//------------------------------// // And the Day after/Rage // Story: A New World, A New Way: Requiem from the Lostbelt // by Metroid Prime //------------------------------// The Sea of Imaginary Numbers/Void Space Kadoc opened his eyes as he felt his body realign itself with his soul, Even now, Zero Sailing was an experience he was not entirely used to at this point. “Are we still...not dead?” “Yes, master,” Anastasia replied. “Everyone except us servants is still in the world of the living. The introverted master opened his eyes and looked around. Everyone who was on the border at the time of Zero Sail was still here. Looking out the front windshields, he saw the ethereal emptiness that was the Sea of Imaginary Numbers. A place outside of time and space, somewhere that no one could reach unless they had a vehicle like the one they were in. While inside this unknowable realm, they were removed from the conventional definition of what reality defined as “existing”. No one in the positive world would be able to track them let alone find them. “It looks like we managed to get away,” Mash said. “Yeah, by the skin of our teeth.” After a minute of gathering their bearings, everyone sat down to discuss what happened and their next move. “Alright let’s first address the most concerning thing from today’s events,” Sherlock Holmes said. “We just had our first run-in with the deity known as Arceus, the creator of the creatures called Pokemon and a god of creation. While we never actually got to see a true display of power, the readings the Shadow Border got from him confirm what most of us feared. Miss Da Vinci if you would?” “To put it simply, Arceus is someone who can be described as an omnipotent god. A chief deity comparable to Zeus, Odin, Shiva, and maybe even the God of Christianity. In fact, in terms of potential, he may be closer to the last one.” “No way,” Kadoc spoke up. “Are you seriously suggesting this guy would be able to go toe to toe with big G himself?” “Well maybe not at the moment, but from what we have heard about him and from what our data suggests, Arceus is a deity who possesses several authorities one would need in order to create nations and maybe even entire worlds. Although this is all just speculation at the moment.” “The Pokemon claim that Arceus created their entire world and possibly the universe they came from,” Holmes said. “The energy, time, and authorities required to do that would put him beyond a class of being that exists or ever exist on Earth. However, if this were true, then there is no reason we should have been able to get away.” “How so?” Ritsuka said. “If Arceus truly is as powerful as they say, then against a depowered Divine Spirit like Skadi, he would have made short work of her and the shield she put up to protect us. The fact that he didn’t suggests that A: that Arceus is not as powerful as he claims, or B: he no longer has the power that he once did. Either way, he is still not something to be taken lightly.” “How would you compare him to the other enemies we have faced before?” Kirschtaria said. “Hmmm, in terms of raw power he does not come close to Tiamat who could potentially travel between planets. If I had to ballpark it, he is closer to someone with a 3rd class planet-level spirit origin. Not as powerful as Goetia but just behind him.” The expressions on everyone’s faces when dark. Goetia was a foe whom they only beat through a great sacrifice that took away the majority of his power. As well as an actual army of servants. While Arceus was apparently not as powerful as the first Beast, it still put things into perspective of just how much of a nightmare it would be to fight him. “Simply put, Arceus is not someone we can face at the moment. Not unless we can find a weakness or ally with someone who could match him in terms of power.” “I don’t suppose there is a grand servant running around in this Lostbelt?” Kadoc said sarcastically. “Sorry, but unless Arceus turns out to be one of the seven beasts, that ain’t happening,” Da Vinci said. “Okay, I’ve heard enough,” Goredolf said. “As Director of Chaldea, I cannot put you all in danger by having us go up against that god again when we currently have no means of defeating him. I’m ordering a return to the Wandering Sea, any of the other Lostbelts should be easier to bring down than this one.” “I’m inclined to agree with the director,” Holmes stated. “At our current power, there is no way we would be able to fight Arceus let alone destroy the tree of emptiness when it appears. In all likelihood, Arceus will be there when it shows itself, and will defend it with all his power.” “But Gilgamesh said that if we don’t take this chance now, we will never get another opportunity for who knows how long,” Ophelia said. “At least there will be another opportunity! The more time we spend there is more time for that angry god to hunt us down.” “What about the servants?” Ritsuka pointed out. “If we leave them, then Arceus will hunt them down instead. The Counter Force summoned them here to help us, by the time we come back, there may be no one left.” “Hmmm, Ritsuka does have a point,” Da Vinci said. “The servants who were sent here as a vanguard are a major asset that we can’t just leave behind. If we lose