Dune – Part Two

The storm had been a nuisance, but it did little to steer him away from his goal: delving into the temple's heart. They had arrived well before the storm had flared to life. The base camp at the surface of the temple was ready to withstand much of what the elements had to throw at them; however, the problem of being buried under a layer of earth and sand was still a real possibility. It was why the Desert Resort was such a startling surprise. Centuries of sand had shifted to cover the site, causing the structure to escape the consciousness of humanity and pass from common knowledge to pure legend and speculation.

Satellite imaging had caught something interesting a few decades back, when photographing the earth's surface was the newest thing in technological innovation, and the recent history of the Temple of Reshiram, or the Desert Resort as most people understood it, began.

Early archeological digs revealed the tragic storyline of the Temple's ancient past, yet its trend as a cursed site only continued as different dig teams fell to a bizarre series of misfortunes.

The first team that found the temple at the Desert Resort had abruptly died during an excavation collapse, forcing a recovery team to come to their rescue. Old reports on the case told the unusual tale of the recovery team encountering violent ghosts and things moving without anyone touching them. Until this day, two of the eight bodies were never recovered.

Several teams later attempted to pull back the sands surrounding the temple, trying to create a sort of protective basin of earth to block the effects of wind erosion. Those expeditions were plagued with missing equipment, bizarre broken bones, and inexplicable falls. Even when the excavation teams left the site, it was as if the pall that hung like a heavy curtain over the site followed those who touched and visited it. People associated with the dig site would later claim that strange things would continue to happen to them in their homes and places of work, as if the temple aura still possessed a residual force that clung to them. Accidents happened. More people died shortly after they came into contact with the structure.

Word got out that the site was cursed. Even Pokémon seemed to steer clear of the site. Pokémon companions seemed to cower or act out in the presence of the ancient, crumbling building. There were even some reports of Pokémon companions turning on their trainers. All attacks ceased as soon as the creatures were pulled a distance from the abandoned temple.

Time passed and the temple lay fallow and bare to the world, as no one wanted to touch the ruins. Too many bad stories associated with the place. The license for the control of the dig site went unclaimed until recently when Lenora Nacrenae began to show some interest. Such cycles were not unusual. Time helped people to forget that the temple was associated with hauntings, tragedy, and general bad luck.

The contract of taking over the archeological site was open for grabs when Lenora had first made moves to claim it for herself, but suddenly she was in competition with another anonymous bidder. He had watched as she struggled with the competing bid. She thought she knew all the players in the archeological game, so when she began to ask around on who might be moving against her, all leads suggested that they didn't know. It was just the way he wanted things to be. When Lenora tried to push the licensing issue, legalities suddenly reared its ugly head. She was suddenly smacked with a lawsuit over rights to the dig site.

It was everything that he had envisioned would happen. Gorm was able to pull all the legal strings that were necessary to keep Lenora's claws away from the site; which allowed Ghetsis and his team to infiltrate the ruins under cover. The Grand Sage wasn't one to wait on the banalities of legal situations. They were a ruse, nothing more. It was a distraction to get at what he wanted. Lenora wouldn't be able to monopolize the archeological treasure, not with everything she was currently facing: burglary, theft, murder, investigation; all more pressing matters than obtaining another contract for a dig.

Nothing could be more perfect.

The smoke screen he had created at the Nacrene City Museum couldn't have gone better, and to think that the Pokémon League was actually helping to obtain his goals by calling her gym leader career into question. It was all they could do to keep their Champion's where-abouts under wraps; shifting the focus away from the League and onto the gym leaders was a short term bandage for a long term problem. They hoped that the scandal would distract from the fact that the League was in shambles. It was the last gasp of a dying entity, and he would be there to hear the death rattles as he wrapped his hands around its throat.

It was why he was here in this vile desert.

Here would be the means to change the world to fit his image. And that dream would finally begin to gain some momentum within the desert sands that offered little cover from prying eyes.

The Grand Sage made sure that his movements were not easily accessible by satellite imaging, as he told the Plasma grunts to use camouflage canopies for their base of operations and keeping in mind the schedules of passing satellites in orbit. The entire team handling the situation was fully prepared for the rigors of desert conditions. Their customary white uniforms were replaced with tan and beige, matching seamlessly with the dunes and sands around them. They moved like mirages across the desert scape, avoiding detection entirely. Their base camp was stationed at the back of the temple ruin's entrance, with their forward camp deep within the lower levels of the temple.

When Ghetsis arrived with his entourage of black suited veteran grunts and a Triad, he had been greeted with a full reception; Grunts, both new and veteran alike, bent over backwards to accommodate his every need. They fired off progress reports on what had been happening before his arrival as well as the latest schematics of what they've mapped so far of the temple structure.

Ghetsis was gracious in accepting the information, but he was eager to get inside the ruin.

Ancient maps showed that the Desert Resort was free of desertification and was instead a verdant basin that was covered with deep jungle fauna. Records dating back to the Old Kingdom Era gave intricate details and blue prints about the foundational structure of the temple. There was also scarce surviving historical record of the temple's purpose, writings, and art that had been curated over time. He had poured over hours of research in his youth and could recall almost everything about the site from memory.

Ghetsis made it a point to learn and understand all things Harmonian, and this temple structure, while it did pre-date the Old Kingdom, was heavily used by the ancient Harmonian people. His vermillion eye absorbed what he had only viewed in textbooks and web searches. To be here on the steps of personal history was invigorating, to be able to touch such history with his own hands… indescribable.

"Novus, be sure to not stray. You are to remain top side and watch for trouble." Ghetsis had purred to his personal body guard. While Ghetsis did require the Shadow Triad to be present, he did not want the guard underfoot.

The Triad was dressed in his customary black uniform, with extra protection of plated dark gray body armor. He was armed, he was dangerous, and he looked every bit of the shadowy menace that he had cultivated himself to be. He wore his half face shield, his silver locks glinting in the sun, even if they were brushed up from his protective solar goggles. The lenses reflected back Ghetsis' steely stare, stark and unyielding, while giving nothing away from the Triad.

Novus nodded, his voice silent. He had not been given permission to speak.

"This is your chance to prove yourself and perhaps get back into my good graces, Novus." Ghetsis continued, his robes sweeping around him from a strengthening gust of wind.

At hearing that, Novus immediately kneeled at Ghetsis' feet, one arm over his knee while his head touched his wrist in acknowledgement. "I am yours to command, my lord." He answered, his voice sounding more sinister behind his metal half-shield mask. "I will not fail you." It was what his lord wanted to hear, but more than anything it was what Novus wanted to say.

Ghetsis smiled, the action reaching his good eye, turning his entire expression into a sadistic mask of satisfaction. Novus had no clue that Ghetsis had manipulated him into his current situation: the grand sage knew that Novus' blood thirsty nature would surface at the Nacrene Museum, knew that his propensity for violence would override his sense of propriety if his master wasn't there to temper it. It was the most efficient way to control the middle brother. Punishment and reward.

"A storm is projected to arrive within the hour. Secure the perimeter, batten down the camp, and await the call if I need you. No one is to enter the temple compound or leave without my expressed permission."

"Yes, my lord."

The world came back slowly. With every inch, with every increment came an excruciating price. Pain began to filter through first. In the beginning there was a dull ache. It was enough to rouse her from the dark comfort that had surrounded her, leaving her empty and numb to everything. The only problem was the empty abyss didn't stay empty. Pain bloomed like an ugly weed, stretching out spindly roots in all directions; first spearing through her mind before taking hold throughout her body.

It was the pain that drove her awake, that drove her from the perfect darkness that had swaddled her in blissful nothingness. Inch by inch, the conscious world invaded her senses, making them flare to painful life.

Cobalt eyes snapped open as a shuddering breath ripped through bruised and battered lungs. The sudden movement nearly blinded her with white hot pain as every nerve ending started firing off within her body all at once. It was overwhelming. It was as if the breath was knocked from her chest all over again as her lungs spasmed to inflate fully. But the burning in her chest was nothing compared to the lancing pressure that pounded within her skull.

Breathing in sharply, wincing as the action did little to deter the searing ache throughout her body, Kendra lifted a shaking hand to her temple, her brow furrowing. It was difficult to wrinkle her forehead, she realized as her fingertips gently probed the crown of her head. Pulling her hand back into her field of view, shock spiraled down her spine when she found oozing blood and sand. A few pitiful cries erupted from her throat unbidden as she began to touch her head again, searching frantically all around the wound. Everywhere she touched was wet sand matted with hair.

Kendra made to sit up; pressing her hands away from her as she lifted herself from the ground, but the action nearly had her face first back in the dirt she found herself in. Memory flashed within her mind's eye as she remembered her run in with the Darmanitan statue from earlier. Her left shoulder wrenched in pain while her elbow sported the same oozing grit that mirrored her forehead. But as much as she wanted to collapse, she forced her arms to hold her up as she slowly pulled her knees beneath her.

She gasped aloud as one of her knees scraped the rough surface beneath her, revealing a fresh wound. Shaking, she looked down to see that one of her knees was scraped and crusted in dark sand. Not new, she reminded herself of her fall down a dune during the sand storm, just freshly opened once more.

Pushing herself back on her bottom, Kendra threw her head back as she tried to orient herself. Her body shivered as waves of discomfort coursed through her. She coughed, the sound echoing within the chamber, causing a tiny shower of sand to fall around her. Shielding her eyes and peering up between her fingers, she could faintly see light filtering down in a glowy beam that pooled in a ring around her.

About a story and a half up.

Her mind quickly ran through the Pokémon she had with her: none were strong enough to help her climb out of the hole she fell.

Kendra cursed silently to herself, willing her tears to stop. She could feel them rolling down her cheeks, leaving clean little paths in their wake.

Taking a deep breath that hurt more than it should, she lifted her arm and clicked her Xtransceiver. The light stuttered on, but the device remained functional. Professor Juniper hadn't joked when she said that this technology was designed especially to be damage resistant, otherwise the League wouldn't endorse it. She thanked the gods above and below for protecting it, because she was definitely going to call for help.

She pushed a few buttons, trying to get a signal, but just as before, none of her calls were going out.

"I guess the storm is still going…" she said to no one in particular, more to calm herself down by hearing her voice instead of the deafening silence all around her, more to reassure that it was only the storm's interference that was disrupting communications with the outside world and not the fact that was trapped in an underground ruin.

Her electric blue eyes flickered to the darkness surrounding her as her heart began to race. Adrenalin seemed to be pouring uncontrollably into her veins as she clutched her Xtransceiver to her chest as she began to hear something scrape around in the darkness beyond her.

Kendra tried once more to get a call out but the signal never seemed to go through; meanwhile, the scraping sound seemed to be coming closer. In a desperate attempt, Kendra pushed the red emergency button that was supposed to link her to the nearest police station. All Xtransceivers were supposed to have them; once activated, the device was supposed to link with satellite GPS tracking so that she could be located, or at the very least connect her to an emergency hot line.

Yet nothing happened.

The scratching noise got louder.

The button didn't blink.

It sounded like claws against stone.

Nothing seemed to acknowledge that she clicked the emergency button.

Heart in her throat, Kendra let out a panicked cry as she hurriedly switched on the flashlight app and pointed it all around her, hearing the scraping approaching.

Screaming, Kendra's heart nearly burst when her light found the source of the noise just as it issued an angry hiss.

The young sand crocodile squinted its eyes closed as the human before it blinded him.

Any time now… The Sandile hissed.

It seemed to catch the girl's attention as she quickly pulled the light away and clutched it to her chest, laughing herself to tears.

"I'm sorry, you scared me!"

The Sandile merely clicked its jaws together, coming closer to the human but still out of reach from her touch. The sand crocodile was still too squeamish to be entirely too close. Even staying at this distance, she was pulling him into all sorts of trouble. His kind normally steered clear from the ruin, few ventured there unless they had to. The ghosts that haunted this place were terribly sad and not altogether friendly.

Plopping down next to the girl, the Pokémon shifted his scaly body until he was half buried in the sand. It always made him feel better.

Kendra placed an aching hand over her heart as she tried to steady herself. She glanced over at the Sandile and couldn't help but feel relieved that the creature remained near her side. Especially when it didn't have to.

"You don't happen to know the way out, do you?" Came her quivering voice.

The Sandile just sighed heavily.

"That's what I thought." Kendra laughed quietly, coughing a bit. The back of her throat felt like it was on fire and her mouth felt bone dry. Reaching for her side, she pulled out her canteen and found that the cap was missing and the opening covered with damp sand. Brushing it away, she wiggled the canteen and heard nothing.

She cursed again. "How about some water?" Kendra swallowed in an attempt to soothe her throat but it only made it worse. She laughed to keep herself from openly weeping. To admit how truly terrified she really was would paralyze her with fear, and that was a luxury that she couldn't afford at the moment.

You must be strong…

She closed her eyes and tried to get a hold of her breathing.

Sandile watched her closely from the corner of his eye. Her eyes were shut tight as if she were in pain, yet she seemed to be smacking her head on the wall behind her over and over again.

He would never understand humans.

Clearly she was in pain but seemed unafraid to be inflicting more upon herself.

Opening his jaws, the Sandile let out a reprimanding low pitched squeal to gain the human's attention.

It seemed to work when the girl stopped and stared at him, her eyes dark and unreadable. The mystery found there unsettled the reptile. Yet something seemed to light a fire within those deep orbs, an inner strength he had yet to see took root there. It seemed that she had been giving herself a pep talk, preparing herself to do whatever it was she was planning. The Sandile didn't know, he didn't try to understand humans but in this moment he regretted never trying until now.

