Through the Portal

~Meanwhile with Kra~

As the bassist said that, obviously wanting to soothe him, Mai still felt like he should have never let Taizo know what was happening to him. But then, Chelsea came closer to him, wishing so much she could hold him tight like he would when the ex-guitarist was alive and soothe him.

"Mai, please don't blame yourself. Taizo just didn't want you to get hurt, you know." She whispered, knowing very well that the dead guitarist was truly regretful about what had happened.

"Yeah, Taizo wouldn't want you to feel that way, you know. He's also stronger than to let Yveltal-san to completely take him over." Keiyuu added softly, hoping that his words were true. Mai managed a small smile at the support his friends and lover were giving him, glad that they did not blame him one bit.

"It's gonna be okay, we'll make sure of it."

~Meanwhile in Darkrai's castle~

The scientist woman came into the throne room, curious and eager about why she had been summoned. She hoped that the Pitch Black Pokémon was going to give her the chance to eradicate the unfinished experiment she had tried to create. But she had no idea what she was actually called for.

"Master, I'm here. What did you ask me for?" She asked, kneeling before Darkrai.

"I have called you so that you can be useful once more. Find Mai's body, he will be your next experiment." The Pitch Black Pokémon said, making the young woman smirk evilly.

"Of course, Master. I'm happy to hear that I can use him once more." She said before bowing and leaving the room with uncontained glee.

"You shall be the vessel. Be honored, Mai."

~Meanwhile with Yuuya~

Yuuya nodded immediately and helping Hoopa, he carried the unresponsive bodies of his best friends back into the cave so that they would be safe from Yveltal at least. But when he saw just who was coming close with the chill surrounding him, Yuuya's blood ran cold. It was Taizo with his eyes and hair completely black and with an old man beside him.

"No... This couldn't have--" He managed to utter before looking back at Tatsuhi and Ryuji, thankful that they did not have to see that sight.

"Do you know him?" Hoopa asked with confusion and curiosity. Yuuya only nodded wordlessly in shock as Taizo came even closer and actually found Yuuya and his old friends.

"Ta-Taizo?" He managed to utter before the guitarist took his hand and made him scream as the drummer's hand began to get badly burnt.

"Taizo is no more." The old man said gleefully before Hoopa decided to take action and use Shadow Ball on Taizo, throwing him away from Yuuya who held his hand, trying not to cry from the horrible pain in his hand and the horror of seeing Taizo that way.

"N-no!! H-Hoopa-san, don't... Don't hurt him!"

Just as Hoopa was about to ask why, Taizo smirked and actually used a Pokémon move on the Mischief Pokémon; Sucker Punch.

"Taizo, stop!!"

~Meanwhile in Taizo's mind~

"You are persistent, you little insect. Why do you bother so much even though knowing you will fail?" Yveltal said in an irritated tone, obviously agitated by the guitarist's strength.

"I do it because I have people that will never recover from losing me. I will never give up just for them. Those three are my everything." Taizo replied, still struggling to put himself back together.

"No matter, you soon will fall into my power."

~Meanwhile with Emile~

"Are you sure that this Insect Plate is here, Emile? Cause this place is giving me the creeps..." Tim asked with slight fear. Emile smiled and said;

"Don't worry, Tim. I know where the Insect Plate is very well."

"Salamence, Sal!" Emile's Salamence suddenly cried out, looking towards an old building with a slight frown.

"That's it, guys, let's get the Insect Plate and get out-sect." The young gamer punned with a grin, making both Jon and Tim groan and facepalm at his words.

"Yeah, let's go before you make any worse puns, Emile."

~Meanwhile with Yuuya~

"What the hell is happening?!" Yuuya asked with alarm as Hoopa made a protective barrier for Ryuji and Tatsuhi before confronting the tall guitarist.

"I think Yveltal has taken him somehow. But how?!" The Mischief Pokémon whispered, his mind very confused.

"I can tell you how, I made Yveltal fuse with him. It's only a matter of time before he demolishes Taizo and I have control over Death itself." Ghetsis said, chuckling evilly.

"You're not doing anything like that to Taizo!!" Yuuya exclaimed, horrified by the thought. Just as Ghetsis was about to say something, a voice stopped them.

"You are right, Yuuya-san, he's doing no such thing to Taizo-kun!"

They all turned around to see the Kra members along with a girl and a young looking ghostly man. Ghetsis' expression turned annoyed when he saw the group of five in front of him.

"Don't be so sure of yourself. Go, Hydreigon!!"

"Oh yeah? You're gonna resort to force when things don't go your way? Then go, Hawlucha!!" Yuura growled as he sent out the Wrestling Pokémon, very pissed off.

~Meanwhile with Ryuji and Tatsuhi~

"R-Ryuji! Are you okay?!" Tatsuhi asked, immediately coming to stand by him and then, furiously punching the fake-Yuuya in the face.

"T-Tatsuhi... I don't... Know if I'll m-make it..."

"Of course you will, Ryuji, we're not letting you die here. And you, you worthless bastard, you don't even know what we've both been through alone! If you think we're going to give up just because you want us to, then newsflash; we're NOT gonna! I'm gonna save Ryuji and that is that!!"

~Meanwhile with Shin~

Shin looked at the asleep Strify with slight concern, understanding easily that the singer was exhausted. Kiro smiled softly at his concern, knowing that Shin they knew and loved was soon coming back to them.

"Karsten?" Shin suddenly whispered to not wake Strify up. Kiro looked questioningly at the drummer, understanding that something was eating at him.

"Why is Strify so... Exhausted? Did something else happen that I don't know?"

Kiro looked down, not knowing what to tell the younger man. On one hand, he knew Shin would worry when he learned that Strify hadn't slept for a whole day after he was rescued. But on the other hand, the bassist wanted Shin to know how precious he was to all of them.

"Kiro? Please tell me what happened... I... I didn't hurt him as well when I suddenly blacked out mentally, right?!"

"No. Strify... He's been shouldering this entire mess after you... You know, did that to me and well... He kinda didn't sleep for an entire day from worry after Romeo managed to rescue you from that police station... You don't even know how much you mean to him, Marcel. To all of us. Please never, ever sacrifice yourself for me again, for any of us..." Kiro said softly, looking also very concerned about Strify and sad at the thought of everything they had gone through as a band.

Shin's eyes were wide in shock at everything the older man had said. He had had no idea that Strify had worried so much for his sake. Kiro smiled at him, however, obviously wanting to soothe the youngest's horror about the matter.

"It's okay now though. You're coming back on your own will and Darkrai will never touch you again, I'll make sure of it, all of us will."

~Meanwhile with Ryuji and Tatsuhi~

At Tatsuhi's words, both Ryuji and the fake-Yuuya was shocked. But then, the evil mirage smirked and then, turned back to the smoky state he was in before.

"T-Tatsuhi-kun!! W-we need to run!!"

"No. I'm not running this time! This thing needs to be taught a damn lesson!" The bassist growled, narrowing his eyes and shocking Ryuji even more at the anger Tatsuhi was suddenly displaying.

The smoke suddenly shot up into the sky, however, confusing both of them until it became dark with red clouds and purple lightning shooting down at them.

"Tatsuhi, look out!!" Ryuji screamed and threw himself at the bassist as a purple lightning shot at the very spot the bassist was standing seconds ago and from it, a huge Pokémon suddenly warped in front of them, startling both. It roared at them and they looked at eachother with fear, not knowing what to do.

~Meanwhile with Kra~

"Hydreigon, use Surf on that worthless Hawlucha!!" Ghetsis said as the Brutal Pokémon got out of his Pokéball. At his master's order, Hydreigon roared and created a huge wave, slamming right into Yuura's Hawlucha. But the Wrestling Pokémon didn't even wait for the older bassist to ask for her to use a move and used Flying Press on Hydreigon under the worried look of her trainer.

"Are you okay, Hawlucha?!"

"Haw, Hawlucha!!"

Just as Mai was about to say something, however, Taizo suddenly collapsed, making all of them cry his name out when he started to let out inhuman sounds. The device Ghetsis had put on him started to short-circuit as well, signalling that Taizo was fighting as well.

"Taizo!! Taizo, it's gonna be alright, fight it!!" Yasuno exclaimed, coming closer to him. But when he touched the guitarist, his hand started burning. Despite that, the drummer did not stop touching him, even stroking his back as his hand started to blacken slightly.

"N-no!! Y-Yasuno, g-get away from me!!" Taizo managed to utter before starting to throw up blood, obviously in so much pain.

"I am not in any way leaving you, Taizo! Come on, you can do this, we all know that you're strong enough!!"

~Meanwhile with Ryuji and Tatsuhi~

"W-what is this?! It doesn't seem like a normal Pokémon, Legendary or not!" Tatsuhi said, horrified by the thought of the huge Pokémon hurting his best friend first and foremost.

"I-I don't know, Tatsuhi... I'm... I'm scared..." Ryuji whispered, his eyes full of tears.

"It's gonna be okay, Ryuji. I promise you, everything will be alright."

But just as the short bassist said that, the dangerous looking Pokémon suddenly attacked, making them fall away from eachother.

"Tatsuhi!!" Ryuji screamed in terror as the young man got up with his arm bleeding badly.

"I-I'm okay, Ryuji! You just focus!! Focus on waking up to the real world!!" Tatsuhi said but then, the huge Pokémon suddenly pierced him through the chest, terrifying Ryuji as he ran and caught the shorter man before he fell.

"Tatsuhi! Tatsuhi, please no!!" He whimpered, trying hard not to cry as the bassist looked at him through the haze of intense pain.

"R-Ryuji... You should... Leave without--"

"I'm not leaving you, Tatsuhi, no way in hell!" Ryuji interrupted Tatsuhi and shockingly, when his tears fell of Tatsuhi's wounds, the wounds started to close as a bright white light shone upon them both.

"W-what is... Happening??"

