Philip's P.O.V.
*****
Knocking the dungeon Pokémon out from our way made it easy. Teamwork, huh? Team-what? It sounds like it doesn't even exist. It was done by yourself. It was not the thing that did it. How naïve are these Pokémon right by my side.
Explosions of attacks thundered across the dungeon walls, enough to frighten a large Pokémon. I smirked as I released a huge burst of electricity from my Discharge, paralyzing some of the dungeon Pokémon on their spot.
I looked around to see Kate, expecting to see her using her signature moves: Ice Beam and Sheer Cold, but instead, she was using normal attacks; series of multiple punches, various kicks and occasional clawing at her poor targets. Quite impressive, huh?
I turned around and saw Zora with her Night Daze, taking down some of our opponents in a single blow. Sun was picking some of them with Telekinesis while Lance fired multiple Aura Spheres at them.
Blake was with Aiden while Lonnie fought alongside Kate; the Leafeon summoning a volley of Magical Leaves in the air. It seemed that these two are sisters. Not like the literal thing, though...
"Don't just stand there!" Zora roared. I scoffed. A quick leap sprung to my legs as I bounded with great heights, my Thunder attack collapsing in a row of unfortunate foes. It caused a grin to cross on my lips; we've finally cleared this floor.
"A job well done," Kate remarked. I huffed and stood proudly straight, knowing I could do it by myself.
"You did a pretty good job too." I told her. Looking straight at her, I saw that the same red shade was tinted across her face, betraying the vibrant blue on her fur. I chuckled as I started up for the stairs. Blake gave a smile at me and I returned the gesture, briefly considering it.
Come to think of it, why did it seem familiar?
Blake's P.O.V.
*****
Looking back, I saw that he returned the smile to me, bringing a pang of familiarity inside me. He looked like the Philip I knew from the past, except that one was still a young little cub that used to be my partner in the old days. The old days where the guilds still consider two Pokémon alone as a team that is strong enough to handle anything.
Except that they changed it from one reason: Philip's dissappearance. That reason kicked me out from the guild for being alone... and most of all... losing a team. It has been bugging me for quite some time now, but I need to let it go. Just like Lonnie told me...
Taking a step, I trudged up the stairs, tailing behind my team. I missed the old days and I wanted to start all over again. And now, its been really good to me. Having Lonnie, Kate, and Philip made life even better for me, and without them, I wouldn't be back with great adventures that'll bring us together.
With a smile, I trotted towards the others, happilly joining them to the last floor. It kind of pissed me to see Sun flirting with Lonnie, but I just shook it off. Besides, she shares the same feelings for me, right? No? Then its time to show this Sun that Lonnie... is going to be with me...
Katherine's P.O.V.
******
By my side, both the Alpha and Omega braced together, making me glad to have new friends by our side. We made this far and we should never give up. The objective was to bring Guildmaster Sceptile's niece to safety and we still saw no sign of her.
I whipped my head to both sides, desperately trying to accomplish this once and for all. All of our hard work shouldn't be for naught and I swear we would never fail the guild. The dungeon Pokémon were moving fast. Hastily, I crashed my Iron Tail to a Feraligatr's stomach, trying hard to bring it down.
"Any sign of her?!" I asked Blake. It spurred the Charmeleon for a quick sprint, scanning his surroundings.
"I see her! There, on the left, she's hiding herself behind that hole!"
"Perfect. Thanks Blake! Zora, on your left, you can see a hole, right? She's right in there and we need your illusions to get past them and get her!"
"Noted," She answered and dissappeared. A wave of hot water from Scald swiftly crashed on my side, causing me to yelp in pain. Panting heavily, I turned, expecting to see the Pokémon to hit me with another attack, but instead, it got swept away with a Solar Blade. Lonnie rushed to my side. She never told me that she replaced her Leaf Blade with a new move.
"Are you alright?!"
"I am, thanks. Its only a slight burn."
"Slight?! Kate! Can't you see its worse off than that?!"
"What?" Flustered, I took a glance on my flank. I winced. My fur was singed and my flank throbbed red from the heat.
"You got some claw marks on your arm! Can't you see you're worse off than me?"
