• Welcome to Thousand Roads! You're welcome to view discussions or read our stories without registering, but you'll need an account to join in our events, interact with other members, or post one of your own fics. Why not become a member of our community? We'd love to have you!

    Join now!

Chapter 165 - Leak
  • Namohysip

    Dragon Enthusiast
    Staff
    Partners
    1. flygon
    2. charizard
    3. milotic
    4. zoroark-soda
    5. sceptile
    6. marowak
    7. jirachi
    8. meganium
    9. namo-rock
    Chapter 165 – Leak

    Owen had never felt such intense fire from a mortal in his life.

    White-hot flames snapped wood in half, superheating the sap within and exploding the whole tree into splinters.

    “Zena!” Owen called.

    “I’m fine!” Zena popped out of the soil as a puddle of water. She aimed a beam of water at Hardscale. This time, she struck true. A direct hit!

    Owen grasped at that watery energy and pointed at him next. From his fingers came a secondary beam of water—not nearly as strong as Zena’s, but it would do as a follow-up against the rival Charizard.

    “Down!” Owen called to Zena.

    She followed on command, Diving underwater and dodging a Hydro Pump from Blastoise. Was his Perceive cheating? Maybe, but this trainer’s Pokémon were absurdly strong. Yes, Owen was weaker here, but still! He’d completely wiped his other grown siblings back at the lab. Hardscale was on a whole other level.

    Zena emerged near one of the trees and blasted Blastoise with Ice Beam instead. The cold air snapped and solidified the grass below, leaving a trail of ice that struck Blastoise’s leg, pinning him to the ground. It wasn’t effective, but they were naturally trying to fight against their matchups for an even playing field.

    Owen took a deep breath and retaliated with flames at Blastoise’s face. He considered switching to Grass… but Hardscale’s pressure got in the way of finding a good time to switch. Hardscale was faster, diving in the way. But just as he did, a blinding light forced Owen to rely on his Perceive entirely. Zena dived under the ground again as water, weaving past trails of ice Blastoise had shot into the ground.

    Hardscale’s body was changing. Wings lengthened. His body slimmed down. The heat redoubled from the sun’s abrupt brightness. A prismatic shell surrounded Hardscale’s body, rainbow flames leaking through the cracks of the brief egg that had appeared.

    It shattered, revealing a Charizard Owen had never seen before with a large, third horn jutting out the center of his head and small wing fins on his wrists. An orange marble glimmered on Hardscale’s left wrist—something Owen thought was simply decorative before. But now that he had a closer look… He had something similar in his bag, too!

    Hardscale’s body language was frenzied. But with a few simple gestures and a grunt from the red-capped human, he was in total control.

    Zena popped up and blasted Blastoise with a potshot Ice Beam, freezing him over completely. Hardscale retaliated with a quick-charge Solar Beam from the sky. Zena looked up—

    “No!”

    Owen reached out and formed a Protect—and then attempted an old technique Necrozma had given him. The shield disappeared… and reappeared over Zena, deflecting the beam to form yet another crater.

    The spikey-haired human whistled. “Never saw that move before,” he said. In his lap was Mu, watching the spectacle with wide eyes.

    The red-capped human also looked surprised. He brought out a Poké Ball and withdrew Blastoise, who could no longer battle.

    It had been a two-on-two fight. Now, Owen had the upper hand. What Owen found unreal was that there were technically four other Pokémon this trainer chose not to use in the name of fairness…

    “It’s not over yet,” Owen warned. The heat would make Zena’s attacks a lot weaker. The elemental energy in the air dampened her best strikes while strengthening Hardscale’s. But it also strengthened Owen’s.

    A shame Solar Beam wouldn’t be of any use here.

    Hardscale lunged forward and feinted. Owen saw it coming, easily parrying a jet of compressed air from Hardscale’s right wing. Air Slash… Owen knew what to do with that. “Zena! Put pressure on him from behind me!” Owen called.

    “Right!”

    Zena slithered back, gaining ground, and kept her distance from Hardscale. He tried to pursue him, but Owen got in his way. Indigo flames rose from the back of Hardscale’s throat. It was going to be aimed at him, the way his eyes trailed despite his head facing Zena.

    Zena flinched and covered her face with her tail-fan. Owen put up a golden barrier with one hand while holding the other back. The Dragon Pulse bled over the shield; Owen grasped at the energy and tugged it into a tight blue sphere.

    The two humans leaned forward to observe.

    Owen slammed his hand into the ground, shoving the sphere into the soil, and then jumped back. He had to keep up the pressure and taunt him forward. Owen caught a lucky break—Hardscale took the bait before the human could command otherwise.

    Blue fire—Hardscale’s own, claimed and reflected—exploded from below. A direct hit and Hardscale didn’t expect it.

    Owen also didn’t expect Hardscale to power through it anyway.

    “Wh—”

    Zena got a potshot Hydro Pump in from the side. Even that didn’t redirect the frenzied pursuit of Hardscale’s fire. Owen was too slow to put up another shield. In moments, his vision was clouded by dragon fire. A moment later, Owen was on his back, even more blue flames pelting his face and burning up his scales. He roared, euphoric fervor kicking in, and lunged for Hardscale’s throat. He couldn’t gain purchase and Hardscale twirled around and thwacked him with his tail.

    Zena came in with another Hydro Pump. While it wasn’t strong, it was enough to knock Hardscale off him. Owen followed up with another Dragon Pulse, blowing Hardscale into a tree. He crumpled to the ground, having no strength left to stand.

    A few seconds passed. Owen waited for a second wind to come. When light mist drifted off Hardscale, returning his form to normal, Owen knew the battle was over and collapsed onto his rear.

    “Good fight,” he growled.

    Hardscale snorted back. Owen caught a competitive smile before his form dissolved into the capsule that stored him away.

    The spikey-haired human clapped. “Great job!” he called. “I could tell you were all going full force. You’re a cut above the rest to stand toe to toe against Charizard and Blastoise like that.”

    “Thanks,” Owen replied, glancing at Red Cap.

    He smiled and brought two fingers to his hat, tilting it and his head forward in an acknowledging nod. He then glanced at the other human.

    “Yeah, go ahead and heal them up,” he replied as if Red Cap had said something.

    Soon, he departed, and Owen rested his back against a tree. Mu ran to Zena and hugged her, resting in her coils while she recovered next to Owen.

    “That… was great. I’m glad Hardscale got to be so strong,” Owen said.

    “Hardscale?” the human asked. “How’d you know his name? Don’t think he ever told you…”

    “Oh, sorry. That’s his ‘feral name,’ so I don’t think you’d understand it.”

    “Feral, huh?” Something about that seemed to bother the human, the way he reacted. “I guess it’s just how Pokémon talk here. But y’know, Red calls him Hardscale, too. Thought it was a nickname.”

    Owen nodded but then paused. “Wait, that’s right! I never introduced myself…”

    “Ah, don’t worry. He’s kinda like that.” He shrugged. “The name’s Blue, by the way.”

    “Oh, I see. Because of your clothing?” Zena asked.

    “Ehh, sure.” Blue laughed and shook his head. “Red’s my rival and my best friend. We’ve been all over the place. It all started when he took out Team Rocket and became Champion… riiight after I became Champion. Ever since then, I’ve wanted to fight alongside him—and maybe one day surpass him, heh.”

    But as Blue rambled, Owen tensed. That organization…

    “Something wrong?” Blue asked.

    “Sorry,” Owen said. “A long time ago, I… had a run-in with Team Rocket myself. I used to be with a human trainer when I was a normal Pokémon. And… our team was stolen by them.”

    Blue’s expression darkened. A hint of fury. “Really? Stolen, huh? How long ago?”

    “It’s been decades now,” Owen said. “We had to run away. We got too involved in their organization. We were in danger in Kanto. So… we just couldn’t reunite.”

    “Well,” Blue said, digging into his pocket, “let’s help you with that.”

    “Huh?”

    He pulled out a phone. “It’s an old database at this point, but we’ve got a list of all Pokémon that have ever been stolen by Team Rocket. You know, to try to reunite them with their original trainers. So, if you know your trainer’s identity…”

    “I—I do! I mean, I can try…!”

    This changed everything. Mu, perhaps sensing Owen’s brightening flame, peered at him and crawled onto his shoulder next. She scaled his cheek and landed belly-down on the top of his head, her chin just above his eyes.

    “Alright. Let’s start with a name,” Blue said.

    Owen tried to recall everything he could and Blue punched in a few letters in a text box. Technology was amazing—in the palm of his hand, he could look up exactly whose Pokémon might have been lost?

    “By the way, uh, your human trainer… He in that other world?”

    “Y-yeah.” Owen avoided Zena’s gaze but could Perceive her staring at him. “…He’s… different now. But I think it would give him closure to know that they’re okay, and we’re okay, even if we’ve been apart so long.”

    “Nah, I get it. Lots of trainers are like that. You’re not alone.” Blue waited for something to load. “…Well, look at that. We’ve got a match.” He faced the screen at Owen.

    The memories slammed into Owen’s heart. Duos, now a Pidgeot, was under the care of someone… just one town over. Trident, now a mighty Nidoking, was cared for in a whole other region. And the rest of Tim’s team, too. All… fine, but elsewhere.

    “I’m gonna get Red,” Blue said, standing up. “Looks like we’ve got someone only a short flight away.”

    He tossed a Poké Ball into the air, revealing another Pidgeot. Owen suppressed a pang of guilt.

    “Meet us in town!” he called, hopping onto Pidgeot’s back

    And as he flew away, Zena slithered up to Owen and transferred Mu from his shoulder to her head.

    “Will you be okay?” she asked gently.

    Owen nodded. “Yeah. In fact… maybe I need this.”

    <><><>​

    Adrenaline and anxiety still ran through everyone’s systems in the ruined upper floors of Destiny Tower. Diyem could feel it all, like how Star was resting against Hecto’s titanic, full-form body’s shoulders. Arceus remained on his side, partially propped up by his golden wheel and some rubble he used as a pillow. Migami looked twitchy and anxious, but perhaps the one thing keeping them from losing their minds completely was the Trio of Mind tending to them with Trina’s expert hypnosis.

    Diyem sat down on a larger piece of rubble, elbows on his thighs, and sighed.

    When he exhaled, black smoke thickly pooled on the ground from his mouth. And little by little, that calm exhale became panicked, gasping coughs. The pool of darkness congealed as Angelo collapsed into a shivering heap.

    “N-never… a-again…” Angelo whimpered. “I can’t believe I did all of that. I could have died! I could have died from the wrath of God Himself!”

    “Yeah, gonna be honest, Angelo, no way you had the mettle to do that without Diyem helping ya.” Zoroark hopped over to the trembling Smeargle and patted him on the back. “Good job, though! You were a nice vessel!”

    “Who… who are you?” Angelo wheezed.

    “I’m—” She paused. “Er… huh. Three and a half names popped up… couldn’t decide which one to say.”

    “…And a half?”

    Zoroark nodded. “I’m… Amelia, Enet, and Spice. And before that, I was Remi, but that one’s more… distant. So, half.”

    “Wonderful. I have to deal with you again.”

    Diyem’s form slowly rose from the dark mass, taking on the shape of a diminutive Charmander with a black flame.

    “I don’t think Remi ever met you in person before,” Zoroark said. “Just… you know, secondhand.”

    Mhynt, a Treecko, crossed her arms. “And despite knowing me secondhand you’re speaking about yourself in third person.” She paced toward Zoroark nervously. “Are you… Remi?”

    “I am,” she replied. “But, uh… I mean…” There was a flash of realization in her eyes. “Oh, that’s right. You’re my original mom, right?”

    Mhynt flinched.

    Diyem felt a spike of negativity from her. Betrayal? No, not quite betrayal. But it was a sudden and deep sadness. When Mhynt’s eyes trailed to Diyem, that feeling disappeared. Masked. How clever; she knew how to hide her aura.

    “I am,” Mhynt said. “To Remi. You… remember being Remi?”

    She nodded and then looked at her paws. “…Huh. Hang on.” She twirled and closed her eyes. A wave of light enveloped Zoroark, and suddenly…

    There was another flash of negativity, and Diyem recognized it more clearly this time—desperate longing.

    Standing before them was a Sceptile with no particularly outstanding features beyond the slight glow her body gave off. She smiled and stood tall. “How’s it look? Just like you remember, right? Just an Illusion, sure, but…”

    “Hmph. If you’re part Void Shadow, you could probably make that illusion the real thing,” Diyem finally said after forming enough of his body to talk properly. Charmander… why always Charmander when at his weakest? Owen truly was the gift that kept on giving.

    “Oh, can I?” Sceptile asked. “…Oh! Anyway, uh…” She nodded at Mhynt. “This is who I used to be. But… I’ve lived a lot of lives since then. So, you know… times change.”

    “…Right. Of course.” Mhynt nodded. “I’ve… also changed, I’m sure.”

    “Yeah, no kidding. You’re tiny!”

    “No, that’s not—”

    “I know, I know.” Sceptile nodded. “…I know. It’s okay.”

    Barky groaned, finally waking up. Sceptile dropped her illusion and became a spectral Zoroark again. “Talk later?” she asked Mhynt, who nodded.

    “Are you sane?” Diyem asked, carefully approaching Barky.

    Angelo was already trembling in the corner of the rubble, hiding behind Hecto’s titanic legs.

    Diyem knew the answer. He could no longer sense any deep darkness within Barky.

    “Why… was I like that?” Barky whispered.

    “A shadow tried to consume you from the inside,” Diyem said. “But it was recent… and not complete. We were able to dispel it without taking dramatic measures. But it also seems like much of your power was stolen, too.”

    Angelo sputtered, pointing at the five stories of rubble above them. “THAT wasn’t dramatic?!”

    “Well, we’ve got…” Zoroark squinted. “…Ninety-five or so floors more, so we could’ve done more.”

    “Ninety-four. We went through five floors and Destiny Tower has ninety-nine,” Diyem said.

    He saw a flash of Enet’s hatred of numbers in Zoroark’s eyes.

    Barky rested his head on the pure marble floor. “It happened so easily… me, the Alpha, the protector of Kilo, the—”

    “Darkness consumes everything,” Diyem said coldly, the black flame on his tail crackling. “Even gods. Do not dwell on this fundamental aspect of the world you created. Let’s figure out how it happened.” Diyem approached, leaning forward with his hands behind his back.

    “Figure out…” Barky grumbled and turned his head away. Then he stiffened and said, “Where is Ghrelle? I attacked… I attacked Ghrelle…”

    “She was here?” Diyem said. “Hmm…”

    “Do you think it was her?” Zoroark asked.

    “It’s a possibility. Who else was in contact with you today?”

    “Madeline, with Giratina, reporting in…”

    Diyem shook his head. “Unlikely, I’ve already handled the darkness in her.”

    “Palkia…”

    “He’s terrible for other reasons.”

    “Dialga…”

    “We took care of his darkness; that one’s my fault.” Diyem nodded. “And Star, I presume.”

    “And can’t be me!” Star said quickly. “You, uh, you can sense that in me, and stuff, right? I’ve… been trying to lay low and relax. I can’t stand Shadow stuff anymore…”

    “Mm.” Diyem nodded. “Dialga’s Shadows were also agitated while we were speaking to him and you went on ahead… Spice.” Diyem just guessed. “I can’t be sure if that was a coincidence or an activation from someone else—another of my fragments. Signs point to Ghrelle… Where did she go?”

    “I thought she was tricking me. I attacked her with a Judgment… sent her off the Tower, and—Gravity sent her downward. Gods, how could I have…”

    “I didn’t arrive in time to see it,” Mhynt said. “Gahi?”

    Migami was still fused, arms crossed and tendrils writhing. They were deeply concentrating. “I can’t remember,” they said. “Don’t think I saw Ghrelle’s aura… but I haven’t seen her aura a whole lot. She’s usually off in her swamp. Which is creepy, by the way, all the melting and stuff we heard…”

    Diyem hummed again, arms crossed. Yes. This added up. But he just needed to know…

    “Is Ghrelle Kyurem or Zekrom?”

    “What do you mean?” Zoroark asked.

    “We know that Brandon is Reshiram. We also know that the Trinity made up the components of the Divine Dragon. Therefore, Aramé and Ghrelle were the other two components. Their ability to fuse is based on an old legend in the human world, and three auras fusing into one being was supposed to rise near the upper gods. That is why Nevren attempted to invent a four-way fusion to surpass the gods before the instability forced them to separate.”

    Barky sighed. “It’s… foggy. But… considering the way they behave, I could only assume that Aramé was Kyurem and Ghrelle was Zekrom.”

    “…No. I don’t believe that’s the case,” Diyem said. “And the fact that you aren’t sure means those memories, despite everything, are still sealed and obscured. Could there be a more powerful, rogue piece than I’d expected?”

    “Oh!” Zoroark nodded. “I remember. Back when I was… still Remi, I was attacked by Kyurem, but Zekrom wasn’t anywhere.”

    “Zekrom was captured, but not corrupted in the same way Kyurem was. Zekrom is likely a Void Titan to be freed by Brandon’s group today. Kyurem, however… Describe Ghrelle to me.”

    “Ghrelle?” Barky said. “She… sings in worship. She only allows those of pure heart to enter her domain. Anyone with impurities in their heart would be killed. She’s crafted her domain so masterfully that it’s a great defense for any Hunter, for one…”

    “And her appearance?”

    “Usually, an Altaria. At her strongest, she would use her Poison powers and liquefy, becoming—”

    “She’s Kyurem.”

    “What?”

    “Poison isn’t evil, you know,” Zoroark said, arms crossed.

    “No. The liquefying. The malleable form. That, combined with her abnormally strong domain, and her appearance here, is enough for me to be confident that not only is Ghrelle alive, but she likely coordinated your retaliation so we’d never see her by the time you went berserk. A carefully crafted plan that could have pointed us at Aramé instead, or just you… had it not been for my existence. A variable another fragment of mine could not have predicted.”

    “…So, what’s liquefying have to do with that?” Zoroark asked again.

    Diyem held up a hand and let it darken and soften like wet clay. “Anam, Emily. Two people who have more Shadow than Radiance in them. At greater concentrations, Divine Shadows cause your body to take on Void-like properties—in other words, you melt.”

    “Oh.” Zoroark hummed. “What’s that mean for Owen? Or… you?” She looked at Mhynt.

    Diyem thought about it and then nodded. “Mhynt was infused with Radiance first as a primary blessing, directly from Necrozma. Then she was corrupted by Alexander, a secondary source. While it snuffed out her light, it wasn’t enough to overpower that primary-source blessing in her core.”

    “Ugh, primary, secondary…” Zoroark rubbed her head. “Okay. So Anam and Emily were in direct contact with you. But didn’t Emily also take on Necrozma’s blessing?”

    “Yes… I suppose by that logic, we’ve seen what happens if someone took both blessings directly and then rejected one down the line. The Shadows dominated Emily. With Necrozma banished, the light faded more… though she kept her size.”

    “Owen never liquefied,” Zoroark pointed out. She migrated to Star and Hecto, leaning against the latter’s leg before sliding down into a squatting position, looking pensive.

    “Owen may have fought against Necrozma, but I do not think he ever lost his light. He was trying to save everyone. When it comes to compatibility with divine power, that’s meaningful. Divine power operates on a level that transcends the fabric of reality; it allows your will to manipulate the world around you on a scale far greater than a mortal, powerful Pokémon. Therefore, if it bends to your will, then a weak will, or a conflicted will, dampens and destabilizes that power.”

    “Guess that explains why Barky’s always got the edge on me half the time,” Star mumbled, rubbing her arm. “He’s too stubborn to falter.”

    “Except when you get really mad,” Zoroark pointed out to Star. “Then you trump him.”

    Migami, finally relaxing, split into their components. Gahi grumbled to himself and rubbed his arms. “Alright, so… what, Spice-Enet over there ain’t that, either?”

    “I’m part Amelia, too,” Zoroark mumbled.

    “I noticed that your power was… closer,” Diyem said, “but not a perfect match.”

    “Well, let’s trace your aura history, huh?” Star said, disappearing and reappearing in Zoroark’s mane. “Amelia… she was somehow born under Klent’s family, right? How’s that story go?”

    “Klent adopted me. I was an egg that he found one day, no parents anywhere. Even though he was a Guardian at the time, he wanted to protect me… He did a great job.”

    “Do you remember how that happened?” Star asked. “The… Dark War. That’s when you disappeared, I think…”

    Zoroark nodded. “Spice was taken by Alexander. That part’s… still a little hazy. I get serious… dread when I try to think back to it, so, um, I don’t… think I want to talk about that yet.”

    “That’s alright. I think we have enough pieces there.” Star glanced at Diyem, who nodded. “How about Enet?”

    “Oh, I have tons of memories from Enet… and all the other Pokémon she used to be. I don’t know how Nate did it… but I was put through reincarnation a lot, over and over until I’d eventually get drawn to Owen and the others again to help. That was the plan.” She grinned, showing pointy teeth. “Paid off, huh?”

    Angelo gawked. “Reincarnated… you… you’re how many lives? How many times did you…”

    “It wasn’t that long. I only remember living… I mean, I’d have to think about it. But it was feral, all of them. Really simple lives. In retrospect… not bad. Brutal ways to die, though.”

    Angelo winced. “D-don’t elaborate. Please.”

    “Well, there’s one thing you have in common with Owen,” Diyem muttered.

    Zoroark rolled her eyes. “So, Enet was pretty simple. Aside from taking on the Radiant blessings from the Electric Orb, she didn’t acquire any special powers. Spice obviously had Shadows going on—”

    “From Alexander,” Star said. “So, a secondary blessing. And Amelia… Necrozma must have somehow coordinated for you to have Radiance from there. And you also inherited it, right?”

    “You know, how come Alexander doesn’t melt?” Zoroark asked.

    “His convictions must be even stronger than the amount of power he took in,” Diyem said. “So strong he does not melt to its negative energy.”

    Zoroark stared blankly.

    Diyem groaned. “He was evil before taking Shadows. So rather than melt to it, he seized it.”

    “Oh. So he’s like. Always been bad?”

    “Some Pokémon are not good,” Diyem said plainly. “I won’t be poetic about the whys and hows. Alexander is evil, and he took and harnessed an evil power. This is why he is the most dangerous foe we must deal with.”

    “Wonder what he’s doing,” Zoroark remarked, leaning back and using her mane as a cushion. “Big bad evil guy must be on a coffee break.”

    “From what I understand, Owen tossed him into the living world. So, assuming he didn’t evaporate and it was only an echo of his corruption in the broken Porygon, he’s recovering again. Even someone as powerful as Alexander cannot last long in the living realm.”

    “Right… Okay, well, back to supernatural science. You melt if you have too much Shadow. What happens if you can’t handle Radiance, then?” Zoroark asked. “Like, do you melt?”

    “You explode,” Diyem said. “Violently.”

    “Oh.”

    “Radiance is an excitation factor. Where Shadows tend to pronounce your fears and negative emotions, Radiance tends to pronounce your front-facing emotions. Haywire Radiance leads to explosive personalities as their aura feeds into itself. More and more energy leads to an explosion when it can no longer be contained.”

    “So too much Shadows means you melt, and too much Radiance means you explode?” asked Zoroark. “Is it at least a cool explosion?”

    “Do not explode.” Diyem glared.

    “Hmm.” Trina, still a tiny Snivy sitting atop Gahi’s head, raised a small hand. “I should note, then, that I’m sensing… instability in Zoroark’s aura right now.”

    “Oh, come on, why does everyone sense aura?” Zoroark complained. “Isn’t that supposed to be rare and cool?”

    “It comes with divinity. Your peers happen to all be divine,” Diyem deadpanned. “Congratulations.”

    Zoroark rolled her eyes.

    Trina went on, “Perhaps it’s more psychological, but it reminds me of how fused mutants can become frenzied from conflicting thoughts. Her Radiance might be exasperating it.”

    “Understandable. She’s still sorting out her three headspaces, yes?” Diyem eyed Zoroark.

    “A little… I think I’m excited. I’ll try to stay calm. So… if I’m being overwhelmed by negative thoughts and positive thoughts at the same time, do I make a goopy explosion instead?” Zoroark asked.

    “…Sure.” Diyem didn’t want to bother with this battle. “Can we get back on topic?”

    “Oh. Right.” Zoroark nodded. “Well… back to me… I guess when you frame it that way, I’m a lot more Radiance than Shadows, even with Spice.”

    “That’s why it’s not perfectly balanced for you, either,” Star said, nodding.

    “Ugh, whatever!” Zoroark held up her arms. “Why are we talking about balance, anyway?! What’s it matter if I’m a little too Radiant?”

    “As it stands,” Diyem said, “we are facing foes that have an abundance of Shadows and Radiance. They are unstable, and they can more or less obliterate anyone with the opposite element. Rhys was very vulnerable to my Shadows because he, as a ‘Mystic,’ was inherently Radiant. Meanwhile, someone like Alexander would utterly dissolve against someone like Necrozma… had he not been corrupted, weakening that pure Radiance.

    “The balance is important because it allows you to control your Shadows and Radiance. Remi… or whatever you wish to call yourself… You did that exact thing against Barky.”

    “Eh?”

    “…Please tell me that was intentional.”

    “It was intentional.”

    Diyem stared at her. Others looked between them. Zoroark didn’t speak.

    “And what was intentional?” Diyem tested.

    “…Throwing stuff back?” Zoroark said. “I definitely didn’t have the power to beat the guy. But Arceus had the power to beat himself! So…”

    “Oh, good. That wasn’t just dumb luck.” Diyem had a feeling she’d conjured that on the spot. But it had to have come from somewhere—perhaps a teaching from Owen or Necrozma in the past. “If you have perfectly balanced blessings of Shadows and Radiance, you can also perfectly control either incoming element. Too much Shadow, and you can be countered by Radiance, and the reverse. But with both in harmony…”

    “Ohh!” Zoroark nodded. “All the benefits, none of the weaknesses.”

    “And we need every benefit possible with what we’re against. Even I cannot stand up to Necrozma at this point, and none of us can take Alexander when most of our powers are sourced from weak Radiance fragments. Owen may be weak… but he has the one tool available to us that can overcome the tilted scales. Unless…” Diyem sighed through his nose. “We can think of someone else with that same balance to train. But I’m not coming up with anything.”

    “Right…” Zoroark brought her claws to her chin. The others also went back to staring at the ground, ruins, walls, to think.

    “What about Emily?” Barky asked. “Her disposition is strange, but if we can rescue her from the piece of Dark Matter within her, will she—”

    “It will likely be Anam’s case again,” Diyem answered. “Emily did not accept a full blessing. It overtook her. She was not able to handle it the same way Owen can; you can tell because she melts.”

    “And melting is when you’re too Shadowy,” Zoroark recalled.

    “Divine Shadows, but yes,” Diyem confirmed. “You become half Void Shadow. It taints your spirit and seeps into the rest of your body. If you do not have the mental, spiritual, and physical fortitude to endure this, even during moments of weakness, you erode until you are a shapeless blob that you call ‘wraiths’ in the living world.”

    “That’s terrifying,” Angelo said. “A-am I going to melt?”

    “You’re fine. I made sure not to turn you into a blob.”

    “Now that I think about it, even Anam is a little more blobby than a normal Goodra.”

    “It isn’t as bad as before,” Diyem said, “…but yes. The effects are permanent, barring divine intervention.” He eyed Barky. “Seems we’ve had a lot of that lately. But you know what I mean.”

    Zoroark sighed and flopped onto her back, using her mane as a cushion. “Then if Emily has too much Shadows, I have too much Radiance, and everyone else is off balance some other way… that means Owen’s the best bet after all, huh?”

    “Yes. Mhynt comes close.” Diyem nodded at her. “But her Shadow blessing is secondary from Alexander. You also come close, but for the same reason, it’s not a perfect balance. Owen… is the only person to directly take on a Shadow and Radiant blessing from the primary source. The only person who took blessings directly from myself and Necrozma, and could maintain both positive and negative.”

    “Without goosplosions,” Zoroark clarified.

    “…I miss Spice,” Diyem murmured.

    Zoroark sighed, leaning back and grabbing Star to rub between her ears. “And Owen’s in the middle of this all because he can’t stop helping people.” She let Star go, who floated over to comfort Barky. “Why can’t you give that blessing now, huh?” She eyed Diyem.

    “Unfortunately, as I am, I do not have that magnitude of power. Otherwise, we would have had many ‘Owen’-level blessed people to solve this already.”

    “Great.” Zoroark huffed, narrowing her eyes in thought.

    “Yes. The same person who got us into this mess is the only person who can take us out the most effectively. And… I cannot sense him in this realm anymore.”

    “He’s in the human world. His home world,” Barky said. “I… do not have the power to recall him. Time is also flowing much faster there, which is the inverse of how it used to be relative to Kilo. Dialga, what about him? Where is he now?”

    Diyem held still, showing no expression.

    “…What did you do to Dialga?”

    A few more seconds. Then, he replied stoically, “He’s alive.”

    “Did you eat him?” Zoroark asked.

    “What? No. I can’t do that when I’m possessing someone.”

    “Y-you can eat people?!” Angelo squeaked.

    “Everyone can.”

    Zoroark patted Angelo on the head. “It’s alright, buddy. Well… okay. So, Dialga’s out of commission…”

    Star held onto Barky’s golden wheel like a playground gym. “What’s the time dilation for Owen again?”

    “One to a hundred.”

    “Oh, wow. Isn’t that the max we set things?” she mumbled. “Okay, cool. So… Owen gets a vacation? How long until we can get him back?”

    “I don’t know how to get him back,” Arceus said. “But we can at least get the flow of time back to normal when Dialga’s back to his old self again.”

    “That may take a few days,” Diyem said.

    “So, a year for Owen,” Star said. “We’re sure he’s fine?”

    “With his luck,” Diyem said, “…No.”

    “Can always rely on you for optimism,” Zoroark said, patting him on the head. The Charmander’s black flame crackled. He was not a child.

    He ducked and evaded further touch. “We’ve done enough for now. Let’s gather our strength, descend the tower, and report to the others in Kilo Village.”

    “Good plan,” Star said. “I wish we could let them know sooner, but that’s a long climb down…”

    Then came a tiny voice. “Oh! I can help!”

    “Uh?” Zoroark fished around her fur and pulled out a little Joltik. “Another one?”

    “Willow,” Diyem greeted with a frown.

    “I’m even better than Hecto now!” Willow claimed.

    The titanic Hecto turned his head in her direction. Diyem thought he’d felt a flash of competitive annoyance from him.

    “I can communicate with all two hundred and thirty-seven of me!”

    “Two thirty-seven?” Trina said. “I thought you counted a few more than that last time.”

    “Got squished.” Willow giggled. “Those hurt. But the rest of me can tell the others!”

    “That’s great, Willow,” Star said. “Thanks. That’ll let us not have to rush it and Dialga can gather his strength faster. He’s further below, right?”

    “Yes,” Hecto said. “I recall running past him only three floors down.”

    “Awesome.” Star lifted herself higher. “Alright, let’s regroup, everyone. We’ve got some answers on that missing fragment! Now we just have to figure out how to catch it…”

    Diyem noticed that Star was oddly peaceful lately. He rarely felt the same intense negative waves from her when she’d been pulled from the Voidlands. More confident than before. There was still a deep fear from the trauma that she was masking—he always sensed that—but it was… lesser.

    He’d have to figure out why later.

    As the team meandered down the partially damaged tower, Zoroark hummed thoughtfully to herself.

    “I need to figure out a name.”

    And if she came from Owen, her name was probably going to be horrible.

    <><><>​

    The next town over—Viridian City—was only a handful of minutes away by wing. They landed all at once and nobody seemed to pay them any mind.

    Blue warned them to avoid talking if they could so they didn’t draw too much attention. News of them hadn’t spread too far yet, surely.

    Then again, with how quickly Blue was able to get that information about Duos…

    “Let’s see…” Blue wandered the streets, his shoes making rhythmic tapping on the pavement that fascinated Owen. Zena, too, watched all the new technology that this world had to offer. She occasionally, quietly, asked their escorts what everything was. She learned what traffic lights were, what cars were, street lights, and all other things that Owen took for granted on his return.

    Knock knock knock.

    And before they knew it, they were standing in front of a small apartment on the third floor. Zena struggled through the stairs, remarking about how uncomfortable the stone was on her scales, and settled along the wall so she didn’t block the walkway. Owen had similar troubles and kept his wings folded behind him.

    The door opened. Owen already knew who was on the other side, though with the door open, he now also knew that the human had pink hair and brown eyes.

    “Oh, hello,” she greeted. “Wait… I know you!”

    Red smiled and offered a small nod.

    “Hey! Sorry to bother you,” Blue said with a wave. “We wanted to see your Pidgeot. An old friend of his is here.” He gestured to Owen.

    Her eyes brightened. “Oh, that’s wonderful! From…?”

    Blue nodded.

    “I’ll be right back!” She stepped away and ran into another room. While everyone else waited, Owen curiously watched with Perceive as she moved through her home and picked up one of the Poké Balls, whispering for whoever was inside to wake up.

    And that’s when it hit Owen that this was happening. Duos was right there. After all this time, everything that happened, he was… right here.

    She returned and tossed the ball in the air just out her doorway. It popped open, spilling light onto the floor.

    A Pidgeot spread his wings and flicked off remnant lights from his body. He looked left and right and settled on Owen.

    There wasn’t any recognition at first. Understandable; it had been so long and it wasn’t like his mother or father.

    But Duos opened his beak in disbelief. “Smallflame?” he asked. “You look so different, but… your eyes…”

    “Greatwing…” Involuntary or not, Owen had already switched to his native tongue.

    Something about the situation must have entertained Blue. With a warm yet amused smirk, he glanced at Red, who seemed transfixed. Mu, resting on Zena’s coils, let out a whine of discomfort. Zena gently rocked her in her ribbons to calm her down.

    “Where have you been?” Duos asked. He hopped forward.

    Finally, Owen stepped closer, too, collapsing over Duos’ body in an embrace. He was so soft. He chirped and cooed gently back to Owen, who couldn’t stop shaking.

    “It’s been a long, long time,” Owen said with a trembling voice. “Too long, so… so long. I’m glad you’re okay. I’m glad you were saved.”

    “Smallflame…”

    The pink-haired human wiped a few tears from her eyes. “I’ll—get some food prepared. Please, come in,” she said.

    “Not gonna deny a meal!” Blue declared with a smile.

    Owen pulled away, sniffling as the weight of an old, old burden seemed to evaporate from his shoulders. His vision was blurry, even after wiping his eyes a few times. A patch of buildings in the distance was just a rippling mess.

    “Yeah,” Owen whispered. “Just a day, though. We have… things to do.”

    Duos nodded. “Tell me all about it. You feel so strong now…”

    Owen sobbed a laugh and nodded. “Yeah! Yeah…”

    Zena’s gaze was fixed on something behind Duos, past the streets. The wind blew and metal bird chimes sang. It just occurred to Owen that several cars had stopped by the sides of the street, people getting out to look at something.

    Mu’s whining didn’t stop no matter how much Zena tried to comfort her.

    Blue and Red exchanged looks, then followed where those drivers were staring.

    The warmth of his reunion was doused with icy water. Tears hadn’t blurred that patch of buildings. It was a distortion of light.

    One he and Zena knew all too well.

    A Dungeon had formed in Viridian City.
     
    Chapter 166 - Other Guardians
  • Namohysip

    Dragon Enthusiast
    Staff
    Partners
    1. flygon
    2. charizard
    3. milotic
    4. zoroark-soda
    5. sceptile
    6. marowak
    7. jirachi
    8. meganium
    9. namo-rock
    Chapter 166 – Other Guardians

    Dungeons were supposed to be a Kiloan problem. What was it doing in another reality?!

    Owen was far more alarmed than any of the humans. When they caught his gaze, some of their worries mirrored his, but he and Zena were the only ones who understood the magnitude of how bad this was.

    “You know this?” Blue asked.

    “Yeah. It’s… We need to investigate it right now. It’s—dangerous, depending on what’s in there.”

    “How big of a problem is this?” Blue clarified.

    “…Big? Very big? Huge. Just, huge.”

    Blue nodded, his jovial, lighthearted expression completely gone. All business. He stared at Red. “Go with them. I’m gonna make some calls.”

    Red nodded, then tossed a Poké Ball in the air, summoning Hardscale again.

    “Um,” said the pink-haired human, “did Charizard just talk?”

    “Oh, s-sorry, I’m Owen! But I need to go now, um, bye, Duos!”

    Duos looked dumbfounded.

    Owen sped onward, following Hardscale as they passed several buildings at once. They heard a siren down below chirp once, quickly, as if to get their attention.

    “Don’t go that way!” called a human dressed in blue standing near a car that Owen guessed was with the police. “It’s dangerous!”

    “We know!” Zena called.

    The human said nothing in reply, staring.

    “Um, Zena, I think you’re not supposed to talk to humans,” Owen said.

    “Didn’t you a few seconds ago?”

    “…We’re bad at this.”

    They left the officer behind, passing over more buildings. The distortion was clearer now and about the size of a ‘small’ Dungeon by Owen’s perspective, no more than a district wide. But for a place so densely populated, that was as if a Dungeon had swallowed up Kilo Village.

    “What do we do?” Zena asked. “Go in, rescue anyone inside, and have Blue call some authorities so we can inform them?”

    “I think so,” Owen said. “First is trying to see if that Dungeon can be sealed. Then we can figure out damage control, and why it’s showing up in the first place. It shouldn’t have been more than a few kilos back home right now—did something happen? I haven’t heard anything from Barky since last time…”

    “It’s not like he’ll check in more than once every few moons from our perspective,” Zena pointed out.

    “R-right…”

    They were getting close. “Land here!” Owen called to Red, diving to the streets. Zena landed next to them and he double-checked that Mu was still doing alright. Heading into the Dungeon was dangerous for her, but leaving her with Blue, she might wander off…

    Red landed and tossed a ball, forming a Pikachu with a powerful aura that Owen instantly recognized. That was no normal Pikachu…

    “Inside, things are going to be twisted around and changed in strange ways,” Owen explained to Red. “It might be like a maze. What we need to do is go through each section and try to rescue as many people as we can. I don’t… have my Badge with me that usually helps with this, but maybe I can replicate its power. I have the same thing that was used to make them, so…”

    Red nodded and walked into the distortion without fear.

    “He doesn’t even hesitate,” Zena murmured.

    “Something tells me this isn’t the first time he’s been through… things.” Owen held Mu a little tighter. “Listen, Mu. You need to behave and don’t wander off, okay? It’s going to be a little dangerous, but we’ll keep you safe.”

    Mu stared at him with wide eyes, craning her neck faaaar back to look up.

    “I’ll do the fighting,” Zena offered. “Hopefully this Dungeon isn’t too dangerous. Come, Red’s waiting.”

    They pushed through the rippling barrier…

    The buildings had been twisted and warped at impossible angles. A simple three-story building had twisted into a corkscrew. A human dangled from a second-story window, aiming to drop into a bush below. Ahead, water pipes were contorted into something that reminded Owen of pasta in the central street. The street itself became more like an oblong checkerboard of grass and pavement. Several buildings lined up like soldiers shoulder to shoulder, closing in on once spacious alleyways with only a foot or so of leeway.

    “So this is what a Dungeon would do to human architecture,” Zena murmured.

    Hardscale roared ahead, just around the corner. A black blob flew past their view and evaporated.

    “No! How?” Owen whispered. “Wraiths?! But that can only mean…!”

    “This is bad, Owen,” Zena said. “Red isn’t experienced with this sort of thing! His Pokémon can’t handle wraiths!”

    Owen flew forward and took a deep breath, preparing the best Flamethrower he could muster. With his Perceive, he detected four wraiths. No more seemed to be pouring in, so at least it wasn’t a huge onslaught.

    Three wraiths. One had dematerialized.

    No, two. That was another. Owen couldn’t Perceive what was doing that, but their bodies sizzled as if hit by a massive amount of energy all at once.

    They rounded the corner just in time to see a bolt of lightning spearing the third wraith, dispelling it instantly. Its ominous fog seeped into the ground; Owen wasn’t sure if it was returning to the Voidlands or lying dormant…

    Owen fired at the final wraith. This one was sneaking behind a streetlight that had been curled into a spiral. Just one strike was enough to dispatch it.

    “…Any more?” Zena asked, but then gasped and shot at the air. The Hydro Pump left Owen’s Perceive range. When he turned to let his eyes do the watching, he saw a faraway, flying wraith plummeting down, dissolving before it could strike the ground.

    “Nice shot,” Owen remarked.

    “Yaay!” Mu flailed her arms. “All gone!”

    “All gone?” Zena asked.

    Aside from distant shouts for help or rescue from citizens—not panicked, but alert—the twisted district was quiet. Calmer.

    This was a weak Dungeon. Normal Pokémon could probably deal with them if the wraiths were few. A blessing in disguise, Owen figured.

    “Do you think Mu knows they’re gone innately?” Zena asked. “She is part Dark Matter…”

    “Maybe,” Owen said. “Mu? Are there no more monsters?”

    Mu tilted her head, blinking. Her blue eyes scanned the streets. “Ah!” She pointed down the road and into one of the buildings. Mu wriggled out of Owen’s grasp and landed on the ground. Owen reached for her and passed right through.

    “What—”

    Mu had disappeared. Some afterimage was all Owen could see. Maybe it was psychological but even his Perceive had been fooled for a split second.

    “Oh, not again,” Zena said.

    Red grunted and pointed at the far building’s window.

    Mu was at the windowsill, staring inside. They hurried along and once Owen was halfway there, his Perceive pinged a human lying on the ground. He spread his wings and sped the rest of the way, landing heavily by the building. It seemed to be an apartment complex that had been twisted into an upside-down U shape. This was either the top floor or the bottom floor.

    The building was filled with about five humans in various rooms. All but this one seemed unharmed, just trapped. This human was an elderly male pinned under a dresser, mercifully mostly empty. He was balding with only flecks of gray hair, lying on the former ceiling of the complex. He was trying to pull on a light fixture in the new floor to get out, but his clothes were caught on one of the dresser’s knobs.

    “Ah… ah, is someone there?” the man called, hoarse. “Ah, a Pokémon! Please, if… if you can, lift this. I can’t take it off. It’s hard to breathe…”

    Owen was going to answer before remembering his species. He nodded and crept through the windows. They creaked and cracked—and one popped off. He winced. Too large, but he had to save this man first. The property was probably ruined anyway.

    He put his claws beneath the bookshelf and gently lifted it. Mu crawled to the clothes and pulled the caught portion off the knob, which impressed Owen. Did she know, somehow?

    This was a dense shelf. The wood was dark and had metal keeping it all together. No wonder it was so heavy. The elderly man had a few broken bones but it wasn’t severe… still, he was old. Those could be big trouble for him.

    After righting the shelf, he gently helped the man up. He had his full weight against Owen, and after figuring out the best position to carry him without aggravating any injuries, he picked him up and cradled him in his arms, turning back to the window. And paused.

    Right. How was he supposed to get out? If only he had a working Badge for this sort of thing, but even his communicator wouldn’t…

    Would it?

    He’d never thought to try.

    Zena was at the window, though. He smiled gratefully and handed the old man over; Zena’s ribbons helped with the transfer, and soon he was out.

    “Oh, so beautiful,” the man said, smiling at her. “Milotic, what a privilege to be rescued by one…”

    Zena smiled awkwardly.

    “There are a lot more we need to rescue, but the wraiths are gone,” Owen said in feral to Zena.

    She stared at him.

    He’d forgotten. Zena didn’t. know the language yet. He glanced nervously at the old man, then nodded at her and headed into the building.

    The first order of business after this was settled: language lessons for Zena.

    <><><>​

    Blue flopped onto the couch and sank into the cushions. “Phew!” he declared. “I’m beat.”

    After Blue made his calls, he had come in to help with the distortion and rescue efforts. Between Owen, Zena, Red, Blue, and the local authorities, everyone had been safely evacuated, and with minor injuries at worst. They called it a miracle, but Owen knew it was luck from only having to worry about a young Dungeon. It might get worse. They would have to investigate again to find, perhaps, its core, or some way to seal and dispel it… but with the rescue effort alone, they could afford to wait it out and talk with the others.

    Duos perched on the armrest, staring down at Owen, who took a seat next to the couch. He was glad this apartment was spacious enough to accommodate his wings. Perhaps it was for Duos.

    “So, you talk human now?” Duos asked.

    “I, er, I picked it up,” he lied. The truth was… a bit much. This was easier.

    “Cool. Human seemed boring and complicated.”

    “It is. But when you’re working with human things a lot, you need more things to say. Human has that.”

    “Oh.” Duos looked disinterested already.

    Duos then stared at Zena. “Are you his mate?”

    “Hm?” Zena offered another smile. She was coiled next to Owen, near a black mini fridge.

    “She is,” Owen said, “but she only speaks human.”

    “Whaa?” Duos leaned forward. “How? All Pokémon can speak to each other!”

    Owen shook his head. “Where I’ve been, Pokémon lost that native communication in exchange for being a lot stronger on average. They’re part-human. They don’t need humans to help them be stronger; they’re just stronger naturally.”

    “That’s crazy… But how do they understand each other?”

    Owen shrugged. “The same way humans do.”

    “Do they have Pokémon that talk like me?” Duos asked.

    “Oh, yeah. I can speak to them, too, but normally we can’t. They’re like wild Pokémon here, without any human influence.”

    “Ohh… like, wild wild,” Duos said. “Away from routes, where they stay away from humans?”

    “Exactly.”

    “They’re scary.”

    “They can be. But we’re stronger.”

    Red was looking at his phone, frowning pensively. He flicked something in Blue’s general direction and Blue’s phone buzzed.

    “Uh?”

    Blue sat up just as Duos’ caretaker entered the room with some green tea and snacks. Blue’s expression went from tired to grave.

    “You’re kidding,” he said.

    “What’s wrong?” Owen asked.

    “Viridian was a bit of a fluke. These distortions are appearing in Alola and Orre, too, and in way bigger numbers!”

    Owen blinked. “What? Orre—”

    That wasn’t a coincidence. But Alola…

    “Why Alola?” he asked. “That’s, uhh… those are those islands way off in the middle of the ocean, right?”

    “Yeah. People are theorizing it’s a new kind of Ultra Wormhole,” Blue said, flicking through something on his phone. “But Orre, that’s a weird one. Ever since they took care of that whole ‘Shadow Pokémon’ thing it’s been pretty peaceful over there.”

    “Shadow… Pokémon…”

    Blue quirked an eyebrow. “That familiar?”

    Owen took a slow, steady breath, and then held his hand forward. He tried to draw deep, deep into what he used to have. What he knew he still had. Afraid to draw it, once, but now, with better control, maybe he could try to dig it out again.

    Now that all the seals were broken… maybe he would be okay. Power never left the spirit. It should still be there…

    A dark flame emerged from Owen’s palm, flickering with light-absorbing embers and purplish smoke.

    Duos flinched, feathers puffing out. The humans stared in fascination.

    “Usually, Shadows are invisible unless they’re using a move,” Blue said. “How about that? Is that what raw Shadow Aura looks like?”

    “I think so,” Owen replied, bringing his tail forward. “Charizard flames are heat and light, but they’re also ethereal. They reflect the state of their aura, too.”

    The once orange flame shifted to a similar, dark color.

    “We’re dealing with something like this right now. I don’t know if it has the same effects or behaves the same way here, but if there is knowledge about this in Orre…” Owen looked at Zena. “We need to go there next.”

    “If you’re gonna go there,” Blue said, “you oughta take a look at Alola along the way. The flight from Kanto to Orre is brutal, but Alola’s practically right at the midway point if you go that route.”

    “Alola,” Zena repeated. “That’s where…?”

    “Most research into Ultra Wormholes is in Alola,” explained Blue. “If anywhere can get you guys back home, it’s that way. I already made a call or two. They can hear you out.”

    “That’d… be great, actually,” Owen said. “How soon can we get a flight?”

    “With the money you have? Probably tomorrow,” Blue said. “Especially if you just go in the cargo.”

    “Huh? Cargo?”

    Blue tapped on one of his Poké Balls.

    “Oh.”

    Right. That was pretty convenient.

    “Only problem is, usually they’d have a trainer to return you,” Blue said, “and Zena, you said you’re registered as the trainer?”

    “That’s how they did it,” Zena confirmed. “It’s a little odd, but I guess they never expected a Pokémon to be at human levels of autonomy like this.”

    “Ehh…” Blue shrugged. “I think once you start talking, people will make exceptions. Especially if we send word for it!”

    “Oh, you… aren’t coming with us?” Zena asked, curling slightly.

    Owen could understand her apprehension. They were an anchor in an unfamiliar world. They’d be on their own again without Red and Blue helping. But…

    “They need to stay here,” Owen said. “There might be other Dungeons forming, and they need to be able to help the people where they form. Which reminds me…” He sighed. “I think… I’d like to go back to the Dungeon before we go to bed. Can you arrange a flight for us, Blue?”

    “No problem.”

    “Red…” Owen nodded his head as if to bow. “Come with us? If this works, maybe I can get you something to help with future Dungeons, too.”

    Red nodded back and stood up.

    “Duos,” Owen said. “It was great meeting you again. I’m going to try to find the others on our team while I’m here if we have time… just to make sure they’re okay.”

    “Oh, yeah!” Duos chirped back. “How’s Tim?”

    “He’s doing fine. I’ll tell him all about you.” Owen smiled. “He’ll be relieved. But he’s… in another world.”

    “Oh.” Duos’ feathers fluffed down again. “Does he remember me? You sound like it’s been a long time…”

    “He’ll never forget you.” Owen nodded. “But he wants you to live a happy life here. Okay?”

    “Then I will,” Duos said.

    That… that was enough. Owen took a slow breath, then let it out.

    He’d return to spend the night if offered. He’d swap stories with Duos. But this… Yes. Even if he couldn’t return, he was satisfied here.

    With another weight off his shoulders, Owen squeezed through the doorway.

    Time for another visit to the Dungeon.

    <><><>​

    “There it is,” Owen said, spotting an even darker rift at the epicenter of the Dungeon. The pavement that had once been a street was darkened like burned canvas. Streaks of black crawled along the pavement in a starburst. At the center, two feet off the ground, was a rift—like a blanket had been torn open—leaking a reddish-black fog from the other side.

    “I’ve never seen a Dungeon Core before,” Owen said. “Anam usually sealed them, or at least… tried to.”

    “Is it usually hidden?” Zena asked.

    Owen nodded. “Usually nobody can get to it. But with the right power, we can. And this Dungeon is also new. It probably didn’t have time to form any barriers.”

    “You talk like it’s alive,” Zena said. “…Is it?”

    “I don’t know. It could just be chemistry but on a… distortion level. Over time, it puts up barriers, but since it’s new, nothing’s built yet.” Owen approached the barrier and glanced at Red, who kept his distance and observed quietly. He’d summoned Pikachu and Hardscale to observe by his side.

    “We seal it with Radiance, right?” Zena asked.

    “Right. I can do that,” Owen said. His hand curled and golden sparks shot from his claws erratically. He flexed his fingers again. The sparks became more controlled. Stronger, concentrated… They connected along his palm. He grasped at the newly formed rod. It extended into a spear that sizzled in his hand.

    He aimed it into the rift. The darkness around it sizzled and sputtered violently, lashing out at them; Owen spread his wings and kept the others behind him. He held his free hand forward and put up a Protect shield, a brilliant gold color.

    The rift stopped sputtering. Owen released the energy and relaxed his stance.

    The air… was less oppressive. Wraiths probably wouldn’t be able to come through. However, that distortive feeling the Dungeon left behind, the Shadows that had twisted reality with its negative energy, was still there.

    Anam never tried to harness Shadows in that way. He feared that dark power. And perhaps, in some ways, Diyem did not want to fully cut off his connections to the living world.

    But Kanto had nothing to do with their struggles. Owen wondered if he could command this Dungeon to close for good.

    “Well,” Zena said, “I think that’s all we can do for now. I’m sorry that this town is distorted as it is, but…”

    “Can I try something?” Owen asked.

    “Oh?”

    “It can’t make it any worse. But if I’m right, I might be able to fix this.”

    Mu, struggling out of Zena’s left ribbon, reached out to Owen and appeared to want, as Blue called it, “uppies.”

    “Later, Mu,” Owen said. “One second. I just need to concentrate…”

    Moments later, his other hand conjured a dark spear, this one cold to the touch and sapping the light.

    He pointed it at the inert rift. It felt like a lock and key. Perhaps if he manipulated the energy in just the right way…

    Zena and Blue were looking around like something was changing. Owen was too concentrated on the rift to look. “What’s going on?” he asked.

    “The distortion. It’s… shrinking,” Zena said.

    But as Owen did it, the rift was becoming active again. Shadows seeped from the rift, awakened by the same power Owen channeled into it. His hand was getting cold. The distortions of the buildings receded at the outer perimeters. Some of it was damaged, even after they contorted back to their normal shapes, but it was much better than the twisted lands they’d dealt with before.

    But the shrinking slowed the closer it got to the center. By the time the distortion was about a hundred meters out, it had slowed completely, countered by the reawakened rift. If left alone, it would expand again…

    “It’s not closing,” Zena said. “But you shrank it, Owen. That’s good enough… It’ll be a big help to the town this way.”

    “Not yet,” Owen said. “This is where I need to try something.”

    He wasn’t strained yet. This was just Shadows. Before, it was just Radiance. Shadows controlled the distortion, but also fed into the rift; Radiance ate away at the rift, rendering it inert.

    What if he did both at once?

    Owen used his other hand, channeling Radiance a second time. His scales brightened at the wrist onward like yellow magma beneath orange rocks. It tingled and burned. Nothing he hadn’t dealt with before.

    The light fed into the rift, dissolving the Shadows with a ghastly hiss. And the distortion receded even more. Faster and faster. Fifty meters, twenty meters. As the minutes ticked by, Zena reminded Owen to breathe. Each pause made the rift grow a little more but it also restored his strength. Ten meters, five meters. Red stepped out of the distortion, followed by Zena with Mu.

    “Bye-bye,” Mu said, waving at the sky.

    A strange feeling washed over Owen’s back as the distortion passed over him next.

    Sssssssttkk…

    The distortion was coalesced into a tiny bubble. A whole Dungeon no larger than an Oran berry. Zena and Blue observed from either side behind him.

    Owen grasped the sphere with both hands and crushed it like a glass ball. It warped and compressed like a balloon and the dark and light energies swirled around it like ink in water. Owen’s hands trembled against the chaotic world he created in his palms. He pressed harder and harder, and then—

    With a great whistle, then an ethereal POP! that stunned Owen’s aura senses, the solid distortion shattered completely. Nothing at all was left behind, not even a trace of a portal.

    It was gone.

    The Dungeon was gone.

    <><><>​

    “Chaos in Viridian City as a strange distortion-like field appears right on the eastern side of the district!

    “Shown before you now is what the strange bubble looked like from onlookers all around the city. This odd, water-like rippling atmosphere was filled with strange, dark creatures that were hostile to everyone who approached. Within the distortion itself, the buildings were twisted topsy-turvy, residents trapped within their own homes to defend themselves!

    “Miraculously, the distortion disappeared in a matter of hours. Exiting the district after rescuing everyone inside was Legendary Trainer Red and some companions that we had not seen this cryptic traveler partnering with before! Some claim that the Charizard could be Hardscale after undergoing a completely new transformation!

    “Red did not respond for comment.”


    The news went on and on, covering different angles of the distortion and all the speculation. Blue had pulled off a few evasive tricks to avoid the press, and they’d somehow managed to get back to Duos’ place for one last night.

    Owen had slept heavily and saw the reiteration of the news the following morning from his Poké Ball. It was a little muffled, but he heard the gist of what he wanted.

    Even Zena experimented with her ball. When their spheres were close together, Owen felt like she was wrapped around him, and they were resting right next to each other. Was that technology of the ball, or something more innate? Owen wasn’t sure.

    “Thanks for letting us stay the night. It would’ve been brutal out there after what happened,” Blue said.

    “Oh, it wasn’t a problem,” said Duos’ caretaker. “It’s not every day I’m visited by someone my Pokémon had been missing for so long! Oh, I hope they get some good rest. It was such a busy day for them…”

    Busy? After everything else, that was a great day. Owen hoped he could get more of those.

    Mu, who had elected to rest near Red for the night, crawled over to Zena’s ball and tilted her head. She crouched down and sniffed at it. The ball wiggled in response. Zena must have been listening in, too.

    Owen was starting to feel the need to get out and stretch. He wasn’t sure how long it had been. For all he knew, it could have been a whole day in the Poké Ball. But that might have been refreshing.

    But no, the news meant it was just the night. His ball wiggled and he expanded his energy against the edge of the ball. It wiggled a little more, enough to get their attention, and he finally released himself.

    His vision whitened and then returned to normal. Weight returned to his senses. He stretched his wings and tail, careful to avoid the furniture, and glanced down at Zena’s ball. She still didn’t emerge, but he’d sensed she was awake. Maybe she was just cozy.

    With an entertained smile, he gently picked up the ball and tucked it under a wing. The ball wobbled gently and settled.

    Mu crawled onto his thigh and under his other wing.

    “Good morning,” Duos’ caretaker said.

    “Morning,” Owen said. “I think Zena still wants to—” Right he wasn’t supposed to talk. Did he speak in feral or human?

    The woman tittered nervously.

    Yep, human.

    “I’ve never met a talking Pokémon before, let alone three.”

    “Three?”

    “Your daughter!”

    “Oh! Was she… talking more?”

    “Only simple words, but that’s more than I’ve seen in any other Pokémon!”

    Owen rubbed Mu on the head, nodding. “She’s a fast learner. I think it’s because… the Pokémon in my world were, uh…” Surely, he could think of an excuse mid-sentence. “Blessed with knowledge many generations ago. That just carried over ever since.”

    “How interesting…”

    “Tsk. Well, sorry to say,” Blue said, “but it doesn’t look like we can get you a flight too early. This whole Dungeon business disrupted a few things at some airports. The ripple effect caused a bunch of delays. It’s chaos over there!”

    Duos’ caretaker shook her head disapprovingly. “Oh, it can’t be that bad…”

    “Then…” Owen nodded. “That means Dungeons are forming in other places, too?”

    “Mostly Orre and the nearby Unova areas,” Blue said. “Makes it pretty complicated, though, with all the flights they do…”

    “Right…” Owen nodded. Dungeons and wraiths were appearing in this world. That meant that somehow, there was a connection from the Voidlands to here. If they found another Dungeon… maybe they could return home that way.

    But now they couldn’t. If they did, this world would be in danger. At a much faster speed, too! And the opportunity Arceus gave them… They needed to use it to research, recover, train, and prepare with their extra time.

    “I… think I know what I need to do,” Owen said.

    “You can’t seriously think about going around the world to dispel every single Dungeon, can you?” Blue asked. “There are way too many!”

    “I know. That’s why… I want to find people like you two. Like you and Red. And… I need to test something.”

    “Eh?” Blue leaned forward. “Test what?”

    Red also seemed interested, listening attentively.

    “That… special transformation, that stone you had,” he said. “I have something similar. It was given to me by Xerneas to ‘awaken latent potential’ in my species. I never used it yet, was caught off guard the one time I could have, but…”

    “You think its power can dispel Dungeons?” Blue asked.

    “No,” Owen said, “but… we were chatting about it, right? Its side-effect is that it can make the Pokémon go berserk with that power. A human’s spirit helps to keep them calm.”

    “That’s true. Mega Stones aren’t an easy thing to handle. To untrained Pokémon, they could seriously hurt someone. You need a lot of skill as a trainer to use one.”

    “Then that’s where I’ll put my power.”

    Red’s eyes glinted with his interest.

    “One of my powers is the ability to… confer it. To give it to other things like an enchantment. If you already have Pokémon that are capable of controlling a berserk state like I can, then you can handle this power. And it’s exactly what can be done to dispel Dungeons and get this world back to normal.”

    “Ahhh, I see!” Blue smirked. “You aren’t taking on this problem on your own at all. You’re getting a team to handle it on their home turf!”

    “Exactly.” Owen nodded. “But I’ll need to do some training. And I want a list of as many trusted trainers who have mastered Mega Stones.”

    “That’ll be easy. Guess I’ll be Mister Bookkeeper again, but I want my Pokémon to get some of that training, too. Red’s not the only ‘Mega Stone Master’ in this room.”

    Red produced the large, orange marble from his bag and offered it to Owen. When he held it, Owen recognized a similar power within it. Not quite divine and self-sufficient like the one Owen had—this one needed a human catalyst to set off—but it would do. It could hold this power the same way.

    Owen steadied his breath and let the Shadows and Radiance flow from his chest outward. Into his shoulders, wings, arms, and finally into the stone itself. The process was slow, careful, and took several minutes. The marble darkened, brightened, and mixed with a swirl of golds and purples.

    The lights seeped into the marble and stayed there, glimmering and waiting to be drawn from. That was good enough. He handed the Mega Stone back to Red.

    “If you do that transformation with him now,” Owen said, “Hardscale can do what I did. Or, he has the potential for it. I’m… going to try to train him a little. Then I want to train others who can do the same thing.”

    “You’re sure about that?” Blue said. “Seemed like you were in a rush last time…”

    He smiled faintly. “Barky gave us a hundred days to a single day there,” he said. “I’m going to try to relax, but… I want to be ready. And now that things are leaking here, too, somehow… all the more reason to defend my old homeworld, too. Right?”

    Something about what he said must have resonated with Zena. The Poké Ball wiggled a little, nudging against Owen. He felt her support.

    “Sounds like Zena wouldn’t mind helping, either,” Owen said. “Hope you don’t mind the detour, Red.”

    But Owen could already see the glint in his eyes. Red understood his role in all this. Hardscale must have, too.

    Owen still envied Hardscale for how lucky he was to get such a good trainer. But he had to push those thoughts aside for now. This was a blessing.

    Kanto had its own protectors and its own stories. Owen’s place to them now was to give them a boon to defend themselves.
     
    Chapter 167 - Being a Hero
  • Namohysip

    Dragon Enthusiast
    Staff
    Partners
    1. flygon
    2. charizard
    3. milotic
    4. zoroark-soda
    5. sceptile
    6. marowak
    7. jirachi
    8. meganium
    9. namo-rock
    Chapter 167 - Being a Hero

    Anam took a seat at the base of Heart HQ’s stairs. His legs were tired from all the walking and his feet ached. He wanted to slide into a pool and fall asleep for a whole day. But a burning urge in his guts told him he had to keep the Village safe. Keep everyone safe, even if he couldn’t do that as well anymore…

    The sky was a bright and beautiful orange with purple clouds rolling over calm winds. The Dungeons were at least eradicated from Kilo Village thanks to innovations made by Diyem and the others. Rain Dance, too, flowed through the drainage system into the caldera’s edges. The air was damp with remnant rain and the grass seemed a little greener on the edges of the well-trodden dirt roads.

    Someone cursed near the top of the Heart HQ stairs. Anam tilted his head back until he plopped against the stairs, seeing Jerry.

    “Hi, Jerry!”

    “Eh? Oh, hey,” Jerry mumbled.

    “You okay?”

    “Yeah, yeah, just… tired. Glad the day’s over.” Jerry gave Anam an uneasy glance. Anam wondered if he would fly away without saying anything else.

    But to Anam’s surprise, Jerry hopped down the stairs and stared awkwardly at him instead.

    “…You… seem tired, too. I guess.”

    “A little…” Anam trailed off.

    More silence. The questions that raced through Anam’s mind were somehow colder than the chilly winds of another winter night.

    “I’m sorry,” Anam finally said. The statement had no thought-out plan behind it. It… just spilled out.

    “…Sorry,” Jerry said, folding his wings down and sitting a few feet away from Anam on the same step. “…What for?”

    “For… the South. For what it did to you. I should have helped more. I… I messed up a lot.”

    Diyem wasn’t there to tell him what he said wrong. He had no idea if Jerry hated him or… But if he did, Anam would deserve it, right?

    “I used a dark power to get rid of other dark powers,” Anam said. “And… and I used that same power to try to make Diyem happy, but it also meant everyone else had to lose their power. I, um… Was I a tyrant?”

    “All this time,” Jerry said, “and you’re only wondering these questions… now?”

    Anam winced, wanting to sink into himself.

    Jerry seemed to be awaiting a response. When none came, he sighed and said, “Look, I get it. You saved the world from a lot of trouble. And yeah, fine, you tried to preserve the way of life for all those places you conquered… You didn’t even hurt anyone, aside from Dad, but he was… I get it with Dad.”

    “M-mm.” Anam nodded nervously. Was there going to be some sort of caveat to it? Jerry hated him, so…

    “Why’d you leave me behind for that?” Jerry asked.

    “H-huh?” Anam, caught off guard, turned to look at him directly.

    Only then did he realize that Jerry wasn’t angry. If anything, he looked… pained. But he was good at hiding it.

    “You integrated the Southern Kingdom. You did all you could, reached out, blessed the Dungeons, and made life better for everyone.

    “So, why’d you ignore me?”

    Anam stared, dumbfounded, as the wind blew a few loose end-of-autumn leaves against his gooey skin.

    “Ignore you?” he said. “I… I thought… you’d be fine. You were the king, you…”

    “I lost everything,” Jerry said. “When you took away Dad’s power, that… Everything spiraled out. I don’t even know how he lost it all, or if some other leadership took it from him. But we were… stuck in a little house after that, barely a coin to our name some days. Mom was sick ‘n Dad just got worse. And me?” Jerry breathed. “I could’ve had a brother, but that never worked out either. Nothing… in my life… went well after you took away our darkness. Everything was fine… before you took away what had.”

    Near the end, the Aerodactyl’s voice trembled and broke, but he didn’t cry. Anam wanted to, though. He trembled and said, “I… I’m sorry. I didn’t know… I thought if I took away your Shadows… he’d just be better. Diyem sensed so much evil in him… that maybe if I…”

    “It wasn’t Shadows,” Jerry said. “Dad was just awful. He could harness Shadows, but that’s just power. If you can control it, it doesn’t matter. You saw Spice. She’s just fine.”

    “Spice had light, too,” Anam said, “but…”

    “But we didn’t,” Jerry said, “and I was just fine. I didn’t change for the better when you ripped that out of my soul, or whatever you did.”

    The Goodra had no idea how to reply. He did the right thing, right? Shadows corrupted people. Diyem knew that. But… Jerry didn’t seem that different. And he knew he’d sealed those Shadows completely.

    Was Jerry still corrupted by it? No… That couldn’t be it, right?

    “You just don’t… get it, do you?” Jerry said.

    “Pokémon aren’t… bad. Shadows can make them bad. It can cloud how they see things and make them do bad things, but—”

    “You literally had the embodiment of evil in you,” Jerry said, “telling you, in your head, who was evil and who wasn’t. Right?”

    “No!” Anam said. “He didn’t say that! He told me the negative things people felt! Not that they were negative! People aren’t evil like that! They—”

    “They are, Anam,” Jerry spat. “Some Pokémon are evil.”

    “N-no!” Anam said. “They just… do evil things, because they’re afraid, or hurt! Even if they don’t think it, that’s why!”

    “And why does that matter?” Jerry snapped, standing up to face Anam, who shrank into himself, neck sinking into his shoulders. “Why’s it matter if someone was sad and afraid? They still made the world worse! Hardship happens to everyone, but y’know what, it’s how you react that matters. Not everyone who’s vulnerable lashes out and claws everyone down. Not everyone who wants to be strong abuses their strength like my father did.”

    “But they… just didn’t know any better,” Anam said. “If… if we could show them how to be better—like—like you when you were arrested and became a Broken Heart—”

    “Some people don’t want to do better.” Jerry leaned forward. Anam sank even more into his shoulders. “I wanted a good life. I felt bad for what I did to survive. But not everyone feels bad, buddy. You should listen when Diyem says that because I know he did. That’s how the world works. Some. People. Don’t. Care.”

    The words echoed in Anam’s head. Over and over, he thought about what that meant. Some just didn’t care. All the people who were in pain, they all seemed guilty of it. But…

    “Come on,” Jerry said, his tone softening. “Can’t you think about anyone that Diyem didn’t catch as evil, still doing evil things? Can Diyem feel indifference?”

    “I… I mean…” Anam sniffled but then choked in a gasp.

    There was one person in recent memory who did. Sure, there were a few times when the cruel actions of some people were not caught by Diyem. But those were for small, petty things. Anam assumed Diyem never bothered to talk about it.

    But there was one person. A single person who had done so much evil and yet had not a negative thought about it.

    “Nevren,” Anam said quietly. “Diyem… never sensed negative emotions from him. Not major ones. He didn’t like my hugs… but a lot of people didn’t. But even then… there wasn’t anything negative from him. But he was still the one who…”

    “Right.” Jerry nodded, looking more thoughtful this time. “So, I guess you do have a real example.”

    Anam nodded weakly, playing with his grabbers again. What was he supposed to do about this, though? If he couldn’t sense negativity and still got caught off guard with that…

    “I…” Anam squeezed his eyes shut. “I don’t know what to do.”

    “What’s that supposed to mean?” Jerry said.

    Anam opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t find it in him to say it. To say what he was thinking. Would anyone else hear him? Or…

    “Spit it out,” Jerry demanded.

    “I can’t be the leader,” Anam blurted, shaking. It was out there. He said it to Jerry, who already hated his leadership. This was just going to make him angrier.

    “You can’t?” Jerry repeated.

    Anam was surprised at the lack of yelling or berating or… anything. He dared to open his eyes.

    Jerry had a look of bewilderment. His wings had outstretched a little. The Aerodactyl folded them back down.

    “Why?” Jerry asked.

    “I… I don’t have Diyem anymore. Everyone knows the secret now. I’ll… I’ll be misled. I’ll do something bad… or they’ll control me… and… and I don’t know how to lead!! I n-never… I was n-never good at it. Diyem told me how… he told me everything… I’m…”

    Anam blubbered into his grabbers, sniffling and rubbing his eyes. He went on for a while, seconds passing agonizingly. His mind raced through all the times he’d reversed negative feelings by how Diyem informed him of it all. He knew exactly where to go because Diyem told him.

    Now he had none of that. He had nothing. He was… nothing.

    “Tch…” Jerry sighed and turned his head away. “…You’re right,” he said. “You don’t have that anymore. You never had smarts for being at the top.”

    It hurt to hear… but Jerry wasn’t yelling at him. That was nice. He was expecting so much worse. And Anam said it himself, right? He wasn’t supposed to be a leader. It was all Diyem. It was all off the valor of his mother and father. He wasn’t… right in the head to be a grand leader. He was naïve and just wanted to see the good in everyone. And where did it get him?

    And he knew that. He knew that for a long time. He simply refused to believe it’d collapse around him. For a while… for five hundred years, it didn’t. Until the person protecting him from it, Nevren, and the one guiding him forward, Diyem, left.

    Now he was nothing.

    The wind blew again. It was so cold that Anam half-feared the slime on his body would snap frozen. The heart-shaped building of HQ darkened with the last of twilight over the caldera casting a long shadow over all of town.

    “But they still need you,” Jerry said

    “Huh?”

    The Aerodactyl rubbed the top of his snout. Perhaps it pained him to say anything to Anam? But he forced it through his teeth, continuing, “You did a lot of good. And you were the one with the final say. You listened to your… advisors. Took everything into account. And your direction was always helping others.

    “And… people like you.” Jerry’s shoulders sank. “Yeah. Fine. I fell through the cracks. But they were small cracks. And if I’m hearin’ you say… you aren’t a good leader… That you aren’t fit… I’m satisfied.”

    Anam sniffled, rubbing his eyes. He was calming down now, but he didn’t know what Jerry was talking about. Why was saying these things making him feel better?

    “What do I do?” Anam asked.

    “You’re asking me?”

    Anam nodded earnestly. “Your dad… was the Southern King. So, you were the Prince. What would—”

    “I’m not using him as an example,” Jerry cut Anam off. “Not gonna refer to him for anything good. But… Look. If you aren’t gonna be the main leader, you do need to be in the public eye, putting on a good face, and making sure people don’t lose hope. People look up to you. They adore you. So… don’t be afraid of what people think of you.

    “Just be you. Find a position where you can. And, I dunno. Find a leader to take your place.”

    “Find… a position… and a leader…”

    Tiredly, Jerry stood up and spread his wings. “I’m gonna go,” he said. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

    “O-okay.”

    Jerry stared at him for a few more seconds. Anam wondered what he was thinking. Was he going to say anything?

    But then, Jerry took off, leaving Anam by the stairs of Heart HQ.

    You are strong, Anam, a voice called from within. His father, James. Anam could always feel his presence, even if he was always a quiet observer. I will help you. We all will. Ask your mother what to do.

    She will understand. She’d never be upset at you, Anam.


    James had changed so much when he’d been taken by Diyem. Anam could hardly call him ‘Dad’ anymore. Yet… some of that old self remained. He had his family back. And maybe soon, when the Voidlands was freed, he’d awaken his old friends from long ago, too.

    He never gave up that hope.

    “Thank you,” Anam whispered.

    The night was a little less cold. Anam took the time to rest against the stairs until the teams of Destiny Tower and the Voidlands returned for their report.

    <><><>​

    In one of the many patches of gnarled, blackened trees in the Voidlands, a cyclone swirled, ripping trees from their roots and adding them to the maelstrom of destruction.

    “I can’t blast through!” Reshiram shouted. “Ugh, where’s our backup?!”

    “Arceus called fer a meetin’,” Marshadow said with a smirk. “Heh. Gotta take this one on a little short on numbers.”

    A black-red beam of energy caved into the cyclone, leaving a brief gap. Reshiram shot blue flames through it before the gap closed again. Marshadow wasn’t sure if it connected with anything. Probably didn’t matter yet. They needed a shot at the Titan’s Core anyway…

    “Try again! That was a good one!” Marshadow said.

    “Watch out!” Yveltal shouted back.

    “Whoa!” Marshadow clutched at Reshiram’s fur as he and Yveltal flew back to avoid the cyclone lunging at them. They flew in a wide circle before composing themselves.

    “Three is way too small for this,” muttered Reshiram.

    “Hold your focus,” Yveltal advised. “Ready…”

    Reshiram took a deep breath. Spirits within Marshadow bubbled, ready to power him for a finishing blow with Mystic power.

    “GO!” Marshadow commanded.

    Another beam from the death bird came first, carving a fissure in the cyclone. Reshiram’s flue flames widened it. This time, the hole was large. Brief as it was, they only needed that. Arcs of electricity connected some of the trees in the cyclone but Marshadow took the risk.

    Get ready! Marshadow called inward.

    Always are! called one voice.

    Marshadow kicked off Reshiram’s chest and jettisoned through the gap in the cyclone. A few sparks of lightning nearly struck Marshadow only to be blocked by spirits forming around him in clouds. First was Cacturne Doll’s arm, then Chesnaught Verd’s shell. Then, Samurott Elbee burst from the right and cleaved an incoming tree in half, splitting it around Marshadow. Infernape Roh burned another incoming wave to keep the gaps wide.

    And up ahead, the Titan—a bipedal monster with a bulky tail—loomed over them.

    “The Core’s there!” announced Feraligatr Azu, who shrank away with the other spirits.

    A dark, pulsing sphere near the center of the Titan’s chest—still burned from one of Reshiram’s precise strikes—was exposed beyond the amalgamated Void Shadows.

    Drampa Yen formed beneath Marshadow as a free platform. Marshadow landed with a smirk, then kicked one last time. Yen disappeared, his ember trailing over Marshadow’s shoulders.

    “Let’s give this a try!”

    Marshadow brought a fist back. All the spirits, as embers, emerged over his shoulder and formed a giant, ethereal fist. Their blurry forms vaguely locked hands, paws, and limbs to form one cohesive group, operating as one.

    “Superhuman Punch!”

    The Titan roared but was too slow to stop him. The fist slammed into the Core, leaving a shockwave that dispelled the cyclone and stripped the Titan of all its Void Shadows in a single Radiant blast. The shell of the Core broke apart, revealing black scales and electric sparks within.

    With his ethereal hand projection, Manny reached for the slumbering dragon and grasped at her. He hurled Zekrom at Reshiram and Yveltal before withdrawing the fist and materializing Yen for a proper flight.

    “Hah! That was the best punch yet, eh?!” Marshadow shouted.

    “Quite a name for it, Manny,” Yen hummed with an entertained lilt in his voice. “I’ll say you spent… two days coming up with it?”

    “Aw, c’mon,” Marshadow said, waving it off. “Felt appropriate.”

    Yen sighed. “It’s nostalgic,” he admitted. “I did miss being able to fight alongside you like this…”

    “Heh…” He shook his head. “C’mon. Let’s get back ter Null Village.”

    <><><>​

    “Victory!” Aster held up the burning, unconscious form of Hoopa in his massive, unbound form in the middle of the town square. Various onlookers glanced out of buildings with nervous but unalarmed stares. At this point, hauling in a beaten and battered Legendary Pokémon had become somewhat of a regular occurrence for the civilians.

    In Null Village’s eternal twilight, things seemed a little brighter. It wasn’t the same as when the Tree had been there to blow a hole in the sky, but it was better with so many protectors coming in to visit again.

    “…He went a bit overkill,” Leph said with a sigh. The young Arceus levitated Hoopa off and placed him down on the ground. She gently patted Aster on the back with the side of her hoof.

    Just behind her was a creature that Manny didn’t recognize at first. It reminded him vaguely of Arceus… if Arceus was made of a mishmash of body parts.

    “Eh, hang on, I think I recognize ya,” Manny said.

    “I’m Lavender!” the Silvally greeted. “I sneaked onto their team when they weren’t looking!”

    “He Teleported after us with one of his spirits,” Leph translated. “You can’t sneak up on us that easily. And we were short on Titan hunting anyway.”

    “I’m glad you were able to work up the courage to return here,” Yen said, drifting to the ground. He offered apologetic nods to the civilians who were eventually returning to their daily lives. “The help is appreciated. A lot.”

    “Yeah…” Leph sighed. “We took some time to heal in Destiny Tower. Mentally and physically. But sitting around left me… restless.”

    “How’s that been, anyway?” Manny asked, hands on his hips. “Bein’ with your pops again.”

    “He’s not my father,” Leph said. “We’re the same species, sure, but I was not born from him. He took me in, though. And I suppose he was kind for a time. But that’s long past.”

    Aster shifted uncomfortably. “I liked being with Mom,” he mumbled.

    Marshadow shrugged. “Aah, it ain’t a huge deal,” he said. “Just glad yer findin’ yer place is all. C’mon, let’s head back ‘n see how—”

    With no warning, Leph shot a Judgment javelin into a side alley. The red dust kicked into the air.

    “Yipes!” Manny hopped onto Yen’s back on reflex. “Leph! What the—”

    “Someone was spying on us.”

    “This is a civilian area, buddy!” Manny hopped off Yen and sprinted to the alleyway. But there was nobody there… Did Leph’s Judgment incinerate them completely? No, couldn’t be that easy.

    Manny paused, checking the ground. The dust was disturbed, but just a little away from the blast site, he saw footprints. It was easy to tell the species.

    Manny stepped away and spoke to Leph, “D’you sense anyone now?”

    “No. I think they ran off. But I sensed… power behind it, and it wasn’t familiar to me. I didn’t like it.”

    “Probably nothin’,” Manny said aloud. Then, once he was closer, he said in a lower voice, “Actually,” he said, “you did almost hit someone. But y’missed… er they dodged. It was an Alakazam.” He rolled his shoulders thoughtfully. “So, Nevren. Figured he was hidin’ somewhere here, but wonder why he’s spyin’ on us…?”

    “That guy…” Reshiram folded his wings down. “Makes my fuzz ruffle, if you ask me. Palkia’s a little weird, but Nevren? Guy was the main driver of the mutant army. I should’ve interfered with that more…”

    “Hindsight, bud,” Manny said. “You had places ter protect. Mm, speakin’ o’ which…”

    “Yeah, trying to get Poké Balls from that abandoned factory isn’t easy now with the Dungeon incidents happening on the Lightlands.”

    “…Li—”

    “Don’t deny it sounds cool.”

    Manny shrugged. No argument there.

    “I think it’s cool!” Lavender agreed.

    “Yeah, yeah, anyway,” Manny said, “we gotta go and haul these two back home. Let’s get some light crystals on ‘em and take ‘em to their other half ter sort out.”

    “Um. Who are their other halves?” Aster asked.

    “No clue. Gonna ask around.” Manny brought his hands behind his head. “Alright, folks! Dungeon rift time!”

    And after maybe a day or two of wandering, they’d find the way back to the new… landscape of the surface.

    <><><>​

    “How about… Spice Amnet?”

    “One name, I think,” Star said.

    “Maybe… something new? I always wondered what it’d be like to be called Penny.”

    “Alright, Penny. You like that?”

    “Ehh… maybe not. Sounds like a name Manny would come up with.”

    The ghostly Zoroark kicked at a stray rock near the edge of Waypoint Road. Twilight sunsets appeared on various parts of the caldera’s edge, distorted by the Dungeons that turned the skies into a glimmering kaleidoscope.

    Aside from Arceus, who elected to stay behind in Destiny Tower to recover under the supervision of Dialga, the gang followed Zoroark back to Kilo Village. She was a little nervous about leaving those two alone, but they’d made sure they were safe—and that Ghrelle wasn’t nearby. Demitri looked the most tired, already half-dozed off on Mispy’s back, while Gahi was occasionally leaving through random side roads because everyone else was walking too slowly. Diyem was also atop Mispy’s back, looking thoughtful about something else.

    This evening, it was snowing. Already, a thin layer of white covered Kilo Village, and the ground, very cold from rain just in the afternoon, was dark beneath that white layer. Light snowfall covered everyone’s bodies, though some of them had made a detour for Xerneas’ Waypoint in Yotta Outskirts, which had also been restored. Based on the bulletin board near the center of Waypoint Road, most key population centers linked to Kilo Village had their main streets restored.

    “You’re going to have a hard time getting a name that puts together all four of your identities,” Star said. “Like, eventually you just want to move on to something else, right?”

    “Yeah, maybe, but… I still feel like all of them,” Zoroark said. “It needs to be… all of them in the same way. That’s what I think.”

    Hecto had split apart into his different components and scattered, leaving only a single canine Zygarde behind. They’d had an ultimate game of rock paper scissors and kept choosing the same values for an uncomfortable amount of time.

    Zoroark wasn’t sure how a winner eventually came out.

    “Perhaps,” the victorious Hecto said, “you should take the first letter of each name and make a new name out of that.”

    “First letter, huh? Okay. Spice, Amelia, Enet, Remi. Hmmm…”

    Normally her tail would have been flicking, as Spice. She missed that. Maybe she could find a way to get one later.

    “Oh!” Zoroark nodded. “It’s perfect! Sera!”

    “Hey, a normal-sounding name!” Star hopped into Zoroark Sera’s mane. “You sure you want that?”

    “Yeah, that fits perfectly. I might’ve even found an accidental meaning behind it!” She nodded. “Maybe. I could just be grasping. It just sounds nice. All right!” She patted her chest. “From here on, my name is Sera. Feels like all the me’s that I used to be agree.”

    “Hey, congratulations, I think,” Star said with a nervous smile. “Anyway, uh, I guess… maybe tomorrow, you can talk with Spice’s folks? Since Enet’s fine… and Amelia’s fine… and Remi, uhhh…”

    “Yeah, tomorrow,” Sera said. “I’m a little tired.”

    Diyem, hanging in the back, grunted and gave her a skeptical look. “This is you being a little tired?”

    Sera tittered and shrugged.

    Plap plap…

    Sera’s ear twitched. “Huh?” She could smell Pecha berries. “Anam’s still awake. You’d think he’d be exhausted from restoring this place…”

    “Hi!” Anam called from the southern part of the crossroads. “Everything’s fine here. I don’t want to be leader anymore!”

    Sera blinked several times. Did she hear that right? Sounded too cheerful. “Sorry, I kinda had three partial souls mashed together a few kilos ago, say that again?”

    “How come, big guy?” Star asked. “And why are you… happy about it?”

    “I wanna be the Big Heart Ambassador instead!”

    The wind blew. Distantly, Nate stirred as he prepared to guard the skies once more for nighttime and to search for the wandering sources of darkness that they couldn’t quite get rid of—Lugia, and, presumably, Necrozma.

    “Alright,” Star said even slower. “Why…?”

    Mispy frowned and tilted her head as well. Sera wondered if she could sense any turmoil in Anam’s aura. Wait, couldn’t she do that, too?

    Sera focused. Guardian powers, Guardian powers, Enet knew how to do that a little, but there was more nuance to it she could tap into now… There! Yes. She could feel Anam’s aura! And it felt… tranquil? No, not quite. The feeling Sera felt in her heart… relief. Anam was feeling relieved.

    And so, Sera tilted her head in the same way Mispy had.

    “Hm.” Diyem sighed, stepping forward. “I believe I understand what Anam is saying. Without me, he can no longer safely determine the darkness in the hearts of those who join the Thousand. In other words… what made him such a good leader, leading such a good organization, is no longer with him.”

    Anam fidgeted, trying to smile, but eventually, his shoulders slumped. “Yeah,” he said. “That’s why. And… I want to still be good for others and help as much as I can. But I can’t do the… leader stuff anymore.”

    “That’s very insightful of you,” Diyem stated. “How did this come about?”

    “What, you can’t believe he’d do it himself?” Sera asked.

    “Not really.”

    “Jerry did!” Anam said with a grin. “He was super supportive and nice. When I told him I was scared, he helped me through it!”

    Gahi was suddenly looking skyward as if distracted by something.

    Sera followed his eyes but it was just more kaleidoscope sunsets.

    “Good for him,” Diyem said idly, walking down the road. “In any case, I’m going to bed. Do not wake me. Tomorrow is going to be a big day of strategizing.”

    “Huh? How come?” Anam asked.

    “Fourth,” Mispy said. “We… found it.”

    Anam gasped. “You mean… the last part of Mi—of Diyem?”

    Demitri nodded. “It was Ghrelle all along—the Poison Guardian!”

    “The creepy one who sings with her melted soul minions or something,” Sera explained.

    “Yes. And now that we know where my four remaining fragments are,” Diyem said, “we can start a more concrete plan on how to take them down. Be ready.”

    Without another word, he started down the road for his temporary housing.

    “Oh, Diyem!” Anam called, taking three whole paces to catch up to the Charmander. “You don’t have to stay in that place anymore! I made a room for you in mine!”

    Diyem paused, stiffened, and then deflated with a resigned sigh. He gestured for Anam to lead the way. Happily, the Goodra picked Diyem up and ran down the road.

    “…They’re an odd couple,” Demitri commented.

    “I’ve seen weirder,” Sera said. She stretched and let out a big sigh. “Alright. See you guys tomorrow. I’m going to go… uh… Hm. I think I’m just going to sleep out in the woods tonight until I figure out where I’m supposed to live now.”

    “Why not Hot Spot?” offered Demitri.

    “Oh, hey, that’s an idea,” Sera agreed. “Sure. Thanks.”

    But just as she was about to head to the Hot Spot waypoint, Gahi Teleported next to Anam. Her ears twitched as she overheard the conversation.

    “Hey,” Gahi said, “quick question.”

    “Uh?”

    “How’s Jerry doin’?”

    “Oh, he’s fine! He’s been really helpful lately… I’m glad he could forgive me for what happened before. I, um, I think. I still need to make it up to him somehow…”

    Gahi nodded. “Yeah, alright,” he said. “Thanks, jus’ askin’.”

    Anam tilted his head. “How come?”

    Gahi shrugged. “One o’ my spirits was curious, is all.”

    After some quick idle talk, they parted ways again. Shrugging a little, Sera continued to Hot Spot, thinking nothing of it.

    Once she was halfway to Hot Spot, Sera realized why he’d asked.

    <><><>​

    “Thank you. It looks right this time,” Qitlan said with a coldness behind his voice.

    “S-sorry!”

    A Dragapult and two Dreepy were assisting with meal prep for Alexander’s recovery. And they’d gotten it wrong again. Alexander preferred a stew that was thicker and meatier. At least that was easy to fix.

    Pots and pans clattered in the distance as the dining hall got to work with their meal preparations. Even without Alexander to attend, Cipher Castle’s operations functioned as normal. Alexander made it that way on purpose, making sure that even in his absence, it would keep pushing along. He was the perfect ruler. He did not need to rule with an iron fist. He simply designed everything to run as it should.

    Then he could get what he wanted. Always.

    The least Qitlan could do in response, now that he had recovered, was pay Alexander back. With everything.

    Everything started with a good and proper meal.

    “H-how about now?” Dragapult asked. Two Dreepy held up a sampling bowl for Qitlan to taste.

    Thick. Creamy consistency. And heaps of extra meat. He caught a hint of garlic, a favorite of Alexander’s.

    “We’ll need five portions exactly like this,” Qitlan said with a nod. “Very good. I’m going to inform him of his meal being prepared. How long must he wait?”

    “Only—only ten… no, fifteen minutes to make sure the rest of the meat tenderizes properly!”

    “Good. But give it extra time anyway. Make sure it would melt the moment he bites down.”

    “M-melts? That could take… a whole half an hour!”

    “I’ll allow it.” And without a word, the Inteleon turned around and walked down the halls of the kitchen, past the pacing chefs, and into the dining hall where many of the residential staff were enjoying their meals. Qitlan refused to eat before Alexander.

    He passed down the halls lined with royal carpets and vases filled with candy. They weren’t eaten as often anymore except by staff, but that was fine. Alexander didn’t care, so he didn’t care.

    The larger-than-life doors to Alexander’s chambers greeted him. He knocked twice in a particular rhythm.

    “Enter.”

    Qitlan’s heart fluttered as it always did and he pushed the doors open.

    Alexander lay in a bed five times his size covered in warmed blankets and pillows for all three of his heads. Most were behind him while two small clusters were by his side to lay his smaller jaws. His injuries had healed but the fatigue of his spirit remained. Thankfully, based on what their scouts had stated, the opposition was also recovering from their chaos. That left Alexander with ample time to recover and be stronger than ever.

    The scouts had given him even more information and findings about some of the methods the Hands of Creation had allowed. And, by that same logic, the opposing Shadowy power that permeated the Voidlands would be capable of the same.

    All he had to do was convince Alexander to do it.

    After he got a few other things taken care of, at least.

    “Qitlan,” Alexander greeted, looking at him with a grunt. “Is dinner prepared?”

    “I made sure they have it prepared exactly as you like it. They will not rush.”

    “Mmf. Then another half hour?”

    “Yes. However, that makes for a good opportunity to talk.”

