A/N: LYN, BACK AT IT AGAIN WITH THE LATE UPLOAD - Sorry for the delay and thank you for waiting! I'm sorry this is a bit short! Please review if you've enjoyed! Thank you so much for your patience!

Naomi carefully gripped Louella's wrist as they sprinted throughout the large building, leading her through the maze that she seemed to have memorized by the small girl. But, they remained unnoticed, as Naomi seemed to know all of the best hiding places.

They passed several large Pokemon, clearly on the lookout for the "traitorous" Darkrai, but the two hid behind pillars and corners before sneaking around them, going unnoticed by all of the Pokemon. The severity of the situation left Louella nervous, but Naomi seemed eager, if anything.

After sneaking through one of the castle's back exits, they took a moment to catch their breath as they rested their hands on their knees, gulping in the outside air. Their breathing was in sync and rushed before a tiny vulpix walked through the door, passing the two casually while humming a small tune. Instantly, the two held their breath out of fear of being noticed.

Was it even possible to be alone in this place? An alolan vulpix followed behind the other, giving an answer to Louella's rhetorical question.

With a frown, Naomi grabbed Louella's hand and they continued on their journey. Louella groaned after not being able to fully catch her breath, but silently complied and followed behind the girl.

Instead of taking the main stone path that lead to the castle, the two headed into a dirt road that broke off from the main path.

"Are you sure you know where to go?" Louella asked as kindly as she could, but still came off a bit skeptical. Naomi seemed to know where she was going, but Ella wondered if it was...the right place.

Naomi hummed a bit as she tried to find an answer to the sudden question.

"Kinda," she admitted. She paused as she looked over her shoulder at her company. "I can sense him, yanno? We're finally close enough for me to. That's sorta my thing."

Louella curiously tilted her head. "Your thing?"

"Mhm," she hummed. "It takes me three minutes to take in someone's aura!" She held up three fingers with her free hand. "Well, I don't take any! I just absorb the parts your body doesn't need anymore!" She reassured.

Louella frowned in response, clearly not understanding how that answered her question.

Naomi sighed.

"Okay, so, I took in his aura and I can kiiinda feel where he is," she explained in a flat tone. It didn't sound as interesting when she explained it like this! "It's like a weird hum in the back of my head and in my fingers! But his form is eating it away, so we gotta hurry."

If his aura was still depleting, he was still human. Had the deal been a trap after all?

Louella glanced from Naomi's head to her fingers. Was Manaphy truly such a powerful Pokemon when it came to aura? The pokemon had always been world-renowned for its connection to emotion and aura, but she never expected it to be so...useful? Surely, that wasn't the only thing she could do.

Yet, fear still lingered. The notes she had read gave her so many red flags regarding this Manaphy. According to those notes, or what she could make of them, this child was supposed to be dead. Yet, here she was, holding her hand.

Suddenly, to Louella's surprise, Naomi stopped.

"We're here!" Naomi called out with a sigh of relief. She beamed a proud smile as she turned on her heel to face her new friend, who seemed...confused at the location she had brought her.

The tan sand beneath them seemed to be made of a crystal-like substance that sparkled every-so-slightly beneath their footsteps. An occasional gem would stick out of the sand, each a different color, and reflected the light from the sun above. Louella had to carefully watch her step as she avoided the large crystals and shells.

However, the beauty was not what confused her. Before the two stood the largest body of water Louella had ever seen. Its waves gently crashed inches away from their feet as she examined her reflection in the water.

"You...you took us to the...ocean?" Louella sighed as she squinted her eyes in disapproval and slight worry. Out of all places, why here? "Darkrai doesn't like water. Why would he be here? He...wouldn't be, would he?"

Naomi cocked her head in confusion as the pride faded from her tone, replacing it with a scolding frown. "Then he shouldn't have come to my dimension." She shrugged. "This place is practically underwater! And this is where I feel him!" She pointed to her own head gently.

Louella parted her lips to speak, but Naomi continued.

"Besides, you really think he chose where to go? This is already a sketchy situation," Naomi spoke in an oddly-mature tone as she released Louella and placed her hands on her hips. "Darkrais can't swim. Him being down there proves that something's goin' on behind the scenes. Someone wants him to be vulnerable."

