Act 2: Finale_Borne of Caution

Act 2: Finale

 "Why wasn''t I told that S is still alive?"

 Zinnia''s biting question is the first thing spoken as everyone sits down in the hut Lee andpany have called home for thest six weeks.

 Seated across from Zinnia with Danae at her side, Elder Juniper sighs deeply. "We thought him gone as well, Granddaughter," she speaks, each word weary. "When we found him beside what remained of Aster, he was delirious with grief, and we could not approach for fear of his aimless wrath. Then he took to the skies, flying to Metron''fall Krate, and we could not pursue, for we had to prepare the final rites of Aster. We feared he wished for solitude, to expire from a broken heart in peace." Juniper closes her eyes. "Weeks after Aster left into the sweet embrace of the ancestors, he returned, curling by her grave and refusing to hear any words spoken to him."

 Zinnia''s frown is decidedly unsatisfied. "That still doesn''t exin why I wasn''t told."

 "We assumed you knew, Thelban. We assumed that of all our tribesmen, you would have gone to pay respects countless times and seen him," Danae murmurs, refusing to meet Zinnia''s eyes.

 Her frown transforming into a frustrated snarl, Zinnia turns her head and growls. Whether she''s upset with herself or the elders, Lee isn''t sure.

 Sitting with Zinnia on the couch with Nales and Sceptile standing to his right, Lee swaps between listening to the Draconid''s conversation and looking out the window, where S lies curled up just outside the hut.

 It''s no wonder Zinnia wasn''t concerned about S when he finally lost the energy to keep fighting: the brute got back up within ten minutes, many of hiscerations already scabbing over. Even then, though, Lee''s first instinct was to treat the dragon''s wounds. S tried to ward him away with a snarl, but Lee wasn''t having any of that.

 "Don''t give me that shit." Lee answers S with a seldom-used scowl. "You lost, bud, and I know how dragons handle things like this. Your fate is in our-" he gestures to himself, a smirking Sceptile, a stone-faced Smence, and an amused Zinnia "-hands. If I say I want to fix you up, you''re in no position toin."Lee drops his bag, unzips it, and fishes around inside, producing a Sitrus berry and a capped Super Potion. He thrusts the berry towards a bbergasted S. "Now eat this and hang tight."

 Still stunned, S takes the offered berry with care. The apple-sized fruit isically small between the dragon''s teeth and is swallowed without needing to be chewed.

 Lee watches with a self-assured nod, then mbers into S''s back, uncapping his potion and giving the gory wing-joint wound a critical look. "This is going to sting, just a heads-up."

 S sends a nce towards Sceptile, who just shakes his head. "Don''t fight it, you won''t win," the Grass-type''s amused growl seems to say.

 With the worst of S''s wounds taken care of, the great dragon was able to fly all the way back to the Meteorfall Crater at Lee and Zinnia''s behest, though he did pause to give Aster''s resting ce a mournful nce. It was surreal to see all the grumpy dragons nesting around the crater''s entrance duck their heads or even vacate the area as S flew in.

 ''I guess S is still a big deal to the locals, even after years of being absent,'' Lee muses before his thoughts turn to Brendan.

 Brendan… The young trainer was obviously put out that Marshtomp went down before he could evolve, but the kid took it like the good sport he is. With a strangely subdued Taxus escorting him, Brendan flew back to the Draconid vige astride Latias so Marshtomp could be dropped off at the small clinic in the middle of town.

 ''Marshtomp is going to be a terror as a Swampert.'' Lee can scarcely imagine the damage Brendan''s eventual evolved starter will be able to inflict. ''A middle-evo making an oversized dragon flinch with a Mega Punch is unreal.

 Zinnia''s sigh draws Lee back from his thoughts. "Okay, fine, maybe not knowing about S was on me, but what kind of pact was Taxus talking about before S stood up?" Zinnia asks, crossing her arms. "Did you old fuckers put him up to that? That was scummy, by the way, questioning Aster''s <emst fucking wish to motivate him."

 Lee shoots a quick nce to Nales, who looks back. ''Based on what I''m hearing and what little I know of the Draconid tongue, Taxus apparently met S prior to today to be the ''test'', and strong-armed him intopliance by implying Aster''s faith in Zinnia was misced.''

