Shadows of Elements

[chosen_one386]

Welcome everyone to the next fic in my ongoing storyline of the three Heavenly Warriors! This serves as the sequel to Shadow and Light, but you don’t have to read Shadow and Light to understand what is going on here, though I highly recommend you do so to get some backstory to what has happened so far in the series.

Just a few things before we get started:

1. I invite constructive criticism, but I don’t like bashing of either me or my reviewers. If you completely hate my ideas, don’t read the fic. However, if you want to point out grammar, plothole mistakes, etc. that you think may improve the fic, be my guest. That’s what reviewing is for.
2. Aquapolians are half-human and half-Pokemon beings that look like humans but have Pokemon powers. Pretty much anyone that is not identified as a legendary, angel, or demon in this story is an Aquapolian. The Pokemon world is Aquapolis, which sits in the sea south of Japan in the real world.
3. The PM list is here. If you want to be on the PM list, please mention it in your post.

PM list:

1. 7eeveelutions


Without further ado, let’s get started!




And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come.” And I saw, and behold, another horse, a red one, went forth; and to him who sits on it, to him authority was given to take peace from the earth, and that men should slay one another; and to him a great sword was given. – Revelations 6:3-4

Sky has rebelled



Prologue



Flames shot into the dark and stormy sky, illuminating the rain drops around Ever Grande like a golden veil dropping from the heavens to the earth. Though the downpour was substansial, it was not enough to completely douse the fire that engulfed the Cave of Origin’s forest, scattering the many species of wild Pokemon that called the forest their home. A Rapidash with fur as white as snow pranced amongst the trees, lighting each and every one of them on fire with its flaming mane. As the fire reached the edge of the line of trees, it galloped onto a hill top and turned its coal black gaze to the Hall of Fame deep within the skyscrapers of the city. It cried out, sending a message to its owner across the city.

The sword pressed itself deeper into her flesh, threatening to draw blood from her neck at any moment as she glared at the legendary in front of her. “What are you doing, Lugia?”

“Please address me as Sky while I am in my Aquapolian form,” he replied very formally.

“Why are you doing this, Sky?!” She demanded.

“Because the time has come for Aquapolis to regain control of this planet.”

Her eyes widened at his words. “We’re not supposed to have control over this planet,” she whispered. “Have you gone mad? Are you rebelling against God?”

He smiled cruelly. “Yes, Dimensional Warrior, I believe I am.”

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I rushed through the burning forest, picking up one injured Pokemon after another in a desperate attempt to save them all. My uncle rushed behind me, shouting at me to stop and help put out the fire in the first place. I had already tried that…these flames were too powerful for me to douse.

“Kristal, watch out!”

I swung around at his words just in time to avoid getting kicked in the head by the largest Rapidash I had ever seen. The Pokemon snorted fire from its nostrils, lashing out at me again. I dodged to the side, clutching an injured Eevee to my chest as I did so. I crouched on the ground, holding it to my chest as the Rapidash reared up to strike again. A ringing psychic attack slammed into it, causing it to crash into a burning tree nearby. I was so disoriented, I couldn’t even get out of the way as it fell. A hand grabbed my jacket and pulled me out of the way, my uncle wrapping his arms around me to make sure the flames didn’t reach either me or the baby Eevee.

The ingured infants’ cries disturbed me so much that I buried my face into his jacket, terror gripping me. I could feel distress waves of energy coming from the Hall of Fame and knew that Scarlet was still up there in her office, alone…

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

“Give up your position as Champion.”

“Never!” Scarlet spat, her golden eyes shining with indignation.
“If you won’t be persuaded by my taking your life…then perhaps I’ll let the fire engulf the entire city.”

Her eyes widened. “No…” She whispered.

“Then give up your position,” he said, drawing blood with his sword.

“Fine…” She muttered, pressing her back into the window and shifting outside.

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

“There she is.”

I glanced up to see Scarlet running toward us, tears streaming from her golden eyes.

“What’s wrong?” I demanded as she stepped to us.

“Sky…” She whispered, trying to catch her breath.

“Sky?!” My uncle demanded.

She nodded and looked at us with a horrified gaze.

“He’s declared himself the new Champion of Aquapolis.”

[7eeveelutions]

Awesome! Put me on the PM list please, can't wait for the first chapter

[chosen_one386]

Awesome! Put me on the PM list please, can't wait for the first chapter

Awesome, and will do!

[chosen_one386]

Chapter One


I woke up the next day with a pounding in my head. Dread flowed through my veins as I sat up, glancing over at Kirio beside me. He had had a hard time falling asleep the night before as well. We were both extremely worried over the previous days events. I drew my knees up to my chest, studying the fabric of the bed’s sheets. Something had been nagging me since the day before. Something was so…familiar about what had happened…

I shook my head, trying to calm myself down. For some reason, I was physically shaking, my mind replaying the cries of hurt baby Pokemon that I had heard the night before. As the Chosen One, I should have been able to save them…but instead…I was helpless to douse the fire burning through the forest around the Cave of Origin.

Tears started streaming down my face, and I tried to hold back sobs so as not to wake Kirio, but apparently, he had slept too fitfully to truly pass out from exhaustion. Moaning, he sat up in bed, rubbing at his obsidian black eyes to try and focus them. He was starting to get used to not needing glasses again. It was hard to believe that only a few weeks beforehand, his body matched his age of 34. Now, he looked every bit the seventeen-year-old I had left when I met the natural end of my mortal life.

“What’s wrong, Kris?” He muttered, sleepily staring at the tears falling onto the bed sheets around me. He placed an exhausted hand on my shoulder, pulling me closer to his bare chest.

“I have no idea what’s going on,” I whispered, sitting up straight as a thought hit me. “We need to call the Legendary Team together,” I said in a determined tone.

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

Sky stared out across Ever Grande at the slowly dying fire, contemplating his next move. A knock at the office door jarred him from his thoughts. “Come in!” He called. A man with aqua blue hair and eyes walked in, an angry look on his face.

“What is the meaning of this?” He demanded, crossing his arms. “Champion Sunyshore…”

“Is no longer Champion. I am now the Champion of Aquapolis,” Sky said simply.

The man narrowed his eyes at the legendary in front of him. “You can’t do this.”

“Oh, but I have. Now…” he stepped closer, a cold look in his eyes. “Call the heads of the Aquapolian army and air force. I wish to speak with them.”

The Aquapolian shook his head and sighed. “I don’t understand what you’re doing, but you’re not the rightful Champion of Aquapolis.” His blue eyes turned cold with hatred as ice flooded across the floor underneath his feet. Sky raised his eyes, only semi-impressed by the show of power conjured by the former Champion of Aquapolis. The Aquapolian standing before him had been in office during the second Great War, when the Chosen One stopped the Shadow from destroying all the humans on Earth. If Sky had his way, the Shadow’s dream would be realized within moments.

But he couldn’t do anything at the moment. Prophecy had bound him hand and foot from making this a solo mission. He sneered at the idea of having to rely on other legendaries to help him, but after what he had suffered through the last couple of decades, he wasn’t in a position to refuse help.

Although the former Champion was certainly determined enough to try and take Sky down, the legendary would have none of that insubordination in his new empire. As fast as a hurricane’s wind, he surged forward, wrapping his hands around the Aquapolian’s throat. The man’s eyes widened, losing the dangerous sheen as he found himself in a situation he may not be able to survive.

“Every moment you stand here refusing to obey me means more people in this city die.” Sky motioned in the direction of the forest surrounding the Cave of Origin. The trees were still smoldering from the fire that had ceased a few hours beforehand. “Next time, I’ll make sure that fire reaches the interior of the city before any alarms can be sounded.”

The Aquapolian’s eyes widened at the idea of thousands of innocent Aquapolians burned alive in their homes without any warning at all. Sky could see the rebellion disappear from his gaze, replaced with pure hatred. Knowing that he no longer neared to fear this man, he unwrapped his hands from his throat, motioning toward the door.

“Champion Sootopolis, please make sure that the heads come quickly,” he said, a sarcastic tone etching its way into his refined voice. The Aquapolian glared at him before backing out of the room, his blue eyes trained firmly on the legendary before he rushed from the room completely.

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

“No, it’s not time to wake up yet.”

Scarlet Sunyshore lashed out at the electric yellow PokeAll that sat next to her on the bedside table, half asleep and ticked off that she had only been able to fall asleep twenty minutes prior to her phone going off. She grasped it firmly, pulling it to her in the bed as Volkner grumpily woke up beside her. “What is it?” He muttered, rubbing his blue eyes.

She squinted to read the name on the caller ID. “W…Wallace?” She pressed a button, raising the PokeAll to her ear. “What is it?” She asked sleepily.

“Where are you?” He demanded.

“I’m in Sootopolis right now…”

“Sootopolis? What’s going on, Scarlet?”

She sighed. “I’m sorry…I had to leave…”

“He’s taken over the Champion’s position, Scarlet! He’s planning to do something with our military…”

“Wait, what…?”

“Why didn’t you stop him?”

“He threatened to burn an entire city full of people, Wallace!” She snapped, startling Volkner beside her. “Do you know how many people live in Ever Grande?!”

“Then what are we going to do now?”

“We fight,” she said plainly. “The Legendary Team has been reformed, and the Chosen One is back here on Earth. We have a force to rival him.”

She could hear him gasp on the other end of the line. “Kris…Kris is back?”

“She is,” she said firmly. “And so is Cyrus. We have several legendaries on our side.”

“Whatever you’re planning, you need to do it soon…” He said grimly. “I’m afraid he’s thinking of launching a war.”

The words shocked Scarlet into silence. She couldn’t even comprehend the thought that Lugia would think about invading another country. Aquapolis had drawn up peace treaties with every country in the world since the dawn of time, vowing to never invade another people’s land. If another civilization invaded them, on the other hand, they were free to wipe out their opponent’s entire army. Aquapolians were too powerful to freely invade other countries, which was why they kept their own power in check by honoring these peace treaties.

Then another sickening thought flooded through her. Was Lugia invading the human countries as an excuse to exterminate their species?

Absentmindedly, she pressed the end button on her PokeAll, staring off into space.

“What’s wrong?” Volkner asked sleepily.

“We need to talk to Kris and Cyrus. Now.”

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

A loud knock sounded at Katie’s door, waking her from her sleep. “Wha…what is it?”

“Are you awake?” Colin’s voice sounded from the other side of the door.

“I am now,” she muttered, swinging her feet out of the bed and stumbling her way to the door, opening it slightly. “What’s wrong?”

“Kris is calling an emergency meeting.”

She glanced at the clock beside her bed. Eight in the morning. “It’s far too early for a meeting…” She grumbled.