them, it would be a major blow to our forces.” Goredolf grimaced but only for a moment, despite his desire to leave, he had to admit that losing all those servants would be bad for them. “Can’t we just take them back with us?” “Even if we were to compress all of them into their spirit forms, the process would take a while. Not to mention I don’t like the idea of having so many spirit origins in one place.” “So what are we to do then? I’m still recommending we leave but now I would be bad if we did.” “I say we put it to a vote,” Kirschtaria suggested. “All in favor of leaving this Lostbelt for another time, raise your hands.” Everyone looked at each other before several members raised their hands. “All in favor of staying here for a little longer?” The other members including masters and their servants followed suit. “Alright, it seems we have a winner...” Hall of Legends Giratina blasted a hole in a wall of the temple. “WE HAD THEM!” Several Legendaries were in the same room just watching as the Renegade Pokemon vented his frustration. Being one of the oldest and most powerful Pokemon, none of them were willing to calm him down less they became the target of his frustration. None except Mew. “Giratina, please calm down.” “NO!” The immediate and loud response startled the Pokemon Progenitor. But rather than shrinking back, Mew stood her ground. “Brother, smashing the temple will do nothing but make a bigger mess for us to clean.” “I don’t care! Father can just blink and the temple will fix itself.” Mew just groaned and decided to stop trying with the ruler of the Distortion World. “Honestly I would just let him vent Mew,” Yveltal said. “I don’t blame him, he, like many of us, has a good reason to be upset.” Mew shook her head. It had been nearly an hour since they all had come back from Ponyville after their failed attempt to capture Chaldea. Needless to say, none were too happy about the fact their enemy got away. Others however were more baffled at the how. “I don’t understand,” Kyurem said. “There is no logical way they should have been able to get away.” “I concur with Kyurem,” Palkia added. “Even if somehow they were able to teleport to another dimension, father should still have been able to know where they are given that he locked onto their very existence.” “Remind me again, how does that work?” Genesect asked. “Well as you know, father can will things into and out of existence, as if they were never there. To the point where history itself changes to match their absence. As such, being able to track a person’s place or thing should not be beyond his power so long as he gets a good look at it.” “There are some ways to avoid this however,” Uxie said. “For example, when those traitorous Presits sealed us away, they placed a spell on father’s prison that prevented him from seeing where his elemental plates were. An impressive feat considering the plates are a part of his very being. But to be clear, this merely prevented them from seeing and locating them. Father was still connected to them and knew that the plates were still out there.” “However this is different. Not only does Lord Arceus not know where the Chaldeans are, he is unable to verify that they even exist.” “Hmmm, that is interesting.” “Interesting but also just as frustrating. Understand this, as a god, there are very few things Arceus can and cannot do. Even though he is no longer as powerful as he was when made the universe, father can still do things that would undoubtedly mark him as an omnipotent god. So the times when even father was stumped are few and far in between.” “The first time father was ‘bested’ was when he was sealed away,” Mew said. “He considers that day the only time in his life that mortals were able to pull one over him.” Genesect was hesitant to say what came next. “And what about what just happened now?” Mew, Palkia, and Uxie looked at each and them back at the cybernetic Pokemon. “Well, given that father was rather confident that he had beaten Chaldea, and that he did not think they had a means of escaping even him...needless to say, this would be the second time in life where father was bested by mere mortals.” “So as you can imagine, he is still trying to process this,” Palkia said. Giratina who at this point had stopped making holes in the wall was listening as the four of them talked about how father was taking all of this. However, his concerns were currently on another powerful legendary Pokemon. “They may think that father is in a very bad mood, but they are forgetting about someone else. Someone who lost in a different way.” Indeed, unlike Arceus who merely failed by not capturing Chaldea when he had the chance, another legendary failed in a way that was more personal. Mewtwo is the most powerful psychic mind in the world short of Arceus and the combined power of the Lake Trio. There was virtually no one in the world who could match him in sheer psychic power. But something happened on that day, something no one had ever expected. Nobody was sure what had happened, and Mewtwo was not in the mood to disclose what had happened. All they knew was that he had attempted to read the mind of a Chaldean human, but several moments later, he was flung by an invisible force through a wall. Despite Mewtwo