Episode 16: Great battle under the stars
“We’ve come so far out. Mirror, where are we?” Diantha asked as she observed the scenery.
Mirror didn’t seem to mind that she wasn’t walking right beside him, but she knew how serious he was about following him. Jogging was becoming difficult due to the area however, so she decided to stick behind him for now.
The terrain was comparable to Eris, here. Tall hills that blocked the horizon made up this mountain range, whilst jagged flooring and rocky paths made up the immediate surroundings. The natural golden colour of the ground made it different to Eris’ mountains, as a light, golden brown layer of grass covered most of terrain. The further in they went, the more the grass seemed to sparkle, whilst the sound of collisions got louder and louder. The wind got stronger, too.
“Mirror? Hello?” Diantha said, tripping up. He stopped her from falling over with a foot without looking back at her. “Er, thank you.”
“This area is known as Fairy Hill. It is the final frontier of Faernia, the place in which the final battle of the ancient war took place,” Mirror finally said as he stopped at the top of one of the hills. Diantha joined him and gasped.
This hill was tall enough to let them look over most of the region. Amongst the glittery sheen of the golden hills were a large variety of weapons, all the same types she had seen before: swords, lances, axes, bows and arrows, hammers, claws, and more. There were hundreds of these weapons, all lodged into the ground like stalks of corn in a field. They were all rusted and weathered, but their aged orange material melded into the golden brown of the Earth, making them appear new and just as glittery.
On the contrary, Fairy Hill was definitely one of the most beautiful places she had ever seen, and it was definitely going to be a place she would paint when she next got the chance. Glitter rained from the cloudy sky like glistening snowflakes, whilst streams of this same glitter floated up from the ground right back into the clouds. It was like the glitter was painting patterns in the dark sky, pouring this shimmering dust in waves whilst drawing it up in curly lanes.
A high pitched screech distracted her from her appreciation of the sky. One of those lanes of glitter falling down was too fast and fiery to be whatever this dust was that was falling. She followed that fiery trail to find that the crash wasn’t too far from them, a little ways down their current hill.
“Beyond here lies the wilderness of Faernia, the part of the planet shaped by Pokémon from Eris. They came this far out to claim Faernia as their own, but the battle that took place threatened to wipe out both armies,” Mirror said.
“I think I heard about this. Eris tried to use that Dragon Weapon thing, right?” she said.
“Precisely. Once their attention had been brought to the amount of death suffered in this battle alone, the battle came to a halt. This once beautiful majesty of nature bestowed to us by the Tapu’s blessings had been reduced to what you see now: a rugged land soiled by blood and memories of sinful conflict,” he said. His head was hung as he spoke, but his eye didn’t move, nor did his tone change. “The weapons you see here are all that both planets could do to pay respect to those who lost their lives. It serves as a reminder to us as the current generation, the sins we Pokémon have performed. They are the scar in Etheria’s side.”
“So this is the ground where the last battle was. But why’d you take me here of all places?” Diantha tilted her head. She didn’t wait for an answer and rushed towards the crash they had seen earlier. A small crater had already formed, where a large, brown rock lay. “It’s a meteorite!”
“They are called Minior. They are drawn to this area’s natural relation to death.” Mirror walked over. She gave him an annoyed look.
“What’s with you and all this death dark speech? No one’s going to die here,” she said. The meteor started to crack and break apart, revealing a gleaming object within, a small orb with spikes that gave it a star shape. Diantha couldn’t help but laugh at it, reaching out to help it get free of its shell. Her single fang was showing now. “Oh wow, it’s so pretty!”
The blue orb didn’t reply to her, steadying itself in the space in front of her. Once it was fine, large, swirly eyes of white light formed in front of it, alongside a pleasant smile. It released a babyish giggle that warmed her heart. She was happy to see it, and it was happy to see her.
“You just fell from space just now, didn’t you, little guy? This is so cool! What’s your name?” She bounced in front of it. It responded with another giggle and some chirpy squeaks, which was enough for her. Deciding that it couldn’t answer, she decided to go quiet and think of a name for it instead.
That was until it started to float away from her, straight back up into the sky. She watched in confusion, entranced by the happy, giggling blue orb as it floated up with the rest of the golden dust. Minior stared at her with its goofy smile as well, right up until the tips of its star shape began to fade.
“Wait, what’s happening to it? Minior, come back!” she cried, reaching out for it.
It didn’t come back. It kept on floating higher and higher, gradually fading into golden dust. Its babyish giggles continued until it was nothing more than another glittery stream in the sky.
“What just happened to it? The Minior,” Diantha whispered. Mirror stood directly next to her.
“Minior are born in space. They inhale dust and debris that forms into the shells that land around here,” he began, bringing her attention to the countless Minior shells that were around the area. They could hardly be seen thanks to the weapons and glitter. “Their shells become too heavy, so they fall to planets. But Minior cannot actually survive in the atmosphere of either Eris or Faernia. Their bodies fade.”
“Oh. Wait, so when its shell broke just there, you mean it—” she gasped.
“This fleeting cycle of life and death… you are about to learn just how similar it is to our own, as carriers of a Shadow Partition,” Mirror said. He faced the sky the whole time.
