Pokémon Chronicles 零 (ZERO)

Last episode: Defined by actions

"N-no, not again! Why at a time like this, I'm so sick of it!" Megan cried, grabbing me immediately.

"Everyone, stay together! FinVarra's illusion is wearing off," I warned, paying close attention to the background. Really and truly, that was only a prediction though; one I hoped would come true. Thankfully it did, and the tremor never reached a level that was dangerous to us. Instead, the background and scenery began to fade away, quickly getting replaced with the original background of the area. It hurt my eyes to see the world transition back to this glittery setting, but that was all.

"It... we're back here..." Shelly remarked, loosening up once the shaking came to a stop. "... Crystal, how did you know?"

"I didn't, admittedly," I confessed, scratching the back of my head. The others slumped forward a little, and then pointed to the way ahead, a set of stairs leading into a corridor. Good to see that the simplicity of this place hadn't changed, even with FinVarra's obstruction.

"Let's not waste any time," I ordered, exchanging glances with everyone. Seeing that they were ready, I led the way, making sure to walk quickly.

A part of me assumed that we were at the top of the sword during our battle against FinVarra, but the frequent flights of stairs ahead proved otherwise. The tower went straight back to its original repetitive layout, taking us through a corridor that circled round to a large room with the occasional flight of stairs somewhere in between. It took a bothersome amount of time, but eventually we saw a change of scenery in the form of a corridor having only stairs and nothing else.

"Here we go..." I told myself, feeling nervous thanks to the silence of the others. I could really feel the altitude here as well, taking note of how little air I was getting as well as how shockingly cold it was. The final staircase led outside, where I got full view of frosty air coming from my mouth.

"Whoa, where's this?" Brine remarked first, looking around as we reached this outside area. We had reached the handle of the shining warrior's sword, which took the form of a garden rather than a simple flat surface. A thin layer of water sparkled across the floor here, whilst crystal coloured plants of varying flowers and sizes shimmered across the area. I spun around to get a good look at it all, flinching when I spotted another Pokémon that had been watching us.

"Wait, it's only you... the Togetic..." I breathed out, calming down. He was stood right in the centre of this garden, loosely holding down a small, normal sized replica of the shining warrior's sword. He stared at me with a blank, emotionless glare, not saying a word.

"Wait... are you Theria? The original shining warrior?" Shelly asked nervously. The Togetic didn't answer, instead silently pointing upwards with one hand. I slowly directed my gaze upwards, and then flinched in shock.

A familiar machine was floating just above the area, a large, glass covered bed that was supported by a multitude of spider-like legs. A seventh leg hung over the top of the bed, possessing a long, pink blade. Inside the bed wasn't Panzer, but her assistant, Ion the Clefairy.

"You... no, what's going on?" I panicked a little. "Why are you here?"

"To congratulate you, no less," Ion answered, slowly descending to our level. Her machine hovered close enough for us to be ruffled by wind that came from it, as well as create ripples in the water below.

"E... Excuse me? Congratulate us?" Mimia questioned, completely confused.

"Yes, I'm here to congratulate you, the shining warriors, for completing your quest and gaining the right to decide Heroica's fate. Do you remember my question from much time ago?" she clarified. I was weary, but gave it a round of thought. "I asked you what you would do with the world's ultimate power. That power is right here, power that could destroy Heroica and the world around it, or power that could save all of Heroica... for a time."