The flight to Fuchsia City was uneventful. They were picked up by two Dragonites, Glycon and Agave as they introduced themselves, and immediately took to the skies. Radegast sat on the back of Glycon while Dee rode with Siena (who elected not to enter Sky Form so she could rest) on Agave. Gambit flew beside Radegast and Reggie, constantly asking the Coat of Arms questions about where he came from and what the past was like.
"Overall, it's rather nice nowadays," Reggie admitted as he was slung over Radegast's back so he could talk to Gambit, "Communication across continents is near-instantaneous, language translation is readily available, and fighting is confined within globally accepted honor rules. Several generations ago, half of the human cities you see nowadays didn't exist."
"So this is basically the Ride Pokemon system... except by Pokemon, for Pokemon?" Radegast rose a brow. As usual, he never felt that comfortable using a Pokemon as glorified transit.
"Um..." Glycon contemplated, trying to figure out what words to use, "Yes and no. Really, we work with the Crimson Guild to get their members from Point A to Point B as quick as possible. That's our main purpose. That way, we can respond to any threats that happen in the world in a timely manner. Now if some other wildings ask for a ride, then sure. Usually we don't mind. It depends on the flyer, though."
Radegast nodded, but he found himself wondering if he would be able to fly with psychic power someday.
The time flew by and the group was on the outskirts of Fuchsia City in no time. Glycon and Agave knew what they were doing and were careful to fly low and out of sight from the locals. The last thing they needed were reported sightings of two Dragonites landing nearby and a plethora of Pokemon Trainers running after them to try and claim one. They stayed just above the treeline and were soon at the mansion ruins, landing a hundred yards from the clearing.
After dismounting, Siena approached Radegast, "We'll keep an eye out for you guys and make sure no one comes walking up the path. You two take all the time you need."
Dee rapidly bounded to the entrance of the grounds, a keen and focused eye resting on the path preceding it. Gambit took to the skies, hiding above the ground and providing a top-down perspective. Siena blended in with the foliage around the estate, appearing as a bush as she positioned herself near the back and watched their six. Radegast and Reggie, meanwhile, approached the rubble that remained of the Reginald Estate.
To Radegast, the story told by the Coat of Arms did the destruction no justice. Where the great estate stood, only the splinters of the side walls remained. A great gaping hole bored into the ground at an angle, obliterating home, garden, and even the upper levels of the Catacombs. The only thing that stood- miraculously- was the ancient tree that stood over the Catacombs entrance. Its immense tangle of roots evidently were the only thing that held a slab of earth above the hole.
All evidence of Radegast's room was erased. His only possessions remained in his room at the Treehouse.
Where was everyone now? They were safe, but Reggie didn't know where. He didn't absorb any soul energy from anyone else. Even though she performed fusion, Margriet's energy never transferred. As far as either of them knew, the Family had disappeared.
"It's gone," The Aegislash spoke.
"There's still bits and pieces left," Radegast replied in an attempt to comfort Reggie, "Just need to get a whole lotta dirt in that hole to support the tree, and we can work from ther-"
"Not that," Reggie interrupted, "The first tombs are gone... Did they destroy it?"
"Destroy what?"
"No, Lucy would've known about it. She would've taken it out beforehand."
"Taken what?"
"The Vandal's casket," Reggie replied, "Where his body- filled with traces of abominable knowledge- remained."
"Abominable like me?" Radegast's eyes narrowed, albeit in jest.
"Yes, actually," Reggie replied, "Well, no.. Not like you. There was nothing like the Vandal. If all had gone his way, nothing ever would've been like the Vandal. I can't fathom what sort of discoveries Lucy would make if she opened that box."
"If?" Radegast asked.
"It is an incredibly tough stone. No human tools I know would be hard enough to scratch it. I know I couldn't- which was the point."
"Well, what do you know?" Radegast asked, "What could be possible with this Vandal?"
"For starters, she could render the machines she uses to unleash her abilities obsolete. I'm referring to a complete natural control over her power. In a way..." Reggie's eye pierced into Radegast, "That's exactly what you have."
"And the worst-case scenario?" Radegast remembered Reggie usually reserved the bad news for later.
"Worst-case scenario... she figures out how to complete what the Vandal started." Reggie spoke slowly and sombrely, "To become the Apex- a being higher than even Arceus. Unfathomable power, and guaranteed dominion of Ruula if in the wrong hands."
"Jeez, Kinda makes my family sound like supervillains, huh?" Radegast tilted his head.
"That's all a matter of perspective..."
Radegast grit his teeth. His family was coming across as worse and worse as he learned more about them. "What does that make me, then?"
Reggie was about to respond, but paused for a moment. "I'm not certain yet."
"I'd be happy to hear theories," Radegast replied, "I can handle it."
Reggie thought for a good long moment. Just as Radegast thought to ask again, the blade spoke. "You... might be in a position to achieve that Apex status. Maybe closer than Lucy currently is. I can't say it with any certainty, not when I only have theory and no proof."
"Like you said, no certainty," Radegast agreed with a smile, "I won't let that happen."
Suddenly, a voice began speaking inside their heads...Dee's voice, "Someone's coming up the path!"
Radegast was about to move to get a look, when Reggie's shield held him back. "Reggie?"
"Hide," Reggie spoke quickly, "Now!"
Radegast didn't stop to ask. He merely rushed at the Aegislash's direction, and they were soon over the right-side wall. Elder, thinking quickly, reverted to his mist form and enveloped Radegast. For a good long while, a silence filled the air. However, a rippling cold seemed to slowly run down the spines of everything around. Radegast had never felt it before, but from the stories he heard, he knew who it was.
