharp dagger in her hand. She smiled at Katie, who struggled against the chains that held her to the wall. Katie tried to make eye contact with Colin, but he looked away each time.

“Stand back,” Aphrodite motioned to her commanders, who did as she said. Colin and Pluto exchanged glances, and Colin nodded, glancing back toward the table. The Red Chain laid there, spread out amongst the orbs. However, the links on its surface were not fully formed. It was incomplete, but Aphrodite did not notice as she stepped forward, raising the dagger to Katie’s arm, her eyes narrowing.

“Soon, I will bring forth a new universe…and be its goddess.”

------------

Kirio, Scarlet, and Cyrus were almost to the Temple of Dimension. They wound around several passageways, Kirio in the lead. Thoughts rushed through his head, most of them focused on saving his daughter.

Cyrus and Scarlet’s thoughts were on what had occurred in the Temple of Dimension nearly two decades beforehand. The memory was painful for Cyrus to think of, and Scarlet shivered at the scene the Chosen One had shown her only a year after it had taken place. They had to stop Katie from suffering the same fate.

------------

The group gathered in the Eterna Pokemon Center was tired and restless. The newest members of the Legendary Team glanced around at each other, unsure of what to do now. Finally, David addressed the crowd.

“We’re going back up Coronet to help save Katie,” he said, his blue eyes flashing.

“What?” Mrs. Lynn spoke up, her eyes widening. “It’s dangerous up there.”

“David,” his father said sternly. “Leave this to the real Legendary Team.”

“We ARE the real Legendary Team, Dad!” Ashley shot back. Her parents were startled by her reaction. She fixed them with her blue gaze. “We traveled with Katie…we faced up against Neo-Team Galactic before. We’re fighting to stop them from taking control of one of the six powers. If I’m not mistaken, that’s more than enough to qualify us to be part of the Legendary Team!”

There was silence. Then, Mars spoke up. “She’s right.” She turned to the newest Legendary Team members. “Rowan and I will go with you.”

Michael reluctantly let go of his sister’s hand. “I’m going, too.” The others turned to him. He sighed. “I owe Katie big time for not turning me in to the police. Besides…these people kidnapped Allison, too. I won’t forgive them for it.”

“It’s decided then,” Samantha said, turning back to her parents. “We’re going to help Katie.”

------------

The wind whipped through the peaks of Mt. Coronet, stirring my hair up around my head in a blustery cloud of gold. The mountain was just as I had remembered it. My eyes were focused on the Spear Pillar. Right below it was the Temple of Dimension.

I closed my eyes. “I’m already too late.”

------------

Katie’s eyes widened as Aphrodite slid the knife across her arm, wetting it with blood before drawing away. She turned around, careful not to spill any of Katie’s blood. Katie shook with both anger and terror at what was to come as Aphrodite raised the knife to the altar, sprinkling some of the blood over the Red Chain.

“I hearby sacrifice the blood of the Daughter of Shadow and Light, the daughter of the Chosen One and born to both angel and demon. I give the blood to you, the power of dimension, in exchange for you coming to our dimension and aiding me in my mission to remake this world.”

She held the knife above her head. Somewhere, Katie could hear a clock chiming. What time was it? She counted 12 tolls.

“Arise! Giratina!”

------------

Something rang through Scarlet’s head, causing her to stop short a few steps from the bottom of the stairs. Cyrus and Kirio skidded to a halt, turning back to see if she was okay. “No,” she said, pressing her hands against her ears. “Go on ahead…I’m fine.”

Kirio nodded and continued down the steps. Cyrus, however, froze where he stood, staring out into empty space. When he noticed Cyrus wasn’t following him, Kirio swung around.

“What’s wrong?”

Cyrus’ shoulders fell. “We’re too late.”

------------

The air around the cave entrance that led to the Temple of Dimension sparked with power. The new Legendary Team members stopped and stared, unsure what to do.

“She’s done it!” Mars shouted. “She’s raised Giratina!” She stared in horror at the space in front of the cave entrance. “What is this?” She muttered to herself. “Could she have opened up spaces to the Dimensional World?”

“Impossible,” Rowan said, running up to stand by her. “Cyrus himself didn’t accomplish that.”

David turned around. “What do we do now?”

Mars frowned. “Stay together and follow me.” She started to walk toward the entrance, a determined look set on her face.

“Wait…Mars!” Rowan shouted. She didn’t stop. “You don’t know what will happen…”

She looked back, her eyes narrowing. “I know what will happen if Aphrodite succeeds in destroying this world.” She turned back to the entrance and disappeared inside. One by one, the Legendary Team followed after her.

Rowan sighed, glancing up at the peaks above them. His eyes widened in astonishment at the glimpse he caught of flowing golden hair and Aquapolian crystal blue eyes on a cliff in the distance. The figure seemed to spot him and swung around, disappearing behind the cliff face.

“Kris…tal?” Rowan whispered to himself before he stepped into the cave entrance, thoroughly convinced he had just seen the Chosen One for the first time in decades.

------------

The chains fell away from Katie’s wrists, causing her to pitch forward onto the cold floor. She world spun around her for a few minutes before her eyes focused. She gasped and pushed herself to a sitting position, wincing at the pain rushing through her arm. She glanced down to where Aphrodite’s knife had sliced it. Only a thin red line was left. She gazed back up at the walls around her. They were covered in completely different ruins…and were white marble instead of stone. She was no longer in the Temple of Dimension. And she was alone. She pushed herself to her feet, glancing around with wide, frightened eyes.

------------

Aphrodite’s eyes traveled up to the ceiling, widening at the figure before her. “Giratina…” She whispered, swinging around to face her commanders. “I did it!” She trailed off when she realized they weren’t there. She frowned. “They’ll be along before I destroy this dimension,” she muttered to herself.

------------

“Go down that passageway and make sure no one enters the main chamber,” Apollo said to Colin.

Colin frowned. “How do we know if anyone’s going to get in here?”

Apollo sighed. “Anyone who enters the vicinity of the Temple of Dimension will wind up in this place.” He glared at Colin. “Go now.”

Colin glared back and started to walk away. Suddenly, he stopped.

Apollo frowned. “Keep going, Hermes.”

Colin gritted his teeth, his purple eyes sliding to the floor. A rush of psychic energy flew through the air. Apollo barely had enough time to throw up a barrier before he crashed into the space around him.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” He demanded. Poseidon reluctantly stepped forward, his green eyes on Colin. Colin narrowed his own eyes at the black-haired commander.

“Sorry…but this is where our mission ends,” he said, rushing forward to attack Apollo once again.

------------

“Where are we?” Scarlet muttered, scanning the marble over their heads.

“The Dimensional World,” Cyrus said simply, starting forward down the chamber. Scarlet and Kirio stared after him, not moving to follow him. Neither knew what to do…and then they looked at each other, and Scarlet screamed.

Cyrus whirled around, ready to attack whatever had caused the young Champion to scream in terror, then froze. He had known beforehand that the Dimensional World could effect its inhabitants in strange ways, but he hadn’t expected what he saw in front of him.

Gone were Scarlet and Kirio, the adult Champion and the CEO of Akagi International. In there place were Scarlet and Kirio, the young, sixteen-year-old Pokemon trainers. Unexpectedly, the Dimensional World had turned back time, and transformed the two Aquapolians into the ages they had been when the Great War ended.

Scarlet turned to Cyrus, a helpless and terrified look in her golden eyes. “What’s going on?!” She demanded, then slapped a hand over her mouth, surprised at how young her voice sounded. She slowly pulled it away in horror. “Did I change, too?”

Cyrus nodded, turning away to look back down the corridor. They didn’t have time to stand around and wonder at the odd eccentricities of the Dimensional World. “I would have changed, too,” he said, turning to give them a wry smile. “If I hadn’t died at the end of the war.”
 

chosen_one386

Angel of Chaos
Wow...so...hello! I'm sorry this chapter took such a long time! Between school and my giving up writing for Lent...and my actually losing all of my writing when my flash drive broke....

Enough excuses! Here's the exciting Chapter Thirty you've been waiting for!


Chapter Thirty



Katie gazed around her at the marbled walls of the Temple of Dimension. Something about the chamber now seemed completely off, as if the air itself had changed somehow. She pushed herself away from the wall she had been chained to, her wrists aching in the rubbed away spots the links had left in her skin. She had only been held there for a few hours, but the chains had been so old…She wondered if one could die from rust poisoning the bloodstream…Maybe if one were a human?

As if the answers to her questions were on the ceiling, she looked up, surprised to see that there was nothing above her but empty space. It was completely dark except for a tiny spot of opal-colored light. She realized with a dizzying thought that Giratina and Aphrodite must be above her…Somewhere in space. Her first instinct was to levitate a few feet off the ground in order to begin her ascent up the tunnel, but she stopped after one foot, letting herself fall the short distance to the ground. What was she going to do when she got up there? She thought of the light attacks that Evan had taught her. Surely, she could hold Giratina off until more legendaries showed up.

As she began her ascent once again, she couldn’t help but wish that the Chosen One would show up in time to take care of all of this…Alas…though, the golden haired angel was dead.

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The chamber where the three Neo-Galactic commanders and the Neo-Legendary Team members were locked in battle rang with the sound of attacks being thrown and dodged. Apollo and Colin were locked deep in battle, throwing psychic attacks at each other powerful enough to kill any lesser Aquapolians. Poseidon, reluctant to fight, took a few steps back from Mars as she advanced on the younger commander. Second by second, his will to follow Aphrodite’s plan had faded, and he wished he could return to being Adrian, the peaceful, but estranged son of Giovanni Rocket.

Mars threw the first punch, executing a swinging kick that was unusual for a psychic-type. Poseidon calmly dodged the attack with a Matrix-like twist. The next attack was a kick, which he actually knocked aside, spinning around the older Aquapolian and catching her off guard with his reflexes. After years of perfecting her psychic abilities on her own, then training with her brother, then working on her powers after temporarily becoming the power of the land, Mars was one of the most powerful psychic-types in Aquapolis and even the Legendary Team.

