Story Notes:
Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon
Reunited
Asia lunges with a dark growl throwing multiple shadow balls that explode against the trees around Cresselia as she rushes the Lunar Pokemon with bladed claws drawn. Cresselia narrows her eyes spinning and she creates psycho cuts that fly toward Asia. Her eyes widen at the incoming attacks and she throws her claws out cutting through them as she unleashes a potent Dark Pulse attack that slams into Cresselia blasting her away and into a tree at the other side of the clearing. She then lets out a loud cry of pain as Shadow Balls begin mercilessly slamming into her body exploding on contact and tearing away layers of skin causing Cresselia's beautiful body to be matted in bloody wounds.
She weakly looks up as the black smoke from the Shadow Balls begin to clear and her eyes widen as she gazes at the Lucario, Shadow Claws drawn, standing over her. Cresselia attacks with another attempt at Psycho Cut but she's too weak to even form the blades. Her eyes slowly close as she lays her head on the damp, muddy ground and a few moments later she lets out a scream of pain as Asia's claws pierce her heart tearing through her weakened flesh and the Lucario girl returns her paw to her side as she watches the legendary Pokemon let out a final breath as she remains still and the warmth slowly leaves her body.
The darkness shrouding her body lifts leaving her standing upon her kill, both of their faces matted with tears. Asia closes her eyes letting out a soft breath and takes a few steps forward kneeling near her face before she begins carving the crescent moon from her body, her tears falling as she works, "I'm sorry."
A few days of walking later Yakira and the rest of the retrieval group walk out from the trees and into the clearing of Neo's home. Drake is standing out front with his Blaziken and the two turn to the returning people, Drake gasping as he runs over to them, "You're all back! Kaza you're okay!" He puts his hands on Kazamaru's shoulders as he grins, "I knew you would be." Kazamaru nods to him and looks over to Yakira and Thanatos,
"We would all be dead if it wasn't for them... We lost a lot of our Pokemon in that fight with Sableye..." Drake falls silent taking a step back and looks at them all,
"I understand your loss... come on, let's head inside and let everyone know that you're okay. You can get something in your stomachs too." They all head inside except for Yakira who pulls Drake off to the side and smiles to him,
"Guess who we met on our way to help Kaza." Drake tilts his head a bit looking at her in confusion, "It was Azura, Drake. He's alive." His eyes widen and he begins looking around past her,
"H-he's alive?! Where is he?" Yakira looks back to the forest and shakes her head,
"He was only with us for a day or so before he suddenly took off. He told us he'd be back though and I believe him." Drake looks down with a sad expression,
"So the others weren't with him..." Yakira pauses as her smile fades a bit and she nods,
"No they weren't... but come on. They're fine I know they are! We just have to wait and be patient." Drake nods and puts on a smile,
"You're right Yakira. Thanks." Drake and Yakira nod to each other with smiles before Drake heads into the house. Yakira puts a hand to her heart and closes her eyes thinking back to that night in the cave with Thanatos,
"I wonder..." She then walks into the house closing the door behind her.
Azura walks through the forests of Sinnoh, making light taps and the occasional crack of a twig as his only sounds. Two short-swords are now on his back in a cross sheathed in large leafs and vines. He suddenly freezes as rapid footsteps are heard behind him and he turns towards the sound going wide-eyed leaping to the side to avoid an attempt at his throat. Riketz's claws dig into a tree in front of him and he pulls his claws out turning to face the Floatzel, "You're pretty fast... this should be fun!" Riketz lunges forward with a growl but his claws are intercepted with the dragon fangs, both fighters locked staring at one another before Azura blasts him with an Ice Beam. Riketz laughs as he shrugs off the attack and delivers a kick into Azura's stomach blasting him into a tree. The bark recoils and cracks against his bodies force and Azura cringes as Riketz begins walking towards him, "That was pretty potent kid..." The Lucario walks out of the trees and looks around for a moment before he sees the two and he walks over to them pausing as he looks at Azura whose blades are still in his hands,
"He's not a ghost Riketz..." Azura goes wide-eyed and drops the sword to the ground,
"Stratos it's you! You're alive!" Riketz looks back at Stratos and backs away sheathing his claws before folding his arms,
"You could have told me you were a member of the resistance at the beginning." Stratos walks over to him and nods,
"Yeah I'm alive." Riketz tilts his head still staring at Azura,
"Who are you then?" Azura picks up his swords and returns them to his back,
"My name is Azura. I'm the son of Ren and Roze." Riketz nods,
"I know of them but their current location is unknown to me. We're almost to Neo's estate. You will accompany us." Azura nods,
"Of course. I was headed that way myself... so who are you and why did you attack me?" Riketz, Stratos and Azura begin walking as the black-marked Zangoose faces away from him leading the other two,
"My name is Riketz." Azura pauses for a bit before he realizes that Riketz is done talking,
"And... why you attacked me?" Riketz is silent as Stratos puts a paw on Azura's shoulder,
"Don't worry about it. He was testing your strength while he waited for me to get here. Since everyone in the resistance knows me they react accordingly." Azura looks at the Lucario,
"So how is it that you're alive? I thought that you died..." Stratos looks back to Riketz and falls silent for a few moments,
"I don't know. I woke up to this world with Riketz standing next to me." Azura nods, contented with the answer as he continues walking. Azura trails behind after a bit, lost in his thoughts and Stratos looks over to Riketz sighing slightly,
"I need a better story then just waking up..." Riketz rolls his eyes and begins thinking,
"Give me a little time." Stratos nods as they walk further through the forest.
