Through the Portal

~Meanwhile with Kiro - 2 hours later~

Kiro kept fighting the strange, terrifying beings that tried their hardest to latch onto him, not knowing what else to do. He panted, thinking of what he could do to shake all of them at the same time and then, much to Plusle's horror, he came up with an idea;

"Plusle, use Thunder on me as soon as all of these things stick to me!"

"Plusle?! Plus, Plusle, Plus!!" The Cheering Pokémon cried in horror, not wanting to harm her beloved trainer.

"Plusle, I know you don't want to hurt me, I do, but you have to right now! If we pass this thing at least, I'll have a chance to get rid of that thing that's possessing me!"

"P-Plus..." She whispered, tears in her eyes and then, she very reluctantly nodded, getting ready to use her Thunder to hopefully help her trainer to survive. Then, when Kiro deemed the amount of strange beings sticking to him enough, she fired a strong, crackling beam to the air, which curved and hit Kiro hard, making the blond bassist scream in agony alongside the strange beings that flaked and got off of him in a manner that told Plusle that they were done for. Meanwhile Kiro panted, barely able to even breathe from the pain but still alive.

"Plusle...?"

"Don't... Don't worry, Plusle. I'm... I'm just f-fine..." He reassured the small Pokémon despite feeling tremendous amount of pain. Then, he felt something snap inside him, almost giving him a sense of freedom.

"You have done well, young Karsten." Came the booming voice of Dialga all of a sudden, making Kiro turn to the Temporal Pokémon, confused along with Plusle.

"W-what do you mean?! What's--"

"You have overcome one of the challenges. You did not let them darken your heart. Now you must overcome the others. But beware that they will be much harder for both of you."

Kiro's eyes widened in surprise and he nodded immediately, hoping to be able to pass and get back to his friends. But as he closed his eyes to focus and put the pain away from his mind, he could swear that he could hear Luminor's calming voice in his ears.

~Meanwhile with Cinema Bizarre~

Strify tried hard not to cry, thinking of Kiro and the danger he was facing because of him. The others realized that the singer was feeling horrible about this but none of them realized that he was blaming himself about it.

"He'll come back, Andreas, you know he will." Luminor said softly, even though he felt terrified for their oldest friend as well.

"Chandelure~..." Luminor's Chandelure cried softly, trying to comfort the blond man.

"I... I hope so, Lars... I really do..." Strify whispered, his tears unstoppable now. At that, Shin's Vulpix went to the young man and hugged him along with Zangoose, trying to comfort him.

~Meanwhile with Uruha - 2 hours ago~

Uruha looked down, trying to see if Kai was there or not. The cliff was very high and made the guitarist gulp a little.

"Uruha, please!! Don't do this!! There's no one there!!" Yune cried out, seeming horrified for the blond's sake but Uruha still ignored him. Then, he saw Kai there, looking up at him in fear and Uruha understood, he needed to get to the younger man, to soothe his fears like Kai had always done to him.

But when he got to the edge more, the strange necklace on him started burning and tightening around his neck, nearly to the point of choking him.

"L-let me go!!"

~Meanwhile with Emile - 2 hours later~

After they managed to evade Cynthia, Robin sadly took Cyrus's dead body and buried it in the garden, in a secret place with tears in his eyes. Then, the breeder got up with determination in his eyes and said;

"We need to get back and find the other Plates, he would've wanted this from us. Let's go."

"But... How are we going to track them now?! Cyrus was the one to track them before, remember?" Tim said, worried about this. But before anyone could answer the worried young man, flames suddenly burst close to them, making them take cover and separate a little.

"What the hell is happening?!" Noire screamed but before anyone else could say more or try to see what was causing this, a strong, dark burst of light was descending onto Robin, making his eyes blank. Then he attacked the nearest person to him which was Noire.

"Robin!! What are you doing?!"

"Good soldiers follow orders..."

~Meanwhile with Cinema Bizarre~

"Strify, stop doing this to yourself, you can't lose hope right now." Shin said seriously, starting to fear that the vocalist was doing exactly that. But what Strify said horrified all of them immediately, making them realize what he felt all along;

"I-I'm not losing hope! I just wish you guys d-didn't come for me! This wouldn't have h--"

"Andreas, shut up." Luminor cut his younger friend's words off with such a dangerously calm voice that it shut everyone up. Strify, his Zangoose and Luminor's Chandelure all looked at the man, hoping that he could ease the singer's heart about what had happened.

"If we didn't come, NOTHING would have been better!! You would've been taken over by Giratina, he would've killed everyone in turn, most likely, including Karsten, and you would more than likely have been forced to watch!! I know you're terrified for Kiro and so am I, but thinking like that will do nothing to save him! You need to stay calm for him, just like he would have!"

This made Strify look wide-eyed at Luminor, realizing that the older man was right. And this thought scared him even more but it also made him realize there wasn't anything he could have had done differently to prevent this from happening.

"L-Lars... Danke..." He whispered, even though he was still crying.

~Meanwhile with Uruha~

"Uruha, please, turn back! Whoever this Kai is, he's not real! He wants you to g-get hurt!" Yune said, tears in his voice. But as Uruha glared at him, the guitarist heard Kai's voice once more;

"URUHA!! Don't give up! Please come here, we need you!! I need you!!"

That made the blond guitarist immediately decide. Kai had been with him whenever he needed a shoulder to lean onto, so he decided to run to Kai when he needed help. But right before he could jump, the necklace on his neck suddenly started both burning and choking him. Uruha tried to get it off to no avail, slowly starting to choke.

'I can't take it off... I'm s-sorry... Y-Yutaka...'

~Meanwhile with Dir en Grey - 2 days later~

Kyo tried to tend to Kaoru's deep wounds, still in shock at what had happened two days ago. The older man was laying on the bed with his eyes wide open and barely breathing while the vocalist tried to tend to him, to get him to respond to him at all. Meanwhile the others were trying to find something, anything to help their lead guitarist along with some more food.

"What the hell happened to you, Kaoru...?" Kyo whispered, not knowing why everything had gone sideways again when they had thought everything was getting better.

At his whisper, Kyo could swear that the older man's eyes had moved a little. But when he tried to make sure he'd seen right, a dark energy burst from him once more.

~Meanwhile with Kiro~

Kiro focused hard to see what was in front of him. But then, the shadows started to take shape, making him take a step back.

"So, you want to leave me, little Karsten? But who will take good care of you then?" The distorted woman's voice had come back, making Kiro turn angry.

"I can take care of myself quite well, you're not going to take me!" The small bassist yelled, his voice dripping of venom.

"Your friend said the same thing, what was his name, Strify? He ended up being duped in the end by Giratina. Do you want to become the same? Your friends left you anyways, why don't you just give into me? Give me a vessel that I need? After all, they would have been here had they cared at all."

Kiro's eyes widened at the thought, not believing that he was abandoned. Not after everything they had been through.

~Meanwhile with the GazettE~

As Yune collapsed with Zannin watching in total shock, Milotic tried to get close to Uruha, hoping to have an effect on the transformed guitarist. Just as the Tender Pokémon approached the transformed guitarist, however, he started screaming in an inhuman voice, making Milotic flinch while the others looked terrified as well.

"What the hell do we do?!" Aoi exclaimed, trying to understand what was happening to Uruha while the younger guitarist kept screaming.

"Sab, Sableye!!" Ruki's Sableye also cried out, honestly scared for her trainer's friend while Ruki himself was very close to tears.

"H-he's g-gonna... die... A-all of you... trai...tors deserve the s-same fate." Yune managed to weakly utter, now unable to get up from the ground anymore due to all the injuries he had gotten. At that, Kai's eyes narrowed but before he could even blink, Reita's cold as ice voice came and said;

"Chatot. Kill him."

But before the shocked Music Note Pokémon could even react, Uruha's body suddenly started shining, alerting everyone. Then, after the shine was starting to fade, a sickening cracking sound was heard from the body and then, Uruha's body was falling into the water with Milotic rushing to get him to safety.

"Kouyou!!!" They all chorused, horrified before the Tender Pokémon brought the blond man out of the water. But when they saw the state of him, they gasped in horror. Kai immediately tried to see if he was breathing and was relieved when he found out that he was. But then, he noticed his look and froze in his tracks. He stared at Uruha's frozen look, his eyes wide in horror and fear for the guitarist.

