Chapter 14 Interlude: The Staff of Dreams
It was a long journey back to the Pokemon League. Scarlet did not follow us there, instead disappearing along the path. I was curious, but I had to first report our success to Cynthia and the rest of the leaders of the group. There were smiles aplenty in the group at the news, even Gardenia seemed to be somewhat comforted by it. Cynthia then stood up and said "All right, it is time for us to put our plan in motion. It is time for us to finally strike back." She then started giving tasks to the leaders and elite four for the next phase of our operation. The Elite Four were to coordinate the boats, while most of the gym leaders still confident in our success were to scout out as many trainers for the assault ahead. Tomorrow we would be going up to Snowpoint City by boat. Snowpoint was a perfect vantage point for several reasons. First, it was one of the few towns that Darkrai had not swallowed up in darkness, and even as we spoke, Lt. Surge was keeping the peace up there. Additionally, it was close enough to Mount Coronet that we could reach there in relative safety while Darkrai's forces froze in the winter cold. The only real issue was that the city was still under siege, so we would have to break the siege in order to progress forward.
All in all, the plan was coming together quite nicely. We had Cresselia as Darkrai repellent, and Celebi to take us back in time to take down the bad guy before he can put his barrier up. Even so, Necturna's final breath foretold of some ominous goings on. Was it possible that Darkrai knew what we were planning, and leading us into some sort of awful trap? Or was he simply making a move to stop us before we could even start the plan? It was impossible to tell, but for the time being I felt that the group in the Caverns of Time ought to know about this mess, so I bid farewell to the leaders and made my way up to our secret abode.
Once there, I was greeted by N, Latias and Latios, Cresselia, Celebi, and the few other trainers that were trusted enough to come here. I made some small talk with some of the trainers and others there, but then, much to my surprise, Scarlet came in, scarf attempting to cover her face. Latios...or Lorien, as he was still in human form, cried out "What are you doing here?! How did you find this place!" He started to threaten her, and I stood up and stated that she had helped us take down Necturna. Lorien did not really care, and was ready to show her the door when Latias calmed him down. An old friend of mine, Arthur, made a rather shocked glance at Scarlet, before shaking his head. Before I could ask what the matter was, Scarlet had started leaning on the wall, and giving us some information about herself.
"So, this is where humanity's hope lies? So be it. Let me introduce myself, I am Scarlet. For a few years I have been trapped in the Distortion World due to...an accident that happened. But my personal history is not important. Darkrai has been using the Distortion World as a mini base of sorts, and thus I have been able to gather some vital information about his troops' whereabouts. First, I have been informed that Darkrai has sent one of his most brutal, most destructive generals to bear against the town called Snowpoint City. His name is Garchomp, and it was he that led the successful campaigns against places like Eterna City, and none that have fought against him have lived to tell the tale. Second, Darkrai's forces have apparently managed to find out about your plan, the one to use Celebi at Mount Coronet to travel into the past, if I'm not mistaken? To prevent this from happening, Darkrai has allied himself with a man called Ghetsis, a man apparently with many tools to assist Darkrai's army. The third...the way they found out about this plan. There is a spy among you in the League."
"A spy? I knew it." called Lorien, still seething with anger. "And how do we know that you're not the spy in question?"
"Do you really think I'd be insane enough to show up here and tell you about a spy if I was the spy? Come on now." Scarlet retorted.
"The lady makes a good point." I said. "Still, we saw Ghetsis at Stormrage Mountain, and not a peep from him since then. I wonder what insane scheme he's cooked up this time?"
"Then perhaps N is responsible..." Arthur chimed in, eyeing the man suspiciously.
I slammed my hand down on the table we were gathered around "Look, the last thing we need is to send a wave a paranoia throughout the base about some spy. I say we take a slower path, make a list of the most likely candidates and start feeding them information until we get a match."
"Then should we cancel the assault?" Latias asked.
"No point." Scarlet said "They already know you're coming, and if we wait any longer, then there's no way we can get a force through to the mountain in time. We will just have to fight our way through it."
The arguments continued on like this for a little while, at least until everyone calmed down enough to go their separate ways for now. As I stood in the corner pondering what our next move should be, I...felt a faint glow come from the staff I had picked up from the Nightmare Prison. Suddenly Cresselia came over and said, with crystalline voice "I sense an ominous aura about you, hero. What is this foul presence that weights over your heart".
