23rd of April, 17 AJ

Time: 1810

Location: Alola, Melemele Marina

POV: Moon, age 15

She sat on the edge of the marina, staring out to sea. Moon sighed and looked down at a pokeball in her hand. A Silvally sat inside of it, staring up at its trainer. Moon had received the Silvally back when it was a Type: Null from Gladion... before he left for Kanto. Moon sighed again and looked back out to sea.

"Hey sis. You okay?"

Sun's sudden appearance startled her. "Sun? What are you doing here?"

"I see you sitting here almost every evening. You're kinda worrying me, just sitting here silently."

Moon looked back out to sea. "I'm fine, okay? Don't worry about me."

Sun frowned. "Moon. You're thinking about him, aren't you?"

Moon looked back at her brother. "About who? Dad?"

Sun wasn't amused. "You know who I'm talking ab-"

Rotom flew out of Sun's bag, cutting him off. "You've got a challenger! The league'zz saying that you're gunna like who it izz!"

Sun and Moon looked at each other, then shrugged. They both got up and made way for the Pokemon League. When they landed, Moon was stopped by the guards.

"I'm spectating, okay? I don't plan on interfering or challenging my brother. Besides, my Pokemon aren't in any shape to battle."

The guards grumbled, then let her through. She was whisked to the top and stood on the edge of the field. She still remembered when Sun and her finally got to the top, only to duke it out. Sun had won, fair and square, but Moon had made him take a run for his money.

Her brother finally appeared and sat down on the Champion's seat. They waited, then finally heard feet climbing up the stairs. Moon was casually leaning on the rail as she waited for the challenger to finally show themself. Sun and Moon both gasped when Gladion revealed himself.

After shaking his head, to clear his mind, Sun addressed his challenger. "Gladion? We thought you were in Kanto. Oh well, it's time to battle!"

Moon was torn apart on who to silently cheer for: her brother or her secret crush? Sun and Gladion fought hard, swiftly exchanging hard blows. As they were fighting, Moon felt the dome under her feet shift. Sun and Gladion finished battling, with Sun out on top by a hair. They began to talk, and Moon realized that they didn't feel the shift.

"Hey, guys? Sorry to interrupt, but did you feel the dome shift?"

Sun looked at his sister. "What?"

"I sw-"

The place began to shake and rumble and Moon was knocked off her feet. She began to slide along the ground, and she saw the world outside turn. She began to scream and the rumble turned to a roar. Moon was full on falling now, with nothing to catch her. The dome was cracking.

As the place was falling apart, Gladion called out to her. "Moon! Grab my hand!"

She looked up and saw Gladion falling as well. She tried to grab his hand, but her fingers slipped. She slammed into the glass dome, shattering it, and continued to fall. She stopped screaming; she was too weak.

Time seemingly froze. Droplets of blood hung in the air as glass shards brushed past Moon's skin. She reached out for Sun and Gladion, but knew they were too far away. A green light flashed in the sky and Moon began to think she was going mad. A person was falling high above the islands, but when they sprouted wings and began to fly, Moon thought she had already died. This can't be real. This is all a dream. A person with wings? Impossible.

The stranger flew right over her and grabbed her hand. Moon was tugged to the side and felt her body go limp. Her vision began to fade, but she forced herself to stay awake. She looked up at her savior and was reminded of the fairies of fantasy. However, this fairy was in full armor. Moon felt her foot brush along the ground, then she finally passed out.

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Moon awoke to a steady beeping sound. She opened her eyes and groaned at the light. Her entire body ached of pain. She managed to pry her eyes open and look around.

She was in a hospital. Sunlight was seeping through the mostly closed blinds and medical instruments surrounded her. Moon attempted to lift her head, but let it fall back down.

"Moon? Moon! Thank Arceus you're alive!" Sun was talking from somewhere out of her vision.

"S-... sun? Wh-where are you? Everything's so fuzzy."

Sun and Lillie walked into her view. Lillie placed her hand on Moon's, then smiled. " Don't worry Moon, we're right here. We don't know who it was who saved you, but it was like they were ripped straight out of a game."

