Namohysip
Dragon Enthusiast
Thanks for the reviews, Fobbie! I got to you elsewhere, but I appreciate the reviews as always and am glad this first arc has been shaping up so well!
Next up ,chapter 152... the first chapter in a while to not feature any scene breaks.
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Alexander blasted through the ship’s mast. They hadn’t seen it coming and had no time to maneuver it, but Dhelmise was already shouting at the skeleton crew to get to work pulling the ship away from the next incoming blast.
“Why?! Why is he following us now?! I thought the clash at South Null put him out of commission!” Owen frantically searched for something he could do, but at such an incredible distance, he had no idea. He didn’t have the power to properly deflect those attacks… did he?
No. No, he did! He’d done it before, and that was up close! Maybe…
Another blast soared through the skies. At its trajectory, Owen was sure it would be hitting the mast again, and without that, their remaining travel time was going to double or worse.
He spread his wings and leaped in the way, crossing his arms to form a Protect shield. The golden light shifted and hardened, lined with tinges of dark tendrils. Owen gasped softly but decided to worry about that later as the blast approached.
With the Protect still up, Owen breathed and focused on that energy. Once it struck—much weaker from such a great distance—he squeezed his claws and twisted it around. He felt it, that horrible energy. He could control it. It was so familiar.
The dark tendrils of his Protect surged with power and helped him grasp it completely, and then reflect it all at Alexander.
He easily weaved out of the way. It would be several seconds before it would even get to where it could have hit Alexander. Parrying them to hurt Alexander would be pointless at this distance.
But he could still deflect it.
“Good job!” Demitri cried. “Are you hurt?!”
“No! Just fine,” Owen said. “But it’ll get harder the closer he gets…”
Was there a way he could try to weaken Alexander?
“How far is he?!” Owen called.
“Better question, how soon ‘til he gets here?” Gahi added, flying up. “Ehhh…”
Owen couldn’t rely on Gahi to give a good estimate, but he had a feeling they only had a few minutes before Alexander would start doing melee combat, and at that point, it would be far too dangerous. They had to drive him away before that.
At this point, the crew had rushed out of the deck, about ten strong along with Team Alloy. But really, Owen didn’t think these ten would be able to do much against Alexander himself. Was there any point in them even being out here?
The next blast was incoming, and five of those Pokémon rushed forward. All of them could fly or levitate.
“No!” Owen cried. “Don’t—”
The blast struck something with a horrid, ethereal ringing that deafened Owen. Something splashed, and Owen could only imagine, just outside of his Perceive’s range, a Pokémon being pulled underneath those black depths forever. But when he counted the heads, all five were still there, surrounded by golden spheres in a hexagonal pattern.
“What?” Owen whispered. “They all have Necrozma’s blessing…”
“We brought specialists for just this problem,” explained Dhelmise in another of his ominous whispers. “According to our findings, we are quite resistant to the dark. It seems to be… hereditary.”
Hereditary.
Owen gulped hard. These… were his children. His descendants. Did any other person blessed with Necrozma have children? Were all of them descendants of Alexander too, who broke off because they had inherited the light, not the dark?
He couldn’t tell them. It wasn’t even relevant to their lives. He was nothing but a historical note to them, in the end; that connection… was a secret he had to keep to himself for now.
Mispy was staring at him.
“I’m okay,” Owen said to her.
“They can’t last,” Mispy warned.
“Huh?”
A third volley came, deflected again, but some of them were wavering and sinking, their stamina wearing down. She was right; this was yet another instance of just buying time.
“I’m gonna help,” Gahi finally said.
“Gahi, you can’t take Alexander on directly! Just one strike and—”
“Maybe I can’t,” Gahi snarled, “But we can! Demitri, Mispy! C’mon, you with me?!”
“I am,” Mispy said, nodding.
“W-wait!” Owen shouted. “We just—fight him at sea? What if we fall?!”
“Carry me with you,” Mhynt ordered. “I will help you resist any Shadow tricks he throws.”
Zena winced; Owen realized that she, without being able to take advantage of the seas, would not be able to do much here except—
“Zena, accelerate the boat from here!” Owen said. “We can get more time that way so we can think of something else.”
“Of course!” Zena nodded.
“Owen,” Trina spoke up next, frowning at him. “I think what we should do now is coordinate with Palkia and the others. This is a crisis; perhaps Arceus or the others may be able to help.”
“R-right!”
“I’ll get the communicator. You help deflect more blasts. We cannot let the boat sink!”
Another clang, but this one was a stray shot easily deflected. It seemed Gahi, Demitri, and Mispy—fusing into Migami—were already halfway to Alexander with Mhynt on their back.
Mesprit and Azelf, meanwhile, emboldened the defending crew with valor and extra bursts of courage to keep fighting, while Uxie augmented their defenses directly with psychic barriers.
Once their strength began to waver, Owen swapped in next, trying to distract Alexander with a scattershot repulsion of his next attack. When the Shadow Blast struck the barrier, rather than reflect it exactly, Owen tried to aim it skyward and curve the energy downward. It wasn’t nearly as effective, but it did force Alexander to watch more cautiously as Migami lobbed potshots from afar.
He wanted them to return quickly, though. One wrong move and Migami would…
“Owen!” Trina called, tossing the communicator to him.