refusing to comment on what went wrong, an observant person would be able to form a plausible theory. In attempting to read the mind of a human, Mewtwo was somehow forced out of said human’s mind. Ergo, there was someone or something powerful enough to beat Mewtwo at his own game. Whereas Arceus experienced loss before, Mewtwo was beaten for really the first time in his life. One could only imagine how he was reconciling this new experience. - Arceus was not sure what he should do at the moment. More accurately, he was deciding which of two things he should address first: Finding out how the Chaldeans managed to erase all traces of their physical existence, or, confronting Celestia on why she thought it best not to inform him of her finding a human form their little group. Given the stakes, he thought that she would come to him immediately so that his powers could simply pluck the information they needed from their mind. So why didn’t she? He could only guess that in her infinite kindness that Celestia was attempting to negotiate with the human and that she didn’t want him around to do anything too forceful. Arceus in a way had respect for Celestia’s good nature, it was because of the motherly kindness she possessed that made her the first and strongest supporter of the Pokemon being allowed to stay here. And yet this same kindness was in his view a detriment in some ways. He felt like Celestia did not punish her foes as harshly as she should have. You would think that after tens of thousands of your ponies were murdered in a tragic unprovoked attack, you would be more inclined to seek retribution. Arceus was a god, so when he delivered Judgement, he did it swiftly and appropriately. He understood that Celestia was no deity, but as an immortal, he felt like she should start acting more like one. Having realized where his train of thought was going, Arceus made his choice. Canterlot Castle. “Are you sure he is still not there?” The pony attendant shook her head. “No my Princess, Lord Mewtwo has not returned to his room nor has he been seen around the castle.” Celestia sighed. “I see, you are dismissed for now. But at the first sign of his return, inform me immediately.” “Yes, Princess.” The attendant left the room, leaving Celestia and Luna alone. “I’m concerned sister,” Luna said. “About Mewtwo, or Arceus?” “Yes.” “What?” “I mean both. In the case of Arceus, I’m surprised he didn’t pull us over (and into another dimension) so that he could ‘talk’ with us about our ‘communication skills’ or lack thereof. As for Mewtwo, well, I believe that him not being here might be related to how we were not open with him either.” “Yes, it could be that, or...” Celestia thought back to how Mewtwo, after getting up from whatever hit him, had an expression that was a mix of shock and anger, maybe even more so than the one Arceus had at the time. Evidently, both Pokemon were dealing with things that required them to be alone for a while. “Whatever the case may be, I suggest we give them space for a while. They will talk to us when they are ready.” “That may be sooner than you think.” Given that it happened so many times, Celestia should have been used to this by now. But because she was starting to let her guard down, she was still surprised when she heard Arceus’s voice coming from behind her. Letting out another sigh, she turned around to find his imposing form towering above her and Luna. “Celestia.” “Arceus.” “You know why I’m here.” “Yes.” “Then let’s get to the point.” Arceus slowly blinked while letting out a sigh. “Why did neither of you bother to inform me that you had captured a Chaldean?” “He’s calmer than I expected, for now.” Celestia knew that she could not lie. In fact, she had no reason to assume Arceus had not already read their minds and was just waiting for them to confirm what he already knew. Seeing that there was no way around this, Celestia opened her mouth. “Because I think Chaldea may be of use to us.” “…What?” “I mean that Chaldea would better serve as an ally than an enemy. I do not believe this has to end in the total destruction of either side. I want to find another way, a way where we can all survive.” “So...you’re saying that you want to form an alliance with the humans? That you would even envision a scenario where humanity survives and lives alongside us!?” Celestia narrowed her eyes to that question. “Before I answer that let me ask you this, what were you planning to do after you had captured Chaldea?” “What?” “Be honest with Arceus. Let's say you had found them first. Would you have taken your time to tell me? Would you have done some personal interrogation of your own without my knowing? I can imagine that given your disposition towards humans, your intentions would not be pretty, to say the least.” “....I don’t know.” “Are you sure about that?” “What do you want me to say!? That I was going to torture them, make them suffer!? Use them as a punching bag for all my pent-up frustration and anger towards humanity that I have had for several thousand years!? Are you going to sit there and tell me it would be unjustified, that they didn’t deserve it!?” Arceus paused for a moment, trying to regain his composure. His head facing the floor. “I’m tired Celestia, so tired. I