Neo eats a piece of bacon as Kazamaru recounts the last of his tale starting from waking up in this world with Scarlet all the way to when they were attacked by Sableye. Scarlet has retired to her own room and Crudon is out back, "We know how you feel Kaza... it just seems like death is the law of the land for us. But we're here, we're alive, and for the most part we're healthy." Lucia nods and tilts her head looking at him,
"So you're the guy who beat my dad?" Kazamaru blinks as he looks at her,
"Who are you exactly?" Lucia smiles brightly,
"Luna is my Mom, my name is Lucia." Kazamaru pauses looking over to Latias who simply nods. He looks back to her and nods understanding,
"Y-yeah. I beat him a long time ago." Her smile fades a bit,
"Do you know where he is? I really want to meet him..." Kazamaru opens his mouth to say something but in the corner of his eye he sees Latias shoot him a look,
"No I haven't seen him. He must be in another region." Lucia leans back in her chair and folds her arms letting out a sigh,
"That's what everyone tells me. You'll have to show me how strong you are sometime." Kaza nods as he smiles at her,
"I will." She hops off happily and Kazamaru lets out a long sigh, "She's never going to know is she?" Luna shakes her head leaning back in her chair,
"We think it's best for her to still have hope. I definitely don't want it to slip..." She looks down and her eyes water a bit, "It would hurt her too much..."
Lucia hums lightly as she kneels in the grass in the back yard. She picks a few flowers and starts making them into a chain. Drake walks outside after a bit and sits down on the back porch watching her yawning as he stretches, "Whatcha doing Lucia?" The Lucario girl stands and walks over to her grandpa with a flower necklace,
"I made a flower necklace." She smiles as she holds it out for him, "Isn't it pretty?" Drake reaches out smiling lightly as he takes the necklace from her paws and nods as he looks at it,
"It sure is Lucia. You're pretty good at making these." She giggles and lifts it from his hands placing it around the rim of his hat,
"It makes your hat look pretty!" Drake nods and blinks as she sits down on his lap looking up to the sky, "Grandpa? Who are the friends you're looking for?" Drake tilts his head looking at her as she looks at him questioningly,
"You mean your father's team?" She simply nods and slides off his lap sitting on the porch with him,
"Yeah. I know Grandma is one but who are the others?" He smiles as he looks up to the sky,
"Well, first there's Arcanine, he's big and strong but he has a good heart and is fun to be around. He's also fluffy and warm, Latias used to make a habit of sleeping on him when we were traveling." Lucia smiles picturing him in her mind, she had been a fan of learning and had read almost all of the books in Neo's library, "Next is his girlfriend Swampert. She's usually pretty calm and can be quiet at times but she is a very strong fighter. She and Arcanine trained with each other nearly everyday and soon became inseparable before they fell in love. Next is Ren and Roze. I met Roze first and she was pretty distrusting of me. Ren was even more-so when he attacked me out of nowhere. Ren is a Luxray and Roze is a Floatzel and together they make an incredibly powerful team. In the end it was Roze who ended up trusting me and Ren came with her. They're such a good couple and during our journey they had a child. His name is Azura and he's a Floatzel as well but his color pattern is that of a Luxray. He's pretty calm and has a very good heart. I haven't seen him since this happened to the world but I'm assuming he's your age." Lucia smiles as she takes everything in and then finally pictures Azura,
"Where are they Grandpa Drake?" Drake smiles and scratches her head,
"Don't worry. You'll meet them eventually. Yakira actually told me that she and Thanatos met Azura on their way to find Kazamaru. He should be here soon." She giggles happily and claps,
"Yay! I can't wait to meet him." Drake nods as he rubs her head making her close her eyes and he lets out a sigh,
"Me either Lucia."
Vecransyh folds his hands sitting on his throne and both he and the massive sphinx behind him cackle darkly feeling the presence of Cresselia leave the world, "First Rayquaza and now Asia has fulfilled her orders." Giratina merely nods in response,
"Lord Vecransyh what of Sableye? He was killed yet his prey survived." Vecransyh chuckles leaning back in his throne,
"He did his job. He was ordered to weaken Kazamaru and Scarlet and he did an amazing job. He served his lord well and the fact that he is now dead matters not to me. Let's see... which legends have yet to be killed Giratina?"
"Mewtwo, Mew, Entei, Lugia, Ho-oh, Celebi, all of the Regis, Latias, Kyogre, Jirachi, Deoxys, Dialga, Palkia, Darkrai, Arceus and Rotom." Vecransyh lets out a long breath,
"We haven't caught Entei yet? Hmm... the Regis shouldn't be that difficult to track down but they've been surprisingly elusive... Darkrai would be a nice acquisition to our side. Lugia and Kyogre are at the bottom of the ocean which makes them lucky. Ho-oh is not going to be an easy kill unless she is found... Who do you believe should be next on the list?"
