The entire city seemed to hold its breath in anticipation of the big event. No other activities were scheduled, and all but the most dogged of booths closed down, knowing nobody would shop at a time like this. All the city's bustle had converged into thick crowds lining every major street. Some had been there since dawn to get a spot in front; others grumbled that they wouldn't be able to see anything twenty-five rows from the street.

Many blocks away from central square, the parade assembled. Bands, dance troupes, Pokemon Coordinators, giant balloons, and pretty much everything that could possibly fit into a parade were there. But the main attraction was the floats, one for each legendary Pokemon. They were arranged in National Dex order, with two exceptions. A candlelit float at the front of the entire parade honored Mew, the legendary Pokemon that lost its life to the Power Plague. The float for Arceus, the Creator Pokemon who chose to return to his slumber rather than become an Avatar himself, served as the parade's grand finale.

Surrounding each float were ecstatic cosplayers who were chosen to participate in the parade. There were also a number of uniformed attendants ready to help everyone find their places.

Wells was woken by the sound of the parade outside. He quickly decided to wait in his hotel room, hoping that it would make him seem more mysterious and turn him into more of a star. He told Fluke to wake him up in time for the tournament, before he jumped into his bed and closed his eyes. That was when he realized the importance of being well-rested; or the importance of excusing his laziness. Fluke decided to look at the parade, hoping to see cosplayers dressed like him. Then he took a look at the clock, as he watched a long minute go by. After another one, he decided to take a closer look at the parade. He would certainly be back here in time to wake Wells.

Although Fluke's attempt to leave the hotel room was quite loud, Wells was quite difficult to wake when he was asleep. Afterwards, Fluke snuck out of the hotel, and started walking among the dozens of cosplayers in the float. It didn't take long before Fluke understood that nobody would cosplay as him. He stealthily moved through the parade, deciding to slowly walk next to the float of Suicune.

Light streamed in the hotel window, through the very elaborately designed curtains. Grumbling slightly, a figure rolled over, vanishing underneath the covers. The little Mawile, curled up on the end of the bed, stirred slightly and opened her eyes. Rising, she wandered over to the lump in the bed and crashed against it with a muffled thump.

Her voice low, Apate reached out telepathically to her companion. You know, if you don’t move soon, the breakfast orders will be finished. The man groaned, loud enough to be heard from under the duvet, curling himself up into a ball. He needed to know, but didn’t want the answer.

Tell me straight. He gulped. How bad was it?

The Mawile took a deep breath. Well, you went slightly insane for one reason or another, scared everyone half to death, before passing out, waking back up and threatening to kill everything you laid eyes on, after being drained by the embodiment of death and being delivered a fiery ultimatum by Rebeca. She had rattled off the entire spiel without pausing for air, not really wanting to relive the events.

She most certainly wasn’t alone there. Tantalus clenched his hands, tightly, rage and fear colliding within. Xerneas didn’t seem to be pestering him for now, but for how long would that last? What caused him to waken in the first place? A flashback to what Rebecca had said last night raced through his mind.

And how does this end?

Shuddering, he decided that dwelling on the past wouldn’t help. In fact, it might result in him missing breakfast, which would have serious repercussions. Throwing the duvet off of him, causing Apate to roll of the bed in the heap of linen, Tantalus began to get ready for the day. Stretching, it became apparent that every single muscle was burning, likely due to exhaustion. His body wasn’t able to recover fully after the immense use of power it exerted last night until it took in enough nutrients to replace that which was lost. Translation, he would need a massive breakfast, and the thought alone brought forth a scowl.

A long soak in a hot shower had served to ward off the memories from last night, allowing him to focus on the day ahead. Dressing swiftly into a spare set of clothes - consisting of a dark blue shirt, black cardigan, and dark gray casual suit - and gesturing for his Mawile to follow, the two made their way down to the main lobby. While fumbling around, attempting to acquire bearings on the location of breakfast, Tantalus caught sight of familiarly pink hair near the reception desk. It would seem Seras Bancroft was also present, and it was possible she hadn’t heard of last night, and wouldn’t instantly distrust him. One could hope.

Approaching the woman, who appeared to be discussing breakfast arrangements with the hotel staff, a heartfelt smile flashed across Tantalus’s face. “My dear Miss Bancroft. It is a pleasure to see you again, on this fine morning. I trust you slept well?”

Upon noticing it was him, Seras’s stance seemed to shift a little, looking a tad less guarded. This was highlighted by the fact she graciously returned his smile.

“Wonderfully, in fact. Our hosts have been incredibly generous - you don’t often get the chance can enjoy a served breakfast in a five-star hotel.”

After few beats passed, she relaxed a little more and continued. “And it’s far too early to worry about formalities, although I appreciate your kindness nonetheless - just ‘Seras’ would be preferable.”

A surprise, indeed, from someone so collected. The woman gave off the air of a noble, and at the same time had a much more grounded feel. “Not at all. It is force of habit, on my part. I find it is always better to be formal unnecessarily, than to discover it was needed in hindsight, and so, I always hedge my bets. A conversation without underlying politics, however, would be more than welcomed.”

Appearing to age several years, she gave a weary smile, one that showed just what toll last night’s carousing had taken. “Agreed. Your manners are impeccable, but we needn’t duck and weave our way through our conversation.” Waving a hand, she aimed a gesture at the door down a nearby hall. “Care to join me for breakfast?”

While about to respond on instinct, he paused. A nice conversation over breakfast would be wonderful, but then his order was going to be strange enough to warrant quite a level of attention. Then again, Seras had just asked to set aside manners, being incredibly frank about the lack of formality this particular situation called for. Would she really mind, all that much? Tantalus smiled once more, the decision made.

“That would be lovely.”

---

Seras beamed gratefully at Tantalus. Finally, an opportunity for a proper meal. As enjoyable as yesterday’s dinner had been - briefly - arguments and petty dominance contests were all but unavoidable whenever so many Type A personalities were forced together. Compared to last night, a peaceful conversation over breakfast with someone who wasn’t insane or homicidal seemed almost heavenly.

As they strolled together into the breakfast room, Seras couldn’t help but marvel at the casual display of wealth. Beautifully detailed murals were painted across three of the walls - Mount Chimney churned and boiled on the northward wall, while Swablu fluttered around the eastern groves of Fortree City and Slateport Beach gleamed under the summer sun to the south. Rather than murals, an enormous buffet of fruit, drinks and dainty appetisers was arranged along the westward wall, where windows faced out across the hotel gardens - possibly a concession to the lack of tourist destinations to the west, but certainly impressive in its own right. The furniture was a deep red wood of some description, while parchment-like menus sat neatly on each of the tables. Remind me to thank Justine again once all of this is over.

Fortunately, the room was reasonably quiet for the time being - most guests seemed to have already left to queue for the parade, giving the pair of them plenty of time and space to dine peacefully. Heading over to the buffet table, Seras perused for a few moments before scooping up a fruit salad for starters. Tantalus, on the other hand, seemed immensely dissatisfied. After fruitlessly scanning the length of the table, he scowled to himself and quietly began heaping several petite slices of toast and salmon onto a platter, swiftly joined by a large glass of orange juice

As they settled down at the nearest table for three, Apate appearing similarly disgruntled at the range of appetisers, Seras offered them a condoling smile. “The food might be rather light pickings to start with, but I’m sure we’ll be served fairly soon.”

He offered a rather self-deprecating smile in return. “Let us hope so. I’m not sure how long I’ll last otherwise.”

“At least the meals won’t be covered in salt or splintered wood today,” she grinned. “Speaking of which, I’ve been meaning to thank you for your support in handling Hope yesterday. It was well-executed and well-received.”

“My support?” Tantalus exclaimed, starting back in bewilderment. “Everything I did could only have been achieved as a result of your own flawless execution of thievery.” He chuckled ruefully. “Speaking of which, would you like the scepter back? Now that our point has been understood fully, I can find no use for it.”

She nodded gratefully. “I was planning on returning it, truth be told. Cutting off her grandstanding was far more valuable than the actual scepter. It’s rather tacky, no?,” she observed, grinning shamelessly. “And I’d rather not be seen as a thief if possible. Besides, I’d use my own gemstones if I had an occasion to be flashy - they’re much convenient and far more impressive with a little creativity.”

Tantalus arched an eyebrow as he sipped at his orange juice. “So I have heard, despite not having the pleasure of witnessing it myself. Your reputation is one I am very aware of. I had hoped to give it back, at the time, but even the owner appeared to agree with your evaluation of it, did she not? It’s upstairs, and I will fetch it for you later today.”

“That sounds perfectly suitable. I assumed that she’d simply steal the scepter back, to be honest - perhaps she was rather intimidated by your reputation as well.”

Tantalus immediately froze, face contorted in shock and something uncomfortably close to fear. Feeling confused and somewhat concerned, she swiftly moved the conversation forwards. “Speaking of which, I’m impressed that your reputation has spread as far as Hoenn. I must confess that I haven’t heard much about you, but I hadn’t heard mention of any of the other avatars whatsoever before today. Rumours of travelling healers must be welcome in this day and age.”

After several moments, his rictus of terror relaxed into something more composed. “Avatars have never been a considerable interest of mine, until I heard of this little event,” he noted dispassionately. “As such, I haven’t been looking for any stories about my kind. However, myself and Apate have traveled a distance together, and on my trip through Kalos, you were the hottest topic of conversation. People seem thankful to have a such an impressive poster child.” Tantalus picked up one of the toast slices, giving it a contemptuous glare before setting ravenously into his meal.

Meanwhile, Seras felt her cheeks flush slightly. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the attention, but the whole ‘Crown Jewel of Kalos’ affair always gets blown out of proportion. “You flatter me, but I’m sure that it’s because Diancie the Pokemon is a home favourite there.” She paused for a moment as a thought crosses her mind. “It’s rather strange, being the home favourite in a country that you've never been in.” She gazed absently at the wall behind them, continuing to ponder for several moments before vigorously shaking her head.

Tantalus stared at her incredulously. “Forgive me, but I assumed you were born in Kalos. Someday, after the events here are done, you should travel there. I’m sure the locals would be more than happy to act as tour guides for their golden girl. Failing that, give me a call.” Recovering somewhat, he offered her a warm smile. “I can recommend various places you simply must visit.”

“Likewise myself - there’s an awful lot for you to see in Hoenn.” Seras gestured at the surrounding murals. “Asides from what’s around you, the waterfalls around Fortree City are absolutely spectacular at sunset, and while I’m yet to see for myself, I’ve heard wonderful things about the night sky over Sootopolis City.”

She raised her glass in a mock toast. “Both of us have long lives to enjoy - I see no reason why we shouldn’t explore all of the known world in due time.”

---

With that, a young waitress approached the table armed with a notepad and pen. “May I take your orders, please?”

“Three croissants with jam, if you would. I’ve got a long day ahead.” Seras told the waitress, very politely and without the slightest hint of irony. Here was the girl actively trying to justify ordering a measly three croissants, when the order he was about to place would quite literally cover the table. Well, I’m looking forward to this. Tantalus thought.

With a quick nod of her head, the waitress wrote down the order on the little notepad she held. “Not a problem, miss. What about you, sir?”

Tantalus placed the menu on the table, looking at the young woman. “A portion of everything you can fry, please.”

Both Seras and the woman were clearly taken aback. “Excuse me?”

Attempting to hold the complete shame inside - while being incredibly satisfied with Seras’s reaction - the man replied more sharply than he had intended. “You heard correctly. Do not worry if your boss refuses to provide it free of charge on account of Avatar hospitality, I carry a checkbook.” Glancing towards his Mawile sitting on the chair to the left, he added an extra order. “Oh, and could you make some sort of burger for my companion, here? It doesn’t particularly matter what kind.” Gulping, the waitress scribbled a few things down on her notepad.

“Is that all, sir?” She asked. Tantalus turned to face her, sporting a killer smile.

“Yes. For now.” With that, the girl walked off looking rather sheepish.

Seras arched an eyebrow at him. “I assume that you had an exhausting evening?” Asking the question with the same playful lilt in her voice that Apate managed. His eye twitched slightly, and a dry laugh polluted the air between them.

“Quite the understatement, let me assure you. Now, where were we?”

“Discussing our travels and all of the wonderful treasures to discover in the world.” Her eyes gleamed with a playful hunger, not unlike a child at christmas marveling at the unopened gifts littering the floor. “You give a nice speech, certainly, but you’ve yet to convince me as to why I should visit Kalos.”

“Ahhhh. It is specifics you are after. Then we shall open a few of the boxes.” Reclining in his seat and ignoring her apparent confusion, the man held out his hand, preparing to count on his fingers. “Well, we have a cave, whose walls act as mirrors. Nature’s carnival funhouse, in a sense. Next up, an forest which is technically forbidden.” Seras raised an eyebrow. “But contains some of the most impressive waterfalls known to man. If nature gets too much, I’d imagine someone like you would find a great deal of peace in Lumiose City, a haven for the artistically-minded. Finally, we have the enormous gemstone, said to be the heart of Kalos itself. A work of Diancie, i’m told. I could go on, but I’m trying to get you to visit, after all.”

The woman paused, taking in the description of each location in turn. Tantalus could actually see the wheels turn in her head. It was a kind of endearing. “I’ll admit - you have me interested.” Seras turned towards the window, lost in thought. Whatever she was thinking about, however, wasn’t clear from her face. Staring, Tantalus wondered exactly how one person could switch so quickly between being easier to read than a book, and then become a complete enigma. “I may well visit in the near future, once I’ve finished my tours of Hoenn.” With a swivel of her head, the woman began to peer directly at Tantalus, as he had her. The curious gaze lingered for several long seconds. “I take it that you’re something of a nomad yourself, then?”

He nodded. “Indeed. Apate and I have been traveling almost solidly for around 8 months now, and more besides. Crossing as many regions as we can manage. Although I do mean to return to Sinnoh, one day.” Thinking for a moment, he asked what was really dwelling within his mind. “Forgive me, but as I mentioned, I guessed incorrectly that you hailed from Kalos. A stupid assumption, on my part, since my legendary is also from there. Where is it you call home, originally? If you don’t mind my asking, of course.”

