Chapter 147: Imperial March
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Chapter 147: Imperial March
The ringing didn't leave Leo's ear frills for several seconds. It took even longer to get the stars out of his vision.
And why dirt brushing against his fur instead of gravel or concrete? Wasn't Leo supposed to be in Dazzels right now?
C'mon, think!
One moment, he and the others were staring down Paradox. And the next... the deoxys disappeared and a colossal zygarde rose up from the ruins of the Parliament building.
Now Leo was lying in the dirt. No doubt, he got flung through a rift. But to where?
"Uggggggggggggggh." Groaning, the cosmic arceus staggered to his feet. "Anyone get the number on that runaway charjabus?"
No response. In fact, Leo didn't sense any familiar auras near him.
Leo looked around. He was on a tiny dirt hill, far on the outskirts of the city. Fortunately he could see the zygarde robot, firing blue beams from four serpent-like ribbons protruding from its back.
Not good. Leo jumped into the air. He needed to get back into the city and help with—
His wheel flickered. Leo looked over shoulder. This feeling... were there Plates nearby? He'd already sensed the Mind Plate on Paradox, but now he sensed another.
... No. He sensed more than one.
"What the heck?" Leo turned around, only to gurgle in surprise when thick, metallic vines wrapped themselves around him. They got his legs. Latched onto his wheel. Even coiled their way up to his head.
Leo's heart rate spiked. Metal and grass meant fire. All he had to do was draw out the Flame Plate and this would be no problem.
"Have you enjoyed your return to form?"
Leo's eyes widened. That voice!
The vines tightened their grip. Pointed stones dug into Leo's hide. Their jagged edges threw off his concentration.
White light took a humanoid shape in front of him.
"Because your little adventure has run its course," Zodiark said. "I told you before... these plates are mine."
Leo thrashed about. But the more he moved, the tighter the vines gripped him. Why couldn't he call forth his Plates? Or the Red Chain fragments that he had?
Several playing cards drifted around Zodiark's silhouette. "All that's left to do is wait to grab the final piece. And then the Eternaverse shall take root."
Leo tried to yell. The vines blocked him. He had no telepathy to fall back on. And the Plates wouldn't respond. Were all of Zodiark's Paradigm fragments countering them? This was ridiculous!
The silhouette got closer. Leo's fur stood on end. His movements slowed. His mind grew fuzzy.
... No! That couldn't happen! He had to stop Paradox! He had to help his friends!
He had to... had to... had to serve his wielder.
A silvally with a gold-trimmed cape stood in front of him. "Don't forget," he whispered gently.
Leo squeezed his eyes shut. With the last of his strength, he shrank his aura as much as possible.
It didn't take long for the vines' suffocating grips to stop.
XxX
"Get up, Iggy!" Shimmer pleaded. "We've gotta move!"
Chilly hooves shoved Igneous' side. The grovlazzle's eyes opened to a blurry cobblestone alley. Swathes of orange, purple, and blue flashed in front of him.
Eyes widening, Igneous pushed himself up. He put his claws on Shimmer's left shoulder, letting the ponytales help him back to his feet.
"What happened?" Igneous asked, rubbing the stars from his eyes. He nearly fell over again when the ground trembled beneath his feet.
"P-Paradox summoned a giant robot." Shimmer laughed nervously. "It roared so loud that it knocked us all off our feet."
Igneous finally settled enough for him to see Nikki running around ahead of him, swinging her lightning guitar wildly to deflect fireballs from the two Iron Moths hovering overhead. Igneous was about to ask how the toxtricity was holding her own like that, when he looked up to see a dragapult leading multiple dragonite and salamence in blasting the Iron Moths from above with Dragon Pulses.
"Remember the plan!" Yiazmat called. "We must press forward! Even with that infernal machine!" She turned around and blasted Dragon Darts behind her.
Igneous rubbed his eyes again. "Right." He looked at Shimmer. "You good?"
"A bit rattled." Shimmer shook himself out. "But I'll manage."
