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Magnolia's steps crunched with each patter she made through the grasslands. She had to stop every so little while when a gale blew hard enough to almost throw her off her feet, but her searching always carried on. With eyes darting around like Combee buzzing from flower to flower and her arms wrapped tightly about her form as she shivered, Magnolia cried out the Jirachi's name, "Altais! Oiii, Altais!" Yet there was no reply nor was there any sign of him around.

The most blatant sign of danger, however, came in the form of an explosion in the distance of the grasslands. Magnolia covered herself as bit of stone and dirt rained down on her from where she stand. When the debris lessened, she peeked her eyes toward the direction of the blast and immediately set off into a run to the point. She couldn't have cared less as to what or who caused it, the only thing she was concerned about was whether Altais was involved and if he was hurt or not. The closer she got, the louder the sound of an unknown voice rose in Magnolia's ears.

It was when she was a foot away Magnolia saw the silhouette of a short woman looking out to a crater in the middle of the grasslands. One hand was clutching her hip while the other held up what the girl guessed to be a phone or communicator to her ear which she babbled into. Magnolia tried to be stealthy and figured out what was going on, but she did not recognize the grass before her and stepped her foot fully on it. The woman suddenly jerked her attention around to the sound.

"Hold on, boss, I just heard something," she spoke. Clicking her communicator off, Cetus slipped her phone into the pocket of her vest and focused her eyes into the night's ebony. That is when she spotted the fourteen year old holding herself tightly and frozen in fear. Suddenly, the Galactic grunt's eyebrows knitted together in anger.

"Hey, you!" she cried out to the girl. Magnolia burst out into a run.

Magnolia fell like an armful of firewood ready to be stacked. The bullet that should've excavated a four inch tunnel through her throat zinged off into the prairie and deep into the starry-speckled night towards an unknown target. Reflexively, the mauve haired girl darted up to her neck and clutched the area where the mouth of the gun once was. Imprinted red onto the stretch of skin under her jowl was the outline of the firearm's tip. Her fingers traced around the hole where the bullet would've descended into her. Her trembling continued.

Cetus blinked in surprise from the gun to Magnolia. She was unsure what to make of the moment. Guessing it to be the handiwork of an outside source, the Galactic's eyes drew wide in anger as she tossed the gun aside. It clattered with a bushy fall in of patch vegetation a few yards away.

"Shea!" She roared. "Shadow Claw!"

"Lemrrow!" Shea took a running start at the teen as her erect talons streamed with a powerful darkness. She arced around Cetus and made a jumping dive onto Magnolia, but was suddenly rebuked when a translucent, blue sphere engulfed her. She was pummeled away at the impact high into the air, but flipped herself straight and landed back onto her paws. Cetus's anger only swelled. Something wasn't right here.

"Stop it!"

Three heads darted in the direction of the voice. Like a falling star marring the heavens, Altais zipped into the area separating Magnolia from Cetus and Shea. He held up his arms defensively as he floated before the mauve-haired girl, his eyebrows scrunched in anger.

"Don't hurt her!" he yelled. "She's my friend!"

Cetus's teal eyes widened in surprise to the Steel/Psychic-type. "A-Altais?" she stammered in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

Altais's eyes too stretched back in surprise. "Cetus!" he suddenly gushed, diminishing the glare on his face to a smile. "Cetus, it's you!"

Altais's streamers fluttered up behind him due to the speed she suddenly shot towards her with. He suckered his body onto the side of her face in a hug, giddy upon seeing her again.

"It's been too long!" he cried. "How are you? How are you?"

The very face that regarded Magnolia with contempt was now chuckling and smiling. "I've been well," she said. "It's good to see you as well!"

Magnolia stood in a state of mystification. What in the world was going on? Why was Altais so familiar with that woman?

So, Altais did -- from the very beginning -- on how Cetus gave him freedom, how he saved Magnolia, and their subsequent promise.

Take me to the Kesfas Mountains! he had proclaimed then. In return I'll be your -- how do you humans call it? Valiant knight? Yes! I'll protect you! Just take me there! Take me there!

The Jirachi looked to the princess who he had dragged along with him the last few months. Her eyes were pooled with tears -- concern and worry reflected in the bright pink.