"Killing Entei would bring about the end of the legendary dogs." Vecransyh nods,
"That's true. The birds were no chore, you dealt with them yourself. Let's rid this world of Mewtwo next. Go yourself Giratina and bring the rest of my team with you to take down those wretched clones. Mewtwo resides in western Johto in his fortress at Mt. Quena."
"Yes my lord. I will leave once the last scouting party has returned."
"Excellent. Mewtwo is too powerful to be left alive." Giratina shifts to human form with a glow and bows to him,
"Forgive my asking but are you certain that sending away all of the power you have is a wise move?" Vecransyh nods to him with a dark smirk,
"Nonsense, I am no weakling. You will get there and back in less than three days time." Giratina bows and a portal appears below him that he sinks into,
"Yes my lord." Vecransyh closes his eyes folding his arms as he leans back in his throne,
"I am invincible."
Riketz looks over to Stratos before shaking his head, "I brought you back to life." He nods as their running slows to a walk. Azura walks a bit faster catching up to them and peers through the trees at the large estate in front of them,
"This must be it... come on let's meet up with everyone." Stratos puts up his hood and pauses,
"Azura I have a request to make of you." The Floatzel turns and looks at him,
"What is it?"
"I don't want them to know it's me right away. I'm going to stay like this for a bit." Azura pauses before nodding,
"You must have your reasons. Okay let's go." Azura walks into the clearing followed by Riketz and Stratos, his face shrouded in the darkness of the hood. Azura steps back as Neo lands in front of them after leaping off of the roof and stares at Azura,
"Let's see... You're Azura..." his gaze shifts to the Zangoose who has instinctively brought out his claws, "And you're Riketz. I haven't seen either of you in a long time..." His gaze turns to the hooded figure and he tilts his head slightly, "But who are you?" He remains silent for a moment,
"A member of the resistance like you Neo." Neo nods to him and turns back to the house,
"I won't question your aid. You're traveling with two that I know so I will trust you. Azura, Riketz, You can have rooms on the second floor. There's also a room for you. I'll let everyone know you've arrived." Riketz nods sheathing his claws,
"Thank you for your hospitality Neo but I will not be staying long." Neo nods and heads back inside and the three follow him. The hooded figure catches the gaze of a few people as he walks up the stairs and enters his room closing the door.
Latias walks into the living room and smiles brightly hugging Azura tightly. The Floatzel gags and begins flailing about before Latias releases him and smiles, "Sorry Azura. I'm just so glad you're safe." Drake smiles and pats him on the head,
"Me too buddy." Angela is lying on the couch slowly turning Azura's swords in her hands,
"You know kid, these are pretty powerful swords." Azura blinks and reaches to his back before turning to her,
"Hey give those back!" Angela smiles and waves to him,
"Where did you get these?" Azura sighs and sits down as he begins explaining what happened with Rayquaza and that the swords are his front fangs. Angela grins handing them back to Azura, "His dying wish eh? Man you're lucky to have gotten them. Still..." She frowns, "Another legend has died but at least he didn't die a painful death." Azura resheathes the swords and nods to her. Lucia then walks into the room yawning lightly as she rubs her eye having just woken up,
"Who was that walking up the stairs?" Allie shrugs,
"I saw him too. He just went right to his room and closed the door." Neo nods looking at them both,
"He doesn't seem like a bad guy." Latias then pauses and turns around, her expression becoming dark as she glares at Riketz,
"YOU!!" Everyone jumps at the tone and both Neo and Drake jump up holding Latias back as she tries to lunge at Riketz, her hands getting mere inches from him as he simply stares at her,
"I won't be here for long Latias." He glances over to Lucia, "If you're still blaming me for that then meet me out back in an hour. There are three here that I will be giving training to. The ones who have not yet learned how strong they really are." He says nothing more and simply walks out of the room. Latias calms down for a moment and falls to her knees in silence. Angela speaks up once Latias has regained herself,
"I wonder who is going to receive Riketz's training? He's a pretty hard Zangoose to please." Neo folds his arms as he leans back against the couch,
"That's right; you trained under him didn't you?" While everyone has been talking Lucia has moved across the room and is now sitting next to Azura with a happy smile on her face,
"So you're Azura huh?" He nods with a smile but then blushes madly when she runs a paw up his chest, "I love your fur! It's so soft and the color really is like a Luxray just like Grandpa Drake said!" Azura regains himself and chuckles,
"You must be Lucia. Yeah, I really like how soft my fur is." She suddenly jumps up and pulls him off the couch and to the door,
"Come on I have to show you the flowers in the backyard!" Yakira is standing next to Thanatos at the wall and she runs her hand up his back smiling as the Typhlosion lightly blushes,
"I'm sure yours is softer."
