After three weeks of lockdown at the base, George and Blitzer were given a proper assignment. At long last, it was time to head for Whitiara. Just one more night, and they got to experience fresh air again.

And just as fate would have it, tonight would be one of those nights.

Well met, George.

George glanced under him. Nothing but clouds. ‘Is it that time again?’

I would say that it's about time we had another talk, no?' the voice echoed throughout the azure sky.

George, waking up with wrinkles under his eyes, pretended there was a rock lying conveniently by his right hand, then flung it with enough force to break a window. In theory, of course.

Why now! That isn't how I expect to be greeted. What has been bothering you?

"Other than the fact that you're bothering me again, not much," George mumbled. 'Great, can he read my mind too?' he thought to himself before shaking his head. "In any case... I'm fine, thank you very much. Did what I had to do. Oh, and I evolved."

He twirled his fingers around in front of his face. The change had occurred inside the dream world as well. Oddly enough, seeing the gloved hand in front of him was satisfying, in a way.

The voice laughed in the distance, in a heartwarming way.

I must apologise for being so late! But congratulations, George! I see the change has already gone over well with you. How does the thicker fur feel?

George shrugged. "About as well as it could have. Fur feels just fine. Doesn't get tangled, a bit warmer, but not by that much." 'Still is strange how... natural it feels. But that's not a bad thing. Evolving isn’t, either.'

The voice hummed a tone of approval.

Good, good. Given where you are headed next, warmth and comfort in your skin would be most desirable, no? The icy plains of Whitiara can be rather unpleasant this time of the year.

"I suppose," George replied. "I can handle ice alright. Learned how to use Ice Beam pretty well."

That's not quite the same, I'm afraid, the voice countered. Natural cold is different from the elemental strength that Pokemon can master, though they are similar in many ways. You must prepare yourself for Whitiara, George. Physically and mentally... the land itself demands it of you.

George breathed in deep. "That's what I've been told for the past few days. They say it may take a while before I can leave base, and that I’ll be stranded there for some time, what with the Smaugus and the flute piece being where it is."

Indeed, indeed. You will likely be stuck there for a while. But have no fear. You can handle it. You've been through worse.

With the confidence the voice spoke, George couldn't stop himself from letting out a sigh.

"You've been watching me for a while, haven't you? Whoever you are."

Hm? What do you mean, George?

"That you’ve been keeping an eye on me before I even woke up in Eravate. It's no coincidence I woke up like this. Isn't that right?" the human turned Dewott asked. The voice hummed once more.

In a way, you are right. There have been watchful eyes looking over you for quite some time. Ever since you arrived at the foster's home, as a matter of fact. I believe it was the intention to send you once you became old enough, some thirteen years of human age or so. I do owe you an apology for not revealing this sooner.

George bit at his cheek as he listened along, feeling a strain in his beady eyes. "So... you're saying I came here early?"

Not at all, the voice retorted. You became thirteen years old on the night you were brought over.

George blinked rapidly in response. "I didn't know that..." his hand squeezed into a fist. "Why aren't you telling me these things right away? I'm struggling enough trying to make sense of all this, and it's clear you know more than you're letting on. What else do you know? Just tell me already! Why are you hiding everything?"

By the time his rant had concluded, George was standing upright in the sea of clouds, fists clenched and teeth bared as he panted his frustrations out. His tail was smacking up and down against the cloud underneath, and his ears were pressed flat against his head.

All the voice responded with was pure indifference.

Everything will be explained in due time, George. But I'm afraid that time is not today. Nevertheless, you have discovered a piece of the truth on your own. For all we know, you may just find more of it on your own terms.

"Why don't you save us the trouble and just explain it yourself? This is all a load of nonsense," George grumbled out loud. "Come on. Don't be all wishywashy with me."

The voice chuckled. I am no Wishiwashi, so that is not possible regardless. But please, George. Remain patient. There is a time and place for everything. So long as you continue on your present course, everything will be revealed to you eventually.

Just as George wanted to get another word in, the clouds and the azure skies began to fade away, back into the mists of the ethereal dream world. A now grumpy George blew air out of his nose. Half of him wanted to get the last word in. But the other half knew it was pointless.

This voice, whoever it was, just didn't want to be forthcoming with him regardless of what he said. Unless he somehow tripped over the truth by accident, George wasn't going to learn anything new. Just more vaguely motivational platitudes before he'd set off to something. A calm before the storm, in a way.

