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Gen continued slashing at Orzo with Fury Cutters. He held onto that fear, that bravery, and channeled it through his knife, which glowed a pale green from the bug energy surging through it.
Hack, slash, cut, slice. He put his all into his swings, trying to damage the Golden King as much as he possibly could. With each swing of the knife, his attacks became more focused, more powerful.
He kept slashing, even as his head throbbed. (When did it get so hot?) He kept slashing, even as he felt it becoming hard to breathe. His breaths became rapid, shallow. (So, so hot.) He kept slashing, even as it felt like his heart was going to pound out of his chest. (It was burning, blistering, searing.) He kept slashing, even as he felt like he was going to vomit. (He mentally cursed his thick, uncomfortable fur.) He kept slashing, slashing, slashing, even as his thoughts started to blur. (It felt like his entire being was being evaporated away.) He kept slashing—
Gen collapsed, panting, barely conscious. "H-hhhhrrrreeelllp..."
Enora's song ended perfectly, culminating in rayquaza crashing to the ground in defeat before being drawn back into the ring it was summoned from, overwhelmed by the electric- and ice-type attacks the party send at it. Kimiko stood catching her breath, taking in the result of their efforts. Rayquaza was down. Orzo had taken a beating, thanks in part to Wallace summoning Manaphy to help wear him down, enough for Zack to manage to steal the ring he'd aimed for. And even yveltal's shield had formed cracks. They couldn't have asked for a better result.
(She wished she'd brought some water for herself; with Odette dancing alongside her while also keeping Odile in fighting form, Kimiko wasn't about to ask for one of hers. Not like she expected to be dancing during the battle...)
Kimiko turned back to yveltal with renewed confidence. Sure, they had a few quadruple-powered ice attacks in there, but the fact was that they'd taken down a legendary in one volley. They could do the same to yveltal (this one, anyway). They were strong, this team. They could do this!
Don't get cocky, her inner voice reminded. Confidence was good, but overconfidence was deadly. Still, she couldn't stop herself from turning to Orzo, arms crossed and grinning. "You're gonna have to do better than that, you rusted hula hoop," she teased. "Ready for the encore?"
Her grin slipped for a moment; why had Orzo directed his reply at her, Odette, and Violet in particular?
She didn't have time to ponder further, as Orzo somehow managed to split a signal beam technique across the area. Kimiko ducked down behind the rock barrier with Olivia at her side, only for the wall to explode into them and send them flying backwards. For a brief moment, her world was nothing but dust, gravity, and pain.
As that dust began to settle, she could make out Steven and Aggron nearby, already recovering from the attack. Kimiko's limbs ached as she forced herself back up into a kneeling position with a grunt; the shattered rocks left a number of mildly bloody scrapes along her arms, legs, and cheek. Nothing demanding attention, but not comfortable, either.
"Spii, spii!" Olivia cried out angrily, already back on her feet. She looked mostly unharmed; calm mind worked, and there was probably some luck involved that Aggron's barrier took the brunt of the bug-type attack. Kimiko couldn't see Lucy, wherever she'd gotten off to after freezing rayquaza - hopefully she'd managed to avoid the attack entirely. Her attention instead shifted to her companions. Violet was already recovering, and Odette looked more irritated than injured, which made some degree of sense.
Confirming that she and Enora were unharmed (more or less), Kimiko forced herself back onto her feet. It took a bit more effort than she'd expected, and by the time she managed to stand upright, she was sweating. It sure had gotten warm... she couldn't be so out of shape that one dance exhausted her... with a spark of panic, she spun around to be greeted by two further legends that definitely had not been there a moment ago.
Clearly Orzo thought they'd defeated rayquaza way too easily, and wasn't about to let them repeat that. Groudon, in its primal form, radiated heat - at least that explained why she was so sweaty. (Kimiko chanced a glance at Steven, but she was unable to see his expression from where she stood.) Beside it, a giant black dragon she vaguely recognized, but couldn't name. She only spared yveltal a momentary glance - it seemed to be stirring now - before a flash of sparks caught her attention and her head whipped back around. The black dragon was charging up some kind of electrical attack!
No... no, that had to go, now.
The only sign of Lucy was a strained wail, one clearly intended to show she was still standing. Kimiko couldn't see her, but the heat must really be getting to her. But she'd been with a trainer since birth; she had enough battle experience to handle herself, and Kimiko trusted that she'd do just that.
With no time for another song, Kimiko turned to the black dragon. "Blind 'em, Olivia!"
Olivia leapt passed her and began her assault on the dragon and any other foe within range. Meanwhile, Kimiko heard a familiar voice shouting orders and strategies; Blue wanted to set off an earthquake to take out groudon with its own element. With his fighters being the only ones with exploitable moves, she figured it made sense. She didn't even have to wonder just how everyone was going to avoid friendly fire, either, as the pokemon leapt into action. Some formed protect shields around themselves and anyone nearby, others simply picked up some passengers and took to the air.
Kimiko heard Odette's voice calling to her and she spun around to see Odile there, with a party of passengers on her back, including Olivia. She raced towards them, grabbing a branch (?) as soon as she was within range. "Go ahead, I'll climb as you fly! And thanks!"
Aggron hardly had time to register Malachai's greeting before the Noivern's talons hooked him from behind. And then they pulled.
The malestrom kicked up by Malachai's frantic wingbeats sent Steven ducking for cover, and for the briefest of moments, Aggron couldn't quite believe that Mal's best idea to launch him towards Yveltal was to literally pick him up and fly him there. But that notion vanished the instant Aggron's feet left the earth.
"Ah-HA!" he crowed triumphantly as the ground fell away beneath him, powered by the Noivern's tremendous wings. As they gained altitude, Aggron held still, focusing his power from the crown of his helm to the tip of his horns. He wouldn't let Malachai's effort go to waste. He would make this count.
Suddenly, the squeeze of talons vanished from Aggron's arms and the sensation of freefall took their place. He had just a moment to gather his bearings, and from high up, he found himself marveling at the sight below. Trainers and pokemon scattered about the battlefield like pebbles. Groudon would have to tilt its head up to meet him in the eye. Was this what Skarmory felt like soaring through the sky? Triumphant and untouchable?
But there was no more time. Gravity's pull was a familiar feeling, and Aggron windmilled his arms for a moment, trying to turn himself so that his snout was pointed toward his target. It worked well enough, and Yveltal's shield glimmered between him and the ground. But wait-- it was too far in front of him. He was falling too fast. He was going to miss. Aggron's eyes went wide--
And then boomburst's shockwave slammed into his back.
His armor reverberated from the blow, and his jaw split into a roar as he hurtled through the air like a rocket. The sound was lost to the wind as he flew. Time sped up and slowed down simultaneously, and for a split second before impact, he could see a reflection of his own face in Yveltal's shield.
The sky exploded in a starburst of energy shards as he pierced Yveltal's shield helm-first. The shield took the brunt of Aggron's blow, the bone-rattling strike rocking him from head to toe. The rest of his momentum sent him slamming into the lethargic Legendary, sending him cartwheeling head over tail.
The ground was the sky and the sky was the ground, and in desperation Aggron threw out a claw to latch onto the first thing he could grab to stop himself from plummeting the rest of the way to the ground. Steel sunk into soft flesh, and Yveltal let out a dazed screech as Aggron clung to its leg and dragged both of them earthward.
Shocked, Yveltal swung its head down to find the one who dared to attack it, only to see Aggron toothily grinning back.
"Naptime's over," he snarled, pointing a free claw at the empty air over Yveltal's head. Except it wasn't empty any more. Rock slide's barrage hung weightless for a second before letting loose. Boulders rained down, striking Yveltal over and over, driving it and Aggron to the ground in a thunderous crash of dust and debris.
----
Steven was breathing hard as he sprinted across the battlefield. Groudon's intense sun beat down on him as he ran, making him squint against the bright light as he tried to keep track of his partner.
He stumbled on the rough terrain, and caught himself in time to see a gleaming streak shoot through the air and slam into the dormant Legendary's shield. Frozen, he watched as two shadows tumbled from the fireworks.
He was too far to recall Aggron, and while he was sure his partner could take it, falling from that height while under siege from three Legendaries was not an ideal situation.
Yveltal's wings began to unfurl, and the silhouette of his partner was still falling-- When suddenly it halted and Yveltal jerked sharply, it's screech ringing over the battlefield. But just as soon as Steven was ready to breathe a sigh of relief, a hail of boulders formed in the sky, ready to bury the pair in an avalanche of rock.
Steven shook his head. Of all the reckless, absurd things...
"You're a hypocrite, you know that," Steven muttered under his breath as he watched Aggron drag Yveltal down with him. But even as he resumed his pursuit, he couldn't keep the smile from his face. Like trainer, like pokemon.