Latias walks into the backyard an hour later and sees Riketz meditating in the middle of the grass. The Zangoose's eyes remain closed as he speaks,
"You need to let it go Latias. He died; I wasn't fast enough to get there in time." He stands up bringing out his claws, "If you still want to fight me I'll make you a deal. You will get five chances to land a single attack on me. After the fifth attack I will retaliate and you will be in a lot of pain." Riketz faces her with his arms folded, "Well? Walk away and accept his death or fight an un-winnable fight for a revenge that you aren't even sure about having." Latias responds by balling her hands into fists and she growls at him,
"He's dead because of you!" She rushes forward unleashing a powerful Dragon Pulse. Riketz's expression doesn't change as he leaps to the side easily avoiding the attack and glances to the oncoming Latias,
"He is dead because of Armageddon." Latias lunges forward missing again as Riketz leaps out of the way and both Lucia and Azura have walked to the side of the house with the fight and are watching intently,
"Why is Riketz fighting with my Grandma...?" Azura lets out a slow sigh as he watches Latias glaring at Riketz,
"Something happened between them a long time ago... this fight should set things straight though." Lucia looks down with a sad expression as one of her feet shifts forward in the grass,
"They shouldn't fight about it though... one of them could get hurt." Azura nods,
"Latias is going to be if she doesn't stop now." Lucia looks at him in shock,
"What?!" Latias lunges again stopping her attack short expecting Riketz to flinch but he simply stands there staring at her. She narrows her eyes and throws her other fist forward trying to catch him off guard but he bends over backwards planting his palm to the ground and spins out away from the second punch getting back to his feet before bringing his claws close to his chest and he throws them out in a pulse blasting Latias across the field,
"Four attacks down. One to go." Latias lets out a breath as she regains her stance,
"Then this will be the one where I hit you!" Lucia cries out from the sidelines taking a single step forward,
"Stop fighting please!!" She takes a step forward and Riketz raises his paw facing away from her,
"This doesn't concern you Lucia." Latias growls and throws her arms to the sky sending down meteors. Riketz smirks and dashes forward in a sudden burst of speed outrunning them all. He suddenly appears, one foot in front of Latias shaking his head, "Weakling." Spheres of black energy form in his claws and he throws them both into her all in one motion giving her no time to react. The legendary Pokemon is sent flying across the field and hits a tree cracking the bark on impact and falls unconscious. Riketz pauses for a moment before he begins walking towards her,
"Stop hurting her!!" Riketz's ear twitches and he blinks when Lucia is suddenly standing in front of him crying as she stares directly into his eyes, "Just stop..."
"Move aside girl." She throws her arms out and shakes her head as Azura begins running over to them,
"No! The fight is over!" Riketz glares at her,
"She must know pain for challenging me Lucia." Lucia points back to Latias,
"Look at her!" Riketz pauses looking behind Lucia to Latias, a few bleeding cuts on her body,
"If she challenges me a second time you are not to interfere. Understood?" Lucia nods wiping her tears as Azura walks over to them,
"I understand... thank you." Riketz sheathes his claws and walks to the other side of the area before he returns to meditating.
A few hours pass and Latias is in her bed resting having recovered almost fully from her injuries. Lucia is lying across Azura's lap on the couch reading a book as he brushes her fur. Yakira, who has been watching them for a bit giggles to herself before she turns and looks up the stairs to the single door that has remained closed since the three came to the house. She walks up the stairs and knocks on the door patiently waiting for a reply, "Let's talk mystery guy." She waits for a little under a minute before she knocks again louder, "Hey! Open up!" She puts her ear to the door and hears some movement so she moves away and watches as the door opens revealing the cloaked figure,
"What do you want?"
"As leader of this resistance I need to know who you are and where you're from so I can trust you. The fact that you were traveling with Riketz and Azura doesn't mean much to me." He simply tilts his head slightly,
"You think waving your title in my face is suddenly going to make me open up?" Yakira blinks before she nods,
"I... just want to know that you won't attack us or something in the middle of the night." He lets out a sigh and puts a gloved hand on her shoulder,
"Look, Yakira. I admit that my presence sparks a lot of questions and clearly some distrust but I promise you, I have no reason to attack any of you. I am a member of this resistance like you are." Yakira closes her eyes taking in a deep breath before she lets it out slowly,
"I suppose you're right. Try not to be so mysterious though. We can't afford to not be sure on every member." He nods,
"You have a point there Yakira. For now I'd like to be alone though. I'm tired and me and Riketz have been traveling for weeks." Yakira nods and walks away hearing the door shut and lock. She pauses walking into her room and sits down on the bed looking out the window,
"Hard not to be suspicious when you lock your door..." A soft smile appears on her face when she feels the bed bounce a bit with an accompanying poomf, "Hello fluffy." She turns to find Thanatos lying on his back looking at her with a smile,
"Penny for your thoughts?" Yakira smiles as she reached back and scratches his head,
"Was just thinking about that new guy; he's pretty mysterious." Thanatos nods closing his eyes,
"Well he's with us. That's all we can really ask." She turns fully and shifts down on the bed snuggling into his chest. She feels his warm arms hug her and she smiles softly blushing lightly,
"I was also thinking about that night..." Thanatos' tone is rather cautious as he speaks,
"In the cave...?" Yakira nods, her hand drifting up and down through the Johto legend's furry front,
"Thanatos... do you..." Thanatos closed his eyes as he lightly rubs her back,
"Yes Yakira, I still love you." Yakira finds herself smiling gently as he hand slows and she looks up seeing the Typhlosion's eyes looking into her own,
"I'm not sure... if it's right for me to be feeling this way..." She feels herself hugged tighter to the legend a warm embrace that seems to make her negative thoughts drift away,
"I know how much it hurt you to realize that Vecransyh had to die... he became my master for under an hour before all of that chaos..." He sighs softly hugging her tighter as he listens to her soft crying,
"The boy I loved has already died..."
