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Chapter 27

Entercard Research Station

Ghosts of pink Psychic-type energy wavered around the activated Projection Crystal before it was all sucked into the glossy aquatic blue sphere. A fuchsia colored paw gripped the orb tightly, holding it close to the chest of a floating Pokemon as she spoke.

"Entry number two - our arrival into our main base of operations; the labyrinth below Regi Castle!"

"Must you use a Projection Crystal for every instance? We have many, but not an infinite amount for your diligence."

Mew turned around, looking over her amassed group of Legendaries from all corners of the world. "We need as much documentation of our efforts and discoveries as we can make, Dialga. Enough that it'll convince the other Legendaries to join us, and enough so that when we show all the Pokémon in Celestic, they'll understand this threat to them as well." She smiled and shook her Projection Crystal. "So yeah, I do. And all of you should too."

"Noted," Dialga said with a nod. "I advise we immediately get to work."

"Of course! Everyone, let's map out the labyrinth and get everything set up!"

Heading the command of their director, the group of Legendaries' quickly got to work unpacking and carrying their crates of supplies off into the maze-like halls of the sandy cavern. As Mew observed their hasty movements with a thump of determination in her heart, a series of flapping wings from behind stole her attention.

"Mew, I bring news of our scouting missions."

The Psychic-type spun around, Reshiram and a few other flying Legendaries' in her sights. "Uh, good news, I hope?"

"Not necessarily. We have visited other continents across the globe and… the magnagates have spread there. We did not approach the shadows, but they appear to be identical to those we initially found at Celestial Mountain."

A lump appeared in Mew's throat. She had hoped the spread of the magnagates was relegated to only Celestic, but now she realized this was no mere local threat - it was global.

"On the brighter side, we have not heard of any magnagates forming over any villages or points of interest. Locals have ventured into them despite our warnings, even referring to them as 'Mystery Dungeons'. Some think they are fun bouts of exploration, and are none the wiser to their true nature."

Mew scowled. "We can't… We can't have a world in the future where things like this are considered normal. Not after what I… we experienced at Celestial Mountain."

"Rightly said. My team and I will continue our voyages around the world in hopes of spotting a pattern with the magnagates. Best of luck with your efforts here, Mew."

Reshiram and her band of flying Legendaries' took off, swooping past the large staircase leading up into Regi Castle proper. Mew watched them depart, exhaling her inner frustrations with a sigh. The problems and threats to their cause and the world only seemed to pile on further.

'Mystery Dungeon, magnagate… What are you? And why are you infecting our world?'

Her thoughts shifted to Victini again, painfully so. His research of the 'glowing lines' beneath the ground and his theories about them prodded at her mind. If they were the power source behind the magnagates, then they were the key to eliminating them altogether - they had to be.

A fit of coughing interrupted her pondering. If the stress of being this project's sole leader wouldn't be the death of her, it was this cold she couldn't seem to get rid of.

'Victini, you've always had the right ideas, so I'll make sure your theory is proven right.'

She flew off further into the labyrinth, assisting in her group's efforts in setting up their station.

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The illusion of moving Legendary constructs went still, before shattering into pink mist and funneling back into the Projection Crystal. Scizor kept it clutched in one pincer as he and the rest of the group behind him soaked in the preserved memory of Mew.

Rockruff was the first to voice his excitement, tail wagging behind him. "Wow! You're telling me they weren't always called Mystery Dungeons? Did you guys hear all of that?"

"We all saw the same memory, Rockruff," Monferno grumbled.

"Can you play it a-again!" Staravia stuttered out with a flap of his wings. "Me a-and Joltik couldn't hear over Mightyena p-panting!"

"Hey! It was a long dungeon!" Mightyena shot back.

As the guild bickered back and forth, Scizor stayed silent in the matter. His eyes shifted from the Projection Crystal to the lurking shadow of a Mystery Dungeon behind them, from which they came to find this ruined hallway.

A forlorn sigh escaped him.

Jackson raised a paw, calling attention to him. "Attention! The discovery of this crystal is evidence to suggest there is more throughout this area! Your new mission is to split up into groups and explore the labyrinth for more Projection Crystals, or any information you can gather along the way. Once this dungeon has been combed thoroughly, we will regroup and pool together our findings." He looked around the room. "I only ask for a few of you to stay behind here and safeguard our search."

"I guess that'll be me," Aggron chimed in. "You lads can go on. Arceus knows how much I'm tired of explorin' caves."

Tyranitar stomped over to his teammate. "That makes two of us, metalhead."

"Make that three!" Charizard bellowed as he flew over to the duo. "My bulk isn't suited for sandy digs like this."

Jackson nodded. "Very well. As for the rest of you, it is paramount that any information relevant to our cause is found and kept safe." He turned his back and continued walking further down the halls. "Let us be off to unearth the secrets left behind."

"Right behind ya, Jack!" Excadrill shouted, waddling after the Lucario. "How's a pair of old 'mons together sound?"

As the room split into multiple other hallways, the guild did as instructed and broke up into multiple pairs, each one embarking down their own chosen path. Scizor was far too enraptured with observing their surroundings than to choose a team. He set down a random hallway, mind solely focused on what he saw in the Projection Crystal.

"Hey, looks like you still need someone to walk with." He instantly recognized the velvety voice behind him, turning his head to greet it. "I… guess I do."

Garchomp smirked and advanced towards the Bug-type. "Figured you'd be a bit more excited about there being more crystals here. What's going on inside that head of yours?"

"Thinking."

"Which is pretty typical of you."

His blush was unnoticeable across his face's red exoskeleton. "It's different."

"We can walk and talk about it."

The newly found pair did just that, journeying through the crumbling halls of flowing warm sand and tumbled over furniture. They kept their eyes peeled and wandering around to spot any Projection Crystal or intriguing find hidden among the ancient ruins.

"What that Mew said, about the Mystery Dungeons being seen as normal in this world," Scizor explained. "That they were lucky to not have ley lines forming underneath villages, and that Pokemon weren't aware or cared of its danger."

"You got a point to this?"

"It's still relevant thousands of years later. Pokémon are unaware and uncaring. They think the Mystery Dungeons are normal and simply forces of nature." Scizor sighed, closing his eyes. "It hurts me to see Pokemon so misinformed, so ignorant of the lives taken away by the ley lines."

Garchomp nudged him with a talon. "You already know what I'm about to say, don't you?"

A small smile broke through his sorrowed state. "Yes… I do."

"Once we figure out the truth, we'll do what these Legendaries couldn't do. We'll finish what they started, and we'll do a damn good job at that."

"I hope so."

The two went silent for a bit as they quietly walked through the torchlit hallways. Yet, a thought persisted in one's mind.

"It does make you wonder," Scizor said. "What a world without Mystery Dungeons would really be."

"A pretty boring one, maybe," she joked, shaking her head. "Nah, I think the world will be just peachy. All we gotta do is make it that way first."

"And if we do? The aftermath of which I am still struggling to picture."

"When we do," Garchomp corrected with a toothy smirk. "For starters, the guild will be seen as heroes to all, even if Pokemon haven't realized it until then. We'll still always have other problems out in the world, but with the Mystery Dungeons out of the picture? That'd be a big relief. Though, my team is probably gonna have to find some new ways to keep the income flowing in, heh."

"Perhaps I've been too… pessimistic. I can't understand why, when we're surrounded by potential answers in this fascinating place."

"Right. And what about you? Once we complete the guild's goal… what else is in store for the world famous Team Moonlight?"

A question such as that caught Scizor off guard. His thoughts were always focused on both the past and the present, yet never the future. It was an idea he could never fully grasp, only adding to his hidden doubts and frustrations along the way.

"I… don't know, sadly," he admitted. "I've spent more than half of my life dedicated to researching the cause, and most of it as an assistant to the Guildma… Jackson. It's difficult for me to picture anything of my life beyond that."

Garchomp frowned. "Well, I guess we'll have to see, won't we?"

"..."

Darkness slowly crept in on the duo as they journeyed on, the forever burning torches that dotted the pathway gone as the walls that surrounded them were crumbled away into debris. The remainder of the shattered hallway led downard, an ominous orange glow at the end of which luring Garchomp and Scizor to follow it and investigate. As they got closer, the ground beneath them became skinnier and skinnier; cracks in the earth around them leading into an abyss of orange glow and pure blackness.

They reached a dead end, standing on a strip of sandstone surrounded by a large chasm-like chamber. Shelves, tables, and other furnishings hung over the edges of a room above them that had collapsed inward. Long, winding tunnels were pierced through the ground below them, ley lines visible through them and illuminating the chamber.

"They had dug to the ley lines again," Scizor observed, "What were they looking for this time?"