He had begun to dig for a berry in his pocket when the earth shook again. Startled, he spun searching for the source. It wasn't Groudon, and there weren't any other obvious explosions that could have caused the tremor. His eyes landed on the fading rainbow hue of Gyarados's mega evolution, his tail raised high to strike.
"Blue." said Steven in realization. And then a flash of orange caught his eye. "Blue!"
He swept a hand high to get the Kanto Leader's attention. He'd been caught in an earthquake attack before, and he wasn't eager for a repeat of that.
As Charizard wheeled to the sky with his new passenger, Steven twisted to watch Aggron clamber out from beneath the rubble of his own attack.
"Barrier up!" he shouted across the battlefield, hoping his partner could hear over the din. "Earthquake incoming!"
Gyarados's epicenter was a ways away from where Yveltal fell, yet Steven still held his breath as the telltale signs of the earthquake rippled across the ground. He only exhaled when the pale blue light shimmered into place around his partner. Aggron would weather it alright. Eagerly, he stared back towards Groudon and Zekrom, hoping they'd fare much, much worse...
Jade really wasn't ready for that. She stared at the water horse, taking a few seconds to reboot her brain and process his request.
He was asking her to join him. Well, it wasn't like she hadn't done it before, riding into battle on a legend. But it was different when it was her patron. Wasn't it? The link made things easier. ...It also sometimes made things harder.
There was also the fact that they'd be fighting the same horrible power that had melted Sootopolis with its sheer presence. She'd faced Groudon before, but... not like that. What could Keldeo possibly gain by having her along? She was just a human.
But if the combined strength of human and Pokemon was enough that Orzo was trying so hard to destroy it, then that had to count for something here.
And so, before she could think too hard about what she was doing, Jade swung a leg over Keldeo's back and said, "Let's go."
Rayquaza shrieked and dove back into the ring, shedding chunks of ice as it fled the sound thrashing they'd all given it. Hell yeah. One down, four to go.
...Hm. Blue was pretty sure, last time he'd checked, that three minus one equaled two. Yet apparently the Lord of the Inner Tubes could not count, because there were definitely four fucking kaiju stomping around the battlefield: the Onion King, the bacon-looking bird-whatever, and now two massive reptilian beasts hauling themselves out of rings accompanied by lashing tongues of lightning and searing waves of heat.
The air itself shimmered as if on fire. Charizard didn't take much notice, but Blue could feel the stinging on his skin, imagined the sweat evaporating before it could even form. He could only imagine how uncomfortable Gyarados must've been, how it would be near impossible to summon up the water that surely would've put paid to the red monster otherwise. Between that and the dragon spitting goddamn thunderstorms left and right, that probably meant it was time.
Blue watched Gyarados's head snake back and forth, scanning the burning sky, until he caught sight of them through the haze. They exchanged a look, a nod, and Blue touched the pendant hanging around his neck. Light flared up around Gyarados's throat in response, and then the sea serpent's entire body went white.
The key stone burned like acid against Blue's chest. It hurt, kind of, but only in a distant way that was effortlessly easy to sweep aside. He felt like he'd been shoved into a wintry lake even in the midst of the unearthly heat, intense but bracing. For the first time in a long while, since the nightmares and the concussion and the whole stupid invitation, he felt awake, alive, brimming with energy that, had he not been hurtling through the air dozens of feet above the ground at the time, would've had him itching to sprint a mile. He settled for tightening his grip on Charizard's shoulders, as if the cold fire racing through him could flow down into his starter and send him rocketing through the sky.
The battlefield was bright, every combatant sharp and clear against the sallow sky: one of the mythicals charging across the field with the obnoxious guy and the quiet girl on its back, Gen slashing desperately at Orzo with his little knife, the noivern tearing Aggron free of the earth and hurling him toward the huge bird. Every sound echoed slightly, like hearing things from more than one place at once, two televisions tuned to the same show but in different rooms. Not distracting, just there, the whole world humming a musical round.
And their next move? So obvious, so simple. Forget waterfall. They could knock these stupid legends on their asses, smash them all to pieces at once. Practically a fucking joke, and still it couldn't be more satisfying.
"Give 'em an earthquake, Gyarados, and don't let up!" he shouted as Charizard swooped lower, the better to make sure he was heard loud and clear. More for everyone else's benefit than Gyarados's; the big guy would just know, after all. "If anyone's still dragging around on the ground, I would strongly suggest changing that right about now!"
Someone called his name (and there again, a half-beat later, harmonizing with itself). Steven still needed a ride, did he? Easy.
"Aw, did Aggron leave you behind to go do his cool thing? That sucks." Blue grinned, gave Steven a conspiratorial wink before Charizard grabbed him by the arms and shot back into the air. "Betcha Charizard can throw you that far if you wanna catch up, though!" He was half-tempted to nudge Charizard into playing along, to give him a quick swing in the direction of the Aggron Cannonball, but Steven most likely wasn't in the mood for joshing. His loss, really.
Meh. Maybe later. He had to focus for now, keep his own head just level enough that it'd give Gyarados something to hold onto. Pull Steven on board properly so he didn't get his shoulders yanked out of his sockets; let Charizard take advantage of the heat just long enough to roast the other monsters (and maybe catch the ninetales with a little assist in the process); give everyone just enough time to get out of their way; and then, oh-ho then, let Gyarados unleash fucking hell.
Energy burns underneath Gyarados's scales, over him, inside his head, burns much brighter than the hot and stifling air around him. It doesn't hurt, though; it just moves and flows and urges him to go. He used to be afraid that it would hurt, but being afraid just means that it does hurt and then any hope of remaining himself—already such a tricky proposition when the energy starts rushing between them—washes away to nothing. So Gyarados is not afraid. He is himself and Blue is there and will keep his mind clear and together they will crush anything that stands in their way.
Scales harden, fangs lengthen, fins flare. Everything feels heavy, solid, good. He is alive, truly alive, bursting with power that hums in his ears and shines behind his eyes.
Earthquake, Blue is saying. Gyarados can do that. He will do that and it will feel good, the energy surging through him, flowing through his tail with one mighty smash that shakes the ground and tears through their enemies, through everything.
Talking is hard with his brain afire and singing, but Gyarados has to try, because it would be bad if their allies got in the way. (Right? That would be bad? Because if they were in the way he could shake them crush them break them he would be good at it very very good shake good crush good no not good.) No it would not be good and he should help and so he fights the fire in his mind just long enough to roar:
"Get. On."
Does anyone listen? He can't tell. Tiny little things maybe scrambling onto his back feels like nothing next to energy, burning, flowing, moving everywhere inside and outside and around, singing go, smash, destroy, go.
Someone is still in the way. A human. From before? The one who talked talked talked a lot. (Talking is hard smashing is easy.) The one who laid down a lot. Shouldn't have laid down here, where there will be smashing, they should move, oh, he should move them, yes, not crush, move, help, go. He reaches down to grab them and lift and hold, away from the crushing and shaking, just hold, grab and hold, grab and hold and crush but that would be bad, Gyarados is only helping and not crushing and so he manages to keep his mouth closed and scoop the not-talking-right-now human up onto his crown. So tiny, feels like nothing, so easy to break but he won't because he is himself and he is helping.
Instead Gyarados looks at Orzo, at the two terrible giants blazing with lightning and hellfire. Them. The earthquake is for them, crush them, only for crushing terrible things, not the tiny little scrambling things just them he will shake them and smash them and crush them and destroy them.
"Gyarados! Gyarados, you wonderful friend!" Wallace wrapped his arms around Gyarados. "Oh, your generosity has not gone unnoticed! How may I ever repay you?"
On the one hand, it had been kind of hard to tell whether Wallace was even conscious before, what with him lolling around all loopy-like until Gyarados had intervened, so the fact that he was talking was decent news. On the other hand, if Blue was hearing the guy correctly—Gyarados certainly wasn't, what with his head probably all full of screaming and burning and drumbeats and other such things that made for a much more appropriate soundtrack—he wasn't feeling any less loopy. "Generous" seemed like a generous word for that rescue. Personally Blue had thought it looked more like flipping a pancake.
Well, whatever. He was safer up there than on the ground, that was for damn sure. Gyarados would very much appreciate the sentiment later, after, y'know, he could actually think thoughts more complicated than "it's clobberin' time". Probably they oughta make sure someone got Wallace a nice, cold glass of water once this groudon thing was out of the way, though.
Filled with valiant resolve and courage, Jade and Nate ride into battle on Keldeo! Keldeo's Sacred Oceanic Strike dealt devastating damage to Groudon! The next blow felled it easily, and Orzo was severely damaged!
Wes called upon the aid of twins Latios and Laitas! United, they struck a grievous blow against Zekrom, allowing him to be swiftly felled by the following attack. Orzo takes significant damage.
Orzo summons the trio of birds from Kanto! Zapdos and Articuno are generating the Thundersnow weather! Dragon, Ground and Flying types will take increased damage next turn.
