Whysp's Mission list

[Requiem of Whyspers]

Mission Profile

Item Mission

Category: Pokeballs

Silph Co. Delivery

Pokeballs, a neccessity for all Pokemon Trainers, without these devices it would be impossible for trainers across the world to carry with them where ever they go their faithful companions. Sure, you could have them just follow you but do you really think it would be wise to have a Pokemon like Magmar follow you into a building, thus setting off the sprinklers? Didn't think so. Any who, the history of Pokeballs go back a long way, but that's not important right now, the future is now! The world's Pokeballs are largely supplied by their modern day inventor, Silph Co. It is this business that has invented the majorty of the Pokeballs we use to do, though some were invented in collaboration with a rival company in Hoenn, Devon Corp, but Silph Co. is in agreement with them to manufacture their Pokeballs too so it works out for everyone.

As you can imagine Silph Co. is always swamped with orders from Poke Marts around the world for Pokeballs and sometimes they find it difficult to meet the demands in a timely fashion. It is this very reason why Silph Co. is asking trainers from all over if they would like to help in performing deliveries for them, of course trainers who succeeded it making the deliveries are rewarded for their work. And that's where you come in! Go to the Silph Co. in Saffron City of the Kanto region, there sign up for one of their Pokeball deliveries. You will be given the choice the location of any Poke Mart or Department Store in the world to take the shipment to, the further you go the greater the reward of course. Shipments also vary in size, shipments to lone Poke Marts can sometimes be modest in size while shipments to Department Stores are always large, of course size also affects your rewards. Know this though, the Pokeballs are contained in a sealed metal crate which its lock is digital and protected by a Porygon programmed inside, making it near impossible for you to steal the contents, sorry to be of disappointment.

So, if you are looking to score some Pokeballs to replenish your stock this is the mission for you! Surely Silph Co. will reward you with some of their merchandise upon completion, cause what Pokemon Trainer doesn't like to get free Pokeballs, right?

Objective:
---Pick up a shipment of varying size from the Silph Co. building in Saffron City. You are then allow to choose a Poke Mart or Department Store to deliver it to, distance of delivery and size of shipment affect your rewards. Plus, don't try to steal the contents, it's protected.

Opposition:
---No real way of knowing. You may come across wild Pokemon depending on the path you take or perhaps some thugs looking to steal your shipment, speaking of which there is a known group that cuts off Silph Co.'s deliveries which prompted them to use the Porygon protection. This group is known as Team Bandito, which they look upon themselves as modern day Robin Hoods but in reality they are nothing but petty thieves. They are known for using Ground type Pokemon along with cactus Pokemon, furthermore they are largely a male group.
---All opposition various on what you decide to come across, but know this, something -will- get in your way.

Pokemon:
---You may capture or snag one Pokemon available at your rank. If you choose not to your rewards will be greater.

Rewards:
---Pokeballs, the type of Pokeballs you are awarded depend on those you delievered. There is a max of two type different types of Pokeballs. The amount you are given depends on quality of mission and whether or not you capture/snag a Pokemon.
---Pokeballs available include, Pokeball, Great Ball, Ultra Ball, Premier Ball, Timer Ball, Dive Ball, Net Ball, Nest Ball, Luxury Ball, Repeat Ball, Quick Ball, Dusk Ball, and Heal Ball. Apricorn Pokeballs are -not- available in this mission.

Odd had been looking up some information on his SNAG when he happened across a mission for delivery assistance. "He-lo." He grinned as he read over it. "Well this shouldn't be too hard." He commented to himself as he looked over the Pokemon he had on hand. "Although, admittedly, I'm gonna have one hell of a time getting a large delivery around with the Pokemon I've got. That meant he needed to look into some serious transportation possibilities along the way. Well, for now, that just meant he had a lot of work ahead of him, despite the seemingly novice level difficulty of the request.

He released Replay for some company as he looked around for Lykas. At the very least, the other male would have the ability to get him to Saffron City. With a bit of thinking, he recalled that Beat knew Strength and could likely carry a decent sized crate with ease, at least for a short period of time. He finally found Lykas hiding in the kitchen with a sandwich and got him to at least loan him Mykel for a short period of time. With the Ralts' help, he was teleported to Saffron with little effort at all. The hard part, so far, was finding the Silph Co. building. Which wouldn't have been hard at all if he'd ever even heard of the place before. At least having heard of it would be enough to know what he was looking for. So instead, he was reduced to locating the Pokemon center and asking for directions, only to be further embarrassed by his lack of knowledge when he discoevered it was the building right next door. He blushed slightly as he left the Pokemon Center and walked the few short paces to the Silph Co.'s front door.

Walking in, he looked around for a moment, completely awestruck at how advanced and totally sophisticated this place looked. "Hello?" He walked up to the front desk, unamused to find it unmanned. "Hello?! I'm here to help with the delivery problems." He offered, hoping that(if anyone were around) it would get him some attention. Thankfully, it did get some catch someone's attention. Though it was only a janitor. "Sorry, Sport, but the doorman's out today." He chuckled lightly as he pointed out the sign hanging on the wall beside Odd.

~Out Sick. Please use phone to contact employees directly~

There was an arrow pointing straight down to a company telephone and it had a listing of departments with there number beside them with it. Odd once again found himself blushing. "Pay attention, genius." Replay sqwawked, laughing at his trainer's lack of focus today. "Oh, shush, you." Odd reprimanded as he looked at the phone. "So who should I call to help out with the delivery problems?" He asked, turning to look back at the janitor, only to find him gone already. "A ghost?" Replay asked, knowing that humans could be ghosts, in the literal sense, rather than ones like Pokemon. Ghost Pokemon were more like multi-dimensional beings that existed in the nexus between this dimension and another. Or something like that. Nobody really knew for sure. Not even most ghost Pokemon, themselves. While the little Chatot had these thoughts on his mind, Odd had already picked up the phone and was dialing a number.

~Upstairs~
The phone rang as Marcus Xyle typed away at his computer. The monitor flickered brightly in the dim lights of his office as he growled in irritation. The phone rang a second time and he swore under his breath, ignoring it as he continued to work. This project was too important to let himself be distracted. As the telephone rang a third time, he finally allowed himself to relinquish his keyboard for a brief moment to snatch the receiver off the hook. "Hello?!" He growled, returning to typing, even as he spoke. "Yes, this is the pokeball manufacturing department and I am -very- busy." He responded, pausing for a moment to double check one of the formulas he was working on. "You're a trainer here to help with delivery?" He paused for another moment, sighing in relief inwardly. That would take a load off his mind for a while. There was a delivery in dire need of getting somewhere far away and if this trainer could get it there, then he'd have more time to focus on his work. "Very well. Go through the door behind the counter and to the end of the hall, turn left and then go through the third door on your right. That'll take you to the delivery bay. Tell them Marcus Xyle sent you to pick up delivery 954721-U." He explained, all the while watching his computer screen flicker before him. "they'll give you the details from there.

~The Lobby~
Odd replaced the telephone receiver on the hook and looked to Replay on his shoulder. "Looks like we're in business now." He smiled as he followed the instructions he'd been given. Only a few moments later, he was speaking to a woman dressed in a very.....eh....masculine work uniform. "Alright kid, you said old Marcus sent you out this way, right?" Odd nodded as he looked up at the taller woman. "Alright...This shipment's loaded with Premier and Luxury Balls and it's headed for Opelucid City in Unova. Since opening up to the other regions, they've been in short supply of specialty Pokeballs and these seem to be selling like they were Rare Candies." The woman explained. "Don't worry about getting to Unova, there's a cargo ship in Vermilion Port right now that can get you there by days end, provided you show them the tag on this crate." The woman informed as she led the boy over to a moderately sized box. It looked like he could carry it himself and get some help from his Pokemon when his arms got tired.

Lifting the box off the floor proved to be quite easy, if a tad awkward due to the size of the box. His arms were stretched out in odd ways he wasn't used to but the weight wasn't enough to make it problematic yet. "Alright, thanks." The teen offered a nod of thanks as he turned to Replay. "Can you let out Treble for me?" He was already walking away from the woman that had given him his instructions now as Replay nodded and flew down from his shoulder, tapping on the release button for Treble's Pokeball. As the Drifloon materialized, Odd let out a small sigh of relief. Though it wouldn't be justified until after he made his request. "Hey Treble, think you can open the doors for me?" The Drifloon nodded and drifted over to the closed door ahead of him and wrapped one of his string-like arms around it. A quick turn popped the latch loose and he pulled it open for his trainer as the human neared it. "Excellent!" Odd cheered as he walked through. "Why don't you stay out for a while, since you can get the doors for me. You and Replay can keep me company while I travel, too." He suggested. Treble's body inflated a bit at that. He obviously liked that idea. The trio of human and two Pokemon exited Silph Co. shortly thereafter, heading south towards Vermilion City. Odd only knew that was where the city was located because he'd overheard a few trainers talking about heading that way at the pokemon Center.

The trip to Vermilion was short and it took hardlyy any time to locate the port. It was hard to miss an entire district of the city dedicated to warehouses and docks for ships. He found the right cargo ship with a bit of effort, thankful that he had found it at last, as his arms were starting to go numb from holding the crate of Pokeballs for so long. "Hello?!" He called up to the ship's deck, hoping to get the attention of one of the crew members. Apparently someone had been listening when he shouted since an answer came only a few seconds later. "Aye?" A Man leaned over the deck's railing and looked around. "Is this the ship heading for Unova?" Odd asked as he moved closer so his voice would be easier to hear. "Indeed it is, lad." the older man called back. "Good. I've got a shipment of Pokeballs from Silph Co. bound for there. They told me you guys could get me there if i showed you the tag on this crate?" He informed the man as he tried hefting the crate up a bit more, wincing at the added effort of trying to get it closer. "Give me a moment, lad. Lemme get down there and take a look." The crewman called as he started towards the gangplank, heading down onto the dock. Once he was on firm ground, the man made greate haste in heading over to Odd. He checked the crate over, verifying that it was indeed a Silph Co. storage unit, complete with their patented Porygon encrypted digital locking mechanism. "Aye, lad. We can get to Unova by day's end." The man finally announced. "I'll warn ye, though; Some of the crew like to let off steam with pretty rough battles when they're not on duty and, provided we don't run into a freak storm along the way, most of them won't be needed on this trip. The seas are calm today." Odd nodded in understanding. "Gotcha." Battles wouldn't be a problem for him, a trainer. "Well, lad. Follow me and I'll show you where you can wait for arrival." The crewman suggested as he turned and headed back up onto the ship. Odd nodded and followed quietly. "I admit you barely caught us in time. I was just about to weigh anchor so we could ship out." The man admitted as Odd followed close behind him.
It took a few minutes of traveling to get there but eventually, Odd found himself led up the gangplank, across the deck, down a flight of stairs, through three hallways and down another flight of stairs before he was allowed to rest. All the while he was still carrying the fairly bulky crate in his aching arms. He was more than relieved to hear the older man speak again at last. "This here's where you can wait out the trip, lad. There's a bathroom four doors down the next hallway." He informed as he opened a door into a fairly large room, which appeared to be crowded with small-ish boxes. At least there was enough room for him to move around in the small room and all of these other crates were fastened in place so nothing would be falling on him in the event of massive turbulence. "Thank you, sir." Odd responded as he stepped inside and finally set that gods forsaken crate down on a waist high stack of other crates. Treble had followed behind while Replay sat on his shoulder the whole way to the room and the older man shivered slightly when the Drifloon passed by him. "That's Captain, lad." The older man responded as he halted for a moment. "Captain Mercer." He corrected himself before exiting the room and returning to his tasks.

Odd smirked at the captain's reaction to Treble, though he eventually just sat back and relaxed for the moment. Though, eventually, he nodded off. In his slumber, he missed treble's adventurous streak as the Drifloon wandered off to explore the ship. The Ghost phased through walls and floors here and there as he traveled, wandering upon crewman from time to time, who he proceeded to scare the living daylights out of. Unintentionally each time, but scared nonetheless. After a while of exploring, and finding that the ship was mostly carrying supplies for the various shops all over the world by invading a few crates in the cargo hold, he found his way back to Odd. He didn't return alone, however and Odd was shocked from his sleep by a gruff voice shouting at him from near the door. "Would you keep that damn Ghost of yours in it's Pokeballs. It's scared the hell out of half my crew already and I'm tired of it." The one who had shouted turned out to be a rather bulky and heavily muscled man in his late 30's. Odd awoke with a start, looking at the man and turning back to Treble for a moment before he let out an annoyed sigh. "Oy Vey. Sorry, sir. I guess I forgot to put him back in his Pokeball before I fell asleep." He apologized as he stood up and stretched. "By the way, D'you know how far we are from Unova?" The question was asked as he turned his focus to the crate that was his charge. It hadn't moved yet so it seemed that all was well. "Yeah, we're about thirty klicks offshore. But that ain't the point, kid." The man griped as he stepped through the doorway. "I think you owe me a battle, since it was your damn Pokemon that's been causing my crew so much trouble." Odd sighed. He'd figured as much was coming when the man burst in the way he had.

Looking at the man at long last, he finally spoke to him face-to-face. "I suppose you won't let me get out of it if I tried so I might as well say yes, huh?" The older man nodded in head. "Damn straight, kid." He responded in a gruff tone. "Then let's at least go up on deck where there's more room." Odd requested as he picked up his charge, which was the crate from Silph Co. "Whatever, kid. As long as I get my battle out of you." The older man backed out of the room, careful not to hit his head on the doorframe and led the way back up to the deck. Once up on deck, Odd set down the crate he was carrying and turned to the man who'd challenged him. "So you want to battle, huh?" He asked, already knowing the answer. The gruff crewman grunted in anoyance as he pulled a Pokeball from his Pocket. "I'll let you off easy and go all out in a one on one battle." The older man announced as he expanded the pokeball, smirking to himself as he thought about it. "Can I at least know your name before we begin?" Odd asked as he pondered which Pokemon he should use. "I suppose it won't hurt to introduce myself. My name's Sonnier." The large man responded as he threw his Pokeball into the air. From said ball materialized a Pokemon Odd had never seen. A strange black creature that appeared to have an axe fused to it's head. "What the hell is that?" He wondered aloud as he considered which pokemon he should use against it. For the moment, he decided to go with one of his most trusted Pokemon. "Let's go, Bass!" He called as he pitched the Chingling's Pokeball into the air, releasing the little Psychic type onto the deck. Sonnier laughed at the little bell Pokemon. "My Haxorus is gonna make that little bell into scrap metal." The man chortled as he thought about which move he should use to trash this kid's little pokemon. "Ok, let's start off weak. Haxorus, use False Swipe. We don't want to knock it out too soon." The sailor intended to play with this kid for a while, even if that meant beating on his pokemon without knocking it out. The large-ish Dragon rushed Bass, claws extended as if it would rend the little psychic type apart in a matter of seconds. "Bass, use.....um.....Psychic?" Odd wasn't sure what would be effective here. He'd never fought a Dragon type before and had never even heard of this one so he was completely at a loss as to what moves would work. Bass dodged Haxorus' attacks as best he could while building up the energy to throw a wave of psychic energy at the Dragon. Unfortunately, the Haxorus was hardly affected by the blow and countered with a Dragon Claw, bringing a crackling talon down on the small psychic type with little effort. "Gah! Bass!" Odd knew his Pokemon's limits and another move like that was more than likely to be the end of this battle. "Bass.....use Psychic one more time, and pack everything you can into it!" The tiny bell Pokemon nodded as he closed his eyes, soaking up all the energy he could while Haxorus watched on. After a moment or two, he opened his eyes to reveal a bright blue glow. "Now!" Odd called, watching with high hopes as Bass released the energy. The air seemed to ripple between it and and Haxorus as the wave of energy passed across the gap, threatening to tear the ship apart as it went. It struck the dragon type hard and fast, and this time it was obvious the attack was felt. Though it still wasn't enough to end it. "This is over." Sonnier voiced as he looked into Haxorus' eyes. "Use Dragon Rage." The Dragon nodded in understanding and stared Bass down as it compressed energy into it's body. The little Chingling wasn't likely to stay conscious after the attack unless he successfully dodged it. These thoughts crossed through both Pokemon and trainer's minds at the same moment. The difference between being one side feared the outcome while the other hoped for it. As both sides made their peace with whatever came to pass, Haxorus released the attack - an immense ball of draconic energy billowed out from Haxorus' open maw before it screamed across the deck of the ship, plowing into Bass, who had made no attempt to dodge the attack. Odd felt like his heart had stopped as the attack seemed to burn out with Bass acting as the wall that stopped it's advance. He didn't realize, even as he ran to Bass's side, that the attack would have hit him if the Chingling had moved. As he came to his Pokemon's aid, he realized that the Psychic type was already unconscious. "You did great, Bass." He voiced as he picked the little pokemon up, soon returning it to it's pokeball.

Sonnier and Haxorus stood over Odd as the young boy just stared at Bass's pokeball, still on his knees on the deck. "You didn't do half bad for using a pint-sized Pokemon like that." Sonnier voiced, offering Odd a hand to help him back to his feet. "Hax!" His dragon agreed. "I don't think Haxorus was expecting that kind of power either, judging from how it reacted to your little Pokemon's second attack." Odd didn't feel like responding. This just proved he wasn't a good enough trainer yet. He'd let his Pokemon down. He'd failed. He'd lost. "Here's some advice for you, though. Next time you fight against a Dragon type Pokemon, try using Dragon or Ice type attacks. Dragon Pokemon are weak to them." Sonnier offered, by way of apology for being so rough. It took him a moment to answer, but Odd finally responded, just offering a nod as he put Bass's Pokeball in his pocket and picked up his crate for delivery. The ship was nearing Driftveil City port, by now, so he prepared to disembark the moment the ship was anchored. He didn't even feel like admiring the drawbridge as they passed underneath, despite the way he would typically be in complete awe. Sonnier had just shown him that not only did he have a lot to learn, but he had a long way to go to get his Pokemon strong enough to protect themselves, even. When the ship was finally docked and able to begin unloading, Odd left, without a word to anyone on the ship. He didn't feel the need, considering he'd already said his thanks to the captain back in Kanto and Sonnier had already gotten his apology battle(and won, though he chose to not think about that part).

Finding his way into the main part of the city, Odd found that it was rather bustling at the moment, though there didn't seem to be any cars on the roads. He'd have a hard time catching a ride from here, if that were the case. Deciding not to stick around, he headed to the Pokemon Center and got Bass treated for his injuries from the battle with Haxorus. While Nurse Joy was tending to his little scrapper, he headed to the large map located nearby. Or went in search of it, at least. He knew most Pokemon centers had some form of map of their region for trainers or other travelers to use, should they stop in. Right now, he needed to find the route to Opelucid City. It wouldn't have taken long, provided he knew how to read like a normal person but the poor kid's dyslexia made it far more difficult and he ended up having to ask for help from a passerby. "Oy vey....I really need to get some help with this...." He commented to himself as he walked away from the map. From what he'd found out from the girl who'd read the map for him, he needed to head north, through Mistralton City, through the quarry northeast of there and into Icirrus City out the other side. From there, Opelucid City was "just a stone's throw away" to the East. (in the words of his translator, at least). As he was walking away, he heard the announcement from Nurse Joy that his Pokemon was in full health once more and went to retrieve the little Psychic type. Once he had Bass back in his possession, he released Treble from his Pokeball and let the small Drifloon stay by his side as he travelled. "Ok....so we have to get through Chargestone Cave to reach Mistralton city...." The teen commented to his Pokemon. "That sounds a bit tedious, so let's cut the cave out and take a shortcut around it with my hoverboard, why don't we?" He offered as they headed towards it. He had to be careful who saw him, considering how rare it was to even own a hoverboard these days. The things were exedingly rare and beyond expensive for individuals so people tended to remember anyone they saw with such possessions. Nearing Chargestone Cave, the boy looked around and, certain that no one was nearby, pulled out his hoverboard and rested his delivery on the nose of it. He didn't plan on standing or going very fast, so he sat down closer to the back to balance out the weight and slowly started around the perimeter of the cave system's aboveground portion.

The trip was long and arduous at low speed, but it was far simpler than trying to find his way through the cave. He had to call on Beat and his Brick Break to deflect a few incoming Watchog that refused to leave him be as well, but they were easily discouraged once he showed resistance. The most unfortunate part of the detour wasn't the time it took, nor the wild Pokemon he had to chase off. It was the feeling of being watched. He was positive it was entirely from the number of times wild Pokemon had attacked him but he continuously looked over his shoulder in fear of another attack. After a while, though, it seemed like all the attacks stopped. He made it to Mistralton City by nightfall and went to the Pokemon Center straight away. "Nurse Joy?" He had a bit of trouble locating the woman at first - She'd been in the back tending to a very ill Pokemon when he arrived. "I need a room for the night. They're free for trainers, right?" Odd questioned. The woman confirmed his thoughts and said she just needed to see his trainer ID to confirm his status as a trainer. That wasn't that hard, really. His ID was rather old and ratty but it was a trainer ID nonetheless. With his identity verified, he received a room key for the night and was guaranteed that he wouldn't be bothered. Finding his room, he let his Pokemon out of their Pokeballs for a good night's rest. Treble and Adagio stood vigil for the night, being undead and not in need of sleep like their living counterparts.

~~The Next Morning~~

Odd awakened to the sunlight filtering through the Pokemon Center window and his first thoughts were of getting to the restroom and getting clean for the day's journey. As he clambered out of bed, he looked around. He found all of his Pokemon present and accounted for. Replay? Check. Bass? Check. Beat? Check. Rhythm? Check. Treble? Check. Adagio? Check. Cacturne? Check............"What the hell!?" Odd jumped to his feet and called to Adagio. "Adagio, intruder!" The Litwick opened her eyes and looked around, spotting the strange grass type pokemon rather easily. What in the world was it doing in their room? "Get rid of it with Inferno!" Odd ordered quickly. The Cacturne turned and tried to run when he issued his command to the fire ghost in his arsenal, and that was went the boy saw the crate he was meant to be delivering in the Pokemon's hands. "Be careful not to damage the shipment, though!" He called as Adagio sent a large orb of flame after Cacturne. The Dark type managed to slip out the door, though, and Odd gave chase, not caring that he was only wearing his skivvies at the moment. That shipment was irreplaceable and likely worth more than his life. The teen chased the scarecrow Pokemon out of his room and down the hallway to the lobby, where he finally managed to catch up to it as it had to stop and search for a place to escape. The place was crowded this morning. "Oy vey! I dunno what a Hoenn region pokemon is doing in Unova, but it's getting on my nerves....." Odd voiced as the Cacturne finally located a place to squeeze between trainers and managed to slip through, leaving several humans in it's wake complaining of scratches on their arms and mysterious tears in their clothing. Odd kept on it's trail as best he could until he made it outside, finding the Grass type lost once again. It seemed to have lost track of it's trainer, or where it was going if it didn't have one. Regardless of the problem, it gave Odd time to catch up. "Go, Adagio! Use Overheat!" The teen ordered as he got within range of the cactus. Adagio nodded as she neared, her flame flaring up for a moment before she blasted a beam-like inferno at the Grass type. The little candle was knocked backwards a bit by the unexpected force of her own attack but Cacturne really hadn't been expecting it. The desert-dweller had been blindsided by the beam and was easily taken out.

"Bah! That estupid cacto. I knew it was useless." Came a male voice from nearby, though it was tainted by a thick spanish accent that made it somewhat difficult to understand. A red light shot from behind a nearby bush, engulfing Cacturne for a brief moment before the marauder Pokemon vanished. From not far off, two more lights emerged, revealing a Sandile and a Maractus. "Team Bandito will have those Pokeballs, gringo." The same voice announced as a young man of latin descent walked out of the underbrush. The young man wore a rather obscenely large sombrero that appeared to be on the verge of swallowing the youth's head as he moved about. "We can use those to catch better Pokemon to use." The youth announced as he approached the ground and grass types that prevented Odd from reclaiming his delivery. Odd snickered slightly at the youth's appearance. "Oy vey. You take the name Bandito too seriously." He commented as he took a fighting stance. "Now I'll be taking that crate back, thank you." He whistled loudly, attracting not only the attention of his Pokemon but of several innocent bystanders as well. This battle would prove a bit difficult, if he had to battle that Sandile at the same time as the Cactus. He'd learned enough about Unova Pokemon to at least know name and type now. A Grass and a Ground/Dark dual type would prove a somewhat unusual combination of foes. Maybe Treble's Icy Wind would be useful? "No way, gringo!" The latin youth responded to Odd's verbal challenge. "Enrique! Antonio! Show this guy who's boss in these parts!" He ordered, stepping back as a pair of teens stepped out from behind him. The one called Enrique was huge - muscles bulged out of his shirt pretty much everywhere and showed strength in his every breath. He wore a wife-beater and a pair of denim shorts. Antonio was thin and wiry, obviously small for his age, and wore an overlarge wife-beater that was nearly falling off his shoulders along with a pair of overlarge jeans that hung nearly to his knees, revealing plain black boxers underneath. One hand remained on his pants to hold them up at all times as he walked. Both appeared to be of latin descent, same as their "leader". Odd called to his Pokemon quickly, knowing he was about to be targeted. "Treble! Adagio! To me, quick!" The two Ghosts were quick to react, with Adagio arriving first, as the closer of the two. Odd wasn't surprised to find the two Bandito members already in motion when Treble finally caught up. Sandile was coming in with a Thunder Fang, intent on immobilizing him. He managed to dodge it as Treble made his debut on the battlefield for the day. "Let's go, guys! Treble, use Icy Wind on the crocodile! Adagio, you use Inferno on that cactus!" The two Pokemon nodded in understanding. "Litwick!" "Floon!" The little candle's flame blazed up into a raging inferno as the Drifloon swelled in size, taking in more and more air. The two released their attacks at nearly the same moment - Adagio released the raging hellfire on her head in the form of a massive sphere of flames aimed at Maractus while Treble released all of the pent up air inside of him as a frigid gale that tore across the area at Sandile. The little crocodile managed to Dig underground and dodge the attack but Maractus was far less lucky at dodging the Inferno. It fired a Seed Bomb in hopes of deterring the flames but the plant was simply engulfed in the blaze and fueled them further as the immense sphere cut a swathe across the field before Maractus was finally hit. The cactus only just survived the blow, though it was rather obvious that it was badly burned by the attack. Odd couldn't see where Sandile had disappeared to but despite his worry about it's next attack, he ordered his own. "Ok, guys, let's go! Treble, you use Icy Wind on Maractus! Adagio, hang back and watch out for Sandile." He wasn't planning on telling her to dodge. If the croc managed to hit her, it'd be in for a nasty surprise.

Both Pokemon nodded to their trainer and Adagio simply stayed back and kept a sentry roll in search of Sandile's emergence while Treble swelled and unleashed another frigid gale. Maractus frowned as the attack came it's way but it countered at it's trainer's command with a Petal Dance. It was far stronger than it appeared to be, obviously. But the barrage of pink petals and wind successfully staved of the icy gust that had threatened it. Now was the time when Sandile chose to attack, emerging from underground in the smoke created by the clashing chi. It aimed at Adagio and hit it's mark while she was trying to find it through the obscuring pollution. "Litwick!" "Sand!?" Sandile hit the ground hard, shocked at what had just happened. Hadn't it been the one attacking? On it's side was a glowing red welt from the burn it had just sustained. "Yes! Excellent, Adagio. Sorry you had to take that hit but now you can make them pay! Use Hex!" He ordered quickly, knowing the grunts must be either confused by the turn of events or understand where it was going, if they knew. "What happened, bro?" Enrique asked, obviously stronger than he was smart. "It's Flame Body!" Antonio responded as he hiked his pants back up for the upteenth time. "It's one of Litwick's abilities and it burns opponents whenever they use a physical attack." He explained. "What's Hex?" The musclehead asked then. He was thoroughly confused. "It's an attack that does double the damage if the target has a status condition. And since both of our Pokemon are burned now......We're in trouble!" The two wannabe gangsters scrambled as they tried to think of a way to counter-attack so they could survive but before they could come up with anything, Odd spoke again. "Treble, double their pleasure with your own Hex." His pair of Ghosts offered the grunts' Pokemon evil looks as they poured insidious energies from their bodies, pooling it together for the attack. Rather than a single evil-looking eye appearing in the dark mass, two demonic eyes opened amidst it, barraging the two Pokemon with wave after wave of cursed energies. Neither the cactus nor the crocodile could withstand the onslaught and both fell out, exhausted. "NO!" The faux-team grunts called at once as they recalled their Pokemon. "Sorry boss, but this guy's good!" Enrique piped up as he stepped back, his defeat Pokemon's ball still in hand. "Ya, boss. He's too strong!" Antonio chipped in as he turned tail and ran off.

"Bah! You'll get yours, Gringo!" The latin youth in the sombrero griped as he followed his comrades, forgetting the crate they'd been trying to swipe in the process. "Oy vey....So not hi-def." Odd commented to himself as he went to retrieve his snatched delivery. "Put some clothes on!" An elderly voice called as he lifted the box from the ground, dusting it off a bit in the process. "Huh?" The teen looked around at the sound of it, wondering who was being yelled at. "Ya! You're not supposed to be outside naked!" A young boy's voice chipped in next. "Have some decency, you pervert!" A young woman's voice was chasing the little boy's. probably his mother. When Odd realized he was the only person around, he looked down at himself and realized he was standing outside in nothing but his white briefs. He blushed furiously as he lowered the box to cover himself a bit. "You get robbed and see how fast you think of clothes." He challenged loudly as he headed back inside the Pokemon Center. It didn't take long for him to get dressed or to get his pokemon healed, but it did take a bit of time to recollect enough of his dignity to leave his room and show his face in public again. Once he was ready to go, though, he made his way outside with Treble out of his ball once more. "Come on, Treble. The map says we just have to get through the Quarry north of here and Opelucid City is just on the other side of the next town." The boy announced to his Pokemon as the two headed out of the city. Unfortunately, Odd's paranoid senses were tingling like crazy now. ~Maybe someone -was- watching me last night?~ He thought as they traveled. It didn't take long to get to the quarry and he offered a longing glance to the Celestial Tower as he passed by, determined to come back one day when he had a few pokeballs in his possession, so that he could catch a pokemon that might be in the area that he may want. Twist mountain rose above him as he neared and he watched it with mild curiosty, wondering what kind of pokemon might be found inside. He received an answer only a moment later since, the moment he entered, a wild Pokemon was upon him. Before he thought about it, he'd snapped out his SNAG and scanned the Pokemon, despite his determination to keep it hidden. He'd left his Snag Machine at HQ, sure, but his SNAG was contact and information on pretty much everything.

