Once more running his claws through his red hair, Zoroark felt an inexplicable itch in the back of his head. His better judgment told him not to needlessly worry about every single new arrival that came into No Man's Land, while his paranoia insisted that cloaked creatures were always those that have something to hide.

Zoroark let a bothersome sigh escape him. He had more important things to be thinking about, and knew he was just using the new visitors as an excuse to shun his duties. The vacation he had taken after narrowly surviving the encounter with Entei had been far too short, forcing him back into work before any of his limbs had fully healed. He cracked his right wrist a few times. It still did not feel quite the same, but at the very least it was not as bad as when it had been but a bag of tendon and shattered bones. He was reluctant when it came to letting the already suspicious Chansey take another look at it, but preferred it over his precious hand requiring amputation in the future.

Looking down upon the city of No Man's Land, Zoroark spotted a Gabite and Quagsire carrying boxes of sand through the streets. They had found many such boxes randomly strewn about the city, and later dug a hole by the outskirts which they planned on filling up with pure, clean sand for all the ground-types to enjoy. Zoroark loathed sand more than anything else, but had allowed it to be done for their sake. He took comfort in the fact that he would at least not have to get near the thing, and hoped they would figure out a way to keep the sand out of people's eyes should a storm ever pick up.

Thoughts moving on to preparations for poor weather conditions, Zoroark suddenly heard a few light knocks on the door.

"Come in," he said coolly, knowing there was only one Pokémon in the world that would knock instead of just entering the room. As he had predicted, the door slid open to reveal the large tuft of white cotton he had come to recognize so well over the past few years. Zoroark's flowing red hair was no slouch in the size department, but was still no competition to the small Whimsicott who was literally more hairdo than body. Those shameless enough to nestle up against the soft texture would find that the body underneath was nearly completely wooden, save for a few joints and amber-colored eyes that could apparently be seen in the dark. Zoroark was not certain about the last part, having had perfect night vision for as long as he could remember.

"Sir..." the Whimsicott whispered quietly as he peeked inside from the open door, "... You have a visitor, one that demands to see you in private. Should I send her away?"

"Depends. Is she a legendary with bloodshot eyes and an angry snarl?" Zoroark responded immediately, wondering if the naïve shrub would catch on to him for once. A subtle tilt of the head and thoughtful expression told him that was not going to be the case.

"Hmm..." the Whimsicott mumbled, "Allow me a moment to verify-"

"A joke," Zoroark interrupted him while holding up a hand in a stopping gesture, "I told you before, everyone is allowed entry, always. Send her in and leave."

"Leave, sir?" the Whimsicott asked while showing uneasiness. Ever since Entei's assault during a time when the Whimsicott had been out on the field, he was always nervous when it came to leaving Zoroark alone with unfamiliar Pokémon.

"Go..." Zoroark mumbled, trying to think of some random menial task to send the Whimsicott out on to give him and his guest some peace and quiet, "... Go check on the canal work."

"Yes, sir!" the Whimsicott replied, still worried but glad to at least have a destination. His head disappeared behind the door one more, as a different head suddenly poked through it. Apparently it was only a moment's hesitation, as the new arrival quickly looked back before fully entering the room.

"Hey, I'm sensing something!" Lucario said triumphantly while turning his head to the side, expecting the eager face of Zerobi to be looking back at him, awaiting his news. Instead, he was met by the sight of her with her face deep in an occult magazine they had found earlier in an abandoned store. She had pointed out that the store was not as much abandoned as it was currently serving as a home for Bidoof and Rattata, but Lucario had not paid notice to anything but the fact that there had been no food left on the shelves.

"Mew, I presume?" Zerobi mumbled slowly, caught up in an especially interesting passage about the legendary lake trio and lifting her head a little. There were many different Pokémon walking all around them, so she decided to keep her voice down.

"Do you see me dancing in joy?" Lucario asked, grumpily trying to get Zerobi to look at him, "No, it's... It's kind of hard to explain."

"Something to do with that thing underground again, then?" Zerobi asked in return, this time lowering the magazine and idly watching Lucario through the corner of her eye.

"No... I mean, yes... I mean..." Lucario tried to answer before pointing in front of him, "Something similar to it has just appeared way over there."

Zerobi looked in the direction he was pointing. Three very small Pokémon seemed to be playing tag in one of the grassy sections of the road, two of them losing miserably as long appendages suddenly stretched out of the third and grabbed a hold of the others.

"Not that! It's much further away!" Lucario insisted as he pointed past the playing Pokémon.

"Outside the city?" Zerobi muttered while longing for the days when she too had been able to have fun with others, "How's it similar? Is it something powerful or something familiar?"

"... Both," Lucario responded after a second of thinking, "And not only that, but... They're similar in other ways, too. There's a certain likeness between them."