He gave her a small smile. “I’ll wait for you to get dressed, and we’ll go downstairs together.”

-----------

I glanced around the room at the sleepy Legendary Team, crossing my arms with nervousness as Scarlet shuffled her feet beside me. On my over side, Kirio yawned and adjusted his glasses and Cyrus leaned against the wall, his arms crossed in deep thought.

After most of the Legendary Team had filed into the room, I raised my voice to address everyone. “Apparently, last night, Lugia, the power of the sky, took Scarlet’s position as Champion away…and named himself Champion.” A collective sleepy gasp issued from everyone in the room. I continued. “In addition, we have reason to believe that he’s planning to invade other countries.”

“But he can’t do that!” Rowan shouted from the other side of the room. I was surprised by the old professor’s outburst. Gazing over at him in wonder, I realized that he had aged greatly since I had seen him years beforehand. When I had first met him, he was already well into his sixties. Now in his eighties, the Sinnoh Pokemon professor looked tired and weary from the events that had occurred a few weeks beforehand.

“If he’s really invading other countries…” Mars shook her head. “Could it be that he’s trying to carry on the work of the Shadow?”

“Why is he doing this in the first place?” Volkner spoke up. Everyone turned to look at Cyrus.

After a few moments of silence, he said, “This might have been triggered by Giratina’s appearance at Mt. Coronet. Any disturbance amongst one of the legendaries could cause a disturbance in the others. Perhaps this is the remains of his Shadowfication years ago.”

“Whatever it is, we need to stop him…” I said.

“He’ll have an army behind him,” Scarlet muttered. “There aren’t enough of us to fight an army.”

“Unless…” Kirio spoke up. “We have an army ourselves.”

I stared at him. “Where are we going to find an army…?”

He smiled. “I have a friend who could help us, but…I think it would be best for the three heavenly warriors to convince him to join us themselves.”

Scarlet, Katie, and I glanced at each other, wondering what Kirio was up to. “Just who is this friend of yours, Dad?” Katie asked.

“He’s the leader of the Japanese-Aquapolian forces. Commander Kakisu Tojiro.”

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

“This is ridiculous,” I muttered, leaning against the wall behind me. The world was spinning around me, everything out of order and jumbled in my head. What worried me the most was that even Cyrus didn’t know what was going on. He was always on top of things. He always knew what was happening and why it was happening. He couldn’t exactly see into the future, but he could map things out in his mind clearly enough to accurately predict what would happen. This, however, had him stumped.

I glanced over at him. He was staring blankly out the window at the snowdrifts outside, obviously too deep in thought to even notice the whipping wind and sleet outside. I knew he wouldn’t rest until he could come up with a rational explanation to everything that was happening. I sighed and slid down the wall to rest on the carpeted floor, staring at my shiny black boots and trying to fight back tears.

After my death from my mortal life years beforehand, I had gone through a limbo phase in which I regained all of my memories from the millennia of my immortal life. Though I had regained all of my legendary knowledge and skills, I wasn’t exactly all knowing, no matter what many people thought.

I sighed, pushing away from the wall. “I guess I’ll go see when Katie, Scarlet, and I should leave. Until we can figure out what’s really going on, I think our best option is to prepare ourselves.” He nodded, and I sighed again, leaving the room.

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

My boots sank into soft sand as we approached the Sentan Island military base. I flashed a smile at one of the guards, producing an I.D. badge from my pocket. “We’re here to see Commander Kakisu, please.” The guard nodded and stepped aside, allowing us to step into the front building, which served as offices and housing for the top ranking officials. The inside was nice and well decorated. A guard showed us into the commander’s study. A man in his forties was seated at the desk, dressed in the Japanese-Aquapolian uniform. He had short black hair and pale blue eyes. He looked up as we stepped in, his eyes widening when he saw me. He sprang from his seat in surprise.

“I didn’t believe Kirio at first, but…” He hesitated. “I thought you would have been older…”

I laughed. “From a twist of fate, commander, I’m destined to be sixteen forever.”

Scarlet sighed and anxiously stepped up beside me. Kakisu was equally surprised at her appearance. “It’s a long explanation, commander, that you will be briefed on later, considering that you agree to help us, that is…”

He nodded, sitting back down behind his desk and motioning for us to sit down. His eyes traveled to Katie, who sat beside me. “I believe I’ve seen you somewhere before…Perhaps on television in a tournament? Weren’t you the recent winner of the Platinum Conference?”

Katie beamed and nodded. “Yes, sir. I’m Katie Karasuma.”

“Kirio’s daughter?”

“And mine,” I added. “She’s the third heavenly warrior, the Daughter of Shadow and Light.”

He nodded. “This must be serious for all three of the heavenly warriors to be here…”

Scarlet shifted in her seat. “You see, commander, there’s been a…sort of coup in the capital. I’d very much appreciate it if the news didn’t get out here in Japan…”

“Of course.”

[7eeveelutions]

Great chapter

Didn't see any spelling mistakes or other errors. It was a little short, but I understand your school situation. Can't wait for chapter 2!

[chosen_one386]

Thank you! Yeah, chapters will be short from now until Christmas Break since school is so hectic.

[chosen_one386]

Chapter Two



Scarlet was far from happy about the situation, her golden eyes dark with suppressed anger as she leaned back in her seat, her fists clinched in her lap. It wasn’t that she disliked Kakisu. He reminded me a lot of Kirio, friendly, but serious at the same time. I made a mental note to ask Kirio where they had met. He hadn’t talked much about his life before being pulled into the Shadow Forces at an early age. Perhaps they had been early childhood friends? But…Kirio had grown up on Orre, not in Japan…

Scarlet wasn’t happy about having to ask another nation for help in taking back her position as Champion, especially since the person who had forced her from the capital had been a one-man army. “We need soldiers to start a force strong enough to at least slow down the Aquapolian army in case he decides to use it for invasions.”

Kakisu’s eyes widened. “I’ll only be able to spare part of my forces…”

“How many troops would that be?”

“1,000”

Scarlet shook her head. “That’s not nearly enough to conquer the 50,000 that he has under control…”

Kakisu thought for a moment, glancing at me. “Then I’ll donate the entirety of the Japanese-Aquapolian force. 25,000 troops.”

“What?” I asked. Scarlet and Katie gasped.

“My forces were made to serve both Japan and Aquapolis in times of need. Since Japan isn’t currently in a war or skirmish…I’m free to serve the Aquapolian government…” He trailed off, looking at me strangely. I knew that the three of us Heavenly Warriors must look pretty weird, with my apparently rising from the dead, Scarlet’s body having turned back in time, and Katie’s personality divided between angelic and demonic. Would he even believe what we were saying? A horrible thought washed over me. What if he thought we were crazy and raising a panic over nothing? Surely Kirio had reassured him that we knew a threat when we saw one? Suddenly, I wished Kirio had come with us as back up. Could Kakisu even believe that I was who I said I was?

My head was spinning with these thoughts, and I was finding it hard to breathe suddenly. Maybe we were exaggerating things? I mean, Lugia could just be using these armies to strengthen Aquapolis against a demonic attack he believed that Scarlet alone couldn’t counter? Maybe we were dragging the Japanese-Aquapolians into nothing?

“Is everything okay?” Kakisu asked. I snapped out of my thoughts.

“Yes. Everything’s fine. We’re just…still trying to get a grasp on the situation ahead of us.”

“I’ll have to come without the knowledge of the Japanese government, if what you say is true. Of course, there’s absolutely no guarantee that they won’t notice when I bring over such a large force.”

“We don’t even have a place to house them all…” Scarlet muttered. “It would have to be somewhere far away from Ever Grande in order to not catch Lugia’s attention.”

“Wait!” Katie exclaimed. “There’s an island north of Snowpoint…it’s completely deserted with no wild Pokemon on it. Why don’t we build a base there?”

“That would take quite a while…” Kakisu muttered.

I smiled. “I’m pretty sure we could get a reasonably-sized base up in a few weeks. We’d just need you to bring over a part of your force to help us.”

Kakisu wasn’t exactly convinced of this, but he nodded in agreement. “Okay, then. Give me the coordinates of this island, and we’ll start setting up in the next few days.”

I smiled and nodded, rising from my seat and bowing. “Thank you very much, Commander.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I assume that you’ll be in charge of whatever forces we’ll bring together?”

Scarlet nodded. “As the Chosen One and the leader of the original Legendary Team, Kris will handle everything as our leader. We’ve decided that I’ll be second-in-command, and Katie will serve in our absence if we have to leave for any emergency.”

He nodded. “That sounds right…the three Heavenly Warriors leading a battle against a legendary?” He shook his head. “I thought all of this ended in the Great War years ago.”

I frowned and glanced at Scarlet and Katie beside me. “Unfortunately, I think this war will be even bigger.”

------------
“So, how did it go?”

I sighed, releasing all the stress pent up inside by our visit with Commander Kakisu. I regretted not dragging Kirio with us to meet with the commander. Since they were old friends, it may have smoothed things over instead of me babbling like a loon and trying to explain why I wasn’t dead and Scarlet looked nearly two decades younger than her actual age. “It went well enough for him to agree to lend us 25,000 troops. We told him that there’s an island north of Snowpoint that we can build a base on. Since the entire Aquapolian government has gone rogue now, we don’t have to worry about getting permission to build on it, I guess…”

I glanced over to where Scarlet and Katie sat on a park bench. The commander’s home base was set up on warm and sunny Sentan Island off the coast of south Japan. The sea breeze lifted Katie’s hair up, spinning it into black ribbons while Scarlet’s looked the color of faint lavender. She was twirling one purple strand around her finger, staring listlessly at the other park-goers. One couple who seemed to be in their early twenties laughed and chatted as their Luxray and Linoone sat speaking with each other in turn. Things were certainly not as calm in Ever Grande’s capital. I frowned. That was, unless Lugia was able to keep an air of normalness about the city. What if the general public didn’t know that Scarlet had been overthrown?

“Whatever we do now…we can do in the name of the true Champion,” I said confidently. Scarlet turned her golden gaze to me, a little of the uncertainty that had plagued it over the past few days washed away at my words. A spark of confidence filled her eyes, and, I once again saw the girl who had been brave enough to stand up to a demon and save me from captivity nearly two decades prior. She sat up straighter, and I could see both the true Champion and Dimensional Warrior reflected in her presence.

“Are you returning home today?” Kirio asked, a slightly worried tone in his voice. It had been dangerous venturing out of Snowpoint, even for this short meeting. Then again, there hadn’t been any signs of Lugia tracking us down, so it wasn’t as if we were one the run. He could have easily tried to kill Scarlet after declaring himself Champion, though that would have definitely not been an easy task. Scarlet still held part of Giratina’s power over the past few decades.