Goodbye for now, George. And good luck.

* * *

Daytime came soon after the dream had come to a close. Unsurprisingly, it came in the form of a red lizard, whose claws were pressed right against George's chest.

"HEY! GEORGE! Wakey wakey!"

"Ah!" George gasped upon feeling the claws. His eyes met Blitzer's straight away, the remaining end of the Charmeleon's scarf hanging suspended between them.

"You were looking forward to this, right? What's the holdup all about?"

"I'm up, I'm up, hold on..." George was blushing as he rolled off his bed, his chest warm and tingly from Blitzer getting as close as he did. 'Th-that's one way to wake up.' he thought, trying to hide his puffy cheeks before the Charmeleon would see them. That would be awkward to explain. Just in case, he came up with an awkward, convoluted theory about hibernation that boiled down to “I’m hungry” and hoped for the best.

Luckily, there was no need for any of that, as Blitzer never pointed it out. By the time they were done eating breakfast, which consisted of yoghurt, berries and some kind of sausage, George’s cheeks were back to normal. Calamity avoided, hello normality. It helped that George enjoyed today’s breakfast more than usual. It reminded him of the rare treats he’d get back ‘home’ in the fosters’ house, whenever the headmistress pitied the kids enough for it. And just like those times, he stirred and smacked everything against the roof of his mouth, enjoying the food for all it was worth.

After some brief relaxation time, the time had come to play catchup with the rest of the world. George and Bltizer packed bags with supplies, put on their scarves extra tight, then headed for the Teleportation Hall. Len was waiting on them there, twirling his antennas around.

“So! Ready to go?”

“We sure are!” Blitzer said. “The cold doesn’t scare me. Got everything I need and more.”

Len chuckled, criss crossing his scythe arms over his black scarf. “Heard that one before. Hope for your sake you aren’t just fluffing yourself up. Whitiara’s a harsh place, you know. Rough even in the spring, let alone smack dab in the middle of winter.”

George nodded. “Of course, but we’re not stupid enough to not know what we’re getting ourselves into here. And we’re not travelling by ourselves, either,” he said, looking around the hall. ‘Hm, no sign of her yet.’

“Really?” Len asked. “Who else are you travelling with?”

“She should be here in a moment,” George said. “We’re a little early, she keeps her promises to the dot, so it shouldn’t take much-”

“Yep, there she is.”

Blitzer pointed a claw at the hall’s entrance, his tail flicking around his body so the flame on the end could point over there as well. A Gardevoir was coming their way with slow, sturdy steps, a bag of her own hanging from her left shoulder, yet hovering close to her right hip. A flicker of blue was visible in her eyes; George felt active psychic energy coming from her.

“Good morning. I take it you are both prepared?”

“Sure are!” Blitzer said, patting his bag. “We can keep ourselves warm and fed on the road just fine. What did you bring?”

Terez held tightly onto her black scarf, the trident-like logo on it smooshed into various folds. “Hm. You’re not leaving anything to chance. Good. Mind you, the walk to the Smaugus is only an hour long, but temperatures are unusually low today. If we stay on the move, we should get there without any issue.”

George nodded along. “Do you know anything about said base? Is it warm in there?”

“It should be,” Terez replied. “In any case, we will be fine. I wouldn’t worry about being cold over being detected. The Crest presence is second only to Luminity.”

‘Ah, of course.‘ George bit his cheek.

“Right,” Blitzer said, a growl in his throat. “So, do we have anything to watch out for on the way to the base? Because it would be pretty bad if we, uh, stepped away from the pad and were instantly spotted. I’m just saying.” He shrugged.

Terez raised her hand. “We should be fine. As long as we move fast enough,” she said, then turned away. “Let us not delay things any longer. We have enough to worry about.”

George and Blitzer both nodded, but gave Len one last glance. The Lurantis simply raised one of his scythes in response. “Save travels,” he said.

“Have a nice day,” George said.

“Yup, what he said,” Blitzer continued.

“We will return here. Do not worry about us.” Terez began to walk. “Let's move on.”

* * *

One trip through the teleporter later, they found themselves in an old wooden shack. It was dark, dusty, and colder than a fridge inside. George investigated the place a little. There was nothing here aside from a rusty bucket, some old tools, and the door. Wind rushed past outside, and George winced. The wind’s chill sank into his bones even without direct contact; the sound alone worked its black magic.

