Through the Portal

~Meanwhile with Yasuno and Yuura~

"But we don't even know where Celebi-san is being held nor do we have any Pokémon to keep ourselves safe! This is too dangerous to do alone!" Yasuno protested, concerned about the bassist. At those words, Chelsea looked very shockedly at the two men. She hadn't thought that someone could be so bold as to get into the cruel Pitch Black Pokémon's castle without any means to protect themselves.

"I know, Yasuno. But I don't think it's gonna be easier with two of us looking into the same thing, neglecting the other. It could very well mean the end for Celebi-san, ne?"

Yasuno sighed at the bassist's words, recognizing the truth immediately in the younger man's words. But he still didn't want to leave Yuura alone as he could feel something bad was going to happen.

"Then take my Pokémon, they both can protect you! If you really are Mai's friends, I won't let you go down there without protection!" Chelsea said suddenly. She was in shock at these two reckless men.

"Arigatou, Chelsea-san. But I don't think we should endanger your Pokémon with taking them. We can take care of ourselves." Said Yasuno with a smile and then, Yuura turned to the drummer with a small frown.

"Honki desu ka, Yasuno-kun? Anata ni wa fukai kizu ga arundesu kara..." The bassist said, making Yasuno roll his eyes.

"Hai, honki desu yo. We shouldn't endanger other people with this. So, which one of us is going after the Time Flute?"

"I will of course, you're already burdened enough and I think you can talk to Celebi-san better than me, you know, to ensure he doesn't think of us as some of those awful minions." Yasuno nodded his head slowly, thinking of how much danger they were getting into.

"Well, how can I get to that deep part of the castle?" Yuura asked to Chelsea, making her eyes widen again after looking cluelessly at the two while they were talking amongst themselves.

~Meanwhile in Kyo's room~

"What's wrong, guys, you all look horribly tired. D-Darkrai didn't--..." Kyo trailed off, looking at his pale best friends. All four of them looked in shambles and he didn't know what to make of that.

"No, we're all fine, more or less.  We all were so worried about you, especially Kaoru-kun here." Said Die. At that, Kyo looked shocked while Kaoru flinched, thinking back at how the nurse that had taken Kyo at first had said the vocalist wouldn't survive.

"W-what about you, how do you feel?"

"I feel a bit sleepy and my chest hurts a little but other than that, I'm just fine."

~Meanwhile with Keiyuu and Taizo~

"I'm so glad you're alright now, Keiyuu-kun." Taizo whispered, thinking of the horrible wound the younger man had before Palkia's arrival and shuddering. Keiyuu smiled at the guitarist's worry, relieved that he didn't hate him even after what he had said to him. Then he started writing something on his notebook and when he finished, he gave it to the taller man, swallowing nervously.

"I am glad you're okay too. And you know, I'm sorry. For what I said to you before... I never hated you nor would I ever be able to." It said and Taizo smiled at those words.

~Meanwhile with Yasuno and Yuura~

"O-okay, just follow me. But please be careful, that place is just... Weird. You'll see what I mean when you get there."

Yuura nodded and then, turned to Yasuno who was watching with a small frown on his face.

"Yasuno-kun, you be careful and don't exert yourself, got it? We'll have to use text to communicate, a call would be too dangerous."

Yasuno nodded with an uneasy sigh, the drummer really didn't want to let Yuura go off on his own but he didn't seem to have a choice in the matter. After the bassist went out with Chelsea, Yasuno looked at Mai's diary, his eyes filling with tears at the thought of the younger man.

"I hope I was right with letting him go, Mai-cho..."

~Meanwhile with Yuura~

"H-here, this is the way. Go straight down to the dungeons and take the left path to reach the Time Flute. It's being protected by something I don't even know, I never dared going near there. Are you sure you don't want one of my Pokémon to protect you?"

"Hai, I'm sure. It'll be fine. Thank you for your help." Yuura said before going down the stairs with swift, silent moves.

"Good luck, you're gonna need it."

Yuura went down into the dungeons, frowning as he tried to see if there was any Pokémon or people in there that he could help but there was nothing as he could see. And when the path branched, he took the left path as Chelsea had instructed and came to a part of the castle with a dangerous air.

"What the hell is this?!" The bassist muttered as he went even deeper. The air seemed to be pressuring him as he tried to walk further and then, he saw an object that looked like a flute but had a clock symbol on it next to a purple tablet. Yuura gasped for air as his phone dinged with a text message, undoubtedly from Yasuno. The young bassist ignored it for the moment and went straight for the Time Flute. But when he did so, the door suddenly closed behind him, making him whirl around in slight panic.

"You thought it was gonna be that easy?" A soft voice came from the right side of the incredibly airless room and when Yuura looked up, he saw a young man with a small, cat-like Pokémon beside him, glaring at him menacingly.

"Who are you?! Why are you d-doing this?!" Yuura said as he backed away. But the man took the purple tablet and came closer to Yuura.

"You can't not know who I am, he must've surely talked about us, right?" The man said, smiling creepily and then, he threw the tablet at Yuura, hitting him right on the chest. The tablet gave out a purple light and started to absorb itself through Yuura's chest, making him gasp for air. But the tablet didn't seem to let him breathe as the bassist started to suffocate.

"I... I can't breathe... Yasuno-kun... I'm s-sorry..." Was his last thought before everything went black.

~Meanwhile with Yasuno~

Yasuno frowned as he went to the back rooms with Chelsea, hoping that Yuura was okay since the younger man didn't answer his text message. He didn't know what kept the bassist from answering him but Yasuno hoped that he was not attacked.

"We're here. Celebi is being held in here." Chelsea said, swallowing in nervousness as they stood in front of a tightly locked door, knowing that she was also responsible for the Time Travel Pokémon's current state.

"Alright then. I'll talk to Celebi-san. Meanwhile, could you please check on Yuura for me? He won't reply to my messages and I'm worried that something might've happened to him..." The drummer requested, obviously very worried about his friend. Chelsea couldn't help but nod for she was also very concerned. And then, Yasuno knocked on the door.

"Go away! I will not do what you want from me!!" Came a young, male voice through the door, surprising Yasuno.

"Celebi, this is Chelsea, I came to help you with someone!"

"Liar!! I won't believe you again after what you let happen!!"

"Celebi-san, I don't know what happened to you or why Darkrai is keeping you here but me and my friend came to rescue you, I swear. My friend is going after your Time Flute right now and I'm trying to--"

"Well well, look who's here. Yasuno-san, I presume?"

Yasuno and Chelsea spun around cautiously only to see a man about Taizo's height with wild, brown-blond hair and a dangerous air around him.

"Who are you?! How do you know my name?!" Yasuno asked, disturbed by the young man's aura. At that, the man just laughed softly.

"You really don't know who I am?! Here I thought Taizo-kun would've talked about me."

Yasuno's eyes widened when he realized who this person was but just as he was going to say something, the young man started talking again.

"Well, I should deal with you so that you can't take that little Pokémon out, he's gonna be of much use for our Master. And before you say anything, I know you're not alone. Tatsuhi-kun is taking care of your stupid bassist as we speak." He said, sending out his Pokémon immediately afterwards at the stunned Yasuno.

"Go, Mandibuzz!"

"No!!"

~Meanwhile in the hospital - Saga's room~

"Are you sure that you're okay, Yomi-kun?" Asked Sakito, concerned about how pale the younger man was even after they had saved him from Darkrai's castle. Yomi just nodded, tiredly closing his eyes as he laid with the still-unconscious Ruka and went to sleep just like that.

"What exactly happened in that castle? He looks so tired..." Hiroto said, worried about the vocalist.

"Trust me, you don't want to know. Let's just say it was horrible and leave it at that, okay?" Ni~ya said, his eyes flashing in anger at the thought of the events in the castle.

The others in the room looked at eachother and nodded, slightly scared at the look in Ni~ya's eyes.

~Meanwhile with Keiyuu and Taizo~

All of a sudden after Taizo smiled at Keiyuu, the vocalist started to cough a little. Taizo immediately started rubbing his back, worried.

"Keiyuu? Daijoubu?!" He asked worriedly as he looked at the younger man who was sitting with his eyes closed.

"I think so... It was a weird sensation for a moment there..." Keiyuu rasped in a low, scratchy voice, looking at the guitarist with a slight smile. At that, Latias also sighed softly, relieved that he was okay.

~Meanwhile with Yasuno~

Just as the Bone Vulture Pokémon was going to attack the drummer, Chelsea came in front of him and sent out one of her Pokémon, a big, red bird that cried out and glared at his opponent.

"Go, Talonflame, use Acrobatics!! Can you open the door, Yasuno?!"

"I-I... I don't know! But I'll try!" The drummer stuttered, worried sick for Yuura's well-being and also for Celebi as well. And then, he slammed himself against the door, ignoring his burning back and then, when the door didn't open he slammed once again and then, the door finally gave way to the panting drummer.

Inside, there was a small, green Pokémon who looked at Yasuno with shock. But the drummer didn't mind his look, looking at the man Chelsea was fighting and trying to come up with a plan to escape and find Yuura so that he could ensure the younger man's safety.

"You go!! There's a hidden staircase around the throne room, you can use it to get to where your friend is, hurry up!" Chelsea said as she tried to command her Talonflame to try and buy them time.

"Let's go then!"

Thankfully, after a very small while that they spent running, in Celebi's case, floating fastly, they found the staircase and descended towards the dungeons. But as the drummer had forgotten which way they should run towards to find Yuura, they looked at eachother.

"I can feel the Time Flute nearby! Follow me!" Celebi said urgently, hoping there was no casualties in his place. Yasuno immediately nodded and started to follow the Time Travel Pokémon, hoping like crazy that he was not too late to save Yuura. And then, they saw a closed door and the air started to pressure them.

"Come on! You need to open the door, I can feel my Time Flute on the other side along with someone in there!"

Yasuno immediately pushed against the heavy door and what he saw there made his blood run cold. Yuura was laying down on the ground with some blood on his mouth and a young girly man stood near him with a small cat-like Pokémon beside him, smirking at the unconscious bassist in front of him. But ignoring him and the fact that his back wound was screaming at him, Yasuno ran to his bandmate's body, picking him up gently.

"Yuura!! Yuura, please be okay! Kami-sama, I should've never let you go alone!" Yasuno said, his voice breaking.

Celebi stood in shock as Yasuno started to cry, disbelieving that the drummer was telling the truth and now he was in the danger of losing one of his comrades. The man that was laying on the drummer's lap didn't seem to be breathing and some blood was still on his mouth. Yasuno was so distracted by his fear of losing Yuura that he did not realize Tatsuhi taking the Time Flute and getting away with a silent laugh.

"No! God, NO!! Yuura, onegai, wake up!" The older man sobbed, trying to get the bassist to breathe again.

"I-I can try to bring him ba--"

That was then, Yuura gasped out, suddenly waking up with his eyes wide open.

"Yuura!! D-daijoubu ka?!" Yasuno asked, frantic. Yuura pushed himself off the drummer's lap, groaning slightly as he stretched himself.

"Yasuno-kun?? What... What happened to me?" The bassist muttered, frowning in confusion.

"I don't know, you tell me!! What do you remember last?!"

"I... Oh crap, I went for the Time Flute but there was this guy who threw something at me and I couldn't breathe at all, I must've blacked out or something. Did you get to Celebi-san? We need to get away from here quickly."

Celebi looked so surprised at the bassist's words that he couldn't realize his Time Flute was gone at first.

"I... I am okay. Thank you for helping me."

Yuura smiled at that but then his eyes fell on Yasuno's back which was bleeding profusely. The bassist gasped in shock as he saw that and immediately smacked the older man's head.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Yasuno said, holding his head while looking at Yuura with a sour glare.

"Your back is bleeding again, Yasuno! I told you to not over-exert yourself, you baka!!"

At his words, Celebi looked at Yasuno's back as well and when he saw the red staining Yasuno's back, he realized that these men were really there for his good.

~Meanwhile with Keiyuu and Taizo~

"Keiyuu, your voice! It's back!!" Taizo said, smiling widely at the younger man. The vocalist nodded, relieved as well.