However, Adrian was faster and was a good few decades younger than her. He grabbed her arms and pinned them behind her back in one fell swoop, holding her still and struggling for a few minutes. He had to bend down to speak to her, being nearly a foot taller than the former Galactic commander. Before a word could escape his lips, she thrust her head backwards, trying to stun him with a blow to his own head. However, he had anticipated the move and jerked backwards, causing the both of them to take a few steps in reverse.

Once again, Adrian bent down, speaking quickly unless Mars cared to attack him once more. “Those Garchomp are weaker than they look. The cost of Shadowficating them resulted in lower Defensive and Special Defensive stats while their Attack and Special Attack are through the roof. Their Speed stats weren’t affected at all, however, so if you can dodge their moves and get a hit in otherwise…they’ll go down easily.”

She froze as he released his grip on her, taking a few steps backward in case she tried to lash out at him again. Instead of attacking, she turned around slowly, pinning him with her ruby red eyes. He knew exactly which question lurked in her mind.

“I’m tired of this,” he said simply, crossing his arms and bowing his raven-colored head, muttering only loud enough for her to hear him. “I refuse to become my father.”

Mars stared at him, breathlessly waiting to see if he would let slip any more information, but he spoke no more, simply raising his emerald gaze to the Garchomp that was approaching the red-haired former commander from behind. A Hyper Beam slammed into the ground where he had been only seconds before. He reappeared a few feet above the dragon-type’s head, sending a psychic blast racing down onto the Shadow Pokemon and pinning it to the ground. He landed beside Mars, who gave him a grateful nod before they turned to deal with the rest of the Garchomp.

Meanwhile, Apollo and Colin were locked in a heated battle, both aiming to take down the other before he could carry through with his plans.

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The tunnel up which Katie was traveling suddenly turned horizontal, forcing her to levitate forward into an enormous chamber lit only by torches lining the walls. Her feet touched the stone floor, and she nearly colappsed at the sight before her.

The power of dimension rose stories above her head, its claws stretching to fill as much of the chamber as possible. Before it stood Aphrodite, who fixed Katie with a cold stare at the latter’s arrival.

“I thought you would make it up here eventually,” she said, tossing her blue and purple hair over her shoulder. “Unfortunately, you won’t live long enough to see my new world.” She tilted her head up to Giratina, and shouted, “Giratina! Finish her!”
The power of dimension roared, and in a blast of light, the air around Katie exploded. She shielded her eyes as the energy crashed down on her, waiting for the impact. But it never came. The attack slammed into a barrier set up a few feet above her, bouncing off of a pearl-colored shield. She slowly opened her eyes and gasped at the man who stood before her. It was Evan!

The shield evaporated around them. Katie, who had fallen to her knees in expectation of being destroyed, slowly rose to her feet, staring at the man before her, who had his back turned to her. His eyes were on Aphrodite.

The Neo-Galactic leader’s dark eyes were rounded with surprise. For a few seconds, she couldn’t breathe, but she regained her composure with a cold smile, crossing her arms in front of her. “So…The rumors were true…” She tilted her head to the side. “You have become the power of space.”

Katie gasped, an image of Palkia flashing through her mind. Evan was…the legendary of space, Palkia?! This realization almost forced her to her knees again. Without turning to glance at her, the power of space spoke.

“Yes. With Palkia’s destruction, the power needed a vessel. I volunteered as the only member of StarClan present at the time.”

“So you finally achieved your dream of becoming immortal?” Aphrodite asked, her eyes flashing with anticipation.

He frowned. “That dream ceased years ago.” He raised his head to gaze at Giratina. “This goal is completely fruitless.”

Aphrodite’s eyes darkened. “That’s because you FAILED!” She shouted, her smile replaced with an enraged frown. “You were so caught up in protecting the Chosen One, that you lost sight of your goal! I have cast every other Aquapolian aside! No one will stand in my way!” Realizing that she had lost her temper, she froze and relaxed, the cold smile sliding back onto her face.

“It doesn’t matter now. If I have to, I’ll destroy you and the Daughter of Shadow and Light. If I have to, I’ll find another vessel for the power of space.”

“That’s illogical.”

“You ceased being logical decades ago, Cyrus…The moment you took pity on the Chosen One.”

“Cyrus?!”

This time, both Galactic leaders turned to Katie, whose Aquapolian crystal eyes were wider than Aphrodite’s had been at the power of space’s entrance. She stared at Cyrus, unable to believe what the Neo-Galactic leader had just said.

“You’re really…Cyrus?” She took a few steps back. He sighed, turning back to Aphrodite once again.

“Giratina!” Aphrodite shouted, raising her hand to the power of dimension. “Finish them!”

Another blast of light rocked the chamber as another barrier formed around them. Katie could only stand and watch the attack roar toward them as a shattering sound filled the air.

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Colin could feel a surge of power rush through the floor under his feet. They didn’t have much more time before Aphrodite used Giratina to destroy all dimension outside of the Dimensional World. He blocked another of Apollo’s shots, forcing the Neo Galactic Commander to back up a few steps away from where his Garchomp were fighting Adrian and Mars.

The Neo Legendary Team members were also locked into battle with several other Garchomp. Rowan hadn’t brought any Pokemon with him, so he was fighting with his own psychic powers, blowing the dragon Pokemon back from the others.

Another blast rocked the chamber, driving nearly every Aquapolian and Pokemon to its knees. One of Apollo’s attacks finally hit Colin, sending him flying into one of the pillars nearby. He struggled to stand up, gripping the pillar tightly as the ground shook underneath him again.

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Cyrus sank to his knees, struggling to breathe. The barrier had shattered a few seconds after impact, and any residual power behind Giratina’s attack had hit him, leaving Katie unharmed. Giratina readied another attack, and the light once again roared straight through the air toward them. Katie squeezed shut her eyes seconds before impact.

The attack once again slammed into a barrier, but this time, it bounced off completely, leaving the barrier and its occupants unharmed. After a few seconds, the roaring in Katie’s ears subsided, and an erie calm settled in the chamber. All she could hear were the struggled sounds of Cyrus trying to catch his breath. She slowly opened her eyes, her mind racing through ways to help him out of the chamber and to safety.

However, those thoughts flew out of her mind as she slowly raised her eyes to the young woman who stood before them. In fact, her mind went blank with shock. The only word that echoed in her head was…

“Mom?”

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I could feel the residual power of Giratina’s attack fade away, but I didn’t collapse my barrier just yet. I could tell that the young woman in front of me was desperate to destroy anyone in the chamber who stood in her way, no matter the price. I had to tear my eyes off of hers for a second, which I was reluctant to do. They were so full of darkness…surely this girl was being controlled by the Shadow.

Turning my back on her wasn’t exactly unwise in this situation. A few seconds later, Scarlet materialized into the room, transformed into her immortal form as the Dimensional Warrior, and appearing as her teenage self. Her off the shoulder, short white dress was blindingly bright in the dark chamber, and her soft purple hair glowed even brighter. She turned her golden gaze down to Katie, who was on her knees once again, staring at the glowing young woman before her.

“Stay here with Katharine, Scarlet,” I said, trying to control the emotion in my voice. The site of seeing my daughter for the first time in nearly two decades combined with the peril this world was in if we didn’t stop this new leader from destroying it nearly made me dizzy. On top of that, I could see that Cyrus was so badly injured, he was in danger of collapsing completely. If I didn’t get him out of that chamber…he would be injured beyond repair.

I didn’t care at that time how angry he would be at my returning to Earth against his and the Angel Council’s wishes. I was here to help. That was, after all, my duty as the Chosen One. I knelt beside him, placing my hands against his back. He hadn’t sustained any external physical injuries, but Giratina’s attack had certainly knocked the wind out of him. I looked up over his shoulder at Scarlet.

“Don’t attack until I return. Stay here and keep up my barrier.”

With that, we dematerialized out of the room, leaving Scarlet and Katie to fend for themselves for a brief few moments.

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“I’m as surprised as you are.”

Scarlet’s words jolted Katie from her thoughts. She slowly rose to her feet, glancing over at Aphrodite to see if the Neo Galactic leader was ready to attack once again. To her surprise, the young woman was frozen, staring intently at them…however, her eyes were only focused on Scarlet. After a few seconds of not getting a reply from the Daughter of Shadow and Light, Scarlet turned to get her first look at her soon-to-be opponent.

The state of shock she went into almost urged Katie into a panic attack. The Dimensional Warrior sank to her knees, her eyes on Aphrodite’s, shaking her head in disbelief. “It can’t be…” she whispered. “I can’t be her…”

Katie knelt beside the Champion, hesitantly placing a hand on her shoulder. The young woman was as warm as her aura looked, a gentle and comforting glow rising from her to Katie, calming the latter down as Scarlet grew even more shocked.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” She asked soothingly, her mind racing through possible triggers for Scarlet’s current state. The young woman held part of the power of dimension…Maybe she was in shock because she was in Giratina’s presence and some sort of bad reaction was occurring?

Finally, so softly Katie had to bend down to hear her, Scarlet whispered one name.

“Kristine…”

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The passageway we materialized into was completely silent. I could hear and sense no one, which was good. Friend or enemy, we couldn’t risk bumping into anyone at that moment. I helped Cyrus lean up against one of the passageway’s walls, He doubled over in pain at once, and I sighed. I hadn’t seen him in such bad condition since the day he died in the Cave of Origin. The only saving grace now was that he couldn’t die again, and his wounds weren’t enough to see him destroyed.

“What are you doing here?”

His almost silent words surprised me. Even through what had to be immense pain, he was still worried about my being on Earth at that moment. I sighed, leaning back a bit, but keeping my hand placed on his shoulder. The simple contact would help him heal faster. I averted my gaze from him, feeling his pearl glare on my face. It wasn’t any better than the glare he used to give me when we were alive. That one was cold, heartless, with blue-grey eyes that seemed nothing like him. This gaze had years of wisdom behind it…years of being an immortal, a life that taught him something beyond the science he knew when he was alive.