~Meanwhile in the real world~

"How?! How can he still fight after I put that device on him?!" Ghetsis growled as Taizo kept fighting while Yasuno comforted the guitarist. But just as Yveltal finally got separated from the guitarist, Taizo fell on the ground, unmoving.

"Taizo!!!" All of the others ran to him, even Mai, horrified that it was too late for the young man.

"That fool might have gotten me out but I still took him in the end." Yveltal said but right then, a white light signalled Xerneas' arrival.

"No!!" The Destruction Pokémon said before Taizo coughed weakly.

"Taizo? Are you... Alive?" Yuuya whispered, scared for his old friend.

"H-hurts... So much..." The guitarist managed to utter weakly, obviously very close to death.

"Don't you dare go leave us now!! You can't do this to us, Taizo, please!!" Yuura begged, scared for his younger friend. But right then, Taizo's breathing stopped, terrifying all of them.

"Do not worry. I will heal him." Xerneas said and started glowing white and then, Taizo gasped out loud but still did not open his eyes.

"His wounds are still quite deep. He needs a lot of rest until he is able to open his eyes." The Life Pokémon said in her soothing voice, making everyone relax.

~Meanwhile in the hospital~

After the danger was over, Kai decided to give the syringe Keiyuu had given him to Bela, remembering that the short vocalist had wanted to know what it really was.

"I'll examine it right away." The short doctor said with a smile and took it, obviously also curious. But what she had found was horrifying.

After Bela was gone to examine the syringe, Kai turned to his bandmates, concerned.

"Are you guys okay? That hiker guy was crazy, seriously..."

"We're fine. But really hope he doesn't come back. I don't even want to know what Reita-kun here would do to the bastard." Aoi muttered, sparing a glance at the still angry bassist.

"He deserves everything I will throw at him!! He almost killed you, Aoi!"

~Meanwhile with Ryuji and Tatsuhi~

As Tatsuhi's wounds slowly closed, the dangerous Pokémon roared once more, trying to harm the two of them but before it could do any more damage to them, a light barrier came up and protected them.

"Whoever this person or Pokémon is, they're a life-saver." Tatsuhi whispered, getting up from Ryuji's arms slowly and wincing as it made his previous wounds hurt a little as they went away completely.

"You do not have to thank me. Order must be protected." Zygarde's voice came and surprised Tatsuhi while confusing Ryuji. Then, the red clouds disappeared as the dangerous Pokémon was blasted away by the earth itself.

"Who is that? Do you know her somehow?" The vocalist asked as Tatsuhi sighed in relief.

"Yeah. It was Zygarde-san, another Legendary Pokémon. She helped me to save Yuuya and find your soul shard as well. Don't worry, you don't have to be scared of her."

~Meanwhile with Taizo~

Taizo was floating in an abyss, his body feeling like it was made of lead and it was hurting him as well. The guitarist didn't know what was happening and thought of just giving up when a voice echoed in the black abyss he was in.

"Taizo-san."

It was Mai, shocking the older guitarist. Then, the young and deceased guitarist suddenly appeared, making him think that he was going to go with him.

"M-Mai-san... Is... Is everyone... Alright?" He asked, needing the confirmation that the others were safe from him.

"Yes, they're just fine. And thanks to you, so am I. But... Why? Why did you come for me? You're in this state because of me." Mai whispered, looking down. But even though he had almost no energy, Taizo reached out and touched Mai's shoulder.

"You... Shouldn't feel that way, Mai-san... I did what I should've done from the beginning, protecting you. And I guess... It's time for me to follow you, right?"

Mai's eyes widened in surprise, not having expected Taizo to say those words. Then, he shook his head, knowing that it was not the older guitarist's time yet.

"No. It's not your time, Taizo-san."

"B-but it hurts, I don't think I can take this much pain..." Taizo whispered as Mai started to back away, smiling at him softly.

"Don't come with me, Taizo-san, they need you with them." Mai whispered, slowly fading away along with the darkness.

"...he gonna...okay?" Someone's voice filtered through his brain, making him smile slightly as he recognized the voice as Yuura.

"...him time. He needs a lot of..." A woman's voice answered the worried bassist.

"Thank goodness..."

~Meanwhile with Gustav~

Gustav looked at the cave where Tatsuhi and Ryuji surely were at. He still would not give up on killing Ryuji as he didn't want to get punished by Darkrai. But when he got closer to there, he saw a tall, brunette man guarding the two of them as Tatsuhi obviously tried to fix his best friend's soul shard.

"This protection means nothing, Ryuji. Master wants you dead and so will you be." The drummer whispered, narrowing his eyes.

Just as he said that, he felt eyes on him and looked up only to see that the man that was protecting the cave was looking right back at him.

~Meanwhile with Kra~

After they left the injured and exhausted Taizo to his rest, Keiyuu asked if Kai had given the syringe he had given him to Bela. The drummer in question nodded, telling that Bela was analyzing it. The other members of the GazettE also looked very curious just like Yasuno and Yuura.

"What syringe? What happened, Keiyuu??"

Keiyuu hesitated on telling Yasuno and Yuura about Mai's torture. He knew that both of them would be very angry. But as he was going to tell them not to worry, Bela came back, making them shocked with her words.

"This thing contains Sulfazin, a very dangerous drug that can cause torturously high fevers. If you really found this in Darkrai's castle, it's very likely that he was going to use it on someone. Be very careful." The young doctor said, looking quite disturbed. When they asked how Keiyuu had obtained it, Chelsea grimaced at the memory of Keiyuu springing onto Yune with anger.

"Yune-san had it and I managed to grab it. I honestly hope they don't have more of this shit..." The older vocalist muttered. Ruki growled after hearing what the syringe really contained, understanding instantly that Yune intended to use it on Kai.

"That bastard will never use it on any of us!! Not if I can help it!!" Reita said with a very angry look on his face, having also understood what Yune was planning to do.

~Meanwhile with Yuuya~

When he looked at the red eyed man, Yuuya felt a shiver pass through him, unnerved. he didn't know why but he had an urge to not let the young man close to his friends. Then, deciding quickly, the drummer sent his Drowzee out.

"Drowzee, stay with Tatsuhi and Ryuji. I need to go check this out."

Seeing that Yuuya was getting closer, the young man didn't know what to do at first. If he ran away, the drummer could pursue him. But if he didn't, he may get what he wanted.

"Hello. May I--" Yuuya started to say only to get punched hard on the face.

"Shut up. Graveler, go and kill both of them!" The other man said, grinning evilly as he sent out the Rock Pokémon.

"Iie!! What the hell is your problem?! Drowzee, protect them!!" Yuuya exclaimed, horrified. And the Hypnosis Pokémon barely managed to use Hypnosis on the Graveler that was attacking the prone bodies of his friends.

Seeing that he was unable to succeed, the young man took his Graveler and started running.

"You're going nowhere!! Drowzee, stay here and protect them!!" Yuuya growled and ran, hot on the other man's tail.

And when he caught him, the red eyed man grinned crazily at him.

"Master will win even if you do manage to kill me! Graveler, use Earthquake!"

~Meanwhile with Taizo~

Taizo was still floating, trying to get grounded once more so he could join his friends again. But it hurt when the only thing he could feel was his own, very injured body and nothing else.

"Taizo-kun... I don't know if you can hear me but... Please fight... We can't lose you like this..." It was Yasuno's voice, gentle and concerned. Taizo managed a small smile at the thought of how loving the older man was.

"I'll... Try for you all, Yasuno-kun..."

~Meanwhile in Darkrai's fortress~

When the scientist woman was summoned to the throne room next, she was more than a little curious. She respectfully kneeled before the Pitch Black Pokémon and what she heard was surprising and exciting to her.

"I want you to create another mind-control serum for me. I have a good couple of candidates for it." The dangerous Legendary Pokémon said, making her grin.

"As you wish, Master. I will get on that immediately."

"Good. And I want you to find Tatsuhi and Toshiya for... Reasons. They shall be also useful."

"Yes, Master. I also have found the whereabouts of Mai's body as you wanted. I will have it delivered to you soon."

~Meanwhile with Ryuji and Tatsuhi~

Ryuji was still confused despite the short bassist's explanation but he didn't judge, trusting the younger man completely.

"Ryuji, I want you to focus. Focus on waking up, please. I can't lose you..." Tatsuhi said, tearful at the thought of Ryuji losing this fight along with his life. The vocalist nodded and tried hard. To focus and become one again. When he did, Tatsuhi suddenly opened his eyes in the cave with Yuuya's Drowzee staying beside him and no sign of the said drummer.

"Yuuya?? Where is he?!" He muttered but right as he was going to look for his old friend, he heard Ryuji groaning another location's name.

"C-Canalave... Ci...ty..." The young vocalist said, before falling quiet once again.

"I've got you, Ryuji. Just wait, okay, I need to find Yuuya first..." Tatsuhi whispered and sent out both his Skitty and Ryuji's Mandibuzz along with Yuuya's Drowzee to protect Ryuji's body.

"I want you guys to stay here and let no one into the cave. I need to find Yuuya right now."

"Del, Delcatty!!" His Prim Pokémon nodded along with Drowzee and Mandibuzz. Then, Tatsuhi immediately left, running towards the dense forest to find out where Yuuya might have gone off to. He hoped that the drummer had not abandoned them once more with all his heart.

~Meanwhile with Yuuya~

Thankfully for Yuuya, the young man's Graveler stayed asleep for that moment, making him growl quietly.

"You call that brute of a Pokémon your Master?! If what Tatsuhi told me is the truth, you don't even deserve to live if you're a servant of that horrid Pokémon! I'm not gonna let you harm any of my best friends!!" Yuuya growled, looking pissed off.

"You think you're so good? Then where were you when they both needed you? Where were you when that useless Tatsuhi lost his eyesight and got experimented on? Don't think you're almighty just because you don't serve Master. You are much worse than I am."