had hoped to never see another human for as long as I live, which is saying something. I...understand that not all of them are evil, but I just can’t forgive them. Call me stubborn, or call me misanthropic, I don’t care. Humanity has done too much to hurt me and my children, my world. I….honestly think I stopped loving humanity a long time ago.” “....Then why bring some of them here with you?” “...Obligation. Plus, I think Mew and Cresselia would be upset if I separated Pokemon-Human couples like Gene and Belle.” “Alright, I’ve heard enough. Now I’m sorry that I was not forthcoming with you Arceus, I realized that it was unbecoming of me not to tell you. I thought that if you had been there, and I had brought up the proposal of an alliance, you would never have allowed that to happen.” “Have you forgotten how they killed all those ponies and Pokemon during the Summer Sun Celebration? How three of my Legendary Pokemon were murdered? You would forgive them, just like that? You would ask me to forgive them for their crimes!?” “Chaldea didn’t do that!” “....What?” “Harmony never said that Chaldea was the one who committed that horrifying act on that day. In fact, it doesn’t even make sense if you think about it.” “How so? Their goal is to kill us all, I’m pretty sure that motive alone makes them a prime suspect.” “Yes that’s true, but why a bombing? Their main objective is to destroy our Tree of Emptiness, which is the surest and quickest way to end us. Why do a ton of random bombings all over the country when it doesn’t even kill the majority of the population?” “Okay but-” “And then there is the transmission that Genesect’s radio tower picked up. It was meant for Chaldea, a signal for them to rally to and hide. How would they have enough time to set up bombs all over the country if they were trying to find this Wandering Sea?” Arceus paused and thought for a moment. He recalled how John Williams went up north and discovered the first Lostbelt and the servant that was in there. How said servant told him that Chaldea left not long ago. He had to assume that they had just cut down the tree sustaining that Lostbelt before going into hiding. Still, this didn’t exactly remove them from being implicated in the bombings. “...I can see your point, but still we don’t know who was the mastermind behind that attack on that day. All we know was that a servant was among the perpetrators, the very same servant who killed Zapdos, Articuno, and Moltres. The only ones who can command a servant are a human master, which Chaldea has several of.” “That is true, so when we meet them again, we can ask them ourselves," Celestia then rolled her eyes. "Or you can just read their minds without their consent.” “I’m not Mewtwo Celestia, I do have some standards. Even when it comes to my enemies.” “Speaking of which, where is Mewtwo? I haven’t seen him around the castle?” “He is in the Hall of Legends. I imagine he might be there for a while.” “Is he alright?” “...To put it bluntly, no. Physically he’s fine, but I think he is dealing with a case of wounded pride at the moment.” “I see, send him my regards. Back to the point. So now that we have cleared the air, can I ask you in the event that we do find Chaldea again, will you be okay with trying to form an alliance? Despite their intentions to destroy us, Chaldea is better served as an ally than an enemy. When we eventually have to face the other Lostbelts, it would be better to have their expertise and their general knowledge about what might be waiting for us in those worlds.” Arceus and Celestia stared at each other. Luna stood watching for what the god might say next. “Fine Celestia, we’ll do it your way.” The Sun Princess sighed. “Thank you for understanding Arceus “However, if Chaldea is not interested in an alliance. If they kill any Pokemon or heaven forbid one of my Legendaries...I will find Chaldea, and I will deal with them my way.” Celestia nodded begrudgingly. “...Very well.” Then without another word, Arceus disappeared. Luna walked up to her sister. “Well, I think that went well.” “Indeed, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t agree to the idea at all. Not that I wouldn’t blame him.” “So what now?” “Now, we hope that everything goes well.” “But sister, that Chaldean we met before was not exactly the most cooperative. Not to mention she grievously harmed Abby Trombly.” “That may be true, but I don’t think she represents all of Chaldea. I just think that the best way out of this situation is if we all work together.” Luna stared out the balcony, which gave her a good look at the kingdom they ruled over and all who lived in it. The future of all they have ever known depended on them now more than ever. “For the sake of our little ponies, I hope so.” Hall of Legends. Mewtwo’s room. If one is the best at what they do, then they obviously stand at the pinnacle of that very thing. If one was the most powerful psychic in the world, then they had nothing to fear in terms of an equal or more powerful rival. And if there was something more powerful than you, then it was a good thing they were on your side. For it is better to have them as your ally than an enemy. But at the same time, a lack of challenge, a lack of needing to further progress, can