“Is something wrong?” Palkia said.
“Palkia!” Owen said. “We have a problem. Alexander found us and he’s flying straight for us!”
“Goodness, that’s soon. I thought he was recovering.”
“Did you ever see actual injuries on him, or was he just turned away?”
“Hmm, our scouts were quite confident he’d been wounded… But there is no telling. Ah, well. A shame, really. So! What is your plan?”
“MY plan?!” Owen sputtered but then jumped in the way to take over for more blasts. They were getting faster; Alexander was starting to fire more wildly, and he was halfway to them. Rapidly closing the distance. And they couldn’t let him get into melee range…
“As much as I want to help, I do not think I can safely use my spatial warping to get to you,” Palkia remarked. “And, really, Alexander would surely trump my powers in that realm, to begin with… I could certainly try if you wish.”
And risk Palkia falling under Alexander’s control again? Or any of the other Legends? That wouldn’t do.
Another rumble. Migami had to fall back; it looked like one of the Shadow Blasts had nearly grazed them. Thankfully, Mispy’s judgment trumped Gahi’s pride, and they were falling back.
Alexander was nearly as fast. This wasn’t going to work! And at this rate, even with Zena’s acceleration, the ship was…
“…Palkia,” Owen said, “Palkia! Can you get me a Dungeon?!”
“A Dungeon? Right where you are? Not really, no. I would need something to tune to, and is Mu there?”
“No. We haven’t found her. She’s—”
“Mu is with us,” Spice reported. “Dunno if she’ll understand to go to you guys, and—”
“No, no, no, don’t put her here. If Alexander sees her—”
A chorus of objections accompanied Owen.
“Alright, alright!” Spice said. “I wasn’t suggesting! But what, Owen, a Dungeon?”
“Yes. If Alexander is too strong in the Voidlands, what if we… just… put him into Kilo and tried to take him out there?”
A beat. Then another chorus of objections. Reshiram’s was the loudest. “Bring him right home?! Are you insane?!”
“We need to get to Necrozma,” Owen said. “And… if you can get to a remote area, it’ll be safer. Get some of the Guardians to suppress him. We might be able to get rid of Alexander and get to Necrozma on this one trip! If he’s going to chase us this aggressively…”
Mhynt hurled a conjured Leaf Blade at Alexander’s chest. For once, it had connected, but the rampaging Dragon kept flying as if he didn’t even feel the blade in his body.
“That still has the problem of not having the means to connect to you, Owen,” Palkia pointed out. “I’d need a part of your body, and you did not donate such things for research.”
“Why would I—” Owen grumbled, rubbing his forehead. “There has to be some way. Maybe some dropped scales from Zena at home? I shed patches of scales, I think, err…”
“That would produce quite a weak signal,” Palkia hummed. “I may not be able to get a substantial enough connection to form much of anything like that.”
“Ah!” Dialga exclaimed. “No! We have just what we need!”
“What? How?” Owen asked.
“When Rhys—when I had taken your horns after sparring with Trina’s doubles of Team Alloy!”
Owen thought back. Yes, he remembered seeing Rhys slip those broken horns into his bag ‘because it might be useful later.’ He was just hoarding.
And for once it was true.
Wait.
“You still have those?!” Owen blurted.
The crew cried out again, several of them forced to fall back to the deck. They were trembling with fatigue and didn’t have the strength to fly or float any longer. Owen grunted and went back to the skies again. Alexander was getting more distracted by Migami, but that meant he was spending time trying to down them.
“GET BACK!” Owen shouted. Then, to the communicator, “Okay, please, get it quickly! Palkia, how soon can you configure that device to create a Dungeon in front of me?”
“Well, I suppose I can quickly find a free area, get some Guardians, perhaps two minutes?”
“Then go! Don’t hesitate, go!”
No response. Another Shadow Blast carved its way across the water, leaving a fissure down the blackened sea. Owen dove down, mere feet away from the water’s surface, and conjured another Protect to block its path and scatter it back. The countless rays would make it harder for Alexander to dodge, but he could only hope Migami would avoid any friendly fire.
There still was no response from Palkia, but Migami was retreating more, disappearing in flashes of light to get faster. Alexander was hot on the trail.
“Hello?!” Owen called again. “Palkia, answer!”
“Erm, he left,” Dialga said. “When you said don’t hesitate, well, he disappeared into the floor.”
“Oh.” Well, at least his very literal interpretation helped this time around. “Er—good! Hopefully, he’ll be back on time… We’ll hold the line!”
The crew seemed exhausted. Alexander did not. But now that Alexander was closer—he could see the three heads individually, now—it seemed he was switching his rhythm to stronger, mid-range attacks. From his smaller heads, he opened his jaws and blasted into the water, conjuring whirlwinds of darkness. He hurled them in horizontal arcs toward the ship, flanking them on both sides.
“Zena! Give us a push, we need to outpace that storm!”
“I can’t outrun that!” Zena shouted from below.
But she could slow its approach. “Go as fast as you can! I’ll try to dispel them!”
“Dispel?!” cried one of the crewmates—an Illumise who seemed aged enough that her tone alone explained to Owen, ‘You idiot, that isn’t how storms work.’