Powerful wind surged from behind the team, giving unexpected speed to their movements and attacks. And as a unit, they struck as hard as they could.
A shining cannonball, launched by a precise sound blast, hurtled through the air and crashed right through the shield enveloping Yveltal. Aggron landed, gathered himself, and brought a hail of stone down upon the great bird as Spirit's fire consumed it. It screeched and writhed in pain, the shield falling away completely, its feathers scorched and body battered... it gave a chilling cry and unfurled its wings fully, rising higher into the air, faltering but still conscious.
The battlefield erupted into chaos. Evie became a tan blur, weaving in and out between pokemon until she danced before the Land Titan itself, striking it and gaining its attention for a moment. It turned its burning gaze on her and roared, lava bubbling from its jaws. Before it could strike, Evie vanished again. She streaked across the field, weaving around Orzo, nipping at his heels. All the while, Gen slashed at him repeatedly, even as he faltered in the sweltering heat. And with each strike, his dagger left deeper and deeper wounds.
Howling with rage and distracted by pain, Orzo swiped at Gen, snatching the barely conscious otter into his huge claws and squeezing-
And then lava exploded under Orzo, scorching him and eliciting a furious roar.
Smirking, Evie scuttled away from the two titans, her task accomplished.
Legs burnings and sinking into the ground, Orzo released Gen and flung him away. Half blind, he began to charge a counter attack. But before any retaliation could be made, Orzo was buried under a barrage of attacks, sand and light and earth and shadow.
From one side of the field, a glowing streak. Keldeo, galloping full speed, somehow carrying two riders and a delighted looking Mightyena, and charging straight for Groudon. As it ran, the sword on its head lengthened to a deadly point, swiriling with supernatural water, despite the oppressive heat. A cooling wave seemed to surround its body and riders, protecting them as they drew near to Groudon. The earth itself had begun to melt into steaming, sizzling sludge, yet Keldeo's steps carried it gracefully across. Hold on. Its voice sounded in the heads of its riders.
And then, just yards from Groudon, it coiled its powerful legs and leaped.
The air itself seemed to carry Keldeo, up, up up. Even with Groudon. Then it swung. The blade-like horn sliced Groudon deep, carving a gash into its neck that oozed lava. Keldeo landed effortlessly and danced backwards to avoid a counterstrike.
Groudon gave a mangled roar and sank to one knee, more lava pouring from its wound. The unnatural glow of its body began to flicker and fade, and it seemed to grow smaller... Then, for a moment, its almost appeared ready to attack again, until the earth itself erupted under it, battering it, and it was buried under a barrage of attacks.
And with that, the oppresive heat faded and the atmosphere returned to normal.
At nearly the same time as Keldeo's charge, Wes's prayer from on the back of Chef Flygon was answered. As Chef Flygon rolled and dodged through the sky, there was a triumphant draconic cry and twin streaks of light shimmered into existance on either side of Wes. "We hear you, Wes, and we will aid you." Latios replied. "It is the strength of your bond, the strength of siblinghood that will allow us to strike true."
Draconic aura rippled around their bodies. They surged upwards, looped, and came back down as a single blazing dragon of light, smashing down on Zekrom. The great black dragon staggered and collapsed to one knee, barely standing. It gave a mad, guttural howl, the electricity around it gathering, ready to release- The last barrage of attacks came down on its head, ending its attack.
For a brief moment, there was a lull. Groudon and Zekrom, both down and drawn back through the rings. Orzo, staggered and crippled and worn from the effort of summoning legendaries. Cursed and poisoned and beseiged by Manaphy's latent whirlpool. And overhead hovered Yveltal, like a grim omen.
Two beams of light from Orzo lanced across the field, cutting across the team haphazardly, shattering protect shields, though the worst of the strike was averted.
Three rings charged with energy from Orzo. Electricity crackled around one, fire coalesced around the second, and ice gripped the third.
A might avian shriek came from within them, and three shapes emerged. The Bearers of Storms, Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. Moltres hung back, behind Yveltal. Eyes blank, Zapdos and Articuno soared across the battlefield. Ice and lightning followed in their wake, until the skies were barely visible and the temperature had dropped. A blizzard began. Constant flashes of lightning cracked across the sky and hail pelted all around. Cold stiffened limbs, making it hard to move, hard to react.
Hoopa's frantic telepathic voice sounded in the teams heads. "The birds aren't as strong as the other legendaries, as long as we work together we can stop them."
And with that command, Yveltal spread wide its wings, letting loose a horrible call. The sound carved through the storm, tearing into body, mind and spirit alike, filling all who heard it immense dread. Dark aura surged from its body, pouring into the earth. The sound sunk deeper, seeming to permeate the air itself. Dark tendrils sapped the strength of the pokemon.
One by one, all who heard it would find their strength draining, their bodies weakening, their will fading. Stone creeping along their bodies. The call of Death itself.
Darkrai sank to the ground, half his body consumed in stone. Clink collapsed, now more stone than metal, and Hoopa clung to the sole ring, both the ring and his hands now stone, and his eyes filled with panic. Chef Flygon landed, wings half iced and shivering. "I will never stop resisting you!" he roared, even as frost made his voice tremble. His voice wavered... "...Never."
Note: This post is pure solo flavor and has no turn actions. Skip if you are looking for gameplay-impacting posts.
Adrenaline coursed through the veins of the two partners as Violet and Hazel rode atop of Odile, directing, holding on, and striking with their hearts as one and a will that matched that of the strongest steel. With Groudon's defeat, the two of them let out a laugh. Even Hazel herself found that the rush of battle overtaking her as she started to almost enjoy it, in a strange way. The Weavile then yelled out, "So, what's our next move?!" as the two watched the three mighty birds tumble out. The team had already taken out several — what was a couple of more gonna do to stop them?
In her victorious fervor, Violet imagined herself back in the Darkest Day. This time, however, she envisioned Hazel there alongside her with an abnormal strength able to topple the titans that threatened their land. Then, in that vision, Violet asked her friend for the cherry on top: bring one of the titans down on that witch that had stolen her old life away and lead her to think she killed her own brother!
But just before they could manage it, the witch siren wailed: bellowing a scream that caused her skin to crawl onto her itself — rolling like dough as thousands of the tiny claws of fear dug into her back. Violet was jolted back into reality, but that very yell still echoed as she stared wide-eyed at the being of death that Orzo had brought before them.
The howl faded then into nothingness, and all she could hear were bells.
The bells rung hollow, yet true, echoing sheer emptiness throughout every fiber of her very being. She felt as though she were water carried in the buckets of a peasant's shoulders. But then, the buckets were dropped, for the peasant had remembered their tax was due. Ring. The dew drops clung dearly on the buckets' surfaces. Ring. Ring. The tears were paid, and the water was no more. Ring. Ring. Ring.The bell tolls.
---
Once the scream had finishing ringing out, Hazel's phone rung. She refused to pick it up. It rang once more. She tried to swipe it away to dismiss it. On the third call, the ID showed up, and Hazel could ignore it no longer: The Reaper was calling.
It didn't matter what she knew, nor what she could learn. It didn't matter who was with her, who loved her, who lost her, who cared for her, who hated her, and who neglected her. At the end of the day, every species — no matter how cunning, how intelligent, how kind, or how spiritual or scientific they were — would face the same fate. An eternal separation and loneliness from all existence. The body may remain, but the essence would become nothingness.
For death was the universal, scientific conclusion to the experiment of life.
AN: This post is purely flavor and not relevant to any gameplay. Whump under spoiler tag.
The earth was still shaking when Steven's feet hit the ground again. Whether it was from the lingering tremors from Gyarados's attacks, or from Groudon's lava-spewing collapse, he couldn't be sure. Either way, all of Steven's focus was on getting back to Aggron's side. Blue had looked kind of out of it when Charizard took back to the air, but Steven had given him a curt thank you anyway before picking his way through the rubble toward his partner. Aggron's protect had fallen and was scowling up at the sky when Steven arrived.
"It wasn't enough," he grumbled, glaring at where Yveltal hovered over them like an omen.
"Groudon though," said Steven, following Aggron's skyward gaze where swirling stormclouds began to form, "and the Unovan dragon. They're both gone."
"Yeah," growled Aggron, turning his snout down as the plink of hail bounced off his armor. "Two down, four to go..."
Steven grimaced at his partner's words. Aggron's armor was scuffed and dented, and there was a definite hitch in his movements when he shoved a boulder clear of his flank. Overhead, the wounded Yveltal shrieked, and the sky darkened even further.
"You're not giving up on me, are you?" Steven said, his teasing tone belaying his mounting concern. Looking down, he reached into his jacket pocket fishing for one of Clink's berries. "We've still got work to do."
Thunder rumbled overhead, and Steven's casual smile fell when Aggron didn't grate out a reply. He fished harder in his pocket with fingers that were growing colder by the minute. The hail was falling harder... Where was that damned berry--
"...Steven?"
