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She burst out laughing, no longer able to contain herself. The Lugia was nearly doubled over and her eyes were watering. "Maybe-" she choked out through her uncontrollable laughter. "Maybe we should save some for Xavier!"

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Mystin nodded. "Right," he said. Standing up straight and making one last face, he nodded again. "Okay, the next stop should probably be Vermillion City, for the-" he stopped when Tidal started laughing. "Hey, it was a matter of honor, okay?!"

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"Right, right, of course it was," she chuckled, straightening, a bit embarrassed at her own outburst. She brought herself back under control, trying to subdue her grin. "Is that South of here?"

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"Yes," Mystin replied, "It is indeed. It's not far, but it does mean it wouldn't take long for Xaiver to catch up with us." "So, there is another option. We catch a boat to Cinnabar Island."

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Riko looked thoughtful. "Depends on how far we want to take this...if our reasonable next destination would be Vermillion...then it might be smart to head for Cinnabar. He won't be expecting that...but what if he grabs the plate?"

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Mystin was about to respond but paused. "You are right...but it would mean having Xaiver off our backs. But he would be able to get another plate..."

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Tidal glanced down, that sinking feeling that she had had the night the plates had been stolen returning. Had that only been last night? It seemed like it had been forever. Regardless, something was pulling her home. Her Psychic senses, her own intuition, everything seemed to be driving her back towards the Whirl Islands. Last night, she had been sure she would go, but now she felt horrid at the thought of leaving the others behind. However, her instincts hadn't directed her incorrectly before...

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Spectral felt the air whip against his face as he soared above the John region. It was unusually cold now that he no longer had feathers to protect him, and he was grateful that the distance between Ecruteak City and the Whirl Islands was relatively small. Presently, the land beneath him gave way to ocean, and he began his descent.

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Tidal, Riko, Mystin, etc-

Mystin shrugged. "If I had to pick one, then I'd have to say, Vermillion. I may have not known Xaiver very well before all of this chaos, but he's smart. He'll think that we'll go for Cinnabar to throw him off, and if we can somehow make him think that, then it'll be even better. Then, we double back to our original destination." He glanced at the others. "That sounds good, or does anyone have any other ideas they'd like to share?"


Spectral-
Even though Mystin was gone, the sound of the other two's arguing still filled the air and was quite clear above the loud winds. Sitting in one of the caves was Blitz and Temperance. Even though they hadn't come, they still had to take on human forms, so Blitz looked like a young man with lightning-colored hair that seemed to stick in all directions, and an angry scowl on his face. He had a very pointed look, similar to that of his wings in his Pokemon form. Temperance, on the other hand, had bright red hair and a smug, rather oily look about her, with flashing green eyes and long lashes that gave her the look of a relaxed cat. While Temperance lounged on an outcropping, tossing pebbles at Blitz, he was trying to make a wave large enough to splash her, even though the outcropping was high enough that his attempts were unsucsessful.

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"Perhaps we're overcomplicating this...at what length us Xavier willing to go to follow us? If he's so smart, won't he go for the plate we're not after for the easy victory...? Or can't he find the plates without us? What reason would he really have to follow us if we headed for Cinnabar? Does he just want to attack us? Or is he using us to find the plates for him?" Riko put in her own two cents, so to speak, though her golden ear twitched in the direction of the woods nearby, wondering how long the ice would hold.

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Mystin sighed. "Honestly, there's not a lot we can do. It is possible that he's receiving orders from Kyrem, who most definitely has the potential abilities to track us, and tell him where to go. Orrr he could just be following us." Seeing Riko's glance, he answered the unspoken question. "The ice will hold, but by my guess, only long enough for us to make a quick descicon and get going, especially since he's obviously struggiling."

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She took a deep breath, then looked up at her friends. Yes, perhaps she would go as far as calling them all her friends now. She'd certainly been through enough with them to at least merit that. "I'll be flying west. That could potentially throw him off even more," she said calmly, forcing herself to save the emotional reactions for later. The Lugia didn't want to leave, not now that they were only in greater danger than before, but she knew she had to; she already felt like she'd wasted too much time, like whatever she'd have found when she got home was slipping away.