A lot of things didn’t work properly anymore. Owen had to try what he could.
He veered to the right, going straight to the first storm, and conjured another shield. The storm batted against him while cutting up his back, deafening him to everything else. He’d have no idea if they were calling for him anymore amid the acidic howling. Everything in front of him was a swirl of purples and blacks, but all the same, he could feel that essence. Control it, claim it, all the same, Mimicking that power and then claiming what was in front of him as his own.
Once he became the eye of the storm, Owen whirled around and pointed at the other one, and the storm obeyed. They clashed, opposites in direction, leaving turbulence in the water and nothing to strike the ship itself but a few flecks of water.
“H-ha!” Owen panted. “That… that worked.”
A shadow loomed over the ship.
“Uh?”
Alexander had conjured a wave twice the height of the ship.
And Owen had no idea how to counter something like that.
“Zena! Just keep pushing!” Owen sputtered just as Migami appeared beside him, grabbing him by the arm and hauling him to the deck rather than floating above the water.
“Migami! I can’t just sit here—”
“Hold still,” Migami ordered. “Keep this place stable. Save anyone who falls!” And then, they Teleported behind the boat.
Just as Owen got to his feet, the boat lurched forward and knocked him over again. Muttering to himself, Owen focused on his Perceive…
Zena was at the deck’s very edge, practically hanging off the back of the ship while focusing on the water’s currents. Blackened and tainted or otherwise, it was still water, and Zena had control over it.
But what worried him more was Migami flying near the ship’s base, hands only inches away from the ship itself as their wings pumped and pumped. Owen didn’t understand the pose; their hands weren’t touching the ship, and it was like their many tendrils were pushing off of something that wasn’t there, being crushed by an unseen force.
And then he realized it was their Psychic energy. They were creating barriers to gain purchase on thin air. Perhaps they were pushing another barrier on the ship itself, literally using brute strength and the Psychic Orb’s energy to push as far as they could to accelerate.
Migami was roaring just barely louder than the incoming wave that loomed over them like a blackened avalanche. Alexander’s eyes, like red pinpricks behind the water, locked onto Owen’s for a split second and the breath in his chest left him.
“H-hurry,” Owen whispered. “P-please, hurry.”
He had to do something. Anything. But what was he supposed to do?
The ship was decelerating. Migami didn’t have enough power to outrun a ship, even with all their speed and Zena’s assistance.
“Migami!” Owen cried, finally finding his feet.
“I’m tryin’!” Migami whimpered back. On their backs, the Trio of Mind was enhancing their barriers, but they could only do so much, too. They just needed a little more power.
Just a little more.
Owen took a slow breath. He had to stay calm, but he couldn’t think slowly. He was useless here.
He thought back to his nightmare. When he was useless, he had to rely on his friends. He had to lend them his power, even if it was direct, and even if it would leave him with nothing.
While he couldn’t go to that extreme, he could still do something. He could Bestow his power, just like before. Bless his friends, not just objects or the ground. Store his power within them.
He envisioned his friends not as immutable people, but as vessels for more power. Something that can take more than he had given before; entrusting them with himself, in a way. And as they struggled and cried for everything they had, Owen tried to answer.
“Take it,” Owen whispered. “Just one more push!”
The membrane of his wings flashed gold, and he slammed his hands on the ground. The energy shot through the wood, ignoring it completely, and siphoned into Zena. His other hand aimed at Migami, and the same golden energy enveloped them. His Perceive couldn’t see the effects, but his eyes did. A bright gold enveloped them both.
He couldn’t stand. When the boat lurched again, doubling in speed, the most he could accomplish was feebly reaching out to scattered, toppling crewmates so they didn’t hit the deck’s edge as he had.
Somehow, they outpaced the wave, and the wave itself lost its momentum. Distantly, Alexander’s frustrated cursing reached them.
Migami Teleported next to him, setting down a limp Zena.
“G… good job,” Owen said. “How’re you feeling?”
Migami collapsed into a pile of a Haxorus, Meganium, and Flygon.
“Yeah… figured,” Owen said.
“Owen!” Palkia said. “Owen, if you may answer? I have everything set up!”
A nearby crewmate stared at the communicator on the ground. Owen gestured tiredly for it, while Uxie looked through their bags for a spare Oran or Elixir to help return their strength, offering the latter to Owen.
“Good,” Owen said. “When I say now, you need to activate it. Okay? Are you somewhere safe?”
“On such short notice gathering who I can, yes. Near enough that backup can be called, but far enough that immediate threats are not a concern.”
Owen nodded, then remembered Palkia couldn’t see that. “Okay. Just wait for my call. It might be a few.”
Alexander was out of massive storms and waves. Perhaps he was also tired. Or he was just impatient. One way or another, though, he was still surging forward. Without Zena or Migami to accelerate them, he was also so much closer.
“He wants me,” Owen said. “I’ll take him on.”
“What?!” Demitri shouted. “We can’t do that! You’ll—”
“If you hit that water, it’s over, Demitri,” Owen said. “It was risky enough with you taking him on once. We can’t do that again. I just need to… get close to him.”
“Owen, can you explain what your plan is? Please?” Demitri begged.
