Chapter 36: Everything Goes According To Plan
Sia was in the Umbral Citadel, a place that could easily be mistaken for a Dungeon due to the density of type-energy all around. But that would never happen. Not to that place. The entire citadel was shrouded in a thick fog of darkness, which converged especially dense in the largest hall in the very middle of the citadel.
At the center of that hall, completely hidden by shadows, lay Lord Noctem, vast and silent. His form was more suggestion than shape, a continent of blackness whose edges bled into the shadow-filled air around him. Each pulse from his heart sent faint ripples through his Domain, flashes of violet light rolling over invisible waves. He had slept for over a century, but his presence had never faded. Even now, his will coiled through the entire Umbral Abyss like roots beneath soil, spreading endlessly, anchoring everything to him. After all it was thanks to her fathers Domain that enterin or leaving the Umbral Abyss was still mostly impossible.
She watched the faint shimmer that marked where her fathers head might rest, eyes tracing the faint glow that danced across that colossal form. Since a few weeks ago, when she'd first been informed that her father had seemingly started to wake up, she had guarded the citadel. The century before, she had worked on becoming a Mythical as was expected of her, on managing both her fathers and her own territory within the Umbral Abyss, and on keeping the Umbral Abyss stable before she tasked Vian with doing so in her stead
She snortet to herself. Even as just a Mythical she already bore the title of the 'Umbral Princess'. And what a great princess she was, leaving the kingdom she was supposed to keep together in anothers hands. But she just couldn't be bothered with handling all the petty politics and conflicts between the Mythicals living in the crater. No, it was better to have Vian take care of such things instead. He was far more experienced regarding politics than she would ever be. He'd often told her that was something she had from her mentors. He was probably right.
Her thoughts drifted back to her father. The pressure of his awakening was mounting slowly. It may be subtle but by now it was undeniable that he was truly waking up. Every so often, a surge of power rolled outward from his body like a wave of invisible gravity, bending the very air. It hit her in the chest, made her Mythical aura shiver, and even her nascent Domain trembled. She could withstand it easily, but she felt it all the same. The overwhelming power her father had always wielded, power that was roaring to be let go and to be properly used again. Sia drew a slow breath, letting the tension settle through her shoulders. Her father’s awakening was inevitable. She had waited what felt like lifetimes for this moment, dreamed of it, feared it.
Suddenly Sia straightened, her gaze flicking away from her father’s resting form. The energy currents were shifting, and it was decidedly not her father. The Wind's Voice told her another Mythical was coming.
The air shifted. Shadows folded inward, then flared out again, reacting to something foreign, something bright. A soft sound followed, the faint crackling of a steadily burning flame. Moments later Vian passed around the corner. His flaming fire-type energy didn't manage to chase the shadows away, nothing could this close to her fathers Domain od dark-type energy, but it still bended them subtly, as if inclining them to give a little space.
For a long moment, he said nothing. His eyes, those bright, calm embers, settled on her, carrying that familiar mix of serenity and quiet amusement. But there was something else beneath it this time. A hint of weight. The rare stillness that came when Vian decided something mattered. He wanted something from her, didn't he? She sighed to herself.
"You’re deep in thought again," he said, his voice as smooth as ever but lower, quieter, out of respect for the sleeping Legendary beside them. "I’d hate to disturb such focus… but I think you’ll want to hear this."
Sia audibly groaned at that. "Does that really have to be now? You always use that tone when it's about me having to do something for crater politics. Can that really not wait a few months until father wakes up? Whatever is bothering you, unlike me my father can easily deal with it."
"I'm afraid this matter cannot wait until Lord Noctem awakes," he replied simply. His flame pulsed once, mirroring the abyss’s own rhythm for a fleeting instant. "There’s someone waiting outside. Rather impatiently, I might add. She had insisted on speaking to me, to the point where she even pulled me out of my own preperations for Lord Noctem's awakening. And after hearing her out, I believe you'll want to hear it as well. Right now."
Sia frowned slightly. Among all the Mythicals of the crater, only one would dare to insist meeting Vian. "Nayru?" she concluded loudly, though it still didn't make much sense to her what Nayru could possibly want from Vian in such a crucial moment as her fathers awakening.
Vian inclined his head, that half-smile of his returning for the briefest second. "The very one. She is… quite agitated.”