Speak of the devil. Her legs moved with impeccable grace, like a ballet dancer held aloft by the wind. With footsteps that emitted no sound- leaving only the rippling rustle of the light cloth dress. Besides the cybernetics crawling down her spine, one might think she was the definition of beauty. Her one visible blue eye glimmered in the daylight as she beheld the ruins once more.
Why is she here? Radegast thought.
Shh. Don't think. Reggie warned. I need to concentrate...
"Hmm..." Her soft voice chimed a melodic hum. "I sense a ghost." Her hair flickered with the tiniest spark of purple energy. Her blue eye glowed an eerie, yet soft purple. Miracle Eye. "Curious one, aren't you?" She giggled, "Don't you worry, love. I just need to pick up one last thing, and then this grave is yours to haunt."
With Miracle Eye, she can sense Elder, but she can't see through him.
Shh!
Lucy strolled into the ruins, an oddly childlike spring in her step. "Home is where the heart is," She chuckled as she stepped through what was left of the dining hall and the kitchens. "It's been so long, I haven't thought about..." Her purple eye seemed to glow brighter as she spotted a half-destroyed set of drawers. Without her making a move, the drawers flung open.
They were entirely empty, for many had been confiscated as evidence. "Hmm..." Lucy Reginald crossed her arms, and the entire counter peeled apart. "Mother said..." Lucy's glowing eye twitched with minor annoyance. "Thorough as always," She muttered. She leaned her head onto one hand as she became lost in thought. "Unless it was in the way... That would be inconvenient... I'd have to find a new one..."
An odd notification jingle emitted from her person. With a flick of her wrist, a custom-looking cellular phone was in her left hand- which was clad in a cybernetic glove of some sort. She held the phone out a little as she read what appeared to be a news headline. "Lake of Rage... Oh my..." Lucy Reginald slipped the phone away. "All the more reason to finish this..." With a sigh, she rose her right hand and twisted a knob on the glove. A circuit was closed, and the gauntlet crackled with an eerie purple energy. With nary another word, Lucy rose into the air, and shot out into the sky. She was heading to Fuchsia City proper.
Reggie dropped to the ground. If he was exhausted from masking his presence, he had no way to express it beyond that simple action- or lack of action. Immediately afterward, Elder reformed. "By Arceus, I couldn't stop shaking, dude!"
Radegast became suddenly aware of his own heart rate, racing like it had never raced before. His sweat was ice-cold. "Where's she going?" He panted, shivering as he spoke.
"She's going to the police station," Reggie replied as he shakily rose over the wall, "They probably confiscated most of the Trainer supplies that had survived the blast."
"The Po... Oh shit," Horror washed over the Gallade.
"We can't help them," Reggie interjected, "We can't."
"What was in that drawer?" Radegast asked.
"Utensils, mostly-" Reggie responded matter-of-factly, "But the one she searched held evolution stones," Reggie's eye looked down at Radegast, "Some of them more powerful variants- held by the Family for training their combatants."
"We kept evolution stones in the kitchen?"
"Storage is storage."
"We're rich, though."
"And the Estate was built back when modern architecture was a spark in an unborn human's eye. What's your point?"
Radegast pursed his lips. "Evolution stones, huh..."
"Come to think of it," Reggie hummed, "We could use them too."
"How so?"
"Gallades evolve from Male Kirilia when exposed to a Dawn Stone," Reggie explained.
"Oh yeah, so you're thinking I could get a boost from Dawn Stones?" Radegast recalled his old classes.
"Neither time, nor our enemies will wait for us to get stronger."
The three Crimson Guild members reconvened beside them, the looks on their faces were mostly awe and confusion.
'Dang, that was a weird lady!" Gambit was the first to speak, "Did you guys see her spine?"
"It looked like she had a number of robotic attachments, from what I could see," Dee relayed, "I'm not sure what they do though."
"I sensed malice," Siena's words were hauntingly chilly. Both Dee and Gambit turned to her in surprise as she continued, "She feigns beauty and politeness to hide her cruel heart and sinister existence. She's evil."
Dee wasn't sure how to respond. He was expecting Siena to be the most balanced of the three, the one that could see things from the opposing perspective and figure out why they felt justified in their battle. But hearing this...it felt like there was no hope of redemption.
Gambit could feel the heavy feeling in the air left by her words and attempted to change the subject, "So, uh...what happens now?"
Siena turned to Reggie, "You knew her. I could sense that, too. What...why is she...like that?"
"She is like that through her own efforts, and only her own efforts," Reggie replied, "She inherited her mother's spirit, as well as her hatred for stagnation. She holds a grudge against her own family- our family." The Aegislash watched as Radegast stepped into the ruins to continue soaking up the sights. "I'm not certain why she chose the Psychic Rebellion for an alliance, but she would never make a decision that did not guarantee her benefit. While the Reginalds have declared the Rebellion an enemy... I fear for them."
Siena stared down in thought, "Zane can be crafty, too. I haven't known him or even really met him, but I've seen much of how he strategizes. It's dirty. And if Zane wished to recruit help, he'd have a good reason for doing so. But that's not terribly important." She glanced up at the Aegislash, determination in her eyes, "Right now we should be getting to Crimson as fast as we can and figure out what we want to do with this information."
"Young master," Reggie called, "Are you ready?"
Radegast reached down to the floor, and picked up something he just spotted. His eyes softened as he beheld the remains of his old guitar. Only the head and a few frets, with frayed strings melted at the ends. It was the guitar pick- located next to it- that Radegast had picked up, and slipped it into his leg satchel.
"I'm done here," Radegast called, "Shall we?"
Radegast's adventure continues in the following location: