As Michael drew closer to Fortree, the smell of acrid smoke began to hang heavy in the air. Burnt oak and charred wood wafted through the air, light ash beginning to coat the ground as he ran, looking like snow. His heart tore when he saw the first of the large tree trunks down the path. It was black, charred and still smouldering, emanating heat like a fevered wound. Michael begged that this wasn't happening, that this must have been an accident. Finally, breaking into the clearing which signalled the end of the path and the start of the city, he witnessed the great scene of carnage for himself. Blackened trees and splintered wood, some still burning. People ran about, dousing flames and dragging the injured away from the damaged areas. Pokémon of all kinds assisted them, some launching large jets of water to quench the still burning fires while others passed supplies and carried belongings rescued from the disaster. One youngster turned to him, who could not have been older than ten, yet his clothes were singed and he lugged a pail of water in hands. The young boy called and ran to him, water from the pail sloshing over his clothes as he strained to hold the weight.

"Mister! Take this! Take this!" The boy called, almost throwing the pail at Michael, now only half filled with water. "nurse says everyone has to help!". And with that, the boy ran off, leaving Michael with the pail. Michael was tempted to throw down the pail and charge through the fire, looking for any sign of Melody and Valerie, who could be anywhere in the inferno. He lowered the pail and took two steps towards the ladder nailed to the trunk of one tree, readying to abandon this and climb to her.

A great cracking and earth quaking thud shook him back to reality, a thick branch having given under the strength of the flames and crashed down to the earth. Without thinking, he ran to where a small group of people were fighting a particularly large blaze consuming a tree trunk, a small hut supported on the very top. He threw the water and ran back, sighting the boy at a small pump where he was again struggling to lift the pail to carry to the next person. A large hand grabbed the pail from the boy, belonging to a large panting red haired man who the boy had not seen before. He smiled, an odd gesture for such a time, and ran to repeat his task of fetching pails of water. Tom didn't question Michaels actions now that he was seeing the scene for himself. The fiery blaze still roared over large areas, but it had obviously been fought well and was now losing the battle. Running alongside Michael, leaving Layla to support Will who was trembling in exhaustion, and heaving the water against the trunks of flame. This went on for half an hour before all the fires were extinguished, and even then the heat still radiated from the blistered tree trunks and charred remains.

Everyone was visibly tired, burned or worse. Some of the men who had fought the fire beside him now had red blushed faces, skin burned by intense heat. Tom sported a small patch of blisters on his arm where he had feel against a burning trunk, but was otherwise unharmed. As they regroup and Michael regained his bearings, reality suddenly crashing back down on him from the adrenalin high, he took in the condition of everyone. Tom's blistered arm, Layla's slight gait, but most noticeably, Will's pale and near translucent skin hanging from his body. The man looked like a vision of death, white and supported by invisible chains which choked his life. As Layla supported the swaying Will, Michael dragged the group over to where the people were congregating, which was the only undamaged building in the town. The Pokémon centre stood like a brick, concrete only blackened here and there but otherwise sturdy, possessing fortitude the wood of the trees had not. The massive throng of people gathered in front of the building were tough to push through, standing looking almost like lost sheep, they only took notice of the group when they passed by. Some conversed and others talked openly of what to do, but most stood in silent contemplation of this great disaster. The glass doors slid open as they approached, breaking through the crowd of people to where a small group of nurses were attending people being brought through the crowd. The woman who noticed them, middle aged with bright blonde hair tied into a bun, gave the same apologetic look she had given all the others who had come to them, but her eyes held genuine concern and slight interest that Wills injury was not like any of the others she had seen today.

"Oh, what has happened to him?" She asked as she examined Will, shivering and weak. "This can't have been from the fire, could it?"

"No...He's been weak for the last few days" Michael said, remembering how Will had lagged behind the rest, wearing moving with the devil on his back.

"Bring him inside, he's got the chills and looks like he'll collapse soon..." She said, guiding them into the Pokémon centre.

Inside were a number of people all injured in their own ways and resting their damaged bodies. Most only carried cuts, burns or broken bones, but three people lay in beds set up by the wall, eyes closed and breathing shallow as they were monitored by a single nurse jumping back and forth between them all. The centre was small, not nearly as big as the one which they had seen in Ecruteak. No rooms and no lodging, it was not a proper hospital and only meant as a small outpost for healing Pokémon. Past the people, the nurse led them, settling Will down on a free bench and looking over him. She asked him how he felt, where it hurt and what had happened. Will mumbled, almost incoherently, the answers to these questions as the others looked on. Michael's mind itched desperately to ask what had happened, even with Will like this and the time not right, he needed to know. The felt her, close by but dreaded it would come from the where the flames had eaten through the town.

"What happened?" He asked "Why was there a fire, it was an accident? Please, was it an accident?". The nurse didn't know why he was being so insistent on that scenario and answered

"A group of men came during the night, aqua and magma troops, wanting supplies. We refused but they attacked anyway, even though they didn't have any Pokémon" She said "Oh it was horrible, they had those guns which even the police don't carry. They started shooting through windows and houses. They set fire to the city and dragged away anyone who they caught.". She paused and grimly pointed to the young boy who had handed Michael the pail, now swinging his legs innocently ona seat as he waited patiently. "That poor boy. He doesn't even know his mother is missing. She was taken after he ran and he's waiting for her to come and find him..."

"....Who-who was taken?" Michael asked, again distracting the nurse from her examination

"Anyone they found, they didn't care if-" She said, Michael cutting her off

"Is there a girl here? Long brown hair travelling with m-...a Gardevoir?" He said quickly and annoyedly. He didn't want to mince word now, not now.

"I saw them before, you don't see many Gardevoir, very rare Pokémon that." She said "But that was a night ago, she was in the-"

"Are they here now?" Michael cut in again, agitation growing in his tone

"There are a lot of people here, maybe they ran with the rest of the-"

"No! Are they here, do you know!" Michael said, panic in his voice that she had been snatched away, again.