"I'm not going to lay down and die down here." She sighed, the sentence escaping her lips in a rush of determination. Hoisting her up on her feet, Kendra stumbled a bit, using a hand against the wall behind her to steady her. "We're going to find a way out." She looked down at the stubby legged serpent at her feet and gave it the best encouraging smile she could muster, which wasn't that impressive to the Sandile.

"And we won't be going at it alone."

Tossing out one of her Pokéballs, a burst of light erupted within the yawning space around them.

A trilled greeting echoed, followed by a very relieved Kendra embracing blue fur and whiskers.

Sandile huffed, not at all excited to see the appearance of the water Pokémon.

"Oh Enki, I'm so glad you're here." Kendra nuzzled into the soft, silken fur of the sea otter, who did his upmost best to rub his cheek all over the side of his trainer's face and neck, purring happily. It felt like forever since he had been released from the confining space of his Pokéball. Kendra had refused to let him wander with her during her trek in the desert, as she had been too worried to expose the water Pokémon to the arid weather and the high temperatures. However, now that she was within the relative cool of the temple ruin and out of the elements, Kendra felt better about exposing her beloved Enki to her circumstances.

N's face flashed through her mind. Every time she made a judgment call about the safety and health of her Pokémon, she couldn't help but think that N would approve of her decisions. They were always made in the best interest of her Pokémon. She didn't want them hurt unnecessarily. Hugging the otter to herself, ignoring how his affectionate rubbing and squirming in her arms made her pain flare with every movement. All she wanted was to feel reassured that she had a friend with her in this terrifying moment.

Great, just what we need – a water otter in a desert. The Sandile sighed dramatically.

Enki turned his attention away from his trainer and peered with interest to the creature at her feet.

Well I'll be a Panpour's uncle! Enki crooned in eager fascination. He turned back to his trainer. I hope he's more fun than that Pansear you picked up earlier.

Ghetsis ran his fingertips over the raised reliefs of the glyphs along the walls of the temple. Each sacred carving was more precious than the last. As the pads of his fingers ran reverently over the etched stone, his hand stopped over the roughened surface that revealed the deep scarring of past events and trauma the temple had endured over the years. His hand suddenly formed into a first against the stone as disappointment and disgust roiled through him. But nothing burned through him hotter than the other carvings he found upon the temple wall: someone had carved their initials and the year it happened in crude knife strokes, making the writing childlike and amateur.

Such disrespect to antiquities.

The very thought made him utterly sick to his stomach.

Ghetsis bypassed the damaged relief and continued his search of the ruin, ignoring his crew around him who were taking images of everything they came into contact with. If Ghetsis had more time, he would have gladly sunk his teeth into decoding every piece of writing that this place had to offer, but as it stood, time wasn't on his side. It was why the Grunts around him were taking photos of every square inch. Every image would be tagged and cataloged before being sent to Orin, who would generate a three dimensional model of the temple that Ghetsis could peruse on his own time.

His raptor eye scanned the walls, picking out words and phrases here and there. But nothing specific was jumping out to him, at least, nothing that he was actually searching for.

He continued down into the temple's interior, following the main hall.

He was in search of the Parishioner's Path, the path that those dedicated to the Temple of Reshiram used to approach its altar and offer to the great dragon. It was the path that would eventually lead to Ghetsis' prize: the White Dragon Orb.

Or so the legend said.

With a gloved hand, Ghetsis brushed away sand and dust that clung to the walls as delicately as possible, revealing a new section of glyphs and pictographs.

"Ah, here you are…" Ghetsis whispered, a smile softening his features, making him handsome even.

The grunts trailing behind the Grand Sage momentarily stopped what they were doing when they heard him speak. It was a rare thing to see the sage smile in any genuine way. It was why they were here, documenting everything they came across. One of the grunts, dressed in black that marked him part of Ghetsis' personal entourage, stepped forward to begin imaging the wall. The veteran grunt pulled out a translation book once he finished photographing and began to try to help his lord with figuring out exactly what this wall was saying.

"Those people worthy of… entry… to the temple's center… may pass…through the gateway… of the dragon's mouth." The grunt began, clearly struggling with the translation, his voice unsure. It didn't help that Ghetsis's vermillion eye locked onto him as that smile turned into a sneering smirk of condescension. "Through sky fire burn… and something… this part is difficult… something about passing some test… and then—"

"The wall reads: Here lies the Parishioner's Path to those devotees worthy of entry into the Heart of the Temple of Fire whose passage through the Gate of Dragon Fire shall bring them closer to god. Though the celestial fires from the skies may fall, only those who pass the Guardian's test may offer sacrifice." Ghetsis finished, his voice melodious as he effortlessly read the passage that his grunt had struggled with.

The grunt bowed as he knelt to one knee. "My apologies, my lord. I only wished to assist you."

"No need to apologize. Your translation, while pitiful, was admirable. Ancient Harmonian is difficult to master. With some training, you could become better." Ghetsis dismissed, waving the grunt away.

"Yes, my lord." Fading back into the fold.

The dead language used to be the language of the known world of Unova. Everyone who was anyone spoke in the approved dialects of the Harmonian culture, whether high or low. The writings on the temple walls were the lilting cadence of High Harmonian. It was more structured, more formal, and utter poetry when spoken aloud and romantic when heard. It was a real shame that the language had devolved into the guttural common that Unova spoke now. The language had been tortured and tainted by barbaric tongues, watering down the richly saturated melodies of High Harmonian until it was hardly recognizable except to historical linguists.

Ghetsis Hydrei Brutalli was hardly a linguistic expert, but he prided himself on learning all he could about Harmonian in all its forms. He could read and write in it, which proved useful when he wished to keep certain bits of information to himself, like his journal. Part of it had been purely exercise in mastering the tongue, but eventually he became as comfortable in speaking it as he had in reading and writing it. He required those closest to him to learn it as well, namely N and the Shadow Triad, but there were a few more.

The opening passage explaining the Parishioner's Path was nothing out of the ordinary, but something did catch his attention. The mention of a temple guardian.

Rumor had it that the deeper one got within the temple, the more powerful the Pokémon you would encounter.

This did not necessarily mean that it caused the Grand Sage much concern, as most of the Pokémon they had encountered so far had been surprised Sandiles and a few troublesome Yamasks. Their little party wasn't deep enough to deal with the real power at the temple's heart quite yet, but they would soon be on their way.

The sooner the better, Ghetsis thought warily as he cast his eye around him. The Yamask were becoming more and more bold in their appearances, hovering within the visible spectrum before shuddering out of existence. He recalled in his research about the Yamasks that lurked here carried the death masks of the dead. Human dead. Each face was uniquely different from the next. But that wasn't what was unnerving about the Pokémon. Sometimes the death masks of once living people were contorted in grotesque forms: some were frightened; others were tangled in rage, while still some looked so full of sorrow that it could move lesser men to tears.

Ghetsis remained wary of the ghosts, quick to wave them off. Countless legends and tragic tales were associated with the Yamask and people who swore to the gods, and even Arceus himself, that the face the ghost Pokémon held in memorial were the faces of deceased loved ones. Worry gnawed at him as he feared that maybe those wild tales were true. Anyone who found a Yamask with their loved one's face usually went mad in the end, as they tried too hard to live in the past, forfeiting the future.

Shaking his head, Ghetsis moved deeper into the temple, following the trail of the path, pondering what the temple's guardian could be—a more useful employ of his mind.

All the temples around Unova had guardians. He shouldn't have been surprised that the Temple of Fire was any different.

According to Lenora's research, the guardian that she had confronted at the Temple of Lightning, or the submerged ruins beneath the waves of Undella Bay, were incredibly powerful Gyarados. The sea serpents were rarely seen in the wild, and those bred in captivity were poor mirrors of what was out there in the world's oceans. A Gyarados would only grow as big as the space they were allowed, but those found in the oceans were borderline behemoths. They ranged in size. Those recorded could easily reach over 55 feet, yet ancient mariners swore that they could reach hundreds of feet long. They mostly lived solitary lives except during mating season. The older the Gyarados, the more elaborate their spines and the longer their whiskers became.

According to the images found within Lenora's research, Ghetsis was actually relieved that they didn't have to deal with the extremely volatile creatures. There were three old bull Gyarados that guarded the Temple of Lightning, and it took everything in Lenora's arsenal to defeat, distract, and disengage the serpents. They had fiercely guarded their treasure, and once Lenora had the Black Dragon Orb in her clutches, they retreated; no doubt aware of the electrical discharge that would soon follow that nearly killed the entire excavation team.

The Temple of Dragons, or more commonly referred to as the Dragonspiral Tower, was guarded by a fearsome Hydreigon. There was rumored to be a Temple of Ice, but nothing found in recent archeological finds had matched up to anything of substance when compared to the legend. There were even temples outside of Unova that housed deadly dragons of legend. The Temple of Time and the Temple of Space were said to house the orbs of their respective dragons, with rumors that a Temple of Darkness had yet to be found. If the legends about the other temples were curious, the rumors about the Temple of Darkness were simply bizarre! Said to be housed in another dimension reflecting reality as the dragon willed it, the dragon of darkness was said to slither between worlds dolling out punishments like some fallen seraph.

Oh… the power that one could wield if all the orbs could be found!

Ghetsis had to close his eye and take a deep breath to calm his excitement.

He was jumping ahead of himself. He had to focus on the now if he ever wanted to achieve his envisioned future.

He continued deeper into the temple ruin, following the Parishioner's Path. He was engrossed with reading a stele that explained a crossroad when one of his staff approached him.

"Sir…"

Irritated at being interrupted, Ghetsis bit out harshly, "What?"

"My lord, we are being followed…" The grunt had knelt to the floor out of respect, every inch the perfect subject, except his eyes were following a form behind Ghetsis that the sage had been too absorbed to notice.

Ghetsis followed his line of sight in time to see the fading silhouette of a ghost disappear into thin air.

"Yamask." The sage muttered, nonplussed. He turned back to the stele, circling the pillar as he continued to read the remaining text that hadn't withered away from time and disrepair. He had no time for ghosts.

They usually left him alone.

"This way." Ghetsis concluded as he turned with a flourish down the right hall, leading his small team deeper into the temple's heart.

A whisper of a shadow followed his footfalls. It danced to and fro, winking in and out of existence. Fascinated with the man walking so brazenly within these ancient, crumbling halls, the Pokémon practically vibrated with joy at the chance to change its lonely experience that was its life. Dripping with sorrows of a life cut short, the Yamask held tight to the only face that it had known: that of a woman. The entirety of the shadow's life had been spent in the dark. The moment the Pokémon had woke to any semblance of living, fractured memories of a time now past bombarded the Yamask. Nothing made sense. Everything was painful. Every memory filled with regret or longing or despair.

Life, memory, and time was like a fractured kaleidoscope that was constantly spinning by some invisible hand. None of the colors, sounds, and scents from a past life made sense while everything in the present was a continuous, monotonous maelstrom of darkness that threatened to consume the sanity of any soul, living or dead. But the moment that visitors arrived at the Relic Castle, somehow memories stopped jumping around and presented themselves in more linear clips.

Grasping on to that steadying lifeline, the Yamask shadowed those who chose to willingly walk into the darkness.

Weaving in and out of the sashaying footfalls of the green haired leader, the Yamask ghosted along with his movements, slowly piecing the chaos into order.

Ghetsis continued to move forward through the temple, unaware that a ghost had attached itself to him. He ran a hand over the walls around him, sifting through the sand that clung like a veil over ancient words and images that hadn't seen the light of day in centuries.

"Clean this wall." Ghetsis ordered, stepping back. Something within the glyphs and pictographs had caught his eye.

The grunts were quick to follow through his command, using delicate brushes to dust away the layers of filth and time, revealing the ancient message underneath.

It always amazed Ghetsis at how much of the structure was left after its initial destruction. The entire top portion of the ziggurat was swept away, with only crumbling pillars and platforms that were left on the desert's surface. Farther to the east there remained a crumbling ruin tower whose purpose had been lost over time. But that ruined tower had long since been picked clean and had little to do with the overall sprawling structure that Ghetsis found himself in now. If only the temple hadn't been destroyed while trying to subdue Reshiram.

"Finished, my lord."

Ghetsis merely nodded, approaching the newly cleaned walls, bright eye searching and reading and absorbing. His perusal was interrupted by a wailing cry of a woman that echoed through the structure. The sound was oddly piercing through the darkness beyond their group, making the walls vibrate with energy as bits of sand shook loose from the ceiling.

As always, Ghetsis stood unmoved by the events happening around him. He had to be that pillar of strength for the men. He cast an eye to his group who dared to call themselves Plasma.

"Stop quaking for your mother's skirts, you're disgracing the uniform." The Grand Sage hissed sharply, not impressed. "There is nothing to fear inside this ruin than your own mind."

"Yes, sir." They answered in unison, stiff from fear of both the eerie setting and their master.

Ghetsis let out an exasperated sigh, ruing the fact that he needed a team with him at all despite the fact that they were sorely needed to document all that he was witnessing. He selfishly wanted to explore the ruin himself, something that he believed was his right by privilege, but again time was an ever ticking factor.

As Ghetsis turned back to the illuminated wall, ready to quickly translate so they could continue on with their main goal, he was visually assaulted by a familiar face. Hissing in surprise, the sage took a step back as he was metaphorically stepping back into his past.

"The Yamask is back." A grunt supplied when the startled leader nearly caused his armed escort to over-react.

The ghost Pokémon held uncannily still as the face it held contorted in obvious distress, its mouth falling open as a supernatural cry spilled from its waxy lips, mimicking the earlier cry from before. The sound that was produced was a poor imitation, but it brought shivers throughout the men who were there, except for the sage.