 Frowning, Lee feels his already low opinion of Taxus sour further.

 "We were unaware of Taxus'' n until the moment of revtion," Juniper bitterly admits, her eyes hardening. "We will have words over it."

 Before Zinnia can reply, the front door is pushed open, and in walks none other than Taxus with Brendan in tow. Held in Taxus'' hands is arge, wooden trunk.

 Sweeping into the room with the cloak around his shoulders billowing behind him, Taxus sets the trunk on the low table between the couch and chairs, his face set in a neutral mask.

 As Taxus does so, Brendan quietly sits between Lee and Zinnia.

 "Thelban Zinnia, Naraikvejor Henson, Naraikvejor Birch," Taxus begins slowly, looking at each one of them in turn. "You and your pokemon have proven yourselves against a trial you were not meant to ovee," he begins, closing his eyes with a sigh. The low candle-light of the hut makes the sweat on his bald brow obvious. "For that reason, I can do nothing but offer you congrattions… and the tools you were promised."

 Slowly, reverently, Taxus lifts the lid of the trunk he set down, and the hut is filled with a soft, multi-colored glow.

 Lee''s breath hitches at what he sees.

 Inside the velvet-lined trunk are three fist-sized orbs resembling marbles. Each one shines with its own luminescence, casting colorful rays of light that dance off of the walls. Unlike the keystones they received weeks ago, the mega-stones are already set into bits of armor spotted with green, aged patina.

 On the left is a steely-white stone with twists of bright red and blue in its core, and Zinnia is staring at it with undisguised awe. On her belt, Smence''s pokeball shakes, then pops open on its own, making the already small room shrink further with Smence''s bulk. Like Zinnia, Smence looks down at the little stone with awe, and also a bit of hunger.

 ''That must be the Smencite.''

 The middle mega-stone is a bright blue with a swirl of rusty orange and a blue of a more ruddy hue. Brendan''s wide eyes are drawn to it instantly, as if by instinct.

 ''The Swampertite. I''m surprised the Draconids have one, considering Swampert isn''t a dragon. That must make thest one…''

 Lee can''t stop the grin that splits his face.

 The final mega-stone is a verdant emerald, and its innards are a mix of pale orange and a deep, forest green.

 Beside him, Lee can hear Sceptile''s sharp intake of breath.

 ''Sceptilite.''

 When Lee began this journey of his with Vulpix all those months ago, never did he expect to actuallye into possession of a mega-stone. It seemed like one of those things that a regr person could never ever stumble upon, not without some unreal luck.

 ''I think our luck is within the realms of ''unreal'', Beloved,'' Nales dryly interjects. ''Now, whether it is good luck or bad luck is a coin flip.''

 "I''ll be honest, Taxus." Zinnia gives the man an uncertain re. "I was kinda expecting you to fail us on some kind of technicality."

 Taxus looks as if he wants to bristle at Zinnia''s words, but stops and takes a deep breath. "It is as I said, you seeded where you were not expected to. I would shame myself if I went back on my word now," he grinds out. "All I can ask is that you not use Ascension as a toy. Treat these sacred tools and the rite they can invoke with the respect they are owed."

 "Thank you, Elder Taxus." Brendan inclines his head with a smile. "We promise we''ll use the mega-stones responsibly."

 Taxus''s scowl falters in the face of Brendan''s sincere words. Instead, he crosses his arms and turns his head away. "Thelban Zinnia, Naraikvejor Henson, adorn your dragons. Naraikvejor Birch, guard your stone jealously until its user is ready."

 A grin on her face, Zinnia stands and lifts the Smencite along with its fittings from the trunk, not at all faltering with the stone or the heavy metal attached to it.

 "Man, oh man," Lee murmurs, getting to his feet and taking the Sceptilite from the chest. He huffs at the unexpected weight of the armor, only for the burden to ease when a gentle aura of purple glows around the metal. ''Thanks, Love.''

 Nales answers with a silent smile.

 Lifting the Sceptilite and its fastenings up, Lee inspects it in the light of the candle chandelier above.