“Palkia will make a Dungeon and warp him out right on time. Into Kilo, where that place will dissolve him. He’s of Void, so he’ll dissolve. He might even become a Deino again if I’m lucky!” Owen puffed. “Trust me, okay?”
He looked uneasy, but the hasty explanation was enough for Demitri to acquiesce. “Let us help, too. We’re still weak, but…”
“I’ve got a second wind goin’,” Gahi growled.
Mispy ate a pouch of Elixirs and pulled Demitri into her vines. As Gahi taunted the air, she dragged him in next.
The Elixir did its job for Owen, too. His stamina, while temporary, had been restored. With a powerful kick off the deck, Owen flew through the skies and got at the same elevation as Alexander, about twenty feet above the sea.
“Alexander!” Owen shouted. Then, murmuring into the communicator, he said, “On second thought, Palkia, not when I say so. Wait until I roar.”
“Ooh, dramatic.”
“Shh!”
Alexander was not one for conversation. By Owen’s estimates, he was about ten seconds away. Owen tried to close the gap, flying forward.
Alexander veered away.
“What?” Owen whispered. “H-hey!”
By the time Owen countered his momentum to chase Alexander again, he’d clashed with Migami. He could only be glad that Migami was fast enough to dodge it.
Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf backed them up. Each psychic blast was tinged with their divine power, trying to siphon away from Alexander’s mind like before.
But this time, he’d been more prepared. Every time Uxie tried to erase Alexander’s memory of his attacks, a puff of darkness splashed off of the Hydreigon’s forehead. Every attempt to demotivate him from Azelf only made a dark, once invisible armor over his chest flash. Mesprit tried to make Alexander apathetic to those same tricks, but that strange dark shield blocked their attempts.
“What is that?” Owen whispered. “Was that what he was preparing?”
He’d seen something like this before. It reminded him of the way Rhys had armor made of solid aura. Could that interfere with psychic waves? He had no time to theorize—only that Alexander had come prepared this time.
He was overpowering Migami and the three. Trina had gone in to hide with Zena, but they were still watching as if to find an opportune moment to strike.
Where was Mhynt?
Just then, a beam from above slammed Alexander into the water. Owen gasped and followed the beam to its source—Mhynt, with a shadowy Lunala looming behind her, fading away just as the beam’s true might ended.
“Nice shot!” Migami shouted.
“He’s coming back!” Mhynt warned.
Of course. Alexander was immune to the water. If anything, it was his domain more than anything else.
Mhynt conjured a Leaf Blade and crouched, but a blast from below caught her off guard. She narrowly dodged out of the way, deflecting the blast over her shoulder.
Cursing, she called, “Don’t let that hit you if you don’t have Shadows!”
“Oh, I never would’ve guessed!” Migami shouted back.
The Hydreigon burst from the water, snarling, wordless. He lunged for Migami again, and this time, he was just fast enough to graze their shoulder. The cut ate away at their flesh by several extra inches, widening the wound before a wave of healing halted its advance.
“Stop!” Owen cried. “Don’t you want me?!”
But Alexander pursued. As Migami tried to blip away to gain more distance, Owen noted their stamina was running low. That graze wasn’t doing them any favors, either. The Trio of Mind tried to halt Alexander, but all that accomplished was earning a few retaliatory blasts from Alexander’s scales, like his body itself was repelling against him.
Alexander was closer. And Owen felt… something. His Perceive clued him in… on a squirming inside Alexander’s body. Void Shadows—how many?—stuffed just beneath his scales, powering him while tearing up his insides at the same time. Owen had no idea how painful it was or how long Alexander could maintain it… but it was augmenting him the same way his Orb was.
He was even stronger than before.
“C’mon!” Migami shouted. “That all y’got?!”
They finally gathered enough light and blasted Alexander with a searing ray of a Solar Beam. It was a direct hit, enough that Owen had to double back and cover his eyes.
But his Perceive showed him the result. Alexander, parts of him ripping off only on the surface level, flew straight through the beam and followed it to its source. Migami couldn’t see it. Too focused on the beam. There was no alarm in their body language.
“RUN!” Owen screamed.
Alexander’s jaws clamped onto their neck. Crunched. And their body went limp, shocked surprise in their expression.
He crunched harder and something tore. Owen’s curse of perception forced him to witness every detail of that chunk of flesh sliding down Alexander’s throat, and then, with a careless push, Migami was thrown into the water.
They were still alive, barely. But that was worse. They were falling into the ocean.
Without thinking, Owen dived toward them. He could barely think. Alexander was flying toward him next. Pest. Demon. Monster.
He had just enough presence of mind to enact the plan. He pressed the communicator and screamed, banking upward and toward Alexander. He caught a glimpse of the blood-soaked mouths of the Hydreigon, and then a distortion appeared in front of him.
Alexander gasped in surprise, but couldn’t halt his momentum. He passed through the portal and it closed.
Owen fell into the water, hard, and dove down six feet. Nine feet. Twelve feet. He Perceived their body in the water and Perceived an overwhelming number of hands, limbs, and barely-formed bodies drifting toward them from all directions. Lost spirits, Void Shadows of the Abyssal Sea, coming to claim another to their fold.
