Judgment

I know I'm posting a lot of stories, and kind of fast. We have about eight main stories already completed, as well as a few side-stories. I'll try my best to space them out as much as possible, though.

This story further deals with Elvis, and Shii. It isn't one of my favorite stories, as we didn't really know what direction we were going in, and the plot shifted several times. Having a third person on board also threw us off a bit. It was fun, though, albeit not entirely coherent. I do like the further development with CT and Musashi, though. As always, feedback is appreciated!





It was a beautiful day, in Slateport. Although Musashi hadn't seen anything of him, since, Ahti and CT kept in touch, throughout the last ten years. CT didn't seem to mind. Ahti was an old friend, and Musashi was...well...Musashi. Differences were set aside, and things were almost like old times. Kai, Clem, and Nico had all grown, and Nico found himself with a very annoying little sister.

Gentle waves rocked the boat, back and forth. The sun was bright, but not terribly hot. It was a great day, for fishing. Nico had never been fishing, before, and carefully listened to everything Ahti was teaching him. Kai, meanwhile, was swirling the water around, creating a miniature whirlpool. It wasn't the actual move, Whirlpool, as she didn't know that move. Kai, as it turned out, was a hydrokinetic. Both of her parents knew Water and Ice type moves, and passed them down, to her. Only she was able to throw her own style into it, sort of creating her own moves.

Clem sat next to Ahti, waiting impatiently for a fish to bite. CT sat under the shaded portion of the boat. He really, really did not want to be there. Words could not express how much he did not want to be there. Between Ahti and Nico, though, he couldn't seem to get out of it. He still wore his typical suit, and a pair of rather fashionable sunglasses. Were they ever going to leave? It felt like they had been on the boat, for hours, and they probably had. CT was at the point where he was ready to just toss a Focus Blast at the water, and let them grab the fish that went flying up, just so he could get out of there.

Clem puffed up her cheeks as she stared at the water, resembling a Jigglypuff whose concert got interrupted by everyone falling asleep. "Daddy," she whined. "When is a fishy gonna bite? Huh? Will I get a shiny fishy?"

"Be patient, Clem!" Ahti chuckled. "It's called fishing, not catching." he smiled. Nico, meanwhile, couldn't quite get the hang of it. His reel kept getting tangled, and the line seemed to get stuck on every rock that was ever in the ocean. "I don't think I'm very good, at this..." he pouted. Ahti patted him, on the shoulder. "You'll get it." he said, with a warm grin.

Kai, meanwhile, was doing her own fishing. She saw schools of fish swim by, and thought of an interesting way to catch them. She encircled the fish in a bowl of water, similar to a Water Pulse, and brought the fish and the water, onto the boat. "Daddy! Daddy, look! I caught one!" she said, happily bouncing up and down. The panicked fish swam around the pseudo-Water Pulse, in a frightened frenzy. Kai still had a long way to go, before she mastered her moves, and was having trouble keeping the orb a perfect, well, orb. Unfortunately, it was hovering right over CT, when it exploded, fish raining from it.

"Oops." Kai said, not moving.

Clem pouted even more. "Why can't it be called catching? It'd be more fun than waiting." she muttered. Then Clem noticed her sister, and got an idea. Maybe if she used her Assist, she could use a move that would get some fish, or maybe...

She hung over the water, staring into it. Clem started to glow slightly.

Ahti couldn't help, but laugh. CT wasn't laughing, however. "Stop laughing." he growled, pushing his now-soaked hair out of his face. Ahti didn't stop. "And that is why you don't wear a suit, on a fishing trip!" he grinned. Years ago, CT would have pummeled somebody who had dumped salt water and fish, on his favorite suit. After becoming human, and throughout the years, his temper had cooled a bit. Patience and tolerance was something his own kids had taught him. Instead of fuming, he just crossed his arms and slumped back into his seat, muttering something that was probably very impolite.

Nico, meanwhile, had hooked something. Unfortunately, it wasn't a fish. A Wingull had gotten tangled in his line, and was not very happy about it. Nico froze, as the angry Wingull came swooping down, at him. "Um, M-Mr. P-Porter, there's...um...help. Please?" he stuttered, barely dodging a Peck, from the bird. CT started to show that Wingull what a good Dragon Pulse tasted like. Ever since that incident with the fusions, he had been a little overprotective, of Nico. Scratch that. He had been really overprotective, of Nico. This Wingull was going down.

Ahti sent out a weak Thunderbolt, just enough to stop the Wingull from attacking, so he could untangle it from the line. The bird was sent flying off, and Nico was unharmed. Terrified, but unharmed. CT straightened his soaking wet, fish-scented jacket, and slumped back down. "I think that's enough adventure, for today." he said.

It was about that time, when the adults were occupied with Nico, that a splash was heard beside Ahti. Clem had attempted to use her Assist to catch a fish, but ended up using her own Quick Attack and wound up diving into the water. She paddled in place, an upset pout on her face as her hair clung tightly to her head. "The fishy wouldn't stay still..."

Kai rushed over to her sister, before Ahti could move. "I'll get her!" she chimed. Kai got into position, and raised the water around Clem. Water Spout couldn't be learned, by either Nidoking nor Absol, but this wasn't Water Spout. She was simply using that move, to get an idea of what she wanted to do. The huge spout raised Clem out of the water, and plopped her back onto the boat. The water that did so, collapsed and soaked everybody. CT just couldn't get a break, today.

Ahti laughed about the whole thing, but Nico didn't seem much happier, than his dad. Although he was less grumpy, and more pouting. "Okay, okay," Ahti said, brushed the wet hair from his face. "You're right. I suppose that is enough, for today." he said, as he started moving the boat, toward the shore.

Clem pouted as she sat in the boat, trying to shake the water off like a puppy. CT started to protest, as Clem shook the water off, but decided not to. He already smelled like seaweed and dead fish, might as well add wet Furret. Ahti, meanwhile, pulled the boat up to the docks, and unloaded.





Meanwhile, on the beach came Musashi, followed by two females. The girls CT put him in charge of had grown, quite nicely. Although Soto, the youngest, seemed to always be engrossed in drawing, and always sat on the sidelines while Musashi taught in his dojo. "Here we are, you should be able to get along with the family that lives around here." he said.

Zero and Lash sat on the beach, while Ahti, CT and the kids were out. A young girl, about nine years of age, sat next to Lasciel. She wore an oversized shirt, rather than a bathing suit, and looked rather bored. She seemed to be staring straight ahead, even though her dark hair covered most of her face.

"Are you sure she's...y'know...okay?" Zero said to Lash, quietly. "Oh, she's fine." Lash replied. "She's just broody and grumpy and hates everything, just like her dad." she said, smiling. The girl, Mavra, said nothing. She didn't even move. She didn't even acknowledge Musashi and the girls, heading toward them.

Zero smiled, as she greeted Musashi. "Musashi! Been a while! Ahti and the girls are out fishing. They somehow managed to drag CT and Nico along." she grinned. "Still trying to figure out how that happened." Lash said, with a light chuckle. Mavra still didn't move. She just sat there, continuing her staring contest with the world. Soto, now much older, noticed Mavra, and walked up to her. She observed the eerily-still girl, and sat down next to her. She waved a hand in front of Mavra's face, in attempt to get her to notice. "Is she even breathing?" she finally said, to Lash. Mavra made a brief twich, of what may have been irritation. "Yup, looks like it." Lash said, in a teasing tone.

"Cool." Soto chirped, as she put her headphones over her head, and pulled out a large sketchpad, from her tote bag. She began sketching Mavra, because Mavra was a very good model, whether she knew it or not. Lilith, meanwhile, twitched, nervously. She was a Fire type, so beaches weren't exactly her favorite place. "Can we um," she said, fidgeting. "Maybe do something, further inland? Like maybe the marketplace? The ocean makes me really nervous..." she said, quietly.

Musashi sighed at Lillith. "Come now, Lillith, we discussed this many times. We are human now, so we are allowed to have more human hobbies. You don't have flames coming out of you anymore, so you can enjoy the beach." he got close to her, taking her wrist. "Come, I'll go in with you. We'll take baby steps."

Lilith blushed, slightly, as Musashi moved closer, to her. At first, she resisted. She didn't want to go into the water. Then she figured, maybe he was right. Maybe it wasn't so bad. She started slowly moving, closer to the water. She could do this. This wasn't so bad, at all!

Mavra's mouth turned into a crooked grin, which eerily resembled that of her father's. She twitched her head, and a rumble of rocks came sliding over the ground, toward Lilith and Musashi. The Rock Slide wasn't meant to hurt either of them, simply to trip them and cause them to faceplant, into the water. Lilith fumbled, trying to get to her feet. "ITOLDYOUTHEOCEANWASEVILSEEI'MNOTCRAZY!" she shouted, panicked.

Musashi got up and wiped the water off his face. "No, the water isn't evil, Lillith. Come, let's try one more time. Nice and slow, ok? So we don't trip, this time."

Lilith, refused to step back into the water. "No, no, I'm not gonna do it!" she protested. Mavra twitched her head again, and sent another Rock Slide tumbling toward them, dumping them further into the water. Lilith scurried out and clung to Musashi, like a frightened cat. Lash caught it, this time. "Mavra Blackstone!" she yelled. Soto didn't hear the commotion, because she still had her music on, and was still sketching. Mavra just shrugged and grinned.

Musashi sighed. How many times could he trip? He then froze when he heard the name 'Blackstone', uttered by Lash, and stared at the girl sitting by Soto. That grin, that same accursed grin. Musashi realized a horror he never thought would come to fruition.

Mother of Arceus, they had another one.

"Lillith, listen to me. The water is fine, it just seems this beach has a prankster, and she takes more after her father than her older brother does." he said. Then Musashi heard the all-too familiar high voice shouting "Look! I'ts Musashi! Hi, Musashi!"






Glade, Shade, and Mac were all on the beach, with Mac and Glade making a decent-sized sand castle. "Shade, is there a reason why we are in a completely different region than Unova? Though I do feel more accomplished that I can still function properly with sand on my legs." Mac asked.

"Don't you remember? I heard that ChewyTaquitos has rented a boat here, and at least one of them knows the whereabouts of Elvis." Shade replied, as he looked towards the pier.

"But Shade, Taquitos are supposed to be crunchy, not chewy."

"I... never mind."

Glade finished the last touches of their sandcastle...or, to be exact, a Japanese sand castle. "I wonder if anyone will find this neat? I know that Nico is on the boat." Glade asked Mac.

"Nothing a little laser-cut precision can't master; I am also efficient in ice sculpting too."

"I wanna see that when we get back to Unova, Mac."

"I'm a crime scene investigator, not an artist, Vladimir."

 

Shade noticed the boat made it to the dock. "Mind if I come along?" Glade asked. "Sure, but got any particular reason?" Shade asked.

"I just want to see if, by any chance, Nico came along; I wanna show him the sandcastle Mac and I built."

"Sure." Shade allowed Glade to tag along as they made the short walk to the dock, and met up with CT. "Been a while, Cherry Twist." Shade greeted to him, taking a slight jab at his name, before he noticed that CT was soaking wet. "I notice that you went for a swim?"

Glade noticed Nico was behind him. "Howdy, Nico." he greeted.

CT stood for a moment, staring at Shade. "For the last time," he growled. "It's Corpsetaker. Corpse. Taker. Not Cherry Twist, not Chunky Tuna, not Crunchy Tacos. Corpsetaker." If Shade did that, one more time, CT wasn't sure if he could hold back a punch. Then again, Shade was a P.I., and CT had to stay on his good side. CT sighed, trying to suck it up. "What do you want? As you've just pointed out, I am in dire need of a shower, so please make this quick, before the fish smell turns into rotten fish smell."