"Calm down lad" Tom said sternly "It's no use if she doesn't know"

"But she saw them, she said she was rare, why would she not notice them!"

"I'm sure it was dark and she didn't have time to, is that right?" Tom asked, turning his eyes to the nurse who was still being delayed in her work.

"Thank you and yes" She said sternly "I was trying to get away myself, but after those troops went away, I found myself back here again. Almost everyone is trying to help"

"...so how many are injured?" Tom asked gently

"Look around you" the nurse said, gesturing to the bandaged people sitting around them. "Only those three were critical when they came in. Two of them were hit in the crossfire, one inhaled too much smoke.". Tom looked over the group. For a town this size it was fortunate not many had been severely injured.

"Has this happened before?' he asked

"Well, they did lurk around the town before, but they never approached...everyone coming in says they have a camp south of Fortree" she was wrapping Will in a thick blanket now, even though it did nothing to quell his shivering.

"A camp?" Michael asked, probing for clarification

"Didn't hear it yet? I don't blame you. Aqua and magma finally took over Mauville a few days ago, we only head because a few people managed to escape" She said, sadness crossing her face as she remembered all the bleeding and broken people who had come to Fortree after the mass exodus of Mauville. "They finally moved across to us after that, since they don't have to worry about the forest around Fortree."

"Where is the camp?" Michael asked, although it sounded more like a fierce demand than a question.
 
"People say they've taken over the Palkian temple only a while out in the forest. Oh, those poor monks, we had a few come here with the news." She said. She gestured to one man in the crowd outside who stood out from the rest, shaved head and wearing a cloth robe, holding a small chain of wooden beads in his hand, he looked to be around sixty. "He was practically in tears when he told me what had happened, they devote themselves to that place, you know." Tom could sympathise with the monk at the very least. The man had lost his home, the house of his doctrine of faith, just as Tom had so long ago. Monks were amount the most dedicated of religious orders, so the loss must have been even greater than Tom could imagine to the poor man.

"Your friend here is rather sick" She said finally. "Did he fall in the water or anything?"

"Well, we had to swim across a river yesterday" Tom said, Will doing his best to emit a scoff through the chattering teeth. A million litres of freezing salt water a river did not make.

"Oh dear, I thought it was something like that. He's very weak now, probably his age" She explained as she looked over Wills features, which now seemed ancient with the sickness he was afflicted with. "He's suffering from mild hypothermia, and possibly a cold or virus caused by it, but he's lucky it's only mild. If he stays here for a while and keeps warm, he'll start to improve."

"That's good to know" Tom said, throwing a look in Michael's direction. It definitely was good to know when he saw the calculating look on Michaels face. The boy was going to suggest the stupid and irrational, that they storm the encampment and find Melody. That was the only thing he seemed to think of now, and it was not something he would be deterred in.

"Is there anywhere we can stay?" Michael asked, the ideas still turning in his head. Ideas of desperation and of revolution fuelled by desire and need.

"Well, the Pokémon centre lodge was nearly destroyed in the fire...but you can stay here if you can find a space. Best get it before others do" She said "This man will be staying here anyway, he needs rest for a while"

Michael walked off wordlessly, leaving Tom to thank the woman and chase after him. For nearly three hours they walked around the charred remains of Fortress, discovering most of the town set up inside the gym, which was also on the ground and nearly undamaged. The townspeople ignored them as they all attended to their own things, everyone having something to do, someone to help or someone to mourn over. Michael asked them, almost every one of them, if they had seen Valerie and Melody. But as far as the townspeople knew, they were nowhere to be seen. A few suggested they had ran from the attack, others saying they might have been captured. But when one man mentioned they could be dead, Michaels heart fell. It hurt so much to hear those words being uttered, that Melody, Valerie, the two of the, could have died just out of grasp. They were directed to the burial site, where cloth covered bodies lay on the dew covered grass, seeming utterly at peace in the charred and broken area. Few where there, Michael only counting the bodies of four humans. But so many more were Pokémon. A calm seemed to settle over them as the setting sun bathed the area in oranges hues reminiscent of the great blaze hours ago. Despite this, the smell of death faintly in the air, that one smell that no one can describe but all know what it means.

The Pokémon had helped to defend the town, they said. Fighting off the gunfire with great talons or swaths of flame, water or razor edged leaves. But in the end, many had lost their lives, ripped to shreds by automatic gunfire. It was something the town was not used to, the death of one Pokémon being a tragedy to most trainers and those around him, but the small scale genocide which they now faced made them numb with shock. Michael was allowed small peaks under the cloth wrapping, but after a few looks at the mutilated bodies, he refused to see anymore. He only scanned the cloths, looking for any sign of the long flowing gown or green hair he had once held. It was with a bitter relief that after walking through the rows of deceased Pokémon, he found neither. He nearly fell to the ground, knowing that he was not gone to heaven, but also in knowing that she could still be alive and trapped in a terrible hell. They left the graveyard that cold evening, the music of shovels on graves pouring over their ears.



That night was spent in quiet contemplation for Michael, secluded in the warm Pokémon centre, shuffled to the side in a hard plastic seat. There is a point where a person becomes so worried and devastated that they feel nothing but calm, their mind freeing itself by knowing that things couldn't make a difference if made worse. His mind became a maelstrom of unorganised thoughts, half formed plans and broken longing. All this way he had come, risked his life and the lives of others just to get here, and now his goal, the only reason he was still here despite his urge to simply lay down and die, was now locked away from him. His thoughts burned through his head, leaving trails of incomprehensible words and struggles in his mind, his face contorting in near pain at the failure to grasp anything and everything. He swore, he cursed, despite his calm state of mind, coming out weakly and without much feeling behind them.