"You aren't suspecting me of being the spy now?" I said.
"No no." Cresselia replied.
Then I realized what was going on, and showed her the artifact. "This...". The Moon Pokemon floated carefully towards the staff. "How did you find it?"
"Necturna last wielded this staff, perhaps", I said, trying to come up with an explanation for how I came across this relic. Meanwhile, Latios walked to the two of us in his human form.
"Can this really be...?", he uttered at the sight of the staff, then he turned towards Cresselia. "I thought you once told me that it was destroyed centuries ago."
"So I thought, but your eyes are not deceiving you, Latios", replies the Dreamer, looking no less surprised than her interlocutor. "This is certainly what is left of Espyria."
"Espyria, what is that?", I asked, quite confused.
"In a distant past, a war not unlike this one was thought between me and Darkrai", Cresselia began to explain. "In order to allow the human champions to prevail against Darkrai's armies, I infused part of my power in a magic staff, turning it into a beacon of hope which allowed humans to dispel the twilight which was about to fall on them - just like today. However, after that confrontation, the staff went lost - its location unknown even to the most learned scholars of your kind".
"It is possible that Darkrai's minions found it, and attempted to twist it to their own purposes", suggested Latios. "But if it were so... the staff's power is probably corrupted beyond redemption already".
"Not necessarily", replied Cresselia. "No matter how dark, a shadow always allows for a shed of light to keep glowing in its cold embrace. If we manage to harness the corruption sealed within the staff along with the powers of Light, we may manage to reforge the staff into a new shape. An even mightier one, possibly".
"Are you sure it is a wise course of action?", questioned Latios, visibly concerned. "I mean, are you sure we can entrust mortals with such a power? What if they turned it against us?".
"This world is already on the brink of annihilation, my friend", observed Cresselia in return. "We can't help but trust those who share their fate with us".
"If this is your decision, I will abide to it", admitted Latios. "But I will never lower my watch over mortals and their activities - now, more than ever"
"As we all will", the Moon Pokemon convened. Then, as the Aeon Pokemon left the conversation, she turned her gaze to me. I felt a familiar weight of crushing responsibility loom towards me.
"While I am not sure about the nature of this presence, I believe that this may not be the lingering effect of Necturna's foul magic - it has been far too long for that. As strange as it sounds to me, it feels as if this were some kind of... independent force. As if something was sleeping inside the staff itself, its twisted dreams fueling the corruption seeping from the staff itself".
"What can we do about it, then?", I said.
"First, we need to rebuild a proper vessel, to contain the staff's power", explained Cresselia. "Were you to try and unleash its power in this form, it would consume your soul in the time it takes for your heart to beat once."
"Oh lovely."
"...However, while my magic will neutralize the majority of the staff's power, it will also allow you to carry it safely. Once you will provide me with the components required to conjure the new vessel, I will be able to unlock this artifact's potential without putting your very soul at risk".
"I see, but how are we going to unlock it's full power again?"
"The first thing you need to retrieve is a relic of heavenly power which I can use as a focus to infuse the power of Light within the staff", explained Cresselia.
"Well, where the heck are we going to find one of those?", I asked
"These artifacts are rare in your world, unfortunately", Cresselia said. "But I can sense the presence of one of its kind, not far from here. Deep within snow and sorrow, in the far north of this land... but I can also sense a second presence looming over it."
"What do you mean by that?" I asked, still not quite following her.
Cresselia was silent for a few monents, before she responded. "While I hope my suspicions are mistaken, it may be that Darkrai himself foresaw our course of action, and decided to try and anticipate our plans. The focus relic is out there... but you may have to retrieve it from wicked hands. I wish I could tell you more about the dangers ahead of your path, but not even my dreams can pierce through the darkness which is falling on us..."
"Then I guess that settles things. We have to continue with the assault on Mount Coronet." I said, as I prepared to leave. Surely this would be my toughest challenge yet, and I needed every ounce of time to prepare for the worst to come.
Little did I know just how much worse it was going to get.
Assault on Mount Coronet (Part 1) has been unlocked!