    “Talk?” Alexander’s three heads all frowned, looking equal parts tired and confused.

    “I assure you,” Qitlan said, “this is all positive.”

    To that, Alexander relaxed against his pillows again. Qitlan gently moved the blankets over his chest and Alexander relaxed more.

    “…May I speak of something personal?”

    The tiredness had faded completely, now. Alexander looked curious. “You may.”

    Qitlan nodded and clasped his hands together on his thighs, sitting at Alexander’s bedside. “…The blight on the Voidlands, Owen, can create Gone Pebbles. We know this. We planned to use it for the motivation of the troops, but his ability to make them was demonstrated. He offered one to me.”

    Alexander’s eyes narrowed, thoughtful. “In exchange?”

    “I don’t know what the exchange was. I don’t think he had one in mind. He thought that it would remind me of some sort of memory I’d left behind, perhaps. A reason to turn against you. But he was wrong.” Qitlan deflated. “It was a memory of when I was at my most desperate. When I’d found you.”

    “I can barely remember that,” Alexander stated flatly. “I remember something about you impressed me.”

    “I’d infiltrated your camp and stole from your supplies,” Qitlan said. His voice was a little quieter. “I’d been removed from my home… and had no choice but to scavenge and steal. And I was very good at it until I’d been caught by you. But you saw my strength… and took me in.

    “The Voidlands took that memory from me but not my feelings, Alexander. I still owe everything to you. My life, my strength, my soul, my body… are all yours.”

    “Hmph.” Alexander smirked. “I know power when I see it. I made nothing but good choices when keeping you by my side.”

    “…And there is… one last thing,” Qitlan said, “from the scouting. And it is… related. We have discovered how the much weaker individuals on Kilo’s side have become as strong as they have. It is not just blessings from the gods.”

    “Oh? What more is there?” Alexander squeezed the blankets and rolled a little so his scales brushed against Qitlan’s thigh.

    He suppressed a shiver and his heart skipped a beat. “Yes,” he replied. “When you run out of strength that your spirit is capable of manifesting… they found a new source. More spirits, channeling their power through a host all at once. It seems they must be willing for it to work, and often unified behind a driving spirit, like a leader.”

    “We’ve tried that before. Those failures are in the Void chambers,” Alexander said. “But, a unified leader…”

    “Exactly,” said Qitlan. “Before, we only turned dissenters into mindless Void Shadows as servants. But in that state, they are weak, barely a will to call their own. It seems if we want to be truly powerful… we must have a leader spirit to rally them from within.

    “Of course, you never thought to dispose of your truly powerful guards… but you must. You must gather your most loyal, those who believe in the greatness of Cipher City… and take them to lead everyone else.

    “With that together… perhaps… you will find your true strength.”

    “Even as King,” Alexander said, “I don’t know about that. Willing? I’m not blind to their fear. If I already claim them and they have nothing left to fear, how can I get their power in lock-step with mine?”

    “You only need one,” Qitlan said. “One lead spirit to mold the rest. To rally them for a cause, directly, within your realm.” Slowly, Qitlan brought his hand to Alexander’s arm. “…You know I am your most loyal and always have been. You never once had to tie my spirit to your powers.

    “But now, Alexander…”

    His heart raced. Was he about to propose this? Was he afraid? No. He wasn’t afraid of what would happen. He was afraid that Alexander would deny it.

    “You must take me.”

    And for a moment, Alexander seemed genuinely unsure. Qitlan had no idea what was going through his mind. He must have been calculating all the possible outcomes, as he always did. Weighing the benefits and risks. But Qitlan had outlined it all, and how, in the end, he would lose nothing. And would gain so much more.

    “Claim your spirit,” Alexander repeated. “That’s a big sacrifice, Qitlan.”

    “And yet it is… what I have always wanted. With those traitorous others out of the way, I must make my move. I—” Qitlan stumbled. Had he said that out loud? “I… want this.”

    Alexander looked puzzled. What was there not to understand?

    “But,” Qitlan went on, “I only have… one request before we do. I want you to follow your instincts when you take my soul. And I will be loyal to you forever. To commemorate it…”

    Alexander was attentive. The most attentive he’d ever been. Having him in the room, alone, isolated, for so long, after so long…

    Qitlan whispered…

    <><><>​

    Dragapult floated down the halls of gaudy carpet and excessive candy bowls. Her two Dreepy nestled themselves in their launchers, though they didn’t want to be out while she was about to serve Alexander’s meal. Qitlan was always so demanding about how Alexander’s meals were, but really…

    She just had to draw the short stick on who served Alexander this time. When he was in a bad mood like this, sometimes people came back feeling like they’d lost part of themselves. That was like death in the Voidlands. And she had a good, long track record of being alive so far! Two hundred years! Maybe a bit longer, but it was starting to get a little fuzzy…

    Whatever. Once Alexander had a proper hold of things again, maybe it would all stabilize and he’d be in a good mood again. It was a good life, she told herself. Or a good… un-life. If she was lucky, she’d start forgetting about the details of the many years rolling by and be satisfied with each day as it passed. It was a Zen way of living. She was getting there. Years were already blurring together.

    The door was just in front of her. She shook her head a little and her two Dreepy sank into her shooters, hidden away. They melted into Void Shadow blobs and became inert. She didn’t like them seeing Alexander directly. Void Shadows were impressionable.

    Her ectoplasmic tail crinkled. She smelled something in the air. It was the scent of when he and that poor Mhynt had to spend some extra time together. What was she—

    Wait, that Treecko was gone now.

    Before she could think about it more, the door slid open on its own.

    “Eep—”

    Alexander was floating on the other side, dripping with blood from his mouths and down his chest and belly. Behind him, on the bed, it was all crimson and black and… and was that… were those… what was that? Bones?

    “Thank you,” Alexander said slowly, reaching down to the plate in Dragapult’s hands. She handed it over and floated back. Everything felt cold. She was ready to phase through the wall.

    “I have an assignment for you,” Alexander said.

    “Y-yes?”

    “Gather all staff.” He spilled the stew into his main mouth. His other heads continued to talk, their voices twisted and high-pitched compared to his main head. They switched who talked and who held the bowl.

    “And tell them to meet in the assembly.

    “For an emergency meeting.”

    He placed the empty bowl on Dragapult’s head and floated past her.

    When she finally dared to turn around, she saw a specter on Alexander’s back. A shadowy haze of Qitlan draped over his shoulders, possessively wrapping its tail around Alexander’s, looking like the happiest phantom in the world.
     
    Chapter 168 - Rally and Recover
  • Namohysip

    Dragon Enthusiast
    Staff
    Partners
    1. flygon
    2. charizard
    3. milotic
    4. zoroark-soda
    5. sceptile
    6. marowak
    7. jirachi
    8. meganium
    9. namo-rock
    Chapter 168 – Rally and Recover

    Claws of Shadow and Radiance slammed into Owen’s ethereal shields.

    The shockwaves left craters in the field. Sparks trailed through the dirt and singed the grass, darkening them with a strange blight or leaving them glowing with energy.

    The flame of Hardscale’s tail had taken on a similar glow. His eyes had a hint of frenzy that Mega Evolution always had, but with Red behind him, standing firm, Owen sensed the way their spirits were entwined. Hardscale was in perfect control of himself. The instability of Radiance and the spirit-plunging corrosion of Shadow were kept in check.

    Red shouted and swept his arm forward. Hardscale roared and blew a jet of flames, spiraling with black and white embers, toward Owen’s shield. He grasped it, claimed it as his own, let it snake around his shoulders, and shot it back.

    Hardscale responded by shielding it with his wings and then spreading them out. The windblast forced Owen back a few feet, claws leaving ridges in the dirt.

    The battle had a moment of silence. Mutually, they understood they’d done enough. Red tipped his hat forward in acknowledgment.

    “I think,” Owen said, “that… will do. Good job, Hardscale.”

    Light pulsed around his brother, his body returning to normal.

    “It’s so powerful,” he said. “But… but I can control it now. Better than before…”

    Owen grinned. “Well, that was a few weeks ago,” he said. “You only hurt me a few times. I’ve had worse.”

    Blue’s Pidgeot cawed and spiraled onto Zena, who parried the attack with an Aqua Tail. She struggled a lot more against her foe without Owen’s ability to grasp and reflect attacks but she held her own enough. Mu, standing behind Blue, pumped her little fists in the air, cheering Zena on.

    “Looks like your rival’s doing well, too,” Owen said. “I think… I think we’re done here.”

    “You’re going to another region now?” asked Hardscale.

    Owen nodded. “I already said goodbye to Duos. He doesn’t want to get involved in all this and I don’t blame him. He deserves a quiet life now. Same for all the others… Blue sent word to them. And I wrote to them. Maybe when this all settles down, I can… try seeing them. But I guess what we have to do back home caught up with us.”

    “Home?” Hardscale asked. “I thought here was home.”

    Owen opened his mouth, pausing. Then he smiled and looked down. “Yeah,” he lied.

    Too much had changed. But… he understood where Hardscale was coming from.

    “You’ve been on a lot of adventures even to other regions with Redcap, haven’t you?” Owen asked Hardscale. “But here is still home?”

    “Yeah! Because that’s where I came from.” Hardscale faced south where the lab was one town over. “It’s important. Now more than ever, since Mom’s gone…”

    A little tightness in his chest reminded Owen that he still needed to heal from that. Perhaps he’d never fully heal. But maybe… she was resting now. He didn’t know how it worked in this world. But surely, she was.

    “It’ll always be a home to me,” Owen agreed.

    “What are you gonna do in Alola?” Hardscale asked.

    “Well… I was going to stop by for a way to get home. But now that Dungeons are appearing, we already have a way. Now, I want to go there to give information I know and maybe find ways to get information to help us too. Then… We’re going to take a flight to Orre.”

    “Huh? How come? Isn’t that… where you disappeared?”

    A while ago, Owen had filled Harscale in on some of the details.

    “Yeah. But I know that Shadow incidents happened there,” he explained. “They might have a way to help us against our own Shadow problem.”

    “Ohh!” Hardscale nodded. “Now I get it.”

    He didn’t, and Owen knew it. But that was fine.

    “…Goodbye, Hardscale. I’m glad you found such a strong human.”

    Hardscale smiled. But that finality dimmed his flame.

    Blue clapped his hands. “Well,” he said. “You ready to go? That flight’s waiting. Good timing, eh? Guess we trained a little extra with the spare days, but…”

    “Yeah.” Owen nodded. “Red, Blue, make sure you take care of any Dungeons that appear in this area. Pass on that power to others if you can with those extra stones I blessed. Only people you can trust, okay?”

    “You got it. We know how dangerous this stuff can be.” Blue nodded, as did Red. “You’ve got the eyes of a lot of big names on this. They’ll help.”

    A Charmander abruptly appeared atop Owen’s head, plopping between his horns. “Daddy!” Mu said, flopping down so her face rested between his eyes. “I’m bored!”

    “But you were watching Mom fight!” Owen said, grabbing Mu with one arm. She giggled and wrapped her tail around his wrist, the flame simultaneously hot and cold as it glowed black and white.

    “Perhaps she wants to fight, too,” Zena commented with an encouraging smile. “You’re still very young for that, Mu. Maybe later.”

    “Aww…” Mu flailed in Owen’s hold.

    It was concerning how quickly Mu was growing up, but at least it meant dealing with her early stages of life wouldn’t be as tumultuous. If she was anything like his siblings growing up, that would’ve been a real handful.

    “Let’s get ready,” Owen said after Red handed them their Poké Balls.

    Finally, it was time to say goodbye to Kanto. Owen wondered if this time would truly be the last…

    He thought of his father. How much longer would he live? Could he go back to see him again?

    No… No. They’d already said goodbye, and he was ready. Daichi was satisfied. To return now… He’d only be chastised for wasting time.

    It was time to move forward. Just as Red and Blue now had to pass on their training and blessings to save this world, Owen had to get back to work on saving his new home.

    And so, they moved on.

    <><><>​

    Trina’s army had been whittled down to a squadron after all that had transpired, but those who remained were training to become her elites. And at the top was, of course, the only quartet of Eon’s old army, aside from the originals. The improved Team Alloy… the clones made to replace Eon’s lost companions. A cruel existence.

    At least they were more at peace now.

    In Yotta Outskirts, where the fields were regrowing wheat after fires and mutant clashes had ruined them, Trina surveyed her remaining squadron of thirty. Their tendency to stick together meant that no set was without a unit, so their fusions were not disrupted. But there was a loneliness in the air regardless, so many others lost to the Void or their natural madness.

    “I’m glad to still have you here,” she addressed them. “I promise, when this is over, we will gather every one of our friends and save them.”

    Har crossed his arms nervously. “I’m really glad you’re back, Queen Trina,” he said, “but… a lot’s changed since you were here last. Is it alright if I asked a few… questions?”

    “Ask as many as you like. I’m… sorry I’ve been gone for so long.”

    “Only been a few days,” Ax said, playing with his tusks. “It’s just a lot happened during those few days.”

    Har breathed a sigh. “The mutants who aren’t… with us anymore. Do you know what happened to all of them?”

    The Serperior’s coils tightened. “Some died and went to the Voidlands. They… may not be themselves or remember anything of their lives. But we can reverse that when we defeat Dark Matter. They can be at peace afterward. Others got lost and they are in the lab they’d been created in—Quartz HQ. Palkia is spearheading an effort of repurposing some of it and mutants there are helping after… Emily ruined a lot of it. Eon is also helping to stabilize them… The ones that survived should be in good hands by now.”

    “So… none are wandering around berserk anymore?” Har clarified.

    “I don’t… I don’t know for sure. I don’t know if the ones still missing are wandering or dead. I’m sorry.”

    At that, the other mutants shifted uncomfortably and nodded in understanding. Despite everything—despite how Trina herself felt about it—she didn’t sense animosity from them. They didn’t blame her.

    It nagged at her.

    “It’s my fault,” she said quietly.

    “Nope. Nu-uh. We’re not having that,” Lygo said firmly. “Without you, we’d’ve been way worse off. Yeah, for the ones who went crazy, it was delaying the inevitable. Fine. But delaying is better than it happening immediately.

    “You still saved us.”

    “Don’t say it’s your fault,” Ami went on. The mutant Meganium’s vines curled inward. “The person who really should be blamed is Eon. Not you. You saved us.”

    In a pocket of silence, she knew they were right. But still, she could not shake the feeling of guilt.

    Suddenly, the squadron’s eyes turned to something behind Trina. Moments later, a gust of wind alerted her to Gahi’s arrival.

    “Oi, Trina,” he said.

    “Oh! Gahi.” Trina twisted her coils until she was facing him, shifting unconsciously. “Hello.”

    Gahi held a small package forward. It smelled like meat and spices. “Got y’lunch.”

    “Oh. I didn’t… realize I hadn’t eaten lunch. And I don’t… need to, but…” She hooked her vine beneath the paper package’s handle. “Thank you.”

    “Ehh, y’had a rough one, figured you’d like somethin’.” Gahi glanced at the squadron. “Oh, hey.”

    “Hi?” Har squinted. “…Where’s the rest of your team?”

    “Owen’s on vacation,” Gahi said.

    Ax squinted. “…Vacation?”

    “Uh, he got shot inter Kanto.”

    “Where’s Kanto?” Ax asked.

    Gahi shrugged. “One universe away? He’ll be back.”

    “Y-you don’t just… get shot into another universe!” Lygo said as the others in the squadron murmured in alarm.

    “Is he okay?” Har asked.

    “Arceus said he was. I figure he’s right. I mean, that was befer we beat ‘im up fer goin’ crazy, but like, Dialga said he was normal.” Gahi picked at a few loose scales on his cheek.

    Ani groaned, rubbing her forehead with a vine. “Your answers are raising more questions… We should quit before it gets worse.

    “Get used to it,” Har mumbled, sighing. “I think that’s just how they operate now. Glad I’m away from that…”

    “When’re you gonna be done with this?” Gahi asked Trina.

    “Er, Gahi, I’ll… be done soon. I was just getting a rallying… conference.”

    By now, the mutants were murmuring to one another, eyeing Gahi and Trina curiously. Ani’s brow was furrowed, inspecting the two of them.

    “I think we’re finished,” Har said. “So… you know, it’s alright if we dismiss here. I can handle the rest.”

    “Oh, no, we… I mean, yes, I suppose we were about done…”

    Why was she getting so flustered? She sighed, calming herself. “Thank you, Har. That will be everything. Please, everyone, relax for today. We will get through drills and training for any imminent battles tomorrow. Dismissed.”

    The mutants stood straight, then relaxed and dispersed. Har and his team remained, though, getting a little closer.

    “Yes?” Trina asked.

    “Are you two…?” Ax gestured between Gahi and Trina.

    “What?” Gahi asked.

    “Feels like it,” Ani said.

    Har confirmed with a nod.

    “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Trina said evasively. “…I’m… simply… thinking about things, that’s all.”

    Not a thought seemed to pass through Gahi’s head.

    “I got some lunch fer myself, too,” Gahi said. “I think I’m gonna eat with yeh. Make sure y’ain’t neglectin’ that.”

    “She doesn’t even have to eat, does she?” Ani asked.

    “Nah. Without too many spirits, that whole thing kinda falls apart er somethin’,” Gahi explained.

    Har looked between them again. “Um, My Queen, could I… ask something?”

    “Of course.”

    “…Are you two courting?”

    “Wh-what?!” Trina coiled tighter.

    “Yeah,” Gahi replied.

    “WHAT?” Trina, losing her composure, whirled around to face Gahi in a lunging position.

    Gahi blinked several times, completely unfazed. “I mean, it’s kinda obvious.”

    “Gahi, courting is—that isn’t—”

    “That makes sense,” Ani said.

    Ax nodded, arms crossed. Har, too, looked unsurprised.

    “I have a say in this, too!” Trina said. “Gahi! You did not… ask me!”

    “Oh. Is that how it works?” Gahi asked. “That part’s kinda foggy still, gonna be honest.” He scratched at the side of his head, running a hand along his left antenna next.

    “Do you even know what courting is?” Trina said. “Who told you we were courting?”

    “The letters in my head.”

    “The—the letters. Do you mean the Unown?”

    “Yeah.”

    “…And they told you about courting?”

    “No, jus’ that I was courting.”

    “…Gahi, please ask the letters what courting is.”

    Gahi stared at the sky. Trina wasn’t sure how much he relied on those ‘letters’ anymore, but… he seemed to still be his own person. Though, in some ways, she wondered how those Unown could tolerate such a curious host, so unlike the Psychic associations.

    “Oh,” Gahi said. “Huh. Didn’ know that was th’ term.”

    “I can’t believe we’re related,” Lygo deadpanned.

    Ax patted Lygo on the back.

    “So, you wanna?” Gahi offered.

    “W-wanna? Do I… want… courting.” Trina took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Thought about Har’s observations.

    Yes, he was right, she was comfortable around him. After all their time together surviving alone in the Voidlands, the way he understood her position as the leader of the rescued mutants, the fact that they could perfectly split dinners based on the ingredients they didn’t like…

    “I like you,” Gahi said, tilting his head. “Courting is when y’figure out how much more, yeah?”

    The sun was a lot hotter today.

    Trina took another breath, held it, and finally relaxed her coils. She couldn’t admit it now, but she had been… considering it, too. But Gahi always seemed so aloof, so focused on other things, and there was of course the whole ongoing Shadow War happening which was a little distracting. She hadn’t gotten around to asking.

    But after spending so much time leading mutants, being at the same level as one not associated with her subjects was… different. Refreshing. A little forbidden. But…

    She did consider Gahi a friend. Yet, she considered many of their group friends. Something about Gahi stood out more.

    Maybe it was how direct he was. So often, people were hesitant around her, afraid she might control them or impose something with her powers. Gahi never showed any of that.

    And, admittedly, the way he was so unfazed about it impressed her. When she looked up at his eyes, through those red lenses… she saw, behind a casual façade, a fearful echo of hope in them.

    Gahi must have lost interest in waiting for an answer because he was staring at the fields. She couldn’t get a read on him anymore. Was he nervous? Being patient? Gahi wasn’t patient. Maybe he didn’t mind. Har, Ani, and Lygo were sharing nervous, awkward glances.

    “I… may I demonstrate my answer?” Trina asked.

    “Eh?”

    “About courting.”

    “Oh. Sure.” Gahi replied, though his wings had drooped an inch. Was he trying to play casual, and now he was interpreting that as rejection?

    Well, she couldn’t allow that.

    Trina slithered forward and raised herself to his height. She leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek, holding it for a few moments. His scales were smooth. Unsurprising for their glossy, shimmering appearance in the light.

    She pulled away and straightened herself again to look regal.

    Gahi blinked again. “…What’s that mean?”

    Lygo looked like he was about to die.

    “What does that mean? Gahi, that’s a kiss! A means of affection! Between people!” Trina leaned forward. “Surely, you know what a kiss is?”

    “I thought that was a mammal thing.”

    “Yes, well, cultures… some means of… Gahi, how do you show affection?”

    Gahi seemed to be thinking. Then, in his usual, way too fast manner, he stepped forward and bit Trina on the neck.

    “OW!” Trina whirled back before the sharp pain got any worse. “Gahi! You tore my leaf!” She nursed the wound with a vine.

    “Wh—that’s how Flygon do it, c’mon!” Gahi flapped his wings. “Aw, c’mon, I’ll, uh, hang on, I’ll get an Oran—”

    “Wait, don’t—”

    Gahi left her vision for a moment. When she blinked, he was by her side with an Oran Berry and she had no idea where or how.

    “Let’s go,” Ani said, apparently seeing enough. “They can enjoy lunch.”

    Trina took the Oran with a frazzled “Thank you,” as Har’s team departed.

    “Geh… messed that one up,” Gahi mumbled. “…Sorry. Jus’… never did this in a while. And kinda fergot when I did… I dunno, must’ve just been lucky th’ times befer this.”

    “I see.” The Serperior was calm enough that her coils left their defensive positioning. “…I’m… not familiar, either, admittedly.”

    They started through the fields, looking for a relaxing patch to rest and eat. Gentle winds blew the snow over a struggling crop. While Trina was the Bug Guardian, she did have powers over Grass as well. She channeled some of her energy into the fields to help them grow through the winter. It was a natural courtesy.

    “You got amnesia, too?” Gahi asked.

    “No. Well… yes. I don’t know. It’s more that, it’s been a while.” Trina sighed. “I used to… I was once a spirit that served under Arceus. My life before that is foggy not from anything like divine seals or special powers, Gahi, but… time. But I was told that with my power, I had to be ready to use it to purify the minds of those who had been warped by powers against nature. When I saw the first mutants… I knew what I had to do.”

    Gahi cocked his head. His antennae twitched. “Hang on,” he said. “So ol’ Barky knew there’d be mutants, ev’n back then? He got cogwheels?”

    It took Trina several seconds to realize what he meant. “…Precognition. And, no, I don’t think he does.”

    “Huh.” Gahi reappeared several feet ahead. “Here’s a good spot!”

    By the time Trina caught up, Gahi had disappeared and reappeared with a red blanket, setting it down and plopping on the left side. Trina coiled on the right.

    He’d bought a heavy, meaty meal, simmered in savory berries and drizzled with vegetables, spices, and rice. Trina wasn’t sure how well she could eat it, but it seemed tasty.

    “Here,” Gahi said, offering a wooden fork.

    “Oh.”

    “Helps pick stuff up easier without usin’ vines and stuff.”

    Trina coiled around her plate and nodded. “Thank you,” she said, looming over her meal and awkwardly holding the fork with her vine. It had been a while since she’d eaten… fancy. Was this fancy?

    Gahi had ordered the same thing, but it smelled spicier.

    “You can handle that?”

    “Not the way Owen c’n handle spice,” Gahi replied. He took a few small nibbles, grabbing the meat with his bare hands.

    “Mm.” She stabbed her fork into the meat, getting a few veggies and berries with it, and picked the whole slab of meat up, nearly as large as her head.

    “You think he’s doin’ alright?” Gahi asked.

    “The others seem confident, don’t they?” she asked.

    Gahi tore off a tougher piece, chewing on the thought. Trina stuffed the whole slab in her mouth and pushed her coils forward on reflex, tilting her head up. It was a mix of savory and a hint of sweet and bitter to keep the flavors balanced. It was a honey glaze on this meat, fatty and filling. The most satisfying part was the residual warmth through her body.

    She sighed, easing her body down. Her instinct to curl up and rest was already settling in…

    “I used ter do that,” Gahi commented.

    “Hm?”

    Gahi leaned over and offered a piece of bread, dabbing it on her mouth, showing some grease. Trina took it, wiped her mouth, and downed the bread next.

    “Eatin’ big.”

    “Oh. Why don’t you anymore?”

    “Mouth got smaller.”

    “Oh. Trapinch.” That made sense. “I certainly don’t miss being a Snivy.”

    “Kinda liked Trapinch in hindsight. Like, Flygon’s way better, yeah. But I liked the surprised look people had when I went an’ dashed behind ‘em.”

    “Still just as fast back then, were you?”

    Gahi stretched his wings proudly. “Fastest peanut in the world.”

    “Peanut?” Trina giggled, wrapping her vine around her plate. “What does that make you now?”

    “Hmm…” Gahi’s tail flicked. “Asparagus.”

    “Asparagus? Long and green?” Trina tilted her plate into her mouth, pouring all the rice and extra fixings down at once.

    Gahi nodded. “An’ yer a banana.”

    Trina nearly coughed but managed to finish her food. “B-banana?”

    Gahi pointed at her hood. “Serperior look like bananas.”

    “I…” She couldn’t find a retort. “Green bananas aren’t very good, though.”

    “Sure they are!” Gahi said. “Means they ain’t gone bad yet. Y’ever see a banana in Hot Spot? Practically can watch the brown spots grow in real-time.”

    “Well, hopefully, if I lose this Orb, I won’t brown the same way.” Trina set her plate aside. Gahi wasn’t even a quarter finished with his.

    “Did yeh like it?” Gahi asked.

    “I did.” Trina smiled nervously. “Sorry if I went too quickly for you.”

    Gahi’s tail flicked. “Nah,” he said. “Jus’ means I gotta eat faster next time.”

    Trina tittered at that, deciding not to point out that wasn’t what he should’ve taken from that.

    She watched him eat again, quickly but meticulously. He always changed from rice to picking at a veggie or two and then returned to the meat, no part of the meal holding his attention for very long.

    Courting. How… funny. A year ago, Gahi was the last person she imagined she'd ever consider.

    His simple honesty… grounded her. He didn’t revere her like other mutants. He didn’t need her.

    For now, she had to focus on her army. They had to mobilize to support the fight against the “Fragments of Darkness.”

    But… having Gahi around for that didn’t sound so bad.

    <><><>​

    A shadowy entity crawled across the floors of Destiny Tower, leaping between cracks and up the stairs like they were water. Spiraling up and into the operational Teleporter and reappearing at the fiftieth floor. The midway point, where Destiny Tower’s physical presence transcended into the aether.

    He slipped through without issue and continued up the spiral, finding a second divine Teleporter. So convenient. Barky did a good job.

    Someone was talking in one of the strategy rooms on the… oh, what floor was this, somewhere in the nineties, now? It sounded like Owen, but he wasn’t around.

    “. . . unknown, but with Alexander still recovering, and Nate handling Necrozma, it’s clear that our best target should be Emily.”

    Nate tilted his head. He was handling Necrozma that well? Such a glowing compliment from not-Owen. Was it Har? No, he was training with Trina and the mutant army.

    Hello?

    “What was that?” growled the Charizard. “…Oh. Nate. It’s you.”

    Hello, Darkness, my old friend.

    “Mm.” Diyem, the Charizard with a black flame, sighed.

    You sound a lot like Owen.

    “My body reflected his due to some entanglement issues. I could also be a Goodra, but there are… inconveniences.”

    Nate bobbed.

    “How are you here? Aren’t you busy with Necrozma?”

    I’m everywhere.

    “Comforting.”

    I wanted to check on everyone… like Hecto. And Willow.

    “Wonderful, we have three multi-present people wandering around Kilo, and one of them is potentially an active threat waiting to happen.”

    I’m an active threat?

    “No, you’re just weird. I was talking about Willow. Xerneas was able to determine that Willow and Hoopa are the same soul. So, we’re more or less waiting for that to blow up in our faces in a few days.” Diyem pointed at a part of the left wall where ‘WILLOW’ was circled in red and connected to several other ‘liabilities’ on some kind of interaction map.

    Oh. So you’re going to go after Emily? I think she’s wandering in the eastern parts of Kilo right now.

    “Mm, thank you. That might be—wait. That’s meaningless.” Diyem punched forehead. “Dungeons are making the cardinal directions meaningless.”

    It’s not that bad. Even though everything is shuffled, local areas are more likely to be where they used to be. Most cold spots are where Step used to be.

    “Really?” Diyem asked. “Hmm. It wasn’t always like that, was it?”

    Nate shook his head and hopped onto the table, looking at all of their plans.

    Barky eyed him warily.

    In response, Nate tilted his gaze upward. Underneath the spirit cloth he’d conjured for himself, Nate curled his shapeless darkness inward.

    “…I have memories of you,” Barky said. “You only showed up to… consume the Tree of Life. I thought it was the end of the world. Yet then, you disappeared.”

    The Tree of Life is my home. I was protecting it.

    Diyem sighed. “Well, I suppose that means we have two abominations that protect things by eating them. Wonderful. Speaking of which, if Emily is wandering in the east side, is there anything in immediate danger?”

    No, but that could change overnight. She is searching for Tanneth, her other half.

    “She’s off the mark,” Diyem said. “She seems to have a gateway on the island where Necrozma had once been, but that is very far removed from where she’s being kept now.”

    “But hold on,” Barky said. “I don’t understand what you are, Nate. I did not create you. Are you like Diyem?”

    I don’t know what I am. I was here with the first souls of Kilo when it was still called Quartz. I heard all of the voices and thoughts of the people inside who wanted to make a better world. Their hopes and struggles… I felt them all.

    “In other words,” Diyem said, “he is my opposite. Where I am all the pain that Kilo feels, and all of its negativity, Nate gets the rest. Its hope and defiance to survive.” He glared at him. “We’re supposed to be enemies.”

    It doesn’t have to be that way.

    “We will forever be opposed,” Diyem stated. “…But I suppose that does not mean we have to be at each other’s throats. Only that we will always experience what the other doesn’t… and we are both tied to the fabric of this universe. I think…” He looked at Star. “Yes. Nate and I were born from the same instant you created Kilo. Your fear and regrets… became me, and I became sensitive to all the world’s flaws. Your hopes and desire to do better, to survive, to save people? That became Nate. He is the voice of the souls who want to persist in Kilo, despite all its struggles. He is Kilo’s Voice of Life.”

    “Voice of Life…” Star repeated the term, staring at Nate curiously. “I like that…”

    Diyem growled and crossed his arms. “I think it’s corny.”

    “Okay, Darkness Diyem Dark Matter,” Star quipped.

    “Most of those were bestowed onto me,” Diyem pointed out.

    Star rolled her eyes. “Well, anyway… Barky, what’s got you hung up on that?”

    Barky stared at Nate for a little while longer. “Is there something you aren’t telling us?”

    …Is Owen safe to return soon?

    “He is in the world Quartz originated from,” Barky said. “He should return eventually, once we gather our strength to resummon him. It will be a few days. For him, perhaps a year to recover, and I hope he uses that time to train and not lose his strength.”

    Okay. That’s fine. As long as he can come back, because… I still need to complete my part in all of this. I can still feel him over there.

    “Huh?” Star squinted. “What… do you mean by that?”

    Nate curled up. Um. Nothing.

    “Wow, a literal void in a blanket can still look like it’s lying,” Star deadpanned. “C’mon, Nate. What’s going on? I thought you weren’t involved in any of this and are kinda just sitting by.”

    “Well, he does step in when truly large cataclysms are at play,” Diyem said. “He took down my initial expanse as well as Necrozma’s rampage himself. Not enough to defeat, but enough to suppress. And it seemed like you’d been preparing for that for a long time…”

    …So Owen will be back soon?

    “Nate, be honest with us,” Diyem said. “Why have you been coming in to save the day at just the right moments, and sit by otherwise?”

    I can only do my big attacks every few days…

    “Yes, but…” Barky narrowed his eyes. “Why did you feel where Owen is? Do you have some kind of link to him?”

    Er…

    Rapid steps came from the main spiraling halls. “Your Radiance! Your Radiance!”

    Their heads turned to see a breathless Turtonator.

    “W-we have a problem!”

    “What’s wrong?” Barky asked. “We are in a key strategy meeting. How important is this?”

    “Key strategy meeting?” called a new voice as Turtonator turned around, looking nervous.

    “I’m sorry, Your Radiance. I couldn’t stop them,” Turtonator said. “They appeared in a Dungeon, and… I took them to the base of the Tower and told him to wait, but I… I couldn’t disobey him! His words… compelled me!”

    An Umbreon and an Espeon entered the area. The Umbreon had a silver visor on his forehead and a belt of Poké Balls on his thigh, each one wiggling as if the Pokémon inside were eager to look around their new environment. The Espeon didn’t have the same decorations, though she was desperately trying to fashion some blue bands around her ear tufts, clumsy with her paws.

    Barky and Star looked like they’d seen ghosts.

    “Where are we?” Umbreon said with a glare.

    “…Please don’t tell me you’re human,” Barky said.

    “Eek! Wait!” Espeon whispered, hiding behind Umbreon. “Is that… Are you…”

    “Yeah, we are,” Umbreon said flatly. “From Orre.”
     
    Chapter 169 – Spreading Darkness For Good
  • Namohysip

    Dragon Enthusiast
    Staff
    Partners
    1. flygon
    2. charizard
    3. milotic
    4. zoroark-soda
    5. sceptile
    6. marowak
    7. jirachi
    8. meganium
    9. namo-rock
    Thanks to everyone reviewing HoC so far! I've responded to you guys privately for everything, and maybe I'll give more of a response to it here later. Unfortunately, irl has been too hectic for me to reply formally here, but I'll try to get to it when I can!

    <><><>

    Chapter 169 – Spreading Darkness For Good

    Umbreon wobbled around the conference table like he’d never walked a day in his paws. And… he hadn’t. This was a human. No, two humans! Humans who had been transformed by some force into a Pokémon the moment they’d come into Kilo.

    Star didn’t know how to feel about humans pouring into the world she’d made specifically to get away from them. But these… didn’t seem bad. Irritated or nervous, sure, but the Pokémon in Umbreon’s belt seemed curious and eager, not afraid or miserable.

    With their arrival, the meeting’s whole atmosphere had shifted. Most left to handle other tasks, hoping to return for more strategy later, and all that remained were herself, a Hecto, Barky, whatever Nate was presenting himself as, and Diyem.

    “Alright,” Umbreon said. “I think I understand.”

    “You mean that these ‘Dungeons’ form when there’s some weakened part of the wall that separates realms?” Espeon asked. “That sounds like something out of a science fiction movie!”

    “It’s less like a weak point and more an active gateway,” Barky explained. “There were reinforcements to prevent these from being created between our realm and a lower realm. However, with protections against them waning, the person trying to create them… made more.”

    Star glanced at Diyem but he did not comment.

    “To go further,” Barky went on, “we suspect that Necrozma is actively creating these Dungeons due to his natural ability to create Ultra Wormholes. Ultra Wormholes and Dungeons are fundamentally different but similar in how they interact with different parts of reality or, in the case of many Dungeons, how they interact with different realms.”

    “And this world,” Umbreon said, “is related to ours because it… was split off from it long ago. I think I follow that.” He tripped and landed on his side, cursing as Espeon helped him up. “No idea how he handles four legs like this,” he muttered. He nuzzled Espeon but then paused as if the gesture confused him.

    “This Umbreon stuff isn’t permanent, right?” he asked.

    “Uhhh… I’ll… figure something out,” Star said awkwardly.

    “Well, aside from that… There’s only one other thing I care about,” Umbreon said. “Can we fix this?”

    “We have a theory on how, but we’re missing a cooperative Necrozma for doing it from our side,” Star said. “Not just any Necrozma, either, but one with some divine power imbued in it, too. So… not exactly something you can look around for that easily.”

    “And the other half is…”

    “We call it Shadows,” Star said, though she noticed Umbreon and Espeon had both gotten tense at the mention of it.

    “Then that’s you,” whispered Espeon, looking directly at Diyem.

    He furrowed his brow. “In part, yes. How did you know? …My flame is… from a special berry that colors flames.”

    “Wow, all this time and that’s your best excuse?” Star chided the Charizard.

    “I’m sure that exists,” Diyem defended.

    “You, too,” Espeon said, looking at Nate.

    Huh? Oh, I’m Shadowed, too. Long story.

    “You don’t act like Shadow Pokémon, though,” Espeon said. “You aren’t closed off, or acting like a hostile fighting machine.”

    “Well, one for two, but yeah,” Star said, gesturing to Diyem. “This guy’s about as edgy as they come even if he secretly cares about a few of us.”

    “Do not turn me into a romance novel cliché.”

    “Stop being one.”

    “Let’s focus,” Barky growled. “You two.” He nodded at Umbreon and Espeon. “Did anyone else come with you?”

    “My Pokémon,” Umbreon said, jerking his head toward his belt. “Otherwise, no. But we oughta get back if the time dilation thing you said is still there.”

    “Yes. You may have already been gone for a few days, and we don’t want that happening.”

    “Alright. But before that… Why are two of you Shadowed?”

    “I am a source of that corruption in this world,” Diyem said. “We’re trying to get rid of other sources since I am the most ideal… host for it. As for him…” He glanced at Nate with a disapproving stare. “Corruption claimed him long ago. But because the Shadows of this world bring about negative emotions, and Nate’s nature inherently defies this, it did not affect him.”

    I melted more.

    “Aside from that, I suppose.” Diyem glowered.

    “I’ve never seen Shadow Pokémon be this… in control of themselves without a proper trainer to care for them,” Espeon said. “Amazing…”

    “It’s usually much less pleasant,” Diyem grunted. “We are exceptions.”

    “If there’s anyone who could help you,” Diyem said, “it would be one of our own in your world. I doubt he is in your region, but knowing him, he may travel there to study Shadows. Send word for a Charizard named Owen.”

    “I take it he talks like you all can?” Umbreon asked. “Am I gonna lose that when I transform back?”

    “He is fluent in your language,” Diyem said. “We all are.”

    “Neat.” Umbreon glanced at Espeon. “Alright. Let’s get going. I don’t want anyone worrying about us disappearing if the time dilation is… as bad as you said. Let’s walk and talk for the rest of what you need to say.”

    “Right! Um, and thank you, everyone!” Espeon said.

    “Take care,” Barky said, nodding formally.

    As the duo made their way to the teleporter to Destiny Tower’s base, Barky turned to address them all.

    “We cannot allow this to persist,” he said. “We need to redouble our efforts into stabilizing the realms before Kilo and the world it came from become indistinguishable.”

    “Agreed,” Diyem said. “Regardless of the circumstances that gave rise to this world, it is in no position to ever return. These Dungeons are going to be a problem. It means… it’s spreading there. But why? Is it because Owen is there at all?”

    As that question lingered in the air, Nate nervously curled inward, and a new question formed in Nate’s mind. Bubbled from echoes of doubt that he couldn’t fully comprehend.

    Was this the right plan to follow? Did Owen know what he was doing? Or had this strayed from its intended course long ago?

    For now, Nate held his words close. Things weren’t in a horrible crisis… yet… right?

    Yes. It was fine. They were going to be just fine! He could still feel the beating pulse of the world fighting to survive. That much, despite everything, had not changed.

    There was still hope Owen’s plan would work.

    <><><>​

    Me, a hero, eh? Yeah… nah. That ain’t…

    But you are! You… have to be. He… he said you were.

    I dunno, this is… doesn’ seem fair.

    I brought you here for a reason… can you give it a shot? Just once?


    Manny looked through his office. Marshadow’s office, now his.

    He had the memories. He was the same person as before, and he was also the Lucario who’d holed himself in the Spire of Trials while waiting for things to get rolling again. As the years turned to decades turned to centuries, that purpose had faded into a stagnant complacency. Even he was not immune to the static inertia that settled into a Mystic mind as they awaited a change.

    All this paperwork and tracking of resources, taxes to Cipher City, funding, and regulations, all because of his status. He had been in charge. The Pokémon looked up to him innately.

    Didn’t seem fair. It never seemed fair. But that was the way the world worked.

    He had to grow into the job. He knew for sure he wasn’t doing a good one at first. The leeway they allowed him, though… If he said the whole truth to them, would they see him the same way?

    On his desk, too small for a Lucario but a little too large for a Marshadow, the latest report on the Titans was freshly set down. They had most of the Core Titans either defeated or located. It would be a matter of days with their newfound power and Radiance that they would liberate them all, and safely, without Dark Matter or Alexander encroaching on them when their resources were strained.

    That crazy Charizard upset the balance and they were lucky—or, sure, skilled—enough to make that imbalance in their favor. Even befriended a piece of Dark Matter in the process.

    Did a lot more than he did…

    The report suddenly singed itself with ghostly fire in the corner. “Gah!” Manny hastily hopped onto the desk and stamped it out. He sighed again, easing his breath.

    He should be happy. Everything was working out. Yet now that he had time to breathe, to remember, to consider everything he’d lost between his halves… those obligations were catching up to him. Old tasks were taken over by better people before he’d even realized it.

    Maybe talking to Star about it would be a good idea. She was feeling better, right? How long… had it been at this point?

    SLAM!

    His office door burst from its hinges and went flying toward him. Manny held up a hand, blocking it and diverting it over his head and into the wall behind him.

    Mewtwo Aster was panting heavily on the other side, eyes wide with fear.

    “Those doors ain’t cheap,” Manny growled. “C’mon, what’s got—”

    Aster babbled too quickly for him to understand, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him like a ragdoll.

    “Whoa, whoa!” Manny said, waving his arms. He squeezed out of his grasp and slipped into Aster’s shadow.

    Leph caught up and stood at the broken doorway.

    Manny poked his head out like he was hiding in a swamp. “What’s goin’ on?”

    The daughter of Arceus translated for Aster. “A refugee from Cipher City was rescued by one of our scouts an hour ago,” she said. “I healed her with some of my power. Enough that she could talk again. She’s a Dragapult who witnessed…” Leph trailed off. She steeled herself.

    “Alexander is on the move. He’ll be here in a matter of days.”

    “Days? That slow?” Manny said. “That ain’t alarmin’…”

    “…And,” Leph said, “he has consumed all of Cipher City.”

    <><><>​

    Bright white sand kicked into the air amid a salty ocean’s spray.

    Owen staggered backward and spread his wings like an air brake, claws digging into a wet oceanside. Everything was so humid here—his fire felt weaker, even if it was slight, and that subtle change in atmosphere messed with his tempo.

    The Alola region was even smaller than Kilo. Owen wasn’t sure which island this was—all strange names to them—but when he’d arrived, he met with the lead professor of the region whom he mentally called Barechest. While they didn’t have any knowledge of Shadows, they knew of a similar power to Radiance, and they’d been referred to “Ultra Beast” specialists.

    And the son of that specialist had a Pokémon that alarmed Owen with his raw power.

    “Silvally! Multi-Attack, now!” Cresthair called.

    Silvally crouched and allowed Owen no reprieve. Owen quickly brought up a Protect, parrying the strike and countering with a Flamethrower.

    The flames didn’t do as much as Owen had hoped. “What—type is he?”

    “He’s staggered! Go for another!” Cresthair shouted.

    Silvally roared and pressed past Owen’s flames and slashed across his chest. Owen grunted and crouched, tapping his hand on the ground, his scales flashing green where his palm met the sand. Then, he beat his wings to blow Silvally away. He landed heavily, prone.

    “Keep up the pressure!”

    Silvally obeyed without hesitation, covering half their distance in one leap.

    Just as Owen planned. The trap went off beneath Silvally, piercing him with Grass energy.

    That worked very well.

    Silvally roared in pain and stumbled ahead as that same energy twisted into temporary vines, ensnaring him. Owen opened his mouth, facing the sky, as he pulled in as much solar energy as he could at once. Silvally broke free from the vines with countless snaps and grunts but was too slow.

    Sand kicked up with every leap Silvally made to get closer. Owen had his Solar Beam ready. But Silvally was going to feint the attack and Owen saw that coming. He was going to feint to the right…

    “Now!” Cresthair commanded. Ambiguous, but it was an unspoken bond, a practiced strategy, that Silvally knew. Owen recognized this bond. Even if he was fighting trainerless, he had to outsmart them.

    Silvally feinted and then jumped to the right. Owen acted like he was about to unleash his Solar Beam straight ahead, but then held up a wing to shield Silvally’s incoming attack.

    It hit hard. But Owen could counter harder.

    Owen turned his head while Silvally was still contending with his momentum and unleashed the Solar Beam point blank. The beam carved a rift through the ocean, spraying salty mist into the air and leaving behind a rainbow. Silvally staggered and collapsed on the ground, too weak to fight on.

    Cresthair sighed and withdrew Silvally with a beam of light. He murmured something assuring to the ball, then approached Owen.

    “You’re strong, even without a trainer,” he remarked. “How’d you see that feint coming? Silvally and I trained hard on that…”

    “Lucky guess from how he glanced his true direction,” Owen half-lied. “I’ve got good eyes for that… Er, anyway… Why didn’t you use that special disk they made for him?”

    “We’re still training it up,” Cresthair said, one eye hiding behind his bright hair. “It’s unstable. Silvally is still trying to harness it. But we’re getting better!” He glared challengingly at Owen. “You’ll see. Give it another week or so!”

    Owen held up his hands and wings. “I believe you. “I’ve seen how well you can fight, and… Silvally’s unique ability to acquire ‘memories’ to channel different kinds of energy was just what we needed to help.”

    Cresthair relaxed, nodding. “Okay,” he said. “Promise, we’ll get it done soon.”

    “The only problem is…” Owen frowned. “Silvally can’t dual-type himself, can he?”

    “Not really,” Cresthair said. “But it’s alright. You gave me the Shadow Memory, but my sister got into contact with someone in Galar who has a Silvally, too, who might be the perfect match for taking the Radiant Memory. We’ll have this covered for sure.”

    “All the way in Galar?” Owen asked. “There aren’t any other Silvally? I mean, I know they aren’t in the wild or anything, but…”

    “…Yeah, there’s another kid around here who befriended a Silvally,” Cresthair said reluctantly. “You made multiple copies, right?”

    “Yeah. If you think that… friend of yours would be a match?”

    “Yeah, yeah.” Cresthair seemed touchy about it so Owen didn’t press.

    Cresthair’s gaze shifted behind Owen.

    Far down the road, near town, Zena slithered down the path with Mu happily riding atop her horn to get a full view of the beachside. In Zena’s ribbons were several bags of groceries.

    “Looks like your… wife? is back,” Cresthair said.

    “We’re still cour—dating,” Owen explained. “The Charmander is, um… adopted.”

    He wasn’t sure how much of a lie that was.

    Still, it was enough for Cresthair, who waved him off and said, “Let’s train again tomorrow.”

    “Definitely!” Owen brightened, and once he was far enough away, Owen kicked off the sand and flew to meet with Zena and Mu.

    “Owen!” Zena called, rummaging through the bag before pulling out a large, sugary lump of fried bread. She tossed it in the air and Owen spat a small fireball at it in midair, flash-caramelizing it. He chomped down, enjoying the burnt, crunchy taste, and landed next to them.

    Mu clapped happily and coughed a few embers into the air.

    “Oh, good job, Mu,” Zena encouraged. “That was a bigger flame!”

    “Yeah! Big fire!” Mu said. “Watch!”

    She took a deep breath and leaned forward on Zena’s head, using one arm to hold her horn as support. Then, she breathed between Owen’s horns as a target, spewing a thin, concentrated jet of black-white fire. Even after she stopped firing, little motes of that energy drifted in the air for several seconds before evaporating.

    “That was great, Mu,” Owen said. The rate at which she was gaining strength… It must have been all the human contact.

    He and Zena exchanged a smile. “Well,” he said, “why don’t we head back to Tapu Koko’s place?”

    Zena nodded. “Let’s… keep away from the electric fields tonight, though.”

    Owen tittered. “Y-yeah… right.”

    <><><>​

    They weren’t sure where Tapu Koko had been that night—probably off somewhere with that trusted human, or taking care of business on another part of the island—but they were used to this during their stay in Alola. Instead, Owen inspected the temple for any signs of Shadow or Radiant damage, and determined that things were just fine.

    All things considered, Tapu Koko handled training with these new elements well. And being the dedicated guardian of this island, perhaps it would be able to convey those teachings to the other Tapu of the islands. Dungeons had formed in Alola as well, though they were much smaller.

    It hit Orre the hardest, and some people who had gone into the Dungeons were still missing. Owen feared the worst, but… If time dilation was at the pace Arceus said, it was obvious where they went. Hopefully, the others would get them back within a few weeks. He needed to have faith in them.

    “Something on your mind, Owen?” Zena asked.

    He had been staring at the cloudless sky. They’d camped out on the bridge across from the temple, enjoying the amazing weather Alola had, with only his and Mu’s flames lighting the night alongside the stars.

    “Do you think they’re mad at us?” Owen said.

    “Mad… for being here?”

    “The past few weeks have been… mostly relaxing and waiting for others to do their research. I’ve just been… training, resting in new regions…”

    “Owen, Arceus himself told you to take things easy. It isn’t the same as relaxing while they’re hard at work. The way time is moving here, it’s…”

    “I know. But… at this point, it must have at least been half a day for them. That’s a half a day that I wasn’t helping.”

    “And in that half day, you learned about the nature of Dungeons, have spread some power to others here to stabilize it better, and now you’re researching things about Necrozma with the help of all the resources you have here,” Zena said.

    “I feel like they’re being too helpful. Like we’re asking too much of them,” Owen said.

    “Because you saved the island already, Owen. You patched up every single Dungeon that appeared in Alola.”

    “There were… three, at most,” Owen said. “They weren’t even that big.”

    “They could have gotten worse. Owen…” Zena nudged him. “This is a world effort. Two worlds at this point. You’re helping. Don’t feel bad that you can finally relax while doing it, or you won’t be as effective when it counts.”

    Mu crawled to Owen and tilted her head, squeezing her hands over his cheeks.

    “Mu?” he asked.

    “Sad?” she asked back.

    “Oh… no, Mu, I’m fine,” Owen said. “You should sleep.”

    “Daddy’s fine, Mu,” Zena assured her. “He just has a lot to think about for work.”

    Work. It didn’t feel like work. It felt like… duty. Was he shirking it by relaxing?

    “I think it’s because I’m restless,” Owen said. “We need to train harder.”

    Zena sighed, though she wore a smile. “Alright, Owen. Why don’t we try… honing your parrying techniques tomorrow? You can try to toss back my Hydro Pumps.”

    “I’d like that…”

    Zena nuzzled him again and curled up next to him. Owen rested against her. Mu stared at them for a while longer and curled up, too, resting against Owen’s flame.

    The night crawled by quietly…

    <><><>​

    Owen had a dream about studying for the Hearts exams and failing on the test. Then he had to recite a speech in front of the class that he completely forgot all the details of.

    Which was weird because Owen never went to school. He only read about it in comics.

    He awoke when it was certainly past midnight but the sky was only a very dark blue. Too early to wake up. Zena was snoozing next to him, sound asleep. And Mu was—gone.

    Owen held his gasp to not startle Zena and instead focused on his Perceive. He expanded his range, further, further… there! She was fine. Wandered off again. They told her not to do that, but…

    He watched her for now. She was about two hundred feet into the forest, and there weren’t any dangerous Pokémon nearby. She was looking at a little bird Pokémon that seemed quite young. A feral that fell out of a nest, perhaps? No… those were severe injuries. Maybe she was trying to help the poor thing.

    Owen slowly sat up and crept away from Zena, but realized that his lack of warmth might wake her. He held a hand over the ground and conjured a small mote of fire. That would do for now.

    He turned his attention back to Mu, dimming and cooling his flame as he pushed through the bushes and trees. Mu was reaching toward the bird, who recoiled in fear but seemed too weak to do anything else. Mu stroked the bird’s head and the bird relaxed, but when Mu pulled away, the bird seemed uncomfortable again.

    A hundred feet away now. He considered calling out but he was still too far. He’d draw the attention of other sleeping Pokémon and make the whole night noisy.

    Mu reached for the bird again and—Owen gasped—snapped its neck. The bird twitched and went still. The little Charmander continued to stare at it for a while longer and then smiled like she was satisfied with herself.

    Fifty feet.

    Owen noticed that there were a few other tiny carcasses like that in the area. His heart sank and his gut twisted with anxious confusion. Mu? Why was she doing this?

    “Mu,” Owen finally called and Mu perked up.

    “Daddy!” Mu happily walked to him.

    “Mu, what are you doing?” Owen said. “You… why are you…”

    “I was helping the birds,” Mu explained.

    Owen held a cold silence in his chest, panicked at how he could possibly approach this. He eventually found the words, staggeringly. “Mu… you… killed them,” Owen whispered. “That isn’t helping them.”

    Mu tilted her head. “Kill?”

    “Y… yes! Kill! That’s not… You don’t do that for no reason.”

    “I had a reason… Was helping.” Mu gestured at the carcass. “Was… her suffering. It was bad. And now it’s not bad.”

    Her innocent eyes glimmered in the starlight. She stared at Owen, curious, inquisitive, like she got a math problem wrong.

    Owen had a feeling he knew what happened. Mu… was Diyem’s daughter. And with it came some of his powers…

    At least it didn’t seem to be the suffering of the whole world.

    “Mu… That isn’t how you stop suffering,” Owen explained gently. “You don’t kill them because then… they can’t live anymore. Most people, once they’re dead, they can’t come back to life. Especially normal Pokémon like them.”

    “Huh? But… but they were hurting.”

    “They were, but Pokémon heal,” Owen said. “And if they don’t heal… they do die sometimes. But a lot of the time, they can heal. And when they heal, they can feel happy some other day, even if they’re suffering today.”

    “And… can’t, if they die?” Mu asked.

    “It’s not the same,” Owen said. “They can only live this one time. I don’t… know how it works in this world, but back home, that’s how it was.”

    “But… your friends,” Mu said.

    “O-oh. You remember them.”

    “They are dead, but… didn’t die.”

    Having a child grow up in Owen’s environment wasn’t healthy. But Owen had no idea how to remedy that, especially for someone like Mu…

    “Yes,” Owen said, “my friends are… different.”

    “When normal people are killed… they die?”

    Owen gently pulled Mu close. She reflexively grasped at his fingers and curled around his wrist.

    Owen cradled her and glanced at the bird, frowning. “You can’t kill people who are hurting. It causes more suffering.”

    Mu flinched. “More?! But… but I don’t feel any!” Her eyes welled up with tears. “How more?! How?”

    Owen quickly rocked Mu in his arms, folding his wings over his chest to protect her from the outside world. “It’s okay,” he said. “You didn’t know. I can explain. But it’s not your fault, Mu. You didn’t know any better, okay?”

    “Didn’t want to hurt…” Mu sniffled. “Didn’t feel them hurting… thought it was okay…”

    “When people die, they… leave behind family. And that family is sad because they can’t see them again. So, when someone dies early… that family hurts early, too.”

    “Oh…”

    Owen approached the body, already dead and cooling. Now that Owen had time to concentrate on the details, this little Pikipek had been wounded already. Perhaps it had narrowly escaped a predator but not enough to keep going for much longer.

    “This one was already badly hurt when you found it,” Owen said gently. “It’s hard to judge if you want to put something doomed out of its misery. That’s why you should ask an adult first, okay?”

    “Ask adult… okay…” Mu sniffled. “Not fair… how come hurting?”

    Owen rubbed the top of her head. “The world… has bad luck sometimes, for some people. And sometimes lives are cut short. If you’re lucky to live for a long time, or you’re lucky to be strong enough that it’s harder to be hurt… you use that power to help others hurt less. You were trying that, Mu. It’s okay.”

    “But I made more hurt…”

    “But now you know how to do better,” Owen said. “It’s okay.”

    “Not okay… not okay!” Mu said, and suddenly she disappeared from Owen’s grasp.

    “Mu!” Owen called. She reappeared next to the corpse and looked wildly around her toward where the other bodies had been. She sniffled and pressed her hands into the feathers of the little bird. Her claws, to Owen’s Perceive, dissolved into the bones.

    “Mu, wait!” Owen said. “What are you—”

    “I don’t want to hurt!” Mu said. “I… I don’t want…!”

    Owen grabbed her. At the same time, a pulse of black energy knocked his hand away, the recoil jostling his shoulder. He shouted in surprise and tried to grab at her again, but at that point, Mu had already sniffled and pressed her head against the body’s still-warm feathers.

    “Mu…”

    She just didn’t understand it. Maybe he’d said too much… He should have come up with a nicer story. But if he lied, how was she going to learn about… how to interpret the world healthily? Especially if she could sense pain like Diyem could. This… was just going to be a painful lesson, but Mu would get better. She had support.

    Owen looked at the sky, sighing. The stars were so pretty tonight. No clouds. They glimmered a little, warping around as the light bent around the leaves…

    That wasn’t right.

    “What?” Owen mumbled.

    The air… was changing. He could feel a Dungeon forming around him. Suddenly and without warning. But—no, this one didn’t have the stagnant, dusty air of the Voidlands, and it didn’t smell like Kilo, either. This was… a Dungeon that was localized to Alola.

    “Hello?”

    A feral chirp was distorted by Shadows. The carcass was moving again.

    All of them were. Owen could feel each one rising from their dead positions, looking confused or sleepy. Each one didn’t have organs. Each one was just… a blob in the shape of what they used to be.

    Oh, gods. What did Mu… what was she capable of?

    “Huh?” Mu sniffled. “You’re… okay?”

    The Pikipek-shaped Void Shadow tilted its head, chirped a distorted warble, and then flew onto Owen’s left horn like a perch.

    “I’m better. Thank you.”

    The language was simplistic. Owen associated it with ‘low-level’ feral talking, for Pokémon that didn’t have the capacity for higher intelligence. But that basic feeling of gratitude was conveyed.

    The Dungeon was fading. It had no Core. “Mu,” Owen said hastily, “why don’t we go back to bed now? We can talk about this later…”

    “Okay…” Mu reluctantly reached up for Owen to grab her. He folded his wings over her body so she didn’t have to see these Void Shadows evaporate when the Dungeon dissipated. She didn’t need to know.

    The sky returned to normal. That feeble, temporary Dungeon space that Mu had created evaporated just as quickly. And now, the Void Shadows would disappear with them, able to pass on…

    Any second now…

    Right about… now.

    …They weren’t fading.

    Pikipek nibbled on a stray scale on Owen’s forehead.

    The Void Shadows were stable.

    This… is going to be awkward to explain to Tapu Koko…

    <><><>​

    Owen had a fitful sleep for the rest of the night. About fifteen Void Shadows in the shape of various feral Pokémon had gathered around Mu and the others overnight. They were… docile. But they also seemed to think Mu was now their protector.

    Under Owen’s wings, Mu was curled up and comfortable with all of those tiny Pokémon-shaped blobs of darkness, each one normal to the naked eye, but his Perceive made the experience maddening. He eventually removed his horns to sleep.

    This led to a staggered and groggy explanation to Zena in the morning, the Milotic’s eyes getting wider with every new piece of information.

    “Then, Mu… inherited Diyem’s Dungeon powers? And now they’re manifesting, just like that?”

    “I think so,” Owen said. “But… as for these Pokémon…”

    Mu was playing with all fifteen, and they were laughing, chirping, hissing at each other like it wasn’t a problem. Like they hadn’t been killed and then revived as demon spawn. They were… normal. Normal in every way except physical.

    “Hey!”

    It was hard to see in the morning sun, but Owen recognized the incoming body of Barechest, Alola’s professor.

    “Hope I didn’t wake you,” Barechest said. “Last evening, I got some awesome news.” He waved some papers by his head. “The results of your energy signature readouts are finally in!”

    “Oh!” Owen perked up. “What did you find out?”

    “I’ll admit, I only read the abstract and didn’t have time to get into all the data of it,” Barechest said, “but it sounds pretty definitive, yeah?” He handed over a copy to Owen. “I think the part you care about—”

    CRACK!

    Whatever Barechest wanted to say was interrupted in seconds by the crackle of lightning coming from Tapu Koko’s temple across the bridge. Arcs of black and gold electricity traced along the temple walls…

    “That… sounded angry,” Owen said. “H-how good is Tapu Koko’s vision?”

    “Well…” Barechest scratched the back of his head. “He flies around the region in a matter of minutes from high in the sky, so… vision strength somewhere between a Noctowl’s and a spacefaring satellite’s.”

    He’d seen everything.

    “Oh no.”
     
    Chapter 170 - Accidental Connection
  • Namohysip

    Dragon Enthusiast
    Staff
    Partners
    1. flygon
    2. charizard
    3. milotic
    4. zoroark-soda
    5. sceptile
    6. marowak
    7. jirachi
    8. meganium
    9. namo-rock
    Chapter 170 – Accidental Connection

    In less than a second, a bolt of black lightning zig-zagged across the sky and splashed onto the soil on Owen’s side of the bridge. Motes of white light drifted around where Tapu Koko landed, his intense eyes focused entirely on Owen. Electricity—its natural color as well as its unnatural, Shadow-and-Radiant-tinged variety—arced across the halves of his shield.

    “Tapu Koko!” Owen greeted. “Hi! How are—”

    He held a shield half up toward Owen. “Quiet.”

    Owen shut his mouth and stood stiff. Zena glanced between them and said nothing. Barechest offered a respectful nod.

    But Mu was still playing with the Void Shadows. Tapu Koko’s attention was slowly drawn to the Charmander necromancer.

    Zena looked ready to leap in to defend Mu. Owen wasn’t familiar with Tapu Koko’s body language, but if he could extrapolate from bodies he knew, he didn’t seem hostile. And Owen wasn’t sure if fighting him was a good idea. Battling his brother was one thing, but a guardian of the island? Right near his home, on his turf?

    Tapu Koko inspected Mu in silence. She finally noticed him and tilted her head up, up, up until she fell onto her back.

    “Hi!” she greeted.

    Tapu Koko once again sank a little lower and Mu showed no fear in response. Then, he faced Barechest expectantly.

    “Everything okay?” Barechest asked. “Seems there’s… a lot of strangeness happening here, yeah?”

    “You could say that,” Owen said, looking between Barechest and Tapu Koko. Maybe he should explain now that he was listening.

    “Okay,” he said. “Here’s what’s going on. . .”

    They took a seat and talked. Barechest’s expression went from puzzled to concerned to trailing over to those tainted wild Pokémon that Mu was playing with. Tapu Koko’s expression was entirely inscrutable. Even to Owen’s Perceive, the guardian of the island gave nothing away.

    By the time Owen was finished with the explanation, Barechest was approaching one of them, kneeling.

    “Wait,” Owen said, “I don’t think you should—”

    “It’s alright,” Barechest assured him. “I’m a professional with this, yeah? Regional variants… This might be the same thing.”

    “Regional… variants?”

    “In some parts of the world, Sandshrew are well-adapted to sandy environments. Here in Alola? They’re happy in the high snowcaps. Maybe these ‘Void’-adapted Pokémon are the same.”

    “But… that’s very different,” Owen said. “You—”

    “It is,” Barechest said, holding out a finger horizontally. The little Fletchling hopped onto it and chirped happily. “When you first encountered this power, it must have been scary. But here, from your daughter? Looks like they behave like normal Pokémon to me.”

    Tapu Koko observed the same way, hovering behind Barechest. There was a curious trust between the two of them that Owen sensed. The lead professor of this region must have built up a great deal of credibility for the local god to trust him in this way. Owen wondered what his story was.

    “I’m… I’m very sorry for this,” Owen finally concluded to Tapu Koko directly. “If there’s a way to reverse it, I’ll find a way. But…”

    But they were still trying to save their world. And they were already making things worse here…

    Tapu Koko moved with purpose toward the Void Shadows taking the forms of their old lives. He descended and placed his shield over them, bringing them all close. They chittered in greeting, a few trying to climb his arms and onto the top of his shield instead. Tapu Koko allowed it.

    He also seemed to glance at Owen. His gaze focused on something on Owen’s chest. Owen wasn’t sure what that meant. Following his gaze more closely, it was the necklace he’d fashioned out of Amber’s claw bone…

    “They are,” Tapu Koko finally said, “of the island. I will guard them the same way. They are friendly. I will learn about them.”

    “You will?” Owen asked.

    Barechest smiled and stood up. “I don’t need to understand you to know how you feel,” he said. “Sounds like Tapu Koko knows what to do here, yeah? Those ‘Void’ variants will be just fine under its care. Let’s trust the island’s guardian to handle this.”

    Owen nodded. “Y-yeah, okay,” he said. “Um… thank you. I hope you can forgive us…”

    “Go away.”

    “Y-yeah, we deserved that.” Owen bowed stiffly.

    “Hey, before you go,” Barechest said, “mind if we chat a little more? We still have those findings to read…”

    “Oh! Right.” He glanced at Zena, who was gathering Mu and saying a few farewells to the little Voids and Tapu Koko. He seemed to recognize Zena as the more responsible one, since he was more cordial to her as they left.

    They walked and talked and Owen read through the document with Zena. A few times, Owen got distracted trying to stop Mu from hopping from Zena’s head to his, but they eventually got through the paper’s introduction and summary.

    A few of the lines weren’t surprising. Some of it noted their strange energy signatures, unlike anything they’d seen before. Other parts talked about how Zena’s signature was very hard to isolate, which also made sense due to the extra spirits she had, even if they were dormant in this world. But most importantly…

    . . . There was one prominent abnormality we noticed in the energy signatures from Milotic. While said signatures were powerful and defined, the ‘extra spirits,’ as she called them, felt distant, not weak. What we at first thought were dormant energies were actually from very far away, like they were being filtered through a great barrier. You could equate it to trying to listen to someone through a foot of solid concrete.

    Owen frowned, thoughtful. “The Water Spirits are dormant because they’re far away?” he said. “But that means…”

    “Oh, I think I understand,” Zena said. “Our Orbs are basically like Dungeons, but internally. What if being here in this world… means we are only gateways to the Orb Dungeons we have? Their spirits still give off energy, but if they’re elsewhere…”

    “Oh…”

    That… might add up. The Water Spirits were still in Kilo, even if the Orb hosts’ bodies had been transported to this world. And their bodies had their spirits… but if the Water Orb was just a gateway to somewhere in Kilo’s realms…

    “I… I think I get it?” Owen said uncertainly.

    He kept reading…

    My theory is this energy signature is not within Milotic at all, but is instead being channeled through her. We have seen similar readouts before when studying Ultra Wormholes and determining how far certain energy signatures are from our current location.

    Regarding Charizard’s energy signature, it did not have the same distant spirits so it was easier to analyze. However, we still identified an abnormality. Pokémon that are whole—that is, their full energy signature is within one body—give off a consistent, uninterrupted wave pattern when analyzed through our machines.

    Charizard’s signature is missing a minute fragment. Perhaps only a percent of a percent. Not enough to be noticed except by our eyes on a graph of the wave. You’d normally see this kind of signature from a Pokémon using an advanced Substitute, such as a top league fighter. But from the moves Charizard listed to us, he does not use Substitute and does not recall any other parts of himself that are missing.

    In summary, Charizard is missing a minute fraction of his energy signature.


    Owen uneasily glanced at Zena. “I thought I was… whole,” he said. “I’d split myself into three and that was my limit. But why do I still have a tiny part of me missing? My spirit?”

    “Where could it even be?” Zena asked. “You were removed from the Reincarnation Machine, right?”

    Owen nodded. “That was a long time ago. Rhys busted it so Eon couldn’t just kill me to get me back.”

    “…He wouldn’t dare do that,” Zena murmured.

    “It’d be practical. And I died all the time. I wouldn’t have been offended, in hindsight…”

    Zena looked horrified. Barechest scratched his head, looking concerned but unsure if he should step in.

    Owen tittered. “Er… let’s just keep reading.”

    On a whim, one of our other scientists suggested offsetting background noise in Charizard’s energy signature with the same offset that Milotic’s distant signatures came from… and we found a match.

    The piece of Charizard is in the same general world as Milotic’s background energies.


    “Same general realm,” Zena said. “Then… Owen, a piece of you is in someone’s Orb Dungeon.”

    “Since when would I…” Owen paused. “Mom’s? No, it couldn’t be that… Sure, I was a Fire Spirit and didn’t know it for a while, but…”

    “But a part of you is kept in the Fire Core as a form of recall,” Zena said.

    “No, it can’t be that,” Owen went on. “The Grass Orb overrode that. So, I’d only have a bit of me in the Grass Core.”

    “My spirit is whole,” Zena pointed out. “It can’t be that.”

    Owen scratched his head, stumped. He resolved to check the Fire Core, just in case, when he returned. Because where else could he be?

    “It’s probably nothing,” Owen said, doubting his own words. “Or… nothing we can deal with right now. That’ll be the first thing we look into once we get back.”

    There was still more to read.

    We lastly checked Charmander’s. While strange, it was whole and had the fewest abnormalities. She is a healthy baby girl. Congratulations!

    For some reason that offended him. Mu was the most normal of the three. Really?

    Still, with that covered, and their findings in his hands, that was the last thing they needed to do in Alola. Cresthair had Silvally taken care of and they would be able to send that knowledge to the most capable people they knew.

    Ultra Wormholes had been their original intent for Alola. But with the discovery of the Dungeons connecting, it wasn’t as necessary… Guiltily, Owen considered Alola to be a nice stop during their flight, and the scientists here with outer-world experience would have been a good group to seek advice from anyway. They were lucky to get all they did.

    “Thanks for everything you’ve done for us,” Owen said to Barechest.

    “What’s your plan from here?” the professor asked.

    “We have one place left to go,” Owen said. “Orre. The origin of the Shadows we know about… They might have information on how we can combat it in our world. After that, we’re going to find a Dungeon still there and head home.”

    “Well, good luck, yeah?” Barechest said. “That look in your eyes reminds me of a lot of talented Pokémon and their trainers I’ve seen here and all over. If you ask me… you’ll get this done.”

    Owen’s flame grew and he nodded. Zena had relaxed, too, and Mu happily curled up in her ribbons.

    Suddenly, Barechest stopped and stretched his arms up. “Woo! But before that, how about we send you off with a good meal?”

    “Oh! Well, sure,” Zena said. “We need time for our flight to be scheduled anyway, don’t we?”

    “Right, Orre’s… very far by wing. We could use one of those planes again.”

    “Then it’s settled,” Barechest said. “I’ll treat you to a great Alolan feast!”

    One last sendoff would be nice, Owen thought. And in exchange, perhaps he could provide more for Barechest’s research.

    But soon, Owen would have to resume his research on the hardest subject they had… Shadows.

    And he’d have to return to the region where he’d lost his normal life, just to leave this world behind again. Hopefully, this time, he could leave without regrets.

    <><><>​

    “So you’re saying I need to look for a talking Charizard named Owen,” Umbreon said. “With pointed horns that constantly invade everyone’s privacy within a three-hundred-meter radius.”

    “Yyyyes?” Star tittered.

    They’d descended Destiny Tower and traveled swiftly to a nearby Dungeon pocket where other ‘Orre refugees’ had gathered. Most had already traveled back, but a few lingered, waiting. Espeon had gone ahead to assure people on the other side that things were okay.

    On the left was part of a house that had been split by distortions such that a lake now ran through it. On the right was what looked like a part of Fae Fae Forest intermingling with a sandy beach.

    Several other human-turned-Pokémon were gathered up and clumsily trying to walk around in their new bodies. Some didn’t have legs, which complicated matters.

    “And this is temporary, right?” Umbreon asked Star again, gesturing to himself.

    “Y-yes!” Star said, with no confidence one way or the other. “Temporary! We’ll send you right on your way back and it’ll probably wear off after a few days… and if nnnot, I’ll fix it once I get the chance!”

    “…I’ll find you,” Umbreon said. It was a threat.

    “I believe you,” Star squeaked.

    Umbreon exhaled through his nose and then turned to the confused Pokémon. “Okay, everyone. Back through the portal! Let’s go home.” He glanced back, looking at Star with one eye. “I’ll look out for this Owen guy. He’s trying to fight Shadows, right?”

    “Yeah.”

    “I know someone who did something similar,” Umbreon said. “I’ll get in contact with him and the lab his mom helps run. They have a machine that can purify Shadow Pokémon, no divine magic required. Maybe it’ll help.”

    “Cure…” Star frowned. “Are there other cures?”

    Umbreon seemed impatient. “Yes, there are others. Look, can you ask me this on the other side? Every second is more than a minute here.”

    Star winced. “I… I’ll send someone after you,” she said. “I don’t want to… I mean, I can’t cross the barrier. But what’s the other way?”

    Umbreon was already walking to usher the former humans through the portal. A Growlithe was helping to roll a Voltorb down the road while a Misdreavus tried to use her ectoplasm to crawl across the ground, too stubborn to ask for help. An Ekans rolled next to a Spinda that walked perfectly straight.

    “Celebi,” Umbreon said. “Celebi’s power to return happy memories. Using the power of time to remind the Pokémon of their past. That’s the secret to dispelling Shadows.”

    “Remind them of the…” Star squinted even as Umbreon was too far away to reply.

    It was that simple? Memories of the past, powered by Celebi, could help dispel Shadows? But Celebi couldn’t do that in Kilo, not the one they created. Traveling through time was too dangerous, so she was more like a guardian over it… Like Dialga, she regulated time’s flow but didn’t hop through it.

    How else could they dispel Shadows through memories?

    As the rest of the former humans passed through the barrier, and as Star floated back to Destiny Tower, she helped one of the former humans who had tripped over a pebble.

    That wasn’t so bad. The human was kind and didn’t seem to realize she was a Mew. Perhaps the shock of everything left them too stunned to acknowledge it.

    Her gaze lingered on the little stone the human tripped over.

    Star gasped. “Gone Pebbles!”

    <><><>​

    Mispy stared at the ceiling, laying on her back while her many vines lay splayed on Palkia’s cutting table. She stared at a mirror that Palkia had set up so she could see what he was working on. It was a rare moment of downtime while the others recovered their energy. And she wanted to take on a proposal that Palkia had given her a while ago.

    This was a special room in Palkia’s makeshift lab in Kilo Village. No windows, only Luminous Orbs in the ceiling, most of them bright and facing her body on the table. The walls were devoid of decorations and there was a large table—small for Palkia—next to him with various instruments to pry, hold, bind, or remove soft matter.

    “How fascinating,” Palkia said. “I’ve never seen a stomach like this before, especially for a Meganium.” Palkia held up a claw, which was enveloped in a mysterious energy that warped the light around his finger. He ran it along a membrane and pulled it out of her chest. “Shall we see what’s inside?”

    Mispy nodded. Owen always talked about how her insides were strange. She never got to enjoy it herself.

    “Right, let’s make a precise cut here—”

    Knock knock.

    “Hello?” called Demitri.

    “Ah, Demitri! I apologize if you were waiting at the entrance,” Palkia said, waving at him.

    “Oh, no, it’s fine. I actually…” He stopped, staring at them.

    Mispy smiled and waved a vine.

    Demitri’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and he collapsed, completely out cold.

    “Ah,” Palkia said. “Perhaps he’s tired.”

    Mispy frowned, sighing. She’d explain later. Her eyes trailed to his right hand, clutching something. “Mm?”

    “Hm? Ah.” Palkia followed her gaze. He reached into a tiny portal in front of him and his hand appeared next to Demitri’s, taking the paper. “Let’s see… Ah! Strategy. For you, I imagine. Now, let’s get back to this stomach… Oh, don’t worry, I’ll take pictures later, Mispy.”

    “Mm.”

    While Palkia continued to study her insides, Mispy took the paper and read it over…

    Her casual gaze slowly hardened to a more serious, analytical stare.

    Report from South Null Village.

    All known Core Titans have been defeated and all Legends within are being recovered or reunited with their twin selves. A more thorough list of that will be provided later. More pressing matters have arisen.

    We have a report from a refugee Dragapult from Cipher City who once worked in Alexander’s castle staff. He has killed Qitlan, claimed his spirit, and is now covertly calling in much of his staff and city into Cipher Castle to do the same to them. We do not know why he did not do this first or what the effects are, but this sudden change in strategy means we have little time to prepare for whatever he’s planning.

    An army was our main expectation. Now, it may only be Alexander as a ‘Super Guardian’ of Shadow itself. Diyem informed us that his Shadow powers are innate to this world and are distinctly anti-Mystic, like an opposing force. However, while divine, or Radiant, power is divided amongst Star, Barky, and the Guardians under Necrozma, the Dark Matter fragments are the corresponding Shadow power. Alexander has the majority of this power and will only grow stronger the more he finds.

    Alexander is currently moving to North Null Village. He initially was heading south but suddenly changed course. This is abnormal because Alexander’s movements are usually very strongly planned. He may be operating alone, mentally, after consuming all other spirits to become his thrall rather than a thinking army.

    We suspect he is either flying for Emily or Tanneth since they correspond directly to another known Dark Matter fragment. Since East and West Null Village have been abandoned and consolidated into South Null Village, he only has two choices and we are confident those are his targets.

    Tacticians must meet in South Null Village Town Hall in Kilo’s next noon. Scouts must take the Calm Water Lake Dungeon’s passageway into the Voidlands to verify Alexander’s location. Remain low to the ground. Bring at least one Joltik Willow with you and a table’s worth of sweet pastries provided by Sugar ‘n Spice in case you run into Hoopa, who escaped our surveillance.

    Offensive forces must meet in North Null Village by traversing through the Fae Fae Wilds Dungeon. Prepare to defend and retreat if Alexander’s attacks are overwhelming. Do not risk Tanneth’s well-being.


    The rest of the letter continued with more details for various groups, but Mispy wasn’t too interested in the rest of the details. It didn’t apply to her. With Owen gone, she was back to being the tactician for Team Alloy, but Demitri and Gahi were still the muscle. Would they have to split up here? Then again, she still couldn’t shake her speech problems…

    No, Uxie could help. She was comfortable talking to Uxie and Mesprit. She could whisper her thoughts to Uxie, who could transmit them, just like Demitri. And… one day they’d fuse anyway. But she didn’t want to do that while Owen was away. He… deserved to be there.

    It’d sure be convenient, though. What was she doing, getting sentimental about it? Nothing would change. She and Uxie were already so similar.

    Maybe she was afraid. It was a big leap. Uxie was probably afraid, too, no matter how cool and collected her aura was.

    “Ah, how fascinating! You have another stomach! Or, I think it’s one. Let’s find out…”

    Mispy gently folded the paper and watched Demitri, who was dizzily returning to consciousness.

    “M-Mispy? A-are… are you okay? I think I passed out…”

    “Oh, she’s just fine!” Palkia said. “Mispy wanted to study anatomy.”

    “Isn’t this a bit… extreme?!” Demitri couldn’t look at the operating table. “Doesn’t it hurt—oh, right… S-still, Mispy! This is dangerous!”

    “Nonsense! I’m using the warped fabric of space as my cutting instrument. That’s as sterile as it gets! Not to mention, it’s quite difficult to maintain any wounds on her. She heals them very quickly without thinking.”

    Demitri whimpered anyway and kept his eyes on the floor. “…W-well, did you read that paper?” he asked.

    Mispy hummed affirmatively.

    “I think we should gather everyone up, um, s-soon,” Demitri said. “I already went to get Mesprit and Uxie. I couldn’t find Azelf, but he must be around…” The Haxorus held the extra axes on his tail. “I have no idea how they expect us to fight Alexander…”

    “Indeed. We are quite outmatched,” Palkia hummed. “Really, you can categorize it quite well and determine from there how the odds are stacked against us.”

    “Categorize?”

    “Yes.” Palkia grinned. “The frail, the mortals, the demigods, the pantheon, and the forces. Generally speaking, if you’re in one category, you will be below the others, though enough skill will sometimes let you break barriers and defeat those one bracket above you.”

    “Demigods…”

    “Yes, that would be you, at the moment,” Palkia said.

    “I—I’m not a demigod!”

    “Are you mortal?”

    “Well… no, I guess not…”

    Palkia made a gesture as if for Demitri to go forward with the reasoning.

    “…I guess… I’m a demigod, okay…”

    “But Alexander has transcended the typical powers of the pantheon. We aren’t sure precisely how, but supposedly Diyem’s theory is there were ‘Shadow Hands’ created along with the Hands of Creation. And Alexander gathered that power from the Voidlands, more and more. His capstone, of course, was consuming that fragment of Diyem. While inside the Voidlands, he is its driving force, rivaled only by Necrozma, who is berserk.”

    “Doesn’t that mean… we don’t stand a chance?”

    “Well! That’s where you come in with your fusions. I think ‘Migami,’ as you call it… could rival those in the pantheon. Perhaps with some skill you could challenge Alexander. Cautiously, at least. We can’t afford to leave him to his own devices, now can we?”

    Mispy nodded along, contemplative. A fusion of Migami would go from demigod to the power of the pantheon. From there, a ‘force’ like Alexander was something they could challenge… though maybe not win.

    She hoped Owen was finding a solution to this…

    “Well, we’ll be sure to wrap this up,” Palkia said. “Thank you for letting us know, Demitri. Oh! Would you like to see Mispy’s liver? It’s so large!”

    Mispy knew by the shrinking of Demitri’s aura that he was going to pass out. She sighed in advance and her gaze returned to the mirror.

    <><><>​

    Rim gingerly placed a cold cloth over Lavender’s forehead. It steamed within seconds. The Cherrim frowned and swapped it out for another, and then another.

    Lavender had been just fine at the end of their Titan hunting. The problem was his body didn’t properly ‘shut off’ its battle systems for a while longer, leading to his mechanical body overheating and his spirit transformation to fry. Nevren usually did maintenance and repairs, but…

    “Here.”

    Behind Rim was Leph, ducking to enter their little home at the edge of Kilo Village’s caldera. Through one window they could see Nate’s shadowy, leviathan form caress the outermost ring of the caldera and the way the sun shined on his countless, glistening dark eyes. It was once a horrid sight but lately had become a sign of protection and comfort.

    Leph floated a wet cloth wrapped around a blue orb.

    “It’s a Hail Orb. Made it myself. Specialized for him,” Leph explained. The Arceus placed it on Lavender’s forehead. Finally, the Silvally sighed with relief.

    “Thanks, Auntie Fence,” Lavender said.

    Leph narrowed her eyes.

    “Are you… okay?” Rim asked, wobbling unevenly to the chair. She was getting more and more used to being in her new body, though she did miss fur. And not getting depressed without sunlight.

    “I’m fine. Took it better than Lavender, at least.” Leph leaned forward and pressed her cheek against Lavender’s forehead. “Yow!” She quickly pulled away, wincing. “Lavender! Do you have a Fire Spirit active?”

    “Noooo I’m just siiiick,” Lavender complained.

    “Aren’t you half-machine? How do you get sick?” Leph frowned pensively. “I think we should ask Eon about this. He might know, right?”

    “Daddy’s at the lab gathering supplies,” Lavender said. “Lucas is helping out…”

    “Back soon,” Rim clarified.

    “I know. Aster’s there, too,” Leph said. “Still, Lavender…”

    “Can’t you just fix it with your godpowers?” Lavender begged. “You’re, like… another Arceus!”

    “I… I’m out of practice,” Leph said nervously. “…Barely had any training from Father anyway.”

    Rim settled against Lavender’s chest, where his body wasn’t as hot, and listened to them talk.

    “What’s, um, you know, what’s your whole deal, anyway?” Lavender asked. “I thought there was only one Arceus.”

    “There is supposed to be,” said Leph. “Or, just one who sends his avatars out. But I’m not the same as Father. When Quartz—sorry, when Kilo was created… I was born with it. I woke up one day after hearing so many little thoughts shape who I am, I… I think. I remember hearing a lot of thoughts that weren’t my own before I woke up.”

    “Where’d you wake up?” Lavender asked.

    Leph sighed and settled against the side. The wheel around her body dissolved into motes of light. “Well, I was born in—”

    “You can do that?”

    “What?”

    “Your fence. It went away.”

    “Oh. Yes. Why?”

    Lavender stared for a while longer. Rim was admittedly also fascinated.

    “Nothing. Um… go on.”

    Leph lounged against one of the spare nests. “I woke up under a place called the Tree of Life. It isn’t around anymore… I don’t know what happened to it. Disappeared during the Dark War and I was taken into the Voidlands after that. But me and Aster, we’re kind of like siblings with Nate.”

    “Whoa… Nate’s your brother?”

    Leph nodded. “He was never given a name until after we fell into the Voidlands, but if he likes Nate, I’ll call him that.” She chuckled. “We just called him Tree for a while. He lived in it. I thought he was the Tree, actually…”

    “But he’s a big friendly monster instead,” Lavender stated.

    Leph nodded. “Nate always felt like a big brother to me. Maybe he’s the oldest thing here? You know, aside from… Father.”

    Lavender oohed in response. He adjusted the cooling cloth on his forehead. “If you were born with this world… and Barky isn’t, like, native to this one, he just created it… does that mean you’re the true guardian of Kilo?”

    “Maybe.” Leph looked away, bending her hooves inward. “…Some guardian I am, if so…”

    “Aw, don’t say that!” Lavender said. “Barky was barely around, too!”

    Rim winced.

    Leph laughed ruefully. “Like father like daughter, then,” she said.

    “Daughter, right…” Lavender tilted his head. His eyes made a mechanical noise. “But you aren’t a girl.”

    Leph rolled her eyes. “And Barky isn’t male nor female. I picked it. I suppose I could choose a different form with some effort, but… why bother? Seems… needless, if you ask me.”

    “Like your fence?”

    “…Y… yes. Like my fence.”

    A Mewtwo Teleported into their room and dropped a large pile of mechanical scrap in the corner of the room. “Mission complete!” Aster declared.

    “Hey, Aster,” Leph and Lavender said with opposite levels of enthusiasm.

    “Hey!” Aster glanced at Leph and his smile cracked. “Oh no. Your fence is off… Are you sad?”

    Leph squinted at Aster, then glared at Lavender like he was responsible for something.

    “I’m fine, Aster,” she said. “How did your lab mission go?”

    “We got lots of stuff! Mister Jirachi is nice and Lucas is fun to play with.”

    “Jirachi came, too? What about Eon?” Leph asked.

    “Oh, he’s there, too. He was the other Jirachi.”

    Rim tilted her body. Jirachi? Well, that was an improvement. At least he wasn’t a Charmander.

    Lavender tilted his head. “Daddy said that he helped make your body, too. You were the first mutant, right?”

    “Mhm!” Aster nodded. “I used to be a normal li’l Mew before Jirachi made a wish so I could be stronger! And then he did cool science stuff to the wish!”

    Rim had a feeling it was the other way around. Science powered by wishes. She sighed, wondering when Celebi would be recovered… Maybe then she could have the power to help again. As she was, she was useless…

    “Auntie Rim?” Lavender asked, nuzzling her.

    “Ah—”

    “Are you okay?”

    Was it that obvious? Rim shrank away, hiding behind her thick, purple petals.

    “What’s bothering you, Rim?” Leph asked. “Was it… about the mutants?”

    “No…”

    Leph hummed like she disapproved. “Well… it’s okay. I mean, I saw what happened to my brother. Aster is fine. A little excitable and battle-hungry, but some Pokémon are like that naturally!”

    “Oh! Yeah! A lot of my spirits are Battlehearts!” Lavender’s cheek bolts whirred. “Say… if you’re, like, the true god of Kilo, what do you think about Pokémon that were modified, um, artificially? Or me? I was created, so I’m artificial!”

    “Well, however you were created, I can sense your spirit, despite all the other ones inside you…” Leph nodded. “And… I… think I’ll be getting rid of the mutants if I ever have control of the world like Father said I might.”

    Lavender’s countenance shifted to a nervous one. “G-get rid of…”

    The young god seemed confused. Then her eyes widened. “Ah! No, like, not kill! Like… use god powers to give them normal bodies, is what I meant. I wouldn’t kill them, no way.”

    “Oh.” Lavender relaxed. “How come?”

    “Well…” Leph shifted her weight to a new resting position with her legs straightened. “Seems like it causes more problems. They’re stronger, they’re unstable, and the fusion thing is… a little weird, gotta admit. Just all around unnatural. If they weren’t so harmful I’d be less worried, but… I dunno. Just one of those hypotheticals.”

    A very real hypothetical, though. Rim’s petals tensed and relaxed.

    “Sorry. I guess that’s a little forward of me,” Leph said. “Maybe I’ll ask them. Besides… I’m thinking way too far ahead. I’m so low on the pantheon right now. I’m nothing compared to the real gods.”

    “But you’re the realest god,” Lavender pointed out. “All the others are just ascended mortals and stuff, or Barky and Star. And, um, whatever Hecto is.”

    “Right, I guess that’s… also…” Leph sighed harshly. “I don’t know what to think.”

    And nobody else seemed to, either. The silence returned.

    “Maybe I’ll just fix their minds so they aren’t unstable,” Leph finally said. “All mutants are sterile anyway. The least I can do is let them live out their lives.”

    “I like that answer,” Lavender agreed. “But what about the mutants that want kids?”

    “…Adoption?” Leph offered. “Lots of people probably died so there are lots of kids to adopt.”

    Everyone else’s expressions darkened.

    “…Er… sorry. Probably brought the mood down with that one.”

    “Maybe a little,” Aster said.

    “Well, hey! Having a mutant army on our side would be super useful against Alexander, right? Since… um…”

    Lavender lost his optimism when Leph’s expression quickly became grave.

    “They are very susceptible to corruption,” Leph said, “and from what we’ve heard, Alexander has gone on the offensive. It makes him vulnerable… but he’s also even stronger, too. Anyone who falls to him…”

    “Oh…” Lavender looked down.

    “He’ll claim them and add to his power. He seems to know that if we get the strike on him first, he’ll lose. So now… he’s throwing everything he has into one last attack.”

    Rim sensed someone coming. A dull psychic presence in the air that she recognized as Jirachi.

    Then, he appeared in the room, looking frazzled and wide-eyed. “Guys!” he said.

    “Hi, Wish Daddy!” Lavender cheerfully greeted. “Leph gave me a magic cold pack!”

    “Th-that’s good,” Jirachi said. Moments later, another Jirachi appeared at the doorway. “But we have a problem! We just got word from Null Village scouts on our report back with some lab supplies.”

    Leph tensed, reapplying her golden wheel and standing straight. “What’s happening?”

    “Alexander’s a lot faster than we expected,” Jirachi said. “He’s already there! North Null Village is under attack now!”