 The actual mega-stone steals the show with its brilliant color and rays, but the chest-piece it''s set into is also fantastic. The blueish-green metal forms a gorget with the mega-stone set right in the center. The entire thing is covered in Draconid carvings that Lee can''t tell the significance of, and the neck area looks to be padded in wool. After running his thumb over the cool surface for a second, Lee raises an eyebrow. "This color isn''t patina," he deres, looking over his shoulder to the elders. "What is this made of?"

 "The peoples of the Draconid tribe call it ''Shorveth'', Naraikvejor Henson," Elder Danae answers with a smile. "It is a… what is the word? Composite? Alloy? Alloy of meteorite, iron, and copper forged with dragon fire. Very heavy, very strong."

 Lee hums to himself, filing that interesting tidbit away forter.

 It takes a moment of fiddling, but Lee discovers atch on the gorget, letting the back of it separate on a pair of hinges. Once he has it open, Lee turns to an eager Sceptile. "Ready?"

 Sceptile nods.

 Lee lifts the chest piece up, letting Sceptile hold the front while he circles around to Sceptile''s back. Once he closes the back and fastens thetch, the whole thing sits neatly around his neck and on his shoulders. "How''s it feeling, bud?"

 The Grass-type rolls his shoulders and turns his neck, slowly nodding to himself. In a show of dexterity, he flips into a handstand without bashing his tail into the chandelier. Sceptile gives himself a shake, but the padding around the neck of the armor has enough grip that it doesn''t slide down and bash him in the jaw.

 Flipping back to his feet, Sceptile gives Lee a small smile and a thumbs up.

 Lee grins back.

 Over with Zinnia, the Lorekeeper is finishing her final fitments to Smence''s own mega-stone. Like Sceptile''s, Smence''s stone is set into a carved, blue-green chest piece fitted around his neck. It''s considerably thicker than Sceptile''s, and whenbined with Smence''s half-healed wounds, the dragon cuts a striking figure in the candlelight.

 "Oh yeah…" Zinnia takes a step back to properly admire her dragon. "Smence, you look so damn good wearing that."

 Try as he might to remain stoic, Smence preens under the praise.

 Brendan, meanwhile, just takes the stone and its armor, which looks like a giant armband, and carefully tucks it away in his Silph bag. He takes care to shuffle the contents of his backpack so the mega stone sinks to the bottom.

 Elder Juniper then clears her throat, drawing all eyes in the room to her. "With the conquering of your trial and the bequeathing of these tools, the faith of the Draconid people has been ced on your shoulders. This world is a troubled one, and it needs steady shepherds to see it through the storm; shepherds such as you three," she says quietly, bowing her head slightly. "The power of Ascension, of Mega-Evolution, is one we cannot teach, for no teacher can know the bond between man and pokemon as they do themselves. We know, however, you will master it."

 "Mega-Evolution has not yet been seen in this new world of mass media and technology," Danae takes over, lowering his own head. "This new power is yours tomand, and… It will create a paradigm shift. You will be in a unique position, one of consequence."

 "It''s for that reason that we must reiterate our plea to be responsible. You will drive countless others to seek what they cannot control. Be prepared," Taxus finishes, his eyes narrow and flinty.

 Despite having expected a speech beforehand, there is a weight to the word of the elders that leaves Lee the slightest bit unsettled. ''Yeah, mega-evos are still real hush-hush, aren''t they? If we use it publicly, there are going to be a lot of eyes on us.''

 A momentter, the worry is banished, as Lee remembers the Mt. Chimney incident and the promise he made to himself. A phantom pain in his chest, from a spear of rock that never struck him, makes him narrow his eyes. ''Ha, here I am worrying about what strangers might think again. If I need to deal with a bunch of demanding emails and stares to make Sceptile or, hell, any of my pokemon the best of the best, then so be it.''

 Juniper stands as Danae and Taxus make to leave. "We will leave you in peace. You deserve rest after today," she says, walking slower than Danae and Taxus.

 The other two elders don''t wait up, leaving and closing the door behind them.

 Before leaving herself, Juniper lingers. "Zinnia," she says, her words tender. "Please, if you heed any of my words, make it these: be careful." She turns and stares at a startled Zinnia with wet eyes. "If I must bury another child, my heart will surely give out."