"Forget it." She says, giving off a smile. Unlike the Lonnie I know who was known to be a slight coward, I could only see a grass fox who was etched with a fearless personality. She seemed to be more confident now. Lonnie winked and let forth a Leaf Storm, ignoring the recoil.
I smiled and a Blizzard ripped my surroundings. My ice swept over to the permafrost, seen as newly-made snow. Benefits from my rigorous training paid off and brought my stamina to even greater heights, which meant that I could easily overcome fatigue.
Tail swinging back and forth, the familiar sphere of ice greeted me back as it illuminated a clear light of azure from the charge. Chills rushed from my chest and traveled towards my throat; I was thankful that I never coughed nor spluttered from its charge.
Ignoring my sore limbs, I positioned myself into a stance and fired it to Aiden's left, where a Snover was about to pummel the unaware Absol to his skull.
"Thanks!"
"Don't mention it!"
"Got her!" Zora exclaimed as she ran towards us, carrying an unconscious Treecko around her arms. Any encounter with the Pokémon in here was deadly for children or cubs, but surprizingly, the little one made it. A huge electrical discharge captured our eyes and it was no wonder who caused it. It was Philip. Both teams assembled to the far side of the floor.
"I-Is... s-she all... r-right?" The electric fox panted. His breathing was shallow and his left forepaw was limp.
"Y-Yes." Lance told him.
"What happened to you?" I asked the Jolteon.
"N-Nothing at... a-all..." He replied. I noticed he was sweating a lot and it was obvious he was in pain. Hesitantly, I lifted his paw for a quick look. A deep, straight cut trailed on his paw and it looked worse than I imagined. I yelped, backing off as I felt a drastic shock running down my paw and into my tail. He was injured.
"I'm sorry. I... I didn't mean to zap you..." He stuttered. Squinting my eyes, I turned to look at my paw, which had a spot of thick, crimson liquid. It was blood. But it didn't come from mine. It was his.
"Come on, don't be drastic and let me take care of it," I urged.
"He won't," Sun muttered. "He's always independent as always. Won't even let us help him as he gets into trouble or that. Let's just go..."
"Sun..." Philip whined. The others followed the Espeon upstairs, ready to return.
"I don't know if you can do it..." Lance whispered to me. "But can you make him see that he shouldn't rely to himself that much?"
"I-I'll try..."
And with that, Lance left and joined the leaving group. Philip scoffed and sulked.
"Hey. Are you al-"
Glaring daggers, the Jolteon whipped his head to face me, locking his gaze.
"Can't you see I'm not?!" He snapped, lips curling back to reveal a short, devastated snarl. I shook my head and sat down. Uncontrolled electricity travelled around his pelt, threatening to zap me for a second time. I stared, unfazed; never seeing him as unnerved as this.
"You're being immature and childish today..." I sighed. His ears drooped in guilt as I held his wounded paw, and taking off my scarf, I gently patted the cut, hoping to stop the blood flow.
"Why do you... care...?" He asked, desperately trying to find the answer. I smiled gently and crossed my forepaws.
"Because, that's what friends do," I chirped, empathetically.
Philip's P.O.V.
*****
"Because, that's what friends do," The authentic ice fox chirped. She said it genuinely with pure conviction, her words piercing through my heart. Glancing incredulously, I stopped, just to look at her straight to the eyes. Even my electricity stopped in a halt. I couldn't believe it. She considered me as a friend though I considered her as an enemy I need to despise.
She was in the light side while I live in the dark side. She's good while I'm evil, residing in the unknown where no one cared or thought about. So why consider me a friend? I cause nothing but trouble.... and most of all... pain. So why...?
"I asked the same once," She mused. "Thanks to the legendaries. As I said, they're the ones who brought me in here in the first place, and I had no idea why. A human girl without friends except... for w-wild Pokémon in the forest. But in here, I got friends. Real friends that care and loved me like we're actual family. Like an empty bottle which got eventually filled with waters of happiness. So, why are you asking me why I cared? I had to repay you for all the things you've done to help me, especially back at the time where we first met in that certain dungeon. Helping each other without something in return for material things. And that... that's what friends do. Now... we're even."
