-Blessed by Divinity: Eternity-

Together

A few days after the events on Newmoon Island, my team and I had made our way back to Celestic Town. Thankfully, we had already visited said town, so Dragonite was able to cross the skies, our destination now reachable.

I walked through the town gates, Dragonite by my side as the main town house came into view. My eyes looked over the picturesque view, the midday sun bathing the grassy floor that stretched from end to end. The entrance to Mount Coronet loomed in the distance, shaded by the overhanging cliff edges.

Immediately, I noticed that the town seemed much more lively than it had been the first time I was here. Both Dawn and May were stood by the ruins at the center of the town, talking about something just out of earshot.

Elaine was sat on a bench beside Cynthia's grandmother's house, resting her elbows on her knees as she looked out over the town. Red was stood in front of the ancient shrine at the center of the town, his attention fixed on the mysterious shrine.

Once I stepped through the town's gate, all four of the trainers looked up to me, seeing that I had finally reached the destination. There was an air of mutual understanding between the five of us as we turned to the main building of the town, making our way inside.

"Ah, Aaron, Dawn, I do believe it has been quite some time since I last saw you two. I trust everything is going as you hoped with your journey." Cynthia's grandmother greeted us as we stepped through the door. I could see she was pleasantly surprised to see more of us this time.

Without saying much, I took a seat at the table, collapsing with fatigue as I sunk into the old wooden chair. The others looked to each other quickly before taking their seats at the table.

"So, what's this about prices on our heads?"

May spoke first, wanting to clear the air. I looked up from my thoughts, turning to the old television that stood in the corner of the room. It took a few tries to get the remote to work and in the end I was surprised that such an old device was still functional.

As expected, our faces were all over the news. It hurt to see our names smeared over something we didn't even do, but I knew we wouldn't let any of that get to us.

"Wow, they're really splashing out for us." Dawn sat back in her chair, disappointed that it had come to this.

"Yeah, well that's only the start of it." I reached into my bag, pulling out the book I picked up from the Canalave library. The blunette sat opposite me quickly recognised the book, sitting up in her seat at the sight of it.

Cynthia's grandmother had disappeared into the back, rearranging books on the shelves and continuing with her housekeeping. I half hoped that she would be able to guide us on what to do next but it didn't look like she wanted to involve herself with us any time soon.

I turned back to the group, seeing their attention on the book. Quickly, I flicked through the pages, showing the four each of the pokemon described in the book.

"...?"

"Yeah, apparently whenever a mythical pokemon shows itself to the world, something big is on the way." I paused for a moment before continuing, "and I've been getting a feeling that something big is coming."

An air of uncertainty settled on the group, their faces showing that they felt the same way. Ever since I had made my connection with Darkrai, there had been a constant unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach. I tried to bury it but recently, it had been growing out of my control.

"When I got to Eterna City, Maxie and Archie were talking about taking their plan to the next phase. I don't know what that means, but it can't be anything good."

"Jupiter said the same thing when she attacked me. It looks like Team Galactic is finally making its move."

As the two girls described their situations, I noticed that Red was unusually quiet. Though he wasn't the most talkative, I could see that the silent trainer was abnormally distant. Something was clearly on his mind but it was unusual for anything to bother him like this.

"Red? Is everything ok?" Elaine had also picked up on this, asking the question for me.

As the light blonde spoke, the rest of the group turned to Red, expecting him to say that everything was all good. But as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, it was clear that there was more to this than I initially thought.

"..."

Silence filled the room as Red spoke his mind. Hearing what he was saying didn't surprise me but when he confirmed it with his own eyes, it bought out something within me that I didn't think I'd see again.

Seeing Red in such a state, reminded me of how I felt when I had come face to face with Lysandre all those years ago at the top of the pokemon league. What we were up against was something we had never seen before and on top of that, we hadn't even caught wind of Team Galactic's leader.

Even with Dawn's extensive knowledge of the group, she had been unable to track their leader down. Cyrus was his name, but he was as elusive as they came. He must have learned from his mistakes the first time round so now there was no telling what he was capable of.

"This Masked Man... We'll deal with him when he comes, but we have to cut the head off the snake. When it comes to it, Cyrus is mine."

I spoke with certainty, knowing for sure that I wouldn't let Team Galactic's leader escape. The first time I came face to face with him was sure to be the last and of that I was sure.

"Right, I'm taking both Archie's and Maxie's heads if it's the last thing I do." May spoke with an unusual calmness. It was the first time I had seen the brunette so focused on her words, it almost scared me.

No one challenged May, knowing that her battle would only be fought by her. Dawn shifted in her seat, her eyes darting from trainer to trainer before she spoke up,

"This isn't something you have to do yourselves. Yeah, the battle is only fought by one of us but we're all with you, every step of the way." The blunette paused, looking in my direction, "That's when we're at our strongest."

I couldn't help but smile, my eyes looking over the four trainers sat before me.

"Yeah, it sure sounds cheesy but it's true. We fight at our best when we're together." I leaned forward in my chair, placing my hand at the center of the table, "So when it gets dicey, just remember you aren't alone in there."

Elaine looked up from her thoughts, a small smile on her face as she reached out with her right hand. Dawn followed, May then placing her hand on top of the blunette's. The four of us looked up to Red who didn't seem too enthusiastic about the corny display of friendship. But eventually, he gave in, placing his hand at the top of the stack.

The moment Red's hand graced over May's, there was a jolt of energy that coursed through the five hands at the center of the table. Everyone reeled back in surprise, seeing thin wisps of  smoke billowing from each of our hands.

I felt my eyes flare up, the coldness in my left now unnoticeable. As I looked across the table, I saw that everyone else's eyes had also activated.

Elaine was sat to my right, her eyes glowing a deep viridescent emerald colour. Dawn was sat to my left, her eyes illuminated by a reflective floral green light. May and Red were sat at the other end of the table, the brunette's eyes shining a metallic silver as the silent trainer's burned with a fiery ruby red under the overhead light.

I cleared my throat, breaking the awe filled silence. "Mount Coronet is where they make their move. We'll take the fight to them."

Each of the four trainers were in agreement, nodding as I spoke. With that, our plan was set. Team Galactic had finally stepped out of the shadows and now we were going to make them pay.