"Do you think Yasuno and Yuura are alright? Maybe we should go look for them..." Keiyuu said in his low voice, looking honestly concerned at how long it was taking their rhythm team to come back.

"I don't think so. As much as I want to go, Keiyuu, you're still in need of rest and to be honest, so am I..." Taizo said, looking worried as well. Keiyuu stared at the older man, really worried that Taizo was admitting that he needed rest like the smaller man.

"Are you sure that you're okay, Taizo? I mean, it's not really like you to admit you need rest." He asked, making the guitarist smile.

"I'm just tired, I'm fine, I promise."

~Meanwhile with Yasuno and Yuura~

"Kami-sama, Yasuno, will you ever listen to what other people say?! You might've gotten your wound much deeper, you know!"

"I'm okay, Yuura. But what about you?! I mean, you weren't breathing when I s-saw you..."

Yuura smiled at the older man's worry and nodded, putting a hand on the nervous man's shoulder to try to comfort him.

"I'm fine. But we gotta go, now. We need to check your wound as soon as possible. By the way, please don't tell the other two about finding me unconscious, you know how both Keiyuu and Taizo would react to that."

"Yeah, we should get away before something bad happens. And I will only not tell if you don't tell about that attack on me, deal?"

Yuura sighed and nodded, knowing it wasn't going to be easy. Then they started getting away from the horrible, stuffy room.

~Meanwhile with Keiyuu and Taizo~

Just as Taizo was checking Keiyuu's state out, wanting to see if there was any more lasting damage than a small scar on the younger man, Yuura came in while supporting Yasuno who looked pale as a sheet and hardly was able to walk at all.

"Yasuno-kun!! What's wrong?!" Asked Keiyuu, alarmed as Taizo frowned and went to take the oldest from the panting bassist.

"Yasuno, did you want to tell me something?!" The guitarist asked as a green, small Pokémon floated towards them.

"Ano... No?" The drummer said weakly but then, Yuura came closer to them and gently pushed Yasuno into the bed next to Keiyuu and then made him strip his shirt off, much to the taller man's embarrassment. When Keiyuu and Taizo saw the wound though, they both gasped in shock.

"Yasuno, you idiot!!" Keiyuu yelled as he surveyed the horrible looking wound. The drummer in question cried out in pain as Bela tried to bandage the deep wound gently. Taizo immediately held the older man's hand, feeling more than a little guilty about what happened.

"Oh my God, just what happened?!" The shocked guitarist asked, very worried. Yasuno shook his head, tired from the mission he and Yuura were on. He really didn't want to tell what had happened to him while he was trying to save Taizo.

"Remember how I told you the idiot right here went into a wild Pokémon's nest without anything to protect himself? That's what happened." Keiyuu deadpanned even though it was obvious that talking hurt his already sensitive throat.

"Yeah, but I d-don't regret it. I did it to save a precious friend." Yasuno said, trying hard not to cry out again, obviously in much pain. Taizo softened at that, smiling a little and feeling blessed with these people around him.

~Meanwhile in Darkrai's fortress~

After she made sure that Yasuno and Yuura got away safely, Chelsea went to the gardens, making absolutely sure that they had gotten the Hawlucha that was injured since she knew that the Wrestling Pokémon was one of the partners of the Champions of Cresselia. When she found out that they had, she smiled gently.

"There you are, traitor." Said a voice behind her suddenly. Chelsea spun around only to see Tatsuhi and Yune ganging up on her with menacing, crazy grins on their faces.

"I don't care if you call me a traitor! I will do what is right, like my poor, beloved Mai did!" She exclaimed as she took out one of her Pokéballs, ready to defend herself. But unfortunately, her Talonflame had fainted in the fight she had with Ryuji when she tried to buy Yasuno and Celebi time to find Yuura and escape.

"Your Mai died like a little coward, alone and scared. And you will follow his footsteps into death." Yune said, smirking at the look on Chelsea's face. And then, the young girl did something they did not expect from her, sent out her only remaining Pokémon with tears in their eyes.

"Go, Kadabra!! Mai didn't die in vain!" She yelled, determined to win and get away to wherever Yasuno and Yuura had gone to, knowing that she would be safe where they were.

~Meanwhile with Kra~

As soon as his deep wound was re-bandaged, Yasuno went to sleep, his body having had too much stress. Seeing his peaceful demeanor, Taizo shook his head, still feeling bad about what had happened to the older man not to mention their sweet vocalist, Keiyuu.

"Are you guys feeling better, Keiyuu, Taizo-kun?" Asked Yuura softly, trying not to think of the past four days.

"I'm only a little tired but otherwise, I'm perfectly fine, Yuura-kun. But what's with Yasuno-kun? He's acting a bit weird." The guitarist said, looking really worried about the oldest.

"He's been acting like this ever since he restored your soul shard, actually." Said Keiyuu, frowning as he too, watched Yasuno sleep deeply.

"What might he have seen in my soul that shook him up so badly?!"

"I don't know what he saw there, Taizo-kun, but he's been acting kinda weird ever since then..." Yuura replied and then, Yasuno suddenly started to murmur in his sleep.

"No... It's not you... Please no!!" The drummer was whimpering and tossing and turning in his sleep, obviously having a bad nightmare. Seeing that, Taizo immediately sprung into action and gently shook Yasuno to wake him up. Thankfully, he woke up quickly, panting and in tears.

"Yasuno? Are you alright? What's the matter??" Keiyuu asked softly, hoping that the drummer would answer them honestly. But Yasuno shook his head, not even wanting to think about telling them what he had seen in his nightmare.

"I'm okay, it's... It's fine..." Yasuno muttered, swallowing slightly as Taizo gently helped him to lay back down. At the drummer's words, Keiyuu and Yuura looked at eachother with exasperation, knowing the drummer would never tell what was going on in his mind. After that small exchange, Yasuno went straight back to sleep, still exhausted.

"What happened in there, Yuura? Yasuno's wound was not this deep before." Keiyuu asked, making Taizo's eyes widen in worry. Yuura squirmed slightly at that, trying to decide if it was wise to tell that Yasuno was attacked since the drummer would probably tell on him as well if he did so.

"Yuura?" Taizo's voice brought the bassist back to the conversation and then, quickly deciding, he turned to Celebi.

"Could you tell him that you told them? Cause if we don't Yasuno is not gonna be happy with me at all..." He said, making Keiyuu and Taizo look at eachother with a very worried look. They both knew if Yasuno wanted to hide something, it wouldn't be good to find out without his knowledge, so whatever it was, it was dangerous.

"Yes, of course I can do that." The Time Travel Pokémon said, curious himself about what might have happened to the oldest.

"Well, as soon as we managed to get into the gardens of that cursed castle, we got attacked by someone--"

"NANI?!" Keiyuu and Taizo chorused, wide eyed with shock and anger.

"Hai. And he took the full hit from that electric attack, right into his wound no less. I tried to find the attacker but the bastard was long gone before I could find him. All I know is it was a guy who attacked us, it was obvious from his voice." Yuura finished and then, Taizo growled angrily, outraged at the attack on his bandmate as Keiyuu gasped in shock.

"And let me guess, Yasuno told you to not tell us, ne?"

~Meanwhile in Darkrai's fortress~

As Cyrus concentrated hard on Emile's writhing form, both the psychic young man and Emile started to shine. That made Jon and Tim look at them in fear, not knowing what to expect. After a few moments, a dark bluish tablet came right out of Emile's chest, making him scream in pain. As soon as she heard her trainer scream, Salamance turned and tried to attack Cyrus but as he too was wrapped in the aura, the Dragon Pokémon could not do anything to the psychic. As she tried to do so, Emile groaned slightly in pain but didn't open his eyes.

"Salamance, no!! Don't attack him, your target should be Darkrai!!" Jon exclaimed but it was too late, Darkrai had already sent a Shadow Ball onto Salamance and weakened her badly. But as she had not fainted, she merely turned to the Pitch Black Pokémon and sent out a strong Dragon Claw at him, bravely defending her new friends.

"We need to leave, now, Emile needs medical attention right now!" Cyrus, who had gotten out of the trance said, worried that if they were too slow, Emile would perish.

"Give him to me, I can carry him to a hospital." Tim said and with Robin's help, he took the unconscious gamer onto his back.

"Salamance, can you get us out of here?"

~Meanwhile with Kra~

"Yes, he was really insistent on not telling you guys about what hap--"

"Yuura!! You broke our deal! How could you do something like that?!" Yasuno exclaimed suddenly, making the people around him jump in surprise at the drummer who was very much not asleep like they had thought.

"Y-Yasuno, C-Celebi-san told them, I--" Yuura stuttered, slightly scared of the way the older man was glaring at him. Yasuno glared at the shorter man even more, seeing right through his lie.

"Yuura, we were alone when that happened, how do you expect me to believe that?!" The oldest said, making Keiyuu and Taizo facepalm amusedly but then, Keiyuu realized something.

"Wait, what deal?!"

"This idiot right here suggested we should separate and practically made me let him go alone and unprotected into some deep part of the castle--"

"WHAT?! What the hell were you thinking, Yuura?! Splitting up in Darkrai's castle without any Pokémon with you?! That is suicide!" Taizo yelled, shocked. Yuura grimaced at the shock and anger in the guitarist's voice, knowing that it wasn't all that had happened to him.

"Oh, it gets better, trust me. After I got to Celebi-san, in which, Yuura would not communicate with me even though he said he would, I found him in that room, unbreathing!"

"You're kidding, right?! What the HELL happened, Yuura?!"

Just as the sheepish bassist was about to answer, he suddenly felt faint, holding onto Taizo who was the nearest to him. Thankfully, the weird feeling passed by quickly and he found himself sitting on the bed of Keiyuu with all of his bandmates, Latias and Celebi looking at him in concern.

"Yuura-kun? Doushita?!" Asked Taizo immediately. Yuura just shook his head, trying to clear it.

"I don't know, I just felt... Weird for a moment there..." He muttered, frowning. And then, he fainted.

~Meanwhile in Saga's room~

All of a sudden after Yomi went to sleep, Ruka woke up with a small groan, making everyone's heads turn to the drummer.

"Satoru-kun? Are you alright?" Asked Hitsugi immediately, worried about him. Ruka held his head as he gingerly pulled out from under the still asleep vocalist.

"I think so. When did we get out? Is-is Yomi alright?!"

"We got out only a few hours ago, don't worry, Yomi's fine." Sakito said kindly and that was when Ruka noticed the asleep small man almost on top of him and sighed with relief.

~Meanwhile in Kra's room~

"Yuura!! Yuura, wake up! What's wrong?!" Keiyuu exclaimed, scared for the bassist. But as he was unconscious, Yuura didn't say anything. Celebi and Latias came closer to the young man, trying to decide what might be wrong with him that had caused him to faint so suddenly.

"Yasuno, did he tell you what happened to him in that place?" Asked Taizo, trying to keep calm. He was very afraid that they would lose their beloved bassist. But little did he know that he was about to be shocked.

"He... He told me that there was a guy in the room with the Time Flute and that he threw something at his chest and made him nearly suffocate but other than that, nothing, Taizo-kun... I should've protected him..." Yasuno whispered, looking down to the ground and suddenly, Yuura woke up, making the others crowd around him immediately.

"Yuura, daijoubu desu ka?!" Taizo asked, nearly frantic. Yuura got up slowly from where he had been sprawled on Keiyuu's bed, blinking in confusion.

"I'm... I'm fine, I think. What happened??"

"You fainted so suddenly! What's wrong? And don't you dare tell me nothing or I will hit you!" Keiyuu said, glaring at the taller man. Yuura nodded, a bit intimidated since he knew that Keiyuu was not joking.

"W-well, when I went for the Time Flute, there was this guy who was around your height with a cat-like Pokémon with him. He closed the exit I was gonna use after I would get the Flute and then, he threw this purple, tablet like thing at my chest and I think I fainted. The next thing I know is Yasuno standing over me and nothing else, really..." Yuura trailed off, seeing them all horrified.