"Then let's move." Igneous' volcarona wings came to life. He conjured Honedge and flew forward, sticking close to the ground. "Heads up, Nikki!"
She glanced over her shoulder and nodded. "Yo, Bugbot! Catch!" Nikki shouted, hurling her lightning guitar up like a giant tomahawk. The Iron Moth directly above her was too busy contending with two salamence to react in time.
Seeing the lightning guitar get buried in Iron Moth's base, Igneous slashed the air with Honedge. Fiery crescents raced forward and struck the lightning guitar. It burst apart in a ball of white-hot plasma. Nikki dove onto her belly. Heat washed over her. Embers showered her leather jacket. The toxtricity rolled along the street to put them out.
Igneous saw a faint pink glow approaching the second Iron Moth. He pivoted right and tossed Honedge forward. "Shim!" he called.
"I got you!" the ponytales responded. His Psychic caught Honedge and propelled it forward. Honedge pierced through Iron Moth's metal torso and came out the other end. Iron Moth's electronic eyes went dark. It plummeted to the ground, landing beside its counterpart with a metallic THUD.
"Are they down?" Shimmer asked. He hesitantly approached the one with the hole in it and poked its base with an icy forehoof.
[Y... ou...] Static garbled Iron Moth's voice. [You won't... win.]
[You can't... defeat... Paradox,] the other Iron Moth added. Its voice was a static mess, too. [Just... give up.]
"Pfbt." Nikki ran her hands through her lightning mohawk. "Maybe that's what your dumb asses did when you got caught in Venish. But me? Not a chance."
She held her right arm out. Her lightning guitar appeared in swarms of purple and yellow sparks. "I— no, we have things we're fighting for. And we'll be damned if we let any of you get in the way."
Neither Iron Moth responded. Igneous walked past the toxtricity, scanning the air above them.
"Yiazmat and her forces are keeping the Eternatus Troopers off our tails," the grovlazzle said. "We've gotta keep moving." He pointed forward, where the head and shoulders of Paradox's giant zygarde robot peeked out from behind rows of tall buildings.
"T-Toward it?" Shimmer's tails frazzled.
"They really need us there, don't you think?" Igneous started forward, embers crackling along his back.
Sighing, Shimmer trotted after him. "I know! I just wish they didn't!"
From behind the two, Nikki said, "Yo, Boss Kitty! We've got a giant zygarde robot at the Parliament building! Just what's the situation?"
XxX
Gene stood facing the monitor bank, gaze darting between the screens, the skorps furiously typing away at the keyboards, and Cid and Cyril hastily scribbling things down on strewn about sheets of paper.
"We're still trying to get a handle on that ourselves." The mega mewtwo glanced at Cid. "You getting anything?"
The orbeetle shook his head. "For once, I'm at a loss! Whatever this thing is, it must be so full of Malice— err, Eterna energy that it's completely blocking my Dynascan!"
Gene's tail twitched in irritation. It was now plain as day why the emperor hadn't put proper resources into protecting Citadark. He was putting everything behind this invasion force.
"They're afraid out there," Dark Matter growled. "They need direction. You're failing them."
If there was ever a time to butt out, it'd be now, Gene sneered. "Just how scattered about are people?"
Cyril turned around in his swivel chair. "Looks like Paradox jettisoned our heaviest hitters using rifts of his own. Leo got blown clear out of the city. Yuna's somewhere to the south. Noctum and Diamond are in the east with Valkyrie." He turned back to hunch over a laptop. "Igneous' team is about ten blocks south of the robot. They're hitting open roadways soon."
Claws tapped impatiently behind Gene. "How much longer are we going to stay in 'hiding,' Gene?" Widget asked. "If there was ever a time to spring into action, it'd be now."
"I'm aware." Gene turned to face the cosmic silvally. "But we only get one shot at catching Paradox off guard. If we charge out there without a hint of how to deal with that giant mech, then we're blowing our load early!"