It wasn't the plummeting temperatures that turned Steven's heart to ice. He hadn't heard Aggron's voice for very long, but he'd never heard him sound so scared. There was a grinding, crumbling sound, and a dusting of rock fragments rained down on his sleeve.
Hand still frozen in his pocket, Steven looked up at his partner and his heart leaped in his throat. From Aggron's horns to his snout, the steel of his helm was turned to solid stone. His eye was already completely covered, gray and lifeless. To Steven's horror, he watched it creep down Aggron's face and neck like a disease. Aggron tried to swivel his head to find his trainer, but he was quickly solidifying, his joints creaking and cracking as he moved.
"The rocks, they're so close," Aggron grunted, voice rising in panic as he reached a claw to the side of his face. His jaw working to crack the stone as he tried to speak. "It's horrible," he wheezed. "They're so close-- They're crying."
He wheezed again and stumbled forward, hitting the ground in a cloud of dust.
The impact finally shook Steven from his frozen stupor. "Aggron!" he cried, throwing himself at his fallen partner, panic closing its icy hand around his throat. The wind howled and the sky swirled with shadows, and the only thing that mattered was curing what had happened to Aggron.
This wasn't supposed to be happening. He didn't even know what was happening; he'd never seen anything like this. But Clink's berries, they had to help. With a curse, Steven yanked the berry from his pocket, and froze, staring at his own hand in disbelief.
Gray stone was creeping up from beneath his sleeve, winding its way up his fingers like veins of marble. He was suddenly aware of how cold he was; colder than he should have been even with the storm clouds and falling ice. A cold coming from within, seeping out of his bones, weighing him down from the inside. Fatigue draped over him like a blanket, and he stumbled against Aggron's side.
It took considerable effort to crawl over to Aggron's snout, every whine and wheeze from his partner a dagger to his heart. He knew Aggron couldn't see, so Steven knew he'd have to feed the berry to him himself. Except Aggron's mouth was barely open as he panted, the stone growing up and over his jaw. Steven's fingers had stiffened around the berry, and he had to use his other hand to wrench it from his own grip, leaving his hand frozen in an empty claw. Without another thought, he shoved it into Aggron's mouth and pulled with all his might. His solidifying fingers grinded against the steel of his partner's jaw as he strained, trying to open it enough to throw the berry in. But he was just so tired, so cold...
Steven's foot slipped on the loose debris where Aggron lay, and he stumbled forward, landing hard against Aggron's neck. The berry slipped from his grasp and rolled out of his reach. Another berry, if he could just get it--
He pressed his back against Aggron's side, desperately fishing for his pocket when something at his feet caught his eye. He stopped his struggles. It was fascinating, the way it was so mesmerizing to watch his own legs turn to stone. Distantly, he was aware of the transformation creeping up to his knees. It didn't hurt, just kept getting colder and colder. He slid down to the ground, letting his head roll back against Aggron's flank that creaked and cracked with every labored breath.
Dully, he rolled his eyes up to the sky where Yveltal was silhouetted against a brilliant lightning bolt. Was this the end? Was this how they were going to fall? Icy fingers clawed their way up the side of his neck. There had to be something they could do. Something. Anything. Don't let it end like this. Not like this...
The moment Odile landed, Kimiko leapt from her back, grateful to be returned to solid ground. What she lacked in Alex's fear of drowning, she made up for with a great discomfort of heights. Having Violet and Odette there to keep her from falling and stop her from looking down to watch the battle below was the only way she managed to get through it.
She stumbled a bit from the hasty leap, her head still spinning from the aerial experience. It was necessary, and it had worked; both groudon and the other dragon had been beaten. Down on one knee, she took a minute to catch her breath, steady her head, and enjoy the lack of sweltering heat now that groudon was gone. In fact, on the contrary, it had gotten much colder with the arrival of the Kantonian bird trio; Moltres' heat was far less invasive while it hovered back, while articuno's blizzard rained down over the party instead. Kimiko spotted Lucy making a beeline for Articuno, her entire body dripping water. She didn't attack, simply floated around while dodging ice and wind and talons targeting her, hoping to absorb some of the chill the ice bird radiated.
Hoopa spoke, something about the birds being weaker than the previous legends, which was good... but Kimiko couldn't help but wonder how much longer Hoopa would need to rest and activate that one ring they'd recovered. That was frustrating, too... after all this, so far they'd still only managed to get one ring away from Orzo. They needed to do that, and quickly; the bird trio only cemented her fears that the summons wouldn't stop until their entire party was too exhausted to fight on. And they'd yet to sever Orzo's link to his remaining captives; surely all this summoning must be taking a toll on Orzo, and by extension, his energy sources.
But even before she could start to consider another ring-stealing plan, a horrible wail reverberated through the entire area. Kimiko didn't need to look up to realize the terrifying sound was coming from yveltal, somehow still standing after Aggron and Spirit's combined attacks, on top of Olivia's light show. And it was angry.
She stumbled to the ground again, only then realizing she couldn't feel her legs anymore. She didn't dwell on it, her hands shot up to cover her ears instead, but the sound wasn't even muffled and continued to pierce right through her. It was horrible, sending a chill through her spine. Her eyes squeezed shut as lightning flashed in her peripheral vision and she screamed instinctively. It was happening again, somehow... She was cold and unable to move and she'd feel the shock any second now and no no no no! How did she get back here again?? Olivia leapt gracefully from Odile's back and landed just as easily. Flying was fun! Battling while flying was even more fun! She imagined just how cool she must have looked, shooting her dazzling gleams all around from the sky, all while riding a big scary dragon! And honestly, once you got to know her, the big scary dragon really wasn't that scary at all! Olivia wasn't entirely sure why her human had ever though so, but then, humans were always scared of silly things. Olivia supposed they had to be. They were super fragile, after all. Not tough at all like her.
She spun around in circles, looking for wherever Neo had landed. Surely, with all her light flying everywhere, Neo had seen at least one of them! And he'd be so impressed and then she'd get to show him how to do it... maybe some other day, though. The technique was still pretty new to her, and it was difficult to tell how many more times she'd be able to pull it off successfully before needing to rest and recover her stamina, but she knew she'd used it a lot in this fight already. The other legends had all gone down easily enough, so Yveltal should be able to be beaten soon without her fairy attack. And with Orzo being the only other one weak to it, she figured it might be a good time to conserve her fairy energy for a while in case they needed it again before the fight was over. But that was okay, too! She'd get to show off what else she could do! And maybe get Neo to show her how he switched places with others like that, too!
Just as she spotted Neo, however, a loud, annoying cry split the air. It gave Olivia an immediate headache and she crouched low to the ground, paws over her head, trying to block out the sound, but it didn't help. A mental barrier didn't work either; it had to be something dark, then. Whatever it was, she could feel what it was doing. Her energy was being drained away somehow, and it was becoming more difficult to move. It was definitely some kind of other pokemon's attack, then. Maybe one more blast of light wouldn't be a bad thing... She looked up to the yveltal with a growl and tried to gather more fairy energy, but she found she couldn't keep it contained enough to form an attack out of it.
She tried again and again failed, and then she really began to worry. If there wasn't anything she could do, how could her human... her human! Olivia was able to spin around again, finding Kimiko on the ground and screaming. She looked like she was trying to keep the dark-cry out of her head too, but if Olivia couldn't do it, there was no way a human would be able to! She had to help... how could she help? She couldn't do anything against a mental dark-aura attack, especially one used on someone else... Maybe if she could have seen it coming, she could have-
Oh, they could see it coming! Her human had the tool they were given! She'd wanted to save it for when they really needed it, and this felt like the best time. All Olivia had to do was get her attention, calm her down, and get her to call for aid... she could do that. She'd done that before, lots of times! It would be easy, and then they'd be the heroes who saved the entire team!
Surely that would get Neo's attention! At some point Kimiko had curled up in a ball (or, as much of one as she could with her legs immobile). She'd been through this before, how many times... A familiar sound cut through the horrible wailing and sizzling lightning and her own screams. It granted her a momentary clarity, and she managed to roll onto her back. She fell silent as she realized, she had been through this before, and recently... and it wasn't even real, just a very realistic nightmare... Opening her eyes was difficult with all the snow pouring down, but through the freezing haze she could still make out the deadly form of yveltal...
The sight sparked something else in her mind. Last time was just a darkrai-induced nightmare. One that was likely influencing how she percieved this current experience, if only due to how fresh the nightmare still was in her mind. But this was yveltal's doing. A combination of different stimuli melding into one similar situation. That's what was happening here. But it wasn't the same thing. This was a different kind of threat.