Terez pushed the beat-up front door open. Frigid air rushed into the room, bringing an icy spectre with it that immediately affected George’s hands. The rest of his body was protected enough by fur for the moment, but there was no telling when that was coming to an end.

“Brr…”

Outside, a land of ice and snow awaited. Most of the horizon had turned white, spare for the frozen lakes where the snow hadn’t had the time to accumulate. Not so much a dot of green was visible; every bush, tree and blade of grass had been buried under all the snow which continued to pour down from the heavens.

Terez was the first to step out, Blitzer and George following closely behind. Blitzer was keeping his tail close to his body; reptiles and cold do not mix well together, even reptiles who had all the fire in the world inside of them. The Charmeleon held a claw out in front of him; several snowflakes fell into his open palm, and instantly melted.

“Damn… winter back in Greenfield wasn’t quite this harsh.”

George tightened his scarf around his neck as he walked past Blitzer. He dipped one foot into the snow, leaving behind a footprint that was distinctively not human. It caught him off guard for a split second.

‘Why does it even surprise me at this point? Cold’s messing with my head...’

The Dewott’s teeth chattered as a heavy wind blew into his face, sending bits of snow flying into his fur. “Winters where I came from weren’t this harsh, geez… feels like I walked into the world's biggest freezer.”

Blitzer let out a soft grunt as his foot slipped. “Agreed. I don’t know what a freezer is, but I agree.”

“Just take a guess,” George growled while holding onto his scarf. The wind was making the end fly all over the place. “It’s big, it’s cold, it freezes things, food usually. It’s like this except- Ow.” He involuntarily stepped forward. Terez had given him a nudge; there was a tired look in her eyes.

“Spare your energy. Does this look like the place for idle chatter?” the Gardevoir said, a blue glow coming from her hand. Moments later, George’s feet were forced forward, and Blitzer was right behind him, his tail horizontal as if it were frozen in place.

“Not at all. I’m sure we’d freeze to death eventually,” said George while biting his lip. The black in his eyes turned blue as he used his own telekinesis against Terez. He fought back with as much strength as a toddler throwing a tantrum while being carried around by their parents.

“Yes,” Terez said. “Not point in telling you how fast. Get a move on,” she said. A scowl appeared on George’s face as he went after her with firm steps.

‘How’s about you let me walk myself. I’m not an idiot. Does she think I’ll just stand around here for an hour straight?’

“Wait for me!” Blitzer said, running around through the snow to catch up. His tail swung wildly behind him. “I’ll make sure we’ll stay warm,” he continued, just as a gust of wind beat against their faces. He must’ve been loud when he said it; George heard little more than a whisper.

Their journey through the snow covered plains of Whitiara began, to no fanfare whatsoever. The wind remained strong well past the cabin, which was lost behind a thick snowstorm that looked like mist from afar. It rushed through hair, fur and scale alike, scabbed right past the skin. Cold spread through their bodies with alarming speed. Mere minutes passed before the shivering started. Blitzer used various embers to try and repel the cold, to little avail. It was infinite, and all his feeble struggle would achieve was tiring himself out all the quicker.

Nothing here would be untouched by the frost. Not the roads which had snowed over, and were only visible due to a lack of lumps in the snow. Not the plants, whose greens were buried under white. Not the ferals, who had embraced the cold: Icy Vulpix were hunting in the distance, Cetoddles and Snovers trudged to nowhere in the distance, and the ominous calls of an unknown monster echoed in the distance.

But least of all the travellers. George swore he spotted skeletons lying on the side of the road. He wasn’t sure, but the patterns in the snow were disturbing. Whether it was snow drift playing tricks on him, or the whites of the bones blending in was unknown. And that question was best left unanswered. Anxiety crept up inside.

All they could do was keep moving.

‘I did… didn’t, no. I never saw skeletons before. How would I know what they look like… with these eyes…? Let alone a Pokemon’s…’

The wind continued to tear at them as they went up a tall hill. Black braziers burned bright amidst the snowstorm, like a lighthouse shining over a stormy sea. Terez led the way forward, floating over the path uphill; her feet had left the ground, and George sensed her psychic powers were doing the lifting for her. For a moment, he considered doing the same, but he didn’t want to leave Blitzer behind to fend for himself. He was not as fortunate as they were.

“You alright?” he asked, looking over his shoulder. Blitzer had a sad look on half his face; the other half was under his scarf.

“Uh huh.”