I lowered my eyes to the shiny surface of the passageway’s floor. For years, I had expected my appearance to one day grow older, but my sixteen-year-old face still stared back at me from my reflection.

“It’s my job to make sure that the six powers are not disturbed.”
“It’s also your job to follow the orders of the Angel Council,” he snapped. I cringed at his tone of voice, and, for a few seconds, felt hurt at his words, only to have those feelings dissipate when I heard the sound of his labored breathing. He was in pain. And even a man as supposedly emotionless as Cyrus couldn’t help but to lash out in his condition.

I finally looked up at him, stubbornly meeting his gaze, giving him the look I gave him so many times when he annoyed me while we traveled through Sinnoh and the OA. He seemed to back down after that, which could also have been attributed to his lowering energy level.

He was finally catching his breath when I sensed someone else in the passageway with us. Footsteps sounded on the floor a few yards away, and my heart leapt as a figure appeared a few feet away from us, staring down at the scene before him in disbelief.

I stared back, not expecting Kirio to have looked the same after seventeen years.

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The chamber where Neo Legendary and Neo Galactic fought still rocked with energy blasts and the roars of enraged Garchomp. The dragon-types were weakening, several of them unable to use their Hyper Beams anymore. The young Aquapolians and their Pokemon were also wearing down. The only fight that was still going at full power was the struggle between Apollo and Colin. A few minutes more saw the downfall of most of the Garchomp, leaving the Legendary Team weak and panting as they watched the two younger Aquapolians scuffle.

Psychic attacks slammed into the walls around them, causing the rock to crumble. However, since they were in the Dimensional World, there was no fear that the chamber would come crashing down on them. Colin slammed into Apollo, causing the raven-haired commander to crash to the floor, groaning from the impact of his arm nearly shattering on impact. Then, the chamber was silent.

Mars gazed around. No one spoke as they strained to listen through the walls of the chamber. No further explosions were occurring. All was eerily quiet. Apollo tried to prop himself up with his other elbow, panting with the effort. He raised his coal black eyes to Colin’s emerald gaze and smiled.

“She’s won…She’s defeated all of her enemies!”

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“You…haven’t changed…”

My words shocked Kirio even more than the fact that I was there in the passageway, trying to keep Cyrus from passing out from his injuries. He stared at me for a few more seconds before my words registered. He shook his head slowly, his eyes even blurred a little with tears. However, there was no time to enjoy our reunion after seventeen long years. I had another crazy criminal syndicate leader to stop from destroying the world.

I carefully stood up, checking to see if Cyrus was breathing easier. He seemed to be able to keep himself sitting upright. In a few minutes, he would be back to the state he had been in before Giratina attacked him. I looked back up at Kirio, fixing him with my gaze.

“Look after him for a bit. I have to go help Scarlet and Katharine.”

Before he could speak another word, I turned around and teleported out of the passageway.

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Colin grabbed the front of Apollo’s shirt and hoisted him onto his feet. “What do you mean she’s won?!” He shouted, shaking him.

Apollo smirked. “She has no more enemies in her way. She’ll destroy this flawed universe!”

“It won’t work.”

Everyone turned to look at Mars, who bowed her head to the floor. “Even Cyrus himself realized that eventually.” She gazed back up at Apollo. “It’s a futile effort that will destroy everything she’s ever loved.”

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I materialized back into the chamber where Aphrodite and Giratina stood waiting. Scarlet was on her knees, staring at the Neo Galactic leader and Katharine was trying to sooth her for some reason. I ran over to their side.

“Is something wrong?”

Katharine shook her head. “I don’t think so…but I believe she knows Aphrodite for some reason.”

I sighed and knelt before Scarlet, shielding Aphrodite from her view. I put my arms on her shoulders, and her shocked expression calmed as I gazed into her golden eyes. “We need to stop her from using Giratina to destroy the universe. You know what will happen if she does.” Scarlet merely nodded.


I stood up, turning to face Aphrodite and Giratina. “Katharine, I want you to form a barrier around us and Aphrodite.”

“What?” She looked at me, confused.

I sighed. “I don’t want to hurt her. There may be some chance that she’s not acting willingly. On that note,” I turned to Scarlet, who was now on her feet. “I want you to get her out of the way before I attack.” She nodded. I turned back to the young woman in front of us.

“So this is it…” She said, smiling sadly. The darkness was starting to fade from her eyes. “I knew as soon as you appeared.” She bowed her head. “I can’t fight the Chosen one. I’m not strong enough to.”

I took a deep breath. “This stops here, Aphrodite.” I thought I saw her nod at my statement. I turned to the other two and nodded. Scarlet readied herself to leap at my command. Katharine looked at me with wide, fearful eyes. I stepped to her, meeting my gaze to hers.

“Just imagine a barrier around the three of us and Aphrodite. The rest will come naturally to you.” I smiled and she warily smiled back, shaking a bit from fear and anticipation. I turned back to Giratina, focusing my energy on the relic that had brought it back once again. As I had suspected, Aphrodite held it. She wouldn’t possess it for long.

“Now, Scarlet…Katharine!” I shouted, closing my eyes and focusing on the chain, the air around me swirling with power. I could feel a barrier closing a few feet around me, protecting me from any attack Giratina felt necessary to use. I could also feel Scarlet rushing toward Aphrodite, wresting the Red Chain from her grip and putting her to sleep before she could fight back. A few seconds later, she materialized behind us, setting Aphrodite on the ground gently.

Finally, the way was clear for my attack. Once again, I felt the familiar shock coarse through my system as a blast of light energy rushed through the air, crushing the Red Chain completely. Giratina let out a roar, obviously surprised at its sudden release. My eyes flew open as I realized that the Dimensional World was about to collapse on who knew how many Aquapolians.

I turned to Scarlet and Katharine and smiled. “Let’s get out of here.”

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Sky…

He gazed up at the sound of his title being spoken and nodded.

The time was almost here.

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“How did we get outside?” Ashley asked, gazing around at the mountain pass the Legendary Team and former Galactic commanders stood on. Colin released Apollo, who fell to the ground, groaning from the pain in his arm. The Garchomp roared in confusion.

“Call them back to their Poke Balls!” Colin snapped at Apollo.

The Galactic commander glared at him, but recalled the dragon-types anyway. He struggled to a sitting position and bowed his head, staring at the ground as realization dawned on him. Their dream had failed. Years of work had led to nothing. He laughed spitefully, causing Colin to cringe at the tone of his voice.

Suddenly, something else dawned on him. “What if she’s dead?” He whispered to himself. He looked up, his eyes wide and fearful. “What if they killed her?”

“What?” Colin was seconds away from restraining the former Galactic commander, whom he believed might turn on them again in a heartbeat out of desperation. However, Apollo’s new attitude caused him to pause. He had known for years how dear Aphrodite was to his co-commander, but the look on Apollo’s face now that there was a chance she was dead scared him. What if Katie hadn’t made it out of this ordeal alive?

He sighed. For now, he would have to push back his hatred for the black-haired commander and help Apollo find Aphrodite. If Colin was correct in guessing, finding his former leader would also lead him to Katie. He held out his hand for Apollo to take, helping the young man almost blindingly to his feet. “We’ll find her,” he said firmly, turning back towards the mountains. “Let’s backtrack to the base. She may have ended up there.”

Without another word to Colin, Apollo sprinted up the mountain path, leaving the snow-haired trainer to gape after his colleague before he made his own way up the trail. Meanwhile, the others assessed the damage that the battle had done on themselves and their Pokemon.

Mars glanced around at the Neo Legendary Team members, relieved to see that none of them had sustained major injuries by fighting the Garchomp. Their Pokemon were tired, but had not been injured badly, either. One-by-one, the trainers and coordinators soothed their Pokemon, muttering encouragement to them before returning them to their Poke Balls.

“If I’m not mistaken…”

Mars turned to Rowan, who was looking up at the clear blue sky above them. The outside world was moving along as if nothing had happened, a scene that seemed in sharp contrast to when Cyrus raised Giratina, who immediately started changing the landscape with the aid of Dialga and Palkia, whom Mars had raised.

“Kris has returned.”

Mars gasped, staring at the professor.

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We found ourselves on a grassy mountain path. Starly chirped above our heads in the trees. Scarlet carefully laid the unconscious Aphrodite down on the ground, the Dimensional Warrior’s eyes on the fallen Neo Galactic leader at all times. Katie glanced over at me, not sure what to do next.

“I need to find Cyrus and Kirio,” I said calmly. “Stay here with Scarlet and Aphrodite.” I started to walk away down the path, tuning into my senses to find the power of space.

“Wait!”

I turned to see Katie running down the path towards me. She stopped, staring at me with unanswered questions for a few minutes.

“I…I just have….”

“Questions can wait.” I turned away, glancing up at the blue sky above us. “I need to make sure Cyrus is okay.” With that, I walked down the mountain path, following the power of space’s aura.

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“Katie!”

Katie turned from watching Kris leave to see Apollo and Colin running up the path toward them. Apollo ran straight to where Aphrodite lay while Colin immediately grabbed Katie by the shoulders and pulled her close.

“Thank God you’re safe…” He muttered, his face pressed into her raven-colored hair. She was shocked by his gesture, but didn’t pull away. “I’m so sorry, Katie…”

She sighed and pushed him away, looking up at him with stormy crystal eyes. “How did you get mixed up with Team Galactic?” She demanded. “Were you part of the team before or after we met?”

He blanched and looked down at his feet. After a few moments of hestitation, he finally answered, “I joined before we met…three years ago.”

Katie crossed her arms and averted her eyes, where tears were forming and threatening to fall. “Then we have nothing to talk about.” She started to walk away.

“Wait!”

She paused at Colin’s voice, but then resumed walking, leaving the snow-haired former Galactic commander alone.

Apollo was bent over Aphrodite, who was still laying unconscious on the ground. Tears were falling from his face as Scarlet looked on, also weeping. The latter’s crying startled Katie.

“Scarlet!”