Garchomp looked around the chamber, her eyes wandering upwards and locking onto a Projection Crystal resting on a shelf hanging over the room's edges. "Why don't we see for ourselves?" she said with a smirk. "Think you can get it?"

Scizor felt the thump in his chest at her finding. "I can most definitely make an attempt."

With a small buzz of his wings, he carefully fluttered above the pit and hovered near the dangling shelf. He then plucked the orb from it and returned back down to the ground. Scizor took a deep breath before pressing the indentation on the orb and releasing the pink vapor of Psychic-type energy into the air.

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"Resist… the pain, everyone!"

Mew gritted her teeth as she dropped the Projection Crystal on the ground. A pang of irritation shot through her small body, restricting her usual sprightly movements to a stiff hovering. Her fellow Legendaries' behind her suffered the same ailment as they lurched forward, enduring the agony as instructed by their leader.

"Almost… there!"

Mew pushed herself forward once more, stopping mere feet from her and this world's foe. Twisting, glowing, orange lines crisscrossed another as they pierced through the cavern's walls, vibrating intensely. The Psychic-type could hear an eerie rush of sounds flood her eardrums; flowing water of a river, the rustling of grass, a howling of mountain wind, and other noises she couldn't comprehend through her pain.

"Are you sure this will work, Mew?!" Dialga shouted, stopping himself from going any further.

"I guess we'll have to see!" Mew yelled back. "Come on, everyone! We do this now!"

The Legendaries' stopped in place and began to charge up their attacks. One by one, highly powerful beams of fire, ice, electricity, and other forms of energy were launched at the glowing orange lines. They collided with such a force that it shook the room with its might, only encouraging them to continue their assault.

"Don't stop!" Mew screamed, observing their efforts. "Keep going!"

The powerful barrage continued, emboldened by Mew's encouragement. After a solid minute of attacks and no results, Mew began to doubt the effectiveness of her strategy. As she formed the words of stoppage in her mouth, a vibration in the golden orange lines caught her eye. There was a flicker and occasional shuffle of obvious discontent as the anomalies were stricken over and over, now actively writhing in place.

Her plan was working.

Exhaustion began to set in over the Legendaries', many halting their attacks. Witnessing their success about to be reverted, Mew made a split second decision. She gathered the strongest amount of power she could muster into both of her paws. A pink sphere of solid Psychic-type energy crackled intensely as she charged it to its maximum. After the rest of the attacks on the mysterious lines petered off, Mew launched her supercharged attack straight at them, the orb exploding in a intense shockwave that dwarfed all bombardments before it.

In the aftershocks of Mew's attack, there was stillness throughout the chamber. Suddenly, a ribbon of one of the golden orange lines broke away. Before Mew could react, it shot towards her, stopping mere inches from her face as the Legendary was sucked away into the stray line in an instant. The line then bent backwards, sliding back into its original position within the cavern's tunneled through walls.

Horrified silence filled the room. Shocked looks from all the tired out Legendaries' snapped around, forgetting the constant pain that wracked their bodies. Dialga stumbled forward, mouth ajar as he stared at the once more stationary lines.

"M-Mew!" he beckoned uselessly at them. "... MEW!"

Dialga stood still as he hoped for a response back. He would get it in the form of another line lashing out of its twisted position and extending towards the ground. In a flash of orange-ish particles, the unconscious body of Mew reappeared on the cavern floor as the diverging line reverted back to normalcy.

Dialga rushed to pick up the fallen Pokemon and Projection Crystal beside her, fighting through the pain caused by the mysterious lines. "Create an exit portal now!"

Lunala quickly sprung into action, opening the third eye on her head crest and swooping into a nearby wall. As she collided into it, a gateway of matter sucking energy was created. The weary Legendaries' then crowded into it, one after another, eager to leave the place that caused them so much trouble and pain.

The other side of the portal would send them back to where they once came from. Many would stumble out of the portal and collapse onto the floor, drained and sore. Dialga gently laid the unconscious Mew down, gathering his bearings and analyzing the group to make sure everyone was accounted for. He also needed a moment to digest exactly what had happened in those brief few seconds.

"... We will wait until Mew awakens," Dialga said, voice hushed and uneasy. "Then we will figure out what just occurred."

The Projection Crystal's memory recording ended with a dimming of the orb.

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The Projection Crystal's memory recording began with an influx of pink energy swirling into the orb.

"Are you positive you are able to use your powers?... Er, safely, that is."

Mew laughed weakly, rolling the Projection Crystal onto the other side of her bed. "A baby Abra could fill up one of these crystals, Dialga. Safe to say I could charge one even if I was asleep."

"I am only looking out for your wellbeing."

Mew's powers activated once again as a fire was ignited in a lantern resting on the bookshelves beside her bed. The eternally burning flame inside it flickered gently, its warm and yellowish orange light illuminating her modest room. The labyrinth system below Regi Castle thankfully included a barracks, allowing rooms for her Legendaries' to rest, but not Mew. Her thorough exploration of the area proved fruitful when a small study room was found, which she quickly took over as her personal quarters. This is where the prevailing amount of her research was conducted, poured into journals and other Projection Crystals scattered around.

Mew coughed into a paw, before smiling at the dragon. "Thanks for that, but I'm okay, really. I just want to record the events of what happened the other day."

"Very well. I will not impede you."

"... Entry number fourteen - a recap of our attempts to dislodge the mysterious energy lines below a Mystery Dungeon. My theory that displacing them with some powerful blows proved, uh, semi-correct. While we weren't able to permanently destroy or move them, there was a temporary reaction created. One of the lines broke away and transported me somewhere else. Somewhere… I don't even know. I was still underground and surrounded by those lines, but I wasn't anywhere near the others. I was panicking at that moment, so I used all my energy to use one last attack on the lines around me, and it must've sent me back to the others. And then…" she trailed off, biting her lip.

"And your theory on it, Mew?" Dialga guided her wandering mind.

"... Oh, right!" She weakly floated out of her bed with a grunt, gliding over towards a desk. She grabbed a handful of notes with scribbles of writings and diagrams on them, reviewing them. "While total removal of the lines through our methods seems impossible, I believe that what happened to me can be replicated again as a means of transportation. It's, um, a bit of a stretch, but if it's possible, our understanding of these 'Mystery Dungeons' can grow. That's… it for this entry, I guess."

"That was an excellent account, Mew. Now, please rest before you fall unconscious midair again."

Mew scoffed as she flew back and flopped her tired body on her bed's pink sheets. "It was one time, Dialga. And when did you become my father?"

Dialga chuckled. "You are this project's leader, and our greatest mind at that. It serves us to worry about you."

Mew stared up at the rocky ceiling, slowly shaking her head. "... I'm not - Victini was. I just picked up the pieces after Celestial Mountain."

"As if Victini did this on his lonesome," Dialga countered. "Your persistence and determination to thwart this enemy showed back then as it does now. Truthfully, I would not be here now if it weren't for you and your mate opening my eyes."

Mew closed her eyes, fighting back the tears she had shed too many of. "... I'm still finding it hard to believe he's gone. I keep thinking that I'll see him around the corner flashing that stupid gesture of his," she said, a sad smile crossing her face. "The two of us… We had so much planned outside our duties..."

Dialga angled himself to look down on the Psychic-type. "It is never too late to achieve those dreams. Victini would not wish for you to give up on that."

"No, he wouldn't. But I can't see myself doing any of that without him."

He lowered his head, "Letting go is difficult, Mew. I do not expect you to forget, only to accept his passing and turn both of your ambitions into this project's success."

"I will, Dialga." Mew sat up, a fierce look on her face. "Even if a small part of me hopes there's a trace of him somewhere in those shadows, I know it's pointless now to look. Everything that I work to accomplish now is for the Pokemon of this world, and for the safety of themselves and their loved ones. What happened to Victini and the king's miners… It should never happen to any Pokemon again."

"Your convictions are our convictions, Mew. We will triumph, and the loss of Victini and many others will not be for naught."

Mew gathered enough strength to float off her bed, carrying the lantern from her bookshelf to her desk and reorganizing her assortment of papers piled atop it. "Exactly, which is why we can't afford to stall any progress. We need to figure out if we can manipulate these lines, and how it can be used to stop its spread. For that to work, I need everyone's attention on this."

"I will share your words with the others when they awaken," Dialga said with a nod, lumbering over to the chamber's doorway. He briefly looked back, observing Mew hard at work jotting down writings. "You have matured greatly, Mew, more so than I and others have. Us Legendaries have much to learn from your compassion for the common Pokemon."

Mew looked up momentarily. "... Thank you, Dialga."