The Charmeleon caught up with George. They both looked each other in the eye, and without a word said, they put a hand on each other’s backs, nudging each other forward. George felt somewhat reenergized by this. Blitzer’s claw was still warm.

Not long after, they caught back up with Terez. She was standing perfectly still before a giant metal door, her scarf dangling loose around her neck. It wasn’t providing much protection from the cold at all. A series of clicks sounded behind the rocks, before the door slowly turned on its hinge.

“Come quickly,” a voice on the other end spoke. Terez gave both her companions a nudge. George’s facial expression soured. Companion wasn’t the right word. She was effectively babysitting them at this point.

After the door closed, there was no time to take a breather, say hello to the Ampharos who’d been guarding the door, or enjoy the much warmer air for a second. No, instead they were dragged along a tall black corridor, into the mountainside fortress.

“Follow me. It is time for a roll call.”

“Roll call?” Blitzer questioned. “That’s what they do in a prison, isn’t it? Why-”

“Quiet,” Terez muttered. “Now is not the time for questions. Please.”

Blitzer frowned. “Alright, then…” he said. George, annoyed by the exchange, looked off at a nearby wall. It looked like it was covered in soot.

‘Now’s not the time for questions, she says… now IS the time for questions. What is this? We just got here, and it feels like we’re thieves sneaking in.’

Warm air contrasted against the cold metal and rock under their feet, something very noticeable with each step. It didn’t get easier on the second, the tenth, or even the hundreth, no. The metal made the contrast sting all the worse, getting used to it be damned. Most baffling of all is that it was a bigger nuisance than the freezing winds. At least that didn’t change, no matter how dangerous it was.

It didn’t help George’s mood. The rant from earlier was nowhere near finished because of it. Problem is, by now said rant had degenerated into a bunch of utter gibberish. Sometimes, you just wanted to throw rocks into a pond. Just to cool off.

Cold floor be damned, they were taken through the base, which had the appearance of a forge. A deserted forge, that was. They passed through empty corridors and large mess halls, lounges and markets. The Smaugus base resembled the Alliance’s underground base in some ways, except it was warmer. And darker. Not just the soot-stained walls, but there was no greater light than the one on Blitzer’s tail. The torches set on the walls were all too dim to illuminate much of anything: Signs, doors, even stray tools laying about. It was as if the base was permanently stuck in a moonless night, and all its residents had gotten lost.

‘Where is everyone?’

Nevertheless, the Ampharos guiding them wasn’t having any issues navigating. Not a jolt of electricity had been used to light the way, and yet they were making steady progress… or so it seemed. George couldn’t tell. He was half amazed that the Ampharos made some sense out of this maze, and half convinced they were just guessing themselves.

Until they stumbled out of an L-shaped tunnel, right into a giant crowd of rough looking Pokemon. Biped to quadruped, cute to monstrous, Normal to Ghost, Fairy to Dark, and everything in between were standing like statues in perfect rows, their eyes staring dead ahead. The Ampharos and Terez, who’d reached the others ahead of George and Blitzer, already had their eyes pointed in that direction when the other two arrived.

‘Right, here is everyone. What are they all looking at?’

George turned his head to look, when-

“BY THE ANCESTORS ALMIGHTY, WE STRIVE FOR ETERNITY!”

“ETERNITY!”

“Smaugus, ARISE!”

“FOR CHRONOS! FOR THE SMAUGUS!”

One gruff roar, followed by a chorus of voices from Pokemon of all shapes and sizes. It was audible chaos, yet somehow it all clicked into place perfectly. Not one voice was out of sync. Not one paw out of line. Not even when everyone walked out of the room in a neat marching formation, the echo of their footfalls in sync even as they disappeared into the shadows.

George watched the proceedings with a sinking feeling in his chest. ‘Did… did everyone just forget their personality? How come everyone’s acting the same? Getting some real creepy vibes from this.’

As the other Pokemon left, George finally got a view of who they had been staring at. A tall, gruff looking Charizard gazed down from afar, standing atop a platform that gave a commanding view of the rest of the room. The lights shining upon him highlighted every last crease between his scales. Scars ran across both his eyes, and all the muscles in his arms and gut were rendered in fine detail. His teeth were sticking out of his mouth, and with the hawkish look in his eyes, the sheer menacing aura swirling around him stuck out. Everything about him screamed ‘apex predator’.

And he was looking right at them.

“Lord Chronos has been expecting you,” Ampharos said.

George gulped.