"You've got that right," Zerobi snickered as she started reading her occult magazine again, "Neither are Mew, neither are actually in the city and neither should be diverting our attention."

"Don't talk to me about diverted attention!" Lucario shouted angrily as he tried knocking the magazine out of Zerobi's claws, the agile dark-type casually moving to the side while continuing to read a section regarding Uxie and his alleged ability to erase memories.

"While no one actually remembers him doing it, we consider this to be a sign of forgetfulness which further supports our theory..." Zerobi read out loud before throwing away the magazine with a disappointed expression, "... Wow. I can't believe I used to read this drudge."

She turned her head to the side, expecting the annoyed face of Lucario to be looking back at her, awaiting his relief now that she had gotten rid of the paper. Instead, she saw him running off somewhere, and immediately became painfully aware of just how much he and probably she too stood out in the crowd while wearing a cloak.

Running up to him, she noticed that he had stopped in front of a peculiar store. Every other room on this street was bustling with Pokémon going in and out of them, while this one looked both dirty and deserted. Looking up and squinting her eyes to read the sign, she understood why this was the case.

"Restaurant..." she read out loud before turning towards Lucario, who had a very excited look on his face, "You don't honestly think it's still in business? No one but you would ever even touch this stuff."

"Which means there should still be plenty in storage," Lucario answered happily as he licked his lips. Ever since they had left the Meganium, Lucario had dreamed of once more wrapping his tongue around tasty food. Without an ounce of hesitation, he opened the doors to the restaurant and went inside.

Zoroark examined the new arrival carefully. The Pokémon that entered was a Pachirisu, a name he hoped he would not be asked to pronounce anytime soon. The short blue stripe running down the Pachirisu's head showed Zoroark that she was female, and her unrecognizable smell told him she had only been in No Man's Land for a few days at most.

Despite everything from the yellow cheeks to the long bushy tail looking like normal, he could immediately tell this was not a regular Pachirisu. The few he had met had been skittish creatures, bouncing around with silly grins across their faces. This one, however, had a very serious expression, looking both left and right as if expecting to be pounced by something from the shadows. Zoroark might have considered this suspicious had it been anyone else, but felt confident enough in his combat abilities to not have anything to fear from a tiny electric squirrel.

"No need to be so nervous..." Zoroark said as he jumped down from his perch by the window, "You wanted to see me about something?"

The Pachirisu felt her pulse speed up, realizing just how bad it would be if she appeared to be fearful or unsure of herself. She looked Zoroark deep into the eyes while straightening her back in order to gain back authority, something easier said than done considering that Zoroark had just become twice as tall after standing up.

"Please, do not be afraid at what I am about to show you," the Pachirisu said as clearly as she could, "I mean you no harm."

Not giving Zoroark a chance to respond, the Pachirisu closed her eyes and braced herself for what was to come. She had spent a long time analyzing the structure of the building, knowing the exact location of every unwanted viewpoint and potential entryway so she could use her powers to seal them off. In this closed off environment, she was finally free to reveal herself.

Darkness filled the inside of the restaurant. The evening sun seeped in through a window behind Lucario and allowed him to see a little, but it was more difficult to do so the further in he looked. The light bulbs had long since faded, and remained as untouched as the tables and chairs they had once illuminated. All in all, Lucario was surprised to see that the store was not as big as he had expected and had a long bar table at the end, reminding him of a pub rather than a restaurant. He was also surprised to find out that the joint was not empty.

At the very edge of the bar table, sitting in the darkest corner of the restaurant was a Pokémon. Lucario could not tell the exact form or shape of the creature, as it was cloaked in a purple haze which seemed to distort everything around it. The shroud gave it an air of mystery, and Lucario was glad to see that while the stranger was larger than he was, at least it was not nearly as big as one of the legendary dogs.

Letting his eyes drift, Lucario spotted something he recognized on the table in front of the mysterious stranger. It was a half empty bottle, the label of which said "Berrybrew Pecha". Lucario remembered hating this brand of alcohol in particular and shook his head to clear his mind. Berries were the absolutely last thing he wanted to think about right now.

"That's a Gengar," Zerobi stated, having better eyesight in the dark compared to her companion. There was a tinge of worry to her voice as she remembered killing a Gastly in the past, and realized how bad it would be if this Gengar had any relation to it. Not wanting to take the risk, she quietly slipped outside as Lucario moved further in.

"Hey, you!" Lucario shouted as his stomach growled lightly, "Where's all the food kept?"

The Gengar remained completely still, the gas enveloping him swirling a bit.

"Ain't nothing for you here, kid," a deep monotone voice emanated from the ghost-type, "Berry deposit's two blocks further."

"Not that..." Lucario muttered before taking another step forward, "I mean, human food!"

This time the Gengar lifted his head a bit, or at least what Lucario assumed to be his head behind the thick purple mist.

