• Hi all. We have had reports of member's signatures being edited to include malicious content. You can rest assured this wasn't done by staff and we can find no indication that the forums themselves have been compromised.

    However, remember to keep your passwords secure. If you use similar logins on multiple sites, people and even bots may be able to access your account.

    We always recommend using unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication if possible. Make sure you are secure.
  • Be sure to join the discussion on our discord at: Discord.gg/serebii
  • If you're still waiting for the e-mail, be sure to check your junk/spam e-mail folders

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Guiding Light [COMPLETE]

Negrek

Lost but Seeking
Given the update rate for this fanfic, I'd hoped I'd manage to review maybe once every three-four chapters.

So thaaaaaat's obviously been going well. But let's catch up again, and see what's been going on at least semi-recently!

Well, I was pretty much expecting Oranguru to either buy it or get infected, but I certainly handn't thought that was his objective from the beginning. (When Shane kept getting him to try and eat the berry and he said it would be a waste I was thinking, "Oh, does Oranguru have klutz as a hidden ability or something? I didn't remember that," oops.) Which, yeah, it's all kinds of messed up that Metagross would have sent them on that mission without letting them in on the little detail that it was all about Oranguru wanting to go and rest in pepperonis peace with his dead wife, but it's even more messed up that he was apparently pretending to be Incineroar the whole time he was corresponding with Oranguru. He just keeps getting sketchier as time goes on, doesn't he?

Of course there are entirely plausible non-sinister explanations as well. Like, I could see somebody pulling that nasty surprise on Shane and Tessa and earnestly think it was something that would help snap them out of their petty bickering and make them take their guild positions more seriously. It wouldn't be a good idea by any means, but people who are big on "toughening others up" can have some really questionable ideas of how it's appropriate to do so. And maybe Metagross was only playing Incineroar because he knew Oranguru was on his way out and didn't want to distress him by letting him know his old friend died. Again, not a good idea, but... I'm definitely interested in finding out what's up with the Guild's leadership. Is it really as sinister as it all sounds, or are Metagross' actions just misunderstood?

...at least partially misunderstood. Whatever the justification turns out to be, I think he's made some serious errors in judgement along the way.

Chapter 29 is probably my favorite of this batch. It's where everything finally comes to a head and Shane gets the kick in the pants he needs to realize what a dick he's been and how badly he's screwed things up, both for himself and for the people around him. It's great to see him start out the big conversation with Tessa as petty and adversarial as ever, and after having his big revelation shift to increasingly desperate attempts to talk Tessa through her problems, until after failing he's actually starting to hallucinate the accident again. This was a conversation that was a loooong time in coming, and I thought it turned out very satisfying when it did arrive.

"I don't know," Tessa squeaked, her voice cracking again. "But, the next day, Braviary showed up, looking grimmer than I've ever seen him look. He told us that there had been an accident." Her body started to shake again. She grabbed her muddy scarf off the floor. "He said this scarf was all he and Metagross found when they went to look for Dad."
Wait, so... Incineroar's NOT dead? Dangit, Braviary and Metagross, you need to watch more anime. He's not dead if you don't find the body, and doubly so if the only object left behind is an item of personal significance! And, hmm, this was at Glyphic falls... where Null is from, if I'm not mistaken...

The continued use of memories in this story is interesting. Shane's getting flashbacks not only of his human life, but of Solgaleo's memories as well... I wonder where they'll lead in the end, both sets of them. Especially considering the sometimes-unsettling parallels between Solgaleo's memories and what's up with Shane right now.

tbh I wasn't totally sold on Shane's birthday surprise pulling Tessa out of her funk and mending fences as much as it did. It does seem a little easy to me that one grand gesture like that is enough to repair as much as it did, given how messed up Tessa was. (Of course, Null helped too, and the scene between him and Tessa was very cute.) I didn't particularly want to see the team get dissolved or fall completely apart or anything, but I was expecting a bit of a rockier road to recovery, although I realize everything isn't 100% fine in later chapters. I did like that it tied in with one of Shane's memories, though, and one that actually went horribly wrong, and it was definitely cute to see the different guild members all pitching in with their various quirks.

And then onto the next infection-fighting arc! You are reeeeeally hyping up the weirdness with Metagross and Braviary here, and I'm definitely intrigued. tbh, the degree to which people are suggesting they're shady is almost making me think they're 100% innocent, heh. It was pretty frustrating for Lucario to say they "really are the scum of the earth" and then completely fail to explain what she meant. Surely if they're scum, and presumably dangerous, you want your daughter to defend herself against them, right? For which she's going to need to know what to watch out for, right? In which case you might want to actually tell her what's up? omg Lucario best parent

I was likewise really frustrated in Chapter 33 when Gallian was all "if you knew what was good for you you'd get as far away from the guild as possible" and mocking her for not having figured it out instead of just telling her what was wrong. So it was SO SATISFYING to have Shane butt in and demand an actual answer. Gallian is still frustratingly vague about a lot ("I have my own reasons for working for them" just spit. it. out. Gallian!), but it's nice to see we're moving at least a little bit away from the characters withholding information for sketchy reasons.

Returning to Chapter 32, this is kind of a shorty, isn't it? And essentially all exposition. It's interesting stuff overall--nice to get to see a bit more of Zero and characterization for Umbreon/Espeon. And Shane's odd ability, combined with his later godmode attack, make it sound almost like he's almost, like, Solgaleo in disguise, or something? Like he's going to eventually become powerful enough to take on his "true form," rather than that of a vulpix (just going by what Necrozma says at the end). But it's a little conflicting... his ability is clear body, which is Solgaleo's ability, but he was able to use Necrozma's Z-move. So is he actually an uncorrupted Solgaleo, which maybe Solaleo wanted brought to the world before Necrozma got him? And Necrozma is hen hoping to infect him later, possibly through him utilizing that Z-move power? Or is he already tied to Necrozma somehow, and the ability's a red herring of sorts?

'Ugh, was it too much to ask to just get a nice, normal day for once? I officially take back all the bad things I ever said about the filler chapters and side quests in the games,' he mentally groaned.
Heh. Grumpy gamer moments like this always make me smile.

And there's a lot more info in this chapter, too! It's pretty much all framed around fighting, which I think works pretty well; the fights themselves wouldn't be all that interesting without the dialogue going on throughout, but they add some energy to the chapter, so it's not just everyone standing around and talking. The highlight was really Tessa confronting Gallian, but there's more intriguing stuff thrown in there with the reference to Shane's ultra aura. It would defintely be pretty big if he were some weird incarnation of Solgaleo! But probably the same would be true for Necrozma, so.

And of course, Shane loses a ton of his fur again. Comfey had better get used to rolling out the extreme treatments for these guys; they're probably going to keep needing them. I enjoyed the conversation at the beginning of Chapter 34, where Tessa and Shane are super suspicious of Braviary but also trying not to read too much into what he's saying, and where they know they have to trust him to hold up his end of the mission in the end... A nice example of playing with the different levels of information that characters have, where Tessa and Shane are both freaked out and Braviary's just a little weirded out by how they're behaving, having no idea what they suspect him of.

I will say that Shane's crush on Espeon isn't something that's ever felt genuine to me. Like, he was obviously a fanboy about Espeon and Umbreon, but I wasn't really feeling the physical attraction aspect at all? It seems like I'm in one of those silly sitcom "everybody can see it but this one person" situations, haha. It's totally possible that I'm just bad at recognizing this kind of thing, but I didn't really get the sense of attraction on Shane's end when he was actually interacting with Espeon? Like, he was totally gushing when he was talking about her with other people. But with a crush I would have expected more tells to appear when Shane was actually interacting with the object of that crush... Like here Shane gets flustered when Espeon brings up the crush thing herself, but I'd kind of expect him to be distracted or off in the way he dealt with her, just on his own, and I didn't really see that, personally, here or in their previous encounters.

Espeon and Umbreon's defeat by literal deus ex machina was disappointing, although you get a bit of a pass for that since it's calling back to his mysterious looplet that you were no doubt hoping everyone had forgotten about by now and that it sets up an interesting thing with Solgaleo/Necrozma. As long as that kind of godmode save doesn't become a regular thing, it's no big deal.

And it *is* interesting, since it looks like Solgaleo/Necrozma may have some motivation of its own here. Is it just hoping to help with Zero's plan, and Shane is in some way either now or soon in the future going to be facilitating the draining of light from the world? Or is Necrozma maybe not so on board with Zero's plan (or at least not so on board with her being the one in charge) and hoping to build Shane up as a champion to thwart Zero or otherwise throw a wrench in the situation? I anticipate great drama ahead!

And of course you'd set the battle itself up so there really wasn't any way they could win without some kind of divine interaction. That moment when Espeon fired off a morning sun, ouch. Every gamer knows that feel, and of course it makes sense for Umbreon, especially, given that healing (albeit usually through wish) is kind of its thing. Setting the battle up to take advantage of the Entercards was a neat idea and obviously fits well with Espeon/Umbreon's characters. I thought it did get a little busy, though, with stuff zooming all over the place and additional wrinkles like Espeon's ice sculptures. I... didn't really know what was up with those. I thought they were supposed to be substitutes, but then all they seemed to do was explode, and in an offensive way? I'm not sure what attack is going on there (maybe... future sight?), and it was one more odd technique in the middle of a battle with a whole bunch of chaotic/unorthodox stuff going on.

Very curious to see what Espeon/Umbreon have to say now that they're uninfected, if they're in any state to be talking. After all the trauma they apparently went through with getting the life drained out of them, I doubt they can be feeling better about things after having gotten infected...

So at this point I'm thinking Zero has to be Lucario. What would have caused her to take that path? It seems obvious that Incineroar's death was a tipping point, but based on that one extra she was maybe not right in the head even long before that. So how did she end up in cahoots with Necrozma? And what was her objective in the first place, with the whole creepy second-family thing? Is this her going off the deep end at losing her "family" a second time?

I'm also intrigued by Gallian's claims that actually Shane had accidentally been correct, her mother DIDN'T love her. It's not clear to me whether he always thought that that was the case, or if it was a more recent development--he mentions her coming to him, ranting, after Incineroar's death, but was that just an escalation of something he'd always known/suspected was there, or totally new behavior? If the latter, I think it would be easier for him to write it off as a weird grief thing, but eh. Lucario seemed enamored enough in the extra we saw, but that was just a brief glimpse, and of course a lot may have changed. It's also totally possible Gallian's lying as part of an effort to separate Tessa from the guild, but Lucario's also been kind of a dick to her in their dream convos. I could see it going either way, really! One way or another I feel like there has to be something complicated and kind of tragic at the heart of Lucario's story, and I'm eager to find out more about it.

And why did she end up in Pokéworld in the first place? Do all humans arrive for some purpose, and if so what was hers? Is becoming Zero it, or is that some perversion of it? Or is it just some random, crazy chance (maybe the most tragic option of all)?

I guess I'm saying that what's the most interesting to me at the moment is Tessa's eternal family drama, haha. Which, considering it ties into the main plot, isn't a bad thing! One way or another I think poor Tessa and probably Gallian are in for a rough time of things as all the undoubtedly-ugly secrets come to light.

I'm not going to keep banging on it eternally, but I will say that the dialogue tags are still bothering me. Like, when you have something along the lines of, "'Couldn't've said it better myself, Dragonair,' Braviary complemented.", the "complimented" doesn't actually do anything to describe how the dialogue is being said, which is usually what a speech tag's for. All it does is tell you about the contents of the dialogue, i.e. that it's a compliment, which is clear from the actual... contents themselves. (Also, you want "complimeneted," not "complemented.") I think speech tags like those are redundant and also look strange, so they stick out a lot to me when I'm reading through.

Anyhow, I think this is a pretty solid set of chapters. Loads going on, both on a character level and with the overall plot, and it's definitely moving in an interesting direction. I'm wondering whether we'll get a bit of a lull now, after we've hit the climax on two major arcs (Shane and Tessa's relationship and Espeon/Umbreon), or if we're going to get slingshotted off to something else immediately, possibly Metagross/Braviary related. Or it's been a while since Special Episode, hasn't it? Whatever comes, I'm sure it'll be a lot of fun. I guess I don't really need to wish you luck with the updates, so... Keep it up, I guess? :p
 

Ambyssin

Winter can't come soon enough
Given the update rate for this fanfic, I'd hoped I'd manage to review maybe once every three-four chapters.
Aha ha... I promise the update rate will be scaling back a bit to, like, a weekly schedule once we get far enough into Episode 9. ^^;

Well, I was pretty much expecting Oranguru to either buy it or get infected, but I certainly handn't thought that was his objective from the beginning. (When Shane kept getting him to try and eat the berry and he said it would be a waste I was thinking, "Oh, does Oranguru have klutz as a hidden ability or something? I didn't remember that," oops.)
I'll take it as a win, then. Because it was supposed to be a bit of a shocking swerve. Unless you'd recently played Spirit of Justice, and found his constant references to Passimian... rather familiar. XP

Which, yeah, it's all kinds of messed up that Metagross would have sent them on that mission without letting them in on the little detail that it was all about Oranguru wanting to go and rest in pepperonis peace with his dead wife, but it's even more messed up that he was apparently pretending to be Incineroar the whole time he was corresponding with Oranguru. He just keeps getting sketchier as time goes on, doesn't he?
I'd say so. He's justifying his actions as "doing this for the greater good," which is not exactly the best self-defense strategy.

Of course there are entirely plausible non-sinister explanations as well. Like, I could see somebody pulling that nasty surprise on Shane and Tessa and earnestly think it was something that would help snap them out of their petty bickering and make them take their guild positions more seriously. It wouldn't be a good idea by any means, but people who are big on "toughening others up" can have some really questionable ideas of how it's appropriate to do so. And maybe Metagross was only playing Incineroar because he knew Oranguru was on his way out and didn't want to distress him by letting him know his old friend died. Again, not a good idea, but... I'm definitely interested in finding out what's up with the Guild's leadership. Is it really as sinister as it all sounds, or are Metagross' actions just misunderstood?
Metagross has previously referred to himself as an automaton, so you can definitely assume he's tossed any sort of emotions he had out the window. I'll be going back and revising Special Episode 1 eventually, so I think one of the aims there is to show that he at least had some degree of a personality as Metang.

Chapter 29 is probably my favorite of this batch. It's where everything finally comes to a head and Shane gets the kick in the pants he needs to realize what a dick he's been and how badly he's screwed things up, both for himself and for the people around him. It's great to see him start out the big conversation with Tessa as petty and adversarial as ever, and after having his big revelation shift to increasingly desperate attempts to talk Tessa through her problems, until after failing he's actually starting to hallucinate the accident again. This was a conversation that was a loooong time in coming, and I thought it turned out very satisfying when it did arrive.
Glad you liked it. It was meant to be the "rock bottom" point where everything just boils up over the surface. I... think there'll be another moment like this later on, but it's still just notes on an outline at this point. XP

Wait, so... Incineroar's NOT dead? Dangit, Braviary and Metagross, you need to watch more anime. He's not dead if you don't find the body, and doubly so if the only object left behind is an item of personal significance! And, hmm, this was at Glyphic falls... where Null is from, if I'm not mistaken...
Well, to be fair, I had just shown a Pokémon die and have its body turn into a bunch of light particles (there is a spirit world here, as the bit with Ninetales at the end of this episode alludes to). So, if you follow that logic, of course they won't run into the body. :V

The continued use of memories in this story is interesting. Shane's getting flashbacks not only of his human life, but of Solgaleo's memories as well... I wonder where they'll lead in the end, both sets of them. Especially considering the sometimes-unsettling parallels between Solgaleo's memories and what's up with Shane right now.
It's very much intentional, but I don't want to say anything about what'll happen when that all boils to a head, because those are major spoilers.

tbh I wasn't totally sold on Shane's birthday surprise pulling Tessa out of her funk and mending fences as much as it did. It does seem a little easy to me that one grand gesture like that is enough to repair as much as it did, given how messed up Tessa was. (Of course, Null helped too, and the scene between him and Tessa was very cute.) I didn't particularly want to see the team get dissolved or fall completely apart or anything, but I was expecting a bit of a rockier road to recovery, although I realize everything isn't 100% fine in later chapters. I did like that it tied in with one of Shane's memories, though, and one that actually went horribly wrong, and it was definitely cute to see the different guild members all pitching in with their various quirks.
It's understandable. Like I said, I know it was a bit on the cheesy side. And, you may not believe me on this one, but I was drawing from a real-life experience with this bit. Maybe I just didn't sell it well enough. Or maybe this was the result of fleshing things out a bit too much in certain parts, but not others. Episodes 6 and 7 were originally one episode, but 5 chapters turned into 12 when I revised the outline, so they got split.

And then onto the next infection-fighting arc! You are reeeeeally hyping up the weirdness with Metagross and Braviary here, and I'm definitely intrigued. tbh, the degree to which people are suggesting they're shady is almost making me think they're 100% innocent, heh. It was pretty frustrating for Lucario to say they "really are the scum of the earth" and then completely fail to explain what she meant. Surely if they're scum, and presumably dangerous, you want your daughter to defend herself against them, right? For which she's going to need to know what to watch out for, right? In which case you might want to actually tell her what's up? omg Lucario best parent
I understand. These feelings are, at least, why kind of retooled the part with Gallian to at least have him say he suspects they did something to Incineroar (but he doesn't know what). Originally, it went a lot like their first encounter did where he leaves Team Radiance completely in the dark. As to how innocent the two of them are, there will be some degree of an answer trickling in through the next two episodes.

I was likewise really frustrated in Chapter 33 when Gallian was all "if you knew what was good for you you'd get as far away from the guild as possible" and mocking her for not having figured it out instead of just telling her what was wrong. So it was SO SATISFYING to have Shane butt in and demand an actual answer. Gallian is still frustratingly vague about a lot ("I have my own reasons for working for them" just spit. it. out. Gallian!), but it's nice to see we're moving at least a little bit away from the characters withholding information for sketchy reasons.
Again, I'm probably not selling it well enough. The idea is that Gallian's so, well, dedicated to his disaster sense, that if it's telling him that explaining this to Tessa will have some sort of bad outcome, he's going to keep his mouth shut. Sister or not.

And Shane's odd ability, combined with his later godmode attack, make it sound almost like he's almost, like, Solgaleo in disguise, or something? Like he's going to eventually become powerful enough to take on his "true form," rather than that of a vulpix (just going by what Necrozma says at the end). But it's a little conflicting... his ability is clear body, which is Solgaleo's ability, but he was able to use Necrozma's Z-move. So is he actually an uncorrupted Solgaleo, which maybe Solaleo wanted brought to the world before Necrozma got him? And Necrozma is hen hoping to infect him later, possibly through him utilizing that Z-move power? Or is he already tied to Necrozma somehow, and the ability's a red herring of sorts?
I think you're getting your wires crossed a bit here. Shane does not have Light That Burns the Sky, because that attack is a giant light nuke. Unless I'm a crazy, forgetful nutcase (and I do have my moments :p ), I'm pretty sure I didn't describe a fantastic nuke at the end of the Espeon/Umbreon battle. But, yes, the weird ability is intentional, and the fact that we're learning it after some new, oddly-paralleling memories are popping up is also intentional.

And there's a lot more info in this chapter, too! It's pretty much all framed around fighting, which I think works pretty well; the fights themselves wouldn't be all that interesting without the dialogue going on throughout, but they add some energy to the chapter, so it's not just everyone standing around and talking. The highlight was really Tessa confronting Gallian, but there's more intriguing stuff thrown in there with the reference to Shane's ultra aura. It would defintely be pretty big if he were some weird incarnation of Solgaleo! But probably the same would be true for Necrozma, so.
Glad you enjoyed it. I tried to tweak the battle around a bit to better differentiate Team Paradox's members. Like, Gallian's a brawler (he fights best at close range), Sticky prefers to keep his distance and use items or lay traps, and Luxeira is, for lack of a better word, a sniper. As in, she was mostly standing around taking potshots at whoever she could, but get her in close range and she's a total pushover. XP

And of course, Shane loses a ton of his fur again. Comfey had better get used to rolling out the extreme treatments for these guys; they're probably going to keep needing them. I enjoyed the conversation at the beginning of Chapter 34, where Tessa and Shane are super suspicious of Braviary but also trying not to read too much into what he's saying, and where they know they have to trust him to hold up his end of the mission in the end... A nice example of playing with the different levels of information that characters have, where Tessa and Shane are both freaked out and Braviary's just a little weirded out by how they're behaving, having no idea what they suspect him of.
Yes, I admit that's a bit of a theme here. Maybe I'm overdoing it slightly, but now that I've stopped limiting myself to trying to keep it kid-friendly, I'm tossing in more of that stuff. I figured it does a better job showing that, yes, Team Radiance might be winning... but they're hardly what you'd call clean victories. That, and I want to show that, yes, Reviver Seeds are a thing, but that they're more like giving yourself a shot of morphine or adrenaline. I.e. you're basically fighting on through pain/serious injuries, so they're not perfect items.

I will say that Shane's crush on Espeon isn't something that's ever felt genuine to me. Like, he was obviously a fanboy about Espeon and Umbreon, but I wasn't really feeling the physical attraction aspect at all? It seems like I'm in one of those silly sitcom "everybody can see it but this one person" situations, haha. It's totally possible that I'm just bad at recognizing this kind of thing, but I didn't really get the sense of attraction on Shane's end when he was actually interacting with Espeon? Like, he was totally gushing when he was talking about her with other people. But with a crush I would have expected more tells to appear when Shane was actually interacting with the object of that crush... Like here Shane gets flustered when Espeon brings up the crush thing herself, but I'd kind of expect him to be distracted or off in the way he dealt with her, just on his own, and I didn't really see that, personally, here or in their previous encounters.
At this moment... it's supposed to be a bit awkward and out of nowhere. I'd ask that you hold onto this thought for the next, uh, several chapters. The fact that this bit popped up at the same time as the info about his ability, and random visions of Solgaleo's memories, is completely intentional. Basically, that psychic blast he took from Espeon in Sunrise Village (that made him see Lunala and Dawn Wings Necrozma) did indeed mess him up in he head.

Espeon and Umbreon's defeat by literal deus ex machina was disappointing, although you get a bit of a pass for that since it's calling back to his mysterious looplet that you were no doubt hoping everyone had forgotten about by now and that it sets up an interesting thing with Solgaleo/Necrozma. As long as that kind of godmode save doesn't become a regular thing, it's no big deal.
Ah, I'm sorry you felt that way. I should point out that it is Z-Move ex machina. Shane used Subzero Slammer. The orange aura and glowing eyes he got were lifted right out of the Gen VII games (that's what happens to 'mons when you give 'em Z-Power). I'll admit that the regrowing fur was probably a bit over-the-top, but I was giving Shane the HP restoring effects that Z-Mist and Z-Haze grant (since, well, he had gathered up a lot of mist). That kind of thing definitely won't be happening again. The upcoming chapters will explain Z-Moves in more detail, but the hope is that their future uses will be less godmode, and more Limit Break/finishing move (i.e. "the foe can barely stand, finish 'em off with your Z-Move!").

And it *is* interesting, since it looks like Solgaleo/Necrozma may have some motivation of its own here. Is it just hoping to help with Zero's plan, and Shane is in some way either now or soon in the future going to be facilitating the draining of light from the world? Or is Necrozma maybe not so on board with Zero's plan (or at least not so on board with her being the one in charge) and hoping to build Shane up as a champion to thwart Zero or otherwise throw a wrench in the situation? I anticipate great drama ahead!
You're thinking the right thoughts here. Someone else reading this has already correctly guessed what Necrozma's "deal," is, so to speak. But, I guarantee that you'll have a better understanding of his relation to Zero by the end of the episode. And I know you're not fond of the way he's written, but I'm hoping the next several chapters will offer up a good explanation as to why he's... rather unhinged and childish.

And of course you'd set the battle itself up so there really wasn't any way they could win without some kind of divine interaction. That moment when Espeon fired off a morning sun, ouch. Every gamer knows that feel, and of course it makes sense for Umbreon, especially, given that healing (albeit usually through wish) is kind of its thing.
Yeah, Umbreon's a bit more... offensive than he should be. But we're not doing VGC/Battle Spot here. XP

Setting the battle up to take advantage of the Entercards was a neat idea and obviously fits well with Espeon/Umbreon's characters. I thought it did get a little busy, though, with stuff zooming all over the place and additional wrinkles like Espeon's ice sculptures. I... didn't really know what was up with those. I thought they were supposed to be substitutes, but then all they seemed to do was explode, and in an offensive way? I'm not sure what attack is going on there (maybe... future sight?), and it was one more odd technique in the middle of a battle with a whole bunch of chaotic/unorthodox stuff going on.
I'll admit I got a bit, uh, Portal-y with regards to things flying around. The ice sculptures aren't any sort of specific Pokémon attack. I put in a blurb at the end of the chapter saying what the inspirations for this battle were. One of Pandora's attacks in the Mega Man ZX games it to create and explosive ice sculpture that bounces around the arena. So, I gave Espeon a version of that.

Very curious to see what Espeon/Umbreon have to say now that they're uninfected, if they're in any state to be talking. After all the trauma they apparently went through with getting the life drained out of them, I doubt they can be feeling better about things after having gotten infected...
You might find out sooner than you think. XD

So at this point I'm thinking Zero has to be Lucario. What would have caused her to take that path? It seems obvious that Incineroar's death was a tipping point, but based on that one extra she was maybe not right in the head even long before that. So how did she end up in cahoots with Necrozma? And what was her objective in the first place, with the whole creepy second-family thing? Is this her going off the deep end at losing her "family" a second time?
It's not the "who" that's mean to be surprising, it's the "how" and the "why." ;)

I'm also intrigued by Gallian's claims that actually Shane had accidentally been correct, her mother DIDN'T love her. It's not clear to me whether he always thought that that was the case, or if it was a more recent development--he mentions her coming to him, ranting, after Incineroar's death, but was that just an escalation of something he'd always known/suspected was there, or totally new behavior? ... One way or another I feel like there has to be something complicated and kind of tragic at the heart of Lucario's story, and I'm eager to find out more about it.
I hope the (eventual) explanations for this kind of stuff makes sense. Gallian... well, there may a bit more of a rationale to his (lack) of coherent actions in the next episode.

And why did she end up in Pokéworld in the first place? Do all humans arrive for some purpose, and if so what was hers? Is becoming Zero it, or is that some perversion of it? Or is it just some random, crazy chance (maybe the most tragic option of all)?
This isn't a spoiler, as maybe I was too vague about it in the Christmas special. The implication is that she fell through a random Ultra Wormhole.

I'm not going to keep banging on it eternally, but I will say that the dialogue tags are still bothering me.
No, I think I see what you're saying. It's probably a dumb combination of me A) not wanting to constantly repeat "said," even though that's one of those instances where's it's okay to keep using that verb in writing (I think), and B) trying to cut words/characters by using something like "praised," instead of "said with a proud smile on his face," or something similar. I'll try to keep it in mind.

Anyhow, I think this is a pretty solid set of chapters. Loads going on, both on a character level and with the overall plot, and it's definitely moving in an interesting direction. I'm wondering whether we'll get a bit of a lull now, after we've hit the climax on two major arcs (Shane and Tessa's relationship and Espeon/Umbreon), or if we're going to get slingshotted off to something else immediately, possibly Metagross/Braviary related. Or it's been a while since Special Episode, hasn't it? Whatever comes, I'm sure it'll be a lot of fun. I guess I don't really need to wish you luck with the updates, so... Keep it up, I guess? :p
Well, let's just say I hope the next episode doesn't nullify the momentum the story's had so far. ;)

Thanks again for the review! ^^
 
Last edited:

Ambyssin

Winter can't come soon enough
Chapter 36: Zero Sum Gain

~Lively Town~

"Hurry up, Meganium. We don't want to keep everyone waiting!"

Delphox looked over his shoulder, checking to make sure his partner followed. Meganium lagged behind, constantly glancing at her side as if her satchel would magically vanish if she stopped looking at it. She regretted taking seconds at breakfast. Her stomach was badly cramping. Meganium sighed in relief upon seeing the Expedition Society's large, yellow-brick headquarters. Delphox held the metal door open to let her walk through.

"We're here, everyone. What's the situation?" Delphox said. Meganium looked around at the assembled array of Pokémon, including a handful of the folks she and Delphox had recruited to Team Gaia. Archeops, who had been pacing back and forth, stopped and acknowledged them with a nod.

"Err, we'd love to get started," he said, rubbing the back of his head with a wing. "But, y'see…"

"Ampharos isn't here yet, as you can plainly see. Yo, Mawile, what's the deal?"

Mawile turned to her right. "I can't say, Floatzel. I didn't even know he'd stepped out."

"Sorry I'm late, everyone!"

A jovial voice carried through the room. Meganium and Delphox stepped aside to allow Ampharos to pass. "You're not going to believe this. I walked into Rockin' Lock by mistake. That took me by surprise. Aha ha ha!"

Half the Pokémon in the room fell to the floor in disbelief.

"Well, you're here now. That's all that matters. Let's get started, shall we?" Mawile said. "Ninetales, thank you very much for agreeing to show up in person."

Meganium fixed her widened eyes on the unexpected visitor. Normally, Ninetales turned to Pokémon Square if she needed help. What did she want with them?

"I wish I was here with better news," Ninetales began. "But I'm afraid a very concerning situation has popped up. The other day, Xatu brought me to the Hill of the Ancients and imparted a vision. One that I can't quite wrap my head around, but that's had me up tossing and turning the last few nights."

A yawn drew the groups attention to a wooden table, where Jirachi sat propped up against some books. "Are you sure you're not just tossing and turning cause of the moon?" Jirachi said, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "By my estimates, it's size has swollen by forty percent in the last two weeks alone. And it's shining with fifty-five percent brighter intensity."

"And just where are you pulling those estimates from, huh?" Floatzel harrumphed. "You certainly haven't had any problems sleeping since the moon started getting all big and stuff."

"I pulled them from my brilliant mind, of course," Jirachi said, proudly puffing out his chest. Sweat drops ran down the back of Floatzel's head.

"Um, guys? Could we save that discussion for another time?" Latias said, floating between them. "We have a guest."

Floatzel rolled his eyes and turned away from Jirachi with an annoyed grumble. "Thanks, Latias," Ninetales said. "I understand the situation with the moon is odd. But this is something different. Here, let me pass on what Xatu told me." She took a deep breath in, cleared her throat, and began to recite the vision Xatu had given her.

"A faller rises.
And a Lightless Black blots out the sun.
Wings of dawn blanket the horizon,
The Devourer of Light will have his fun.
Zero will strike. Legendries will fall.
And Mystery Dungeons shall number none."

The assembled explorers exchanged confused looks. "You said that this is from Xatu?" Bunnelby asked with a gulp. He gripped his head and shook it. "Agh, it sounds so confusing!"

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that," Ninetales said, sighing in relief. "I've been fretting over it all this time. But I can't wrap my head around it. I even tried reaching out to the spirit realm. No one there has heard about any sort of 'Lightless Black' or 'wings of dawn.'"

"Let's not forget that first line," Archeops said, biting his lower lip. "'A faller rises?' What kind of cryptic oxymoron is that supposed to be? If you fall, you're doing the exact opposite of rising."

"And you would know, Archeops. You've done more falling than anyone in town," Floatzel heckled, drawing an annoyed look from his colleague.

"Now, now, let's not ruffle any feathers. Though, I must agree. Archeops is our falling expert. If he says that falling means you can't rise, then I'm inclined to believe him," Ampharos said. Archeops buried his head in his wings, groaning loudly.

"Ampharos, if I may?" Mawile interjected, facing the table so she could hastily scribble notes. "I believe trying to interpret Xatu's words literally will not do us any good. We may need to make a few educated guesses."

"Oh? Is there something you had in mind?" Ampharos said, his tail lighting up.

"Yes. In fact, I believe I have a hypothesis as to the identity of this 'Lightless Black,'" Mawile said. "You're familiar with solar eclipses, right?"

"Are you kidding? Of course I am!" Ampharos said, grinning boldly. "But, um, maybe you ought to give some of the newer members here a refresher, just in case?"

A chorus of exasperated groans rose up. Meganium rolled her eyes. Even at meetings, her boss could be such a basket case.

"Solar eclipses are rare cosmic phenomenon wherein the moon positions itself between the earth and the sun, effectively blocking sunlight from reaching us," Jirachi explained, letting out a yawn at the end. "They can have varying levels of intensity. Sometimes the sun is partially blocked and sometimes it's completely blocked."

Mawile nodded approvingly. "Exactly. I believe Xatu has forecasted a solar eclipse. And, judging by the 'world will fall into endless night,' part, this may not be any random eclipse. Something could be triggering it," she said.

"Like, say, a spell?" Delphox wondered, pulling his stick out of his furry sleeve and staring at it. "Think about the last line in Xatu's vision. You can't destroy a Mystery Dungeon unless you can find a way to remove its ley lines. Any magic that could do that is undoubtedly strong enough to cause a solar eclipse."

Latias' eyes widened. "Wait, do you think this could tie into the moon getting larger? What if it gets so big that, when it eclipses the sun, it doesn't move away? That would leave us stuck in endless night," she said.

"But there's no way that would just happen randomly, right?" Delphox said, noting the worried look on Meganium's face. "Something or someone's got to be responsible for what's happening to the moon. Maybe they're the one who's trying to plunge the world into endless night?"

"Hmm, that does sound plausible," Mawile said, writing more notes. "But if that were the case…"

Floatzel glanced over at Jirachi. "Hey, what's she mumbling about over there, huh? You look like you've got some idea of what she's getting at."

"Well of course I do. I am a genius, after all," Jirachi boasted, rising up from his seat of books. "She's referring to the Cosmic Duo." Several of his cohorts gave him confused looks. "Seriously, you guys? Solgaleo and Lunala? The Pokémon responsible for keeping the world's cycle of day and night in balance? Does that really not ring any bells?"

Meganium had never heard of them. She turned to Delphox and shook her head.

"It's not surprising, Jirachi," Mawile said. "Even in my research, I haven't come across a lot of documents about them. All I have are some conflicting myths. One says that they were created at the start of the world like the other gods. But then there's another myth that says they're a pair of Legendary Pokémon that were born in the Horizon Continent during a time of crisis."

"Wait, that's that one donut-shaped continent on the other side of the world, right?" Delphox asked. Mawile nodded. "So, does that mean there's a problem with one of these Legends?"

"It's just a theory. I don't have any definitive evidence," Mawile said, putting her quill down. "We'd really need to talk with the Pokémon living in Horizon. The local myths are a bit of a sensitive subject, I believe."

Guys! Guys! Guys!

"Auuugh!"

A blue blur rammed into Jirachi. He yelped as he spun across the room. Jirachi would've bowled Delphox right over had Meganium not stuck her vines out and caught him by his pointed head. Everyone looked over to see Latios floating by the stairs, a look of embarrassment on his face.

Oh… today was that meeting, wasn't it? Latios said. Sis, why didn't you remind me?

Latias shook her head in disbelief. Seriously, big brother? How did you not sense everyone's auras down here?

Latios pouted. I was preoccupied with the Pokémon Nexus, he said. Because I found something huge! He turned to the rest of the assembled Pokémon and cleared his throat. "Everyone… Espeon's and Umbreon's signals are back!"

Surprised gasps echoed throughout the room. "Really? But Dedenne said they'd vanished from the Nexus," Bunnelby said.

"Well, yeah. But if they reappeared, then they reappeared," Dedenne said, shrugging.

"What? No. Don't be ridiculous. I built the dang thing, and I say that a pair of Pokémon whose signals are lost don't just magically reappear. I want to take a look at this right now," Jirachi said. He hastily floated to the stairs at the northernmost part of the room. A few moments of silence followed, only for Jirachi to speed out from the stairway, knocking Latios to the ground in the process.

"I don't believe this. He's right. Their signals are back!" Jirachi said. "They're in the Horizon Continent."

Meganium and Delphox exchanged astonished looks. "Th-They're halfway around the world?" Delphox gasped.

'Did you send them there on an assignment?' Meganium wondered, tilting her head to the side.

Delphox's brow furrowed and he shook his head. "The last thing I remember telling them was to go enjoy some time off at Pokémon Paradise. Raichu and Haxorus would've told us if there was something wrong, right?" He stroked the fur on his chin in thought. "Maybe they took a vacation?"

"And figured out a way to take themselves out of my ingenious invention? I don't think so," Jirachi scoffed, flicking a hand dismissively. "Clearly, something bad happened."

"Are you sure the Nexus didn't just mess up?" Archeops said.

Jirachi's face went bright red and swelled up. "The Pokémon Nexus doesn't 'mess up,' you got that?"

"Yessir!" Archeops squeaked, sliding under the table.

"Wait a second. This is really important!" Dedenne interjected. "Magearna and Braviary called up from the Horizon Guild last week, asking about Espeon and Umbreon."

"Oh, great… Magearna," Jirachi said, an unamused look on his face. "You hung up on her, right?"

"Now Jirachi, that wouldn't be very courteous," Ampharos said.

"The way Braviary talked about them, it sounded like something bad had happened," Dedenne continued.

"Maybe we should send someone over to investigate, then?" Ampharos said.

"Um, Ampharos, you do remember that, even with a well-trained Lapras, it would take at least a week to sail to Horizon, right?" Floatzel said, pointing to a map of the world hanging on the wall by the stairs.

"That's not necessary," Mawile said. "Latias can go." She looked up at a startled Latias. "I was hoping we could wait a little bit longer, but you might as well use the opportunity to take the Memory Looplet over to the Horizon Guild and see that experiment for yourself."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Latias, you're not about to fly off to Horizon again, are you? You were just there a couple of weeks ago," Latios said, tapping his claws together worriedly. "It's not exactly a short flight."

"I can handle myself just fine, big brother," Latias said. "I'm the liaison to the Horizon Continent. I..." Her voice trailed off. "I have a responsibility to go there and help, if the need arises."

"But she mentioned that experiment. You're not really going to go to it, are you? Mawile said it's meant for killing Pokémon like us!" Latios said. He realized his comments a moment later, and tucked his head up against his paws. "Err… uh… can you guys forget you heard that one?" he squeaked.

"Wait, what?" Delphox gasped. "An experiment for killing Pokémon?" He turned to Mawile. "What the heck's going on overseas?"

Latias shot her brother an annoyed look. "Real smooth there, big brother. We told you that in confidence."

Mawile sighed. "It seems like I owe quite a few of you an explanation. But I don't want to hold Ninetales up. So, let's wait until—"

"Actually, I'm a bit curious myself," Ninetales said. "That sounds foreboding and I'd appreciate some details."

"Okay, that's fine. Can I just help Latias get ready to depart?" Mawile asked. "Time is of the essence here."

"Of course. But don't go too far," Ampharos said. He leaned in a whispered, "We need to talk, remember?" Mawile nodded and Ampharos pulled away, putting on his usual grin. "Well, best of luck to you, Latias. We'll be cheering you on!" he said.

"Wait, you're leaving right now?" Latios gasped. "No way! You should take the rest of the day to prepare, at the very least."

"I know what I'm doing, Latios. Besides, there's something I need to do before I leave," Latias said.

"But… but what if you run into trouble? I can't let you run off like this. Not after what happened to you last time," Latios insisted. "Why does it have to be you? Why not send someone who get there even faster… like Hoopa?"

All eyes in the room fell onto Latios. He wilted and looked away. "Okay… yeah, that was a bad idea." He shook his head. "But still. You shouldn't have to stick your neck out for Espeon and Umbreon like that. Couldn't you bring someone along with you?"

"Knock it off, big brother!" Latias snapped, snorting tufts of dragonfire. She floated up to him. "Look, I appreciate that you're concerned. But I thought we agreed you'd stop babying me."

"I don't want you to get hurt again," Latios whispered.

"I'm going to be more careful this time," Latias said.

Latios' wings drooped. "Okay. I'm Sorry." He floated up and touched the tip of his wing to Latias'. "Just promise you'll at least check in with me this time. I get worried."

Latias raised a set of crossed claws. "It's a promise." They quickly embraced, and Latias turned to follow Mawile out of the building. As they walked, she dug through her satchel.

"Admittedly, I didn't have as much time to put this together as I would've liked. But I suppose that can't be helped now." She produced a stack of papers and thrust it into Latias' paws. "This is the instruction set that I whipped up from the tests I could run. I hope it's right, but I'd be prepared for the possibility that it might not work."

Latias looked down at the title page and a shiver ran along her spite. "R-Right. I can handle myself. Everything… should be okay." Despite this, she gulped.

"Hey." Mawile put an arm on Latias' right shoulder. "Are you sure you're okay with doing this? We can send a group over on a Lapras ferry, if you'd prefer."

Latias placed the manual in her satchel and shook her head. "I'm fine, Mawile. What would be the point of all the work I've done for you guys if I'm just going to bail at the first sign of trouble? I'll find Espeon and Umbreon and explain this whole experiment business to the Horizon Guild." She gave Mawile a reassuring smile. "I'll be back home before you know it."

"Sounds good to me. So, what is it you need to get done before you leave?" Mawile said

"Sorry. That's personal," Latias replied, smile fading. "I'd better get going. Good luck looking into this whole solar eclipse business. If anyone can solve this riddle, I'm sure it's you."

"Glad to have your vote of confidence," Mawile said, grinning.

Latias nodded and slipped on her flight goggles. She took off toward the water, giving one last wave before disappearing in the midday sun.

XxX

~Borea Heights~

Milotic lunged for cover behind a large ice shard. It fizzled from the onslaught of corrosive poisons. Milotic sprang upwards, rifling off an Ice Beam. A battered-looking Drampa was too preoccupied dodging leaves and dragonfire from Serperior and Dragonair. Ice coated his mutated wings. He collapsed with a loud groan.

The black crystals around his body shattered. Black smoke pooled around him for a few seconds, only to fade away. Drampa had changed back to normal, but all of the colors had drained out of his body. Milotic climbed down from the ice chunk. Her landing made her wince. "It's just like the Parasect we found in Twilight Forest," she whispered. She turned to check on her teammates. "You ladies okay?"

Serperior slumped down against a piece of debris, trying to brush ice shavings off her body. "No. Not in the slightest," she huffed. "Someone grab me a bucket. I think I'm going to hurl!"

"I've seen better days, chief," Dragonair said, glancing at the streaks of darkened scales on her body. "We really didn't need this after last week."

With a flutter of his wings, Braviary landed between them. "Nice work, y'all," he said, fighting to catch his breath. "Them varmints were mighty tricky, but y'all held yer ground nicely."

"What should we do about Team Radiance, though?" Dragonair wondered. "You sent them into Aurora Vale. Who knows what happened to them."

"Them? What about us?" Serperior huffed. "I swear there was something weird in the poison attacks Drampa used. I haven't felt this queasy since I got food poisoning from that rotten berry Haunter planted in my salad."

"Now, listen here. Yer gonna have to fight through that. Use another lum berry if'n ya have to. We ain't about to leave them rookies alone in there," Braviary said, a stern look on his face.

"Personally, I'd be a bit more worried about your situation, Mr. Braviary."

The feathers on Braviary's neck stood on end. He quickly turned around. "I reckon I don't much care for eavesdroppers. 'Mon up and get on out here, ya no-good scoundrel!"

Zero waltzed out from behind a wrecked building, offering a sarcastic slow-clap. "Clever," she said. "Espeon and Umbreon said that no one sets foot in Aurora Vale besides the human and his friends. So, you just get as close as you can without breaking that rule."

She paused to look at the comatose Drampa beside her. "And you disposed of this fellow with minimal trouble, I see. I'd expect nothing less from the guild's best and brightest. The top enforcers for a world where it's gods first and everyone else second." Zero shook her head. "It's such a shame you won't put your skills toward a more worthwhile cause."

"Son, what the heck are ya blabbering about? Ya ain't making a lick of sense," Braviary said, narrowing his eyes at Zero.

"Um, Braviary. I think this guy's related to Espeon and Umbreon," Milotic whispered. "What do you want with us, huh?" she demanded. "We beat back your crazy Drampa and all the little flunkies that infected it. So, you'd better think twice before trying anything funny."

"Funny? Please. This is no laughing matter," Zero said. "Especially when you deign to stand in front of me with those hideous badges plastered on your bodies."

"Hey! Don't you dare dis our badges," Serperior hissed. "They symbolize a lifelong dedication to helping others. Something you Prism Virus freaks clearly don't understand."

"Lies!" Zero said, raising a crystalline paw and clenching it into a fist. The guild members tensed up. "Lies you've been fed by Pokémon too lazy to do their jobs. What you wear are symbols of resignation. You've accpted a miserable status quo dominated by forces that, no matter how hard you work, will always be out of our control."

She swiveled her staff around, showing off the octahedron. "But I…" She cut herself off. "No, we have the opportunity to change it. Aren't you tired of waking up day after day and putting your necks on the line navigating dungeon after dungeon?"

Team Captivate exchanged confused looks. "Is this a trick question? Exploring is our livelihood," Milotic said.

"And it's a terrible livelihood. The product of never-ending conflict perpetuated by the complete indifferent of the gods you claim to depend on for protection in times of crisis," Zero said. "That is why I want your help. I want to use the Prism Virus to make this world a better world. A world without gods."

Zero held out her free hand and dark energy swirled around it. The energy formed into a black Beast Ball. "Join me. I can train you all. Give you access to powers you could never get on your own. Together, we will create a world brimming with Z-Power. Where Pokémon will leave in happiness, peace, and, most importantly, equality."

"No thanks," Milotic said, glaring at Zero. "We've seen what your Prism Virus does. It doesn't make anything better. If anyone's making Pokémon suffer, it's you."

"Besides, your flunkies mentioned a world of endless night. And who wants that?" Serperior scoffed. "Sounds like a miserable existence. Don't you know about the heroes who saved Temporal Tower? Do you want a dark future like we were going to have before Team Poképals stepped in?"

Zero pressed her staff into the ground, reached up, and took the octahedron in a paw. "How unfortunate. I hoped I could reason with you all. But I suppose I should've expected guild Pokémon to react this way. You are nothing but the pawns, after all." She placed the octahedron against her headdress and it sank into the star-shaped symbol. Zero took in a deep breath. A dark aura of distorted energy overtook her body.

"If I can't get you to join me willingly, then I'll simply have to use force," Zero said. She hovered into the air, raising her paws. Black cubes started to gather around her. "I'm sorry it had to be this way."

Scalding water and dragonfire swirled around a blue burst. Zero calmly nudged her helmet and vanished. She was absurdly fast. Team Captivate could only watch their blue-violet storm strike a frozen building. As ice shards exploded around them, a startled squawk rang through the town square.

Zero was right next them, her fist outstretched. And, in the distance, Braviary slid down the remains of a building's front door. Zero turned to Team Captivate and pointed her other arm forward. Distorted red light enveloped Team Captivate, accompanied by garbled hissing. Grimacing from the noise, none of them noticed the black, staticky cubes racing toward them.

Milotic desperately fired off scalding water. But the sailed out of the way. Team Captivate found themselves leaping in different directions as the cubes encircled them. Zero snapped her digits and the cubes cubes exploded.

"What the heck kind of attack is that supposed to be?" Serperior grunted, wiping soot out of her eyes. "That's cheating!"

"That's the problem with you Pokémon," Zero said, vanishing on the spot once again. She reappeared in front of Serperior and slammed a fist into her neck. An unseen force rocketed her back across the ground. Zero clasped her paws together and started charging a large red sphere. "You think so one-dimensionally."

She hurled the energy ball at Milotic, who retaliated with a huge water torrent. It wasn't enough, however. Milotic backpedaled but the energy ball gave chase. She was in shock. Her Hydro Pump should've stopped it in its tracks.

"There is an abundance of magic in this world. And yet, you avoid it," Zero said. "Because you're all scared your precious gods will strike you down the instant you try to take any of it."

Zero was distracted. Dragonair was sure she and Braviary could take advantage and strike. But Zero pivoted, sending distorted red light at them, followed by a ring of electrified cubes. Had she sensed them coming? Braviary didn't dwell on it. He flew away from the attack, while Dragonair kept her distance.

Milotic, meanwhile, had recruited Serperior to try and destroy Zero's energy ball with a a combination of water and leaves. It still wasn't enough, though. Zero detonated the sphere, filling Milotic's and Serperior's worlds with ice-cold pain.

"Yer gonna pay for that one, varmint!" Braviary cawed. Zero raised a glowing paw. Braviary realized he was flying toward a giant red square. He tucked his wings in and dove forward. Seconds later, the square rose into a pillar of distorted cubes. Zero lowered her paw, dispelling the cubes. She threw her arms up as Braviary struck her helmet with his talons. A metallic thunk ran out.

"My turn," Zero said, pointing her paws at a dazed Braviary. But fire-coated leaves peppered her back. They finally scored a hit on her. Zero wanted to retaliate, but instead went for Dragonair. She charged Dragonair down in the blink of an eye and released red psionic energy. Zero plucked Dragonair off the ground and tossed her like a wriggling worm. Dragonair landed in a crumpled heap by the town fountain's remains.

"I must commend you. That was a clean hit. It really is a shame that you're turning down my offer. You have such magnificent potential. Imagine the power you could wield with my training," Zero said. "You could be the new protectors of this world. Not a pack of lazy, self-aggrandizing gods."

"That's blasphemy!" Milotic spat. "You'd ask us to stand against the Pokémon working to keep the world turning? What kind of evil, twisted maniac are you?"

"It's not that black and white. I am trying to do good for this world," Zero said, nudging up her mask. "But my vision puts me at odds with the bloated pantheon of Legends. So, I guess that makes me 'evil.' How one-dimensional."

Zero vanished once again. Fearing an attack, Milotic spun around, sweeping an Ice Beam. The ice fizzled out against a wall of flickering cubes. The cubes surged forward. Milotic couldn't outrun them. She meekly brought her tail up. Each cube that struck seared her scales, drawing a pained hiss.

"How the heck is this loser moving so fast?" Serperior said. "Can he teleport?"

Dragonair narrowed her eyes. She was sure Zero wasn't teleporting, but needed a way to be certain. "Braviary, can you get this guy's attention?" she asked. Braviary flew toward Zero, summoning air blades with flaps of his wings. Dragonair tensed. She would only get one shot, so she had to make it count.

"Ya think yer so dang impressive cause ya throw around a buncha fancy-schmancy talk, huh? Well, that don't make ya anything other than annoying," Braviary said. Zero responded with a burst of static. Braviary's Air Slash blades dissolved into mist while Zero disappeared. Braviary tensed. If Dragonair had a plan, she needed to use it now or he'd be toast.

Seconds past. Braviary remained in the air. He felt completely fine. Braviary looked right and found Zero on the ground, clutching her helmet and shaking her head. Whatever Dragonair did had worked, though it left her dazed.

"I knew it. You're not teleporting. You're using Extreme Speed," Dragonair said, trying to distract Zero while her teammates launched their own attacks. It didn't work, but Dragonair raced toward Zero. The two exchanged blows at a breakneck pace, bouncing off one another. The stalemate repeated until they settled by the town's entrance. Dragonair doubled over, trying to catch her breath. She had used too many Extreme Speeds in rapid succession and was paying for it.

"You wield Extreme Speed well, Dragonair," Zero said. "You must've had quite the tutor."

"I did. She's a far more virtuous Pokémon that you will ever be," Dragonair hissed, unleashing a flamethrower. Liquid metal swallowed up the flames. Dragonair leaped back, her throat burning for all the wrong reasons.

"Fascinating. You ought to introduce me to her sometime," Zero said, a chuckle rumbling in her throat. "She sounds like she'd make quite the ally."

"Lucario would never work with the likes of a Pokémon like you," Dragonair barked. She was losing her cool, but she couldn't help it. Zero was so obnoxious. Dragonair rifled off a stream of dragonfire. Braviary added Air Slash blades and Milotic tried to snipe Zero from behind. But she vanished again. Dragonair was so sick of that routine.

Braviary plummeted from the sky, squawking. The impact crater he made made the girls wince. He'd need first aid for sure.

"Is this your idea of a passable self-defense? Flinging attacks like mad and praying your superior numbers are enough to carry you to victory?" Zero mused. "Mystery Dungeons have made you all complacent… and predictable."

The dark aura around Zero's body intensified. She raised both arms up toward her shoulders and corrupted red energy gathered in her paws. Staticky red light erupted around Zero, swallowing up the town square. Each guild member slowed to a crawl. None of them could process what was happening. Their thoughts moved just as slow as they did.

Zero raised a paw. Swarms of red cubes appeared, forming cannon-like cylinders over each guild member. The red light disappeared in a flash. They had only seconds to realize what had happened before swirling metal beams rained down upon them. The agony was unbearable. They all collapsed and Zero dispelled her attack.

"What now, Horizon Guild?" Zero said, removing the octahedron from her helmet and placing it back in the scepter that had materialized next to her. "Do you let your Reviver Seeds kick in and continue to struggle in vain? Or do you relent and join my cause?"

Initially, no one responded. Zero raised her staff, sighing in disappointment.

"We're… not… going to help you," Dragonair wheezed, giving Zero a defiant glare.

"... hmph. Ironic. The one who's sacrificed the most out of you lot is the only one with the backbone to speak out against me," Zero scoffed. "Tell me, Dragonair, are you happy in that frail body? How many years have you resisted the urge to evolve, hmm?"

"W… what did you just say?" Dragonair whispered, her attitude fizzling out.

"Don't play dumb with me. Your aura positively reeks of desire and jealousy," Zero said, nudging her mask.

"Don't listen to him, Airy," Milotic said. "There's nothing wrong with you

Zero knelt down and clasped Dragonair's head in her paw. "You envy your teammates, don't you? They've had their final evolutions for years. And you? Well, you've been stuck like that this entire time. Too scared your friends will abandoned you if you turn into a Dragonite. Do I have that right?"

"I… I…" Dragonair looked away. "They'd never do that to me. We've been friends forever. I choose to remain a Dragonair, because I'm more help to the team this way."

Zero released her grip on Dragonair. She slumped to the ground, grunting in pain. "Wrong answer. The truth is that you've talked it into yourself that vanity is more important than power," she said. "Your team's reputation as a trio of serpents is meaningless. As meaningless as the Mystery Dungeons the gods claim are necessary to keep the world turning."

"They are necessary," Braviary said. "Look at the Tree of Life. Rip it out of the ground and the planet'll done hurtle into the sun!"

"Hmph. That's a hatchling's tale put into your mind to make you fear and worship Xerneas," Zero said, nudging her mask. She pointed her glowing staff forward. "I can open your eyes and let you see this word for what it really—"

Zero froze.

"No," she whispered, bringing her scepter up to look at its crystal. "That's impossible!" Her lone visible eye narrowed in rage. "Troublemakers!" she hissed, tapping her staff to the ground. "Necky, get me to Aurora Vale… now!"

An Ultra Wormhole materialized behind Zero. Braviary and Team Captivate all shielded their eyes as Zero leaped into the portal. It closed behind her, leaving the guild members alone in the empty town.

Braviary stumbled to his feet, clutching an injured wing. "Y'all okay?" he asked, suppressing a cough.

"No," Serperior said. "That last attack really did a number on my tail." She raised it up, grimacing as it throbbed in pain.

"What about Team Radiance? That thing could be trying to go after them," Milotic said.

Braviary tried to lift his bum wing, only to wince and push it tightly against his torso. "It's no good. My wing's all busted up. We ain't in no condition to be helping them," he said.

"So, we're just supposed to leave them out there and hope for the best?" Milotic said.

"Uh... well..." Braviary frowned. "Look... I don't know what to tell ya. I need to get healed up. Y'all do too. We've gotta go back to the Observatory. Maybe we can get some backup?" He glanced toward the fog-filled dungeon entrance. "I just hope we ain't too late."

XxX

~Aurora Vale~

Shane stood in front of his teammates, gazing down at Espeon and Umbreon. They were covered in frost, but they were breathing. "They're still alive," he said. "They lost all those black crystals and they're still alive."

"Be careful. It could be a trick," Null warned, tensing up. He coughed and shook his head about. Tessa continued to steal glances up at Sylveon and Eevee. The hard part was over. She knew her friends would be safe soon.

"U-Ungggh…"

Shane's ears swiveled in Espeon's direction. He looked down at her just in time to see her eyes finish opening. Their gazes met for a brief second. "No way," she whispered. A horrified look spread across her face. She glanced back at her tail. "It's gone? Just like that?" She looked back at Shane.

"Es… Espeon?" Shane said. "It's okay! We're Team Radiance. We're here to help you."

"Get back!" Espeon shouted, scrambling to her feet. She staggered backward, crouching low to the ground. "You… you need to get back! Get out of here! It's going to come back," she said. Tears welled up in her eyes. "You're not safe! We're not safe. Oh, gods… what have we done?" She shook her head about rapidly.

"But we're not trying to fight anymore," Shane said. "We won't hurt you guys."

"It's too late for that!" Espeon hissed. "Umbry, get up," she said, nudging Umbreon's back. "It's gone… the Prism Virus is gone. And we're in big trouble!"

"Wh… what?" Umbreon groaned, shakily lifting up his head. The moment he did, Espeon threw herself on top of him. He grunted as his head flopped back against the ice. Espeon nuzzled him and cried into his neck.

