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The drums of war resounded through the streets of Amaranthine. Spellweavers and metalworkers were set to maximize the production of arms. Tens of thousands of serfs were drafted, and Adron set his generals to train them day and night, even beneath the falling snow and pummeling winds. Trade ships were repurposed into warships. Bunkers were dug into the ground. The kingdom was preparing itself as much as could be expected.

Or at least, that's what all the advisors said to the newly-crowned king. Coronus didn't care one bit about the minutia of sustaining a war against the most powerful empire in the known nonhuman world. He only wanted to see the Solemn Fortress burned to the ground.

"And it is not as though you do not have approval for this war," said the councilmember Alteria who was always difficult to keep quiet. "Certainly, the murder of your father was an act of war, certainly; you have ninety-seven percent approval ratings, certainly! But forgive me for asking… do we have a plan? Western Ambera is over twenty times the size of Amaranthine… How do you expect to conquer such a formidable land?"

Coronus regarded her not, instead focusing only on the frost-covered plains down below the castle wall on which he stood, and the squadrons of humanlike soldiers who trained there.

"Machinery," grunted the reluctant king. "The Master is several generations behind us in technology. They rely on only their innate Pokémon energy and their enchanted things. But we have followed the ways of the humans, advancing beyond anything mere white energy can do. We shall mow down the opposition with trebuchets, javelin-canons, and warships. And even our mages are far more sophisticated than theirs; I alone know more elemental techniques than the Master's army put together."

"Is it true, though, Your Majesty, that the war machines have never been tested…?" Asked the Alteria. "How are we to know the damage they deal, when we have no numbers?"

"Because I say so," grunted Coronus. "We will be victorious and I know the way to do it. I do not appreciate your skepticism."

"But Your Majesty, I am only reporting that which has been posed to you by others. Certainly, you – "

"Tell them to stop questioning me."

"And furthermore, Your Majesty, what of the chest of riches? Certainly, it would have been better to trade it for supplies before waging war on the country that would have provided those supplies…?"

"I said I do not appreciate it," Coronus said, waving his claw at her. "I have enough on my mind to worry about birdbrains asking so many inane questions. Now will you please buzz off and find someone to stop this infernal snowfall? It is getting in my eyes."

"…Yes, Your Majesty," said the Alteria, winging dejectedly away.

Coronus paced along the wall, overseeing the constant progress happening on the castle grounds. There were shipments of supplies being hauled in and out of the castle at all hours, dozens of squadrons of differently-typed Pokémon in training, and much wonderful hubbub about it all.

The fortress will fall, Coronus promised himself. It has taken everything from me, and in return, I shall take everything from them. I will not rest until I have turned all of Ambera to my will.

Yes, Enigma is immortal. Immortal, but not invincible. Her mind-control powers have limits; she cannot actively control more than about fifty Pokémon at once. Dark-types can repel her power, and we have plenty of those. And that's not to mention the real trick up my sleeve – the Resistance factions. The Emerald and Black Divisions. We shall ally with them. While Enigma is distracted with our armies, the Resistance factions will strike… or vice versa. She cannot handle a three-way pincer strike.

I have never been able to locate Centauri, so he has no role to play in this. Adrel might be against us, but Downfall will surely be on our side. And I have the magic necessary to subdue Enigma myself.

It will work. I will have my revenge.

I will have my perfect world. I will have my perfect timeline.

And if I cannot, I will burn the world down for what it has done to me.

And so it went. War preparations continued for months. Coronus found that he quite enjoyed being king; the people were so focused on the war that he could do whatever he wished and would not be judged on his actions. For once in his life, there was nobody to tell him what to do – nobody. Not his father, nor Amadeus, nor the 'political climates' of the lower class. And whenever he gave a speech, it never mattered what he said, for all the people would cheer and applaud him merely because they approved of the war he was about to start.

At last, he chose a date for the invasion – the deepest day of winter, the day considered the start of the new year on the human calendars. It was fitting, he thought, that the new era of his reign would be established on this day as well. Once setting the date, it was shared only with the council and the brunch table, and nobody else. That being done, what was there left to do? He meant to simply let the generals plan their plans, the army complete their training, the navy test their ships, and so on. They had their orders, and now everything was out of his hands. He could do nothing more than to wait.

He'd long since disposed of the dead body under his dresser, banishing it to the reverse realm with a ghost-type spell. He'd forgotten it was even there for a shamefully long time, until he began to notice the stench of rotten ash. Poor Prince! He tried not to think about it. He wished he had locked the time gear up somewhere proper instead of leaving it down in the old castle; perhaps it all could have been prevented. Ah, well; life would just have to go on without him.

On the sixteenth day before the invasion, Coronus retired to his room. It had been a day like any other – he'd enjoyed a brunch with his closest friends, received dozens of reports about ongoing matters, half of which he could not understand, and he sat in the enchanted flower garden, where there was no season but spring, and read a book he'd borrowed from Amadeus years ago but had never found the time to finish.

