Okay, I was feeling really strange on Thursday. Not bad strange, good strange. You should know this now before I tell you the story.

So in an act of complete randomness, I decided to see what chapter one would look like if I merged it with the next three chapters and the small fifth of a chapter I had too. And I thought, you know, this doesn't look half bad.

So this is four and three quarter chapters of my hard work these past two weeks put into one action-packed chapter that will leave you yelling and screaming at me and the computer or tablet you're reading this on. Please review, and remember, this was over four chapters, so the next one will be shorter than this, unless I'm inspired again and decide to do another almost 9,000 word chapter and have it finished for next Saturday. But I'll try to write these longer!

No one said a word. None of them moved. They were barely blinking. The prophecy was repeating in their minds over and over again.

Everything seems to halt. Pokèmon, trainers, leaves blowing in the wind. There's only silence as Michael's eyes stop glowing and he cries out in pain, holding his head as he falls to his knees. Rosie is by his side in an instant; helping him stand. He's groaning and his eyes are closed tightly as he feels the recoil of the prophecy's power hit him as well as his own thoughts.

"Ho-Oh did say this would be awful, after all." he chuckles quietly to himself, almost like an inside joke.

No one else says a word, too deep in their own thoughts.

The Battler doesn't understand his powers,

He will never know it all.

Red can still hear the words ringing in his head. It's like a puzzle he never solved, bothering him until he does. The words don't seem to make sense to him. He knew that the others had powers, and he just assumed that maybe he didn't. But thinking back, he's always been stronger than others in fights, like at a different level. Was it Arceus sending him a message? But maybe he was just that, stronger in fights. That's nothing special.

But he did feel something. When they were on that boat. That strange, calming feeling, like he was in charge of the ocean, and then the roar as the whole ship was slammed into by a wave, bigger than any natural wave could be. It had to have been a Pokèmon helping. Maybe even a Legendary Pokèmon.

Team Beta still approaches,

The Prophet will soon fall.

The whole prophecy still swam in his head through the ocean that his mind was now. When he became the Prophet officially, it was like the dam holding everything back had been broken, letting through a tidal wave of space where he stored things now. Thoughts. Pictures. Words. Events that chained together in little pieces and slowly revealed their destiny, never enough to know exactly what happened. A happy moment here, a horrible vision there, never a distinct happy or sad ending. Maybe that was because time was so flexible, a single thing could change everything.

Michael had heard his own destiny as he spoke, but it didn't register in his mind. Then there was the pain that crashed into him, but it only bothered him for a few seconds. He was busy looking through old visions, trying to figure out something, anything, that would tell him more about the future of his newfound friends. He was worried about them, so much that he didn't even think to worry about what the future held in store for him.

The Reviver is a mystery,

Hiding his shadowed past.

N knew exactly what the prophecy meant when it mentioned his past. Legendary Pokèmon knew about him, so of course it would be in a prophecy that he was involved in. His bigger fear was that someone else would think about it and question what it meant.

Pushing that aside, he started wondering about his own supposed "powers". He knew Maddie had some sort of power related to Pokèmon because he had seen the way she looked at them and seemed to go into a daze. He just didn't really think that he had something special. He already had a power that made him different. He could see Pokèmon's hearts. But something told him that that was nothing, a minor thing compared to a gift Arceus gave him when he was born, something that related him to this group and made him one of them.

And deep down, he liked knowing that these people were his allies, not because he was going to rule them as their king, but because they thought of him as equally important as them.

The Connection slowly loses her grip,

Her reality is vanishing fast.

The words were like having a tiny Rhyperior slowly chip away at the wall she'd built up with it's drill, slowly revealing the true reality that she'd pushed to the side before as soon as she realized that she could use Pokèmon attacks.

The thought that she couldn't handle it. That she'd one day lose control and wipe out everything around her. So she had told herself that it wouldn't happen and reassured herself over and over that she wouldn't let everyone down.

But even the prophecy told her that she would fail. The Prophecy, the thing that the Legendary Pokèmon said was the path that their destinies would take because Arceus said it was so. Arceus said she would fail because it was in the stupid prophecy that they had been waiting for ever since it was revealed that one day, Michael would reveal a prophecy that was locked deep in his mind, and it could only be unlocked by the six uniting.

She was going to fail.

The Morph is the only one,

Who knows what's at stake.

Am I the "Morph"? I guess I am, because that seems to make sense. But what does that verse mean?

Rosie didn't really understand what it meant because she didn't know what was at stake. She had no clue about what it meant. Maybe later it would make more sense to her, maybe not. But it didn't make any sense to her right now. So she didn't fret about it. It would only cause her worry, so she didn't think about it.

When she heard Michael cry out, she was the only one who could help him, because everyone else was thinking about those words, everyone else was wondering about what their own future held in store for them instead of the present's problems.

The Strategist will hesitate,

The final decision is hers to make.

Maddie was taking really deep breaths and trying not to hyperventilate. She knew this would be bad. She knew that something like this would be said about her and would affect her, but something like this was scary. The thought that she would be the final one, the one to make the decision that could be the choice between life and death, was scary.