Yuuya froze at the words, horrified at what he heard. Those words cut much deeper than it showed on his face alone. He had no clue that Tatsuhi had gotten experimented on like that and it terrified the drummer. Just as he was going to say something, however, he heard Tatsuhi's voice right behind him.

"You again!! Leave us alone already, Gustav-san!!" The bassist was saying, immediately punching the younger looking man. Yuuya stared in shock and pain, really upset at what he had heard.

But when Tatsuhi got closer to Gustav, angry at what the younger man obviously had tried to do once more, he was thrown away by an electric attack.

"Leave him alone!!"

~Meanwhile with Kra~

The members of Kra tirelessly waited beside Taizo's bedside, all of them worried about the young guitarist. Mai had wanted to stay with them as well but at the request of Chelsea and the others, he had to go back to the afterlife, even though he was very worried about Taizo like the others.

"He's... He's gonna be okay, right?" Yasuno asked out loud, really sad.

"Do not worry, it is only his body and mind being exhausted from Yveltal's possession. He is very strong for someone so young." Said Xerneas gently, making them feel better.

"Oh, Taizo... Why didn't you tell us Mai was hurting? You could've died..." Keiyuu whispered, stroking the older man's hair softly as to not disturb his repairing sleep. But the guitarist groaned softly, his eyes starting to flutter open.

"Taizo!! You're awake! Oh yokatta..." Yuura said, very relieved.

"W-where... am I...?" The guitarist managed to whisper, too exhausted to say anything more.

"We're back at the hospital. You're going to be alright, I promise, Taizo." Chelsea said, feeling grateful towards the guitarist's brave help towards her departed lover. Taizo only could nod before falling back into sleep once more.

"He's such a brave person..."

~Meanwhile with Tatsuhi and Yuuya~

"Tatsuhi!! Daijoubu ka?!" Yuuya ran towards the short bassist, helping him up.

"I'm fine, Yuuya-kun. Who are you though?! Why the hell are you protecting a servant of Darkrai?!" Tatsuhi asked at the two teenagers angrily. The two surprisingly looked sad at his words.

"I'm Bill and this is my twin brother Tom. We're his friends." Bill said as he ran to Gustav, worried about his older friend but the drummer pushed him away with a death glare.

"I'm not your friend anymore, you weaklings!!" Gustav snapped, making Bill look sad as he gave his request to his Minun.

"Minun, use Discharge on him as gently as you can. Please, Gustav, try to break through! I know you can hear us!"

"Stop trying, Bill. It won't work until we have that cure thing with us, he's not Georg..." Tom said, sad as well as the Cheering Pokémon gently used his attack on the drummer much to Tatsuhi and Yuuya's shock.

"Are you sure you're his friends? Cause that could be deadly, you know." Yuuya said, taken aback as Tom took the paralyzed man onto his back.

"Yeah. This is for his own damn good. Darkrai doesn't deserve someone as good as Gustav or Georg. They don't belong in that horrible castle. Thank you for not hurting him though." Bill said as they went away with Gustav fuming on Tom's back.

"Well, that was something that happened..." Tatsuhi muttered, confused. But as the shorter man looked confusedly after the twins, Yuuya looked down, remembering what the other drummer had told him about.

"Yuuya? Is there something wrong?

"I... I'd like to talk to you later, Tatsuhi-kun... Is Ryuji okay though?"

~Meanwhile with Dir en Grey~

"I have a bad feeling, Kyo..." Shinya said suddenly as they were getting back from getting something to eat in the house that was given to them. Toshiya had decided to stay at home while the others all left for different tasks. Kyo frowned and asked what the younger man had meant softly.

"I don't know. I feel like something is going to happen to one of us..."

"Don't worry, Shinya, nothing will touch you anymore, I'll make sure of it." The vocalist said, patting his back gently. Shinya smiled slightly but he was still worried. But just as they were about to get inside the house, they saw Toshiya's Absol fainted on the ground.

"Yabai, something is up! Totchi!! Where are you?!" Kyo called out but the only thing that stayed from the bassist was his bass and his Pokémon which was hurt badly.

~Meanwhile with Toshiya~

Toshiya struggled to get out of his bonds, glaring up at Darkrai who looked back at him with narrowed eyes.

"You are not hurting any of my friends!!"

"Tsk, so fierce. You were a good servant, once upon a time. What made you change, Toshiya?" The Pitch Black Pokémon asked in a calm yet annoyed voice, making the bassist struggle harder.

"I changed because I saw how cruel you are, Darkrai!! I saw what you did to both Kyo and Shinya and believe me, you're not getting away with that, you won't be able to get out from this again, you vile monster!!"

But to his shock, Darkrai actually laughed, a low, scary sound. The young man frowned as the dangerous Pitch Black Pokémon ordered for "them" to be brought.

"What are you after, Darkrai?!"

"You shall see, young man. Soon."

That was then, a bright red tablet was brought along with a red syringe, making Toshiya's eyes widen in horror. He knew what the syringe meant and it scared him.

"The Plate first."

"As you wish, Master." The woman said and pushed Toshiya to lay on his back and pushed the tablet into him, making him cry out.

"You shall be good again, by killing your very own friends."

~Meanwhile with Kra~

"He has always been brave. But I never thought he would do something this stupid, to be honest..." Yuura said softly as Bela gently bound Yasuno's burnt hand with the drummer hissing softly at the medicinal cream working and causing pain.

"He's stronger than what he seems as well. And way too kind for his own damn good sometimes, to be honest with you."

As they talked, none of them noticed that Taizo's eyes were opening slowly. The guitarist found himself looking at his bandmates who were all around him and Chelsea who looked sad but strong at the same time. The girl looked up only to see him looking at them tiredly with a slight smile.

"Taizo! You're awake!!" She exclaimed, making the others turn to him with worry and cautious happiness.

"Hey... How did we... Get out? Is Mai-san... Okay?" He whispered hoarsely, making Chelsea's eyes fill with tears at the thoughtfulness of the guitarist.

"He's okay, Taizo. We managed to get out and he had to depart once more, don't worry." Keiyuu said softly, stroking his hair as Taizo tried hard not to go to sleep once more, his body still exhausted due to the stress it had gotten in his possession.

"Go back to sleep, Taizo. You need your strength, my friend.

~Meanwhile with Emile~

Emile managed to take out a light green colored plate out of the old building's side, grunting with the effort. Thankfully, it didn't break the whole thing apart and the young gamer's friends looked at what he brought out with curiosity.

"Is this really it?" Tim asked with slight worry as Emile smiled.

"Don't worry, Tim, this is it. The Insect Plate. If we had a Bug-type Pokémon, this would power up its moves by 20 percent."

"You're such a nerd for knowing that, you know that?" Jon deadpanned but he was smiling and Emile smiled back at him, making the older gamer glad that he was fine.

"Now, how many more Plates do we have to find?"

"Around 16 more..."

~Meanwhile with Dir en Grey - 2 days later~

"Guys, we need to do this..." Kaoru said unwillingly, knowing that what he asked his dear friends to do had a lot of weight. Shinya and Die looked at eachother with slight terror, scared. But Kyo only frowned softly.

"Are you sure we looked everywhere?" Shinya's quiet, scared voice came and Kaoru felt like kicking himself for even saying that.

"Ab, Absol~!!" Toshiya's Absol cried out, looking desperately at the drummer and his friends and hoping that his trainer would be alright. But even the Disaster Pokémon was starting to lose hope with how slow his trainer's friends were going.

"Yes, Shinya-kun. If you want, though, you can stay here safely, you know Toshiya wouldn't be mad at you if you decided to." Kaoru said but Shinya shook his head furiously.

"I would never leave Totchi, Kaoru, you should know better than that. You know what, I will go to that blasted castle first. I have my Gardevoir, she'd be able to easily get me in."

"S-Shinya, you can--"

"I don't care! Who knows what Darkrai might do if Totchi really is in his cruel hands! Come on, let's get a move on!!"

As they went on their journey to find the bassist, they didn't realize a pair of flaming red eyes were watching their every move.

~Meanwhile with Bill and Tom~

The twins brought the paralyzed Gustav into the hospital, both of them worried about him even as the drummer kept insulting them.

"Forgive us, Gustav... This is for your own good, believe me." Bill whispered in a choked voice, trying hard not to cry as Gustav glared at him.

"You don't deserve forgiveness, you two!"

Bill swallowed as they gave him to Bela, asking Tom if the older teen would be okay with a shaking, small voice.

"Of course he will be. This is Gustav we're talking about, you know how strong he can be."

While they were talking, they didn't notice Georg who had gotten up from the bed and was coming towards them in concern.

~Meanwhile with Tatsuhi and Yuuya~

"I managed to somehow restore his soul shard but we need to go to Canalave City, his last soul shard is there." Tatsuhi said softly, remembering what had happened in the soul shard with a slight shudder.

"Okay. Let's get a move on then." Yuuya replied, not wanting to dawdle and lose Ryuji. His inner turmoil could wait, he thought and went to the cave with Tatsuhi who looked confused about how his friend was acting all of a sudden.

"Yuuya, you said you wanted to talk to me, what's wrong?"

"I-I... It's something that Gustav-san said, he said..." The drummer suddenly stopped, not wanting to really say it in case it really had happened.

"What? What did that bastard say to you, Yuuya?!"

"He said that you were experimented on thanks to Darkrai... Is it true, Tatsuhi?! Is it true that you were almost dead because I couldn't be there for you guys?!"

Tatsuhi was silent at first, inwardly shuddering at the reminder of that horrible experiment. But he didn't know if he should confirm Yuuya's suspicions given how scared the taller man was about it.

"Tatsuhi, please, I need to know!"

"Yes, Yuuya, that... That happened. But it definitely wasn't your fault, you weren't even there, I know you would've stopped them otherwise." The bassist said after a moment, leaning to put a hand on his friend's shoulder.

