The morning met Rhin with what he'd given up on a long time ago; coffee, bagels and hope.

"I'm sorry I can't offer much more," said the woman, wiping her hands on her apron. "I know how tired you three must be after crossing Rock Tunnel."

"Please, you needn't worry," smiled Rhin. "The coffee's delicious. And we wouldn't want to impose more than we already have."

Last night, Charity had brought them here to pass the night, to a small house on the outskirts of Lavender, where she supposedly had some business to take care of. They'd been received more kindly and warmly than Rhin ever expected while still in Kanto, both by the owner of the house, a woman in her late-thirties named Valerie, and her daughter, an adorable little thing that couldn't have been older than eight. Neither of them seemed taken aback by the sudden appearance of three strangers, as though this were a common occurrence.

Maybe that has more to do with Charity, thought Rhin, taking a sip of his coffee. As soon as she showed that insignia on the palm of her glove, Valerie instantly relaxed. Wonder what that's about.

"Mommy, mommy! Look, this Pokemon is so cute!"

The little girl kept trying to jump up to Charity's shoulders where her Magby rested, but wasn't quite tall enough. The breeder let out a giggle and lowered the Pokemon a bit so she could pet it.

Valerie clicked her tongue. "Now, Luna, what did I tell you about bothering Daddy's friends?" She shot Charity a nervous smile. "I'm really sorry. You know how kids are, and she doesn't get to see too many Pokemon as is."

"Yeah!" yelled Luna, poking at the Mabgy's head protrusions. "All of Daddy's Pokemon are big and ugly and scary! He should get more like this one."

Charity smiled proudly at that. "I couldn't agree more, Luna. A Pokemon is only as good as it is aesthetically pleasing, don't you think?"

"Ast…esthe… huh?"

"Don't you worry. You'll learnt that word someday." Charity ruffled the girl's hair, earning a giggle from her. "In any case, you should give your dad a break. There's a reason he needs Pokemon like those; his job is very dangerous."

Rhin perked up at that. Next to him, Wolfswift stopped raising his cup and it froze before reaching his lips.

"It's just as the kind lady says," smiled Valerie. "On that note, Charity, I couldn't thank you more for all you've done for Mike and his friends. I sleep easier at night knowing some of their Pokemon are ones you raised."

Mike… Rhin felt a stab of something cold in his stomach. I feel like I've heard that name before.

"Aww, you don't need to thank me." Charity waved the matter away with a swat of the hand. "As long as the pay is good, am I right?"

Rhin cleared his throat. "Er…"

"Excuse me, miss," said Wolfswift, his voice betraying much less uncertainty than Rhin's did. "But this Mike, your husband I assume… is he a trainer?"

Valerie stopped in the middle of washing up her empty cup and looked over his shoulder, interested.

"Ah, maybe you two know him?" she asked with a smile. "It doesn't surprise me one bit; that big oaf is always making friends wherever he goes. Normally he would've been here to receive Charity, but he's currently out on a dangerous job."

And as she said that, the woman glanced at a certain object behind where Rhin and Wolfswift were sitting. A picture frame atop a small cupboard. The former looked over his shoulder, though the latter obviously did not.

"O-oh…"

Wolfswift sighed to himself. "It's one of them, isn't he?" he whispered so that only Rhin could hear. "From that other group of trainers we encountered."

Right on the money. The photo Rhin was looking at depicted a tall, broad man with disheveled grey hair and beard, smiling happily as he held Luna in his arms. His wife, Valerie, stood next to him with a similarly ecstatic look on her face.

"Daddy's great!" Luna said as soon as she noticed him looking at the photo. "He's so good with Pokemon."

Next to her, Charity laughed. "Well he oughta be if he's working for Black!"

Rhin hadn't turned around yet. He stared at the photo, feeling a sudden pit in his stomach. Something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong. If this was the family of the man they'd met back in Route 4, if he'd been hired by an enemy of Mullac's, and if Charity was…

If she was…

"Black?" asked Wolfswift, raising an eyebrow. His shoulders immediately tensed up. "Who–?"

A loud, persistent series of beeps blared through the room, and Rhin's heart almost leaped out of his chest. Both him and Wolfswift tensed up, although they were the only ones. Valerie and Luna simply looked with curiosity at the source of the sound: the triangle-like insignia in the palm of Charity's glove.

"Charity?" asked Rhin, his voice barely above a whisper. "What's that sound?

The girl didn't reply right away. She raised her palm slightly, looking down at the beeping insignia. Then her glare shifted up toward Rhin, and her lips quirked up ever so slightly into a smile.

Rhin felt his blood freeze.