As the hulking Legendary ducked under the doorframe and left her quarters, she refocused her attention on the papers laid out on her desk. The lantern illuminating her work hissed as she adjusted its flame to grow larger, the notes she held up to the warm light more visible in the darkness of her surroundings. As she flipped through various descriptions of both the 'Mystery Dungeons' and the mysterious lines, she lingered on one diagram created by collaborating members of her group; an imagined design for a contraption that could potentially be used to manipulate the lines.

Mew rubbed away the sleep in her eyes as she took hold of a nearby quill and began to add new ideas of her own onto the design.

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A sneer was affixed to Shaymin's face as the holographic constructs created by the Projection Crystal vanished, the energy sucked back into the orb. Leafeon would hold the crystal under her paw before rolling it into the open saddlebag hanging from her side. Once it was tucked away and secure, she turned to the others and smiled.

"We'll show this to the Guildmaster later. Let's see if we can find any others that are hidden!"

"Wow!" Minun exclaimed. "The Legendaries were trying to make a device to mess with the ley lines? I wonder if a contraption like that would be an Entercard, or something else entirely..."

Mightyena shook his head, "Maybe it's some kind of super weapon like Rockruff said? I mean, that's gotta be what those stupid mercenaries were after, right?"

"That'd be r-really cool to find, r-right, Joltik?" Staravia sputtered to the clinging companion, getting an inaudible squeak back.

"Boys and their weapons…" Purrloin added with a huff. "As long as it's expensive, darling."

Leafeon rolled her eyes, "Whatever it is, let's get our job done right here."

All except Shaymin quickly got to work searching for any remaining information left behind. The quarters of Mew seen within the projection was a far cry from its current state. Furniture, dressers, and bookshelves were coated in thick layers of dust and grime, overturned on their sides and the contents inside scattered across the room. A small pitchblack shadow of a Mystery Dungeon engulfed the area where Mew's bed originally was, the bed itself gone. Shaymin shuddered as she tore her gaze from it, swallowing her feelings of this place and assisting the others.

After a few minutes of lifting objects and scouring the room, the group gave up and exited into the winding hallways. As they walked and continued on their journey of exploring the labyrinth, Leafeon crept up beside a troubled Shaymin.

"You okay?"

Shaymin nearly jumped at her voice, eventually scoffing. "We're here in this dump, aren't we?"

"It's a historical dump." Leafeon smiled coyly. "You never said much about the last Legendary place we found. How come? This is the work of your ancestors."

"Not my ancestors, Leafy," Shaymin corrected. "Doubt you'd see any Shaymin allowed to work here instead of the fields, or as some measly messenger."

"Even if there weren't any Shaymin involved, this is still part of your history."

"History I ain't involved in. You think those chef snobs in Empyrean would let you into their little secret restaurant club? Same thing here, mate."

"Well, I like to think my skills are a tad bit more homely," Leafeon said with a wink. "Besides, can't you see the motive behind all of this is more important."

"All lies, Leafy. Legendaries don't care about helpin' Pokemon, only themselves," she spat, teeth baring at her memories. "The shit I've seen with my own two eyes is more than a few crystals can show."

"That Mew didn't seem to be lying at all. She seemed really determined to-"

"That sheila was in over her head," Shaymin interrupted, her agitation rising. "Buncha useless hopes and dreams is all this place is. Yeah, she might have been a good Legend, but she's an extinct kind."

"Those Legendaries that helped us liberate the Shrine of Landorus and rescue you weren't kind?"

Shaymin snorted. "That's what those bludgers want ya to think, Leafy. They were only there to save their precious little shrine." She spun around, taking in their decrepit and abandoned surroundings. "I mean, why didn't those blokes show up here before, huh? Why do we gotta be the suckers and dig out their own work if it's about savin' the world?"

"I guess you have a point there…"

"Yeah, I always have a point, Truth is, Legends ain't good 'mons at all."

"And you're on that same boat?" Leafeon shot back with a smirk.

"… I'm trying to get off it, Leafy, you know that. Everyone at the guild, and all the other regular Pokemon out here in Celestic that aren't bloody mercs, I identify with ya the most. It's just… it's hard to connect."

"You've got the paw in the door at least."

"Fuck the paw - I want to go through it entirely."

Leafeon giggled. "It takes time, Shaymin. But I think you'll begin to fit in with the others in the guild in no time if you keep at this attitude adjustment."

"'Attitude adjustment'. Now you're startin' to sound like my folks back home. Tough chance there, Leafy."

A sigh would be Leafeon's last remark as Shaymin plodded ahead. She hoped and truly believed her unruly friend would break through her shell in time, and yet she still opposed many words of encouragement. Shaymin was nothing like Gloria in terms of helping her alleviate fears and doubts, but Leafeon would still continue to pursue the Legendary's gradual change.

"Hey! There's a super big room up ahead!" Mightyena yelled from the group's front, tail wagging behind him.

Shattered pieces of Projection Crystals littered the halls as the group ventured forward. A makeshift barricade blocking the large chamber from the hallway was blown wide open, chunks of sandstone and planks of wood piled up. They carefully trudged through the mayhem of the past, emerging into this new chamber of the labyrinth.

"Wooooow!" Mightyena blared, his voice creating an echo. "Look at all the stuff in here!"

It was an armory from the looks of it, the insides hosting scores of archaic weapons and other armaments rusted beyond use hanging from boards on all walls. However, something far more intriguing were the large, corroded metallic contraptions that were spread across the room in rows and columns. Empty woven baskets and tables holding tools stood by each of the strange defunct machines.

Staravia flapped his wings, eyeing their vicinity. "What the h-heck are those things? Isn't t-this just some o-old armory?"

"Mreow~ Perhaps a sewing machine?" Purrloin suggested. "Even soldiers need clothes, darling."

"It's a weird looking one, then!" Mightyena yipped.

"Yeah, it's for sure a sewing machine," Shaymin remarked with heavy sarcasm. She then shot a look at a bewildered Minun. "Aren'tcha the whiz kid 'round here? Tell us what these are, mate."

"Uh…" Minun took a hesitant step forward. "I'll need to take a look first."

The group followed the small Electric-type as he meandered over to one of the odd contraptions. He peeked his head around its scratched sides, scrutinizing it up and down. The bottom section of the machine was flat, a rectangular outline in the middle for something to slide into. The upper section was an appendage that drooped down near the outline, a peculiar pattern etched into the end of the arm's smooth bottom.

"… Well? Spit it out, mate," an impatient Shaymin said.

"I think it's some sort of stamping device." Minun deduced, getting a closer look. "But… I'm not really sure since this is really old."

"Can't we just turn it on and find out?" Mightyena questioned.

Shaymin laughed at his fatuity. "Ya really think something thousands of years old would just turn on?"

"We don't even k-know what p-powers it, either!" Staravia sputtered.

The sound of something rolling in front of the group prevented any further comments.

"Then why don't we find out what it is," Leafeon said with a wink. "Found this one behind a table while you guys were arguing."

Without another word, the Grass-type pressed the Projection Crystal's indentation and released a flurry of pink vapor into their surroundings, a holographic sphere encasing them into a window of the past.

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"Entry number twenty five - continuing the last entry after the crystal ran out of memory to record."

Mew held the Projection Crystal as she paced around in the air back and forth, mind ablaze with worry and a seed of doubt sprouting within. Her eyes were glued to the same spot where the three volunteering Legendaries vanished into thin air.

According to her own personal tests with the device, they should have been back two minutes ago.

Dialga stepped away from the encircling group surrounding Mew. "I am certain they will return. They are only delayed."

Mew did not respond, but she did heed his calming advice. Instead of frantically zipping around the room, she remained still and took a deep breath. Internally, she knew she couldn't let fears and personal traumas of her own sabotage their efforts. Closing her eyes, she believed they would return safely from the unknown.

If Victini could before, then they could now.

An explosion forced her eyes to reopen, honing in on the lashing of orange ribbons twirling from a pillar of light. Mew held her breath as she waited for the transport sequence to dimmer. When it did, out emerged Raikou, Suicune, and Entei, who walked away from the motionless device dizzy, but seemingly as healthy as they left.

A sigh of relief escaped many of the Legendaries' gathered, some moving forward to attend to the brave trio. Mew could only stay stationary as she internally relished in their victory. Dialga would stomp over and offer her a confident smile to bring her back to reality.

"It worked. Just as you and the others theorized it would."

She nodded, her heart swelling in her chest. "Yeah, it did. Now we gotta figure out what to do with this news."

"This is a revolutionary invention, Mew. The king of Celestic and any other kingdom across the world would kill for this technology if they were to understand and fabricate it."

"Yeah, which is why we can't let this knowledge get out until we figure out if it's safe. Only then will we hand over our research to the king."

"The device… It was your final touches that truly created it. What shall you name it?"