Of course, it could be anything, from which direction they would go to what kind of celebratory ice cream they would get at the Pokèmart. But it could be the choice of which button they would press, or which side they were on, or if they should trust someone who would later backstab them and sell them out to Team Beta. It could be anything, and it was her choice. Her decision. And that was what freaked her out.

"Hey guys!"

Everyone looked at Michael with startled expressions on their faces. The teen gave a small grin.

"Glad to see that you haven't died of shock. We should get going. I'm not sure where to go, but Rosie suggested somewhere hidden. A forest, you said?"

Rosie nodded. "It's called the Pokèmon Village. It's hidden deep in the Winding Woods, a forest that often confuses travellers, so it's unlikely that anyone will find us. It's far away, near Snowbelle City. We could get there easily as long as everyone has a Flying type Pokèmon that can actually fly, not just a Gyrados. I'm going to assume that since everyone here has gotten this far, you all have Flying types or something that flies."

"Don't they need to know Fly?" N asked.

Nicole laughed. "No, Fly is for those trainers whose Pokèmon are inexperienced and have no idea how to fly somewhere and need to use the move to get places. I've heard of the Legendary Eon duo in Hoenn being able to get places as long as the person who calls for them has an Eon Flute. Besides, flying isn't that complex. My Togetic knew Fly once, but even after he forgot the move, he could still fly through the air with me. The move Fly isn't needed to get places."

"Thank you Nicole. everyone, I suggest that you mount up and follow me." Rosie said.

"Wait a minute. I saw your Pokèmon, and none of them are sturdy enough to hold a person. How are you going to get there?" Michael asked. Rosie grinned sheepishly.

"I usually carry my Fletchinder in my party when I'm going to be flying places. I need a ride from someone."

Michael chuckled. Walking over to Nicole, he said something to her, and she nodded, passing him a Pokèball. Walking back to Rosie, he smiled.

"Nicole said you should follow your own advice. But, she's being kind enough to let you borrow her Togetic." he said, giving Rosie the Pokèball.

"Thanks Michael." she said, before running over to Nicole to say thank you, who was climbing onto her Garchomp.

They must have looked odd, a group of six trainers with various Pokèmon flying them across the region. Red was on his Aerodactyl, a Fossil Pokèmon that was quite rare, and Maddie was aloft on her Pidgeot, a more common Pokèmon. Michael was riding his Swellow, Nicole was on her ferocious Garchomp, N was borrowing Maddie's Dragonite because his own Archeops was very poor in the air, and Rosie was using Nicole's Togetic. The cute Pokèmon had tiny wings that surprisingly held him and Rosie up and was even able to do a neat loop-de-loop in the air after they took off that gave her heart a jolt.

She felt close with Togetic quickly. The Flying/Fairy type was joyful and happy to be in the air. Rosie guided him towards Snowbelle City and when the group landed, they all seemed to be shivering, Garchomp especially uncomfortable. After everyone was recalled and returned to their trainers, Rosie led them all to the forested Route 20, also known as the Winding Woods.

She knew her way through the woods. It was easy to get lost, even if you followed the path, but Rosie was an expert, getting them to the Pokèmon Village in a short ten minutes. The Pokèmon recoiled at first, but were at ease soon after once Rosie introduced everyone and said that they were all kind trainers.

They all sat in a nice spot where the grass wasn't too long and couldn't scratch at their legs. As soon as everyone was settled, a sudden feeling emerged in everyone, a thick tension between them growing, and Rosie knew that this would be an awkward conversation.

"So, I think that we should talk about everything that has happened so far and discuss it. I think that we should also tell everyone the extent of our powers. We can't trust each other if there's secrets holding us back. So I'll go first." Nicole said.

"I was the first one to be alerted to the Legendary's intentions. It started as a quest from Mesprit after I became Champion and went home. I live in Twinleaf Town, and we're close to Lake Verity, so I went off to see the lake. After Mesprit gave me the first of my abilities, she sent me off to find Uxie and Azelf. Finally, I went to the nearest Pokèmon Centre, which was in Snowpoint City, and collapsed on a bench as the day went by my head.

I have two powers that I know about. I can understand what Pokèmon say, which can be a little weird at times, and I can use their attacks. So far, I've pulled off two, Extreme Speed and Dark Pulse, thanks to my Lucario. "

It was quiet. Finally, Michael spoke.

"I felt a strange feeling while I was in Hoenn. I'm still not sure what it was, but it told me to go to Johto. There, I found Maddie on the beaches of Olivine City and a Suicune. I blacked out from a vision, and awoke on top of Bell Tower in Ecruteak City. Ho-Oh revealed my special powers, and now I'm here, with you guys. As everyone knows, I see pieces of the future and spoke the prophecy. I also have a connection to Rosie through my mind, and we're brother and sister."

"Really?" Red asked, and Rosie nodded.

"Yeah, he's my long-lost brother and we are telepathic. It's one of those cliché things you'd expect on a movie. I'm not sure exactly what we can do, but I guess it'll grow through time. I was enlightened by a purple haired girl attacking me in Lumiose City. That was the first time I had ever 'morphed' with a Pokèmon."