Diantha moaned and joined him in staring up. Now that she knew that those beautiful streams of golden dust were the lives of fading Minior, the whole show cast a troubling atmosphere over her. It was beautiful, that was for certain. But it wasn’t what she wanted. It was a fact that she wished she had never learnt.
“Tell me, my lady Diantha. What do you think of Eris?” Mirror asked. She tilted her head at him. “Your home has troubles like the breeding ground, where Pokémon are forcibly bred and butchered to be eaten by other Pokémon. The locals know nothing outside of themselves, wishing harm upon the royal family even though you are seeking to help them. Even aristocrats like Kelsith and Emerson live in the shadows, fearful of being overthrown, suffering from disasters and losing everything they have.”
Diantha sighed and looked at the floor. Mirror didn’t face her, but kept talking. “It’s just as fleeting as what you see here. We’re all pawns in the games of the gods. Whether you live or die from here on, does it matter? Is it good or bad?”
“Sh-shut up already!” Diantha cried.
“Tell me, my lady. After all, you’re the princess who these Pokémon count on for survival.”
“I don’t know, okay? I’m just one girl. I couldn’t give ya a solid answer to that even if I wanted to,” she pouted. “What I mean is, I can’t do anything to change that, so I just deal with what’s right in front of me, okay? Big bro and Dad, they’re the type to go for the bigger picture. Ask them what they think.”
Mirror went completely silent until she looked at him, concerned why he wasn’t replying. “I see. That’s your answer.”
…
The sun rising was the last thing Rune expected to wake him, having fallen asleep in the cave that he and Ariala were in last night. Ariala wasn’t next to him like he thought she would be though, so he got up quickly and search for her.
“Ari? Where?” Rune called out. Light was coming through the various paths of the cave, polluting the magical feel the area had at night. Thankfully he didn’t have to look very far, as the Clefable was wide awake and staring at the slope that led outside. She turned and smiled at Rune’s call.
“Good morning, Rune.” She waved as he walked over. She was standing on top of the water. “I’m so proud of last night. I actually got a bit excited and couldn’t sleep.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah, right. That didn’t go as badly as I thought it would.” He raised his left arm. A bracelet of light formed around it, whilst one appeared on Ariala’s right arm at the same time. “As long as this bracelet is on our arm properly, we’re officially married. That’s some wondrous technology right there.”
“It’s not technology, Rune. It’s Tapu Fini’s blessing. A marriage by the Tapu’s blessing is like no other. As long our feelings for each other are genuine, these bracelets will remain,” she said.
“Yeah but you know, it’s hard to believe after the time we’ve known each other. I’m glad it’s working, but I’m worried. I’ve never known something like this,” he said.
“I
know our feelings for each other are real,” she replied. She softly laid a hand on her belly, and his eyes widened. “The proof will be right here.”
“Wait, you’re not trying to say- you’re not having an egg already, are you?”
“No, not yet. It will at least take a few days. But the feelings are there. We’re going to be parents, soon,” she said, holding his hands.
“Ariala,” he said. They stayed like that for a while, staring into each other’s eyes until they were both smiling. “Sh-should we get some breakfast? The others must be wondering where we are.”
“Yes. My retainers are used to me wandering off, but not for this length of time. Let’s go,” she said. He laughed a little but walked off with her, taking one of the cave paths at random. This one looked like it had the most sunlight coming from it, anyway. “Rune, what do you fancy, though? We don’t eat meat on Faernia, so I don’t think we’ll be able to provide you with your kind of meal.”
“That’s fine, I knew that. To be honest I feel wrong eating other Pokémon, anyway. Show me what’s a good breakfast for you.” He smiled.
The two happily chatted on their way back to the Fantasia Port, not running into any form of trouble on their way back. Rune couldn’t help but stay on edge the whole journey, fully expecting feral Pokémon to jump them or something. To be able to spend such a wonderful night with Ariala and not face any trouble there or back felt too good to be true.
The thought brought his attention to just how heavenly Faernia was to him. The morning was bright, the scenery was colourful and quiet, the wind felt pleasant, and Ariala casually talking to him all combined to give him a feeling he had forgotten. Right here and now, this was true joy, but maybe he deserved it. After all the battles he had taken on to get this far, a short break wouldn’t hurt the situation, he thought. He would let his jovial feelings soak in now, and then get back to work tomorrow. After all, he still had to keep his promise to Kelsith and Emerson, as well as prepare for his public announcements about their oncoming child.
“… and then he ended up chasing Nier all around the room! It honestly lifted my spirits,” Ariala laughed, Rune laughing with her.
“Honestly, you make those two sound like more of a handful than I used to be. And I used to be one naughty kid,” he said.
“We’re back, that didn’t take long. Um, should we meet the others before we head out?” she said.
“Of course. They’re—” Rune cut himself off. As soon as they set foot into the town, a dark foreboding overcame him. Lots of Pokémon were moving about, and all of them were heavily stressed. He’d always had the ability to sense nearby feelings like this, but never this clearly. It was almost scary, but an asset he could get used to as a Dewott, now. “Ariala, listen carefully. Do you hear anything?”