Mew flew over to the site where the Legendary trio tested the prototype. She plucked the card-like device from the sands, surrounded by a peculiar symbol. She inspected it for any signs of damage or wear, yet there was nothing but pure orange energy flowing through its metallic rivets.

"We'll call them Entercards." She clutched the card tightly. "These… These will be our tickets to prevent the spread of the ley lines. They have to be."

"'Ley lines'?" Dialga inquired. "Is that what we are naming those monstrous anomalies?"

Mew nodded. "In a few days time, I want us to get a number of mechanisms that are capable of producing more Entercards. We can place them in the armory and conduct more research from there. Then, uh… I'll figure out things from there."

"I will share this with the king's soldiers. Hold your chin up high today, Mew, for we have made history here." With a bow, he made his return back to the celebrating group.

For Mew, a celebration would be too early. Only the complete removal of this bizarre enemy that constantly plagued her thoughts and feelings would suffice for victory. Even then, she had lost the Pokémon that mattered most to her by reaching it. Her life was reduced to this moment, this desire of vengeance and justice for all Pokemon affected.

She was not a leader before this, nor a researcher or hero to Pokemon. But fate seemed to have a funny way of changing things in her. And if fate was correct, she would uphold her duties to the bitter end and stop a disaster before it arrives.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

There could not be another Victini.

Mew thumbed the Entercard, ideas and ways of approach swarming in her mind. She blinked away days of missing sleep, breathing a sigh as she went back to work.

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"Hey, sis, it's not a race!"

Gloria ignored her brother's calls as she jogged through the hallway, stopping at a large wall in particular. Faded murals and long scrolls of barely readable text were emblazoned on its crumbling features.

"Come over and check this out!" she yelled with a certain giddiness in her tone.

Liam and Roark shared a look before entertaining the excitement of their companion and wandering over. As the two came into view, they took in the entirety of the hazy composition. Colored portraits of numerous posing Pokemon in various garbs took center stage, accompanied by text inscriptions and dates next to each defining Pokemon, presumably of their life and death.

"I recognized some of their faces from a book I read a while back!" Gloria exclaimed, nearly producing a squeal as she thrusted a forepaw at one of the painted Pokemon. "Look! That Tyrantrum right there is known as the 'Unstoppable Heart'. He was a civilian in Celestic's ancient past who single-handedly took on soldiers from the Grass Continent when they invaded his hometown. He only died after he was able to let the majority of the town's citizens escape."

Before the others could speak, Gloria moved her paw to another figure. This time a surly looking Samurott wearing what appeared to be armored metal plates along its legs and upper body.

"The 'Peasant Warrior'," Gloria said with much fanfare in her voice. "She was initially drafted into a war with the Blaze Continent, and was seen as highly skilled and courageous from the beginning. It's said in one of her biographies that she captured multiple towns behind enemy lines by herself. She disrupted battle after battle and changed the course of the war before she was found and executed."

"Sis, I think even these guys would say you're being a nerd about them," Roark teased.

The Vulpix raised a paw to her chest. "I am not being 'nerdy' about it. It's a monument to past heroes of Celestic. Their stories are immortalized here on this wall."

"I'm more of a statue guy, sis. It'd suck to have your greatness trapped in some dusty book or ruin."

Gloria shook her head, refocusing her attention on Liam, who stared blankly at the detailed wall. "Hey, what do you think? Don't tell me you agree with my brother."

The Riolu bit his lip. "I think… I don't know. It just seems like if there wasn't a war, then these Pokémon could just be themselves, y'know? No one would have their homes destroyed, families torn apart, and be forced to stand up and fight for something so… destructive."

"… Sheesh, aren't you a downer?" Roark said, chuckling. "Remind me to not invite you to the next party."

Gloria frowned. "Um, you do have a point. But... I think these Pokemon were already heroes before, and the wars allowed them to fulfill that purpose."

Liam scratched his neck, smiling sheepishly. "Uh, sorry, I was a little distracted about something. Didn't want to be so pessimistic."

Roark waltzed past the two Pokemon, ambling further down the hallway. "Save the negative stuff for when we find nothing in this sandbox of a maze."

Gloria would give the murals one last proud look before continuing on their venture, Liam trailing behind much slower.

"Hey, speaking of statues, when we all become world famous, where are you gonna put yours?" Roark propositioned to the Vulpix walking beside him.

Gloria's muzzle burned. "… I don't want a statue, Roark. Being known and looked up to is enough, don't you think?"

"Psh," Roark blew her off with a wave of a claw. "I'll have mine replace that stupid Seadra fountain in Empyrean City. And even if you don't want one, I'll make sure you get one."

"Please, uh, don't?"

"Oh, I will. I'll make the biggest scene ever about it."

Liam attempted to keep his focus on the quarreling pair up ahead, yet the gruff voice that followed his thoughts continued to echo its barrage of enigmatic phrases at him. Every time he thought he had evaded it, it had come back in full force, almost taunting him.

'Who are you?'

'Go… away,' Liam countered in his mind.

'Take a good look at your old home, the old you… burning away.'

'Shut. Up.'

Liam pounded his head with an enclosed paw, hoping he would be spared of the voice's vague onslaught. When the rattling in his mind ceased, he took a deep breath and caught up with his closest allies, wearing a faux smile.

As they pursued down the halls in no clear direction, the hallway gradually became twisted and broken. Sand flowed from cracks in the walls and ceiling, piles of rock and other wooden debris from a demolished barricade blocking the path ahead. This route would mean a dead end for the trio, if it weren't for the massive opening carved into the sandstone walls to their left. A rumbling noise from within and tiny motes of dust drifting out of the entrance would draw them in.

And what greeted them at the end of the cavern was a sight truly to behold.

A massive torchlit chamber of the labyrinth was fractured into chunks of jagged terrain. They hovered like desolate islands over a giant pit swallowing the entire room and its contents into a sea of swirling sand at the bottom. And yet, something stirring underneath the ravenous crater would shock them even further.

WHOOSH. WHOOSH. WOOSH.

Three columns of sand erupted from the pit, spewing into the air dozens of feet high. They lingered briefly before dissipating as more bursts of sand rose up around each segment of the room.

"… Well, this is a lot more interesting than the stuff back there," Roark commented.

"It's amazing what nature can sometimes do… And, um, really scary," Gloria added with a gulp, not daring to look into the chasm below them.

But none were more enraptured than Liam, whose starry-eyed look and thumping in his heart matching the flare-ups of each sand pillar. If there was anything that could make him forget his moments of strife, it was these glimpses of wonder and thrill. His trance was broken when a glint entered his peripherals. Tracing the source of it down, he watched the object rapidly ascend a pillar of sprouting sand before falling again, only to repeat the cycle over and over.

Liam raised a paw to point at it. "Hey… Isn't that…"

Roark followed his gaze and immediately sighed. "Yeah, it sure is."

A Projection Crystal was caught in the motions of the pit's never ending fountain-like display.

"How are we even…" Gloria mouthed, shaking her head. "We're gonna need to go back and get Charizard to help us get it."

"It's gonna take a while to convince him to do any kind of work, but we'll try," Roark said as he began to walk out. "Let's get him before he sleeps himself into a coma and it's too late."

"No," Liam replied sharply. "I'll… I'm gonna do it," he told both himself and the others.

Gloria tilted her head. "Do what?"

"I'm gonna get that crystal without Charizard's help."

Before anyone could say anything or stop him, Liam ran forward and leapt from their tiny outcropping of broken land. He timed his jump just right that his inevitable descent downward into the pit was caught by an erupting tower of sand.

The hot sands catapulted him into the air as he maneuvered his body and guided himself to the next forming pillar. This time, his hind paws landed on the sparse amount of 'land' it provided. He utilized the mere seconds of time he had to hop to each sprouting column before they collapsed, utterly persistent in his goal of reaching the orb.

The pair of Pokemon watching from below were too mesmerized to persuade the Riolu to get down, knowing how futile that would be.

"You know, sis… He might need another Pokémon to help him reach that crystal," Roark proposed, chuckling at the incredulous look Gloria gave him and pointing at his bandaged up leg. "Hey, I've got an excuse over here."

Liam was close.

Mere feet from claiming his prize, the Riolu put faith into his instincts and allowed himself to fall. His plunging body was saved by another erupting pillar. He rode up the rising sands until he felt airborne again, looking upward to see the Projection Crystal falling onto him. He then held out his arms and let the orb safely fall into them.

Wasting no time, Liam carefully made his way back to where his comrades were. Now that he had perfected his timing and jumps, the return almost felt like a dance. When his back hit the sandy cascades, he could only let out a joyous laugh and enjoy the rush he felt as he was launched. This free feeling felt almost intoxicating, but he knew not to overdo his riskiness.