"You met Alpha?" Nicole gasped.

"Who's Alpha?" N asked. Rosie looked equally confused.

"Alpha is the sister of Omega, and both of them are the second-highest ranking people in Team Beta. We got attacked by them after Nicole and I were captured but escaped a secret base in Mahogany that Team Rocket used a while ago. That's where we met Red." Maddie said.

"And you guys brought me into this crazy cross-region scheme of yours." the Kanto teen chuckled.

"Yeah. I guess now is a good time to mention that I'm a human PokèDex." Maddie added.

Red sighed. "I'm not sure exactly what my powers are. I didn't even really consider that I had any until the prophecy. Uh, well, me and Maddie went off to Unova and found N. We were also attacked by those three Team Beta people."

"Who, Alison, Tyler and Lily?" Michael asked. N shook his head.

"No, the three we met were Matt, Rebecca and Jacob. Red and Maddie then led me to Undella Town and we snuck onto a boat."

"THE BOAT!" Maddie cried out suddenly. Everyone looked at her with high hopes.

"I remember... a boat... we.. we fell off..." she whispered, but that was it.

"We did. After I was nearly destroyed by some Beta Grunts hiding on the boat, N and Maddie came to the rescue and her Ampharos learned Zap Cannon. We thought we had won, but more Grunts popped up and attacked. We were almost done for, but I heard something say that it would help, and then a roaring noise interrupted our fight as this massive wave hit the boat and tipped it, knocking all of those Grunts into the sea with us. We tried to hold on to each other, but I guess Maddie lost her grip, because she wasn't with us when we woke up. I'm assuming that along the road, she hit her head somewhere and forgot everything that happened." Red said, and everyone was quite again.

"Well, I guess I'm the last one. I'm N, and all I know is that there's something I can do. I don't know what my power is, but it must be there." the Unova teen said, breaking the silence.

"So, our biggest question is: what do we do now?" Michael asked.

"Alpha, I would like you to track the children since those other fools are useless." Lord Gamma said quietly. The purple haired girl nodded.

"I heard a rumour that they were near Snowbelle City, sir. I'll start there and will not return until one or more of them has been caught." she said coldly.

"Good. Do not fail me, or the consequences will be... unpleasant."

Really, they were all helping each other improve our powers.

Rosie and Nicole were working together on her abilities with their Pokèmon as well as each other. Nicole was trying out some attacks Rosie's Pokèmon knew as well as her own Pokèmon's moves and Rosie was working with Veon, her female Sylveon, and Nicole's Lucario. Together, they were trying to figure out her ability, or at least see if she could do it on command.

Michael was working with N. He was trying to shift through the things he had seen and see if there were any about N that might help them at least figure out his power, while N himself was doing various things Michael told him to do randomly to see if something would be revealed to him.

Maddie and Red were the last two partners. Red would say a random move and she would describe its power, accuracy, type and other effects. They were also seeing how much information she could get in and out of battle, so Red would battle her occasionally and the two would become very competitive as they fought.

Right now, Nicole was trying to master Psychic with Braixen. It would be a very useful move if she could do it when they were attacked out of nowhere and needed a quick retaliation. On the other hand, it was a difficult move to learn because of it's special typing instead of a physical one.

The Sinnoh teen had learned Dark Pulse, a special move, but according to Uxie, who decided to show up with Mesprit and Azelf, Dark Pulse wasn't as hard to learn as Psychic. Psychic was using your energy to move things around you without moving yourself, Braixen said, but Nicole couldn't focus long enough to get the blue glow to appear and move the log Riolu had set up in front of her. Vivillon still thought the girl should learn Sleep Powder and Pikachu wanted to teach her Thunderbolt. He also said he could show Nicole Discharge as well because that was just releasing all your electric energy and a simple thing to do.

Taking a deep breath, Nicole closed my eyes. You can do this Nicole. Focus.

She felt the light feeling Braixen said she should feel. She had felt it about four times so far, but that's as far as Nicole had gotten. Opening her eyes, she saw a flash as everything glowed with a blue outline. She had done it!

Staring at the log, it turned pure blue in her vision and she thought of it going up. Slowly, it lifted off the ground, going one foot, two feet, three, then hovering as Nicole focused on it.

After a few minutes, the teen slowly lowered it back down. All the Pokèmon were cheering, and her friends were just looking at me in awe.

"Now let me show you Thunderbolt!" Pikachu said, and Nicole nodded, eager.

Michael closed his eyes and repeated the words in his head.

"It's nice to have a sister."

He said that, over and over, before he felt the tugging. Then other words came in his mind, not his own.

"It would be nice to have a brother that wouldn't bother me while I try to focus, but I don't think that will ever happen." Rosie replied jokingly.

"Maybe you should learn learn to eliminate all distractions, even the ones in your head." he thought.

"Whatever. I don't think this is working anyway. I can't just *poof* and merge, it's usually triggered by danger. How are you and N doing?"

"Nothing exciting. Wanna test our connection?"

"Sure. How far can you sink into my mind?"

Michael concentrated on her, not just her words, but the feeling of her in his mind. Soon, he was falling back through his own mind and into hers. The pull he felt the first time he did this wasn't there.