She paused to listen. “From the place we’re staying at. Pokémon are calling out for Diantha?”
“Diantha?” Rune replied. He stormed off before she could say anything else, but she followed him in the same mood.
“Hello? Everyone!” Rune barged through the doorway.
“Is that- Rune, good gods, where have you been?” Ptero said as he swooped towards him. He stopped at Rune’s feet and gawked up at him. “Gods… where
have you been?”
“Huh? Oh right, the evolution- never mind that now, though. I’ll explain later. What’s got you all in a rush?” he asked.
“It’s awful.” Kelsith looked away. Ptero shook his head and pushed up his glasses.
“Her highness Princess Diantha has been kidnapped,” Galen said. Rune and Ariala gasped, the former’s eyes widening at every word. “The perpetrator is none other than Mirror, that masked Absol. For whatever reason, he left you a letter.”
Rune snatched the letter from him and growled at the fact that it was only two sentences long.
“I have Diantha. To try to retrieve her, come to Fairy Hill. Mirror.” Ariala read aloud over his shoulder. “I know where Fairy Hill is. Naomi, prepare the transport, right now! Contact Queen Magearna and request an army.”
“Your highness, I can’t! This is clearly a trap,” Naomi cried.
“Trap or not, my sister is there. We ran into this guy on the way to Faernia, and I can’t stress how dangerous he is. Even if you decide not to go, I’m going to rescue her,” Rune folded his arms. “And my army are coming with me.”
“Of course we are,” Ptero sighed hoarsely. “This only happened because she didn’t want to look for you two, you know.”
“More like Naomi got everyone up super early and had us searching the whole town. I told her you’d be alright,” Nier put her paws on her hips.
“Alright alright, enough arguing. None of this matters. Right now Diantha needs our help, and I’m going to help her,” Rune shouted.
“We’re coming with you. This is my responsibility as well,” Ariala said.
“But Ariala, the egg—”
“I told you, I will be fine. It will take a few days at least. I implore you not to underestimate me in a situation like this,” she said, shaking her head. Rune’s breath settled. “I may not have been there before, but I know a lot about Fairy Hill, its history, and its current condition. It was an extensive part of my education.”
“Okay. I trust you. Please, lead the way.”
“Man, just when things were startin’ to look up. We were gonna get a wedding cake with sprinkles, and I ain’t had sprinkles in years!” Nier whined.
“
That’s what you’re worried about?” Vincent replied and smacked his forehead. “Not the fact that of all our years of travel, I don’t think I’ve ever even heard of a kidnapping like this.”
“Meaning?” she asked.
“It’s just giving me a bad feeling.” He shook his head. “Your highness Prince Rune. Please allow me to introduce myself to you properly.”
“It’s okay, you’re a hybrid, I already know. Ariala told me everything,” Rune replied before he could take off his cloak. Vincent slowly took it off anyway, surprised. “It makes no difference to me, especially if you’re going to help with this.”
“You’re also the first Pokémon to have reacted that way,” he said. “I will cherish our friendship.”
“And I’ll be counting on you,” Rune said.
…
An excruciating few hours passed, Rune and Ariala almost silent the entire time. They only spoke when it was necessary, readying themselves for the trap ahead. Most of the others were quiet with them, but their faces told of their concerns and fears. Just looking at them told Rune of all the liberties he was taking right now, side-tracking so drastically thanks to his sister.
“We’re here. We can’t go any further with our convoy,” Naomi said as she skidded to a halt. Rune let out a breath he’d been holding in and stepped out, immediately coming to a halt. The weapons jutting out of the floor rang too many alarm bells.
“This place is Fairy Hill? The last battle of the ancient war?” he asked. “Why’d he take Diantha here?”
“I can’t think of any reason other than an advantageous layout. Mountains like these are the worst place to do battle, after all,” Vincent replied. Ariala skipped past them both.
“Your highness, please don’t run off! This area is dangerous!” Naomi cried. The Clefable ignored her to urge the others to get a move on.
A few hills up and down and she came to a halt. There was a wide enough area for a war battle to take place, but the terrain was still rugged and littered with old weapons. Although an incalculable distance away, Mirror and Diantha were definitely at the far end, high up on another hill. The golden dust seemed to avoid falling here, as did the Minior that periodically landed.
“There he is. But he’s not alone, even though he looks it.” Ariala pointed to them. “I can hear many other Pokémon in waiting… hundreds of others, hidden behind the hills to the left and right.”
“So it’s a simple ambush after all. Ptero, you can fly, right? Please scout for us,” Rune said. Ptero mouthed a response and obeyed, gliding upwards as high as he could. Nier had to help him with her psychic, flying up after him. The duo quickly came down, their faces filled with dread.
“There are two armies waiting to the left and right. They look like citizens of Faernia,” Ptero said. “I’ve not seen their type of clothing before, though. It’s very informal and impractical, like Eris’ clothing.”
“That ‘impractical’ clothing doubles as fur coats for Pokémon from Stardust Treasury, since we can’t survive during the winters. Those Pokémon are protesters,” Tundra said.
“How can you be certain?” Rune asked.