Just as Coronus was preparing to climb into his bed, there was a soft knock at the door. He turned to open the door for the guest, only to find the guest had already stepping inside. Coronus wanted to cordially greet him and wish him a good evening, but saw something glimmer in the Charizard's eyes – sadness, perhaps?

"Your Majesty," said Amadeus with a bow of his head. "I've come tonight because I wish to show you something."

Coronus followed through the torchlit halls until he was led to the Charizard's personal chamber. In a strange moment of nostalgia, Coronus suddenly remembered what the chamber had looked like when he'd first prepared it for Amadeus, and how much work had gone into its design. He remembered flinging open these same doors and walking out onto the third-floor balcony to behold the subterranean paradise he'd built, with its symmetrically-placed braziers and glowing magma-falls, and thinking to himself how wonderful Char would find it, and how happy Char would be to dwell forever in this place.

That's why the Nidoking felt the sting of pain when he stepped through the doors that night, realizing what the room had become.

The library was finished. Amadeus had lined every shelf with colorful hard-bound books – not a single shelf was empty, as far as he could see – and had rearranged the floor plan with work-desks and reading cushions. It was different. Beautiful in its own right, but different. Somehow it made Coronus hurt, as if feeling guilty about not knowing what Amadeus truly wanted. The only remnants of the chamber's original beauty were its arrangement of torches upon the walls and at the corner of each shelf, and the spectacular chandelier which hung from the ceiling, bringing more than ample light to the room's center space.

"It is finished," said Amadeus proudly. "That which I have spent my life building, it is stands finished before my eyes. There is hardly a greater triumph in all the world to see something in your imagination, a change you wish to make, and then to have it become real by your own mind and claw. And even if it were all to burn down in two days' time, the memory of the triumph is enough."

"Well done," said Coronus, nodding. "It is remarkable what you have done with this place. I will admit, I never imagined when we first met that you would take such a liking to books… Otherwise I might have had this library built to your specifications years ago."

"Yes, well, perhaps it is the human in me?" Amadeus said with a grin, leading the king around the upper balconies.

"Perhaps so," Coronus said, offering a chuckle. "But I must ask, my good Amadeus: will there be enough time in your life to read all of these books you have collected? This seems like a very tall order."

The Charizard's smile disappeared, and Coronus felt a heavy gaze cast upon him.

"You must misunderstand, Your Majesty," said Amadeus. "These books are not for me. They are for you. Besides, I've already read most of them. And a great many of them, I have authored myself."

"Oh… well I… I am honored, my good friend," said the Nidoking with a sudden fret. "Words cannot state how much I will treasure your gift."

"It is a gift for you, and your Starborn legacy, and for the glory of this great kingdom," Amadeus proclaimed. "You can consider this the compendium of my knowledge, that which I've spent my life pursuing. See, in this section, there are detailed maps of the known world. In that section, there are your history books, all the personal accounts of Amaranthine's history, as well as that of Ambera, and what little we understand about the human lands beyond the seas. On the second floor, there, are the sciences; entire sections on philosophy, psychology, biology, and spellweaving. In particular, those golden books there, they are the encyclopedia of all known Pokémon techniques, and how to learn them. And the ground floor is entirely dedicated to fictional stories; for the times one simply wishes to relax, I have placed all of the enjoyable books where they can be easily reached."

The Starborn king's jaw hung open. "I don't know what to say," he rambled. "I don't know what has driven you to implement such grand designs… I am at a loss to imagine how I could ever repay you for such a thing as this…"

"Oh, Your Majesty, you've already repaid me," said the Charizard, batting him with a wing and walking off ahead. "You have repaid me with the love and kindness you've shown since the day I first arrived here. And besides that, it is enough to know that my knowledge will remain here, helping to guide the future generations of your kingdom, long after I've left."

Coronus felt himself struck squarely in the heart.

"Ah yes… regrettably, I feel it is time that I take my leave of this kingdom," Amadeus announced to him. "The west calls to me, in all its dangers and mysteries. I know you are about to start your war, and I'm certain that will go splendidly, but I myself do not wish to be a part of it. I do not enjoy war, and part of my heart-fires do not approve of it, and so I must now… distance myself from the tragedies about to strike. And it is with this tribute that I offer you, my Starborn Majesty, that I wish to be excused. May the knowledge I've compiled here be of service to you, and your great-grandchildren, and all the heirs to your great throne, even long after you have passed on."

Burning silence ensued. Coronus felt rage. He felt despair. He held it in, not wishing to offend the Charizard… the best friend he'd ever had. The Charizard paused for just as long, having anticipated a bitter reaction, and preparing himself to deal with it.

It hit Coronus, just then, the gravity of what he'd done. The gravity of everything he'd done.

Heirs to his throne? Long after he'd passed on?

There would be no heirs. And even if there were…

There would be no future.