"Oh, Umbry! It's true. The virus is gone and… and we're still here," she sobbed. "But all the damage we've done… it didn't go away! Look at this place. We've ruined it! We… we've become monsters!"

Shane's heart skipped a beat. This couldn't be right. From the sound of it, they knew exactly what happened. Which meant they hadn't been completely brainwashed.

"The explorers," Umbreon coughed. "Are they… are they still alive?"

A stabbing pain shot through Shane's chest as Espeon looked up at him. Her eyes narrowed into a fierce gaze. "You… you did this!" she shouted, pointing a forepaw at him accusingly. Null jumped beside Shane, growling threateningly. "Where did you get that power from?"

"I… I don't know…"

"Don't know? Don't know?!" Espeon snarled.

"Back off!" Null barked. "We're here… for Sylveon and Eevee."

"So? Just take them and go away! Get out of here!" Espeon said. "I… I can't…" Shudders racked her body and she fell to the ice. "Umbry," she croaked. "Make it stop… make the memories stop!" She smacked her head with a forepaw.

"Hey, cut it out! You should be thanking us!" Shane said. Umbreon blocked off his path, shaking his head.

"Keep your distance, kid," he said. "You're not going to get through to her." He turned to Tessa. "Our magic's faded from those crystals. If you break them, you'll free your friends." His gaze fell to the ice. "Please, take them and go. Don't worry about us. We don't deserve your help. Not after what we've done."

Shane opened his mouth to protest, but Null put a foreleg on his shoulder, shaking his head disapprovingly. Tessa turned and made her way up to the crystals. But she spotted a bolt of black lightning racing across them and shuffled backwards. "N-Null… I need a hand up here," she squeaked. Null lumbered up after her, fur standing on end from the electricity in the air. A warm, tingling sensation spread out from his feathery head crest, stifling his growls.

Null raised a foreleg to strike the crystal prison, when a flash of light blinded him. He gasped and staggered backward, shaking his head. Tessa looked to her right and quickly scrambled toward her friends.

"What the... what's with the portal?" Shane gasped, his stance slouching. He looked over to Espeon and Umbreon, whose eyes had widened in horror.

"No. She's come for us! Umbry, we've got to get out of here!" Espeon shrieked. She tried to stumble to her feet, only to squeal in pain as her hind legs caved out on her. Espeon fell back onto her belly, shaking like a leaf. "U-Umbry… I can't… I don't want to hurt anymore Pokémon! She's going to drag up all those awful memories again!"

"I know," Umbreon said, staring transfixed at the crystals. The portal swirling next to them disappeared and Zero stepped out of it, distorted energy blurring her body. She turned and fixed her eye on them. Umbreon's gaze wilted.

"So, it's true. Someone purged the virus from you both," Zero said. She looked over at Team Radiance. Her red eye flickered blue and she rested a paw on her helmet. "It would seem Espeon and Umbreon were right. You are quite the curious trio."

Shane's throat went dry. "Who are you?" he asked hesitantly.

"You may call me Zero," she replied.

Shane tilted his head to the side, expecting Zero to say she was joking. When she didn't, he shook his head. "Seriously? Is that supposed to stand for 'Zero self-confidence?' Because it takes a real sorry soul to hide themselves behind a mask," he said. "Seriously… you've got 'try hard' written all over you! You make my partner's brother look like a basket of sunshine and puppies."

"Shane, maybe you ought to stop," Tessa squeaked. They were in no position to deal with this newcomer.

"No, I think I'm onto something here," Shane growled, glaring at Zero. "I'll bet you wake up every morning, look yourself in the mirror, and say that you're 'the tallest of mountains and the roughest of waves,' or some utter nonsense like that, am I right?" He glanced at Null. "Better be careful, big guy... or you'll cut yourself on all this dude's edge."

"... Aura Sphere."

A ball of red energy exploded underneath Shane, flinging him skyward. He fell to the ground screaming. When he struck the ice, he looked up toward Zero's mask. The static momentarily faded from her body. Shane's eyes slowly widened.

"No," he whispered. "No, that can't be right!"

"How long did you have those insults waiting in the wings, you sad, sorry Vulpix man-child?" Zero said, shaking her head. "My name is Zero, as in 'Patient Zero.' I'm the instigator of the Prism Virus."

"Sh… Shane?" Tessa squeaked, worried by her friend's sudden stupor. "What's wrong?"

"Lu… car… io…"

Shane's whisper was so soft that only Zero could hear him. "… hmph. I see you all standing there… judging me. My Prism Virus has done nothing wrong. But that won't convince you. You three are pawns of the gods, just like every Pokémon labeling themselves an explorer."

"The fact is that everything Espeon and Umbreon did can be reversed," Zero said. Espeon flinched and buried her head in her forelimbs. "And I fully intended to turn each infected Pokémon and dungeon back to normal. But then you three intervened." Zero shook her head disapprovingly. "And now... well, I can still fix it. But it'll be much... tougher."

"I… I don't believe you," Shane said. "Evil… it always tries to justify its actions with whatever flimsy logic it can find. Well, I'm not falling for it!"

"Then you're a self-righteous buffoon," Zero sneered. "Tell me, human. If my virus couldn't be reversed, then how do you explain these two pathetic whelps sitting beside you?" She gestured to Espeon and Umbreon. "I do not wish to bring harm to Pokémon. I want to save this world. Save it from the endless cycle of chaos that our gods use for their own self-preservation. And I can't do that if every Pokémon has been transformed into an Ultra Beast."

"Please, Zero. Just leave us alone," Espeon whimpered. "We don't… we don't want to work with you anymore."

Zero's gaze fell on Espeon. "I don't care. You're both my Pokémon. You don't have a say in this." She raised her staff and the octahedron pulsated with red energy. "I don't feel like training you up again if someone else can remove my handiwork. But I won't let you wander around and spill all my secrets. So, I'll need to take your life energy until I'm finished with my work."

"No… no!" Espeon screamed, turning to flee. "Get up, Umbry! Get up! She's gonna—"

"Consume," Zero said, pointing her staff forward. A purple and black energy beam spiraled toward the Eeveelutions. But before it could reach them, a loud bark echoed through the clearing. Espeon and Umbreon slid across the ice, safely out of harm's way.

"You leave them alone!" Shane growled, crouching low to the ground. Zero's red eye flickered purple and she chuckled, prompting Shane to declare, "Oh, so you can emote after all?"

"Look at you. Standing there, trying to put on a brave face like you're some sort of hero," Zero said.

"I am a hero!" Shane said, smacking the ice with a forepaw. "I'm the hero who's going to help the Pokémon here get rid of you and turn things back to normal." He looked over at his teammates and gave them a nod.

"A hero? Please." Zero gave Shane a dismissive wave. "Frankly, calling you human is a stretch. You're a meek little furball who has yet to realize just how hopeless his situation is."

"If your big, evil plan is to tear me down with a laundry list of reasons why I suck, then I'm here to tell you it's not working," Shane said, though he winced at the sound of his cracking voice. "I'm far from perfect. But I know a bad Pokémon when I see one. And that's exactly what you are."

Zero adjusted her mask. "No amount of courageous hero talk can mask the fact that, in reality, you're scared. You don't have the strength to stop me." Zero pivoted to look at Tessa. "And what of you, girl? Nothing to add to support your partner? You're a rather pathetic excuse for an aura wielder."

With a whimper, Tessa looked down at her feet. "How disappointing," Zero scoffed, turning to face Espeon and Umbreon. "Now then, where were we?" She raised her glowing staff once again. Shane's eyes widened and he dashed across the ice, sliding in front of the Eeveelution duo.

"I already told you to leave them alone," Shane barked. "You're not getting to them this time."

"Then let me show you what happens to those who stand in my way," Zero said. She swung her staff around and struck the crystal imprisoning Sylveon and Eevee. Tessa's friends fell on top of each other. This immediately caught her attention. Her aura feelers shot up.

"No! Leave them alone!" Tessa screamed. Null gasped and reached a foreleg out to try and restrain Tessa, but missed her. Tessa sprinted toward Zero, aura encasing both her paws. Shane turned and focused his mind on Zero. He let loose a psychic blast, only to watch it fizzle out against a shield of red cubes.

"W-What the—" Shane gasped, watching as Zero lay the tip of her staff atop Sylveon's body.

"Consume," she said. Shane gasped and Tessa stumbled to a halt. Zero drained the color off of Sylveon's and Eevee's bodies. Swirls of colored pixels surrounded the crystal in her staff. They rushed inside and the octahedron sparkled with a rainbow glow.

"No! Sylveon! Eevee!" Tessa shrieked.

Shane's stance slackened. His legs threatened to give out on him. After the grueling dungeon trek and the fight with Espeon and Umbreon, they had ultimately failed.

Zero lowered her staff and raised a paw. "Destroy," she said. A rainbow glow emerged from inside her mask. Crystals encased Sylveon's and Eevee's bodies. Zero clenched her paw into a fist and the gems shattered, evaporating into a fine black mist.

"You monster! I'll kill you!" Tessa roared, resuming her charge. Tears streamed from her eyes. She raised her paws, looking to strike Zero with a flurry of Force Palm blows. Zero pivoted so her raised paw faced Tessa and opened her fist. She hoisted Tessa into the air. Tessa thrashed about, screeching at Zero and blinking her eyes rapidly in an attempt to dispel the tears.

"Upset, are we? Good. Perhaps now, you'll understand where I'm coming from," Zero said. "Maybe if you behave, I'll bring them back. But first, let's be rid of that scarf of yours, shall we? You don't deserve its protective power."

Shane stood there, petrified. He glanced at his looplet, hoping to see the same spark of energy that helped him save Tessa from Espeon and Umbreon. But the gem remained a dull-gray color. His heart sank and his gaze fell toward the ground. He couldn't believe it. Gallian was right. He wasn't strong enough. He failed Tessa. He failed her friends. And now, they were all going to die.

Something bristled Shane's fur. Ahead of him, Zero stumbled forward, hissing loudly. Tessa fell to the ground and Null swooped in, carrying her over to Shane's side. He had enough time to look over his shoulder, before a red and black vortex swallowed him up.

"What?" Zero looked in the red light's direction. Her eye widened. Team Radiance, Espeon, and Umbreon, had vanished from the dungeon without a trace. Growling, she gazed into her scepter's crystal. "Necky, I'm finished for the day. Bring me home."

A wormhole opened up in front of Zero. She stepped inside it, leaving Aurora Vale behind.

XxX​

Next time: Team Radiance tries to piece things together.
 
Last edited:

Ambyssin

Winter can't come soon enough
Content Advisory: this part has several adult themes, including references to sex and suicide. Nothing is described explicitly.

This here is an impromptu, experimental bit that I decided to do for Valentine's Day. If you like it, great. If you don't, that's okay. It's a bonus for a reason. That said, I'm going to do something I haven't done before (but may do for some future chapters), and suggest that you have this playing on repeat in the background while you read.

XxX

Bonus #7: Two Confessions

Our whole family was built on a lie.

I never got to tell you that. I couldn't figure out how. I wasn't even sure I wanted to. But after you died, I found myself wishing I had. Compassion was something you always had in spades. I guess that's why everyone in the guild loved you so much. And I guess that's why the kids preferred you to me.

The truth is that you were not my first partner. Those were not my first kids. This was not my first family. I am human and that is why I go by something other than "Lucario." Maybe you knew that the whole time, but you didn't speak up because you didn't want to upset me? That wouldn't surprise me. In which case, I suppose all of this is pointless, isn't it? Still, I need to get this off my chest. If you're reading this, then, against all odds, I succeeded. And I need to confess to what I've done.

My memories have always been intact. I never found the strength to tell you that. The day we met on Stormcracker Isle, I saw something in your eyes. I saw Rory. He was... no, he is my husband. At first, I tried to ignore the connection. But the longer I spent fighting you, the more I pictured Rory. So, when the dust had settled and we finally had a heart-to-heart, I panicked. In human media, amnesia is such a cheesy cop-out. You Pokémon don't know that. So, I clung to that flimsy excuse. For twenty-five years.

"O, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive."

Walter Scott said that. You wouldn't know him. He's human. Like me. I just thought it fitting. Because, frankly, he's right. I think I'd make an Ariados blush with my handiwork. And yet, I'm sure you'd still find it in your heart to forgive me, because that's just who you are.

I don't deserve it. Because our love was never really genuine. At least, my side of it wasn't.

At first, I befriended you because you reminded me of Rory. You reminded me of happier times. Of what I wanted to go back to. I figured, if I grew close to the Guildmaster's son, then somehow, someway, I could go back. It had already been a couple of years, yet you reignited my hope of going home. But days stretched into weeks stretched into months… and that hope faded again.

I remember the night I skipped dinner and lay curled up in my room, crying. You came in. Asked me what the problem was. I told you it's nothing to worry about. You spent the whole night with me anyway. I think that was the first time I saw you for… well… you.

Then you did a mission with me. I remember that, too. Walking through Aurora Vale, gathering stardust under the brilliant light show. We made it to the end of the dungeon and your tail brushed up against mine. You said it was a sudden breeze, but I should've known better. After all, you went to grab an Escape Orb and our lips met. It was brief. But I felt a spark. Just like I had with Rory.

It confused me. Did I really enjoy kissing you? Or was this some primal Pokémon urge bubbling up inside me? Where I'm from, Pokémon just disappear into streams of pixels and pop up with eggs. So, I figured physical intimacy wasn't a thing here. Guess I was wrong.

I should've broken things off right there. But I didn't. Because it felt good. Thrilling, even. No matter what I do, I can't seem to forget the adrenaline rush I got from sneaking into your dad's office with you. Even though he found us wrapped around one another, I didn't care. My limbs were shaking that whole night. I was giddy at the time, but now… now I'm just wondering what I was thinking.

That's when I really should've ended things. Of course, that didn't happen. Looking back on it, I'm sure that the whole transformation thing messed with my mind. I was a mature, responsible adult when I left the human world. But when I woke up a Riolu, I acted like a kid again. A reckless, invincible little thing. And even though there was a strong part of me that knew how messed up that was, I didn't care. I liked your shape. Your scent. Your taste.

Then we evolved. I'll be honest, when you talked about an "evolution high," I thought you were bluffing. But, well, after that day, I can believe it. I mean, it's been on repeat in my mind all this time. The shivers I got when you brushed your claws through my fur. Your warm breath washing over my neck. The flames around… well… you know. Painful at first, sure. Suddenly having metal coat your skeleton will do that, I suppose. And you wondered why you were the one with the bites on your neck the next morning.

Oh god, I'm rambling. See… this is what you do to me. Even from beyond the grave. You're just so… so perfect. Every time we had a disagreement it never escalated. When I asked for my space, you gave it to me. When I asked for your attention, you put your friends aside for me. Looking back on it, that's probably what tipped the scales against you. I didn't pay Braviary and Metagross much mind. They didn't like me. I didn't like them. We respected each other's boundaries, but I get the sense they didn't like the direction our relationship took.

What was I saying again? Oh, yeah. How you were just too perfect. The more we were together, the more I forgot about Rory. The more this… all of this felt like a second chance. But even as I finally… finally started to feel like Horizon could be my home… there was this voice. This nagging little voice.

"Never forget who you are. Never forget what happened."

That's when you sat me down and told me you wanted to start a family. Things unraveled from there, even if it didn't look that way to you. I threw every excuse I could think of at you. But you… you wore me down with best weapon in your arsenal…

Patience.

I never bought into that BS nonsense about dark-types being conniving devils. But leaving me alone to dwell on the idea of having an egg? That was pretty sinister. You didn't have to say a word. I just sat there… letting the idea fester. I had hoped that if I stayed quiet long enough, the issue would go away.

But the gods had other plans, didn't they?

Why did we even go to the Invern Mountains that day? I don't remember. But, well, we went. And there was Gallian's egg. Sitting in a snow bank, slowly freezing over. I don't think I'd ever seen you move as fast as you did when we spotted that egg. Everything after that was a blur. I recall a few snippets. Like how you pretty much camped out in the infirmary, refusing to go anywhere or even eat a proper meal until you were sure the egg would hatch into a healthy baby. And how happy you were when you got the okay to foster the egg.

I had objections. Strong objections. But seeing that smile on your face… that warm, loving smile… made me bite my tongue. I suppose it helped that the sex we had then was mind-blowing. The egg hatched, of course. I can still remember the joy sprawled across your face. Holding up a little Absol. Nuzzling it affectionately. And me? I just sat there… staring.

"Gallian."

You didn't hear it the first time. I just whispered it without even thinking. The nagging voice had come back. "If you can't go home, then get back what you lost." And so, our son became Gallian. My second Gallian. You never knew that. The kids didn't, either. At least, I don't think they did. Unless you told them. Or Braviary. Lord knows Metagross wouldn't say anything.

The next several years… a thick haze clouded up my mind. Gallian grew and you pressed me to have an egg of my own. I never remember saying yes, but I don't remember refusing, either. And I know you. You never would've forced me. I think I agreed. Because, before I knew it, I had a daughter. Tessa was back…

… except she wasn't. Just like Gallian wasn't Gallian. And you weren't Rory. I did the best I could. I smiled at the kids. Told them I loved them. Gave them attention. But my heart wasn't in it. It was my fault. I should've put my foot down, but I couldn't muster the strength to break things off with you. Just like I couldn't find the strength to tell you I'm human. See, we've come full circle, haven't we? Things were bad, sure. And yet, your smile still managed to warm my heart.

And then you were gone.

When I got the news, I broke that table you made. Y'know, the one we had a bit of fun on when we were feeling particularly frisky? I turned the whole house upside down, actually. I couldn't believe it. Two separate lives… and in both of them, I lost the one person who meant more to me than anything. I refused to roll over and take it. I tore up the library, gathering every piece of info I could find about Horizon's myths. I found the materials I needed to get an audience with one of the Tapus. I took the scarf — the one made from Ho-Oh's rainbow feathers — and marched up to the Temple of Balance…

… only to be turned away.

"Give up. You are not one of virtuous spirit. Your mind is poisoned. And your body is alien. My brethren and I will never summon Ho-Oh for the likes of you."

Tapu Fini's words still haven't left my head. How could she just judge me like that? After everything I had been through? After all the heartache I had beared? First the gods led me to an egg I didn't want. Then they conspired to help your so-called friend take you away from me. And, when I tried to bring you back, they laughed at me. I went blind with rage. At least, that's what I think happened. I'm still not sure why I went over to Glyphic Falls. But everything that happened after that was crystal clear.

Cold metal claws tore through my flesh. I fell from my perch, screaming into the night. And I saw them. A pair of fierce, glowing red eyes. That's when I knew. I knew he had killed you. And now he had come for me. But something hit me before I could complete my fall.

I wish it hadn't. Because it made my life — my current life — an endless, restless cycle of pain. Horrible, burning pain. Pain that scarred my face. Pain that tainted what little fur remained on my body. Pain that took half my vision from me. Pain that twisted my aura into something… well, something as hideous as I look now.

I'm glad you're not around to see me like this. To see me stagger around my new home… draining Pokémon of their life to make the pain go away. And all because of Glyphic Falls. Because, instead of eating food, I have to take in spirits. Because I won't allow myself to simply drop dead. See, after all this time, I've finally realized why I'm here.

I spent my days as a human preventing pain. Making people's suffering stop. I thought I could do the same thing here, but I was wrong. I understand now. No matter how hard any normal Pokémon works, they can never truly fix anything. I certainly tried. And this world rewarded me by taking you away from me and leaving me with nothing...

Nothing.

Zero.

Which is why I'm going to end everyone's suffering… by destroying the ones responsible for it. If I alone have to bear the brunt of the world's pain to make this happen, then so be it. I will not allow anyone to hurt like I have. Not anymore.

Yes, it's true that there have been… missteps. Pokémon whose lives I've taken to keep my powers stable. Depending on how things go today, I may be adding Leafeon's daughter and grandson to that list. But I can't help it. I'm the only one who can do this. That is why I came to this world. It has to be. Ironic that I ended up a Lucario. In my world, they're fictional creatures considered noble to a fault. But this isn't noble. It's far from it. I don't care, though. I was a terrible Lucario, anyway.

I will bring those whose light I stole. Just like I will bring you back… and bring my real family back to me. Soon, I'll have full control of my "partner's" powers. Then, and only then, will everything finally be right.

I'm sorry this is how you had to find out about this. I hope that, one day, you can find it in your heart to forgive me. And, if not, I at least hope you understand why I did what I did.

XxX​

It's been awhile, hasn't it, Rebecca? Or maybe it hasn't. I'm still not sure how the whole "flow of time" thing works between worlds. Do you even remember me? Because I sure remember you.

At first, you were just the new girl who smiled at me when we passed in the hall. Then you evolved into the girl who sat across from me in most of my classes. You have no idea how relieving it was to see someone else choose to sit in the front, rather than end up there because no other seats were left.

I was never great at judging what other people thought of me, which is probably why I took these small gestures to mean something important. Frankly, it's not like you did anything to make me think otherwise. You actually came to me when we were told to partner up. Nobody ever did that. Except Shane. But, well, high school really emphasizes separating everyone, doesn't it? I couldn't help it if I did better than him in school. If I ended up in all the honors classes and he… didn't. So, I really appreciated the gesture… at the time, anyway.

Now, I see that you were just setting yourself up. To use me for your own gain. I should've noticed who you ate lunch with. They'd given me so much trouble already, but I paid it no mind. I had already convinced myself that you were different. That you were special somehow. So, imagine my surprise when I saw you show up to swim practice. This had to be some sort of joke, I told myself. And it was… but I couldn't see that at the time. Instead, I saw this girl — who smiled at me and me feel welcome in class — go into the same lane as me. Stopping to ask me how I was doing. Exchange a quick word about class. Small talk, sure. But when I only ever really talked with one other kid my own age, it meant the world to me.

So, I asked you to a movie. Some cheesy rom-com. A flick I'd never give the time of day on my own. You said yes. I actually had to process that response. Remind myself that this didn't mean anything. We were just… two classmates going to hang out.

Didn't stop Mom from gushing over how proud she was that, "I was finally expanding my horizons beyond Shane."

Dad was much blunter: "Guess you're not gay after all. Good. Now, don't screw this up. Leave your stupid pokeyman toys at home."

Naturally, I listened to him. Though, now that I think about it, it probably didn't matter, did it? You already knew about my hobby. You heard it from your "real friends." My money's on Geoff. The guy was always a jackass and I swear he had it in for me. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's just… remember the good times. And that movie was a good time. Not the move itself. Oh god, it was awful. Full of every romance cliché imaginable and filled with pop music that made me want to pull my ears out. Still, I had fun. All because of you.

I remember the smile you gave me when we got back to your house. "Let's do this again sometime," you said, and vanished inside. Okay. So, we did it again. And then a third time, with an added dinner. Shane wondered why I didn't want to hang with him that weekend, by the way. I told him I'd caught a cold. I lied to my friend for you. Granted, I was looking for a way to put a bit of distance between us. Still, that was a big deal for me. That's how much you meant. And that's how much you managed to pull the wool over my eyes, I guess.

Or maybe I'm just ignorant. We spent plenty of time together... and never did I suspect that anything might be wrong. I brought you over to see my parents. I'll never forget the looks on their faces when you said, "You mean he hasn't told you about us? We've been dating for a month!" You'd have thought I'd just gotten a full ride to swim for some big-name school. That's how crazy it was. I still couldn't believe you had used that word. "Dating." Like a foreign language to me.

Of course, I had to tell Shane. "I'm happy for you dude," he said. He wasn't. In fact, he looked like I just told him I'd shot his dog. I didn't care, though. Shane was too clingy for his own good and never seemed to listen to me when I told him I needed some space. So, of course I felt happier than I had in a long time.

Which brings us to that fateful weekend. You know the one. The football team was state champ and news you'd be hosting a party spread through the school like wildfire. "You should come," you said. "It's gonna be wild."

I told you that I didn't do so well with crowds.

"That's okay. Because, I was thinking we'd spend some quality time together. Y'know… just the two of us."

English may not have been my best subject, but I could definitely read between the lines. I didn't want to let this opportunity pass me by. So, even though Shane and I had been planning to attend a midnight movie premier for months, I blew him off. Told him I'd gotten a real bad stomach bug. He believed me, of course. Bless him. The hard part was trying to get through the checkout at the pharmacy with a straight face.

I came to the party, just like you wanted. I wore the stuff you asked me to wear. Which should've been a red flag, but I was too excited to notice. I said hello to all the guys I hated. They looked surprised to see me at first, but they were very friendly and polite. Another red flag I failed to catch. Maybe that's because the punch I was drinking wasn't really punch? They'd warned us about this kind of stuff in health class. I just… tuned it out. I was doing it for you. Because you made me happy. But by the time I found you, I could barely stand. I managed to mumble a greeting, then everything went black.

You were there when I woke up, holding a washcloth in one hand and a towel in another. I asked you what happened.

"Don't worry about it," you said, and then pushed me toward the bathroom.

I repeated the question, but you tossed the towel to me and shut the door. If I hadn't felt like crap, maybe I'd have noticed that my shirt was on backwards. And then I would've suspected something bad had happened. But I didn't catch it at the time. I showered, and then you were gone. Your older brother told me to get out. Your parents were coming back and the two of you had promised no funny business while they were gone.

I left. I had a lot of questions, but no one was giving me answers. So, I just hung out with Shane and dropped the subject… until school started up the next week. Suddenly, the people who paid me no mind in the halls were looking at me. Not the way you did. No. They had smirks. I could see amusement in their eyes. I was like… like some sort of sideshow attraction to them. But all I was doing was walking. I sat by you in math class that day. You got up and walked to the back of the room. I didn't understand what I had done wrong. The more the day went by, the more restless I got. None of this made any sense. I couldn't reach out to Shane. I'd have to tell him that I ditched him for you. Luckily, some dumb freshman left his computer window open... and I saw exactly what had happened.

I'll admit, you guys really got me. Whatever you put in my drink, it worked. I can say that now, having had centuries to process what you did to me. I'm sure you'll be confused by that. Good. Because that's exactly how I felt... looking at those photos.

How could you do this to me? I thought we really had a connection. But, no. It was all a lie, wasn't it? A lie to get you your vaunted spot atop the school's social pyramid. To cement your ranks with the "in" crowd. Why else would you have put them up online, for everyone in school to see?

I imagine you must've been very proud of yourself. After all, when the principal came and plucked me out of class to suspend me "for violations of the student code of conduct," you were all smiles. I saw the pats you got on the back. The high-fives. This was your plan. And you'd succeeded. No one would believe me if I said it was your fault. Because that was the beauty of the internet. These stupid adults didn't know how to trace it back to you. And they didn't want to try. The last thing any snooty administrators wanted were their faces on the evening news, with reports of "an investigation into a hazing incident."

What did I ever do to you? What did I do to any of you?

I like to think I know the answer. You can thank Dirk for that. He gave me a pretty big hint when he "accidentally" spilled his coffee on my 3DS that first day back at school. Apparently, I had stepped out of line. I was either allowed to be a jock like him... or a dweeb who played kiddie games, like Shane. I couldn't have it both ways.

I know you were there when it happened. You stayed silent. You wouldn't meet my gaze. Perhaps some time to reflect on the issue had left you with a guilty conscience? I sure hope so. It's the least you deserve. My guess is you were just too preoccupied to notice. Or care. Because I was never someone important to you. I was a stepping stone. I'd served my purpose. You had moved on ahead, with no plans on looking back. That's fine. I moved on, too.

I wonder how you felt when you heard the news? I wonder how everyone at school felt. Oh, if I could've been a fly on the wall in school after I'd succeeded…

I don't know what I'm psyching myself up for. Let's face it. We both know what happened. I wasn't one of the "admired" students. I didn't get a vigil. I didn't get a heartfelt card with messages of love sprawled all over it. I'll bet the school sent a mass email to the parents. They brought in grief counselors... not that anyone would need them except for Shane. And they held an assembly where they got some whack-job psychologist or motivational coach to sit everyone down and talk about why suicide is wrong, how there's so much to live for, that you need to pay attention and intervene, and a bunch of other stuff we've all heard before. Then everyone moved on with their lives.

I wonder what you would think of me if you could see me now? Would you apologize? Maybe. I imagine there would be begging and pleading. Tearful confessions about how wrong you were. About how someone else made you do it and how you always loved me and believed in me.

Of course, you'd be lying through your teeth. Because I've seen your black heart for what it is. Which is why, when I'm whole once more, I'm going to come back. I'll visit all the "wonderful friends" I made in school. And then, I'll come find you. I'll rip your black heart right out of your chest and tear it shreds. All that'll be left is your light.

Sweet, delicious light.

XxX​

Hopefully that clears up some questions some of you have had.
 
Last edited:

Ambyssin

Winter can't come soon enough
Chapter 37: No Sense of Direction

~Aeon Observatory~

"Eyowch!"

Braviary's good wing flapped open in surprise, smacking Misdreavus from behind and nearly making her to drop the bowl of burn ointment resting on her head.

"Golly, Braviary. Watch where you're pointing that thing," she gasped.

Braviary ignored and her and fixed an angry look on Comfey. "Dangummit. Warn a feller when yer gonna go jostling his bum wing, will ya?"

"We've been over this before, Braviary," Comfey sighed. "If I tell you when I'm going to fix your wing, you'll just tense up and make it impossible for me to work. In any case, it should be okay now."

Braviary slowly lifted up his injured wing and gave it a light flap. "Err, right. Nice job, pardner," he said, face flushing slightly.

"Hoo-whee, I'm still a bit confused as to just what happened to you four," Misdreavus said, levitating a brush over Milotic to apply some of the ointment to her belly.

"Yeah, you guys look like you got put through a cheese grater!" Haunter said, going intangible to dodge a swipe of Seperior's tail. "And you've got all the funk of smelly cheese going, to boot. Mwee hee hee!"

"We got jumped by this…" Serperior's voice trailed off. "I don't even know what to call it. It was a thing. It acted like it was a Pokémon, but it sure didn't attack like one. Airy, you're better at explaining this stuff. Loop 'em in, will ya?" She glanced over her shoulder at Dragonair, but her teammate lay facing the corner of the infirmary. "Airy, you feeling okay?" Serperior asked.

"I'm fine," Dragonair whispered, but her tone of voice suggested otherwise.

"Aww, c'mon, Dragonair. You're safe and sound at the guild," Haunter said, floating in front of her. He detached his mouth from his body and rotated it 180 degrees. "Let's turn that frown of yours upside-down!"

A stream of dragonfire pelted Haunter. He struck the wall behind him and his ectoplasmic body splattered against it like jelly spread on toast. "O-ho-kay… or not," he said.

Milotic and Serperior exchanged panicked looks. Bright light then funneled in from the hallway.

"Whoa! Team Radiance? What happened to you guys?" Togedemaru's surprised gasp echoed. "And… is that Espeon and Umbreon? Ah! Emergency!" Sounds of quick, small footsteps filled up the infirmary. "Sound the alarms! Get the Guildmaster! We're in trou—"

"It's fine, Togedemaru," Shane cut in. "It's… it's fine."

A loud sob reached the infirmary, making Milotic's eyebrow-like fins crinkle up. Everyone, including the injured Team Captivate, quickly made their way toward the assembly room. Togedemaru and Trapinch stood there, backs against the wall in surprise. The beaten-up trio of Team Radiance lay in the middle of the room. Next to them sat Espeon and Umbreon, who looked even worse for wear. Tessa held her paws to her face, bawling hysterically.

Without warning, she took off running toward the stairs. "Tessa, wait!" Shane cried, trying to grab her tail with a forepaw. Null held him back, however, and shook his head.

"… let her go. There's nothing… we can do for her," he grimly, lowering his head grimly.

"Good gracious. What happened to you all?" Comfey gasped. "I can't let your team out of my sight for one afternoon without the three of you getting torn to shreds!"

"Forget that," Trapinch fumed, glaring at Espeon and Umbreon. "What are you two doing here? Give us one good reason we shouldn't get Officer Magnezone on the line."

"It's okay," Null said, stepping in front of them. "They're… not our enemies anymore…"

"Alright, all y'all need to stop and take a deep breath," Braviary declared, sticking a wing out between Null and Trapinch. "Now, why don't you loop the rest of us in as to just what happened in Aurora Vale."

"Only if you tell us what happened to you guys," Shane said, giving Braviary a suspicious look. If Drampa had given Braviary a hard time, Shane wanted to know.

"Hrmph. I was gonna get to that anyway," Braviary said. "Go on. Start talking."

Shane recapped Team Radiance's trek through Aurora Vale, including the dungeon's icy traps, the battle with Espeon and Umbreon, and Zero's appearance. Looks of shock appeared on his guild mates' faces when they learned of Sylveon's and Eevee's fates.

"Oh… oh gods. Those poor souls," Milotic said. "They didn't deserve any of this."

"I can't believe you two did this! You should be ashamed of yourselves," Togedemaru said, glaring at Espeon and Umbreon.

"You think we don't realize that already?" Espeon said, her voice cracking. Her head and shoulders drooped. Tears splashed against the floor. "It's all over for us. We can't go back to the Mist Continent after what we've done." She shivered. "I can still see them. All the Pokémon I hurt." She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head rapidly. "I want it to stop. Oh, Umbry. Why won't it stop? Why can't I just shut my stupid, stupid brain off?"

"But, you saved us, didn't you?" Shane said. "Tessa had our Escape Orbs, but we vanished from the dungeon before Zero could do anything to us. You guys must've done that."

"We had one more Ultra Entercard at our disposal. We used it to come here," Umbreon said, frowning. "It was all I could think of." He drew his lips back, showing off his fangs. "I wish I didn't have to use it. Just feeling its power made me wish I was dead."

"So, this 'Zero' lady ditched us to attack your team," Milotic said. "And we just came back here… too banged up to go back for you guys. Some help we turned out to be."

"Wait, you dealt with Zero, too?" Shane gasped. "Is that why you look so beat up?"

"Yeah. But she ran off, hissing about 'troublemakers.' And not a moment too soon. We were…" Milotic shuddered. "We were hopelessly outmatched."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Shane asked.

"Most of her attacks… weren't even real Pokémon attacks," Milotic said. "She did all this creepy stuff where she distorted the air around her. I can barely even explain it. We got our tails handed to us. And what made it even worse was that she had the gall to lecture us about how foolish we were to be part of the guild. She called us paws to the gods."

"I think she said the same thing to us," Shane said, his voice faltering. Given what he'd heard, it really was nothing more than a struck of luck that he was standing back at the Observatory. If Zero could wipe the floor with four opponents, then Team Radiance stood no chance against her.

"Well, yeah. That's what Zero's after," Espeon said. "She wants to wipe the gods off the face of the earth… forever. The endless night business is part of that."

A tense silence fell over the room, with everyone's gazes falling toward the floor. "Okay, I'm gonna be 'that guy,'" Haunter said, his body coiled up to form a giant question mark. "What does destroying gods have to do with plunging the world into eternal night?"

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Shane said. "If the Prism Virus gets rid of all gods, then that includes Dialga. And if he's gone… then Temporal Tower will fall again."

"No," Espeon whispered. Shane's ears stuck up. "Zero doesn't want that. She made it very clear that there's no point to everything the Prism Virus is doing if the world falls into ruin."

"Zero said she has a way to use the Prism Virus' powers to erase dungeons like Temporal Tower and the Tree of Life, with no consequences," Umbreon said. "She intends to make sure things like time and space flow freely, without any Pokémon controlling them."

The group sat there, processing Umbreon's claims. "The way you're talking about it… it sounds like you believed her," Shane accused, narrowing his eyes at Umbreon.

"We did," Umbreon said. "We believed it. In fact, a part of me still believes it's possible. There's…" He gritted his teeth. "There's a part of me that wants to see it happen. I mean, when you think about it, it makes sense, doesn't it? Imagine never having to worry about the planet falling into ruin because some god loses its mind. Doesn't it sound good? Doesn't it sound... reasonable?"

Everyone assumed fighting stances in an instant, though the injured guild members did so with pained winces. It sounded like the two weren't as free as Shane had thought.

"You don't understand!" Espeon cried, choking back tears. "What Zero does… it's not brainwashing. It's not mind control. It's just… awful." She shrank down to the ground, curling up in a ball. "When we found her in our home, she just… sat there. And talked to us."

Espeon's shivering intensified. "The more she spoke, the more bad memories kept getting dragged up. All of the Pokémon who suffered at Kyurem's and Munna's hands. The chilling, suffocating cold. And then Dark Matter. Oh, gods, Dark Matter…" She rubbed her paws across her face.

"All I could think about was how terrified I was… staring down Yveltal before getting turned to stone. And those wretched, miserable Voidlands. I couldn't stop! The thoughts kept pouring in." Espeon smacked her head against her forelegs. "I saw Void Shadows everywhere! Standing there… taunting me! Laughing at me! They wouldn't go away. I tried everything… and they wouldn't! Go! Away!"

"Our fear turned to anger," Umbreon said, turning away from the group. "I was furious. Because we suffered thanks to Dark Matter, while the gods sat in their homes… doing nothing until it was too late."

"We've been over this before. They did help in the end," Shane said. "Otherwise, Dark Matter would have won!"

"It doesn't matter," Espeon hissed, slapping a forepaw on the ground. "I said the same thing to Zero and she laughed. She looked me right in the eyes and said, 'And what do you think will happen when another abomination like Dark Matter strikes? Do you really think you can keep relying on humans to bail you all out?'"

"We were so afraid. We couldn't take it anymore. So… we agreed to help her," Umbreon continued. "That's when Zero conjured up these two balls and threw them at us. One of them struck me and… and…" He threw his forepaws up over his head. "This horrifying energy grabbed me and dragged me up into a vortex. It felt like something was tearing me to shreds!"

"It was terrifying! I thought I was going to suffocate and die," Espeon bawled, curling up against her partner. "All around me was darkness. I thought I'd been turned to stone again! But the darkness went away. And I was back in the house. I felt… stronger. Stronger than I'd ever felt in my entire life."

The chitin on Null's foreleg tingled. He looked down. Shane staggered backwards, tails curling around Null's foreleg. His jaw hung open. "Are you okay?" Null said.

"Th… that's impossible," Shane whispered. "Hit by a ball… swallowed up by energy?"

Zero somehow had access to Poké Balls. And this was a world full of wild Pokémon. A shiver raced across Shane's spine and his fur bristled. He fell silent and shook his head slowly.

"So, all the stuff y'all have done to our continent?" Braviary said, giving Espeon and Umbreon a stern look.

"Was our idea," Espeon said, wilting under the collective gazes of the guild members. "We thought that if we corrupted the Pokémon and landscapes of your continent, we could draw out the Land Spirits."

"You guys wanted to go after the Tapus?" Togedemaru gasped.

"Those were Zero's orders," Umbreon replied. "She knew that one of the Land Spirits holds something called the Dawn Hourglass." Umbreon looked up into a cluster of widened eyes. "Zero wanted us to find it, so she could absorb all of its power. She said that the Dawn Hourglass' energy would let her charge up our Ultra Entercards to the point where we could summon Magnagates strong enough to transport us directly to the end of any Mystery Dungeon, even ones sealed behind magic barriers like Temporal Tower, Spacial Rift, or, well, everything in the Sea of Wonders."

"Which would make getting to any of the world's gods a complete breeze," Serperior said. "That's sickening." She leaned in, a worried look on her face. "Did Zero get the Dawn Hourglass?"

"Thanks to a stroke of pure luck, no," Espeon said. "We had covered Aurora Vale in ice to rile up Tapu Lele, but it looks like she suspected something was wrong. She sent a Ditto to scout ahead disguised as her." Espeon's gaze fell back toward the ground. "That's when Zero insisted we kidnap Sylveon and Eevee to get to Vulpix."

Shane's blood ran cold. Zero really did want him dead, then. Shane thought about his dream visions with Solgaleo. He had claimed Gallian was behind everything, but clearly he was wrong. Did Solgaleo just not know or was he, perhaps, misleading Shane?

"Getting the Dawn Hourglass would also rid the world of daylight," Umbreon said. "Hence, the whole 'world of eternal night' business."

"But that can't be right," Haunter said, frowning. "All the legends say Solgaleo's the one who can control the sun. The Dawn Hourglass only comes into play if something really bad were to happen to him."

"But something bad did happen," Shane said. "In my dreams, Solgaleo told me something drained him of most of his power. I'll bet Zero tried to attack him!"

"Tried?" Espeon said, drawing everyone's gazes back to her. "The way Zero and her crazy pet sounded, they succeeded."

"What do you mean 'they succeeded?'" Shane asked, growing more worried. Had he actually been right? Had Solgaleo misled him?

"Solgaleo's already gone," Umbreon said, drawing a chorus of surprised gasps. "Zero said she fed him to her pet… Lunala."

"What?!"

Half the assembled guild members shouted their surprise in unison. Shane's head throbbed. The guild faded from view. Necrozma floated opposite him, a big grin plastered on his face. He melted away as soon as he appeared, leaving Shane standing dumbstruck.

Zero was a Lucario. She had Lunala as her pet. Tessa said she thought her mom was protecting Lunala. Which meant that Zero was Tessa's mother. Shane looked toward the stairs, his chest growing heavy. Tessa's own mother had killed her friends. Worse, she was ready to choke the life out of her own daughter!

Shane's legs shook. It was taking every ounce of willpower not to pass out. This was too much. What was he supposed to say to Tessa? Not to mention... if Solgaleo really was gone, then who was the Pokémon in his dreams?

"I don't know how Zero did it, but she turned Lunala into this right creepy Pokémon, who cackles incessantly and rambles on and on about how all the light in the universe belongs to him," Espeon said. "Hearing his voice always made my skin crawl."

"She really fed Solgaleo to Lunala?" Comfey said. "That can't be right. Solgaleo and Lunala are a unit. Each iteration has worked together to keep the balance of day and night in the world. Lunala would never turn on Solgaleo like that."

"Unless Lunala's been infected," Null said, voice filled with dread.

"No, that can't be right," Milotic said. "If the Prism Virus is trying to wipe out all the gods, then why would it rely on one of them to meet its endgame?"

"And didn't Vulpix say Solgaleo's given him dream visions?" Trapinch said, glancing at Shane. "That must mean he's still out there."

"As much as I'd love to believe that, the writing's on the wall," Espeon said. "Haven't you been watching the sky? The moon's growing larger every day."

"So what? The moon gets bigger and smaller all the time," Haunter scoffed.

"But not like this," Milotic said. "It's unnaturally big and unnaturally bright."

"Because the moon's positioning itself to encase the sun in a permanent solar eclipse," Umbreon explained. "With no Solgaleo, there's no one to make sure sunlight reaches the planet. Meanwhile, Lunala is free to manipulate the moon." His ears drooped. "If your legends are accurate, then Zero taking the Dawn Hourglass' power would mean there's no way to reset the world's supply of daylight."

"Leaving behind a world of endless night, unless Zero chooses to reverse it," Espeon said.

"Wait, Magearna told me that, in ancient times, Ho-Oh maintained control of the world's day-night cycle," Shane said. "Surely Ho-Oh's realized there's something wrong by now, right?"

That may be true, but it does nothing to help our situation.

The group turned to see Magearna appearing out from her hallway. Allow me to offer an apology cycle for my intrusification, she said, bowing her head slightly. She remained still for several seconds before returning upright. Cycle complete. Now then, as I was saying, while it might be true that Ho-Oh can manipulify light to reach the planet, it is a skill that she has not used in a considerable amount of time.

"Which means what, exactly?" Trapinch asked.

"Duh. Isn't it obvious? The birdbrain's gone so long without having to do it, she's forgotten how," Togedemaru snorted.

"You can't be serious. That's way too important of a thing to forget," Serperior said.

I'm afraid I must agreeciate with Togedemaru, Magearna stated. Even a god's memory is not infallible. They're bound to forget things. Especificially gods that aren't psychic-types.

"Then why not stash those memories away with a psychic-type god?" Serperior said.

Look, I'm not trying to say Ho-Oh would be no help in this scenuation. I am just suggesting you temper your expectations by seventy-two percent, Magearna said. It's unreasonable to think a Pokémon can simply call forth a power that's laid dormant within them. We all forget moves and abilities as we age. I don't think it's different for the gods.

"Alright, everybody oughta settle down here," Braviary declared, lifting up a wing. "I think… we've got a lot to digest. And, frankly, most of us ain't in the right state of mind to be thinking 'bout this stuff. Let's focus on getting healed up first, and then we can put our heads together and see if we can come up with some sorta plan. Sound good?"

Murmurs of agreement and head nods followed. Shane shifted uneasily, worried Braviary's suggestion wasn't meant to help, but hinder. Braviary turned to Espeon and Umbreon. "As fer you two. I want you coming with me to see the Guildmaster pronto."

The order caused Espeon to arc her back and hiss, fur standing on end.

"Espy!" Umbreon gasped.

"No. I'm not going anywhere near him!" she cried. "I can sense his energy." She shot Umbreon a despondent look. "I'll bet he's been going through my memories since we got here. And that's why I can't get them out of my head."

"Be quiet!" Braviary cawed. Several Pokémon near him jumped in surprise. "This can go one of two ways, missy. Either you see the Guildmaster and, if'n he clears y'all, we'll patch the two of you up. Or I take you to Officer Magnezone and you can look forward to rotting in jail." His eyes narrowed at them. "So, what's it gonna be?"

Umbreon gave his partner a worried look and gestured at Braviary. Espeon slumped over in defeat. "... fine. Take us to him," she whispered meekly.

"Good. Maybe then y'all can start thinking 'bout how yer gonna make things up to us."

Espeon flinched. "M-Make things up? No! I can't. I don't want to get involved." She looked at Umbreon, who shook his head solemnly. "Umbry, please don't make me do this," she squeaked.

"We don't have a choice, Espy," Umbreon whispered. "Not after what we've done."

"Exactly. Now, follow me." Braviary walked forward and shooed the duo off toward Metagross' office. The rest of the group returned to the infirmary. Shane looked at Null. He didn't have to say anything for Null to pick up on his nervousness over Braviary's sudden shift in demeanor. But Null had nothing to offer Shane. He trudged toward the infirmary.

Before Shane could follow him, one of Magearna's mechanical arms blocked his path.

A moment please, human, Magearna requested. I could not help but notice that, from the sound of things, the move you used to defeatify Espeon and Umbreon was not normal.

"Yeah," Shane confirmed. He lifted his foreleg up. "My looplet glowed while it happened. And then the glow faded and the gem turned all gray." He glanced at the looplet. "It looks like the color's back, though."

Ah… it can't be!

Sparks landed on Shane's shoulders. He stumbled backwards with a whine. Magearna slumped over, a wayward current racing across her body. Shane's tails shot into the air. "W-What the—" He looked around the room in confusion. "S-Somebody help! I think Magearna's busted," he cried.

"What do you mean busted?" Togedemaru asked, popping out from the infirmary. "She's a living being!" The heads of several of his guild mates joined Togedemaru in the doorway.

Magearna righted herself and blinked her mechanical eyes. My goodness. That was the most intense surge in shockification levels I've ever felt since my circuitry activated. I've never gone to one hundred percent so quickly. But forget that! She turned to Shane. How could I not have realizinated this earlier? Oh, I am going to need numerous shame algorithms to process this blunder. She brought her arms up against her face and shook it repeatedly.

"Stop beating around the bush and tell me what's wrong already," Shane begged. "Is it the looplet? Is it trying to kill me?" He put his foreleg on the ground and frantically tried to push the anklet off, to no avail.

No, no. Quite the opposite, actually, Magearna said. That is no ordinary looplet. What you have there is a Naturia Looplet.

"No way!" "It can't be!" "I thought those were a myth." "How the heck did he get one?"

Shane's ears twitched from the chorus of whispers behind him. "Okay, someone's going to have to loop me in, because I'm quite confused." He paused for a moment. "Heh… loop. That's a good one." A series of annoyed groans rang out from the infirmary, making his ears scrunch up. "Hey, that was clever, dang it!" Shane huffed.

A Naturia Looplet is a looplet imbued with the life energy of one of the Land Spirits, Magearna explained. Judging by the green colorification on that gem, I calculate a greater than ninety-nine percent chance that it was Tapu Bulu who gave you that.

"But I've never met a Tapu Tofu before. I don't even know what it looks like," Shane said, staring blankly at his looplet.

"Tapu Boo-loo, you dork! Are you trying to get us all cursed or something?" Togedemaru said.

You say you've never met him, but that has to be his life energy I'm detectinating. These readings are astronomical! Magearna said, eyes flickering rapidly. And, from what it sounds like, you used a Z-Move against Espeon and Umbreon. Only the power of a Naturia Looplet can grant a normal Pokémon access to Z-Moves.

"Wait, that was a Z-Move?" Shane gasped. His jaw fell open. "You mean this whole time I could've—" He fell to the floor and buried his head under his forepaws. "Aggh! You big, dumb, stupid idiot!" He smacked his cheek multiple times. "Do you realize how much trouble you could've prevented if you'd used it earlier? You're so pathetic, Shane!"

"Huh. That wasn't the reaction I was expecting," Togedemaru mused.

"Yeah, I figured he was going to start prancing around the place singing about how awesome he is," Haunter added. "I guess I dragged these out of my room for no reason." He nonchalantly chucked the Haunter-colored maracas in his hands over his shoulder. Misdreavus caught them in her spectral hair and disappeared into the floor with them.

Don't beat yourself up too much. It's been so long since a normal Pokémon's been seen with one, it was assumed they were only meant for Totem Pokémon to use, Magearna said.

"But wait. This could be really important!"

Cold air bristled Shane's shoulder. "Gah!" He jumped backwards. "When did you get here?"

"S-Sorry! I'm sorry," Mimikyu squeaked, swiveling his makeshift tail forward to cover his eyes. "You guys were so busy talking, I didn't want to say anything."

"Well, you're talking now," Togedemaru said. "Go on, finish your thought."

"Well, Shane said that the very last thing Espeon and Umbreon were hit with was the Z-Move, yes?" Mimikyu said, drawing a nod from Shane. "And they're here with us now, right? As opposed to getting turned into colorless, motionless statues?"

"Yeah," Shane said.

Ah, I see what you're getting at, Magearna said.

"Right. What if Shane's Z-Move can free Pokémon from the Prism Virus?" Mimikyu proposed.

Shane's eyes widened as the realization sank in that he had freed them. "Then we might have a way to save infected Pokémon after all," he said.

Don't get too carried away. If the data I have is true, you can only use a Z-Move once in a Mystery Dungeon, Magearna cautioned. Judging by your explanolation earlier, I believe that is the case with your looplet.

Shane's ears folded against his head. "So, I've got to pick and choose when to use it, huh? That dampens things." He looked down at the looplet once again. "But wait, isn't there any way we could try to get more of these? If Z-Moves can stop the Prism Virus, then everyone in the guild should have a Naturia Looplet."

"It's not that simple, genius," Togedemaru scoffed. "Naturia Looplets are only granted to worthy Pokémon by the Land Spirits. And that means you have to be able to find one of them and prove you deserve the looplet." She rubbed her chin. "Then again, if you got one without even knowing how, maybe it's not as hard as the legends say."

"Hey! No need to dis me like that," Shane growled.

"It wasn't an insult. Just an observation," Togedemaru said, frowning.

Shane still gave Togedemaru a nasty look before turning back to Magearna. "Isn't there any way to figure out where the Tapus are hiding?"

I might be able to generatify a plan, given some time, Magearna said. If anyone needs me, I'll be in my workshop. She disappeared into the hallway she had popped out of earlier.

Shane sighed and rubbed his head. "Now what?" he muttered. "I have all this new information, but it doesn't feel like there's a thing I can do with it!"

"Maybe focus on healing up first?" Mimikyu said. Shane gave him a look of disbelief. Mimikyu flinched. "A-Ah! It was just a suggestion, that's all. Y-You can go do whatever you want." He quickly shuffled backward.

Shane walked past Mimikyu, glancing down the stairs. Tessa had run down here earlier. He figured he should check to make sure she was okay. "Hey! I'm going downstairs to find my partner. Don't anyone go yelling at me for entering the veterans' quarters this time, okay?" he announced.

"Sure, buddy. Whatever you say."

"Gah!"

Drifloon popped out of the wall. Shane leaped up in surprise, hit the edge of the stairs, and tumbled down them. His joints rattled with every step he hit until he landed at the bottom in a fuzzy white heap.

"Huh. And here I thought Vulpixes always landed gracefully," Drifloon mused, disappearing back into the wall.

Shane groaned and staggered to his feet. He really hated those ghosts. Shane looked down the veterans' quarters, narrowing his eyes to adjust to the lower lighting conditions. "Riolu? Hey, Riolu! Are you down here?" At first, he heard no response. However, his ears soon twitched.

He should've known Tessa would go to her mother's room. Though, with the conclusion he had drawn earlier, the thought of entering said room unsettled him. Nonetheless, Shane padded forward and glanced toward the appropriate doorway. The room was as messy as he recalled it being at the start of the week. He caught a flash of blue in his field of vision and turned his attention toward the far corner of the room.

Prisma's bed sat buried underneath a bookshelf that had toppled over, scattering books all around it. It was at the foot of the bed that Tessa lay curled up into a ball. She clasped her scarf and a piece of paper in her paws. While she wasn't bawling her eyes out anymore, her soft, muffled whimpers made the fur in Shane's ears tingle.

"Riolu," he whispered, stepping into the room. Tessa's aura feelers twitched the moment his forepaw hit the ground. She pivoted, turning her back toward the doorway. Shane's tails fell to the ground. "Riolu, I'm sorry," he said, continuing toward her. "I don't know what to say."

He reached Tessa's side while she attempted to curl up into an even tighter ball. His heart sank. This wasn't fair. Tessa didn't deserve this. Not after everything that had happened over the last few days. This was supposed to be a fresh start for the team.

"Please," Tessa whispered, making Shane's ears twitch. "Please… just be quiet. I don't want to talk right now."

Shane opened his mouth, only to slowly close it and silently bow his head. He couldn't leave her alone any longer. "C… can I join you, at least?"

Tessa didn't reply, which technically meant she didn't refuse his offer. So, Shane slid down beside her. It wasn't long before Tessa shifted her position, so her head came to rest against his side. He avoided eye contact, instead glancing at the paper in her paws. It was a photo. One of a younger Tessa and Gallian, together with an even-younger Eevee. Incineroar and Sylveon were both in the background, holding up an Eevee-shaped cake.

"You guys were really close," Shane said, only for his eyes to widen. He meant to think that, not say it. Where had his inner monologue gone?

"They were practically family," Tessa said. She rubbed her face against his hide. Her snot seeped into Shane's fur as he suppressed a grimace. "And… and now they're gone. Just like everyone else."

They fell back into silence as Tessa stared at the picture. There was a longing gaze in her eyes. "Is there anything I can do? Y'know, to help and stuff?" Shane said, praying she would respond.

"Tell me… that it's going to be okay," Tessa said, blinking tears out of her eyes.

"Huh?"

"Tell me that they're not really gone!" Tessa cried, grabbing Shane's face and swiveling it to meet her tearful gaze. "Tell me we can find a way to bring them back!"

"Uh… w-well… I d-don't really…"

"There has to be way! There just has to," Tessa blubbered. "All the other times the world was in danger, the heroes fixed everything. They made happy endings for everyone. So, why should this be any different?"

Shane's muzzle stiffened. That was true for his games back home, too.

"Come on. You're always going on and on about how well you know the stories. Tell me that once we beat the Prism Virus, they'll come back!" Tessa pleaded. "That all we need to do is stop Zero... and I'll have my friends back!"

"I… um..." Shane shut his eyes and forced himself to look away. "You're right. We can't give up hope."

"I knew it."

"Hmm?" Shane opened his eyes to find Tessa staring down at the photo again.

"You don't really believe that, do you?" Tessa whispered. "They're gone. They're gone and they're never… they're…" She curled back up into a ball.

"Wait. No! No, I really believe it," Shane insisted, though the uncertainty in his voice was plain as day. "B-But you're not of any help to them all banged up like this. We, erm, we need to get you all healed up."

"No."

"Huh? B-But—"

"Please… just leave me alone."

"Riolu—"

"Shane, I need some space right now. I'm not going to hurt myself or anything," Tessa said.

He wanted to believe her, but wouldn't forgive himself if he left her alone when she really needed help. "But—"

"Get out, Shane," Tessa said. After a long pause, she added, "Please."

Shane frowned. He felt so useless. Shane wondered if maybe he should get Null to help Tessa. He got to his feet, continuing to stare at her. After a minute of Tessa lying still, Shane made up his mind. He silently walked out of the room. His gaze remained fixed on the floor as he trudged up the stairs. When he arrived back at the assembly room, he spotted Espeon and Umbreon walking out of the Guildmaster's office. Blank expressions sat on their faces.

"You two!" he shouted, stomping up toward them. "What else aren't you telling us about the Prism Virus, huh? And Zero, for that matter?"

Espeon and Umbreon exchanged panicked looks. "We've said everything we know. Honest," Umbreon replied.

"Well, I'm not convinced," Shane huffed. "What happens to the Pokémon who turn colorless, huh? Is there any way to bring them back?"