“Trust me; Faernia is stuck up enough to have that kind of dress code. Point is, leave that side of the army to me. Once they see me, their morale will definitely drop,” he answered.
“Can confirm. Those protesters are actually the reason Tundra’s even with us,” Nier said. Rune nodded.
“Okay. Then it’s just Mirror’s spectres. Do you all know how to beat ancient spectres?” Rune asked. “They can only be attacked a moment after they attack you. That might sound difficult, but keep your cool and we’ll be able to keep moving forward. Once we get Diantha, we’re out of here. Retreat at first order and don’t kill anyone unless you absolutely must!”
“Don’t kill anyone? That’s a first for you. I don’t know if I’ll be able to comply,” Shota snickered. Rune gave him a livid look.
“You pick the worst times to make jokes, Shota. Let’s just get this over with,” Ptero sighed.
Rune looked over at everyone. Here and now, thanks to Diantha’s idea of recruiting a personal army of his own, he had gotten to know quite a few Pokémon. From Galen’s jumpy excitement to the battle ahead, to Kelsith and Emerson’s worry, to Shota and the Eris protesters’ bitter compliance; he had gathered quite the army. This would be their most serious battle yet, and he wasn’t certain they were all up for it.
“Follow my lead, everyone!” he cheered, raising his sword. Their all raised their arms and weapons in response, Ariala’s army doing the same. With that, they all stepped out into the open, coming into Mirror and Diantha’s view.
“Is that- big brother!” Diantha cried, stood beside Mirror.
“Sis!” Rune called back. For some reason Diantha went quiet and looked away.
“You’re finally here. Given the circumstances, I’m impressed with the time it took for you to reach here,” Mirror said.
“What the hell do you want with my sister?” Rune said.
“To test you and your limits. But also to move this world forward. You keeping her secret from this world is far more damaging than is worth it. I think you know that, yet you choose to fight fate and kept her alive,” Mirror replied. “This here is a ritual, a ceremony in which all can be present. For the sake of Etheria’s future, the gods of Faernia will publicly execute a Shadow Partition.”
“A Shadow Partition?” Rune replied.
“The dark powers that Diantha possesses. Both your sister and your wife have those powers. Your marriage to Ariala was so that you could kill them and save the world. That is your duty as crown prince of Eris,” Mirror replied. Ariala’s face went white.
“
How does he know that I have a Shadow Partition? Who is this Pokémon?” she gasped in her head.
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, but the only one getting executed today is gonna be you. For kidnapping and threatening my sister’s life, I sentence you to death, Mirror!” Rune announced.
Just then, the armies of the protesters revealed themselves, appearing in formations on the hills to the left and right. The large variety of battle ready Pokémon created walls with their numbers, blocking escape to the left and right. To everyone’s surprise however, another army showed up behind Rune and Ariala’s group in a more threatening formation, this army led by a Meowth in soldier’s armour.
“On the contrary Rune, any wrong move you make now will result in a lot more death than necessary,” Mirror threatened. “Attack us, and we won’t hesitate to kill you or any of your units. Is that really worth it over your sister’s controversial existence?”
“
I prepared for this, but this looks a lot more troublesome than I thought,” Rune growled in his head. “Again with your cowardly tactics. But this won’t work, Mirror. Diantha’s coming home with us!”
“My army won’t attack until you attack, Rune. So take all the time you need to think long and hard about this,” Mirror replied. “Is it really worth re-enacting the final battle of the war of Etheria?”
“How did an army end up behind us? And these are in royal armour. They’re actual soldiers from Faernia!” Ptero gasped, sweating intently.
“Wait that’s- Charle! Am I glad to see you!” Nier cheered, recognising the Meowth at the front. Charle didn’t reply right away. “This battle just changed. That’s Charle, the head of the Cat’s Brigade. They’re Faernia’s royal army!”
“Oh? They’re on our side?” Rune asked.
“Lady Nier, I know the truth, now. I’ve seen it all,” Charle bowed. “All Cat’s Brigade units, we move at Mirror’s command. If they resist, attack the prince, princess, and their groups. Capture the prince and princess, and kill the rest!”
“Wha-what the? Charle, have you lost your mind?” Nier shrieked above the roars of the soldiers. The Cat’s Brigade soldiers amongst Ariala’s friends were less enthusiastic but raised their weapons, muttering amongst themselves.
“As if he ever had one to begin with,” Vincent growled and tightened his pose. Ariala was quiet.
“And just to ensure you know just how hopeless your situation truly is,” Mirror added, straining to put effort into a move of his own. Dozens of ghostly spectres rose from the ground in bright pools of eerie light. Within seconds, Rune and Ariala’s armies were surrounded on all sides by hundreds of Pokémon, from spectres to protestors to trained soldiers.
Rune’s eyes were wide enough to fall out of their sockets. His mind was racing and he felt like he was going to vomit. He was calm enough to consider how to win this seemingly unwinnable battle, but he knew that his chances were slim enough. Someone getting badly hurt was guaranteed.
“Everyone, listen to me carefully,” he said, hiding his uncertainty in his voice. “We can get through this. We can definitely get through this.”
