The Banished One

Magnus stared at the abyss where both dragons had fallen soberly, and his strengthening of Jonathon's aura subsided and he staggered weakly to the ground, he had put the remainder of his energy into his aura, and his wounds weren't aiding him in his recovery. He did manage to look back toward Summer, and offer his condolences. "It is for the best," he breathed, "his Charizard is back at his master's side, you felt its heart. It wished to die."

The expression on Summer's face was enough to tell that this was the truth, but she was still wracked by guilt. "And what of Giritina?" she finally asked after a moment of silence, gazing toward the abyss where both had fallen.

Magnus stiffened, but continued glancing down it as well. "Giritina is the master of this domain. Above anything else that happens down there, it will be all right. I can feel its aura become swallowed by the darkness down below there, but I feel it also reviving toward its natural state, thanks to you, boy," he turned and smiled toward Jonathon. "As for leaving, it may be best to leave the way we came. The Black Shadow has departed here in fear the moment they lost control of Giritina. The portal we came through can be reopened through use of that Griseous Orb, and sealed shut through use of it too. It's a powerful object, and one you should keep mind and protect," he said to Jonathon. "Now let's get back to our own world." He shakily stood, gripping the wound on his stomach.

Jonathon nodded as he went over and grabbed the orb. Holding it safe with one arm he went back and put himself under one of Magnus's arms to help support the man. "I didn't come this far just to have you die without giving me answers Magnus." He said, looking the man in the eye. "Come on Summer. Let's go home." The trainer then started to head back the way he came. After making it back through the mess that was this world, he stopped. "Alright...this is where I came in. How do we get out?"

Magnus was heavily leaning on Jonathon, and looked to the spot where the opened portal had been, now it was simply another spot in the Distortion World. "Well," he breathed weakly, "all you must do is focus on the Orb and bend the Distortion World to your will. It may be Giritina's domain, but the Griseous Orb allows a connection to both the beast and between these worlds. Focus and make it open up a portal. I'd lend my strength again, but," he chuckled, "I'm afraid if I did, it would be the last of it, and you'd be carrying a dead man out of here." The statement caused Summer to look to her brother in concern, though she still remained deathly silent, not saying much since the death of Elric and his Charizard.

"No. No one else is dying today." Jonathon say, not looking at either of them. "I...I can do this." He said this not only reassure them, but himself as well. Holding the stone out in front of himself, he begins to concentrate. Focusing in on the top of the mountain where he arrived in this world from. He took these thoughts and moved them from himself into the orb which began to glow warmly in his hands. A small rift began to form in the air which grew into a large opening, with the mountain top on the other side. He wrapped one arm around Magnus and the other around Summer and stepped through, landing gently on the stones of Spear Pillar. "We made it? We made it!" He said, shocked at his success. He then turns to Magnus. "So...now that I've found you and we're safely out of there. I want some answers as to who they were, who you are, and why I've spent so much time trying to find and save you."

"Well Jonathon, I can't answer much but the former," Summer said with an emotionless, unwavering voice, "and Magnus is in no condition to give his side of things. I'm full intent on leaving this horrid place, and I'm taking my brother with me. I'm not going to let anything else die on my watch, though I haven't had much luck with that," she chuckled dryly, continuing with her faraway look. "It's your choice to follow or not, though are things sometimes best left a mystery? If I were you, I wouldn't be too eager to hear the darker things."

Magnus was slumped and passes out agains Jonathon's shoulders, but Summer gingerly lifted him into her arms and released her Pidgeot. Without a word, she slumped Magnus over its back and jumped up herself, intent to leave the mountain.

"Wait. I'm coming with you. I've come this far to not get the answers. Besides, it's not like I have much of anything to go back to at this point." He pulled out a pokeball. "Braviary...I'm sorry." He let the eagle pokemon out. It looked around for Elrich. "He's gone now...He died to save me..." Petting the birds beak he felt the sadness in it's aura. "Come on though. I need you to follow them. Don't let his death go in vain." The bird nodded and bent down, allowing Jonathon to climb on. "Lead on."