He stared wide-eyed at all the tens of thousands of books that Amadeus had spent his life archiving. Knowledge he'd collected, not for Coronus, but for the long and shining future of Amaranthine, a future which would never come to pass because it would all cease to exist the very moment Coronus would leave, whether through death, or using the time gear once again…

It hit Coronus, just then, the true tragedy of the discontinuity.

It hit Coronus, just then, the futility of trying to be happy in such a world.

That's all he ever wanted – to be happy. And for his friends to be happy. He wanted to see Char, Saura, Ray, Scythe, Legend, and Prince at his side at all times, all with a grand smile upon their face, every hour of every day. He wanted to shower upon them privileges and gifts, rewards for their suffering and hard work. Since Arceus was not so kind as to grant them what they earned, Coronus had taken it upon himself.

Except… there was a problem with this plan, Coronus now realized. It was a problem that had always been there, and one he'd perhaps tried to ignore… but it was greater than he ever anticipated:

It is the nature of the soul to look beyond oneself, to try and make a difference to others. To try and build a legacy. To be remembered. To leave a positive impact upon history. To be a part of something grand. To, as an old human adage put it, 'plant the seeds of a tree under whose shade you will not sit'. Oftentimes, it's at this point when a person is at their happiest.

Then how did he ever expect his friends to be happy, when he'd taken away the very future in which they'd find their life's purpose?

He understood now why Prince had been so angry. It was not because of what he saw in the past, but because of what he saw in the future – that is, nothing. Nothing whatsoever. Everything would all amount to nothing.

Discontinued.

Coronus now could barely find the strength to keep standing.

"Your… Majesty? Coronus?" said Amadeus, casting a concerned gaze back. "Are you quite alright?"

Of course he'd say that, thought Coronus, the good friend that he is. He knew this would be an unpleasant conversation. He did not know that I would take it so badly.

No… I refuse to believe that it is all for nothing.

I refuse to give up this world I'd spent so long trying to build.

I refuse to believe it is without value.

So what if… if there is no future? What need have I for the future, when I have the present? No, I say! I will not succumb to such petty sentimentality. If all I have is the present, then I shall make the very most of it! I shall make it mine, just as I've always done.

"No…" spoke Coronus powerfully. "No… I forbid it."

He stood to his feet. He approached the Charizard quickly.

Amadeus looked oddly at him. "Forbid… what, Your Majesty? Forbid me from leaving? Ah, I'm afraid you can't exactly do that."

"Perhaps I cannot, but I can plead," Coronus grunted, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Amadeus… I would not like for you to leave me. Yes, there is a hierarchy at the brunch table, of which you are at the top. I… I made this for you, human! Everything I've done here was for you! Please understand this. Please understand… this world revolves around you. And there is no future which matters except for that which involves you."

Amadeus cast him a sad glance. "You must learn to let go, Coronus," he said with an underlying power, as if the Charizard's inner ember flared within the words he spoke. "I had hoped that I had given you enough time to realize this."

Coronus dropped to the floor, and only realized that he was crying when he saw his own tears fall from his face.

"I've done enough letting go," he whispered. "Please, believe me… I've let go so many times… and you may fail to understand… that if one learns to let go, and learns it enough… there comes a point where they forget how to hold on tightly to anything… and it was you that I had wanted to hold tightly to, for the first time in forever."

The Charizard bent down, placing a cordial hand onto him, offering nothing but companionable silence.

"Amadeus," he tried desperately, "Perhaps… perhaps one day there will come a time when I learn to let you go. But today is not that day. So I plead to you, please… Please do not leave me. Not in my darkest hours. It is in these hours when I am most in need of you. I would burn this library to the ground if it meant having just five more days in your company, because you are worth more than all of it. Please… understand me. Human. Understand."

Coronus heard a long, fiery sigh.

"Oh, Starborn…" muttered the Charizard in reluctance. "How desperately you want to make us happy, even after you've lost the means to do so… Fine, then. You may forget we had this talk; I shall try it again some other time. But it will not be very much longer, I assure you."

Amadeus leaped from the platform and glided down and away, leaving Coronus alone to stare at the floor. He'd won over some additional time with his friend… but even still, he could not help but wonder if it meant anything at this point.

On the eighth day before the attack, the weather-Pokémon had finally gotten the snow under control, and it was clear, moderately chilly day. Coronus took the opportunity to check on the preparations.

He toured several of the ships, found them properly loaded with rations and all manners of deadly devices. It was all very pleasing to the eyes. He then surveyed the newest recruits, paying special attention to the dark-types… they would constitute his personal elite guard with which he would storm the Solemn Fortress.

On the sixth day before the attack, the scout-birds returned with a litany of information. The Solemn Fortress was hardly guarded. The desert lands to the north of the fortress seemed not to have any of the Master's presence at all. Adron suggested the primary troops march a particular path to the north, and a secondary strikeforce sail down the channel to the southeastern coast, disembarking there and following a safe path northward, and with any luck, the Master would be flanked from all four sides at once, with the resistance factions striking from the east and west. Coronus trusted his judgement.