"Rosie, can you hear me?"

"Yes. The weight of you in here was heavy at first, but I'm getting use to it now. Do you think you could speak through me?"

"Yeah. Give me a sec to focus myself. What do I say?"

"Speak like you're me, so don't reference me as 'Rosie'. Say you need a break and go over to the Lake Trio. I want to see if they know it's you in my mind speaking."

"Gotcha."

He focused on Rosie's body, and felt himself become more distant from his own, but still feeling a faint connecting line to pull back into himself.

Then his eyes were opened, and he saw his body across the field near N. Lucario was next to him and so was Rosie's Sylveon. Taking a deep breath, he tried to speak.

"H-Hey guys? I t-think I need a break. Please?"

His voice wavered with the amount of energy it took to say the simple sentence, but Lucario nodded and then he was up and walking over to Mesprit.

"Hey Mesprit." he said.

"Hello Rosie."she replied happily.

Rosie's voice echoed in 'his' mind.

"Just speak about things, but like me. I'll guide you through it."

So, listening to Rosie, he copied her, word for word. It became easier to speak as he did.

"How are you doing?"

"I am good. How is your training with Lucario and Veon going?"

"Not well. I'm not feeling anything. Veon isn't connecting with me. I think it only takes affect when I'm in danger."

"Continue to practise, and I'm positive that you'll gain control of it soon. How is Michael?"

"He's doing well. We're going to test our telepathic connection later."

For a mere second, Mesprit's gaze hardened and she seemed to stare deeply at 'Rosie'. Then she shook her head.

"Well, I think you two will be a great team if you can control that. There's two Gym Leaders in Hoenn that can speak telepathically and work together in Double Battles without ever speaking their moves out loud."

"Thanks Mesprit. We'll try to be the best we can be!"

And 'Rosie' gave a big grin, and Mesprit's doubt vanished as she smiled back.

After a quick lunch, the pairs swapped, and Michael was indeed working with Rosie now. But after a few conversations earlier, Michael was speaking through Rosie and Rosie had taken control of his body. They had met up with their minds swapped, and this had caused a laughing fit that lasted several minutes before they switched back.

"Come with me. I want to go into the forest." Rosie said, and grabbed his wrist and pulled him along with her.

They wandered through the forest, Rosie guiding him to where they were going.

Michael spotted a strange looking purple blob on the way and tossed a spare Pokèball at it. After a few seconds, it clicked, and he added it as his sixth party Pokèmon. Rosie quickly searched it in her PokèDex and it popped up as a Ditto.

"You know Rosie, things are going to be more dangerous now. We're together and strong, but we're easier to target now. I'm worried that I'll lose you." Michael said, walking slowly through the forest. Rosie smiled.

"Yeah, so we should enjoy life now!"

Soon, they were leaning on a Moss Rock and speaking telepathically, even about the simplest things like the bird flying by or the sounds of nature.

Rosie had fallen asleep on his arm, and this gave Michael an interesting experience as he went into her mind and watched her dream about life as a Pokèmon. She was a Fletchling, and flying through the Winding Woods. It was cute to watch.

But he hastily came out of it when something blocked his airways and he couldn't breathe.

"Hey, where did Michael and Rosie go?" Maddie asked. She and Nicole had been having fun. Nicole would practise the move and Maddie would call out it's difficulty and how to improve.

"I'm not sure. Azelf, have you seen them?" she questioned, turning towards the Legendary Pokèmon who was watching them.

"No. They were over there, but now they're gone. I'll alert the others and we'll go looking for them."

Michael gasped when the air came back into his lungs. Blinking, his eyes focused back onto a quite frightening looking Pokèmon he'd never seen before with large, long purple tentacles that were holding him up. Rosie was asleep still, dreaming. Closing his eyes, he yelled in her mind.

"WAKE UP NOW!"

She jolted a little and looked up to see a purple haired girl grinning slyly at her.

"Nice to see that you're awake, sleeping beauty." Alpha said.

"You!" Rosie cried out, shaking. Alpha winked.

"Yeah, I missed you, so I decided to visit. Did you miss me?"

Michael struggled to get free. Growling, he glared at Alpha.

"Don't you dare touch her!" he shouted. She looked surprised.

"Why are you so protective? Is she your girlfriend?"

Michael didn't answer.

"Or maybe... a cousin? It may be hard to believe, but who knows with you crazy legend freaks."

He still didn't answer, just kicked some more at the weird squid thing. Rosie pulled out a PokèDex and scanned it.

"Malamar, the Overturning Pokémon, and the evolved form of Inkay. Possessing the strongest hypnotic powers of any Pokémon, Malamar can compel others to do anything it wants them to do."

"The PokèDex is right about that. I could make the Prophet here attack you and he wouldn't be able to fight the powerful urge. I could have any number of Pokèmon in here attack you and they wouldn't be able to stop if they wanted to. I'm in control right now." Alpha said coldly.

Malamar flashed, and Michael stopped kicking. His eyes seemed to glaze over, and he hung limply in Malamar's grip.

