Dungeon 32 - Where Evil Grows

----------------------------------------

Rain clouds formed above the city of Bright Dawn. The wind howled and thunder struck, its noise reverberating in the air. Down on the ground, a few figures could be seen: an Arcanine, wearing a rain cape, specifically designed for his quadruped boy, alongside a Dewott and a Throh. Accompanying them was a Grovyle, head lowered. Every one of them wore capes.

Another sound drew their attention; someone stepped on the wet floor. Looking back, Grovyle saw a Zoroark, also wearing a cape, with goggles on his eyes.

"Don't worry, kid! You'll be fine!" Brian said, trying to reassure the reptile.

"O-Oh, hi, mister Brian!" Grovyle said, bowing. "Thank you for rescuing me."

Apollo turned around as well, grinning. He raised his left front paw and gave Brian a shake.

"I also need to thank you, Brian," Apollo nodded. "That was very reckless of you, but… it all turned out fine in the end."

The fox smiled sheepishly, rubbing his mane and muttering something to himself. Apollo chuckled, nodding to Brian. He pulled the Zoroark into a hug and backed away, swishing his fluffy tail.

"You're still going after the kidnapper, right?"

"It's the right thing to do," Brian clenched his fist. "I gotta stop him from doing this again…"

"Got it, kiddo!" Apollo barked, turning around again. "We'll be leaving now, so… take care of yourself. I hope it's gonna be okay!"

With a nod, Brian walked away from them, looking at the cloudy sky. He, too, hoped they won that battle. For his brother…

No. Not just Lance. It's not only about him anymore.

Sighing, Brian continued marching into the streets of the city.

----------------------------------------

The rain couldn't get inside the guild's training room. Because of that, Scar could practice all he needed, without having his fire attacks weakened. Right now, he was facing Lance, the Lucario seemed to be meditating, circled by swords of energy that he promptly absorbed.

"Let's see what you can do… I won't even need to use my club against you. Not even with that Swords Dance."

Lance growled. "Do not underestimate me."

Scar took a quick look at Lance. The Lucario now had a looplet around his right arm with an emera on it. He looked around. The room was large, and was surrounded by a large barrier. Scar figured it was made possible by a Counter Orb, but gave no more thoughts about that.

In the middle of the room, Lance saw a weird contraption with a circular-shaped hole in it. He remembered his brother explaining that it was to help with training, releasing a random orb every few minutes. He shrugged it off, focused only on the battle, he needed to get back in shape for the mission.

Let's… do this.

Lance charged, his swift movement leaving dust marks on the floor where he stood. In his right paw, the Lucario produced a purple sphere. Scar merely stood there, head raised and prepared to receive the attack. He knew that move wouldn't affect him, being a ghost-type and all, so he made no effort to dodge it, merely taunting Lance into hitting him.

"Come on! I don't know what you're planning, but using that won't work against me, mister Williams!"

The aura Pokémon merely smirked and, before he could hit the Marowak, Lance threw the sphere on the ground in front of him. The result of that was a medium-sized sandstorm, blocking Scar's view. Lance, however, still had his aura sense, and used that opportunity to create a large bone club made of energy, hitting Scar with it.

Scar cringed when the impact hit, being pushed back by it. Still, he stood up, seeing the wound on his abdomen.

"Well done! Using your surroundings to your advantage!"

"Hmph," Lance shrugged, hearing a clicking sound that made his ears twitch.

The contraption let out an orb that rolled on the ground until it stopped. Both combatants saw that and rushed to grab it first. Despite his usual quick movements, Lance had to back away before a wall of green flames hit him.

Said wall was actually Scar, using one of his moves to gain more speed and grab the orb. Lance put his hands in front of his face, growling to his opponent.

"Sadly, it seems like I won this little race, mister Williams!"

Or… maybe not! Lance thought, smirking again.

His paw flashed silver and he aimed at the orb, launching a metallic stream of energy towards it. When it hit the sphere, it shattered, knocking Scar to the wall until he fell to the ground.

Scar got up again, throwing back his head in a heartfelt laugh. He then approached Lance, smiling at him.

"Congratulations. You learned the lesson here! I think it's safe to say this little battle is over, mister Williams."