On the fifth day before the attack, Coronus gave a grand inspirational speech to much applause, speaking of the downfall of the Master and how it would bring the golden era of peace that Ambera so deserved. Spirits were very high, and all the forces seemed to be in position, ready and waiting for the order to deploy.

On the fourth day before the attack, Aether failed to attend brunch once again, being bedridden with an awful migraine.

"Do you know what you're doing?" asked the Absol as he privately visited her.

"I do," he assured her. "We have the upper hand. They might have numbers, but we have intelligence and power. I'm certain your headache comes from the oncoming war. Wars usually have many casualties."

He then let her rest, and she seemed better that evening.

And finally, on the third day from the attack, it was to be the final day of brunch before Coronus would take after his father, leave his throne, and go off warmongering. And such, he had something important he needed to tell his friends.

"Some of you are coming with me," acknowledged Coronus as he peeled an orange. "Adron is going, of course. As is Raikouun."

"I would fight, if you are willing to accept this as my last act," Aether said sourly. "I feel that I have only one fight left in me."

Coronus felt the knife in her words. Though the Absol was a powerful creature, and would be a valued asset against Enigma herself, her meaning rang clear: "if I come with you, I will likely die. Are you willing to accept that?"

Of course, he was not. Thus, Aether was forbidden from fighting.

Saura, too, bowed out, having never been much of a fighter in his life. Though to his surprise and delight, Amadeus offered to come!

"Long have I wished to visit the west," Amadeus chuckled after a bite of oranbread. "Our Majesty here has steadfastly been against it for as long as I remember. If he is willing not only to let me go, but to take me there personally, how could I ever turn it down?"

"Would you stand at my side, then?" bid the Nidoking.

"I do not enjoy wars," he said forlornly. "But I promise, if it is my company that you need… I will stand at your side… until the last ember fades."

Coronus cleared his throat and motioned for the Gardevoir to take some of his empty dishware. "So then, it appears as though we shall be fractured in two for the foreseeable future," said Coronus with a sigh. "On such an occasion… I have something particularly special planned for the six of us, something to remember one another by, until we meet again at this very table. So, following this brunch, I would like for you all to wait for me at the edge of the Pleasant Grounds, at the knoll overlooking the castle. If you would all await me there, I will greet you with a surprise."

"A surprise? Can't we just ask Adron what it is? I'm sure he's already figured it out," teased the Raichu.

"Oh, I assure you, this one is unpredictable," said Coronus with a mysterious grin. "Very well, then. See you there in, say, two hours? I wish to dress for the occasion."

Coronus returned to his room and flipped through his wardrobe one last time. He knew that, whatever he would choose to wear at this moment, he might be stuck wearing for a long while. What does one wear to war? He chose blue, a color he did not generally like to wear. But it felt somehow fitting. Blue was the color of serenity and hope, things he wished to inspire in his troops. They would not win the war with brute strength. They would win with intelligence and strategy.

So the Starborn king fitted his ties, his belt, and his magnificent flowing robe, cast a last glance at his bed and all the gorgeous furnishings which surrounded it, and opened his door to leave.

"THERE you are! I was looking everywhere for you, silly!"

He blinked. He blinked again. Certainly, what he was seeing could not be real.

A Pokémon floated before his face. A ghost Pokémon.

Coronus stammered. "Uh… E-enigma?"

There was nothing to mistake. The fearsome Mismagius, Enigma herself, was floating in front of the doors to his bedroom. Panicking, he sidled away and quickly collected his spellcasting staff.

"And what business do you have here?" Coronus growled.

The ghost shrugged. "Oh… I just heard you wanted to have a war, so I thought we could maybe talk something over beforehand, you know, king-to-queen. I don't like spilling blood anymore than you do."

Coronus groaned. Of course, she'd always considered herself the Master's 'queen', he reminded himself. No greater pretention in all the land.

"Oh, but I am his queen, silly!" she insisted. "He gave me just as much authority to rule as he did."

Oh, and she's telepathic, he remembered. Great.

He wasted no time in casting a barrier over his mind. He didn't know if it would stop her mind-control powers, but it would at least keep his thoughts private.

"A true consort to royalty has no authority to rule," Coronus said, speaking down to her. "You are nothing more than the Master's delegate, at best. But a queen? You kid yourself."

"Same difference, really, it doesn't matter, point is, I'm powerful and I can do whatever the Master needs me to do," said Enigma, bobbing impatiently. "Now could we please talk? I'd really like to know why you want to go to war with me. I was in the middle of reading a nice book when I heard about it. It was a new book, too! And I don't see a lot of those anymore."

Coronus pointedly slammed the door behind him and began walking at Enigma's side down the hallway. She was, and has always been, the one Pokémon in all the world he was least interested in seeing. He kept his mage's staff between them as he walked, ready at a moment's notice to act with extreme prejudice.