"Cryogonal, The Crystallizing pokemon. Ice Type. Born from snow clouds, it use chains of ice crystals to capture prey. It turns into steam and dissappears when it's body temperature rises too high." The SNAG's mechanical voice chimed, giving Odd all the information he needed. The teen stashed the device again in a hurry, in case someone happened along. "Ok, so it's an Ice-type Pokemon..." He commented as he dodged a snap of a whip from one of Cryogonal's ice chains. "So let's go, Adagio!" He called as he pitched the Litwick's Pokeball out. "Lit wick!" "Use Flame Burst!" The little candle nodded and sent a blast of exploding flames flying at the strange Ice-type. Being an Ice-type, as it was, Odd never expected what came in retaliation. "Gon alllll!" One of the Pokrmon's chains flashed briefly before it took on a black glow. "Cry gon aaaalllllllll!" it cried as it lashed out, using Night Slash. "Ah! Overheat!" Odd called in hopes of countering before Adagio became a tea candle rather than a Ghost Pokemon. The little fire type nodded as her flame blared to life, firing off a massive beam of flames at the snowflake-looking foe. Thankfully, her attack caught it off guard, it not having expected such a strong move. It wasn't defeated outright, but it did know when it was outmatched and turned tail, running off before it had a chance to be defeated. It was obvious that the Pokemon was severely weakened by the blow, as was Adagio. "Good work, girl. Why don't you stay out and get some rest?" He suggested, offering the small Pokemon a shoulder to ride on. A Chi-sucking, vampiric fire-ghost she might have been, but her flame didn't burn him and he felt no different from her presence, so perhaps she only stole energy from those she didn't like? It was an interesting thought and he mulled it over as he traveled, surprised to find that he had no more major troubles as he traveled through the mountainous quarry. Well, not until he tried to leave, at least. On the other side, he went to exit the cave and found that his path was clocked by a Cacnea and a strange looking mole. "Oy vey....what now?!" He asked himself as he selected two new Pokeballs from his waist. Now would be a good time to have backups, especially considering Adagio needed to rest again from her most recent battle. "Let's go, Replay! Beat!" The bird and whatever-Cubone-is appeared from their pokeballs at their trainer's behest. " Let's make this quick. Replay, use Sky Attack on the Cacnea. Beat, use Earth Power on the mole-thing."

"I told you you'd get yours, huh Gringo?" A familiar voice chimed as a sombrero peeked around the corner of the exit . "Oy vey...You again?" The youth didn't get long to gloat as Beat unleashed his Earth Power, pummeling Excadrill hard with the energy. The Steel type took the hit pretty hard, despite it obviously being stronger, but it certainly wasn't out of the fight yet. Cacnea was packing some serious surprises as well when it appeared. "I think it's about time for it to happen, Cacnea." The still nameless sombrero-boy commented to his Pokemon. The cactus's body flashed for a brief second before it was engulfed in white light, obviously evolving. The newly evolved Cacnea countered the Cubone's attack with an empowered Needle Arm, rushing in hard and fast to slam it's needly forearm into the Ground-type. Beat was thrown back hard and collapsed, unable to fight. He wasn't used to fighting such seasoned battlers. Odd recalled the Cubone to his ball with a frown. That left him with Adagio to have any form of effective moves against the mole. "Sorry to ask girl, but do you think you can help me knock this guy out?" He asked of his shoulder candle companion. "Wick lit wick litwick lit." Adagio replied, clearly up for the challenge. "Ok, then use Inferno on the mole." He ordered quickly. He looked to Replay, who was flying in circles near the cave ceiling, clearly out of reach of the battle. "Now, Replay!" Odd called up as the nameless Bandito-boy's Pokemon began to recover. The Chatot nodded and released the stored energy as he dove down on Cacturne. The pent up chi formed an almost fire-like cloak around the avian in the form of a flaming bird and protected him from the dive as he slammed into Cacturne. The Dark type didn't stand a chance against the super-charged Flying type move and was thrown into a wall, where it crumpled into a heap of defeated plant. Unfortunately for the boy, that left his Excadrill alone since he had no other Pokemon to send out in Cacturne's place and it was about to meet a grisly end as well. Adagio's head flame blazed up and she threw the hellfire at the Steel dual type, intent on finishing what Beat had started. The mole dived out of the way, burrowing into the ground like some strange, subterranean rocket. It burst out near Adagio only a second later, slamming into her with Drill Run, at it's master's command. Odd hadn't been paying attention to the human, intent on getting his Pokemon out of the way first, and had completely missed the order. Adagio was hit, recoiling from the power of the Ground-type attack, though Excadrill cringed as the contact left it burned badly. "Hex, Adagio!" Odd ordered when he spotted the visible burn marks on the mole's steel claws. The attack was summoned up quickly, hitting hard and fast but, once again, Excadrill wasn't out of the fight yet, though it was quite ready to be. "Replay, finish this with Mirror Move!" Odd called to his avian companion. "Mirror Move!" Replay repeated as his wings glowed, copying Hex and cloning the attack, aimed once more at Excadrill. This time, the attack dealth enough to take the mole out, leaving the Bandito 'leader' with nothing. "Ay dios mio! Dammit, Gringo! You think you're so tough!" The 'leader' complained as he returned his fallen companions to their Pokeballs. "You just don't get it that kids can't afford Pokeballs these days, huh? We're trying to help all those poor kids that can't get a Pokeball to catch their first Pokemon." He blubbered, attempting to make himseld cry. ~He must take me for a sap if he thinks I'm gonna buy this.~ Odd thought to himself, an annoyed sweatdrop falling down his brow. "Stuff it, Bandito-freak." the teen interrupted. "You're nothing more than common thieves. If you really wanted to help, you'd run a charity or you'd work hard and honestly to buy pokeballs and pass them out of those 'poor kids'." He countered. "Now I suggest you leave me alone so I can finish making this delivery before I decide to call the cops out here to arrest you." He suggested as he reached into his pocket, as if he were reaching for a phone. "Fine! Fine! I'll leave. But you haven't heard the last of Team Bandito, Gringo." the still nameless youth announced threateningly before he turned and disappeared. Odd sighed and returned all of his Pokemon to their Pokeballs for a well deserved rest. It wasn't even noon yet and they'd already had more than they should've seen all day as far as battles were concerned.

He was very thankful that the exit of Twist Mountain came out just outside of Icirrus City and all he had left to do was cross the wetlands between here and Opelucid City. The poor kid's arms were killing him from carrying the moderately-sized crate of Pokeballs all the way through the mountain and battling so much like he had already done. But, he reminded himself, the delivery's destination wasn't much farther away now. So he steeled himself, tried to ignore the pain in his arms and moved one. Had he known of Dragonspiral Tower in the North, he'd have been tempted to stop in and look around, just for the hell of it. But since he was blissfully ignorant of this fact, he just kept walking. ~Just keep walking. Just keep walking.~ His mantra kept his focus off his straining arms as he crossed the wetlands and he made it in no time, finally uninterrupted for once. Entering Opelucid City, he made his way to the Pokemon Center, finding the shop set up in the corner. He delivered the crate to the counter and offered a sheepish smile to the clerk around it. "You had a delivery from Saffron City in Kanto?"

~Mission Complete~
Objectives: Deliver the Pokeball shipment - Complete -- Delivered a shipment of moderate size(a 2sq ft crate) of Premier Balls and Luxury Balls to Opelucid City in Unova.
Protect the shipment en route - Complete -- Defeated the Team Bandito members and 'leader'. Fended off several wild Pokemon and an angry cargo ship crew leader.
Success: - Pending  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

Mission Profile

Tier Advancement Mission #3

Wow, you are certainly rising through the ranks aren't you? You've already made it to the last rank in Tier 4! I bet you can't wait to step into Tier 3 huh? Of course you can't, that's why you are here reading this mission because you are just itching to advance. Well then, I guess I should stop rambling on already and hurry up and present you with your mission, huh?

As you may remember from your last two Tier Advancement Missions you had to deal with the wannabes known as Team Ninja, a rather annoying bunch aren't they? Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news but they are causing trouble again, but this time it seems they got a little help. As you know Team Ninja is composed of mainly young men with a ninja fetish going around acting like they are somebody important, so really not much of a threat just an annoyance. Well recently they've joined forces with a shady group composed of former students of the Fighting Dojo Master in Saffron City. These guys, unlike Team Ninja, are highly trained and serious martial artists. Why are they former students you ask? Because they took up the sword and turned against their master, but lost. The banished students joined up with Team Ninja as sell swords, and as a result the new alliance was dubbed Team Samurai.

Now, this new Team Samurai apparently has only one goal, obey whoever can pay the most money, essentially they are now mercenaries that tend to prefer to take up shady jobs, which brings me to your mission. Team Samurai has been hired by an eccentric Pokémon collector who has trusted them with the task of retrieving for him the scale of an extremely rare Dragonite that is said to visit the Whirl Islands once every ten years. What makes this Dragonite so special? Why, it's shiny, and the collector wants its scale more than anything.

Now this doesn't seem like too much of a big deal but the reason why this Dragonite visits the Whirl Islands is to lay a single egg, that's right, the Dragonite makes its nest in the Whirl Islands. Dragonite are also known to be extremely protective of their young though and if anyone were to approach the Pokémon while nesting it would surely attack them, but the problem is this Dragonite is extremely old, and while Dragon Pokémon are known to live a long time, this one already has, I am unsure it would be able to protect its self and its egg.

That is why I want you to go to the Whirl Islands and stop Team Samurai from disturbing the shiny Dragonite's nest. Do anything you can to prevent them from even reaching the nest, which is located deep within the caves. Be warned though that Team Samurai will also stop at nothing to succeed in their own mission and will use any type of trick to stop you, even if it means damaging the environment around you, also you must remember they now have highly trained martial artists on their side, proceed with caution.

Objective:
---Go to the Whirl Islands and protect the shiny Dragonite's nest so it may hatch its egg in peace. Do not let Team Samurai disturb it. Should the Dragonite be angered it could endanger its self and its egg due to its increased age. Send Team Samurai back where they came from.

Opposition:
---Team Samurai, you will cross a minimum of four members, each carries at least three Pokémon on them at all times which their Pokémon now consist of ninja-like and samurai-like Pokémon along with Poison/Bug Types, all fully evolved (Examples include, Shiftry, Ninjask, Gallade, Scizor, Accelgor, etc.).
---Their leader remains Takashi, the red scarf wearing ninja teenager, his Pokémon however seem to have gotten even stronger, his team consists of, Dustox, Wheezing, Shedinja, and Samurott. You most likely will encounter him, I hear he too has learned martial arts and how to wield a sword.

Pokémon:
---You may catch one wild Pokémon in the Whirl Islands which consist of various Water Pokémon and the Zubat line.
---Or you may snag one Pokémon from one of the Team Samurai members, you may not snag from Takashi.
---You may not capture the Dragonite, you are trying to protect it so it may live the rest of its days peacefully, remember?

Rewards:
---Advancement to Tier 3, as an Alpha Snagger.
---Varies from there.

{{Using Odd and Lykas since this is an advancement mission. It seems it would be self-restricting of showcasing my increased abilities to RP by only using one of them.}}

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Odd opened his eyes at the sound of his SNAG's alarm going off.

"There is an urgent mission for Team Snagem Members Sterling Grey and Lykas Fenrall! Respond immediately!"

Odd growled at GRAY using his real name. And since the message was for both of them, Lykas would have heard it too, unless the blue-haired brat was still sleeping. "I'm up, GRAY." He announced as he stood up and grabbed the piece of tech that kept all of Snagem in touch with each other.

"Excellent! Because you have a new urgent message from Sub. Those Team Ninja vandals are at it again!" GRAY announced as Odd dressed for the day. "Could you not shove your nudity at me?!" The mouthy AI was watching through his SNAG's camera when he took off his pajamas and had gotten a digital "eyeful" of him changing skivvies. "Anyway, you pervert; Sub says they're headed for the Whirl Islands this time and they're after a very old Dragonite. And a very rare one at that. Those sellswords are likely to kill the poor thing with their recklessness and we can't have that. Zombie Dragonite would be a very bad thing!"

Odd facepalmed at GRAY, not just for his nudity comment. "You're an AI, GRAY. I'll get Sub to program you a therapy session if you're so scarred by my naked butt." He remarked back to his communication device. "But seriously, what's with those kids? Don't they realize how stupid they are?"

"Doubtful. Most Humans seem oblivious to their own idiocy." GRAY responded, unnecessarily, of course.

"Anyway, the mission is to protect the Dragonite, I'm sure?" Odd asked as he pulled a shirt on and straightened it on his chest. "If that's all there is to it, then it shouldn't be too hard." He commented, remembering how much of a pushover they'd been according to Lykas.

"Again, doubtful. They've increased their numbers since our last encounter with them and they've added some new recruits. Some of the previous students of the Fighting Dojo in Kanto have banded together with them and are lending their martial arts skills to the team's whole. They're also all quite skilled with the sword." GRAY provided, helpfully.

"Well there's a nice change." Odd commented as he pulled his hair up into its usual topknot and fixed the rest to spike the way it did. "It's not often you give out all the information before I already know it."

"Well how's that for gratitude? I was trying to keep you from dying out there." GRAY shot back, sounding wounded. "It's bad enough you've had me transport that abomination of nature to your Pokémon Box but now you want to go and make me be on you when you die, don't you? You want to become a zombie and eat my brains, don't you?!"

"Oy Vey, you digital drama queen. I was actually thanking you, for one. And for two, your brain would be too crunchy for me. I wouldn't be caught dead eating a silicon motherboard." Odd retorted, making his pun intentionally.

"That was awful. Something I'd expect from Sub." GRAY responded, now shutting down the camera to go pester Lykas directly.

Odd wasn't really off-put by the AI, so much as annoyed by its infrequency at being quick on the draw. Regardless, he checked over his Pokémon and decided which ones to take with him. His current three ghosts, of course and A'Capella the Purrloin. That left him two slots open. He decided to take Replay and Bass to round out the team more and then left to go find Lykas.

The blue-haired boy was soon found in the kitchen, drinking a glass of Aguav juice. He was already dressed and prepared to go with his six Pokeballs clipped to his belt. "So what's the plan, Sterling?" He asked, putting heavy emphasis on the name. Odd growled on the inside. ~I swear it to the Gods, I will erase that AI for this!~ "I don't really have one yet. I was thinking let's get there, kick Team ninja's butt and show them the door. You know, the old fallback."

Lykas smirked and stood up, finishing off his glass of juice in one large gulp. "Sounds like as good a plan as any other." He admitted as he threw his glass in the sink. "Only one problem, what do we do if the Dragonite happens to catch on to our presence? It won't let us just walk away." He knew this from experience. He had a scar on his back from a run in with a young Lugia in the Whirl Islands when he was younger. "The Pokémon out there are take-no-prisoners types. They shoot to kill and ask questions never." He assured Odd as they walked out towards the front doors. "I think I have an idea, though. It would take a good deal of work to make it work but if we work together with our Pokémon, it shouldn't take hardly any time at all." That was a good sign. At least Lykas had something running through his head just now. "I'll explain when we get there." He released Mykel the Kirlia and spoke quickly. "To Fallarbor Town, Mykel. We've gotta talk to an old man about some glass."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Odd and Lykas arrived just outside Fallarbor Town a few moments after walking out of HQ. "Don't you just love Teleportation?" Lykas asked of Odd as he began walking eastward.

"Not really, no. But it's convenient." Odd commented, following Lykas. "So what are we here for, exactly?" He asked, still not having his explanation. Lykas giggled and waved a hand dismissively. "Nothing important, really. There's just an old guy that lives not far from here who might be able to make us a special flute to put Dragonite to sleep while we're out there trying to protect it." The younger teen explained.

"But I don't know how to play a flute and besides that, how do we play an instrument and battle at the same time?" Odd asked. He could see all kinds of holes in this plan.

"Easy. I'll be hiding and playing the flute and you'll be doing the fighting the bad guys off. “Lykas suggested. It wasn't like it made any real difference, either way. It still wasn't guaranteed to work. Regardless of the slim chance that this hair-brained idea of Lykas' would work, the two eventually came upon the small house the local glass blower lived in. Lykas ran up and knocked on the door, hoping the old man was home, like he usually was. The old fart wasn't in any condition to be going far, really. It was a surprise the man was even still alive the way he was always hacking and wheezing.

"Yes? wheeze, wheeze Who is it? wheeze" Came an elderly, male voice from within.

"Open up, you old fart! It's Blueboy!" Lykas called as he knocked again. "I need to ask you a favor." Odd stood back while his boyfriend took care of all this, hoping the boy knew what he was getting them into.

"Oh! wheeze Blueboy's come back to visit, wheeze has he?" The voice from inside spoke as the sounds of turning locks came from the door. After a moment or two, the door slowly opened and the old man within came into view. Odd was mildly surprised to find that the man was only into his fifties. Lykas had talked like the guy was in his 70's or older. "Wheeze, wheeze So what's this favor wheeze you wanted to ask?" The older man asked as he went and took a seat on a rather comfortable looking cushion.

"I need you to make us a glass flute. But we need one that can put Pokémon to sleep instead of waking them up." Lykas explained as he went and took a seat across from the old guy. "Think you could do something like that?" He asked after the glass blower didn't respond for a few moments.

"It's wheeze possible." The old man replied as he thought long and hard on it. "How fast wheeze, wheeze do you need it?" Was his only question. Lykas explained the urgency and that it was needed within the hour if possible. "Oh, my....wheeze, wheeze, wheeze That makes it more difficult."

"But is it possible?" Odd asked, finally speaking for the first time since arriving at the old house. The old man nodded and stood up, wheezing and coughing frequently as he walked over to an old table with cabinets and drawers all over it. He searched through it for a few moments before he finally found what he was looking for. He turned around and tossed a large velvet sack to Odd. "Fill that pouch wheeze with volcanic ash from outside wheeze, wheeze and bring it back to me. I can make your flute wheeze with it." He explained at Odd's quizzical look. "The faster you wheeze bring it back, the faster you'll get wheeze, wheeze, wheeze your flute." It was difficult to press the importance of such a line when you could barely breathe while saying it, but Odd got the point.

Lykas dragged his older boyfriend outside with their Soot Sack in his hand. "Ok, let's get our Pokémon to help." He suggested as he grabbed a Pokéball and released Mykel and Chinami. These two had hands. "Good idea." Odd agreed and he released Baroque. His only Pokémon with hands that could contribute anything worthwhile. "We need you guys to help us fill up this sack with ash. It's all over the plants so it shouldn't be hard to do." Lykas explained to the Pokémon. "We're in a big hurry to get this done so the faster, the better." Odd added, trying not to sound too demanding. The three Pokémon nodded and each ran off to gather ashes. Odd stayed close to the house with the bag so the others could find him quickly when they returned.

Half an hour later, Lykas and Odd walked back into the little shack the glass blower lived in. Their Soot Sack was filled to bursting when they entered, thanks to their Pokémon’s help, and they spoke up as they approached the old man. "Alright, we've got the ash you asked for." Odd announced. "So, how long will it take to make the flute?" Lykas asked as came up beside Odd.

"It shouldn't wheeze take more than 45 wheeze, wheeze minutes." The glass blower responded as he shambled over to Odd and claimed the Soot Sack. "Just wait outside and I'll have it done before you know it." He seemed far more energetic as he handled the ash and his breathing, for once, appeared to come easy. Odd and Lykas nodded, heading outside. Neither was very fond of all the ash falling on the area but they managed to entertain themselves by having a little conversation. "So Odd, I have a dumb question." Lykas mentioned offhandedly, glancing back towards Fallarbor Town. "I know your birthday's in August but what do you want this year?" Odd found this a bit of a curious question. Not because Lykas was thinking about him but because he honestly had no idea what he wanted for his birthday. "Um...I'm really not sure but shouldn't we be focusing on the mission at hand? And on top of that, isn't this supposed to be urgent, so why have we been wasting time here?" Lykas sighed as shook his head. "We are focusing on the mission and we're 'wasting time' here because we can Teleport directly to the Whirl Islands from here once we get the flute to make up for the lost time. "

"I'm finished, Boys!" Came from within the shack shortly thereafter, interrupting the boys' quiet argument over this and they entered, a bit bewildered that it had taken so little time. "You're done?" Lykas asked. He'd always been under the impression that glass-blowing took hours and hours but this had gone by in less than half an hour. The old man nodded feebly as he handed a slender, black, glass flute to the youth. "Indeed I am. wheeze This should effectively cause a Pokémon to fall asleep wheeze, after long enough exposure to wheeze, wheeze the sound." He explained as he walked back to the overlarge cushion he sat on and proceeded to land on it in "old man" fashion. " Hi-def." Odd commented as he looked at the flute in Lykas' hands. "So does that mean we're set?" Lykas nodded as he released Mykel. "Yepyep." Then to Mykel, he grinned. "We've got our flute, my friend. Now we need a Teleport to the Whirl islands. Any island or anywhere in the caverns underneath will do." He assured the Kirlia before he could be asked. Mykel nodded and the two were soon Teleported there.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"So where is that Dragonite supposed to nest at, again?"

"The Boss said it was in the deepest chamber on the opposite side of the caverns from where Lugia is supposed to nest..."

"Are you kidding me?! That's all we have to go on?!"

"Don't blame me! The Boss's the only one who knows for sure."

"Whatever.....Let’s just go find the place and ambush it so it can't kill us first...."

A trio of humans walked through the chilly depths of the Whirl Islands caves, searching for the very place that Lykas and Odd were set to defend. Two of them were clad in all black and carried small swords. One of them had a string of shuriken hanging from his waist. His partner bore a similar string, but this one bore kunai. Their comrade was dressed in old-school clothing. Decked out in old-style samurai clothing and bore a duo of Katana through his belt. "Boys!" This one reprimanded harshly. "We're here to do a job, not squabble like children." He glared at the two males before him. "Now stop your petty arguing and help me find the nest. Dragonite should be here before long. "

The two boys froze up at the harsh sound of their comrade's voice. “Yes, sir!" The youths' arguing quickly ceased and they scrambled to begin their search anew.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"So these are the Whirl Islands?" Odd stood on the beach, looking around. He could see the other three of the islands from here and it was a beautiful thing, to see so much majesty and danger in the same sight.

"Yep. We're currently standing on the northeast island." Lykas responded as he walked over. "But right now isn't the time to be seeing the sights." He scolded playfully. "We're here on serious business and I'm sure that Dragonite will be thanking us once we've finished saving its butt from Team Samurai."

"You're right, of course." Odd agreed as he tore his eyes away from the image of the sea. "It isn't bothering you to be surrounded by the sea like this?" He asked, realizing as he did that close proximity to water didn't seem to be bothering Lykas as badly as it used to.

"Oh, it's driving me crazy." Lykas replied as he rubbed his forehead. "But we have a mission and I'm not leaving you to do this one alone." He intended to enforce this decision, regardless of whether Odd liked it or not. Team Ninja had become three times as dangerous by taking in the Fighting Dojo's outcasts and Odd wasn't being left to his own devices against this. He wasn't anywhere near as skilled a trainer, or adventurer, as himself and that scared him. "Anyway, let's go. Mykel, you stay out and help us if we have any troubles with the local Pokémon."

Odd nodded in understanding, inwardly worried about Lykas' wellbeing. But he released Rhythm to keep him and his boyfriend company, as well as to keep them safer, and followed him in. Sadly, it didn't take long for them to encounter their first problem. A Dewgong blocked their path, though it was sleeping soundly at the moment. The Pokémon was utterly colossal, as far as its species went, probably twice the size of a typical one. But Odd refused to be intimidated by its size and Lykas knew just how to squeeze by without waking it. With a little help from Mykel's Psychic, the trios of gravity-affected beings were easily carried over it and went on their way. "Why was that Pokémon so big?" Odd asked as they walked deeper into the caverns, each looking around carefully for any signs of life. Both of Pokémon and of human. Especially human. "The Whirl Islands are heavily protected from normal people by the numerous whirlpools that surround them, which makes it nearly impossible for people to safely get here. " Lykas provided as he walked ahead a bit to check around a nearing corner. "So the Pokémon here can live their lives untouched by humans and, unchallenged for supremacy, some of them can grow far beyond the norm. Like that Dewgong back there. It's probably the leader of its herd." He peeked around the corner and found himself looking into a mostly flooded cave.

Odd walked along, choosing now as the time for him to look ahead, as well. "It looks like there are signs of people here already....." He commented as he found a few soggy footprints on the ground. He knelt to look at them closer and found that they were recently made. "The person who left these tracks can't be far away. These prints couldn't have been here more than half an hour. The water on the ground would have smeared them a lot more than it has if they were."

True to the boy's observations, he and his partner soon found themselves falling victim to an unseen assailant. A strange buzzing noise soon filled the air, at first not noticed at all. Odd stood and the two made to move, when they found themselves suddenly feeling the effects of the Bug Buzz aimed at them. Neither could keep their balance and stumbled as they tried to walk again. Rhythm wasn't feeling too put-off by it, considering the audial assault had no ears to affect on the Steel-type. "Rhythm.....counter this sound.....use...Oy vey...." Odd was starting to have trouble focusing. "Use Metal Sound and....um......and try to drown it out." He only hoped this worked. He was losing focus quickly and it was obvious Lykas was as well. But the little automaton was working overtime and its gears ground together in a grinding screech, easily drowning out the overwhelming buzzing noise. "Lykas....come on! They already know we're here. We need to go!"

"Too late, gramps!" A young boy announced as he jumped down from a small cavern overhead. The boy had an Accelgor on one side of him and a Ninjask on the other. Both seemed to be radiating that irritating buzzing noise. It was a multi-directional Bug Buzz. No wonder it was so disorienting. Not only were there two sets of sound waves clashing, but they weren't coming at them from a single angle. The sound was coming from everywhere at once. "Alright, Accelgor. Use Quick Attack and knock out the old guy. Ninjask, you hit the little kid with the blue hair. Use Aerial Ace on him." The two Pokémon shot forward without any signs of approval. Neither would question their master, obviously. Odd made to dodge Accelgor's attack but he wasn't anywhere near quick enough and was hit hard in the ribs as the squishy bug slammed into his side. Before he could issue any form of response, however, his and Lykas' Pokémon reacted out of self-defense. Rhythm fired off a one-shot Zap Cannon at Ninjask, not realizing it had that much power built up inside. Mykel didn't rely on Teleportation to trick his target but simply rushed up behind Accelgor with his fists ablaze and struck with a Fire Punch before the Bug knew what to expect. Ninjask, despite its speed, hadn't been expecting the power behind that single attack and was easily thrown out of commission. The ninja kid recalled the fallen bug, silently cursing Odd for his Pokémon’s lucky shot. "Fine, let's see you stop my next one! I'm the only one besides Takashi that has one of these in the team..." The kid taunted as he pulled a Pokéball from inside his shirt and threw it forward. What emerged only served to prove once again that Odd was in dire need of more Pokéballs. Odd quickly recalled Rhythm to his side, though he allowed the Pokémon to stay out of its ball, sending out Adagio to take its place. "Adagio, hit that Shedinja with Inferno!" He'd explain in a moment. Adagio offered a full bodied nod as her inner flame released itself from her lamp-like body in a blazing inferno intent on incinerating the other Ghost's body. Sadly for Odd, the Shedinja was able to phase through the floor and disappear. "Keep watching for it, Adagio!" He called, though he was tackled by the still standing Accelgor, who'd just barely dodged Mykel's Fire Punch. Thrown to the ground by the Pokémon’s Body Slam, he grabbed it's "scarf" as he hit the ground, rolled and pulled the Pokémon with him. As he stood {after rolling over and half-squishing the Pokémon}, he used its own appendage to hurl the insect towards its trainer. Completely unexpected, the Accelgor actually slammed into Shedinja, who had just phased out of a nearby wall to spring a surprise attack and wasn't expecting a flying Pokémon to crash into it. Both were thrown back by it. "Flamethrower, Adagio!" "Fire Punch!" Mykel rushed into the fray, throwing flaming punches at both insects before Adagio could get a hit in. The two bugs were far stronger then they appeared to be, though and were resisting the blows the best they could. But when Mykel withdrew and Adagio's Flamethrower blasted through, both were knocked out in an instant. The Ninja kid recalled Accelgor but before he could do the same to Shedinja, a Premier Ball smacked it and drew it inside.

"Sorry kid, but I'm afraid I'm commandeering your Pokémon. It belongs to me now." Odd offered a snarky grin as the ball pinged and he walked over to retrieve it. Unfortunately, it went to his PC Box before he could do anything, or he'd have retained the Bug for use on this mission. Its ability would come in very handy if they had to defend themselves from Dragonite. Regardless, he glared at the ninja boy after the ball vanished. "I suggest you leave this team, kid. Next time we see you, we won't just steal your Pokémon. I might let my Lampent steal your soul while we're at it." He knew Adagio hadn't been getting enough energy lately and intended to start letting her out of her ball to wander the woods at night. She could steal life energy from local wildlife without drawing too much attention to the HQ hidden inside the mountain. The kid seemed to get the hint, though, as he clambered to his feet and ran off. "I'll get you! And I'll get my Shedinja back, too!" The kid's voice echoed through the dripping caverns as he disappeared into the darkness, leaving Odd and Lykas laughing at him. Lykas smirked at his boyfriend. "Nice touch with the threat, there." He complimented, making Odd blush as they turned back the way they had been going when their foe had made his appearance. "It looks like we're heading the right way, at least..." Odd noted as they went back to traveling. It shouldn't be much farther to at least head down to the next 'level' of the cave system.

"Is it just me or are these ladders conveniently placed in every cave system in the explored world?" Odd asked as he followed Lykas down one of them. "Actually, you're right. I noticed the same thing years ago and asked about it once. According to Professor Oak of the Kanto region, they were carved into the pathways by the ancient people of the world so they could get around more easily." Lykas provided. "Or rather, they may have been, as he put it. Nobody really knows exactly why they're here."

GGGGYYYYUUUUUUUAAAAAAAA!

"! That's a Dragonite's call! It must have gotten here, finally!" Lykas scrambled down the stairway and looked around, trying to discern which direction the call had come from. "Could you tell which way it was coming from?" He asked Odd as the other reached solid ground again. Odd frowned and shook his head. "No. There was too much echo to tell." The older teen responded. "But we should hurry. Team Samurai isn't likely to wait for it to go to sleep before they try and swipe its scales." Lykas nodded as he called out his most trusted Pokémon. "Sphynx....can you use that X-Ray vision of yours to locate Team Samurai and the Dragonite's nest?" Sphynx barked in agreement and her eyes flashed, taking on a crackling glow as the electric type searched for signs of humanoid neural impulses, other than her master and his mate's. "Lux!" She barked after a moment, having located someone. She led the way to the human.