Mewtwo stands atop a ledge at his island in the lake of Mt. Quena. His eyes are closed and he wears a dirty brown cloak that flows behind him in the wind. The island and mountain crater have remained untouched from the devastation. Mewtwo slowly opens his eyes looking off into the distance, "Darkness will soon fall on this place... we will all soon know eternal rest."
She weakly looks up as the black smoke from the Shadow Balls begin to clear and her eyes widen as she gazes at the Lucario, Shadow Claws drawn, standing over her. Cresselia attacks with another attempt at Psycho Cut but she's too weak to even form the blades. Her eyes slowly close as she lays her head on the damp, muddy ground and a few moments later she lets out a scream of pain as Asia's claws pierce her heart tearing through her weakened flesh and the Lucario girl returns her paw to her side as she watches the legendary Pokemon let out a final breath as she remains still and the warmth slowly leaves her body.
The darkness shrouding her body lifts leaving her standing upon her kill, both of their faces matted with tears. Asia closes her eyes letting out a soft breath and takes a few steps forward kneeling near her face before she begins carving the crescent moon from her body, her tears falling as she works, "I'm sorry."
A few days of walking later Yakira and the rest of the retrieval group walk out from the trees and into the clearing of Neo's home. Drake is standing out front with his Blaziken and the two turn to the returning people, Drake gasping as he runs over to them, "You're all back! Kaza you're okay!" He puts his hands on Kazamaru's shoulders as he grins, "I knew you would be." Kazamaru nods to him and looks over to Yakira and Thanatos,
"We would all be dead if it wasn't for them... We lost a lot of our Pokemon in that fight with Sableye..." Drake falls silent taking a step back and looks at them all,
"I understand your loss... come on, let's head inside and let everyone know that you're okay. You can get something in your stomachs too." They all head inside except for Yakira who pulls Drake off to the side and smiles to him,
"Guess who we met on our way to help Kaza." Drake tilts his head a bit looking at her in confusion, "It was Azura, Drake. He's alive." His eyes widen and he begins looking around past her,
"H-he's alive?! Where is he?" Yakira looks back to the forest and shakes her head,
"He was only with us for a day or so before he suddenly took off. He told us he'd be back though and I believe him." Drake looks down with a sad expression,
"So the others weren't with him..." Yakira pauses as her smile fades a bit and she nods,
"No they weren't... but come on. They're fine I know they are! We just have to wait and be patient." Drake nods and puts on a smile,
"You're right Yakira. Thanks." Drake and Yakira nod to each other with smiles before Drake heads into the house. Yakira puts a hand to her heart and closes her eyes thinking back to that night in the cave with Thanatos,
"I wonder..." She then walks into the house closing the door behind her.
Azura walks through the forests of Sinnoh, making light taps and the occasional crack of a twig as his only sounds. Two short-swords are now on his back in a cross sheathed in large leafs and vines. He suddenly freezes as rapid footsteps are heard behind him and he turns towards the sound going wide-eyed leaping to the side to avoid an attempt at his throat. Riketz's claws dig into a tree in front of him and he pulls his claws out turning to face the Floatzel, "You're pretty fast... this should be fun!" Riketz lunges forward with a growl but his claws are intercepted with the dragon fangs, both fighters locked staring at one another before Azura blasts him with an Ice Beam. Riketz laughs as he shrugs off the attack and delivers a kick into Azura's stomach blasting him into a tree. The bark recoils and cracks against his bodies force and Azura cringes as Riketz begins walking towards him, "That was pretty potent kid..." The Lucario walks out of the trees and looks around for a moment before he sees the two and he walks over to them pausing as he looks at Azura whose blades are still in his hands,
"He's not a ghost Riketz..." Azura goes wide-eyed and drops the sword to the ground,
"Stratos it's you! You're alive!" Riketz looks back at Stratos and backs away sheathing his claws before folding his arms,
"You could have told me you were a member of the resistance at the beginning." Stratos walks over to him and nods,
"Yeah I'm alive." Riketz tilts his head still staring at Azura,
"Who are you then?" Azura picks up his swords and returns them to his back,
"My name is Azura. I'm the son of Ren and Roze." Riketz nods,
"I know of them but their current location is unknown to me. We're almost to Neo's estate. You will accompany us." Azura nods,
"Of course. I was headed that way myself... so who are you and why did you attack me?" Riketz, Stratos and Azura begin walking as the black-marked Zangoose faces away from him leading the other two,
"My name is Riketz." Azura pauses for a bit before he realizes that Riketz is done talking,
"And... why you attacked me?" Riketz is silent as Stratos puts a paw on Azura's shoulder,
"Don't worry about it. He was testing your strength while he waited for me to get here. Since everyone in the resistance knows me they react accordingly." Azura looks at the Lucario,
"So how is it that you're alive? I thought that you died..." Stratos looks back to Riketz and falls silent for a few moments,
"I don't know. I woke up to this world with Riketz standing next to me." Azura nods, contented with the answer as he continues walking. Azura trails behind after a bit, lost in his thoughts and Stratos looks over to Riketz sighing slightly,
"I need a better story then just waking up..." Riketz rolls his eyes and begins thinking,
"Give me a little time." Stratos nods as they walk further through the forest.