"Troubled, brother?" Came a voice, seeming like a blessing in the way to cut the chain of thoughts from his mind. Michael turned to see the same old monk as before, aged eyes seeming to droop as if closed, still dressed in his robes and holding a small prayer bead. His smile was one of sadness and peace.

"It's just a small problem; I'll figure it out..." Michael said. Despite his dismissal, it didn't stop the aged monk from taking a seat beside him, hands settling on his legs and head bowed

"One doesn't free himself of worry without freeing himself of the thoughts that worry him" The monk said thoughtfully "Tell me what is troubling your mind, and maybe I shall help". Michael was not one to openly reveal his concerns, but the monk sounded sincere enough in his wizened tone that he decided for once it may help.

"I've travelled...a long way to get here" Michael began "I went through hell, and probably put others through it too so I could arrive here...A I really put others through hell..." Michael thought of the weight he must be putting on Will, Tom and Layla simply by continuing this journey. He seemed nothing but a nuisance, the only thing holding the others back in getting on with their lives.

"Seeking something are you?" The monk asked "A journey is not made for no reason even if a person doesn't understand the reason"

"I...I was looking for a girl...I helped her when all of this started" Michael said "I mean, the portals. She came through one and...Well, I couldn't leave her when she I knew she wouldn't survive. We got separated by an accident, and now I'm trying to find her..."

"Hm...And how far has the road been?" the monk asked, thinking deeply as Michael told him the story

"Longer than any I've ever travelled...I need to find her..."

"Why?" The monk asked strangely. Was it not obvious to him that the girl was a lover? An aged man like him would surely know of this, or at least understand the compassion involved.

"Because I need her. I love her" Michael said, spelling it out for the old man

"Why do you love her?" again the man asked why.

"Because I..." Michael stopped to think for a moment. The question was so simple yet the answer was so vague. It wasn't one thing he loved her for, surely. But was the monk asking for the root? "I helped her...she helped me. I want to stay with her, to care for her now"

"But she has repaid herself, restoring the balance" The monk said "Why do you still add to your debt?"

"It's not a debt. It's...it's just that I love her. She's amazing, she knows me and I know her...why else would I come all this way..." Michael paused. Those last words...why would he come all this way?

"Why, indeed" the monk said, amused smile on his face as if he had just won a victory.

"...I came all this way because....I do love her" Michael put his head in his hands. "I do...I really do. It's not an illusion, i know it's real..."

"A man's doubt is his greatest enemy, greater than swords or fire. Only when you best yourself can you best doubt" The monk quoted, again drawing from his teachings and observations from a learned and philosophical life. "You love this girl, and you come all this way to prove it, do you? Maybe you thought she didn't love you, or you didn't love her. So why are you here?"

"...I need to tell her, show her and hold her. She needs to know I promised...I promised to prove I loved her" He said, choked by his own happiness.

"And will you let this stand in your way?" The monk asked "The final test in your journey is here isn't it? And have you not swum so far from the shore that you cannot turn back to see it anymore?" Michael sat in silence now, long hair now fallen over his eyes and obscuring the new bound epiphany he experienced. "So tell me of his girl, what visible beauty has entranced you?"

"Well...she has deep red eyes...silky hair, green like the grass. Her dress flows like moonlight" He chuckled, his worry vanished as he talked of Melody "Her voice is music and she doesn't have to smile to tell me how she feels...". The monk raised a brow but the smile remained on his face. The boy was turning out to be something he had not expected.

"And does she float like the wind when she walks? Know what you're thinking and feel like you feel?" He asked slyly.

"...all those things, yes" Michael answered, still soothed by the thought of her.

"Maybe I ask...are you one of...well, you are human no doubt, but if I may put it crudely, not of our world?" The monk asked knowingly. Michael's worry spiked through the calm for a second, but faded when he decided it would not matter if this old man knew of the truth.

"Yes, I came through one of those portals, I was born into the other world..." He answered, his voice carrying a distance of a thousand miles from home.

"The girl was not of your world either, is she not?" He pushed, but not in an arrogant way, sounding more like a comforting father speaking to his son.

"No, she...she's from Hoenn" Michael answered

"And, my final question to you about this girl who you have travelled to prove yourself to, is this girl not of your being either?" He asked, ceasing his masked questions to assess his suspicions.

"Not of my..." Michael wondered out loud, wondering what the man meant, but having the sharp notion at the back of his mind that he knew, and this would stall for time.

"One of nature, of this worlds nature, who share the same family as that of Palkia himself." The monk said, equally cryptically "Brother, a Pokémon"

Michael looked for a way out of answering. He was not ashamed to admit it, but the monk was a devout keeper of a temple of Pokémon. His actions would be sacrilege, his motives of sin, his whole obsession and love of Melody an abomination. And yet he smiled as he asked with no ill intent behind it, carrying all the familiarity of a grandfather to many children.

"It is not uncommon, brother, it is something celebrated by the temples. For what is a human but a more advanced Pokémon? From Mew we descended and grew to prosper, shedding the ways of Pokémon ancestors and creating a new culture of many, but all stemming from one" he said warmly "With human moral issues and human nature, most do not reveal this about themselves, but the temple is always open to those who choose to love one the same as them in their own eyes"

"...how did you know?" Michael asked in defeat, but comforted by the monks lack of malice

"This girl of green hair and a musical voice with a dress like the moon, commonly seen around the temple as it is a peaceful place and a sanctuary where no Pokémon may be captured, is one who knows the peace of the people and the place as they do, the wild tribes of Gallade and Gardevoir" He said learnedly, having been close to Pokémon since his acceptance as a monk and knowing the peace that came from living in unity with them. He gave a short laugh as he added "and you just told me, brother"

Michael did not say anything but could not help to laugh at the monk's subtle benevolent trickery. And it felt good to laugh in these dark times.


