Destiny Village ~ Central Crossroads

[Namohysip]

"Why are you bothering?" Giovanni asked, leaning forward. "Joule, end them now. It is not that difficult."

Joule did not respond. The great sphere that loomed over them remained stationary, and Joule slowly turned his head to Giovanni.

Giovanni stared back, blinking. "W--"

Joule fired, a Blacklight beam smashing into Giovanni--they couldn't see his body in the beam, only a silhouette that was being pushed further and further away, across the oceans and toward the horizon. Blacklight Mewtwo floated back, watched them beam, and then flew away to give chase.

Owen lit up. "Joule! You're b--"

A distorted, horrible roar split the air. Joule flailed, Blacklight sparks racing across his body and through the cracks of his barely-repaired armor. A shockwave shattered Truffle's barrier and sent the team shooting back down to Destiny Village; it was only when an invisible force slowed their fall could they breathe.

Arceus was there--he had caught them. He was focused on Joule, eyes darting at the sphere of Blacklight energy, then at Joule himself, and then at the Creation Trio. Dialga's head nodded back at Arceus, and then focused on Joule.

Joule seemed to stop in his place. A strange, mystic force had wrapped around him--even the very light-like material that made up his body seemed to have been frozen. Arceus relaxed...

And then Joule started to move again. Dialga groaned, the crystal in the fusion's chest flickering, and then he released.

"No--" Arceus hissed. "Joule is out of control. He's too strong to freeze. We... can't stop him."

And on the ground, they could only watch as the blast was, finally, fully charged.

 

[IFBench]

Saltriv shook, an expression of pure fear on their face, as they awaited the end. With four vines, they hugged Shiron, Brisa, Vix, and Starr tight.

 

[Negrek]

Watching Mewtwo get blasted into the next fucking continent was satisfying, up until Nate remembered that Joule's master ball would have gone with him. Would have come in real handy if they could have gotten to it, but--

The dragon shrieked, the platform gave way, and Nate couldn't think about much of anything until there was solid ground under his feet again. "Well, fuck. Fucking fuck," he hissed to himself, pacing a circle around Rocky. What to do, what to do--still nothing they could do. "Fucking fuck."

Rocky stood with arms crossed, staring up at Joule with a look of serene confidence. "That's right, Joule! I knew you could do it! It's okay. Giovanni's gone now. Just hold on a little bit longer! If you can make that attack miss, you'll be done! That's all you need to do!"

 

[Fusion]

With four vines, they hugged Shiron, Brisa, Vix, and Starr tight.

Vix was still caught up in her mind to notice everything else going on, for the most part. Once Saltriv took her and few others in their arms, that helepd to snap Vix back to reality. "Wh-What? Where? Why?"

She noticed Shiron and Starr and tried to shrink away. Why them? They probably didn't even want to see Vix right now. And now they were all getting hugged and Vix was still melting and she couldn't bring herself back together. "S-Sorry..." she muttered, unsure if anyone even heard her.

 

[Chibi Pika]

Starr made a half-hearted show of pulling back from the vine hug. "What? Come on, it's not the end of the..." What was it, then.

"Diyem's back. We're--we're not gonna..." Did they really know that he could revive them? Did they??

Starr felt like an invisible hand was clutching her chest as she racked her brain uselessly for answers. "F-fuck..."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa put a paw to the vine and held it close, and leaned her head against Starr's shoulder.

"Y'know, this– This is just..."

She trailed off, words forgotten in the face of the power above them.

Luz sat cross-legged on the ground beside her and patted her on the shoulder. "It's okay. I ain't got any ideas either." Then, telepathically, {Now would be the time to say anythin' y'gotta say. Just sayin'.}

Brisa flinched. "Luz, what're you talkin' about–?"

Luz shrugged. {Good luck, darlin'. Just give someone a darn hug, willya?}

Why did... Nevermind. A hug sounded . . . fucking good right now. Brisa turned to Starr and put her forelegs around her and held her tight.

"Starr, I..."

She clutched at her friend's shoulder fur and grit her teeth. No. No, she'd said she'd never give up and she meant it. Until the final moment, she'd have faith that Joule would turn his power away from Cibus, that someone would put themselves in the way of the blast somehow, that there could still be a victory even when it was impossible to see.

"I ain't givin' up," she growled, pulling back to look Starr in the eyes. "Don't you dare quit on me now."

She looked up at the blinding form of Joule and grit her teeth, willing him to hold back. Get a grip, 'hero'. Make this right. Come on.

 

[Cresselia92]

…Dread. This is all that was left in Icetales’s mind as the massive attack headed toward them.

Time seemed to have slowed down, and his gaze went from a group of his comrades to another.

They hugged. They stared in numb silence. They prayed.

Then, he registered Cynthian hugging him and shivering. He glanced at his friend, paralyzed by fear, and at the others, looking for comfort.