Below, Migami was being split apart. Tendrils dug through their flesh and split the trio into their parts. And then dug further, intending to split them even more. They were barely conscious; Mispy was healing the fastest, but her body was losing its shape at the same time. Demitri and Gahi were barely recognizable anymore, and it had only been a few seconds.
“STOP!” Owen cried. “Give them back! Don’t… don’t take them away! I’m so tired… of losing everything…!” The water tasted foul. The bubbles of his words resonated. His wings were bright, scaring the dark things from grabbing him, but the same couldn’t be said for those around his friends. They were drifting further but had slowed down.
“GIVE THEM BACK!” Owen roared again, pulling his arm back, channeling power from somewhere deeper. Such a strain, a searing pain in the center of his chest. It crept over his shoulder and out his palm, and then snaked back around his arm, forming a lance of light and darkness.
Before he had the chance to use it for anything, though—and he didn’t know what; he was running on instinct—the flow of the sea… stopped.
Demitri, Mispy, and Gahi—still bleeding, still melting—were stabilized. Mispy’s eyes fluttered open. Per routine, she glowed, and her wounds began to close. She saw Demitri and Gahi, and she glowed, and their wounds closed next. They all looked at Owen and tilted their heads.
They were fine.
They were… fine?
Owen had stunned them. That was his conclusion. And he wasn’t going to let them come back to their senses and take them again. He gestured for them to follow, and they quickly did, swimming upward. Gahi grabbed Demitri, who grabbed Mispy, and they all ascended to the Sea’s surface. Upon glancing at the ship’s deck, all four of them disappeared and reappeared on the deck.
Owen coughed out mouthfuls of sour, bitter ocean water. He grimaced when he realized some of it was… chunky with Void matter.
“Oh, gross,” he mumbled. “I-is everyone okay?”
Demitri made a gurgling noise and collapsed. Mispy picked him up by the legs and held him upside-down, Abyssal water pouring from his mouth. After a fit of coughing, Demitri smiled and gave a nod to Mispy, who set him down again.
“Been better,” Gahi groaned, rubbing his forehead.
“How in the world…”
At the entrance, some of the crew emerged.
“They’re alive! H-ha! No way!”
Some were cautious, but three of them rushed over to look Team Alloy over. One also approached Owen and offered a hand.
The Charizard smiled gratefully and took the offer. Some Abyssal water still soaked him.
“Oh—sorry,” he said, but the person he’d touched stiffened a little.
There was a look of… horror in his eyes, but then it washed to his simple smile again.
“You okay?” Owen asked.
“Just fine,” he replied.
“Okay.” Owen let go, nodding. “I’m fine. Uh—help the others, they were the ones inj—”
The crewmate walked to Team Alloy to inspect them.
“…Right,” Owen said, looking at the others. “Sorry about that, everyone… I… Actually, can I just… go to my room and cry for a bit?” He tittered, the emotions finally coming back to him as the adrenaline wore off.
“Take all the rest you need,” Mhynt said with a firm nod. Zena and Trina coiled up nearby and nodded the same way, and Owen was glad to see them all unharmed.
“Thank you,” Owen said with a small sigh. “Hey, guys?” He addressed the rest of his team.
Demitri, Mispy, and Gahi all looked toward him, attentive. It was a little weird.
“Uh… just rest, okay? Don’t strain yourself.”
“You got it,” Gahi said, nodding, as did Demitri and Mispy.
They remained there as the crew looked them over. One was murmuring about being checked in the medical ward a little more thoroughly, just in case.
“Good idea,” Owen said. “How about you guys rest up there and—”
They were already heading down to the lower levels of the ship. No snide remarks, no resistance, simply…
“Wait,” Owen said, and they all looked back at him. Obedience in their eyes.
The coldness that ran through his body was a little faster than the logical realization. They weren’t listening to him. They were obeying him.
“Something wrong, Owen?” Zena asked.
“I—just need a moment,” Owen replied. And it was technically true. “Just a second, sorry, I—I—”
Zena and the others looked at him with concern, but before they could touch him—he had no idea what activated this—he rushed for one of the empty cabins. He closed the door. He found a wooden plank and lodged it on the door. He found another and lodged it further.
Zena was slithering toward the door, concern in all her movements. Owen ripped out his horns.
“Owen?” She knocked against the door. Jiggled the handle and tried to push it. “The door’s stuck, Owen, er…”
“Later,” Owen whispered. “Please, later… I—I’m okay. I’m okay, I promise. I need… to… ch-check on Palkia. I just need to check on Palkia.”
Mhynt spoke next. “Take your rest, Owen, but you’re answering our questions after. Understood?”
Icy dread raced along his back. “Okay,” he croaked.
With a quiet sigh, Owen reached for the communicator again and quietly asked, “Palkia? How’d it go? Did Alexander… dissolve?”
Silence.
“Palkia?”
“Palkia, are you okay?” Diyem’s voice came next. “What happened?”
“I heard the plan, what’s going on?” Spice said. “That should’ve worked. He’s the Voidiest of all of us.”
“Ah… h-hello,” Palkia said, sounding strained.
“Palkia!” Owen’s chest tightened. “What happened? What’s going on?”
“Small… problem. Ah, you see. Dissolve, he did not. Some kind of… shield around him? Quite a lot of screams! But not his. I don’t think I can feel my other arm, quite difficult to move right now. But the wound has… stopped spreading…”
“W-what about the others?!” Owen asked, trying to keep his voice down and he didn’t know why.
