//------------------------------//
// 19. The Angel's Choir (Arc 2 finale) 
// Story: A New World, A New Family 
// by Lance Skyes 
//------------------------------//

	It got late. Felix and the others returned home. Pinky agreed to be the one to look after Butters until he woke up. (Despite his injuries healing without problem, he still suffered enough of a chill to keep him unconscious for a while. Pinky could confirm that the Butterfree would live, however.)
“I'm worried about Marcus and the others,” Felix said to Kanga as the two settled into bed. “Mostly about Aria, though. Is it… is it wrong for me to say that Meganium possessing her like that wasn't right?”
Kanga shook her head. “I have to agree with you,” she said. “Sorry if you're listening, Meganium.” With a sigh, Kanga added, “Still, what were the odds Meganium would know Aria's story beforehand? We didn't.”
“I guess that's true…” Felix said. “I just hope Aria can recover from this…”
“I'm sure she will,” Kanga replied. “She's a lot stronger than it seems.”
“How would you know that?” Felix asked quizzically.
“I… don't,” Kanga said with a slump. “I'm kinda just hoping for a good scenario to come from this.”
“I'm sure it will,” Felix said reassuringly. “If I know Marcus, he'll stay strong for his team. He'll do anything, and I mean anything, to make sure anyone on his team with a problem is helped.” The Meganium rolled over and looked out towards the Everfree Forest, where Drake and Mangol were just now setting out to find Breeze. “I guess that just leaves one question, though… Who's beyond help?”

Deep within the Everfree Forest, Marcus, Blitz, and Tiny were searching desperately for Aria.
“Aria!” Marcus called. “Aria! Where are you?”
“I knew I shouldn't have let her run off like that,” Tiny said with a shake of his head. “I should have stopped her.”
“Don't beat yourself up over this, Tiny,” Marcus reassured. “There was nothing you could have done. You know how Aria needs space when she's dealing with something.”
“I know, but…” Tiny said with a frown. “I just feel like I could have-” The Togetic stopped mid-sentence and perked one of his ears up. “I hear something…”
“What is it?” Marcus asked as he motioned for Blitz to rejoin the two.
“It's…” Tiny started, straining himself to hear. “I think it's singing…” With an excited gasp, a grin, and a joyful flutter of his wings, Tiny exclaimed, “IT'S ARIA! Come on! It's coming from this way!” The Togetic then took off at high speed, Marcus and Blitz following close behind.
“Tiny really cares about Aria, huh?” Blitz asked Marcus.
“Of course,” Marcus replied. “We all do.”

Meanwhile, in a small moonlit clearing, Aria was sitting on the ground, singing a sorrowful tune with tears in her eyes. The origin of the tune was indecipherable—likely an original work of Aria's—and her crying seemed to fit the song perfectly, as though the song were meant to be sung alongside tears. She continued singing for a little while until a familiar voice caught her ear.
“Aria!” Tiny's voice called from far away. Aria rose off the ground slightly and turned in the direction of the Togetic's voice.
“Tiny?” Aria asked quietly. After a moment, Tiny emerged from the brush behind Aria.
“Aria!” Tiny called happily as he rushed up and hugged the Froslass. “Oh my Arceus, you have no idea how happy I am to see you're okay!”
Aria was about to respond when Marcus and Blitz galloped in after Tiny. “Aria! You're alright!” Marcus said with a smile. “We were worried about you.”
“I… I know,” Aria said while looking down. It was at this point that Tiny released the Froslass from his hug. “I'm sorry about running off before.”
“It's okay, Aria,” Marcus said reassuringly. “I don't blame you. None of us do. But we are worried about something else. Did you see two Butterfree named Butters and Breeze out here?”
Aria looked a little confused for a moment before seeming to understand what Marcus was talking about and looking down. “Those poor Butterfree…” she almost whispered.
“You saw them?” Blitz asked. Marcus quickly motioned for her to back down, just as a precaution.
“I… I couldn't save them…” Aria said, continuing her hushed whisper. “I didn't get there in time… one disappeared, and the other… the other…” Aria clenched her fists as tears began rolling down her eyes once again. “It was her, Marcus. She followed me into this world.”
“Her?” Marcus asked. “You mean… Lassie?”
Aria nodded. “I caught up to her as she was attacking two Grass-types,” she continued. “I didn't see who they were, though. My focus was Lassie. I found her, and it was at that moment that I knew I was through running… I had to confront her.”
“You battled her?” Marcus asked, surprised.
“I…” Aria started, but before she could finish, she broke down in tears and rushed up to hug Marcus tightly, despite his flames. “I-I killed her, Marcus! I finally did what she'd wanted me to do for so long! I killed her! She's dead! It was the only way I'd ever be rid of her! She'll never kill anyone else ever again because I'm the one who killed her! Oh Marcus, I'm so, so, so sorry! I had no choice! She forced my hand and now she's dead because of me!” It seemed like Aria tried to say more, but her words were completely drowned out by her crying at this point. Marcus wasn't sure what to do, and Blitz and Tiny didn't seem to have any answers either.
“Uh…” Marcus said in an unsure tone as he raised a hoof and stroked the back of Aria's head consolingly. “It's okay, Aria. Shh. Shh. There's no need to cry. I… I forgive you for what you've done.”
With a sniffle, Aria looked up and met Marcus' eyes. “How…?” she asked. “How could you forgive me? I just fell right back into the hole you risked your life to pull me out of. Everything you did to help me, Lassie just undid it all in one fell swoop. Tell me, how could you forgive a murderer?”
Marcus gave a weak smile. “Are you going to kill again?” he asked.
”Marcus!” Blitz called in a hushed whisper.
“I… I don't want to…” Aria replied, looking down. “I'm afraid of becoming that again. I don't want to become like Lassie…”
“Then you have nothing to worry about,” Marcus said as he hugged Aria back. “If Lassie's gone, then so is her influence over you. She'll never harm you or any other Pokemon ever again. And it was because you did the right thing. She might think she got a final victory over you, but that's only if you let her take that victory. Just because you killed her… doesn't mean you have to be her.”
Aria was silent for a moment before resting her head on Marcus' shoulder and sighing. “Thank you, Marcus,” she said. “I'll… I'll try to remember what you've said.”
“Good,” Marcus said as he released Aria, her doing the same. “Now then, what do you say we all go home? It's been a long day.”
“I'd… I'd like that,” Aria said with some semblance of a smile. “I could use some sleep.”
“Then let's get going,” Marcus said, returning the smile. As the four began walking towards Marcus' and Blitz's den, Marcus added, “Tomorrow's a new day.”