be bad. For if there is no one to challenge you, then why should you strive to be any better? Competition breeds better results, having a rival to test your skills encourages you to be better than your opponent. For the Pokemon race, battling was a part of their very culture. They had been doing it since the dawn of their existence, and they would continue doing it until the day they died. Not even the Legendary Pokemon were excluded from this need to be better than their counterparts. Groudon and Kyogre, the Legendary Beast’s had each other, even Dialga and Palkia would spar from time to time. Although not often since their clashes would destabilize space-time if done too intensely. But Mewtwo, the strongest man made Pokemon known to all, had no such desire to hone his skills. Not that he didn’t try at first. The day he met his mother, he attacked her due to his interest in seeing which of them was stronger. It was a debate that surprisingly many still talked about to this day. In reality, though, Mewtwo inherited the raw power of Mew, which was enhanced by the scientists who made him. In exchange, he lost the ability to use every move known to Pokemon kind. That being said, Mewtwo was no longer interested in comparing his power to his mother. Especially since she admitted he was stronger mentally. In combination with all that, Mewtwo came to believe that no mind, no matter how well fortified, was beyond his reach. And thanks to his divine heritage, not even the natural resistance of Dark types could keep him out for long. So you could imagine his surprise...when someone did not keep him out, but forced him out of a mind. Ever since then, the clone of Mew had been trying to figure out just what went wrong that could cause something like this to happen. Was he caught off guard? Did he make a mistake? Either way, he was not taking this well. Mewtwo had confined himself to his personal room in the Hall of Legends. Said room was not noteworthy in any way. It just had a simple bed along with a table in the middle, plus a light fixture overhead. Mewtwo had no need for material possessions or any keepsakes he had attachments to. Which was why his room, despite not having much in it, was thoroughly trashed. No one likes losing, despite the necessity for losing and the teachings that come along with it. Mewtwo had never lost before, not in a fight, nor in a battle of minds. And just like everyone else, the first loss is sometimes the hardest. “How?” He said to himself. “I...am Mewtwo. No mind is beyond my grasp. There is no one in this world who can challenge me except the ones in the very temple. There should be no human who has the mental power to match me. Their frail, pathetic bodies could not handle a mind with that kind of output.” The image of the one who bested him was burned into Mewtwo’s mind. The laughter he made, that d@## smile as if he was mocking him. Mewtwo had nothing but contempt for whoever this was. “Whoever he is, he’s not human, he can’t be.” Yes, if he was not human, then that leaves only one possibility. “So, there is even a servant among them who can stand against me.” Mewtwo clenched his fists as his aura became visible. He floated off the ground as power surged through his body. “Very well then heroic spirit of mankind. For daring to stand in my way, I shall give you the greatest honor I could possibly give someone.” Mewtwo smiled gleefully as his eyes glowed. “I shall shatter your body as I scatter your mind in a glorious death. For daring to defy the will of Lord Arceus, I shall carry out your fully deserved punishment in his name.” “Hey, Mewtwo?” The knock on his door almost startled him as Mewtwo recognized the owner of the voice as Meloetta. He relaxed and regained his composure before responding. “Yes, what is it?” “Father has called for a meeting with everyone in the main hall.” “Understood, I’m coming.” As he heard the Melody Pokemon walk away, Mewtwo wondered what Arceus was calling them for. “Probably, to talk about what happened earlier today. Good. Maybe he’s going to suggest we take matters into our own hands and not involve Celestia and the other Princesses. Hmph. If that’s how the moral guardians of Equestria want to handle things, then two can play that game.” - Mewtwo floated into the main hall to see all the Legendary Pokemon gathered together around Arceus. Several were already murmuring about what had happened earlier and what should be done. “Can’t believe the humans got away.” “What was Celestia thinking by not telling us!? This could have been all over by now?” “We can’t underestimate Chaldea again.” Arceus looked around and saw that everyone was here. “Alright settle down, I have some things we need to discuss. First of all, we are all aware of what happened earlier today. The human interlopers known as Chaldea appeared and would have been apprehended personally by me if not for a few things. The first of which was due to a lack of proper communication from our Equestrian hosts.” There were several shouts and nods in agreement with that. “But even if that in mind, the total capture of Chaldea would have been successful regardless had it not been for the intervention of two servants.” “Lord Arceus,” Thunderous said. “Forgive me interruption, but