"Spoilt... Thrown out..." the Gengar explained while staring up into the ceiling, "... And buried."

The realization hit Lucario like a stack of bricks, and his face fell flat. Over and over again he had promised himself that once he got to No Man's Land, he would loot them of every grain of rice until he was sated. His hopes shattered and his mood distraught, the bottle of alcohol that stood on the bar table was beginning to look very captivating.

He had never been much of a drinker, but after all the crap that had gone down since becoming a Lucario, he felt it was time to at least give it a try. He approached the strange Pokémon who paid no attention to him, continuing to face the ceiling as if he had been left alone again. Quietly yet swiftly, Lucario reached out for the bottle.

The Gengar's hand had grasped Lucario's arm before he could even touch the drink.

"I wouldn't," the ghost-type said coolly, an icy cold pair of eyes staring down Lucario from behind the veil of smoke. The Gengar's hand was cold and wet to the touch, refusing to let go as Lucario tugged against it. A feeling of urgency struck Lucario as he reached out with his senses to determine just how strong the Pokémon he had pissed off was, but was thrown off track as another more important aura instantly flooded his mind.

Zoroark's eyes widened as the Pachirisu's feet suddenly started growing. Her ears bent themselves to the side while her eyes expanded. Her mouth was pushed downwards on her face as the yellow pouches of electricity retracted themselves and disappeared from sight. The long bushy tail shrugged once, letting a large amount of white and blue hairs dwindle to the ground and leaving a thin, almost skeletal pink tail with a bulbous end behind. With the tail followed the rest of the body, shedding every strand of hair as only a fine pink fur underneath remained.

"It's Mew! She's in the city!" Lucario stammered in shock as he turned around, only now realizing that Zerobi had not followed him inside. Suddenly, the grip around Lucario's arm tightened. Turning his head back towards the strange Pokémon, he was about to apologize in order to get out of there as quickly as possible.

His plans instantly dropped as he saw the full face of the Gengar, having burst out towards him from the hazy gas. Gone was every notion of peacefulness, the icy stare having turned into a fiery glare of hatred, searing his own eyes with intensity alone. A mouth had appeared on the face, large and sharp teeth gnashing together as if belonging to a predator moments away from the killing blow. Letting his arm go limp, Lucario felt his knees grow weak in terror as he slumped down on the floor.

With an annoyed gruff, the Gengar suddenly let go of him and disappeared behind the cloud of smoke again. Zerobi came inside to see what was happening, when Lucario suddenly stood up and ran for the exit, not wanting to question the stranger's change of heart or ever see him again.

"A fight!? Why!?" Zerobi whined desperately as they sprinted outside, regretting that she had left Lucario to his own devices for even an instant.

"Never mind that, I sense Mew!" Lucario said as he almost bumped into a Pokémon that looked like a tree, "She was in disguise, but now she's herself again! I know where!"

Lucario jumped over a Pokémon that looked like a budding flower, almost landing on another one by mistake. Zerobi used her superior speed to quickly run ahead of Lucario and stand in front of him with arms outstretched.

"Way to not draw attention to yourself, asshole!" Zerobi hissed angrily, "Slow down! Pretend that you're jogging, or something!"

Halting himself, Lucario felt his heart rate grow less frequent and his breathing come in more naturally. The horrible sight he had seen in the restaurant vanished and replaced itself with the joyous thought of seeing Mew again.

"Yeah, you're right," Lucario said as he grabbed a hold of Zerobi's arm and started moving again, "Come on, she's this way!"

"Do you know what I am, Zoroark?" Mew asked calmly after her transformation had finished, and Zoroark could not help but swallow hard. He did. It was a form he had attempted to imitate before, yet one he had never imagined it to be so radiant and colorful. He felt his breath coming in faster, only faintly remembering that he had prepared himself for a situation like this, wishing he would have been given a better warning.

"U-Unexpected...?" Zoroark stammered in shock, trying his best to settle down and compose himself, "No, I mean... The legendary Mew... To what end do I owe this great honor?"

"You must cease this revolution!" Mew pleaded, an earnest and serious expression on her face, "It will lead to war, with people and Pokémon dying every day due to meaningless fighting!"

"... It is all but meaningless, Mew," Zoroark replied as he forced himself to face her directly, feeling disappointed by her request, "Humanity has wrongfully dominated this world, with Pokémon falling under their control like animals... If we must fight to show that we will not submit, we will!"

"No species is capable of dominating the entire world... We need each other!" Mew continued with determination, "Only if we cannot co-exist do we run the risk of not surviving!"

"That was once the case, but no more. Are you oblivious to humanity's progress?" Zoroark said, growing more agitated as he waved his right arm around, "They have already taken away our freedom without any remorse, what will they claim next? Our bodies as food? Our skin as clothing? Our very heads as ornaments?"