A beat passed. Sia glanced toward her father’s vast form, the shadows still shifting faintly with every slow, ancient breath. She could feel the pressure of his presence like a hand on her shoulder, not yet awake, but close enough that the balance of his Domain quivered around them. Leaving now felt wrong. Reckless. But she also knew Vian. He wouldn’t interrupt her vigil lightly, not when it came to her visiting her father.
She rose carefully, letting her shadow stretch throughout the surroundings. "You’re certain?" she asked, though her tone made clear she already trusted the answer.
Vian nodded once, the light from his flame casting faint gold reflections across the endless black. "If it could wait, little shadow," he said softly, "I would never ask."
That was enough. With one last glance toward the sleeping Legendary, Sia turned toward the veil of shadow that marked the citadel’s edge. With a last sigh she walked away, knowing that what was to come were probably useless politics. Behind her, Vian’s flame flickered once brighter, then dimmed again as he followed, his expression unreadable against the dark.
Outside of the Citadel, the unbreakable darkness began to thin out. The shadows clung stubbornly to the citadels walls though until, at last, faint glimmers of silver-blue light began to shimmer across the stone.
This was where the Umbral Citadell, her fathers palace, opened up into the valley beyond. And there, just as Vian had said, the Phione Nayru, the 'Mirror Queen' already waited for them. Her form was already half-shifted into the light, a graceful silhouette of flowing water and refracted colors. But there was nothing serene about her. Her eyes flashed like shards of ice, and every step of her pacing left damp streaks of residual water-type energy on the stone. When she saw Sia emerge, her expression didn’t soften.
"Oh, wonderful. You are alive," Nayru snapped, her voice like breaking glass, elegant but sharp, and brimming with irritation. "Because for a moment, I was beginning to think I’d have to wade into that citadel of yours myself!" She flicked her tail sharply, scattering droplets that glittered and hissed as they hit the shadowed ground.
Sia sighed. She already wanted to just turn around. "I may have become a Mythical a decade later than you Nayru, and I might've not done much training since then, but I'm still strong enough to wipe the floor with you, should you allow yourself such disrespect towards my fathers citatel," she warned idly. "So, what exactly happened?"
"Two brats from Newleaf Village, acoording to Vian yor friends, tore through one of my Dungeons like a pair of feral Gyarados! That entire part of my territory now lies in ruins, Sia!"
Sia blinked, momentarily taken aback by the sheer force of the outburst. "My what?" she started, brow furrowing.
Nayru’s fins flared, her whole body rippling with agitation. "Don’t play innocent with me! The Pikachu and the Torchic! Auri and Yuki!" Her voice rose, echoing faintly in the half-light. "They obliterated the Blackwater Stream on their way through my territory! The Dungeon Core is gone and I have nothing keeping the local energy flow controlled! I had to spent two days containing the damages just to make sure the changes to the natural energy flow don't sweep across the entire crater and throw everything into chaos!"
Sia’s surprise only deepened at that. "Auri and Yuki…" she murmured, the names tasting wrong in this context. She could barely picture them wreaking havoc like that. "That doesn’t sound like them."
"Oh, doesn’t it?" Nayru shot back, still furious. "Well, perhaps you’ve been too busy sitting in your father’s citadel to notice how much trouble your little friends can cause!"
Sia opened her mouth, but Vian’s voice cut through before she could speak.
"Now, now," he said lightly, his type-energy flooding the surroundings. A clear reminder that he was by far the strongest Mythical in the crater. "Let’s not turn this into an actual fight, hmm? Nayru, your territory will survive. You already created a new Dungeon Core, didn't you!"
Nayru turned her glare on him. "I have, but that does not excuse that I even had to or just how much type energy I had to waste in te process!"
He chuckled softly, though his flame flickered in a way that betrayed his concern. "True. But perhaps you’ll let me make it up to you by sharing what I’ve found out?"
That made her pause. "What do you mean by that?"
"Oh, I'll gladly explain." Vian’s tone softened, the humor fading from his expression. "After you sent word of the disturbance, I checked my own territory. I knew that something was going on there as well, but didn't bother looking into it for the moment. The Newleaf Village guards were rushing between my borders and Shae’s, as well as across my entire territory, cleaning Dungeons in record time and numbers. A fifth of the population is seemingly up in arms and out searching because of something."