who were those two servants and how did they manage to do those things we saw today?” “Good question. Listen carefully everyone, the servants in question who opposed us today were in fact gods. Namely Skadi of the Norse Pantheon and Goddess of Snow, and the other one being Quetzalcoatl, chief deity of the Aztec gods.” There were some surprised and shocking whispers among the legendaries. While not many of them recognized the names and pantheons associated with those gods, the fact alone that they were gods was enough to put them on edge. “So even the gods of this world can be summoned as servants!?” “They would dare stand against Lord Arceus!” “Can you blame them? They’re protecting their world just as we are protecting our people.” “Settle down everyone. I know the fact that the gods of this world appearing to fight us is concerning. But you need not fear too much. After fighting with one of them I have discovered that these gods summoned as servants do not possess full access to their powers as they normally would have. What this means is these gods are far weaker than they were in life.” Everyone seemed to calm down a little at that statement. “Still, they should not be underestimated, at the end of the day, they are still deites. They have powers and authorities that many of you possess. So be prepared to fight someone who just might have the same powers and abilities as you.” And with that statement, Mewtwo felt it was his time to speak up. “Lord Arceus?” The Pokemon God, as well as most of the Pokemon in the room, had their eyes on Mewtwo. Some of them did not expect to see him out of his chambers so soon. “Yes, Mewtwo?” “What is to be done about Princess Celestia? She was not cooperative and as a result, we missed the opportunity to capture Chaldea and had to go through all that struggle earlier today for nothing. This demands addressing!” There were several murmurs of agreement from the other Legendaries. “I have already talked with Princess Celestia, and we have resolved the issue. She will not keep us in the dark again. That being said, there is something we wish to do that is in relation to why she was not forthcoming.” “And what would that be?” Arceus sighed. “She wishes to form an alliance with Chaldea.” Almost immediately there were shouts of protest from several Legendaries as well as confused looks from others. “Lord Arceus,” Mewtwo felt his anger beginning to rise. “You can’t seriously be entertaining this idea?” “I know this comes to the shock of many of you. But Celestia believes that working with Chaldea may be more beneficial to us than just neutralizing them. My personal opinions aside, I have decided to go along with this for now.” “And Celestia really thinks she can reason with these humans?” “As I said, for now, I’ll let her try her plan. But the moment it looks like it won’t happen, we will do things my way.” Several of the Legendaries looked unsatisfied but just decided to trust Arceus’s judgment. “Now, if some of you wish to take a break after what happened today that is fine, rest as long as you need. Everyone else continue searching for signs of Chaldea. I don’t know how they escaped me, but they must show themselves again sometime. They have to.” And with that Arceus dismissed the meeting and everyone started to leave. “Hey, dad?” Arceus looked to his left to see his favorite daughter. “Yes, my little Mew?” “How are you feeling right now?” “I’m fine Mew, just...tired as all.” “You’re tired? As in physically? You never get tired.” Arceus then realized what he accidentally let slip. “Really Mew I’m fine, you don’t need to worry, nothing a little rest won’t fix.” Mew saw the look in her father’s eyes and understood what he meant. “Alright daddy, just making sure you don’t push yourself.” “I appreciate the thought.” “Okay then, bye.” “Bye.” And with that Mew floated off elsewhere. Leaving Arceus alone to decide what he should do next. When he said he was tired, he wasn’t exaggerating. That last battle had actually drained him. From a combination of that accursed gate that Skadi used, to fighting Quetzalcoatl, to tearing down the defense of Skadi’s castle, Arceus had actually spent a great deal of power during all that. In fact, he was weak enough that he was sure that if enough servants fought together, they might actually have a chance of beating him. “If only I had access to my full power.” Arceus once again cursed humanity’s Counter Force for doing everything it can to try and keep him down. In order to regain the full amount of energy he had before that fight, Arceus had to enter a form of hypersleep that would allow him to recharge his lost power. The only problem is that once he entered said sleep, he could not be awakened by any force in the universe for the next 24 hours. Which was a lot of time to be unable to do anything while someone might wreak havoc in his absence. But this was something he had to do sooner or later. He did not want to encounter another god servant while still weak. But he would also have to appoint someone in charge of the council while he was snoozing. “But who?” Ranger Union, Medical Wing Abby opened her eyes slowly as she let out a tired groan. After her sight cleared up, she realized she was in one of the medical rooms of the