Nico stood next to CT. The fish and seaweed smell didn't bother him, as they all pretty much smelled like that, after Kai's little water spout thingymabob. "Oh, h-hi, Glade." he said. Nico had developed a nervous stutter, and even did it when he was with friends that he wasn't terrified of.

"Alright, I'll stop with the name...for now." Shade replied. "Anyway, I was wondering if you have heard of anything regarding the whereabouts of Elvis, lately, and no, I don't mean the late Rock n Roll singer, either."

Glade noticed Nico stuttering, and said to him, "I noticed you went fishing not too long ago; catch anything good?" Glade asked. "By the way, if you have a minute, I'd like to show you this big sandcastle that Mac and I made; you'll be amazed when you see it!"

Musashi looked to CT. "Ferro, seems you have another little spawn, except this one takes more after you. For the record, that wasn't a compliment." he said, sternly. "Now Lillith isn't going to get near any water for Arceus knows how long. I'm certainly not walking her when she needs to take a bath. Speaking of baths, you smell really bad."

CT shot Musashi a glance. He said nothing, but instead simply replied with a rude hand gesture. That was one of the perks, of having hands. You could do stuff, like that. Not many people knew CT's real name, and Shade was one of them. He hoped Shade didn't pick up, on it.

Kai hopped off the boat, and bounded over to her mother, collapsing on the sand. The sand was nice and soft, and the sun felt good. Mavra sneered at her. She could use a nice Rock Slide, too. Lash gave Mavra a stern look, and Mavra's creepy smile soon vanished, as she turned and let out a very quiet "Hmph!" Clem hopped near Nico. "Oh oh, Nico Nico! Who's this, huh huh? You have a friend?"

"Oh, h-he's um...I mean...we uh..." Nico had known Clem for a long time, but he still stuttered. He was a nervous kid, and not a very talkative one, at that. "We..I mean y-yes...we go to school, together..." he finally mumbled, as he followed Glade over to this sandcastle.

CT rubbed at his forehead. Elvis was in town, then. Or at least in Hoenn. CT's sources said he was, but his source is Shii, and Shii is not exactly the best source. If Shade had also been following leads, though, that most certainly meant he had to be there. CT hated Elvis. He's not like Musashi. Some turn of events is not going to change his mind, about killing somebody he hates. Elvis had hurt CT, and worse, his son. If CT ever found Elvis, may Arceus have mercy on his soul.

"No." he finally growled, lying. "I haven't heard anything. But if he's here, he better hope to Arceus that you find him, before I do." he said, nudging past Shade and into Ahti's house. Elvis may have been in the region, somewhere, but CT's first priority was a shower. He was a bit of a neat freak, like that.

Shade noticed another person, as CT walked away; it was Ahti. "If CT isn't wanting to talk, then maybe this guy can give me some answers." Shade said to himself, before walking up to him. "Shade Potter, CPD Investigation Bureau." Shade introduced himself to him. "I was wondering if you could answer a couple of questions for me."

Musashi moved beside Ahti. "Hey Ahti, good to see you again. So, what's with this guy?"

Ahti groaned. Great. The police are here. Maybe bringing CT here was a bad idea, after all. "I will answer a few questions," Ahti said, exasperated. "But if CT is in some sort of trouble, again, my family and I have not been involved."

Ahti looked at Musashi, and sighed. "Police. Investigator, I believe he said." he said, glancing back at Shade. "Was talking with CT, now he wants me to answer some questions. So," Ahti said, crossing his arms. "Ask away."

Shade assured Ahti, that "CT isn't in trouble. The reason why I am here is that I've heard that someone who is going by the name of Elvis is residing somewhere in Hoenn, and I was wondering if you knew anything about his whereabouts, since you and/or your friends know him." Shade finished.

"He isn't in trouble? Now I'm disappointed." Musashi muttered.



Glade lead Nico and Clem to the sandcastle, but part of it fell apart. "Awww maan..." Glade said to himself. Mac noticed the three kids were disappointed with part of the structure collapsing itself, so she told the kids, "I did take a picture of the sand castle before it collapsed; let me show you." before her eyes beamed before them a holographic image of the complete sandcastle, as if it was restored back to normal.

"Mac, what CAN'T you do?" Glade asked her in disbelief. Mac replied with, "Swimming, or anything that deals with water." Glade then proceeded to facepalm himself.

Nico watched in awe, as Mac presented to them the holographic photo. "Wow, that's so cool!" he said. "I wish I had a robot." he pouted. Nico turned to Clem, who wouldn't seem to stop asking questions. "Um, y-you don't..go to school? It..it's where you learn..and stuff...I guess..." he answered, nervously.



"Daddy!" Clem came running to Ahti, clinging to him. "Daddy daddy, Nico and his friend said they go to this school place where they learn stuff and do stuff is there a school here huh huh huh? I wanna go!"

Ahti sighed, heavily. "Elvis is cunning and likes to play games. I haven't seen him, in ten years. If he is here, he is up to something. That is all I can tell you." he said, then looked down at Clem and patted her on the head. "Clem, you homeschool. Nicky does the same thing you do, only with lots more people." he said, smiling. Nico's friend, she said? Ahti glanced over at the boys and the..um...large, pink-and-blue duck thing. What was that?

"The kids were going to have a sleepover at my place, tonight. Assuming Nicky's friend is with you, I would like to invite him over. Any friend of Nicky's, is a friend of mine!" Ahti said, with a big grin.

Shade thought hard about the offer. "Hmm... Well, we don't have a place to stay for the night, but as long as Glade is fine with it, you got a deal." he said with a smile. He walked over to Glade and asked him, "If you and Nico are fine with it, we can stay at CT's friends' house. Is that okay?"

"Sure; I never really had a sleepover before." Glade replied; he turned to Nico and asked, "How about you? ever had anyone come over to your house and spend the night?"

Nico shook his head. "N-no...not really, no...I mean...I'm not....my dad doesn't really let people come over, to our house..." he said, fidgeting.

Mac scanned Ahti for personal info, and greeted him after walking up. "I see that you have taken a fascination with me, Mr. Porter?" She asked.

Ahti blinked at the..duckperson. "Um, fascination isn't really the word I would say." he grinned, and set his hand on Mac's shoulder. "But you are more than welcome to stay, too!" he said, happily inviting her into his home. Musashi looked the duck thing up and down. He? She? It? He felt so confused.

Clem's eyes grew big. "Sleepover! Yay yay yay!" She started to dance around, singing a random song about sleepovers in which the lyrics were made up in milliseconds and would never make it into written format.

 

The sun had dipped into the horizon, leaving very little light in the sky. Everybody had packed up, and moved inside. Ahti didn't exactly have a mansion, so most of them had to pack into the living room. CT, meanwhile, refused to share a house with Musashi, and tossed a pillow and blanket on a chair, outside. "Oh god," he said, observing the sand and variety of seashells and various beach toys the kids had left there, earlier that day. "It's so filthy." Zero usually made sure the deck was pretty clean, but there were a lot of people there, today. CT simply couldn't sleep, knowing everything there was so disorganized, but he wasn't about to stay in the same house Musashi was in. "Blast it all..." He sighed, as he began tidying things up.

The kids were all piled into the living room, as well as Shade, Lilith, and Musashi. Nico insisted that Musashi stay there, with them. Glade had rented an array of horror movies for them to watch, and Nico needed somebody to cling to, and remained latched to Musashi, the whole time. Soto was paying more attention to her sketchbook, as she doodled some of the movie villains, and Mavra didn't seem all that interested. "This is boring." she said, the first words from her that Nico had heard, all day.

Glade was looking for something he missed, since they arrived at Ahti's. Meanwhile, Mac finished making her popcorn, which the seeds were dispensed from her stomach, and used the kitchen's microwave to cook. "Popcorn is ready." Mac announced as she brought a large bowl of pink and blue popcorn into the living room. Shade was amused with the odd popcorn and asked, "What flavors are they?" as he was eating a handful from the bowl.

"Cotton candy, of course."

Musashi felt intrigued at the movie for a while. So much of the killing wasn't accurate, highly unprofessional. He found himself nitpicking at too much of the movie, ruining the experience for him.

He looked down at the frightened Nico, then the bored Mavra. So different. Meanwhile, Clem shivered as she stared at the screen, frightened.

Nico hid under a blanket, too terrified to continue watching. Mavra just laughed at the people being killed. Something was seriously wrong, with that kid. Soto continued to sketch, but was nodding off, every now and then. Lilith sat next to Musashi, munching on the oddly-flavored popcorn, her long simian tail swishing back and forth.

Musashi glanced at the popcorn Lillith was eating. Sheesh, she was scared of water but have her watch a horror flick and she was eating. He reached into the bag and sampled it. Blech, it tasted very weird. He wished he had some honey.

Outside, the deck had been cleaned spotless, and everything organized. The shells were even put in order, placed into different groups according to species, alphabetized, and lined up from smallest to largest. Satisfied, CT tossed a blanket over the chair, and plopped down. It wasn't but a few minutes later, something disturbed his rest.

"Shell-der!" it cried, with its disgusting tongue sticking out. That kid on the beach found it, earlier. Frustrated, CT grabbed it and stomped back into the house. He threw the door open, during a particularly suspenseful part of the movie. "You! Litwick kid! Keep your disgusting pet away from me!"

Glade heard CT, and walked to the front porch. "Oh, you found the Shellder from earlier. I was looking all over for him; how can you think it's gross? It's ADORABLE!" Glade said to him. He had a very soft spot for cute Pokémon, a secret that only Shade knew. "How can you think a cute face like this isn't adorable?" he continued.

When CT suddenly burst in, Clem jumped up, screaming loudly as she charged and had her cranium meet CT's groin.

The Shellder proceeded to lick Ct's face afterwards, before Glade grabbed him."Thank you anyway, though." Glade finished before returning back to the house. Mac noticed there was something wrong with the VHS tape that they were watching, but before she could warn everyone, the tape went fuzzy, and it started to show an episode of "Kanto's Funniest Home Videos".

"NNNNGH!" CT whimpered, kneeling over. He wasn't sure which was worse. That, or the Shellder that just placed it's disgusting tongue, on his face. Nico peeked out from under the blanket, when the video suddenly switched to static and then something completely different. "Um...Dad? You okay?" he said, looking over at CT, who was in obvious discomfort.

"Oh, bugger off!" he snarled, slamming the door and slumping back in the chair, on the deck. Mavra laughed, about the whole thing. That was much more entertaining, than these cheesy "horror" movies, they had been watching.

Shade noticed Mavra's odd behavior, and worried about her mental health. "Was she not raised, properly? CT should take her to counseling." Shade asked himself.

Musashi almost felt guilty about the grin stuck on his face as he saw CT get a Clementine Headbutt to his groin. Almost. The grin faded when he saw Nico's face. Damn, the kid never let him enjoy one of his father's moments of pain. He patted the boy's head. "It's ok, he's just grumpy."

Clem stared for a moment. "Oh, sorry! I thought you were a ripper man breaking into our house." She went into Ahti's bedroom, frowning. "Daddy? Can I sleep with you and Mommy, tonight?"

It was getting late. Lilith had fallen asleep, on one side of Musashi, while Nico and Mavra had fallen asleep, on the other side. Soto was leaning against Lilith, still holding on to her sketchbook. Ahti was sound asleep, when Clem came in, but Zero scootched him over, making room for her to sleep in between them.

CT, meanwhile, remained outside. It was a pleasant night, at least. Nico's Growlithe, Seymour, had curled up in the chair, sleeping against CT's stomach. Being a Fire type, Seymour wasn't all that crazy about beaches or large amounts of water. It was Lash's idea to get him a pet, but CT tolerated the dog, most of the time. It felt weird, having a Pokémon for a pet, but Nico had never been a Pokémon, so he didn't quite understand.