The color from Ghetsis's face drained, his vermillion eye locked unequivocally upon the tormented face in front of him. The wailing and moaning from the Yamask silenced as the face opened further with emotion, detailing forlorn hope and… Ghetsis's mouth went dry… Recognition.

The grunts watched, shocked, as Ghetsis quickly backhanded the mask away from his face, forcing the Yamask to drop the visage.

The Yamask cried out in despair, the sound completely independent from the cry from the mask, a muted woman's tearful moan. The ghost quickly winked out of existence before suddenly appearing where the wax mask had fallen. Reverently, the ghost picked up the waxy mold and gently brushed away dirt from its surface.

Ghetsis watched, transfixed, as the mask started to cry in the ghostly embrace. A muscle leaped in his jaw as those tearful eyes opened and openly stared at him, its expression filled with betrayal and loss before the Yamask let out a wail and winked out of existence.

Taking a deep breath, Ghetsis turned back to the wall, his eyes quickly scanning while the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. The ghost was still there, still watching him, and still shadowing his every move and it was entirely unnerving. The sage could also feel the eyes of his team watching him closely. He had to be that pillar of strength even while his mind was running wild with possibility and memory.

No one expected for Ghetsis to physically lash out at the Yamask. Everyone could agree that if you interacted with a ghostly Pokémon, it practically guaranteed that the spooky creatures would attach themselves.

Not to mention it was incredibly bad luck to separate a Yamask from the masks that they carried. The boldness of Ghetsis's actions gave confidence to some while it caused others to watch the perimeters of their squad more closely.

"This way." Ghetsis continued deeper into the temple, her voice steady and altogether unaffected by the encounter with the ghostly Pokémon.

The party continued to collect data as they journeyed further into the ruin, but their photographs were plagued with bright spots and cloudy circles, wispy images that seemed to center around their leader. A murmur went throughout the team as some of the images they were taking her entirely unusable due to the interference of the ghostly Pokémon.

"Sir, we have a problem." One grunt finally broke the silence.

"What is it?" Ghetsis asked absently, too engrossed in another landmark to pay much attention.

"Our imaging is meeting interference." The veteran grunt nodded to his digital camera. Clicking through the captured images revealed nothing out of the ordinary, at first. Eventually, however, it became clear that a ghostly Pokémon was increasingly present in every shot with more and more assertiveness. "I've been sending these images back to base camp so they can catalog what we've found, but they recently radioed to me that these are unusable."

Ghetsis frowned.

"Sir, I can't do my job, especially when I can't see what's happening." The grunt was obviously fed up, mirroring his master's frustrations. As if the very mention of the Pokémon's actions were enough to summon the creature, the Yamask abruptly appeared within the visible spectrum long enough to place a ghostly palm on the digital camera, draining the mechanism's battery. The grunt attempted to bat away the offending creature in much the same way as his master had, but with limited success. "And that's the second battery that thing has drained."

"She always wanted to be the center of attention." Ghetsis growled out in the barest of whispers, hardly audible to the man in front of him but it was enough to pique his interest.

"Sir?" The grunt asked, but was quickly silenced by one glare from his master. He had overstepped his boundaries. He quickly bowed and retreated, pulling another battery to replace the dead one in his camera.

"Where has it gone?" Ghetsis asked to no one in particular. It took everything within him to sound steely. He understood all those ghost stories. He understood how some people could spend their entire lives searching those faces for their beloved. A woman's face flashed within his mind, her gray eyes wrinkled with happiness, her laughter like a soothing bell, her wild hair tamed somewhat by a loose braid ringed with wild flowers. He closed his eye, sinking back to a time when his ambitions were tempered by a woman's touch and open heart.

"There, sir." A few camera flashes revealed where the Yamask was hiding and Ghetsis turned to face the same waxy vision of betrayal and agony from before.

As he stared into that familiar face, his mind worked to clamp down his personal longing and lingering regret. She had felt so good in his arms, when she was alive. She fit against him perfectly and worked her personal magic in every aspect of his life. For a time, she had been his and his alone. She had revealed within him a deeply passionate man who ardently wished to fulfill her every desire. She coaxed from him a romanticism he had not known he even possessed and he reveled within the inspiring love that had blossomed like a rose within his heart. For a moment, Ghetsis looked upon the face of the woman he had known years ago with wistful yearning, before his memory turned foul. She had opened a completely new world to him, giving him love and adoration, but that rose of love had thorns and what had been carefully cultivated between them had quickly withered and died.

Ghetsis readied a Pokéball, his hand visibly trembling with indecision. He felt as though he were on a precipice: on one side he could banish this ghostly Pokémon forever from the plain of existence, forever destroying the ghost and mask; on the other he could capture the ghostly visage of the Pokémon and woman of his past and court wistful but brutal insanity and regret.

Should be put his ghostly past to rest for good? His heart wrenched within his chest.

Ghetsis's hand trembled no more.

For the umpteenth time, Kendra tried to access her Xtransceiver and radio for help and for the umpteenth time her attempts met with crushing disappointment. Stumbling along in the near dark with Enki and Sandile as her only companions, not to mention an increasingly sputtering flashlight that was eating away battery life, Kendra tried to keep her composure.

She was failing miserably.

Enki was always quick to touch her calf with his paw, reassuring her that she wasn't alone. It was something that he had done as an Oshawott and he could continue to do so, so long as she wished him by her side. The normally jubilant otter who had always been eager to explore, run, and play, was entirely focused on comforting and assisting his trainer, much to the added perplexity of the shifty Sandile in their company.

Why do you keep touching her? The question almost sounded accusatory if it weren't laced liberally with morbid fascination.

Enki was on his hind legs at the moment, mirroring his human companion, as he kept a paw on her upper calf. He purred a sweet trill for a moment before returning on all fours and scurry to catch up with the quick movements of the surprisingly agile Sandile.

To calm her, Enki simply replied.

She seems fine to me, the Sandile threw a backwards glance at the human behind him and her face was set with rigid determination.

That's her brave face, Enki simply responded. It is how she wishes to be.

Sandile snorted at he stared a bit at the human trailing behind them. She seemed so beaten and battered. She had to be scared. She had to be hurting, judging by her limp as she walked. She had to be tired as her pace became perceptibly slower after each break they took. Yet it was the determination in her eye, the fiery glow of an inner spirit of strength that seemed to keep her going. The sand reptile had to admit that her push to keep going was admirable.

Is she not brave normally?

Enki chirped back to his companion, She is always brave. The otter defended his trainer.

The Sandile was about to respond when they heard Kendra stumble behind them, a hiss of pain, and her collapse to the ground. Enki was immediately by her side, rubbing his cheek against her, chirping his worry and concern, pushing his head to get her to lift hers.

"I'm okay." Kendra croaked, rubbing her leg that had collapsed underneath her. A sudden cramp locked the muscles there, refusing to work properly as pain lanced through the limb. She quickly pressed her forehead to Enki's to soothe his frantic chirping.

Her body was revolting against her and demanded water.

Her extreme thirst was becoming more and more acute as time pressed on. But what was becoming more alarming was her muscle cramping and worsening headache. The dull ache from before had worsened into a pulsating barrage that matched her quickening heartbeat. It sapped whatever strength she had, making her want more and longer breaks as they continued to travel blindly within the ruins.

A quick rest. That was all she needed. It would clear her lightheadedness that invaded in senses like cobwebs. She tried to pinch herself awake, to make her more coherent, but the gathered flesh on her forearm did not snap back to place like it normally would. Instead, her skin was sluggish to react, taking its time to fall back into place. Somewhere in the back of her mind she understood that that was a major sign of dehydration, losing the elasticity of skin. The knowledge did not comfort her, nor did it motivate her to move.

She needs to get up.

Enki glared at the sand serpent, She needs rest.

The Sandile let out a low pitched squeal, clicking its jaws together in a chiding manner. I've seen this before, if you don't get her up and moving she won't ever rise again. The desert is an unforgiving place.

We aren't in the desert! We're trapped in this ruin. Enki protested, his chirping become more furious to Kendra's ears. She tried to focus on the sounds of her Pokémon to clear the fog in her mind.

The laws of the desert still apply, Sandile chomped, nonplussed. What she needs is water. You're a water Pokémon, aren't you supposed to know where water is?

I know she needs water! Enki barred his fangs and hissed at the reptile.

"Guys, it's going to be alright." Kendra pushed through the pain in her body as her throat scraped together in her effort to speak. She brushed a soothing hand over Enki's raised hackles and even brushed her fingers along the scaly ridges tail of the Sandile, who remained still under her touch.

She suppressed another wave of fear and loneliness as she sank further into a sitting position, provoking a strong reaction from the Sandile next to her. The sand serpent clicked its jaws together and swung its tail around to smack the side of her hip, hissing at her before pressing its snout against her ankle.

Get up!

Hey! Get away from her! Enki wedged himself between his trainer and the wild reptile.

If she doesn't get up now she never will! As if hearing his command, Kendra began to move in such a way as to get up, her legs shaky but supportive beneath her. She clung to the wall nearest her for extra support, her brow no longer beading sweat from her exertion.

Heart racing, time ticking, Kendra again looked with longing at her canteen and Enki. Contrary to popular belief, water Pokémon's power over the revitalizing element was entirely circumstantial on how much hydration the creature possessed. And they couldn't exactly conjure the stuff out of thin air either, well, not in dehumidified air like what they faced here in the Desert Resort. Simply refilling Kendra's canteen wouldn't be such a dangerous thing to Enki if they were in normal circumstances, but water Pokémon dehydrated faster than average. She didn't dare ask that of her Pokémon, she would do anything in her power to make sure that Enki was well and safe.

The pair was still arguing even as Kendra continued to march forward, completely aimless in where she was going.

What good is a water Pokémon, sneered Sandile, who can't even find water?

Enki railed against the blatant verbal attack, I can find water! He flared his nostrils in demonstration. His olfactory system was working overtime as he tried to breathe deeply, sifting through the stuffy and dusty scents around him to discover any trace of water.

Sandile clicked, the sound becoming familiar to Kendra, You better and soon, your human needs it.

Enki was again by Kendra's side, waddling next to her on his hind legs, paw on her upper calf, providing as much comfort as possible. The sand reptile was correct. Kendra needed water desperately. He looked up to her side where her Pokéballs were securely fashioned to her belt when an idea struck him. Two noses were better than one.

Hopping up, the blue otter quickly pressed a Pokéball, causing the sphere to enlarge and erupt with sudden intense light.

Sandile quickly sighed and rolled its dark eyes. Great, a dog…

The Herdier quickly barked a greeting to his otter companion and went to work licking Kendra's legs, pressing his nose against her hands, and welcoming the feel of her fingers through his fur.

"Hey, Berrin." Kendra smiled, but her voice was weak. She shook her head as she slowly knelt down to embrace her dog, grateful for his energy. Why hadn't she thought of summoning Berrin to sniff out water? The idea seemed so obvious now. Worry gnawed at her edges as she again thought of water and she licked her chapped lips, picking up more sand and grit rather than soothing the burning sensation of overheated and dry skin. She coughed, covering her mouth as her chest rattled, her headache pulsating in fervent protest. Her expression was far away as she belatedly contemplated what it meant to be trapped, isolated, and dehydrated. Pain and worry quickly flooded through her.

Concern quickly lanced through the dog Pokémon. What's happened?

Enki quickly filled in the terrier while Kendra scratched behind the dog's ears, gaining his attention. "Berrin, can you find any water?" The brunette coughed as her voice faltered. The dog perked his ears and tilted his head to the side before jumping up to lick Kendra's face. He barked in affirmation and set his nose to the ground, huffing deep breaths.

A woman's moan suddenly echoed through the empty halls of the temple, setting Kendra's teeth on edge as she jumped, clutching her flashlight as she speared the surrounding darkness. All the Pokémon around her froze as they listened to the wailing sounded that ended as abruptly as it had shattered the silence.

Kendra's heart raced painfully as the sound threw it off its previous cadence. Her chest pinched in brief agony, causing her to throw a hand over her breast. Please, oh please… Kendra chanted to herself. She had heard that this place was filled to bursting with ghost Pokémon and she hoped against all odds that she wouldn't have to face any vengeful spirits. She didn't know if she could withstand any attack.

The trio of Pokémon sensed her discomfort and pushed forward on their search for water. The temple ruin complex seemed to be like a maze. At times they would cross their own tracks, at others it seemed they had reached new depths. Every now and then their journey would be punctuated by eerie sounds and echoes of voices that were loud enough to hear but soft enough to not be fully understood.

Berrin continued his search for water; his nose had never led him wrong. I think we're getting closer…

How do you know? Sandile asked.

Enki's nose bobbed up and down, I think you're right…

Sandile turned to the otter, How do you know?

But neither question was answered as both Pokémon rushed to the side of their trainer, chirping and barking excitedly before Berrin plunged ahead within the dark, following his noise, and Enki pushing Kendra forward as gently as possible. Sandile quickly followed, close on their heels.

Kendra followed at an even pace, something that was stressing her dog immensely. Berrin was known to have the propensity to dart ahead and lose his trainer, and he was determined to be mindful to not be completely absorbed in his nose and where it led him. The scent of water was becoming more palatable to his superior senses. His ears perked at the sound of moving water, still so far away but yet so close!

Come on! Come on! He urged his troupe.

Overeager, as usual… Enki sighed, making sure to keep his trainer moving. She was getting slower and slower, it seemed. Her energy reserves were flagging. The otter chirped up at his trainer, giving her as much encouragement as possible as he continued to lead and push her onwards.