~Meanwhile with Dir en Grey~

"I think we should separate, guys. If we don't, we may not be able to find Toshiya-kun." Shinya said as they made their way to the dangerous abode of Darkrai, making the other three's eyes widen in shock.

"B-but what if you--"

"Don't worry about me, Kyo-kun. I'm gonna be fine but take Gardevoir with you too, the last thing I would want for my best friend to get more hurt after what you went through."

"Shinya--"

"No, I'll be fine. Come on, go you guys!! I'll take this path and you guys decide on which path you will take. We'll meet back here when we find Totchi."

"Ab, Absol~!" Toshiya's Absol cried after Shinya, wanting to go after him but the drummer did not wait for him.

"I hope he'll be fine..."

~10 minutes later - with Shinya~

Shinya looked at the forest's forked road, trying to decide which path he should go down. But right as he decided, a hooded person suddenly attacked him and held him tightly.

"L-let me go!! Whoever you are, you won't be able to keep me from Toshiya!!"

In his struggle, Shinya managed to make the hooded man's hood fall down and he stared at the bandaged face, trying to still get out from the crushing hold of the person.

"What the hell are you?!

~Meanwhile with Kyo~

"Let's do it guys. I hope Toshiya-kun is alright..." Kyo said softly, worried about his younger friend. He really hoped that Toshiya had not been harmed seriously.

"Gar, Gardevoir~!!" Shinya's Gardevoir cried, looking both worried and also uneasy about leaving her trainer alone with no means of protecting himself.

"Bi, Bisharp, Bi~" Kyo's Bisharp said, putting a hand on the Embrace Pokémon's shoulder, obviously trying to comfort his friend. Gardevoir though, looked down and just as Kyo was about to try and tell her that Shinya would be alright, a woman scientist came in their line of vision, making them hide behind a wall.

"The experiment went well this time. Toshiya is now Master's hopefully forever." The woman said to someone beside her, making Kyo's eyes widen in horror.

"Yabai..." He whispered, looking so horrified that Gardevoir tried to calm him down but the next thing the woman said was even worse;

"Master sent him out to hunt the ones who have betrayed us, his friends. And I think he caught one of them by now."

"Oh SHIT!!! What if Toshiya hurts one of the guys right now?!" Kyo muttered quietly, his mind a horrified mess. The vocalist did not know what he should do to somehow reverse whatever that had happened to the bassist.

~Meanwhile with Tatsuhi and Yuuya~

Yuuya looked down at the words of his friend, feeling horrible for leaving them alone when they needed him. But Tatsuhi smiled at the older man, completely calm.

"I don't blame you, Yuuya. But Taizo... He was there and he knew something bad would happen to us yet, he didn't even come for us if it weren't for his new bandmates. That's why I won't forgive him."

Yuuya looked horrified at that, unable to believe that the guitarist could be so cruel towards anyone. Tatsuhi just shook his head, remembering how pissed Ryuji had been when he had seen the state he was in after the failed experiment.

"I'm gonna talk to Taizo about this, he can't have been that cruel. There has to have been a reason for that, Tatsuhi.

~Meanwhile with Kra~

When Taizo awakened the next time, he heard quiet talking beside him. Too tired to open his eyes at that moment, the guitarist decided to listen first.

"Is he going to recover fully, Colress-san?" It was Yuura's voice, sounding really worried.

"Don't worry, if his will is strong enough to break through that possession even with the machine Ghetsis stole from Aether Paradise, he will be just fine." An unknown calm voice answered the slightly older man.

"Oh, yokatta... If only he told us that Mai-cho was in danger instead of rushing on his own, seriously." Keiyuu muttered as Taizo managed to finally open his eyes.

"Taizo! You're awake!!" Yasuno said, looking elated. Taizo nodded and managed to sit up, wincing as his body protested.

"You shouldn't get up so early, young man. You are very lucky to be even alive right now." A young, blond man said calmly. Taizo though, shook his head, knowing that he was going to be alright now.

~Meanwhile with Shinya~

Shinya continued to struggle as the bandaged man tightly held him. What scared the drummer was the man's unnatural, pupilless red eyes. They looked like they were blazing even though the man's body language was quite calm.

"Let! Me! Go!!" He yelled and managed to finally get out from the crushing hold. Then, on an impulse, he attacked the bandages on the man's head, intennding to tear them off and know who was keeping him from reaching Toshiya. But when the right side of the bandage was torn off, Shinya found himself staring at a very familiar face in horror.

"To-Toshiya?!"

~Meanwhile with Kra~

"I'm fine. It only hurts a little at the moment, don't worry." Taizo said with a calm smile. The others though, still looked concerned about the guitarist.

"Are you sure you'll be fine, Taizo-kun?" Yasuno asked as he hid his bandaged hand from the view of the younger man.

"Mu, Munna~?" Yasuno's Munna cried, curiously looking at Taizo. Taizo smiled wider, knowing that they were with him no matter what.

"I will be, don't worry.  But... Why are you hiding your hand, Yasuno-kun?"

~Meanwhile with Shinya~

"T-Toshiya!! What have they done to you?!" Shinya whispered but the older man did not talk at all, scaring him.

"We should've never left you alone..." The drummer whispered, trying not to cry. Then, he acted on impulse once more, striking his friend with regret. Toshiya though, didn't seem to be affected and he striked back, making Shinya fall unconscious instead. Then, the possessed bassist carried him into the castle.

~Meannwhile with Kaoru~

"Kyo? Did you find Totchi?!" Kaoru asked in worry. Kyo however, said something that horrified him;

"I overheard them talking about him! T-they've done something to him apparently and sent him to hunt us down!!"

Kaoru turned white as a sheet when he heard that. And then, they heard a rustling nearby and Shinya's Gardevoir cried out as the other two tried to hide. Kyo and Kaoru frownned and looked at the place the Embrace Pokémon was pointing at and gasped in horror. Toshiya was coming with the unconscious Shinya on his back and looking emotionless with blazing, pupilless red eyes.

"Oh Kami-sama!! Totchi, what have you done?!"

~Meanwhile with Kra~

After she saw that Taizo was in good hands, Chelsea decided to go back to the castle and be a spy for them. The otherrs however, were less than happy about her decision.

"Chelsea-san, I don't think this is a good idea. If you get caught, you could get hurt or worse..."

"I'll be fine, don't worry. It'll be fine either way."

The members of Kra looked at eachother, all of them understanding what the young girl was getting at as she went out, ready to spy on the Pitch Black Pokémon and help the Champions of Cresselia to defeat him.

~2 hours later~

Chelsea managed to get accepted once more but she was determined to find out what the dangerous Legendary Pokémon was planning. Then, roaming the castle that had both horrible and beautiful memories for her, she stumbled upon her beloved's room, tears in her eyes at the memory of Mai. She suddenly decided to go in, not knowing what else to do. But upon entering, she saw that Mai's body was there, laying lifelessly. Seeing that, the peaceful look on the young guitarist's pale, dead face, she couldn't keep her tears in.

"Why you, Mai?! WHY?! She sobbed, hurting so much. And then, her eyes fell upon a small paper that was obviously sealed by a Psychic type Pokémon. Chelsea's pained eyes hardened, immediately sending out her Kadabra and making the Psi Pokémon open the seal. And when she read what was in there, her eyes widened in absolute rage and horror.

"They wouldn't dare..."

~Meanwhile with Kyo and Kaoru~

"What do we do, Kaoru?! We can't let Toshiya hurt Shinya!!" Kyo asked frantically, scared for their rhythm team. But Kaoru was busy trying to hold the drummer's Gardevoir to not let the Embrace Pokémon get hurt.

"I don't know!! But I think we have to find Die as well! His ideas are always good, you know that." The lead guitarist said, frowning as Kyo's Bisharp and Kaoru's Banette tried to calm Shinya's partner down, crying out to her in their own language. Kyo nodded and went to find their red haired rhythm guitarist, actually scared.

~Meanwhile with Kra~

"I really don't like what Chelsea-san is trying to do, to be honest. She's taking a huge risk..." Keiyuu said softly, obviously concerned about the girl.

"I don't like it either but it is her own choice, Keiyuu. I think she wants to win against Darkrai more than any of us since Mai was her lover and all..." Yuura muttered, shaking his head.

"Haw, Hawlucha, Haw~!" Yuura's Hawlucha suddenly cried, pointing at the ringing phone of her trainer.

"Are?! Why is she calling me already??" The bassist said upon seeing that Chelsea was calling.

"Open it now and take it to speakerphone, I have a feeling that we all should hear this." Taizo said softly and Yuura agreed. But nothing could've prepared them for what the young woman had found out.

~Meanwhile with Tatsuhi and Yuuya~

When they arrived to Canalave City, it was already sunrise, disabling the two friends' search of the last soul shard of Ryuji who looked slightly better. But the vocalist still did not give any reaction. His eyes were open but were seeing nothing even when Tatsuhi tried everything he could once he had seen that the older man's eyes open.

"How do we find anything here?! This place is damned massive!" Yuuya said, looking intimidated.

"We will find it, Yuuya. We just have to." Tatsuhi said softly, very determined.

~Meanwhile with Die~

Die was trying to sneak into the castle, looking really worried as he and his Garbodor looked everywhere for an opening when someone touched him from the back and made him jump.

"Garbodor!!"

"Daisuke, it's me!!" Kyo said, swallowing in nervousness to tell the older man about what had happened to Toshiya and Shinya.

"Oh, thank God... You scared the living shit out of me, Kyo! Did you find anything?!"

"They've done something to Totchi, me and Kaoru saw him bring Shinya into the castle and he didn't look himself, Die... I don't know what to do..."

Just as the shocked rhythm guitarist was about to say something, they heard the woman scientist talk once more, making the two freeze in horror.

"The experiment with Toshiya was very successful. He's already brought one of the traitors in. The Flame Plate is working well, it seems."

"They did WHAT to Toshiya?!"