 

Somewhere else in Hoenn, things weren't quite as pleasant. "What's all this, then?" Elvis said, observing the data presented before him. "I thought you said the deal was off." he said, looking up and the scrawny man. "Plans changed, birdman. Birdman been studying Legendaries, yes? Master refuses to study Legendaries. Says they're dangerous, yes. Birdman takes chances. Shii bring birdman data, on one condition." Shii said, leaning closer to Elvis. "Use it on Legendaries, yes."

Elvis stood, staring at Shii. "And what's in it, for you?" Shii observed him, for a moment. "There is much more data. So much more, yes. Distortion World, yes. It can be unlocked, from outside. Shii not know how. Master refuses. Birdman can open Distortion World, yes. Send boy there. Girl, Shii not mind so much. Girl thinks like Shii, yes."

Elvis thought, for a moment. Legendaries? Distortion World? This could be something big. Porter, meanwhile, stood outside, completely unaware of Shii's treachery. He thought they were only going there, to study the local wildlife and legends.

At the bottom of the sea, Oceanus slept. It had been a long while, since he stirred. He was still unable to open his eyes, thanks to Father for having him and his accursed brother, Hyperion, sealed up. Something threatened to wake him, to release him. Oceanus smiled in his slumber, waiting.




The next morning, Musashi woke up to find that his personal space had become quite crowded. Lillith, Soto, and even the Blackstone children were clinging near him. It figured that was the reason he couldn't shift position at all; he was being used as a group pillow.

"Ok, ok, everybody. Wake up, it's morning." he said. Meanwhile, Clem was sleeping soundly curled up between Ahti and Zero. Glade was still fast asleep when the sun rose, and he was unknowingly clinging onto Nico. Meanwhile, Shade seemed to be the only person who slept next to the pile.... sort of. He was awakened by a constant licking to the face, and opened his eyes to a pair of googly eyes. "OH, GOD!" Shade yelled as he jumped and grabbed onto the Shellder.

The small group around Musashi was stirring. Nico was the first to wake up, and find Glade attached to his arm. He blushed a little, and tried to nudge Glade awake. Soto was the second, as she was the first one to fall asleep. Lilith and Mavra just mumbled something, and clung to Musashi, even more.

Zero and Lash had been up, making breakfast for everybody. CT had also come inside, Seymour happily following. Apparently the filthy creature had been sleeping on CT, all night, and now he was covered in dog hair. I guess that means another shower. He thought. The Growlithe hopped over toward Nico, and gave him good morning "kisses", which Nico happily accepted.

Glade woke up and noticed that he was still grabbing on to someone, and it turned out to be Nico. He jumped in fright and blushed. It was really awkward, and all he could say was, "Sorry, Nico." Trying to break the ice, he finished with, "L-let's go get breakfast, and make sure you don't tell anyone."

"I won't." Nico said to Glade, with a nervous grin. Truth be told, he didn't really seem to mind it. Seymour shifted his attention from Nico, to Mavra, and decided that she needed good morning kisses, as well. Mavra did not like the puppy's greeting, and was startled awake. "Gyah! Gross! Nick, get your stupid mutt off me!" she said, shoving him aside.

"S-sorry, Mav..." Nico said, hugging Seymour. It took all of a few seconds, for Mavra to realize she had fallen asleep, next to Musashi. She blushed, lightly, but said nothing.

Shade was up, Shellder in hand, and was waiting for breakfast to be served. "Morning, everyone." He greeted. Mac was plugged into a wall plug, and replied, "Good morning, Shade. I will say, Hoenn electricity has a more distinct...'taste', than Unova electricity."

Musashi managed to slide out of the clinging grasp of the two girls, still wondering why the Blackstone girl was latching onto him. Honestly, did their father suck up all the possible hatred for him, leaving only a longing to cling to him? His stomach growled as he walked into the kitchen.

"Mmm, smells good, Zero."

Meanwhile, Clem was taking up the bathroom, taking a good long while to tend to her appearance. She had just reached the age where a girl would spend many, many minutes working on her hair and face to look good.






Elvis returned from the sea, a mighty beast still caged in the submarine. Kyogre had been heavily sedated, and kept in an electrified cage. "This isn't what you told me we were doing." Porter said, eagerly hopping out and back onto dry land. Shii giggled, as he, too, hopped out. "So Shii lied. That's what Shii does. Porterade should know by now. But Porterade here, now, so he helps, yes?"

"The hell I will!" he shouted, in protest. "And stop calling me Porterade! My god, I do have a name, other than 'Porter'!" he continued. Shii only snickered. "Oh, stop bickering, the both of you." Elvis said, watching as the large cage was being unloaded. "Dr. Porter doesn't have to help, if he doesn't wish to." he continued, waving the now half-Roserade off. Porter started to stomp off, in a huff, but debated. Shii had apparently been leaking information, to CT's rival. Now the two of them were planning something big. He wasn't sure what, but they had Kyogre. It couldn't be good. CT was on vacation, in Slateport. Should he warn him, or should he stay with Shii and Elvis, to make sure they don't do something stupid? Porter shook his head. He couldn't handle them, alone. Porter was one of only two people that worked for CT, that he really trusted, and the other had betrayed him. CT had given Porter the address of the place he was staying. Right. Time to go find him, then.

There was a series of frantic knocks, at the door. Who could possibly be there, so early?

"I'll get it!" Kai said, gracefully hopping over the small mountain of kids, and bounding to the door. She opened it, revealing a white-haired man, with thick, square glasses and a short beard. He looked scared, nervous. Kai didn't recognize him. "Oh, um, hello. I...I think this is the right address. Is CT Blackstone here?" he said, nervously.

 

Musashi never missed a chance to hear CT's name being uttered, especially when he was a guest and it would be odd for someone to be asking for him, at Ahti's house.

"Kai, get back, I'll answer." he said. He paused."That face, I know you." Over ten years of memories flooded back, all the way back to the lab. "Doctor Porter? You...you look different. Well, you look alive. Also," he cringed. "Kind of green."

Clem finally came running out, her hair done and 'perfect', as she rushed to the door. "Who's there, who's there?"

Porter stood for a moment, stunned. "Musashi?" he finally said, before engaging him in a tight hug. "It's been so long! You've grown, so much!" he smiled. He turned his attention to Clem. He recognized that Furret tail, anywhere. "Speaking of!" he said, with a warm smile. "The last time I saw you, you were just a little squirt!" he said, and shook his head. "You probably don't remember me. That's okay. You were really young."

Kai peeked over, from behind Musashi. "Porter? My name's Porter, too! Kai Porter!" she said, smiling. "Are you related to us? Why is your hair white and green? Those are silly glasses." she continued. The scientist blinked. Who the heck lived here? CT finally stepped back into the living room, once again clean. Glancing over at the door, he noticed Porter. "Stephen?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "I thought I told you not to bother me, unless it was an emergency."

Porter sighed, heavily. "It is an emergency. A big one."

"Hold on!" Musashi said sternly, glancing at Porter and CT. Arceus, why did everyone have to be hugging him? Last he saw Porter, he was still threatening him with his blades; guess Porter saw that as teen angst that a father looks back on, fondly, because it's over.

"I have questions, now. Why does Porter look like this, what do you have to do with it, and how does Porter know to come to Ahti's home to ask for you? Also, what is this 'problem'?"

Clem was a little confused; she didn't have much memory from that long ago, though this man's voice did seem familiar, and calming. She felt a strange sensation to cling to this stranger who apparently knew her.

"Oh, please." CT said, straightening his jacket. "Why would you just assume I had anything to do with this?" he said, smirking at Musashi. "Now, what could possibly be so important, that you felt the need to interrupt my vacation?"

Porter started to speak, but stopped. Did Musashi say this was Ahti's house? Ahti was here. In Slateport. But this wasn't the time to chat with old friends. He looked at Musashi. "Long story short, I'm half Pokémon, I work for CT, and I owe him my life." Porter paused for a short moment, thinking about that last part. "Also my near death, but that's beside the point. The problem is, Elvis is planning something. Something really, really bad. He's got Dr. Blackstone's data, and he's planning to do something involving Legendary Pokémon, with it."

CT's eyes widened. "What?!" he snapped. "How did he get it?!" Porter sighed, not wanting to tell him. "Shii's been leaking information. He gave Elvis the data. I don't know why, or what they're planning."

"That traitorous bastard!!" CT said, literally spitting flames. Shii had always had a few screws loose, but CT never expected him to be capable of something like treachery. That must have been how Elvis knew his real name. How he knew so much about him. "My god...." he said, the gears in his head finally turning. It was Shii. Shii set them up, ten years ago. Shii was the one who told Elvis everything, and talked him into kidnapping Nico. Figured. Shii never really got along, with Nico.

"I swear, I am going to rip his bloody face off..." CT said, in a deep, rumbling growl.

Shade overheard the conversation from another room. "Mac, You are recording this, right?" He asked. "I'm way ahead of you." she replied, as her eyes became a Record symbol.

Musashi sighed. He knew CT was involved in it. What was worse, he couldn't be happy about the irony of CT being betrayed. "Great. I should have finished him off when I had the chance." he said. He called out, "Ahti! You might want to come here!"

Ahti started in, as he heard Musashi call out. In a moment of panic, CT shoved Porter out the door, and slammed it shut. Lash and Bruce had no idea CT had been continuing the research he promised them he'd stop. Glade and Shade were easy to explain, as they could have just been other test subjects of Dr. Blackstone. Porter, however, was not. He had been wholly human, the last time anybody had seen him, and presumed dead. Musashi, Kai and Clem had already seen him. That was a problem.

CT looked at Musashi, panic in his eyes. "They can't know." he said, referring to both, Ahti and Lash. Porter and Ahti were good friends. So much so, Ahti took his last name, in honor of him. Ahti simply couldn't know that Porter had been alive, all this time, subjected to CT's risky experiments, and now worked for him. CT rushed out the door, with Porter, before Ahti came in.

"What's going on?" Ahti said, leaning against a wall. "Somebody was at the door and he looked weird and had big hair!" Kai chimed, happily. CT winced, hearing Kai, from the other side of the door.

Musashi glared at CT. Who did he think he was? Why, in the name of Arceus, would he keep any of his little secrets? Porter was alive!

Clem bounced over to Ahti. "Daddy, he also knew my name and he had glasses, Daddy. Nico's daddy slammed the door on his face, though."

Musashi smirked at CT. Even if Musashi said nothing, there were two children here, and children couldn't keep secrets if their lives depended on it. "Yes, Ahti, he was quite an odd one."

CT cringed. "Blast it all..." he muttered, to himself. Those kids would blab everything, to Ahti. Porter wasn't sure what was going on. Why couldn't he just go see Ahti? "Stay here." CT said, as he left Porter outside. He had to go back inside, and make sure those kids didn't talk. Especially Musashi.

"It was just...someone from Team Aqua. Wanting you to join their cause, or something." he said, with a nervous shrug. Ahti raised an eyebrow, slightly confused. Team Aqua had split up, years ago. Why would somebody from Team Aqua, still be hanging around? Something wasn't right, and he knew it.

Kai looked up at CT. "But...how'd he know Clem's name? And his last name was Po-" CT interrupted Kai, before she could finish that last word. "It was nothing to worry about." he growled. Kai shrugged, and hopped back into the kitchen, with her mother.

CT leaned on the door. Great. Shii had betrayed CT, big time, and now Elvis had Blackstone's data and was planning something bad, with it. Really bad. And he couldn't tell Ahti that Porter was there. "Now what?" he said, in a soft, worried tone, to nobody in particular.

"Daddy, he said he kn-" Clem then spotted a shiny marble Musashi flicked off to the side. "Shiny marble!" she ran after it. "Well, whoever it was, he was looking for him." Musashi said, pointing at CT. He then gave CT a glance that said You owe me, for this.