“Not at all. I’m actually fairly local to here - I was born in Verdanturf Town, just a few days’ West of here. It’s a peaceful enough place, but there’s nothing much there compared to the rest of Hoenn.” The conversation took a harsh turn, as the woman steered it away from the topic of her hometown. Curious. “Not at all”, she had said, but there was clearly something behind that. A note of tension was present in the air, all of a sudden. Pushing it would give no returns, for the moment, but Tantalus filed it under ‘things to investigate later’.“I’ve been making a steady pace around Hoenn over the last two years - exploring all the corners of the map instead of city-hopping. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but having some time and space to adjust seemed welcome after becoming an avatar.” Seras giggled, a sound that impacted the mood like Rebeca’s fist impacted Lucas’s ribs last night. It lightened substantially, becoming much softer and more relaxing once again. The man found himself almost thankful for it. “Not that it was the most important change, but my hair used to be blonde rather than garishly pink.” Taking a handful of hair, she waved it around, as if doing so would underline the fact. “Given how well I’ve been received at the festival, it definitely feels like time to spread my wings a little.” With her hand still full of hair, she used it as a pointer to gesture in my direction. “How did you find adjusting to all of this avatar business?”

Giving a smile, he spoke. “I found the change blissfully simple. After the merge, acting in the capacity of an Avatar came as natural as breathing to me. Although I can relate to the hair aspect, mine wasn’t naturally blue.” He chuckled, and continued. “On a slightly more serious note, using the powers I have is simple, and upon discovering this, the natural thing to do was begin wandering to help the poor and sick. That was what I was put here to do, in the end.” Tantalus winced, waiting for a retort that never came. Xerneas was definitely either sleeping or busy, and he wasn’t sure which was scarier.

Seras seemed captivated by the description of his powers within. She gave a beaming smile.“Such generous motivations are truly admirable. I must confess that Diancie lacks a fundamental purpose to the same degree as most Legendaries, but I’ve found that rather liberating - it’s left me free to travel and chart my own path.”

Appearing to contemplate her own words for a moment, she vanished into her own little world, and sat in silence for but a passing moment. “I’ve certainly brought a lot of happiness to others through my travels, regardless of my initial motivations. I started out on an artistic pilgrimage, as much as anything else, but found that presenting one person with art which they truly treasure is more satisfying than any amount of sculpting for the sake of art alone. The gratitude I’ve received over the last few days has definitely given me plenty to think about.”

As Tantalus sat contemplating his swelling ego, brought on by Seras’s kind words, the waitress from earlier brought over her food. Placing the plate of croissants in front of her, the woman turned to leave, as half the kitchen staff appeared with Tantalus’s order. This consisted of eight separate plates, piled high with various food items, a rather large mug of tea, and a small paper bag, which held the burger for the small Mawile sitting eagerly nearby. Nodding politely at the servers, the man began to greedily tuck in to the meal before him, eating things at random with extreme gusto.

---

Seras raising an eye at the colossal mound of food scattered across each of Tantalus’ places. “I can see why you took up such a lucrative profession,” she noted dryly.

Tantalus paused for a moment. “Some of us pay heavier dues for our powers than others,” scowling darkly.

Noting his frustration, Seras offered him a respectful nod in apology. “Indeed. I’ve never been held to ransom by my powers before, but I can imagine that there’s a steep price for sculpting life. Gems tend not to complain when you half-measure things.”

With a soft chuckle, Tantalus returned her nod graciously. “Whereas people critique your craftsmanship even when your best efforts aren’t enough.” His hands clenched reflexively for a moment “It’s rare to be able to create something from nothing; my power draws from a well funded from the natural energy the body uses for many things. Overuse is…” Tantalus paused to considering his phrasing. “Debilitating.”

Seras regarded him curiously. Quite unlike my own power. Although controlling too many gemstones at once could certainly be taxing, she’d never considered that it could leave any lasting effect. I would thought Arceus would ensure that the host won’t be harmed by their powers? “How much control do you have over the effects of your power?,” she inquired. “Is it largely instinctual, or can you control the manner in which your power alters someone?”

He chuckled darkly to himself, throwing Apate an almost haunted gaze. How incredibly curious. “When I touch a human or pokemon, I can see a sort of blueprint, and the difference between that blueprint and their current condition is highlighted. It doesn’t only affect specific parts, and I am unable to target it. When it’s on, it’s on, and fixes everything it can. Point and click, essentially. If there is processing involved, then it all happens behind the scenes.”

He paused for breath, slipping his tea.

“Without fixing people, though, I can tell what they are suffering from, unless it’s something my power couldn’t naturally repair. Does that answer your question, well enough? Any more, and I’m not too sure my answer will be satisfactory. My own knowledge is limited.”

As Tantalus started another rasher of bacon, Seras offered a disappointed nod. Nowhere near as thorough as I would have preferred. “That answers many of my questions. It’s a shame that your power functions so specifically, but then again, having less room for error seems more than worthwhile.” She paused for a moment, dancing around the issue. “Do you have any experience with hereditary conditions? It’s obviously a corner case, but I’d be curious about how a person’s blueprint would be affected under those circumstances. The intricacies of healing powers are fascinating, when you think about it.”

“Trust me, I’d love to have edited my own blueprint to add wings, it would make traveling so much more enjoyable. On the other hand, the simplicity makes things easy. I don’t have to worry about making a condition worse, because my information on it is lacking.” He took a long draught of tea. “Some hereditary conditions are treatable with my power, haemophilia for instance, although I can’t say where the blueprint comes from, if not from them. However, various birth defects aren’t treatable, although I believe that is due to the exertion involved. Shifting a person’s entire structure would most likely kill me before it fixed them.”

She sighed in dismay. “That’s entirely understandable. I know my own powers have improved greatly over the last few years, so we can only hope that yours shall continue to wax as well.”

He gazed at her thoughtfully. “Do you require my services?”

In response, she chuckled feebly. “Not myself, fortunately, but I have a certain measure of interest.” There’s plenty of less fortunate people out there who’d prefer a new blueprint.

Time for a different topic of conversation.

“My power takes a little more micromanagement, but I’ve been extremely happy with my progress so far,” she explained. Compared to Tantalus’ point-and-click explanation of his power, she’d spent a great deal of time exploring the extent of her own. “When I start using my power, I can sense all of the carbon dioxide in the surrounding air, much like you’d feel the water if you’re swimming. One of the neat upsides is that, with a lot of concentration, I can also tell where there isn’t air as well. Individual people are really hard to notice, but I could probably map out a maze or point out underground caves if I tried. It’s much the same as listening to your own heartbeat or manually breathing - unless I’m consciously paying attention, I don’t notice the empty spaces.”

“Oh?” Tantalus stopped eating for a moment, glancing up with an expression of surprise and respect. “You shape gemstones, and yet manage to utilise that as a built-in radar.” He beamed mirthfully. “That’s inspired. Using the freedom your power offers to create powers without the original intended use. I wonder if Diancie has ever thought of that.”

She simply grinned in response. “It’s an upside of being an avatar rather than a legendary Pokemon - when you can’t simply bend reality or shatter continents, you learn to squeeze every drop of mileage from what little you have.”

Chalk that one down to human ingenuity.

She took another bite from her croissant, mulling over the best way to explain her powers. Probably better to avoid too much jargon. “In some ways, my diamonds are just a side-effect of controlling the air, albeit to a much lesser degree than Flying-type avatars. Once I really turn on my power, I can pump energy into the carbon dioxide molecules and more-or-less control them. Controlling billions of gas molecules at once is a nightmare, but once you start crystallizing some of them into diamonds, you get a single lump of carbon that behaves nicely and stores loads more power in one place. More power means better control, meaning I can pull more carbon together - the whole thing goes exponential and you end up with a massive gemstone that can store a lot of power.”

Holding out a raised palm, she formed a cherry-pink gemstone that blossomed to the size of a football within seconds. Gently nudging the diamond with her power, she sent it spinning along one axis like a globe. “From there, I have enough control to start sculpting how the crystal grows and enough stored energy to punch holes through walls if I really wanted. Charging up gemstones is easier than making fresh ones - Hope can attest to that.” With a smug grin, she waved her hand at the diamond. It immediately crumbled into dust, which in turn faded into thin air as it returned to gas.

Nobody fucks with the pretty pink princess.

“One day, I’ll make a flying carpet out of diamonds, but I doubt that I could lift a person’s weight for the time being. Something to test in the years to come.”

---

Watching with intrigue, Tantalus spoke up. “Well, it certainly seems that you know exactly how your power works. I only wish I could say the same.” A mental scoff resonated within him. I’m not sure I have control over mine anymore, or if it controls me, Seras, let alone understand it to that level. He thought to himself.

Tantalus suppressed a shudder. If his powers really did require conscious control, the implications were frankly terrifying.

From the table one over from them, a couple sat dining together, enthralled by Seras’s display of her Avatar power. Their voices drifted over, during the break in conversation.

“Did you hear about what happened last night? One of those Avatar guys causing a huge stir. It was quite the scene - it sounded like he was out for blood.”

Tantalus choked, his eyes wide, trying to scan Seras for any reaction to the comment.

She gritted her teeth. “And there was me thinking that Lucas couldn’t possibly have made things any worse than Hope did,” bitterness clear in her voice.

Lucas. Lucas. Of course that was who they meant, not him. His outburst couldn’t have been that bad, surely. Tantalus hoped beyond hope, but deep down, was unable to convince himself. At least Seras didn’t suspect anything. Swallowing, he began to analyse the conversation so far. The girl sitting opposite had become a point of vast interest. Earlier she had played to his frightfully large ego, and Tantalus had thought she would be a good ‘trophy’ to add to his collection. Now, however…

She understood the price of his power, and hadn’t berated him for it like most who found out about it did. The conversation was flowing naturally - he noticed that it wasn’t forced - for once. Usually, interacting with humans ranked up top with his most undesirable experiences. Honestly, it didn’t seem like it would be too difficult to view Seras as a friend. As an equal. A strange feeling, certainly. Maybe - and just maybe - she could help with Xerneas. Drumming his fingers on the table, Tantalus discounted that last part, noticing someone walking through the breakfast room dressed as Suicune.

And it certainly wasn’t Kaze.

“Well, someone is taking the whole festival thing a little too far.” He said, with a laugh.

A large grin spread across her face. “Leave him be - he’ll never get a better chance than today to have some fun.” Glancing towards a clock mounted on the wall nearby, she spoke. “Speaking of which, we should probably head over to the parade soon - the festival staff are probably having a stressful enough time without any avatars cutting things close.”

Lifting a piece of skewered chicken to his mouth, Tantalus paused. “Excuse me, but what parade?”

“Oh, just a chance for the public to see all of the avatars at once. I believe that there’s floats involved, but I honestly don’t know the details.” Quietly, she polished off the last bite of her croissants, while struggling in vain to prevent a grin appearing again. If he really was going to class this woman as a friend, then lessons in concealing emotions were sorely needed.

“Fantastic. So we are to strut around like peacocks to be cooed over.” The man sighed, shaking his head.

Do you see what you have gotten me into now, you insufferable idiot? Apate gave a soft smile.

I know. Showing off in front of an adoring public must be such a terrible thing to do, for someone like you. It’s not as though you are a massively egotistical show-off, or anything. Too bad, really. Those types of people would simply adore a good parade.

The humour tainting every single word, Tantalus shot her a dark glare. Why do I put up with you?

Turning back to Seras once more, seven empty plates before him - and the contents of the eighth being fed to the bloody Mawile - a smile crept across his lips. “So, do you know where we are headed, Seras?”

By the time the sun finally breached the horizon, the final preparations for the parade were already well underway. As spectacular as the parade was sure to be, it paled in comparison to the frenzy of activity to ensure that everything went without complication: fixes for last minute mechanical failures, costume adjustments, instrument tunings, dance routine reviews, and the wrangling of wayward Pokemon into place. All of it had to be done before the final commitment, along with fervent prayers that nothing else would go wrong.

However, they were not the only ones that had risen early this day.

Up on a hilltop outside the city, Rebeca sat cross-legged with her eyes closed, her chest rising and falling with slow, steady breaths. She didn’t know the precise amount of time she had been awake; the sky had turned a pale pink when she roused herself from fitful sleep. Arrayed on either side of her were Mihkail and Maya, though while Rebeca’s focus was turned inward, they simply watched as the sky burned with increasing passion. The air around the trio was significantly warmer than what it should have been at such an early hour, fueled by the heat waves that billowed from Rebeca’s mouth with each fall of her chest.

As Rebeca and her Pokemon walked alone down a quiet alley, snippets of conversation floated through the air. Many booths had just closed down for the night, but some remained open. Groudon's avatar happened to pass one with a rather loud salesperson.

"...sample lasts for two days," the perky woman explained to a potential customer, "but the full strength product lasts one month. Just one simple injection of Typgard, and Pokemon moves of your chosen type will have their damage reduced by seventy percent if they hit you. Perfect for trainers with young or mischievous Pokemon!"

Mihkail paused when he noticed Rebeca stop. Hmm? What is it?

Rebeca frowned, glancing in the direction of the open booth. What the hell is she talking about? Moving closer, she held her arms behind her back, concealing the markings on her arms as she listened.

"Cool!" the customer enthused. The young trainer grabbed the Pokeball on his belt and released a Treecko. "Do you have fire type? It would be great if Forrest could beat my sister's Torchic for once."

"I'm afraid it doesn't work that way," the saleswoman clarified. "Typgard is meant for humans, to prevent injury from Pokemon moves. It can be harmful to Pokemon."

"Oh..." the boy sighed, disappointed. Forrest the Treecko seemed a little uneasy as it looked at the booth.

When the sun broke over the horizon, casting its rays across the landscape and bathing the hilltop in warm light, Mihkail nudged Rebeca’s arm and she opened her eyes. She smiled and ran her hand over the Spike Pokemon’s horn, then rose and dug into her backpack, pulling out a pair of gloves. Unlike the ones she had worn the day before, this pair appeared to have been crudely sewn together, made from thick Ursaring hide and had bulging pouches over the upper third of the fingers and across the backs of the knuckles.

Donning the gloves, Rebeca turned and flexed her fingers, then held out her hand. For moment, all was quiet, then a low rumbling sound broke the silence. The ground in front of her trembled and churned, until a thick granite pillar pierced the surface, nearly two feet thick and rising to head height.

Something that can protect people from Pokemon attacks? Rebeca's frown deepened, and she took a step forward, careful to keep her arms hidden. "How's it work? I would think it's impossible."

The saleswoman turned and directed her retail smile toward Rebeca.

"Typgard is a small, unobtrusive implant that detects when a Pokemon move is about to hit," she explained cheerfully. "Then, it projects a thin field, developed by analyzing the move Protect, around the person's skin."

Laying her head against the wall of the booth, she groaned quietly. This was going to give her a headache, she just knew it. "How can it do that? And wouldn't it break? Most times I've seen Protect fail after one or two hits."

The woman's perky smile faded to a puzzled look, then to a light frown.

"I'm afraid I'm not qualified to answer all the technical questions," she responded. "If you want to know more, you can try contacting the developers."

The woman handed Rebeca a white and blue business card. It featured the Typgard logo and the phone number of a Dr. Tony Henriksen.