"Well, for starters, the murder of my father?" Coronus growled. "You know, I was in the middle of something, too. And the next thing, I was king! That's not a very nice thing to do, is it?"

Enigma frowned. "Aww. But I had to kill him," she whined. "I didn't want to, but there was really nothing I could do about it. He knew too much! You understand that, right? As a ruler, you always need to silence Pokémon who know too much. That's one of the basic rules."

Coronus begrudgingly grumbled. "I… suppose," he spat, remembering Prince.

A strange moment passed as the two opposing rulers eyed one another.

"So, that's it then? Anything else?" Enigma wondered. "Want to put all your ships and things away now?"

The Starborn king snorted, thumping his staff hard against the floor. "I think not," he said. "My people want this war. Do you realize how much they hate you? This war has nearly unanimous approval from my kingdom. To back out of it now is to betray my own people. Therefore, Enigma, I regret to tell you that for better or worse, I'm deploying my Pokémon as planned."

The Mismagius visibly sagged in the air. "Ah… really? They all hate me?"

"Don't play coy, you filthy blight upon Ambera," Coronus growled, pointing his staff at her. "You cannot possibly be so naïve as to fail to realize just how much people dislike your decisions of the past… well, the past several centuries."

"That's… that makes me rather sad," sniffed Enigma. "Ah… perhaps I should just take back Amaranthine for myself? I could get them to like me again. I thought I could trust you Starborns to be good for me, but if you just spent all this time hating me… I don't know if I should leave you alone anymore."

"Take back Amaranthine?" Coronus growled. "Since when has it ever been yours? We've been independent since…"

Since Centauri… Centauri the boundless.

The ancestor of the Starborn.

Oh… oh no.

How have I never made this connection…?

She's right… Amaranthine must have originally belonged to the Master. But how?

"You want to know?" Enigma giggled. "Oh, that silly shield isn't doing anything, by the way. I can hear you just fine. But if you want, I can tell you the story. Here, I'll show you!"

And Enigma attacked, but Coronus felt no harm. Instead, he felt himself falling… falling intangibly through the many floors of the castle… down into the foundation… down through the dungeons… through the dirt and stone and rock… and finally stopping at an expansive subterranean cavern.

Coronus knew this cavern.

"Oh, you know about this place?" gasped Enigma. "Hmm! I wonder how."

Don't think about it. Don't think about it.

Deep within this cavern, there lay ruins. Golden bricks and pillars, tarnished by centuries of age. Magnificent slabs of pearly marble, scratched and dirtied beyond recognition. Statues of Nidoking, Scyther, and all manner of legendary birds and beasts, all broken into ten pieces each.

It was rubble. All of it. The remnants of something glorious and bright, sunken deep within the earth, its hundreds of sideways halls never to be seen again except by those unlucky enough to stumble upon it:

The old castle.

"This used to be our home, you know," Enigma explained, taking him deeper into the ruins. "The Master ruled here. And we served him, all six of us. It was happy then. Everything was happy."

Coronus produced light from his staff to lead the way. "And by happy, you mean you just brainwashed them all?"

"Oh heavens no!" Enigma shouted. "I didn't need to brainwash anyone. I used my power to give everyone good dreams. The best dreams. And I saved my very best dreams for the Master himself. The golden age of Ambera… ahh, I remember it as though it were yesterday. And then…"

She sagged downward, resting on a slab of steel.

"…The fall happened," she said sadly. "Centauri built this palace, the greatest work of art in the entire wide world! And then it just got buried, just like that… It was a pretty place! Really, it was. I could show you dreams of it if you want."

"I would decline," grunted Coronus.

"I miss them, you know…" she sighed, lifting herself back into the air. "Centauri, Lifeblood, even Aster I wish I could see again… sometimes. She was awfully annoying, but she was so useful when you wanted her to be. But after the castle sunk… Centauri's offspring stayed here and built a new castle on top of it, and the rest of us… we moved west. And that's why the Solemn Fortress is so… solemn. The solemnity is for the old days we lost… this castle… and the family we had."

Coronus struggled to comprehend what he'd been told. Pieces came together, long-forgotten and unanswered. He knew about the old castle, it was where Amadeus had first given him the time gear… but he never suspected that the Master's throne once resided here…

"That… that must be why we still, to this day, have such an affinity for human culture," Coronus said, realizing the truth. "Because…"

"The only human on Ambera lived here, yes," Enigma said kindly. "His culture became your culture. You Starborns preserved it in a way that nobody else ever would. Ah… this is making me so nostalgic, just being down here again. Can I have your kingdom back, perhaps? Pretty-please?"

Coronus turned threateningly to her, grinding his teeth. "You expect me to just hand you everything, you witch?" he shot. "The kingdom that my forefathers have built up for generations? What kind of a king would I be?"