~Meanwhile with Cinema Bizarre~

As they uneasily waited, terrified for Kiro, they all suddenly felt a strange, cold feeling come over them, making everyone's eyes widen.

"Something's wrong..." Yu whispered, feeling even more terrified for their sweet bassist now. Then, they all heard one thing echoing in their minds, a message from Kiro;

"Help..."

At that, everyone got up immediately, wanting to find a way to reach to Kiro and help him through everything. But before they could so much as move an inch, Palkia appeared, making them turn to the Spatial Pokémon, trying very hard not to panic.

"What happened?! Where's Kiro?!" Romeo and Shin asked at the same time, honest terror in their eyes.

"Your friend's only companion at the moment has been killed, if she is to survive alongside your friend, you must help her."

"WAS?!" All of them screamed, horrified at the thought of Plusle dying.

~Flashback to Kiro, a few minutes ago~

Kiro tried hard to resist the distorted woman, knowing in his heart that his best friends had not abandoned him or his beloved little Plusle.

"Plusle, Plus!!" The Cheering Pokémon cried out, angry at that accusation as she could feel the others' terror for them. But something neither of them expected happened when the woman talked next while pointing at Plusle;

"Omkomma."

And then, there was a bang and a strange, maroon colored light descended upon the Cheering Pokémon, making her cry out and instantly collapse, not breathing.

"No... Plusle!! Someone, anyone... Help... I can't take this anymore!!"

~End of flashback~

"What do we do?! H-how can we--" Shin started to say when Palkia stopped the shaking drummer;

"One of you must go to the Forest of Death to summon Xerneas. Only she can grant the little Plusle her life back. But only one person and his partner may go. And he must be careful not to encounter Yveltal as he is now awakened and wants to have someone to siphon the life from."

"I'll go!! I won't let Plusle die like that!" Shin said before anyone could even utter a single word, making everyone's eyes widen in shock.

"Very well. I will show you where your mission is."

~Meanwhile with Ryuji, Tatsuhi and Yuuya~

While Yuuya fell silent, still feeling tormented at the knowledge that his friends had been so hurt without him, the other two looked at eachother with concern, trying their hardest to get the black haired man to rest. Thankfully, Yuuya fell asleep soon after, his mind exhausted.

"We need to find a way to keep him away from there, Ryuji... I don't want to lose Yuuya too...

"I know. We should find something or someone to make him forget all of that, if you ask me."

Tatsuhi's eyes widened, agreeing with the older man immediately, much to the reluctance of their Pokémon partners, weirdly enough.

~Meanwhile with Kiro~

Kiro fell to his knees, tears falling from his face while he cradled the dead body of Plusle, now completely hopeless.

"Why...? WHY?! Plusle... WHY did you come with me?! You could have lived!! You were my only real partner, why didn't you stay back in safety?!" He sobbed, wishing he was in the Cheering Pokémon's place.

"Give yourself over, little Karsten. Why wouldn't you want to take revenge?" The woman said, an obvious smile in her voice.

Kiro couldn't even answer, in too much rage and sorrow. But one thing he knew, he had to live on, for Plusle's memory if nothing else.

~Meanwhile with Nightmare~

After Yomi finished his words about the things that had happened in the castle, Sakito looked horrified at first and then, absolutely pissed.

"How the hell could you, Satoru?!"

Ruka's eyes hardened at the anger of Sakito, making the younger man concerned even though he knew what the drummer had done was unforgivable. And then, what he said made Sakito even more concerned along with the others.

"If you honestly think I did something wrong when those assholes nearly murdered you and even did so many horrible things, you haven't known me at all, Sakaguchi. The less servants Darkrai has is better!"

With that, Ruka turned around and left the room, shocking everyone while Gengar ran after him along with Yomi.

~Meanwhile with Chelsea~

"Did you think it was going to be that easy, young woman?" Dmitri asked, smirking as he came up from behind Chelsea. Chelsea's eyes hardened, much to Alp's shock and then, the young woman turned around, facing the dangerous man with a deadly glare as she sent out her Talonflame.

"Where is Mai?" She said in such a tone that even the deranged minion and the older woman beside him paused in surprise. Then, Dmitri laughed, saying;

"Wouldn't a traitor like you want to know? Well, I'll entertain you for a moment and say that that little corpse is on the way to the Distortion World already, Master already took that worthless thing into there--"

"He did what!?" Moltres suddenly burst out of his Pokéball, looking angry.

"W-what the hell?! W-who are--"

Moltres didn't even give the minions a reply and just sent a Flamethrower to Dmitri's face, making the man scream while Chelsea looked frozen in horror.

"We must go, you may still have a chance to save the body of this man."

~Meanwhile with Tokio Hotel~

When Bill and Tom heard what had happened to Plusle, they both gasped in horror, knowing that Kiro was going to be devastated once he got out of where he was.

"H-how did this happen!? Is there anything we can do to help?!" Bill asked while Tom felt horrible for saying what he had said to Luminor before. Meanwhile, Floette and Poochyena were on the verge of tears, wishing they could do anything to bring the Cheering Pokémon back.

"We don't know either... Shin volunteered to find Xerneas to get her back and he and that little Vulpix left already... I... I really hope they'll be okay... Kiro doesn't deserve this and nor does P-Plusle. I don't know what to do..." Yu said, his feelings a mess.

~Meanwhile with Kiro~

Kiro continued to sob as he cradled his beloved Plusle's body, devastated. He wondered if he had the strength to pull through any longer, without the loyal Cheering Pokémon by his side.

"Young man, they don't care about you. You should avenge her."

But the words of the woman just angered the short bassist even more.

"NO!! You're the one who murdered her in cold blood!! Leave me the hell alone!!!" He screamed, angry out of his mind. He decided to push her out of himself but when he started trying, he felt a piercing, unrelenting pain in his chest.

"HOW DARE YOU?! You little worthless creature!!! I am Diane, the Sphere of Death's spirit! You WON'T push me away!!!" The woman screamed back at the short blond but trying to push through the pain, Kiro still tried to purge her on his own. Just as he was about to be defeated, however, a miracle happened.

~Meanwhile with Mai~

Mai was watching over Chelsea when he saw with horror that the young woman was running towards the Distortion World without anyone by her side.

"No!! Chelsea, what do you think you're doing?!" He uttered to himself, wanting so much to stop her from whatever she was trying to accomplish when he saw her arrive with a determined, absolutely stone cold angry look on her face. Then the young woman said;

"Let him go!!!"

Mai frowned and tried to look at what Darkrai's minions had been carrying and when he did manage, he gasped in shock, not realizing the two people who had come and were watching him with frowns, too shocked to react.

"N-no..." He whispered, his eyes filling with tears as he thought of the implications. Then, to his horror and dismay, Giratina appeared.

"So, Darkrai, I am assuming you have found me a suitable vessel."

"Yes, Giratina. Take this ma--"

"Don't! Even! THINK! about it!!" Chelsea talked again in a very angry tone as Mai realized people were watching him and turned around only to look even more shocked. They were Chelsea's parents. The two people who he had watched die. Then he averted his eyes, feeling really awkward about what had happened back then. Then he happened to look back to Chelsea, hoping to gain some courage to talk when he realized something terrifying and screamed in horror;

"NO!! CHELSEA, DON'T DO IT!!!"

~Meanwhile with Shin~

Shin stopped for a moment to catch his breathe, having looked for Xerneas for so long that he had forgotten to stop and breathe, only doing so when he had become too out of breathe to continue.

"Vul, Vulpix." The small Vulpix beside him gently nudged the tall blond, looking concerned.

"I'm... I'm fine, Vulpix... Come on, let's keep looking, I have a feeling that Kiro doesn't have much time so neither do we." Shin panted and started walking this time instead of running. That was then, Vulpix felt something swoosh from above them, even though his companion did not hear it. The Fox Pokémon immediately tensed, trying to stop Shin, much to the young man's confusion.

"Vulpix, I don't know you but I need to--" He was saying right before a huge, strange Legendary landed in front of them, making Vulpix bravely jump in front of Shin to protect him.

"W-what the h-hell are-- Oh shit... Please tell me you're Xerneas..."

"I am Yveltal. And you, have shed blood before, have you not?"

~Meanwhile with the GazettE~

"Kouyou, say something!!" Kai said, shaking the blond guitarist with fright. But the other man just stayed silent with the frozen, blank look on his face. Then, the Milotic saw his chest and looked horrified, understanding what had happened to Uruha immediately.