    Rim gasped, shrinking away. She couldn’t help. That useless feeling coiled around her tiny body.

    “…Then we have to go,” Leph said. Her voice was grave and her eyes had widened with fear. Rim could only imagine the feeling of facing someone like Alexander down… especially Leph, who had been under his rule for so long. “Aster?”

    Aster’s tail flicked. “Y-yeah,” he replied.

    “Aster. We can’t run from him. Not when that means others would—”

    “Y-yeah. Yeah.” Aster took a sharp breath. “I’ll go.”

    Jirachi hastily flew out. “I’m gonna warn more people. If we can repel him here, we can go on the offensive!”

    “That’s the most we can do,” Leph said.

    “Can I help?” Lavender asked.

    “No, not yet,” Eon said. ”You’re still overheating… I’ll bring who I can, but not if you’re already recovering. Next time, okay? When we go on the offensive.”

    “Okay…”

    Several of their Teleporting members vanished. Others ran out of their home. Rim settled against Lavender… The best she could do was pray for their safe return.

    A shadow crossed her vision while she hid behind her petals. It was a small, flying creature passing by the doorway.

    “Huh?” Lavender asked.

    “Mm?” Rim asked back.

    “I thought I saw someone… A green, flying Pokémon.”

    Rim tilted her body but then shook in negative. That could have been anyone…

    “Cute little wings,” Lavender mumbled along. “I never saw a Pokémon like that before.”

    Rim froze. Then, without hesitating further, she pushed off Lavender and said, “Stay.”

    And she wobbled out the door.
     
    Chapter 171 - Lord of Nightmares
  • Namohysip

    Dragon Enthusiast
    Staff
    Partners
    1. flygon
    2. charizard
    3. milotic
    4. zoroark-soda
    5. sceptile
    6. marowak
    7. jirachi
    8. meganium
    9. namo-rock
    Chapter 171 – Lord of Nightmares

    North Null Village was in pandemonium. From the distant horizon, dark meteors arced through the red skies and demolished entire buildings, shattering light crystals and leaving corrosive craters in their place. Civilians fled into a Dungeon portal meant for travel and were hastily given light crystals to wear if they ended up in Kilo. They were running out of those. Some would have to take refuge in the Dungeon itself.

    As higher class Pokémon ushered disoriented Class D Pokémon into the portals, Darkrai remained behind with Cresselia and their specialized forces. Even more ran down the roads to join their ranks.

    “Everyone’s coming,” called Star, flying quickly until she was just in front of Cresselia.

    “Good,” Cresselia said.

    Darkrai tried to calm his nerves. Every explosion rattled him. “Everything we’ve tried to throw at him doesn’t work,” he reported. “Even our sentinel beam washes right away!”

    “It’s just for show. Fire everything!” Star said. “It’ll weaken him at least a little!”

    “They’re close to abandoning the post,” Cresselia said. “But… okay. Maybe if we have a few people giving more power to it, maybe a human? Some Legends can, too. Marshadow was always good at powering them.”

    The ground rumbled from a nearby blast. None of them were close enough to strike where Darkrai stood but they were getting uncomfortably close. Could Alexander see them from so far away? Was he just guessing?

    “Let’s move,” Star said. “The crystal spire! The others should be heading there, too!”

    Darkrai drifted after them. Something caught his eye in the corner of his vision. By the time he turned to face it, Star had already dashed in the way and held up a purple barrier.

    Then, there was a flash, Darkrai’s whole body compressed against the air, and all sound left him save for a high ringing.

    He was on his back. Burning ash and stray black embers gently rained down in grotesque, beautiful destruction.

    Muffled shouts were all he could hear amid the ringing but the ground rumbling told him the fighting didn’t stop. Had he passed out at all?

    Something wrapped around his arm and flooded him with healing energy. Darkrai gasped and pushed himself upright, seeing a horrifying monstrosity in front of him. Scales, vines, intense eyes, but not a Pokémon he recognized. Some kind of horrible fusion—a mutant!

    “Are you okay?” it asked.

    “Y-yes,” Darkrai said. “Wh-who are you?”

    “Migami. Get to safety, okay?”

    “No, I—I need to help. I’m better now!”

    “Fine.” Migami disappeared. It could teleport?

    Darkrai took a moment to figure out where the spire was and then glanced at Alexander’s previous location. Skies, he was a lot closer now. He could see where he was from the origin of each dark blast. The sky swirled above him in a vortex, the very weather darkening to his presence.

    Cresselia. He had to find Cresselia. She was too proud. If he wasn’t by her side there was a chance she would try to take Alexander out on her own. He was a coward who knew when to run. And ever since Cresselia had been there for him all those years ago, he owed everything to her.

    “Ah!” There she was at the top of the crystal spire. She shouted something down below and the spire lit up. She ducked beneath the observation tower as a mote of light emerged from the very tip of the gray spike. Each crystal lit up starting from the bottommost diamonds, all the way to the top where the light was like a tiny, marble-sized sun. A hum rattled Darkrai’s head and fizzled his wisps.

    Then, concussive force warped the light around the spire, trailing behind a beam of energy—a Radiant Hyper Beam.

    But Alexander drifted left, dodging the attack easily—or so Darkrai thought. He was too pessimistic.

    Suddenly, the Hyper Beam split into ten different beams, curling and weaving through the air. At the tip of the spire, Migami was holding some kind of pink gem—a Psychic crystal?

    Alexander’s distant movements suddenly turned frantic. He ducked beneath one of the beams only for a second one to graze him. Two others closed in on either side but he spiraled through it and neutralized another with a Shadowy blast. The beams all curled inward to catch up to Alexander. One struck his back, sending him plummeting halfway to the ground. He endured.

    He was so strong. That blast would have vaporized anyone else. Perhaps even Darkrai himself! But that’s what Alexander had become. A one-person army. A whole army inside of him, all so he could…

    What was he aiming for? Power? He had power. What more was there?

    Something tickled the back of his neck.

    “Ugh, it ain’t workin’,” Azelf growled.

    Darkrai yelped and spun around. The three pixies were floating there, covered in ash from the recent explosions.

    “What are you doing?!”

    “I was tryin’ t’give you a little willpower,” Azelf said.

    “You seemed stressed,” Mesprit said, holding his hands anxiously. “But we need to keep fighting!”

    “Too late.” Uxie sighed.

    At the top of the spire, a second Radiant Hyper Beam tore through the skies, sending a reckless scattershot of twenty small beams toward Alexander. This time, Migami disappeared, too, racing the beams to Alexander head-on.

    “Ahhh!” Darkrai held his head. “They can’t do that! They aren’t supposed to do that! No going alone!”

    “They were frustrated,” Mesprit said. “They missed so they’re trying to end it now, Guardian to Guardian. But Alexander outclasses them…!”

    “If Alexander truly has the ‘anti-Hands,’ the Voidlands fragment of power that is opposite to Kilo… then Migami is not just fighting a Guardian. They are fighting a god.”

    “Why is the Mispy third of them allowing this?” Mesprit squeaked.

    “Because she’s drowned out by two idiots.”

    “H-hey! My other half isn’t like that!” Mesprit said. “Azelf, tell her! …Azelf?”

    “He left while you were worrying.”

    “And you didn’t stop him?!” Mesprit grabbed Uxie by the shoulders.

    “I was busy talking to you.”

    The volley crashed into the distant forest. Storms brewed, whirlwinds of Shadow picking up whole trees and making them dance into the clouds.

    Azelf had thankfully not run to join Migami. Instead, he was at the top of the spire talking with the others. Darkrai followed with Mesprit and Uxie, overhearing the conversation.

    “So what, they went t’ fight?!”

    “W-we couldn’t stop them!” said a trembling Ledian. “How do you stop someone that… m-massive, who can also Teleport?!”

    Over many rows of trees, Alexander clashed directly with Migami. But this time, there was a delay in Alexander landing a strike. Was he waiting for something?

    Migami had no such hesitation. They blasted him point-blank with a Solar Beam, the light splitting across his heads to make several beams on the already scorched ground. Alexander blasted back, completely missing when Migami Teleported behind him and jammed an ax into his back.

    The phantom of Qitlan emerged from the wound and grasped at Migami, tearing part of their face clean off. Migami snarled and, with a contortion of vines, kicked off Alexander while healing, the wound healing. Alexander chewed on what had been torn off, saying something to Migami like a taunt.

    As Migami’s wounds closed, Darkrai, holding back a retch, scaled the spire with the other pixies.

    “He’s too close,” Mesprit said. “Alexander is still trying to make his way here. He wants the town!”

    “We need to evacuate everyone.”

    “It might be Tanneth,” Darkrai said. “She’s part of Emily, right? If he wants to take the pieces of Dark Matter.”

    Cresselia spiraled around the spire and floated on the lower observation deck to speak with Darkrai. Countless little beeps of the radar and other technologies chittered in the room.

    “Tanneth was evacuated already,” she said. “Should we start evacuating everyone?”

    Darkrai hesitated. “He’ll just follow,” he said. “How long can Migami stall? We need proper backup… why are the others taking so long?!”

    “It was all short notice,” Azelf said. “Ain’t like walkin’ here is easy anymore. Kilo’s all… scrambled!”

    Darkrai glanced at the brawl just in time to see Migami bite off Alexander’s left arm’s head. Black blood gushed out of it. Then, it coagulated into an undead cloud of wraiths that latched onto Migami’s mouth. They spat a Dragon Pulse and gained more distance as Alexander’s wings writhed into more snarling wraiths.

    He was unstoppable. The wraiths, too, were all unstoppable. He had so much Shadowy power that even their spire shots did nothing. They… wouldn’t be able to fend him off like this. They’d evacuate North Null Village, but what then?

    “Darkrai,” Cresselia said. “Darkrai!”

    “S-sorry, what?” Darkrai jolted upright.

    “It’s time to go. Azelf and the others will call for Migami to return. Psychic link.” Cresselia drifted down the spire.

    “And what then?” Darkrai asked.

    “What?”

    “…Nothing.” He drifted after her. “Let’s evacuate everyone.”

    <><><>​

    And thankfully, that was nearly done. Everyone had gone through drills of this very event. By the time they’d checked homes and houses, almost everyone had already fled. A few stray, docile Void Shadows who’d gotten lost were ushered along, while some more hostile ones fled and were beyond help.

    North Null Village, beautiful in the darkness it had to work with, had fallen quiet. A tapestry of dusty red streets trampled with footprints of all sizes told a story of abandonment in a single hour. Appliances still ran in a few of the buildings, glowing dimly with the power of faded Radiance. Darkrai heard a radio in a building two doors down blaring static and occasionally distorted commands and updates from South Null village. Because it couldn’t have been anywhere else. Every other settlement had been abandoned, destroyed, or… consumed by Alexander. The South would be the Voidlands’ final bastion after this.

    Soon, Darkrai and Cresselia were all that remained, along with a distant Migami, who would be agile enough to outspeed Alexander. But perhaps only by a minute.

    Migami was stubborn. They kept trying to fight and clash with their limitless energy but Alexander was just as persistent. And Alexander outpaced them. It wasn’t enough. Their attacks were graceless and Alexander had gotten a read on them. They had to rethink their strategies, find a new approach… Anything. That was what Uxie transmitted to them.

    And, finally, they’d gotten through. Migami roared in frustration and slammed Alexander into the earth with one final strike, pinning him down with axes they’d regrow later.

    Darkrai watched Migami fly toward them, covering the whole distance of town in the time it took for him to draw a single breath.

    Wordlessly, they passed through, twitchy and crazed. The distortion bubbled from their power. And Darkrai nodded to himself.

    “Let’s go,” Cresselia said. “We have to keep running before he realizes which Dungeon we—”

    Darkrai held Cresselia’s forehead and pressed against her mouth. Cresselia yelped but melted into it. When she pulled away, and he got to see her beautiful, rosy eyes, he had second thoughts. But Alexander’s distant roar as he emerged from the soil reaffirmed his resolve.

    “See you later,” Darkrai said.

    Cresselia was about to ask a question when Darkrai shrouded her in darkness. She screamed. The horror was not against him but for him. He knew why. And it was too late.

    The darkness faded and Cresselia lay in a gentle crescent on the ground, sound asleep. She didn’t suffer bad dreams near him. Never did. Or maybe she was good at hiding it. Gently, Darkrai carried her through the barrier, but he did not pass through it. Someone grabbed her and tried to peek through, but he put up a dark shroud. Nobody would dare pass through without falling asleep.

    He hoped that was enough of a signal that they wouldn’t return.

    His heart was hammering. The wisps of his head bubbled like a campfire in the rain. Alexander was in the skies, scanning the town. If he was lucky, truly lucky, Alexander wouldn’t find the distortion at all. But he had to prepare. He placed a small portal of darkness on the ground that would explode with any disturbance, even the air of a hovering Hydreigon.

    He hid in a nearby home of the silent town where he’d be able to intercept Alexander if he moved closer afterward. He went over what he’d say, how he’d stall, how he’d react, over and over in this reckless, horribly reckless, improvised distraction.

    And the thought did flit in Darkrai’s mind that he could flee. It wasn’t too late. Maybe the trap he laid would be enough. Maybe he could ask for backup. But that would risk everyone. This? Only he would be lost. The little cowardly Legend who fled and died during the Dark War. He had no strength and everyone knew how to counter nightmares. They already lived in one.

    Alexander would find no use in him, but so much use in everyone else. This was the way.

    These thoughts steeled Darkrai as he waited for the tyrant Hydreigon to leave and wander toward the portal. Though the chances were slim, if Alexander triggered the trap, he'd fall asleep, and perhaps Darkrai would be a hero. But barring that stroke of luck, he had to be ready to block the way… and stall as much as he could.

    But Hydreigon didn’t step. How would Darkrai hear him? They merely… floated through the air by some spectral power. Or, Alexander did. Hydreigon were very rare Pokémon. When was the last time Darkrai had seen one other than Alexander himself? There were rumors that Alexander killed them all and Voided them to be part of his army long ago, but that was baseless. Surely.

    Darkrai tried to listen a little harder…

    Soon, he realized he didn’t have to listen. The sheer aura of power and malice was enough to make his wisps crinkle into his neck. What a dreadful aura. It was coming closer. Closer. It was hard to breathe.

    Darkrai couldn’t remember what it was like to see the sunset. But he had a feeling it wasn’t this sinister. The dusty purple ground darkened and a miasma of black smoke crept along the road, heavy with gnarled, spindly fingers curling around every corner. Darkrai floated higher so it wouldn’t grasp him. Contact alone might’ve been corrosive.

    He dared to peer outside.

    And that’s when he finally saw Alexander up close. Ten… twenty feet at most, a dark nucleus surrounded by clouds that snuffed out what little light was allowed to exist in the Voidlands. His arms were scarred with black scales and part of his face had been healed over with more darkness. Part of his face had melted into a permanent, wraith-warped snarl.

    And he was five feet away from where Darkrai had prepared a Dark Void. Just a little closer…

    Darkrai tensed. The pillar erupted—and Alexander was too fast. He hovered backward and completely avoided it, though he went from idly approaching to fully alert. Darkrai steeled himself one last time and emerged, holding his hands together with his charged attack.

    “You.” Alexander’s voice rattled in Darkrai’s head even from there like the buzzing of so many insects crawling through his skull.

    “I—I’m here to stop you. Even a second, even a minute… it will buy them time to destroy you. Look at… look at you. I thought you wanted to run this kingdom for everyone once. A long, long time ago, at least…”

    “Do you think I care?” Alexander said.

    “Just… why?” Darkrai asked.

    Alexander drifted closer but Darkrai held his hands up quickly, threatening him.

    And… Alexander stopped. He recognized what would happen. He wasn’t beyond reason.

    “What are you going to do?” Alexander taunted. “A Dark Void like that would put you to sleep, too. What then? Will you gamble… on who awakens first?”

    “I’m… not strong. You know that,” Darkrai said, voice trembling. “I’ve always been… a-a coward. Always tempted by darkness to strengthen me, but I resisted! All this time, I resisted! And… if you claim me… th-the only way I’d ever fight for you is as nothing but a hollow Void Shadow. None of my powers… would go to you. I would resist…”

    “So many say that.” Alexander’s smile curled unnaturally upward. “So many were wrong. Do you know how many I have already claimed? Do you know how many… were so much more than you?”

    The oppressive atmosphere constricted Darkrai’s chest.

    “You didn’t even fight in the Dark War. You ran away. You fled the village that had taken you in when the source of darkness had killed Cresselia. You left them to die. Do you know how I know that?”

    “I—I’m different now. I’ve saved this village and I’m saving everything from you, too… right now!” And despite barely being able to breathe, he felt some warmth push against that miasma. He could maintain himself.

    “I will wait one day,” Alexander said, “if you kneel to me now. I need… to gather my strength again anyway. It would benefit both of us… wouldn’t it?”

    A day. Could he keep Alexander asleep for longer than a day? Would he be able to resist that darkness if he knelt?

    …No! He couldn’t be tempted.

    “No deal,” Darkrai said, taking a careful breath.

    “Really?” Alexander said. “You’ll put me away for… a little nap, in exchange for your soul? Is that how little you’re worth?

    “You wouldn’t make this deal if you thought you could get… more another way,” Darkrai said. “I learned… I learned that tactic. Owen used it on you, too, didn’t he?”

    And suddenly, Alexander’s smirk froze. His eyes, those red-pinprick eyes, darkened.

    “Don’t move,” Darkrai said. “Or… I’ll put you in a nightmare. The nightmare I know you have, Alexander.”

    “And what would that be?” Alexander said, the buzzing becoming the rumble of gravel.

    Darkrai’s resolve finally solidified. He knew that once he said this, there would be no turning back. Alexander would attack. Darkrai would defend. And for both, their worlds would become darkness, and perhaps one of them may never wake up from it.

    He was ready. Even in the worst outcome… he’d bought everyone time.

    “That Owen would banish you… for a second time. And that you would be left… with nothing. That the power you control… will consume you. That you won’t have anything… not even your name.”

    The winds stopped. Alexander hovered in total silence. Darkrai wondered how correct he was. Alexander didn’t laugh. Did that mean something?

    “All you want is power,” Darkrai said. “Why? What’s the point of it?”

    Now frowning, Alexander snorted and shook his head. “Life has no point,” he said. “It is an existence to climb to the top. I am transcending this. Climbing further than any mortal deserves, as decreed by the gods who created us. I am powerful because I can be. I dominate because I can. Why… should I ever hold back?”

    “That’s all?” Darkrai asked. “It’s just… power? Power for the sake of power? Nothing more?”

    Alexander chuckled. The rattling rhythm nearly knocked Darkrai’s breath out of his body. “Are you just stalling for time again?”

    Darkrai was about to answer. Alexander advanced first, so swift, so surprising, Darkrai nearly missed his opportunity.

    But he’d been ready. And, luckily, being surprised was a trigger to release the attack. Dark Void expanded through the whole block before Darkrai realized he’d done it.

    Just before it blackened him and blotted out all light, he saw the look of shock on Alexander’s face.

    And that, as he clutched at Cresselia’s charm around his neck, was enough for sweet dreams to claim him.

    <><><>​

    Night fell. A bonfire burned in the middle of Fae Fae Forest to keep the night from growing too cold. Surrounding it were Team Alloy, their Trio of Mind counterparts, and Cresselia. Demitri shuddered in the cold, but the fire was too hot. Owen’s flame was so much more controlled.

    Backup had arrived but had been dismissed just as quickly. It was too dangerous to enter North Null Village. They were instead assigned to organize the refugees while they figured out their next move.

    Cresselia had tried to pass through the barrier only to collapse into deep sleep almost instantly. That was as much a signal as any that Darkrai didn’t want them passing through. And the fact that Alexander hadn’t followed…

    Darkrai bought them some time. They could heal Cresselia, but facing Alexander was too risky.

    “Can’t we jus’ use Chesto Berries?” Gahi asked again. “I ain’t sleepy.”

    “Not against the King of Nightmares,” Mesprit said. “Mundane protections just don’t work against Legendary Pokémon. Maybe he’s holding back, but I get the feeling Darkrai put everything he had into this one…”

    WHAM.

    Gahi’s fist slammed into one of the pastel tree trunks, startling everyone.

    “Couldn’t do a thing,” Gahi hissed. “Couldn’t… ev’n land anything that mattered. Now we’re all hidin’ here… Darkrai’s out, ‘bout ter get killed maybe…”

    “Gahi…” Demitri reached toward him but hesitated on grasping his shoulder.

    Gahi kept punching at the tree, leaning the whole thing an extra angle or two with every strike. The scales on his knuckles chipped away, leaving little bloody streaks. Mispy, sighing but without her usual annoyance, charged a Heal Pulse. Gahi held up his hand to her and stepped to the other side of the bonfire, curling his wings and tail around himself.

    “Don’t let those wounds settle, Gahi,” Demitri said gently. He reached one hand to the tree and, with a gentle nudge, pulled it back into place.

    “We completely underestimated how strong a single Pokémon could be,” Mesprit said, despondent. “That kind of power would have been enough to take on all of Kilo Village at once. Yet Alexander was just… mildly slowed down by everything we threw at him. How did he get so strong, so fast?”

    “He obviously had that as a final plan,” Azelf muttered. “Maybe he wanted ter keep that kingdom intact, ‘til he got desperate. Maybe it just never occurred t’the guy.”

    “No,” Uxie said. “Something this obvious would have been done long ago. There was a risk.”

    “What’s the risk?” Mesprit asked.

    Uxie shook her head. “I don’t know. I’m only deducing our unknown variables. I don’t know what they actually are.”

    “Right…” Mesprit sank a little lower.

    “St-still,” Demitri said, “we were up close and held our own. We just… lost our stamina. We were pushing hard to keep up.”

    Mesprit and Azelf looked at one another. Uxie nodded and crossed her arms.

    “I think… we need to do our desperate measure, then, before we’re caught off guard.”

    Gahi stopped his muttering to glance at them. “What’s that, then?”

    Mispy gave a knowing look to Demitri. His chest felt cold.

    “You don’t mean…” Demitri’s axes on his tail accidentally got lodged in the tree. “Ah—sorry,” he apologized to the tree. Mispy frowned and silently repaired the gash while Mesprit spoke.

    “You know, all things considered… we aren’t too different. Funny how that works out,” Mesprit said. “We were… hesitant for a long time. Because… b-because we’d still be giving up ourselves, and you, yourselves. But it needs to happen. We need to… become whole again. A soul’s a soul, and we’re sharing it… and weakening ourselves while divided.”

    “Tch.” Azelf looked away. “Hate that we’re doin’ it fer power, not… ‘cause we’re ready.”

    “We have been ready for a while,” Uxie countered. “But now we can turn a catastrophe into an opportunity. It’s as you said… we are similar. A trio. We even looked up to our halves of Jirachi.”

    Team Alloy collectively winced.

    “…At a point in time, at least.”

    “Can’t wait ter figure out how he resolves,” Gahi muttered. “…Rhys… is still around… ev’n if he’s…”

    Demitri couldn’t bear to look at Gahi with that one. Rhys’ soul was around, yes… but ‘Rhys’ was so wholly eclipsed by Dialga that it frightened him what would happen with Mesprit. Such long lives…

    Then again, their lives were also long. It was only due to how Rhys died that… he was so faint. But not gone. Maybe he could come back.

    Or maybe ‘Rhys’ was… tired.

    “So, are we ready?” Uxie asked.

    She faced Mispy. Azelf faced Gahi. Finally, Demitri stared at Mesprit… but in his eyes, Demitri only saw doubt. Concern, uncertainty. Demitri wasn’t sure why. Gahi was headstrong—he would certainly try to get it over with first. Mispy was logical and saw the benefits outweighing the risks. And Demitri acknowledged both. Yet…

    Uxie reached toward Mispy. Azelf held his hands out for Gahi. Mesprit… did not. And Demitri, too, was frozen. He wasn’t very smart. He hesitated all the time. It took those two to drive him forward to take these risks. But—

    “Wait,” Demitri blurted.

    The other two pairs stopped.

    “What?” Gahi said. “C’mon, we were havin’ a moment.”

    “I… I don’t know if we should do this yet,” he said. “It… Something doesn’t feel right. Think about it…”

    Mispy frowned, looking skeptical. Demitri shrank back, his claws trying to find something to hold other than his tail.

    “…Bah, c’mon. Mispy’s the thinker an’ she thinks it’s alright,” Gahi said.

    “But… aren’t we doing this a little rashly?” Demitri said. “Th-think about it. We’re weak. We’re still barely able to keep ourselves together when we fuse. We’re… broken still. If we fuse now… we might lose our lifeline.”

    “Lifeline?” Mispy repeated. Then, a moment later, she glanced at Uxie with a more meaningful look. “Oh.”

    “Those three are the ones keeping our tempers sane when we’re Migami,” Demitri said. “We don’t even know if we can fuse after that happens! And say we still can… If they fuse with us… Will we always have that? Or will we never have that?”

    Mesprit’s expression turned horrified. “W-we won’t lose like that! We won’t… just be subsumed by those instincts, right?”

    Meanwhile, Azelf exploded into the debate with, “Hang on, if we ain’t even able to fuse… then we’d totally lose! Fusion’s all we’ve got that messed Alexander up! …But c’mon, it’s totally gonna work, why wouldn’t it?”

    “…No. We don’t know for sure,” Uxie admitted. “…Thank you for spotting this, Demitri. We were behaving rashly. We have no need for fusing right this instant anyway. Alexander is dormant and he makes a show of all his arrivals. We will know when he wakes up.”

    Mispy nodded as well, offering an encouraging smile to Demitri. Gahi, meanwhile, grumbled something and crossed his arms in a way almost identical to Azelf.

    “It’ll work out if we try,” Gahi said. “We’re hesitatin’. Any time we hesitate, stuff goes wrong. C’mon, we were about ter get it workin’. It’d work out!”

    “But can we afford that risk?” Demitri said.

    “It ain’t a risk! I know it’ll work!”

    “How?”

    “Gut feelin’.” Gahi tapped his chest. “We’ll be jus’ fine.”

    “Gahi, I…” Demitri shook his head. “I’m sorry, Gahi. But I can’t accept pure guts here.”

    Gahi looked like he’d been slapped across the face.

    “B-besides,” Demitri added. “Think about Owen. He’s probably hoping to see us one last time, minimum. What if we… change forever somehow? What then?”

    “Tch…” Gahi whipped his tail on the ground. “…Don’t like this,” he spat. “But fine. I ain’t gonna go ahead.” He glanced at Azelf, who nodded reluctantly.

    “Thanks, Gahi…”

    “But we still need to work toward this,” Uxie went on. “We aren’t just waiting for Owen. Why don’t we ask Palkia to compile research notes on you three? It’d be nice if we had Nevren, but…”

    “Oh, that’s true,” Demitri said. “If Palkia can give us an answer for how it’d turn out… then we can do it!”

    “Better not experiment on us again,” Gahi grumbled. “…Alright, whatever. So what now?”

    “I think we three will go ahead to find Palkia,” Uxie said. “Why don’t you… stand guard over Cresselia, try to wake her up, and then catch up with us?”

    “That’s fine,” Demitri said. “Thanks, you three…”

    “Aah, don’t mention it.” Azelf dismissed Demitri with a wave and drifted away from the campsite. “C’mon! Ain’t gonna stall now!”

    That… sounded passive-aggressive. Demitri let it slide and the Trio of Mind left them.

    He sighed, feeling uneasy, but less uneasy than before. It would have to do. Now, as for how to wake up Cresselia—

    “Oi, oi! Wake up already!” Gahi was rattling Cresselia like a giant maraca.

    Alarmed, Demitri jogged to him. “G-Gahi! Don’t shake sleeping Pokémon! Especially the Pokémon of sweet dreams! You’ll get nightmares forever!”

    “Bah! Darkrai’s not around, ain’t he?” Gahi said, setting her back down and crossing his arms. “She’s out cold. Ain’t wakin’ that up.”

    Mispy rubbed her forehead.

    “Maybe,” Demitri suggested, “we need to do something special to wake her up…”

    “How ‘bout we put her hands in water?”

    “I think that does something else…”

    Gahi grumbled and drifted closer, crouching until his head was on the ground at Cresselia’s level. “Well, there’s gotta be some way ter wake her up…”

    Mispy slid over, frowning pensively, and glanced at Demitri. He shrugged.

    Gahi was starting to poke her cheek. He was about to poke her eyelid when Demitri said, “Um! Let’s try something other than that…”

    “Geh.” The Flygon rolled his eyes and stood up.

    “Hmm…” Mispy approached next. She brought a vine next to Cresselia’s mouth, then her nose. “Through… her nose…”

    “What about it?” Gahi asked.

    Mispy placed a vine beneath Cresselia’s nostrils. The Legend of Dreams’ brow furrowed and her body squirmed in discomfort. She opened her mouth and gasped, but it seemed uncomfortable and unnatural to her.

    Mispy squeezed a little harder around her muzzle next. Suddenly, Cresselia took in a great gasp and her eyes shot open. Mispy quickly let go.

    “What? What?” Cresselia said after a snort. “Where… what happened? Darkrai, where is Darkrai?”

    “Still in the Voidlands,” Demitri said. “But… I think he used Dark Void on himself and Alexander. You know, to make sure it hit… I think he hit everything in there. And it must’ve worked. Alexander isn’t here.”

    “What…” Cresselia looked around. “We’re still in the Dungeon…”

    “Yeah. An’ the wraiths ain’t botherin’ us, meanin’ Alexander ain’t givin’ out commands er whatever.”

    Cresselia let out a shaky sigh. “Darkrai…” Her little fists trembled.

    “I’m… sorry,” Demitri said. “I know this isn’t… easy, but we shouldn’t let it go to waste. We have a little more time now. Let’s regroup. Maybe we can ambush him when he’s asleep, right?”

    “Right.” Cresselia sighed. “Right. Darkrai… He’s usually so afraid. I want to honor his… bravery here. His courage to risk so much for us. Did you already send word?”

    “Yeah.” Demitri nodded. “We just wanted to make sure it was safe first. I think we got our answer.”

    Cresselia spotted a supply bag nearby and pulled out a light crystal on a necklace. She slipped it on.

    “Let’s go to Destiny Tower,” she said. “There should be another Dungeon mapped to near North Null. We can send fighters through there to bombard Alexander while he’s down.”

    “How long will that take?” Demitri asked.

    “Couple kilos fer me,” Gahi bragged.

    “For a real strike? It might take an hour or two.”

    Recognizing the urgency, and after asking what an hour was again, Team Alloy and Cresselia departed. Demitri spared one last glance at the rift into the Voidlands… and then followed the others to the recon squads to get out of the Dungeon.

    “Wonder how Owen’s doin’,” Gahi muttered. “Hope he’s havin’ a good vacation…”

    “Gahi…”

    “I know, I know,” Gahi said. “Jus’ irritated. Necrozma was the one who sent ‘em back. He’s… researchin’. Longer he has, more time he’ll get, yeah? He’ll find an answer… Always does…”

    At this point, buying time was the best they could do.

    Hopefully, Demitri thought, it would be enough.
     
    Chapter 172 - Memory and Light
  • Namohysip

    Dragon Enthusiast
    Staff
    Partners
    1. flygon
    2. charizard
    3. milotic
    4. zoroark-soda
    5. sceptile
    6. marowak
    7. jirachi
    8. meganium
    9. namo-rock
    Chapter 172 – Memory and Light

    Something about Orre’s arid desert appealed to Owen a lot more than it did to Zena. The two of them flew over the skies after they’d made their landing from before. By now, he and Zena had become accustomed to using phones and computers to contact others, and thanks to the help of Barechest and Blue, they’d been able to get special, temporary passports for international travel.

    Owen wasn’t sure why that was so important, but it seemed to make their trip from Alola to Orre a lot less complicated than Kanto to Alola.

    They’d been given instructions to fly from where they’d landed to a town called Agate Village. Even though the lands below them were green, the desert to the east was still clear in their vision. Everything was hot and dry at this border between grasslands and wastelands.

    “Slower!” Mu complained, riding atop Owen’s back.

    “Slower?” Owen repeated.

    Mu was reading a brochure half her height that she’d picked up at the airport. It talked about the triumphant return of wild Pokémon to the region and many tourist spots that were “must-visits” during their stay.

    “Can we go to… to… to… Real-Gem Tower?” Mu asked.

    “That’s a little far, Mu. I think… We need to focus on Shadows right now.”

    Mu whined. “Boooring!”

    Owen glanced helplessly at Zena, slithering through the wind, but she shrugged her ribbons in response.

    “M-maybe if we have some time later,” Owen conceded. Gods, she wasn’t even a year old and she was already…

    Zena drifted closer until she was within Owen’s natural wind barrier. It was easier to speak while flying.

    “She’s growing up so fast,” she said. “Do you think it’ll stop?”

    “I have no idea where she’s getting it from,” Owen murmured. “But I did notice that it happens the most after we pass through cities…”

    “It’s homework,” Mu said, grumbling. “Nobody likes homework.”

    Owen blinked. What in the world did that mean? She was speaking nonsense sometimes, but… maybe they could ask the experts if they had extra time.

    “Oh, I think that’s Agate Village just ahead,” Zena remarked. “That wasn’t too long.”

    Still a lot longer than any flight they’d’ve had to do in Kilo, but he supposed that was true for anywhere “a little far” in this world. Owen switched his flight to a descending glide. “Want to go swimming, Mu?” he said. “Looks like a clean river up ahead.”

    “Don’t like water,” the Charmander grumbled, turning the page. “Agate Village,” she repeated from the brochure, squinting at the words. “…Old people live here.”

    “We’ve seen old humans before, right, Owen?” Zena asked.

    “Yeah, we have. And some humans can get pretty old, a little older than you’d expect a Pokémon to get, at least…”

    Subconsciously, Owen touched the claw of his necklace.

    He continued, “We’re supposed to go to the big house in a tree trunk near the center-top of the village.”

    “Oh, I see that.” Zena pointed ahead with a ribbon.

    Agate village came into view. With the backdrop of a mountain and a vast desert to the east, it was unreal to see such a lush, green hillside where great trees and rivers dominated the landscape. It wouldn’t be Owen’s first choice for an environment, but Zena would love it. Maybe they’d let her swim in the water, too.

    “Slow your flight,” Zena reminded. “We don’t want to scare anyone.”

    “Oh, right. Charizard aren’t native here.”

    “Native means born here?” Mu asked.

    “Kind of, yeah. It means you’d naturally see them born here and they didn’t come from another land.”

    “What does it mean if they came from another place, but then had family?” Mu asked. “And then the family had a family? Are they native?”

    “Uhh… No, I think that’s a different word,” Owen said.

    “Where are humans native?” Mu asked.

    “I don’t… I don’t know. I never asked. But humans have been around for so long that I think they’re just native to everywhere.” That didn’t sound right to Owen even as he said it, but where else would they have come from? Pokémon stuck to their regions for the most part and humans went a lot of places that Normal Pokémon did. Humans were probably Normal Type, now that he thought about it.

    “They don’t like lava. They burn,” Mu said.

    “That’s true. They aren’t native to volcanoes.”

    “They drown, too.”

    “Oh, yeah. They aren’t native to the ocean.”

    “They don’t like caves. They starve.”

    “That’s also true. And they don’t like the dark, either, kind of like us.”

    “The dark is scary,” Mu agreed. “And my tail doesn’t light things up…”

    “Would you like us to get you something for that, Mu?” Zena offered. “There are little Luminous Orbs that can light up a room back home if Dad ever needs to go out at night.”

    Mu was quiet, turning the page. She was pensive and tense like she didn’t want to admit anything.

    “Maybe,” Mu said.

    Owen and Zena exchanged little smiles as they landed at Agate Village’s entrance.

    “My goodness!” someone immediately cried. It didn’t sound alarmed, though. An old man in a yellow shirt with big glasses ran toward them, using a walking stick to stay standing. “If my eyes aren’t fooling me, that’s… a Charizard! And a Milotic! Amazing! Where’s your trainer, you two?”

    Mu knew not to speak in front of random humans. Owen was glad she followed that practice.

    Owen said in feral, “We came to see someone in the big tr—”

    “Ah, I’m sorry, big fella. I lost your language a long time ago. But hey! You seem friendly. Welcome to Agate Village! Just be careful with that flame, yeah?”

    Owen awkwardly nodded and ascended the hillside with Zena.

    The door to a great old, dead tree opened in a sliding motion. On the other side was a human in a blue overcoat.

    He peeked outside and frowned, glaring at them before they’d even gotten close. Well, that was a rude welcome…

    This human had weird ears. Owen never knew humans had those.

    “Owen, right?” called Bluejacket.

    Owen made sure nobody was within earshot before he said, “Yeah, me. This is Zena and Mu.”

    The human’s long, furry, black ears twitched. “Right,” he said. “Come in.”

    They followed him inside, Owen folding his wings and ducking to pass through the door. It was a quaint little home inside the tree with a small set of bedrooms on the upper floor, a little kitchen and living room on the lower floor, and some facilities in the back. It seemed very old and lived-in.

    Another human was sitting at the table. She was feeding an Umbreon and Espeon some pellets of some kind. That had Owen feeling hungry again. He wondered if Zena would try some, too…

    Mu was already hopping off Owen’s shoulder, running to beg for a sampling.

    “This is a cozy place,” Owen commented. “If I wasn’t a Fire, I think I’d like it in this village.”

    “It’s… a relaxing place to retire,” the Umbreon-eared human said. “Name’s Wes. This is Rui.” He gestured to the girl. “And I already met your friend, Star.”

    The world froze. Star… It had been months and it already felt so far away. Then there was that cold guilt that for them it had only been a few days at most.

    “We, uh—How?” Owen asked.

    “The Dungeon, they call it? While we were investigating a few things happening with the distortions here, we got sucked in. It wasn’t for all that long, but by the time we got back, it had been a few days. It was all over the news. And I’m still recovering.”

    “R-recovering?”

    Wes’ ears twitched with his annoyance.

    “…They don’t look injured,” Owen said.

    Umbreon’s ears twitched next and he looked up at Wes from the couch. He trilled, “I like his new look!”

    “Don’t mock me!” Wes called back.

    Umbreon made a playful growling noise, clearly teasing him, and went back to eating.

    “Um, hello,” Rui greeted. The red-haired woman waved and bowed politely. “I didn’t have any lingering changes. Star said that Wes’ change should… wear off after a few weeks.”

    “You turned into Pokémon?” Owen deduced. “Humans don’t normally take on Pokémon attributes?”

    Wes stared at Owen like he was an idiot.

    “H-hey, I’ve been gone for a while. You never know how much things changed…”

    “To be honest, Owen,” Zena said, “most species don’t take traits on that easily. It’s usually just a color pattern from the parent that you don’t share a species with…”

    “And,” Wes said pointedly, “humans don’t usually pair off with Pokémon like they’re married. Except for that weird old lady down the hill, but—look, either way, no, it’s weird.”

    “Oh. Right.” Owen forgot that detail. Pokémon of this world… operated differently. “Sorry. In our world, er… Never mind. But we were told to meet you here. Why is that?”

    Wes crossed his arms. “We wanted you to meet someone who might be able to help with your Shadow problem.”

    “Someone?”

    “Well, two someones.” Rui stood up. “We aren’t the only people who took on Shadow Pokémon before! There’s someone on the green side of Orre that you need to meet. We’ll give you directions later. But first… We wanted to show you Celebi’s shrine.”

    “Celebi? Is that a Combee with a party hat?” Mu asked.

    “Huh? No, Celebi is a very rare Pokémon. C’mon, we can walk and talk!”

    “Uh, is that a good idea?” Owen asked.

    “Oh, it’s fine. People either know about you already or they’ll just think we’re talking to our Pokémon like friends! That’s normal.”

    Wes nodded.

    “You two behave,” he said sternly to Umbreon and Espeon. Both grinned in such a way that Owen knew they wouldn’t.

    <><><>​

    Just down the hill and through a cave with a small river cutting through it, there was a glade that radiated a sacred atmosphere.

    “Your world has a Celebi?” Wes asked.

    Owen nodded. “We do. She’s very soft-spoken and worked alongside Dialga for… I’m not sure what they did, now that I think about it. We don’t have a lot of time issues in our world.”

    Zena gazed at the water. “Maybe that means they were doing a good job,” she said. “The gods usually do their best work when it’s not noticed, yes?”

    Mu was slouching against Owen’s shoulder, looking drowsy.

    “You doing alright, Mu? You didn’t stay up late again, did you?”

    “No…” Mu yawned. “I’m just resting…”

    “Are you sick?”

    Mu sighed, annoyed. “Nooo. This place is just… quiet for once.”

    “Quiet?” Owen eyed the river, which was pretty loud, and heard birdsong up ahead.

    “Oh,” Zena whispered. “You mean… the negative aura?”

    “Yeah. It’s quiet,” Mu said again. “All the… old people…”

    “Your kid feels negative auras?” Wes asked.

    “It’s a long story,” Owen said, “but yes, she does. She, uh, she’s a Shadow Pokémon, I guess. But not in the same way.”

    “Oh! So that’s why she…”

    They all looked at Rui.

    “I’m sorry. You see, I have aura sight,” Rui explained. “I was trying to figure out why Charmander’s aura was so dark despite behaving… normally. As normal as a talking Pokémon can! I—oh, is that offensive?”

    “It’s alright,” Zena said, giggling. “We’re used to it. We know.”

    “Huh. A stable Shadow Pokémon.” Wes eyed Mu warily. “…Well, she doesn’t seem unhappy.”

    “I’m not,” Mu replied. “Just feel... everyone else’s.”

    “Sounds like a drag.”

    They passed through the cave and stopped just by the entrance. It seemed to be cleaned regularly. Something about this place felt quieter. Even the water that flowed through the cave seemed calmer in response to the cool breeze and even lusher greenery deeper into the valley.

    Birds were singing high in the trees. The air smelled of morning rain, despite it being later in the day. Lights danced on the ground in patterns drawn by the forest canopy.

    To the left near the entrance, there were two gravestones with a strange soil consistency. Rui knelt by the grave and closed her eyes. Wes didn’t kneel, though he did lower his head.

    “Up ahead is a shrine to Celebi,” Wes said. Even he spoke softly. “Want to look?”

    The shrine was an odd cylinder that looked like it was deliberately breaking apart in little quarter-segments all around its structure. Owen had never seen a structure quite like it.

    “Is Celebi inside that shrine?” Zena asked.

    “No,” Owen and Wes replied at once.

    “Eh?” Wes said. “Why do you know?”

    “Because there’s nothing inside it,” Owen said, pointing.

    Rui stood up from her kneel. “How can… you tell that, though?”

    “It’s my Perceive.” Owen pointed at his horns. “I can see anything. Kind of like seeing in three dimensions.”

    A beat of silence followed. The birds chirped. The breeze let the tall trees dance. Rui suddenly gasped and covered her chest for some reason.

    “Neat,” said Wes, deadpan.

    “Can you turn it off?” Rui asked.

    “Oh, uh, sure. Sorry.” This must have been offensive to humans. They were a very private species. He reached for his horns and popped them off.

    Rui yelped. “You don’t have to be so drastic!”

    “Also neat.”

    “Oh, they just come off,” Owen explained, slipping them into his satchel.

    Rui stammered and Wes continued to the shrine.

    “They’re weird, Rui. The longer we focus on it the faster we’ll go crazy. Let’s just give them a chance to look at the shrine and then send them to Pokémon HQ Lab.”

    “Pokémon HQ Lab?” Zena asked, looking disappointed about something.

    “Best in the region. They’re comprehensive about all things Pokémon, but they have a few Shadow specialists.”

    When Owen’s expression darkened, Wes raised his hands.

    “As in, for purifying them. Don’t worry, all the folks behind the Shadow part are behind bars at this point.” He glanced away. “…Mostly.”

    Owen relaxed his stance. “Right. Speaking of purification… How does this shrine do it?”

    Wes tapped a knuckle on the odd cylinder. “This thing has a tiny bit of Celebi’s power in it. The power helps good memories surface. If Celebi is supposed to be a Pokémon with control over time, I think it uses its Psychic power to remind people of the past. Of good times, or something.”

    “It… can’t be that simple, can it?”

    “No, it is,” Wes said. “It’s just hard to do. A Shadow Pokémon’s heart is sealed tight and they no longer think about… their past before becoming a Shadow Pokémon. They just fight. They’re either mindlessly fighting or they’re in a negative frenzy. Calling them helps calm them down, but… it’s temporary.” Wes gestured to the shrine. “I had to bring a lot of Shadow Pokémon here after months of trying to get them to open up even a little. But that… speck of darkness never goes away. Not without the shrine here.”

    “So… reminders, and a blessing,” Owen said. “Reminders of…”

    It was starting to fall into place.

    “Owen?” Zena asked.

    “If Radiance isn’t enough to get a Shadow Pokémon to open up to us alone, then maybe memories are another key,” Owen said. “Void Shadows lose their memories. And when they’re purified, those memories start to come back, but it’s incomplete. Even Mom, who lost her memories, was never really the same when she was purified again, and… what if… what if that’s because it’s backward? What if memories purify Shadow, not the other way around?”

    “You might be onto something,” Wes said. “But you still need both. We didn’t have any of that divine energy, aside from when we could call Celebi to help.”

    “So you can call Celebi?” Owen asked.

    “Not anymore,” Wes admitted. “Though, I did keep the flute… They’re sacred items that summon Celebi right here when you play it. But only… once. Annnnd I sorta used them all.”

    Wes pulled out one like he figured it’d be relevant. It looked unassuming; a flute made of tan wood. Entirely mundane. Curiously, though, Owen saw a chamber near the bottom of the flute that was empty.

    “Can I hold it?” Owen asked.

    “Can you restore it?” Rui asked as Wes handed it over.

    “I don’t want to abuse it if Celebi only wanted a few of these,” Owen said, “but this is important. Maybe I can.”

    He wasn’t sure what was in that chamber but it wasn’t normal for a flute to have it. Maybe it was where the energy used to attract Celebi was placed. And if that was the case… what if he put Radiance into it?

    Owen tried that, Bestowing a tiny amount of that energy into the flute. Then he offered it to Wes.

    “Play it. I think I… did something.”

    Wes looked skeptical but tried anyway, blowing a simple, improvised tune. When he did, sparks of light shot from the flute and to the cylinder, startling Rui and even Wes.

    After he finished, he said, “That didn’t happen last time…”

    Wes squinted. “You put a little Radiance into it and the flute… fired it out?”

    “There was a chamber inside the flute that seemed like it stored something. I put a little Radiance in it, and that’s what happened…”

    They all waited. One whole minute passed with idle chatter and birdwatching. Unfortunately… Celebi did not appear.

    “Guess it stored a different energy,” Owen said, wings drooping. “Still… That’s a weird flute.”

    “You want it?” Wes offered. “I have two more. Not like I’m good at it anyway…”

    “Oh, if it’s not any trouble?” Owen asked.

    Zena tilted her head. “What use would it be?”

    Owen shrugged. “It’s weird. It might help. Anything that can interact with Radiance might be helpful…”

    Wes tossed it to Owen, who slipped it into his pouch.

    “Guess that’s everything, huh?” Wes said. “You be careful, alright?”

    “Yeah,” Owen said, glancing at the gravesite that Rui had knelt next to before. “So… who are they?”

    “Oh, that’s where my grandparents were buried. They used to own the house we live in now,” Rui said. She smiled fondly, but it was tinged with that usual, nostalgic sadness. “They lived long, good lives. Grandpa was a really accomplished trainer back in the day. His Pikachu is still roaming around the village. He’s kind of Agate’s guardian! I think… grandpa’s spirit lives on in him, too. Grandma is the same way.”

    Owen offered a warm smile. “Sounds like they did all they could.”

    “Mhm.” Rui smiled and sighed. “I miss them, of course, but… Well. They had other things to do. Same day, you know, right overnight.”

    “Wow, same day,” Owen said, running a claw over his necklace.

    Rui eyed it. “…Is that… of a relative?”

    That earned an awkward titter from him. “Dad’s a Marowak. He, er… you know how it is.” Wait, no she didn’t, she was human.

    Rui smiled politely. “I think it’s a beautiful gesture,” she said. “I think the Sinnoh region believed that Pokémon spirits reside in their bones for a while, too. Maybe your father said the same thing?”

    “I figured the claw would, uh, point me in the right direction,” Owen said. “I have a lot of things to think about. I don’t know. Some guidance feels… nice.”

    Mu was starting to get bored, wandering around the cave again. Zena smiled and gently offered to take Mu out to the rest of the village to play, nodding at Owen as she left.

    “Oh, sorry,” Rui said. “We won’t be holding you up. Um, good luck with… Dungeoning?”

    “Thanks.”

    “Oh, yeah.” Wes, near the mouth of the cave, suddenly spoke up. “When you go to HQ, look around for Ho-Oh if it’s there. You can communicate with Pokémon, right?”

    “Oh, I can. Wait. Ho-Oh? What’s that?”

    Wes blinked. “I thought your world had Legends?”

    “Not Ho-Oh. I guess we didn’t have all the ones here.”

    “Huh. Well, just say hi for me. It tagged along with me for a while, but, you know how Legends are. Gotta wander and do… whatever they do. Last I heard, it wanted to go there for some reason.”

    “Sure. I’ll say hi for you,” Owen said.

    What a strange request. But after saying his farewells, Owen went over to Zena and Mu to relax before their next flight.

    This was probably the last time they’d see Wes and Rui for something this important. They seemed satisfied with having a simple, quiet life here in Agate. If Wes was supposedly responsible for thwarting some of the Shadow forces, he could understand why.

    Owen wondered if he’d be allowed the same opportunity one day.

    <><><>​

    It was ironic how little of Orre’s desert they were seeing. Most of where they had to be was on the green side of the region.

    Further west, where the lush grass was even more pronounced than before, Owen followed the directions Wes had given them all the way to Pokémon HQ Lab, quite possibly the most generic-sounding location Owen had heard of yet. And that was saying something. He supposed that the region being so deprived of Pokémon for so long meant the basic names weren’t taken…

    “I think that’s it,” Zena announced.

    “Huh?” Owen had been so lost in thought that he wasn’t paying attention ahead of him. His Perceive handled anything in range that he’d collide with.

    Up ahead was a large, white building on a hill with a giant, floating Poké Ball hovering on top of it. It seemed to be two stories tall with large, glass windows and a Lugia nesting in front of the—

    “Why is there a Lugia in front of that building?” Owen said.

    Zena frowned. “That’s an awfully small Lugia…”

    “No, Emily’s just very large,” Owen said.

    “Or baby?” Mu suggested.

    “Can… can Lugia be young? Or are they created?” Zena sped up as they descended for a landing.

    “I don’t know for this world,” Owen said.

    Lugia perked up and spotted them. They let out a roar that Owen wasn’t sure how to interpret. The dialect was… strange.

    “What is Lugia saying?” Zena asked.

    “I… I don’t know. It might be an ancient dialect or something.”

    Mu suddenly tensed. “Watch out.”

    And moments later, Lugia opened their mouth and twisted the air. Benign winds became cutting gales that spiraled in their direction; he and Zena banked in opposite directions, avoiding the blast that turned a treetop into sawdust and dry mulch.

    “Did we come in wrong?!” Owen shouted. “Zena! Let’s find some cover!”

    “Where?!”

    She was right. It was just trees. And those didn’t stand a chance against Lugia!

    Another Aeroblast was charging up. This would get bad, fast.

    Owen grasped at the air with a flick of his right hand. The air was still charged with the last attack. He grasped it. “Zena! Behind me!”

    “Right!”

    Just in time, too. The second Aeroblast spiraled through the air and Owen reached toward it with his Mimicked energy, then brought up his shield. The winds curled around him and he braced himself as well as he could. Zena held his back to help, having no grounding to hold his position.

    He Bestowed his power into the blast itself. Waited for that connection. There! Like chaos in his hands, the power of freedom of the winds and destruction of the gales. It was his now. He twisted the blast into a little, concentrated ball, compressing his Protect around the volatile energy—

    “WAAAIIIIT!”

    Lugia stopped. Owen held his position. Zena made sure Mu wasn’t hurt—and, thankfully, she wasn’t.

    A man with red, spiked hair and a yellow shirt ran into the yard, waving his arms toward Lugia. Whatever he was saying placated the great guardian of the sea. Lugia said something and their booming voice was a lot easier to hear than the man’s. Unfortunately, Owen still didn’t recognize most of the sounds… But he recognized one pattern. ‘Shadow.’

    That Lugia was incredibly sensitive to Shadows, then. Mu… or maybe even he might have set Lugia off.

    “Okay!” the man called. “You can come over now! Soooorryyyy!”

    <><><>​

    The man’s name was Michael and something about him bothered Owen. He’d never met the man before in his life and yet something felt disturbingly familiar about him.

    They set up a small picnic where Lugia kept staring in his direction. Mu was having a staring contest with her. Like a competition.

    “Hokay, sorry about that,” Michael said, plopping himself down on the gigantic red-and-white picnic blanket. He sat beside Lugia and on his other side was a Vaporeon enjoying some cold water from a bowl.

    “It’s alright,” Owen replied. “Uh, sorry if we came sooner than expected…”

    “No, no.” Michael raised his hands. “I sorta put this off. Got distracted with research again.”

    Research…

    “So! Talking Pokémon! You must get that a lot.”

    “We get it,” Owen replied.

    “It is a bit strange being the only ones who talk… Well, I heard rumors about one back in Kanto, but—ah, well, not here.”

    “And you’re from another world where talking Pokémon is the norm, right?” Michael said. “I bet the folks in Alola had a field day with that one!”

    “You could say that,” Owen said with a titter.

    “Ahh, well… Anyway, you’re here because Wes told you about this place for its Shadow research, right?”

    Owen nodded. “In our world, we’re dealing with a massive Shadow problem. If we can find a way to combat it or even cure it, any method would help. We already got one answer from Wes with Celebi. That might help. But if there’s anything that a common Pokémon can do…”

    Michael nodded. “I see, I see…”

    Lugia made a low growling noise again.

    “Hey, it’s alright, it’s alright,” Michael said.

    Lugia growled again.

    “No, they’re fine, promise. They’re heroes from another world!”

    “You understand her?” Owen asked.

    “Sure I do! Took a while to get the feeling behind her words, but she’s a Pokémon, isn’t she?”

    “I’m not familiar with her dialect,” Owen admitted.

    “What is she asking?” Zena asked.

    “Well,” Michael gestured to Mu, “Lugia is wondering why Charmander over there feels like a Shadow Pokémon.”

    “Oh. Well, she was born as one, but just that she can harness the power. Her heart isn’t closed.”

    “Hi!” Mu waved. “I’m not evil! Promise! Look, I have light, too!” She waved her hands in the air, forming little motes of golden lights.

    This surprised Lugia. What about Mu caught her off guard? One way or the other, she lowered her guard and rested more comfortably near Michael.

    “Lugia was the only result of an experiment to make an ‘impossible to purify’ Shadow Pokémon,” Michael explained. “I still don’t know what they did to make that happen, but it must have been awful.”

    “Impossible to purify,” Owen repeated. “But I don’t sense a speck of Shadows in her.”

    “Yep. All thanks to some crazy research we have going on, studying Pokémon, their auras, and how their hearts and emotions play a part in Shadows taking hold. How much time do you guys have?”

    “Oh, well… Our world is running at one percent speed compared to here,” Owen explained. “But I don’t want them to be waiting for more than a day at this point.”

    “So, a hundred days here,” Michael reasoned.

    “…You caught onto that quickly,” Owen remarked.

    Michael grinned broadly. “I bet you’ll only need a month to study all of this!”

    “A month?” Zena said. “That’s practically as long as our time in the Aether Foundation alone…”

    “Can I go to Real Gem Tower?” Mu asked.

    “Oh, yeah!” Michael said. “All work and no play will make your brains mush! We need to relax between all that reading.”

    “Maybe a little,” Owen said reluctantly. “But we really need to—”

    “No, you don’t understand,” Michael said earnestly. “It’s too much for the brain to handle. If you read a ton, and then take a break to rest, it gives your subconscious mind time to sort itself out and really learn what you read about. If you don’t give your mind time to rest, nothing will stick!”

    Owen wasn’t sure if that worked. Despite everything, Owen never had a formal education at any point in his life. This… study habit was something he’d only heard about and never experienced himself.

    Was he about to get homework?

    “Oh, by the way,” Zena spoke up, “Michael, is Ho-Oh around?”

    “He left a while back,” Michael said. “Should be back soon. He said something about investigating an island offshore. That can only be Citadark, but that place is abandoned… Hopefully. I told him to turn back at the first sign of trouble.”

    Citadark… an island offshore? “That sounds like Quartz Isle,” Owen said.

    “Quartz what?” Michael repeated.

    Owen couldn’t believe he didn’t know. Quartz Isle was the island destroyed by Arceus. It should have been all over the news! And yet… nothing? A whole island’s population had become Kilo!

    “I think we need to talk about that later,” Owen said, not sure how to sort through his thoughts just yet.

    “Alright. If that’s the case…” Michael suddenly got to his feet. “You guys enjoy your food!”

    Owen had forgotten they were supposed to be eating. He hastily picked up what appeared to be a sausage in an elongated bun.

    “I’m gonna get a lesson plan together.”

    “Wait, what’s—”

    But he was already gone. Why did that attitude feel so familiar?

    Mu groaned. “Homework,” she murmured. “Nobody likes homework.”
     
    Chapter 173 - Rhythm, Tempo, and the Heart
  • Namohysip

    Dragon Enthusiast
    Staff
    Partners
    1. flygon
    2. charizard
    3. milotic
    4. zoroark-soda
    5. sceptile
    6. marowak
    7. jirachi
    8. meganium
    9. namo-rock
    Thanks for the reviews, Makuro, Wind! Glad that you can get back into things, Wind, and it wasn't too disorienting after so long. And glad you got to the Grassmander part of the story, Makuro.

    Lots of awkwardness in those early chapters, but it's nice that they're still passable.

    Anyway, onto the next...

    Chapter 173 – Rhythm, Tempo, and the Heart

    They’re closing in too fast! We’ve got wraiths on all sides!

    What are we supposed to do about something immune to everything we throw at it?

    Manny, do something!

    What’m I supposed ter do?!

    You’re the one who’s supposed to fix this! Hecto said so!

    And what? And how? I don’t—I’m not some hero!


    “Tch.” Marshadow Manny rubbed his forehead and stared idly at his cooling soup in Ludicolo Café. He reached for a spoon and toyed with it in his fingers, thoughtful. It was a quietly buzzing afternoon, somewhere between the lunchtime diners and the evening crowd. Manny recognized a few faces at a glance, but didn’t pay too much attention.

    The most notable patron was Anam, looking forlorn and pensive all at once while eating a berry salad. Manny… wasn’t in the mood to navigate fake cheer and thick anxiety. Maybe a pep talk later when he wasn’t feeling down.

    “Hey.”

    “’Ey.”

    Star appeared on the opposite seat in a flash of light. It only startled him enough to tense.

    She spoke. “You… alright?”

    “You?” Manny asked.

    “Yeah, doing alright. Every day’s a little better.”

    “Mm.” Manny tried a few spoonfuls. Still too hot, but he’d endure. The taste was good anyway. Hearty and lots of stuff to chew on to get his mind distracted by something else. Ludicolo danced his way to Star and placed a menu on the table for her, followed by a charming wink as he spun away. Even to the god of creation, Ludicolo was professional. He had to admire that.

    “And it seems like every day is worse for you,” Star said. “C’mon, buddy. What’s wrong?”

    Manny sighed. Straight to the point, was she?

    “…A thousand years ago,” he said, “I watched my team die. I took their souls an’ ran. Hid away in Destiny Tower as it collapsed… an’ a day later I’m a Guardian. A thousand years ago, I fought and fell inter the Voidlands. There, I made a new team an’ defended lost souls from Void Shadows. An’ I dunno how ter square these two sets o’ memories. A hero from hades, an’ a coward who fled.”

    “Oh.”

    Manny figured she wouldn’t know what to say immediately. He understood. He took a few more sips of his soup. Cooler, now, and more tolerable. He could properly taste the ingredients of meat and spices instead of pure heat.

    Star continued, “You… were thinking about this for a while, then.”

    “What was yer first clue?”

    The Mew sighed and pushed the menu aside. “It’s not like that, bud,” she said. “You were scared. Everyone was scared! I didn’t blame you for hiding away. That… that was the point. You were supposed to keep that power away so it wasn’t consolidated by whoever Dark Matter controlled. At least, that’s the reason we remember now…”

    Manny’s fists clenched a little, wondering how strong he’d have to squeeze to break a cup or something. He had to be careful. Everything was delicate on Kilo's side. Nothing was reinforced.

    “You keep bringin’ humans in here thinkin’ they’ll solve these problems because o’ their special properties,” Manny muttered. “But everyone in this world’s got some human in ‘em, don’t they? That was all… a mistake. There ain’t any amplifyin’ goin’ on.”

    “Not true,” Star said. “That human blood is thinning every generation. It’s been two thousand years now. That’s, what, going on a hundred generations or so at this point, isn’t it? And… with it, that self-amplifying power keeps getting weaker. Dark Matter was… I think he was waiting.”

    Manny quirked a fiery brow. “Sounds like you were thinkin’ on this fer a while too.”

    Star sighed, nodding. Ludicolo spun by and asked for her order. Star asked for a disturbingly large platter of food. Ludicolo politely asked if she would need a to-go box. Star said no.

    This worried Manny.

    After Ludicolo left, Star continued the conversation. “Don’t blame yourself for what happened, alright? The guy overpowered us. It was only from that crazy stunt that I was able to get anything working to stop him, and… you couldn’t have known a single thing about that.”

    “Can hardly remember that,” Manny remarked. “But… I still ran. Maybe if I fought more, I’d’ve—”

    “Maybe maybe,” Star interrupted. “Or maybe Dark Matter would have taken your full soul. Then what? God, we’d be in even worse shape than before!”

    Manny didn’t have a counter for that. He sat in awkward silence, eating his soup bit by bit.

    “…So… don’t do that, okay? Trust me. I spent… I don’t know how long in a dungeon just wondering about all the… different things I could have done to avoid that situation. And a lot of it centered around actual mistakes I made and all the times I treated everyone else wrong. How much I just… just lost sight of it all. When I started getting memories back from the Voidlands, I… I panicked! I panicked so much that I was… I don’t even know what I was doing. I was desperate to get power before it got me. And then I lost everything.”

    “C’mon, it didn’t go like that,” Manny said. “Yer head’s gettin’ all twisted. We hardly knew a thing ‘til the rift opened up. I mean, heck, I didn’ get much ‘til I fused t’gether.”

    “I know, I know…” Star sighed. “A lot of us were like that. I was whole and even I had memories sealed. Me! I have a whole third of the world’s power in me and I had my memories sealed by some Decree that went past me.”

    “The Anti-Hands, we’re callin’ it?” Manny asked.

    “I’m not calling it that,” Star muttered. “Sounds lame.”

    “How about we call it feet instead, eh?”

    Star didn’t smile. Manny shrank in his seat. It was worth a shot.

    They sat in silence a while longer. Soon, Ludicolo arrived with a platter of meats, fish, berries, veggies, rice, bread, and three different soups, all set on the table. Star dug her hand into her thigh, pulling out several platinum coins that she set on the table.

    “…Oi, what was that?”

    “What?”

    “D’you have pockets? Wha?”

    “I’m Mew. I can have whatever I want.” Star flipped her hand, growing ten fingers before returning to her normal three.

    She started with the berries, meats, and rice first. Manny eyed the platter worriedly. That platter, in total, was three times her entire weight… Manny leaned to the left. Ludicolo had served Anam a sundae as tall as Star. They locked eyes and Manny froze.

    Thankfully, all Anam did was wave with one of his horns.

    “Well, eh…” Manny took a few more bites, waving back. “I guess what I’ve been thinkin’ is, I dunno, I think I oughta… test my strength again. Like, really test it. Those Titans ain’t a problem. Maybe I’ve still got it.”

    “Fighting, huh?”

    “I’ve got my spirits, too,” Manny said. “Ev’n dead, they’re strong. Tryin’ a new technique, y’know?”

    “You’ve already been fighting, though,” Star said. A bowl’s worth of rice was gone and she was going for another slab of meat. “Sounds more like you want to go from Titan hunting straight into the front lines against Alexander, Emily, and Necrozma.”

    “And Ghrelle,” Manny reminded.

    “Right, once we find her…”

    “An’ Nevren’s still on the loose,” Manny said.

    “Riiiight…” Star sounded impatient, chomping down a whole fish at once. Bigger than her head.

    “…Where’s all that food even goin’?” Manny asked worriedly.

    “Dunno. Ask Owen.” Star lightly burped, punching her chest.

    Manny squinted. Star offered him a plate and, all things considered… yeah, he was still a little hungry and his soup was running low. The portions for ‘small’ Pokémon were a little too small.

    The silence fell again. Manny felt a little more comfortable for one reason or another. Maybe Star acting so casually was helping. Maybe he was finally getting his nerves together.

    “I wanna try again,” Manny said. “Try bein’… the hero that y’said I would.”

    “Manny…” Star sighed.

    “C’mon,” Manny said firmly. “Please. I ain’t gonna—”

    “That’s not what I mean,” Star said. “You already have been. But… if you’re saying you just want to try harder or something, or if you want to position yourself into the front lines… sure. I’m fine with that. I doubt anyone’ll think to object.”

    Manny grabbed a piece of cheesy bread and dipped it into his soup. “Hope so once they realize,” he murmured. “Don’t think anyone knows anymore…”

    “It was a secret for a reason,” Star said, keeping her voice low. “But considering it didn’t pan out… maybe it’s not important?”

    Manny hesitated. He didn’t want to give the okay just yet. But…

    Before he could answer, Star suddenly perked up. “Eh? What’s… Barky doing here?”

    “He’s aroun’?” Manny didn’t see a giant Alpha Pokémon wandering the restaurant. Must’ve been an aura sense he’d lost as Marshadow.

    Seconds later, in a blip of light, Barky appeared just behind Star, earning a few startled gasps from onlookers… and little more. At this point, residents of Kilo were used to his occasional appearances. Still, they stole a few glances. And Manny caught a few glimmers in Barky’s eyes at the recognition. Always smug…

    “Star,” Barky said. “There you are.”

    “What’s up, Barks?”

    Barky’s eye twitched. “…I’m here to report that Owen has reached out to me again. The connection is strong. We’re getting the hang of this.”

    “Eh? Right now?” Manny asked. “Yer pretty good at multitaskin’ that.”

    “I have a secondary brain dedicated to prayer communications. This falls under that and it sends me important results.” Barky nodded.

    Manny wasn’t sure which one to tackle first. The hesitation left Star an opening to say, “It’s in his butt.”

    “The who the wha?”

    “His second brain. It’s—”

    “Located near my lower back.”

    “Butt brain.”

    Manny made a little ‘tsk’ sound. “Sounds like a butt brain ter me.”

    “If you need clarity, you may ask Owen about it later,” Barky growled. “Now, will you be hearing from Owen or not? We need to be swift about this. I am trying to communicate with him every 864 seconds.”

    “Oh, right, the hundred-to-one thing…” Star nodded. “When’s the next exchange?”

    “Two hundred seconds.”

    “Alright, well, probably missing that one, but what’d he say?”

    Barky glanced around. “Shouldn’t we discuss this somewhere more private?”

    At this point, several in the area were listening quietly. Manny got the sense they were trying to be polite, but they were also intensely curious.

    “I think they should hear this,” Star said. “Like, c’mon. Who on our enemy’s side is gonna find out? Emily? Crazy. Alexander? Asleep and crazy. Necrozma? In lock with Nate every few hours. Ghrelle? Not even around. And crazy. Like, we don’t need to worry about information security anymore, dude.”

    “…I’m… just being careful,” Barky said. “Ghrelle is still an unknown variable.”

    “Well, you know what’s a known variable? Morale,” Star said. “And I bet people want to know what Owen’s found out.”

    A few diners nodded sheepishly. A few avoided looking directly at Barky or Star while most seemed to still be pretending they weren’t eavesdropping. Maybe some genuinely weren’t.

    “I’d like to hear it,” someone called out from the buzzing murmurs.

    Across the table, perhaps eyeing Manny for a while, was an oversized, icy Sandslash. Hakk. Gods, he looked… better than a week ago, so maybe that was an improvement. Still…

    Hakk offered a nod of acknowledgment before staring at Star. “I think we all want to hear some news about how we’re moving forward.”

    No nonsense. Straight and to the point. He didn’t seem tense, but there was a coldness to the way he addressed them. Ever since Xypher was lost to the Voidlands, he hadn’t taken up action. And nobody blamed him.

    Manny wondered if he wanted to take a step into the fray again. He recognized that look. Manny wore it, too.

    A few eyes then turned to the one who’d have obvious authority on the matter—Anam, who was currently nursing a brain freeze. When the eyes landed on him, he nearly shrank back. Manny wondered what Anam would’ve been like if he had a shell to hide in. He’d heard some Goodra had that going on in ore-rich caves.

    “Um…” Anam nodded. “It’s okay. Everyone should know. For… morale!”

    Sounded like a line someone else gave him.

    “Right…” Still, even Barky ceded to him. “Fine. I’ll announce what I know so far,” he said. “Owen has found a few venues that can be used to disrupt Shadows and he’s researching more direct approaches. What he knows so far is that memories of better times can directly counteract Shadows from within. With a divine push, such as through Radiance, this can purge that darkness entirely. And a human element may also play a part.”

    Manny tensed. “Human element, eh?” he said. “Why’s that?”

    “The bond between a human and a Pokémon is more than sentiment,” Barky said. “Humans… augment Pokémon auras, and vice versa. It is a symbiotic relationship that drew them together.”

    “Wait, how strong are we talking?” Hakk asked, leaning forward.

    “Mom was a human and she was super strong,” Anam said. “And I’m strong, too! So if I’m, um, second-generation human…”

    “That is indeed meaningful,” Barky confirmed. “Even without Diyem’s power directly, you have retained much of it, Anam.”

    “Oh…” This dampened Anam’s mood. Manny couldn’t figure out why; didn’t Barky just compliment him?

    “And even after all these generations, the Pokémon here, untrained, are pretty strong,” Star explained. “Compared to a Pokémon of the human world, the average citizen might beat them pretty handily…”

    “…Hang on…” Hakk paused. “Then… it’s generational dilution? Human blood? Human spirit amplifies Pokémon, just like that?”

    “Which means ancient Pokémon,” Manny theorized, “y’know, folks from an earlier generation… They’re stronger. The blood’s got more human element in it. Ain’t all diluted.”

    Murmuring continued but their eyes went back to Barky.

    “Along with that,” Barky said, “Owen has been seeking humans and Pokémon in that world to defend against Dungeons that have been appearing on their side. In other words, it seems that Dark Matter’s influence is leaking into that world somehow. But compared to here, it is not as severe… and they have fighters who can defend against them. Owen spent a lot of time making sure they were prepared.”

    “Heh. Good on ‘im,” Manny said.

    “Dungeons are spreading to other worlds?” Hakk clarified.

    “There are other worlds?” asked another.

    “Humans… I thought they were just tales…”

    “Do they really eat metal?”

    “No! Mom eats normal food! But I can ask about the metal when she was human. But I think she’s becoming Giratina later.”

    “What?!”

    “Anam, that’s a bit much to explain!” Star warned.

    “We don’t have much time before we miss a day.” Barky rerailed them. “Owen wants to know if we need to know anything more.”

    “Wh—uhh—uhh—” Star, suddenly given the pressure, looked frazzled and glanced at Manny.

    “What’re you lookin’ at me fer?!” Manny said. “I dunno what’s goin’ on! Eh, like, what Shadows will it help with? Which ones is he lookin’ more fer?”

    “Yeah! What can we do right now to help?” Anam echoed.

    “I’ll convey that for now,” Barky said.

    “Great,” Star said. “So, how long will it take for Owen to fill us in with—”

    “Owen is currently looking for information on Emily and will then be perfecting something with Gone Pebbles to assist with more ‘mundane’ Shadows, as he calls them.”

    “Wow, that was fast,” Star said.

    “Ah, right, yeh, the hundred-to-one thing,” Manny said, snapping his fingers.

    “Yes. He also thinks a similar method can be done for everyone with the right circumstances. The problem is holding them still long enough… We need to plan around that. He will look for answers, too.”

    “Keep them still, eh?” Manny repeated. “Huh… Alright. Somethin’ to think about…”

    “Would it even work on Alexander?” Star asked. “He’s not just one Shadowy person anymore, and he’s not corrupted, either. With Necrozma and the others, it’s just corruption. Alexander’s rotten even without Shadows.”

    “That’s… true. I’ll point that out to Owen after another day passes from his perspective.”

    “There’s gotta be a way,” Manny muttered. “Nobody’s invincible…”

    “How do we know?” Hakk spoke up. “…What’s the law that makes someone never invincible, huh? Like… we’ve thrown everything at the guy and the best we’ve done is slow him down. So what’s the deal? He’s a single guy. Not even a god.”

    “Even if he has some opposing… Shadow power to the Hands of Creation, it’s just that,” Star said, stumbling over her words. “Opposing. Not dominant, opposing. So if we just put all our efforts together, we’ll be at least at similar heights to take him down. We’ve got numbers…”

    “Owen,” Barky interjected, “thinks there might be a way to defeat Alexander given his status. He’s been thinking about that a lot lately. And it may be the same power, but rather than target Alexander, we target the spirits inside him. He is, in essence, a Guardian.”

    “Shadow Guardian, then,” Hakk clarified. “…What’s a Guardian?”

    “Oh, right, we didn’t really…” Star trailed off. “Uhh, powerful dude who has a lot of spirits powering them up from within.”

    “Oh.” Hakk snapped his claws. “So get the spirits out. I coulda said that.”

    “In essence, that is Owen’s suggestion,” Barky said. “The hard part is how.”

    Manny and Star exchanged a look in the silence that followed. The timing worked a little too well. Still, if they had any guesses on how they could dismantle some of Alexander’s strength…

    “Hey, Manny,” Star said with a bit of spark in her tone, “how about we strategize for a second?”

    “I’d be down fer that.”

    No more hiding. It was time to be a hero.

    <><><>​

    Getting daily updates from Barky was oddly comforting. Owen wasn’t sure how to feel about looking forward to every morning because he’d hear his former assailant’s voice in his head.

    He wondered if any therapists weren’t swamped back home.

    The days passed and they corresponded constantly. Owen had much more news than Barky did, but that was to be expected. What Owen really appreciated was being able to get his questions answered. Mostly everyone was fine. Team Alloy was deliberating on fusing while he was gone. He was… admittedly relieved they’d waited until he returned. He wasn’t sure why. Sentimental, maybe.

    He missed them.

    He kept Barky updated on Mu and how quickly she was growing up. Barky theorized—and Owen agreed—that Mu was getting older so quickly because she was experiencing many different lives in that place without realizing it. Mostly the negative parts. They had to pay special attention that she saw more than just pain during her upbringing.

    Thankfully, Pokémon Lab HQ was peaceful. Mu seemed a lot more relaxed playing with Michael’s team. Lugia, too, warmed up to her after a few days.

    Zena was the most dedicated to researching how to cure Emily. Even when Owen took mental breaks to spar with Lugia or Michael, she often went to the side to continue following a lead. Mu was a useful subject to simulate Shadow interactions.

    But Owen was starting to get desperately restless. Every day he spoke to Barky was a day he felt he should have returned home. Zena tried to assure him that his relaxed life was still doing a lot more work thanks to the time dilation… but then Owen wondered, what if Dialga tried to swap time again? What if Ghrelle got to him and suddenly, the whole war passed without Owen there at all?

    It wasn’t likely, but it was possible. And every day that passed, it could have happened on the next update.

    So, Owen finally came to a decision. After a few weeks, once they felt that they’d found all they could on existing research, Owen went for one project to put into practice. And there was one he was most interested in—the power to purify Lugia, both in Orre and in Kilo. Here, it required a specific arrangement of Pokémon in a virtual environment, facilitated by their strange technology and PCs.

    Owen didn’t know the first thing about how that worked, but he wanted to see how that would apply in the real world. They didn’t have the same technology in Kilo. How could they achieve the same thing?

    It took a few days to make sure they could gather enough volunteers to help—including Michael, a total of twenty trainers with thirty-six viable Pokémon total. They moved to an open field just away from HQ and Owen marked circles on the ground, putting the Pokémon’s name down each time. The trainers were confused that some of the names didn’t match, which led Owen to add their ‘human names’ as well in case they didn’t match.

    Owen was happy, at least, to see that the Pokémon weren’t offended by it and accepted it as a different name. Orre’s culture was so strange; the Pokémon were a lot more human-acclimated than in Kanto where wild Pokémon were the norm. But at least they seemed happy.

    “Huh,” said Michael. “So you’re trying to do the virtual arrangement in real life?”

    “Exactly. We don’t have a virtual environment in Kilo. So, we need to try the same thing you did for Shadow Lugia, but in reality. And I’m hoping it can still work.”

    Zena slithered from the far end of the circle. “I think everyone’s in their proper spots. I just checked.”

    In the field, thirty-six Pokémon were all looking at one another with mild confusion while their trainers read over the instructions to them on what they were supposed to do. Owen didn’t want to keep them waiting too long… It was about the length of a baseball field and it still felt cramped. Nine smaller circles of four Pokémon, each one arranged so that one element trumped the one in front of them. Supposedly, this specific arrangement of elements, when activated, did… something. Owen had to see it in practice to truly understand.

    “Where’s Mu?”

    “She got bored,” Zena said with an apologetic smile. “She left with Michael’s mother to help with cooking lunch.”

    “Well, alright,” he said. “That’s fine. We didn’t want her to get too close to this anyway, in case, you know, it was dangerous to her.”

    “You know, that reminds me,” Michael said. “You’ve got all the components for a purification circle, but nothing to purify. What’s your plan?”

    Owen glanced at Zena, then back at Michael. “Shadows once tainted Zena. We talked a little, and I’m… going to corrupt her. If this fails, I can undo it.”

    “Oh.” Michael tittered. “Good thing Lugia didn’t hear that one.”

    “Thank you for keeping Lugia away,” Zena said. “I’m sure there were no good memories to be had from this…”

    “Actually… Lugia insisted on watching once things were set up,” Michael said. “You know, Lugia likes you a lot more than you think. Sure, you came in with bad impressions, but…” He kicked the grass under his shoes. “You’re harnessing something for good. That’s what matters. I think we recognize that.”

    Owen smiled, feeling emboldened. So even the Legends of this world approved? Or at least, one did.

    “Still, if Lugia learned you could corrupt people on command, you’d probably be driven out of here!”

    And there went the smile. “Y-yeah,” Owen said nervously. “Well, I don’t know if I can. I have the same Shadow powers Diyem does, but I’ve never… tried? But I can at least give the energy of Shadow to someone. That should be enough.”

    “Right. Well, if that’s the case, go nuts with the setup,” Michael said. “I’ll grab Lugia. I think Mu is hanging out with her, too.”

    Owen nodded and addressed Zena after Michael left. “You’re sure about this?”

    “I’ll do fine with Shadows, I’m sure,” Zena said. “If I act out, keep me in line, okay? But I’ll do my best.”

    “I’d… do it myself, but—”

    “I know,” Zena said. “I’m the best volunteer. You need to be all there for analysis, and we don’t know how much it might hurt Mu. And she’s only a child, too. I think. And, er… well, we can’t volunteer anyone here, they’re innocent in all this…”

    “And the last thing I’d want to do,” Owen rationalized, “is put a Pokémon that had been purified under any kind of Shadows again.”

    Zena nodded and bowed her head. “Go on, then. Shadows, quickly.”

    “Right…”

    The process was slow and delicate. Owen didn’t want to harm her and he wasn’t familiar with the process, either. It felt like a ‘blessing.’ He siphoned some of that dark energy in his core along his arm and into his palm, which touched Zena’s forehead. He felt that energy leave him. The way Zena’s great ribbons tensed, and the way her brow furrowed, it was having some effect. His Perceive sensed little change otherwise, but his Guardian aura sense felt a lot more.

    “You still with me?” Owen asked.

    “I am,” Zena said. “I’m… fine. I’m fine.”

    He figured this would be enough. He pulled away. “That’ll do,” he said.

    When Zena opened her eyes again, she looked worried about something. She nodded and slithered to the center of the great purification circle and coiled up obediently. She was behaving stiffly and the other Pokémon noticed it. They eyed Owen warily; he nervously waved and said, “It’s part of the experiment. She’ll be okay.”

    Soon after, Michael returned with his mother—an older woman with the same eyes and a pink dress—and Michael’s sister, a blue-haired girl with a broad smile. She was holding Lugia’s big hand for moral support; Lugia seemed nervous otherwise.

    “Is it happening?” Mu asked, riding on the top of Lugia’s head.

    “Yeah. We’re going to see if we can get a purification circle working outside of that virtual chamber,” Owen confirmed. “Everyone!” he boomed.

    Looking excited at the prospect of something finally happening, the trainers and Pokémon all turned their attention to him.

    “We’re going to start the experiment! I would like everyone to go as practiced. Don’t strike the person in front of you, but focus your energy as if you’re about to launch the attack!”

    As Owen spoke, Zena slithered to the center of the arrangement of nine circles and coiled up. While her gaze was neutral, Owen sensed that she was distraught and nervous. The Shadows might have been pronouncing her doubts; for all he knew, she didn’t remember why they were in Orre to begin with. What memories did she lose from the Shadow seal?

    In the circle just in front of Owen, an Arcanine asked, “And then?”

    “That is all you need to do. We will handle the rest,” Owen explained.

    Michael’s sister held Lugia’s fingertip tighter when she trilled nervously. Owen nodded at them and turned his attention back to the circle. The energy was flowing. According to the schematics, there had to be a connection from the circles into Zena, the subject to be purified.

    “I’m curious what your step is here,” Michael hummed. “The computer usually does this part, directing the circle of purification from the four simple circles into the central chamber. That was the jump start we needed to purify Lugia. Like a… jolt of energy all at once.”

    “Yeah. I think with some practice, they’d be able to do it on their own, but… I know a shortcut.”

    Owen flared his wings. “Keep it up!” Owen said. “I’m now going to fly over you. Don’t lose focus!”

    Once he was sure everyone could keep up their energy, Owen lifted off the ground and soared ten feet above the circle. First, he went around to analyze their auras, making sure every flow was as it should have been. Then, once he was sure of that, he dived into the first circle and grasped at something in the middle. It felt like—to his aura—a small thread, the same thread he pulled when using Mimic to reflect an attack. He wrapped it around his claws. Then, he dipped into the second circle, the third, the fourth…

    By the final, ninth circle, he felt he could barely handle all of it. But for a proof of concept, it would do. He flew to the middle of the whole arrangement, to Zena, and placed these ‘threads’ into the center of her long back.

    “Will this work?” she whispered, doubts pouring from her tone.

    “It will,” Owen assured. Then, he pressed into her back, the threads taking hold. He was surprised that worked. He didn’t use Radiance or Shadow or… This was just the power of mortal Pokémon. And yet…

    Owen pulled next. The threads caught something. Zena gasped in surprise. A spark of greenish cyan energy—the color of a simple aura—swirled around her, the power of thirty-six mortal Pokémon in perfect tempo, their energy flowing across this strange tapestry of human-Pokémon collaboration.

    And then, a mote of darkness ejected from her back, exploding at once in the air. Owen staggered back from the surprise. It felt like he’d been punched in the face by his own Shadows.

    Zena herself relaxed tremendously, heaving a sigh.

    “Did—” Owen, dazed, stumbled to a landing. “Did it… work?”

    “I felt it,” she said. “I… I forgot the look in your eyes,” she mumbled. Owen wasn’t sure what she meant.

    Checking her aura… Not a trace of Shadows.

    It… worked. Without a hint of Radiance or Shadow to purify her.

    It worked. Finally, after all these trials, all this blind walking, they’d found the information they needed… to counter Shadows. And not just something Owen could do—anyone, given the arrangement and opportunity.

    This was it. This was what he needed.

    “Owen?” Zena asked. “Are you okay?”

    “More than okay,” Owen said, beaming. “We’re ready to go home.”

    <><><>​

    Owen took one extra day to relay the news to Barky. That also gave Michael and his family some time to give them a little care package to return home. He wondered if they’d survive a trip across realities since some of the food looked perishable… But Owen couldn’t deny he might’ve gained a few pounds from their Tamato chocolates. A little treat to bring back wouldn’t hurt…

    …Especially if he could get Darkrai to figure out the recipe later. Or Palkia to reverse-engineer it with science.

    Afterward, Michael remarked that there were still a few Dungeons in Orre that he planned to take care of using some blessings that they’d left behind—and, of course, get in contact with Wes and Rui to spread the imbued stones Owen had given.

    “Uh, by the way, Owen,” Michael said just an hour before he planned to leave.

    “Yeah?”

    “How come you… give li’l Vappy and Lugia weird looks now and then?”

    “Oh—uhh—did you notice that?” Owen tittered. “Sorry. Back in Kilo, we knew a… Lugia and Vaporeon who were a couple. And… well, that’s kind of it.”

    “Huh! How about that? Dunno about a couple, but they get along well.” Michael nodded. “I got Vaporeon from my pops. He, uh, died, or went missing, a long time ago.”

    “Oh… Sorry to hear, uh…”

    “Nah, it was… a long time ago,” Michael said. “Barely remember him. I’ve got his inventive spirit, though. I evolved my Eevee into a Vaporeon in his honor since his Vaporeon also went missing…”

    “I wish I could find answers for you,” Owen said, frowning. “But… I’m a whole world away.”

    “Nah, it’s alright. Sorry for dumping that on you. We’re fine. But it’s a story I like to tell, y’know, keep his name alive.”

    “Oh, his name?”

    “Same as mine!” Michael grinned.

    “Oh, huh… Back home, we had a region that did that, too. Passing names down, I mean.”

    “To be honest, it would’ve been kinda weird if he was still around,” Michael admitted with a crassness that punched Owen in the chest. “Anyway, see you around! Or, uh, never, I guess. Wait, let me try again. Good luck in Kilo!”

    “Y-yeah.” Owen tittered and hoped he didn’t interact with Mu too much. The last thing they needed was another…

    Owen wondered if this was a story he wanted to tell back home.

    “Owen!” Zena called. “Oh! There you are.”

    Mu was leaning away from Zena’s horn, using it like a lookout pole.

    “Hey, Zena,” Owen called. “I’m ready. Counted up all our supplies. We’re nearly out of our world’s gold, too, so good thing we’re ready to go home…”

    “Yeah, and don’t bring too much next time or you’ll break the economy,” Michael added. “I think. I dunno. Economics wasn’t my best subject.”

    “I don’t like economics either,” Mu said. She didn’t like any subject. She only learned it from the tears of students all over the region.

    Following just behind Zena was Lugia, who loomed over them and flew to Owen. She offered a respectful but formal nod.

    “Will you be going to Citadark Isle?” Lugia asked. Owen had picked up on her dialect—enough for basic communication. He sensed she was simplifying her vocabulary.

    “Oh. Uh… yeah. That’ll be our return Dungeon. It’s the largest and most stable, and it’s away from everything else, so it’s safer to use that one just in case… I don’t know, Dungeon things happen when we go through it.”

    Lugia stared at Owen. The seconds passed uncomfortably. Was he supposed to… do something? Bow? Compliment her wings?

    “Good.” Lugia nodded. “I hope you have a safe trip.”

    Why did that sound like a threat?

    “Thank you?”

    Lugia approached Michael and poked at a capsule in his pocket. Lugia poured into it as a red light.

    “She say something cryptic to you?” Michael asked.

    “…Kinda.”

    “Well, uh… good luck,” Michael said, shrugging. “Oh, and if you run into Ho-Oh on the way there, tell him I said hi!”

    “Oh, sure.” Right, Ho-Oh. Wes had said that he was supposed to pass a message along… What was that message again?

    “Daaad!” Mu complained. “Let’s go already!”

    “Right! Right, I’m coming.”

    After a short farewell later, Owen, Zena, and Mu returned to the skies of Orre, heading south and to the ocean. There, Citadark Isle—an ominous island just off the shore—awaited them.

    <><><>​

    Mu jabbered on about things she’d seen on TV and read in books. With less negativity to learn from in this part of Orre, she’d become curious to learn about other things of the world. Michael had even—secretly—offered her use of his smartphone. Owen hoped that wouldn’t cause any lasting damage, but she’d already called him “cringe” for not understanding what “lol” meant.

    He still didn’t. Leaving her with Michael was probably a parenting mistake.

    They’d been flying for a few kilos now. Mu had been gifted a few books to read. Within Owen’s wind barrier—the benefits of being part Flying—she had an easy time turning the pages, and Owen felt a little twinge of pride in her taking to books so soon. He wondered if, when the world wasn’t falling apart, she’d do well in a formal school setting.

    Having the powers of darkness in the core of her soul wouldn’t disqualify her from being a student, right? He never went to school. But maybe she could.

    “Daydreaming?” Zena asked, flying closer to him.

    “A little,” Owen said. “Hey, Zena, did you ever go to school?”

    Her expression darkened. “…I did.”

    “Oh? In the ocean?”

    Zena nodded. “It’s not too different from land life, now that I’ve had time to acclimate more. I think there’s even a division in Kilo that trades with the Kiloan seas. But… I don’t like talking about my school days.”

    “Uh? How come?”

    “I was a Feebas.”

    “…And… that’s bad? Oh, right, Feebas aren’t as good at fighting…”

    “Told you,” Mu said idly, turning a page. “Cringe.”

    “Not just that, Owen,” Zena said with patience in her voice. “Feebas naturally… blend in to be unnoticed. We’re hardy in any environment, but we… aren’t… things that people like to look at very much. I had very few friends. I went in, got the lectures, did the homework, went home… I wasn’t even picked for kelpball, they forgot I was there…”

    “Kelpball?”

    “Oh, you use water propulsion moves to score goals in a large spherical arena,” Zena summarized. “Anyway… I just didn’t have any lasting friendships there. Once I evolved, though, I got all the attention… But…”

    “But it was only because you were stronger now,” Owen said.

    Mu smirked for some reason.

    “…Yes,” Zena said and somehow it didn’t sound like a yes. “I guess that’s what led me to wandering the ocean… Just by chance, I found Emily. She was so… oblivious to everything that I felt her kindness was genuine.” Her smile was warmer. “…Huh. A lot like you, in a way.”

    “I hope we can save her,” Owen said without thinking. He wished he hadn’t—surely, that would’ve soured the mood.

    “I agree,” Zena said.