Ahti crossed his arms. "I thought you said it was Team Aqua. Looking for me." he said, glaring at CT. "I did? Oh, well. They're gone now, so no bother." he said, nervously, and shrugged between Ahti and Musashi. Porter, still standing outside, just shrugged. "Well, now what do I do?" he muttered to himself.



"Shade, you have enough evidence to put Elvis and his accomplices behind bars. What is your course of action?" Mac asked when she finished recording.

"We can't do anything yet, people will get suspicious. We just need to wait for the right time, and besides, my handcuffs are still in the car." Shade whispered nervously.

Meanwhile, Nico and Glade were playing a game of Jenga after they ate breakfast not too long ago. The structure was surprisingly sturdy after seven turns. "Ever got this far into it?" Glade asked after he carefully placed a piece on top.

Nico shook his head. "No, every time I try-" Nico was interrupted, as his sister stomped over, and kicked the structure over, laughing. "That happens...." Nico sighed, pouting. Seymour lay next to him, and gave Mavra a snort of disapproval. "Stupid mutt." she said, about to kick what was left of the Jenga pieces, at the dog.

CT grabbed her arm, and dragged her into the kitchen, with Lash. "How many times have I told you," he growled. "To leave your brother alone?" he placed her in front of Lash. "What's wrong?" she sighed. She could tell by his expression, something other than Mavra's troublesome behavior was on his mind. "Business." he replied. "An..associate is here. Shii's been leaking information, to our rival. I need to deal with it."

Musashi sighed, and ran his fingers through his hair. "Anyway, you already missed him, Ahti, so I called you over for nothing." he said as he glanced at the girl. For Arceus sake, he just had to have an offspring that actually took after him. He sat down with the boys. "So, um. This is a game kids play, these days?"



Meanwhile, far away from Ahti's home, Oceanus awoke. The first thing he noticed was he felt smaller, much smaller. He glanced at his body; he had become human? This was beyond strange, yet he still felt all of his power. He quickly listed the pros and cons to a human body, deciding he could deal with the change for now. He brushed back his long, blue hair and stared out at a strange man.
It was then Oceanus became angry. He was in a cage! Who dared to have the nerve to put the Lord of the Ocean in a cage!? He grabbed the cage, feeling electricity flow through his body. He shouted in pain. "Fool! You dare cage me!? Do you know who I am!?" he found himself bellowing.

Elvis paced next to the electrified cage. "Don't worry. We mean you no harm." he said, grinning. "You'll be freed, soon enough. First, we must capture your brother, though."

Shii only cackled, eagerly awaiting their trip to Mt. Chimney. "Yesyes. Shii awakens the Groudon, the brothers fight, we get-" Elvis waved a hand at Shii, to shut him up. He gave him a glare, that said if he went any further, he'd kill him.

Oceanus heard the word "brother" and stared at the man. He seemed quite confident for some lowly being, and quite cheeky. The other seemed completely bonkers.

"Let me understand this. You dared to cage the great Oceanus, and plan to do the same with my brother. Your purpose is to reawaken our great battle? Your puny goals mean little to me, but finally getting the chance to defeat my brother; you've grasped my attention. What about our father?" he asked, his voice sounding like waves washing over a rocky shore.

 

"So, you're leaving?" Lash said, slightly frustrated. "I have to. In part, because I still owe Elvis a good face melting." he said, with a smirk. Lash sighed, exasperated. "Alright. Fine. But make it quick." she said, with a tired smile. She didn't approve of CT's business, and wanted no part of it. She wished he'd just retire, and spend more time with his family.

He started back to the door, hoping to slip out, unnoticed. Clem spotted him trying to leave, and decided quickly to follow him quietly, out of curiosity.

"Right, then." CT said, walking alongside Porter. "Where are they?"

"Last I saw, they were here, in Slateport. But they're most likely already well on their way to Mt. Chimney, by now. That's where the other Hoenn Legendary lives." Porter replied. Neither of them noticed Clem, behind them. Nico, however, did. He and Seymour hopped up alongside Clem. "What are you doing? You can't follow them. My dad always says it's too dangerous!" he said, quietly. He had hoped she would just turn around, but he quickly found himself tagging along.

Clem smiled at Nico. "Think about it, Nico! We can go on an adventure with your daddy and the silly glasses man. Aren't you curious? Besides, we're tough, we'll be fine."

"Well," Nico started. "I...I guess...maybe...I might be a l-little curious...m-maybe..." he stuttered. Porter finally noticed the talking, behind them. He nudged CT on the shoulder; "I think we have hitchhikers." he said. CT sighed, turning around. "Clem, Nico. Go back to Ahti's. I don't want you involved, in this."

Nico tugged at Clem; "See? I told you. Let's go back. P-please?" Clem gave CT a mischievous smile. "Oh ok, I guess I'll go back to Daddy. I can also tell him about your friend, mister Porter." she said. Clem had reached an age where she knew what blackmail was. "Or you can take us along for your fun adventure and Daddy never has to know."

CT cringed. "Blast it all..." he mumbled, under his breath. "Fine. But I am not responsible, if anything happens!" he growled, storming off.

Porter stayed alongside the kids. "This really isn't something a couple of kids should be involved in..." he said, staying close to them. Nico knew that. He also knew that once Clem had made up her mind, that's what she was going to do, and there was no stopping her. He sighed. What is with girls?

Clem smiled. "It's ok, I'm tough. I even took on this scary guy, and this mean red haired guy, and this really big rawr silver haired guy."






Musashi scratched his head. The games he played with his swarm were, for the most part, different forms of sparring. Musashi happened to be a pro at 'blade clash' himself. "Um, I'm going to go to the bathroom. Maybe I will join you next game."

Shade noticed the commotion going on, and needed to think of something to follow CT. "Musashi, I would like you to follow us when we leave for Mt. Chimney." he asked him. Musashi looked at Shade, oddly. "You're joking, right? Listen, I have responsibilities. I can't just up and leave for a volcano." he looked around. "Huh, where did the boy go? Clem, too..."

Shade did notice that most of the children went missing. "We better go find them, and fast; they are probably doing something that they will regret." Shade urged. Glade tapped Shade on the arm and said to him, "I should go too, for Nico's sake, and Clem's."

Shade sighed, but agreed. "Fine, but don't think that you can play hero though.", before turning back to Musashi and telling him, "So, what do ya' say?"

Musashi groaned. "Damn it, Clem. Now I have to go after them. You can come with me or go by yourself; I don't care where they're headed, but I'm following." he said, getting up. "Ahti! I got some bad news. You know who just left, and Clem and Nico went following him." he said, calling out to the parents. "Lillith, Soto, you two stay here and watch the house."

Ahti groaned. What in the heck was going on, around here? "I'll go with you." he said, starting to follow Musashi. Lash grabbed his shoulder, stopping him. "I think you better stay here. CT doesn't want you involved in his business, not after last time. Musashi and Shade can handle things." she said, smiling. Mavra took the opportunity, while her mom was distracted, and snuck out.

Ahti sighed, but agreed with Lash. CT may have been a criminal scumbag, but he at least cared about his friends, and he certainly wouldn't let anything happen, to Clem.

Shade nodded his head at Musashi. "Alright then, let's go." He said, with Glade and Mac tagging along. They noticed that an unexpected person wanted to tag along as well. "Mavra, you already ruined the Jenga pieces, I don't think your mom would want you to cause you anymore trouble." Glade said to her.

 

"Please, make it stop talking." CT whined, as Clem talked a mile a minute, behind them. "I can't go all the way to Mt. Chimney, like this." Nico never said anything, but he was feeling the same way. He listened to Clem, but Arceus, did she ever talk. Why do girls like talking, so much?

Clem puffed up her cheeks. "It? How rude! I am a lady." she said, striking what she considered to be a 'lady pose'.

"Hardly." CT snarled. Mauville was the next town, and the drive there wasn't long. With Clem tagging along, however, it felt like an eternity. CT slumped in the seat, rubbing at his forehead. "Are we there, yet?" he whined. "You know, you didn't have to bring her." Porter replied. "I don't understand why you're keeping this a secret."

"I have my reasons." CT sighed.

"How rude! I am so a lady you know I spend a lot of time to look and be my best every day and you..." Clem then proceeded into her newest long length of talking, focusing on how rude Nico's daddy was and how her daddy was never that rude in all her life.

"Stephen," CT groaned. "Do you have any duct tape, in this car?" he said, his tolerance for Clem's motormouth nearly at minimum. Porter shook his head, and laughed. "No, sir. But we're here." he replied, stopping at the base of Mt. Chimney.

"Oh, thank Arceus." CT grumbled, slamming the car door shut and starting toward the cable cars. Porter turned, facing Clem, and shrugged. "Sorry about him. He's got other stuff on his mind." He noticed Nico eyeing the huge mountain. He had never seen anything like Mt. Chimney, before. "You kids might wanna wait for us, here. I don't know what's gonna happen, up there, but I don't want either of you getting hurt."






Following behind was Musashi, followed by Shade and Mavra. Musashi felt a strange presence behind him and turned around, noticing the girl with the long bangs.

"Wait, when did she start following us?" he asked, "Hey, um. Blackstone girl. Listen, we're going somewhere quite possibly dangerous, so you're going to have to stay behind so you don't get hurt."

Mavra completely ignored Musashi. Well, not completely. She stomped on his foot, and continued on. She had made up her mind that she was tagging along, and Musashi was not going to stop her.

Musashi winced. "Ow, that smarts!" he said through his teeth. Man, what was with this girl? He couldn't let a child be put in danger; why was CT's family so stubborn?






Meanwhile, Oceanus stared a this captor. Already he was bored.
"You!" he shouted. "I grow tired of this waiting and this cage! I wish to make my presence known, bring my tidal floods on to my brother's precious continents. I demand you release me from this cage so I may let the world know I have returned!"

Shii only cackled, at the Titan. "Blueman not go anywhere, no. Birdman goes to volcano mountain, yes. Awaken brother, yes. Have big plans for you both, we do." Shii hit the cage, using his Protect to shield him from the electricity. "Now, shut your noise hole! Shii has more important things to do, yes."

Oceanus glared daggers, at Shii. "You miserable vermin, you dare taunt the Lord of the Ocean? You dare mock Oceanus? I vow the moment I am out of this accursed cell, I will teach you the meaning of pain, over several decades."

Shii just cackled at Oceanus, some more. As soon as he was out of that cage, he would have other things to deal with. "Does blueman never shut noise hole?" Shii hissed, tossing a glob of Toxic at the cage. It just bounced off the outside, and slid to the floor. The cell was made to deflect attacks, from the inside and out. It just made Shii feel better, to throw something.

"You little vermin! I will make sure you regret your disrespect!" Oceanus spat angrily at Shii, glaring as his power built up around him.

 

Clem puffed up her cheeks. "Why do you keep telling me that? I'm tough, you know! I took on lotsa tough guys and gave them a big ol' headbutt! I can handle myself, hmph."

Porter found himself taking both the kids, up the mountain. Clem was very persuasive. Nico stayed clinging to his dad, the whole time. He didn't like heights. Or big, scary, magma-filled mountains. "Nick," CT said, exasperated. "I told you not to come. You didn't have to follow Clementine, you know."

"Sh-she's..very persuasive..." Nico muttered, clinging tighter as the cable car rose even higher. CT set his hand on Nico's shoulder, in part trying to calm him down, but also because he was just as nervous. Elvis was awakening the Hoenn Legendaries, and using Blackstone's research for...something. Even CT knew not to mess with Legendaries, and had tried, for years, to keep the encrypted data out of the wrong hands. Not that he was a saint, or anything, but the whole rule-the-world thing wasn't really his style.