“Rune,” Ariala said.
“I warned you all that this would be a trap. We should retreat immediately,” Naomi hissed.
“That’s what we’re going to do. We only actually need to rescue Diantha, so as intimidating as this looks, it won’t actually be that difficult to get through,” Rune said. “Diantha taught me to trust my friends, and this situation calls for it more than ever. The Cat’s Brigade are the biggest threat and are directly after Ariala, so it’s my duty to help her out there.”
“Rune, I don’t need protecting—”
“I understand your plight, honestly, I do. If it was just the protesters, I’d be fine with leaving you. But this is Faernia’s royal army. We can’t take any chances,” he said. Ariala moaned a bit and opened her mouth to argue, but couldn’t manage the words. “Ptero, Galen, Kelsith. I want you three to go straight for Mirror. I hate to ask of this, but if Mrs. Nier could fling those three over the spectres with her Psychic…”
“Are you freaking kidding?
That’s your plan?” Ptero cried.
“I shouldn’t be saying this now, but Diantha has a crush on you, Ptero. If you go to rescue her, she’ll try harder to get away for sure. Besides that, I know that you three have experience with spectres. I know I can trust you to get Diantha back and get away,” he explained.
“Rune, I’m a mailmon, not a fighter,” Ptero cried. “You can’t expect me to defeat Mirror!”
“It doesn’t matter, little Emolga! You heard his highness. The princess has her heart set on you! And it’s nice to know we’re in his good books this much. I’m sure we can handle a little bait and catch!” Galen said, patting him on the back.
“That’s not the point you senile old plant!” he said.
“I can provide support from a distance. This is a working strategy. When we have Diantha, one of us will shoot an attack into the air. That’ll be our cue to escape, right?” Kelsith suggested.
“That’s the idea. Thank you so much, Kelsith,” Rune said.
“Mirror said he’ll wait, but I doubt he’ll wait around much longer. Are you three ready?” Nier said, facing the trio. Galen and Kelsith stood in front of her, facing Mirror’s army.
“Are we- is this some kind of—” Ptero coughed, stopping to sigh. “What’s my incentive for this? Me risking my life had better have a worthwhile reward.”
“Isn’t it obvious? My approval for Diantha’s hand in marriage. You three will become heroes, and the royal family will look after you for life,” Rune said. Ptero fixed his glasses and gave him a look.
“Are you even allowed to make this kind of proposal on your sister’s behalf? If I did that to my—”
“Ptero, we don’t have time for this! We’ll sort it all out later!” Kelsith cried.
“Fine. But I’ll hold you to that proposal, your highness,” he replied.
“Wait for my signal,” Rune said as he took the lead. Knowing that this was really it, everyone else readied their weapons and mentally prepared themselves, spreading out in a way that surrounded Rune and Arial and much as possible. Rune intentionally waited until there was a solid circle of Pokémon surrounding them before raising the Sword of Earthly Elements, ensuring that Mirror could see it.
“I see. That’s your answer,” the Absol replied, and sat down on all fours. He flicked his left paw, and the spectres charged forward.
“Here they come,” Rune whispered, turning and running back into the centre of his circle. He kept his sword drawn and stood ready for battle.
Seeing the spectres move, the other three armies released their war cries and came charging too, their combined roars causing Rune’s mind to lose control. But there was no way out of this situation, now. He threw himself and his friends into it almost without thinking, and now he had to deal with it. He had to deal with the countless ghostly figures charging straight at him, as well as the hundreds of fighters approaching from behind. He had to or else his life was over. That fact in the back of his mind stopped him from actually going crazy.
“Nier, go!” he said once the enemies were close enough.
Nier raised both ears and cried out, trapping the three Pokémon in her Psychic. She flung them high up into the air and then quickly released them.
Right now, she had to deal with the Persian that came at her first. She hopped away from its first two slashes and then pushed it back with a blast of Psychic, barely having the time to take a breather when a Liepard came from behind. She jumped and did a front flip to land on its head, drawing her rapier to block yet another attacker from behind the Liepard, a Torracat. Its armour guarded against Nier’s stab, so it snickered at her in brief triumph.
Meanwhile, Rune and Vincent had teamed up without any discussion, slashing and stabbing at anything that came their way. Their idea of keeping every enemy alive didn’t stop them from cutting anywhere that wasn’t vital. For Vincent, he was giving the battle a lot more effort in running directly into the centre of a group of enemies to slash, kick or threaten them back with his spear. Right now he was spinning in a single spot to parry the blows of Machoke and Gurdurr with his arm and weapon, suddenly using his spear to vault over and avoid getting dogpiled by a whole bundle of fighting types. He flipped after vaulting so that he could smash the blunt side of his spear onto the enemies below him, but as soon as he landed, he had to jump again to kick a Raichu and a Servine.