Moon groaned again as pain shot through her temple. "What are you talking about?"

Sun placed an ice pack on her forehead. "This Guardian came out of the sky and grabbed you while you were still falling. They had green wings and didn't talk at all. All I know is that those wings weren't a creation of the Light."

Moon closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Weird. Where's Gladion and how'd you survive, Sun?"

"Gladion was able to revive his Charizard, so that's how we survived. He' currently at our house, trying to explain what happened to our mom. A Beast had melted the supports and that's what led to the dome collapsing."

Something echoed through Moon's mind. It was what that girl cloaked in black had said about Templars. "Sun. I don't think it was a Beast."

Sun and Lillie looked at her. "What are you talking about?"

Moon grimaced. "I think it was a Templar. That girl did warn us that they'll try to kill us."

Lillie frowned. "Can we not talk about that?"

Moon laughed, then grimaced at the pain. The door opened and Cywren (who was wearing a tropical shirt) walked in. Moon smiled at the woman. She tried to wave, but couldn't lift her hand.

Cywren stopped besides the bed and lifted her Pip-Boy, scrolling through her inventory. "Relax Moon. You're in no shape to move. I'm actually surprised that you're awake, given the type of painkiller the doctors gave you. Hold still, okay? This might hurt a bit."

Cywren grabbed five syringes and Moon bit her lip. Cywren raised an eyebrow and Sun rubbed the back of his head with a nervous smile.

"Yeah.... Moon's kinda afraid of needles...."

Cywren rolled her eyes, then pulled the blanket away. She tugged at Moon's shirt, revealing her shoulder. She stabbed the syringe into it and Moon clenched her mouth. The syringe made a hissing sound as it slowly emptied its contents.

Cywren did this four more times, once for each leg and arm, finishing with Moon's chest. Cywren pulled out the syringe and tossed it into the garbage.

"There. You should be able to walk around again in a couple of minutes. But don't try to run for several weeks, okay? I don't want you hurting yourself."

Moon began to sweat. Cywren pressed the back of her glove onto Moon's forehead and looked at her Pip-Boy.

"Weird. Don't know why those stimpacks dehydrated you, but either way, here's some water. I got it after I activated Project Purity. Drink up."

Cywren handed Moon a bottle of water with an insignia printed on it and she gulped it down eagerly. Moon sighed with relief and let her eyes half close. She looked at Sun and smiled.

"I'll be okay. You two go and fool around, okay?" Moon winked at Sun and Lillie.

They laughed and Sun reached for something in his bag. "Will do, after I give this to you. A Gym leader gave me four of 'em, all styled a different way."

Sun pulled out a necklace. He let it hang on his fingers and it took me a while before I realized what was special about it.

"A key stone! You kidding me?"

"Nope. Here's the letter that came with it. 'Cmon Lil."

Sun and Lillie left, leaving Cywren and Moon alone. Cywren gave Moon a book before she left and Moon smiled. She looked at the necklace for a while before opening up the letter. It was sealed traditionally with melted wax. The Mega Evolution symbol was imprinted on the wax.

Dear Moon, I'm sorry to hear what happened, but I'm glad you survived. I was watching the battle here in the Tower of Mastery, where I'm writing this letter, when the dome fell. I saw that Gladion and Sun had Charizards, but no key stone. If they had either Charizardite X or Y, they could have prevented anyone from getting hurt. That's why I've given you and your friends a key stone. I had personally visited Alola to give your brother the stones. Take care, Successor Korrina.

Moon smiled and placed the letter on the bed side table next to her. She took a look at the cover of the book and simply put it to the side. It was about survival and how to fix yourself up is no help is around. Moon looked around, fiddling with the necklace, wondering what to do while she waited for her limbs to stop throbbing. She jumped a little when the door opened.

"Moon? Are you awake?" Gladion had closed the door.

Moon turned her head and looked at him. "Of course I am. Something you want to talk about?"

He closed his eyes and sighed. "I was worried when I saw you fall out of the dome. Thank Arceus that Guardian snatched you mid air."