He folded his arms, the light of his flame dimming to a steady glow. "As I said, I hadn’t given it my full attention, not while the preparations for Lord Noctem’s awakening continued. But after your message, I dug deeper. The trail led me to the same conclusion. Seven days ago Auri and Yuki had seemingly vanished from the village without anyone noticing. You seeing them in your territory is the first thing anyone knows about them for days already.
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Sia’s eyes widened slightly, her heart skipping. "And now?"
Vian met her gaze. "Now, it seems, they’re heading somewhere none of us ever expected anyone to approach again. The territory was unclaimed for a reason, after all."
The silence that followed stretched long and taut. Even Nayru stilled.
Sia swallowed. "You don’t mean-"
"The Stormspire Prison," Vian said quietly. The words fell like thunder. "Nothing else lies in the direction they're heading."
Nayru’s voice, when it came, was a whisper wrapped in disbelief. "How could they even know about that place? It's a secret only known to us Mythicals to where the Storm Menace was banished!"
Sia’s gaze drifted to the horizon. "It appears that for some reason, one of the other Mythicals decided to talk," she murmured, a tremor running through her words. She knew exactly who the right candidate for that would be. "It seems like Miu is making the next move in that incredibly convoluted plan of hers."
Honestly, she was conflicted. She wanted to be there, the first that welcomed her father back. She wanted to see him proud of her achievements, how she'd become a Mythical in such a short time. Except for Vian everyone she would've called family had been gone for over a century. Noah and Ray had left, citing the need to save the world as reason. Her father had fallen in a deep slumber after helping them with some ritual. Her mother she didn't even know, though it had to be another Marshadow. All she wanted was to have one more family member again.
Still... she couldn't leave Auri and Yuki in such danger. They had no idea what they were in for when they visited Zuko. Something she, herself, hadn't dared to do even after becoming a Mythical. She didn't trust herself to not loose control over her emotions and to accidentally free him in an attempt to kill him for good. Especially with her logically knowing that she wasn't strong enought o achioeve something like that. She probably couldn't even break the seal Noah had put on the Stormspire Prison if she gave it her all.
And, as with everything else regarding Miu, what she planned couldn't be harmless. No, it would be incredibly dangerous, even if it had nothing directly to do with Zuko. At the very least, Miu would try to further turn them against her. That was something she would never forgive herself for should she let it happen.
Her hands clenched. Her instincts tore at her heart, duty, blood, and reverence all demanding she stay. But another voice, quieter yet somehow stronger, whispered go. To not leave her friends abandoned like that.
Vian’s gentle tone cut through the storm inside her. "You already know your choice, don't you?” he said, standing nearby, the small fire at his head flickering in calm amusement. "You just want someone to tell you it’s right. Well, let me tell you, if I had the choice... I would always choose friendship over sentimentality. Always have, for that matter."
Sia’s throat tightened. "…Then so be it. If worst comes to worst, my father will have to awake without me there," she whispered. Her voice was raw and slightly trembeling, but steady enough to carry conviction. "I’ll see to my friends first!"
Vian smiled, soft and knowing. The flame on his head flared gold as ridiculous amounts of fire-type and psychic-type energy was released into the surroundings. "Noah and Ray would be proud of you," he murmured and, before she could react to that statement, snapped his fingers.
The world shattered. Light warped, color melted, and space folded inward like silk twisting in a storm. His teleportation wasn’t a simple move, but chaos given grace, an impossible dance of a multitude of moves of different type-energies working flawlessly in tandem. As always she didn't want to know just how much practice his teleportation had taken.
Nayru groaned, fins drooping as she drifted up beside them. "I still expect to get compensation for all the work these two meant for me," she muttered. "With interest for how long you let me wait!"
Vian chuckled, already halfway gone into the distortion. "I’ll pay you back after we're done here."
Sia took one last look over her shoulder, at the Umbral Citadel in which her father’s presence stirred. Then she turned away.
Three lights vanished into the rift, off towards the Stormspire Prison, where they'd hopefully put a stop to whatever Miu had planned this time.