"Not so fast, you kids!" A man of roughly 19 shouted as he jumped out of the dark. "You're not getting any closer! We'll get that Dragonite's scales if it kills it." With that, he sent out three Pokémon. A Scizor, an Escavalier and a Forretress. Lykas blinked a few times before he exploded in laughter. "Wow....they must really not like you!" Odd didn't get it at first, though he caught on after looking at all three Pokémon. "Pfffft! You're right! They must hate this guy!" Both teens were laughing to the point of tears welling up in their eyes. "What's so funny?! You two are about to get creamed, so what are you laughing about?" The guy was obviously in denial, as the look on his face told them they had hit the nail on the head. "Dude, just go home and we'll spare your dignity." Lykas told the guy but he refused to listen. "Forretress, use Gyro-!?" The man-child never finished his orders as a double Flamethrower blasted his Pokémon. Two of them went down in one hit as Lux and Adagio made their moves. The guy returned Forretress and Scizor, left only with Escavalier and gave it a pleading look, as if it would magically defeat all of his opponents' Pokémon on its own. "Cavalier...." The bug responded, shrugging. "We did warn you, you know." Odd reminded as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Your Pokémon are all Bug and Steel dual types. They take massive damage from even the weakest first type attacks. On the upside, if you had bothered training them against the heat, they might have survived that attack." Lykas chided. "So if you caught them all yourself, you're an idiot and if your team leader gave them to you, either he's an idiot or, like we said before, he must really hate you." The young adult before them didn't like the way these two were talking about him, his Pokémon or his team and grew angrier with every word these two spoke. "Shut up! Escavalier, show them your real strength and hit them both with your dual Megahorn!" The Team Samurai member shouted at his Pokémon, scaring the small insect, despite its typically brave nature. It complied with orders though and its lances both began to glow with a murky green energy as it charged forward, intent on skewering the other two humans. Sadly, the unfortunate Bug-type found itself the target of a dual Inferno courtesy of the two humans' Pokémon. “It’s over, kid. Tend to your Pokémon or it might die from those injuries...." Odd grimaced at the sight of the scorched Pokémon and he and Lykas ran past, following Sphynx's instincts. She'd located another humanoid form further down the cave system and figured if they kept following the humans, they'd eventually find the Dragonite's nest they were after.

{{Continued in next post.....}}  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

{{Continued from last post.....}}

Thanks to Sphynx, it didn't take long for the two to find the next nearest human. This one wasn't expecting them, though, and was talking when they found him. "I hate standing guard. I want to help take that stupid old Dragon's scales for that old guy." Lykas wasn't surprised to hear that. He hated being left out of the action, too. As they neared, though, it seemed less and less likely that this guy could possibly not hear them coming yet. Their footsteps splashed in the pooling water dripping from the ceiling and echoed through the immense caverns. As they got nearer, Odd couldn't help but notice the flash of light off something on this goon's side. Was that a sword? He tried to get closer so he could tell but something decided where he'd stop. His foot caught on something and he fell face first onto the hard stone floor. "GAH!" His shout didn't even seem to deter the man in front of him and he discovered the reason only an instant later, as the floor beneath him seemingly convulsed. He was swallowed up in darkness and a large patch of what felt like canvas suddenly launched skyward, sealing him inside. "Let me out of here!" The boy shouted as he tried to fight his way free. Sadly, he couldn't get a decent grip on any part of the trap he'd stumbled into and Lykas could barely hear him shouting through it.

"Calm down, Odd! I'll get you down but you have to stay calm or I could hurt you!" Lykas called up to his boyfriend, who didn't hear a word of it. "Not so fast, kid!" The grunt had finally taken notice of them. "I won't even need my Pokémon here." He assured Lykas as he drew his sword. "I'm one of the few in our group who truly knows how to wield a sword." Lykas wasn’t exactly prepared for this and took a few steps back before remembering the two newest additions to his team. Releasing Chinami the Dewott and Naiad the Corsola, he gave them both orders. “Chinami, use your Razor Shell and cut Odd free from that trap. Be careful not to hurt him, though.” Chinami gave a salute as affirmation that she understood and pulled her Scalchops free from her waist fur before setting to work. “Naiad….Use Stone Edge to make me a sword I can use.” Naiad gave her trainer a strange look. That was probably the strangest request she had ever heard but she’d try her best. She focused her energies for a moment or two while Chinami rushed toward the trap that contained Odd and after a brief moment, she stamped her foot into the ground and, surprisingly, one of her horns grew several feet longer and snapped off where it had started. She looked no different, other than being thoroughly exhausted now. It would seem she’d combined the Mountain Chi required for the Rock type move with her own Regeneration ability to create a coral sword for her trainer. “It’s beautiful, Naiad. Thanks.” Lykas picked the “sword” up and returned Naiad before turning back to the sword-wielding grunt. Naiad’s sword-growing trick had only taken a few seconds, surprisingly, and the stunned hooligan was too surprised by what had just happened to attack while it was going on. “Looks like I’m ready for you now, you goon.” The Team Samurai grunt snapped to his senses at Lykas’ snide challenge and rushed the younger boy, sword at the ready. Lykas was ready, but knowing that his own sword was made from coral and wasn’t likely to take more than one or two hits from the real deal, at best, he smoothly stepped out of the way and skillfully somersaulted backwards. The goon missed his mark but wasn’t deterred in the slightest. He spun around with heavy footfalls and rushed Lykas once again. This time, though, he was being a bit more unconventional. Rather than the style one would expect from a katana wielder, this guy was holding his like a traditional long sword. Lykas wasn’t exactly learned in the arts of the sword but he did know that with just the right counter, he could use this guy’s weapon against him. With the attacker coming at him full speed, he had only a split second to think about it. He wasn’t the brightest bulb in the box, no, but he did understand basic concepts of physics and mathematics. Watching the guy’s movements, it hit him what to do but he’d have to time it right. “You can’t win, you goon!” He taunted, hoping to enrage the older male to the point that he wouldn’t pay any attention to what he was about to do. “Graaaaaah! Shut up!” The nameless grunt decided he would end this tactless punk here and now and raised his sword to strike as he ran. That was when Lykas realized he could make his move now. The goon drew closer with every step and as he neared, he brought his sword down, hard. Lykas firmed his grip on his coral blade and swung as he sidestepped, striking the back of his foe’s sword. The strike forced the tip of the other’s blade downward. Unfortunately for the wielder, the blade hit the ground and dug in just enough to stop him in his tracks. He was unfortunate enough to find the hilt of the blade suddenly digging into his stomach and knocking the wind out of him. He collapsed onto his side, coughing and sputtering for breath. Lykas smirked as he watched, though he did offer a fading smile to his coral sword, which he noticed had shattered when he struck. All he had left of it was the handle he’d been gripping with all his might. He tucked it into his pocket as he turned to see how Chinami was faring at getting Odd free. “Deeeewwwww ott!” Just as he turned, one of the Dewott’s Scalchops flashed through the air and slashed through the ropes holding Odd’s canvas prison up and the teenager tumbled out. Lykas wasn’t quick enough to catch him before he hit but he stood over the other male, grinning down at him piled up on the wet stone of the ground. Chinami caught her scalchop as it returned to her like a boomerang and replaced it on her waist fur. Lykas thanked her for her help and returned her to her ball before helping Odd to his feet. “You ok?” He asked of the other, who nodded, rubbing a sore spot on his head. “I’ll be better once we get out of here….” Odd responded with a half laugh. The two humans looked down to Sphynx, who was still out of her Pokeball and had been hiding during the battle between Lykas and the grunt and she nodded. “Lux luxray lux ray ray luxray!” From what she could see, there was another human not far off and there were several gathered beyond that one. She led the way towards the next humanoid figure she could see surprising all three of them when the figure turned out to be a kid who couldn’t have been older than ten. But he looked fierce. He had a pair of bamboo swords crossed on his back and had five Pokeballs on his belt. This kid might be young but he obviously had more skill than the others they’d fought to this point.

“Let me guess….Hitarou didn’t even bother using his Pokemon to battle you, did he?” The kid asked without even turning to look at the duo coming at him. “He was always such a cocky idiot but I’m not like him.” The kid finally turned to look at his opponents and Odd instantly cringed at the sight. The boy’s badass attitude and sharp tongue were backed by fierce eyes that showed the youngster wasn’t kidding. “I won’t swear I can beat you both but I’ll definitely give you a run for your money and I don’t need to beat you as long as I can stall you for a while and give Takashi more time.” The kid announced as he took two Pokeballs from his belt and released the Pokemon within. A Shiftry and a Gallade appeared from within them and the boy quickly drew his swords to stand between them. “Let’s see how you two handle a battle with my Pokemon and me thrown into the mix.” The kid suggested as Odd and his partner considered their Pokemon. Their main fighters so far were getting worn down pretty quick but if they could survive this a little while longer they’d face Takashi and end this. So they sent them out once more. Odd sent out Adagio and Lykas sent Lux into the fray. “Well…since you two are only using one Pokemon each to fight my two Pokemon, I should at least give you my name so we can fight on honorable grounds…..I’m called Shino! Shino Hie!” With that, the boy began his assault. He didn’t seem to even need to give orders to his Pokemon, they worked so well in unison. Shiftry began to whip up a fierce wind but it didn’t seem to be doing anything at first. Gallade, on the other hand, rushed towards Adagio and released a few quick slashes with Night Slash. The Lampent dodged as best she could before blasting a Shadow Ball into the Fighting type’s face. Gallade stumbled backwards but quickly recovered, jumping back out of the way as Lux released a strong Flamethrower aimed to engulf both it and Shiftry. Gallade dodged the attack but Shiftry was caught up in the blaze for a moment before its wind became a powerful gale and it released its pent up Razor Wind. The blade filled wind blew the flames back bit by bit until Lux had to stop and rest, being buffeted by the attack when he did. That was when Shino moved, jumping into the powerful wind to get a huge speed boost. He barreled towards Lykas with his wooden blades crossed. It seemed he was trying to use a human version of X-Scissor. Odd had Lykas’ back, though, and Adagio took the hit. Rushing to get between Lykas and the aerial Shino, she crossed her arms as if to block and let the boy make contact. Being a Ghost, she took little damage from the contact but managed to successfully defend Lykas from the strike. After that, she immediately took to striking back at that blasted Gallade. Summoning up all her strength, she fired the strongest Shadow Ball she could manage at him, surprised by its lack of coordination in its escape attempt. It managed to barely escape the attack itself but the explosion caused by it crashing into a wall sent the Psychic type hurtling toward the attacker. Adagio saw this as an opening and summoned an Ominous Wind around Gallade, focusing most of the attack in the immediate area around it. The Psychic type might have looked strong but it appeared to have little stamina, as it was breathing heavily after the attack had done its worst. It stood on shaky legs, proving that it was a glass cannon, before firing a powerful Psycho Cut at Lux. The unfortunate Quilava didn’t last through it, however, fainting when the attack made contact and threw him backwards. Lykas recalled the fallen fire type and retaliated by calling out Mykel, who he had throw a few Fire Punches at the ninja kid’s Shiftry. The Grass type stood up to the attacks fairly well and eventually fought back by firing a Dark Pulse at the Psychic assailant. Mykel managed to dodge the attack, but just barely, and threw another series of Fire Punches at Shiftry. The grass type didn’t take too well to the assault and fell as it succumbed to the burns it had sustained from Mykel’s attacks. Adagio, feeling upset over the defeat of her friend Lux, decided Gallade was done battling as well as used an Inferno on the weakened Gallade, who was caught in the blaze and downed by the overwhelming damage it dealt. Shino recalled his two Pokemon, doing a quick flip back to where he’d started. Now he needed to call on stronger reinforcements. Pulling two new Pokeballs from his belt, he threw them into the air and released the second round of his attack. A Sceptile appeared from one and a Leavanny appeared from the other. “A Leavanny? Seriously?” Odd asked as he saw the Bug. It was one of the few Unova Pokemon he knew of without having to think too hard on it “Adagio, hit the bug with a Flamethrower.” The Ghost type nodded and spewed a stream of powerful flames at the large insect, roasting it in a single hit. It managed to hang on by a thread, however. How it had managed that was beyond Odd but it had. The scorched insect had used Endure only an instant before being engulfed in the flames. “Do it now! Flail, Leavanny!” The humanoid bug nodded and began to thrash about, flailing it’s limbs in an erratic, almost painful looking manner. It circled Odd’s Pokemon for a moment or two before feigning an attack and throwing Adagio off guard before striking Mykel hard while the Ghost was distracted. The Kirlia didn’t hold up too well against the assault, though he didn’t outright faint. He was quick to respond with a Psychic blast that sent Leavanny reeling. The unfortunate Bug didn’t hold up against the attack and went down without further struggle. Shino recalled his fallen Leavanny and sent out his final Pokemon in hopes of conquering his foes. The Kricketune appeared from its Pokeball already using X-Scissor. Adagio fired a Flamethrower at the Bug but was cut off by an unexpected Night Slash Shino called from his Sceptile, who had only just made its first move. The unfortunate Lampent went down, no longer having the energy to battle. With that unfortunate incident, Odd was left as the only one with a Pokemon to have a type advantage here. Mykel Teleported behind Kricketune before it could make contact and threw a strong Fire Punch at the Bug-type. The insect fell forward, squealing in surprise more than pain but was quick to recover, flipping over as it threw its own Night Slash at the Kirlia behind it. Not expecting the attack in the slightest, Mykel was hit hard and sent reeling backwards. The Psychic didn’t seem too Hell-bent on fainting and struggled to stand again as Odd’s Drifloon whipped up a strong wind. It was the strongest Gust it could manage(Since that’s about the only flying type attack it can learn) aimed at Sceptile. The forest Pokemon resisted the wind as best it could as the Whirl Islands’ many tunnels and caverns whistled in the powerful gale. With the wind in play, Kricketune was having trouble staying in place and Mykel took the opportunity to get a few hits in, running up and slamming a few Fire Punches into the Bug-type’s chest. It seemed this Kid’s Pokemon were all weaklings as the Kricketune fell to the floor. Sceptile tried to counteract its foe’s wind with one of its own by using Leaf Storm to spin a typhoon of leaves in the opposite direction. It seemed to work as the wind slowed and finally stopped but as the proverbial smoke cleared, Mykel made a surprise appearance, jumping up in Sceptile’s face and unleashing a strong Psychic attack into the Grass-type’s mind. It didn’t hold up too well to the mental assault and fell a moment later. Shino recalled his Pokemon before taking up his swords once more. “You’ll pay for that you meanies!” He declared as he rushed Lykas once more. He might be good at using two swords at once but he was a horrible fighter to forget he had two foes. He paid no mind to Odd as he rushed the blue-haired teenager and soon paid the price as a fist encountered his face from the side. “I don’t like hitting kids but you need to learn to respect a defeat.” Odd announced as he shook his hand. (That kid’s face hurt!) Shino was in no condition to respond as he held his cheek and sobbed on the ground. Maybe that’s why this kid’s Pokemon couldn’t fight? They learned from their trainer to be crybabies and only hit hard? Regardless, Odd recalled Treble and walked on. Lykas left Mykel out and turned back to Sphynx. “There are more ahead, right?” He asked. She nodded. It looked like several more humans and a large mass not far from them. “You know what that means?” Odd nodded and they headed on. Unfortunately for them, neither expected what happened when they started to move. The fainted Kricketune, who Shino had failed to recall, woke up and managed a Night Slash on Mykel while his back was turned, resulting in the Kirlia fainting from the extra damage and Lykas literally curb-stomping the Kricketune until it lost consciousness again. It took a few shots before the Bug went out like a light, though.

With three of their forces down, Odd and Lykas knew they had to be careful and not let themselves be caught off guard again. Takashi was going to be strong and they’d definitely have to have Pokemon assistance if Dragonite tried fighting them. Neither intended to fight back hard, just deflect incoming attacks from it. Regardless of that, Lykas recalled Mykel and the trio of humans and their Pokemon guide followed the cave system down until they found the spot where Sphynx had spotted the human shapes. “Lux!” The Luxray had a feeling this was going to be the real deal. She was positive this was the leader and at least one lackey ahead of them. She had seen no other humanoid figures since the last battle began. The trio neared a corner and rounded it slowly, careful not to make unnecessary noise. Apparently, they weren’t very effective…..or the trap laid on the floor was touch sensitive. Steel bars shot up around them just as they stepped around the corner, stopping them in their tracks and deterring their intent to take out the Team Samurai goons that were left in the caves. “Gah! Not another trap!” Odd cursed under his breath when he tried to open the cage, only to find no way out. The bars held strong and whatever force connected them together at the corners was too strong to simply push apart. “It’s no good! I can’t get free.” He sighed as he fell back on his butt after the fifth attempt to break the bars down. “Maybe you can’t but I think I can.” Lykas provided as he pulled a Pokeball from his belt and let out Nuregami who, thankfully, appeared outside the bars. “Nuregami, use Ice Beam to freeze the bars the then use Dragon Tail to break them.” He instructed quietly. Somehow, it seemed the Team Samurai goons hadn’t yet heard them, despite all the racket they were making. Nuregami nodded and the bars in front of the boys suddenly became encased in ice as the frigid energy flowed over them. Afterwards, the Milotic wound up and swung his tail at the cage, though instead of a Dragon Tail, the Water type’s tail glowed silver. Regardless, it succeeded in smashing the bars apart. “Huh…..still can’t get past Iron Tail, huh?” Lykas asked as he stepped out. Nuregami shook his head in the negative as Odd approached. “We’ll get it right eventually, so no worries.” He offered. He had a second Dragon-Type attack he wanted the sea serpent to learn just to effectively round out his movepool but now wasn’t the time to properly work on that.

Once free of their cage, Odd and Lykas rounded the corner, this time without being caught in a trap and spotted a black Dragonite resting in a strange, rocky nest on a high ledge. Unfortunately for it, there also happened to be a young human boy in a too-long red scarf standing below, looking up at it. “Hold it, Takashi!” Odd barked as he approached(With absolute caution, of course). “You’re not getting Dragonite’s scales.” He assured as the boy turned around. “Don’t be so sure.” Takashi responded as a shady figure emerged from nearby. It was another of his fellow teammates! Crap! They’d been counting on getting Takashi alone but this might serve just as well. The team minion sent out a Pokemon neither Odd nor Lykas could recall ever having seen before. Odd pulled out his SNAG and scanned the Pokemon to discover its identity.

~Scolipede, the Megapede Pokemon.~

“Crap…..” Odd complained, though Lykas didn’t seem to find it too disconcerting. “Just call out Replay and have him copy whatever Nuregami does. We should be able to finish these guys off without too much trouble if we work together.” Lykas whispered as the Milotic moved to stand between the humans and the large Bug-type. “We’re out of fire-type attack users, though…” Odd retorted. Lykas nodded. “Yes but Bug types are also weak to Ice-type attacks and Nuregami knows Ice Beam and Blizzard.” The younger teen provided. Realization dawned in Odd’s mind and he nodded in understanding, releasing his Chatot just as Takashi released his Dustox. “Let’s get this show on the road! Use Blizzard, Nuregami!” Lykas called to his ally, who nodded, inhaled, and blew out a frigid gale of snow and ice at the pair of poisonous insects. “Rewind and repeat, Replay!” Odd called to his own Pokemon, who understood the command to mean use Mirror Move. “Rewind!” The Flying-type called as his wings flashed a brilliant silvery-white and reflected Nuregami’s attack in them before he began to beat his wings once more and a second Blizzard issued from him. “And repeat!” The combined blast coated both Scolipede and Dustox in layers of ice, leaving them incapable of battle.

“Gyyyyaaaoooo!” The sleeping Dragonite beyond the Team Samurai fools stirred as the cold air blew across it.

“Ah! We have to be careful not to wake it up! We’ll be in big trouble if it does!” Odd exclaimed in horror as the Dragon-type shifted in discomfort. After a moment, though, it settled down and returned to its gentle breathing. Takashi and his crony recalled their frozen Bugs and sent out replacements, both sending in pure Poison Types. “You guys love using the same Pokemon, don’t you?” Odd asked as he recalled Replay and sent out Bass, who was very glad to see battle again with Odd. “Maybe but this combination has a special strength.” Takashi replied with a sneer. “Toxic!” He and his comrade called together. Bass wasn’t able to dodge quickly enough and was instantly poisoned to a great extent but Nuregami managed to avoid the toxic sludge coming from the badly aimed Toxic fired off by Seviper. “Let’s go, Nuregami, we have to end this before Bass takes a turn for the worst!” Lykas called to his Milotic. “You’ve got to try and use Dragon Tail again! Send that Weezing packing!” The Water-type nodded and whipped his tail around to slam into Weezing, but the indigo whorls of energy around it vanished moments before contact, leaving the Pokemon’s fan-like tail fin gleaming silver as the base Iron Tail struck instead. Weezing wasn’t going to let that be the end of it, though, and endured with a bit of focus. “Bass, use your…jeez, you need something more powerful than just Confusion….” What was that move he kept using back when all the crap in Unova was just starting? Psycho-something-or-other….. Despite his trainer’s inarticulate request, Bass responded by using the very attack Odd was trying to remember, lashing out with Psyshock at Weezing. He cringed a moment later as his body was wracked with the Toxic poison. Weezing still refused to cave and it and Seviper focused together to use their synchronized attacks again, throwing a dual Venoshock as they summoned a wave of toxic sludge together that aimed to wash over the small Psychic-type and Lykas’ larger Water-type. Bass survived by throwing up a Protect field but it was beginning to crack and the shield was dripping poison on the inside, a few drops landing on the bell Pokemon’s body and causing him to cringe and quiver in pain once again. Nuregami wasn’t quite so lucky and his white body was stained purple by the sludge. Odd ran over to Bass as his Protect faded and knelt down with him. “Can you keep going, Bass? I don’t want you to get hurt anymore. I can’t let you keep fighting I this condition.” Bass smiled as he used Confusion to lift Odd up and set him out of the way. His body was engulfed in a white light as he began to grow and his body changed with evolution. When he emerged, the Chimeco cast a glare at Weezing before throwing a powerful Psychic at it. The poison gas Pokemon collapsed at that, unable to keep fighting. Takashi frowned in distaste and recalled his fallen comrade, sending out his Shedinja instead. The victory was short-lived, however, as Bass succumbed to the poison in his system. His evolution must have helped the poison spread. Odd rushed to pick up the Chimeco and recalled him to his Pokeball with a word of thanks. With Shedinja on the field, the boy called out Replay again, since the Flying-type would have the advantage. Lykas called to Nuregami once Weezing fell. “Think you can manage another Blizzard?” He asked of the Tender Pokemon. “Loooooootic!” Nuregami replied with a slight hesitation. He was already weakening. It had been a while since his last challenging battle and these two teams were throwing one hard hit after another. It couldn’t last much longer, though. Dragonite was beginning to stir more fervently beyond the Samurai duo. Nuregami took a deep breath and, recalling not to harm the Dragon beyond his foes, shifted his position so that the Blizzard he unleashed would blow across the Seviper and Shedinja foes without catching Dragonite in the cross-fire. Shedinja shivered, somehow or another, (nobody was sure how they knew but everyone could tell that the motionless Pokemon was shivering in its shell like there was no tomorrow). Seviper retaliated with a Flamethrower, trying to blow away the ice and snow. It helped a tiny bit but it was obvious that it wasn’t doing too hot. Nor was Shedinja, for that matter. The Seviper whipped around with a tail glowing a sickening violet as it struck at Replay with Poison Tail. The tiny Chatot barely managed to evade by using a Feather Dance to create a small makeshift smokescreen of multicolored feathers. He returned the blow with an Air Cutter, a rare direct attack strategy on his part. Usually, he just copied his foes’ or allies’ moves to use against his targets. It seemed to do the trick, though, as both the Seviper and Shedinja duo were struck by the attack. Seviper went down but Shedinja managed to survive, somehow. It’s halo was beginning to glow, though. Takashi’s companion recalled his defeated Poison-type and sent out a strange mushroom in its place.

~Amoonguss, the Mushroom Pokemon.~

Odd’s SNAG provided as Lykas called for Nuregami to sweep an Ice Beam over their foes. The Milotic did as requested, breathing heavily as he fought his exhaustion to fire the beam of frigid energy. It swept over Amoonguss, who brushed it off about as easily as any other Grass-type but before the blow reached the Shedinja, it fired a Solar Beam that met the Ice one halfway. The two beams clashed in a power struggle for several long moments before an explosion ensued, the energies cancelling one another out. Amoonguss’ Giga Drain coming through the cover of smoke did the unfortunate Milotic in for this battle, however. Lykas frowned and recalled his ally before sending out a different one. He looked to Sphynx at his side and she took that for what it was; a call-to-arms. She stepped forward and blasted a Signal Beam at Amoonguss in retaliation for taking out her friend. Replay took the chance to use Air Cutter once again, this time succeeding in taking out Shedinja. The Ghost/Bug fell to the ground as was recalled but Amoonguss bore the attack with little difficulty, firing a Sludge Bomb back at Replay. The Chatot wasn’t one to take attacks very well and chose now to be the time to fall back. While Takashi was calling out Shedinja’s replacement, Replay used U-Turn to make his escape, striking Amoonguss again and returning to his Pokeball. The result? A’Capella was called from her own ball and stood on the damp floor in great annoyance. “Purr loin.” She stated simply. It was her way of saying that Odd owed her big time for battling under these conditions. Takashi’s final Pokemon made its appearance at last as she wannabe ninja released his Samurott from its ball. The large, semi-quadrupedal Pokemon looked out over the competition and glared. A’Capella cringed at the sight but was determined to make her ‘papa’ proud by battling hard. Sphynx decided to take one Samurott practically alone and charged it with Wild Charge immediately, her body coated in lightning as she slammed the electrified body slam into her foe. The Water-type samurai Pokemon wasn’t pleased and stood up onto its hind legs, pulling its shells free and locking them together. At Takashi’s behest, it used a Razor Shell attack like a massive greatsword, swinging the energy blade down on A’Capella as if she were a fly to be swatted away. The Feline dodged easily, her small size and agility playing to her advantage. “Assist!” Odd called, praying for something useful. He wasn’t disappointed when her glowing paws emitted a stream of flames that swirled into a massive ball of flames that she hurled at Amoonguss, borrowing Adagio’s Inferno for this turn. The large mushroom Pokemon fell to the ground under the assault, its fungal body drying out in the immense heat of the flames. Takashi’s comrade recalled the Pokemon and turned to Takashi. “Sorry, sir but I can’t stick around for this. These guys are good!” He told the leader before running off into the caves. Takashi’s Samurott had borne the brunt of Sphynx’s electric attack, blocking her body with the flat side of its shell blade but the lightning pouring out of her shot through it, wracking its body with unimaginable pain. Sphynx took a bit of recoil from the harsh attack but brushed that aside as required sacrifice. The Formidable Pokemon lowered its head after a moment and focused solely on A’Capella, it’s shell helmet’s frontal spike beginning to glow a sickly green. “Samu!” The Water-type rushed towards the tiny feline on all fours, charging it full-force with a Mega Horn. It intended to skewer the Purrloin. “Dodge, then use Assist!” Odd called. A’Capella nodded and jumped straight up, landing on Samurott’s back before using Assist. Her paws glowed for a moment before she seemed to plump up for no apparent reason. “Stockpile? Really?” Sphynx took the distraction and fired a Thunder attack, which A’Capella also managed to dodge thanks to quick movements. Samurott deflected much of the charge with one of its shell blades, before using a Revenge attack to really hit the Luxray hard. “Use Assist again, A’Capella.” Odd requested. What is he doing?! He’ll never get a useful move in that way! Lykas thought as Sphynx was mowed down by Samurott’s Revenge. She struggled to her feet as Odd’s feline managed a second stockpile and tried to hit the opponent with Thunder again. Samurott shot a Hydro Pump back, the geyser of water overpowering the large bolt of lightning, though conducting much of its energy back to itself. Sphynx fell to the attack, fighting hard to recover and clamber back to her feet once again. After several long, long moments, she finally collapsed. Lykas recalled her to her ball and frowned.

“Hydro Cannon! Carve away the very stone of the caves and bury these two here!” Takashi finally called to his Pokemon, whom he could tell was already very weak. Samurott nodded and sank its feet into the ground, anchoring itself as it opened its mouth and compressed every ounce of energy It could into a small orb in front of it. “A’Capella! Use Assist one more time!” Please, Gods, let this move be something can end this?! The music lover prayed as his Dark-type’s paws glowed. After a moment, she sat down and opened her own mouth, a HUGE ball of white energy forming in front of her.

“Is that-“

“Spit Up!” Odd verified. That’ll do it! he cheered inwardly. Maybe A’Capella only had two Stockpile charges built up but that should be enough to save their lives from Hydro Cannon, at least. The two Pokemon, large and small, sat across from one another, building up their attacks for several moments until they each unleashed their forces upon one another. Despite the obvious strength in Samurott’s attack, A’Capella’s Spit Up completely dwarfed it, swallowing the powerful torrent of water and the Pokemon and its trainer, launching them towards the roof of the cave, where the attack carved a hole through the stone ceiling. Thankfully, it seemed a stable wall and nothing collapsed or crumbled but the Team Samurai leader and his Pokemon were blasted out into the sea just off this island’s coast. (Thank the gods they were under one of the islands and not at the bottom of the sea, both Snagems thought as the smoke cleared) Odd looked around for A’Capella once he could see clearly again and found her pressed up against the wall behind him, the force of her attack knocking her off the ground and blowing her backwards. Thanking the Purrloin, who’d been knocked out by the impact with the wall, for her help, he recalled her to her ball.

The boys weren’t surprised to find Dragonite beginning to fully awaken and quickly scrambled to escape from the scene before they were spotted. They barely managed to succeed but, as Dragonite looked at it’s surroundings and saw the damage done, they could tell it was becoming very angry and was about to get up. As it started to stand, it’s focus turned towards the corner they were hiding around. “Damn! I have to use it!” Lykas exclaimed when he realized they’d been found out. He sat down and whipped out the cerulean flute he’d had the glassblower make for him. He placed it to his lips and began to play. The noted slowly poured from the flute in a beautiful melody that made even Odd fell drowsy. The boy not playing looked around the corner and watched Dragonite to see how it reacted. The echoing notes of Lykas’ song resounding through the caves reached its ears and it perked up at first, searching for the source of the noise but, after several minutes of no success, it sat back down, eye lids visibly heavy. As Lykas continued to play, it lay back down and closed its eyes, falling back to sleep to the sounds of the music that was making it so drowsy. Once it was asleep, Odd motioned Lykas to stop and look. Neither could see any signs of Team Samurai returning and, after calling out Sphynx to scan the area with her X-Ray vision, they confirmed the absence of the idiotic kids. They must have all run off after being beaten, fearing incarceration if the victors chose to call the coast guard or something. With that done, Lykas recalled Sphynx so she could rest. The two boys decided to take one last look at the majestic Dragonite, just to make sure it was safe and, as they neared, they checked it for any visible damage done. They saw nothing, meaning Team Samurai probably hadn’t had the chance to try taking any of its scales before they found the nest themselves. That was a relief. What they did see, however, was an egg flashing under Dragonite’s arm.

“Gah!” The egg exploded apart as the Dratini within quietly emerged, looking around. It didn’t notice the fragments of cerulean color glass on the ground, where Lykas had dropped the flute he’d been playing minutes before.

“Let’s go home……” Odd voiced from the beach in Olivine as Lykas recalled the utterly exhausted Mykel for a very long rest.

“Can we walk? Mykel’s pooped and we haven’t ever just walked anywhere together….” Lykas asked as he turned to his boyfriend. Odd nodded. “That sounds nice, actually.” The two boys began to head north, both their minds on the thought of Dragonite living happily for many years to come.