He closed his eyes and breathed out.

Silence. Emptiness. Heartbeat.

Without a word, he reopened his eyes. Gone was his dread, replaced by an unwavering gaze of resoluteness.

His eyes glowed golden. His tails became comets. Then, he howled, cloaking the area in a warm yellow mist. Comets began falling, and a veil of auroras formed into a barrier between the incoming beam and his comrades.

Icetales didn’t know if that would have worked, but if they were to traverse to the twilight, then… they would have gone with the stars. Together. As a firmament.

 

[Namohysip]

Owen's flame was the smallest it had ever been. It wanted to hide, to be anywhere but here. Owen knew, in some small way, that he would be fine... possibly. That if he died here, he would... probably just return to his home, right? Or to Diyem, who... would probably find a way back. It would all be okay... it would...

Someone whimpered next to him and his heart sank.

Cal.

Cal wasn't going to survive this. And he'd leave her for dead.

"Hey," Owen said quietly.

"Dad..." Cal pressed her head against his chest, squeezing around him. "Fix it..."

"I--" Owen looked to Wishkeeper, but he had withdrawn. He didn't want to watch. He couldn't blame him.

Others were standing upright, still looking for a solution. Owen, even as he comforted Cal, seemed to be looking for a way to hide, a way to flee, a way to save Destiny Village. They just needed more time. But even Dialga wasn't able to give it to them.

It was the smallest hint of an idea in Owen's mind and frankly anything would help now. Nothing mattered. "We can't stop Joule," Owen shouted at Arceus, "but we need more time! Can that work?!"

Life measured in seconds. Owen held Cal tight, but he refused to close his eyes. He looked up at the great darkness that was about to take them out. There had to be a way. Somewhere, somehow. Cal wasn't watching. Wishkeeper was. He emerged again, looking to Arceus. But Arceus was looking elsewhere.

Even Diyem stood upright, having nothing to do, perhaps not yet fully capable of feeling hope. But he looked at the team, looked to Joule, and then bowed his head. "...I picked the right team," he stated, and then stood firm with his Shadows.

And then, as Arceus saw all of their fighting, Owen's call, Brisa, Starr, Cynthian--all of them huddling together, braced and embraced, he realized something. One last attempt... if only to give them a little more time. Though he preferred not to, it was a last resort.

"I'm sorry for this," Arceus muttered, and then fired a tendril of light into the Creation Trio's back. They stiffened, their eyes turning pure white and glowing. Under Arceus' direct control, they drew from his power. The gemstone in the fusion's chest became a blinding gold, and then a great pulse of energy washed over the team, and then the town.

If Joule could not be slowed down, then the village could be sped up.

It all seemed to slow down. The swirling clouds, Joule himself, the crackling ball of light, and even the sun and the wind and the skies. All of it slowed down to a crawl, and then a complete stop.

It all stopped.

Joule was frozen away from them. His blast was not coming closer. Owen held his breath, looking left and right, and then clutched Cal gently on the shoulders, pulling her away. Trembling, she looked up.

"What... what are...?" Cal asked. "What happened?"

Arceus pulled the tendril from the Trio, who slumped over, looking dazed.

"I could not freeze Joule," Arceus said, "so instead, I sped up Destiny Village. Blisteringly. We cannot leave the perimeter without returning to normal time... but now we can think. And plan. And prepare." Arceus looked at Team Spectrum. "We have only a few days before time returns to normal. Let's make the most of it."

 

[Dragonfree]

Dave paced around the square as people started... just staring and hugging. What? What the fuck? They'd fought a slew of legendary Pokémon and now people were just resigning themselves to the fucking end of the world because this time it was a little far away?

"Have you all gone fucking insane?" he barked, his fur standing on end, struggling against the pressure on his lungs, blood pounding in his ears. "Maple, can't you just fucking portal over to somewhere straight above him? Or get enough momentum to shoot out of a portal that's as close as--"

But then Arceus did some kind of time speedup nonsense, so apparently they had plenty of time to sort it out. He took a deep breath as he looked at the apparently frozen Joule in the sky above, heart still thumping uncomfortably.

That should be time to start with a drink or two, right?

 

[Namohysip]

"My portals couldn't get near him," Maple said. "I'm... I'm sorry. I wasn't... thinking." She looked down, fists clenched. "I'm sorry. I've failed you... I should have fought him directly."

"You... can't blame yourself for that," Owen said gently. "That's Joule, right? He's..."

"That doesn't matter," Maple said. "He's a danger to the world now. He has to be defeated. And if he won't stop even then, he has to be killed." Even as she said it, the words looked like they hurt. But Maple kept a steady expression.

 

[Ambyssin]

"Wow, I can't believe the solution to the big ball of death is ZA WARUDO." Despite levitating, Esper leaned on his side and yawned into his hand. "Such a lame twist. I can hear the anime stans taking to the interwebs to complain en masse."