Moon chuckled. "Right. The Guardian. Was it just me, or did they remind you of a fairy from fantasy?"

"Weird. That was my first impression as well."

"That's really bizarre. Anyways, has Sun given you a special gift yet?"

Gladion smirked. He showed Moon his hand and she spotted a ring with a key stone on one of his fingers. "Yep. Now Sun and I can totes duke it out."

Moon laughed. "I look forward to seeing that battle."

Gladion smiled. "It'll be great. Anyways, you really should get some rest."

Moon sat up and dangled her legs off the side of the bed. "Actually, I'm fine. Cywren, this kind lady, came in and fixed me up in an instant. I was actually about to get out of bed either way."

Gladion opened his mouth in shock, then smiled. He helped Moon out of bed and looked out the window patiently as she changed into her normal clothes.

"You done yet?"

"Hold on, I just need a couple more seconds...." Moon was struggling with her necklace.

"Really, how long does it take to change?"

Gladion turned around and saw that Moon was indeed struggling with tying her necklace. He snuck up on her and grabbed the strands.

"Huh?"

She tried to spin around, but Gladion stopped her.

"Hold still, Moon."

Gladion finished tying Moon's necklace and took a step back. She spun around and looked at him.

"I told you to wait."

"Well, I heard you struggling and I also heard a bunch of clinking. I knew you were trying to tie your necklace. So, I decided to help you out."

Moon felt her cheeks heat up and she spun around. She grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. Gladion chuckled and the two of them left the hospital.

The air had a slight nip to it and the sun was low. Moon looked at Gladion, lost in what she should do. He looked at her and shrugged. He had no idea either.

As they stood there, a man walking next to a Lucario passed them.

[Writer note: Bold with no quotes is Aura Speak]

You felt that, right Lu?

Yes, I did. They've got potential. Let's try to train them.

The man suddenly stopped. Gladion and Moon looked at him and he looked at them.

With her hand covering her key stone, Moon addressed the man. "Um, is something wrong?"

The man chuckled, unnerving Moon and tensing Gladion up. "I was wondering, you two know about Lucario's special power right?"

Gladion's hand hovered over a pokeball. "Aura? Yeah, we know about that."

The man tilted his hat up a bit. He had several scars here and there on his face. "Well, it isn't just Lucario who can use Aura." He had a shine in his eye.

Moon gasped quietly. "Humans can use Aura as well?!"

The Lucario walked up. "Yes, then can. It's hard for them to achieve it ,but it's possible."

Moon started at the Lucario in awe. The man laughed. "This is Lu, my Lucario. She's one of the smartest Pokemon in existence. I'm Will, a trainer from Kalos. I've known Lu my entire life."

Rotom flew out of Moon's purse and scanned Lu. "Woah, it'zz level 100. Take care Moon."

Lu snorted. "We won't fight you just yet. We stopped because I sensed that you two have abnormally strong Auras. We can train you, if you wish."

Gladion and Moon looked at each other. "When will we begin?"

"At dawn, tomorrow. If you hand me your map, I'll mark the location."

Moon smiled. "Rotom?"

It flew out of her bag and hovered in front of Will. "Careful on the goodz, yeah?"

Will chuckled, then tapped a location. Rotom flew back to Moon and she zoomed out.

"Hey! That's right by my house!"

Will scratched his head. "Really? I didn't know. Well then, take care!"

Will sprinted off with Lu and the two teens looked at each other.

"Mind if I stay at your place for the night?" Gladion had a smile on.

"I don't mind, but Sun might. Let's go see, shall we?"

Gladion smiled, then summoned Tauros. Moon climbed on with him and the two headed for Moon's home. They dismounted in front of the door and heard the faint sounds of battling. The two of them followed the sound, passing through a nearby forest. They came upon a clearing and hid behind a bush. Peeking out, they saw Sun and a Lucario fighting.

What is he doing? How's he fighting a Lucario with no Pokemon?

"I know you're there Moon. Come out." Sun hadn't even looked in her direction!