Beside Widget, Bahamut crossed his arms. "And if we continue hesitating, our allies may wind up dead or captured. And just what sort of 'edge' will that give us, hmm?"
"I agree with them, for the record. This is a fool's errand."
Fool's errands have gotten us this far, Gene scoffed. But you can't trust me because 'trust is too painful' or whatever.
He turned back to the monitors. "Bird Team, head south and find Yuna!" Gene barked into the X-transceiver line. "Dog Team, go east! Get to Noctum! Heal Team, send some monk scouts to find Leo!"
"Aye," Zacian and Zamazenta said in unison.
"Grishi resent team name, but will follow."
"We're on it!" Jade said, followed shortly by a, "Ack! Hey, who said you could shoot at a lady while her back is turned?"
Gene silenced his line and turned to the Bahamut and Widget. "See? It's still under control."
Neither of them looked convinced. Rolling his eyes, Gene returned to the monitor bank.
This would work. It had to work.
XxX
"Haaa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
Paradox's booming laughter roused Yuna from her stupor. The dragapult took to the air, flying along the street between several shuttered bank buildings. She waved her arms around to dispel dust and stray embers.
Medicis and pirates ran along side streets to keep Eternatus Brawlers off her back.
She stopped the moment a purple rift opened right in front of her. Yuna suddenly stared down one of the zygarde mech's serpentine ribbons. She rolled away from a large Dragon Pulse that swept through the air, destroying chunks of a First National Bank of Isola sign. Concrete and glass plinked and plunked on burning asphalt behind her.
"How do you like my special suit, you worthless rebels?" Paradox projected his voice through some sort of loudspeaker system. Yuna bet the whole city could hear him. "I call it the Iron Conqueror, in honor of the many planets that will be crushed beneath its heels!"
Iron Conqueror extended its ribbon through the rift and tracked Yuna. Meeping, Yuna dove to the ground. She phased through the street. The concrete around her trembled. Chunks of it were torn up. But she dodged whatever strike the ribbon tried. And she popped her triangular head out to see Reverse Time taking hold.
An idea sprang to mind. If Paradox was attacking through rifts, then why couldn't she use that for herself?
Before Reverse Time faded, she shot two Dragon Darts into the rift. They hit the serpent ribbon's tip, but it didn't react at all. And its chassis was too dark for Yuna to tell if she'd even done any damage!
The rift then shut. Paradox's laughter filled the air again.
"Was that supposed to be an attack? Oh, how adorable!" he crooned.
Another rift opened. Yuna immediately fired two Dragon Darts, but an Iron Hands emerged and swatted them away. Eternatus Gunners streamed out of the rift and opened fire with Ice Shards and Ice Beams. Yuna flew left along the surface of the road. Frosty air nicked her right hip.
"There's nothing you miserable rodents can do to even so much as scratch Iron Conqueror!" Paradox declared. "How about a little deal? Surrender now, and I'll offer all of you last meals before I turn you into batteries for my army!"
[I've really got to hand it to you, rebel!] Iron Hands slammed the ground. [You've really outdone yourself in the stupidity department!]
An electric shockwave raced out. Yuna flew up to dodge, only for an Ice Beam to strike her waist. Hissing, she drifted back, undulating her tail and ectoplasm to get the sleet off before it could settle in.
Her eyes widened when she saw three more Ice Beams heading right for her. She braced herself, only for orange lightning to vaporize the strikes. An orange blur slammed into one of the Gunners from below. It ricocheted into three more Gunners. All exploded into scrap metal.
[What?] Iron Hands threw its large yellow hands up in an attempt at shielding itself, but instead ended up getting yoinked into the air by a telekinetic force.
"Now, Quetzal!" Shiva said, wings spread wide as a pink glow surrounded her.
"Right!" The orange zapdos leaped into the air and delivered a Thunderous Kick to Iron Hands, sending it careening off into the distance.