She'd never have to worry about the yveltal back home because she was going to feed this one instead. A strange sense of calm had begun to settle in. She wasn't sure why. It didn't make any sense. This situation wasn't any better than being chained up and tortured, and yet, she felt... relieved. She couldn't move anything below her hips now, and yet, now that she was aware of what was happening, she found it didn't really hurt at all. All she felt was... tired. Empty. Cold. Drained. Was this what it felt like to have her life force sucked away?
She managed to roll her head to the side; beside her, Violet and Odette and their partners all were in various states of solidification themselves, and were not handling it well. Beyond them, Kimiko was able to catch sight of Lucy a fair distance away, covered in purple flames. It seemed as though she, too, recognized their situation and was hoping to take down yveltal with her. Kimiko wasn't sure it would matter at this point. No one else she could see remained standing. Even Aggron, the great sturdy beast himself, was succumbing to his own element. Defeating yveltal here wouldn't return the energy it had already stolen. They were beaten.
Her peace was shattered as that same familiar sound echoed again, and this time, she was lucid enough to recognize it. While Lucy may have been willing to sacrifice herself here, Olivia was not. Reality began to sink in and Kimiko struggled to move again. What was she doing, laying here waiting for the end, while Olivia was right there beside her, fighting back with everything she had? Kimiko tilted her head to look at her espeon, her friend. She was almost completely stonified save for her head, an expression of sheer distress on her face, and yet still managing to trill at her human. Grounding her, as always. She wasn't giving up.
There had to be something they could do to stop this.
But as Kimiko lay there, finding it increasingly more difficult to get her body to follow her brain's instructions, she wondered if it was too late, if she'd wasted too much time just laying there and accepting her fate like a fool. She wasn't sure what she could have done with that time had she not wasted it, but if only she hadn't...
Wait. She did have the power to stop this! Or, at least, the ability to summon someone who could.
She forced herself to roll over onto her stomach again, reaching out a hand to her bag, her arm fighting the motion every step of the way. It was too far, and she couldn't move anymore, she'd never be able to reach- the bag lit up blue and suddenly, Celebi's whistle floated up out of it. Kimiko only locked eyes with Olivia for a moment to nod a thank you, grateful that her espeon was on the same wavelength. Surely Celebi would appreciate them working together.
Kimiko brought the whistle to her lips. Instead of the shrill sound she'd expected in response to her hasty, panicked breath, the sound that came out was soft, more like a melody than a whistle. Again, Kimiko began to feel more at peace, but this time it was nothing like the cold acceptance of doom. The light tune filled her with a calming warmth.
Odile felt her insides roll at the sound of Yveltal's cry. As she soared toward the ground, allowing everyone who'd hitched a ride on her brambles to jump off, she felt the link she had with Odette sever abruptly.
Too fast. That was too fast.
The conflicting energies that filled her insides caused all the air to drain from her head. Yveltal's dark power snatched all of her might away as her nerves ignited with adrenaline from the blood of her vessel that she was not supposed to take.
Too fast. Too fast.
As her feet touched the ground, she involuntarily morphed back into her human form, catching both limp bodies of her sylveon partner and cherished vessel in both her arms as she rolled to a halt against the scuffed battlefield ground. As she tried to catch her breath, she felt her arms start to tremble. Also involuntarily. She felt high, in the worst possible way.
"̵̻̅I̶̢͌'̶̤̔́m̴̖̊ ̴̫̌͠s̶̤͔̾o̸̱̺̽̒r̷̟̲͛͛r̴͚̭̎̓y̷̲͆.̸͈̿ ̷̰̩̕Ǐ̶̢'̴̤̅͗m̷̠̰̽ ̶̘̔ś̸̭͗ͅo̵̢̊͌ŗ̷͉̒͝r̶̥̺̐́y̷͎̏,̵̭͛"̸̹̃ she said breathlessly. "̶͓͝T̵͔͊̔ḫ̷͖͆ȧ̴̟̱̀t̵͖̒ ̷̝̇͝ẃ̵̥a̵͍̿̓s̸̭͝ ̵̦̈ͅț̴̕͠ȯ̶̘ȏ̵̝ ̸̢́̽m̵̩̎̐ṳ̴̧͊c̵̰̹̆̈́h̵̹̳̃͌.̶̛͍̪ ̴̲̆I̶̪̲̓͌t̵̗́ ̷̥͝w̷͉̾ā̸̠s̷͔̽-̷̝͈̊-̶̤̿"̶͇̿
Beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep.
Odile gently set Enora down, freeing up both her hands to hold onto Odette. She turned her better copy over in her arms to get a look at her face. Eyes closed, ragged breaths, white as a sheet. She took too much; the severance was too fast, Odile couldn't--
"̷̠͚́N̴̯͂o̸̻̊,̸̣͖̿̿ ̸̜̈́n̷̡̳̎͒ö̷͍̦́̍,̸̯͒́ ̸͎̽̀ṉ̵̾̚o̷͇͌,̸̢̝̄͑ ̶̦̪͗͐n̸̫̰͒o̸̝̿,̷̗̈́̋"̷̘͗ she muttered, bringing her hands up to Odette's face to press her palms into her cheeks. The sound of the blood pressure monitor on Odette's wrist was grating on her ears, and setting the durians that had rolled back into her stomach on fire. She both wanted to tear them out with her claws, and didn't have the energy to.
Odile could feel it. Odette's heart, slowing down. Not enough blood to keep it going, and with Yveltal's energy looming over them, there was no chance it was going to get better.
"̸̺̉S̷͇̬̾t̵͎̻̚̕ȍ̶̗͗p̷͈̀.̵̲̩̀ ̶͈̚͠S̵̳̄̑ẗ̴͙́̎o̴͈̻̾͘p̶̲̉,̵̯̝̒ ̶̲͚̀͂n̸̠͐̈́o̶̝̺̎ẘ̴͓͝.̴̻͉̈́̕"̵̹̻̆̽ Her voice cracked, but she didn't have time to care.
Water. There was water in her backpack. Some for Odette, some for Enora. She could still do something.
Odile shakily let her vessel drop onto her side, allowing her room to pull the backpack off of her. But, as Odile moved her humanoid hands, she struggled to grasp with the left one. Struggled against its weight.
Stone. It was turning to stone.
Red singed at the edges of her already wavering vision, her breathing picking up pace as she darted her head around toward Enora's limp body. Rock texture had already started creeping up her back legs and over her rump. Odile's gaze then cut to Odette, who's hands had already become solid.
The durians within her exploded. She might have thrown up if she had the energy to.
Instead, she forced a smile. Because if she didn't, she would start to cry. The Legendary of Wrath didn't fucking cry.
"̵͖̒Ï̷̺͖ ̵̲̍d̴̡̛̜́ö̶̝́̚n̵̙̆́͜'̵̹͔̚t̷̻̱̀ ̵͔̒t̵͉̯͐̆ú̸̬̀r̵̩͎̈̂n̷͇͐̇ ̵͍̜͌͝ť̷̤ọ̷͛͜ ̷̻͗̽ͅś̴̳̬ṭ̷̄o̴͉͊͊n̷͙̍͑ĕ̶͉̑,̶̢̯̈́͝"̸̫̲́ she said in as upbeat of a voice as she could muster as she began to rummage through Odette's backpack, ̶͚̓̈͜"̵̱̏s̸̫̹̓ṯ̵̛̪͋o̶̡͑n̸̦͛͘e̷͙͑ ̴̼̫͗t̶̝͐̎ͅu̴͇̟̽͠r̷̰͐͋n̵̦̏ś̸̮͈ ̶̙͝t̷̥̝͆̅ỏ̷̢̗̅ ̸͉͗̐m̶̧͝e̷̛̺͔̐.̷͕̿͝ ̵̛̟̟̕Ư̸͙n̷̢͋̐d̸̮͉͛e̶͓͗̒r̸̯̈́ś̷͕̊t̴̛͎͈͝a̸̠̾n̸͔̖̕ḓ̷͋̊?̶̜̖͋"̷̱̞̓
She was trying to find the water bottles. "̸͖̌̈́I̵̖̋͒ ̶̛͖̥̈́d̶̗̀͆o̴̘̘͆n̵̢̘̏͆'̵͈̔͝t̶̯̒̐ ̷͖̓́t̵̫̮̍̆u̷̖̪̽̄r̵͍̾̆n̷̖͔͂̿ ̶̞̤̕͘ţ̴̏̃o̸̻̩̓̊ ̵̫̫͋s̸̪̑t̴͈̉̄o̶̳̎n̷̢͎̎͘e̵̱̽.̵̘̰͝ ̸̰̻̈́S̵̫͐͆t̷̲̏̉o̷̟͔͑n̷̻̈e̷̝͒͝ͅ ̸̠̘͌͑t̶͖͆û̵̲r̷̳͐̕͜n̴̙̕s̸̢͝ ̵̞̀̐t̶̝̄ỏ̸̼͇̂ ̸͖̕m̴̟̪̅ẽ̷͈̣.̴̧̑̚"̵̤͙̌
Her hand grasped one, and she yanked it out and rolled Odette onto her back. Trembling fingers popped the lid off, while her other hand forced Odette's mouth open.