Louella furrowed her brow at Naomi's telling, out-of-character tone. Had something like this happened before? How was she connecting these dots? How did a small child even know to assume such a thing?

"But why are Pokemon searching for him? If he's already contained—"

Naomi shook her head.

"I dunno. I thought it was because he was hiding." She paused for a bitter frown. "Something's not right around here." She sighed. "But we needta go, okay? We'll figure it out."

Louella frowned before glancing between the ocean and the small girl beside her. How was she the one being reassured? By a literal child, of all things!

"Okay!" Naomi called out, cheery once again. She grabbed Louella's sleeve and attempted to pull her into the water. "It's a long fall, but you'll have a nice view once we get close enough, promise!"

Fall? Louella thought. What does she mean?

However, she ignored her words as she paled. She pulled her hand away from Naomi's and instead fumbled with her dress. Looking into the large body of water, she frowned.

"Naomi, I don't think I can-"

Naomi groaned.

"What's wrong with getting your hair wet every once in awhile? C'mon, we need to check for him down there!" She was practically yanking Ella into the water at this point. She pointed at the large body of water. "I can feel him. Can't you?"

Louella bit her lip anxiously. It was true; ever since they had started walking on the beach, she could sense his aura, just as Naomi had described it. The tip of her fingers thumped with his essence and her head just...told here where to go. It was extremely diluted and seemed to be rapidly fading, but it was there.

While she wasn't an aura-orientated Pokemon like a Manaphy, she still trusted her senses. She had always felt a buzzing, anxious feeling when away from Darkrai which seemed to guide her, but she had never assumed it was due to her holding onto his aura.

Could all Legendary Pokemon do such a thing?

She assumed so, but knew Naomi's ability to do it in 3 minutes was quite unique. Louella had only started feeling that way after a few years of being around Darkrai constantly.

Louella silently slapped herself. She wasn't a Pokemon! What she had been told was better off ignored, especially at a time like this. She didn't need another problem distracting her.

Louella sighed, but complied to Naomi's pulling as she led them into the large body of water. She cringed as she expected the water to be chilly, but instead sighed in relief.

The water was neither cold or warm; it felt numb as it crashed against her ankles, wetting her tights. Occasionally, a small, calm wave would flow against her calves and wet the drying fabric.

The water was a clear aquamarine the light shining on the crystals in the sand lighting up the body of water. If not for the dramatic situation, Louella would have admired the water and the glittering sand beneath it.

Eventually, the water had reached her thighs and lifted her dress to the surface as it floated around her. Occasionally, it would get snagged on a crystal, but she would calmly yank it out.

After a few minutes of walking in the shallow water, Naomi placed her hand out in front of Louella, stopping her completely. In front of them, the calming, clear water faded into a darker blue as it cut off. It instantly became a steep, large hole that seemed to be the size of the castle in the distance and reached depths Louella couldn't even make out.

Instead of the water gradually becoming deeper, the large hole dipped inward into a massive crater, the water spilling off the edges as large waterfalls. The hole was completely pitch black as the water seemed to fall into the void.

On the edges and inner walls of the steep hole, several large crystals of infinite colors could be seen pointing towards the center. They were sharp and shattered; far more violent-looking than the serene ones on the surface, as if to prevent those from entering.

They created a large web of daggers that made the idea of descending even more...undesirable. The waves and wind became far more violent as they stood at the edge of the depths. The waves crashing against her back beckoned her to fall into the pit, but she held her ground as she dug her feet into the sand.

Reading Louella's slight fear of the large crater, Naomi sighed.

"You're scared of heights, aren't you?" She asked in defeat.

With an embarrassed nod, Louella stared at her feet as she fiddled with her soaked dress. She dug her soles further into the damp, glittering sand as she did everything possible to avoid just looking at the depths.

"Ironic coming from a Pokemon that can fly," Naomi teased.

Louella's face paled as she turned to disagree, but was cut short. Naomi snapped her finger and a large bubble appeared before the two, gently resting on the water beside them. Its surface was a pearly blue that matched her hair and seemed to be coated with a gentle layer of water. It felt as if it would pop any second, seeing as it was extremely frail, but remained strong as Louella pressed her palms against it in fascination.