Muted thumps filled the air as Rebeca punched the pillar over and over, her brow furrowed in concentration. They started as nothing more than gentle taps, then grew in force, but the pillar did not move. She added kicks to her attacks, striking at the pillar’s sides. At sharp gestures with her hands, large chunks of dirt became enveloped in silver light, compressing into stone, then flew into the air to shatter against the pillar. Fragments and shards split from its angular surface with each blow, and as the force and fury increased the pillar began to tremble.

A scream split the air, and the blonde-haired girl tore away from Rebeca’s embrace, slapping at her body. The grass beneath their feet was singed and scorched, and Rebeca stumbled backwards. Everything was just so warm, she felt like she should be sweating, but she wasn’t. She felt… energized.

Shouts of startlement and concern filled the air as a swarm of people gathered around. “What did you do!” cried an older woman, her own blonde hair streaked through with grey as her brown eyes gazed fearfully towards her.

Rebeca shook her head, trying to think clearly through the comforting warmth that filled her mind. “I… I don’t… I didn’t,” she stammered. Whispers erupted through the crowd as she looked down at the flames that still licked across her naked arms, trying to fathom the molten markings that burned in her skin.

“Let us through. Let us through!” The booming voice cut through warm haze, and Rebeca raised her head to the three people pushing through the crowd. The first was a burly-looking man with ragged brown hair and fierce blue eyes, the second a slender woman with long brown hair, and a Machoke bringing up the rear.

When they managed to reach the inner circle, they stopped and stared, the woman clapping her hand over her mouth. “Baby… how are you doing that?”

Rebeca bared her teeth in a snarl, an audible, animalistic growl issuing from her throat. White light enveloped her fists, and she lashed out at the pillar. A sharp crack split the air, and the top third of the pillar sheared away, tumbling down the hill to shatter against a tree.

You know, punching a rock can’t be good for your hands. You should use one of those punching bags most humans use.

For a moment, Rebeca simply stood there, panting. Then she grinned, chuckling a little as the light faded from her hands. This was a conversation they had had many times. Yeah, probably not. But I’m not lugging one of those things around on my back all day. My backpack’s enough.

Mihkail rumbled quietly, bending his head to allow Maya to scuttling onto his back. Maybe you should try one of those Gyms that we’ve seen.

Maybe. Rebeca sat back down next to her brother, pulling her gloves off and reaching up to caress Maya’s shell.

Silence followed the pair for a moment, before Mihkail spoke again. Thinking about what that saleswoman said?

Rebeca nodded. Something along that line.

And?

And I think it’s a load of Tauros crap.

Mihkail hummed again. Not interested in the slightest?

She glanced down at the Omega symbol branded on the back of her hand, a gloomy expression crossing her face. I have no reason to be interested.

Not you, maybe. The Spike Pokemon eyed her for a moment, then turned his gaze on the city below. You should tell the others.

Rebeca smirked. You just want me to get you more of that fancy food.

Guilty as charged. And you’ll do it, too.

Snorting, she turned her gaze towards the city as well. For a while, the pair were silent. I suppose that means I should get dressed, doesn’t it.

Yes, that might be a good idea for you. Rebeca smacked his side, grinning as the Rhyhorn rumbled good-naturedly, then reached for her clothes.

In less than a minute, she stood garbed in an old purple t-shirt and black sweatpants, Maya happily clinging to her breast inside. Smiling warmly at the infant Kabuto, Rebeca pulled her usual gloves on and stared down at the city. Alright, let’s go see what trouble finds us today.

Vuduin yawned and lazily pawed at the alarm clock until it stopped its incessant buzzing. Normally when he woke up was the least of his problems. He felt like today would be a good day though. He raided the fridge and put together a small meal for himself, it wasn't much, but he didn't eat much. Vuduin dressed in his regular attire, freshly washed, something of a luxury for him, and headed downstairs while pondering the day. It was the parade. Vuduin didn't really have to go on his float but it was expected. Plus... it felt nice to have people cheering at him. It was nice to feel wanted. Vuduin slowly walked through the streets towards the floats while considering this.

He decided it couldn't hurt to ride his float, after all it'd be rude not to. When he came in view of it he was even more convinced, quite a bit of work had been put into it, it'd be shame if it went to waste. A whisper later and Vuduin was casually sitting on the highest part of the float. Shade sat on his head and looked around with wide eyes. Unlike Vuduin, Shade liked nothing more than meeting and messing with new people and new things. Noticing Shade's stare Vuduin lightly tapped his gaseous body, "No messing with the floats." Shade made an odd grumbling noise and glomped Vuduin's head.

The morning was a beautiful one for the chosen event. Though he typically lived with his parents, the hotel provided for the Avatars was too alluring to Kaze to pass up, and had found that his bed at the hotel was much more comfortable than the one he had at home. So comfortable, in fact, he found he had overslept by half an hour. As soon as he realized how much time he had lost, he hopped out of bed and began sprinting toward the door, before realizing he still wore his Snorlax-print pajamas.

Turning back, he grabbed his typical outfit from his bags, changed into it, fastening his Soothe Bell around his neck, and resumed his rush out the door. Jingle trailing behind, he was headed for the parade line-up, praying he wouldn't be late. He had only heard mention of where it would be briefly, but he knew the city well, and that he could use a particular bit of duct work as a slide to reach the ground level where the parade would be beginning much faster than using the stairs.

Finding the particular ventilation shaft he sought out, he wrenched the vent cover off and commanded Jingle, "Mind helping me up there with Confusion?" Though he could reach the shaft, he couldn't quite hoist himself into the shaft without a hand. Using her power, Jingle emitted a blue glow that also surrounded Kaze, lifting the boy until he could get in the vent. The second he was in, he slid down, leaving Jingle to put the cover back in place.

"Wahoooo!~" he shouted as he glided down the shaft at dangerous speeds. Seeing the exit below covered by another grate, he channeled his powers and unleashed a Bubblebeam that popped it out of the vent, launching it through the air, passing within inches of Shade and Vuduin before eventually clattering to the ground some distance beyond. A moment later, Kaze tumbled out of the vent, giggling with glee at the rush of adrenaline from the speed he had achieved during his slide.

To his right was the check-in desk for those participating, behind which sat a rather large woman with an almost larger mole beside her right nostril. Kaze even noticed a trace of dark facial hair lingering over her upper lip. Without so much as looking up or cocking an eyebrow, she asked, "Are you here for the parade?"

"Yeah," Kaze responded, still ecstatic.

"Name and Pokémon represented?" the woman requested in her ever-monotonous voice.

"Kaze Elwynn, Avatar of Suicune."

"Alright, you're all checked in. I trust you should have no issue finding your float, but if you need help, there are people around for that."

Kaze moved quickly past the woman once the conversation had finished and Jingle had emerged from the duct. As he neared Darkrai's float, he offered a friendly wave to Vuduin at the top before continuing on in search of Suicune. Though the Pokémon were arranged largely in numerical order, that did nothing for Kaze; he knew nothing about the Pokédex and its order. Looking around from his place near Darkrai, he noticed a float with a blue Pokémon bearing antlers some distance behind. Though it didn't look quite like Suicune, Kaze wondered if the mistake could have been because they hadn't seen Suicune before. For a design based on words alone, it might have been easy to assume Suicune looked like that.

Kaze approached the float and asked a nearby attendant, "Is this Suicune's float?"

The attendant chuckled. "Not at all. This one's Cobalion. Suicune's closer to the front of the lineup."

"Oh, thanks!" the boy replied. Eventually, he managed to find it, flanked by what might have been a bear and some sort of dragon. The float's design was lifelike in detail, but scaled to about two or three times Suicune's actual size. Kaze remembered that day he first met Suicune, and had he not already known the float held a fake, he would have likely been tempted to pet the massive sculpture. Instead, he took a seat upon its back, deciding to wait there for the parade to begin.

Lucas was exhausted.

That was not to say he was tired; on the contrary the Chesto Berry shake he was hurridely inhaling was doing wonders to keep him awake. But the Avatar was mentally burned out from all the nonsense of the night before: once Xerneas had its presence subdued, Lucas had cornered Huang using the incident as the perfect example. This had resulted in something of a tense debate between the CEO and the Guardian, which had ultimately resulted in the poor Porygon Z being subdued in a chokehold and yet another of Lucas's ivory locks being shorn away.

He gave a quiet yawn and shook his head, navigating his way through the bustling crowds towards the center of the float route where Justine, Mayor Mayer and several other city officials would view the parade.

The rest of the night had been spent watching over the hallway where the rest of the Avatars slept, watching vigilant over them. Whether he was protecting people from them, or them from people, Lucas did not know. He caught himself giving a sombre nod when he caught glimpse of the Mew float, but could not keep his gaze.

It was too painful.

He stepped quietly onto the viewing platform, coming the stand alongside the Mayor. He ignored the glare of distrust sent his way by a certain Porygon, instead choosing to keep his attention focused on the crowds infront. Concrete barriers seperate them from the main float route, and every so often was a small cadre of security. How useless...

Lucas leaned down and whispered quietly in Mayor Mayer ear. "It's not enough," he spoke softly, as he placed his hand on the man's shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. "It will never be. How could it? A single flap of my wings could have drowned a continent..." the Avatar warned. "And you gathered ten of us."

Having finished off the wonderful breakfast provided free of charge by a very generous host, claiming that his patronage alone would do wonders for drumming up business, Tantalus had returned to his room for a brief moment to change into something more suited for a parade. Being without the elaborate armour which had become more like a second skin to him than a fashion choice was almost unbearable, and it simply would not do to appear before the public without it. After the quick detour, and reconvening with Seras, the two Avatars headed out to the parade.

On the way there, several people had stopped them to comment on how good their outfits were and other trivial nonsense. It would seem that genuine Avatars were being mistaken for the costumed fools today, although that was probably for the best, Tantalus mused. If people realised it was him, after what had happened, things might get ugly. The parade was going to be a test of that, certainly, but that fact was all that had prevented the activation of his power to garner the proper respect from those so-called merrymakers.

The two Avatars had arrived at the staging ground for the parade, where the floats were present in all their glory. Each was easily recognisable to their respective Legendary Pokemon, and so It didn’t take long to find the one meant for Xerneas. Tantalus wondered how much work had went into unused floats for Avatars who hadn’t shown up to the party, or whether each Avatar would have a float regardless their presence.

Glancing over the float designed for the Avatar of Xerneas, a disgusted scowl washed over his face. Not much at all, judging by the state of this. It wasn’t fit for a street rat, let alone the very embodiment of life. He had been considering leaving the city, wandering off with only Apate for company once more, thinking that would be the best idea. Getting out of the way of the others, attempting to deal with whatever was going on in his head. Looking at this sorry excuse for a float had just sealed the deal.

Circling the floats like vultures were a large number of costumed festival-goers, showing off a variety of Legendary Pokemon. A few could be seen dressed as something supposed to resemble himself, as Xerneas. Unfortunately, the reproductions only held true if the elaborate spikes on his shoulders had been made from cardboard toilet roll tubes. A mental sigh plagued his thoughts for several moments. I really wish my followers had better dress sense.

On the other hand, Seras was utterly overjoyed. Dozens of cosplayers surrounded her float, and while it was evident that someone had picked out the best from the crowd, the range of beautiful hand-made costumes they each wore was simply breathtaking. Not a few years ago, she wouldn’t even look at herself in the mirror - now all of these women (and a small handful of men) actively wanted to be like her. Never mind riding the floats - these people deserve to walk shoulder-to-shoulder with their favourite avatar.

She beamed gleefully at Tantalus. “Impressive turnout, isn’t it?”.

“Well, I wouldn’t be seen dead riding that.” The man said, bitterly.

“The guests adore them, though,” Seras noted, voice tinged with a trace of disapproval.

It wasn’t entirely surprising that he would be dissatisfied with his float. Although her own tastes were practically mundane compared to Tantalus, she’d become uncomfortably used to small indulgences since becoming an avatar - wearing formal gowns or having fans would have been utterly unimaginable in the past. If anyone had ever curbed Tantalus’ indulgence or refused to meet his standards in the last two years, then Seras would personally sculpt that poor soul a cathedral. It was doubtful that he was used to hearing ‘no.’

That was all well and good for private affairs, but there were thousands of guests and cosplayers who’d crossed continents to see them and leaving them hanging would be outright cruel. They deserved respect. Not that Tantalus would be overly concerned - he’d need a far more tangible reason to sully himself than simple altruism. After a moment’s thought, an impish grin bloomed across her face. She couldn’t help it.

“The question isn’t whether the floats are sufficient. The question is whether you can deal with a handicap.”

With the gauntlet well and truly thrown, the words impacted like a truck into the man’s delicate ego. Only just managing to swallow a flare of surprised rage over Seras’s jest, his previous doubts about attending the parade had been incinerated in an instant. Tantalus quickly decided that this infernal woman was going to pay dearly for that remark, and that watching her break would be nothing short of immensely satisfying.

Smiling darkly at Seras, he began to speak softly, so to mask the irritation present. “I’m going to make sure that I don’t need to. Over dinner, you mentioned that you do gemstone commissions to generate the finances you use to travel.” Chuckling lightly, he produced a checkbook and stared directly at the woman. “So, how much money can you afford to turn down to spite me, I ask?”

Spite? Seras had expected Tantalus to be somewhat offended - regrettably unavoidable when challenging his ego - but she hadn’t expected him to take things quite so personally. On the other hand, that meant that he’d gone for the bait.

“Oh, I don’t need to turn you down at all,” she smiled sweetly. “After all, everyone would know that you begged the avatar of Diancie for help rather than stand on your own merit.”

And I hardly need money - the festival alone will put my statues on the global market.

“Then I shall simply use the funds in a more productive manner. It would seem that I have some shopping to do before the parade begins. I will make sure that this will not be the last time we meet, Miss Bancroft.” Tantalus began walking away, before briefly stopping to glance over his shoulder. “And for reference, the people who have seen me beg tend not to remember it for very long.”

Seras grinned. Game, set and match.

“Most people aren’t avatars, darling. I plan to remember this moment for centuries.” She watched a flash of pure malice cross his eyes - unusual for someone so outwardly composed - before Tantalus turned and stalked off wordlessly into the crowd.

Well, that went better than expected. Barbing him so much might have been slightly unnecessary, but it had been months since she’d verbally sparred with someone who she’d consider a friend. Arguing with the other avatars yesterday had been frustrating, but based on the double-barreled tongue lashing they’d delivered yesterday, she’d pegged Tantalus as someone who’d enjoy the banter. An opportunity to prove his superiority seemed like an incredibly Tantalus sort of thing.

Ah well. No harm done.