She poured the water down Odette's throat. She tried so hard to keep herself steady enough, as to not let it run over her chin, or cheeks. That would just be gross.
But it wasn't doing anything. Still fading. Everything was still. Fading.
Anger began to build itself up within her, and she clenched her teeth as the corners of her eyes began to sting. "̷̖̂̆W̴̟̫͗͝ā̷͔̓t̵͈͒è̶̜͙́r̸̬̹̿̚ ̷̟͍́͛ã̷̺̆l̶̹͖̇ẃ̴̢̻̏â̶̝̞ỹ̸͔̽ŝ̸̗͜ ̵͇̚ẁ̴͎̻̍o̶̖̒r̶̻̾͆k̶͙̊s̵̩͌ͅ.̴̭̒̓ ̵̖͂͜I̸̮͂t̶̺̍ ̷̼͐a̵͎͒l̸̝͐̀w̶̨̃̄ą̸͎̊̿ỹ̵ͅŝ̷̞̃ ̶͍̏͘w̵͕̹̔̅ȯ̸͙̹ṟ̷̓k̸͉̙̋ś̵̺,̴̥̤͂ ̵͎̭̑s̴͉͝ṯ̸͙͛̈́ǒ̴͙p̵̖͕̀̚ ̵̘͛d̷̹̈́o̸̗͕͛́ĭ̷̳̼n̵̖̹̔g̵̖͒ ̷̬́t̴̨̒h̶̻̽i̵̫̓͜s̷̝̍.̶̨͉̌ ̶̺̺̕S̴̹̏Ṫ̷͍͠O̷̫͎͐͂Ṕ̵͔.̵̻̎̎"̷̰̓͝
No response.
Odile's breath hitched, and in a moment of impulsivity, she dumped half the bottle on Odette's face. That worked in movies.
In the sweltering heat of Groudon's presence, of course, it was a perfect opportunity for Spirit to use her fire. She flashed a binding stare at Yveltal as Aggron shattered its shield, then struck it with two bright Flamethrowers, powered by the heat and by the activation of her Flash Fire.
And it wasn't enough. Yveltal crowed in the air, a melody that reverberated sickeningly in May's bones. Stupid. Why'd everyone piled on Groudon, even with Jade and Nate riding Keldeo over there? Why hadn't they just--
Her legs wobbled, muscles refusing to obey. She crumpled awkwardly to the ground, staring at her outstretched hand as it grayed strangely. What? She strained to move, fingers twitching vaguely before stiffening, and then she couldn't feel them anymore, a deep, cold numbness spreading through her.
"May!" Spirit bounded toward her, gait awkward as her own paws turned to stone underneath her. "This... this must be Yveltal's power." She panted as she reached May's side, nudging her, only to collapse by her side.
"I am sorry," Spirit gasped. "If only I'd managed to hit it more precisely, I could have..."
She was blaming herself. Of course she was. "Spirit, shut up," May hissed, fighting the stinging pressure around her eyes. "It wasn't on you."
She couldn't feel her limbs at all. She still tried to reach out for her. The Ninetales' thick fur was transforming into fine crystalline mineral strands, her red eyes still darting wildly back and forth as her body froze in place.
She could've questioned the plan. Told more people to go for Yveltal. Why hadn't she? Because it'd all just work itself out? Because maybe they needed all that to take out Groudon? Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Everything was cold and Spirit had wasted time coming to her instead of getting away, trying to do something.
"It was an honour to fight by your side," Spirit whispered, and May stared at her, unable to speak or breathe or blink away the tears leaking helplessly out of her eyes.
Malachai went into a flat spin, keening at the sudden loss of lift from his right wing. Laura glanced at it, expecting with nauseated anticipation to see a ragged hole torn by some ranged attack. Her eyes widened – petrification seemed worse somehow. Unhealable. Fatal.
Her fingers felt cold.
"Make an emergency landing," she gasped, every stray sensation making her expect to find her flesh losing colour, stiffening...
Malachai obeyed as best he could, collapsing to the ground with a final heave. He strained to pull himself into a recovery position, then abandoned the effort, scarcely breathing and pinned to the earth in an ungainly heap. He turned his head to Laura. She met his eyes, and didn't dare to look at her hands.
"Mal," she began. He shushed her with a warm puff of breath.
<Be calm,> he sent. <If we must die, we shall die well.>
Laura's face contorted in controlled panic. Have conviction, seek victory, keep courage. Everything he'd exhorted her to stay true to bubbled up in her throat, ready to burst out in a plume of angry fire.
"No, it's not over yet!" she snapped, gripping the noivern's ruff with fingers that must surely be stone already. "We fight to the last, even if we expect to lose, right? We don't yield. Mal, target Yveltal with dragon pulse! Malachai!"
Her dragon chuckled hoarsely, and closed his eyes. <You have become so brave and bright, my master. I am proud of you.>
Laura blinked furiously, and looked up at Yveltal instead, her lips pulling back over her teeth in a snarling grimace she must have picked up from Mal.
"Mal, if you can't fight, then return. You might survive. Malachai, return, damn you! I can't let you go like this—"
Malachai strained his neck to reach Laura, and pressed his nasal crest to her head, just for a moment. Laura tried to look at him, but she couldn't turn her head back, or breathe, or even hear her thundering heart in her head.
<It has been a privilege to serve you.>
Laura's tongue wouldn't move. She couldn't taste a thing. Dying, she was dying, she'd be dead any moment—
<Mal, I'm sorry—>
<Don't be, stupid girl. I was right to choose you. Laura—>
She didn't hear the rest. She couldn't hear anything but the sound of stone in her skull, and then she heard nothing at all.
Wes spat out a stream of colorful curses as their foes faded away, only to be replaced with more damn Legendaries. Fighting one god was already one too many, but several at once…surely this was a death sentence for all of them.
The massive red and black bird tipped its head back and shrieked, a horrifying sound that unsettled Wes to his core.
To hell with it. If he and his Pokémon were going to die here, he’d make sure they wouldn’t go down quietly.
Wes started calling more commands to Neo and Novo, his voice growing hoarse from trying to be heard over the unrelenting chaos. But as he tried to speak, his chest felt…strangely tight. His limbs were growing heavy, as if he were suddenly shackled to several weights. What—?
He looked down and felt his blood run cold. An icy grey something had coated his feet, planting them in place, and was now creeping up his legs. He attempted to brush it off, only to find that this was no surface coating. It was solid, rough, and as it climbed higher, Wes felt nothing at all in his legs save for a cold, eerie, numbing sensation—
Shit. Shit. Shit.
It was getting harder to breathe. Wes’s head spun as the stone crept ever higher. Time. He was out of time. All around him, he saw others suffering the same.
With as much breath as he could muster, he cried out to his Pokémon. “Neo! Novo! Find a flyer and get off the ground! Get away!”
Maybe, just maybe, if they were quick enough, they could get out of here safely, get out of this hellish dimension, escape with their lives even if Wes couldn’t—
The coldness was up to his chest now. Every breath was agonizing. Wes’s head throbbed, his vision flickered, his hearing faded in and out with an odd, painful ringing that reverberated through his skull. He caught a fading glimpse of Novo bounding toward him, eyes wide with horror and fear and anguish—
No. No. Go away. Get away. Get out of here.
With the last of his strength, Wes managed a final command. “GO!”
His shout sent a spike of white-hot agony through his chest, which shot up to his head. Wes’s vision flashed red, his head feeling ready to burst—and then everything went black.
Novo screamed.
The roar of the battle instantly swallowed up the sound, but he could feel it vibrating in his chest all the same. He howled, terror mixing with rage as he struggled towards his trainer, each step heavier than that last, until he could get no closer. For all his snarling and thrashing, he couldn’t move, couldn’t get free, couldn’t do anything—
He caught sight of Neo not too far off, who apparently had had the same idea in trying to reach Wes. He, too, was frozen in place, wailing in fear as stone crept up his legs and sapped the life from him.
It was Novo’s nightmare all over again, but this time it was real.
Something erupted deep within Novo’s core, a bright, burning, boiling sensation he had never experienced before. It radiated outwards, down through his stomach and up through his chest, and even as he grew weaker by the second, he felt this new energy swelling within him, threatening to burst. It felt…like he was about to evolve.
But for all this newfound power, the stone was still quicker. The sudden surge of energy sputtered, and then, like a dying candle, it went out.