After one last ride of the spouting pillars, he jumped off and rolled his body at the last second on the hunk of land from which they came. Cracking a winning smile, he held out the very scratched but intact Projection Crystal.

"See? We didn't need Charizard at all," he proclaimed proudly, catching his breath.

Roark laughed and smacked the back of the Riolu. "Amazing job there, kid! You two have some serious crazy streaks in ya, but I like it."

Gloria was still a bit frazzled by her partner's recklessness, ears laid flat on her skull. "I don't think I need to tell you how dangerous that was. But at least we, um, have the crystal?"

Liam smirked. "Darn right we do! Let's see what this one is about."

The Riolu immediately hit the orb's indentation, releasing its veil of uncovered memories.

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

"Okay, I've started recording my memory, so you can, uh, do your thing."

A horde of tiny green creatures squirmed past a nervous Mew. One by one, they began merging into one another in front of the Psychic-type, forming a larger mass as time grew. Eventually, a flash of green light would complete this transformation, and out emerged an entirely different Pokémon.

Its body was large and imposing, a scaly array of green and black hexagonal patterns adorning its serpentine-like appearance. A hood protruded behind its head, the hexagonal 'eyes' of the Pokemon blinking between shades of white and green as it stared at the floating Mew in front of it. The lack of a mouth didn't stop its unearthly voice from being emanated, deep and heavy, like multiple voices layered on top of each other.

"Fascinating. Pokemon ingenuity at its core."

Mew gulped. "… Thank you, Zygarde. Now, uh, are you able to answer some quick questions? It won't take long, I promise!"

"Yes."

"How long will you be staying here exactly?"

"This conversation."

"Can you maybe consider staying behind a little longer to help us work in any way?" Mew somewhat pleaded.

"No."

"Okay… Lastly, a few Pokemon are worried about those golem things you made. They won't activate randomly and attack my members, right?"

"If they are not tampered with."

She sighed. "You're pretty blunt. But I'm still very happy you decided to show up… even if it was, uh, almost unannounced."

"Fear me not, young Mew. My arrival is not to impede or progress this 'project.' Clarity and forewarnings are what I shall speak, if you care to listen."

Mew held up the recording Projection Crystal. "Of course I will. I guess I can start off by asking why did you come here? Er, back again I should say."

"Contact has been kept between myself and the king of these lands since I have lent my creations. Your exploits came to me through whispers and rumors."

"So much for keeping this place a secret..." Mew grumbled. "But since you're here now and know this is a real thing, what knowledge did you want to share with us?"

"These 'Entercards' of yours. This facility is investigating them."

"Yes, we created them here and are still researching their properties. It's still in the early stages, but our hypothesis is that Pokemon energy can manipulate the ley lines in ways of using them as some sort of transport system. We believe these cards are the key to locating and destroying the main source of the lines, which would remove the Mystery Dungeons by extension."

"Ley lines…" Zygarde mused. "These powerful abnormalities, I have sensed their appearance into our earth long before recent events. Young Mew, you have studied what I am, yes?"

"Many times growing up, yes. You're Zygarde, the God of the Earth; part of the Aura Trio with Xerneas and Yveltal."

"More astute than your peers. My duties are to monitor the status of this world's ecosystem from the Earth's Den. Following the collapse of Legendary order long ago, I slumbered in waiting, until now."

"Until these shadows started popping up…"

Zygarde's hexagonal eyes flashed. "You are correct. And yet, these 'ley lines' are perhaps a greater and more ancient threat than initially perceived."

The gears in Mew's head started moving. "You alluded to it again. Are you saying these ley lines existed in the past as well?"

"No. However, the events of the past and the schism between common Pokémon and Legendary Pokemon draws me to a conclusion. This cataclysm… Are you familiar with it?"

"The disappearance of Arceus. Do you… know what really happened?"

"No. Only Xerneas and Yveltal would possess that knowledge, and they fell together in battle against one another. Yet, the blame is shifted onto the commoners, the reality of what occurred obfuscated."

"How does this all tie back to the ley lines and Arceus?"

"These ley lines, I can sense the unyielding power of Arceus within them."

Mew was astonished, "You're kidding… And you're certain about this?" Her worries grew tenfold by his statement.

"Yes. There is no doubt. It is a power that not even I or any Legendary could match. The correlation of these ley lines and the vanishing of Arceus is impossible for me to overlook."

"If that's true, then how are we going to stop the ley lines? Even if our Entercards can help us find the source, what then?"

"These Entercards are not the keys to victory, only the tool necessary to deliver said keys. A silver lining exists, one created after the fall of Arceus - shrines."

"Shrines?" Mew questioned. "Like… a Legendary shrine?"

"Said details of these structures are beyond even me. The purpose, however, was to preserve 'artifacts' of the old world, to keep them protected for when the time came to 'restore' the old world. That goal remains unfulfilled."

"And why is that? My parents never spoke of any place like that."

"The passage of time ravages our dreams and the fight within us, young Mew. Pokemon grow to accept too easily, even Legendaries such as myself. My wish is for your generation to break this curse of futileness, to finally bring forward the truth of this world, and the truth of Arceus' absence."

Mew inhaled, finding the courage in her heart to inherit such a task. "Just tell me what to do, Zygarde. We will fulfill it as much as we can."

"Contact your elders, revisit the tales of the past. Listen to them and not ignore it as do your fellow Legendaries. These 'artifacts'… They are the keys to the truth, and will possibly stop the threat these ley lines pose."

"I will. I'll do everything in my power to trace down these shrines."

"… Arceus molded us Pokemon at the dawn of creation, our duties to this world and universe clear. Xerneas, Yvetal, and myself… we are avatars of existence, greater than any Legendary and not capable of death. In time, I believe they will return to aid and usher in the return of order to this beautiful world."

A flash of green light consumed the body of Zygarde, a bundle of green creatures combining into a different shape. When the light receded, this variation of the Legendary was canine-like, lithe and small. It bolted away from Mew at a fast pace, only to stop as a layered voice flowed off its body.

"Your loss, Victini, I have heard. You are young, but you have overcome a tragedy to become the leading woman you are now. I wish success upon this project, and perhaps we shall meet again when the time comes to eradicate this threat."

"… Thank you. For your wisdom and kind words."

Zygarde resumed dashing away into the halls, leaving behind a drained Mew as she stowed away in her thoughts, reflecting on the many wise words of the immortal Legendary.

'So much information. So much to do, and so-'

A hoarse cough would interrupt her thinking, forcing to tiny form to land onto the ground and heave. She felt herself getting weaker each day. And whether it was out of exhaustion of working, or this sickness that wouldn't go away, it did not matter, for there was always more to do.

Mew lifted herself back into the air, flying away to inform her waiting comrades of the short meeting.

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

"I'm not seeing any Rose Clan members."

"Then I guess they really were too stupid to figure out how to get down here."

Bisharp stepped away from the wall's edge. "Don't be so quick to rule it out, Weav's. Serperior can be pretty crafty when she's not all… insane."

"The snake will never get an inch from me, Bishy. Besides…" Weavile held up the Projection Crystal they recently discovered and played. "We know what's really down here now, and she doesn't."

A research station for Entercards created by the Legendaries. While they didn't understand the context or technicalities used in the memory, they were certain the labyrinth was used for this purpose. Suffice to say, the reasons of which were something beyond them.

Weavile glanced back. "C'mon! We want a good amount of this place searched before any of the snake's goons find out we're here."

Gallade and Heliolisk stopped their staring of the vicinity and heeded their 'leader's' command. The ever so vigilant Absols' that stalked behind them were keen in staying that way.

Bisharp hid his eagerness with a stoic expression as he led the group. "I give us an hour or two before the snake returns. By then, we should gather as much information about this place as we can. This is a revolutionary discov-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Weavile muttered, batting away a cloud of dust and sand in front of her. "You better be happy, 'cause I'm just here for the gloating."

"Sure you are, Weav's, until we discover something massive."

"The Legendaries being here a long fuckin' time ago for something is already massive, Bishy."

"I'm talking world changing massive here. A place like this is one in a million."

As the two captains' bickered, Gallade and Heliolisk carefully plodded behind, walking around fallen obstacles or vaulting over chunks of sandstone in their path. They were still digesting the contents of the Projection Crystal's memory, of which a certain detail irked one of them.

"Psst, Gallade," Heliolisk whispered to his partner.

Gallade made sure the two Absols' behind weren't eavesdropping before leaning over. "Make it quick."

"That Mew in the memory… She kept insinuating that Entercards were invented here. But our textbooks back home say that we invented them."