-Mission Complete!-

Objectives Complete:
- Defeat Team Samurai grunts , minimum of four. Defeated five.
- Defeat Takashi, leader of Team Samurai
- Save the Shiny Dragonite from Takashi and his men.

Pokemon defeated - Many Bug and Poison types, a few Steel-types, two Ghost-types and a Grass type or two. ((General guesstimation because it took months to write this and I don’t feel like going back to check every single Pokemon I had them battle.))

Notable occurrences - Odd’s Chingling Evolved and he Snagged a Shedinja. (Not Takashi’s)

Key Items acquired - Coral Sword Handle (key to Lykas’ later character growth)  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

SubonicXP

Ghost Master Mission Stage 1

All Spirits Come

Ghosts, spirits of the dearly departed, what remains of a creature after their physical body has expired, try as you might to deny the existence of such things but the fact remains that they are real, and all around us. There are some individuals however who have learned to harness the untold power of their own spirit, in order to make contact with the lost souls that roam the Earth, for whatever reason. Some people call them mediums, or maybe a spirit guide. These people believe they have some sort of special gift that allows them to speak to the dead, but really, these people are actually channelers, using their own unique chi to speak and see the dead. But it's not just humans that can possess the ability to do so, no; there are many Pokémon that can even transcend the land of the living and the land of the dead, yes, Ghost Pokémon. These creatures can move freely between the two realms it is said, but it is here in the living realm where they feed. Some hybrids are said to be gifted with this ability, but one must wonder, is a Ghost hybrid only half alive?

Regardless, the power of the otherworld is great, it can see things that the living would never even dream of, it defies all laws of the living realm, so you can imagine. The power of the spiritual world is nearly limitless. So, are you ready to harness your spirit and unlock untold power and nearly limitless potential? If so, it's time for you to begin your journey.

Mt. Pyre is a place with strong ties to the other realm; some people believe that the mountain itself acts as a portal between the two realms, allowing the spirits of the departed to cross back and forth freely. It is for that reason that many mediums study and temper their souls on this mountain, training their selves and their Ghost Pokémon. There is one medium however, who surpasses all others; she possesses power over from the spirit world unlike any other. Not even death could stop this amazing channeler, if anything, it made her even more powerful.

The woman you are to seek out is named Amaya, a powerful channeler who once lived hundreds of years ago. Amaya physical being died a long time ago, but her extremely powerful spirit continues on. In life Amaya was a master of the spiritual arts, she would take in students at an old school that used to exist high on Mt. Pyre, but when she passed away, her students left and the school fell apart, this upset Amaya greatly as her spirit still existed, yet none of her students could see her, they were too weak in their spiritual powers. The legend, if you will, goes on to say that the master of the spiritual world continues to linger at the old school, and around Mt. Pyre, waiting for a living soul that can communicate with her, so that she may teach them.

The legend goes on to say that Amaya had left for her students an artifact that could awaken one's own spiritual power, and thus granting one the ability to see the dead, that means Amaya. However, the artifact is hidden away in the old school on Mt. Pyre, many of her students tried to find it, but all failed, why is that you ask? The artifact is very peculiar, as you may have guessed. Not just anyone can learn to speak to the dead; it takes one with a very unique chi to be able to do so. You must be born with this latent gift. So it's time to find out if you possess the gift, hidden in your soul.

Journey to Mt. Pyre land find the old school that exists high on the mountain, deep within a fog covered forest. Be wary as the mountain, and especially this forest, is filled with many hostile Ghost Pokémon, not only that, but legend also says before her death Amaya cast a spell on the forest, creating the endless fog that haunts over it, deterring travelers, the fog is said to cause those with a weak soul to wander aimlessly, trust not your mortal senses.

Once you find the school you must find where Amaya had hidden the artifact, what she called "The Killing Stone". Scary name huh? Amaya gave the stone, which is really an immense amount of concentrate spiritual energy, in crystalized form, created by Amaya herself to test her students and reward them. The Killing Stone is said to consume the souls of the unworthy, which is no lie it would seem as those Amaya tried to test it on were consumed by its power. Their souls were too fragile to wander its overwhelming strength, thus why Amaya gave it such a horrible name and hid it away, to discourage them.

Regardless, you must locate the stone within the old school. From what is known of the school, and the stone's location, there is a maze underneath the build, and at the end of it, the stone. But be wary, the maze its self is said to not be on this plain of existence, but between the world of the living and the dead, and the closer you get to the stone, the further you journey into the realm of the dead, as such there will be many ghost Pokémon there, and they won't be happy to see you. Furthermore, you put your very soul at risk for being there. The spirits there will attempt to pull you further into the land of the dead, be it by aggressively attacking you, or assault your mind, or confusing you, should you stray too far, you may never come back. So keep your mind focused, and stay strong.

Once you find The Killing Stone, from the moment you touch it you will be subjected to the final test, the stone will bombarded your very soul with the power from the great beyond. If you are strong enough, you will withstand this assault, but if you aren't, the stone will consume you. If you do withstand it a power unlike any other will awaken in you, a link between your soul and the great beyond will be formed, and only then, will you be able to see the spirit of those departed, mainly Amaya. I'm sure she'll be watching you so I doubt you'll have to search for her, if you survive. Once you do see her, ask her to teach you how to harness your new power, as it will stand, the power you unlock will be worthless to you, the most you would be able to do is see a few spirits, nothing more. Mind your manners however, Amaya was known to be a very old fashioned teacher, she demanded the upmost respect from her students, and even the smallest amount of disrespect was met with harsh punishment. Should she accept you as her student then The Killing Stone will become your method of calling upon your teacher for future lessons, and you will be on your way to mastering the power of Ghosts.

Objective:
---Travel to Mt. Pyre and locate the forest with an endless fog.
---Find Amaya's old school within the forest, be wary of the fogs confusing effects and wild Ghost Pokémon.
---Once in the school locate and journey through the maze underneath it. Be cautious of spirits which will try to pull you into their world or confuse and misguide you.
---When you make it to the end and find The Killing Stone you must survive the assault of spiritual energy and not be consumed by it. If successful you'll see your new master, Amaya. Convince her to accept you as her pupil.

Opposition:
---Wild Ghost Pokémon, on the mountain, in the forest, and in the maze.
---I also hear a powerful Dusknoir haunts the forest and the school in its entirety, looking for lost souls to pull into the other world. Do not get spotted by it, surely it would mean sudden doom.

Pokémon:
---You may capture one wild Ghost Pokémon, you may not catch the Dusknoir.

Rewards:
---The Killing Stone, which is required to call upon your future teacher, Amaya.
---The ability to take on the next Ghost Master Mission.
---Varies from there based on story.

Ghost Master Mission
Character- Odd
Status - Ungraded  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

Part 1

Odd looked over the mission profile he’d just received via his SNAG and pondered which of his Pokémon he should take with him on this mission. He wasn’t sure just yet what would come from this, aside from learning how to master the realm of the spirit. He had determined long ago that he wished to become one of the elemental Sages in the world and he knew it would likely take much of his life to master the gifts he would be taught to use but as the saying goes, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with but a single step.” As he finished, the phrase crossed his mind as he smiled to himself. “This is my first step.” He told himself as he looked to the Pokeballs lying scattered on his desk. According to this mission, he would be dealing with mostly Ghost-types, which wasn’t unexpected, really, and determined that he should take at least one of his Pokémon to help counter them and the other five would be Ghosts of his own. Grabbing the Pokeballs for his team, he clipped them to his belt and set out.

“GRAY, I need a Claydol trip to Mt. Pyre in Hoenn.” The teenaged wannabe-hero told the SNAG device’s AI.

“The least you could do is say please, you know?” The electronic device retorted in GRAY’s computerized voice.

“Why do you have to have a personality of your own?” Odd asked in mild exasperation. “Couldn’t Sub have just made you an obedient program?” The teen snapped back as he looked at himself in the mirror and adjusted his clothes. Hoenn was known for having a moderate climate but the foggy mountain of the dead was also known for the creepy fog that always hung on its exterior. He grabbed a thick, black jacket before heading out.

“Fine. But don’t ask me to bring you and your abominations back here when you decide to try and die out there.” GRAY added. “Or better, just go ahead and die while you’re out. Save us both the trouble?” The machine added before Claydol appeared and the AI went silent.

“Oi vey….” Odd groaned as he walked over to Claydol and laid a hand on its side. “Alright, I need to get to Mt. Pyre. Can you take me there?” He asked of the Psychic-type statue. “Dooooooooll.” Claydol responded before the two vanished in a flash of white light. They reappeared at the base of the mountain and Claydol quickly returned to HQ in case it was called upon for another trip somewhere else by another member of the team. Once Claydol had left, Odd looked to his belt and grabbed Cadenza’s Pokeball, releasing the Ghost-type from within. “I’m taking on a really difficult mission and I want you to be the one who’s there to help me the whole way.” He told the Shedinja, who didn’t seem to respond at all. Odd had a strange feeling the Pokémon had smiled, however. It was difficult to tell with the empty-shell-turned-Pokémon. As they began the trek through the mountain, Odd realized he had not once heard the Pokémon speak since acquiring it. He wondered if all Shedinja were like that or if his was unique in that respect.

Before they could truly begin to climb the mountain, the duo had to enter the graveyard within and travel upward from there. This wasn't due to anything blocking their path, however. Odd simply felt compelled to pay his respects before climbing this mountain where the spirits of countless Pokémon were said to rest. It almost felt as if something were pulling him deeper inside to do so before it would allow him to leave. As he saw it, respect for the dead was respect to their spirits. He had nothing to offer as way of a gift to show he would remember them, but he found that he did have a few possessions that might work. He tenderly ran a finger over the key he wore around his neck as this thought came to his mind. It was an ancient relic the Sisters back at the abbey had said once belonged to his parents. He wasn't sure if they really knew or not but he did know that it meant the world to him. Perhaps if he left it here for the spirits, it would be accepted as a gift? He and Cadenza traveled to the top floor of the tower's inner sanctum, managing to only be forced into one battle with an angry Duskull. A single use of Shadow Claw had sent it running, however, and they had continued on their way. At the top, Odd approached a specially crafted alter, one that he had heard of many years ago. The hand-carved stone alter bore a mirror covered by a black cloth at its back with a single small bell that appeared to be made of crystal hanging in front of it. The crystal striking rod lay next to it on a piece of black velvet.

Odd removed the ancient key from around his neck and laid it on the altar, beneath the bell and lifted the crystal striking rod delicately from its resting place. Offering a whispered prayer for the spirits of the lost, he gingerly struck the bell, listening to the high pitched chime resonate throughout the underground sanctum for the phantoms of the dearly departed. Once the dead was done, the boy returned the striking rod to its velvet pillow and turned to Cadenza, who had stayed behind him while he had performed the sacred ritual of prayer. The Shedinja looked at him, or rather, in his direction (Odd always found it confusing to try and say his Shedinja was doing anything specific, as it was nearly impossible to tell) before turning away from its trainer. Upon turning, the Ghost-type found itself rather surrounded; Not only by Ghost-type Pokémon but by shadows of the once-living. Odd could only see the Pokémon at the moment, but they were looking particularly vicious at the moment, so he stepped aside and found his assumption correct. The Pokémon approached the altar to examine the gift left for them. Many approached; some found it acceptable, others weren't swayed one way or another. Only one or two found his gift unappealing but he was long gone before they had a chance to demand more.

Of the spirits pleased, one in particular took a shine to it. The spirit silently approached the altar and, upon seeing the key, it recalled a memory that had not been of any relevance for many years. Reaching out an unseen hand, it gripped the tarnished silver key and lifted it into the air before slipping into the otherworld with the key tow.

Odd traversed the inner portion of Mt. Pyre with Cadenza on his heels. However, he stopped when, on the third floor, Cadenza stopped at a gravestone and seemed to be looking it over. The teenage Ghost lover turned to look at his Pokémon, uncertain why he had stopped. "What is it, Cadenza?" He asked as he approached. "Did you know that Pokémon?" He continued when the Shedinja didn't respond. Approaching the gravestone, himself, he knelt and examined it. "Here lies Speedy the Ninjask." Odd read as he ran a finger over the engraved words, wiping a bit of dust off of them. "Ninjask......Don't....Don't Shedinja come from Nincada evolving into Ninjask?" He asked of his Pokémon comrade, who gave a full-bodied nod in response. "Was this.....was this Ninjask yours? Your twin?" He finally managed to get out as he realized why the Pokémon must have stopped. Cadenza gave another full-bodied nod in response, then turned away in silence. Odd watched the Shedinja begin to float along the path back to the graveyard's exit to the exterior of the mountain. He stood and walked along the same path as the Ghost-type. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching him, though. He tried to shrug it off but the feeling of being watched is like the feeling of glue dried on your skin. Even if you peel the glue off, the sticky feeling remains.

Odd kept looking over his shoulder as he and Cadenza traversed the memorial's remaining floors, warding off a few spirits on the way down with simple Shadow Ball attacks. Once back on the the bottom floor, the duo found their way to the exit on the mountain side of the memorial. Wandering out, Odd stopped and looked towards the mountaintop. "Wow.....It's foggy on the whole mountain today." He commented, pointing out the obvious to Cadenza, who would have shook his head in exasperation if he could move. It was very true, however. The entire monument that was Mt. Pyre was lost in a bank of fog as mountainous as the land mass it covered. Odd shivered slightly, though not from the cold. "This is getting exciting!" He told his traveling companion, whose reaction was less than stellar. Cadenza's lack of obvious excitement left Odd wondering for a moment if they Shedinja cared at all. Then he remembered the Pokémon’s body was immobile. "Oh.....right....." He muttered to himself, blushing lightly. The sudden rush of heat to his face made the cool fog feel even colder against his skin as he began to climb the mountain.

Cadenza followed calmly, keeping his thoughts hidden quietly away in his mind. Odd wasn't ready for the things he would have to say just yet. This human may be brave, ignorantly so, but his bravery was no more than misguided cockiness at this point. He watched his human walk ahead of him and inwardly sighed. This must be how Speedy went. Falling into the hands of an insolent Human. He thought to himself as he tagged along. He watched the mountainous path wind on up the hillside for a while before t ducked out of sight around to the east. He passed gravestones along the way, of course, mostly ones set near to the marked path he and Odd followed, but paid little mind to the spirits that walked the grounds. Mostly, these were spirits of Pokémon, but once in a while, he would spot a Human soul wandering about aimlessly. What is it with Human souls? When their bodies die, their spirits are lost if they stay on Earth. At least Pokémon spirits have a sense of purpose that drives them.

"Cadenza......" Odd called as he came to a fork in the path. This was where the tricky part came in. "Which way do we go?" Both paths headed into the woods, but Odd know only one of these could be the correct one. This must be the first of the tricks and traps Amaya left behind to guard The Killing Stone. The forest ahead was covered in fog and a chill wind swept out of it almost constantly. The boy looked to his Shedinja and the Pokémon seemed to look back and forth between the two paths before turning back to Odd and looking up at him. "Don't know, huh?" He asked, receiving a full-bodied nod from Cadenza in response. "I was afraid of that." He added as he looked between the nearly identical paths again. "I guess this is what Sub meant when he said "trust not your mortal senses", huh?" He asked Cadenza with a laugh. He looked out to the forests ahead and watched them closely for any differences. Any sign that one way was right. To the naked eye, all looked the same. "Oi vey......"He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead for a moment as he tried to figure out what to do. As he began to open them again, something strange happened. The world flickered for a moment and something interesting caught his eye. For just the briefest of moments, a thread of crimson trailed off to the North from the westward path. "What the........?" The boy followed it without question, wondering where this strange thread had begun and, more so, where it was going. He'd never seen such a thing before. The boy looked over his shoulder to see Cadenza still following him as he followed the strange thread that had appeared before him.

“Come along, Cadenza. I know which way to go now.” He announced to his companion, confident that he did indeed know which way to go. He took the left hand path, shivering for the briefest of moments as a bank of frigid air brushed over him. Goose bumps jumped up on his skin as the cold seemed to pierce him to his very core but he simply continued on, trying to forget the strange occurrence as he headed eastward, into the edge of the forest. Cadenza offered a bow to the spirit Odd had just, unwittingly walked right through. My apologies for my Human. He has strong power hidden inside, I believe, but he has yet to realize his potential. He apologized wordlessly. The spirit nodded to Cadenza, understanding. She vanished from even his view then, but not without a flash of dull silver catching the Shedinja’s eye. That looked familiar but he couldn’t say for certain just now, Odd needed him in case of an emergency.

[Continued in part 2]  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

Part 2

The two entered the fog-covered forest and Odd shivered once more. Here, the cold was far from present. This forest was a warm, muggy environment that smelled of ancient musk and stagnant water. “Ew. This place is beyond nasty smelling.” Odd voiced, pinching his nose in an attempt to cut of the nasty stench. Unfortunately, this left him with a worse predicament. The smell was so rancid he could practically taste it when he tried breathing through his mouth. “Aaaaaaggh! I’d rather smell it than eat it!” He declared once the flavor of rotten eggs and 50-year-old shoe leather attacked his taste buds. I quite like this place…… Cadenza thought. It reminded him of that mysterious space between life and death he had existed in before this empty shell had appeared and allowed him to escape. As Odd attempted to re-collect his wits, Cadenza could sense something coming around nearby. There were Ghost Pokémon all around them here and many were heading this way in a hurry. They must have sensed them entering the forest. The Shedinja levitated forward and pushed against the small of Odd’s back, forcing him to move forward. Just as he stumbled and fell, protesting all the way to the ground, several things happened at once. Cadenza jumped between him and an incoming Giga Drain, the attack reflecting off of the strange orb-like force field that surrounded the Shedinja’s body, a Gastly made an appearance from who-knows-where and Cadenza sensed something even more dangerous than this small-time Pokemon coming nearer. It was at times like these that he truly wished he could speak to his ignorant Human and tell him off. Instead, he formed a trio of Shadow Balls and hurled them at Gastly in a rapid-fire barrage. The opposing Ghost-type was hit by all three and fell back, disappearing in the dust cloud that erupted from their contact disrupting its own toxic vapors.

“What was that for?” Odd finally asked as he got back to his feet, spitting out a mouthful of peat that had found itself lodged between his teeth when he hit the ground. Cadenza turned from the dust cloud to him and turned back to look at it fading away when Odd looked at him, expectantly. “Did….did something try to attack me?” He received a full-bodied nod in response. “Then……you pushed me to protect me…?” He asked, perplexed. He was certain that Cadenza didn’t like him all that much, so he had simply assumed that if something ever endangered his life on the Shedinja’s watch, it would allow it to happen, simply to gain its freedom. “Thank you, Cadenza.” He finally said, at a loss for what else he could say that would be worth the effort and express his gratitude properly. “I get the feeling we should keep moving, though. That was too close for comfort, ya know?” He pointed out, getting the point that Cadenza had been trying to figure out how to get across. “But which way do we go?” There were no marked paths within the trees like there had been on the mountainside outside the forest. Cadenza simply floated there and watched Odd, unable to shrug physically. Once again, Odd closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead in exasperation. This wasn’t as easy as he’d thought it would be. As he opened his eyes again, the world flashed for a fraction of a second again and he once more saw that bright crimson thread weaving through the trees. “Hang on!” He declared, as he attempted to follow it. Even as he did, it began to fade away. “This way!” He announced, grabbing Cadenza and carrying the Ghost-type Bug along with him as he darted between the trees. He wove in and out between large and majestic Oak trees, having to go around a massive Pine tree that sprung up in the middle of the path he was following. Sadly, he lost track of his ‘magical’ thread as he rounded it and sat down at the base of this tree.

“Crap! I can’t get through without help but you and I can’t figure out where we even are, yet.” The teen told Cadenza as he caught his breath. The Shedinja sighed inwardly. This was entirely true and it was driving the shed shell Pokemon mad to know he couldn’t do this. Odd seemed to have found something of interest, however. If only he could speak to the human and tell him to try harder. He could sense some strange power in the boy, after all. If he would listen to the spiritual energy that flowed all around him, he would be able to find his way with little trouble. But sadly, he seemed oblivious to the unique power inside him. “Cadenza……” Odd interrupted the Bug’s thoughts, a quizzical tone in his voice. “Have you ever……have you ever seen a thread that just disappears into thin air?” He asked of the ghost-type. Cadenza didn’t have to think hard on that one and his body slowly rotated back and forth as he would if he could simply shake his head. The answer to Odd’s question was actually “yes” but if the boy were seeing Spirit Thread traces, then his powers were beginning to awaken. This could become much easier if Odd could follow the threads to where they needed to go.

“I was afraid of that….” Odd voiced as he leaned against the large tree that had cost him his direction. His eyes drifted shut as he slid down its trunk to rest on the mossy ground. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t get much of a reprieve before he found himself surrounded. When he opened his eyes to the sound of movement, he found himself in the center of a large mass of Ghost-type Pokemon. There were several Litwick(which he didn’t even know could be found in Hoenn), four Duskull, two Shuppet, a Banette and a Mismagius(Which he also didn’t know lived anywhere in Hoenn). Perhaps these strange species of Pokemon were brought here by students of Amaya and had simply never left? Regardless, the boy jumped to his feet and sent out Dissonance to help Cadenza battle these beasts. “We’ve got no choice but to fight out way out of this flash mod before we can keep going.” He told the two, before one of the Litwick tried blasting Dissonance with an Inferno. The Golett was spared the blaze by a quickly formed Protect created by Cadenza, who was spared another incoming fire-type attack by the Golett’s Shadow Punch disrupting the Incinerate and taking out the young Litwick that had chosen to attack.

Cadenza quickly took to the offensive now, throwing a barrage of Shadow Balls in the direction of Mismagius before whirling around and summoning up an Ominous Wind to swipe across the remaining three Litwick that were encroaching upon him. Dissonance threw another Shadow Punch, this one aimed at Banette, before he took a Shadow Sneak to the back from the same beastly Pokemon. Whirling around, he brought a foot down on the Ghost-type with tremendous force, slamming it into the ground before it erupted outward with a land-flattening shockwave via Bulldoze. Banette was down for the count. Cadenza was easily deflecting various attempts to harm him, despite the apparent hive-mind decision for all of the gathered hosts to try hitting him with Charge Beam at once. Though all of the ones involved were slowly gaining in power, all were distracted as Dissonance looked their way and threw a massively painful Shadow Punch that struck Mismagius and slammed it into one of the Shuppet, creating a domino effect that disrupted all of their attacks. It also left Mismagius a harmless shadow on the ground as the attack knocked it unconscious. “There’s an opening!” Odd called to his Pokemon as he rushed through the empty space between the Pokemon. Cadenza and Dissonance followed, though the latter was hit pretty hard by a Duskull’s Shadow Ball and Shuppet’s Night Shade.

Odd blinked a few times as he tried to block out the sounds of pain coming from Dissonance. Several times, when he opened his eyes after a blink, he found that crimson thread from before darting one way or another and followed it, not by any conscious decision to do so, but by some strange feeling that doing so would lead him where he wanted to go. He looked over his shoulder once, after seeing where the thread darted, and saw Cadenza firing Shadow Balls left and right at a menagerie of Ghosts that were following them. The Shedinja was looking particularly ragged at the moment, however. He didn’t seem to be faring well now that the wild Ghost-types were resorting to using their own Ghost-type moves on him. Odd had to give him credit that he was holding up much better than he had ever seen a Shedinja do before but what truly shocked him wasn’t that, so much as the fact that Dissonance was relying almost entirely on Shadow Punch and wasn’t even looking at his targets. Was Cadenza really that much more dedicated to protecting him despite the fact that Odd had stolen him from his previous trainer? His thoughts were soon cut short as he felt the sudden sharp pain of a solid wall course through the side of his head and the world was plunged into darkness.



“Ugh…where am I?” Odd asked as he opened his eyes sometime later. “Sheeeeeed.” Came a long, raspy reply. The boy saw Cadenza there, looking at him, with Dissonance at his side. Both were giving him what he could only describe as a stare that pierced his very soul. “Guys….stop looking at me like that!” He demanded quickly, though he soon saw not only them but also his other three Ghost-types. Treble, Baroque and Adagio were all three out of their Pokeballs as well, though he couldn’t understand why. And then he saw it. All five of them were battling it out with the hordes of Pokemon that had been chasing him not long ago. It looked like many of them were slowly dispersing but Cadenza was seemingly fighting the hardest. He was throwing one attack after another at the closest ones while the others seemed to be picking off the weaker looking ones first. Well, all except Adagio. She was fighting the strongest, solely for the challenge. That was just like her, too.

It wasn’t much longer before the nearly countless Ghost-types had been driven off or simply gave up and left of their own accord. With the immediate threat gone, Odd approached and went to hug his creepy companions, only to find that his arms phased right through them. “Wha-?!” This wasn’t right! Looking at himself, he took note of his sudden transparency. “Am I…..Am I dead?” He asked of his Pokemon, who were mostly all looking at something else. Approaching, he found himself lying on the steps of a decrepit looking building, blood trickling down his forehead. It was fairly obvious that the crash into the wall had done a number on him but the wound shouldn’t have been fatal. So why was he now separated from his body?

Come into the depths, young one. Join us.

“What was that?” Odd asked, noticing now that Cadenza was the only one of his Pokemon looking at him. “Cadenza? Can you see me?” He asked of the Ghost-type, his voice echoing dully off of the formless void that seemed to be slowly swallowing the world around him. Cadenza nodded his full-bodied nod. “Am…..Am I dead?” Odd finally asked, after several long moments. He had asked once already but this was just too unreal to believe anything else. Cadenza shook his head and turned to look at the building his human’s body lay crumbled before. Upon its doors, on a sign that seemed to glow with some strange light, the word “Purgatory” shined bright and clear. “Purgatory? Isn’t that where souls who aren’t worthy of Heaven or Hades end up?” He asked of his Shedinja, who would have shrugged if he could. All he knew was that Purgatory was The World Between Worlds; The space where Ghost-type Pokemon called their home, really.

Come young one. Into the depths. The same creepy voice that had interrupted his thoughts moments before spoke again. It was eerily feminine, but deeply disturbing as well.

“Gods, what is that voice and how do I shut it up?” Odd asked, a fraction of a second before he witnessed a peculiar silver thread hanging from his chest pull taught, stretching from him to his body before he was suddenly yanked forward. His lifethread had decided it was time to come back now. The boy gasped for breath when his eyes snapped open and he once more saw the crimson thread he’d followed here, though now it disappeared into the building before him, between its double doors. “This must be Amaya’s school…..” He thought aloud as he slowly sat up, wiping the blood from his forehead that was beginning to dry. He now saw why he was bleeding. He’d run into a half-fallen window shutter that had the tip of a nail sticking out of the wood. The impact had knocked him unconscious but the nail point had managed to break the skin deep enough for him to bleed a good deal, though nothing fatal.

[Continued in part 3]  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

Part 3

His Pokemon all looked at him as he sat up, wondering if he was alright. “I’m ok, guys. And thank you all for protecting me from those wild Pokemon while I was gone. I saw it all.” He told them. Adagio, Treble and Cadenza showed the most concern, while Dissonance and Baroque appeared to have less than enthusiastic concern for their master. “Now let’s get going. I bet the entrance to the maze isn’t very far away now.” He told the gathered spirits. He recalled all but Treble and Cadenza to their Pokeballs, though. “Hang back.” He told the Shedinja, allowing Treble to take the lead. The young-ish Drifloon was a much better battler now than he had been on their last mission but he still didn’t seem to be very confident in himself.

Odd walked through the dilapidated building, opening sliding doors one after another in search of a room that showed promise. Several of the rooms had little more in them than scraps of paper lying tabletops or on long-forgotten, long-emptied dressers. Odd was collecting these scraps of papers, which had strange writing on them, in hopes of discerning some kind of clue about the hidden entrance to Amaya’s maze. Eventually, he did manage to find something. Not anything ground-breaking, really, but he found what looked like a small shrine. Was this used to pay homage to the spirits that lived around the school? “What are all these?” He finally asked of Cadenza, stopping in the shrine room and laying the scraps of paper on what he assumed was a table. As he was examining them, Treble and Cadenza were exploring the room more. The Drifloon, while unknowing of it, found something intriguing while he was searching and presented to Odd a tarnished silver key he found in the drawer of a small table near the door. “Hey…….this looks just like my key…….but I left it on the altar inside the mountain.” Odd voiced as he examined the object in his hand. “This can’t possibly be it, can it?” He blinked in confusion, trying to discern what was going on. To his surprise, that now-familiar crimson thread flashed into his vision once more, causing him to jump slightly, launching the key into the air by a good foot. It flew across the room by several feet, landing with a light thump atop the shrine in the center of the room. He sighed in relief when no army of Pokemon attacked, though he did notice the light kthunk sound it made made his head throb.

“That shrine doesn’t sound hollow.” He voiced once the throbbing stopped, stepping over to the shrine. He looked at it and slowly opened the doors on it, expecting to perhaps find a carcass inside from a long ago sacrifice to appease the spirits, or perhaps a bit of bread that was now more mold than food. But no; What he found was far more interesting than ages old edibles. Inside the doors was a keyhole. It almost looked like a safe. And what was more, the keyhole looked just the right size for his key to fit into. “What in the world is this?” He asked as he lifted the key from the top of the shrine!safe. Surely this couldn’t be the right key, could it? Not if it was his key like he was beginning to believe it was. However, sure enough, the key fit and the lock turned, albeit slowly and with much dramatic squeaking. And worse still(to him, at least) the key broke in the lock, leaving him with only the very antique finger hold of it still in his hand. He gripped it carefully as he opened the door of the “safe” and peered inside. What he found was an aged piece of parchment with scrawling letters written on it.

Quote:

Dear Reader,

If you are reading this message, you are surely my own descendant. Only one of my bloodline could have possessed the key which would unlock this safe and if you have come here and found this, then you must seek to master the spiritual arts, much as I did. Sadly, these powers are none too easy to control, nor to truly master. But perhaps I can leave you a bit of help.

If you truly seek to begin the mastering of these powers, begin with the gift of seeing the threads of the spirit world. These threads can and will guide one to the source of spiritual power they seek, but only if one’s own spirit is strong enough…..

Odd read on in the letter, finding that it explained how he could try to find this “spirit thread” he had been glimpsing on and off since coming upon the forest. Closing his eyes, he tempered his spirit through confidence, though cooled his pride with humility, accepting that, though he may have a gift, it made him unique only in that he could see what many could not. He forced his mind to accept that he was neither better, nor worse than anyone else because he could see the threads of the spirit world. As he opened his eyes, he found that his thread was brighter than before, though it faded just as quickly. “Let’s go.” He urged his two Pokemon. Treble nodded and followed Odd with Cadenza in hot pursuit. The trio darted through the hallways left and right, occasionally forced to backtrack when Odd went too far and had to try and sense his guide once more. He was finding it more and more difficult to keep going as he got closer to the source he sought, but he did finally find it. It appeared to be a simple classroom, perhaps for younger students, except for the bundle of crimson threads he could see pouring from the front wall for a split second before they whole lot faded away.