Seras approached the Kalos floats, grinning shamelessly to herself. The Tournament of Legends this afternoon was little more than a glorified arm-wrestling contest - certainly amusing to watch, but demonstrating little more than the crudest form of prowess. This unexpected contest with Tantalus was a far more interesting competition and she was genuinely curious to see his next move.

She waited until Tantalus was well out of sight, then began pimping his ride.

---

Walking through the streets of Mauville City, Tantalus’s blood was boiling in a fit of malevolent fury. To say that he had underestimated Seras slightly didn’t even nearly cover the matter. Xerneas flashed through his mind, and for a fleeting moment he wondered if staying here was the right thing to do. Leaving would most likely be the safer option, not just for him, but everyone else present for the festivities. But what would she say if i did? Gritting his teeth, the decision was made. Tantalus couldn’t afford to just walk away. If this was the last thing he would ever do, then not a single soul in Hoenn would ever forget his name. Not least Seras Bancroft. Somehow, he would keep Xerneas under wraps for a little while longer. No-one was going to get in the way of this. We would see who was begging when she was dealt a bad hand and required healing services. Then the circumstances for his revenge would be perfect. But why wait? I’ve made a living off of forcing the matter, after all he thought, a sneer clear on his face.

Having collected a few vital pieces from stores around the city as fast as possible, he arrived back at the float to prepare to decorate it. All the while, Apate had been hurriedly chasing him, nervously scanning around. It was rare to see the man this angry. Eyes wide in sheer horror, the Mawile looked in anguish at the scene before her. The float had been bad before, but the sight of it now curdled Tantalus’s very blood.

It was covered in diamonds.

That utter bitch.

There was a familiar theme in Germaine's mornings, normally when the sun rose on the horizon - be this in the middle of winter or the middle of summer, one of the pair would be up - and it was always Kirlia.
She would typically stride around after yawning a bit, meditate, visit home (unless they were already there) and then stare at Germaine and what appeared to be some form of heap of bodily mass under the bed covers, then came the devious plotting of how to wake him up.
It never took long, but today she decided something new was in order; from her most favourite method of dropping heavy objects on him.
She began harnessing her energy and began to levitate Germaine out of bed- covers and all, with a very slight disturbance in his raggard snores he continued to sleep as if nothing was amiss.
With careful precision as not to startle him awake Kirlia moved his body through the air about 3 feet from the floor.
And after giggling in anticipation; dropped him.
The crash could be heard two floors below his room, and the swearing could be heard down the corridor - Kirlias rancorous laughter however has only being heard by Germaine; which made his bruised body ache all the more.

He knew that she enjoyed messing around with him, but maybe this was getting a little too much.

"I.. truly hate you, you know that?"
The statement only made Kirlia hold her ribs in pain - at least he was getting a bit of payback albeit in a different form than he would have liked.

After she finally calmed down and Germaine struggled to his knees - he went and opened up the curtains - as to be anticipated it was about an hour past the crack of dawn, roughly 8 or 9 o'clock by his estimates.
Giving a tiring sigh Germaine began to prepare himself for a new day - the day, according to his knowledge would be quite eventful, but hopefully not in a similar manner to yesterday.
The tournament was what he himself was particularly interested in, a way to truly test his power, truth be told Giratina had never used his real power in this vessel, mainly because he didn't want any soul to discover what he was or that he never had the occasion arise where he really needed to.
So that would be interesting.

Germaine gave his head a small shake; dragging himself out of his thoughts and got a warm shower - his attire today would be much less formal than it normally was, although for some it would probably still seem quite formal for such a day that was ahead of him.
All in all it was a plain cotton dress shirt; white that had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows; the way they sat there as if that's where they were meant to be showed that this shirt was one he always rolled the sleeves up on.
He donned some dark navy blue jeans on as well; not a fan of jeans but it was the only leg wear he knew of that was fairly close to dress trousers - also he had a comment that it complemented his "behind" once...
The memory warranted another shake of the head followed with a under-the-breath remark towards the strangeness of humans.
Finally a pair of leather boots, the brown hide on them was clearly worn in, but still looked smart.

And with that - after Kirlia felt the need to don similar bows from last night, this time a light blue colour, the pair headed out of the hotel room, and soon after the building itself into the fresh spring morn.

It was quite bustling in the city as one would expect of a festival, plus there was the parade that was occurring later on, something that he'd have to participate in - much to his dismay.
Akin to yesterday there were stalls everywhere, and there was at least 2 cosplayers for every 3 people he seen, some of them where rather cheaply done, others were so magnificently crafted that it was as if he was looking at a humanoid version of the perspective 'mon they were dressed as.
It was quite impressive, Germaine had to admit.

Kirlia was happily skipping along by his side until he received her usual way of grabbing his attention - which involved her giving his calf a punch.
Germaine looked down to his companion with a sigh and witnessed her left arm outstretched pointing to a near by vendor of foods.
Clearly she was hungry - and now that she brought the matter up - in her concise and usual way, he too was famished, last nights meal was ruined and brought to an early end because of various avatars.

The pair made their way over the stall and began looking at what was on offer - some form fried snacks by the looks of it, what ever they looked like the smell they emanated was divine, and surely worth the purchasing of - no doubt Kirlia would still take some of his regardless of the fact that she would get her own.
Some things never changed in their relationship.

Graaaagh! Why did they make this place to be a fucking maze! Rebeca sourly scraped her nails on her thigh, glancing one direction, then another. She didn't know whose idea it was to make an entirely indoor city, but completely screwed with her sense of direction to have everything as one big corridor. And since just about every inch of the place was packed with vendors and crowds, trying to see anything was nearly impossible, even with her height.

At her feet, Mihkail yawned. I'm sure there must be some reason built into it.

Grinding her teeth, she continued to push through the crowds. Well if there is, I'm not seeing it. It's stupid, you never spend any time outside.

Her impatience with trying to find the hotel from the previous night wasn't the only thing that had her on edge. Almost the moment she had entered the city, she once again had to endure people looking at her marks and whispering. Occasionally somebody would outright ask if she was one of the avatars, something that she very quickly denied. It was a glaring reminder of one of the many reasons why she didn't like to hang around people.

As she attempted to move past one of the possibly hundreds of food stalls, someone stumbled towards her, and when she tried to avoid them she herself bumped into someone else, nearly sending them into the stall. "Hey, watch it!"

The thought of food always numbed Germaines senses, especially when he was starving - he was literally moments away from ordering something before he was hit - for the third time today, it was with a considerable amount of force and nearly sent him head first into the food that he... well probably could have went head first in for.
Turning around to see who, or what almost sent him flying he seen a familiar sight - maybe not the most welcome one, but regardless it was somewhat comforting to see that it was another avatar.
Rebeca- the avatar to Groudon.

"Ah, Rebeca, I see it's you who I have to thank for my dislocated shoulder."
Seeing that she may not find his joke remotely funny, since it wasn't- he followed up quickly.
"I jest. Anyway, how are you this morning? Hopefully a bit better than last night, it got a little... out of hand maybe."
As he finished his sentence Germaine caught a glimpse Kirlias downtrodden face at the fact she would have to wait a bit longer for food - she wasn't exactly alone in this feeling however.

Rebeca blinked for a moment, then sighed. "Ugh, sorry about that. Hate crowds." She thought back over the previous night. Well, lets see. Had my food splattered all over the place, and pissed off somebody enough that they'll probably kill everyone. Probably shouldn't mention that. "Alright, I guess."

Looking the guy over, she frowned, trying to remember just who the hell he was. "Sorry, who were you again?"

Germaine was brought back, rather roughly to the memory of the previous night - something he would prefer to forget - well maybe not all of it...
But regardless, it was a "clusterfuck", as described by some humans with a bit less decency.
However, he didn't recall anything going so far as everyone getting killed; maybe that was a bit too much of an exaggeration.
It appeared that she had forgotten who he was from last night at any rate, not that it mattered, she at the very least recognised that he was actually there.
"I'm Germaine well... Giratina, this body belonged to a man called Germaine, unfortunately his conciousness was lost when I entered his body; but just call me Germaine if you don't mind.

It was at this moment Kirlia gave his calf another jab, this one being with a lot more force than previously, and his stomach giving - a, thankfully, inaudible growl that he asked Rebbeca a question.
"Erm, would you like to get something to eat, I've not had anything since last night - and Kirlia is getting restless, if I deny her food any longer she'll likely do something rash - like fling something heavy at my head."
Kirlia gave an innocent smile towards Rebeca as a form of reply to Germaines genuine statement.

Memory clicked. "Oh yeah, you're that weird guy who asked about Groudon." Rebeca shrugged. "Never heard of you."

As she thought about his question, Mihkail also nudged her leg. Be nice.

Internally sighing, she shrugged again. "Yeah, I could grab something to eat. Anyway, what about you? Alright after everything that happened?"

"Not good with crowds? Not good with people altogether is probably a more accurate statement" Germaine thought to himself.
Giving a small shake of the head he replied to her "Yes, everything went fairly well after I left the restaurant; I talked with Seras for a while and then headed back to the hotel, for some much needed rest after such an eventful day - hopefully today will see the excitement a bit less intense."
Germaine turned on his heel and awaited in a small line that led to the vendor he almost went flying into moments ago, it shouldn't be long before he could finally get some food.

It was at this moment, when he looked at Rebeca a bit more closely the he really noticed her tattoos - really quite intricate and of an impressive design.
"Those are impressive tattoos, when did you get them done?"

Rebeca thought about his question. Her first instinct was to make up some number; after all, he obviously already thought that her markings were tattoos, why should she disuade him of that? On the other hand, he already knew what she was, and the whole point of the tattoo lie was to keep people from learning that.

Finally, she spoke, though her voice was barely above a whisper. "They're not."

Germaine knew that Rebeca offered a reply to him, although he couldn't decipher what it was she said.
Whether or not that was her intent, it was clear that she didn't really want to discuss it; at least not yet - the design was somewhat familiar to him, although he couldn't place what exactly it was, or where he had seen them before.
Time would answer his question at the very least, so he decided to drop the topic.

At long last, Germiaine made it to the front of the queue and a chirpy young lass was acting as the attendant for the food, behind her however one could see a rather burly looking man slaving away making more fried snacks.

"Good morning! Would you like some of our Torchic goujons? They're really quite amazing, quite fiery too!" The girl said with enthusiasm - clearly she was unaware that he was an avatar, but he couldn't be pestered causing a fuss - Germaine looked behind him as he began fishing for his wallet "Would you like me to get you some, maybe another box for your Pokémon?"

She blinked. He's... not going to ask?

I get the feeling that he's not exactly the chatty type. Something that you two have in common. Now, are you going to order or not?

Huh. "Uh, sure." Truth be told, it did smell pretty good. She accepted the box when he handed it to her. "You didn't have to."

Germaine handed a box to Rebecca and passed one down to Kirlia; knowing that she would devour it's contents within a few minutes, he would do something very similar however - but he despised eating whilst standing - time to find a bench or something.
"It's no bother, I don't doubt that the girl would have given these for free if she knew we were avatars, but I can't be pestered going through all the celebrity stuff whilst I'm having my breakfast.
I'm sure you are of a similar mind."
Germiane soon spotted a vacant bench not to far from their current position and he gave Rebecca a gesture over towards it.
Once the pair were seated he could finally eat.

He did ask Rebeca a question that has been something that he wants to know of all avatars however.
"If you don't mind me asking, what have you been doing with yourself during the time you have become an avatar?"
Germaine felt that the question was completely harmless, if not a tad personal- but she could easily turn his question down if he was out of place.
Without waiting for a response, he opened his snack box and took a chunk out of one of the piping hot pieces of fried goujons - it had a fantastic succulent taste and a fiery afterburn in the mouth - not exactly a productive breakfast- but damn was it a tasty one.

Taking her own seat, Rebeca tore one of her goujons in half and popped it into her mouth, tossing the other half into Mihkail's. "Hiking. Spent most of the first year going up and down the Tohjo Mountains; I probably know more about them than anyone." She glanced at him. "J'ya know that there's an underground river that runs along half that mountain range? Starts at a hot spring up north of Mt. Silver, with some big-ass crystals growing in it, and ends at the Tohjo Falls on the coast. It's pretty cool." She popped another piece into her mouth. "Spent the last few months going through the Meteor Mountains here in Hoenn. Figured I'd try someplace different. The Falls are pretty cool too."

A quick side glance as he was in the process of his own breakfast showed that he was not the only one who was hungry - and a glance to his right where Kirlia was sat showed that her own appetite dwarfed both Germaines and Rebecas, she was already half way through the box.
It surprised him how something so small could eat like she did.
Germiane listened intently at what she had experienced, it seemed that Groudon has some say in her decisions regardless of what she said last night - or then again she may have done that before she became an avatar, but that seemed too personal - given the fact that he himself was unaware of his owners.... body's previous life, it seemed unfair to ask that of her.
"That sounds like quite the time you've had, not something that I'd personally enjoy doing - as you can probably tell from my dress I don't often go off the beaten track.
I really should start however; when I was in the Distortion world, I could see these wonders in various places of the world, but it was like looking through frosted glass - I could never experience it in person, and some of the wonders that I regarded as my favourite, no longer exist...
I'll never get to experience them."
Germaine realised that he was ruining the atmosphere, and returned to his food.

"Hmm." For a while the two of them sat in silence, enjoying their food. It was far from the spiciest thing Rebeca had ever had, but it was good enough. Mihkail at least seemed to enjoy it, so that was enough in her book. "I think I've heard you say that before. What the hell is it?"

Germaine gave another crease of the brow in confusion at her response - "Sorry, what's, what?"

"The Distortion World. I told you, I've never heard of you, or Giratina, or whichever you are. What is it?" She set her box down, grinning as Mihkail proceeded to knock it over with his nose and finish off the remains.

That made sense, in some way, Giratina was not a well known legend, or Pokémon at that, the distortion world, even less so.
Whilst it was true it received a shred of light in the Sinnoh region 20 years ago, it wasn't a lot.
"Ah, the Distortion world is another world that is the opposite to this one, it's "distorted", I suppose the best term is for it, the laws of physics and nature that apply in this world don't in my world - I am... was the only sole inhabitant for millennia."
Germaine finished the rest of his food - well almost all of it, when there was two pieces left a small hand appeared from no where and grabbed one of the last ones - Kirlia, obviously a triumphant look would be plastered on her face as she was eating her prize.

Huh. Certainly sounded like a weird place. She couldn't even imagine what it would look like. "Why were you the only one there?"