Gallade knew such information to be factual. They were taught from a young age that the Entercards they used frequently were created in order to discover their home. But what confused him now was the crystal's memory contradicting their version of history.

He wasn't sure what to think of that, and he didn't like that feeling.

"We do not know the full details, brother," Gallade assured. "There's perhaps some nuance we're not aware of yet, or haven't found."

Heliolisk bit his lip, a different thought in his mind. "But don't you think… that maybe we've been told a lie? Maybe this is why the Allfather didn't want anybody to find-"

"No. Do not jump to conclusions about our forefathers. It's highly disrespectful to our achievements, and you know what would happen if you said that back home."

"… Whatever you say."

Gallade strode past the Electric-type, not wishing to speak with him any further. He was highly frustrated at his partner's lack of faith, the blasphemy he spoke that would get him severely punished back home.

He was trying to keep him and his brother safe, so why couldn't he understand that?

And yet, he did not want to think of the memory's implications. It would be a question he would ask the Allfather upon their return home, if possible. His wisdom and guidance could be trusted above all, of course. He knew Heliolisk would come to understanding eventually, as would many who questioned the legitimacy of their Allfather.

Weavile tore off a nearby torch from the walls of the hallway, its eternal flame lighting the path forward as it grew darker and darker by the second. Their silent walk was then cut short by the noise of scampering and other voices beyond the decaying walls. No words were exchanged as they waited for the sounds to die away.

"The fuck was that?" Weavile whispered harshly.

"It isn't ghosts, that's for sure," Bisharp murmured. "Keep your eyes peeled. They might have figured out a way down here."

"Great… Are you starting to regret wanting to come here now?"

"Don't push it, Weav's."

The group returned to wandering the halls, albeit more cautiously than they were before. They would take a right into one of the hall's many rooms. Inside were what appeared to be living quarters, or what remained of them. The overturned and rather large beds and tables proved difficult to move past, sand pouring from all shattered corners and covering many dust coated objects.

Bisharp looked around, "Now that I'm thinking about it, this place… It resembles that other ruin in Criss-Cross Creek a lot." He threw Weavile a look, who soured at the mention of the region. "You agreeing with me here?"

"I'm not in the mood to talk about this." She shook her head, sweeping the torch across the room. "Let's search these rooms. Could be another one of those crystals hiding in this shit."

An hour would pass of them searching through each and every room, sifting through ripped paintings of past Legendaries or soldiers of an ancient Celestic, defunct Entercards, and the pieces of broken Projection Crystals. The books and journals they were able to find had either pages torn out, or were too faded to read. Whether the lack of clues left behind was deliberate or purely due to time's inflictions, they had little answers to base off.

"Hey! I, uh, found one!" Heliolisk called out, pulling the intact crystal from a pile of rubble.

Weavile smirked, "Looks like you are good for something, runt." She placed her torch and saddlebag down, walking over to snatch it out of Heliolisk's claws, who sneered at her. "Maybe there'll be something left of ya to send back home, huh?"

A look of excitement crossed Bisharp as he jabbed the Ice-type in the shoulder. "Enough teasing, Weav's. Hit that crystal and let's see what else was here."

As she activated the Projection Crystal and released a holographic bubble that immersed them into the past, Gallade positioned himself close by the dropped saddlebag, his opportunity found.

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

"Entry number forty two - uh, a lot of traveling and a lot of listening."

Mew placed the Projection Crystal by her side as she laid down on her pink blanket, a strange weakness in her body today keeping her mostly bedridden, as instructed by a dutiful Dialga. Her own sick feelings seemed to translate to all her other peers, many coughs or sniffles heard around the labyrinth as they worked.

While she worried for the health of her Legendaries, no one wished to stop working, even herself. If sickness or insomnia plagued her, she would always be here for the cause.

"In the past month or two, I've visited almost every continent in the world with help from Reshiram. I spoke to any elder Legendary I could, heard any old tale or rumor I could. It was, uh…"

Even now her head spun from how much the old Pokemon loves to talk for hours about honor and romanticized events. Regardless, she naturally picked any worthwhile detail from the seemingly never ending barrage.

"Enriching to say the least," she finished. "But Zygarde was right, because I now know two shrine locations in Celestic, and I've sent two teams to those locations to scout them out. They were abandoned and ancient for sure, but we didn't investigate further. I'll have to make another entry later going into detail on them, but for now, that's it."

She racked her mind of any further accounts over the past couple days.

"Things have been fairly smooth in the station here, other than all of us being a bit sick. Entercard production has slowed, but we have numerous data entries about them. Uh… Another thing! "

She had yet to mention the project within her memory recordings or to other members of the station, but she felt ready to finally mention it after all her tests.

"I've gone through Entercards multiple times. I'm able to sense something that most Legendaries can't. Like being able to trace the energy and maybe the source of the ley lines as I travel through them. With that, I can maybe try to produce some sort of 'map' of ley lines like I tried in Celestial…"

A knock upon her quarter's door scattered her thoughts. It opened not a moment later to the scowling face of Entei.

"Mew! There is an incident that deserves your attention right away!"

The Psychic-type sighed. "Machines broke again?"

Entei shook his head. "A large group of Pokemon has somehow shown up here. They are not part of the king's forces, and they wish to speak only to you."

Curiosity and intrigue was bouncing around in Mew's head as floated off her bed with a sore grunt. She debated turning off her Projection Crystal, but inevitably would take it with her.

"Take me to where they're at. I'll speak to them."

Entei nodded and backed away from the door, bounding down the pristine sandstone hallways. Mew flew after him, a seed of unusual worry sprouting in her chest. She hoped they were mere Legendary worshippers offering blessings, but a situation like this didn't seem likely.

Rounding a corner, she became a witness to the incident in action. In the middle of a hallway, her Legendaries' were in a stand-off with another group of Pokemon. Mew thought her eyes deceived her, but she could swear they were nearly two hundred of them crowding the halls. As she flew above, the fierce looks of defiance her Legendaries' wore faltered slightly. They backed off slightly as Mew floated only a few feet away from the strange group.

"Uh, hello?" she said. "You wanted to speak to me, yes? Is there a leader of this group I can talk to?"

"It would be I, miss Mew!" a male voice from the back shouted.

As if on cue, the Pokemon in front stepped off to the sides and made way for another to walk forward - an Infernape. Strange words were marked onto his skin as he raised his arms into the air, intense eyes slowly panning to meet a befuddled Mew's.

"To this flock of wonderful Pokemon... I am known as the Allfather, the one who hears the words of the Allmother - her shepherd in the flesh."

"Woah, slow down," Mew said. "Allfather? Allmother? Are you some sort of religious group for Arceus?"

"The Allmother is above even Arceus, ma'am," the Infernape calmly refuted. "She is the creator of everything; the roots within the soil we walk, the one who waits for salvation to embrace us."

"That's blasphemy!" shouted an angry Legendary from Mew's side, many others adding in.

"How dare you speak ill of the fallen!"

"Leave this place at once!"

Mew held up her paws. "Calm down everyone!" She returned her attention to Infernape. "Now, can you tell me what your group is, and why you're here exactly?"

"The Allmother… She first spoke to me in a vision," Infernape began. "I was but a humble mayor when her silky words came through me in a vision of my ideal world. She told me to create a covenant within my village's Pokemon, an unbreakable alignment. When the others saw the truth, I took my flock from that village at the behest of the Allmother."

The Fire-type raised his arms again, hovering them above the Pokemon that bowed their heads in respect.

"Our pilgrimage brought us to the king of Celestic. The Allmother wished for us to learn of this place, to gain access and befriend the Legendaries behind its secrecy."

Mew slowly nodded, more confused than ever. "And why did this 'Allmother' want you to come here?"

Infernape met her eyes with a fiery gaze. "We are the Alignment. We walk a dark path that is lit by I, the one that will guide us to paradise, promised by the Allmother." He held his hands to his chest. "We wish to work together with the Legendaries behind this operation, to begin the path to paradise with the knowledge we seek."

Mew was taken aback by the offer, but already had her mind made up. "Um, well I'm sorry to say, but I can't have any of you here."

"But here we are…" Infernape uttered. "Our wits could be combined. We could-"

"Which I'm sure you could, but I can't," Mew stated, shaking her head. "I don't know what the king said, but this operation is for Legendaries only, and we can't have any common Pokemon muddled up with this."

"Perhaps we can come to an-"

"Enough!" Mew yelled, before easing up her tone. "... Look, I'm sorry, but this is a restricted area. That's how it stays."

"… Very well," Infernape muttered. "I will echo your sentiments to the Allmother." He turned around, arms raised once more. "My flock! Let us leave these Legendaries at peace and disturb them no more!"