~Meanwhile with Chelsea~

"They're... They're planning to put that foul Pokémon's soul into Mai, apparently!! We can't let this happen!!" Chelsea said, trying to keep her tears silent. She was very angry and horrified at the thought of Mai's body being used by Darkrai after his death.

"No, I don't know, I'm limited in action here, Yuura, I don't even know what to do here!" She said, distressed.

"No, don't come here, it'd be too risky for any of us right now!! I'll try to find something but I can't promise much!!"

~Meanwhile with Tatsuhi and Yuuya - at night~

When the night finally fell, Tatsuhi and Yuuya got out of the abandoned cottage they were in and started searching for Ryuji's last soul shard, hoping that they would be able to save the young vocalist from the death threat that was hanging above him.

"Where do we even start, Tatsuhi? I don't know what we should do, to be honest..." Yuuya said, looking actually kind of fearful.

"Hmm, I think we should start from that island over there, I think that would be a good starting point." Tatushi said, thoughtful as a purple haired man in a black cape came near them, looking suspicious.

"Who are you guys?!" The man asked as Yuuya took Tatsuhi and their barely living burden behind him to protect them. Tatsuhi smiled at the older man's protectiveness, knowing that Yuuya was not going to leave them alone again. Then, he came back to the front despite Yuuya's protests.

"Hi. I'm Tatsuhi and this is Yuuya. We're looking for a shard like these two, have you seen anything like that by any chance?

~Meanwhile with Kra~

"But you're going to get hurt if we don't come and leave you alone there, Chelsea-san!! We're coming, whether you want it or not! Mai would've wanted that from us." Keiyuu said, horrified at the thought of Darkrai transferring himself into their beloved late ex-guitarist.

"If you come here now, Keiyuu, it'll blow my cover! We can't risk such a thing happening, at least I can't, not now when I can try to find everything that vile beast is planning! And he will never succeed with doing that to Mai, that, I can definitely promise!" Chelsea said over the line and before they could react, the line went dead.

"Crap, she's going to get really badly hurt if we don't do something!!" Yasuno said, horrified at the news the young woman had given them.

"She has a point though, if someone from us is inside the castle, it would be a huge help for us." Said Ruka with a thoughtful frown as Hitsugi and Yomi glared at him.

"I have an idea, how about one of us disguise ourselves so that even she doesn't know that we're helping her?" Said Hiroto suddenly, making all heads turn towards the little guitarist.

"That's a good idea, actually... Risky, but good." Ni~ya muttered thoughtfully as the others of Alice Nine looked worried as they knew Hiroto was meaning himself as the second spy.

"I think I have a better idea." That came from Sakito who looked like he was gonna blurt out something pretty big. Everyone turned to him and looked expectantly at the slender man who smiled slightly.

"Why don't all of us bands send one person in disguise into the castle? That way, both no one would have to go alone and we'd have more hands at the task and we'd be able to communicate better."

That made everyone pause and looking at eachother, everyone nodded even though the Nightmare members were more than a bit worried.

"I have two questions though, one, how in the hell are we gonna be able to get inside and two, how do we decide on which ones of us are getting in?!" Taizo asked, making Sakito smile calmly.

"On how we're going to decide, we can draw names from inside some bowl or something. And two, I think that's gonna be easy, we can disguise ourselves with different clothes, hair and such, and also change how we talk. Then we'll go to the castle, pretending we're some kind of beggar group who want to serve that bastard of a Pokémon and that'd get us in."

Everyone looked at eachother, surprised by how smart Sakito was despite his looks. And they all nodded, slightly uneasy as Bela brought a big bowl and quickly, they all scribbled their names onto the paper and tore them into small pieces with their names on it and asked the young nurse to draw the names and read them.

"Okay. But the ones who get chosen, please be very careful..." She said as she drew the first name and called it out.

"Hitsugi."

"NANI?!" The other four members of Nightmare screamed, looking horrified as Hitsugi came forward with his loyal Meowth.

"Alright. I'll do my best. Darkrai can't win." The rhythm guitarist said with a calm look. The others wanted to stop him but Hitsugi was determined and it was obvious.

"Tora."

Tora immediately came beside Hitsugi, ready to protect both the red-haired man and Chelsea. But Alice Nine members were very worried as Tora did not have a partner Pokémon yet.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Tora said with a smile as Hitsugi smiled back.

"At least take Luxray! You're gonna be alone otherwise!!" Hiroto said with the Gleam Eyes Pokémon coming close to the older guitarist but Tora shockingly shook his head.

"No, it's gonna be fine, really, don't give Luxray to me."

"Yasuno." Bela said, swallowing slightly as Yasuno came to stand beside the other two, his eyes slightly hard at the thought of what Darkrai was trying to do to Mai even after his death.

"He's not going to win this fight, that much I can promise, guys."

And when Bela took the last paper, all of the GazettE members stiffened, anticipating.

"And for the last one, Ruki." She said, making all of the others' faces pale as the vocalist smiled and nodded, coming beside the others.

"We'll return successful, come on, let's do it!"

With that, the four of them got their disguises and went out of the hospital, making the ones who were staying behind uneasy.

~Meanwhile in Darkrai's fortress~

As Chelsea hid behind a wall in the Pitch Black Pokémon's throne room, she saw that Darkrai was very pleased by something. And then, the dangerous scientist woman came into the room, bowing respectfully before the Pitch Black Pokémon and waiting his orders.

"Is it ready yet?"

"Yes, Master. We can finally do it. Now we can begin to use the Sphere of Death to put him inside it." She said softly, smiling disturbingly.

"Good. Bring it to the gates then."

~Meanwhile with the spies~

"So... Has anyone thought about how exactly we're gonna be able to get accepted into the castle?" Asked Tora as they came close to the dangerous abode of Darkrai, making all of them stop in their tracks.

"Crap, we should've thought more for a plan!" Ruki said, frowning as they hid close-by.

"Yeah... But we can find something if we think hard enough. We have to or this won't end well." Hitsugi said with a focused frown on his face. Then, for some odd reason, his mind went back to the indie days of his band and found a good idea for them.

"I have an idea!! How about we make ourselves look like we're professionals in one specific thing and look like we're a band of friends who can do interesting things? For example, I can cook kinda well, that would bring me right into the kitchens, right? Also, we should make up names for ourselves since both that bastard Zannin and Yune-san are in the castle." The short guitarist said, making the other three look at eachother with surprise.

"That's actually a good idea, Hitsugi-san. And I have another one, how about we take our Pokémon into account as well? Like Yasuno-san has a Munna who is a Psychic type and you have a Normal type? That would make things easier on us too." Ruki said calmly as he thought long and hard about the name he could go by in the castle.

"Sab, Sableye~!" Ruki's Sableye suddenly cried out as she looked towards the castle doors. The quartet looked towards the doors as the Darkness Pokémon pointed and gasped. Toshiya was bringing the unconscious Kyo into the castle, looking strangely calm and with scary, burning eyes.

"Oh, Kami-sama..." Hitsugi whispered, shocked. The others were also shocked as they watched the doors close behind the bassist.

"We need to get in that castle as soon as possible, minna. This is bad." Tora said softly, also shocked and horrified.

~Meanwhile with Tatsuhi and Yuuya~

"Actually, I have. But why would you want such a worthless piece of junk? Especially since its sparkles have almost faded away already." The man said, making both of them pale in horror.

"NANI?! Then we really need to find it before it's gone! Where is it?!" Yuuya said in urgency. The man frowned and said;

"I saw it in the Iron Island. Riley can help you find it but I don't think it's going to be much of a use to be honest."

"We have to go there, NOW!! Tatsuhi said and the man directed them towards the ferry to which the two of them hurriedly boarded and the boat immediately took off to the Iron Island.

~Meanwhile in Darkrai's castle~

Darkrai calmly regarded the four new servants who looked very interesting to him. They looked a little nervous but otherwise showed no signs of fear.

"What are your names?" The Pitch Black Pokémon asked, making them look at eachother with a strange look in their eyes.

"I'm Notti Yukishige. I'm an oracle. My Munna helps me see fragments of the future. I'd like to serve you well." The one on the far left said with slight difficulty. Darkrai found the man rather interesting as he bore a strong resemblance to one of the Champions of Cresselia. But the man's words definitely intrigued him enough to get him in. The Pitch Black Pokémon nodded and the man next to Notti started talking in a soft voice.

"I'm Mitsu Kazuyoshi, I can make good meals with my Meowth, he's quite an adept little Pokémon, he can adapt to almost anything."

"I'm Yamane Toshikore, I... Can fit in almost any plaec to overhear anything and if I can't, my Sableye can do it." The shortest man said, his voice pleasant to the Pitch Black Pokémon, his words even more so. And then, the tallest one started talking.

"I'm Amago Shigekazu, I unfortunately don't have a Pokémon but I can cause a good amount of fear into my foes due to my height and I know Judo, a fighting art from another dimension. We all wish to serve you well... Master."

"Very well. You are in. But you will have to prove yourselves first."

~Meanwhile in the hospital~

"I hope they'll be fine..." Yomi said with honest worry. He wasn't only worried for Hitsugi, he was worried for the others as well, knowing that failure would be very fatal. Just as Yuura was about to say something, however, a text message came through into Kai's, Ruka's, Shou's and Yuura's phones, making everyone tense up. But when they saw that it was from the four spies, they all took a deep breathe.

"They're in, apparently. Thank God they seem to be fine..." Kai said with a soft, concerned look on his face at the thought of his little vocalist endangering himself like that even with Sableye by his side.

Everyone sagged in relief as well at the news, happy that their four friends were alright. And then, as the four of them sent a confirmation message to their spy friends, Bela and surprisingly, Latias came into the room, the Eon Pokémon looking really scared.

"What's wrong, Latias-san?" Asked Uruha, looking worried.

"Did you really send four people on their own to Darkrai's castle?! Are you out of your minds?!" Latias asked with a horrified look on her face. The guys all nodded much to her horror but Yuura softly said;

"Don't worry, they're not exactly on their own, three of them already have their partner Pokémon and they wouldn't be stupid to get hurt by Darkrai. They all will be alright."