Rune wanted to praise him for his feat, but he was too concentrated on his own mob of enemies, a Pyroar, a Cherrim, and a Wartortle. A swift Water Pulse took care of the Pyroar, whilst Wartortle put up a fight by protecting itself with its hard shell. It bashed into him several times, Rune’s sword bouncing right off of its shell with every attempt to cut it. He eventually ducked away from it, but slid right into a Magical Leaf attack from the Cherrim. He cringed loudly from the sharp attack, retaliating by slashing one of its purple petals right off, and then kicked it away before it could scream in pain. He turned back to Wartortle and flinched, having his arm get bitten hard enough to draw blood. Even worse, a spectre had taken the place of the Pyroar he took out earlier; looking like it was preparing a special attack.
Before Rune could act, a large pink blast streamed past him, almost hitting him. It took out the spectre and the Wartortle, pushing them into a group of enemies before exploding and damaging them all. Confused but concerned, Rune glanced at the attack’s source to find that Ariala was barely as protected as he wished her to be. The way her hands were pointed implied that she had fired the Moonblast, but she couldn’t stay like that for long. A Litten and a Growlithe joined forces to try and hit her with Fire Fang, but some quick work with her fan set up a Reflect Barrier that knocked them both back. She flicked her fan about with graceful skill to bring up a Light Screen behind her, stopping a Thunderbolt he hadn’t even realised was aimed at her. Surrounded by enemies that made quick work of her Reflect, she cried out in effort and fluttered off the ground to unleash a Dazzling Gleam attack. Bright lasers burst from her in all directions, sending everything close to her flying.
“Stay away from her!” Rune shouted, using Aqua Jet to fly over to her. He collided with a Lopunny using Quick attack, immediately drawing a Razor Shell with one scalchop to compete with it. It tried to parry against his dual swords with its feet, but was overwhelmed by his strength and knocked out in moments.
Above the battle, unable to help but watch the chaos unfolding below, Ptero, Kelsith and Galen were steadily gliding towards the ground. Ptero used his wings, Kelsith used her weight to ‘swim’ through the air, whilst Galen spun his whole body like a propeller, landing with a boastful bow. The trio didn’t land far from Mirror, but not too far from the big battle, either. They exchanged uncertain glances and faced forward, where Mirror was still sat down waiting for them.
“I wonder if Rune knew you could do that?” Ptero asked, raising an eyebrow at Galen.
“Knew I could do what?” he replied, completely unfazed.
“Never mind.” He shook his head and posed with his two knives. Kelsith moaned a little and took place behind the two boys. The Absol didn’t move at their presence.
“Ptero!” Diantha poked her head out from behind Mirror. “Am I glad to see you!”
“We’re here to get you back, your highness. Mirror, you heard the king! Your days are numbered thanks to your act,” Ptero said. Mirror took a few seconds to respond, and soon stood up on all fours.
“This is disappointing. I was expecting to fight Rune,” Mirror said. “Instead, he sends his friends to their deaths. He hasn’t learnt a thing.”
“Tsk. Remember guys. Our only aim is to get Diantha back,” Ptero muttered. “One of us must distract him, whilst the other escorts Diantha to a safe spot. Once we can escape, fire the attack that’s the escape signal.”
The others made sounds of acknowledgement, expecting Mirror to attack first. But he didn’t move an inch. Ptero growled in angst, wanting him to act so that he had something to counter. But Mirror showed unyielding patience, whilst Ptero had little time, little time that didn’t even have a written limit.
Knowing this, Ptero finally initiated the fight with a sprint into a Spark attack. Mirror dodged it by shifting his body to the side, moving so seamlessly that Ptero didn’t even register that he missed until he landed a few metres behind him.
“What?” Ptero whispered.
“Ptero, be careful!” Diantha cried. Her desperate tone brought him back into focus, so he tried again, charging into a Spark attack.
Mirror dodged it again with a shift to the side. This time however, he grabbed Ptero’s tail and stopped all his momentum, not suffering any effects at all from the electricity crackling all over the Emolga. Mirror’s other paw swung around and smashed Ptero directly into the ground so hard that he was left in a pothole. No sound came from Ptero other than that of his impact, and the attack was so sudden that the others didn’t realise it had happened until Ptero was in the ground, where all they could do was gasp.
“Ptero!” Kelsith cried. She had been preparing to jump in with Draining Kiss, but stopped once she saw him half buried in the ground.
“How could you? You might be fast, but do you have rhythm?” Galen said.
He swiped both his arms across his front to release a number of Razor Leaves, to which Mirror shifted to the side at the last moment to avoid again. This time he darted far to the right so that the leaves missed him by a mile, and then began to zigzag toward Galen in this same high speed fashion. The movements threw the Sunflora right off focus, as he could barely follow what was happening. He drew his baton sword and aimlessly swung at the air in front of him.
In the blink of an eye, Mirror was directly below his sword for just enough time for Galen to realise he was there. In that very instant, a cloud of dark energy pulsed across Mirror’s right paw, which was drawn back for a Sucker Punch attack. Before Galen could even flinch, Mirror’s attack hit Galen in the stomach, earning a winded cough and a great burst of spit from the Sunflora. That one attack was enough to knock him out for good, and he collapsed to the ground in a breathless heap.
“G-Galen! Dear gods, he’s this powerful?” Kelsith said. Mirror slowly looked up at her, making her flinch. She didn’t hesitate to cry out and turn tail to the fight, realising that she was trapped between the war and this monstrosity of a Pokémon.