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Spectral alighted on a cliff slightly above the outcropping where the woman he assumed to be Moltres sat. The sight of the two legendary birds in human form worried him greatly. Tidal lived at the bottom of the ocean... but no, he wouldn't allow himself to dwell on such thoughts. Though wary of the birds due to stories he had been told of their relentless feuding, nonetheless he said cooly, "Hello." in an attempt to alert them of his presence. Behind him, his red, white, and green transparent wings flapped once, then faded as he stopped using Fly. Interesting. He hadn't quite expected that.

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Mystin, Riko, Tidal, etc.-
Mystin looked up in surprise. "Wait, what? Whaddya mean by that?" A small panic went through Mystin at the thought of Tidal leaving. Since she lived at the bottom of the sea, he hardly got to see her. And it wasn't like he got any sympathy from the others, they just laughed and splashed water at him when he mentioned missing Tidal. He took a deep breath. "I..y'know what, it's none of my buisness. I will miss you though if what you said means you're leaving."


Spectral-
Temperance, always the one with the attitude, simply ignored him and continued to throw pebbles at the greatly annoyed Blitz. "You hot head, why ya gotta pick on me?" Temperance rolled her eyes. "We always pick on Mystin, but he's not here." Blitz looked up at the sound of Temperance's voice. "Uh, hi." Clearly, this one wasnt very bright, so he didn't see any conncetion. "Who are ya?"

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She let out a shaky breath, giving a small nod. "I'm sorry, I... just need to get back." Tidal was grateful to the Articuno for being understanding, or at least attempting to. She tried to give a small smile, but she truly felt guilty to leave. All the same, she didn't feel obligated to fully explain herself and her reasoning; she knew most of them wouldn't understand, anyway, and the non-Psychic types even less so. "I can make it look like I'm headed for Indigo Plateau, if you think it'll throw Xavier off enough," she suggested, wanting still to help them.

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The Ho-Oh stared cooly at the man he assumed to be Zapdos; Blitz, then, if he remembered what Tidal had said, although it really had been such a long time since he had last spoken to her. "Where is Lugia?" he crossed his arms, shifting his weight to his right foot and maintaining eye contact. Spectral had always been very no-nonsense and straight to the point; he didn't deem his identity helpful or relevant to this conversation, and therefore ignored the question.

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Geez. Mystin had been picked on a lot, so he had to depend on laughter to keep himself from crying. Blitz and Temperance treated him like their verbal punching bag. But Mystin just kept joking. No matter how hard he tried, Mystin just couldn't crack a smile, and it felt like the waterworks were coming. So, he ducked his head, and said evenly, "It's okay Tidal. If you need to leave, you need to leave. I may not know why, but I trust you." He looked up, his lip quivering as he fought tears. "So just..do what you think is best."


Blitz tilted his head, his expression blank. "Huh?" Temperance rolled her eyes and threw a pebble at him. "He means Tidal, dummy!" Blitz rubbed his head. "Riight. I knew that." Temperance glanced at him, lifting her chin. "Tidal went off with that group with big ideas to go save the world or someting." She held out her hand at arms length. "I couldn't care less, honestly."

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Tidal's Psychic abilities were more of the spatial variety. She could sense objects and levitate them, but emotions, premonitions, manipulation, and so forth were out of her realm. This was simply due to her not needing them, having remained isolated far beneath the waves most of her life. Even with Spectral she hadn't, as he was aware of her inability to read emotions accurately and tended to just tell her how he felt. However, interacting with these other legendaries, even in her weakened, human form, seemed to be bringing to life capabilities she hadn't known she'd possessed. The Lugia briefly recalled the oddity she'd sensed back in the swamp; the dark shadow with a ring of light within. She remained unaware of its meaning, but it seemed as if it might be something related to her expanding Psychic powers. Now, within the Articuno standing before her, she sensed a semblance of what may be sadness, even loneliness, but the moment she tried to focus on perceiving it, she suddenly became unable to. She noticed his slight trembling, which reinforced the sense. He was being kind, understanding, supportive, but even an unskilled Psychic such as herself could perceive his underlying reaction. Unaware how to react to this herself, she stared down at her feet. It seemed like perhaps the proper, caring thing to do in this situation may be to place a hand on her friend's shoulder, or some other kind, reassuring gesture, but she couldn't think of anything. She hadn't come into contact with another creature for ages, not so much as brushed wingtips with even Spectral, and all of her moves, save for Fly, which she never used to attack, were in the Special category. Perhaps one could so as far as saying she had a fear of physical contact. So she just stood there, feeling more and more guilty and awkward by the second, her own emotions churning inside of her, threatening to burst out once more. And there returned that oh-so-familar knowledge, that which had driven her to her solitude in the first place when she hadn't been able to control her power and had plunged the world into a raging, violent tempest: Once more, she'd hurt someone; it was her fault.