Another rift opened in front of them, revealing one of Iron Conqueror's serpent ribbons. A Dragon Pulse raced toward Quetzal, who was completely defenseless.
"Oh no you don't!"
Ifrit swooped in from behind the other two birds. Black flames snuffed out the Dragon Pulse.
Yuna saw an orange glow from the corner of her eye. She flew against the side of a brick building and watched an Aeroblast sweep across the air. The orange beam shattered Eternatus Gunners and part of it got through the rift. Iron Conqueror yanked the ribbon away and shut the rift.
"That did something!" Yuna said, peeling herself off the brick building and waving at Jade.
"Really? Great!" the salugia chirped. She flapped in place while Ifrit and Shiva flew over to her side and Quetzal sprinted up a half-wrecked building to join them. "What'd I do?"
"Paradox is trying to have his machine snipe us from afar using the rifts," Yuna explained. She could see the massive zygarde robot firing large green rockets into the air. They burst into Thousand Waves that washed against a space pirate ship's shield.
"Then we shouldn't stay here," Ifrit said. The black moltres flapped his wings to carry him forward. "Onward!"
They only made about twenty meters before a rift opened, revealing a green missile that exploded into waves of glowing green hexagons.
"Get back!" Yuna shouted, thrusting her arms forward. Diamond shards filled the air to intercept the Thousand Waves. The Diamond Storm broke enough of the glowing hexagons apart for everyone to fly through.
"This is Bird Team," Shiva said, sweeping a pink beam through the sky to blow apart two Eternatus Gunners. Behind her, a space pirate ship opened fire with bursts of water and lightning, distracting half a dozen Iron Jugulis from giving chase. "We've got Yuna. We're pressing forward to the north!"
"Understood," Cyril said. "Dog Team, what's your status?"
XxX
"Grishi still not like name," the zorotwo said, shooting dark pulses from his claws like a kid playing pretend with finger guns. They struck an Iron Thorns blocking the center of the road, toppling it over. "But team find friends."
From his vantage point in the air a few meters over the street, Noctum watched Zacian slice apart an Iron Valiant into ribbons. Zamazenta charged ahead of her, forming a large shield that blocked a Thousand Waves racing out from a nearby rift.
"Quite the monstrosity!" Zamazenta shouted, dispelling the shield and charging forward. "What'd'ya suppose the odds are he's using that Red Chain fragment of his to empower it?"
"High!" Diamond called, galloping after Zamazenta. The keldeo slashed at the air repeatedly with his glowing horn. Secret Swords raced out, striking Eternatus Gunners along with a few robot delibird — Iron Bundles, according to their earlier briefing — taking aim from afar.
"What do we do about them?" Noctum wondered, flying after them. Valkyrie tried to keep pace along the right sidewalk. "The rifts open and shut too fast for me to try anything!"
"Maybe that's where I come in," Diamond called. "I just need the right moment."
"Iron Treads, dead ahead!" Zamazenta shouted, gesturing to a large red ball zooming toward them. Dozens of Eternatus Brawlers ran after it, maces brimming with flames or dragonfire.
Zacian leaped in front of her brother. Her sword exploded in size, brimming with blue energy. She slashed at Iron Treads, halting its momentum and knocking it backwards.
"Scatter!" one of the Brawlers shouted, but it was too late. Iron Treads barreled through the Brawlers like they were glorified bowling pins.
Grishi blipped in over the two dogs and held up his right hand. His psychic grasp caught three Eternatus Bombardiers readying Focus Blasts and flung them higher into the air, where they got caught in an exchange of Hyper Beam fire and blown apart. Napalm and broken glass rained down on a destroyed building to their right.
"You're a tenacious bunch of insects," Paradox said. "But your world will be the first in my soon to be sprawling trophy case!"
Two rifts opened ahead of the group, at a Y-shaped intersection.
"There!" Diamond cried. He pointed his horn and unleashed a beam of tachyons. The Roar of Time struck the rifts and froze Iron Conqueror's serpentine ribbons in place.