Sandile sighed, rolling his eyes. He missed the solitude of his desert life already. His midnight eyes peered up at the human next to him. Her breathing had increased its tempo and her straining was obvious, but she was no longer sweating. Concern bloomed within his heart. He may adore his solitary life, but he couldn't bring himself to abandon her. This human had stumbled within his den; a possessive part of Sandile reasoned that event meant that Kendra was his human to take care of for the moment. The very thought made Sandile pause and snort with astonished derision. His human, indeed! If he weren't careful, he would become sentimental towards the girl. Even if she was Hero and dragon touched, even if her destiny was set on course with the world's, that didn't mean Sandile had to get tangled up in it as well.

The sand reptile gurgled in discontent, pushing onward, ahead of the human and her annoying otter. The cold stone that had once been a balmy relief from the heat of the shifting sands was now creeping into his short limbs. The coolness of the dark depths of the temple further sapped whatever heat the cold blooded reptile maintained. If they didn't hurry, more than just the girl's life was at stake.

Eyes adjusting to the surrounding darkness, the small sand crocodile continued his increased pace as before, never dragging his belly across the ground. If he wanted to be, Sandile was quite agile. While he did better in soupy sand, the reptilian could easily scrape and glide its way across the worn stone, following the scattered paw prints of the invigorated lap dog.

Squinting in the darkness, the scaly Pokémon could see the soft shimmer and dance of light up ahead.

I think there's something up ahead… Sandile's squealed pitch was low.

If it's brown, furry, and smells like butt, then its Berrin, Enki sniggered, trying to break the tension.

If Sandile could roll his eyes anymore, he would have, but his nose caught something in the air. I believe it smells more like wet dog than… butt… The distaste of merely saying the word caused the sea otter to double over in laughter before Enki caught his meaning.

I smell water! The otter said enthusiastically. Falling back to all fours, the otter loped ahead of his human, chirping in excitement before stopping on his haunches to stare back at his trainer, chirping and keening loudly.

"I hope that means you found something." Kendra smiled as she quickened her pace. She hoped that it was something worthwhile, maybe at least a nice place to stop and rest, maybe shower, maybe even real beds and clean sheets too! That wasn't too much to ask for, was it?

Head dizzy, entire body aching, and throat and mouth dry beyond belief; Kendra could hardly appreciate the vision before her as she entered into an obviously important part of the temple structure.

She had unknowingly reached the heart of the Temple of Fire. The temple's heart should have been dark and barren like the rest of the ruin structure, but nothing could be further from the truth. A large vaulting ceiling rose up above the confines of the hallways that Kendra had been previously navigating. Along the walls were fractured mosaics that glittered within the soft flames that danced about the room. Two elongated pools of water stretched the entire length of the room. The pools were lined with dazzling mosaic tiles that continued into the retention pools. Segmented evenly and with equidistance between each other and the edges of the pool were pillars the rose just a whisper above the water's surface. Upon those pillars were giant bowls filled with oil.

Kendra quickly approached the pool on the left and collapsed heavily to her knees. Without ceremony she plunged her face and arms into the darkened pool after quickly disrobing her desert gear and Xtransceiver, reveling in the cool and crisp waters there. Unbeknownst to her, the bowls of oil flared to life with orange flames, illuminating the chamber from within. Torches on the wall flared to life as the cloister seemed to be jarred awake from a deep slumber. The growing light revealed more of the temple grounds. The sacred space, long forgotten and abandoned by humans, was still more alive than anyone thought possible. The altar, which stood broken at the back of the chamber, was covered and cradled by luscious green ferns, ivy, and tropical flowers. The back wall seemed to be a riot of color and climbing foliage, a bandage that covered up the damage the temple experienced from so long ago. A small trickle of water trickled and cascaded from somewhere behind the greenery to fall almost silently into the pool of water. It was as if it had been a purposeful irrigation system instead of a happy coincidence.

Kendra shattered the silence of the temple once more as she broke the water's surface, her chest heaving and body shaking from the cold, but her thirst finally abating. She felt like a half drowned Meowth but she'd rather feel that way rather than a burnt Torchic. Water droplets dripped haphazardly around her as she turned to peer at her Pokémon. Both Berrin and Enki were greedily lapping up all they could. Sandile sat a ways from the trio and swished his snout within the clear depths to swallow some of the cool liquid.

Reaching to her backpack, Kendra pulled out her canteen and thrust it into the serene pool, filling it until it was overflowing. Pulling out a plastic bag, she emptied it of its contents back into her pack before using an extra hair tie to fashion a temporary lid to the vessel. She couldn't find the original top to the canteen after her fall and had to make do with what she had. Once that was done, Kendra cupped her hands together and brought water up to her lips, drinking in more of the life giving liquid. After she felt as though her stomach would burst, the brunette set about trying to clean herself as best as possible, laughing all the while. All those scrapes were rinsed as best she could before she splashed herself from head to shoulders, her giggles still erupted from her mouth to keep herself from crying, but she felt she couldn't push the need away inevitably. Pulling her hair from its pony tail, she plunged her head back into the water and carefully tended to the cut at her head, gently probing and cleansing the open wound there. Once she felt satisfied and her lungs intolerant of not receiving air, the girl pulled her sopping head out and wrung her hair to expunge as much moisture as possible before pulling her hair into a messy, sloppy bun atop her head. A sense of serenity washed over her, calming her racing heart and frayed nerves. Unbidden, an image of herself lying in a canopied forest next to N sprung to life within her mind. Relief flooded through her as a true smile graced her chapped lips, her racing heart calmed.

As she did all these menial things, Kendra drank in her surroundings. She marveled at the sudden and revealing light around her and she could see that the walls weren't entirely mosaics of fire, worshippers, or of a white dragon. Five alcoves lined the walls with five more mirroring its opposite wall. Within these large alcoves were statues. Some were covered in moss and vegetation while others seemed to be covered in a layer dust and cobwebbing. Looking closely, Kendra's eyes widened.

They were Claydols.

They were rare to find, especially within Unova. Beginning to count, she lifted herself onto her knees and craned her neck… Nine. There were nine altogether where ten spaces stood. Her eyes scanned an empty alcove on the opposite wall closest to the altar where her eyes widened in realization. A Claydol that stood sentry there had crumbled into disrepair. Only fragments were left behind, an empty shell to reveal what all Claydol really were: golems. Ancient man had constructed these creatures and somehow endowed them with sentience. The science and technology of how to accomplish such feats had since fallen out of known history. The process seemed more magical now than ever before.

Kendra felt sorry that one of their fellows had fallen while the others kept to their silent vigil.

Her cobalt eyes lit up; the back wall seemed to emanate more light than anything else. Getting to her feet, Kendra walked unsteadily towards the source.

When her Pokémon began to make noise in protest, she shushed them, "Maybe there's a way out if we climb up." She said to herself more than to her companions.

Her Pokémon hung back when she made her way to the dais where the altar rested. Vegetation clamored for the source of light. Bending back stems and pushing back leaves, Kendra gazed up and was somewhat disappointed that the crevice of light didn't seem to go anywhere. Pulling back greenery revealed a rather brilliant burst of color on the wall behind the altar. Prismatic and vibrant, hot colors of reds, oranges, and yellows glistened with vitality that belied the ancient structure and clear destruction around her.

Inching herself closer, Kendra marveled at how the mosaic wall seemed to radiate pulsating heat, much like a space heater. Her sun burned skin, now overly cool to the crypt like air of the temple atmosphere, suddenly blazed back to life—but curiously her skin didn't hurt from the extra warmth.

With more curiosity and bravery than she should possess, Kendra's trembling fingers brushed the temple design as her senses tried to organize the bizarre information that bombarded her: the wall seemed to move from her slight pressure, heat immediately radiated up her entire arm, causing her to abruptly pull away. Her finger pads were covered in a fine dust, reflecting the colors of the mosaic before her. She rubbed her fingers together, shocked that the artwork seemed to be made from chalk and not tile.

How was that possible?

When her fingers started to burn, she quickly cried out and frantically pushed her hand underneath a trickle of water from the floral wall, soothing the blisters that threatened to erupt across her skin.

Was this poison? Her mind worked frantically, as she tried to scrub her hands clean, panic set into her again. Stepping away from the overgrown wall, she stumbled and fell, hearing something snap and crack like old egg shells. Her elbow blossomed in new pain as she struggled to get her feet untangled from overzealous vines and roots. As she yanked away her foot, she tore away a curtain of tropical ivy and ferns, revealing a new horror.

Kendra screamed as she scuffled away from the mummified body before her. The corpse was curled upon itself, clothed in ragged and decayed cotton cloth, but it did little to conceal the aged skeleton underneath. Some of the bone seemed to be charred black while others seemed to be died green where golden jewelry touched. Most of the person's hair had fallen out, but there was enough left to reveal that the person used to have long, lovely locks. Her arms were crossed over her chest, as if she were clutching something precious. When Kendra jerked her leg back through sheer reflex, the vines that connected the pair tore at the skeleton's body, abruptly revealing something round and creamy white beneath the clawed finger bones.

Startled, Kendra tried to reconcile what she was witnessing. Was this a recent dead body? Was this a foretelling of her future? Would she ever leave this place? Were her Pokémon doomed as well?

All these questions bombarded her as she had an existential crisis, but as she stared longer and harder at the figure before her, the more and more she understood that his person had been dead for a while. A long while. Probably far longer than Kendra could possibly conceive.

That reassured her racing heart a bit, as adrenalin pummeled through her over tired system once more. The highs and lows of her experiences today were quickly wearing her out into a state of exhaustion.

Enki and Berrin had rushed to her side in earnest, but had quickly quieted and even trembled near her presence.

"I'm okay," the brunette assured them, as her adrenalin rush had abated, fatigue clearly setting in. When she continued to stare at her Pokémon, she went on to explain, "Don't worry, that's not going to happen to us." She had vaguely gestured towards the mummified corpse, blowing on her finger tips to stop the burning sensation. Yet when her Pokémon continued to act strangely, with even Sandile inching backwards, Kendra felt a shiver pass through her. It was as if a ghost of a breeze had swept past her, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end. Goose flesh erupted all up and down her arms, making her suddenly cold, even as a wave of heat intensified behind her.

Something told her to turn around very slowly.

When she finally turned back towards the altar, Kendra was assaulted by the visage of a very real and very close encounter of a behemoth moth Pokémon.

Icy blue eyes swirled with frigid calculation while downy white plumage ruffled and puffed around a slender black face. Overly long antennas feathered and swayed on either side of the creature's face before arching up into delicate points. Deceptively short legs perched precariously upon the empty altar, inching closer and closer to the unwelcomed interlopers. Yet all those details were cursory and forgettable compared to the sweeping wings that fanned in and out, providing balance to the mighty insect.

What Kendra had mistaken for ancient chalk design had in fact been the dusty hues of flame that embodied the sun itself. It made looking directly at the Pokémon difficult because of its brilliancy. It was as if she were looking at a barely eclipsed sun, a flashing corona of light and power and heat, all things to be feared when directed and focused. Heat roiled off the Pokémon in shivering waves, like the wavering of a mirage coming off hot asphalt of a parking lot during the dead heat of summer.

It was no wonder how this giant insect had earned its namesake.

"Volcarona…" Kendra whispered in awe and fear.

The Pokémon seemed to be wreathed in flame as it examined her, searching her face deeply. Enki and Berrin stood their ground, yet it was evident that they were terrified to face such an awesome creature outright. Sandile seemed to hide behind the young heroine, peaking from behind her back.

The insect seemed to pause, leaning forward as far as its legs could muster, beating its wings fiercely once, then twice to maintain its balance, kicking up dirt and debris around the dais. Volcarona swiveled its long, feathered antennae towards the girl before it, brushing either side of her face and shoulders, causing her to flinch at the feather light contact and the searing sizzle of heat that flashed across her skin.

When the giant moth reached towards her face with its labial palpi, Enki finally gathered up the courage to speak, Please, don't hurt her!

The sun moth seemed to finally notice the Pokémon around the human before it and stopped before making further contact with the girl. In a voice that was both ancient and ethereal, the moth simply stated, Harm not the Harbinger of Truth's End…

Enki and Berrin exchanged nervous glances with each other. The dog Pokémon whined and danced closer to his owner, pressing his cold nose in assurance while Enki practically climbed in her lap.

Kendra held her breath, trying not to move as the sun moth seemed to touch and examine her. She was afraid to break whatever spell that had been cast over the insect that prevented it from lashing out at her for simply encroaching on its territory. Her mind quickly recalled her experience within the forests of Pinwheel as she had come face to face with the Guardian of the Forest: Virizion. The guardian was known for being violent against humans who over-stayed their welcome. The brunette briefly wondered if the guardian of this tomb held the same reputation beyond being a recluse.

But as the minutes stretched on, the insect seemed to gently explore the contours of her face, touch her hair, and gaze unflinchingly into her eyes. Within the bright crisp depths she could see an almost endless march of time. As she looked deeper, Kendra could see something else, weariness, age, and loneliness. How long had this insect been down here? How long was the last sighting of a wild Volcarona? Kendra's mind rapidly sifted through her memories. The Elite Four… The Champion, Alder… He was missing, said to have been in mourning over the death of a beloved Pokémon… No one knew exactly which one it had been, but it had been rumored to have been an insect, a moth Pokémon…

Her eyes widened. Could it have been a Volcarona?