Dejected looks came from all sides of the group as their Allfather walked away from the Legendaries'. All would follow him as they departed into the halls in which they came, tailed by the occasional Legendary to make sure they were leaving for good.

Mew watched them go, unsure of what to think. "What a strange bunch. I'm not sure what they were trying to accomplish…"

"Heresy, most likely," Dialga voiced from behind. "But regardless of their madness, I am most concerned that they know of this place. Who knows if they are to return."

"Yeah…" Mew mouthed, staring at the now empty hallway. "Just to be sure, we should barricade some of these hallways."

"A proper solution to random arrivals."

She whirled around, "Okay, everyone! Let's get back to work!"

Various forms of agreement and joy that the Pokemon were gone reached her ears. But as she watched them leave, a ragged and painful cough forced its way out of her lungs. It caused her to drop the Projection Crystal and close her eyes. When her fit of coughing ceased and she opened them back up, they went wide like dinner plates.

Blood.

It was splattered across her paws. She stopped staring to look back up at the exiting group, noticing each time they coughed. A pit in her stomach formed as she returned to bore into her paws.

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

"Mew… Mew!"

The Psychic-type snapped back into reality as she stopped staring at her paws, glancing over at Dialga. "… Sorry. Must've dozed off a bit there."

He rolled the Projection Crystal away from them, scrutinizing her unkempt features. "Your eyes are bloodshot. Frankly, you look terrible."

She laughed slightly. "You shouldn't say those things to a girl."

"Ah, but it is true! Can you tell me the last time you had a decent rest under Lunala's moon?"

"No, I couldn't. Things… are just really hard to manage around here. Going over data with the others, reading up old tales, managing tests, and setting up this…" She motioned with her paws to what was before her.

Dialga stared ahead. "It was a worthy effort, Mew. With this, the end goal of this project has been illuminated."

The walls and ceiling above them moved at a constant pace, seas of pure black and the patches of white stars in the expanse of space whizzing past in a clockwise manner. Orange radiance washed the large chamber in an ethereal glow, growing further in intensity as one got closer to its source. In the middle of the room lay a contrast of orange wisps and free flowing energy slowly moving around, a holographic depiction of their earth residing in the strange 'nebula' surrounding it.

Tendrils spread out from within the 'earth's' insides, overlapping each other and producing smaller splinters of infinite lines. Its influence was small in terms of total coverage, only a sparse amount of spindly tendrils. All of the visible lines were connected by other larger roots, which emerged from a pulsating mass of orange in the center of the 'earth'.

"I attempted it in a limited way at our last location, but, uh, this took a while to even plan," Mew admitted, rubbing her sleep deprived eyes. "I had to go through so many ley lines to trace down a signal that I felt like I was going crazy." She laughed. "I thought I heard a voice while I was traveling, like a whisper in my ear, y'know?"

Dialga chuckled politely, "I cannot approve of your destructive habits. But this… This is phenomenal. You have outdone yourself again, truly."

"Thanks… But this could have never been done without you guys. You've all stuck with the project for months, not even returning to your families or shrines. I know it's hard."

"When the fate of the world is potentially at stake, is it even a question of staying or not?"

Mew eyed the holographic images. "It is at stake, and Pokemon aren't aware. But we finally found it - the source of the ley lines." She stared at the 'earth's' center, where the orange glow resonated most. "It's exactly where we thought it would be, and aligns with the old tales and legends I've heard."

"Hrmph. Then it is there where we shall end this anomaly. Where the truth of this world's past will be revealed." Dialga shook his head. "I would have never believed the day you and Victini called a meeting that it would lead to this moment. I was furious and blind, but you two knew something we Legendaries didn't."

His words sparked something within her. "I… I never wanted this, Dialga." Mew shut her eyes. "We just wanted to help find those missing miners. I never wanted to lose Victini. And if I knew what would've happened to him if we continued, then I wouldn't have ever started the project in the first place. I…"

She broke. Droplets of tears hitting the sand as she sobbed unabashedly.

"... I'm not a leader. I'm not anyone worth following. We were just kids who stumbled upon something bigger than us. But now I can't go back. I can't bring Victini back. And even if we succeed, I'll be left with nothing but old memories. I feel… trapped. Some days I want to run away from this all, but I could never; Victini would never want me to."

Dialga remained still, soaking in her innermost feelings. "Time has been perceived by my kind since Arceus formed us. Time… It is a fickle entity, but ultimately only goes forward - forever." He cast Mew an encouraging look. "Your painful memories will be replaced by better ones. Time allows you to grow and let go, evolve and change. And you have already without even knowing, Mew."

She wiped her tear stained cheeks. "I don't want new memories. I want the old ones back."

"That is something that neither I or any Pokemon could realize."

"… I know."

Silence encompassed the fantastical room, only to be broken by a hoarse cough from Dialga.

"Blasted sickness," he said, clearing his throat. "Now that the knowledge of where the source of these 'ley lines' originate from has been acquired, we will have to form a plan of action for when the time comes."

Mew seemed distracted by something, slowly nodding.

Dialga began stomping out of the room. "Gather some well deserved rest, Mew. Never fear your leadership skills, for we will be the unsung saviors of this world, and you are at the forefront."

As the large Pokemon departed, Mew stood by her creation alone, observing its ceaseless changes to their earth.

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The Projection Crystal flushed pink as it absorbed up the bubble of memories shown back into its circular containment. Scizor clutched the crystal to his chest, looking up from the pool of dirty water he was halfway sunk into and staring straight through Garchomp.

"You sure were eager to jump into that nasty sludge for the crystal there, huh?" Garchomp jeered. "But with what this one revealed? I can't imagine what you're feeling right now."

Scizor quickly waded through the murky water, emerging by the dragoness' side as he nearly began hyperventilating.

"The coordinate - it's real," he said with immense emphasis. "All of the data from other researchers over the years, all of my own theories; they've been confirmed by this Mew's design." He began pacing back and forth. "The core of our world - astonishing. I… I have to tell Jackson, Charizard, and-"

Garchomp impeded his hectic movements with an outstretched talon. "Breathe, Scizor, breathe. You're happy and I'm happy, but we have to relay this to them later. We got a lot more ground to cover here."

Scizor took her advice, inhaling and exhaling. "… Right. Excuse my elation. We can continue our investigation."

She smirked, "Not like it wasn't entertaining to see you so giddy."

An invisible embarrassed blush was his response.

With the Projection Crystal safely tucked in Garchomp's saddlebags, they got back to exploring. Their feet splashed puddles of dark green groundwater as they traversed through the hallway in near complete darkness, the torches that originally lined the halls snuffed out entirely. During portions of the corridor where the water ascended almost to their chests, they hopped across furniture and broken pieces of sandstone bobbing in the muddy basin.

Eventually, a glimpse of orange light at the far end of the hallway drew them in like a beacon.

"Seeing something crazy up ahead," Garchomp said. "I wonder if it's that thing in the memory we just saw."

"If it is, we will need to investigate it right away."

Picking up the pace, they trekked toward the light until they entered a new area they had seen before. Swirling stars in a spatial backdrop greeted them, forever rotating the walls and the ceiling in a clockwise motion. The construct in the middle of the chamber emanated its orange holographic projections out into the air, powered by its surroundings of pink wisps and the sound of a low hum.

"This is the true power of Mew," Scizor spoke, awe in his tone as his head snapped around the room. "And all of it is still operating thousands of years later…"

"It's just like that Mew's room back in Celestial Mountain," Garchomp said. "I'm stumped… How she able to locate the ley line source just like that?"

"From what I could tell, she based it off the 'star maps' Psychic-type Pokemon would create in the past to track down stars in the night sky and place them into a visual astral map." He motioned a pincer to the strange construct. "Perhaps Mew managed to warp that idea into a different creation - a 'ley line map'."

She cracked a grin. "You sure know your stuff. But how do we know it's still working and collecting stuff about the ley lines?"

Scizor looked at the holographic depiction of their earth, his heart sinking at the sight. "There is no doubt that this map is alive. Look."

Garchomp followed his gaze, eyes wide at what she saw. "Arceus…" she grumbled. "There's so many of 'em."

The bundle of ley lines gathered inside the holographic earth was a stark contrast to what they were witnessing now. Orange lines erupted practically all over the planet, invisible and kept beneath the surface. Smaller curls sprouted from preexisting threads, moving forward to create their own splinters. Each line all connected to another, leading straight into the core section of the earth.

"Thousands of years later, and thousands of Pokemon have most likely died as they affected our world," Scizor lamented, eyes lingering on the projection. "It took this long, but we have at long last uncovered the location of the coordinate - the core of our world."

"Easy part's over, but the hard part?" She whistled. "Who knows what'll take to get to a place like that."