"Whatever," Lance scoffed.

"You used my strength against me! Impressive…" Scar continued to clap.

"Right, right… what now, then? I'm exhausted, and my aura isn't back to normal yet."

The two walked away from the training area, now strolling across a hall.

Scar continued. "Or perhaps that is the normal for you. Who knows? Did this training session make you relax a bit more?"

Lance shook his head. "It's been a week, my friends still don't talk to me… the last thing they said to me was that they're still on the mission, and will deal with me later."

The Marowak tapped Lance's shoulders with a friendly smile on his face. "Don't worry… I'm sure you did the right thing."

Lance frowned. "I know, I know, I accepted the proposal you gave me… I just wish they talked to me again."

"Well, perhaps one day you'll meet up with Jirachi… maybe he can help you."

"Hmph."

Not quite sure how to react, Scar merely tapped Lance's shoulders again as they walked. Today, they scheduled to meet up with the team, considering a week-long rest was more than enough time before they continued the mission.

----------------------------------------

Brian entered the guild, putting his long cape amongst the others on the cabinet. He fiddled with his bag, checking to see if one of his inventions was safe. Fortunately, it was, and he could show the others!

"Heh."

He soon walked to the left, following the corridor until he was in the cafeteria. There, he saw the other members of the team, along with Meganium, sitting and chatting with each other. His smile faded when he saw Lance there, but Brian tapped his cheeks to ignore it.

"Wassup!" he shouted, sitting as well.

Lance noticed it, but kept quiet, heart thumping in anxiety. Meganium turned her gaze to the Zoroark and smiled.

"Well, it seems everyone is here! Very well… I suppose now we can discuss what the next step is, correct?"

Scar confirmed with a nod, as did everyone else but Brian. He sighed and then confirmed too. He was a bit nervous, but tried his best to not let it grab his attention, after all, the mission was more important.

"I would like to tell you all about my mistress, Xerneas, and how that vile Gallade tried to take her powers away," Meganium said; her voice sounded strict to the others.

Brian scratched his mane. "You sure Xerneas really exists? I-I mean, don't want to sound like an idiot, but—"

"Silence," Meganium said. "As I was saying before being interrupted, I will talk about my mistress… I've served her during my entire life, and I devote myself to her."

The others listened in silence, but each reacted differently to that. Lance was a bit skeptical and crossed his arms. Meggie, curious like always, had her eyes on Meganium. Brian scratched his chin and waited. The other three were as casual as they could be, not expressing any emotion other than amazement.

"She is the embodiment of life itself, and anyone that tries to harm her is a threat to our very existence…"

Brian raised his arm. "Got it, lady! And what does this guy want with her, anyway?"

"You will know if you remain quiet," she said, and Brian could swear he felt the coldness of her voice.

"O-Ok, then…" his ears drooped.

She continued. "It all started fifteen years ago…"

----------------------------------------

A Kirlia walked around a forest, looking up at the sky. There, he saw just how big the trees were, covering most of the place. He stood there, mesmerized, until he heard a snarl that drew his attention.

From behind a few bushes came a Breloom, screeching and swishing its tail around. Kirlia growled, his attention unknowingly shifting to the clattering sound the tail produced. It distracted him enough that he didn't notice Breloom firing seeds at a high speed towards him. Kirlia stumbled back, dodging a few of them, until one hit his arm, exploding on impact, grazing him.

"You little pest…"

Kirlia's eyes were glowing pink and he extended his hand. Breloom hissed, jumping towards him. Before Kirlia could do anything, however, a few vines slapped Breloom, and it ran away, screeching.

"...Thank you." This time, Kirlia looked back and sighed, continuing his stroll.

As he marched, Kirlia saw a Meganium standing right in front of him. He bowed to her, nearly dropping the bag he carried. The grass-type scoffed.

Her eyes struck him like blades. "Hmph. It took you so long to follow me in the dungeon. Don't you know what happens if you stay too long there?"

"I would be faster, but that pest—" he was interrupted by a piercing glare from Meganium.

"Morgan, what have I told you about the ferals?"

He sighed. "Their life is just as important as ours…"

She raised a brow, not fully convinced that he meant it. But they didn't really have time to lose on that, so she continued.