Neo eats a piece of bacon as Kazamaru recounts the last of his tale starting from waking up in this world with Scarlet all the way to when they were attacked by Sableye. Scarlet has retired to her own room and Crudon is out back, "We know how you feel Kaza... it just seems like death is the law of the land for us. But we're here, we're alive, and for the most part we're healthy." Lucia nods and tilts her head looking at him,
"So you're the guy who beat my dad?" Kazamaru blinks as he looks at her,
"Who are you exactly?" Lucia smiles brightly,
"Luna is my Mom, my name is Lucia." Kazamaru pauses looking over to Latias who simply nods. He looks back to her and nods understanding,
"Y-yeah. I beat him a long time ago." Her smile fades a bit,
"Do you know where he is? I really want to meet him..." Kazamaru opens his mouth to say something but in the corner of his eye he sees Latias shoot him a look,
"No I haven't seen him. He must be in another region." Lucia leans back in her chair and folds her arms letting out a sigh,
"That's what everyone tells me. You'll have to show me how strong you are sometime." Kaza nods as he smiles at her,
"I will." She hops off happily and Kazamaru lets out a long sigh, "She's never going to know is she?" Luna shakes her head leaning back in her chair,
"We think it's best for her to still have hope. I definitely don't want it to slip..." She looks down and her eyes water a bit, "It would hurt her too much..."
Lucia hums lightly as she kneels in the grass in the back yard. She picks a few flowers and starts making them into a chain. Drake walks outside after a bit and sits down on the back porch watching her yawning as he stretches, "Whatcha doing Lucia?" The Lucario girl stands and walks over to her grandpa with a flower necklace,
"I made a flower necklace." She smiles as she holds it out for him, "Isn't it pretty?" Drake reaches out smiling lightly as he takes the necklace from her paws and nods as he looks at it,
"It sure is Lucia. You're pretty good at making these." She giggles and lifts it from his hands placing it around the rim of his hat,
"It makes your hat look pretty!" Drake nods and blinks as she sits down on his lap looking up to the sky, "Grandpa? Who are the friends you're looking for?" Drake tilts his head looking at her as she looks at him questioningly,
"You mean your father's team?" She simply nods and slides off his lap sitting on the porch with him,
"Yeah. I know Grandma is one but who are the others?" He smiles as he looks up to the sky,
"Well, first there's Arcanine, he's big and strong but he has a good heart and is fun to be around. He's also fluffy and warm, Latias used to make a habit of sleeping on him when we were traveling." Lucia smiles picturing him in her mind, she had been a fan of learning and had read almost all of the books in Neo's library, "Next is his girlfriend Swampert. She's usually pretty calm and can be quiet at times but she is a very strong fighter. She and Arcanine trained with each other nearly everyday and soon became inseparable before they fell in love. Next is Ren and Roze. I met Roze first and she was pretty distrusting of me. Ren was even more-so when he attacked me out of nowhere. Ren is a Luxray and Roze is a Floatzel and together they make an incredibly powerful team. In the end it was Roze who ended up trusting me and Ren came with her. They're such a good couple and during our journey they had a child. His name is Azura and he's a Floatzel as well but his color pattern is that of a Luxray. He's pretty calm and has a very good heart. I haven't seen him since this happened to the world but I'm assuming he's your age." Lucia smiles as she takes everything in and then finally pictures Azura,
"Where are they Grandpa Drake?" Drake smiles and scratches her head,
"Don't worry. You'll meet them eventually. Yakira actually told me that she and Thanatos met Azura on their way to find Kazamaru. He should be here soon." She giggles happily and claps,
"Yay! I can't wait to meet him." Drake nods as he rubs her head making her close her eyes and he lets out a sigh,
"Me either Lucia."
Vecransyh folds his hands sitting on his throne and both he and the massive sphinx behind him cackle darkly feeling the presence of Cresselia leave the world, "First Rayquaza and now Asia has fulfilled her orders." Giratina merely nods in response,
"Lord Vecransyh what of Sableye? He was killed yet his prey survived." Vecransyh chuckles leaning back in his throne,
"He did his job. He was ordered to weaken Kazamaru and Scarlet and he did an amazing job. He served his lord well and the fact that he is now dead matters not to me. Let's see... which legends have yet to be killed Giratina?"
"Mewtwo, Mew, Entei, Lugia, Ho-oh, Celebi, all of the Regis, Latias, Kyogre, Jirachi, Deoxys, Dialga, Palkia, Darkrai, Arceus and Rotom." Vecransyh lets out a long breath,
"We haven't caught Entei yet? Hmm... the Regis shouldn't be that difficult to track down but they've been surprisingly elusive... Darkrai would be a nice acquisition to our side. Lugia and Kyogre are at the bottom of the ocean which makes them lucky. Ho-oh is not going to be an easy kill unless she is found... Who do you believe should be next on the list?"
"Killing Entei would bring about the end of the legendary dogs." Vecransyh nods,
"That's true. The birds were no chore, you dealt with them yourself. Let's rid this world of Mewtwo next. Go yourself Giratina and bring the rest of my team with you to take down those wretched clones. Mewtwo resides in western Johto in his fortress at Mt. Quena."
"Yes my lord. I will leave once the last scouting party has returned."