Just minutes after the makeshift teleportation rift of Vian disappeared, the air started to wobble in the same place before Miu's form coalesced out of the haze, pale psychic light tracing her outline before fading back into the black. The dark-type energy pressed close, almost hungry, yet none dared touch her. Even strained, her aura burned too sharp, too precise.
Her breath came shallow, her tail flickering weakly behind her. Due to the type-weakness her closeness to Lord Noctem assively drained her strength, but never her focus. "Perfect," she whispered, a smile curving at the edge of her voice. "Right on cue and even entirely without my intervention."
She tilted her head, eyes half-lidded as she reached outward with her psychic awareness. Her old friends makeshift teleportation, while extremely impressive that it worked at all, was not all that resistant to meddling. She was a Mythical of the psychic-typing, and the spatial plane was easily in her reach. Just a little intervention had been all that was needed to get Sia, Vian and Nayru stuck in the void between space.
Of course that also was a very shortlived solution. Vian was positively ancient and incredibly resourceful. It woldn't take him long to overcome her meddling, collect the other two again and to finish their transportation to the Stormspire Prison. They'd still reach the Stormspire Prison soon, just not immediately.
"Too soon, perhaps…" she murmured to herself. "Zuko likes to hear himself talk too much. A habit he really needs to break. Still, everything goes according to plan. Now, for the final piece."
She closed her eyes. The world fell away, and her spatial awareness stretched outward searching throughout the crater. Mountains downed in fog, valleys and swamps, could plateaus with biting rain.
There. Through her spatial senses Miu could see it as if she were there. A lone mind flew high above a storm-tossed ridge, a Talonflame that was carving through the wind. Her feathers were slick with rain, her flight uneven from exhaustion, but still she pushed forward, her eyes wild with desperate focus. Every beat of her wings sent ripples through the storm, she was clearly running on nothing but instinct and a single, unyielding desire to protect.
Miu appeared before her in a ripple of light, her body a soft shimmer of violet and silver against the black clouds. The sudden presence made the air buckle and Myra recoiled with a startled cry, wings flaring in defiance.
"You!" she hissed, feathers bristling. "Of course it’s you of all the Mythicals that I could meet! I'm not even close to your territory!"
Miu smiled amused. "What's that? You sound disappointed little birdy!"
Myra’s glare sharpened. "Disappointed would mean I ever expected good news from you! She circled once in the air, never lowering her guard. "What are you doing here, Miu? I have to find two troublemakers, and I have to do so rather urgently at that. If you’re just here to bother me-"
"I’m not," Miu interrupted softly. Her tone was level, all hints of her usual overbearing and tricky behaviour gone. "Not this time, at least. No, I'm here because there's something you need to hear."
Myra scoffed, rain streaming down her beak. "Unless it’s where Auri and Yuki went, I don’t care."
"Then you'll want to hear me out."
That stopped her. Myra’s wings faltered just slightly, the wind throwing her balance for half a second. She steadied herself. "…You know where they are? And you're actually willing to tell me?"
Miu tilted her head. "I wouldn't say I know where they are. But I know where they’re going."
"Going?"
"The Stormspire Prison."
Myra blinked. Her expression twisted into disbelief, then anger. "That’s not funny. Not at all. I don't know how the Divine Laws just allowed you to say that without striking you down."
"Maybe you should put more stock into my words seeing how you know that I literally cannot lie without dying?" Miu asked rhetorically.
"You can’t actually mean that!" Myra said, voice rising with the wind. "The Stormspire Prison is nothing but a myth! A story we tell hatchlings to keep them from wandering into the Umbral Abyss! It doesn’t exist! The Storm Menace died at the hand of Lord Noctem! He isn't banished to somewhere within the crater!"
"Oh, it exists and the Storm Menace is still very much alive and living within it as well," Miu murmured. "And right now Auri and Yuki are walking straight into it."
Thunder rolled across the clouds. Myra stared at her, the disbelief in her eyes giving way to something colder. "And I suppose you’re just here out of the goodness of your heart to warn me?"
"Out of necessity," Miu said. "You’re the only one of the guards who can reach them in time."
"That’s convenient."
"And it’s true. I still cannot lie to you."
"Then why not send someone else that's more capable than me? Im a simple guard after all!" Myra snapped. "You, maybe? Or Sia, or Vian, or any of the Mythicals that actually know what’s going on?"