"But still... Did you even think of the dangers that are in that castle?!"

~Meanwhile with Tatsuhi and Yuuya~

"Ikimashou, Yuuya, I don't think we have much time to save Ryuji so we have to get a move on." Tatsuhi said as they went out of the ferry boat onto the Iron Island. Just as they went into the nearest cave, theey saw a silver haired man in a blue suit, holding the last soul shard of the vocalist in his right hand.

"Look, over there!!" Yuuya exclaimed, pointing at the man. Tatsuhi looked and gasped in shock.

"That's it!! We need to get it now, before it is too late! Ano, mister, could you give that shard to us? It's very important to us."

~Meanwhile in Darkrai's castle - with Chelsea~

Chelsea frowned as she looked at the small note in her hand and the Sableye who had delivered it to her. She didn't know who could have sent a note to her and hoped with all her heart that she had not been discovered.

"Are you trying to tell me that this is important, little one?" She muttered and the little Darkness Pokémon nodded, softly crying out. Chelsea sighed and opened the note.

"Sab!! Sableye~!!"

"Come to the room in the East Towers if you can. It is very important." She read aloud and frowned deeper as she didn't recognize the handwriting. She scribbled a response and gave it to the Darkness Pokémon, telling that she would come.

"I'm not coming alone... I will take my Pokémon with me." She said and started getting ready with a calm yet stony look on her face. But nothing could have prepared her for what she was about to see. It was Yasuno and a tall, black haired man whose eyes looked fierce and slightly scary.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here, Yasuno?! You're gonna blow my cover!!"

At her words, Yasuno looked serious along with his companion, surprising Chelsea.

"I'm here because I will not let what that monster is trying to do to Mai! And besides, I'm undercover here as well along with three other friends of mine, don't worry about your cover blowing." He said with the other man nodding. That shocked Chelsea.

"Yeah, we wouldn't do anything like that to you." The other man said in his deep, calming voice and then, turned to the Sableye that had brought Chelsea into the room.

"Sableye, go find your partner. I don't like Ruki-san endangering himself like that alone."

"Sab, Sableye~!" The Darkness Pokémon cried out and left the room immediately. Then, Chelsea turned to the other man, curious about him. The man looked slightly amused at that, looking at her with a calm smile.

"So, who are you?"

"My name is Tora. Me and two others decided to help Yasuno-san to prevent that bastard from defiling Mai-san's memory. Don't worry, your secret is safe with us."

"Nice to meet you, Tora. I just hope we can do this..." She whispered, worried.

"I'm kinda worried though, I hope Sableye found Ruki-san because it won't end well otherwise..."

~Meanwhile with Ruki~

Ruki crawled through the vents to learn where Darkrai was taking Mai's body to, looking worried. The Pitch Black Pokémon looked almost gleeful about it, starting to alarm the vocalist. But as he went by, he saw that the vents were not continuing to where the dangerous Legendary Pokémon was going.

Just as he was about to get out, a small hand closed around his ankle, making him startle and almost kick it away. But then, he heard his Sableye softly call out.

"Oh, it was you, Sableye? Did the plan work??"

Sableye nodded furiously, making Ruki smile and sigh in relief. Then, his phone vibrated with a message, making him frown slightly.

"'Return to the room immediately, we need to plan what to do next.'" Ruki read the message aloud in a whisper but then, shook his head.

"I can't return yet, I have a really bad feeling about this. Sableye, we need to find a way to get to that place and now." The vocalist whispered, swallowing slightly. Sableye nodded slightly reluctantly, not wanting her sweet partner to get hurt.

"Let's go then."

They managed to get out of the shaft and then, Ruki barely managed to get into the small, secret elevator that was right behind Darkrai's throne along with his Darkness Pokémon. But when they got there, what Ruki saw horrified him. It was Darkrai who was standing in front of a portal to the Distortion World. That tipped him off to what the Pitch Black Pokémon was planning to do to Mai.

"Oh hell... Sableye, we need to stop these monsters before they go through with this!!"

~Meanwhile with Tatsuhi and Yuuya~

When Tatsuhi said that, the man in the suit looked up, frowning at the look on the two of them's faces.

"Why do you want this beautiful stone? Are you collectors like me?"

"Iie, this is not a stone, mister, it's a soul shard. It's our friend's and if we don't get it now, he will die. So onegai, give it to us." Yuuya said politely, looking really worried. The man looked less than convinced, however, making them feel scared.

"Then prove it! I won't give up this stone otherwise!"

"We can! J-just follow us!" Tatsuhi said, guiding the man to the prone body of Ryuji and the other two restored soul shards.

~Meanwhile with Yasuno and Tora~

"I'm getting worried, Ruki-san doesn't seem to be answering." Tora muttered, frowning as he hoped with all of his heart that the young vocalist had not gotten hurt.

"I'll search for him! We must protect eachother and I know this castle better than you do since you've just come here and all!" Chelsea said, seriously concerned as well. But then, thankfully, Ruki sent a back message.

"'I'm on my way.' he says. I'm glad he seems to be alright..." Yasuno said, shaking his head. Right as he finished his words, Hitsugi came in with his partner Meowth.

"Hello, so we meet again." The shorter guitarist said with a smile at the taken aback Chelsea.

~Meanwhile with Tatsuhi and Yuuya~

Tatsuhi and Yuuya guided the young man to Ryuji's prone body, also checking on the vocalist but it seemed that he was getting paler and paler by the minute.

"He looks... Pretty bad. Are you sure this stone can actually be enough to help him??" The man said with a look of slight horror on his face.

"Hai, it's a shard of his soul after all. We're trying to reassemble his soul so that he's saved. But I'm afraid that we don't have much time..." Yuuya said softly, sad and regretful at the thought of his friends going through everything they had on their own.

The man thought for a moment, he had no idea what he should do as the beautiful but barely sparkling crystal shard would look good with him but it was also obviously important to these two young people. Then quickly deciding, he said to them;

"I will battle you. If you win, you get this stone. But if you lose, I will keep it with me."

~Meanwhile in Toshiya's mind~

Toshiya slammed himself into the bars of his prison, trying to get out. He was terrified and didn't know what else to do. But nothing he did worked what so ever.

"What are you making me do, Darkrai?! Oh, I hope I'm not hurting the guys!!" He said, tears in his eyes and panting from the effort.

That was then, he heard a soft whisper, making him shocked and slightly terrified;

"Give yourself to my power. It shall unlock the real you, Toshiya."

~Meanwhile in Darkrai's castle - with the spies~

"Eh? You know eachother??" Said Tora in confusion as Hitsugi smiled and nodded.

"Yeah. If it weren't for her help, Yomi would've been worse than dead, actually." The shorter guitarist said in a matter-of-fact voice as Chelsea smiled back.

"It was nothing. Darkrai did way too many awful deeds that I couldn't let one more happen." She said softly, calm but slightly sad at the thought of everything the Pitch Black Pokémon had taken from her and many others.

"I'm getting worried though, I'll send another message to Ruki-san, just in case."

Just as Yasuno said that, however, the guys were relieved to see Ruki come into the room with his Sableye.

"Ruki-san, where the hell were you?! You shouldn't go off on your own here, it's too dangerous!" Tora said, frowning as Ruki mentally got ready to tell the other three what he had found out.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me." He said, hesitating slightly as he knew Yasuno was going to be very angry.

"Where were you anyways? As Tora-san said, it really is very dangerous here." Hitsugi said, concerned at the silence of the young vocalist. Ruki swallowed and decided to tell what had been going on.

"I saw Darkrai with some scientists and followed him with Sableye. Before you say anything, I didn't get caught, don't worry. And I... I found out what he was planning to do to Mai-san." He said making everyone's eyes widen in shock.

~Meanwhile with Tatsuhi and Yuuya~

"What do you mean?! We proved that we need that shard!! We don't have time to battle!!" Tatsuhi said, angry and scared.

"If you are so desperate, then come and take it like real men. Go, Archeops and Excadrill!" The man said and the two of them looked at eachother with determination and nodded, ready to take the shard at all cost.

"Go, Delcatty!! We need to save Ryuji and fast!!"

"Go, Drowzee!!" Yuuya yelled, glaring daggers at the man in front of them.

~Meanwhile in Darkrai's castle - with Kyo~

Kyo opened his eyes in the dungeons, his whole body aching. He tried to remember what had happened and he almost gasped when he remembered Toshiya's pupilless, burning red eyes. But luckily for him, he managed to refrain from doing so and heard something.

"How do we make sure that Toshiya gives himself completely to the power of the Flame Plate, Adrienne?" It was a voice of a man, sounding curious.

"We'll need a sacrifice, to unlock the power, we shall have the closest person to him and kill him."

Kyo was horrified at the thought and once more, he had to stop himself from gasping in fear. But he didn't know that it was not over yet as the woman named Adrienne started talking once more.

"But that is not all. The one who's closest to him should be tortured to mind-break first and then be killed by Toshiya himself. It would definitely break his soul and allow the Flame Plate to take over permanently." She was saying and that, made Kyo open his eyes wide in horror this time. But before he could try to wake the others up as he'd seen Shinya, Kaoru and Die beside him, the dangerous servants came into the cell.

"So you're awake. You should consider yourself lucky for you are the one to witness Master get one step closer to taking this worthless world over." The woman said gleefully as the man opened Shinya's cuffs and dragged his still unconscious body out.

"IIE!! Shinya!!!"

~Meanwhile in the hospital~

"I'm getting worried, maybe we should send a message to the guys. They wouldn't have kept us waiting for so long to know what's up..." Yomi said softly, worried for his youngest friend and the others as well.

"Yes, that is a very good idea." Latias said as she shook her head, knowing those four people were taking a huge risk. At that, Saga immediately took his phone and messaged Tora, hoping that they all were alright. Then, Latias asked why they were taking such a huge risk once more, concerned.