"What did this guy look like, Yuura? If we find him soon, we can learn just what he did to you. And before you tell us it's dangerous, we all know! But we won't let you get hurt more than you already were." Said Taizo, frowning.

"All I remember from him was that he was a guy with brunette hair and he really looked like a girl. And he said something pretty weird before he threw that thing at me... He said 'You can't not know who I am, surely he must've talked about us, right?!'. I have absolutely no idea about what he meant."

"We must find this young man and ask him what he did to you." Celebi said, unhappy with the thought of just how much his state had endangered these people. The Time Travel Pokémon had a really bad feeling about what had happened to the young bassist in front of him. He felt guilty about letting them get hurt in his place.

"Yeah. But I think I'll be fine, don't worry about me, Celebi-san." Yuura said, smiling at the worry of the small Pokémon.

Just as Taizo was going to suggest something, Yasuno remembered the attempt on himself in the castle but he wasn't sure if he should tell about it, knowing how much Keiyuu and Taizo would freak out not to mention Yuura. The drummer knew if he told them, they wouldn't be happy. But right then, Celebi spoke up and made Yasuno grimace.

"Maybe he's a friend of the man who attacked you, Yasuno?"

"Wait, what?! You were attacked and didn't even tell me?!" Yuura said, suddenly angry. The others nodded at that, all looking at the suddenly squirming and nervous Yasuno.

"I-it wasn't important, I didn't get hurt, I swear!" The drummer stammered, trying to come up with a way to escape his sudden situation when something his attacker had said came back to his mind, making his eyes widen.

"Wait a moment! The guy who attacked me did say something to me!!"

That made all of their eyes widen, looking at Yasuno in expectation. But Yasuno hesitated for a moment, knowing it might worry his friends. But then, he thought that if he could identify the one who had attacked Yuura, they would have a chance to reverse whatever that was happening to the bassist.

"He said that he would stop me from taking Celebi-san out and that his friend Tatsuhi was taking care of Yuura-kun! I don't know who this Tatsuhi is, but I think he's the one responsible for making Yuura like this."

At that name, Taizo's eyes widened, recognizing it immediately and he growled in anger. And that made all of the others turn to him, surprised.

"I think now I know just who may have attacked you two." He said, rage plain on his features. At that, all of them besides Yasuno looked expectantly at the guitarist.

~Meanwhile in Darkrai's fortress~

"Kadabra, use Psycho Cut on Ferrothorn!!" Chelsea commanded, trying to think of a way to get out of the fortress while her Pokémon battled for their safety.

"You're just like Mai, he wouldn't have been able to take it like a man either. Admit it, Chelsea, you are not strong enough for Master or anyone, really. You couldn't even save your beloved when he needed you." Said Yune calmly, still having that same, insane grin on his face, making the young woman very disturbed. But when what he said sunk into her mind, her eyes changed. They went from desperate to angry and stony.

"You don't know shit about me! I know that Mai needed me and I failed him! But I will not fail to keep his memory safe from maniacs like you two!! Kadabra, we're getting out of here, use Teleport!!" Chelsea yelled, holding onto the Psi Pokémon.

"How dare you call us maniacs, you weakling!? Delcatty, use Thunderbolt, now! We can't let her run a--" Tatsuhi said but it was too late, Chelsea and her loyal Kadabra had made it out.

"Oh crap..." The short man said, knowing that Darkrai was not going to be happy with them.

~Meanwhile in the hospital~

"We're here! Come on, we need to get a doctor, now!" Robin said as Emile was starting to cough up blood.

"I can take him." Said a nearby doctor, taking the unconscious gamer from Tim's back who was very close to crying as he saw the older gamer rolled into the operation room. And looking at Jon, the other wasn't very different from Tim either. They both were scared for Emile's state.

"It's going to be alright. If he could withstand the Dread Plate inside him for who knows how long, I think he can withstand almost anything." Cyrus said softly, wanting to give them both hope.

~Meanwhile in Kra's room~

"Who were they, Taizo?! Who?!" Keiyuu asked urgently, not knowing the bombshell the guitarist was going to drop on them.

"I think it was my old bandmates."

At Taizo's words, all of them gasped in surprise, none having expected the guitarist saying that. Taizo only nodded, his brain working in a record speed as he thought of what to do about the situation. The others looked at eachother as the guitarist thought and all of them knew Taizo was not happy.

"Taizo-kun?" Said Yuura slowly, suddenly uncomfortable with how silent the guitarist had become.

"You know what, I'm going to call that bastard up and show him what I'll do if he messes with my friends!" The younger man growled.

"But how will you find his number?! And what if he does something to you?! He... He didn't exactly seem sane to me, Taizo. Maybe we should just let it go." Yuura said softly, concerned at how angry Taizo had looked. The bassist didn't want a fight with Taizo's old bandmates, thinking that they might lose it and lose Taizo to them as well.

~Meanwhile in Saga's room~

"What happened in there? We received a strange note from the castle about it but since both Saga and Shou needed rest, we couldn't come to your aid, I'm sorry..."

"It's okay. But what do you mean? What note did you get??" Asked Sakito, concerned. Hiroto gave the note to the older guitarist, looking at the asleep, obviously exhausted Yomi and Ruka who was getting the younger man in a better position so that the vocalist didn't fall off the bed. But when the lead guitarist read the small note, he frowned.

"What does it say, Sakito-kun?"

"It says "It's too late for him, save yourselves!"! What the hell?! Who could've sent this to here and how did they know that we're here?!" Sakito exclaimed, worried.

"I think we should find out about this. I think this person didn't mean harm though, from the looks of it." Said Tora slowly, frowning as well at what Sakito had pointed out.

~Meanwhile in Kra's room~

"No. What he did is unforgivable and we need to find out what he did to you, Yuura-kun. Besides, I still have his number, I thought I'd keep it just in case. Because when I left, neither Tatsuhi nor Ryuji was really sane and I thought they could target anyone I know..." Taizo said, frowning.

"But Taizo, I'm fine! I swear, it could be dangerous for you!" Yuura said and the next moment, held his head, throwing an annoyed look at Keiyuu who had smacked his head. Keiyuu glared right back, just as annoyed at the bassist for not admitting that he was not okay.

"You're obviously not fine, Yuura! If you were, you would not have fainted so suddenly, no matter how slight that was! I'll call Tatsuhi up and I'm going to--"

"No way in hell are you going alone, Taizo, we're coming with you whether you want it or not!!" Keiyuu said, glaring at Taizo this time.

"But your wound--"

"Is fine! Though I should probably get out of this shirt, it's showing my chest..." The vocalist said, getting up from the bed despite the others' protests. And then, he went to find Bela to get a new shirt, making the others sigh in annoyance that they wouldn't be able to keep Keiyuu in place.

"Then I'll call Tatsuhi and determine a place to meet, I guess..." Said Taizo, his eyes narrowing at the thought of his old bassist and what he had done to Yuura. And then, he reached for his phone and dialled Tatsuhi's number.

~Meanwhile in Darkrai's fortress~

After he reported to Darkrai about his failure, Tatsuhi was told to wait in his room until a further command. He was scared for not only himself but also for Ryuji, Darkrai could easily hurt the vocalist as well for punishment. His phone ringing suddenly pulled him out of his dark thoughts and when he looked at the caller ID, his eyes widened.

"Taizo-kun! I never thought you'd call me! What's up?"

"Tatsuhi, I know where you are. You're in the Pokémon world in Darkrai's castle, aren't you?"

Tatsuhi's eyes widened at the guitarist's words before it dawned on him, Taizo might be in the dimension he and Ryuji was in as well. After all, his new band's bassist and drummer were in there.

"Y-yeah. What about it?"

"Can we meet up close to Celestic Town? I want to talk about something. And bring Ryuji as well." Was all he said before cutting the connection. Tatsuhi's face lit up in a grin, thinking that they were finally getting their guitarist back.

"I need to get to Ryuji!" He said before jumping off the bed and sprinting for the door, forgetting all about the order of Darkrai.

~2 hours later~

"Are you sure he said we should meet, Tatsuhi? I don't want us to get disappointed when he's not there..." Ryuji said with a very undecided manner. He was happy that Taizo had called but something in his gut told him not to act quickly.

"I told you, Ryuji, he said so! And look! There he is!!" Tatsuhi said, pointing at Taizo who had his back turned to him.

"Wait, why are those other guys here as well?!"

"I don't know and who cares?! Taizo! We're here!!"

When Taizo turned to them, Tatsuhi was surprised by the look in the guitarist's eyes. It was oddly angry and cold to them. Then the guitarist took a step towards him and did something that shocked him. He slammed the bassist into the nearest tree, growling.

"What. Did you. DO. To Yuura?!"

"T-Taizo, I don't know what you're talking about, I-I--"

"Don't lie to me, Tatsuhi! I know for a fact that you both attacked my bandmates when they came into that castle and you did something to Yuura that caused him to almost die!"

"I j-just threw a tablet, I s-swear I don't know what it did!!" The bassist said, trying not to cry after his hopes of Taizo returning were dashed.

"I will only say this once, the two of you. Leave. My. Bandmates. Alone, that is, if you want to live or Darkrai will be the last of your problems--" Just as Taizo was gonna finish his words, a cry from behind them sounded along with a dry cough.

"Yuura!! Yuura, what's wrong?!"

"Taizo, please, why won't you see that they're brainwashing you!"

"They do no such thing to me, Ryuji, you were the ones that tried to do that to me!"

"Taizo, help!!"

At Keiyuu's panicked voice, Taizo immediately turned around only to see Yuura fall on his knees, coughing as if something wasn't allowing him to breathe.

"Yuura! What's wrong, come on, say something!!" Keiyuu was saying frantically, trying to understand what was happening to the older man. Taizo ran to the bassist, gently supporting him as Yasuno glared at Tatsuhi, knowing that whatever the young man had done when the drummer wasn't there, was having a serious effect on their bassist.

"M-my chest... It hu-hurts..." Yuura managed to gasp out in between painful sounding coughs, trying not to black out so he wouldn't scare his friends further but then, he started to cough blood.

"Oh crap! We'd better return and now, you need help!" Yasuno said as he surveyed the state of their bassist, trying to not panic.

While their attention was on Yuura, Ryuji frowned and leaned into Tatsuhi's ear, not knowing what had happened when the shorter bassist had confronted Yuura.

"What did you do, Tatsuhi?"

"Exactly, you bastard, WHAT did you do to my friend?!" Taizo growled dangerously as he got near the short man. Tatsuhi took a step behind, for the first time, really afraid of the guitarist.

"I swear I don't know what is happening! I-I just did what Master wanted me to do, he didn't explain what would h-happen!!" Tatsuhi said, looking honestly scared.

~Meanwhile nearby~

"So he did disobey Master. I'll finally prove it to him that they're no good scum." A male voice whispered as he observed Tatsuhi who was scared and hiding behind his vocalist as Taizo was looking at him with a death glare.

"But damn, if looks could kill, I wouldn't have had to report Master anything with how that guy's looking at him... Well, I'd better go and report."

~Meanwhile in the hospital~

"Tim, stop pacing, you're making me even more nervous..." Jon said as Tim paced around, looking at the operation room every few seconds, anxious about what had happened to their friend.

"I can't, Jon, the wait is driving me insane!!" The younger man said, trying his hardest to not cry, knowing Emile wouldn't have wanted them to cry for him.

Jon got up at that, gently placing a hand on Tim's shoulder, his eyes full of hardly repressed tears.

"I know, Tim. I know." He said, his voice cracking at the last word. Tim's eyes widened at the state of Jon, knowing how much the other young man saw their hurt friend as a little brother despite sometimes being a jerk to him.

"It'll be okay. If Emile wasn't strong enough to survive this, he wouldn't even have become possessed in the first place. He would've instantly died at the intense sensation of the Dread Plate. Don't worry, he'll be okay." Cyrus said in his soft, gentle voice.

