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In the front row sat Nova and her crew. The roserade was silent, wearing a black cape instead of her usual yellow, looking down at her flowered hands resting on her lap. She had spent a good portion of her life dedicating every waking moment to the care of the Leafeon. Trying to grasp that he was gone was difficult. Dew floated beside her, tinkling gently, mournfully, as he sniffled back tears. For the Chimecho, most of his life had been spent around Pluto. Huey sat uncomfortably beside the two, here at the front because he was officially a member of Pluto's medical crew, but he didn't know the Leafeon that well. He had only been in the Kingdom for a week after all. Though he felt deeply for what had happened, he did not feel like he belonged.

A large Salamence rested on the side of the hall, too big to fit in the area with the chairs. Some guild members might mistake him for his son Sherman except that he was much larger, the normal size for one of his species. His eyes were closed as if he slept, but if one came close enough they might see a streak of wetness down his face.

With the rest of the Eclipse family one Flareon sat still, statue-like, his face like a mask. Atra looked straight ahead, over the coffin of his father, past the priest, beyond the statue of Jupiter that adorned the back of the hall. His tail hung off the back of the chair limply, his fur looking less rich and full than usual. Beside him sat a small shiny Cyndaquil, her usual crystal-studded headband replaced with black silk. She cried silently, rocking slightly back and forth.

They waited for the ceremony to begin.

Morana had been adamant on the fact that the entire team should come. They had been given the job of protecting the old Leafeon, and the houndour couldn't help but feel that she had been useless. Everyone else in the team had agreed. Second Chance closed for the day and Crescendo asked for the few hours off from hospital work to come here. Zora didn't want to come, until her mother showed up the day before and voiced her own intentions about going to pay her respects.

Team Polaris made their way near the front, only a few rows back. Morana and Acer especially seemed very down, their heads bowed. Incultyr looked grim, his mouth drawn tight and his face locked in a frown. Chronicler was wrapped within her petals, over which she had draped a light black cloth. Crown fluttered down silently next to her. Crescendo rested between their seats and the seats in front, his head dropped sadly as he hummed mournfully.



Morana's family sat beside the team. Zosee seemed distracted. She felt little for the Kingdom's fallen hero -death was too common a part of her life for her to mourn over a stranger- but she had come because Atra had come, and she couldn't deny the Flareon attendance to the funeral of his own father. The Manectric constantly checked beside her where Zero sat calmly, staring forward intently as if understanding what was going on. He was murmuring quietly to himself, words and sentences that did not fit the circumstances.

On the other side sulked Zora, who sat in front of her chair gloomily, her ears pressed back flat against her head.



Melissa came in heavily bandaged, having not recovered fully from her fight with the Charizard. One of her vines stuck out of the side of her bulb, too bulky with all its ointments and wrappings to be retracted fully.

Katara and Randel found seats near the back of the room, but Melissa continued forward with the two grass-types that accompanied her. Her mother, Iria the Bayleaf cried silently, leaning against her husband, Galen the Ivysaur, for support. The three of them took seats near the front, right behind Atra. Melissa was surprised to see the Flareon, but did not say anything. She hoped that he was alright.

"Oh, I just can't believe it Galen...I always thought he'd die peacefully, at home. But this is just too..." The Bayleaf murmured as the Ivysaur did his best to comfort her. The Azalea family always had a special spot in their hearts for Pluto- it was after all, the little eevee who had saved Iria many years ago.



The members of Team Trinity slipped into seats at the back. Aiden sat straight, solemnly as was expected. The other two sat much more casually. All three wore black armbands and left their weapons outside as a show of respect.

"What an amazing story." Aiden commented softly, staring out at the sea of chairs.

"I never would have thought the old man had it in him." Beka replied, a hint of respect in her voice. Anyone who could deck a Dragonite Chosen of God was pretty cool in her books. Christopher wasn't paying attention to the other two, more interested in keeping track of those who came in. The guild had definitely gotten bigger since they'd lived here.

Team MistMelody entered, for once none of them able to walk with a smile on their face. By this time the story of Pluto's heroic deed had spread throughout the Guild; even though it had scarcely been more than a few days, important events spread like wildfire between Teams, and this was an important event to exceed all others. Pluto was dead; the Leader of the Guild of the Sun, the lifepulse and wisdom behind what they stood for, was now passed on into the Afterlife, to join his brother Jupiter who had died all those years ago. It was the gravest event to have happened, and no one except his wife and a select few others had even known about his sacrifice. There was nothing anyone could do once they found out, it was already over, and now they had arrived at his funeral. Era had insisted that all but the children come; Pluto was worthy of every bit of remembrance he was given, and she wanted to ensure her entire Team knew that. The group took their seats near the edge of the middle section so that Ethfael and Celus could take a place to the side since neither could really use a chair, the others simply made due with what they had.

As Era sat she mulled over what had happened in her mind, still stricken with grief; she hadn't known Pluto except by name and action, and she'd only really seen him around a few times before. Tears trickled silently down her cheeks as she pictured the last time she'd seen him; he'd had so much vigor although he was clearly getting on in years but it had seemed like nothing could ever bring him down. Now to think that his cold, still body was lying lifeless in the coffin before them was almost too much to bear. The story of his martyrdom was certain to go down in history; he'd lived his entire life helping the Guilds and his death had been no different. Pluto had taken an Elite down with him, taking into his paws the power of Judgement and ending the life of the Dragonite who had come for the Guild's pendants before the sheer power that it had taken killed him as well. It was the most heroic, most tragic, and most powerful thing that Era had ever heard of, and when she thought of it the tears came unbidden. They were bittersweet; the warm salt water of her tears both cleansing her tired spirit and scarring it as they came. The catharsis that came with his death wasn't the type that soothed the soul, it was the type that made it ache. The Pikachu felt as though her heart had split in two out of empathy for Pluto and those who had known him, but there was nothing she could do, and that alone made the mourning all the more painful.

Ethfael looked at the coffin stoically, paying his respects in a different manner. He didn't believe Pluto would have wanted them to mourn him; the Leafeon had always looked out for the Guild, and what the Guild needed now more than anything was to move on. Their former regal leader wouldn't want all this attention, but it was being given anyway. He was saddened, but he knew too well that excessive sadness would do them no good. It had to be treated as simply another death, there were countless others who had died and they hadn't been treated as such, true Pluto was royalty, but the Dragonair still felt that he wouldn't have wanted this. He couldn't pretend to have known him, but Pluto didn't seem to have been the type for large social events when Ethfael had seen him, and the Dragonair believed the dead should be treated as they would have wished to be treated in life. He bowed his head to await the ceremony, unwilling to break the silence that hung over them.

The remaining four members of Team MistMelody present knew less than their Leaders about the former leader of the Guild of the Sun, but they all knew well enough to pay their own respects to a brave Pokemon who had given his life for the Guild's own cause. Erinn closed his eyes and reflected on the situation, his expression deeply concentrated as he thought about what he knew of Pluto. Sereni's light glowed very dimly as the Lanturn shed a tear of her own, she offered a prayer that the Leafeon would be able to rest peacefully where he lay. Riley sat attentively, eyes on the coffin and firm though his tail drooped from sadnes as he awaited the start of the procedings, and Celus merely bowed his head in respect to the dead. They all were waiting to see their dead leader off, and wish him well in that strange life that came after death.