In retrospect it was obvious that Rebecca would inquire why he was there, it was here when he regretted he brought the topic up - in this world it was easy to forget that he was ever trapped in that place, but whenever it hit home that it was his prison it always hit hard.
Germaine would not allow this line of conversation to go much further, although he did not intend to sound disrespectful when he replied, it was something had an a bad habit of doing when the topic ever arised.
"It was my prison... The tone was sour and one filled with hate, but it wasn't directed at Rebecca, it was always directed against his "wardens".
Germaine stood and dropped his box into a nearby bin; after giving a quick scan for one amongst the throngs of people.
"Shall we head to the festival? It should be starting soon I think.

Rebeca frowned and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back to face her. "Nah nah nah. You don't just drop a bombshell like that and leave it hanging. What'd you do?"

Mihkail stopped and looked at the pair, noting Germaine's dark expression. Take it easy there, Rebeca. Maybe lets not have a repeat of last night?

The almost steel like grip on his shoulder was both unfamiliar and completely unsuspecting; generally most people would have dropped the topic - Rebeca clearly was not like "most people"- Kirlia gave a startled jump in response to Rebecas action but didn't do anything past look at the pair with interest and suspicion - since she herself didn't actually know why Giratina had been imprisoned - barring him and Arceus probably no one else did.
"What did I do? Germaine was hard pressed not to shove Rebeca off his person, but it wouldn't be worth starting a potential fight over - he could actually say anything he pleased since she'd have to take his word as the truth.
But... would that be worth doing?
What harm could it do if this one person knew what he had done in the past?
His voice was strained, but fairly clear.
"It was barely before humanity had formed their first words - the world was heavily dominated by Pokémon, and in the area "we" inhabited - the embodiments of Space, Time and myself - my role; I can't even remember what it originally was, anyway.
We shared an area of land to physically live in the world to govern it's growth; no doubt Groudon had similar orders, there was a dispute between myself and those two, something small at first but it escalated over time, and as a way to get back at them, I destroyed something they both loved and from there it went into a full fight, the collateral was extensive, and as a result I was banished - for being a "renegade" - pathetic doesn't cover it!
At this point Germaine was visibly seething, his generally monotone face and calm demeanour evaporated.

Rebeca blinked. "So, what? You had a temper tantrum and got put into a time-out? What'd the other guys get?"

Germaine blinked in surprise, once again Rebeca completely went against what he would have potentially anticipated from someone, his jaw was even slightly agape in sheer surprise, to the point where he was no longer angry.
She may be brash, hell she clearly has absolutely no conscience that what she may say or does in regards to other people, a small grain of respect was there for that at least - no doubt he would have time to appreciate that when he wasn't on the receiving end of her brashness.
"A time-out?! What time out's last for millennia with out once being evaluated to go back into the world - who knows how much longer I'd have been trapped in that hellish reality if this plague hadn't killed one of the legendary Pokémon - I swear If I ever get my hands on those two, then Arceus can chalk down two more deaths!
They received no punishment for what they were equally accountable for, whereas I suffered for thousands of years!
His now raised voice was starting to attract glances from other people in the area, but they didn't stop - thankfully.

For a moment, Rebeca was silent. Then the corners of her mouth began twitching, her eyes creased, and her hand covered her mouth as she broke out in giggles. "Oh, fuck! I'm sorry, but do you have any idea how fucking childish you sound right now?" She stumbled backwards and sat down on the bench again, her hand pressed to her forehead as she leaned on her knees. "Seriously, I've heard better arguments from the five-year-olds back home! Hell, I've started better arguments."

She glanced up at the dumbfounded Germaine, laughter still dancing in her eyes. "I'll admit, you got a pretty raw deal. This Arceus guy was a moron for locking you up for, what'd you say, millenia? I don't even know how long that is, but I'm pretty sure you get less time for murder. And the other guys getting off scotfree, yeah, that sucks. But you haven't learned anything, have you?" She slapped her knee. "Alright, lets say, for just a moment, that you find these guys, and get even. Do you honestly that will make you any more likely to not get locked up again? You're seriously no better than they are. So you finally get out, just to fuck yourself up again?" Rebeca shook her head. "Grow up already. You got screwed over big time, sure. But if you can't even remember what the whole thing got started over, then it obviously wasn't that important. You're just pulling the same old shit over and over again, and that's just stupid. All of you are."

She stood up again and gave him a wry smile. "I dunno what this whole thing was about, but I'm pretty sure you've earned your parole by now. Don't fuck it up because you're too damn proud to say 'I'm sorry'."

This woman... she had the social graces that would even disgust a barbarian -that being said, she was right - in her own roundabout sort of way, the temptation to drag her into the Distortion world and leave her there for a century or two - truly it was something that he was contemplating deeply, the satisfaction would be beyond great, just so she could experience what he had, and suffer the same.
But what would that achieve him? Other than something so base as satisfaction - food fulfilled that void and he didn't have to kill any embodiments of time or space to get it.
He had every intent of staying in this world, and recreating the very scenes that placed him in jail - regardless of how unjust would only serve to undo him yet again.
There was only one surefire way to prevent being locked up again, and that was killing the one with the key.
And even he wasn't deluded enough to try Arceus on.
Despite how she managed to tread on his toes in the process of speaking the truth, he couldn't deny that of her.
"The only way to prevent my re-incarceration would be to kill the warden - but even I'm not that dumb. And I... suppose you are right, killing them wouldn't be worth having to live out the rest of my days in that world.
Not that, that makes the facts any easier to swallow, it's some consolation at any rate."
Germaine had calmed down, at long last, and after giving his hair a small ruffle he said in a almost downtrodden tone.
"Thanks."

Truly, you are an inspiration to us all.

Rebeca glanced at Mihkail. Huh?

You didn't just poke the Beedrill's nest, you threw a rock into and then set it on fire. The Spike Pokemon growled quietly as he settled down beside the Kirlia that always seemed to follow Germaine around. And yet you still came out of it without breaking everything. Maybe you should make a career out of it.

Oh. Well, fuck. Rebeca scratched her head, scraping at the ground with her boot. "Now that I think of it, I probably could've been less of a bitch about it. Sorry, it's just..." She bit her lip, "I used to start a lot of fights when I was little. A real shithead cuz I didn't have anything else to do. Now I can't do that anymore cuz I break everything. So, I just... yeah."

She fell quiet for a moment, then glanced at him. "They're not tattoos."

Germaine honestly felt more comfortable when he was on the verge of killing her, from what he had seen from Rebeca this certainly wasn't what she was normally like around people - another thing that went against his expectations.
"There's little need to be sorry, it's just when you live a life isolated from all other life, your thoughts revolve around yourself, and I only had one thought, that was vengeance, I just needed a slap out of that mindset - thankfully I got one before I actually went through and killed the God of time, or something.
There would likely be heavier consequences behind that alone than merely me being put back in jail.
The truth hurts, nothing will change that."

It did feel as if quite the weight had been lifted from his shoulder, Germaine was unsure as to what exactly he would do if he ever met his culprits, but at the very least he would likely not kill them outright.
A small step down the right path at any rate.
After she fell silent, she said something rather unexpected - namely about her, or rather the markings on her body that weren't tattoos.
Earlier she had diverted away from that area when he asked about them, why did she want to tell him now?
"Really? What are they then? Germaine would be lieing if he wasn't genuinely curious about them.

She pulled off her gloves, revealing the omega markings on the backs of her hands. "They're part of me. This whole "avatar" thing happened two years ago, right? Well, one day these just appeared on my body and..." Rebeca hesitated, her expression becoming sad and distant, and Mihkail gave a light growl of concern, "other stuff... happened. I tell people they're tattoos so that they won't ask a lot of questions. Not that I spend a lot of time around people anyways, but you probably figured that out by now." She gave a quick, depricating laugh. "Pretty sure you could total up the time I've been near people since I left home to a month."

Pulling her gloves back on, she scratched her head again. "I butted into your business. Figured the least I could do was answer your question properly."

Germaine- or rather Giratina found that after what Rebeca had said, his hate for Arceus deepened; his face turned into a sneer as he spoke.
"It appears that Arceus has little care for the humans that have suffered when they became avatars, Germaine lost who he was, and you no doubt have suffered in your own way; all's I can say is that you have likely made the best decision coming here to this festival - for whatever reason brought you here, be it chance or dragged by someone... Leos gave withering look to his partner in crime- Kirlia, who merely replied with a large grin - he also noticed that she had began prodding the lump of rock sat next to her- Rebecas Pokémon, so long as she didn't levitate him and throw it at him Germaine would be satisfied - he was growing increasingly paranoid around her these days.
"As I was saying, being with other avatars might help you, despite the fact that some of them are down right obnoxious and others who can only sit straight because of the rod that is stuck up their arse, there might be answers down the road.
Maybe even a solution. I don't know what you want Rebeca; but I hope you find it.

Another wry smile crossed Rebeca's face. "Well, that makes two of us. The people here are pretty weird." The pair of them started walking, their Pokemon trailing behind. Inside her shirt, Maya squirmed slightly as she woke from her nap, and Rebeca reached up to brush her shell. "Speakin' of, what do you think of that Tantalus guy?"

Tantalus... based on looks alone, he had an air around him that effectively said "I have more complexity in my little finger than you do in your genome..." He was probably the sort to resort to that sort of talk as well, despite what he initially seen of him when they spoke, regardless of how brief it may have been he seemed a decent enough guy.
"Well, he doesn't seem like too much of a bad guy, maybe a bit stuck up, but that's about it. Why? What do you think of him?"

Rebeca grimaced. "Something about him rubbed me the wrong way. Couldn't put my finger on it. Then, last night... something happened. Lost control or something, started ranting about how he was going to kill everyone. Only I don't think it was him." She bit her lip again. "I don't know what it is, but he, they, whatever, ain't nice at all. And it's a little my fault, I tried to scare him down, cept he didn't bite. Whoever he is, he's dangerous." She glanced at Germaine. "I'm pretty sure if he breaks, he's gonna come after me first, but keep an eye on him, okay?"

Germaine was outstanded at first, whilst Tantalus was one to - in his opinion- start a duel of words, he couldn't see him make a threat to kill everyone and even further to the point that even Rebeca couldn't get him to shut up; that man Lucas received a fractured rib for the result of ruining her meal, so she was definitely one to follow up on it.
Maybe he was drunk? Did he even drink that night?
"Well... The distortion world is a prison, and I can access it whenever I want - within reason, if - for whatever reason, Tantlaus 'breaks' there's a place we can keep him without lives going at risk. Although I must say I have my doubts that he is the sort to actually go through with what he said; maybe he was just trying to rattle you as some sort of twisted joke?" Germaine looked at Rebeca with doubt in his brow, but something in her face showed real concern.

She shook her head. "No, I've learned to tell when somebody's looking to start a fight." She turned her head towards him and gestured to the three faded claw marks on her cheek. "You think I gave these to myself? Whoever was talking, they were dead serious, and if you'd been there, you'd have been sure too. Just, keep an eye on him. I don't want people getting hurt, and I'm sure that he's hiding something else."

Silence followed them for a while, before she spoke again. "So, you going to be in that parade?"

Germaine took what she said to heart, he would give Tantalus a level of discretion whenever he was near him, and he'd certainly drag his protesting body into the Distortion world if he got out of hand - there, he would have to face Giratina, in his Origin forme, if that wouldn't subdue him then there was no rational thought left in his mind.
Thankfully the conversation got a tad lighter after another intermission of silence.
"Well, If I don't I know I'll be teleported onto my float against my will by Kirlia - apparantly "mother" says that I have to paticpate in every event... How about yourself? Is your Pokémon forcing you into it as well?

Rebeca chuckled. "Please, I've spent two years avoiding people, you think I'm just going to up and put myself on display like that? Fuck no. Besides, Mihkail couldn't force me into anything if he tried."

The Spike Pokemon accepted that without comment.

Her expression sobered up a bit. "He does think that I should go into that tournament though, and honestly, I've been thinking about it. I might not start fights anymore, but I've always loved a good tussle. People, Pokemon, didn't matter, it was all fun, and I kind of miss that." She shrugged. "Plus, boxing rocks is getting kind of tiresome."

"The tournament, I must confess is something I have been looking forward to, not many chances arise where you can beat someone you don't like up and are allowed to get away with it - Wells and Lucas are the two I would dearly love to dish a beating out to.
At any rate, are you going to watch the festival? May as well head there now if that's the case."

"Yeah, might as well." Rebeca grinned, lightly drumming the tips of her fingers on her thighs. "Been a long time since I've seen a parade."

"Hm?" the mayor uttered, turning to see who was talking to him. His genuine smile morphed into a discomforted fake smile as he discovered who was speaking and why.

"Of course it could," Mayor Mayer responded with the optimistic confidence of a politician. "But over hundreds of years, Lugia did no such thing. And I don't believe this day will be any different. Every creature possesses an intrinsic pull toward goodness and cooperation, no matter-"

"Mayor," Justine Huang interrupted. "We're going to be late."

"Nonsense!" the portly man replied. "We've barely started greeting the guests. It's only..." The mayor's smile vanished as he looked at his gold wristwatch. "...five minutes later than we were supposed to get going. *Ahem*, well then, see you later." Mayor Mayer gave Lucas an apologetic nod and waved to the crowd as he, his family, and Justine left.

Parade attendants hustled to make the final preparations. Some people were chastened for holding up the event, but fortunately for the mayor and the CEO, nobody dared to scold such important people. The Mayer family rode in the back of a pickup truck, like several other political figures. They were positioned near the beginning, between the legendary birds of Kanto.

Justine stepped onto the Porytech float, one of the few designated for businesses. The pink and blue, factory-themed float was not nearly as grand as the avatars', but it still commanded attention. Her float came after the first few Sinnoh legendaries. Porgyon-Z hovered near its trainer. The Virtual Pokemon seemed unusually glum... probably because it was still "grounded" for its behavior the previous night.

About one-fifth of the world's avatars showed up to participate. Many attendants felt disappointed by the relatively small number... but then again, there was never a guarantee that any avatars would show up. Shaymin was one of the first to arrive, eager to receive adoration atop its beautiful flowery float Two of the Lake Guardians were there; the duo had met soon after becoming avatars and formed, of all things, a doubles tennis team. A few other avatars appeared throughout the procession, including some who attended the avatar dinner.

Emry was in the parade, too. The girl wore a pretty summer dress that matched the unoccupied float she stood near. She blended in quite well with a dozen or so other cosplayers; apparently her chosen legendary was popular among young girls. Next to her, Solomon the Lucario intently scanned the area.

With a blast of peppy music from a variety of marching bands, the parade began to make its way toward the waiting spectators. Soon, the first floats reached the massive roaring crowd.