~Meanwhile with Kra~

"Come on, Yasuno, we'll take Yuura back. You support him there and I'll take here, okay? Keiyuu, can you and Lucario open the way?" Taizo asked as he took to the still weakly coughing bassist's left side and Yasuno and Keiyuu immediately nodded. Just as they took a step though, Yuura began to scream loudly in pain, trying to hold his heart. His vision blurred even further than it was before and it was all he could do to not faint.

"Hang on, Yuura, we're gonna make you feel better, I promise." Taizo whispered and then, turned to the two who were still watching with fear.

"If I ever see you two anywhere close to my bandmates, both of you, I will kill you!" Just as he finished his words, however, a purple aura engulfed Yuura, burning both the guitarist's and Yasuno's hands and making them accidentally drop Yuura.

The bassist stayed on his knees for a long moment, during which, everyone was looking at him with surprise and worry. The aura burned brightly though and Lucario immediately came in front of the other three, keeping them away from Yuura.

"Yuura?! W-what's going on?!"

At that, Yuura looked up, making everyone gasp. It wasn't his normal, brown eyes anymore. They had turned brightly shining dark purple with no pupils and Yuura hissed at Yasuno who had come closer to him despite Lucario trying to hold the drummer off.

"Y-Yuura?!" Yasuno whispered as the bassist took a defensive stance like a beast while snarling at him.

~2 hours later~

Yasuno stood dead still in the middle of the now-wrecked gardens of Darkrai's fortress, eyes closed as the chaos around him continued.

"Do you think he can do it??" Asked Keiyuu as he dodged another attack from Yuura whose speed had become dangerously high.

"If there's anyone who can bring Yuura out of his reverie, it's Yasuno-kun. You know how close they are." Taizo soothingly said. Just as he was going to add something, Yuura managed to hit him right on the shoulder, his claws making contact and tearing his skin.

"Ah!! Yuura! Stop!"

As Taizo said that, Keiyuu closed his eyes as well, remembering how the bassist had become this way.

~Flashback~

Yuura didn't answer the worried drummer, making everyone even more tense, waiting for something, anything to happen.

"Yuura, talk to me! What's wrong?!" Yasuno took one more step towards the crouching and growling bassist and then, something very unexpected happened, Yuura sprung on the older man, making him fall down onto the ground while the shorter man hissed and tried to claw at his face. Yasuno thankfully managed to clasp his hands onto his face so that he wouldn't get seriously hurt.

"Yuura, stop!!" Keiyuu yelled as Taizo and Tatsuhi came to stop Yuura from killing Yasuno.

"What is happening, Yuura, it's us, come on, come to your senses!" Taizo shouted as he tried hard to restrain the bassist while Keiyuu helped Yasuno to stand up.

That was then, something even more shocking happened. Yuura started to screech and his hair grew long while his hands started to become long and clawed. But somehow, there was almost no changes in his face. Except for the veins that turned dark on his face and his purple eyes.

"Yuura!! What is going on?! He's changing!" Said Keiyuu, tearful. Just as he said that, Yuura gave another animalistic cry and managed to tear himself apart from Taizo and Tatsuhi's restraining hands. And then, he ran away in a fast, abnormal speed.

"Yuura!! Wait!!"

~Meanwhile in Yuura's mind~

Yuura woke up with a start, looking around in confusion. It looked like he was in their old studio. Then, he heard a voice he'd never thought he'd hear again.

"Yuura? Are you okay?"

"M-Mai-cho?! You're okay?!"

At that, Mai's eyebrows rose above his hairline, confused and a bit worried about the bassist.

"Ano, yeah? What's wrong, Yuura? You look like you just saw a ghost."

At that, Yuura couldn't help but pull the guitarist into a deep hug. His eyes were tearful and pained. Seeing that, Mai got worried.

"Okay, you're going to tell me everything you saw in that dream of yours, alright?"

Yuura nodded and began telling. By the time he was finished, Mai was silent. The guitarist looked like he didn't know what he should say about it.

"M-Mai-cho? You're not mad at me, right? I swear I'm not plotting your death or anything!" Yuura said timidly. At that, Mai smiled.

"No, well, that was obviously cowardly of me to do something like that, even in a dream. So, I'm sorry." He said smiling at the older man's wide eyes.

"That was not cowardly, Mai! You died protecting us and what we stood for! You even told Darkrai that we were your family and you wouldn't hurt us even if it got you killed!" Yuura said, frowning at the younger man.

"But still, going there without telling you guys... It's downright stupid, isn't it, Yuura-kun?"

~Meanwhile in real world~

"We have to catch up to Yuura, something seriously bad will happen otherwise..." Said Yasuno, still shaky after the attack he got on himself.

"But Yasuno, you're still injured! Yuura wouldn't want you to over-exert yourself. We can go after him, you need rest!"

"Hell. No! Yuura needs all of us with him right now! Besides, I'm the one who failed him before! I have to clean up my mess!" The drummer said looking down. At that, Ryuji and Tatsuhi also frowned but before they could say anything, Taizo spoke up.

"Let's go then. Before something even worse happens to Yuura." The guitarist said.

"We can do it, right?" Yasuno whispered in a broken voice, blaming himself hardcore. Keiyuu and Taizo looked at eachother and Keiyuu gently hugged the pained man, trying to soothe him.

"Of course we can. Yuura isn't someone that will give up easily, Yasuno. You know that."

~In Darkrai's fortress - current time~

That was then, Yuura suddenly collapsed again, screeching in pain. Looking over at Yasuno, the other members of Kra quickly found what was wrong. The drummer had his eyes squeezed shut, sweat falling down his face as he tried to maintain the trance-like state he was in.

"He's getting tired! Can't we do anything?!" Keiyuu asked Ryuji, panicking.

"I don't know! I wasn't the one who did this to him!!" The other vocalist yelled, trembling slightly. And then, there was a huge light burst and through Yuura's chest, a purple tablet started to come out only to go right back in, obviously fighting against whatever Yasuno was trying to do.

~Meanwhile in Yuura's mind~

"Y-Yasuno!! I'm scared!!" Yuura screamed as he was barely holding onto the edge of a cliff with one hand. The tablet necklace Mai had given him shortly after waking up was dangling from his other hand, almost falling off.

"Yuura, you need to let go!! I swear I'll catch and save you! And let that thing down, it's killing you!! Please! Just let go!!"

"I... I don't want to die... Please, don't let me die like this."

~Meanwhile in real world~

As they kept dodging Yuura's attacks, Keiyuu tearfully hoped that the bassist didn't actually know what he was doing since the short man knew that Yuura wouldn't be able to take it.

"Keiyuu, abunai!!" Taizo yelled in the split second before Yuura's claws connected the scar Keiyuu had on his chest. The vocalist gave out a shout of pain before managing to pull himself together and not let the older man another chance of attacking and quite possibly killing him.

Meanwhile Yasuno was looking like he was barely able to stand but he seemed like he was mouthing something under his breathe.

"Yasuno is saying something! But I can't reach him to know what it is!" Keiyuu panted, looking worried for both of his friends.

"We need to regroup, Keiyuu, Taizo! If not, this is going to hurt us more than it already has!" Latias said, looking like she was about to cry. Especially since she knew just how much it would destroy Yuura if he was able to see the destruction he caused.

"Iie! We won't go anywhere without Yuura with us, no way in hell!" Taizo said and just as he was going to say something more, Yuura jumped up above him and slammed his claw into the ground and actually splitted it right under Tatsuhi's feet and it splitted right open, enough to make the younger bassist fall down under it.

"Tatsuhi!!" Ryuji yelled in horror, running to the splitted ground to see if his best friend was alive. He looked down, tears starting to run down his face as he tried to find Tatsuhi.

"R-Ryuji! Tasukete!!" Came Tatsuhi's terrified voice from only a little deeper. Ryuji immediately went down, careful not to step on the bassist's hand which was barely holding on to an edge.

"Give me your hand!! Come on, Tatsuhi!"

The bassist nodded in fright and barely managed to hold onto Ryuji's outstretched hand. But his weight was too much for the vocalist and he couldn't bring him up.

"Taizo!! Help! I can't hold him for much longer!!"

"No. Not after what he's done. Not after what both of you have done." Taizo's cold voice came from above, making both their eyes widen.

At those words, Keiyuu's voice joined the guitarist's, also seemingly shocked;

"What the hell are you saying?! He needs help! And if Yuura knew he killed somebody, he wouldn't be able to take it, you know that, Taizo. Let alone what Yasuno would think!" The shorter vocalist was saying, surprising both of them.

"Taizo, please! I'm slipping up!!"

"No. You hurt Yuura, you will pay for what you've done like this."

"If you won't help them, I will, Taizo! You protect Yasuno!" Keiyuu said before going down into the big crevice to help them.

~Meanwhile in Yuura's mind~

"Yuura! Hold on to me! I'll pull you up!" Mai's voice suddenly came through, shocking Yasuno. Then, he understood, the younger man was seeing a world where their old guitarist was alive. The drummer blinked to keep the sudden moisture away, knowing that Yuura had to listen to him if he wanted to live.

"Yuura please, listen to me!! You need to fall down, I swear it's not death down there!" Yasuno said, tears bright in his eyes.

"I-I don't know what's happening!!"

"Take my hand, Yuura, take it and we'll be alright." The vision of Mai said but looking up, Yasuno saw not Mai but a dark shadowy thing that tried to take the bassist away from them.

"Yuura, let go! It's not him, Yuura! It's not Mai!" He yelled, his voice breaking at the last word, knowing how much Yuura was hurting over Mai's death.

~Meanwhile in the real world~

Keiyuu came beside the shell-shocked Ryuji and held Tatsuhi's other hand, together with Ryuji, he managed to pull the shivering bassist up. Then, they made the short bassist to get to the top before them, knowing that he was shaken after the experience.

"Why?.. Why, Taizo?.." Tatsuhi whispered, tears of betrayal and fear running down his face. The guitarist didn't even answer him, too busy with trying to protect Yasuno.

And then, Yuura suddenly gave another screech, but this time, the tablet finally going out of his body and causing him to return to normal and fall down, his body too exhausted to keep up. Just as Taizo and Keiyuu ran to him, however, Yasuno fell down as well, not breathing anymore.

The two didn't notice Yasuno had fallen at first, too worried about Yuura. The bassist seemed to be teetering on the edge of unconsciousness and when they looked at his hands, they both gasped. Yuura's hands looked like they had been shattered, from the looks of it.

"Oh no..."

"G-guys..." Yuura managed to breathe, too tired to say anything else.

"We're here, Yuura. It's gonna be okay." Taizo said softly. But the very next thing Yuura managed to whisper, made them pale.

"Where's... Yasu...no-kun? Is... He al...right?"

Keiyuu and Taizo looked at eachother, only then realizing the drummer was not by their side and when they saw the drummer's unconscious body, Taizo spoke up, immediately lying to the bassist so that he wouldn't worry.

"He's fine, you just... Just go to sleep, Yuura." As he said that, Keiyuu paled, realizing that their drummer wasn't breathing.

"Crap!! Yasuno!" Keiyuu said, trying hard not to cry as Tatsuhi and Ryuji came closer to the drummer's body, both shocked as well.

"I'll carry Yuura, will you be able to carry him, Keiyuu??" The guitarist asked, trying his hardest to stay optimistic, hoping that Yasuno was strong enough to survive.

"I-I... I don't know..." Keiyuu's voice broke at the last word, tears already falling.

"Give him to me. I'll help you." Ryuji suddenly said, wanting to help. Just as Taizo was going to decline, Keiyuu nodded, helping the other vocalist to take Yasuno onto his back and then, they went as fast as they could to the hospital.

~Meanwhile with Jon and Tim~

"When are they gonna be finished with him?! It's been two hours already! What if they can't save him!?" Tim said, tearful.

"Give them some more time, Emile's body took quite a strain while trying to expel the Dread Plate, he needs you to be patient." Cyrus said but even though he was saying those words, he was worried as well with how long it was taking the doctors to give them the news.

Just as he said that, a doctor came out of the operation room.