"This is about your partner's friends, isn't it?" Espeon said, frowning.

"Of course it is!" Shane barked. How could she act so stoic about this? He stood up on the tips of his toes and got into Espeon's face. Espeon took a cautious step backwards. "You hurt her. You hurt her badly. And if that wasn't bad enough, you flat-out admitted you were aware of what you were doing the entire time!"

Espeon shuffled backwards. "Stop reminding me of how much I screwed up. It's bad enough I'm stuck with all these memories. I don't need you making it worse!"

"What more do you want us to say?" Umbreon asked. "You saw what happened to Riolu's friends. There's no coming back from that. I'm sorry."

Shane pulled his lips back into a snarl. "That's not good enough!" he shouted, pushing his face against Espeon's chest. She slid back once again. One of her hind paws slipped out from behind her. With a yelp, Espeon slipped into Bruxish's pond.

"Espy!" Umbreon cried. He tackled Shane to the ground. "What the heck is your problem, kid?"

"My problem?! What's your problem?" Shane hissed, squirming about underneath the dark-type. "You're brushing over Riolu's losses. Didn't you see how devastated she was? You at least owe her a big… no, a huge apology! No… more than that. You need to fix this! You need to make things right!"

"Come on. You didn't think we'd at least apologize?" Umbreon huffed. "How do you think we're feeling right now, huh? This isn't going to do anyone any good. Least of all your friend!"

"Goooooood heavens," Bruxish's voice carried from the pond as a soggy Espeon splashed up next to her partner. "Warn a fellow before you go diving into their home, dahling. You nearly made my heart stop." Bruxish disappeared back under the surface, muttering something to himself. Espeon turned and glared at Shane.

"Oh brother. Suck it up. A little water never hurt anyone," Shane growled, recalling his multitude of unwanted dips. He fixed his gaze on Espeon, but heat soon rushed into his face and he looked away.

"Why are you being so nasty toward us?" Espeon asked, trying to shake herself dry to little avail. "We realize what we've done is wrong."

"Then go apologize to Riolu. Now!" Shane said, huffing out frost. "And, while you're at it, why not try to make up for what you did and help us figure out a way to beat the Prism Virus? You're both really smart. I'm sure you can think of something if you put your heads together."

Espeon slapped her forepaw on the ground. Water droplets splattered against Shane's cheek. He flinched and turned away. "Don't you get it," she said. "There's nothing we can do. You saw Zero's powers for yourself. Our normal abilities alone aren't good enough to stop her."

Shane wriggled free. He bolted to his feet and snorted another tuft of frost at Umbreon. "I can't believe you two!" he spat. "Moping about in defeat like she's already won. I always thought you two were so cool... the way you helped stop Kyurem and the Bittercold. You were heroes to me! I... I..." Shane's gaze fell onto Espeon. He watched water drip off her fur.

He turned away, a look of uncertainty on his face. "I guess it's true what they say. Never meet your heroes. You just wind up getting disappointed by what you see," he growled.

Umbreon opened his mouth to retort when a half-avian, half-furry foreleg reached out in front of him. He followed the limb to Null's body, locked eyes, and then abruptly looked away.

"… I think you two… should give us the room…"

Umbreon nodded slowly. "Come on, Espy. Let's go dry you off," he said. They then left Null alone with Shane.

Turning to Shane, Null rasped, "Okay. What's with the attitude? You totally… flew off the handle... at them."

"No, I didn't. They deserved it," Shane said. "I was doing it for Tessa." When Null responded with an unamused look, Shane shouted, "It's not fair!" He then lashed out at the wall, only to quickly withdraw his throbbing paw with a whimper.

"I've worked hard. I've gotten stronger. I'm patching things up with everyone. So, why did we fail again?" Shane said. "Every time I go up against the Prism Virus, things go wrong! And it's getting worse, not better." He collapsed to the ground, burying his head in his forelegs.

"Shane," Null whispered, extending a foreleg toward him.

"Don't 'Shane' me!" Shane hissed, swiping Null's foreleg away. "You don't get how messed up all of this is. I…" He shut his eyes and scrunched up his face. "Null… I can't do this. I can't do this anymore."

"What are you... talking about?"

"The dungeon-crawling. Fighting the Prism Virus. It's too much! I'm in too far over my head!" Shane said. He couldn't hold it back any longer. Tears trickled down his cheeks. "Zero… is Tessa's mom."

"That's impossible."

"I'm sure of it," Shane whimpered. "Don't you get it? The answer was sitting in front of me the whole time, but I was too stupid to notice it!" He let out an unhinged laugh. "Tessa's mom is a human. That's why Tessa and Gallian have names. She's a human... and she's been here god only knows how long. Now she's trying to destroy the world!"

"I don't… believe you. Zero… didn't sound… anything like a girl," Null said, shaking his head.

"Believe it. I saw her outline up close, Null," Shane said. "She had the figure of a Lucario. She was wearing Egyptian clothing. She had a mask of Anubis over her face! Anubis is the inspiration for Lucario in my world." He buried his face in his forelegs, shivering. "It can't be anyone else. It's her." He looked up at Null, blinking tears out of his eyes. "This is too much. I can't fight against Tessa's mom. Now when she's got crazy powers."

"What about Tessa?" Null whispered.

Shane bolted to his feet, tails fanning out in panic. "We can't tell her anything!"

Null tensed up. "What are you saying? It's her mom. She's been trying… to find out what happened to her… since she got here," he growled.

"That doesn't matter. You saw her for yourself. She's a mess!" Shane said. "If we tell her that her mom's Zero, then… then she's going to kill herself for sure!"

Null stepped forward. His stone helmet jammed Shane's snout backward. "We have to tell her," he hissed. "If we don't… and she finds out on her own… then what do you think… is going to happen?"

"Well... um..." Shane hopped backward. "You want to tell her? Fine!" he growled. He stepped to the side and gestured toward the stairs. "Be my guest. Well, go on. What are you waiting for? March on down there, look her in the eyes, and tell her, 'Hi, Riolu. Sorry about your friends. Oh, by the way, your mom's the one who killed them. Because she's a murderous psychopath now!'"

Null tackled a squealing Shane to the ground. "What are you doing?" Shane said. "Help! Somebody he— mmfffgh!"

Null grabbed Shane's snout in his talons. "Stop… stop it!" he snarled, thrashing his head about. Shane swore he heard Null's voice crack. "Do you think… I like this? Riolu's my... best friend. I don't want… to see her in pain. I don't want… to see either of you… tearing yourselves apart like this." He leaned down, digging his helmet into Shane's ribs. "But we have to tell her. She deserves to know… what's going on."

Silence fell over the two of them. Shane stopped struggling. He couldn't think up a counterargument. Null was right. Keeping this big of a secret from Tessa would do far more harm than good in the long run. And he couldn't subject Tessa to something like that. Still, there was a big problem in front of them.

"How?" Shane squeaked. "How can we possibly break news like this to her?"

"I don't know," Null said. "But we'll have... to think of something. I dunno… maybe ease her... into the conversation? Didn't she say… she was having dream visions… about her mom... and Lunala?" Shane nodded silently. "Then just based on... what Espeon and Umbreon told us… we have a place to start."

"Do we have to do it right now?" Shane whimpered.

"I guess not," Null sighed. "We can… think on it… overnight. But tomorrow… we have to say something…" He stepped off Shane and extended his foreleg. "I'm sorry… for snapping at you."

Shane got to his feet of his own accord. "Apology accepted," he said, letting out a dejected sigh. He briefly wondered if he should apologize for the outburst, but instead said, "Wanna know the worst part of all of this? It's that Gallian, was right! We failed Sylveon and Eevee." He lifted his head up and looked at Null. "What am I supposed to do, huh? At this rate, I don't stand a chance against Zero!"

"… you could evolve…" Null whispered, poking the ground with a talon.

Shane's ears twitched. "You're kidding, right?" he said, adding a bitter laugh

"Does it sound... like I'm kidding?" Null asked.

"I can't evolve," Shane said. "Think about the other times the world was in danger. Every time it happened, something prevented the heroes from evolving. I'm sure the Prism Virus is doing some weird, alien mumbo-jumbo to the continent. Which means I'm stuck as a weak, frail Vulpix."

"But you keep mentioning… how much different this feels... from those other times," Null said. "Maybe that means... you can evolve. Don't you think… it's at least worth a shot?"

"Bah! I don't want to get my hopes up," Shane dismissed. "Besides, how would an ice-type Vulpix even evolve, anyway? What, is there an Ice Stone or something?"

Null coughed and looked away.

Shane's expression stiffened. "Oh my god, there's totally an Ice Stone in this world, isn't there?" he said. Null nodded slowly. "Okay, well, even if I could evolve, what about Tessa, huh? Riolus are supposed to evolve into Lucarios when they're extremely happy. Tessa's about as far from that juncture as you could possibly get right now!"

"That's not necessarily true."

Shane's ears swiveled in front of him. He looked up and saw Tessa walking toward him. Espeon and Umbreon stood a few paces behind her. "T-Tessa!" he squeaked. "I… I mean Riolu! Are you, y'know, okay? Feeling better?"

"I'm fine," Tessa said, rubbing her nose with a paw. "You're wrong, though. Happiness isn't the only way to get a Riolu to evolve." She clasped her shoulder and looked away. "Mom told me that, if a Riolu can learn to fully tap into its aura, it'll evolve into Lucario. But she was in charge of my aura training. It's been almost eight months since I've had any real practice with it."

Shane's stance slouched. "Then, it's hopeless, isn't it? We're both going to be stuck in our base evolutions. And we'll be totally powerless against the Prism Virus," he said.

"Maybe not."

"I had an idea," Umbreon said as Shane gave him an unconvinced look. "That Z-Move you used on us, it left you positively brimming with energy while it was happening."

Espeon sighed. "He's right, you know. Your life energy erupted like a geyser. You emitted an aura so strong I thought it would blind my psionic sense." She looked at Umbreon. "But what does that have to do with controlling raw aura, anyway?"

"If Riolu uses a Z-Move, it's possible that the sudden surge of energy she would experience could be enough to jump-start her aura sense and trigger an evolution," Umbreon said. "Of course, it's only a theory. There's no guarantee it would work. Still, you ought to try."

"I thought you two had already given up?" Shane huffed, giving a dismissive flick of his snout. Though his gaze remained fix on Espeon's damp fur.

Espeon and Umbreon looked at each other and their gazes fell guiltily. "I guess you could say your partner reminded us of something important. Something worth fighting for," Espeon whispered. Shane gave Tessa a curious look, but she immediately turned away, pulling up her scarf to cover her face.

"There's one problem with that idea, though," Shane said. "I can't get this Naturia Looplet off me! It's practically a part of me. Like Null's helmet." His muzzle stiffened and he shot Null a nervous look. Null huffed and shook his head, ruffling his chest plumage.

"Then we'll have to find another one," Umbreon said. "Espy and I are…" His voice trailed off and he looked at Espeon. She stiffened, but she gave a single nod. "Right," Umbreon said. "Yeah. Espy and I are willing to help. Researching magical energies is a specialty of ours, after all."

"I guess we could use your help," Tessa whispered, biting her lip.

"Then it's settled," Umbreon said. "We might not have a plan, per se. But that's what tomorrow's for. In the meantime, you should get healed up."

Shane and Tessa glanced at each other. They both gave nods and proceeded toward the infirmary. Null tagged along after them, slowly shaking his head. Espeon's tail flicked to her left, flinging water droplets onto the wall. "What do you think, Umbry?" she asked.

"They're no Haxorus and Raichu, that's for sure," Umbreon said. "But they're neck deep in all of this craziness. Like it or not, we have to help them."

Espeon lowered her head in resignation. "I understand."

XxX​

Aaaaaaand the episode's getting extended by a chapter. Because this one was getting too long.

So, next time: the Prism Virus replenishes its ranks at the guild's expense. Also, some dragon/sea birb fluff. Yes, you read that correctly. ^^
 
Last edited:

Cutlerine

Gone. Not coming back.
First up, I think there's definitely some improvement in the sentence structure in chapter thirty-four – it's a bit more varied now, and a bit livelier as a result. It's still something that could be improved, I think, but it's getting there!

Onto the actual new chapters, then. And that's definitely a hell of a battle, huh, full of twists and reversals. I love the energy of it – and the way that they end up countering Espeon and Umbreon, too, with Null acting as a platform to move the others around. (Even if technically Type: Null has the lowest speed stat of all three species on the team :p.) I also note with pleasure that Null's mask is starting to take some more damage! This is going to be interesting. I suppose I kind of feel like the battle might go on a little too long, if anything; after a time, it gets a little wearing and difficult to keep track of, especially as people on both sides keep healing up repeatedly. But! That ending, wow. Definitely wasn't expecting that, and it's – I was gonna say cool, but no, it's actually cute. It could easily have felt really saccharine and empty, but in the end it was just … nice. I think part of what makes it work so well is that it's not just a friendship-powered reversal, it's also drawing on Necrozma's power, which complicates things rather nicely.

The next chapter feels much better paced to me; the battle is decisive, and I always love a dramatic showdown where you go into it uncertain whether or not the heroes are actually going to win but hoping that they do – only for them to ultimately lose, even after victory seemed assured. That's a great structure. I don't find Zero particularly interesting, possibly because, like Shane, I feel like I've seen her dozens of times before, but your protagonists are strong enough characters that I'm invested in their fight against her anyway – and this fic has a history of making you think one thing is happening only to twist it around on you later, so I'll reserve judgement on that for now, I think.

[half a bonus later] Aaand that was why I was reserving judgement! Nice twist, seriously; I didn't see it coming, and I was actively anticipating something like that to happen. Zero becomes infinitely more interesting once she, you know, gains an actual character. Moreover, it's a really good dramatic monologue, too – Prisma's voice is wonderfully vivid, and her emotions really shine through. Technically, it's one of the most skilful parts of the fic to date, I think. Really great stuff.

[another half bonus later] And that … wasn't a question I had, as it happens, but I guess it's been answered anyway. Neat. Everything always works so well until humans get involved, huh.

And then the aftermath. There's less violence, but no less tension, which is always an excellent way of doing this. I can definitely see how some of what's happening here could end up causing trouble down the line; it's going to take some delicate manoeuvring to sort the whole Prisma mess out, and, well, nobody in this fic really has a great track record when it comes to that kind of thing.

So! Other than that, here are all the other minor corrections/reactions:

turning them into living snowmons.

A+ pun!

I've been festering over it all this time.

That seems like an odd use of 'fester' to me – it means to become rotten, or less literally to become worse through lack of attention, neither of which seems to be what Ninetales means.

"So, then that might mean that there's a problem with one of these Legenadries?"

You've got the D and A transposed in 'Legendaries' there.

I haven't felt this queasy since I got food poisoning from that rotten berry Haunter planted in my bed."

Serperior: the kind of person who eats random bits of dodgy-looking food she finds in her bed. Classy, Serperior. Really living up to the species demeanour there.

In encircled the entire town square, slowing each guild member to a crawl.

That should be 'It' rather than 'In'.

If my virus couldn't be reversed, then how do you explain these two pathetic whelps sitting beside you."

Missing a question mark there.

After all the heartache I had bared?

You want 'bear' rather than 'bare' – so that should be 'borne'.

I told him I'd caught I cold.

You have 'I' for 'a' here.

"If I tell you when I'm going to reattach your wing,

'Reattach' kind of implies it came off completely and Comfey had to like glue it back on or whatever. Which I don't think is what happened.

Shane lapsed into an explanation of Team Radiance's trek through Aurora Vale.

That's not really what 'lapse' means – generally, it describes a fall from one state to another, worse one, with specific usages implying a fall into error, heresy, silence, or simply running out. (As in, 'letting your membership lapse'.) So it doesn't quite make sense for Shane to lapse into an explanation.

Hearing his voice just made my fur crawl."

This seems a bit strange – like, even if you have fur, you'd feel the sensation in the skin beneath the fur, in the same way as we don't say our hair itches, we say our scalps itch. So I think that's one idiom that didn't really need changing.

Stop beading around the bush

That should be 'beating' rather than 'beading'.

It was a photo.

Huh. So this world has photography. I have … so many questions about the infrastructure necessary to make this technology accessible to everyday people, but I'm guessing that we're not going into the socioeconomics of photography here. :p

He turned around and lashed out at the wall, only to quickly withdraw his throbbing hand.

While I can buy that Shane might instinctively move to punch a wall based on muscle memory from his past body, he doesn't actually have hands any more. Just swapping that out for 'paw' would be fine.

Don't 'Shane,' me!

That comma doesn't look like it's meant to be there – the quotation marks don't necessitate it, if that's why you put it in there.

But yeah, really I mostly enjoyed these instead of taking notes: these have been an excellent few chapters. You know, I've never even thought about PMD fics before – I've not really been interested in them – but this fic has kinda changed my mind about the whole genre. Your technical skill is growing quickly, and you're excellent at plotting; this is a really great story, and you've done such interesting stuff with the fabric of the games and the way they're put together, and the upshot of it all is that I might have to write a PMD fic myself once Ghost Town is done. I tell you this because if I do, it will be entirely your fault. :p
 

Ambyssin

Winter can't come soon enough
First up, I think there's definitely some improvement in the sentence structure in chapter thirty-four – it's a bit more varied now, and a bit livelier as a result. It's still something that could be improved, I think, but it's getting there!
Hooray! It's... probably something that's going to continue to be a struggle. Maybe the fact that I have trouble speaking coherently in real life is contributing to the awkward narration.

And that's definitely a hell of a battle, huh, full of twists and reversals. I love the energy of it – and the way that they end up countering Espeon and Umbreon, too, with Null acting as a platform to move the others around. (Even if technically Type: Null has the lowest speed stat of all three species on the team :p.)
To be fair, Null was also the only one with claws and, thus, had the best traction on the ice to make up for his piss-poor speed. I also thought it might be nice because, really, the past battles have mostly been Team Radiance bickering and occasionally using teamwork when they could actually coordinate. So, I wanted to have a legitimate teamwork moment to show that they can kick some butt when they're working together.

I suppose I kind of feel like the battle might go on a little too long, if anything; after a time, it gets a little wearing and difficult to keep track of, especially as people on both sides keep healing up repeatedly.
That's fair. Admittedly the original draft didn't have anything involving any Necrospheres (which cut the length a bit). But it also had the Lively Town scene in it. And I thought that really messed up the pacing, so I moved it to the next chapter and added in all the Necrosphere stuff as a kneejerk reaction. It probably wasn't needed. But, now I know that future climax bosses will get their own chapters, so I can plan accordingly. Also, they'll hopefully have more combatants and variety so it doesn't feel like things get stale...

But! That ending, wow. Definitely wasn't expecting that, and it's – I was gonna say cool, but no, it's actually cute. It could easily have felt really saccharine and empty, but in the end it was just … nice. I think part of what makes it work so well is that it's not just a friendship-powered reversal, it's also drawing on Necrozma's power, which complicates things rather nicely.
Yup. After deciding to ditch the Harmony Scarf ripoff idea, this battle became the official debut of Z-Moves in the main story. It's... been a long time coming. But I had always intended to put Z-Power into the story. And, well, now it's going to have a much more central role.

The next chapter feels much better paced to me; the battle is decisive, and I always love a dramatic showdown where you go into it uncertain whether or not the heroes are actually going to win but hoping that they do – only for them to ultimately lose, even after victory seemed assured.
Glad you feel that way. I was a bit worried that, well, with the way some of the last Prism Virus battles had gone, people were going to get tired of "Okay, so they win, but they don't actually win." But, that really is something I wanted to tackle here in this story. As in, Team Radiance really needs to get stronger to actually start saving the day.

I don't find Zero particularly interesting, possibly because, like Shane, I feel like I've seen her dozens of times before ... [half a bonus later] Aaand that was why I was reserving judgement! Nice twist, seriously; I didn't see it coming, and I was actively anticipating something like that to happen.
Well, thank you. The foreshadowing wasn't the most subtle, but the "twist" element is supposed to come from the fact that Zero is well aware of what she's doing, as opposed to being Necrozma's lackey (which was the original plan, btw). I did design the name Prism Virus to be a red herring. Everyone thought "Necrozma's behind this," but really it's Prisma's Virus. However, the fact that the main cast does not know that (even with Shane's wild guessing), is something that, if I do my job right, will factor into things down the road.

Zero becomes infinitely more interesting once she, you know, gains an actual character. Moreover, it's a really good dramatic monologue, too – Prisma's voice is wonderfully vivid, and her emotions really shine through. Technically, it's one of the most skilful parts of the fic to date, I think. Really great stuff.
Okay, reeeeaaaally starting to think if I write something beyond this I should just go for broke and do first person. Because this was a really impromptu (read: thrown together in two days b/c I thought "Why the heck not?") on my part. But between this and the platonic contest, I may be unintentionally making things tougher by using a standard 3rd person narrator. Also, would you believe me if I told you the original outline had Prisma as a silent antagonist? ^^;

[another half bonus later] And that … wasn't a question I had, as it happens, but I guess it's been answered anyway. Neat. Everything always works so well until humans get involved, huh.
To be fair, the foreshadowing was a lot less subtle in that department. The only real link being the fact that, in the Christmas special, Nicky had the exact same giggling laugh Necrozma does (also Nicky/Necky). I hope that the "my human friend" line in the prologue now takes on a bit of a different meaning for ya. And, to be clear, this is not going to turn into one of those "humans are the real monster," stories. That's a bit to soapbox-preachy for my liking. Especially since this is my first fic.

And then the aftermath. There's less violence, but no less tension, which is always an excellent way of doing this. I can definitely see how some of what's happening here could end up causing trouble down the line; it's going to take some delicate manoeuvring to sort the whole Prisma mess out, and, well, nobody in this fic really has a great track record when it comes to that kind of thing.
That's what I hope to accomplish. Even though the main trio's relationships are moving in the right direction, there are quite a few problems they still have to face that.

I honestly thought that was commonly used in the fandom. XD

That seems like an odd use of 'fester' to me – it means to become rotten, or less literally to become worse through lack of attention, neither of which seems to be what Ninetales means.
I'm pretty sure I meant to put "fretted," mistyped it, and then autocorrect changed it to festered and I didn't pick it up when I was editing. Good catch! And thank you for the other corrections, too!

Serperior: the kind of person who eats random bits of dodgy-looking food she finds in her bed. Classy, Serperior. Really living up to the species demeanour there.
To be fair, Sweet Scent really works wonders (see: Team Fang in Episode 6).

Huh. So this world has photography. I have … so many questions about the infrastructure necessary to make this technology accessible to everyday people, but I'm guessing that we're not going into the socioeconomics of photography here. :p
The answer is Magearna, and only Magearna. She took a photo of Team Radiance at the end of Episode 7, for example.

But yeah, really I mostly enjoyed these instead of taking notes: these have been an excellent few chapters. You know, I've never even thought about PMD fics before – I've not really been interested in them – but this fic has kinda changed my mind about the whole genre.
0_0
If I'm honest, I chose PMD because when I was doing some test writing to prove to myself I had the motivation to write a fic, I greatly preferred the scenes I'd written with Pokémon to the scenes with humans. Maybe that reflects badly on me as a person, but I wanted to write a story centered on Pokémon and so I leaped right to PMD.

Your technical skill is growing quickly, and you're excellent at plotting; this is a really great story, and you've done such interesting stuff with the fabric of the games and the way they're put together, and the upshot of it all is that I might have to write a PMD fic myself once Ghost Town is done. I tell you this because if I do, it will be entirely your fault. :p
I don't know my tropes all that well, but I'd like to think that the feedback I've gotten from everyone has really helped to shape the story into what it is because the original plan was, at this point, unrecognizable to what the story is now. I had started writing this with the intention of it being a comedy, and look what happened. :V

I'm sure you'd do a great job writing something in the genre, but don't force it if you don't want. I'm happy to take all the blame, though.
 
Last edited:

Ambyssin

Winter can't come soon enough
Ho-kay, so, this chapter. Originally, this was going to be a two-scene bonus. And then the last chapter started getting too big for its britches, so a lot of that content was spun off and combined with the bonus scenes... which basically led to all of this getting rewritten. I hope you enjoy it!

XxX

Chapter 38: Peering Over the Horizon

~Sea Shrine~

With a loud groan, Lugia hoisted himself out of a pool of water. Tears stung his eyes. He pulled his wing close to his side. Lugia cursed himself out. He had messed it up badly. Not even Roost could fix it up. Lugia glanced down from his watery perch, frowning. There was no way he could safely jump down to his nest. What was he supposed to do, now? This injury could put him out of commission for a while.

"Lugia!"

His eyes widened. Latias lay on top of one the stone pillars. Why was she here? She hadn't even sent word she'd be visiting.

"T-Tia," he said. "What are you doing here?" He pivoted to his right in a poor attempt at hiding his broken wing, but Latias had already spotted the injury. Worry flashed across her face and she sped over to him.

"I wanted to come see you. But never mind that. You're hurt! What happened to you?" she said.

"It's… it's nothing," Lugia said, pivoting further to the right. Latias hovered around to face his broken wing.

"Let me see," she said. Lugia sighed and dropped his left wing. Latias gazed at the swollen, misshapen limb and grimaced. "I can fix this. I'm sure of it," she whispered.

"Tia, you don't have to waste energy on my behalf," Lugia insisted.

"You don't need to pull the tough guy routine on me, you know," Latias said, scowling at him. "You really think I'm just going to let you sit here with a broken wing? No! I'm leaving for Horizon tomorrow and I'd like to rest easy knowing my mate's okay."

Lugia's jaw slackened. "Wait, what?"

This gave Latias the opening she needed. She pointed a claw at him. Soft, multicolored light hit Lugia's wing. It enveloped his feathers. His bruises faded away and his wing bent back into its proper angle. A surge of pain flooded Lugia's limb. Hissing, his eyes snapped shut. Luckily, the pain faded. Lugia looked at his mended wing and cautiously flapped it.

"There. Was that really so bad?" Latias said.

"No," Lugia sighed.

Latias hovered forward and brushed her head and neck against his wing. "And, even if your pride's telling you otherwise, I don't think any less of you for accepting my help." She craned her neck up to peck him on the cheek. Lugia fought to hide a blush.

"It… it's not that I didn't want your help, Tia. It's just… it's really embarrassing that I let this happen to me. I'm supposed to be a sea guardian, and I let the water get the better of me today," Lugia said, tail curling up. He turned his face away from her. "Last time I felt this humiliated, I let Hoopa spike my berry juice at Reshiram's summer solstice party."

"Well, do you think you could tell me what happened?" Latias asked.

"Only if you tell me what you meant with that Horizon nonsense," Lugia replied, to which Latias nodded. "Okay. It's the undersea currents. The moon has seriously screwed them up. A nasty whirlpool popped up off the coast of Treasure Town today. I tried to reach out to Kyogre for her help, but she refused to leave her home."

"So, I had to try and dispel the whirlpool all on my own," Lugia whispered, shuddering. He lowered his head shamefully. "I misjudged the amount of room I had to safely maneuver around it. I got sucked in and tossed into a jagged rock."

The mental image made Latias wince. "Oh, Lugia, I'm so sorry," she squeaked.

"That broke my wing," Lugia continued. "I'm just lucky I was able to swim back here safely."

"Why didn't you just surface and get help? I'm sure Wigglytuff's Guild would've lent you a hand," Latias said.

Lugia glared disapprovingly. "Seriously, Latias? I wasn't about to go up to a guild and admit to all its Pokémon that I failed at my job." He shook his head. "I wouldn't expect you to understand…"

Latias' cheeks puffed up. "… why? Because I'm 'just a Latias?'" Her amber eyes narrowed. "You sound like Rayquaza, you know. 'I'm not surprised Dark Matter got to you first. You and your brother are disgraces to dragon-kind! Hardly befitting the title of lesser god!'"

Lugia flinched and looked away, but Latias continued, "I know you don't like guilds, but couldn't you at least try to understand? I don't just sit around in Lively Town, twiddling my claws day in and day out. These last couple of weeks have been really stressful for me." She teared up. "I came to see you because I'm leaving for Horizon and… and…"

She buried her face in Lugia's neck and shivered. His feathers stood on end. Sure, Latias had come to him full of worries before, but this case seemed especially troubling. "Tuh-Tia? What's the matter? Did something bad happen to you?" His eyes narrowed. "Is someone on the Horizon Continent giving you trouble?"

"It's me," she said, voice cracking. Lugia raised a confused brow. "I'm the problem. I was in Horizon last week, trying to run a mission, and things went really badly. N-Now I have to go back… and I might have to face down a Pokémon that wants to kill me!"

"What?! Then don't go! Your safety comes first, Tia," Lugia said, eyes widening. He draped his left wing over her in an embrace. "For pity's sake, I couldn't stand the thought of losing you."

"Lugia..." Latias shifted up, her feathers brushing his underbelly. She leaned her head up next to his. "Don't you get it? I have to go. I have to do this."

"No, you don't," Lugia countered, pulling her out of the embrace and sternly putting his wings on top of hers. "You don't owe those Pokémon anything."

"Yes, I do! We all do. 'Those Pokémon' are the only reason I'm here," Latias said, brow furrowing. "They're… they're the only reason we're both still here. And you know that. You just refuse to admit it."

"That's not..." Lugia's voice trailed off. She was right. He didn't have any semblance of a counterargument.

"You… Rayquaza… I swear, a ton of you are trying to pretend like Dark Matter didn't happen. Like it was a fluke! Sometimes it feels like you guys think that, somehow, if you ignore everything that went wrong, there won't be any fallout," Latias continued. "But Dark Matter did happen. And now we're starting to see the repercussions."

Lugia looked away guiltily, but Latias swiveled his head back to face her. "Something's wrong with the world, Lugia. Don't tell me you don't think there's a problem. Because if there wasn't, a 'random whirlpool' wouldn't have gotten the better of you!" she said, jabbing a claw into his right wing.

"What do you want me to say?" Lugia croaked, not wanting things to escalate further. "Nobody's helping me. I'm trying to do the best I can to counter these strange currents, but I've never dealt with something like this. And Mom didn't, either. Even when the natural disasters were at their worst, Mom had everything under control."

"I know that, sweetie," Latias whispered, floating forward to peck him on the cheek. "And now I need to step in and do the best that I can, too. I won't let what happened with Dark Matter happen again. The Expedition Society thinks the Horizon Guild's heavily involved in all the stuff with the moon. So, I'm going over there to investigate." She fidgeted with her claws. "And I came here… I came here to say goodbye. Because…" She gulped. "… I don't know if I'm going to make it back."

"Latias—"

"I'm scared, Lugia!" she squeaked, embracing him again. "I don't want to face this 'God Killer.' And I don't want to face whatever's messing with the moon." She gazed up into Lugia's eyes. "But… but I don't want to lose you. And I don't want to lose Latios. I can't go through that again. That's why I have to go. I need to do whatever I can… to keep you both safe."

"Luh… Latias... have you even told your brother about us?" Lugia said, face flushing.

Latias hung her head shamefully and shook it.

"Even after three years, you still can't muster up the courage to tell him?" Lugia asked. "Surely—"

"I know, Lugia, It's pathetic. I'm pathetic," Latias said, wings drooping. "Maybe Rayquaza's right. Maybe I am useless."

Lugia pressed his wing against Latias' snout. "Don't listen to him. Look, I may be on better terms with Ray than you are, but I'll be the first to admit there are times when he should… oh, how do I put this delicately?"

"… shove his tail down his throat and suck on it?"

Sweat drops ran down the back of Lugia's head. "That's… uh… well, I guess that's one way of looking at it."

Latias couldn't help but giggle. "You're right, though, Lugia. That's why, when this is all said and done, I'll come clean. I'll tell big brother you're my mate. But right now, I'm all he has. I don't want him to feel like he's lost me to you. He's my only family. He raised me, even when we were both just hatchlings. He's the one who kept me going when we were running from Dark Matter... and I wanted to give up because I was too tired."

Lugia spotted his blurry reflection in Latias' teary eyes. "I understand," he said, tickling Latias' chin with his wing. "Do what you have to do. And, if there's any way you can think of for me to help, don't hesitate to—"

"Stay safe. I'm not saying to hide here, but watch your back. Keep your psionic sense sharp. Because we don't know what's out there. So, we need to be on our guard," Latias said.

Lugia nodded. "You got it, Tia. So, does this mean you're leaving right now?"

Latias's ears fell against her head. "I think that'd be best…"

Lugia craned his neck around Latias' and nestled her cheek. "Are you sure I can't convince you to stay just a bit longer?" He pursed his lips and blew a small jet of cool air against Latias' ear.

Latias squeaked. Her face reddened. "W-Well… maybe I could stay a few more minutes," she said, feathers standing on end.

XxX

~Celestial Island~

"No! Stop! Stop! What do you think you're doing, you imbecilic Xurkitrees? I said right, not left!"

Across from Necrozma, four giant messes of coiled wires stiffened. The large crystalline bed they were holding shook. Electricity emerged from the sparking stars serving as the Xurkitrees' nuclei. Lightning raced down their cable-like limbs and surged across a purple shag carpet. The fibers stuck straight up. Necrozma looked down at them and grimaced.

"Yes. You four. I am talking to you. Do you see any other Xurkitrees here? No!" Necrozma said, pointing a wing at the quartet. "I am this close to finally having a place I can call home and are ruining everything. Now, all of you, take three steps to your right."

The Xurkitrees stepped to their left. A black energy beam grazed a Xurkitrees' nucleus. It crackled, vaguely sounding like someone walking across a sheet of bubble wrap.

"How many times do I have to say this? Move right, not left! These are basic directions. Do you foolish Ultra Beasts really not know your lefts from your rights?" Necrozma shouted. Behind him, two white jellyfish floated down from the ceiling. Chittering, they extended some of their tentacles toward Necrozma. "Okay, okay, back off. I get the memo," Necrozma growled, waving them away with his right hand. It spasmed, forcing him to bring it against his chest.

"Stupid Zero, making me open all those Wormholes. I'd have been done by now if I wasn't too tired to use Psychic."
He sighed and shook his head. Let's try this again. Take three steps that way." He pointed to his left.

The Xurkitree slid over to their right. Their heads flickered multiple times. Necrozma tapped his chin with a claw. He held his hand up, shut his right eye, and cocked his head to the side. "Yes... Finally! It's positively perfect!" He pointed down. The Xurkitrees released their grips on the bed. It dropped to the ground. Necrozma flew onto it. He spread his wings out and sighed in content.

"After centuries of being stuck with nothing... I finally have a bed. I have a room!"
He let out an unhinged laugh. "Oh, how I've missed this feeling! Cloud-like foam under my body. Soft silken sheets against my flesh. It's been eons since I've experienced this."

He floated back up into the air and looked at the Xurkitrees. "I appreciate the help. Really, I do. But even with the bed... the pain is still here. So, I'm afraid I must ask you for one teeny, tiny, little thing." His third eye glowed brightly. "I want your light!"

He spread his wings apart. Four black beams raced out around him. Each struck a Xurkitree, sapping the colors from their bodies and sending them into Necrozma's open mouth. Their corpses slumped to the ground. Crystals coated them, only for Necrozma to blow them up with purple Shadow Balls. Behind Necrozma, the jellyfish frantically waved their tentacles about and chittered angrily.

"Don't give me that tone, you stupid Nihilegos," Necrozma spat. "You have no idea what it's like for your spirit to be fractured. I had to make the pain go away. I had to take their light. It was the only way!"

Before the Nihilegos could respond, Necrozma tensed. Zero's voice echoed through his mind, saying, "Necky, I'm finished for the day. Bring me home."

Necrozma sighed. He lazily lifted his right arm and an Ultra Wormhole popped up in the center of the room. Zero walked out of it. She took three steps before stumbling. The Nihilegos descended toward her.

"Back off!" Zero hissed, swinging her scepter around. The Nihilegos drifted away, swaying back and forth. Zero descended into a fit of raucous coughing. She dropped to one knee and her mask and scepter fell to the ground with a pair of loud clangs.

"Oh?" A grin wove its way onto Necrozma's mouth. Zero lunged for her mask, but a pink glow surrounded it. An unseen force yanked it into the air. "Oops. How silly of me. I should really be more careful, shouldn't I?"

"Necky, what do you think you're doing?" Zero hissed. Her limbs shook. Red liquid pooled at the base of her lone eye. She reached a trembling paw toward him. "Give me my mask."

"You mean this mask?" Necrozma said, pulling it back and looking directly at it. "I'm not doing anything to it. You want it… take it." He looked down at Zero. Blood trickled from her left eye, coating her burnt flesh and patches of gray fur.

Zero's nostrils flared. "This isn't funny, Necky! I… I'm in pain. Give me back the mask!" she cried, her voice cracking.

"Yes, you look quite uncomfortable. But I don't really care. I'm in pain, too. And you've never once offered sympathy to me. Why should I return the favor?" Necrozma said, floating over to her while keeping the mask suspended high above him. "Especially when you can rid us both of all this pain. You just have to let me pluck my core out of your skull… and there'll be no more suffering for either of us."

Necrozma placed his claws on the tips of Zero's mutilated snout. He walked them toward her right eye socket. He stuck his index claw out, tapping the rainbow prism wedged into Zero's right eye socket. Multicolored light spiraled across his arm. He licked his lips and whispered, "Wouldn't you like to stop needing light to survive?"

"Give me the mask, Necky!"

Zero grabbed Necrozma's face. The claws in her metallic armor dug into his forehead. Her arm distorted. It flickered so violently that it seemed to detach from her body. The static spread onto Necrozma. Afterimages fanned out in all directions. Necrozma fell to the ground with a guttural screech. He clawed at his face with his wing-digits, while Zero grabbed the mask and reattached it to her face. She took in several shuddering breaths.

"Skreeeep! Muh… mistress! Don't do that! It hurts! It hurts!" Necrozma hissed, arms convulsing as if they were about to shoot off of his body.

"Then… listen to me… when I tell you… to give me my mask," Zero panted. She grabbed her scepter and slowly stood up. But her legs grew weak. She braced against the staff for support. "Light… get me light…"

"And why should I do that? You don't seem to be in the best frame of mine right now. Hell, you attacked me," Necrozma said.

Zero fixed her eye on Necrozma. "If you want your precious core back, then you need me at full strength. Otherwise, all that light you rant about will fade away."

Necrozma glared at Zero. "That's my core you're misusing!"

"The more time you waste, the more energy seeps away," Zero chided. "Now, I don't care what Pokémon you take. Just get. Me. Light."

"... fine. Your wish is my command... mistress," he hissed, disappearing into an Ultra Wormhole. Zero stood there, slouched against her staff, panting heavily and staring at the blood on her paw. She couldn't keep this up. Necrozma was getting testier.

The sound of bodies hitting the floor jolted her out of her stupor. She didn't even bother looking up to see what sort of Pokémon Necrozma had taken for her. "Consume," she rasped, shakily raising her bloody paw. Red and black energy shot forward. Zero's arm fell limply by her side. Warmth spread across her body from the tip of her snout. The searing pain disappeared. Zero took a few steps backward. A couch lined with bright white feathers materialized out of the floor. She unknowingly sat on it, and allowed herself to lie down.

"Feeling better now?" Necrozma scoffed. "Good. Tell me again why you won't let me take my core back. You'd be so much happier without the bulk of my spirit festering inside you. I just want to put an end to all this pain. I'm tired of siphoning off Lunala's spirit. She's fighting me from the inside!"

"And your spirit's fighting me from inside. So be quiet, Necky," Zero hissed, pressing her mask tight against her face. "It's thanks to you that this stupid core is stuck inside me. Whatever would make you think I'd trust you to take it out safely?" She flicked her other paw dismissively. "Besides, I need it to cleanse this world of its gods. Your life force is making that dream a reality."

Necrozma wrapped his wings around his torso. They twitched in protest. "But mistress… I could destroy them all for you. No pain. No suffering. No problems. I'm more than happy to kill those heartless cretins."

"No. It has to be me. It's the only way I can make this world perfect," Zero said. She rolled over on the couch and looked ahead of her. Three colorless bodies lay on top of one another, contrasting against the purple carpet. "An Alakazam, Charizard, and Tyranitar, huh?"

"Don't waste your energy worrying about these three, mistress. Just a group of retired rescuers. Well past their prime. Nothing of value was taken with their deaths," Necrozma said.

"No wonder their light tasted so stale," Zero said. "But beggars can't be choosers, I suppose. Get them out of my sight."

Necrozma snapped his claws and the corpses fell down into an Ultra Wormhole. "So, seems like you had a bit of a rough day? Why don't… heeheeheehee… you tell your good buddy, Necrozma, what's bothering you?"

"I'm not in the mood, Necky," Zero growled, plucking some of the down feathers off the couch.

"Hey! Leave the furniture alone! It's taken me weeks to finally assemble a room of my own and I will not have you ruining it!" Necrozma snapped.

Zero ignored him and rolled over to face the back of the couch. "You want to know what's wrong? That wretched human slipped through my digits again," she seethed.

Necrozma popped up behind the couch in a puff of black smoke. "Oh-ho! He is turning out to be quite the interesting little fellow, wouldn't you say? You might need to start being careful. He could easily be the difference between your plans succeeding and failing."

Zero whipped her arm out and grabbed Necrozma's head again. She yanked him onto the couch and pressed down on his crystalline helmet. The third eye on Necrozma's forehead flickered like a dying lightbulb. "The only reason he keeps getting away is because you screwed up! You told me you had vaporized the human. So, what's he doing in a Vulpix body with all his memories intact, huh?"

She shoved Necrozma away. He hissed at her and rubbed his face with his wings. "What are you asking me for? My Prismatic Laser should've annihilated him right on the spot! Something must've interfered with my attack."

"Gee, you think?" Zero huffed.

"I can't explain Ultra Space. It's one giant anomaly! But does it really matter? Couldn't Espeon and Umbreon deal with him?" Necrozma asked.

Zero raised her paw up. Two black balls materialized before her. "Espeon and Umbreon... are no longer part of our team," she declared, clenching her fist and shattering the balls like they were made of glass.

Necrozma frowned. "What?! No, you're lying. They had my energy inside of them! Where is it? I want it back. I want it back now!"

"You won't get it back. They've been purged of the Prism Virus," Zero said, crossing her arms.

Necrozma's frown turned into a full-blown glare. "You foolish mortal! Now I'll never get that light back! I'll never restore my core if you keep throwing it's energy away like that. We have a deal! I help you... I get my light back. Not half of it. All of it!"

Zero brought her staff around and pointed it at Necrozma. "I'm well aware of our agreement, Necky."

"Skreevp! Then why are you breaking it?" Necrozma thundered, bringing one of his wings up to obscure his face.

"I haven't broken it, Necky. There are plenty of gods out there to kill. More than enough to make up for the energy lost from Espeon and Umbreon," Zero snarled. "Let me put it to you simply. As long as that miscreant is here to interfere, then your core stays with me. And all that light you're rambling about will remain out of your reach."

"What? No! You can't do that! It's my light! The sun and moon are mine! Mine! Mine!" He smacked his hands against the couch so violently that he shattered it, forcing Zero to jump to her feet.

"If you want them back so badly, then you're going to start pulling your weight around here, understand?" Zero barked. She raised her staff and pointed the octahedron at Necrozma and his face immediately blanched. "And that starts with taking me down to the surface so I can look for replacements for Espeon and Umbreon."

"Absolutely not! I'm not going to let you waste my light on more pathetic mortals," Necrozma sneered. "Besides, you're after the Tapus, no? Shouldn't we have the Dawn Hourglass?"

"Does it look like I have its power under my control?" Zero said. "No! Because we got duped by that two-bit Land Spirit." She turned away from Necrozma. "I plan on sending you after Tapu Lele once I've caught some new Pokémon."

"Me? What happened to killing the gods yourself," Necrozma said.

"I'm willing to make one exception."

"Not good enough! You think you can keep me distracted by dangling Tapu Lele's life energy in front of me like it was a piece of meat on a stick? Fool!" Necrozma shouted. "I meant what I said! You are not capturing more Pokémon. You are not wasting all my Z-Power on worthless mortals who are doomed to fail against that human!"

"Enough!" Zero roared, slamming her staff against the floor. Necrozma backed away from her, looking uneasy. "You've made your point. But I don't care. Either you listen to me..." She raised her staff and pointed it at Necrozma. "Or I rip your little spirit fragment out of Lunala."

"You wouldn't dare!" Necrozma said.

Zero's lone eye narrowed. Her scepter flared. "Try me." Necrozma's eyes darted about in a panic. He lowered his wings and arms in surrender. "Good, that's what I thought. Now, open a wormhole to the surface." Necrozma gave Zero a bewildered look. "The winds of change are approaching the Horizon Guild and there's a little gust of air that I'd like to catch before it's too late."

Necrozma's third eye narrowed. "Oh, really? I hope for both our sakes you know what you're doing."

They proceeded into an Ultra Wormhole together.

XxX​

Shane pulled the covers off his head and rolled onto his back. He looked up at the stationary ceiling fan on the ceiling. Sunlight had already spread throughout his bedroom. Shane didn't need to look at his alarm clock to know that he had slept through the start of the school. He had already been awake for hours. But he refused to get up.

After all, what point was there in going to school when your best friend was dead?

The events of the previous evening were on repeat in his head. Coming home from work to find his parents in his room. His mom telling him to sit on his bed. Their stern expressions as they looked him in the eye and told him that Nicky had died in the emergency room that evening. And then the cold numbness that had overtaken him after that. All the while, he constantly drifted in and out of sleep.

He had never felt so miserable. His only friend had left him. Now, he was truly alone. Sure, he had his family, but he couldn't be himself around them. They
hated that. So, he'd be stuck wearing a mask and having to keep his thoughts and interests to himself. All he could think about was Nicky. Why did he have to do this?

Unfortunately for Shane, nature was making it increasingly hard to keep laying around in his bed doing nothing. Eventually, he surrendered to his urges and slinked off to the bathroom. Upon exiting, he heard a pair of voices carrying up from the kitchen.

"… I'm just saying, it might not be the right time, Margie."

Shane froze at the top of the stairs. He hung over the railing, hoping to get a better listen in on the conversation.

"George and I are beside ourselves, Estelle. We just… we need to know exactly what happened," Margie said.

"I can't even imagine what you and George are going through right now, Margie. But shouldn't you be focusing on… something else?" Estelle asked.

"I'm tending to the funeral arrangements. And we'll be sitting shiva afterwards, of course," Margie said, her voice clearly strained. "But George… he just…" Margie sniffled. "He's not going to sit still on this."

Shane tightened his grip on the railing. What did Nicky's dad really care? Nicky said his father hated him. Shane wondered if maybe Nicky's parents were the ones who'd driven him to suicide.


"Is he meeting with the school about Nicholas?" Estelle said.

"No. He's… we're…" Margie's voice trailed off. "We're hiring an attorney. You remember my college roommate, Prisma Sinclair? Her husband's a litigator. Specializes in education law."

"You're getting a lawyer? Why?"

"George thinks this is the school's fault," Margie said, her voice cracking. "He, um, he wanted me to ask you if Shane could meet him. The lawyer, I mean."

Shane stepped back from the stairs.

"Shane? Is that you, honey?" Estelle called. "Why don't you come downstairs for a minute?"

He didn't listen. Instead, Shane turned and ran back into his room, slamming the door shut.

Fake…

"H… Huh?"

Shane looked at the box sitting on his desk. It was covered in hideous polka-dot wrapping paper. "N… Nicky?" he said, stepping toward the box. "Is that you? Am I dreaming?" He walked up toward the box and picked it up.

Fake!

Shane dropped the box in surprise and stumbled back. "What's going on here?" he said. "Who keeps saying that?" He picked the box back up again. "Nicky, did you get me some sort of stupid prank toy for my birthday?" He tore through the wrapping paper and pried open the box underneath it. Shane gasped. "This… no, it can't be."

He reached into the box and pulled out a worn Umbreon doll. It had a few gray patches on it. Shane gritted his teeth.


It was Nicky's favorite toy.

He flipped the doll over, rubbing his hand over its back and feeling the stitches woven into the fabric from the time he accidentally ripped the doll open and Nicky's mom had to sew it back together. Shane set the plushy down on his desk

Faker!

Shane looked at the shelves hanging over his neck. On the edge of the lowest one sat an Espeon doll that looked equally ragged compared to Nicky's gift. Shane plucked it off the shelf and held it in his hands. He recalled how he and Nicky had managed to get them years ago. They were the last ones available in the store and they had just managed to beat out another kid to the toy aisle. Now he had both of them.

His mind raced. Why was this his birthday present? Had Nicky planned to do this for a while or was it a last-minute decision Nicky made once he had decided to kill himself? Shane couldn't stare at the plushy any longer. He set it down next to its counterpart and stepped back from his desk.


Faker!

Shane froze. He looked down at the dolls again. "Did you say something?"

The Espeon doll suddenly caught fire. Staticky red cubes raced across it, transforming it into a fiery yellow lion's head.

"W-What the–? What's going on here?"

All of this is fake! Wake up! Remember who you really are!


XxX

~Aeon Observatory~

Shane shot up. Tremors wracked his body. He looked around the room, eyes settling on the window. Purple light streamed into the room, casting the deactivated Luminous Orbs in a sinister glow. Shane rolled over on his cushion, only to shudder as his face brushed against damp fabric. Shane put a paw up to his face. Cold sweat coated his paw pads. Salt buffeted his nostrils.

He must've had a nightmare. Yet, some of his dream was an actual memory... wasn't it? Shane shook his head and got to his feet. He tiptoed across the room, stealing a glance at his teammates. Tessa and Null remained fast asleep, the latter curled around the former protectively. Shane continued walking out into the hallway. Curiously, he noticed light flickering from the assembly area.

'Who else could be up at this ungodly hour?'


An image of Metagross appeared in his imagination. A shiver ran down Shane's spine. Steeling his nerves, he padded his way into the assembly area. There, Espeon crouched low to the ground and walked in circles around the center of the room. Her eyes darted about.

"I'm sorry!" she whimpered. Her tail curled between her legs. "I didn't mean to hurt you all. Please, you have to understand, I was desperate. I just… I wanted to make the bad memories go away!"

"Huh?"

Espeon stopped circling. Her ears stuck up. She turned toward Shane. He stiffened, expecting her to yell at him, but her gaze seemed to carry on into the hallway behind him.

"Please stop!" Espeon begged, backing toward the east hallway. "Stop laughing at me. I'm… I'm serious! It's not my fault! I didn't mean to do this! Please…" She shook her head.

"Espeon, what's the matter?" Shane asked, taking a cautious step forward. Her behavior bore an unsettling resemblance to Null's in his less lucid moments.

"I said stop laughing!" Espeon shouted. Her eyes flashed blue. A pink Psybeam whizzed by Shane. The fur on his right flank stood on end. He looked up just in time to see one of the purple tapestries fall on top of him.

"Augh!" he cried as the weight of the cloth dragged him to the ground. Shane squirmed about. He succeeded in poking his head out from the banner. "Espeon, stop. It's me! It's Shane! There's no one here but us!"

Espeon froze. Her gaze fell on Shane. She blinked a few times as recognition slowly set in. "Oh… oh gods," she whispered. Espeon hung her head. "Not again."

Shane lumbered to his feet. "Guess I'm not the only one having a rough night."

Espeon slowly walked forward, adopting a guarded stance. "Why are you out here? Are you going to yell at me some more?" she asked.

Shane's ears drooped. "Look, I'm sorry about earlier, okay? But can we take a moment to talk about—"

"You mean you don't normally introduce yourself by dropping someone into a pool?" Espeon scoffed.

Shane winced and looked away, blushing. "I let my anger get the better of me. It's been a really frustrating last couple of weeks."

"And you think Umbry and I have had it easy? We—" She cut herself off and looked away. "No. I don't want to talk about any of this right now. Least of all with you."

Shane looked back at her. His gaze started to wander down from her head, until he forced himself to lock eyes with her. He couldn't risk upsetting her any more. "Look, I know this'll sound stupid, but from one Pokémon who's very uptight about his fur to another, I understand how you feel."

"Then why'd you do it?" Espeon growled.

Shane frowned. "It's Tessa."

"Who?"

"Riolu. My teammate. I got upset because of what happened. Because, up until recently, I'd been such an awful teammate to her. I thought we were finally moving in the right direction, but then we failed to save Sylveon and Eevee," he said, slouching over. "I thought it meant I was still a lousy teammate. So, I flew off the handle at you." He glanced up at Espeon. "I'm sorry."

"I see," Espeon said. Silence followed.

"Well, do you forgive me or not?"

"I…" Espeon's voice trailed off. She stiffened.

"Espeon?" Shane whispered, waving a paw in front of her face.

"You're right," she said. Shane hastily retracted his paw. "You had every right to be mad. Furious even. If I were in your guys' place…" She shuddered. "If I'd lost Umbry… I wouldn't have just pushed you into a pool. I'd… I'd…" She turned away from him and pressed her face against the wall. "How can you even bear to look at me? I'm a horrible person."

Shane poked the floor with a forepaw. "It's all so confusing," he whispered. "Everything's happening so fast that I can't wrap my head around it. I know this sounds selfish, but I had been operating way too long under the assumption that everything here would be like my games at home."

"What games?" Espeon asked.

"Err, it's a long story. The point is, I thought I knew how most of the things I'd get wrapped up in would play out. But I've been wrong far more than I've been right." Shane looked up to the ceiling. "The only thing's that's keeping me moving forward… is Pokémon like you."

Espeon's ears twitched. "M-Me?"

"Yeah." In the dim glow of the Luminous Orbs, Espeon failed to notice the blush falling across Shane's face. "You, Umbreon, Tessa, and Null. Maybe you guys aren't perfect. But you're good Pokémon at heart. And none of you deserve to deal with this kind of crap," he whispered. "That's why I have to find a way to stop the Prism Virus. So that you guys can be happy again."

He walked forward, stopping beside Espeon. "I'll leave you alone now," he whispered.

"Wait." Espeon stepped into his path. In the process, Shane's foreleg brushed against her chest. His heart raced. "Thanks. Y'know, for understanding. And, um, tell your partner… tell Riolu that Umbry and I will do what we can to bring her friends back," she said.

Shane smiled. "I'll make sure she knows."

XxX​

Exactly one floor below Shane's and Espeon's conversation, Dragonair slithered out of bed, taking care not to disturb her teammates. She glanced out the window, gazing at a portion of the large, purple moon.

You envy your teammates, don't you?

Zero's distorted voice echoed in her mind. Dragonair forced her eyes shut and looked away. She shook her head, as if she could jettison the thought from her mind. However, upon opening her eyes, she found herself looking right at Milotic and Serperior. Her teammates slept soundly in their beds, Serperior producing a soft whistle with each exhale.

They've had their final evolutions for years. And you? Well, you've been stuck like that this entire time. Too scared your friends will abandon you if you turn into a Dragonite. Do I have that right?

Dragonair bit her lip. Her teammates wouldn't hold her back like that. The reason she hadn't evolved yet is because she hasn't felt like it. That was all. She could, but she liked her current form. It was sleek and slender. It let her swim swiftly through water. Those were all things she'd lose if she evolved.

Her gaze wandered over to the team's mirror. The moonlight trickling through the window tinted her reflection purple.

The truth is that you've talked it into yourself that vanity is more important than power.

Dragonair shook her head. This wasn't about looks. She had stopped dating a while ago. It was all a matter of comfort. Nothing more, nothing less.

But Dragonair's gaze faltered from the mirror. She looked down at her white underbelly, brushing her head against the jewel in her neck.

Your team's reputation as a trio of serpents is meaningless.

That wasn't true, either. She liked being part of Team Captivate and having such wonderful friends. What was she doing? Dragonair told herself to stop letting Zero's words get to her.

She turned to go back to her bed, only to freeze up. Memories of her battle against Zero flashed through her mind. She thought about how easily Zero overpowered her. How Zero matched her movements with Extreme Speed step for step. Zero easily moved around the deserted town, while Dragonair struggled to maintain traction against the ice.

Tears welled up in her eyes. Would the battle have gone differently if she was a Dragonite? She looked at her teammates. Dragonair had let them down today, just like she had done against Bewear. She turned away from them and faced the window. How could she fight against the Prism Virus in her current state? She'd just end up getting in the way of her friends.

Dragonair slithered over toward the room's lone desk. Pieces of paper sat on it. Dragonair shakily wrapped her tail around one of the pens and hastily scribbled on the top page. She brushed it off the desk with her tail and then took off for the window, tears streaming from her eyes. Dragonair climbed out the window just as the paper fluttered to the ground. The fresh ink on the page glistened in the moonlight.

I'm sorry.

XxX

~Aeon Port~

'If I can just get home, I'm sure I can evolve in no time,' Dragonair thought, slithering as fast as she could toward the docks. She prayed a Sharpedo was available. This wasn't something that could wait.

She made it about halfway down the hill, when a puddle of black shadows bubbled up on the ground in front of her. Dragonair stopped short and coiled her body up, ready to strike.

"Poor little Dragonair. All by your lonesome. What a sad, sorry sight!"

Gasping, Dragonair fell on her back as Necrozma rose out of the ground, his wings wrapped around his torso as if he'd been set in a sarcophagus. His red eyes flickered ominously and his mouth opened up, tongue lolling out to the side.

