Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Dragon Master ❯ Stage Ten - The Power of Legends ( Chapter 10 )

Aurora wondered why she was sleeping standing up. Or... was she standing up? It felt rather odd, the way she was bobbing gently up and down. Perhaps she was on a boat? She couldn't recall having gotten onto one. A wry thought scampered through her walf-wakened mind: perhaps she'd been captured by Rockets again. That would be an interesting way to start her day. She decided she had better open her eyes and see what they were up to this time.

Opening her eyes showed her a vision of the sun just beginning to rise over a range of tall brown mountains, most of them capped with white snow that sparkled in the early morning light. Below her feet spread a dark carpet of trees speckled with lighter patches of grass where humans had managed to eke out a living space. Drawing nearer was a silvery shape that had to be a large lake nestled among the mountains. Resting at the edge of the lake, as if cast up there by its waves, was a town. It took Aurora a moment to process that the trees she was looking at were rolling slowly past her feet, and that she was a very long way up.

"Yow!" she shouted, reflexively trying to scramble away from the drop.

"Spear, spear, spear!" a voice above her head scolded.

"Oops! Sorry, Scar!" said Aurora.

"Spearow, spear, spearow."

"I do trust you," she said. "It's just that I'm not used to waking up a few hundred feet above the ground."

"Oh, are you awake?" called a voice. "I expected you to sleep a while longer, after the hectic day you had yesterday."

Aurora smiled a bit in Falkner's direction. "I'm an early bird."

He grinned back. "Me, too."

Feeling much more at ease, Aurora settled back as best she could to enjoy the rest of her ride. Yesterday, she and her companions had been on the far end of Johto; it was only natural that it would take some time to fly all the way from the ocean at one end to the mountains at the other. She must have fallen asleep in midair. It was a credit to her Spearow that he had managed the flight without waking her. Now it appeared there were only a few minutes left of the trip; the city ahead must be Mahogany Town, and the glimmer beyond it the Lake of Rage. Seeing it gave her a slight lurch inside; this was home to the final Gym she had set out to tackle, and once it was dealt with...

"Do you think we should wake your friend up?" Falkner asked.

"Let her sleep," Aurora replied. "She's always a grump in the morning. Of course, once she wakes up, she won't be able to stand still, but for now..."

"We'll let her rest, then," said Falkner. "It's not as if there's anything she needs to be awake for, anyway. Not yet."

An amused voice that was not a voice commented, You ask me to do interesting things, silver-haired one. I thought I was to carry a human, not a sack of potatoes.

Aurora gave a mock-stern glare at the Skarmory who was carrying Laine.

"Hush," she told him, "or I'll drop you in the lake."

"Is he always like that?" asked Falkner.

"When dealing with something that has claws like his," Aurora answered, "I let him talk any way he wants."

Rusty the Skarmory made the ringing-bell noise that was his way of laughing. Hearing the noise, Laine stirred a bit, yawning and stretching.

"'S too early," she mumbled.

"Are you awake now?" asked Aurora.

"No," said Laine grouchily, "but I might as well get up anyway. It's not like I'm gettin' any sleep."

"You were sleeping just fine a minute ago," Falkner pointed out.

"No, I wasn't," answered Laine, in a clipped tone that was unlike her usual drawl. "I was having dreams."

"That one again?" asked Aurora sympathetically.

"Yes," Laine snapped. "Only this one was worse, because there was a bunch of Rockets standin' around laughin' at him."

"Don't worry about that," said Falkner grimly. "We'll get those Rockets dealt with... Here we are. Land here, please, Windstorm."

The Pidgeotto that had been carrying him obediently began to glide toward the earth, followed by Scar and Rusty. They landed lightly in the middle of a pebbled pathway that curved like a brown-scaled snake toward a pair of tall gates. The gates were made of logs with the bark still attached, rusty-brown and shaggy. A sign arched between the two tall logs, with the name "Mahogany Town" carved deeply into the weathered wood.

"Our destination," said Falkner, "or at least, yours. This is were I must leave you."

"Can't you stay any longer?" asked Aurora, without much hope. She was still bewildered by the situation she was caught in, and she felt safer when she knew Falkner was around.

"Time is of the essence," he reminded her. "Lance has to hear about what's going on, and he has to hear it now. I can't trust information of this importance to anyone else. I have to go."

"I know," she said. She sighed.

"Buck up, fledgling," he said. "I'll be back soon, with help. We'll get this mess cleaned up. In the meantime, you'll be safe here with Pryce." He winced a little. "I'm not over-fond of him, to tell the truth, but he is a formidable fighter when he wants to be. After what the Rockets did last time they came to his town, I don't think he'd allow another within a mile of you two. Now, hurry along. I'm not fond of long goodbyes. Take care of yourselves!"

He waved a final farewell, and his Pidgeotto whisked him up into the sky again. Aurora watched until he disappeared beyond the treetops. Laine scowled at her.

"Are we gonna go into town?" she demanded. "Or are you just gonna stand there and moon over your boyfriend a while?"

"We're going to go into town," Aurora replied, ignoring the jibe. "Come on, Rusty! Back in your Ball."

I thought you were going to throw me in the lake first, he said.

She shook her head. "I would have to get a Pokemon who wants to be a comedian. In!"

The Ball clicked open, and Rusty obediently disappeared in a flash of orange light. Clipping the ball back to her belt, Aurora walked into the town with her friends trailing after her.

Aurora had noted that every town and city she'd visited had its own particular charm, from the gleaming towers of her home in Goldenrod City to the simple grassy town of Azalea. This town did not disappoint her. Despite its small size, the town had an air of solidarity, something that echoed the influence of the mountains around it. The streets were of cobblestones, rounded by mountain streams and smoothed further by years of passing feet. Sturdy logs or granite bricks formed the houses; they looked like they would be warm and comforting when the winter snows came. Even in the summertime, breezes from the snow-capped mountains made the air pleasantly cool and crisp.

*This is a good place,* she decided. *I've been up and down Johto, and I don't think I've seen a single town I haven't liked... except maybe Blackthorn... but I don't have to go there anymore. Do I?*

"What do you think, Laine?" she asked. "Don't you think this is a nice place? I don't think I'd mind staying here a while."

"It's all right," said Laine. She looked distracted, and her eyes kept straying toward the mountains with their icy peaks. "I wouldn' wanna live here, though."

Aurora felt a stab of concern; she wasn't used to her friend being this subdued.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"Kinda," Laine replied. "I was just thinking... that's where Dad died, up there on those mountains. It was bad enough, thinkin' he just slipped an' fell, but thinkin' someone pushed him, just because of some stupid papers... I oughta just throw the things in the fireplace."

"No," said Aurora. "He wouldn't want you to do that. Remember your dream? He's counting on you to finish what he started, so he won't have done all that work for nothing. And don't talk about the papers - unless you want a Rocket after you, too. They don't know you have them, and I want it to stay that way."

"Guess you're right," said Laine. "All right, I'll finish... and then I'll burn 'em so nobody else will try."

"That's more like it," said Aurora.