"What happened?! Is Emile gonna be okay?!" Jon asked frantically, scared that his friend hadn't made it.

"Your friend's body was very damaged but with enough rest, he will be good to go. The danger's passed." The man said, making both Jon and Tim sag in relief. They both were happy that Emile would be alright as soon as his body got enough rest.

"Wait a moment... It's gonna be hell to keep him in bed..." Tim muttered, facepalming.

~Meanwhile with Kra~

When they gave the unbreathing Yasuno to Bela and her colleagues to bring him to the ER, Keiyuu collapsed, sobbing against Taizo's side.

"It's gonna be alright, Keiyuu, they're gonna be alright." The guitarist said, gently rubbing the upset vocalist's back.

"H-he promised, Taizo! He promised we wouldn't lose another friend to Darkrai! He... He wouldn't do this to us, right?!"

"Of course not, Keiyuu. Yasuno would never do something like that to us, I know he's going to be okay. You should believe in him."

But after waiting for ten more minutes, Bela came back from the place they had taken Yasuno to, her eyes shimmering with tears.

"What happened?! Is... Is Yasuno alright?!"

"We... We lost him..."

"What?.." Taizo managed to say, his mind not processing the death of their sweet, loving drummer.

"No... NO, please tell me it's a lie! Yasuno can't be... D-dead! We can't lose him as well!!" Keiyuu said, tears falling even more.

"D-do you want to see him one last time?" Bela whispered, she admittedly didn't know Yasuno well but the reaction from those who did know him was heart-wrenching. Keiyuu sobbed as he nodded, wanting to be able to say goodbye to the drummer.

They walked into the room drummer was in, both swallowing in tears. And when they saw his body, Keiyuu ran to it, sobbing as he hugged the cold body. And then, Celebi came closer to the anguished band members, his mind working a mile in a minute.

"I... I can bring him back. But..."

"But what?!" Taizo said, alert as he tried hard not to lose hope.

"I need my Time Flute to do it. But I think it's back at that cursed fortress..." The Time Travel Pokémon said, looking at the lifeless body of the drummer with sadness. He couldn't help but want to help Yasuno like he had helped him.

"I... I might know where it is but it'll be very hard to reach..." Tatsuhi reluctantly said, making their heads turn towards him.

"Then you will show us the way. Or you're going to be regretting you've ever met us." Taizo said coldly.

"Please... I can't lose him, please..." Keiyuu whispered, tears still running down his face unbidden.

~Meanwhile with Yasuno~

Yasuno woke up with a deep shudder, looking around in confusion. He found himself laying on a comfy bed in a white, unadorned room.

"What... The hell??" He whispered, slowly getting up. He tried to remember how he had come into this room and paled as the events of the day rushed through his mind.

"Oh no... Yuura!!" He said, eyes wide in shock. And then, something happened to shock him even further, Mai came into the room.

"M-Mai?!"

"Yasuno-kun... How do you feel?" The guitarist asked softly, reluctantly as if he didn't want to tell him something.

"I... I feel fine if not a bit... Light. What are you doing here though? And where is this place?!"

At that, Mai looked sad, making Yasuno start to feel very worried. But when the other man opened his mouth, the words that came out made Yasuno feel faint.

"You're dead, Yasuno."

"W-what?!" The drummer whispered, shock in his eyes. Mai averted his eyes at the shock in Yasuno's voice.

"What do you remember?"

Yasuno frowned as he tried to remember everything that had happened to him. But when the reason for his current situation came back to his mind, he gasped. At that, Mai looked at him expectantly.

"I'll tell you. It's kind of a long story..."

~Flashback~

"Yuura, let go! It'll be okay, I swear!!" Yasuno yelled, trying hard not to cry.

"Yuura, don't, there's no one there!!" The shadow said in Mai's voice, making the bassist feel really confused.

"I don't know what to do..." Yuura sobbed, trying to comprehend his situation. But Yasuno had another idea.

"Yuura, please, I'll be here to save you, I promise!!" The drummer said and then, Yuura closed his eyes, making Yasuno feel scared that he had failed. The bassist stood still for a long moment and then, he let go, screaming in fear but Yasuno caught him.

"It'll be okay, Yuura." He said and then, he suddenly threw the bassist away from him, seeing the deadly spike that was on the ground. He got impaled by it, the last thing he saw being Yuura getting up and looking at him in horror.

~Flashback ends~

"That damage you got there was probably why you're here. Your body couldn't handle that and expelled your spirit..." Mai whispered, looking down.

"So that's why I'm here?"

"Hai. But it's temporary as the others are going to the only thing that can save you." Mai said, looking sad at the drummer's situation.

~Meanwhile in real world~

"What do we do, Keiyuu? How can we go about finding the Time Flute with Yuura in this state? He'd freak if we're not with him..." Taizo said. Keiyuu shook his head, still crying.

"I don't know..." The vocalist managed out, his voice barely above a whisper.

"We can bring it, Taizo. We're not monsters, you know. You can trust us." Ryuji said, frowning. Tatsuhi nodded timidly, agreeing with his best friend.

"No, I will never trust either of you ever again. Not after this."

Just as the guitarist said that, Bela came to the room, looking worried.

"Your friend is awake and asking for you..."

Keiyuu and Taizo looked at eachother, worried. Neither knew what to say to Yuura.

"Taizo, you go and tell him I... I need to stay with Y-Yasuno-kun... Yuura'd freak if he sees me c-crying." Keiyuu whispered. Taizo nodded and went with Bela, apprehensive about what state Yuura might be in. And when he came into the room, Yuura looked up, still looking tired.

"Taizo-kun... What... What happened to me? I... I don't remember anything!"

"You were... Unconscious, Yuura-kun. We were really worried for you. Are you alright?"

"I... I think so. But I feel like I did something, my hands are crushed for some reason, I couldn't have been only unconscious, Taizo, don't lie to me! Why?! Why can't I just remember?!" Yuura said, trying hard to remember what he had been doing but nothing came to his mind.

Seeing how upset the bassist was, Taizo put a hand on his shoulder, wanting to relax the older man.

"Sometimes, it's best to forget things, Yuura. Believe me, you don't want to remember what happened."

~Meanwhile in Kyo's room~

After they convinced Kyo to go back to sleep, Die turned to Kaoru, trying not to worry but seeing the other guitarist's state, he was starting to feel scared.

"Kaoru, he's okay now. Stop blaming yourself." He said, trying to make the older man acknowledge the fact that he couldn't have known what would happen to their vocalist.

"But still... If I had researched enough, this wouldn't have h-happened..."

"If you did search more, we could have very well lost Shinya, Kaoru. Kyo is strong, he can and did take what happened and come through just fine." Toshiya whispered, keeping the drummer close, needing his closeness after everything that had happened. Shinya smiled, leaning his head on the shaken bassist's shoulder.

~Meanwhile with Yuura and Taizo~

"W-what do you mean, Taizo?! What did I do?! And where are Keiyuu and Yasuno?! Please tell me I d-didn't..." Yuura trailed off, not wanting to say the words that rang in his head.

"You d-didn't, Yuura. Yasuno had to... He had to bring you back but he needs a lot of rest. Keiyuu is with him right now. Don't worry. Everything will be okay." Taizo said and almost sagged in relief at how quickly the bassist believed his white lie.

"I need to remember... Something is wrong, Taizo, I can feel it!" Yuura said tearfully, trying to make sense of his jumbled thoughts and feelings.

"Nothing is wrong, Yuura. But you look like you need more sleep." Taizo said softly, gently making the older man lay back down on the bed.

"Just sleep, Yuura-kun. I promise everything will be okay."

"But... What about my hands? Are they salvageable?" Yuura asked, looking at his bandaged hands. He was scared that his hands were too damaged to play bass anymore.

"I'll ask the doctors, they didn't say anything about it. But I'm sure we'll find a way." The guitarist said, his eyes full of tears as he thought of Yasuno. And then, he went out of the room, still trying not to lose the battle with his tears as he went back to the room with Yasuno's lifeless body.

"What did Y-Yuura say, Taizo? Is he... Does he remember anything?" Keiyuu whispered, holding the cold hand of their beloved drummer.

"No, thank God he doesn't. If he remembered what happened..." Taizo trailed off with a slight shudder. Keiyuu nodded as he looked down on Yasuno, his tears silently running down his face.

"Does he know? That Yasuno's..."

"No! I couldn't have just told him, you know that! If I told Yuura that he was gone who knows how he'd react to that!!"

"Y-you lied to him?! But we can't hide Yasuno's death from him for long, Taizo, we have to do something!" Keiyuu said, eyes wide. Taizo nodded at that but in the next moment, he froze, seeing Yuura standing frozen in the doorway.

"Oh. Crap..." The guitarist whispered, looking at Yuura's white face. At that, Keiyuu turned around only for his eyes to get wide as plates.

"Yuura, are you a-alright?!" The vocalist stuttered as they watched the bassist come closer to the body of Yasuno. And then, just as he came to beside the drummer, Yuura collapsed, his eyes suddenly closing on their own and his legs not supporting him.

"Yuura!! Breathe! Come on, just breathe!!" Taizo cried, barely managing to hold the falling man on time.

"What's happening to him?!" Keiyuu asked frantically, scared that they might lose Yuura as well.

"I... I think he's remembering..." Celebi said, looking at the nearly unconscious bassist with worry growing in his heart.

Right after he said that, Yuura snapped out of his reverie, only to bolt straight towards the bathroom, barely managing to get there in time to empty his stomach on a toilet.

"Yuura, breathe. Just breathe." Keiyuu said, holding the older man close. After a long moment, Yuura seemed to have noticed the vocalist who was clinging onto him for dear life.

"H-he gave his life for me..." Yuura whispered as he looked up at Keiyuu's anguished face. The other man tried hard to calm him down but the tears of Yuura wouldn't stop.

"Yuura, Yasuno wouldn't just let you die, you know that. Please, I can't lose you too!" Keiyuu said, crying as well as he held onto the bassist, desperate for comfort.

~Meanwhile with Yasuno and Mai~

"I missed you so much, Mai-cho..." Yasuno whispered, making Mai slightly uneasy.

"I missed you too, Yasuno. I miss all of you but know that I'm watching over you all the time. I will never give up on that, ever." The guitarist said softly, his eyes teary.

"R-really?! Can I do that too, since I'm here and all..." Yasuno trailed off awkwardly, unsure if he should ask that. Mai smiled at his uncertainty.

"Come with me. I'll help you about that, okay?" The younger man said and led Yasuno out of the room. The guitarist brought his friend into another white, simple room with a giant bowl in the center of it. Yasuno looked curiously at the bowl, not knowing what to do when Mai gestured to him to come closer to the bowl.

"Look inside it, Yasuno-kun. You'll see them."

The drummer hesitantly went and looked in the bowl only to see the state of his friends. He gasped at how much his death was hurting the others.

"You can also feel what they're thinking, Yasuno, just focus on who you want to know." Mai said softly. Seeing how anguished the others were was also affecting him, knowing he could do nothing about it. Yasuno nodded and focused on Yuura, gasping as he felt the bassist's intense guilt and pain.

"Why is he blaming himself?!"

~Meanwhile with Keiyuu and Yuura~

"What do we do now, Keiyuu?.. We lost Yasuno... How do we move on?! Why did it have to be him?!" Yuura whispered, tears still running down his face. Keiyuu shook his head. He didn't know why Yasuno was the one to lose his life either.

"C-Celebi-san said he might have a chance to bring him back... But..." The vocalist trailed off, swallowing.

"But what?! What do we have to do?!" Yuura said, starting to feel a shimmer of hope in his heart.

"We'll have to go back to that horrid castle... Celebi-san says he needs his Time Flute to be able to bring Yasuno back." Taizo who had found them said, shaking his head.

"I'll go! It was my fault that he's d-dead, I need to redeem myself!"

"No. You'll have to stay with him. With your hands as they are right now, you won't be able to do anything, Yuura. But you can make sure no one gets to Yasuno's body, right?"

Yuura tried to clench his fists but he couldn't since he hardly even could feel his hands at the moment, disappointed and scared for Yasuno's sake.