"But I didn't tell her one thing," he said aloud, never once separating his eyes from hers. "My months with her were the last months I had . . . to stay awake. It's nearly time until I must return to my slumber. And so . . . "

"You disappeared," Cetus finished for him.

Altais nodded and concentrated on his third eye. "I'm sorry, Magnolia. I didn't mean to run away. I wanted to lessen the pain of our separation. I didn't want to say good . . . goodbye."

Magnolia sighed. "Why didn't you just tell me?" she asked.

"Because I knew you wouldn't understand," Altais replied.

The teen's anger began to brim again until the Jirachi tried to make her come to a realization.

"I know you, Magnolia. I've been with you long enough to understand. Had I told you, you would've sought the inevitable. Try and find a way to solve my natural dilemma and, eventually, come to self-blame when I do succumb to my hibernation. You're youth, your peevishness, and your naivety . . . Those faults would've blinded acceptance. I'm sorry."

Altais's words fell on deaf ears. "Of course I would've tried to find a way!" Magnolia bellowed. "You're my friend!"

Cetus shook her head, eliciting Magnolia to spare her anger on her too. "What, do you have something to say?" she spat.

"Goodness gracious, kid," the middle-aged woman sighed. "You really do have some growing up to do. Let me put Alt's words here into much simpler, easier to understand words for your dumb brain: You can't do s**t. Simple and straight as that. He's going to return to his sleep whether you fight or not."

"B-But . . . He didn't have to run away!"

"On the contrary, I think he did." Cetus folded her arms across her bosom. "Since he knew this was the way you'd act, he was doing both himself and you a favor. Saving himself from your none-too-quiet voice and, for you, the pain of his leaving. Heck, even I don't have the balls to be that nice to someone."

By the time the duo returned to Rho, Altais had faltered and nearly collapsed into slumber again. Magnolia caught him before he did. He held his temples with his hands and turned his head left to right, right to left as a headache burbled up in the back of his head. With a small groan, he said, "Forget what I said back there... We can... start traveling in the morning..."

"Altais..." Magnolia muttered as she slipped herself and the legendary Pokemon back into the warmth of the sleeping bag. "A-Are you sure? What if you... don't wake up this time?"

Altais chuckled lightly. "It's... It's all right, I'll be fine. I've still some time until the start of my hibernation... I'll be up and about in the morning."

As always, Magnolia didn't trust the Jirachi's words. But due to the hour of the night and even her own state of energy, sleep seemed like the best option. Returning to the position to how she slept before with Rho and Altais, Magnolia's eyelids slid shut, and she sought slumber despite the concern raging in her mind. Half an hour later, Rho opened a single eye and looked to the legendary.

<Are you awake?> the cat thought to see if he was listening.

I am. What's wrong? Still... Whatever it is, it's a bit out of it for you to seek out conversation in me.

Rho grumbled. <Cut the crap, what happened?>

Nothing... the Jirachi replied with some hesitance.

<You're lying.>

Pretty much, but its not like you care. I know you hate my guts.

<I do,> Rho confirmed. <But do you remember out little promise that if you cause Magnolia any trouble, I'll sick Theta on you?>

Altais chuckled mentally. Don't worry, nothing happened. I just made her worry, as always.

Rho harrumphed. <That's all you're good for to her,> he huffed.

Altais did not reply because there was much truth in the statement. Instead, he turned away from the Glameow and hid his face to pretend he had returned to slumber. When the silence provoked no other form of conversation from the wishmaker, the feline glared daggers at the Jirachi before closing his eyes shut. Yet, with his head rested in the crook of Magnolia's arm, Altais grinned knowingly.

You're right for once, the legendary thought to himself. All I do is cause her trouble.

Sliding her rump onto a nearby rock, Magnolia removed one of her mittens and withdrew the slightly crumpled map from her messenger bag. Unfurling the parchment then flattening it out with a few smooths onto her lap, the fourteen year old looked over its contents and outlined the coast with her finger. Altais peered over the slice of paper with her and followed the trace before floating back from her.

"So we're going to follow the coast?" he questioned.

"It's the easiest route to follow," she returned. "Since I don't know where we are and-" She searched about the area to emphasize the rest of her statement. "I doubt there is much people -- if any -- living out here."