“Yes, we’ll be hopping on the next boat over…” I trailed off as I saw Commander Kakisu approaching us. “I’ll talk to you when we’re halfway there. I love you…” I clicked off, wondering what the Japanese-Aquapolian wanted. He stepped close enough to me to ensure that Scarlet and Katie couldn’t hear our conversation, and I frowned. What was this about?

“I don’t know if Kirio told you this, but we know each other from before the Great War.” He spoke as if what he had to say was something far to difficult to put into words, but he pressed on. “I don’t believe you ever remember running into me during the war, but I was one of the Shadow Commanders stationed in Sinnoh at the time. I was supposed to be keeping tabs on Kirio while he…followed you during the Diamond Conference.”

My eyes widened, and I started to speak, but the commander had already turned away. “I’ll see you in a few days,” he said softly, bowing before he made his way back to the base. I stared after him, as did Scarlet and Katie. Finally, after a few moments, Scarlet snapped out of her daze and stood up from the bench.

“We need to get back to Snowpoint.”

I nodded.

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

We crunched through the snow, enjoying the nice day outside on our walk to Snowpoint. I heard a rustling noise from the bushes beside us and stopped, glancing in that direction. Scarlet and Katie walked past me for a few steps before stopping and turning. “What’s up?” Katie asked, her Aquapolian crystal blue eyes sparking with interest. Suddenly, something jumped out of the bushes, bowling me over into the snow as it raced around me, a black and red blur. I pushed myself onto my side to see a small Pokemon I had never laid eyes on before. It wagged its tail and smiled at me, obviously happy to see me.

“What in the world…?” I muttered as it licked my face. Scarlet and Katie gasped.

“I’ve never seen that Pokemon before,” Scarlet murmured as I picked it up, standing up as it wiggled in my arms.

“Zo…zo…” It muttered.

“It must be a baby,” I said, holding it out to look into its ice blue eyes. “It can’t speak yet…”

It barked. “Zo…zo…rua!!”

I squinted. “Your name is…Zorua?”

It barked again, happily shaking its tail before it spun out of my arms. After a brief flash of light, I gasped as another me appeared before me. The experience was just like looking in a mirror for a few moments, with me staring into my own Aquapolian crystal blue eyes. I gaped, and the mirror image gaped along with me, following my movements down to the breath for a few moments before laughing hysterically. This action caught me totally off guard, and I reared back for a few moments, slightly repulsed by the maniacal laughter coming from my mirror image’s mouth. I glanced over to gauge Scarlet and Katie’s reaction, only to see that both girls were as dumbfounded as I was.
Finally, my image spun back up into the air, disappearing as the strange new Pokemon reappeared again, its fluffy black and red fur standing out clearly amongst the snowdrifts around it. It laughed maniacally again, but, this time, it looked much more cute. I reached out carefully to stroke its fur and picked it up. Immediately, the Pokemon cuddled against my chest, closing its eyes and shivering. “He must be really cold…” I murmured.

“Well, it sure isn’t from around here,” Scarlet said, crossing her arms tight against the cold wind that blew down from the mountains. Her golden eyes sparked as she started to walk in the direction of the Karasuma home once again. “Let’s get it back to Professor Rowan to have a look at it…”

“Zo!” The Pokemon exclaimed, its blue eyes sparking. I wrapped my scarf around it as I trudged forward, wondering what in the world I had picked up in the mountains around Snowpoint.

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

The three former Champions glared across the room at Lugia, who had insisted on being called Sky while he was in his Aquapolian form. Having been summoned under no pretense at all, Steven Stone and Drake Blackthorn had no idea what had gotten Wallace so agitated until they discovered that the current champion had been overthrown. Sky had done a remarkable job keeping the public unaware of the regime change. Life outside was going on as normal.

Steven’s steel grey head had been bowed for quite some time, his eyes fixed on the floor as Sky spoke to the guest that had entered only a few moments beforehand. Whoever this woman was, Steven didn’t want to know…She was surrounded by darkness. He couldn’t see it…but he felt it, as if evil followed her at every step. He tried to push back the notion that, in the very room with them, a demon stood, keeping council with Sky as if they were old friends.

Moment by moment, his anger built. How dare Sky do this? How dare he bring a demon into the sacred capital of Aquapolis? How dare he overthrow a Heavenly Warrior from her post? After half an hour of picking up exchanges that infuriated him, he opened his mouth to scream, but Wallace beat him to it. At his tirade, both Sky and the demon spun around, coldly taking the former Champion in as if he were nothing but a lowly Weedle jumping from his chair in anger.

“You won’t get away with this! Either of you!” He shouted, throwing the chair aside in anger. The metal seat clattered against the floor, echoing with Wallace’s voice as he pressed on. Steven raised his eyes and could feel Drake tense beside him. A horrible feeling filled the steel-type for a brief moment. Death was in the air.

“And why do you say that, mortal?” The woman’s voice was low and cold. Steven flinched as if he were physically in pain by even hearing one word come out of her mouth.

Wallace glared at her, not backing down. “The three Heavenly Warriors will stop you. They won’t let you take over in this fashion.”

The demon laughed. “I believe you’re mistaken. The Chosen One may have recently returned to Earth, but there is no way that she’ll be able to put together an army to combat ours.” Wallace, Drake, and Steven’s eyes widened at the news that Kris was back on Earth.

Sky cleared his throat. “I believe everything is in order here, Nyx. When will you next visit us?”

“Not until the other five join you. Only then will we bring this world to its knees.” With that, she vanished into thin air.

Sky smiled cruelly at Wallace. “You’re lucky she was in a good humor, former Champion. To speak to the head of the Demon Council of Hell in such a way would usually grant a mortal a slow and painful death.”

“Then you are dealing with demons,” Steven snapped.

“Of course. The armies of Aquapolis will not be enough to completely gain control…”

“Of what? What are you doing with our military, Sky?” Drake demanded, but in a calmer voice than the two younger Aquapolian men on either side of him.

“We’re going to destroy the human race and take back the world which is rightfully ours.”

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

“I’ve never seen this Pokemon before,” Rowan muttered, observing Zorua from all angles.

“We found it in the mountains south of Snowpoint,” I explained. “It seemed to be lost.”

“It’s a shape shifter,” Katie added, her eyes huge. “It changed into Kris in a few seconds flat.”

“He seems to be in good health, despite being out in the snow for a supposed extended period of time,” Rowan said. “Of course, if what you say is true, he could have easily shifted into the form of an ice Pokemon and braced the weather in that fashion.”

I shook my head. “I’ve never encountered a Pokemon that hasn’t been discovered before…” I frowned. “Do you think he could be a legendary we don’t know about?”

Scarlet rolled her eyes. “Number one, does he look like a legendary to you? And…number two, don’t you know all of the legendaries in the pantheon?”

I stuck my tongue out at her. “I was just brainstorming.”

“Brainstorming what?” We turned to see Cyrus standing in the doorway.

I smiled. “Hey, maybe Cyrus knows what Pokemon this is,” I said, gesturing to the Zorua, who barked happily.

He studied the Pokemon for a few moments before shaking his head. “I’ve never seen this species before.”

I sighed. “Well, it was worth a shot…”

“Kirio’s looking for you.”

“Okay.” I looked from Scarlet to Katie. “I’ll be right back.”

As I turned to leave, Zorua barked and jumped off of the table, trying to follow me out the door. “No, Zorua, you stay here so Professor Rowan can gather more information.”

“Actually, Kris, it may be more advantageous to observe his daily actions and movements from here on out. Perhaps everyone here could report to me at the end of today to tell me what they saw?” Everyone nodded. “Great.”

I sighed and stooped down to pet Zorua. “Okay, follow me, then.” I left the room with the Pokemon on my heels.

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

Kirio was in his office, sorting through papers and files. After knocking and stepping inside, he looked up at me, a tired expression on his face. After catching my eye, however, his eyes lightened up a bit, and he rose from his chair, stepping toward me to wrap his arms around me.

“How was your visit with Tojiro?” He asked after he pulled away.

“As I told you, it went much better than expected.” I frowned. “Though you should have told me that he used to be a Shadow Follower.”

Kirio sighed, sliding his hands down my arms. “I’m sorry. The Shadow Forces is where we met as kids…We worked together for years, and he was one of the Shadow Commanders who desperately wanted out, but didn’t have anyone to help him…” He smiled. “Not like me…” He glanced down at my feet, a puzzled look spreading across his face. “What is that?”

“Oh…” I glanced down at Zorua, who was wagging his tail and barking happily, obviously glad to be near to Kirio. “This is Zorua. We picked him up in the mountains south of Snowpoint.”

“I’ve never seen a Pokemon like this before…” He said, stooping down to pet the Pokemon. Zorua giggled and, in a flash of light, another Kirio stood before him. The original reared back, staring at him as if he were an alien. The mirror image laughed maniacally and shifted back into his original form. Kirio’s dumbfounded stare made me laugh as Zorua pranced around, quite proud of himself for accomplishing yet another great shape shifting feet. Kirio raised his eyes to mine, his black gaze glittering. “Where do you think he came from?”

I shrugged. “We might ask some of the legendary Pokemon, but, as a legendary myself, I’m pretty sure there’s no area in Aquapolis that we haven’t explored and documented Pokemon from…” I crossed my arms, weighing the possibility of something else extraordinary having occurred. “Unless there are some Pokemon indigenous to the human states, which is unheard of.”

Kirio frowned, picking the furry Pokemon up and looking straight at him as he spoke. “Which direction did you come from?” He asked loudly and clearly. Zorua cocked his head to the side, thinking about his question for a bit before barking and leaping from Kirio’s arms. He ran to the other end of the office and spun around in a black and red blur. We watched him for a little bit before Kirio muttered, “That’s to the north.” He frowned. “But, to the north is ocean.”

“Maybe he transformed into a water-type and swam here from an island off the coast or something?” I suggested. “Speaking of, you know that island a few miles off the coast of Snowpoint?” He nodded, his gaze not leaving Zorua as the Pokemon spun around in circles, obviously enjoying himself. “Well, the commander wants to know if we can build a base on the island to accommodate his troops.”

“That’s an excellent idea,” Kirio muttered, his eyes turning to the snowflakes outside. “The island is pretty much too small on a map for anyone to think twice about it, and a base would be perfect for the expanding Legendary Team. Plus,” he turned to me, a spark of worry in his eyes. “The government knows where I live. I can’t exactly hide anymore now that I’m the CEO of Akagi International…My home is pretty well-known for its architecture.”
I smiled. “Really, Kirio? What, did you end up in some home and garden magazine somewhere?” I pushed him playfully, and he feigned anger, shoving me back.