"Excellent. Mewtwo is too powerful to be left alive." Giratina shifts to human form with a glow and bows to him,
"Forgive my asking but are you certain that sending away all of the power you have is a wise move?" Vecransyh nods to him with a dark smirk,
"Nonsense, I am no weakling. You will get there and back in less than three days time." Giratina bows and a portal appears below him that he sinks into,
"Yes my lord." Vecransyh closes his eyes folding his arms as he leans back in his throne,
"I am invincible."
Riketz looks over to Stratos before shaking his head, "I brought you back to life." He nods as their running slows to a walk. Azura walks a bit faster catching up to them and peers through the trees at the large estate in front of them,
"This must be it... come on let's meet up with everyone." Stratos puts up his hood and pauses,
"Azura I have a request to make of you." The Floatzel turns and looks at him,
"What is it?"
"I don't want them to know it's me right away. I'm going to stay like this for a bit." Azura pauses before nodding,
"You must have your reasons. Okay let's go." Azura walks into the clearing followed by Riketz and Stratos, his face shrouded in the darkness of the hood. Azura steps back as Neo lands in front of them after leaping off of the roof and stares at Azura,
"Let's see... You're Azura..." his gaze shifts to the Zangoose who has instinctively brought out his claws, "And you're Riketz. I haven't seen either of you in a long time..." His gaze turns to the hooded figure and he tilts his head slightly, "But who are you?" He remains silent for a moment,
"A member of the resistance like you Neo." Neo nods to him and turns back to the house,
"I won't question your aid. You're traveling with two that I know so I will trust you. Azura, Riketz, You can have rooms on the second floor. There's also a room for you. I'll let everyone know you've arrived." Riketz nods sheathing his claws,
"Thank you for your hospitality Neo but I will not be staying long." Neo nods and heads back inside and the three follow him. The hooded figure catches the gaze of a few people as he walks up the stairs and enters his room closing the door.
Latias walks into the living room and smiles brightly hugging Azura tightly. The Floatzel gags and begins flailing about before Latias releases him and smiles, "Sorry Azura. I'm just so glad you're safe." Drake smiles and pats him on the head,
"Me too buddy." Angela is lying on the couch slowly turning Azura's swords in her hands,
"You know kid, these are pretty powerful swords." Azura blinks and reaches to his back before turning to her,
"Hey give those back!" Angela smiles and waves to him,
"Where did you get these?" Azura sighs and sits down as he begins explaining what happened with Rayquaza and that the swords are his front fangs. Angela grins handing them back to Azura, "His dying wish eh? Man you're lucky to have gotten them. Still..." She frowns, "Another legend has died but at least he didn't die a painful death." Azura resheathes the swords and nods to her. Lucia then walks into the room yawning lightly as she rubs her eye having just woken up,
"Who was that walking up the stairs?" Allie shrugs,
"I saw him too. He just went right to his room and closed the door." Neo nods looking at them both,
"He doesn't seem like a bad guy." Latias then pauses and turns around, her expression becoming dark as she glares at Riketz,
"YOU!!" Everyone jumps at the tone and both Neo and Drake jump up holding Latias back as she tries to lunge at Riketz, her hands getting mere inches from him as he simply stares at her,
"I won't be here for long Latias." He glances over to Lucia, "If you're still blaming me for that then meet me out back in an hour. There are three here that I will be giving training to. The ones who have not yet learned how strong they really are." He says nothing more and simply walks out of the room. Latias calms down for a moment and falls to her knees in silence. Angela speaks up once Latias has regained herself,
"I wonder who is going to receive Riketz's training? He's a pretty hard Zangoose to please." Neo folds his arms as he leans back against the couch,
"That's right; you trained under him didn't you?" While everyone has been talking Lucia has moved across the room and is now sitting next to Azura with a happy smile on her face,
"So you're Azura huh?" He nods with a smile but then blushes madly when she runs a paw up his chest, "I love your fur! It's so soft and the color really is like a Luxray just like Grandpa Drake said!" Azura regains himself and chuckles,
"You must be Lucia. Yeah, I really like how soft my fur is." She suddenly jumps up and pulls him off the couch and to the door,
"Come on I have to show you the flowers in the backyard!" Yakira is standing next to Thanatos at the wall and she runs her hand up his back smiling as the Typhlosion lightly blushes,
"I'm sure yours is softer."