"A smart one!" she answered. "A generous one! A kind one. The Master would want it. And besides… you could be one of my generals! Your father was a good general. You could be one too! We could be friends."

The Nidoking stepped away from the ghost, little by little, pointing the potent end of his staff in her direction. And then, in a guttural growl which nearly matched the voice of his father, he said, "I would never, under any circumstance, call you my friend."

"Aww. What about an ally?"

Coronus clutched his staff. "No. Not even an ally."

"Um… acquaintance?"

"See here, you witch," Coronus roared. "I would rather die than associate positively with you in any regard. You, you alone, are the bane of my very existence. You were always the one to kill Char. You were always the one to kill Saura. You were always the one to rout out the resistance bases just as I was getting somewhere. You… can be nothing other than my deepest enemy."

"I have no idea who Char and Saura are," Enigma said with a weirded-out face. "Are you sure you don't have me confused with someone else?"

She drifted in a semicircle around him, awaiting an answer that did not come. "Ah, so I guess… we go to war now?" she said meekly.

"We do," Coronus declared.

"Ah, alright, I guess I can deal with that," Enigma sighed. "But… before we go to war, Starborn… tell me one thing… why?"

"Why what?"

"Why… everything?" Enigma begged in earnest. "Why all this? Why all you? Why all the hate for me? I'm not a bad Pokémon. I'm just… a Pokémon trying to do what her human wanted of her. I'm only trying to make my human happy. But then again… maybe you'll never understand what that feels like, doing everything for a human… wanting to make a human happy…"

Coronus felt as though all the thorns on his body were digging into his own flesh. How many things, how very many things he wanted to say to her in that moment… How much he wanted to let her into his mind, show her everything… Everything she'd caused, everything she'd broken…

But it did not matter. Nothing mattered. There was no future.

There was only now.

"En garde, you filthy witch," he finally said, thrusting the tip of his staff directly at her face and charging it with power.

"Ahh… ah well. I thought we could be friends, but I guess I was wrong," Enigma sighed. "So sad. More bloodshed it is, then, I guess…"

Rather than attacking, Enigma floated deeper into the ruins.

"Where are you going?!" Coronus demanded.

"Oh, to get help," she called back. "I think I'd like to borrow another Starborn. He's buried down here, you know… and I'm almost scared to wake him up, but I might not win the war without him. So…"

And she drifted down into the darkness, until Coronus could no longer see her.

Moments later, the ground began to shake. Earthquake. Colossal magnitude. Coronus rushed for the way out. The rumbling only intensified, and he knew the entire cavern would collapse, spelling doom for him.

It was not ten steps out of the cave, emerging into the drainage system beneath Amaranthine's streets, that he felt the world fall apart. There was an unfathomably large explosion. The ground rocked so violently that Coronus stumbled to the ground, smearing rubble into his robes. Even still, he crawled on his hands and knees and pressed on, determined to survive the imminent collapse. He refused to be buried beneath his very home as nothing more than a mangled corpse.

He could feel the rocks pressing into his palms as struggled through the underground, but he paid it hardly any mind. He only moved forward as his heart hammered in his chest and his blood rang in his ears.

When he surfaced, he found himself in the midst of a terrible apocalypse.

He watched Amaranthine's castle fracture with a harrowing rumble before tearing itself into four jagged pieces. He watched entire buildings fly into the air as the ground shook beneath them.

From the ground, he appeared. A violet monstrosity of nature, a living mountain-The ancient Nidoking, Centauri the Boundless.

He was a hulking behemoth, easily towering over the greatest spectacles Amaranthine had constructed. He cleared entire districts with a sweep of his tail. He created mile-deep craters wherever he stepped. His roar shook the very air with a deafening thunder.

And from his maw, crimson meteors rained from the sky, leaving not a brick upon the streets untouched. Buildings toppled, orange fire flared and devoured, a cacophony of muffled screams echoed through the burning streets, all underneath a storm of ash.

Coronus fled. He deserted his fallen kingdom, putting as much distance between himself and the wild, raging Nidoking god as all of his muscles and spells could provide.

For that's what he truly was – a god. They were all gods, all six of the eternal truths. This much, Coronus knew about them – they once belonged to the Master as his personal Pokémon team. There were six of them, merely because the Master wore a belt which only held six Poké balls, as was custom for humans. These six were somehow granted immortality, and each with a unique power – and it was with these six godlike Pokémon that the Master had enslaved all of Ambera.

Coronus had encountered all of them during his travels… all, that is, except Centauri the Boundless, the very ancestor of the Starborn line. Centauri was said to be sleeping somewhere forever. Coronus never suspected it would be underneath his own castle. But it made too much sense, after the fact – it was too poetic that the very architect of the old castle would be buried deep within it.

He also knew the reason Centauri had been put to sleep: he had gone absolutely mad. He raised mountains and shattered lands in feral fury. Several of the mountain ranges of Zerferia were said to have been the result of the age-old battles to contain him.