The boy approached the wall and, rather than search for a way inside, he laid a hand on it and felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end as a strange, otherworldly power flowed through him at the touch. When he pressed against the wall, however, he found that it refused to yield to him. It was obvious from the strange energy flowing through him that this wasn’t just another wall but he couldn’t figure out why he couldn’t get through. He glanced around for any sign of a clue on how to continue on but found nothing at first. But as he continued looking, something continued to tug at his consciousness, distracting him very obviously. “Why do I feel like someone’s trying to talk to me?” He finally asked of Cadenza, before a faint echo of a voice caught his ear. ’-rain-g’ “What?! Who’s there?!” The teen called as he spun around. For a brief moment, he could have sworn he saw something floating in the air but he hadn’t seen it clearly enough to tell. “What about rain?” He asked after a moment. ’Trai- s-l’ “What?” He asked, beginning to search the room in search of Sub, expecting the other male to be hiding somewhere in this room trying to scare him now. “This isn’t gonna work, Sub.” He announced as he threw a thin sheet back from a desk that had been covered by it. “I don’t scare so easily, remember?” He asked, keeping part of his focus on Cadenza floating aimlessly around the room. Eventually, he found that Cadenza was stopped before a small section of wall and walked over to the Shedinja, seeing a book laid open atop a waist-high shelf. But the page the book was open to was a very intriguing one.

Quote:

Those who seek to enter Amaya’s Maze must first prove their mettle by testing their spiritual energy. The pressure of the soul’s strength can be read by entering the trial pit behind the school. The strange spirits that dwell there deem worthy souls acceptable and gift them a special mark that allows entry-

Odd stopped reading at that point and walked away, in search of the “trial pit” the text had mentioned. Sliding the door to the room open, he stepped out, sliding it shut behind him once more. The wind from the door shutting was just enough to blow the books pages over, revealing one more entry regarding the trial pit.

Quote:

Those who fail to pass the trial will instead be marked with a target which the school’s sentinel may follow without question or direction from Amaya herself. Students must never enter before Amaya deems them worthy, for should they fail, their fate is surely sealed.

The teenager and his Pokemon walked the empty halls of the long-forgotten building with trepidation. This place creaked and moaned in ways that suggested it wasn’t likely to keep standing for much longer. The very air itself wreaked of danger as the human’s footsteps stirred layers of dust from years of abandonment. Cadenza, however, heard more than just that. The sounds of lost souls echoed from everywhere all at once. There were many seeking exit, some seeking vengeance and one or two who sought only answers. But there was another that he couldn’t quite identify. The spirit seemed familiar to him, as if he’d seen her somewhere before, but he couldn’t recall where from. And she seemed to be following them. Treble saw her as well but he paid her little mind. She was most likely nothing more than a ghost trying to find solace with those that could see her.

“I wonder if that creepy voice I heard before was the spirits that live in the trial pit that book talked about?” Odd voiced after a few minutes of walking in silent thought. Cadenza thought so but he hadn’t heard it like Odd had. To him, it had been more of an unclear whisper. But then, he was also hovering in the mortal world when it had spoken, while Odd had been fully immersed in the World Between Worlds at the time. Treble, however, seemed to be having a bit of A.D.D. at the moment and really wasn’t paying a lot of attention to anything that wasn’t important. He was listening, of course, he just wasn’t hearing the conversation. “The book said the pit was behind the school…..” Odd thought aloud as he walked that direction. “But will we have to go out the front and walk around or is there a way……………..out?” He had stopped for a moment when asking the question due to walking up on a large section of wall in a hallway that had long ago rotted away and fallen off the building, leaving a perfectly viable exit. And better yet, it looked like there was a large hole in the ground not far off. Could that be the trial pit? He decided to go find out, jumping out the large opening to the ground, which sank under his feet just a bit as he landed. Cadenza and Treble followed after him, both sensing a powerful spiritual presence somewhere nearby. It wasn’t coming directly from that “hole” in the ground, though. It was definitely something else they were feeling but neither could quite identify just what it was for the moment.

Odd’s breathing quickened just a bit as he approached what he believed to be the trial pit, though rather than finding a “pit”, he found a pond. It wasn’t very large, really, and the only thing in it was a few overgrown reeds and two Goldeen; One black and the other white, seemingly swimming around each other in circles continuously. “Wha-?”

Your spirit is strong, child
But you must learn control
Or the sentinel may well steal you away
You may enter the maze
But you must strengthen your soul
Temper your spirit against the maze’s guardians
For if you learn, not, control
The stone shall swallow your soul

Odd’s head spun for a moment before a deep black, highly stylized 4 appeared on the left side of his chest, feeling as if it were being burned into his flesh like a branding iron had just been pressed against his skin. He ripped his shirt open to find it there and looked down at the two Goldeen before speaking. “Are you the spirits of the trial pit?” He asked, finding that the voices he heard were not quite spoken but neither was the conversation telepathic.

We are they who came from the sea Spoke a feminine voice, calm and assuring.
We are they who guide all souls Came the other’s voice, masculine and bold.
We are Tui
We are La
We are push
And we are pull
We are balance
We are balance

The last statement was said together before the Goldeen went quiet, not responding to any of Odd’s, admittedly pointless, questions following that. “Bah……fine!” The teen groaned in annoyance, rubbing at the four on his chest with an irritated look on his face. “So this mark will let me into the maze, huh?” He asked of Cadenza, who looked at it curiously. It was emitting a strange sort of energy. “Why does it look like a 4?” Treble offered a sort of…..limp-limbed shrug. The balloon Pokemon really had no shoulders so it was more of a bending of his string-like arms but it got the point across. “Well, regardless, they did say I could get into the maze now….so let’s go.” The teen announced after a moment or two of deep thought. Luckily, he remembered the turns he’d taken to get out to this courtyard. It had actually been fairly straightforward, really. But the point remained the same.

[Continued in part 4]  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

Part 4

The boy found his way back to the previous classroom and returned to the front wall, where the bundle of strange threads he’d glimpsed had come through. Once again, he placed a hand against the wall but this time, it felt less than real. It was almost like placing his hand against a sheet of warm water. It was about as resistant to his attempts to pass through it, too. The human walked through the illusory wall, though found that his Pokemon were able to phase through without much trouble. It was almost as if the illusion could tell that these two were Ghosts, pure spiritual energy in physical manifest. However, what surprised Odd most of all, was not that his Pokemon had managed to get through the barrier that had stopped him not long ago, but the appearance of this……maze. It appeared to be built of shadowy walkways with nearly imperceptible walls. He found it to be a confusing thought to one could get lost in this. “So…..somewhere in here is this ‘Killing Stone’ that Amaya hid in here for her future successor?” He finally asked of Cadenza. “Sheeed.” The once silent Pokemon voiced, the sound a raspy cross between crinkling paper and the echo of an echo.

“Hey…actually….I think I see it.” Odd announced as he looked around. He couldn’t quite see which paths would lead to it from this angle but he saw a fancy pedestal not too far off with a strange looking stone sitting atop it. But what had him worried wasn’t getting to that. It was that he saw something more trouble wandering around. There was a Froslass, a Gengar, a Rotom, a Sableye and a Dusclops wandering the shadowy paths around here. But to make matters worse, he had the sneaking suspicion that he could hear something creepy coming towards him from the school. “Alright guys, There are five of them and I have five Ghost-types with me today. Let’s see what we can do to take these guys out without all of you fainting.” Odd told his two Ghost-type partners that were traveling with him. “Stay quiet and let’s see if we can sneak up on them before they notice us.” He suggested, though he’d find that to be a difficult process. As he snaked his way through the pathways, keeping his eyes on the five sentinels of the maze, he approached the Gengar first. With his opponent before him, Odd released Baroque. The Yamask looked at his foe and turned back to Odd with a “You crazy?” look in his eyes.
“Don’t give me that look.” Odd scolded. “Just do what you can to try and beat it. I’m right here for you and I won’t let you get hurt.” By this he meant really and truly hurt. A battle shouldn’t leave him with serious injuries but he wouldn’t hesitate to recall the Pokemon if that were to be the case.

“Alright, Baroque, Let’s start this off with a simple balancing act. Power Split!” Baroque nodded and a crimson glow enveloped him, spreading quickly to engulf Gengar as well. After just the briefest of moments, the glow faded but it was obvious that it had done its work. Gengar looked feeble by comparison and Baroque was showing signs of great strength. “Now, let’s lock it up! Use Imprison!” Baroque’s eyes began to glow devilishly as Gengar attempted to use it’s Night Shade but just as the larger Ghost-type made to use its move, a ghostly padlock appeared and snapped around it before vanishing. Gengar panicked at that point, attempting to use several of its moves but it appeared that most of them were sealed away for now. “Now, Baroque, use your Ominous Wind!” The Yamask nodded and spread his arms wide as a sheet of purplish black energy exploded outward from him, washing over Gengar in a painful cascade. The opposing Ghost-type cringed at the feeling but decided that since many of its damage dealing Ghost attacks had been taken from it, it would rely on its other tricks. It opened its mouth wide and fired several large globs of poison at its foe with Sludge Bomb. Baroque evaded most of them but one in particular hit fairly hard. Thankfully, he survived without taking massive damage. “Baroque, we can’t take another hit like that. Use Guard Split! Then follow it up with another ominous Wind!” Yamask nodded and a deep blue glow enshrouded to opposing spirits, splitting their defenses between them. Once the light faded, Baroque spread his arms wide once more, sending a massive sheet of blackish energy wind flying at Gengar. With its defenses cut and the opponent’s strength taken from itself, Gengar couldn’t withstand the onslaught and fell to the floor, out cold. “Nice!” Odd declared, recalling Treble for the time being. He didn’t need a large entourage attracting the attention of these guards before he got to them.

With one down and four remaining, Odd rushed on through the maze, now finding that his thread he’d been following was useless. That stone in the middle of the maze was casting out countless threads in all directions, though he only caught a glimpse of them once in a while. He raced around a corner ahead of him to find himself face-to-face with Sableye. He jumped back slightly and motioned Baroque forward, keeping Cadenza back for now. “You’ll get your chance. I’m saving you for battling that Rotom. I’ve got Dissonance saved as backup just in case.” He told the Shedinja. That was a good idea, Cadenza thought. Sableye had a distinct advantage over him in terms of attack variety, after all. With Baroque facing Sableye now, the Shedinja turned his focus to watching the battle unfold. “Baroque, use the power you got from Gengar and use your Shadow Ball!” Odd called. Baroque nodded and sent a mass of shadowy energy flying at Sableye. The Darkness Pokemon cackled at the idea and vanished from sight for a few long moments as it merged with the shadowy floor. It emerged only a moment or two later, punching Baroque in the back of the head with Shadow Sneak. “Baroque, use your Ominous Wind. We don’t have time to play games!” The Yamask nodded and spread his arms wind, this time releasing the sheets of black wind in a swirl all around him. While it wasn’t super effective against Sableye, it was particularly strong thanks to the power boost he got from Gengar.

The Sableye, however, wasn’t to be done in by this and was quick to end Baroque with a Shadow Claw. Or it tried, rather. The Spirit Pokemon had been ready for it and launched a Night Shade into its face. While it hadn’t been any stronger than normal, it had effectively robbed the opponent of its sight long enough to evade. But this was wearing Baroque down and as he made to attack once more, he was sent on the defensive. Odd had lost control quickly at this point. Sableye used its Foul Play to launch itself at Baroque, using its enhanced power from Gengar to supercharge its own attack and aimed for the Yamask’s mask. Baroque was quick to summon a Protect to defend his precious keepsake but the power Sableye’s Foul Play contained was too great and shattered the Protect in an instant. The attack, however, didn’t connect with the mask. Instead, the Darkness Pokemon brought one of its clawed feet around and kicked Baroque squarely in the chest. Odd quickly recalled the Pokemon, seeing that this wasn’t going well. He figured that if that attack hadn’t knocked him out of battling for a while, the next one would. He was attempting to pull his next Pokeball free when Sableye rushed him directly, claws extended via shadowy energy. “Gah!” The boy grabbed the Pokemon’s wrist as he staggered back and fell, effectively hurling the Dark-type with all of his strength as he tried to hold himself up with it. He launched the unfortunate Pokemon right into one of the nearly invisible walls behind him and the impact seemed to have knocked the poor thing unconscious.

Odd rubbed his head slightly as he stood up, having bumped it against the floor where he fell just short of the same wall Sableye had crashed into. “Ow….” Seeing the guard was down, he wasted no time in heading onward. It didn’t look like he was getting any closer to the goal than when he’d started but he continued on anyway. Cadenza followed along as he ran, watching out for the guards. Two had fallen but the remaining three looked no less daunting. As the boy ran, he could hear something. It wasn’t exactly a sound but it wasn’t really in his mind either. The sound was similar to the voices of Tui and La. It was a long, raspy breath. Almost like something was taking a long, long overdue breath of air into underused lungs. “Creepy.” He stated as he ran, huffing and puffing at this point as his own lungs were pushed to their limit. “Shed?” Cadenza asked, not really certain what Odd had heard. He had the feeling it had been the same breath he had, but it was still a questionable topic when dealing with his human. The boy sometimes showed he had a lot of strength, spiritually, but then at other times, he seemed to not pick up on a lot of things he should if he did have it. It often made the Shedinja wonder if Odd’s power was dormant and he was only able to use it for short flashes.

These thoughts were quickly cut off, however, as the duo approached the third guard within the maze. This one was Rotom and it didn’t seem pleased with the two who were invading its space. The Pokemon immediately went on the offensive, aiming a Thundershock at Odd’s head. Cadenza was quick to go on the defensive at that point, zooming into the current’s path. The electricity seemed to hit thin air and stop in front of the Shedinja, its Wonder Guard protecting it against the ineffective assault. “Thanks, Cadenza. Let’s make this battle quick.” Odd thanked, focusing on Rotom in a hurry. “Use your Shadow Ball. Don’t let up on it.” The Shedinja gave a full-bodied nod and four small balls of darkness and shadowy energy manifested before him, spinning around one another in a chaotic pattern before firing at Rotom in quick succession. The Bug-type spirit was like a gatling gun with Shadow Ball bullets, firing at Rotom nearly endlessly as the Electric Ghost attempted to flee from the barrage. After a moment of successfully dodging Shadow Balls, Rotom turned its focus to Shedinja, preparing to attack once again. As Cadenza glared at it(though only it’s opposing Ghost-type could tell that’s what he was doing), Rotom’s body lit up like a Christmas tree, sending a blast of blindingly bright light flying into the Shed Pokemon’s eyes. Cadenza was immediately floating around aimlessly, clearly confused. “That must have been its Confuse Ray….” Odd noted to himself before he called out to Cadenza. “Shake it off, Cadenza! I know you can do it!”

“Sheeeeeeeed.” Cadenza was still floating around, trying to figure out where he was and where his foe was resting at. “Alright, Cadenza, get back. I’ll let Dissonance fill in for you.” The teen announced as he released the Golett before him. Cadenza slowly made his way over, though he was wobbling a bit and seemed unsteady as he did. “Dissonance, use Shadow Punch on the Rotom.” The golem of a Pokemon nodded and his fists began to glow with a black light. He hauled his fists up and threw several mighty punches into the air. Fists of pure shadow erupted from his hands as he did so, trailing after Rotom quickly. The electric-type attempted to escape but its efforts were all for naught. Despite its best attempts, and even managing to stop one of the shadowy fists with an Electro Ball at close range, it was struck thrice more by the remaining ones. That was all she wrote for the unfortunate electric type. It had simply been set to defend the maze from someone too well equipped to counter it. Odd recalled Dissonance with a word of thanks before heading on down the path laid before it. It was beginning to get to him, this shadow path with the not-quite-invisible walls.

Before too long, the boy came upon an intersection he had not expected to find. This time, he had several paths to choose from and neither way was clearly obvious which way was headed in which direction. He tried to follow them but as he did, he found the maze was beginning to become shrouded in a thick fog. “This must be what makes it so hard to get through……” He voiced to Cadenza, who had finally recovered from his confusion, though he was still riding in Odd’s arms from when the boy had picked him up and begun to carry him. “Let’s try this way…” Just as Odd turned to head into the fog bank to his right, he heard something ominous. Something he had hoped he could avoid on this mission.

“Nooooooiiiiiir.”

“Crap! It’s the Dusknoir!” The teen muttered, trying his best to keep quiet so the immense ghost-type didn’t hear him. “We’ve got to hurry now, seriously. I can’t take any more chances!” Cadenza nodded and floated out of Odd’s arms. He seemed to be trying to lead the way now. He had hoped to let Odd do this on his own but now was not the time to let the boy be testing his spiritual powers. He could sense Dusknoir’s strength and he could already tell that even if all of Odd’s Pokemon were to combine their own strength against it, they’d be lucky to do more than hold it off for five minutes. Odd followed after Cadenza as the Shedinja led the way, sensing out the Stone they sought. The teen stuck close to his Pokemon, afraid of losing him in the fog if he fell behind for even a moment too long. It wasn’t but a few moments later than Odd found himself staring down a Froslass. “I know exactly who to use here!” He declared quietly.

[Continued in part 5]  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

Part 5

Releasing Adagio, Odd looked at the Lampent with a bit of fondness in his eyes. While she really wasn’t his most trusted partner, she was definitely his favorite Ghost-type Pokemon by far, as far as species went. “Alright, Adagio. We’re fighting against a Froslass here. I’ll be relying on your Fire attacks a bit.” There was a secondary reason to this. He hoped the heat from the fire would help to get rid of some of this fog. Before he could even issue an order, Froslass went on the offensive. It threw its hands forward and hurled several slivers of ice at Adagio via Ice Shard, which the Lampent rid herself of with Ember without Odd’s direction. “Let’s make this quick, Adagio. We’re running on a really tight schedule now.” Odd called in a low voice. “Let’s start off with a Flame Burst!” Froslass giggled as she used her Icy Wind to counter the flames the human’s partner sent flying her way. The icy fragments in her cold breath melted to water in the wake of the flames and soon extinguished them. “Alright, fine. Adagio, use your Flamethrower instead.” Odd instructed, positive that a steady stream of flames wouldn’t be so easily done away with. When Adagio bellowed forth the stream of flames, Froslass giggled once more and, with a wave of her arm, sent a gust of frigid air filled with the softest snow flying in a tight spiral at the horizontal geyser of flames. The duo battled back and forth for several moments before Adagio poured on the heat and overpowered the attack.

Before the attack could connect, however, Froslass used her Double Team to evade the blaze. From behind Odd came a slight giggle and Odd felt a sudden jolt of immense pain as a fist coated in ice slammed into the small of his back. “Gah!” He gasped for breath as the frigid energy shot through him and a small patch of ice appeared on his flesh. “Adagio! Fire Spin!” He ordered quickly. The Froslass once again used her Double Team to evade the attack but this time, Odd was ready. His clenched eyes shot open as Froslass’s clones appeared and he soon saw what he hoped he would. A crimson thread, just barely visible, was floating loosely from the chest of one of the Froslass. “Adagio, use Fire Spin on that one!” He ordered as he pointed to the one with the vanishing thread hanging from its chest. The Lampent nodded and spewed a spiraling geyser of flames at Froslass. The Ice-type Ghost hadn’t expected to be found so easily and was quickly trapped in the vortex of flames. “Quick, while she can’t get away, use your Overheat!” Adagio looked back at her trainer as if he were crazy. “I know, I know! It’ll make you weaker but it’s the strongest Fire attack you know right now and it’s the most likely to beat her but if you don’t hurry, you’ll lose your chance!” Odd gasped out, try not to let the cold coursing through his body put an end to him. “Lamp!” Adagio finally agreed, forming a ball of violet flames before her before it erupted in a massive beam-like blast of fire and heat, aimed to engulf the Fire Spin still holding Froslass trapped. The attack pierced the Fire Spin at its base and as Adagio swept it upward, a shrill cry was heard from within before a small explosion wiped out the intersecting fire attacks, launching Froslass away from the blast zone.

“You belong to me, now!” Odd determined as he dug a Dusk Ball from his backpack and hurled it at the Froslass from his place crouched on the floor in pain. The Pokemon rested just on the verge of beginning to vanish into the fog, which Odd now noticed hadn’t been affected whatsoever by the tremendous heat provided by Adagio’s Fire-type attacks. He watched the Dusk Ball land and draw the Ice-type Ghost inside, beginning to shake as it hit the floor. Odd held his breath as the ball reached two shakes and waited for a third. It came and went not a second later but there was no sound of capture. “Please…..” Odd whispered as he doubled over, clutching his stomach. A fourth shake followed quickly by a fifth ensued before the ball finally stilled. Odd let out his held breath at last but never inhaled for a new one as he waited for the telltale sound he knew should come. After what felt like hours, a soft Ping and a flash of red light showed that the ball had finally contained the Froslass for good and that it was locked for the moment. Before he could climb back to his feet, Adagio came over to him and looked at the ice patch on his back. She laid an arm across his shoulder for comfort before she began to blow a gentle breath across his back with Heat Wave. The weak, heated wind soon had the ice on the surface melted but Odd seemed to still be in pain. “I think she did a bit of damage on the inside too, but if I can survive this, I’ll get the doc to check me out back at HQ.” He assured his Pokemon. “Thanks for the help, though. You can rest for a while now.” He thanked the Lampent before recalling her and staggering to his feet. He limped over to his new Froslass’ Dusk Ball and picked it up, pocketing it for later. “Lead the way.” He finally said to Cadenza, who had been standing back and watching during that battle. It looked like Odd trusted him to help him navigate but not to battle. What was that all about? Regardless, the Shed Pokemon took the lead once more.

“Dusknoir!”

That was a lot closer than the last time! “We’ve really got to hurry, Cadenza. I’m afraid that Dusknoir will find us if we don’t get to the Stone before long.” Odd announced as he held his stomach even still. Cadenza gave his full-bodied nod and focused. He could sense the paths where the spiritual energy from the stone was coursing through the strongest and those were the paths they needed to take. The duo was quick to make the few remaining turns, sprinting down the straightaways and sliding around corners. Odd wasn’t pleased when they slide around one, only to find themselves face-to-face with a Dusclops. “Crap! I forgot about you!” The teen muttered as he stumbled back a few paces, narrowly dodging a Shadow Ball hurled at his head. Who did he had left that wasn’t too worn out to fight? Cadenza wasn’t exhausted yet but he was at a disadvantage against a pure Ghost-type. There was Dissonance but he also had Treble. Everyone else, save for A’Capella, had battled to the point of exhaustion. “Fine, let’s get this over with. Dissonance!” The Golett appeared before its master once more. “Dissonance, try and be quick with this one. I can already tell it’s stronger than the others, though.” Odd warned his Pokemon.

Dissonance paid no heed to his trainer, merely staring down the Ghost-type before him. The Beckon Pokemon chose to begin the battle with an Ice Punch, hurling one of its disembodied hands at its Ground-type foe with an icy mist pouring off it. Dissonance halted the speedy fist with a quick Gyro Ball and, at his trainer’s request, used Rock Polish. A moment later, the Ground-type’s sleek body shimmered like a freshly waxed car. Dusclops tried to attack with a second Ice Punch, this time stopped dead in its tracks by a shadowy fist launched from the Golett it was trying to do in. Dissonance’s Iron Fist ability made its punches able to overpower the wild Pokemon’s own. Unfortunately, Dusclops was better at throwing together rapid strings of attacks. While Dissonance wound up for another Shadow Punch, Dusclops began a series of moves. It summoned several small flames of violet, which flew after Dissonance with a vengeance then managed to conjure a wicked eye out of thin air to look down upon the Golett and charge it with powerful waves of otherworldly energy via Hex, it’s power enhanced by the burn the Ground-type had received from Will-o-Wisp. Dissonance wasn’t done in just yet but he was clearly on his last legs. He managed to hurl a Shadow Punch at Dusclops just before the mummy-like Pokemon’s Shadow Ball connected with his face, sending him sprawling. The Golett was certainly out of his league here.

“Sonuva-!” Odd was not pleased by this. Dusclops had thus far been hit by only one of Dissonance’s attacks. Treble was to be his next choice and he quickly recalled his fallen Pokemon, sending out the Drifloon in his stead. “Treble, be careful. This thing’s fast, really fast!” Odd warned. The Drifloon looked at the Dusclops for a moment before he looked back to Odd. Seeing the worry and pain in his trainer’s face was just too much for the Drifloon and its body began to glow brightly. “Treble?! This was not good. Was he trying to use Explosion? That wouldn’t do any good! “Bliiiiiiiim!” Odd’s train of thought stopped where it was as the light faded away, revealing a Drifblim where Treble had been. “Treble? Did you just evolve to fight for me?” The teen had to asked, to receive a nod and what appeared to be a smile from his Pokemon. “Oh, Treble! You didn’t have to do that….you…..You…..”The teen finally sighed in defeat, not really know what he could say now that the deed was done. “Thank you, Treble. Now let’s finish this thing off!” He urged. Before he could call out for an attack, however, Treble was already in motion. The Blimp Pokemon shot around at tremendous speeds, making it somewhat difficult to keep up with but it was obvious he was up to something. After several small loops and rounding Dusclops several times, Treble made contact, striking hard and fast enough that he could phase straight through the Dusclops and still deal damage. The Ghost-type foe was quickly back on its feet, however and launched an Ice Beam at the Drifblim. The Flying-type wasn’t about to let itself lose so soon after beginning the battle and used a Thunderbolt to hold the beam back. A small explosion issued from the colliding energies, forcing both Pokemon to stop their attacks and brace for the shockwave.

Treble managed to get a few Shadow Balls through the smokescreen they were left with, however, before an Ice Punch blindsided him, knocking him out cold. As for Dusclops? It was about to learn was Aftermath was all about. A blast of dark energy shot from Treble’s defeated body before Odd could recall him and struck Dusclops hard. The Beckon Pokemon tried to fight through it and succeeded, just barely, but as Odd recalled Treble, Cadenza launched a Shadow Claw at the Pokemon, tearing into it with the pain of a thousand lost souls. That was the last straw for Dusclops and it fell, defeated at last.

“Which way Caden-“

“DUSKNOIR!”
“Oh Shi-!” Odd rolled back as a ray of shadowy energy whizzed past his ear. “Out of time!” He called to Cadenza, who raced off in the direction he sensed the Stone. Odd clambered to his feet and chased after the ghost with terror in his eyes. If he couldn’t get that stone and get Amaya’s help before that thing actually got its hands on him……He didn’t even want to think about it! After several short minutes of sprinting at full speed, following behind Cadenza, who was racing around corners at full speed, Odd finally found where they were going. He skidded to a halt just short of a sudden drop in the floor, where Cadenza floated on the other side, right next to the Stone on its pedestal.

Those who seek the stone must have complete faith in their souls. Here in the World Between Worlds, the soul may control the world around you.

“Wha-?”

“NOIR!”

“Dammit!” There wasn’t any time to think this over! Closing his eyes, Odd stepped back a few paces and ran forward, jumping where he felt the edge of the floor give way. He wasn’t sure if he trusted in his own soul to “control” the world around him, but he knew he believed he was strong enough to overcome this trial. He was too close to give up now. He felt, for just a moment, as if the world around him was falling and then…….he landed. Peeking one eye, the boy found himself standing not on solid ground but on a stretch of shadowy path that hadn’t existed a few seconds ago. Deciding not to question it, the boy rushed over to Cadenza. “This is it!” He cheered as he looked at the stone lying there on the pedestal. “It looks so ordinary for an Artifact……” He noted as he carefully reached for it.

The boy had barely laid a finger on it when he felt something so powerful race through him that it felt as if he were being ripped apart from every direction. “AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!” He nearly dropped to his knees at that very instant but he fought the urge to crumble. From the stone now burst a sphere of deep purple energy, swirling about the boy’s hand as he fought to close it around the stone. He could feel the energy coursing through him grow stronger and, for a moment, he felt the whole world stop. And the next thing he knew, he heard a thud as something hit the floor heavily. Opening his tightly clenched eyes just a fraction, he saw first a silver thread attached to his chest and trailing off a short distance before it turned and disappeared behind him. He knew that to be his lifethread. The Stone had now torn his soul from his body but it had yet to consume him. It was trying, though. “I….I WON’T!” He gurgled slightly as he tried to force every ounce of strength he had into his hand. “I WON’T……GIVE UP!” He felt a painfully searing energy shoot through him once again and, looking down, he found that the thread that had been connected to his chest had vanished. There remained only a gaping hole, filled with blackness just about where his clavicle should meet in his body.

“THIS….IS NOT……WEAR I DIE!” Spirit!Odd cried as he fought the pain that wracked his soul. From the stone in his hands, a white ooze began to climb up his arm, seemingly consuming him. There was no pain from it but he felt the cold of death taking hold in the part of his arm that was covered by it. After a moment or two, he saw it spread further, reaching just about to his elbow. “THIS! IS! OOOOOOVEEEEEEER!” He finally managed to summon the strength the fully clench his fist, summoning up every ounce of power his soul had to offer. The sphere of energy that had engulfed both body and soul slowly began to subside, soaking back into the stone. As it did, the white ooze on spirit!Odd’s arm crumbled away when it passed. The stone released its hold on him once all of its energy was absorbed, though it had one more assault left. As Spirit!Odd breathed a sigh of relief, a jolt of shadowy lightning shot through his body, pouring into the gaping hole in his chest. When it ended, the spirit collapsed, falling to the floor, directly on top of the body it had once inhabited.

Odd awakened with an enormous gasp for breath to fill the lungs that had suddenly stopped when his soul had been attacked by the stone. “WAAAH!” He looked around for several seconds, seeing Cadenza hovering over him, looking at him strangely. “What?! Did I actually do it? Did I survive?” The Pokemon gave his unique nod and Odd stood, finding himself still right beside the pedestal. He reached out a hand, tentatively, to take the Stone and found that it did not attack him this time. “Yes!” He held the stone up and looked at it, finding it to be sleek and reflective. It was hard to tell if it was blood red or black and reflecting light strangely. But what was not hard to tell was that there was something peculiar about himself now. And that someone was standing behind him. “Who are you?” He asked of the figure, without turning around.

[Completed in part 6]  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

Part 6

You see me? The woman asked, not particularly surprised.

“Yes, I see you. Am I not supposed to?” Odd asked, still not turning around.

If you see me, you must know who I am? The woman asked again.

“You are Amaya, the master of this once proud school.” Odd stated without a question in his mind.

Indeed I am. And you are gifted, young man. Amaya announced as Odd finally turned to face her. You withstood the power of my students’ final test with no formal training. Your latent power is great.

“You flatter me, sensei.” Odd bowed in respect to the woman.

I am not your sensei, boy. Amaya countered a bit of bitterness in her voice.

“I wish very much that you would be, sensei. You are said to be the best Channeler of the spirit world that the mortal world has ever known.” Odd shot back without a hint of disrespect. He was simply quick to respond.

You truly wish me to train you formally? The spirit asked of Odd, a hint of curiosity in her voice.

“It would be the greatest honor, Sensei.” Odd replied.

Then you may take one final test. I shall call off my sentinel’s duty to protect the school but I will not teach you unless you manage to defeat it in a battle. Amaya announced.