Summer's Pidgeot flew steadily down the mountain toward the dense forest at its foot. Navigating through the dense trees, and bird Pokemon and its passengers came to a halt in a small clearing of trees and shelter. Summer dismounted and gently lifted the body of her brother onto the soft, grassy ground below, then sent out her golden-flowered Venasaur. "Go find some herbs for pain and fever. And something to wrap his wounds with." The lumbering Pokemon nodded and disappeared into the forest. Summer sighed and began to treat Magnus's wounds quite expertly, as if she had done things similar many times in the past. She wasn't looking out for Jonathon, and wouldn't turn toward him if he landed.

Jonathon landed the braviary and recalled it as the venasaur lumbered off. He just stood there for a moment, watching Summer. Then he slowly walked to her and kneeled down next to her. "Let me help, please. I can do something. Just tell me what I can do to help. Please Summer, you don't need to do this alone."

"Well, I can't deny help," she said matter-of-factly, "so go and find something soft we can use to elevate his head. And try to find some water and some way to bring it here. The wounds may look bad, but it's the rapid fever that'll kill him at this point. We need to cool him down before, Arceus forbid, he wakes up and his fever causes him to hallucinate. Can you do that?" She asked, finally turning toward him with a genuine look of desperation on her face.

Jonathon looked into Summer's eyes for a moment. He could see all the emotions she'd been hiding since he met her. It was all there now. He nodded and turned away. Calling out his pokemon he looked down at them. "Alright. First, Dawn and Mist, go try and find some soft moss or something for Magus to lay on." The Ghost and the shiny pokemon nodded and went off together. He then began to dig through his pack for something. "HA! Found it!" He said, pulling out an old bottle of water. Pouring it out he held it up to his spheal. "Alright Zanna, use water gun in the bottle." The small pokemon...nodded, as best it could, and quickly filled the water. "Alright, now use powder snow on the outside to cool it off." The spherical pokemon did so, and the water was soon ice cold. Just then, Jonathon's other pokemon came back with a bit of moss. "Hmm...that won't be quite enough. Hey Dawn, would it be too much to ask if you could support Magnus' head?" The Eevee looked up at it's master and shook it's head, implying it would be no issue. "Alright." Jonathon went back to Summer and gave her the water. Dawn wiggled it's way under Magnus' head and curled up into a ball. "Anything else?"

"Nothing right now," Summer replied with a sudden yawn. Exhaustion shone through her face as the day's events finally began to physically affect her. She turned as she heard the grass rustle, signifying the return of her lumbering Venusaur. Gingerly and carefully carried in two extended vines off of its back were an assortment of herbs and plants, which it laid at Summer's side. Glancing toward Magnus's body, the Pokemon lowered itself into a laying position beside the body, maintaining a sheltering and protective position while Summer lifted the plants and began to use them to treat Magnus, who seemed to already look better because of Jonathon's help.

"Summer. You need to rest. I'll keep both of you safe." He said, sitting next to her. "You need the rest. You've been through a lot today, and got kidnapped." He was already trying to subtlety put his aura on to her. He was trying to calm her, of course, he wasn't sure how well it would succeed. He knew that Magnus and Elrich both knew a lot about aura. Summer hadn't shown the same knowledge on the subject yet.

After a long moment of silence, Summer sighed and nodded, giving in to Jonathon's offer. "I'm amazed you're still standing," she breathed, "you've been through quite a lot too... if you'd like, we can both rest. My Venasaur can keep a steady watch on the both of us. With some rest, all of us will be feeling better, even Magnus." She smiled, "There's a time of action, and there's a time of rest. I believe now's the latter, for you included."

Jonathon looked at her for a moment, then at the venasaur, then back at summer. "Alright." He said, nodding in agreement to her. He sat down next to her. "I don't know exactly know what I'm going to do after this. I was just some trainer in Olivine city before that dragonite found me. Now...I don't even know if I can go back anymore..." Jonathon pulled his legs up close to himself and looked up at the sky. "What should I do after this whole thing settles down Summer?"

"Just follow your heart," Summer said with a smile, "it's what lead you to us, and it's what will lead you even farther. Don't forget this adventure, but don't seek another out if it's not in your heart. Trust me, your own destiny will lead you wherever you're meant to be." Turning, she closed her eyes, and allowed Jonathon to stop and sleep to those thoughts.