For once, Altais agreed with something she said. "That's true..." he replied.

Rho, who had jumped from the girl's shoulders when she sat down, had approached the surface of the lake instead of joining in on the conversation about which direction the group should travel in next. Peering down into the iced over surface, the feline's thistle eyes immediately locked on to several fish Pokemon barely visible through the layer of ice. Reflexively, his talons erected from his paws and he shot it out to the lake to swat at them, but his claws skid against the layer of ice and he lost his balance on it. Splatting face-first onto the lake, he slid a few feet out onto it with his hind legs kicking circles in the air as a weak effort to get back onto his feet. When he finally pushed himself to all fours, his hinds twisted in on each other, and that's when Rho realized he was only making a fool of himself.

Magnolia cupped a hand over her mouth when she caught sight of her first Pokemon trying his best to stand. Yet, his slip-up gave the girl an idea. Reaching into her bag one more time, she pulled out another item ball from the menagerie she carried around and popped it open to reveal a pair of blades. Sliding them onto the bottom of her winter boots, Magnolia had changed them from best for stomping through snow to best to sliding around on the ice. In other words, they were now a pair of skates.

Beckoning Altais along, she approached the lake as Rho had did before and pushed herself from the bank with ease. Sliding along into the middle of the surface to where her Glameow was, she scooped him up and then propped him on her shoulders. Rho clawed onto the cloth of her jacket desperately and kept himself there; glancing wide eyes down to the ice with hopes of never returning to its surface again. Altais's mouth became a slanted line on his face.

"What are you doing now?"

"Ice skating!" Magnolia cried back. "Come and try! It's fun!"

Magnolia trampled her way from the frozen freezeland to the waters surrounding the region. A salty tang and sea breeze choked the girl's senses. The lingering chill from the tundra behind her offset the tropical feel of the shore her eyes beheld that would usually be smothered in bodies sunbathing and splashing in the waters. Besides ebb and flow of the ocean, the area was eerily silent. It conjured a unnerving feeling from the lavender-haired girl because, besides her, Rho, and Altais, there was no other form of life in sight. It sent a shiver down her spine that wasn't the product of the low temperature.

"If it were warmer, I would take you swimming," Magnolia told the legendary jokingly.

"This is warmest it'll get," the Jirachi replied matter-of-factually; the jest in her statement going in one ear and out the other.

The girl sucked her teeth lightly with Altais's lackadaisical reply and instead continued her way across the snow-covered sands outlining the eastern coast of Zatao. Despite tagging along after her, the Jirachi's floating was listless and he lagged behind rather than keeping up. When the girl would slow her step to a pace equal to his and reach hands out to catch him if he happened to drift to the ground, he would ignore her and continue on ahead.

Carrying him would probably be a deathly wound to his inflated ego, the fourteen year old reasoned mentally with a roll of her eyes. Catering to said ego, however, Magnolia decided to make their new conversation topic about him. "So I've been wondering for a while..." she began. "What exactly happens after you go into hibernation?"

Altais glanced to her. "I dream," he answered bluntly.

Magnolia exhaled a sigh. "That's obvious. I mean, about what?"

The Jirachi scratched the side of his neck with his little fingers bumping against the formation of the crystals that continued to grow along the curve where it met his shoulder. "A lot of things," he replied. "Mostly memories."

"That's kind of vague. Memories of when? Are they on repeat for a thousand years? Are they lucid?"

"My life. No. No," Altais answered one after the other. "What with all of the questions? I didn't know I was going to be quizzed our entire way to the Kesfas Mountains."

Magnolia shook her head. "I'm not quizzing you... I just- I just want to know... Why are you so eager to get back there? Isn't it... Isn't it lonely, Altais?"

"Of course, it is lonely," he said. "To wake every thousand years for a single week just to absorb energy and return back under the mountains is both repetitive and lonely. But I put up with it. Do you know why? It's because it is my duty; I am the battery that keeps the Kesfas Mountains going. Without me, life there would cease. So I am willing to sacrifice my comfort for the sake of a job. That is just how I am."

"But-!" Magnolia suddenly stopped in place and stamped a foot, balling her fists. Rho fixed himself back onto her shoulder because her sudden jerking made him lose his balance. "You shouldn't have to do something you don't want to! T-That's not fair! That's not fair at all!"