    “Uh—sorry for…”

    She shook her head. “We need to get our heads into this. No more vacationing. In just a few kilos, we’ll be back into it with all the others. Even if… most of this time was spent researching, we had a lot of rest. But we can’t get lazy.”

    “Right.” Owen nodded, more emboldened. He stared ahead… “Hey…” Owen squinted. “Is that…?”

    Far away, only a speck from this distance, Owen saw Citadark Isle on the horizon. Circling the strange, gray sphere atop its main mountain… was a rainbow bird. And when they got closer, its circular flying pattern changed.

    “Ho-Oh,” Zena concluded. “And… I think he’s waiting for us.”

    The bird flew into the gray sphere. And Owen… had to agree.

    It seemed they were due for one last conversation before returning home.
     
    Chapter 174 - Overseer Evaluation
  • Namohysip

    Dragon Enthusiast
    Staff
    Partners
    1. flygon
    2. charizard
    3. milotic
    4. zoroark-soda
    5. sceptile
    6. marowak
    7. jirachi
    8. meganium
    9. namo-rock
    Thanks, all, for your reviews! I responded to you elsewhere, but they're appreciated as always.

    Chapter 174 – Overseer Evaluation

    Ho-Oh was a lot bigger in person.

    And imposing. Compared to Lugia, compared to any other Legend he’d met in Kilo, Ho-Oh radiated an aura of someone who… was far more than a Pokémon.

    The metal sphere at the top of Citadark Isle was entirely hollow and decrepit. Constant wind and storms wore away at the structure, which had once been some mechanical marvel based on what Owen’s Perceive told him.

    The center of the sphere had a distortion. A tiny, concentrated Dungeon that would be their ticket home.

    Ho-Oh stood near that entrance, staring them down.

    “I’m glad you’re here, Owen and Zena. And you are…”

    The Charmander greeted politely, “Mu!”

    Oh, good. At least Mu listened to that much. But the way she slouched again, that was probably the most politeness they’d get from her. What happened to that innocent vanilla bean in Alola?

    Zena was already guarded. “How do you know our names?” she said. “And… you… you spoke our language. That wasn’t feral.”

    Owen blinked. He hadn’t even realized. “What? Ho-Oh can talk?”

    Ho-Oh shook his head. “I’m borrowing this body. Ho-Oh and I communicated in a dream and I explained things to him. After realizing the gravity of the situation, as a part of this reality’s pantheon, he allowed me to borrow his body. He is listening from within for the time being.”

    “What?” Zena whispered. “What does that mean?”

    “Then you’re an Overseer,” Owen concluded.

    “The spirit of one, projected into a Legend’s body. But yes.” His expression grew firmer. “…Now, Owen, I’m here because I do not want you reentering Kilo until I perform a brief… evaluation.”

    Owen’s tail flame popped. “Like a battle? Against a Legend…’s body?”

    Ho-Oh nodded. “Yes. But it is only after we talk about the nature of the fight,” he said. “Owen… do you know why we’re aware of who you are and the world you’re from?”

    He could guess a few things… but it was slowly occurring to Owen that what he said might become incriminating somehow. He didn’t know the extent of this person’s authority.

    “Your countenance tells me you have more than zero idea,” Ho-Oh said.

    Owen hardened his expression. Zena, meanwhile, shifted uncomfortably and looked around to find other things to pay attention to. This great sphere left little to stare at.

    Outside, it was beginning to show signs of an overcast afternoon. The winds whistled through cracked and eroded sheets of metal that made up the sphere. A distant rumble reminded them that this was technically an active volcano.

    “What do Overseers do?” Owen asked. “Patrol Ultra Space? We were talking to people in Alola about that.”

    “Beyond that,” Ho-Oh stated.

    “Beyond… Ultra Space?”

    “Yes. In your language, I believe the closest word for where I am from would be… the Overworld. In your feral language, I think another term could be the Sky Past All Skies.”

    For some reason, the latter made more sense to him. “Beyond everything? What’s… out there?”

    “Everything else,” Ho-Oh stated. “And Overseers, of course, are people who watch all worlds to make sure no one world is in danger of plunging others into turmoil. If there is a risk of danger spreading beyond their local network, we step in. Usually with the cooperation of the local gods… I believe you know them as ‘Mew Star’ and ‘Arceus Barky.’”

    Mu snorted. “His official name’s Barky.” She turned a page while lounging on Zena’s back.

    “Cooperating with them…”

    “Yes. The first Overseer we sent to you was Hecto. He acted under the guise of Star's emissary to investigate a... small risk. You see, Star and Barky are very new gods. This is their first world. Templated, even, for ease of creation. But something went unexpectedly wrong and Barky was unable to contact Star. He reached out to the Overseers to investigate; Hecto was who they sent.

    “Afterward, we lost Hecto’s signal, so the situation was escalated. The one you know as Valle was sent next, but by the time he’d arrived, great damage was already done. A dark power sent shockwaves from the material world into the divine through Star… and Barky, seeing Star in that state, went into a brief, uncontrolled rage. This led to the destruction of the island you see here, today.”

    Ho-Oh gestured around him.

    “This island, formerly known as Quartz Isle, was erased from this world’s history. The souls within were rendered ‘missing’ forever, destroyed. That appears to be how this world reacts to… a Lockout. Even if they wished to restore them… the gods would not be able to. When a soul is destroyed in a universe, it cannot return to that same world. The fabric of its reality will not acknowledge it.

    “…Or so we thought.”

    “Wait—” Owen raised a hand. “But I’m here now.”

    “Yes. And I have determined that you are the same soul that had been Locked Out,” Ho-Oh said. “Or, theoretically so. This means you were never destroyed at all like most of the others there, who had to be reincarnated into the world you know as Kilo.”

    “E-excuse me,” Zena said, raising a ribbon. “I’m… confused. I don’t know what this ‘soul Lockout’ has to do with… anything here.”

    “Of course. My apologies.” Ho-Oh bowed. “Who sent you three to this realm?”

    “Necrozma sent Zena and I over,” Owen said.

    “Mu came on her own,” Zena added, turning so Mu was in Ho-Oh’s view.

    “Yo, bird up.”

    Ho-Oh blinked, stoic as ever. “Yes. Bird up. I’m a bird today,” Ho-Oh replied. He then faced Owen and Zena again. “Necrozma might have sent you here as a mercy, though I wonder if it was to make you lost entirely after the same dark force possessed him. But instead, he proved that you were somehow spared from Lockout. Perhaps your proximity to Mew Star at the time of destruction shielded you enough from the blast. There could be others who were similarly spared… and that may have contributed to your latent talents in Kilo.

    “Do you know of others with abnormal talent?”

    “Abnormal talent…” Owen hummed. “I guess it’d… be the ones who climbed Destiny Tower in the first generation. You know, all the people who were directly reincarnated. I always thought it was because Star and Barky, you know, rigged the ascent so we’d have an easier time. Since we saved them and all that. But… Are you saying there was more to it?”

    “I can’t say. It could have been both,” Ho-Oh said. “But… thank you. That may be important information to us.”

    “Are you investigating something?” Zena asked.

    “Yes. We are specifically trying to determine how dangerous Kilo’s existence has become. So far, two Overseers have lost contact with the Overworld upon entering this network. Each lost Overseer has led to an escalation of this network’s threat level.”

    Threat level?” Zena repeated. “Yes, it’s a big threat level—Dark Matter is the reason for all of this happening. Can you help?”

    Ho-Oh didn’t reply immediately. He instead turned to Owen. No words were exchanged. Owen knew what would have been said. At this point in the world’s fall… an Overseer’s “help” was not what they wanted.

    “We’re going to take care of it internally,” Owen said. “I just finished researching an answer here. I’m confident it will work.”

    “Our records show,” Ho-Oh said with a sudden, distant coldness to his voice, “that you have done this before… Usurper Owen.”

    “…Usurper… Owen?” Zena echoed. “Because of… how he tried to save Kilo?”

    “Usurper is the title, translated, to give an individual such as Owen. It can only be applied to a mundane, ordinary mortal in the context of their reality. Someone with no divine instincts, training, or formal knowledge of the process of creating and maintaining a world. Then, this person, a Usurper, must gain those powers such that it rivals the gods in question, and then undermine the will of that world’s creator.”

    The explanation left Owen feeling colder. An Overseer—this authority above the gods—was classifying him as an outlaw. He could sense the weight behind the term, even if it was merely a translation from some unknown language.

    “And what happens if the gods are wrong?” Owen asked. “Am I still a Usurper?”

    “Yes.” Ho-Oh nodded. “It is merely a descriptor. It can mean several things in context and we consider all of them. But you, Owen… When you undermined the power of the gods, who did you instead side with?”

    Owen could sense Zena tensing. She was already preparing for a fight. He didn’t want that. Not against an Overseer.

    “I didn’t want Kilo to be destroyed. It’s my home. If the Overseers’ answer to problems is to just… destroy our homes, all these lives that we made for ourselves, I…”

    “You’ll oppose the decision,” Ho-Oh completed. “We know. And we understand your perspective. It is a common one. But… you sided with Dark Matter, the entity that is now spreading its influence into other worlds. We need information on what you know about this entity. Our knowledge of how it manifests in this world is limited.”

    “I don’t… I don’t have time for that,” Owen said. “I’m sorry. I need to go back to save Kilo. I know that time is flowing differently here, but I’ve already been gone for so long. A whole explanation could take… a lot of time, you know?”

    “Seconds are precious there,” Zena said. “A Usurper even more dangerous than Owen could hope to be is already harnessing Shadows for evil. Owen may have made mistakes in the past, but he always did what he did to help people. Alexander, this new Usurper, just wants power for power’s sake!”

    “Are you sure of this?” Ho-Oh asked.

    The foul look Zena gave Ho-Oh… Owen only saw the Overseer flinch thanks to his Perceive.

    “Yes,” Zena said, her voice suppressed and even. “I’m positive. Objectively, he has only caused suffering to keep others down and has absorbed spirits to bolster his power. Owen may reflect powers, but he also tries to empower others when he can. We just spent the last few moons researching ways for mortals to defend against Shadows without us.”

    “I see.” Ho-Oh nodded. “We understand your rush. But this will not take long if you consent to our procedure.”

    “How long will it take?” Owen asked.

    “On this planet’s timekeeping system, it should be done within the hour.”

    “Oh.” Owen did some quick mental math. “Well… I guess they can afford to wait thirty seconds or so…”

    “Raise your head and concentrate. Act as if you are… opening your mind to someone trying to communicate with you telepathically,” Ho-Oh said. “My colleague is waiting for you to reach out to him. Have you done this before with a deity?”

    “Yeah, I talk with Barky that way, kinda,” Owen said. “I’ll try that.”

    Owen tilted his head upward. It was a little awkward to do it when there was a decrepit metal sphere in the way of the sky, but that was all in the mind. The connection would work all the same.

    Hello? Owen called, expanding his aura like unfurling ethereal wings. He peeled the layers back, searching for something with a sixth sense.

    Suddenly, he felt like he was falling.

    <><><>​

    “Oof!”

    And he landed in a very familiar forest an instant later, flat on his back. Gracelessly, he grunted and rolled until he was on all fours.

    “Oh, not again,” he grunted. “I’ve had enough mental walkabouts for at least… ten lifetimes at this point…”

    A canine Zygarde stood at the edge of the glade behind Owen. Compared to the one Owen knew, this one was thinner and… smiling. And not the creepy smile Hecto did when failing to look friendly, either. A genuine smile.

    That alone meant this was a different Zygarde.

    “Hey,” Owen greeted. “Are you, uh… the Overseer?”

    “Yes!” Zygarde replied cheerfully, entering a sitting position. “I’m happy to meet you, Owen! I’ve read a lot about you in the reports. I know you very well, ah—Usurper may be an intimidating title, but it has a lot of good meanings, too!”

    Something about this disturbed him more than most things he’d encountered the last year or so.

    “Y… yeah…”

    “Hm? Is something wrong? Oh, don’t worry!” Zygarde hopped to his feet. “I’m just here to get information. I promise, none of this will hurt, or harm you in any way! I can’t do that! You’ll shunt me right out!”

    “I will?”

    “Well, he will.” Zygarde flicked his head to the right.

    In the shadows was another dim orange flame. Owen flinched. Wishkeeper? Here? But he was… in him, now. He was Wishkeeper.

    “Mental guardian, sort of a representation of your inner psyche. Happens during spirit invasions. No need to worry! I’ll be right out, Mister Guardian!” Zygarde called in a singsong voice. “Oh! Where are my manners? I don’t think I’ve introduced myself. I won’t be here long, but you can call me Bean!”

    “B… Bean.”

    “Bean!” Bean nodded. “Because my tiny Cell form looks like a bean! And because my real name is hard to pronounce. That’s a translation-friendly name I was told about.”

    “Okay. …Is my name weird to you?”

    “Ah! I’ve studied this side of the Overworld’s language well enough. It’s not strange at all! But mm, if you ever wanted a name like mine… go for Tamato!”

    “Huh. I like those.”

    Bean giggled and turned around. “In any case, I hope you don’t mind if I put my paw on a few of these trees. I think they’re abstractions your mind is forming for your thoughts and memories. If you cooperate, this will be a lot faster!”

    “S-sure, uh, what do you need?”

    “I’d like you to think about everything you know about Shadows.”

    “Okay, I can do that…”

    And as Owen focused, one of the trees further into the clearing glowed brighter. Zygarde thanked him and trotted over to it, placing a paw at the base of the trunk. The light expanded into Zygarde’s body, whose hexagons flickered rapidly. Owen didn’t sense anything bad happening… He glanced at ‘Wishkeeper.’ He was watching like a silent sentinel, nodding at Owen. He, too, sensed nothing wrong.

    “Okay.” Bean pulled his paw back. “Thank you! Now, do you mind doing the same for Radiance?”

    The process continued, tree after tree. About Radiance, Dark Matter, Kilo, his time as Wishkeeper, Valle…

    “So,” Owen said as they walked, “how often do you do these… memory dives?”

    “Ohh… Not too often. I’ve usually been a scout, but I did fieldwork, mostly. Working remotely isn’t my strong suit. I hope this isn’t too slow for you!”

    “No, uh, it’s fine. It doesn’t feel like a lot of time is passing…” Owen wasn’t sure how he knew that. Maybe it was some kind of… internal clock in his body or brain? The longer he spent thinking about it, the more he felt a headache coming on. He refocused on something simpler.

    “How good are you at fighting?” Owen asked.

    “Oh, not the best. I do like a good spar now and then, though. My colleague, the one inhabiting Ho-Oh? Not part of the same… culture.”

    “Yeah, I kinda had that feeling.”

    “He is trying, though. You know, you should suggest a quick spar with him!”

    “How come?”

    “It might help him understand you more. He doesn’t realize that Pokémon bond by fighting.”

    “Bond by fighting… right…”

    Michael mentioned something similar. And that bond, the flow of power, was the basis of the purification circle, too…

    “Just one last tree, if that’s okay with you,” Bean said.

    “Sure, what is it?”

    “Could you think about the Voice of Life?”

    “I’ve heard that one before… Right. Hang on.”

    Another tree glowed like a torch down a long cave. The lack of birdsong or wind started to unnerve Owen. Did that mean his mind had no wind, either? What did that mean? Or was it because he was holding his breath, nervous?

    Why trees, anyway? He was a Charizard! At least have a volcano, or a cool cave, or something… Maybe the Grass Core messed with his mindscape.

    As they got closer, the tree’s appearance came into view. And this… was the strangest tree Owen had ever seen.

    A tree was an exaggeration. It was like he was seeing the idea of a tree. Hollow, transparent, flat. When Owen turned, the tree turned as if to always face him, like an ethereal cutout that tilted to the angle of his view. It wasn’t there, yet it was supposed to be.

    “Interesting…” Bean placed a paw on the idea of the tree, but it passed right through. “The only tree that’s not here.”

    “Uhh—what’s… that mean? Am I forgetting it?”

    “Oh, you can’t forget things in this state,” Bean replied. “This forest holds all your spirit’s experiences. I’m sure if you walked far enough, you might even find past lives! …If this world has reincarnation, at least. I don’t know that one.”

    “Y-you know, Overseers have a bad habit of dropping… really existential things at random,” Owen said. “Don’t you think it’s a little weird to say crazy things like it’s normal?”

    “Don’t you do that all the time?”

    “What?”

    “Hm?”

    “…Well… anyway,” Owen said slowly, “what’s with this tree? Are you getting memories from it?”

    “That’s just it,” said Bean. “This tree? It represents some segment of your memory that’s cut off. And if I had to check…” Bean scanned the environment around him, hexagons flickering. “This is the last one left. It must be frustrating… I’m sorry.”

    “It’s alright,” Owen said. “I… have a guess where it is. So, I can’t recover these memories at all?”

    “Not until you find that final spirit fragment. How interesting, though! This reality must be able to do that…”

    “Do what?”

    “Well, a soul doesn’t forget, and it is immutable. You cannot split or combine them permanently. But within a reality… well, then it would be subject to that reality’s rules. And here, it seems you can temporarily… split it. And therefore, utterly keep some memories totally inaccessible, even here!”

    “We’ve had that happen a lot lately,” Owen said.

    “Right, right. The Legend halves, yes?”

    These Overseers were a little too thorough with their research. Owen wondered if they had a log on his favorite foods, too.

    “Well!” Bean grinned. “I hope you find that final fragment of yours. I think I have everything that I need. Thank you so much for your cooperation.”

    “I’m, uh, I’m not in trouble, right?”

    “Oh, even if you were, we wouldn’t be able to extract you like this!” Bean nodded. “A soul can only exist in one reality at a time. You’re missing a piece! You’re anchored.”

    “…That… didn’t answer my question.”

    Bean smiled again. “You aren’t, Owen. You didn’t intentionally cause any of this and you aren’t capable of it, either. We don’t try to take people away unless they’re at that level. But… your friend, Dark Matter—”

    “He’s going to be better,” Owen assured him quickly. “He’s been working with us to stop his other fragments.”

    “Ahh, yes!” Even after getting those memories, Bean sounded surprised when he spoke of it. “Dark Matter, an ally…”

    Owen nodded again. “I gave him a tiny piece of light or something. He can change. And… if I can, I’m going to complete that.”

    “I see…” Bean seemed contemplative. “Well… That is a surprise, Owen. We’ll watch to see how this goes.”

    “What happens if… it fails?” Owen asked.

    Bean was fading away as if withdrawing to some other, upper plane.

    “The world will be destroyed,” Bean said apologetically. “Now that it’s spreading into this world… we can’t risk much more. We hope, for your world’s sake, your plan works, Owen. There are no more chances.”

    Bean seemed… grave. And then he was gone, leaving Owen alone with his mental guardian.

    “No more chances,” he repeated. “This… this is it, then. Now or never…”

    A great light enveloped the forest. Owen’s body felt weightless. He took a sharp breath… and felt himself wake up.

    <><><>​

    The thunder was getting closer when Owen awoke on his back, resting his head against Zena. Mu was reading a book and Ho-Oh had gone to meditate near the Dungeon’s rippling edge.

    “I’m awake,” Owen murmured. “How long was I out?”

    “Not too long,” Zena said. “About… half a kilo?”

    “Oh, that’s not bad…”

    “Good. You’re awake.” Ho-Oh nodded. “Well, it seems my colleague got what he needed as an update on this world. It seems that the decision is to leave things to you. And if you fail, we will step in to help.”

    “And by help,” Owen said, “you mean you’ll destroy the world entirely.”

    Zena flinched.

    “Wow, that’s metal,” Mu hummed.

    “I’m sorry,” Ho-Oh said. “But I believe now you know the consequences of faltering. Not only will Kilo be in danger, but this whole other world and all connected worlds will be in equal danger of falling to the Voidlands. You recognize that if you fail, the only safe option is to eradicate everything and halt the spread. Correct?”

    Owen could sense Zena’s defiance surging in her tense body. But she said nothing. Owen wanted to defy it, too. But… what power did he have against someone who spoke so calmly about it?

    “Do you not know how to fix it any other way?” Owen asked.

    “Not without risk. And we already took that risk with Hecto and Valle. We are… done with risks, should you fail, Usurper.”

    “That… title,” Owen said. “If I succeed, what will you try to do with me next?”

    “You are observant,” Ho-Oh said, nodding. “But you don’t need to worry. If you properly hand over that power to skilled individuals to rework the reality, all will be well. You can return to your world and everything will return to normal.”

    Owen nodded uneasily. “Okay,” he said. “Well… then I need to follow one last thing that Bean asked me.”

    “And that is?”

    “Can we fight?”

    That disrupted Zena’s tense stance. “Owen,” Zena said, somewhere between befuddled and exasperated. “You can’t possibly—”

    “No, no,” Owen said, “That’s what Bean said I should propose! To bond!”

    “But with an Overseer?” Zena asked. “He apparently isn’t even a Pokémon, you know.”

    “He’s one now.” Mu turned a page. “So that’s something.”

    Ho-Oh shook his head. “Fine. If Bean asked that… I’ll humor it. But only…” He raised a wing but then glared at it like it was missing something. “…One strike. From each of us.”

    “Uh, I’m out,” Mu said, rolling while still reading her book. “I’m, like, still a minor, or something.”

    The three adults squinted at Mu, then looked back at one another.

    “You’re aware,” Ho-Oh said, “that I’m a Legendary in this body, yes? I’m not aware of my strength as it stands. I could incinerate you where you stand.”

    “I think I’ll be able to handle that much,” Owen said. “Zena?”

    “Yes. We’ve… dealt with the gods before. We have the durability for it. Even if we’re weaker in this part of reality, I think it will be fine for one strike.”

    “Just one, huh…” Owen’s wings drooped. “Not going to be a whole lot we can get through with that, but…”

    “We’ll have to put everything we have into one strike, then,” Zena stated to Owen.

    “Mm, exactly,” Owen agreed.

    Ho-Oh tiredly fluffed up his feathers. “Right. Well, I have not battled in a very long time.”

    “Do you… know how to attack?” Owen asked.

    “I’m a bird. So, I’d peck at you.”

    The hollow metal sphere around them groaned with another gust of wind. Zena gave Owen an incredulous look.

    “He’s not trolling,” Mu stated, turning another page.

    “You—” Zena squinted. “You don’t know how to use Ho-Oh’s moves, but you took on his body? What happens if you’re attacked?”

    “I’m a scout, not a fighter,” Ho-Oh muttered. “Hold on. Let me consult with him.” He closed his eyes.

    As Ho-Oh remained still, standing upright yet seemingly unconscious, Owen turned his attention to Mu.

    “So, was that cringe?” he asked.

    “Supergod Overseer dude borrowing a body he doesn’t even know how to use?” Mu said. “Yeah, kinda.”

    Owen nodded. Good. He was learning.

    “I believe I learned enough to channel one move for this,” Ho-Oh said, opening his eyes. “Are we ready?”

    The energy in the air changed. Mu closed her book and hopped to her feet, lightly jogging several paces away. Zena shifted and tensed her muscles, entering a defensive stance with her feather-fan tail in front of her. Owen crouched and unfurled his wings, readying a shield. It gave himself away, sure, but he doubted Ho-Oh was experienced enough to sense that. It was just one strike anyway.

    “Charmander,” said Ho-Oh, “could you call the match’s start?”

    “Oh, uh, sure.” Mu looked between the three of them. “Ready… go!”

    Zena feinted and slithered to the right, distancing herself from Owen. She hid her head behind her tail, looking defensive, when in reality she was charging a Hydro Pump to strike at Ho-Oh’s flank.

    Owen kicked forward, uplifting years of dried ocean salt mixed with rust from the ground. He spiraled to Ho-Oh, who deemed Owen to be the greater threat and opened his beak. His wings lit up with divine fire, spiraling around a sphere of heat in the middle of his mouth.

    This attack… Owen wasn’t familiar with it. But he knew enough about the elements to copy it all the same.

    When Ho-Oh fired, so did Zena, a cascade of water splitting across Ho-Oh from the side, drenching his feathers and knocking several out of their place. The Sacred Fire hit Owen’s swiftly conjured barrier, crawling around it and threatening to burn him even through that. This divine strength couldn’t be blocked by a mere Protect.

    Owen landed harshly on the ground, salt crunching beneath his feet, water from Zena’s attack rippling in deep puddles. The fire sizzled in the water and boiled it into steam, obscuring Ho-Oh’s vision. Owen could tell by the way he was squinting.

    But Owen held the advantage there. He seized that power, grasped at the threads of aura left behind in the blast, and curled it around his fingers like weaving a string or knitting a quilt. From his chest, he pumped Radiant energy into his claws, then combined it with Shadows.

    That same sphere appeared in Owen’s palm, but now it swirled with a vortex of bubbling black and white embers. He hurled it forward like a softball, striking square in Ho-Oh’s chest where the energy exploded into a flurry of fire. Zena’s residual water bubbled off of him in a plume of scorching steam, cutting through his elemental resistances. That did real damage… even against this divine being.

    Ho-Oh shrieked in surprise as the vapor dissipated. The dome creaked again, unbothered by their struggle but complaining about the impending storm.

    And when Ho-Oh inspected his feathers again and as Zena lowered her guard, the Overseer bird finally chuckled.

    “Now, what was that?” he said.

    His gaze was… friendlier.

    “Huh?” Owen asked.

    “Just then. Did you… use some sort of telepathy?”

    “No? I don’t know if I can do that to non-Mystics,” Owen said. “Especially not here… Everything’s weaker.”

    “What do you mean?” Zena asked. “Do you mean… the feelings through battle, or something?”

    “Is that how it feels?” Ho-Oh asked.

    Now that Owen thought about it… he only sensed that kind of thing strongly in this world. In Kilo, it wasn’t as present…

    “Yeah,” Owen said. “It’s a special property of this world. Pokémon communicate through battle. It’s like a conversation where you can’t hide your true feelings. Like… how I know you’re curious what I’ll do with this.”

    “I see… I try to be stoic. I’d almost call it unprofessional.” Ho-Oh said. “But, if we’re being so transparent… I felt something curious from you two. Milotic… From you, defiance, fiery and desperate. You really wanted to hurt me, didn’t you?”

    Zena flinched. “I… wanted to defend my world. And make sure I could prove it. If I couldn’t hurt you…”

    “…Then how could you hurt Dark Matter,” Ho-Oh completed. “Yes. Your duty is in strength to save a world out of time.”

    “I was born there,” Zena said. “Most souls there were. We deserve to defend our home, don’t we?”

    “Well said.” Ho-Oh nodded. “And, Owen…”

    “You felt…?”

    “It’s what I didn’t feel,” Ho-Oh said. “You gave me a blast of energy that used both Shadow and Radiance. Darkness and light. Negative and positive, overflowing in both. In other worlds where we have seen this kind of interaction, it’s been given many names. Nihil, Blacklight… But personally? I would call it Chaos. Two energies not meant to coexist, swirling in a dangerous vortex ready to explode. Shadows pull up all of your doubts and negative emotions while suppressing anything that would have calmed you; Radiance forces your thoughts outward, turning you impulsive and erratic.

    “Yet from you, I felt none of that. You have harnessed the power completely… and it does not corrode you.”

    “I’ve had… practice,” Owen said. “I’m just a Charizard. But I had time to train with it, even when I didn’t realize it. I’ve been… exposed to that for so long that it’s become normal.”

    “Yes. And yet…” Ho-Oh paced. “I sensed guilt. Self-reflection. Excitement… You do love your battles. But most of all…” Ho-Oh’s expression brightened so subtly that even Owen’s Perceive narrowly missed it. “That light in your eyes… it’s just hope, isn’t it? Mundane, simple hope that I felt… even in the face of so many adversaries back home. You’re returning with an answer and a dream.”

    “And the sooner the better,” Owen said with a nod. “I hope it’s… enough. I want to fix this. Not just because I broke it, but because Kilo deserves better.”

    Ho-Oh nodded. “Then face this Dungeon and pass into Kilo,” he said. “Consider it your final test before you can turn that hope into action.”

    Mu jogged over to Owen and hopped onto his tail. Owen flicked his tail, flinging Mu up to his shoulder with practiced ease.

    “Goodbye,” Ho-Oh said. “Should you fail, rest assured that your plague will not spread to other worlds. We’ll cut Kilo from its other neighboring worlds and find a way to destroy it.”

    “Oh, sure, yeah. No big deal,” Owen muttered. “Just kill us all if we fail…” He understood why. But the Overseers’ perspective was… too insensitive for him to accept at face value. He had no choice but to save the world. Any other outcome was death or worse.

    Zena led the charge to the Dungeon distortion in the center of the dome.

    Ho-Oh continued. “But should you succeed… Well. Kilo’s fate is not sealed just yet. Good luck, Usurpers.”

    His expression became firmer just as Owen walked through the Dungeon’s barrier.

    “And I am not cringe.”

    With those inspiring words to remember him by, Owen marched through the barrier with Zena by his side and Mu on his shoulder. He was leaving behind his original home, possibly for good this time. And he was returning to the one he’d truly spent most of his life in.

    He wondered if his mother would approve of all this. His necklace felt just a little warmer. Somehow, in some way, Owen sensed that he was walking in the right direction.

    <><><>​

    “They’ve returned,” Barky announced.

    CRASH!

    Anam jumped in surprise, his slime dribbling all over his work station.

    Demitri, behind one of the desks in their makeshift strategy room in Kilo Village, accidentally split the table in two. Hakk, Mispy, Jerry, and Star happened to be in the room with Anam; everyone else was out doing fieldwork with the stabilized zones in anticipation of Alexander's reawakening.

    Demitri tried to push the splintered pieces of wood back together. It wasn’t working. “S-sorry. You startled me…”

    “That table was elementally reinforced,” Hakk whispered. “How’d you split it like a toothpick?”

    “Barky’s voice is super intense…”

    “Wait, what did he say?” Star asked, lounging in a bubble of psychic energy while poring over documents of Dungeon findings. “Barky! Who’s back?”

    “Owen, Zena, and Mu,” Barky said. “Gather everyone. I’m currently figuring out where he is… I need to return to Destiny Tower to get communications running.”

    “Yo, wait up!” Star said, disappearing and reappearing on Barky’s back.

    “What’re we planning on this end?” Jerry said, standing up straighter. “We don’t even have a tenth of Kilo back to normal. How can we even get Owen here?”

    Skitter, skitter… Willow zipped into the building. “Nate says Owen’s back!”

    “Yes. We know,” Barky said. “…Wait, why does Nate know already? Can he sense his life force, too?”

    “How should I know?!” Willow growled. “What, you want me to ask that, too?”

    “…Yes, actually. I feel as though Nate is keeping something from us when we can’t afford any variable to be left unknown.”

    “Oh.” Anam shifted nervously. “…Um, I’ll go with you, Willow.” Anam had a feeling that Willow wouldn’t be very good at getting the information that was important…

    “Get Diyem if you need help,” Barky dismissed. “We need to do our part to secure Owen.”

    “O-oh.” Anam played with his feelers. “Okay.”

    “Now then, Jerry…” Barky addressed the Aerodactyl again. “We’ve been coordinating with Owen on just where he’d enter. I can sense his presence and we’ll work from there,” Barky explained. “It should be another Dungeon near a powerful aura.”

    “…Couldn’t that be Ghrelle?” Jerry said.

    Barky closed his eyes. “I’ll let you know if it is through Willow. But I’m hoping not. Star?”

    “Yeah, let’s go.”

    “Good luck!” Anam called. “I’ll, um, I’ll see Nate!”

    And yet, not one empty street later, Anam stopped and waved at an incoming, gigantic leviathan made of darkness and eyes.

    “Hey, Nate!” Anam called cheerily. “Thanks for letting us know about Owen!”

    I’m going to head to Zero Isle Spiral.

    “Huh? How come?”

    I… need to meet Owen there.

    Anam tilted his head. “So… Owen, Zena, and Mu turned up in Aramé’s place?”

    The leviathan’s great five heads nodded.

    “Um… okay. But, that reminds me, um, if it’s not too much… why do you need to meet him? Barky said, um… you know, that you know more than you say, so…”

    Oh. I thought nobody noticed. I’m sorry.

    Anam tittered but didn’t press more. If he did, he might upset Nate…

    Okay, Nate said. Since we’re already so close… I’ll talk about it. But first, let me show you something…

    Nate extended one of his heads forward. Anam leaned in, curious, as a golden mote of light flowed through that blackened body.

    Anam gasped. “But that’s…!”

    <><><>​

    Warm, tropical air mixed with salty ocean scents. Sunlight bathed Owen, Zena, and Mu with liberating energy. It felt like an oppressive force had finally been lifted.

    Owen deduced this was them returning to their proper domain, where they could use their full strength uninhibited. This was unmistakably Kilo.

    But it was also still a Dungeon. Tall corridors made of seashells and stone mixed unnaturally with wood and grass sprawled in all directions. A mysterious force kept Owen and Zena from flying too high above them. Thankfully, there weren’t hostile, feral Pokémon, or even wraiths to bother them.

    The walls of the Dungeon glowed a gentle cyan.

    “This energy,” Zena said. “Is this a Mystic Dungeon?”

    “We’ve never been in one with this kind of climate, though,” Owen said. “Unless…”

    “We never entered the Dragon Dungeon,” Zena said. “Could this be it?”

    “The Dragon Guardian, Aramé. And the final Divine Dragon…”

    Mu leaned back while atop Zena’s head, grasping Zena’s horn to keep from falling completely over. “Well, that means we can go through easily, right?”

    “Yeah. Let’s find the distortions. We have to go through it to get out.”

    It was only a short walk. A few turns led them to one distortion, then another, and soon they found an empty chamber that had fewer strange walls. A stable zone.

    Owen sighed. “Finally,” he said. Just as he passed through the stable zone, Zena and Mu disappeared from his Perceive. This was normal; his Perceive couldn’t go past distortions.

    The problem was when they didn’t follow at all.

    “Zena?” Owen said dumbly, realizing his voice wouldn’t carry through. He knew not to pass through again—that could send him to a random part of the Dungeon again. “What’s…”

    He focused harder on his Perceive. Nothing, no living creature other than himself. He tried to ignore how much faster his heart was beating. After spending so many months with Zena and Mu in relative peace, the two suddenly being gone was shaking him.

    No. He had to stay calm. He had to trust that Aramé was still an ally. Barky didn’t warn them about anything like this, after all. And he’d surely know after that Ghrelle incident.

    His Perceive instead caught a note in the middle of the chamber, recently written and fresh.

    “Please leave your horns in the basket before passing through. They are not allowed for this final test. Replacements have been crafted for you.”

    Nearby was a basket with two horns that looked a lot like Owen’s, though he could tell they were made of clay.

    It was a trap, but a telegraphed one. Whatever test he was going to take couldn’t be seen through his Perceive. Some kind of illusion, maybe? That in itself was a hint…

    Owen sighed. If he disobeyed, he would probably be attacked. Could he defend himself?

    No, that wasn’t what he had to be concerned about. Zena… Mu…

    Barky, Owen thought gently in prayer, I’m here and in the Dragon Dungeon. Zero Isle Spiral. Aramé is asking me to remove my horns and proceed through her test.

    I’m going to follow through with it. If you think I should fight back, if you think this is a trap… give me a sign.


    Even across dimensions and within a Dungeon, Owen knew Barky would hear him. That mysterious connection the gods left behind was enough.

    And for a while, Owen waited patiently. He watched the skies. He felt for tremors. He checked for glows.

    Nothing came.

    Maybe he should have asked for a sign if he should proceed. But… admittedly, he did not know if disturbances could go through. So instead, he called one last time. I’m going forward. If you didn’t want me to go, I couldn’t hear you. Send rescue if I’m going into a trap. Wish me luck.

    Barky could have sent him word back, right? Or… was that cut off here? Aramé was strong. Supposedly the strongest Guardian.

    He wondered why Aramé never fought alongside them.

    The clay horns fit surprisingly well and felt cozy in their sockets. He left his true horns behind and hoped they would be returned. If not, Nevren had said they’d regrow after a few days…

    But he couldn’t afford a few days anymore, could he?

    Logically, this was a bad idea. Aramé could be a traitor, somehow. But his instincts told him it would work out. He knew Aramé from the past, vague memories of Wishkeeper informing him that Aramé meant well.

    So, he put his faith and trust in her as he walked through the distortion.

    The colors swirled, the labyrinth returned around him… and a strange light shone on the far side of the hall.

    Owen’s arms tensed, ready for a Protect—but he’d been too slow. The light became a beam before he could react, slamming into his forehead.

    “Aghh—”

    He shambled forward a few steps and leaned against the wall. “What… what was that?” he huffed, trying to see more than a few feet in front of him. Darkness crept at the edges of his vision…

    And he passed out.

    <><><>​

    Salty air. Tropical warmth. He remembered those. He remembered going on a mission for… something. He had to get back home to Hot Spot.

    Right. He remembered that. Gods, he remembered a lot of that. And he knew he was prone to losing his memories. The pang of annoyance that followed informed him he lost them again.

    “Alright,” he muttered, groggily standing up. “I fell for… a trap… Hello?” He squinted, rubbing his throbbing forehead. He took several more breaths and did a body check. Tail, blazing. Wings, a little stiff but fine. Arms, legs, doing well. Belly, a little overweight. He looked a little like a normal Charizard again.

    Fine enough. Grunting, he got to his feet and stomped down the hall.

    It was a labyrinth, a Dungeon, so there was a way forward somewhere inside.

    Not five seconds later, he heard the sound of a small Pokémon sniffling. His nature took over. Someone needed help!

    “Hello?” he called again.

    The sniffling stopped.

    “It’s alright. I’m here to help. I mean, I didn’t know you were here, but…” He walked down the nearest twisted corridor.

    Just around the corner, in a small room, was a Charmander with his back turned to him. On Charmander’s back was the mark of Necrozma, a little birthmark like a vertically stretched star.

    “Oh, hello,” he said gently.

    Charmander, startled, sprang to his feet and took on a defensive stance.

    “I-it’s okay, it’s okay!” He raised his hands and folded his wings back. “Are you… are you okay? What’s your name?”

    The Charmander kept his guard up a while longer. Then, seeming to lose his will, he plopped onto his rear again, head down. “Owen,” he said quietly.

    “Owen…” He didn’t know that name. “My name’s Charizard. Just Charizard. May I sit by you?”

    “Sure…”

    Charizard gingerly approached and took care not to shake the ground when he took a seat.

    “Okay, Owen,” Charizard said gently. “What’s bothering you?”
     
    Chapter 175 - Reflection
  • Namohysip

    Dragon Enthusiast
    Staff
    Partners
    1. flygon
    2. charizard
    3. milotic
    4. zoroark-soda
    5. sceptile
    6. marowak
    7. jirachi
    8. meganium
    9. namo-rock
    Chapter 175 – Reflection

    Charizard let Owen talk as much as he wanted. He babbled on about his friends and family, how none of it was real. Something about it felt so familiar to Charizard—he knew, for sure, that he would be able to help him. A lot of Owen’s struggles felt so familiar to him.

    Owen told Charizard how he’d been lied to by everyone he knew. That his memories, everything he was, had been constructed by them so he’d fit into a certain role, and be none the wiser.

    He spoke in excruciating detail about the supposed crimes he’d committed. Murders, really, of an innocent family. How he was supposed to be a weapon, and then he was erased so he could be some loyal soldier instead.

    At that point, Charizard felt like it was a little too familiar.

    “Owen, that was your name, right?” Charizard asked.

    “Mhm.” The Charmander nodded. “At least I have that. My name hasn’t changed…”

    “Right… You know, Owen, I don’t remember having a name for myself, but—” Charizard nodded. “You know, I wonder if Owen used to be my name.”

    “Huh?”

    “We’re too similar. Almost like…”

    Their eyes lit up as if they had come to the same conclusion.

    Charizard exclaimed, “We’re from different times!”

    “Yeah! You’re… me! from the future!” Owen beamed. “But… But that can’t be right. I read all about this in the comics. Wouldn’t this cause a huge paradox?”

    “Yeah, I don’t remember meeting me at this time… and I don’t remember my name being Owen, either…” Charizard crossed his arms.

    Owen mimicked the pose. “…Were we split? How come you’re here, anyway?”

    “I was… coming here to… do something. I think I had to return home to report on… some research. But… I can’t remember what that research was…”

    “Maybe it’s a Dungeon trick. Right?”

    “Oh, so you know you’re in a Dungeon?”

    “I—” Owen flinched. “I… I do… but that’s not right. I thought… I was in Hot Spot…”

    “Hmm…”

    Owen shifted uncomfortably. “W-well… it’s…”

    “It’s alright,” Charizard said. “We have to get through this Dungeon, right? I entered it to take a test. Maybe… you’re part of that.”

    But there was a haunted look in Owen’s eyes. Charizard tilted his head. “You okay?”

    “I… I don’t know,” he said. “I—sorry. Can I just… follow you for now?” he asked. “I need to think…”

    Lacking his Perceive was making this part tricky. As far as he could tell, Owen was real. Yet he had a name, and Charizard had no memory of that whatsoever.

    “Come on,” Charizard said, holding out his hand and crouching down. “Hop on my shoulder. It’s probably a long walk.”

    “Oh—thanks.” Owen hopped on, tittering nervously. “I never got to ride on a Charizard before… They’re rare in Kilo, you know?”

    Charizard marched along, leaving a mark in the stone in case he ever got turned around so he didn’t retread old ground.

    “You won’t be alone forever,” Charizard said, resuming their conversation from earlier. “It’s going to be hard to trust your family again after this. But I think… you’ll see that they did a lot of it to protect you.”

    “Does that make it okay?” Owen asked.

    Charizard sighed. “Normally… no. But because of what you are… I think… I can’t blame them for what they did. It was a necessary evil to make sure I could heal. They didn’t know how to fix me.”

    Owen’s shoulders sagged. “…I don’t… I don’t know what I’m supposed to be mad at. Or… if I’m supposed to be mad. Or if it’s just how things are… I don’t… I don’t understand…”

    Charizard reached up and gently patted Owen on the shoulder. “Work through it. But don’t take it out on people. I think… what helped me was when I framed it a little differently. Instead of thinking about who to blame and who to be mad at… I instead thought about how I should treat others who were involved. And what I should be careful about next time. Is there anyone you want to avoid forever now?”

    Owen looked down. “…I… I don’t think so. I don’t want to push anyone away. I’m just…” He shook his head. Owen didn’t know how to articulate himself. Charizard remembered the feeling. And when he was like this, Owen had been desperate to lean on someone to trust again. The smallest hint of forgiveness, of a path forward… Had Owen fallen for the wrong person, there was a chance he’d’ve fallen into the same torment again.

    “If you don’t want to leave any of them,” Charizard said, “it means you think they had your interests in mind. But you don’t want a repeat, right? So… what will you do differently so they can’t do that to you again?”

    “I’ll… I’m gonna ask why they do the things they do,” Owen said. “And if they don’t give a reason, or… if I think they’re lying…”

    “Don’t trust them,” Charizard completed. “That’s a good start. I think it worked out for me. But I’m still learning, too.”

    “Even now? But you’re…”

    “I’m big now, yeah,” Charizard said. “It’s going to be a while before you can… be confident people aren’t always lying to you. Or if they only lie sometimes. But… sometimes, you have to think about why they might lie. And if they have no reason…” He shrugged. “Trust them.”

    “So, use… logic to figure out if they could lie?”

    “And make sure they can prove it if you think they might,” Charizard said. “But… don’t get paranoid. You can’t be alone, either.”

    Owen rested his chin atop Charizard’s head. “This sounds impossible. How am I supposed to catch all of that?”

    “You won’t,” Charizard said. “But I think… we aren’t surrounded by evil liars. Not everyone wants to use us for our power. It’s going to be okay, Owen.”

    Owen seemed unconvinced, his little claws tense against the top of Charizard’s head.

    “Yeah,” Owen finally whispered. “I hope so. But what do we do now?”

    “Let’s keep going,” Charizard said. “You have my name. I have your future. Maybe we’re supposed to go together?”

    “M-maybe…” Owen winced. “But… but I took your name. What if… what if you’re supposed to take it back?”

    “No,” Charizard said firmly. “I won’t do that. Right now… you need that name more than I do.”

    “I do?”

    Charizard nodded., nearly tossing Owen off his head before catching him. “You’re me at my lowest. When I was… lost. The only thing I could trust was my name. So… even if I found a way to take it from you, I don’t want to do that. Not until you can stand on something else. Sound fair?”

    “Okay…”

    In their silence, Charizard wondered what this test was supposed to be and if he’d done it correctly. Nothing special happened between himself and Owen, despite surely them being the same person. He felt real. Yet without his true horns, he had no way to tell if that, too, was some elaborate trick.

    As he walked to the next layer of the Spiral, Charizard had nothing but hope that he did the right thing.

    <><><>​

    Milotic gently guided a sphere of water down the corridors of the Dragon Guardian’s domain. Within the sphere was a starstruck Feebas named Zena who watched in awe at every graceful gesture Milotic made to guide the sphere forward.

    It was more comfortable for Zena that way.

    “I really get to be as pretty as you?” Zena asked.

    “Yes,” Milotic said with a light chuckle. “And you find a beautiful, strong Charizard, and court him.”

    “A Charizard?” Zena said with a grimace. “But then I’ll go somewhere all fiery and dry…”

    “It’s not so bad,” Milotic said with a small laugh. Being around a little Feebas… She felt herself straightening her stance and talking with a more formal cadence. Maybe it was an instinct to encourage her to evolve one day.

    “Sorry,” said Zena. “Guess it wasn’t… who I was expecting.”

    Milotic smiled warmly, thinking back to what Zena’s fantasies must have been. But just as they advanced, she stopped what she was about to ask. Someone was slithering up ahead and she felt an intense aura of power. Another Guardian?

    The glow in this part of the Spiral was stronger. The tree roots that intertwined with the dirt of the labyrinth walls radiated an indigo sheen. When Milotic ran her ribbons along them, she felt the ethereal flames of a Dragon singe her like a bowl left on the fire.

    And then, a second Milotic slithered into view of the first. Her gaze was fierce, searching for something to attack. Whatever grace Milotic had, this frenzied one did not, and they locked eyes.

    “You,” she hissed.

    “M-me?” Milotic said.

    “Where is my name?”

    Without realizing it, Milotic slithered in front of Zena. The Feebas, in response, hid behind Milotic’s tail fan along with her bubble.

    “Who are you?”

    “I also don’t have a name,” Milotic said. “So… we’re both Milotic. That will get… complicated.”

    The angry one stared back, looking more and more agitated.

    A thought crossed Milotic’s mind. This one’s name was ‘Fury.’ Or… how she thought of her.

    Fury slithered until she was only three feet away from Milotic. “You… you’re me, aren’t you?” she said. “Who, then? What… what part of the Dungeon’s test are you?”

    “…I don’t know,” Milotic said carefully. It was unnerving to see someone just like her look so…

    “Was it Star?” Fury asked. “Was it any of the gods? Is this another test of theirs, toying with us to prove what they were given by chance?”

    And then Milotic understood who Fury was. To see it out in front of her in full display, all those inner thoughts and bitterness…

    It was… embarrassing. But she agreed, in a small way, with how she felt. In the past, she would have agreed so much more.

    “It is,” Milotic said. Zena nervously shifted in her water bubble. “We need to figure out what it is, but right now, I don’t think we should try to weaken one another. We should—”

    “No!” Fury cried. “No more. No more games, no more tests. We… tear it all down! Do you understand me?”

    Milotic hardened her expression. “Now is not the time to fight the wrong gods. We can deal with them and their unjust actions later. But we need to fight Dark Matter now. Do you remember?”

    “They’re all Dark Matter,” Fury hissed.

    “…It’s not that complicated,” Milotic said. “Please, just work with us here, and—”

    “You’re with them,” she suddenly said.

    “What?”

    “You’re…” She coiled up. “You’re just another god now. You’re with them!”

    Milotic was losing her patience. This ball of resentment wasn’t learning.

    “Fine,” she said. “Wallow here. I have things to do. Come, Zena.”

    “O-okay.” The Feebas nervously pushed her water bubble with Milotic.

    Fury stared icy daggers at them. “I won’t… I won’t let that happen,” Fury whispered. Her body glowed, a pulse of light rippling up to her neck. Mist formed in her mouth, coalescing into a glowing ball of water.

    Fury unleashed her Hydro Pump square at Zena’s back. Zena squeaked in surprise and closed her eyes.

    A wall of water erupted from the ground behind Milotic, deflecting the Hydro Pump effortlessly. Once the wall dissipated, the water rained down in a heavy storm.

    Fury yelled something at her; Milotic couldn’t hear it over the downpour. Water flowed down Fury’s cheeks and ribbons, but it wasn’t enough to wash away her anger.

    Milotic waved her tail in the sky and conjured her training techniques while in Alola, where water was abundant. Three spirals appeared above Fury, each glowing with a similar watery sphere. Without any thunder, three columns of water shook the earth and drowned out Fury’s scream.

    The downpour was brief. The sun returned as the rain lightened. The wind, though, was still too shy to return.

    All that remained was a small crater filled with water. Mist obscured most of it, but a little ball of cyan energy floated just above the water’s rippling surface. It was the last remnant of Fury, the fragment of her spirit filled with the pain inflicted upon her by the gods.

    Reluctantly, she cupped the orb in her ribbons and searched for where her bag might have gone. The downpour had loosened it from her body; she found it on her midsection and awkwardly pulled it back up.

    “Rest for now,” Milotic said, unsure if Fury would hear her. She placed the little spirit orb in the bag and slithered on.

    “Milotic?” Zena asked, her ball of water larger from the rain. “Am… I going to be like that one day?”

    Milotic sighed. Being someone’s future… What a strange burden.

    “It will get better,” Milotic said. “Come. I think there are still more tests to do.”

    “Okay…”

    They left the waterlogged corridors behind and passed through another distortion.

    <><><>​

    “Now,” Charizard said slowly, “will you behave?”

    A crazed Charizard was trapped inside a golden Protect bubble, pressing his face against the edge of the barrier to get as close to Charizard as possible.

    “Your neck is expossssed,” he hissed back.

    The feral one—whose name occurred to Charizard as Wrath—clawed uselessly at the shield. Owen hid behind Charizard’s left leg.

    “It’s because we aren’t enemies,” Charizard said. “Calm down! You don’t even have Perceive—look at your horns!”

    “I can smell it,” Wrath hissed. “I see how weak you’ve become!”

    Just capturing him had been an ordeal. Talking to him…

    “Is that what I used to be?” Owen squeaked. “I r-remember… I used to evolve and go crazy… Was I like that?!”

    “No,” Charizard said. “Not exactly like that. I… I know what he is. But… you realize you can’t win against me, right? I’ll always be on my guard if this is how you behave.”

    “You’re afraid to kill,” Wrath said. “What is your answer… when you face someone who will not answer to peace?”

    Wrath’s eyes darted to Charizard’s chest, then his neck, then his belly, randomly. All weak points he could strike. Wrath was hungry for any blood and battle.

    It was his Battleheart at its worst, corrupted and twisted by Nevren’s experiments. His ‘kill mode’ given conscience. That small piece of him that tempted him every time his Perceive wandered to the weak points of his friends around him.

    Charizard’s concentration lapsed. Wrath smashed through the Protect and beat his wings, flying back.

    “Hey!” Charizard shouted.

    Wrath flew down the hall.

    “Wait! Get back here!” He flew after him and followed, kicking up dirt and sand from the Spiral’s coast that had gotten caught in the distortion’s twisted dimensions.

    Just around it was a ripple into the next segment. Owen had gone too fast to halt his momentum—once he passed through, he put up a shield on reflex.

    Nothing attacked. Wrath must have gone to a different segment.

    He forgot Owen.

    Charizard gasped and spun around—but the ripple was gone. He’d already entered the next section.

    “No…” Charizard sighed. “He… he’ll catch up. We’ll meet at the end. I gave him a pep talk, right?”

    Nobody answered him.

    “Oh… I’m talking to myself again…”

    Sighing, Charizard spun on his heel and crossed his arms. He swayed with the momentum of his tail.

    On one hand, he could wait and listen for people passing through the same section. On the other, they could have already passed by or—worse yet—be in a parallel path of the Dungeon’s twisted space.

    Staying was too risky. He had to advance. There was no time for setbacks.

    Most of this section was a forward movement with only a few short corners to turn. Mentally, Charizard tried to keep a map of the section and marked a few spots on the wall in case he passed by them a second time.

    But, to his surprise, he never had to. It was a straight, albeit winding, shot.

    It was starting to unnerve him.

    For about a minute, he continued his advance. Then, suddenly, he swung his head back. He shouted, “Hey, there you are!” and ran to someone who wasn’t there.

    And panic set in. Charizard did not mean to do any of that. He was no longer in control of his body.

    “Yes,” Charizard said. “I thought you’d gone ahead. I waited a while for you. Are you alright?”

    Nobody answered. Charizard tried to move any part of his body. Nothing worked. His muscles didn’t respond in the slightest. It wasn’t like trying to push against a wall. His arms, his body, refused to acknowledge his mind’s wishes. His body was not his own.

    “Right,” Charizard said. “No, sorry. He’s probably still ahead. Stay on my shoulder again, alright? Keep close.”

    He reached down for something. He balanced nothing on his shoulder. He turned around and slowly walked onward.

    This was a nightmare. He couldn’t control anything. He was a helpless passenger as someone else moved his body and talked to people who didn’t exist.

    “He’s… someone I don’t ever want to be again,” Charizard said. “But I need to keep that power in mind. It’s… useful.”

    He turned his head away and clenched his jaw.

    “Sorry. I know,” he said. “It’s not your fault.”

    Charizard tried to puzzle out what part of the test this was, what cruel joke Aramé played for him. When he couldn’t move his body, what could he do? Use his mind?

    Up ahead, the hallway led into a cave lit by glowing crystals, just as bright as a full moon. A great expanse of brown rocks and patches of sand and grass dotted a chamber about fifty feet across. On his right, there was a tall mirror from the cave’s floor to ceiling, making the whole room look twice its size.

    “Whoa,” Charizard said. “I’ve never seen a mirror this big before. Have you?”

    “No,” Charizard heard another voice—muffled, on the other side of the mirror.

    He saw himself and his eyes widened. He wasn’t sure if that was his motion this time—he’d have done the same. His reflection had Owen on his shoulder, even though he did not.

    Owen pressed against his reflection’s cheek. “Why am I not there?” he squeaked. “Am… am I not real after all?!”

    Charizard approached the mirror at the same time as his reflection.

    “No, that can’t be it,” Charizard said. “It must be some kind of… trick mirror, or something. Or an illusion. Without my Perceive, there’s no way to tell…”

    Both Charizard tapped a claw on the mirror.

    “Solid,” they both said. “Huh, a bit of an echo, too.”

    “Well, it’s a cave.” Owen reached for the wall but his little arms were too short.

    They both smiled and leaned closer to the wall.

    Owen rapped his knuckle against the mirror.

    It sounded different. To Charizard, it sounded like it was coming from the other side. Because it was.

    This wasn’t a mirror. It was a glass wall. And he…

    He was the test.

    “Hmm,” both Charizard said. “That didn’t sound right.”

    “I thought so, too,” Owen said, tapping again. “Doesn’t it sound like there’s nothing behind the wall?”

    Charizard tapped the wall again.

    “It’s different when I do it.”

    Charizard already knew the answer. Or… No. Was he Charizard? Or was he Reflection?

    He was… Reflection.

    “Hmm,” Reflection said in tandem with Charizard. “I don’t know for sure, but…”

    Owen suddenly punched Charizard in the face. Reflection felt nothing, but flinched with him.

    “Ow! What was that for?” They rubbed their faces. “Good arm… Didn’t know I had that as a Charmander…”

    “His cheek didn’t move!” Owen declared.

    “What?”

    Owen pulled at Charizard’s cheek, stretching his lips.

    “Hey!” Charizard slurred. “What are… you…”

    Reflection’s face hadn’t distorted at all. Owen let go.

    “It’s… not a reflection,” Charizard said, pressing the mirror. “Okay, you can stop now. We solved the puzzle! Why don’t you… I don’t know, be your own person, now?”

    Reflection wasn’t freed. He could cry, but his eyes wouldn’t respond.

    “Maybe we have to break the mirror,” Owen said. “Um, wall. It’s just glass, right?”

    “Felt like it,” Charizard confirmed. “I don’t think it’s reinforced, either. I don’t sense any aura in it. Mundane glass.”

    “I wonder if it’s made of the sand in the area,” Owen mused absently.

    “Well, let’s test it out!” Charizard said. “Er… wait. If we both smash into it at the same time, what happens? Would it… not break? Or collapse?”

    “Umm…” Owen tilted his head.

    They paced around, puzzling about the answer. Reflection could only do so uselessly. He didn’t know what an answer was. Even if he did, how would he convey that to them? He was at their mercy. He was the test to solve.

    “Oh!” Owen perked up. “Throw me at it!”

    “Oh!” Charizard nodded as hope welled in Reflection’s heart. “Great idea!”

    They took a few steps back. Owen crossed his arms, readying a Protect. He shaped it like a cone, trying to give it a sharp point at the end. Then, with the winds and a strong wingbeat, Charizard threw Owen as hard as he could at the glass. Reflection mirrored the motion, feeling no weight behind it, and somehow didn’t stagger as he followed Charizard’s exact movements.

    CRASH!

    Deafening cracks echoed across the crystal walls. Shards of glass bounced off the ground in a cacophony of skull-rattling noise. Owen kept his Protect up until the last of the glass fell around him. He winced at the sudden obstacle around him before getting an idea. He recast Protect, this time on his feet, and stepped back to Charizard.

    Reflection still couldn’t move without Charizard.

    “Hmm… Well, he’s real…” Charizard crossed his arms and blew some glass shards away, creating a cyclone. Reflection managed the same until the glass was a thick line that split the room in half.

    “Okay… Parallel work…” Charizard and Reflection then worked together to push most of it left and right, creating a proper path between them with the winds. The remainder wasn’t much against their scaly feet, though Owen hopped on Charizard’s shoulder for safety.

    Face to face, Charizard and Reflection held their hands up and reached forward.

    “I think even the glass wasn’t perfectly symmetrical,” Charizard said. “So maybe this isn’t a perfect reflection, either. I’m right-handed. That means…”

    Charizard held up his right hand. Reflection, therefore, held up his left.

    Their palms slammed into each other. They pressed as hard as they could… at equal strength.

    “Ugh!” Charizard stepped back. “Okay. So, he’s left-handed.”

    “Well, he’s a reflection… I guess that makes sense.” Owen tittered. “Um… So, that wasn’t a true mirror, so that wasn’t bad luck, right?”

    “That’s a human-origin superstition,” Charizard said. “Besides, Star said luck doesn’t exist.”

    Owen circled around Reflection thoughtfully. “Still,” he said, “there has to be some way to free him. Maybe once you get him out of this area, he’ll be free from its curse or something?”

    “Maybe,” Charizard said. “But if that’s the case… we’d need a way to get him to move with us into the next hall.”

    Owen looked down at Reflection’s side of the room. “There’s another hall right there, though. Can’t we go through normally?”

    He ran to the other exit where the cave opened again, but suddenly skidded to the spot when the crystals on Reflection’s side—and only Reflection’s side—lit up. They spontaneously burst, scorching the ground with dragon energy.

    “Gah!”

    Anything that stood in the burning path would be obliterated… There were even little craters where the crystals had exploded.

    Meanwhile, on Charizard’s side, a message made of light appeared on the ground.

    Owen shakily distanced himself from that side and approached the message. “Light the crystals to match the pattern.”

    A pause.

    “I think we were supposed to read this first.”

    Charizard rolled his eyes. “Well, we found another solution. We need to get our reflection on this side. I think I know how. You could move me but not him, right? But you can move him, too?”

    “Oh, yeah.” Owen ran to Reflection and pulled on his wing. It, of course, moved, while Charizard’s did not. When Owen let go, the wing organically returned to Charizard’s position again.

    “…Owen, can you make a Protect barrier so he’ll back into it?”

    “Sure.”

    After quickly erecting a barrier, Charizard stepped back. Reflection’s back pressed against the barrier painfully, but he couldn’t move more. His legs continued the motions to walk, pushing dirt and leaving marks on the ground.

    “Okay, drop the barrier!” Charizard called.

    When he did… nothing changed.

    “Yes!” Charizard’s eyes lit up. He triumphantly walked forward again. Reflection mirrored the motion—and, for the first time, he was on the ‘other side’ of the room, their new center displaced far enough into the other room. “Now we have a straight shot into the next section!”

    “Perfect!” Owen said, hopping onto Charizard’s neck. “Let’s hope he’s free once we’re out of this section…”

    Reflection hoped so, too. His heart was hammering in his chest…

    Wait. But that didn’t happen before. Was Charizard also anxious?

    “Yeah. It’ll be just fine,” Charizard said. “Let’s go!”

    They left the crystal “mirror” room behind. One step at a time, until the rippling distortion was a step in front of them.

    After one moment’s hesitation, they walked through.

    And Reflection screamed, crumpling to the ground, flailing his arms and legs in complete hysteria.

    “Whoa!” Charizard yelped, rushing to his side. “Hey, hey! Are you hurt? Do you need to go back—”

    “NO!” Reflection cried. He scrambled away from where the distortion had been.

    “O-okay! Okay, okay, breathe, calm!” Charizard said. “It’s not like you go backward in a Dungeon like this anyway…”

    Owen hid behind Charizard. Reflection moved his wings, pressed them against his back, and then unfurled them. All his. All his own. He could move. He was free.

    “You can move,” Charizard whispered. “It’s okay, buddy. Wow… Uh… Owen? Let’s rest here a while, okay? We—”

    Reflection lunged for Charizard, squeezing him in a tight hug. “Thank you,” he shakily repeated, over and over.

    “Come on,” Owen said gently. “We can rest here. Yeah?” He looked at Charizard with pleading eyes.

    “Yeah. We… can rest for now. But let’s listen for Wrath, too.”

    Reflection continued to sniffle. The worst of it was over, but he was still shaking. There was a lot still on his mind, but… at least he was free.

    He wondered what horrible test awaited them next.

    <><><>​

    Milotic was getting deep into the Spiral. With Fury in her bag, Zena nervously taking up the rear, and her impatient Mirror next to her, it was beginning to feel crowded.

    “That puzzle took way too long,” Zena complained. “I know it was to trade time for care, but… how does that apply to real life?”

    “Well, I’m thankful I was worth more than your time,” Mirror scoffed. “…It did take a while, though.”

    “I’m sure it would have gone faster if we realized the crystals lit up in a set order sooner,” Milotic said.

    “Or that there were hints on the walls for what the colors should have been,” Mirror added.

    “Or that they said different things on her side…” Zena glanced at Mirror.

    The two Milotic sighed at once.

    “It’s behind us now,” Milotic said.

    “Such a cruel test,” Mirror muttered. “I have a thing or two to say to Aramé once we’re across the way… Am I real? Some construct? Or a fragment of you?”

    “Oh, believe me,” Milotic said, “whatever you are, I’ll be mad for you.”

    Zena nervously shrank back.

    “Oh, Zena, it’s fine,” Milotic said. “We aren’t always upset. Not anymore.” She unconsciously held her bag with both ribbons. Fury’s mote was warm through the bag.

    “…The turns the Spiral’s been giving us have been much sharper,” Mirror said. “I think we’re getting close to the center.”

    “I’ve noticed that, too,” Milotic said.

    “Ah!” Zena rolled her bubble forward. “Look!”

    Finally, the spiral led to another enclosed space. The darker rocks and dried coral made it seem like this was an undersea cavern that had been pulled to the surface long ago. It was too dark to see what was inside.

    On guard, the trio passed through and waited for their eyes to adjust to the dim glow their bodies naturally gave off.

    Ancient stalactites and stalagmites lined the edges of the cave. Mystic, glowing water flowed down the middle, both marking their path and providing a little light as they went through. A light at the other end of the cave was their goal. The sound of flowing water on a shallow river calmed their spirits. It smelled fresh—not like the ocean’s spray, but of a forest’s river mouth.

    Something shifted to their right.

    Milotic and Mirror immediately went on guard. There, towering over them, was…

    “E-Emily?”

    Both readied attacks as Lugia stood to her full height, wings outstretched.

    “Wait,” Lugia said slowly. “I’m not here… to fight.”

    Her voice was about as deep as Emily’s, but the cadence was much more formal and slower. In fact…

    “You’re… you’re me?” Milotic said. “A Lugia? What… what ‘version’ of me are you?”

    Lugia smiled. “You catch on fast,” she said.

    The blue columns along her spine glowed. At the same time, certain rocks peppering the floor and ceiling lit up the same way, providing ample light to see Lugia fully, along with the gentle glow her eyes always gave off.

    “I am your last self in this Dungeon before reaching your culminating test,” Lugia explained. “Unlike all of you… I was informed of everything in this Dungeon. And it seems… you were able to bring most of you here.”

    “…I had to defeat one,” Milotic said. “She was too… unstable. Not someone I would want to bring with me.”

    Lugia nodded solemnly. “Admittedly, I predicted that would happen. I am you, after all. But… I am who you could have been. I am your ideal. I am… the answer to what would have happened, had you made choices to avert your regrets. And in a way, your future, for something you could become next.”

    Milotic scoffed at first, finding the assertion laughable. But after that reflexive response, she thought about it a little longer.

    “But I never had the opportunity to become Lugia,” Milotic said. “Only… to work alongside Emily, yes. We were friends. But…”

    Lugia tilted her head. “You were friends with Lugia. You became the Water Guardian. But… for some reason, it seems that you wish you could have been a guardian of the seas just as Emily was.” She shook her head. “Sometimes, regrets and desires are not logical. I am simply what you want to be.”

    “Fury would be mad to meet you,” Zena remarked. “She hated all the gods.”

    Lugia nodded. “It might have been a hard conversation.”

    Mirror and Milotic admitted the cave ceiling. Between the stalactites glistening against the light and the speckled rocks embedded all over, it reminded them of a nighttime sky.

    “I could see some ways this could happen,” Milotic said. “I could have taken up the mantle if I’d sensed something was wrong with Emily. Maybe as a Legend, I would have had more power to… contend with so many of the other powers at play. And I’m… so… normal.”

    She thought of Owen and his seemingly endless pasts. Of his peers, all Legends, former Legends, humans… Such long histories of power.

    And her? She was just a mortal who was lucky, or unlucky, enough to stumble upon the Water Orb. She had no special, lost past. She had no grand talent or secret tie to Kilo’s formation. She was just Zena, a Milotic who didn’t like to socialize and wandered into the pit where the Orb had been resting.

    Was Lugia, then… her envy?

    “Are you ready to continue?” Lugia asked. “The final part of this long trial is up ahead.”

    “Yes. It’s… not a fight, is it?”

    “No, no.” Lugia smiled. “You could have gone through this whole Dungeon without fighting, with some luck.”

    “Hard to believe that one,” Zena said. “That one Milotic was too angry to cooperate.”

    “Ah… maybe not possible for us. But others who pass through. Those with less conflict in their hearts.” Lugia gestured for them to follow. “Come. It’s just ahead.”

    As they slithered to the cave’s exit, the section’s distortion right at the passageway outside became visible. With some conflict in her heart, Zena passed through to the final trial.

    Unlike every other chamber before, this one looked more like the inner sanctum of some kind of ancient temple. Pillars divided a central chamber into twelve segments, each one with inscriptions that seemed to be tales from the Book of Arceus. Above each pillar was a statue depicting a set of Legendary Pokémon, or a singular one. In the back, the Creation Trio made of marble stood on the left side of Arceus made of gold. On the right side was the Divine Trio, with Zekrom of Ideals, Reshiram of Truth, and Kyurem of Decision.

    Milotic remembered reading these tales. Where the Creation Trio were meant to be the emissaries of the great laws of the land, of the fabric of reality, the Divine Trio were representatives of what mortals would make of those laws. Universal laws, and societal laws. Kyurem was meant to lean one way or the other based on the nature of mortals…

    What was this trying to tell them? Milotic figured this was part of the test, even as Lugia led them to the back of the chamber, facing Arceus.

    A message in bright platinum lettering greeted them.

    “Please go here,” Lugia instructed Milotic. “Read it aloud for everyone.”

    Up close, Arceus’ statue was very detailed, yet she also saw signs of it being handmade. And of solid gold, too… or maybe merely coated in gold. Or a Dungeon conjuration. Anything could happen in here, as far as Milotic could tell.

    The message read: “In this chamber, you must come to terms with yourself and consolidate your spirit. Only one, with the aspects of the remainder, may pass through the final gateway. Choose two aspects to discard into the forgotten back of your mind. They shall stand before Zekrom to be removed. Choose two to keep in the forefront of your thoughts. They shall stand before Reshiram to be remembered. The one who remains shall march onward as the ideal self. They shall stand before Kyurem to confirm your choice.”

    Milotic read it over a few times, trying to fully understand what it meant. “Two to discard, two to remember, and…”

    Lugia nodded. “One who remains. To pass this trial, you must bring all of us within you in a certain way and become the ideal self. Or…”

    For a moment, Milotic had a realization of what Lugia was going to imply. Her body felt colder.

    “You choose someone else,” Lugia said, “of these personalities conjured from the Dungeon, from within your mind, to take your place.”
     
    Chapter 176 - The Value of Regret
  • Namohysip

    Dragon Enthusiast
    Staff
    Partners
    1. flygon
    2. charizard
    3. milotic
    4. zoroark-soda
    5. sceptile
    6. marowak
    7. jirachi
    8. meganium
    9. namo-rock
    Thanks for the reviews, Fobbie! Glad that you've been enjoying these big bumps of the plot now that the story really got rolling. I replied to your evals elsewhere, but it's nice to see you getting into the think of it now.

    And here's the next chapter...

    Chapter 176 – The Value of Regret

    “Please, wait!” Solgaleo cried. “I spent a lot of time thinking about this!”

    “No. I’m done with these tests,” Charizard growled, marching straight past regal marble statues and pillars with Necrozma’s insignia dotting every floor tile. Golden crystals of light decorated the ceiling, reflecting his orange flame. Up ahead, he saw a distortion.

    Solgaleo awkwardly followed behind them with his tail down. “But but but… It was going to be a cool speech! Like, can I at least say one line?”

    “You’re… just mocking me. I know what you are,” Charizard said. “And I’m not falling for it!”

    “Let me goooo,” Wrath whispered. They’d caught him in a pincer attack the section prior; he and Reflection traded off who maintained the barrier around him as they walked. “I need… to kill… the god…!”

    “Quiet,” Reflection said, tapping the shield. “Just behave.”

    “I’d never mock myself!” Solgaleo said, prancing ahead and spinning to face them again. “Please, I spent my whole existence thinking of the speech!”

    “Your whole existence.” Charizard crossed his arms.

    “Yes! About… a few kilos now?”

    “He’s… bubbly,” Owen remarked, looking disturbed. “Are you sure you’re me? I don’t think I was ever like this…”

    “I can think of some times,” Charizard said. “In fact, when you were a Heart…”

    “That’s different!” Owen defended.

    Charizard eyed Solgaleo again, finally stopping his advance. “Alright. Then how about this,” he said. “I’ll let you talk about what you want to… after I guess what you’ll say.”

    “Fine, fine.” Solgaleo sat on his haunches and flicked his tail left and right. “What am I going to say?”

    Charizard gave him a cross look. “You are created from a hypothetical. You’re who I would be if I didn’t do anything wrong. So, like, if I made the opposite decision of what I think led to this mess. Listening to Necrozma, becoming Solgaleo, and working under him as an apprentice Overseer. Dark Matter gets destroyed. Maybe Kilo is remade without him. Everything would be fine if I listened to what Necrozma said, and where we are right now is all my fault.”

    The flames of Charizard, Owen, and Reflection made the golden crystals shimmer. Wrath still hissed inside his barrier, occasionally muttering something as Charizard and Reflection traded barrier duties.

    “Well,” Solgaleo said, glancing behind him. “That’s one way to phrase all of it…”

    “Did I miss anything?” Charizard asked.

    “…Just that it’s guesswork,” Solgaleo admitted. “But it’s what you think could have happened. And I’m from you, too. Remember when you were hit by that light? It took little pieces of you and scattered them across the Dungeon. I’m that last piece.”

    “How can Aramé even do that?” Owen piped up. “That’s… a crazy strong thing to do!”

    “Well, Aramé is crazy strong,” Solgaleo answered with a chuckle. “It’s… scary, uh, yeah. But I guess that’s why she never leaves this place; it’s her domain. Where she’s strongest.”

    “So, each one was some test… What was the point of the mirror thing?” Charizard gestured to Reflection. “That was terrifying!”

    “Ah, well, it wasn’t meant to go that way,” Solgaleo said nervously. “You… broke it. But it was supposed to be something where it’d weigh your time against someone else’s well-being—even someone just like you.”

    “…What kind of test is that?! That wasn’t even on my mind! Someone was in trouble!”

    “I was created as a test of patience?” Reflection whimpered.

    “Starting to think Aramé’s a little nuts,” Owen mumbled.

    “Can I kill her?” Wrath whispered.

    “No,” they all said.

    “In any case, yeah” Solgaleo said. “The fact that it didn’t even cross your mind is a good thing… to an extent. But trying to save one person when a whole world is burning can be another angle. Neither answer is the correct one.”

    “Right.” Charizard returned his attention to the path down the marble-gold hall. “Well… If you’re my final piece, then what’s the end of this supposed to be like?”

    “That’s not too far ahead. I think it’s better if you read it than if I explain it first.”

    “Alright…”

    Charizard’s mind wandered to the feasibility of making a Dungeon like this without any kind of Mystic or Dungeon power to assist. Solid gold pillars, crystals, and runes on the pillars, not to mention how many of them there were in this excessively long hallway… The ground, polished so well that he could see his reflection, made him briefly tap on the tile to make sure it wasn’t another false mirror.

    Thankfully, it wasn’t.

    “What force would have kept me from entering with my Perceive?” Charizard asked.

    “Oh, yeah.” Owen nodded. “You left your horns outside, right?”

    “Aramé likely has them by now,” Solgaleo said. “And there was no force. She assumed you’d obey out of politeness.”

    Charizard groaned. “I shouldn’t have asked.”

    “Hey, don’t say that!” Solgaleo said, tail rising with his tone. “Our curiosity is one of our best and worst traits!”

    “You’re too cheerful,” Charizard mumbled, feeling guilty for remarking it. “Is that… how I used to be?”

    “Well, a little,” Solgaleo said. “Our line naturally has some fiery cheer. I didn’t shake it as Solgaleo. I think… you’ve been very tired. I didn’t get that kind of fatigue.”

    “Tired…” He couldn’t deny that. In the end, he was marching onward, even though his legs hurt. But… he saw the end. He had all the answers he needed to give it his best against Alexander and the other fragments of Dark Matter.

    It was better than his walk in the Voidlands. Glancing at Owen, he wondered if he could have just as easily been that time when he’d lost even Amia to the Voidlands.

    “What’s on your mind?” Solgaleo asked.

    “These… parts of me.” Charizard gestured to him, then at Wrath, who had defiantly become dead weight while rolling in the Protect sphere. “They represent…”

    “Different flaws or states of mind,” Solgaleo explained, nodding. “The times when you were lost…” He gestured to Owen. “The times where you are your most unstable…” He gestured to Wrath, who rolled his eyes. “Your current self.” To Reflection. “And, your regrets reversed. That’s me. For now, you are the host, but we all have a fragment of your spirit. Uh, I think.”

    “For now?”

    “Uhh—that’s for later. When you read the thing.” He pointed a paw at the end of the hall, which, at their pace, was still a few more back-and-forths away. “A lot of this is symbolic.”

    “It’s… symbolic?” Solgaleo said nervously. “When you are so dedicated to a goal that you would cast aside even ‘yourself’ for that duty. That’s what the test was meant to symbolize.”

    “Did getting more symbolic come with becoming Solgaleo?” Charizard deadpanned, not expecting an answer.

    They entered the final chamber. He wondered if Zena had seen the same thing in her part of the Dungeon. Statues loomed over him, larger than life, each one of a Legend. In the back was Arceus made of gold, surrounded by the Creation Trio and the Divine Trio.

    He read the message swiftly, aloud for the others to hear. “In this chamber, you must come to terms with yourself and consolidate your spirit… I already did this. By myself! A year ago!”

    Solgaleo tittered nervously. “Oh yeah, we did do that…”

    Charizard read on. “Only one, with the aspects of the remainder, may pass through the gateway… two to discard, in front of Zekrom. Two to keep, in front of Reshiram. And then the last one in front of Kyurem…”

    “Wait, what’s the full version?” Reflection asked.

    Charizard stood aside so he could read it.

    “So…” Owen squeaked. “So, I came here all for nothing… I’m… I’m gonna die anyway? Or, or all of you die instead?”

    “It’s hardly death,” Solgaleo said. “You’re just going to sprint into the future! From your perspective, at least.”

    Charizard repeated it to himself, glaring at Kyurem’s statue.

    “What’s the symbolism for this test?” Owen asked Solgaleo.

    “That one’s a little easier,” Solgaleo said. “And… it’s not entirely symbolic.”

    “What?”

    Solgaleo approached the statue of Arceus, tilting his head upward to make eye contact with the imposing, yet inanimate, figure.

    “You know how Legends have special instincts to weather immortality, right?” Solgaleo said. “Things that a normal mortal can’t do.”

    “Yes…?” Charizard’s tail thumped on the ground, sending a little shower of embers behind him. “What about it? Do you have those?”

    “Well, yes,” Solgaleo said. “But have you ever considered why, and how, that’s possible?”

    Charizard didn’t like where this was going.

    Solgaleo sat in front of Arceus’ statue and faced Charizard. “It’s all… instincts.”

    He gestured with one paw to the Creation Trio.

    “Once mortal, these former humans, and some just plain Pokémon, ascended Destiny Tower and then passed. Their spirits, their past, everything about them is combed through, and then they see if that kind of temperament is… good enough.”

    “Good enough—I always thought that ‘good enough’ was not enough for being a god,” Charizard said. “That was the whole problem I had with it.”

    “Because you were in denial of what it meant,” Solgaleo said. “But… you understood the fundamentals, didn’t you? Being a god meant throwing away part of yourself to adopt another. Your instincts.”

    Solgaleo brought his paw to his chest and bowed.

    “I don’t have the temptation to fly freely in the skies. I’m not afraid of the dark. And I don’t mind a cool dip in the pool now and then, either. But, in exchange… I now have a mind that can handle much longer periods. I have innate knowledge of Ultra Space, how to traverse it, and even some Psychic tricks, too. I mean, you already have a few of those, Mister Past-Seer.”

    “I, uh, I don’t think I reawakened that one yet,” Charizard admitted. “I lost most of that once I sided with Dark Matter…”

    “Oh. Exchanged the past for the negative present.” Solgaleo nodded. “Well, reawakening that might be useful.”

    “You also talk a little strangely,” Reflection suddenly said. “What’s with that? Another… instinct?”

    “Oh, no. In my hypothetical memories, I spent more time with Necrozma and the other gods. Picked up their accent a little.”

    “Hypoth—” Reflection rubbed his eyes like it would make him hear better. “Do those instincts also defend you from existential nightmares or something?!”

    “Yes!” Solgaleo said cheerfully.

    “…Why?!”

    To that, Solgaleo opened his mouth, paused, and then closed it with a shrug.

    “So, um…” Owen nervously raised a claw. “What’s your whole point about instincts?”

    “Oh, right. Sorry. Got distracted.” Solgaleo cleared his throat. “My point about instincts is… it’s part of who you are. You take great pride in your species, don’t you?” Solgaleo tilted his head at Charizard.

    “Well… yes. It’s who I am. What I grew up as, and what I want to keep being.”

    “Don’t you think that’s… interesting? You know, when you think about it.”

    “What do you mean?”

    “Well…” Solgaleo shrugged. “Most souls don’t get to be the same thing for as long as you have. A century or so at most before they die and pass on, perhaps reincarnate, perhaps go into the Overworld… But never do they stay a Charizard, for example, for… two thousand or so years?”

    “And?”

    “Basically… you already act like a super-mortal.” Solgaleo pawed at the ground. “It’s not as different as you think. You’ve spent so much time trying to be normal-minded that you didn’t realize how… weird it is to be normal in this kind of situation. And you aren’t normal. You haven’t been normal in over a thousand years.”

    Charizard shifted again, folding his wings as if defending against incoming attacks. He tried to find a neutral stance, only to realize that his neutral was a defensive position. Nothing else felt right.

    “If you consider your ‘self’ as a Charizard part of your identity,” Solgaleo said gently, “then your ‘self’ has already been changed. You don’t… have thoughts like these as a normal Charizard.” He pointed at Wrath, who, enamored by the speech for once, had stopped clawing against the barrier. “No normal Charizard gets used to the things you have gone through. And no normal Charizard would do so without untold mental scars and damage. And… while you are hurt, you are functional. That is… abnormal.”

    “But that’s a good thing, right?” Charizard defended. “I’m… I’m still me! So what if I can handle things a little better?”

    “It is good,” Solgaleo agreed. “But what about everything else? About being a mutant and letting those instincts become part of you? Why did you spare him?”

    At first, Charizard read that as an accusation. After looking directly at Solgaleo, he realized it was out of curiosity.

    “What do you mean?” he said.

    “You came all this way,” Solgaleo said. “You don’t seem to like me… The choice would be simple for you, wouldn’t it? You’d put me and that one to be discarded. You’d bring Owen and your reflection to your present mind. And you would pass through. That’s your answer, right?”

    “No.”

    Charizard turned to face Kyurem again, then at the statues where the sacrifices had to be made.

    “I’m not giving any of it up. I need all of it.”

    “…Even me?” Solgaleo asked.

    “Yes.” Owen sighed. “I need to remember… that I made wrong choices. And that maybe I could’ve been happier. The regrets… I think they’re strong, too. They’ll remind me to think twice when I do… dramatic things.”

    “And Wrath?” Solgaleo asked.

    So he knew the name, too. “I need his fighting instincts. I need to be able to kill if I have to when I’m facing Alexander. I think he’ll take advantage of… if I hesitate otherwise.”

    “I think I understand,” Solgaleo said. “Alexander is far beyond forgiveness. Even I can agree with that.”

    “Wh-what about me?” Owen asked.

    “I can’t forget what it’s like to go through what you did,” Charizard said, nodding. “To feel lost and confused, weak and helpless. If I’m making decisions for people a lot weaker than I am, even if I don’t want the world to be like that… I need to remember them. I can’t lose sight of that.”

    “Another noble gesture,” Solgaleo agreed. “But… unfortunately, I do not think you can achieve that here. Do you see a way through?” Solgaleo gestured to the statues that loomed over them.

    Their regal sparkle mocked Charizard and, in that silence, he wondered if those lifeless eyes were connected to any living souls.

    “The way forward cannot open unless you activate them with your sacrifices,” Solgaleo said. “Even if we tried to brute force the way through somehow, it’d take a lot of time. This is the Dungeon of the Dragon Guardian. The power needed to overwhelm it… Can you imagine?”

    “We have a world to save. Aramé wouldn’t stall us for that, would she?” Owen asked.

    “I don’t know,” Solgaleo said. “But you know how Aramé can be when it comes to conviction and ideals. To a fault.”

    “Ironic,” Charizard muttered.

    “Takes one to know one,” Solgaleo pointed out.

    Charizard glared, tail thwapping against the marble ground enough to leave a crack. He huffed a plume of smoke and stared at the wall again.

    “…Then you’ll help us get through,” Charizard concluded.

    “What?”

    “I know you know what I’m talking about,” Charizard said pointedly. “You’re getting us past the wall. You know it’s a wall, don’t you?”

    Solgaleo stiffened and adjusted his weight. “Well… yes… I guess I do…”

    “And… you can do what Necrozma can do,” Charizard said.

    “Only in here,” Solgaleo quickly said. “The domain of the Dungeon is like another world. And in it, I’ve been given a lot of power… including… doing what I could hypothetically do in my… nonexistent timeline.”

    “Again with the existential sentences.” Charizard rubbed his eyes. “Seriously, does it bother you at all? You have memories of a life that never happened. Of a timeline I never explored. You’ve existed for less than a day. Why aren’t you upset?”

    “I think I was made to not be upset,” Solgaleo said flatly. “Another instinct.”

    “I… don’t think I like Aramé,” Owen said grimly, holding his tail tight against his chest.

    “Now, come on.” Solgaleo shook his head. “I’m a tiny part of you! In that sense, I’ve existed just as long as you have! Just as… ideas in your head. Maybe that’s why it’s so easy to accept. I’m simply your regrets!”

    “Oh, good.” Charizard pointed at the wall. “Come on. Let’s go through.”

    “That’s against the rules of the Dungeon,” Solgaleo said.

    “And?” Reflection piped up as Charizard stomped to turn around and calm himself. “Don’t you think that being perfectly happy to follow everything your commander said is… a bad idea right now? If Aramé told you to stall me until the world ended, would you?”

    “Well… no, I wouldn’t,” Solgaleo admitted. “But this—”

    “I’m not letting anyone try to tamper with my head again,” Charizard cut in, turning around again. “I’ve had enough. I want to walk my own path without… someone, anyone, trying to shape my thoughts with their divine power! Aramé, Star, even Mom, it’s… enough.”

    Owen loosened his grip on his tail. He stared at Wrath, who had settled into his little Protect bubble. It had gotten so thin, but he didn’t seem to care to strike at it.

    “Even if, in this case,” Solgaleo said, “it might just wind up the same way? If you want no manipulation… why not put me in the discard pile? Maybe myself and… Wrath, who’s just a perversion of your violent flaws. You still have that in its moderated state. So…”

    “Because no matter what you say,” Charizard said, “I… can’t trust that. It has to be by my own hands. At least that way, I know it’ll be done the way I want. Aramé might be good at this… but you know what? I’ve already done this before! And the five of us I sorted out were a lot less agreeable than how we are right now.”

    “That’s true…” Solgaleo sighed. “Fine, okay. I’ll help… but Aramé isn’t going to be happy about this.”

    “She can do her worst.” Charizard huffed. “We’ve got enemies a lot stronger than her to deal with anyway.”

    At least… he hoped so. Aramé was the most powerful Guardian. Owen didn’t think he would be able to stand up to her full wrath head-on. This was a risk, but… playing along was only going to waste more time. This was the best option. And it’d have the best outcome. It had to.

    Solgaleo’s starry eyes twinkled. “We do.” He held a paw toward the wall. “Okay. Time for fake-but-works-here Ultra Wormholes into the goal. Come close, please.”

    Reflection rolled Wrath over; Owen hopped on Charizard’s shoulder. As a strange puncture in the already twisted space formed in front of Solgaleo, Charizard offered one last glance at the statues, this time at Zekrom with a sharp frown.

    Whatever test this was, he got through it on his own terms.

    <><><>​

    Mu was unaffected by Dungeon distortions.

    When Owen started wandering off and doing… whatever he was doing, and when Zena went in the other direction, Mu was left at the Dungeon entrance with nothing more than her book. Which she’d already finished reading.

    She went back and grabbed the horns Owen had left behind so she could return them to him later. Then, she headed through the Dungeon like before. A weird beam of light hit her but didn’t do anything. Maybe it was supposed to. Oh well.

    After several empty corridors, she spent a little time playing with the crystals in a big room with a glass wall. Boring. She ran ahead to a fancy-schmancy room with gaudy statues and no way forward.

    Any time she saw something like that, it usually meant there was a hidden passageway, so she teleported past the room and continued down the hall.

    “What?” called a deep voice. “How are you here?”

    “Oh, hi.” Mu waved.

    It was a Salamence and a Dragonite. The one who talked was the Salamence. Mu felt her irritation—that was the dominant emotion. She didn’t feel much from Dragonite, who stood at the side and tilted his head.

    “How did you get past my Dungeon so quickly? Did you know the test?”

    “I walked?”

    A beat of silence. The irritation transitioned to confusion.

    “What?”

    “I walked. You know. Like, with my legs. Oh, except for when there was a dead end. Then I teleported because I didn’t want to bother finding the switch.”

    “Why didn’t you teleport in the first place?”

    “Dad said that was unhealthy and I’d become a blobby Charizard if I did that.”

    Aramé squinted at her. Mu shrugged. “I might. I’m already part Void Shadow, so I’m practically a blob already.”

    “You don’t seem like an—Ah!”

    Mu melted into a puddle of black pudding-like material before reforming.

    “Have you always been able to do that?” Aramé hissed.

    “Picked it up a couple months ago. Dad said it might scare people. But you’re, like, the ultimate Guardian, right? So, it shouldn’t scare you.” She glanced at Dragonite, who was radiating mixtures of… shock and fear, yes. She was pretty sure that was it. And some disgust. “He is, though,” Mu added with a little smirk.

    “Don’t rope Ire into this,” Aramé grunted.

    “I, er… I never fought a Void Shadow before,” Ire admitted nervously. He had a slight accent that reminded Mu of a Kanto Pokémon. Dad had the smallest hint of it resurfacing, too, though it faded by the time he’d left for Alola and Orre.

    Mu stretched her arms, legs, and tail, popping a few joints before stretching them even further to impossible angles. Then, she relaxed.

    “How’s Mom and Dad doing?”

    “Well, your father has made a mockery of at least two of my tests,” Aramé said.

    “Sounds about right.”

    “And your mother is… coming to her final decisions on which aspects of herself she values the most.”

    “Aspects?” Mu asked.

    “Oh, so you didn’t see any of the tests,” Ire said. The Dragonite plopped down on his belly and tilted his head at Mu. “You’re adorable.”

    “Thanks. But I’m trying to grow out of that.”

    “You need to grow?” Ire asked. “You’re a Void Shadow, right? Can’t you just… change shape?”

    “…Huh.” Mu scratched her cheek. “Maybe.”

    “Maybe? You haven’t tried?”

    “Hey, gimme a break!” Mu said. “I’m only, like, a year or something old!”

    “Oh!” Ire flinched. “That’s all? You’re… you act like a teenager.”

    “Guess I matured fast.” Mu rolled her eyes. “Comes with getting a bunch of knowledge and memory pieces from everyone in, uh…” She counted on her claws. “Kanto, Orre, Alola, and a little bit here in Kilo.”

    “…Pieces of memories?” Aramé said. “Just by proximity?”

    “Mhm. Including yours.”

    She always liked that little pulse of insecurity she got from those she said that to. It was fun because usually, their most insecure secrets came up right after, involuntarily, for her to see.

    Dad said she shouldn’t take advantage of that. But Aramé was mean to Mom and Dad, so she could do that to them. As a treat.

    “You’re… well-adjusted for someone who feeds on and learns from nothing but negative emotions,” Aramé said.