“How pathetic. Given the mission, persuaded by reward, and you would still flee at the first sight of difficulty? Aren’t you aware that that very act is considered treason?” Mirror said as he walked back over to Ptero, who was still conscious, but was immobile due to lack of strength. Mirror picked him up by the head with one paw, ensuring that his nails dug in deeply. Ptero whimpered in pain, helpless and dangling like a doll.
“Do-don’t kill him!” Kelsith cried, reaching out a paw. She flinched back when Mirror looked at her again, and lost her words.
“Not even the face of a crisis will persuade you,” Mirror said, and slammed Ptero into the ground again. His nails glowed white, threatening a Slash attack. “Whether you like it or not, I’m going to kill him. Are you going to make any attempt to stop that from happening?”
Kelsith stared in horror, unable to reply. She couldn’t stop shuddering, hyperventilating, or take her eyes off the masked Absol.
“You won’t. Then don’t say another word,” Mirror said.
He raised his voice in effort to attack, swinging both of his front paws straight down to slice Ptero in two. Kelsith cringed at the sight and just about looked away, surprised to not see any blood splatter from the merciless attack. That was when she realised that Ptero hadn’t been hit. He had been protected by Diantha, who growled and cried out as she pushed her scalchop against Mirror’s huge claws.
“Grrk- argh, darn it, no! I w-won’t let you k-kill him!” she growled. He stared down at her struggling form for a moment, choosing to put more weight into his paws. He quickly began to crush her to the spot, and Diantha broke into screams.
Despite Diantha’s struggles to keep herself stood upright against Mirror’s weight, Kelsith didn’t move an inch. Their clash went on for longer than a minute, all the time Diantha screaming and growling in agony as she pushed back to no avail. Only when she finally started to run out of breath did her screams stop, replaced by lifeless moans and weak cries of desperation.
At the same time however, Diantha’s form began to change, once again fast enough for Kelsith to not realise until it had long after it started. Diantha was surrounded by waves of dark, purple fire and crackling, black electricity, which quickly intensified until it engulfed her and Mirror. A huge blast occurred and the duo exploded, Mirror’s shocked cry of pain being the only voice heard from the impact. Kelsith squealed and turned to the side to shield herself from the wicked wind that sent her skidding across the ground.
This same dark fire and electricity wavered across the battlefield, its appearance dangerous enough to bring the whole battle to a halt. In an instant, every last Pokémon in the battle stopped what they were doing and turned to the source of the dark powers. Diantha was barely visible at the heart of it, but the way she whimpered and stumbled about weakly gave away that it was her. The dark aura soon died down in the area except around her, leaving her weak but intimidating.
No one knew what to say or what to expect, or even what had happened – one thing was certain, Mirror had been badly hurt by Diantha’s outburst and was now even weaker than her. No one could hear his breathing, but the way his head hung, unsteadily shaking up and down, gave away that he had grown tired and desperate. His body crackled with paralysis and shuddered from burns, whilst visually covered from head to toe in cuts and bruises.
“Was that Diantha?” Ariala asked, stood beside Rune. The sound of thunder booming through the clouds made her flinch, and her eyes shot upwards. A warm yellow glow sped through the clouds, and she flew into crisis. “Wait, that’s- that means—”
“Ariala?” Rune said, glancing at her.
Ariala kept staring until the distant clouds above Diantha parted, revealing a heavenly light from above. A Pokémon shrouded by a large yellow orb of electricity descended straight towards Diantha.
“N-no! This can’t be happening,” Ariala gasped, glancing back and forth. “R-Rune! You’ve
got to get Diantha back right now!”
“Why, what’s—”
“Just go, please!” she screamed and shoved him forward. She tried to run after them as well, but couldn’t manage better than a hurried skip.
Fortunately for Rune, the war remained at a halt for him to sprint. Even the spectres seemed to be entranced by this godly Pokémon’s appearance, which soon came to focus when it was floating before Diantha. The orb surrounding it had disappeared, allowing it to be seen by all.
A black, bird-like Pokémon with an enormous plume stretching up from its head now sat before Diantha. It stared at her with its cold, unmoving face, protecting half of its face with the large, yellow masks it wore on its arms. Spines resembling a bird’s tail feathers made up its lower half, letting it float just off the ground.
“It looks like Tapu Fini? What does it want with Diantha, though?” Rune huffed, sprinting towards them with his arms hung loosely behind him. Only when he made that resemblance did he remember Ariala’s warning, and what this encounter really meant.
“So you know who it was that used those dark powers,” Ariala said. “I don’t wish to interrogate you. I’ll respect your decision to keep this a secret from me. But please, I can only give you a dire warning: that Pokémon cannot openly use those powers here. One of our Gods, Tapu Koko, has sworn destruction of those dark powers. If a Pokémon provokes him with those powers, it may be disastrous.”
If that warning was as obvious as she wanted it to be, then the unthinkable was about to happen. Rune’s face twisted in angst and fear. He ignored the cries of his body to keep running at full speed like this, but he was still at least a hundred metres away from them. Even Aqua Jet wouldn’t reach them in time. He needed just a few seconds, a little over ten in fact, to get there and do something about it that would maybe change the way this scene was looking.