"Life isn't fair, Magnolia. But we put up with it, yes?"

"I... I know life isn't fair. But because if this... You have to... I have to..."

"Lose a friend?"

Magnolia's shot widened eyes at the Jirachi. "How did you..."

Altais tapped the side of his head. "Half Psychic-type, remember? I'm aware of your thoughts even when you think I'm not listening. I was aware of what has been on your mind this entire trip, but I never pressed you for details. I was waiting for when you would become grown-up enough to bring up the matter yourself, but now it is too late. We're quite close to the mountains."

"I-" Magnolia choked back a hiccup. She wasn't sure what was worst; having Altais know of the matter that was bothering her all of this time or the fact he was reading her mind every second they were together. "B-But yes... Yes, even though you already know, I-I didn't want to lose you. You're... You're an important friend to me, Altais. And this... And this trip to take you back to the Kesfas Mountains, it's for naught, isn't it?"

Altais quirked a brow. "What do you mean?"

Magnolia slid her hand into her bag and produced a Pokeball. Yet, it wasn't like the others. Unlike the red-white spheres that were commonly sold at marts across the region, this one appeared significantly different; its top was hued a royal purple with two ovals colored a magenta pink on the the sides. The white M on the front was the significant mark that told Altais of the girl's intentions.

"A Master Ball? What are you going to do with that?" he asked, though he had an idea.

"I-It's for you," she replied. "I know... I know what you must do is canceled out when you're captured. This ball as a one-hundred percent catch rate. If I capture you, you don't have to return to the mountains, and..." The girl looked down to the ball and bit her bottom lip before offering it to him. "And we can remain friends. All you have to do it touch the button..."

"Magnolia..." Altais frowned on behest of the girl. Her desperation almost made him reconsider, but he remained steadfast to his choice. "I understand how you feel, Magnolia, I do. I want to remain friends with you too, but... But I have a purpose to serve. Please understand that the needs of a many outnumber the needs of one. I'm sorry."

With that, the Jirachi hugged his arms to his chest and turned the other way to continue their trek. Magnolia stared at his fleeting back before squeezing the ball in her hand and letting her arm drop to her side.

When they reached the top of the mountain, Altais grabbed Magnolia's forearm again and said, "Rest... Rest here..."

Abiding by his want, Magnolia dropped herself down to sitting on the edge of the path that curved around the mountain. Altais sat up and nibbled listlessly on Lum berries as the fourteen year old took in the view. Across the expanse of snow-covered terrain, she could see the ocean and flicker of the sun setting against the line of the horizon. The entire half of the summit was dyed a bright tangerine and the coldness that once caused them to shiver seemed to recede to nothingness in the comforting moment. As the girl dragged her gaze across the expanse, her attention glued to a settlement far off to the right.

"That's Inhinx," Altais told her. "In case you were wondering..."

"I was," she replied, "and did you get your strength back a bit? Your voice isn't jilted anymore."

"Sort of..." he replied.

"So there are people there?" she asked with a tilt of her head. "If there is, I can buy a few potions and-"

"There's no one there," Altais replied. "It's completely abandoned. Well... There was people there, but things happened... People became greedy."

"G-Greedy?"

Altais nodded his head. "I-I don't know the full story, but I do know humans tried to exploit their Pokemon for greed, and those Pokemon lashed out against them. The humans fled and those Pokemon... I'm not sure what happened to them... Maybe some are still there... It would be dangerous to go there."

"So we've to stick to the mountain?"

Altais nodded his head. "It would... be for the best."

"Glamrrrrow," Rho suddenly yawned; squeezing his eyes to blink out the tiredness.

Magnolia lifted him from her shoulder. "You should rest in your Pokeball," she told the feline. "I'll be fine; you needn't worry about me."

While the option did seem good, Rho was obviously adverse to the offer. He whipped his head away from her and shook it several times in a no. That didn't stop the girl from pulling out his Pokeball and withdrawing him in it when he least expected it. Altais muffled a small chuckle at the look the feline shot her before he was sucked inside.

"He's going to be mighty upset with you later," he told her.

"I know," she replied. "But if I don't have him rest, he'll collapse from exhaustion. He worries about me so... and I worry about him so..."