“No…” He scowled. “But, people talk…”

“People in high society talk, don’t they?” I teased, poking him. Zorua barked, picking up on our laughter and spinning around even more furiously as if he was trying to catch his own tail. “But, seriously, I understand…We’ll make an announcement to the Legendary Team and start to work right away.”

“Perfect,” he muttered, leaning down to kiss me softly on the cheek. “Just perfect.”

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

That night was exceptionally cold, causing me to curl up and shiver beside Kirio, burrowing into the blankets as if I would freeze to death if I didn’t do so. I fell asleep restlessly, curling my feet up especially to make sure that they remained underneath at least three or four sheets. A few seconds after I started to sleep, however, the cold disappeared, replaced by no temperature at all. I opened my eyes, wondering if someone was going to try and contact me through a dream. It had happened several times in the past, when a legendary needed to get in contact with me while I was in heaven. But…it had never happened while I was on Earth.

Then, I realized that there was no way I could just walk right on into the Cave of Origin and speak to any legendary I pleased at that moment. Lugia was sure to have some legendaries on his side. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have stayed in the Hall of Fame past a few hours. Perhaps a legendary who was on my side had decided to call for help or to offer help him or herself.

Light flooded my vision, and I sat up, feeling soft green grass brush against my hands as I shifted into a standing position. The air around me started to grow warmer, and I sighed, letting it flow over me and erase all of the coldness that had infected my body. “Thank you…” I whispered, closing my eyes and lifting my face to the bright sun overhead. “I really needed that.”

“You’ll definitely need such strength in the days to come.”

The voice behind me was soft and soothing with a bit of a lilt to it. I opened my eyes and turned around, taking in the sight of a pink-haired girl dressed in a pink kimono on which thousands of colors of flowers literally danced. I smiled, recognizing one of my closest legendary friends, and the legendary who had lent me her voice when I was trapped after the Great War. The legendary of genetics smiled slightly, stepping forward.

“What’s going on, Mew?” I asked, as if she held all of the answers. I far out-ranked her in the legendary pantheon, but I had always run to her for help over the past few millennia. She seemed wise far beyond her years and rank.

She frowned. “The six orbs are missing from their places in the Cave of Origin. We believe that Lugia took them with him when he…rebelled…”

“Why did he do such a thing?” I demanded. “Why has he taken over…?” I almost literally choked with rage on my words. As the Chosen One, as the supreme protector of the legendaries and every living being on the planet, I was hopelessly lost in a situation that may bring death to thousands, whether they were Aquapolian, human, Pokemon, or animal. It infuriated me that I was so helpless when I apparently held so much power in this world.

Mew’s eyes dulled with sadness, the air around her sensing her distress and lifting her pink hair around her face, the psychic currents churning as if she needed to be protected from immanent danger. “We have tried to sort through the prophecy that told of the Daughter of Shadow and Light, but neither that nor any other that has appeared in the past few years have mentioned the rebellion of the power of the sky…Unless…” She ducked her head, her pink bangs spilling over her eyes so that I couldn’t see their expression at all.

My heart froze over as it dawned on me that maybe I was who started this. When the leader of Neo-Team Galactic raised Giratina and attempted to use it to destroy the universe, I had stepped down from heaven after being explicitly told not to do so to help Katie and Scarlet stop the disaster from happening. Perhaps my descent had caused too much of a shift in power? Maybe I was the one who had triggered this event, seeing as Lugia had been Shadowficated years earlier during the Great War.

I fell to my knees, feeling the dew from the blades of grass soak into my flannel pajama pants. I was numb to the coldness. Numb from shock. I had saved the world only to cast it into the fire once again. Mew lifted her head, her pearl pink eyes shining with defiance as she knelt before me, crossing the distance of several yards in only a thought. We were eye-to-eye, though I sensed her more than saw her because of the sheen of tears that was threatening to fall at any point.

“Kristal. Quamachi. Chosen One,” she said each of my official titles one by one in a firm voice, placing emphasis on each and every syllable. “This is not your fault. You and the two other Heavenly Warriors were meant to finish this once and for all. This is the final stand against whatever horrors the Demon Council has planned for this earth. YOU will right all of the wrongs that will be dealt.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. Prophecies were spoken through legendaries, but they were rarely in each other’s presence when it occurred. I had never spoken a prophecy nor heard it spoken in all my millennia of existence. But now, coming from the legendary of genetics’ mouth was the ultimate prophecy…the one that would tower over all past, present, and future prophecies that lay in the Cave of Origin.

“Go forth and unite the three Heavenly Warriors. Together, the three of you will ensure the Earth’s safety once again.”

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

I woke with a start, Mew’s last words ringing in my ears. I put my head in my hands, fighting back tears, then thrust the covers aside and swung my feet to the floor, rushing out of my room towards Cyrus’.

There was a moment of silence after I told Cyrus everything that had occurred in my dream. Then, he spoke, “Mew didn’t tell you where the six orbs were, did she?”

I shook my head. “But, with as many legendaries as we’ve gathered here, we’ll probably be able to find them ourselves. We could start with the Pearl Orb.”

He nodded. “We’ll wait until the morning before we set out.”

I nodded, turning away awkwardly to get some more sleep.

“She’s right, you know.”

I glanced back at him.

“It’s not your fault.”

I clinched my fists. “You told me…” I choked back tears. “You told me a million times not to leave. If I had listened to you…”

“It’s in the past. Mew has already prophesied that you will be the one to stop this.”

“But at what cost of lives?” I shouted. “True, I stopped the Great War, but not until after millions were dead!”

“But you stopped it, didn’t you?”

I froze, clinching my fists tighter as I struggled to hold back a sob. “Yes…” I whispered. “I did.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Then you will this time as well.”

I nodded, feeling the tears sliding down my cheek. Before Cyrus could make a move to console me, I fled from the room. I was thoroughly ashamed of myself for, once again, screwing everything up just after I did some good in the world. This time, however, it wouldn’t be at the cost of just one life.

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

The next morning, I called another meeting of the Legendary Team who were still in the area. Looking across the room, I said, “Lugia has stolen the six orbs. We’re going to try and track down the Pearl Orb first, but we’re going to need some more help now that he’s got control of the military.” I paused. “We’ll be moving to a new base on an island north of here in a few months. Please don’t mention this to anyone. Not even regional Champions, Elite Four, or Gym Leaders can be trusted right now. We don’t know how many of them sympathize with him.” I turned to Max. “I’d like you to call up all of the Legendary Team members who aren’t here and inform them of our plans.” He nodded and raced off to his computer lab. I turned back to the others. “In the meantime, everyone needs to be prepared to move into this base. It will be large enough for you to move immediate family members there, so please tell them in secret and share this message with them as soon as possible.”

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

After the meeting ended, Scarlet, Katie, Cyrus, and I stood in a circle talking for a few moments. “We need to track down the first orb right away. With all six missing, who knows what he could do?”

“It’s obvious that he split them up…” Scarlet added. “Outside of the Cave of Origin, bringing all six together could prove disastrous.”

Katie nodded and looked up at Cyrus. “Do you know where the Pearl Orb is now?”

“I can sense that it’s in the direction of Kanto.”

“Then we’ll go there,” I said.

“Wait, we can’t all go and leave the house unprotected,” Scarlet protested.

Katie frowned. “Where’s Grayson? Is he still here?”

I nodded. “Well, he’s still on Earth. I’ll have to track him down.” I sighed. “Everyone stay here until I’ve made it back to Snowpoint with him.” They nodded as I raced off.

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

“I know, everyone at the Cave of Origin is concerned about this.”

I frowned down at Grayson, who was sitting on the floor of a cave in Mt. Coronet. “Have you tried to get into the Cave of Origin?”

[7eeveelutions]

Good. Didn't notice any errors or anything like that.

Would the Japanese-Aquapolian army be human, aquapolian, or a mix of both? Either way, to take out an army that is double your size and has not only Pokemon but also people with Pokemon abilities...... this will be interesting. And I can't wait to see what you might have in store for Zorua!

[chosen_one386]

Good. Didn't notice any errors or anything like that.

Would the Japanese-Aquapolian army be human, aquapolian, or a mix of both? Either way, to take out an army that is double your size and has not only Pokemon but also people with Pokemon abilities...... this will be interesting. And I can't wait to see what you might have in store for Zorua!

Thank you!

The Japanese-Aquapolian army is made of only Aquapolians who are native Japanese. And, Zorua is only the tip of a very, very large iceberg.

[chosen_one386]

Chapter Three



I could hear the rushing of underground springs all around us, the sounds that made Mt. Coronet transform from just a slab of rock to a system of life. Try as I might, I was tuned in to the silent uttering’s and scuttlings of the Pokemon in the mountain as they moved through their quiet lives. How I envied them most days…Life would have been so much more simple if I had been born an Eevee. The only care in the world I would have was to wonder which evolution I wanted to become when I got older.

Grayson ducked his head at my question, his blond bangs flowing into his eyes as he pondered over his answer. I noticed that he was wearing mortal clothing, a simple grey turtleneck underneath a black coat that fell past his waist. The cuffs of his black pants ringed the shiniest pair of black boots I had ever seen, the dim light shining in from a crack in the roof of the cave practically glaring off of them. A wave of sadness rushed over me as I realized that he would probably always feel most comfortable wearing black. His millennia spent as a demon were hard to shake off, even now after being accepted as an angelic soul.

“You don’t feel comfortable going into the Cave of Origin, do you?” I asked, kneeling down in front of him. He ducked his head even further so that I couldn’t read the expression in his eyes. He, Katie, and I were the only three beings on Earth that had Aquapolian crystal blue eyes. I reached out to touch his shoulder, expecting him to flinch away. Instead, it felt as if his very soul was crying out for me to ensure him that everything would be all right.

“Kristal…” He whispered, leaning back against the wall, his eyes raised to mine. Tears had formed there. Grayson…the Shadow…the demon who had terrorized the Earth during both the first and second Great Wars…the very being that had killed millions of Aquapolians and humans during his reign…was now so broken, he couldn’t even bring himself to face the legendaries he had stood beside for years, even after he had atoned for his sins tenfold…even after it had been revealed that he had been controlled the entire time by an even darker force and none of his actions had been his own.

The coming days were sure to be dark ones. I couldn’t stand for him to be in so much pain and turmoil…after spending the past two decades standing up for me and sticking by me in my own days of darkness. I wrapped by arms around him, pressing my face into his shoulder. “It’s okay…” I whispered, trying desperately to soothe him. I could feel more strength coming into him with every sob. “You’re my brother…and we’re going to stand and fight together. We’re going to destroy those who caused you and so many others such pain and suffering over the years.” I leaned back, my eyes meeting his as I gave him a sad smile. “We’re not going to give in to any legendary…not after every prophecy has told us that we’re both stronger than any of them!”