"Because Darkrai can't have everything he wants. We need to put a stop to him before he does something even worse than he already has." Said Ni~ya, frowning at the thought.

"Tora sent a message!! They're all fine, yokatta." Saga said, giving a sigh of immense relief along with the others.

~Meanwhile with Kyo~

"Guys, mezamero!! Shinya is in danger!!!" Kyo yelled but both Die and Kaoru were out like a light, impossible to wake up. Just as Kyo was about to wake them up, a thought creeped into his mind; what if the minions learned they were awake as well and tried to take them as well?

"I need to get out of here! I can't let Totchi do this!" He whispered and then, he focused on getting his hands unbound. When he managed it, he silently thought of how to get out of the cell without making a racket, frowning in intense focus. Thankfully, he saw that their Pokéballs were nearby, making him relieved as he knew that Shinya's Gardevoir could help him with this.

The Embrace Pokémon cried out when she was freed and looked around to see her trainer but the only thing she saw was Kyo looking really worried as he freed his Bisharp as well.

"Bisharp, I want you to stay here and guard the guys. I'm gonna save Shinya and Toshiya in the meanwhile." The vocalist said to the Sharp Blade Pokémon and told what was going on to Gardevoir, making her horrified as she felt her master's pain.

"Let's go, Gardevoir, we don't have much time before they break both Shinya and Toshiya! Can you get me out of here without making any sound?!"

"Gar~!" The Embrace Pokémon nodded and used Psychic to silently bend the bars so that the young man could get out with her. But when they arrived to where Shinya was taken, Kyo's eyes went wide in horror at the state of Shinya; the drummer was seemingly still unconscious but this time, he was being hurt by a Rampardos while bound and gagged. And Toshiya was there as well, looking completely unworried with his pupilless red eyes.

"No!! They're not doing this to us!! Gardevoir, I have an idea--" Kyo started to say only for the Rampardos to ram into Shinya, making him wake up and try to scream in pain. His stomach started to bleed badly, obviously the wound was very deep. Seeing that, Gardevoir cried out in anger and sent a bunch of glowing white leaves into Rampardos, making Kyo facepalm.

But seeing that, the scientists just grinned madly and ordered Rampardos to attack once more, making Gardevoir even more angry along with Kyo.

"You are NOT going to kill anyone!! I won't let you, you bastards!!"

~Meanwhile with the spies~

"So, what was he planning to do to Mai-cho?! I won't let whatever it is to happen to him again!" Yasuno growled, angry, making Ruki swallow in nervousness.

"He... He's planning to use him as a vessel as we heard but not for himself... It's for Giratina-san, if I'm not mistaken." Ruki said, making all of their eyes widen in horror.

"Giratina? I think I've heard a legend of his viciousness!! That bastard is not doing this to Mai!!!" Chelsea said, her eyes full of tears.

"Oh, trust me, he is goddamn vicious, I came face-to-face with that bastard and that is not something you want to happen, it nearly took two of my bandmates' lives!" Ruki said, shuddering at the thought.

"If he even thinks about hurting Mai this way, I swear, I. Will. Kill. Him!!!" Yasuno growled in anger, shocking Chelsea with his anger.

~Meanwhile with Emile~

"So, how are we going to track the other plates, anyone have any ideas?" Tim asked as they got out of the forest, all of them pretty worn out in their search of the plates.

"Don't ask me. Emile might know something at least, right, Emile?" Jon said, turning to the younger man and making him swallow slightly as he thought hard about the locations of the objects.

"I think we should go after the Icicle Plate, it should be easier on us right now. But the thing is, I can barely remember anything about the rest of the plates' whereabouts..." The young gamer said, frowning.

"We're all tired, I think the best course of action here is turn back for a while and rest. We already have 2 of them in our hands where Darkrai cannot reach." Cyrus suddenly said, making the others look at eachother and sigh with a nod.

"I suppose you're right. Thanks for the help though."

~Meanwhile with Tatsuhi and Yuuya~

"Archeops, use Head Smash on the Delcatty!! And Excadrill, you use Earthquake!" The man said, making the two pause for a moment and then decide quickly.

"Delcatty, use Fake Out on Excadrill!"

"Drowzee, you focus on Archeops and use Hypnosis! We have to win this!" Yuuya exclaimed and their Pokémon immediately acted with Delcatty making the Subterrene Pokémon flinch successfully along with damaging him a little so he could not attack them both and possibly faint them on the spot.

"Drowzee~!!" Yuuya's Hypnosis Pokémon missed, however, and Archeops attacked Delcatty, making her fall back a few steps, very weakened immediately but she was not about to give up at all. Instead, before Tatsuhi even could say one thing, she used Thunderbolt on Archeops, successfully weakening the First Bird Pokémon and bringing his Ability, Defeatist into the play and making the man frown.

"Your luck is running out, young men, Archeops, you can still do this, use Acrobatics on that Delcatty! Excadrill, you use X-Scissor on Drowzee!"

The opponents used the needed moves immediately with Archeops easily defeating Delcatty and making her trainer pale slightly before petting the Prim Pokémon.

"You did good, Delcatty. Don't worry, we'll have that shard." He said softly before sending out Ryuji's Mandibuzz.

"Mandibuzz, your trainer needs you. I know you're not really gonna listen to me but do it for Ryuji, okay?" The bassist said before checking on the older man and finding out that he was becoming really cold and his breathing was becoming erratic at best.

"Crap, we need to get that shard now, it's getting worse, Yuuya!" The short bassist said with alarm in his voice.

"Okay then! Drowzee, use Synchronoise!! We can't lose this!!"

"Drow~!" The drummer's Pokémon nodded and used the said move somehow successfully, damaging the Subterrene Pokémon pretty good as Mandibuzz looked at the state of affairs before crying out in anger and sending a Dark Pulse right into both Archeops and Excadrill, making everyone flinch as well.

"Man, Mandibuzz, Man!!" The Bone Vulture Pokémon cried out again as Archeops fainted and sent another Dark Pulse, completely uncontrollable, much to Yuuya and Tatsuhi's shock.

"Mandibuzz, calm down! You're gonna kill someone!!"

~Meanwhile with Kyo~

"Gardevoir, bring me down there, I'll take that Rampardos myself. You save your trainer, okay?" Kyo said, sending a death glare at Adrienne and even though she wasn't sure of the young vocalist's plan, Gardevoir complied, gently lowering him down towards where Shinya was bound.

"Hey!! You monster, how about getting someone of your goddamn size?!" He yelled as the scientists also sent out their Pokémon to stop him from taking Shinya out and tending to his wound.

Meanwhile, Shinya who was able to see his best friend go against 5 Pokémon without his Bisharp, cried out against his gag, trying to prevent Kyo from doing something that crazy. But what horrified him was the older man turned to him with a soft smile.

"It's gonna be alright, Shinya. I'm not letting either of you to get hurt." Was all he said before the attacks started coming towards him.

~Meanwhile with the spies~

"Yasuno-san, this is too dangerous right now. I saw him with at least five other people, it will not only blow our cover but it probably can kill you as well. I'm sure Mai-san wouldn't have wanted you to endanger yourself like that." Ruki said but Yasuno wasn't really listening, too busy being furious.

"Yasuno, listen to me, I don't want Darkrai to do this to Mai either, but if we blow our cover right now, it will do us no good what-so-ever. You can't do anything good with going rashly." Chelsea said at his silence.

"I'll find a way, trust me. He is not doing this to Mai-cho and that is that!" Yasuno whispered and taking his Pokéball, he left the room.

"We need to make sure he'll be okay. Sableye, let's go!"

"Sab, Sableye~!" The small Darkness Pokémon cried and with that, Ruki took off after Yasuno, very worried.

The vocalist found Yasuno close to the place where they had taken Mai's body, looking on as he silently shook in fury. He was about to stop Yasuno from going out and showing himself when the older man sent his Munna out and said something that scared Ruki.

"Munna, use Hypnosis on Darkrai! We can't let him do this to Mai!"

"Yasuno-san, what the hell do you think you're doing?! It's going to--"

"He hurt Mai enough, Ruki-san. This is not going to happen to him, no way in hell."

~Meanwhile with Kyo~

Just as the attacks were going to hit Kyo, something came in front of him, blocking them from reaching the vocalist as he ran towards Shinya and undid the gag in his mouth with some difficulty. But when he looked up, he wasn't expecting to see Die and his Garbodor, both angry at the attempt.

"Kyo, are you alright?!" Shinya asked in fear and groaned in pain as the older man gently pressed his wound. Then, seeing Toshiya there, standing with no expression on his face, Die gasped.

"Toshiya!! Come and help, will you!?" He yelled but the younger man still gave no reaction. Then, he gave the order to his Garbodor against the Fairy-type Azumarill that stood in front of the Trash Heap Pokémon.

"Garbodor, use Sludge Bomb on that Azumarill!!"

"G-Gardevoir! Please use Psychic on that R-Rampardos... Ow..." Shinya weakly whimpered as Kyo tried to stop the blood rush from his wound.

"It'll be okay, Shinya. We'll get out, I promise."

~Meanwhile with Tatsuhi and Yuuya~

Even though Tatsuhi yelled at her to stop, Mandibuzz was terrifyingly angry and was not about to stop.

"Man, Mandibuzz~!!" The Bone Vulture Pokémon sent out yet another Dark Pulse into the Excadrill and made the Subterrene Pokémon finally fall, right into the young man.

"Now give us the shard. Now, if you know what is good for you!" Yuuya said, looking pissed off. But the man managed to get out under his fainted Pokémon and glared right back. But before he could refuse a third time, Tatsuhi angrily took a hold of his collar and shook him.

"You're defeated, admit it already!!" He said and before the man could say anything, the bassist took the soul shard from his pocket, ready to save Ryuji's life at all costs.