Somewhere on Mt. Coronet, a young shiny Snorunt trudged quickly through the thick blanket of snow, closely following a Froslass, who was also shiny. Froslass had told Snorunt of something the little one had been seeking for a long time: a Dawn Stone. Being a female, Snorunt had an opportunity to evolve into a Froslass rather than a Glalie. It was true that her clan wouldn't think anything different of her if she did evolve into a Glalie, but it was just something Snorunt… didn't want. No, she wanted to be different, and more so than being a shiny Pokemon entailed.
Fortunately, Snorunt encountered this Froslass, who told her of a Dawn Stone that she'd hidden away for a very special occasion, and in Froslass' words, “What better occasion than the opportunity to help a young Snorunt fulfill her dream?”
After several minutes of walking, Snorunt and Froslass stopped at the foot of a tall and, to Snorunt, intimidating hill. “It's just up there,” Froslass said. “There's a cave near the top of that hill.”
Snorunt took a step back and started shaking, not out of cold like normal, but out of intimidation. “I… I don't think I can climb that,” Snorunt said in a worried tone.
“Oh, well if that's all you're worried about…” Froslass said with a giggle. She then reached down and wrapped her ribbons around Snorunt before flying up towards the cave at the top of the mountain. Snorunt screamed a little, but she didn't scream much before she found herself with feet back on the ground inside the cave. “There. That wasn't so bad, was it?”
“I… I guess not,” Snorunt replied, still shaking a little. “Um… where's the Dawn Stone?”
“It's right there in the back,” Froslass replied while pointing into the cave. Snorunt turned around to see the Dawn Stone sitting in the back of the cave. Despite the cave being dark, the Dawn Stone glowed almost as brightly as the sunrise. (Snorunt then mentally face palmed as she realized why.) “Go on. It's right there waiting for you.”
“Thank you, Froslass,” Snorunt said with a smile and a nod. She then turned around and began running towards the Dawn Stone excitedly, but as she got closer, she began slowing down before stopping about a foot away from the evolutionary stone, staring at it worriedly.
“Is something wrong?” Froslass asked as she floated up next to Snorunt. “This is what you've been waiting for, isn't it?”
“It… it is…” Snorunt said in a deflated tone. “But… something doesn't feel right…”
“What do you mean?” Froslass asked, her eye twitching outside of Snorunt's perception. “It's right there. All you have to do is touch it, and your dream will come true.”
“It's been my dream for so long…” Snorunt said as she stared into the core of the Dawn Stone, where she could swear she saw a reflection of herself as a Froslass. “I want to take it, but… something's holding me back… telling me I shouldn't do this…” With a sigh, Snorunt turned around and looked up at Froslass. “Thank you for bringing me here. It really does mean a lot to me, but I don't think it's right for me. Thanks a lot for showing me this.”
Froslass clenched her fist and began advancing on Snorunt slowly and menacingly. “You think I'm just going to let you do that?” Froslass asked as she glared down at Snorunt, who began backing away. “You think I went through the trouble of tracking you down, finding and digging up a Dawn Stone, planting it right here, away from everyone you know, and leading you here just so you could say no?”
“Um…” Snorunt said before stumbling and falling onto her back inches from the Dawn Stone.
“No…” Froslass said as she leaned down right into Snorunt's face. “No, I won't let you get away. I don't care what you say, you're going to evolve into a Froslass.”
“W-why?” Snorunt asked. “Why do you want me to evolve so badly?”
“ISN'T THIS WHAT YOU WANTED?” Froslass shouted in a menacing voice, causing some of the ice from the ceiling to fall down around the two. “You wanted to evolve into a Froslass, of course! I was just…” With a sinister smile, Froslass leaned in and whispered, “I was just helping.”
There was a pause before Snorunt shouted “Ice Shard!” She then fired several small shards of ice right into Froslass' face, causing the Snow Land Pokemon to recoil backwards. Snorunt took this opportunity to leap back to her feet and make a break for the exit to the cave.
“You're not getting away from me!” Snorunt heard Froslass shouting from far behind, but Snorunt didn't pay any attention. She just kept running until she was out of the cave… where she quickly realized that there was no ground for her to keep running and she instead began tumbling down the side of the mountain. She fell for almost a minute before finally landing face-first in the snow below, heavily battered and beaten. Snorunt was in pain, but she knew this wasn't the time to rest. She had to get back to her clan. She got up and started running as best she could, but she couldn't get far before she felt the familiar grasp of Froslass' ribbons around her body. Snorunt struggled against the grip, but her struggle was useless, especially since Snorunt probably had a broken bone or two right where Froslass had her.
“You didn't have to run, you know,” Froslass said coldly as she brought Snorunt up to meet her gaze. “All you had to do was take the Dawn Stone. Absolutely no harm would have befallen you. But now look at yourself. You're battered and beaten…  and for what? What do you find so intimidating…” Froslass paused for a moment as she used her free ribbon to pull out the Dawn Stone from before. “...about this tiny little rock?”
“I-I-I don't know,” Snorunt replied, still struggling. “But I do know it's bad. My instincts tell me not to go near that thing… not to be near you anymore.”
Froslass giggled for a moment. “My my…” she said. “Aren't your instincts right?” With a sinister smile, Froslass shoved the Dawn Stone forward right onto Snorunt's forehead before dropping them both into the snow below. Snorunt tried to back away now that she was released from Froslass' grip, but for some reason, the Dawn Stone was stuck to her.
“G-get it off me!” Snorunt shouted as she tried to pull the stone off, only to have her hands stuck to it as well. It was at this point that the Dawn Stone began glowing.
“Don't fight it, Snorunt,” Froslass said in an intimidatingly calm voice. “Your fate is already sealed. Embrace your new life.”
“N-no!” Snorunt shouted, but it was hopeless and she knew it. Still, she struggled until she felt all her energy being sapped right out of her body, eventually causing her to fall onto her back. That was when the Dawn Stone began glowing brightly, and Snorunt could feel herself being pulled into this light. It felt awful. Like her skin was slowly being peeled off of her body inch by inch until there was nothing left of her physical form. Then she felt as though she was being pulled inside-out, every part of her being ripped right out of her mouth. She tried to scream, but her cries were never heard. She was dead… and a second shiny Froslass was all that remained of her.
“This is just the beginning, my dear Aria…”