The float didn’t look much better than it had originally, but at least those bloody diamonds weren’t on it any longer. Although they had certainly put up a strong fight. One of Tantalus’s hands bled slightly from the sharp edges, and a small flash of power had been needed to repair the skin. Nevertheless, the job was done, and he felt much happier because of it. The attendants were about to have a small aneurysm when he attempted to remove the depiction of Xerneas from the float, and he had neither the time nor patience to heal another one, so that had to stay. Now, the parade was rolling along and the alterations would have to do.

Just to the front of the mock Xerneas was a old throne, carved out of a blackwood tree. The seat was located within the stump, boasted a high back. Starting from the arms, dark branches protruded in every direction, which continued to the very top of the throne. At the center, sat the King of the Fairies. Tantalus was wearing his usual armour, except for a single glaring change in the form of a dark blue and royal purple cape tied around his neck. In his left hand was a dark purple Life Orb, and his right held an elaborate spear. The bottom featured a large sapphire, surrounded by a thick silver loop connected to a crystal stalk, which was split into two sections halfway up by a band of the shiny metal. Tantalus held the silver haft of the weapon, encasing the crystal. A double helix spiraled above that, converging just before the head - crafted out of a lump of shaped sapphire - before it continued once more to the spear-point. The silver hugged the vibrantly blue stone so tightly that it appeared to strain the metal. Everything had been bought from the same place, a dusty antique store but a stone's throw away from the parade, and he was very happy with the purchases. Even if they had cost an exorbitant sum.

A cheaper transaction included the acquisition of twelve standard water bottles, evenly spaced out with four on the front half of the left and right sides, and four on the front. These water bottles would be integral to the display later, despite being hard to pick out at the current point in time.

Apate, who was currently situated on the very front of the float, also received a small silver circlet to match the one he usually wore. The Mawile seemed positively overjoyed by the event, supercharged by the energy that hung over the city like a cloud. Meanwhile, Tantalus sat like a general preparing for war. This parade was a battleground, and the only thing that mattered was defeating the others in a spectacular display of power. His fingers drummed on the spherical Life Orb, in anticipation. A triumphant cheer went up from further down the line - the first floats moving into the bulk of the crowd, then - and a determined smile broke out.

“Good Morning, Mr Swain.” Words began to swim within his mind, taking the man slightly aback at first.

“Xerneas. How nice to hear from you again. Was your nap enjoyable?” Tantalus asked, nervously wondering exactly where this was going.

Accompanied by the mental image of the Pokemon, Xerneas began to speak once more. “It was wonderful, actually. It is the singular thing I cannot complain about, oh host mine.”

The man slumped into the throne, slightly, closing his eyes. “I must admit, a civil conversation with you is not something which I envisioned happening.”

“Due to my outburst last night? Yes, it was my first taste of freedom in a long, long time. My actions may have been a tad… overzealous.” A dark smile crossed the Pokemon’s face. “I will conduct my business in the future with a greater level of decorum.”

Eyes opening narrowly, Tantalus was almost hesitant to ask. “And what business, pray tell, is that?”

A coarse laugh echoed within his mind. “Winning my freedom, of course.”

Exactly as he thought. “This is my body, and has been since I was born. You, by contrast, are a guest.”

“A guest?” Xerneas hissed. “I am no guest. This is my prison, and you, my warden. The existence which has been forced upon me for these past two years has been utterly laughable.” Standing tall, the mental image of the Pokemon changed as he began to glow a fiercely dark pink. “Locked away in the recesses of your mind, unable to do anything bar watch the world through your eyes. My only function in life to process the power I once possessed for your use. The idea that I am a guest here is nothing short of an insult.”

Glow fading, Xerneas sat down, a smile once more glaring out. “Of course, one lesson the years have taught me is patience. Therefore, I have no intention of rushing the matter. We can afford to play the long game, after all. You of all people understand that revenge must be perfect, especially when it has been due for such a length of time. Speaking of which, how are you planning to deal with Miss Bancroft?”

Sitting baffled, it took a few moments for Tantalus to actually take in what Xerneas was saying. Instead of trying to hide the frustration and what he was planning, he had openly informed the man of what the end goal was, and was now trying to make conversation with him. That unnerved Tantalus greatly, because it could only mean Xerneas was incredibly confident in whatever plan he had in store. “Read my thoughts. You tell me. Why, did you have a suggestion?”

Xerneas laughed again. “I am specifically not probing your thoughts, this is my only form of entertainment, and to spoil it would be boring. Allow me to make a suggestion, however. You have a spear. She is only three floats behind you, two of which are unoccupied. Even without a mass of physical prowess, you could land the shot from here, or even get closer if you prefered. What better way to win a dominance contest by striking down your opponent in front of her adoring public?”

There it was again, throwing around murder so casually. Wincing, Tantalus began to speak. “No. One, this spear isn’t made for combat. Sure, if it managed to hit her dead on, it would most likely kill her. However the tip is made from sapphire, which means it’s fragile and would shatter should it collide with something solid. Two, the woman controls gemstones. If she can see it coming, it won’t work.”

Expression growing dark, Tantalus slid down into his throne a little more. “And finally, i’m not a murderer.”

“Oh, but you are. I know what you’ve done.” The Pokemon’s smile was sickening.

He grimaced. “That was an accident, it wasn’t supposed to end that way. Besides, dealing with matters without killing people is much more satisfying. It means they are still alive to appreciate it.”

Xerneas chuckled. “I’ll take it under advisement. Of course, It might be possible for me to force you, but I’m genuinely interested to see how you plan to address it. Do not bore me, host. Whatever you do, make it good.”

With that, Xerneas fell silent once more.

Well, at least he is being showing some degree of civility today, Tantalus thought to himself.

It was clear this would have to be dealt with, but not for now, at least. He was free to focus on more important matters for the time being. The stage was rapidly approaching, and he had a performance to give. Rising from the dark wooden throne, he tossed the spear up slightly, before catching it and leveling the point at Apate. You ready, partner? Tantalus drawled, smiling brightly.

The little Mawile was sitting on the edge of the float, waving to each and every on-looker. Definitely. What’s the plan?

Simple. I am going to blow each and every other Avatar out the water. He banged the bottom of the spear down on the ground. And you are going to help me do it.

---

The Xerneas float bumbled into the thick of the crowds who’s cheering and applause all but drowned out the music which had been heard earlier. Still, Tantalus sat upon his throne, Apate exactly where she rested before. Performing was not all about what you did, but when you did it. Sitting with a brim smile, the man was going to time his perfectly.

Just as the people began to bore from the lack of display from Tantalus, he pounced. Rising from the throne, he forced power down the length of the spear, turning it into a conductor. At the same time, the Life Orb glowed, showing it’s power was being drawn on. A burst of multicoloured light erupted from the end of the spear, crashing down against the front of the float. The use of the Aurora Beam began to lower the air temperature, slowly freezing the water inside the bottles. The Mawile leaped into action, dodging the stream, which then began to move across from left to right, then back again. Apate landed at Tantalus’s feet, as the frozen water expanded the plastic bottles to the point of bursting. Water flew into the air, as the rainbow stream scoured the airborne liquid. Beam fading, the cloud of icy mist that it had produced drifted off. What it had behind was a garden of ice constructions, random and beautiful. Their sizes varied immeasurably, but none stood higher than the man’s waist. Entirely covered by them on all sides except the back, the float held a menacing aura.

Twirling the spear, bringing his other hand skyward, a sweet-smelling cloud crept out towards the crowd. Power steadily began to gather around the Avatar, in the forms of cylinders of light, all different colours. Angling the spear down, Apate jumped on the end. With a flick of the wrist, the little Mawile soared up, twirling in midair before landing on top of him. As she did, the gathered power erupted from Tantalus, creating an aura of light which no-one could look at directly, diffracting in various colours and directions giving a mesmerising show.

High above the float, a cape fluttered away in the updraft created from the use of Geomancy. The light slowly ebbed away, and Tantalus stood capeless, with Apate firmly on his head. Both sported dark purple and blue glass butterfly wings, which continued to glint due to the activation of his healing aura. Geomancy had been a distraction tactic to allow for the removal of his cape without breaking the overall vibe of magic. The crowd adored the display, cheering and whooping all the while. Shimmering in various colours, the ice bathed the onlookers in a beautiful glow. Offering a formal bow - keeping his head straight - Apate copied the gesture. Opening a Light Screen behind him, Tantalus returned to a steady and commanding vigil over the parade, the Mawile remaining in pride of place on his head. The ice caused the entire float to emit a soft luster as it trundled down the street.

Chuckling, the man reigned over the nearby crowd luminously, partner in crime waving to the passing people in his stead. Tantalus couldn’t help but smile at the crowd, captivated by the display which had gone perfectly to plan.

Well then, Miss Bancroft. Your move.

Vuduin gazed down at the crowds from atop his float. It was rather nice looking, the attention to detail was really remarkable. He made a mental note to thank whoever had organized its creation. So many people here. More than Vuduin had ever seen, it was rather overwhelming. People dressed as him, as hundreds of legendaires, some of them looked even more convincing them him. Of course rather quickly his attention was diverted from the crowd by the spectacle erupting in front of him. Unable to see clearly Vuduin floated into the air to get a better view. What he saw was quite impressive. The Xernas float was encrusted in glowing gems and that was the least of it. It was amazing the thing could even still float. But what was even more impressive was the spectacle of color that was impressive even from this distance. Somewhat intimidated Vuduin sunk back down into his float. Literally. For some reason he wasn't feeling quite so awe inspiring and cheery anymore. Vuduin sat inside the inflated head and merely peered out through the eyes at the crowd barely paying attention to him. Shade, distressed by his seat suddenly vanishing squirmed to fit inside the float but it was rather well sealed. Somewhat saddened he sat on the head of the less warm float for several seconds before getting bored. It wanted to look at the colors again so he floated over to the Xernas float and settled on the head of that one, staring at the colors that were fading and the riders alternatingly.

Seras walked quietly at the head of her float, blending in with the rest of her cosplayers and basking in the cheers and applause from the crowd. Although it was impossible to make out individual words, with thousands of excited voices blurring together, the sense of awe and wonder at Tantalus’ lightshow was palpable. See, this is what happens when you ask people nicely. Granted, there hadn’t been a lot of asking involved – and a questionable amount of niceness if you wanted to be picky – but Tantalus had come through all the same. She’d never imagined that having a rival could be so incredibly fun.

From on top of the float, Charity didn’t glare down reproachfully per se – her eyes had been closed for the last 15 minutes, eyelids faintly glowing blue while she channelled her Calm Mind. But their telepathy made her disapproval entirely clear. “You aren’t going to let him have this moment, are you?” she groaned.

Seras grinned wickedly in response. “Not in the slightest.” She’d originally intended to force Tantalus out of his comfort zone, setting aside his fragile ego for the sake of the public. But a challenge had somehow been issued between them, and while outright beating such an impressive display was a tall order, she fully intended to match it blow-for-blow.

While the crowd craned their necks to watch Tantalus’ float, she surreptitiously formed another three pebble-sized gemstones from the air, dropping them into the bowl of another one of her cosplayers. All of them had deserved some gesture of gratitude for joining the parade with her, but any jewellery would have been disrespectful towards their hand-made costumes and there simply hadn’t been time to prepare personalised statuettes for each of them. She’d considered making something ornamental to mark their involvement, something that could be displayed at home once the parade was over. Something that would always remind them of their involvement. One wild mental leap lead to another, and a plan was quickly brewing.

Each of her cosplayers carried an ornamental bowl made from cherry-pink diamond – large enough to cradle in one arm and shaped like a blossoming flower, with each petal sculpted in meticulous detail. Instead of riding her floats like most of the other avatars, she’d spent the first half of the parade filling each of their bowls with pebble-sized diamonds, produced in bulk without any particular shape or form. She’d long since lost count of exactly how many gemstones she’d made, but with almost 30 cosplayers and dozens of gemstones each, the number was well into the hundreds.

Her cosplayers had understandably been rather bemused when she’d presented them with bowls. But as soon as she’d explained her plan, all of them had begun grinning conspiratorially. After all, you couldn’t pay for a chance like this.

Finally content with her preparations, Seras broadcast a message towards Charity. “You feeling ready for this?”

“I’m going to have an awful migraine this evening, but I don’t think my powers will get any more focussed. And you?”

“My cosplayers are fully armed and operational.”

Charity sighed. “You’re enjoying this far too much.” Seras couldn’t really deny that, so she settled for grinning even wider instead.

The two of them had discovered the power interaction last year, a few weeks after Seras had splurged out on a Dazzling Gleam TM to improve her art displays. Charity had been repositioning one her diamond statuettes using Psychic while Seras maintained her Dazzling Gleam on the display – much to their mutual surprise, the statuette was enveloped in a magnificent technicolour aura as the light from her Dazzling Gleam was diffracted chaotically through the psychic field that outlined it.

Naturally, she’d begun experimenting.

The effect was unquestionably pretty, but not especially noteworthy when used on large objects – the light-blue aura from Psychic was reasonably thin, meaning that the effect was reduced on objects with lower surface areas. An equal mass of pebble-sized diamonds gave decent results, while wafer-thin fragments worked pretty well. An entire cloud of wafer-thin fragments was simply magnificent.

There were a few major limitations once you began scaling things up, though. The first was a matter of concentration on Charity’s behalf – no matter how light each of the fragments were individually, controlling that many objects at once was an absolute nightmare. They’d quickly given up on any level of fine control or even keeping them airborne, but simply slowing down their fall was still a Herculean task – it took almost peak results from Calm Mind before the gemstones stopped falling like literal rocks, which made the whole endeavour rather impractical for all but the most important of occasions.

The other limitation was a matter of raw power. Creating that amount of diamond wasn’t an especially easy task, but getting it airborne was even more of a problem – with Charity unable to spare any of her attention and Seras conserving as much power as possible for her Dazzling Gleam, neither of them had any way of getting their ammunition into the air without outside assistance. Given that both of them had been travelling alone for the last two years, their wonderful yet impractical idea had been more-or-less shelved indefinitely. Today, on the other hand, they had almost 30 pairs of willing and exceptionally eager hands.

It’s like 18 birthdays just caught up all at once.

With a deep breath, Seras began channelling her Dazzling Gleam. Each of her cosplayers were lit in unison by a cherry-pink glow, while her own necklace and earrings shone like streetlights. Murmurs rippled through the crowd as people turned towards her float, faces lit with eager anticipation. Seras stepped forwards from the ranks of her cosplayers, heart pounding like a drum, and raised one hand far above her head. After a nerve-racking pause, she swung her arm down like a guillotine and bellowed at the top of her voice.

“Fire at will!”