They reached the Gym. It was almost invisible from a distance, nestled among a stand of green-black pine trees. It was built like a log cabin, only on a grand scale; it would have easily have provided living space for dozens of people, if the area had been divided up into rooms. The only other thing that differentiated it from the rest of the cabins in the town was a statue that perched above its front door. It was made of something like crystal or ice, making it flash in eye- dazzling patterns. As Aurora came closer, she could see that it was made in the shape of a graceful bird with a flowing tail and outstretched wings.

"What's that?" asked Aurora.

"Articuno," Laine answered. "The legendary bird of ice. Surprised you hadn't heard of it."

"I've heard of it," said Aurora. "It's just that I've never seen one."

Laine shrugged. "Most people haven't. There's only one, and I think it's currently being trained by that Ash Ketchum guy... They say it used to appear to people lost in mountain storms, just before they died. I wonder if my dad saw one?"

"I don't know," said Aurora, not sure what else to say.

Much to her surprise, Laine grinned at her. "Hope he did. Nothin' would have made him happier than to see a rare Pokemon before he died."

They walked up to the door, and Aurora took a moment to admire the crystal statue before trying the door latch. The bird stared down at her with eyes of blue stone that looked eerily alive. She pulled the handle and found it locked.

"Hey!" she squawked. "What gives?"

"Maybe Pryce doesn't like unexpected guests?" Laine suggested.

"He's a Gym Leader. He's supposed to get unexpected guests," Aurora replied. She rapped sharply on the door. "Hey! Is anyone in there? Let us in?"

There was no answer from within, but Aurora thought she heard a faint rustling and muttering. Someone was home; they were just refusing to open the door. She scowled.

"I know you can hear me!" she said. "Let us in! We were sent by Gym Leader Falkner! He told us to find Pryce!"

More muttering from within. Scar squawked loudly and began pecking on the door, leaving a collection of gouges in the pine wood. There were resigned noises on the other side of the door, and then footsteps. The door opened to reveal a pair of young people who stared at them suspiciously. Aurora stared back.

They were obviously trainers of some sort; they were dressed in matching snow-white uniforms that accented their dark skin and hair. The one on the right was a male, with short- cropped hair, while the one on the right was female and wore a long dark braid. Other than that, they were as identical as two human beings could be.

"Hello," said the boy. "I am sorry to keep you waiting. I am Yukiko, and this is my twin Miyuki. We are the apprentices of Gym Leader Pryce." He spoke with a faint accent that hinted of places far away.

"We are very sorry," said Miyuki, "but you cannot speak to the Gym Leader today."

"What?" asked Laine. "Why not? Don't tell me he's not home, either."

"He is home now, but he will not be for long," answered Yukiko. "He is about to embark on an expedition."

"Important stuff's going on," said Laine. "His expedition can wait."

Miyuki's smile was wry. "I believe you will have an interesting time explaining that to Gym Leader Pryce."

Before Laine could manage a retort, a man rushed into the room. Like the two young trainers, he was dressed in white; unlike them, he was not at all young. What was left of his hair was as white as his clothing, but his eyes were as dark and hard as mountain stones. He was a handspan shorter than Aurora, putting him just a little below even Laine's eye level, but he moved with an energy that made Aurora feel that she would have a better chance standing up to a Machoke than to this man if he got angry. Right now, he looked well on his way to being angry.

"Well?" he demanded of the twins. "What are you lollygagging around here for? I told you half an hour ago to bring my bags out here! Where is my gear? Where are my maps?"

"With all due respect, Gym Leader," said Yukiko with a slight bow, "we have been detained."

"Detained, my ice pick! That's no excuse," the man - Pryce - snapped. "When I tell you to do a thing, you don't make excuses, you do it! Now, go get my things. Hup!"

The twins made identical bows and scampered off, one in one direction, one in the other. Pryce watched them with disapproval.

"Kids today," he muttered. "No respect, no gumption! Not like it was in my day..."

"Um, excuse me," said Aurora timidly.

The man whirled on her. "What do you want? The Gym's closed today. Scat!"

"That's not what we wanted," Aurora said. "We were sent here by Falkner, the Leader from Violet City-"

"I know who Falkner is," said Pryce. "Knew his father, too. And his grandfather. Whole lot of them together didn't have enough spine to fill a thimble. What has that featherbrained excuse for a Gym Leader sent you here for?"

Aurora hesitated. She was surprised to hear the man she admired so much being talked about in that way. It suddenly seemed like Falkner's word wouldn't be nearly enough to get this man to listen to her.

"He sent us here," said Laine, "on account of those no-account schemin' Rockets, what are trying to kill us. He figured you'd teach 'em a thing or three, if they got on your bad side."

"Too right, they would!" said Pryce. "If I catch any of them hanging around my Gym, I'll see them hauled into the Ice Caves and pitched down a crevice! Lucky for them and unlucky for you, I'm not going to be here today."

"Where are you going?" asked Aurora, dismayed. "Can't it wait?"

"It can't wait," Pryce answered impatiently, "and I'm going on an expedition."

"We know that," said Laine. "Tweedledee and Tweedledum already told us that much. Were are you expeditionin' to?"

Pryce gave her a calculating look. "To the Ice Caves. Nowhere little girls like you want to go."

"I'm not a little girl. Neither is she," said Laine. "We've already gotten through Rockets and policemen and scientists and Forest Guardian knows what else, and we can get through some stupid caves."

"Humph," said Pryce, giving her another hard stare. "Who are you, anyway?"

"Elaine Harvester," she answered. "That's Aurora Cummings. She a trainer. Darn good one, too."

"I'm sure," he answered, looking at Aurora mistrustfully. Then his gaze flicked back to Laine. "Harvester, eh? Marcus's daughter, I'll wager. Knew he had a young sprat, before he kicked the bucket. Never thought to find out what happened to her. Hm..."

For a moment, he stared out the window. Then, holding up a finger like an exclamation point, he scuttled out of the room. A few minutes later, he came back in again, carrying a large and rather battered-looking sheet of paper, yellow and creased. He spread it out on a small table and beckoned for the girls to come and look at it.

"What do you know about this?" he asked Laine.

"Hey!" she squawked. "That's my dad's handwriting! Where'd you get that?"

"He left it in my care, years ago," Pryce answered. "Liked your father. He had grit. He knew he could trust me, so he left me these papers. I've been puzzling over them for years, trying to figure them out. They're in code, see, look." He gestured at the paper, which was patterned with a variety of symbols in multicolored ink. Laine and Aurora bent forward for a better look; Scar fluttered up to perch on the back of a chair.

"I've been a long time translating these," said Pryce. "These lines here - they're part of a map. The rest are his notes."

"What do they say?" asked Laine.

"I'll read you the important bit," he said. He cleared his throat. "It has been documented that the Legendary Birds are unable to reproduce naturally - indeed, as they are the only specimens of their kind. Yet, from a profusion of documents tracing back to the most ancient times, we can conclude that there has always been an Articuno. There has even been documented cases of it being captured and trained. Yet, no creature can live forever. It is my believe that Articuno has ways of reproducing itself asexually, as the Phoenix of legend was said to do..." Pryce trailed off. "Marcus Harvester believed that the legendary Articuno could reproduce itself by means of something he termed a "snow egg". He even believed he knew the location of its nest, and he set out looking for it. His compatriots thought he was crazy."