"I suppose you're going to suggest an assault on that place?" Tom said exasperatedly as he watched Michael approach. Michael now lacked the slump he had walked with all this time, as if holding the weight of the world on his back. It may have been two worlds, in reality, but not anymore. His face held determination as strong as steel and his eyes fiercely burning like molten iron. It was a state Tom had not often seen the boy in, and truly this was the strongest he had ever displayed, the look and the walk of a man with a purpose. Layla smiled proudly as she watched him, knowing he now carried himself with the will of a fighter, even though he had the experience of a novice. She would know him more soon, hopefully, and see what this new warrior was capable of when defending one of her pack.

"We've been through this before, and we've never failed" Michael said with a confidence and optimism that was not usually in his nature "You tell me what the odds are"

"Well...they're untrained...and from what I've been told they do have a hastily set up encampment...but they outnumber us" Tom said, knowing that with their training it probably didn't matter, he had enough experience to kill them easily if he was given the right weapon. "But they have guns, we lost everything when we came here. Right now we're unarmed...". In reality, Tom knew it was likely going to be easy if they found any way to get their hands on a spare gun of the right calibre, and to his irritation, he already had a good idea of how to do it.

"Then we find our own weapons, anything will do. A knife, a club, anything that we can use to get a gun from one of them" Michael said, spelling out one of Toms simplest plan , yet probably the most effective given the situation, he had thought of. "If we can do something like we did back in Hoenn sneaking around the guard, then we can just jump the guard this time"

"It shouldn't be that easy, someone could easily notice...and they'd have more than one guard on duty" Tom said, sighing as he knew there was no winning the argument "Look, if we're going to go through with this then we could at least scout out the area first. We don't have the foggiest idea of what the place is like"

"Neither do they, but we have a monk from the temple that would know the layout, and that means we know where to attack" Michael said. All these words like attack, sneaking and guard had no place in his mouth, and even though he knew it, it had to be said. This one time was the time he would break free of the calm and passive persona, breaking into planning and leadership of a small guerrilla group, for the sake of Melody and Valerie.

As Tom was about to rebut the argument, rather futilely in his own knowledge, a young man, carrying three pokeballs strapped to his belt and wearing green pants and shirt under a thick travelling trench coat to shield from the cold wind, approached and spoke up.

"If you're doing this, I want in" He said simply. Tom scowled at the insolent young lad who wore a confidant expression, looking as if he was itching for action. The boy possibly had no idea of the danger they would face, or if he did, didn't seem to care. Tom had only seen the boy when he re-entered the centre, sitting despondently on one of the mattresses set down on the floor, but had taken little notice of the boy with his head tilted and sitting so still.

"It's not polite to listen to others conversations lad" Tom said sternly, adding "And I hope you'll keep quiet about the deal if it goes through"

"Well, now that I've heard anyway, why not let me onboard?" He asked confidently, but with a certain desperation Michael noticed, but unable to place where it lay.

"What could you do for us? Do you know you could literally die in an instant if you aren't careful?" Tom said

"My team packs a nice punch, beat the gym leader here before...well, all this happened" the boy said with a twinge of pain in his eye "They're powerful enough to take down anyone with a gun"

"But what about fifty? And we are not planning a full assault" Tom said, shooting a glare at Michael "If we do this, we do with carefully, planning each step as we go, alright?" He thought himself crazy for planning to do this, but the satisfaction of finally reaching the person they had travelled so far for, and the chance of the restoration of Michael's spirit, was enough that it pushed him to planning the attack. "Now, what can you do for us that won't involve slaughtering one or two of them before your Pokémon are inevitably killed by massive amounts of gunfire?". The boy recoiled slightly at the idea of the death of his team, the reality of the situation sinking in, but his slight shock was quickly replaced by the same competent mask.

"My Ghastly can sneak around, and he won't be affected by bullets, he can goes through walls and I think the same goes for anything physical" The boy explained "It can hypnotise people too, that might work"

"indeed it might" Tom said, the idea of hypnosis working his way into the plans already, and playing quite a large role at that. "One isn't enough, what else can you do?"

"Well, my Muk is toxic enough to-" The boy was cut off as Tom spoke again

"No, what can you do?" He asked specifically. The boy was about to answer, but nothing immediately came to mind. He thought hard, scratching his barren mind for an answer, but nothing came. It was more disheartening than he had thought it would be to find himself useless and unneeded while a team does his work for him. Tom sighed and begrudgingly continued

"See, you're useless without those Pokémon, it's too much to rely on" Tom said, motioning to the pokeballs lining the boy's belt. "But can you aim?"

"You mean...with a gun, right?" the boy asked. He had never used a gun, his ranger cousin Rodney never used a gun, and even his aunt with the police had hardly touched one.

"Yes, with a gun" Tom confirmed tiredly. The kid was not experienced in anything but leadership in combat, making it all the harder for Tom to believe this would work

"...Would I have to shoot someone?" he asked, knowing the answering and knowing how stupid the question was

"Most likely. You might not have to if it goes well, but prepare yourself to kill someone if needed" Tom said hardly, sparing no sugar to sweeten his words with. The boys face contorted with a mixture of emotions, mind visibly reeling in an attempt to decide whether to bail out or not. Finally he came to the conclusion.

"Yeah...I can aim" He said.

"Why do you want to help?" Michael asked, letting the boy turn to him and eye with oddly "Why risk your life for something which isn't your battle?"

"...it is, they took something from me like they did everybody" He said, tone growing grim and losing its previous smugness. His hand brushed unconsciously over the forth clip on his belt which held no pokeball. The answer was good enough for Michael, despite Tom's thoughts that larger numbers would only hinder them.

"...fine" Tom finally conceded, turning to the boy "Have a knife on you by chance?". The young removed a short knife held in a black sheath from one of his trench coat pockets, handing it to Tom as he held out his hand. Tom examined the knife, removing the sheath to see it must be a standard hunting and survival knife, small but very sharp and very reliable. He flicked the knife through the air for a second before sheathing it and hooking it onto his belt.

"It'll work, and loose the coat, it's too heavy" Tom said. "What's your name, lad?