"Michael!" Rosie yelled. Malamar reached out swiftly and then Rosie was wrapped with another slimy tentacle and lifted off the ground. She wasn't strong enough to escape though.

"I think you two should come with me. Even if you don't want to, I think you don't have a choice anymore."

"HELP!" Rosie screamed, and tried to get free.

Malamar flashed again, and Rosie didn't struggle anymore either. She was still as Alpha took them out of the Winding Woods and into enemy hands.

"Any sign of them?" Red called out.

"No. They vanished. Uxie's trying to trace them psychically." Nicole replied.

Uxie was glowing with a yellow light and his eyes were shut. Then as quickly as it had appeared, the glow was gone, and Uxie pointed north. The four teens ran with the Lake Trio trailing behind.

They finally found a large moss-covered rock near the exit. Uxie nodded.

"They were here. Something else is here too, another presence. I fear that they were caught."

"By Team Beta?" Maddie asked, hoping it wasn't true.

"It's probably the most likely thing that happened. We better find them quickly. Who knows what Team Beta will do to them."Azelf said, and everyone seemed to look solemn as his words sunk in.

Michael once heard from someone that there were two kinds ways that people would wake up. There were people that woke up instantly in the mornings, and then there were those ones who slowly came to.

Michael was the former, and when his eyes snapped open, the first thought he had was that he wasn't in a forest.

He was in a dark room in a cold metal chair. It was uncomfortable to sit in. He was stuck in place by thick nylon ropes tying his hands behind him in the chair and his legs to the chair's legs. For some strange reason he couldn't explain, the whole situation made him laugh.

"I should have known Team Beta would catch me eventually! The great Prophet, right? Well you're too late, because I've already said the whole thing, and I'm afraid Arceus won't have me repeat it for the likes of you." he chuckled, and there was a slight coldness at the end that shocked Michael himself because he wasn't usually so mean.

No one said anything to him. The room was empty, but he spotted a small video camera in the corner to his left. He looked right at it with a fierce look of determination.

"Bring it on."

Rosie shivered in the corner farthest away from the doors of her cell. She woke up in the cold, dreary space, and every part of it screamed prisoner, from the water dripping in the middle of the floor, to the poorly made bed across the room from her to the thick iron bars on the door that let light come through in blazing yellow rays that only made everything feel even more empty.

If only Michael were here. He'd make everything less scary with his silly comments that would make no sense.

Michael. MICHAEL!

She closed her eyes and slowly felt like she was sinking deep into something, maybe water. Then she felt the familiar feeling of exiting her mind, and soon she was in his.

"Michael, can you hear me?"

"Yeah. Where are you?"

"Some cell. It's cold and dark and scary, but hopefully, not for long. Where are you?"

"A room. There's a camera, so I know they can see me. I'm just waiting to see what happens next."

"Okay. I'm going to go and see if anyone is outside my cell. Maybe I can persuade them to let me see you."

"Good luck sis."

And then she was in herself again, and smiling a little inside at the thought of him saying 'sis' to her.

"We don't know anything about Kalos. How will we know where to look, or even where to go next?" Maddie said. She was starting to panic.

"Calm down. We'll go to the nearest Pokèmon Centre and find a map. From there, we can try and evaluate our plan of action." Nicole said, but she was shaking herself.

"It may take an hour or two, but Uxie, Mesprit and I can search for them mentally. They are marked, like you three, with a special power signature directly from Arceus. It's different from Pokèmon and special people and gives off a certain aura of sorts. We may be able to use it to pinpoint their location." Azelf said, and there was a small amount of hope.

The door made a small creaking noise as it opened, and Michael looked up to see a Team Beta Grunt grinning evilly.

"Lord Gamma said he wants to know everything you do. All those strange psychic things." he said.

"They're called visions, and I'm not telling Team Beta anything. If you want to know, go get your own psychic powers!" Michael replied sharply, and in return, got a punch to his face. It stung, but he shook it off. He could do this. He could take this and buy his friends time. They would find him and Rosie and they would be okay. He just needed to buy them more time.

"We have ways. You will tell us." the Grunt said, but Michael only laughed again.

"Sure I will. When a Spoink flies."

Rosie looked down the hall. It was empty. Not a soul was there.

"Come on! I'm starving!" she yelled hopefully. She heard nothing though.

Grumbling, she walked back across the room and sat in her corner and tried to talk to Michael again, just repeating words until she felt his presence.

"There's no one here. How are you doing?"

"Not... good. They finally... sent in a neg-g-gotiator..."

"You sound awful!"

"I guess I... do. I think they're going to t-t-try out a Pokèmon attack. Like that'll... work."

"Stay strong! You can do it!"

Then Rosie heard her cell door open and swiftly cut off her communication.

"Gotta go!"

She looked towards the door, and saw a purple haired guy. He looked a lot like Alpha, but about a year older and a more serious look on his face.

"You must be Omega. I've heard a lot about you." she said softly.

"And I you. Lord Gamma has requested to see you, so I'm your escort. Shall we?" he asked, and there was a humour to his voice that surprised her. She was expecting cold, ruthless evil, not friendly and smiling evil.