“Wounded or dazed. Alexander… avoided most of us. We were too alert. Ah… but… alert everyone, please.
“He is flying toward Kilo Village.”
Next up ,chapter 152... the first chapter in a while to not feature any scene breaks.
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Chapter 152 – Battle of the Abyssal Sea
Alexander blasted through the ship’s mast. They hadn’t seen it coming and had no time to maneuver it, but Dhelmise was already shouting at the skeleton crew to get to work pulling the ship away from the next incoming blast.
“Why?! Why is he following us now?! I thought the clash at South Null put him out of commission!” Owen frantically searched for something he could do, but at such an incredible distance, he had no idea. He didn’t have the power to properly deflect those attacks… did he?
No. No, he did! He’d done it before, and that was up close! Maybe…
Another blast soared through the skies. At its trajectory, Owen was sure it would be hitting the mast again, and without that, their remaining travel time was going to double or worse.
He spread his wings and leaped in the way, crossing his arms to form a Protect shield. The golden light shifted and hardened, lined with tinges of dark tendrils. Owen gasped softly but decided to worry about that later as the blast approached.
With the Protect still up, Owen breathed and focused on that energy. Once it struck—much weaker from such a great distance—he squeezed his claws and twisted it around. He felt it, that horrible energy. He could control it. It was so familiar.
The dark tendrils of his Protect surged with power and helped him grasp it completely, and then reflect it all at Alexander.
He easily weaved out of the way. It would be several seconds before it would even get to where it could have hit Alexander. Parrying them to hurt Alexander would be pointless at this distance.
But he could still deflect it.
“Good job!” Demitri cried. “Are you hurt?!”
“No! Just fine,” Owen said. “But it’ll get harder the closer he gets…”
Was there a way he could try to weaken Alexander?
“How far is he?!” Owen called.
“Better question, how soon ‘til he gets here?” Gahi added, flying up. “Ehhh…”
Owen couldn’t rely on Gahi to give a good estimate, but he had a feeling they only had a few minutes before Alexander would start doing melee combat, and at that point, it would be far too dangerous. They had to drive him away before that.
At this point, the crew had rushed out of the deck, about ten strong along with Team Alloy. But really, Owen didn’t think these ten would be able to do much against Alexander himself. Was there any point in them even being out here?
The next blast was incoming, and five of those Pokémon rushed forward. All of them could fly or levitate.
“No!” Owen cried. “Don’t—”
The blast struck something with a horrid, ethereal ringing that deafened Owen. Something splashed, and Owen could only imagine, just outside of his Perceive’s range, a Pokémon being pulled underneath those black depths forever. But when he counted the heads, all five were still there, surrounded by golden spheres in a hexagonal pattern.
“What?” Owen whispered. “They all have Necrozma’s blessing…”
“We brought specialists for just this problem,” explained Dhelmise in another of his ominous whispers. “According to our findings, we are quite resistant to the dark. It seems to be… hereditary.”
Hereditary.
Owen gulped hard. These… were his children. His descendants. Did any other person blessed with Necrozma have children? Were all of them descendants of Alexander too, who broke off because they had inherited the light, not the dark?
He couldn’t tell them. It wasn’t even relevant to their lives. He was nothing but a historical note to them, in the end; that connection… was a secret he had to keep to himself for now.
Mispy was staring at him.
“I’m okay,” Owen said to her.
“They can’t last,” Mispy warned.
“Huh?”
A third volley came, deflected again, but some of them were wavering and sinking, their stamina wearing down. She was right; this was yet another instance of just buying time.
“I’m gonna help,” Gahi finally said.
“Gahi, you can’t take Alexander on directly! Just one strike and—”
“Maybe I can’t,” Gahi snarled, “But we can! Demitri, Mispy! C’mon, you with me?!”
“I am,” Mispy said, nodding.
“W-wait!” Owen shouted. “We just—fight him at sea? What if we fall?!”
“Carry me with you,” Mhynt ordered. “I will help you resist any Shadow tricks he throws.”
Zena winced; Owen realized that she, without being able to take advantage of the seas, would not be able to do much here except—
“Zena, accelerate the boat from here!” Owen said. “We can get more time that way so we can think of something else.”
“Of course!” Zena nodded.
“Owen,” Trina spoke up next, frowning at him. “I think what we should do now is coordinate with Palkia and the others. This is a crisis; perhaps Arceus or the others may be able to help.”
“R-right!”
“I’ll get the communicator. You help deflect more blasts. We cannot let the boat sink!”
Another clang, but this one was a stray shot easily deflected. It seemed Gahi, Demitri, and Mispy—fusing into Migami—were already halfway to Alexander with Mhynt on their back.
Mesprit and Azelf, meanwhile, emboldened the defending crew with valor and extra bursts of courage to keep fighting, while Uxie augmented their defenses directly with psychic barriers.
Once their strength began to waver, Owen swapped in next, trying to distract Alexander with a scattershot repulsion of his next attack. When the Shadow Blast struck the barrier, rather than reflect it exactly, Owen tried to aim it skyward and curve the energy downward. It wasn’t nearly as effective, but it did force Alexander to watch more cautiously as Migami lobbed potshots from afar.