Musashi sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. Here he was, following after CT, Porter, and the kids while being followed by the other Blackstone kid and some PI. Great, just great. "Hey you, PI dude. What chance do you think we really have? I mean, he's waking up legendaries right? Earth changing titan type legendaries?"

"I'm not too familiar with the legends." Shade said. "But I'll know it when I see it."

Before long, they were all in the cable car, going to Mt. Chimney. "Of course Elvis is going to have an evil headquarters there; it's about as original as an underwater complex, or a space station..." Glade said with a sarcastic voice. One thing that Mac didn't tell anyone is that she has an internal music player that plays during awkward times, and in this case, The Imperial March was playing.

"I love Star Wars, but I dunno if it's a good time to be playing that." Shade said.




At the top of the mountain, meanwhile, Elvis was already in the process of awakening Groudon. Elvis smirked, as the huge titan emerged from the magma.

Hyperion never thought he would be awakened. He was content, slumbering in magma; he had plenty of land. Now that he was awake, he realized how much bigger the continents could be. He let out a mighty roar, raising his claws into the air.

He paused, he smelled something. Oceanus. He smelled Oceanus. Was he awake, too? He looked down. This little vermin woke him up, hm? He was going to regret doing so.

Musashi froze when he heard the roar. "Um....could someone please tell me that was not the roar of Groudon being awakened?"

Shade heard the roar, and thought to himself, "Well, that shut me up." He knew that he couldn't let his little brother take on whatever it was in there; he could easily get killed. "Glade, I have a job for you."

"Yes?" Glade responded.

"Make sure that... Mavra doesn't go in the volcano when we get out of the cable car, and have her wait til her father comes out."

"Fine by me."

Mavra let out a huff. Who did that guy think he was? He wasn't the boss, of her. She was going with Musashi, whether they liked it, or not.

Clem's eyes widened when she heard the roar. "Um....Nico's daddy? I think I peed a little."

Nico clung even tighter, to CT, when the loud roar bellowed and echoed throughout the caverns. "That's why I told you to go home, Clementine." CT growled, keeping Nico close to him. CT wasn't a very clingy person, but it was a reflex. He wasn't about to let anything happen to Nico, again. Clem remained close to CT. "I-It's ok. I was just surprised."

Elvis grinned at the huge creature, readying all sorts of needles and equipment. "Get him sedated, first." he said, waving a hand at one of his associates. The tranquilizers were made from Stun Spore and Sleep Powders, to ensure the titan not only slept, but didn't fidget, while they were in the middle of transforming him into a much easier-to-control body.

Hyperion roared again. How dare these vermin come near him! He swiped a massive hand, sending a few unfortunate men flying off the mountain. He glared at the man. Sedate the great Earth Lord Hyperion? He must be joking.

Musashi drew his blades and rushed forward. He had to hurry to at least where CT and the children were. He spotted them. "There you are! Please tell me Groudon wasn't awakened."

CT started to step forward, but both kids were clinging to him. He turned to Musashi, who had apparently followed them, as well. "Blast it all! Who else is following me?" he snapped. Mavra ran alongside Musashi, and stopped, next to him. "You brought my daughter, with you?!"

Groudon let out another rumbling roar, answering Musashi's question. "The bloody hell are they doing??" CT snarled, watching Elvis make sure the mighty Legendary was sedated. "Time to sleep, now." Elvis said, calmly, shooting a dart at the large beast. Hyperion felt tired, his consciousness fading. Crap, these vermin actually got him. What shame.

"I didn't bring her, she followed me. So did that PI and his little brother." Musashi replied. "No time for bickering, looks like Elvis knocked out Groudon. Now's our chance!" Musashi ran forward. "Clem, Nico, and Nico's sister. You three please stay back, we'll handle him."

CT grabbed Musashi's shirt, pulling him back. "You can't just go barging in on him. He nearly pulped you, last time." He couldn't believe he just did that. Under normal circumstances, he would loved to have let Musashi kept going, but it seemed he was in protective mode, at the moment.

"Blast...something's not right..." CT mumbled, to himself. "You knew about this whole thing. They let you go, knowing you'd go straight to me. Why?" he said, turning to Porter. Porter's eyes widened. "Oh, crap. They wanted us here..." he said, quietly. Elvis knew how CT worked. Get him angry, and he would charge in, without thinking things through. That was exactly what he was counting on. Elvis glanced over at the group, and gave them a smirk, as Groudon was being prepared for transformation and containment.

 

"We can't just let him go! He has Groudon, and Arceus knows what he's going to do with two of the weather trio! You're just gonna let him do what he wants!?" Musashi shouted, trying to tug away from him. "I'll be smarter this time, I'll strike first with my Vacuum Wave."

Musashi then realized something terrible. Clem was charging in, with no one stopping her. "Clem, no!" he called after her as she began to glow, moving at a much faster speed.

Clem's Quick Attack was met with a shield of glowing energy. Elvis cackled, as Clem hit the force field, head on. That wasn't Elvis' laugh. Clem was knocked back, as a purple glob was tossed at her. CT clenched his fists and teeth; "You bastard! After all I did, for you!" he shouted, at Shii.

Shii's Illusion dropped, once Groudon's transformation process had begun. "Ferrovax did nothing, for Shii! All ever did, was hit Shii! Was much nicer, to boy." he said, turning a sharp glance, at Nico. "All Shii ever wanted, was to be treated as fairly. So Shii gets rid of boy, and Ferrovax will like Shii, yes?"

CT stood for a moment, stunned. "That's it? You were just jealous, so you thought you'd send the world into chaos?" Shii shrugged. CT knew he had a few screws loose, but this was over the top, even for Shii.

Electrified force-fields shot up from the ground, like land mines, encasing them in a containment unit, much like Oceanus had been kept it. "I, on the other hand," Elvis said, from behind. "Wish to eliminate my competition." he said, with a smirk.

Clem rubbed her head, whining. Musashi glared. "Damn it, Elvis, are you insane!? You are bringing up the end of the world here! You'll die, along with all of us, with Kyogre and Groudon released!"

Elvis paced around the cage, glaring right back at Musashi. "Not if I can control them." he said, with a smug grin. "Kyogre is safe and sound, in a containment unit much like this one. It's made to deflect attacks, from the inside and out." he stopped, looking at CT. "And with them both in a human body, they are significantly weakened. I must thank you, Ferrovax."

"For what?" CT growled. Elvis grinned; "For giving me that data, of course. It should have been destroyed, but you just left it there for your pet to give to me, on a silver platter." he said, walking off, to oversee the transformation.

CT hit a fist on the wall of the unit, shouting in pain as the electricity shocked him. He fell down to his knees; "Damn it! Damn it, all!" he said, quietly. "He's right...I should have destroyed it..."

Musashi sighed. "We can't change that, now. You're crazy, Elvis. You think you can control Kyogre and Groudon? What's next, are you going to say you're going to control Arceus? Even if you made them human, they're still the two titans of continent and ocean. You can't just control them, no one can!"

"No one's done what I have done. They're powerful, not immortal. Now, if you don't mind, I have other business to attend." Elvis said, walking away and toward the now-human Groudon.

"Blast it all..." CT said, quietly. "I should have destroyed that infernal data, when I had the chance. I thought it was safe...I trusted him...this is all my fault..." Nico remained close to his dad, terrified. "What...what's going on? What data?" he whimpered.

CT sighed, heavily. "Blackstone was researching the Distortion World, and how to open a gateway to it. If Elvis is doing what I think he's doing, we're all in big trouble.

"The Distortion World!?" Musashi shouted, whipping around to face CT. "Are you all mad? Do you know what resides in there?" He turned back to Elvis. "Are you trying to destroy us all!? You're going to put the world in chaos to release the world destroyer? Arceus banished him for a reason, Elvis!"

"That's why I was trying to keep this data hidden. To keep something like this, from happening." CT sighed. "A lot of good that did." he said, glaring at Shii. Shii only shot him a smirk.

Hyperion groaned as he stirred in his slumber. He felt considerably smaller and lighter. He felt the rough volcanic ground on his skin. Wait, skin? His eyes cracked open as he looked at his claws attached to softer skinned arms. Where were his scales? His mighty tail? His spikes?

Elvis grinned, observing the newly-human Groudon. "Get him contained, and get ready to move out." Glade and Mac stayed in the cable car, and therefore weren't caught with everyone. Without saying a word, they quietly followed Elvis.


Time slipped by. Elvis got away with both Groudon and the group of "heroes" in tow. He brought them onto a submarine and toward a base hidden in the Hoenn region's ocean.

Oceanus sat in his cell, sniffing the air. "My brother, you have brought him here." he said, a blue aura of power forming around the Ocean Lord.

Musashi's eyes widened. No, he had turned them both human, and now the warring titans were in the same building! He looked at CT. "We have to do something, if Elvis has his way we'll all be dead, the children included. Please tell me you have a plan." he whispered to CT, not wanting the psychotic bird man to hear him.

"The plan," CT growled, "Was to not let anyone get a hold of the data, in the first place." he said, slumping against the wall of the cage. "What can we do, but sit here and watch?" Mavra, meanwhile, had enough of this cage. She began hitting at it, using Inferno to create flaming fists. The electricity didn't seem to bother her.

"Hey," Nico piped up. Seymour lay in his lap, also unsure of what to do. "Why isn't the cage shocking you?" Mavra continued to hit at it, desperately trying to break free. "I'm a Ground type, stupid. It doesn't affect me." CT sighed; "Mavra, settle down. You heard Elvis. It was also made to deflect attacks; we're not getting out of here."

"Maybe if we combine some of our powers... it reflects Moves right?" He pulled out his swords. "What if Mavra weakened the glass with her fire, slowly? I can cut us out."

"It won't work, Musashi." CT groaned. "Hey," Nico chimed. "It's Mac!" he said, as the android hacked the security system, disabling the electricity. Glade and Mac appeared in front of the cage. "Why did everyone and their dog come along, anyway?" he asked Mac. "If I knew that, then this would have never happened." Mac replied. "Now then..." Mac used her super-powered "brain" to hack the cage and disable the electrical field. "Wonderful. That takes care of that problem." he said, tapping a fist on the wall. "But this is still here. If deflects Attacks. Even if you hit it with a super powerful move, the shockwave would come right back at us.

"It...it's worth a try though, r-right?" Nico said, nervously. "No." CT said, dryly. "The containment units back in Blackstone's lab were made out of the same thing. We can't just cut or blast our way out; it has to be opened, from the outside."

"From the outside, huh?" Musashi sighed, running his hand through his hair. "So what, we just sit here? Watch the world come to an end?"

Oceanus and Hyperion stared each other down.

"Brother, I see you're human, too."
"Ha! Don't mock me, Oceanus. I bet you didn't even put up a fight."
"You actually got to fight, Brother? With you fighting, you still got caught?"
"You! I will blast you! Crush your bones!"
"Tough talk, for an overgrown lizard!"
"Tough talk, for an overgrown fish!"
They began to shout at each other, their auras growing bigger. The two brothers continued to shout at each other, their eyes full of hatred.

"Man, those two fight worse than us." Musashi mused. Clem whined. "I wanna get out of here." She walked over to the glass, hitting it to make noise. "Hey! Mister jerk! Let me out, I gotta pee!"

"Hey, Champion Talker, I just thought of something." Shade said to him, before he walked through the glass. "I just remembered I am a Ghost type, now. I didn't think that would actually work though..."

Mac finished hacking the cage and released the locks on the cage, opening it in the process. "Nothing that science can't achieve." Mac boasted.

"Well, then..." CT said, raising an eyebrow. "I suppose I owe you one. Don't think this makes us friends or anything, though." Seymour bounded out, barking at the two brothers. Nico held him back; "I don't think you can handle them, buddy." he said, in a frightened voice. Seymour just emitted a low growl, whipping his head around to another area.

