*???'s POV*

*Vivid Rainforest, 2F*

"Here, Serperior," I carried my voice into the forest, knowing that the massive snake would respond to my beckoning.

Sure enough, I soon heard a rustle in the bushes, and the Pokemon's large head appeared from the foliage.

"I trust you had fun with your meal?" I half asked, half-chided, walking over to the Serperior and gently stroking its head. The hissing sound that it made in delight was music to my ears. I could listen to that all day, but I had bigger plans,

"You have not digested his bones yet?" I asked the snake,

"I'll need them as supplies for later. I'm running low, and the Dark Arts are quite demanding of my resources..."

"Certainly, Ssspectre, I can ssstill feel the weight in my ssstomach. Let me retrieve them for you." The Serperior made an odd purring sound, before it began to wretch violently. I stepped backwards to avoid being splashed by the harsh acids.

I wonder how Risk enjoyed his little bath? I always knew that he would give himself up for his friends, but I didn't think it would be that easy to force him to die... Ahahaha!

The first of the bones finally began to surface from the snake's meals, and, once I had found all the salvageable pieces of marrow, I began to arrange them to my liking.

A perfect fit, this one... And look at the quality of that femur- completely intact...

I was mildly impressed,

"For being a snake, you certainly hold up your end of the bargain well..."

I could detect a slight blush on the Pokemon's left cheek,

"Thank you, Sssir, I try to pleassse. However, asss the lord of thisss foressst, I have a reputation to keep. I'm sssorry, Ssspectre, but I need to asssk you to leave thisss place quietly. Make no mention of it to othersss."

I turned to leave, holding most of bones I needed in my hands.

"Hey, Gengar, you want to give me a hand with these? There's more than I can carry..."

"Kekekek! With pleasure! I always wanted to touch Risk's corpse!" Gengar grinned maliciously, and I almost laughed.

That one has the spirit to be an apprentice, but does it have the power? Meanwhile, those other three Ghosts have the power, but lack the spirit... Ugh, why is finding another competent magician in these parts so frustrating... Ahh, well, these bones will serve the purpose I need them for, although they seem too big to be a Riolu's bones... Hmph, I doubt it will matter in the end...

"Come, Gengar, we're leaving." I told the Ghost.

But now that everything's in place... We have some work to do. I just need to master the influence of time- those Crusaders won't stay frozen forever, but it should be long enough for me to accomplish what I need... I thought, disappearing into the darkness that shrouded my magnificent lab.

I just hope that rebellious Absol isn't still there. But even so, I'll let him live for now, a harsh memory of my own incompetence. He will die again, in time...

*Riku's POV*

It's been three days now... I... I don't think I can go on... My food is completely gone, and I haven't had anything to drink, either. How I wish there was something other than this dry, relentless desert... I tried to conjure a thought, my tongue lolling. I looked to the sky, where the wind blew the sands out from under my feet.

As I continued to walk, the harsh grains and shards of rock wedged themselves in my paws, but I couldn't stop to take them out.

By the end of this journey through this harsh climate, my body will be a mess... Why did I try this, alone? I thought, despondently, as the sand around me began to be stirred up in such magnitude that it hid the sun from view. Immediately, I began to feel extremely cold, like I was back in Froslass' ice prison all over again.

Shivering, I tried to shout for help, to look for any sign of civilization, but the only response I got was the occasional chirp of a Natu as it pecked at a Cacnea.

A few minutes later, I knew that I had reached my limit. Taking one more step, I fell to the ground, and I knew that I would die out here.

Risk, I'm sorry... I couldn't do it...

Tears filled my eyes, as my consciousness slowly faded.

...

...

"Hey, anyone home?" a voice whispered near me.

Am I... dead? Is this Risk waking me up?

Neither question's answer was "yes." I opened my eyes to see a large draconian Pokemon staring down at me. Obviously, the creature must not be hungry, or it probably would have torn me open with the hooked claws on its hands. The Pokemon flapped its wings again, nervously. They looked slightly like the patterns on a Butterfree's wings, but I couldn't help wondering,

Why would there be a green dragon in the desert? And why would he be helping me, of all Pokemon?

"Hello?" The Pokemon asked again. I had a feeling that I should respond, but all my tired body could say was,

"Ungh..."