"Mi, Milotic!!" The Tender Pokémon cried out, making all of the other Pokémon look at him with raised eyebrowns and general confusion.

"Lux?" Hiroto's Luxray cried back at him but the Tender Pokémon was too horrified to say anything more.

This prompted everyone to look at his chest only to see that a broken blue tablet and two of Uruha's ribs were slightly sticking out of him, much to everyone's horror.

"T-that... idiot... He must have tried to... expel it b-by himself..." Yune managed to whisper with a weak smirk but then, before anyone could lift a finger, Milotic attacked the ex-drummer in rage, using Scald on him and making Yune scream in agony, now covered in burns as well as his other injuries.

"Milotic!! Mi~, Milotic!!" The Tender Pokémon cried before he used Dragon Tail to slice Yune's throat. And then, as Yune was choking on his own blood, much to Zannin's abject horror, Reita and Ruki came close to their sweet guitarist, both shaking, while Aoi was frozen as well from the horror he felt.

"U-Uru...?" Ruki whispered with a shaking voice but the guitarist still stayed silent. Then, Reita took the slightly younger blond's hand and suddenly, a blue light enveloped both of them with Reita managing to get inside Uruha's consciousness. But what he saw there completely horrified the bassist.

"R-Rei...ta... Help...!" Uruha uttered in a garbled voice, looking so terrified that Reita didn't know what to do with himself as the lead guitarist cried out in agony as his soul started breaking. The cry he let out finally set Reita off and the bassist immediately tried to get Uruha to hold onto him.

"Kouyou!! H-hold my--"

But it was too late and Reita stared in horror at his best friend's broken soul which was trying to reach out to him before being swallowed by a blue shine, not knowing what to do. However, he quickly decided to run to the shine and forcibly get Uruha out, even though he didn't know what it could do to him.

~Meanwhile with Ruka~

"Satoru, wait!!" Yomi yelled as the drummer was fastly walking away from the hospital, knowing if the oldest left, there would be no way to bring him back again as the drummer was a very proud man.

"Gen, Gengar, Gen!" His Gengar also cried out, concerned for her trainer. Thankfully, Ruka stopped after they were well away from the hospital, looking stoic.

"Ruka? Sakito didn't mean to hurt you, you know that. Please, come back to the hospital, everyone is worried enough about you."

"No. He obviously doesn't care that I wanted him to be safe! That I wanted those assholes who hurt him hurt!! He couldn't care less that I care!" Ruka's voice broke at the last word, worrying Yomi even more.

"Satoru, look, Saki is worried about you. Please, just come back, okay? He knows you care, that's what worries him. He's worried that you're going to get hurt someday because you want to protect us, we all are. I know Darkrai shouldn't have servants at all, but you did do something horrifying, you have to admit. That's why Sakito reacted that way. Not because he doesn't care. Just come back and talk with him, you know he'd listen."

"Gengar..." Ruka's Gengar cried softly, hugging the drummer carefully. She knew that the drummer cared too much for any of them to let them get hurt even if it meant that he would.

"Satoru? Please, just... Just listen to me. I know you're hurting but if you just come, we can solve this."

Ruka just sighed, realizing that Yomi wasn't going to take "No" for an answer, not right now. He nodded unwillingly and let the shorter man lead the way, dreading what was awaiting them back there.

~Meanwhile with Kiro - 4 hours later~

Kiro stared wide eyed at the scene before him, unable to believe what had just happened. His Plusle had suddenly come back to life and she was starting to come to herself.

"P-Plusle...?" He whispered, shock on his face while Diane seethed inside the short blond.

"Plusle, Plus??"

Kiro's eyes filled with tears of relief and he hugged the Cheering Pokémon to his chest, elated at what had happened.

"Treasure her for what brought her back to you is priceless." Palkia who had suddenly appeared in front of him said, making both of them startle.

"W-what do you mean?! Did something... bad happen?" Kiro asked, dread starting to set in.

~Meanwhile with Shin - 3 hours ago~

"Y-Yveltal?! Schaiße... I-I was searching for--"

"I know, young man, you are searching for Xerneas, the Pokémon of Life. However, she will not appear to someone who has shed blood so violently."

Shin's eyes widened in horror, not knowing what to do now. Vulpix cried out at him, obviously wanting to tell the drummer something but the tall blond was too horrified to even move.

"I can help you do what you have set out to do, young man. You only have to do one thing."

"Vul~, VULPIX, VUL!!!" Shin's Vulpix cried out with anger, realizing what the Destruction Pokémon was talking about and he immediately went on protective mode, sending a Flamethrower to the Legendary Pokémon before a confused Shin stopped the small Fox Pokémon, concerned that the little Pokémon could get seriously harmed while protecting him.

"What's wrong, Vulpix? Let Yveltal talk, we need to save Plusle, please... Neither of them deserves this and whatever this is, I kinda deserve it after the things I have done."

Vulpix looked horrifiedly at his trainer, not knowing what to even say about the blond's words as Shin turned back to Yveltal who was watching with obvious pleasure.

"What do I need to--"

Just as Shin was going to finish his question, a strong, pink light suddenly appeared and stopped everyone in their tracks. When the light finally dimmed down enough, they saw a pink, small Pokémon that looked like it was made of rocks and minerals. Shin blinked while Yveltal silently fumed.

"Do not dare touch that human, Yveltal! You cannot get what you want!" The small Pokémon cried out in a cute, girly voice while Shin continued to look very confused. Then the mysterious Pokémon turned to the drummer and said;

"Hello. I am Diancie, I was sent by Zygarde to take you to her, do not worry, neither of us means harm to you or the ones you want to protect. Please come with me."

Shin paused for a moment, realizing that if he didn't, he might run out of time and Plusle would die permanently. And then, he nodded unhesitantly, walking with the Jewel Pokémon only to see a huge, green and black serpent Pokémon in front of him, making him take Vulpix in his arms to protect the Fox Pokémon.

"Do not worry, young Shin. I will not harm your partner. However, Yveltal was right, you must do something for the small Plusle you want to save." The Pokémon said, making Shin realize that it was Zygarde and he nodded, completely unhesitant to save Plusle and by extention, Kiro.

"What is it that I have to do? I can't give up on them, Kiro deserves better than this and so does Plusle, all she did was to protect the poor guy..." Shin said, lowering his head at the thought of everything Kiro had gone through for his sake.

"You must give 5 years from your own lifespan. Can you really make that sacrifice?"

Shin nodded seriously, knowing that was suitable for him. Then he gasped and coughed blood as Zygarde used her powers to take the life force and transfer it to the dead Cheering Pokémon. After it was done, Shin got up and smiled softly, having heard the gasp from Plusle even though he was not with them.

~Meanwhile with Dir en Grey~

When Kyo finally could look back to his older friend, he paled, Kaoru was white as a sheet, his eyes still open and this time, they looked so terrified. Then, Toshiya burst into the room, gasping slightly in pain from his previous injuries while holding an encyclopedia in his arms.

"Kyo! I think I found it, the solution I mean!!"

"What?! What is it, Totchi?! I have a very bad feeling about this!"

~Meanwhile with Cinema Bizarre~

"I hope Shin returns soon... I'm worried about him..." Yu said while Strify turned even more inward, still blaming himself for the entire mess.

"He will, he wouldn't turn his back on Karsten, I know it." Luminor said while looking worried at Strify's silence.

That was then, a strange Pokémon appeared before them, making everyone tense and their partner Pokémon to get in front of their respective trainers to protect them.

"Who are you?! What the hell do you want?!" Romeo said bravely but he was not expecting what the Pokémon said. Nor was anyone else, for the matter.

~Meanwhile in the hospital~

Sakito waited uneasily in his bed, hoping that Yomi would be enough to bring Ruka back so he could talk to him, gentler this time, as it was obvious that the drummer was still quite mad at all the things Darkrai had done.

"I hope he comes back..." He muttered, honestly worried that something could happen to Ruka and/or Yomi.

"You were kind of too hard on Satoru. You know how he is, especially when it comes to one of us getting harmed." Ni~ya said, not unkindly but it still made the lead guitarist feel even more down. That made Ni~ya and Hitsugi look at eachother with concern, not knowing what to say to ease the other man's heart. That was then, Yomi finally came back with Ruka in tow, relieving everyone even though Ruka looked much less than willing to talk to the younger man.