"And what about you?" asked Aurora quietly.

"I," he replied, "am going to look for that egg."

"Not without me, you don't!" said Laine.

Pryce glared at her. "Foolish child. What did you think I was telling you all this for? Just to pass the time?"

"Woo-hoo!" Laine cheered. "Now you're speakin' my language!"

Pryce looked lofty. "I wouldn't sink to speaking language like yours. I just don't trust those two chucklehead apprentices of mine to be of any use. At least you know something of the work."

"What about me?" asked Aurora. "I'm not staying behind!"

"Why not?" asked Pryce. He gave Scar one of his looks, then glanced back at Aurora. "You train Flying-types, yes?"

"Mostly."

"Useless," said Pryce. "Flying-types don't have any place in the Ice Caves. They're weak against Ice, and everything and it's cousin is Ice in there."

"He's right, you know," said Laine apologetically.

"No, he's not," answered Aurora. "As a matter of fact, you need me to come."

"What?" Pryce barked. "Silly girl, what are you talking about?"

"If you want to find the Articuno, you need me to come along," Aurora repeated. "You need me to talk to him. Falkner told me all the Gym Leaders who have affinities, and you don't have one. I do. Articuno is a Flying-type, so I'll be able to communicate with him for you when you find him."

For a moment, Pryce looked like he wanted to get angry; obviously no one had dared to speak to him like that in a long time. Then he took a deep breath and got himself under control.

"You could be right," he said slowly. He turned his sharp eyes back to Scar, then to the Badges arrayed along the hem of Aurora's shirt. "You'll be wanting the Glacier Badge eventually, I suppose?"

"I think so," she said.

"You'll never be able to beat me," he said, looking back at Scar. "I'd freeze him into a popsicle faster than you can say 'apricorn'."

"What's your point?" she said.

"I'll make you a deal," he replied. "Come with me and help me find Articuno, and I'll give you the Glacier Badge." Seeing her hesitate, he added, "It's the only way you'll ever get it."

Laine nudged Aurora in the ribs. "You got the last one fair. You can take this one without hurting your conscience too much."

"All right," Aurora replied. "You've got yourself a deal."

Aurora and Pryce shook hands. Like anyone making an honest deal, they kept their eyes on each other, so none of them saw a face that had been peering through the window suddenly turn and vanish into the trees.

Clair beat her fist on a table with such force that one of her fingernails broke. She scowled at her hands, not liking what she saw. Blue veins showed too prominently through her pale skin, skin that showed the beginning of age's translucent thinness. Were they still as strong as they used to be?

*I will not lose my grip. I cannot. I will not lose everything I've worked for now...*

Behind her, she heard a slam, and she whirled in place to see what had caused it. The door to her room, which should have stood closed and locked, had been flung open. A man in a dark suit was now the only thing between her and the rest of the world. The two of them glared at each other with identical expressions of cold anger.

"What are you doing here?" Clair hissed. "Don't you know better than to enter without knocking? Especially with a locked door."

"Locks have long since ceased to bother me," said Giovanni, in a voice like a knife across a whetstone. "What bothers me is having my authority flaunted."

"I've done no such thing," said Clair, looking affronted.

"Sometime in the early hours of yesterday morning, you dispatched a crew of my men to Olivine City," he said, as if he hadn't heard her. "You sent them with orders to enter the Olivine City Gym in the absence of its Leader and to place various items of Rocket paraphernalia there. You did this without my permission or my knowledge, with my men and my supplies. You did it because you were afraid and trying to cover your tracks. Is this not true?"

"It was necessary," said Clair. "If I didn't do something-"

"If you didn't do something," he cut in, "I would have dealt with the situation myself. As it is, you have broken one of the Rocket laws by interfering directly with the Gym Leaders. You have violated our contract with the Elite Four and the Pokemon League."

"So what?" Clair snapped. "You're criminals, aren't you? What do you need with rules and contracts?"

"Without those rules and contracts, we would not be a team, would we?" he asked, dangerously soft. "Without rules, there would be no order among us. The unity I have attempted to bring about would be destroyed, and my empire would be nothing more than a band of lawless savages."

"Well, I'm not part of your little band, am I?" she asked.

"You became part of it when you agreed to make deals with me," Giovanni retorted.

Clair gasped, outraged. "I am not part of your raggle-taggle bunch of hooligans!"

"You aren't?" he asked. "Funny, you've been awfully free lately with telling them what to do. You don't find us so distasteful when we're doing as you tell us. Well, the tie binds both ways. You are one of us now."

"Never!"

Giovanni smiled. "Perhaps you're right. You're not even good enough to be one of us. You're as low as you can go, Clair. Even I have more respect with the Elite Four than you do, now. I am what I always have been, and I've never claimed to be anything else. You, on the other hand, have betrayed the very source of your power."

"I am my source of power!" she snapped.

"Then why do you need me?"

There was silence in the room. In that silence, they heard the sound of footfalls hurrying up the hall. Giovanni could recognize them as easily as a voice; he knew, by now, what the sound of standard-issue Rocket boots sounded like when their owner was in a hurry. Within seconds, a man in a black suit came dashing up to the doorway, and Giovanni stood aside to let him enter.

"Come in," he said graciously. "Clair and I were just having a little talk."

The Rocket said nothing; he knew better than to get involved with the doings of his superiors. He made a bow to Giovanni and another to Clair.

"My lady," he said, "I have just received a message by express Zubat. One of our spies has found the girl you're looking for. She's in Mahogany Town with Gym Leader Pryce."

"Are you still looking for that girl?" Giovanni commented. "She's certainly done better than you thought she would, hasn't she?"

"Shut up," Clair barked. She turned back to the Rocket. "So, she was with Pryce? What were they doing? What were they talking about?"

"He couldn't hear everything," he said, "but they were talking about going to the Ice Caves to look for something, and Pryce agreed that if she would help him find it, he'd give her the Badge."

"The seventh Badge," Clair whispered. "No! If she collects the final Badge, she'll come back here. She must not get it!" She was digging her nails into her palms in agitation; the sharp edge of the freshly-broken nail was drawing blood without her even seeming to realize it.

"Stop her, then, O most powerful one," Giovanni said.

"I will," she replied. "I will find a way to stop her!"

"How? Pryce is an Ice Master. Were he to release the full force of his powers on you, even you would have to back down. Or have you forgotten that Ice is your mortal enemy?"

"I haven't forgotten," she said. "I... I can still stop her. I'll make sure she never gets out of those caves."

Giovanni gave her a critical look. "You will do this yourself? You really want this girl's blood on your hands?"

She looked down at her palms, where a line of red was still seeping over her skin, staining her fingers red. For a moment, the look in her eyes was bewildered, frightened. Then she looked up and nodded.

"You'll need help. Your dragons will perish if you send them to the Ice Caves."

"See to it, then," she snapped.

"You're asking me to help you? You're admitting that you cannot do this alone, that there is something that your powers alone cannot accomplish?"

"I don't care what I can and can't do! I want that girl dead! Even if I have to beg you to make it happen..." She trailed off, panting, her eyes wild.

Giovanni nodded to the Rocket. "Go. I want to talk to Clair alone. Wait behind the building until I get back."