"Yuura, please, you can help him by staying, you know. Please stop blaming yourself." Taizo said softly, worried as hell for the bassist as well.

"We need to go though, the more time we spend here talking, the less chance to bring Yasuno-kun back to us." Keiyuu said, looking worried. After that, both Keiyuu and Taizo left, leaving Yuura to stay by the drummer's dead body.

~Meanwhile with Mai and Yasuno~

"I'm so glad I could see you at least one more time, Mai. I... I'm not sure I'd have been able to cope with the truth of my death if it was anyone else but you who told me." Yasuno said, still sad. Mai smiled at that, grateful for the older man's words.

"Of course it would be me who told you, Yasuno. I'd never let someone else to do such a thing. And when you return to your body, Yasuno-kun, would you please tell Yuura that he needs to stop being so stubborn? I was so scared that he would die instead in that horrible castle." The guitarist said.

"Of course I will! Hell, I will tell him a lot of things, amongst that."

"It's about his guilt, isn't it?" Mai sighed, looking down at the bowl that now showed the bassist crying as he held onto Yasuno's lifeless hand.

"Yeah... I can't believe Yuura is blaming himself for it. I mean, I gave my life to protect him, he didn't have a choice in the matter!"

"What would you feel like if you were in his place, Yasuno?" Mai asked, looking seriously at the drummer. Yasuno was taken aback, not having expected to hear those words. Then he turned back to look at the bassist's hurt form. That was then, he could hear the words he was saying.

"Why, Yasuno?.. Why did you do this to yourself?! God, I'm so sorry! I should've listened to you from the goddamn beginning!!"

~Meanwhile with Taizo and Keiyuu~

After they reached the castle, the first thing Keiyuu and Taizo did was to hide in the back a stone pillar, not wanting to get caught. But as the patroller passed by, they could see that it was Gustav, ready to bring down whoever tried to enter.

"Kuso! What do we do, Taizo?!" Keiyuu whispered frantically, trying to keep himself from panicking.

"Wakaranai! But we need to be quick! Every moment counts now!"

Just as Keiyuu was going to risk it and run, Ryuji came out, his Pokéball ready.

"Hey, Gustav, wanna spar?" The taller vocalist called out, smirking. Gustav only nodded, his red eyes gleaming. When the drummer wasn't looking though, Ryuji looked around with hesitation, not seeing Taizo and Keiyuu.

"Now's our chance! Let's go!" Taizo said, dragging Keiyuu and making a beeline for the doors. Thankfully, Gustav didn't notice them as Ryuji kept the drummer busy.

"We're in! Now what do we do?!"

"Taizo! Over here!!" Tatsuhi said in a loud whisper, looking around nervously. Keiyuu and Taizo immediately went to stand by him and then, the bassist guided them towards the Time Flute. But just as Taizo was going to get it, a voice came from right behind them.

"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?"

The trio fastly turned around only to see Gustav grinning evilly at them. Tatsuhi gasped in fear, knowing that the influenced drummer was much more powerful than him.

"You're never gonna stop us, that I can promise you, Gustav-san." Taizo said, his eyes narrowing. Gustav looked taken aback at the look on Taizo's eyes and then, Tatsuhi yelled;

"Where is Ryuji-kun?! What did you do to him?!"

"Master has already taken him. Now it's your turn, traitor."

Tatsuhi paled, taking a step back in fear. He didn't know what to do to get his best friend back. While they were talking, Taizo took Keiyuu back a bit, frowning.

"Watashitachi wa ima Time Flute o toru koto ga dekiru! Come on, Keiyuu!" The guitarist said urgently. Keiyuu looked shocked though.

"B-but what about them!? We can't just let him get taken by Darkrai!" The vocalist said in a loud whisper, shocked at how much Taizo didn't care for his old bandmates. Taizo shook his head, obviously not wanting to help Tatsuhi. Keiyuu sighed in irritation at the stubborn taller man.

"G-get the Flute! Taizo, get it!! I-I'll be fine, just get it!"

Taizo immediately took the Time Flute but then, Darkrai himself came into the room, ready to take it back. And just as he was about to, they heard an unexpected person to come.

"Oh, don't you dare!!"

~Meanwhile with Mai and Yasuno - Half an hour ago~

"God, we need to do something, Mai, I can't just sit still when Yuura is blaming himself like this!" Yasuno said, his eyes full of tears. Mai shook his head though, close to crying himself.

"We-we can't, Yasuno. I truly wish we could but... We can't..." The guitarist whispered, his voice breaking on the last word.

"But he'll do something stupid, I can tell!"

"W-we can only watch and see, Yasuno... I... I'm sorry... I couldn't even help Yuura when you guys were in that horrid castle, it hurt, Yasuno, it hurt to watch and be able to do nothing to protect either of you!" Mai said, finally breaking down. Yasuno gently held the sobbing guitarist, understanding his pain.

"Mai, look at me. There was nothing you could've done. Neither Yuura nor I would ever blame you, you said yourself that it hurt you to be in the living world since you're dead. We would never think any less of you." The drummer said softly, trying to calm the younger man down. Then, he turned back to the bowl, worried sick for Yuura's sake. That was then, he heard and saw Yuura's determination.

"I... I can't sit still when the others are risking their lives! I'll be back, Yasuno. I promise." He said before going out of the room. Yasuno gasped when he saw that, starting to feel scared.

~Meanwhile in Darkrai's castle - current time~

"Yuura?!" Keiyuu and Taizo chorused, shocked. Yuura didn't look at them though, too pissed off at Darkrai and Gustav.

"What the hell are you doing here?!"

"I was not about to let you fight for him on your own! And I have a trick up my sleeve, don't worry about me." The bassist said before he turned to the dark corner of the room, shocking the other two further.

"Come on out, Hawlucha! Use Flying Press on that Graveler!!"

As Yuura commanded the Wrestling Pokémon with utter stony anger, Keiyuu and Taizo stared at the pissed off bassist with shock. Neither knew where the bassist had found a Pokémon. That was then, Yuura came to stand beside them, checking if they were alright.

"Come on, Hawlucha, use Bounce! Are you two alright?!"

"We're fine, Yuura. We got the Flute as well." Taizo said, looking at the bassist with curiosity.

"Thank Kami-sama! We need to go now, we can't dawdle any longer here!" Yuura said and called his new Pokémon back to his side.

"You guys are such cowards, you can't even face me and Master bravely." Gustav sneered, smirking at them. Keiyuu wanted to answer but Taizo stopped him.

"No we are not, we just want to save someone dear to us and at the same time, put a stop to your dear Master's plans. Now if you'll excuse us, we have some serious work to do." Taizo said as he attempted to brush the Pitch Black Pokémon aside bravely. But then, Darkrai sent a Dark Pulse right into the guitarist, making him collide with the wall behind them.

"Taizo-kun!!" Yuura ran to the younger man along with Keiyuu and just as he was about to give him a hand to get up, he noticed the claw marks on the slightly shorter man's shoulder and gasped. Behind him, Keiyuu winced, knowing the reason of Taizo's wound was not something Yuura could take.

"W-what happened to your shoulder?!"

"We'll tell you later, we need to go right now, remember?" Taizo said calmly even though he was also apprehensive about explaining to the bassist about what had happened.

~Meanwhile with Mai and Yasuno~

"Where on Earth did Yuura-kun get a Pokémon?!" Mai asked with wide, shocked eyes. Yasuno smiled softly, recognizing the Wrestling Pokémon from when they had gone into Darkrai's castle.

"We saw it in that horrible castle, though its wing was busted the first time we saw it. I guess Yuura gave it to a doctor so it can fight again." Yasuno said, still smiling.

"At least he can defend himself and the others now." Mai sighed, relieved.

~Meanwhile in Darkrai's fortress~

"You will never get back to where you were. I will not let you." Darkrai said ominously. But none of them were fazed or scared, too concerned about Yasuno's situation to be so.

"We're gonna fight for Yasuno till the end! You're not gonna keep us busy, Darkrai! Come on, Hawlucha, use Flying Press on Darkrai!!" Yuura yelled as he tried to point at the Pitch Black Pokémon, shocking both Gustav and Tatsuhi. His brave Wrestling Pokémon nodded and jumped up high above Darkrai and then, she became outlined with white energy and dove right into Darkrai, damaging the Pitch Black Pokémon good.

"Come on, guys, let's go!" Yuura said and then, turned to Tatsuhi, wanting to bring him out as well, despite what the younger man had done to him.

"You go! I... I need to find Ryuji-kun! I'll be fine--" The girlish looking man was saying right before he got hit by a Rock Blast from Gustav's Graveler. He flew into the farthest wall, some blood coming out of his mouth and he slumped against it, fainted. But when Keiyuu and Yuura wanted to help him, Taizo stopped them and with that, they got out of the castle even though the two of them were quite worried for Tatsuhi.

~Half an hour later~

Keiyuu, Taizo and Yuura went back into the hospital, all hoping they were not too late to save Yasuno's life.

"Good, you are back. I was worried you wouldn't make it." Celebi said upon seeing them, obviously quite relieved.

"What do we need to do now?! We'll do anything you say, just tell us, please!" Yuura begged the Time Travel Pokémon, his eyes full of tears.

"Who is the most talented in music amongst you?" Celebi asked, serious. The three of them looked at eachother and then, Taizo turned to Celebi.

"I think it's Keiyuu, he knows how to play a lot of instruments."

Keiyuu looked timidly at the Time Travel Pokémon now that he had been pointed out, not knowing what he was supposed to do. Celebi smiled at him to make him understand that he didn't mean any harm.

"You can play the flute? Because only a human can play the Time Flute for what we are attempting to do here."

Keiyuu gulped at that and nodded, hoping that his skills were going to be enough to bring Yasuno back to them. Then he delicately took the Time Flute Taizo gave him and then, they all looked at Celebi, awaiting his next request. And then, the Time Travel Pokémon smiled again, deciding on what the vocalist should do first.

"First, I would like to heal your hands, Yuura. Because they probably will not heal by themselves." He said, making Yuura's eyes go wide with a mixture of fear and shock. Keiyuu and Taizo had paled immediately as well, knowing how much Yuura cared for his hands.

"Do not worry, once Keiyuu starts playing, I can heal them like they were new."

"H-hai..." Yuura said, his eyes full of tears as he hoped with all his heart that whatever Celebi was attempting to do to his hands would work.

"Let us start then. Keiyuu, start playing. Just let yourself get into it, the notes will come naturally. Yuura, keep your hands in the light that will soon shine."

Keiyuu and Yuura nodded and then, the vocalist started playing, a soft, gentle melody that indeed made a ray of light appear much to their surprise. And when Yuura put his hands under the shining rays of light, he felt a warm sensation running up all the way to his elbows. He gasped at that, staring at his hands which were healing rapidly. And when Keiyuu was finished, the feeling of his hands had returned and they were restored, as the Time Travel Pokémon had said.

"Arigatou, Celebi-san. I can't even tell how much that means for me." Yuura said with gratitude. Celebi shook his head with a smile and then, turned serious.

"Now we just need to bring your friend back. Keiyuu, get ready. And you two, you need to restrain him. I am afraid it will not be easy to bring him back right now."

~Meanwhile with Mai and Yasuno~

"Yasuno?" Mai said, very uneasy. At that, the drummer looked confused. The guitarist was happy just a moment ago but now, the smile on his face looked a little forced.

"Mai? What's the matter?"

"It's... It's time to go..."

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

"They... They got what they needed so... You're going back... I'm sorry, Yasuno. But this is the last goodbye for us..." Mai said, closing his eyes to keep from crying.

"But... But I'm not ready to go! I-I can't leave you on your own again!!" The drummer said but Mai didn't let him say anything more.

"You need to go, Yasuno. I know it is hard. It's hard for me too, losing you once again, but think of the others, Yuura especially, they are devastated and only you can get them happy again." The guitarist said, dragging Yasuno to the room he had awakened in. And then, a strange rainbow made from music notes appeared, surprising Yasuno.