~Meanwhile with Ruki and Yasuno~

"B-but--"

"Munna, use Psychic quietly, don't let them know where we are!" The drummer growled, looking very furious.

"Mu~, Munna~!" The Dream Eater Pokémon looked confused at her trainer's anger but complied anyways. The resulting sound from the other side made everyone turn towards it and made it easy for Yasuno to take a huge risk by going in and running to get Mai's body from the man who was holding the lifeless body up.

"Is he crazy?! What the hell does he think he is doing?!" Ruki muttered, horrified as he sent his Sableye to protect the older man.

~Meanwhile in the hospital~

"So, how do you think your friends will escape the castle once they're done with everything they need to do?" Bill asked worriedly, knowing that they were taking a huge risk.

"I don't know but I'm sure they'll find something, they aren't your ordinary guys after all. Especially not Ruki-kun." Reita said, having full confidence in the short vocalist's abilities to keep silent and guard his friends with his life.

"I sure hope so, that castle is horrifying to say the least..." The tall vocalist said quietly, remembering everything they had gone through thanks to Darkrai.

~Meanwhile with Ruki and Yasuno~

Yasuno went towards the scientist that was holding Mai's lifeless body in his arms, ready to offer it to the dangerous Renegade Pokémon as a vessel, very angry. He told Munna to use Psychic again to distract them and Darkrai as well, ready to get his old friend's body back before the Pitch Black Pokémon caused even more suffering to him.

"Sab, Sableye~!" Ruki's Sableye cried quietly behind him, making him turn around and see that Ruki was trying to beckon him back to the safety. But the drummer shook his head silently. And then, he saw Ruki sigh and nod at his Darkness Pokémon to use an attack herself. She silently used Confuse Ray on Darkrai and then, with Munna, they created an opening for Yasuno to take his old friend's body away.

Then, he started running as fast as he could with Mai's dead body in his arms towards Ruki while the scientists tried to understand what was going on.

"Yasuno-san, are you alright?!" Ruki asked when the drummer reached safety. Yasuno nodded, swallowing in distress at the peaceful look on the ex-guitarist's face.

"We should bring him to the room. You did it, Yasuno-san. They're not gonna touch him again." Ruki whispered, understanding. Yasuno nodded again and they carried the body back to the room as their partners came behind them, both wary of the dangers that could come from behind.

~Meanwhile with Tatsuhi and Yuuya~

When Tatsuhi and Yuuya held the small shard of the soul they were trying to save, they both were sucked into Ryuji's mind for the last time. They looked around to see a dense forest, worried sick for their vocalist friend, especially Tatsuhi.

"Ryuji-kun? Where are you?!" Yuuya called out but the only thing that clued them into the location of the young man was a small sob. The two of them looked at eachother and went towards the soft noise only to see Ryuji crying.

"Ryuji? We're here, come on, get up." Yuuya said and when the other man turned to them, they both gasped. Ryuji was all bloodied and crying.

~Meanwhile with the spies~

As Yasuno and Ruki came into the room with Mai's body, luckily not having gotten into any more dangers, the other three spies looked up and gasped.

"Y-you really did it?!" Chelsea whispered as Yasuno gently laid the dead body of his friend down on the bed.

"Yeah, thank goodness no one seemed to suspect us being there at all." Ruki said. But Yasuno still didn't talk, still very distressed about the death of Mai.

The others just looked at the pained drummer, understanding his pain. But then, a messenger came to inform them that Ruki was being summoned to Darkrai's throne room. The short vocalist shortly nodded and took his Sableye with him and left the room bravely.

~Meanwhile with Tatsuhi and Yuuya~

"R-Ryuji, what happened?!" Tatsuhi asked, running towards the taller man in worry.

"Please d-don't hurt me again!!" The vocalist whimpered as a huge rumble happened and threw all of them off-balance.

"What the hell?! Tatsuhi, look!" Yuuya yelled, paling immediately as he looked at a point out of the bassist's eye.

Tatsuhi looked up only to blanch, a copy of him, Taizo and Yuuya were coming closer with a threatening aura in them.

"W-what is going on?!"

"We found you, Ryuji. Now die." Tatsuhi's copy said and right before the mirror body could attack the upset and terrified vocalist, Tatsuhi punched it away.

"Stop taking our faces, you monsters!! Ryuji, it's us, you need to wake up!"

But Ryuji looked even more terrified, trying to inch away from them. Yuuya noticed it and cut off the escape route he was trying to take, making Ryuji turn even paler.

"How do I know you're real this time?! Y-you deceived me twice now!!"

Yuuya flinched, taking those words wrongly. But Tatsuhi just went near him and said softly;

"We're not gonna deceive you. It's really us, Ryuji. See, we're here for you. Come on, relax."

"T-then where's Taizo?!" Ryuji stuttered which made Tatsuhi angry.

"He's not here because he's a treacherous prick! He left, Ryuji, and he doesn't deserve your tears, believe me on that one. Come on, focus on waking up, this is just a bad nightmare."

~Meanwhile with the spies~

After Yasuno managed to keep a hold on himself so that he didn't cry, Tora smacked him upside the head hard.

"Itai!! What the hell, Tora-san?!"

"Do you even know how much danger you put yourself and us into?! If Kami-sama forbid they saw you, we're toast, Yasuno-san!!"

"I couldn't just let them take Mai like that, Tora-san! They've done more than enough to him, they won't hurt him again!!"

Just as Hitsugi was going to say something, Ruki came back with a slightly worried look on his face.

~Meanwhile in the hospital~

"I got a message from Ruki-kun!" Kai suddenly said, making everyone turn to the drummer with worry. The young man immediately opened the message and frowned slightly.

"What?! What is it?!"

"He says that something big happened but won't tell what... I hope everyone is alright..."

"That's it, I'm calling them, they can't just say that and leave us in the dark as to what may have happened!" Saga said, taking his phone in slight anger but Yuura stopped him, frowning as well.

"Why the--?!" Saga started snapping at the other bassist but the shorter bassist stopped him seriously.

"I'm worried too but this is not a good idea, Saga-san. Think about it, what if they're around Darkrai or someone that can sell them to him?! That would end horribly, as you can probably imagine."

Saga's eyes immediately widened and he dropped the phone, agreeing with Yuura about the risks. Meanwhile, N had finally recovered from the attack of Yveltal and was limping towards them.

"What happened?" The green haired man asked and Nao gave a short version of the four of them's mission in Darkrai's castle, shocking him.

"We know something bad can and probably will happen but none of us, especially not they could stand the cruelty of Darkrai anymore. This has to end already." Ni~ya said, remembering what the Pitch Black Pokémon had done to Yomi before and getting angry at the thought.

"If I can help in any way, please tell me how I can do so. Me and Kyurem will be glad to help you."

"Actually, you can, N-san. One of the guys sent a message that said something big happened in the castle and didn't give us the details. Can you somehow find a way to know what happened?"

"Yes, Kyurem can easily get me there. I'll go from there to let you know whatever that's happened in there." N said, getting to Kyurem immediately. But then, he paused, thinking of maybe telling about his ability to understand Pokémon.

"What's wrong? Is it your wound, N-san?" Yomi asked with concern but the green haired young man shook his head as he fought with himself about whether the people in the room would think any different of him.

"Well, I... I think I should tell you about my ability before I go, I guess..."

"What ability?! Is it something dangerous?!" Asked Ruka, immediately coming closer to Yomi and Sakito, wanting to prevent something bad reaching them along with Ni~ya, much to the other two's exasperation.

"I... I can understand Pokémon talk." He said very fastly, making both Yomi and Keiyuu who had been able to decipher the fast speech of his immediately.

"You can talk to Pokémon?! That's awesome!!" The shortest vocalist said, grinning. N was taken aback from the happy looks of the men in front of him, not understanding how they thought it was a good thing.

~Meanwhile Pokémon side~

"Lucario, what's wrong? You look sad." Eevee said softly, concerned about his new friend and not knowing that something very sad was eating away at the Aura Pokémon.

"Just something on my mind, don't worry." Lucario said, not wanting the other Pokémon to worry. But Gengar came closer to him and said;

"We're a team, Lucario, we should face everything we have to together. Tell us what's the matter."

Lucario looked surprised at the Shadow Pokémon's wise words and then, he bowed his head, finally talking about what had been eating at him for so long.

"Keiyuu wasn't my first trainer, as you guys know. My first trainer was their friend, Mai."

At that, the other Pokémon besides Hawlucha gasped in horror, understanding that his ex-trainer had died.

"He was killed by Darkrai, right?" Gyarados asked quietly, saddened by the thought of losing his own trainer.

"Yes. He died because he wouldn't let them get harmed... He raised me from a Riolu... With so much care... And now, he's gone... Darkrai killed him right in front of us..." The Aura Pokémon whispered, hurting from the thought.

"Oh God! Just... That is cruel!!" Eevee said, his eyes wide in shock. Gengar patted his shoulder, wanting to support the Aura Pokémon but even she wasn't sure how she could do so. But Mightyena came close to him as well, having had that pain himself, he could understand.

"I understand your pain, my first trainer died as well. It's hard to go through but I think they would want us to stay brave..."

"Yeah, I guess so... How did you meet Shou though? I... I met Mai when I hatched from the egg he had."

"I met Shou when the horrible man attacked our police station where me and my old trainer worked in. She was the only one who gave me a chance even though I was a Dark-type... She was killed and Shou immediately took me in, almost getting hurt in the process."

"He's really nice then. Just like Mai was..."

~Meanwhile with the spies~

"You mean Darkrai doesn't suspect us?! Thank Kami-sama for that!" Tora said, sparing a glance at Yasuno who still didn't look at the annoyed tall guitarist.

"We should do something about the suspect though, the poor guy is innocent and Darkrai wants to punish him." Ruki said, frowning slightly.

"I'll take care of that. No one else is getting hurt by Darkrai like Mai did, I promise." Chelsea did, patting Yasuno's shoulder and getting out of the room.