Katie turned to see a blonde-haired man dressed entirely in blue running up the trail past Colin, who simply stood staring from a distance. She realized with a start that it was the Sunyshore gym leader, Volkner Sunyshore. Scarlet turned to watch her husband advance toward the scene, losing it all together as he approached. Throwing herself into his arms, she started to sob.

“It’s Kristine!” She managed through the tears. “She’s…alive….!”

Volkner looked up toward where Aphrodite lay on the ground and froze. “It can’t be…” He whispered as Scarlet continued to sob.

“Do you know her?” Katie asked, quietly stepping toward the crying couple. Volkner looked up over Scarlet’s head at the young trainer, his startled eyes on her for a few moments. Katie had battled him once years ago when she had first started her journey, so he couldn’t possibly remember her. Plus, he was too far away from her to notice her eyes. It took a few moments for him to register whose daughter was speaking to him before he answered her question.

“Our daughter Kristine disappeared into the woods around Sunyshore when she was young. Search and rescue crews searched the area for months…but they couldn’t find her.” He looked over at Aphrodite and Katie realized why Scarlet had frozen in Giratina’s chamber.

The Dimensional Warrior’s own daughter had raised the power that her mother now symbolized. No wonder Scarlet was so shocked to see Aphrodite. She had assumed her daughter had been dead for years!

Katie bowed her head, mulling over these facts in her head.

The battle against Neo-Team Galactic was over, but the aftermath would change each of them forever.
 

JaimeGreenan

Well-Known Member
:D! I love your writing! Seriously, how do you not have more readers (well, at least people who review?!) Anyway, another great chapter! I loved the surprises aswell as you choosing to see things from Kris' perspective as well! The only thing I would perhaps be a little iffy on was the whole anti-climax of the fight or hen we realised that aphordite was scarlets daughter? But I think that's just because of your awesome build up!:)
 

chosen_one386

Angel of Chaos
:D! I love your writing! Seriously, how do you not have more readers (well, at least people who review?!) Anyway, another great chapter! I loved the surprises aswell as you choosing to see things from Kris' perspective as well! The only thing I would perhaps be a little iffy on was the whole anti-climax of the fight or hen we realised that aphordite was scarlets daughter? But I think that's just because of your awesome build up!:)

Perhaps because people are scared away by the fact that this is the seventh fic in an ongoing series? Yeah, the fight was a bit anti-climatic, but there will be other fights for Katie's saga, don't worry! And, I thought the fact that Aphrodite was Scarlet's daughter was shocking when I first found out, but the build-up I think probably was a bit big for all of the non-action going on.

Anyway, the story is not over yet! Remember the Platinum Conference? We still have to get there! And pay attention to that little bit that started with Sky in Chapter Thirty. It is going to be VERY importent towards the end of this fic.

Thank you for reviewing! Chapter Thirty-One should be up soon!
 

chosen_one386

Angel of Chaos
Wow! I managed to get another chapter done before three or four months went by! XD

This chapter will see some family dynamics between Kris, Grayson, and their parents. It's in the usual <<<<<>>>>>> flashback form.




Chapter Thirty-One



I finally found the spot where Kirio and Cyrus had materialized after the Dimensional World collapsed. Cyrus was sitting up against a tree, looking a lot stronger than he had looked when I last saw him. Kirio was standing nearby, wordlessly waiting for me to approach.

“How do you feel?” I asked Cyrus when I was within speaking distance.

“I’m fine,” he replied, his eyes on mine for a few seconds. I sighed, ready for him to yell at me. Yet, that had never been his style. In fact, he had never truly been angry at me before then, so I didn’t know how he would react in his anger.

He didn’t say anything else, so I looked up at Kirio, who was staring at me intently and breathlessly, as if he spoke a word, I would disappear. I tried to give him a huge smile, but I was too worn out and emotional to simply stand there.

“I’m glad you’re back,” he finally said, stepping forward to wrap his arms around me. I hugged him tightly back, burying my head into the shoulder of his suit, which he was still wearing from the office.

“I’m sorry I had to return under these circumstances,” I muttered, pulling away from him and glancing down at Cyrus, who didn’t say a word. I turned back to Kirio. “We need to gather everyone together.”

He nodded. “I live in Snowpoint. We’re not too far from my house.”

I turned to Cyrus. “Can you walk or do we need to teleport up to Snowpoint together?”

Wordlessly, he struggled to his feet, once nearly falling down. I helped him stand up straight before he nodded. “I can walk.”

I nodded. “Then let’s gather the others and make our way up there.”

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Kristine finally woke up inside a strange room. She sat up, looking around her and seeing the world for the first time since she had been Shadowficated. She barely remembered what had taken place the years beforehand, but for the moment, she just wanted to know where she was.

“You’re awake.”

She glanced up in the direction on the voice, gasping as Scarlet stepped forward to wrap her arms around her.

“You’re younger than I remembered,” Kristine whispered.

Scarlet pulled away. “When I stepped into the Dimensional World, I was transformed back into my seventeen-year-old self. The same age I was at the end of the war.”

“And you’re stuck that way?” Kristine’s now light purple eyes widened at the prospect. Her voice was a lot softer than it had been before.

Scarlet smiled. “It’s not a bad thing. We’re going to investigate why it happened soon.”

Kristine nodded, bowing her head and staring at the white sheets she was wrapped up in. “I caused so many people pain, didn’t I?” She asked, tears in her light purple eyes.

Scarlet sighed and gripped her daughter’s hand. “Kris tells me that you were Shadowficated years ago, most likely when you went missing. She says that the only culprits she can think of are demons…but she doesn’t know why you were taken in the first place.”

Kristine nodded and looked up at the door, then gasped. Cyrus stood in the doorway, still looking a little worse for wear. He leaned against the doorframe, trying to keep himself from falling.

“I’m sorry!” Kristine gasped, placing her head in her hands and shaking it as sobs wracked her body. “I almost killed Katie…and you…and nearly destroyed everything!”

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I could hear sobs coming from down the hall as I made my way toward Cyrus, who was still almost too weak to stand upright. I found him in the doorway where the sobs were coming from, then froze as he started to speak to whoever was inside.

“I nearly destroyed everything as well,” he said, looking down at the floor. “Nothing comes of trying to destroy this universe…You’ll lose everything, including the one you care for the most.” He suddenly glanced into the hallway where I was standing. He knew I had been there the entire time. I smiled, stepping closer to see who was in the room, and he smiled back, then winced.

“You should go lie down,” I said, frowning. I stepped into the room, where Scarlet was trying to comfort Kristine. I sighed. “Do you know where Katie is?”
“No, I believe…she’s with Kirio…” Cyrus managed, frowning at the effort he had to make just to speak. I shook my head and grabbed his arm, pulling him out of the doorway. If he wasn’t going to lie down and recover on his own accord, I would make him before he passed out completely. Without resisting, he let me guide him down the hallway toward a spare bedroom. Kirio’s home was huge, with an alternating modern and Japanese style to the décor. Each room was also modeled after a different Pokemon and Aquapolian element. Obviously, Cyrus’ company was doing well in Kirio’s hands instead of collapsing when its former CEO died.

I slid open a random door to reveal a light purple room decorated with images of Espeon and other psychic Pokemon. Kirio had been just as obsessed with the Eeveelutions as I was and had made Espeon the prominent decoration on the room’s walls. I turned back to Cyrus, who leaned in the doorway once again. “Stay in here and rest for as long as you need to. If there’s any trouble, Scarlet and I will take care of it,” I said, realizing that the only reason he was wary of letting his guard down was just in case something else happened, such as Giratina shifting back into the dimension of its own accord or demons knocking on our door to ask why we had stopped Kristine.

He finally relented, and I made sure he was lying down before I stepped back into the hall and almost ran into Colin, the white-haired trainer whom I had been told was formerly Commander Hermes of Neo-Team Galactic. Something about the way he carried himself and the tint of his dark purple eyes reminded me of someone I had known years beforehand. He didn’t seem as antagonistic as Kevin or as sullen as Adrian. Instead, the look on his face was one of pure sadness. My own spirits fell by just looking at him.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, instantly feeling like a creeper for feeling sorry for a relative stranger.

He practically jumped at my question, turning with surprised eyes to meet mine, then sighing. “I’ve been trying to talk to Katie since Giratina was put back down…but she won’t even speak to me.”

I sighed. “Give her some time to cool off…she had a rough time in Giratina’s chamber and in the Temple of Dimension.”

Colin glanced away before asking, “Is it true that he slit your throat open to raise Giratina the last time?”

I looked down to the floor. “Yes, and it’s something neither of us will forget.” I looked back down the hall towards the room where Kristine and Scarlet were. “You wouldn’t happen to know where Katie and Kirio are, would you?”

“They’re in the back garden, I think,” he said.

“Thanks,” I nodded, hurrying back down the corridor toward the center of the house.

------------

“I’m sorry, Katharine,” Kirio hung his head as he leaned against a flowered trellis ringed with blue and red flowers. “The memories were painful enough for me…and even Scarlet. I didn’t think you would need to know…”

For a few seconds, Katie glared at her father angrily, then sighed, her crystal gaze warming again. “It’s okay, Dad. Everything’s over now.”

------------

“I found you!”

At my words, Kirio and Katie looked up in my direction, Katie giving me a warm smile and Kirio looking away from me and toward a glass garden shed in the back. I stepped forward a bit, trying to catch his eye.

“Katie, would you mind going to speak to Kristine?”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “Sure….but…” She looked down at the ground. “Are you sure she wants to see me?”

“She’s feeling awful for what she did. I think you would be able to comfort her more than any of us could.”

Katie looked back up and nodded, a determined look set in her eyes. “Okay, she’s in one of the psychic rooms, right?”

“Yeah, the one across from Cyrus. The door’s open and Scarlet’s already in there.”

Katie nodded again and hurried out of the garden, leaving Kirio and I to ourselves. I stepped closer into his line of sight, forcing him to look at me.

“You can’t run away from your past,” I said sternly. His black gaze shifted away from mine, a hurt look glazing through it. I suddenly realized why he had held so many secrets from our daughter. Anger swept through me. “You still don’t trust him, do you?” I demanded. “Kirio, I placed my faith in him years ago! I out of all people should be the one not to trust him after what he did to me!”