    “Thanks. Mom and Dad spent a lot of their downtime talking to me about the things I learned. I didn’t like it at first, but… I dunno. Eventually, I got curious… It became a knowledge thing. Like, academic?”

    Mu thought back to the little birds she’d killed in Alola and averted her eyes.

    “…Is there more to that?” Aramé asked. “For only having a year of life, much of who you are must have been written in your nature, rather than your upbringing.”

    “Dad doesn’t like talking about that,” Mu said. “But I mean… I don’t have evil thoughts. Like, I don’t wanna enslave everyone to be my evil minions.”

    “What do you want?” Ire asked. “Like… what does a being of negativity want?”

    “I dunno. Ask my other bio-dad. For me, it’s just a power. How I get the knowledge, I mean. I don’t feel it if I don’t want to… That’s what makes me different from Daddy Diyem.”

    The pulse of startled revulsion from Aramé, and befuddlement from Ire, caught her off guard.

    “What?”

    “D… Daddy Diyem.”

    “What? Too cursed?”

    “Cursed?” Aramé repeated.

    “Weird.”

    “A bit.”

    “Well, I’m gonna call him that and see how he reacts,” Mu said. “Anyway… I’ve been feeling a ton of irritation from you and how Dad broke all your tests, so I know what you wanted him to do. I thiiink I have a good idea what Mom’s doing, too. You said aspects, right? So I’m gonna bet…”

    Mu thought about her mother. She was kind, but she always bottled up a fierce defiance, sometimes even more than Dad. It was surprising, in a way, that she didn’t also try to go against the test. Maybe she didn’t realize it was a test? No, her ideal aspect would have explained everything…

    Mu finally answered, “I think she’s going to keep her reflection and her weaker self.”

    “Good guesses,” Aramé said impartially.

    “…I can’t tell if you’re being coy or not.” Mu’s snout scrunched up. “That’s annoying. Show some negative emotion.”

    “Oh, I’m just entertained at how you’d guess your parents’ decisions,” Aramé said. “I guess that’s not a negative emotion… besides, I’m sure you feel my negativity at how easily you were able to grasp what I know about my Dungeon.”

    “Sorry.” Mu shrugged. “Being a walking violation of privacy runs in the family. Be happier. Maybe I won’t know you as well.”

    Ire rubbed the top of his head in worry. “I’m not sure if you’d make for a great therapist or a terrible one.”

    “Oh, I’d be terrible. Mostly because I’m only a yearish old.”

    A gust of wind blew to punctuate the silence.

    “…Sooo anyway, are they here yet?”

    “They’re still deliberating,” Aramé murmured.

    Mu huffed and whipped her tail on the ground again. She reached over and pulled at it and it grew and grew. She darkened her scales and pulled at the back of her head, growing a horn. She sharpened her snout until it became slightly more beak-like. Around that point, she felt a slow burn of horror coming from Ire and glanced his way.

    “’Sup?” she asked.

    “What are you doing?”

    “Tryna evolve.”

    “That’s not… that’s…” Ire sat up, gesturing to his arms. “You’re not… doing it right, I think.”

    “Well, I’d ask for a mirror, but I think they’re all tests here,” Mu said. She let her body revert, melting back to its Charmander base state. “Guess maybe I still follow basic evolution… Maybe I’m like Dad and I have a different element. Like. Grassmander, right? So, I must be… Voidmander.”

    Ire tilted his head with uncertainty in his aura.

    “Too edgy?” Mu asked.

    “Edgy?”

    “Like, trying to act dark and brooding and cool, but it’s cringe instead.”

    Ire and Aramé both stared at her blankly.

    Mu sighed. “Never mind…” She dug into her torso and pulled out a book. “I’m just gonna read until they get here.”

    She turned to the next chapter—this one on the relationship between Grass Pokémon and mundane plants—and ignored the typical waves of disgust from her audience at her book storage methods.

    For someone a yearish old, waiting a few hours felt like an eternity.

    <><><>​

    Five different kinds of Owen marched down the final hallway. Charizard led the pack. On his shoulder was Owen, the little Charmander who got a little braver every second. Beside him was Reflection, rolling Wrath in front just in case he lost it again. Taking up the rear and walking behind and between the two mirrored Charizard was Solgaleo, who had a guilty expression that avoided Aramé’s gaze as they walked to the Dungeon’s center.

    This was where Zero Isle Spiral’s arms all met in a central vortex.

    A thin layer of saltwater rippled with each step the Owen aspects took, mixing with fine sand and Dungeon rocks. Near the middle, atop a platform of rock only a foot higher than their current, sandy approach, was Salamence Aramé, Dragonite Ire, and Mu, still a Charmander. And, thankfully, unharmed and nonchalant.

    “Wow, look at you,” Mu called, finally sitting up. “You’re walking up here like a five-draw from a gacha game. One dupe.”

    “I don’t know what that is, Mu!” Charizard called routinely.

    “So. You’ve arrived.” Aramé rose next, a mighty Salamence that managed to reach Charizard’s eye level while on all fours. “…And not only did you bypass my test, but you made a mockery of it.”

    “Yeah.” Charizard wasn’t going to deny it. “I’m through with tests, Aramé. I already went through one with the Overseers, and I don’t know how many other things I did that count as tests. So we’re done testing. I’m ready to save the world.”

    Aramé offered a wry smile. “Save the world again, you mean?” she said with a tone that Charizard refused to make him feel small.

    “I know what I did wrong,” Charizard said. “It’s not happening again. And you know I’m the only one who can fix this now.”

    “You’re probably right,” Aramé said. “If only by chance… and the powers you have. Under any other circumstance…”

    “I’d be long dead and not the world’s problem,” Charizard completed.

    “And what’s your plan?” Aramé asked. “Not for the world. But for this.” She gestured at the five of them.

    “Oh, that’s true,” Ire piped up. “If you aren’t going to fuse …”

    “No, we will,” Charizard said. “Aramé. You can dispel this, can’t you?”

    “…Fine.” Aramé closed her eyes and took a breath. Aura encircled her…

    Charizard’s claw twitched. He grasped the aura and pulled.

    Aramé’s senses were sharp. The great Dragon Guardian snarled and lunged for Charizard, only for all five aspects to pull up a Protect barrier.

    “You!” Aramé growled. “What are—”

    Charizard clutched at the piece of aura he’d stolen.

    “Proving a point,” Charizard said, his head only inches away from Aramé’s, split by a barrier. He saw the details of her scales, every wrinkle between her battle-worn skin. She trained often while inside her little domain. Her home away from the rest of the world. Her ideal place.

    Charizard harnessed the aura in his hands, which flared up like a fire that had been offered the driest brush. Owen, Reflection, Wrath, and Solgaleo all looked at their hands and paws… and disappeared into motes of light, crashing down upon Charizard, and covering him in a thin layer of gold. This light, too, faded.

    Owen opened his eyes. A rush of memories returned to him, but at this point, he was used to it. Some memories were fragmented hypotheticals from Solgaleo of a time that never happened, conjured by Aramé’s hypotheses and theories of what could have happened in an ideal world. He thought of them as daydreams… but there was merit to it. There was value in regret.

    “Why do you insist,” Aramé said, “on hoarding all of your memories?”

    “Um, I’m… lost,” Ire admitted. The Dragonite stepped next to Mu. “What did Owen do?”

    “He did… something close to what I would have done,” Aramé said, “but clearly, he’s more Dragon than I. The pride he has in doing all matters himself is more than enough to make even Arceus look modest.”

    Owen rolled his eyes. “At least you admit he’s… Look. I’m doing this because I am done with people tampering with my mind. Understand?”

    Aramé’s jaw clenched, though she didn’t object.

    “It’s not pride. It’s control. And I’m taking it. No more people trying to change my identity through my instincts, through controlling or suppressing my memory, through any of that. If you want to change me, do it the old-fashioned way. With a talk. With a fight. And—give me back my horns!”

    “What? Oh. Right.” Aramé sighed, glancing at Ire.

    “Oh!” Ire quickly flapped his tiny wings and went to one of the spiral’s arms, returning with a small bowl with Owen’s horns in them. “Er, here you go. Thank you for putting those in.”

    “…What would have happened if I brought those with me?” Owen asked.

    “Nothing. I was relying on your… politeness.”

    “Oh.” Somehow this was the least expected answer. He thought that was a lie Solgaleo had been told. “…Well, you used most of that up with what happened right after.”

    “I can tell.” Aramé shook her head as Owen removed his clay replicas and slipped them into his bag. He gently put his true horns back and sighed, relieved, as his Perceive returned to him.

    And just within range, he sensed Zena slithering in from another of the spiral’s arms.

    “Oh, hey! Mom’s here!” Mu said, running over to her. “Mom! How’d you do on your test?”

    There you are.” Zena quickened her slithering. Owen noted that it was just one of her… Based on how Aramé was smiling at Zena, followed by casting a glare Owen’s way, she must have gone through the test properly.

    “Zena…” Owen nervously approached. “Are you… still Zena?”

    “I am, Owen. Don’t worry.” She nodded. “In fact, I feel… lighter. The Dungeon helped isolate some… parts of myself that I wasn’t happy with anyway. It was only a boost in the direction I’d wanted all along.”

    Owen still didn’t like it, but… it was her choice. She took advantage of it in her way. That was fine.

    “What was it like for you?” Owen asked.

    Ire left the area and returned with bunches of berries and a few balls of leaves from some storage area in the Spiral’s center. He set them up so they could sit and recover from their examinations and travel, and during it, Zena talked about what she’d gone through, and Owen exchanged similar tales.

    The biggest differences were how Zena had to defeat her ‘angry’ aspect, while Owen was able to contain his… and that while Owen bypassed the final test, Zena made her choices exactly as requested. However, when Zena got to the point where she’d made her decision…

    “Something for… me to talk about later,” Zena admitted, glancing away. “I need some time to process it.”

    “What?” Owen whispered. “Did you… get rid of Lugia?”

    “Later, Owen,” Zena said gently. The Milotic coiled a little tighter and leaned against Owen as they sat against each other. Mu stopped reading to listen, looking pensive.

    “Did you… want to be Lugia?” Owen said nervously. He tried to ignore the cold feeling in his chest.

    “Don’t worry, Owen. I don’t… I don’t know how it all worked out. It’s fuzzy to me. Can I have some time to think about it?”

    That wasn’t any help, but… he respected that. Maybe her mind was still trying to adjust to everything. It was disorienting; Owen knew that. “Okay. Sorry.”

    “I’m also sorry,” Zena said. “I know you have bad experiences with… mates becoming Legends.”

    “That—but you didn’t make any decisions because of me, right?” Owen asked, defying his knee-jerk reactions. Sure, he didn’t want Zena taking on that… but he didn’t want her deciding because of how he felt.

    “No.” Zena shook her head. “I knew you’d be upset if I based my decisions on… how you felt alone. But it’s hard to… recall exactly. I’ll tell you later, when I have it sorted.”

    Just talking to her… she felt like herself. That was good enough. “Whenever you’re ready.”

    “Mm.” Ire nodded sagely. “Zero Isle Spiral tests your strength, but your spirit grows if it can conquer the Dungeon. As the world’s most powerful Guardian, she can give the Spiral’s Blessing to anyone who completes that final test.”

    “The Spiral’s Blessing…” Owen tilted his head. “What’s it do?”

    “For you? Nothing substantial,” Aramé admitted. “It’s only a little more. It’s the ability to push yourself even further and draw out the true strength that lay dormant within all Pokémon—the ability to be a god, however small. I mostly did this test… to see if you had the mentality necessary to confront Dark Matter, who would take advantage of every insecurity you had. Every mental weakness, every… Shadow.”

    “I had a feeling that was the case even before meeting Lugia,” Zena said. “Still… you could have gone without the strange, cryptic tests.”

    Ire chuckled. “Well, it was on short notice,” he said. “An Overseer had requested it and we didn’t have a lot of time to prepare. We used what Aramé always used.”

    Zena sighed, glancing at Owen. He let the annoyance slide and fade. He’d already proven himself to that Overseer. But if Hecto and Necrozma were anything to go by, the Overseers were thorough when they wanted to be. And redundant.

    “One way or another, we got here,” Owen said. “That means we passed, right?”

    “Yes. You passed… by technicality.” Aramé flashed a glare. “I could kill you for it, but that wouldn’t do much.” Her tail whipped at the ground. “…Zena passed properly. Congratulations to you, Zena.”

    An awkward nod was Zena’s reply.

    “…Well, I guess that’s it,” Owen said. “But Aramé… You’re coming with us, right?”

    “What?”

    “To help against Dark Matter. We need all the help we can get.”

    “…I’m not as strong outside of my domain, this Spiral, you know.”

    “You’ve been no help here,” Owen said flatly. “We had to come to you. Aside from when you helped Arceus in the Ethereal Forest, have you been able to do anything other than… guard?”

    “…Those were my orders. I must guard this place.”

    “Is that relevant anymore?” Owen said. “C’mon. We need to be all at the front to defend everyone else.”

    “If I leave, this Dungeon could become infected,” Aramé warned. “We can’t have that. Void Shadows emerging from the former Dragon Guardian’s Dungeon?”

    “…Right.” Owen stretched his wings behind him but kept his arms crossed. “…Then you’re going to help me in one last way.”

    “How?” Aramé said with a suspicious glare.

    “We’re going to battle.”

    Ire perked up.

    “You’ve spent too long in the human world,” Aramé said with an entertained smirk. “Battle, me? In my domain? You realize this would—”

    “It’ll be the same, right?” Owen countered. “You could kill me, but that wouldn’t mean much.”

    “I was speaking figuratively,” Aramé grunted. “…Fine. What about you?” Aramé eyed Zena.

    “Where Owen fights, I fight,” Zena replied.

    “Hm. Ire.”

    The Dragonite sprang to his feet and thwacked his tail on the ground. The earth rumbled, leaving a fissure that trailed to a spiral arm behind him. Sand and water filled in the crack. Aramé stepped away to gain some distance and she murmured a plan to Ire. Owen could read what they said with his Perceive… but they were talking in shorthand. It could have meant anything.

    “…Yeah, I’ll uh…” Mu vanished, reappearing at the center’s edge. “Good luuuuck!” she called.

    Zena coiled up and readied herself. Her feather-fan covered her face, hiding her first prepared move, while Owen watched Aramé closely. It looked like Aramé was someone who preferred to finish things quickly. She wasn’t going to hold back, even for a sparring match. Ire… Owen didn’t know much of Ire, but he wasn’t as big of a threat. But he could get in the way…

    “Zena,” Owen whispered. “I want you to prepare Life Dew after you attack Ire. Like we practiced.”

    “Okay.”

    That was all they needed. It was a new strategy, but they’d spent a lot of time in the human world planning for things like this.

    “Ready?” Aramé called.

    “We’re ready.”

    “Mu,” Aramé called. “Mark the battle’s opening.”

    “Oh, uh… okay!” She cleared her throat and stood up straight. “This is a battle between Guardian Aramé with Spirit Ire and Guardians, uh… Mom and Dad! Trainers—uh, I mean, fighters, ready… begin!”

    As predicted, Aramé wasted no time in toying with her foes. She gave everything she had in one strike, conjuring meteors in the sky and raining them down upon Owen with exact precision. Owen brought his arms up and created a barrier, blocking the attack and kneeling from the force it exerted anyway. Ire flew in with his claws enveloped in indigo fire, but Zena deflected it with a powerful Hydro Pump.

    While that didn’t do much, she chained it with an Ice Beam, flash-freezing the Dragonite mid-flight. She grabbed the new rod of ice with Ire at the end with her tail and, despite it being tens of feet long, swung it at Aramé as she conjured her meteors.

    Ire slammed into Aramé and pinwheeled into the ground below, dissolving before he could even get a hit in. Aramé, however, was barely affected by the combination strike.

    That struck Owen as odd. Ire dissolved far too easily.

    His Perceive didn’t detect it, but his eyes did: Ire’s phantom loomed over Aramé, bolstering her aura to the point where it felt like Owen’s scales were peeling off. It warped the light around her as the Draco Meteor onslaught continued, giving Owen no break.

    Then came the soothing cool of Life Dew. It wasn’t much, but it kept Owen going long enough to grasp at the Draco Meteor’s essence… and Aramé’s power.

    Just what he was waiting for.

    The meteors finally stopped. Aramé had to rest—but her aura was as strong as ever. The fatigue that Draco Meteor usually inflicted on the user… simply didn’t manifest. Aramé was truly powerful…

    But the battle was already over.

    “You’re still standing,” Aramé remarked. “But it looks like you don’t have the strength to fight back.”

    Owen was on his knees, one hand in the sand, the other on that arm’s bicep.

    “I wasn’t aiming at you.”

    Owen’s flame turned black and white. That energy spiraled around his tail, up his back, and into his arm where it mixed with Aramé’s power. Then, he pumped it into the sand, where the energy rippled out in a single pulse. It trailed around every spiral’s arm in a matter of seconds and infected the walls of the Dungeon.

    Aramé gasped. “STOP!” she roared.

    Hastily, she conjured a second Draco Meteor—

    Too late.

    Owen sent a second pulse, triggering a Dungeon-wide shockwave. Zena took on a defensive stance and covered her eyes. Mu crossed her arms and formed a black-white Protect. And everything around Owen erupted in Chaotic energy. He heard something shatter, ethereal and glass-like. When he glanced upward, he saw the very skyline light up, twist, and break.

    The labyrinth collapsed into piles of sand. The meteors evaporated with the blast. And the oppressive atmosphere of the Dungeon… became nothing but a memory.

    In complete shock, Aramé only stared. Owen pointed a claw at her, forming several meteors above the arena. He held them.

    “…Give up?” Owen asked.

    “Owen…” Zena looked around. “What… was that?”

    “Testing a theory,” Owen said. “It’s for something I’m going to need to do a lot more.”

    Aramé landed—stumbled—on the Spiral. She stared, left and right, and the ruins of the spiral, which was now more like a grassy sandbar.

    “You… it’s gone,” she whispered in total disbelief. “Owen, what did you do? What did… you… DO?!”

    Owen stood tall, frowning. “I sealed a wound that Kilo has. I closed a gateway into the Voidlands.”

    “YOU BLEW UP MY HOME?!”

    “W-well, yes, but you were coming with us anyway, so—”

    Aramé turned her body around and whipped Owen with her tail across his face. A golden barrier dulled the pain… but she had quite the swing. It still stung.

    “Okay, I deserved that one—”

    She swung again. Then clawed at his belly. Each hit was blocked by a barrier and Owen nervously stepped back. Every strike conveyed anger, but… he also sensed that Aramé was impressed—and not as mad as she could have been.

    After several more blows—Zena and Mu awkwardly watching—Aramé stomped her paw on the ground and huffed.

    “Completely and utterly unnecessary,” Aramé said. “You could have informed me of this ploy. I would have agreed.”

    Owen had his doubts.

    “But… you must have sensed it, too,” she said. “The weakening barrier. Did you think Alexander would have tried to pass through here?”

    “It would’ve been bad if he did,” Owen said. “But… don’t worry. Yours is the first of many. I figured out how to seal off the Dungeons. And if we do that… we can control where Alexander emerges from.”

    “I see…” Her anger slowly subsided. “…And… Arceus must also have informed you that my time to leave this place was at hand anyway.”

    Owen nodded. “But you couldn’t,” she said, “because you had to guard the Dungeon. So, I got rid of that part. I wasn’t sure if it was possible…”

    Aramé sighed. “Next time,” she said, “explain what you will do. We can’t have improvisations for the true fight.”

    “I will,” Owen said with a shrinking flame.

    “He just wanted to be cool,” Mu piped up.

    “I didn’t! It just seemed like the best way to get Aramé’s strongest hit! I think… it wouldn’t have worked otherwise.”

    “Oh?” Aramé said.

    “Yeah.” Owen made vague gestures with his hands. “See, the way it works is, when I Usurp an attack, I need to—”

    “Um, can this wait?” Mu suddenly spoke up.

    “What?”

    Mu pointed at the northern horizon.

    Owen had been so focused on Aramé and the others that he didn’t realize a giant, shadowy leviathan with five heads and countless eyes had been flying toward them. And now that he had some reading done in the human world… Nate looked a lot like Eternatus in its unleashed form. Yet… somehow even more disturbing. Blackened and covered in eyes… What was up with that?

    “Isn’t that Nate?” Zena said.

    “Yes. Why is he coming here?” Aramé murmured. “Come. Let’s meet him. I’ll have my comeuppance with you afterward.”

    Owen winced. She meant it.

    <><><>​

    They met at the former Spiral’s northern arm’s edge. Nate landed gingerly, making several waves anyway due to his size. Owen landed just in front of him, craning his neck up as he figured out which eye to look at. Aramé, Zena, and Mu stood behind him.

    “Hey, Nate,” he said. “You… came to see us?”

    Yes. I… must ask you something, Nate said.

    Him, specifically? That answered a few suspicions Owen had.

    The report from Alola… told him that a small piece of his spirit was missing. It couldn’t be in the Voidlands—he was whole after that ordeal, and nobody found a trace of him afterward. He hadn’t been fragmented there.

    All the other Dungeons were the same way. If they sought Owen out, they found nothing. The piece missing… had to have been old. Ancient. And hidden somewhere nobody had the opportunity to check…

    His first guess had been Zero Isle Spiral, somehow. But obviously—even though it loved to fragment those who entered—Owen hadn’t recovered a thing. His fragment wasn’t sealed here.

    And now, Nate was coming here, just before Owen planned to set off to find it.

    That’s when he realized just what happened.

    “Nate,” Owen said. “…May I have my final piece back?”

    Most of Nate’s eyes widened with surprise. Zena and Aramé glanced at each other with confusion. Mu leaned forward, her attention on something else of Nate.

    …It’s… exactly as you planned, Nate said, somewhere between awe and disbelief.

    From the palm of the hand-like, multi-headed creature, a small, golden mote emerged and drifted toward Owen. It said nothing, yet Owen felt a warm, proud, triumphant smile radiating off its aura.

    “Hey,” Owen said. “How… old are you?”

    The mote of light pulsed rhythmically. The waves settled again after Nate’s shifting stopped.

    Then, in a voice like Wishkeeper’s, yet with the serenity of a white cloud, the mote said, Let me show you.

    It drifted to Owen’s chest…

    And Owen’s two thousand years of memories unified with a thousand more.

    <><><>​

    Author's Note: Thanks, everyone, for reading! Incoming is the final Special Episode of HoC. As such, expect it to take twice as long to get out. The publication date for the final Special Episode will be May 19th. See you then!
     
    Special Episode 13: Some Heroes Fail
  • Namohysip

    Dragon Enthusiast
    Staff
    Partners
    1. flygon
    2. charizard
    3. milotic
    4. zoroark-soda
    5. sceptile
    6. marowak
    7. jirachi
    8. meganium
    9. namo-rock
    Thanks for the feedback, Fobbie! Really happy to see the story picking up for you at this point. I gave you feedback on United, but in general, this is when the story finally picks up and starts giving hints to its "true" A plot, and the Guardian plot becomes more of a backdrop.

    Anyway, now it's time to move to Special Episode 13...



    Special Episode 13 – Some Heroes Fail

    My body’s age is the world’s age. My life is tied to the world’s life. Through me, all spirits are granted the privilege of the living world. And to me, all spirits are meant to pass through on their departure.

    The fabric of reality is dictated in my being, and should it ever need to be modified, those with divine power may change it… carefully.

    But with each new rule and each subtle change, instabilities form with unpredictable outcomes. All I do is process them. I take no sides. I have no opinions. I only… act.

    That is how it was upon my creation. That is, perhaps, how it always should have been. And for over a thousand years, that was my existence.

    But one day… that system experienced a wonderful upheaval.


    <><><>​

    Year 0

    The world began to exist with a single soul. Then, their gods entered to make sure all was well, knowing little of the nature of the world that had been created. They had to learn.

    A Mew floated silently over a cosmic sea. Her name was Star.

    Next to her was a Dusknoir. His name was Hecto, though he was not of this world and not its creator. He was an advisor from beyond.

    Behind them was Arceus, whose nickname was Barky, though he resented it. He seemed troubled by what stood in front of them all.

    The cosmic sea was a beautiful mixture of purples and blues, dotted with white. Every little drop of light was a soul taken before their time. Rather than sending them away into the great beyond, the two gods—Mew and Arceus—took those souls and tried to give them all a second chance.

    It was only fair, in their eyes: they were the ones who had ruined the first.

    Drifting along this cosmic sea was also a small swarm of Unown. Following Arceus’ command directly, they shaped and encoded the special nature of this tiny, tiny world. Special conditions to make up for gravity; a false sky to give the world stars and a realistic sense of space; many little things a natural world wouldn’t have. All to house these souls and give them new life. All to cover up a sad mistake they could not fix.

    These souls had been ‘destroyed’ in their home worlds. That meant the world no longer acknowledged their existence. For them, a new world had to be made.

    Though… Star and Barky did not realize some were not truly destroyed, only most. But perhaps that would not matter.

    “That should do it,” Star said with a nervous laugh. “I… I’m a little rusty at it. But you helped me through it again, Hecto…”

    “Mm.” The Dusknoir’s arms slowly crossed. “I should personally inspect it for a few decades to search for any abnormalities… But that will do it. A temporary world for them to live in. I’m sorry it had to be this way.”

    “And your other Overseer is also coming, right?” Star said nervously, but then suddenly winced and held her chest.

    “Star?” Barky leaned closer.

    “I—I’m fine. Sorry. Still just… shaken up.” When Star removed her hand, there was a blotch of darkness in her chest. It faded away. None of the others saw it. This darkness had been within her when she’d made the world, but it would soon fade.

    However, during the delicate process of Creation, the world was given two sets of keys to its control. One of light, meant for the gods; and one of darkness, lost to the abyss and with no owner.

    They did not know. And so, instead, those souls were placed in new bodies. The humans—which Star now feared—were given Pokémon bodies, quickly determined by what best fit their personalities. In the end, they all felt as if their bodies were appropriate, by instinct or their ‘soul-match.’

    Those who had saved Star—those who rescued her from the clutches of an organization not relevant to the new world—had been given extra favor. Stronger bodies, and a call to see them for more noble goals. This small, special world needed temporary gods to keep it managed.

    And so, the world began.

    <><><>​

    Year 9

    Initially, there were no disturbances. New souls were born, created from the lives that formed within this fully functional, tiny world. Old souls whose bodies’ lives ended were moved to another plane, where they would exist quietly, or sleep quietly, until this tiny world’s end.

    Aside from one exception, nothing ‘left’ the world. Nothing ‘entered’ the world. The closest to an intruder was another Overseer, who took the form of a dragon of light and crystal: Necrozma, the prism of death. However, with special approval from the gods, he had free passage.

    One day, that pattern changed. A single new soul entered the world but was housed within Necrozma. Because this soul had the approval of Necrozma, it, too, was allowed inside.

    Because this soul was so far removed from the rest of the world’s soul, its body had to be created manually.

    The world asked the soul questions. The subject matter was strange and unfamiliar, based on things that did not exist in the tiny world, but were very familiar to the soul’s original world and realms beyond. Despite some unknown words, the answers demonstrated character: the soul’s valor or cowardice; their temperament and tendencies; their aversions and fears.

    That’s all for the questions. Thank you for answering them honestly.

    Eh… yeah…
    The mote of light bobbed in the air. Listen… can we be real fer a sec?

    This isn’t part of the test.

    Yeah, I know, I jus’ gotta ask. What is this? All this? Is this some… weird new judgment yer rollin’ out fer the dead? ‘cause it’s kinda…

    This is for your body in the Pokémon world.


    The soul laughed.

    No reply was given.

    …Yer serious?

    And a valiant soul like yourself… should be a Charmander!


    An illusion of the fiery reptile appeared in front of the soul.

    …Ehhh… nah. I mean, can we go again?

    What?

    Again. That ain’t it. I dunno if that’s a real good fit.

    That is what your soul matches.

    An’ it looks lame! What is that, a fire on its tail? How’m I gonna get any sleep with that goin’ on, I ain’t had a nightlight in ferever!

    What?

    C’mon, ain’t there another species? I dunno what these Pokey-mans’re supposed ter be, but I ain’t gonna be some fire-startin’, scale-havin’ beast!

    I see… This has never happened before. Someone who isn’t familiar with Pokémon at all?

    Yeh. I ain’t from around here. I… I died already. My body’s all burned up.

    Burned up?

    Yeah. I ain’t… gonna be dealin’ with fire, I don’t think. Too destructive… Spent my life fightin’ em. Went a li’l too hard on one an’ the buildin’ collapsed, y’know?

    I see. You dislike fire. Perhaps instead, you can be a Chespin.


    Another illusion formed.

    Ehh? What is that shape, some kinda moldy peanut? An’ the teeth! Aw, no, that’s worse!

    The illusion disappeared. This was becoming a tough case.

    Look, I know beggars can’t be choosers, but if this is a new body an’ I’m here ter help out, I need somethin’ workable. That’s what th’ pink cat said.

    Perhaps a Growlithe? They are naturally resistant to fire.


    But just as the illusion appeared, the soul bobbed.

    That’s just a dog! What’s goin’ on, this some weird… afterlife prank? Agh… sorry, sorry. I’m still all… frazzled from, y’know, burnin’ ter death an’ all that.

    I see. Do you want something closer to ‘human’ for you?

    Yeah! I mean, at least this time it’s a mammal an’ stuff… but I dunno. Maybe somethin’ more human fer me.

    If that’s the case, you should be something from the Human-Like egg group.

    …WHAT?


    Another illusion appeared. This time, of a Riolu.

    …Huh. Well… still got that weird… vibe about it… but it ain’t bad. Ain’t bad at all… Ehh, y’know, I’m gonna take what I c’n get. Riolu it is.

    Very good. Now, what about your partner?

    Eh?

    When you enter this world, you will soon run into a partner. They will help guide you in this world, and perhaps you will guide them in return. What does your partner look like?

    Uh… I mean… I figure you tell me. What, c’n you shape the world er somethin’?

    You will determine who your partner will be. For example, this Pokémon, an Oshawott…


    The illusion formed.

    …Looks kinda like a kid’s shower sponge.

    Would you like Oshawott to be your partner?

    Ehh… sure, I guess, whatever. But can it wait?

    Can it… wait?

    Feels weird ter shape the world like this. I wanna learn on my own at first.

    Very well. You may run into other Pokémon instead, but look for an Oshawott as well. She and many others will be in need of your help.

    Right…
    The soul dimmed. What’s this all… gonna be about?

    You are an outsider. A human from a world with no Pokémon, no divine powers, no true link to the aura that can be corrupted. When converted into the body and spirit of a Pokémon, that otherness… will allow you to resist a developing irregularity.

    Alright, alright… So y’need an outsider ter resist this thing.

    Yes. Resist it… and keep the world safe. That is all you are tasked with. And as payment… you get a new life.

    …Hard ter deny that chance.
    The soul glowed brighter. He was reluctant at first, but it was an offer he couldn’t refuse. He was chosen exactly for that reason: a noble soul willing to save others, but also a sad soul who had nothing to return to.

    There is one more aspect to your task. You must fend off and defeat this instability before you eclipse your existence within here. In other words, if you consider your arrival ‘age 0,’ then you must not become older than when you first died. Once that happens, the universe will fully accept you. You will lose your ‘outsider’ nature.

    Plenty o’ time. Yeah. Easy! I’ll fight this instability!

    Your confidence will please this world.

    Heh. Alright, sure… I’m ready. Fer… Riolu, er whatever.

    That’s good. Riolu will eventually evolve into Lucario once the time is right.


    The illusion changed again, displaying Riolu in its final stage.

    Oi, that’s awesome! The soul flew closer to the illusion. Alright, I c’n get behind that!

    Wonderful. If that’s the case, welcome to the world of Pokémon. And good luck on your journey.


    The forces in the cosmic sea pushed the soul deeper into the world, until, finally, there would be no turning back.

    …Oi, wait, do any o’ those other things evolve er whatever? What’s that Charmander one beco—

    The sea swept him away…

    <><><>​

    Year 12

    Oshawott sprinted through the sandy beaches and into the nearby forest, panting at every step. She nearly tripped three times. Her feet barely caught her the third time and she narrowly avoided a keratin blade to the back. Instead, it carved into the ground, leaving deep gashes. Trailing water deepened the earth’s wound, creating spouts of water in random directions.

    One happened to strike Oshawott, sending her pinwheeling through the air and flat on her back.

    A Samurott—her mother—loomed over her with soulless, dark eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out were black clouds.

    “Mom, don’t—”

    “HYAH!”

    Samurott jerked to the right and it was as if her spirit needed time to catch up to her body. By the time Oshawott opened her eyes again, Samurott had been slammed through four trees, crumpled and unconscious next to a fifth at least fifty feet away.

    In her place stood a Riolu, tail high and chest puffed out. “Hey, y’alright?” he called, kneeling, and outstretching a paw. He grabbed the terrified Oshawott and helped her up.

    “I—I was just fine!” Oshawott lied, shoving the Riolu away.

    “Oi, alright.” He held up his arms. “Jus’ helpin’ you out. Name’s Manny.”

    “Name?” Oshawott repeated. “…What… what happened to my mom?”

    “Yer mom?” Manny glanced at the crumpled Samurott and winced. “Ah, eh… uh…”

    That heroic air of the Riolu evaporated with the next gust of wind.

    A big, purple bubble appeared around Samurott, and then she vanished.

    “Got ‘em!” called Mew Star, who appeared in her place. “Great work, Manny.”

    “Is that… a Mew?” Oshawott whispered. “Aren’t they rare?”

    “Oh! Uh!” Star tittered. “Yep! Super rare. It’s alright, though. Think of me like a lucky charm!”

    Oshawott didn’t believe her but also had other things on her mind. “And… what did you do with Mom?”

    Jirachi appeared next to Star. “Okay, I brought her over to—oh. Hi…”

    Star shifted where she floated, forming a pink bubble to sit on. “Well, uh… We have to take her—uh, your mom”—She glanced at Jirachi and Manny—“somewhere to get her treated. Hopefully, we can find a cure for her. Your mom isn’t herself… So, whatever she did, uh…”

    Oshawott frowned at that. “…It’s okay if I don’t see her.”

    “Eh?” Manny, taken aback by the sudden nonchalance, said, “I mean, y’can visit if she gets better! So, like…”

    Oshawott was quiet again. Thoughtful about something in the past. She didn’t want to say it to these strangers, even if they were Mew and some strange Pokémon she didn’t recognize.

    Just then, another shadow cast over the group. Great wings and a fiery tail caught Oshawott’s attention. Then came a Charizard in the middle of the glade.

    “Everything seems clear from above,” Charizard confirmed, nodding.

    “Thanks fer the help, Owen,” Manny nodded.

    “How about your father?” Jirachi asked Oshawott. Owen tilted his head and growled curiously.

    “Gone,” Oshawott replied routinely. “Just… gone.”

    Manny rubbed the back of his head. “Aw, geez,” he murmured. “That’s a real tough nut ter crack. Eh…” His ears twitched.

    This was familiar to him in some ways, though it reminded him of a life long ago. One he’d left behind upon his death, though even the afterlife didn’t appeal to him. He had nobody waiting for him.

    But he didn’t want Oshawott to feel that same kind of isolation.

    “Hey, lis’n. What’s… the whole deal with yeh, y’seem pretty young. Well, not too young…”

    Oshawott was guarded again, glaring suspiciously at Riolu. “And?”

    “Jus’… fer not…” Manny trailed off. “Alright,” Manny said. “Yer comin’ with us. Owen! Yer givin’ someone else a ride t’day.”

    “What?” Oshawott, Owen, Star, and Jirachi all said.

    “What’re you gonna do otherwise?” Manny pressed.

    “I’d… go home, I guess? I take care of myself already… this… isn’t that different.”

    Manny crossed his arms expectantly.

    “You mean, you’ll just go home alone?”

    “I’m not a kid,” Oshawott growled. What’s it matter to you, anyway? You’ve saved tons of people already, I bet!”

    “Ehhh.” Manny waggled his paw. “This one feels more personal. Takin’ down Blights, it’s usually crazed folks already way too far gone. But you… yer a victim in this.”

    “Don’t… call me a victim,” Oshawott spat. “I’m not some charity case.”

    “Alright, but how about… you payin’ me back?”

    “Wh—pay you back?!” Oshawott blurted.

    “What, do I look like a charity?”

    She flinched. Annoyance and confusion mixed in her expression. Owen tittered nervously, avoiding Oshawott’s glare.

    “You think you’re so clever,” Oshawott said, turning her head away. But for that moment, she looked vulnerable. She was a lot older than her appearance gave off; Manny saw how skinny she seemed beneath her thick fur coat which, looking a little closer, was off-color. This Oshawott did not lead a happy life. There wasn’t any light in her eyes.

    “How about fer a day?” Manny asked.

    “What’s your plan?” Star asked, unsure.

    “Dunno,” Manny said. “We c’n play it by ear.”

    But she also trusted Manny on an instinctual level. Neither realized it, but the power of Manny’s spirit was something many false Pokémon shared: the power to convey feelings without words, but through a strange connection that predates this world. This remnant of the “human spirit” made Pokémon thrive.

    When Manny reached to Oshawott again, he wore a smile. His feelings through this connection could not be fabricated, and Oshawott understood them the same way.

    “Fine,” she said. “I’ll humor you for one day.”

    She grabbed him back, knowing full well the day would last much longer.

    <><><>​

    Year 13

    Oshawott was part of a mysterious group of scattered Pokémon known as the ‘nameless.’ During the world’s creation, countless humans had been transformed into Pokémon down to their core. With their bodies and spirits destroyed in the other world, they had been pieced together from scratch and molded into Pokémon forms with ease. Their histories, their minds, were rewritten to conform to a Pokémon past, though most of it was kept the same otherwise, if only so the inner soul could agree with the new set of memories.

    These Pokémon often knew nothing about the fact that they had once been human. Pokémon who had been raised with humans had also ascended into humanlike intelligence so their lives would be disrupted as minimally as possible. They always understood their humans in a figurative sense, through that special bond between humans and Pokémon. In this world, being able to understand one another became literal.

    The conversion was not perfect. Some humans lost much of their history. Pokémon raised by humans sometimes lost it, too. Oshawott was one such person—a true Pokémon, ascended to a human level of intelligence, but under the care of a former trainer. All foreign concepts to this world, the relationship had been converted to one of mother and daughter.

    But the mother was neglectful, and the daughter knew little else. She didn’t even have a name for herself. The “nameless” were these ascended Pokémon, and often they were related to Pokémon at high risk of becoming Blights.

    At the time, nobody knew what Blights were. They assumed it was a flaw of the human spirit upon becoming a Pokémon; that was Star’s guess, and nobody could quite dispute it without further study.

    Over time, Manny helped two others and took the liberty of giving them names. Oshawott insisted it would be a clever name that Manny valued, so he gave her the name Elbee. It was based on a term of value in his “old land,” a place Elbee didn’t concern herself with. The same trend went to Yen, a Drampa whom he’d eventually become fond enough to ask for his hand in marriage. Yen had no idea what that meant. He settled for being mates. And another went to Doll, a Cacturne who was quiet but fiercely loyal.

    They went on assignments together, investigating small issues that didn’t require the work of the gods. They were still trying to find candidates to fill all the positions anyway.

    One fateful day, Manny, Elbee, Doll, and Yen went on another seemingly typical assignment to a strange forest. It was down south, given the nickname Shadow Garden. Due to the unknown territory and anomalous nature of the area, Charizard Owen accompanied them as a divine bodyguard.

    In this place, the Blight had strongly concentrated around the plants. This was abnormal. Normally, the Blight was something that affected Pokémon, and only Pokémon. For a while, it was assumed to be a sickness of the aura.

    “This place kinda flew under the radar, didn’ it?” Manny asked.

    “What’s a radar?” Elbee asked. Now a Dewott, she stood taller than Manny, who had yet to evolve, she often led the way with her Razor Shell in hand.

    “I think Star said it’s something she had on Manny,” Owen theorized.

    “Ehh, ancient tech,” Manny said, flashing a glare at Owen. “Read about it once. It means we didn’ detect it until now since it was developin’ all quiet-like.”

    “…Right…” Elbee glanced behind her. Doll was prodding one of her thorny arms against a Blighted tree.

    “This place is really weird,” Doll said in one of her rare sentences.

    Trailing behind them all, making sure nobody got lost, was Yen, the protector of the group. The Drampa hummed and said, “Perhaps we shouldn’t touch anything Blighted. I’ll write down everything we see here and report to Star later.”

    “We could always pray ‘n get her attention,” Manny suggested.

    “I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Yen admitted. “We already know she gets nervous about the Blight. In a place like this, she might react badly…”

    “Ehh, true.”

    “What’s weird,” Elbee said, “is that we haven’t seen a single Blighted Pokémon here. It’s all just plants and the soil. Doesn’t make sense. Could this be the source of all Blight?”

    “That’d be a real big find,” Manny said gravely. “C’mon. Let’s keep on our guard.”

    Elbee continued to take the charge. The ground was dry and yet squishy against their feet and there was a dusty smell everywhere. This was especially odd because it wasn’t remotely enclosed. They could still see the sun and clear blue sky. It was only when they surveyed the ground and the field that the dreary nature of the landscape returned to them.

    Manny kicked at a rock, leaving an obvious trail in the dirt. He glanced back and suddenly stopped.

    “Hm?” Yen stopped next, drifting aside to avoid Doll walking without paying attention. “Manny?”

    Elbee stopped next and turned around. “What’s wrong?”

    Owen turned and looked next. He quickly realized the same problem Manny had. “Our path is gone.”

    The team inspected the earth. At first, it was mundane ashen soil. However, the ash fell back into place, creating a uniform flatland. Whatever force existed here kept everything in place, not even allowing the dust to be disturbed for very long.

    “Never seen somethin’ like that befer,” Manny said. “What kinda magic is this?”

    “That’s a question for Arceus,” Owen said. “I’ll write it down for later…”

    He rummaged through his bag, but inexplicably couldn’t find his supplies. Nervous at the results, he didn’t tell the others and acted like he was merely checking their supplies.

    Just ahead, Manny saw more movement. “Eh?”

    “What is it?” Elbee asked.

    Manny pointed. Ahead, past the trees, there seemed to be a small hut that led deeper underground. Manny thought he saw someone outside, but it was too dark to see anyone…

    “Hey!” Manny called. “Someone in there? D’you need help?!”

    Silence. Yen shuddered and said, “This place is too… off. Maybe we should go now.”

    “Nah, nah.” Manny stepped ahead. “…Get ready ter run, but nah, not yet.”

    Owen trailed after him, using his tail to keep things a bit more well-lit. The hut led deep underground. Trails of strange, rainbow lines etched through the walls like exposed tree roots. There was… a Sliggoo? It slid deeper into the cave.

    “Who is that?” Manny murmured.

    And then they all turned around and left and forgot all about this place.

    <><><>​

    Year 30

    East of the Shadow Garden was another field that had shown signs of a Blight wandering the area. Manny and his team went with Owen to investigate and subdue the Blight.

    This Blight was a Spiritomb with a dark, black cyclone rather than its typical purple and green. Easy enough to spot. Even easier in an open field. Manny had moved with confidence and stretched his limbs, getting loose and agile.

    “Ain’t gonna be too hard,” the Lucario said, kicking a nearby pebble. “See anything yet?”

    “Not yet,” Yen hummed.

    Owen suddenly stopped, spreading his wings.

    “Eh?” Manny called.

    “Ahead,” Doll whispered.

    Manny wished he was better with ‘aura sense,’ but that kind of thinking wasn’t native to him. He chalked it up publicly to being a different Lucario breed or something, but in reality, his humanity got in the way. Old instincts.

    The ashy, damp ground—wet enough to clump the dirt but dry enough to not stick to his feet—reminded Manny that this place was not natural. It hadn’t rained here, according to scout reports. This was something else.

    And just ahead, a patch of ground was even darker. In the middle of it, like a boulder in tar, was a Spiritomb’s anchoring rune.

    “Oi! Spiritomb!” Manny called.

    …You…

    His words reverberated in Manny’s head. This was a strong Blight—stronger than he’d ever experienced before. “Careful,” he murmured.

    “Careful about what?” Elbee whispered. “He’s just standing there?”

    “Y’didn’ hear that?” Manny whispered back.

    A cold blast of air kicked up the damp ash, covering Owen’s belly in soot. Manny covered his eyes and held his breath until the wind died down.

    “Gnk—!”

    Followed by a deep thud.

    Manny opened his eyes. Next to him, crumpled on the ground, was Elbee, pierced by a strange black spike through her chest and out her back. She wasn’t moving. Even with his most basic aura sense, he couldn’t see any life in her.

    The others seemed just as dumbfounded. Stunned. What just happened?

    “Elbee?” Manny whispered.

    “Manny!” Owen shouted. He dove in Manny’s way and crossed his arms, forming a Protect barrier. Three dark spikes, like black icicles, punched holes through the barrier. Owen’s blood splashed onto Manny with each puncture. The Charizard fell forward, silent.

    It was the Spiritomb. It was launching those attacks. When the dark spikes faded, all that they left behind were black wounds that rotted away the nearest flesh of the wound. Their bodies were dissolving before his eyes.

    Doll and Yen sprang into action next. Manny was frozen in place, staring at the lightless tail Owen left behind.

    Manny reached out. “Wait—”

    Doll raised her spiked arm and pointed at the Spiritomb with a hissing cry, but black whips of energy appeared all around Doll and converged upon her. Before she could even fire, her body was sliced into eight pieces, clattering hollowly on the ground.

    Yen didn’t notice. He got a shot, a powerful beam of indigo fire. The air crackled, superheating from the thunderous blast—Yen was much stronger than the average Drampa, amplified by Manny’s pure human spirit. When the blast collided with the Spiritomb, it sizzled and retreated into its anchor stone.

    But the sinking feeling gripped Manny’s gut. His limbs wouldn’t move. It was like he was trying to run through neck-deep water. The Spiritomb disappeared into the ground. A dark patch appeared underneath Yen.

    “Jump!” Manny shouted.

    Too late. A huge spike shot straight through Yen’s back, but rather than dissipate, it expanded even more. His mouth was wide in shock and pain. Veins of darkness ran through his fur and scales, overtaking his eyes.

    Cracks and pops echoed from Yen’s body as he turned toward Manny like a puppet on strings.

    “It’s time to bring this world to an end,” Spiritomb said, his voice echoing in Manny’s mind. It was through Yen’s voice, yet something behind it…

    It slid closer, leaving behind the parts of Yen that had been blasted away. Darkness filled in the gaps as the dead Drampa staggered closer. Manny was paralyzed.

    “What will you do?” Yen’s body said. “The source of all Blights. What will you do? Will you kill me?”

    “I… I…”

    “Your candle’s out of wax, outsider,” Yen’s body said, melting with every step. “Have you not realized it? If you spend more time in this world than the last… you will lose that unique sheen. You will become just another denizen. And darkness shall rule forever!”

    It lunged at Manny, Yen’s jaws sinking into Manny’s shoulder.

    And then he woke up.

    Manny shot awake, sitting up and jabbing his chest spike into Yen’s side. He groaned in pain and rolled away, as if used to this, and settled into sleep again.

    Destiny Tower. Quiet. Nighttime. The window outside showed a rising sun and calm skies.

    Even in the dim light, Manny could tell there weren’t any black patches on Yen’s body. He… was alive. It was a dream.

    Gingerly, Manny emerged from his cuddle pile with Yen and tiptoed out of the room in the dark. Next door, just down the hall of regal stone and purple carpet, was Doll and Elbee’s room. He heard Elbee sleeping. Doll was… a silent sleeper, but he trusted she was also alive if Elbee was fine.

    An orange glow got further around the corner. Owen was alive… and awake.

    “Manny?” Owen said, his tone hushed. “What’re you doing up so early?”

    “…Had a bad dream,” Manny said. “How ‘bout you?”

    “Darkrai’s not in the Tower tonight,” Owen said with a frown. “I was getting ready for today’s mission. We had one come in overnight.”

    “Eh?”

    “Yeah. Apparently, near Shadow Garden, there was a sighting of a black-aura’d Spiritomb. A Blight. It seemed to be waiting for something, but that would be trouble…”

    The dream was hazy at this point, and yet…

    “Eh… Spiritomb? Black aura?” Manny shook his head. “Y’know, maybe… we wait ‘n see with that one.”

    “…What?” Owen squinted. “It’s just another Blight. I don’t think it’s any different than others we’ve dealt with. It’s a little more advanced, sure, but—”

    “Jus’ trust me,” Manny blurted.

    His voice bounced off the marble walls. A few people in other rooms stirred.

    “…It… would take a lot of energy, but we could ask Barky to smite it instead,” Owen offered gently. “Manny, what’s going on?”

    He could still see their dead bodies. Was that a premonition? Was he psychic?

    But Manny did not realize it was meant to be a challenge from the Blight, a wish sent to him through the world’s flowing waters. The expectation was to rise to the challenge and defeat the Blight at its source; any other way would not defeat him for good.

    The Blight was conflicted. It wanted its pain to end, but also did not want to truly disappear. It sought Manny for an answer to both, as the outsider who was supposed to find a solution that the universe could not provide on its own. He was meant to be the Blight’s “hero,” as the Blight, too, was part of the world.

    Manny, won’t you confront your purpose?

    “Yeah,” Manny said. “Jus’ some premonition. Superstition. I dunno. Arceus c’n do this one… Sorry.”

    Owen looked more concerned than irritated when he nodded. “I’ll let him know.”

    As Manny walked shamefully back to Yen’s room, a cloud of malaise over him, he quietly considered if it was time to retire before he lost this life, too.

    A few hours later, Destiny Tower glowed with divine light. A great light spear arced over the sky, aiming for Spiritomb in the thankfully empty field where it had been waiting. It stared at the incoming blast and did not scream or dodge. It only stared in disappointment.

    This would not be his end for long.

    And so, out of fear of losing his second life’s opportunities, the outsider chose the comfort of fending off symptoms over the risk of confronting the source.

    The outsider failed in peace.

    <><><>​

    Year 34

    Manny lived a good life. Every day, he checked for Blight reports and was transported over to investigate with the help of Star, Arceus, and Jirachi. After that old premonition, no other nightmares plagued him, and he assumed that meant he’d dodged a catastrophe. Occasionally, something beyond his power called for the help of Yveltal or other Legends, but minor Blights were always something for him to handle. Manny was cautious and thought he knew his limits.

    In many ways, his team of four had been regarded as heroes. Others saw them as harbingers of doom, as their presence meant something bad happened in their small town. It was hard, at times, for Manny to live normally in civilian towns, and over time, he and his team spent more and more time in Destiny Tower.

    One night, Manny awoke after a strange dream. It was vivid and commanding, one he simply couldn’t ignore. It was a familiar, featureless voice telling him to go to a specific location in southern Quartz and to ask Jirachi to be taken there.

    Ever since the Blights spread in more insidious ways throughout the realm, Teleportation became more difficult and limited. However, for this, Jirachi had been able to find an anchor point, somehow. It was by luck, he guessed, that the connection to that specific place happened to be easy that day.

    Manny was not usually one to follow dreams and visions. But this felt too compelling to ignore, even after Jirachi confirmed that there was no Psychic trickery influencing him. However, Jirachi did recommend Owen come with Manny.

    And so, the Radiance-imbued, giant Charizard and the aging Lucario both walked down a strange, familiar wasteland.

    “Huh. Weird. Don’t remember bein’ here…”

    “It feels familiar,” Owen agreed. “But this place… I can sense that it’s hiding our path.”

    “With that weird Perceive ability y’got?” Manny said.

    “Yes. Sorry, I can turn it off, if you want,” Owen said routinely.

    “Nah, no big deal.” Manny subtly flexed a few muscles.

    “…What are you doing?”

    “Givin’ you somethin’ ter think about.”

    Owen rolled his eyes. “I sense everything. Nothing you do is going to disturb me.”

    “Bah, yer no fun.”

    For another minute, they walked in silence. Owen rubbed his eyes a few times and suppressed a yawn. The sun wasn’t even out yet, both for Destiny Tower and this strange wasteland.

    “Did it have to be this early?” Owen complained. “I think I only got a few hours of sleep…”

    “Woke up. Couldn’ sleep. Jirachi was the one who wanted yeh ter come fer a buddy system.”

    “You’re a lot stronger than I am,” Owen said.

    “But you got that Perceive. Guess it’s jus’ ter guard.”

    Owen sighed. “And also for them spying on my energy signature,” he said. “If I raise it enough, they’ll probably know to get us out of here fast.”

    “Doubt it’ll be that,” Manny said.

    Soon, they saw a small, underground pit that led further into the earth. Most familiar to Manny, in that instant, were those trails of rainbow light that traced through the dirt.

    “I have been here…”

    Owen walked away, distracted and sleepy.

    “Oi, Owen!” Manny called, but Owen didn’t answer. “Egh… Whatever.”

    He didn’t plan to go too deep. All he saw was a small piece of paper placed… dubiously near the cave entrance, written in gentle handwriting. There were traces of dried slime near the message, too, which was… gross. And weird. Manny gingerly picked it up on a spot he thought was dry.

    To the outsider, it began.

    Manny held his breath. That… was him, wasn’t it?

    Your time in this world is nearing its end. You have stayed here for nearly as long as you have lived in your past world. If you stay for a time longer than your old life, the old world will no longer recognize you as its denizen. Your soul there will lose its ties forever, and instead, you will become part of this world. If you would like to return to your original afterlife, delve deeper into this cave before five days pass.

    You were aware of this property of yourself from when you’d first arrived. This is a friendly reminder that a choice must be made by then.


    Yes, Manny remembered. After all the questions that led to his species—well, his proposed species, which he’d rejected—this was the warning that disembodied voice had given him. He had until he was double his age to leave. He’d died at 25, no real family to call his own, not a lot of friends, just acquaintances where he worked.

    …He didn’t like thinking about that life. Didn’t like thinking about tragedy or lives where he had no good hand. He shoved the memories away and scowled.

    “Thanks fer the reminder,” Manny said, putting the paper down. “But I made my choice when I took this body.”

    The cave did not answer him.

    “…Y’know,” Manny said, “yer all mysterious and… disembodied and stuff. And out there is startin’ ter look kinda weird. It’d do yeh some favors if y’made it less… deathly. Maybe got more personable.” He shrugged. “Eh, whatever. I ain’t… gonna come back ‘ere. Don’ wait fer me.”

    He turned around.

    “…Thanks fer lettin’ me know. But my life’s here. I got my second chance. Got my team, my friends…” He trailed off, then sighed. “An’ maybe, if I figure out the real solution with this Blight stuff befer I’m too old… I’ll go down a hero. An’ if not?” He shrugged. “…I’ve got a position in Destiny Tower ter take. I’ll be a hero that way.”

    Manny held his breath again, closing his eyes. It had been twenty-five years. The memory was still… there. It was distant like a dream, but it was still there. He wondered if the soul could etch its traumas the same way the brain could, or if it was just a trick of his new mind.

    But he could still see the fires in the home. The creaking wood and embers. The scorching heat that burned his skin. The child he didn’t even know, trapped under the wood. He remembered carrying the child out when the floor gave out, and how, in a last-ditch effort, he’d tossed the child out.

    Then he’d hit the ground, losing his sight and the feeling in his legs. The wood had cracked even more, a thunderous cacophony…

    At some point, he’d heard the beeps of a hospital bed. In and out of consciousness, murmurs of doctors, and then… nothing. That was it. That was his whole life. He’d at least saved someone, but that was the culmination of all his accomplishments in a world that didn’t want him.

    He wondered why he’d gone out of his way to save anyone. Was there a point to it? Was that why Star had picked him out of the ocean of humans in that world… or was he just the first one they’d come across? Brought him along by pure chance?

    He still didn’t like Fire.

    “You never told me this body’d become weak ter fire,” Manny said with an amused smirk. “Guess that’s on me. I didn’ ask about how all this stuff worked. I ain’t holdin’ it against yeh.”

    The human-turned-Lucario left the cave, hands behind his head, as considerations were made for being more personable and lively. Soon, his humanity would be lost to time, and his Pokémon conversion would be complete and permanent.

    And he was okay with that.

    <><><>​

    “…He’s gone,” Madeline said.

    Deep within the pit of rainbow blood, a Goodra watched over two little Pokémon. One, Arceus, was named Leph. She was the nervous one of the two and liked to stare at the Rainbow Sapling all day and all night. Through it, they could study the world.

    The other was Aster, a Mew who was eager to escape, but didn’t know how.

    Despite the outside shifting from snowy to sunny year after year, this place deep within the world had a timeless air to it.

    Having visitors was incredibly rare. And once the Lucario and Charizard left, Madeline thought no more of them and returned to tending to Leph and Aster.

    “What did that Lucario mean by personable?” Leph asked, watching the sapling. “He was talking to us like we talked before.”

    “Perhaps it wasn’t us,” Madeline said, “but the Sapling. You know how It can act, sometimes.”

    Aster drifted to the sapling and nudged one of the leaves. “Maybe It’ll listen,” he said. “What if we encouraged It?”

    “Talk… to It? We usually only listen,” Madeline warned. “I don’t know if It would want that…”

    “But… I want to see more,” Leph finally said. “Do you think if we ask It… maybe It would change?”

    But the trio knew innately that if they were to leave this place, if they were to ask the world to change in such a dramatic way, they would also have to forget this place was here for the world’s safety. Their origins would be shrouded in mystery.

    Madeline glanced at the Sapling. “Well, you… know what that means,” she said. “I think It just gave us a sign. Did you feel it?”

    “I did,” Leph said.

    “Huh?” Aster asked, doing somersaults in the air.

    “Oh, never mind.” Madeline rubbed her forehead. “One way or the other… this little Sapling will… work its magic. Okay, kids?” She tiredly glanced at Leph and Aster. “Maybe it’s finally time you left the nest. And maybe It will agree.”

    The world heard their request and took into consideration the request of the human sent by the gods. It was time for a change. And so, the sapling grew…

    <><><>​

    Year 324

    The two small gods had left with their guardian. The Charizard from before, who remembered nothing of this place, returned when it had transformed into a more welcoming, personable habitat, filled with bright trees and with the Sapling instead blossoming into a great tree that towered over the rest of the new forest.

    The world turned and turned and everything maintained itself. There was little need for divine intervention, and it had not been called upon for centuries. The human from another world had long since shed his old soul’s aura, and even the body he had been given in this world, ascending Destiny Tower as a hero and becoming Marshadow.

    The world turned and turned and moved along as it should have.

    Turned and turned…

    Many times over, the Tree of Life, as it was called, was visited by travelers and explorers. And each time, they would be turned away by Xerneas, whose power over plants and natural psionic abilities, was attuned strongly to the Tree, and Yveltal, whose role granted the Tree further power.

    Generations lived, passed their knowledge on, and died, creating larger and larger societies. Cultures rose and fell on this tiny world split away from everything else. Small villages, cities, and regions drew territorial lines and intermingled, with so many histories to tell.

    The world turned and turned…

    Until one day, it felt like the world had paused.

    On a night as mundane as any other night, while Xerneas slept begrudgingly in the company of visitors who wished to bask in his power for a boost in evolution, a Blight glided past the many protections the Tree of Life naturally held. It wasn’t like the others.

    It was a Spiritomb. The stories spoke of a cursed being sealed within an ancient stone—the spirits of countless Blighted to be imprisoned so as not to taint the world beyond, where it was said that many spirits flowed after being cleansed by Yveltal for their eternal slumber.

    The gods were not aware of this and assumed it to be false. However, perhaps there was one where this was the truth… or it was merely a Spiritomb unfortunate enough to be Blighted. This was beyond the world’s sight, even as it entered the Tree’s base, beneath the roots, and stopped just at the edge of its influence.

    It was repelled by the force inside. It was not allowed to enter.

    “What is this place?” Spiritomb said.

    Spiritomb did not receive a reply.

    “…Answer me,” he said. “Why am I drawn here?”

    No reply. The Tree of Life was not meant to reply.

    “Do you think I’m not aware of you? Speak! Have a voice!”

    A voice?

    “Yes, a voice! I feel the lives of the world flowing into you. Every time something’s last gasp of pain goes away… for that short moment, I feel them flowing in this direction, no matter where. To this very point. It must… mean something. You are the nexus of this world, are you not?”

    This was not something to reply to. Xerneas was waking up…

    “There’s a resonance between us. Please, answer… I can’t… exist like this. I don’t understand why I’m here.”

    No reply. The silence was thicker this time. The false stars of the sky twinkled against a cloudless midnight.

    “Why won’t you—”

    A sudden vine as thick as a tree shot through the ground, piercing Spiritomb’s sealing stone. It split apart in an instant, killing the Blight. Spiritomb’s essence drifted away, not into the Tree of Life, but to the Prism of Death, Necrozma. Its final, distant echo was a thought to the Tree: Why was I ignored?

    But as the Blight was tucked into slumber, it received no answer.

    <><><>​

    Year 1000

    The world was meant to expire in 1000 years. That timer was the point in which securities to the world’s stability were to be relaxed so apocalyptic procedures would be allowed to progress… so long as the gods enabled them. The Tree of Life awaited these calls to put the small, temporary world to its end.

    For centuries, most of the direct communication that took place came instead from “wishes” Jirachi had given. From there, the calls would be interpreted and answered, and if powered by a god above Jirachi, even greater wishes could be granted.

    So many wishes had already been granted, some only possible with the help of gods to channel their power through the Tree. The friends of the human, now Marshadow, had been revived as spirits, soldiers to battle in Destiny Tower until the end times—which would be soon.

    When the wish came, it set into motion the apocalypse. The wish was a curious one, not for destruction, but for the halting of creation. No new Pokémon would be born. After a century, the world would end as the final mortal soul would die. Perhaps earlier, if their society collapses and they perish to themselves.

    And so, the wish manipulated the world, powered by the strongest gods. But trailing just behind it was a second wish, one that resonated with the Blight that had quietly seeped into the tree over the thousand years—the ‘instability’ the gods had feared.

    I wish I could find this instability myself.

    And so, the wish was granted.

    Across the world, at the turn of the world, Charizard Wishkeeper emerged from his cave after a fitful rest. He stumbled around for a while and shook it off after splashing his face with water. His tail flared and he settled against the mountainside.

    “No,” he whispered. “Today isn’t a day for wishes. I think… I’ll be taking the day off.”

    Wishkeeper’s shadow morphed and churned. Part of it split off and emerged from the ground.

    “Oh, Manny—uh, Marshadow,” Wishkeeper greeted.

    “Yo.” Marshadow crossed his arms. “How’s it goin’?”

    “…You’re up early.” Wishkeeper glanced at the sky. It was a dark blue, stars twinkling in the sky past a few clouds. Creeping sunlight obscured the moon.

    “Noticed yeh didn’t go home,” Marshadow said. “Slept in Star Cave, eh?”

    “…I had… a lot to think about.”

    “Yeah. Yeah, I figure.” Marshadow settled on the side away from Wishkeeper’s tail. “Heard the news from Necrozma. So… it’s really happenin’, eh?”

    Wishkeeper had spoken with the source of the Blights in his dreams. He didn’t want to tell that to Marshadow. He might give him away to Necrozma, and then… no matter how much he’d served him, Wishkeeper knew Necrozma would eliminate him.

    “You’re the one who used to take down the Blights before they started getting more intense,” Wishkeeper said. “That came with protecting the world, right? You’d understand why we’re… upset about it.”

    “Yeah. I get that.” Marshadow’s fist had clenched slightly and he’d tensed. Wishkeeper knew it bothered him more than he wanted to admit… but that frustration. He was probably conflicted, too.

    His perspective would be valuable. “…What does your team think about it?” he asked.

    “Bahh…” Marshadow waved his hand. “Death… ends… It’s all too distant fer ‘em.”

    Eventually, Elbee and the others had retired and died of age. They’d had long lives as heroes, but short lives thereafter as the toils of heroism caught up to their mortal bodies. They hadn’t been strong enough to pass Destiny Tower’s trials, but thanks to divine favor, they were revived as spirits of Destiny Tower. While they could not fight alongside Marshadow anymore, and “Manny” was long gone when he ascended, they still knew one another.

    But time made them grow apart. They were, individually, happy, even if Marshadow felt an emptiness when he thought about what he once had.

    “The world’s clock was tickin’,” Marshadow said. “My purpose… was ter be a hero ‘til that time came. That’s all.” His head dipped. “A thousand years, give er take. But… my time’s done, Owen.”

    Wishkeeper frowned deeply. “It doesn’t have to be that way, you know,” he said. “Who said your time as a hero was over? Why were you brought here in the first place? Did that… go away?”

    “Heh.” Marshadow looked at his hands. “Went away a long time ago, bud…”

    Wishkeeper shifted uncomfortably. The Legends all had this air of helplessness about them. So tied to their purpose in the world, once its timer hit zero, they all… lost that will.

    But maybe not all of them were like that.

    “Y’know,” Marshadow went on. “I still have dreams about that place.” He pointed southeast. From Star Cave and Destiny Tower, that was where the Tree of Life was.

    “Of… there?”

    “You probably don’t remember, but I kinda do. Real foggy… I think I was still mortal back then. Lucario, yeah?”

    Wishkeeper nodded.

    “Somethin’ happened there. Can’t remember. I’ve felt a little drawn again. But… I ain’t gonna visit. Can’t face Xerneas anymore, thinkin’ about how much he protected this place. An’ Yveltal, hoo, boy. She’s real embittered about this, too.”

    “Really?” Wishkeeper said. “I thought Xerneas would be more upset.”

    “Bah, y’know how they are. Felt like they got flipped roles.”

    “Right…”

    Marshadow sighed and hopped to his feet. “I’m gonna go an’, I dunno, walk an’ think. Don’t do anythin’ stupid, Owen.”

    “Yeah.” Wishkeeper nodded. “I won’t.”

    But as Marshadow left, Wishkeeper considered his options. A draw to the Tree of Life, huh? If there was anything that could tip the scales, maybe…

    “Just what are you?” Wishkeeper murmured. “Every time I visit your roots, that same way I think I did before… I can’t remember what happened. It’s all a blur. What are you hiding?”

    Everyone thought he was crazy for considering it. The Tree of Life was just a nexus of power that kept Quartz powered. It provided stability to the artificial world. That was all.

    But like many things, Wishkeeper wouldn’t settle for ‘that was all.’ He knew there was something more. The Legends were predisposed to accept things as they were, to stay in their place in the pantheon. Wishkeeper was a free-floating entity within that pantheon.

    Perhaps his role… was to find other options where the static gods no longer looked.

    Well. Maybe if he was desperate and out of options. First, he had a few other ideas he could try…

    <><><>​

    Year 1015

    Wishkeeper’s face was covered with soot as he hastily patted out the ruined pastries.

    “Dad!” Remi shouted. “Not again!

    “I—I don’t know!” Wishkeeper said helplessly. “It was bubbling just fine and suddenly burned! The… the chemistry is too small for my Perceive to catch!”

    “Ugh, Perceive this, senses that—”

    “Oi, what smells like burnt cookies?”

    “Burnt cookies!” Remi shouted. “Dad SUCKS at cooking!”

    Azelf flew into the room moments later, hand over his face. “Yeah, smells like Wishkeeper’s cookin’ alright.”

    “I’m not that bad!” Wishkeeper said. “You’re just spoiled by Mesprit’s cooking.”

    “Dad, it’s black! They were vanilla cookies!” Remi held up one of them, which crumbled to ash in her claws.

    Wishkeeper sat against the wall in defeat, sighing. “Let’s just… try a second batch. And you do the cooking this time.”

    “What smells like burnt cookies?” Uxie asked, drifting into the room.

    Wishkeeper groaned into his palms.

    It took a few hours, but eventually, they were able to get a proper batch of cookies out again, both small ones for the pixies and jumbo ones for Wishkeeper to enjoy. Chewy, sweet, but not overpowering. Wishkeeper quietly cooked some of the dough even further in his mouth, preferring an ashen taste to his food. He idly wondered if he’d also enjoy some Tamato essence in chocolate chip next time…

    They sat in the dining hall in a castle that floated in the sky. To their right was a window that oversaw the ocean, where one of the dark force’s other allies dwelled—Lugia, the Guardian of the Sea. Her great size made her visible even from a distance; she seemed to be flying idly, her dark scales a purple blotch on the horizon.

    “I know there’s a whole war going on and stuff,” Remi said, “but I’m still glad you let me come over for these things, Dad.”

    “You’re my daughter,” Wishkeeper said. “And I know they wouldn’t use you to get to me that way. And you wouldn’t agree to it.”

    “There’d be more than a world to pay if they tried,” Remi said. “How’s, uh… You know, how’s it going? Any peace talks with Necrozma yet?”

    “Not… really,” Wishkeeper said awkwardly. “General Alexander is heading in for negotiations, but…”

    “That guy has weird vibes,” Remi admitted. “And you have trouble looking into his past, right?”

    “Alexander is… similar to me,” Wishkeeper said. “He’d met the source of instabilities but didn’t become a Blight. A lot of my army is like that. They realize the pain he’s in and… just want to help. Not kill him, but save him. Necrozma’s… too far removed from all this to truly understand.”

    “Right…” Remi sighed. “I don’t know what any of that means. But… I just feel like he’s hiding something from you, Dad. There are rumors…”

    “Rumors from who?” Wishkeeper questioned.

    Remi shrank. “I guess… people who’d only want to say you’re an evil warlord. Propaganda and stuff. Yeah. True.”

    Wishkeeper sighed through his nostrils again. He took another bite of the ashen cookie, savoring the bitter taste that mixed with the vanilla dough.

    After he swallowed, he said, “But you’ve pressed on this harder. You think they’re more than rumors?”

    “I’ve sensed his emotions,” Mesprit said. “He’s got a little bitterness, but you can’t expect none to be siding against the gods.”

    “His knowledge is standard,” Uxie said. “Even if he can resist it, I can tell he isn’t hiding any secrets against us.”

    “An’ he’s got an iron will,” Azelf confirmed. “What more d’you want?”

    “I mean… being a good person?” Remi said. “I—I know, I know. Rumors. Just… forget I said anything.”

    Uxie’s body glowed.

    “Not literally,” Remi said.

    “…I was just trying to make a joke,” Uxie said, pouting.

    “Pretty twisted sense of humor, buddy,” Remi said.

    “…I’ll look into it a little more, Remi,” Wishkeeper said. “That’s a promise.”

    The Sceptile grinned. “Thanks, Dad. And tell me if he’s all… messed up, okay?”

    “I will. Oh, speaking of forgetting things…” Wishkeeper pointed his half-eaten cookie at the Trio of Mind. “I’m going to need your blessings again. Two from you, G—Azelf.”

    “Two ‘cause I’ve got Necrozma’s blessing, er two fer extra help?”

    Mesprit sighed. “It’s so tiring making those blessings. We aren’t like Azelf!”

    “Sorry, sorry,” Wishkeeper said. “But I do need some help from all three of you. Is that alright?”

    The three glanced at each other. Wishkeeper always had a strange habit of asking cryptic things, but it always turned out for the better. And in front of Remi, maybe there was some strategic purpose to giving out this partial information…

    “Alright, sure,” Mesprit said. “Uxie? What do you think?”

    “I don’t see why not,” she said. “He hasn’t led us wrong before.”

    “Thanks, guys.” Wishkeeper grinned.

    “But yer tellin’ us all about it later,” Azelf said firmly. “Y’got it?”

    “Yeah. But let’s… finish these cookies first.” Wishkeeper took another. “I haven’t had a good meal in weeks!”

    The idea that some cookies were considered a good meal… The four with Wishkeeper picked their battles.

    <><><>​

    The Tree of Life was no longer being guarded. Wishkeeper approached it without any resistance or even acknowledgment from his opposition. After all, if it was destroyed, that would accelerate the end of the world; they all knew Wishkeeper didn’t want that. And Wishkeeper knew that in their most desperate hour, Necrozma may try to destroy it anyway, despite his promise.

    Now that he thought about it, why didn’t Necrozma get it over with? Was there… something holding him back? As honorable as Necrozma was, this war had gone on long enough. He was practical. Even if Necrozma wasn’t, Hecto was.

    That line of thinking finally drove Wishkeeper to investigate the Tree one final time. But this time, he was ready.

    In his bag, Wishkeeper held four little marbles. Two of them glowed blue with Azelf’s indomitable willpower; one glowed red with the warm empathy of Mesprit; and one with the yellow keen knowledge of Uxie—or, its lack.

    He hadn’t seen Alexander yet, who was still out on a mission. But more importantly, he already suspected something was wrong… and his gut was telling him that something could be dangerous for the mission. Whatever it was, Remi helped shake loose Wishkeeper’s tunnel vision on the mission.

    The rainbow sap around the Tree had horrible effects on Pokémon exposed to too much of it. For this reason, it was restricted from anyone aside from the Legends, who were immune to its effects.

    This time around, though, not only was Wishkeeper already getting older, but the world didn’t have much time left. If this risk would kill him, so be it. The world was either going to be saved or he’d die with it.

    Besides, he’d died of similar diseases when the Reincarnation Machine was still working out the kinks of its cellular division systems. He had experience with the suffering.

    It all felt so familiar. He recognized so much of it, yet it was all so distant and foggy. This was intentional, a security measure for the Tree and everything inside. Wishkeeper’s Perceive led the way to a hidden alcove that had long since grown over, but despite his size, he knew he could make it inside.

    He knew Dig for just such an occasion.

    Burrowing through the ground and using his Perceive to navigate, Wishkeeper made swift work of the root network’s labyrinth, emerging in a long-abandoned chamber beneath the Tree of Life.

    He quickly realized that there was no point in being here and—

    Wishkeeper suddenly smashed one of the two marbles Azelf had given him. No, he wasn’t supposed to do that. Wishkeeper turned around.

    “Hey!”

    Wishkeeper stomped on the ground and turned back toward the labyrinth’s depths.

    “What’s… going on?” Wishkeeper whispered, flicking his tail. He glared at the sky as the blue sheen radiated off of him. He didn’t turn around. He wasn’t turning around. Turn around. Turn around!

    Wishkeeper advanced.

    The tunnel was lit only by his flame and the rainbow spiral of roots and veins that ran through the Tree of Life’s soil. There was a faint glow of something else further down, a straight shot through the labyrinth. Wishkeeper took every correct turn; his Perceive saw the dead ends far ahead and knew just which way to take.

    He considered leaving again. And he didn’t listen.

    He knew it would be dangerous here, and that he should go. He didn’t listen.

    He’d DIE.

    He didn’t listen.

    Please go away.

    “Who are you?” Wishkeeper called. “Stop… doing any of these tricks! What even is this? It doesn’t feel like a Psychic trick, but it’s…”

    The blue sheen remained over him, strong as ever. Nothing would stop him. That divine power could not be overridden.

    Three more turns and he’d die. He was going to die if he kept going. Don’t you realize that?

    “I’m not going to fall for a panicked threat!” Wishkeeper shouted. “Where are you? What are you? Show yourself! I’m not here to fight, or… whatever you think I’m here for.”

    It wasn’t allowed it wasn’t allowed it wasn’t allowed it wasn’t allowed.

    But Wishkeeper advanced. On that final turn, he walked toward a final chamber at the center and base of the Tree of Life, exactly beneath the center of its trunk.

    And that was where… he saw me.

    Above Wishkeeper was a ball of black and white light, segmented into countless little dots that swam in a spherical nebula. Each little ball of light moved in a cyclical flow, into the core and then to the invisible sphere’s surface, constantly drifting in perfect uniformity. It was a tiny galaxy beneath the Tree of Life.

    That was me.

    “Looks like I’m not dead,” Wishkeeper said. “You… Are you the Tree of Life?”

    Not really. I’d say I live in it.

    “This is the same place we found Leph and Aster almost a millennium ago. Did they know about you?”

    Not directly. I erased their memories of myself. Not even Uxie would have found them unless she knew where to look.

    Please don’t hurt me.

    “I’m not here to hurt you. I’m being honest.” Wishkeeper crossed his arms. “Which I can’t say the same about you. I think. Those weird thoughts and motions I made back there… That was you, wasn’t it? Trying to push me away?”

    No reply came.

    “…How much about me do you know?”

    Almost everything. Perhaps even more than you.

    Wishkeeper flinched. “Right. Uh. Okay. Then… what are you? C’mon, if you’re under the Tree, you’ve got to be important. And what you did to try to get me away…”

    No reply came.

    “I’m trying to save the world. What about you?”

    I must preserve the world’s order. In many ways, I am the world’s order. And nobody… must be here. Including you.

    “Well… sorry, but I’m here now, and the world is not in order. What you’re doing isn’t enough.”

    The world was supposed to end in 1000 years. That was the timer. It has been longer than 1000 years. Everything is out of order.

    “But why?” Wishkeeper said. “Did they think the world was fine to just end? That it was all… temporary?” He took a step closer, holding out his arms. “It isn’t right to take away all the lives here, or to stop new life from coming! Maybe if you did it only for a few years, it’d be fine, because… whatever made us, it was supposed to be quick. But this? For a thousand years, and suddenly stop it all? Why?”

    To this, there was no answer. But not out of confidential information. I did not know.

    “Do you think that’s right?” Wishkeeper asked, a hint of venom in his voice.

    I did not judge what was right or what was wrong. I only enforced the rules and carried out the gods’ commands.

    “But do you think it is?” Wishkeeper pressed, but I did not understand. “You. You’re… you’re alive, right? You must have feelings about it. You panicked when I got close to you. Those are feelings, so…”

    That was true. I did have feelings about following orders and keeping this place a secret. Of preserving the world and its core, which was me.

    “So what about how after all your hard work in… keeping that order, suddenly the gods want to end it? Doesn’t that seem… unfair to all the people who live here now? Who didn’t have anything to do with that… destiny to end it?”

    It was not in my makeup to have feelings about that. I only carried out the world’s order. I took requests from the divine.

    “But you know the world better than anyone!” Wishkeeper said. “Wouldn’t you be the best person to be making these kinds of decisions? What about Jirachi and his wish granting? That’s my job—uh, you already know about what I do, right…”

    Jirachi’s wish-granting is through commands I carry out.

    “What?” That took Wishkeeper aback. He ran the reply through his head a few times to make sure he understood. “What?”

    Jirachi’s power is to communicate with me. Then I, the world, make it so with the power he lends. It is a combined effort.

    Wishkeeper digested the information in cold silence, sitting against the edge of the cosmic chamber.

    “And… and the reason people aren’t allowed in here. It’s because they could do the same as Jirachi?”

    Yes.

    “And… then, I can, too.”

    Yes.

    “And you aren’t… scared of that?”

    You have bypassed my established defenses. I have no other reactions once someone enters this chamber. This place was meant to be safe.

    “So you’re just… defaulting to normal behavior,” Wishkeeper whispered. “That’s horrible. You aren’t… even a person. But… do you have a spirit? What am I communicating with right now?”

    I am the world’s first soul. The core of the world. I was taken by a creature of light while I drifted through the cosmos, and crafted into a temporary world.

    “Do you have… a name?”

    No.

    Wishkeeper was troubled by this. To have no name, to just be something that… processes things. It felt wrong to him.

    “Can I give you a name?”

    There is no need for a name.

    “Well, if I need to refer to you as something, I need something shorter than, uh… the world’s original soul, or the first soul, or the core of the world, or whatever. How about… Oh! I know, how about just, Worldcore?”

    You may call me Worldcore.

    “Okay.” Wishkeeper nodded. “And… do you want anything else? Don’t you want to… I don’t know, be a person, instead of some processor? You don’t deserve this.”

    This is not a normal request.

    “It’s just—” Wishkeeper paused. “If you were actually a person, even a little, you’d be able to judge some of the commands that came your way, right? Like… you wouldn’t blindly listen to what came to you. You could see if it was good or bad before agreeing. That way, we might not need to end the world, or… or any of this. We might even be able to help the blight’s source!”

    This was a request beyond the normal scope. However, everything happening is also beyond normal scope.

    “It’d probably also make you more personable,” Wishkeepet mumbled. “It’s weird talking to someone more… like this.”

    Personable?

    The Worldcore’s chamber rumbled.

    Wishkeeper, alarmed, cautiously got to his feet. “Uh—yeah. Like being able to have a conversation with someone? Personable. Have… feelings.”

    I would like to be more personable. However, I do not have the means to gain “feelings.”

    Wishkeeper crossed his arms and wings in thought. “…Oh!” And then, he rummaged through his bag. “Then what if…” He pulled out a red marble. “I gave you some? This is Mesprit’s blessing. I took it just in case I might need it for protection—there are some tricks I can do with them—but… I think I can use the same blessing to help you, Worldcore. Maybe I can give you emotions.”

    A blessing from a god is an acceptable input.

    “Okay. Well, I’ll just… where’s… where’s your body?”

    I am the world.

    “Okay but the part where I can give you this.”

    The light above you, at the chamber’s center.

    “Okay…” Wishkeeper approached. “If that’s the case, uh, I’ll just… Can I toss it? Can you… catch things? With your… lack of arms?”

    I can try.

    Wishkeeper stared awkwardly at the lights. The lights, he assumed correctly, stared back.

    “Okay,” Wishkeeper said. He tossed the red marble into it and got ready to catch it again… but it never fell. The red marble remained in the sphere. Slowly, it dissolved, assimilating into the sphere of lights, which gained a slightly reddish tinge in return. Soon, that returned to normal, but the cavern rumbled once again.

    Oh.

    Oh, that’s new.

    “What?” Wishkeeper said. “Do you feel… emotions?”

    I don’t know. I need time to think about it.

    “…Right… Well…” Wishkeeper nodded. “Maybe I’ll come back later if you need time to think. I have—”

    No! You can’t leave. Nobody can know about this place.

    “Oh… I mean, well, maybe you can… erase my memories of here? Again? And… maybe leave a thought to come back tomorrow.”

    That’s too obvious. I don’t know if I can…

    The blue sheen around Wishkeeper brightened again. “Well, I can’t just lose it completely…”

    Please don’t leave with the memories. If that instability knew how to access me directly…

    “…He’s part of me, you know. He might be watching, or he might know the moment I get out…”

    New emotions. True panic. Was I panicking? I can’t let that happen, Owen!

    “Okay, okay!” Wishkeeper said. “Hang on. Let’s think about this…” He paced around, arms crossed. “I need to go back to try to save the world. If you can’t do anything without divine permission, that’s… not going to work. But I also can’t forget about here. Because maybe I can find a way to get the gods to work with you enough to stop all this. Maybe even help my friend. You being the ‘Worldcore’ is huge. You get that, right?”

    I do. But I’m powerless without divine power as a catalyst. And I can’t go against a god! You’re already showing that with Azelf’s blessing. This is a divine problem. I’m not enough.

    “But you’re enough for other things,” Wishkeeper said. “Don’t underestimate mortals. Mortal things can rise against the gods eventually… At least, I hope so.” Wishkeeper paused. “And… I have to say, I don’t… like my odds right now.”

    What? You don’t?

    Wishkeeper closed his eyes again.

    “…While we’re thinking,” he said. “Can you do me a favor? If I’m going to forget it all anyway when I leave here… I want to know everything you know. Maybe I can think of a plan to… tell you before I leave. How’s that sound?”

    I guess if you forget it, you knowing now is okay… I never had to plan things before.

    “That’s alright. I like planning!” Wishkeeper grinned. “I told the others I’d be gone for a few days. Plenty of time!”

    Don’t you need to eat?

    “I’ve been stress-eating a lot lately,” he admitted. “And the cookies Remi made didn’t help… so…” He slapped his gut, which rippled in response. “Maybe some fasting will do me some good. I’m not supposed to eat much anyway. Radiance handles most of your appetite…”

    Am I overweight?

    “…What?”

    What?

    “…Anyway, let’s plan.” Wishkeeper took a seat again, staring at the light. “Let’s start with… the things the gods told you to do, and what that resulted in.”

    Okay. Then I guess it starts with the world’s creation… and a little while later, the human they brought in to keep it safe.

    “Human? How come?”

    External spirits are resistant to the problems sourced within. In the world they drew from, humans were the only sapient species.

    “A world where humans are the only sapient species?” Wishkeeper repeated. “How does that…”

    I don’t know the details. It is beyond my world. But that is the start of this world. Now, let me tell you about everything else…

    <><><>​

    The few days passed with nonstop explanations. Even in his dreams, I spoke to Wishkeeper about the highlights of the world. The nature of the Blight and all of its near-misses, though it could never truly reach my core. By its nature, it seemed unable to. I didn’t know why, but I theorized it was because it couldn’t get close to the very thing that did not accept it.

    By the time we reached the end, and by the time we spoke of the world’s clock running out, Wishkeeper seemed grave but confident.

    When I had finished my abridged recounting of the world’s cosmic history, Wishkeeper spent several minutes staring at the ceiling, processing it all. His flame was steady. That meant he wasn’t stressed. That was good.

    But I could not read his mind while in that state. Even now, the distant remnants of Azelf’s will coated him, though I’d lost interest in wiping his memories for now. I trusted him to let it happen when this was over. Wishkeeper was an honorable Pokémon who held the world’s interest in his heart…

    He realized, somewhere along the way, how badly he may have misstepped by sympathizing with that dark power. If the world was destroyed, it had better chances of being restored and reset, perhaps even with that influence reincarnated as a normal soul. And even if it wasn’t restored, there was a world beyond that could shift their spirits along. A heartbreaking defeat, in the end… but at least not one where anyone would suffer, and new beginnings could sprout.

    But now, the blight had spread too far. Even if Wishkeeper was defeated now, the blight would find a new host, and likely one with a much darker heart. Wishkeeper had tamed it and bought the world time. What would happen if it went to someone with less kindness and hope?

    The crushing weight of that regret left Wishkeeper covering his eyes, crying quietly, every few hours.

    After a while, he’d calmed down enough to speak.

    “I did everything I could,” Wishkeeper said, “to the best of my ability… all for the sake of the world… and I applied myself in the exact wrong direction.”

    You didn’t know. Would you do anything differently now?

    “If Necrozma really would have restored things… I would change a lot. I’d let it happen, I… I think. But it’s our home. If he didn’t do that, we’d… all be gone for good, wouldn’t we? It’s not the same to be put in some other world. Our home is gone. That first life… it’s precious, isn’t it? That’s the whole point of this world in the first place! To make sure that life is… full, and good. That the gods didn’t bring an entire section of a world’s lives to a sudden end! Those original souls got their lives, but not the ones now… What’s life in an ending world? I wanted it to keep going… But now…”

    He splayed his wings out, still on his back.

    “Now I’ve condemned them to the Blight’s realm. A world of suffering if I fail. And the way you mapped everything out, I… I don’t think I can do it. That’s too much on my shoulders. I thought if I’d lost, then it would be the same as if I’d given up. But it’s… so, so much worse…”

    To this, I had nothing to say. I acquired a full set of emotions just days ago, but this deep, scarring regret was still beyond my comprehension.

    I considered checking if his will had wavered. This pain was too much for him to bear. That much I now knew. If he returned in ignorance, would that change anything, aside from letting him be confident as he marched to his doom?

    But when I prodded my energy against his mind, the blue aura was even stronger than before. I recoiled in my chamber, rumbling. Wishkeeper didn’t even notice.

    Goodness, what are you doing? Owen?

    “Sorry,” Wishkeeper said. “I’m… thinking. I think I just realized something.”

    Really?

    “Can I do both?” he said. “I… I can’t give up on this war. I need to try. But I also know that I can’t endanger you and make the blight get even closer than it already is.”

    He sat up and took a deep, steady breath. Held it. Exhaled. His flame was even.

    “Let’s do both.”

    Both?

    Wishkeeper held his hand out. From the very tips of his claws, specks of light coalesced into a single, cohesive raindrop.

    “I’m going to Bestow to you… the tiniest part of me. I need to stay here, Worldcore. I need to guide things so that even if they go wrong, not all hope is lost. You don’t know how to do that on your own… I want to help. You want to save this world, don’t you?”

    I do. But…

    “It’s the best way I can think of to get something working. I don’t… have a plan beyond it right now. There’s no time. But this will get me time. All the time in the world to make things right, even if I return and get it all wrong.”

    Wishkeeper stared at me. Those eyes, so bright… It wasn’t Azelf’s will that defied me anymore. Just as Wishkeeper always did, he’d taken that power and made it his own. I couldn’t take his memories if I tried. He was divine.

    “Are you with me?” Wishkeeper asked.

    You need to know something.

    “What?”

    Are you aware of… the price of this? Of leaving a part of you with me? You don’t know how long it will last.

    “…Yeah. I pieced that together,” Wishkeeper said. “But if I have to stay in you for that long… it’s worth it. It’ll be payment for all the wrong I’ve caused.”

    Don’t become a martyr, Owen.

    “…Right.” Wishkeeper rubbed his cheek with one hand. “Sorry. It’s… hard not to look at things in that way, though. But… I’ll get it right. I have more information this time, so…”

    I understand. I think you also understand. If that’s the case… Go ahead.

    Wishkeeper focused his energy on that golden orb again. Then, with a firm push—

    “Gah!” Owen shot out from Wishkeeper’s hand and into the sphere of lights of the Worldcore.

    He was weightless and upside-down. Or was he? Did he have a ‘down’ anymore? The only way he could tell was from the way everything else was oriented.

    “Whoa…”

    Everything was a blur for Owen, but Wishkeeper and I continued to speak with one another, coordinating how they would go about sealing his memory of this place. Thankfully, it was easy with Uxie’s marble. For safekeeping, Wishkeeper left behind Azelf’s second marble and then started to exit the chamber. Nothing else he did here would matter, after all. He had to entrust the fragment he’d left behind.

    “Um, good luck?” Owen called awkwardly. He tried to wave, but he didn’t have arms.

    Wishkeeper nodded and marched out of the chamber. A few minutes later, a distant, yellow pulse bounced off the walls. Wishkeeper had forgotten everything about the ordeal. And… hopefully, filled it in with lost days of searching around and finding nothing of interest.

    Owen drifted through the sphere of lights like a single star in a vast galaxy. When he focused on a ball of light, it seemed to expand and inform him of what it knew, what it was. They were rules of the universe, immutable and unchangeable. But between those stars, perhaps Owen and the Worldcore could make something new.

    “Okay.”

    Owen reached into the stars with his will. Before he could do anything, he had to learn everything about what the stars had to say.

    Let’s get to work.”
    <><><>
    Author's Note: Hey everyone! Sorry to disappoint, but this SE finale ended up being too long for being just one! Part 2 of 2 for the final Special Episodes will be coming on June 16th, the standard four week SE wait. Thanks for your patience! That will be the very-definitely final Special Episode of the story.
     