“I mean no disrespect, Sensei, but do you mean the Dusknoir that just nearly killed me?”

I do. That Dusknoir has been my personal sentinel for hundreds of years. It has guarded my school and the Stone since my own physical death. Amaya explained. You need not worry about it carting you away to the Other World if you lose, however. I will allow you to leave this place with your life in exchange for never returning should that happen.

“You are most gracious, Sensei.” Odd thanked. He didn’t make it three steps back towards the Maze’s exit, however, before the Dusknoir emerged from the fog surrounding them. “Aren’t we going back outside to battle?” He asked, curious.

Here shall suffice plenty, thank you. Amaya replied, crossing her arms in front of her chest as he floated in the air and watched. Before you begin, however….. She drifted over and waved a have over Odd’s Pokeballs. Your Pokemon have been healed for you. Their strength shall reflect your own spiritual strength during this battle. The more your own soul yearns for the victory and the more of its strength you summon forth, the more likely they are to succeed. She explained before floating back off to the sidelines as Dusknoir inched ever closer to Odd.

Dusknoir! Amaya barked at the Ghost. You are to battle this one as a test. You willnot carry his soul away. She ordered the large Pokemon.

“Nooooiiiiir.” It actually seemed sad. Did it really enjoy it’s job that much?

Begin! Amaya declared.

Dusknoir waited for not a second beyond the declaration to begin the battle. It summoned several large, violet flames and hurled them at Cadenza, who still remained out of his Pokeball, assuming the Shedinja was its first opponent. Cadenza was quick to capture the flames with Telekinesis and sent them flying back at the Dusknoir. The Gripper Pokemon ruined the flames with its Night Shade attack, tearing through the Will-o-Wisp as if there was nothing there. It then turned its focus from fire to the cold of the Other World, throwing an Ice Punch from close range at Cadenza. The Shedinja managed to land a Shadow Claw in counterattack before he fainted outright. The attack had managed to successfully strike him before he could fight back much, so his attack did almost nothing.

Odd recalled the fainted Shedinja with a word of thanks for his help and companionship on this mission, sending out Adagio next. The Lampent, who was feeling much more energetic now that she’d rested(not aware that her recovery had been assisted by an injection of spirit energy from a human ghost) appeared before her human and, staring down the Dusknoir that was looking at her, she fired an Inferno without even thinking of whether that was the target or not. The blast of indigo flames warped around Dusknoir’s crossed arms as it defended itself, though it was obvious it had retained a burn, even if little outright damage had been done. The Dusknoir hauled back and launched a darkness enshrouded fist at Adagio, getting its Payback fairly quickly. The Lampent wasn’t able to dodge that. Dusknoir’s already massive fist just had too large of a damaging aura surrounding it. The powerful blow was a direct hit but Adagio wasn’t done it just yet. She could handle at least one more hit and she refused to let Odd recall her when he tried. She could tell this was an important battle, otherwise he wouldn’t be pouring out his own spirit energy the way he was. With him doing that, it gave her an idea. She soaked in as much of that energy Odd was exuding as she could get ahold of before her inner flame erupted to life, burning not its usual purple but an eerie green. With this extra energy within, fueling her flames, she unleashed hell via Overheat. The beam-like blast of flame and heat erupted from her in a ray of green fire aimed at Dusknoir, who was hit head on before it used a Shadow Sneak to escape. It appeared right behind Adagio and landed a solid, open palmed blow against her side, launching her into the corner of the pedestal room. It was obvious she was out of the battle.

Odd recalled the Lampent and replaced her with Baroque, knowing this wasn’t looking good. He’d already lost two of his five Ghost-types and had only four Pokemon remaining with Dusknoir looking almost completely unfazed at this point. “Baroque! Use your Power Split! We need to weaken this guy!” Odd called to his Yamask. The small Spirit Pokemon nodded as a crimson aura enveloped himself and Dusknoir, divvying up their offensive power. “Nooooooooiiiiiiir!” The Gripper Pokemon wasn’t pleased at all. It made to throw a Shadow Punch but Baroque would have none of that, throwing up a Protect field to shield himself. “And now use Guard Split!” Odd called, seeing that the previous tactics had done wonders. The dark blue aura from the battle with Gengar made a return appearance as it divvied up the two Pokemon’s defensive prowess. While Baroque was feeling much stronger, Dusknoir was feeling extremely frail. “Now, Baroque, use your Shadow Ball!” Odd called to the Yamask. Baroque did as instructed, feeding off the energy he could feel pouring out of his trainer to fuel the attack. He conjured up a massive ball of shadowy energy before launching it at Dusknoir. The large Ghost-type was hit hard, squarely in the chest, but it seemed to remain unfazed once again. It threw its hands together for a moment before it launched a Dark Pulse counterattack at Baroque. The Yamask managed to evade fairly easily, being smaller and faster than the Dusknoir. “Baroque, I’m sorry to ask you this but….I need you to use Curse!” Odd called. He had seen that the Dusknoir’s burn was beginning to get to it and maybe it just needed a bit more to befall it before it would be overcome? Baroque nodded and summoned a ghastly nail of spiritual energy that he then drove through himself. The effort knocked him unconscious but the Curse was placed on Dusknoir now.

Odd recalled Baroque with a whispered apology, sending out Treble in his place. “Let’s go Treble. Ominous Wind!” The Blimp Pokemon’d body swelled for a moment before it seemed to deflate, the action apparently all it took to summon a sheet of black wind to assault the Dusknoir before them. There it was! Odd had just seen Dusknoir cringe! The huge Ghost-type tried to hit Treble with its Night Shade but the Drifblim was simply too spry at the moment, easily evading the shadowy beam. “Treble, hit it with your Hex!” Odd called as he saw Dusknoir’s breathing beginning to get heavier. Treble nodded and spread his “arms” out wide, summoning from them a beam of energy from each that collided above him to open a large, evil looking eye to bombard Dusknoir with twisted energies. The massive Pokemon was quick to counter now, throwing an Ice Beam at the Drifblim. Though he wasn’t frozen, Treble couldn’t stand up to the cold and fainted. Though this was partly in surprise, it had the same effect. As he was falling to the ground, a blast of energy shot from him to Dusknoir, sapping its strength even further.

Odd switched Treble for Dissonance, thanking the Drifblim for what he’d done as he did. With the Golett in play, Odd called for a Shadow Punch from the Automaton Pokemon. The Ground-type nodded and did as told, throwing several shadowy fists through the air at Dusknoir. That seemed to do the trick for a moment, as Dusknoir teetered in the air for several seconds, as if it were about to fall over, before it managed to fire another Ice Beam, this one aimed at a Golett instead of a Drifblim. But as the ice began to encase Dissonance, Dusknoir succumbed to the Curse placed on it at last. Its glowing red eye slowly faded away as it lost consciousness and fell to the ground. All that was left of Dissonance, unfrozen, was the poor thing’s head and Odd couldn’t bear to see him that way, so he recalled him for now, determined to help thaw him out later.

Amaya had watched this entire battle from the sidelines, feeling out Odd’s emotions and strength. One didn’t need to be a Psychic to read this child. His energy reflected his emotions and his drive to win had been clearly brought to the surface. You wish to prove yourself, correct? Amaya finally asked of Odd as she floated over to Dusknoir, giving it a small burst of power to revive it.

“Yes! More than anything.” Odd assured the woman’s spirit.

To whom do you wish to prove yourself? She asked as she turned back to face him.

“My friends…..my mentors……but myself more than anyone. I need to prove to myself that I’m not worthless.” Odd replied, his head low, though his voice held now hesitation whatsoever.

No one is worthless, child. Amaya assured him as she drifted over to him. Now then…by however slim a margin, you have succeeded in fulfilling my request. She told him, offering a small smile. I sense a strong soul within you, for certain. And it would certainly be nice to see someone living with my teachings in their head. She chuckled as she drifted a few feet away from Odd.

“Does that mean?”

Amaya sighed deeply. Yes. I will teach you. But you must remember three things. She turned to face him, a grave look on her face. Firstly, do not lose that stone. I will use it to tell you when I am prepared for the next step in your training. Secondly, from this point on, you shall treat me with the utmost respect. You shall call me Sensei and you shall not speak unless spoken to. You will not speak out of turn and you will not question me. Any disrespect from you and you will receive punishment most severe.

Odd swallowed hard but nodded. “Yes, Sensei. And thirdly?”

Do something with that hair. Amaya laughed, pointing at Odd’s wild mop.

The boy reached up and smoothed it down, finding the color had bled out. It seemed like the Killing Stone had done more than attack his soul. It seemed to have sapped the life force from his body and only returned it in age, not appearance. His once black hair was now snow white, tinged with the red of long faded blood. “My apologies, Sensei.” Odd bowed to the spirit, only to receive her speaking to him in response.

You are free to leave my school now. I will contact you when I have decided on the first step in your training.

“Very well, Sensei. I hope to see you soon. Be well.” The teen bid his new sensei farewell and made to leave the maze. It didn’t take long before he found Dusknoir was following him. “Is there a problem Dusknoir?” He asked of the Pokemon, who merely shook it’s head and went ahead of him. “Are you helping me get out of the maze?” He asked of the Pokemon. It nodded as it led the way and once they had returned to the school grounds, it vanished without a word. Odd sighed and found his way outside. Once he reached the grounds, he headed into the forest. The fog no longer confused him, for some reason. He could see the path out as clear as day, as if the fog simply parted for him to leave.

The boy found his way out of the forest and back down the mountainside to the entrance to the monument’s innards before pulling out his SNAG and calling for a return trip home. He didn’t feel like dealing with GRAY at the moment, so he called Lykas and had the other male collect Claydol for him.

Mission Complete!

Mission Report:
- Arrived at Mt. Pyre and began the search for Amaya’s school. Thanks to Cadenza’s help and some mysterious threads, I found my way there. I had a bit of a near-death experience about the time I arrived.
- I met the spirits of the trial pit that allowed me to enter the Maze in the World Between Worlds.
- I made my way through the maze, taking out the strongest Pokemon in the area, which seemed to have taken up residence within.
- I survived the Killing Stone’s spiritual assault, though not without repercussions. My precious hair……..I have a second near-death experience during this. These things get old, fast.
- I passed Amaya’s final test, to battle the Dusknoir she set to guard the school after her death, and she agreed to teach me how to control my spiritual powers.
- I captured a Froslass within the maze.
- My Drifloon evolved into Drifblim within the maze as well.  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

Beginning as of next post.

SubonicXP

Ghost Master Mission Stage 2

The First Circle

Welcome, Ghost Master In-Training. Let me congratulate you on surviving your first test, you are one of the few to survive The Killing Stone's assault, that in its self is an accomplishment. Now as a student of Amaya, you must survive nine more tests before you can become a true master of the spiritual world. Why nine do you ask? That is how many circles there are, of course. You are probably confused, aren't you? Well then, why don't I explain in more detail so you can begin the second stage of your training.

The Nine Circles of the Underworld, the various plains of torment where the souls of the damned are condemed, and where Ghost Pokemon thrive. The Underworld, Spirit World, Hades, whatever you wish to call it, has nine layers to it, each one different, and more cruel than the last. Each circle specializes in a specific vice of mankind, where the dark souls of the damned are banished based on their sins. At the center of The Underworld lies the master of the spiritual plain, the puppeteer in the grand scheme, but you aren't ready for that yet, you still have to get your feet wet in this twisted place, so let's begin with the first circle, shall we?

The First Circle of the Underworld, Limbo. The first circle is a neutral plain, so to speak. All new souls are sent to this place upon death, where they are then judge and either ascend to utopia, or banished to a lower level, or sometimes they remain in limbo, usually those with unfinished business in the mortal world, which its this circle where a lot of Ghost Pokemon come from. The First Circle isn't such a bad place, it resembles the mortal world for the most part, actually its an exact replica of the mortal world, down to the people who live there, except the residents of the first circle can not physically affect the mortal world, until they gain a spiritual body, Ghost Pokemon, to do so. Limbo also has a master of its own, the impartial judge of the damned, Minos. Those who dwell in the mortal world might consider Minos to be a shiny Serperior hybrid, but he isn't exactly so, while he is a Serperior with humanoid features, such as human arms, and a more human-like face, he is actually a demon, or angel, or sorts, a creature that can not be labeled by man.

So now, onto your task. Go back to Mt. Pyre, at the very top of the mountain, and summon forth your master with The Killing Stone. She will fill you in on your task in detail, and should you be ready, she shall open the gate to The Underworld for you, the First Circle to be specific. Upon passing you will leave your physical body behind as your spirit transcend into the afterlife, along with the spirit of your most faithful Pokemon (The Ghost Pokemon you will be a hybrid of or the Ghost Pokemon that you will be channeling with). Once you have made it through, you and your partner Pokemon must roam the First Circle and seek out a special tree, cared by Minos himself, the Tree of the Forgotten. This tree grows a very unique fruit, with unique characteristics, as Minos fertilizes the soil of which it grows in with the souls of those who have lost themselves in limbo, mortals such as yourself. It is said however, that the fruit has the ability to bestow upon whoever consumes it, the power of the underworld its self, releasing the restraints on one's spirit, removing the barrier between their mortal and spiritual presence, the two becoming one.

Now, find the Tree of the Forgotten, located somewhere in The Underworld. Your trusted Ghost Pokemon companion, the one you will become a hybrid of, can help you seek out the tree, but be warned, the Ghost Pokemon, and spirits of this world do not take kindly to mortal intruders, their jealously fueling their hatred of your life, do not allow the Ghost Pokemon here to cast their glare, Mean Look on you, or else your soul will be trapped there forever, same goes for the spirits of the departed, they may trick you into gazing into the eyes of a Ghost Pokemon, they are very cunning. Furthermore, when you locate the tree, Mino will be guarding it, tending to his masterpiece. Let me say this, you can not defeat Minos, he can not die, and can not be truly harmed, the most you can do is slow him down, or perhaps turn his strength against him, but trying to fight him and win would be a vain attempt. Do your best to survive Minos and steal from his tree the Forebidden Fruit, which you require to complete this task. Be warned however, should Minos bind you in his tail, all hope will be lost, he will wrap his tail around you several times to determine what circle you will be banished to, do not allow him to comdemn your soul. Now, onto the specifics of what to do with the fruit.

Path of the Hybrid

Once you obtain the fruit you must flee from Minos and follow the river that supplies water to the Tree of the Forgotten, the River Styx, to its source. At the beginning of the River Styx you will find the Mavroneri Waterfall, it is here where you must split the Forebidden Fruit in half, submerge them in the black water of the falls, and consume a piece, with the other being consumed by your Pokemon. Be warned however, once you have the Forebidden Fruit, the entire Underworld will become aware of your presence, and seek you out, all of them wanting your fruit, so that maybe they can gain the power to leave Limbo, you will also have Minos to worry about, who will want his fruit back, and your soul to feed his tree. Should you manage to complete the ritual before capture, your Pokemon's spirit will become one with yours, that's right, your Pokemon and yourself will be fused together, and a new form you shall take, the form of a Ghost Pokemon hybrid, only then will you be able to leave limbo, and return to the mortal world, in your new body...or lack of.

Path of the Channeler

Once you obtain the fruit you must flee from Minos and follow the river that supplies water to thre Tree of the Forgotten, the River Styx, to it end, at the edge of limbo. At the end of the River Styx you will find Asprosneri Lake, it i here where you must split the Forebidden Fruit in half, consuming one pierce and your Pokemon the other, while you then submerge yourself in the lake's white waters. It is then that your spirits will become linked together, your bond defying the boundries of reality, never to be broken, you will then emerge from the lake, no longer a being of the mortal world, but a mediator between the two worlds, a Ghost Channeler. Be warned however, once you have the Forebidden Fruit, the entire Underworld will become aware of your presence, and seek you out, all of them wanting your fruit, so that maybe they can gain the power to leave Limbo, you will also have Minos to worry about, who will want his fruit back, and your soul to feed his tree. However should you survive and complete the ritual you will be able to use your new found power to leave Limbo, and return to the mortal world. Upon entering the mortal world again you will receive from The Tree of the Forgotten, a momento, one of its leaves which strangely resemble Spell Tags of the mortal world, this will be your artifact to channel spiritual energy, The Charm of Limbo, one of the nine charms of the underworld, Amaya will present to you a chain to hang it on, a chain made from your own spirit.

Objective:
---Go to the top of Mt. Pyre and use The Killing Stone to summon forth Amaya, who will then open the gate to The Underworld for you, namely The First Circle, Limbo.
---Journey through limbo and brave the assault and temptations of the Ghost Pokemon and spirits of the debarted, do not allow their gaze to bind you to their world.
---Find The Tree of the Forgotten in limbo, and take from it the Forebidden Fruit, but before its caretaker, the King of Judgement, Minos.
---Once you have the fruit you must take the fruit to either the beginning or the end of the river, depending on which path you take, and complete the ritual as detailed above, all while avoiding Minos and the citizens of The Underworld. Only then will you ascend to your new form.

Opposition:
---Ghost Pokemon of any kind, san legends, dwell within The First Circle of The Underworld. It is here in limbo where most Ghost Pokemon come from, they do not take kindly to the living invading their sanctuary, and will use their gaze, Mean Look, to bind you to limbo forever.
---The spirits of the departed, while they can't truly harm you, they can tempt you, trick you, and get in your way. They will do anything to keep you here. They can even take on the forms of former loved ones, do not give into their tricks.
---Minos, King of Judgement and Guardian of Limbo, a powerful humanoid Serperior demon who judges the souls of limbo, and with his tail, banishes them to the lower levels depending on how many times he wraps around them. Minos does not take kindly to invaders, or anyone who touches his tree, he will want your soul more than anything. Like other Ghost Pokemon his Glare will bind you to limbo, and his Wrap will damn your soul to a lower circle. Furtmore he can also drain your life energy away bit by bit with his Giga Drain, which takes on the form of wisps that he can control at will, be careful.

Pokemon:
---None, you can capture Pokemon as physical items can not transcend.

Rewards:
-For the Path of the Hybrid:
---You will become a Ghost Pokemon Hybrid of the Pokemon who consumed the fruit with you, granting you access through training one move that the Pokemon you are a type of can learn.
---The ability to take on the next Ghost Master Mission.

-For the Path of the Channeler:
---The Spirit Chain and the Charm of Limbo, with this artifact you and your Pokemon will be linked together through channeling. You will gain the ability to become one with Limbo, making yourself intangible in the mortal world, though this only works on yourself.

The Spirit Chain (With one charm):

Charm of Limbo: [The ability to make yourself, and only yourself, intangible.]

 

[Requiem of Whyspers]

Part 1

Odd held in his hand the Killing Stone, a strange pulsing coming from within it, as if it had a beating heart hidden deep inside its core. As he stared into the stone, a soft voice came to him, a sound not quite a whisper but neither was it telepathy. The voice rang out in his very soul, a sound he had grown familiar with.

The Mistress calls.
She has a quest for you.
Your training may continue.
But only if you prove your resolve.

The voices of Tui and La rang out in his soul. They seemed to serve as messengers for Amaya.

With this call to his Sensei fresh in his memory, he gripped the Killing Stone tightly in hand and went in search of Lykas. “I’m going to be gone a while again.” He informed the boy once he’d found him. “Amaya’s summoned me for the next step in my training!” He added excitedly. Giving the other male a tight hug and a loving kiss, he parted with the boy for the time being, heading off to leave. With a smile, he went in search of Claydol, having forgotten in his excitement that GRAY could summon the Pokemon for him at a moment’s notice.

The Mistress wishes you to know-
The sentinel will guide you-
Should you wish to find her quickly.
It will now lead you to her-
Should you choose to follow-
Though you may still find her solely.

Tui and La’s voices rang in the boy’s soul once again as he sought out the team’s local Teleporter. Odd gave this some thought and decided that getting Dusknoir’s help to find Amaya wouldn’t be a bad thing, given that he wanted to begin his training as quickly as possible. With that in mind, he stopped and gave some thought to who he wanted to take with him to see Sensei. He knew he wanted his Ghost-types to go with him but who else should go? Five Ghost-types and one non-Ghost might not a balanced team make, but it was what made him comfortable. Giving some thought to it, he decided upon taking A’Capella with him. The Purrloin had seen little battle but, despite this fact, she had proven in several instances(which he alone seemed to have witnessed) that she was very capable, even if she preferred to be pampered.
“Are you doing your best impression of a hat rack?” Rang out from his SNAG, as he stood motionless, thinking hard.

“Huh?!” Odd was startled from his thoughts by the sound of GRAY’s question. “Oh! I was just thinking.” He responded as he tried to refocus on what he’d been thinking about.

”Well you’ll have to try harder than that. I couldn’t hear the gears turning and I’m in your pocket.” GRAY retorted in his usual smart-alec tone.

“Oh bite me, you technological smartass.” Odd responded with a grunt.
”I’m afraid I lack the teeth to manage that with but I’d be glad to give you a shock, instead.” GRAY responded, giving a shock to the boy’s thigh through his pants pocket as proof of this capability.

“OW! Why I oughta…..”

”Ought to what? Leave me here? Throw me in a lake? Burn me?” GRAY asked. ”I was designed to be indestructible, you know?” He pointed out, referring to the fact that his central processor was safe inside HQ somewhere so discarding the SNAG would prove useless since he’d just antagonize the boy through his replacement.

“Actually…..I was thinking of leaving you in the graveyard when I come back from seeing Sensei for training. All those Ghost-types out there ought to have a blast playing with you.” Odd noted with a twisted grin.

”You wouldn’t dare!’ GRAY responded, actually showing a bit of apprehension for once. ”It’s bad enough you take me with you but you’d actually leave me there?! With all those abominations to with as they please?!”

“Oi vey….don’t have a meltdown you psycho program. Just get me Claydol so I can get to Hoenn and stop being a pain in my rear for the rest of the day and you’ll be fine.” Odd assured as he recalled being able to get Claydol to him via the SNAG Network’s AI.

”Fine. But don’t you dare get killed out there with me still on you.” Gray responded before the SNAG finally went quiet again.

After making sure he had all his Pokemon with him, Odd made his way to the main lobby to find Claydol already waiting for him. He greeted the large Pokemon with a friendly wave as he approached. “Good morning, Claydol. I need you to take me to Hoenn today; Mt. Pyre, to be exact.” He told the Clay Doll Pokemon with a small smile on his lips. Today was going to be a great day. He felt sure of it.

“Doooooooool.” Claydol responded as its many eyes took on a bluish glow. After the briefest of moments, the duo vanished in a flash of blue light. Reappearing at Mt. Pyre only seconds after leaving Mt. Silver, Odd still felt disoriented as he attempted to take a few steps. He never got used to Teleportation, despite not letting anyone else see it. It was such as strange sensation, ceasing to exist for the few short seconds it took to transfer his entire being from one place to another like that. After a moment or two, he shook his head to clear away the Spinarak webs that had gathered in his mind while he didn’t exist and turned back to Claydol. “Thank you, Claydol. I’ll have GRAY contact you once I finish, provided I need a ride back.” He informed the large Psychic-type. Claydol nodded and Teleported back to HQ to wait for the teen’s beckoning.

Once he’d sent Claydol home, Odd took a look around to see just where on the mountain he was. He needed to know that much, at least, in order to find his way back to the right side of the mountain as he climbed. He found, much to his pleasure, that Claydol had in fact dropped him off just outside the entrance to the inside of the mountain from the mountainside rather than the base. This was perfect. Now knowing just how to get to the forest atop the mountain, he began his ascent, whistling bemusedly to himself as he went. As he neared the foggy forest of doom, he stopped his whistling and began to focus. With his mind focused on what he sought and his ego tempered, he closed his eyes for just a moment, picturing Amaya in his mind. Opening his eyes once more, he found the crimson spirit thread he had hoped to see stretched out before him.

With the thread to guide him, he began to trek through the forest ignoring all but that small crimson thread. Weaving between ancient and rotted trees, the red-eyed young man kept a careful ear open for any signs of half-life. The Pokemon here, he knew, were of the Ghost-type. Creatures neither truly living nor truly dead, they were. And while he knew he would not enjoy life as a hybrid of one of them, he sought to learn their ways and he knew, inevitably, he would become like them in some ways, eventually. Already, he had begun to develop a sixth sense regarding the soul. He had begun to become able to sense them after obtaining the power of the Killing Stone. Those strong enough to remain on the mortal plain could be seen as well.

“Who’s there?!” The boy cried as he jumped backwards several paces, a hand resting against a tree he’d stopped beside, the other on his belt. He heard another cracking sound as he began to watch for signs of movement. He found it a moment later as a limb fell from a dying tree nearby. The small limb had likely broken under its own weight and due to its age and the state of dry rot it was in. The human sighed in relief as a few leaves fell from the tree, torn from their respective branches in the smaller limb’s descent. Having lost his focus, the teen closed his eyes once more and began to concentrate again. After a few moments, he opened his eyes and found his thread once more. It took only a few minutes more before he had found his way out of the forest.

Standing before the boy, its form floating a foot off the ground, was a large shadowy beast, the wrappings about its head hiding nothing from the young man that looked upon it. “Oh, hello Dusknoir. It’s good to see you again.” Odd greeted the school’s Sentinel. “Would you kindly lead me to where Sensei is? I’d like to start my next training exercise as soon as possible so tracking her down is rather counterproductive to my goal.” He explained, rubbing his chin in curiosity as he gave some thought to the conundrum he’d be presented with if Dusknoir denied his request. There was no reason he could think of that it should, especially given that Tui and La had said it would lead him to Amaya if he wanted it to. His fear was unfounded, he soon discovered as Dusknoir nodded to his request and turned away, slowly drifting off towards the school.

“I suppose I should follow you.” Odd decided aloud as he did just that, following after the imposing Ghost-type. It was strange to be thinking of the creature as a friend after he had feared it the last time he had been here. But it seemed it was not a fearsome, soul-snatching beast with no master. He had simply not considered for a moment, back then, that Dusknoir was simply doing its job to protect the school without any other orders from Amaya. Once told that his own soul was off-limits to it, the Pokemon seemed as docile a newborn Mareep to him. He thought all of this as he followed the Pokemon and it was soon understood where he was going. “We’re going to Tui and La’s pond aren’t we?” He asked of Dusknoir, who simply nodded in response.

“But why there?” Odd wondered aloud. Dusknoir didn’t respond this time. Not that Odd would have understood it if it did answer his question. His training wasn’t advanced enough to understand Pokemon yet and it may never be. It was dependent on the boy’s innate skill as to how far he would go and whether or not he would ever achieve that ability. Regardless, the duo traveled in silence after that, Odd simply keeping an eye on his surroundings as he went until they had reached the yard in the center of the complex school. Odd saw her before he got close. Amaya’s spirit floated before the pond in which Tui and La performed their eternal dance, waiting for him.

“Hello Sensei.” He greeted with a polite bow. “Tui and La informed me that you wished to speak with me. “ He noted as he stood before the spirit of his Master. Or rather the spirit that was his master.

“Indeed I do. I have decided what you will do for the next step in your training.” Amaya responded, arms crossed behind her
.
“Oh? What must I do, Sensei?” Odd asked, cocking his head to the side as he did.

“You will begin your training by traversing the Nine Circles. Within each Circle rests a source of power or pride for its guardian. Your training will require you to obtain these sources.” Amaya informed. “Today, you will be traveling to the First Circle, known in the mortal world as Limbo.” She began. “Located somewhere in Limbo is a tree, known as The Tree of the Forgotten. This tree, tended to by Minos, King of Judgment, produces a very special fruit. This Forbidden Fruit is what you are to find. “

“And once I find it?” Odd asked, certain there had to be more to it than that.
“Then you must escape with it, and your soul, intact. You will have to make the choice then, if you will go to the mouth of the river and take the Channeler’s path or if you will travel to the source and follow the path of a hybrid.” Amaya explained.

“The river?”

“Oh, yes, my apologies. I forgot to mention that. The Tree of the Forgotten is fed by the River Styx and the souls of those who’ve been lost to limbo for eternity. Once you steal the Forbidden Fruit that grows on the tree, you must choose the river’s mouth or source and reach it with the fruit without being caught by Minos or any of the other Ghost-type Pokemon that live in Limbo.” Amaya amended.

“I see…I suspect I’ll likely be hunted by the locals?” Odd asked, curious.
“More than likely. Those who are native to the other side are not ones to take kindly to ones with still-beating hearts invading their homeland. And moreso, they will hunt you far more vigorously so long as you carry the Forbidden Fruit with you, as it provides the power to escape the other side.” Amaya explained, floating around Tui and La’s pond as she spoke.

“And what do I do with the fruit once I get it? You said it had the power to escape Limbo.” Odd questioned, trying to piece all this together.

“Put simply? Once you’ve determined the path you will take, you must carry the fruit of the end of the River Styx you choose, divide it in half and both you and your Pokemon must consume one half while submerging yourself in the waters there. Be warned, however, as the water anywhere but at the ends will swallow your soul and you will be damned to eternity in Limbo.” Amaya responded, explaining as best she could.

“So…..I’m to enter Limbo, locate a tree fed by a river of soul-stealing water mixed with lost soul fertilizer, steal from it a fruit that grows upon its branches and take it to one end of the river, where I’m to split it with my partner Pokemon and take a bath in soul-stealing water together with them, all the while avoiding Ghost Pokemon that want me to move in for good as well as the king of the entire realm, who’s likely going to be extremely pissed at me for stealing from his tree?” Odd asked, attempting to summarize what he’d been told.

“That about sums it up. But there is one other thing. Don’t look any of the Pokemon or Minos in the eyes. And don’t let Minos catch you with his tail. The eyes of the damned are a dangerous weapon, capable of binding others to their realm with a mere glance.” Amaya added.

“Alright, just one more question. How do I get there?”

“Simple, just choose your partner and step into Tui and La’s pond. They will take you to the Circle you are to journey to today.” Amaya added.

“Choose my partner? What?” Odd wasn’t sure what this was about.

“You may only take one of your Pokemon with you today. Tui and La can only send two spirits across at a time. Your soul is not strong enough for them to be capable of borrowing its strength to send more with you.”

“Then I choose Cadenza, my Shedinja.” Odd announced as he released the Ghost-type from his Pokeball.

“Very well. Step into the pond when you are ready and you will be taken to the other side. Be careful. And remember, look no one in the eyes and avoid the tail.” Amaya replied, moving aside so that the human and his Pokemon could reach the pond.

“Why am I avoiding Minos’ tail, exactly?” Odd asked as he stepped into the pond, Cadenza right beside him.

“If he captures you with it, you’ll be banished to a lower circle for the rest of eternity, never able to return to this world again.” Amaya responded. “Good luck, my student.”

A bright light suddenly filled Odd’s eyes and a wave of cold, like being thrust headfirst into a flash freezer, washed over him. He felt the sudden sensation of falling as the physical world was torn from his senses and the next thing he knew, it felt as if he were simply floating in a sea of nothingness. As the empty whiteness that filled his vision began to fade, he could see shapes beginning to manifest out of the haze. It took several long minutes before the world was fully in focus once again. Once he could see clearly again, Odd looked around and hung his head. “I know I shouldn’t doubt Sensei but I could swear we didn’t go anywhere.” He voiced to Cadenza.