"Uh, yeah." she said, and got up again and walked back over to the door.

"Okay, according to Uxie, they're in the northeastern part of Kalos, right about... here." Nicole said, pointing to a spot on the map. They were currently in the Snowbelle City Pokèmon Centre, and Nurse Joy had directed them to the map. People were giving them stares, probably because of the not one, but three Legendary Pokèmon with them.

"You mean that route covered in snow on the map? How are they there?" Red asked, frustrated.

"It makes sense. No one would find a secret base with a snowstorm hiding everything nearby." N said cooly.

"Let's go then!" Maddie said.

"Guys, I'm wiped. Uxie is too polite to say it, but so is he. Mesprit has some energy, so she'll teleport you, but only as far as that city there." Azelf said, pointing to a nearby place.

"It says Anistar City. That's not too far." Nicole said. N, Red and Maddie nodded.

With a flash, the odd group was gone, leaving no traces of ever being there.

"Lord Gamma, I've brought the girl."

They were in a room that honestly made Rosie miss her cell. The closest thing she could compare it to was an office, but just being in their made shivers go up her spine. There was a small chair off to the side where Omega sat and a slightly larger chair in front of the desk where the back of a chair faced her.

"Sit." It was definitely not a question. She quickly sat in the only vacant chair, the one in front of Gamma's desk. It was cushioned, but straight-backed to prevent whoever sat in it from avoiding Lord Gamma's gaze.

"So, what is you name? We can't just call you the girl, can we?"

His voice was deep and drawled on, staying in her head after his sentence was done.

He first thought was that she really didn't want to tell him her name. So, she calmed herself and replied cooly, her voice unwavering.

"Just call me Morph. Names don't really matter to you, do they?"

He gave a chuckle.

"You're absolutely right, it doesn't really matter to me what you're called. Morph is okay. I suppose it refers to your ability, am I correct?"

He asked the question, but Rosie knew he wasn't really asking. She wasn't sure how, but he knew what her power was.

"Yes."

He didn't say anything else for a few minutes. It was hard to listen to the silence, so she finally got up the courage to say something really bold.

"You know, that whole "backwards chair evil villain thing" is really cliché. Are you going to turn around when I'm least expecting it and show me how you look?"

He scoffed.

"No, I don't wan't you to know. It's not necessary. Very few people know what I look like, and you're not going to be one of them."

Rosie didn't have a reply for that, so she was quiet. Gamma finally spoke again.

"I'll be straight with you, Morph. I plan on studying you. Your ability to meld with Pokèmon, it... intrigues me. I want to know exactly what you can do. So I've gotten a team of my finest to figure out what makes your powers work. Your Pokèmon team, which we separated from you earlier, will be involved as well, but under high surveillance. I don't feel like having an attempted escape today. And, if you are a willing subject, I will allow you to see you friend."

She managed not to gasp. This was what Michael had predicted! He said they'd study her, and but he didn't know if they'd succeed.

"I agree to your terms." she said, trying to remain calm and collected.

"Fine. Omega, lead her to the video room and them to the lab."

And like that, her meeting with the most powerful man in Team Beta was over, and she was leaving to see Michael.

The cold hit Nicole as soon as she went out the gate. Route 17 was cold. Not 'chilly winter day' cold. Not 'below zero' cold. Not even 'Snowpoint City when a blizzard hits' cold. It was chilling to the bone, and her sweater was like a piece of tissue paper between her and the snow whipping through the air.

"L-L-Let's h-hurry." Maddie said, her teeth chattering. Her hoodie was only a little bit warmer, but still not enough. N was shivering, yet Red, wearing a short-sleeved vest, seemed right at home.

"What? I've trained on Mt. Silver. This place is nothing!" he said, grinning. Maddie stuck her tongue out at him.

An orb of light appeared from under Nicole's sweater. It was pink, and started going into the blizzard, only a faint glow beyond the snow.

"Hurry!" Red shouted, and they ran towards the snow, only to see that it was taller than themselves.

"It's a mountain of snow! We'll never get through!" Nicole said, shocked.

"Please. Typhlosion!" Maddie said, and within a few minutes, a path had been cleared and they were all considerably warmed.

Following the weak pink light, the found a carefully-hidden staircase buried beneath snow. After Mesprit went back to Nicole's Pokèbelt and Typhlosion was recalled, the group slowly walked deeper underground as the staircase led them into a secret hideout.

Rosie looked wide-eyes at the television. It was connected to the small video camera in the room Michael was in, and showed him. He looked a mess. His face was messy and he had quite a few bruises now showing. Then you could see the places where his clothes were singed by fire and fried with an electrical attack.

"Right now, we're testing out a psychic attack on him. We're going to see how long it takes for his mind to snap." a Grunt said with a sneer and pointed to the Hypno currently in the room. Rosie closed her eyes and repeated the words in her mind, hoping he'd hear her.

"I'll help you. I'll find a way. Don't worry."

He didn't respond, but gave a small shake as he glowed blue. Then he was groaning, and she turned away and left the room. Omega gave her a sad look, almost like he cared.

"He looks tough. He'll be okay." the purple haired teen said, and she didn't reply, only followed him down the hall.