"Ruka-shi, you worried me! Don't leave me like that again, please!"

Ruka didn't even answer Sakito, giving him the cold shoulder while Yomi looked a little sad about it along with the other two.

~Meanwhile with Uruha and Reita~

"KOUYOU!! KOUYOU, WHERE ARE YOU?!" Reita screamed, trying hard to find his best friend. Then, as he was running, his foot caught on something big and he tripped, falling on top of what had tripped him. When the irritated bassist pushed himself up from the thing and he looked down, his expression turned into one of horror. It was Uruha, unconscious and pale as death.

"URUHA!!!" He screamed in horror, immediately checking his best friend's pulse. Thankfully, Uruha was still alive although barely.

"Kouyou, PLEASE wake up, I beg you!! Don't let me lose you like this, not to him!" Reita sobbed, cradling his slightly younger best friend. Thankfully, Uruha breathed out his name weakly, making Reita look up with tears falling down his face.

"Uruha, it's okay, everything is gonna be alright, don't give up, we... I need you! You can't let this happen to us all!" He said through his tears, which made Uruha try to open his eyes even though he was too weak to do even that. Then, a strange, blue creature within a shell suddenly materialized before them, making Reita hold onto Uruha tighter, not wanting to let him get hurt.

"So you want to take me out of him, hmm?" It said in a gentle sounding woman's voice.

"What are you?" Reita asked, his eyes narrowed and very angry as he protected the other blond, determined to save the guitarist from whatever it was.

"I am... I am the Water Plate, or what is left of it due to that worthless man's attempt to remove me from himself! HE DESERVES IT!!!" She screamed all of a sudden, making Reita turn enraged at the obviously dangerous creature.

"Kouyou-kun NEVER deserved what that monster did to him!! Nor does he deserve to die because he tried to defend himself!! Don't you dare hurt him!" He yelled, angry and terrified for Uruha's sake while the guitarist was just then starting to come to himself.

"R-Rei...ta..." He managed to utter again, his strength very limited but he still felt safer within Reita's strong, gentle arms.

~Meanwhile in the real world - Pokémon side~

"What do we do?! What if Reita fails or something?!" Sableye said, very worried for both Reita and Uruha.

"I can tell that Reita cares a lot for this man, I doubt he would let him die." Milotic commented calmly but even he was uneasy, the Tender Pokémon felt a connection to the taller blond, he didn't want him to die nor did had he meant to harm him. Meanwhile Aoi tried to comfort Ruki who was shaking beside Yune's dead body.

"They'll be okay, Ru. You know they're strong enough, you know that. Please don't cry, Uruha wouldn't want you to cry like this..." The rhythm guitarist was saying, trying his best to comfort the vocalist. But even he could not keep his voice from shaking with sadness and fear for Uruha's sake.

"He's strong enough Sableye, Uruha is not going to die, at least not unless Reita somehow fails and I honestly doubt that would happen. He's not the sort to let a dear friend get hurt let alone killed." Roserade said, remembering the first time he had met Reita and Aoi.

That was then, another blue light shone from both Uruha and Reita's body making everyone turn to them with fear. Zannin and his Cofagrigus on the other hand, looked absolutely pissed that the blond guitarist had started to regain some color and his eyes were starting to move. But before either of them could even move, Uruha gasped Reita's name, making everyone on edge.

~Meanwhile with Uruha and Reita~

Uruha tried so hard to communicate with Reita, not wanting the older man to get hurt in his place but he barely could say anything due to being too weakened by the presence of the Water Plate.

"Uruha, don't try to talk. Just... Just save your energy, okay? Everything will be just fine. I promise, you're gonna be okay." Reita said gently, tears in his voice which hurt Uruha even more than his wounds. He didn't want his best friend to cry like that over him.

But then, the guitarist started to try and pay attention to the heated words of his friend and started to feel even more scared;

"What the hell do you want for him to be free?! I won't let you harm him!!"

"If you can find my fragments and fight me when I am fully restored, you just might get him back. But that will not happen, will it?"

Then, Uruha heard Reita talk in a tone he had never heard from the bassist before, making him shudder;

"That's what you think, you bitch. Neither you nor those bastards that put a parasite like you into Kouyou will kill him, I won't let such a thing to happen!! Even if it means it kills me instead!! Bring it on!"

~Meanwhile with Chelsea - An hour ago~

Chelsea seethed as she stood in front of Giratina without an ounce of fear inside her. She was simply too broken to fear anything anymore.

"Do not dare touch Mai, you monster!! You hurt him more than enough!" She growled, trying not to look at her beloved's dead body and lose her resolve.

"How can you stop Giratina, Chelsea? You cannot do anything, admit it already, you could not even be with him when he died." Darkrai said with a sinister chuckle. Chelsea looked even more pissed at the thought, remembering the moment she had learned of Mai's death.

~Flashback~

Chelsea went into her and Mai's room where they always hung out before Mai had to go on his mission. That was then, she saw a paper on her bed from Zannin and Yune, making her wary immediately before grabbing it and unfolding it.

"'Your Mai is dead. He died like a coward, all alone.' ...What...?" She whispered in horror, her eyes filling with tears as she ran out of the room, trying to reach Mai with all her might but all she got from the phone call was not to call the number anymore from a crying man. Then, she saw Mai's diary and Chelsea just couldn't hold her tears in any longer, she sobbed for what felt like hours until Yasuno and Yuura came into what used to be Mai's room.

~End of Flashback~

"If you leave him alone, I'll let you take me. And I know Mai didn't die like a coward, I heard from the people who were beside him when you murdered him!!"

"Be careful what you say, young woman. Mai always was a coward, believe me. He could not finish the simple job I had given him so he chose the easy way out and that is final. Now, come forth and take his punishment for him."

~Meanwhile in the real world~

Kai looked at Uruha's unresponsive, frozen look along with Reita's determined face while they were in the trance, feeling terrible. He didn't know what to do anymore as the band's leader, he felt like he had failed Uruha, failed all of them.

"We have to believe in them, you guys. They'll... They'll be alright..." Aoi whispered, obviously trying to convince himself as well. Ruki, however, was crying softly, not knowing what to do anymore, just like Kai.

"Cha, Chatot..." Reita's Chatot cried softly and then, she decided to fly to Uruha's shoulder, giving support to the young guitarist that way. It made Aoi smile sadly, knowing that Reita's Pokémon liked Uruha just as much as the bassist did. The black haired guitarist hoped with all his might that both Uruha and Reita would be okay.

~Meanwhile with Mai~

Mai was panicking, he didn't want Chelsea to take Giratina inside him just to save his memory.

"What the hell do I DO?! CHELSEA, please don't do this!!!" He screamed, tears falling freely from his eyes. Meanwhile, Chelsea's parents watched with concerned faces, not understanding what was happening.

Just when Mai was about to lose hope completely, Xerneas and a Pokémon Mai had never seen before came into the chamber, looking urgent.

"There is a way to stop Giratina!" The smaller, pink Pokémon exclaimed, seeing how distressed Mai really was.

"W-what is it?!"

"It will not be easy, Mai. Are you sure you can take it?"

~Meanwhile with Kiro~

"What happened!? Is everyone okay?!" Kiro panickedly asked the Spatial Pokémon, terrified that someone was hurt.

"Plus...?" Plusle asked quietly, having heard Shin's coughs inside her mind and feeling worried as well.

"You may not know the sacrifice that was made for your partner yet, first overcome your next trial, young Kiro. It is right behind that door."

Kiro nodded, tears welling up in his eyes at the thought of someone sacrificing themselves for Plusle. And then, he opened the door even though Diane tried her best to not let him do so.

~Meanwhile with Uruha and Reita~

"R...Rei...ta... D-don't..." Uruha tried to tell him not to sacrifice himself, to leave him and run despite how scared he actually was.

"Don't waste your energy, Kouyou. Everything is going to be alright, I promise." Reita said before the blond guitarist could try to say more. Then, he felt a warmth spreading through him, obviously coming not just from Reita but from his other best friends as well.

"See? The others are protecting you, Uru. Just don't give up, alright?" The older man whispered, trying to get him stronger. The words gave Uruha more strength than Reita could have known, actually starting to heal some of his horrible wounds.

"HOW?! How did you--?!"