 

[Adamhuarts]

"That doesn't matter," Maple said. "He's a danger to the world now. He has to be defeated. And if he won't stop even then, he has to be killed." Even as she said it, the words looked like they hurt. But Maple kept a steady expression.

"No! We absolutely mustn't kill him no matter what! It's not right, because none of this is his fault!" Cynthian yelled passionately, his heart drumming while he trembled and whimpered.

"We can always figure out another way! We have to!"

 

[Negrek]

Time slowed down, freezing the dragon in place. Or, time sped up, flinging everybody else into the future. "Good... good call," he said to the charmeleon, a bit shakily. God, what the fuck. He hadn't been able to think up jack shit, and then there was this time thing, or the fucking poochyena talking about portals. Fat load of good he'd done, panicking and all instead of thinking up something useful. Great fucking job.

And now Maple was getting stuck on wanting to solve all this with violence--or not really wanting to, but not knowing what else to do. "What, kill the guy? That'd take some doing. I'm lazy, I vote we come up with something easier than that." Little joke, right? Funny? Nate tried for a smile.

Rocky was staring contemplatively up at Joule and his suspended orb of Blacklight power the way somebody might look at a neat statue or something. "This is pretty cool. It's like something from a video game."

"I would ask what the fuck was wrong with you, except I already know," Nate said sourly.

 

[Ambyssin]

"You know that move he was about to strike the whole city with? Baha Blast has a similar one." Esper slowly turned upside-down. "He blew up some planets with it back in the day. It was quite the sight. I say... because of his memories."

 

[Negrek]

That was enough to pull Rocky's attention from the frozen scene overhead. "He did? Whole planets?" The familiar's orange eyes glowed brighter. "I bet that was quite a sight! How'd he even make an attack that big? Even bigger than that one?" He pointed up.

Nate cringed. "Rocky, for fuck's sake. Read the fucking room."

 

[Ambyssin]

"Something something channeling light energy." Esper shrugged. "You must be a real sociopath to get excited at planets getting blow up."

 

[Namohysip]

"Bahamut..." Owen frowned. "He might give us some insight on how to deal with an attack like this. Any way at all, you know...?" He sighed, but then heard a dull thud nearby.

Diyem had collapsed, and his Shadow hammer had disappeared. His body rapidly evaporated in a cloud of darkness, revealing the red core inside. "Hrrrrgh..."

"Diyem!" Owen rushed toward him. "Are--are you okay?"

"I may have pushed myself... more than I should have."

As just a core, Diyem was no larger than Cal. He reached down and tried to pick him up. "I'm--I think I'll bring Diyem to the infirmary, if... I don't know, just so he's taken care of for a little bit, okay?"

"Don't hug me. Just carry me."

"Wh--what? But wouldn't you...?"

"Trust me. Do not."

 

[Ambyssin]

"I'm pretty sure he's allergic to kindness. Kinda like Baha Blast." Esper snickered into his hand.

 

[TheGOAT]

"What, kill the guy? That'd take some doing. I'm lazy, I vote we come up with something easier than that." Little joke, right? Funny? Nate tried for a smile.

Astrid managed a laugh. Hopefully it didn’t sound as forced as it actually was.

Her heart was fucking hammering. Right then, after everything she’d put herself through, she’d stared death in the face for real. Like a helpless insect.

It was a state she preferred not to linger in.

She dug through her bag, searching for nothing, letting her mind wander aloud. “On the bright side, there’s no better place to be, right? We’ve got plenty of resources here still. If there’s a way to stop this, then…”

She was being optimistic and she knew it. The town was in disarray; everyone could see it clearly. The initial damage was humbling, but the aftermath? They were suspended in time because their would-be killers were preparing to nuke their whole civilization. It was above them, like it had been painted on the ceiling. It didn’t seem real. And time was ticking right now.

“We need to talk to Bahamut,” Astrid rattled off, “since he might know something. Or maybe… I don’t know.” She muttered under her breath, “Fuck.”

 

[Negrek]

"Something something channeling light energy." Esper shrugged. "You must be a real sociopath to get excited at planets getting blow up."

Rocky shrugged. "Bad stuff has to happen or there wouldn't be anything to save people from. It would also be bad if a bunch of people died from poison or something, but blowing up a planet is cooler."

"Alllll right, then," Nate said, giving Rocky's leg a solid shove. "Let's get moving. Obviously we got shit to do if we're gonna find a way out of this."

Not that he actually knew where he was going, other than "somewhere where Rocky will be very far from normal people." Shit to do, shit to do. God, he could use a drink. God, he didn't have time for a drink. Nate pushed a protesting Rocky along, mind churning through options.

It was going to be one hell of a long fucking day.