Jonathon looked at her and nodded. "Thanks Summer. That makes it a little better." He then slowly drifted of to sleep, wondering what tomorrow would hold. He began to dream as the world around him faded.
(Short out of necessity, feel free to torment his dreams)

(Don't kill me :P)

Once Jonathon would awake, he'd find himself in an empty clearing, with only the fleeting stains of Magnus's blood to indicate that two other people were ever there. Thinking of it, Summer's last words to Jonathon seemed like those of a goodbye and departure, and that is just what they were. Lying on Jonathon's chest was a small folded piece of paper, the same paper that was first delivered to Jonathon by the Dragonite. The same handwriting as well.

Dear Jonathon,

I'm grateful for all that you've done for us; I can't voice my thanks enough. It is because of this that Summer and I have made the difficult decision to leave. Don't try to find us, and don't do anything rash, it's for your own safety. Wherever we go eventually leads to trouble, I'm so sorry that you had to be dragged into it. Keep yourself safe, and never lose sight of who you are. You are a good person, and people like you are rare in this world. Now seize your life and do something great, Summer and I will be cheering you on, always, even if we'll never encounter each other again. Thank you,

Magnus.

It seems the duo were gone, and Jonathon was alone, his epic journey and all signs of it faded and gone. The Griseous Orb remained, however, in case he ever forgot what had happened and the world he had saved.

Jonathon stared down at the note for what felt like a long time, shocked. They were gone. He had no idea how Magnus could have possibly gotten away. Shoving the note into his pocket he stood up and recalled his pokemon. Picking up the orb he put it into his bag and started to walk. Then he started to laugh. It was over. This massive adventure he had gone on was over and now he had nothing to do. He was miles away from anything familiar to him except for snowpoint city, and he wasn't even sure he wanted to go home at all. Maybe he could just start a new journey, get the sinnoh region badges and try to become a champion. He looked around and then made up his mind. There was one place he had to stop first if he wanted things to work out. There was no way he could live a normal life with what he's seen. He wanted to forget, so he set out for Lake Acuity again.
(I don't want to go to another topic for this.)

(Fine by me~)

As Jonathon trudged toward Lake Acurity, the previous hazard of a storm seems to have faded away and been replaced by a cheery sun and calm. It was as if what happened in the Distortion World calmed his world as well, for the time being. The only obstacle that met Jonathon was a Snorunt, who gazed at the trainer curiously, yawned, and kept to itself. It could be ignored if he so wished.

Snorunt, Female, Level 7

Jonathon looked at the ice type and thought about it for a minute. Then he shook he head. "No. I'm in no mood for a battle." He past it by and kept walking towards the lake. Stopping at the shore he pulled out the Griserous Orb and looked down at it. "I want to forget about it...So this is it." He raised it up and was about to toss it into the lake but then stopped. No. Magnus told him not to give it all up. So what if he forgot it, he wasn't going to just throw it away. He shoved it back into his bag and crossed the lake, going back into the cave again. "Uxie...?" He asked into the emptiness.

The cave shimmered as Uxie appeared before Jonathon, hovering idly. Why have you returned, Jonathon Montoya? the legendary asked through telepathy, was my knowledge not what you sought, did it not help you achieve what it is you wished to do?

"It did uxie but...but I don't want to remember. I want to forget what I've been through in order to start my journey again. I've too much death and suffering over the past couple months that I don't know if a normal life is possible for me. Please, take it away. I want to start over, get gym badges. Learn about my powers on my own. Can you please do that?" He looked imploringly at the legendary pokemon.

Uxie was deathly silent for many minutes, but finally bobbed his head in a small nod. Your mind will fill in the gaps of everything I erase with false memories... they may be less harsh, but the person you've become will disappear. You will lose what you've gained in replace with an easier life, is this truly what you long for? Sometimes it is harder than the journey you've wished to forget...

"I...I don't know." Jonathon said, looking up at the legendary pokemon. He slowly stood up. "I'll keep my memories." He said sternly, clenching his fists. "Thank you for everything Uxie, but I have one more request. If I wanted to start a real journey in which I collect gym badges, where should I head from here to find my first?"

I am not too familiar with your human activities, but the most common start to one's journey in this region, which you call Sinnoh, is Oreburgh. There you will find a man named Roark. He is most commonly challenged by those who wish to start journeys concerning the gym badges your kind pride themselves in. Is this the answer you seek? Uxie asked.