The Rocket sprinted out of the room. Clair dropped into her chair, and Giovanni watched her with an expression that was strangely like pity.

"You know," he said, "you would really be better off if you gave up now."

"Turn myself in?" she said in a voice that broke. "Never! They'd execute me! They'd lock me up forever!"

"Leave, then. Disappear. I know places where it can be done. Forget all this and let me look after things for you."

"Never! You can't fool me," she hissed. "I know what you're after. All this time you've been panting after me like a dog..."

"You have a sickness," he told her. "I did not fully see it at first. That is my fault... I overestimated your capacity for this work."

She narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

He shrugged. "There are those drink wine because they are thirsty. Then there are those who drink because they cannot help themselves, because they have a weakness inside."

"What are you getting at?"

"Power is a dangerous drink, Clair. I've seen those who will take it until they are sick with it, and die claiming they would yet live if they just had a little more. You have that weakness inside you, and you are rapidly reaching the danger point. Back out now, before it's too late."

"I've had enough of you," she snarled. She seized a mirror from her dresser and hurled it across the room at him. He ducked out of the way, and it smashed against the wall and fell to earth in a hundred splintered bits. Giovanni eyed the mess dispassionately.

"So I see," he said. "Very well. I abide by your decision. I will also tell you this: I will not work with anyone with this kind of weakness. You will get no more favors from me, or my men. From this point onward, we are through."

He walked quietly out the door. Clair stared after him, stunned. She could not believe what she had just heard.

"Wait! Where are you going?" she shouted. "Come back here! You can't leave me like this! You can't!"

She ran to the door, but it was closed again, and she knew that if she opened it, there would be no one on the other side. She slumped to her knees next to the broken mirror. There were bits of glass the color of ice all over her carpet, and she tried to gather them together, but the mirror was broken and she could not mend it again. The sharp edges sliced at her hands, and she let the pieces drop, spilling ice and blood onto her pale carpet.

Aurora trudged along the road that led out of Mahogany town and toward the mountainous region that housed the Ice Caves. She should have been excited, but it would have been easier if she hadn't been so uncomfortable.

"Do we really hafta wear all this?" Laine complained.

She, Aurora, and Pryce were all outfitted the same way, in thick boots and heavy coats. They were, Pryce had told them proudly, the very best materials - fluffy Delibird down filled the coats, and the lining was of thick Piloswine fur. That, plus the boots and mittens and scarves they were forced to wear, would keep them warm even in the darkest, iciest regions. That was fine and well if they happened to be in dark, icy places, but right now, the sun was shining brightly, and the air was only gently cool. Under the carpet-like coats, the weather was almost intolerable.

"Of course we have to wear it!" Pryce shouted at her. "If you didn't have to wear it, you wouldn't be wearing it! You'll be thankful enough for it when we get to the caves - you'll probably be wishing you were wearing three or four more layers, once we get underground properly! Kids these days - let them get just a little uncomfortable, and they think it's the end of the world...."

"Nice going, Laine," Aurora whispered, as the old man continued to rant. "Now we get to be overheated and yelled at."

Laine smiled sheepishly. "Guess I shoulda known better. I hear tell this guy spends a few hours every day standin' under a mountain waterfall to toughen himself up. He's probably numb all over by now."

"Maybe so!" Aurora agreed. She turned to look at Scar, the only member of the party who was not burdened down with extra clothing. "Are you sure you don't want to come inside a PokeBall, where's it's warm? You aren't going to like it inside the Ice Caves. Ice really isn't good for bird Pokemon."

Scar gave a screech to let her know what his opinion on this was. The Ice Caves were dangerous, and he was not going to let her go in there without his protection. She grinned at him.

"All right, have it your way," she said. "Just don't come complaining to me when you get frost on your feathers."

Scar, intent on stalking a Pineco, declined to comment.

After several very warm minutes of walking, they found themselves at the entrance of the caves. Blaine peered inside. From where Aurora stood, it looked very dark. Pryce frowned.

"If I get my hands on this idiot..." he muttered.

"Which one? There are lots," said Laine.

"The one who turned the lights out in this infernal cave!" Pryce snapped. "Normally, there are lights in here so people can find their way around, but today..."

"Do you think it could have been a Rocket?" asked Aurora.

"If it was, he'll regret it," said Pryce. He scowled at the dark cave. "I wasn't counting on this. I didn't ask for any lamps, and my apprentices wouldn't have thought to pack any. They do exactly what they're told - no more, no less. When I think they might be put in charge of my Gym when I'm gone..."

"Would a Flash HM be useful now?" asked Aurora.

Pryce stared at her for a second. "Yes. A Flash HM would be very useful. Do you have one, or were you just talking hypothetically?"

"I have one," she said. "I got it back in Violet City, after the thing with the Bellsprouts. I haven't taught it to anyone yet, but..."

"Well, don't just stand there! Are you going to use it, or are you going to wait for me to die of old age?"

"Hold your Houndours," she muttered. She went through her Pokegear and pulled out the long-unused black box. Then, after some consideration, she withdrew her Umbreon. She chittered at her happily. Aurora couldn't understand her speech the way she could her birds, but she could tell that Moondancer was happy to be out in the fresh air again and eager for new adventures.

"Hello, Moondancer," she said. "I have a present for you."

She set the box down on the ground next to Moondancer and pressed her Zephyr Badge into its slot. Instantly, the box shot out a beam of light that struck the jewel in Moondancer's forehead. The light shone steadily for a few moments, and then disappeared.

"I think that did it," Aurora replied. "Let's go."

They stepped into the cave. Instantly, Aurora was hit by a blast of icy air, rushing up from a hole deep in the earth. Moondancer trotted bravely forward. She was wrapped in her fluffy black fur and didn't seem to mind the cold. A glow of light followed her, and the humans and bird followed closely behind. With the help of some handy Escape Rope, they were able to clamber down the shaft and into the Ice Caves.

Reaching the bottom, Aurora looked around gasped, and the sound echoed around her until it sounded as if the earth was breathing. All around her, every inch of space was covered in glittering ice crystals, looking like thousands of diamonds as they caught the light and reflected it. The roof above her shimmered with a million crystal stars; the ground was a smooth sheet of glass. She had a few moments to take in the sight before a foot came down and stepped on her head.

"Hey!" she squeaked.

"Watch it!" said Laine. "Some of us are tryin' to climb here!"

"Quiet!" Pryce hissed. The warning was almost unnecessary; as soon as the girls had spoken, the faceted walls and ceiling had caught the words and echoed them until the caves were full of voices. They finished the climb in silence.

Once they were properly inside the Ice Caves, they set off through the tunnels, with Moondancer proudly leading the way, then Pryce with his maps, then Laine, Aurora, and Scar. For a while, the walk was nice enough - it was a relief to be out of the heat, and the surroundings were, at least early on, fantastic. However, the further they walked, the more Aurora became aware of the cold, and the deeper its hold became on her nose and toes and fingers. She tried covering her face with a glove, but it didn't seem to help. She shivered a bit.

Scar seemed to be having similar troubles. The ceiling was too low for him to be able to fly properly, and his claws skidded on the slick floor. He hopped along doggedly, fluffing his feathers and muttering to himself.