"I also thought that the trees would jog my memory," Morgan bit his lip. "At this point, I'm desperate."

"Morgan, they won't. You lived here for fifteen years and they didn't do anything!"

Kirlia tapped the ground. "Don't act like this is my fault, Meganium. I've tried using my so-called 'psychic powers' to get them back, and it didn't work!"

"I know, I know…" Meganium sighed.

"Listen, I just want to get my memories back and go home… I never asked for any of this."

"Look, I know I said this a million times, but you needed to prove your worth before I could introduce you to my mistress."

"And it happened now?" Morgan raised a brow, seeing Meganium nod.

Morgan rolled his eyes and continued to walk. He abruptly stopped, gasping at the sight before him: a beautiful and large tree, with trunks that extended high in the air, and to top it all off, the leaves were rainbow-colored.

He couldn't believe the sheer beauty of it all, but shook his head. No! That didn't matter, he wanted to go back to his world and nothing more than that. Meganium, right behind him, frowned.

----------------------------------------

"H-Hold up, hold up!" Brian suddenly said, gasping. "Are you saying you knew him, that psycho—"

Meganium's stare was enough to make him shut up. She stood up, sighing. "Yes, even without his memories, Morgan was always… like that. Excuse me for a second, I'm a bit thirsty. I'll be right back."

As she left to get a refreshment, it gave the opportunity for the others to comment on the explanation they just heard.

Meggie was the first one to speak. "So… he went to that 'Tree of Life' thing to get his memories back? I… wonder if I can do that too."

"Not sure if that's the best course of action, Meg." Lance looked at her, being received by a grumble. Still, he continued. "I-I mean… sometimes it's best to forget about something."

"Fellas, fellas…" Max tapped Lance's shoulders. "Look, we're all on the same side here. Why don't we try to be nice to one another, eh? It sounds like a great idea!"

Meganium came back, carrying a cup of water with her vines. She sat down, now ready to get back to the explanation they desired.

"Now, where was I? Of course… see, Morgan was my protégée, so to speak. He landed on the island where the Tree of Life is located, and I took him under my wing… metaphorically speaking, of course."

The others listened to her in silence, still curious about the story.

"He said he was a human, but other than that and his age, he remembered nothing and wanted to go home."

Meggie grumbled. I'm a human too…

"I said he had a chance to get his memories and return to the human world if he met my mistress, but…"

----------------------------------------

Kirlia soon found himself standing at the roots of the large tree. He looked up; as he presumed, the plant was gigantic. How many feet was it? And just how strong was that wood? Well, since it housed a legendary, Morgan assumed it was resilient enough.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

"Come on now, Morgan. We need to enter the tree. Don't touch anything, the walk will be long."

Hearing Meganium's words, Morgan followed her inside. His heart thumped in anxiety and excitement. He was ecstatic to meet Xerneas and finally go home. Something nagged on the back of his head, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. It was something about a woman… no, that wasn't important right now. Like Meganium said, he had to walk.

The inside of the tree was mostly hollow, with stairs made of wood and a few doors inside. Since Meganium worked for Xerneas, Morgan presumed that those doors were the rooms of other subordinates.

How wonderful it must be to have all those under your control… interesting. Xerneas must be incredibly powerful.

Meganium hushed so he would stop getting distracted by random things. Sighing, he continued to walk in the stairs, until he found himself on another floor.

This one had wooden tables and chairs, and Morgan saw a Simisage putting plates with berries on top of all the tables in the area.

That must be the cook… it seems they're all vegetarians. Hm, interesting.

Meganium stopped to chat with the monkey for a bit, and Morgan took the time to analyse the place. All he could think of was how a powerful fire-type Pokémon could ruin it all. Smirking to himself, Morgan wondered how strong someone needed to be to take the tree down.

"Let's go, Morgan."

He snapped back to reality and climbed the staircase again. As he did so, Morgan began to feel a heaviness on his chest. He stopped, grasping his chest with one of his hands. Meganium turned back and simply chuckled.

"Looks like my mistress is already checking your nature…"

"She's checking my what? What nonsense are you speaking?"

Meganium frowned. "Be respectful, Morgan. I'm merely trying to help you."