It had been hours. Scientist kept asking her about what she could do. Her Vivillon was fluttering half-heartedly near her. She had been shocked by a Luxray a few times to see if anything would happen, if she would go into this "survival mode", as they called it. When she said that she would only change in dangerous times, they began setting up scenarios. For a while, she was just imagining them to see if thinking about dangerous surprise attacks triggered anything, but she told them she felt nothing.

Then someone suggested that they send her onto a battle field with a Pokèmon and have her dodge things coming her way until she merged. She tried, but only managed to get hit with a few Shadow Balls and not morph. They asked if she felt anything, and she said no.

Rosie didn't want to tell them that she did feel something when she imagined the scenarios and fought against the Pokèmon. She felt this quivering feeling in her gut, but pushed it down and kept it from changing her, because she didn't want them to know anything about her powers. She wanted them to know nothing, so that they had nothing to use against her.

Alpha came over to her at one point, looking bored.

"According to the scientist in charge over there," she said, pointing casually, "Your powers work in strange ways. He said that you will never be able to merge with a Pokèmon that you're not close to like a Team Beta one, but can merge with your own. He also said that according to some test he took, your Pokèmon can host you as well as long as they have a strong bond. I don't really get it. It's all stupid science-y stuff anyway."

Rosie frowned. If what Alpha said was true, then her Pokèmon could take her into them. The thought gave her a surge of excitement.

"But that means that your powers cannot be transferred to anyone else, so you're useless to Team Beta. I've been told to take you back to your cell." she said. "From there, we'll decide to how to dispose of you."

Dispose? Does that mean... kill?

She said nothing, only following back to her cell. The door swung shut and she was alone in the dark. Moving back into her corner, she closed her eyes until she sunk into Michael again. She had to check on him. As soon as she left her mind and entered his, she noticed something.

He wasn't there. She could usually feel his presence, but not right now. It was unnaturally quiet.

"Michael? Can you hear me? MICHAEL?"

But he didn't respond. He didn't say a word.

"Michael!"

She left his mind and franticly tried to figure out why he wasn't answering.

"Maybe he's asleep. Or maybe too weak to gather enough energy to speak. He's definitely alive, because I was in his mind. He's definitely alive. He's going to be okay. Just a little longer." she said, the words really only for herself to hear. She needed to think positive.

Then the alarm went off.

As soon as they stepped into the base, a Grunt spotted them and an alarm went off.

"I'll use ExtremeSpeed to search the place. You guys look for the prisoner cells, because they're probably there." Nicole said, and she ran, leaving the others to look around.

"Hurry, before someone catches us!" Red shouted, and N and Maddie ran to catch up. They finally found a door with a password lock.

Nicole came back.

"I'm pretty sure that's where the cells are. Maddie, do you have a Pokèmon that can get through this door?"

She nodded, releasing her Dragonite. He easily sunk his claws into it and pulled it out like he was tearing paper.

N got through first and walked down the hall, peeking into cells.

"No one is in these!" he called back.

Then someone different said something.

"N? You guys?" Rosie asked from behind a door. Maddie pointed to the door and Dragonite took it down, revealing their Kalos friend.

"Rosie! We were so worried!" Nicole said, hugging her friend. Red made a curious face.

"Where's Michael?" he asked, and Rosie pulled away from Nicole and put on a serious face.

"Team Beta is trying to break him. They want to know everything he's ever saw or heard, and they're relentless. He wasn't responding to me when I tried to contact him telepathically. Follow me and I'll lead you to him!" she said, and raced down the hall and back into the main building with the other four trying desperately to keep up.

They hadn't even gotten halfway across the room when over two dozen Grunts surrounded them. Alpha and Omega appeared.

"Sorry, but you're not leaving here." Omega said.

"Yeah, we at Team Beta are your hosts, and you are our unwilling guests. You'll be returning to the prisoner cells now." Alpha added with a smirk.

"Not going to happen." Nicole said, and released her Pikachu. Maddie sent out her Umbreon, and Red released his Espeon. Rosie sighed, wishing that she had her Pokèmon with her. N stood calmly, hoping to avoid battle.

All around them, the Team Beta Grunts were releasing Pokèmon. Many were Kalos Pokèmon but a few were from other regions.

"Pikachu, Thunderpunch!"

"Umbreon, Dark Pulse!"

"Espeon, use Psychic!"

But they were outnumbered and slowly began to fall. Espeon was first because of the many Dark types in the fight; Umbreon second, falling soon after Espeon after a super-effective Double Kick. They were recalled quickly, and then there was only Pikachu. He was fast, but was hit too many times, and fainted. Nicole didn't recall him, she just held him in her arms. The group was taken back to the prisoner cells and their Pokèballs were taken away. Nicole didn't let them recall Pikachu though. She had a plan, but it was risky.

"It doesn't matter. That Pikachu isn't powerful enough to break through here." One Grunt said as the door swung shut.

Rosie closed her eyes and tried to speak to Michael again. Red mumbled complaints while Maddie just watched Nicole as she petted her Pikachu, deep in thought. N walked over to her.