Despite his wishes and mental begging for a miracle, everything was going wrong. Tapu Koko was stood over Diantha in a way that voiced dominance, his pose, face, and all else telling her not to dare make a move. All sounds drowned out to silence when Tapu Koko tensed up and crossed its arms, unfurling them in a cataclysmic burst of lightning.
Electricity stormed all around him at a deafening volume, yet it all came out silent to Rune. All he could see was Tapu Koko slamming a deadly, blinding amount of electricity onto a single spot, his attack so overwhelming that the heavy wind that came from it took Rune off his feet, as well as any other Pokémon nearby. Rune himself could feel the suffocating bolts as they streamed past him, engulfing his whole body in burning pain that jolted his heart to a dangerous speed. He crashed to the ground in agony, yet ignored it all to scramble to his feet and continue sprinting towards the electric type deity, ignoring every last bit of pain and lack of energy.
“Diantha!” Rune roared at the top of his voice as he shoved Tapu Koko out of the way. The floor around her had become a crater bigger than every crater in the area, lit with flames, crackling electricity, and warmed with blackened earth. Diantha stood in the direct centre of the crater, her arms stretched out beside her, head tilted upwards and body unmoving. Rune didn’t waste time in grabbing her, surprised to be shocked back by a burst of static that lingered over her. He ignored the pain of that to stand back up and try again, and gripped her sides with both hands to absorb all of the electricity that still lingered. He screamed her name as he did so.
“Diantha, please, say something!” he begged and shook her.
Her eyes remained open, as did her mouth, but no sound or life showed at all. She fell straight backwards when he released her, almost hitting the ground harshly if not for the way he cradled her. He kept calling her name and begging, shaking her in hopes of a sign of life, but none came. He eventually laid a hand on her chest. There was no pulse.
“N-no, this isn’t- Diantha, Diantha, wake up damn it, Diantha!” he said, laying her down flat. He started pressing her chest, calling out and attempting to jolt her awake somehow.
But nothing came of it. Her body was without pulse, staring back at him with open eyes and an open mouth. No breath. No movement. Not even the twitch of her pupils.
“Please, gods no,” Rune whispered, still shaking and putting pressure on her chest. Tapu Koko, Ariala, Mirror, and all the other Pokémon in the battle watched from their spots, unable to show emotion to what they were seeing.
“Diantha, please for the love of gods, please wake up,” Rune begged as he lost his tone to the pettiness of tears.
He couldn’t control the way they splattered all over Diantha, or the way his voice degenerated with his lack of strength and desperation. Eventually his body hit its absolutely limit and he barely had the strength to stay leaning over her on all fours. He took the opportunity to try and breathe into her mouth, calling out her name between every breath.
It didn’t work. Her body stared right back at him. Lacking hope and ideas, Rune finally stopped acting and stared back, mentally praying that it was all some morbid joke and that she would wake up.
But she didn’t.
He stared back, waiting for that miracle, but it never came. Her dead body stared right back at him.
“Almighty no,” Ariala whispered. Kelsith couldn’t believe what she had witnessed and watched on. Mirror was as emotionless as ever, but even he didn’t move or say anything, as if there was some mutual level of respect that caused him to do so. The rest of the Pokémon in the battle watched on with that same level of respect, some Pokémon exchanging glances with one another to silently share their natural grief.
“Diantha?” Rune said one last time. No response. Trembling with feelings unknown to him, he slowly moved a hand to change her pose, laying her hands on her chest. He then carefully closed her eyelids and her mouth and stayed there for another moment in hopes that she would jerk in response to his uninvited movements.
“You did this,” he whispered. “Damn it, why? What the bloody hell did Diantha do to deserve death?”
Tapu Koko finally shifted back a bit. Rune clenched his hands into fists, slowly got to his feet, and drew the Sword of Earthly Elements. Oddly, the blade of the treasured sword was glowing a bright white in the dark atmosphere. Rune shuddered in acknowledgement but ignored it, swiping it aside as he stood up and ready to fight.
“You killed her!” Rune roared at the top of his voice as he lunged at the legendary.
“Rune!” Ariala cried.
Tapu Koko hopped to the side to avoid him, and stared coldly. No sound came from him at all, but Rune took no notice. The Dewott was screaming like a mad beast, wildly charging at him again and again with his sword raised high above his head. Every swing he made put a huge dent in the ground, but missed Tapu Koko with ease.
This carried on until Rune ran out of breath again, where he gave Tapu Koko a livid glare. His appearance was drowned in feral rage, but Tapu Koko showed no reaction other than his dodges. Eventually the legendary turned around and then took off back into the sky, shooting off with the sound of thunder and a stream of electricity in his wake.
“No! Get back here damn you! I’ll kill you!” Rune screamed again, rushing to the spot where Tapu Koko just was. His strength ran low again and he fell onto one hand and knee, using his sword to keep himself stood up. He was breathing heavily and never took his eyes off where Tapu Koko had been. “I’ll kill you for what you’ve done. I swear it. I
will kill you!”