"Don't blame me," Aurora told him. "You could be in a nice, warm PokeBall right now, if you had listened to me."

"Spearow!" he squawked irritably.

"What's your problem?" asked Laine. The temperature didn't seem to be bothering her; she was as fresh and cheerful as ever.

"We're cold," Aurora admitted.

"You shouldn't be so skinny," said Laine. "I think it's nice down here."

"Cold, is it?" Pryce said. "I told you you'd be appreciating these coats by the time you got down here!"

"I'm okay," said Aurora defensively. "I'm just worried about Scar. All this ice isn't good for him."

"Humph. Why don't you put him away where he belongs?"

"He won't go in," Aurora explained. "His first trainer abused him, and - and he doesn't like being inside PokeBalls! They make him feel captured. We made a deal, when we first met, that I wouldn't make him stay in one as long as he agreed to follow me."

"Is that it?" Pryce muttered. "Let me talk to him."

"You don't speak bird-talk," said Aurora.

"Yes, but he understands human well enough. Most Pokemon do," he retorted. He walked over to where Scar stood and hooked a finger under his sharp beak, forcing him to look up into Pryce's eyes. The man was so short, he barely had to bend over to be on Scar's eye level.

"Now, you listen to me," he barked. "You think this is cold, huh? It's only going to get colder from here on in. We're going off the beaten path, bucko, and it's going to be a tough journey. Your trainer is going to need everything she's got to come through it in one piece, got it? That means she can't be worrying about you. There's nothing you can do down here to protect her, and she's going to need all her concentration. If she's worrying about you, she's not going to be taking care of herself, understand? Now, you get in that Ball where you belong."

Scar made a rasping noise in the back of his throat. Pryce nodded and let him go.

"He'll listen to you now," he said.

"Scar," said Aurora, "please come back into your PokeBall."

She opened the Ball, and Scar allowed himself to be pulled inside. Aurora shut the Ball with a resigned snap. Intellectually, she knew she was probably quite safe in the company of Pryce and Laine, and that Moondancer would do everything in her surprising power to keep Aurora safe, it still wasn't the same. Aurora liked Moondancer very much, but Scar was special, her first Pokemon and her best friend.

More than that, she couldn't talk to Moondancer the way she could with Scar. She had tried a few times, but Moondancer's thoughts were - it was hard to think of any other word for it - fuzzy. When she talked to Scar or Rusty or any of her other flyers, their replies came to her as clearly as words. From Moondancer, she could only get feelings, intentions, impressions. It wasn't the same as having a real conversation. She couldn't make jokes with her the way she could with Rusty, or banter as she did with Scar and Blabberbeak.

*I wanted to train dragons,* she mused. *Could I learn to talk to them? Probably not - at least, not the way I do with birds. Well, maybe the Dragonites, but how many of those would anyone want? The rest of them are mostly watery things. I wouldn't get along with them. What am I going to do, then? Even if I finished all this, even if everything had gone the way I'd planned, I still wouldn't be happy...*

Wrapped up in her thoughts, Aurora barely noticed where they were going. Where they were going seemed to be largely up, scrambling over heaps of broken rock that were not quite stairways and along ice flows that were not quite paths. More than once, Aurora slipped, but never seriously. Even in the bulky coat, she was still small and agile enough to get over and around things that would have given a larger person. Laine had a bit more trouble, but she was tough and determined, and managed well enough. Pryce acted as if it were all just a walk in the park, save for making frequent checks of his maps and the papers Laine had loaned him.

"We're going off the beaten path in a bit," he said. "There should be something like a - not a door, but a passage that we can open up. According to this, anyway, it was sealed off to keep people from getting to the nesting grounds."

"How are we going to get it open?" asked Aurora.

Laine grinned. "That'll be the easy part, I think."

Aurora wanted to say more, and she would have, only something was tugging at the edges of her awareness that she wanted to track down. She spun in a small circle, scanning the dark corners of the cavern. Something light-colored was flitting through the shadows.

"Hey, you!" she called. "Come here! Don't worry, we won't hurt you."

Out of the darkness stepped a birdlike creature, covered with short, fluffy, almost fur-like feathers that would keep it warm in the dark cavern. It had a large sack slung over its shoulder. When it hear Aurora's call, it waddled forward, and, like an avian Santa Claus, pulled a package out of its bag and offered it to her.

"No, thank you," said Aurora. The bird gave a resigned sigh and popped the gift back into its sack.

"Whaddaya know?" said Laine. "A Delibird. You don't see one of those every day."

"Good thing, too. They're tricky beasts," Pryce muttered. "You're smart not to take gifts from strangers or Delibirds. Some of those packages explode, and he doesn't always remember which are which."

"Bird, bird, delibird!" said the Delibird.

"Really?" asked Aurora. "That's strange. I would have thought this place didn't get too many visitors."

"Is that thing talking to you?" asked Laine. "But it can't fly, can it?"

Aurora shrugged. "It's still a bird. I understand him just fine. He says there's a stranger bumping around near his nesting ground, and would we do something about it?"

"Bird, bird, delibird, bird, bird, deli delibird bird."

"He says Delibirds may not have the best manners, but he still knows better than to go stomping around where there are eggs."

"Delibird, bird, bird, delibird."

"He says they're learning their lesson now, whatever that means," Aurora translated.

"Lesson?" Laine repeated.

Pryce shrugged. "Pretty dumb, to go messing with Delibird eggs, if you ask me. Has to be a Rocket. No one else is that stupid."

"Great," said Laine. "We get to take a detour. More tromping around in the dark."

"Maybe," said Aurora. "Delibird, what does the person look like? The one near your eggs?"

The Delibird squeaked and chirped a bit more, and Aurora listened intently. She sighed.

"I thought so," she said. "Only one Rocket I know fits that description. Ember's following us again."

"Ember?" Laine repeated. "He sure got here fast."

"He probably flew on his Charizard," said Aurora. "I know if I were him, I'd get out of Olivine City as fast as I could, after what happened there."

"What happened? Who's Ember?" Pryce demanded, practically jumping up and down in his annoyance at being left out of the conversation.

"He's kind of an ex-Rocket," said Aurora. "Sort of a friend... he gets in our way a lot, anyway. Then again, he helps out a lot, too. He's kind of hard to explain."

"Oh," said Pryce. He looked disappointed that there would not be any Rockets to fight. "I guess that means you want to go rescue him, right?"

"I guess," said Aurora. She looked at Laine, who was frowning. "What's your problem? You were all for rescuing him last time he got into trouble."

"That time was different," said Laine.

"Different how?" asked Aurora. Without waiting for an answer, she said, "Can you please wait for a minute, Pryce? I don't think this will take very long, if the Delibird will show me the way."

The Delibird chattered some more. He would be glad to show her the way if it meant it got the intruding human away from his nesting ground.

"No, I will not wait," he said. "The last thing we need is to get separated down here. Idiot girl! You should know better than that. If one goes, we all go."

Laine didn't look pleased at that, but she made no comment. The three of them, followed by Moondancer, followed the Delibird through a series of winding tunnels and down a long ice slide. Near the bottom, they found an open area full of piles of snow, where a large number of Delibirds, some of them lying on clutches of eggs, some tending to fluffy, toddling chicks. Lying on the far edge of the area, well away from the birds, was a huddled figure in a snow-speckled coat. It was so heavily bundled that Aurora could make out nothing of the form, but she could clearly see the telltale wisps of red hair that showed beneath his cap.