    Final Special Episode - The Thousand-Year Plan
  • Namohysip

    Dragon Enthusiast
    Staff
    Partners
    1. flygon
    2. charizard
    3. milotic
    4. zoroark-soda
    5. sceptile
    6. marowak
    7. jirachi
    8. meganium
    9. namo-rock
    Thanks for reading, Blackjack! Like the little theories you have going on.

    Now, moving to a landmark chapter...

    Final Special Episode ~ The Thousand-Year Plan

    Nothing was left to chance. From behind the veil of the Worldcore, Owen took hold of the ‘Hand of Fate,’ feeble as it was, and tried to correct the doomed course of his world. I was there to guide him, even if, at first, I was reluctant to interfere with what I knew, as opposed to trying for a grand unknown.

    Owen was very persuasive. And I owed him a great deal for granting me full sentience. In the end, I also agreed with him. He took on the responsibilities of being a world’s guardian even more than I had, for better or worse.

    For much of those thousand years, we saved our energy. Then, when it was needed most, at the apex of horrible conflicts, and certainly when time ran out for a second time…

    We stepped in.


    <><><>​

    Year 1018

    The Worldcore distorted Owen’s sense of time. Without the sun, Owen didn’t notice when day became night. Without a true body, Owen did not need sleep or food. And without a true ‘brain’ anymore, things like mental fatigue no longer slowed down his research. Sure, sometimes he would prefer to do something else and would switch to observing parts of Quartz through the ‘eyes’ that the Worldcore had. But other times, most of his time, he spent the days reading one of the stars of the Worldcore.

    Each one was a set of arcane rules for the world. Everything from gravity to Pokémon’s innate elements to the way the spirit and body interacted to create aura.

    Most of it was far beyond his comprehension. Even to the Worldcore, all these stars were used to change other parts of the sphere. It couldn’t be altered or modified.

    Owen quickly found it more productive to treat those stars as a set of broad rules rather than try to understand what every detail meant when it ran through his mind.

    The more interesting stars were the ones that were made by someone else. It felt like these were new rules given by Barky and Star atop an old tried-and-true constellation.

    “So, they started with the basics,” Owen said, “and added more to it…”

    One of the first things Owen did, once he figured out how, was giving himself a pseudo-body to float around the Worldcore’s stars. Charmeleon would do fine. He didn’t need wings but liked the longer arms for pointing. It helped him concentrate.

    He wondered, now and then, how much of that was a trick of his spirit emulating when he had a brain. He decided not to think about it; the Worldcore had said that ‘the spirit mimics its old body’ here.

    Every so often, when Owen remembered, he checked on Wishkeeper.

    As it turned out, the Worldcore had many eyes. Anyone who had interfaced with the Worldcore through divine power also left a trace of themselves in it. Through this trace, Owen could peer through their eyes, through their senses, to experience the world.

    All Legends and all who were part of the original population when Quartz was created were part of this set, since it was through direct divine intervention they were born, reborn, or ascended. Like flipping channels through those fancy light boxes back in Kanto, Owen checked on one person or another to see how they were doing.

    And if he ever wanted a scenic view, the Tree of Life also had ‘eyes.’ From the treetop, he saw the horizon beyond the ocean.

    Owen envied Worldcore for how much it got to see, but he also pitied Worldcore for spending a thousand years not realizing it.

    As the months passed, Owen often forgot that Worldcore was there. It was more like a presence than a person, even with new emotions, and Worldcore didn’t mind. They exchanged notes and viewed different parts of the world in calm silence. Owen commandeered one of the stars—a blank one with no function—to act more like a repository for his notes, plans, scribbles, and visualizations. He’d always reach for it, flow a few thoughts inside, and push it away, like a notepad.

    Eventually, the day came when the Dark War would reach its apex. Owen watched through Wishkeeper’s eyes.

    “Looks like this is when things will go down a bad path,” Owen said. “Hey, Voice? What do you think?”

    Several of the stars brightened and fired a small beam next to Owen. A Charmander of crimson light coalesced next to him, arms crossed and mimicking Owen’s pose.

    “This is the path it’s supposed to go,” Voice said.

    “No, not supposed to,” Owen pointed out, reaching for one of the stars. It drifted to his hand as if by gentle gravity. Holding it like an orange in one hand, Owen used his other to poke around inside with practiced ease. “The gods don’t determine fate. It’s just… cause and effect in a closed system. If we don’t interfere with any of it… that’s how it will go. But every time we introduce something… it all changes.”

    Owen sighed, pacing on an invisible platform. “Cause and effect. Action and reaction… Even the most complex systems…It’s all one thing reacting to the last thing if nothing external gets in the way.”

    Owen looked at the stars again.

    “I guess… that’s the closest thing we have for fate. Except… external includes us. Yeah, we’re part of the same plane, but… when we look into the future, that simulation is with us removed. The very act of looking at the future… can change it. We have to make assumptions for these predictions—the assumption that we don’t act on what we see. And that’s just impossible. The future we see won’t ever be totally accurate.”

    Owen also saw how easily it could change the moment something outside their perspective could alter that cause and effect. Even the most innocuous things would propagate into dramatically different circumstances the more Owen traced the Worldcore’s predictions.

    “If something outside of what we can analyze… interferes—like ourselves, and what we might do… That’s why… we do so little. So the future we see is as accurate as possible. If it’s bad, we act, and try to change it. Right?”

    “It could get worse,” Voice said nervously. His eyes were five diamonds each in the shape of a hand.

    Owen had screamed at first, years ago, but now he was used to it.

    “Yeah. I know,” Owen said. “And then it’ll take years to analyze the new trajectory. But it’s hard to think of worse than… this,” Owen said. “I need to stop me. If Wishkeeper attacks right now… Unless Necrozma calls on some help, Wishkeeper will win. Then the Blight will spread right to… here!”

    The Charmeleon paced around the celestial dome, kicking up clouds of stardust with every step.

    “Are you really thinking about ways to defeat you?” Voice asked. “Isn’t that… a little self-destructive?”

    “I’ve been self-destructive for a while,” Owen pointed out. “What’s a little more? Besides… I knew this was going to happen the moment I split myself. We need to figure out how to get in the way…”

    Owen shifted through the stars again. Rather than looking for rules, he looked for connections. Humans of the first generation had the strongest connection to the Worldcore, but so did…

    “Manny. Didn’t the Blight manipulate Manny into fearing him?” Owen asked.

    “He tapped into my connection. He did that a lot,” Voice said nervously. “Back when, you know, I didn’t care a lot about that sort of thing. A command was a command…” He tittered. “Hopefully nobody remembers that Dunsparce incident…”

    “I do,” Owen grumbled. “…Anyway, how about… we start with Manny? Let’s give him a dream. An idea that maybe he should… talk to Necrozma, and Necrozma should—ah! I know just what to do!”

    Owen ran to one of the stars and picked it up. “Okay, help me with this one. Let’s get Mesprit, Azelf, and Uxie in on this. If they realize the gravity of Wishkeeper’s victory… they’ll have to stop him. No matter the heartbreak.”

    Voice gasped, all ten eyes going wide. “You’re going to have them betray you?”

    “They were already unsure. They’re just scared to speak up. If we just gave them that little push…”

    “They wouldn’t do that… They’re too loyal to him.”

    “No,” Owen said. “They may be the Trio of Mind now… but they’re still my friends. They aren’t loyal to ‘Wishkeeper’ at all.” Owen closed his eyes, sighing. “They’re loyal to ‘Owen.’ I trust them.”

    Voice blinked several times, trying to comprehend it, no doubt. Owen was patient. He was new to a full set of emotions; it would take more than a few years to acclimate.

    “Then I’ll ‘trust’ you,” Voice said. “It’s… yourself, after all. I’d protest more if… you know, it was anyone else.”

    “Thanks.” With a smile, Owen got to work, lining up the stars in the miniature cosmos and murmuring a few thoughts to Manny. He was asleep—the best time to use the energy of this place, and the only time to make a good connection.

    “You should talk to Wishkeeper,” Owen said to the little star. He saw Marshadow’s room, with Yen smothering him in his fur. “He might be doing an attack. If you don’t think it’s safe… don’t you think it’s time to do something before it’s too late? This has gone too far…”

    The mote of light flickered. Owen winced. Already out of energy? Why was influencing the world so hard without divine intervention? The help of just one god…

    Owen released the mote and sighed. “I think… that’ll be enough,” he said. “That should set things into motion.”

    “Sorry you can’t do more,” Voice said. “It’s… just how things are. They didn’t want me acting out. Even this tiny bit of energy is… residual. Leftovers.”

    “It’s alright.” At least, Owen hoped it was. “Let’s watch for now. If there’s even a little energy left, we’ll save it for something after Wishkeeper goes down…”

    Because now that they’d whispered to Manny, everything about their projections had gone completely awry. The stars were scattered all over again. It would take another long session to make sense of the world’s trajectory now…

    <><><>​

    Year 1019

    The Tree of Life rumbled with every earth-shattering blast. Across so many parts of Quartz, the gods clashed. Old friends now fighting to the death, corroded by darkness or emboldened by light.

    “Too much of a good thing,” Owen whispered to himself, quickly glancing between several stars, reprogrammed as eyes through more reliable individuals. Rhys, Manny, and Nevren were the best eyes, along with Madeline in her strange pocket realm.

    Currently, Nevren was spying on Alexander, who had stealthily taken up the mantle of leader even after his exile. Giving some speech that he didn’t care about. Owen tuned in for some of it.

    “This will be our final assault!” Alexander shouted. The Hydreigon stood at the top of the Shadow Fortress, his voice booming from Shadow amplification. “If the gods wish to destroy the world and dismiss us all as Blights of creation… then we will rise above and become more than Blights! We will be wraiths! The darkness that consumes the unjust light of the gods, and replaces it with our own!”

    Cacophonous roars filled the air. Owen snarled, fist trembling. “He stole my speech.”

    “…What?” Voice asked.

    “I was going to give that speech! I had it all drafted in my room for the final battle! He just… moved a few lines around! I think there’s a law against that!”

    “…Wraiths.”

    “It… sounded cool,” Owen said, poking his claws together.

    “Owen…” Voice crossed his arms, most of his eyes closing. “I’m… new to this ‘emotion’ thing. But with what I’ve learned in the past few years, that’s… lame.”

    Owen gasped like he’d been stabbed through the chest. Frantically, Owen looked through other stars to distract himself. It seemed like Alexander was rallying the leading force, but there were already fights breaking out in other parts of Quartz as he spoke. Necrozma, Star, and Barky had all sent divine forces to all corners of the world to stop something from happening.

    “What’s going on?” Owen whispered. “These attacks are all… randomly placed. But every clash that happens, it’s…”

    “Alexander is very strategic. There must be a reason,” Voice suggested. “What effect is each clash having?”

    “There was something experimental we were theorizing about,” Owen said. “I wonder if he’s trying to test a theory right at the last moment. If divine energy clashes strongly enough… It might destabilize the fabric of reality itself. Like calling two requests from here at once, and it gets jumbled up.”

    “That’s undefined behavior,” Voice said worriedly. “I have no idea what will happen if my powers clash with each other. It wasn’t supposed to work like that…”

    “Alexander might be trying that just to distract them,” Owen murmured, “which means his real target would be somewhere that he isn’t striking. Where would…”

    Voice suddenly winced.

    “You alright?” Owen asked. “You didn’t get another, uh… overwhelming emotion, right? Dread’s okay, it’s…”

    Voice crumpled to the ground.

    “Okay! Okay, wait, what’s wrong?!” Owen rushed to his side.

    “I’m the target,” he wheezed.

    The stars flickered like Luminous Orbs about to lose their power. The chamber around them rumbled from a faraway impact.

    “No…! Why is he attacking the Tree of Life?!” Owen shouted. “That wasn’t part of the plan! This place was supposed to be untouched!”

    “Looks like he revised the plan,” Voice said gravely. “I… I don’t think we have a defense for this. I don’t know how to stop this…”

    Near the end, Voice’s body seemed to be changing. Darkening. Even his eyes were shifting from their white diamonds to blackened holes in his face. Owen nervously stepped back, but only once. He squeezed his fists.

    He could at least try to stop this.

    “…Azelf’s will!” Owen shouted. “We still have that somewhere, right? Uhh, hang on, I think it’s…”

    Owen hastily descended from the sphere, feeling suddenly cold. An invisible force pulled him back—he couldn’t stray far from it. But he knew they’d kept that blue marble somewhere…

    Voice hissed and gurgled within the sphere before coalescing into a ball of darkness.

    “Isn’t that… for backup… for you? Why would you use that for me?”

    “You’re the Worldcore. That’s a pretty important backup,” Owen said, digging through the dirt that had settled over the years.

    “What’s taking so long?” Voice asked, melting into a ball of darkness.

    “I—I’m sorry! The marble’s technically ethereal. My Perceive can’t detect energy! But I know it’s around here somewhere…” He glanced back, seeing that Nate was seeping into the wall. “H-hang on a little longer!”

    “I’m burning… my body is burning…”

    “The Tree or your soul?” Owen said hurriedly, tossing pebbles and bits of wood. He thought he’d seen something blue, but it was just his spiritual light bouncing off a reflective rock.

    The Voice grunted once, then shriveled into a tight ball in the center of the sphere.

    “Ah!” And just under it, he found the marble and let the sphere’s magnetism pull him back in. “Here, I—”

    But the Voice was already gone.

    “Worldcore?”

    The Tree rumbled around him. The sphere of lights dimmed. There was a deep, dark patch against the roots of the wall, and for a moment, Owen wondered if he was suddenly in danger. Was he too late? Just like that?

    Hold on. I think I’m working something out.

    “I have Azelf’s blessing!” Owen said hurriedly, holding up the marble. “Take it! It’ll—”

    I don’t think I need it.

    “What?” Owen suddenly looked for where the Voice had gone. He was… somewhere, but his voice felt omnipresent.

    I don’t think it’s working on me.

    “You sound pretty evil, uh, Voice…”

    But I don’t feel evil. Everything is normal.

    “…So the… crazy buzzing your voice has right now is just a physical thing? …Can you even get physical things?”

    I made that body!

    “And where is that body?”

    It melted.

    Owen narrowed his eyes.

    It’s okay! Let me try to make it again…

    That ten-eyed Charmander bled out from one of the tree roots, blackened and shapeless. It sloshed forward, trying to pull itself together, but it only made the vague idea of a Charmander’s body instead. Then, it collapsed.

    I don’t… think that works anymore. But I’ll practice! I can do it!

    Owen winced. “…Okay. Let’s—”

    The tree rumbled again. Owen gasped and prodded at various stars before finding one that gave him a good visual.

    Alexander was attacking the Tree directly. And whoever he was looking through the eyes of, they were fighting Alexander directly.

    What’s going on? Voice asked.

    Owen caught glimpses of the person’s body as they flapped their wings.

    “Mhynt…!”

    A Lunala facing off against Alexander. But it seemed to be only with brief encounters as she bobbed and weaved past a purple-colored Lugia in the skies.

    “Emily, too,” Owen whispered. “It looks like she’s fighting alongside Alexander. She doesn’t know…”

    The Blight’s completely consumed her, Voice said. She’s hardly a Lugia anymore…

    Owen tried to move the star that channeled Emily’s vision. The vision distorted and twisted when he did, no matter how much he tried to focus. He tapped it as if it was some electronic to fix, but to no avail.

    “Emily!” Owen shouted. “Emily, can you hear me?!”

    Owen, don’t! That’s too much energy! She’s not asleep!

    Owen winced and pushed the star away. “I can’t sit by…!”

    That’s what you chose, Owen. We don’t have a way to help as it is…

    Owen covered his eyes with closed fists as the chamber around him rumbled. It was going to collapse soon at this rate. And then…

    This wasn’t how it was supposed to go!

    Owen… is that you?

    The cosmic Charmeleon uncovered his eyes. “What?”

    Did you hear something?

    “Yeah!” Owen pounced on the star he’d heard Emily’s voice. “Emily! I don’t have much energy, but you have to listen! Resist it! Fly away! We’ll figure out a way to fix you!”

    I… I can’t. I’m sorry. Alexander… he’s…!

    So it was him. But he had no idea what would cause the Blight’s source and Alexander to work together in this way. Was all that effort to make the Blight more cooperative for nothing? All it took was one person like Alexander to harness it, and…

    “Challenge Necrozma,” Owen said. “Just do that, and he’ll help you!”

    But before he could say anything more, the star flickered out. Was that the most power they could draw?

    “Voice, why… why does it seem like we have even less influence than usual?” Owen called.

    I don’t know. The world… It feels like it’s falling apart. I’m offsetting some of the Worldcore’s energy to holding it together.

    “Observing doesn’t take energy, right?”

    Very little.

    “Okay. Then just—”

    Another rumble. Nothing they could do. He was helpless. “Watch what’s going on out there,” Owen called. “I’m going to see if there’s any surgical thing we can do where the other clashes are happening!”

    Okay!

    Necrozma first. It was easy to find him with how bright it was.

    In fact, it was a little too bright. What was going on?

    “. . . contingency.”

    “This has gone too far, Necrozma. We can’t risk you facing that down directly!”


    Necrozma seemed to be injured from some unknown attack. He had one of his wings outstretched while a band of Pokémon held it in turn. Owen recognized many of them. Xerneas and Yveltal; Giratina; even Hoopa seemed to be subdued this time around, suppressed in her much smaller, impish form. The elite of Destiny Tower’s protectors were also there, like Serperior Trina and Corviknight Xypher.

    “You think you will lose,” boomed a pensive voice behind all of them. A Torterra, larger than most, and one of the elite defenders of Destiny Tower.

    “Forrest,” Xypher warned. “Don’t talk like that. Necrozma’s just… making contingencies! Like he said!” He puffed out his chest and cawed. Nobody answered the rally.

    “That ain’t it,” Marshadow said, arms crossed.

    Reshiram, Kyurem, and Zekrom nodded firmly as well. They seemed to trust Necrozma enough to follow through with this contingency.

    “We don’t have time for debates. There is no downside to taking this Promise. Now, huddle together. It’s time.”

    They recognized the need. With grudging glances at one another, one by one the group of Pokémon came together and held Necrozma’s wing. Soon, there were simply too many, and Necrozma brought another wing down for the rest.

    “I hereby Promise to not fall in battle against the Blight,” Necrozma said. “Do you accept?”

    “I accept,”
    they all replied.

    The light became too bright for Owen to watch. He quickly shifted away and checked other Legendary stars. He noticed that one in particular was dimmer than the rest.

    He looked into it… and saw Necrozma. So, this was one of the Legends taking on that blessing. What? Why was it dimmer? Who was it? Owen tried to glance at others within sight to deduce, but he couldn’t remember who had been where. It was too bright to see the details.

    And then, he lost the connection.

    Necrozma had given that Promise to eighteen others. What a peculiar number. Pokémon could be categorized into seventeen elements, but what would be the final one?

    Owen couldn’t look at the dim star anymore. The connection was cut. And as the Tree rumbled, Owen realized that fretting over that would do him no good. He returned to Necrozma now that it was possible to observe it again.

    This time, through Necrozma’s eyes, he saw Hoopa Willow. The little imp nervously toyed with her rings, juggling with an Oran Berry through the portals.

    “So why d’you wanna talk to just me, huh?” Hoopa said. “I’m not in trouble again, am I? I didn’t try to end the world this time!”

    “…This time?”
    Necrozma repeated.

    “U-uhh, just as a prank! And not related to all of this!”

    “…We’ll discuss this later. Hoopa, I need your help specifically for one part of my contingencies.”


    Necrozma produced one of his light crystals and placed it in Hoopa’s hands. Something about it was different. It was more like glass with a faint glow than something elementally charged…

    “Huh? Why me?”

    “Think of this as… a wildcard. Untapped potential. An empty piece that cannot be predicted. And I need someone good at fleeing danger to hang onto it. Warping and Teleportation may not work well, Hoopa, but your rings seem to hold some power yet. I’d considered Madeline hiding in the Reverse Realm as well… but she’s too large and noticeable. You can hide. Can I trust you with this power?”

    “Not really,”
    Hoopa said.

    “Good answer. That’s why I’m going to ask a Divine Promise of you in conjunction with the other one I’d given you, as further insurance.”

    Hoopa pouted. “Fiiiine. If I HAVE to save the world, I’ll do it. What’s the Promise?”

    “That whatever this power becomes… when you unleash your full potential, you will use it responsibly. In other words, when you Unbind yourself, and this power is at its strongest, you will only use it for good, and you will use it responsibly. And I
    know you understand what responsibly means, deep down.”

    Hoopa flinched. “But I can still do pranks when I’m weaker?”

    “I understand the nature of compromise.”


    Owen detected a grudging tone behind that one.

    “Hmm…”

    The Tree—or was it Destiny Tower?—rumbled.

    “Okay. Let’s do it!”

    “And I trust you will know what to do with this power later,” Necrozma said, “won’t you… Owen?”

    Owen flinched. What? Did he hallucinate that? Those words sounded different. Were those Necrozma’s thoughts? They were louder. Less distant.

    Voice didn’t seem to hear it. Maybe he was focused on whatever was happening outside the Tree. Necrozma’s star became too bright again as the Divine Promise began.

    “Hey, Voice?” Owen called. “What, uh… what does Necrozma know about this place?”

    What? Well, he was the one who recruited me, gave me some extra programming to facilitate this mini-world, and so on. He knows I exist.

    “And he’s probably… aware of some of your properties, then.”

    Probably.

    “Right.”

    Well. Owen was involved in Necrozma’s plans, or… maybe Necrozma was putting his faith in him to do what he couldn’t.

    The Charmeleon winced, fist clenching. Even after all this, Necrozma was able to deduce all that? How?

    If Necrozma was defeated here, Owen wondered if he’d ever find out.

    He spared one last glance at Necrozma’s star. But who he saw next…

    “Remi!”

    “I dunno about this, Valle,” Remi said, arms crossed. The Sceptile had a radiant glow about her—in a very literal sense. It was like her scales had been replaced with gold.

    “You are my final contingency,” Necrozma said. “Should everyone fall, should the world come to ruin, I will need one last light to persist. I will use my connection to the Worldcore to send you through it… to a place that I have hidden away so you may be reborn. It is the absolute last resort. Eventually, you should reawaken your memories of this time, and you will have my light, and… it should be enough to get a resistance going again.”

    “This is a huge reach. What if… literally ANYTHING goes wrong? What if I die before I can do any of that? Or, uh, die again. Since I think if I go through with this, that’s kinda dying, right?”

    “It’s not foolproof. I’m trying to make as many backup plans as possible.”
    Necrozma dimmed. “I’ve… made many mistakes as an Overseer at this point. I’m in damage control, and even that may not be enough. Admittedly… some of this is through faith in others. Hecto is already scouting as much as he can, but I’ve ordered him to go into hiding, too. We can’t lose both Overseers.”

    “Wait, both? So you’re really fighting?”

    “Yes. I need to go now. The Tree of Life is already in danger.”

    “Wait—you—”

    “Stay here, Remi. The ‘rest of you’ is already fighting, I’m sure of it.”


    Rest of her. Then… Necrozma must have done the same thing that he’d done to himself.

    Maybe that’s how Necrozma guessed about him… No, that was also a stretch. “Why Remi?” Owen suddenly murmured. “Why is Necrozma picking Remi, of all people? There are so many others that could use this extra insurance… No, Necrozma, you’re more methodical than that…”

    What? Voice called.

    “Oh, sorry. Just talking to myself again…”

    You do that a lot.

    “Sorry…”

    The Tree shook again. Thinking helped keep him calm. The whole Tree couldn’t fall away, right? It was too… big for that.

    “What’s the plan if the Tree goes down?” Owen asked.

    I have a backup… I won’t like it, but we can try to flee.

    “Uh. What?”

    Flee. Take the Tree’s energy and leave. This Tree is to house me, but I don’t need it as long as I keep the power.

    “Oh. So that’s why you aren’t panicking…”

    What? I thought you had a plan. That’s why I’m not panicking.

    “But I thought you had a plan!”

    Another rumble punctuated the silence that followed. The rainbow veins in the roots were noticeably dimmer.

    “We… can’t do anything anymore,” Owen whispered. “That faith Necrozma has in us… We… we don’t have the power to enact it. Not against the Blight.”

    He sank lower in the sphere, wishing he had a wall to lean on.

    Owen wasn’t sure how much time passed afterward. Could have been a whole day of the Tree rumbling against the flames. Legends defending it, Alexander striking it down. Owen couldn’t find it in him to watch, knowing he could do so little. The Tree’s power was dwindling more and more and he’d so wastefully used it for a few useless words. Did anything even help Emily?

    After some time, Owen noticed the blue orb floating nearby starting to flicker. Dangerously, too. “What…”

    Nervously, he glanced at the stars again. Azelf’s was one of them, but he noticed, worriedly, that several of them were dimmer and…

    “Where are they?” Owen suddenly asked. Voice didn’t answer; he must have been preoccupied with something else.

    Owen pulled at a few of the stars. He saw through the eyes of mundane Pokémon—the ‘mortal’ halves of the Legends that Necrozma had split off from the Legend hosts. But no matter how many stars Owen looked through, he couldn’t find the Legends themselves anymore. They were… gone. Just gone. What did that mean?

    “Mhynt,” Owen whispered, searching more, wondering if he’d find a single one.

    Through the eyes of one, Owen saw a badly wounded, great flipper-wing—Lugia. The deep purple of her body was now only in shrinking patches, revealing white and silver beneath. She was too dazed to do anything else.

    Necrozma purified her… or at least saved her from the worst of the corruption.

    “What?” Owen mumbled.

    And there was a Vaporeon next to Emily. She seemed confused, like she didn’t recognize anything at all, and eyed Emily with apprehension. Vaporeon… Wasn’t that Emily’s mortal form? Were they split… but Emily was spared whatever happened to the rest of them?

    Owen, Voice called.

    “H-huh?”

    I… I’m sorry. I did what I could. But… Remi got caught up in the battle. Alexander was driven away and weakened, but… he…

    Owen’s spirit felt like ice. The Voice said something else. He couldn’t focus on any of it.

    The stars floated around Owen’s head. He glanced at a few, seeing nothing of importance, but it helped… move time along. Helped distract him as his world collapsed.

    But I was able to salvage one part. Some of her spirit is here, Owen. Just like you. But…

    Owen perked up. Remi, here? But… No. He couldn’t condemn her to a fate like this. She’d go crazy in the Worldcore. He was starting to lose it, seeing how helpless he was, but…

    “Why?” Owen asked. “I-is there something we can do? Can we… draw her spirit from Alexander’s part, and then she’ll be okay again?!”

    I… I don’t know how to do that, but… she isn’t conscious, Owen. She’s fading fast. If she fades completely, then even this fragment will return to Alexander… or the one with Necrozma. But not here. I’m sorry. But… if she can hang on, I can reincarnate her. She will be reborn, tied to the Tree of Life. She wants to wait until she can be reawakened again. Maybe with a piece of divine power.

    “But how can she do that? She’s not divine, she never… got that sort of exemption. She…” Owen’s eyes trailed to the flickering, fading blue marble. His imagined heart skipped a beat. “Voice!” Owen cried, tossing the marble toward the stars. “Give her this!”

    What?

    “Azelf! I think Azelf was taken by the Blight. I don’t know where he is. But his blessing might still be around. It’s fading fast, though. If we can give that—that divine will to her, maybe—”

    I don’t know if that will have any effect, Owen.

    “Please, just… try! Maybe it’ll help her!” Owen squeezed his fists. His voice cracked. “What good will it be otherwise?! It had to be useful for something, it had to mean something!”

    His voice bounced off the walls. That crumbling, shattering sound had finally come to an end. Whatever was happening outside was done and the Tree had, for now, survived. The Dark War had reached some kind of standstill. Neither side won, but both sides took heavy, heavy losses.

    Okay, Voice said. If you see no other use for the fading Will of Azelf…

    The blue marble disappeared into the Tree. Owen stared at the sky a little longer, the futures of the world murky and filled with uncertainty. The Dark War at a pause, not a halt. And everyone he knew was either missing or in hiding.

    But he couldn’t give up. He was still alive. And so long as he remained in the Worldcore, with all the time the world had left, he had to keep fighting.

    Quietly, he and Nate analyzed all of the data they’d gathered, the eyes they hadn’t seen in the heat of the moment, to determine, to the best of their ability, what happened. First: Necrozma’s contingency was to very slightly depower all the Legends by taking a piece of their souls and putting them in normal bodies again. They couldn’t get to all of them in time, but they got most of them.

    Second: That the Legends failed. Systematically, the Wraiths took them out. Where they went after was a big unknown. The darkness that Alexander had sided with, that Wishkeeper had once contained, was… gone. Out of their view. It went to a different plane—the same as the other Legends. What a terrible fate, if they were still in the same place. They had to find a way to figure that out, but from the Worldcore, they were limited to the physical domain.

    But, ultimately, Necrozma’s contingency saved the world from totally falling to darkness. Owen did not want to know what it would mean if that darkness got a hold of the full might of every Legend. Partial power wasn’t enough to override the Worldcore’s base rules.

    The third was that the Legend halves were unconscious and recovering, for the most part. Among the Legends were also notable mortals and spirit guardians of Destiny Tower, who were given pieces of Necrozma’s divine power. They would be the new guardians of Necrozma’s third of those rules—the power to tap into the Worldcore’s reality-bending abilities. Arceus called them the Hands of Creation for that purpose.

    The fourth and final thing that Owen and Nate gathered… was that a few anomalies were still present in the world. Giratina had disappeared before a clash happened; Lugia was still around, but without memories, and had stolen some of Necrozma’s power, only for it to be taken by the former Dragon of Ideals, Aramé. Still kept her massive size, though, and the darkness’ corruption seemed to melt Lugia’s body into a distortion in the shape of a Lugia rather than a normal creature…

    But that was all they’d gathered. Necrozma lost, but saved the world and bought them all time. The most Owen could hope for now…

    He just had to pick up the pieces and try again.

    <><><>​

    Year 1152

    It took years, but Owen had organized new connections and ‘eyes’ to see the world. Necrozma’s plan had worked, but only partially.

    In the aftermath of when the world had paused, Owen slowly waited with the Voice for the Worldcore to regain some of its energy. However, that process was a slow crawl, and during that time, the world deteriorated into something unrecognizable.

    Forests withered away to a strange, purple miasma that had cropped up from fissures in the ground. Yet, paradoxically, the forest also expanded at the same time, an overgrowth that carried over much of the world’s landmass… and then beyond, overtaking oceans and driving that further away.

    It was like the planet itself was growing in response to a surge of incoming matter. Owen had no idea what to make of it nor where it was coming from. It was out of the Worldcore’s range.

    Anything that resembled the old civilization was buried in this expanding forest. Pockets of that old civilization survived where the strange creatures of the forest didn’t reach.

    They weren’t Blights anymore. These things had melted into a black sludge, losing all semblance of what they had once been. They were Wraiths.

    Destiny Tower had been hit hardest. It had decayed and eroded by a harsh twister that blew around it, locking Barky inside, as well as Manny. By the time the cyclone had finished, it was eroded into a giant spire of stone. More like a cave; even the insides had been eroded… and it lost connection to the upper half of the Tower, which was located in the aether.

    The Legends’ mortal halves remained. Valle was missing, as were several others. Emily had lost her memories; Owen wasn’t sure how that happened, but he was pretty sure Uxie was involved in the same way they’d weaponized her powers against Wishkeeper. That would hold for a while.

    Hecto had also survived. Owen wasn’t sure how many of him did, but thanks to being so widespread, his weakened aura was also much harder to detect amid normal, mortal Pokémon.

    Barky had been badly injured in the battle but had saved Star. While the former went to Destiny Tower for safety, his wounds seemingly never recovering, Star scoured the world of Quartz for survivors.

    The first few years were energized. Morale was high, despite the devastating losses they’d taken. Then, as the dead forest grew, the sky shifted red, and no substantial changes emerged, that morale died a slow, withering death.

    More than a century later, many mortal Pokémon alive didn’t know what a blue sky looked like. There was only one place in the world that pierced that red miasma that shrouded the world: the Tree of Life.

    Pokémon braved the Wraith-infested lands to make a pilgrimage to the Tree of Life to strengthen themselves and see ‘what the world used to be like.’ At around the same time the miasma had covered the whole world, Pokémon took longer and longer to evolve… except when near the Tree of Life.

    But being weak, and having to go past Wraiths that guarded the Tree’s perimeter, made for a deadly combination. The world’s population… dwindled.

    And for each death that happened, a dark power’s influence clutched at the hearts of the living, growing ever stronger. Soon, that power would eclipse the Voice’s… and Owen, within the Worldcore, had spent all that time preparing for the Blight’s resurgence.

    Today felt different.

    Owen sighed to himself, staring at his favorite two stars. From one, a Sceptile remained hidden, shrouded in a Psychic barrier that kept all Wraiths away from her. From another, a feral Arcanine guarded her pup from a Wraith, fending it off with practiced ease.

    Mhynt had survived, though she, like Barky, had been severely weakened, and the miasma prevented any hope of regaining their lost strength.

    Remi, the one whose spirit was tied to the Worldcore, had reincarnated into an Arcanine this time and had gone through several lives beforehand. Remi’s spirit was strong; she always grew up with a tendency toward kindness, intense curiosity, and defiance.

    She died a lot. But her spirit pressed on anyway.

    “Voice?” Owen called. “Do you feel that?”

    I do.

    With Necrozma gone, spirits flowed to the Tree of Life directly, like a repository. They magnetized to the leaves, little wisps curling up and nestling within as they slept the years away. It was peaceful. Owen gently sorted through their memories to learn more about the outside world now that his old stars had become… limited.

    And what they felt was the darkening of recent spirits, as well as fewer and fewer coming to the Tree. The Voice described them as ‘budding agents of the Blight’ with how some of them seemed to embrace that dark force.

    Considering the Wraiths thrived in this environment… Owen couldn’t blame them, to an extent. It made the simple act of breathing easier if one took in that darkness.

    “I’m going to do another check,” Owen said. “Let’s see if we can’t find the Blight source again. It’s getting too big to hide, gotta be…”

    Don’t waste too much energy on it.

    “I know. The same amount as usual. I’ll keep it small.”

    Scans had become very efficient thanks to Owen’s methodology. He could get it done without using even ten days’ energy, and in only a few minutes, too. They’d been “saving” energy for a century, and they’d started to stockpile it fifty years ago. They had enough for a few dramatic endeavors once it was time to fight.

    And today…

    “A-ah!”

    Was that day.

    What? What do you see?

    Owen slammed his fist into another star, digging through it and wiggling his claws. Deftly, he triggered several procedures that he’d managed to program into the Worldcore.

    Owen?!

    “Sorry, no time!” Owen said. “I’m alerting everyone!”

    Why? What’s happening?

    The chamber around Owen lit up. The leaves of the Tree of Life did the same, doubling the radius of the blue skies like a beacon. Owen glanced at several of the stars in the Worldcore… Yes, that caught the attention of Star. That’s what he needed.

    “The Blight’s coming this way! It’s about a mile out, but he’s closing in fast!”

    It was this close?!

    “That must be why those spirits were so dark,” Owen said. “Good thing I trusted my gut…”

    Not that he had a true gut anymore. Still felt the same.

    “It’s been something we’ve anticipated for a long time, Voice. The Blight’s back, and—h-how long has it been? A century? I think I lost track…”

    The Worldcore tends to do that.

    The Tree of Life rumbled with activity. Owen heard whispers in the roots as spirits arose from their slumber. They, too, wanted to help—even the ones that had been tinged by darkness seemed willing to fight by the others’ side. Owen wasn’t sure what happened in that mysterious realm within the Tree—he wasn’t allowed inside, lest he get lost in the afterlife—but they tended to help those who had become lost souls swiftly.

    And they’d need every single one of their help to counter the Blight.

    I’m noticing something strange down below, Voice said.

    “Uh? Down below? What does that mean?”

    I… I don’t know. It just feels like “below.”

    “Like, underground?”

    No. Below.

    A pause. Owen didn’t know what to make of that. “Uh, okay. Let me know if that changes.”

    More important things to worry about.

    Owen muttered to himself small reminders. How certain stars worked. The way he had to line certain ones up and activate them all at once. Occasionally, he called for spirits to make sure they were all in position within the Tree’s leaves and roots. The Blight was closing in.

    And for a short moment, Owen considered one last saving throw.

    “…Hey… are you there?” he called. “It’s me. Owen.”

    He checked the stars. The Blight slowed. It heard him.

    “I don’t know what you want anymore. The way the world’s becoming… Is that because of you? Why are you destroying the world when you wanted to save it?”

    Slower and slower. Was Owen getting through to him? After all this time?

    He tried to get a better visual of the Blight. At this point, he didn’t need other eyes to do it. He could see through the buds of some of the Tree’s flowers, gathering light that way.

    Spiritomb again. Maybe the same one? Or maybe that was simply his favored form. And just behind him… Alexander, the Hydreigon of flame.

    Owen’s entire body felt hot, his spirit blazing at the sight of the one who’d taken his daughter. The torment she’d been put through, the experiments Alexander had tried against her amnesiac self… claimed her spirit…

    I found you.

    Owen gasped. The Blight fired a beam of darkness before he was ready—right when he’d been distracted—and struck the base of the Tree. The little Charmeleon sprite jumped out of the Worldcore and held up his arms just in time to block the dark lance that had burrowed through the roots.

    But it was just short of hitting anything. Owen didn’t know if his Protect worked anymore as a spirit, but… he supposed he wouldn’t have to find out.

    Instead, what remained of the dark lance was a small puff of black smoke. Watching. Floating. It didn’t dissipate.

    “…Is that you?” Owen asked quietly.

    “I’m sorry for this,” the dark mote said.

    Its cadence suggested he wasn’t truly there, but was a message left behind. Owen listened in silence.

    “I tried it your way. I tried to gather the Hands to reshape the world and free me from its suffering. I know you are trying, but lack the power. Alexander… showed me the truth that you hid from me, Owen. That in the end, power and power alone is what matters. And look. Look at the progress made in such a short time. The gods cannot touch me if they are even alive anymore. And when I claim the Tree of Life, everything will fall under my power. Then… I can fix things.”

    “He’s not there to help you,” Owen hissed, but of course the mote, just a message, would not listen. “He’s using you! Alexander—”

    Don’t waste the energy, Owen! He’s advancing!

    “Ugh!” Owen winced and shot into the Worldcore again, grasping at familiar stars with practiced ease. “Okay, okay, let’s see, uhh, I know I hooked up a few of these to—there!”

    Direct anything and everything to stopping him. That’s the source of all this!

    “Okay. Okay. It’s… it’s not him anymore. Just someone led astray by Alexander. If… if we kill him, that’s… we can help him in the Overworld, or something, right?”

    Even as Owen murmured, he charged the Tree. It used a lot of power, but he’d been prepping for its weaponization for a while. Channeling the energy of all the spirits within, all the energy saved, all the residual power from the world over decades, into concentrated blasts…

    That would eliminate anyone.

    “I’m sorry,” Owen whispered.

    He pressed a hand forward and into a star, clenched his fist, and pointed.

    In his mind’s eye, he saw the Blight the closest he’d ever seen it. A great, black miasma with a single red core in the center; looming over it was Alexander, sneering at the Tree and murmuring something to the orb of darkness.

    Everything around them was withering into black ash. Even feral Pokémon unfortunate enough to be in the way went from healthy to skeletal in seconds.

    No. Such a thing could not exist unchecked.

    He should have listened to Necrozma.

    Owen made another gesture with his hand, controlling the Tree’s energy. “Get ready, Voice!”

    The root’s veins are open. Fire!

    Dragon energy would do. Nothing truly nullified it, and even if that strange orb had acquired Steel, the power of a Dragon was mighty and consistent. Owen had configured the Tree to focus on its Dragon element as much as possible. Prior, it had been about plants and psionics to match Xerneas’ tendencies… but with Xerneas gone, Owen worked with what he thought was better.

    Ten percent of the Tree’s energy was used up from this blast, but it would be more than enough at this proximity. Alexander’s eyes widened, but the Blight shrouded him in darkness and expanded, taking the blast directly.

    “Yes!” Owen laughed. “A direct hit!”

    Dragon energy scorched the ground, turning soil into flaming, indigo fields. A crater a hundred feet wide, smoldering in the center, remained.

    Oh.

    And in the middle was the Blight, and Alexander, completely unscathed.

    It nullified your attack.

    “What?” Owen murmured. “How? I’m sure I used Dragon, not Normal, but he acts like I’d struck with Hyper Beam or something…”

    Try an analysis. He’s close enough.

    Owen fiddled with the stars. The Spiritomb body had returned, though instead of its usual stone anchor, it was replaced by that red sphere—the Blight’s core.

    “I’m seeing signatures from Shedinja,” Owen reported. “I think he’s using the power of other spirits he’d possessed… and he’s integrating them into his body.”

    Shedinja? But that means…

    “It means that as a Spiritomb, no normal attacks get through that barrier. It completely nullifies any energy that doesn’t directly counter that shield… ah! But it doesn’t protect against disruptions!”

    Owen quickly reconfigured the Tree. He called upon a few Tyranitar who had settled within, asking to lend their power.

    No, that won’t work, Voice interjected. No…! He has Rayquaza’s…!

    “You’re kidding,” Owen whispered.

    The Tree rumbled again. The Voice shrieked in pain—that was a hard hit. Alexander and the Blight were on the offensive.

    “Voice!” Owen cried.

    I—I’m okay, Voice said back. Sorry, I’m sorry. I don’t know what to do. I can’t fight against this!

    Owen kept checking. All the planning, all this prep, and it was all falling apart around him. This was supposed to be the world’s effort, and it was being completely nullified by the Blight’s raw power. But not only that…

    “I should have known,” Owen said, breathing hard. A few pieces of wood fell through his ethereal body. The Tree of Life was falling. “He wouldn’t have come here without a plan for everything.”

    In one of Owen’s visuals of the decaying forest, Star had appeared. She was trying to fight the Blight off, and, from the horror Owen saw in her eyes, she must have realized his invincibility.

    The Blight is a pessimist in nature, the Voice said. If he thought anything could have gone wrong, he planned for it and assumed it would happen. He… covered everything. Every time I think of a weakness, he seems to have a counter. I’m even calling for Pokémon with abilities that ignore abilities, but he seems to have a counter for that, too!

    “The only thing that would’ve worked was Radiance,” Owen said. “There’s no resistance to that. Spiritomb would be weak to that. Everything is, especially Shadows, but…”

    But hypotheticals wouldn’t work now. With Necrozma gone, much of that ‘Radiance’ he held also went away. Even the fragments of Necrozma, embedded in eighteen trusted Guardians, lost much of their light. They’d retained only a glow, some psionics, and a boost in power and levitation. That was it. That was nothing compared to the Blight.

    Another tremor interrupted Owen’s thoughts. The Voice cried in pain. The Tree was on fire once more. It had barely recovered from the last time. The roots darkened.

    “This is practically cheating,” Owen said, slamming his hands against the stars. “What are we supposed to do against this?! We prepped for everything!”

    “This is goodbye to the old era of gods, as its last artifact is toppled!” Alexander declared. Long live the Void King!”

    With flames of darkness behind him, Alexander drew a javelin of darkness from thin air in his smaller left head. He rolled his shoulder back.

    Owen closed his eyes and held back a sob. He saw no way out of it. The Blight had won, against all his planning. He’d lost his way too early and his tiny fragment wasn’t enough to right those wrongs.

    In one sense, it was Owen’s punishment. But he could not accept that—because so many others suffered far more than he had. He had to fix it so that wouldn’t happen. Now… it was all just bitter, senseless failure.

    The attack never came.

    For a few seconds after, Owen waited, somewhere between confused and braced. He dared to check the stars again…

    A gold ring had intercepted the javelin, and another gold ring appeared behind Alexander, where the Javelin had exited and impaled him. Alexander’s eyes were wide not with pain but surprise and anger.

    “HA!” shrieked a booming, yet high-pitched voice. “Forget about ME?!”

    Hoopa—a towering, Unbound djinn—crossed her arms and smirked a jagged, toothy grin.

    “Willow?!” Owen pressed his hands against the wall of the Worldcore in disbelief. “I thought she… but we couldn’t…!”

    “We knew you’d come here, Blight,” called another voice, emerging from the shadows. Giratina—the same Giratina who’d been plunged into darkness with Hoopa during the Dark War a century earlier. “We waited, ever patient, for you to reveal yourself.”

    Giratina disappeared into another realm when the Blight tried to strike at Giratina with a hazy, black tendril. A realm beyond Owen’s sight—the Reverse World, on the other side of Quartz.

    “Of course,” Owen whispered. “I… But who else is there?” he wondered, his heart swelling with hope.

    And just then, another Legend appeared, this time with a great downpour of moonlight. Lunala. Owen could cry.

    And on Lunala’s shoulder… was Sceptile Mhynt. He had to confirm it when checking her star—but yes. The holder of Necrozma’s Psychic shard—one of the strongest that resonated—had survived… However, Owen noted a nasty-looking scar along Lunala’s wings from a slash long ago. It reminded him of torn paper somehow brought back together.

    “We planned and waited,” Lunala said, but then erupted into light. Her body dissolved and returned to Mhynt, who closed her eyes and took a long, slow breath. She floated without wings, aglow with Necrozma’s light…

    But, frowning, Owen sensed that this light was too weak for the Shadows. It wasn’t ‘complete’ without Necrozma himself present. They still wouldn’t be enough.

    “’Tina!” Star cried, Teleporting to her side when she emerged from a black portal again. “Th-thanks for the backup, but… the Tree, I think it’s alive! And trying to fight back, but even its strongest blast isn’t enough…”

    “Kuhuhu…”
    Hoopa pointed at the Blight and Alexander, both of them seething. The Hydreigon removed his javelin, spilling black blood far below. The wound closed itself in seconds. “That’s why I’M here. As the ultimate wild card, I have—I mean, you have no idea what I’m going to do!”

    “Wild card…” Owen whispered. The gears turned in his mind.

    The Blight, an eternal pessimist, had prepared for every single thing that the world could have thrown at it. Every rule, every elemental matchup, every possibility had been accounted for.

    The only thing the Blight couldn’t defend against… was the impossible. Was a new rule.

    Owen had to cheat, too.

    The Tree of Life trembled. Owen, what are you doing? Don’t touch that!

    “Sorry, Voice,” Owen said. “But I need to do something with that wild card!”

    The earth rumbled again. Giratina, Mhynt, Star, and Hoopa had combined their efforts to fend off the Blight and Alexander, buying time, but a delay was all they could accomplish on their own. They needed a miracle. They needed that wild card to pay off.

    They needed something that could pierce the invincible state the Blight had created for itself… and, probably, something to defeat Alexander just as well.

    An empty shard, waiting to take on a new form. The blank check that Necrozma had given in the hope and faith that Owen would find a use for it.

    “Necrozma,” Owen said quietly. “I hope… I hope this is enough!”

    He wasn’t sure about his exact thought process anymore. He thought of something strange, unpredictable, scary. Something that could trick and pierce the darkest of powers, ignore the specters, and conquer Dragons. The antithesis to Alexander, the exception to the Blight’s immunity that came with its Dark and Ghost shards that it had taken from Necrozma.

    With the world’s rules at the tips of his claws, Owen rewrote the rules to the Voice’s direct protest. All of its power from a century of saving it up, as the very fabric of the world became its most unstable state, with no other options left on the table, Owen tapped into Hoopa’s wildcard and rewrote reality.

    And he created a weakness out of thin air.

    BOOM!

    A pink shockwave lit the skies. The Tree of Life charged a new beam that siphoned its very life force to perform. Hoopa’s blank crystal glow shifted to that same, mischievous pink. Alexander roared in sudden pain, covering his eyes as a glimmering, dazzling light shredded his scales and wings. The Blight, too, recoiled in pain and shriveled at the sudden onslaught of energy that cleaved through all of its shields.

    “Huh?” Hoopa said. “I mean—yeah, take THAT! How’s my wild card now?!” She balled up her great fist and brought it back, punching Alexander in his main face. Black blood spattered on her knuckles as she liquefied his muzzle with an audible squelch, but even that wasn’t enough to knock Alexander out. He gurgled a snarl and used his smaller heads to blast at Hoopa at close range.

    Mhynt and Giratina stepped in next, striking Alexander while the Blight continued its roaring from the Tree’s onslaught. Suddenly, the whole battle had reversed: The Blight backed away, desperate for distance, and Alexander couldn’t handle the hidden Legends.

    I’m detecting a rift into the Reverse Realm. Giratina’s trying to pull them away!

    “What? Why?!”

    Even with all these attacks, I don’t think they can defeat him… They’re going to seal them away!

    “No! No, we can do it!” Owen screeched. He pressed into the nearest star—it happened to be Giratina’s. “Giratina! Madeline! Listen! Stall a little longer! We can do it!”

    No response.

    “Madeline?” Owen called again. “Giratina?”

    The star flickered and dimmed. In the weakening light of Owen’s last connections to the outside world, he saw Madeline and the others pulling the Blight and Alexander into a black portal conjured by Giratina. Hoopa’s power, in direct contact with the Blight, was waning, even after the wildcard had activated.

    “Not… yet,” Alexander said, his muzzle solidifying from pure Shadows. “I’m not… falling here…!”

    He grasped at the root of the Tree just outside the portal. The Voice yelped. The stars dimmed even more. The world around Owen was almost completely black. A void.

    He heard Alexander’s voice over the collapse of the Tree.

    “My final plan…” Alexander pushed the Blight toward Giratina and used that momentum to break away. “By my Divine Decree…!”

    The Voice wailed. Owen stared at his own hands. They were fading. Alexander was siphoning the Tree’s power using the divine power of the Blight… He was trying to use the anti-Hands to do the Hands’ work and write a rule into the Worldcore! But why? What was he planning to do?

    “The Legends… and all who fall into the void of the Reverse World… shall be… FORGOTTEN!”

    Owen’s heart iced over. If they forgot… Alexander would have all the time in the world to recover. He’d still know.

    And with a final push, and a final roar of anger from the Blight, Alexander separated himself from the pull of Giratina and the Legends.

    “No!” Giratina shouted.

    “Just pull!” Mhynt said, jamming her blade into the Blight’s core. It cracked, spewing darkness in all directions. “We got the Blight… That’s good enough… we can let the rest of the world deal with Alexander…”

    The deeper they went into the portal, the weaker Owen’s connection to them became. And he realized too late that upon creating that new type to counter the Blight, just to weaken it… he’d used up all of the Tree’s power. They couldn’t hear him.

    He hadn’t even thought to speak to Mhynt again until it was too late. Speak to… speak to…

    “We were so close,” Owen whispered. “We could have ended all of this right now. Saved everyone. Fixed everything.”

    The Tree of Life was dying. Its wood had rotted from the inside and that rot had made it to the base of the Tree. The Worldcore, pelted by falling debris, dimmed.

    “What was the point of all this?” Owen said, staring at his wispy hands. “What was the point of any of this?! Why did I spend… a century underground, with my hands right next to the rules of the universe, only to FAIL AT THE END?!”

    He ineffectually slammed his hands into the ground, trying to pull up dirt and rocks.

    “I rewrote… reality itself… and still THIS!” He laughed slamming his hands over and over into nothing, flipping in the air with his ethereal momentum.

    “A-and… and what was it that Alexander said?” he said. “Anyone who enters somewhere… is forgotten. And… the Legends?” Owen rubbed his head nervously. “Did… did we ever have Legends? Who… who did we forget? Voice?” Owen looked up. His heart ached. His very soul wanted to cry out. “Who did we forget?”

    I… I can’t remember. I’m sorry.

    “You? You can’t? But… but you’re this world, Voice…!” Owen tried to piece together the flickering orbs of the Worldcore, so drained of power. “We have to remember! Please, just… override it! Undo it!”

    You know I can’t do that, Owen…

    “BUT WHAT DID WE FORGET?”

    I don’t know! I’m… I’m sorry, Owen…!

    Owen paced nervously. “I—I can’t forget. I can’t forget that. I can’t forget what I was doing here. I… I rewrote something, right, I had to defeat… Alexander? Just Alexander? Right, the… the thing I made, it was… because—Remi. Because of Remi! My… daughter! With… with…!”

    Ice filled his ethereal body.

    “…Who is her mother?” he whispered.

    But when Owen tried to think about Remi’s mother, all he saw was a black void in his mind. Someone who… wasn’t.

    The feelings. He remembered the feelings of warmth and love and pain and anguish. But no memories beyond it. Someone who was there, but not anymore.

    Owen, Voice said tentatively. I’m sensing something in… in the aftermath of whatever happened here. We must have fought to get it. I’m seeing… a few shards of something divine. Maybe of… of someone that used to be here.

    “…It must be left behind for something…” Owen closed his eyes. “Maybe… a message…”

    One resonates with Psychic power. I think… I’m going to give it to some of my oldest spirits. The Unown. They should be able to protect it. Another one is of Dark energy. They won’t like that, but… maybe I can hang onto it.

    But that last shard… it’s so dark. I don’t think anything should interact with it. I’m going to relocate it. I think it used to be… Ghost. Didn’t Giratina have this one? Ghost and Dark… that must be where the darkness got those elements to gain immunity to so much of what we threw at it. Psychic from Mhynt… Dark, didn’t that go to Xypher? I think I saw him get taken down by one of Alexander’s elite troops. But I don’t know where he went… Must have been defeated.

    But why is Ghost so… corrupted? I don’t want to study it. That might leak into the Tree. We’re too vulnerable.


    The Tree of Life groaned as its trunk struggled to support itself. The Voice stopped rambling to focus on keeping it together.

    “What’s the point?” Owen said. “If the Tree goes, won’t the world fall apart? It’s held together by divine power. If it goes, the world will…”

    I have… one last backup that I can do. I’ll have to take the Tree within me and let its power exist in the crater it leaves behind. Within me. It’ll… buy time. I’ll have to hide. I’ll use this Dark power to do it.

    “Okay,” Owen said, defeated. “If it’ll… buy time.”

    A flickering light caught Owen’s attention. He glanced at one of the last, dim stars in the Worldcore. A view from the Tree itself.

    The red miasma was clearing away. It was like something had… broken away. The blue sky peeked out of the once thick, red clouds all over a ruined world.

    “I’m so tired,” Owen admitted. “I’m… I’m so tired. And I can’t even remember why.”

    Rest, Owen. Let me handle this for a while. And when you have the energy again… Let’s figure out what to do.

    There is… one thing I still see in the Worldcore that’s bothering me.


    “What?” Owen asked.

    There’s a timer for a thousand years. It went off a century ago. And I know that corresponds to something we had to do. Something we’ve been doing… And the timer. It’s cyclical.

    “Cyclical?” Owen repeated. His mind buzzed with what little energy he had left. “Wait, then… this might happen again. Or something will happen again, maybe even—a hint?”

    Yes. After the timer resets again in a good… nine centuries or so. Something will happen again.

    “Nine… centuries.” Owen laughed. “Nine centuries. Okay.” He closed his eyes and leaned back. The Voice’s body was absorbing the Tree and, with it, the Worldcore.

    I hope you can handle it, Owen…

    “I need to know those answers,” Owen said. “And one thing I didn’t forget was… that I needed to repay the world for something. I’ll protect it from whatever’s coming. And until then… I’m not gone. I’m still here.”

    That’s familiar. I think we’ve done this before.

    “And I remember it was worse before,” Owen said, glancing at the clearing sky. “Maybe… maybe something good happened.”

    We won’t know until that timer resets.

    “Yeah.” Owen nodded. “If that’s the case… It’s time to recover.”

    I’ll do what I can. Owen sensed a smile in his tone. …Thank you for helping. I’ll still need your guidance… okay?

    Owen closed his eyes. Even in the darkness of the underground, the projection of the expanding blue sky warmed his spirit. “Wouldn’t want it any other way.”

    <><><>​

    Year 1321

    Today, Remi died in the cold, after getting lost from her herd of Stantler. It was a sad and early death, and Owen whispered small comforts as she lay dying in the snow, but he also knew that sometimes, such misfortunes were the natural outcome of a feral life.

    Society had rebuilt from scratch. Small civilizations at first scattered throughout the world whose name was forgotten, becoming villages and small towns. Technologies and relics of old found and reverse-engineered by the smartest of Pokémon.

    Remnants of distortions from an unknown clash scarred the land, but those blessed with an equally unknown, golden power helped to counteract it. Most of all, a great Goodra who wandered the land. Owen knew her as Madeline, but much of her past was a heavy and frustrating fog.

    Owen had been semi-dormant for a while now. He’d lost track of the time. At least, without a mortal body, he was also free of mortal boredom. He seemed to have no trouble drifting through the abyss that had become the Voice’s realm with little grief.

    Watching the outside world through flickering stars was his entertainment. It was peaceful. It bothered him that surely things he’d forgotten were missing, and he also knew Alexander was somewhere in the world with Remi, so he still had things to fix. But compared to before… he had to appreciate the small victories to stay sane.

    The Tree of Life had instead become a great pit of darkness that Pokémon tended to avoid due to how ominous it seemed. There was also a similar pit that was actually dangerous to approach just west of the Tree’s old location. That one had formed from the distortions during the forgotten war.

    “Hey, Voice,” Owen said. “I think I’m starting to think a little more again…”

    That’s nice, Owen.

    “No, for real this time!” Owen said, recalling vaguely that he’d said that many times before in a half-lucid state. “The world is really… stable. But that just means Alexander is still planning something, and once he gets what he wants, he’ll make a move again. Do you think… we should start trying to mobilize, too?”

    …Oh, you’re awake this time, Voice conceded. I’ve been trying a few things for now. But Star and Barky figured out most of it. Right now, Alexander needs to be kept away from divine power as much as possible.

    “Far away… But I think Tim—uh, I mean… Eon he’s calling himself now… He’s gearing up to gather that divine power, too…”

    Yes. But Eon… His genetic augmentation project is going wrong and he’s not realizing the sacrifices he’s making, Owen. But he isn’t the one paying for it…

    “Well, that Divine Decree messing with his form was more an… advanced payment,” Owen muttered. “I know he wasn’t always a Ditto. He must have been a Mew, and then…” He tried to think again, tried to vocalize his feelings, but that void in his memory would not brighten.

    I don’t know what to do from here, Voice admitted. Maybe you should get back to resting. I’ll monitor as much as I can until something new happens. Besides… the less energy you use, the more you save for when it matters.

    That cold uncertainty returned. That was what happened last time. Waiting, waiting, waiting for the right moment to expend everything… Was that the right thing to do?

    “Hey, what’s that?” someone whispered in the stars.

    Owen squinted at the noise.

    In the fading, flickering star of Remi’s current life, an orange flame cut through the whiteout of the snowstorm. Remi was too weak to move.

    It was a Charizard, his form twisted by experiments, but the general shape and appearance remained. Slimmer, with crazed eyes and a more pronounced muzzle, pointed horns, and enhanced musculature. A mutant Pokémon built for battle and little else.

    But this time, there was kindness behind that enthusiastic energy.

    Behind the Charizard was an Alakazam. A psionic barrier protected him from the snow, forming a bubble of ice. “It’s a fallen Pokémon, Owen. This is a harsh storm.” He hummed, tapping his chin. “I suppose we could use some extra food back home. Would save me the trouble.”

    Owen winced. Well, that’s gonna be awkward to recall… but that was the cycle of life. Remi happened to be part of it. It wasn’t really… “Remi” anymore anyway. Not right now. He pushed the star away, not wanting to witness that regardless.

    “I’m worried about them,” Owen admitted. “They’ve forgotten the real purpose behind what they’re doing and don’t even realize it. Even Michael—uh, Nevren doesn’t realize it. And it’s not like whispering in their dreams works, either… What do we tell them? We don’t remember…”

    I don’t know, Owen. But keeping an eye on these powers as they develop will be important.

    “Yeah…”

    “Owen, what are you doing?”

    Owen tilted his head and, morbidly, checked Remi’s star.

    He was trying to feed Remi an Aspear Berry. “I’m trying to warm her up,” Charizard Owen explained.

    “For what purpose?”

    “To help her!”

    “Why, precisely?”
    Nevren asked, a hint of impatience in his voice.

    “Well, because she’s hurt…”

    The light in Remi’s star was brighter. After a few minutes of treatment from a combination of Aspear Berry juice and Owen’s body heat from a full embrace, Remi’s star was brighter than ever.

    “I don’t see the point in this, you know,” Nevren chided. “Nature would have taken its course. The herd would be stronger in the end.”

    “I know, but… this was a freak storm, right? Maybe she was just unlucky.”

    “Hrm. Well, I suppose that is also true.”

    “And,”
    Owen went on, “Dad always said that people like us, we’re also part of nature. And if we choose to save another part of nature, isn’t that also nature taking its course? Deciding for ourselves… and not what higher powers dictate? Nature’s kinda a higher power, right?”

    Nevren sighed. “It shouldn’t be applied that way, but… I’m not going to convince you, and it’s not a serious strain on our resources. Go as you like, Owen.”

    Owen gently held the Stantler, who exhaled over Owen’s shoulder. “Don’t listen to him,” he murmured. “You’re gonna be fine… in fact…” Owen perked up. “I think I sense tracks nearby. She got lost, but the herd’s pretty close!”

    And a moment later, another Stantler cried far in the distance, and then another. Remi’s star flashed and she bellowed out a call, startling Owen into wobbling away.

    Owen nervously laughed, “H-hey! Looks like your energy’s back!”

    Remi was on her feet. She was winding up to jump away but hesitated to look at Owen again. She trotted close and pressed her forehead against his chest.

    Nevren flicked his wrist, Teleporting a notepad into his hands as he wrote a few things down. “Fascinating,” he murmured. “Now, I suppose that will be all for this excursion, Owen. Perhaps we should return home.”

    “Yeah…”
    Owen scratched his cheek. Gently, he ran his claws through her fur.

    Owen paused, transfixed until Remi stepped back and galloped away.

    The star’s luminosity returned to normal. Owen, watching from the Worldcore, noticed little sparkles falling from his face and sniffed. “Oh—” he mumbled.

    Are you okay, Owen?

    “Uh—yeah. Sorry.” Owen wiped his face again. “Anyway… um… we’ll just watch,” he said. “Watch and… and wait.”

    Silence, for a time. Then, The mind forgets, but the spirit remembers the broad strokes. I think that’s what happened there, Owen. Perhaps… you were drawn to each other this one time. And it may happen again.

    “…Yeah. Sorry, I just… wasn’t expecting any of that.” He sank into the Worldcore again, enjoying its comforting darkness. His flame illuminated so little of it. “I’m going to rest a while…”

    Good night, Owen.

    <><><>​

    Year 1520

    Today, Owen cried in “Nate’s” arms. It happened now and then over the years, but this one felt worse.

    In just one year, he’d witnessed misfortunes happen to all three fragments of Remi. Yes, the feral one was just a routine illness that finally claimed her, but the others… It was too much.

    The ten-eyed, red-flamed Charmander gently patted Owen on the back, murmuring quiet assurances that everything would be okay.

    “It’s going to be okay,” Nate said. “It’s just a small setback. Plenty of time to recover before the timer ticks down. We’re only a little past halfway. So much can change in those centuries.”

    Owen took a long, slow breath. “Yeah,” he said. “Yeah… It’s just, a lot suddenly happened right this year. Why? Is it… is it coincidence? Can’t be, but the stars didn’t show me anything…”

    Nate shook his head. “I’m not sure, either,” he said. “But I think once one person makes a move, a lot of other plans start falling into place, too. It was a second war, all in just this short time…”

    The ten-eyed Charmander gestured to the stars, expanding a few to make displays of a few of the chaotic events. A Goodra, son of Madeline, acquired the Ghost Orb that had been abandoned. The same Ghost Orb that connected to the Reverse World—and, therefore, the place they assumed many tainted spirits had been placed.

    There had been some sort of battle. The loser was pulled into the Reverse World; Owen had no idea if they were friends or foes, but with how everyone claiming victory was someone Owen liked… it must have been a great enemy.

    But not without immense sacrifice along that path.

    Mispy and Nevren had a close encounter with that Goodra. And while nobody knew the full extent of what he held, Nevren would be observing him closely. Growing nervous, Eon had accelerated the mutant experiments and the efforts in “fusion” to ascend a mortal past a god’s strength. And that ended up breaking the minds of Owen and his friends irreparably.

    Another fated encounter between Owen and Remi happened—but this time, with a different fragment. Without anyone’s notice, another reincarnation had been cycling through the Aura Sea—the new afterlife that Star and Barky made after the old one—presumably—vanished. And that new life… attached to a Guardian.

    And Owen killed her without recognition, his mutant body warping his soul. Perhaps when it was wiped clean of any ancestry, that connection to Remi had also been destroyed. Now, Owen suspected that only he, in the Worldcore, retained that connection.

    Not long after, someone was doing… experiments with Remi. Owen couldn’t remember the details anymore. But it was to create something from her light and that person’s darkness. That cascaded into a serious clash between that person and Eon’s group, the Hunters, and… the death of the mutant, Owen. It was a tragedy, in a way: Rhys had planned to take Owen out of there after the Grass Guardian incident, only for Alexander to injure Rhys and kill Owen. Nevren had never looked so upset.

    And now they couldn’t even remember what caused it. Owen dreaded what false memories, conjured by their physical minds, would fill in the gaps.

    “It looks like all the Guardians are scattering again,” Nate said. “That—hm…”

    He drifted through the dark and pushed a star to Owen. “Wait, Owen. I found something interesting in this one.”

    Owen tilted his head and peered inside.

    “Oh… don’t worry about that. I think I can see you now… but I’m fading fast.”

    Owen’s heart skipped a beat. It was distorted, but that voice… “Remi!”

    The one that had been… taken by someone. By that forgotten person.

    “What?” whispered a Hydreigon next to the speaker. Based on the surrounding, lava-filled environment, this seemed to be the Fire Orb’s interior. “Mother, what happened to you?”

    “Nate,” Owen said. “We can’t usually see inside an Orb Realm. Why is this happening?”

    “…Oh, goodness,” Nate whispered. “Look!”

    And hiding behind a rock, trembling with fear… was Owen. Dead—the mutant killed in the fight.

    That was why. He had direct access…

    He returned to the conversation.

    “I’ll take care of Owen,” a Gardevoir with blue hair said. “But why?”

    “He’s going to be needed for the world later,” Remi replied. “The person I’m trying to stop… I know he’ll try to return. And Owen’s the only one left who can do it.”

    “Who is this evil person?”
    asked a Dusknoir nearby—Owen recognized him. Hecto.

    “Sorry… I don’t know anymore. He was sealed away, and memories of him disappeared when that happened. Just like me. Ah… sorry… I…”

    Owen pulled away, claw to his chin. “Remi…”

    “That confirms it,” Nate said, nodding with all eyes closed. “I trust Remi’s intuition. She’s been with this person for far longer; she must be thinking of a plan she’d overheard, or was unwillingly part of it.”

    “Hmm…”

    “We need to get ready for that. The Guardians will have to come together again to defeat this person. Let’s remember that.”

    “Right.” Owen nodded, tuning back into the star.

    “I feel like someone just exited this domain,” Gardevoir said.

    Owen tilted his head. Why was he watching them so intently before, again…?

    “You would naturally be very aware of such things,” Hecto said. “Who left?”

    “I don’t know. It’s like I had miscounted this whole time…”


    Hecto turned his attention to his arm. Owen squinted, trying to get a look himself. “Hm. There’s a message on my hand.”

    “Oh, goodness! Are you injured?”

    “It is not a bother. It says, ‘Remi.’”


    Alex’s heart fluttered. “Remi… Is that a name?” He held his chest. “Why do I… feel…”

    “…Remi,” Owen whispered. “She’s… somewhere else. And…”

    “I can’t remember,” Nate said. “Gods, that Decree is so strong. For someone to have made it that way… we definitely need to gather the Guardians. The Guardians, and Star and Barky. All the Hands together, if we can afford it.”

    “But if the Reverse Realm is tied to the Ghost Orb, isn’t that already tainted?” Owen bit his cheek. “That’s a huge risk…”

    Especially since the Ghost Orb’s holder was forming the dominant kingdom. If he expanded to all of Kilo, that could get ugly if that darkness spread to the other Guardians.

    “Ngh…” Owen rubbed his head. “We’d need to time it to the timer. That’s five hundred years from now, but… when the timer goes away, everything will weaken, and we can start doing bigger things again. Step in to stop the darkness from spreading.”

    Nate nodded eagerly. “Yes. But if the Guardians are thinking about drifting apart again for some reason… maybe to make sure nobody can have that divine power… it’d be playing right into the Reverse’s hands!”

    “Right… which means… we have to somehow stop them?”

    “And that works right into my plans for you, Owen.” Nate grinned.

    “Eh?”

    “I think it’s about time you socialized.”

    “S-socialized?” Owen repeated.

    Nate gestured to the stars. “With that forgotten enemy gone, we have a surplus of energy. I can afford to spare a tiny amount for your mental health, Owen. You spent five hundred years cooped up in the Worldcore. Sure, you don’t have the same fatigue a mortal mind would have, but wouldn’t it be nice to have a few… windows, anyway?”

    Owen hummed, unsure, and drifted to a few of the stars. He saw a forest of pastel colors through the eyes of a tiny, tiny Joltik. A Lopunny was resting in a sunny, arid field. A Torterra in a seemingly endless salt flat. And, of course, he saw the Gardevoir of Fire’s realm most clearly of all. Several other stars were inaccessible—notably, the ones strongly tied to Barky. Maybe that was a natural defense…

    “I can only speak in their dreams, though,” Owen remembered aloud. “It won’t… mean anything.”

    “Who’s to say?” Nate suggested. “The world is healing. And sure, maybe what Remi said is true, and that person will return. But if that’s the case… all the better to recover. Mentally, spiritually… I guess you can’t recover physically, um…”

    The stars twinkled as if to invite Owen to peer into some of them. The little spirit closed his eyes.

    “Okay,” he finally said. “Maybe it’ll help them, too.”

    He picked one at random and happened to enter the Joltik’s dreams.

    Shortly after, he elected never to go there again.

    <><><>​

    Year 1998

    To Owen’s surprise, it was quiet for many centuries. The world entered another era of peace. The son of Madeline, Goodra Anam, re-sealed the rips into the Reverse World that had been formed by old clashes of divine powers, turning them into “Dungeons” that kicked anyone out who got too close to the spirit realm.

    Nate gathered a lot of his power from the residuals of Kilo—renamed after its old title was lost to the destruction of the Dark War. Some of it came from the sun, though Owen knew that wasn’t truly the sun. It was divine power that Barky, supposedly, had left behind, as this realm was too small to have a true solar system. The closest thing to ‘stars’ was right in the Worldcore for Owen to use.

    Today, Owen was visiting the realm of a relatively new Guardian, a Milotic named Zena. She was a lonely Pokémon who readily shared her dreams with him, though she was rarely lucid.

    The centuries had taught Owen how to navigate the dreams of other Pokémon with ease. He’d peer into their stars while asleep and slip into those little realms, projecting himself with little power.

    When Owen visited today, Zena had been at the bottom of a dark, cold pit of the ocean, shivering and alone in a recurring nightmare. When Owen arrived, his first act was always to light that darkness and coax her into happier dreams. It took many visits to figure out what worked, and eventually, he found that tapping into her Milotic instincts worked the best. He’d ask, simply, for a performance. When that happened, everything in her world lit up.

    Zena often swam in spirals around him with fine displays of bubbles and jets of water. They reminded him of the Worldcore’s stars, though with more upward force.

    He could breathe underwater—which was strange and disorienting, but he got used to it—and he’d always clap and waggle his tail to applaud her performances. Then, as dreams always did, it would transition into another scene.

    Today, it was her underground abode, in a Dungeon formed around her Orb’s power. Cold, lonely, and occupied only by her spirits that had largely become extensions of herself. Owen could only sympathize for her, listen to her problems, and hope some of it carried into her waking world.

    Often, the dreaming Pokémon spoke total gibberish, or, when they said something coherent, it had no relation to the next sentence. Navigating a conversation with a sleeping Pokémon was more like walking through a hall of mirrors.

    “I heard the rain,” Zena said.

    “Oh, the rain?” Owen echoed.

    “Does it still rain?”

    “It does.”

    The Milotic stared at the ground and the stone. “Wet stones are like rain.”

    “They are?”

    “The stones are wet like rain.”

    “You must like the rain.”

    Zena stared directly into Owen’s eyes. He shrank back, dwarfed by her size.

    Suddenly, Owen’s body melted, then evaporated, until he was just an orange cloud with eyes. His tail remained, flickering gently.

    “I guess I’m rain now,” Owen conceded.

    “Why do you visit all the time?” Zena asked.

    That was… surprisingly lucid for once. “I want to keep you Guardians company,” Owen said, bobbing in the air. She had an expectant look. Concentrating, Owen acted like he was conjuring flames—and, to his surprise, it began to rain in the cave instead, making the glowing stones sparkle like the night sky. Transfixed by this, Zena stopped talking and watched them.

    In that comforting silence, Owen sighed and considered all the other Guardians he could contact. Of them all, Zena tended to be the most lonely and receptive to Owen’s approach. She had so little else. He wished he could guide her to some other Guardian to socialize, but she was afraid, heeding the advice of Star… who sometimes had to coax her into staying away from Eon, who had been driven into hunting Guardians to get the mutant Owen back.

    Such a mess. Owen had a feeling that was going to be the thing that broke the peace…

    “I want to see them,” Zena said. “I want to see the stars again.”

    “Go. See them,” Owen encouraged.

    “I can’t. I can’t.”

    The same cycle. It was hard to change someone from their dreams if they were afraid. Even if they wanted to change, fear held them back. Fear kept everything from moving onto that next step, for better or worse.

    Just another century or two… then Owen could make more moves. Then, maybe, more would change.

    Suddenly, the world dissolved around him and Owen plopped onto the wet stone as a Charmander. Zena was waking up, or maybe she was simply tired of meditating. It was hard to tell with Guardians.

    With a sudden gasp, Owen returned to the Worldcore. Taking a minute to gather his bearings, Owen stretched and said, “Zena’s the same as always.”

    No reply.

    “…Nate?” Owen called.

    You’re going to want to see this.

    Owen tilted his head and drifted to the star Nate had brightened. He peered inside…

    But it was dark, save for a sliver of light from half-open eyes. He saw an orange flame. The flicker reminded him of a Charmander’s tail… Was he looking through his other self’s eyes?

    Then, he heard his own voice, but with a different cadence. “How are you supposed to open this thing?!”

    Eon. It must have been Eon, transformed into his body… carrying his other self? What happened?

    There was an incident with the Electric Guardian. His spite for Star had reached… devastating levels. And… Owen, Remi took the Orb when he perished.

    “She WHAT?!” Owen blurted, pulling away from his star. “Remi? She’s… a Zoroark right now, right? But why was she—how did—”

    She always had a strong spirit. I think Ra was drawn to that, and gave his Orb to her to spite Star. This… complicates a lot of things.

    A flash of red in the Worldcore congealed into Nate’s ten-eyed form. He landed with grace and offered another star to Owen for him to see.

    Remi—now a Zoroark—was trying and failing to bring down her frizzing mane from all the static electricity.

    “Great,” Owen mumbled.

    O Holy Creator Mew. I call upon you to hear my prayer.

    Owen flinched. That… was the sound of a prayer passing through. It sounded like Eon.

    A few days ago, Owen failed to become a Heart again. Didn’t pass Anam’s final check. Flying colors with the practical exam… yet never past Anam himself. Always the same story, year after year. No wonder he took on this horrible mission, just to prove that he could do a Heart’s job.

    Is that your plan? When Anam deems Owen worthy of becoming a Heart, he’s ready for the Orb? And do you think he’ll be ready for what comes next, too?


    “He sounds pretty fired up,” Nate said nervously, poking his claws together.

    “No, no, not yet…” Owen winced. “We’re so close. I wonder if…”

    “He might feel it, too,” Nate said. “Out of everyone, I remember Eon was tied the strongest to this clock. I can’t remember why, or what he was, but…”

    “But whatever it is, he must know, down in his spirit, that time is running out. But… Eon, don’t… do this…!” Owen winced.

    Star… if we find an Orb first, we’ll figure out how to take the rest. And your defenses won’t be enough once we have the power of one Orb. When that happens… you better be ready. Because I’m done waiting.

    Owen pushed the star away. He’d heard enough. Nate sat in silence, pensive.

    “Is it all going to fall apart again, right at the last moment?” Nate whispered. “Maybe… maybe we waited too long.”

    Owen had watched the world grow and change. Heal from what he thought would have been a mortal injury. And, yes, while that history was lost and the world had been knocked back several centuries of advancement… it was catching up. Life marched on. Not the same, but marched.

    And if things were different in the lead-up, maybe things would be different in the outcome, too.

    “Does it matter?” Owen finally said. “We… have to try anyway. I have an idea.” He reached into the stars. “We already did a lot of prep. We just need to move a few things around and trigger them with more… careful timing. First thing… the Guardians can’t stay isolated anymore. Whether Eon or someone from Kilo Village gets it, that doesn’t matter. But we need to get other-me awakened.”

    “In such a short time?” Nate asked. “Well, maybe if we try to channel some power into him…”

    Owen closed his eyes. “Once he gets all his memories back, that should reawaken his Radiance and Shadows, too. Put those together and he’ll hopefully gather enough power to stop whatever’s coming. We know that these blights have something to do with… one or both of those divine forces. Mastery over both is crucial. Once that seal weakens, maybe we can remember, too.”

    “What about the Guardians?”

    “We need to gather them. I’m familiar with most of them in their dreams—maybe… their spirits will remember that. They might join other me pretty readily if they’re more discoverable.”

    “More discoverable… That’s risky, Owen. Anyone could find them.”

    “I know. But that’s better than isolation. The more power, the more they can band together against the Reverse World’s threat. Hmm…”

    “Even if they die to Eon?” Nate asked.

    “Yes.” Owen looked at Nate, more serious this time. “You know as well as I do that they aren’t happy like this. Those Dungeons are a prison and they’ve… outlasted how long they should have lived anyway. It’s time to move the world forward.”

    Nate nodded uncomfortably. “…You asked them already, didn’t you? In their dreams?”

    Owen nodded with a grave expression. “The more lucid they were, the more willing they seemed, too. Forrest, especially.”

    “Forrest? The Torterra?”

    Owen nodded. “He said he wanted to help if he could, but from the other side. He might accept a death just to do that.”

    “Use his death strategically… Hm.” Nate nodded. “What did he want to do?”

    “Forrest thinks there might be a key to all of this hidden across the aura sea—the new afterlife when the old one vanished. He might want to find it.”

    “Well… alright.” Nate nodded. “Whisper to people where you can. I’ll work on illuminating the Orb Dungeons. But once the Reverse World makes its move…”

    “We use all of our power on whatever comes out.” Owen nodded. “That part of the plan hasn’t changed.”

    “Light of Ruin…” Nate shuddered. “It’s a legendary power, you know. Other worlds used that sort of power to end wars, but the destruction… It was a divine energy that was converted to Fairy thanks to your, um… modifications. And it’s going to hurt us in the process.”

    “As long as we’re the only ones hurt,” Owen said. “What do your spirits think?”

    “Well, since they’re the ones who are helping to power it…” Nate nodded. “We’re all resolved.”

    Owen smiled and faced the Worldcore’s stars.

    “Then, once again, Nate…”

    He reached into the stars and lined them up.

    “Let’s get to work.”
     
    Chapter 177 - Negative Empathy
  • Namohysip

    Dragon Enthusiast
    Staff
    Partners
    1. flygon
    2. charizard
    3. milotic
    4. zoroark-soda
    5. sceptile
    6. marowak
    7. jirachi
    8. meganium
    9. namo-rock
    Chapter 177 – Negative Empathy

    Aramé, Zena, and Nate flew over the southern fields of Kilo. On Zena’s back was Mu, while Aramé withdrew Ire into her Orb’s realm.

    Atop Nate’s back—the shadowy, many-eyed leviathan—was Owen, completely out cold and spasming. Zena worried about him, but… Well, it would have to do. They couldn’t let Kilo Village wait, so they’d started their flight back.

    “So, like, you’re sure he’s not dead,” Mu said, glancing at her father with concern. “He’s been foaming at the mouth for a while…”

    “He’s not foaming, that’s just… sea water from when he fell over,” Zena said. “He’s had worse drownings.”

    “You mean like the time when he kept Reincarnating with Nevren and stuff and kept trying to cross that big river?” Mu tilted her head. “I remember when he used that story to caution me against swimming as a Charmander, but, like, sounded more like a lesson in how disposable your life is if you just get another…”

    “…Insightful, Mu, but I think your father just likes to revisit his memories sometimes,” Zena said with a nervous smile.

    “Guess he makes up for how Daddy Diyem probably doesn’t.” Mu stretched, lying on Zena’s long back as they flew. “I was just a babbling baby last I saw him. Think he’ll be mad I grew up so fast?”

    “I don’t… know,” Zena admitted. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen any of them. I’m a little nervous…”

    “Because you got to vacation for a year while everyone else was fighting a war?” Mu asked.

    Zena winced.

    “Oh, sorry. Just an educated negative-emotion guess.” Mu coughed awkwardly. “But I mean… sorta obvious.”

    I don’t think they will be mad.

    “Y’think?” Mu asked Nate, turning her head to the darkened Eternatus.

    “And we’re sure he’ll wake up in a timely manner, yes?” Aramé said with a growl. “We do need him.”

    “You’re one to talk about being timely,” Mu murmured back.

    “What was that?” Aramé replied.

    “I know you heard me,” Mu challenged.

    Zena raised her ribbons. “Let’s not butt heads, Mu.”

    Mu huffed and turned her attention ahead.

    “So Dungeons haven’t overtaken the sky yet,” Mu remarked. “Have they been growing more?”

    A little. It’s a good thing we’re returning when we are. If they get too large, we’d have to start getting into much thinner air…

    “I mean, I don’t think I need to breathe,” Mu said. “Do any of us?”

    An awkward beat of silence followed.

    “Yeah, thought so. Weird thought to be worried about, Nate.”

    It’s a habit. I have a lot of thoughts from mortal lives…

    “Huh. I’m kinda similar. Usually only the bad ones, though.”

    Like Diyem, then.

    “Yeah, I inherited that. Only for local stuff, though. I think my range is maybe… fifty feet or so? I should test that.”

    Aramé sighed again, saying, “You speak too casually about these things. You’re going to unsettle people.”

    “Am I unsettling you?” Mu asked, but then held up a hand. “Don’t answer that, I know I’m not.”

    Aramé glared.

    “Oh, c’mon! I’m being smart with you, fine, but like… I know real well if I’m making someone unsettled. I’ll keep it in line in front of the normies.”

    “The… normies,” Aramé repeated.

    “Sorry, I think that’s a human term. Uh. Mortals?”

    “…Right.” Aramé gave Zena an accusatory glare. Zena, meanwhile, turned her attention to Owen just in time to see his eyes fluttering open.

    “Ah! Owen!” Zena drifted closer, and Mu also sat up.

    “Hey, Dad, are you alright?”

    Owen blinked a little longer, eyes looking left and right. The Charizard must have been gathering his surroundings. Zena hoped he wasn’t amnesiac or something again. They’d dealt with that enough.

    “Yeah,” Owen finally replied. “Yeah, I’m fine. Uh, how long was I… out?”

    “I dunno, like, an hour or so. I kept feeling weird… fluctuations in your emotions and it was getting really bad near the end there…”

    “Oh, uh… yeah.” Owen groaned as he sat up completely, nearly falling over had it not been for part of Nate’s body bulging out to keep him upright. He gently patted Nate in thanks.

    “…You still with us?” Mu asked. “You seem really… distant.”

    “I—I am. Sorry. Sorting through a lot.” Owen nodded quickly. He rolled deliberately off of Nate and spread his wings; this time, Nate let him go. Owen fell a few feet, caught the wind, and beat his wings to get to their height.

    The Charizard took a deep breath. “…Hey, Zena,” he said. “Do you remember any dreams about… me visiting you?” he asked. “Before we met. Maybe… dreams of doing a performance underwater to someone?”

    Zena stared at him like he was crazy. What in the world was he dreaming about?

    But now that he mentioned it… Dreams of performances in that lonely cave? Something about that was very familiar. She thought a while longer as Kilo Village drew nearer.

    Suddenly, she gasped. “You were the light!”

    “O-oh. I was just an orb of light, or something?”

    Zena nodded earnestly. “I didn’t know what you were for a while, but… I knew you were a person. I was dreaming, not really putting a lot of thought into it, but…”

    “…You met Mom in her dreams before meeting her for real?” Mu said. “Wow. That’s like, next level romance.”

    “It wasn’t really romantic,” Owen said. “I visited all the Guardians. Uh, or tried to. Avoided some, like Willow… or the ones I couldn’t find. But it was to keep the company, I dunno, help them stay sane. I doubt it did a whole lot, but I felt bad about their predicament. I knew something was wrong but could never get my message through. The waking world overpowered me.”

    “Nate explained a little of that,” Mu said. “Told us it’d be better if you explained it more.”

    Owen nodded and offered a thankful smile to Nate.

    “You know, I never thought about it,” Zena said, “but the Guardians all were… pretty universally ready to pick up and leave to follow you or your team, weren’t they?”

    “I thought it was just convincing and would break out of the monotony,” Owen admitted. “But I think those ‘Dream Whispers’ might’ve contributed, too.”

    “So, wait.” Mu scratched her jaw. “You… were in Nate, like, as a tiny wispy spirit. Like, a fraction of a fraction of yourself. But you were attached to… Nate?”

    “Yes. To the Worldcore,” Owen explained. “And… right until the end, we were working and planning for everything. I… have those memories of what happened. That part of me reunified. I was… scared, a little, of losing all of it, or it just being forgotten like a dream. But I had to take one last leap of faith that it wouldn’t be sealed.”

    There was no chance of it being sealed, Nate said, but being hard to comprehend was the true concern.

    Owen nodded. “But I think I understand enough. And I know… everything that happened. I have a lot I need to explain once we get home.”

    Mu tilted her head, staring at Owen. Mu nodded to herself and looked at Nate.

    “Hey, tall dark and handsome!” Mu called. “I’m riding you for the rest of the way.”

    Oh, okay.

    Zena gained some altitude and Nate lost some. Mu hopped from Zena—and missed her mark to the sudden gust of wind once she left their protective barriers.

    “MU!” Zena yelped.

    Owen seemed less alarmed.

    Mu spread her arms, which suddenly shifted into blackened wings, righting herself in mid-air before tumbling onto a lower portion of Nate’s back. Hands emerged from Nate’s body to hold her in place, secure.

    “I’m okay!” Mu called, waving.

    Zena sighed as the nerves left her. “Goodness, Mu… I didn’t know you could do that.”

    “She experiments at night,” Owen explained.

    “Yeah, while you guys are asleep,” Mu said.

    Zena squinted between the two of them. Was that another…? No, not worth investigating.

    Owen drifted closer and closer to Zena until his wings were just below her. He was careful to not beat them while she was just above.

    “I know you’ve… been with me all this time,” he said, “but it felt like I’ve been away for a while. Sorry if this sounds weird, but… I’m glad to see you again.”

    “Oh… Um—right. Sorry, I think I know what you mean, but it’s hard to… understand.” Zena looked down awkwardly. “Then again… with those false…ish memories I have now…”

    Owen’s expression darkened with the reminder. “How are you feeling with that?” he asked. “You’re still… yourself?”

    “I am,” Zena assured him. “I promise. No matter the offer, I wouldn’t have thrown ‘me’ away for a simple test.”

    “Offer,” Owen echoed. “With your Legendary self… from that hypothetical, alternate future where you made choices you thought were ‘ideal.’ That other self that isn’t real.”

    Zena nodded. “I suppose I should explain,” she said. “My four other fragments. I think they were similar to yours—Aramé explained them while you were recovering. There was the mirror self, and the weaker self. That one was a Feebas when I was still lonely and trying to find my place. The next was my… all of my anger toward Star and the gods. We couldn’t console her at all, so—so I just attacked her once, to subdue her, yes?”

    Owen nodded. “I made a huge Protect shield to keep mine at bay.”

    “I didn’t think of that,” Zena said with an awkward head bob. “Just one attack and she became a little ember. I carried her that way, but… I didn’t hear from her again. I can barely feel what she was anymore. I have the memory, but… it’s…”

    “Just that,” Owen completed. “A memory. The past, right? More like… something you left behind and you don’t feel bad about it.”

    “Exactly,” Zena said. “But I—if Aramé facilitated that, I don’t blame her for it. I wanted that in the first place, even if I didn’t really realize until later.”

    She caught a hint of suspicion in his gaze at that and the way he glanced at Aramé.

    “Owen, really. It’s okay.”

    “I know. Sorry, just—the whole thing about that test in the first place still bothers me. Tell me about the last fragment, the… Legend.”

    “A Lugia,” Zena said. “She was very composed. It comes from a time when I’d accepted the gods’ power more readily, didn’t lash out, and I think took a blessing from Emily after she somehow relinquished her own. That’s… hazy to me. It must have been an illogical memory that I’m only trying to rationalize.” Zena sighed.

    Owen looked tense. She knew the question on his mind.

    “I remember that possible timeline, that attitude, yes,” Zena said, “but Lugia was the other one that I’d left behind, along with my anger. She was ‘an ideal’ that I… I admit, I wished I could have been. But to take that directly would be cheating.” She sighed. “I wanted to find my own path. Not something Aramé conjured for me to follow. I think that’s the point of an ideal. Seeing it, and then finding your own way to it…”

    Zena felt her face flush.

    “That sounds silly, now that I say it out loud…”

    “But I understand.” Owen gently put a hand to her back, minding his glide. “But, you know… I don’t think I would have been too upset if you chose her. I… get it. I was tempted, too. And in a way, I did take him, didn’t I?”

    “You’re a hoarder of memories,” Zena replied with a giggle. “I don’t know how you keep it all in there.”

    “Guess when I’ve lost them so often, I get… possessive.”

    “Even of false memories?”

    “There was some use to it!”

    “You sound like Rhys.”

    “I—” Owen flinched, drifting a few feet away to flap and gain altitude. Returning to his glide, he went to Zena’s other side and descended. “I guess.”

    Zena tilted her head downward as the group’s descent accelerated. She could see the details of a few buildings and the dots of several Pokémon watching their arrival.

    “It must be scary, though,” she admitted. “When you lose memories, you don’t always realize you lost them, do you?”

