Welcome to Gaia! ::

((Continued from the Chapter start))



Minerva awoke with a start when her husband shouted loudly from the bed beside her. Nova and Dew burst into the room and began to bounce around as they lost their limited balance amidst their own yells. "Nova, Dew. Calm down. Go talk to Thanatos and Adme." She looked at her husband--or his body, anyways. "Collect some of the castle guards. Pluto is not to leave his room and is to be constantly monitored under medical equipment." She locked eyes with the Leafeon before her. "Now, tell me. Where did you go to sleep?" She spoke with the full authority of her position. You'd have to be nuts not to obey that voice.

"Won't be necessary." Thanatos ghosted through a nearby wall and gave Pluto's body a light poke. It immediately began tipping over, though the Gengar grabbed him to keep him from falling over. "The kid doesn't have the focus to function in the body. He's not going anywhere." It was surprising he'd even managed to sputter out his team name.

Minerva looked at her husband and nodded. Thanatos was right. Pluto wasn't going anywhere. "I'll be going to Atra's room, then. I need to track down my husband. Thanatos, if Pluto makes his way here, come fetch me. I need to speak with Lilium regardless." Thanatos nodded as Minerva made her way out the door.

Pluto cracked his eyes open, gasping for breath, and then immediately regretted it. The sudden feeling of warm air instead of cold water rushing into his lungs was both a shock and comfort at the same time. The transition from the youthful energy and wellness of the Buneary back to his own body was also less than pleasant. He closed his eyes and groaned softly at the bright intrusion of the sun, a sudden change from the dark waters at Mana Reefs. Soaking in the bright sunlight with his leaves, he gathered his energy to open his eyes once more and to look around the room.

"Master Eclipse?" Came a voice to the side, and Pluto turned his head wearily to regard Nova.

"Yes...what did you give the kid while he was here?" He asked. It took effort to keep his head up since it felt like it weighed a ton, and he fought to keep his eyes open.

"Mostly sleep medication. We had to calm him down, and keeping him asleep was the easiest way to keep you safe." Nova explained, Dew hovering by her side, looking more than a little happy at being back in his own body.

"That explains...some things..." He murmured, laying his head down on his paws and closing his eyes. He was fast asleep within moments.

Nova was setting out and organizing her equipment for tomorrow morning when the door sounded. She didn't look up or pause from her work, though she looked exhausted. Pluto has been going in an out of sickness for the last two weeks, keeping his medical team on edge. Nova hasn't slept soundly in days.

"Dew, can you get that please?" She asked her assistant, and the Chimecho floated over to the door, jingling with every movement. He pushed down on the door handle, and then pulled it opened a crack with Psychic.

He peeked out the door to see a scyther. Kind of battered-looking, probably not all that young.

"Yes? May I help you?"

Dew sent a quick mental message to Nova about the visitor.

Scyther? I think I might know him. Let him in.

Dew opened the door fully, jingling in welcome as he bobbed in midair.

"I see, come in and make yourself comfortable then. Master Eclipse hasn't been feeling well, but he was doing better earlier today. I'll go see if he's fine for an audience at the moment." Dew pointed to a chair with the long tag-thing dangling off him, and then pushed the door closed. The Chimecho floated up over the temporary wall that separated the large room in half.

Nova looked back briefly to confirm that it was Tolin -she's never met him personally but the Scyther's had a strong presence in the guild- and went back to her work, measuring out different compositions of medicine.

The door in the temporary wall opened a minute later, with the Leafeon stepping out. Pluto walked slowly, but firmly.

"What's happened now?" he asked grimly.

Dew gasped at the news, jingling in agitation. Nova stopped her work and looked up over her shoulder, a concerned look on her face. Pluto kept himself impassive, digesting the information.

Diablo Ortez? Dead? The Leafeon nodded at the Scyther.

"Thank you for informing me." He finally sighed in frustration. This was certainly troubling news. Especially since Diablo was one of the only Guildmasters with the smarts and experience to have been able to deal with something like this. Pluto looked over to Dew, and the Chimecho immediately floated down nearer so the Leafeon didn't have to raise his voice to be heard.

"We need to inform all of the necessary people. Dew, go inform Sol..." Pluto stopped, reconsidering this. "No, go find the Lucario named Spira, and that Raichu Jasper and tell them of what has happened. Do your best to locate Apollo if you can but do not waste too much time. Go to the Tower of Rebirth after this and keep in contact with Nova. Avoid going to the Guild of the Morning Star unless if you are absolutely sure it is safe."

The Chimecho nodded and disappeared in a crack! Pluto looked back to the Scyther.

"Can I trust you to inform Solaris? I do not believe that Dew has the ability to...make things clear for him. And I want to make sure Solaris understands the full implications."

Pluto watched as Tolin left, and the moment the door closed he sagged visibly, coughing lightly. Diablo couldn't have died of natural causes. He would have heard if the Arcanine had been sick, and an accident would be unlikely with the protection and training around the Guildmaster. It was more likely than not a murder.

He nodded thankfully to his wife, wearily turning back to his chambers. He could trust Minerva to get this done right.

Nova hurried across the room to a small kitchen-like area and set some water to boil in a kettle. She understood that Pluto would need some help getting to sleep tonight, and the Roserade knew best what worked well on the Leafeon. Hell, she'll probably sneak some herself. The idea of someone murdering a Guildmaster was terrifying, and in the Pokemon world it didn't take more than a single instant of teleport to travel from the Morning Star Guild all the way here.

"Who is it?" The old Leafeon asked out loud, curled up in bed with a book. Ever since the failure at getting the elixir of light, Pluto had been looking into other rumoured cure-alls, in case they could help with the situation. A stack of similar books were beside his bed, the one he was reading having a small passage on Phione Dew, a substance his medical team had researched extensively in the past in hopes of helping with his condition.

On the other side of the temporary wall, beside the door, a dormant Metang sprung to life, its eyes glowing briefly.

"One moment Master Eclipse. Scanning visitor..." The mechanical voice of Adme replied, and a weak psychic pulse was sent out the door. Nova looked up for a moment from where she was pouring tea, then glanced back down to her work. Aw screw it, Adme will take care of this.

"Scan complete. It is Tolin of Team Southern Cross sir." Adme concluded with a quiet beep. Pluto carefully marked his place in the book and closed it, getting to his feet.

Goddamnit. If that Scyther was involved, this was important. At least the old Leafeon was in relatively good health ever since the Halloween party, though he'd rather forget about that night. He crossed the barrier into the adjoining room and to the door, where Adme, through CaSoVI's psychic abilities, opened the door for him. Quadrupedal and doorknobs were never a good idea.

"Good evening." He greeted the Scyther at the door, standing aside to allow him in. "What is it this time?"