This seemed to please the Pokemon, as it held out a clawed hand to me,

"You're alive! I'm so glad! You see, I get so lonely out here! I try to make friends, but, every time I try, they always run in fear. I guess nobody really likes Flygons. By the way, what's your name, friend?" the Flygon asked me.

"I... I..." My body still didn't feel like cooperating with me. The Flygon didn't seem to mind.

"It's OK if you don't wanna talk. I understand if you're shy... I'm Felix," the Flygon said,

"Nice to meet you, weary traveller."

"Ungh... I'm... Riku," I barely managed to get out.

"Riku?" The Flygon seemed puzzled,

"Never heard of that name before... Sounds cool! Well, Riku, it was nice to see another new face, but I'm willing to bet you will have to leave this desert anyway..."

The Flygon turned to leave, but I shouted, or as much of a shout as I could muster,

"No, don't leave me! I'll die out here! I don't even know where I'm going!" I pleaded. He turned around, excitement written on his face,

"Alright, I'll take you as far as I can. Where do you need to go?" the Flygon asked, picking me up and sticking me on his back.

"The Lightning Field..." I said, nervously.

"Quite a ways away," he mused.

"You're right, you would definitely have died if you tried to get there by foot. However, I may not be of much help- the area has become shrouded in a dark fog. I'll get as close as I can, but I make no promises about returning."

That doesn't really matter to me... If I can find Alakazam here, everything will be fine... I thought, as we took to the skies.

I fell asleep about halfway through our trip, so I didn't really remember what happened when I woke up.

"Felix? Anyone?" I asked, tentatively, opening my eyes slightly. I looked around at my surroundings- I was in the middle a prairie, crackling with electricity.

This must be the Lightning Field... I thought. Then, my eyes widened in shock. There, standing before me, was Alakazam.

Instantly, my spirits rose, until I tried to talk to him.

...

Nothing, just like what happened to the Crusaders back at the Guild.

This is getting ridiculous... What is even going on? My mind couldn't process the new development very well.

Then, I took a closer look at the surrounding field.

It's frozen, too... It's like time has just stopped... I wanted to investigate the field further, but I was afraid that stepping into the frozen area would leave me stuck, as well.

Well, I don't really have a way off this island, so my only option is just to wait by the frozen Alakazam...

The hours ticked by- still nothing. Finally, when I was about ready to fall asleep, I saw the Psi Pokemon stir.

"That underhanded little..." He stopped when he saw me,

"Riku, what are you doing here, of all places?" he asked, concerned.

"I could ask you the same thing, Alakazam. I went looking for you, and this was the last place I remember you being. Photon mentioned that you were lost a while back, so I figured you would still be there, had you not returned yet. Looks like I was right..."

"So tell me," Alakazam seemed to be in a hurry,

"What has happened since the expedition to the Lightning Field?"

The tears came back, full force, as I had to painstakingly explain what happened to Risk, and the true identity of the Necromancer.

"We also found the true identity of Team Rascal. They have left Lightning Field and are now working for Spectre..."

"Von Spectre... " Alakazam mused,

"That nutcase from thirty years ago? I thought he gave up trying to be a magician... I guess I was wrong."

That "nutcase"? I laughed aloud.

Yea, that about sums up Spectre, alright!

"In any case, we need to head back to the Guild. If Team Rascal is no longer here, we should be looking elsewhere for answers. Here, take this and use it, Riku." The Psi Pokemon handed me a small Orb. I recognized it instantly as an Escape Orb, the same variant that Risk smashed into my paw.

Risk... I dearly missed my friend, as I threw the Orb at the ground.

At least I've made some progress... I thought when the familiar white light enveloped me, and I quickly passed out from the shock.

...

When I awoke, the rest of the team was standing over me, as if I had just come back from the dead.

"... Did I miss something?" I asked, slowly readjusting my eyes to the light of the room I was in.

I took a quick look around,

I'm back in the Crusaders' quarters in the Guild, and it looks like whatever happened to the other Crusaders has worn off. But... Where's Alakazam? My mind instantly led me to inquire,

"Where did Alakazam go? The last thing I remember, we escaped together, but I don't seem him here..." I looked around the room for him, but the Psi Pokemon was not present among the others.