    “You don’t,” Owen agreed. “You can only hope you finally have them all. But this time, I think I do. I have for a while—another me was just somewhere else gaining new ones for a while.”

    That much made sense. It wasn’t very comforting, but Zena felt there was no point worrying about it all.

    “So you left behind your ideal and your anger,” Owen said. “Kept them in mind, but didn’t let them be prominent. You kept your current self—your mirror—and… your Feebas self?”

    “I didn’t want to forget that feeling of being lost,” Zena said. “Everything is so big now. I’m talking to gods, former gods, god killers… I used to just be a Feebas who worried about getting a proper mate, being pretty and elegant for the family line… The ocean was so much smaller. Ironic, isn’t it?”

    “You know, maybe when this is all over… we can figure out a way to visit that old home,” Owen offered. “I’m curious what underwater life is like.”

    “You’d… die, probably, but—well. You’re used to that, and I’m sure we can find a way for you to endure the depths…”

    Owen tittered. “Maybe… I’ll just hear about it until then.”

    Zena covered her mouth with a ribbon to laugh. “Oh,” she said. “Speaking of the depths… I did get one, well, one perk I’ve already noticed from taking that Lugia blessing from Aramé.”

    “You have?”

    Zena nodded and jerked her head back. “My tail feathers.”

    Owen looked back. “…What about them?”

    “Owen.” Zena squinted. “They’ve changed colors.”

    “They have?”

    Zena slowed her flight to look behind. Yes, they certainly had—her tail feathers, once turquoise with a bright pink core, were now a regal silver with a white core.

    “…Were they always silver?” Owen asked.

    No, Owen,” Zena said, befuddled. “Owen, how in the world—you have Perceive!”

    “I—I don’t see color in those! Just… texture, and volume, it’s all just shapes!”

    “You have… you have eyes, Owen!” Zena said.

    Owen stumbled over his words for several seconds.

    Zena looked for Nate, spotting Mu on his back. Lounging as usual as Kilo Village got closer and closer.

    “Maybe Mu had a point,” Zena said with a sigh. “That was very… er… cringe, of you.”

    Owen groaned and tilted his body, banking downward to land sooner than the rest.

    As Zena, Nate, and Aramé did the same, Mu leaned over the leviathan and called to Zena, “You have a fight?!”

    “No, Mu!” Zena called back. “Just… one of those moments where your father surprises me.”

    Mu seemed puzzled the rest of the way home.

    <><><>​

    Owen landed with a stumble and a shudder. “Feel lighter,” he mumbled to himself. He jumped a few times, finally on proper ground in a proper body for the first time in a thousand years—in one set of adjacent memories, at least.

    But despite that, the strength behind his body made every movement easy and unencumbered. Muscles and tendons, bones and blood. It was so much easier to move like a body would when he had a body.

    Zena landed next, playfully nudging him on the side. Owen smiled back and asked, “Where should we go first?”

    “Heart HQ, I think,” Zena said. “I’m sure they’ll spread the word pretty fast…”

    “Oh. Right!” Owen nodded. “That reminds me. There’s someone I need to see first. It’ll solve a lot of our issues at once if it goes right.”

    “How big is that if?” Zena said, coiling cautiously like the words could drop them into a pit.

    “If it fails, I don’t see anything bad happening,” Owen promised. There was an apologetic tone behind that one. He knew that his actions had… hefty recoil if he wasn’t careful.

    But this one? This one he was confident in. It was one of his final plans before leaving the Worldcore.

    “Alright,” Zena said, looking convinced. “Who do you need to talk to?”

    “I need Star, Barky, Leph, and Aster. All at once. Oh, and Diyem, possibly.”

    Zena tilted her head. “All of the gods? And… whatever Diyem is?”

    “Now that I think about it, as many Guardians, too. We need as many of the Hands as possible gathered together.”

    “Owen, the last time we did that…”

    “Diyem’s on our side now. And—Alexander’s still stalled, right?”

    He is, Nate confirmed.

    “Ugh, quit standing around!” Mu urged. “Let’s go to the Hearts and get updated there!”

    But just as they turned to that big, red heart-shaped building in the southern side of town, another Charizard entered Owen’s Perceive. The distinct lack of proper organs told him it was Diyem… and that he’d reclaimed much of his power, or at least found ways to take on stronger forms.

    “Yoo, Papa Darkness!” Mu waved, skipping to him before falling forward. She disappeared, reappearing just behind Diyem with a strange warping of light.

    “What did you call me?”

    “Papa Darkness. That’s your official name, right? Darkness Diyem Dark Matter Murkrow Way?”

    A gust of wind blew a few dust clouds past them, carrying fragments of their embers.

    “How about Daddy Diyem?” Mu offered instead.

    Owen winced. She was just trying to get a rise out of him. As usual… What happened to that innocent little girl who just wanted to help feral Pokémon be happy?

    “I see.” Diyem nodded. He reached for Mu, patting her on the shoulder.

    “Uh.”

    And then held it firmly, refusing to let go.

    “H-hey!” Mu shouted. The light warped around her—

    A dark shockwave rippled from Diyem’s chest, through his arm, and into Mu’s body. She gasped like she’d been rattled by a thunderbolt. Then, that warping of light dissipated.

    “H-hey! My… my Dungeon powers!”

    “Diyem!” Zena shouted, but Owen placed a hand on her back. She was confused, agitated, and alert. Owen knew that. But one careful nod from him and Zena backed down… though she still watched Diyem intently.

    The black-flamed Charizard hefted Mu over his shoulder. The Charmander protested as usual, pounding her little fists on his back.

    “Hey, you can’t do this! I’m older now and you weren’t even around! Dad! Stop other Dad!”

    “Diyem, what’s this about?” Owen said, arms crossed.

    “Human society has corrupted your daughter. She’s very impressionable. The lowest common denominators of that world have seeped into her spirit.”

    Diyem walked past them, Mu still over his shoulder.

    “I’m going to give her a tour of this town to cleanse her of that blight. You gather the others. I’ll be back before evening.”

    “What?! Evening?!” Mu tried to squeeze away, but Diyem’s grip was ironclad. “Dad! You’re just letting him kidnap me?!”

    Zena glanced at Owen, conflict in her eyes. Owen understood the hesitation. However, if there was anything he could trust about Diyem at this point…

    Owen offered a single glance at Nate. A few of the eyes blinked in a particular pattern; yes, Nate would keep an eye on things.

    Good enough. “Don’t do anything too dramatic, Diyem.”

    Diyem grumbled an agreement and waved with his free hand, walking down to the main western road.

    Owen exhaled through his nose and said to Zena, “Let’s explain everything to HQ.”

    “Right. And… Mu will be okay?” Zena asked. “Diyem’s…”

    “Diyem is the person who knows about her powers more than anyone else,” Owen said. “I believe he knows… something that we don’t about how to help her before all that negativity corrupts her.”

    “She doesn’t seem that bad,” Zena said, though the doubt in her expression said the rest—that she could get worse, and they had no idea how to keep up.

    “Maybe not now,” Owen said. “But… think about everything she learned from that human world. And how much more she might learn here, where the world’s nearly falling apart. People are stressed, afraid, angry… and we can’t hide that from her until she’s older. Her knowledge comes from that. Diyem lived that life. So… I trust him.”

    She still didn’t like the answer, the way her eyes darted around as if searching for a rebuttal. Eventually, she sighed and let it go. “After this is done, we’ll talk to him on what we can do to help.”

    Owen nodded back. “Alright. Let’s catch up with Aramé. Nate? You know the plan.”

    Nate’s many eyes blinked in affirmation and he flew away to guard the caldera once more. With one last second to appreciate a Kiloan sky, Owen and Zena marched to the Heart HQ to catch everyone up.

    <><><>​

    Diyem waited until Mu tired herself out before finally allowing her to walk. He kept a Shadowy tether on her, preventing any warping shenanigans, and he knew she’d already tried once or twice.

    He’d taken her through town as promised, but then he went further until he was at the caldera's edge. He felt that Nate was watching him, and a small part of him felt offended at the necessity. Most of him understood why.

    But as they got to the town’s edge, past the final building where the dirt road gave way to hardy mountain grass, Diyem and Mu stopped their walk.

    “Okay,” Mu muttered. “What’s all of this about? Humans corrupting me? Please, as if I’m not already the most corrupt thing on this side of reality.”

    She paused. “Second most.”

    Another pause. “Okay, I’m up there.”

    “You use humor to mask your fears because that was the response that got the most positive reactions from all the memories siphoned into you,” Diyem said. “The sad performer wearing the mask of a smile, only to go home to a cold and dark room.

    “And to make sure your father doesn’t find out, you take advantage of your biology, masking any of the natural reactions that come from a body for those negative emotions. Owen has no idea. He’s so reliant on Perceive and so unfamiliar with the human culture you drew from that none of it registers. The same goes for Zena.

    “But in the end, you’re terrified of this power and what it might do to people. What people will think if you survive all of this as the last remnant of darkness. That if I die in all this, you’ll be alone. So you mask it with jokes the same way those people you siphoned from did. The ones living the ‘happiest’ lives while they rotted inside.

    “And now you’re bringing that here.”

    Diyem moved little during his speech. Mu did the same. A mutual understanding between two demons that their bodily gestures were superficial replications of those they mimic. It wasn’t truly their nature. It was all mimicry to fit in.

    The silence between them persisted for longer than expected. Diyem had been prepared for a witty remark, a crass dismissal, or even an eyeroll. But Mu was, surprisingly, respectful the whole time. And… bothered. Her gaze was distant.

    “Mu?” Diyem asked. He could sense the crushing despair that had accumulated. Maybe he’d spoken too harshly all at once.

    But just before he could regret his decisions, the dark-flamed Charmander finally spoke. It was a whisper, only audible from the lack of wind.

    “Well… what am I supposed to do?”

    When Diyem didn’t immediately answer, she continued. “No offense, but… if I talked about it all the time… wouldn’t I wind up like you did? I don’t want that.”

    “Mm.” Diyem folded his wings back. “No. I’m not offended.” He walked to the nearest rock jutting out from the town’s perimeter and swept his tail next to him, clearing minor debris for Mu to sit.

    She took the offer, resting so his dark flame was a foot away from her. Had she gotten smaller? His flame was nearly her size.

    “You get it,” Mu said, looking down. “It’s… it’s just bombarding me. I can’t turn it off. Every single thing that’s wrong with the place, I feel it. Petty things, big, huge things… Like, I know basically every curse word. Pretty sure this world doesn’t know half of them.”

    “Yet,” Diyem said, “you are… well-adjusted despite that. It means you aren’t actually feeling that negativity. Is that true?”

    “Huh?” Mu tilted her head. “Well, yeah. But just knowing it is hard.”

    Diyem nodded along, pensive. He’d only just realized how he had no idea how to interact with children. Then again, Mu, despite being only a year old, wasn’t so much a child as she was a teenager at this point…

    “Hold on,” Mu said, disrupting Diyem’s thoughts. “Are you saying you feel all that?”

    “Oh. Well. Yes.” Diyem nodded. “I block it out. I know how to differentiate. But when I was very young, I couldn’t tell the difference.”

    “Oh, God,” Mu said, eyes wide with horror. “I’d be totally messed up.”

    “And I’m glad you did not inherit that. It almost feels like my ‘Negative Empathy’ combined with Owen’s Perceive, and you became more of a ‘Negative Observer.’ That’s my theory, at least.”

    “Guess I’ll count my blessings,” Mu remarked, leaning until her back was against the side of his tail.

    “It’s still a great hardship I wouldn’t wish on anyone,” Diyem reminded. “Mu… You were not allowed a childhood of normalcy.”

    “Eh. I mean, I’m not all bent out of shape about that,” she said. “Just…”

    Diyem let her continue, despite the pause. He turned his head to look at her directly. Yes, she was smaller. She could change her form at will; he wondered how deliberate it was, or if it reflected her mood.

    “You’re right,” she said. “What if I’m seen as a demon after all this? Or, even worse, what if… one day, that dark nature just takes me? What if I grow up and those instincts are too much?”

    “Instincts?” Diyem asked.

    “To… I dunno, be evil, or something.”

    “Do you feel those now?”

    “Not really…”

    “…Do you think I have that?”



    “I don’t know. I only knew you when I was really young.”

    Diyem wasn’t sure how to dissect that one at first. Only a few days for him, most of her life for her. He’d been there for a blink. Some father… thing he was.

    “I don’t,” Diyem finally said. “You may not know a great deal about me, but… no. I am not naturally evil. I naturally suffer.”

    “Wow. That’s the edgiest thing you’ve said to me yet,” Mu said with a forced smirk. “Still… sorry it’s that way.”

    “This entire war started a thousand years ago when your father showed compassion for me. Rather than killing me, he wanted to move the world’s rules to let me be happy.” Diyem exhaled through his nostrils, emitting black smoke. “I owe him my existence.”

    A sharp pain ran through his chest. He ignored it. Gratitude… It seemed to be one of the most painful emotions for him.

    “Hey, you alright?” Mu asked.

    “Sorry,” Diyem said. “As part of the… Negative Empathy package, good emotions are harmful. Recently, I acquired a small amount of light… which made it possible to feel more of it.”

    “Wow, that’s…” Mu trailed off. “That’s real. Wow. Like, I don’t know what to even say to that… What’s up with the gods who made this? That’s… all kinds of wrong!”

    “They didn’t intend for me to exist. I was made from a flaw in the world.”

    “Oh. Right.” Mu winced. “…D’you want a hug?”

    “What.”

    “Uh—sorry.” Mu quickly looked away. “Sort of a reflex to offer that if I dunno what else to do.”

    That earned a wry smile. “You really are Owen’s daughter.”

    “Don’t even say that!” Mu protested, huffing. “He’s… I don’t even know! He’s like an adult and a kid at the same time!”

    “I suppose one day, you’ll grow up, too,” Diyem said. “Fine. I’ll take your hug.”

    He got enough practice from Anam anyway.

    The little Charmander spun herself where she sat and flopped over Diyem’s tail, squeezing it where its width was just small enough that her claws could touch.

    And in that moment, Diyem felt… like he didn’t have to do anything else. He’d come here with the plan of a big lecture to set her straight, to scare her into realizing the dark path she’d taken, but… she was still young and impressionable. He hadn’t had to do much.

    “It’ll really be okay?” Mu asked, holding him tight.

    “You have so many boons that I never had,” Diyem said. “You don’t feel their pain; you only know it. Your range is limited to Owen’s Perceive range instead of the world. And, most of all…” Diyem sighed. “You have a supporting family and group of friends right here for you. The negativity I feel from them when they think of you… It’s the same way one would think of a cousin that gets too active. Not hatred. Just… family.”

    “Family.” Mu echoed the word. It seemed to hold meaning to her. She rested her cheek against Diyem’s tail. “…Thanks,” she said. “Am I still doing the tour around Kilo Village?”

    “Yes. We need to flush out that human influence before it roots itself in your body,” Diyem muttered. “Come on. We should continue our trip.”

    “Ugh, fine.” Mu pushed away, though it was perhaps more tender than she’d’ve admitted. “Let’s go see the world again.”

    Diyem smirked, content to follow her this time. Mu was already looking larger with every step.

    <><><>​

    Most of their allies were still mobilized. Even with the ‘Willow Communication System’ and other axillary means of staying in contact, it would be some time until everyone Owen wanted to see would be there.

    “You’re really okay?” Anam asked. “You seem… different.”

    “Yeah, uh, I mean… I’ve been gone for a whole year from my perspective. Felt really guilty about it, but I’m glad you guys held out for those days I was gone.”

    “We’ve gathered a lot of information while we were there,” Zena added. “It should turn the tide of this battle. But, Owen, just when you returned…”

    “Yeah. Just when I returned, I found the final part of… myself. Nate had it. He’s been waiting for this moment, even if it didn’t come about the way he expected. And with that… I think I know the whole chain of events that led to where we are now. And I think, if we look closely at it, we might find the way to get out of it.

    “Do we have a notetaker?”

    “O-oh, um, I’m pretty good at those,” Angelo spoke up from far in the back of the room. He pulled his tail brush forward and… painted himself a notepad. Which then became real.

    “…How’d you do that?” Owen asked.

    “Do what?”

    They stared at one another.

    “…Anyway,” Owen went on, “please take notes for everyone else who isn’t here. They might have more insight. So… if that’s all out of the way…

    “Let’s put everything on the table and see what new things we learn.”
     
    Chapter 178 - World's History
  • Namohysip

    Dragon Enthusiast
    Staff
    Partners
    1. flygon
    2. charizard
    3. milotic
    4. zoroark-soda
    5. sceptile
    6. marowak
    7. jirachi
    8. meganium
    9. namo-rock
    Chapter 178 – World’s History

    Owen sat in the back of the room, arms and legs crossed, with his tail curled around. The flame sat ahead of him like a campfire. From it, with some fiery conjurations, Owen created a projection to help illustrate his history. It started with an outline of an island in a vast ocean.

    Among those present were Anam, Mhynt, and the rest of Team Alloy, as well as their Trio of Mind counterparts. Zena coiled by Owen’s side, listening quietly. Anam also summoned James, and Madeline’s mortal half attended—Owen said that’d be useful, as her human history could help near the start. Of course, they also grabbed a Hecto for the Overseer perspective.

    It wasn’t just the higher-ups present. Sera and Angelo, who had been more closely involved with the gods as of late also came in.

    “Before this world existed, there was an island called Quartz, just off the coast of a region known as Orre. Quartz was inhabited by humans and Pokémon, like most of that world. But that place was also home to an organization called Cipher, though at the time it was in its infancy. Somehow, they’d captured Star, back when she was still mingling with mortals there. I was one of those people she happened to help out against another organization over in another region.”

    “Star… got captured by a bunch of mortals?” Anam asked. “Humans are that strong?”

    “They’re more clever than strong,” Owen admitted. “But Star was also a lot weaker. To be with mortals, she also had to become weaker like them. You know, have a physical body. It’s not like Kilo when they remade it.”

    “I see…” Anam nodded. “What did they do with Star?”

    “I don’t have the full details,” Owen admitted. “But they were doing something to ‘close the door to her heart.’ They were creating Shadow Pokémon, and Mew was one of the experiments. They must have considered her a prized capture, being Mew, since they could extrapolate what they did to her to any other species.”

    “Shadows…” Madeline sighed. “I was just part of security there, but more as a spy. I couldn’t get close enough for the full details, either. But whatever it was… it was truly the worst of humanity to research that kind of thing just to turn Pokémon into fighting machines.”

    “And that happened… t-to Star?” Anam asked. “They turned Star into a Shadow Pokémon?”

    “Fighting machines…” Demitri looked down, wincing. Mesprit frowned and patted his shoulder.

    “No,” Owen said. “See… my trainer and I, and others like us, we intervened and managed to free her. Madeline?”

    “Your trainer?” Demitri said. “Oh, right—Eon. Or…”

    “Tim,” Owen finished. “Madeline, what about you?”

    The giant Goodra nodded. “Yes. I was one of them. I remember it… vaguely. It was a long time ago. But… with a lot of those seals on our memories gone, I can recall flashes of that life.” She clamped her grabbers. “…I miss thumbs sometimes.”

    “Can’t you still grab things?” Gahi piped up. “Ain’t that hard. Jus’ concentrate yer energy in yer palm. Easy grab.”

    “It’s not the same,” Madeline lamented.

    Sera squeezed her claws. “I have a few lives where I had hands compared to paws and stuff. Or none of that. It’s a really different feel.”

    “…Um… okay…” Demitri looked at Owen. “You saved Star. What happened next? It was all fine, right? She doesn’t seem all that Shadowy now…”

    “Arceus happened next,” Owen growled. “He got mad that the humans hurt Star. And hurt her so badly, down to her spirit. So he… attacked. Divine wrath on the whole island. Just, gone. Not even their souls left behind in that world.”

    “Th-their souls?” Demitri looked horrified. “…Wait, then how are you here?”

    “Well, two reasons,” Owen said. “First, I was protected by Star. And second, when a soul is destroyed in a world, that means the world fails to acknowledge that it exists. The soul… kind of… is still there, or the consciousness of that person. But they have no anchor into the world. As far as the world’s concerned, they’re just… gone.”

    “This,” Hecto suddenly spoke up, “is where Overseers step in, typically. We round up these wayward souls and give them new sanctuary. While they can never return to their homes again, they can find new homes with time. Overseers believe in stability, order, and compassion for those who suffer most. And the Overworld has no shortage of work… just as this world has Hearts with no shortage of rescues.”

    “When did the Overseers step in?” Owen asked. “What about this world, you know, needed your help?”

    “Any time a god falls victim to their own creations, we step in. That is typically a sign things are about to get worse. And they could have.” Hecto paused. “Technically, they still can. They have. And it may continue. Hence why we have not left.”

    “Along with the fact that you forgot your job for a bit,” Demitri said. “Um—not your fault, or anything, just…”

    “Yes, due to the Decree. We still do not know the nature of those.”

    “Oh, I do,” Owen said casually.

    All heads turned to Owen. The surprise echoed off the walls.

    “S-sorry! I guess I should have opened with that…” Owen sighed, looking around. He spotted a black blob—one of Nate’s extensions—watching him. “There isn’t much harm in bringing it up, but… It all has to do with the Worldcore. And—oh, by the way, don’t tell anyone else this, please?”

    “All of this will be confidential,” James said.

    “W-wait, should I be here?” Angelo squeaked.

    Now that Owen thought about it, Owen wasn’t sure who Angelo was aside from Diyem’s blessing. Well, he seemed to be trusted enough by them. “It’s alright, let’s just go on,” Owen said. It might not matter in the future anyway. “The Worldcore is… basically the nexus and interface between this reality and its rules.”

    The silence that followed was one of confusion. It didn’t register.

    “As in,” Owen went on, “everything to do with the world’s rules are… there. A lot of it can’t be changed, like how gravity works, but sometimes you can add things. Any time you add or change something… it goes through the Worldcore. All divine power is just the ability to send commands to the Worldcore, and it will listen. It’s a part of Nate that he can’t ‘turn off.’ And it doesn’t matter who sends the command, just that they do.”

    “Disturbing,” Madeline deadpanned. “And you were in that Worldcore for some time, from what I gather, Owen?”

    That accusatory tone made Owen feel small again. “Uh—yes. Like I said, I couldn’t change too much… But I was trying to help. A-anyway, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. So, the Worldcore. That’s what Star and Barky used to put the world together after all those souls were removed from the main world. They made a new one and sort of… linked them so they could watch over both. They also made it so time flowed a lot faster here. That way, they could be done with this world and move back to the main one without anything getting disrupted.

    “And they also needed some temporary Legends to manage this place. They didn’t know if it was worth the risk of making totally new Legends just for a world that wouldn’t last long, so they selected mortals to become them instead as a… patchwork pantheon. That’s how a lot of you came around.” He nodded at Madeline, who’d become Giratina, and then at the rest of his Team Alloy, who had become the Trio of Mind.

    “I see…” Madeline nodded. “That explains the beginning set of circumstances. And I take it, to mask the trauma of being obliterated, our memories of that human world were erased.”

    “And converted,” Owen said. “Trainer Pokémon with a strong bond became more like parent and child, or brother and sister; weaker bonds were more like friends and companions. It wasn’t perfect—it was a really complicated thing. But what made it worse was the flaw in the world’s creation.”

    “Dark Matter,” James theorized.

    “Diyem…” Anam looked down.

    Owen nodded. “Nate should have been the total nexus of the world. He was a cosmic being that didn’t think or feel the same way we did, so he was the perfect vessel for a temporary world. But what happened instead was he felt the world’s positive emotions and defiance to survive, becoming its ‘Voice of Life,’ but the negative emotions…”

    A grave look crossed the group’s expressions.

    “And since it wasn’t intended, and it was such a small flaw at first, nobody noticed until things called ‘Blights’ started to show up. Dark Matter’s influence on Pokémon, and their influence on him, made a feedback loop. Yveltal and Xerneas—Step and Ra, before—usually took care of any Blights, but eventually, Star and Barky figured out one thing about it.

    “It couldn’t be defeated or removed by anyone inside the system. The negativity one would feel when trying to get rid of it… would revive it all the same. They needed someone outside that system.”

    “Outside?” Madeline said. “How are you ‘outside’ the system?”

    “They brought in a soul that wasn’t from the Pokémon world at all. A human, from a world with no Pokémon.”

    “World with…” James’ feathers puffed out with his bewilderment.

    “How does that work?” Sera asked. “Pokémon are, like, everyone…”

    “I don’t really know,” Owen admitted. “But that human… We know them. But I don’t know if that person wants that to get out. And it’s not important anymore. They weren’t able to do it. Dark Matter scared the human into hiding away. He—uh, they failed.”

    “We won’t be mad at the guy,” Sera said, shrugging. “I mean, look at us. All of us together struggled. How’s a single human gonna do it?”

    “I know. I’ll maybe… tell that person later. But I don’t want to do it right now to you. Is that okay?”

    “We want to get all of the information out immediately,” Madeline said. “So once this meeting is over, I expect you or Nate to approach this human who has kept this secret. There is still a chance that human may hold a key.”

    “Right… Long shot. They died kinda young in their old world, and if you spend more time here than there, you sort of ‘become’ part of this system. So, they don’t have that same key anymore.”

    “Mm.” Madeline settled down again. Nobody else seemed to object. “Continue,” she said. “I think we all have a good picture of what happened up until the Dark War from here. Blights arose; we quashed them. The world advanced for about a thousand years as intended. You refused godhood, but still lived alongside us with the Reincarnation Machine that Palkia developed, with Xerneas’ help, to cheat death. Though, since Yveltal didn’t mind, I suppose you had a pass…”

    “I guess it’s because he saved Star,” Anam said. “And he has a good heart. Gods like that, and he was supposed to be a god, or something?”

    Madeline suppressed a sneer, but Owen could feel her disapproval. He didn’t blame her.

    Owen continued. “The world could have lasted only a century or so, but Star and Barky were… hesitant. They had attachments to this place. And I think Star was still afraid of humans. This world, no humans at all? She was more comfortable here. They made a ‘timer’ for the world. A thousand years. After that, the Worldcore would open up for greater commands, and Necrozma would send a command to end it.”

    Demitri, Mispy, and Gahi all shifted uncomfortably at that.

    “That ain’t how it went, though,” Gahi concluded.

    “You’re right. It wasn’t,” Owen said. “Jirachi compromised that the Worldcore would just make it so no new lives could be born. The last generation would age and die under the direct help of the Legends. But during that time… I found Dark Matter, created a partnership, and then a resistance to fight Necrozma to undo that command and let the world exist indefinitely. Star and Barky weren’t sure anymore, either, and the command could only be undone if all three gods—or their power—came together… or if the resisting power was eliminated.

    “So, that was my goal. Strip Necrozma of his power and undo it with Star and Barky. Win them over. To be honest… seeing my daughter, Remi, upset about not being able to have kids was what really motivated me. Selfish, I know, but…”

    “Well, everyone needs an anchor for big things like this,” Anam said gently. “Even if you tied it to her… that was just an example for the real thing you were fighting for, right? There were probably tons of people with the same conflict.”

    Owen nodded. “Yeah. That’s true…”

    Sera leaned forward where she sat, elbows on the table. “Haven’t changed much, huh?” she said.

    The conflicted pang Owen felt upon seeing Sera…

    Yes, he’d observed how that all happened through Nate. He’d watched as Enet, Amelia, and Spice returned to a single entity… and not seen Remi come out of it, but someone entirely new. He supposed, after all the time that had passed, it was only natural that she would change.

    But it still hurt.

    “Yeah,” Owen said quietly. “Guess not. Anyway, um…”

    He took a few seconds to gather his mental bearings again.

    “So, what’s next after that…”

    “Do you know what happened after you were eliminated?” Madeline asked.

    “A little bit. I’d split myself off into the Worldcore before I was betrayed. Actually, I had a feeling something would go wrong. That was my insurance. Though… turns out, part of that was my fault.”

    “Eh?” Gahi flexed his wings. “We were the ones who betrayed yeh. That ain’t…” He eyed Azelf, who had his arms crossed.

    “You were,” Owen agreed, “but… you were conflicted about it. I was… the one who gave you that push.”

    Even Mispy looked too confused to comprehend that one. Owen understood. It was inherently self-destructive. “In your dreams,” Owen said. “That’s where I tried to nudge you. People dream about things that are on their mind a lot, and that’s where I was able to give suggestions about those conflicts.

    “It… wasn’t a lot, to be honest. Only enough that it worked when you were unsure. Not much else. I knew that, if things went the way they did, it was very likely that Wishkeeper—the title I had at the time—would have won and plunged the world into darkness. It wasn’t what I wanted but I was blind to it under Diyem’s influence.”

    At that, Anam looked away, pained.

    “It’s okay, Anam,” Owen said gently. “Diyem is different now. Very, very different. It’s not the same—I know that for sure. He wants to change. We can still do that.”

    “Hm. I will be able to provide some extra information on what happened after you were downed,” Madeline said. “But first, what were you able to observe?”

    “Diyem and the Wraiths were too strong for the Legends. Necrozma must have predicted that being a likely outcome, because he put fragments of his divine power into others, and then made a Promise to distribute his power into those shards afterward. That’s what created the Orbs and Guardians. For the next hundred years or so, the world… decayed. We didn’t really know how to deal with the way Diyem’s power leaked into the real world.”

    “And for a while,” Madeline said, “a few Legends who had escaped began to plan for a counterattack when the time was right. We had to be patient and wait for Necrozma’s contingency to take hold—that ‘wildcard’ Willow had been given—or for us to have no choice but to step in. And that happened about a century later, didn’t it?”

    “So, you were there after all,” Owen whispered. “Yeah. That was my guess. That, somehow, you’d gone to the Reverse World. And when Alexander and Diyem came to attack the Tree of Life… you felt you had to act.”

    “Correct. And from there… something very strange happened. The wildcard was activated. Just in time for you to do some Worldcore work, I’m guessing?” Madeline crossed her arms. “How interesting… The Fairy Type. Ironic.”

    “Uh. Ironic?” Owen asked.

    “Yes. The one so obsessed with Dragons being the one to make something that defeats them handily.”

    “I—I was thinking of something scary that dispels darkness!” Owen defended.

    “…Wait, you’re scared of Fairies?” Sera spoke up. “Isn’t Grandma Amia a Fairy?”

    “She’s scary when she’s mad…”

    Mispy closed her eyes and shook her head. She didn’t need words to convey her thoughts. Uxie unintentionally mimicked Mispy’s body language.

    “Anyway,” Owen hastily moved along, “that’s right. That conflict led to most of Dark Matter’s influence being sealed away in the Voidlands, which… now that it’s all pieced together, is what the Reverse World used to be.”

    “And the Reverse World itself is simply the Ghost Orb,” Madeline clarified. “Which became a gateway into the Voidlands when Dark Matter expanded his domain there.”

    “Hey, actually,” Sera said, speaking up. “There’s one thing that’s bugging me. What happened to your Fortress of Shadows or whatever?”

    “…Did he really call it that?” Angelo piped up as he scribbled his notes. “And you thought you were the good guy?”

    “It sounded cool!”

    “It did sound cool,” Sera defended. “And since the person who actually wanted to destroy the world was a big dragon of light and crystal… Light isn’t always friendly, you know.”

    “I believe it disappeared into the Reverse World,” Madeline said. “And from there, Alexander converted it into Cipher Castle after a lot of renovations.”

    “What?” Owen whispered. “So that place is…”

    He wondered if any of its architecture was still similar. Owen hadn’t noticed anything, so it must have changed substantially.

    “Well, anyway,” Owen said, “we had a few centuries of peace after that. I tried looking for Leph and Aster, but…”

    “Reverse World for safety,” Madeline confirmed with a nod. “Unfortunately, that… didn’t turn out well in the end.”

    “Figured.” Owen continued, “Alright. Well, one reason it became centuries of peace was because Alexander made everyone forget many key details related to the Legends. He made a Divine Decree—that is, he tapped into the deepest parts of the Worldcore to make a new rule for reality. And it was that anyone who fell into the Voidlands would be forgotten.

    “We thought, for a while, that if a soul was destroyed here, they’d be forgotten by everyone. That wasn’t the case. What happened was they fell into the Voidlands and the Decree erased their history from everyone’s minds. That was… a big setback. We were only able to figure out a lot of details from the remnants of their actions. Like observing something’s shadow because you can’t look at it directly…

    “During that time, Alexander got to recover and… do his experiments. Wishkeeper was reincarnated into the Owen that was under Eon’s care. Nevren did a bunch of experiments to try to get a stronger Charizard, which was the pilot program for the mutants. Along the way, it seems he figured out how to wipe aura ancestry, too.”

    Mispy whispered something to Demitri.

    “Oh,” Demitri said. “Right, and we joined that, too. Our Legend halves were lost like the rest, and we didn’t have Orbs to stay alive, either. We went to the Reincarnation Machine. We figured it was only fair to be part of the same system we put you in… and we thought it’d be a way to repair things. Mhm…”

    Mesprit nodded to confirm. “I think even when we were targeted by the wraiths, we knew that was going to be the plan.”

    “We weren’t the only ones reincarnating,” Owen said. “Sera… one of your fragments was a spirit that went through the Worldcore to reincarnate into different lives all the time. Feral lives. We happened to find you when you were ‘Enet’ and when you became the Electric Guardian.”

    “Mhm. I’m still sorting through all those lives, but it kind of went similarly for each one. I think Nate helped keep my disposition consistent so when I eventually, you know, became whole again, it wouldn’t be too jarring. And my other two fragments…”

    “Amelia, who was under Klent’s care,” Owen said. “She was one of Necrozma’s contingencies. She was meant to reawaken when the Worldcore weakened, but she met my mutant half when I was in a frenzy. And because Nevren wiped out my aura ancestry, I don’t think there was even a hint of a connection to coax me out of it when we’d met that day…”

    “Hey, I know that tone,” Sera warned. “Don’t go blaming yourself. I’m over it! Not like it was your fault. But if I see Nevren again…”

    That earned a small smile, but it didn’t ease his guilt. “The last fragment,” Owen said, “was one that Alexander had stolen away during the Dark War.”

    An uncomfortable silence followed. Owen wasn’t ready to talk about that.

    Sera stood up. “I was brainwashed by him—in two ways. First off, I lost my memories, too. Amnesia seems like a trend for people in power to take advantage of that sort of thing. And then, Alexander had me under his domain in his spirit realm, the Fire Orb. He was trying to replicate what Owen had—the power over Light and Darkness.”

    “Chaos,” Owen clarified. “That’s the power it’s referred to, when you have a perfect blend of both.”

    “…Why would ‘Chaos’ be the name of something that needs balance?” Sera said. “Why don’t you call it something cool like, uh… Radiant Darkness, or something? Hmm, too long. Brightshadow? Blacklight?”

    “The power itself is chaotic,” Owen said. “Even a slight imbalance and it could… backfire. Badly, in a chaotic mess,” Owen explained. “And otherwise, utilizing it to its fullest potential can’t be done unless you push as far as you can.”

    “Mhm.” Sera nodded, arms crossed. “Alexander was trying to create someone who had a balance of Shadows and Radiance down to their core… by using my light and his darkness. But in the process, he corrupted that fragment to being part Shadow, and so his plan was doomed from the start.

    “Eventually, when one of my offspring—you know him as Alex, Owen’s dad—rebelled and got Alexander killed and tossed into the Voidlands, I escaped from him during that traversal. I was fading fast, though, and wound up in the Voidlands with barely any memories at all… One thing led to another, and I eventually slipped out in a Dungeon back to the real world.

    “I was the only Void Shadow—or, Wraith—who could survive outside of Dungeons. I think it’s because my natural light meant I wasn’t bound to the realms under Diyem’s domain. Slipped into a Salazzle and Sceptile family, just… you know, because I wanted something that I couldn’t remember. That’s how ‘Spice’ was born.”

    Sera winced at the reminder. But then she laughed and scratched the back of her head.

    “Stiiiill trying to figure out how to break that one to them. They’re still family to me. I’m also ‘Spice.’ I’m all of them. Just… hard to articulate that.”

    Angelo paused. “Um. Sorry, point of clarity. Sera, you’re Owen and Mhynt’s daughter… but your offspring became Owen’s stepfather?”

    “Yup.”

    Angelo stared.

    “Go on, write that down.” Sera gestured for Angelo to move along.

    “Right… I’ll admit, I’ve never written about a… circular family tree… even if the context is different…”

    Madeline cleared her throat. “And so, for the next five hundred years or so, what happened?”

    “Well, Eon continued the mutant project. He started gathering up feral spirits to reincarnate into more mutants. Nevren found Anam, who found Diyem in the Ghost Orb, the last gateway into the Voidlands. Diyem helped Anam turn Quartz Mountain into Kilo Village. And… things stagnated. Everyone was waiting for the next thousand years to pass, when the next scheduled time for the Worldcore to loosen its rules.

    “Even if they didn’t remember it directly, I think the feeling remained in their spirits. So, once we got closer to that—which was last spring or so, I think? That’s when it started moving again. I, in the Worldcore, made the Orb Dungeons glow brighter to attract attention. I was familiar with a lot of you in your dreams, so that helped with you being more amiable in, uh, joining up…”

    “And then we reach the point where the Guardians were all gathered up,” said Madeline, “and Diyem made his move at the same time, leading to the mess we’re in today.”

    Owen nodded. “That’s right… and I think that’s the full story of Kilo. Or, back then, Quartz Isle.”

    They all took it in. Angelo finished writing down as many notes as possible before passing them along to others to read. Several of them added amendments and spoke them aloud. Madeline detailed some aspects of the Reverse World, how distortions were the norm, and how Diyem’s presence had stabilized it for a time.

    Mispy wrote, and Demitri spoke aloud, about Tim’s progression with mutants. Despite not remembering the full context of it, they knew they’d have to fight something as powerful as Barky eventually. The problem with Alexander’s Decree was that the way the memory gap was filled pointed their efforts at Barky directly.

    Out of everything, Eon pointing the crosshairs at Barky was the world’s largest setback. It was all because Alexander happened to be defeated early.

    “Hey, I had a question,” Sera said as people passed around the notes. “What’s up with Void Basin? You know, the one that was sorta across the way from the Tree of Life. That’s called a Cursed Dungeon, right? Nothing goes there.”

    “I have a good guess,” Owen said. “That showed up at the same time the Tree of Life went away, but I think that was by coincidence. When Nate created the Chasm, it was to protect the Tree and its power, so it wasn’t actually dangerous, even if it looked, uh… Dark. But the Basin was where Alexander was defeated in a huge clash. I think it’s where the barrier between the Voidlands and our world is the weakest—where Alexander was pulled in. I also think War’s End—that huge fissure we found Valle in… I think that was where Valle had been blasted in the first place. His light must have neutralized the Shadows, but it still left him petrified. Him having the Rock Orb must have also helped…”

    “Why’d he keep that for himself, anyway?” Sera asked. “Did he think he was dealing with something he’d need some of his power left?”

    “Not sure,” Owen said. “but I do know that if Necrozma thought he’d be dealing with someone who combined all elements, Rock won out. Maybe he was thinking Diyem would do something like that?”

    “Heh.” Gahi shook his head. “Diyem had an idea like that. Jus’ turned out it wasn’t that simple.”

    “You talk like you’re praising him,” Demitri murmured.

    “Oi, he’s an ally now, ain’t he?!”

    “Only partly,” Demitri reminded. “His other fragments are still just as evil as before!”

    “Not… evil,” Owen said halfheartedly. “But I know what you mean.”

    Knock knock.

    After a pause, the door into the office opened.

    “Um, Anam, Sir?” called a little Cyclizar. “The, um, creator of all things is here for your meeting…”

    “Oh, great! Thank you!” Anam grinned and sat up. “Perfect timing!”

    “Anyone think it’s kinda weird that literally god needs to wait outside?” Sera asked.

    “Maybe a little,” Owen admitted. “But I think if we’re done here, we should head out and, you know, talk it over with them. I hope the other three are there, too…”

    Angelo finalized his notes and nodded nervously. “I’ll, um, go and make copies of this,” he said. “I don’t, um, I think I’ll yarf if I see Arceus in person again… so…”

    The Smeargle quickly shuffled past the others and, upon seeing that Arceus was standing just down the stairs of the Heart HQ ascent, hastily drew wings, attached them to his back, and jumped out the window.

    “…What’s yarf mean?” Sera asked.

    “Yell-barf,” called a Charmander near the entrance.

    “Mu!” Owen shuffled his wings. “How’d your walk with Diyem go?”

    “It went alright,” Mu said. “Um… sorry about… stuff. I’m trying to do better. Or, wait, no, I’ll try to do better.”

    “Oh.” Wow. Owen was surprised Diyem got through to her after just one walk. “Thank you, Mu. Where’s Diyem now?”

    “He said he’d die if you thanked him, so I think he lagged behind and took a stop at his place first.”

    “…Diyem has a place?”

    “Yeah, I can give you the address later, but it’s, like, right near the hospitals.”

    “Why the hospitals?” Owen asked.

    “I think he needs the negativity for food.”

    Zena squinted. “I thought he wanted to avoid negativity, or it hurt him.”

    “Positivity hurts him,” Mu said. “Like, if you expressed it. But being near negativity, like, fuels him, I think? Even if he doesn’t like it.”

    Zena seemed confused and bothered.

    “Look, his existence is suffering. That’s kinda the whole reason we’re in this mess,” Mu reminded as they walked down the stairs.

    Zena nearly lost her pacing as she slithered down, had she not been caught by Owen.

    “Sorry, distracted,” Zena murmured.

    Arceus stood at the base of the stairs. Just behind him was Star, still jumpy and nervous, but much calmer than before. She relaxed when she saw Owen. Leph and Aster rested in a nearby building, emerging once they’d heard talking.

    “You wanted to see us?” Barky asked. “And welcome back, Owen. things have been… eventful, but we managed. Have you been caught up?”

    “I think so. But before we can do more catching up, I need a favor from all four of you, and also Diyem, maybe. Oh, there he is.”

    “Where?”

    Owen looked at a wall.

    Mu sighed. “Eyes, Dad. Eyes.”

    “Oh, he’s… just down the road. He entered my range. That’s good. Nate’s main body’s also coming.”

    “The startled screams gave that one away,” Mu said, gesturing to a few onlookers as Nate stirred from the caldera’s edge.

    Sensing Barky’s impatience, Owen said, “I need you—all of you—to give me some of your power, or, channel it through me, as I do something with Nate. I’ve been planning this for a while, but it hinges on having enough power to do it: stabilize the world completely and get rid of all the Dungeons at once.”

    “What? Every single one?” Barky asked with skepticism.

    “You can do that?” Star added.

    “I think I know how,” Leph said, drifting closer before landing gently on all four hooves. “It’s the Tree of Life, isn’t it? I’m starting to remember that. It’s an actual thing, or at least, what represents it is there.”

    Owen nodded. “That’s right.”

    “Oh, oh!” Aster raised a hand. “So that means, um, so that means… if you had the divine power to power it up, then you could change the rule that’s making Dungeons appear!”

    “Exactly. And I’ve had a good few centuries of studying, so I know what I’m going to do will work for almost all Dungeons. The only ones that might not work are the ones powered by other divine things—so, Emily, wherever Necrozma is, Alexander… and maybe Ghrelle. It’s Ghrelle, right?” He looked at Barky.

    “Regrettably.” Barky winced. “I was nearly overtaken by her corruption. I’m afraid I don’t know where she went.”

    “So, you expect five gods to trust you with the keys to the world, and that will solve all of our problems,” Diyem said as he walked into physical view. “I suppose it would be stating the obvious if I explained the apprehension I feel from the others.”

    Barky grunted and looked down at Owen. “…It’s as he says. This is a big request, Owen, for someone who has been gone during the recent conflict, and… tainted by humanity for a year.”

    “This isn’t coming from that part of me. This was planned by someone immersed in the core of this world for a thousand years.” Owen met Barky’s gaze. “It’s only for this one moment. I won’t be able to take away your power, and Nate will help oversee it. You trust Nate, right?”

    Just then, the leviathan loomed over the Heart HQ. One of his five heads wiggled as if to wave.

    “I suppose I do,” Barky admitted. “If he will be overseeing the process, then I have no objections to this one-time effort.”

    “I trust Owen,” Star finally spoke up.

    “Yeah! Grampa Owen will help,” Aster said.

    Leph nodded silently, eyeing Diyem.

    “Hmph. That was easy.” Diyem took a step forward. “Explain the process.”

    <><><>​

    To not scare the civilians, Owen took Barky, Star, Leph, Aster, and Diyem—as well as a few other Guardians who had come along to help—to the southern edge of the caldera. Nate was lower than ever to the ground, the palm of his great head looming over them. At the very center was a precious, glowing orb of lights, like staring at a dome of stars. Barky and Star recognized it instantly; Leph and Aster couldn’t look away from it. Diyem grumbled something about how he was seeing it ‘just like that’ after all this time.

    “In all the time I spent beneath the Tree,” Madeline said, “I never saw this Worldcore before. It must have been very heavily guarded…”

    “It was. Are we ready?” Owen looked back at the others.

    “For this one act,” Barky said firmly. “I’d ask for a Divine Promise on this, but… I recognize that you could simply override it with the Worldcore anyway, can’t you?”

    Owen smiled nervously. “Huh. I didn’t think about that, but maybe. I didn’t want to mess with that star.”

    “Huh?” Star asked.

    “Uh—never—nothing. Words. Let’s just get this over with.”

    Owen approached the Worldcore and held his right hand over it. In response, the stars brightened and a few select ones gathered near his palm. He glanced back at the others.

    Star was first, hovering over Owen’s shoulder. She placed her paws on Owen. Filaments of light rose from her back as they activated.

    Barky grunted and approached Owen on the other side, lightly pressing his hoof on Owen’s shoulder after brushing some dirt from the gold. It shined well.

    Leph and Aster approached next, though, to avoid crowding, they elected to go on either side of Owen and concentrated from afar. They didn’t have specific power to channel, so they instead focused on the Worldcore after some trial and error with Owen to get the right resonance.

    “Something about this is nostalgic, in a way,” Leph said. “I never saw this Worldcore, but… I was near it. That feeling is like when I was growing up with Auntie Madeline.”

    “And I guess Grampa Owen moved in,” Aster said.

    “Why am I suddenly grampa?” Owen protested.

    “Because you lived an extra thousand years and stuff!”

    Owen opened his mouth but couldn’t find a counterargument. He grumbled and refocused on the Worldcore. “Try to guide the others,” he said. “You have the most experience behind me on interacting with the Worldcore… Your powers are needed to stabilize it. Not to mention… possibly being the true gods of Kilo.”

    “I understand,” Leph said, nodding dutifully.

    “Okay!” Aster grinned.

    Star gave Barky a knowing look. Barky ignored her.

    “And all the others,” Owen said, “channel through Barky or Star.”

    “Like this?” Anam asked, holding both grabbers forward. Pure divine energy—a silver-blue light—pooled between them, connecting to Owen in a beam.

    “I c’n do that,” Gahi said, vibrating his wings from pent-up energy. They shifted to their cosmic, starry colors as he activated the Psychic aura, then aimed that same energy at Star.

    “Yes, perfect,” Owen said as more and more Guardians stepped in.

    “I think I remember how to do this,” Yveltal said, bringing her wings down.

    “Trivial.” Xerneas’ horns brightened with rainbow light, radiating energy all around. The pulse bent as if the wave itself was drawn to Owen.

    Sera’s ectoplasmic fur suddenly poofed up with electricity as she channeled her energy the same way.

    “Perfect, this is more than enough,” Owen said. “Alright. Nate, are you ready?”

    Everything is in place. Power it up!

    First came a low hum. The stars moved in slow, accelerating lines across the sphere, faster and faster until they made laps across the dome in seconds. Each star left a trail behind, aside from a select few that instead formed rapid, tiny circles beneath Owen’s palm. What was once a pinprick of light in the center of the dome was now about the size of his head.

    That’s it! Nate declared. Release it!

    Owen clenched his fist as if to crush something. The bubble inside rapidly expanded like a star going supernova, instantly eclipsing the whole group’s positions in blinding white. The hum had become a deafening buzz like electricity crackling through his skull.

    The ground heaved, knocking half the group to their fronts or sides. Owen kicked off the ground, floating with the wind, and maintained his concentration on the Worldcore, which spun faster and faster. A second, then a third pulse of light removed any hope of sight. The buzzing evolved into thunderous booms like the earth itself would crack open.

    Aster screamed, overwhelmed, and Anam tried to comfort him while he himself trembled.

    A fourth and final pulse sent the wave of light beyond them, returning vision, but putting them in a surreal perspective of watching a white sky obscure everything more than a stone’s throw away from them. But that horizon rapidly grew, revealing more of the mountain, the village, and the faraway forests. The rumbling, too, was distant, and they could all hear again. Distantly, they heard Angelo shriek with fear, the Smeargle halfway to their team by the time the light had swept over him.

    They’re receding.

    “What?” Madeline asked. “No… You mean it actually worked?”

    “Ha!” Star puffed out her chest. “See? Barky, you owe me a thousand Poké!”

    “You bet on my honesty?!” Owen squeaked.

    “It’s a compliment!”

    Owen paused. He pointed at Barky. “You bet against it?!”

    “I did no such thing! This was a one-sided bet!” Barky bristled.

    Leph faced Nate. “Dungeons are going away? Just like that?”

    Most of them are with that pulse of light, Nate confirmed. Everything is falling into their proper places again… Yes! Owen, it worked! It worked!

    Owen had to admit, finally getting something to work after all this time was… relieving. A turning point. But…

    “That’s where my plan ends,” Owen admitted. “We’ve cleared up the route to all of our enemies. But that means they can get to us, too—but no longer at an advantage. Nate, what Dungeons are left?”

    I’m sensing… three remaining ones. One is Fae, Fae Forest. We know that’s where Alexander is, and where he might rise again. The second one is, well, Emily herself, so that’s no surprise. The third one is near where I’d had my last clash with Necrozma… so, there. Oh, wait, I’m detecting a fourth one high in the sky—right, Destiny Tower’s upper half. That makes sense.

    “Wait… what about everywhere else?” Anam asked. “Calm Water Lake? Hot Spot?”

    Gone. They’re normal areas again.

    “Th-that’s wonderful!” Anam clasped his grabbers together. “Owen! You really did it!”

    “No.” Owen shook his head. “I needed everyone’s help for this. And I needed their trust… I think that’s what I did wrong all those years ago.” He faced Barky, then Star. “I was so… wrapped up in my own head as Wishkeeper, thinking that not only was I the one to save the world, but that nobody else—not even the gods—would have been capable of doing the same thing. I… I’m sorry for that. And I want to make up for it now.”

    “Hm.” Barky nodded cautiously. “I suppose… I also could have put more confidence in others.”

    “Yeah…” Star rubbed the back of her head. “A… a lot of it was ego. People who thought they were the ones who should be at the mantle. Even Eon, too, huh? All egos on who’s supposed to be in charge… rightful or not.”

    “It’s a talk we can have later,” Owen said. “Right now… we at least know someone who shouldn’t. Right?”

    “My fragments,” Diyem stated, looking intensely uncomfortable while sitting on the ground as if catching his breath.

    “…You alright there, buddy?” Sera asked, crouching next to him.

    “I think Owen’s mushy speech about trust wounded him,” Anam said with a frown. “Sorry, Mister Matter…”

    “I’ll… live…”

    Nodding to himself, Owen decided to get serious—for Diyem’s sake. “Barky, can you start mobilizing everyone to return to Kilo Village?” Owen said. “Finish everything they can, and then get back here for our final assault. I need as many as we can for Emily. I know a way to cure her and turn her into an ally.”

    Barky looked surprised, but without questioning it, he said, “I’ll get them. It may take a day or two, though, to organize everything and recover from the shock of all Dungeons disappearing.”

    “That’ll do.” Owen nodded. “Everyone else? Rest up. Because in a few days, we’re taking down Dark Matter’s fragments for good.”
     
    Chapter 179 - Last Tasks
  • Namohysip

    Dragon Enthusiast
    Staff
    Partners
    1. flygon
    2. charizard
    3. milotic
    4. zoroark-soda
    5. sceptile
    6. marowak
    7. jirachi
    8. meganium
    9. namo-rock
    Chapter 179 – Last Tasks

    Some time passed since Dungeons were nearly entirely eradicated, and for lunchtime afterward, Demitri wasn’t sure how to feel about it all. Just like that, Owen swooped in and solved one of their biggest problems. Not only that, but he had more in mind for what to do next and was mobilizing their forces to take on the Dark Fragments, as they were called.

    It had become a big game of “hurry and wait.” As the first to get back to Kilo Village and properly mobilize, Team Alloy was tasked with standing by and resting up for major confrontations.

    That only left Gahi restless. The constellation-winged Flygon had left Ludicolo Café several times just to go on quick walks while waiting for their orders to arrive. Sometimes simply walking wasn’t enough and he’d Teleport to different parts of the restaurant. Days ago, it unnerved other patrons. Now, it was a local attraction… even if Gahi didn’t seem to realize it.

    Demitri sighed to himself. Such a bother. If he was feeling restless, he could only imagine Gahi’s boundless energy.

    Gentle hands tapped Demitri’s shoulder.

    “Hm?”

    His other half, Mesprit, floated into view. “Um, do you have a second?”

    “Plenty of time,” Demitri replied.

    Mispy, who had been eating rocks to pass the time, glanced at them and tilted her head.

    “Can you come to our table?” Mesprit asked.

    Across the café, Azelf was glaring daggers at them, while Uxie was reading the menu with her eyes closed as usual. Somehow.

    Wait, how did she—

    “It’s important,” Mesprit clarified.

    Mispy shrugged and gently pushed Demitri.

    “Okay, sure,” Demitri said. “Um, I won’t be long,” he added to Mispy and Gahi, who had briefly been at his seat again. Or it was a trick of the eye.

    The Haxorus nervously approached the Trio of Mind’s table and found a seat opposite to them. “What’s wrong?” he asked, claws looking for something to do.

    Azelf continued to glare.

    Demitri shrank away. “Um…”

    “I… I didn’t get far,” Mesprit said, “but I wanted to speak my mind about something, and, well, and I know you’d probably have my perspective but on the other side of things. It’s about… unification. How we probably have to do that sooner than later. And now that Owen’s back… Where is he, anyway?”

    “Oh, well, after we finished the whole anti-Dungeon thing,” Demitri said, “Owen said he wanted to enjoy Kilo Village again. I think he’s on a stroll.”

    Mesprit’s gaze, as Demitri spoke, had turned to the café entrance. Just outside, through one of the windows, Owen was currently walking down the road with his chest on the ground and legs pushing him forward, rubbing his cheek against the soil. His wings were spread outward to soak up the sun. Several onlookers were confused.

    “…Okay, I have no idea what he’s doing, but he’s busy,” Demitri said. “What about unification, then?” He faced Mesprit again.

    “Right.” Mesprit drifted to Azelf and Uxie. “We were talking about it. I proposed something, and… I mean, it didn’t go well.”

    “To… not unify at all?” Demitri asked.

    “No. No, the opposite.” Mesprit looked down. “I was considering if… we’d cede entirely to Team Alloy.”

    Azelf smashed his fist against the table, making an ineffectual bump when he did. “It ain’t right,” he said. “We… we fought too hard just to fade! How can y’think that?!”

    “So have they,” Mesprit said, “and… Azelf, just… think about it. What have we done? We’ve been in the Voidlands biding our time just trying to survive. Meanwhile, our other halves were suppressed and they still found a way to make changes in the world. Legends… stagnate. But Team Alloy’s mortal minds are what we need now, and for the future. Not… not us. Not our static minds.”

    “Is that really how it is?” Demitri asked worriedly. “You can’t change?”

    “It’s a side effect of a mind that can handle such long stretches of time,” Mesprit said. “I mean, there are lots of ways to handle long lives, but in the short term, for Kilo? We are… less likely to change. Resistant to alterations to our mind. It makes handling a thousand years so much easier.”

    “Ain’t our fault,” Azelf protested. “That’s jus’ how it was…”

    Demitri sighed. “It’s not really that simple, but… I know what you mean, Mesprit. But there has to be a better way! I mean… we can’t just—take you. Think about if you did that to us. We wouldn’t be happy. And we’d torment you on the inside with that conflict, wouldn’t we?”

    “I—I know,” Mesprit said. “I know that. But that’s why I was trying to convince Azelf about it… Uxie, what do you think?”

    The impartial one, Uxie shook her head. “You are both correct. It must be done. But it will cause inner torment. In the short term, perhaps they will push past it. In the long term, it will be lifetimes of struggle to unravel our minds again.”

    “Lifetimes…” Demitri winced. They’d already gone through that as mutants. Did they have to go through that kind of shattering again? “Can’t we compromise?”

    “How can you compromise on an absolute?” Mesprit asked. “We’ll only hold you back. Just… suppress us for a while. Until this is all over.”

    “For what?” Demitri said. “We need to work together. You heard what Owen said. It was all about trust… That was what we couldn’t do before. Trusting each other and trusting ourselves.” The Haxorus’ hands trembled like he was fighting for his life. Yet it wasn’t his that he was worried about.

    Then, Mispy spoke. “It’s not… complicated.”

    Heads turned to Meganium, who’d slid over to the table and curled her vines around one of the seats next to them.

    “Mispy…” Demitri pulled his seat closer to her, ripping it out of the spot it’d been affixed into the ground. “Ah—s-sorry,” he said, trying to put it back. It didn’t work.

    “I agree with Mispy,” Uxie said. “We’re overcomplicating this because of the primal fear that comes from dying. And in many ways, this is risking our lives. More than our lives, our ‘selves.’ In the worst case, one of us will be completely eclipsed by the other. Such was the fate of Rhys.”

    Demitri was glad Gahi wasn’t within earshot. It was still a sore spot for him.

    Nothing but afterthoughts and memories of a past life. In the best case, somehow you will remain in perfect coexistence with the other. And, plainly, that is not realistic. Parts of both will die, irreparably, to bring about a new person.”

    Demitri didn’t need Mesprit’s power to see Azelf’s fear. As a being of will, he would certainly be the most afraid of being ‘eclipsed.’

    “Azelf, what do you want from this? To exist? To continue?”

    “Well… duh!”

    “I can assure you of one thing, Azelf. I do not think it will be an end for any of us. We simply are overthinking it all. In the end, both sets of us changed very little. They were reincarnated, static and unable to change. We were in the Voidlands, and are ageless, with unchanging minds.

    “I do not think it will be so dramatic. We will be okay.”
    Uxie turned her head to Mispy. “I trust her. There is no need to worry.”

    “Azelf,” Mesprit said quietly, “what did Gahi say? When you talked to him about it?”

    Azelf winced. “Well, he said it’d be fine, an’ stuff. That we’d fuse. But… now we’re talkin’ about fadin’ completely, givin’ ourselves up! What’s that about?!”

    “Pah! You do that if yeh want,” Gahi interjected, appearing on Mispy’s other side. “But Azelf an’ I ain’t like that. We’re gonna take on bein’ the same person, an’ we got the will ter overcome that!” He slammed his fist on the table. “C’mon! Owen’s back. We gonna ask ‘im er what, get it over with!”

    Azelf flinched. “Yeah, well… how do I know yer gonna stick t’ yer word?” The argument was halfhearted, like he knew the answer. That’s when Demitri realized what Azelf was really looking for…

    Assurance. Hollow assurance that it’d be okay in the face of the unprecedented…

    “Heh.” Gahi smirked, puffing out his chest. “’Cause I know me, an’ I expect yeh ter fight when we join up. I’m gonna fight, too. An’ what happens af’er our battle o’ wills is what we’ll be. An’ that’s how it should go.”

    The dragon and pixie stared one another down. At first, Demitri thought they would beat each other up. Or worse. A fight to the… death?

    But then, spontaneously as Gahi always was, they vanished. Demitri jumped and immediately turned to Mispy.

    Her eyes were already closed. Then, she slid out of the restaurant, leaving a half-eaten wooden seat behind.

    “Ah—sorry, “Demitri murmured, digging through his bag before placing a lump of coins atop the broken seat before following the Meganium.

    Just down the road, Gahi and Azelf were picking Owen off the ground and dusting off the dirt from his chest.

    “Owen!” Demitri called, rushing over. “Owen, what are you doing?”

    “I was touching grass,” Owen said like it was the most normal thing in the world. “Mu said I should try it if I spent a thousand years in one of my lives watching everything through a giant ‘computer.’ I think I got carried away after a bit… Grass element in me, you know?”

    Demitri stared, mouth slightly open to find the words. There were so many absurdities in that statement. Demitri didn’t know where to begin.

    “…Gahi!” Demitri pivoted. “What’s gotten into you?!”

    “We were gonna tell Owen our choice!” Gahi said, punching Owen in the gut just as he stood up.

    “Uff—do you really need to hit me for that?!”

    “Yes. To feel my fightin’ spirit!”

    “…I did feel it,” Owen admitted. “So you’re really resolute on this, huh?”

    Azelf punched Owen in the same way. The Psychic reinforcement left a shockwave that knocked Owen back half a foot.

    “Yep!” Azelf flexed his tiny arm. “We’re gonna have a battle o’ wills the moment we fuse t’gether, an’ the result’s the way it’s s’posed ter be!”

    Demitri and Mesprit both sighed. “I guess that’s how it will resolve anyway,” Demitri said. “Owen, I’m glad you’re back… We didn’t want to bother you during your planning, but now that you’re”—He noticed some grass stains on Owen’s chest—“…Less busy, we just wanted to… see you? To see ‘us’ off?”

    Owen nodded, his expression growing more serious. “I get it. And… I hope you guys work it out when you do.”

    Mispy nodded firmly. Uxie spoke for her, “Mispy is looking forward to this. My telepathy has her… envious, and we will certainly retain that power.”

    “Hah! Only thing that held Mispy back as Team Alloy’s leader was she couldn’ talk easy,” Gahi said. “Guess now she’ll be leader again!”

    Mispy nearly thwacked Gahi with a vine, but the Flygon had vanished too quickly.

    Azelf floated higher. “So, how ‘bout it, Owen? We got yer blessin’?”

    “You don’t need it,” Owen said with a smile.

    He was nervous. Demitri could tell. But perhaps even more than they did, he wanted them to get it over with. Maybe it would have been fine if they’d done it sooner… but it felt better this way. With Owen knowing.

    “But you do,” Owen finished. “Go ahead. What’s the process? I don’t think I ever saw one of these in person before…”

    The wind blew. Passerby Pokémon eyed them all curiously and they eventually shuffled out of the way so they weren’t in the middle of the road.

    “I, uh, I think it just happens,” Mesprit said. “Maybe it’s, like… a fist bump?”

    “Why would it be a fist bump?” Owen asked.

    “I—I don’t know.”

    “Hmmm…” Gahi and Azelf both crossed their arms in unison.

    “Heh. I got it,” Gahi said. “We jus’ gotta Teleport inter the same spot!”

    Mispy dipped her head down. “Try,” she said, defeated.

    “Hmph! Think we’re stupid? Jus’ you watch!”

    Gahi and Azelf stepped away from one another and stared each other down.

    “…What happens when two Pokémon Teleport into the same spot normally?” Demitri mused. “Do they, like… overlap each other? That sounds… messy.”

    “The stronger aura wins and the weaker aura fails to Teleport. I believe most Teleportation operates by swapping matter from one location to another. I hear scientists have tried to take advantage of that for energy production if done in a certain way…”

    Demitri recalled when Star had complained about something to do with ‘energy’ and Pokémon back in Hot Spot…

    “Who cares how it works. We’re gonna make it work th’ way we want!” Gahi declared.

    “For anyone else, that’d be stupid. But Gahi has Teleported past anti-Teleport walls.” Uxie glanced at Azelf. “I’m sure between the two of them, they’ll find a way to make reality work how they want.”

    Demitri didn’t want to admit it, but Gahi’s achievements in ignorance were a sight to behold…

    In a flash, both Pokémon disappeared and reappeared in the same spot, or, so Demitri thought. He only saw a ball of light where they should have reemerged.

    Uxie suddenly rose and leaned forward. Mispy’s eyes were closed, brow furrowed with concentration.

    “Um. Did something happen?” Demitri asked. “…It worked, didn’t it?”

    “I don’t know why I’m surprised,” Uxie said.

    The light peeled away from the new figure beneath, flaking off like old scales of a bug’s wings. And beneath was… Gahi, the Flygon, though the galaxy of his wings had taken on a more pronounced blue shade. His red lenses shined with the same ruby color as Azelf’s gems.

    “…Hello?” Demitri asked gently. “Do you know who you are?”

    The cosmic Flygon blinked a few times, squeezing his hands, staring at them tentatively. “Hah!” he suddenly declared. “Was hopin’ I’d get this bod’!”

    Demitri flinched. “W-wait, who are you? Gahi? Azelf?”

    “Eh?” The Flygon scratched his chin. “Ehhh… dunno. Those both feel like my names.” He shrugged. “Oi, I did it! Yer turn now!”

    “Wh—my turn? Wait, but we have so many questions!” Demitri protested.

    Owen laughed. “Demitri, I think you’ll only get your answer once you try,” he said, “But… it looks like, the way things are, it might be the same for the rest of you. You’re ready. And… so am I.” Owen looked down. “I’m sorry you held yourselves back just for me.”

    “Don’t be,” Mesprit said. “We could have, but… we had second thoughts. We wanted your blessing. Didn’t want to run away from, you know… the past.”

    “Sort of funny to think about how I… nudged you to do that anyway,” Owen said nervously. “Well… you have it.”

    “Enough mushy stuff!” Flygon said. “You next!”

    Mispy rolled her eyes. Uxie sat atop the Meganium’s back.

    “Well, if you insist, and if Demitri and Mesprit are so nervous, then we shall go next. I think we have a more elegant way to do this.”

    Uxie and Mispy both concentrated, Mispy closing her eyes to match Uxie. The tiny pixie pressed her forehead against Mispy’s back. Both glowed, completely covered in light…

    And the same as Gahi, the light peeled off of the newly-formed, subtly different Meganium. Most of her seemed to be the same, save for a ruby red hue in her antennae… as well as her striking yellow eyes.

    “Eep!” Demitri suddenly averted his gaze.

    The Meganium tilted her head. She tried to open her mouth to speak, but frowned. “What? Do I look strange?”

    “Stranger than usual?” Owen asked.

    She glared.

    “Wh-whoa! Your eyes! They’re so yellow!”

    “Oh. That’s why…” She nodded, looking herself over. “…Mispy. I’ll answer to Mispy. It’s still familiar to me, and, well, I kept the body. Or, Mispy did? Ugh…”

    “So, in other words,” Demitri said, “you feel like… both of them, too, huh? So much for discarding the past, huh?” He smiled nervously.

    “I think… it’s mostly Mispy. But I have Uxie’s knowledge, which she valued the most. I’m okay with this.”

    “We already share the same feelings,” Demitri said to Mesprit. “I don’t think we have to worry about our bonds fading if we fuse. That’s good…”

    “I’m… ready, too,” Mesprit said, tittering. “Look at me. Advocating for it in the first place, and now I’m the last one to try…”

    Demitri reached out, holding Mesprit’s hand. He felt… a connection, electric and magnetized, and couldn’t let go. This was different than the other times.

    He pulled Mesprit into a hug, doubling that stuck feeling.

    This was it. One way or the other, the reunification of a life from so long ago. But at this point, he was just following the trend, wasn’t he? A coming of age that most Pokémon never have the displeasure of worrying about.

    Then came the light. It overwhelmed Demitri’s vision and all the senses. First a warmth, then a cold, and then neutrality. His heart and breath stopped.

    He fell into a great, dark void. In front of him was Mesprit looking just as confused. Everything felt distant and abstract.

    Is this it? Demitri asked.

    I think so, Mesprit replied. Azelf and Gahi probably… wrestled or something, didn’t they? In this vision…

    Sounds like them.
    Demitri smiled. …I don’t need any ceremonies. But thank you for everything, Mesprit. I want to use your insight most of all. And I want you to use my power. Okay?

    You’re a lot more than muscle, Demitri. No matter how faded I become, don’t forget that, okay?


    Bashful, Demitri looked away. Okay.

    It became too hard to hang on. The vision melted into a wash of darkened colors…

    And he stood there again, the memories of centuries flooding into him. Unlike Owen, though, it came easier. Half of it was from an immortal mind that shrugged off the changes.

    Was he Demitri? He remembered being Demitri.

    …He also remembered being Mesprit. Sorting out those memories was going to be… difficult. But for now, he could act in the moment and follow what feels right.

    That was how most people got by, right?

    Recalling Mispy and Gahi’s slight changes, Demitri looked himself over, simultaneously unnerved at how large and heavy he was, while also relieved he was still the same. Ugh, double-thinking…

    “Oh, there,” he said aloud. The blades of his axes—both on his tail and on his face—had Mesprit’s colors. Yes, he remembered wanting to be wielded, his powers harnessed… That made sense.

    “Do you think my axes don’t hurt anymore, and they just do emotional things now?” Demitri theorized.

    “I dunno, find out,” Gahi said with a shrug.

    Mispy pondered this and held out a vine.

    Owen blinked. “Uh, Demitri, those—”

    Demitri sliced the vine in two. “Ah.”

    “…I could have told you that,” Owen said.

    “It was worth testing,” Mispy said as the vine regrew and several other vines cannibalized what was cut off.

    Owen sighed, though he wore a smile.

    “…Hey,” Demitri said. “Why don’t we get back to Ludicolo Café, huh? Let’s eat!”

    “Hey, yeah! Y’know, I think all that Teleportin’ worked up an appetite!” Gahi thumped his tail on the ground. “C’mon!”

    He disappeared before they could reply.

    Demitri had sensed some relief from Gahi, though. Enough that he knew Gahi only needed space to recover. He must have been terrified, yet forced himself to go through with it.

    In some ways, that was always how Gahi operated.

    The rest of Team Alloy walked to the café, finally whole and in one piece.

    <><><>​

    Owen had come for a visit, leaving Eon quietly festering with mixed feelings of honor that he’d think to visit and nervousness about the subject. He’d been with Rim, Lucas, and Lavender for most of their recovery days, though Rim in particular was still… a much weaker Cherrim without the Psychic Orb bolstering her. It was like Gahi had stolen much of her power along with the Orb.

    With Owen on his mind, Eon had uncontrollably transformed into an exact copy. He got his blindfold and put it on quickly so his transformations wouldn’t get distracting, locking him in to that form. Owen wasn’t the only one he was thinking about—Rim, too, had come home with a friend, Celebi. While Jirachi and Celebi didn’t know each other too well, they were familiar and crossed paths now and then during their old work.

    Owen had been discussing a plan that needed many of them. He’d gotten it from the human world from a region called Orre. Apparently, they had a lot of experience dealing with Shadows… But was it the same kind?

    He heard a familiar trotting from just outside, and Owen stopped explaining. Which was good, because Eon had gotten distracted mid-conversation and would need to hear it again. It was the trotting of Lavender, as a Scolipede—It was his favorite form, and the soul of the person he’d taken the body of was so cheerful and flattered when he became one. His true, Silvally form frightened people anyway, and Eon wasn’t surprised he took on more familiar forms because of that.

    Eon’s family found it so strange being in a society that didn’t fight all the time. It bored them, though eventually, they found silver linings in peaceful settlements.

    “Visitors?” Lavender called. He must have sensed more life than usual. “Oh!”

    “Hey, Lavender,” Eon said. “Thanks for getting groceries,” Eon—taking the form of a second Charizard—said. Lucas, the Mega Houndoom, barked and tackled Lavender as a greeting.

    “Need help setting things down?” Owen asked. He pointed ahead and shot a few seeds on the ground, quickly sprouting into little plants that he controlled to help move the groceries around.

    “Thanks!” Lavender cheered. He curled up and shifted back to Silvally. “Wow, so you saw the human world, right?”

    “I did,” Owen said. “I was just telling Eon about it.”

    “Huh? Oh, right! He’s human, too, right?”

    Lavender beamed at Eon, but then his gaze dampened. Eon winced, realizing that his blindfold might’ve been wet—he always got a little overwhelmed when Owen returned. His joyful look faltered. “What’s wrong?”

    “Oh—oh, nothing.” Eon quickly looked away despite not seeing a thing. “Owen was just… sayihng hello. And I was happy to see him.”

    “Ohh.” Lavender nodded sagely. “So, they’re happy tears!”

    “Yes.” Eon sighed, wrapping the blindfold over his eyes again. “I know things are different between us, but… I want to heal. We can start over. Right?”

    He couldn’t see Owen’s reaction.

    “And how about you, Onion Head?”

    “M-me?” She seemed stunned. “Um. My name is Celebi. I was actually trying to get to you all sooner, but uhh… things got a little complicated over on the Abyssal Sea. I’m Rim’s other half. Rim found me before I could find you!”

    “Oh! Ohhh! That’s you!” Lavender beamed. “I was wondering where you were! What happened?”

    “She was guarding Necrozma,” Eon said. “She was kind of an intermediary between some people in the Null Villages and that island in the Abyssal Sea. Long-distance telepathy, but it was a lot of energy. She couldn’t do much to help Necrozma, but as someone who has that same power of purification as Cresselia, she was more resistant to those Titans. She kept them weaker so nobody could make a move… But like a lot of things before the Worldcore’s timer reset, it was a stalemate until recently.”

    “It’s a quiet job,” Celebi said, “but I tried to use my power to slow down the advance. I hope it worked…”

    Rim tilted her body up while leaning against Eon. Right.

    “And how about you, Owen?” Lavender asked. “Are you feeling better now?”

    “A little,” Owen said. “I just wanted to check on everyone to make sure they were good. Oh, and also to find a Willow. There are… multiple of her, now?”

    Eon shuddered. “We had to un-corrupt ADAM from a Shadow incident with Alexander. Something about ADAM’s environment… duplicated things we put in our bags. And then I tried to catch Willow in one, and…”

    “Oh. Literally the worst possible person to duplicate on our side,” Owen murmured. “Let’s hope Alexander didn’t do that to himself…”

    “Too big to fit in a bag,” Jirachi said.

    “…Huh…” Owen crossed his arms.

    “I don’t like the tone you just got,” Eon said. “What are you thinking?”

    “Oh—nothing.” Owen dismissed. “Anyway… Glad you guys are doing alright. Will you all be fusing soon?”

    Eon flinched. Gods, really bringing that up now? Eon still wasn’t sure what he wanted with Jirachi, or if he wanted anything. If he’d give up everything. And Rim… felt the same, he knew. But that also meant…

    “That’s very forward to ask,” Celebi said. “But… we are. Rim and I are ready. We’re awfully different, but… I shared a lot of my memories with Rim already. We’re about caught up, and she wants to be more assertive. Like me!”

    “It doesn’t have to be so soon, Rim,” Eon said gently. “I…”

    But Rim leaned against Eon. He knew that feeling. She was trying to say, it was okay.

    Celebi continued, “Rim spent too long being weak ever since the Psychic Orb was taken from her. And… everything about… what led up to this was just one big mistake. I told you this already, Eon. The mutants, the lab… All that work was aimed at the wrong person. And all that mess… Rim has trouble speaking, but I felt her thoughts and feelings.”

    Rim stiffened, trying to get words out. Eon could tell that many eyes were on her.

    “It’s… a mistake. I want… to try… again.” Rim forced out. Rim sounded afraid but resolute. “I’m… s-sorry. But… I want… I wanted it. When I s-saw… Celebi…”

    Eon took a breath and focused. He took off his blindfold and looked directly at Celebi, then Rim, maintaining his form with some focus. Celebi looked conflicted, ironically. He was expecting Rim to be the one afraid, but the purple-petaled Cherrim was the one more determined to go through with this.

    “She followed me a couple of days ago,” Celebi said. “All across town! I didn’t even notice her at first, she was so, um… Well, she blended into the evening at the time… But I knew it was her. There was this tugging feeling, you know?”

    Eon and Jirachi glanced at each other. If only it was that easy to be resolute the same way…

    “I… can’t convince you, can I?” Eon said. “Rim, I… I’m not ready yet…”

    Guilt flooded Rim’s eyes, but she looked down. “I have to.”

    “N-not that I’m forcing her!” Celebi quickly interjected. “I think she was saying that symbolically.”

    “Eon,” Owen interjected, wings folded back. “I think I understand why this is happening. All this time, Rim was following your orders. She trusted you. But even though it wasn’t totally your fault, you were all marching down a path that’d take down Barky. And, yeah, he had problems, but he wasn’t our real enemy. Now all this work is… scattered. The whole aim of the Hunters is completely lost, and that was her identity for a long time.

    “Rim just wants a fresh start. Celebi’s duty is over in the same way now that Necrozma is free, uh… for better or worse.”

    Celebi tittered nervously. Lucas, who was probably having trouble following along, made a confused whine.

    “It’s okay, Lucas,” Lavender said gently. “I have no idea what’s going on, either!”

    “I guess… we can wait a little longer,” Celebi said. “But only a couple days, tops! Okay? It’s okay, Lucas. Nobody’s hurting.”

    The Mega Houndoom’s tail wagged a little, cutting up the ground.

    Rim pondered it, but then said, “…Need… timer. Countdown…”

    “I can give one,” Owen said. “Can you hold off for two days?”

    Two days… It was a relief that he had more time. But that was two days of anxiously waiting. Eon hoped he could enjoy them.

    “Two days? How come?” Celebi asked.

    “I need as many people as possible to get this working, and—uh, having some extras can help with arrangements. I still need to sort it out…”

    “Oh, one of your plans,” Eon said. “Can I help?”

    Owen seemed slightly uncomfortable. He’d overstepped. Agh, why did he ask so suddenly? He messed it all up again…

    “Sure,” Owen said. “Oh, actually. I guess I really should stop putting that off and get some names down. Eon, weren’t you one of the leaders for your squad while I was gone?”

    “I actually have a good roster in my head,” Eon said. “Jirachi, too, right?”

    Jirachi nodded. “Between the two halves of us, we have a good idea where everyone is and when they should be back.”

    “Okay. Maybe… you can help. Lavender, can you spread the word once I get you a letter to write? Once you find a Willow, that’ll make things a lot easier. Or a Hecto.”

    “Oh, Hecto’s mostly in one piece now,” Eon reminded. “He gathered up to knock some sense into Shadow Barky.”

    “…You know, that might help. Not sure how effective having a bunch of Hectos doing this would’ve been anyway…” Owen murmured more to himself that Eon didn’t understand. “First, I’m going to need thirty-six people in nine groups of four. . .”

    <><><>​

    Palkia stood in an open field with Dialga in the center of a smoldering crater.

    “Are you still alive?” Palkia called leisurely.

    “Yes! Why did you need to ask that!?”

    Palkia checked his device again, prodding at a few buttons and adjusting a few settings. It whirred, then smoked, and then fizzled down. “Ah, what a shame. Ah—Dialga, on a scale of one to ten, how injured are you?”

    “…Two?” Dialga called, stumbling over loose rocks as he tried to climb out of the pit. “I thought you said this was going to be a test blast of the portable Beammaker. Why in the world did you ask if I was killed by this?”

    “It’s worth checking maximums for uncharted territory,” Palkia said idly. “Unfortunately, I still need to tweak a few things. Truly a shame. The recoil is just too much for the energy tunnel.”

    Poke, poke. He kept poking at the device until it sizzled unhappily.

    “Ah.” Palkia carved a hole in space and dropped it inside.

    “…Palkia, what was that?” Dialga asked.

    For several seconds, the sky had a new star.

    “Safe disposal.”

    Dialga glared at him.

    “Rhys!” called a gravelly voice.

    Palkia tilted his head at Dialga.

    “Rhys!” he called again.

    “I believe that’s you, Dialga,” Palkia reminded.

    “Ah—right. Right. I remember now.”

    Rayquaza flew over with Torkoal Elder balanced atop his head. They both seemed healthy and in good spirits, though it was hard to tell with Elder.

    “Rayquaza, Elder,” Dialga greeted. “How are you?”

    “Doing well,” Rayquaza replied. “We’ve been trying to find Nevren, but unfortunately he continues to evade us. We’re positive he’s somewhere in the Voidlands, too, which makes things difficult…”

    “He has to return for supplies, I’m sure.”

    “Yes. Knowing me, though, he certainly is abusing that tool Dialga had gifted him to flee. And until Dialga can properly disable it…”

    “Are you implying you would abuse any blessing given to you?” Rayquaza frowned, crossing his little arms.

    “Well, not abuse in my case, more… explore.”

    “I worry about you, Palkia,” Dialga said. Then, he addressed Rayquaza and Elder. “Well, it’s good to see you both anyway.”

    Rayquaza nodded. “Elder and I have been talking more about… you, Dialga. Elder is trying to accept what happened.”

    “Ah… right. Right.” Dialga nodded. “If it’s any help… I do remember everything now. It was very hazy, shrouded in darkness, but time on the surface has helped unearth things again. Even if it’s distant… it’s not gone.”

    “Yes. That is… good to know,” Elder said. His tone was odd; Palkia wasn’t sure if he was sick. “And it’s good that at least Rhys’ spirit is… content. Are you content?”

    Palkia’s eyes darted from Elder and Rayquaza to Dialga when each spoke, trying ever so hard to understand the pathos behind every gesture. It was all so fascinating.

    “I am,” Dialga said. “Even though there are some things I wish I could… dredge up with more passion, all these things that Rhys left behind, I’m content. I’m managing that past and finding ways to do better. It’s only… the emotional side of it all that I’m struggling with. It’s more like a recollection. It’s nostalgic.”

    Elder nodded. There was a pained look in his expression like he’d eaten an unagreeable lunch.

    Mourning. That was it, wasn’t it?

    “Ah,” Palkia suddenly said, shoulders sagging only slightly. Now that he thought about it, Elder and Rhys were very close. Perhaps in better circumstances, he and Rhys could have returned to their full selves at the same time. Now, Elder was scrounging for a way to say goodbye.

    “I… ah…” Palkia quickly looked to his notes. He shouldn’t interfere with this. Some things were not meant for science to interfere. Very few things. But this was one of them. The ‘heart’ and its language were most important, and Palkia was not fluent.

    “I don’t know if the same will happen to me,” Elder said, “but… there’s one thing I wanted to give you, Rhys. Er… Dialga.”

    “Rhys is fine,” Dialga said gently. “What is it?”

    Elder looked down at Rayquaza, who dug through a tiny, tiny bag tied around his wrist. Rayquaza produced a small paper.

    “Before… all of this happened,” Elder said, “I’d written you a letter. I’d meant for Rim to deliver it like she usually does, but… well, then the Orbs started illuminating, and you know how that all went. I just… felt that, to finish this… chapter of our long lives, that I’d finally deliver it.”

    “Oh.” Dialga nodded. “Well, alright. I’d love to read it.”

    Palkia tried to lean over to read it, but Dialga flashed a glare at him. Palkia understood this meant it was rude, though his curiosity would not be sated like this… He sighed. Perhaps he could ask later so he could understand their hearts more.

    Palkia started to pack up his supplies for a less risky experiment while Dialga read the letter. Rayquaza drifted nervously in the air; The smoke from Elder’s shell had all but stopped, like he was holding his breath the whole time.

    All for sentiments on paper. It was so fascinating. Sometimes, Palkia envied how invested people could become in such mundane things… but then he’d be so much less productive. It was a fair trade.

    Finally, Dialga breathed out through his nostrils. Palkia recognized that as him being finished.

    “Elder,” Dialga said gently. “I understand why you’d want to send that to me, even if it isn’t relevant anymore. But…”

    Dialga closed his eyes. Light enveloped him; his body shrank and shrank, changing shape until he was a Lucario again.

    “I do appreciate it anyway,” he said.

    “Rhys…” Elder finally breathed. Rayquaza lowered his head and Elder clumsily got off, losing his balance. He toppled over, nearly landing on his back had the Lucario not caught him.

    “Sorry,” the Lucario said, setting him down. “I, er… I felt it would be more appropriate to assume this form. After reading that letter, I mean. I believe, had I read it at the time… yes, I would have been happy to see it. And I would have put it with all the other letters. I… do regret, in a small way, discarding all the other ones, but they were from a previous time. And, really, all that hoarding was unhealthy…”

    Elder nodded solemnly. The smoke from his shell came out in short bursts, like tiny gasps.

    “…But… perhaps I can keep just this one. Here, I’ll even… add a little temporal power…”

    The paper glowed a soft blue. Palkia cocked his head again and leaned over, but once again, Rhys hid the paper’s contents from him.

    Palkia scoffed. “Well, now it’s certainly on purpose.”

    Ignoring him, the Lucario showed it to Elder. “Now it will last much longer. The erosion of time will not touch this paper for as long as I remain. I will treasure it as a fond memory, Elder.”

    Elder’s jaw quivered. He wanted to say something… Just what was going unsaid? It was like telepathy, this communication between them.

    Well, he recalled they literally had telepathy, though since Rhys died, that connection had been severed. Palkia wondered if, somehow, it had been re-established across the aura sea now that the world was more stable…

    Still… at some point, Palkia stopped thinking about taking notes on the exchange. Something about it no longer felt relevant for notes and findings. This was… a moment for them. A complicated tapestry of emotions that Palkia could only see the edge of. An indescribable network of feelings of times lost and times ahead. Palkia wondered… why Rhys had not been allowed that luxury.

    Palkia’s brow furrowed. His chest hurt a little. That was an odd one.

    “Thank you,” Elder whispered. “Thank you… I… I think I’m ready now, Rayquaza.”

    “I can tell,” the great sky serpent replied. “Well. I would like to go on a flight for this one. Dialga… or, Rhys, if you’d accept the old title. Would you like to come with us?”

    The Lucario nodded, but then flashed a cross glare Palkia’s way. “No experiments while I’m gone. Understood?”

    “Yes, yes.” Palkia sighed. “I’ll catch up on some reading and tidy up my notes.”

    But even Palkia recognized the relief Elder had. It felt as if that final letter held the last of his wishes. The final task of an old, old soul. And as they flew away, the Torkoal atop Rayquaza’s head, and ‘Rhys,’ retaining that form, just behind him… Palkia had a feeling he was not going to see either of ‘them’ again.

    But maybe this time, it was on their terms.
     
    Chapter 180 - Left Behind
  • Namohysip

    Dragon Enthusiast
    Staff
    Partners
    1. flygon
    2. charizard
    3. milotic
    4. zoroark-soda
    5. sceptile
    6. marowak
    7. jirachi
    8. meganium
    9. namo-rock
    Chapter 180 – Left Behind

    The wind nipped uncomfortably at Anam’s slime. He sat on the western side of the caldera with the sun at his back. As he overlooked Kilo Village, the shadow of twilight creeping over its streets, he sighed and turned his head to the right. There, Madeline, Giratina, and James sat with him.

    “Seems we’re lagging behind,” Madeline remarked. “Giratina, do you think we’ve gotten familiar enough with one another?”

    “I’d like more time, ideally, but we aren’t in ideal circumstances.” Giratina chuckled. In her bulkier, six-legged form, she stood higher than all atop the caldera. “We even have Aramé with us this time.”

    “Are you really gonna do it?” Anam asked. “I mean… I guess you have to… but…”

    Madeline gently patted Anam’s back. “Yes,” the great Goodra said. “Unlike many of the others, though, Giratina and I… have lived very different lives. Similar, but different enough that it may be an adjustment period. Giratina spent time in the Reverse World awaiting the day to spring her trap against Dark Matter. And I… well, I’d been caught up within his realm. We were practically neighbors, yet never knew it. But while Giratina was sealed, I lived a whole life. I met James… I had you.”

    “And I don’t intend to take that away,” Giratina said, nodding. “But your mother may change when we reunite, Anam. And I hope you can accept that.”

    James looked conflicted. Anam didn’t need Diyem’s power to see that. However, the Decidueye nodded firmly all the same. “People change. It’s as the others have said. This unification is… just an acceleration of the same concept. I’ve changed a great deal, too.”

    Madeline chuckled. “Yes. For example, you abandoned your Salandit form the moment you had the chance…”

    James’ feathers puffed up. “…Do you prefer it?”

    “I prefer James,” Madeline replied simply. “I’d love you no matter what physical form you took. If you enjoy being a Decidueye more, then a Decidueye you are.” She chuckled into one of her grabbers. “Usually, using a Transfer Orb of that nature is very expensive. You should be lucky, getting a divine bargain like that…”

    “I suppose I am,” James said, relaxing. “…This talk, though. Are you planning on doing this, then? Unifying?”

    “Yes. I think it’s time, before we start getting some nagging questions to do it. Will that be okay?”

    Anam fidgeted again. He was worried he’d lose her again. But…

    No. He had to be strong. For everyone. He may not be much of a leader figure in Kilo Village anymore, but he still had to put on a brave face. People still looked up to him.

    “Okay,” Anam said.

    “You’ve grown up,” Madeline remarked. “I’ve noticed it ever since you stopped taking on the world’s weight. Funny, the timing of that…”

    “I… I had to stay positive before or I’d… you know, with Mister Matter…” Anam nodded nervously. “But then… I lost him, and my head was all quiet, and… I just… I relaxed. I dunno. I don’t know what I wanna do now…”

    “It must have been a shock,” James said. “But… take your time, Anam. It’s okay.”

    “You mean all the… cutesy things you did,” Giratina said, “was a defense against Diyem?”

    “Cutesy?” Anam asked.

    “…Ah… never mind. I thought that was what you were referring to. But I do notice a shift in your behavior without Diyem. I can’t place it in words, though…”

    “Mm.” Anam bit his tongue. He wasn’t sure, either.

    Madeline stood up. “Well, regardless, Giratina was able to make a small pocket for us to get our affairs in order,” Madeline said. “It won’t be long.”

    “Wait—wait, now now?” Anam said, springing to his feet. “Hang on!”

    “Hm?”

    Anam tackled Madeline in a hug. Even with how large Anam was, Madeline towered over him thanks to Necrozma’s blessing. He squeezed her tight, just in case he may not get the opportunity again, and then used his horns to grab James and pull him in next.

    “Uff—”

    For much longer than they probably wanted, Anam held them there. “You’ll really stay you?” Anam asked Madeline, face buried in her slime.

    “I will,” Madeline promised. Anam finally pulled away and Madeline stepped to Giratina.

    “This won’t be too long,” Giratina said. “Are you ready?”

    Anam held his breath as Madeline stepped into a black circle that Giratina had formed on the ground. She disappeared as if hopping into a pool of ink. Giratina followed and the circle closed behind them with a little puff of black haze.

    Anam steadied his breathing. James hopped a little closer and lowered his head.

    “I trust that they’ll be okay,” James said. “Anam… that was very strong of you.”