"Now, Noctum!" The cosmic keldeo pointed his foreleg forward.
Noctum understood immediately. He beat his wings faster. Blue purple energy raced down his arms. Noctum swiped them both forward.
Two Spacial Rend crescents zoomed toward the rift. They broke through and struck the serpentine ribbons. Blue violent energy exploded out from the rifts, which forcibly shut.
Iron Conqueror's mechanical roar echoed across the city. Glass shattered in the distance. A startled Noctum nearly fell from the air.
"Grrr... insolent little worms!" Paradox shouted. "I tire of these foolish tricks of yours!"
Another rift opened, but Diamond couldn't get off another Roar of Time.
"Get rid of them!" Paradox ordered. "Do what you were built for and cut them all down to size!"
A purple and red blur shot out from the portal, which promptly shut. It slammed into a yelping Zamazenta, sending him skipping across the street like a stone. He came to a stop near Noctum, who looked up and saw a robotic Widget shooting strange purple energy blasts into Zacian and Grishi, pushing them back toward the street coming from the left.
"It's that thing!" Valkyrie charged forward. Concrete split apart and dust filled the air as her Earthquake tried to swallow the robotic silvally. But it jumped over the Earthquake, hovering in midair and unleashing a purple and red beam.
"Val!" Noctum shouted. He opened a rift of his own and pulled the garchomp through. The cosmic charizard dropped from the air because of Valkyrie's larger size.
[Targets acquired,] the robot silvally said, before speeding down the street toward Noctum and Valkyrie.
XxX
Widget nearly tackled Gene when he jumped onto the mega mewtwo from behind. "Rift me over there now!" the cosmic silvally said, jostling Gene's shoulder crystals.
"Ow, get off!" Gene's tail shoved Widget off.
He dropped back to all fours. Widget's starcloud neck ruff puff out. "It's Iron Enforcer!" he said. "I can't stick around here!"
"We have a plan," Gene growled.
The two stared silently at one another. Widget wouldn't back down here. He'd been thinking about this moment for a while now.
He refused to believe Iron Enforcer was like the other silvally. There had to be something inside it. And maybe, with a better grasp on his Voice powers, Widget could get through!
Sighing, Gene's shoulders sagged. "You really think there's something there for you if you fight this thing?"
Widget nodded.
"Fine." Gene held his right arm out. "Don't screw it up, then."
A rift opened beside him. Widget dashed into it without another word, immediately soaking in nauseating aromas of motor oil and burning asphalt.
On the other side, Noctum struggled to fly away from purple energy blasts homing in on him. And Iron Enforcer stood in the middle of the street, dodging furious swipes from Valkyrie's Dragon Claws.
Widget shifted to miraivally and surged forward, slamming into Iron Enforcer and sending it tumbling away from the garchomp.
"What are you doing here?" Valkyrie said. "What about Gene's plan?"
"Plan changed." Widget shifted back to cosmic silvally. He crouched down, watching Iron Enforcer stagger back to its feet. "Go on ahead. I've got this."
Valkyrie frowned. "Don't be an idiot. We have numbers."
"And those numbers need to deal with the giant robot." Widget sprang forward, firing bursts of Psychic to snuff out the purple energy balls Iron Enforcer shot at him and Valkyrie.
"Go! Now!" he barked. Widget heard footsteps growing more distant.
Iron Enforcer stared Widget down, its face expressionless.
"We don't have to do this, you know," Widget said, claws curling as he failed to detect any spiritual signal directly ahead of him.
Iron Enforcer's red eyes glowed. [All threats to the emperor will be neutralized.]
Its entire body glowed, then it let loose a red and purple beam. Widget raced to his left. The beam instead vaporized a bank, leaving only stray bricks and glass shards.
His starcloud ruff tightened. That was some serious firepower!
[Your appearance does not compute,] Iron Enforcer said. It pivoted, body glowing again. [You are a threat. I will dispose of you.]