He shrugged. "I know, I know. We're here to get my memories back and find a way to bring me home…"

----------------------------------------

After what appeared to be hours walking up stairs, Kirlia arrived at the top of the tree. A long room, where he saw her. The legendary Pokémon Meganium had told him so much about. Mistress Xerneas was looking at the outside world through a gap in the tree. She turned around and fiercely looked at them.

Meganium bowed, but Morgan stood there. He felt an enormous pressure just standing there and gazing at the large Pokémon. She didn't say anything, merely exchanging looks with Morgan. The Kirlia felt his body weak and trembling like never before. Was that… the power of a Legend? A huge grin spread across his face, and a sudden rush of vines forced him to his knees.

"I'm sorry, my mistress. Morgan is not used to this, but he means well. We're here… as promised."

"Thank you, Meganium. This is the… human you mentioned before, correct?"

Morgan gulped, unable to stand up in the presence of Xerneas. As much as he hated to admit it, she was intimidating.

Meganium finally raised her head, standing up on all four legs. "Correct. This is Morgan, my protégée. I've been teaching him for about fifteen years."

Xerneas stepped forward, the very air around then shook for a second. She still looked at Morgan, not showing any expressions. It was like the aura around them exerted a force like gravity.

She finally spoke. "Human. You're here to recover your memories, correct?"

"Y-Yes, mistress. I am—well, was—a human. I want to go back home…"

Xerneas closed her eyes, but nonetheless, the pressure was still there. Morgan tried to move, but his body didn't answer him.

"I sense… that you weren't called here. In other words, you're here because you chose to be here."

"W...What?" Morgan blinked. "What do you mean?! I didn't choose to be here! Not with all those—"

"Silence."

Morgan immediately shut up and gulped. There he was, facing a being so much more powerful than himself, and unable to do much. Xerneas could very well end him right there, but she chose not to.

"What I mean by this, human, is that the reason you're here is because you brought yourself here. If I recover your memories, you might be able to figure out how you arrived here."

"Are you saying… you can make me remember everything?!" a faint smile spread across Morgan's face.

Xerneas continued staring at him. "I can help you with that. You're not a trained psychic, so there's a limit to how much you can recover on your own. Therefore, my assistance is necessary."

----------------------------------------

Now sitting down, Kirlia closed his eyes and meditated. As Xerneas told him, they would share a psychic link, and she would use that to help him restore his memories.

Hmph. Let's hope this works…

It will.

Morgan saw himself in a starry void, where his body glowed pink. He floated in the air, and looked in front of him; where he saw a massive rip in the fabric of space.

What's… that?

That is known as an Ultra Wormhole. Somehow, you must have come here through one. Curious, perhaps your world is on the other side.

Nodding, he stared at the wormhole and swam towards it. There was nowhere else to go, after all. Once he got close enough, Morgan touched it. Despite being incorporeal, he felt a sharp pain all across his body.

The worst was yet to come, as his body was slowly sucked inside the portal, with his screams filling the entire area.

----------------------------------------

Kirlia opened his eyes again, and nearly gasped. A whole city was beneath him, with streets and other creatures… humans like him! He saw a tower.

This is… Lumiose city!

Do you recognize it, human?

Yes. I… I live here, I was born here!

This is a construct based on your subconscious memories. Perhaps if you find your past self here, you might recover your memories.

Morgan did as instructed, hovering a few inches off the ground and checking every building, every corner he could think of. He felt a sense of urgency, like he needed to get that done as soon as possible.

Yet, nothing came to mind. He wasn't able to remember where he lived, where he worked, anything! Then, he thought of something. That nagging feeling he had before, about a woman… he tried to think about her, maybe it would help.

As he did so, a figure materialized in front of him. Human, much like him, a girl, with red hair and a lab coat. Her face was recognizable to him.

...Meggie! I-I remember you!

Is that someone you know, human?

My, my… assistant! I think I know where I need to go!

Then do it, it seems like we're nearly there.

Nodding, Morgan floated through the air, until he saw a large building, with scientists coming and going. That was it, that's where he would finally remember everything. With a deep breath, he entered the building.