"Goodbye, Yasuno..." Was all Mai said before pushing him into the rainbow, his tears running down his face.

"NO! Mai!!"

~Meanwhile with the rest of Kra~

Taizo and Yuura was trying to restrain Yasuno's body as Keiyuu kept playing the song he was playing so that they would have their drummer back, his eyes closed as he focused on Yasuno and nothing else.

"Come on, Yasuno, don't leave us like this!" Keiyuu thought, his eyes tearing up.

" You promised, Yasuno, you promised!!" Yuura thought while he assisted Taizo to restrain the other man's thrashing body.

"You're too strong to do this to us, Yasuno, please just come back!!" Taizo thought and when he finished the song, Yasuno suddenly gasped and groaned but didn't open his eyes. His body fell limply against the mattress, not responding.

"Y-Yasuno-kun??"

The drummer didn't answer but he was now breathing, obviously not dead anymore.

"Are you sure this is it? Cause I feel weird and it didn't seem to do much..." Keiyuu trailed off, worried. Taizo and Yuura frowned at the singer's word choice, starting to feel worried for him as well.

"Don't worry, the danger has finally passed. You only need to keep him warm and let him rest. Let him come back to you on his own, he will do so soon, I can tell." Celebi said, sighing in relief along with all three of them.

~Meanwhile with Georg~

Georg woke up with a small groan, blinking as he pushed himself up on the bed and looked around and what he saw made his heart feel all warm for some reason he didn't understand. Bill and his Minun were asleep with the blue Cheering Pokémon on the vocalist's lap as his trainer dozed off himself with his head dropping down every few seconds.

"You're finally awake." Tom's voice came from his left side, making the bassist turn to him to see his expression. The other teen though, only looked relieved. His small and loyal Poochyena was right beside the young man, making Georg smile at them.

"Yeah. My head is better too. Is your twin okay?"

"Yeah. Bill's just fine. Let's not wake him up though, it's been... A tough three weeks for him especially, getting trapped inside a Sphere of Death..." Tom said, shuddering as he remembered how his younger twin tried to call for help from inside the horrible thing.

Georg nodded and then, he watched the tall teen sleep along with Tom. That was then, he suddenly had a strong migraine, starting to remember. Tom looked at him with worry as the images in his mind were running before his eyes. Images of his bandmates and best friends.

~Meanwhile with Kra~

"When do you think Yasuno will wake up, Celebi-san?" Taizo asked, looking at the sleeping drummer with worry.

"I cannot tell. But believe me, he is going to be alright if not very cold because of how long he was dead for." The Time Travel Pokémon said. That made Keiyuu go to get a thick blanket for the oldest of them. And while he was going, Yuura happened to look towards the window and saw that it was raining heavily.

"Look, it's raining!" He said, making the others turn towards the window and watch the rain.

"Weird, it was sunny just a few moments ago..." Taizo frowned, confused.

And then, Keiyuu returned with the warm blanket and gently put it on Yasuno, covering him up to his head in hopes to warm him up and bring him back to them faster.

"Taizo, I really think we should check on your old bandmates, their situation is not good at all..." Keiyuu said, frowning but the other man shook his head, stubborn about the matter.

"Why are you so stubborn?! They could be tortured right now, Taizo!" Keiyuu said, frowning angrily as Yuura looked between them, surprised at how much Taizo didn't care for his ex-bandmates.

"I agree with Keiyuu, Taizo, you should be a bit more merciful towards them, they did help us get the Time Flute, you know." Yuura said softly, not understanding why Taizo was so angry at even the mention of them.

"No. After what they've done, I won't help them!" Taizo said, anger flashing in his eyes at the thought of what had happened to Yuura and Yasuno. The other two sighed, knowing how stubborn Taizo was, he would never agree to help either Ryuji or Tatsuhi. That was then, Yuura yawned widely.

"Go to sleep, Yuura-kun. You've been tired out in the last few days. I promise it'll be just fine when you wake up."

Yuura shook his head though, not wanting to go to sleep and miss Yasuno waking up. But as Keiyuu and Taizo went to get some food for Yasuno to eat when he was awake, Yuura felt the sleep creeping upon him even though he tried to resist and he was asleep in minutes.

~Half an hour later~

Yasuno woke up, blinking sleep out of his eyes. He looked around only to see Yuura slumped forward on his chair right beside where the drummer had been laying, deeply asleep. Suddenly though, Yasuno shivered and pulled the covers on himself tighter and decided to go find his other bandmates.

"Oh, so you're awake now. Do not wake him up, he has not slept much in these last two days." Said Celebi's voice from the doorway just as he got up and when the drummer looked up, he saw the tiny Pokémon coming towards him along with the Hawlucha him and Yuura had found in Darkrai's castle.

"Hai, what happened though, is Yuura alright??"

"Haw, Hawlucha." The Wrestling Pokémon quietly cried as to not wake up her trainer.

"Yes, he's fine but he and all of your friends were frightened for you. You might want to talk to them." The Time Travel Pokémon said, looking concerned. Yasuno immediately nodded and following Celebi, he went out of the room. After going a little bit more out of the room, he started hearing the voices of his friends.

"I really hope he wakes up soon, I seriously want to talk to him..." Keiyuu was saying and that, gave Yasuno the idea of scaring the younger man a bit. He signed to Taizo who had seen him to be silent and then came right behind Keiyuu and hugged him, making the short man squeak and jump.

"W-What the HELL?!" Keiyuu shrieked but upon seeing who had hugged him, he immediately started crying and hugging the older man tightly.

"Oh thank God you're awake! I... I thought we'd lost you forever, Yasuno-kun..." He whispered, burying his head into the drummer's chest as Taizo also hugged him tightly.

"Guys, I-I can't b-breathe!" Yasuno managed to gasp out as they hugged him, surprised at the attention.

At that, both of them let go of the surprised drummer, looking at him in what seemed to be slight fear. Looking at them though, Yasuno could see how worn out they both were.

"What happened to me? And what about Yuura?! I saw him unconscious when I woke up, is he alright?!" He asked, trying not to think of the worst case scenerio already. Keiyuu and Taizo both smiled at that, knowing Yuura had finally succumbed to sleep after being so scared for Yasuno's sake.

"He's fine, I think the exhaustion finally got the better of him." Taizo said in a soothing tone, hugging Yasuno once again.

"As for what happened to you, I don't think you really want to know, Yasuno." Added Keiyuu, shuddering slightly at the reminder. Yasuno nodded, trying not to think about it and even though he was even more curious, he didn't ask anything more. And then, he shivered a bit, still cold.

"Come with me, Yasuno. Bela-san made some hot chocolate for you, you'll warm up when you drink it." Taizo said but then, Yuura came running, completely panicked.

"G-guys! Yasuno is gone!! I swear I only fell asleep for a minute and then he was gone!!" The bassist said, scared. Yasuno's eyebrows went on top of his hairline, confused about how distraught the younger man was.

"I'm here, Yuura. It's alright." He said, taken aback at the pain and fear in the younger man's eyes. At that, Yuura's head snapped to him immediately and then, Yasuno found himself on the ground, his arms full of a sobbing bassist.

"What were y-you thinking, you baka?! Giving your life for me!!" The bassist sobbed, hugging the drummer tightly. Yasuno just smiled gently hugging the other man. Then Keiyuu came and helped both of them up to their feet, smiling for the first time in two days.

~Meanwhile with Shin~

Shin's mind was reeling. After a long argument, they had let him see the list for the cure they were making and when he'd seen the last ingredient, he wasn't sure what to think. On one hand, Darkrai would be furious if he lost the young drummer. But on the other hand, he would get back to his past, staying with the people that would protect him with their very lives.

"Shin? I know it's hard to take in. But please, at least consider it, okay?" Strify said, slightly tearful.

"I guess that's... Only fair..." Was all he said as his brain continued weighing the pros and cons to the situation on his hands. At that, Strify smiled in relief along with Luminor who were the only two awake in the room at the moment.

"Danke..."

"Zan, Zangoose!" Strify's Zangoose suddenly bursted into the room, looking slightly scared.

"What's wrong, Zangoose?" The singer said, frowning as he went to calm the Cat Ferret Pokémon down, concerned.

"Hello."

~Meanwhile with Kra~

After Yasuno got his hot chocolate from Bela, he, along with the other two, watched Keiyuu sleep as he caught up on what had happened in the two days he had missed.

"So, Yuura, what do you remember?"

"I only remember what I s-saw in my mind, nothing else... I... I remember what happened to you to k-kill you..." Yuura said and then, Yasuno gently held him to get the bassist to let his tears out. But that was then, a sudden burst of light from Keiyuu's body shocked them to look at the still asleep vocalist. And when the light subsided, they all looked at the little, brown chick-like Pokémon in the place of their vocalist, all shocked. The Pokémon suddenly gave a small, cute yawn and woke up.

"Keiyuu?" Asked Taizo, unsure.

The Pokémon immediately turned towards the guitarist, chirping. And then, it looked shocked at its own voice and then, the small Pokémon decided to hop off the bed to see itself in a mirror.

"Is that really you, Keiyuu?!" Yuura asked with shock while Taizo and Yasuno were biting their lips to not laugh. Meanwhile, the Pokémon tried to jump high enough to see itself in the mirror. Seeing how it couldn't do it, Yuura decided to help by taking it into his arms and lifting it.

"Tor!! Torchic!!!" The Pokémon cried, shocked.

~Meanwhile in Darkrai's fortress~

"He might still come..." Tatsuhi whispered as he tried to breathe through the pain in his body. He and Ryuji both were chained in the dungeons, awaiting Darkrai's cruel punishment.

"Admit it, Tatsuhi, Taizo will never come for us... He... He probably... Forgot about us already..." Ryuji said, his eyes full of tears. Just as he said that, however, the Pitch Black Pokémon came with a Miltank in tow.

"Use Rollout on that traitor." The cruel Legendary Pokémon ordered, pointing at Ryuji.

"Iie!! I disobeyed you, not him! Onegai, leave him alone!!" Tatsuhi said, trying to protect the vocalist from further harm.

~Meanwhile with Shin~

Luminor, Shin and Strify stared at the red-headed young girl who had come into the room with Strify's panicked Zangoose with both curiosity and slight worry.

"Who are you?" Asked Luminor after a moment of silence. But what she said shocked the three the next moment.

"I am Latias and you have something that belongs to me and my brother."

~Meanwhile with Kra~

At the small Pokémon's shocked cry, Taizo and Yasuno couldn't hold their laughter in anymore and they started laughing hard at Keiyuu's situation. At that, Keiyuu wriggled out of the amused bassist's arms and pecked Taizo. He didn't peck Yasuno though, not wanting to really hurt the drummer after what he had been through.

"Hey! Why didn't you peck him too?! He was laughing at you too!" Taizo protested while Yasuno was surprised about it as well.

"Torchic, Tor." The vocalist cried, swallowing slightly at the reminder of what had happened to the oldest of them. Yasuno sighed, figuring out the reason easily and he kneeled in front of Keiyuu whose head was hanging down.

"You can peck me, you know, I'm not really hurt anymore, I feel just fine." The drummer said, smiling at the small Pokémon. That was then, Celebi came back and saw the situation.

"Where's Keiyuu??" The Time Travel Pokémon asked, confused and then, his eyes fell onto the brown-colored Torchic that stayed near Yasuno. His eyes widened and he came closer to the young man who had turned into a Pokémon.

"Why did he turn into a Pokémon all of a sudden, Celebi-san? How can we reverse it?" Yasuno asked, absent-mindedly petting the obviously disgruntled vocalist.

~Meanwhile in Darkrai's fortress~

"You will have your turn as well, be silent or else he will get it worse." The Pitch Black Pokémon said dangerously. As he said that, the Miltank finished her Rollouts on Ryuji's already battered body. Now the vocalist looked like he was half dead already.