She stood up. "Sun? How'd you do that?"

He and the Lucario stopped fighting. He pulled out a pokeball and the Lucario went inside it. "I'll tell you later. It's really late, we really should be in bed. C'mon Moon."

Moon wasn't going to say anything about Gladion, but Sun called out for him.

"Gladion. I know you're there, too. I guess you're going to sleep with Moon tonight?"

Moon gaped. "H-"

"I'll tell you later. And for the record, don't tell Lillie about this, okay?"

He walked past Moon and leaned in close to whisper something in her ear.

"I know you're afraid I might disapprove of you and Gladion. You're wrong."

Moon watched in shock as her brother walked away. Gladion stood up and scratched his hair.

"What was all that about?"

"It's like he can read our minds. He knows we're in love."

"What? How?"

"I've got no clue. It's really late; we should get home."

Gladion and Moon sprinted through the forest, bolting up the stairs to Moon's home. She slipped her key in right as her mother locked the door and walked in.

"Moon! You're up! Are you okay?" Her mother tried to look her over.

"I'm fine, Mom. Cywren helped me heal. Is it okay if Gladion spends the night with us?"

"Oh, he's here too? Let him in! Of course it's fine he stays for the night, you know that."

Moon smiled. "Thanks Mom. 'Night."

Moon led Gladion up to their room, then slipped into the bathroom to change. She walked out and climbed into the top bunk. Lillie was already asleep and Sun was laying next to her, staring up at a clip in his hand.

That must be how he wears his key stone.

"It is."

Moon poked her head over the bed. "How did you know what I was thinking?"

Sun slipped the clip into his bag. He rolled over and wrapped his arms around Lillie. She shifted slightly, scooching closer to him.

Gladion climbed into bed after waiting a minute for an answer from Sun (which they never got) and placed his hands on Moon's hips. She giggled, then wrapped her arms around his neck. They quickly kissed and Moon scooched as close as she could to Gladion. Gladion rolled onto his back and Moon laid her head on his chest.

Moon whispered at her bag. "Psst. Rotom. Come here."

Rotom quietly flew out and hovered in front of Moon's face. "Yes?"

"Can you set a timer?"

"Uh, yeah, but it'll wake Sun and Lillie up."

Gladion frowned. "Moon? What are you planning?"

She looked up at him. "I want to wake up slightly before dawn."

"Ah. Right."

"Oh, I can have my camera active and just rest on the window sill. When I begin to see the sun, I'll shock you awake!"

Moon looked at Rotom in confusion. "Shock? Why's that necessary?"

"Remember that time I accidently ran into Sun? I was going full speed."

"And he didn't notice. I get it now."

"So, sounds like a plan?"

"It does."

"Okay then, good night."

Rotom leaned up against the window and activated its camera. Moon smiled and burrowed her head into Gladion's chest. He began to stroke a hand through her hair and the two of them fell asleep.

Moon was woken up with a jolt. Rotom was hovering close to her and she sighed.

"Gladion, wake up."

His eyes fluttered open. "Hm? Moon? Is it really dawn already?"

"Yeah. time to get up."

Moon and Gladion swiftly changed into their clothes and they set out for the same field Sun was training at last night. Will was already there, dueling with Lu, both parties blindfolded. They paused their training and Will took off his blindfold.

"Moon. Gladion. You're here earlier than expected."

Gladion rolled his head around in a circle, working out kinks in his neck. "That was our goal."

Will smirked, then looked at Lu. They both closed their eyes and stood there. After a while, Moon began to get annoyed.

"You taking a nap standing up or something?"

Will laughed, then opened his eyes. "No. We were reading your Auras. Still as strong as yesterday, if not stronger. Now, let us begin."

Moon looked at Gladion, then nodded at Will.

"Alright. Let's start with the basics: Aura Sense. With Aura Sense, you have eyes even when your real ones are useless."

Gladion and Moon began their training. They mastered Aura Sense, improved with the skill of talking with Auras and they were practicing creating Aura Spheres when Moon sensed a familiar aura approach.

Will, Sun's here.