"I'm not a threat!" Widget said. He couldn't concentrate enough to focus his spiritual senses while under fire. "I want to help you!"
Iron Enforcer let loose another giant beam. It singed Widget's tail. Smoke trailed off it as he skidded to a halt.
[If you wish to assist, then allow me to neutralize you.]
"That's not how it works!" Widget squawked. He shifted into miraivally mode and took to the air. Lightning crackled around his crest. "I mean that you can be more than just a tool for the emperor!"
Iron Enforcer opened its beak and spat out purple and red energy balls. Widget blasted them all apart with a single Thunderbolt. He hovered to his right, not putting any extra distance between himself and his robot counterpart.
[My purpose is to destroy all threats to the emperor,] Iron Enforcer said. [Your words are meaningless attempts at subterfuge.]
Widget flinched. Was he wasting his time? Was Iron Enforcer really nothing more than a machine?
... No, he could still salvage this! He had to try! He was the Voice of Life!
Iron Enforcer fired another purple and red beam skyward. Widget zipped to his left. The attack caught a few Eternatus Gunners in the distance.
"There's no subterfuge!" Widget said. "Even as a machine, you can do better than this!"
A part of Widget wondered if he should try the same thing that Leo did to him. To offer a "blessing" to Iron Enforcer and see what would happen.
Except when Leo did that, it left Widget conflicted. And things were a lot more dire now. If he could just find a way to directly access Iron Enforcer's programming...
Widget shot a Thunderbolt from his crest toward the ground. Iron Enforcer easily dodged, then retaliated with two red bursts. Widget swooped down to avoid them, only to find they were homing on him. The miraivally spun around and arced electricity across them, blowing them apart in bright red flashes.
However, that left his back exposed. Sudden weight grabbed him. A sharp pain pierced his somewhat metallic hide.
Squawking in surprise, Widget thrashed around in midair. He shook Iron Enforcer loose. The robot silvally landed on the ground and immediately fired a large purple beam at Widget.
He barely got a Protect up in time. The beam raced around him. Widget tasted static and plasma.
[I am successfully outmaneuvering you,] Iron Enforcer taunted. [This counts as 'better.']
"This isn't about battling!" Widget dropped the Protect. He shifted back to cosmic silvally and dropped to the ground. "There's more out there in the world. Your programming can expand! Your knowledge can expand! Those are good things!"
[I am perfectly functional.] Iron Enforcer kept its beak open and shot more red bursts at Widget. This time he sent Psychic ripples out from his head crest. The blasts fizzled away.
"Widget!" Gene barked through the X-transceiver. "Look, A for effort, but you're clearly not going to get through to it!"
Widget's crest tightened. "But—"
[Your persistence is bothersome.] Iron Enforcer squared up its stance. Red and black energy crackled around. [Initializing overdrive.]
Within seconds, the robot silvally had closed the gap with Widget. It raked its talons across Widget's left flank. The cosmic silvally skidded across the road. Then Iron Enforcer closed the gap and struck Widget again. And a third time.
Widget crashed into a stoplight at the intersection. The metal bent around his head crest, then the light itself fell off the pole and shattered. Red, yellow, and green glass scattered around him.
[Neutralizing target.] Iron Enforcer charged its beam attack far faster now. Yelping, Widget shifted to miraivally and turned his thrusters on. He shot off the sidewalk and onto the street. A red and purple beam vaporized what was left of the light, then blew apart a post office behind it. Burnt paper and cardboard rained down behind Widget. Smoke filled his lungs.
"Troopers! Get back here and protect your emperor! Get these ingrates away from me!"
Shifting back to cosmic silvally, Widget got to his feet. But Iron Enforcer was right near him! Widget blasted pink energy from his crest. It managed to hit the robot silvally and knock him over.
Instinct took hold. Widget used another Psychic. The energy flung Iron Enforcer back. It struck the door of another bank, breaking the glass. There were dents in its metallic hide.
Widget tilted his head. He didn't think his Psychic was that good. "What just happened?" he said.