 "Granny…" Zinnia whispers, her shoulders slumping, sending her earlier fire and defiance to the floor. She slowly makes her way over to Juniper, and takes the short woman into a hug. "I promise I will. I''ll make you and Aster proud."

 Juniper''s singrugh is quiet, almost too quiet to hear. Lee would have missed it if not for Nales'' sharp ears. "You already have, my dear. You already have," she whispers back, wrapping her own arms around Zinnia.

 Grandmother and granddaughter stay embraced for a moment, then Juniper pulls away, her face weary. "Naraikvejor," she says, nodding once to Brendan and Lee. "I bid you good day. You are friends of the tribe forevermore, and I wish you the best of luck on your mission and your lives after. I am in your debt for caring for my Zinnia."

 Lee waves off the admission with a thin smile. "No worries. It''s only a chore sometimes."

 "Sometimes?" Brendan chimes in with a trouble-making smile.

 "You guys are kind of ruining the moment!" Zinnia whirls and levels them both with a re thatcks any heat.

 Juniperughs once more, this time with genuine mirth. "Haha! Perhaps I worry for nothing after all, if you do not find her a challenge."

 A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the vition.

 With a grunt, Zinnia crosses her arms and looks away, but she grins the entire time.

 Composing herself, Juniper inclines her head to the group. "I shall take my leave. These old bones demand rest after today''s excitement. Belin guz yara, Thelban, Naraikvejor,"

 "Belin guz yara," Zinnia says back, her grin easing into something more gentle. "I love you, Granny."

 A smile blooms on Juniper''s aged face. "And I, you, Granddaughter."

 With that, Juniper leaves, shutting the door behind her.

 Once the wing beats of Juniper''s Dragonite fade, Zinnia instantly turns to Lee. "Okay, Dolittle, spill it. How does mega evolution work?"

 Lee leans back into the couch with a sigh. "The exact mechanics were never exined, and some things were retconned between generations, but I''ll exin what I can."

 Everyone leans in to listen.

 "One more time!"

 Lee tosses a ying card, a king of hearts depicting a sleepy Slowking, up into the air. Slowly it flutters down, carried by the gentle wind currents that blow in from the opening in the crater.

 Suddenly, there is a tiny pressure in Lee''s ears, then as quick as it came, it''s gone. It''s so fast that he almost wonders if it was imagined.

 The card, which is still midair, splits into two, cut right down its edge.

 Lee catches one half of the card and runs his fingers over the white, featureless side that was separated from the other half, finding the cut smooth as can be. "I don''t think that will ever get old."

 Standing a short distance away, Sceptile smirks and gives his Leaf de a flick, making the air whistle.

 Following the meeting with the Draconid Elders and Lee''s warning to not fool around with mega evolution quite yet, everyone dispersed to do their own thing and rx for a bit.

 Zinnia, who was all too eager to fly on Smence, went back to the Draconid vige to run some errands. She spoke briefly about seeing the cksmith to ask about proper holders for their keystones, and wanted to get a saddle for Smence.

 Lacking a saddle currently, she of course flew bareback, grantly ignoring every air trafficw in Hoenn.

 Brendan followed Zinnia, wanting to check in on Marshtomp. Unfortunately for Lee, the boy left before Lee could ask him if he was doing okay following the end of the battle with S. Marshtomp being the only one to go down and not even evolving to boot must have been an emotional gut-punch.

 ''Brendan is a mature kid. I''m sure he''s disappointed, but I doubt Marshtomp''s loss will keep him down for long,'' Lee thinks to himself, returning his focus outward.

 While Zinnia and Brendan took their teams and went to town, Lee decided it was time for some rxation while he tested Sceptile''s new capabilities. Nine, Corvi, Sylveon, Octillery, and Shinx are off to the side, resting as a group and conversing amongst themselves as Lee puts Sceptile through his paces.

 ''Let''s see how he handles this…''

 Looking down at his notebook, Lee pretends to be putting the ying cards away into his pocket, then suddenly flings all of them into the air, where they flutter around wildly in the wind. "Sceptile! Cut them down the edge! All of them!"