Who?

My brother. His aura is mostly blue.

Let's greet him, shall we?

Nah. Let's continue our training.

Moon formed a Aura Sphere and aimed it right above Lu's head. She launched it without problem and Lu stood there, letting it graze her ears. Sun peered out of a bush and Moon tried something new.

She envisioned her Aura wrapping around his ankle and pulling him to her. He slid out of the bushes and Will's Aura told Moon that he was confused.

Moon, do you know how he did that?

Actually, I did it. I didn't think it would work.

Moon opened her eyes and turned to face her brother. "Hey Sun. Nice of you to come sliding in."

He looked at Will and Lu in confusion. "Did you pull me out with Aura?"

Will smiled and shook his head. "Nope."

"Really? That Aura had a hint of gold."

Will raised an eyebrow. He opened his eyes and looked at Sun. "Now really? That's really interesting."

Sun began to get up, but froze when someone laughed.

"Oooh! This'll be fun!"

Hundreds of Team RR grunts walked out of the edge of the forest. Will quietly cursed himself for not sensing them, then knelt low. He got ready for Pokemon attacks, but everyone froze when Giovanni walked up. He had a gun in his hand. Sun and Moon began to remember a terrible memory, but they pushed it aside. Now wasn't the time to get tripped up by the past.

The grunts pulled out hidden pistols and Giovanni looked right at Sun and Moon. He began to laugh. "Remember this, don't you?"

Sun clenched his fists. "Of course we do, Giovanni. You're a monster and I'M NOT LETTING YOU TAKE ANOTHER LIFE, YOU ASSHOLE!" His voice was pure venom.

Sun's temper caught Gladion off guard. He never knew that Sun had an angry side! What happened with Sun and Giovanni? Gladion thought. I'll try to ask him about it. Later.

Giovanni laughed at Sun's remark. "Oh really? Looks like I've decided on my first victim." He aimed at Moon's head.

"NO!"

Giovanni began to pull the trigger. Moon was paralyzed with fear. The shot fired, but a loud clang of metal on metal sounded. Everything was obscured with dust.

It settled and the Guardian that saved Moon's life stood before her. She had a blood red blade in her hands and was looking at the ground. Her head suddenly snapped up.

"Not on my watch."

She stood up and flipped her blade around, no longer holding it in reverse. Giovanni laughed.

"Do you really hope to fight me alone?"

"No. I brought back-up. But I could still decimate all of you alone. You're nothing against the Light."

Ten armored people rushed out of the surrounding trees. They looked battle hardened, especially the huge beast among them.

Spreading her arms, the Guardian took a step forwards. "Meet my friends, the Pathfinder Team. Of yeah, we've also got two Specters with us, one of them N7, so fuck off!"

Giovanni looked at them. He vanished into his sea of grunts saying "You'll never take me! GRUNTS! Take care of them!"

A wild firefight ensued. One of the armored new comers, a woman with black hair, broke off and grabbed Moon's arm.

"Come on! Let's get you guys out of here!"

They began to run and Moon, through her panting, ask the woman a question. "Who are you?"

She looked back at Moon (who she was basically dragging along) and shouted her response. "Sara! I'm the Pathfinder's twin sister!" Sara looked forwards and skidded to a stop. "FUCK!"

A giant robot stood in front of them. It had a giant minigun and it had "RR" painted on the front of the chassis.

"These thugs have access to Titans?!" Sara stared at the robot.

"Die." The robot began to shoot.

"Nope." The voice was feminine.

A "Titan", as Sara called them, slid in front the group. It took the hits, then retaliated with a barrage of missile. The Titan spun around and grabbed Moon.

"AH! HELP ME!"

The Titan opened up and Hearth jumped out. "Relax Moon. I told Fire Starter to protect you. Sara, call in your Titan. We're going to need the firepower."

Sara lowered her gun and gave Hearth a quick salute. She looked off into the distance and mouthed something. Fire Starter held Moon close to her open cockpit and loosened her grasp.

"Civilian. Embark."