Aria woke up suddenly and let out a loud scream that echoed throughout the cave, jolting Marcus, Blitz, and Tiny awake.
“Aria! What's wrong?” Marcus asked as he got up and galloped over to the Froslass, who was panting and sweating. “Are you alright?”
Aria looked up at Marcus, panic in her eyes, and was unable to speak for a moment before she took a deep breath to try to calm herself down. “I'm… I'm sorry, Marcus,” she said. “I just had a nightmare, that's all.”
It was at this moment that Tiny floated over to Aria's side and patted her consolingly. “It's alright, Aria,” the Togetic reassured. “We're here for you.”
Aria looked over to Tiny and smiled. “Thank you…” she said. “Um… Tiny? Would you mind sleeping by my side tonight? I don't think I'll have the same nightmare again if I'm with a friend.”
Tiny returned the smile. “Of course,” he said with a nod.
Aria then turned to Marcus. “I'll be fine if he's here,” she said. “Again, sorry about the screaming.”
“It's okay, Aria,” Marcus said with an understanding nod. He then turned around and rejoined Blitz before laying down and going back to sleep.
Meanwhile, Aria had laid down, curled up next to Tiny. “Comfortable?” Tiny asked.
Aria nodded. “Thank you, Tiny,” she said.
“You're welcome,” Tiny replied, smiling. “Now try to get some sleep.”
Aria returned the smile. “I will.” She then rolled over and closed her eyes. But she didn't sleep easily, though. The last words she heard from Lassie still echoed in her mind.
“This is just the beginning, my dear Aria…”