“He could still turn against you!” Kirio fired back, his dark gaze shifting back to mine and startling me. “People don’t change, Kris! I still struggle with the Shadow even now! Grayson still struggles with his past! Even Mars to a smaller extent! You don’t understand!” He shook his head violently. “You don’t understand because you’ve never been on the side of darkness! You’ve never had to choose what side you will fight on! It’s always been predestined for you!” By now, his entire body was shaking violently, and I could tell he was being tortured by something. He wouldn’t even look me in the eye, choosing instead to duck his head and allow his raven bangs cover his face. My heart broke as he sank to the ground, sobbing.

I stood only a few feet away from him…and yet it felt as if I were still as far away as Heaven. Kirio had changed in the past seventeen years. Of course, being in the Dimensional World had reverted his appearance back to that of a seventeen-year-old, but it hadn’t erased the years he had lived through in between the Great War and the present. He had become quieter, more stern, and always looked as if something haunted him. With a jolt, I realized how alike Cyrus and Kirio were now. Cyrus was still haunted by his past, even now that he was atoning for everything he had done by acting as the power of space. Kirio was acting just as Cyrus had for years after the first incident in the Temple of Dimension.

I knelt down and wrapped my arms around him, burying my head into his shoulder. “I’m sorry,” I whispered, closing my eyes.

------------

Kristine glanced up as Katie entered the room. The former Neo Galactic leader tensed up, seeming to shrink away from the trainer immediately in shame. She ducked her head, afraid to look the young woman in the eye.

“I’m…sorry…” She whispered, her shoulders shaking with sobs.

Katie sighed, marveling at the change the young woman had gone over in the past few hours. Her voice was no longer harsh, but quiet and almost whisper-like. Her eyes were a lighter shade of purple, and she didn’t seem half as intimidating as she had been in the Temple of Dimension. She was a completely different person.

“It’s not your fault,” Katie said, stepping forward to sit on the edge of the bed. Kristine glanced up warily, her purple gaze still swimming with tears. “You were Shadowficated. Being under the influence of the Shadow forces people to do things they wouldn’t normally do.”

“Cyrus was also Shadowficated when he raised Giratina,” Scarlet added grimly. Both girls looked up at her, startled. “How else would you explain what he did to Kris? Under normal circumstances, he would never hurt her…much less try to kill her.”

Kristine looked a little more calm at this news, still shifting her feet nervously under the lavender covers. “Are Colin, Kevin, Adrian, and Pluto here?”

Katie winced at Colin’s name as Scarlet replied, “They’re all here, but Kevin’s asleep. We had to literally lock him in a room on the other side of the house to keep him from worrying over you.”

Kristine’s eyes widened with grief. Katie wondered why Kevin, who had only a few hours beforehand been addressed as Apollo, was so worried over Kristine. He had been the one to unleash several Shadowficated Garchomp in battle against her friends, Mars, and Rowan, not to mention that he had nearly killed her once when she was in her Umbreon form. What part of him could be so compassionate?

“Can I see him?” Kristine asked, leaning forward to listen intently to her mother’s response. Scarlet seemed reluctant to let her out of her sight, but finally relented, telling her daughter that Kevin was on the other side of the house in one of the water rooms. The former Neo Galactic leader sprang from her bed and raced down the hall, still hesitantly glancing at everyone around her as if they would attack her or yell at her. Katie couldn’t imagine what the young psychic-type was going through at the moment.

Scarlet sighed and leaned against the wall across the room from where Katie stood. “It’s going to take a while before she gets used to being un-Shadowficated. It took years for Kirio to adjust to his own thought processes after the Great War ended. I’m just glad she’s okay…”

“And that she didn’t have a chance to order Giratina to destroy the universe,” Katie added.

“She feels terrible about what she did…I don’t know how long it’s going to take us to convince her that it wasn’t her fault.”

------------

The members of the Legendary Team who had gathered at Coronet a few short days beforehand crowded together in the den of the Karasumas’ large home. Everyone still looked worn out from the week’s events, but at least Cyrus had recovered completely from his wounds. I stood in the middle of everyone, dressed once again in the trainer’s outfit I had worn during the Diamond and Battle Revolution Conferences.

“Cyrus and I will be staying on Earth for a few more weeks to make sure that no lasting damage has been caused by Giratina. Furthermore, it would be best if the fact that we’re both here wasn’t mentioned to anyone outside of this room, even those in the Legendary Team…Unless there’s an emergency.”

“Won’t anyone in Aquapolis recognize you?” Chichiri spoke up. “You were pretty famous, Kris, you know?”

I paused, thinking Chichiri’s question over in my mind. He was right. If I so much as even allowed one adult to see me outside of the walls of Kirio’s home, I would cause a huge uproar. Unfortunately for me, my fame of two decades beforehand was too large for me to go walking around in broad daylight. Cyrus, while not as well known outside of Sinnoh as a member of Team Galactic, would also have trouble if he stepped outside of the house for more than a few seconds. Of course, being legendaries, we could both travel to anywhere in the world after only a few seconds…

But I didn’t want to behave like a legendary anymore. After nearly twenty years of sitting in heaven with nothing to do but read and look longingly down at the mortal world, I was ready to behave like a mortal again. Then, I remembered how legendaries usually walk around in their Aquapolian forms in the most crowded of cities without being recognized by the general public.

“The normal Aquapolian or Pokemon can’t recognize legendaries. Usually, the legendary has an aura around him or her that disguises their true appearance. To an outsider, Cyrus and I would look completely different, or unrecognizable to those who even slightly know who we are.” Before anyone in the room could bring up the obvious fact that they could see our true forms, I barged ahead. “Anyone who has pledged themselves to the Legendary Team’s cause can see a legendary’s true form, even those who are destined to become members, but haven’t pledged yet…Which is why Kristine could recognize us both. It’s why I had to handpick team members of the original force and why the six powers were transferred to six individuals who became Legendary Team members.”

As my words sunk in, I noticed confusion on the faces of the newest members of the team, while some of the older members gave each other significant glances, as if they knew that my words held a deeper meaning: this ability to see true legendary forms had been given to them for a not yet realized reason. I shivered, wondering if the world was still not out of trouble…if something else was lurking in the horizon. I could definitely sense something awry in the natural aura of the world, and I knew Cyrus could sense it as well.

However, he was being his usual stoic self, choosing to stand in a corner further away from most of the members. He passively listened to my explanation, though I knew from the look on his face that he didn’t expect either of us to be staying on Earth for an extended period of time.

“Anyway, if either of us runs into a Legendary Team member, we can just simply tell them to keep the fact that we’re here to themselves. If we start calling people, there is a chance that the rumor will spread outside of the team. We’re going to be heading south to the Temple of Dimension to make sure that everything there is back to normal. Scarlet will be coming with us.”

“Not to throw another curveball out there for you, Kris, but how are Kirio and I going to explain why we look so much younger?”

I thought about this for a few seconds. “Scarlet, you can be classified as a Legendary…and Kirio as a pseudo-legendary…but, for now, neither of you need to go anywhere near Ever Grande or Jubilife. Who’s the Vice-Champion now?”

“Ash Ketchum.”

I hesitated, surprised by her answer. “Then call him and tell him that you’ll be away from the capital for a time. Knowing him, the country will be safe in his hands for a few weeks…or until we can get the both of you back to your current ages. Now…” I looked around. “Now would be a good time for us to share where we plan to be for the next few weeks so that we can keep tabs on each other if anything happens.”

There were a few moments of silence before Katie spoke up. “I guess I’ll head up to Snowpoint…” She glanced down at the floor, as if embarrassed to even bring up the fact that she was continuing on in the Platinum Conference. Chichiri nodded, signaling that he would be heading for the Snowpoint gym as well.

“We’ll be going with her,” Samantha added, gesturing to herself and Ashley, who pushed her blue hair off of her shoulder, surprisingly embarrassed at the sudden attention garnered by Samantha’s statement. For a coordinator who was used to hundreds of eyes being on her at one time, she was surprisingly shy in a room of less than twenty people.

Michael shuffled his feet a bit, his red bangs flopping down over his emerald eyes. He reminded me of the other Michael in the Legendary Team. They looked so similar, I wondered if they were related. However, this Michael was too sullen and shy to remind me of outgoing, rambunctious, Orre-native Michael. “My sister is being taken care of at the Lynn’s home, so…I’ll be heading up to Snowpoint as well.”

Katie glanced over at David pointedly. He gave her a sheepish smile and pulled a trainer’s license out of his pocket. It was obviously a newly-issued card, glittering with a diamond and pearl cast inlay that told everyone that he was a Sinnoh native. My own had portrayed red, blue, and yellow swirls on the back to tell others I was from Kanto. In addition, the OA’s card was orange, the Jhoto card was gold on the front and silver on the back, and the Hoenn card was ruby on the back and sapphire on the front. Those born and raised in Ever Grande had six circles on the back of their cards to symbolize the six powers.

“My parents gave me back my license…so…I’m heading to Pastoria City to see if I can catch up with you guys,” he said, grinning. Katie smiled wider and nodded, obviously happy that the blonde-haired trainer was once again licensed to compete in the Platinum Conference.

Standing beside Katie, with a shy look on her face, Kristine seemed startled to see everyone’s eyes on her. Apparently, she was the next in a random line to speak of what she planned to do with her life from that day on. “I…” She started. Obviously, she hadn’t thought of anything beyond the next day or so. In my mind, she had several options. She could stay in the Karasuma home and return to Ever Grande with her mother to live after Scarlet returned to her true age. She could go anywhere, in fact. She could become a trainer, researcher, or coordinator or just travel anywhere. After a few years, she could challenge the Kanto Battle Frontier, of which I had been a Frontier Brain for a few short months before the war ended. She could travel around and meet more acquantances and live the life she had missed out on for the past seventeen years. She could even go to work in a research lab such as Rowan’s.