Being incorporeal had its advantage, the biggest one being that he didn't have to worry about walls or anything of the sort. He simply phased through them. Flying across the floors, Morgan smiled wider and wider as he approached the top.

Almost… there!

He stopped inside a large room with what seemed to be a circular machine, connected to computers, something Morgan remembered right then. And right in front of the machine was a man, in his mid twenties, dressed in a lab coat.

He's me. This is… what I look like. Isn't it?

Morgan floated towards the man, extending his arm. This was his opportunity, but he struggled to do it. Why was he hesitating? It was right in front of him, all he needed was to touch his human self.

In a quick movement, Morgan did it. When he touched his past self, Morgan screamed, memories flooding to his mind. Family, work, friends, everything came back to him, tears streaming down.

Morgan backed away, panting and exhausted. His human counterpart began to type on the computer, as the woman he recognized entered the room.

"Good morning, doctor Jones."

"Ah, Meggie! It's great to see you! Looks like we're almost there…" he said, not even looking at his assistant, too busy with the computer to do that.

Meggie ruffled her hair. "Do you really think we should capture them? They're sapient, like us. I'm not sure if this is the right course of action…"

To that, he laughed. "Absolutely! Listen, Meggie, we're humans! We're built to capture those creatures, it's… natural selection, really."

"...Alright, doctor."

Still unconvinced, but not wanting to make her boss angry, Meggie sat on a table and also began to type.

The circular machine began to rumble and shake, producing a space-shattering sound as a wormhole appeared there. The two scientists stood up and looked at each other, hugging.

"We did it! We created a portal to another dimension!"

"Yes, doctor Jones!" Meggie jumped in happiness, clapping her hands together.

Morgan's human self decided to check the portal closely. That was his mistake; his happy expression turned into a scared one as the portal began to grow. Meggie, noticing this, tried to grab her boss, but was unable to, as he was sucked inside.

Kirlia watched in shock as his fragile and ghostly body began to crumble, as did the area around him, until he was in the void again. Paralyzed, Morgan stopped floating and began to fall.

----------------------------------------

Kirlia fell down with a gasp, seeing that he was still inside the tree. Xerneas looked at him with a rage in her eyes. Like him, she saw the memories too.

"You… you wanted to destroy us! I cannot allow this. I must eliminate you… now!"

Morgan stood up, barely, and panted. "Serves you right, you, all of you… savages! That's what you are! You pretend to be civilized like me, a human, but in the end… you're beneath us!"

Meganium stared at him, leaves beginning to form around her. Morgan, realizing they wanted to attack him, began to laugh.

"This is ridiculous! I want to go home! I don't care about this filthy and ridiculous place anymore! Bring me back!"

"...I cannot. The realm of space is off-limits."

"Oh, then bring me to the one who controls the realm! I'm through with every single one of you! I can't handle this any longer! This body… it isn't my own!"

"Silence. You will repent." Xerneas began to charge a glowing red beam.

Running out of options, Morgan focused all the energy he had and looked at the stairs, disappearing in a flash of light. Meganium took notice of this and ran towards the stairs, only to find him teleporting again.

----------------------------------------

Meggie crossed her arms. So legends were, in fact, real. She wondered why her friends never mentioned them, but… maybe they had a reason for that. She noticed Meganium stopping to catch her breath, and so, Meggie raised her arm.

"Yes, Froslass?"

"Okay, okay. I have a question… what exactly was the plan? I mean, does Xerneas have a portal to the human world or something?"

"That type of space manipulation is restricted, young lady," Meganium said. "Very few Legends are capable of opening Ultra Wormholes, you see."

Lance frowned. "I thought Legends didn't exist…"

Meganium laughed, lowering her head. "Ah, of course. You might not believe in them, but they do exist. They just.. don't act in our world. Very few of them do."

Meggie tilted her head in confusion. "Uh, you didn't answer my question. What was your plan back then? Couldn't Xerneas open a portal or something?"

"My mistress has no jurisdiction over the realm of space, as that is Palkia's job."

Lance grumbled. First, he had to digest that Xerneas was real. And now they were talking about Palkia?! He couldn't believe it unless he saw it for himself.