Her wandering thoughts were brought sharply back to the present as the sun moth's coiled straw-like mouth unraveled slowly to grip a tangle of vine that had wrapped itself around Kendra's foot and ankle. Tugging softly, the insect's focus was clearly shifted away from her, giving Kendra the ability to breathe again. Her heart hammered within her battered ribcage. Reaching down, Kendra attempted to help the giant moth in its self-appointed task. When her own tugging on the vines caused the vegetation to snap, break, and even pull fiercely against the collective tropical growth along the wall, the moth was quick to restrict her movements with a menacing hiss. Light from the creature's wings burned more vibrantly, rattling in irritation as. But it was the scraping of stone against heavy stone that pushed another wave of dread through the trainer. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of the golems that lined the chamber twist to life, becoming more alert, awakened by the barest commands of the Volcarona.

The sudden rise in tension made Berrin bark warningly to the statues around them and Enki rose up on his haunches to stand in the face of the guardian, hissing in his own menacing way.

Kendra's heart rattled once more, fear lancing painfully down her spine.

The Lady must not be disturbed, the giant moth rumbled like soft thunder, non-plussed by the protectiveness of the Pokémon before it. Her shrine must be preserved for the Ideal future.

The moth continued to gently tug and pull at the tangled vines. Any attempt that Kendra made to assist was met with the creature putting pressure on her shoulders, a sudden flap of its wings, or the most intense stare down that Kendra had ever endured. When she was finally freed, the moth retracted all contact from the human before him to turn to the ruin of the one behind him.

Pushing the remains back into place, the moth attempted to fix what Kendra had disturbed.

Enki kept himself between his trainer and the guardian.

The Lady must not be disturbed… The insect murmured once more, creating a wreath around the woman's body, careful not to disturb her fetal posture. The moth momentarily stopped its ministrations, turning its great head towards Kendra. Your Truth is not welcome here; you shall not take the sphere.

Kendra stared into the knowing eyes of the great Pokémon before her, willing herself to understand what was going on before her. The Volcarona touched the hand of the dead woman with one feathered antenna before reaching out towards Kendra with the other. The young trainer flinched away from the contact, widening the distance between herself and the moth.

Listen… Whispered a voice from within. Listen… it called like a distant storm again. A voice that was now so familiar to her that at times she had mistaken it as her own, the voice that had haunted her dreams since she was a small child, the voice that breathed to life whenever danger found her. Crimson eyes broke through the darkness and urged her forward to meet the moth. She closed her eyes then, just as the barest brushes of feathered wings breezed past her. The connection caused a bolt of lightning to whip through her as pictures bombarded her: the sun and moon chased each other across the sky in a never ending parade of time and space; the woman decayed into a husk; the sands shifted and buried secrets for ages; and the lonely vigil of the sun moth stretched on and on and on. Loneliness yawned awake within her, engulfing her like a miasma. But new words echoed across the desolation: the voice of the guardian.

"You trespass here, Hero of Truth, in a place of long forgotten Ideals, a vision of a future that needs correction. Truth shall be your burden; pain, sorrow, and sacrifice shall be your teacher… May the Lady's wish be made true.

"Evil has come to visit my shrine, an evil that is intent to beset itself upon you…" The moth reached out and touched Kendra's face, forcing her to open her eyes to stare intently into the compounded eyes of the guardian before her. "To heal what has been broken. You are one, and as one you must return." The creature began pushing her away from the altar and towards the now deserted alcove just as strange noises echoed faintly within the temple hall.

"I don't understand…" Kendra whispered desperately, willing the creature to explain. "Please, what does this have to do with me? Why me?"

Enki immediately tilted his head to the side, listening intently as he barred his fangs, feeling ill at ease, What's that?

Berrin's hackles rose, I don't know but it smells bad…

"It is not for me to answer destiny, but rather to assist where one can." How could the creature explain the cruelty of the past, of dragon gods, of selfish decisions made so long ago where that the repercussions still reverberated throughout time and space, that Heroes before her had been born and failed in their duty, that she would most likely fail as well…

Kendra stepped over shattered pieces of Claydol, the golem's body rose like a great shard within the alcove, creating an easy barricade to hide behind. She felt herself being pushed down as a curtain of vines fell back into place, adding extra cover.

"Whatever happens, you must stay quiet…" The Volcarona moved away, severing the connection, and gently placed itself back behind the altar, spreading its beautiful wings to their full length and breadth, distracting any onlooker from glancing with too much interest towards the fallen Claydol and the trembling Hero behind it. If Kendra hadn't already known where the Volcarona was, she never would have noticed the immense creature hiding in plain sight.

Enki, Berrin, and the wild Sandile slid in around the trainer, all protectively surrounding her just as the collection of footfalls grew louder and more pronounced. All blood and warmth drained from Kendra's face when she could finally see the owner of the footfalls.

It was him…

The man from before…

The man who spoke with such conviction in Accumula…

The man who stared her down and stripped her soul in Castelia…

The man who scared the utter shit out of her, if she were being honest with herself, was standing there in all his robed glory, who carried himself with an air of a man who was master of his universe and everything in his path. Ghetsis Brutalli, only it wasn't the same colossus from Castelia, but rather the preacher from Accumula. What was he doing here of all places?

An entourage of men surrounded him, immediately busy with a flurry of activity. Yet through all the chaos that surrounded the Grand Sage, he remained the epitome of calm. Despite the hot temperatures of the desert and the trek within the temple, the sage looked cool, collected, and not at all bothered by the raised temperatures of the temple's heart, made more stuffy and hot by the lit braziers that crackled haughtily along the periphery of the sanctum.

"Sir, we've reached the heart of the Temple of Fire. It should be here." A man dressed in a black uniform knelt in front of sage, who seemed annoyed at being informed about the obvious.

Kendra's eyes widened as a gasp nearly escaped her lips. The man was dressed like a Plasma follower! A Grunt! But this man was vastly different from the white one that Kendra and Cheren had chased so long ago, another quest of rescuing a little girl's Pokémon. Kendra blinked; it seemed like a life time ago. The man dressed in black looked more like a soldier than a devout follower of some new ideal or philosophy. It reminded her of her time at the Nacrene City Museum. This group that called themselves Plasma was dangerous, and there was no one here to watch her back or keep her out of trouble like in Nacrene or Castelia. There was no Burgh, no Cheren, and no Officer Mercer. Her heart pinched when she thought of the cop.

The grunt quickly moved aside from his master's path as the sage continued his purposeful stroll towards the front of the altar chamber. He glanced at the gradual dais, the raised and broken altar, then towards the bright chalk art work behind the structure, tucked partly behind roaming vines and dazzling flowers.

His mouth remained a grim line as he appraised his surroundings. Stepping up towards the dais, the sage brushed aside a curtain of vines from the chalky visage of a bursting twin flame before him, somewhat taken aback from the extreme heat the wall was giving off. He dropped the leafy vines and glanced up towards the ceiling, before turning towards the sound of water. As his feet shifted position, the toe of his boot brushed against the sound of metal that chimed ever so softly from being disturbed.

Looking down, the sage pulled his foot back to reveal a bit of oxidized gold: fine chain, tiny bells, and beaded fringe… delicate work that detailed a fine filigree pattern that had not been replicated since the time of the fall of the Harmonian Kingdom. Kneeling down, the sage pulled back more flowering vine to reveal the desiccated corpse.

"My lord, what have you found?" A grunt asked.

A true smile graced the sage's lips, turning his face handsome, even as shadows danced across his eyes.

"The answer," The sage began to rip apart vines, revealing and exposing the richly dressed corpse, careful to not disturb her dress, her brittle bones, or the green with age jewelry that bathed the now dead person with an air of nobility.

The sound of stone scraping stone echoed throughout the chamber.

"Sir," whispered a grunt, "Look."

Pulling his eyes away from the true prize of the temple, the sage took in the ancient Claydols that suddenly breathed with life. Still as statues, the black golems twisted their heads to arrange their faces to reveal eyes that were now open and focused, gleaming faintly within the temple's heart. All had heaved their great, hulking bodies out of their alcoves, pulling cob webs and vegetation with them. Some were covered with the silken threads of webbing and dust, but the ones closest to the altar were fringed and crowned with creeping moss, vines, and blooms.

"Are they the guardians, my lord?" A grunt had asked, nervous. There were so many.

"How are they standing…?" Another asked, bewildered by the sheer amount of time these golems had to have endured, but more pointedly, all the Claydol were standing upon the water's surface of the elongated pools that lined the temple's heart within the inner sanctum.

"They must be psychic." Ghetsis answered, noticing that the waters directly under the golems were as still and reflective as glass, but the surrounding waters jostled with energy, lapping at the edges of the pool.

He had heard of such things in his research. The creation of golems had been lost over time and while modern man had made many attempts to recreate such techniques as found and perfected by the ancients, all attempts had failed utterly. The hubris of modern man and prejudice against ancient peoples as being nothing more than primitive had always confounded the sage. There was so much to learn from the ancients of the past! Unova was victim of lost arts such as the craft of golem making and the creation of stone guardsmen. The Claydol were imported technology to the Harmonian Kingdom; however, the Stone Men of Unova, more commonly known as Golurk in the common tongue, was original Unovian technology. No one knew how to bind a living soul to earth and rock, but it was said that the Stone Men of Unova were an elite guard unit within Unovian royalty. As the old Harmonian castle, now the Elite Four headquarters was being renovated, Golurk from across the region began to appear and take up their ancient posts to guard entry ways within the castle structure, unbidden. It had delighted Ghetsis and only fueled his ambitions that what he was doing was right.

It would only make sense that such guardians would remain in this sacred place to continue their duty, no matter how much time had passed.

"If they attack, we defend, otherwise, leave them be." The sage shrugged, turning back to the person before him.

"But, sir—" A grunt tried to protest.

"I will not have this place desecrated without need!" Ghetsis bit out, raising his voice to carry his point across. He already had plans cultivating in the back of his mind to restore this once great temple to its former glory. It would serve as a testament to his growing power and his struggle along his journey to restore Unova to its former splendor.

Silence hung oppressively within the sanctum.

Kendra watched as Ghetsis, the Grand Sage, seemed to bow his head reverently in prayer towards the corpse before him. How exactly did this man fit into the picture here? She had never been more confused as she tried to reconcile the powerful business man from Castelia and the charismatic and impassioned preacher from Accumula.

"It is said that before Reshiram was imprisoned after he razed Harmonia to the ground when the Heroes had fallen, a woman stood against the destruction of the known world." Ghetsis whispered quietly, enraptured by the robed skeleton before him. He brushed the barest whisper of brittle hair from the front of the woman's now empty face, shifting threads of gold that once wove through her locks back into its proper place. "History states the woman was Valeina, one of the last reigning princesses of the Harmonian House."

Behind Ghetsis and away from his ear shot, two grunts exchanged nervous glances towards each other as they whispered in hushed tones, "Wasn't that the name of… Heard that name before… Didn't she die… Some sort of accident… His mother…"

Kendra strained to hear what they were saying. She shifted ever so slightly to get a better look, holding her breath as the whispers obscured Ghetsis' words. Her face wrinkled with annoyance before their words suddenly slapped her into paying more attention.

"…lord N's mother…"

Kendra quickly recalled the time when N had burst upon her swimming within Pinwheel Forest. A slight blush colored her cheeks when she recalled their embrace as he fished her out of the water after he had been pushed in. He had been frantic about a pendant, a locket that contained her picture. He had been very closed about the subject, only saying that she was dead, nothing more.

"Valeina died shortly after his brother died…" The grunt said as he gestured towards the Grand Sage. "Apparently, they were in love with the same wo—"

"Quiet!" Seethed a veteran grunt, quickly closing the conversation between the gossiping pair who looked contrite and immediately subservient.

Kendra wondered at what exactly she had heard. Apparently, it wasn't something that was supposed to be passed around within the company of Ghetsis himself. Perhaps the name warranted further investigation on her part, as she itched to write down the information in her journal. Her heart jumped a bit when she thought about sharing this new information with her friends, or even Officer Mercer, before she squashed the idea. She refocused on the sage, noticing that he was pulling the woman's arm down and away from her body. From the corner of her eye she saw the Claydol inched closer towards their main walkway of the room, now standing on solid ground, crowding in the skittish grunts.

They still did not attack.

The fires began to flicker and dance within their bowls, throwing shadows.

"It's here…" Ghetsis whispered in awe, his vermillion eye lighting up with a mixture of relief and something sinister. "The White Dragon Orb…" He reached a leather clad hand towards the glistening sphere, marveling at how the milky white orb, though covered in dust, seemed to move and swirl beneath the surface.

"Sir, according to Orin, touching the orb can be dangerous and could trigger a latent trap." A veteran grunt cautioned.

Ghetsis paused a hair's breadth away from contacting the orb. He remembered the video footage that Orin had sent him of Lenora's initial encounter with the Black Dragon Orb as well as her second direct interaction. Orin had sent him pictures of images caught within still frames of the video of a dark, looming shadow emanating from the orb, jaws open as the dragon of lightning attacked her from inside the orb. If the demonic dragon could do such a feat within its dormant state now, what could the white dragon of fire do now?

"Your warning is noted, commander." Ghetis ground out, taking the chance of dancing with danger. He had been anticipating this moment for decades. He would not be denied now. Not when he was so close! The second dragon orb had been found and soon… Soon everything else would fall into place. He would master this orb, just like all the others.

The moment Ghetsis made contact with the orb, the second his gloved hand connected with the surface, chaos erupted.

Everything seemed to happen so fast! Kendra cowered back behind the fallen Claydol and watched several things happen at once: in one instant the white orb that had captured the sage's attention flared to angry life, blazing red hot as arching flames spiraled from the ancient stone; the braziers of fires burst into towering columns of flames, blinding the occupants within the room with sudden light; the silent Claydol that had stood as reticent sentries throughout the centuries glowed with an ethereal power that all psychic Pokémon possessed as they launched into vicious attacks against the interlopers; the ear splitting cry of the furious Volcarona shuddered through the sanctuary, its massive body twisting towards the sage, wings beating furiously as it filled the room with a devastating Heat Wave.