Ranger Union. To her right was an IV bag as well as a half-empty blood bag. Looking down she saw Kasai sleeping on the floor. Smiling at her husband’s snoozing form, she was about to call out his name when the door to her room burst open. Looking up she saw the ghostly form of Mage, Luke, and several of her friends and family behind them. “I told you she was awake, I could sense it!” Everyone piled into the room, the noise awakening Kasai who also realized his wife was awake. “Come on guys give her space,” Belle said. “Or I’ll make you do it myself.” Kasai nuzzled Abby who licked him back. “How are you feeling?” “...Like crap honestly, what happened?” Kasai’s face darkened. “What do you remember?” “I remember that human girl...if she even is human, biting into my neck and…” It was at this point Abby noticed the bandages around her neck area. “You lost a lot of blood, the doctors had to give you a transfusion. You’ll be fine for now, but for a moment there it looked really…” A tear fell from Kasai’s eye, the thought that he almost lost Abby was unthinkable. “What matters is you’re safe now.” “I’m sorry I made you worry Kasai. I shouldn’t have run off like that on my own.” “I’m not mad at you. There is only one person to blame for why you’re like this and that’s-” Flames began to escape the Arcainine’s mouth as his thoughts turned to the one who almost killed his mate. “Speaking of which what happened to her?” Everyone looked at each other, a look that said they didn’t know where to start. “You might wanna lie down for this one Abby,” Mage said. “No pun intended.” It took about five minutes to explain what happened after Abby lost consciousness. By the time Mage was done explaining, Abby had found her anger again. “And that’s it. No one knows where they are now, not even Arceus can track them from what I’ve heard.” “How could someone hide from even Arceus?” Gene asked. “I mean, he is a god, nothing should be beyond him from what we’ve seen.” “Arceus may be a god,” Luke said. “But it seems even his power has limits.” “So what now?” “For now, you need to rest until the doctor clears you from the hospital. But even after that, he wants you to take a leave of absence from Ranger duty until you fully recover.” Abby frowned a bit. After what happened to her, she was more determined than ever to stop Chaldea. But it seems that she would have to wait. “Alright everyone, let’s give these two some space,” Mage suggested as she attempted to file everyone out. “Get well soon Abby,” Belle said. “I will, take care, Belle. Say hi to the kids for me.” “Oh, speaking of which. Belle go get our kids and tell them they can come in now,” Kasai said. “Will do.” Once Abby and Kasai were alone, she turned to her husband with a serious look on her face. “What does Princess Celestia think of all this?” “Abby?” “You know what I mean.” Kasai thought for a moment. “Well, I haven’t spoken to her since what happened yesterday. But I can go ask if that’s what you want.” “Just ask the Princess how we will proceed from here. Given everything that’s happened, I’m sure she must realize that the time for negotiations has passed.” Kasai’s face became serious as well. “I will, promise.” “I hope now she sees there is no reasoning with Chaldea. And that they must be stopped, no matter the cost.” Crypter Meeting Room “And that’s what happened.” Everyone who was around the table listened as Koyansaka finished explaining what happened in the Equestrian Lostbelt. Namely Darnic, Beryl, Daybit, and Fiore. “I see, that is mildly disappointing,” said the head of the Yggdmillennia family. “I’ll say,” Beryl chimed in. “That dumb%## god could have taken care of Chaldea and saved us the trouble of hunting them down, oh well. Then again I would not have been happy if he had done anything to Mash before I had my way with her.” “Nevertheless, this is a development that is not favorable to our plans. I don’t think that after that encounter with Arceus, Chaldea will be inclined to confront him anytime soon.” “I don’t know about that Darnic. My former teammates are the type of idiots to come back even if the situation is hopeless.” “Hmmm, Daybit, what is your assessment?” The introverted Crypter only needed a second to think. “Given what has just happened, I have to agree with Beryl that Chaldea may not be so deterred to leave the Lostbelt just yet. That being said, this does not mean they will be drawn out so easily now. Not unless they are given a good incentive to walk into the open if an opportunity presents itself.” “So you are saying we need to bait them out?” “Yes, and I think we all know what will serve as the perfect bait.” All eyes were on the foxy owner of NFF. The mercenary soon got the hint of what she was supposed to do. “Oh, so you want me to do that.” “Well, it is one of the duties stipulated in your contract Ms. Koyansaka. Not to mention that given how the Lostbelt King of Equestria has been most uncooperative, I think it’s time we remind her to who she owes everything to.” Koyansaka grinned an evil grin. “You know what I agree, I should uphold my contract with the Foreign God. Alright then Darnic, I will do as you ask. I will awaken that root of fantasy and enjoy the look on everyone’s faces as they learn the truth of their world.”