 Sceptile vanishes from his spot, and half a secondter, each one of the cards is split in two seemingly at once. The sound is like a p of thunder.

 No, not at once. Lee nearly misses it, but the cards closer to the ground are cut first. One nearly touching the ground splits, then the next highest one, then the next. The veryst one to go is one carried high by the wind. The sound of each slice is so close together that it''s easy to mistake it as one continuous noise.

 Sceptile reappears in his eerily quiet way, with the hum of his Leaf de being the loudest part of the process. He barely even disturbs the mossy ground of the crater.

 Bending down, Lee picks up a few of the cards, inspecting Sceptile''s handiwork.

 Most of the cards are split perfectly, with precision even a machine would be hard-pressed to match. Several are lopsided, or identally cut in half lengthwise rather than down the edge. ''So he''s not an instant anime hero. Thank goodness, I don''t think I could handle that kind of perfection right out of the gate.''

 Lee shakes his head with a smile, jotting down Sceptile''s results. "Sceptile, you''d put every master samurai back on Earth to shame. This is the kind of performance even multi-million dor machines can''t replicate."

 Despite his words, Sceptile fixates on the cards he didn''t split correctly with a frown, prompting Lee to ball one up and flick it at him.

 The little ball of paper plinks off of green nose scales, and Sceptile blinks, giving Lee a half-hearted re.

 "Don''t pout, no one is perfect." Lee calmly stares back. He balls up another card and rolls it between his fingers. "You''ll get the hang of it. Just splitting one is impressive, and I won''t tolerate you putting yourself down, you hear me?"

 Sceptile sighs, "Very well…" he hisses.

 "You''re the only pokemon in the world who can be upset over * speed powers, * ," Corviknight croaks from the sidelines. "Feh! If you''re * so put out, then have a * with me. Let''s see how far you''vee!" the raven challenges, standing and raising a glimmering Steel Wing.

 Sceptile turns his eyes to Lee, who sighs, having seen thising.

 "Go down to the training chamber, and keep it light," he orders. "By ''light'', I mean both of you being able to walk back. Dinner is in two hours, so remember that."

 Sceptile inclines his head. "Of course, Lee."

 Corviknight answers with a crisp nod. "I hear and obey."

 "Go on." Lee gestures towards the distant cave leading down to the Draconid training chamber. "Enjoy while you can, we leave for Petalburg in the morning."

 Both Sceptile and Corviknight disappear from their spots. The Grass-type''s departure is silent, while Corviknight blurs away with a loud sonic crack!, almost throwing the nearby Octillery off of his tentacles, and actually throwing Shinx off her paws from the shockwave.

 "Hey!" Shinx cries in rm as she stands up with a wobble.

 Nales res after the racing pair of pokemon, then gently lifts Shinx by her scruff and pulls the kitten close for a grooming.

 Lee shakes his head and looks back down to his notebook, flipping back to his general notes section.

 It''s been getting easier and easier to understand his pokemon over thesest few weeks. He doesn''t verbally understand them one-to-one (except for Nales), but their tones, inflections, and bodynguage are enough to carry a conversation without Nales'' telepathic assistance.

 Lee hasn''t any idea if the TE-rich air is speeding up this particr process, or if he''s naturally getting the hang of deciphering pokemon cries, but it added yet another potential study to the back burner.

 With Corvi and Sceptile, he can hold full discussions onplex subjects with only a little stumbling. He even imagines a posh tone for Corvi.

 Sylveon and Octillery are harder, but the gist of what they want to convey gets across.

 Shinx Lee''s still trying to puzzle out. The kitten has the sharpest memory of anyone he''s ever met, and she learns new words and their meanings easily, but she constantly makes new sounds with odd grammar, fouling up Lee''s learning of her speech. He''s learned the basics, like "Hungry", "Tired", "Pick me up" and whatnot, but it''ll still be a while before he and his baby can talk properly.

 ''Not the worst problem to have, if I''m being honest,'' Lee muses, jotting down a few new verbal idiosyncrasies he noticed from Sceptile.

 On the topic of Sceptile, Lee can''t help but flip back to his Grass-type''s notebook section and grin like a loon.