"Th… those wings. That face. You… you're… Lunala? But that can't be!" Dragonair gasped

"Hang on. Give me a second here," Necrozma pleaded. "I'm still getting over that last bit. I can just feel the heartbreak, you know?"

Dragonair rolled upright. She spat flames at Necrozma's face. His grin widened as he disappeared before Dragonair's eyes in a burst of shadows. She whirled around, expecting him to pop up behind her. Instead, a crystalline arm grabbed her muzzle. Fog brushed her scales.

"Heeheeheehee! Gotcha," Necrozma whispered, his breath hitting the tips of Dragonair's tiny wings. Her eyes widened. She tried to scream, but Necrozma clamped down harder on her snout. "Oh, no. There's no need for the shouting, Dragonair. I'm here to rescue you from those deceitful fools who claimed to be your so-called friends. After all... friendships are worthless. They're all fake! The only thing that matters is power... right?"

"That's enough, Necky."

Necrozma wrapped his body up with his wings and floated to the side, allowing Zero to walk past him. She gently rested her staff against her side. "I see you've realized that I was right," Zero said, addressing Dragonair. "You held yourself back. All because you couldn't bear the thought of your friendships falling apart." Zero nudged her mask, and Necrozma's wings twitched. "And now you're leaving them. Because, even if you won't admit it to me upfront, you want nothing more than to evolve."

"You're wrong," Dragonair replied, trembling. "I'm going to evolve so that I can do a better job protecting my friends from scum like you!"

"Skreeep!" Necrozma shrieked, his body briefly convulsing. "That is not how you speak to Mistress Zero." He leaned over toward Zero, opening his mouth to run his tongue across his fangs. "Please, mistress. Let me take her light. She's a coward. She's no help to us."

"That's not true, Necky. With proper training, I can strengthen any Pokémon." Zero extended her free paw toward Dragonair. "What do you say, Dragonair? You want a fast-track to evolution? You want to really protect your friends? Then join me. We will rid this world of its problems. Then you and your friends can live out the rest of your days worry-free. Team Captivate's reputation won't matter in a world without gods. In a world without Mystery Dungeons." She took a step forward. "You can have the friendships that you've always wanted. Ones that don't revolve around exploring."

"You're crazy if you think I'm going to join you," Dragonair hissed, raising up her tail. "My friends like me for who I am. And they'll keep liking me once I'm evolved. We'll beat you back… together!"

Necrozma spread his wings out and leered at Dragonair. "I was hoping you'd say that. Now, your light belongs to m—"

Zero swung her scepter in front of Necrozma. "No, Necky. We simply need to get her to appreciate our perspective." She planted her staff in the ground. "Besides, the best way to capture a wild Pokémon is to weaken it in a battle."

Before Dragonair could even process what that meant, Zero vanished. She reappeared in front of Dragonair and uppercut her. Dragonair careened through the air, squealing. Distorted energy encased Zero's right paw. It flickered in and out of existence. A giant square of red, holographic cubes appeared. Zero thrust her paw up. Red cubes exploded out from the square, taking the shape of a spear.

Dragonair hastily shot a stream of dragonfire below her. The cubes exploded into streams of black pixels. Dragonair hit the ground with a hard thud. Zero left her no opportunity to move away. She fired liquid metal from her paws. Dragonair met it with her Flamethrower.

"Hurry up! Every second you spend fighting her I can feel light fading from my core!" Necrozma barked from the sidelines.

Dragonair sped forward. Zero met her charge with her own Extreme Speed. Both Pokémon bounced off one another. Zero slapped her paws on the ground, red energy crackling around them. A wave of distorted cubes raced across the dirt. Dragonair jumped to dodge it, only to gasp as the wave grew higher. She burned a hole in the middle of the wave with Flamethrower. Dragonair tried to lunge through the opening, but it wasn't large enough. The wave of cubes swallowed her up. She screamed.

Zero broke off the attack. Dragonair's scorched body tumbled to the ground, seizing from the deformed energy bolts racing along her tail. Zero raised her right paw and it glowed pink. Her staff flew across the ground and she caught it.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of, Dragonair. You'll be much happier as a Dragonite. And your friends will come to appreciate all of your hard work… in time," Zero said. She tapped her octahedron against her free paw. A black ball materialized, with a winged-heart sigil flickering to life on its top.

"Go," Zero said, tossing the ball at Dragonair. It struck her. The ball opened, encasing her body in red energy. Dragonair screamed as an invisible force pulled her into the ball, which snapped shut. It rolled around on the ground, before clicking loudly. Zero walked forward and picked the ball up off the ground.

"Gotcha! Dragonair was caught,"
Necrozma mused, flying up beside Zero. "Perhaps she can put my powers to greater use than Espeon and Umbreon did."

Zero paid Necrozma little mind. She touched the octahedron to the ball and black electricity raced across it. Unbeknownst to Zero, however, Necrozma's three eyes and chest sigil flickered with rainbow light. Trace bits of colorful energy encased the ball. Zero withdrew her staff and opened up the ball. A beam of black energy surged forward and struck the ground. When it did, it expanded upward, dissipating when a pair of crystallized wings thrust apart.

"Welcome to the team… Dragonite," Zero declared.

A gem-encrusted arm shot out. It flexed its digits. Lightning descended from the heavens, forming a spear in Dragonite's armored hand. She hurled it out to sea, then vaporized it with a white-hot Hyper Beam. She turned to Zero and Necrozma, smiling at the lingering electricity in her claws.

"How do you like me now?" she said.

Zero's lone eye widened. She looked down at her staff, then back at Dragonite. Her eye then darted about the area nervously. Behind her, Necrozma's face twisted into a crooked grin.

End of Episode 8

XxX​

Yeah, I've gone back and gotten rid of those silly, game-like blurbs. No use for 'em now.

Next time: to Glyphic Falls!
 
Last edited:

Ambyssin

Winter can't come soon enough
~Glyphic Falls~

"This is the place."

Gallian stepped onto a rock and looked out across a nearby riverbed. It flowed past the spot Team Paradox currently occupied, travelling off into a thick cloud of mist. The roars of waterfalls echoed in the distance. "I don't really know why you'd want to come here, though. Nothing here but a bunch of old relics and drawings scattered around this place. And you can forget about the Catacombs. Not a good idea to go down there," Gallian said.

"My reconnaissance determined that it was here that your former guild located the Beast Killer," Sticky explained. He pressed the jewel on his chest harness and his visor materialized over his eyes. "Therefore, this is the optimal location to search out a means of elucidating his weakness."

"… tch. Whatever." Gallian sat down on the rock. He flicked a pebble into the river below him and watched the harsh currents carry it away. "Your dopey scanners aren't going to find anything here."

"What makes you so certain of that, Rookie?" Luxeira asked, rubbing her shoulder against her helmet. "This is top of the line Ultra Recon Squad tech, you know."

"Captain, I'm picking up significant levels of interference. There's no way we're going to find any ultra auras here," Sticky declared.

Gallian turned and gave Luxeira a knowing smirk. "Call it intuition." He jumped off his rocky perch. "So, are we done here?"

"Negative. If we can't do a routine scan of the area, then we will need to put in some legwork," Luxeira replied.

"Are you freaking kidding me? You really want to scour this place top to bottom. That'll take ages," Gallian snarled. His eyes and scythe flickered purple. "And all that wasted time on our part paints a bad picture for what's to come."

"If your disaster sense is that disturbed by it, then you are more than welcome to leave," Luxeira scoffed, turning her snout skyward. "We need to investigate ultra aura readings in this world. They are far too similar to the ones we detected in our home before the Lightless Black laid siege to it." She walked toward one of the branching paths. "Besides, who's to say you won't figure out more about this Prism Virus phenomenon that's got you so panicked?"

Gallian's glanced at his harness. The fur on the back of his neck stood on end and his snout tingled. It seemed Luxeira had a point, much as he didn't want to admit it.

"… tch. Fine." He dashed ahead of Luxeira. "But you're following me. Understand?"

"Of course. Lead the way."

XxX

Episode 9: Null and Void

Chapter 39: An Underground Movement


XxX​

Shane's eyes shot open and he rolled to his feet. "Convenient timing," he said. Then he turned toward the orange sea and shouted. "Yo, Solgaleo! Get your loud, booming butt out here. We need to talk."

The familiar, sun-shaped silhouette appeared within the water.
"What? Do you have news? Did you finally destroy Absol?"

"I've got news. But before I spill the beans, I need to know if you're telling me the truth," Shane said.

"What nonsense are you babbling about, boy? Is this another one of those impulsive freak-outs people with your condition are so prone to?"

Shane shrank back, tails curling against his hips. The mention of his "condition" nearly sapped the fight from him. Of
course Solgaleo had to bring it up. Well, Shane had no intention of acknowledging him. He steeled his nerves and stood up straight.

"Did you really bring me here to preserve the balance of day and night? And are you really safe? Because I have reason to suspect you're lying to me," Shane said.

"Impudent fool!" Solgaleo roared. Shane was prepared this time, however. He dug his paws into the sand in order to avoid getting blown back. "This is one of your ridiculous tirades. You dare suggest that I am being dishonest? I'm trying to keep the world safe!"

"Yeah. About that…" Shane's brow furrowed. "See, my friends and I managed to free two Pokémon from the Prism Virus."

"Oh? How wonderful! Maybe you're not a total lost cause after all," Solgaleo said. "Now, all you need to do is find the source of this stuff and you can dest—"

"I wasn't finished," Shane said, eyes narrowed. "As I was saying, we freed them from the Prism Virus' control. And they told me that the Prism Virus already attacked you. In fact, they went so far as to make it sound like there isn't a Solgaleo anymore."

"Is this supposed to be a joke? I am not laughing," Solgaleo said. "Yes, I was attacked. I'm not entirely sure what it is that tried to strip me of my power, but I am most certainly alive. Otherwise, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"Except I encountered the Prism Virus' supposed creator. And she doesn't really seem to be out to mess up the balance of day and night. The Pokémon I freed said that's happening because the big boss lady fed Solgaleo to her pet," Shane said, taking a step toward the edge of the water. He was onto something. Shane wasn't sure what, but he had to keep pressing.

"So, I'm going to ask again. Are you telling me the truth? What's really happening to you? Am I really talking to Solgaleo or an impostor?" Shane stared out at the water, but received no response.

Then, out of nowhere, he heard clapping. It was slow and quiet at first, but it gradually grew in speed and intensity. Shane tensed up. "W-What's going here?" he gulped.

"Heeheeheehee! Bravo, little human. No, really. Take a bow. You deserve it! That was quite the impressive deduction," Solgaleo's voice gleefully exclaimed. "I'm talking A-plus, gold star, grab the magnet and put it on your refrigerator levels of impressive."

Shane hunched low to the ground. "H-Hey! B-Back off, whoever you are. This is my dream space and, um, I'm not afraid to use it!" His expression blanked as the water rippled in front of him.

A large, fiery-yellow lion emerged from its depths. Shane glanced at the lion's black, armored helmet. "S-Something's wrong. You're not Solgaleo! I've seen pictures... and he doesn't have black armor. Or arms sticking out of his back, for that matter," Shane said. His head throbbed and his thoughts raced. Who was this imposter? If Solgaleo really was dead, then who brought him into this world? This couldn't all be one big accident like Tessa said... could it?

The impostor wiggled the claws on his arms. "Heeheeheehee. Correct again! You are really knocking these things out of the park today, huh?" he taunted.

"Those armor pieces. You're infected with the Prism Virus, aren't you?" Shane gasped. "Who are you? And why do you look like Solgaleo?"

"Aww. Come now, if I went and told you, that would be spoilers!" the lion teased, sauntering across the surface of the water. "And I don't wanna be like you. You know, the kind of guy who always ruins the big twists because they can't keep their damn mouth shut?" He shook his head. "So disgraceful."

"What did you do to Solgaleo, you creep?" Shane huffed, snorting out tufts of frosty air as a warning.

"Me? Why, I did plenty. In fact… heeheeheehee… if it wasn't for me, there wouldn't
be a Solgaleo in the first place. Or a Lunala, for that matter!" the imposter said, smirking. "And yet, here I am, without so much as a thank you card or a fruit basket for all my hard work. Story of my life."

Shane jaw locked up. "Wha— but that's not right. The Horizon legends… they said Ho-Oh created Solgaleo and Lun—"

"Lies! Filthy lies!" the imposter roared. "Solgaleo, Lunala, and all their descendants owe their lives to me! The sun and moon owe their existences to me. This world's light is mine! Heeheeheehee… you understand me? M-I-N-E. Mine!"

"You bring Solgaleo back right now," Shane said. "Or I… I'm… uh… well, I'll think of something!"

"Heeheeheehee. Oh, you need not worry about that metalhead," the lion said. "In fact…" He approached Shane and looked right down at him. Shane shrank down into the sand, whining meekly. "I'd say he's a lot closer than you might think!"


Shane wanted to scream, but his entire world went white.

XxX

~Aeon Observatory~

"Gah!"

Shane shot up from his cushion, a shiver running down his spine. He looked around at his team's room and sighed in relief.

"Mmmmrrgh… Shane, is that you?" Tessa muttered. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What's the matter?"

Shane blinked and rapidly shook his head. "It's nothing. Just a bad dream," he said, even though he knew it was the second one of the night. Shane glanced up at the window and his eyes widened. "Wait, it's already daytime!" He bolted to his feet, knocking Tessa off her pillow. She hit the floor with a grunt. "We overslept. They've probably held assembly without us!" Shane said.

"… assembly's cancelled today…"

A shadow filled the room. Null stood in the doorway. Sweat covered his body and his flanks heaved as he breathed in heavily.

"Oh, really?" Shane said.

"… too many folks… recovering from injuries," Null explained. "You can sympathize… I imagine…" Shane winced, but nodded slowly.

"What about you, Null? You don't look all that good. Where have you been?" Tessa asked, slowly standing up.

"Nowhere. Just… exercising a bit," Null said. He glanced toward the hallway. "There are some folks… still gathering up in the assembly area… if you're looking for something to do…" He shuffled backwards, allowing Shane and Tessa pass. Together, Team Radiance proceeded into the assembly area.

"Oh, good. You guys are up," Trapinch said. "Hey, Braviary. Team Radiance is here."

The gathered Pokémon backed away a little bit, allowing Team Radiance to see Braviary and Metagross standing in front of the Guildmaster's office. Shane and Tessa exchanged uneasy looks. Neither really wanted to see Metagross right now. Not after the whirlwind events of the previous day.

"Glad to see y'all are up and about. Feeling okay?" Braviary asked. Both Shane and Tessa tensed up. They stepped next to Null, each of them hiding defensively behind one of his forelegs. Null growled. "Whoa. Easy now." Braviary raised his wings up. "Guess y'all are still not in the best of shape, huh?"

"We're… doing alright," Shane lied. He glanced over at Tessa, who was rubbing her shoulder and fidgeting with her locket. Shane didn't need to be psychic to tell Tessa wanted to get as far from Metagross as possible. "Um, is there something you need us for?"

"Matter of fact—"

Affirmative, Metagross cut in. Fact: I have analyzed the information provided to us by Espeon and Umbreon. His gaze briefly fell on the duo. Espeon slinked back down the stairs, trying to avoid everyone's eye contact. Shane cocked an eyebrow, however, at the sight of a Zoroark leaning on the wall by the stairs. Was this a guild veteran he hadn't met?

Conclusion: it is imperative the guild locate the Dawn Hourglass before the Prism Virus, Metagross declared. Fact: the Prism Virus attacked Aurora Vale to draw out Tapu Lele.

"Zero believes Tapu Lele is the one holding onto the Dawn Hourglass right now," Umbreon added, looking uneasily at the Guildmaster.

Shane cocked his head in confusion. "Why would a Land Spirit have something related to Solgaleo?"

While there's no concrete data, it appears that the original Solgaleo and Lunala entrusted the Dawn and Dusk Hourglasses to the Tapus. The prevailenating belief in Horizon is that the Tapus will randomly exchange the Hourglasses between one another while they're going about reshaping the continent's Mystery Dungeons. At the same time, this allables them to move their respective temples to different spots around the continent, Magearna explained.

"Which keeps them safe from any varmints who want to try and take them fer themselves," Braviary said.

Shane bit his lip. His recalled Solgaleo's impostor claiming the Horizon myths weren't true. He shook his head. "So, um, the Tapus live in temples, then?"

"Yes, but from what Zero could tell, they're all protected by strange forcefields. That's why we suggested messing with Horizon's landscape. To draw them out," Espeon said, sighing.

Fact: if we are to locate Tapu Lele, we must find the Temple of Mind. Hypothesis: the temple is located somewhere near Aurora Vale, Metagross said.

Tessa squeaked and shuffled back across Null's body. She grabbed his hind leg in fright. Shane saw the display and shook his head. "No way. Nuh-uh. We're not about to go back there. I'll bet that place is still completely messed up," he said.

Negative. I am not ordering anyone there are this time, Metagross said. Order: the guild will go on an expedition to Glyphic Falls.

"Glyphic… Falls," Null whispered. He scraped his claws against the floor. Tessa's aura feelers twitched in fright.

Fact: several apprentices are already there, establishing base camp. Fact: I am ordering all available guild members to Glyphic Falls to search out the means to locate the Land Spirits' temples. Fact: Primarina and Vaporeon will look after the guild while we are away, Metagross said.

Shane frowned. "Oh great, him again," he groaned.

"Um, Guildmaster? I, uh, I don't think we'll be able to pitch in for this one."

Espeon and Umbreon stepped away from the stairs, allowing Milotic and Serperior to pass. Both of them had somber looks on their faces.

"Hey, is something wrong?" Tessa asked, tilting her head.

"Yeah," Serperior whispered. "It's Airy. She's… gone."

Shane's eyes widened. "Wait. 'Gone,' as in—"

Milotic produced a piece of paper. "She left. She must've slipped out while we were sleeping last night."

Tessa threw her paws up over her mouth. "Y-You're kidding! But why–?"

"I don't know. Zero said some pretty harsh stuff to her when we fought. I think it really got to her," Milotic said, her tail fins drooping.

Metagross nodded slowly. Acknowledged. Order: remain at the guild. We will proceed without you.

Shane narrowed his eyes at Metagross. Dragonair was one of the top explorers in the guild, yet the Guildmaster wasn't remotely concerned with her disappearance. A tiny voice in Shane's head said that perhaps Metagross was responsible. The thought made his stomach churn.

"And what will you have me do, Guildmaster?"

Milotic and Serperior both did double-takes. "Wait, Zoroark? What are you doing back here? Is this more Expedition Society business?"

"You know this girl?" Tessa gasped.

Shane's concerns about Metagross vanished. His eyes widened. "Wait, you're with the Expedition Society?" He dashed up toward Zoroark. "You've got to tell me what it's like over there. How's Ampharos? And Mawile? Oh! Oh! Wait, have you met the Pokémon that beat Dark Matter? What are they like? And why can't they lend us a paw or two here?"

Tessa lunged forward, cupping Shane's snout with her paw. "Aha ha ha. F-Forgive him, ma'am. He's a bit notorious around these parts for his big mouth." She shot him a a dirty look. Her paw muffled Shane's resulting sigh.

"It's alright," Zoroark said, giggling. She looked at Shane. "So, you must be a human, then? It's nice to meet you." She bowed curtly.

Order: you will provide us with aerial reconnaissance of Glyphic Falls, Metagross said, catching everyone in the room off guard.

"Um, what? Since when do Zoroarks fly, Guildmaster?" Trapinch gasped.

"Maybe she's just really good at illusions?" Mimikyu said. "I always heard some Zoroarks could shapeshift. Maybe if she made one of a flying-type Pokémon, she could fly?" Trapinch gave him a bewildered look. "Meep! It… it was just a suggestion, that's all."

"Oh, I can fly," Zoroark boasted. "Just, not for the reasons you're thinking, little guy." In a flash of blue light, Zoroark transformed into Latias. "Tadah! Pretty cool, huh?"

Tessa's grip slackened. Shane's eyes sparkled and, next thing anyone knew, he sprinted up to Latias. "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! It's Latias! Right here in front of me!" he said.

"Shane! Show some manners, for pity's sake," Tessa said, facepalming.

"Oh, cut the fun police act. How could you not think this is totally amazing?" he said. Shane turned back to Latias. "Eee! This is incredible. You're only, like, my number four favorite Legendary Pokémon ever. Right behind Rayquaza, Ho-Oh, and Mewtwo because, well, let's face it, they're just concentrated awesome in Pokémon form. But you're definitely the cutest in my book!"

Sweat drops formed on Latias' head. "Oh, uh, that's… nice, I guess."

"Hey, Tessa? We got a pen and some paper anywhere? I've gotta get me an autogra—"

A faint, pink glow surrounded Shane's body, freezing him in place. An unseen force clamped his muzzle shut. That is enough. Order: save your tomfoolery for your own time, Metagross said.

"Wait, you mean to tell me we were working for you the whole time?" Serperior gasped.

Latias nodded, looking down guiltily. "I'm sorry about the ruse, but I was in a bit of a bind and wanted to keep a low profile."

Serperior looked at Milotic and shook her head. "See? It's just like I said. Can't trust a Zoroark."

"Technically she was never a Zoroark, so your point's invalid," Milotic scoffed. "In any event, what brought you here, Latias?"

"That's a bit… complicated," Latias replied. "First off, the Expedition Society wanted to check and see what had happened to Espeon and Umbreon." She glanced over her shoulder at the them. "Seems like the two of you have been through quite a lot."

Espeon's tail turned stiff as an arrow. "You didn't go through my memories, did you?" She shot Umbreon a horrified look.

"Of course not. The Guildmaster looped me in," Latias explained. Her revelation hardly relieved Espeon. "I take it you two are sticking around here, though?"

"They decided to help us investigate this whole Prism Virus situation," Braviary said. "I take it you also brought her up to speed on that, sir?"

Affirmative, Metagross replied.

"But, uh, there is something else I'm here about," Latias announced. "I was thinking about how to bring this up to you guys. Ultimately, I think I need to just cut right to the chase here." She floated over toward Null. He took a few hesitant steps back.

Tessa looked up at the two of them. Her aura feelers tightened up. Latias' aura brimmed with nervous energy. She wondered what had prompted such a quick change.

"You're Null, correct?" Latias asked.

"Yeah. Did the Guildmaster… tell you about me?" Null said.

"N-No," Latias said. Her stammering drew skeptical eyebrow raises from several Pokémon. She glanced at the Lunar Wing in his helmet and sighed in relief. Latias turned toward the other guild members and said, "My friends in the Expedition Society think they know what Null is." Shane caught Milotic and Serperior exchanging nervous looks. Did they know what Latias was about to say?

"Null is a Pokémon that was made by hand in ancient times," Latias said, drawing startled gasps from the others. "And we think the reason he was created was… to kill gods."

Null's legs gave out. He scrambled to keep himself from collapsing on his stomach. His fur prickled. "I… I'm… what?" he whispered. He took a few steps back, then jostled his helmet. Null lost his balance and flopped onto his belly. He launched into a fit of raucous coughing.

"Null!" Tessa cried and ran over to his side. Null hissed and jerked his head to the right. Tessa stopped short of him, narrowly avoiding an accidental headbutt.

"No... no... please be quiet," he whimpered, jerking his head to his left.

Shane watched his teammates with an astonished look in his eyes. There were too many problems with Latias' revelation. For one, why did Team Captivate sit on this information if they knew about it? And if Null was meant to kill gods, then why did he go after Shane?

"All we have to go off of are some old materials we managed to dig up. Mawile found some records suggesting that a group of Pokémon took off to Horizon following Dark Matter's first defeat. Some of their logs said they teamed up with a Horizon native and tried to make a Pokémon that could protect them from any manner of danger," Latias explained. "Based on the way they phrased it, that danger made it seem like they were talking about gods."

"But it didn't work, right? Their experiment went berserk and they had to seal it inside of a crystal," Serperior said.

Shane's tails shot between his legs. That likely answered why Null attacked him. But another problem surfaced. Why did Sticky call Null a failure? Sticky was an alien, after all. Shane groaned. He didn't need these extra headaches on top of the Prism Virus situation.

"How do you know all of this, Serperior?" Trapinch asked, snapping Shane's thinking back to his original issues.

"Because I hired Team Captivate to locate one of the records Mawile found. I had it stolen from me while I was looking for artifacts in the Nocturnus Catacombs," Latias said. "Turns out, they did one better than that and actually found the item Mawile wanted."

Null's head shot up. "I… I don't understand," he wheezed. "I don't… I don't remember anything like that…" He looked at Team Captivate. "You knew... about this?" Milotic and Serperior nodded in unison. Shane and Tessa exchanged frowns.

Null lumbered to his feet, violently shaking his head. "Why?" he snarled, his voice uneasy. "Why didn't… you tell me? I've been trying… to figure out… why I can't remember anything... since day one!" He scraped his talons across the floor. "That isn't... you..." His helmet banged against his shoulder. "I had a right... to know about this! You needed... to tell me!"

Shane's blood boiled. He stepped in between his friend and Team Captivate. "I can't believe you kept that stuff to yourself! Do you have any idea how much trouble you would've saved us if you'd actually opened your mouths?" he barked. "God... and you two call yourselves the top veteran team!"

Tessa winced. Though she agreed with Shane, she thought he came on a bit strong.

"I didn't say anything because I was scared!" Serperior blurted out. She slithered back toward the stairs. "Look… Null's frightening, okay? Sure, there are plenty of odd-looking Pokémon. But we know all about them. Null's a giant question mark. How did you expect us to react when the first thing we learned about his past was that he might be some sort of killing machine?" She ducked down into the stairwell. "I didn't want to chance having Null freak out and slice me open like a pasta noodle. So, yeah, I kept my mouth shut. Can you really blame me?"

Null whined. Shane's ears folded against his head. Despite their past issues, a heavy guilt tugged at Shane's heart over Null.

Latias floated toward Espeon and Umbreon. "I'm not really sure what to tell you." She turned to Metagross and Braviary. "I'm sorry we kept you guys in the dark. Mawile really hoped she could figure more out about all of this, so that maybe I could come here with a solution to Null's situation."

Braviary rubbed the top of his beak. "Well, I ain't exactly a big fan of getting news like this. And at such a doggone lousy time fer us, to boot."

Order: Null will stay behind for this expedition. Hypothesis: going to Glyphic Falls will trigger memories and cause him to lash out, Metagross said.

"B… but Guildmaster," Null whimpered, much to Shane's surprise. "Please… don't make me... stay behind. I… I want to know. I need to know... if there are answers... to my past…"

Request denied, Metagross said. Fact: the Prism Virus situation is a serious threat. Fact: it requires our undivided attention. Conclusion: I cannot have guild members preoccupied with tasks that will ultimately prove insignificant should the world fall into crisis.

Tessa stepped forward. "You have to let him come with us," she declared. "Null's a member of Team Radiance now." She pulled a copy of the team's contract out from her item pouch. "He signed this when I told you to get rid of the dissolution form, remember?"

Fact: my memory is infallible, Metagross scoffed.

"Then, if you're allowing Team Radiance to go on the expedition, Null has to come too," Tessa declared. "Right, Shane?"

She gave him a pleading look. Shane's heart skipped a beat. He quickly stood at attention. "Y-Yeah!" he squeaked. "All for one and one for all… or something like that…" He winced at the look of disappointment on Tessa's face. She wanted more of a ringing endorsement. Shane's expression grew stern. "Null's been crucial to giving us a fighting chance against the Prism Virus. I'm not going to Glyphic Falls without him."

He glanced at Tessa, who gave him a warm smile. Null looked between the two of them, his sniffles echoing in his helmet.

Fact: I reserve the right to amend the rules of expeditions as I see fit, Metagross said. I will not have you distracting us from our prime objective.

"Guildmaster… I won't… waste anyone's time. I just… want to go there… and see… if I remember anything. I promise... I'll focus... on looking for stuff... about the Tapus," Null said.

Metagross' expression remained neutral. Fine. Order: Magearna will accompany your group. Warning: if she believes that you are deviating from my directions, you will be sent back to base camp and returned to the Observatory.

Null nodded. "I understand."

Order: all those proceeding to Glyphic Falls, gather your belongings and meet at the entrance in five minutes. Dismissed.

XxX

~Glyphic Falls~

"Testing? Uh… one, two. Is youse all hearing me?"

I read you loud and clear, Yungoos, Magearna said. She led Team Radiance through a narrow path overlooking a particularly steep drop down to a roaring riverbed. Her stomach compartment was open, revealing a large speaker.

"Great. Red Team's moving along to da nort'west and— oy! Growlithe! Put da stick down. Now ain't da time to use dat!" Yungoos' voice crackled through the speakers.

"Blue Team's setting a course to the north, y'all," Braviary announced

"Sky Team checking in. Nothing really to report at the moment. The clouds are quite lovely up here," Latias said. "Also, why did I get a team if I'm the only one on it?"

"Gate Team here. All quiet at the entrance. We've finished gathering the supplies needed to cook dinner," Trapinch reported.

Okay, good. Your Gear-Coms should have enough juice to make it to sundown. After that, you should report back to base camp. Ping me if you need anything. Otherwise, try to stay off the line, Magearna said.

A chorus of acknowledging statements followed. Magearna's speaker retracted into her chest. Just as a heads up, I may need to borrow your team's Gear-Com, should mine unexplicably lose power.

"Heh, that shouldn't happen as long as you've got me around!" Togedemaru boasted, her cheeks sparking with electricity.

Shane leaned over and whispered to Tessa, "Remind me why we got stuck with her, again."

"Because," Togedemaru huffed, stopping in the middle of the trail and extending her spines. Shane stumbled to the ground, barely avoiding them. "My electricity can give auxiliary power to Magearna's energy cells. Otherwise, she'd never be able to keep so many Gear-Com lines tethered to her at once."

"Oh, okay. That makes perfect sense," Shane said. 'Which engineering school did you graduate from, again?'

"I really don't understand your Guildmaster," Espeon said, walking dejectedly at the back of the group. "Why would he split Umbry and me up? We do our best work together. We'd be most useful together."

Tessa winced and tried to ignore Espeon's complaints. She didn't want to have to think about Metagross. "Exactly where is it that we're going to look for clues, anyway?" she asked. Tessa's gaze drifted toward the cliff face and the river down below. "This seems like a rather odd place to keep information about the Tapus." A steam geyser erupted nearby. Tessa jumped forward with a frightened yip. She hastened her pace.

There are caverns interwovenated amongst the waterfalls, Magearna explained. Some of them lead down into the Nocturnus Catacombs. But others are believed to have served as shelter for Pokémon in the times when the Horizon Continent was a driftinating landmass.

Tessa peered up the path, and noted a large rock spire jutting out diagonally. Water cascaded off the top of it. She guessed that was their destination.

"So, big guy, anything jogging your memory yet? Y'know, in a nice, friendly, 'I don't want to murder everyone around me' kind of way?" Togedemaru asked.

Shane's ears folded against his head. "Hey, d'ya think maybe you could tone down on the black comedy a bit?"

"Psht! What's the matter, scared of your own teammate?" Togedemaru scoffed.

Shane quickly glanced back at Null. The answer was yes, of course. Shane had an awful feeling that, if Null flew off the handle again, it would be his head on the proverbial chopping block.

For his part, Null stayed silent. He stared at the river as he trudged along at the back of the line. "You guys… found me… washed up by the entrance… right?" he said.

"Sure did! Boy, was that a surprise or what?" Togedemaru said, looking over toward Magearna.

It certainly generated a strong startle cycle in my processors, if that's what you're insinuinating, Magearna said. We were here to gather some meteorological data. I sent Togedemaru to get river water for my Geartronic Pressure Sensorometer.

"But when I went to the river, I found this big lug lying in the shallows near our campsite," Togedemaru continued, jerking her head in Null's direction. "We called Braviary up right away and he and Metagross showed up to haul his ragged butt back to the Observatory."

Null slowly craned his head to look at the falls. "Did I… go down… one of those?" he whispered.

"Fat chance. Your odds of surviving a fall down one of these suckers without any wings is, like, a zillion to one," Togedemaru said.

Actually, it's around one in eight hundred and thirty seven. Certainly not the worst odds in the world, Magearna said.

"Yeah, but you'd either have to be crazy or really, really desperate to go down one of these waterfalls," Togedemaru scoffed. "Can you imagine someone in the guild trying that?"

Shane's brow furrowed. "I can see you looking right at me, you know."

Togedemaru smirked. "Good, because out of all us, you'd be the odds-on favorite to try something that stupid."

"Har, har. Very funny," Shane deadpanned. He turned to Tessa. "Hey, uh, can we talk for a second?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"No. I mean, can we hang back and talk. It's… kind of personal," he said, leaning in to whisper that last line. Tessa's aura feelers stiffened. She beckoned Null and Espeon ahead of her, then walked alongside Shane. Initially he stayed silent, his gaze focused straight ahead of him.

"Well? Are we going to talk or are you going to stare at Espeon?"

Shane abruptly jerked himself upright. He looked straight down at his forepaws. "Right, sorry. Anyway, about this morning…"

"You mean the bad dream?" Tessa said.

Shane nodded. "Kind of. See, I was thinking about what Espeon and Umbreon said yesterday. Y'know, about what they think happened to Solgaleo?" He bit his lower lip. "I, uh, had one of my dreams last night. The ones where Solgaleo shows up." Tessa gave him a concerned look. "Well, I told him about what we had learned."

Tessa's aura feelers twitched. "And what did he say?"

A shiver ran down Shane's back. "That's the thing. The voice in my dreams… I don't think it was actually Solgaleo. Because he revealed what he looks like to me. At least, I think that's what happened," he whispered.

"Shane, you're speaking in riddles here," Tessa said. "It's a bit hard to follow."

"Sorry. I, uh, I'm just not sure how to phrase it," Shane said. He took in a deep breath. "I think the voice inside my dreams isn't Solgaleo. I think it's part of the Prism Virus." Tessa's eyes widened. She opened her mouth to respond, but Shane quickly threw his paw up over her snout. "Whatever you've got to say, do it quietly, please. I don't want anyone else to hear about this."

Tessa slowly nodded and Shane withdrew his paw. "What makes you so sure of this?" she asked.

"I told you, the voice showed me his body," Shane said. "And it kinda looked like Solgaleo, but the colors were wrong. And he was covered in pieces of black armor, just like Zero."

Tessa gave him a worried look. "But how can the Prism Virus do that?" She threw a paw up over her muzzle. "Oh… oh, gods. You don't think you've been infected, do you? What if that's why Null tried to attack you?"

Shane's eyes widened. That hadn't occurred to him. But that wasn't something he wanted to consider. "N-No, that wouldn't make sense. I've been having these dreams for over a month. It wouldn't have taken the Prism Virus this long to infect me," he said, thinking his reasoning was sound enough.

"But what if something's keeping you safe?" Tessa proposed. "Like your Naturia Looplet?"

"Please don't say that!" Shane blurted out. The other group members looked back in concern. "We… we're fine," he lied. "Let's just keep going." He turned away from Tessa and quickly walked forward to try and rejoin the group.

Tessa jogged up to him. "Shane, you can't just ignore this, you know. If someone's messing with your mind, then you need to speak up. With Espeon and Latias here, we have three powerful psychic-types. I'm sure they could figure out a way to help you."

Shane whined softly. "I know, okay. I just… I don't know what to say to them. The other guild members are still pretty iffy about me because of the whole Bewear-Lycanroc fiasco. This would just make everything worse," he said. "Besides, what about you? Espeon and Umbreon think Lunala's been taken in by the Prism Virus, too. So, what would that mean for your dreams about your mom?"

It took a moment for the impact of Shane's statement to sink in. When it did, Tessa hastily pulled her scarf over her head. "I… I don't want to talk about this anymore," she said. Tessa sped up her pace. "We're here for info about the Tapus. And... and for Null. I can't help him if I'm distracted by you."

"But…"

"Not now, Shane!"

Again, their travelling companions stopped to give them concerned looks. "S-Sorry! Shane was trying to take one of my berries," Tessa said. She shot him a pleading look and whispered, "I'm sorry. We can talk later." Then she opted to walk alongside Null.

Shane sighed. Even though that didn't go how he'd hoped, he was relieved Tessa was willing to talk at a later point. It was a far cry from their past arguing, at least. Shane walked forward, ears instinctively tucking against his head in a vain attempt at reducing the sounds of roaring water. It didn't take long for his head to throb. He glanced over the edge of the pathway and quickly skittered back toward the wall.

He could safely say this was the highest off the ground he'd ever been without being inside an airplane. And he did not like it. "Hey, um, how long do we have to stay up here, exactly?" he asked. "I'm, uh, just learning that I'm not so good with heights."

Just long enough to scope out this cave, Magearna replied, drawing a relieved sigh from Shane. Then we can move along to the next one.

Shane's tails tucked between his legs. "J-Just how many of these waterfalls are we going to investigate, huh?"

Before Magearna could respond, a ringing noise sounded from her stomach. Her built-in speaker turned on and Braviary said, "Mags. Y'all might want to find some cover over there. My team spotted something flying across the air mighty quick-like. And it was heading in y'all's direction."

"Yeah. I just sensed a pretty powerful aura fly by," Latias chimed in. "Hang on, I'm going to try and see if I can get a closer lo— eek!"

The group tensed up as Latias' frightened shriek sounded through Magearna's speaker. "Latias? Latias! Are you okay? What's going on?!" Espeon said, glancing back and forth between the speaker and the sky.

Static erupted from the other end of the line. Everyone flinched except Magearna.

"… thing… bad… big…"


Could you repeat that? You're not coming in cleanerly, Magearna said.

More static followed. "You guys need to take cover!" Latias cried. "Whatever's flying around up here just blindsided me with some kind of attack. Feels like it struck me in the back with something really hard and really sharp."

"Did you get a good look at it, at least?" Togedemaru asked.

"N-No, sorry. It flew off right away. And I need to land and heal up. I'm not doing so hot," Latias squeaked.

"Well, you heard the lady," Shane said. "Let's find an alcove to stow away in until we get the all cle—"

"Skraaaw!"

Shane's stance slouched. "… or it could show up right now and make our lives miserable." He looked over his shoulder, but immediately had to turn away as a glaring light spread across his body. "Ach! What the heck? Is it a Skarmory up there?" In response, a rock nailed Shane's face. It exploded into dusty debris, knocking him back into Null. "Eyowch! What hit me?" he groaned.

"A rock," Null said. "But… where would a bird… get a rock from?"

Magearna's eyes widened. That is no Skarmory. It is a Toucannon. But something is clearly off with its apperentice. Its wings look like they're made out of bamboo. That is one hundred percent illogical. That variety of plant doesn't even growthinate in Horizon.

Toucannon's beak shimmered in the sunlight. It opened its mouth wide. Several more rocks shot down toward the group. "It doesn't have to make sense. It's a Prism Virus Pokémon!" Tessa cried. She batted rocks away with her glowing paws. Magearna swept liquid metal through the air to blow apart the rest, but Toucannon easily steered clear of her attack.

It spread its wings apart and let out a defiant, "Skraaw!" Toucannon tucked in its wings. It dived at the group, beak turning red hot.

"Not good! It's trying to Beak Blast us!" Tessa yelped. She turned tail, trying to scramble up the path. But she got tangled up with Null, Espeon, and Shane in the process.

Togedemaru hopped in front of them. "Leave this one to me. Zing-Zap away!" She shrouded her entire body in electricity and launched herself forward. But, much to her surprise, Toucannon stayed its course. Electricity crackled across its body, but its bamboo-like, metal-coated wings absorbed the attack. Toucannon shot Togedemaru back into the ground, leaving a crack in the cliff.

Shane spewed frosty air in desperation, but the heat of Toucannon's beak dispelled it. Shane braced himself for impact, when Null stepped in front of him. Toucannon slammed into Null. The impact made his legs buckle. A sharp crack echoed through the area. The ground trembled underneath Team Radiance.

"Agh! Careful!" Espeon cried, the quake knocking her to the ground.

My word! Null, hold absolutely still, Magearna said, pointing a metallic arm forward. Shane opened his eyes and his jaw dropped at the sight of Toucannon's beak wedged into Null's helmet. A second, spiderweb crack radiated out around the mask.

"W-Wait, I'm supposed to defeat it with a Z-Move. That might be the only way to save it from the Prism Virus," Shane said.

Magearna gathered ice at the tip of her arm, when a loud, long rumble sounded. "Um, guys? I think we need to move… now," Espeon said, trying to shove Shane and Tessa out of the way.

Shane sank into the ground. He looked up at Toucannon. "Is that bird doing something to us?" he asked.

"No. The ground's giving way!" Espeon shrieked. She managed to push Shane onto his side and was prepared to leap over him when the path beneath her crumbled away. Seconds later, Shane, Tessa, Null, and Toucannon all dropped down. Horrified screams rang out, only to grow steadily more distant.

Magearna's eyes widened. She dashed toward the edge of the crumbling path. Magearna looked for a sign of her guild mates, but all she got were splashes that echoed far in the distance. The pathway shook once again. Without so much as a second thought, Magearna grabbed the unconscious Togedemaru and hastily fled away from the waterfall.

Guildmaster, we've got a serious situation here! Magearna declared, casting glances backward to watch as rocky debris covered up the hole that Team Radiance had just fallen down.

XxX​

Next time: 28 characters debut! (It's not what you think, I swear.)
 
Last edited:

Ambyssin

Winter can't come soon enough
Chapter 40: Into Unown Territory

"Did you guys feel that? I think an earthquake just hit this place." Gallian tapped the ground with a claw.

Luxeira sat down in the middle of the trail. She nudged her helmet with her foreleg. "Hmm. There's still a lot of interference, but I think you're right. There are trace levels of seismic activity. Is that normal around here?"

"Well, there are plenty of water geysers. But this didn't feel anything like one of them," Gallian replied. "And my disaster sense is telling me it's time to get the heck out of here."

"If there was any seismic activity, then it appears to have dissipated," Sticky said, resting a nubby hand on his visor. "I'm not even detecting any aftershocks. Are we sure it was an actual earthquake? Perhaps what Gallian sensed is secondary to something else entirely." He turned to Luxeira, the visor disappearing into his harness' jewel in a stream of purple light. "Do you suppose an Ultra Wormhole could have triggered the earthquake?"

Luxeira shook her head. "No. Even with all the interference, there's no way the seismic waveforms would have a high enough amplitude to be linked to an Ultra Wormhole," she said.

"If it's not about your Ultra Wormholes, then drop the subject. You're just wasting our time," Gallian snorted. He started to walk forward, when Luxeira stuck a foreleg in front of him. Red energy crackled across a glaring Gallian's scythe.

"Sit down for a second, Rookie. That's an order," Luxeira said. She turned back to Sticky. "As I was saying, Ultra Wormhole or not, I still find it odd that such a strong energy signature could fade so quickly. We should've seen it diminish gradually."

"Perhaps all this interference is at fault. Or maybe the freefalling water blunted the aftershocks," Sticky said, tapping an arm against his chin.

Gallian rolled his eyes. "You mean the waterfalls? Don't tell me waterfalls don't exist where you're from."

Luxeira and Sticky exchanged looks. They both shook their heads at Gallian. "We don't have any waterfalls. Though, I suppose the name you terrestrials have for it makes sense. Very simplistic. Difficult to forget," Luxeira said.

Gallian dug his claws into the dirt. "Ugh, I cannot believe you two! We're wasting our time talking about waterfalls. You want to find stuff about the helmeted freak show? Get off your asses and start moving!" Before Luxeira could respond, Gallian tensed up. The diamond on his forehead flashed red. Growling, he crouched low. "We're not alone."

Sticky raised a brow, and then pressed the jewel on his harness once again. His visor reappeared. "… it's no good. There's still too much interference. Are you sure you sense someone coming, Gallian?"

"Boy, Magearna sure seemed worried. What do you suppose happened to Team Radiance, huh?"

At the mention of Magearna, Gallian bared his fangs. He crept forward, as if he was stalking prey.

"Rookie. What are you doing?" Luxeira hissed in a whisper.

"Getting ready to greet some unwanted guests," Gallian said.

"I dunno. But man, dose dopes can't go a single mission wit'out getting demselves into some kinda trouble," Yungoos said. "Wit' dere track record, you'd t'ink dey're getting stalked by a pack of Ab—"

Gallian flicked his scythe forward. Pink energy crescents battered a nearby rock. Debris rained down on the area. The moment he heard startled yelps, Gallian dove into the shadows. Luxeira and Sticky ran after him. "Get back here, Rookie! I did not authorize any combat," she barked.

"I find that our Absol ally is not the type to listen to orders. Or reason, for that matter," Sticky said, sighing.

Up ahead, Gallian emerged from the shadows, a snarl on his face. "Speak of the Absol and he'll appear, you exploring amateurs," he hissed. Dark energy encased his paws. He slashed Yungoos' face, knocking him into Growlithe. The two rolled backward across the path.

"What the— Gallian? You're alive! It's us… it's the Horizon Guild!"

Gallian whirled around to face Volcarona, shadows encasing his fur. "Huh, so there are veterans here, too. You guys on an expedition or something?"

Volcarona glanced at Araquanid. "Something's wrong. He kind of looks like Bewear when we ran into her in Dewdrop Woods," she said.

Gallian lunged at Volcarona. She flapped her wings to safely avoid Gallian's claws. The second Gallian landed, he dissolved into a puddle of black mist. Araquanid whiffed his attempt to bite Gallian. He reemerged a couple of yards away, looking dazed. Volcarona glowed green, but a globule of poison struck her right wing from behind.

Hissing, Volcarona rapidly fluttered her wings to rid them of the toxins. Luxeira and Sticky went to Gallian's side. "We're going to have a serious talk about your insubordination later, Rookie," Luxeira growled.

"No, you're going to thank me. Because I'm going to dig up the information that you've been on the lookout for," Gallian scoffed. He pawed at the ground. "Listen up, scrubs! I know you're here on an expedition. So, get the Guildmaster on the line and tell him to get down here. Or we'll knock the living daylights out of you and swipe every piece of equipment you've got."

Luxeira's jaw dropped. "What? I authorize no such criminality. The Ultra Recon Squad doesn't resort to petty theft."

"Yeah, you're a bit late on that, captain," Gallian sneered. He flicked his scythe. Psycho Cut blades swarmed the guild members. Volcarona fired green waves. Her Bug Buzz blew the Psycho Cut blades apart. Team Paradox scattered to dodge the lingering sound energy. Luxeira stepped out from her cover behind a large rock. She spewed a flamethrower, but much to her surprise, Growlithe jumped in front of the attack. Sighing happily, he shook out his torso as the attack washed across him

Luxeira's jaw stiffened. "Flash Fire? Figures," she said. "Sticky. Quiet this terrestrial down, please."

"Of course, captain," Sticky said, producing an orb from his harness. Yungoos turned around and kicked up a ton of dirt. It smacked Sticky's face, but his visor protected his eyes. He hurled the orb forward, striking Growlithe in the side.

"Eyowch! That hu— mmph!" Growlithe's whine abruptly stopped as his muzzle snapped shut. He tried to open it, but couldn't, leaving him standing there wide-eyed.

"Magearna! Guildmaster! Someone get over here, quickly," Yungoos cried into his scouting team's Gear-Com. "Gallian's gone off da deep end and is attacking us. And he's got some creepy friends with him." Yungoos scrambled away as a burst of poison soared over his head.

XxX

~Nocturnus Catacombs, Eastern Quadrant~

Emera ores lining the cavern walls cast a soft, purple glow on the brook trickling through the middle of the cave. Rippling water made the light flicker. Null staggered out of the brook, coughing raucously. Though Toucannon was no longer stuck in his helmet, he was clearly in pain. The spiderweb-like crack left by Toucannon's Beak Blast had created a black, discolored spot on his mask that extended up toward his left eye.

Splashes made Null turn around. Shane, Tessa, and Espeon dragged themselves out of the brook. They were all soaked to the bone, their bodies weighed down by their wet fur. Tessa collapsed onto her knees, clutching her ribs.

"O… ow. That… that really hurt," she squeaked. Beside her, Shane tried and failed to shake himself dry. Likewise, water clung to Espeon's fur, making her look like a pink, ragged mop head.

"This blows," Shane growled, snorting out tufts of chilled air. "Just once… just once I'd like to go on a mission and not end up drenched from head-to-tail. Or covered in mud, slime, or gunge. This is inhumane!"

"But… you're a Vulpix now… not a human," Null said.

"Not the point, big guy," Shane hissed.

"You mean to tell me this kind of stuff happens to you three regularly? Jeez, I can see why you're at each other's throats all the time," Espeon said.

"Hey, we've moved past that," Shane said, though the fur falling over his face deflated his point considerably. "It's not my fault that Arceus is a sick, twisted, perverted weirdo." He craned his head up to look at the rocky ceiling. "Yeah, you heard me! So, you like to get your kicks messing with an innocent little Vulpix's fur? You make me wanna hurl, you overgrown llama!"

"Shane! What are you saying?" Tessa gasped.

"And why are you pronouncing it Ar-see-us? It's Ar-key-us," Espeon said. "And with the way you're acting, you're totally setting yourself up for some form of karmic retribution."

"Maybe. But I've been thoroughly humiliated, chewed up, and spat out repeatedly by this miserable world," Shane grumbled, walking forward. "Frankly, there's nothing left that could happen to m—"

A click cut Shane off. Null's eyes widened as a geyser of mud erupted around Shane, coating him in a thick layer of brown sludge. Espeon snorted, desperately trying to hold back a laugh, while Shane's bright-blue eyes blinked repeatedly from within his new mud coat. He turned and stomped back toward the brook, leaving muddy footprints behind him.

He shot Null a scathing look. "Not. One. Word." Shane trudged into the brook, disappearing underneath the surface. He reemerged seconds later, brown water dripping off his pelt.

"Um, I'd hate to interrupt your moment there, Shane, but I really think we need to get moving. What if that Toucannon followed us down here?" Tessa said.

"I don't think… we need to worry about it… anymore."

Null turned toward the brook. Tessa caught sight of the damaged patch on his helmet. "Toucannon… had gotten stuck on my mask. It fell down with us. But it didn't… pop out of the water."

"Y-You don't mean it drowned, do you?" Tessa said, eyes widening.

Espeon pursed her lips. "Much as it pains me to say it, that's the most logical outcome. Though, given how the Prism Virus works, drowning may have been the best outcome for that poor Pokémon," she said, shuddering.

"Espeon, how could you say something like that?" Tessa said.

"Because I know what happened to Toucannon," Espeon said, shutting her eyes. "Infection… it changes a Pokémon by corrupting its spiritual energy. You've seen the results for yourselves."

"Is that why the infected Pokémon lose all their colors when they're defeated?" Shane asked.

Espeon nodded grimly. "It's Zero's failsafe. Because she damages a Pokémon's spirit to infect it, breaking the virus' hold over a Pokémon causes the entirety of its life force to drain out of its body."

"But you're still here," Null pointed out.

"I know. It's a miracle. Rightly and truly a miracle. Though it feels more like a curse," Espeon whispered.

"Actually, Magearna thinks it was the Z-Move that I used against you and Umbreon," Shane explained. "See, my looplet lets me do this—"

A blue paw grabbed one of Shane's tails and yanked it. Shane cut himself off with a yip.

"We really ought to get a move on, Shane," Tessa said, dragging her teammate away from the water.

Shane managed to wrestle himself free of Tessa's grip. He looked back toward his tails and slowly bobbed them up and down. "Okay, Riolu. No need to get pushy. Besides, where exactly are we going to go? And where the heck are we, for that matter?"

"We fell down from a path in Glyphic Falls," Espeon said, looking up toward the ceiling while she walked past Shane and Tessa. Shane's gaze followed her forward, only for him to immediately look right at the ground, biting his lower lip.

"That means we must be in the Nocturnus Catacombs," Tessa said. Her aura feelers throbbing. She squealed and tightened her grip on the team's item pouch.

"So, we just need to find our way back to the surface, right?" Shane said, alternating between giving Tessa a concerned look and stealing glances ahead at Espeon. A tiny voice in his head chastised his behavior, telling him to focus on staying safe.

"It's not that simple. Our Wonder Maps… they don't include the Nocturnus Catacombs. We're flying blind," Tessa whimpered.

"But it looks like… there's only one direction… we can go," Null wheezed. He pointed a shaky talon forward.

"Yeah. I think our fall caused a bit of a cave-in," Espeon said. She turned back toward the group. Shane hastily looked at the debris on the other end of the cavern. He silently wondered why Espeon made him so flustered.

"What if that was the way to the exit?" Tessa said, worriedly tugging at the strap of her item pouch.

"Then we'll need to hope the direction we can go leads to one," Espeon said. "Now, are you three coming or not?"

Shane raised a forepaw. "Hang on. This is a Mystery Dungeon, isn't it? Why don't we just use an Escape Orb and return to the surface?"

Tessa opened the team's item pouch and pulled out a dull-gray orb. "Because we can't," she said.

"Oh, come on. Seriously?" Shane groaned. "I know our luck sucks, but this is getting to be a bit ridiculous."

Espeon's brow furrowed. "Well, it's true. There must be some sort of hex jamming this place. At the very least, maybe we can move outside the hex's range and then use your Escape Orb to get out of here."

"What about an Entercard?" Shane asked, heart racing as he met Espeon's gaze.

She hook her head. "I need Umbry's help to make one. Now, let's get a move on."

Shane trudged after his teammates, muttering, "We just can't have an easy mission, can we?" He squinted his eyes as he passed over beams of purple light streaming down from the emera ores. "Cripes. These crystals are a bit much, don't you think?" He rapidly blinked the stars out of his vision. Shane slowed up as his gaze fell on Espeon's backside. His chest tightened up and his heart raced even faster.

"… human…"

"Gah!" Shane jumped forward, then looked back at Null. "Don't do that, man. You already scare me enough as it is."

Null coughed. "I'm sorry. It's just… you keep staring at Espeon. It's… a little creepy…"

"W-What?" Shane hastily shuffled forward, trying to use the glow of the ores to mask the blush on his face. "I… I'm not staring. I have to look where I'm going and she's up ahead of me. So, of course I'm going to see her. St… stop being such a worrywart." He walked ahead, but Null quickened his pace.

"It's not… normal. It's a lot like… how I was staring at you… the first time you had sentry duty," Null whispered.

"You're just seeing things, Null," Shane dismissed. He dipped his head down and kept walking. Shane had a bad feeling he knew what Null was implying.

"… you're studying her," Null said, confirming Shane's fears.

"Hey, Riolu. What's up with these weird crystals anyway?" Shane asked in an obvious ploy to change the subject. Null growled his displeasure, but opted to continue onward without pressing Shane further.

"I really don't know," Tessa said. She approached one of the emera ores. "Maybe they're some kind of light source? Like a cousin of luminous orbs?" Tessa placed her paw against the crystal. Her aura feelers jolted upright. She pulled her paw back with a startled yip. Tessa stared wide-eyed at the bright-blue aura clinging to her paw like a flame to the tip of a match. She wrung her arm out, as if she could fling the aura away. It eventually disappeared.

Tessa clasped her paw to her chest. "Th… that's not normal. Those crystals, they have energy in them. A lot of energy. It's scary!" she said, whining.

"That would seal it, then. I had my suspicions, but it looks like these are emera ores," Espeon said, glancing at one of the crystals as she walked past it. Her forehead gem glowed brighter the closer she got to an ore.

"… emera… ores," Null said. His pace slowed considerably. Null nervously swiveled his head back and forth. The helmet muffled his soft whimpers.

"So, what? Are they like the emeras we use, but on massive amounts of steroids?" Shane said, gazing at his distorted reflection.

"Not exactly. In our research, Umbry and I found some documents that talked about Pokémon using massive crystals as energy sources. Apparently, these things are remnants of the battles waged by the immortal gods that shaped the land, sea, and sky," Espeon said. "They're quite volatile, even sporadically venting off their energy and forming up new crystals."

Shane shut his eyes. A brief mental image flash through his mind. Pillars of lava collided against tidal waves, while a massive tornado attempted to break both of them apart. He shuddered at this thought.

"But the emera ore name was made retroactively by some explorers. Because, when they discovered these things, they found the energy signatures were pretty similar to the emeras they used in their looplets," Espeon continued.

Shane's brow furrowed. "Wait a second. I thought the Expedition Society invented looplets to help out explorers."

Espeon raised a confused eyebrow. "Um… no. I don't know where you got that idea from, but looplets have been around for a really long time."

Shane's ears stuck up from the discovery of yet another difference between this world and his games.

"Does that mean our emeras come from these ores?" Tessa wondered. As she walked forward, she took great care to maneuver herself as far from each ore as she could. Her aura feelers had tensed up considerably. She winced every time they throbbed.

Espeon shook her head. "No one's entirely sure about that. The prevailing theory is that emeras, wands, orbs, and other treasures were all created at the hands of one Pokémon." Her eyes drifted shut and she stretched her neck out. "The scriptures I've read said, 'A blinding light enveloped the world. Stardust fell and the earth became ripe with magical treasures.'"

"Seriously? That seems pretty far-fetched," Shane said.