Miu didn’t answer immediately. She watched the rain fall between them, the faint hum of psychic-type energy bleeding from her body like a wound. "I would if I could." She left it unsaid that if she went now, it would destroy her entire plan and that was why we she couldn't.
Myra frowned. "What?"
"Lord Noctem's awakening approaches," Miu went on. "Every movement we make shifts the scales. If I were to interfere now, it would greatly shiftly the future balance away from what I desire. Other Mytlready making their moves and preperations. But my design will fail, should you refuse to involve yourself." Every word she had spoken was true. She did leave quite a bit up for interpretation though. Not that Myra, as exhausted as she was, would notice it.
Myra’s wings twitched, feathers dripping with rain. "Lord Noctems awakening? You all would let two innocent kids die just because of that?”
Miu’s gaze flickered. "I wouldn't. I'm here right now, aren't I?" Luckily Auri wasn't an innocent kid. And a single innocent kid instead of two to safe the world? She was fine with that. And she was indeed here right now, that was little more than a statement of her current location after all.
"That’s not good enough!"
"No," Miu admitted, "it’s not." Much rather she'd like to personally see to Auri's demise, but the Divine Laws stopped her from doing so.
The wind howled between them. Myra’s breath came in sharp bursts, anger, fear, fatigue all bleeding together. She wanted to fight. To scream. But the Mythical's tone left no room for that.
"So you want me to go," she said finally, voice low. "Alone."
"Do you think you are unable to play your part?"
"Against the Storm Menace? A creature so strong that a Lesser Legendary like Lord Noctem could barely stop it? Yes."
Miu’s expression barely shifted, but something in her eyes dimmed. "You underestimate yourself or overestimate the role I need you to play."
"And what is that role!?" Myra shot back. "You're not giving me anything to go off! How am I supposed to know what to do if you won't tell me!?"
"Because you being there and being yourself is all I need for this to take a somewhat harmless end," Miu said quietly. She would stop the potential destruction of the continent after all. Compared to that, a few deaths truly were somewhat harmless.
"What’s your angle this time?" Myra asked finally, voice trembling. "Answer directly. I will not be tricked by you."
Miu hesitated, just a fraction, then floated closer. "My angle," she said, "is survival. The survival of everything I love, including the Umbral Abyss. Everything that happens now must happen in sequence. If you don’t reach them, the pattern breaks. And if the pattern breaks, we are highly likely to see destruction on an unimaginable scale."
For a moment both of them turned quiet before Miu spoke again. "You can still make it. You can reach them before something kills them."
Finally, Myra looked up. Her eyes, still fierce, burned with something steadier now. Resolve, maybe. Or resignation.
"If this goes wrong," she said, "It will be on you. Where do I have to go?"
Miu’s smile returned, faint but genuine. "I’d expect nothing less. Of course my ctions are on me. Fly towards the northwest, where Nayru's territory borders the unclaimed territory. From there, you will already see it."
Without replying the Talonflame spread her wings. The wind caught beneath them, lifting her skyward. She rose, cutting through the lightning like a blade of fire, her silhouette swallowed by the storm.
Miu watched until the last trace of orange light vanished into the clouds. Only then did she allow the smile to fade. "Everything moves," she whispered, "piece by piece. Just as it must."
For a moment, her expression softened. Regret flickered through her like a fading ember. "The Divine Laws bind us all," she murmured. "And I already had to pay too much for that gambit to work. To give Auri and Yuki the most priced posessions of Noah and Ray... Hopefully they'll never get the chance to use them."
A pause. A breath. The faintest tremor in her voice. "And let’s hope I won’t need to pay the same price again. For I don't think I'll get away with breaking the Divine Laws like that again."
She sighed. "Enough waste of time. They should've met Zuko by now, right? I think it's time for me to make my appearance as well." Then, with a ripple of psychic light, she was gone, leaving the storm to rage on, indifferent and eternal.