It would seem we’ve entered Limbo, however. Cam a quiet, almost childlike voice. Soft and raspy, as if the speaker’s throat had been dry for years, but still childish

“Who’s there?!” Odd demanded as he spun around in search of the strange child who had spoken to him, though he saw only Cadenza.

It is I, Master. I am able to speak to you here. Came the voice once more.

“C-Cadenza? Is that you?” Odd finally asked, kneeling down to look the Shedinja squarely in the eyes. This would be the only living soul he could look into the eyes of for a while, after all. He needed something to ground him here in this world.

Indeed it is I. Here in this world, my soul can speak directly to your own. There is no body to interfere here. Cadenza explained.

“Then….Do you know where we are?” Odd asked.

I cannot be certain of the exact location but we are in Limbo. The white haze that covers the world here is a telltale sign of it. The Shedinja explained as he looked around.

“Then we should look for the River Styx. Amaya said that it feeds the tree we’re hunting for. Finding and following the river should lead us right to it at some point.” Odd suggested, offering his reasoning for the thought as he began to walk.

Sound reasoning, Master. The River Styx divides Limbo into halves. One side of the river is occupied by the damned awaiting judgement while the other is occupied by the permanent residents of the realm. Cadenza explained. It was, in far more words than necessary, a much more vague way of saying “Be careful for now because we could be on the wrong side of the tracks.”.

“Sounds like a party.” Odd noted as he walked. “It looks like we’re still on Mt. Pyre here.” He announced, more to himself than anything, when he took notice of his surroundings in more detail than before.

Indeed we are. Limbo is a spiritual representation of the physical world. Everything here is a nearly identical replica of the physical world, though more or less non-physical. Cadenza explained as he began to move forward.

“Nearly identical? What’s different?” Odd asked as he followed.

In Limbo, or any of the Otherworld, for that matter, no one you see here will be real or, rather, they won’t really be here. The spirits of the dead can assume the forms of those you may have loved or lost in order to deceive you. The Shedinja informed as he led the way onward.

“So I should be careful of people I know?” Odd asked, seeking clarification.

It would be wise, Master. Cadenza replied. The river is ahead. I can see it from here.

“Excellent!” Odd clasped his hands together at this, marveling that he could feel himself despite being purely spirit right now.

“Hello!”

“Wha-?”

“Hello there, friend!”

“Do I know you?”

“I don’t think so but I do know you! I would recognize your soul from anywhere.”

Odd stepped back as a very large man, nearly 6 and half feet tall and at least several hundred pounds(and not an ounce of it muscle) approached him from the riverbank. “Who are you?!”

“My name is Atropos. Atropos Vantis. I was your father’s best friend in life.” The man informed as he knelt next to Odd. “I was there when you were born, Sterling.”

“Stop it!” Odd shouted as he threw his arms forward and pushed himself away from the man. “I don’t know who you are! You have no right to use that name!”

“Yes, Sterling, I do. Your parents named me your Godfather but I died before they did and wasn’t able to be there for you. I should apologize.” Atropos spoke calmly, his voice carrying the tone of a man who knows he has sinned and has accepted his fate.

“You mean…..My parents are……”

“No! At least, I don’t think so. I haven’t seen them before if they are and all souls pass through here before they reach Minos.” Atropos added. “But now I have a question for you. Why are you here? You are far too young to have died a natural death.”

“I’m not dead. Not really.” Odd responded, choosing to ignore Atropos’ reply regarding his parents. “I’m here for spiritual training.”

“You’re……A Channeler?”

“In training, yes.” Odd responded with a small wave, as if the details were unimportant.

“That’s amazing! You’re following in your mother’s footsteps!” Atropos declared joyously. “She’ll be so proud when you finally see her again!”

“What does that mean? Why would she have left me like she did if she could take care of me?” Odd demanded.

“I can’t say. I don’t know.” Atropos replied sadly. “But I know you’ll see her again someday. As your power as a Channeler increases, I’m sure you’ll be drawn towards her and, in turn, your father.” This seemed to please the man, the thought of this young man finding his family again.

“This is all well and good but I’m in a bit of a crunch here.” Odd finally interjected, breaking the flow of this conversation. “I have to find The Tree of the Forgotten and take the fruit from it.” He informed the spirit before him.

“Ah. You’re on the most difficult of paths to becoming a Ghost Channeler, then.” Atropos snickered. “I must warn you, once you pass through the gate at the base of the mountain, the spirits beyond it will be on your heels constantly, especially once you get the fruit.”

“I’m well aware. My Sensei warned me before I was allowed here.” Odd responded.

“Very well. Continue to the base of the mountain, pass through the gate and cross the river on the north side of the mountain. Head West from there. The tree grows near where Fortree City is in the Land Above.” Atropos provided.

“Thank you. Will I ever be able to see you again?” Odd responded with a small smile.

“Keep up your training and before you know it, you’ll be able to see me anytime you want.” Atropos responded, his own smile clearly visible. “By the way, you’re really lucky I’m not trying to trap you. You’ve been looking me in the eyes since I called you by name. Don’t let your guard down or you’ll fall for one of the local Pokemon’s Mean Looks and never be able to leave here again.”

Odd waved to Atropos as he began to walk away, following the mountainside rather than the river now that he had directions to follow. “Why didn’t you warn me, Cadenza?”

Spirits are easy to read when you’ve had a lifetime to learn their cues. He held no ill intent within him. There was no danger from the start. I’d have warned you the moment I sensed it had there been. Cadenza replied as he floated alongside the boy, having remained silent during Odd’s first and possibly last meeting with his Godfather.

“Really, now? You’ve come to care about me enough to really worry for my safety?” Odd asked of his companion, who would have nodded if he could have.

Surprisingly, yes. I wouldn’t have believed it, myself, were I not the one feeling it. Cadenza responded, sounding a bit whimsical as he did. It was almost like a bad joke that was still funny to him.

“Oh, well thanks for the vote of confidence, there.” Odd countered as they descended the mountain. Odd spotted a few more human souls as they traveled, though none paid them any mind. “Glad to know I’ve made such a good impression.” He added with a heavy inflection of sarcasm.

I apologize. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. I simply meant that, given the circumstances of how we came to be partners, I had never expected to grow so fond of you. Cadenza replied, now sounding much more calm and grounded than he had a moment before.

“Ah, I agree.” Odd returned, having felt that Cadenza would never accept him when he first snagged the Pokemon from his previous master.

As the duo further descended the mountain, they found themselves soon returned to the mountain’s base, where Odd found an intricately carved gateway barring their path further into the Otherworld. “This looks like the gate Atropos mentioned. He said to go through, head around the mountain and head West on the other side of the river, right?” He asked of Cadenza.

Unless my ears deceived me, that was what I heard as well. Cadenza replied.

Odd nodded to his pokemon at this point. “Then we may as well get going, huh?” He asked of his partner.

As the saying goes, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained”. Cadenza replied, his smile evident in his voice.

As Odd stepped forward and made to open the doors, something appeared to bar his path. “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here!” Bellowed a black Gengar as it manifested before the duo of human and Pokemon. “Beyond these gates lies the Otherworld! The domain, called by humans, 'Hell'. I shall guard this doorway from those who are unready for the Otherworld.” It declared, firing a Night Shade of surprising power at Odd. The channeler-in-training jumped back as far as possible at the attack, keeping his eyes off the Gengar's, noticing the crimson glow in them already.

“Cadenza! Dispose of this Pokemon with your Shadow Claw!” He requested of his Pokemon, who responded by raking a hardened chitin claw against the Shadow Pokemon's body. The Genger fought back with a Shadow Punch evaded by a well-timed Shadow Sneak called for by Odd. This attack not only knocked Gengar for a loop, but it gave Odd the opening he needed. Rushing forward, he slammed his body against the gates and forced them open! “Come on!” He called to Cadenza as he squeezed his way through. The Shedinja followed quickly, only just managing to slip through before the gates closed behind them, blocking a large Shadow Ball hurled their way by Gengar. The Ghost on the outside's screeches of defiance echoed through the gates for several moments before a new sound began to leak through.

He's forcing them open again! Cadenza pointed out, hurriedly.

“Right. We should make like Ghosts and disappear now!” Odd replied as he turned on his heel and took off at a full sprint. Cadenza followed after him, helping to navigate via a very limited knowledge of the area. He'd come this way once before, in the Land Above, with his previous Human.

I believe the river should be just ahead. Please tell me you've brought a few coins with you.... The Shedinja told Odd as they rounded the side of the mountain, the sounds of Gengar giving chase still ringing in the air.

“I don't think so, why?” Odd asked, huffing slightly as he did. How could he be getting tired in spirit form? He had no body to become worn out right now, for the love of the Gods! What concerned him more, however, was Cadenza's response.

I believe Charon still runs the ferry service to cross the Styx. He won't take you without payment of two gold coins. Cadenza informed, sounding a tad concerned.

“Oh, boy.....Guess we'll find out once we get there, huh?” Odd asked as they ran, the sight of the river becoming clearer in the distance. It was only a few short minutes later before they reached said river. The sight of countless souls in a seemingly endless mosh pit didn't really help with Odd's enthusiasm any but the appearance of a Haunter hybrid standing in a gondola did.

“Seek, you, to cross the Styx?” The hybrid asked in a raspy voice.

“Indeed I do. I seek an audience with Minos.” Odd responded, giving only a half truth.

“Two Golds is my price. Provide or remain on these shores for eternity.” Charon answered. It seemed the hybrid was simply speaking and wasn't really acknowledging his presence.

“Very well, if you insist.” Came Odd's response as he began to shuffle about, fishing around in his pockets a bit. It took some time before his search came to an end, in the process, him knocking two Snag Coins free from his pockets.

“Payment accepted!” Charon declared as he reached out a dissembodied hand to snatch up the two coins at Odd's feet. The teen was a bit stunned for a moment, not realizing he'd had the coins on him when he left HQ. “I guess gold can transcend the boundary between the worlds, eh?” He asked of Cadenza, who agreed.

It always has, hence the reason ancient kings carried it to their graves. The Ghost-type at his side replied.

“I suppose you're right.” Odd responded as he climbed into Charon's boat at the hybrid's beckoning.

Just as the ferry shoved off from shore, Gengar zoomed around the bend the channeler-in-training had had to round before he'd seen Charon. “None shall pass!” He declared as he approached, a pulse of black energy erupting outward from him.

Charon spun around at this, bringing the gondola's oar around with him, and slapped it into the Dark Pulse as purple energy crackled along it, the Night Shade empowered oar carving a swathe through the pulse. “Payment accepted!” He repeated before pointing the oar at Gengar and releasing a strange chain of purple energy at his pure-blooded evolution. The hybrid's Spite ensnared Gengar and tethered it to shore, unable to follow as it's energy was sapped by the chain. With Gengar stopped in it's tracks, Charon returned to directing the ferry, carrying the Human and his partner along the river for several hundred feet before shoving up on shore on the north bank, near where the Safari Zone would be in the Land Above.

“Depart now or join the souls within the riverbanks.” Charon announced as his ferry came to a stop.

Odd nodded and jumped out, Cadenza following him with ease. “So why didn't Charon give me any trouble?” He asked of Cadenza at that point.

Charon lacks the power to trap the souls here within the Otherworld. His job is merely to cart those with the payment to the other side for judgement. Cadenza provided as they began to travel.

“Hmmmm.” Odd vocalized as he thought. “West is this way, right?” He asked as he headed to his left from the shore, heading away from the area around Lilycove City. Cadenza verified this after a few moment.

We should be very careful, Master. The spirits this side of the river will be far more aggressive than the ones on the other side. These spirits are trapped here, after all. The Shedinja informed, keeping a watchful gaze on the area around them as they walked.

“Then let me get my bearings.” Odd requested as he closed his eyes, feeling for the energy he'd come to become quite familiar with in recent months. It took a few long moments but, finally he began to see the faint crimson thread he sought. This strange thread should lead him right to the spiritual object he sought, if it acted like those he saw when first searching for The Killing Stone. “This way.” He finally announced as his eyes slowly opened again, following the still faintly visible thread.

The duo traveled west for a while, Odd guiding Cadenza very carefully through a series of battles against a few Shuppet, the first two defeated by a single Night Slash. The third, however, had taken two Shadow Balls, a Double Team(albeit a shaky and unpracticed one) to evade a nearly sniper-accurate Shadow Ball from the younger Pokemon and a Shadow Claw to the back to finish off. The third, Odd had greatly wished he could have captured, given it's stubbornness. He figured it would have been a good addition to his team, particularly to give Baroque a break from being his pure-Ghost backup fighter.

Regardless, the duo returned to their trek after the Shuppet fell, heading north with the river at this point. “I think we're getting close.” Odd announced after a few minutes' travel. He had been watching the crimson thread of the soul he had seen earlier very closely and it was now beginning to show many other threads around it.

“The Spirit Thread we're following is surrounded by a lot of other ones, now.” He explained as they travelled.  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

Part 2

“Child! Child help me!” Came a hoarse cry, the sound of an elderly woman breaching Odd's ears. Looking around, he found something that shocked him. “Sister Mary-Catherine! Why are you here?!” He exclaimed at the sight of a familiar nun attempting to drag herself free from the waters of the river. “I died of....a broken....” The nun wheezed, attempting to climb up with Odd's help. “SOUL!”Look out! Cadenza tackled Odd to the ground as the nun's form shifted, her hair turning a deep violet from it's previous brunette, peppered with gray.

The woman's body turned a matching color a moment later before she simply melted into a small purple blob. After a few seconds, this blob took a more defined shape as a Mismagius appeared, her eyes glowing a sinister crimson. That's not the woman you know, Master! She's trying to catch you off guard with her Mean Look! Cadenza warned as he fired off a small Shadow Ball cluster at the pure Ghost-type.

“Mismagius!” The opposing Ghost-type screeched as she flew backwards, spraying a maelstrom of mystically glowing leaves from her open “sleeves” at Cadenza. These leaves simply bounced off of a small shield that surrounded him, never even reaching their target, as his Wonder Guard protected him from attack.

“Cadenza! Hit it with your Shadow Sneak! Use Shadow Claw as soon as you get an opening.” Odd called as his Pokemon shielded him from attack. The Ghost-type didn't seem to respond at first, vanishing into thin air a moment later as his Shadow Sneak allowed him to slip into the shadows of the trees overhead. Only a second later, he reappeared behind Mismagius, slamming into her and knocking her off guard. She attempted to retaliate with her Psywave but the psychic energy simply slid right off of the divinely protect Pokemon, unaffecting him thanks again to Wonder Guard. The Shedinja slipped in close while Mismagius attempted to throw him off, lashing out with hardened claws coated in shadows. The Magical Pokemon went down with the hit, apparently evaporating into a shadowy mist that blew away in an ice cold breeze.

“We're getting really close now, Cadenza!” Odd announced as he looked toward the horizon, spotting a strange sight in the distance. There appeared to be an immense tree growing on he horizon, it's trunk and branches black as night in the strange light of the Otherworld. It's leaves were white as the purest snow in contrast, though each was distinguishable from the others even from this distance. “It's huge!” The Channeler-in-training declared as he realized what he was looking at.

It would seem Minos has made much progress on the tree's growth in the years since I was last here. Cadenza noted, looking in the same direction as Odd.

“No kidding.” Odd replied, offering an appreciative whistle as he began to walk again. “Hey! I just realized something.... Why can't I float around like you? It would be a lot less tiring to do this if I didn't have to be held down by Gravity.” He asked of his partner, noting the difficulty he was having traversing the landscape.

Levitation is a skill acquired by spirits after many years of practice. It requires great strength of the soul to deny that which the body perceives as reality. Cadenza provided.

“Wow.....pretty low-def, if you ask me.” Odd retorted, not liking the idea that, despite learning the ways of spirits, he may not be able to learn that particular skill. “Regardless, I think we should be prepared for this. We're almost to the tree and Amaya said that once we got the fruit, the whole Otherworld would be after us until we get to the end of the river.” He noted as he walked. The ground was becoming rougher as they climbed higher up the mountainside, toward where Fortree was located.

Indeed. The Forbidden Fruit is said to be capable to destroying the barrier between the Otherworld and the Land Above for any who consume it. Any soul yet to gain their right to be reborn into the Land Above would gladly kill for the chance. Cadenza responded, providing a bit more insight based on his knowledge of this world. And yes, even souls can die. The ones who survive the trials of the Otherworld earn the right to be reborn, those who are unable to withstand the trials simply cease to be. It is as if they never existed in the first place.

Odd shuddered at that. “Ew. Sounds like a pretty nasty way to go out, ya know?” He stated as he climbed over a large stone structure blocking his path. As he reached the top, he looked up from Cadenza, who had floated up right behind him, and found himself staring into a great black mass. A rustling above alerted him to just where he was.

”Gluttony.”
…

“Sloth.”
…

“Wrath.”
…

“Innocent.”
…

“Gluttony.”
…


“What the h-?!”The Boy was quickly silenced by Cadenza ramming into his chest and knocking the breath from him. That is Minos! He judges the souls within this Circle for their sins and determines their fate within the Otherworld. The Ghost-type explained quietly. If he sees us, you are more than likely doomed. We must get the fruit and leave before he sees us. Getting a head start is our only chance!

Odd nodded to the Pokemon as he silently rubbed his chest. ~Could've warned me without hitting me.....~ The teen thought as he looked at the trunk of the tree in front of him. It was slick in appearance yet rough to the touch. If he was careful, he could get up the tree and into the branches to find the fruit fairly easily and without being spotted, to boot!

The teen took a hold of the tree's bark and hauled himself from the ground. After a few small steps up, to test the bark's strength, he found it plenty strong and shimmied up into the branches without much thought. Once in the branches, however, he realized just how far off the ground he was. This tree had to be over a hundred feet tall! He'd have to get the fruit and make it most of the way down just to make a jump for it. With this in mind, he began to climb along the tree's branches at last. Shuffling through the tree as quickly and silently as he could, he soon found something very strange. Floating near the very end of one of the uppermost branches was a Gastly, unmoving but certainly there. It was only a few moments later that it struck him that this Gastly was strange looking, almost runty in appearance. And the usual noxious fumes emitted by a Gastly were lacking. This particular specimen even seemed to bear a sweet scent, a fruity aroma detectable even from thirty feet away. ”Is.....Is that the fruit?” He mumbled to himself, questioning if it were possible.

That's it! Came Cadenza's assurance as the Shedinja floated up from outside the tree's leaves. The fruit is said to bear a face and it's emotion determines the quality of the fruit. The Shed Pokemon explained as he floated in near, attempting to help pluck it. This fruit seemed quite exuberant, so perhaps it was a good quality one? He determined as he helped his master to free the fruit of it's attachment to it's tree host.

The fruit came loose easily enough, however, the tree seemed to drip a red sap far too freely once the stem of the fruit was broken. Seeing this as a bad sign, Odd returned to the tree's trunk and began sliding down with the fruit in hand.

”My tree bleeds!” Rang a deep, angry voice. “I will find the one who has taken my fruit. The tree bleeds and so, too, shall they.” Minos declared just as Odd reached the ground, having spotted the stream of red “sap” that oozed from the trees flesh were the fruit had been torn free. “Oh shi-!”

Just as the boy turned tail to run away, a brightly glowing orb of energy struck the ground next to him. ”Return my fruit to me and your soul shall make the best of fertilizers for the tree. Resist and see if the tree so much as recognizes the fragments of your shattered existence.” Minos declared, several more Wisps floating around him as the one he'd just flung at Odd returned slowly.

“Looks like I'm resisting, then. Got too many options? Go with the lesser of current evils.” Odd retorted before turning on his heel and running like a Crobat out of Hell. As it turns out, that's just what the inhabitants considered him, as well. Cadenza was right on his heels as he ran, the Ghost-type firing Shadow Balls backwards to stop any of Minos' more accurate Wisps from hitting him. “Thanks, buddy!” Odd thanked as they went, him ducking and dodging the the King's tail as he continued escaping.

”I shall feed your soul to my tree!” Came the call as the hybrid/demon/whatever-Minos-actually-is's eyes took on a bright crimson glow. He was trying to use his Mean Look on Odd and Cadenza. “Gonna have to do better than that!” Odd called back to the King of Judgement, taunting him slightly.

Odd used Taunt!

Minos fell for the Taunt! Minos is in a berserker rage!

”Do not tempt the king of the Otherworld!” Minos shrieked as Odd ran, attempting to strike him down with a few more Giga Drain Wisps aimed to cut him off.

“Who's the king?!” Odd asked, determined that pissing Minos off was most likely to help him escape.

Are you completely stupid! Cadenza asked as he followed Odd, firing off a volley of Shadow Balls to counter the onslaught of the King's Wisps once more.

“Nope. Just taking a leaf out of Lykas' book.” Odd replied with a laugh as he ran as hard and fast as he could. “Heads up! We have incoming!” He warned of his partner as a trio of two Dusclops and Haunter approached them. “Use Shadow Sneak to open us up a path between them and don't look them directly in the face.” The teen told his partner, who nodded with his whole body before disappearing into the shadows. The teenager charged toward the incoming Pokemon, unafraid of their attacks or their glares, though he did look towards their feet rather than their faces. When one of the Dusclops began to charge a Dark Pulse to attack with, Cadenza reappeared between them, releasing a blast of spiritual energy to throw them off guard. Once staggered, the Shed Pokemon used a Mimic'd Dark Pulse forming a dome of energy to further separate the attackers. The trio survived the weaker version of one of their own attacks but it was effective at opening up a hole for Odd to squeeze through.

The teen took full advantage as he squeezed between them and bolted on ahead, laughing when he heard Minos lashing out at them.


“Lust!”
…

“Wrath!”
…

“Pride!”


The boy shook his head slightly as he managed to gain a small lead on the Demon King. “Idiot.” He mumbled under his breath as he ran. He was starting to lose his breath again, which was really starting to irritate him as to how such a thing was even possible without a body to grow weary, when he found himself in a rather sticky situation.

“Tooooooomb!”
“Tooooooomb!”
“Tooooooomb!”
“Tooooooomb!”

A quartet of Spiritomb appeared around him, their flame-like bodies engulfing the keystones that tethered their many souls together. Odd wasn't sure how to keep going here. If he looked them in the eye, they'd curse him, if he did nothing, Minos would do worse. If he tried to fight them, not only would Cadenza likely fail miserably, but then Minos would get to him as well.
He clutched the fruit in his hands tightly for a moment before finally settling on something. “Cadenza! Shadow Sneak! Get us out of here!” He called quickly. Before the Spiritomb could react, he fell into a dark pool of shadows, vanishing from sight altogether as the shadow disappeared. It took several minutes before he reappeared, a few hundred yards away. “Hnnnnng!” He grunted as he hauled Cadenza out of the shadows behind him.

Master....I must rest.... The Shadinja mumbled weakly as he rolled onto his back.

“I understand, Cadenza. You've used a lot of energy already.” Odd replied as he looked around. “I think we've got a few minutes at least. I don't see anyone right now.” He told his partner with a small smile. “I know it isn't long but I'm afraid we'll be found if we rest any longer.”

“GGGGRRRRRRAAAAAHHHHH! I WILL FIND YOU, MORTAL!”

Odd snickered slightly as he heard Minos' cry. He sounded like he was at least a mile away but he also knew that distance meant little in the Otherworld. Looking towards the sound, he saw what looked like fireworks exploding in the distance, though the sight of several large stones crashing into the ground not far off told him what was likely to have happened. “Well.....at least they're not bound to each other anymore..........” He thought aloud as he tried to catch his breath.

Human and Pokemon alike sat in the shade they'd appeared in, both trying to recover, when something caught their eye. “Is that............”

It can't be......

“The spring?”
The spring?

The two had appeared near a small pond formed by backed up water in the river. What caught their attention wasn't the pond. It was the water within. Normally, the waters in the river Styx were a sort of wavering gray color with the obvious soul floating through once in a while but here, the pond they were looking at had waters almost pure white. It seemed to be devoid of souls at this point and almost glowed.

“How could we have gotten here so fast?” Odd finally asked, looking around.
Cadenza thought about it for a moment before realization dawned on him. Of course! We've been running down the hillside! We've traveled much farther than it felt like we have and when I used Shadow Sneak to escape, we cleared the distance on level ground at the bottom without realizing we'd made it that far......

After Cadenza's explanation, Odd looked skyward, smacking himself in the forehead as he did. “Duh! Why didn't I think about that?” He asked, rhetorically.

As the boy climbed to his feet, intending to walk to the pond while Cadenza fell into a short nap to rest, a voice caught Odd's focus.

”I told you I'd find you, Mortal.”

“~/~!” As Odd turned around, he came face to face with Minos. “Can we talk about this?”

”NEVER!” Minos retorted with a sort of hiss. His eyes began to glow for a moment before he stopped. ”You.....smell familiar, Mortal....”

“Um.....my cologne, maybe?” Odd asked, his eyes clenched shut tightly. He was slowly walking backwards, Minos remaining within a few inches of him, looking into his face.

”No...Your scent....it reminds me of another......One of us....”

“You mean....a demon?” Odd asked as he continued to step backwards, flinching slightly as he felt something brush against him, the sounds of Minos taking a deep breath, clearly sampling his scent further.

”You are the son of Atropos......I would know his scent anywhere.

“Atropos? No, that was my godfather.” Odd countered as he stepped further backwards, feeling his shoes suddenly filling with water.

”Hahaha! Atropos? Not taking credit for siring a b*****d child? I highly doubt that. Minos countered, hunched over as he stared at the boy before him. ”Atropos is indeed one of us.....He is one of the fates. He who cuts the threads of life for every man, woman and child to live in the Land Above when their time has come.”

“And that's why you're not attacking me?” Odd asked as he stepped further into the water.

”ABSOLUTELY NOT!” Minos retorted as several wisps appeared around him and shot towards Odd.

Master! Duck! Cadenza shouted from nearby, having just awakened from his rest. Odd obeyed without question, dropping to his knees, where his body was swallowed up by the white waters of the spring. Beneath the water, he freed the fruit in his hands from his tight grip and dug his thumbs into it, dividing it cleanly in half as he swam away from Minos, barely dodging the massive demon's tail as it darted into the water after him. As he surfaced near the middle of the pond, he found Cadenza already there, hurling one Shadow Ball after another at Minos to try and keep him at bay. The attacks didn't seem to be doing a thing to the beast but now wasn't the time to be wasting energy.

“Cadenza! Eat!” The boy urged as he handed Cadenza half of the Forbidden Fruit.

I cannot eat physical food as you do. You must drop it into my back. The Shedinja informed Odd as he spun around, falling into the spring as Odd practically slam dunked the fruit half into his shell before devouring the other half.

”NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO! YOU CAN NOT HAVE MY FRUIT!” Minos shrieked from the shore before he coiled up tightly and leaped into the pond, himself, intending to capture the mortal thief who had stolen his most prized possession.

Odd had finished eating his half of the fruit already and immediately clutched at his stomach, an unholy burning sensation suddenly erupting from his gut, feeling as if pure, molten lava would burn it's way out of his insides at any moment. “GGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!” Doubled over, sinking into the pond, no sound would be heard from this ungodly shriek, only a swelling of bubbles in the middle of the pond just before Minos made contact.

As the Demon King of Judgement sank into the white waters, he felt nothing beneath him. Minos searched the pond fully, tail lashing about as he searched, fully intent upon locking around the thief's neck and banishing him to an eternity in one of the inner circles. ”Where are you, halfling?!” He demanded as he hauled himself from the water, summoning several minions(a few Jellicent), to command the waters to halt so that he could search the bed of the spring while it was dry.

Once again several hundred feet away, Odd opened his eyes. “How are we not doomed?” He groaned as he tried to climb to his feet, only to have trouble finding purchase on the ground with his hands.

Simple.....We completed the ritual, only just barely. When we established a link between us, your body became intangible, though you couldn't seem to have taken the pain of the link forming and passed out. I pulled you through the earth with me to here, where Minos can't see us yet. Cadenza explained from beside him.

“Really? We did it?” Odd asked as he rubbed his forehead. “Why can't I get up, then?”

You seem to have retained your intangibility even once regaining consciousness. Cadenza replied, sounding quite curious about this. You must concentrate. Focus on becoming solid once again.

Odd finally looked at himself after this, discovering that his body was slightly transparent. He was able to easily see through himself and, if that was freaky enough(for a normal person, mind you. He loved it.) he also saw that when he tried to push himself up, his hands phased right through the ground rather than pressing against it. “I see.....” Giving this all of his concentration, he felt a strange sort of feeling. It was impossible to describe properly but soon, his body felt solid again and he pushed himself up.

As he stood, he looked at himself once again, turning his hands over a few times to make sure that he was really solid once more. Before he could complete his inspection, however, a thought came to him. “We should get out of here.....How are we supposed to get back to the Land Above?” He asked of Cadenza.

Believe it or not.......we're already back. Cadenza informed, offering a light chuckle.

“Then.....how can I hear you?” Odd asked as he looked around. They were near the base of Mt. Pyre again. Cadenza must have brought them here to escape Minos after he passed out.

“Simple, my student.” Amaya announced as she appeared before him. “You have established a link between yours and your Pokemon's souls. He speaks not to your ears but to your heart and spirit. Your link allows you to perceive the words now, unlike before.” She offered as she approached.

“Wow.....So...I'm really.....”

“A channeler, my student. Yes. You have passed your test with flying colors.” Amaya assured as she laid a hand on his shoulder, proud of him.

“I can feel you.....That's strange.” Odd thought aloud.

“Not at all. You are still in spirit form. I will lead you back to your body so that you may return to the realm of the living and practice using the gift the Fruit gave to you.” Amaya responded, explaining what he had been wondering about.

“I think.....I think that was intangibility.” Odd replied, allowing his Sensei to lead him up the mountainside.

“Oh? A unique power for Ghost-Channelers. Not many master such a technique.” Amaya said as she led her student further up the mountain and back towards the school she still called home.

“He also.....Minos, I mean....He told me I was the son of Atropos....”

“Atropos? One of the fates?” Amaya asked, confounded by this revelation.

“Does that make me half demon.....Like....will I ever turn into something like him?” Odd asked, uncertain now.

“That.......remains to be seen....” Came Amaya's response, her voice low. “I highly doubt it, however. You have chosen the path of the Channeler, so at least, you will remain human in life, I should think. Perhaps in death, when your human form releases it's hold on you, perhaps then you may change but you have no reason to worry for quite a long time at least.” The ghost-channeling master continued, offering her student a reassuring smile. She had not expected this in the slightest.

Why would Atropos have lied to me? Or....Was......He couldn't have? Odd thought to himself, following Amaya the remaining distance to the school, where he found his body laying in waiting. Had Atropos met him outside the gates with the intent of placing his scent on him in order to help him? What was all this to mean? The boy had more questions, now, than answers as he stood over his body, looking down at it.

“You have done an excellent job, my student. Now, return to your body and I will allow you to leave.” Amaya told him as she reached toward him. Reaching into the black hole in his spirit-self's chest, she pulled from it a thread of deepest black, with a bright silver outline. The thread severed just as it reached a foot in length.