"Because I am not alone in protecting him! Because he's our BEST FRIEND and you WILL NOT harm him anymore!! Not on our watch!!!" Reita yelled supporting Uruha's entire body as the lead guitarist started to get up even though his muscles hurt so badly.

"Akira... Thank... you." Uruha managed to say, trying to stay strong for them all, just as they would have for him. Reita smiled and gently shifted him while the spirit of the Water Plate glared even more strongly.

~Meanwhile with the Nightmare members~

"Satoru, I'm sorry. But how did you expect me to react? You actually killed someone, it's not okay to do, even if they're a peon of Darkrai. Please, just talk to me..." Sakito said, tears in his voice as Ruka didn't turn to him at all. It really worried the other three, all of them understanding that the drummer felt really hurt over what Sakito had said to him.

"Ga, Gabite, Ga." The Gabite that had helped Sakito said in her slightly rough voice, serious.

"Gengar, Gen..." Ruka's Gengar replied her, making the Cave Pokémon frown a little more while the other Pokémon present just shook their heads, knowing that the tall drummer was very hurt by the words of his friend.

~Meanwhile with Shin~

Shin stumbled back into the hospital, feeling exhausted when his little Vulpix just froze right in the entrance.

"Vulpix? What's... What's wrong??"

"Vul, Vulpix!! VUL~!!" The Fox Pokémon cried out, looking terrified. This unnerved Shin greatly, not knowing what was happening. Then, he entered the room his friends were in and looked in horror; there was not a single soul in there except some blood splatters here and there.

"Nein..."

~Meahwile with the rest of Cinema Bizarre~

"Who or what are you?! Why did you take us?!" Yu yelled, trying to see where their captors were and how many of them there were. But it was too dark to see anything and none of them had their partner Pokémon with them.

"I don't think it's any use, Hannes, we need to do something though... What if Shin gets back and see us gone?!" Romeo said, honestly worried.

"I don't know..." Luminor muttered, shaking his head in the darkness. Then they heard a muffled noise and all four of them started paying good attention to the outside in hopes of escaping.

"Be careful, dumbass! You can't let that crate fall, there's a Chandelure inside, do you want to die?!"

"S-sorry!"

"You are lucky King Ghetsis let you come back into this palace, you know! Stop messing around and do your damn job!"

And then, the voices went silent and one of the pair seemed to go away, making them relieved a little. But none of them could fathom how to escape from what little they had heard from the outside. That was then, something very unexpected happened, there was another set of footsteps and another voice, quiet and slightly gravelly;

"Did you get the partner of one of them?"

"Yes Looker. I did. She's a little hurt though..." The younger seeming girl said. Luminor's eyes immediately widened in worry for his partner, not knowing what to do.

"It's fine, but you need to be quiet. Give the crate to me. Do you know where the captive people are?"

From the silence, the group thought the girl didn't know where they were but then, the footsteps got closer.

"They were unconscious when they were brought in, Looker. I don't know if they're awake or not right now... And you need a card to get in and I cannot have it, I'm sorry..."

The group looked at eachother, now even more concerned.

"Don't worry, Giselle, I will take care of things from now on. You just keep them busy and content. They'll make it through."

"I hope we do... I can't even imagine what would happen otherwise..." Strify whispered, shuddering at the thought.

~Meanwhile with Shin - a few hours earlier~

"What the hell do we do, Vulpix?! How do we find the others, Kiro would lose his mind if they're... And who knows what the hell he would think if we can't find them on time, he just knows that I was with them at the time, after all!" Shin said frantically, feeling horrified at the thought even
though he had hurt them before. Now, he didn't want to do anything of sorts and hoped that Kiro knew that.

"Vul~,Vulpix, Vul~~!" The small Fox Pokémon cried, looking sadly at his trainer. He knew of the things Shin had done under the effects of the serum and while he did not to care about Shin's past, he knew not everyone would be the same and as he didn't know Kiro too well, he didn't know what the short man would think. Then, Bela came running, looking relieved.

"Shin! They took your friends to somewhere! I think it was the criminal team called Team Plasma!! They're terrorists and their head is a madman! Please be careful!!"

Shin's eyes widened in horror, knowing that he really needed to find a way to get his friends back fast enough.

"Vulpix???"

That was then, Weavile cried out again, seemingly triumphant, making Shin turn away from the dangerous Pokémon, not wanting to remember everything he had done with the Sharp Claw Pokémon. But his Vulpix looked absolutely horrified at whatever he had heard. Then, N came to him, understanding that the drummer was worried and could easily disregard his own safety for the young men.

"Did I just hear that Ghetsis has your friends?!" He said fastly, horrified. Shin nodded, tears glistening in his reddish green eyes.

"Yes, they are in danger and I don't know what to do right now! Where is the lair of this Team Plasma maniacs?! What could be their plan?!"

"I'll come with you. I know where they might be. But you need to be extremely careful. That place is more than dangerous."

Shin nodded but inside, he knew he had to risk himself, just like the others had done for him before. That made N nod but then, Bela said;

"I want to come too, if they are harmed, I think you will need a doctor to help them as soon as possible!"

~Meanwhile with Kiro - Plusle's side~

As soon as he opened the door, Kiro and Plusle had to shield their eyes from the sudden bright light. After it subsided, the two of them saw a strange object in front of them and frowned.

"What is this thing...? Plusle, stay behind. I don't want to get you hurt again, please.

"WHAT?! Absolutely not, mister!! I'm not letting you potentially get hurt by this strange thing!!" Plusle cried in anger, sending a very weak Thunder into Kiro to convey her annoyance at the words. Kiro just shook his head, realizing the Cheering Pokémon would not back down.

"Okay then... Be careful though, please..."

"Don't worry, Kiro. You always worry too much, I swear." She said with a smile and then, they approached the strange triangle together.

~Meanwhile with Uruha and Reita - an hour later~

'How are we going to survive...? What if Reita fails...' Uruha thought, terrified at the thought as he knew that his best friend would also be destroyed if he failed to somehow defeat the strange spirit in front of him, now fully completed and ready to obliterate the stoic looking bassist. As if he felt the fear the guitarist felt, Reita turned to him for a second and smiled reassuringly, making his chest feel warm once more.

"Ki o tsukete, Akira..." He whispered as he saw the spirit start her first attack. But Reita was expecting it and immediately dodged to the side. The watery attack seemed to miss at first but it made a complete 180 and tried to slam into the older man but Reita somehow seemed to anticipate this. He continued dodging until the attack finally hit him, the shards coming from it damaging the Water Plate's spirit as well.

"REITA!!" Uruha cried out as he saw his friend's bloodied arms. His tears spilled as he felt the strength drain from his body, making him fall back down to his knees but somehow, Reita still climbed back to his feet, determination radiating off of him.

"D-Don't worry, Kouyou. You just... Stay back, okay? I promise I will not let you down. Ever."

Then, the Water Plate's spirit attacked with the same attack at Reita, sure that she would hit the bassist once more. But this time, Reita had a different plan in his mind. He carefully and covertly placed himself right in front of the dangerous being and then, just when the attack was going to hit him, the blond dodged quickly and this time, the Water Plate did not divert the attack quickly enough and it collided with her instead.

"AH!! You little... DODGE THIS THEN!!!" She screamed and made a huge water bubble, sending it crashing down to the young man, impossible to dodge.

"IIE!!!!" Uruha screamed, sobbing as he saw Reita become submerged in it.

~Meanwhile with Cinema Bizarre - Half an hour later~

When the door to their general area was opened, Luminor, Romeo, Strify and Yu all narrowed their eyes, not able to see well after being coped up within darkness for so long. Then, they saw a green haired man who had a crown on his head and a young woman about their age behind him.

"Who are you?! Where are we?! And where are our partners?!" Romeo asked fiercely, trying to understand what exactly was going on. But all he got was an evil chuckle from the man and a sudden burning pain in his body. The young brunette screamed and fell to his knees with Yu and Luminor coming to support him.

"WHAT THE HELL?! Leave us alone, you monst--" Strify started to say only to also get electrocuted by something they couldn't see.

"I am Ghetsis. And soon, I will be the King of more than just this castle."

"W-Was?! What are you talking about, what's that got to do with any of us?!" Yu said, confused and terrified.

"I think you underestimated what that serum Darkrai came up with can really do. No matter, you shall see soon."