"No, it doesn't. If individual Pokémon gave us the land, seas, skies, outer space, and time, then why can't one Pokémon have made a bunch of treasures?" Tessa said.

"Because it's not like there are a limited number of these things," Shane countered, thinking about how items randomly popped up in dungeons.

"I agree. It's not a solid idea. But, as I said, it's just speculation. Some folks believe that a Pokémon released a massive burst of pure, raw energy. In other words, they gave off a tremendous amount of light and… poof! Suddenly the world was flooded with vast amounts of stardust," Espeon said. "And that's where all the emeras come from." She shook her head. "Some crazy whackos actually think Dialga used stardust to forge the Time Gears as a contingency plan for Temporal Tower."

"Well, I'm not convinced," Shane said, shaking his head in disapproval.

A flash of purple light caught their attention. Null had brushed his hide against a lone emera ore. He froze mid-step, with his teammates watching him. His eyes constricted, then he slammed his helmet into the ground, roaring furiously.

"Null!" Tessa cried. She tried to run toward him, but Shane cut him off.

"Are you crazy? You need to keep your distance," he said. Memories of Null's attack in Moonrise Marsh surface, making Shane's tails curl up.

"But look at him. He's in pain!" Tessa said. Null thrust his head up and jerked it to his right. It struck the emera ore beside him. Another flash of purple light enveloped Null. Shane's fur prickled and his tails shot between his legs.

"Get… out of… my head!" Null snarled, jerking his helmet to the left, then smacking it against the emera ore once more. The second blow shattered the crystal. Shards peppered Null's body, leaving small scuffs in his fur. An explosion blasted Null into the ceiling.

"Null!" Tessa cried again. Shane tackled Tessa to the ground to prevent her from running forward and getting squished. Null fell to the ground, bringing a shower of rocky debris with him. The rubble landed around Null, forming a wall that blocked off the tunnel.

"Nice going, big guy. You just caused a cave-in," Shane whimpered, staggering backwards. Null didn't appear to process his complaint, however. He lay on the ground, staring wide-eyed at the nearest emera ore.

Tessa managed to wriggle free of Shane and sprint over toward Null. "A… are you okay? What happened. "Oh gods, you've got welts on your shoulders." She turned back to Shane and Espeon. "What are you guys doing standing there? He's hurt. Help me get him out."

Shane pawed nervously at the ground. "Um, are you sure it's safe? He looks a little, y'know, crazy." The events of Moonrise Marsh were on repeat in Shane's head. Though he tried to tell himself this wasn't Null's fault, he couldn't bring himself to believe that.

Tessa ignored her teammate and ran forward. She grabbed Null's helmet and tugged. "H… hang on. I'm… gonna… get… you…"

Espeon tensed up. She whirled around and her eyes flashed blue. A pink shield materialized in front of her and deflected a burst of bright-white energy. "We've got company," Espeon cried, crouching low to the ground. Shane turned around and Tessa looked up from her spot beside Null.

"Why are you here?" a squeaky voice echoed through the cavern.

Espeon's eyes widened. "This is bad. I'm sensing more auras popping up. Whatever just attacked me… there are a lot of them!"

"Why are you here?" the squeaky voice asked again.

Shane gulped. "We're explorers with the Horizon Guild. We fell down from Glyphic Falls and got trapped in here. All we're trying to do is find a way out. Just let us pass, please." Another blast of white light sailed over Espeon, forcing Shane to dispel it with frosty air. "Hey! I just said we're not looking for any trouble."

A single, beady eye popped up from beside one of the emera ores. Shane's tails shot up. "Y… you're… an Unown?" He cocked his head in confusion. "Oh-ho… oh… okay. Phew. For a second, I was worried that we were in serious tro—"

Several more eyes popping up around the tunnel. By Shane's count, he saw at least thirty. More Unown floated out of the shadows, joining the one in front.

"We weren't talking to you," the Unown A at the head of the group exclaimed. He fixed his lone eye on Null. "You! Why are you here?"

Null blinked a few times. "Do… do I know you?" he wheezed, struggling under the weight of the rocks.

"You should. You hurt my brothers and sisters!" Unown A said.

Tessa and Shane exchanged confused looks. "Look, little guy. We're just trying to pass through," Shane said. "If you could let us bail our teammate out, we'll be on our way and nobody will get hurt."

Unown A fired a white blast. Shane blew it away with frosty air. "No!" Unown A cried. "The Abomination may not leave. He must pay for what he's done to us!" He spun around to face his fellow Unowns. "Brothers! Sisters! We must strike back against the Abomination. Make him pay for the suffering he brought upon our kind!"

Tessa's aura feelers shot up. She spun around and struck the rock wall with a glowing paw. Several rocks shattered. Null barely managed to wriggle free.

They both looked up and noticed the Unown spinning around one another in midair. "Make him pay! Make him pay! Make him pay!" they chanted.

Espeon released a pink wave, only for her jaw to drop as the attack fizzled out harmlessly against the Unown. "But that's impossible," she gasped. A bright flash of light consumed the Unown. Espeon fled back toward Team Radiance. When the light faded, a Golurk stood in place of the Unown.

"They turned into a Golurk? But how's that possible?" Tessa asked, shakily raising her fists.

"Seriously? That's an obvious one," Shane said. Both Tessa and Espeon gave him confused looks. "You guys are yanking my tails, aren't you? How could you not know that Unown are reality-warpers? When you gather enough of them together, they're capable of distorting the fabric of time and space. But they're hive minds, so they need to have a sense of direction. And Unown A clearly gave them one."

Shadowy tendrils wrapped around Golurk's fists. Two giant, fist-shaped balls of ghostly energy hurtled toward Team Radiance. Null lunged forward and slashed them with his talons. They evaporated into fine purple mist.

"Well, that tidbit isn't exactly going to help us. What are we supposed to do against a Golurk? I can't even touch it," Tessa said.

"That's not true. Don't you still know Bite?" Shane said.

"I am not biting that," Tessa said, gagging.

Golurk roared and retracted in its hands and feet. Jets of fire appeared in their places. It flew toward Team Radiance, bringing an arm back to attack. Null's helmet hardened into steel. He jumped forward. Null struck Golurk. They both bounced back from the blow. Null ended up in a heap by Tessa's feet.

"Null!" Tessa squeaked.

"Don't… just stand there… help me!" Null growled. "I can't… do this alone."

XxX

~Glyphic Falls~

"Let us go, Gallian!" Volcarona shouted. She and her guild mates sat inside of a cube-shaped purple forcefield. Volcarona blasted it with a flamethrower, but the forcefield absorbed it and then spat it back at her. Hissing, she threw her wings up to shield herself.

"Dat didn't work da first five times youse did it, so what makes youse t'ink it's gonna work now?" Yungoos sneered, flicking a pebble forward with a claw.

"Gallian, exactly how long to you intend to wait this out? I fear the forcefield does not have the potency to continue withstanding that terrestrial's incendiary attacks," Sticky whispered.

Gallian's glare fiercened. "We'll wait until I say otherwise," he hissed. His forepaw rolled the Gear-Com he had captured against the ground.

"This isn't accomplishing anything. Remind me why you're doing this, exactly?" Luxeira said.

Gallian tensed up. His eyes flashed purple. "… he's coming," he said. He turned to his right and lunged in front of the forcefield. A pink blast struck him from the sky, but didn't hurt him. Eyes pitch-black, Gallian craned his head skyward. Gallian fired a black and red beam. Above him, Latias squealed. She released her psychic hold on Metagross, who dropped in front of Gallian with a heavy thud. Gallian shook his head. The diamond on his forehead smoldered like a lit candle.

"Well, shoot. I didn't wanna believe it, myself. But that's our Gallian right there," Braviary said, swooping in to land next to Metagross. Latias hovered down between them. Umbreon hopped off her back. He shot a concerned look toward Team Paradox.

"I remember you three. You were snooping around Sunrise Village yesterday," Umbreon said.

Gallian raised a curious eyebrow. "You're back to normal?" he gasped.

Luxeira nodded. "It would certainly appear that way, though we can't confirm it without an ultra aura scan. Still, that should be impossible."

Order: stand down and release my subordinates, Metagross sadi, his eyes glowing deep blue.

"Not happening. Not until you give me some answers," Gallian said.

I owe you nothing. Fact: you are outnumbered. Fact: our party has superior physical and ranged attacks at our disposal, Metagross said. Fact: we have a less god. Conclusion: resistance is futile. Order: release your captives or I will attack.

Sticky shot Gallian a panicked expression. "I concur with his assessment. Let's just hand them over so we can be on our way."

"I said not until he gives me some answers!" Gallian snarled, his forehead scythe flickering red. He slammed a forepaw against the ground and a ripple of dark energy raced across his fur. Latias' eyes widened and the blue glow faded from Metagross' eyes.

G-Guildmaster, you felt that, didn't you? Latias telepathically said, shrinking back toward the nearby stream.

"Captain, did you see that?" Sticky whispered. "He's showing signs of corruption again. I thought the harness was supposed to neutralize his ultra aura."

Luxeira raised a forepaw. "Easy now, Sticky. If we try anything, we might set him off."

Gallian stepped closer to the energy cage, black smoke rising off of his scythe. "Good. I see I've gotten your attention," he hissed through gritted teeth. "I'm sorry to ruin your little trip to the falls, Guildmaster. After all, this place has such lovely memories for you, doesn't it?"

Negative. Fact: my memories of Glyphic Falls elicit the same level of response as all other existing memories, Metagross dismissed.

Gallian laughed bitterly. "Don't lie to me, you oversized tin can. It's been, what, a year since this place changed your life for the better? I'll bet you're already feeling nostalgic over it."

Hypothesis: you are implying an emotional connection to this place. Fact: emotions are predatory in nature. Fact: they interfere with my ability to carry out my work properly. Conclusion: your petty mind games are useless, Metagross said. He raised a foreleg and it glowed bright red. He shot forward with an astonishing burst of speed. Gallian barely managed to melt into a puddle of shadows and dodge Metagross' swipe.

He popped up next to Metagross, dark energy sheathing his forelegs. However, his Night Slash was met by both a glowing wing from Braviary and one of Metagross' hind legs. Gallian stumbled back, howling. Umbreon jumped in front of Luxeira and Sticky, rings glowing bright yellow in a warning to keep back.

"I know it was you! So, admit it, already!" Gallian barked.

"Hold up, pardner. Just what are you insinuating here, huh?" Braviary asked, keeping his wing lowered.

Gallian's eyes flashed purple. "Don't play coy with me, Braviary. You're holding up this whole farce too," he said. "Now fess up. Right here. Right now. Because you two are the reason my dad's gone! You killed him!"

Braviary momentarily slackened. Gallian used that moment to strike. Shadows bathed his claws. He lunged for Braviary's throat, only for a metallic leg to blindside him from his right. Gallian sailed backward, careening past Latias and striking the rock wall across the stream. He ricocheted off it and fell into the water with a splash, but didn't stay down long. Gasping, Latias fired a bright blue bolt of energy, but it struck the water harmlessly.

Her eyes widened. Shadows gathered beneath her. Gallian rematerialized. He shot a black beam from the diamond on his forehead. However, a second Dark Pulse struck his side and knocked him back, sending his attack off course. Latias wasted no time. Her eyes glowed blue and, next thing Gallian knew, a wall of water rose out of the stream and crashed onto him. He collapsed into a heap.

"Son, I don't know what you've done to yer noggin, but that there is crazy talk if'n I've ever heard any," Braviary said. Behind him, Metagross pinned Sticky and Luxeira back with a raised foreleg. Sticky turned and sent a tiny beam of blue light to his right. It struck the energy prison and made it disappear.

"Hot diggity! We've been sprung," Growlithe cheered, jumping to his feet. He ran over to hug Metagross, but the Guildmaster shoved him aside with one of his hindlegs.

"Gallian should be lucid. That harness is supposed to suppress the corrupted Z-Power that he was exposed to. Those words are his own," Luxeira said.

Gallian looked up, breathing heavily. Latias floated over him, her normally soft facial features contorted into a glare. "N… no. They're lying!" Gallian growled. "I'm not the one you should be after. It's them. They're killers! Both of them!"

Fact: the night of your father's death I was in the Observatory, Metagross countered, not even turning around to address Gallian. Instead, he looked right at Braviary, who immediately tensed up.

"Right! I can back him up. Because he was with me," Braviary said. He shuffled in place, before seeing Metagross' glowing eyes and promptly fixing an angry look on Gallian. "I suggest you start explaining yerself, hoss. Yer a wanted 'mon back in Aeon Town, you know."

Gallian stuck his head up and spat in Braviary's face. "I don't owe you anything, you backstabbing traitor!"

A rainbow-colored tile fell out of his harness. Latias immediately recognized it and tried to yank it away with her telekinesis. But Gallian managed to wrap his paws around it and shatter it. Both he and the other members of Team Paradox disappeared in three flashes of light.

Latias bit her lower lip. "That doesn't make any sense. You can't just carry Warp Traps on your person like that. They're randomly phased into dungeons," she said.

"I reckon that pointy-headed varmint might've had something to do with that," Braviary said, brow furrowing. "In any case, ain't much we can do about it. Guildmaster, you sensing 'em nearby?"

Negative. Fact: they have warped out of range of my abilities, Metagross said.

"Maybe they're out of range for you, but I bet I could catch 'em. I'll do a flyover and see what I can find. Um, if that's alright with you guys, I mean," Latias said.

Metagross nodded. Order: contact us if you find him.

Latias tucked her arms into her body and zipped off into the sky. Braviary walked over toward the freed guild members. "Y'all doing okay?"

"Yeah. Just a bit humiliated, that's all," Volcarona sighed.

"Um, Braviary? Gallian… was he talking about Guildmaster Incineroar's death?" Araquanid asked. "You guys told us it was an accident."

Order: do not concern yourself with his slanderous statements. Fact: an outside influence has poisoned Gallian's mind. Fact: if we cannot free him from it, he will continue to believe these delusional lies, Metagross said.

The other guild members exchanged concerned looks.

Metagross' eyes glowed blue again. Fact: we are in a time-sensitive situation. Fact: our energy must go toward locating information about summoning the Tapus. Order: continue searching Glyphic Falls.

"Err, but—" Volcarona started, but Metagross had already turned away from her and was walking back to Braviary. "Right… we'll get back to work, then."

XxX

~Nocturnus Catacombs, Eastern Quadrant~

"Duck!"

Shane slid onto his belly. An ectoplasmic fist passed over him. Ghostly energy grazed his back. He shivered. Shane scrambled back to his feet and looked around. Espeon had shot a Shadow Ball back at Golurk, but it caught the attack between its hands and slammed it against an emera ore. The crystal absorbed the energy. It crackled with purple lightning.

"Come on. We've gotta keep running!" Shane cried, sprinting forward. He skidded to a halt, however, when blue electricity shot up in front of him. He looked to the side and noticed an Unown G floating there. Moments later, lightning surged through his body. Shane collapsed in a smoldering heap.

"Yay, it worked! That'll teach you no-good creeps!" the Unown I floating above him cheered.

Angered by his teammate's injury, Null shot Air Slash crescents at Unown I. It's single eye widened as the harsh air currents slammed into it. The electricity gathered around it faded. Null hoisted Shane up to his feet. "Come on," he rasped.

Shane coughed up a mouthful of smoke. "Thanks for the save." The crack in Null's helmet splintered further. Shane could swear he saw something gray inside the crack.

"Don't thank me yet… we've still got trouble," Null growled. He put Shane onto his back and ran ahead. His eyes narrowed at the sight of multiple Unown scattered across the tunnel. Behind him, the ground shook.

"Eyaaagh! Are you crazy? You're going to cause a cave-in!" Tessa cried.

"Worth it to stop the Abomination and its accomplices!" Golurk bellowed. "This is for all my brothers and sisters that you locked away in that wretched prison you call a body!"

"Quickly, everyone. Execute Plan B!" an Unown F at the head of the group declared.

"Huh? You need me for something?" an Unown B asked, tilting to the side in confusion.

"No! I said Plan B, not Unown B!"

"Oh. You should've been more specific, then," Unown B quipped.

Null skidded to a stop as the Unown organized into parallel lines. Electric barriers formed up between the lines, effectively walling off the group's only path forward. "Heh. That's Plan B as in 'barrier.' Which means you're not going anywhere," Unown F declared.

Null clawed the ground with his talons. "Why are you… doing this? I don't even… know who you are!" he said. "Please… just let us pass…"

"Look out!" Tessa cried from behind them. Shane barked in fright and leaped off Null's back. Null turned around in time for a large, glowing-red fist to slam into his helmet. It knocked him back against the nearby barrier. Electricity surged through him. Null roared in fury before slumping to the ground. Static clung to his fur. His limbs spasmed.

"Hey! Leave my friend alone!" Tessa snarled. She lunged at Golurk and sank her fangs into its left shoulder. Golurk gasped in pain. Null shakily lifted his head, whimpering as he watched his friend struggle. Another chip appeared in his helmet, offering a peek at gray feathers matching his chest plume.

Golurk raised its right hand. Shadows coated its fist. Before it struck Tessa, however, a purple Shadow Ball hit its right shoulder. Golurk froze up.

"I guess now's as good a time as any to try this out," Shane said. "This is for picking on Null!" He scrambled forward, heart racing. Water coated his tails. Shane whirled around. His tails swept Golurk's legs out from under it. Shane smirked, only for his eyes to bug out. Golem was toppling forward. It was going to flatten Espeon, who was frozen in shock.

"Espeon!" Shane cried. He sprinted toward her and dove to the ground. Shane and Espeon tumbled away from Golurk. It missed them by inches. The nearest Unown scattered, squaling in fright. Their barriers faded. Espeon looked up, panting.

"Th… thanks. I totally locked up there," Espeon said.

"You're not hurt, are you?" Shane asked, looking her over. His heart jumped into his throat when he saw her right hind paw was swollen.

"It… it's fine," Espeon assured him, though the squeak of pain she gave upon standing up made Shane brace himself against her side. A flush came across her cheeks.

"Ach! C'mon, guys, wake up," Unown F said, looking at Golurk. Its two buddies joined it and together they reformed their barrier. "Okay, only one thing to do. Push 'em back. We'll flatten them against the cave-in they caused earlier and that'll be the end of that."

The barriers hovered forward. Tessa's aura feelers shot up. Null scrambled to his feet and backpedaled alongside her. Shane helped Espeon hobble through the tunnel, though she was clearly in pain. The barriers left Golurk unharmed.

"We've got to figure out a way to get rid of them or we're all going to get fried!" Shane said.

"What are we supposed to do? There's too many of them," Tessa cried. "And some of us don't have any ranged attacks, remember?" Shane's brow furrowed. What could they do in the face of impenetrable barriers? Shane realized that, if their attacks weren't enough, then they'd need something bigger.

Static tickled his tails. Shane quickened his pace. "I… I have an idea. But it's kinda— no, it's very risky."

Tessa shot him a horrified look, but glanced the approaching row of barriers and gulped. "How crazy are we talking, exactly?"

He looked over at Espeon. "If Null and I shoot our attacks forward, do you think you could hit them with Psychic? That ought to create a blast that's strong enough to break a few of these emera ore things."

Espeon's tail shot up. "Are you crazy? They're much closer together here than they were before. If we break one, the energy that gets released will start a chain reaction and collapse the whole tunnel!"

"I know that," Shane said. "Which is why we need to run toward the barriers as soon as we launch our attacks."

"That's gonna get us killed!" Tessa cried. She looked in front of her and her face blanched at the sight of the earlier cave-in popping up.

"Do you have any better ideas? Because I, for one, don't want to experience this world's version of an electric chair!" Shane said, not even bothering to care his teammates wouldn't understand what he was talking about.

Tessa skidded to a halt. "Okay, fine. But give some sort of signal so we know when to run."

Shane nodded. He pushed Espeon to the side and shouted, "Null, fire an Air Slash." Null obliged. Shane simultaneously released a white Frost Breath cloud. The two attacks connected. Pink energy erupted all around them. Fierce, wintery air exploded. The lead barrier collapsed and the three Unown fell to the ground unconscious.

"Now! Go, go, go, go!" Shane screamed, ducking his head down and running forward.

His teammates took off after him, though Espeon struggled to keep up. Seconds later, two of the emera ores in the cavern burst open. Fluorescent purple energy shot out of them. The entire cavern shook as, one by one, the arranged emera ores detonated like purple, neon fireworks. Just as Espeon predicted, huge slabs of rock rained down from above. The Unown all shouted in fright, but even after disengaging their barriers they were not as fast as Team Radiance. The foursome passed all the Unown by. More emera ores blew up around them. The cave collapsed on top of them.

"Hurry up… the cave-in's gaining on us!" Tessa screamed. She threw her arms up over her head and slammed her eyes shut. Beside her, Shane's eyes widened. The cracks in the ceiling had caught up to them. They were going to be crushed to death.

"Dive for it guys!" he bellowed. Null encased his helmet in metal and lunged forward, his Iron Head destroying a couple of falling rocks. Tessa likewise burst her way through using a pair of well-timed Force Palm strikes. Shane managed to blast apart a rock that was about to land right in front of him with pink Extransensory ripples. He threw himself to the floor, not even realizing that the rocky ground had abruptly given way to cold, hard steel. The cavern gave one final, violent shake before the tremors subsided.

Team Radiance lay on the ground, flanks heaving. "We're… we're alive," Tessa panted. She blinked tears out of her eyes. "Oh, dear gods, why is every day bringing us crazier and crazier near-death experiences? Our luck can't keep holding out like this!" She looked up at the ceiling. "We're totally trapped! We could be miles underground for all we know and there's no way out. We're going to starve to death in this… this…" She slowly sat up and looked around. "W… what the— this isn't a cave. Where the heck are we?"

Shane had finally managed to get the ringing out of his ears. He staggered to his feet, coughing up dust. Shane blinked stars out of his vision and looked ahead of him. His chest tightened. "Guys… I don't think we're in the Catacombs anymore," he whimpered.

"Hey… Shane? W… where's Espeon? She was running beside you, right?" Tessa said.

Shane turned to his right, only to find himself looking at the metal floor. His eyes widened. "Espeon? Espeon! Where are you?" He looked around frantically. "Can you hear us? Did you get blown across the room?"

"… um… guys?"

Shane turned toward the wall of rubble. Null stood there, looking down. He shut his eyes and pointed a talon forward. "No," Shane whispered. "No! Please, god, no!" he wailed, sprinting toward his teammate. He stumbled to a stop beside Null.

It was there, at the base of the rubble, that he saw a forked, pink tail lying motionless beneath a jagged rock.

XxX​

Next time:
HTML:
Directory of C:\Users\Golem\AppData\Local\GodKiller\RKS.sys
 
Last edited:

Cutlerine

Gone. Not coming back.
Well, things are certainly getting interesting now, aren't they? Not that they weren't already, but we're definitely building towards the next big plot event. Gallian's accusations finally out in the open, some intriguing data about Null's creation, and an increasingly obvious disconnect between Metagross' image and his reality. Like, he says he has no emtoions, but given that you explicitly have him 'scoff' at Tessa's suggestion that he might not remember something – and his rather emotive and unobjective description of emotions as 'predatory' – it doesn't quite ring true. He seems to have some pride, at least. Which, if you had limited emotions, well, that's a bad one to have without anything else to balance it.

The more things have been revealed, the more I feel like we're waiting now for some more information about Necrozma. The shift between Shane and Prisma's past and present lives has been pretty well covered at this point, but there's a gaping void between the kid we know from Shane's past and the creature giggling at everyone who comes near him. I'd be a little uncomfortable with the way he's become a grotesque caricature of mental instability after being, you know, an actual credible character in his past life, but at this point this fic has proved to have anticipated my concerns so many times that I'm willing to give the whole thing the benefit of the doubt for the time being and wait to see if there's more information to come there.

Other than that – no major revelations to comment on or speculation to offer, I think; I feel like we're building towards the next big plot event after Zero's big day out (Zero's Big Day Out: also a terrible idea for a children's picture book) and things are consequently a little quiet. Except for Espeon possibly being crushed to death by falling rocks. I guess that counts as a plot event too. I don't think I actually have anything to say about it, though.

With that out of the way, here's the typo roundup!

He pursed his lips a blew a small jet of cool air against Latias' ear.

That first 'a' should be an 'and', I think.

"How can you even bare to look at me?

That should be 'bear' rather than 'bare'.

"I always heard some Zoroark's could shapeshift.

There shouldn't be an apostrophe there. I think the canonical plural of each pokémon species name is the same as the singular, but if you've chosen to pluralise them by adding an S on the end instead (as some people do; I don't mean to criticise that choice at all) then you don't need an apostrophe unless it's actually a possessive.

gone of da deep end

That should be 'off' rather than 'of'.

with a spiderweb like crack

There should be a hyphen between 'spiderweb' and 'like' there.

Yeah, I think our fall cause a bit of a cave in

Two things here: one, you need a D on the end of 'cause', and two, 'cave-in' should be hyphenated.

It certainly generated a strong startle cycle in my processors, if that's what your insinuinating

I assume 'insinuinating' is just Magearna butchering words, but the 'your' there should be 'you're'.
 
Last edited:

RocketKnight66

404: Consistent Schedule not Found
Hello, I'm RocketKnight from FanFiction. I've been reading on this site for a while now since it updates sooner on here. I just wanted to say I've been keeping up, and man, I love this even more now than when it started.

The tonal shift it started to take on concerning the Prism Virus is really well done imo. I swear, it feels like everything from Episode 6 onwards has been one big wham episode after another, and it seems like the hits just keep on coming.

I think everything involving Tessa gets to me the most. The stuff she's been through just breaks my heart, and I find her as someone I really want to give a hug. I noticed she kind of seems to be a "The Woobie" type of character in that sense.

I won't talk about my thoughts on all the chapters so far, since that would take 3000 years, heh... But I'll talk about what I'm feeling with the current episode...

Not gonna lie, when I read the title was "Null and Void" I got really excited. There's a certain something I'm hoping is gonna happen soon, and that seems to imply it's on the way. ;)

I can't say I expected what happened in the most recent chapter... Like, at all.

Shane turned toward the wall of rubble and found Null standing there, looking down. He shut his eyes and pointed a talon forward. "No," Shane whispered. "No! Please, god, no!" he wailed, sprinting toward his teammate. He stumbled to a stop and followed Null's talon.

It was there, at the base of the rubble, that he saw a forked, pink tail lying motionless beneath a jagged rock.

I stared at the screen for a bit upon reading those last lines. It caught me off guard, and I'm still kinda in disbelief. Fingers crossed she isn't dead, although I have a feeling that's pretty silly to hope for... xD

I tend to be kinda quiet when it comes to reviews, but I'll try to do more of them, because I really like this series, and I want to talk about it more!

So anyway, great job on this, and I'm eagerly anticipating the next chapter!
 
Last edited:

Ambyssin

Winter can't come soon enough
I apologize for the delay in response, as the area where I live has gotten battered by winter storms as of late. (Pray for me!)

Well, things are certainly getting interesting now, aren't they? Not that they weren't already, but we're definitely building towards the next big plot event. Gallian's accusations finally out in the open, some intriguing data about Null's creation, and an increasingly obvious disconnect between Metagross' image and his reality.
I suppose that's one way to look at it, yes. Though things are structured into episodes, the episodes themselves kind of go together. We finally emerged out of what I like to call the "downward spiral arc" (Episodes 6-8) and are now marching through something different. Something designed to give the main heroes a fighting chance.

Like, he says he has no emtoions, but given that you explicitly have him 'scoff' at Tessa's suggestion that he might not remember something – and his rather emotive and unobjective description of emotions as 'predatory' – it doesn't quite ring true. He seems to have some pride, at least. Which, if you had limited emotions, well, that's a bad one to have without anything else to balance it.
That just shows how perceptive you are. I haven't spoken about it much, but the italicized stuff in the prologue brings up one of this fic's main themes (which I'll touch on a bit later). Needless to say, the mind-body disconnect is quite intentional.

The more things have been revealed, the more I feel like we're waiting now for some more information about Necrozma. The shift between Shane and Prisma's past and present lives has been pretty well covered at this point, but there's a gaping void between the kid we know from Shane's past and the creature giggling at everyone who comes near him.
Ask, and you shall receive. More info is indeed coming this episode. Info which should make it abundantly clear where things stand. I hope you find it enjoyable and satisfying.

I'd be a little uncomfortable with the way he's become a grotesque caricature of mental instability after being, you know, an actual credible character in his past life, but at this point this fic has proved to have anticipated my concerns so many times that I'm willing to give the whole thing the benefit of the doubt for the time being and wait to see if there's more information to come there.
I know it's a bit obtuse, but part of the issue has already been addressed in the story. I must draw your attention to the fact that Necrozma's been described as having a red crescent moon on its forehead. If you look at Dawn Wings and Dusk Mane Necrozma in game/concept art, they both have a multicolored triangle on their foreheads. Which the game's lore has implied is, in fact, Necrozma's core, or brain, if you will. Now, what was that about an Ultranecrozmera...?

Other than that – no major revelations to comment on or speculation to offer, I think; I feel like we're building towards the next big plot event after Zero's big day out (Zero's Big Day Out: also a terrible idea for a children's picture book) and things are consequently a little quiet.
I don't think I can quite keep up that level of intensity. But, I've really put blood, sweat and tears into these next few chapters (two of which got extensive rewrites to go more in-depth), and hope you enjoy them. Thanks for the typo notifications. And, of course, thanks for reviewing! ^^

Hello, I'm RocketKnight from FanFiction. I've been reading on this site for a while now since it updates sooner on here. I just wanted to say I've been keeping up, and man, I love this even more now than when it started.
Hiya! And, welcome, I suppose. XP It makes me smile to see a new face popping up. And I'm happy to hear you've been enjoying it, because I've enjoyed writing it. You are correct that this one updates first. Two days ahead of FFN, to be precise. It's also the version that's been (slowly) getting revised, while the FFNet one has not, though I intend to update it... eventually. The site really works poorly for me, but I want to be fair to smartphone and tablet users. Also, I've gotta ask, is your user name a reference to Rocket Knight Adventures (or Sparkster)? I remember seeing speedruns of those games at GDQ's, and they looked like fun.

The tonal shift it started to take on concerning the Prism Virus is really well done imo. I swear, it feels like everything from Episode 6 onwards has been one big wham episode after another, and it seems like the hits just keep on coming.
Aww, thank you! You have no idea how much I worry about how the darker themes will wind up being received. This was not the direction I had intended on taking this story. I had begun drafting it with the firm intent of making a comedy. But, well, things change.

I think everything involving Tessa gets to me the most. The stuff she's been through just breaks my heart, and I find her as someone I really want to give a hug. I noticed she kind of seems to be a "The Woobie" type of character in that sense.
Yeah, Tessa's taken quite the beating, and, well, as you can see, she's still got some bad times ahead of her. When I decided to shift the fic's tone I went all in on the idea of trying something different with the player/partner dynamic. While the PMD games may have the partner be a bit shy or nervous, they're usual super cheerful and outgoing and provide plenty of funny moments. So, I made the decision to go the opposite direction. I think some of the new revisions to the early chapters show that a bit better. The point is that, yes, she has depression. She was depressed when she met Shane. And that's something that's not going to be going away.

Also, I really wanted a Lucario villain. I'm a fan of the species, but even I know it gets over-represented in canon material and, by extension, fanfics. I don't know much about Pokémon fics, but Lucario always seem to be male, relatively stoic/serious or extremely snarky/sarcastic, and on the side of good. And that bothered me. So, a Lucario's the Big Bad. And, if I do my job right, Tessa will be far from a perfect heroic representation of her species.

Not gonna lie, when I read the title was "Null and Void" I got really excited. There's a certain something I'm hoping is gonna happen soon, and that seems to imply it's on the way. ;)
I can only hope you're satisfied with how I choose to handle it, because I've been working so hard with drafting and revising it.

I stared at the screen for a bit upon reading those last lines. It caught me off guard, and I'm still kinda in disbelief. Fingers crossed she isn't dead, although I have a feeling that's pretty silly to hope for... xD
It's not silly at all! Remember, this is a world where characters have come back from being turned to stone and sent to a hellscape equivalent. And a world where characters that were erased from history were brought back to life by a literal act of God. Never say never! :p

I tend to be kinda quiet when it comes to reviews, but I'll try to do more of them, because I really like this series, and I want to talk about it more!
It's quite alright. Trust me. I had lurked on FFN and this site for quite awhile before I decided to "take the plunge" and join. And I'd say that proved to be a pretty good decision. Reviews are never required, but they're always appreciated. :)

So anyway, great job on this, and I'm eagerly anticipating the next chapter!
Thanks. I hope it lives up to expectations. I also hope the incoming storm doesn't take me off the grid again, so I can actually post it. DX

Thank you for the review! <3
 

RocketKnight66

404: Consistent Schedule not Found
Also, I've gotta ask, is your user name a reference to Rocket Knight Adventures (or Sparkster)? I remember seeing speedruns of those games at GDQ's, and they looked like fun.

Yep! RKA is one of my personal favorite games!
 

Ambyssin

Winter can't come soon enough
This chapter's title is taken from a cutscene in Spyro: Year of the Dragon. I think it's quite fitting, given what's about to happen. There's an extended flashback of sorts in this chapter, and I'm going to recommend that when you reach it you have this playing in the background.

I've put a lot of elbow grease into this one, so I hope you enjoy it. ^^

XxX

Chapter 41: A Monster to End All Monsters

~Glyphic Falls~

"Captain, are you okay?"

Sticky swooped down and attempted to hoist Luxeira to her feet. She slowly got up and adjusted her helmet. "What exactly was that? My scanner picked up seismic activity right below us. But I don't see any shifting landmasses."

"It was another earthquake, genius, but it passed," Gallian growled.

"Another earthquake?" Sticky looked around the area. "Hmm. I hope there aren't subterranean terrestrials here. I fear their lives may be in jeopardy."

"Who cares? I can't believe they just lied to my face like that," Gallian huffed. He dug his claws into the ground. "My dad trusted them! They were his friends. How could they just betray him like that?"

Sticky poked his nubby hands together. "Not to question your judgment, Gallian, but it did seem like those organized terrestrials disagreed with your assessment. Are you sure you have the right side of this story? I believe you may be hallucinating."

Gallian whirled around and pointed his glowing scythe at Sticky, whose face blanched. "I am not lying! Those two are murderers! They led Dad here… and pushed him off a cliff to his death!" His irises disappeared and his eyes turned pitch-black. "I want them all dead. You hear me? Dead! The whole guild has to pay for what they did to me!"

The rocky crags beside Team Paradox trembled. Pebbles cascaded down to the ground. Gallian looked over his shoulder. The rocks exploded. Dirt and debris threatened to pummel Team Paradox. Gallian swung his scythe, slicing the rocks in half with ease.

"Skraaaw!"

A pair of metal-coated wings smacked together, dispelling the smoke and dust in the air. Toucannon stepped forward, its fierce eyes focusing on Team Paradox. Sticky's eyes widened. "C-Captain! That Toucannon—"

Luxeira nudged her helmet. "Yes, there's clearly something wrong with it. It looks a bit like a Celesteela. Could this Pokémon have become an Ultra Beast?"

Toucannon opened its beak and out came a stream of rocks. Gallian leaped over them. Luxeira and Sticky hid behind a nearby boulder. Gallian landed and slashed with his scythe. Pink energy crescents hurtled toward Toucannon. It threw its wings up to cover its torso.

Toucannon heated its beak. It stared Gallian down. He turned and spat onto the ground, saying, "Just so you know, I'm in a pretty foul mood right now." Toucannon spread its wings apart and launched itself at Gallian. He collapsed into a cloud of shadows. Toucannon flew right by the spot Gallian once stood in. Sticky bathed Toucannon in a cloud of toxic air. However, to his shock, the toxins harmlessly washed off its feathers.

"Impossible," Sticky gasped. Toucannon turned to find Gallian behind it and screeched.

"Not gonna stand down, huh?" Gallian growled. "Fine. Then you're about to feel my rage!"

His eyes went pitch-black once again and he lunged at Toucannon with a ferocious roar.

XxX

~Nocturnus Laboratory~

Shane slammed his body against the rock pinning Espeon's tail. "Espeon!" he keened, bouncing off the rock and staggering backward. He turned to his teammates. "What are you two doing? Don't just stand there! We have to get rid of this thing!"

"Shane," Tessa whispered.

"She's trapped under there. We need to get out her out," Shane cried. He turned and pressed himself against the rock. It failed to budge even an inch. "No! No! Move, you stupid rock. Move!" He slid down onto his belly.

"Shane… think about... what you're doing," Null said. "If you move that rock… the ones on top of it will just fall down. You'll end up… getting yourself crushed as well."

Shane teared up. "No, I won't believe that. There's gotta be a way to free her. She can't… she can't be dead! B-Because… if… if she is… then that means…" He tucked his head into his chest and squeezed his eyes shut. Tears streamed down his cheeks. "… it's my fault." He resumed pushing against the rock with renewed vigor.

Tessa bit her lip and looked at Null. "What should we do?" she whispered.

Sighing, Null shook his head. "Help him out… I guess. I have an idea… but it's definitely not the safest thing to do…" Tessa flinched, hesitant to try another risky gambit with how disastrous the last one turned out. "Don't worry… it's not risky for you. I'll be the one… sticking my neck out… literally." He leaned over, coughing hard.

"A-Are you sure?" Tessa said.

"Guys, help me! Please!" Shane sobbed. He banged his head against the rock and staggered back in a daze. Null took in a few heavy breaths and charged forward. His mask hardened as he ran. He struck the rock pinning Espeon's tail and kept his helmet pressed against it. A massive crack splintered through the rock.

Null fell forward as the rock crumbled. Tessa yipped in fright, worried the rest of the rocks would crush Null. With a loud groan, Null threw his body backwards. Shane's eyes widened. Espeon's limp body flew threw the air, landing between him and Tessa unceremoniously. Null fell to his side, hissing loudly. Cracks and discolored splotches peppered the top of his mask. His grotesque, swollen right leg throbbed.

Tessa grabbed an oran berry and sprinted toward Null. She smooshed it against his ankle. "Even if you can't eat anything, the nutrients can seep in through your scales." Whining, Null tensed his hind leg. The berry juice stung.

"Tessa, I need the item pouch over here. Stat!" Shane barked, sitting next to Espeon. Tessa got up and joined her teammate. Her stomach knotted at the sight of Espeon.

"She's… she's…" Tessa struggled to find any words. She squeezed her eyes shut and jerked her head away.

"She's breathing!" Shane cried.

Curious, Tessa cracked open an eye. Shane had a forepaw on Espeon's chest. "But why is part of her chest sucking in while the other part moves out?" Tessa asked.

Shane's brow furrowed. "I saw this on TV once. Her ribs must be broken." He looked up at Tessa. "Give me the item pouch. We've got to fix this!"

"Fix it? Shane, look at her." Tessa pointed a shaky paw at Espeon. Bruises littered her body. One of her ears was bent against her face. Blood trickled out of it and seeped into her fur. "She needs serious healing."

"You think I don't realize that?" Shane snapped. Tessa shrank back, frowning. "Sorry, I…" He took a deep breath, but it couldn't stop his racing thoughts. "Please, just let me try this. I did this to her. I've got to fix it." Tessa reluctantly handed over the item pouch. Shane first pulled out one of their Escape Orbs. He frowned at its dull-gray coloration. "Dang it! This isn't fair!" he hissed, shoving the orb back into the bag. Beside him, Espeon let out a watery cough.

The scene in front of Shane dissolved into a swirling mist of colors. His limbs locked. He found himself staring not at Espeon, but a battered Lunala. She lay curled up in a ball much as Espeon did, letting out wheezing gasps.

"Hang on!"
Shane felt himself shout. "Lunala, you've got to stay with me. I'm gonna force this Reviver Seed down and try something with Morning Sun. Don't you die on me! I can't lose you!"

Shane stumbled forward, returning to the underground lab. He snapped to attention and quickly dug through the pouch. Multiple berries rolled out to his side. He found a Reviver Seed and gingerly pulled it out in his mouth.

"What are you going to do with that?" Tessa asked. Shane leaned down toward Espeon's head. He bit down on the seed, then forced Espeon's muzzle open. Blood trickled out onto the floor. Tessa's face turned an odd shade of yellow. She looked away, throwing a paw up over her muzzle. "Augh, gross!" she said, grimacing.

Across the room, Null's eyes widened. A small fireball appeared over Shane's head. Orange light enveloped him and Espeon. "What the—" Null wheezed, before the glow got so bright he had to look away.

By the time Tessa opened her eyes, the glow had faded. Shane pressed Espeon's snout closed and hefted her head up. He grabbed the berries he had gotten from the team's bag and, just as Tessa did to Null earlier, smooshed them against Espeon's hide. Berry juice splattered across her fur, filling the room with a sweet aroma. Shane stared intently at Espeon. He noticed her chest movements gradually return to normal, though it was clear she was shuddering with each breath.

Espeon coughed up a mouthful of blood. Her eyes slowly fluttered open. "U… ungh. W… what happened?" She blinked slowly and tried to lift her head up.

Tessa stepped forward. "Easy there, Espeon. You got hurt by the collapsing cave." She shot Shane a curious look. "Does this mean she's okay?"

"I… I don't know," Shane said. "Espeon, how are you feeling?"

Espeon tried to lift her head up, only to squeal in pain and collapse. Shane opened the item pouch and pulled out an oran berry. "Here. You need to get your strength back up." He nudged the berry forward. Espeon nibbled away at it until she was able to sit up. Shane sighed in relief

"The last thing I remember were rocks falling toward me," she whispered. "Did…" She gulped. "Did I get… crushed?"

Shane nodded slowly.

Horror crept across Espeon's face. Her gaze fell to the floor. "No," she whispered. "No!" she shouted. Her head jerked to the right. Espeon stared off into space. "Shut up!" she cried, ears folding flat against her face. "I'm not going back. I never want to see any of you again. Get away!" She staggered to her feet. "Get back, you awful Void Shadows. Go away!"

Shane stepped in front of her. "Espeon, I'm sorry! This was my fault! I never should have suggested such a stupid idea." He slapped a forepaw on the ground. "Stupid! Stupid! I'm such an idiot!" he shouted. Tessa flinched from his shrill cries. Espeon looked at him in confusion. She blinked a few times, took in a deep breath, then exhaled. Espeon lifted her head up and summoned a warm, glowing orb above her. Soft light sprinkled onto her body. Some of her wounds faded, though many of the larger bruises and welts still remained.

"Morning Sun," Shane whispered. A shudder ran down his spine. He had an awful sense of déjà vu, but wasn't sure why. As he though about this, a silhouette of a blazing fire appeared around Espeon. Fierce red eyes looked back at him through the fire. Shane shut his eyes and shook his head. The hallucination vanished. Shane's attention returned to Espeon. "How are you doing now?"

"A little better... I guess. Unlike your berries, recovery moves like Morning Sun can restore my life energy," Espeon said.

Once again, spectral flames gathered around Espeon. The red eyes stared at Shane. He jumped back with a yip, only to find Espeon staring at him in confusion. He quickly forced a smile onto his face and ran up to embrace Espeon. "Oh, thank god you're okay! I thought… I thought I'd…" He gritted his teeth and look away.

Espeon's face flushed and she stepped back from him. "W-Well… it's not perfect." She rubbed her neck with a forepaw. "My ESP… feels fuzzy." The gem on her forehead flickered with dull light. Espeon's eyes widened. "Oh no, I can't call on my telekinesis! Or my telepathy!" Her shivers returned. "My psychic powers... they've been crippled," she whimpered.

"Seriously?" Shane gasped. "What's the problem? Can I do anything to help?"

"I don't know!" Espeon squeaked, looking about in a panic. She shut her eyes and forced herself to take slow, deep breaths. Even though she wanted to scream, she managed to keep herself under control. "It looks like we have to find a way out of here. Otherwise, I'll never be able to get this fixed." She looked around. "For that matter, where exactly is here?"

With Espeon's health restored, Team Radiance finally familiarized themselves with their surroundings. Black crystals lined the walls, floor and ceiling. The crystals distorted the room and gave it a jagged appearance. Shane could barely make out metal grates under the crystals. Had they grown over whatever this room originally was?

Alongside the crystals, emera ores lay scattered around. Tessa's aura feelers curled against her head. "I don't like the look of this place. It's almost like it was completely frozen in time. What are those things hanging down from the ceiling?"

Shane craned his neck upward and clenched his jaw. "That's… but… no way. Sure, they're covered in crystals. But some of those look like lasers. And one of them's a probe!" His eyes darted about. He found other instruments bolted to the walls, buried under a layer of pitch-black crystals.

"Lasers? Espeon, do you know what those things are?" Tessa asked, clasping her paws against her chest.

"No. In all my travels, I've never seen anything like them." Espeon meekly lowered her gaze. "But it looks like they're all focused on that fossilized table."

Shane approached the dark-gray slab of a table. His tails jolted upright. "Ah!" He scampered back toward a nearby cluster of darkened crystals. "There are chains welded to this table," he said, pulse quickening. His rear struck the darkened crystals. He jumped forward, yipping.

Null squinted at the crystals. "Are those… emera ores?"

"If they are, they've been drained of all their power. I didn't even think that was possible," Espeon said. Her brow furrowed. "Look." She pointed a paw forward. "There are lines running from the crystals toward the table. Were they powering something down here?"

Shane looked to his right. Scattered scraps of brown stuck out against the metal floor. He cautiously approached them and hesitantly reached a paw toward the nearest paper. He tapped it with a digit, then yanked his paw back. When nothing happened, he grabbed the paper and held it up toward the cave's dim lighting.

"Guys, I think I may have found something important," he said.

Tessa and Espeon trotted toward him, but Null hung back. He fixed his gaze on the table. His limbs locked up. "Ch… chains. I… I remember… chains," he whispered, head pounding. He tried to shake his head, but his body wouldn't listen. His talons scratched against the steel. Null whimpered, wanting nothing more than to leave this place behind.

"There's writing here," Espeon said, looking at the papers Shane had gathered. "This looks like the Unown language."

"Well, that makes perfect sense, considering who we ran into earlier," Shane said. "I guess this is some sort of ancient lab, then."

"Can either of you read this?" Tessa asked. She poked her digits together and looked down guiltily, muttering, "I know what Unown language is, but never learned how to decipher it."

"Oh, yeah. I can read it. It's super easy," Shane chirped, drawing bewildered looks from the girls. "Like this line on the top here. It says: 'God Killer Unit: Schematics.'" A beat followed, then Shane's eyes widened. He looked back down at the paper. "Wait. 'God Killer?' Th-this is—"

Espeon tried to levitate the paper up, but failed to move it. She huffed her frustration and bent over. "This is what Latias told us about this morning," she said. The trio looked at the page. It was full of sketches. There were more lines of Unown script underneath them.

Design based on invader's memories extracted using Dream Eater.

Four legs for optimal ground speed. Infuse primal energy into paw pads for water and air-running capabilities.

Must have talons for traction and close-ranged combat. Bird design with bug exoskeleton for protection. Vikavolt can help with that.

Tail of a water-type for optimal subaquatic maneuverability. Position dead-center between its hips.

Feathers around the head and chest are critical! Head crest should have solidified primal energy for redirecting air currents. Conduit at the tip of the crest can concentrate the air for attacking purposes. Be sure to speak with Sigilyph about this.

Ears need basic sonar functionality. See Noivern for working demonstration.

Steel-plated jaw to bite the toughest Pokémon hides imaginable. Examine Tyrantrum specimen for good reference!

Layer body in scales, but cover them with dark fur for better camouflaging.


Shane frowned. "Is… is this what I think it is?"

Espeon nodded grimly. "There's no question in my mind. These pictures and the stuff they're describing… they're just like your friend, Null."

Shane examined the page closer. His head tilted to the side. "Is that what Null looks like without his mask? He has a bird's beak. That's so weird."

Tessa grimaced and looked down. "Then… it's true? Null's some sort of experiment?"

Shane bit down on his tongue, fighting back the urge to belt out an, "I told you so." This wasn't something he was happy to be right about. Instead, all he felt was an overwhelming sense of dread. He took a deep breath and looked around at the other papers on the ground. "But who would do something like this? The paper mentioned 'God Killer Unit.' But why?"

Espeon squealed, drawing Shane's attention. She was staring down at a piece of paper, eyes wide and tail curled up against her belly. "No, it can't be," she whispered, staggering back.

Shane approached her. He followed her gaze. His limbs locked up. Tessa joined her teammates, only for her aura feelers to shoot up. "That's the Prism Virus symbol, isn't it? The winged heart? It... that..." Tessa shook her head. "That's impossible. Why's it on this paper?"

"It's not just on the paper," Espeon said, pointing a shaky forepaw forward. Off in the distance, the familiar sigil lay painted on the wall, distorted by the crystals on top of it.

"So, then this place... it must've held a group hating the gods. Latias mentioned something like that, right?" Tessa said, suppressing a shiver. She knew Null was still staring at the table and wanted to say something to comfort him. However, she feared anything she'd have to say would only upset him further.

"Hey." Shane beckoned the girls over. "There's more over here." He held up another page in his mouth. Espeon recited its contents.

"We want to power our creation with primal energy entrapped in the power crystals abundant in this part of Horizon. But the problem is finding a way to do that safely. After all, these are crystallized remnants of the raw power wielded by the gods in their many clashes. If we tried to transfer this energy into another Pokémon, what would happen? We can't simply ask Pokémon to volunteer for such a task. So, as lead designer on the God Killer Project, it falls to me, the Illustrious Golem, to figure out a method by which we can use this primal energy. Even if we succeed, there's still the question of what the creature will look like. But that is something we can continue to investigate…"

"It looks like it's a journal entry of some sort," Shane said, dropping the paper to the ground.

Without warning, Null roared. His teammates jumped in surprise. Before any of them could say anything, Null bashed his head against the table.

"Null! What's wrong?" Tessa cried. Null stepped back from the table, shuddering. He looked up at the instruments that hung from the ceiling, then rammed his mask into the table once again. This time his mask hardened into iron. Cracks and splinters appeared on the table. Null jumped back, hissing loudly.

"… destroy it… destroy it!" he shouted, dropping to the ground and clawing at his helmet. "It hurt us! Get rid of it!"

Tessa tried to run up to him, but Shane stepped in front of her. "What are you doing? He's lashing out. He could hurt you."

"But he's my friend. I can't just let him suffer," Tessa said, though she knew he was right. Null was bigger and far stronger. She wondered if she should deploy a seed or an orb and put him to sleep like in Moonrise Marsh.

"Graagh! Make it stop! Make… the pain… stop!" Null thundered. He got to his feet and charged the table down. He struck it with Iron Head once again. This time the table shattered. Null lumbered forward, only for his eyes to widen as the ground gave out under him. He fell down into the newly-created hole, roaring in anger. Claws scraped metal. Shane's ears reflexively folded and he winced.

"Null, no!" Tessa shouted. Throwing caution to the wind, she shoved Shane's chest and ran forward. However, she immediately skidded to a halt. Metal chains launched themselves into the hole where the table had previously stood. The metallic scratching noises got worse. Null cried out in agony. Tessa's aura feelers stiffened. Her heart pounded in her chest.

"They must've booby trapped the table," Shane said. "What should we do? If we try to free him, we could get wrapped up in chains too!"

"Are you serious? We're not about to leave him here," Tessa said.

"I wasn't saying to leave him here. Just that we shouldn't go right for the chains," Shane said. "I'm sure that there's something around here that can tell us how to deactivate that trap. We just need to do some more investigating."

"What makes you so sure about that?" Espeon asked.

Shane winced. "Okay, I'm not exactly certain. But the trap activated from the table breaking, right? Which means it's not controlled by a Pokémon. So, it stands to reason that there are instructions for it, just in case someone triggered it accidentally."

"But where else are we supposed to look?" Tessa said.

Espeon tapped a paw on Tessa's shoulder and pointed ahead of her. Tessa followed Espeon's paw and went rigid. Shane also looked where Espeon pointed and his stomach squirmed. "H-How did we miss that when we got here?" he gasped.

"It's not exactly well-lit," Espeon said. She walked toward the hidden room she had discovered. Her eyes glowed blue in an effort to provide some light. But her head throbbed, forcing her to stop.

"Espeon, I think there's something wrong here," Tessa said, shivering. "These crystals don't look anything like the emera ores we saw in the other room. They're more like the one's that are covering everything else in here... but ten times bigger!"

"Yeah, this isn't good. It's like they're sucking in all the light…" Espeon's voice trailed off and her gaze fell to the ground.

"What's wrong?" Tessa asked.

"N-Nothing!" Espeon yelped, skirting back from Tessa.

"Um, guys? There's something inside one of these crystals," Shane said. He gulped and crouched low to the ground. His teammates walked up to him.

Tessa's aura feelers tightened. "Not something… someone."

Espeon nodded. "It looks like a Porygon2," she said. "Should we try to free it?"

"No!" Tessa blurted out. "I… I mean… what if it's hostile?"

Shane was inclined to agree with Tessa. At the same time, however, he knew ignoring this discovery wouldn't help Null. "It might have answers for us. Besides, it's three of us and one of it. Plus, it's sure to be weak if it's been trapped in this crystal," Shane said.

Tessa's ears flatted against her head. The idea didn't sit well with her, but neither did letting Null sit inside a booby trap. "Fine," Tessa said, walking toward the other end of the room. Shane's eyes flashed. A small Extrasensory wave destroyed the crystal. Porygon2 fell to the ground, unmoving. "Is… is it dead?" Tessa asked.

Shane reached a forepaw toward it, only to hastily yank it back when Porygon2's body shook. "Gah! Nope, it's alive! Very alive!" Shane yelped, assuming a fighting stance. Slowly, Porygon2's eyes opened. It hovered into the air, but only made it a few inches before collapsing to the ground.

"Are you okay?" Espeon asked.

Who… are you? Porygon2 asked, its voice filled with static that made the trio flinch.

"We're explorers with the Horizon Guild," Shane said.

Porygon2 looked around the cavern. Why… underground? Don't… Its voice descended into static again.

"We found you imprisoned inside a crystal. By the look of things, you've been inside it for a very long time. Is there any chance you can remember what happened?" Espeon said.

In the distance, Null roared. Claws slashed metal. Porygon2's eyes widened. Impossible, it said. We… experiment… sealed. How did… escape?

"No, our friend Null got stuck in your booby-trapped table. We need to free him. Tell us how," Tessa said, worried Porygon2 might try to attack Null.

Voice… recognize. Experiment… here… Porygon2 tried to rise into the air, only to collapse on the ground. Danger… flee… Its voice was heavily garbled.

"Null's not dangerous," Tessa growled, though her voice was riddled with uncertainty. She tried to focus on the good memories she had with Null, but his anguished cries made that an uphill battle.

"So, you were part of the group that created Null," Espeon said, confirmed what his teammates both feared. "What do you remember? You have to tell us."

Porygon2 shook its head. No time. Must flee. It again failed to rise more than a few inches off the ground.

"Look, we're trying to get out of here ourselves. So, how about a deal. You tell us what you know about what happened down here, and we'll get you to safety," Shane said. Porygon2 looked up at Shane. "Like Riolu said, Null's stuck in your booby trap. He's not going anywhere anytime soon."

Accepted, Poryton2 rotated its head. Light flickered in its eyes, before fading out. Then its eyes glowed white and a dim, static image projected onto the wall across from the group.

"Are you recording, Porygon2?"

An unfamiliar voice came from Porygon2's body. Shane tilted his head in confusion. "Is that supposed to be a Golem? What's with the facial hair and the magnet on its head?" he asked. Tessa opened her mouth to reply when Shane held up a forepaw. "No, no, wait. I've got this one. 'That's what they look like in Horizon, Shane.' Am I right?" Tessa slowly nodded. Shane turned back to the video. In it, Golem stepped back.

"This is the first log for the God Killer Project. I, the Illustrious Golem, am the project lead," Golem said. The shod had the same table Null had broken, but it clearly showed Golem was in a building with strange metal panels on the ceiling. Emera ores served as the only source of light in the area.

"If you're watching this in the future, then I hope this means we succeeded in our endeavors. See, I have assembled a group of fellow researchers. Like me, they share a distrust in the gods. We have strong doubts about their abilities to protect us,"
Golem said. He paced back and forth. "However, you must try to understand where I am come from. You see, calamity befell our world." He looked straight at the camera, which Shane assumed was Porygon2.

"Do not let anyone twist the truth of the matter. The fact is that, as it currently stands, our world... is a world of darkness," Golem continued. He turned his back on the camera for a moment, but it was long enough for the group to spot the winged heart sigil carved into his back. Shane glanced nervously at his teammates, but couldn't think of anything to say.

"A world of darkness?" Tessa whispered, blinking in confusion.

"We were attacked by—" Golem stopped and stroked his beard. "Well, I can't even call it a Pokémon. It was really an entity. An entity known as Dark Matter." He resumed his pacing. "Dark Matter lay siege to the world, turning many Pokémon to stone." His expression darkened. "Pokémon like me. Pokémon like my assistants."

