“Its gone. How could they do this!?” yelled Scy.

“Well, I believe that the Knights we battled were a diversion. They were all real, no doubt about that,” Lugia said as he cleaned his blood-stained sword. “I do not believe that illusions bleed. It is possible that while we were battling the real Entei came in and wiped out our knights. Then he took the crystal.”

“That sounds reasonable,” said a saddened Venus. She wiped the tears of her face, prayed a quick prayer to Articuno and walked to Lugia. “Lugia, is there a possibility you could join us on this quest? Which I believe is now a rescue mission to get the crystal.”

“No, I cannot, however, you can contact me through this.” Lugia pulled out a small seashell. “All you have to do is place it in your ear. Then you can talk to me. I must stay and prevent any other surprise attacks.”

“Well, with all that said, I believe we should get going to the nearest town, Nickleborn,” Suicune said as she started to walk towards the door. Venus looked at Lugia, he nodded and motioned for her to leave.

The long trek to Nickleborn began at a trail that lead through a mountain range. “Let’s get going,” Flare said. He started to walk. Behind him Scy, Blast, and Venus finished shedding their armor. They all wore a simple cotton tunic. Venus whistled and 3 horses ran up to her. They each mounted on a horse and began their journey. “I thought Knights weren’t supposed to take off their armor.” said Typhlo.

“We are allowed to take it off during times of mourning. I believe this is a time of mourning,” replied Blast.

“Puh-lease. Let’s just get to Nickleborn,” sighed Sui. She started to walk ahead of the others.

A wolf howled that night. The group was huddled around a campfire. They had a blanket covering them while the horses fed themselves tied to a tree. “How is it over with Celebi?” inquired Blast. Suicune said, “Nice, she can be a real pain though. Don’t step on the flowers, no not like that your supposed to pant the seeds like this.” Blast chuckled and threw a stick into the fire. A bush rustled behind them. Scy jumped up and got out his short sword he kept with him. A wolf limped out of the bushes. It had a bullet wound in its hind leg. Venus frowned and hurried over to the wolf. “Be careful Venus,” Scy warned. Venus put her hand on the wolf and prayed. She then lifted her staff and hit the wolf. The staff went through the wolf as if the staff was invisible. The bullet flew out of the wound and hit a tree. The wound was gone, not even a scar was left The wolf looked up at Venus. It trotted next to the fire and tried to take some of Flare’s jerky. Flare looked up at Sui, she nodded. Flare reluctantly handed the beast a piece of jerky. He gobbled it down hungrily. “Hehe, looks like we have a new traveling partner.” Blast said.

“Tsss, let’s get some sleep. He’ll be gone in the morning.” Typhlo said as he laid down on the ground.

The next morning the wolf was still there. “I guess we have to name him. Looks like he is stayin’ for a while.” Venus said cheerfully.

“How about Foreigner?” Sui said, “He doesn’t look like the wolves around here. The wolves here are gray and fairly small. This guys is black and a pretty good size.” No one objected. “So, Foreigner it is.” The group packed up and saddled the horses.

“Why are we going to Nickleborn again?” asked Blast.

“I have some sources, we can see what’s been going on. Trust me.” Sui said with a grin on her face.

As the group traveled in a line, Foreigner lead them ahead. It seemed that he knew exactly where to go. He sniffed the air and stopped. He felt a presence. Something bad was coming fast. Just then a group of Primeapes ran out of the forest. Some jumped from trees. The group of knights surrounded the horses in a circle form. Scy, Blast, and Venus threw on their armor. Typhlo tried to fire a stream of fire to make them part so they could run. They didn’t seem intimidated with the fire though. Then one of the Primeapes punched Flare square in the jaw. Flare flew back. Foreigner jumped at the nearest Primeape killing it with a quick bite. Blast fired a volley of water at the Primeapes, some flew off the cliff or hit the trees hard. Venus quickly healed Flare. Sui and Scy fought the Primeapes hand to hand. A creature roared in the distance. The Primeapes ran away. They didn’t even glance back. A woman with long red hair dressed in a black cloak walked out of the forest. She had a strange creature beside her. “That’ll do Parduseye. The saber-toothed cat purred and rubbed against her leg.

“Thank you,” Typhlo said kneeling. He took her hand and kissed it, as was custom when a knight was in the presence of a lady. She smiled and said, “You better be careful, those Primeapes gang up and kill many travelers. Me and my partner here,” she motioned towards Parduseye, who was currently inspecting Foreigner, “are scouts sort of. We help trvelers incase they run into anything bad. Parduseye gives a warning roar which will usually send them running. If they don’t run, then we have to battle a bit. It gets a tad messy. We live in these forests. About a ten minute hike from here will take you to our house. It’s a small cabin. Follow us.” She turned and walked off. The group hurriedly followed her. When they reached the cabin Scy asked, “What is your name?”

“Oh, I forgot, my name is Purity.”

“That’s a nice name. I am Scyther, you can call me Scy. Over here we have Blastoise, Venusaur, Suicune, Flareon, and Typhlosion.”

“And who is your little wolf friend?”

“Oh, his name is Foreigner.”

“Ah I see. Make yourself at home.” Purity said as she went into the cabin. “I don’t have much to offer you in terms of food, but you can stay here for the night if you wish.” Parduseye walked over near the fireplace. The cat looked at the wood and it caught on fire. It then curled up and fell asleep near the fire. Foreigner moved cautiously and sat down next to Venus. Venus petted the wolf and took a seat. “Oh, would you please take off your armor? It can get really hot in here and also it gets a bit crowded when you guys have it on.” The group complied and shed their armor. The horses were tied outside along with the armor.

“Is it ok if Foreigner stays inside?” Venus asked. Purity looked at the wolf and nodded. “He can stay, just don’t make a mess.”

Purity put a pot of stew over the fire. She taught them a tradition of Traveler’s Stew. Whenever you met someone on the trail and camped at the same place, you should make a stew. Each person places his own ingredient in the mixture. The stew was cooked and served. After everyone had their share Purity said, “Sleep wherever you want. I’ll see you guys in the morning.” The group thanked her and separated into separate corners. Sleep came quickly for some, others it would be a long night...