Novo’s yowls faded to feeble whines. His ears were frozen now, the sounds of the raging battle fading into icy silence. A single tear rolled from his eye. He had done all he could, tried his best, fought tooth and claw, and yet…after all this, it wasn’t…enough…
Time was running thin. Odette was unresponsive and Odile was raging. Aggron's armor made a horrible screech as it grinded against the ground, the rock-type blinded by his own element. Many of the other pokemon were still struggling to fight back and launch attacks, as though it would make a difference. Several lightning flashes nearby caused Kimiko to flinch, but they weren't aimed at her... they seemed to be coming from the feathered pikachu, resisting the stonification by sheer will, it seemed. She heard some distinctly bird-like cries; maybe, between Nine's supercharged lightning and Lucy's destiny bond, they'd manage to take down all of Orzo's summons... but still, Orzo himself remained. It wouldn't be enough.
But they still did have one hope.
Kimiko marveled in awe as Celebi's power froze time and slowly reversed it, rewinding events in real-time. It was a bizarre sight to behold, and even more to actually feel herself moving backwards. When Celebi was finished, Team Resolution stood tall once again, including Olivia and Lucy. And Orzo looked furious.
But Kimiko wasn't about to let Orzo target Celebi. She caught the tired mythic in her arms as it prepared to rest and dove for the nearest cover she could find, barking orders as she moved. "Lucy! Yveltal, take out yveltal!" They needed that harbinger of death gone immediately, before it had the chance to pull off that technique again.
Lucy Gray wailed in response as she sped through the air, already firing an ice beam at the bird's mouth. She, too, knew how desperately they needed that legend gone. She found it somewhat ironic that she, who'd spent her whole life working to restore a yveltal, was now on the verge of bringing one down.
A bark echoed up from somewhere below; it looked like the Mightyena wanted a piece of Yveltal, too. Just as well, Lucy figured. She wasn't sure if her foe was weak enough for her to fell on her own. She swooped down and grabbed Mightyena with both hands. Lifting her was a little more difficult than she expected, but no matter. Lucy wouldn't be able to attack with her hands full, however... When she managed to rise to a height just above Yveltal she swung Mightyena forth, letting her drop right on top of the legend, and the pair of them began another assault.
Meanwhile, Olivia had darted up right beside her human, sniffing and prodding to make sure she was unharmed. For her part, the espeon looked fresh and eager to get back into the fight, but she still paused a moment to stare down at the mythic in her human's arms. "That was amazing! So cool! Show me how to do that someday! Thank you, we can handle it from here! You should go and recover. I won't let Orzo come after you!"
Kimiko made sure to let Celebi teleport back to safety before emerging from her shelter again. All around them, her friends and their partners were recovering and leaping back into the fray. Even Nine was awake again, although he seemed a little dazed. If Kimiko weren't so worried about zapdos' lightning, she might suggest letting that power him up again... but there wasn't really time for that at the moment. They needed to get rid of the birds.
With yveltal under control, she surveyed the scene around her. Moltres seemed content to hang back, staying on the outskirts of articuno and zapdos' snowstorm. "Olivia, we need to take out those birds..."
"Leave it to me! I've got the best idea!" Olivia cut her off, leaving Kimiko confused as she darted away... in the direction of Neo.
Olivia didn't waste any time when she skidded to a stop beside her fellow espeon. "Hi! Feeling good? This battle is so fun! You gotta show me how to do that teleport trick later, 'kay? But later! I need your help right now! See those melty rocks, the ones from the giant lava lizard left behind? I wanna throw them at the enemy!"
Together with Neo, Olivia ripped the remains of groudon's superheated boulders from the ground. Controlling them with their psychic power, the two espeon sent them hurling through the air.
The bird trio scattered in attempt to avoid the attack, and Olivia relished the looks of confusion and panic in their expressions when the boulders pursued them anyway. "Oh no, you're not escaping this!"
Just before Nine's feathered body turned completely to stone, a surge of electricity from Hazel charged him, and Merian used the last of his strength to lend his own energy to the electric type.
CRACK!
The thunderclap was deafening, consuming the birds in white hot electricity. The scent of burnt feathers was nearly overpowering, the scent of victory, even if brief, as stone consumed the team...
A soft, melodic tune pierced the fading storm. And the sound began to crescendo, rolling back the deathly hands of time, stone receeding from panicked bodies and desperate pokemon and humans, further and further, until all stood whole once more, weakened, perhaps, but alive. With a triumphant, defiant glare, Celebi allowed herself to sink into her friend's arms.
"Thank you, Kimiko," she said. "Olivia was right to trust you. It was an honor to assist you in battle."
And then she vanished, teleporting away. The storm began to fade, no longer overbearing and consuming, but malleable. Usuable.
In a blink, winds kicked up, circling and coming together, the team pouring all their strength into it, even as others brought their powers together.
The birds struggled overhead, barely airborne after Nine's strength.
"Oh ho!" Chef Flygon called, from high above the battlefield. "You have only doomed yourself, Orzo! Sent yourself out of the frying pan, and into our fire!" he roared, then summoned indigo flames of dragonfire, pouring them into the storm. A wave of molten stone followed by a sweeping tornado of scalding water crashed across Orzo and the birds, nearly swallowing the battlefield. Raging cries and pained shrieks filled the air as one by one, all fell - first the Kantonian birds, then Yveltal, encased in a prison of stone.
The storm abated entirely, leaving the team standing triumphant. And Orzo gazing upon them with rage and disdain.
He spread wide his terrible arms, and all four rings answered his call. They came before him and expanded, even larger than before... The air began to hum, unnaturally. A trembled rippled through the broken earth. From within the ring, two shimmering reddish lights glowed. And then from within, stepped the draconic god of space, Palkia.
From within another ring, a burning, horrible light blazed, searing pulsing like the sun itself. A massive feline bounded out and roared, a sounded that seemed to pierce straight to the bone. Solgaleo, Emissary of the Sun.
No sooner had the roar begun to die out than two terrible clawed hands grip the sides of the other ring, and a twisted, broken looking being crawled from within, jagged and spiked, a body of darkness so deep it almost appeared to absorb light itself.
And finally, from the last ring, a towering blue dragon stepped forth. The air around it seemed to distort unnaturally and as it cast its vacant ed-eyed gaze across the battlefield.
Then Palkia roared. The gems on its shoulders glowed. Reality bent. A horrible pressure formed around the team, a crushing sensation on all sides, dragging even the flying types down to the ground.
"Palkia... its distorting space!" Hoopa called. "We'll barely be able to act like this!" Hoopa dragged itself halfway upright, holding the ring tight. "And we have to be careful... Dialga can bend time. If we don't take down the others quickly, he might try and use the same power we did and reverse their injuries..." a tremble crept into their voice.
"Darkrai-" Clink called, struggling against the weight.
Darkrai's blue eyes blazed. "I know. Orzo has used all his strength to do this. Our foes are even stronger than before." He continued, voice louder now, carrying to the team. "We must not falter now. Victory is closer now than ever before."
And it was then a surge of energy flared around Hoopa's single ring. They shot a greatful look at the Umbreon. A flicker of their old smile began to form, both happy and almost mischievous, even in the shadow of Orzo and the other legendaries. "Victory will be ours," they said, voice nearly giddy with delight.
Helping Hand gave Hoopa the strength they needed! Next turn they can use the ring!
“Hey, look! More birdies!” Zack smirked at Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres, keeping himself in the air as the battle raged on. “How ‘bout we dance for a bit?”
“Guys! Above you!” Seb shouted, pointing towards the sky.
They all saw black clouds dropping electrified chunks of ice. One of them landed on one of the Mega-Pidgeot’s wings, sending a wave of static throughout his body.
“Woah! How’s that supposed to happen!? This ain’t normal!”
“We gotta deal with Articuno and Zapdos before we continue focusing on the King!” Seb pointed forward. He became frantic in his motions. “Jack, you go first! Weaken Articuno!”
Jack focused his gaze towards the ice bird, glaring at it before charging with an Aerial Ace and finishing with a Fury Cutter before flying back down to the ground. “All yours, Zack!”
“Yeah, likin’ the tag dynamic!” Zack scratched Zapdos’ face with a Thief attack, bounced towards Moltres with a wing slapping it hard and performed a roundhouse kick at Articuno before flying back to his Trainer. However, in the middle of his path, he came crashing down abruptly. He felt his wings heavy all of a sudden. “Woah, hey, what the heck!?”
“Zack!” The Farfetch’d became worried, and surprised once he saw what was happening not just to his friend, but to himself as well. He felt his legs heavier than before, so he looked down. He was being petrified, figurative and literally. “Oh no. No no no! How is this…?”
Zack saw it, too. His wings became useless now that they were turned to stone. “Aww, my beautiful body…” he muttered, fear in his tone, watching helpless as the petrification extended throughout his body. Tears started to drop from his eyes as he was filled with despair.
“I’m so sorry,” Jack said with a trembling voice. “I couldn’t be the Pokémon you wanted… But at least I was the friend you needed…”
“Jack-o, please! We gotta find a way to go back to normal! How is this happenin’!?”