The Lucario crossed his arms. "And where is Palkia, anyway? If you're so versed with Legends, couldn't you just bring Morgan to Palkia?"

Meganium sighed. "Nobody has seen him, or anyone of the Creation Trio in eons. Not even my mistress knows where they are."

Brian was, to say the least, surprised at the whole story. It was like all his childhood dreams came true! He wished to see them, and maybe befriend them. Oh, how cool that would be! He twitched his ears. Something about that story didn't feel right, so he thought about what exactly was bugging him.

"Oh! Miss Meganium, question!"

"Yes?"

Brian clicked his claws and ruffled his mane. "Uh, how do you know what was inside his brain? Because, like… it was only him and Xerneas, right?"

Meganium sighed. "...No. As his caretaker, my mistress allowed me to enter the psychic link, but I was merely a watcher."

"...Oh."

The entire team looked at Meganium, who was now drinking another cup of water. After she finished it, she sighed.

"Despite my best efforts, he escaped. It took me years to track him down."

Meggie was shocked the most. She also wanted to recover her memories, but hearing that… it made things worse.

Scar set his gaze on Meganium. "I understand. And what exactly is he planning with Xerneas?"

"...He wants to take her power," she frowned. "He told me so, when I met him again, he captured me. He wants to capture my mistress and absorb her power so he can go home."

"That doesn't even make sense!" Brian said, scratching his chin.

Max nodded at Brian. "Yeah! Didn't Xerneas say space wasn't her deal?"

Meganium shook her head. "But Morgan can teleport. In his current state, he has limits. But if he were to take a Legend's power to himself…"

"He can warp between dimensions," Lance growled, punching the table in anger. After moving his paw away, he saw it left a mark on the table.

Scar stood up. "It appears this is getting a bit out of hand, gentlemon. But we must continue. It's been a week since our last encounter."

"Yeah, he has to be moving along too." Lilith agreed.

"In this case, I would be happy to guide everyone to my mistress' home."

Lance was quiet. On one hand, that was his mission, his way of overcoming his past. On the other, he wasn't sure he could handle it.

Meggie shared his sentiment, as the entire story only made her insecurities grow. "M-Maybe we should quit, I-I mean… maybe this is fate. We can't escape it."

The others exchanged worried looks, all but Brian, who was looking down, lost in thought.

"Come on, guys!" Brian finally got up, a serious look on his face. "We can do this! I don't believe in fate or any crap like that! But even if it does exist… we're gonna liberate ourselves from it!"

He extended his paw, waiting for the others. One by one, his friends touched it, except Lance. He felt nervous and didn't want to do it, until he saw Brian smiling at him. This made Lance touch the paw, along with everyone there.

----------------------------------------

Morgan took the goggles he had and put them on a table. His grin was wide, and he looked at his newest invention: a purple pokéball, with the letter "M" inscribed on it. The Gallade sighed in relief.

Derek knocked on the door and entered, eyes fixed on the ball.

"What's that, boss?"

"Derek, my right-hand… this is called 'master ball', a type of pokéball that never fails its target. With this, I will be able to catch Xerneas. That stupid Legend will have what it's coming for her… and I'll finally leave this wretched world."

Derek nodded. "Oh, I see… what about that team? They have our plans now, right?"

"That's where you come in, I finally assembled my team, and you will help me with this…"

Morgan got up, a regular pokéball on his hand. Derek was confused, but didn't question anything. Instead, he waited for his boss to answer.

"You will be in charge of handling those pests, I'm sure they know what I plan by now. I want you to intercept them on their way to the Sea of Wonders, alright?"

"Got it, boss!" Derek said proudly, puffing out his chest.

"Good…"

Derek scratched his chin. "And what about you?"

"I'm heading first, to make sure I can get to the island where the tree is located. I want you to know, Derek, that you play a very important part in my plan…"

"Alright, alright! I get it! I'm not failing you!"

"Good. Because you know what will happen if you do, right?"

"...Yes."

----------------------------------------

Still at the guild, Brian opened his bag, taking out a metallic gauntlet and facing a wooden mannequin. Max, right by his side, tilted his head. He knew the Zoroark was a mechanic, but wasn't expecting something like that. Curious.

"Alright! You must be asking why I called you here, right?!"