"Ember!" Aurora shouted. "Hey, Ember, are you okay?"

No answer. She hurried to his side and found him lying very still, eyes closed, but when she shook him, he stirred a little.

"Cold," he complained. "Let me sleep."

"None of that, now," said Pryce, pushing forward. "Come on, son, wake up. You can't lie there all day... We need something to warm this fellow up. Are any of you carrying any Fire-types with you?"

"Not me. I'm a bird trainer," said Aurora. "Do you think I'm carrying Moltres in my pocket?"

"Don't look at me," said Pryce. "My Ice-types are pretty pointless in this situation."

"Hm," said Laine. She looked like she was making some serious decisions. Finally, with a slight shrug, she flipped open a Pokeball. A number of Delibirds scrambled to get out of the way as a Snorlax materialized.

"Will this do?" she asked.

Pryce grinned. "Perfectly. Better than fire, actually. Thaw him out more gradually. Here, let's see how we can arrange this."

With some awkwardness, they managed to get Ember folded between the Snorlax's warm, furry body and one of its huge arms. While he was thawing out, Pryce made an inspection of his fingers and toes, checking for frostbite. By the time he was finished, he had determined that there was no lasting damage done, and Ember was starting to wake up.

"Where am I?" he said faintly. "What's going on? And why am I sitting on a Snorlax?"

"It's keeping you warm, so you don't freeze to death," Aurora replied. "Hello again, Fire- top. You must really like the bottoms of caves - we keep having to haul you out of them."

"You again," he said grumpily. "If I didn't have my arms pinned to my sides right now, I'd happily strangle you. How do I get this thing to let go of me?"

"You don't, just yet," said Pryce. "Not until we're sure you're over your hypothermia. If I have to interrupt what I'm doing to save your life, I want to make sure you at least do me the favor of staying saved. Do you mind me asking what possessed you to come down here wearing not much more protection than a simple winter coat? And what in the name of Suicune are you doing down here? We left the main path to Mahogany Town miles back."

"I was trying to get to Mahogany town through the Ice Caves - well, the only other road is through Blackthorn, and I was not ready to go there. I didn't know it was this cold down here," he said, sounding apologetic. "And then I got lost. Then some stupid Delibird popped up and threw something at me that exploded, and I fell down and wound up here. Then I couldn't get back again. I tried to get Charizard to keep me warm for a while, but the ice started to get to him, and when the ceiling started to melt and drip on him, I got worried, so I put him away for a while..."

"A while too long, obviously," said Pryce.

"Well, he's safe now," said Laine. "Go on, Roadblock. Let him go."

The Snorlax rolled a little, and Ember slipped from its grip and fell onto the icy floor. He landed on his feet, staggering and slipping a bit, but he stayed upright. Laine returned the Pokemon to its Ball.

"There," she said. "Now you're rescued. Go away."

"Laine, that's not nice!" said Aurora.

"So what?" Laine snapped. "He's not nice, either, is he? If he was, he wouldn't be so determined to get back in the Rockets' good graces, would he? He wouldn't want to be one of them. Those Rockets kill people, an' he says he wants to be one of 'em!"

Ember looked at Aurora in confusion. "What's the matter with her?"

"I'm sorry. I think it's my doing," she answered. "I found out that her father was killed by Rockets. He'd found information leading to a rare Pokemon, and they were trying to take it from him."

"And they killed him?" repeated Ember, frowning. "That's not right."

"Ain't you clever?" said Laine acidly.

"That's not how I meant it," Ember retorted. "Rockets don't go around randomly killing people."

"Whaddaya do, then, plan it out ahead of time?"

"You listen to me when I'm talking," he snapped. The ice on the walls was nothing compared to the tone of his voice. "If Team Rocket killed everyone who got in their way, we wouldn't be allowed to survive. Even we have laws. One of them is that we do not take human lives unless that is the only way to save our own. Anyone caught breaking this law... if the police don't get them, Giovanni does. Whoever hurt your father, they're probably long gone by now."

Laine gave him a startled look. "They're dead?"

"Most likely. If the story is public enough that you two can know it, my uncle certainly knows about it. I pity whoever did it... Giovanni's punishments are worse than anything they would have gotten at the hands of the law. He never would have sanctioned the killing of a well- known scientist; it would be too publicly known. Above all, we preserve our privacy."

"So why did they have to do it?" Laine snapped. "If they knew they were going to be punished like that, why did they do it?"

Ember shrugged. "They probably didn't mean to. It's easy to have an accident in here."

"I think he's right," said Aurora quietly. "The scientist said something like that. He said they were trying to take your father's papers when he fell, and that's why they never stole them."

"Right," said Ember. He grimaced. "They wouldn't have pushed him on purpose if they hadn't got their loot first."

"Great, that makes me feel so much better," said Laine sarcastically.

"Look, I don't want to hear that from you," said Ember. "I am sorry your father died. I have parents of my own; I know how much it would hurt me if something happened to them. I'm sorry Team Rocket ever crossed paths with your father, but there's nothing I can do about it. There is nothing I could do about it. When all that happened, I was still just a kid back in Viridian City. I didn't even know I was related to Giovanni until about a year ago."

"That doesn't matter," said Laine. "You're still one of them."

"Not at the moment," he said. "Look, you know me. You know I don't agree with how my uncle runs things. If I don't stay with the Rockets, someone else will have to take over - anyone else, probably someone who jumps at every word my uncle says and will continue to obey his wishes even after Giovanni steps down. Probably someone who won't know or care a thing about leadership. What happens then, when Giovanni dies? Think about what will happen then - everything will go out of control. I'm the only one who has a chance at keeping things under control. That's why I have to go back to them."

Laine was quiet for a moment, considering. Then she sighed. "You might be right."

"What might I be right about?" he asked quietly.

"That you might be the only one who can help," Laine replied. "And... that it wasn't your fault.... But you had better promise me, promise me that when you're in charge of the Rockets, you won't let it happen again!"

"I'll do my best. You have my word."

"You had better," she said, "or I'll personally hunt you down and - and - and feed you to Roadblock!"

"Well, we can't have that," said Ember. "I'd probably give even him indigestion."

"If we are quite done?" asked Pryce.

"I think we've got it straightened out," said Aurora. "Have we?"

"I think so," said Laine.

"We do," said Ember.

"Good," said Pryce, "because we need to get going. We can't spend all day down here. Here, let's see if we can find a way out of this place."

He went through his pack and pulled out a collection of ropes and ice picks. With the aid of these, he was able to scramble partway up the ice slide, stake a pick into the ground, and wrap part of the rope around it. Then he clambered a bit further, drove in another stake, and wrapped the rope again. After repeating this process several times over, he finally reached the top, and left a convenient climbing aid to those who came behind him. One by one, humans and Pokemon scrambled to the top of the slide, with Ember bringing up the rear and collecting the picks and rope. Nobody had asked him to; he simply seemed to take it as given that it was what he should do.

"You aren't mad at Laine, are you?" asked Aurora, who was climbing just ahead of him.