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The Ho-Oh's eyes widened in surprise. Tidal had left? That was a first. If there was ever a definition of the human word "homebody," she was it. He rolled the words over in his head. To save the world... he thought, perplexed. He wondered how much convincing it had taken to get the Diving Pokemon to go. She'd never said so aloud, but he knew she was so worried that she would harm the world that she thought it was better to stay out of matters. Regaining his composure and switching his cool, golden gaze to the red haired woman, he asked, "Do you have an idea where she went?"

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Mystin sighed. He may not have been a Psychic type, but he knew when someone was upset. "Tidal, don't be like that. I'll be fine, you do what you think you need to do." Truth be told, it was breaking his heart to even think about her leaving, but he didn't want to see her upset. "We can handle ourselves, what with Riko here to keep me on track." He nodded, the urge to cry fading as he cracked a smile. "But I'll be sure to save you some of that," he tapped his chin, "(What was it that humans call it? Oh, right!) cake when we celebreate defeating Kyrem." He continued to grin. "So no feeling down, kay?"



Temperance changed postitions, now on her back with her hair hanging over the side of the outcropping. Blitz tried to splash her again, but she ignored the failed attempt. "Kanto, I think? That birdbrain Mystin kept talking about it until we threatened to hang him above my nest after I lit it on fire so he would shut up."

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Tidal forced herself to look up once more. She nodded briskly at Mystin, reigning in her emotions again and trying to lock them away. Like a rouge criminal, it were safest for others when they weren't allowed free rein. "I promise, I'll come back, if I can," the Lugia said, only a hint of a tremor hidden within her voice escaping. Truth be told, she had no idea what it was pulling her home, and she didn't know if whatever is was mightn't be something requiring her to stay there for an extended period of time to remedy it. "But you can't be upset either, then," she said with mock sternness as a little attempt at a joke.

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The Rainbow Pokemon dipped his head to the Moltres. "Thank you for your assistance," he said, genuinely grateful. Yes, the birds seemed just about as troublesome as Tidal had always jokingly said they were, but in this instance, at least they had given him the information he needed. Spectral gathered his strength and used Fly, transparent wings once more forming behind his back and allowing him to launch into the sky.

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The attempt at a joke made Mystin feel a little better, and he stood up straight and gave a small mock salute. "Yes m'aam!" The action did make him laugh, and he gave a half hearted smile. "I'll be waiting for ya if you decide to come back." Glancing behind them into the forest, he bit his lip. "Though we need to get going. The ice isn't going to hold for much longer."

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She sighed heavily, then gathered her strength into Lugia-esque wings of Flying energy behind her back. “I’ll make it look like I’m headed for Indigo Plateau. At the very least, it should confuse him.” She glanced at Norbert, who was still sitting atop Meka’s head, looking forlorn. “Stay,” she told it softly. The Lugia glanced around once more at the others. It pained her to force out the word “Goodbye,” from her lips, but she did. She then launched into the air and began to head north-west.

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Mystin waved slowly, watching her leave with a forlorn expression. Then, his expression turned rather buisness-like and focused, almost alien on the usual jokster that Mystin was. He didn't take his eyes off of Tidal's retreating form until it was a spec in the distance. With a deep breath, he turned around to face Riko, Meka, and Kate. "Right. As far as I know, by now, the ice will have broken. We aren't far from the forest, but it will take some time for Xaiver to navigate the trees. We need to make a descion, and fast." He folded his hands behind his head, keeping his face cold and blank, as most people would expect Articuno to look like. "I'm honestly fine with anything, as long as it gets us away from Xaiver, and another tablet in out hands."

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