Max simply shrugged. "I assumed you wanted a friendly spar."

Brian stuck out his tongue and picked something from his bag: a small yellow sphere, that he inserted into a hole on top of his gauntlet. When he did so, it started to spark with electricity, leaving Max dumbstruck.

"Wait, you made a weapon? That's neat!"

"Heh," Brian smirked. "I saw how you used an electric punch, and decided to make something for myself! I call this baby… shocker! Ain't it cool?!"

Max returned the smile. "The name? Nah. But the weapon? Yeah! I'm impressed, little guy!"

"I'm using a light ball as the source of power! I figured it would be useful for this thing…"

To prove his point, Brian pointed at one of the mannequins the area had and punched it, releasing a shock wave around the doll and shattering it to pieces. Brian widened his eyes, falling on his butt.

"O-Oh, shit! I didn't think it would be this powerful!"

"Are you okay?" Max asked, helping Brian get up.

He removed the gauntlet, seeing his fur scorched. "Yeah! I might need to work on this a little more, regulate the voltage and all that…"

"You might want to add something to insulate this. A grounding cover or something?"

"I think I'll use Seismitoad scales. It might help…" Brian scratched his chin. "Oh! I had another idea!"

"Really? Well, go for it, kiddo! This might help us!"

Brian chuckled, putting the accessory back in his bag. He gave Max a fist bump and walked off to work on his next project.

The Electivire scratched his head and sighed, walking out of there as well.

----------------------------------------

Meggie stood on the roof of the condominium she lived in, rain droplets falling on her face. She didn't move, thinking about all she heard about her former boss and friend.

Biting her lip, Meggie clenched her fist. All she wanted right now was to scream, to hide in her bed. But she knew that wouldn't help anyone. She knew they needed her. And she needed them as well.

Sounds of footsteps were getting closer to her, and then a familiar voice. "Can I join you in the brooding session?"

It was the Pokémon she least wanted to see right now; Lance. The Lucario knew that, and so he didn't try to get close to his friend.

"What do you want, Lance? I think I made myself clear before, I need some time to think."

"I know, I know…" he rubbed his arm. "Is just that… I have an idea of what's on your mind right now."

"Oh yeah, what is it?" she asked without even facing him.

Lance looked away from her. "You're scared that if you get your memories back, you'll end up like him."

He was right. What if she was like him? And the fact she lost her memories was the only reason she didn't commit the same things he did?

"...Look, Meggie. I understand why you're upset with me. But trust me, you won't have to deal with that for much longer."

This time, she faced Lance. "What are you saying?"

"I… really can't answer this right now, so I'll focus on the thing that's bothering you."

She didn't say anything more, so Lance resumed his speech.

Lance sighed. "I don't think you're like him. Morgan… he was as much of a psycho as he is now, even without his memories. But you?"

"Yeah, what about me?"

"You're gentle, and strong, kind-hearted. You're nothing like him at all."

Hearing that, Meggie blushed. "T-Thank you, Lance. Maybe… maybe you're right."

"I don't know. It's just a thought," he looked up at the night sky. "At the beginning, I did think you were with him, but now? I know you're not. Like Brian said, we'll liberate our fate if we have to."

Meggie smiled. "Move forward, right?"

"Yeah, move forward…"

She smiled and floated, entering the building and leaving Lance alone.

Alone. Like he deserved. With a growl, Lance stared at the stars, hoping things were different, unable to hold back a tear from falling into the ground. His aura flared up, colored purple.

No. Calm down, Lance… you're not alone.

He took a deep breath to calm down and, to test something out, produced an Aura Sphere on his hand. Like he thought, it didn't go back to being blue.

Very well, then. Despite everything, I'm still me. And if this is the real me… then so be it.

The lavender glow around his body faded, and Lance raised his arm in the air, fist closed. He had to do this. Face his past and move forwards to the future. At some point, he would need to stand up against the Pokémon that made him who he was today, whether he was capable of doing that or not. He had to do it, not only for himself, but…

For the greater good. I am a harbinger of justice. That's… who I am.

He continued there, looking over the city. His new home. And, even if his friends didn't want anything with him anymore, Lance accepted that.