"Mattias...I'm from Kanto, it's not a common name here..." He said

"Mattias, alright then" Tom sighed, looking out the double doors to see the sun had set and the darkness was fresh. He thought of the sleepless night ahead, spent again on a battlefield where death was a covered landmine waiting to be trod on.




The four of them left Fortree under cover of darkness, making their way silently past the trainers and Pokémon who slept on the floor of the quiet and peaceful Pokémon centre. They stepped out into the darkness, letting the cold night wind whip against their faces as the door opened, smelling of pine and ash. The town was dark and silent, not a single leaf stirring, all burnt away from the surrounding canopy. Will was still asleep, knowing of their plan but telling them

"I'm far too weak, both in health and in battle prowess. I'll stay here; I would just be a hindrance"

Michael had agreed, knowing that Will needed the rest to regain strength of which the hypothermia had sapped him. Will was the one who had advised them to wait until deep into the night, despite Michael's pleas to simply go and get it done. Tom had seen the desperation Michael held and agreed to simply get it over with, but Will had objected and forced Michaels hand in the matter.

"It will do nothing to rush in right now. If the group is as small as we've been told, then they won't have many to patrol in the shifts, will they?"

Tom had, for one of the few times, commended Will on the analysis and strategy of his plan. The monk had told them of the layout of the temple, which Tom analysed while Will considered the logical odds. The monk had not asked why they needed the information, but a knowing glance to Michael told Tom that he had an idea. If anything, the monk was thankful for the men trying to liberate the temple, even though fighting in such a sanctuary, to humans and Pokémon alike, was horrific to him.

They made their way down the beaten path which many trainers had travelled before, tall pine trees bordering the forest and scenting the air. Tom and Layla took the lead, while Michael and the new trainer Mattias followed close behind. Layla's leg had more or less completely healed, still feeling a bit brittle to walk on, but it caused her no pain to move around quickly and effectively. Tom was amazed at the time in which she had recovered, being far shorter than it would take a human to recover from a fractured leg. He guessed the medication, combined with some kind of Pokémon healing factor, was to thank. Michael grew more anxious with every step, feeling the bond between Melody and him which had been inactive for so long, growing more connected with each step. It felt like a tug at his mind, urging him closer to where she was, making him recall the young Kadabra's explanation that trying to run away from each other while bonded was futile, their link always drawing them back together. He wondered if Melody could feel it too. They turned from the dirt path, finding the large white stone by the forest which the monks had left to mark the entrance to their trail. Starting into the woods, they were immediately surrounded by towering trees, holding back the light of the moon and shrouding them in darkness. The darkness seemed chilling as they advanced, like they were walking through some place untouched for century's, gnarled roots grabbing at their feet and the whistling of the wind running alongside them with every step. The path was hard to make out, even without the darkness, and Michael got the feeling that not many monks left the temple after dedicating themselves to it, even for a short while. The dirt was loose below their feet, scattered with moss roots and pine needles. Layla's vision guided them, red eyes cutting through both the dark and the veil which cloaked the aura flow of the world to their untrained eyes. She saw the trees rise above them, great pillars of burning blue energy which pulsed along with the beat of life itself, aura flowing along their roots and into the ground where it joined an ocean of the same light.

Layla put an arm out, stopping Tom from advancing along with the others. She could see a great cluster of aura ahead, the energy flowing far quicker and wildly than any of the ancient trees of the forest.

"They are ahead" she said "I can't see much now, but they are there". Tom nodded silently and pushed them all closer to where Layla indicated. The light was visible from between the trunks of the trees now, throwing harsh white shafts through the forest, making everything else fade into black, the trunks now only indicated by the white border around their edges. They moved slower now, creeping closer and trying to stay behind the trunks of the trees to avoid any detection.

Tom looked out through the trees, his eyes adjusting to the light and letting him see into the encampment. It was not impressive. The camp was rushed and unorganized by the looks of things, with chain link fences lining the border which perched on concrete blocks, only an opening in the fence for a gate. A few portable shacks had been set up, obviously towed by vehicle into the area along with portable toilets by the fence, which stood by the main body of the temple. The temple itself was the most impressive thing all, dwarfing the rest of the shoddy encampment in both size and beauty. A stone fountain covered in moss and a green film stood in the centre of the camp, multi levelled with twisting paths for the water to flow from each one, flowers and colourful plants circling it in a mosaic pattern. The temple itself was stone as well, seeming ancient in its construction, large bricks withered and miscoloured. The stairs of the temple climbed to an opening where a great hall sat, the main room of the temple, which led off into the monks quarters and the Temple gardens, according to the old monk. Looking over the camp again, he spied only one guard standing by one of the shacks, automatic rifle held in his arms, looking lazily about and running a hand through his long, greasy black hair as if he really didn't want to be up so late. But even though he held the gun his belt still contained a few pokeballs clipped to it. It would be dangerous for him to be able to release them, as with a gun he was untrained but powerful, with both a gun and Pokémon, he wouldn't need to worry about being untrained.

"Layla, can you see any others?" Tom asked quietly. Layla ran both her visions over the grounds, seeing no other guards, but here aura picking up something else.

"He's the only one here, but there are Pokémon in the building behind him...one other human as well..." she said. The walls of the shack were stripped away as she viewed the aura emanating from inside, some slow, some quick, but all distinguishable.

"How do you know?" Tom asked, unsure to take a gamble on such a statement

"Humans have quicker auras than Pokémon, I can tell they're inside" She said, not bothering to go into how each Pokémon had their own distinctive flow of aura. Tom nodded silently, willing to take that brief explanation.