Elvis was there, watching. "I must say, it took you much longer to escape that, than I thought." he said, with a smirk. "Now, if you don't mind, I'll be on my way. Wouldn't want to be here, when the titans are released from their cages." he said, holding up some sort of device, that would deactivate the containment units, one he was at a safe distance.

Musashi's eyes widened. "We have to get out of here! Now!" he shouted, grabbing Clem and Mavra as he started to run out of the base. "We have to escape before those two are released! We stand no chance against them."

"And how do you suggest we do that?!" CT snapped. Mavra didn't seem to be paying attention to anything other than Musashi, at the moment. "If any of you know how to pilot a submarine, I'd love to know!" CT continued.

Porter tapped CT on the shoulder, and pointed at the android. "What about..um...her?" he said, unsure, turning to Mac. "You are a 'her', right?"

"I am an OS, but my avatar happens to have a female figure...and yes." Mac replied. Shade lead everyone to the submarine bay, but not without saying, "Ozzy was right, he's going off the rails like a Crazy Train." in reference to CT losing his mind.

Musashi carried the girls into the sub. "Well, if you can drive, then hurry up and do so. Those two are about to blow this place all to smithereens. You girls ok?"

"I still have to pee but I'm ok." Clem replied.

Oceanus and Hyperion roared louder. "I can't wait to get my hands on you, Oceanus! I'll get you for taking half of Slateport!"

"Slateport is better that way! In fact it needs more water!"

CT managed to pry Nico off him, just long enough to make sure he got in the sub, first. CT glanced behind him; the Titans' cages were still closed. Elvis hadn't left, yet. He looked back, at Musashi. "Take care of them." he said, shutting the door to the sub, and heading for the neighboring one. "Dad!" Nico shouted, attempting to go after him. Porter held him back. "He'll be fine, Nick. I promise. Mac, get us out of here, before those cages open!"

"CT!" Musashi shouted. "Damn it, I should have gone with him! He can't win by himself! What was he thinking?"

Elvis' door was opened, and the thudding of somebody hopping in, was heard. "You can't stop this, you know." Elvis smirked, not turning around. "The Titans are awake, and Rayqauza will soon awaken, himself. If all goes according to plan, Giratina will open the Distortion World."

"You're insane!" CT snapped, as the sub started descending. "What could you possibly have to gain, by destroying the world?!" Elvis chuckled. "Destroy it? Of course not! I want to merge the worlds! I can transform Groudon and Kyogre; I can transform Giratina, too. Control him. Use his powers, to make people fear me." Elvis pressed a button, on the device he was holding, unleashing the titans from the cells. "And it's too late, to stop me."

The cages were open; nothing could stop the brothers, now. Oceanus and Hyperion charged into each other, moves blasting. They roared as the waves went insane, rain pouring down upon everyone.

"The hell it is!" CT snapped, charging a Dark Pulse, to hurl at Elvis. It was blocked, by Shii's Protect. "You." CT growled. "I am going to tear your blasted face off!" he snarled, clenching his teeth and readying a Focus Blast. It was blocked by another Protect, and countered with a Toxic. CT stumbled, as the purple glob poisoned him. "You treacherous bastard!" he growled, throwing another Focus Blast at Shii. Shii quickly dodged it. He had no offensive attacks that would hurt CT, so all he could do was dodge, until the Toxic wore him out.

Which is exactly what it did. "I swear," CT panted. "I swear I'll kill you...." he coughed, slumping against the wall of the sub. "About time." Elvis scoffed. "That was getting very annoying."

 

The submarine surfaced at a familiar pier, in Slateport. After Shade got out, all he could say was, "All this has made me feel tired; I wonder if Ahti will let us spend one more night at his place? Or at least let me take a nap..."

Glade couldn't help but be a bit mad. "Shade, I dunno if we'll have time for this, if the Distortion World is really gonna merge, here." before long, Glade also started feeling tired."... but for some reason, I'm feeling sleepy, too." before he passed out.

Nico, terrified and now worried about his dad, clung to Musashi. Mavra rarely showed emotion, but she stayed close to him, too. Seymour hopped out, happy to get away from all that water. "So," Porter sighed, worried. "Now what do we do?"

Musashi sighed. Seemed the Blackstone kids would be clinging to him a lot, in their youth.

"Daddy!" Clem called out, jumping out and running to Ahti, clinging to him. "Daddy, the bad birdy man caught us and he woke up these big angry people and they're fighting now and Musashi says he wants to let out a big baddy person who will destroy the world and there's a flood coming and the robot lady drove the submarine and now we're here and I still haven't peed."

Ahti blinked at Clem, trying to process everything she had said. Bird man. Destroy the world. Flooding. Right. Bad. "Elvis." Ahti finally said. "We need to leave. Now. Where's Ferro?" he said, noticing the lack of CT. Nico looked up at Ahti, fear in his eyes. "Is he.."

"He went after Elvis, who I'm sure is headed for Sky Pillar. He can handle himself." Porter said, stepping up. Ahti's eyes widened, and he stood for a moment, stunned. There was a long moment of silence, before Porter finally broke it. "Hi, Ahti."

"Yes yes, you can be stunned in the sub, Ahti. Get everyone and load them in; luckily this thing is big. This whole beach is gonna be submerged soon!" Musashi called out. "You two get inside, I'm going to get the citizens of Slateport to head inland."

"Will we all be ok, Daddy?" Clem asked Ahti. Seeing him stunned, she looked at Zero.

"Look, we can talk about things, later." Porter said. "Get your family in the sub. I need to get to Sky Pillar. You can come with me, or you can stay. But I can't let Elvis open the Distortion World." Ahti blinked. There were a lot of thoughts going through his mind, right now. Porter was alive? His friend. And he was here. Looking a lot more green, than the last time he had seen him. Ahti tried to push all those thoughts aside. This wasn't the time. "I'll come with you. Clem, you stay here, and get to safety."

Zero nodded, in agreement, and grabbed Musashi's shoulder. "Lash and I can take care of that. You need to go, with Ahti." Nico stepped up, next to Porter. "I....I'm going, too..." he squeaked. "Nick, you need to stay-" Porter started, but Nico interrupted him. "I want to go. Please." he pouted. Musashi sighed. "Okay, get everyone to head as far inland as they can."

"I'll come along, too; I have to arrest the Evil King of Rock, anyway." Shade said to Ahti. "We'll find a place to drop off my brother when we get inland; he isn't exactly 'here' at the moment." Mac carried the still-napping Glade, and said to Shade, "We need a vacation, after this; just not on the beach. Preferably somewhere snowy or something." Shade only replied with a nod.




CT opened his eyes. His vision was blurry, but it didn't feel like they were underwater, anymore. Where were they? A mighty roar was heard. Rayquaza? There were voices. The poison made everything a blur, but he could hear voices.

"My deepest apologies, Rayquaza." Elvis said, pacing the cell of the now-human master of the weather trio. "But I must keep you contained. We can't have you interrupting your sons' quarrel, now. I have plans, for them."

The tall man, with proud horns on his head with long emerald green hair, glared at Elvis. "Are you daft? I'm the only one that can stop those two, once they've started." he said in a stern voice. "Unless you all have a death wish, you well let me out of this cell, immediately." Ouranos the Rayquaza, Lord of the Skies, stared down the fool who caged him.

Elvis looked at him, and grinned. "I don't want them to stop fighting. That's why you're being held captive!" he smirked. Shii cackled, swaying back and forth. "Dragonman stay here, yes. Fishman and lizardman fight, yes. Cause chaos, they will. Open gate to Distortion World, yes. Then Shii gets rid of boy." he said, growling in the last sentence. "Yes, yes. Meanwhile, I have other plans, for the Distortion World." Elvis added.

Ouranos stared at the two. "Are you insane? You want to bring all of the world to chaos and ruin? You all have a death wish?" He glared at the insane black haired one. "You'll be getting rid of much more than some boy, you twitching fool! You'll die as well, you all will die. The world destroyer will eliminate you all, without distinction! All will be death and decay." he said. Were these all madmen? "The world destroyer is more powerful than the entire weather trio, combined! He was banished by Arceus, himself! Do you think yourself equal to Arceus?"

 

Meanwhile, the small group had taken Ahti's boat, and was heading toward Sky Pillar. A majority of the ride was in silence. "I don't know why CT didn't tell you, about me." Porter finally said. "Maybe he thought he was protecting you; I don't know. Don't be mad at him, though." Ahti sighed, heavily. "Bruce told me Ferrovax killed you. All these years, I thought you were dead. You were the only one there who was kind, to me. You were my friend. That's why I took your last name. Now I find out you're alive. That he's been keeping you, all this time. That you're working with him, and even you never bothered to let me know you were alive. How am I supposed to feel?"

Porter sighed, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry. You're right; I should have told you. You have every right, to be angry." he left it at that, and neither of them said anything more. Musashi walked over to Porter and Ahti. "We all thought you were dead. Though, to be honest, I wasn't too heartbroken over it. We never really got to hit it off with me being. Well. Me. Bruce said Ferrovax burnt you up, how did you even survive?"

"He did." Porter replied. "I don't know what happened. The last thing I remember, was seeing fire. Lots of fire. Then I must've gone unconscious. Maybe CT drug me out, maybe Lasciel or Bruce did. I don't know. Somebody got me out, though, and when I woke up, I was in some kind of hospital. CT took care of me, for years. Then he started working on some new kind of experiment; merging Pokémon DNA with human beings. That's why I'm," Porter gestured to his white hair; "Well. Like this. Roserade's Natural Cure ability cured most of my burns, though there's still a few scars, as I'm sure you can tell."

"He saved my life. I don't think he ever intended to kill me. He'll never admit it, but he's still loyal, to his old friends." Porter said, looking to Musashi. "I saw that, back on Mt. Chimney, when he held you back."




"Not yet." Elvis calmly retorted. "But with Giratina's power, I can be." he smirked. "You can't," CT said, trying to catch a breath. "You can't do this. You can't control him." he said, weakly. "Oh? And who's going to stop me, hm? You look a little under the weather. How about you sit down, and rest?" he snarled, using his scarf, to whip an Air Slash at CT.

CT fell to the ground, but wobbled back up. "You're relentless, aren't you?" Elvis sneered. CT's hands began to glow a bright orange; "You have no idea." he said. He was barely able to stand, but managed to put all the energy he had left, into one powerful Focus Blast, and send it hurtling straight to Elvis. It was promptly blocked by Shii's Protect. Another reflective shield of energy appeared in front of Elvis. It looked almost like a mirror. CT's eyes widened, as it finally dawned on him that this was Elvis' Mirror Move. "Oh, fu-"

CT's Focus Blast was thrown right back at him, full force, sending him into the wall and caving it in. The blast likely could have been seen, by any passerbys. Elvis stared at the unconscious hydreigon, making sure he wasn't going to be getting up, anytime soon. "Good." he finally said. "That takes care of that, then."

Ahti remained silent. All he could do right now, was listen. Sky Pillar could be seen, in the distance, as could an explosion, at the top. "Wh-what...what was that?" Nico stuttered, staying close to Musashi.

Lord Cyrus slumbered in the Distortion World. He was known as the World Destroyer, banished by Arceus to prevent his path of chaotic destruction. His eyes opened as he felt a disturbance. An opening. Yes, Cyrus was going to be free.

Musashi stared at the explosion."Nicky, that is something that's spelling out something very bad. Oh no." He stared as a large purplish black tear in the sky formed. "Porter, do me a favor. Please tell em that is not what I think it is."

Cyrus felt the dimensional tear form. He moved towards it, never one to shake off opportunity.