In the next second: a scream of painful agony wrenched from the Grand Sage's lips as the burning sensation seeped through his palm and lanced up his arm; flashes of bright light erupted throughout the chamber as Pokéballs were released as monsters answered the calls of their masters; Plasma grunts began shrieking as the Claydol sentinels brutally wielded their attacks; a burst of light blinded the room as another fierce Pokémon escaped the confines of its Pokéball to defend the Grand Sage; the mighty Volcarona began to pulsate its wings rapidly, creating a devastating buzz that shook the very confines of the room, causing debris to fall from the ceiling.

Kendra clapped hands over her ears as she scrunched her eyes shut, too shocked to absorb any more of the cacophonous chaos that continued to ensue around her. She felt all her Pokémon companions huddle close to her for comfort and strength. It was all she could do to not spring from her hiding spot and flee.

Another battle cry rattled Kendra's teeth together as the Volcarona continued its Bug Buzz barrage, but another clarion chorus answered the challenge. A monstrous three-headed dragon reared back, jaws open, fangs bared, wings spread wide as it used its hulking body as a physical shield between the violent insect at its front and its master behind.

Kendra had never seen such a Pokémon before in her life. Three massive jaws opened wide to issue a chorus of keening cries, each more ear shattering than the last, combining together to sound like a massive dragon's roar to rival the black dragon cries from her dreams. The hydra planted its clawed feet upon the ground, raising its barreled, scale plated chest as it arched its three heads before releasing a devastating Dragon Breath attack, pushing Volcarona back.

While the indigo serpent possessed sentience in all three hulking heads, it was the middle that proved to be the dominant, as its feathered crested plumage and wildly arching horns flared largest, forming a crown of deep, bloody crimson that stood out against the iridescent dark feathers that ruffled like a lion's mane down its heavily muscled neck. The lesser heads mimicked the dominant one, but possessed smaller crests and wedge shaped skulls. Six burning, crimson eyes focused with deadly intent upon the foe in front of the dark hydra as the dragon flared its slender wings as dark as night to match Volcarona's size while its feather tipped whipped back and forth like an irritated cat.

The two massive fighters sized each other up as a hissed silence fell between the pair. All the chaos of the fighting around them seemed to fade away.

Kendra was on bated breath when Ghetsis Brutalli rose to his feet, clutching his burned hand. He had dropped the fiery orb, letting it roll away into pool on his left. The legends about the defense mechanisms of the orbs were true. They reacted violently when handled. Whether it was from the rage of the trapped dragon inside or that only a Hero's touch would do, Ghetsis would not let either deter him.

He shed his colorful cloak, allowing the heavily brocaded garment to fall away to reveal a black fitted suit underneath. He looked all the more menacing as he focused his vermillion eye upon the temple's guardian, his mouth falling away as he spoke to his Hydreigon, "Kill it."

It was all the permission the hydra Pokémon needed as it lunged toward the brightly colored moth, its jaws open to deliver another dose of virulent Dragon's Breath that was met by Volcarona's flames that wheeled about to meet each breath attack.

The moth rose to the vaulted ceiling with a few beat of its wings, allowing Hydreigon to smash into the altar, effectively destroying it. The skeletal remains of the dead priestess scattered like leaves in the wind. As rock and debris sprayed in all directions, the three-headed dragon raised its heads to hiss menacingly at the moth. Volcarona wheeled about in the air and flapped its wings furiously, creating a bust of wind that whipped throughout the temple's heart, stealing the breath out of everyone's lungs.

Kendra realized the mighty fire guardian was using Hurricane as gale force winds continued to pick up speed, knocking everyone to the ground. The Claydol used their psychic powers to steady themselves, focusing all their energies in staying upright and still rather than attacking. Ghetsis knelt to the ground, trying to stay upright, throwing a hand in front of his good eye to shield it from sand flitting through the air at painful speeds.

Hydreigon used its six wings as stakes in the ground, firmly planting the dark serpent where it stood on its clawed feet. Gazing up with vile hatred, the dragon quickly opened all six wings like sails, collecting the fierce winds to hoist its dense body up from the ground before steering its frame towards the sun moth, barely affected by its attack.

More dragon fire erupted from those three powerful jaws as they focused their attack in one giant wave set against the guardian. Volcarona took the brunt of the attack and instead launched another fiery wave of flames towards the serpent. As the hydra tried to dodge the attack, its wings suddenly froze as its body lit up with psychic energies, keeping Hydreigon firmly frozen in place, midair.

One of the lesser heads managed to arch its head down, red eyes glaring balefully at the numerous Claydol who worked to keep the serpent trapped. A laugh echoed through the chamber as Ghetsis got to his feet once more, "Your psychic powers are useless." His sinister laughter was joined by the three heads of the Hydreigon, who shared in their master's mirth. The dragon's laughter was twisted, like a ghoul in the night, before a wave of dark energy pulsated from the hydra, effectively destroying any mind control the Claydol tried to wield. The Dark Pulses completely incapacitated the golems, opening them up for attack from the other grunts. One by one, the ancient golems began to be beaten back. One by one, their outer clay shells began to break and fracture. One by one, the Claydols began to fall, shattering to pieces on the temple floor.

The hydra pressed its advantage as another wave of dark energy slammed into the sun moth. The insect lashed out with hot flames, each wheel of fire more hostile than the last, but the dark serpent had a significant advantage: the lesser heads could launch their individual attacks, independent of the dominant head. It was as if the guardian were fighting three Pokémon instead of one. The hydra kept pressing forward, barraging the aged guardian with more and more intense attacks, never letting up, never letting the moth recover time or space between defending from attacks.

From her vantage point on the ground, Kendra could see that the sun moth was weakening significantly. She wanted to help. Truly she did, but she watched the battle in absolute terror. The Hydreigon was so immensely powerful! More powerful than the temple's guardian, more powerful than all of her Pokémon combined. She felt Enki and Berrin pressed close against her sides as they tried to hide from the devastating power that shook the temple structure as the two Pokémon continued their showdown.

What could she possibly do?

Ghetsis' words rang in her ears: Kill it.

That was not the way of a true trainer… Horror stretched its slender fingers through her mind, poisoning her thoughts, freezing her heart. She clutched at her chest and brought a hand to her mouth to cover her gasping scream as one of the lesser heads of the hydra found its fangs in Volcarona's abdomen, causing a shrill cry of pain to rip from the guardian's mouth. The other lesser head pressed the advantage and went for the giant moth's thorax, but in the last moment the insect raised on of its legs to prevent the fatal bite. The dark hydra flared its wings to steady itself against the shuddering moth, digging in its clawed feet for leverage. The dominant head roared deafeningly at the fiery moth before ripping its serrated jaws into one of the guardian's wings.

Kendra watched a brief power struggle between the pair as they locked limbs with each other, blasts of heat, fire, and dark energies pulsated off the duo. The brunette hoped against all hope, whispering a fervent prayer to any gods listening to help the might fire insect, to save its life, to allow it to defeat its foe, but all hope was crushed when the middle head of the Hydreigon wrenched its neck at an odd angle before a sickening tearing sound echoed throughout the temple's heart. The fore wing on the right side suddenly fell away like so much useless tissue paper, falling in a cloud of orange dust. Suddenly it was the dark serpent that was keeping the insect aloft. Its wings beat furiously to keep them both in the air. Another cry of agony echoed within the temple as the Hydreigon swung its entire body around in an abrupt circle before throwing the ruined and bleeding body of the fallen guardian atop the shattered remains of the Fire Temple's altar.

Kendra pressed both hands over her mouth to prevent herself from screaming in horror at what she was witnessing. She could still feel the connection to the insect from before, could still remember its loneliness, emptiness, and heartbreaking honor to continue its solitary duty. So forlorn. So utterly alone. She looked about herself to the other Claydol. Only three remained standing, still fighting, but they were quickly being overpowered. All their psychic abilities kept getting nullified by the dark pulses of the Hydreigon, muting their effectiveness in battle. They could no longer support their fallen guardian.

Tears streamed down her face and wet her palms and fingers as she tried to remain as silent as possible, feeling utterly useless and powerless in the situation. She refused to close her eyes to shut the vision out before her. It was the only thing she could do; watch the last defining moments of Volcarona's sacrifice to keep his charge safe. Her entire body quaked with the overwhelming feeling of her sorrow and impotent rage. It was so unfair! The guardian didn't need to needlessly die!

But what could she do? All her Pokémon combined couldn't match the ferocious power of a single Pokémon of the man before her, Ghetsis.

Whatever happens…

Kendra's eyes watered over more as she remembered the last command that the sun moth had given her.

You must remain quiet…

Did the guardian know? Did the physical embodiment of the sun here in Unova know that its life and vigil was coming to an end?

The Hydreigon landed heavily upon its feet before rushing towards its fallen foe. The serpent placed one clawed foot on the moth's thorax, just below the insect's head, arching all three of its serpentine necks back to issue a call of victory that was so uproarious, that the very walls of the temple shook.

What could only be blood dripped like fire from gaping wounds from Volcarona, staining its once white plumage to a deep purple. The creature tried to struggle against the power and might of its opponent, but all it could muster was a faint cry of protest. That sound was suddenly silenced forever as the Hydreigon used all its weight and force to crush the life out of the once proud guardian.

Kendra's vision blurred as more and more tears poured from her eyes, her breathing became erratic as she tried to control her crying, having never witnessed murder in her life and having since started on her Pokémon journey she had witnessed the dying breaths of a woman who had her throat slashed and an assassin who promised to do the same to her, and now she watched a trainer unleash his serpent upon another Pokémon and end its life in the most brutal battle she had ever seen. Around her the bowls of fire that had once been pillars of searing flame began to die down, one by one extinguishing themselves. It was as if the life was going out of the temple as the last vestiges of life bleed free from the Volcarona. A single Claydol remained, battered and cracked from its ferocious fight, but as the fire guardian fell, all spirit to fight drained from the golem as it ceased to function. It just stood there in the middle of a crowd of grunts and their respective Pokémon, doing nothing.

Pain, sorrow, and sacrifice shall be your teacher…

A muffled sob escaped her as her heart hammered in her chest.

"Come, Dreico." Ghetsis beckoned, the dragon obeyed.

The Grand Sage cupped the dominant head's snout within his unburned hand, patting its nose for a job well executed.

"The orb," he whispered to the Pokémon.

The Hydreigon hummed low in its chest, the sound becoming a hiss as one of the lesser heads dipped its neck into the water, fishing for the lost orb while the dominant head continued to enjoy a brusque caress from its master. The lesser head hoisted itself from the still waters, its jaws hyper-extended to fit around the white sphere. Ghetsis only hesitated for a moment before holding out his hand for the orb. The hydra dropped the prize in his master's palm, humming quietly, watching as its master held the White Dragon Orb without much issue.

"Thank you, Dreiyo." Ghetsis murmured.

The orb still flared with white hot intensity, but it did not lash out as it had before. The temperature of the sphere continued to climb, causing the Grand Sage discomfort, but the other lesser head of his Hydreigon presented him with his discarded cloak to serve as a medium to hold the orb.

"Dreigo." Ghetis nodded, wrapping the orb in the folds of fabric before handing off the precious prize to one of his grunts.

"It's done, let's go." He ordered, his voice all business, as if he didn't just assist in the murder of nearly a dozen Pokémon.

"What about the last golem, sir?" A grunt asked.

Ghetsis arched a verdant eyebrow at the unmoving statue. "Document what's left of the space, gather up the woman's bones, and leave that behind." He gestured to the Claydol that was on the verge of utter destruction from the looks of it. "It won't survive long."

The grunt withdrew their Pokémon and set about documenting everything that was around them, but it was all cursory. Kendra had to hide and be as still and silent as possible when the flashes of camera shots pointed her way. She closed her eyes and willed herself to control her tears by concentrating on moving her toes within her shoes to distract her as much as possible.

When all sounds seemed to have dissipated, Kendra took a chance to peer from her hiding place to discover that she was alone in the fading light of the temple.

When she thought all was silent within the temple, a sudden heaving and wheezing rattled the silence.

Scrambling out of hiding, Kendra raced toward the oozing and injured body of the Volcarona, crying profusely as she gathered its head to cradle it upon her lap. Her hands were suddenly slick with deep, violet blood that cooled too rapidly to the touch. The great moth was a shadow of what it was before. Fore wing missing, the rest of its wings drooped haphazardly about itself, most of its brilliantly hued powders scattered the ground like glitter. Its great abdomen rose, shuddering, before falling quickly from the sheer force of will to breath.

"You're okay…" Kendra cried into the great mane of the moth. "You're going to be fine, you're safe now…" She ripped open her bag and began to pour potions over the wounds the Volcarona had endured, but no matter how many she used, the wounds were too great to be staunched by a few flimsy potions. What she needed was a PokéCenter. What she needed as a Full Restore, a potion so expensive that she couldn't justify draining nearly all her cash to purchase one. How she regretted the decision now. It would take some sort of miracle to save the great moth.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" She chanted over and over as she tried and failed to save the moth with her meager parcel of potions. They weren't working. Every time the creature breathed the freshly closed wounds would quickly reopen.

Enki and Berrin stood by her side, bowing their heads while Sandile watched the entire scene from afar, astonished to see the naked emotion that the human was displaying over a Pokémon that wasn't even her own.

The great Volcarona shifted its head as best it could to gain a better look at the Hero that cried over it. Its feathered antenna reached for her face, softly caressing her cheeks, trying to catch and dry her tears.