"Not really," said Ember. "I can't blame her for being angry. I'd be ready to hurt someone if that had happened to my father."

"Just making sure," said Aurora. "You really didn't know anything about it, did you?"

"Never heard a thing," he replied. "I doubt my uncle would let word get around any more than he could help."

"That's good," said Aurora.

"Why? Did you really think I would agree with something like that?"

"No," she replied. "It's just not a very good secret to have among friends, if you had known and never told us. I would have been annoyed if you'd left me to tell her for you."

"Who says we're friends?"

Aurora shrugged as best she could while climbing up a rope. "I thought it was obvious, by now."

They reached the top, eliminating the opportunity for further conversation. As Ember finished gathering up the ropes and handing them to Pryce, the Gym Leader gave him a considering stare.

"You might as well hang on to those," he said. "We might want them later, and you'll have to carry your own weight if you come with us."

"Who said I was coming with you?" asked Ember, surprised. "I'm going back to Mahogany Town, and I'm only staying there long enough to win the Glacier Badge, so if you'll just give me a point in the right direction..."

"I am the Leader of the Mahogany Town Gym, and I am not giving you a Badge until I get home," Pryce replied. "As for you, I'm not going to waste any more time showing you how to get back on the path after you were stupid enough to get yourself lost. You're coming with us."

Ember looked annoyed, but something in the Gym Leader's eyes told him he was not getting away with anything today. He sighed.

"All right," he said with bad grace, "but be quick about it."

"As if I planned to dawdle down here," Pryce muttered. "Come on. The door we're looking for should be this way."

A few minutes of tricky hiking led them to a large, blank stone wall. There was a large pile of stones resting against it, looking less like a rockfall and more like a purposely constructed wall. Pryce walked all around it, studying it seriously.

"This is going to take some time to move," he said. "Even with help, we're going to be busy."

"I don't think so," said Laine lightly. "I've got it all taken care of. My Nova is good at dealin' with rocks."

Pryce looked skeptical. "And dare I ask what a 'Nova' might be?"

"This," Laine replied.

She snapped open a PokeBall and released her Machop, who looked around eagerly until he sighted Laine.

"Chop! Chop, chop!" he shouted, as he ran to hug her.

"Oh, come off it," she muttered. "It hasn' been all that long since you've seen me. C'mon, leggo already."

Nova obediently let go and stood a few feet away, gazing at her worshipfully.

"That's better," she said. "Listen up - I got some rocks I need you to get rid of. Can you do that for me?"

Nova could; he chattered happily and strutted over to the rocks. Giving them a moment of serious consideration, he backed up a few yards, made a running start, and delivered a sharp kick to the rocks at the base of the construction. The wall wobbled a bit. He backed up and kicked them again, and this time a few of the stones at the top fell down.

"Better back up," Laine advised, scooting off to the edge of the cavern. The others did likewise.

Nova scowled at the pile of rocks and backed up once more. With a loud shout, he rushed at them again and kicked as hard as he could. The rocks at the base shattered to dust, and the entire pile collapsed into a heap of rubble. Nova congratulated himself as he shoved the stones aside, revealing a wide, dark entrance. Moondancer trotted up and peered inside curiously. She barked at Aurora.

"Something is down there," Aurora said. "Something alive, I think."

"Well, of course there's something down there," Pryce replied. "If there wasn't, we'd be wasting our time. Come on."

They went. Beyond the door was another heap of stones, broad flat ones that had been piled up to make stairs. Surprisingly, no ice had formed on them. They were all perfectly dry, and all broad and level, making for an easy climb. Ember surveyed them with a look of suppressed interest.

"Do you think someone is expecting us?" he asked lightly.

"I hate stairs," Laine complained.

"Humph," said Pryce. "Move along, move along."

They went up. Though there was a marked decrease in the amount of ice they could see - nothing more than a faint white frost coating the walls - the air was not getting any warmer. As a matter of fact, Aurora thought she could feel the faintest traces of a breeze, something that had been absent throughout their journey through the caves. There was no sign that there had ever been a light here, and without the ice crystals to provide reflections, Moondancer's faint glow did very little to illuminate their surroundings. All Aurora could tell was that they were going up, and up, and up...

Pryce stopped so suddenly in front of her that she almost tripped over him. Drawing herself up short, Aurora took her eyes off the steps and turned to look ahead, where Moondancer was scampering and barking. There was a light ahead, and snow was blowing through it.

"I think we're here," said Pryce.

"Well, don't just stand there," Ember complained. "I want to get this wrapped up so I can get out of this place." Under his breath, he muttered, "I hate snow."

"No point in rushing," said Pryce. "We don't really know what's out there... Harvester never made it this far."

"Even so..." Ember began.

Aurora suddenly felt something, a force that ran through her and made her feel as if she'd been sideswiped by an avalanche. There was no choice but for her to move, and she did, running despite her weariness in the direction the force told her to go. She dimly heard the others shouting after her, but it was drowned out by the rush of wind and snow. After a while, they stopped shouting, but simply followed her, moving as fast as they could up a snow covered trail with its end blocked off by falling snow.

"This - shouldn't - be - happening," Pryce panted as he hurried to keep up with Aurora. "The weather was clear today. It can't be snowing now."

"Tell that to the weather," Laine snapped.

They rounded a bend and stopped. Aurora was standing stock-still at the head of what appeared to be a path, a road cobbled with chips of ice, lined with icicle spires. At the far end of the path was a snowy pedestal, and resting on the pedestal was a nest made out of icicles and snow. In the middle of the nest was a white egg that sparkled like new-fallen snow.

"The snow egg!" Laine whispered. "That's it! It looks just like my dream..."

Wordlessly, Aurora stepped forward. She rested her hand on the egg, and felt something stir under her fingers. As the group watched, the egg suddenly split, and there was a burst of blue light. Out of the egg came a beak, a head, a graceful neck, two spreading wings that flashed and sparkled in their own light...

"Articuno," said Aurora, her head bowing slightly in greeting. "Welcome back."

The bird looked at her for a moment, and she looked back, finding her gaze locked by its glittering eyes. Then it gave a trill that echoed like wailing wind, making the mountains ring and the listeners try to cover their ears. Aurora winced.

"Ow!" she yelped. "That hurt!"

"Are you all right? What did it do?" asked Ember urgently.

"Nothing," said Aurora, shaking herself a bit. "It's just - he's so strong. His voice hurts my ears."

The bird trilled again, and Aurora shut her eyes against its intensity. Steeling herself, she tried to get the overwhelming impressions it was giving her to sort themselves into words.

-What are you doing here, human?- it demanded.

"We came to see you," said Aurora. "That's all. They only wanted to look at you, to see if you were really real."

-I am.- The force of the statement was as deep as a mountain gorge; Aurora got a spinning, dizzy impression of eons upon eons of existence, stretching across time. More than that, it existed in so many places, in mountains and glaciers everywhere in the world, a hundred points of consciousness ready to wink in and out if need be. Her head ached with the enormity of it, and her nose began to bleed.

"We're sorry," she said. "We didn't mean to wake you up before your time."