"Right… that." Her voice was deeper, sharper. She placed her hands on the table and rose to her feet. "I told you guys there was a job I needed to do here, right? Well… that beep means my boss is close by, and he would very much like to have a little chat with the both of you."

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

"A temporary truce is the most logical course of action. We'll reach the depths of this place together, and when we finally find what we came here for… then each one of us may do as we please."

As much as they might have wanted to, it seemed no one could come up with a convincing argument against Sammy's suggestion. There was an air of hesitation around the room. Slowly, one after the other, the trainers from both groups looked at those around them and gave similar, reluctant nods.

"Working with you guys, huh?" muttered Ryan, disheartened.

"Trust me, the idea excites me as much as it excites you," said Sammy.

Muffin gulped and willed herself to talk. "I-I think she's right. As long as the fewest people get hurt, I think we should… do what she said."

"I agree completely!" bellowed Dick, speaking for the first time, startling everyone. "T-the Miss is right, we should definitely listen to her!"

Muffin might have been gladder if the spectacled boy's eyes hadn't been glued to her the entire time he was talking. She forced a nervous smile out and took a step back.

"Er… thank you?"

"Do us all a favor and keep your mouth shut, Dick," said Nancy. "Regardless, if we're all in agreement then there is only one matter to take care of next."

"Right," nodded Siegfried. "How do we proceed?"

Surprisingly, Nancy already had an answer. She smiled haughtily and pushed her glasses up. "I think I might have an idea."

She turned around and started walking away, on the direction they'd come from.

"We were just looking at it when you all interrupted," she said. "Come, follow me."

After a moment of hesitation, both groups followed behind the girl as she led them down a dilapidated brick hallway they hadn't seen before in the thick darkness. It continued for about two-hundred yards before opening up to a large circular room. As they emerged into it they saw that it was illuminated, amazingly, although said lights were little more than cold-looking blue flames burning atop torches hanging from the wall. Each one was set up above a rusty iron door with almost illegible words written above. There were seven doors in total, arranged in a circle.

"What's that stone thing there?" asked Ñako. "Sacrificial altar, maybe?"

"Dear Mew, I hope not," muttered Siegfried.

"Not quite," said Nancy as she approached the stone pedestal in the middle of the room. "Here, look at the object in the middle."

"Is that a...?"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Sabrina trailed off as her gaze fell upon the small metallic object laying atop the pedestal. She froze in her tracks. At any other point, she might have thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, or perhaps this was just a cheap joke whoever owned this place had played on them.

But no, she felt the pressure against her mind as soon as she set her eyes on it. Like a burst of crackling heat enveloping her brain, burning like a purple flame behind her eyes.

It… it can't be…

"Pardon my Kalosian, but is that a fucking spoon?" asked Ñako in disbelief. "Er… no offense, Mycroft."

Mycroft was too busy staring at the object to reply. The rest of their group with exception of Sammy and Sabrina shared the same expression.

"What… are we supposed to do with a spoon?" asked Muffin.

"Huh. Maybe we just gotta eat some soup to get through this," Silver smiled. "Sounds easy."

Nancy looked over her shoulder, shooting their group a disapproving glare. None of her companions seemed to share their confusion.

"That is no normal spoon," she explained. "It is a–"

"A Twisted Spoon."

All eyes turned toward Sabrina as she spoke, for once too shocked to try and blend in. As though in a trance, she took a few steps forward, closer to the pedestal, and raised a hand toward the object before she came back to herself. She shook her head and stumbled back, gulping hard.

Dammit, why did something like this have to appear? She could barely keep herself away. Something inside her, the power that had always lay dormant in her mind felt pulled toward the spoon as though it were a powerful magnet.

"It's… an object filled to the brim with psychic energy." She started talking in order to distract herself from that pull. "Everyone knows this, but they come from the Kadabra or Alakazam that wielded them long ago. Any psychic Pokemon holding them will be stronger, but… it has other uses, too."

Ñako raised an eyebrow at her. "Wow, I think that's the longest I've heard you talk without insulting someone."

"Up yours, dickhead."

"Ah, there it is."

Nancy cleared her throat, trying to gather everyone's attention back to her. She looked genuinely surprised that Sabrina had known all that.

"Yes, well… that is the gist of it. And said 'other uses' are the reason this is here, if the note we found is any indication."

"Note?" asked Sammy, accusatory. "What note?"

"Calm down, I'm not hiding anything from you," snarled Nancy. "Here, we found it next to the spoon earlier. Ehem…"

She took a small sliver of paper from her pocket and, after clearing her throat, started reading its contents out loud.