Stop… The moth tried to say, it's alright…

But its voice was too far gone.

The room grew more and more dark as the life ebbed from the guardian.

Kendra sobbed more as the antenna continued to caress her cheek. She cupped the feather like touches to the side of her face and closed her eyes against the painful sight before her. Slowly, images began to creep across her mind of the now broken altar and the curtain of vines and beneath them… a silken bundle.

"What—What is that?" She wondered, her voice breaking. She gazed down at the sun moth but all that was left was its body, its spirit having bled away.

Kendra drowned her tears in the downy softness of the moth's mane, rocking its great head in her arms as she mourned for the trauma and loss she felt. The room became more muted as all light began to fade entirely. Her head whipped up as she suddenly picked up that there was no sound in the temple's heart. No trickling of water. She glanced up to the flowering vines and lamented that they would wither and die too, just like their guardian.

She got to her feet, placing the sun moth's head gingerly back to the ground before making her way towards the foliage, pulling and pushing back the thick, verdant curtain, the reveal something silken, satin, and warm.

Capsuled within a woven, silk pouch that clung to the roughed wall was… "An egg sack…" Kendra whispered in awe. The Volcarona was not gone for good. She would make sure that these eggs would not suffer and die in total darkness. Ripping open her pack, the gently pulled the egg sack from the wall, making sure to keep the structure in tact before placing it within her backpack for safe keeping.

"I will keep them safe." She promised to the fallen moth, bowing respectfully towards the beast. "Thank you, for everything…" She bowed once more before backing away slowly, making her way through the growing darkness. She needed to find a way out of this waking nightmare, and soon if she wanted to keep her promise.

If she was going to get out of Relic Castle, she knew that there was only one option. Her aimless wanderings had by pure coincidence brought her to the heart of the ruin and with that water. Kendra wasn't going to be a kite blowing in the wind. Not anymore. Gathering her courage, she knew she had to follow the very group that wrought such terror just moments before.

With determination and false bravado, the brunette reasoned that she should use them to find an exit and attempt to leave before any detection.

She could be stealthy when she needed to be.

As long as she didn't gain the attention of Ghetsis Brutalli, a man who lived up to his name and suddenly threw a dark shadow on every word that he said regarding the safety of Pokémon, then she should be safe.

By the gods above and below… This man didn't even show remorse when he had slain Volcarona, a rare and beautiful specimen. She closed her eyes as she remembered her mother. Her father had been mean to Pokémon before… She remembered when she was little that her father had kicked one before. Her mother had always told her: if a person could harm an animal without remorse, it was not a stretch to assume that was how he treated people as well.

Unease roiled throughout her stomach as she drew her own conclusions about Ghetsis Hydrei Brutalli: this man just might kill me…

She approached the edge of the Plasma party as they traveled further up the temple. Kendra could feel the gradual incline become a bit more pronounced the further they trekked. She felt as if she were climbing. She made sure that her feet were on sloppy sand and not the gravel or scraped stone brick of the path they followed, the Parishioner's Path as she heard one grunt say. The sand cushioned her footfalls and muffled any sound that she might make. Her Pokémon followed silently behind her, careful to stay alert. The general atmosphere of their troupe was somber and low, having witnessed the death of a great Pokémon.

Kendra did not complain about the almost break neck pacing that Ghetsis had set for his men. It felt as if they were finally getting somewhere.

Thirst clawed at her throat and she desperately wanted to refresh herself and her Pokémon with the canteen in her pack, but she wouldn't dare, not when the makeshift plastic bag top could alert Plasma to their presence.

After what seemed like an hour, a burst of light suddenly appeared and Kendra scrambled to hide her and her companions from view.

One of the veteran grunts began to radio in an update, "We've made it to the forward camp. Break down in progress. Expect us in the next fifty-five minutes." The grunt gaged his digital watch and checked a times sheet. "Sir, we have a small window if we want to leave before the next satellite sweep."

Ghetsis nodded, "We've got what we came for. I do not want our success jeopardized by being sloppy at the end. Is it one of ours?"

"No, my lord, it is one of Nacrenae's. We couldn't buy off the flight path."

Kendra's eyes widened. Nacrenae… As in Lenora Nacrenae? This was the second time that Plasma was making a point to get caught up with the accomplished Nacrene City gym leader.

Ghetsis tisked with his tongue between clenched teeth. "She shall not have what we found here. She already possesses the Black Dragon Orb and can hardly contain it."

"Sir!" A grunt ran up to the Grand Sage, moving easily through the rest of the group that dashed around the camp like mad to break their settlement. They were relieved that the mission had borne fruit, since the sage seemed to be in lifted spirits. "We've been sending all data that's been collected back to Orin for cataloging. He found something you should see, my lord."

Ghetsis nodded before he was handed a digital tablet that had a prototype filing system of all the information that had been organized so far, but with the massive amounts of information yet to be digested, the sage was impressed with what Orin had accomplished so far. The youngest Shadow Triad certainly was working overtime.

A window popped up on the screen and suddenly, as if mere thought had summoned the Shadow, Orin appeared. His mouth began moving but no sound was heard. Ghetsis raised a brow as he gazed at the grunt who presented him the tablet.

"Oh!" The grunt realized, pulling the BluTooth device from his own ear and handing it over to his lord so that he could hear what the Triad had to say.

Once the device was secured on his ear, the sage could suddenly hear the Triad, much to his dismay.

"—nd there was so much information spilling into my server that that almost crashed, and boy, would that have been embarrassing—but how can you really blame the system when I've submitted numerous requests to get an upgrade to the system; which will better serve me, I mean, you too of course, but I hardly think you could handle the machines down here since you're analog and—let's face it—I'm digital—" The Triad rambled rapidly, making Ghetsis's nerves grate with irritation.

"Orin, report."

"Of course, that's what I'm doing before you interrupted me." The technological Triad proclaimed in an admonishing tone. When Ghetsis gave him a hard look the young Triad quickly tacked on, "My lord." Yet the tone was capricious.

"Open up the file that says: FT-IS, then click on the sub folder number eleven M." The Triad instructed, suddenly all business, or at least a young man who pretended to be all business.

Ghetsis tried to find the correct files, but as Orin had said earlier, Ghetsis was analog. "Just show me what it is you want me to see. Continue with this kind of behavior and you shall be reprimanded." The sage warned, earning him a few quick glances from the grunts that were rapidly breaking down the camp. He would not allow Orin to treat him as an inferior and no doubt the cunning Triad was recording this session between them for posterity.

"You're right, I'll be faster." The Shadow Triad smiled broadly, his golden yellow eyes crinkled with mischief as he cracked his fingers before clacking them upon the keyboard from his end, effectively taking over the tablet that Ghetsis was holding. With his mouse, the Triad opened up the correct file. "Fire Temple – Inner Sanctuary, sub folder eleven, miscellaneous." The Triad hummed to himself as the folder opened, revealing a random collection of poorly shot photographs that the team had taken, some were test shots, other were blurry, and others were simply non-usable.

Orin placed the photos in a slideshow and pressed "PLAY", pleased as freshly squeezed punch.

When the slideshow ended and the nonsensical photos went dark before revealing the assorted folder again, Ghetsis looked nonplussed towards the Triad.

"Did you see it?" Orin asked, his eyes hopeful.

Another test, Ghetsis scoffed. How observant was the sage lord? "What am I supposed to be seeing, Orin, I've no time for this." The Triad was about to retort something smart when Ghetsis's focus was suddenly sharpened to the background of Orin's office as a pair of gears, which looked suspiciously like a Klink, rotated across the screen behind Orin's head. "What was that?"

Orin's head quickly swiveled left then right, before his laughed off the question and decided to ignore it, "Let me play the slide again." Orin's communication window minimized, yet his sound was still on as he played through the slideshow once more. Ghetsis rolled his good eye when he could clearly hear in the background in loud whispers, "Klinky! What did I tell you about photobombing!" but in more directed tones towards Ghetsis, "Pay attention to the broken down Claydol in the alcove."

Ghetsis did as he was instructed, gazing intently at the photographs before his good eye widened. When the slideshow was over, Orin's message window reappeared, his face more stoic than normal as he awaited his lord's reaction. When none came, Orin supplied, "You're not alone." He stated simply before staring at Ghetsis a little while longer, while one of his hands was trying to shoo away something off screen. Ghetsis made it clear that he was not pleased, in more areas than the obvious that Orin had presented. As the silence stretched on, Orin made a slight laugh before waving at the camera before saying, "Orin, over and out!" The screen went blank as Ghetsis handed off the his ear piece to the grunt but held onto the tablet, using the touch screen to filter through the slideshow again, but this time focusing on one particular photograph.

No one could hear the conversation between the Triad and the sage. Orin, while grating to work with at times, was always professional where it counted.

Kendra waited behind a pillar some distance away from the group as she waited for them to continue moving. In just a few more moments, she would be free of this place and so far she had yet to be detected. If the gods were on her side, then she would survive this.

"We have an intruder on our hands." Ghetsis suddenly announced.

Ice water ran thick through Kendra's veins when she heard his velvety voice make such an announcement. His tone was so nonchalant, and seemingly amused, if she were not mistaken.

"Sweep the area."

The grunt immediately carried out their lord's command, arching out from the perimeter of the camp and working ever outward.

Kendra's heart slammed in her chest as she realized her hiding spot was compromised if she remained. As quickly and as silently as possible, she scrambled away from the advancing light and sought shelter within the deepening darkness of the temple, trying to go back the way she had come without getting too lost. But her stealth was less than be desired and she fell right into a blatant trap. In escaping the searching flash lights she practically fell into the arms of one of the grunts who searched in the dark without one. Arms suddenly appeared around her middle as she was hoisted from the front while her Pokémon broke loose in pandemonium.

The brunette struggled violently against her captor, wriggling her arms to try to gain freedom while kicking her feet out wildly, when suddenly and without much thought, she brought her head to crash into the grunt's with tremendous force, breaking his grasp around her as they both fell into a heap. But she only traded one captor for another has more hands sprang into place on her arms, shoulders, and waist.

"Let me go!" Kendra screamed as she was dragged back to the forward camp to face a menacing line of Plasma grunts and the dark figure that was Ghetsis.

When she was brought before the evangelizing preacher she was restrained by two grunts, one on each arm, while the others held on tightly to her Dewott and Herdier by the scruff. Enki curled his lips back into a menacing hiss as the extra skin around his neck was pulled back painfully. Berrin tried to lunge away from his captor who had a big hand buried in the scruff of his neck as he barked as dangerously as possible, but there was no overpowering human at his back without using force. Both Pokémon were sure that their trainer would not be pleased if they resorted to violence, but both would not write the possibility away if given the order. They would do anything to protect their trainer. The only one missing was the elusive Sandile.

"Kendra White." Ghetsis's rich voice reached her ears, causing her to freeze, turning her head to the sound of her name. She swallowed thickly. When the dark clad leader was standing before her, merely inches away from her, crowding her, she had to admit a few things: he was incredibly tall, over six feet, and that didn't lessen his intimidation factor; even though the man was missing an eye, the piercing gaze of the other was enough to spear anyone into compliance for fear of what terror lay behind that malicious vermillion orb; his pale skin and sylvan colored hair reminded her so much of N that it made her ache a bit in longing, as if she missed him; and the hard look upon the man's face held no mercy.

"H—how do you know my name?" Kendra asked, her voice unsteady.

Ghetsis ignored her question and instead gazed at her, appraising. Kendra felt exposed, stripped naked, and there was nowhere to hide from that dissatisfied glare. She flinched away from him when a hand grasped her chin, wrenching her head back as he got a better look at her. She matched his baleful glare with one of her own, clenching her teeth as she huffed her displeasure, trying to toss her head away from his control, but his grip was like iron. He let her go before reaching for her long, brunette locks, rubbing them between his fingers before letting them fall back into their messy place.

Kendra couldn't help the burning she felt in her cheeks from embarrassment. Here this posh and put together business man, preacher… whatever he was… was poking and prodding her, obviously evaluating her physical appearance and that vain part of her couldn't help but protest her current, miserable state.

He was judging her and found her wanting.

Instead of beating her down, it only sparked resistance within her heart. When he reached for her again she wrenched herself from his touch, kicking out with her feet in defiance.

Ghetsis was not impressed, even as his mouth curved into a sinister smile. "How you've ensnared my son, I will never know." Before Kendra could even process his words, his hand connected to her face with a resounding slap.

Kendra hung limping within the restraining arms of her captors, completely shell shocked. She had never been slapped before in her life, let alone with such force to the point where she saw stars in her vision.

"I almost lost him to your little romance…" Ghetsis whispered in her ear, crowding her space once more as he grabbed her chin and made her look at him. She closed her eyes from fear, all the bluster from before draining from her. "Look at me." His velvety tones commanded. "Look. At. Me." He said more forcefully, digging his fingers into her jaw line, coming dangerously close to her throat. Her blue eyes revealed her initial fear, becoming breathless with his aggressive man handling, but as they retained eye contact her defiance in her eye, the setting of her jaw, and the calming of her breathing returned.

How he wanted to snuff her existence from this world… but caution stopped him. It was the death of one of the Heroes that lead to the utter destruction of the Harmonian Kingdom. As much as it would please him to end her life or keep her imprisoned indefinitely, he could not. Instead, as a smile curved his features, he would shape her, twist her, break her.

"It seems odd to find you here, now, in this very moment of triumph." He went on, his voice oil slick, making goose flesh erupt up and down Kendra's arms.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She ground out.

"And your infatuation? Will you deny that?" He purred, his words deceptively calm that was fooling no one.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Kendra repeated. She didn't know what to call what was between her and N.