He smiled back. “Of course not. Now…” I helped him stand up. “Let’s find those orbs.” He nodded and we teleported back to Snowpoint.

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

“It’s coming from the direction of Kanto?”

Cyrus nodded. “I’m sure it’s there.”

“Okay.” I turned to our small group of legendaries. “Me, Cyrus, and Scarlet will scout out the first orb. Grayson, you’re in charge while we’re gone. If something happens to you, Katie’s in charge.” I turned to Cyrus and Scarlet. “Are you ready?” They both nodded. “Then let’s go.”

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

Cyrus teleported us into the middle of a dense forest. I tried to get my bearings straight, referencing my PokeAll to discover that we were only fifty miles or so east of Pallet Town.

“It’s this way,” Cyrus said, leading us through the trees. We stayed close together until we came to a large stone temple in the middle of the forest.

I gasped. “It’s the Battle Temple.”

Scarlet glanced at me. “You mean the arena that used to be part of the Kanto Battle Frontier?”

I nodded. “We abandoned this project a long time ago?”

“We?”

“I was the Frontier Brain of this arena. The Temple Priestess.”

She snorted. “Fitting name. Why did you leave?”

“I like participating in tournaments too much.” We stepped up to the front. I glanced at Cyrus. “Are you sure it’s in there?”

“Yes,” he answered simply.

“Okay, then, let’s go inside.”

I opened the large doors, stepping into blackness and trying to focus my eyes to see my surroundings. It seemed as if all of the elemental traps I had laid before were now gone. I kept myself focused, trying to sense any danger that was in front of me. We had no clue what sort of reinforcements or army Lugia had procured as protection for the orbs. I shivered at the thought that he could have sided with demons. While the Demon Council wouldn’t think twice about a legendary asking them for help taking over the world, they would consider backing up one that had been previously Shadowficated for however brief a time. And, if this alliance grew into a powerful one that included all six powers, they wouldn’t think twice about turning it down.

I glanced over at Cyrus. Everything that had occurred since Lugia had taken over as Champion of Aquapolis had been crazy and unthinkable. Nothing like this had occurred in the Great War or its aftermath. The world was literally starting to spin out of control and not make sense to anyone. Still, Cyrus kept his cool, calm composure that told everyone that he was twelve steps ahead of us and would ensure that everything turned out right in the end. I glanced back at Scarlet. I knew that a million worries were flying through her head, from her relationship with her long-lost daughter to her inability to return her apperance to the correct age to the guilt she felt over being forced from the Champion’s seat so easily.

I turned my mind back to the task ahead. We instinctively were heading toward the battlefield, which lay in the exact middle of the temple. Every muscle in my body was tensed up, ready to strike whatever happened to come our way. However, what we did encounter in the arena was far from what I had expected.

When Scott, the director of the Kanto Battle Frontier, asked me what features I wanted on my battlefield, I asked him for a screen that selected one of the seventeen types at random for both me and my challenger, then selected a random battle field for us to compete on. For instance, the computer would first choose my type, then my challenger’s type, sometimes forcing us into interesting situations when dragon and ghost were selected. The huge screen was still there, along with the scoreboard, both seeming oddly futuristic next to the simple stone seats and columns. Two stained glass windows were embedded in the walls on either side of the arena, one depicting the powers of land, sea, and sky and the other depicting the powers of time, space, and dimension. Both windows allowed sunlight to stream down behind me and my challenger.

Immediately underneath the scoreboard levitated the Pearl Orb, its pink surface reflecting the sunlight in brilliant shades of pearl. All three of us froze, our eyes on the orb as if this were a trap. There had to be something or someone guarding it, but none of us could sense any Shadow energy around it. I took a step forward, halting immediately when a bell-like voice echoed off of the ceiling.

“I see that you’ve returned to your temple, Priestess. Care to humor your replacement?”

My eyes traveled up into the seats, where a lone figure sat, filing her nails. Her olive skin and black hair pushed back by a yellow headband immediately tipped me off to her Mediterranean-Aquapolian heritage. She wore a yellow collared shirt cut off at the midriff and that slid only three-quarters of the way down the length of her arms. She wore designer jeans and a pair of yellow high heels that I swore probably cost as much as my starting salary as Vice-Champion. Simple blue bands circled her risk and two giant hoop earrings dangled from her ears. She was all dressed up like the everyday fashionista coordinator and seemed to be around the age of twenty. Her coal black eyes narrowed at me as she smiled cruelly, standing and placing her hands on her hips as she stepped down the stone benches, expertly maneuvering in her heels. Close up, I could see she was at least a foot taller than me…but still no taller than Cyrus.

“Allow me to introduce myself,” she said with a toss of her raven hair. “My name is Dahlia Hernandez, the former Arcade Star of the Sinnoh Battle Frontier.” She must have seen the look of confusion that passed through my eyes, continuing with a little irritation in her voice, “The Sinnoh Battle Frontier was founded a few years after the Great War as a companion to the Kanto Battle Frontier. I’m the second Arcade Star…and the current Temple Priestess.”

“How ambitious,” I muttered, feeling snide. I didn’t like this girl one bit. She seemed to be one who thought herself above everyone around her. “So you decided to steal another title for yourself? A dead one, no less.”

She smirked back at me, as if what she was about to say would break my heart. “I don’t think you understand. Scott is consolidating both Battle Frontiers into one large one with an arena in each region. I will be the Frontier Brain of Kanto, though…” She sighed dramatically, as if she were in despair over her current situation. “I would much rather have been placed in Sinnoh. This region is so…” She wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Rural.”

I glared at her. “Without farms, you wouldn’t be able to buy any of those fancy clothes you’re so fond of wearing.” I heard Scarlet snicker behind me, and an amused smile even passed over Cyrus face for like a nanosecond. I could see that Dahlia was trying not to get worked up by my comment, but she was very, very mad.

Before she could make a comeback, I cut her off. “Why is the Pearl Orb here and not in the Cave of Origin?” I asked firmly, glancing over at the levitating orb. “Does Scott know it’s here?” Scott wouldn’t stand for any of this. He had firmly always stood by the Legendary Team during the Great War. There was no way he would endorse stealing legendary artifacts.

“Well, unfortunately, he wasn’t too keen on the whole idea in the first place. You see, Scott’s not exactly the one who’s consolidating the Battle Frontier. Champion Sky is.”

I glared at her. “Why is he doing this?” I highly doubted I would get a straight answer from her, but it was worth a shot. She seemed to love to hear herself talk. Perhaps she may accidently spill some secret that would help us in the long run.

I was surprised by how fully revelatory her response was. “The six of us…the new Frontier Brains, that is…are to serve as guardians of the six orbs during this time of trouble. We’re to be the new warriors standing against the forces of darkness in the days to come.” She tossed back her raven hair, obviously proud to be given such an important title and position in Lugia’s new regime.

My mouth literally gaped at her statement as I glanced at Cyrus and Scarlet to see if what I had just heard had actually come out of Dahlia’s mouth. Scarlet’s eyes were so wide, they looked like two small golden plates. Cyrus’ face betrayed no emotion as usual. God, he would be such a great poker player.

After processing her statement for a few moments, I stammered, “I don’t think you understand…Lugia…Champion Sky…is the leader of the new forces of darkness. He forced Scarlet from her position…and has taken over as the new leader…He may even be planning on destroying…”

Dahlia’s smile turned up cruelly. A flash of several of my past female enemies’ faces danced through my head. Marina, Lovrina, Courtney, Mars…Did all female criminal syndicate leaders have the same cruel smile? “That’s what he thought you would say.” She crossed her arms. “In fact…he said that you were in cohorts with the forces of darkness yourself.”

“That’s crazy!” I screamed, surprising Scarlet, Cyrus, and even myself with how high-pitched my voice got. I cleared my throat, trying to calm the rage that was simmering below the surface. Again, in a lower voice, I started to speak, “After so many years of fighting against the Demon Council, do you really think I would suddenly help them?” I motioned to the three of us. “Don’t you think that’s counterproductive for the Chosen One, the Dimensional Warrior, and the power of space?”

Dahlia rolled her eyes. “It may seem so…but…”

“Fine then,” I snapped. “We’ll be taking the Pearl Orb and getting out of your hair…” I took a step forward, keeping my eye on her to make sure she didn’t attack me. Instead, I ran smack into a barrier, stumbling back from surprise.

“I’m sorry, Chosen One, but that way is blocked.” Dahlia laughed. I shot her a “Well, nah, duh.” look before turning towards Cyrus. Before I could ask him to take the barrier down, Dahlia interrupted me. “You’ll have to battle me before it unlocks itself.”

“Wait, what?” I asked, confused. Barriers didn’t usually unlock themselves. They usually were only triggered to fall by large amounts of opposite energy. Only ancient barriers were regularly triggered by events happening thousands of miles away, and only then after an ancient artifact was put into the middle of some circumstance.

Dahlia smiled wickedly. “You’re going to have to battle me before you can have the Pearl Orb.”

[7eeveelutions]

Great! I didn't see any mention of Zorua, though...... but I suppose thats all part of your master plan. Can't wait to see the upcoming battle!

[chosen_one386]

Great! I didn't see any mention of Zorua, though...... but I suppose thats all part of your master plan. Can't wait to see the upcoming battle!

Yup. Zorua will be in and out of the story. Due to my master plan.

[chosen_one386]

I'm sorry for the delay in posting chapters. I was extremely distracted by my new Sherlock Holmes fanfiction (Shadow Games), so my time has been mostly spent on forming the first few chapters of that story. Rest assured, Shadows of Elements will not be completely thrown away as I work on my current four fanfictions here!



Chapter Four



Don’t get me wrong; I was totally confident in my ability to beat Dahlia into the ground. My winning the battle was not going to be an issue. I was still extremely confused. Most fights were settled quickly by Aquapolian duels. Pokemon battling was more of a sport than an actual…battle. Despite this, however, many Aquapolians fought beside their Pokemon in battle…but when attacking someone, you never wasted time by challenging someone else to a battle.

I was so totally caught off guard, I had to stammer out an acceptance to her roundabout challenge. Scarlet and Cyrus simply stared at the fashionista, wondering what was going wrong in her head that she would challenge me of all people to battle. Before I knew it, she had sauntered over to the other side of the gym. I cast a glance at Scarlet and waved her over. She snapped out of her surprise enough to listen quietly to my orders.