Just when Coronus had reached the northern boundary of his kingdom, after dodging the falling fireballs and chunks of architecture raining all around him, Enigma appeared again.

"That was easy. I can tell you didn't think we'd attack from the north! Silly you. There was a huge field there and everything. You really should provide more of a challenge next time."

Coronus lunged at her in a blind rage, roaring his anguish. She effortlessly backed away, but kept talking.

"Well! That was a fun little war, but I think I won," she said with a gleeful smile. "I think I'm going to borrow good old Centauri for a while – I'm the only one who can keep him under control, after all. Meanwhile, do try to clean up the mess we've all made today, alright? It might take a few generations, but I'm sure you can rebuild. After all, I have all the time in the world."

His mind snapped pieces into place. Huge field. North.

No.

Coronus ran northward, nearly on all fours, to the Pleasant Grounds. He heard Enigma bid him a polite goodbye in her infernally irritating voice, piercing through even the roaring sounds of destruction as Centauri the Boundless played in his kingdom as though it were a sandbox.

Upon reaching the Pleasant Grounds, he found that his five friends had waited for him, just as he'd asked. In fact, they waited for him unto the very end. They lay dead in the bloody grass, half-sunken into the gouges left by a large army of enemy foot soldiers who'd trampled through.

The fires of Amaranthine roared on, the smoke filling the sky and bringing dusk amidst the daylight. But Coronus paid no attention to the grand spectacle. Gently, he bent down to caress the corpses, as though to show them a final measure of respect. The Scyther… the Absol… the Ivysaur… the Raichu…

And finally, the Charizard.

Somehow, his corpse looked so peaceful, as though resting from centuries of struggle. Jealousy burned in his chest for his own measure of relief. He wondered if the Charizard was finally happy.

…Except it was not. None of them were happy. Because none of them had souls to pass forth into the afterlives. They were false catalysts. Fake Pokémon. Illusions that reality had conjured up just for him, just because he was there to see them.

It was true. In the end… there was nothing.

The Redeemer did not know how many tears he shed over each one of their bodies. He did not count how long he stayed there, clinging to the last semblance of these Pokémon he would ever have. He stayed as long as he felt that he needed.

And then he stood up, turned around, cast them one final, longing glance… and left them behind.

…

Or so he tried. After having taken no more than two steps, a familiar voice sounded to his ears.

"Going somewhere, Coronus?"

He spun around once more, only to find the Charizard alive and well, standing proud and unharmed in the bloody grass.

"H-how…" Coronus blurted, staggering in surprise. "Amadeus! How did you survive?! I saw you just now, your fire was out…"

The Charizard shrugged. "Since this is a discontinued timeline, I didn't see anything wrong with breaking some rules."

Coronus staggered. "How… did you know about the discontinuity?"

Amadeus gave a warm grin. "I've seen the timelines with my own eyes. And I knew, my Redeemer, the moment I bestowed upon you the time gear, that a timeline exactly like this one would crop up. I knew you would need your respite. And therefore… I've put some contingency plans into this incarnation of myself."

"Like… retaining your memories," Coronus realized. "You… you've retained your memories?"

"That I have," said Amadeus.

"You never had amnesia? You knew all along what was going on?!"

"That I did," he said with a wry smile. "And beyond that… I've entered this timeline with you, Coronus. You and Charon were never alone. I was here as well. I was the third soul keeping this timeline in existence."

"You…" Coronus breathed, staggering forward again. "You mean to tell me… You are not a husk, nor a copy, but the true Amadeus?"

The Charizard grinned ear-to-ear. "You finally understand," he said. "I am Amadeus in all but my human body."

Coronus warily approached the figure, vaguely wondering if the sun was coming out from behind the ash clouds, or if the fires were dying down; it seemed that everything was fading into the distance.

"If you were Amadeus… why did you allow me to do all of this?!" Coronus cried. "I spat in your face! I defied your will! I shunned you! Why didn't you stop me?!"

Amadeus once again shrugged. "Because I believe you needed the catharsis," he said. "Even now, you are resentful that I've erased my human self, becoming fully and truly the Charmander. I suppose I wanted to help you learn to let go."

Coronus snapped.

"Let go? LET GO?!" he roared, throwing his spellcasting staff at the Charizard's feet in fury. "YOU wanted to lecture ME on LEARNING TO LET GO?! Can you fathom how many times I've had to let go?! All the broken and wasted timelines? All times I've fallen just short of the Astral Throne, only to be intercepted by Enigma? ALL THE TIMES I'VE WATCHED YOU DIE?! I'm TIRED of letting go. I'm TIRED of all this pointless agony, this futile existence you've placed upon me."

Coronus turned to watch his burning kingdom. Somehow, it was getting harder to see.

"I'm done," Coronus spat. "I'm done being your Redeemer. I don't want to help you anymore."