At that, everyone's eyes widened in horror, they now knew, Shin was in danger.

Right before they could say anything though, something crashed nearby, making the young woman turn very anxious and making Ghetsis smirk and leave without saying a word.

~Meanwhile in another part of the castle~

Shin looked at the mess their entrance had made, cringing a little as he knew that it had definitely attracted unwanted attention to themselves.

"Do not worry. I will protect you. N, you know what you must do." Kyurem said while Shin looked at the huge crates and realized they were not empty as they seemed to be. N nodded and told Shin and Vulpix to get out of the room immediately.

"No. One, I will not endanger people anymore, I've done it for far too long. And two, I think those crates could contain something we need."

N looked taken aback but before he could react, two people entered the room, both having black clothing.

"The traitor!! Let's catch him!!" The woman said but N only took out his Pokéballs while telling Shin to destroy the crates, realizing that the drummer was right as he could hear Pokémon yells from inside.

"Vulpix, use Flamethrower on all of them!",

"Vulpix, Vul~!!" The Fox Pokémon cried and sent out his attack to the nearest crate only to discover Strify's Zangoose inside it, much to their horror.

"Zangoose!! Where's your trainer?!" Shin asked, looking horrified as his Vulpix destroyed all of the crates to free the others's Pokémon as well.

"Muk, Muk!!" Romeo's Muk cried to Vulpix, looking honestly worried while the other Pokémon obviously were very agitated as well.

~Meanwhile with Emile and the others~

Robin kept trying to harm the others, not really himself at all. Emile and the others dodged, trying to get him to come to his senses.

"Robin!! Come to yourself!!"

"Good soldiers follow orders..." The young breeder droned, trying to punch Jon's heart out but the gamer dodged quickly. Then, Noire managed to make him go blind for a minute which turned out to be a drastic mistake, the young man managed to hit her and kill her in one hit.

~Meanwhile with Chelsea~

Just as Chelsea was about to take Giratina inside, a brilliant flash of light happened and from it came the ghostly form of Mai, making Chelsea gasp and feel like crying.

"Chelsea, don't do this! Please, it's not--"

"Don't, Mai. This is the least I can do for you. I couldn't even be with you when you died, it's the only thing I can do for you now. Don't stop me, love."

Mai's eyes widened in horror as Darkrai chuckled sinisterly when Moltres appeared in front of him, making the Pitch Black Pokémon and Giratina both glare at the young woman. And before anyone could say anything, Chelsea quickly came forward and took Giratina inside her body. Mai stared in horror, the thing he had feared the most had happened.

"Iie... Chelsea, what have you DONE...!?"

~Meanwhile with the GazettE members~

'Uruha, please hold on. I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you...' Aoi thought as he watched Reita shake in the trance he was in alongside his fellow guitarist. Aoi felt horrible to not be able to protect Uruha from Yune even though he had sworn to himself he would once he had seen that Yune was in the Pokémon world with them.

"Look! Something is happening!!" Hiroto suddenly said, pointing at Uruha's body where they could see a blue tablet start to come out of. But from the looks of it, the strange tablet was fighting to stay inside the young man, making Milotic cry out with rage mixed with concern. At the Tender Pokémon's cry, Uruha gasped out something indecipherable and then, the tablet was out of him with both him and Reita falling down on the ground. Ruki, Aoi and Kai immediately ran to the two of them only to realize that Reita wasn't breathing.

~Meanwhile with Shin - About 2 hours later~

"W-what the...? What's happening?" Shin muttered as he came to himself and then he looked around and froze. There was blood everywhere and his Vulpix and the others that he had come to save, were shivering and looking at him in horror. Meanwhile Ghetsis was laying there nearly dead as his accomplices's limbs were scattered around in a gory fashion.

"W-what's going on?! Did I... Did I do this?!"

"M-Marcel?? A-Are you... Yourself?" Luminor asked cautiously while the younger man turned to him in abject fear. Seeing how terrified Shin was, Yu and Luminor looked at eachother, realizing that the youngest hadn't been truly conscious of his actions in the last 2 hours.

"What the hell did I do?! And are you guys alright?! What happened?!" He said in a shaking voice.

"We're fine, Strify and Romeo were just fainted but they should be fine. But... are you okay?"

"I... I think so... Let's just go, okay? But please tell me what I--"

"Nihi~~" A cry from just beyond the door echoed, making everyone look up while Shin felt weird for a moment once again. But shrugging the feeling off, he called Vulpix to his side and the little Fox Pokémon came running, hoping that the young blond was now feeling better. They finally left with N keeping a safe distance between himself and Shin, much to the drummer's confusion.

~Meanwhile with Ryuji, Tatsuhi and Yuuya - Pokémon side~

"Why didn't you stop your trainer, Drowzee? Darkrai could have killed both of you!" Delcatty said, shaken at what the two of them had tried to do. But much to her and Mandibuzz's shock, Drowzee only looked stoic and stubborn.

"Because Darkrai deserved it! From what you guys' trainers told about the things he has done, he deserves everything we throw at that horrid Pokémon! Besides, Yuuya was literally the only human that showed me kindness in that castle, it was only natural that I helped him in his time of need!" She said, frowning. At that, the other two Pokémon looked horrified, now knowing that Drowzee could easily get herself hurt or worse if Yuuya wanted her too.

~Meanwhile with Shin - half an hour later~

As Bela wrapped Romeo's wound on his back with the young brunette now awake, Shin asked once again about what had happened. Seeing that Strify and Romeo were also curious and quite concerned, Luminor and Yu looked at eachother and then, started talking, even though they both were very unwilling.

~Flashback~

When Shin and N stepped into the room where the drummer's friends were being held, they both were horrified. All of them were obviously harmed at some point or another.

"Shin, you free them! I'll-- Ghetsis!!" N gasped as Ghetsis came into the room with an evil, gloating grin on his face.

"What do you think of my new trophies, N, you freak? They should be fine enough to--"

"What did you do to my friends, you bastard?!" Came Shin's deadly growl before the madman could even finish his sentence. Yu and Luminor immediately startled at the tone of the youngest's voice, scared for a moment. Then, Ghetsis only laughed in a chilling tone and used his Toxicroak to Poison Jab the unconscious Strify and Romeo immediately.

They both fell to the ground with a barely there whimper and that, made both Ghetsis and his cronies chuckled at that. Shin on the other hand, just froze. He froze as soon as he saw Romeo and Strify's unconscious bodies alongside Luminor and Yu's small but deep injuries, then, his anger took over, clouding everything. He didn't know anything after that, his body moved on its own accord. He could hear the agonized screams of people around him but he was well past caring for anything but his own friends's wellbeing that was being threatened.

~Meanwhile with Mai - A few hours later~

Mai felt like his existence had come to another halt as he watched what was formerly his beloved spy on his old friends, a sinister smile on her lips. The young ex-guitarist had no idea what to do anymore and it hurt so much.

"You!! You let this happen!! What are you going to do now, huh?! You let our daughter to become--" Chelsea's father bellowed at Mai who averted his eyes, guilt nearly too much for the young man.

"Enough. He did not know this was going to happen. Giratina has his ways to influence and manipulate people and Pokémon alike. Do not put the blame on this young man." A powerful voice came from behind them, making them look up. Everyone's eyes widened as they saw a powerful looking Pokémon approach them.

"W-who are you!?" Mai asked, not expecting the answer at all.

"I am Arceus. And you must be Mai." The Pokémon said, making both Chelsea's parents and Mai gasp. Then Mai speechlessly nodded, his mind full of questions of what was going on. He was scared that Arceus was going to hurt Chelsea, knowing there would be no way he could stop a powerful being like him.

"Do not fret, I will not harm the woman you love. Your love is true, and I will give you the only way that you can bring her out of this situation with her soul and life intact."

Mai nodded again, this time his eyes determined despite the tears that filled them. Then, the young man was given two strange, glittering gems, one in pink, which reminded him of Yasuno and the other pitch black, making him frown in confusion.

"What do I need to do with these? How can these little gems defeat Giratina of all Pokémon?!" He asked, now even more confused yet he was also determined to do anything, even if it destroyed him for the second time.

~Meanwhile with the GazettE - A few minutes later~

As they all ran to Reita, completely horrified, the Milotic went to Uruha, wanting to make sure that the young blond was still alive. Thankfully, the guitarist was breathing even though it was obviously with an effort.