"It looks like going into overdrive shifted all its energy into attacking," Cid exclaimed. "It must not have much in the way of defenses like this."
"There's your opening," Gene said. "I know you don't want to to do this, but you've gotta seize this moment. I'm about to help the others. You asked for this, so it's on you."
The X-transceiver line clicked off.
"Nnnggggrrrr! I've had enough of your foolish games!"
Iron Enforcer was back on its feet, gathering red and purple energy. Widget didn't give it the opening, instead shooting another Psychic beneath Iron Enforcer's feet. The pink blast shot Iron Enforcer into the air, denting its underbelly.
Widget turned to reshivally mode, conjured a Fusion Flare, and hurled the large fireball forward. He flapped his fluffy wings to climb into the air and followed the attack as it exploded before Iron Enforcer could deflect it. The robot silvally crashed into the roof of the same bank whose door it had just broken.
Sparking crackles and pops filled the air. Widget winced as he approached.
Iron Enforcer struggled to get back to its feet. The Fusion Flare had blown its right foreleg off. And its crest was dented at a ninety-degree angle.
"Enough of this!" Widget shouted, desperately trying to probe the energy he sensed from the bank roof. "You're losing! Surrender! Don't you want to save yourself?"
In response, Iron Enforcer gathered up red and purple energy.
[Target... rebel. Priority one.]
It fired another giant laser, blowing off its other foreleg in the process. Widget rolled right in midair to dodge it.
"Damn it! It doesn't have to end like this!" he squawked. Widget probed again... and came up empty.
More red and purple energy crackled around Iron Enforcer's torso. [Target rebel. Priority one.]
Clamping his metal beak tightly shut, Widget conjured a Fusion Flare and hurled it toward the roof. The concrete somehow held tough, even as the giant fireball drove Iron Enforcer into it.
When the flames and smoke cleared, all of its forelegs were missing. Gaps in its belly exposed wires. Strange purple fluid leaked out of its cracked right eye. The scent of burnt alloys and plastics overpowered the ash and dust from all the surrounding fights.
"It's over." Widget flapped his wings to remain in place. "You can't beat me like that. But we can fix you. And get rid of the emperor's awful programming."
[Tar... get... reb... el...]
Widget tensed up. But then an idea struck him! Maybe if he shifted to eternavally mode he would finally get the results he wanted!
... Except Iron Enforcer tried gathering energy for an attack, only for its entire body to glow red and purple. Was it short-circuiting?
"Wait, stop!"
Widget dove down. But even with flames shooting from his tail turbine, the reshivally wasn't fast enough. Iron Enforcer exploded in a blaze of red and purple energy.
Widget conjured a Protect. Black and purple sludge struck the shield, forcing Widget to drop it and climb higher into the air.
Multiple Hyper Beams whizzed above him, filling the air with loud hums and whines. Widget looked back down and found a giant hole in the bank's roof. Concrete chunks fell into it when Widget landed. He reared up and slowly flapped his wings to clear the smoke and dust.
Peering inside the hole, Widget found nothing but scorch marks on a tile floor. Charred metal fragments and debris lay strew about.
Widget hung his head. Deep in his heart, he knew this was the most likely outcome. But it still hurt. He'd witnessed Paradox's intended ending for him. And it made his blood boil.
"You gonna be okay?" Cid asked.
"I will be once Paradox is done for," Widget said. "Where do you guys need me? If Gene wants to rift me back to the base, then I'll—"
"Boss Kitty went out in the field," Cyril said.
Widget's crest fanned out. "Wait, what? Where did he—"
A massive explosion swallowed up the giant zygarde robot in the distance. It was so intense that the tremors even reached the bank roof, knocking Widget over. He flailed his hind legs around.
Widget scrambled to his feet, then shifted to miraivally mode. His thrusters kicked in and he zoomed into the air.
Perhaps he'd have more time to chew on what happened with his robot counterpart later. For now, there was still a battle to be had.