“So…” Seb said, standing still. His birds looked at him in shock not from him being petrified with everyone else, but at how calm he seemed to be. “Yveltal has claimed our lives. Heh. I always knew our lives would end, but not like this. Either way, our time has come. Honestly, I would let death take me rather than have to deal with all the pain in my life… Eternal sleep sounds nice right now. The purpose of life is to end, after all… It’s been a pleasure knowing you all.” Just before his body turned into a complete statue, he stroke a pose. His right arm was raised at a diagonal angle above him, his left arm was at a downward angle, his head was raised and his eyes were closed. There was only acceptance in his expression. No panic, no struggle. Only satisfaction.
“Oh man oh man oh man!” Zack shook his head rapidly in panic. “Seb, you can’t be an idiot now and let it end! We gotta keep on goin’ or the world will die!” Before the stone could reach his face, he looked at the sky and yelled. “Is there’s any god who can hear me, please, we need somethin’! I don’t care if I’m supposed to be the one to save the world—we can’t do it like this! SAVE UUUUS!”
A soft, melodic tune pierced the fading storm. And the sound began to crescendo, rolling back the deathly hands of time, stone receeding from panicked bodies and desperate pokemon and humans, further and further, until all stood whole once more, weakened, perhaps, but alive.
After the petrification was reversed, Zack breathed out a heavy sigh of relief and laid down on the ground. “Yo, King… Never again… Not cool…”
Jack touched his body, relieved at the softness of his feathers having returned. He looked at Celebi with a sincere smile before seeing her disappear. “Thanks. We owe you big time for this.”
Seb gasped in shock after having been freed from the petrification. His breathing was loud and heavy as he looked around. Everyone was healed, but how? He didn’t see who helped them break free from death. Even though he was grateful at whoever saved them, he was angry. At the Golden King, yes, he still didn’t agree with his plan of turning the world into a battlefield, but he was more angry at himself for allowing death to take him. He still had so much to live for—he couldn’t throw it all away like it was trash. He still had school to finish, he still had a lot of birds to catch, he still had more Legends to discover. He bottled up all of his anger and sadness for many years. He was now starting to feel all of that negativity surging up. His throat hurt. His fists were clenched and shaking. He gritted his teeth. He breathed in a lot of air through his nose.
He now knew how important it was to feel anything other than happiness as he yelled at the sky.
“AAAAAAAAAAHHH!”
He pointed at Orzo, looking furious.
“FUCK YOUUUUU! I’LL END YOU! DON’T FUCKING RUN AWAY FROM ME! YOU FUCKING BITCH!”
“Holy crap!” Zack’s beak was open wide in shock as he saw his Trainer. “This is the first time I’ve seen him actually livid!”
“Beware the wrath of a patient man!” Jack shouted with determination. He pointed his leek forward.
And with that command, Yveltal spread wide its wings, letting loose a horrible call. The sound carved through the storm, tearing into body, mind and spirit alike, filling all who heard it immense dread. Dark aura surged from its body, pouring into the earth. The sound sunk deeper, seeming to permeate the air itself. Dark tendrils sapped the strength of the pokemon.
One by one, all who heard it would find their strength draining, their bodies weakening, their will fading. Stone creeping along their bodies. The call of Death itself.
Jade stumbled off of Keldeo's back, mind still replaying that moment over and over, when the legend's blade cleaved through the lava beast's armor. They'd done it. Groudon was down, and that awful heat had receded. The buzz of adrenaline thrummed in the back of her head, keeping her going even as more enemies poured through those golden rings, and for the first time, this was starting to feel possible.
And then that crimson bird's harsh call cut through the air, digging into Jade's ears like blades of glass. She clutched her ears, half-expecting to see blood on her palms when she pulled her hands away, but there was nothing. Nothing but the creeping numbness climbing up her limbs. Her legs were dead. She couldn't move. Panic flared up in her chest, and she opened her mouth to call out to someone, anyone, but her voice was gone, each breath shallower than the last until her lungs couldn't draw any more air.
This wasn't the end. It couldn't be. They'd come too far. It couldn't end here. No. No. No.
In her mind's eye, she saw herself reaching out toward Nine, but her arm didn't move.
Nine shook his head, vision swimming, slowly coming into focus. His body felt numb, his head buzzing with the ebbing wisps of the rage that had overtaken him, consumed him. It wasn't until he felt his paws hit the desolate ground that he managed to process the fact that it was gone. The black dragon was gone. Groudon was gone. New foes loomed overhead, but these ones he could handle. He wasn't useless. He wasn't useless.
(His eyes lingered on Zapdos, some part of him wanting to call out despite knowing that they wouldn't recognize him. His presence here meant nothing to them. And yet...)
The numbness was spreading. His paws felt cold; his limbs failed to respond. Nine dropped to all fours, struggling to lift himself. Something was wrong. His body wouldn't move. Dread clawed at his brain from nowhere, like it had woven itself into his being when he wasn't looking.
But his lightning was back, and that was all that mattered. He could feel it there, just under his skin, that energy fighting to get out, tearing its way out. The only thing left was to let it loose.
Trigger Warning: Deaths and minor depictions of broken bones and gore(?)
Heart pumping. Blood flowing. She was one with the fight and one with the chaos. Despite the distaste coursing through her very being, a small bit of her couldn't help but absolutely love the fight.
The only time she had felt like this was so so long ago. The pressure. The stress. The fear of failure. The sweat dripping down her head. She loathed to admit it but she was enjoying herself despite the consequences that awaited them if they failed.
The ground shook beneath her as heat poured from the place Groudon fell before receding back into the hole. A small smirk graced her features as she watched the mighty titan fall along with his draconian accomplice.
More legendaries replaced the two but judging from her senses alone, the three of them could barely hold a candle to the previous two.
How disappointing.
Then, a harsh shriek rang through the room.
The noise cut through her as if tearing something apart within and she fell to her knees, ears pressed against her skull in a futile attempt to dull the pain.
She gritted her teeth, tasting iron in her mouth before coughing the crimson liquid onto the floor. "Wh-what the?"
The battle quietened, almost like someone had draped a blanket over the field, muffling the noises and the world. She felt muted, like something apart of her was gone, torn to shreds and thrown into the wind. She couldn't see or at least not with her senses, everything had gone silent and she felt her heart still, her body shaking and her breath labored. She tried to move her ears, nothing but a cold, numbing sensation greeting her.
Anxious, she glanced around, trying to ignore the cold sensation travelling down her back, her fur becoming rough and stiff.
It seems like she wasn't the only one feeling the effects.
People and Pokémon alike were collapsing, weakened from Yveltal's screech. She could see them speaking to one another, confusion and defiance on various faces, she didn't really need her Aura sense to confirm her thoughts.
Fear and dread crept onto her, the familiar emotions coupled with the numbing pain did nothing to assuage her worries for him, someone she'd never wanted to be here.
June.
The thought set her adrenaline ablaze and she ran, the stone around her body creaking and cracking along with her bones.
Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay.
The stone around her legs clunked against the floor and despite the feeling of her organs shifting and freezing and despite the pain coursing within her. She continued, determined to save him even if she couldn't save herself.
Muted.
Silence.
Quiet.
Pebbles and rocks clashed against her stony body as she barged through the debris from Groudon's rampage, her stony paws doing nothing to slow her from running, nothing would stop her from–from–
No... No. She came face to face with a petrified Charmander, the solemn look on his stony face bringing nothing but despair and self-hatred. No! Not again!
Too late. Too late. Too late. Always too late. Always too la–
Orzo!
The floor cracked beneath her paws as the remainder of her fur spiked up, burned and sparked. The stone around her body moved, rippling like a pond, distorting like a black hole tearing apart a dying star.
Her amber eyes, though blurred with tears, lit up with rage and her breaths became a frosty purple as she felt something inside her physically snap apart.
One moment, she was standing beside his petrified corpse and the next, she was beside the enemy, a bright ball of energy charged up in front of her, ready to pummel her foe into a bloody corpse.
She bit down on her tongue, letting the pain fuel her rage as she stared him down. "You! Are! Going! To! Suff–"
The last of her sentence was cut off as her muzzle changed to stone, silencing her will as she collapsed onto the ground with a heavy thud as Orzo remained unharmed, unfazed by the stony corpse before him.
Seb held a hand on his hot face as he attempted to calm down from his outburst. He breathed in and out in slow intervals before he could focus his thoughts on what was important. Hating himself could wait—there were more Legends pouring out of the rings that needed to be dealt with quickly. He saw Palkia and Dialga, and his confidence faltered a bit. He wasn’t sure if the deities of space and time could be defeated so easily, so he did what he thought was rational. He kneeled and clasped his hands together and whispered a prayer.
“To any Legend that might be hearing this, please, come to our aid. Let us have the power to stand against hopelessness itself so we may be able to return home safely. Let us fight beyond our limits. Let us see that victory is possible and that the world can be saved.”