"This should do the trick!" Naomi cheered as she dusted off her hands. She hopped towards the bubble with a wide smirk on her face, accidentally splashing Ella in the process. How she remained happy in such a dire situation was unknown, but Louella was extremely jealous of such an ability as she wiped the water off her cheeks.

Naomi placed her tiny palms against the surface of the bubble as Louella moved to the side. Instantly, a large opening formed, allowing just enough room for the two to enter the bubble.

Louella poked her head inside as she took a large breath of air. It didn't smell like the ocean, but of a pond or lake; it had a cleansing, pure aroma. Naomi followed suit and popped her head in too.

She hopped in the bubble and bounced on the bottom, landing on her stomach. The bubble's surface wiggled as the water rippled beneath it, resulting in a squeak of laughter from the girl. She sat up and rested her back against the bubble's wall, gently patting the open space next to her.

Louella clenched her teeth as she attempted to get into the bubble as gracefully as possible. She placed both her hands on the bottom of the bubble's opening, causing it to lower a bit. She anxiously lifted one of her legs and placed her right foot in, followed by the other.

For once in her life, her clumsiness hadn't come into play. She sat safely in the bubble's center as it gently rocked from her weight.

She brushed her hair behind her ear as she crawled over and sat beside Naomi. They sat shoulder to shoulder, Ella hugging her knees to her chest while naomi sat crisscross and gazed out through the bubble's tinted surface.

Louella sat uncomfortably as her wet clothing clinged to her skin in all the wrong places, but Naomi seemed accustomed to it as she simply sat casually.

Once the two were comfortable, Naomi gently poked the bubble with her finger and the hole closed with a gentle pop. The girls sat in silence for a few seconds before a gentle wave brushed up against the outside of the bubble and made it rock back and forth.

They were moving towards the depths.

Louella held her knees close to her chest as her head rested on them. She hid her face within her arms as she felt the waves get stronger and the bubble float towards their destination. She refused to look at the hole creeping towards them. The idea of falling terrified her!

Naomi puffed her cheeks as she noticed Louella cowering into her own knees. Was her fear really that...crippling? Well, to be fair, the two were about to fall in to a bottomless pit! Instead of teasing her, Naomi carefully crawled a tiny bit closer to her friend.

Gently, she rested her head on Louella's shoulder, hoping her silent reassurance would be enough to help her keep calm. A small smile went across Naomi's face as Ella didn't pull away from her contact. And, instead, Ella's breathing calmed.

Naomi parted her lips as she was about to ask a question. However, she was interrupted as the bubble shook violently and tilted forward in Louella's direction. Instinctually, Ella placed her arms around Naomi and pulled her into her chest, hoping the fall wouldn't be violent. One rested on her back and one on her head, holding her as compactly as possible.

Louella held Naomi against her chest tightly. She was meant to be protecting Naomi, but it instead felt as if holding her was for her sake!

Naomi was frozen the second she was pulled into a protective embrace. The fact that Louella had let her touch her, let alone was willingly hold her, made a range of emotions rush through the child. Her posture stiffened for a moment before she finally relaxed and leaned into Ella's motherly embrace.

Motherly?

Was that what that felt like?

Naomi held onto Louella's dress tightly as she closed her eyes, not wanting to be let go. She took in her scent as she nuzzled her head into her chest. She knew Louella was terrified, and the gesture wasn't meant to be out of kindness, but Naomi didn't care as she selfishly ignored her cries.

With a gentle yelp from Louella, the bubble was launched off of one of the waterfalls into the large void. The bubble shook for a moment, but suddenly stood calmly in the middle of the large void, several feet beneath the entrance.

Ella's squeaking stopped as she opened her eyes and pulled her head away from Naomi's.

Instead of falling like a rock, they started gently floated downward towards the large spikes and shards of crystals. Looking downward was a mistake, however, as she got a glimpse of how high up the two were floating as she gulped.

Looking up, she could see the violent water crashing downward around them. Some sections trickled down calmly, while other poured with enough force to pull someone down with it. The water crashed against the large crystals, breaking the falling water into even more sections.

The crystals.

Louella gasped as their frail bubble floated downward towards a bright red shard of glass-like crystal, eager to pop their mode of transportation.