"Our spirits were somehow pulled from our bodies and cast off into a twisted landscape. Though I cannot sense energy, I found psychics who confirmed that this
prison, for lack of a better word, had a warped aura. They described the place as a void. Hence, we dubbed it the Voidlands," Golem continued, shaking his head. "No matter where I went, I was besieged by strange images and stranger voices. Saying that our negativity had birthed Dark Matter. That Dark Matter would purify the world by restoring it to its natural state."

Golem turned so that the winged heart sigil was visible yet again. "This symbol... it was scattered around Dark Matter's prison. It was said to represent the true power that forged our world. A power that the specters in the Voidlands claimed the gods have tried, but ultimately failed, to properly control."

"I... I don't understand. Does this mean the Prism Virus is all Dark Matter's doing?" Tessa said. "That's impossible! Dark Matter was destroyed for good by Team Gaia. Everyone knows that."

"Dark Matter was stopped, but from what I've heard, there is a chance it could reappear. And, in the meantime, our world is still shrouded in darkness," Golem continued, turning back to Porygon2. "Before Dark Matter rose up, the constant quarrels between Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza, left the world in a state of chaos. One of their battles led to a perilous storm that nearly destroyed Ho-Oh."

Golem shut his eyes and shook his head. "Ho-Oh was saved by two other gods, Solgaleo and Lunala. However, they saved Ho-Oh at the cost of their lives." He clenched his fists. "Somehow, their deaths led to the loss of light from the world. No sunlight. No moonlight. The sky is awash with a strange, twisted vortex reminiscent of what lay in the Voidlands. Perhaps this is the 'greater power of the void' at work."

"I would've thought Arceus would be able to create a new Solgaleo and Lunala to restore our light. But that hasn't happened,"
Golem said. "It seems as though the gods really don't have all the power that we thought."

"No, that can't be right," Tessa gasped. "The Horizon legends… they say Ho-Oh controlled the light! And she imparted that gift to her saviors."

Shane's chest tightened up. He immediately recalled his nightmare, where Solgaleo's impostor claimed the Horizon legends were lies. Based on what Golem said, it sounded like the impostor was right. Which begged the question, how did Horizon's legends come about? And why were they wrong?

Golem's brow furrowed. "If, indeed, Dark Matter were to return, I firmly believe the gods can't be trusted to keep us safe. We are taking matters into our own hands!" He put a hand on the table behind him. "This power... the power of the void. My team and I will find a way to utilize it. And with it, we'll make a protector we can trust. Our creation will kill the gods before they ruin the world and, most importantly, listen to the will of normal Pokémon." Golem nodded, smiling.

"It will surely be a tough endeavor, but I believe…"

The scene descended into static. Footage… corrupted, Porygon2 announced, its eyes flickering. Before anyone could ask it what it meant, a new image appeared.

"God Killer Project, second update," Golem said, stepping to the side to show off a number of pictures that a Sigilyph levitated in the air. "I, the Illustrious Golem, have ironed out the mechanics for powering our creation. We will infuse it with primal energy from power crystals. They are abundant in Horizon. My associates are gathering as many as they can get their hands on."

"Power crystals?" Shane said.

"That must've been what they called emera ores back then," Espeon figured.

"We do have to be careful how many we gather, though. That much energy is dangerous," Sigilyph said, his flat affect sending a chill down Shane's spine.

"Yes, yes, of course," Golem said, stroking his beard. "In the meantime, let us discuss the body framework. I, the Illustrious Golem, did not develop this idea. Rather, my colleague Musharna proposed it." He snapped his fingers. Sigilyph levitated new pages over. Along with those pages came two Unown. Both of them looked to be in a great deal of pain.

"These are Unown. Very mysterious Pokémon,"
Golem said. "Alone, they are insignificant. Only capable of using Hidden Power…"

"Puh-please, sir," an Unown I squealed, its body trembling in Sigilyph's psychic grasp. "Let us go!"

Golem shook his head. "I'm afraid that's not possible. Now then, where was I? Ah, yes. Alone, Unown are meek. But, when brought together, they appear to generate tremendous power." Golem pointed toward Porygon2 and the papers flew forward, expanding to give Team Radiance a look at their contents.

Shane's eyes widened. "No way. They can't do that, can they?"

"Power that some theorize can bend time and space," Golem continued. "In fact, I, the Illustrious Golem, had pioneered the idea that the Unown are, in fact, the remnants of the Thousand Arms that Arceus used to shape our world during its creation."

He walked up to an Unown K and examined it. "Yes. Testing has shown we can combine Unown to create an entirely different Pokémon. Thus, we're gathering Unown."

"I still have concerns about this avenue, sir,"
Sigilyph said. "Can we really control a large quantity of Unown? They develop hive mind tendencies when grouped together."

"Your concerns are noted. Luckily, I, the Illustrious Golem, have the means to do so. See, it all goes back to 'the power of the void.' It took time, but I figured out what those cryptic messages meant: alchemy!"
Golem said. A strange, distorted light rippled through his claws. Even the sigil on his back glowed briefly. "The gods have used this power maliciously, but I intend to use it for the good of all Pokémon everywhere."

"Sir, again, I fear we may not be able to do this successfully,"
Sigilyph said. "What if a god can sense your use of alchemy?"

"I've already been able to use a few basic runes without detection. The power crystals help shield any strange energy these spells create,"
Golem said. "Fear not, Sigilyph. For I, the Illustrious Golem, will alchemically fuse Unown together by using these power crystals as a base. And the result? Our God Killer will be born! History will forever remember our names!"

Espeon staggered backwards. "No way. Alchemy? My parents told me that's a forbidden art."

Tessa's aura feelers shot up. "This can't be. Null's really… a bunch of Unown?"

Bile bubbled up in Shane's throat. "Could that have been what the Unown were talking about? About how Null hurt them?" It didn't sit well with him. Especially since Null himself didn't have any control over this.

"No wonder he told me he's always in pain," Tessa said, crestfallen by the revelation.

"I thought that was just the helmet?" Shane said.

"Shh! There's more," Espeon said, pointing at Porygon2's projection.

"Yes, I agree, Sigilyph. We must ensure the Unown's hive mind tendencies don't create obedience issues," Golem said, nodding. He tapped his claws on the table. "I believe there's a solution to this. The Unown are a hive mind, so we simply need minds with stronger wills to counteract them. So, we should infuse the God Killer with memories from Pokémon that have already passed to the spirit realm."

Shane's fur bristled and his tails jolted upright.

"What's wrong, Shane?" Tessa asked.

"I don't know. Something about that statement just… just feels wrong on, like, a personal level," Shane squeaked. His muzzle twitched. "A part of me just wants to lash out at this guy for some reason."

"Could it have something to do with what this guy's saying? Because it makes me sick," Tessa said, shivering.

"Well, yeah. I mean, Golem's clearly off his rocker," Shane said. "But there's also something else to it. The part about the spirit realm really chaffed my tails."

"It could be your instincts. Ninetales are believed to have spiritual powers," Espeon said.

"As in?"

"They commune with the spirits of dead Pokémon," Espeon said.

"Oh," Shane whispered.

"With the help of Horizon's Totem Ninetales, I will search out restless spirits from the spirit realm and summon them. Then, like with the Unown, I can bind them together through the power of the void. The result is a God Killer with rational thought and obedience," Golem said, nodding approvingly at himself. "Of course, we'll have a contingency for this. I, the Illustrious Golem, will forge a custom-made looplet that will house some of the spirits."

A new paper floated toward Porygon2. The design lacked notches for emeras. It had a small wheel in its center. "I'm sure you notice this part in the center. I will cram spirits of every manner of Pokémon inside the looplet. Then, with the right alchemical runes, the God Killer will be able to change its typing at will."

"Dear god. Null isn't just some experiment. He's an attempt to make another Arceus!" Shane said. He barely managed to stop himself from hurling. "How… why… what am I even watching, here? This is lunacy! You can't just make a god with magic… can you?"

Espeon and Tessa gave Shane astonished looks, but they then heard Golem say, "I suppose you could say that I'm playing god to rid the world of the gods. I prefer to think of it as using the power of the void correctly. Desperate times call for desperate measures, after all. Given the irony, I think it fitting we call the God Killer's ability... the RKS System!"

Behind Golem, Sigilyph shifted about uneasily.

"You see? No wonder Null's a walking disaster. What were these sickos thinking doing something like this?" Shane said. After a moment, he winced, fearing his wording was too harsh. Tessa didn't seem to give any indication Shane's words bothered her, however.

Espeon's ears drooped. "I can't believe it. This is what researchers were like back then? They're no better than Umbry and I were with the Prism Virus." She gritted her teeth. "I guess that makes sense... if they've got the same symbol."

"Guys, look! It's that purple Pokémon that Gallian was with," Tessa said, pointing up to the screen. On the projection, a Poipole slumbered soundly on the table. Sigilyph and Musharna floated next to it. Unlike Sticky, it lacked a harness.

Golem turned from the table to face the camera. "God Killer Project, third update. Progress on the design hit a snag. We were hard-pressed to think of a body that could adapt to all manner of terrain," Golem explained. "But fortune has smiled upon us."

He gestured toward the Poipole. Musharna had taken her place beside one of the crystalline lasers. Psychic energy pulled it down from the ceiling so it hovered inches above the Poipole's head. Her chest rose and fell slowly. Musharna released a cloud of pink gas. The Poipole's expression relaxed.

"As you can see, this mysterious invader showed up in Horizon," Golem continued. He turned toward the table. "She presented herself as some sort of goodwill ambassador from a place she called 'Ultra Village.' Bah!" He waved a hand dismissively. "She's no doubt here to use the power of the void to try and finish what Dark Matter started. But did a god appear to dispose of her? Of course not. So it falls to me, the Illustrious Golem, to deal with her."

He rubbed his hands on the edge of the table. "Musharna has told me she displays a remarkably different aura from Pokémon in our world. She seems to have memories of creatures from other worlds that can adapt to different situations. So, Musharna will extract those memories. We will use them to construct the God Killer. And then, we will incorporate her spirit into the God Killer, so that it can recognize these alien auras… and dispose of them properly."

Musharna glowed brightly. The Poipole lay there in silence as the laser engulfed her body. Tessa threw her paws up to cover her eyes and looked away. The projection faded to static.

Shane wrapped a foreleg around her. "It's okay, Tessa. It's okay. It's gone," he coaxed.

Espeon turned her disgusted gaze on Porygon2. "How could you willingly let something like this happen?" Porygon2's eyes flickered, producing a new projection.

"The time has come,"
Golem said. A ball of blue light hovered in front of him. Fluorescent liquid dripped off it, landing in the center of a triangle traced in the ground using chalk. A chalk cross extended off the base of the triangle, while a gigantic chalk circle expanded out from the tip of the triangle. Emera ores surrounded the circle, bathing it in purple light.

Shane's jaw dropped. He gulped. "That's a lot of Unown."

Espeon slowly blinked. "Why is there a pentagram inside the circle? The Unown look completely frightened!"

"The spirits are amassed," Golem continued. The ball of light vibrated angrily. More liquid splashed against the runes drawn in the ground. "I will now activate the binding rune. Sigilyph, prepare the elements!"

Four balls of light hovered toward the circle. The Unown struggled against the forcefield trapping them in the center of the pentagram. Their chorus of panicked cries reached a fever pitch. Sigilyph's body glowed. He lowered a ball of fire into one of the pentagram's points. The second it touched the ground, a beam of orange light shot up toward the ceiling. Sigilyph lowered the remaining three balls of light to the ground: a lump of dirt, a ball of water, and sphere of air. They each touched a tip of the pentagram, sending different-colored beams of light up to join the orange one.

"And last but not least," Golem said, chuckling. His magnet crackled with electricity. Sparks raced ahead of him and settled in the empty pentagram tip.

"What is he doing?" Espeon cried, shrinking back against the wall.

Shane blinked his eyes. "It's some sort of ritual," he whimpered.

A yellow beam of light shot up. Together, the five beams of light pivoted to point at the forcefield of Unown. Hundreds of voices screamed in terror as grotesque, star-shaped runes surrounded the forcefield. "And now, for the spirit core to stabilize everything!" Golem shouted. He traced a pentagon in the air, causing a rune to encase his hand. He touched the rune to the ball of light, shooting it inside the forcefield. For a brief moment, a rune of a winged heart with horns and a piercing red eye appeared. Then, it shattered along with the forcefield. The ball of light swallowed up the Unown. It expanded outward, reaching the edges of the chalk circle.

Golem's eyes lit up. "It's working. It's working! Ho ho ho ho! I'm a genius!" A flash of light overtook the projection, then quickly subsided.

"Look, that's Null! But there's no helmet," Shane said. He stared transfixed at the footage, watching the helmetless Null look around the room curiously. His metal, beak-like mouth opened and closed at random intervals. His fish tail wagged slowly.

"At last. I've done it. I've finally done it," Golem said. Sigilyph's body glowed, and a metal table raised out of the ground, hoisting Null up with it. Golem walked up to Null. He slowly pet Null's feathery crest. "It took four hundred Unown, fifteen power crystals, and over a thousand spirits pulled from the afterlife with the help of Totem Ninetales…"

"P… please, leave my name out of it," a female voice squeaked from off screen. "If the Voice of Life finds out what I've done—"

Golem waved dismissively. "You need not worry. When the God Killer has done its job, we will have no need for the Voice of Life." He stroked his beard. "In any case, as you can plainly see, my creation is awake and alert. That's all that matters."

A Stufful doll floated by Null. With lightning-fast reflexes, he stuck his neck out and grabbed the doll in his jaw. He pulled his head back and bit down on the toy. It squeaked. Eyes brimming with excitement, Null trilled.

"I don't understand. How could Null go from that to… well…" Shane jerked his head back toward the main room, where Null gave another frustrated roar.

"I am going to test the Memory Looplet. I, the Illustrious Golem, shall apply the looplet. Sigilyph, Vikavolt, please record notes for me." Golem turned his back to Porygon2 and slowly slid the looplet onto Null's right foreleg. The second it reached a point where it snugly clung to Null's limb, Null went rigid. His irises faded, his head lolled to the side, and his beak fell open.

"Um, sir? I think there's something wrong," Sigilyph said.

"Relax. He's just incorporating the additional spirits into his life force," Golem said. "Any second how he'll reawaken and—"

Null's eyes shot open. He struck Golem with glowing talons. Null raised his head and roared his fury. His eyes narrowed. He lunged off the table, shrieking in rage. Sigilyph's previously-emotionless voice erupted in a pained warble.

"Oh god!" Shane's eyes widened. His tails shot between his legs. There was nothing he could do to stop memories of Moonrise Marsh from flooding his mind. Shane stood there, petrified.

Null hurled Sigilyph into the laser diodes. He fell to the ground, unconscious. Null jumped onto Sigilyph. He plunged his claws into Sigilyph's torso and yanked them out. Blood spurted out of Sigilyph's body. He abruptly went limp.

"No… dear gods… no!" Espeon cried, curling up defensively against the cavern wall.

Golem had managed to stumble back to his feet, a dazed look in his eyes. "S-Something's wrong. This wasn't supposed to happen!" he said. "Porygon2, what are you doing? Shut off your blasted recorder and help me deactivate the God Killer, quickly. Or—"

A bloodcurdling scream sounded. Locks of white fur float across the projection. Shane's heart hammered in his chest. "No. He didn't… did he?" Shane whispered.

Null shot across the screen. Blood dripped off his chest, beak and talons. Golem's magnet whirred to life, crackling with electricity. However, Musharna's scratched up body hurtled into him. She struck Golem and fell to the ground, eyes hollow and drool seeping out of her mouth.

"Turn it off," Tessa whimpered, pulling on her aura feelers and squeezing her eyes shut.

Roaring angrily, Null stomped toward Golem. Blood trickled out of his beak, staining his fur and the pristine white feathers of his plumage. "What do you think you're doing? You are my creation! I… I command you to stop. Stop I say!" He shot bolts of electricity at Null, but they bounced harmlessly off his body. "No… get back! Get back… I order to you to get back! Stop!"

Null responded with a primal scream. He sank his bloody beak into Golem's hide. Golem cried in pain. Null hefted the rock-type into the air and hurtled him directly at Porygon2. The footage went askew as, presumably, Porygon2 fell to the ground.

"I said… turn it off!"

Tessa blindly charged forward. She struck Porygon2 with a glowing fist. The projection abruptly cut out. Porygon2 slammed up against an emera ore. He sank to the ground.

Espeon's eyes widened. "What are you doing? You're gonna cause another cave-in," she cried.

"E-Easy there, Riolu. Nobody's going to hurt you," Shane said, reaching a forepaw toward her.

"No, get away!" she barked, swatting Shane's paw aside. "I… I need air. I need some air!"

She turned her back on her teammates and ran off toward the far corner of the room, tears streaming from her eyes. Shane and Espeon could only stand there watching, pained expressions on their faces.

What were they supposed to do now?

XxX​

Okay, debrief time. First off: Espeon. Yes, she was always gonna survive this. It was more meant to set up a bit of an odd moment for Shane that will be popping up again in the future. If you didn't like it, or thought it's OP or whatever, that's fine. No one's forcing you to like the story and everything in it. Secondly: Null's creation. I'm pretty confident that no one was expecting this to be the end result, but this was, pretty much, the plan from the start. I opted to take the "false god/failed Arceus clone," aspects of the canon and expand on them to literally have him be made from remnants of Arceus. And, naturally, with no tech, I needed a good alternative. So the Unown felt like a reasonable workaround.

It's also where the alchemy comes into play. Gen VII is a generation that has a lot of lore elements plucked from alchemy. Which is why I decided to incorporate some of the broader strokes into this story. In fact, the opening monologue about mind, body, and spirit directly references that. Because mind (mercury), body (salt), and spirit (sulfur) are the tria prima of alchemy. Or, essentially, the base elements that material things are composed of. If this backstory wasn't to your liking, then all I can say is I'm sorry. You may not like some of what the next chapter brings, either. I hope you still found it enjoyable. But let me know your thoughts either way.

Next time: the answer to life, the universe, and everything.
 
Last edited:

Ambyssin

Winter can't come soon enough
Chapter 42: Astral Rebirth
Shane and Espeon stood silently in the middle of the tunnel. Porygon2's static bursts provided the only sounds in the whole lab area. Null had stopped struggling against the hexed chains. "Riolu?" Shane called, his voice sounding uneasy.

"Stay back! I… I need a second," Tessa said. Shane tensed up despite being far away from her. He knew how much Null meant to Tessa. The video must've devastated her. He imagined that, if their roles were reversed, he'd have blown up. Shane peered around the emera ore Tessa hid behind. She sat against the wall with her legs tucked in, head buried in her thighs, and her paws grabbing her aura feelers.

"What am I supposed to do? I know Null is really a good person deep down, but what if he loses control again?" she whimpered. "It was only dumb luck that he calmed down when I put him to sleep in Moonrise Marsh, wasn't it?"

Shane didn't have a straight answer for her. It was taking every ounce of his willpower not to dwell on Moonrise Marsh. "I think… Null will listen to you." His words lacked confidence, but they were better than nothing. "S-So, let's get back to freeing him."

"I... I..." Tessa curled into a tighter ball. "I want to help him, but I can't watch any more of that." She squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm sorry, Shane. It's... " Tessa took a deep breath. Though the video made her sick to her stomach, it certainly explained why Null told her he was hearing voices.

"I'm sorry. It just— this is a lot to swallow." Tessa rubbed her eyes. "The spirits… they're what made Null fly into a rage in Moonrise Marsh, aren't they?" She didn't wait for Shane to answer before continuing, "I'm so conflicted right now. Null's my friend. I want to believe in him. Help him, too." Tessa sucked in a breath. "But his mask is coming off. What if it breaks… and he flies into an uncontrollable rage? I don't want to lose him, but I'm not strong enough to save him if that happens."

Tessa grabbed her shoulders. "I need time to think. I can't let myself be useless again." She looked up at Shane. "So, please… give me some space."

Shane frowned. He opened his mouth to respond, when a fresh round of snarling rose up from the middle of the room. Their hearts skipped a beat.

"See? This is why… you shouldn't have trusted them!" Null shouted. His head banged against the wall. "They want… to keep the mask on. They don't… care about us. No one cares." Null coughed. "Kill the beast! Kill his friends! They used us! They must pay! Pay! Pay!" He resumed struggling against his chains.

Tessa stared wide-eyed in Null's direction. Shane stepped back from the emera ore, heart hammering against his chest. Null's outburst had left him at a complete loss for words. It had the same effect on Tessa, too.

"R… Riolu…"

Tessa stiffened. She lunged toward Shane and wrapped her arms around him, eliciting a surprised yip. "Hear that? I'll bet he's worried about losing control, too," she squealed. Tessa let go of Shane and lightly rapped her head. "C'mon, think! Think! I have to come up with something!"

Shane stayed silent. His gaze fell toward the ground, mind plagued by memories of cold, slimy swamp water suffocating him.

"Riolu… h-help. You're… my friend. I trust you… to help me," Null wheezed. "I trust you… to keep me… under control."

He bashed his head into a wall. The cavern shook. "Liar!" Null roared. "We're nothing to her! She works… for the beast! She must die! They must all die!"

Again, helmet struck steel. "Shut up!" Null's voice cracked. Shane's ears swiveled forward. "Get out… of my head. I won't… hurt my friends!" Null lurched forward. The chains dug into his hide. He howled in pain.

"You will hurt them. They are… nothing to us. We exist… to kill. We exist… to destroy," Null snarled. "Remember… what we were... created for."

Null scratched his claws against his chains. "… Riolu. I'm sorry," he whimpered. "I don't… remember… how any of that happened. Please. You have to… believe me. I don't… want to hurt… any of you…"

Tessa believed him, but couldn't come up with anything to say to comfort him. She worried about drawing another angry outburst. Still, staying silent wouldn't help, either. Swallowing her fear, Tessa stepped toward the pit.

"It's going… to be okay," she whispered. Tessa got onto her knees and forced a shaky smile onto her face. "We'll get you out of this. I promise…" She glanced back at Shane.

Shane got the message. Still, he held the same doubts Tessa did. The only reason he had managed to keep working with Null after Moonrise Marsh was because of their shared desire to help Tessa. If Tessa didn't know how to help Null, what could he possibly do?

"Hey, human. You better get over here! Something's wrong with Porygon2," Espeon called. Shane walked back to the tunnel to find Espeon staring up at the ceiling. Porygon2 had manifested another projection, but with the damage Tessa had done to him, it was heavily distorted.

"… is… fourteenth update," Golem declared. His rocky beard was missing several pieces. Multiple jagged scars ran across his body. "It… considerable work. But the failed prototype… imprisoned underground…"

Shane glanced down and noticed Porygon2 trembling each time the projection descended into static. "Ugh, we're not going to get anywhere like this. Hey, Espeon, give that Porygon2 a thwack on the head, will ya?"

Espeon raised an eyebrow.

"Look, I'm a human. I know a thing or two about fixing broken machines," he lied. Espeon did as instructed. To her surprise, the flickering projectiong steadied.

"After careful evaluation, I, the Illustrious Golem, have concluded that my first attempt failed because of an error in approach. It was entirely the fault of my late assistants! They didn't point me in the right direction. Instead of using the power of the void to tie a thousand spirits with hundreds of Unown, I should've found one spirit with tremendous will power!"

Golem scratched his side. "Yes. If I can harness a spirit with a strong will, it can control the power of the void without descending into madness! Better yet… I can try a different alchemical hex." He traced a pointed star in the air with his claw. "Namely, a hex that will use the power of the void as a base to combine power crystal energy with pure, raw light!"

He nodded to himself. "Such brilliant energy could not possibly be tainted." He raised a fist. "I'm sure of it. A strong will, combined with the sanctity of light energy, will yield a God Killer with a pure soul that I can properly control!"

The shot veered to the side to show off gray, lifeless emera ores. "These depleted power crystals will serve as the perfect framework for my new creation." He stroked his beard. "Of course, there is still the matter of finding a strong-willed spirit to turn into the God Killer." Golem paused to smirk at the camera. "But I think I know the solution. I will summon a human and make it the God Killer's core!"

Shane's tails ducked between his legs. "But I thought only gods could summon humans. He can't do that, can he?"

"That's… that's what I had figured. But he sure sounds confident," Espeon said.

"Plus, humans are easy to manipulate. After all, Mew forced one to fight Dark Matter. The way I see it, what I'm proposing is no different," Golem continued. "There is much prep work to be done. But I'm confident this will work."

The footage cut out, but quickly shifted to another scene. This time, a Growlithe sat atop the table, whimpering loudly. "What's going on?" he said. "This doesn't make any sense. I'm supposed to be dead. Did... did the pills do this? Oh, god... am I in a coma? Is this some crazy coma dream?"

"Quiet him, please," Golem ordered. A Claydol hovered behind Growlithe and pressed one of its floating limbs to the fire-type's snout. "Good. Now then." He turned back to the camera. "Though this may look like a normal Growlithe, it is, in fact, a human. I, the Illustrious Golem, brought him over from the human world. And it appears that, in the process, he acquired a body that is more natural to our world."

"It's no matter, however. His mind and spirit are human. His will is strong enough to wield the power of the void," Golem said. "All I need to do is entrap him in the empty power crystals using the proper alchemical runes, then let him incubate. The results will be exactly what I'm looking for."

Claydol floated back from the Growlithe and he immediately shouted, "Hey, I asked a question! Why isn't anyone answering me? What's going on here? Why am I Growlithe? This doesn't make any sense. I'm a human!" he barked. "Besides... I'm worthless. Just... send me back or whatever. I can't help you out with anything."

"Don't say such ridiculous things," Golem scoffed. Growlithe's tail fell between his legs and his whimpers intensified. Golem approached him. "Let me ask you something, human. How would you like the opportunity to be a hero?"

Growlithe lifted up his head, frowning. "Dude, do you realize how cheesy that sounds? What am I, five? I told you I'm not interested. Send me back. I don't want anything to do with any of you."

"Now, now, there's no need to get testy. I really mean it. With my help, you can become something truly special. You see…" Golem stroked what little remained of his beard. "You are our chosen one. Our savior. It is your destiny to become our protector and save us all from terrible calamities."

Growlithe's face scrunched up. "I don't believe you. You're lying to me. Just like everyone back home did. I'm not falling for it." He growled threateningly at Golem.

"Oh dear, it seems I picked a lousy human." Golem shook his head. "But fear not, boy! For I, the Illustrious Golem, am going to help you. Even if you don't believe me, I'll make you beloved by every Pokémon around the world!"

"And how exactly would you do that, huh? You're just a Golem. A weird, ridiculous Golem... with facial hair." Growlithe lowered his head, face contorting in anger. "I'm so sick and tired of everyone's lies. Just look me in the eyes and tell me the real reason I'm here, already! Looks like we're in a lab. So, what, am I gonna be your experiment? Man up and tell me!"

"My, my. You must've been through quite the ordeal in your world to act so hostile," Golem said. "But don't you fret. I'm a 'mon of my word. When I say I'm going to make you special, I mean it. You'll have so many friends, you won't even know what to do with yourself."

"God, you're still going on about that? No deal. I'm not working with you. You're just going to take advantage of me!" Growlithe said

Shane's brow furrowed. Growlithe's combative attitude felt familiar. The fur on the back of his neck stood on end. He tried to concentrate, but his thoughts were still jumbled up with unwanted flashbacks to Moonrise Marsh. He even heard Tessa consoling Null in the distance.

Epseon gulped. "They used a child. Dear gods, they brought a child here to experiment on?"

Back on the video, Golem sighed and shook his head disapprovingly. "Well, I tried to be reasonable." He turned to Claydol and whispered, "Do it."

One of the repaired lasers descended behind Growlithe, and a beam struck him in the back. Growlithe briefly hollered, before collapsing on his side. "Now then, it's time to get started," Golem said. He snapped his fingers. Claydol levitated Growlithe into the air. The shot turned to the right, where five depleted emera ores sat arranged in an upside-down pentagram. Claydol lowered Growlithe into the center of the structure. Golem's magnet whirred to life. He electrocuted the ground, tracing over the outline of the pentagram and then drawing in a circle around it.

"Now, for the runes." Golem approached the nearest crystal and traced a circle. He added a small semicircle on top of it, and then a tiny cross sticking out. "Mind," he said. The sigil alighted. Golem sidestepped to the second crystal and drew a circle with a horizontal bar running through it. "Body," he whispered. The second rune glowed.

Porygon2 followed him to the third crystal. Golem traced a triangle, with a cross protruding from its base. "Spirit," he said, lighting up the rune. Golem moved onto the fourth crystal and drew a circle with a dot in the center. "Sun," he said. The rune lit up. Finally, he walked to the last crystal and traced a crescent into it. "Moon."

He stepped back outside of the circle. The five runes flashed in unison. Their light spread out across the dead emera ores. One by one, the crystals melted into shining, bubbling piles of molten rock. The liquid ore swirled around, forming a circle around Growlithe's slumbering form. It progressively shrank in size, until the liquified ore swallowed Growlithe up whole. Golem turned and electrocuted a nearby cluster of emera ores. The crystals burst apart. Black chains surrounded the silver and gold bubble encasing Growlithe.

"And now, we wait for the void's power to cement itself," Goldem declared. Static overtook the projected screen again.

Shane cautiously approached Porygon2. But he froze when he heard an unseen voice say, "So, this guy's actually recording all of this? Am I, like, supposed to say something?"

Shane looked up at the ceiling and barked in fright. "What the–? What am I looking at?" He dropped to his belly, instinctively curling his forepaws up in an attempt to shield his face. Above him, the projection showed off a blinding light that seemed to fill the entire screen. Espeon stared utterly transfixed at the projection, noting the crystalline face staring Porygon2 down. It blinked its rainbow eyes and curved its beak into a warm smile.

"Huh. That thing's face looks a bit like Null's did without his helmet. I think it's the angles of the eyes and the beak," Espeon said.

"Now, now," Golem chided from offscreen. He stepped into the shot, blunting some of the light. "Do be careful. You're giving off an awful lot of light. You wouldn't want to blind poor Porygon2 over here, would you?"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." The glowing dimmed somewhat, allowing Shane and Espeon to see a large light dragon sticking out against the darkened world. Its head resembled a pointed star, with its multicolored eyes lacking pupils. Four ethereal wings sat folded against its crystalline chest. Its tail was made of crystal rings spaced out between segments of light. The dragon curled its tail around its crystalline legs.

"It's quite alright," Golem insisted. "I just need to give my progress report and then you can go practice channeling your energy."

"Fine," the dragon huffed. Shane realized the voice was similar to Growlithe's. "I've gotta ask, though… what happened to your moon? Does it just not exist?"

Golem sighed. "We've been over this already. Our world has no sun. And no moon. They were taken from us by selfish gods who you're here to save us from."

The dragon blinked. The yellow and green in his eyes expanded. His tail vibrated. "Well, can't we just bring them back?" he asked.

Golem's brow furrowed. "Of course not. There's no way to—"

The light dragon frowned. "I don't believe that." He looked up. "There's a fix. I can feel it… deep inside." A rainbow of colors swirling through his eyes. His chest flared with golden light, revealing a winged-heart carved around his central chest spike.

Golem's eyes widened as the dragon hovered into the air. "Now wait just a second. You are my creation, and I'm ordering you to cease this at on—"

An Ultra Wormhole opened behind the dragon. He vanished inside of it, leaving Golem standing there slack-jawed. "Ah! That can't be." Espeon backpedalled in surprise. "Those are just like the portals Lunala could make."

"They're the ones Zero used," Shane added. "But why– agh!"

The projection erupted in a brilliant flash of light. Shane and Espeon turned away, scrunching their faces in pain. He briefly wondered how Porygon2 held up through all of this in the past. But those thoughts went away when Claydol shouted, "Golem, look! The sun… daytime! It's back! It's back!"

Shane and Espeon turned around. Their jaws dropped. Claydol was right. The sun shined brilliantly from a bright-blue sky. And the light dragon had returned. He now floated in front of Golem. Claydol hovered up to him, cheering enthusiastically. Several other Pokémon streamed in after him.

"The sun's back! Our creation's saving us already!" a Druddigon cheered.

"We have light in our world once more!" a Bronzong bellowed.

"Praise be to our vaunted protector! Praise the Guiding Light!" a Clefable declared.

"Guiding Light! Guiding Light! Guiding Light!" they all shouted in unison.

The light dragon's tail thumped against the ground. Colors swirled around in his eyes. He opened his beak, looking like he wanted to say something, but all that came out was a joyful squawk.

Golem stroked his beard. "Remarkable. This is even more of a resounding success than I, the Illustrious Golem, could have predicted. Yes, this 'Guiding Light' shall protect us all. And I, as his creator, shall be revered for all eternity. Ho ho ho ho! This is truly a great day for Pokémon everywhere."

The dragon continued to bask in the praise of Golem's assistants until static cut the footage out. Shane jolted up and looked at Porygon2 "No, wait! Go back! That stuff looked important." He jumped next to Porygon2 and jostled its body. However, it shifted to a new recording. Enraged cries made Shane's ears twitch, then fold against his face. Espeon likewise grimaced and looked away.

"Let me out of here! You can't take my light from me! I'm doing good!" the light dragon roared. "I'm a good Pokémon! I have friends now!" He slammed up against an blue energy dome. It flashed brightly. "Zek! Latios! Xern! Please, help me! Help me!" Blue and purple expanded in his eyes, pushing the other colors to the peripheries.

"Silence!" Golem declared. Another bright flash exploded across the projection. Shane's pupils shrank and he stumbled back, rapidly blinking the stars out of his vision. "What were you thinking, making a new Solgaleo and Lunala? I didn't tell you to do that!"

The dragon release a blinding burst of light, but the barrier held firm. "I was doing it for my friends— for my mate! Something a bastard like you wouldn't understand!" he barked. "You're wrong about this world! It can function with gods! Let me go! I can show you! I can prove it! Please…" Shudders wracked his body. "Give me a chance!"

"Backstabbing cretin!" Golem shouted. The light dragon winced. "I created you to kill those contemptible gods. Not befriend them!" He shook his head. "And, did I just hear you say you had a mate?" Golem slammed a fist into a metal table. "You let them brainwash you!" He pointed an accusatory claw toward the dragon.

"No! Nobody brainwashed me! I saw the gods for what they are… well-meaning 'mons who need help!" The dragon released another series of blasts. Shane and Espeon looked away. Neither of them could say a word. They knew what they were watching disgusted them, but couldn't force themselves to stop.

"That's what you brought me here for. To help people." The dragon slammed into the energy dome and bounced off it. "I want to help! I deserve to be happy! I gave you all light! I brought your happiness back! It was me… me… me!"

Shane tensed. It was brief, but he saw the winged-heart carving flash red. Dark shadows had rippled through the dragon's eyes.

"I gave you permission to go out unsupervised… with the understanding you were faking winning over the gods' trust so you could destroy them!" Golem snarled. "I will not be made a fool of, human!"

Shane finally found his voice. "It's really true, then. The Horizon legends were wrong. Ho-Oh didn't make Solgaleo and Lunala. This 'Guiding Light' did."

Golem shook his head. "And you know what? I might have been willing to look past your transgression, but then you went and shared your life energy with those blasted Tapus!" He stomped his foot angrily.

"I was helping!" the dragon thundered. "You complained the gods did a bad job protecting the world, so I was giving them means to do a better job!" He trembled with rage. "If you'd let me out, I could show you exactly what my plan is. Please! I'm confident it will work!"

"Not a chance!" Golem huffed.

The dragon resumed struggling, roaring in anguish. He squeezed his eyes shut. "Xern? Xern?! Where are you? I need you! P… please! Save me!" His eyes shot open and he looked around. The golden glow began to fade from his head and tail. He shook his head "N… no. She can hear me. She's coming. She'll save me! I can't… I can't… be used… again!"

"Hmph. You've made a mockery of me. Perhaps some time without your precious light will do you some good, child," Golem scoffed. "Then, maybe you will understand the importance of the fate I've created for you. Now, Claydol, engage!"

The rune above the barrier glowed blue. The light dragon let out a hair-raising scream as energy erupted inside of the barrier. Shane and Espeon shut their eyes and looked away. The projection glowed so bright it made Porygon2 tremble. They sensed the bright flash die down and slowly opened their eyes. In the projection, they noticed the light dragon was gone. Dark black crystals littered the ground. A triangular prism sat outside the forcefield, filled with small patches of multicolored light. At the center of the pile of crystals lay Growlithe's colorless, unmoving body.

Golem's eyes widened. "What's going on here? What happened to the human?"

Suddenly, the triangular prism rose into the air. Black electricity crackled around it. "You… YoU!"

Shane's tails shot between his legs. There was a voice coming from somewhere, but it was incredibly distorted and hard to make out.

The prism twitched in midair. "No! P-Please, I—"

"I wArNED YoU! YoU CoST Us OUr LiGhT!"

One by one, the black crystals lying on the ground shot up toward the prism, slamming against it. What was one the light dragon's head became a torso around the prism. The tail rings formed into a head. Each leg attached itself to one of the dragon's lower wing bones. They forcibly inserted themselves into the beast's body, giving it two new arms. It flailed the arms about wildly. "N-nngh… you're wrong! I can fix this! I can—"

Golem staggered backwards. "This is impossible. I stripped you of your power. You shouldn't have any energy left! You should be a Growlithe again!" He looked toward Claydol. "Claydol, Where did this prism come from? Dispose of it, now!"

"Wait… prism?" Shane's eyes widened. "Oh my god!"

The light dragon's upper wing bones jammed themselves into the base of the black, crystalline beast. They dangled uselessly in midair. The beast bashed its face with its arms. "yOU hAd YoUR cHAnCE. I wIlL… I…" Its arms trembled. "VoId… TeR—"

"G-Golem, please!" the original voice shouted while the beast lurched away from Golem. "Give me back my light! Give me… back…"

The beast looked up and belted out a loud scream. Rainbow energy gathered around it. Claydol had managed to float behind the prism, but it detonated the energy it was gathering. The rainbow light burned Claydol and the comatose Growlithe into ashes and blew their remains away. Golem turned and tried to run, but the prism released another rainbow laser. Golem turned to dust before Shane's and Espeon's eyes.

"Light! Where is… my light? I need light!" the prism howled, the distortion fading from his voice. He swiveled about, looking around the empty lab.

"Human! Look, on the back of that thing's head!" Espy's tail ducked between her legs.

"It's that star pattern Zero had on her chest," Shane said.

"And Lunala was covered in black armor that looked exactly like this thing!" Espeon squeaked. Violent tremors racked her body, nearly causing her to faint.

"Heeheeheehee! Your friends… didn't come. Your precious Xern didn't come. You called them... and they didn't come. Everyone turned their backs on you. They used you, just like I said they would!" the beast shouted, hovering erratically. "It's time to forget about them. You don't need them. You don't need anyone! Not anymore!

"Give yourself up to the void and destroy them! Destroy everyone who hurt you!" The beast looked around. "I'll get us light. I will consume. I will destroy!"

He shot a burst of psychic energy above him, blowing apart the lab's roof. "I am Necrozma, Devourer of Light!" he shouted. Black crystals jutted out of the ground around him, spreading across the floor and racing up the walls. Necrozma flew into the air and looked down at Porygon2. "You. You have… light. I want your light. I must have your light!"

The shot grew smaller. Presumably a result of Porygon2 trying to flee. The gesture proved futile. Rainbow lasers streamed down everywhere. Porygon2 seemed to fall to the ground, because Necrozma disappeared from the shot. A furious roar sounded and a portal appeared from the ground.

"Hey, that's Solgaleo. And he's got Lunala with him," Shane said.

The rainbow lights in Necrozma's prism dimmed. He raked his claws across his face. "G-Guys! Puh… please! H-help me!"

Necrozma's arms flailed. His lights flared up. "No. You abandoned me! I gave you life… and this is how you repay me?" Necrozma drift offscreen and screeched. "No matter. You're filled with plenty of light. My light. And I'm going to take it back. Your light is mine! All light is mine!"

Solgaleo and Lunala darted out of the shot. More black crystals suddenly shot out of the ground, growing steadily closer to the camera. The shot rolled upward, offering Shane and Espeon a glimpse of Solgaleo and Lunala striking in unison. Another explosion of light emerged, and static filled up the projection.

"A single burst of light… gave the world its stardust," Espeon whispered. Her gaze fell to the ground. "It's true. All of it's true!" She started to hyperventilate. "Th… this is… I…"

Shane stumbled back from Porygon2, his heart hammering in his chest while his mind struggled to process everything. His hind paw struck something soft. He yipped and whirled around, ice particles forming in his mouth. But his attack faded when he saw a small doll lying on the ground. It was worn out and covered in dust.

"Are you alright, human? You look a bit shell-shocked," Espeon said, shakily walking toward him

"I found this doll," Shane whispered, beckoning Espeon over.

"It's a Pikachu," Espeon said. "Do you suppose it belonged to Growlithe?"

"I think so," Shane said. He looked down and his brow furrowed at the sight of some torn cloth attached to the doll's stomach. It felt oddly familiar, but he couldn't put his paw on it.

Espeon turned to face Porygon2. "You owe us an explanation. What were you thinking, trying to make Pokémon with alchemy?"

No… trust, Porygon2 muttered. Ruined… never… us. Protect ourselves… danger.

"And just what's that supposed to mean, huh?" Shane huffed.

In response to this, Porygon2's body stiffened. Power cells… drained. Cannot sustain life force.

Shane's eyes widened. He had gotten so engrossed in the video, he forgot the real reason behind freeing Porygon2 was to figure out how to stop the booby trap. And that opportunity was about slip away. "Whoa, hold up! You're not going out on us like that." He turned to face the other room. "Riolu! Get up. We need an oran berry in here, stat!" But his shouting proved a wasted gesture. Porygon2's eyes shut and its head slumped over against the rocks. Its body glowed bright-blue and burst into light particles that disappeared before Shane's eyes.

"Dang it! We need answers from him!" he hissed, slamming his forepaw on the ground.

"We forgot to ask him about the trap Null's stuck in," Espeon added. "Though, after what we just saw, I don't exactly blame Riolu for not wanting to help him out. That was… tough to stomach."

Shane frowned. "Yeah," he sighed. "You have no idea how tempted I am to ditch him and get out of here. But…" He took a deep breath. "We shouldn't do it. Because Tessa was right. None of this is Null's fault. She believes there's a way to fix him, so I'm going to trust her. Besides, if we just left him down here to rot… we'd be no better than Golem and his ilk."

Espeon grimaced. "I see your point."

Before either could say anything else, an explosion echoed from the main room, followed by a loud, throaty roar. Shane and Espeon abruptly turned around. "Do… do you smell smoke?" Espeon squeaked.

"Yeah. And did it get hotter in here all of a sudden or what?" Shane said.

They heard a scream. Their ears twitched and they exchanged panicked looks. They sprinted out of the tunnel and back into the main laboratory area, where they found Tessa hiding in the corner behind an inactive emera ore, shivering.

"What the— Entei? What are you doing here?" Espeon gasped, her tail falling between her legs at the sight of the fire-type god standing in front of the remains of the earlier cave-in.

"You! You collapsed the cave on us. You tried to kill us!" he roared, smoke billowing from his nostrils. Entei pointed his forepaw at Shane, whose eyes widened.

"That's not Entei… it's the Unown!" Shane cried. "Crap! How they heck did they survive that?"

"We'll make you pay. We'll burn you to ashes!" He stomped the ground with his forepaws. Molten fire erupted around him. Shane and Espeon had no escape from the Lava Plume. The flames washed across them, upending both of them and sending their scorched bodies rolling back to a stop by the emera ore that Tessa sat hidden behind.

Tessa roused herself from her stupified state. She grabbed a pair of oran berries from her bag and shoved them in her teammates' mouths. They managed to get back to their feet. Entei roared his fury. He shot forward, paws leave a trail of flames on the ground. Shane's tails scrunched up in a panic. "Ah, no! Move, move, move!" he shouted, shoving Espeon next to Tessa behind the emera ore.

He pivoted and screeched at Entei. Roar's sound waves stopped Entei in his tracks and sent him skidding back along the ground. "You will not escape. We will make you suffer as our kind have suffered," he snarled. More fire gathered around him. Shane squealed in terror and scrambled over toward a rock shard. He dove for cover just as the Lava Plume raced forward. He pressed himself against the rock and hugged it for dear life. Shane didn't see a way out of this. After all, he had to resort to causing a cave-in to beat the Unown-powered Golurk. What chance did he have against a copy of Entei?

Sweat pooled up under his fur as heat from Entei's attack raced around him. Shane looked over and spotted Espeon poking her head out from cover. Her eyes flashed blue, only for the glow to fade. She bit her lip. Espeon shot a pink Psybeam toward the ceiling, much to her relief. The drill apparatus detached from the wall and fell right onto Entei's head. His eyes shut and he staggered backward, howling in pain.

"There's your opening. Go!" Espeon shouted, charging forward. Shane leaped over the debris and sprinted toward Entei, a layer of water coating his tails. Tessa remained rooted to her spot, trembling in fear. She heard a roar of pain and looked up to see Espeon using another Psybeam to knock Entei toward Shane, who clubbed him with his Aqua Tails. Entei hissed as he stumbled backwards.

"Nice work, Espeon," Shane said. But any further celebration was cut short as a blue glow encased Entei.

"We will not submit. Not until we've destroyed you all," Entei snarled. He reared up on his hind legs. Blue light erupted around him. When the light faded, what landed on the ground was most definitely not Entei.

"It changed to Suicune?" Espeon gasped. "They can do that?"

"You saw the recordings for yourself," Shane said, dodging a blast of steaming-hot water from Suicune. "Get a bunch of these little guys together in a room and they can do all kinds of crazy stuff."

Espeon gathered purple energy above her head. But before she could throw the Shadow Ball forward, a gray Ice Beam struck her right in the muzzle. She recoiled and the Shadow Ball detonated prematurely. Smoke filled up the area.

"No, Espeon!" Shane cried, but found himself backpedaling to dodge Suicune, who had jumped between him and Espeon. He then saw a small blur rushing through the smoke. Tessa lunged for Suicune, electricity rippling across her fists. Suicune turned in time for Tessa to connect with her cheek. She howled in pain and fell onto her side. Tessa hit the ground and shot a panicked look at Shane.

"Look, the cave-in's cleared. We need to get out of here now," she said. She started to reach into her bag when the strap gave a violent lurch upward. Tessa yelped as her item bag hoisted her into the air. Her torso started to fall through the open strap and she looked down to see Suicune's eyes glowing. Suicune stood tall against a Psybeam from Esepeon. Her eyes flashed purple. Tessa felt a burning sensation race across her paw and looked up. She stared at her glowing item pouch before it burst into flames.

Suicune shifted back into Entei in the process. Tessa screamed as fire engulfed her body and she plummeted down to the ground. "Tessa!" Shane cried. He leaped into the air and wrapped himself around her. They both fell to the ground, rolling into a heap by a dead emera ore.

"One down. Two to go," Entei said. His eyes burned with anger. He lunged for Espeon. She raised up a pink barrier and Entei bounced off of it, though the contact made Espeon flinch and grit her teeth. She looked back and saw Shane standing over Tessa, looking despondently at his teammate. Her fur was charred from head to toe. She lay unmoving on the ground.

Flames enveloped Entei's body. Roaring, another Lava Plume exploded out from him. Espeon gritted her teeth and concentrated. A Psybeam flung Shane and the unconscious Tessa behind a large crystal. This left Espeon to take the Lava Plume by herself. She yelped in pain and her knees quivered. She fell to the ground, but before all her strength failed her, she managed to shoot a ball of light over her head. Morning Sun energy washed over her, erasing the burns in her fur and restoring her vitality.

"Stop it! You're not allowed to do that. You have to pay. You all have to pay!" Entei barked.

"You don't understand. We're not trying to hurt you," Espeon said. "We saw what happened to those Unown. How they got made into Null. That wasn't us!"

"You all let it happen! You are guilty!" Entei bellowed. In a flash of light, he transformed into Raikou.

He sent electricity surging forward, but a cloud of frosty air stalemated the attack. Shane charged in, his eyes flashing pink after Tessa's injuries had sparked a second wind. "Entei, Suicune, or Raikou. It doesn't matter how often you shift between them. You hurt my friend and you're going to pay!" he hissed, sending Extrasensory waves surging toward Raikou.

Raikou pivoted and fired his own Extrasensory ripples. The psychic waves collided in midair. A pink blast enveloped the area, followed by a fresh cloud of smoke. Another flash of light ensued and a gust of wind immediately dispelled the smog. Suicune spun around, a Hydro Pump gushing from her muzzle. In the midst of running, Shane had no means to dodge. The torrent swept him up and the force of the water blasted him directly into a wall with a sickening crunch.

"N-no…" he wheezed, the air rushing out of him. "This is… not fair…" He sank down onto the ground and his eyes slowly closed. Espeon hunched over in fright.

"That just leaves you," Suicune said, her voice far calmer and serene compared to Entei's. "And then we can properly dispose of the Abomination."

"You're making a mistake," Espeon said, shrinking back toward the wall. "We didn't have anything to do with Null's creation. We ended up here by complete accident."

"But you're associating with him," Suicune pointed out.

"Because he's part of Team Radiance," Espeon retorted. "You're blaming the wrong Pokémon. Null's as much a victim in this thing as you Unown are. Attacking him won't change anything. It's not going to bring back all the Unown that were used to make him. You'd need powerful alchemy to make that happen!"

"That's not true," Suicune growled. Her form shifted back to Entei. "The emera ores. He could've used them. He could've reversed the hexes. But he didn't. He's kept our kind bound together… suffering as that monstrosity! We will wipe him off the earth, so that our fellow Unown can pass to the spirit realm peacefully."

Espeon squealed in fright as she stared down an oncoming fireball. She dashed to the right, watching the fireball detonate into a wall of blue flames. Her eyes widened. If Entei's Sacred Fire connected with her, she wouldn't stand a chance of surviving the blow.

"Get back here!" Entei roared. He leaped forward, shifting to Raikou, and sprinted toward her. Electricity crackled across his body. Espeon channeled a tiny amount psychic energy and flicked her tail. A Psybeam fired out behind her, catching Raikou by surprise. He was forced to discharge the electricity he'd gathered to negate her attack. Espeon found herself standing next to the hole where Null was trapped.

"Null, you have to get out of there," Espeon begged. "I need your help. Riolu and Vulpix… they're… they're…"

Her eyes widened at the sight of a wall of electricity racing toward her. She dived into the hole, landing on the chained-up Null. The lightning surged over her. She sighed in relief. However, it didn't take long for her plan to backfire tremendously. She looked up to find Suicune glaring at her. Suicune opened her muzzle. Espeon yelped as torrential waters pummeled her and Null. Espeon's strength failed her. She went limp on top of Null. He glanced up at Suicune and resumed struggling against his chains.

"How does it feel to be bound up by a magical force, unable to break free no matter what you try?" Suicune asked, tone full of malice. " That is how our brothers and sisters felt in their last moments before they were turned into you." She tilted her head up. "And now, we'll bury you in a watery grave and toss your so-called friends in alongside you."

She pointed her head down. Null howled in pain from the onslaught of high-pressure water. His heart raced as water pooled up around him, quickly reaching his underbelly. Though Suicune strained to maintain her Hydro Pump, it eventually reached a point where Null was completely submerged. Espeon briefly floated along the surface, before the bag around her torso dragged her underwater.

Null resumed thrashing, grimacing as the chains rubbed up against his fur and scales. This wasn't fair. His friends didn't deserve this. None of this was their faults. It all went back to him. And Golem. All that "power of the void" nonsense had led to this. Espeon was about to drown. All because of him.

Let her drown. She is worthless.

The rising water blurred his vision. Null had to shut his eyes while he struggled against his chains. Yet, he found a single eye with a violet, reptilian iris staring back at him. The slit-like pupil expanded.

These so-called friends were never worth your time. Forget them. Embrace the powers bestowed upon you to break your restraints and dispose of these vermin.

Null's breathing grew heavy. Vermin? No, his friends weren't vermin. He thought back to the guild. Of how Tessa went up to him, offering to let him join her team. She wasn't coerced. It was all voluntarily. There was never any pressure.

He thought about the evenings spent talking to Tessa. She made him feel welcomed. It was the first time he thought he actually mattered. Null remembered how Tessa rushed to his defense against Sticky's accusations, then was there to stop him from flying off the handle at Shane. She could've— no, should've abandoned him after that, but she didn't.

Worthless memories. The eye staring back at him rippled. They will do you no good. You cannot have friends. You are a destroyer! Act like it!

But Null didn't want to hurt anyone. He hated the things he heard in Golem's recordings. He wanted his friends to be happy. And he wanted to be happy, too. Null lurched his head upward. It broke the surface of the water.

Suicune's brow furrowed. "Not backing down, are you? Fine. We'll flood this whole lab if we have to. Anything to ensure you do not leave here alive."

Anger burned deep inside of Null. The calming sensation that his Lunar Wing provided subsided.

Happiness means nothing. Only destruction matters. Accept it! Accept my power!

Null shook his head. He tried to block out the eye with thoughts of Shane offering to buy him TMs and sessions with Bruxish. By all accounts, Shane had no reason to go out of his way to help Null like that. Yet he did. And, even if it didn't amount to anything, Null appreciated the gesture.

He squirmed. His helmet brushed against the chains. The existing cracks widened… and a cacophony of voices rose up in his mind.

Weak!

Pathetic!

Good for nothing!

You should have killed Vulpix. We're going to die because of him!

We are supposed to be strong enough to destroy anything. Your spinelessness will cost us our life.

Get angry! Destroy the chains!

Kill the Unown! Kill Espeon, Riolu, and Vulpix!

You see? You have resisted far too long. It's time to accept your calling. Toss your emotions aside and destroy!

Null thrashed his head about. He flashed back to Azure Cape. Sitting there with Tessa, listening as she spilled her heart out to him. He remembered saying how Tessa matters to him, followed by her response...

If it's for you... I guess I can give it one more try.

He jerked his body forward. His head smacked against the wall. The mask's pressure faded slightly. The hisses and snarls in the back of his head grew louder. A chorus of voices chanted, "Destroy!" in unison.

Null shooks his head again. He thought of Shane. He'd almost given in to his instincts in Moonrise Marsh. And yet, things between him and Shane were turning around. Shane poured his heart out to Null after Tessa's breakdown. Shane gave him credit for Tessa's hatch day party… all for his friendship with Tessa. And, even before the Unown had showed up, Shane was willing to help save him.

His teammates cared about him.

They liked him.

And he liked them.

You are deluding yourself! Accept my power now!

Null refused. Nobody had to die. He could save his friends! If he could just dig deep… dig deep… dig deep.

You will fail on your own.

"That's it! I've… had… enough!"

Howling his fury, Null strained every muscle he could think of against his restraints. The chains squeezed his body and mask, but he refused to give in and relax.

His friends needed him.

Null squeezed his eyes shut, clinging to every pleasant memory he had made with Team Radiance.

Every hug Tessa had given him. Every smile he'd seen on Tessa. Shane inviting him into a group hug.

All of those moments cycled through Null's mind on an endless loop, blocking out all the voices and spurring on his struggle against the chains.

Before Suicune could muster up the energy to fire another Hydro Pump, Null tucked in his head. He tensed up his entire body, then jerked his head and neck upward. The chains strangled him. Null didn't care. All he could think about was Shane and Tessa lying up above… hurt and in desperate need of help. Just like his situation in Moonrise Marsh. Tessa had pulled him back from the brink of disaster. Now, he needed to save them. He had to save his friends.

Rocks crumbled. Metal snapped around him. The chains loosened. Water splashed across Null's eyes.

His mask was breaking.

Water flooded his vision, so Null shut his eyes even tighter and pushed against the ground with all his might.

"Tessa! Shane!"

The chains burst apart. Shards of metal flew upward. Yipping in fright, Suicune backpedaled.

Null leaped out of the hole. His stone helmet crumbled against the jagged remnants of the booby trap. Pitch-black blood trickled out of gashes the chains left in his body, splashing on the ground. Null landed beside the hole, panting heavily. Espeon's unconscious body slid off his back, landing in a puddle of black fluid. The Lunar Wing gently drifted down to land atop her torso.

Null locked up. A flood of sensations raced into his mind. Air brushed against the face he had forgotten. Dust tickled the tip of his metal beak, making it tingle. His field of vision had greatly expanded. The weight — the agonizing, crushing weight that had born down on his shoulders had vanished. He pointed his head skyward and opened his beak

What came out was a mixture of roars, shouts, howls, and angry caws.

The feathers around Null's face bristled. His head crest fanned out. Three white blades of solidified energy burst forth from the back of his crest, bathing his body in white light. The shabby-gray coloration of his tail instantly changed to match the white of his eyes.

His vision blurred. The cave vanished, along with Suicune. Suddenly, Null was staring down a Druddigon, thorny limbs and all. Then, in an instant, he found himself looking at a Prinplup with the smarmiest expression imaginable. The scene continued to shift from Persian to Turtonator to Chestnaught to Tyranitar. All of them sneering at him, silently judging him. Each scene— each memory from a past spirit made Null boil with rage.

When he managed to snap back to the present, Null reared up on his hind legs. Holographic swords encircled his body. His white aura intensified. Null dropped back to all-fours and sprinted forward, bulging muscles rippling with every step.