With drooped ears, I stared at the snow-laden ground, blinking gently before collecting myself.
"You're right," I replied, casually. Smiling gently, I locked my eyes with her; the ice fox smiling brightly with those bright, cheerful sapphires. I admit that I've been a terrible friend to Sun and Lance. Shouting and asking for something with the lack of magic words, acting like some fiendish fox, hurting their feelings.
I can't believe she made me see things in a different way, far different from Norsoe's teachings.
I don't know, but I'll just let this slide for once, human girl.
Again, she gently touched my wounded paw. Closing her eyes, the Glaceon paused, and ran her paw over the deep, painful cut. To my surprize, she was suddenly enveloped with a clear, blue light.
Shards of ice started crystallizing before my very eyes, spinning incredibly fast before settling themselves on my wound, immediately turning frozen solid. Part of me wanted to panic, but my other part ordered me to trust her. And I trusted her. I stared until it became too bright for me, forcing me to close my eyes.
A few moments later, I finally opened them, revealing to see my fully healed paw. Kate opened her eyes and gasped in astonishment, hardly believing it.
"D-Did I just seriously do that? Did I just... h-heal you as quickly as this?" She asked, incredulously as if she didn't know she was the one that did it. I raised my paw to see my wound, but it wasn't there. It was healed.
"You've got to be kidding me. Thanks, Kate-ey cake!"
The Glaceon blushed and smiled in happiness.
"No problem, Philly!"
Eliciting series of chuckles, I gave a nod and we followed the others, giving sighs of relief as we saw they never made it too far for us to never reach them in time, yet. It seemed peculiar about the thing that happened earlier, but, thinking about it just made me cool off and made me smile in relief.
Katherine's P.O.V.
******
-------
With a bow after being elevated to gold and receiving Guildmaster Sceptile's never-ending thank you's, both teams bade goodbyes and parted ways. It made me feel a bit lonely, but I knew this wouldn't be the last time we'll see the Alpha and Omega together as one team.
After a long walk towards Lonnie's house, both she and Philip waved goodbye and turned to rest for the night, while Blake and I went back to our own house. I volunteered to cook for tonight, since I saw this old cookbook on Blake's shelf and I guess that it should be the time to try something new.
With full stomachs, we said our goodnight's and went inside our own rooms. I dragged myself to bed, weary and tired, not even bothering to take the scarf off. I sighed, heavy eyelids threatening to close anytime without me being aware. I yawned and drifted off without a care in the world.
-------
"I see you discovered the Giving Crystals," Irazi spoke. Confusion spread across my face, but I kept my cool and shrugged.
"The Giving Crystals? How come that I didn't know about that?" I asked the dragon of wisdom.
"A true hero searches for what he or she can give," Irazi stated. "And you happened to discover one of the things your power can give, as giving is more important than receiving. You should be proud of that, child. The Giving Crystals exist to give, not to take. You can only heal for others' need but you're unable to heal yourself with that. Remember,"
"I understand." I told her. Momentarily, I could see her express a frown, and I had no idea why.
"Child-"
I gasped as Irazi and my surroundings altered into naught, dissappearing as darkness engulfed the bright light of the dreamworld. It took quite some time to collect myself before rambling in the darkness, chills running down my spine as I tried hard not to panic.
"Irazi?! What the heck is going on?!" I shouted. Echoes bounced mockingly back into my ears, forcing them to droop. Adrenaline pumped through my nerves, triggering a vigorous stride; though my paws barely elicited any kind of sound. I rushed, sprung into a quick ramble of pace.
"Could this be, the unknown hero, standing right in front of me, which is actually a weak, tiny Glaceon? Pathetic. Arceus should think twice about sending little girls to clean up my 'mess'. What a pity," Norsoe's voice echoed wickedly. Angered, I let my growls reply to his horrendous surprize. He gave a laugh as he seemed to circle around me in mockery.
"How cute. I see that you chose Ice out from the eight elements. Breakable by Fighting and meltable by Fire. Such a poor choice of types. Just like your parents..."
"Don't you dare mock and talk trash about me and my parents! Pathetic?! Arceus and the legends were the ones who created you in the first place! And yet you betrayed them just because you let your lust for power consume you?! How could you?!"