“Go back to Snowpoint and contact Brandon as soon as you can. Bring Kirio and him back with you…and make sure you inform Scott as well,” I added, remembering the Battle Frontier patron. He was probably livid about these occurrences happening in his sacred Kanto Battle Frontier.

She nodded and ran out, gaining a suspicious glance from Dahlia, who apparently didn’t think Scarlet was enough of a threat to stop her. I was starting to wonder why Lugia had picked such a dim-witted girl to protect something as precious as the Pearl Orb.

The electronic scoreboard flickered to life, the referee announcing our names.

“This will be a match between Dahlia, the Temple Priestess, and the challenger, Kris Reeves.”

I groaned at Dahlia’s title.

“This will be a three-on-three Pokemon match. The first type for the Priestess will be ghost. The first type for the challenger will be water. Let the battle begin!”

“Go, Dusknoir!” Dahlia shouted, releasing her ghost Pokemon.

“Go, Swampert!” I shouted, releasing my water and ground Pokemon.

“Dusknoir, Dark Pulse!”

“Swampert, Muddy Water!”

The two attacks rushed at each other, but the Dark Pulse was completely blown back by the Muddy Water. Dusknoir levitated out of the way of the first way, but was hit by the second wave as Swampert jumped into the air to meet it.

“Hydro Pump!” I shouted.

“Protect!” Dahlia shouted.

The water attack slammed into the barrier, not damaging Dusknoir but pushing it back a few feet. The Protect wouldn’t be able to stand up to much more, I reasoned.

“Muddy Water into Mud Shot!”

First, a wave of water covered the battlefield, completely obscuring both Pokemon from each other’s view. Swampert had the advantage of being able to see through mud and let loose a lethal Mud Shot that broke the barrier and further wounded Dusknoir.

“Dark Pulse again!”

This attack was much faster than the first. Swampert dodged nimbly out of the way, but took some of the shock wave of the attack. I frowned. Dusknoir didn’t even look halfway as tired as it should have.

“Take Down into Hydro Pump!”

Swampert rushed forward, gaining momentum that propelled its Hydro Pump. This did the trick. Dusknoir fell to the ground, knocked out.

“Dusknoir is unable to battle! Swampert wins this round.”

“Dusknoir, return!” Dahlia called, an angry expression on her face as the computer decided our next two types.

“The second type for the Priestess is fighting. The second type for the challenger is fire. Let the second round begin!”

“Go, Medicham!” Dahlia shouted, releasing her fighting- and psychic-type.

“Go, Blaziken!” I shouted, releasing my fighting- and fire-type.

“Thunderpunch!”

“Blaze Kick!”

The two Pokemon rushed at each other, both aimed to deliver a physical blow. Blaziken dodged nimbly out of the way of Medicham’s attack, suffering only a little shock from its fists surging past. The fire attack connected, but allowed Blaziken to receive even more of the attack.

“Sky Uppercut!”

“Psychic!”

A wave of psychic energy bore down on Blaziken, who thrust its arms up in front of itself in an attempt to block most of the attack. It slid underneath the attack a bit, slamming forcefully into Medicham and sending the Pokemon reeling.

“Slash!”

“Psychic again!”

This time, the psychic attack hit home. Blaziken fell to its knees, breathing heavily. It tried to recover, but was taken down by another Thunderpunch.

“Blaziken is unable to battle! Medicham wins this round!”

I recalled Blaziken, glaring across the stage at Dahlia. “I’m not losing this,” I muttered, gritting my teeth.

“The Priestess’ final type will be grass. The challenger’s final type will be dark. Let the final round begin!”

“Go, Ludicolo!” Dahlia shouted, releasing her grass- and water-type Pokemon.

“Go, Umbreon!” I shouted, releasing my dark-type.

“Hydro Pump!”

“Secret Power!”

A wave of water surged toward Umbreon, who dodged out of the way and diverted some of it with its own wave of energy. It rushed forward, ready to deliver the Secret Power to Ludicolo, but the Pokemon was too nimble, dancing out of the way just in time.

“Razor Leaf!”

“Dark Pulse!”

The razor-sharp leaves were no match for Umbreon’s powerful Dark Pulse attack. Ludicolo was pushed back a few feet. Dahlia gritted her teeth, and I laughed. “Not used to losing, Priestess?”

She shot me back a cruel smile. “Not today, Chosen One. Ludicolo, Focus Punch!”

The attack was so fast, I hardly had time to order a counterattack. Umbreon went flying into the wall behind me, knocked out cold.

“Umbreon is unable to battle, Ludicolo wins this round. The Temple Priestess wins this match.”

I stared at Dahlia in astonishment. She smirked back. “Not quite the trainer you used to be back some twenty-odd years ago, are you?”

I took a few steps backward, still in shock.

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

“What?!” Brandon shouted, literally shaking the Karasuma’s home with his voice.

“This Dahlia person is claiming that she’s the Frontier Brain for the entire Kanto region and that Lugia has awarded her the honor of guarding the Pearl Orb,” Scarlet replied, glancing from Kirio to Brandon. “I have no clue who she is. What do you know about the Sinnoh Battle Frontier?”

“It was set up only a few years ago on a trial basis,” Brandon shook his head. “But Scott has been talking as if he’s going to shut it down any day now.”

“Well, judging from the situation we’re now in, it’s going to be shut down permanently,” Kirio said. “Call Scott and we’ll go over to Kanto to see if we can help. In the meantime, get as much information as you can about the rest of these Sinnoh Frontier Brains.”

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

“Well, I guess you won’t be taking the Pearl Orb after all,” Dahlia said, stepping towards the orb, her eyes gleaming as her Ludicolo danced in circles around the battlefield.

I was still in shock, shaking as I picked up Umbreon, who rose from his stupor long enough to shoot me a reassuring look. Cyrus put a hand on my shoulder, and I stood up, turning towards Dahlia.

“We’re finished playing games,” I snapped. “Hand over the orb now.”

“Now, Chosen One, fair is fair. I won the match, so you must walk away,” Dahlia replied with a sneer.

“This isn’t some battle for a symbol or a trophy, Dahlia. You don’t know how much damage this orb can do in Lugia’s hands!” I snapped.

She shook her head. “How about you come back tomorrow, and I’ll grant you a rematch?”

I glared at her. “I don’t think so.”

She sighed. “Fine, then. Just try to take it.”

I advanced toward the orb, my eyes trained on it. I heard Cyrus call out, “Wait, Kristal!” I turned to him a split second before I fell through the floor, blacking out in a matter of seconds.

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

Kirio gazed up at the temple. “God, it’s been years since I’ve been here.”

Scarlet placed her hands on her hips. “Hopefully Scott will meet us here before…” She paused, tilting her head to one side, her golden eyes flashing.

“What is it?”

Her eyes narrowed. “Something’s wrong with Kris…”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Kirio dashed up the steps, Scarlet right behind him. He instinctively wound his way through the passageways, emerging onto the battlefield, stopping short when he saw Cyrus. His eyes focused on the Pearl Orb in the far corner. “Where’s Kris?”

“She fell through a spatial rift in the floor,” he said, motioning to a section of the stone floor in front of the Pearl Orb. It shifted slightly as if it were made of liquid.

“And, with this, I say my good-byes!” A young woman around twenty years of age with black hair and gold eyes waved and winked at Kirio before bolting from the room.

“I’ll catch her!” Scarlet said, making a move to rush from the room.

“No! Stay here. Let Scott and Brandon intercept her,” Cyrus ordered, his eyes on the rift. “I’m going to need you to help me get Kris out.”

Scarlet nodded, moving to stand beside the rift with Cyrus, both studying the ground beneath their feet. After a few moments of observation, she realized that the particular portal that Kris had fallen through ran in a circle around the Pearl Orb and extended upwards, invisible to the naked eye. Even if one had been levitating off of the floor, the portal barrier would still have sucked one in.

Cyrus gritted his teeth. This was the second time that Kris had been banished to another dimension. Scarlet watched as the pearl fire in his eyes glowed brighter every second he spent gazing at the portal before them. He was obviously very frustrated at not having been able to stop her from falling through.

Before consulting the power of space, Scarlet knelt down and pushed her hand through the portal, feeling the great vacuum of space beneath their feet. She wondered if there was any light in the dimension below them, and, taking a deep breath and ignoring Cyrus’ look of disbelief, the displaced Champion plunged her head fully into the portal.

[chosen_one386]

Chapter Five



A cold metal surface brushed against my skin as I groaned and shifted onto my back, opening my eyes slowly as I tried to get my bearings straight. For a few moments, I had the terrifying sensation that I had gone blind. Everything around me was pitch-black, darker than even the dimensional pit I had spent several months in during the aftermath of the Great War. At least then, there had been some sort of illumination. Here, even my Aquapolian pendent failed to give off its usual soft blue glow.

I pushed myself into a kneeling position, feeling around me to see how wide the walls were. I put my arms out from side-to-side, but felt nothing. I leaned to the left, then to the right, my hands brushing up against two more metal surfaces. Just as I had feared. Most likely, I was stuck in a box not much wider than my arm span. I leaned forward, trying to gauge the length of the room. My head knocked against another wall only a few feet from where I had been sitting.

Cold shivers ran down my spine. The darkness made everything ten times worse. I couldn’t see…there was no one to speak to…no sound but my own breathing carried in the room. Closing my eyes helped even less. My claustrophobia was kicking in, and I was starting to wish that I had stayed knocked out for a long time more.

The worst part of my situation, however, was not knowing whether Cyrus and Scarlet would be able to reach me or if they even knew where I was.

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

Scarlet fell through empty space, keeping her eyes peeled to see if she could spot any light around her. She continued to fall for several moments, a determined look on her face.

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

“What?!” Kirio shouted, stepping toward the portal with determination. Cyrus stopped him before he could jump in.

“Scarlet has already gone down after her. We should wait for a few moments before I try to intervene.”

Kirio turned and glared at him. “What if something happens to her before Scarlet can reach her?”

“What are you going to do about this situation? You could instantly die by jumping into that portal for all we know.”

A spark of rage flashed through Kirio’s coal-black eyes. He knew that Cyrus was right. There was no telling what would happen in this situation. The power of space himself did not even know what lay on the other side of that portal. It was something to be avoided by a mortal like him. Despite these facts, Kirio chided himself for not being able to do something. Once again, Kris had gotten herself trapped beyond his reach. He was unable to save her, and it infuriated him that Cyrus, once again, held the power to free her.

Back when Kris had traveled the Sinnoh region to compete in the Diamond Conference (nearly twenty years beforehand), she had started dating Kirio secretly, rehabilitating him at the same time, helping him overcome the dark forces that had overtaken his mind due to the Shadow’s complete Shadowfication of him when he was only twelve years old.