"You will NOT lie to me, Hero!" Ghetsis roared in her face, all rage and hatred, putting more and more pressure around her jaw. "Why are you here? Have you come to steal the orb? Have you come to challenge me?!" He barked in laughter at that final question, finally letting go of her face.

Challenge him? Who exactly was this guy? Kendra trembled, not missing what he had called her. How did he know? Unless N somehow talked to him... His son? Was it really true? The first time N and Kendra met was in Accumula, right after a rally orchestrated and dominated by the man before her. Not once had the mysterious guy ever mentioned that the orator upon the hill had been his father. In fact, getting any information out of N was nearly impossible. He only mentioned his mother because he had thought he had lost his pendant that held her picture after their tumble into the river in Pinwheel. When she had tried to garner more information on what he knew about the legend of the Heroes, he had distracted her and left her feeling betrayed when he disappeared on her.

"Answer me!" Ghetsis seethed, his impatience stirring.

"I don't know!" Kendra wailed, not know what else to do. She needed time to think. Too many questions were up in the air, confusing her, and she simply could not deal with everything that had happened to her. "I don't know what you want! I don't know what you're talking about!"

Another slap connected her face with intense pain.

Ghetsis was seeing red at her words, so much like N's when he questioned him about his secret rendezvouses with her.

"You do, Kendra White. You think he would not tell me who you were? What you were doing? How you tried to poison him?"

Kendra glanced up then, feeling her stomach drop. "I don't even know who you are! Or what you want! Or what this has to do with N! Let me go!"

Suddenly his hand was around her throat, wrenching her head up and back while his fingers squeezed, clamping down on her wind pipe. The hands restraining her arms suddenly fell away and by sheer reflex her tiny hands clawed at his to find sweet release. Air quickly became precious.

He gazed at her, his calculating eye piercing through her as she struggled. Now was the time to test his hypothesis. He squeezed his hand a bit harder, hearing her choke drowning against the sounds of her Pokémon snarling and straining against their captors. He examined her then, her injuries, and took stock. He wondered if the bond conveyed all that the other felt.

"Do you dream of dragons?" His voice was calmed as his injured hand, the one that had first touched the White Dragon Orb, found its way to the wound at her head and pressed.

Whatever breath was left in Kendra suddenly escaped her in the form of an agonized scream. She felt whatever scab had staunched the flow of blood tear itself free as blood ran freely down her forehead, running into her eyebrow before spilling over to threaten her vision. When Ghetsis made no effort to relieve her of her pain, Kendra used all of her power to nod her head when she finally realized he was looking for answers.

Anything!

Anything to stop the pain.

"Reshiram or Zekrom?" He asked again, terrifying Kendra with the malicious gleam in his eye. When the girl merely stared at him in horror, he found another wound, he elbow, and attacked the abrasion there. "Fire or lightning?" He asked, an edge in his voice.

Kendra screamed again, panting as her voice shouted out, "Ze – Zekrom!"

"Do you know what this is?" Ghetsis gestured towards the White Dragon Orb that lay partially exposed from his cloak.

Eye searching, Kendra coughed as she was shoved to her feet. Down on all fours, her lungs gasped greedily for air. She couldn't get enough now that her throat was free. The brunette clutched her jaw, feeling pain blossom there, deeper than the wounds that Ghetsis had given her. She was sure a bruise was already forming, purple and angry. She searched for strength inside her, for the voice of comfort, for the ever present connection that she yet understood, but emptiness was all that awaited her. Alarmed as the hollowness spread, an entirely new pain erupted within her chest, heart, and head.

A hand suddenly wove its fingers through her hair, holding it tight against her scalp as he neck was bent backwards at an odd angle, forcing her to look at the white sphere that this man had killed for.

"Tell me what that is!" Ghetsis demanded, his voice harsh as he continued to pull Kendra's hair back and up, forcing her to rise on her knees as her hands went to his to mitigate the pain.

"I don't – I don't know!" Kendra wailed, sucking in air between her clenched teeth, trying to will the pain away. Before she could comprehend the relief of having the vicious hand removed from her aching scalp, a heavy leather boot suddenly connected to her ribcage, toppling her over her side with a high pitched yelp. The water she had drank in plenty before gurgled up from the pit of her stomach as she heaved it out.

Ghetsis's face remained unusually placid as he relived a memory similar to this one. Except he wasn't in control then, like he was now. Everything that the grand sage did was a studied effort of carefully checked emotion. He would never allow his passions to make him see red. He had almost lost everything on that fateful day, he would not lose control like that again.

His leather boot rested on the injured knee of the Hero at his feet, his handsome face marred with evil intent.

"Do you know who I am?"

Kendra continued to dry heave all the water from her stomach, wretching until her entrails twisted and knifed her with misery. It was all she could do the shake her head.

Her Pokémon continued to stretch and strain against their captors, ravenous for revenge on behalf of their trainer.

Don't you touch her again! Enki roared, feeling a surge of power flow through his veins. Never before had he wished to wrought such violence against another living being as he did now. He wished that he possessed more power. He wished that he was strong enough to protect the ones he loved. He wished he was strong enough to be a true companion of a Hero. He snapped his jaws together and twisted his elongated body to try to attack his captor directly.

Just when Enki was about to turn his wrath on those around him, he heard his trainer scream, "No, don't! Please, don't!" Something cold was pressed to the back of his head. He couldn't turn to see it. The hand at his neck prevented that. But the feeling of cold steel did not escape him.

"Tell your Pokémon to stand down." Ghetsis stated coldly, sneering at the vulgar display.

Kendra felt sheer terror fill her as she watched a grunt push a gun to the back of her otter's head. She couldn't help but see the cooling corpse of Volcarona lying dead and lifeless upon the temple floor and didn't want to see such violence exercised upon her beloved Enki. She didn't know what she was saying anymore. Anything to stop what was happening around her. She felt powerless. She felt weak. She felt alone. She felt frightened.

Her words suddenly were caught in her throat as another slap connected to her face. She was beat back to the ground.

"Do you know who N is?" Ghetsis asked, continuing his line of questioning. "Do you know what he is? What you are?"

Kendra froze, tears streaming down her face. She did know, but did she believe it. Ghetsis must have seen the answer in her face fore in little time he pressed his dirties boot into her knee, the one she hurt when escaping from the wild Hippopotas. Stars burst across her eyes as white hot pain licked up and down her spine. She screamed her pain, but no one stopped their leader, no one lifted a finger to help her.

A ring suddenly broke the spell that Ghetsis seemed to cast over the people around him, pulling the sage away from his tortuous machinations.

"Sir, it is for you." A grunt presented Ghetsis with a satellite phone. The device was large, unwieldy, with a thick antenna the pivoted on top of the phone, but it was the only thing that could pick up a phone call within the temple's depths.

"What?" Ghetsis asked curtly.

The smooth tones, dead pan and emotionless, the trade mark of the eldest Triad, picked up on the other end, "My lord, you were right."

Ghetsis's eye blazed with vindication. "Evidence?" No one could hear what the Triad had to say, his tone soft.

"New bruising under the jaw, extremities, and torso."

Ghetsis remained silent as he stared down at Kendra with an imperial gaze, eye hard and unreadable. When a smile broke apart his lips, a low laugh bubbled up from deep within his belly as he ended the phone call and tossed the phone back to the nearest grunt. The connection between Heroes was real, measurable, and growing stronger as time wore on. Perhaps his end game would wrap up tidier than he anticipated.

With renewed savagery, Ghetsis pulled the girl to her knees once more, kneeling behind her, too close for her comfort as she felt the heat roiling off the man. He pulled her to her chest and more fear permeated her being. What would he do next? She almost became irrational from the mere possibilities. His injured hand caressed the side of her face, her neck, the outside of her heaving breast, down her tender ribs, the outside of her hip, while breathing in her ear, "I would ask him." His hand angled her head to gaze at the White Dragon orb. "Ask him how the world will end in fire. Ask him how he will end your way of life. Ask him how he will destroy everything you hold dear. Ask him…" He paused, wetting his lips, "how he will end your very life."

He shoved her to the ground then as he got to his feet, brushing his hands together as if he were trying to wipe away filth. "Gather her up, bind her. She'll be leaving with us to the surface. Radio base camp to prepare them for our arrival. Inform Novus that he will have a new charge to watch over."

Everything happened so fast for Kendra. She felt weak, on the cusp of losing consciousness. All she wanted to do was escape. She barely had the strength to stand, let alone fight the hands that she felt upon her. No matter how gentle the Plasma people tried to be, everything hurt.

The world around her fell dark and she sank blissfully into nothingness.

Darkness cloaked her, but the darkness was not empty.

You shall not fall, Hero…

It was that voice… The one that whispered to her in her dreams, the one that terrified her since she was young, the one that growled low within her subconscious.

I will not see another fail…

What is it you want of me? She asked the darkness, tired, heavy, and weak.

Everything…

Something shifted in the darkness, big and hulking. The sound of scales scraping stone. Claws digging into the ground. A great weight shifting, settling, moving. The sound of rolling thunder, distant and muffled, but growing louder. Heat lightning raged in quick succession in the distance, as a great shadow of a dragon moved against an unseen force.

I have nothing, I am nothing.

The great beast before her turned away from some distant plight, as lightning zinging and arched across the sky in a heavy burst, lighting up the black form. Zekrom's might and sheer size dwarfed her subconscious. Her thoughts could hardly comprehend the dragon's obsidian scales, or glowing ember red eyes.

You are a Hero and you shall not fall or fail. Your destiny can no longer be ignored; fate demands action. The dragon's head turned back to the aggressive lightning that sent roiling thunder rattling the confines of its cage. The light became brighter as the lightning gained more and more strength. Look…

She did. There was no threat. There was no command. There was no fear. Not like when she was awake. The sky somehow became translucent, the clouds pulled back into a thin mist, revealing a familiar face, tortured into pain and anguish.

Seek me there, in your world. Set me free. Heal what has been broken. End it all.

Lenora's face disappeared within the dark fog that was Zekrom's prison.

How? Kendra asked, still feeling small and weak.

The black dragon stared her down, lowering its great head to be level with hers. Its short snout twitched as its nostrils flared, breathing in her scent. Static electricity crackled within the dragon's nose. There was power oozing in every crevice and plane. Its crimson eyes glared down at her, not with malice, but with strength and encouragement.

With all my powers! The dragon unleashed a deafening roar, opening its massive maw, penalized teeth flashing dangerously, as light yawned bright with increasing intensity; a vast bolt of lightning hurled itself towards her, striking her, infusing her with kinetic energy too intense to spark pain.

Suddenly Kendra was wide awake, grasping as she jolted upright, eyes wide. She had passed out, but it didn't seem for long. They had somehow dragged her out of the temple to their base camp; which whipped about frantically from the ongoing sand storm. A grunt stood near her, but no hand was upon her. Energy zigged through her again as she quickly made a gut decision, the eyes of Zekrom still burned into her mind's eye.

It was all true.

Her dreams, visions of dragons, the ending of the world, prophesy and Heroes, fate… Zekrom… Her mind finally accepted the truth. She would not run from it. She had an ancient dragon watching over her, a legendary beast! She felt untouchable in that moment.

Quickly getting to her feet, Kendra bolted from the camp site, running around the temple grounds towards the front. She felt as hand try to grasp at her, but she wrenched herself free, hands tied behind her back.

"Enki! Berrin!" She called hoarsely into the storm, summoning them to her side. The dog and otter sprang free from their captors and darted after their trainer, knocking out grunts who tried to stop her progress.

Almost there, Kendra thought desperately. If she could make it to the front of the temple, if she could weave her way through the forest of Zen statues, if she could just crest the dune, she could disappear.

A phantom hand reached out and grabbed her by her loose ponytail, her bun having fallen free from its tether from Ghetsis's rough handling, jerking her head back abruptly, almost knocking her off her feet.

"Where are you going, you little bitch?" A sinister voice caressed the back of her neck, sending a chill down her spine from the familiarity.

"Enki!" Kendra cried, frantic.

"Definitely not a Bianca." His words echoed the first time the assassin had used her given name, from their first encounter, the time when she literally ran into him at the Nacrene Museum. "And you can't be Cheren," the voice laughed darkly, "Kendra." The way he said it, drawing out the sound like a lover would, made her skin crawl. "We never got fully acquainted. That will be remedied."

He made to bring her back to camp, back to Ghetsis, back to Plasma, but he was rudely interrupted by a vicious attack. Out of nowhere Sandile resurfaced, locking its powerful jaws around Novus's ankle, biting deep, not satisfied until blood and sinew saturated its tongue.

The attack surprised the pair, allowing Kendra to break free and continue on her mad dash away from the temple. Her dog and faithful otter joined Sandile's attack, making sure that the savage assassin could not pursue the girl so quickly, before being shaken off by glinting steel and rapid gunfire.

Tears streaming down her face, Kendra made it through the sleeping Darumaka and deeper into the raging storm.

She called to her Pokémon to follow her, but her mad dash made it impossible to be sure if they were following. The abrasive sands that once drove her to find shelter was the only thing that could conceal her escape and she prayed to Zekrom to give her the strength lead her to safety.

This chapter gave me SO much trouble. At this point it is as good as it's gonna get.

Several things happened simultaneously across chapters in terms of events: Lenora being attacked by the Black Dragon Orb, N experiencing Kendra's pain during her capture, Sec'Lor observing. Dunno if I conveyed that accurately, but whatevs…

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It's nice and long, like my gaps between updating. Sorry. Thank you for your patience!

Please READ & REVIEW, I always appreciate your feedback!

Best wishes,

BVR