"We'll have to somehow get behind him or take him out without-" Layla cut him off as she pulled him back roughly

"Someone is coming" She said, sensing two humans approaching from the left of the group. Tom pulled crouched, urgently motioning for Michael and Mattias to do the same. Quiet settled over them and he held his breath as he leaned his head out from one of the trees, needing only a quick glimpse to see who was approaching. He drew his head back in not a second after, having seen two guards, one wearing red and the other blue, casually walking towards them. They obviously hadn't been spotted if the guards pace was any indication, but the two carried firearms as well, giving them the advantage. But if this went right, it would become their advantage. He leaned over to Layla, whispering quickly and quietly edging the knife out from his belt.

"Layla, when they're in front of us, jump out with me" He said, already seeing the questioning look Layla cast at him. "I'll take the blue one; you take the red, and take them out before they have a chance to react. Kill him or knock him out, it won't matter". Layla thought it was reckless, but she trusted him in this, the experienced warrior of the pack.

The two guards drew nearer and nearer, making Tom's heart beat faster and faster. The blood pumped in his veins, becoming as it once had been when he silently waited for a target during his fighting days. Layla's muscles grew tenser as she heard the footsteps come close enough to hear the rustling of the guards loose pants and the metallic sliding of his rifle. With a quick movement and only a rustling as their feet left the ground, they both launched themselves forward, throwing themselves towards the obvious guards. One of the two turned his head just fast enough to see a Lucario flying towards him, mouth opening in shock but not enough to say anything as Layla's fist connected with his jaw, followed by an opposing strike with the rear of her paw to the head, killing the man with only a sickening crack as his skull met a metal spike. The man in blue didn't even have time to turn his head before Tom grabbed his, deftly driving the knife into his neck and yanking it back. With a weak gurgle, the man collapsed onto the forest floor, blood staining the grass a ruby red in the light.

Tom gathered their weapons with haste and retreated back to where Michael and Mattias crouched in waiting, Matthias's face covered with a look of horror and disgust, as if he were about to vomit. Michael placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him slightly; bringing him back from the horror he had seen, explaining quietly.

"Sometimes it has to be done, and shying away from the horror of it at times like this only makes it worse" He said. But in his heart he held no sympathy for the two guards killed, being only obstacles in his way that were responsible for Melody's capture. But it scarred him that he felt his, worrying him that he may go off the deep end and begin thinking the same about lesser people. It was something Mattias might feel sometime in his life soon.

Tom looked over the rifles, grimacing at the horrible workmanship on them. They looked like they had been put together in a sweatshop, and unfortunately that probably wasn't far from the truth, being hardly distinguishable from a standard AK47 model. The metal was unevenly moulded and the magazines were a bad fit, having to be forced in hard for them to feed. The bullets seemed shoddily made too, with some having dents or irregularities in the casings, worrying him that they could potentially misfire. The sights were uneven too, but that would hardly matter much now, they would still give them an advantage. He handed one to Michael, taking one for himself. The only thing he could give to Mattias was a small pistol the red had been carrying, equally shoddily made, this one with a terribly adapted extended magazine. Mattias looked at the pistol with unease, but forced himself to swallow his fear and accept it, feeling the weight of raw power and death in his hands.

Tom led them to the opening in the fence, seeing it unguarded and allowing them to slip through quietly without detection. Bad planning and even worse execution, Tom had thought as he weaved his way behind one of the other shacks by the fence. Layla quickly told him that the shack was filled with people, but they were so still it was obvious they were asleep, Tom confirming it was true as he glanced through one of the windows. They were all dressed in red or blue, some lacking colours but obviously being a part of the organizations which were now teamed in this matter. It would do them, no good to wake up the armada with a fire fight right, and they needed stealth, surveillance.

"Lad, you said something about a ghast?" Tom asked quietly

"Ghastly" Mattias corrected him

"Whatever just bring him out now, we need him to scope out that building" Tom said, pointing around the corner to where the single guard lazily stood watch. Mattias nodded as he unclipped the red and white sphere from his belt, holding it out and flicking a tiny, near invisible switch on the side. Red light erupted in a bright flash as the pokeball opened, a slight humming and hissing filling the air for a second as the light arced out, reforming itself in mid air and solidifying. Tom, cursed doing such a thing right outside the window of the sleeping foe, hoping that they were heavy sleepers and that neither light or sound woke them. No one stirred as the Pokémon took shape, a floating sphere of utter blackness, smoke like aura streaming off its intangible body and corrupting the air around it with a sickly purple glow. Two large red eyes stared out from its form, mouth forming from seemingly nothing as it uttered a greeting

"Ghaaastly" It droned with a hissing voice, scratching both Tom and Michael's ears, Mattias and Layla unaffected.

"Ghastly, make yourself invisible and take a look in there" Mattias said quietly and confidently. This whole operation scared him straight, but now that his Pokémon was out on the playing field, he knew it wouldn't fail.

"Ghastly..." the Pokémon droned again, body fading from sight, the purple aura of slight malevolence lingering for but a moment before disappointing.

Now came the hardest part for them all, most of all Michael, the wait. They could do nothing, despite Michaels urge to simply run forward and fire, bursting through the door and sweeping Melody into his arms to carry away. Killing the guard would be easy enough, but the sound of the gunfire and the rashness of the plan, it made certain he would not live long after that. And so they waited, every second feeling like a minute and every minute feeling like another weight on their chest. The night wind ran through the grounds, making Michael shiver in his inadequate clothing, Mattias doing the same having discarded the bulky trench coat. Layla did not worry about the wind, finding it refreshing and exhilarant, while Tom was simply too tense in waiting to notice it. Finally, the ghastly returned, fading in like a phantom and sending out it's purple tendrils of corrupting aura.

"Good, what did you see?" Tom asked, forgetting that the ghastly could not speak, but relying on Layla for an accurate translation as the Pokémon droned slowly.

"One man, sitting by a door opposite the one facing us..." She said, listening intently before relaying the next words "There are Pokémon in there too...they're all caged and retrained....or...or they're in pokeballs" She said

"Did you see a Gardevoir?" Michael quickly asked, the ghastly facing him with what should have been an affirming smile, but came out looking like a dark smirk.