"Fool! You will never control the World Destroyer! You've doomed us all!" Ouranos shouted.

Meanwhile, the warring brothers stopped their feuding as they spotted the tear. The fear welling inside them as they realized what was coming made them forget their hatred for each other.

Cyrus burst forth from the tear, giving an Earth shattering roar. His massive serpentine frame flew around, covered in shadow until the gravity affected him. He grew large legs and landed on top of spear pillar, glaring down at everyone.

Elvis looked right back up, at Giratina, looking him right in the eyes. "Welcome, my Lord!" he said, with a slight bow. "So glad you could make it, to my little party." he smirked. He nodded at Shii, who was readying a sedative and containment unit. "Soon, your power will be mine." Elvis said, grinning.


Nico stayed clinging to Musashi, as Ahti anchored the boat, near the base of Sky Pillar. Ahti didn't want to say it, in front of Nico, but if CT went there to stop Elvis, and didn't, something had happened. And that explosion, earlier, was not a good sign. "Nick, I think you should stay here." Ahti said, trying not to show too much fear or worry, in his tone.

Nico stepped up, next to Ahti. "N-no...no, it's okay. I...I wanna go...Dad would go, if it were me, up there." he said, in his usual shy, quiet voice. Ahti nodded. It might be safer with the group, anyway. "I think it would be better if I came with you; I'm better handled in CQC, after all. That, and I don't think Vlad would want you hurt." Shade replied to Nico.

Nico nodded at Shade. He felt a little better, being with Ahti, Musashi, and now Shade. It didn't change the fact that it was all still terrifying, but it made things a little better. Ahti regarded Shade with a small grin. "Right. Guess we better get started, then. It's a long way, up." He said, as they started heading up the huge tower.

 

Cyrus stared down at the miserable fools, who let him out. The gravity pressed on him, altering his form to a smaller, more humanoid form. He wore a golden regal garb as his shadow-like wings spread open. "Who is the one who has released me? Allow me to...give my thanks." he said in a dark voice that make one's skin crawl.

"It was I, my Lord." Elvis said, readying the sedatives and cell, never taking his eyes off Giratina. Shii felt uneasy, being in the presence of somebody called the "World Destroyer". "Shii maybe thinks might have been bad idea, after all." he said, staring at the titan. "Not expect dragon ghost to be so....big." Elvis waved him off. "Too late for regret, Naagloshii. Now, gather your nerves, and help me. Giratina and I must commence merging."

Merging? Did he say he was going to merge, with Giratina? Blast! I need to stop him. Can't let him. Can't seem to move...feel so tired. Why aren't I moving? CT remained still, on the ground. He was out cold, but still able to subconsciously hear everything. The poison was getting worse. He was hurt, badly. He was slipping, and there was nothing he could do, to stop Elvis.

He heard a squeaky voice echo; "Dad!!" Nicky? Is that you? No, get out of here! He'll kill you! CT was still unable to move, and his thoughts were unheard. Nico went rushing to his dad. Porter tried to hold him back, but he wriggled out of his grip.

Cyrus smiled. "Your Lord. Yes, I like that. Please." Cyrus dropped down, level with Elvis. "Allow me to thank you for your services."

Ouranos piped in. "Don't! He's going to-" Cyrus opened his mouth, building up dark energy as he blasted a Dragon Pulse attack at Elvis.

The powerful Dragon Pulse blasted Elvis across the room. "Well," Elvis growled, getting back on his feet. "That was certainly an unpleasant turn of events." he snarled, as a reflective oval manifested, in front of him. "If you want to play it rough, then so be it!" he shouted, shooting Giratina's Dragon Pulse right back at him.

Cyrus blocked the returned Dragon Pulse with his wings, the wings turning to shadow for a moment. "Insolent maggot, you truly think yourself equal to the mighty Lord Cyrus?" his body began to glow, ready to crush all insolence with his Giga Impact attack. "Go rot in the dirt, where you belong!" he roared as he charged at Elvis.

"We have to stop him!" Ahti snapped. "What we need to do, is free Rayquaza!" Porter shouted, back. "Even with all of us, together, we can't easily beat Giratina!" Ahti sighed. That was the most logical thing to do. But how? Elvis couldn't possibly last, very long. Once he was down, Giratina would focus his attention on the others. Ahti thought it over, for what felt a lot longer than it was.

"Go for Rayquaza. Shade, Musashi and I can distract Giratina." he said, to Porter.

Distract Giratina? CT stirred, a bit. "Dad?" Nico said, terrified and teary-eyed. "Need....need to help them..." CT said, weakly. "I'll be fine. They...nnnh...they need you." he shivered. "N-no..I can't....I can't do it...I don't wanna leave you, here..." he whimpered, fear staining his voice. The poison got progressively worse, as time went by, but CT managed to sit up just long enough, to embrace Nico in a tight hug. "You're s...strong. I know you can. I'll be fine. This...this isn't the worst situation I've gotten myself into." Nico remained latched on to his dad, until CT leaned back against the wall. "Although, if any of you happened to bring an Antidote, I certainly wouldn't mind having it, about now." he said, with a weak grin. Nico gave him a half smile, back. "Come on, now. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can go home. Now, go on." CT said, before starting to lose consciousness, again.

Nico stood and turned, facing Giratina and the others. He took a deep breath, and rushed, to stand next to Shade. He was still afraid. What if he chickened out? What if somebody else got hurt? What if they didn't get his dad to a clinic, in time? He tried not to let the fear show, but it was hard not to.
Musashi stepped up beside CT. With a sigh, he pulled out a small spray bottle and tossed it into his lap. "Rules of Viridian: Always have one handy. " he said. CT coughed, taking the Antidote. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but does this mean you actually care about my well being?" he said, trying to smirk. Musashi glared. "Well, you seem fine enough to run your mouth, but don't flatter yourself."

Giratina was a Ghost type, just like Shade was, but he couldn't let it win either way. He used Hex on the Giratina. "Nico, we will die anyway, if we don't work together on this; what would go with Hex?"

"Well, it looks like you've got his attention!" Ahti called out, to Shade. "God, I hope this works. Keep hitting him, with Hex!" Ahti shouted, electricity crackled around his hands, as he threw a bolt of lightning at Giratina, hoping it would inflict paralysis.

Cyrus paused. He felt himself hit by a ghostly twinge and electricity. He turned to glare at Shade, with menace. "You. Flame-headed child. You dare strike at the great Lord Cyrus!? Prepare for oblivion!" He faded into shadow. Cyrus' Shadow Force attack was ready to strike as he slid out of the shadows to attack Shade. "Die!"

"Don't hurt him!" Nico shouted, as he tackled Shade out of the way. He didn't know where Giratina was going to land, but he was headed for Shade. Nico was a Dark type. Maybe it wouldn't hurt, so bad. It still hurt. A lot. Giratina lept up out of the shadows, hitting Nico, instead of Shade.

"Nick!!" CT called out, trying to move. A sharp pain caused him to grab at his side. "Buggering hell!" he said, clenching his teeth, and leaning over. That most definitely felt like a cracked rib, or three. That Focus Blast must've hit harder, than he realized. Blasted humans were so frail.

"I'm okay!" Nico said, wobbling back up. "I...I think....I think I'm okay!" Ahti snarled, at Giratina. He hurt the kid. Now he was angry. After the last battle against Elvis, Ahti knew better, this time. He had a small canteen of water, with him. He popped it open, the water gathering around his fist, and hardening into ice. "Hey!" he shouted. "Leave him alone!" he said, hurling a powerful fist of Ice into Giratina.

Cyrus blocked the icy fist with his wings. Curse this ice! He glared, ready to roar. "Insolence! All this insolence, from you maggots! You die, too!" He opened his mouth, blasting a Dragon Pulse at Ahti. Musashi drew his blades, sending air slashes at the distracted Cyrus.



Porter, meanwhile, was rushing toward Rayquaza. Elvis had been taken out, by Giratina's Giga Impact, so he was down for the count. Shii, on the other hand, was not. "Porterade too late. Can't stop it. Shii not letting you free snakeman, no."

"Try and stop me!" Porter said, taunting Shii. Shii took the threat, and threw up his Protect, anticipating Porter to attack. Porter smirked. He was counting on that. He raised his arms, hands glowing. A bright orb of energy appeared, and ascended toward the ceiling, creating an artificial "sun". Shii growled. It was very dog-like, and not something any human could emit. His eyes glowed, as he tossed a beam of colorful energy, at Porter. Right. Shii knew Extrasensory. The half-Roserade took the hit, but bounced back. Shii wasn't exactly the best battler.

Another fiery orb appeared in Porter's hands, and he threw a powerful, searing hot Weather Ball at Shii, knocking him back and causing him to yelp. "I guess Roserade's not so bad, after all." Porter said, to nobody in particular.

 

Ahti gathered the broken pieces of ice, and formed them into an icy shield, offering any sort of protection from the Dragon Pulse, he could get. It still knocked him back, but the ice took most of the impact. Ahti got back to his feet, groaning. "I'm getting too old, for this."

Shade was astonished that Nico saved him; he can barely say a sentence without stuttering, yet he was brave enough to take the bullet for him. "Thank you, Nico. I'll make sure that Glade and I give you something really nice, and then some, when we go back to Unova." he said to him.

"U-um...yeah...n-no problem..." he said, to Shade. Nico thought to himself, for a moment. No wonder his dad kept him so sheltered. Once all this was over, he was never leaving the house, ever again.

"Now then..." Shade said before he continued to use Hex as much as he could on Giratina. Cyrus roared loudly, whipping to face Shade. "You have struck me for the last time, boy. Prepare to die." he said darkly, charging up another Dragon Pulse.

Nico watched, as the beast charged another attack, at Shade. "Leave him alone!" he shouted, charging an attack, himself. The powerful Dark Pulse hit Giratina, smack in the face. "Oh. Crap." Nico said, his eyes widening as he realized all he probably did, was piss him off.

Indeed, the Dark Pulse did anger Cyrus. It angered him, greatly. He turned to the little maggot he it earlier. "You dare. Strike the great Lord Cyrus, in the face?" He charged a new Dragon Pulse, at Nico.



Porter poked at Shii, making sure he was unconscious. He wasn't. Shii grabbed his foot, and swung him into the wall. "Stupid. Stupid, stupid. Shii is not that weak, no. Stupid Porterade's fire ball of fire not hurt Shii, so bad." he winced, walking toward Porter, with a slight limp. He shot another beam of Extrasensory at Porter. Now it was doing a little more damage, than what he would like.

Porter grabbed Shii's arm, and began to glow green. The faint aura became brighter, as Shii fell to his knees, the energy completely drained from him. Porter got up, and dusted off. "Bad dog." he said, and rushed to Rayquaza's containment cell.

Ouranos looked to Porter. "Quick! You! Release me! There's not much time!" Porter, meanwhile, was disabling the electric force field on the cell. "I'm going, as fast as I can!" he shouted, in panic. The walls to the cell were finally down, releasing Rayquaza from his prison.

"Cyrus!" Ouranos bellowed as he charged at Cyrus, the two flying into the air, battling each other with beams and charging attacks.

Ahti watched, as the two dragons clashed. Giratina was weakened, but he wouldn't go down, easily. The two warring titans could easily lay waste, to the tower. "We need to get out of here. Now!" Ahti shouted. He glanced at Elvis, who was starting to stir. Ahti was typically a very kind person, but this guy had tried to destroy the world. Who's to say he wouldn't try it, again? Leave him there, then.

Ahti started to head out, Nico following close to him. "You can't leave me, here." Elvis groaned. "Give me one good reason, why I shouldn't." Ahti snapped. "Because I know something, you don't." Elvis replied, with a smirk.