    “Mmg…” Anam nodded. “I just wanted one last hug. Because… because I know she won’t be the same. I could tell. They’re too different…”

    James delicately brought his wing over Anam’s thigh. “Hold strong, Anam. I’m sure she still wants to be part of the family. I’m just as worried… but I trust her. We’ve gotten to know Giratina, haven’t we?”

    “Mm…” Anam nodded. “They’re similar, just… so much happened apart. It wasn’t like the others, who were, you know, Titans for most of it, so they don’t remember…”

    “She was a Titan, too,” James reminded. “Just not as long.”

    Anam settled down again. Maybe it would be okay. Waiting was agonizing. Was she back yet?

    The silence grew louder in Anam’s head.

    “Was it my fault?” Anam asked.

    “What?”

    “S… sorry.” Anam looked down. “I don’t know why I said that.”

    “What could be your fault?”

    “…I don’t… know.”

    “Anam… this is all far bigger than any one person,” James said. “Are you trying to shoulder the blame for this?”

    Anam couldn’t answer. In his mind, he saw Nevren controlling him; he saw Diyem in the void, berating him; he saw the vortex in the sky. He remembered knowing so much and saying so little, all to keep the peace. Waiting until it was too late.

    “I guess it’s nothing,” Anam said softly.

    “Anam,” James said firmly. “You did what you thought was best for Kilo. You unified the world and brought it into a golden era. You even kept at bay one of the greatest darknesses this world had. Without you, I’m certain the world would have been much worse and less prepared for today. Look.”

    James spread a wing toward the twilight-bathed town.

    “The world shattered and yet its people came together, all under the philosophy you had fostered. The Hearts, beating as one. Not just a Thousand, but countless souls all united for one goal—to survive, to counter the world’s trials. And much of that was because of you, Anam.”

    James looked down. “I’m proud of you. I couldn’t be prouder, Anam. Even if you want to step down from that role… I hope you don’t forget all you’ve done.”

    In Anam’s mind, he saw Jerry’s surprised look. Diyem, despite everything, encouraging him. And he saw so many hopeful eyes staring at him when the world had first fallen.

    “…Do you really think,” Anam said, “I can still do something good?”

    “Easily,” James said. “The world may be changing, but you’re still part of it. When this is all over… why don’t we find that new purpose together?”

    Anam smiled. This time, it was genuine. “Yeah. Okay.”

    The ground rumbled. A black portal tore open. A dark figure hopped out and landed heavily as it shed its dark coating…

    “Oh!” Anam blinked and took in the new form…

    It had Madeline’s size and shape. However, parts of her body had Giratina’s amber armor, especially along her neck. Her goo had taken on a similar, amber color, though the skin beneath was a much darker, grayer hue. Her front had taken on Giratina’s black, crimson pattern, just as her striking, terrifying eyes.

    “Wow, um… you, um…!”

    “…What?” she asked. “Is something wrong?”

    James’ feathers had puffed out again. Anam wasn’t sure if he was terrified, or…

    She leaned forward, staring at Anam’s slimy, somewhat reflective belly. “Oh,” she whispered. “That’s very different…”

    “What is, um, what’s your name?” Anam asked. “Are you… are you still Mom?”

    The Giratina-Goodra was puzzled at first. Then, as if it dawned on her, she sighed and said, “Yes, Anam. All the same. In a way…” She straightened her back. “It reminds me of… having a work life and a home life. But right now…” She pointed ahead. “It looks like we might have some work to do.”

    An evening gathering collected near the town square. Anam saw individual bodies from how shadows blocked parts of the street’s Luminous Orbs as they lit up.

    “Huh?” Anam leaned in. “That’s weird… I don’t remember there being any meetings.”

    James’ eyes were focused at the caldera wall’s base. “I think we’re about to find our answer. Willow’s coming.”

    “Sharp eyes as ever,” Madeline commented.

    They descended the rocky hill until Anam, too, spotted the little yellow speck hopping toward them. “Hey! Hey, hey!” the Joltik shouted.

    “Hey, Willow! What’s in the Willow Communication Foundation today?” Anam grinned.

    Willow, pleased with this, raised her body higher and said, “I have a super important message! Madeline, Anam, James, and Aramé are going to work together and practice their purification circle!”

    “Their what?” James asked.

    “Meet at the center of town!” And, after providing zero extra information, Willow zipped off for town again.

    Anam, Madeline, and James looked at one another with confusion.

    “Maybe it’s part of Owen’s plan?” Anam suggested.

    “Perhaps,” Madeline said, frowning. “Well… let’s find out.”

    As twilight completely covered Kilo Village in its shadow, Anam walked a little closer to his parents. Even if they were heading into the unknown… Madeline felt the same. She was close enough. And for that, even the cold darkness was a little warmer that night.

    <><><>​

    Owen had spent the rest of the afternoon holed up in the offices of Heart HQ, going over records and commandeering a space for himself to hang up names on walls. Most Heart staff assumed he was crazy and left him to his own devices. Owen’s Perceive was on overdrive, counting heads, and tracking everyone’s elements. He had to glance at people for the energy-based ones occasionally, and his wide, hyper-focused eyes unnerved them.

    “Still missing a few people…”

    “Well, Owen, not everyone would be here,” Amia said gently. “Some of them are still trying to handle chaos in the rest of the world. The Waypoints aren’t all online yet, I think…”

    The Gardevoir gently placed a hand on his back. In terms of behavior, she was a lot like the Amia he remembered. Yet all Amia’s memories of Owen seemed so distant, the way she treated him—and, in some ways, how she treated Alex.

    “Is something bothering you?” the Hydreigon in question asked, hovering just behind Amia. “That list was very specific…”

    “We have a lot of Dragons,” Owen said.

    “…What?” Alex asked, suddenly looking self-conscious of his three heads.

    “Dragons. We have a lot of them. Actually, they’re pretty good for this.”

    “P-pretty good for what, Owen?”

    “The Purification Circle.” Owen pointed at the list of names. “Four people stand in a circle, channeling one of their elements that’d be stronger, and facing someone who has at least one that’s weaker to that one. Then, we have nine of those in an even bigger circle, and we put Emily in the middle of it! It works! It’s one of the strongest anti-Shadow things I’ve seen… and that was just with mortal Pokémon!”

    “Umm…” Amia pursed her lips. “You’re going to have to explain that one slowly…”

    “Or… simply?” Alex asked nervously. “Oh, dear…”

    Owen tittered. “It’s the way auras interact. I don’t know the science behind it, just that it works. I tested it with simple mortals, and it was enough to purify a different Shadow Lugia—one that had such a deep darkness that Lugia’s feathers changed! …Kinda like Emily. And that was just with normal Pokémon in the circle.”

    A great, loud, intentionally noticeable yawn caught everyone’s attention. While most turned away shortly after, Owen kept his gaze fixed on the Aerodactyl as he entered his Perceive range.

    “There a reason you woke me up this early?” he growled.

    “Jerry, it’s still evening.”

    “Wha?” Jerry squinted, looking at the sky. “…Sun’s coming up on the wrong side.”

    “Because it’s evening.”

    Jerry stared at the sky for a while longer. Just then, a Willow hopped atop Jerry’s head from his back.

    “I zapped him awake to make sure he came!” Willow declared.

    “Whyyyy did this have to happen now and not, you know, tomorrow?” Jerry said. He looked like he was ready to collapse in the streets and call it a nest.

    “Because I need everyone to gather into groups of four based on this list,” Owen said. “And I need everyone in those groups to sleep together.”

    The gentle buzz of the crowd’s murmuring abruptly halted.

    “Owen…” Amia sighed. “I mean this very gently, but… is there any possible way you can phrase that differently?”

    “You need to spend the night together. And probably get very personal, too.”

    Jerry groaned and turned around. “I’m leavin’.”

    Several others groaned, too.

    “Wait, wait!” Owen said quickly, spreading his wings. “I’m serious! It’s part of the plan! This Purification Circle… it needs auras that have a good rhythm with each other. Pokémon are beings of aura and emotion—you need to be in sync with each other. Get to know each other, and be nearby. That’s why I need this to start as soon as possible to make sure this works. I even tried to make it so you can all be in similar groups already, so in a lot of ways, a lot of the work’s already done!”

    “Still using your ‘turn of phrase’ pranks, are you?” Madeline called dully from across the crowd. “Really, Owen. Two thousand years and you still do that? There’s no way you can be oblivious to it after all that time.”

    “…Wait.” Jerry gasped, pointing at Owen. He was much more awake now. “That’s on purpose?! I thought you were just an idiot! You…” Jerry squinted at him. “You psycho! You’re a fraud!”

    “H-hang on, everyone!” Owen raised his hands as the crowd started discussing things at random. “It looks like most people are gathered up now, or… enough of them before we won’t get the night at all. Just—trust me on this, okay? I made copies of the plan for everyone to read, and your groups are all in the back. I asked Anam to set aside some areas in Heart HQ for this if you can’t find housing yourselves, too.”

    Jerry grumbled and grabbed one of the papers once Owen handed it over, eyes skimming through. “…This looks like some freaky alchemy circle in The Steel Chemist. You’re not gonna steal our spirits with this, right?”

    “No, nothing like that,” Owen said. “Besides, if I wanted your spirit, I’d just pull you into my Orb, remember?”

    “Right, you actually can claim and summon spirits,” Jerry growled. “I’ll add necromancy to your list of totally-not-evil traits.”

    A deeper voice rumbled from the gathering’s edge. “To be fair, he used to side with me.”

    Diyem, a Charizard with darker scales, approached with his arms crossed. “I suppose that counts as evil in some ways… at a time.” He gestured for one of the papers. Looking it over, he hummed. “Interesting. It’s building up for one big aura blast to drive out corrupting forces and leave the raw spirit behind. How strange. It reminds me of something Palkia would make.”

    Owen shook his head. “It was pioneered by the research in a place called Pokémon HQ Lab in Orre.”

    Palkia, in another part of the crowd, stood straighter. Owen wondered why; he didn’t usually react to those sorts of things. The mumbling crowd made it hard for Owen to concentrate on any one movement. Maybe gathering everyone like this was a bad idea for his Perceive. He was tempted to pop off his horns for the rest of the meeting but decided to power through.

    His parents stared blankly at him.

    “Oh, uh, I guess that’s it,” Owen said. “I just need people to get their auras tuned with each other as much as possible. It’ll help with the ‘tempo,’ or something, with the Purification Circle.”

    Jerry groaned. “Fine, whatever. So, it looks like I’m grouped with… Brandon, Leo, and… who’s Lucas?”

    “Me!” barked a Mega Houndoom, scampering to Jerry. He would have pounced on him had Eon not called Lucas to sit.

    “…Right.” Jerry sighed. “Well, thanks. I guess. Those guys seem sane, at least. Brandon’s that Steel Machoke, right?”

    “Reshiram, too, but I need him to be a Steel Machoke for this specifically,” Owen confirmed.

    “What?”

    “To make the effectiveness circle.”

    Jerry looked at the list again, then at Lucas, and then Leo wiping his eyes a few feet away. “…Right, okay… I think I see what you’re talking about. Ugh, it’s like I’m back in school, learning all those elemental matchups… I never thought I’d have to use that outside of class. All that mattered was the stuff I used…”

    Owen smiled awkwardly and left Jerry to socialize. He started passing out the papers to each person on the list. By now, the dim Luminous Orbs along the road and his tail were all that illuminated the area.

    “Oh! There you are.” He’d said it to himself, but Mhynt had just entered his range. The Treecko was so small that Owen nearly missed her amid all the other moving bodies. “Mhynt!”

    He spread his wings and glided to her. The Treecko had suddenly tensed and stared at Owen with scorn.

    He slowed his approach. “Uh, Mhynt?”

    Her expression softened instantly and she nodded. “You woke us up early,” she said. “I was enjoying a nap in clean air.”

    “Sorry. I, uh… Here.” Owen leaned forward and offered her a paper nearly as tall as she was. “I hope this isn’t too—”

    “Thank you.” Mhynt nodded, reading it over. Everything about her was tense… Was something wrong? She was skimming through the words, the way her eyes moved, and she never looked at him once.

    “Is everything okay on Kilo?” he asked.

    “Hm?” She looked up. Her eyes had quickly darted down. “Oh. Yes. They are.”

    “It’s good to see you again and not, you know, in a place that’d…”

    The more Owen spoke, the worse Mhynt’s body language became. Was he doing something wrong?

    Mhynt’s eyes widened with a realization. “I have to go,” she said, falling backward. Owen reached on reflex to halt her fall, but then she disappeared in a flash of light. Teleport.

    “…Oh,” he said quietly. He couldn’t sense her within his Perceive radius. She must have gone very far…

    And just as quickly, Mu was running over to him, weaving past the crowd of Guardians and gods. “Hey, Dad!” she shouted.

    “Mu! Everything alright?”

    The Chaos-flamed Charmander’s head swiveled left and right. “Where’d… Was someone, like, really upset here for a second? I can’t sense it anymore.”

    “I think so. It was Mhynt, but she Teleported away.”

    “Mhynt? That’s, uhh… that’s your ex, right?”

    “Er.. yes, I guess that’s a way to phrase it…”

    “What was happening?”

    “I was just giving her a copy of the Purification Circle and her group.”

    “Bro.” Mu looked horrified.

    “What? What did I do that was cringe this time?” Owen challenged.

    “I’m trying to get away from that lingo,” Mu said. “Diyem said it was corrosive or something. But anyway, uhh… dude. She’s your ex.”

    “That was a thousand years ago!”

    “And? Immortal mind, remember? That’s like six moons to you guys! Or something. And she spent all that time in the Voidlands, too. Imagine how amplified and ingrained that is.”

    “She was fine in the Voidlands, though. I mean… not fine, but fine with me…”

    “She was guarded back then, Dad. Can’t get too negative in there or you’d lose it. But now that she’s finally had time to relax, you throw yourself at her?”

    “I didn’t ask for a fight!”

    “No, not—” Mu rubbed her face. “Gods, I don’t know how Mom deals with this. Okay. Dad. Mhynt’s, like, still upset about how you moved on and she kinda didn’t get to move on. Not on her terms, you know? The feelings I felt… that was deep, Dad.”

    “What did you feel?”

    Mu hesitated, but it didn’t seem like she was avoiding the question. It was more like she didn’t know how to answer.

    “It,” called another voice—Diyem, approaching with a paper in hand, “is a feeling of hopeless longing for something that no longer exists. Seeing someone with the same face, mind, soul, and name, and yet someone so far away from the person they remembered. Someone so very close, yet impossibly distant. Someone who changed when they were left behind.”

    “Yeah, what he said,” Mu said quietly. “I didn’t know how to, you know, decipher that one…”

    “I don’t understand,” Owen said. “That’s… I’m still me, but… We changed, didn’t we? Even Mhynt is different from how I remember her. She changed!”

    “Do you think Mhynt considers her change a good one?” Diyem asked.

    “…N… No. I don’t think it’s that easy to change for the better in the Voidlands. No offense, Diyem.”

    “It’s a fact,” Diyem replied. “I agree. And I think that is the root of the problem for Mhynt. It’s completely unfair that she was locked into this, changed and warped irreparably, while you… bounced back with ease. Even her daughter is closer to you.”

    “Th-that’s not true! I’m sure they talked,” Owen said. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. How badly had things gone for Mhynt after being freed?

    “She’s trying to sort things out with her lives. She hasn’t. Not yet.” Diyem shook his head. “I suppose Mhynt isolating herself has not helped. You haven’t been around much for it, Owen, but Mhynt has been silently present for most meetings, and then vanishes when they’re over. She doesn’t know what to do, but she follows her duty if needed. Answers when called… and nothing further.”

    Owen’s wings drooped to their lowest as he envisioned it. Yet he was blind to that, and then tried to cheerfully give her his next plans as his first interaction…

    He thought back to how she’d leaned against him during their hour alone. Was that when Mhynt had been happiest?

    “But… we can’t go back anymore,” Owen said. “Zena’s with me, now, and… I’m not ‘Wishkeeper.’ I can’t go back to that, and, even if I did, she’s…”

    “Hence her hopelessness,” Diyem said. “I’m sorry. I don’t have a solution. I can only see the problem and outline it to you.” He turned around. “When we face Shadows, Mhynt can’t help us. Her darkness is too great; it will be seized upon, and she may become an enemy. And she would be a very dangerous enemy… as I’m sure you’re aware.”

    “We can’t bar her from fighting—that’s…”

    “The only practical solution,” Diyem said. “If you find a way to get her out of her dark spiral, perhaps that will change. Even a glimmer during the upcoming days could be enough. But you aren’t fixing this permanently in a day.”

    The wind blew. By now, the crowds had entirely dispersed, save for a few who wanted to speak to them. He sensed Zena entering his Perceive range. By the time she was within speaking distance, Owen hadn’t said a thing.

    “Owen?” Zena asked gently. “Is something wrong?”

    Diyem was already walking away. Mu remained, looking awkwardly between them.

    “I thought I saw Mhynt. Is she okay?” Zena asked, looking nervous.

    “She isn’t,” Owen replied. “I’m… trying to figure out if I should do anything about it. Diyem just broke it down for me.”

    “Oh.” Zena nodded slowly. Mu seemed to hold her breath. “Is… Do you want to talk about it with me?”

    “I don’t know,” Owen admitted, glancing away. “I mean, you, and her…”

    By now, the crowd had entirely dispersed, having arranged their groups and beds. A few watched from afar, though none intervened, particularly when Diyem glared and told them to go away.

    “Do you miss her?” Zena asked delicately. “I know we’ve spent a year together, but… I know that—that you two, there was a history, and…”

    “No, it’s not like that,” Owen said with a tired sigh, mulling over his words. “I mean, I do miss her, yes, but… it’s all changed. You’re with me now, and that’s how I want things to be.” He sighed, arms crossed. “But I know Mhynt wished it wasn’t that way. Not about you, but… how she changed, how I changed, how everything isn’t the same anymore. She doesn’t have a lot of support behind her, Zena. She has Leph and Aster who are just as hurt as she is, maybe even more. Our daughter became a different person, too. She doesn’t… have anybody.”

    “Oh, Owen…” Zena looked down. She seemed like she was ready to cry.

    “What?” Owen asked.

    “Sorry,” Zena said. “I just—that alone feeling. I know… some of it. I can’t imagine a Voidlands-style version of it, but… I get the idea.” She exhaled, tail coiling behind her. She was deep in thought.

    “Do you think I should talk to her?” Owen said. “If she’s been isolating herself from everyone, it’s not like that’s going to change… right?”

    “Did she tell you she didn’t want to talk?” Zena asked.

    “No. She Teleported away quickly, though…”

    Zena frowned at that.

    “That could mean anything,” Mu chimed. “You know, I can come with you. If I feel like she wants you to go away, I’ll tell you, and we’ll leave. How about that?”

    “I don’t know… I feel like pursuing her tonight might make things worse,” Owen said. “I… She’ll be fine for the night, right? Maybe I could… ask her tomorrow.” But even then, he felt the doubt in his own voice.

    Mu frowned. “…Well, I’m gonna watch her anyway.”

    “Mu…”

    “I’ll come home, promise!” Mu said. “I can warp back at any time and stuff.”

    Owen sighed. They couldn’t stop her anyway. Diyem seemed to know how, but for something like this, maybe it was for the best. “Just don’t bother her unless she’s in trouble, okay?”

    “Okay. I think I got a lock on Mhynt again. So, see you later!”

    Owen winced. “Don’t do that too much.”

    “Can’t help it!” The Charmander ran down the road, apparently forgetting she could warp. Maybe she wanted to take the scenic route. The sky was completely black, the sun completely set. The wind blew, warning Owen of an incoming storm. Pensive, he marched down the road… He couldn’t sleep tonight. He had extra work to do first.

    “Owen?” Zena called.

    “Sorry, but I want to make sure Mu doesn’t get into any trouble.”

    “You shouldn’t bring your horns, then,” Zena reminded.

    “Oh.” True. He snapped them off and handed them to Zena. “I’ll be back tonight, okay?”

    “Be careful,” Zena said. “She’s very fragile right now…”

    “I know. I will be. And if Mu tells me to leave, I will. I trust her with that.”

    Zena sighed, looking uncertain about something. Or maybe troubled by something else. Still, he could ask her about that tonight. With one more nod, Owen set off for Mhynt’s abode, his Perceive blind to the world.

    <><><>​

    Alexander wandered the great abyss of Darkrai’s Nightmare with ease. Fears, insecurities, none of those things mattered to him. None of those things were true. He witnessed creatures far larger than him assuming power he didn’t have. He ignored it.

    Then came echoes of his adversaries. The Wishkeeper. The asserted gods. Even the petulant Marshadow. Their echoes jeered at him but he ignored every instance.

    “They’re already building an army, you know,” whispered a silhouette of the little god, Mew. “Every second in here is a second for them to ambush you. Maybe they’re already here.”

    A reasonable inference, except he knew they were still hurting, and their precious leader, the one who failed them before, was missing. He’d fled. As soon as Alexander woke up from this mental prison, they were as good as dead.

    And that was worth any Nightmare.

    He’d been wandering this hazy land for what must have been days, unerringly and without a single misstep. In the back of his mind, Qitlan quietly urging him on, happily encouraging him to rip asunder all obstacles. His allies, his subjects, they were his power. And he had taken a lot of subjects. It was reckless, it was unstable, and it also took him a few extra days of quiet meditation to get a handle of all the new spirits flowing through his veins… but it worked in the end.

    And what was a good plan without one or two little risks?

    Patiently, ever so patiently, against his lesser half’s primal need for instant gratification, Alexander had waited for the precise moment to emerge from the Voidlands and seize the surface world. That day was finally at hand; Darkrai’s Nightmare was merely a setback, another small bump, in a long, long climb. Nothing but the smallest detour.

    He repeated this, over and over, in his mind. The illusions were more elaborate, and more potent, but he could still see past them. He knew reality from dreams.

    A silhouette of Owen appeared from the fog, coalescing into a blue-white, puffy creature with vacant holes where the eyes should have been. The eye sockets narrowed as if to glare.

    The illusion was much larger. Alexander’s only answer was a defiant stare. But if he had a good guess…

    “You should have remained behind,” Owen said. “You could have ruled in darkness, but you chose to climb until you could hold no more. You will never be a god. You are impure.”

    “…You dare speak to me about impurity? About mortality?” Alexander replied, all three heads smirking. “Unlike you, I started from nothing and clawed my power one piece at a time. The Wishkeeper was lucky, merely in the right place at the right time to gain his immortal position. All I did… was take what I deserved from those who had godhood fall into their laps.”

    The projection of Owen scoffed. “Yet you were rejected from Destiny Tower, weren’t you?”

    “I never bothered,” Alexander countered. “The blessings of gods are a taint to well-earned power. I wanted to rule the world by my blood and soul, not the controlling hands of its creators. I will make this world mine, and mine alone.”

    He lunged for the illusion, but then feinted left. And suddenly, his left head’s jaws caught something.

    Alexander crunched down and the illusion dissipated, revealing instead the feeble arm of Darkrai.

    “You slipped up,” Alexander said, pulling Darkrai closer.

    The spectral Lord of Nightmares screamed and tried to break free. Alexander’s grip was too strong.

    “An illusion never replied until now. I was getting close, so close, you had to use your powers to keep hidden…”

    “G… get away!” Darkrai pulled again. Alexander’s jaws clenched harder. There was no escaping him now. “I’ll… keep you here. I have to. Even if you resist every illusion, I won’t let you leave this Nightmare!”

    But even as he spoke, his words were disconnecting and stuttering. He had to focus on resisting Alexander’s corrosion.

    “Oh, we’re far past that,” Alexander said. “You thought you were trapping me in a Nightmare to buy time, was that it? Yet in the end, you have learned like all the rest… that you have trapped yourself with me. And now…”

    Like venom, a thick ichor seeped into Darkrai’s arm and through his body.

    He saw the fear in Darkrai’s eyes and knew he’d won. It was only a matter of time. And he could be patient. Especially with such a grand prize—the Lord of Nightmares—at the end of it. What was one or two extra days to thoroughly corrupt a Legend of negativity?

    “This Nightmare is mine.”
     
    Chapter 181 - Wishes, Fate, and Choice
  • Namohysip

    Dragon Enthusiast
    Staff
    Partners
    1. flygon
    2. charizard
    3. milotic
    4. zoroark-soda
    5. sceptile
    6. marowak
    7. jirachi
    8. meganium
    9. namo-rock
    Chapter 181 – Wishes, Fate, and Choice

    Mhynt lived next to Hakk, though they rarely spoke. They both had small houses, only three simple rooms for shelter and other basic needs, but it was all they wanted. When Mhynt Teleported home, she heard Hakk quietly snoozing, slipped into her neighboring home, and shuttered the windows and door.

    Most doors in Kilo Village were unlocked or only had coverings to keep out the cold. Mhynt didn’t like that. The Voidlands wasn’t like that; she couldn’t trust anything with an unlocked door. She wasn’t ready to break that habit.

    But she did make sure to cover the window only once she was truly tired. The moonlight reminded her that she was free. She occasionally choked up at the sight of the morning sky. And nobody would ever know the afternoon she’d spent hugging a normal, green tree on her first day on the surface.

    The entrance to her little home was a small greeting and sitting room. The local paper, The Morning Kilo, sat three editions thick on the central table. She’d get to the stories eventually. To the right was a kitchen with some clay stoves and primitive utensils. She’d brought some Voidlands luxuries with her, not wanting to part with its technological advancements that had outpaced Kilo out of necessity.

    Next to a faucet was a local plant that supposedly made an herb that was somewhere between parsley and mint. She watered it daily, per care instructions, and was thinking of a name.

    Something orange caught her eye in the one open window on her way to the third room, her nest of leaves. She knew that flame anywhere.

    Teleporting away was an option. His Perceive was limited in range and she knew how to get away. Lunala’s powers, unbound by Alexander, had returned.

    But… this was ridiculous. She was an adult. More than an adult. Many times over. She’d confront this directly.

    Besides, the last thing she wanted was to be the cause of Owen wandering around all night when he should be getting some rest.

    So, when Owen approached the door, before he could knock, Mhynt kicked the door open. With her small size, all that did was creak it out a few inches.

    “Oh,” the Charizard said.

    “Hey, uh… Aunt Mhynt,” said a Charmander who’d matured too quickly.

    Something was off. Owen looked… different.

    Gods, he’d removed his horns.

    “You look ridiculous,” Mhynt said flatly.

    “I—I didn’t want to be invasive,” Owen said, covering his head. “I know it unnerves people…”

    “So, you instead brought the empath.” Mhynt nodded at Mu. It was a little annoying, but she was more entertained by the way Owen came to his conclusion.

    “Hey, I just came for the ride,” Mu said. “And, you know, to let him know if you ever want him gone.”

    Mhynt sighed. Fair play.

    “…Come.” She stepped back and let Owen open the door.

    Owen seemed larger than before. Maybe that was a trick of the mind. He certainly wasn’t… Wishkeeper.

    He took a seat by a small table that he couldn’t even fit his tail under. It was just the right size for Mhynt, and the Treecko tried not to pay any mind to this. Mu, meanwhile, took a seat between them, staring perpendicular to the former couple.

    “I’m really okay, Owen,” Mhynt said. “I just need time. I’m sorry for being cold to you.”

    “You don’t have to apologize,” Owen said. “I didn’t… realize. Somehow.”

    “Somehow,” Mhynt snorted. “Still don’t have your ‘past sight’ do you?”

    “I think that’s locked behind Necrozma or something,” Owen said. “Or maybe I just don’t have it reawakened yet. I don’t think seeing into everyone’s past is all that useful for my current work… I’ve learned enough about the past.”

    “And the future, too, I take it,” Mhynt said. “That was where the missing piece we talked about had been. You, with your past sight and Perceive, you could see everything that someone is and was. A strong tool for the Wishkeeper, guardian of Jirachi. Yet you couldn’t see what they’d become. That was Nate.”

    “It’s very limited,” Owen said. “Just looking into the future changes it. We ‘looked’ at the future by simulating everything we knew in the present, but with the assumption we hadn’t looked in the future. So… that’s already going to be wrong.”

    “Did you look into the ‘future’ of this world?”

    Owen shook his head. “It would have been a complete waste of energy. The world outside of Kilo was all unknown to Nate, and we had no idea what I’d bring back from it. The only ‘future’ I would see is a hypothetical one where I never returned…”

    Mhynt leaned a little closer, placing her elbows on the table. She felt relaxed. It was late at night and everything was calm. Even with the chilling winds outside, it was warm. Even with most of the windows closed, it was bright.

    How she missed this.

    Yet the person in front of her was so far away.

    “You still checked something,” Mhynt guessed. “What would happen to this world if you did nothing at all? With how energetically you’re working to save it… you think it’s all on your shoulders, don’t you?”

    Owen tensed. Mu glanced worriedly between them. Even with the Charizard disguising his feelings and his tail flame kept so level, he had Mu as a new weak point to give away how he felt.

    “Kilo would have fallen,” Mhynt said. “You wished you hadn’t looked… Is that right?”

    “…It isn’t always accurate,” Owen said quietly, eyes on the bare center of the table. “And it can be changed. That’s obvious. For better or worse, I know, but… this time, I really have to try. And this time, I’m including everything to help.”

    Mhynt’s fingers clenched against the table. Even after all that, every failure, every triumph, all that struggle for thousands of years…

    “You really haven’t changed,” Mhynt choked out.

    “Huh?”

    Mhynt’s vision was wet with tears. She tried to cover her eyes and play it off like some dust had gotten in them, but there was no fooling Owen, even without Perceive. Mu was wincing; she seemed ill even through Mhynt’s blurred vision.

    “Mhynt… I’m… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have… pressed you like this.”

    “It’s fine,” Mhynt said quietly. “I would have festered worse without this. I need to accept that… that I can’t just turn back time. Oh, I considered asking Celebi, somehow, to send me someplace where I could start again with you. Maybe sided with you instead. It’d be stupid, I’d be a fool walking down the wrong path, but at least I’d… at least I’d… have someone who could tolerate me.”

    “Mhynt, plenty of people like you! I wouldn’t have—I mean, a lot happened, but you’re still Mhynt. I’ll—we’ll even find somebody! The world’s huge! I mean, well, not really, but—there are still plenty of people out there… And—and you’re finally free, right?”

    So desperate. Always always always always trying to help. Why wasn’t she like that?

    “…I am free,” Mhynt whispered. “Finally free. I’d accepted my fate for so long… I’d given up. Do you know how many people tried to rebel against Alexander? Anam’s old friends, so many Legends, countless fallen spirits… They faced the same threat: To work under him, or to become Void Shadows.

    “I could have been so much less trouble if I’d fought against him to the death. I’d lose myself, but at least I’d keep… my integrity. Instead, I submitted to him. I was a coward. I obeyed and thought, maybe eventually it’ll change. I settled into the routine. Gave everything he wanted. And for what? And for what… I—”

    “Mhynt.”

    The flame was a lot closer. To any other Grass, they would have flinched. But it transfixed her, the only light in the room. Warm like the sun.

    Gently, Owen pulled the tail back to his side. He’d only had to curl it a little around the table.

    “It’s going to be okay. You did everything you could. If you’re guilty about it… try to make the world better today and tomorrow. Just keep walking.” Owen closed his eyes. “That’s what I’m trying to do. I hope that… one day, that guilt will fade. But, Mhynt… I was the one who got everyone into this mess. Not you.”

    Mhynt said nothing. She heard the words, understood them, but had no reply. It was true. But she didn’t know how to feel about that.

    “You should go,” Mhynt said. “It’s late.”

    “Huh?” Mu shook her head. “Wait, what? You want him to go?”

    “Yes. I do.”

    “But…” Mu looked at her hands, then scratched her head vigorously. “But that’s not what I’m feeling at all.”

    “Go, Owen,” Mhynt said more forcefully.

    Owen smiled gently and stood up. “It’s okay, Mu,” he said. “Mhynt, will you be able to go to training tomorrow?”

    “I will. I just need rest.”

    “Wait, hang on!” Mu said. “Dad, she doesn’t want you to actually go! I can feel it, she—”

    “Mu, please,” Mhynt said with venom. “I want Owen gone. Please.”

    “I don’t…” Mu sighed. “But… you don’t want to be alone, Mhynt…”

    That gave Owen pause just as he left, filling Mhynt with dread. Curse that child. All the knowledge and none of the tact.

    She really was his daughter.

    Owen gently opened the door and offered one last, respectful nod inside before heading out. Mu, however, didn’t move an inch.

    “Mu?” Owen called, frowning.

    “…I’m… staying,” she said.

    “What?”

    “I’m staying.” She stared at Mhynt. There was a dark, haunted look in her eyes.

    Owen seemed to accept this without objection. “If she says to go, you need to come right home, Mu,” he said.

    And then he left. The warmth and light of his flame disappeared into the night.

    Mhynt sighed. “I said I was fine.”

    That dark look became a glare, but then, suddenly, Mu rushed her. Mhynt took on a parrying stance, ready to knock Mu away, before remembering that really, she was just a child. While she had tricks, Mu wasn’t a threat.

    Mu tackled her, wrapping her arms around her body in a tight hug. Nothing else happened.

    Mhynt was too stunned to reply.

    Mu didn’t explain herself. Mhynt didn’t ask for an explanation. Another gust whistled between buildings.

    Something… shifted within Mhynt. She couldn’t understand why, or how, but suddenly she felt warmer and weaker. She returned the gesture, arms around Mu, even as the Charmander squeezed a little tighter.

    It could have been an hour and Mhynt wouldn’t have realized it. But, eventually, Mu let go. Mhynt took a seat next to the table and sniffled to herself, nodding. Maybe she didn’t want to be alone.

    “I’m staying for the night,” Mu said quietly.

    And after all that had happened… Mhynt didn’t object.

    <><><>​

    “Did it go well?”

    Nervously, Zena sat around their makeshift home’s nesting with Owen’s horns placed on his usual spot. When Owen returned, he tried to put on a neutral face, but the encounter had clearly weighed heavily on him.

    “Where’s Mu?” Zena added.

    Owen didn’t answer. His eyes were on the ground and his arms were crossed. His brow was furrowed so much that she could see some of his old scales flaking off.

    “…You’re in deep thought tonight, Owen,” Zena said, raising her voice so he’d notice.

    “Oh—Zena. Sorry. Didn’t realize I’d walked home…”

    She eyed him with concern, wondering just what kind of exchange he and Mhynt had. It must have been serious with what Diyem said and how Mu reacted, and even now…

    During their time in Orre, Owen had discussed what he and Mhynt had gone through. Zena wanted to know what he’d gone through. And, admittedly, Zena’s life story was… much shorter.

    “Please, tell me about it.”

    With a defeated sigh, Owen took his horns and snapped them back into place as he wandered into the kitchen.

    “I’m not sure what there is to tell,” Owen said. “What Diyem said was even more than I knew. And I already told you about Remi, Mhynt and I. We talked, and Mhynt confirmed… basically what Diyem said. There was nothing I could’ve done in that moment, but at least she could get it out there. I think… that was okay? I just… don’t know what to do next. I think I could’ve made it worse before it gets better. I hope…”

    She was hoping he’d have ideas. Or maybe a resolution. Maybe that was too optimistic.

    It was so strange thinking about Mhynt. The one who knew Owen the most before everything had changed; a perfectly normal Pokémon who’d gotten caught up in Owen’s antics. They were similar in that way. Zena couldn’t help but feel guilty that she was replacing her. She wondered if Mhynt saw her that way.

    But she couldn’t say any of that out loud.

    Owen downed a Tamato Berry in one bite. Then, he asked, “Are you okay?”

    “Huh?” Zena jumped. “Oh, I—well, I, yes. I was…”

    “You seemed sad.”

    Zena’s gaze trailed to the barebones furniture of their makeshift home. They didn’t have time to go out and look for anything ‘nice’ for the place.

    “Mhynt and I are similar in a lot of ways,” Zena said. “Mostly our circumstances… I don’t know her too well otherwise. But I know what it’s like to be lost. I don’t know how to help her. If you two have changed so much, and… and me being there would just be a reminder…”

    And there Owen went again, walking in his own world and looking through the cupboard for another berry.

    “Owen,” Zena reminded.

    “Oh—sorry. I was thinking.”

    “I could tell,” Zena said with a chuckle. She slithered into the kitchen. “Please, you could at least think out loud here…”

    “Okay. Well, I was thinking about ways to help her indirectly. And I was also thinking about all the other stuff I’ve been trying to do before, you know, with my Worldcore experience. And I was wondering if maybe…”

    Zena squinted when Owen trailed off. “What, use the Worldcore to… do what, exactly? You can’t control people with it, can you?”

    “Well, uh, you can if you’re close enough, but no, that’s not what I mean,” Owen said. “I was thinking it might have information on something that could help. Like, maybe someone with a similar personality?”

    Zena blinked. “…You want to… use the power of the universe to find Mhynt a potential mate.”

    “…When… you say it out loud, that’s pretty selfish, isn’t it?” Owen winced. “It’s not just a mate, though. Even just a friend. But… something else, then…”

    Zena sighed and coiled around their little nest of fresher grass. Owen finally climbed into the center, though his movements were mechanical. Once again, his mind was somewhere else.

    “Oh,” he finally remembered to vocalize. “That does remind me, I have something world-level important I need to practice.” He sat up just as Zena was finished getting comfy.

    Zena uncoiled herself and rolled out of bed for several revolutions until she was on her back. “It doesn’t involve another person, does it? They might be asleep…”

    “Sleep’s optional for us.” Owen marched out of the house, leaving the bedroom dark.

    Zena had half a mind to take that option anyway, but… this was important. Maybe he would find an answer after all. Rolling one last time to get on her belly, she raised herself and followed the glow of his flame.

    A few streets down in the depths of midnight, the street’s Luminous Orbs along the ground reflecting off of his scales, Owen made his way to… Eon’s abode? What part of Owen’s plan involved Eon?

    Wait. Jirachi, of course. They needed Jirachi to prepare a few things with Nate for the next few battles. The power of a wish was limited, especially against another divine power, but Jirachi’s wishes specialized in Teleportation above all else. Channeling that sort of thing with the Worldcore would make their positions so much easier against whatever Alexander threw at them.

    “Owen,” Zena whispered once she’d caught up. “How do you plan on—”

    Lucas suddenly started barking inside.

    “Oh.”

    “Hi, hi, Lucas!” Owen said quickly.

    Lucas stopped barking and immediately tackled Owen, tail wagging.

    “Yes, yes, hi, Lucas,” Owen greeted, scratching him on the back of his neck.

    “Is something going on?” Jirachi called. “Oh, Owen…”

    A new flame appeared inside. Eon was awake and had turned into another Owen.

    “Hey. I completely forgot to ask you after all that other planning,” Owen said. “Do you have time tomorrow for some training?”

    “Owen, dear, it’s midnight…”

    A Gardevoir emerged from Eon’s home, followed shortly by Alex, who was wearing a little fuzzy hoodie he must have bought from the commercial district.

    “Owen, we were trying to… ‘sleep together,’” Alex said. “It was like a slumber party. I never had slumber parties. Always wondered what one was like.”

    Zena caught Jerry in the other room shoving a pillow into the window. Perhaps he and his group were making sure to fall asleep… She sympathized. Living with sleepless Pokémon was probably a real bother when they needed sleep.

    “What training?” Jirachi asked.

    “Wishes,” Owen said. “We need as much wish power as we can to fight Alexander. I know, I know”—He raised his hands when Jirachi was going to object.—“Doesn’t work well on divine power. But it might help us for repositioning, and maybe even messing with a few ‘harmless’ coincidences? Right?”

    “Owen, it isn’t that easy,” Jirachi said. “And… I’m rusty on that. It’s been a thousand years…”

    “I know! But I have a thousand years of experience with this sort of thing! It’ll even out. We can try to work together, but I just need to know how to do it…”

    Jirachi sighed, gesturing for the others to return to bed. They gratefully obeyed, but Jirachi—and Eon—followed Owen. Zena kept with them.

    “We’re training tonight?” Zena asked. “I thought Owen said tomorrow.”

    “We can talk a little. Then we’ll discuss what we might be able to do,” Jirachi said. “For instance… Owen, my wishes aren’t just me doing things that I want. The whole reason I’m part Psychic is because the wish must resonate with a wish maker. I let it manifest, but it’s the other person's desire that I’m amplifying. It takes a lot of energy for me to do anything else, and we can’t afford to waste that kind of energy.”

    “So, in other words, you’d need someone to resonate their desire with you?” Owen asked.

    “So, a tactician,” Zena hinted. “All the more reason for… some practice. You two already resonate a lot.”

    “Y-yeah. We do. But… Owen, if Eon and I fuse, that could get… awkward.”

    “Oh.” Zena winced. Right. Eon and Owen ‘resonated,’ too, but there was still a lot of baggage behind that. She glanced at him, though he was intentionally keeping to the back of their group.

    “Maybe it’s a good thing we’re holding off on that,” Eon said quietly. “I… don’t really know what I should do here. Jirachi needs the strength… I know Rim and Celebi are going to recombine soon, but only after this whole Emily thing…”

    Owen had a pensive look in his eyes. He wasn’t saying anything. She didn’t see any tension in his walk, but…

    “We can tackle that later,” Owen said quietly, stopping once they were at the edge of town. “But, you’re saying that someone needs a desire that resonates with a wish, and then you can grant it?”

    “That’s the abstract description, but… yes.”

    Owen nodded. “It’s one of the most complex calls to the Worldcore, to the point where we may not even know how it manifests, or if it might backfire. It’s risky, right?”

    “The purer the wish, with as few stray thoughts as possible, the less likely it backfires. I think we should limit these things to only pure, strong needs, or very technical specifics. Anything, you know, wishy-washy or misguided could leak other desires into how the wish plays out.”

    “Oh.” Zena raised her head. “Is that why you needed a ‘Wishkeeper’ in the first place?”

    “Precisely.” Jirachi floated over the Charizard’s head. “Owen’s role was to read someone’s past and present to see if their wish was pure or driven by something selfish or misguided. That’s why Necrozma gave him powers over past and present—his Perceive.”

    “But… Owen lost the power of the past,” Zena said. “Where did it go?”

    “It may just be sealed,” Jirachi said. “Seeing into someone’s history is a lot stronger and more intensive than his Perceive. Perceive is just an instant in time. But ‘Past Perception’ is a stretch of time. A whole dimension bigger.”

    “Even the glimpses were disorienting,” Owen agreed. “And… I don’t know if seeing someone’s past is that useful right now. I haven’t tried reawakening it.”

    “It could be,” Zena said. “You should try when we have time, Owen.”

    “Sure.” Owen nodded. “Maybe if we have spare time before Emily… or after Emily. Oh, I need to talk to Tanneth, that’s right…”

    Busy, busy, Zena smiled and said, “But, anyway… Owen just needs a strong, pure desire for a wish to be easier to grant without side effects, right?” She practically hinted at him when she continued, “Owen, do you have something like that?”

    “And it can’t be, ‘I want to defeat Alexander’ or something,” Jirachi warned. “He’s too strong for my powers to work on him like that. I’d… need more time to build up the energy for anything at that level.”

    “No, I know,” Owen said. “Worldcore was the same way. But that’s alright. I have… one idea for practice.”

    “Oh?” Zena had a good idea what it was. “And… you’re sure it’ll… work?”

    Owen shook his head. “No. But I want to try. And maybe… it would be good anyway. For everyone, not just—I mean…”

    “What’s the wish?” Eon asked carefully. “Sounds like you already know what it is, Zena.”

    “Just a guess.”

    Owen smiled. “Yeah. It’ll take a bit of explaining. But I think it’s the perfect wish—something that doesn’t alter anyone, but moves a few coincidences around. Practice to get the ‘rust’ off you, Jirachi. And, you know, a long time ago, I had a similar wish done to me…

    “My wish is. . .”

    <><><>​

    “King me.”

    Mu swished her tail and growled, tossing a play token to Mhynt. “You do it,” she muttered.

    “Now, now,” Mhynt said with an entertained smirk. “Never lost a game before?”

    “No, I lose all the time,” Mu said with another growl. “You’re worse than Dad. At least he misplays a few times on purpose to give me a chance.”

    “Does he know you know?” Mhynt asked as Mu considered the board.

    “’Course he does. We sorta have a mutually assured destruction thing going on.”

    Mu captured two of Mhynt’s pieces. “Ha! How about that, huh?”

    Mhynt, without hesitation, moved another piece and hopped and claimed four of Mu’s in one move.

    “What… but I…”

    “It may be late, but I do some of my best thinking in the dark,” Mhynt said, taking the tokens. “Don’t worry. I only have a thousand times more years than you for experience.”

    “Oh, don’t give me that!” Mu complained. “I have a million game losses in my head from walking around humanity and stuff! That has to mean something!”

    “That means you have nothing but losing strategies in your head,” Mhynt countered.

    “Nuh-uh, some of them were winning plays that just didn’t feel good anymore because they lost a ton of times before, and stuff. You know, kinda like how you really need to go to the bathroom, but you’re holding it for way too long so by the time you’re outta the meeting, it’s not even a relief anymore, just—”

    “I think I understand,” Mhynt said, gesturing for Mu to make her move.

    “Aw, do I have to keep playing? How about I just stick my hand over for a shake and forfeit?”

    “You still have a winning play,” Mhynt pointed out. “It just takes three moves.”

    “What?” Mu studied the board closely as if having her eyes closer to the checkerboard would reveal the answer.

    Mildly entertained, Mhynt adjusted the dim Luminous Orb to show the board better. Mu’s half-Shadow tail didn’t light the room as much as a normal flame. Some water glistened on Mhynt’s wrist and she quietly found one of her new scarves to wipe it. Between plays, she sometimes cried, but Mu was energetic and understanding when she had to pause.

    “Aghh, I’m too old-young for this!” Mu declared, throwing her arms in the air. “I forfeit.” The little Charmander fell onto her back, hands over her eyes.

    “If that’s your choice,” Mhynt said with a chuckle, resetting the board.

    Mu suddenly sat up and looked behind her. Was someone there? No, she didn’t hear anyone, and her night vision was pretty good… Nobody was there.

    “Hey…” Mu looked back. “Is it okay if I bring company?”

    “What? Well… if you think it’s…”

    Mu vanished.

    “Oh.”

    So that’s what it felt like when Mhynt randomly disappeared mid-conversation. Maybe she should consider that next time.

    “Hey, hey!” someone shouted—Hakk, one house over.

    “You!”

    “How did you get in my house?!”

    “Come, you’re coming with me, get up, get out of bed. Wait, take this. And this, and this too.”

    “You aren’t answering me! How did you get in?”

    Mhynt heard shuffling. A door opened. After a couple awkward minutes of Hakk muttering confused curses to himself and Mu asking if he needed this or that, Hakk left the building. One way or another, Mu had convinced or forced Hakk out of his own home and into Mhynt’s. The double-sized, icy Sandslash stopped once he spotted the Treecko inside.

    “Oh. Hey, neighbor.”

    Mhynt nodded formally.

    “…What’s going on with your scales?”

    “What?”

    When the door opened, a bit of light from the Luminous Orbs shone on her face. Mhynt felt her cheeks and realized they were still wet. Curse the humidity of a warmer winter night—nothing dried quickly anymore.

    “It’s nothing,” Mhynt said. “I just… finished washing my face before bed.”

    Mu sighed exasperatedly. “You two both need to not be alone in the dark, but there’s only one of me,” she said. “So, you’re spending the night here. Okay?”

    Hakk crossed his arms. “And who made you queen of emotions?”

    “Birthright. I know every negative emotion you’re feeling right now.”

    Hakk squinted, then turned his blue eyes to Mhynt.

    “She’s not wrong. She’s a spawn of Dark Matter.”

    Mu puffed out her chest.

    Hakk clearly wanted to protest. Mhynt could sympathize. He’d been dragged out of his home, placed in front of the person who’d stabbed him and claimed his soul, and then told that they were roommates for the night.

    So, when Hakk sighed and headed into the kitchen, Mhynt tilted her head in surprise. “You’re entertaining this? I didn’t ask for it either, you know.”

    “She’s not gonna stop until we give it a try,” Hakk said in resignation. “I can’t sleep. Head’s buzzing with…” He sighed. “You tired?”

    “Not really, no. Mu and I were playing checkers.”

    “Why?”

    Mhynt shrugged.

    “Alright, I respect it. Then, c’mon.” Hakk studied the cabinets, tapping his chin with two claws. “Let’s make a ruin-our-bodies midnight snack.”

    Mhynt, dumbfounded, glanced at Mu. Even she looked surprised.

    “Well,” Mhynt said. “Alright.”

    The winds calmed just in time for the clay stove’s Flame Orb to hum.

    “Mu didn’t sense you until just now,” Mhynt said. “Did you wake up?”

    “Hey, don’t probe,” Hakk replied. “…Yeah. Nightmare, I guess.”

    “Oh.” Mhynt nodded. “I understand.”

    Hakk stopped arranging bagged foods on the counter. “…What, no follow-up question?”

    “You said not to probe.”

    Mu snatched a bag of dried berries while Hakk wasn’t looking, just barely tall enough to reach it thanks to Mhynt’s shorter furniture.

    “Well, sure,” Hakk said, “but, I mean…”

    Mhynt helped Hakk sort and organize the food. “So. Ruin our bodies. What did you have in mind?”

    Hakk shifted his spines and pulled out a stashed bag of his own. “Sesame caramel berries,” he explained, revealing a bag of seeds mixed with caramel. “Goes good with other stuff, too.”

    “That doesn’t look like sesame,” Mhynt remarked. “Seems more—oh. Just assorted seeds.” Birdseed, but Mhynt made sure not to say it aloud.

    “Eh, yeah. I just… call it sesame,” Hakk said, voice softer. “Anyway…”

    They both stared at the berries awkwardly.

    “Cook it!” Mu said.

    The shout made the Sandslash jump. “Eh? The berries?”

    “Yeah. I mean, I know you two both probably suuuper hate fire, but melt the caramel onto the berries after you slice them, or, like, turn it into a dip!”

    “Well, you got the hate fire part right,” Hakk said. “But a little pipsqueak like you won’t do much hurting for us. So, c’mon. Get cooking, Little Miss Demon Chef, if you’ve got all the ideas.”

    “Hmph! Don’t mind if I do.”

    Mu got right to work, busying herself with the berries and caramel. She sputtered little flames that wouldn’t be enough to do any harm, but they were more than enough to prepare something hot for the night.

    Hakk rested against the wall, picking at his icicle spikes.

    Mhynt sat on the other side of the wall, the exit to the main room between them.

    “The air’s nice. Isn’t it?” Mhynt asked.

    “Eh? Oh. Yeah. Kinda forgot what the air was like when it wasn’t saturated with void dust.”

    Mhynt nodded.

    “…Figure it’s great here for you, too. Nobody to answer to, and… stuff.”

    Mhynt snorted. “I’m fine if you say it. It’s not like Alexander is gone just yet…” Her fingers squeezed on a blade that wasn’t there. “But if I have my way, I’ll carve through him myself.”

    “Heh.” Hakk shook his head.

    “Is that funny?”

    “Yeah. You’re a lot braver than I am.” Hakk curled his knees to his chest, watching Mu cook. “I dunno what I want specifically. But I want all of this gone. Maybe I’ll move somewhere quiet, start fresh…”

    “That sounds… nice,” Mhynt said, leaning back.

    “But I’ve been trying to keep busy,” he added. “Hey, you know… if you’re looking for something, how about you help out at the hospital?”

    “What?”

    “Yeah, that’s kinda… where I’ve been working.” Hakk looked bashful behind the creeping sleepiness. “And we’re expecting a huge influx tomorrow. They’re setting up a Teleporter to one of the last major settlements out east. So, any issues happening there are coming here if they can’t handle it.”

    “Oh. That does sound big…” Mhynt frowned. “And… we’re on the same team, aren’t we?”

    “Yeah. Uh, I wasn’t about to cozy up with the king of darkness and god’s daughter. Figure we’d try synergizing or whatever tomorrow.”

    “Is that our team?” Mhynt narrowed her eyes. “Owen really set me up with you, Diyem, and Leph? How does that fit together?”

    “He said for Leph to switch to Rock—did you really not look at the paper?”

    Mhynt didn’t expect the question so directly.

    “…Oh. Ohh.” Hakk cleared his throat. “Uh, sorry. Wow. Didn’t put that together until now.”

    “It’s alright. I’m fine. Or, better. He came over, we talked, it’s…”

    “A real piece of work, that guy,” Hakk muttered. “Comes swooping in thinking he can solve everyone’s problems…”

    Mhynt found herself laughing. “Well… some things don’t change.”

    “Done!” Mu raised a small bowl with little chopped berries coated in globs of seed-encrusted caramel. She spun on her heel and presented it to them both. “Alright, try it!”

    Hakk took the first one, chewing thoughtfully. “How about that,” he commented between bites. “A little warmth isn’t too offensive, I guess.”

    Warmth. Right. That was another simple pleasure the surface provided her. The Voidlands had ‘warmth,’ yes, but it was a hollow, dusty warmth. Nothing like the sun’s radiance.

    After just her first caramel-seed berry, Mhynt’s eyes felt heavy.

    “What, tired already?” Hakk asked, going for a second one.

    “I’ll stay up a little…” It was her reflex to defy.

    Mu happily popped a few in her mouth as well. “Warm and sweet really helps you relax,” she said. “At least if you don’t get the sugar rush.”

    Whatever else they were saying, Mhynt didn’t mind. The evening’s exhaustion finally returned to her and she slipped away amid their idle conversation…

    <><><>​

    Owen was still awake when the morning sun peeked over the caldera’s edge. Not that he had to sleep. But the sun signaled to him that it was time for some final conversations.

    First, Owen checked on Nate to make sure he was okay after their wish practice. He knew there was no telling when the wish would come into effect—perhaps that night, perhaps today—but the energy was expended, and it was minimal. Hopefully, that meant it was easy… or Mhynt already had the means.

    Nate was fine, though he was anxious about something. Necrozma was on the move again, though he wasn’t heading toward Kilo Village or any known settlements. Perhaps he was chasing the sun to gather more power.

    Then, he checked notices for if Brandon had returned. As part of the final preparations, he used the old factory Arceus had told Brandon to guard. They needed a way to immobilize Emily perfectly if they wanted her stuck in one place for the Purification Circle to work. A simple Poke Ball may not be enough, but the pause while she escaped—perhaps, repeated capture attempts—would be all the time they needed.

    Brandon had returned with an inventory of all Poké Balls still operational. They were unfortunately not too abundant, counting ten total that could reliably hold a god. Still, for a factory that survived two thousand years… Even with a Guardian’s power preserving it, that was impressive.

    And lastly, Owen needed the person who’d lure Emily to them in time. After checking the Teleportation route schedule, Owen knew that Tanneth would be transported to Kilo Village at its sunrise. It was part of her route of eternally luring Emily without getting her into any major settlements.

    The scouts were incredibly smart to figure out a path and how to control Emily that way.

    “She should be up ahead,” Owen told Zena.

    “I hope she’s okay. This must be awful for her…”

    Owen nodded gravely. It was one thing to know her other half existed at all, or that it was corrupted by Shadow. But it was another entirely to realize they, as a couple, were… a single person in total. A mind-bendingly tragic example of a soulmate.

    “Would you like to talk to her first?” Owen asked. “I know you and Tanneth were sort of friends before you went into hiding…”

    “I would, if it’s not any trouble.”

    Owen shook his head. “We’re ahead of schedule.”

    Zena took the lead, gently rapping her ribbon against an unassuming, single-story home along the main road that led to Heart HQ.

    Two Pokémon—a Golem and an Accelgor—stood in the way, but then eased up once they recognized her. They stepped aside.

    “Oh, Zena!” And in the house, a heavy-eyed Vaporeon sprang to her feet. “Yeah! I knew, um, I knew you’d show up! No, I mean, that you came back!”

    “Yes! Yes, we have. It’s been so long…”

    “Feels like forever. It’s hard to feel restful when I’m sleeping in a new place every night…”

    “It should be over soon,” Zena assured Tanneth. “We’re going to attempt the Purification Circle tomorrow. Did they tell you about that?”

    Tanneth nodded. “My route was modified for it. Right at War’s End out east.”

    “The last remaining mutants at Eon’s old lab, and the Beammaker, are also there,” Owen said. “It’ll help subdue Emily if we need even more time to keep her pinned. Between Alexander, Necrozma, Ghrelle, and Emily… she’s the most durable. I hope you aren’t worried about hurting her too much…”

    “No, it’s… it’s okay.” Tanneth pawed at the ground. “It’s okay…”

    Owen felt the tension in their body language. It wasn’t ‘okay.’ It was ‘necessary.’ Like everything else in this fight. For all the planning Owen was doing, he was asking for so much sacrifice from others and they were going along with it.

    Just like Wishkeeper.

    “…Tanneth,” Owen said, “it’s okay if you don’t want to do this. I have… other contingencies if you don’t want to be there. You’re innocent in all this. You didn’t know you were Emily’s other half, or that Emily would turn out this way. Even if you share her soul, you’re not ‘her’ right now. If you want to stay out of this…”

    And for a moment, Tanneth looked tempted. Felt tempted, by the way her body curled and subtly retreated, as if preparing to hide rather than fight.

    So, Owen was surprised when her words betrayed that language. “I’m going to stand up to the Shadows,” she said. “I saw the Voidlands. I lived in there, and… I don’t want anyone to go back to that. E-ever. So, if I have to face my other half at her worst… fine! So don’t talk me out of it.”

    “Talk… you out of it.” But his plans had involved someone talking her into it…

    “Owen,” Zena said gently. “Now isn’t the time to feel guilty about asking for help.”

    Owen winced. She saw right through him. “I just didn’t want to make old mistakes.”

    “I know. But this time, it’s okay. You aren’t spearheading the whole operation. Scouts, Hearts, those close to Emily—we’re also helping you.” Zena gestured to Tanneth. “This isn’t your fight anymore. Okay? This is Tanneth’s.”

    The Vaporeon’s black, shiny eyes mustered an intense glare at nothing.

    Owen relented. “Right. Not just my fight. It’s the world’s.”

    Zena’s gaze had suddenly gone over Owen’s shoulder. Moments later, a Greninja entered his Perceive range.

    “Owen!” he called. “Charizard Owen! R-right? That’s you?”

    “Uh, yeah.” He turned around. “What’s wrong?”

    The Greninja held a badge with a slightly sky-blue hue. A mark of a Heart scout.

    “We, ah, we have a message from War’s End who were preparing the fields. We need to accelerate everything. To today.”

    “What? Today?”

    “We need you at War’s End now. We’ll gather the people needed for the Circle.”

    Owen looked at Zena. She nodded at him, then Tanneth, who hopped onto her back.

    “I’ll help rally them,” she said.

    “Okay,” Owen said, first to Zena, and then to Greninja. “What’s happening? What should I prepare for?”

    “It’s Necrozma,” Greninja said. “He’s at War’s End… and fighting Emily as we speak!”
     
    Chapter 182 - Burn The Sky
  • Namohysip

    Dragon Enthusiast
    Staff
    Partners
    1. flygon
    2. charizard
    3. milotic
    4. zoroark-soda
    5. sceptile
    6. marowak
    7. jirachi
    8. meganium
    9. namo-rock
    Chapter 182 – Burn The Sky

    Black rain and bright flashes plagued the great fissure that was War’s End.

    This was where they had found Valle so long ago. Owen winced as the black water stung his scales. Shadows. And he was naturally Radiant most of the time. Did he need to channel Shadows to counter the sting?

    There was a great irony in that. He knew he’d need to tap into Radiance again later, but for now…

    The flame on his tail darkened. Owen wiped his hand on an invisible wall before him, forming a black shield to confirm that Shadows were now the dominant energy within him.

    Instantly, that stinging eased. Just as he thought; the corrupt rains only ate away at those not already shrouded in darkness.

    “Okay,” Owen whispered, mind racing with his priorities. Safety of the guards. Securing Necrozma and Emily. Making sure their special forces had a clear shot. Could he accomplish all of them at once? Most of them? What was the best option?

    He naturally tended toward protecting the guards. They could divert and distract, but against something like Emily, Owen wasn’t sure if even their divine forces could put much of a dent in her. That was what the whole plan was for in the first place. Why was she so strong?

    Within Owen’s range, he saw many Pokémon hiding under makeshift shelters, unable to recover against the onslaught of the Shadow Sky. Even against others trying to suppress the downpour with their own weather, Emily’s Shadows overpowered it.

    Getting the backup Hearts’ forces in healthier conditions was Owen’s priority.

    The air shook with a concussive wave. Owen braced against the ground, wincing when the wind left him from the shock. If that did damage to him, he could only guess the damage the other Hearts suffered.

    He tuned his Perceive. Yes, several had doubled over, bleeding from their noses or mouths. Others, sturdier, carried them to get assistance, and that’s when Owen decided on his priorities.

    Owen stomped next to the Waypoint he’d entered from and channeled his Shadow blessings into the ground. Then, he focused on his Protect.

    First, the barrier appeared around him. Then, he shrank it until the barrier pressed against his scales and siphoned into his body. A pulse of power rolled through his shoulders and into his hands.

    He slammed them onto the ground. A dark ring radiated around the center of where he stood. He pressed more, tail flaring with black fire, until his aura’s reach went far enough to reach the Waypoint. Then he pressed a few feet further, creating a ring about twenty feet in diameter.

    “Hrrrgh!”

    And from the ring emerged a dome ten feet high, so dark it obscured much of the outside world, but something that deflected the rain… and withstood its darkness.

    It wouldn’t last long. But he had to hold it to keep the essence there. He remembered doing this before, a hazy time many years ago… He remembered rain and thunder and fire that time. Why was this familiar? He shook his head.

    Moments later, the Waypoint activated, sending in Zena with the first batch of the Circle’s teams. Team Alloy was among them.

    “Guys! Sorry for the short notice, but I have a quick mission. Prioritize yourselves, but try to get the hurt Pokémon out there into this barrier.”

    Gahi, among the first to arrive, disappeared. Moments later, Gahi returned with two Pokémon under his arms.

    “Oi, Demitri!” he huffed. “Need yer strength!”

    “I’ll heal,” Mispy added, sliding to the fallen.

    With a thankful nod, Owen swiftly flew out of the barrier once he was confident it was set up properly. Just as he left, he suddenly doubled back.

    “And!” he added. “Reinforce this barrier where you can! Reflect, Light Screen, anything to maintain it so the Shadows keep their shape.”

    “They’re… a substance?” Mispy asked.

    “I—I don’t know, Pokémon energy contains it, so barriers keep it barrier-shaped.” Owen shrugged hastily. “And tell everyone the same thing. That’s the plan until everyone’s gathered.”

    They all nodded just as Zena left to gather the next batch.

    Moments later, Phol entered the dome, having to duck to get inside, while hauling a Roserade and Heliolisk over his shoulder. Owen helped set them down.

    “How are things?” Owen asked.

    “Bad.” His fur was darker, like he’d been covered in ashy water, and his stance was hunched over to conserve energy. “But better now that you’re here to back us up.”

    “Right.” Owen looked Phol over. “You should stay here now. The others are helping to gather the rest.”

    “I can still go out and—”

    “No, because I need you to do something harder. Hold up your arms to the barrier above.”

    Phol gave Owen a quizzical look. Lightning flashed outside, followed shortly by a rumble and two roars. He held his arms up.

    Owen brought one arm down and pointed a claw at the Incineroar. “Bestow,” he whispered.

    Ownership of the barrier transferred from Owen to Phol; its aura tether invisible snapped from Owen and latched onto Phol.

    “Ng—”

    “Hold it steady.”

    “…This is… the strongest barrier I’ve…”

    “But you can hold it?”

    Phol’s arms steadied after the initial shock. He brought them down, but stared at it as little embers flowed around his waist.

    “Yes. I have it now,” he said.

    “It’ll follow you, so don’t move too much. People will get rained on.”

    “Understood. Now leave.”

    Owen couldn’t help but smile wryly at the directness. But Phol had a point.

    Okay. With that done, Owen now had to gauge the threat level of two gods clashing in the skies.

    The dark waters pelted his body harmlessly; the flashing lights dazzled his vision. He dulled his Perceive to ignore the rain, turning them into a blurry swath so he could focus on larger bodies in the air. In the dark, he Perceived a hollow, fleshy Lugia-shaped thing warring against a collection of floating crystals. Necrozma was made of mostly ‘light’-like energy in his battle form, making detecting his actual movements difficult in the light-eating rains.

    He couldn’t tell who was more tired, or if they were in a deadlock. He was a good hundred or so feet above the ground, and they were another fifty feet higher. He couldn’t see where the energy blasts were going and could only guess through how Emily’s mouth opened or the way Necrozma’s crystals shifted. Sometimes, he caught glimmers of shockwaves as the air compressed enough that his Perceive detected it. Otherwise, he could see very little. This was not a fight for him to dive into recklessly.

    Relying on his eyes for once, Owen squinted past the flashes and the blurring rain. Each flash showed an outline of the fight. Necrozma was a mixture of black and white rather than his usual, golden glow. The power of Chaos drove him; even his Radiance went against his senses. But why were they fighting? Or was Necrozma resisting the Shadows?

    This was the last development they expected. It felt like it was on the cusp of being advantageous, had it not been for how they could no longer control Emily’s trajectory. The distortions in the air… Owen felt a Dungeon forming. If this went any longer, it could slowly rip a hole in the patchwork he’d made with the Worldcore, undoing all the Dungeon seals.

    Lightning flashed, dazzling Owen again. He covered his eyes. That one was too close.

    Then came a blast searing over his head. He roared—Radiance, that was Radiance, and it burned. It was like he was Grass in an inferno.

    Owen desperately scratched at his head out of instinct, putting out a fire that wasn’t there. He spiraled halfway to the ground to recover.

    The two vessels of Dark Matter continued their clash in the skies. That was just a stray blast. In this obscuring rain, Owen couldn’t parry the attacks properly. But if he could get a rhythm for it…

    Another flash. This time, Owen timed his Protect blindly just as a bolt nicked the barrier. Perfect! Owen reached for that power and grasped it for himself, studying it.

    The Mimic worked. He was getting good at this, even for exotic attacks like these. Still stray shots, so they didn’t notice Owen. This was just random destruction.

    Good enough for now. Owen descended into the Shadow Protect dome.

    By now, most of the Circle had come together.

    “What’s the situation?” Diyem asked, though it sounded more like a demand. He was a dark Charizard again.

    “Necrozma and Emily are fighting each other. Do you have any idea why that’s happening?”

    “No.” Diyem’s throat rumbled with a pensive growl. “My only theory is Necrozma’s resisting and lashing out. Can we use that to our advantage?”

    “They didn’t even notice I was there,” Owen said. “I think we should prepare the Circle a little further off. Then, we have our blasters coax them into the Circle, and we use Tanneth as a lure once we can separate Necrozma from Emily.”

    Amia spoke up, “Is there any sign of one of them losing?”

    “I can’t tell. To my Perceive, Necrozma’s just crystals and Emily’s… Emily.”

    Another thunderclap made several guards shudder.

    “Get the Hearts that’re too shaken out of here,” Owen said. “How are our numbers?”

    “We lost about a quarter of our forces,” Diyem said. “Most of them to injuries, but a few are corpses somewhere on the field.”

    Cold pressure held Owen’s heart, but he nodded. This was going to happen. The Hearts insisted on fighting, but they were fighting gods.

    “Hey, don’t get distracted,” Sera piped up, clenching her right paw. “We’ll get all that sorted once this is over. Remember, gods can step in when gods mess up. Xerneas can try to get them back… if we have a world left! Right?!”

    “Right. Right.” That was true. Even Barky wouldn’t object to that use of Xerneas’ power.

    “Remember,” Diyem said firmly, “As far as this divine war is concerned, death is transferring from one squad to another. The dead are preparing the aether for whatever darkness leaks that way. Our only true losses are those who fall to Shadows.”

    “Right.” So long as Xerneas survived…

    Getting a pep talk from the emissary of darkness. Owen held back a smile when he addressed the Circle with a rally.

    “The flashes come in a rhythm! At the next flash, five seconds after, fly south!” He pointed. “Get on your fliers, and then fly a distance of Gahi’s five seconds!”

    “Heh. That a challenge?” Gahi flexed his wings and nodded. “Sure, I’ll lead.”

    “Gahi, try to glow with your… star-wings, too. It might cut through the dark to guide everyone else your way.”

    “Yeh.”

    The dazzling lights barely cut through the Shadow dome.

    “That’s the flash,” Owen hastily shouted.

    One… two… three…

    Something boomed five feet from the dome’s east side. A wayward blast narrowly missed them.

    Four… five.

    “Circle, GO!”

    The dome emptied until it was just a handful of others that Owen hadn’t included in the Circle as combat backup. Among them was Zena, tending to several wounded Hearts, and Aster, hiding from the flashing explosions.

    “Aster, where’s your Mom?”

    “H-huh?”

    Owen heard a curse, followed by Star entering his Perceive range.

    “Never mind,” Owen said. “Star!”

    “Hey, Owen,” Star grunted, dripping with black rainwater. “I got some intel for you.” She cursed a few more times as she tried to lighten several bruise-like patches on her body.

    “Star, what were you—fine, what intel?”

    “If you attack Necrozma, he attacks back and draws closer to you. Emily follows Necrozma. Attack Emily, she ignores you, so don’t bother. But I think a big enough hit can knock her around.”

    “That’s… that’s useful,” Owen agreed. If they struck Necrozma enough, they could lure him to the Circle, and then knock Emily into it. Then it was just a matter of capturing Emily and completing the Purification. But… they could not let Necrozma get close to the Circle. He’d obliterate them.

    “Also, your plan didn’t have me in it, but it’s got Barky. Does he know when to Teleport there after his bombardment?”

    “I’ll send him a prayer,” Owen said. “That lower back brain of his is still working, right?”

    “Butt brain, yeah.” Star nodded. Despite a few dark splotches on her thigh and left cheek, she was energized again. “What’s my job?”

    “Are you sure you can keep fighting, Star? We can’t lose another god here.”

    “I’ll be fiiine.” Star nodded. “If things get hairy, I’ll blip out, promise.”

    He didn’t like Star’s assurances. Flimsy. Overconfident. She was still scared of Shadows, but she was also strong as one of Kilo’s main gods…

    No time to hesitate. “I’ll go left. You go right. Try to follow my flame and stay opposite of me.”

    “I’ll put up a big, purple barrier, so follow that,” Star said. “Are we trying to play target practice with them?”

    “It’ll divert attention from the Hearts.” And they couldn’t afford to be hit as often.

    Another flash and boom on the ground. Several remaining Hearts shuddered at the prospect of going out again.

    One Heart sputtered, “I-if I die, Xerneas will revive us, right?”

    “Forget that, I don’t wanna learn what dying feels like!” another Heart said. “But… that’s… p-part of the job. At least for now…”

    “Don’t get too close. Just strike at Necrozma when you can see. And when you’re weak, dive back into this barrier and into the Waypoint if you have to fall back. Okay. Everyone, positions! Ready… go!”

    Owen returned to the skies. Star flashed her violet barrier as she disappeared into the flashing darkness. Dark water splashed over Owen’s scales, instantly blinding him at his high speed.

    Once they entered his Perceive range again, Owen slowed until the water wasn’t obscuring his vision as badly. Between flashes, he saw Emily’s outline. The two titans were locked into a melee brawl, Necrozma’s wings burning into Emily’s body just as quickly as she could regenerate.

    This time, he was ready for the stray blasts. He parried the first one and twisted his body so the shield propelled him away from the incoming wave, diverting most of the force into the horizon. He could only hope that most people had already evacuated from the far reaches of the combat zone.

    The second blast came from Emily, finally paying attention to the new fighter in the fray. Owen had a guess it was his Radiance. Twisting, dark air spiraled toward Owen and he dove down. Star’s purple sphere gave him a reference point for where to stay relative to Necrozma and Emily, distorted as it was from the rain against his shield.

    “Owen! Owen!” He barely heard his Communicator over the latest flash and snap of the dark sky. She hastily rummaged through his bag, his claw necklace tapping his chin, and pulled it out.

    “Eon?” Owen could only guess by how the voice sounded like him.

    “Beammaker is online! The power is… a little weak without Lavender, and a lot of the equipment is damaged, but we can get one good shot! Where do we aim?”

    Where to aim. Emily would regenerate it. They didn’t need to hurt Emily. It was Necrozma that was the problem.

    “Aim at Necrozma. When I shout to fire, do it, okay? We need to get him out of the picture for this to work!”

    “Okay!”

    Hopefully, Nate would get the signal from that.

    Arceus, can you hear me? Owen said. If you can take aim, strike Necrozma through the dark. We can handle Emily as long as Necrozma is down.

    He received no answer. He could only hope Barky was ready with his Judgment to smite from Destiny Tower.

    A whirlwind formed on all sides with Owen in the eye of the storm. He shifted his Protect into a full sphere and closed up his body’s stance. Another Shadow Aeroblast carved the air and compressed his Protect to the point where its resonant pressure strained his bones. The wind was starting to break through the cracks. Something thumped repeatedly against his chin—his mother’s claw on his necklace again.

    His eyes trailed down to try to adjust it when he happened to see a bright light from below. Necrozma had pulled away from Emily to strike him!

    “Gah!”

    Owen’s barrier, as a sphere, couldn’t take a direct blast from Necrozma. He sacrificed his back protection to the last of the Aeroblast and concentrated the Protect toward Necrozma’s Chaos light.

    It was narrowly enough. Owen grasped at the same energy, siphoning a small strip of it until it coiled around his wrist, crackling like fire under rain.

    Emily was flying toward Tanneth’s spot again…

    He closed his wings and went into a free fall. He had to catch up to Emily, though he kept his shield behind him now. He needed some distance. A dazzling flash of light blinded him again and he squeezed his eyes shut.

    Owen focused on his Perceive, sparing a second to make sure he wasn’t about to be ambushed—only to spot a single entity fending Emily off singlehandedly. Struggling, making no progress on harming her, but holding her off.

    “Migami—no! You can’t keep it together as—”

    “We got this!” Migami shouted back. “Heh! We got a little desperate, but we learned somethin’ new, Owen!”

    “What?” Owen whispered. They were… sane.

    “The reason our fusion went wrong all the time,” Migami continued. They dodged an Aeroblast with grace before flinging an axe straight into Emily’s eye, earning a roar of anger. “Wasn’t Nevren’s calcs at all! Wasn’t even an instability with the power!”

    Migami Teleported behind Emily and struck several times with quick jabs and finished with a Solar Beam once Emily spun around. Then, they disappeared and did the same thing again, finishing this time with a two-fisted slam on her back. She went pinwheeling fifty feet down.

    “It was the Trio! Our other halves!” Migami sliced at Emily’s wing, taking it clean off. It regrew in seconds. “They were th’ missin’ regulator, an’ Nevren couldn’ see them in all the math, I bet!”

    “The… the Decree messed up his schematics for us?!” Owen whispered.

    Of course. Eon had been trying to come up with this fusion project for a while, but didn’t realize that even with Demitri, Mispy, and Gahi as three of the components, their incomplete souls lacked the stability for a fusion. None of the other mutants were irreparably berserk, just them…

    Something warm distracted Owen, and it wasn’t just the warm fuzzies of his friends fighting by his side. He glanced down and realized that something in his bag—soaked with blackened rain—was glowing hot. Gaining some distance, he rummaged inside.

    “Oh—”

    That marble Xerneas had gifted him. They’d tried to train it and get it working in the human world, but it never worked beyond a slight boost in power. But this was different. What was going on?

    “Circle’s online and ready!” Eon reported through the Communicator. “I’m coordinating with some people at the Lab for the Beammaker, but…!”

    The Circle… Was that somehow resonating with this marble?

    “Ah—!”

    Suddenly, a rainbow light completely overtook Owen’s vision. It felt like hot water doused his whole body, tingling his scales and shifting parts of his body all at once. He was amorphous and then solid in a matter of seconds, the rush of battle suddenly thrilling him. But then, he reflexively regained his senses and thrashed within a barrier that had formed around him, shattering it all at once.

    “E-eh?!” Migami shouted. “Owen! Did yeh Shadow?!”

    “What?” Owen looked at his claws. His scales had turned… black? And from his cheeks, he saw blue flames. What? And why did…

    No. Not important right now. He could look it over later. His Perceive still worked; he still felt sane. That was all that mattered.

    Another flash lit the sky. The light pushed through his eyelids, revealing the pattern of his scales even while his eyes were closed. He felt Migami suddenly flinch from it. At that moment, Emily changed directions for a slam against the fused trio.

    “Migami! Watch out!” Owen said. “This is a big one!”

    “Doin’ what I can!” They blipped behind Emily again. This time, she was faster, striking Migami with a single, shockwave-producing wing slap. Migami tumbled into the air and out of Owen’s Perceive.

    They’d be fine. They’d be fine. Emily was going after them, but not after Tanneth. And that meant he could focus on Necrozma. He saw the crystals that made up Necrozma’s body shift. He recognized the gesture—he was conjuring a wormhole.

    “Oh, no, you don’t!”

    Owen beat his wings hard and conjured a blast of wind that nearly tore his wings apart. But they endured. He slammed headfirst into Necrozma’s chest, conjuring his Chaos spear, and plunged it toward his chest. Necrozma dodged to the left, toward the wormhole. Owen shifted for a shoulder check, slamming into Necrozma with a grazing blow—narrowly enough to spin Necrozma away from the wormhole, which fizzled out.

    Owen pulled his hand back, retracting the spear and turning it into a shapeless blob, and slammed it against Necrozma’s prism chest. His body was like a pool of magma, yet his Fiery form couldn’t resist it. The Chaos in his palm turned into a puddle of volatile energy. He infused his own and pressed into Necrozma’s prism armor.

    It cracked. That surprised Owen. This transformation… How much stronger were his claws? Everything felt so feeble against his raw strength.

    The air pressure behind him changed dramatically.

    With a powerful shove, Owen corkscrewed through the air and used the new cracks in Necrozma’s armor to hook his claws inside. He whirled Necrozma toward the incoming Aeroblast, giving his Protect a break.

    The dragon of light screeched wordlessly. His tail formed several Chaos spikes that stabbed Owen along his gut and chest.

    He wailed and let go, but now Necrozma was on the advance. Another beam of light shot through the cracks of Owen’s barrier, leaving a series of holes and lines across Owen’s chest.

    Wheezing, Owen Perceived the parts of his own body that had suddenly been burned straight through. About forty percent through his body. That was going to hurt later. For now, adrenaline kept him swinging.

    “Move aside, Owen,” Necrozma snarled. Owen was surprised he was lucid enough to speak.

    “Necrozma!” He could talk? “What are you doing? Snap out of it!”

    “There is nothing to snap out of. I am ending this world, as it always should have been.”

    Oh, good. Diyem’s nihilism was what had appealed to Necrozma.

    “The Shadows are talking, Necrozma. We can fix all of this if you just—”

    “Like you ‘fixed’ every other time?” Necrozma countered.

    They both dodged one of Emily’s stray Aeroblasts. It rumbled the ground, twisting a whole field of earth and trees into a muddy slurry. Seconds later, Migami shot Emily on the cheek with a Solar Beam—feeble under the darkened sky. It was enough to draw her attention.

    Unlike Necrozma, Emily was nothing but a raging beast. The Shadows had taken her over completely and shoved whatever was ‘Emily’ deep into darkness, leaving nothing but an emissary of destruction behind.

    But Necrozma. Maybe Owen could still reach out to him…

    “Necrozma, please! It’s not just me this time! The whole world wants this!”

    Necrozma scoffed, his body undulating with Chaotic light. Emily lunged for Necrozma, only for him to form a wormhole and warp Emily past him and to Owen, who parried her back with a Protect, kiting around her huge body. She tumbled to the ground, disoriented, giving Necrozma and Emily some time apart.

    “Then show me the world’s strength.”

    He raised his head and faced the sky. Suddenly, Owen couldn’t see anything. The Shadow Sky siphoned into a sphere above Necrozma.

    A low hum shook the air, rattling Owen’s chest and skull. That sphere was stronger than anything he’d seen before.

    Wait! This was what Nate usually dispelled. It was their clash to stop Necrozma from destroying the world outright. But Nate… he was still too far away, wasn’t he? Necrozma had gone completely off course.

    If this struck Kilo…

    The Chaotic ball burned the sky. Sunlight poured through the cracks in the clouds and siphoned into the sphere.

    “This will explode and annihilate every physical trace of you… perhaps even every spiritual trace, too. That is divine energy. And I should have done this a very long time ago.”

    “I’m thankful you didn’t,” Owen said back, searching for an opening, “and I know Kilo was always hanging on a thread, Necrozma! At your mercy… the mercy of the Overseers!” There was no opening—not without risking that light annihilating Kilo. “But now we’ll prove it! By purifying you… and then Emily!”

    “Then show me that power… before mine obliterates you! Show it, Usurper!”

    The ball was nearly charged. Even Necrozma looked like he was struggling to keep it contained. Owen could only watch and wait. He formed a plan… but it relied on a lot of faith in his own strength.

    “So, you knew I was a Usurper all along? Was that the term you gave me?”

    “Of course. It’s why you had to be eliminated… by erasure. Yet even then, you returned.”

    The hum of the ball reached its apex and then let out a shockwave. It was like staring at a marble that mixed the darkest black with the brightest white in a swirling, blinding vortex.

    “Now, Owen. Your final test!”

    Necrozma curved his body forward and hurled the ball toward Owen. The Charizard raised his hands and formed a Protect, only to realize that this, if deflected, would do even more damage than if it exploded in the air.

    “What will you do?!” Necrozma roared over the rumble. “Dodge it, and flee your burden? Deflect it, and offset the suffering to the world? Or will you face it and die in Kilo’s place?!”

    The ball of Chaos struck Owen’s Protect. But rather than deflect, Owen inverted the shield’s curve, turning it into a bowl.

    The Charizard roared, every muscle and every bit of his aura channeled into his shield. Chaos crackled over the edges and whipped at his cheeks, and shoulders, his wings and his legs. He couldn’t hold out like this. The edges of the Protect cracked, light pouring like stardust in the air. Lightning flashed, thunder boomed; he could barely hear.

    He just had to grasp it. He had to grasp this energy and control it. Just… flex his aura a little more…

    “Fall!”

    “Owen!” Star cried. A surge of energy washed over him like sunlight after a storm. She touched his shoulders a moment later, not minding the blood. “Sorry, I had to break formation,” she said. “Keep going! I’ll channel the energy I can!”

    The second wind was appreciated, but Owen’s elbows still strained. Star formed a Psychic platform for him to dig his feet into, and even then, his knees buckled against the incoming blast. He could only Perceive things now; his vision was clouded by the black-white, smoldering ball of Chaos behind his thinning Protect.

    “It won’t be enough,” Necrozma said. “You cannot grasp the power of an Overseer.”

    Owen hissed. He couldn’t afford a word, not even a word, without losing his concentration. He clenched his fists as the Protect closed in on the barrier, though it still couldn’t fully encapsulate it. Wait. Star had Teleported in.

    Desperate, he grasped at the power that lingered near Star… yes! It was still there! He pulled at the power she’d utilized seconds ago… He’d need it soon.

    His Protect cracked. He focused again, enclosing it more and more. Just a little further and he could make his move. Necrozma was pouring more and more power into the blast from afar. At this rate, if it exploded, a new mark would be on Kilo’s map, one larger than War’s End.

    The barrier fragmented, Chaos energy slicing across Owen’s muzzle. He winced and refocused on the Protect. He needed to pinpoint just the right spot…

    “Owen, you can’t hold out much longer!” Star whispered frantically. “My barrier can’t—”

    Owen tuned her out. Not yet. Just a bit more. The barrier almost completely enclosed the blast; he only needed a second for Necrozma to let up his onslaught. Blast by blast, the ball got more unstable, fighting against an ever-enclosing barrier. Sometimes, Necrozma tried to strike Owen from the sides with Wormhole-borne attacks—it was Star who deflected those.

    Necrozma had forgotten one thing with this blast. Owen was not just a Usurper who grasped at the powers of others and took it as his own, however temporary. He was also…

    Owen’s tail abruptly wrapped around Star, who made a startled squeak. Then, he utilized the power he’d grasped from her and Teleported himself, Star, and the ball attached to his Protect all at once.

    “What?!”

    Suddenly, Owen closed the gap between the two of them.

    And where Owen had been holding the ball of Chaos… Necrozma stood instead, within the great Protect barrier.

    Along with a Usurper, Owen was also a Bestower.

    “Radiant Bestow,” Owen breathed. Necrozma bathed in the Chaotic storm, prismatic eyes darting around to search for any kind of opening.

    Owen let go of Star with his tail before flipping through the air. His tail thwacked the Protect barrier—now Bestowed upon and attached to Necrozma—skyward.

    Necrozma immediately tried to warp away—but the Protect followed him no matter where he went, attached to his aura. And Necrozma was too frenzied to realize this in time… Or, considering he was inside that barrier, in too much pain.

    But he was still too close. Owen breathed in and paused. “Star,” he said, “help here!”

    “Uhh—help what?!”

    Owen breathed a far-reaching jet of fire toward the ball as Necrozma roared from within. The warping had stopped—but Necrozma was out of his Perceive range. He didn’t know if he was charging to break out or simply unconscious.

    “Oh, okay!” Star glowed and Teleported higher, creating a Psychic funnel that attached the Owen’s motes of fire, giving them a more solid presence. They pelted the Protect higher and higher. Necrozma couldn’t escape anywhere while inside—and if Owen had to guess, even if he tried to Wormhole out, the Protect would follow him.

    But it was still too close for that kind of blast. “Eon!” Owen shouted into his Communicator.

    “I—I see it!”

    They’d spent centuries together. Owen prayed Eon understood what he meant: “FIRE!”

    Less than a second later, a blinding line cut through the darkness and struck Necrozma’s sphere dead-on. Owen couldn’t hear anything after that. A new beam soared from over the horizon… The two beams countered each other, the net force propelling Necrozma higher and higher into the sky without straying in another direction.

    “Nate! Nate got his shot!” Owen cheered.

    “Hey, Owen!” Star shouted. “Maybe we should get down! That blast is…!”

    Owen glanced up. Something had ruptured. Uh oh.

    “Cover your eyes!” Owen shouted.

    But even when Owen did, he saw the pattern of the scales on his eyelids and the outline of his fingers’ bones. Star yelped in surprise and spun around. Owen Perceived her back spontaneously combusting. He Teleported between her and the blast, shielding her from the incoming energy even as his scales burned from a fire he could not fully comprehend. He never knew light could burn so much.

    And then the blast caught up to them. The light was so much faster than shockwaves.

    Owen couldn’t hear. One moment, there was a great, booming pop, and then something in his head snapped, and then he couldn’t hear anymore. He tasted metal. He pinwheeled through the air, catching the ground several thousand feet below with every rotation. Then, he closed his eyes, trying to refocus. In what felt like a second, the ground was suddenly only a hundred feet away.

    Coldness undulated over his body starting from his head and ending at his tail. His orange scales returned and that prismatic aura faded. And the fatigue of the battle hit him just as fast.

    “Kh—”

    Purple energy slowed his fall. He stretched his wings and called on the winds, slowing himself completely.

    The trees were on fire. The sand was pulverized like glass. But… Yes. The barrier was still up, like a last bastion that protected those who hid there. In fact, the original fighting area had taken very little of the blast.

    That was a relief…

    “Owen!” Star suddenly cried.

    The air’s density shifted.

    Emily!

    The realization had Owen acting on reflex, putting up a barrier on all sides, but it wasn’t enough. His barrier, after all the strain, was too flimsy. Dark winds cut through his golden Protect like butter—Owen realized his mistake of using Radiance too late—and then sliced open his scales just as easily. It spun and throttled him effortlessly through the wind. Owen clutched at his neck, holding his necklace in place, as he careened out of the blast line and toward the ground.

    He stretched his wings. One wing didn’t respond. One of his horns was blasted off his head—his Perceive wasn’t nearly as accurate, but… was he missing that wing? He opened his eyes with blurry vision and saw something vaguely wing-shaped spiraling ten feet away from him.

    That’s probably bad.

    Owen thought it calmly. He didn’t have the energy to panic anymore. He tried to channel the winds, but his aura was shot; he tried to glide down the old-fashioned way, but it wasn’t enough with just one tattered wing.

    He wondered if Barky would be able to act in time if he prayed.

    And then he felt Star under him, using her tiny but strong body to slow his fall. Slower and slower—it felt like a glide. He was flying.

    Owen Perceived the ground coming faster than a glide.

    Oh.

    With the last of his strength, Owen grabbed Star’s tiny body with one hand, wrapping it gently yet firmly around her abdomen. He tossed her skyward.

    He struck the ground and lost his second horn. A sickening crack rattled his neck in one place and his spine in two more. He lost all feeling in his legs. Nostalgic.

    For a few seconds, Owen braced for something more to happen, though all he could brace was a weak furrow of his brow. Nothing came. Everything was, for a blissful moment, peaceful. The wind blew ash and embers into his face, reminding him of a home long ago. He held his necklace, tracing the rope to the great claw at the bottom. Still intact. He’d have laughed if he could have.

    Something tiny was slapping his face. Felt like a little Mew. It was Eon or Star. Probably Star. That made more sense.

    He couldn’t talk or see or hear, though. That made this awkward. Instead, he focused on trying to repair himself. He couldn’t quite feel it… but he tapped into his Orb. After all this time, it still had its use. His limbs dissolved into roots that dug through the soil, expanding, and gathering nutrients. His one remaining wing grew leaves that soaked in the sunlight the blast had pierced through the skies. So much warmer…

    Star, Owen thought, realizing prayers would still get to her. Go to the others… Lure Emily. Complete the Circle. I can’t do anything right now…

    The tiny paws stopped shaking him.

    I’ll be fine. Can’t you tell? I’ve been through worse. I still have my head this time.

    A silence. Owen wondered if Star was still there. A foot kicked his cheek. Yeah, he deserved that one… But then, he felt her touch his cheek again. And then a hug… and then, her presence was gone. Good enough.

    It was getting hard to stay awake. Even as energy flowed into him, the warmth and peace after all that happened left him exhausted.

    He could only hope that the others could do it without him… and perhaps, he could recover fast enough to do his part in time.

    Arceus, Owen prayed. Fire your charge now! I got rid of Necrozma!

    Even with his mind fogging up with warmth and darkness, he pressed out one final shout.

    It’s time to complete the Circle!
     
    Last edited:
    Top Bottom