Grinning maniacally, each of her cosplayers grabbed a pebble-sized diamond from their bowl and hurled it high into the air above her crowd. With a tremendous shove from her power, the sky was ripped apart by a maelstrom of gleaming diamond fragments. The crowd erupted into both shrieks and cheers at the sudden firework display, but as Charity seized each of the fragments using Psychic, all of them fell into a uniform hush. Rather than plummeting to the ground, each fragment floated gently downwards like cherry blossom carried in the breeze. But that wasn’t the most impressive part. At the interface between Charity’s Psychic and Seras’ Dazzling Gleam, the gemstones erupted into a wondrous spectrum of shimmering lights – predominantly green and pink, with occasional traces of deep pink or ocean blue.

As her beaming cosplayers hurled more and more gemstones, the air was soon full of gently-drifting pinpricks of light. And while the strain on her power was enormous, both from maintaining Dazzling Gleam and detonating each of the gemstones, Seras had never felt more alive. None of us are ever going to forget this.

Seras led her float down the streets, the Northern Lights following in her wake.

As the colorful procession wound through the streets of Mauville City, wave upon wave of equally colorful fans cheered and took photos of the avatars. Everyone was ecstatic to see the parade and appeared to be having a great time at the festival. The awe and admiration seemed no different as the procession passed through a major street about three-fourths into its journey.

"Brothers and sisters in humanity!" an amplified voice rang out from the crowd. "I urge you to think twice about who you're cheering for!"

The crowd, for the most part, paid no heed to the man's words. They quickly became more attentive when he released four Pokemon: Golem, Koffing, Pineco, and Gourgeist. A few screams of terror rang out when two more figures released a handful of Pokemon. A man near the front of the parade stood by his Koffing, Pineco, Baltoy, and Gourgeist. A woman near the back displayed a Golem, Koffing, Pineco, and Baltoy. As the crowd panicked to move away from the threatening trainers, their matching attire could be seen more clearly from atop the floats. They each wore a white hooded robe, spiked leather gloves, and an emblem of a broken chain on their chests.

"For too long," the man near the center of the parade declared through a megaphone, "we humans have suffered under the whims of Pokemon like the legendaries. They have used their brute power to subjugate and torment us, we who reserve the natural right to rule with our superior intelligence and ingenuity! And NOW," the man gestured broadly toward the avatars, "these so-called 'people' think they have the right to lord it over all of us, just because some Pokemon thought they were special? The Alliance of Justice fights for the common man, and--"

"Enough of this!"

Some of the crowd dared to look toward the new voice and discovered it belonged to Justine. The woman's harsh tone and frigid expression managed to command attention even without a megaphone. Her grey eyes pierced into the group's leader as she stood to speak.

"I don't care what noble cause you claim to fight for," the CEO announced. Porygon-Z hovered closer to its trainer, preparing for action. "We will not tolerate any threats to the citizens and guests of-"

The leader of the Alliance nodded toward two of his Pokemon. The Golem grabbed the Koffing and hurled it toward the Porytech float. Justine and her Pokemon barely had time to gasp before the poison type Self-Destructed. Fire and thick smoke engulfed the float in an earth-shaking blast; chunks of splintered wood and warped metal hurtled several rows into the crowd.

The parade-goers were in full panic now, screaming, running, and shoving each other to escape the attackers. The enemy Pokemon charged toward the floats, knocking over anyone unfortunate enough to block the way to the avatars. One Pokemon from each team remained behind to guard its sneering trainer.

Rebeca smiled softly as she took in the crowd that was lined up along the parade route. There was a definite change in the air that even she could feel, an excitement that it had been a very long time since she had been a part of. All around her, she hear people talking about what the floats would be like, what Avatars they would see.

It had been a long time since she had been close to comfortable in a crowd.

Giving Germaine a wave as he went his own way, Rebeca glanced about, looking for a better spot. Stuck at the back of a crowd was no way to watch a parade. Thankfully, there were a large number of portable metal grandstands that outlined the parade route. Making her way over to the rear of one, she eyed the struts that braced the structure. Whelp, sorry bro. Since you can’t climb…

Mihkail gave the structure a glance and rumbled quietly. Unless you feel like carrying me.

Rebeca chuckled. I’ll let you know how everything looks.

She reached up to grab a strut, when a shout from behind her made her pause. “Hey!” Turning, she raised an eyebrow at the police officer that was approaching. “You can’t climb those things, it’s dangerous.” The man sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I know you want to get a good seat, but you’ll have to find a different way.”

Rebeca appraised the man with a small grin. He was a fair bit shorter than her, to the point that he was clearly having to look up at her. He apparently thought that she was just another fan. To be fair, he’s right. The officer was just doing his job, and he did have a pretty impressive mustache.

On the other hand, she didn’t much care about rules. Glancing down at the officer’s feet, she made a circle motion with her finger, and matching ring of faint silver light formed in the pavement beneath him. Rotating her hand, she lifted her finger up, and the sizable section lifted up out of the ground, carrying the startled officer with it. It wobbled as he waved his arms to maintain his balance, looking at her with awe as she raised him up to eye level. Rebeca brought her finger to her lips, eyes glowing slightly. “Shhh.”

The officer stumbled off of the floating chunk of pavement, and she let it drop into the newly made hole. Winking, she turned and started climbing up the back of the grandstand. The officer watched her wordlessly for a moment, then turned and continued on his route.

When she reached the top, Rebeca swung her legs over the panel that lined the back of the top row, gripping the end post that stood next to her. A little bit of maneuvering, and Maya was happily perched atop Rebeca’s head, chirring as she took in everything. Well, it’s not the most comfortable of spots, but at least the view is good.

As long as there’s that. She grinned at his sardonic remark.

-

The trio had wound up at around the halfway point of the parade route, so it was a little while before the floats reached them. When they did, though, it was certainly impressive. The memorial float at the front of the procession brought a solemn hush over the crowd. Rebeca had a vague knowledge of the Power Plague, but the village she had come from had been so isolated that there had been little, if any impact. To know that one of the Legendaries had lost their life to it was… sobering, to say the least. Still, parades like this were meant for celebration, not mourning, and the crowd’s excitement soon picked up. A loud cheer went up as the Legendary Birds went by, and Rebeca spotted a man in a rather flamboyant costume atop the Zapdos float, trying and not quite succeeding at dancing, but the crowd cheered and whooped all the same.

The next person she spied was little Kaze, standing shyly atop his Suicune float and waving out at the crowd. The sight made Rebeca grin a little. From what little she knew of him, he seemed nice enough, wanted to help people. It figured that he would participate, not wanting to disappoint anyone.

The crowd sent up a particularly loud roar when the Hoenn Legendaries started passing by. Rebeca vaguely recalled the bald guy standing atop the Regirock float from the dinner the night before, but he hadn’t said much of anything. The Eon Duo was interesting; they were in an open topped glass enclosure atop a single float, their respective Pokemon arrayed on either side. Inside the enclosure was a tennis court, and the pair were very busy putting on a show, using slight psychic boosts to pull off acrobatic antics as they hammered a ball back and forth between them. Eventually, one of them proved victorious over the other, and they paused their games to turn and wave at the crowd. The cheering only grew louder with the next set of floats. The first bore a sleek, blue Pokemon breaching out of ocean waves, its body decorated with red lines that were very similar to Rebeca’s own. Every so often a piercing cry would split the air. The third was a long, green, serpentine Pokemon that coiled through the sky above its float, supported by poles and guided along a set of tracks. Much like the Kyogre float, every so often a loud, echoing cry would be released.

However, it was the second float that Rebeca’s attention was riveted on. A towering red behemoth standing in a pool of lava, surrounded by what looked like crystal spikes, among which jets of flame would erupt, its arms outstretched and teeth bared in a challenge to the world. A roar like thunder would rattle the stands, and the crowd would release an answering roar. Black lines, identical to Rebeca’s own decorated its body. Arrayed around the float were a cadre of fire breathing dancers, garbed in loose, red cloth that bore the same lines, although what they wore didn’t cover very much.

As her eyes traveled the length of the giant statue, Rebeca sat in silence. So, that’s me, is it? Or, part of me? Her gaze settled on the small, empty platform that was set in the crown of ridges on the monster’s head. And that’s where everyone here wanted me to stand.

Down below, Mihkail twisted his head to eye his distant sister. You aren’t obligated to go up there.

I know. Rebeca rubbed her arm as her gaze fell upon the crowd. It’s just… listen to them. The roar of the cheering, yelling and whooping was deafening. How much louder would they be if I was up there?

Probably much more. Fire does make for a very showy display.

The corner of Rebeca’s mouth twitched. Yeah, I don’t think people want that kind of a show. Her gaze followed the departing float, and she gave a deep sigh.

The rest of the floats passed in relative peace, though Rebeca did get a glimpse of Germaine atop his float. She had to admit, what he used to be did look pretty badass. The little Shaymin girl was pretty cute too.

“Dude, did you hear about what Diancie did to the Xerneas float?”

Rebeca blinked and looked down. A small cluster of teens beneath her feet, two boys and a girl, were talking excitedly to each other. “Yeah, I heard that she had added some decorations of her own. Apparently he was super pissed about it.” “What, no way. You’re making that up.” “It’s true. My brother has this friend whose roommate is one of the security guards where they were setting up the floats.”

Frowning, Rebeca turned her gaze down the parade. There’s no way. The little Pink Princess messing with somebody? Nah.

The sudden burst of lights coming from the approaching Kalos floats, accompanied by a thunderous roar of approval, instantly dashed her thoughts. A cascading aurora had formed around what Rebeca instantly knew to be the Xerneas float; there was no way anyone else would be that flamboyant about attracting attention. As the float approached, she could make out numerous elegant ice sculptures that now filled every inch of its surface. Of course, none of them was large enough to obscure the figure standing at the very top of the float; in fact, they seemed to be arranged in such a way as to pull one’s attention to that very point. Rebeca had to chuckle. As annoying and worrisome as Tantalus was, she had to admit that he certainly knew how to put his ego on display.

The sudden second light show behind it, however, took her breath away. Hundreds of thousands of diamond shards suspended in the sky had created their own luminous aurora, and this one roiled and writhed as though it was alive. At the very center of the light show was a pink float completely decked in diamonds, leaving no doubt who it belonged to. Unlike with the Xerneas float, however, there was no sign of the Pink Princess. The intense activity of the performance meant that she was obviously there, it certainly seemed to fit what little Rebeca knew of the girl, but it was apparent that this light show was not in any way about bringing attention to herself. This is was grandiose entertainment, pure and simple.

In any other circumstance, Rebeca would have considered it to be just another gaudy performance by a bunch of attention seekers. And technically, she would be half-right. However, the conversation by the teenagers, all three of which were now staring at the lightshow in utter rapture, cast things in a very different light. She didn’t. Did she? This wasn’t just a performance. This was a competition.

A grin crossed Rebeca’s face.

A grin that disappeared as quickly as it came. A distant boom pulled her attention down the parade route, and a disturbance of some kind was rippling through the crowd. A pit formed in her gut. Something wasn’t right. Standing up, Rebeca lifted Maya off her head and clutched the Shellfish Pokemon to her chest. “Hey!” she barked at the teens below, causing them to look up at her with startled expressions, “ I think you guys should leave. Now.”

One of the boys, squinting over his crooked nose, started to stand. “S’cuze me? Who do you-“

“NOW.”

The girl beside him tugged at his shirt sleeve. “Mikey. I-“ She glanced up at Rebeca, taking in the markings across her arms. “I think we should go. Please?”

Rebeca paused to glance down the parade route. There was a definite disturbance in the crowd, and it looked like people were running. “Get underneath the stands. There’s a Rhyhorn there with this Kabuto. Do NOT leave them. Once it’s clear, get inside some place safe.” She turned and jumped down from the stands, the pavement cracking audibly as she landed beside Mihkail. Take Maya and stay with these guys. One of them has a crooked nose, probably broken at some point. Don’t let them go until it’s clear, and keep them safe. Okay?

Mihkail eyed his sister, then growled. Stay safe, sis.

Laying Maya on his back, Rebeca gave his snout a slight knock, then started pushing through the crowd.

"Aren't they just the prettiest fireworks you've ever seen?" Mia thought dreamily as she gazed up, watching on as diamonds of all colours shimmered down around the crowd and the Diancie float. Scarlet looked on, shrugging her shoulders.

"I suppose they're alright - but you could do better. And you'd use actual fire in them." She replied primly, leading Mia to roll her eyes at her Pokemon's snobbishness.

"C'mon! I want to take a look at my float, it shouldn't be too far ahead." She announced, jumping from the barricade where she and a few others were stood watching. Scarlet sighed, but followed her girl quite closely as they made their way through the crowds alongside the parade.

Mia and Scarlet had arrived at Mauville City just a few hours ago, and the day before that, had been on a boat cast from her home region of Unova. This was their first time away from home turf, and it was thrilling, to say the least. Everything was different here in Hoenn - the Pokemon, the people, the scenery, even the air tasted unique. And she was even more excited to meet some of the other Avatars - especially the Diancie one, after seeing her display. What a team they could make, with Mia's fire and her diamonds!

It didn't take long to find the Reshiram float - inbetween Thundurus and Zekrom, it was a beautiful sight. A gorgeous combination of white, reds, and icy blues, the float depicted Reshiram with it's wings aloft, a red glow emanating from it's tail. The cosplayers were something to marvel at too - they'd obviously worked for a long time on their outfits, and a few of them even appeared to be juggling fire.

"Wow! Do you think I should join them, Scarlet? I don't think they'd mind I was late..." Mia's question to her Pokemon was cut off as a commotion erupted on the other side of the Parade - a man was yelling something, and Pokemon were released.

"Is that a Pokemon battle? Silly place to have one." She asked Scarlet, frowning slightly as she went up on her tiptoes, trying to see what was going on. Scarlet's eyes narrowed, hackles raising as she heard the screams.

"This is no battle; it's an attack." She muttered dubiously. Mia looked at her astonishment, and then ducked in shock as an explosion rang out - a float about a dozen or so in front of Reshiram's had exploded, and suddenly the sky was littered with debris rather than the gorgeous jewels of Diancie. The crowd around her began screaming, pushing and running to try and get off the street and away from danger. For a moment, Mia was frightened - her first day away from Unova, and this happens?! God, there were children that could be harmed here!

Sensing her trainer's apprehension, Scarlet nuzzled Mia's hand for a moment, before getting down to business. She knew fine well that Mia wouldn't run away from this, not with the powers she had to help people.

"Mia. Get me over the barricade, and we can help them together." She ordered, a somewhat stern tone in her voice. Mia glanced at her somewhat hesitantly, but then nodded, a smile appearing on her lips. Scarlet always gave her courage, no matter the situation. As a child, it had been for treatments. Now, it would be for helping people. Suddenly, ethereal wings sprouted from Mia's back - one could see feathers within, but they seemed to be more cloudlike that solid matter. Wrapping her arms around Scarlet, Mia took to the skies, leaving the people who had actually noticed this spectacle to watch on in astonishment.