"...he did" Layla said, hesitating but continuing "She was asleep...in a cage near the man inside...she looked peaceful". Michael was thankful for that much, being able to stay calm in a place like this where a Pokémon could surely be cut down in seconds. He was near her, he was so close now, only a few strides away behind a guarded door.

"How do we get in?" Mattias whispered hastily "...why is this Gardevoir so important? Is she what we're trying to get? Because I didn't sign up for that"

"Don't ask about her lad, not until we get somewhere safe, anyway" Tom said, unwilling to discuss details when deep in an operation like this. Layla cast a glance at Michael, letting Mattias follow her gaze. He eyed Michael silently, certain that this Gardevoir was like the Pokémon who had been taken from him, realising that they were both in this for the same goal now. "Can that ghastly distract the guard? Anyway at all, we just need to get in"

"Well...um, he could try hypnosis...it's not as effective on humans since he's not too strong with-"

"That'll work for now, just send him out" Tom said quickly cutting Mattias off, wanting to set his into motion as soon as possible. Mattias nodded to the ghastly, who gave one more call of understanding and faded from the world yet again.

Mattias poked his head around the corner after a few seconds, Tom going to pull him back but Layla stopping him as she spotted what Mattias was looking at. The ghastly was slowing bobbing around in front of the guard, moving in a deliberate, trance like pattern. Deciding it was the sooner the better now, Michael moved out of hiding, Tom about to sound a warning but cutting himself of with an annoyed grunt and moving swiftly to follow him, Layla by his side and Mattias in tow. Their feet were silent on the lush grass, the crunching of the fresh blades only audible to them as they crossed the divide. Tom cast a glance at the man who had stood guard, seeing the blank stare on his face as the ghastly spoke in low and disturbingly soothing tones, eyes always tracking his. They moved behind the shack, Michael standing silently and shakily in front of the door which was the gate to Melody's prison. Tom took a place beside the door, Layla standing opposite, their minds working in unison and matching plans as they watched each other's actions. The man was still awake in there, Michael knew it, hearing the sounds of a chair scraping on the floor and footsteps echoing as the man paced along the length of the shack. Tom told him to wait, wanting to burst in and surprise the man when he was near the doorway. There were no windows to reveal them, he told them, and the door had neither window nor viewing screen.

But now was a time when Michael finally couldn't take it, the excitement and eagerness in his chest driving him forward as he did something absolutely stupid, making Tom freeze in place. He gave three short raps on the door. No one moved, but Mattias stifled a gasp as the footsteps approached the doorway, rough voice calling out to the outside, unintelligible through the wall. But the voice continued and the door creaked, handle turning and pushing open pulling. A man, young with black hair cut short under a red bandana, body lean and athletic, stepped into the doorway, right into the barrel of Michael's rifle. Without a second thought, another thing that scarred him, Michael pulled the trigger and let the roaring of the gunshot resonate through the camp. The young man's shock remained on his face even as he fell back, collapsing Tom the floor, arms spread to the side and on his back. The sound that ripped through the air dulled and left an even quieter silence in its place where not even the wind dared to speak. Tom cursed gruffly and grabbed Michael by the arm, throwing him into the shack and pulling Layla along with him as he stomped inside, Mattias quickly jumping through the door before Tom slammed it shut, clicking the lock. SPLORK The room was lined with shelves, pokeballs resting on each one, gleaming in the hard fluorescent light which flickered above. A few cages sat on the shelves, none too big, holding only small Pokémon who were muzzled and restricted as to not launch any attack in an attempt to escape. The Pokémon had reacted to the shot and their cries of panic and slight aggression filled the air. The noise filled the shack and grated at their ears, culminating in Tom finally telling Layla to silence them. She spoke shortly and the Pokémon began to settle, but some still called lowly or barked at the intruders, not trusting the new Lucario who had told them so easily that they were in no danger.

"Dammit, what the hell was that about?" Tom yelled, trying to keep his voice low even in anger "You've dammed us all here, they would have heard that!". But Michael didn't answer, instead he had fixed his eyes on where the guard had been sitting before he answered the door, before he shot him.

A chair sat there, and next to it, a large cage easily his size. Inside the cage, illuminated by the harsh light, sat a single Gardevoir, eyes covered with a large metal blinder and weights around her ankles. She sat silently against the wall of the cage, metal mesh digging into her skin as she slept. How she had slept through the gunshot was anyone's guess, but a soft smile adorned her lips as if she were dreaming. Michael moved towards the cage, ignoring Tom's angry yells.

"Michael, what are we going to do now?" He said sternly, not having seen the cage in his frustration. But the minute the name left his mouth, the quickly Gardevoir lifted her head, mouth slightly agape, as if she had been jarred from one world to the next. Her voice whispered, so silently it sounded like only breath to their ears

"M..Michael?" she finally croaked, having nowhere to look but straight forward, where darkness remained constant and no illusions could lure her into a cruel trap.

But Michael crouched now by the cage, looking in, hand trembling as he reached out to the lock on the cage door. The metal jittered as he held it, cold and forbidding. Tom now saw her and silently slid a set of keys from the guard's belt, handing it quietly to Michael, who accepted it without a word. The key went in and a soft click sounded, the rusty squeak of the cage door filled the air as the last barrier dropped. Michaels hand gently reached out, shaking and afraid to touch her as if she would turn out to be just another vision, and he would then jolt awake in bed, lonely as before. Melody whimpered slightly as she felt his hands rest on her face, feeling the cold from the night's air on his flesh as he gently held her. The feeling left for only a second before a second click sounded, the blackness that had covered her eyes now sliding away with a dull thunk as the blinder hit the floor. Her eyes searched the bright room, only making out fuzzy silhouettes in the sudden light. But the first thing she heard then became the first thing she saw

"Melody..." Michael whispered, voice full of relief, passion and sadness. His face focused and the blur around him was gone before anything else in the room. Her heart was pulled to her throat as she beheld him in reality for the first time in far too long. She could only let out a broken gasp, soon turning to deep, heaving sobs as she reached out and touched him, drawing her arms around him like a lost child. He did the same. The moment was nothing like they had imagined, but everything they had hoped for. The weight in their chests finally lifted, the tears melting it as if it were ice in a blazing fire, leaving the unfamiliar but so long missed feeling of freedom. The others all held different looks as they watched the two broken beings come together. Tom looked on with a soft smile, Layla a look of happiness, a twinge of longing passing over her face. Mattias had been moving up and down the rows of pokeballs before this had happened, and with a pokeball in his hand, looked at the two with an odd perplexion.