"Ryuji, nani ka itte yo!!" Tatsuhi said, trying not to cry. At that, Ryuji only groaned in pain but tried to look up briefly, relieving Tatsuhi that he was indeed alive. Then, Darkrai's eyes flashed and he sent a Shadow Ball onto the already hurt and frightened bassist's body. Tatsuhi tried to get away from it, his chains clinking.

"Take him away. We are going to use him as the latest test subject." Darkrai said to a pair of minions who had come in.

~Meanwhile with Kra~

"I... I think it was because of how long he had to use my Time Flute for, it had a backlash on him." Celebi said, concerned. Keiyuu looked kinda surprised at that but then, he made a small chirp and snuggled against Yasuno who looked a little guilty, obviously not blaming him.

"About that, Yasuno-kun. Will you please promise us you will never do something like this again?" Taizo asked seriously. But he got a shock the next moment when the drummer shook his head.

"No."

"What do you mean 'No'?! You died, Yasuno, we never want to see you like that again!!" Yuura said, actually angry. But Yasuno smiled and shook his head once more.

"I won't promise I will never do that again. You guys are far more precious for me to do such a thing. All of you." He said, smiling softly and then rubbed his arm when Keiyuu annoyedly pecked him, unhappy with the drummer's stubbornness.

"Ow! Keiyuu!!"

~Meanwhile in Darkrai's fortress~

Tatsuhi tried hard to undo his bonds to reach to Ryuji again, wishing Taizo came through for the two of them. But even if the guitarist did, it would already be too late for him by the time the older man was there. He just wanted Ryuji and his beloved Delcatty would make it out of the castle.

"Bring the Sky Plate. The experiment shall commence." Was all one of the scientists said before a blue, harmless looking tablet was brought out. But Tatsuhi knew how dangerous this thing could be, knowing from Yuura's state only two days before.

"Please, Taizo, help..."

~Meanwhile with Kra~

"You can be such a stubborn idiot sometimes, Yasuno-kun..." Said Taizo, shaking his head as Yasuno rubbed his arm again, trying to make it less hurt and trying to warm up still. Yuura nodded, still not very happy with the drummer's declaration even though it was obviously heartfelt.

"Oh, look who's talking, you're easily the most stubborn one out of us, Taizo. But seriously, I would give my life for all of you, not just Yuura-kun." The older man said, smiling slightly.

"We know. That's what is scaring us, to be honest." Yuura said while Keiyuu chirped and nodded, much to Yasuno's surprise.

~Meanwhile with Tatsuhi~

"Your friend will never come for you. He's happy. With others." One of the women scientists said, smiling evilly at how Tatsuhi's eyes filled with tears at those words. The woman had caught his weakest spot.

"You can't know that!! I believe in him!" He said right before the table he was on started to move. That made the bassist's heart beat twice as fast in complete fear. Then, the Sky Plate was pushed into him, making him scream in pain.

"Please, please stop!!"

~Meanwhile with Shin~

"Oh no..." Luminor muttered as Latias changed her forme to her real form to prove herself. He knew that the Eon Pokémon probably did not want to let her held item to be in the possession of humans.

"Please, don't take it from us now, I swear we will never use it for something bad, we just want our friend, Shin here back!" Strify said, trying very hard not to cry at the thought of one of the ingredients for the cure being taken away from them.

Latias frowned at that, unable to understand what the singer meant until she took a look at Shin and his red eyes. She gasped, remembering how Latios had become a monster under Darkrai's control.

"Th-those eyes... Darkrai did something, did he not?!" She said, shocked. Strify only nodded, shuddering at the reminder. That was then, Kiro yawned and woke up, blinking sleep out of his eyes as he pushed himself up on his chair.

"What'd I miss?" He said after seeing Latias, frowning in confusion.

~Meanwhile with Kra~

"Guys you don't have to fear that. As long as you keep yourselves safe, I'll be just fine and content." Yasuno said softly. That was then, Yuura sighed softly, uneasy.

"What's the matter, Yuura?"

"Well, it's about Taizo's old bandmates... Darkrai got to them--" The bassist was saying much to Taizo's chagrin and Yasuno looked shocked as he interrupted him.

"Nani?! Why are we here then?! We've got to help them!" The drummer exclaimed but Taizo still shook his head.

"I think they deserve whatever's coming to them, after what they've done to the two of you." The guitarist said but in the next moment, he rubbed his head and arm from both Keiyuu and Yasuno's assaults, annoyed.

"We're going, Taizo and that's that! No one deserves what Darkrai can do."

"B-but Yasuno--"

"No. Buts. Come on, let's go before they're killed or something."

~Meanwhile with Tatsuhi~

"The Plate is rejecting him! We have to make sure it stays inside!!" One of the scientists said, trying to keep the Sky Plate inside Tatsuhi who was bleeding and foaming at the mouth. The woman scientist who had taunted the bassist before smirked.

"Leave it to me." She said before coming beside the struggling bassist. She just pressed on the tablet, pushing it deep inside the struggling, whimpering young man. That was then, Tatsuhi let out a scream, his eyes flashing with a blue light. But even with the efforts of the woman, the Sky Plate resurfaced from the bassist's chest, falling onto the floor and leaving the bassist nearly unconscious.

"T-Taizo...kun... H-help..." He managed to utter with his last piece of strength and then, he fainted.

~Meanwhile with Ryuji~

Ryuji sobbed as he tried to undo his bonds, desperate. He wanted to find Tatsuhi and get out of the castle. The vocalist had woken up at the sound of his best friend's scream of pain and since then, he kept trying to get out.

"How could you do this to us, Taizo..." He whispered, tears falling down his face.

Just as he said that, still struggling to get free, a loud noise came from just outside the dungeons, making him flinch at the thought of what they might have done to Tatsuhi.

But then, he saw something miraculous. Three of the members of Kra came in with a small, brown Torchic and a Hawlucha, Taizo included.

"N-no way!!" Ryuji whispered, absolutely shocked. Then he snapped up, wanting to save Tatsuhi first.

"It's okay, Ryuji-san, we're gonna get you and your friend out of here." Said Yasuno softly as he and Yuura tried to open the shackles that kept the vocalist in place. But Ryuji shook his head silently, knowing they had hurt Tatsuhi far worse than him.

"Please, save Tatsuhi... T-they took him away and did something to him! I don't know what but they did something! I h-heard his screams!"

"We don't hear any screams, Ryuji. Why should we believe you?" Taizo asked, narrowing his eyes. But when the vocalist turned to him, Taizo was taken aback at the anger in his eyes.

"You bastard!! You could've taken him out! He believed in you! He believed that you would come eventually!! But you left us alone! I'll never forgive you, Taizo!!" Ryuji yelled, hurting inside. Taizo didn't even answer him and turned away but inside, he was shocked that Tatsuhi still had believed in him even after he'd refused to save him once.

"It's gonna be okay, Ryuji-san. We're gonna find Tatsuhi-san and get out. Don't worry, he's gonna be alright."

"Tor, Torchic." The small Pokémon chirped, coming beside the exhausted vocalist and looking at his wounds.

"I'm... I'm coming with you! No way in hell am I trusting you again, Taizo! For all I know, you might hurt him even more!" Ryuji said even though his legs hardly carried him.

"No. You should wait here, you're already badly injured, Ryuji-san. I promise we'll bring him back to you safely." Yuura said, gentle. He didn't even want to think about how he would've felt if he was in Ryuji's place.

~Meanwhile with Shin~

"Who's this Pokémon?! Asked Kiro curiously as his Plusle looked shocked. She obviously knew the Eon Pokémon and she didn't like the thought of what she must have come for.

"Hello. I am Latias, the holder of the Soul Dew." She said, making Kiro's eyes widen.

"Schaiße!!" Kiro muttered, understanding what the Eon Pokémon had come for.

"Why do you want our item so much? You cannot use it as we can, after all." Latias said, trying not to hope too much for a cure to be found. But what Luminor said shocked her.

"We... We have a cure to bring people back from Darkrai's control. We only want it for that purpose, I swear we're not going to use it for anything else."

~Meanwhile in Darkrai's fortress~

After looking for Tatsuhi for over an hour, even Taizo was starting to get worried that they were already too late for the bassist. But then, Yuura found a tightly locked door with voices coming behind it.

"Guys! I think I found something!" The older bassist cried out and then, as the others crowded around the door, his Hawlucha nodded and managed to slash the lock away, making it easy to enter. But once they entered, they saw something horrible. There were five scientists around a dissection table on which the barely conscious Tatsuhi was strapped.

"Please... Stop... Please... Taizo... Help me..." The young man was whispering hoarsely, obviously exhausted. His eyes were closed as he weakly tried to get away from the table to no avail.

"Oh, Kami-sama..." Yasuno managed to mutter as he saw the state of the bassist. One of the women scientists came in front of the table, obscuring the horrifying vision.

"You want to save him? How sweet. Too bad it won't work, Master would kill us if the experiment isn't a success." She said before sending out a blue, bipedal Pokémon to stop them.

"Azumarill~!"

"Go, Hawlucha!! We're gonna save him!" Yuura yelled as Taizo was frozen in place after seeing the state of his old bandmate. He felt like his blood had turned to ice.

"Tor, Torchic!" Keiyuu cried as well, pissed off.

While they fought the woman's Azumarill, Yasuno nodded bravely at Taizo and together, they dodged the flurry of scientists and managed to get right beside Tatsuhi who tried to look towards the noise.

"T-Taizo? Is... Is that... You?" He whispered hoarsely, making Taizo feel even more guilty. Then, together with Yasuno, he unstrapped the exhausted bassist, trying to gently get him out.

"Yes. I'm here, Tatsuhi."

"I... I knew... You would come for... Us..." The bassist said, trying to smile through his pain. But then, he passed out once more, too exhausted to be able to keep up.

And then, they made a fast escape to the cells and taking Ryuji with them, they managed to get out.

~2 hours later~

Tatsuhi woke up, everywhere in his body hurting like crazy. But the biggest pain came when he tried to look around, not knowing where he was. He could see nothing anymore.

"I-I can't see!! R-Ryuji!!"

~Half an hour later~

Taizo stood in shock as Tatsuhi sobbed for his eyesight. The younger bassist's eyes were glazed over and dead looking.

"Maybe we can reverse it, Tatsuhi-san. Don't give up just yet." Said Yuura gently, worried even after what Tatsuhi had done to him previously. Taizo meanwhile, couldn't find words to say to the distressed man. He was too shocked at what had happened.

"By the way, just where is Keiyuu-san? He didn't come to save us or anything." Ryuji asked Yasuno, pointedly ignoring the guitarist. At that, Yasuno snorted, knowing that Keiyuu was very displeased by the other vocalist's words.

"What?? He wasn't there!"

"Torchic, Tor!"

"He actually was. Keiyuu got turned into a Pokémon from playing the Time Flute for a long time--" Yasuno said and then stopped at the look of scepticism on Ryuji's face.

"You're shitting me." Ryuji said but the next moment, Keiyuu looked at him with a deadpan look at that, slightly annoyed.

"He is not lying, he had to use my Time Flute twice." Celebi who had come into the room said, smiling at the small Torchic which shocked Ryuji and Tatsuhi both, even though the latter could not see Keiyuu's form at that moment.

~Meanwhile with Tom and Georg~

"Georg, are you alright?!" Tom asked, rushing to the older teen as his headache continued. Georg had his eyes shut while the images continued to run through his mind. After a few more minutes though, he opened his red eyes and looked at Tom, tears in his eyes.

"I... I remember everything..."

~Meanwhile with Kra~

When the Time Travel Pokémon said that though, Yasuno frowned in confusion.

"Why'd he use it twice then? What happened?!" He asked quickly, worried that something else might have happened to his friends. Keiyuu smiled at that, knowing how relieved Yuura actually was for Celebi since he had healed the bassist's crushed hands.

"Nothing as serious as what happened to you, Yasuno-kun. But Yuura-kun's hands were in a pretty bad shape so we had to heal it as well hence Keiyuu using it twice. Don't worry." Taizo said calmly. Yasuno sighed in relief at that, happy that the bassist's hands were totally fine.

Just as Taizo said that, however, a merchant came into the room, surprising them.