"Now is not the time, for your games!" Ahti yelled. Nico wandered back over to his dad, trying to help him up. Elvis stood, grinning. "If you let me die, here," he said. "You'll never know how to reverse your transformations." Musashi paused. "Reverse? But, Porter said it couldn't be reversed. You...you're lying." he said, the thought of going back to how he was, flooding through his mind.

Shade noticed CT was in trouble; he knew that he needed to help with Giratina, but he needed to do what was right. He also thought about arresting Elvis now that he was vulnerable, but he has to live with the PD Code of Honor and don't leave a wounded person behind.

"Hey, Ferrovax. I need to get you out of here, for your son's sake. Please grab my shoulder, or I'll carry you out of here, myself." he told CT.

The battle between the dragons waged on, a stray beam hitting the archway, blocking the pathway out with a cave-in."No! Now we're stuck! We...we're going to die in here." Musashi fell to his knees. "It's hopeless."


"Not quite hopeless, Musashi." a soothing, musical voice spoke into the ears of everyone. With a bright flash of light came what appeared to be a pale-skinned woman with a golden halo behind her head. She gazed at them calmly with a pair of golden eyes, her white hair flowing in the breeze. Her mouth was covered by a black cloth.

"Seems someone released a bad child from his time out." she said, her gaze fixing upon Elvis. "A very foolish someone who thought to try the impossible, and put this wonderful world in danger for his own selfish needs." a hint of anger was heard in the voice.

Ouranos came crashing down, Cyrus roaring in anger and victory. "It's no use, Cyrus draws power from the Distortion World. Long as that tear's open he will keep drawing from it. Let's mend that, shall we? The two worlds are meant to be separate." The woman pointed at the tear, a blinding flash of light closed it. Ouranos stared at the woman. Cyrus crashed down, feeling his power dimming.

"What's going on!?" he glared."Arceus."

"Yes, Cyrus, and you've been a bad boy. Your timeout hasn't expired yet, and you've learned nothing. Seems a timeout isn't the right punishment." She pointed at Cyrus, the world destroyer roaring as shadows slipped off his body. His wings wilted and faded into shadow and dark bones, his golden regal outfit stripped away.

"You're drained out now, Cyrus. Now you will take time to soak in this beautiful world you once protected. Ouranos, you and your sons can go back to your sleep now, all is well."

"Thank you, Arceus." Ouranos bowed. The storm calmed, as if Oceanus and Hyperion had already gone back to their resting places.

Arceus. Arceus had graced them, with...her? With "her" presence. CT wasn't focused on that. There was something else, CT was focused on. "Who the bloody hell," he said, growling at Shade. "Told you my name?!"

Nico found himself staring at the titans. "Dad, this is amazing! Who cares about your name, right now?" CT just pouted, and leaned on Shade. He wasn't exactly in the best mindset, right now. He probably had several broken bones and a possible concussion. Of course, having a Focus Blast thrown at you, slamming you into the wall at such a force that you break the wall, will do that to a person.

Ahti and Porter, like Nico, were left speechless. They couldn't help but stare in awe, at Arceus. Elvis only seemed mildly annoyed. This was not a part of the plan. Now Arceus ruined his only shot, at escaping. "Do to me, what you wish." Elvis said, stepping next to Arceus. "But I'm not lying. It's all on this data." he said, holding up the harddrive that Shii had stolen. "Isn't it, Ferrovax?"

Cyrus, now garbed in street clothes, ran up. "Arceus! What did you do!?"

Arceus turned her soft gaze to Cyrus. "You're still a bad boy, Cyrus. Your timeout taught you nothing. Thus, I change your punishment. You're grounded."

"What!? Grounded!? How...how dare you!"

"Don't talk back, Cyrus. Now hush, Mother is talking." She turned to Elvis. "See what you did? He was so calm in his time out, until you opened up that tear. I'm afraid you'll have to share in the punishment, Elvis. I hate being such a harsh Mother, but spare the rod spoil the child, you know." she poked Elvis' forehead, and he was soaked in bright light. Have a timeout in Distortion World and think about what you've done. Perhaps when you've learned your lesson I'll let you out."

"Wait!" Musashi said. "He...he knew how to reverse it."

"Oh Musashi, you've learned so much, yet so little. Poor boy. Haven't you found a place in life, in this form?"

"I...I guess so. My dojo can't run itself." he looked down, wondering what it'd be like if he could go back.

"Now, I'm hardly busy, did anyone else have any questions?"

"I have one," CT panted, still in pain. He had hoped Musashi didn't hear Elvis' last three words, before Arceus sent him to the Distortion World, so he ignored it. "If it's not too much trouble, Madam, would you kindly get us the bloody hell out of here?!" he growled.

"I have a question; well, more of a simple request, really." Shade asked. "My local police department was wanting Elvis in jail, and if you want to keep him, it's fine, but let them know that we both brought him to justice...if that's okay...well...I better get this guy out of here and to a hospital." Shade finished.

Arceus gazed at everyone. "I suppose I could grant one more boon. However, first."

She floated over to Porter, her eyes looking at him, softly.

"Doctor Porter, the world you set in motion interests me. Don't let things go too far however, or I might have to put you in time out as well."

She looked to Ahti.

"Ahti, keep watch over everyone. You're a wonderful leader, father, and husband."

She moved over to CT.

"Ferrovax, your works are great. However, never forget your greatest works are your children. Don't let your science cloud you from them." she glanced somberly towards Cyrus. "Believe me, nothing holds more importance than proper parenting. Great works can often blind a parent from their children, and soon they might lose them."

She then floated over to Nico.

"And finally, Nicodemus. You're truly a good-hearted and brave boy. Twice, you faced a truly fearful situation to protect your friend. Remember that being brave is not being without fear, but fighting past fear to do what you know is right. Don't ever change that part of you." she leaned in and placed a warm kiss on Nico's forehead.

She then pointed her hand to the blocked passageway, blasting the rocks to dust.

"Your boat awaits you. Never forget the paths you walk. Remember, moving away from your past is not the same as forgetting it. Now, I have to take Cyrus somewhere else. He needs a babysitter, after all. Farewell." With a flash of light all of the legendaries were gone, leaving the group alone on top of Spear Pillar. It took the group a moment, to gather their thoughts. They had met Arceus, and couldn't help but be a little stunned.

Shade decided to let go of CT. "Sit down for a while while the boat comes. I need to take care of one more thing." He said to him before walking up toward a weak Shii. "You're under arrest for so many counts of murder AND attempted murder, you wouldn't believe. Anything you say can and will be used in a court of law." he said to Shii as he handcuffed him, and took them to the group, preferably away from CT.

Musashi looked at CT. "So, what was that Elvis said about you knowing?" CT winced. He did catch it. Under normal circumstances, CT would just tell Musashi that he kept it from him, because he hated him and wanted him to stay like that, simply out of spite. These were hardly normal circumstances, however, and he wasn't really thinking, clearly. The truth, then.

"Yes, I did know." CT answered. "But reversal is all a theory. Nobody has ever tried it, before, and it could be dangerous. If I had told you about it, ten years ago, you would have jumped on the opportunity, without thinking of the risks. Now that you've accepted your fate and moved on, you've made a life for yourself, you've grown up, you can think more rationally."

CT looked up, at Musashi. "I can try to change you back, but do you want me to? Are you willing to throw the life you've made, away, on the off chance that it might work?"

Musashi sighed. He thought about CT's words. He was exactly right, same as Ahti was. He was young, rash, hotheaded. Of course Musashi missed his days as a Pokémon and wished he could go back, but he had so much waiting for him, now. He remembered Arceus' words. He was angry at Ahti and the others for moving on, feeling like they abandoned their memories as Pokémon, when really they were just looking forward.

Musashi ran his fingers through his hair. "No, I probably wouldn't. I have a dojo now, students. Others, like I was. Confused and frightened. No, I have my calling. Let's go home."

CT nodded, at Musashi. "Very well, then." Porter stepped over, taking Shade's place, intending to help him down the long stairway. Nico stood on the other side, offering what support he could. "Oh, for cripe's sake, the both of you. I'm not paralyzed!" CT snapped, tugging away from them both, and staggering. Porter gripped CT's jacket, pulling him back. "But you are hurt. It wouldn't kill you to accept a little help, every now and then." CT sighed, heavily. "Fine." he growled.

Ahti regarded Musashi and CT, with a warm smile. Musashi had come a long way, in the last ten years. In the times he thought he wasn't listening, he was. Musashi was like a nephew to him, and Ahti was proud of how far he had come. And CT. Porter was right, about him. He did still care. He wouldn't directly admit it, but he did.

"Alright, everybody." he finally spoke up. "Let's get out of here."

The trip back to Slateport was long, but easy. Soon they were back at Ahti's home, Clem running toward them.

"Daddy, Daddy!" she cling to him."Daddy there were lots of bright lights and Mommy was worried and now you're back so you saved the world huh huh?"

Musashi smiled as he set foot on the beach. For once he felt like a huge weight was off his shoulders. Sure, he would never be able to go back to how things were, but this new life wasn't so bad after all.

Porter stayed behind, with CT. For one, CT had to get to a clinic as soon as he could. For another, Lash still had no idea that CT was continuing the experiments. Nico had stayed with him, so Porter could remain out of sight. If Lash found out, she wouldn't be as calm as Ahti was.

Shade noticed Glade and Mac were waiting at the pier, with Glade's Shellder jumping out of his arms and biting onto Shade's hat. "Shellder!"

"It's a good thing I'm not a Slowpoke." Shade chuckled. "Good to see Vlad awake; Mac, take this scum off my hands and to a jail cell." Shade said to Mac before he shoved Shii to Mac, and pulled the Shellder off of his hat. "I was wondering where you were." Glade said to Shade. "Did the world end?"

"No, it's all fine. By the way, come here; I need to whisper something." Shade replied before Glade came up and whispered to Glade about something they could do for Nico when they came home to Unova.

Ahti threw his arms around Clem, and Kai, who had come running alongside her sister. "Haha! Well, I wouldn't say that!" he said, to them. "Well, okay. We saved the world." he continued, grinning, as he proceeded to tell them what had happened, leaving out a few details. "Wow, that's so cool!" Kai said, still clinging to Ahti. "Wow! You met Arceus, Daddy? Was she pretty?" Clem asked excitedly, her eyes lighting up.

Lash regarded the handcuffed Shii. "I can't believe he did that." she said, watching Mac take the unconscious Shii. She didn't exactly trust him, but she never thought he would betray them.

Musashi watched the scene before him, then saw three females coming towards him. Oh boy, he had a feeling he was about to be tackled. Lilith tackled Musashi, at full force. She was a lightweight, but she could certainly hug. "OhmigoshI'msogladyou'reokay!" she said, clinging to him, tightly. Soto happily joined in. Mavra only crossed her arms. "Yeah, whatever. I didn't care." she huffed, trying to ignore him.

"We never fail to get ourselves into some kind of adventure, huh?" Lash said, to Ahti and Zero. Ahti chuckled, lightly. "Perhaps one of these days, we'll have a normal vacation." Zero leaned against him, and smiled. "Normal? What's that?"





Meanwhile, far away from anyone, Cyrus looked at himself. He felt so weak now, like he could actually be defeated by some of those vermin from before. He shuddered at the disgusting thought. Arceus looked at him.

"What?"

"I've brought your babysitter, Cyrus."

"No. You kept one of those?" he spat. "Just lock me back in Distortion World, why don't you? Spare me my sanity."

An ear-shattering shriek was heard. "EEEEEEEEE!!" the indistinguishable voice shouted, with utter glee. The pink creature tackled Cyrus, latching on to him. "We're gonna have so much fun!" Sparta said, tail swishing back and forth, happily. "We're gonna play dress-up and have tea parties and fix each other's hair and-" Sparta kept going on and on.




End~