 Standing at six-foot-eight and weighing nearly two-hundred pounds in lean muscle, Sceptile is firmly in the top percentile for physique for his kind. He''s no freak outlier like Corviknight, but he''s still huge. Like he did as a Grovyle, Sceptile still makes the thin, leafy swords of his sh attacks as long as he is tall, and with his long arms, that gives Sceptile an absurd ten feet of reach inbat.

 They haven''t even touched on his tail and its fan of ded leaves, or the seeds on Sceptile''s back that experts say are explosive.

 Sceptile''s raw speed and mid-air control needs no hype; it''s in a league of its own, as Lee''s pokédex now lists Extreme Speed in Sceptile''s repertoire.

 Closing the notebook, Lee walks on over to where the rest of his pokemon lie by the outer wall of the hut, and sits down between Nales and Sylveon.

 Sylveon lightly leans into Lee''s side, while Shinx shakes herself from Nales and trundles into hisp. Shinx makes herselffortable, then shuts her eyes with a content smile and purrs away.

 Octillery, touch-shy as he is, burbles a quick "Wake me for dinner" and touches his ball on Lee''s belt, retreating inside with a sh.

 "Wake him for dinner, huh?" Lee mutters to no one in particr, a little tired himself. "I wouldn''t mind a nap myself after everything today,"

 "Did the * * use a dead woman''s * words to * our guest?" Sylveon asks as she wraps a ribbon around Lee''s wrist. The disapproval in her words is stark even if Lee can only puzzle out half of them, and she cuts her blue eyes over to S, who is still sleeping off the worst of his injuries a dozen yards from them.

 The dragon hasn''t stirred a bit since hended and curled up, not counting his light snoring.

 "One did," Lee replies, closing his eyes and leaning his head back into the mossy covering of the hut. "It doesn''t seem like that was a popr choice, and I think Elder Taxus is going to catch hell from the other elders for that stunt."

 "He''d better…" Nales grumbles aloud. "Danae was on our side from the beginning, and Juniper''s inaction is understandable, if unappreciated. Taxus'' objections were outright foolish, however."

 Lee mulls her words over. "To y devil''s advocate for a moment, I do get Taxus'' reservations; he doesn''t want any old person to be able to use mega-evos and potentially hurt themselves or others with it. Imagine a worst-case-scenario like multiple Maxies."

 Nine frowns. Lee can''t see it with his eyes closed, but he can feel her lips pull downward. "That is an unfounded fear given the rarity of the stones."

 ''And what about Aster and S?'' Lee mentally retorts, not wanting to disturb the sleeping dragon by speaking Aster''s name out loud.

 "...Unfortunate outliers," Nine replies after a long moment. "If we keep the true nature of Mega Evolution to ourselves, it will remain a non-issue."

 "No secret remains a secret forever," is Lee''s blithe response.

 The fox at Lee''s side growls and nips one of his fingers. "Perhaps you do need a nap if you''re this argumentative."

 "Ow!" Lee cracks open an eye and theatrically waves his bitten finger. "Don''t mistake this as me taking Taxus'' side. He definitely deserves an ass-kicking after his little stunt, I''m just saying I get why he did it."

 "When we have an argument, you''re supposed to cave and take my side." Nales huffs, but she can''t hide the fond amusement that pours from her being into his.

 Lee smiles back and closes his eyes again. "If I do that, then there''s no way we''re beating the marriage allegations."

 Nales rolls her eyes and rests her chin on his knee.

 Taking a deep breath, Lee lets himself drift off.

 Eyes of red, piercing as can be.

 Mantle of gold, majestic as can be.

 A fanged mouth speaking, damning as can be.

 In a void of neither light nor dark.

 The great maw of teeth opens once more, inhuman lips forming words meant for he alone.

 It says unto him –

 "I -"

 Lee suddenly startles awake when a roar reverberates around the cavern. Blinking his bleary eyes, he sighs.

 That damn dream again. He can barely close his eyes without seeing it.

 Looking around, it seems like Nine, Sylveon, and Shinx have cleared out, letting him nap in peace for…

 He nces up at the sun peaking above the crater.

 …Maybe half an hour.

 The noise did more than startle him awake, as he hears the hut''s door m, and Nales is at his side in a hurry. The fox looks up, then shakes her head in exasperation.