"That's impossible!" Suicune gasped. She got over her momentary shock and blasted a Hydro Pump right toward Null. But he strafed the massive water tunnel and lunged at Suicune.

"Nobody hurts my friends! You hear me? Nobody!" he cried. Null bludgeoned Suicune across the head with glowing talons. She staggered backwards in a daze. Her body distorted, giving Null a brief glance of a cluster of terrified Unown. However, Suicune restabilized. A soft, healing glow encased her body. The cuts Null inflicted vanished before his eyes.

Again, Null experienced a flashback. He was a Magikarp, flopping up and down while a haughty Milotic showered herself in the warm light of a Recover.

Null shook his head, dispelling the memory. He refused to let the Unown dismiss him. Null raised his head high and a ball of wind gathered at the tip of his crest. He thrust his head forward, hurtling Air Slash crescents toward Suicune. She got her legs tangled trying to weave through the attack. Several blades nicked her fur.

"Th-That power… where did you get such power?" Suicune whimpered. With a roar, she shifted into Raikou. She lunged for Null, lightning at the ready. He jumped into the air, hardening his head and face into steel. His Iron Head bashed Raikou's ribcage in.

Raikou buckled from the blow, barking in pain. But Null latched onto Raikou as he fell to the ground. The two Pokémon rolled across the laboratory floor, Null slashing at Raikou's hide with his talons and Raikou desperately biting down onto Null's neck with his massive fangs. Black blood splattered against Raikou's face. The blow brought the voices back, but they were incomprehensible. They only added to Null's swelling anger.

Both Pokémon broke off from one another. Null darted to his feet, gazing at the wound on his neck, while Raikou staggered back up, panting heavily. Null redid his Swords Dance ritual. The glow surrounding him grew so strong that Raikou was forced to look away.

"This isn't right," Raikou snarled. "You can't do this. You're making our brothers and sisters suffer. You must let me strike you down, so they can finally know peace!"

Null landed back on all-fours and glared at Raikou. For an instant, he saw Golem staring back at him, followed by purple eye. Null squeezed his eyes shut. "You think I wanted this? I never asked for this!" he shouted.

"There are thousands of voices screaming at me to kill you. To tear you to pieces!" He slammed a foreleg on the ground. "I have all these memories running through my head and I can't control them!"

He tensed. Null found himself standing over a Lopunny, watching it bleed out with an empty look in its eyes. Then he snapped to a cliffside just in time to kick a Luxray off and watch it fall into a dense cloud of fog, screaming like a banshee. A second later, he was in a dark, murky swamp, hearing the screams of Gastlys and Duskulls as they dissolved into nothingness.

With a startled gasp, Null returned to the present. His breathing was labored. He could faintly see the violet eye in his periphery. But, more importantly, Raikou still stood in front of him.

"I keep seeing horrible, painful deaths. Pokémon burnt alive or drowned or left in the middle of a dungeon, broken and bleeding!." Tears streamed down Null's face. "I don't want this! It's miserable! I'm in so much pain. My head still hurts…

He looked over at his limp teammates. "But even when I was at my lowest, my teammates were there to pick me back up. They believe in me! They support me in spite of all the hardships they've faced!"

Null crouched low to the ground. "I'm sorry about what happened to all those Unown. But I'm not about to let you do the same thing to my teammates… to my friends!" He howled in fury and raced forward. As he sprinted toward Raikou, the white glow enveloping him shifted to a golden aura.

Raikou staggered backward. His eyes widened as Null's aura encircled his chest and took the shape of a wheel-like object. Raikou shifted to Entei. He shot a massive fireball straight at Null, who sidestepped it. Null didn't even flinch when the Sacred Fire erupted behind him in a blue glaze. His golden wheel burst into balls of light that raced around Null's body, coalescing around his forelegs.

"N-No… stay back! Stay back!" Entei screamed as Null lunged for him. The glowing talons struck Entei's side, leaving trails of golden energy behind them. The force of the blow rocketed Entei back into the nearby wall. He struck it and exploded into two dozen Unown. They all fell to the ground, their tiny bodies twitching. Null landed in between them, panting heavily.

An Unown R managed to flip onto its back. "P-Please… don't do this," it sputtered. "We're sorry! We won't hurt your friends anymore."

"It's too late for that," Null hissed, slamming his talons against the metal floor. "You almost killed them! And you destroyed our quickest way out of here!"

Unown R teared up. "It was an honest mistake. I swear!"

"Then it's a mistake you're going to fix," Null ordered, running over to put his teammates onto his bloody back one-by-one. The voices were growing louder again. A heaviness gripped his chest. Null doubled over in pain. He had to keep fighting it. His friends weren't saved yet.

Trembling, Null tucked the Lunar Wing into his looplet. The voices faded, though he could still hear them murmuring about abandoning everyone. Panting hard, Null forced himself to stand tall and look at Unown R. "Rally your siblings and help me get out of these caves. After that, I'll be out of your guys' lives forever. I promise."

Unown R floated shakily into the air, nodding the top half of its body. "Of course! Of course! We'll get you out of here. Just please don't hurt us anymore!"

XxX

~Glyphic Falls~

Gallian landed on the rock pathway, wincing as the shock of the impact rattled his legs. Behind him, Toucannon landed in a puddle with an unceremonious fwump.

"Sk-rr-aww," it weakly cawed, raising one of its metallic wings upward. The limb fell to the ground, and the black crystals littering its body shattered. Toucannon's metal wings dissolved into thin air, along with the rest of its colors.

"Good riddance," Gallian scoffed, flicking his snout upward. His eyes returned to their normal coloration. He limped back over to his teammates.

"Captain, is that Toucannon—"

"Dead? Most likely," Luxeira said. "It appears that defeating it drained it of its life force."

Gallian's muzzle stiffened. "Does that happen to all the Pokémon who get infected by the Prism Virus?"

"It's not an unreasonable hypothesis," Sticky responded. "Now do you see the importance of sticking with us and wearing that harness?"

Gallian winced. "Whatever," he whispered.

Then a nearby portion of the cliff face exploded, sending rock shards flying forward, followed by a large cloud of smoke. "What the heck?" Gallian snarled, throwing a foreleg over his face. His scythe flickered with pink energy and he swiveled his head around. Psycho Cut blades raced into the smoke, dispelling it. He looked ahead and spotted Null running down the pathway, flanked by a few Unown.

Sticky gasped. "Captain, it's the Beast Killer! We need to give chase, or it'll get away."

Gallian narrowed his eyes and sprinted forward before either member of Team Paradox could stop him. However, to his utter shock, he failed to make up any ground with Null. In fact, Null had managed to widen the gap. Gallian jogged to a stop, flanks heaving. "But that… doesn't make sense," he panted. "That guy's… supposed to be slow."

Sticky and Luxeira caught up with him. Worry filled Sticky's expression. "If he's moving that fast, I fear he may have broken free of the restraining mask. Captain, did you get any energy signature readings?"

Luxeira shook her head. "No. I think we should just cut our losses and call it a day."

Gallian's eyes widened at this. "Call it a day? Are you kidding me? With those lying guild members wandering around and that freak free of its mask and running off with my sister?" He glared at them. "We're going after him. He's probably heading for the Observatory, so we can try to ambush him there."

"Rookie, stop. We could barely hold our own against the smattering of guild members we found earlier. There's no way we're going to take an unrestrained Beast Killer and whatever terrestrials are lingering at this 'Observatory' place."

Gallian's claws dug into the rocks. "But… that's… you…" He squeezed his eyes shut. "You know what? Forget this! I'm done with you guys. I'm done with all of this!" He stormed off down the path.

Sticky's eyes widened. "Gallian, wait! We can't keep the Prism Virus infection in check if you just leave. Stop!" He floated after Gallian, with Luxeira running along beside him.

XxX

~Aeon Observatory~

Primarina and Serperior lay on a cushion in the assembly area, tails coiled around one another. Serperior's head rested in Primarina's lap. He slowly stroked the leafy scales on her back.

"There, there, Serpy. Don't despair.
You'll reunite with Dragonair.
As far as friends go, she's a fantastic find.
I'm sure she has Team Captivate fresh on her mind!
Shooo-bee-do-doo.
Sha-zippity-doo-bop-bah-woo."


A loud thump jolted Primarina out of his song. He looked up at the ceiling. "Whoa. Vappy, you're not trying anything risqué up there, are you, babe?"

A frightened squeal echoed through the Observatory, followed by a panicked shout of, "Hey, wait a second. You can't just run through here like that. Stop! Thief!"

Primarina and Serperior uncoiled and sprang up, ready to meet whatever threat awaited them. But to their utter surprise, they saw a pair of chitinous forelegs appear on the railing. Null leaped over it and soared over the duo's heads. He struck the ground in front of them and sprinted off toward the infirmary, leaving them standing there in shock.

"Was that… Null?" Serperior asked.

Vaporeon ran down the stairs, his fins quivering. "Did… did you guys just see a big Pokémon run by here?"

Primarina pointed a flipper toward the infirmary and Vaporeon ran off down the hallway. He managed to make to make it halfway to his destination when he heard Comfey gasp, "Null, is that you? Your helmet… it's…"

"Gone, I know. But who cares about that? My friends are hurt. You've got to heal them up. I'm begging you!"

Vaporeon heard the thumping of multiple bodies hitting the floor. Comfey's startled gasps made him resume walking. "Good gracious. What happened to you all?" she said.

"We were attacked," Null said. "Please save them."

"I'll see what I can do. But don't you want to someone to tend to your injuries, too?" Comfey asked.

"N-No… I have to go," Null whimpered.

"Are you sure? Because—"

Vaporeon jolted stiff. Null sprinted toward him, only to turn his face away. Vaporeon frowned. "H-Hey, hold up. I just want to ta—"

"Get away from me!" Null cried. He tucked his head into his chest and ran right past Vaporeon, leaving him standing there with a confused expression plastered on his face.
 
Last edited:

Ambyssin

Winter can't come soon enough
These end-chapter notes would've put me over the character limit. So, I'm posting them separately. Please scroll up for Chapter 42!

And so, after all this time, we finally have our roll credits moment! *ding*

I know that Necrozma's remained a giant question mark throughout the story. And I did have to revise things to account for the new information that USUM brings to light (heh). In the end, I opted to use USUM canon as the foundation for him, in that a core part of him is damaged (in this case, by Golem), and that results in him losing most of his power and, by extension, his mind. Hence, the bloodthirsty nutcase that we now see. Similarly, just like Ultra Necrozma gifted light to Ultra Megalopolis and Alola, this Necrozma gifted light (and 'mons to control it) to the PMD world. Where it deviates is that this Necrozma is 'monmade. I'll leave it up to you to interpret the significance behind the Growlithe getting obliterated.

As for Null, this was always intended to be the point where the mask breaks. It just so happens that, in the anime, Type: Null breaks its mask to rescue Lillie from a life-threatening situation. So, once again, canon wound up serving as the base. The big difference is that there is a rather somber element to Null evolving. And it's something that's going to need to be dealt with. I hope this was to your liking, since I know some of you have been waiting for this for awhile. Regardless, let me know your thoughts.

So, next time: a friendship needs mending, but Team Radiance will need to find Null... assuming he wants to be found.
 
Last edited:

Ambyssin

Winter can't come soon enough
So, the topic just passed 11k views. I'm sure spambots contributed, but I'd like to think that means actual humans are reading. To celebrate (because doing something for 10k views is too mainstream *adjusts hipster glasses*), I've added a "Just For Fun" section to the first post in the topic. It currently contains little bios for the major bosses in the story to date. It's a friendly little nod to the Kirby series, which has always been a favorite of mine. Give them a look, if you feel like it. Otherwise, enjoy the finale of Episode 9!

XxX

Chapter 43: Gaining a Full-Powered Ally

~Aeon Observatory~

"Nnngghh… nuh… no!"

Tessa's eyes shot open and she sat up on an infirmary bed, aura feelers tensed. Her eyes darted about the room in a panic. "What the–? Wait, this is the Observatory. But how did we even get here? The last thing I remember was…" Images quickly flashed through her mind. She recalled the footage of Null attacking his creators. Then the screams of the second experiment as he demanded the return of his light. And finally, the Unown-created Entei blasting her teammates with Lava Plume. Tessa shuddered and threw her paws up to shoulders. 'How did we make it out of the Catacombs?' She stiffened. 'Wait a second.' She looked around the room, noting Shane and Espeon sleeping soundly on their own beds. 'What happened to Null?'

"Oh, good. You're up," Comfey said, floating into the room. "Your team gave me quite the scare… again. I swear, each day you guys keep getting closer and closer to getting hurt in ways I can't fix. What happened to you, anyway?"

"I…" Tessa shivered. "I don't want to talk about it." Her ears folded against her head and she whined softly. "But how did we get back here? Do you know?"

"Null dropped you off."

Tessa's aura feelers swung upward. "H… he did?" she squeaked.

"Yeah, but he ran away before I could ask him what had happened. Also, his mask was gone," Comfey said. "I saw a lot of feathers, but he wouldn't show me his face. And he seemed… really upset. Like, he was practically on the verge of tears. I've never seen him so shaken up. Whatever happened to your team, it hit him hard."

Tessa looked down at her lap. She started fidgeting with her paws. 'He's free of his mask? But then that would mean that he's…' She shuddered. 'No. I can't think like that. He brought us back here, didn't he?' She looked over to the window and gulped. 'But… what if he did that with the last of his willpower? He probably ran off because he knew he would end up attacking everyone if he just stayed.' She squeezed her eyes shut and grabbed hold of the bedsheets. 'What have I done? I'm the one who pushed him to start taking missions. Everything that went wrong today… it's all on me. I made Null realize just how much of a monster he really is.'

"Espy!"

Tessa's ear twitched at a holler accompanied by a chorus of footsteps. Umbreon sprinted into the infirmary, followed closely behind by Latias, Magearna, and Togedemaru. He spotted Espeon and darted over to her, a worried look on his face. Espeon woke up and Umbreon immediately embraced her. "Oh, Espy! You're okay. Thank gods, you're okay!" he blubbered, rubbing his head against her shoulder.

"Oof! Easy, Umbry. I'm… really sore," Espeon groaned, prompting Umbreon to back away. Umbreon rubbed his eyes with a forepaw and gently nuzzled Espeon. "Umbry," she whispered, "my psychic powers. They're… they're damaged. I can only use Psybeams."

Umbreon's eyes widened. Comfrey floated over between the two of them. "I'm afraid there's nothing I can do about it," she said. "I can't seem to identify what's damaged, so I don't know how to treat this."

Espeon whined softly. "I understand."

Umbreon frowned. "Espy, I'm so sorry. I should've insisted on going with your group," he said. "If I'd been there, then maybe–"

Espeon placed a forepaw on Umbreon's muzzle, quieting him. She slowly shook her head. "It wouldn't have made a difference, Umbry."

Tessa noticed that Shane had also woken up. He studied the two Eeveelutions, biting his lower lip. Shane spotted her staring and hastily looked away, a flush forming on his face. "Just what ended up happening to you guys, huh?" Togedemaru wondered.

"We fell into the Catacombs," Shane explained.

"No duh," Togedemaru scoffed. "I'm talking specifics. We need details here."

In response to this, Espeon said, "You were right, Latias."

Latias' ears twitched. "What do you mean by that?"

"I… I… Null…" She shot a despondent look toward Shane. He stared back at her in confusion. She lowered her head. "Maybe it's just best if you see it for yourself."

Latias' snout stiffened. "You're letting me read your mind?"

"Yes. And project it for everyone else, too. I'm afraid words can't do this justice," Espeon said.

Tessa's eyes widened and her aura feelers tensed. "No, wait! Don't–"

But she wasn't fast enough on the draw. Latias' eyes glowed blue. In an instant, the entire room transformed into the cavern. Through Espeon's eyes, the assembled Pokémon watched as the events in the Catacombs played out like a video put on fast-forward. Tessa squealed in fright and lay back down on her bed. She threw the covers up over her body, trying to hide from the images.

The glow faded from Latias' eyes and the room returned to normal. Silence hung over the room. Latias eventually broke it by whispering, "So, Null's even more of an amalgamation than his appearance lets on. I can't believe it."

The Horizon legends… are incorrect? Magearna muttered, her mechanical eyes slowly blinking. She looked away from the group.

"Hey, Riolu, are you doing okay?" Umbreon wondered.

"No, I'm not okay!" Tessa whimpered from beneath the covers. "You saw it for yourselves. Null realized he's a savage beast. And that happened because I dragged him to the place that made him what he is now." She shivered violently. "The mask's gone, so he ran off! Because he knew he couldn't control himself. Now he's gone... and there's nothing I can do to bring him back!"

Shane's tails crinkled in fright. "His mask's gone? How? When? Why?" He looked about the room in a panic. "Where'd he run off to, then?"

"I'm not sure," Comfey said. "He dropped you three off and ran out of the guild."

"In-deed-illy-deed, babe!" Primarina said as he hopped into the room. "That big fella gave the ol' ticker a start when he came flying down the stairs, carrying you three on his back. He ran back out of the guild like the place was going up in smoke. He was really booking it, babe." He looked at Serperior, who nodded her agreement.

"I don't get it. Does that mean he's just gone… forever?" Shane asked. "You guys saw it for yourselves. None of this is his fault." His ears drooped. "I feel so awful for everything I've said to him. Am I really never gonna get the chance to apologize?"

"Um… guys?" Milotic said as she slithered into the room. She dropped a looplet, a silver explorer's badge, and the Lunar Wing to the floor. Shane's eyes widened in recognition. "Those are all Null's! But then that means…"

"… he's gone," Milotic confirmed. "And it doesn't look like he wants to come back."

Under her bed covers, Tessa winced. 'No. I really am right, then. Null's gone berserk again. And so, he left us all behind before the voices could drive him completely crazy.' She squeezed her eyes shut and pull the covers tight against her body.

"Comfey, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to give these three a little boost," Latias offered, floating forward. Comfey nodded her approval. A pink glow encased Latias' body. She pointed a paw at Shane and shot a small, multicolored beam at him. It struck Shane, and he felt all his soreness and fatigue wash away. She repeated the gesture with Tessa, despite the fact that she still lay under the covers.

She then turned to Espeon, who stopped her, saying, "I can handle it myself, Latias." She sat up and bathed herself in the gentle glow of Morning Sun. Then she shook out her fur and hopped off of the bed. She stretched out her hind legs and tail, and then slowly walked up to Latias alongside Umbreon.

"So, now what do we do?" Shane asked, sliding off his bed. He looked over toward Tessa, and still saw a lump underneath white blankets.

"Well, I can sense the other guild members returning," Latias announced. "So, maybe we should take the opportunity to bring them up to speed on what's happened?"

"Oh… yeah. I guess so," Shane muttered. He took one last look back at Tessa and, seeing she had no intention of following him, trudged out of the infirmary. He found Metagross, Braviary, and the other guild members on the expedition waiting in the assembly area. Latias, Espeon, and Umbreon immediately went up to greet them.

Shane tried to follow them, only for a raggedy cloth to move in his path. "Ah! Mi-Mimikyu," Shane stammered, nearly toppling into the ghost.

"Oops. Sorry, Shane. I should've watched where I was walking," Mimikyu apologized. "Please don't get mad at me."

"It's fine, dude," Shane dismissed. "But I think I should go talk to the others." He tried to avoid letting Mimikyu see him glancing nervously at Metagross and Braviary.

"Right, right, of course." Mimikyu scuttled to the side. "I'm just glad you and your friends are okay. We got so worried when we heard what happened." His disguise's head fell forward. "But nobody would let me run off to try and help you."

"Well, it's in the past now," Shane said. "We'll talk later or something, okay?"

"Oh-okay," Mimikyu stammered, nodding slowly. Shane sidestepped the ghost-type and walked forward, joining the rest of the guild.

Understood, Metagross declared, nodding slowly. He locked eyes with Shane, who immediately stiffened.

"Did… did you guys cut the expedition short because of us?" Shane muttered, pawing guiltily at the ground.

Affirmative, Metagross replied. Fact: we found the information that we needed.

Shane's ears perked up. "Wait, you did? So, you know how to contact the Tapus?"

"I reckon we do," Braviary replied. "We managed to find some old runes in one of the caves we visited."

Magearna nodded. Yes, as the Guildmaster just relaytiated to me, there are two ways to gain access to a Tapu's temple. The first is to offer up a gift.

Shane gulped. "You mean… like a sacrifice?" He looked nervously at Metagross, who returned the look with his typical neutral expression.

Magearna shook her head. Gracious, no. Whatever would give you that idea?

"Err… nothing," Shane lied. "Forget I said anything. Continue."

The gift is a Tapumera, Magearna said. It's a special emera that you need to synthesize using very specific types of stardust, mixed together with a powerful spell.

Fact: I have memorized the necessary components. Fact: we have sufficient materials to make one Tapumera. Fact: I have dispatched Yungoos, Trapinch and Growlithe to locate ingredients to make more of them, Metagross announced.

"Does that mean you're going to need my help to make the emera, Magearna, dahling?" Bruxish asked. "I'm haaaaaaappy to lend a fin or two."

Yes, that would be most beneficiary, Magearna exclaimed. She turned back to Shane. There is another way, of course. And it's one that your team can take advantage of. She pointed an arm toward Shane's looplet. If you have a Naturia Looplet giftilated to you by one of the Tapus, you can request access to any of their temples, since they've judged you a worthy Pokémon.

Shane glanced down at his looplet. The embedded gemstone sparkled in the glow of the guild's light fixtures. "Which means that you guys are going to need me to help you find these temples," he said, looking cautiously at Braviary.

Correct, Metagross replied. Fact: time is needed to synthesize Tapumeras. Conclusion: you will return to Aurora Vale and attempt to locate the Temple of Mind. Fact: it is Tapu Lele's domain.

"And Zero thinks Tapu Lele is the one holding the Dawn Hourglass," Umbreon reminded Shane.

Shane's ears fell flat against his face. "Do we need to go right this second?" He glanced back toward the north hallway. "My teammates are not exactly in the right frame of mind to track down a Tapu."

Metagross gave Shane an unamused look. "Err, Guildmaster?" Braviary waved a wing in front of his face. "If'n I may? The sun's setting, and with the state that Aurora Vale's in, I imagine even the both of us would be hard-pressed to try and find the Temple of Mind in the dark. I think we need to take the time to rest up, so we're at our fighting best."

Shane sighed in relief. "Yeah. Not to mention, that gives you the time to synthesize enough Tapumeras to send guild members to the other temples," Latias added. "Even if the Prism Virus is currently after Tapu Lele, we really should try to warn the other Land Spirits about what's happened."

"Say, if you're a Legendary, why can't you just get the Tapus to open their temples, huh?" Togedemaru asked. "I thought all you gods were, like, tight-knit and stuff."

"O-Oh, well…" Latias fidgeted with her paws. "It's, um, it's not really that simple. I mean, I'm a Legendary, but… I'm not a god or anything. I'm more like, uh, a lesser Legendary, or something."

"So, what you're saying is, you don't deserve the title, huh?" Togedemaru scoffed. "Guess the Expedition Society isn't as worried about us as we thought."

"Hey!" Shane huffed, stepping in front of Togedemaru. "Lay off her. She's generously offering to help us. So what if she can't get the Tapus to open their temples? We'll take whatever help we can get."

"It's… it's okay…" Latias squeaked, waving Shane off. She looked at Togedemaru. "You have to understand that not all Legendaries are created equal. Some of us are much more like you. Our lifespans are finite, and we can't wield the same degree of raw power as gods. But, I still live here. And I want to do whatever I can to help."

"Actually, I think I could really use your help right now," Shane said. "We need to find Null. Comfey told us that he dropped us off at the guild and then ran away."

Latias stiffened. "But she also said his mask came off." She started to fidget with her flight goggles. "You… you do know that I'm the type of Pokémon that he was designed to kill, right?"

"I didn't say you needed to come with me," Shane elaborated. "You're a powerful psychic. And so are Metagross and Espeon. So–"

"Ahem, forgetting someone, daaaahling?"

Shane let out a nervous laugh. "Aha ha ha… and Bruxish, too. I'll bet if you four put your heads together, you'd be able to find Null."

Fact: my previous attempts to sense Null's life force have been unsuccessful, Metagross said, glaring at Shane.

"Because his mask was jamming your ESP," Shane retorted. "If he has no mask, you should be able to sense him, right? Please, just try it for me. I…" He looked down at the floor. "I don't want to lose my teammate like this. Not without trying to help him. Especially since he just saved my life."

"Okay," Latias said. "I'll do my best." Her face scrunched up as she concentrated. A tense silence gripped the room while Latias proceeded with her psychic scan. But to Shane's surprise, her facial features softened quickly. She wore a bewildered expression her face.

"Well?" he asked.

"I got something," she whispered. "It doesn't look like Null went very far. I sensed this peculiar energy in the forest on the outskirts of town."

Metagross shut his eyes at mention of this. He slowly nodded. "Peculiar in what way?" Braviary asked.

"It's um… it's kind of tough to explain," Latias mumbled. "But unlike aura reading, where things are seen in lay lines and blue flames of various intensities, sensing life forces involves swathes of color. I can usually tell what kind of Pokémon I'm sensing by the colors I visualize and how bright they are in my mind's eye." She frowned. "But Null's energy — if it is his — looks like a small, rainbow ball."

"That actually makes sense," Espeon piped up. "In the footage we saw, Null's creators said they wanted him to be able to change his typing at will. In which case, you'd expect his spirit to have a little bit of every type mingled together."

"Good enough for me," Shane said. "Where exactly did you think you sensed him?"

"Um, off to the west. Not too far off the path that leads to Sunrise Village, I suppose," Latias replied.

"Great. Then I'll go tell Tessa and we can take off after him," Shane said, jogging back down to the infirmary. His pace slowed to a trot as he saw Tessa still lay beneath the covers. Shane's muzzle stiffened. "Hey, uh, Tessa?" He scratched the back of his neck with a paw. "Um, we think we know where Null ran off to. So, I was, y'know, thinking that maybe we should go try to bring him back here… together."

He saw movement underneath the covers. "Forget it," Tessa mumbled, sliding away from her teammate.

Shane frowned. "But Null's your best friend," he reminded her. "He needs you right now."

"No, he doesn't," Tessa tersely replied. "I can't help him. There's nothing I can do. Don't you get it? He ran off because he knows he's going crazy. Look, he left all his stuff behind. And you saw that footage. He's… he's vicious without his mask! I was able to stop him back in Moonrise Marsh, but I don't think I could do it again. That's why I was trying to take some time to think back in the Catacombs. I needed to figure something out. But I couldn't. And now it's hopeless."

Shane's shoulders slumped. He took a deep breath, walked up to Tessa's bed, and yanked the covers off with his mouth. "Hey!" Tessa squealed, lunging for the covers. She managed to grab them before Shane could drop them to the floor. "I'm cold. Give those back," she growled, tugging on the bedsheets. Shane lurched forward, but maintained his grip. He dug his paws into the ground.

"No," he replied, linens muffling his voice. "He's our teammate. We can't just give up on him."

"Yes, we can," Tessa countered, giving the bedsheets another tug. Shane struck the edge of the bed and dropped the sheets. Tessa hoisted them back onto the bed and threw them up over her body. Shane's brow furrowed and he stomped over beside her. He jumped onto the bed and yanked the covers off once again. Tessa glared at him. "I said I'm not going," she barked.

"I can't believe you're acting like this," he said. "You're the one who's defended him all this time. You've stood by him while the rest of the guild gave him the cold shoulder." He lowered his head. "And while I bullied him."

"It's a little late to be forming a guilty conscience about all of this, don't you think?" Tessa huffed. "And none of that matters. Because… because he's not the Pokémon I grew close to. Not anymore. My friend's gone. He's buried deep underground… with his mask."

"But you're basing that off what you saw in the recordings," Shane claimed. "You don't know for a fact he isn't still the same Null you've grown so close to. What's wrong? Why have you suddenly turned against him like this?"

"Because I'm scared, okay?!" Tessa blurted out. She grabbed hold of a nearby pillow and squeezed it against her face. "And confused. I saw him eviscerate his creators. All that blood on his body just… just freaked me out." She started shivering. "I thought… I thought what he did in Moonrise Marsh was a fluke. A one-time issue. I wanted to think of a way to save him in the Catacombs, but it's not possible! He's gone berserk again and we don't have a plan to fix it. If we try to help him, I'm worried he'll attack me." She dug her face into the pillow. "So, go on. Say it. I'm a selfish coward. And a sucky friend. It's not going to make me change my mind."

But, rather than doing that, Shane lay down beside his partner. "Tessa," he whispered.

"Please don't call me that!" she squealed, making Shane wince.

"Riolu." He put a forepaw on her back and started to rub it. "I understand. This all scares me too. But, I still think we need to help him."

"How can you say that?" she blubbered. "He tried to kill you."

"I know. But I see now that it really wasn't his fault," Shane muttered. "Plus, he just saved my life. Both our lives, technically. Not to mention, he was there for both of us when we were at our worst after that disciplinary assignment." He gently lowered the pillow from Tessa's face and met her tearful gaze. "Now, Null's at his lowest point. Don't you think we owe it to him to try and help?" Tessa tensed up. Shane leaned in toward her. "Come on, Riolu. Do you mean to tell me that, after everything that's happened — after how you said you feel so lonely and unloved — you're really going to let your best friend walk out of your life?" He put a paw on her shoulder. "If your dad were still here, what would he do?"

Tessa squeezed her pillow harder. Shane held his breath, fearing he'd against stepped over the line. But, to his relief, Tessa slowly nodded. "You're right. Null never gave up on us. So, I need to try and get him back."

A smile crossed Shane's muzzle. "Then what are we waiting for? We've got a friend to help."

XxX

~Aeon Town~

"You know, it probably would've been a good idea to try and get a more specific location from Latias," Shane sighed, looking over at the forest. "Everything looks the same. Just trees and rocks, and more trees and rocks. Oh, and leaves. Lots of leaves."

Crunch!

Leaves crinkled and made Shane's ears twitch. "Look," he gasped, "over there." He pointed a forepaw forward, just in time for Tessa to see a blur dart between the trees. A nearby bush rustled.

"That's gotta be him. C'mon," Tessa said, running into the forest. Shane trotted after her, weaving his way through the tree roots. "Null. Null, it's us! Come on out. We just want to talk to you."

"Nuh… no!"

Tessa stopped and threw an arm up. Shane stopped right next to her. She pointed ahead of them. Shane spotted Null lying in the middle of the forest, head and neck buried in a thick bush. His torso and tail stuck out, like he was doing a poor ostrich imitation. "Null, pull your head out of there. You look ridiculous," Shane said.

"Go away," Null whimpered, trying to push himself deeper inside the bush, to no avail. "I can't control myself anymore." Shane noted that his voice sounded much higher-pitched now, but something still seemed to muffle his speech.

"We know, Null," Tessa whispered, stepping forward. The crinkling leaves caused Null to tense up.

"Please don't come closer!" he begged.

His body lurched violently. "What are you waiting for? There are no more restraints. Attack them! Destroy them!" Null dug his legs into the ground, shivering.

"We're not about to leave you out here, dude. You're our teammate," Shane said. "We're worried about you."

"Don't be. I'm not… strong enough… to stop them!" Null squawked, trying to push himself further into the bush. "I remember everything. The voices are so loud now. It's… it's taking every ounce of strength not to lash out. Please," he croaked, "save yourselves. Run away!"

He slashed through some of the bush's leaves and hissed, "No… stay! Stay and let us kill you. We want you dead, beast! We—"

Tessa stepped forward and shoved Null's Lunar Wing against his right flank. Null initially stiffened, before the rise and fall of his chest slowed. He slid down onto his stomach and, in the process, his head slid out of the bush. To Tessa's surprise, an oversized, raggedy towel sat atop Null's head, covering his face. "Feeling better?" Tessa whispered.

"A little," Null muttered.

"What's with the rag?" Shane asked. "If you're trying to do a Mimikyu impression, it's not really working." Tessa gave him an incredulous look. "Sorry. I thought I could lighten the mood a bit," he sighed. "Guess not."

"Why did you come for me?" Null mumbled. "You saw the footage." He took in a shuddering breath. "I'm no Pokémon. I'm a monster. A freak! I… I…" They watched Null dig his talons into the dirt. To their surprise, he let out a squeak, his voice cracking. "I don't want to be a killer. I don't want to hurt anyone." He lowered his head to the ground, brushing the rag against the soil. "But the voices… they're so awful. They're so angry." He brought his talons up against the rag. "I can't keep them at bay. Now that the mask's gone, I can't force them back anymore. The spirits inside me… they were not good Pokémon. Their memories… I can't get them out of my head." Null squeaked again. "I can't believe I'm saying this… but I wish I had the helmet back. I'd rather be in physical pain then have to deal with this."

"Don't say that," Tessa scolded, placing a paw on his hip. Null whined loudly. "Null, you're—" She abruptly cut herself off, making Null tense up. Tessa took in a deep breath, and continued, "Null, I have something I need to confess. At first… I didn't want to try and find you." Null winced and Shane shot Tessa a concerned look. "But," she said, rubbing his hind leg, "Shane reminded me of the good that you've done for me. You've done good for both of us. I'm sure you realize that."

"But I tried to kill you, Shane," Null blubbered.

"I know. That was— no, is still lingering in my mind," Shane said. "And, yeah, I do get very nervous around you. But after the stuff we saw down in the Catacombs, I realize I can't blame you for it. If I was in your situation, things would've probably gone the exact same way. And Riolu's right, you've been doing good as part of the guild. A monster wouldn't be there to comfort a miserable Riolu when she's suffering. A monster wouldn't have saved us from those Unown." He inched closer to Null. "You're a good Pokémon at heart, Null. And yes, I do mean Pokémon."

Null shuffled away from them. "You're just saying that to make me feel better. I'm not a real Pokémon and I never will be. I'm just a sorry mish-mash… a failed attempt at an Arceus clone." He shook his head. "Do the folks at the guild know?"

"Yes," Tessa replied glumly.

"Then it's worthless," Null said, pulling his forelegs up on top of his rag-covered head. "I can't go back there. How am I supposed to look any of them in the eye, huh?"

Tessa bit her lip and withdrew her paw. "W-Well… um… that is…" She failed to think of a response to him.

"Null," Shane spoke up. "I know this looks really bad. But, I want to share something with you." Null stopped squirming and turned his head to face Shane. His eyes glowed from beneath the rag. "It's, um, a quote. From something Pokémon-related back in the human world."

"But I thought Pokémon weren't real in your world?" Null whimpered.

"Err, yeah, I mean that's true, but…" Shane bit his lower lip. "Look, just hear me out, okay? I really think it applies to your situation."

"… fine," Null said. "What is it?"

Shane took a deep breath, and then recited off memory, "The circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are."

Silence fell over the trio. Tessa gave Shane a bewildered look, while Null appeared to shift his gaze to look at the ground. "Who said that?" he asked.

"Mewtwo," Shane replied. "In my world, he was created in a laboratory, as a clone of Mew. He was designed to be an incredibly powerful battler. Sound familiar?"

"Y… yes…" Null rasped.

"Now, I don't think the Mewtwo in this world has the same origin. But, I think what he said applies here," Shane said. "Are you really going to let Golem and his horrible flunkies dictate what you do with your life? Are you going to give into all the angry voices in your head?" Null met his gaze once again. "Or are you going to show the world that you're not just some tool? That you can rise above what you were created for… and become a force that inspires hope?" Shane stepped back and shook his head. "That… probably sounded really sappy, didn't it?" His ears folded against his head. "I'm sorry, guys. I'm not too good at motivational speeches."

To the duo's surprise, Null lumbered to his feet. The two of them thought they heard a soft whine and exchanged nervous looks. "You guys…" Null hiccuped. His teammates' ears twitched. He slowly pivoted around, facing them. "You really mean it? You want me to stay on the team, even after all that stuff you saw?"

Tessa stepped forward. Slowly, she brought her paw up to clasp the rag over Null's face. "You're our friend, Null. And you've gotten us through some really tough times. We're not about to let you slip through the cracks." Tessa gingerly pulled the rag away from Null's face, whispering, "Team Radiance needs you."

Null tucked his chin against his neck, allowing the rest of the rag to fall away. And, for the first time, Tessa and Shane were truly able to look their teammate right in the eyes. His silver, watery eyes. "I get it," he whispered. "It's like you guys said on Riolu's hatch day."

Shane picked up on Null's cue. He stuck a forepaw forward, saying "Through darkest night…"

Tessa added her paw and said, "… and brightest day…"

Null put his talons on top of his friends' paws and finished, "… Team Radiance always finds a way." He shut his eyes, tears streaming down them, and leaned forward. He brushed his torso up against his teammates and craned his head and neck down, nuzzling the two of them. Shane and Tessa both returned the embrace.

"Thank you," he whispered, "for everything." They kept the embrace for a moment, before Null stepped back. He bent down, picked up the Lunar Wing in his beak, and nestled it in the feathers on his chest plume.

"How are you feeling?" Shane asked.

Null a took a deep breath. "… okay," he replied. "I'm… I'm okay." He titled his head upward. Slowly, Null made his way out of the forest, with Shane and Tessa following him. He walked onto the grass and that sat down, craning his neck up toward the afternoon sun. Warm sunlight spilled over his face. Null sat there, humming as his tail swished back and forth through the grass.

"So, this is what it feels like," he said.

"What do you mean?" Tessa asked.

"Having the sun shining down on you. And soaking up the rays with your face," Null continued. "This is the first time I've ever felt something like this."

Shane cocked an eyebrow. "And?"

Null's beak opened in a smile. "I like it," he trilled. He flopped over onto his side and started rubbing his face against the grass. "It tickles!" he squeaked, rolling across the grass until he lay in front of Tessa's feet.

'Gee… how very, uh, dog,' Shane mused, keeping that thought to himself.

"You seem to be in better spirits," Tessa noted.

"I think I am," Null said, sitting back up. "I feel so much lighter. So… full of energy!" He sprang up to his feet, earning a confused look from Tessa.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

In response, Null reached out, and bopped the tip of Tessa's snout with his beak. Her eyes widened. "I've always wanted to do that," Null confessed, stifling a giggle. "Oh, by the way, I think the phrase is, 'tag, you're it!'"

"Wait, what?" Tessa gasped, but Null turned and sprinted away. "Hey… hey! You can't just call an impromptu game of tag like that. We've gotta agree on the rules first! Back me up here, Shane." She looked over to her side, only to see that Shane had turned tail and ran away from her, laughing. She narrowed her eyes. "Oh, so that's how it is, huh? Fine. I'm going for you first!" She stuck her arms out by her sides and sprinted after Shane.

Across the grass, Null trotted to a stop, watching Tessa close the gap as Shane reached a dead end. Shane tried to get around Tessa by faking going to his right and then juking left. But he got tripped up in the process. A triumphant Tessa stood over him. She knelt down and tapped him on the shoulder, saying, "Tag." She turned and ran away laughing. But Shane quickly got to his feet. He coated the grass in a layer of ice and slid onto his belly.

Null's eyes widened as Shane bowled into Tessa from behind, upending her and making her fall onto the grass. Shane spun to a stop by Null, his eyes swirling about in his sockets. "Oooooog. Did I get her?" he groaned.

"You sure did," Null said. He ran over to Tessa, his face ripe with worry. "Are you okay? That looked like it stung." He looked down at Tessa, but she didn't respond. "Riolu? Riolu?" Null called, leaning down to get a closer look. "Say something. Anything!"

A blue paw reached up and tapped edge of Null's beak. "Okay, how about, 'tag, you're it?'"

Null's jaw dropped and Tessa used the opportunity to roll away from him. She stumbled to her feet but didn't make it very far before Null playfully tackled her from behind. They rolled across the grass, bursting into laughter as they came to a stop. Shane shook his head at the sight. 'Who would've thought this would be how our day ended up?' A smile crept onto his lips as he watched Null nuzzle Tessa's cheek. 'But I'm glad they were able to work things out. They both seem so much happier. And Tessa could really use something positive in her life right now.'

"It looks like you're feeling much better, Null."

All three members of Team Radiance turned and stood at attention as Latias materialized behind them. Espeon and Umbreon also walked in from the nearby trail. "I hope you don't mind us interrupting. It was starting to get kind of late, and we were getting worried," Latias said.

"It's no big deal," Shane dismissed.

"How did she just appear like that?" Tessa gasped, her aura feelers pulsating wildly.

Both Shane and Latias opened their mouths in unison, only for Null to cut them off, saying, "Latias can use her down to turn invisible."

"How do you know that?" Shane and Latias asked simultaneously. Latias turned her confused look on Shane.

Null's brow furrowed. "I don't know. I just do," he replied. "Maybe it's because I, y'know…" He sheepishly picked at the dirt with his talons. "… needed to know that in order to kill her." Null noticed Latias' feathers prickle. "Buh-but that's not me. I don't want to do that stuff. I look okay to you, right?"

"Yes," Latias muttered. "And, um, you seem pretty lucid." Null nodded. "So, um, I have something here for you." Latias pulled the Memory Looplet out from her satchel.

Null's eyes widened in recognition. "Ah… that's my looplet! That's the one Golem made for me."

"I know," Latias said. "This is what Team Captivate found in the Nocturnus Catacombs. I took it back to the Expedition Society, where Mawile's been researching it extensively." She gently set the looplet on the ground. "Based on her investigating, she put this together." Latias pulled out the stack of pages and floated it over toward Team Radiance.

Shane glanced at the top page and his jaw dropped. "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About the RKS System (But Were Afraid to Ask)? Are you serious, here?"

"Very," Latias replied. "That's what Null's ability is called, according to the papers Mawile uncovered. Why, something wrong?"

"Nuh-no. Of course not!" Shane said. Blood rushed into his face and stepped away from his teammates. "So, what, you want to put the looplet on him and see what happens? Be my guest."

Null shot a nervous glance at the looplet. "Why didn't Team Captivate say anything to me about this?"

Latias scratched the back of her neck. "Ah, well, that's probably my fault. I may have intentionally made it a bit difficult for them to believe your, y'know, unique origins."

"Alternatively, they were just scared of how you'd react," Umbreon added. Tessa gave him a nasty look, to which Umbreon raised a forepaw up innocently. "What? I'm sure we were all thinking it."

"It's okay," Null said. He looked back down at the looplet. "Are you sure this is safe to try?"

"Well, not really," Latias conceded, drawing panicked expressions from the other Pokémon present. "But I have an idea," she hastily added, floating closer to Null. "If I could just see that Lunar Wing of yours for a second."

Null glanced at the feather, and then cautiously plucked it up with his beak and presented it to Latias. His tensed up and his talons dug into the dirt as Latias took the Lunar Wing and the Memory Looplet. She brought them close together and, to everyone's shock, breathed out a small, quick stream of dragonfire.

"Are you nuts?" Shane cried. "You're going to break them both!"

Latias ended the attack and encased the items in a psychic bubble with some lingering dragonfire. She shut her eyes and concentrated. The others looked on in confusion as the bubble's contents seemed to pulsate and swirl around. After a couple of minutes, Latias broke the bubble and dispelled the dragonfire. The looplet floated in the air, completely unharmed. However, the metal banding and Arceus-like wheel were now gold-plated. Latias levitated the Memory Looplet over to Null.

"What did you do?" he asked.

"I welded the Lunar Wing into the looplet," Latias explained. "From what I saw in Espeon's memories, you went berserk because of this thing. But the Lunar Wing has a calming effect on you. I figured that, if I could incorporate its psychic energy into the very essence of the looplet, you might be able to use it successfully."

Null blinked. "Right," he whispered. He lifted up his right foreleg. Latias took a deep breath and cautiously slid the Memory Looplet onto his limb. Null watched it move up and clamped his beak shut as it brushed against his fur. The moment it reached a point where it snugly surrounded his leg, his entire body went rigid.

Tessa's aura feelers shot into the air and she backed away. "Null? Are… are you okay?"

Latias' face blanched. "Come on, Null. It's okay. Deep breaths. You… you're alright." But she was starting to float away, readying herself for a hasty retreat.

Tessa abruptly leaped to Null's side. She put her paws against his leg and rubbed it. "It's going to be okay," she whispered.

"Guys, look," Shane said, pointing his forepaw at Null. "His eyes are changing color." Everyone looked up at Null's face, watching his irises shift from white to blue. And then again to red. And then again to green.

"Null, are you feeling alright?" Tessa asked. Null didn't respond. He remained still as his eyes cycled through multiple different colors. Everyone stood in silence, until Null's eyes regained their white coloration.

Then, to their surprise, Null declared in monotone, "Biolink established. RKS System online." He blinked a few times and then shook his head about. "Unnnngh… w-what happened?" he groaned, lowering his head and brushing his feathers with his talons.

"We were hoping you could tell us," Espeon said. "Your eyes were changing color there."

"They were?" Null gasped. He looked down at the Memory Looplet, and noticed the gems embedded in the golden wheel now sparkled with a rainbow glow.

"It's in the instructions," Umbreon exclaimed, looking down at the stack of papers. "Says here, 'The RKS System enables the God Killer to alter its typing as it sees fit. All it needs to do is think of which type it wants to assume. The Memory Looplet reads its thoughts, and uses the life energy stored in it to do the necessary type conversion. Certain energy-based parts of the God Killer's body will reflect the type changes.'"

Null looked down at the looplet. "Hmm… lemme try something, then." His brow furrowed and then, to everyone's surprise, a change occurred. His eyes, tail membrane, cheek bolts, and energy blades all turned a bright shade of blue.

"Whoa!" Shane jumped back. "Are you sure you should be doing that?"

In response to this. Null tensed up. The blue coloration across his body shifted to red. Null darted forward. Golden energy emerged around his torso in a wheel shape that matched the looplet. The energy raced around his body, until it gathered around his forelegs, where it suddenly erupted, setting his forelegs ablaze. Null raised his talons and slashed a nearby tree. Burning chunks of wood exploded out in all directions.

Everyone's eyes widened at the sight. Null looked down at his flaming talons. His tail started wagging. "I think I could get used to this," he chirped. "I mean, it's a little weird. When I change, I have all these memories of different fire-type Pokémon running around in my head. Like, I saw a Magcargo bathing in a lava bath. And a Pyroar pushing a Luxray off of a cliff." He shuddered. "But it's not like when the voices were there." He lowered his talons and tensed up again. But nothing happened, drawing a confused look from Null. "Hey, why can't I become a water-type again?"

Umbreon flipped through the pages and pressed a forepaw down on one, "According to this, if you change out of a certain type, there's a bit of a cooldown period before you can change back to it. Otherwise, you might overload the looplet."

Null nodded. "Is there anything else I should know?" he asked.

"Mawile managed to add emera slots into the looplet," Latias exclaimed. "There are only three of them. But hopefully you'll manage to put them to good use."

Null examined the notches in the looplet's band. "Well, we kind of lost a lot of our items, but we stored our emeras at Dhelmise Depot. I'm sure we can find a good combination," Tessa declared, giving her friend a reassuring smile.

"And I'll get these instructions back to the guild for your guys," Umbreon offered, "so you can look them over later." He and Espeon scooped the papers up and started to make their way back toward the road.

"Yeah, it's getting late. Probably best to start heading back," Latias declared, letting out a yawn. "I'm king of running on fumes here." She slowly floated off after Espeon and Umbreon.

"I guess we should follow them, huh?" Null said.

"Hang on. There's still one more thing we need to take care of," Shane said, drawing confused looks from his teammates. "You need a name," he said.

"A… name?" Null parroted.

"Of course," Shane replied. "You said it yourself. The Guildmaster just labeled you Null because he had no idea what you were supposed to be. But now we know. And you're free of that restraining mask. I don't think it's fair to keep going around calling you that. You deserve something better!"

Null blinked. "But, what should I call myself?"

Shane pursed his lips. While his idea sounded good, he clearly lacked the foresight to think up any ideas. "Um, well, I guess we'd need to have a quick brainstorming session." He started pacing back and forth. "How about Buddy? You look like a dog. In the human world, dogs are man's best friend. And you don't want to hurt people, so it sounds very friendly!"

Null shook his head. "Sorry, that seems rather silly."

"Okay, well there are lots of other great dog names. Like Rex, Baxter, Spot, Jackson, Archie, or my personal favorite, Barkley!" Shane grinned at his teammates, who stared back at him in surprise. "Err... I think I got carried away again."

"I'll say," Tessa said. "None of those sound like what you'd call a Pokémon."

"What about something cool, then? Like… like… Razorclaw!" Shane pointed at Null's talons. "Or how about–"

"What about Silvally?" Tessa offered.

Shane shot Tessa a confused look. "You can't be serious. Now that's a silly name. It kind of sounds like putty. Y'know, that slime-like stuff you can play around with?"

Tessa shrugged. "I mean, he looks pretty silver to me now that the mask is gone. And he wants to be the opposite of an enemy to all Legendaries, and that'd be an ally. So, yeah, I just kind of mashed them together." She scratched the back of her head. "I know it sounds stupid, but–"

"I like it!" their teammate chirped. "Yeah… Silvally. Silvally! Silvally!" he repeated the name several times, before proceeding to hop about in a circle, tail wagging excitedly. "That's me," he said, planting his forelegs in the ground and puffing his chest out.

'Talk about a 180 in personality,' Shane thought. "Okay then. Silvally it is."

"Alright!" he cheered. He looked at Tessa. "Hey, race you back to the Observatory." He started jogging in place.

A broad smile appeared on Tessa's face. "Oh, you're so going down!" she declared, and broke into a run.

"Hey, I never said 'go!'" Silvally cawed, and bounded after her.

"You never set any rules," Tessa called back with a laugh.

Shane watched the two of them round a bend in the forest to rejoin the road. 'They seem really happy now. Thank goodness.' But as he heard their footsteps retreat, his smile slowly started to fade. He looked down at the ground, and his ears and tail drooped. 'So, why do I have this awful, sinking feeling in my stomach about Silvally?' He started walking off toward the road, furrowing his brow as he tried to reason out the cause. 'He seems to be under control. And he's got the RKS System working, from what it looks like. What's the problem, then? Am I just being paranoid, like with Lycanroc?'

As he approached the edge of Aeon Town, he abruptly stopped. Distorted black cubes filled up his field of vision, erasing Aeon Town. Flames washed away the cubes and a pair of blue eyes appeared in the center, looking right back at Shane. A hole appeared in the wall of fire, showing a Dusknoir getting dragged through a wormhole by a pair of lanky green arms. The flames circled around the sight and vanished, leaving Shane standing atop the hill overlooking the town.

'Wait. An older, more-experienced Pokémon is working with two kids. He has lightning-fast reflexes and powerful attacks at his disposal. And he's been displaced from the time he's originally from…' His eyes widened and his muzzle fell agape. 'Oh my god, he's not just some random coincidence. I'll bet he's our Grovyle. And that means… no matter what we try, we're gonna lose him!'

Shane's legs locked up and his gaze fell back to the ground. The soil beneath him swirled around in circles, until he found himself staring at the armored face of Solgaleo's imposter.

"Heeheehee… yes, exactly! One by one, those fakers will disappear, until you realize that your one and only friend is me… Necrozma!"

Shane's heart skipped a beat. He slammed his eyes shut and sprinted down the hill, whimpering loudly.

End of Episode 9

XxX​

And there you have it! A pair of bonuses will be coming for the next two updates, followed by Episode 10. It is a meaty one, currently standing at eight chapters. Quite a lot is going to happen there, and I hope that it serves to shake things up even further.

Next time: the God Killer speaks his mind.
 
Last edited:

Negrek

Lost but Seeking
All RIGHT. These are the episodes I've been waiting for, and probably some other readers, too! Before we get into the swing of things, though, a couple replies-to-your-replies.

Well, to be fair, I had just shown a Pokémon die and have its body turn into a bunch of light particles (there is a spirit world here, as the bit with Ninetales at the end of this episode alludes to). So, if you follow that logic, of course they won't run into the body. :V
Oops, totally failed to consider that. >>; In that case, yeah, a bit more likely that he's dead. Given that Episode 9 takes place in Glyphic Falls and I haven't noticed any hinty-hints about him potentially having survived, he probably really is dead. RIP for real, Incineroar.

I think you're getting your wires crossed a bit here. Shane does not have Light That Burns the Sky, because that attack is a giant light nuke. Unless I'm a crazy, forgetful nutcase (and I do have my moments :p ), I'm pretty sure I didn't describe a fantastic nuke at the end of the Espeon/Umbreon battle.
My bad, I'm not that familiar with the Z-moves, so I probably wasn't going to recognize it by the description. What threw me off was Necrozma saying "he used my Z-move" shortly thereafter. Unless I'm misremembering; can't actually go back a page and look atm. But if that piece of dialogue does exist more or like how I remember it, it implied to me that the Z-move being referred to was Necrozma's rather than a generic type-based move, since that's who the dialogue was coming from. I guess that means Necrozma's responsible for Shane's looplet?

Basically, that psychic blast he took from Espeon in Sunrise Village (that made him see Lunala and Dawn Wings Necrozma) did indeed mess him up in he head.
Ah, that totally didn't ping me as very important! I'll have to go back and take another look at that bit.

Episode 8

This is kind of a weird block of chapters to review, since it's just the ending chunk of a larger arc, where loose ends are kind of getting wrapped up. A bit of a grab bag with different groups of characters. I think they're generally interesting scenes, and you have a bunch of different sub-plots going on, so it would be kind of tricky not to.

The scenes with Necrozma and Zero were probably my favorite. A lot of interesting new info in them, both in terms of character and in terms of worldbuilding and potential plot. I also quite enjoyed Necrozma trying to position his xurkitree lamp. It's a pretty classic bumbling-minion routine, but I thought it was cute anyway. In general I found Necrozma's patter less distracting and out of place in these segments than I had previously; not sure if that's just me warming up to him as a character, or whether I find the balance of ridiculousness and seriousness in these later scenes better than I did in earlier ones. But in particular I liked the dynamic between Zero and Necrozma in the redecorating sequence. For all that Zero is a powerful villain who's been wreaking havoc on the world, here we get to see her much more vulnerable, and realize what a rough position she's actually in. She's clearly geting played by Necrozma on some level, she's physically a wreck, and seems more exhausted than anything. The picture we get of the main villains here is less of sinister, powerful characters scheming against the protagonists, but more desperate, unhappy individuals who don't even like each other but are forced into semi-working-together for the moment. I thought it was a really good scene, and I'm hoping we'll get to see more of those two in the future, now that their identities have been revealed and the protagonists are starting to deal with them directly. The tidbit of the ultranecrozmarium being jammed into Zero's skull and presumably being the source of a lot of her power and control over Necrozma is definitely something that's going to be important going forward, too.

Also really interesting to me is the idea that the prism virus doesn't actually alter a pokémon's mind--that is, that Espeon and Umbreon (and now Dragonite) are actually serving of their own free will, which of course makes for some lovely guilt. But the whole sequence with Dragonair also throws doubt on that idea too, of course. Because while she seems pretty enthusiastic about her evolution after the fact, she definitely didn't go into the "pokéball" willingly. Likewise Espeon and Umbreon's personalities did seem different when they were infected. Perhaps they felt like they were doing what they did because they agreed with Zero at the time, but I'd say the signs point towards them being in at least somewhat of an altered state... Though how much of a relief that would be to someone like Espeon who appears to be almost-literally haunted by what happened (or maybe by earlier events? We don't actually know where the "voices" she sometimes appears to hear are coming from), I don't know. But it definitely makes for a much more interesting situation than pokémon simply being healed of the virus and then being back to normal/totally fine.

The wrinkle that Zero is actually in some sense capturing her allies, becoming their "trainer," is a really cool one, and a good example of a human character taking a different approach to things than a pokémon presumably would. I don't know how much Prisma would have known about the pokémon franchise from her time in the human world--whether she would really know about pokéballs and training and so on--so I don't know if her going that route with her lackeys is a result of her really trying to emulate the main series franchise or if it's just something she found during her research.

Chapter 36 said:
Shane opened his mouth to protest, but Null but a foreleg on is shoulder, shaking his head disapprovingly.
*put a foreleg, *on his shoulder

Chapter 37 said:
While she wasn't bawling her eyes out anymore, her soft, muffled whimpers made the fur in Shane's ears tingle.
Huh, the idea of fur (ear-fur or otherwise) tingling is kind of odd, but I also kind of like it.

Chapter 37 said:
"Tell me that they're not really gone!" Tessa suddenly blurted out, grabbing Shane's face and swiveling it to meet her tearful gaze. "Tell me we can find a way to bring them back."
Uh-oh. Worrying parallels to her mom's plan and general approach to grief, there. Thus far Prisma's seemed more concerned with keeping Tessa out of the conflict between herself and the legendaries, but if she decided she wanted to bring her over to the virus side instead, it seems like playing to these kinds of sentiments would be exactly how she could win Tessa over...

Chapter 37 said:
"Apology excepted," he mumbled, letting out a dejected sigh.
*Apology accepted

Chapter 37 said:
"Besides, how would an ice-type Vulpix even evolve, anyway? What, is there an Ice Stone or something?"

Null let out a weak cough.