And he stood there. Stood and stewed in hatred. Stood and watched the silhouette of Centauri trounce around… or was that just an ash cloud?

Amadeus walked to his side.

"Except that's not true," the Charizard said softly. "You've just shown me that you want exactly what I want."

"What are you talking about?!" demanded the Nidoking.

"What am I talking about? Everything," chuckled the Charizard. "Look at everything you've accomplished in this timeline. Look at how hard you worked to kidnap Adron from the Adrellos right out from under Enigma's grasp. Look at how much effort you took to erase Aether's memories. Look at it all, Coronus… all of this you've done. All to give us a life of peace and comfort. All to give us a brief reprieve."

"Brief, yes," Coronus spat. "What of it?"

"It's as I said, my Redeemer," Amadeus replied. "Though it may lie in ruin now, the mere memory of the accomplishment is enough. You accomplished this, Coronus. You built this world with your own claws and your own blood and poison and tears. It was not perfect. It was not always right. And it might not have lasted as long as you wanted. But it was yours. Your will was done here… your will that six Pokémon, seven including yourself, deserved something more from life. And that… is an accomplishment to be proud of."

Coronus suddenly found himself wrapped in the Charizard's embrace.

Warmth. It was warm, so very warm. He returned the embrace, resting his eyes against the Charizard's neck. It was all he needed at that moment. It was all he ever wished to feel. The warmth.

"What I want is the same," Amadeus said, holding the Nidoking ever tighter. "I have seen the timeline, and I have seen a great many Pokémon who have been wronged by fate itself. And I realized that I wanted to make a change. I want to bring peace, my Redeemer. But instead of bringing peace to only seven Pokémon, as you have, I wish to bring peace to all of Ambera. The good and the bad, the rich and the poor, the empire and the resistance and all the Pokémon in between… all of it. Everything that Ambera is. That is what I wish to save. Do you understand?"

"I… I do," Coronus said, crying again. "I… believe I do."

When Coronus finally lifted his head, the surroundings had grown brighter. The sun was shining especially strong for such a winter day.

"Would you… would you at least tell me what you've planned, perhaps?" Coronus begged the Charizard. "If I am to be such an integral part of your plan… then what is the plan?"

Amadeus offered a sad smile. "I cannot tell you, because if I did, it would have too much of an impact on your actions, and since you are effectively immortal, you would keep your memories forever, and it would be irreparable," he told Coronus. "But if you would like… I suppose I could tell you a facet of my plan. Namely, what I am planning to do, not how."

"If you would, yes," Coronus replied.

"It was never my intention to dethrone the Master, or indeed his Queen Enigma," Amadeus admitted. "They are only tangential to my plan, in a way that the Executioner understands. But my true plan… My true plan is to repair the mystery dungeons. Because if they are allowed to continue growing…"

"All of Ambera would be swallowed," Coronus realized. "Destroyed."

The human nodded proudly at him.

"You understand now," Amadeus said. "You understand what is at stake, and what I am attempting to do."

"Yes, I… I suppose I do," Coronus muttered, fighting a bout of nervous laughter.

Coronus felt the Charizard take his hand, turn it upright, and open his claw. He felt the Charizard place something in his palm. He glanced down at it.

The time gear. Still filled with the dragon's own warmth.

"And you understand now, the importance of a future."

"I do," said Coronus again.

As the surrounding reality faded out of existence, the two Pokémon shared one long, final embrace. Soon, the two of them were standing in a white void. The void between timelines.

Coronus bent down, collecting the walking staff still resting at the feet of Amadeus.

He looked at his blue garment, already shredded from escaping the underground avalanche. He looked at the tiny time gear, once again pulsing with warmth, the warmth of hope and potential

And at last, he turned around, finding Charon already waiting at his side.

"Ready to try this again, old friend?" Charon asked quietly.

He gave a long, strained laugh. "I am never ready," he sighed, hanging his head. "Yet… I will do what I must. Because I cannot let the story simply end here. Without the future… the past and present are nothing."

"Your Majesty," regarded Amadeus, with a little bow. "And I will never forget what we've done together, here in this discontinuity. Somehow, I will make certain that Char sees these memories. Somehow… in whatever imperfect way I can manage… I will be with you again. I promise this."

"Thank you," Coronus replied, the tatters of his robe flying in his wake as he turned.

And then the Redeemer vanished into the ether, his ghostly companion close at his side.

For the Discontinued arc, I'd like to give the most special thanks to Khronokrator/Khrysophylax, the creator of Coronus;

ShadowVulpi, my beta-reader and motivator;

UnholyPens, for introducing me to a PMD chatroom where I've met several other writers;

JA-Punkster, whose artwork of Amaranthine's destruction was the driving inspiration for part 4;

And most of all, you, the dedicated reader - whether you've been with Silver Resistance for ten years, or have just discovered it today... know that it is you for whom my fire burns.

Let's keep the fire alive just a little while longer. The story cannot end here!

I hope to see you again for season 6.