 Standing and stretching, Lee follows her eyes.

 Flying down towards them is Zinnia astride her Smence. Most of the dragon''s wounds are gone, so Zinnia must have stopped by the Draconid clinic before returning. The next thing he notices is Smence''s saddle. Even from the air, he can make out swirling, tribal designs pressed into the leather, and spies quite a bit of extra length on the saddle straps tucked away.

 ''Maybe Smence is going to keep growing, and the saddle needs room for adjustment?'' Lee theorizes to himself.

 As Zinnia and Smence are touching down, Lee finally sizes up Smence and gets an appreciation for howrge the dragon is.

 Smence didn''t look like muchpared to the Goliath that is S, but in a vacuum, he''s imposing to say the least. The ground rumbles lightly as Smencends, and Lee can only assume the dragon weighs a half-ton at minimum. From tail tip to nose, he looks to be pushing twenty feet long, and he towers over Lee even without his neck fully extended.

 "Hey there, sleepy!" Zinnia hops off of Smence with a grin. "Sorry for waking you, but a couple of the crater nesters wanted to give Smence a hard time as we wereing in," she says, pointing a thumb over her shoulder at the cavern entrance high above. "Nothing that screaming ''sit down, chump'' at a hundred and forty decibels can''t fix."

 Lee crosses his arms and smiles. "Dragon diplomacy sure is simple stuff, huh?" He asks, looking Zinnia up and down. "New duds?"

 The dragon tamer nts her hands on her hips and gives him a smile. "I thought that after giving Aster back her cloak, I was due for a change. What do you think?"

 Zinnia''s open-back shirt is no more, reced with a normal red tank-top with a ck jacket bearing w-designs on the sleeves. Her rope belt was also surrendered, reced with something more standard. Her shorts and sandals look to be unchanged, however.

 "Not bad." Lee nods along, his eyes trailing down to her too-short shirt, which exposes her navel. He reaches out and pokes her stomach with a finger. "Aren''t you going to get cold?"

 She ps his hand away. "No! Who ever heard of a Draconid who gets cold?"

 "I get the feeling that we will in the near future," Nales quips as Lee lets out a yawn.

 Zinnia rolls her eyes as Smence lets out a rumblyugh deep in his throat. "You''re supposed to be on my side, big guy," she throws over her shoulder before returning her attention to Lee. "You were out pretty good there. Did you get enough sleepst night?"

 "Plenty." Lee yawns once more. "It sucks that you came in when you did, though. I was having that weird dream again, and I almost heard what the figure was saying."

 "Geez, again?" Zinnia''s mirthful face falls into something concerned. "That''s every night this week."

 "I don''t suppose you have any suggestions?" Lee asks, leaning back into the hut. "It started up when we came down here, and doesn''t seem to happen when I sleep outside of Meteor Falls. This ce is some kind of catalyst for it."

 Zinnia is silent for a moment as she rubs her chin. She looks between Lee and Nales, to the glittering walls around them, then to the hut. "You said you almost heard it this time?"

 A nod is Lee''s answer.

 "Maybe…" Zinnia looks over towards the smallke in the center-most part of the great cavern, where the glowing meteorite at theke bed shoots out rainbow rays. "Try sleeping or meditating out here, closer to the central meteorite," she begins, pointing a finger at the clear bowl of water. "Something is obviously trying to reach out to you through either the cavern itself or the Dragon TE, and having solid walls around you," she then turns her finger to the hut, "might be just enough of a hindrance to stop it."

 Lee shares a nce with Nales. ''Worth a shot?''

 ''It''s probably best to not snub whatever force that is so desperately trying to contact us,'' Nales reluctantly agrees. ''I will be with you, however.''

 Smiling, Lee reaches down and rubs the fox between her ears. ''I wouldn''t dream of going alone.''

 Several hourster, after everyone has dined and settled in for the night, Lee and Nales quietly exit the hut and trot over to thekeside within the cavern. With them are Brendan and Latias.

 Coming to a stop at the edge of theke, Lee looks down at the shining stone illuminating the waters below. "You didn''t need toe, Brendan."