Kristine shuffled her feet for a few more minutes, her face growing red from the silent attention she was getting. Seeing that the psychic-type was having trouble making a major life decision, Katie spoke up. “You can come with us up to Snowpoint! Have you ever traveled around Sinnoh before?” After a shy shake of the head from Kristine, Katie’s smile widened. “Then come with us! You can catch a few Pokemon, watch a few gym battles…it’ll be fun!”

Dejavu struck me at her words. This was how I used to recruit new members of the Legendary Team. I had always wanted to surround myself with eager and adventurous friends. For some reason, I wished I could go to Snowpoint with her group as well. Kristine shyly smiled, looking from Volkner to Scarlet to see if her parents were okay with the idea. Both nodded and gave her a reassuring smile. “Okay!” She said, with surprising enthusiasm.

The next to speak up was Adrian. “Kevin, Colin, and I are going to return to the Coronet base and disassemble everything we can…and help Pluto take everything down again.” The other two former Galactic commanders nodded. Colin shot a quick glance at Katie, but she turned away without returning a smile. I frowned.

“I have a laboratory to return to,” Rowan said, turning to Volkner. “And you have a gym to return to.” The electric-type nodded.

“I’m going to stay here with Scarlet and Kirio,” Mars said. “We’re going to have to find a way to return them to their proper ages quickly.”

I nodded. “Cyrus and I are going to head out to the Temple of Dimension in a couple of hours to make sure nothing is wrong there.”

With that, our meeting dispersed.

------------

The winds of Coronet were much colder than I had remembered. Cyrus and I trudged through the snow toward the cave opening that led to the Temple of Dimension. I had wrapped myself up in a warm, red fur coat that Katie had graciously let me borrow, but the winds were still bitterly cold. At one point, I had to stop short, shivering only a mile away from the cave.

Cyrus had remained silent the entire trip south. I assumed he was still angry about my returning to Earth against the Angel Council’s wishes. I knew he would be intolerable if he opened his mouth while in such an annoyed state, so I silently thanked God that my uncle had refused to speak, choosing instead to choose the stoic manner he was accostemed to.

It took him a few moments to realize that I had come to a complete stop before he stopped as well, partly because he was in his own train of thought and partly because he was so much taller than I was, his strides easily numbered two of mine. I decided to break the silence, hoping that he wouldn’t refuse to answer or simply give me one of those cold glares I hadn’t seen in decades.

“Does…Coronet seem…colder to you?” I asked, shivering fiercely. Surely, I shouldn’t have been feeling the cold as strongly now as I had years beforehand? To my relief, the expression on Cyrus’ face was one of thoughtfulness, not anger. He looked down at the snow. It rose to nearly his knees and to my waist. We were both lucky the snow was so powdery, or neither of us would have been able to trudge through it.

After a few more moments of silent contemplation, just before I could lose my patience, he spoke. “The winters have been more harsh in Sinnoh over the years…but they haven’t been this bad.” He looked up, but there was no visible sightline to the sky above us. “The weather may have been disturbed by Giratina’s appearance.”

“I don’t remember this happening the last time Giratina appeared…and that time, it actually was at the Spear Pillar instead of in another dimension. Wouldn’t it have been worse then?” My train of thought sped up at this, and with a pang, I started to realize perhaps why such an imbalance was occurring. I immediately stopped talking, expecting a sarcastic or searing remark from Cyrus about why I shouldn’t even be on Coronet in the first place.

However, my expectations of my uncle’s anger fell short yet again. He turned away towards the direction of the Temple of Dimension’s cave and started making his way through the snow again, obviously avoiding the continuation of our conversation. I tried to follow him, but it seemed as if I were frozen in the snowdrift, unable to catch up. Tears stung by eyes, instantly freezing in the harsh conditions. I ducked my head, trying to keep my composure. I had learned over the years that my own tears caused Cyrus to become unsettled.

<<<<<<>>>>>>
“She’s not here at the moment, I’m afraid…”

The woman in front of him was the exact image of Kris, except at least twenty years older. From her golden blonde hair to her Aquapolian crystal blue eyes, Cressilia was the mirror of her daughter in every way, except for her personality and habits. The legendary woman was much quieter and calm than Kris, preferring to smooth arguments over without causing others grief. She fussed over her twin children, hoping that both Kris and Grayson would overcome the trials they had suffered on Earth.

To Cyrus, this was a new side to the legendary of light he had read about in the legends. He himself was still getting used to the idea of being a legendary, having just recently become the vessel for the power of space after Palkia was destroyed. He was completely out of place amongst the other legendaries, who were thousands of years old compared to his mere four decades of existence before he died. The fact that he was a StarClan member was the only way the tension was smoothed between him and the other five powers.

“Where is she?” He asked, trying to calm his own shaking nerves down. He felt as if he didn’t belong in this place after all he had done in his mortal life. It was true that he had atoned for much that he had done, but he still didn’t feel worthy of being there. He would much rather be in the Cave of Origin back on Earth.

Cressilia’s blue eyes grew sad, shocking him with how similar the expression was to one he had seen Kris wear from time to time on Earth. “She’s at the temple now. Grayson has gone to see her back home…”

A shifting of power in the air around them signaled that a legendary was in the vicinity. The immense, almost suffocating air told them both that the king of the legendaries had returned to his home. Cyrus shifted his feet nervously, realizing that this would be the first time he would come face-to-face with Arceus.

He wasn’t completely surprised with Arceus’ appearance. The king of legendaries looked a lot like his son. However, he carried more of a self-righteous air and more power behind each step.

“Space,” he addressed Cyrus as he stepped closer to the two legendaries. “Is there something wrong?”

Cyrus hesitated before answering, “No. I was simply looking for Kristal.”

“She’s in the temple, as she should be, repenting for what she’s done.”

The words stung him, a frown overtaking his features immediately. Cressilia bowed her head, obviously wishing that her husband would not talk in such a manner to Cyrus.
Before any of the legendaries could speak again, Grayson appeared in the room, his arm around Kris’ shoulder as he led his sister to her own room further inside the mansion. He stopped when he spotted the three legendaries there, his Aquapolian crystal blue eyes clouding with worry.

“Is something wrong?”

Cyrus watched Kris as she ducked her head. She hadn’t spoken since they had reached the mansion a few weeks prior.

“No,” Arceus spoke. “Space is here asking for Kristal…” He turned to Cyrus. “But I’m going to have to ask him to leave for the time being.”

“He’s just here worrying about her, Father,” Grayson pointed out, frowning. “Why don’t you let him speak to her in private for a while?”

“Unless you haven’t noticed, Grayson, there is a hierarchy amongst the legendaries.” At his words, Cressilia gasped, glaring at him for a few moments, but staying silent. “Take Kristal back to her room for now.”

Grayson shot him an angry glare before helping his sister into the passageway at the other end of the room. She barely looked up to acknowledge Cyrus or anyone else for that matter. He could feel anger boiling in his mind.

“You may leave now, Space.”

Cyrus turned to glare at the king of legendaries. “Unless you haven’t noticed, Kristal has spent years on Earth saving countless lives and protecting both the human and Aquapolian races. There’s no reason for you to treat her in such a way!”

A light blast slammed into the wall behind him, barely inches from hitting him completely.

“Arceus!” Cressilia cried. “Please! He’s just worried about her!”

The king of legendaries and power of space glared at each other for a few moments before Cyrus bowed and stormed out of the room. Arceus glared after him until he left.

“How dare he speak to me in such a way?!”

“If you ask me, Father…”

Cressilia and Arceus turned to Grayson, who was leaning in the doorway behind them. He glared at his father with cold blue eyes.

“Cyrus was more of a father to Kristal than you’ve ever been.”
 

chosen_one386

Angel of Chaos
Sorry for the sudden cut-off at the end of this chapter. I hit 12 pages on MS Word and was like, "Chapter break!"


Chapter Thirty-Two



“What’s wrong?”

Cyrus’ voice snapped me out of my daze. We had entered the cave that led to the Temple of Dimension a few minutes before, but I had barely paid attention to my surroundings. We were only a few steps away from the temple itself.

“N…Nothing…” I looked down at my feet, hoping he couldn’t read anything else on my face.

He frowned and turned back away from me. We entered the temple in silence. It was empty save for the altar. We both stood on either side of it, glancing down at the stone surface while contemplating the same memory in our heads. I gazed at the surface for quite a while, but Cyrus turned away quickly. He didn’t want to look at the altar for any extended period of time.

I looked up and around the temple. “It seems pretty quiet…and the aura in here isn’t disturbed at all.” I frowned. “Then why is the weather outside so bad?”

“It may just be another climate cycle coming through. It occurs on Coronet every few decades.”

I shrugged. “Well, everything looks normal here.” I nervously scuffed my boots on the stone floor, waiting for him to say something about my returning to Heaven. He didn’t say a word.

“We know from experience, however…” I looked up at the sound of his voice. “that appearances can be deceiving…especially with legendaries.”

I nodded, placing my hands on the altar. Suddenly, a thought ran through my head. “If the demons really wanted Katie dead…why didn’t they have Kristine…” I motioned to the altar, where I had been sacrificed completely to Giratina several decades beforehand. I winced after the question and looked up. Cyrus was still turned away from the altar, apparently too hurt by the image to even look at it.

“They don’t view her as much of a threat as you were…” He finally managed. “No matter how much she and Scarlet grow in their powers, you will always be the strongest of the three.” He sighed, then turned around, his eyes avoiding the altar and staying on mine. “I don’t blame you for returning to Earth. I know how hard it is for you to resist fighting against those who misuse the legendaries’ powers.” A smile broke through the struggle I could see on his face. Even being in the temple after all of those years…and with me…was affecting him. “As long as you’re on Earth, we won’t have to worry about much. You’ve already done so much to stop the Demon Council completely.”

I frowned. “Something still doesn’t seem right.”

“Unless the Angel Council directly orders you to return to Heaven…you can stay here?”

My eyes widened at his words. “Really?”

“Don’t you want to watch Katharine in the Platinum Conference?”

I smiled. “I sure do.”