He wanted them to return quickly, though. One wrong move and Migami would…
“Owen!” Trina called, tossing the communicator to him.
“Is something wrong?” Palkia said.
“Palkia!” Owen said. “We have a problem. Alexander found us and he’s flying straight for us!”
“Goodness, that’s soon. I thought he was recovering.”
“Did you ever see actual injuries on him, or was he just turned away?”
“Hmm, our scouts were quite confident he’d been wounded… But there is no telling. Ah, well. A shame, really. So! What is your plan?”
“MY plan?!” Owen sputtered but then jumped in the way to take over for more blasts. They were getting faster; Alexander was starting to fire more wildly, and he was halfway to them. Rapidly closing the distance. And they couldn’t let him get into melee range…
“As much as I want to help, I do not think I can safely use my spatial warping to get to you,” Palkia remarked. “And, really, Alexander would surely trump my powers in that realm, to begin with… I could certainly try if you wish.”
And risk Palkia falling under Alexander’s control again? Or any of the other Legends? That wouldn’t do.
Another rumble. Migami had to fall back; it looked like one of the Shadow Blasts had nearly grazed them. Thankfully, Mispy’s judgment trumped Gahi’s pride, and they were falling back.
Alexander was nearly as fast. This wasn’t going to work! And at this rate, even with Zena’s acceleration, the ship was…
“…Palkia,” Owen said, “Palkia! Can you get me a Dungeon?!”
“A Dungeon? Right where you are? Not really, no. I would need something to tune to, and is Mu there?”
“No. We haven’t found her. She’s—”
“Mu is with us,” Spice reported. “Dunno if she’ll understand to go to you guys, and—”
“No, no, no, don’t put her here. If Alexander sees her—”
A chorus of objections accompanied Owen.
“Alright, alright!” Spice said. “I wasn’t suggesting! But what, Owen, a Dungeon?”
“Yes. If Alexander is too strong in the Voidlands, what if we… just… put him into Kilo and tried to take him out there?”
A beat. Then another chorus of objections. Reshiram’s was the loudest. “Bring him right home?! Are you insane?!”
“We need to get to Necrozma,” Owen said. “And… if you can get to a remote area, it’ll be safer. Get some of the Guardians to suppress him. We might be able to get rid of Alexander and get to Necrozma on this one trip! If he’s going to chase us this aggressively…”
Mhynt hurled a conjured Leaf Blade at Alexander’s chest. For once, it had connected, but the rampaging Dragon kept flying as if he didn’t even feel the blade in his body.
“That still has the problem of not having the means to connect to you, Owen,” Palkia pointed out. “I’d need a part of your body, and you did not donate such things for research.”
“Why would I—” Owen grumbled, rubbing his forehead. “There has to be some way. Maybe some dropped scales from Zena at home? I shed patches of scales, I think, err…”
“That would produce quite a weak signal,” Palkia hummed. “I may not be able to get a substantial enough connection to form much of anything like that.”
“Ah!” Dialga exclaimed. “No! We have just what we need!”
“What? How?” Owen asked.
“When Rhys—when I had taken your horns after sparring with Trina’s doubles of Team Alloy!”
Owen thought back. Yes, he remembered seeing Rhys slip those broken horns into his bag ‘because it might be useful later.’ He was just hoarding.
And for once it was true.
Wait.
“You still have those?!” Owen blurted.
The crew cried out again, several of them forced to fall back to the deck. They were trembling with fatigue and didn’t have the strength to fly or float any longer. Owen grunted and went back to the skies again. Alexander was getting more distracted by Migami, but that meant he was spending time trying to down them.
“GET BACK!” Owen shouted. Then, to the communicator, “Okay, please, get it quickly! Palkia, how soon can you configure that device to create a Dungeon in front of me?”
“Well, I suppose I can quickly find a free area, get some Guardians, perhaps two minutes?”
“Then go! Don’t hesitate, go!”
No response. Another Shadow Blast carved its way across the water, leaving a fissure down the blackened sea. Owen dove down, mere feet away from the water’s surface, and conjured another Protect to block its path and scatter it back. The countless rays would make it harder for Alexander to dodge, but he could only hope Migami would avoid any friendly fire.
There still was no response from Palkia, but Migami was retreating more, disappearing in flashes of light to get faster. Alexander was hot on the trail.
“Hello?!” Owen called again. “Palkia, answer!”
“Erm, he left,” Dialga said. “When you said don’t hesitate, well, he disappeared into the floor.”
“Oh.” Well, at least his very literal interpretation helped this time around. “Er—good! Hopefully, he’ll be back on time… We’ll hold the line!”
The crew seemed exhausted. Alexander did not. But now that Alexander was closer—he could see the three heads individually, now—it seemed he was switching his rhythm to stronger, mid-range attacks. From his smaller heads, he opened his jaws and blasted into the water, conjuring whirlwinds of darkness. He hurled them in horizontal arcs toward the ship, flanking them on both sides.
“Zena! Give us a push, we need to outpace that storm!”
“I can’t outrun that!” Zena shouted from below.
But she could slow its approach. “Go as fast as you can! I’ll try to dispel them!”