“We will wait another half an hour. If Scarlet does not reappear with Kristal or contact us to ensure her safety, I will go in after her,” Cyrus said. Kirio saw a flash of worry in his eyes before he turned away, back towards the portal.

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

Scarlet kept her eyes on her surroundings, fighting down the panic that threatened to flood her as the dark closed in around her. Finally, she saw a light ahead, growing brighter and brighter until it engulfed her. Scarlet opened her eyes to find herself in a dark stone chamber, facing a stone altar covered in blood. She backed away quickly, whispering, “No…”

“One day, this altar will be covered with either the blood of your enemies or the blood of your allies,” a deep voice spoke in her mind. “You alone hold this choice in your hands.”

She shivered and fell to her knees, squeezing her eyes shut. After a few seconds passed, she opened her eyes again, seeing that she was within a stone passageway. Aquapolian crystal blue lights surged through the ruins in the walls, guiding her along the corridor until she reached a small chamber.

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

I heard footsteps sound right in front of me, but I couldn’t see anything. I sensed the power of dimension. “Scarlet?” I asked, my voice shaking.

I heard her breathe a sigh of relief. “There you are.” I could hear her pause. “What’s wrong?”

“Can you see in here?”

“Yes…can’t you?”
Panic surged through again, and I gripped my pendent tighter to keep myself grounded and from completely losing it. I felt Scarlet bend down to grip my hand and pull me up to my feet, my knees shaking so badly I could hardly stand on my own. A surge of power swept through from Scarlet to myself, illuminating my vision with an image of Giratina for a brief few seconds and calming my nerves a bit. I gazed at the blood red eyes of the power of dimension, feeling oddly comforted by its powerful look. At least I knew that the legendaries stood beside me…well, at least most of them did. I wondered if, one day, Giratina would turn against me as Lugia did.

“How are we going to get out of here?” I whispered, hating how weak and timid I sounded. If I could see my surroundings, I would most likely be able to sense my way out of the dimension we were in. However, my blindness had completely shaken me and eclipsed my time and spacial abilities. I would have to rely on Scarlet and her demi-legendary powers to get us out.

“I’m going to try and contact Cyrus. If I can connect my powers with his, he may be able to find us and transport us out,” Scarlet said in a firm, steady voice. Though I had thousands of years more legendary experience than she did, I kind of hoped at that moment that I could see her face, just to see what was most likely a powerful legendary shine in her golden eyes. Again, my choice of Scarlet as the Dimensional Warrior was affirmed in my mind.

Though I couldn’t see her face, I knew that she had closed her eyes in order to connect her mind’s eye with Cyrus’. If I had been able to collect my nervous thoughts well enough, I would have been able to contact Cyrus with ease, our legendary minds easily finding each other no matter where in the universe we were.

After a brief moment of time, Scarlet gripped my arm tightly, whispering, “Don’t break contact with me. He’s bringing us back.”

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

Kirio studied Cyrus’ face for a few moments as the power of space concentrated on transporting Scarlet and Kris back into their dimension. The former Galactic leader’s eyes were closed and a calm expression of determination was planted on his face. Though Kirio and he had fought over the years, they were still united under one idea: they loved Kris so much that they would both do anything to protect her. Kirio as her husband and Cyrus as her uncle and adopted father. Otherwise, they would have probably killed each other years ago. Kirio winced as he remembered that he, in fact, had brought Cyrus’ mortal life to an end.

They heard a commotion coming from one of the passageways leading out of the arena. Kirio turned to see what was happening, but Cyrus kept his mind focused, undisturbed by his surroundings. Dahlia had doubled back into the arena, casting panicked glances back at whoever was pursing her. Before she could escape, however, she slammed into a wall of psychic energy and sprawled out on the floor of the arena. Kirio watched as Brandon Townsend rushed into the arena, his sharp and intimidating gaze focused on the younger Frontier Brain. His once-brown hair had dark streaks of grey in it, making him even more terrifying than before. Dahlia flipped to her feat, aiming a bolt of electricity at Brandon, who was way too fast for her to hit. With another flash of his powerful grey eyes, Dahlia was walled in by four psychic barriers. She screamed in frustration, banging against the barriers with her hands.

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

After only a few moments, a great rush of light accosted my eyes, causing me to squeeze them shut before I was quickly blinded. My feet touched the solid floor of the battle arena, my heart rising with relief. I slowly opened my eyes as Scarlet took her hand from mine. A few seconds later, Kirio flung his arms around me, holding me tight to his chest and burying his face in my hair. “Thank God, you’re safe,” he muttered. I could feel him shaking. Obviously, he had been terrified that I wouldn’t be able to come back.

When I stepped away from his embrace, I glanced over to where Cyrus stood. The color had seemed to come back to his face. That moment, I knew how much trouble I had been in. If Cyrus had been worried about getting me back, there was a huge possibility that I could have been stuck there for good.

I heard muffled screaming from my right and turned to see Dahlia pitching a hissy fit inside of a psychic wall of barriers. Standing beside her and shaking his head was my old mentor, Brandon Townsend. It was good to see him again after a few months. He had always been tough on me in our training sessions, but he had been a good friend and teacher, supporting me when I signed on to be a new Frontier Brain and even when I left the temple to challenge the Diamond Conference in Sinnoh.

I motioned to the still screaming Frontier Brain. “What are we going to do with her?” I asked Brandon. He rolled his eyes as if he couldn’t believe that he had to deal with this girl.

“We can get some good information out of her,” he muttered thoughtfully. Dahlia, who had heard him, stopped screaming and folded her arms in front of her chest, her golden eyes set in a glare of defiance.

“I don’t think so, Pyramid King,” she said with a sneer. It seemed as if she loved to throw around people’s titles as insults. A few seconds later, she shrunk back as Brandon’s icy cold glare pierced her eyes.

“Don’t worry, we’ll make you talk,” Brandon said off-handedly, turning his attention to Cyrus. “What we should worry about now is how we’re going to get to the Pearl Orb.”
“Now that we know where the portal is, I can deactivate it,” Cyrus said, turning back to the area where the Pearl Orb floated. His eyes glowed with a pearl light and a large rush of energy slammed into the portal, causing it to disappear. He stepped over and wrapped his hands around the Pearl Orb, which shown a bright pink in response to being returned to its true master.

“Just what is going on here?”

Everyone turned to see Scott walking across the arena, a confused look on his face. Following close behind him was Zorua, who, immediately on seeing me, rushed over, a happy look on its face. In a flash of light, it transformed into me and threw its arms around me, hugging me tight. I blushed as everyone stared at my duplicate, those who hadn’t met it before shocked by its transformation. Zorua and I looked like identical twins. It had even captured my Aquapolian crystal blue eyes so that no one could tell us apart. Seconds later, it transformed back into its original form and flung itself into my arms, nestling underneath my neck.

“What is that?” Brandon asked, his brown eyes wide with curiosity.

I shrugged. “Its name is Zorua. I’ve never seen this Pokemon before, but we found it near the Karasuma house in Snowpoint.”

“Interesting,” Scott muttered before shifting his gaze to Dahlia. “Just what have you gotten yourself into, Miss Hernandez?”

She glared at him, her dark eyes sparking. “I’m not working for your idiotic Battle Frontier anymore,” she said in a muffled voice. “With Champion Sky, I’ll be able to rule the entire Kanto region.”

“I highly doubt Champion Sky is going to think twice about saving your butt once we drag you back to Snowpoint,” Brandon shot back, his brown eyes stormy. “In fact, you’re going to tell us all about this new champion once we get back.” He snapped his fingers and started to walk out of the arena. Dahlia let out a little shriek as the barriers that surrounded her floated after him, trapping her in a moving box behind the Pyramid King.

Scott crossed his arms and shook his head. “I can’t believe this. How in the world would my Sinnoh brains be caught up in this?”

I shot him a worried look. “How many of them are there?”

“Five facilities, but six brains in total. For all we know, this Champion Sky gave each of them an orb to protect.”

“That would make sense,” Kirio agreed. “And each of them a region he promised would be theirs to control in the future.”
We stood in silence for a few moments, each of us processing this new information. A new enemy had been sprung upon us. It was time for the Legendary Team to start operating again. One-by-one, everyone in the room turned to look at me, waiting for me to give my orders as the head of our small force. I raised my head, straightened my shoulders, and tilted my head up, determined to look and feel the part of the commander I was.

“Contact Max and tell him to alert the entire Legendary Team. We are at war once again.”

[7eeveelutions]

Great chapter!

Only one minor spelling error towards the end. "We Champion Sky, I'll be able to rule the entire Kanto region."
I'm sure "We" is supposed to be "With."

[chosen_one386]

Ah, thanks for catching that. I'll go back and change it.

Thank you and a new chapter should be up soonerish because I'm now on summer vacation.

[chosen_one386]

Chapter Six



I paced up and down the den in the Karasuma Snowpoint house, half-aware that Cyrus, Grayson, and Kirio were watching me. Dahlia had been secured in one of the rooms in the back of the house, where she awaited interrogation by Scott and Brandon. Zorua paced along with me, keeping his blue eyes on me at all times.

“Now that we have the Pearl Orb and Kanto situated, would you like to go after whatever Frontier Brain is in the Orange Archipelego next?” Grayson asked, breaking the silence.

“Yes,” I muttered. “But not without first planning our main base on the island north of here. Commander Kakisu is already there, setting up his small army to defend it and Snowpoint. This house is much too small to keep the entirety of the Legendary Team here, so we’ll want to move up to the island as soon as possible.”

“How soon would you like to make that?” Kirio asked.

“This weekend, if possible.”

He nodded. “I’ll have Max direct everyone up there and give Kakisu a heads-up. Meanwhile, what do you want to do with Dahlia?”

“I’ll have Scott and Brandon extract as much information as they can from her. We can’t let her leave afterward, either. Hopefully, we’ll get some cells built on the island to contain the rest of the Frontier Brains when we catch them.”

“Do you want us to move the Legendary Team members who are already here out to the island?” Grayson asked.

“Yes, please do that now.” He and Kirio left the room, and I turned to Cyrus. “Can you sense where the other orbs are?”

“Not as well as the Pearl Orb, but I can sense the powers that they belong to.”

“Okay. In a few days’ time, a small group of us will head out to the Orange Archipelego to find the next Frontier Brain.”

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

Our group of around a dozen or so people filed into the new island base. I was impressed with how quickly Kakisu had gotten things up and running. He was waiting for us at the front door. “The quarters for the Legendary Team are at the back of the island,” he said. “All of the offices are located on the middle floors.”