"Created?" Norsoe fumed. "I was formed with nightmares and dark thoughts. No one, even Arceus, could have created such a powerful being like me..."
"Is that why you sought for revenge just because they banished you to the outskirts of the world and yet giving Giratina a second chance to change?! And killing my parents just because they were the former heroes in this damn prophecy you were talking about?!"
"Oh my... dear..." Norsoe seethed, revealing himself in the darkness along with glowering red eyes. Trailing crimson red served as powerful armor, connected with a pair of Yveltal wings, which belonged to Orion himself, death circling round. "-no one will ever understand. About your parents, hmm... interesting. Truth is... you can get them back..."
"Preposterous!" I screeched, barely considering to yield. "You're lying! Don't even consider me to be a part of your useless organization to take over the world! Because I won't! Never!"
"Really? I didn't expect that from a lowly, sawed-off human like you. With our powers together, mine and yours, we may be able to control the world and bring it to greater heights. I guess I was wrong..."
"You were always wrong. No one can distort the world into one who was much worse than it is unless people and Pokémon believe that goodness and justice will prevail to make a better world of goodness. And that includes me..."
"Then suffer!" Norsoe snarled as an invisible force forced me into lying sprawled on the ground. Cries of pain echoed among the darkness as it carried more to even greater pressure, enough to paralyze me. With gritted teeth, I tried to endure my tormenting woe, glaring daggers at the villain who is the one I am destined to oppose.
"Look at how helpless you are now. Can the legends and Arceus help you now? Feel free to shout for help, but no one will ever hear you in my world."
"A-And I... w-won't..." I spluttered, struggling madly to get up. "I-It'll be pointless... t-to shout for help... f-for the fact- that I... c-can also defend... m-myself..."
"Well, that's too bad because you can't do it now for today..." Norsoe cackled as he dissappeared in a flick of a claw. I gasped as my surroundings distorted into some kind of forest. Screams and wails of fleeing Pokémon smashed against my ears, eliciting a gasp of sympathy from me. The urge to help was strong and a blast erupted from myself.
Relieved to feel that I wasn't under Norsoe's power anymore, I stood shakily to get up and rushed towards the poor inhabitants. One of them was about to be struck to the side with a powerful , and I was about to push him away, but I just passed through his body. It struck the Pokémon with an overwhelming blow, causing him to fizzle and die before my eyes.
Blood trailed and revealed in sight, causing a painful grimace to etch on my face. With drooped ears, I turned and strode towards the opposite direction in a state of awful sadness. Dark clouds cloaked the once blue sky and all, followed by a murky, dense fog.
Pulses of vague worry pumped on my nerves as I began to see Norsoe's towering figure in the distance. Anxious, I stared with an open muzzle. The same Umbreon and the Flareon caught my eyes again. This time, I saw them as pained, cowering figures, lying weakly before Norsoe.
"Deliah..." The Umbreon yelled in a whisper. Though in pain, the Flareon reached out and gave the Umbreon a nuzzle on the cheek.
"I-Its all right, Stephen," The Flareon sniffled. "But... how, a-about our daughter? She didn't... d-deserve this... f-fate..."
"I-Its going to be alright..." He stuttered. Familiar names circled inside my head, causing great grief to myself.
"You are such failures. I couldn't believe that Arceus would send total weaklings to defeat me. Such a disappointment that you failed. What a shame that the legends are forced to see their so called heroes die. Goodbye!"
And with that, Norsoe slammed an Oblivion Wing on the two eeveelutions, destroying their lives and distorting parts of the forest into a deserted land.
Deliah...
Stephen...
M-Mom and Dad...
Bursting into tears, I collapsed, my face and paws drenched in tears. Altering back into darkness, Norsoe laughed, seeing me in my weakest state. I was vulnerable and helpless right now.
"You will meet the same fate as your parents," He sneered. "-clawed into shreds by cruel fate, bound in chains of slavery, crying for mercy! Lie wait, and watch as I'll break every single bone in your body, including that precious little heart of yours, little hero. Just wait, and that will happen..."