Scizor began lumbering over to the room's ever shifting walls and sliding down it with a tired sigh. "Let's rest for the time being. We will retrace our steps and deliver our findings to the others during our regroup."

"Oh, I've still got enough energy in me, but yeah, I'll sit down for a bit."

Garchomp stomped over and sat down next to the Bug-type. They watched the shifting cosmos and listened to the humming of their environment in a lull.

"... A librarian," Scizor suddenly said.

"Huh?"

"You had asked me earlier what I would like to do if we accomplished the guild's goal. Being one… That has been my dream since I was only a child."

She glanced over at him. "Really now? I've never heard of this 'til now."

Scizor nodded. "I used to visit Areos Village's library many times, almost everyday." He smiled in remembrance. "I remember there was this Mismagius librarian that was always there, always so kind and helpful. We would discuss many things; past history, Pokemon biology, and old legends. She taught me how fun and fulfilling it was to learn and teach others, instilling that desire in me from a young age."

"Well, I'm guessing there's not many at the guild who like that as much as you do."

The Bug-type suppressed a laugh. "Not particularly. Jackson, Charizard, and you entertain my thoughts. But… Sometimes I wonder what could have been if my village wasn't erased, that I didn't help create Team Moonlight and the guild. That instead of pursuing justice for the Pokemon of my home and the entire world, I would be a simple Pokemon behind a desk, tending to the knowledge around me."

"You can't turn the clocks back now. What happened happened. But when we do win, there's always that chance again."

"... It's a comforting dream of mine, but it's one I know is far away, perhaps not even possibly anymore." Scizor shook his head. "I'm a researcher. I pursue knowledge, not guard it. These long and turbulent years adventuring Celestic and the world… It's changed me. Whether it was for better or worse, I can't tell myself."

The dragoness bumped his shoulder. "Hey, none of the dragons in my village ever believed in me; never thought I was going anywhere but there, including my own mom. But Team Moonlight? You were an inspiration for many Pokemon like me to get out there and do their own thing."

"I don't feel worthy of praise like that. I've kept my head down at the guild for almost half of my life. I feel estranged from my closest friends, excluding you. I… My whole life has been reduced to this guild and its mission," he admitted, sighing.

Scizor was pained and also relieved to utter a statement like that. It felt humiliating to say, even if he had immense pride in his work. A future beyond his research of the ley lines was impossible for him to foresee. For all that he knew, his life would end when their victory was finished.

"You are worthy." Garchomp looked him straight in the eyes, never blinking. "You convinced me to stay here and fight despite the risk of the Council. You convinced Jackson to let the guild assist with retaking that Legendary shrine. You've done all these things because of your passion for the truth."

"That is all I am, Garchomp… A researcher with a passion. Nothing more."

"No, that's bullshit," she growled. "The guild has ruined your belief in yourself to do great things. This is why Jackson needs to step down. I know you don't think you're worthy of leading the guild, but-"

'... Gigigigigigigigigi…'

Garchomp leapt up, throwing looks around the chamber. "The hell was that?"

Scizor stood up as well. "It sounded close by."

"Let's get to it, then. The others could be in danger."

The pair immediately made their exit out of the bizarre room, heading towards the direction of the sound.

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Liam, Gloria, and Roark emerged out of a Mystery Dungeon's penumbra, breathing out a sigh of relief after climbing through many floors and fighting many battles.

"Did you two see the way I messed up that Golett back there?" Roark said, shadowboxing the air with his claws. "I may not be as agile right now, but I still got it, I'm telling ya."

Liam raised an eyebrow. "You sure you didn't make us hold you up to get through one floor?"

"Words like that create bar fights, kid."

Gloria giggled, adjusting her cream saddlebag. "C'mon, we still have this area to explore before we regroup. And we already have a lot to show them."

The trio began walking, casting curious looks at the new chamber of the labyrinth they were in. Tall stone pillars were erected in rows beside them, yards of land surrounding them. Most intriguing to them were the statues of strange Pokemon that littered the otherwise empty room. Some looked like they were forged from steel, clay, or ice, while others even looked like they wore the skulls of dragons on their arms.

Gloria grew a wide smile as she realized their purpose. "It's the castle's protectors! The ones Zygarde made long ago for Celestic's king!" She nearly ran off to investigate, but was blocked by the arm of Roark.

"Yeah, and if you remember what we saw in that crystal, the big guy said to not mess with 'em. Let's keep it that way, sis," he said, getting a pouting look from her in return.

Liam's gaze swept across the vast room, until it landed on the walls in front of them, a paw being thrust at what he saw. "Hey, look at what's on the walls!"

Large hexagonal patterns clung to the sandstone walls, occasionally vibrating and flashing different shades of green and black.

Gloria tilted her head. "Maybe it's what Zygarde made to control the protectors?"

"Whatever it is, I value not knowing," Roark added. "Let sleeping Arcanine's lie, right?"

Just beneath the flooring of the three Pokemon, another trio was venturing through the torch lit hallways of the labyrinth. Monferno and Braixen were lagging behind an energetic Rockruff as he bounded ahead with an almost infinite amount of energy.

"Hurry up, guys! We have so much more to explore here!" the Rock-type yipped from afar.

An irritated expression was glued to Monferno's face as he trudged forward, leaning over to whisper something into Braixen's bushy ears. "Are you starting to regret letting him come along?"

"Don't say such a thing, Mony," she whispered back, only to let out a tiresome sigh. "He's just a bit… excited."

"Excited, hah. He's bounced around every area of this place even though we've found nothing."

She chuckled airily. "Maybe you should take up after him? You could enjoy the guild a lot more than you usually do."

"Not happening, Braix, ever. The day you see me acting like him is the day you end our partnership."

"You know I would never."

"Yeah, you say that now…"

Rockruff continued sprinting forward as the two mingled behind him, set on investigating the strange green and black hexagons in the distance. When he finally reached them, his amazed look somehow grew even wider.

"Guys! You need to see this!" he shouted at his slow comrades, tail wagging behind him.

Braixen and Monferno eventually caught up with the hyper Pokemon, their hallway meeting a dead end.

"… Hexagons on the wall?" Monferno groaned, rubbing his face with a hand. "Did we really walk around for thirty minutes to see this?"

"You don't know that, Mony," Braixen said as she looked around, planting her paws on her hips. "The Guildmaster told us to search everywhere for clues. So let's do it!"

"Like that!" Rockruff exclaimed, pointing a paw at a mass of solidified clay at the hallway's end. "That could be interesting."

Monferno groaned again.

Rockruff ran forward again, jumping over fallen pillars and sidestepping piles of debris in his determined path. He suddenly stopped in his tracks upon seeing an oddly shaped rock in his path. Puffing up his chest and blowing out some air to clear the dust away from it, he realized it was some sort of hexagonal construction.

"Check this out! I found something!"

Leaning in closer and squinting his eyes, he read out what appeared to be words written onto the panel-like structure.

"Regi… gigas. I wonder if that's some kind of Legendary treasure!" His ears shot up as he spotted something else. "Hey, there's some button on here!"

Without any hesitation, he pressed the indentation in the panel. Immediately following his action, the green and black hexagonal patterns on the wall dimmed momentarily, only to flash between the two colors rapidly as a boisterous rumbling noise filled the air.

"What did you just press, Rockruff?!" Monferno yelled.

Rockruff backed away from the panel, stiff tail between his legs. "I- I don't know!"

The thunderous noise grew louder as the room began to quake, the mass of solid clay before them shattering into pieces and revealing the colossal creature that hid inside of it. White and golem-like, its seven black eyes flashed red as it began to slowly move. Entire sections of the hallway gave way as its mossy legs took their first fatal steps, the flex of its long arms and three white fingers piercing through the ceiling and causing large chunks of sandstone to fall.

"We need to get out here NOW!" Braixen screamed.

The three ran for their lives as the walls around them began to crumble and collapse inward from the awakened giant's might. Just above where this was taking place, Liam, Gloria, and Roark held panicked looks as the room began trembling, the pillars around them tumbling to the ground, and the eyes of the immobile 'statues' around them glowing a bright red.

"W-what is happening?!" Liam yelled. "We didn't do anything, did we?"

Before any of them could react, the ground beneath was completely demolished by two claw-like white fingers breaking through, a gargantuan Pokemon screeching at them as they fell into the chasm of its destruction below.

"REGI… GIGIGIGIGIGIGIGIGIGIGIGIGIGIGIGAS!"

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She is the roots within the ground you walk, the sun that shines upon your skin, and the stars you gaze up at. But most of all… she is the one who waits.

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Want to discuss anything related to The Phantasmagoria with the author himself? If so, send a friend request to my Discord linked below!

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Next Time:The Keys To The Truth