"The Twisted Spoon, when held, shall point toward a trainer with a similar style and personality to that of the holder. Use it. Divide yourselves, stay alongside those the spoon chooses for you, and then come search for me. Only those who have been chosen by the spoon will be able to open these doors, and only a single group can enter each door. Follow these rules, and you may have a chance at retrieving the object you seek. Ignore them, and this will be the end of your journey. For good.

Good luck, trainers. Show me what you are capable of."

As soon as she finished reading, another one of those silences set over them with the weight of a truth few wanted to accept. Once again, they glanced at one another. Some, like Muffin and Siegfried, seemed doubtful, while others like Ryan and Sabrina rolled their eyes and looked like they wanted to punch themselves in the face.

After a few seconds, Dexter let out a 'Pfft' and walked away, leaning against the wall and waiting next to one of the doors. Mike shot him an irritated look.

"Well… I guess we don't have a choice," Sammy finally said. "Who wants to go first?"

"We should prob–"

Mycroft was cut off abruptly as Ñako sneaked behind him and gave him a strong push toward the pedestal, almost throwing him against it.

"How about you give it a go?" he asked with a smile. "That way, if the spoon sucks your soul or something you'll be fine! Everyone knows Kalosians don't have souls. Or if they do, they're expendable."

"H-Hmph…" Mycroft shot him an icy glare over his shoulder. "Dirty barbarian… I'm not even from Kalos, but fine. I'll go first, je suppose."

He picked up the spoon with tentative fingers, holding it up high and away from him, like he was fearing it might bite him. Nothing happened.

"Er… am I doing it right? Should I…?"

The spoon bent by the neck with a sharp creak, until it was pointing at Nancy. Both her and Mycroft froze for a moment, clearly not pleased.

"…Great," he muttered.

"Don't be whiny," Nancy chastised him. "I doubt you could've gotten a better–"

But just then, the spoon bent again, this time pointing in the exact opposite direction. Toward Caroline.

"Her, too!?" both Mycroft and Nancy yelled in unison.

"What!?" yelled Travis, looking offended. "How come he gets to go with two girls?"

Caroline let out an excited giggle. "Ohhh yeah! Sup' girl, this is a killer team we got going on!" She raised her hand to Nancy for a high-five, which was not reciprocated. "I mean yeah you're a Scorpio and I'm a Pisces but I'm sure Crofty's gonna like, totally balance out our bad chakra!"

"C-Crofty?" muttered Mycroft in horror. "Is that supposed to be me?"

Ryan took the spoon from his hand before they could continue any further.

"Stop flirting with each other and let's just get this over w–"

The spoon bent so quickly and sharply that even Ryan was startled by it. Although definitely not as startled as the person it was pointing at. Sabrina's mouth gaped and she took a sudden step back, unconsciously shaking her head.

"Give me a b–"

Immediately, the spoon moved again, this time pointing at the redhead on the other side of the room. The anger in her expression immediately shifted to panic.

"Oh fuck me," sighed Ryan.

Sammy said nothing, staring ahead with eyes like that of a dead Magikarp. Sabrina immediately turned around and mimicked slamming her head against the nearest wall.

"Two girls again!?" complained Travis. "Ugh, this is rigged. Here, gimme!"

The short boy took the spoon into his hand. A moment after, it bent with a metallic whine, pointing toward Ñako.

"Oh fuck off, the ninja?"

Ñako simply smiled and raised his eyebrows in a seductive manner.

"Well… let's see here."

Next was Siegfried, who took the spoon and closed his eyes, letting out a deep sigh. When he opened them again, the upper part was pointing at Sid, who stood opposite to him, back against the wall.

"Heh. Who would've thought?" the man whispered, a knife-sharp smile on his lips.

Siegfried simply looked away and gave the spoon to Silver, who'd barely touched it when the neck bent sharply, pointing at the man with the scythe behind him.

"Couldn't be better," muttered Dexter, showing a smile of sharp teeth.

Silver chuckled. "You better not drop your guard around me."

Carelessly, he threw the spoon over his shoulders toward Vard, who caught it without trouble. As soon as his fingers touched it, it slowly began to bend toward the tall, grey-haired man next to Nancy.

"Ah, yes, the gentleman of the jocular appearance," said Vard. "Magnificent."

"Er… yes. It's an honor for me too… I suppose," said Mike.

When Muffin grabbed the spoon from Vard, it was little more than a formality, since there were only two people left. Though perhaps the girl wished some miraculous third option would appear out of nowhere. Alas, that didn't happen. The spoon bent toward Dick, who looked like he was about to have a heart attack from excitement.

"…Great," she whispered bitterly to herself.

"I suppose that makes all of us, then," said Nancy. "All that's left is to decide on a door. There's an inscription atop each one…"

She cleared her throat, then read all seven of them aloud for the rest of the group.