-I am one of the Old Powers. I am the living embodiment of Ice. I existed before humans came into being, and I will be here after you are gone, for as long as the mountains stand and snow falls from the sky. I am not to be woken lightly.-

"We know that now," said Aurora. "We'll go away. We won't bother you again."

-You are too late with your apologies. No one who sees the Articuno without its permission may be permitted to live.-

"Oh, no," said Aurora. "You can't do that! We didn't know we were going to upset you!"

-You came here and disturbed my rest. You hatched me before my time.- The bird's voice had all the pity of a snowstorm. -Since I am alive before my time, you will die before yours.-

"Oh, no," said Aurora. "Oh, no, please..."

"What is it saying?" asked Laine. "What's going on?"

"It's going to kill us," said Aurora. "It's angry at us for waking it before its time, so now it's going to kill us."

"You can't!" Ember said. "I didn't even come here on purpose! How were we supposed to know you weren't ready to be awakened?"

-Do not argue with me, mortal. Pity is not a part of my nature.-

"Oh, boy, we've really done it now," Aurora muttered. "After dodging Rockets and Clair and everything, I'm going to be killed by a snowbird..."

Suddenly, there was a roar overhead, and something large and shining dropped out of the sky to swoop past all of them. The suddenness of the attack nearly knocked Articuno out of its nest. As the thing turned again, Aurora could see that it was a Dragonite, liberally coated with snow and ice but still wide-awake and furious. It bellowed and swooped at them again.

"Cut it out!" Ember shouted. "Stupid thing, leave us alone!"

The Dragonite roared its defiance and dove at them again, breathing fire. Laine dove for the ground, but Ember continued to stand and glare at it. In his anger, his blue eyes looked just like the Articuno's.

"Just what we didn't need," he muttered. "That thing's out of its mind with the cold and pain - the ice is going to kill it if it doesn't leave, and it's determined to roast us instead."

"Leave it to me," said Pryce.

He grabbed at a Pokeball and flipped it open. From its depths burst a flash of light, and then there was a Piloswine sitting on the ledge with them. It was an impressive specimen, taller than Pryce himself at its highest point, covered in shaggy brown fur. It turned a piggy face at the attacking dragon and roared. A whirlwind of powder snow sprang up, wrapping around the dragon and making it bellow in pain and rage. The Piloswine continued to attack, resisting all the Dragonite's efforts to roast it. Finally, the Dragonite realized that it was not going to get anywhere with this trainer, and was likely to be turned into a popsicle if it tried. With the last of its strength, it turned and flapped away. Everyone stood and stared at the sky, even the Articuno.

-What,- it asked, in considerable surprise, -was that?-

"A Dragonite," said Aurora. "Probably one of Clair's."

-A Dragonite would not come here. It is forbidden,- said Articuno. -No dragon would enter the heart of the ice where I dwell of its own accord, and no wise trainer would send one here. They would know it would be fatal. Who is this Clair?-

"She's the leader of the Blackthorn City Gym," Aurora explained. "She's the most powerful trainer in the country, but she's still not happy. She's banded with Team Rocket, the Pokemon poachers, to try to make sure no one can ever compete with her. She'll do anything, even kill other trainers, like me. She's after me, because she thinks I'm a threat."

-Is this true?- asked the bird of ice. -She abuses the ancient trust between humans and Pokemon in this way? She sends her Pokemon to kill the innocent, simply out of her own fear? This is a travesty, a perversion. It must not be allowed.- The bird drew itself up to its full height and spread its wings wide. -I will not permit this! This will be stopped!-

"Ow!" exclaimed Aurora again; the bird's anger hurt. As if sensing her pain, Articuno quieted again.

-You will help me,- he told her sternly. -By the ancient laws, I must not attack a trainer who has directly harmed me unless I do it under the orders of a trainer myself. That is the law. You, who speak my language, will give that order. Will you not?-

"You mean... you want me to train you?" asked Aurora, dazed.

-For a time,- the bird agreed. -Only for as long as it takes to see this Clair overthrown. Then you must release me to my ancient sleep. Will you swear to this?-

"I will," she said.

-Good,- said Articuno. He sounded pleased. -I will need a PokeBall - a good one. I find it is too easy to break ordinary ones.-

Aurora turned to Laine. "Laine, do you think you might let me borrow one of your PokeBalls - a strong one? Articuno says he wants one.

Laine looked surprised, but obediently went through her things and brought out a glossy black ball.

"Will this do?" she said. "It's meant to hold really big, strong things. It'll probably hold an Articuno."

-That is good,- said Articuno. He looked at Laine thoughtfully. -You are familiar to me. I saw your face in the mind of a dying man as his life faded in these mountains, and I put him to sleep under a blanket of ice and eased him into his death.-

"Oh," said Aurora, taking the Ball. The bird's voice disoriented her, making her feel distracted and vague. "Did you hear, that, Laine? Articuno knew your dad."

She opened the ball, and the icy bird inclined its head graciously.

-Forget not your promise!- it said, and then it vanished. The ball shut with a click, and Aurora promptly fainted.

She came around a few moments later to find that Ember had her half-propped in his lap and was pouring a bottle of something that tasted horrible down her throat. She sat up, choking and coughing.

"What are you trying to do?" she demanded. She tried to wipe her mouth and came up with red fingers; she had forgotten the nosebleed.

"Trying to wake you up," said Ember, sounding annoyed. "Or would you prefer we left you there to sleep in the snow?"

"I'm okay, really," she said, trying to sit up. "Articuno was just a little overwhelming, that's all. It's like having someone with a megaphone shouting in your ear... What was that stuff, anyway? It tastes awful."

"Revive," said Ember, showing her the empty bottle. "I figured if it worked on fainted Pokemon, it would work on you, too." Quietly, he addded, "For a minute, there, I thought he had decided to kill you, after all."

"Well, I'm not killed," she said. "I'm ready."

"Ready?" he repeated. "Ready for what?"

Aurora stood up and found that she could, though her knees felt weak and wobbly. "To face Clair. Articuno told me I have to go, and I'm going."

"How do you plan to face her?" Ember demanded. "She's still the most dangerous trainer alive. Forget battling; she'll kill you as soon as look at you! She'll have an army of Rockets swarming around the place - you'll never even get to her."

"I have to try," she replied. "Articuno is right - what Clair's been doing can't go on. Someone has to stop it... and it looks like that someone is going to be me."

"Not just you," Laine chimed in. "Did you think I'd let you walk into a fight like that alone? If you're gonna go pick a fight with that lady, you can at least let me come, too."

"I still say you're both crazy," said Ember, "but... I dreamed of an empty Gym with a broken dragon inside. Perhaps fate is on your side, and my fate is bound to yours. Besides, I owe that woman a thing or two for the way she's played with my gang."

"And you don' wanna see your girlfriend get hurt," Laine said, grinning.

Ember blushed. "I'm on your side, Aurora, in this at least. I'll say that much."

"Thanks," said Aurora. "I mean it. If this is what I have to do, I couldn't ask for better help than you two."

Her eyes turned away from them, through the peaks of the mountains and off to the east. There lay Blackthorn City, the place where this odyssey had begun. Now the circle was winding back to its beginning, drawing her irreversibly back there, to her fate, to the Blackthorn City Gym... and to the Dragon Master.