Moon took a deep breath, then launched off of the Titan's hand. She landed on all fours, then crawled into the seat. Fire Starter closed up and Moon began to breathe rapidly.

I hate confined spaces. I hate confined spaces. I hate confined spaces....

"Moon. Relax. If it helps, I can turn on the display."

Moon took a slow, deep breath, then exhaled. "I hate guns. I hate confined spaces. I hate blood. I hate needles. I h-"

"We don't need to hear what you hate, Moon. Go to sleep, if you want. The cockpit is sound proof when the display is off." Moon was shocked at Fire Starter's rashness.

Moon took another breath, then looked down at her purse. She grabbed Pop, her Primarina, and smiled at her. Pop looked up at Moon and sang her a sweet song.

"Thanks Pop. You always know what to do." Just like she did.

Moon placed Pop's pokeball on her lap, and looked out into space, remembering her time in Kanto. She focused on happy memories, and began to feel slightly homesick. Pop managed to roll her pokeball closer to Moon, and she giggled.

Out of nowhere, Fire Starter oppened up. Moon raised her arm to block the harsh light and she heard Hearth chuckle.

"Fighting's done. Everything's been cleaned up."

Moon grabbed Pop, then stood up. "Thanks? I guess?"

"You're welcome. It's late; you should go home."

"Thank you. Take care."

Moon climbed out of the Titan and gathered her barings. She saw Ilima's house and knew where she was. Moon summoned Stoutland, one of her favorite Ride Pokemon, and made way for her home.

When she entered the house, she saw Hope sitting on the couch. Hope had a book in her hands and was talking with Lillie, who was also on the couch with a book.

"Hey Moon. Sun's kinda having a moment upstairs. Mind if you help him out?" Hope didn't take her eyes away from her book.

Moon instantly knew what was wrong with Sun. "Sure thing. Where's Gladion?"

Lillie perked up. "Helping your mom shop."

"Ah. See ya."

Moon sprinted up the stairs and saw Sun sitting on the edge of his bed, head in his hands. Through his sobbing, Sun told Moon off.

"Go away Lillie. I'm not in the mood to talk."

Moon sat down next to her brother and wrapped an arm around him. "I'm not leaving Sun. I'm here for you."

Wiping his tears away, Sun looked at his sister. "M-moon? O-oh. I'm sorry for-"

"Hey, it's okay. You know I'd never leave you when you're falling apart. I'll always be here to put you back together, just like you would be for me, kay? It's going to be okay."

Sun sniffled. "Moon. I can't get over what happened to her. I'll never be able to, you know that."

Moon frowned. "Not with that attitude. Look, you tried to stop him, but couldn't. Even if you were faster, you would have been the victim, and I'll be in the same position as you are now, only without someone to help me. Sun. You've got to realize this: We're alive for a reason. Everything happens with a reason, understand? All you can do now is keep your head up and continue fighting for her."

Sun took a deep breath. "Thanks sis. I'll be okay... eventually. But... do you think I can sleep with you? Just for the night?"

"Any time."

Sun smiled and Moon patted him on the back. She looked at the clock, then gasped. Thay had talked for hours!

"Uhh, looks like we should go to sleep. It's five till twelve."

Sun glanced at the clock, then got up. He grabbed some pajamas from his drawer and walked into the bathroom. Moon walked over to her drawer and dug around for something. She found a paper rectangle and pulled it out.

She turned it over and looked at the picture. It was of Sun Moon and Her, all four years old. She had written "BFFS!" in the corner. Moon smiled, then tucked it away.

Sun got out of the bathroom and Moon slipped in. She swiftly changed, then got into bed with her brother. Lillie and Gladion entered the room and shrugged. They climbed into Moon's bed and they fell asleep. Sun and Moon waited for fifteen minutes, then Sun sighed.

He rolled over onto his side and looked out at the night sky. Moon glanced at him, then closed her eyes.

"Good night, Sun."

"Good night, Moon."

He waited a bit, then took a quiet breath in. His voice barely a whisper, he casted a goodnight out into the night sky.

"Good night, Poppy... wherever you are."