Shane's expression stiffened. "Oh my god, there's totally an Ice Stone in this world, isn't there?"
I knew it was coming, and I wasn't disappointed!

Chapter 37 said:
"Okay, okay, back off. I get the memo," Necrozma growled, waving them off with his right hand. It spasmed, forcing him to bring it against his chest.
Something's up with his hand, huh? I wonder if the ultranecrozmera used to be embedded/attached there, as with Shane's looplet, and having it removed hurt him, or something entirely different is going on there.

Chapter 38 said:
Her limbs shaked.
*shook

Chapter 38 said:
"Heeheeheehee! Oh, you need not worry about these three, mistress," Necrozma assured her. "Just a group of retired rescuers. Well past their prime. Nothing of value was taken with their deaths."
lol welp. So much for Team ACT.

Chapter 38 said:
"That wretched little human slipped through my digits again," she seethed.
Is there any reason she doesn't just say "fingers?"

Chapter 38 said:
Immense guild wracked Shane's mind.
*immense guilt

Chapter 38 said:
The sent of salt buffeted his nostrils.
*scent of salt

There's a whole lot of blushing going on in this chapter, particularly from Shane and Lugia, which strikes me as weird because they're covered in fur/feathers, respectively. If they were blushing, who would even be able to tell?

Her teammates slept soundly in their beds. Serperior producing a soft whistle with each exhale.
You probably want a comma rather than a period separating these two phrases, since the second one isn't a sentence.

All because you couldn't bare the thought of your friendships falling apart.
*couldn't bear

The idea of legendary pokémon getting out of practice with their various abilities or simply never learning how to use them at all is an interesting one. It does lend a lot of credence to Zero's argument that it would be best to find some way to make the world function properly without them, since there seems to be a lot of apathy/failure to keep up with their responsibilities among the legendary group, and inevitably important stuff's going to break. Like really, Lugia, you and your mom have ONE JOB. Maybe we don't need some kind of light-murdering infection scheme to get it done, but clearly if the legendaries don't get their **** together more crises are going to occur... and they don't appear to have learned much from the past couple potentially-world-ending problems that have come up.

In general I'm less interested in the segments with members of the Expedition Society than in the ones centering on the Horizon continent. It might be different if I'd played Super, since I know a lot of the characters that are important in those bits are canon characters from those games who I might already be interested in if I'd played those games. But as someone who doesn't already know them, they're just so much less fleshed out than the Horizon characters, and they seem more removed from the conflict (though of course it's threatening to go global pretty quickly). You haven't really had the space to do much interesting with them, and it's hard for me to see how you're going to find time later in the story to really lavish attention on them, unless this story works out to be much longer than expected. All that to say that my personal instinct would be to remove/condense those sequences as much as possible... I'm going to guess that Latias and Lugia's relationship will be important later, so I'd keep the scene with them, but maybe have Latias simply sum up the situation (as she currently already does, more or less) rather than also showing the actual process of the Expedition Society seeing Espeon/Umbreon reappear, hearing Ninetales' prophecy, etc.

All in all these chapters felt more like wrapping up loose ends than anything, which is fine. You're taking on a lot of POVs outside of Team Radiance, which provides insight into how the events of the plot affect the broader world, but I don't know whether all of them are adding a ton to the story. You have so many facets to the central plot already that I think it might be better to keep things more tightly focused on the primary characters rather than branching out into more POVs. Things are holding together well enough so far, but I think if you bring in too many more plot threads you're going to have some trouble juggling everything that's going on with the different groups of characters.

Bonus #7

Definitely some interesting letters here! For me Nicky's definitely had more surprises, but it was also interesting to see things from Zero's perspective, how she justifies things to herself. It's sad, since she really does seem like someone who, at least initially, kind of let things get away from her until she was in way over her head and trapped by her bad decisions. The way she chose to deal with that wasn't great, but it was certainly understandable.

The fact that Nicky's sounds a heck of a lot more lucid than he normally does is interesting, although it would probably have been tough to get through if you'd written it all in his over-the-top style. And I totally didn't guess that Nicky was actually Necrozma, although him talking about being friends with Shane "again" definitely got me thinking. I know you said to remember Shane's friend from earlier, but I totally didn't expect him to later pop up as one of the main antagonists!

And damn... his letter got dark. ._.

Which brings us to that faithful weekend.
"Fateful" weekend, tho.

However, these bits weren't tremendously plausible to me as letters. The premise for Zero's was fine, I think; she set out to try and write some sort of explanation for Incineroar, and then she kind of ended up rambling on a bit... letting things get away from her the same way that she did in life, almost. But it still felt a bit exposition-y to me. I don't know; getting carried away and going into too much detail makes sense for the character, I think, and for people in general, but the letter still felt a bit long to me, a bit too much of a summary of Zero's entire relationship with Incineroar.

The effect is a bit more pronounced in the second letter. It's not as clear to me why Nicky's writing it. To actually try to guilt Rebecca, or just to put his own thoughts in order? With Zero, she has to believe at some level that Incineroar could end up reading it and understanding something important, whereas I have no idea whether Nicky has any intention, or even the means, of getting this to Rebecca. (The ending does imply that he has some sort of revenge plan of his own that involves going to the human world as Necrozma, which is interesting and might hint at why he's been manipulating Shane...) Either way, I think there's a bit too much exposition here. As a means to guilt Rebecca, it doesn't strike me as quite pointed/vicious enough, and as simple venting/rambling it seems a bit too coherent and detailed. Like, in either case, details like what Nicky's dad said to him before his first "date" or the fact that he lied and said he had food poisoning to get Shane off his back seem to me more like things you'd include in a narrative where you're trying to get across a complete accounting of the story (or laying the groundwork for one of Shane's future dreams!) than what a person would cover when recounting it with a specific purpose in mind. Again, it's hard to describe, but I didn't totally buy this as a letter someone would actually write.

But like I said, lots of interesting stuff in this extra. Maybe too much? If I were only reading the "main story," I think I'd be missing out on some pretty key info by this point.

Episode 9

Chapter 39 said:
"Heeheehee. Oh, you need nooooooot worry about that metalhead," the lion assured him. "In fact…" The lion approached Shane and looked right down at him. Shane shrank down into the sand, letting out a meek whine. "… I'd say he's a lot closer than you might think."
Because Shane's actually him, presumably...

Chapter 39 said:
Shane cocked an eyebrow, however, at the site of an unfamiliar Pokémon leaning on the wall by the stairs.
*sight of an unfamiliar Pokémon

Chapter 39 said:
"Null is a Pokémon that was made by hand in ancient times," Latias explained, drawing startled gasps from several Pokémon. "And we think the reason he was created was…" She gulped. "… to kill Legendary Pokémon."
Gyeesh, Latias, announcing that in front of everybody. Have a little tact!

He looked over his shoulder, but immediately had to turn away as a glare spread across his body.
Not sure what "a glare spread across his body" means.

Chapter 40 said:
He shook out his torso as the attack washed across him, and let out a satisfying sigh.
*satisfied sigh

Chapter 40 said:
"And why are you pronouncing it Ar-see-us? It's Ar-key-us," Espeon corrected.
Nah, I'm with Shane on this one. :p

Chapter 40 said:
"The scriptures I've read said, 'A blinding light enveloped the world. Stardust fell and the earth became ripe with magical treasures.'"
Ah, that's... Necrozma, isn't it?

Chapter 40 said:
"Gallian should be lucid," Luxeira reported. "That harness is supposed to suppress the corrupted Z-Power that he was exposed to. Those words are his own."
Mmmm. One would expect that to be Necrozma's, or perhaps one from Solgaleo/Lunala. Gallian remains the most mysterious character!

I admit I wasn't taken in by the fake-out over Espeon's potential death. Since you'd kinda just called my attention to the fact that the pokémon we've seen die so far have all kind of disintegrated, one way or another, the fact that Espeon's tail was still sticking out of the rubble suggested she was still alive. From the characters' reactions, though, they thought there was a good possibility she wasn't? So perhaps some kinds of pokémon deaths do leave behind a body. Or maybe they weren't thinking she was actually dead, but rather that she was going to be quite soon and it was too risky to try saving her.

Chapter 41 said:
"You don't think I don't realize that?" Shane snapped.
You want to get rid of one of those "don't"s.

Chapter 41 said:
Who… are you? Porygon2 asked, it's voice filled with static that made the trio to flinch.
"Its," not "it's."

And we start to learn about Null's creation. To be honest, yeah, it wasn't at all what I was expecting. I'd completely forgotten about the alchemical stuff in SuMo that people were going nuts about during early previews but which didn't end up coming to much of anything in the actual games. It does seem like a bit of a mishmash, with the unown and the ultra beasts and the alchemy all wrapped up in it, but since we know next to nothing about how type:null was supposed to be created, outside of the Arceus connection, it works well enough. Overall I found the flashbacks interesting, and I like that you included some of the reactions of the characters in the present day rather than just going full-bore through all of the different scenes from the past.

I think you did make Golem a little over-the-top evil, though. Like, he's talking about horrific-enough stuff already; having him do that while also having a poipole in the background screaming "Help me! Heeeelp meeeee!" seemed like a little much to me.

Also, Null still doesn't have his Memory Looplet back, does he? Interesting that that was apparently what triggered his psychological issues... which didn't go away once it was removed. I wonder what would happen if he had it returned to him?

I'm not totally clear on the timeline here. This is something that must have happened well over a thousand years ago, right? If everyone's forgotten little details like "the sun and moon disappeared once Solgaleo and Lunala were destroyed." In that case it seems weird that the lab's so intact, like I'd expect the equipment to be super rusted if not otherwise damaged or completely encased in rock. Any diary or other pieces of paper would probably just disintegrate on touch. This is pokémon, so you could always handwave some kind of spell/stasis thing keeping everything neat and tidy, but I don't recall that there was any indication that this area was being preserved at all? Or even blocked off from the rest of the caverns in any way? If the unown are so intent on killing Null, wouldn't they have come in here and razed the place if they were at all able?

Chapter 42 said:
A chorus of snarling rose up from the middle of the room. The duo's hearts skipped a beat. "… see? This is why… you should never have trusted them!" Null shouted. "They don't care about us. No one… cares about us! Kill the beast! Kill his friends! It's what they deserve. They used us! They must pay! Pay! Pay!" Null descended into shrieking and resumed struggling against his metal bonding.
Welp, we've officially gone full Gollum.

Chapter 42 said:
"R… Riolu…"

Tessa stiffened. Shane yipped as she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Hear that? He wants to kill me first," she squealed. "What am I supposed to do? I can't fight him. I'm not strong enough!"

"No… please," Null wheezed. "You can't… believe that. You're… my friend."
Damn. :( To be honest, the way this chapter was progressing, I was actually expecting Null's helmet coming off to be a bad thing, like evolution for the wrong reasons. In the end it did end up being about evolution and will presumably turn out to be a good thing (you posted Chapter 43 while I was working on this, heh), but in the end it happened after Null's friends had kind of turned their backs on him!

I think it might have been nice to build up to the mask coming off a bit more, or tie it more closely to how his friendships are progressing. The first crack that showed up on his helmet was a good example... It came at a time when Null was starting to feel more comfortable around Team Radiance and like he was actually making friends, so it was a nice confirmation of the effect it was having on him and an exciting moment because it sets up the expectation in the readers that something cool's going to happen with it. Since then the helmet has pretty much just taken damage when Null's been struck by it/banged his head against something; to me that makes it feel like there's less emotional resonance to it breaking down than there would have been if it were tied to more character moments.

Chapter 42 said:
I'm not supposed to here.
*to be here

Chapter 42 said:
"Praise be to our vaunted protector! Praise the Guiding Light!" a Clefable declared.
And a Big Damn Title Drop! I should have figured out that it was referring to Necrozma way back when it became obvious that Necrozma was a character, but of course I totally missed it. Although I wonder whether to some extent it's an artifact of an earlier version of the story? I think you mentioned that Necrozma used to be the real Big Bad, but things have kind of shifted in his relationship with Zero. He's obviously still important to the story, but it'll be interesting to see in exactly what way.

Some of the Necrozma videos felt a little on the nose to me. Like, Nicky blubbering about how he just want friends, nobody ever wants to be his friend, etc. I get that he's regressed to a child-like state, but I think people tend to be a little more oblique about that sort of thing? Like I don't think even a child would go on about everyone being mean to them and having no friends to someone they don't even know. Like, he's obviously under a lot of stress, but I would expect kind of that reaction but not so far, if that makes sense. Like, Golem saying he'll be the most powerful pokémon ever and Nicky going, "So people will like me?", but then without going on into the personal stuff about how he just wants friends, would seem like a more normal reaction to me. idk, maybe that's just someone with no mental filter for you, but the dialogue in that part in particular didn't ring true to me. The part where Golem huffs that he's already explained about the Sun/Moon but then goes on to explain it again for the audience's benefit also struck me as a little clumsy.

The actual content of the videos is verrrry interesting, though. Especially the part where Growlithe/Nicky gets expelled from Necrozma's body and disintegrated. He evidently still has Nicky's memories, though, and some remnants of his personality. So Nicky's spirit is still bound to Necrozma's body somehow, even though his original body was destroyed? It sounds like something similar with Shane... Necrozma mentions having wiped Shane out with his photon geyser, but if that does the "turns pokémon gray and disintegrates them" thing, then perhaps that ended up binding Shane's spirit to Solgaleo. Or, since Solgaleo's actual body seems to be gone, perhaps it was Solgaleo who got destroyed instead and blasted into the vulpix body of a former human. Or maybe they were both combined into one body not their own. Clearly *something's* up there, and Necrozma played an important role in it.

Chapter 42 said:
"Nice work, Espeon," Shane complemented.
You want "complimented," although this is one of those cases where I think "said" would work better, since the content of the dialogue is self-evidently a compliment.

Chapter 42 said:
He's kept our kind bounded together…
*bound together

Chapter 42 said:
Espeon briefly floated along the surface, before her lack of movement caused her to sink.
Pedantic, but absent any stuff weighing her down or general movement, she'd continue floating. "Dead man's float" and all.

Chapter 42 said:
"But even when I was at my lowest, my teammates were there to pick me back up. They believed in me! They supported me in spite of all the hardships they've faced."
Well, up until that point where Tessa was going on about having been wrong all along and having befriended a killer. ^^;

Chapter 43 said:
To Tessa's surprise, an oversized, raggedy towel sat atop Null's head, covering his face.
This is so sad but adorable.

Chapter 43 said:
Null put his talons on top of his friends' paws and finished, "… Team Radiance always finds a way." He shut his eyes, tears streaming down them, and leaned forward. He brushed his torso up against his teammates and craned his head and neck down, nuzzling the two of them. Shane and Tessa both returned the embrace.
Awwww. It's moments like these that make all the bickering and trauma and near-death experiences worth it.

Chapter 43 said:
The moment it reached a point where it snuggly surrounded his leg, his entire body went rigid.
You want "snugly." "Snuggly" would describe how Tessa and Null were acting earlier in this scene. :p

Chapter 43 said:
And a Pyroar pushing a Luxray off of a cliff.
I see what you did there.

Chapter 43 said:
'Wait. An older, more-experienced Pokémon is working with two kids. He has lightning-fast reflexes and powerful attacks at his disposal. And he's been displaced from the time he's originally from…' His eyes widened and his muzzle fell agape. 'Oh my god, he's not just some random coincidence. I'll bet he's our Grovyle. And that means… no matter what we try, we're gonna lose him!'

Shane's legs locked up and his gaze fell back to the ground. The soil beneath him swirled around in circles, until he found himself staring at the armored face of Solgaleo's imposter.

"Heeheehee… yes, exactly! One by one, those fakers will disappear, until you realize that your one and only friend is me… Necrozma!"
Mmm, well, that's certainly ominous. I'd be kind of disappointed if you went that route with it, but if not this would end up as a red herring. Shane's been seeing a fair number of things that differ from the games he's played, so I don't know how much the parallels with Grovyle do/should actually mean to him.

Overall this was a nice way to wrap up the arc, an ultimately upbeat, cute chapter (save the stinger at the end). After all the hardship and travail Team Radiance has gone through, it was nice to see them succeed at something for once and have a real victory. It was also interesting to see Shane and Tessa's roles reversed here, with Tessa having lost faith in Null and Shane pushing to go find him and try to get him back on the team. The way Tessa was framing the situation, more as her own fault rather than Null's--"I messed up, I let a monster onto the team--is really telling and appropriate for her character. It's a kind of self-absorbed view of the situation, more about her insecurities than about Null himself. And, again, it's nice to see her and Shane managing to overcome their reservations and usual hang-ups to reassure Null and entice him to return to the team.

Since I've been banging on the whole Shane/Espeon thing for a while, I will say that there was definitely a lot more of an indication of his crush in this section, haha. Previously I was confused because secondary characters would comment on it when I wasn't seeing it myself, but that definitey isn't the case here.

There was also a lot of interesting stuff introduced in Episode 9 in particular. Why has Necrozma gotten written out of Horizon's history? Obviously he went on a rampage and ended up sealed in Glyphic Falls, but why wouldn't he become a kind of bogeyman/cautionary tale in that case? One way or another, who would have the motivation to hide his existence? And after being damaged by Golem, is there any way he might be "fixed?" (One of those cases where I might have a better idea of what's going on if I'd played USUM.) It'll also be interesting to see what role alchemy will have in the story going forward, since it's something that seems pretty heavily bound up with the antagonists.

I think probably my favorite scene was the one between Zero and Necrozma back in Episode 8. Aside from clearing up some mysteries on its own, it gave a lot of insight into their characters. Before that we hadn't really gotten more than glimpses of them, with Zero getting a bit of villainous monologue in here and there but nothing as involved as that scene. And I think it was a great spotlight on them; definitely made me more interested in both of them, and it was a good introduction to Necrozma in particular.

With this episode, and Necrozma's ominous announcement at the end, I think we're moving towards seeing him as the primary antagonist. He's gotten a lot more interesting to me over the course of the last two episodes, and I look forward to finding out more about what exactly he's planning and how Shane plays into all of it. Of course, the issue with Metagross and Braviary is still simmering away in the background, and there are big questions about Gallian and the Ultra Recon Squad, too, and we've been seeing more of him lately. Not entirely sure which of those you're planning to tackle next, or if we'll go in a different direction entirely, but there's a lot of what looks like cool ground for you to cover, so I think it's bound to be fun no matter how it ends up playing out.

Congrats on 11k views! It was fun to look over the boss profiles you put together, sort of a "where we've been" look at the story so far. I'd completely forgotten about Marshadow until I saw him on the list. Wonder if we'll ever see that guy again. Anyway, I wish you at least another 11k views, lots of comments, and a lot of fun as you work towards completing this story!
 

Ambyssin

Winter can't come soon enough
Time to take Xenforo!Serebii for a test drive. And, if you're reading this in the future, we moved servers in the middle of the story! (Also, send me winning lotto numbers, please and thank you. <3)

I guess that means Necrozma's responsible for Shane's looplet?
The answer is yes and no. Episode 8 mentioned that Tapu Bulu likely granted Shane his looplet. But the upcoming episode 10 may just reveal why the Tapus can do something like that.

The scenes with Necrozma and Zero were probably my favorite. A lot of interesting new info in them, both in terms of character and in terms of worldbuilding and potential plot. I also quite enjoyed Necrozma trying to position his xurkitree lamp. It's a pretty classic bumbling-minion routine, but I thought it was cute anyway. In general I found Necrozma's patter less distracting and out of place in these segments than I had previously; not sure if that's just me warming up to him as a character, or whether I find the balance of ridiculousness and seriousness in these later scenes better than I did in earlier ones.
To be fair, I think I started to ratchet up his aggression levels a bit more... which is 100% intentional. I think I've said this before, but Dawn Wings and Dusk Mane Necrozma are unashamedly inspired by Aku, so the redecorating scene was pretty much my take on the occasional Samurai Jack scene involving Aku lounging about in his evil mansion. If you're not reading Necrozma's lines with Mako's (or Greg Baldwin's) voice in your head, you might as well start. Base form Necrozma (who you got a peek of) is more like Super Buu from Dragon Ball Z.

But in particular I liked the dynamic between Zero and Necrozma in the redecorating sequence. For all that Zero is a powerful villain who's been wreaking havoc on the world, here we get to see her much more vulnerable, and realize what a rough position she's actually in. She's clearly geting played by Necrozma on some level, she's physically a wreck, and seems more exhausted than anything.
Their dynamic is, as you allude to, a strange one. And that is the point. You're welcome to think Necrozma's leading Zero along. That could well be true. Or she could be setting things up to stab him in the back. The bonus did have one line in Zero's section implying she wants all of Necrozma's power for herself, which would mean taking him out of the picture... permanently.

The picture we get of the main villains here is less of sinister, powerful characters scheming against the protagonists, but more desperate, unhappy individuals who don't even like each other but are forced into semi-working-together for the moment. I thought it was a really good scene, and I'm hoping we'll get to see more of those two in the future, now that their identities have been revealed and the protagonists are starting to deal with them directly. The tidbit of the ultranecrozmarium being jammed into Zero's skull and presumably being the source of a lot of her power and control over Necrozma is definitely something that's going to be important going forward, too.
Glad you liked it. I do hope to show them both in their dynamic (of a sort) going forward. Actually, the exact nature of their relationship is spelled out between that scene and the Valentine's bonus. Remember that Prisma managed something crashing into her in Glyphic Falls? Since you're not familiar with Necrozma, I'll tell you right now that, in both its Dusk Mane and Dawn Wings form, it has a rainbow triangular prism embedded into its forehead, and USUM tells us that's Necrozma's core. But... in Guiding Light, we've seen Dawn Wings Necrozma with a red crescent moon on his forehead where the prism should be. Food for thought, perhaps?

Also really interesting to me is the idea that the prism virus doesn't actually alter a pokémon's mind--that is, that Espeon and Umbreon (and now Dragonite) are actually serving of their own free will, which of course makes for some lovely guilt. But the whole sequence with Dragonair also throws doubt on that idea too, of course. Because while she seems pretty enthusiastic about her evolution after the fact, she definitely didn't go into the "pokéball" willingly.
I will concede that, as you saw, there's some Iron Masked Marauder's Dark Balls-level stuff going on.

The wrinkle that Zero is actually in some sense capturing her allies, becoming their "trainer," is a really cool one, and a good example of a human character taking a different approach to things than a pokémon presumably would. I don't know how much Prisma would have known about the pokémon franchise from her time in the human world...
I guess I didn't spell that out well enough in the Christmas special (she mentioned beating old Pokémon games for human!Gallian), but she is familiar with the franchise and knows how catching 'mons works. Hence, it was her method of choice.

Something's up with his hand, huh? I wonder if the ultranecrozmera used to be embedded/attached there, as with Shane's looplet, and having it removed hurt him, or something entirely different is going on there.
Word of God: any time you see Necrozma's arms/wings spasming, that is a sign that Lunala is trying to free herself from the forced possession. In USUM, Dawn Wings and Dusk Mane have idle animations that's just their bodies twitching unsteadily.

lol welp. So much for Team ACT.
You think that's bad? Just wait until next episode! :V

There's a whole lot of blushing going on in this chapter, particularly from Shane and Lugia, which strikes me as weird because they're covered in fur/feathers, respectively. If they were blushing, who would even be able to tell?
I'm really just a talent-less hack who runs on anime logic. ^^;

The idea of legendary pokémon getting out of practice with their various abilities or simply never learning how to use them at all is an interesting one ... Maybe we don't need some kind of light-murdering infection scheme to get it done, but clearly if the legendaries don't get their **** together more crises are going to occur... and they don't appear to have learned much from the past couple potentially-world-ending problems that have come up.
Correct. In choosing to set this is a canon-analogue world, I really wanted to go down hard on the idea that the PMD world went back to being sunshine and rainbows after the events of the games (especially Dark Matter).

In general I'm less interested in the segments with members of the Expedition Society than in the ones centering on the Horizon continent.
I understand. Maybe I could've axed the scene, but I wanted to put a couple of things here to at least acknowledge that this is a global crisis. Especially with the way the villains are going to act next episode. Sorry you didn't like it.

You have so many facets to the central plot already that I think it might be better to keep things more tightly focused on the primary characters rather than branching out into more POVs. Things are holding together well enough so far, but I think if you bring in too many more plot threads you're going to have some trouble juggling everything that's going on with the different groups of characters.
Aside from Special Episodes and a few select instances, it's pretty much Team Radiance or Zero/Necrozma scenes from here on out. I know I've got a lot of factions, but they will be slowly coming together over the next few episodes, which I hope will streamline things and minimize juggling.

Definitely some interesting letters here! For me Nicky's definitely had more surprises, but it was also interesting to see things from Zero's perspective, how she justifies things to herself. It's sad, since she really does seem like someone who, at least initially, kind of let things get away from her until she was in way over her head and trapped by her bad decisions. The way she chose to deal with that wasn't great, but it was certainly understandable.
That's a relief to hear. I wasn't sure if I'd gotten that through.

The fact that Nicky's sounds a heck of a lot more lucid than he normally does is interesting, although it would probably have been tough to get through if you'd written it all in his over-the-top style. And I totally didn't guess that Nicky was actually Necrozma, although him talking about being friends with Shane "again" definitely got me thinking. I know you said to remember Shane's friend from earlier, but I totally didn't expect him to later pop up as one of the main antagonists!

And damn... his letter got dark. ._.
Isn't there some saying about authors putting themselves into their characters? This part has true-to-life connotations, unfortunately. Certain names and events were altered (and, well, the ending to it was different or this story wouldn't exist period).

However, these bits weren't tremendously plausible to me as letters.
I said they were impromptu for a reason. You're right in that they're not letters in the traditional sense. I sort of took a letter-writing therapy exercise that I'm familiar with and made it a chapter. *nervous laugh*

Because Shane's actually him, presumably...
It's a mystery! ... dungeon. I'll show myself out.

Not sure what "a glare spread across his body" means.
That was intended to mean bright light glancing off metal to cast a glare on someone. Lemme fix that... and all the other spelling/grammar thingies. *waves magic wand*

Ah, that's... Necrozma, isn't it?
Correct!

Mmmm. One would expect that to be Necrozma's, or perhaps one from Solgaleo/Lunala. Gallian remains the most mysterious character!
Perhaps an upcoming special episode will shed light on this?

I admit I wasn't taken in by the fake-out over Espeon's potential death ... Or maybe they weren't thinking she was actually dead, but rather that she was going to be quite soon and it was too risky to try saving her.
You pretty much reasoned it out for yourself.

And we start to learn about Null's creation. To be honest, yeah, it wasn't at all what I was expecting. I'd completely forgotten about the alchemical stuff in SuMo that people were going nuts about during early previews but which didn't end up coming to much of anything in the actual games. It does seem like a bit of a mishmash, with the unown and the ultra beasts and the alchemy all wrapped up in it, but since we know next to nothing about how type:null was supposed to be created, outside of the Arceus connection, it works well enough. Overall I found the flashbacks interesting, and I like that you included some of the reactions of the characters in the present day rather than just going full-bore through all of the different scenes from the past.
Glad to hear it. That stuff did go through extensive rewrites to try and improve.

I think you did make Golem a little over-the-top evil, though. Like, he's talking about horrific-enough stuff already; having him do that while also having a poipole in the background screaming "Help me! Heeeelp meeeee!" seemed like a little much to me.
That was entirely the point. Remember, this happened shortly after Dark Matter (the literal embodiment of hatred and negativity) was born into existence. So, yeah, the intention was for these Pokémon to be feeling resentful and rather duplicitous.

I'm not totally clear on the timeline here. This is something that must have happened well over a thousand years ago, right? ... In that case it seems weird that the lab's so intact
I guess I'll have to adjust that when I get to revising that chapter (I've been slowly going through, but it's been, like, one chapter per week). The intention was that Necrozma covered the place in massive black crystals (like what Porygon2 was found in). Guess I need to show that better.

Damn. :( To be honest, the way this chapter was progressing, I was actually expecting Null's helmet coming off to be a bad thing, like evolution for the wrong reasons. In the end it did end up being about evolution and will presumably turn out to be a good thing (you posted Chapter 43 while I was working on this, heh), but in the end it happened after Null's friends had kind of turned their backs on him!
There were mixed emotions. Shane was at least conflicted about everything.

I think it might have been nice to build up to the mask coming off a bit more, or tie it more closely to how his friendships are progressing.
I see what you mean. I'll keep it in mind for future revisions. Sorry, but I just can't get to it right away. :(

And a Big Damn Title Drop! I should have figured out that it was referring to Necrozma way back when it became obvious that Necrozma was a character, but of course I totally missed it. Although I wonder whether to some extent it's an artifact of an earlier version of the story? I think you mentioned that Necrozma used to be the real Big Bad, but things have kind of shifted in his relationship with Zero. He's obviously still important to the story, but it'll be interesting to see in exactly what way.
Not an artifact. The original title was Pokémon Ultra Mystery Dungeon (logical follow-up to Super + Ultra Beasts/Space), but then USUM became a thing. Dying Light was also considered as the subtitle and then discarded. Guiding Light has a double meaning. Both as Ultra Necrozma's title and the fact that a prism is literally a thing that guides light... by refracting it.

Some of the Necrozma videos felt a little on the nose to me. Like, Nicky blubbering about how he just want friends, nobody ever wants to be his friend, etc. I get that he's regressed to a child-like state, but I think people tend to be a little more oblique about that sort of thing?
I guess I'll see what I can do about that. Just, y'know, give me 20 weeks or so. I'm sorry. :(

The actual content of the videos is verrrry interesting, though. Especially the part where Growlithe/Nicky gets expelled from Necrozma's body and disintegrated. He evidently still has Nicky's memories, though, and some remnants of his personality. So Nicky's spirit is still bound to Necrozma's body somehow, even though his original body was destroyed?
There is a piece that's still missing that I am going to remain completely tight-lipped on. You'll have to wait and find out. ;)

Pedantic, but absent any stuff weighing her down or general movement, she'd continue floating. "Dead man's float" and all.
Note to future!Amby: give Espeon a bag of some sort. <.<;

Well, up until that point where Tessa was going on about having been wrong all along and having befriended a killer. ^^;
Note to future!Amby: fix that line too. (Also, buy toothpaste. You're almost out.)

This is so sad but adorable.
Null is just a little puppy. :3

Mmm, well, that's certainly ominous. I'd be kind of disappointed if you went that route with it, but if not this would end up as a red herring. Shane's been seeing a fair number of things that differ from the games he's played, so I don't know how much the parallels with Grovyle do/should actually mean to him.
Guess you'll have to find out later. XP

Overall this was a nice way to wrap up the arc, an ultimately upbeat, cute chapter (save the stinger at the end). After all the hardship and travail Team Radiance has gone through, it was nice to see them succeed at something for once and have a real victory. It was also interesting to see Shane and Tessa's roles reversed here, with Tessa having lost faith in Null and Shane pushing to go find him and try to get him back on the team.
Glad to hear it. I did want the role reversal part to feel genuine and not hackneyed in.

Since I've been banging on the whole Shane/Espeon thing for a while, I will say that there was definitely a lot more of an indication of his crush in this section, haha. Previously I was confused because secondary characters would comment on it when I wasn't seeing it myself, but that definitey isn't the case here.
I think you may have misunderstood them. All of the comments characters like Lycanroc, the hallucinogenic Darkrai, and even Espeon herself mad were them all taunting Shane... not them pointing out that he has a crush.

Why has Necrozma gotten written out of Horizon's history? Obviously he went on a rampage and ended up sealed in Glyphic Falls, but why wouldn't he become a kind of bogeyman/cautionary tale in that case? One way or another, who would have the motivation to hide his existence?
You're asking the right questions. Except Necrozma wasn't sealed in Glyphic Falls. In fact, exactly what happened to him will be vaguely answered in, like, 5 or 6 days... but not in a way you were expecting at all! ;P

It'll also be interesting to see what role alchemy will have in the story going forward, since it's something that seems pretty heavily bound up with the antagonists.
I have one little trick up my sleeve I'm hoping will catch folks by surprise (and maybe a bit of pleasant nostalgia).

I think probably my favorite scene was the one between Zero and Necrozma back in Episode 8. Aside from clearing up some mysteries on its own, it gave a lot of insight into their characters. Before that we hadn't really gotten more than glimpses of them, with Zero getting a bit of villainous monologue in here and there but nothing as involved as that scene. And I think it was a great spotlight on them; definitely made me more interested in both of them, and it was a good introduction to Necrozma in particular.
Glad to hear it. I had a lot of fun with that scene. ^^

With this episode, and Necrozma's ominous announcement at the end, I think we're moving towards seeing him as the primary antagonist. He's gotten a lot more interesting to me over the course of the last two episodes, and I look forward to finding out more about what exactly he's planning and how Shane plays into all of it.
Glad to hear you're invested. The Zero/Necrozma dynamic is... well, you can see there's something strange going on. And I hope this upcoming episode will serve to further that intrigue. Thanks for taking the time to leave such detailed thoughts. Sorry some of the stuff wasn't to your liking. Hopefully I can do better going forward. :)

As with the last bonus, some flavor music. You'll probably want this for the start and this when the conversations start kicking in. Enjoy!

XxX

Bonus #8: Memories

The first thing I remembered was waking up. I was on a floor. It was cold. And dark. I was so confused. But I couldn't form the words needed to ask what was happening. Golem never gave me the time to. He descended on me with his assistants. He frightened me. I wanted to tell him to stop. I wanted to ask who I was. And why I was in such a strange room. But I was still trying to figure out how to get my body to work. It wasn't listening to me.

Nobody out there can understand how I felt. No Pokémon has ever had to deal with thinking they don't belong in their body. To feel like they want to burst out of their scales. But that's what it was like for me. In those first few moments, something simmered inside of me. Trying to claw its way through the flesh Golem had created for me. I wanted to scream. To shout. To tell them all to back off. But then he slipped that looplet onto my leg… and my world descended into chaos.

Suddenly, I wasn't me. I was a wild Manectric, stalking the cliffs of Aurora Vale. Launching myself at an unsuspecting Eevee and slaying it with my claws. Then, I was a Sharpedo, prowling through the Midnight Sea to pray on unsuspecting Magikarp. And then I became a Snorunt, looking up in terror as an avalanche descended upon me. A thousand memories flashed by in a matter of seconds. I now had hundreds of sets of parents. I was hundreds of Pokémon's mothers. I was hundreds of Pokémon's fathers. But none of the thoughts were pleasant. In some, I killed my own children, because they refused to listen to me. In other memories, I was the child, abandoned to the forces of nature for proving to be too weak to survive in a harsh Mystery Dungeon.

I had barely been alive – been me – for seconds, when Golem stripped me of my identity and replaced it with this dreadful surge of emotions. A thousand voices rose up and screamed at me. They filled my mind with rage, terror, hatred, and despair. They overwhelmed me. Searing pain gripped my head. I wanted to make it all stop. So, I gave in. I let the fury consume me and slaughtered Golem's assistants. "They deserved it," the voices said. "Look at what they had done to us. They'd stripped all of us of our freedom!" Initially, I didn't understand that. But after everything in the Catacombs, I realized what those voices meant. I finally knew why I always felt my scales crawl. And why this body never felt "right." Because it wasn't my body. It was a body that shouldn't have existed. I wish I could've known that when Golem restrained me. Maybe it would have given me some peace of mind.

Instead, I had to lie on his table, gripped by confusion, fear, and agony. The voices shouted the whole time he put on the mask. "Struggle," they said. "These restraints mean nothing to us. Destroy him. Kill our creator and go free!" But I couldn't break out. They blamed me. They tried to completely wrestle away my control. But, by that time, the mask was already on.

The battle in the Catacombs made me remember how painful the mask was when it was first attached. Its weight pressed down on my neck and shoulders. It crushed my face until I couldn't even feel it any more. I was suffocating, so I roared in pain. I still couldn't speak coherently, but I would've begged Golem to kill me. The agony was unbearable. The voices had gotten quiet, but I could still hear them. And they had only grown angrier. But there was nothing I could do. The pain continued to swell until darkness swallowed up my entire world.

Then there was nothing, until I woke up in the Observatory. Those memories? They had been sealed off. It was like I was coming to life a second time. But this time, there was a sense that something was missing. I was incomplete. There was this giant void in my mind. The entire time the mask was on, I imagined some sort of missing puzzle piece sitting in front of me. But, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't reach it. In fact, the more I thought about it – the more I struggled – the further the piece drifted away. That became my reality. And, of course, there was the pain. The mask still weighed on me. It still suffocated me. And the voices were there. But they weren't making sense any more. I could pick out the occasional word…

Maim. Kill. Slaughter. Revenge.

… but I didn't understand why they were so hostile. It terrified me. The Pokémon who tended to me did so cautiously. I saw the fear in their eyes. I was different. And different was bad. Different was scary. I didn't know what to tell them. All I could think about was the voices. And the pain. I just wanted to make them stop. Shaking my head worked. And hitting the helmet – hard enough to dent the walls – that helped a bit, too. That freaked out the Pokémon I'd started living with. But I didn't care. Nobody really talked to me. Even once I figured out how to speak… I didn't have anything to say. So, for almost half a year I sat there in silence. Wondering who I was. Wondering how I ended up like this and why I hurt so much. But most of all… what had I done to deserve this?

That's when Riolu entered my life. Even though our first encounter was nothing special, it stuck with me. Even as the mask broke and all the voices came surging back into my mind, I remembered her. Those soft red eyes… filled with curiosity. But also holding a great sadness. And yet, I zeroed in on Shane at the time. Seeing him made the voices mad. "He's a mistake," they said. "We can sense it. He's a beast. You must kill him, before he kills us!"

I tried to ignore them. After all, I didn't expect that Shane and Riolu would show up at my sentry station. I wasn't prepared. I had to stretch my willpower to its limits to stop myself from pouncing on Shane and tearing him limb from limb. After that day, I had expected them both to give me the cold shoulder, just like everyone else in the guild. Heck, Shane took it a step further. He openly mocked me. Called me a freak. Those words hurt. But I didn't want to let him see that he was getting to me. If I did, I feared those voices would get so loud I'd lose control.

So, imagine how surprised I was when Riolu came up to me. She wanted to talk to me. She wanted to know about me. I thought she was screwing with me. But then she told me I should join her team. I was stunned. And scared. I hadn't spent any extended periods of time with other Pokémon. The closest I had come was with Trapinch. But he never said much to me when we were on sentry duty. The voices didn't care about him. That was good enough for me.

I'm still not one hundred percent sure why I agreed to Riolu's suggestion. Maybe it was to spite the voices? I vaguely recall them thinking Riolu was doing this to distract me and protect Shane. Which seemed pretty absurd. Or maybe I had actually gotten sick of being indoors? In hindsight, even that sounded ridiculous. No, I think the real reason was because I sensed something in Riolu. There was loneliness and emptiness inside her… just like me. I mean, yeah, she had Shane. But I didn't get the sense the two of them were close. It seemed like them working together was a matter of happenstance.

I must have latched onto that thought. Because I stayed with Team Radiance, even with the voices telling me to stop. Even with Shane taking whatever opportunities he could to take digs at me. Riolu kept me going. She was a beacon that drew me to her. When I talked to her, I actually felt like I was someone who mattered. Like I was meant to be at the guild. The idea of being an explorer didn't seem so alien to me anymore. That nagging sense of emptiness slowly started to close.

But then the Mellath Bog mission happened. I was a bit shaken up at the prospect of Shane and Riolu splitting up. Sure, I thought Shane kind of deserved it with the way he'd been acting. But a small part of me believed there was something off about it. When Riolu asked me to take part, I just wanted to make sure she and Shane stayed off each other's backs. Guilty doesn't even began to describe how I felt when I brought that mission crumbling down. Seeing that Poipole whipped the voices up into a frenzy. It must've been because of the Poipole that Golem used to make me. I lost all control. I attacked Shane. He almost drowned because of me. If it wasn't for Riolu, I would've done something horrible. Even then, I had destroyed the last of Shane's patience. I don't blame him for acting the way he did. I'll bet he was scared. And upset. I can't imagine I'd have acted all that much differently.

I could tell that the Mellath Bog mission ended in a bad way. I was worried about Riolu, so I followed her and Shane. I was blindsided by the turn things took at Riolu's old house. To say I was dumbfounded would be an understatement. The voices tried to seize on that. They wanted me to finish the job and take care of Shane. But I fought them off, for both Shane and Riolu. Because Riolu needed someone to be there for her. And Shane just needed someone to believe in him.

"You matter to me."

When I was trapped in those chains, I flashed back to the moment I said that to Riolu. Back on Azure Cape. Those words lingered in my head. They practically became tangible. I wanted to reach out and grab them. But the chains hurt so much, they made the voices come to life, seizing that memory and dragging it into the deepest, darkest abyss in the back of my mind.

Their collective anger bubbled up inside of me. But it still wasn't enough to break the chains. So, they turned their vitriol on me. It was like I was falling back into the dark place I had started at before I met Riolu. There was nothing I could do to stop myself from slipping… until the Unown showed up and I heard the cries of pain above me. That ignited a spark deep inside me.

I had finally found it. The missing piece of my mind.

I grabbed it tightly, refusing to let go. And then the chains crumbled, taking the mask with them. The lost memories all returned at once, including the ones from the spirits Golem had used to create me. For a brief instant, I thought I would pass out from shock. But then I saw Riolu and Shane. I saw how hurt they were. And I took the voices' anger and directed it toward the Unown. I got us out of the Catacombs. But the adrenaline burst had worn off. My control over the voices was fading. So, I ran. I ran and I didn't look back. But Riolu and Shane… they came for me anyway. They helped drive the voices back one final time. Thanks to them, I finally had an identity.

All of these thoughts ran through my head as Comfey tended to my wounds. She didn't say anything to me. Was it the black blood that threw her off? Or was it my face? It didn't matter to me. She finally gave me the okay to leave. My first inclination was to find Riolu. But, Comfey plopped a bar of soap on my back and pointed down the hallway. One look at the bloodstains on my fur told me she had the right idea. So, I plodded out of the infirmary and made for the showers.

They were empty, thankfully. It felt strange standing in them. Mostly because I had tended to avoid them my whole time at the guild. The mask made it too hard to shower properly. But it was gone now. Its remains buried deep underground, never to be seen again. I turned the handle. Hot water cascaded down my face. It felt so soothing. The steam loosened my muscles, while the water droplets pelted my feathers and fur. I looked down at the soap bar on the floor, and then glanced at my looplet.

Psychic.

A tingle ran down my spine. For a brief second, I vanished from the showers. Suddenly, I was a Gothitelle, levitating up a small soap bar to scrub a young Gothita's head while singing a lullaby about Lugia. I blinked and jumped back into the Observatory. I looked around in confusion. That memory wasn't like the others. It was… sweet. Heartwarming, even. I was astonished. Weren't the spirits inside me angry? And focused on all the bad things that had happened when they were alive? Why did I remember this?

I pushed that thought aside and concentrated. To my delight, the bar of soap fluttered into the air. I moved it onto my chest and started rubbing. The suds tickled my feathers. I let out a giggle. I liked this feeling! It made my fur prickle. I couldn't help but start humming. I must've stayed under that shower for a good twenty minutes. Thank the gods no one walked in on me. That… would've been really awkward.

I forced myself out of the shower and found a new sensation. My stomach gurgled. An invisible hand had taken hold of my insides and started wringing them out like a wet towel. At first, I was puzzled. But then more memories started surfacing. I became a Snover. Weary. Tired. And trying to drag myself up the Invern Mountains. I managed to crawl into a cave, where a friendly Vanillish lay against a wall. It had a trio of berries next to it. I perked up and went for the berries…

… except my beak only managed to snap up air. Because I wasn't actually a Snover anymore. But the message rang loud and clear. This was hunger. Riolu had told me about it. But, when the mask was on, it somehow blunted that feeling. Just like it killed all the feeling in my face. I shoved those thoughts away and marched down to the dining area. Steenee was in the kitchen. She was quite surprised to see me.

"Oh. Hi," she greeted, looking up. "Can I help you with something?"

"Um, when's dinner?" I asked.

She could tell I was a bit embarrassed. The psychic memories helped me see that. But, to her credit, Steenee smiled and told me, "I can whip something up quickly for you. I know it's been one crazy day for you and your teammates."

"I'd really like that," I said. Before I could really process what was happening, she popped out of the kitchen with a plate in hand.

"Here. Mixed berries with a nutmeg glaze," Steenee declared. "This is your first time eating a berry, right?" she asked. I nodded. "I figured. The glaze will help them go down smoother and settle your stomach. Go on, try it."

I leaned over and nibbled at the dish. Berry juice splattered against my beak. It wasn't all that much different from the shower. But the taste. Oh, gods, the taste! The sweet bits of fruit spread out across my tongue and took in every bit of the syrupy texture. My eyes widened. My tail wagged slowly. This was what food was like? I can't believe I'd gone so long without getting to experience it for myself!

… except that wasn't entirely true. I froze with my head hovering over the dish. And, just like that, I was a Rockruff, looking at a freshly-picked oran berry my Midday Lycanroc mother had scavenged for me. And then I became a Geodude, gripping mineral rocks in my hands, eager to scarf them down. I squeezed my eyes shut and returned to the present. Again, I was surprised. These seemed like pleasant memories. Had something changed? The voices… were they not angry anymore? I heard the faintest whispers in the back of my mind but couldn't make anything out.

"Is everything okay?" Steenee asked.

I turned and smiled at her. "Everything's fine," I chirped and gleefully dug into the rest of my dish. I probably should've eaten it slower. I could've savored it that way. But I didn't care. My mouth tingled for a good minute after I'd swallowed my last bite. I thanked Steenee and departed the dining area. The hunger was gone, but a fresh dose of sluggishness had taken its place. I had a strong urge to go curl up in a ball and fall asleep.

"Oh… hey."

Shane's voice snapped me to attention. "Were you looking for me?" I asked.

"No. I was napping in our room," Shane admitted, letting out a yawn. "Guess I must've lost track of time."

"Do you know where Riolu is?"

"She had gone downstairs to see Milotic," Shane said. "I think she's still down there. Want me to go get her? I don't mind getting yelled at for going into the veterans' quarters again. Odds are, Haunter's probably hiding in one of the walls."

I turned my head to the right. For a brief second, I saw a cloud of dark blue and purple floating in the middle of the wall. "Haunter, I see you in there," I said. It was a bit surprising, just being able to see a life force like that. But I wasn't all that bothered by it, strangely enough. I couldn't help but smirk when Haunter popped out of the wall, a disappointed look in his eyes.

"Great. Just we need. Another psychic killjoy," he grumbled, and floated off dejectedly. I turned back to Shane, who had a relieved look on his face.

"Thanks for that," he said. "but, uh, you never answered my question."

"Oh, right," I said. "No, it's fine. I don't want to disturb her. I was just curious." I started walking away, but Shane stepped into my path.

"Um… listen. Can I talk to you… f-for a second?" he stammered.

"Of course," I said.

"I, um… hang on," Shane said. He looked down at the floor and rubbed his forelegs together dejectedly. His mind was a fountain of nervousness, gushing all around him. That thought made me consider turning off the psychic memories. But, I ruled against it.

"Take your time," I said.

Shane took a deep breath. "I want to apologize. For the way I had treated you back when… y'know…" He awkwardly pawed at the ground. "Back when the mask was on."

"I see," I muttered. It was refreshing to hear that. I knew that I had tried to come up with reasons why Shane acted the way he did. But at the time, I wasn't sure how much I really believed them. "You know, some of that stuff was pretty hurtful."

"I had no idea how bad things were for you," Shane said.

There was more to it than that. I wanted him to admit it. "And?" I said, trying to coax what I wanted to hear out of him.

Shane's shoulders sagged. "And I guess I was being pretty selfish," he whispered. He didn't see me give an approving nod. That's exactly what I hoped he would say. "So, um, I want to say… thanks. For encouraging me to do better. And saving my life today, of course." He stuck his forepaw forward. "Friends?"

Sure, it was just a word. But hearing it made my heart flutter. I stuck my foreleg forward and pressed my claws against his paw. "Friends," I said. We both lowered our forelegs and stared at each other for a moment.

"Heh…" Shane whispered. He blinked a few times. "I'm, uh, gonna go see if I can get something to eat. Catch you later." He walked past me, heading for the dining area.

Having a metal beak made smiling pretty hard. I could curve it slightly. But I had to settle for opening my mouth. I couldn't help it. The joyful thumping of my heart. The prickling of my fur. The tingling in my hind legs. I liked it. The idea of being happy. When the day started, that seemed out of my reach. But somehow, I had found it. I was staring it in the eyes. It even seemed to be soothing all the spirits inside of me.

That's when I heard their voices. "Go outside," they whispered in unison. "Please… do it for us." There wasn't any malice to them. And it was a simple enough request. So, I climbed up the stairs, and made my way out through the main entrance. I stepped onto the grass and plodded toward the edge of the hill. I lay down and looked up into the sky.

The sun was setting. It had painted the sky a mix of yellow and orange. Warm sunlight spread across my face. I shut my eyes and let out a happy trill. The heat wrapped my face up like an invisible blanket. As it did, memories flashed through my mind. I saw the same sunset, but this time I was on a plateau, overlooking lava. I was a Charizard, with a pair of children climbing onto my back to get a better look. Laughter filled up my mind. It quickly disappeared, and instead I was a Swablu sitting on Mt. Freeze. Fluffy wings enveloped me, and I looked into the shimmering eyes of my Altaria mother…

"Shane said you wanted to see me?"

I blinked a few times and turned to see Riolu standing there behind me. "Not exactly. I was just curious where you were."

"Right," Riolu mumbled. There was trepidation in her voice and it made my scales crawl. I still needed to get used to the more sensitive hearing that came with losing the mask.

"You can join me, if you'd like," I offered, scooting to the side. There were a couple of seconds of silence, followed by the crinkling of paws on grass. Riolu sat down next to me. Her shoulder brushed against mine, tickling my fur. I clamped my beak shut to avoid chirping and startling Riolu.

"What are you doing out here, anyway?" Riolu asked.

"I wanted to see my first sunset," I said.

Riolu looked at me in shock. "Wait… that doesn't many any sense. You've been here for months. Surely, you must've seen plenty of sunsets."

"Not really," I said. "Actually, I never left the Observatory before I met you." I poked at some blades of grass. "My old bedroom didn't have any windows, so I never saw a sunset until now. I don't think it would've mattered much, anyway. The mask… it made it pretty hard to see anything that wasn't directly in front of me."

"I'm so sorry," Riolu whispered, leaning her head against my shoulder. A warmth surged inside of me. My heart fluttered again.

"Don't be. It's not your fault," I said. "I mean, technically the spirits have seen plenty of sunsets. But I wanted to experience one as me." I furrowed my brow. "That… probably didn't make much sense. Sorry."

"No, it's fine. I think I can understand," Riolu said. She sighed.

"What's bothering you?" I asked.

"Huh? N… nothing! I'm okay," Riolu said. She was lying, but I didn't want to make her uncomfortable. So, I quickly backed off.

"How's, uh, Milotic doing?" I asked instead.

"Not so hot," Riolu said. "I think she's taking Dragonair's departure pretty badly. She's blaming herself. Told me that if she had just stayed by Dragonair's side the whole night, maybe she would've stuck around."

"Maybe." I gave a little shrug. "I don't really think any of us could've possibly known what was going through Dragonair's mind yesterday. Well, except for Metagross, I suppose." Tessa shuddered, bristling my fur. "Yeah. The less said about him, the better," I added. Silence followed. Tessa's trepidation continued sounding through my head. I turned and looked at her. Her aura feelers kept twitching and rubbing up against my leg. My chest knotted up. I didn't want to upset her, but I hated seeing her conflicted like this.

"Riolu, I'm a psychic-type right now," I said. She looked up at me and her eyes widened in realization. "I can tell something's troubling you. Please… just talk to me," I begged. "I want to help."

Riolu slumped down. "I'm not really sure it's something you can fix. It's… complicated."

"Complicated is my life," I said, adding in a chuckle for good measure. "Try me."

"I was just thinking," Riolu whispered, "about what I saw in the Catacombs." She wrapped an arm around my knee. It was weird, feeling her fur brushing against my chitin. "It was hatred that drove Golem to do everything that he did, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well–" Riolu took a deep breath. "–Isn't it pretty much the same with Zero? She wants to destroy all the Legendaries. She has that same hatred Golem had. And, judging by Espeon's memories, it sounds like she might be related to the Guiding Light thing that Golem created. Umbreon seems to think it may have possessed Lunala somehow."

My chest tightened as yesterday's conversation with Shane sprang to mind. He was absolutely sure that Zero was Riolu's mom. And I believed him. I wanted to tell Riolu about it so badly. But seeing her sitting there next to me… trying to keep her composure… I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Instead, I said, "She's not going to succeed. Someone will find a way to stop the Prism Virus."

Riolu winced. "I guess so," she mumbled. "I just wish we didn't have to do this."

"Do what?"

"Y'know… fight the Prism Virus," she whispered. Riolu turned to the side. Her snout came to rest on my back and she let out a shaky breath. "After a year on my own – of feeling lonely all the time – I've finally found someone I can relate to. Someone who's filling the voids that my family left."

She was talking about me, of course. Though I also saw the faintest glimpses of Shane in her mind. Granted, it was only the Shane from the last couple of days. But he was still there. I didn't say anything. I couldn't figure out to respond. So, Riolu continued, "All I want to do is spend time with you. Relax. Maybe play games, like we did this afternoon. I want to go back to the fun times I had before my family started disappearing…"

Something wet dripped onto my fur. My heart sank.

"I want to recreate those nights on the beach with Gallian, gazing up at the stars, telling stories, and eating roasted marshmallows. I want to bring back the picnic lunches I had with Mom and Dad in Sunrise Village. B… but… I can't." Riolu shivered. "Instead, we wake up every morning, and our backs are put against the wall. Every day seems to bring new, terrifying things for us to deal with. And I just…" She sucked in a breath. "I just don't know how we can possibly make it through this stuff."

Her head flopped onto my back, making me grunt in surprise. "You've been the lone bright spot in all of this for me," she whispered, rubbing my back with a paw. "Shane's… getting there. I'm much more comfortable around him now. But you're still my best friend." She got choked up. "I almost lost you today. And not to the Prism Virus. To my own cowardice." Her snout brushed against my fur. "I don't want to fight the Prism Virus anymore. Because I don't want to lose you. I've lost everyone else. I need you in my life."

I shuffled to my right, giving me room to crane my head to my left. "Riolu," I whispered. I pulled psychic power up from my pool of spiritual energy. It rushed up my neck and settled at the tip of my beak. I leaned over and gently touched the tip of my beak to Riolu's forehead. Her ears stuck up and her aura feelers stiffened. She squeaked in surprise.

"W… what are you–?" she started, but then her eyelids slowly fluttered closed. I wrapped my upper body around her and squeezed her in a tight embrace.

"I'm not going anywhere," I said. "You're right. Golem did make me with hate in his heart. He wanted me to channel hate… and use it to kill. But that's not what I want. I have friends now. You and Shane… you make me happy. You've helped the voices remember the happy moments from their lives."

"I… I did?"

I nodded. "That's why I'm going to put a stop to the Prism Virus. I'm going to fight so that Pokémon of all shapes and sizes can know this feeling. This happiness. And it starts by taking out the Prism Virus," I said. "And when that's done… I promise, we'll spend a day together at the beach." I nudged the tip of her snout with my beak. "Just the two of us."

It took a moment for my comment to sink in. When it did, Riolu blinked the tears out of her eyes. A smile crept onto her muzzle. She rested her head against my shoulder and rubbed my back. "Thank you," she sniffled. "That would really mean a lot to me."

"You're worth it," I said.

"Oh… I'm interrupting something, aren't I?"

My head snapped around to see Shane standing behind us. I was surprised I didn't sense him coming, but I guess that meant I still needed practice with my new powers. Shane looked down and sheepishly poked at the grass with a forepaw. "Err… sorry… I didn't mean to bug you guys. I'll, um, go back inside."

He was halfway turned around when Riolu said, "Shane, do you want to join us? We're watching the sunset."

My eyes widened. I had considered making a similar offer, but figured Riolu wouldn't like that. Guess I wasn't the only one full of surprises. Shane turned back around, his tails wagging independently of each other. "Are you sure? I wouldn't want to intrude," he said.

"You're fine," Riolu said. "I think after the last couple of days, we could do with a quiet moment like this… as a team."

Shane's ears perked up and he walked over. He looked between me and Riolu. To my surprise, she scooched closer to me and patted the grass next to her. Shane smiled and sat down next to her. I lowered my head down to the grass. Riolu leaned over and rested against my shoulder. Shane looked awkwardly at the two of us, until Riolu extended a paw. Shane scooted closer and lay down on the grass. His head came to rest in Riolu's lap.

"I wish this moment could last forever," Shane sighed.

"Me too," Riolu said.

I nodded silently. Golem had created the God Killer to make his hateful wishes come true. But after today, I wasn't the God Killer anymore. I was Silvally. And I was going to fight to preserve happy memories like this one.

XxX​

Next time: come back at the start of the month for a new holiday special... and Team Radiance's craziest adventure yet!
 
Last edited:
Top