"Reita, please breathe!! God, what did you even do?!" Aoi said, this time visibly panicking.

"I'll get Uruha-san to the hospital ahead of time, you take care of Reita-kun. Come on, Luxray." Hiroto said softly, feeling horrified as well. The Gleam Eyes Pokémon nodded, taking the wounded Uruha onto her back and going just fast enough to not let him fall off. Meanwhile Kai was near fainting, not able to believe that Reita had sacrificed himself just to save his best friend.

"A-Akira...? Please, d-don't leave me...?" Ruki managed to say in a barely audible tone, his voice shaking and small. But Reita stayed there, laying without taking any breathe.

"Cha, Chatot?!" Reita's Chatot also cried, horror on her face. Then, Cresselia arrived and took one look at the lifeless bassist and gave the Time Flute to Aoi who had tears streaming down his face in pain. The rhythm guitarist took it with shaking hands and almost instinctively, started to play, a soft yet urgent tone coming out of it.

~Meanwhile with Reita~

Reita felt completely boneless, floating in an abyss of nothing. He didn't remember anything and was very comfortable. But something in the back of his head still nagged at him, as if to not let him rest.

"What's... What's going on?" He murmured, frowning slightly. Then, a voice came through the darkness, unintelligible.

"Huh??" He said, going in the direction of the voice and it suddenly became a bit more clear the more he got closer to it.

"REITA!!! REITA, COME BACK!!!"

"Aoi?! AOI, WHAT'S WRONG?!" He yelled, suddenly feeling scared.

"DON'T LEAVE ME, PLEASE!! COME BACK!!" The guitarist was screaming still, making Reita panic even more. And then, he heard Ruki as well;

"A-Akira...? Please, d-don't leave me...?"

Reita then remembered everything and realized; he was dying. But he decided that he was not going to do that. He needed to see everyone okay. And Darkrai, Yune and their cohorts needed to pay for everything they had done. He fought against the bonelessness, the floating feeling. And followed the distraught voices of his best friends and at last, he gasped, his eyes opening momentarily to see the pale faces of all his friends.

~Meanwhile with Kra~

"Am I the only one to feel like we're being watched?" Yuura said suddenly, frowning slightly. That made all of the others frown lightly as well, now feeling the same way as the bassist.

"Mu, Munna..." Yasuno's Munna shivered lightly, realizing something sinister was closeby, as if watching their every move. Yasuno, however, smiled at the small Dream Eater Pokémon.

"Don't worry, Munna. I'm not going to let you get hurt, alright?"

"Hawlucha~..." Yuura's Hawlucha chimed, looking reassuringly at the smaller Pokémon even though she also felt the sinister eyes on their small group. That was then, Keiyuu noticed that Chelsea was coming towards them and he waved at her, making the others turn and smile at her as well, not knowing what had happened to the young woman.

~Meanwhile with Nightmare~

As Sakito kept trying to talk to Ruka, a sudden noise diverted everyone's attention. Everyone was on edge immediately and Ni~ya decided to look up what was going on only to look horrified.

"What's wrong?! What's happening, Yuji?!"

"Guys, I think you should check this out..."

The others immediately went towards the bassist only to gasp as well; the hospital was slowly getting covered in a strange, blackish aura.

~Meanwhile with Mai~

Mai got himself ready for the ritual that would split him into two sides, knowing if he failed, it would be a complete horror for everyone. He never wanted to let Chelsea or anyone get hurt anymore, as the old guitarist felt enough with the suffering.

"How can this scrawny, useless kid save our daughter?! He wasn't even able to do anything to us when Darkrai sent him, how will he stand against that abomination?!" Chelsea's mother cried at Xerneas who solemnly looked at Mai who looked stoic. The Life Pokémon could feel how truly determined the guitarist really was and couldn't help but feel very sad towards the pain he had felt all this time.

"That young man died to protect, something not many would be able to do in his situation. Do not undermine his sacrifice." Came the booming voice of Arceus who was frowning at the parents of Chelsea. In the meantime, Mai was trying his hardest not to think of his old bandmates, knowing that it would endanger his quest.

"Mai, I am asking you once more, are you absolutely sure that you can withstand this? It will hurt, as splitting one's soul is never easy." Xerneas asked while Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf looked at the young man with concern. But Mai nodded, saying;

"I can't let her go this way. Nor can I let the world fall under Giratina's control. I don't care what happens to me. I'm already dead anyways. Let's begin."

It made Mesprit look really sad but Azelf and Uxie nodded, leaving the Emotion Pokémon no choice. Xerneas told Mai to move to the middle of the three Legendaries and hold the Fairy Gem in his right hand and the Dark Gem in his left hand. Mai complied and then, the only sound that filled the room was Mai's agonized screams.

~Meanwhile with Kiro~

After Kiro took the strange prismatic object, the small bassist was teleported to a dark, muddy place. He looked around, at first not realizing that Plusle was not by his side and saw a huge mountain with a strange rift on top of it seemingly closeby to him. But then, he froze as he realized his missing partner.

"Plusle?! Where are you?!" Kiro cried out, horrified as he looked around frantically.

"For your next trial, young Kiro, you must find your partner and the important item she now has. You must be careful, however to not falter no matter what you see. Good luck." Dialga's booming voice came from right behind the blond. Kiro turned to the Temporal Pokémon with tears of worry for the small Cheering Pokémon.

"Where do I even go to find her before something happens to her again?!"

"You must find the way on your own for this is your trial." Was the only thing Dialga said before disappearing.

Kiro looked at the mountain once again and realized that it was a good place to start to look for his partner.

"Please be safe and hold on, Plusle... I'm coming, I promise." He whispered as he started his determined walk towards the strange mountain.

~Meanwhile with Hiroto - A few minutes later~

When Hiroto arrived to the hospital, the guitarist was most definitely not expecting a dark matter covering the entire building.

"CRAP!! What the hell do I DO now?! Uruha-kun, please hold on! Luxray, let's see what we can do!" He said and the Gleam Eyes Pokémon nodded immediately, also horrified. They approached to the door only to see Yuura banging on the door from the other side with his bandmates trying to keep something at bay.

"Hiroto-kun!! HELP!!!" Yuura yellled, his voice mostly muffled but Hiroto understood what the older man was trying to say.

"I'll try!! Luxray, can you see a weak point in this thing?!" Hiroto said, turning to his partner only to see her already looking for a weak point to attack when sun's light hit something that was close to the guitarist's feet. He curiously picked the pink gem up and it immediately reacted to the black matter, dissolving it to free the people inside.

"What the hell is this?!" Hiroto asked once everyone was out of the building.

"We don't know what happened but Chelsea-san seems to be possessed by something! She brought this strange thing to here! The Nightmare guys managed to bind her down but this thing just spread from her afterwards!" Keiyuu said, shuddering.

"Mu, Munna!! Munna~~!!" Yasuno's Munna cried as the group realized that there was no other good option but to bring Uruha back into the hospital no matter what the cost. Luxray gently took the tall blond's body back up and they went in with worry.

~Meanwhile with the GazettE~

"Will he be alright?!" Kai asked while they got closer to Reita who was breathing with an obvious effort.

"Chatot~?!"

"Do not worry, he just needs a good rest right now. He must really value you all for this to have worked this fast." Cresselia said softly as Aoi held the still shaking Ruki to try and calm the younger man down.

"We value him right back! Uruha would probably die as well if Akira died this way." Kai said, nodding.

~Meanwhile with Dir en Grey - A few hours later~

Kyo watched in tears as Kaoru tried hard to breathe, not knowing what to do anymore. They had tried everything to get Kaoru out of the trance like state he was in yet none of it had worked. But then he happened to hold the lead guitarist's cold as ice hand and suddenly, he was shifted into a trance like state himself, finding himself inside a strange place.

"Where the hell am I?! What's going on?!"

"Kyo, HELP!!" Kaoru yelled with a muffled voice from above the singer and when Kyo looked up, he looked in shock; the older man was imprisoned inside a strange construct that looked almost like an enormous, black human heart.

Kyo tried to reach the place but he was not tall enough. However, he was very determined to save Kaoru's life.

~Meanwhile with Plusle~

Plusle came to herself and looked around, having gotten knocked out after she stepped into the light with Kiro. The Cheering Pokémon hadn't realized at first that Kiro wasn't with her, still kind of out of it. But all of her dizziness vanished once she looked around and saw her loving partner was gone.