"... What an absurd thought! They would not do that!" Mew exclaimed with a stunned expression, surprised that Zoroark was expecting such unspeakably horrifying scenarios, "A species as diverse as humanity would never accept such a heartless consensus!"

"... You know nothing," Zoroark growled bitterly, the memories of his childhood burning like a white hot flame all over his body, "Nothing of the plight of us normal Pokémon. If you did, you legendaries would have stopped this from ever happening."

"Right now, the first thing that needs to be stopped is the impending war..." Mew said quietly before raising her voice and intentionally letting her demeanor grow wild, "And if you will not co-operate... That means stopping you!"

Much to Mew's surprise, Zoroark did not even flinch in response to her outburst. She had hoped to rationalize with him, or intimidate him to the point where he would at the very least consider it, but the dark-type showed no signs of weakness. Clueless on what to do, Mew eagerly awaited Zoroark's response to see where this encounter would bring them next.

At that moment, something struck her from behind. The impact transformed into blinding pain in the blink of an eye, Mew gasping in shock as Zoroark pierced her with his claws. She was still unable to sense his aura, but had kept her eyes on him the whole time and still not seen him move before feeling the stab.

"Let's not get too hasty..." Zoroark whispered menacingly, an unexpected sense of satisfaction coursing through him. His insides roared in triumph, the feelings of betrayal that had been dormant for so long finally sated as he saw the small legendary slump down on the floor. He basked in the glory of the sensation, but before long his more rational side took over once again.

"... Oh, damn, I guess I'm the hasty one for doing this?" Zoroark chuckled before feigning a confident smile, "Sorry, but if you had attacked first, I doubt I would have stood a chance. Can't have you running off, either."

Lying immobile on the floor, Mew had no idea what was going on. She had tried to fly away in reflex after the attack, but instead she had fallen to the ground like an old acorn. Her mind was beginning to feel sluggish as the pain running through her immediately dulled, replacing itself with a tingling sensation she had never felt before. It spread throughout her body and grew stronger by the second, and as it did the pain started to return. At the same time, her outer senses faded off quickly, leaving her with nothing but her basic five senses to rely on.

"Do you know of the ability 'Miracle Eye'? What I used just know is something I like to call 'Disaster Eye'," Zoroark said with an amused expression as he let an empty vial roll back and forth between his claws, "It's reversed, you see. I infused my dark-type aura into you, effectively removing your ability to control your psychic powers."

Mew tried to gasp in terror, only to realize nothing was happening. Her diaphragm felt so heavy, so sluggish. She could not get it to contract against her lungs even a little, it was like pushing against a large boulder that refused to budge. Horror struck her mind, and only now did she realize that she was no longer breathing. She panicked and tried to scream, only able to let out a small whimper.

"It will eventually pass, and when it does I will let you go," Zoroark explained in order to calm her down, wondering why she was making such a scene, "For now, let us continue this discussion in a more relaxed environment. Not much else to do, might as well hear me out, right?"

Chest burning for air, the only thing still within Mew's control was her tail, which was currently torn between helping her up and reaching out towards Zoroark's neck to make him share her fate. Although she knew that her feeble strength would deny her of that kind of revenge, she could think of nothing else that might soothe her overwhelming feelings of hysteria.

She could not believe what was happening. She had defeated Mewtwo through willpower, she had survived the monstrous Deoxys through strength, and now she was dying the death of a stillborn fetus.

"First, let me start by saying that I truly respect you, and just to be talking to you..." Zoroark started talking before noticing that Mew's movements were starting to weaken, a pang of worry striking him, "... Mew? Can... Can you hear me?"

Trembling in spasms, Mew felt as if every nerve in her body had come alive and was busy committing suicide. She tried breathing in one more time, her already unwilling muscles refusing to work due to the lack of oxygen and her frail body could do nothing to stop her from choking to death. Every bodily section she had subdued and controlled since birth was reminding her of its existence, joining the hundreds of simultaneous thoughts rushing through her head. Was this truly the end? Could all this have been avoided? Would anyone even know of her passing? Why had she sensed Lucario earlier? How had Zoroark moved so quickly?

"Wh-What's happening!?" Zoroark gasped in shock, finally realizing that something had gone very wrong. His expression of worry and regret did nothing to settle Mew's heavy emotions, tears running down the side of her face. She felt frustrated that there was nothing she could do, wishing she had just ripped the building from its foundation to immediately force Zoroark into submission. Her mind was turning foggy, but she could not prevent it. An equal amount of regret coursed through her at the thought of leaving the world the way it was, not having been able to even try to realize her dream before dying. Her chest burned in agony, and everything was fading away. However, the strongest emotion of all was the one that had gripped her entire body, keeping her from fighting, moving or even breathing.

Fear

Mew felt her eyelids fall, mind blank as everything clouded itself in endless darkness.