"Is she the one we came to get?" Mattias asked quietly. Tom nodded and Mattias looked on again, still slightly confused. She was a rare Pokémon, but this plan all for her was ludicrous, even if she was a friend to Michael surely he knew her capture should have been the end of it.

"Why is she so important to him?" He asked, the answer nagging at the back of his head but sounding so strange to him it was stifled. Tom gave Mattias an amused smile, thinking of how naive the boy was for missing the obvious answer.

"I'm surprised you don't know. It's called love" Tom said simply, watching the success of all their efforts and plans come together. It may have seemed selfish of Michael to put them through all this, which Michael admitted to himself, but the journey so far had given Tom a taste of a purer version of the life he once led, and showed him to Layla, who he now valued more than anyone else. He had begun to understand why Michael did the things he did.

Michael had unshackled Melody's legs and helped her stand, taking a few seconds as she gently began to float about the ground, feet inches off the hard linoleum floor. They were placed on her to tether her down and keep her from moving, just as the blinder had stopped her from targeting anyone to attack. If she could have, she would have stayed there with Michael for as long as she could, the renewed unity feeling so joyous to her right now that it seemed that it would shatter if she even moved from his arms.

"Let's go home, Michael" She said gently, sighing as she said it "Let's go home"

"Yes...we can go home..." Michael repeated to assure himself it was real, that he could return home with her in his arms.

A sharp cracking on the door caused Tom to whip his head around, hearing moving forms outside the shack. He cursed to himself; they had heard the shot and were swarming outside the shack.

"Hey, open up!" Someone yelled from behind the door "Come on, boss wants us to search the grounds!". They didn't realise the guard in here was dead. That was good. But Tom's mind still raced to form a plan. They couldn't open the door and fire from cover, there was simply too many of them, neither could they run for it, they would be spotted and cut down no matter which way they went.

"We're trapped, dammit" He muttered. The idea of surrender didn't often occur to him, most of the time not being needed with the skills he possessed, but he wasn't stupid enough to think they could win here. "...Well...I hate to say it everyone, but we're cornered"

"I have a way" Mattias spoke up quickly, the knocks on the door getting louder. Tom looked at the trainer who wore a smirk, happy that he was the only one to see the obvious plan right now. He held up a pokeball he had been carrying, having fetched it before when he slipped away after they had entered the shack. It was what he had been looking for, the friend who had been taken from him.

"A single Pokémon isn't going to do anything against them, they're armed and-" Tom stopped himself, the idea suddenly catching in his mind as he looked around at all the cages and pokeballs sitting on their shelves. They were sitting inside a room with a miniature army. "A distraction...you want to make a stampede don't you"

"That's the idea" Mattias confirmed. The pokeball in his hand suddenly opened and released the creature inside it. A thud sounded as the light receded, the weight in the shack shifting noticeably as a great grey creature stood before them. Hard grey, armour like skin covered it's body and it stood on four legs. Two red eyes stared out at them, a horn in between which led up to large plates of hard bone adorning it's back.

"Rhyhorn" It said in a deep, grinding voice as it greeted them.

"This is my Rhyhorn" Mattias said, explaining the choice quickly "Rhyhorns have armor and bone nearly as strong as iron. He can charge out there and cause a distraction while I release some of these other Pokémon so they can join in, the bullets won't hit him hard enough for long enough until the others arrive and help out"

"They could die" Layla protested "You want to send these Pokémon out so we can run away and let them die?". Her accusation was justified, and Mattias could not refute it. It seemed like a good idea to him, even though some Pokémon may die, they would get away and save the one's who culd survive. Tom had a different idea.

"No, Layla. We can release them, then back them up while we look through the temple" He said "They'll all be too confused to notice us, we'll have the upper hand...none of them have to die, we won't use the weaker ones..."

"Why the temple?" Mattias asked "Are you going to try and loot the place? Why would you-"

"We have to find Valerie" Melody said, the first time she had spoken aloud to everyone, including Mattias, who gave him a slight shock, since they had found her. "We have to help her...and the others. They are in the temple...I don't know where though"

"We'll find her" Tom said assuredly "We'll find them all even if we have to shoot everyone here...." Though the idea of having to commit a localise massacre was not appealing to him. The banging on the door had ceased now, which Tom found odd, how they just seemed to have given up like that.

"Let's go then, they're right outside" Mattias said hastily. He was eager to leave now and make a run for it, but the guilt of abandoning everyone stopped him, but didn't stop the feeling of wanting to just get out of here. Tom moved towards the door, unslinging his rifle and gripping it tightly

"When I open the door on three-" Tom was cut off by the sound of a lock clicking and the door swinging open, nearly hitting him in the face as a guard stumbled in

"Made me get the keys you idi-" the guard was stopped by a sudden horn to his chest as the Rhyhorn charged forward, sending him screaming out the door as he was thrown across the ground. The Rhyhorn's roar sounded and the yelling began, more cries of pain and panic as the behemoth charged more of the men in the courtyard. Tom stood dumbly for a second before shaking himself from the shock, rolling his eyes as he aimed his rifle out the door while Mattias grabbed more pokeballs from the shelves

"Well, three, I guess" He muttered half amusedly, picking his first target of the night.