"Can I see him?"

She nodded and passed the mouse over to him. N blinked, then gave a smile.

"I think I know what my ability is." he said, and Pikachu glowed with an almost golden light before his eyes fluttered open and looked surprised.

N revived him.

"Luckily, I still have my bag with me. Those Grunts didn't take it, which is good. Pikachu, you sure this'll work?" Nicole asked. If it did, things would be much better, but if it didn't, Team Beta might be really upset with them and would probably take it out on them too.

"Yeah. This will work. You know it will. You did the math. Lets do this." the cheeky rodent replied quickly. He wouldn't admit it, but a part of him was eager. Nicole nodded.

"Okay."

She held out a green stone that was hard to see in the darkness of the room. He touched it with his nose, and the glow that followed illuminated the looks of surprise and shock on the other's faces as Pikachu grew and changed. In less than a minute, he was an inch taller, heavier, and orange.

"Now, use Thunder!"

The white light was replaced with bright yellow as electricity sparked. With a sudden snap, a bolt of lightning flew at the door, pushing forcefully as the power of the attack started to dent the door. With a bang, the door came off, clattering to the ground noisily. But they wasted no time picking it up. Maddie, Red, N, Rosie and Nicole sped towards the exit, Raichu in the lead.

A hasty Iron Tail by Raichu took down the password-protected door easily without any real effort. The Team Beta Grunts who were guarding it were paralyzed and the alarm system was fried.

So far, the second rescue mission was working very well.

The door hit the ground with a clang, and Nicole looked through the doorframe, expecting the dark haired, blue eyed, freckled teen to be looking at them with a look of pride, knowing that his friends did save him and that he knew he could count on them.

Instead, she looked into the bright blues eyes of a person who was the definition of the word "broken".

His hair was a mess, sticking out everywhere, even covering his eyes a bit. He was mouthing words silently, nonstop and not blinking. His eyes were this unnatural shade of very bright sky blue and seemed to glow slightly. But it wasn't that that showed how badly Team Beta had damaged him. It was the way his eye didn't shine anymore. They may have been bright blue, but the light inside was gone. Nicole didn't need a psychiatrist to tell her that Michael's mind had snapped.

Once again, Raichu destroyed metal with his powerful Iron Tail, freeing Michael from the chair he had been stuck in. Rosie ran to him and undid the ropes holding down his arms and hugged him, but he didn't respond to her. His arms didn't lift to return it.

Red helped Rosie untie his legs and lift him out of the chair, and he started to shakily walk with her help. But he didn't say anything, he just kept speaking silently, his lips moving.

"We need to hurry. There's a video camera in that room, so they saw us. Let's go find all our Pokèmon and then get out of here!" Rosie said, and they ran.

The Pokèmon weren't as difficult to find as you'd think. Team Beta had obviously assumed that they wouldn't be able to escape, so the Pokèmon weren't hard to find or guarded well. There was a locked room that said "Pokèmon Supplies" that Nicole opened, showing off her Psychic attack with a smile despite the grim situation.

Inside, there were piles of empty Pokèballs, Great Balls, Ultra Balls, and many other kinds. But on a shelf labeled "Pokèmon" laid six Pokèbelts with six Pokèballs on each. each teen grabbed their respective one, and Rosie took Michael's as well considering his current state. The boy looked terrified, his eyes searching the room, darting back and forth.

"How do we escape now?" Red asked. Maddie grinned, recalling something strange she had read on a sign pointing downstairs. It had stayed in her memory because it reminded her of the one in Goldenrod City.

"Follow me."

The last flight of stairs ended at an unlocked door, revealing a dark, dimly lit tunnel. It was hard to see in the darkness, but Maddie pointed to something with a grin.

"There's our escape plan." she said.

It was a large underground freight train, meant for carrying supplies from one place to another. N pulled open a sliding door on the side of a boxcar to reveal boxes of medicine and vitamins packaged neatly in cardboard boxes.

"So, where does this thing go?" Nicole asked as she recalled her Raichu. Maddie shrugged.

"Who knows? Anywhere is better than here."

Rosie was holding onto Michael's arm. His fingers would twitch every few minutes, but she wasn't bothered by that. She was trying to talk to him telepathically.

"He's not responding. Why isn't he responding?" she said franticly.

All of a sudden, three glowing orbs of light came from Nicole's Pokèbelt, illuminating the gloomy boxcar and changing form until they were the Sinnoh Lake Trio.

"Did you find Michael and Rosie?" Azelf asked. Nicole nodded.

"Yeah, but Team Beta did something to Michael. He's not responding to our voices or Rosie's telepathically either. He just sits there." Nicole said solemnly.

Mesprit flew over to the Hoenn boy, touching his forehead with one hand. He glowed a dark pink before stopping as Mesprit removed her hand.

"I don't know what they did, but his mind is no longer with him. He sees things, past, present, future nonstop. His gift has become a curse that terrorizes his own mind. I fear that he will never recover."

"So he's never going to be the same?" Red asked. Mesprit shook her head sadly.

"The best thing we can hope for is that he'll speak again to us in coherent sentences. Anything else will be a miracle."