“What's that for?” Odd asked as he laid down, his spirit slowly merging back into his body.

“This is the material from which I shall craft your Artifact, the Spirit Chain.” Amaya replied before snatching something from his hair. “And it would seem you have found a focus for it.....” She said as Odd's body and soul began to resynchronize with one another. Hmmm...A leaf from the Tree of the Forgotten? Perhaps not the most powerful charm but it should work quite well for him as a beginner. She thought as she snatched a spirit thread from Cadenza, reaching into the void in his back and hauling out a thread that matched Odd's in appearance. She carefully wove them together, forming a rosary of small beads of pure spirit energy from them, attaching the Charm of Limbo to it afterwards.

It was just as she was finishing that Odd opened his eyes, back in his body. “Oi vey....such a headache.....” He complained to himself as he sat up. “Sensei....when do you think you'll have my next test ready?”

“It is hard to say, my student. But I expect it will be some time before I find a suitable task for you.” Amaya responded as she held out the Spirit Chain with the Charm attached. “Here is your reward for completing this step. You now truly begin the process of learning the ways of Channeling.” She offered as Odd climbed to his feet, allowing him to take it.

“That's good, I think. I'm gonna need to rest a while after this one.......” Odd said with a light laugh, though he was quite proud of himself, as well as Cadenza, for completing this task. With this, he bid Amaya farewell and walked off towards the front of the school, placing the Spirit Chain around his neck as he went.

Once he was outside the school's front doors, he pulled out his SNAG and signaled for a Claydolport back to HQ. Once home, he decided to perform a simple test. After writing up a mission report for Sub, he walked to his door and, placing a hand against the closed door, he focused hard, Cadenza at his side, and watched as his hand slipped through the door. He giggled giddily as he phased through the door completely, leaving his report on Sub's desk before he walked outside normally, heading to his room for some sleep.

Mission Accomplished!

Mission report|

-Received word from Twi and La that Amaya had a new training exercise for me and went to Mt. Pyre.

-Was sent to the Otherworld for training.

-Managed to locate the Tree of the Forgotten and steal from it the Forbidden Fruit.

-Evaded Minos until I reached Asprosneri Lake, where I had a final, albeit extremely close, encounter with him.

-Successfully managed to complete the bonding ritual while evading Minos and escaped with Cadenza's help.

-Returned to the Land Above and received my Artifact from Amaya before returning to HQ with lots of training in my immediate future.  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

SubonicXP

Water Master Mission Stage 1

The Way of the Waves

Water, the most vital building block of our world. Everything that lives contains water to some degree, the world would not live without this vital assest. On the other hand however, water can be an extremely destructive force, with the ability to wash away entire civilizations and swallow ships whole. As you can see, the power is great, and harnessed right can be your own, greatest assest, and that's why you are here, to master and utilize the power of water.

Folklore tells of an extremely powerful and esteemed master of water named Varuna. He is said to be the last of an ancient civilization, which existed thousands of years ago, that once lived in a huge city that floated ontop of the ocean but was swallowed up by the same waters that allowed their civilization to thrive and sent them to the depths of the ocean never to be heard from again. Legend states that the civilization housed a powerful secret, a fountain that which a sip of its water bestowed upon only those with the purest of souls the gift of immortality, though those with a hint of corruption would be drained of all moisture, and thus dying a slow painful death. This alone had prevented many from drinking its waters, though many have tried regardless and all died in vain, except Varuna, he is said to be the only one to drink the waters and live. The water he drank though became a part of him, he became the water its self as he was transformed into a Vaporeon hybrid.

With his powers Varuna led his people for many years, using his gifts to raise the civilization to greatness and protecting his people from all harm in battle. Though while young himself and still grasping the concept of his powers, Varuna, who one day went into a rage over an enemy civilization attacking their kingdom, wanting the waters of the fountain, ended up flooding his own civilization while trying to protect it. Varuna, the only survivor, feared his powers and built an arc to travel the seas in, training his abilities in solitude so that he may never harm another person again.

People say that Varuna still sails the seas to this day, training himself, the water he drank had given him near immortality. Your task is to seek out Varuna and convince him to teach you how to utilize the power of water for yourself, which won't be easy. Varuna fears the power of water himself and will be extremely skeptic to take on a student, having lived by his self for hundreds of years. But before you need to convince him, you must find himself.

Further tales state that Varuna's ship, with his own powers, can become one with the water its self, allowing him to sail the oceans unnoticed, which doesn't help you any. Fortunately, Varuna would travel often when he led his people and left behind a way for his people to call him back whenever they needed him. Deep under the waters on the ocean floor in the Hoenn region is a small temple, all that remains of the civilization. It is here that there is an azure bell that the people would ring to summon Varuna to them, but the bell is special in that it doesn't just ring upon being struck. You see, Varuna's civilization were also highly skilled users of water Pokemon so the bell its self utilized their gifts. The bell will only ring in the rains summoned by a Pokemon who shares a great bond with the one who rings it.

So, your mission is to travel to the Hoenn region and find the sunken temple located somewhere south of Pacifidlog Town. Once you find the sunken temple find the Azure Bell located within it and bring it to the surface. It is then that you must use your own water Pokemon to summon rain and then ring the bell to summon Varuna, but remember you and your Pokemon must display an unserverable bond. If you manage to summon Varuna and his ship to you and he reveals himself, you must convince him to teach you, this won't be easy, you must display to him that you are skilled enough to tame the power of water, good luck.

Objective:
---Travel to Hoenn and find the sunken temple of the lost civilization of the water people.
---Find the Azure Bell located within the temple and then ring it in the rain summoned by your most trusted water Pokemon.
---Once summoned convince Varuna to teach you the ways of water.

Opposition:
---Wild water Pokemon located in and around the temple. You are sure to come across several, plus a pair of Relicanth said to still protect the temple to this day.

Pokemon:
---You may capture one wild water Pokemon that you'll come across underwater.

Rewards:
---The Azure Bell, which is required to call upon your future teacher, Varuna.
---The ability to take on the next Water Master Mission.
---Varies from there based on story.

Varuna:

Mission Follows this Post.  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

Part 1

Lykas read over the mission profile he’d found in the mission locker, growing more and more intrigued the more he read. “Well well. What’s this I’ve found here?” He asked of himself as he read it over.

”This would be a Mastery Mission.” GRAY responded to the boy’s personal inquiry. ”These are missions that allow the members of the team to master their preferred Type by gaining the favor of a master of that Pokemon Type and earning their tutelage.”

“Oh? And this one. Master Varuna. He’s a Water Master, correct?” Lykas asked as he read more of the profile.

”According to our information, yes. He’s a Vapreon hybrid.” GRAY responded. ”I doubt he’s told you much about it but your mate…..Odd, was it…..He’s been training under that abominable woman Amaya.” The AI added, his distaste for Odd and his Sensei evident in his tone of fabricated voice.

“Then this Master Varuna could teach me to master the Water-Type.” Lykas decided. “And perhaps…..perhaps I could follow in my mother’s footsteps.” He suggested to himself. “Maybe then my father would accept me?”

”The only problem with that theory is getting Varuna to accept you as a student. He already trains the Channeler known as Ryan. Convincing him to take on a second student may prove more daunting than it was even for Ryan. GRAY replied, actually being helpful for once, it seemed.

“Then I’m going to be in need of a lot of willpower and the determination to not take ‘no’ for an answer, aren’t I?” Lykas asked of the AI, with a smirk.

”That you are. If you’re going to do it, don’t let me stop you.” GRAY replied. ”But kindly don’t get eaten out there. I don’t like the idea of my circuits rotting in a Sharpedo’s belly until my system crashes.”

“No worries, there. My Pokemon won’t allow me to lose to the likes of some wild Pokemon. Especially another Water-type.” Lykas replied as he headed to his room, collecting a few Pokeballs before whistling for Mykel. “Teleport me to Pacifidlog Town, if you would.” He requested of the Kirlia.

”I thought you hated everything about Hoenn?” The Kirlia asked as he appeared at his Trainer’s side.

“Not everything; just the things relating to my father.” Lykas replied with a smirk.

”What about the water? Isn’t that related to him as well?”

“Ya. But it’s got a lot to do with my mother too. Momma was a lot more important than Father ever was. It’s for her that my love of the water became what it is today.”

”Then let’s go and you can take one step closer to following in her footsteps.” Mykel replied before his blue-green aura enveloped them both, whisking them away in a flash of light.

Lykas arrived in the floating city a few moments later with Mykel by his side. ”Do you want me to wait with that friend of yours while you’re busy?” Mykel asked as he looked up at his master and friend.

“Yes, actually. Get some rest and then go back home. I’ll be fine out here. I’m in my element here, remember?” Lykas asked as he turned to face the water. Mykel nodded and walked off, going to a familiar house near the edge of the city on the water.

“Being here makes me want to visit Alto Mare….” He told himself as he released his Pokemon. The ones he wanted by his side out here in the open sea.

“Nuregami, Chinami, Furor……..Narcissa.” He announced as he released the first three. The fourth wasn’t released, per se, but rather, revealed from her hiding place. “I know you’re hiding under my tasset.” He told the Frillish, prompting her to emerge with a small frown. “If you’re determined to come with me, then it’s time you learned to battle.” He told the small Pokemon.

“Friiiiil!” Narcissa cheered, quite pleased with this idea.

“Show me what moves you can use…..but first, let’s do something. “ Pulling a fishing rod from his bag of supplies he cast out into the water and within minutes he’d reeled in a Magikarp and a rather weak looking one at that. It was rather puny. “Now…..show me your skill on this Pokemon.” The boy requested of his young Ghost-type.

“Friiil….” Narcissa looked at the Magikarp and nodded. She reached out a tentacle and touched it tentatively. When it didn’t fight back, her body took on a bright pink glow while Magikarp’s was enveloped in blue. As the touch lingered, their light spread to one another and a bright violet light took hold of them both. Narcissa flinched as her Pain Split took over and sapped her own strength rather than the fish’s. She was stronger, it would seem. Regardless, she drew back after this and as her arms spread wide, tendrils of green energy shot out, striking Magikarp and releasing golden sparks as her Absorb stole away its life force to fuel her own. This attack was enough to send the Magikarp into the land of dreams.

“Hmm…..Not the strongest, it would seem, but with a bit of training, I think you’ll manage quite well. And believe it or not, that move you just used….Pain Split….It could come in handy if we run into those Relicanth that’re supposed to be guarding the Bell we’re supposed to find.” Lykas decided as Narcissa dipped her body into the sea. He watch as a small whirlpool appeared around her and she took on a white glow. “And you have Water Absorb?” Very interesting. Narcissa’s skills, however weak and untrained, could very well mean the difference between success and failure on this mission.

Looking to the other Pokemon he had released, he saw the agreement in all of their looks. Nuregami was intrigued, Chinami was impartial,(as always, really) and Furor was quite impressed. With his entourage of Water-types to keep him well protected on this journey as well as to keep him company, he pulled an underwater respirator from his Pocket, a long-forgotten relic of a gift from his father. It was the only gift he could remember his father ever giving him but perhaps this one and only gift would prove to be one of the most useful things he owned to date. Regardless of where it came from or whether it was valuable or not, Lykas, for once in his life, was thankful for his father as he placed the respirator between his lips and dove into the sea.

The four Pokemon followed after him at this point. Nuregami took up the lead, preferring to keep to the front in case of hostiles ahead. Chinami took up post in the rear, intending to keep aggressive foes at bay should they come from behind. Furor and Narcissa stayed in the middle with Lykas, on either side. Neither was very strong but, given the nature of this mission, they were better bets than Naiad and Cascade for now. And besides, if Nuregami and Chinami did their jobs, neither should have much to concern themself with.

With the formation taken, Lykas began to swim Southward, swimming with the Westward current against his left side. That was the easiest way to determine direction here, beneath the sea. He swam easily enough, his long hair billowing out into the water and blending in with little trouble. The boy watched the local wildlife as he went, seeing Furor’s intrigue as she swam a bit out of formation to investigate a foreign Pokemon. Another Magikarp, it turned out. Sadly for her, this one wasn’t exactly in a playful mood and it shoved against her with Splash. The attack did next to nothing but its aggression wasn’t unnoticed. The trainer-owned Magikarp used her Tackle on the foreign fish, sending it swimming away quickly, deciding that it wasn’t worth the effort to be a bully to this one. Lykas smiled when he saw his weak fish fighting for herself. It made him proud to see that she was growing into a decent battler, despite her weakness.

As the quintet traversed the open water, Lykas listened to the sonata of the sea. The sounds of nature were always beautiful but the sounds found beneath the water could never be matched, in his opinion. The sounds of many Pokemon’s songs mixed and mingled together with the sound of rushing water to create an endless tune that Lykas could only describe as hypnotic. He reached a reef as he listened and motioned to his entourage that he wanted to stop. Settling into the coral structure, he found himself not wanting to move right away or at all for a long while. Sadly, his reprieve from the swim was cut short by a Corphish interrupting him. Its Crabhammer was brought down on his hand, causing him to yelp slightly, almost losing his respirator in the process. Pushing off from the reef, he treaded water to remain in place and looked to Furor, motioning forward.

The Magikarp nodded and swam forward, her Tackle’s aim slightly hampered by her lack of strength combined with the sidelong tide throwing her off-kilter. She did manage to land the hit, though, but Corphish shrugged it off as if it hadn’t felt a thing. It countered the ill-fated attack with a Scald, which Furor barely managed to avoid the brunt of. Sadly, she was still hit fairly hard. She managed to avoid a burn, though. Her anger rose as she rushed forward to lash out with another Tackle, this one fueled by her rage. Corphish wasn’t expecting the amount of power behind the attack, which even Furor hadn’t expected to have as she struck it down with the second blow. The lobster, caught off guard, was taken out without further incident. Lykas grinned at Furor as the Magikarp calmed down. “Kaaaaaarp.” The fish groaned as she attempted to nurse her wounds.

Seeing the small wounds caused by Corphish’s attack, Lykas looked around. He knew he didn’t have any Potions of any sort so he’d have to rely on local remedies. It didn’t take long to find one, either. He found a local seaweed that was good for curing burns and treating topical wounds. Tearing a few pieces free of the coral bed, he wrapped Furor’s body and bound the natural bandages together with a small coral needle. That should help her recover fairly quickly. He decided as he finished. I’m really surprised by that power, though. She’s only ever been in two battles that I can remember. Unless she got into some when I left her at Tohjo Falls with Sphynx. He thought as he turned back to the other Pokemon, each one expressing their own interest at how much Furor’s strength had surprised them.

As they began to travel again, Nuregami congratulated his young protégé. Or what he considered her, at least. He knew what she would eventually evolve into and considered the species to be his greatest ally and greatest threat to his value on Lykas’ team. He would be glad to help her train and evolve but she had best not threaten his place on the team. Chinami expressed intrigue at how she had summoned so much strength, given her youth and inexperience. Narcissa remained fairly quiet but still expressed a great deal of admiration for her elder sister. The quartet of Pokemon conversed among themselves as Lykas led the way. How he managed to lead with Nuregami in front of him wasn’t well understood by any of them but it was effective, nonetheless.

As they passed by the boundaries of the explored sea in the area, Lykas found the water grew much deeper. Looking to Nuregami, he signaled down and swam forward to hold tightly as his Pokemon began to descend, going slowly so that Lykas could adjust to the pressure. The other three followed quickly. They knew they’d need to be near the bottom to even stand a chance of finding whatever Lykas was looking for by now. He hadn’t really briefed them on what they were doing, exactly. They just knew they were looking for something important and it was under the sea. As they descended, Lykas found the water growing darker, though the ocean wasn’t deep enough to completely hinder his vision from here. He watched the seafloor as they travelled now and soon found that he was being overwhelmed, not by the pressure of the water around him but by the presence of wild Pokemon. They were becoming more aggressive the further he went south.

Furor was finding herself busier and busier with defending Lykas as she Tackled a wild Clamperl away. The bivalve Pokemon Clamped down on the fish in retaliation but as she Flailed about, she tore herself free, slinging Clamperl away with a fishy, bubbling growl. Her rage hadn’t begun to settle when a Horsea found itself the victim on her anger by bumping into her rather unceremoniously. It would have obviously been an accident to anyone else who had seen it but the other Pokemon were all distracted by their own battles.

Nuregami was fending off a Huntail that decided it wanted a piece of him, though it wasn’t faring too well. It was refusing to back down, however. Chinami was duking it out with an obnoxious Corsola while Narcissa was trying to fend off a troublesome Luvdisc that just wouldn’t quit. Furor ended up on her own since Lykas was trying to give Narcissa the most attention. As the absolute youngest and least experienced battler, she required the most instruction, anyway. In spite of being relatively ignored and left to her own devices, the Magikarp was determined to do this on her own. She Tackled the mostly innocent Horsea with a vengeance, only to receive a weak Bubble to the face. This only angered her more as she returned another Tackle to the young seahorse Pokemon. The little Dragon Pokemon tried to use its Bubble to escape the second time around but Furor wasn’t going to allow it, Tackling it once again. The fish was pleased when she saw the defeated seahorse floating there, unconscious afterward. She was getting lucky, she knew, because the others were all having a lot more trouble.

Deciding to be of help, Furor swam over to Nuregami and allowed herself to intercept a Bite thrown at the Milotic from his Huntail foe. With sharp teeth sinking in, she began to Flail about, damaging the Huntail, mouth first. The Deep Sea Pokemon was already weakened and the Magikarp’s attack was enough to do it in, leaving her with a great deal more experience than before, having endured the pain of that strong of an attack. Trying to shake off the pain, she headed back towards Chinami, now. She wasn’t happy when she saw the Dewott finishing off her foe with a well-placed Razor Shell from her scalchop fans. With no Corsola left to contend with, she decided to go offer her assistance to Narcissa against that Luvdisc she was fighting earlier. As she swam up, she was a bit surprised to see her younger sister finishing off her foe with an Absorb. Narcissa’s body glowed brightly as she soaked up the life-force of the Luvdisc, recovering from the damage she’d taken. Still a bit weakened, she used her Water Absorb to soak in a bit of seawater and healed herself a tad more.

With the various battles completed, Lykas heaved a sigh of relief. It looked like they would be safe for a while longer, as he saw no other Pokemon heading right for them at present. Looking around once again, he was a tad surprised to see that there were some ruins a ways off. It looked like they were at least a nautical mile away from where he currently treaded water, so he knew he’d have to keep his guard up if he wanted to get there and explore without losing his teammates to unconsciousness. Noting the distance and his team’s current state, he decided he’d try to avoid any unnecessary battles, particularly ones involving Furor. She was looking the worst of them all, to be sure. But what truly concerned him was her anger issues. He knew Gyarados were prone to fits of rage but weren’t Magikarp supposed to be fairly apathetic? Amiable, even? Regardless, he made sure he was watching to keep her in check if a battle arose again as he began to move, pressing forward with his menagerie of Water-types maintaining their sentry positions.

Even while watching out for wild Pokemon, Lykas was able to enjoy the view down here. The murky depths were still a bit hard to see anything in but that wasn’t where he was heading just yet, so he watched what he could see at his current level. The sight of a school of Luvdisc swimming in the distance was definitely breathtaking, had he been in a position where he had breath he could afford having taken from him. He became a bit worried when he spotted a small school of Sharpedo swimming not far off, but they seemed to be in no mood to attack him. Perhaps local Pokemon had some sense of how important this place he was nearing was and revered it? Was it possible that they avoided needless battles near it out of respect? Or was he simply getting lucky? He had too many questions without enough answers. Trying to put all of his questions aside, the boy continued his long journey to the Azure Bell he sought.

Nearing the ruins he’d spotted at long last, he began to descend, motioning his Pokemon to file in behind him. Dropping down into the darkening waters, he looked over his shoulder at his partners. For a moment, he wondered if any of them might know Flash. He hadn’t ever bothered to find out since he almost never needed it for anything and he’d never found it to be a practical move in battles. He was starting to wonder if he should change that outlook, though. As it stood, he looked back at Narcissa. “Come up here and use your Absorb to make us some light.” He told her, though it was difficult to speak with his respirator in his mouth. It was always hard to talk with it in but at least he could hear his voice as more than just some garbled bubbling sounds like normal. At least Water-types could understand speech underwater. This was evidenced by Narcissa nodding and coming to the front of the group, floating even with Lykas as she formed a brightly glowing green sphere of energy in front of her. The Absorb was charged, and ready to be released at any moment, and this provided just what Lykas had hoped for.

With the faint green glow of the Grass-type attack illuminating the depths, he was able to find the way to those ruins he’d seen. They were certainly in a state of disrepair, that much was certain, but what could one expect from a civilization that had been destroyed? Noting the direction the doorway he found was facing, he indicated to Narcissa that she should remain in the front to lead the way. “Go on.” He urged. The small Frillish nodded and lead the way inside. She was very skittish at this point, already shaken by her battle with Luvdisc earlier. Nuregami filed in behind Lykas and Chinami followed him, leaving Furor to take the rear. The Magikarp wasn’t going to let anything get by her, she determined, remaining vigilant despite the current lack of opposition. The troupe traversed the ruins easily enough, for now, though Lykas wasn’t doing without some sightseeing. The boy was enjoying the architecture in here. It was gorgeous, he thought. After a while, and many more turns and twists than he cared to count, the boy finally seemed to have found something interesting. Coming to rest inside of a large chamber in the middle of the ruins, Lykas noticed an air pocket at the top of the chamber, where the ceiling was vaulted, forming a large bowl with the bottom aimed skyward. Swimming up, the boy popped his head out of the water and removed his respirator.

Taking a deep breath of fresh, or rather, stale but not filtered air, he looked back into the water. Narcissa’s Absorb was staring to flicker, he noticed. She was probably getting tired, the poor thing. He knew letting her come with him was probably a bad idea but he just couldn’t deny that little thing something she really wanted, especially if what she wanted was to come with him when he went somewhere. Sighing and taking a few more breaths of this stale air, the boy replaced his respirator and dove back underwater. He wasn’t surprised, really, to find his Pokemon all patiently waiting for him. They understood his plight. Humans needed fresh air at least once in a while. It was a human thing.

As the boy dove down, he had a thought. Perhaps this could become easier on him? He was getting tired from all this swimming anyway and didn't want to burden his protectors with carrying him. Reaching to his belt, he pulled a fifth ball free and released Naiad. The coral Pokemon appeared in a bright flash and looked at her trainer, curious as to why he called her out underwater. “I need you to weigh me down.” He told her as he treaded water, trying not to float any higher than he could manage. This respirator was hard to talk through, he discovered. Thankfully, the pink and blue part-rock-type understood and agreed, swimming over to him and nestling herself into his arms. “Cor!” She cooed as Lykas sank to the ruin floor, her in his arms. “Thanks, girl.” The teen smiled at her, though the respirator in his mouth made it impossible to tell it at all.

Now that he could walk rather than swim, Lykas found his travels much easier. He walked through the derelict hallways of the sunken temple with the flickering light of Narcissa's Absorb lighting the way. As they traveled, something caught Lykas' attention. The light was growing brighter again but now it was white light, rather than the green of Narcissa's Absorb. In fact, when he looked directly at her, he saw her attack had faded completely. The poor Pokemon was completely tuckered out from maintaining the move for so long. Where is this light coming from? He began to wonder, choosing to follow only the corridors that led him closer to the source of the light.

Two left turns and a right led him to a staircase that led him downward. As he started down, he found himself being shoved aside slightly by Furor, who was wriggling between him and the wall with all of her strength. As the Magikarp squeezed by, Lykas found her charging a school of wild Magikarp. A group of five was barreling towards them at top speed and no one but the Magikarp of his had seen them coming. How had that possibly happened? Regardless, Lykas kept close to Narcissa and Nuregami, allowing the two smaller Water-types to remain in front now. He found that Chinami wasn't even needed here as Furor Tackled all five Magikarp into unconsciousness with ease. “Whoa.” This was no exclamation nor was it a breath of wonder. It was merely an expression of his surprise. “You're getting strong.” He told the Magikarp as he began to walk down the stairs once again.

Reaching the bottom of the staircase, Lykas was jarred out of his mindless wandering by something he had forgotten about. When a blazing aura blasted by him, slamming into the wall beside him and knocking a massive chunk of stone free, he found a Relicanth emerging from it. “Oh boy.....” He had completely forgotten the warning in the mission profile that these bad boys were supposed to be here. “Narcissa! I need you to try and use Absorb on it!” He hurriedly called, finding the requested Pokemon coming forward just as fast as he'd called her. She managed a weak absorb but the Relicanth she aimed it t shrugged it off as if it had never happened, it's body flashing as it summoned a ring of spear-like stones. The Pokemon sent the Stealth Rock flying at the human and Pokemon with him, determined to skewer the lot of them and end their invasion of it's home.

Thanks to Nuregami's quick tail motion, Lykas, Naiad and Narcissa were saved from being turned into kabobs. The Milotic caught them in his tail and brushed them aside just in time to save the trio. Now that they were saved Chinami headed to the front to save everyone. Her Aqua Jet pushed her towards Relicanth faster than it could move away and when she got close, she slashed at it with her Razor Shell. Unfortunately, it wasn't going down so easily and fought back with it's Rock Tomb, attempting to crush the Dewott between several large stone slabs it summoned from the floor. Chinami was caught, indeed, but the stones around her seemed to quickly crumble as she absorbed the energy within them and fused it into herself as she used her Revenge. The power of both attacks now in her command, she lashed out at Relicanth with a mighty blow. This time, it couldn't keep going and was knocked aside by the attack, still reeling as Lykas and his team wriggled around the remains of it's Rock Tomb.

The group managed to single-file their way through and once on the other side, Lykas found that the room they had entered was actually quite large. It actually looked like some sort of enormous amphitheater. He was facing a large set of stairs, which appeared to make up the stage and, as he ascended them, he found that he was rising out of the water. “I don't believe this.....” He said to himself as he removed his respirator, now standing on the open stage above the water. He knew he was easily over a hundred feet under the ocean and yet, here he stood in open air in the middle of a sunken ruin. Moreso, resting before him was a pedestal of crystal, upon which rested a crystal blue bell that appeared to be made of glass. “Is this.....the Azure Bell?” He asked of himself, walking towards it.

His examination was quickly interrupted by a massive torrent of water washing him across the stage, however. “Canth!” The second of the duo of ancient fish he'd been warned of had made their appearance now and it's Hydro Pump had been it's introduction. “Nuregami, freeze it in it's tracks! Ice Beam!” He ordered quickly, sputtering slightly as he coughed up the mouthful of seawater he was forced to indulge in when he was dunked by his attacker. “Loooooootic.” Nuregami agreed, forming a chilling orb of energy between his antennae, from which a frigid beam of energy blasted towards Relicanth. The Pokemon was hit, certainly but it wasn't completely frozen. It's fins gained a slightly frosty appearance but otherwise it appeared unharmed.

“Try again!” Lykas called for as he climbed back onto the stage, heading towards the Azure Bell. Nuregami nodded and made a second attempt, though he was cut off by the Relicanth's Head Smash. The attack sent Nuregami flying through the air and crashing into the wall behind Lykas, who had just reached the Bell. “Kaaaarp!” Furor, in her rage at this cretin for attacking her master, had rushed it with Tackle, only to be sent airborne by it's Aqua Tail. She wound up in about the same place as Nuregami, having bounced off the amphitheater's rear wall as well. Her crash, however, brought complications. The dome overhead cracked from the pressure applied and began to crumble. As if fell, Nuregami rushed to Lykas' side and coiled himself tightly around the boy. Furor was caught up the serpent's reaction and dragged along as well and when the rubble fell atop the hastily constructed Protect field that Nuregami threw up, a bright light shined from within.

“Gyaaaaaaaroooooooooo!”

The pile of rubble shifted and shuddered as something beneath it raged. A bright indigo glow began to shine out from the rubble and soon, the entire pile exploded outward from the combined Dragon Pulse from Nuregami and Furor, who had evolved into a Gyarados amidst her anger, a strong desire to protect Lykas driving her further towards the breaking point. The falling rubble had been the final straw and the dam had broken, releasing all of her pent-up energy in the form of evolution. The now-Gyarados glared down at the Relicanth before her and offered a menacing smirk as Nuregami whipped around and struck it with an Aqua Tail, sending it flying into the air. Try as it might, it couldn't right itself fast enough and, as a last ditch effort, it Hardened its body until it was steel hard and razor sharp. It had turned its own body into a living Stone Edge. In spite of that, the Ice Fang Furor delivered to the beast was enough to freeze it solid before it could do any real harm.

Dropping the frozen fish into the water, Furor bent down to look Lykas over closely. “Gyaaaaa?” She roared softly, making sure he was alright. “I'm fine, Furor. Thanks to you and Nuregami.” He assured the Pokemon with a smile. “And, I'm pretty sure this thing here is the Azure Bell I'm supposed to be looking for.” He told not only her but all of his Pokemon. Naiad, who had jumped to the ground when Nuregami came to protect them, was the first to cheer, soon followed by Narcissa. Chinami, Nuregami and Furor joined in a moment later. With the Azure Bell in hand, Lykas decided to take the easy way out of the ruins. “Furor! If you would enjoy doing so, blast a hole in the roof to make it easier for us to get back to the surface.” He requested of her. The Gyarados' response was to unleash a focused Dragon Pulse on the ceiling until it cracked and let the water pressure from outside break it all the way while Lykas replaced his respirator.

Once the ceiling was opened, seawater cascaded in with great pressure, though Lykas was able to avoid the torrent directly. He waited patiently for the chamber to fill with water and had his Pokemon pull him outside after he recalled Narcissa so she could rest properly. Outside the ruins, he looked around and, quickly enough, he found a small island nearby. Swimming to it, he clambered out of the ocean as quickly as was safe. He stopped for a few minutes once he was out of the ocean altogether, breathing deeply and savoring the taste and smell of real fresh air. “Nuregami, I need your help now.” He told his Milotic, recalling Naiad after thanking her for her help in the ruins. Nuregami swam over, slithering just slightly up onto the island shore, wondering what Lykas needed him for. “I need you to use Rain Dance for me. It's not a move I ask for often but I need it right now.” He told the Tender Pokemon in an affectionate tone.

“Looooooooo.” Nuregami nodded and his antennae sparked slightly as he gathered the energy for the technique. The water-type released the energy in the form of a small black cloud, which grew in size tremendously once it reached a few dozen feet upwards. Rain began to pour from the cloud at that point and Lykas relished the feeling of it. Holding the Azure Bell up, he pondered how this would go over. Steeling his nerves and forcing himself to believe everything would be alright, the boy rang the bell. He heard the mysteriously echoing note ring out and felt the rainwater reverberate through him and back into the world.

He opened his eyes after a long moment of nothing only to find.......nothing. Not a thing had happened. “Piece of junk.......” The boy griped, hauling back to throw it back into the sea.

“I wouldn't do that.”

“Excuse me?” Lykas asked as he turned around. “Whose business is it but mine what I do with the stupid thi-......thi-....thing...........”