"He's outside the Guild. I've got no idea what he's doing, though," Alpha answered. The Mawile appeared lost in thought,

"I have a feeling that it's important, or he would have said something about it to us. He seemed really worried when he left, however..."

"I'll be right back," I told the waiting Crusaders,

"I need to find out just what Alakazam knows. Chances are, he's already figured out something that we haven't," I said, leaving with a final comment,

"Make sure you guys are ready for the road ahead- I have a feeling that we'll be doing some serious fighting soon!"

Outside, I looked to my left to see the entirety of Team ACT silently staring at what looked to be a small gravestone. By the way it was sitting in the hole, I guessed this what the Guild members were talking about when they said they were going to honor Risk.

I approached the three Pokemon, and Alakazam looked up at me as I drew near,

"He was a brave warrior, I know... But one thing I can say for certain- if we let this get in the way of stopping the Necromancer, we will not manage to drive back its assaults..."

"Speaking of which," Tyranitar butted into our conversation,

"We have an idea of where those Ghosts will strike next!"

"Ahem," Alakazam continued.

"Tyranitar is right. We do, indeed, have a guess, although it is only a guess. We know that there is a thief after the Seven Treasures- artifacts that exude a magical essence. You see, in the past, Darkrai, itself, was a master of the Dark Arts- magic so incredibly powerful that it could tear the world apart if used in the wrong hands. Yes, the look on your face tells me that you understand- the Old War was not the first confrontation that this world has had with Darkrai. Almost thirty years ago, Darkrai practically tore the planet apart with an army- an army of Pokemon that it mercilessly slaughtered. It was truly a despicable armada, and it took the combined forces of every rescue team still in operation to stop it. After we drove back the undead force, the seven guardians of the land met in a secret place to discuss the catastrophic effects of the magic. They agreed that it would be best to seal the spell away in seven different vessels to limit its power. These vessels are the Seven Treasures. Now, I have a terrible feeling that Von Spectre is attempting the very same thing- to regain the full power of the Dark Arts and crush the opposition with it..."

"So what do you propose we do to stop it?!" I asked. Before he could answer, I heard a flurry of footsteps from the entrance of the Guild. I turned around to see that the rest of the Crusaders had joined me.

"You were out a long time, so we became a bit worried. Beta wanted us to come check on you, so here we are," Alpha introduced the group.

"Ahh, perfect timing!" Alakazam stated.

"Now listen closely, all of you. Four of the Seven Treasure are missing- Kyogre's Aqua-Monica, Mew's Grass Cornet, Giratina's Rock Horn, and, just recently, Heatran's Fiery Drum was stolen."

Hey, that's the item that Heatran thought we were trying to steal... It must have been really paranoid of what could potentially happen...

"Now,"

Alakazam continued,

"We cannot possibly reach the three remaining Treasures before Spectre's army of Ghosts do, so, unfortunately, we are forced to split up..."

Alpha bit his upper lip,

"Not again..."

"Calm yourself, Alpha. I have decided that one of us will accompany you to each area. Tyranitar, you will go with Alpha and Beta to Shimmering Desert, and attempt to reason with Groudon; Charizard, you will accompany Cedric and Photon to the Sky Stairway, where Rayquaza guards the Sky Melodica. And you, Riku- I will go with you myself to Mt. Avalanche. The harsh climate may be too much for you alone...

"Well," Tyranitar cracked his knuckles,

"What are we wasting time around here for? Let's get a move on!"

"Agreed." My sentiments were promptly echoed by the rest of the group, so we set out at high noon.

...

We walked for a few hours, until the air became increasingly cold, and I started to shiver.
"We are almost there, Riku. Stay vigilant!" Alakazam warned, and we trekked onwards. The scenery slowly changed from prairies and marshes to a snow-covered wasteland. The trees glistened in the sunlight, but the beauty did nothing to abate the cold.

My fur was just beginning to change color when we reached a massive formation of rock in front of us.

"This is the entrance to Mount Avalanche," Alakazam told me.

"Are you prepared?"

I nodded, and, for a second, I saw a small smile form on his face.

"Then, let us go and meet Articuno!" he said, and we entered the hollow cave that provided entrance into Mt. Avalanche...