Marshadow (Sia) - Level 79
Ability: Technician
Battle Nature: Quirky
Stats:
TE Pool (Health/AP): 416
Attack: 276
Ranged Attack: 221
Defense: 316
Speed: 276
Total: 1.504 (Strength Level: Mythical)
Moves:
Close Combat Moves: [Thunder Punch], [Fire Punch], [Ice Punch], [Feint], [False Swipe], [Thief], [Counter], [Assurance], [Acrobatics], [Blaze Kick], [Sucker Punch], [Drain Punch], [Mega Punch], [Mega Kick], [Spectral Thief], [Outrage], [Superpower]
Ranged Combat Moves: [Shadow Sneak], [Shadow Claw], [Shadow Punch], [Force Palm], [Will-O-Wisp], [Hex], [Phantom Force], [Shadow Ball], [Poltergeist], [Aura Sphere]
Utility Moves: [Copyat], [Role Play], [Psych Up], [Laser Focus], [Protect], [Agility], [Bulk Up], [Calm Mind]
Victini (Vian) - Level 93
Ability: Victory Star
Battle Nature: Brave
Stats:
TE Pool (Health/AP): 510
Attack: 302
Ranged Attack: 275
Defense: 413
Speed: 247
Total: 1.750 (Strength Level: Peak Mythical - At the threshold to become a Lesser Legendary)
Moves:
Close Combat Moves: [Quick Attack], [Thunder Wave], [Fire Spin], [Flame Charge], [Incinerate], [Brick Break], [Headbutt], [Mega Punch], [Fire Punch], [Thunder Punch], [Mega Kick], [Zen-Headbutt], [Reversal], [Bounce], [U-Turn], [Double-Edge], [Flare Blitz], [Final Gambit], [Giga Impact]
Ranged Combat Moves: [V-Create], [Will-O-Wisp], [Telekinesis], [Toxic], [Mystical Flame], [Charge Beam], [Scorching Sands], [Confusion], [Swift], [Stored Power], [Inferno], [Searing Shot], [Uproar], [Flamethrower], [Shadow Ball], [Overheat], [Heat Wave], [Thunderbolt], [Hyper Beam], [Solar Beam], [Thunder], [Fire Blast], [Focus Blast], [Dazzling Gleam]
Utility Moves: [Focus Energy], [Work Up], [Endure], [Double Team], [Light Screen], [Safeguard], [Psychic], [Rest], [Snore], [Protect], [Sunny Day], [Helping Hand], [Power Swap], [Guard Swap], [Speed Swap], [Trick Room], [Substitue], [Endure], [Sleep Talk], [Baton Pass], [Encore], [Future Sight], [Taunt], [Trick], [Skill Swap], [Laser Focus], [Magic Coat]
Phione (Nayru) - Level 94
Ability: Hydration
Battle Nature: Quirky
Stats:
TE Pool (Health/AP): 464
Attack: 243
Ranged Attack: 243
Defense: 365
Speed: 243
Total: 1.557 (Strength Level: Mythical)
Moves:
Close Combat Moves: [Whirlpool], [Dive], [Zen-Headbutt], [U-Turn], [Liquidation], [Knock Off], [Flip Turn]
Ranged Combat Moves: [Water Gun], [Swift], [Supersonic], [Icy Wind], [Bubble Beam], [Weather Ball], [Water Pulse], [Disarming Voice], [Alluring Voice], [Chilling Water], [Scald], [Waterfall], [Dazzling Gleam], [Grass Knot], [Surf], [Ice Beam], [Hydro Pump], [Blizzard]
Utility Moves: [Charm], [Acid Armor], [Aqua Ring], [Rain Dance], [Take Heart], [Protect], [Endure], [Rest], [Sleep Talk], [Helping Hand], [Baton Pass], [Haze], [Psych Up]
Mew (Miu) - Level ???
Ability: Synchronize
Battle Nature: Naughty
Talonflame (Myra) - Level 46
Battle Nature: Rash
Stats:
TE Pool(Health/AP): 221
Attack: 122
Ranged Attack: 127
Defense: 163
Speed: 164
Total: 797 (Strength Level: Adult)
Moves:
Close Combat Moves: [Flame Charge], [Flare Blitz], [Feint], [Peck], [Quick Attack], [Ember], [Flail], [Acrobatics], [Aerial Ace], [Steel Wing], [U-Turn], [Swords Dance]
Ranged Combat Moves: [Swift], [Air Cutter], [Will-O-Wisp], [Flamethrower], [Heat Wave], [Fire Blast], [Hurricane]
Utility Moves: [Growl], [Agility], [Tailwind], [Sunny Day], [Taunt]