------------

Katie and her team waded through the snowdrifts from the Karasumas’ house to Snowpoint, which was only a few miles away. It didn’t take them long to reach the snow covered city on foot. The first building they passed by on the way into town was the Snowpoint Temple. As they walked past, Kristine stopped and stared curiously at the temple. The others gradually stopped and looked at the temple, too.

“The King of Regis supposedly lives there, you know?” Chichiri spoke up after a while.

“It sure does!”

They jumped and turned around to see Brandon standing beside a Metagross. The members who had met him before shot him a warm smile, while Michael and Kristine stared curiously at the Frontier Brain.

“I see you’ve recruited more members!” He said, addressing Katie.

She smiled. “Yes! This is Michael Moody and Kristine Sunyshore.”

“Sunyshore?” He asked, surprised. Turning to the purple-haired trainer, he asked, “Are you related to Scarlet and Volkner Sunyshore?”

She nodded. “Yes, they’re my parents.”

“I didn’t think they had any children…”

Kristine blushed and fidgeted. “I’ve been missing for a long while, I guess.”

“Kristine is…was the leader of Neo Team Galactic,” Samantha explained.

“Are you serious?” The Frontier’s Brain’s bushy brown eyebrows shot up in astonishment. The quiet and shy young woman before him couldn’t possibly be the rumored fierce leader of Neo-Team Galactic. When the girl nodded at his question, ducking her purple head in embarrassment, he stared at her, not believing his ears. “You’re completely different than the last leader they had…Are you sure…?”

“She was Shadowficated most of her life, Brandon. Otherwise, could you really see her as head of a criminal syndicate?”

------------

At the sound of my oh-so-familiar voice, my former mentor turned around in astonishment, once again not believing his ears. He hadn’t changed much in the two decades since I had last seen him. His brown hair was starting to grey, and his face was showing even more signs of aging and rough travels than it had before. He still wore the expedition gear he had been so fond of years ago, and his eyes still shone with the thrill of adventure.

“Is that really you, kid?” He asked as Cyrus and I approached the group. I smiled for a few seconds before mock rage overtook me.

“Haven’t I told you to stop calling me “kid”?!” I shouted at him. Katie laughed as Kristine flinched, not realizing that I wasn’t really angry at Brandon.

“Don’t worry. I have a feeling they used to fight like this all the time,” she said.

Brandon laughed. “I thought so.” Confusion clouded his features for a few moments. “I didn’t expect to see you here, though…”

I glanced around. We were alone in front of the temple. “If you’d do us a favor and not mention to anyone you’ve seen Cyrus and I…You see, we’re only here for a while to make sure that nothing else was messed up after Giratina appeared a few days ago. Don’t even mention it to other Legendary Team members.”

He nodded. “Sure.” Turning to Cyrus, he frowned. “I heard a rumor that you had become the power of space years ago.” Cyrus simply nodded to confirm that the rumor was true. “Well, since it seems as if space hasn’t messed up in the past two decades or so, I’m going to guess you’re doing an okay job.”

“Something tells me they don’t really get along…” Katie whispered to me.

“They never really have. Cyrus doesn’t seem to get along with a lot of people.”

“Anyway.” Brandon turned back to the others. “I suspect you’re here for a gym battle?”

“We sure are!” Chichiri exclaimed.

“Then I won’t keep you from it.”

“Good luck!” I called as Katie and her group headed toward the gym. I turned back to Brendan, fixing him with a serious look. “Did you bring your pyramid?”

“How else did you think I got here?”

A half and hour later, Cyrus, Kirio, Brandon, Scarlet, and I stood inside Brandon’s Battle Pyramid. Brandon looked from the Champion to the CEO, a curious look on his face.

“So you’re saying you have no idea how to get back to your current ages?”

Kirio shook his head. “No. We could wait a while and see if we go back naturally, but it could be permanent.”

“This would be a real problem for you, Scarlet.”

“We don’t even know if we are still ageing. What if we stay this age forever?” She asked.

“We’ll have to have Ash step up temporarily, then. He’ll still be Vice-Champion, but he’ll take all of your duties,” I explained.

She shook her head. “I can still run the government from Snowpoint. As long as no one sees me, we should be okay.”

“In the meantime…” I pulled out a piece of paper on which I had earlier written the names of all of the Legendary Team members who currently knew of our little secrets. I scribbled Brandon’s name down. “We can appear to Legendary Team members, but only as we run into them. However, Ash should know what’s going on.”

Scarlet nodded. “I’ll contact him immediately. He’ll want to come out to Snowpoint.”

“Let him. We can all speak to him here.” I turned to Brandon. “Are you heading back to Kanto?”

He nodded. “I have a Frontier stage to run. I’ll keep this secret, though.”

“Thanks,” I said, glancing around at the others, who still looked unsure about what we were going to do next.

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The snow-covered façade of the Snowpoint gym stood before the small group of trainers, rising several stories above their heads. All of them had been inside the gym at least once, except for Michael, who stared at the icesicles hanging from the door. Katie wondered if he had ever seen snow or ice in nature before, and not just from his own mutated powers. He shivered, drawing the worn orange and yellow trimmed coat he had brought with his closer around his shoulders. She made a mental note to convince him to buy a new jacket once they reached Hearthome again.

Chichiri strode up to the huge double doors and knocked, rapping his knuckles against a thin sheet of ice that covered the door from top to bottom. It shattered a bit at his touch. A few seconds later, the doors slid open, allowing the ice to crumble and fall to the ground at their feet. They crunched through the fallen snow and ice to enter the gym, which was colder inside than outside.

Ashley shuddered, pulling her thick black coat across her chest and crossing her arms, a scowl running across her features. “Why does it have to be so damn cold in here? Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit! It doesn’t need to be below zero all the time!”

“If you’re cold, then don’t stay inside,” Samantha snapped. “You can go and sit at the Pokemon Center or even go back to the Karasumas’ house for all we care!” She glared at the blue-haired coordinator until her tough façade vanished. Ashley rolled her dark blue eyes and continued to sulk while they stepped into the main part of the gym.

The battlefield was covered in a fresh layer of ice and studded with boulders to aid non-ice-types maneuver in battle. Katie could see her breath race out in front of her. She had battled in the Mahogany Town gym in Jhoto and in this particular gym once before, so she wasn’t new to fighting on ice. Besides, her Blaziken would be able to take on any competition the gym leader threw at them.

“It looks like I have quite a few challengers today!” The group looked up towards the stands, where a middle-aged woman sat, leaning back to observed the group. She had long, raven-black hair that was tied up in a ponytail that hung down her back. The gym leader was dressed in a plain white dress shirt and a knee-length blue skirt with simple brown loafers. Katie wondered if the ice-type gym leader ever got cold…or if any ice-type ever got cold.

The woman jumped down from the stands, nonchalantly gliding across the ice and sliding to a stop in front of the group of trainers. “How many of you are going to battle me today?”

“Just two of us, ma’am,” Chichiri piped up, stepping up to stand beside Katie. “I’m Chichiri Higuchi and this is Katie Karasuma,” he said, politely introducing the both of them to the gym leader. “We’ve both battled you before.”
“Then you must be here for the Platinum Conference,” she reasoned. “In any case, I’m the gym leader of Snowpoint City, Candice. Would you two care to flip a coin to see which of you goes first?” She pulled a coin out of her pocket and held it up. One side bore the image of a Gengar, and the other, and image of a Mamoswine. Chichiri called the ghost-type while Katie chose the side showing one of the gym leader’s own Pokemon. The coin landed on the side of Mamoswine.

“We’ll be having one-on-one battles today,” Candice explained as they took their positions. “Unfortunately, it’s getting close to closing time for the gym, so…well, you understand.” Katie nodded, listening as the electronic referee started to announce the match.

“This one-on-one gym battle will be between Candice, the Snowpoint City gym leader, and Katie, also from Snowpoint City. The challenger will release her Pokemon first.”

As Katie reached for her Poke Balls on her belt, Candice exclaimed, “You’re from Snowpoint City?!” Her bright blue eyes widened as she tried to recollect where she knew Katie from. “You must live outside the city limits…” She raised her eyes to the ceiling, tapping her right foot as she tried to remember. “Of course!” She smiled warmly at the trainer. “It’s been how long? Seven years since you last challenged me?”

Katie nodded. “I don’t get into Snowpoint City much, I’m afraid…” She detached a Poke Ball from her belt and held it up. “Now that you remember who I am, let’s get this match started!” She tossed the Poke Ball into the air, releasing her Blaziken. He immediately landed on his razor sharp claws, driving his feet into the ice and getting a steady grip on the ground underneath.

“Your team’s really expanded since we last fought!” Candice replied, throwing her own Poke Ball into the ring. “But my Mamoswine has grown even stronger in the years since!” The large, bulky ice- and ground-type appeared on the battlefield, roaring at the fire- and fighting-type before him.

“Begin!” The referee cried.

“Blaziken, Blaze Kick!”

“Mamoswine, Earthquake!”

Mamoswine brought his feet crashing down onto the ice floor, shaking the ground underneath him. Blaziken jumped upwards in time to avoid getting hit by the attack and aimed his blazing feet toward his opponent.

“Take Down!”

The Mamoswine launched itself into the air, baring down on Blaziken with its tusks. Blaziken expertly swung around mid-air and nailed the ice-type with its Blaze Kick, landing on the icy ground with precision.

“Ice Beam!”

Mamoswine stopped itself from slamming into the gym floor by shooting an Ice Beam that allowed it to slow to a stop.

“Sky Uppercut!”

Blaziken surged forward, using the ice to speed up its attack.

“Ice Beam!”

A wall of ice appeared in front of Blaziken, who slammed into it and fell back, unable to break through. The ice started to surround the fire-type until it was caught in a dome made of Ice Beam.

“Earthquake!”

The ground rumbled underneath its feet. Katie frowned. She had to get it out of there before it was hit with the full force of the attack.

“Blaze Kick up!”

Blaziken swung its limbs toward the top of the dome, melting through the ice and dodging the Earthquake, It swung toward Mamoswine, slamming into the ice-type with all its force. Mamoswine roared and collapsed to the ground.