 The boy, with Latias in tow, puts his hands on his hips and gives Lee a hard look. "C''mon, you think we''re going to let you do this alone? Latias is a great psychic, and if whatever is trying to talk to you decides to act up, she can rough them up no problem."

 Latias croons bashfully at the praise, looking away with a small, pleased smile.

 ''Be that as it may, remain on standby until you are absolutely certain we need help.'' Nales'' stern words are projected for Brendan and Latias to also hear. ''We do not know who is attempting contact, and why they would use a method as unorthodox as dreams. Their persistence implies urgency, and we''ve ignored them long enough to foster possible resentment. Undue hostility has no ce here.''

 Brendan flinches slightly at her words. "Yes, ma''am,"

 Nales nods briskly, then sits and turns to Lee. ''Beloved?''

 Taking a deep breath, Lee sits down himself and scoots closer to Nine, leaning his head forward.

 The golden fox leans forward herself, meeting Lee in the middle as their foreheads touch.

 Both still their breathing, using the meditation exercises Anabel provided during theirst meeting. As they do so, each gently pulls on the mind of the other, until their beings touch just the barest amount.

 Slowly, Lee''s senses begin to fade, until all that is left is himself and his dearest friend.

 When Lee opens his eyes, he''s not in the Meteorfall Crater anymore. In fact, where is he? He looks around, but nothing seems familiar other than the vixen at his side. It''s almost like -

 Oh, right. He and Nales are meditating together. That''s why nothing around him makes sense.

 "You figure I''d be used to this by now." Lee smiles despite himself. With a bit of focus, the space around him morphs.

 One moment, they''re surrounded by ckness, and the next, they''re in the backyard of Lee''s childhood home in an Ohio suburb.

 The details of the scene are blurry, and the neighbors'' houses are just smears of color that change every time he looks away, but it''s familiar enough to befortable. He just wishes that-

 Nales noses his side. "Don''t worry about getting everything correct in one go, Lee," she murmurs, no distinction between her thoughts and words. "Anabel said this mindscape business is a work in progress for everyone, even for experts," she says with a smile.

 "I guess you''re right," Lee concedes, sitting in the grass and pulling Nales close. Her ever-flowing love feels like a soothing, physical heat under his fingers. "How long do you think we''ll be waiting for… whoever it is?"

 Nales leans into his side and shrugs. "I wouldn''t know."

 For a time, they stay here, saying nothing and just basking in Lee''s old, smudgy memory.

 "Say, Love?" Lee speaks up. "If we ever get the chance, let''s head to-" He stops as he leans back and looks up.

 Eyes of red, piercing as can be.

 Mantle of gold, majestic as can be.

 A fanged mouth speaking, damning as can be.

 In a void of neither light nor dark.

 The great maw of teeth opens once more, inhuman lips forming words meant for he alone.

 It says unto him –

 "I have been awaiting this moment, Lee Henson,"

 Lee stumbles backwards, somehow standing and tripping over nothing as Nales bursts into motion and stands protectively over him, her fur bristling and teeth bared.

 Even knowing that he''s in his own head… or Nales'' head? Either way, Lee rubs his eyes, but the nostalgic scene is gone, reced with… With…

 He can''t hope to describe what he sees around them now. It''s dark, yet not. It''s devoid of color, but the colors are so vivid that they burn to look at.

 Above he and Nales is a twisting shape that somehow takes up the entire void around them, yet remains distinct amidst the not-dark. Lee sees the thing no matter what direction he turns his head. On either side, great wings of writhing ck and red encircle them, cutting off all routes of escape.

 Lee''s stomach turns to ice, and he…

 No, wait. That''s not his fear. Nales is quaking on her paws, paralyzed by such terror that all she can do is stand over Lee and try to keep her emotions from leaking into him. It''s a fear so pure, so instinctual, that all thoughts other than escape flee her.

 They need to run from this thing.

 Lee takes fistfuls of Nales''s fur to pull her away with him, but no matter which way he turns, the shape remains in front of him. With a dry gulp, he looks up to face the beast head-on.

 Giratina, antithesis of Arceus, stares down at them with eyes the color of fresh blood.

 "We''ve much to speak about, the three of us."

 End of Act 2

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Act 2: Finale