"K-Kiro!? Kiro, where are you?!" She cried out in vain, not knowing what else to do. Her eyes filled with tears of fear at the thought of Kiro perishing.

"You failed your partner, I see." Came the voice of Diane, making the small Pokémon enraged and terrified at the same time. Plusle did not know if what the dangerous spirit of the Sphere of Life was telling the truth. But she was determined to find out if she truly had failed her beloved partner. Then, from a strange portal, Hoopa appeared to the small Pokémon and smiled, holding out an object to the distressed Pokémon.

"Do not worry, you did not fail your partner, you loyal Plusle. He is alive and his current trial is to find you. Do not fret. If his conviction is strong enough, he will find you. However, you must do something for him in the meanwhile."

"What is it?! I will never give up on Kiro!" Plusle answered while taking the sack from the Mischief Pokémon with curiosity. She looked at it but couldn't discern what the thing might be.

"You must bring this to the Lake of Clarity and dip it in the water once. Before you ask, it is not a legend, it can only be accessed from this place, nowhere else. So do your duty to your trainer, young Plusle and you will see him returned to your side as he should be." Hoopa said before disappearing.

"Wait!! Where do I--?! He didn't even tell me where to go to access it... I need to find it on my own, I guess. I won't fail you, Kiro, I promise."

With those words, Plusle closed her eyes and let her heart and determination guide her feet.

~Meanwhile with the GazettE members~

Reita tried to open his eyes, even though he was exhausted and in so much pain. But then, he heard Aoi's gentle, quiet words, making him nearly smile at the concern he heard in his friend's voice;

"Reita, don't waste your energy, everything's going to be alright."

"Aoi... U-Uruha... Is Uru... Okay...?" He managed out with the precious little breathe he had.

"Don't worry, Reita, he's... He's alright..." Aoi said gently and that was enough for a while so Reita let go, falling into a deep slumber.

~Meanwhile with Hiroto~

When he went into the hospital with Uruha's barely alive body, Hiroto immediately asked his loyal Luxray to get him secured away from the strange mists of dark matter while he asked what was going on.

"We don't really know, all we know is that Chelsea-san has been affected by something strange and powerful! We couldn't even get out before you managed to somehow open the door!" Hitsugi said, still slightly shaken.

Hiroto frowned, not knowing what to think before he remembered the strange pink gem he had opened the door with and showed it to the others. At that, Keiyuu's eyes widened, instantly feeling a strange attachment to the gem.

Meanwhile, the members of the GazettE came in and stared in shock at the state of the hospital before asking for Uruha's state.

"He's going to be fine, let me take Reita as well, he needs to be helped too." Bela said, still completely professional, much to everyone's surprise. Kai gently handed the bassist to the nurse's hands while the others asked what exactly was going on right before a huge power surge came from the room they had placed the bound Chelsea in.

"Oh God, what the hell's going on?!" Aoi said while Chelsea came out, her eyes completely red while her Pokémon was engulfed in a strange, black aura and glaring as well.

~Meanwhile with Plusle - 30 minutes later~

Plusle walked for a long time, hoping to reach the Lake of Clarity soon and somehow save her beloved trainer. While she walked, she felt constant eyes on her little form, making her paranoid but the Cheering Pokémon was not about to give up on her quest.

"You think you can stop me, huh, little Plusle?" The voice of Diane came from right in front of her, making Plusle snap her head at the dangerous spirit and say:

"It's you who thinks she can sever the bonds of me and my trainer! But you are WRONG on thinking that! Kiro will be alright, even if I have to pay the price!"

With that, Plusle brushed past the stunned spirit and continued on, finally arriving to a small rock where she leaned on to regain some energy. Then, as soon as she put the Cheering Pokémon put her small hand onto the rock, it made the earth rumble and a small underground passage opened. Plusle looked curiously into it and then, even though she was uneasy, she went into it.

Inside, Plusle found a lake and instantly understood that she was at the right place. Her face immediately lit up. She approached the lake slowly and said:

"I found it!! Now I need to--"

And just as the little Pokémon was about to dip the sack that was given to her, a voice from behind her made her startle and lose her balance;

"Plusle!! Oh danke Gott!!"

~Meanwhile with Cinema Bizarre~

"I-I did that?!?!" Shin whispered in a shaking voice, his face ashen white. But that only made Strify come and hold him tightly.

"I'm sure it wasn't your fault, Marcel. Before you came, that maniac said something about us underestimating that cursed serum, I'm sure it had something to do with that. Don't worry, Marcel, everything is gonna be alright."

"Are you guys alright though?" Shin asked, trying not to dwell on what he had done too much and drive himself crazy.

"Don't worry. We're alright, just a little shaken but we're fine. What about Plusle? Did you...?" Luminor said and Shin nodded, making everyone smile in relief.

~Meanwhile with Uruha~

Uruha woke up with a slight shudder, feeling like he was drenched in some sort of very cold liquid. He looked around, not knowing where he was at first then everything came rushing back to him and he shot up from the bed, terrified for Reita, his best friend.

"Uruha! Oh thank Kami-sama!! Are you okay?!" It was Kai who immediately ran to his bedside with tears in his eyes.

"Kai! I-I'm fine but... Reita...?! Is he...?" The blond guitarist couldn't continue, still feeling terrified for the slightly older man. Kai immediately took the distressed man into his embrace, saying gently;

"He's... He's still unconscious but he's gonna be okay. You scared us so much, Kouyou. So much..." Kai's voice broke slightly, still scared for his friend while Uruha shuddered slightly and before he could ask more about Reita, the younger man talked once more, realizing the unease in the guitarist's state.

"Nothing will happen to Reita, Uru, I promise."

Uruha relaxed slightly but then, the Milotic who had attacked him came close to him, hoping that the young man would accept his apology even though he could not understand the Tender Pokémon.

"You... You were there too, weren't you?" Uruha said quietly as Kai did not look very happy at Milotic. The Pokémon nodded and came even closer to the bed, hoping that Uruha could accept him.

"Mi, Milotic..."

Uruha smiled, understanding that the Tender Pokémon was very apologetic over what had happened.

"It's fine, Milotic. You were just trying to protect your home, I'm guessing. At least this seems to be over to be honest and I am fine with that."

Kai just shook his head in slight amusement, realizing that Uruha had not only accepted the Pokémon's apology but also intended to have him as his partner Pokémon. Then, Ruki came into the room, glaring at Milotic before asking if Uruha was okay at all.

"I'm fine, Ruki-kun. But what the hell is going on here??"

That made Kai and Ruki look at eachother, knowing there was a huge crisis just outside the door. At that, Uruha felt dread, understanding instantly that something had happened.

~Meanwhile with Kiro~

Kiro ran to Plusle, barely managing to catch his beloved partner before she could fall in the strange, mercury-like water. Then he hugged the small Cheering Pokémon but for some reason, she wriggled out of his embrace.

"Plusle? Y-you don't want me a-anymore??"

"Plus, Plusle, Plus!!" She cried out at him, smacking the bassist's head in annoyance before she dipped the small sack she had in her hands into the water and it transformed in front of their shocked eyes into a seal of the Sphere of Death.

"T-that is..." Kiro whispered and then, Plusle gently nudged him to touch it. Kiro did so, and upon touching it, a dark light burst out of the small blond and into the Sphere of Death, the spirit once more getting sealed inside it.

"W-we did it! Plusle, I don't know what I'd do without you! Now let's go and find the exit, shall we?"

Plusle nodded, happily crying at the young man which made him smile back and carrying the Sphere of Death, they got out of the passage to a shocking scenery.

~Meanwhile with Kra~

When the others of Kra saw the pink gem Hiroto had found to open the door with, they all were very interested, even though not knowing if it was going to harm them or not.

"What do you reckon this is? I feel like I've known whatever this is forever..." Yasuno muttered, not tearing his eyes from the gem. It almost reminded him of Mai, which gave him a stab of hurt when he remembered what had happened to the younger man.

"I don't know but it seems to help dissolve the strange matter at least." Aoi said absently, his mind still on Uruha and Reita's states. Then, Ruki came in and told them that Uruha was finally awake again, which cheered Aoi up instantly before the older guitarist ran to the room in question. Then it happened, Taizo found a black gem that was the same size as the pink one and tried to touch it.