“Mamoswine is unable to battle! Blaziken and Katie win the match!”

“Great job Blaziken!” Katie shouted, skating across the floor to hug her fire-type. Candice recalled Mamoswine and skated to the pair.

“Good job! If I remember correctly, the last time we battled, you didn’t have any fire-types on your team. You pulled out a victory with your Umbreon.” She handed Katie her Icecycle badge. “You’ve improved greatly.”

“Thank you,” Katie and Blaziken bowed.

Candice turned back to the bleachers. “Chichiri, you’re up!”

“All right!” The ghost-type jumped to the ground and rushed to take Katie’s place on the battlefield. Katie climbed up into the stands beside Samantha.

“This next match will be between Candice, the Snowpoint Gym Leader, and Chichiri Higuchi from Mt. Pyre. The challenger will release his Pokemon first!”

“Go, Vaporeon!”

“Go, Abomnasnow!”

Both trainers released their Pokemon. Vaporeon sat calmly on the ice floor as Abomnasnow towered over its head, roaring at its opponent.

“This is going to be tough…” Samantha mused. “Abomnasnow’s second typing could easily floor his Vaporeon if he’s not careful.” Vaporeon backed up a few steps from the large Abomnasnow, annoyed at the Pokemon’s presence and attitude.

“I’m sure Chichiri’s got a few tricks up his sleeve. If his Vaporeon knows any ice attacks, he’ll be set,” Katie replied, crossing her arms. Abomnasnow’s second typing allowed for more coverage, but made it highly vurnerable to fire attacks and even vunerable to ice attacks.

“Begin!” The electronic referee’s voice rang through the gym, starting the match. Both trainers stood in thought for a few seconds before making a move. Each of their Pokemon was weak to attacks possessed by their opponent, so the first move was obviously the most important.

“Vaporeon, Shadow Ball!”

“Abomnasnow, Grass Knot!”

Vaporeon jumped up into the air, aiming an orb of shadowy energy at its opponent. Abomnasnow took the attack, but didn’t seem fazed as roots shot out from all around it in the ground, racing to ensnare the water-type,

“Ice Beam!”

Vaporeon shot a beam of ice energy at the roots, freezing them into place as it landed on a boulder nearby.

“Hammer Arm!”

At a surprisingly fast speed, Abomnasnow launced itself at Vaporeon, its arms glowing bright with energy. Vaporeon dodged the first attack, but got hit by the second, flying across the room.

“Shadow Ball!”

The water-type launched a Shadow ball at the ground, slowing its descent. Abomnasnow launched itself at Vaporeon once again, who dodged.

“Ice Beam!”

“Hammer Arm!”

The Pokemon lunged at each other again, but Vaporeon proved to be the faster of the two. The Ice Beam slammed into Abomnasnow, freezing it in place.

“Shadow Ball!”

The second attack brok through the ice and sent Abomnasnow flying into the far gym wall.

“Abomnasnow is unable to battle! Chichiri and Vaporeon win this match!”

“Awesome job, Vaporeon! You were great, you know?” Chichiri exclaimed as Vaporeon bounded across the ice to jump into its trainer’s arms. Candice ran her hand through Abomnasnow’s fur before recalling the ice-type and skating across to give Chichiri his badge.

“Just one more to go!” Katie exclaimed from the stands.

“I wonder how David’s doing?” Samantha mused.

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“I’ve already got the badge from Crasher Wake’s gym!” The blonde-haired trainer grinned through the videophone, holding up the sparkling blue Fen Badge, newly won from the water leader’s gym. “Just four more to go! How did your matches against Candice go?”

“They went well, you know?” Chichiri leaned in closer to the screen, nodding his head excitedly as he spoke. “Mine was close, but Vaporeon pulled through against her Abomnasnow!” At those words, his Vaporeon shoved its head into the view of David, who laughed at the water-type’s cute expression.

“Wait! You used your Vaporeon against a grass-type?” He asked, looking at Chichiri with a curious expression on his face. “I thought you knew your type matchups! You should if you’re competing in the Platinum Conference!”

“The referee chose me to release my Pokemon first, you know.” He shrugged. “I guess I saw her using Abomnasnow coming, but we still had a few type advantages with our moves, you know?” Chichiri grabbed Vaporeon, who had sat down right in the middle of the screen so that noone on either side could see the other. He placed the water-type on the ground, and it scurried off in Ashley’s direction.

“I’m sure you’ll get the last four badges in time for the conference!” Katie reassured David.

He nodded. “Say good luck to Samantha and Ashley for me! Aren’t y’all stopping by Hearthome for their last contest?”

Katie nodded. “I’ll make sure to tell them. Bye!” The videophone flickered off and she turned to the others. “Let’s start making our way south, but first…I need to stop by my house.”

------------

I looked up as the sliding screen door moved, revealing Katie and her friends. “How was your gym battle?” I asked, getting up from my seat and disturbing Umbreon from her sleep.

“It went really well. Chichiri and I both won our matches.”

I smiled. “Great! I wish I could have seen you battle.”

“Actually…I was thinking that since the next gym leader is Volkner…It wouldn’t be a bad idea for you to come and watch our next gym match.”

My eyes widened. “You’re right!” I turned to the doorway, where Cyrus had appeared a few seconds earlier. “Care to take a trip down to Sunyshore?”

“Well, we’re stopping by Hearthome first,” Ashley interrupted. “So it may be better for you to stay put here until we’re through with our contest.”

“You’re right.” I said, my shoulders falling involuntarily.

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The next day, I watched the group leave outside the front window. Sighing, I turned to Umbreon, whose ears were drooping. We both missed battling in gyms and conferences.

“What’s up?”

I looked up to see Scarlet a few feet in front of me.

“Scarlet…do you miss battling in conferences?” I asked.

She seemed surprised by my question. “Well, of course, I do, but…I enjoy helping run the country and protecting it…both as Champion and the Dimensional Warrior.”

I nodded and gazed out of the window. “I inherited two gyms over the course of my life, both in Hoenn…but I could never settle down enough to take them over as gym leader, so I passed them off to two of my friends. In addition, I was even a Frontier Brain for a small amount of time, but I couldn’t stay still for that, either.”

“You miss battling, too, don’t you?”

I nodded and sighed. “My time’s long gone, though…”

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Katie slid down one of the Coronet slopes, her eyes on the abandoned warehouse in the distance. The old Galactic base on the Hearthome side of the mountains had been abandoned for years…and it would stay that way. As the others slid down after her, she spied some movement in the warehouse’s windows. She gazed at the glass, wondering if her eyes were playing tricks on her. Another movement confirmed that they were not.

“What’s up, Katie?” Samantha asked, coming to a stop beside her.

“I’m going to go check out that warehouse for a bit. I’ll be right back.” She sprinted off without another word, leaving her friends behind to stare after her.

She pushed through the warehouse’s old door, coughing at the cloud of dust she had kicked up.

“Katie?”

She jumped at the sound of her name being called by a familiar voice. Colin stepped out of the room to her right, a bunch of boxes containing papers stacked in his arms. He stared at her for a bit until a dark look came over her features. Colin’s heart sank at the hateful look she gave him. He had hoped that after a few days apart, she would have reconsidered her feelings for him and forgiven him, but it seemed as if her anger had just multiplied as the hours passed. Without another word, she sharply turned back around, her raven black hair swinging in the dust-filled light filtering through the dirty tinged windows.

“Katie, wait!” He dropped the boxes he was carrying. Papers flew in all directions as he rushed forward to place a hand on her shoulder, stopping her from leaving the warehouse. She froze, shrinking away from his touch. Papers rustled from the room to their left, and they could hear slow footsteps coming towards them. Colin pulled his eyes away from the back of Katie’s head to see Pluto standing in the doorway, scowling at him.
“Colin! Put those boxes in the back and clean up this mess!” He snapped at the young Aquapolian. Without another word, Colin snatched the boxes back up and moved toward the back of the buiding, leaving their sight. Pluto turned to Katie and crossed his arms. “He’s been like this ever since he returned from the Dimensional World. I guess it’s time that I told you what our plans were before you and your friends showed up.”

“Plans?” Katie asked, a confused look on her face.

“Yes. Plans to undermine Aphrodite’s mission. I originally recruited Colin as an agent years ago to help me stop our leader. Luckliy, he gained her trust enough to be promoted to a commander rather easily. We kept the prisoners safe after they were abducted by Aphrodite…However, we didn’t count on her ordering Colin to go after you. We had originally planned on warning Kirio and the officials a few days before the mission was to be completed, but we didn’t get our chance.” He paused. “Colin never wanted to hurt you, so I used his feelings for you to my advantage in getting him to continue working undercover in Neo-Team Galactic. So…” He looked down at the papers on the floor. “You can still choose to be mad at him. But those are the facts.” Without another word, he turned and re-entered the room to their right. Katie stood, dumbfounded by Pluto’s explanation of Colin’s involvement in Neo-Team Galactic.

“If you’re not going to speak to us, at least get out of the way so I can clean up these papers.” Katie jumped at the sound of Colin’s voice and looked up to see the Aquapolian looming over her, an angry expression on his face. She backed up off of the papers she had been standing on, muttering an apology. He bent down to scoop up a stack of papers, avoiding eye contact as he walked back into the room to the left. She couldn’t stand the silence anymore.

“Colin!” She shouted, dashing into the room, tears stinging her eyes. He turned around, startled by the tone of her voice. “I’m sorry I was angry at you! You risked your life to protect me all of those months…and I just shrugged you off!” She ducked her head, sobs wracking her body. Colin sighed and stepped forward to put his hands on her shoulders.

“It’s okay,” he whispered, pulling her in close against her chest. He held her there until she stopped crying.

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“So you’re heading into Hearthome now?” Colin asked her, standing in the warehouse’s front doorway. She nodded.

“Samantha and Ashley are competing in their final contest before the Grand Festival, then we’ll be off to Sunyshore.” She smiled shyly and he returned her smile warmly. “Are you going to stay here to help clean up?”
 
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