I nodded, barely hearing the words coming out of his mouth. Everything was steel and glass instead of the stone and steel I had expected.

There was a small commotion behind me as Kirio and Brandon dragged Dahlia into the base, her hands handcuffed behind her and a scowl set across her face. Kakisu raised his eyebrows at the sight, shooting me a questioning glance. “She’s going to help us find out exactly who our enemy is,” I explained as Kirio and Brandon led the former Frontier Brain down the hall.

Kirio turned back around to address Kakisu. “Do you have any holding cells?”

The commander nodded. “Down below the base. I’ll show you where they are.” He followed the two Aquapolian men as they led Dahlia deeper into the island base.

Scarlet stepped up beside me, a frown set on her face. “I don’t like any of this,” she declared.

“Trust me. I’ll fix this,” I said, determination ringing in my voice. “Let’s get Katie, Cyrus, and Grayson together with the two of us. We need to figure out exactly what our next few steps will be and how the Legendary Team will execute them beside Kakisu’s soldiers.”

Scarlet nodded, her golden eyes shifting from a worry to determination. What worried most of us was the unknown. If Cyrus, a man who lived his entire life knowing exactly what to do in any situation, was completely lost and unsure, the rest of us were just fumbling around in the dark, hoping to run in to a solution sooner or later. With a set plan in front of us, fear and anxiety would diminish greatly, making us the incredibly skilled force we used to be twenty years beforehand.

Our first task was to establish a chain of command. While Kakisu held control over all of his soldiers, with lesser commanders to lead each division, the Legendary Team was completely out of his hands.

“We need to find some sort of office to hold our meetings in,” I said as we walked further down the twisting hallway. I tried to pick out objects and fixtures in the architecture around us to ensure that I could find my way back again, but all I saw was steel and glass as far as the eye could see. While I loved the look of modern design, sometimes it was far too sterile for my tastes. Before either of us could get worked up over getting lost, we stopped in our tracks.

“Attention everyone.” The loudspeakers didn’t even screech. Max’s voice came over clear and smooth, proving the worth of the technology Kakisu had installed in the building…probably with some of Akagi International’s help. “Will the Legendary Team please report to the training fields outside? Thank you very much!” Max instantly cut off, his announcement missing all of the grandstanding he had done in past years. Scarlet and I frowned. I hadn’t ordered a meeting for the entire Legendary Team. Either Kirio, Cyrus, or Grayson had called it.

“Let’s see if we can find our way out of this labyrinth…” I muttered to Scarlet, taking a few more steps down the hallway. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her roll her golden eyes, clearly exasperated by this hopeless endeavor.

“You know what?” She stopped short, throwing her hands into the air. “We might as well just walk through all of the walls until we get outside of the base!” Before I could answer her, she flung her violet hair back over her shoulder and simply strutted through the wall to our right. I stared after her, wide-eyed, before sighing and following her through the wall.

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

I felt all eyes fall on us as we pushed through the crowd to the bleachers, where Kakisu, Cyrus, Kirio, Grayson, and Katie stood elevated above the rest of the Legendary Team. Kirio helped me up beside him, and I swiveled to speak to the rest of our forces. “By now, all of you have heard that Lugia, the power of sky, has taken over as Champion of Aquapolis. He has stolen the six orbs and plans to use them…quite possibly to start a war. That is why Commander Kakisu has so generously donated his soldiers to help us in this mission. I’m going to need everyone to train hard…as if we were fighting the Great War over again.” I took a deep breath. “In fact, another war might be coming.” I looked out over the solemn faces in the crowd. “But no matter what, we are the Legendary Team. This is what we were created to do. To fight these battles against evil and to destroy anything that sides with shadow. Now, I want to see battling and dueling training sessions now. Please await further orders.” I jumped down from the bleachers, making my way back through the crowd until I found Brandon. “Has she said anything?”

“I wanted to wait until you could be there to hear what she has to say,” he replied, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “She’s got some pretty interesting information.”

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

Dahlia glared at me. “You’re not going to win this war.”

“We’ll see about that,” I muttered. “Tell us what Sky is planning, and we’ll let you out of those handcuffs.” Her eyes sparked in defiance before she turned them away from my gaze.

“He didn’t divulge so much information to us,” she admitted. “He only gave us the six orbs and promised us that not only would we be on the winning side of the upcoming war, but each of us would be the ruler of each of the six regions after it was over.”

“Upcoming war?” I echoed, frowning. Who was Sky planning to attack or defend against? A shudder went through me as I remembered that, at one point, he had been Shadowficated by Grayson and sent to terrorize the entire country. One of Lovrina’s experiments, Shadow Lugia still haunted my dreams occasionally. I forced the picture of his destructive rampage through the country out of my mind.

“Against the human states,” Dahlia said far too quickly and enthusiastically. Her eyes were shining with excitement. I wanted to smack her upside the head. This stank of demon involvement. How could anyone be so blind to that fact? The Demon Council of the underworld ran any war led by any group of Aquapolians in an attempt to wipe out the human race secretly. Otherwise, no Aquapolian would dare take up arms against the species we shared half our DNA with.

Not seeing the warning flash of anger in my eyes, Dahlia pressed forward. “Sky will lead Aquapolis toward its true destiny…to take control of the world! For millennia, we’ve stood by while the weaker of the two species has controlled most of the world…but no longer! Aquapolis will rise up and become the true leader it was meant to be!”

“And turn our back on God in the process!” I screeched at her. Everyone stared at me for a few moments. Dahlia’s eyes were wide as she let the words sink in. Seething, I snapped at Brandon, “I’m through talking to her. Let’s find the rest of the orbs and stop this traitor.” With that, I turned and stalked out of the room, everyone staring after me in shock.

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

The boat glided through the sea effortlessly, allowing me to run my hands along the waves from my position leaning over the edge. Kirio leaned up against the railing across from me while Grayson and Cyrus spoke on the other side of the boat. Sitting in the driver’s seat was one of my old friends, Misty Cerulean. “We’re coming up on Shamouti Island soon!” She shouted over the sound of the wind rushing past. Her orange hair whipped up around her face in a sunburst pattern. She had always worn her hair cropped short, but I noticed that she had finally grown it past her years in the nearly twenty years since I had seen her last. In comparison, the rest of us on the boat looked exactly as we had back then, which was probably pretty unnerving for Misty.

It had been years since I had last seen Shamouti. My first encounter with my legendary side had been on that island during a massive storm and power surge caused by a rogue collector. He had tried to capture and control the power of the sky, and I had stepped in to stop him. With a pang of sadness, my mind went back to Lugia. From being hunted to being Shadowficated, so much had happened to the legendary in the past few decades, it was no wonder that he had gone quite mad.

Unlike that stormy day, Shamouti was bathed in tropical light as we docked at one of the piers. Grayson jumped off of the boat, his eyes taking everything around him. Like Cyrus, he was the quiet, careful type. He saw everything. He missed nothing.

Unfortunately, this also meant he was caught off guard by those things and people who were loud.

“Ahoy! How are you today?”

The cool, calm former demon leader of the Shadow Forces was caught off guard by this salutation, jerking his blonde head up towards the stone steps that winded up the hill to the main village on Shamouti Island. Leaning against the stone face that lined the steps was a young man, a friendly grin on his face. A few steps closer, however, and I could see that he had one hand on his belt, curved around several Poke Balls that were clipped there, as if he expected trouble from the newcomers. His light blue eyes were wary, betraying none of the friendliness that his grin did. I knew instantly that we had to be careful around him. We didn’t know whether he was friend or foe.

Giving him the biggest and most sincere grin I could, I answered, “We’re good today! How are you? Enjoying the weather? I heard a tropical storm came through a few weeks ago!” With each overly enthusiastic sentence out of my mouth, I could see indecision playing across his face. He didn’t know whether or not he should trust me, either. And this, I took as a sign that he was a friend. Surely, the other Brains had been alerted to our trying to undermine their…takeover.

He took a few more steps down, wariness still flooding his eyes. “What brings you to Shamouti Island?” He finally asked. The million-dollar question.

It still wouldn’t hurt to be careful around him, I figured. Who knew if one of the Brains had him on their payroll? “Well, it’s one of the most beautiful in the Archipelego! Why not come for a vacation?”

“Where are you from?”

“Sinnoh, near Snowpoint.”

He contemplated this for a few moments. “It’s cold up there this time of year, isn’t it?”

“Preciously why we’re here.”

He studied us a little more and heaved a sigh. “Sorry about that. We’ve had a few strange characters arrive here at the island lately.”

“Strange how?” I asked.

He glanced one way and then the other before jumping down off of the stone steps and moving closer. He lowered his voice as soon as he was close to me. “Several people came here to set up camp at the sea temple a few weeks ago. One of them was carrying a box…any Pokemon that go near it start going mad and lose control of their powers.”

I nodded. “Thank you…erm…”

He smiled, taking a few steps back and holding out his hand for me to take. “Scott Carson of the Kanto Coast Guard at your service.”

“You’re a long way from Kanto…” Grayson observed.

“After the Great War, a special section of the Coast Guard was dedicated to the Sevii Islands and the northern part of the Orange Archipelego. I’m from the Sevii Islands myself, so it was the perfect opportunity to patrol a part of the region I was familiar with.” He shot me a weird look.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said, shaking his hand, holding my breath for his reaction to my introduction. “If you don’t mind, we’d like for you to keep our presence here on the island a secret. We’re acting for the real Aquapolian government under Scarlet Sunyshore.”

His face darkened. “I heard about that usurper throwing her out,” he said angrily.

“Well, we’re trying to do something different about that. I am Kris Reeves…”

“The Chosen One?” He asked, astonished. “But you died when I was like a baby!”

I smiled. “I may have passed from my mortal life, but I still have my immortal one to live.”

He frowned. “The situation must be serious for you to be here.”

I nodded gravely, turning to my brother. “This is my brother, Grayson.” He nodded. “And my…” I hesitated. “…husband, Kirio Karasuma of Akagi International.” Kirio and Scott shook hands.

“I’m sorry…” Scott gave him a weird look. “I thought you were a lot older.”

“I am…” Kirio nodded. “I just…got stuck in a time portal a few months ago…”

[7eeveelutions]

Awesome. Didn't see any errors or anything like that, although I was a bit confused about where Shamouti Island was for a little while. I presume it's around the Sevii Islands somewhere?

[chosen_one386]

It's just south of the border that splits Kanto and the Orange Archipelego, thus it is just south of the Sevii Islands.

Next chapter will be up sometime between now and Christmas. I start back to school in a few weeks, so writing will slow down incredibly.

[43Pothoven]

that is a really good chapter. I had fun reading it, its very well-written too. hope to read more chapters of that. its exciting.











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