"Destiny, Luck, Tragedy, Power, Return, Wisdom and Truth," she recited. "I don't personally care which one I go through, so just choose quickly. There's no time to spare h–"

Ryan headed straight for the 'Power' door without waiting for Nancy to finish, sword hoisted over his shoulder and a sour look on his face. Sabrina and Sammy exchanged an irritated glare, then followed behind. The thick metallic door opened by itself as they approached, and then slammed shut as soon as the three of them were on the other side.

"I… yes, exactly like that," said Nancy, slightly surprised. "Let's get to it."

The remaining trainers pooled into their respective groupings somewhat tentatively, looking carefully at the doors around them. There was silence for a moment until Mycroft spoke.

"Mademoiselles… it seems we've been drawn together yet again," he said with a noncommittal smile. "I'll be honest, I don't particularly care for either of you or your motives; I just want to get out of this place alive, and I figure neither of you care about my motives either, so… allons-y."

He approached the door nearest to them, which sported the word 'Destiny' at the top.

"Le destin n'est pas une question de chance. C'est une question de choix: il n'est pas quelque chose qu'on doit attendre, mais qu'on doit accomplir," he whispered to himself, remembering those familiar words from his uncle Charles-Louis. Perhaps the only one of his blood whom he truly missed. "Here, we'll go through this one."

While the three of them went through that door, Silver approached Dexter without a care in the world, and the man responded in kind by flashing him a smile of sharp teeth. It was an act, of course. Both of them held onto their weapons tightly, waiting for the moment when the other jumped to attack.

"I don't really care about all this fancy occult shit, so here, 'Tragedy'," said Silver. "Sound good?"

"Heh, seems appropriate enough. Lead the way."

A few feet from them, Muffin let out a tired sigh and turned to look at Dick, shrinking into herself.

"So… judging by your expression I don't think you care which door I choose."

The only response she got was an incomprehensible stammer and a blush. She rolled her eyes.

"Right… well, 'Return' it is."

Ñako took a look around the room, staring gormlessly at the doors that remained, while next to him Travis didn't look as though he could care less.

"Right, so the ones left are…"

"The door of Truth…" said Travis.

"Ugh, no, I feel like we're gonna find a ninja dressed in orange at the end of that one."

Travis frowned. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Which other one?" Ñako ignored him.

"Wisdom… that one probably has to do with reading."

"Eugh, reading." Ñako stuck out his tongue. "And the last one is Luck, right?"

"Yup."

"Fuck that, we're probably gonna find a crying Rhin at the end of that one," said Ñako. "Maybe w–"

"Mrrhaw!"

While they were too busy deliberating, Ñako's Meowth got bored and ran straight for the door in front of them, disappearing behind it.

"That one yours? 'Cause I think he just chose for us," said Travis, hitting his drumsticks against each other.

"Which one was that?"

"Wisdom."

Ñako let out a sigh. "Oh well, lesser of three evils I guess."

The last two pairings were Siegfried's and Vard's, who ended up deciding on their door rather quickly.

"Luck, eh? What do you say, partner?" asked the tall man named Mike. "Are you feeling lucky?"

Vard raised his palm toward the sky. "Vard does not need luck! Luck needs Vard!"

"…Right. Luck it is, then."

Siegfried and Sid headed for the only door remaining, Truth. The former stopped right before opening it, letting out a sigh.

"I guess it's just you and me, Nobu."

"It's Sid," hissed the man. "And what were you expecting? You've got the waste of pace I left behind, after all."

Siegfried didn't bother dignifying that with an answer. He just shook his head and passed through the door, whispering a last pray before it closed behind them.

"I suppose this is goodbye for now, friends. May we find each other again at the end of this long tunnel."

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

A woman stood within the deepest depths underneath Pewter Prison, standing perfectly still in the middle of a 1arge, dilapidated cathedral-like room covered in stained glass. The woman was tall and slender, her long, wavy blonde hair and large blue hat concealing a pair of glowing golden eyes.

She blinked once, then a minuscule smile formed on her lips.

"Indeed," she spoke to no one, her voice soft yet powerful. "It is no coincidence that we are all here tonight. Mullac's trainers, Black's trainers. Tonight…"

She raised her hands slightly, thumb and middle finger pressing against each other.

"…your destiny awaits."

The snap of her fingers echoed more loudly than it should have, breaking through the air like a wave of force.

Higher within the underground tunnels, all seven group of trainers felt the exact same thing. A burst of heat. An additional heartbeat.

A thin, purple thread of light now connected their chest to that of their companions.

image [https://i.imgur.com/96fAmYr.jpeg]