Latias walks into the backyard an hour later and sees Riketz meditating in the middle of the grass. The Zangoose's eyes remain closed as he speaks,
"You need to let it go Latias. He died; I wasn't fast enough to get there in time." He stands up bringing out his claws, "If you still want to fight me I'll make you a deal. You will get five chances to land a single attack on me. After the fifth attack I will retaliate and you will be in a lot of pain." Riketz faces her with his arms folded, "Well? Walk away and accept his death or fight an un-winnable fight for a revenge that you aren't even sure about having." Latias responds by balling her hands into fists and she growls at him,
"He's dead because of you!" She rushes forward unleashing a powerful Dragon Pulse. Riketz's expression doesn't change as he leaps to the side easily avoiding the attack and glances to the oncoming Latias,
"He is dead because of Armageddon." Latias lunges forward missing again as Riketz leaps out of the way and both Lucia and Azura have walked to the side of the house with the fight and are watching intently,
"Why is Riketz fighting with my Grandma...?" Azura lets out a slow sigh as he watches Latias glaring at Riketz,
"Something happened between them a long time ago... this fight should set things straight though." Lucia looks down with a sad expression as one of her feet shifts forward in the grass,
"They shouldn't fight about it though... one of them could get hurt." Azura nods,
"Latias is going to be if she doesn't stop now." Lucia looks at him in shock,
"What?!" Latias lunges again stopping her attack short expecting Riketz to flinch but he simply stands there staring at her. She narrows her eyes and throws her other fist forward trying to catch him off guard but he bends over backwards planting his palm to the ground and spins out away from the second punch getting back to his feet before bringing his claws close to his chest and he throws them out in a pulse blasting Latias across the field,
"Four attacks down. One to go." Latias lets out a breath as she regains her stance,
"Then this will be the one where I hit you!" Lucia cries out from the sidelines taking a single step forward,
"Stop fighting please!!" She takes a step forward and Riketz raises his paw facing away from her,
"This doesn't concern you Lucia." Latias growls and throws her arms to the sky sending down meteors. Riketz smirks and dashes forward in a sudden burst of speed outrunning them all. He suddenly appears, one foot in front of Latias shaking his head, "Weakling." Spheres of black energy form in his claws and he throws them both into her all in one motion giving her no time to react. The legendary Pokemon is sent flying across the field and hits a tree cracking the bark on impact and falls unconscious. Riketz pauses for a moment before he begins walking towards her,
"Stop hurting her!!" Riketz's ear twitches and he blinks when Lucia is suddenly standing in front of him crying as she stares directly into his eyes, "Just stop..."
"Move aside girl." She throws her arms out and shakes her head as Azura begins running over to them,
"No! The fight is over!" Riketz glares at her,
"She must know pain for challenging me Lucia." Lucia points back to Latias,
"Look at her!" Riketz pauses looking behind Lucia to Latias, a few bleeding cuts on her body,
"If she challenges me a second time you are not to interfere. Understood?" Lucia nods wiping her tears as Azura walks over to them,
"I understand... thank you." Riketz sheathes his claws and walks to the other side of the area before he returns to meditating.
A few hours pass and Latias is in her bed resting having recovered almost fully from her injuries. Lucia is lying across Azura's lap on the couch reading a book as he brushes her fur. Yakira, who has been watching them for a bit giggles to herself before she turns and looks up the stairs to the single door that has remained closed since the three came to the house. She walks up the stairs and knocks on the door patiently waiting for a reply, "Let's talk mystery guy." She waits for a little under a minute before she knocks again louder, "Hey! Open up!" She puts her ear to the door and hears some movement so she moves away and watches as the door opens revealing the cloaked figure,
"What do you want?"
"As leader of this resistance I need to know who you are and where you're from so I can trust you. The fact that you were traveling with Riketz and Azura doesn't mean much to me." He simply tilts his head slightly,
"You think waving your title in my face is suddenly going to make me open up?" Yakira blinks before she nods,
"I... just want to know that you won't attack us or something in the middle of the night." He lets out a sigh and puts a gloved hand on her shoulder,
"Look, Yakira. I admit that my presence sparks a lot of questions and clearly some distrust but I promise you, I have no reason to attack any of you. I am a member of this resistance like you are." Yakira closes her eyes taking in a deep breath before she lets it out slowly,
"I suppose you're right. Try not to be so mysterious though. We can't afford to not be sure on every member." He nods,
"You have a point there Yakira. For now I'd like to be alone though. I'm tired and me and Riketz have been traveling for weeks." Yakira nods and walks away hearing the door shut and lock. She pauses walking into her room and sits down on the bed looking out the window,
"Hard not to be suspicious when you lock your door..." A soft smile appears on her face when she feels the bed bounce a bit with an accompanying poomf, "Hello fluffy." She turns to find Thanatos lying on his back looking at her with a smile,
"Penny for your thoughts?" Yakira smiles as she reached back and scratches his head,
"Was just thinking about that new guy; he's pretty mysterious." Thanatos nods closing his eyes,
"Well he's with us. That's all we can really ask." She turns fully and shifts down on the bed snuggling into his chest. She feels his warm arms hug her and she smiles softly blushing lightly,
"I was also thinking about that night..." Thanatos' tone is rather cautious as he speaks,
"In the cave...?" Yakira nods, her hand drifting up and down through the Johto legend's furry front,
"Thanatos... do you..." Thanatos closed his eyes as he lightly rubs her back,
"Yes Yakira, I still love you." Yakira finds herself smiling gently as he hand slows and she looks up seeing the Typhlosion's eyes looking into her own,
"I'm not sure... if it's right for me to be feeling this way..." She feels herself hugged tighter to the legend a warm embrace that seems to make her negative thoughts drift away,
"I know how much it hurt you to realize that Vecransyh had to die... he became my master for under an hour before all of that chaos..." He sighs softly hugging her tighter as he listens to her soft crying,
"The boy I loved has already died..."
Mewtwo stands atop a ledge at his island in the lake of Mt. Quena. His eyes are closed and he wears a dirty brown cloak that flows behind him in the wind. The island and mountain crater have remained untouched from the devastation. Mewtwo slowly opens his eyes looking off into the distance, "Darkness will soon fall on this place... we will all soon know eternal rest."