"It's time everyone met the Avatar of Reshiram!" She thought with a grin, landing near the warped remains of the Porytech float, releasing Scarlet, and zeroing in on the perpetrators of the attack. There appeared to be three of them, each with a set of Pokemon. Her eyes began to glow blue as she found the closest Pokemon - a Pineco released by the woman of the trio, who had noticed her too.

Readying her own attack, Mia glanced at Scarlet, and the two shared a nod.

"Scarlet, use Fire Spin!" She announced, her own Flamethrower attack already coming to life in the palms of her hands. With glowing blue eyes, and red aura from the fire casting flickering lights on her white dress and wings, never before had she looked so much like Reshiram.

The poor Pineco was hit by Scarlet's attack, and then Mia's immediately after.

Through the coloured haze bathing the street, a ghastly floated over to sit atop the Xerneas float. Still standing regally in the center of the float, Tantalus smiled warmly at the creature. “Welcome! The more the merrier, little one.” Well, let’s see if your attempt can attract pokemon, he thought, giving a small chuckle. Although where the Ghastly had actually come from was a mystery to even him.

Shifting their attention to behind him, some of the crowd began to marvel at something out of Tantalus’s field of view. The two floats directly behind him were unoccupied, so unless one had spontaneously combusted, or Hope had come back - which might have the same effect as the former - Seras was beginning her performance. Several small bangs could be heard, which still didn’t clarify which it was. From the cheering and applause, however, it was more likely to be Seras. He was finding the competition enjoyable, but the thought of crushing her at the same time made it all the sweeter.

"Brothers and sisters in humanity! I urge you to think twice about who you're cheering for!" Booming out from further up the parade line, a voice seemed to smother the very air around him.

Tantalus gave the mother of all sighs.

The man’s drivel continued for several more lines, before he seemed to be interrupted by something. Either that, or he was aiming for the longest dramatical pause ever. Just then, an almighty explosion rang out from the direction of the speech, plumes of smoke rising high above the parade and gathering around the roof. Screams and shouts quickly dissolved the happy atmosphere of the parade into chaos, as bystanders scrambled to distance themselves from the floats, barging into one another. People were falling over and being trampled on. Needless to say, no-one was paying attention to either Avatar vying for victory in their game. Tantalus’s hand trembled with a dark fury, his thunder stolen yet again.

Swirling around inside his head, a voice spoke. “Well this is certainly interesting.”

Scoffing, Tantalus replied mockingly. “Friends of yours?”

Naturally, Xerneas escalated things. “Enemies of us both, I believe. Pay attention, dear host.”

“Fuck you.” He growled, the sound filled with bitterness.

“Is that a note of anger I hear, bearer mine?” Delivering the line with a smug air, the Pokemon chuckled.

Clenching the spear hard enough to hurt, the man spoke, slowly and filled with hatred. “My patience is wearing silk-thin. Since my arrival, there has been nothing but self-entitled lunatics intent on destroying as much as they can, as fast as they can. Is anyone in Arceus-forsaken country civilised? Coming here was the worst decision that has ever crossed my mind.”

Sensing his annoyance, Xerneas slid the knife in further. “Except coming here wasn’t your decision. Perhaps you should think twice before letting lesser beings call the shots from now on.”

That was all it took for Tantalus to snap completely. “Listen up, you cretins,” he roared at the crowd. “How you think what you are doing will help in any way is entirely beyond me, but allow me to assure you that it is not.” Releasing a blast of Aromatherapy to attempt to calm the mass, he continued. “Calm. Down. Leave here in an orderly manner, before you do each other serious injuries. If a single one of you is exceeding the pace of a fast walk, I will personally freeze you solid. Am I understood?” Looking sheepishly, the crowd began to obey for the most part, slowing. Aurora Beam wasn’t able to freeze people, to the best of his knowledge, but it seemed people didn’t want to take the risk. This allowed the people on the ground enough of a chance to get up and to safety. “Good. Now remain at this speed until you are well clear. We Avatars will handle the situation ahead.”

“You are right, of course, Xerneas. From now on, any decisions will be made by the superior entity.” He smiled darkly. “So I’ll need no further input from the likes of you.” Growling inside of his head, the legendary fell silent. Whether he had been suppressed actively, or simply gotten bored, was not something he could think about right now

What is going on? Another voice in his head chimed in, this time belonging to Apate, nervously scanning the crowd.

Tantalus stared out, grimly. No idea, but I do not believe it is good. I’m heading forward to find out. Coming?

Smiling, the Mawile gave a determined head nod.

Turning to the Ghastly, Tantalus pointed the spear at it. “You have two choices. Come with us, or go and find your trainer. Whatever you decide, I wish you the best of luck.” Moving forward, about to run towards the explosion further up the parade line, the Avatar was suddenly and completely mowed down by an oversized boulder which had come flying out of the crowd. It caught him square in the chest, throwing him with such force that he crashed through the wooden throne, light screen, mock-Xerneas, and out onto the Yveltal float. Upon landing, the fragile crystal wings shattered and the spear - which had fallen out of his hand mid-air - lodged itself within Yveltal’s chest. The boulder proceeded to take out the effigy’s legs. A look of sheer horror crossed Apate’s face, as she watched her trainer tumble through the air.

Lying on the deck of Yveltal’s float, the man contorted in pain. The damage from the attack wasn’t severe - softened as a result of Geomancy - but it had winded him badly. Despite being physically healthy, taking a boulder on like that hurt, and his ribcage ached as though the offending object had been a freight train. Steadily, Tantalus rose, swaying gently. Strains of his hair had fallen loose from the circlet, obscuring his eyes. Fairy Aura kicked in, fuel by raw anger, and resulted in him glowing a fiercely deep pink. Grasping the spear, he wrenched it free of the mock-Yveltal and twirled it around. Turning back towards Xerneas’s float, he saw the Golem leap towards his Mawile. Pure and unbridled wrath burst forth from deep within. Raising a hand toward the Pokemon, he quickly gathered energy around it. Streaming forth in a silver-white beam, it slammed into the airborne Golem sending it forward.

Tantalus blurred after it, moving so fast the air around him wavered slightly. Bridging the gap between the two floats as though it were little more than an inconvenience, he kicked off an arm of the splintered throne, soaring skyward. Releasing another blast of energy backwards, the Avatar used the momentum and accelerated toward the Golem, landing on it spear first. The gemstone tip found purchase into the soft tissue of the Pokemon’s forehead. Wood cracked under them as the conjoined mass hit the float of Genesect with crushing force. Stamping his foot down hard on it’s shell, Tantalus tore the spear from the Golem’s body. It shimmered a darker shade of pink, the light being altered by the blood now running down the length. The sapphire tip was shattered, pieces lodged somewhere within the Pokemon.

Glaring at the hooded man, his voice resonated and distorted from the power of Fairy Aura. “You are fools, messing with forces you cannot possibly comprehend. Forces that we, as the subjects of this experiment, find unable to understand.” Gesturing towards the two pokemon heading to other floats with the spear, blood dripping off from the ruined tip. “Challenging those forces with nothing beside a few poxy Pokemon.” Kicking the lifeless form of the Golem again, the volume of his speech rose to a crescendo. “Arrogance. This move will cost each and every one of you. Dearly.”

Taking stock of the scene around, several members of the crowd had been injured, either by encroaching Pokemon or each other. Healing them would take a lot of time and energy. Security forces which had been present were either just for show or utterly incompetent. Wondering who to bill for this complete disaster, Tantalus decided it would be the fat Mayor from the dinner last night. And if he’s lucky, I might offer a half-off sale.

“And for anyone wondering, or any other member of this so-called Alliance listening in. This is not one of your dreaded legendaries. My actions are none but mine. The opponent you face this day is Tantalus Swain, not Xerneas. A name you will struggle to forget.” Blood trickled down his back, and it became clear that several shards of crystal from the wings had embedded themselves after the rough landing earlier. Nothing serious, but drawing attention to them made the wounds sting. Staring down at the pooling blood, the weight of what had just unfolded truly hit him. Legs buckling slightly, he stopped himself from falling over. It was either dead or dying, and the attack hadn’t even been the result of conscious choice. Apate had come under attack, and he sought to defeat it to protect her.

The healer's hands trembled as he stood over the limp body of the Golem, who had been viciously impaled with an antique spear. It was impossible to tell if this was something he would have done before the emergence of Xerneas or not, and that thought was terrifying. In addition, the counter-offensive had painted a large target on him. Most of the crowd has dispersed, but the stragglers that were left would be a little safer now. The open unspoken challenge hung in the air above, directed at any Pokemon and trainers from the Alliance - or otherwise - who wished to take it up. As if on cue, Apate, who had been struggling to mentally sort out the unfolding scene, rushed to Tantalus’s side. Entering the area of effect, she began to glow the same colour as he did, and glared down the opposing Alliance trainer. A shrill rose from the Pokemon, a defiant taunt. While the future was unclear, one thing was certain.

This was not how he envisioned making the history books.

Kaze had been enjoying himself during the parade, even welcoming the Helioptile that had marched up alongside his float. For a moment, he had been confused as to its presence, as such a Pokemon was not one he had seen here much. Then he recalled he had seen its trainer once before: One of the Avatars from the previous night. Wells, if he recalled correctly. So he had invited it up and allowed it to perch wherever it desired atop the float.

Nearly two-thirds through the parade, Kaze suddenly felt like something was out of place. He had begun to notice odd people in the crowd dressed in white robes. Not simple cosplayers. Not at all. Then, one of them released four Pokemon and shouted, cursing the Avatars. When Justine, only a handful of floats behind Kaze, began to defend them, the man appeared to become even more angry. Next thing Kaze knew, he saw the man's Golem seize the Koffing beside it, and hurl it in the direction of Justine's float.

Kaze knew what to expect before it happened. The Koffing Selfdestructed, the explosion rocking Mauville in its entirety. "NO!!!" Kaze cried, tears brimming in his eyes immediately. Around him, people scattered away from the scene, but Kaze remained in place. He hadn't been able to see what had happened to Justine, and while he wanted to help, he remained in-place. His feet wouldn't move.

Soon, a short policeman with a rather nice mustache instructed Kaze to come down off the float and escape. "I . . . I can't," Kaze replied. Then a man approached with his Pokemon in-tow.

"Neither of you are going anywhere, anyway. You'd make a nice hostage, kid," the villain chuckled. "Get 'em," he commanded to his Pokemon, who immediately sprung into action.

First charged the Koffing. "Jingle, Confusion!" Kaze commanded, and a wave of Psychic energy converged on the Poison-Type, blasting it backward a number of meters. Next came a Baltoy. Kaze didn't bother with commands this time, instead charging his own power, releasing a Hydro Pump directly at it. Though it tried to hold back the deluge with its power, ultimately the torrent proved too great and hammered into the top and blasting it through the air.

The last two, a Gourgeist and a Pineco charged simultaneously. Remembering the Helioptile's name to be Fluke, Kaze gave a command to each of them. "Jingle, another Confusion! Get that pumpkin; I'll get the other!"

While Jingle was preoccupied with Gourgeist, Kaze used his Tailwind to speed the two of them up, as well as empower a large jump from himself. As he was airborne and the Pineco fired a Pin Missile, Kaze launched a Gust attack, which managed to disperse the Pin Missile and slam the Pineco into the ground. Then he turned, the Gourgeist preparing to attack Kaze's companion, and used his one Psychic-Type move--Extrasensory--to knock the Gourgeist off its feet.

Then he was seized from behind. The man had given up on using Pokemon to subdue Kaze and had taken him by brute force. "Help me!" Kaze screamed before a hand was clamped over his mouth. He had to find a way out of this, but he had exhausted so much of his power already. He couldn't call on another power. Then, a voice sounded in his mind.

It's alright, Kaze. I am here, the voice said, its sound deep and powerful, yet somehow gentle. When Kaze did not understand at first, an image flashed through his mind. I will not let you be harmed. I never have before, and I won't start now. But for now, I need you to trust me, it explained. Kaze agreed, and his runes and eyes began to glow a brilliant cyan as Suicune gained control of his host.

Vuduin tilted his head slightly to the side. Still screaming, but there was a note of something different in it. One he was rather familiar with at this point, fear. He floated out of the... float and landed on the ground, walking with long strides to see what the commotion was about. Surely the other avatars hadn't gone overboard trying to one up each other. Shade meanwhile was quite distressed by the turn of events and quickly retreated back to Vuduin's float, seeing the robed man and hiding inside his clothes. In a few minutes he could see the cause of the trouble. A group of trainers in white had released several Pokemon, their intent obvious from the smoldering wreck of the porygon float. They had quite a few pokemon with them, far too many to trouble with. However such troublemakers did need to be dealt with. Already the other avatars were beginning to attack. Tantalus had, oh my, impaled a Golem with that antique spear he carried. An avatar he hadn't seen before began launching an attack with her pokemon at them. Turning his gaze away, Vuduin decided it would be best to deal with the women near the back to avoid drawing the attention of the others. Vuduin quietly slipped through the road, unable to see anything for the moment in the solid rock, but he simply kept track the women's position in his head.

Several seconds later Vuduin rose from the ground, doubtless in quite a surprisingly and slightly intimidating fashion, given the flowing robes, intense stare of his dark eyes, contrasted by the white hair and the Gastly that hovered next to him. With a gesture Shade stared at the Pokemon guarding the women, its eyes gleamed with a strange light and the pokemon guarding her became woozy. With the combination of Shade's hypnosis and Vuduin's own will exerted it feel asleep with ease. Vuduin then tried what would doubtless prove to be pointless, "Now, now, surely we don't need to get violent. Just play nice and we can get this all sorted out hmk?" his dark eyes bore into her own, the same feelings of lethargy he'd induced into her pokemon being applied to her. Shade made sure sleeping beauty didn't wake up. Vuduin hoped she would be reasonable, though if she was part of whatever this group he doubted it. Still, he'd have to be heartless not to give the women a chance.

Fluke slowly and calmly walked towards the man holding Kaze. He didn't seem intimidated, and looked at the helioptile's wide eyes as it held one hand on his left shoe. Suddenly, he lost control over his muscles, falling to the ground. Fluke forced a current through his body, causing him to lose control over the nerves controlling his muscles. Kaze kept his balance while the man in white fell to the ground. Fluke glanced at Kaze, then the other people in white. Then Fluke closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to keep the current stable and non-lethal.

Wells heard a boom in the distance. And quickly realized that he could never get the spotlight competing with people that loud. So, he sticked to the plan and waited until the start of the tournament, preparing to properly dazzle his audience then.