“Dispel?!” cried one of the crewmates—an Illumise who seemed aged enough that her tone alone explained to Owen, ‘You idiot, that isn’t how storms work.’
A lot of things didn’t work properly anymore. Owen had to try what he could.
He veered to the right, going straight to the first storm, and conjured another shield. The storm batted against him while cutting up his back, deafening him to everything else. He’d have no idea if they were calling for him anymore amid the acidic howling. Everything in front of him was a swirl of purples and blacks, but all the same, he could feel that essence. Control it, claim it, all the same, Mimicking that power and then claiming what was in front of him as his own.
Once he became the eye of the storm, Owen whirled around and pointed at the other one, and the storm obeyed. They clashed, opposites in direction, leaving turbulence in the water and nothing to strike the ship itself but a few flecks of water.
“H-ha!” Owen panted. “That… that worked.”
A shadow loomed over the ship.
“Uh?”
Alexander had conjured a wave twice the height of the ship.
And Owen had no idea how to counter something like that.
“Zena! Just keep pushing!” Owen sputtered just as Migami appeared beside him, grabbing him by the arm and hauling him to the deck rather than floating above the water.
“Migami! I can’t just sit here—”
“Hold still,” Migami ordered. “Keep this place stable. Save anyone who falls!” And then, they Teleported behind the boat.
Just as Owen got to his feet, the boat lurched forward and knocked him over again. Muttering to himself, Owen focused on his Perceive…
Zena was at the deck’s very edge, practically hanging off the back of the ship while focusing on the water’s currents. Blackened and tainted or otherwise, it was still water, and Zena had control over it.
But what worried him more was Migami flying near the ship’s base, hands only inches away from the ship itself as their wings pumped and pumped. Owen didn’t understand the pose; their hands weren’t touching the ship, and it was like their many tendrils were pushing off of something that wasn’t there, being crushed by an unseen force.
And then he realized it was their Psychic energy. They were creating barriers to gain purchase on thin air. Perhaps they were pushing another barrier on the ship itself, literally using brute strength and the Psychic Orb’s energy to push as far as they could to accelerate.
Migami was roaring just barely louder than the incoming wave that loomed over them like a blackened avalanche. Alexander’s eyes, like red pinpricks behind the water, locked onto Owen’s for a split second and the breath in his chest left him.
“H-hurry,” Owen whispered. “P-please, hurry.”
He had to do something. Anything. But what was he supposed to do?
The ship was decelerating. Migami didn’t have enough power to outrun a ship, even with all their speed and Zena’s assistance.
“Migami!” Owen cried, finally finding his feet.
“I’m tryin’!” Migami whimpered back. On their backs, the Trio of Mind was enhancing their barriers, but they could only do so much, too. They just needed a little more power.
Just a little more.
Owen took a slow breath. He had to stay calm, but he couldn’t think slowly. He was useless here.
He thought back to his nightmare. When he was useless, he had to rely on his friends. He had to lend them his power, even if it was direct, and even if it would leave him with nothing.
While he couldn’t go to that extreme, he could still do something. He could Bestow his power, just like before. Bless his friends, not just objects or the ground. Store his power within them.
He envisioned his friends not as immutable people, but as vessels for more power. Something that can take more than he had given before; entrusting them with himself, in a way. And as they struggled and cried for everything they had, Owen tried to answer.
“Take it,” Owen whispered. “Just one more push!”
The membrane of his wings flashed gold, and he slammed his hands on the ground. The energy shot through the wood, ignoring it completely, and siphoned into Zena. His other hand aimed at Migami, and the same golden energy enveloped them. His Perceive couldn’t see the effects, but his eyes did. A bright gold enveloped them both.
He couldn’t stand. When the boat lurched again, doubling in speed, the most he could accomplish was feebly reaching out to scattered, toppling crewmates so they didn’t hit the deck’s edge as he had.
Somehow, they outpaced the wave, and the wave itself lost its momentum. Distantly, Alexander’s frustrated cursing reached them.
Migami Teleported next to him, setting down a limp Zena.
“G… good job,” Owen said. “How’re you feeling?”
Migami collapsed into a pile of a Haxorus, Meganium, and Flygon.
“Yeah… figured,” Owen said.
“Owen!” Palkia said. “Owen, if you may answer? I have everything set up!”
A nearby crewmate stared at the communicator on the ground. Owen gestured tiredly for it, while Uxie looked through their bags for a spare Oran or Elixir to help return their strength, offering the latter to Owen.
“Good,” Owen said. “When I say now, you need to activate it. Okay? Are you somewhere safe?”
“On such short notice gathering who I can, yes. Near enough that backup can be called, but far enough that immediate threats are not a concern.”
Owen nodded, then remembered Palkia couldn’t see that. “Okay. Just wait for my call. It might be a few.”
Alexander was out of massive storms and waves. Perhaps he was also tired. Or he was just impatient. One way or another, though, he was still surging forward. Without Zena or Migami to accelerate them, he was also so much closer.
“He wants me,” Owen said. “I’ll take him on.”
“What?!” Demitri shouted. “We can’t do that! You’ll—”
“If you hit that water, it’s over, Demitri,” Owen said. “It was risky enough with you taking him on once. We can’t do that again. I just need to… get close to him.”
“Owen, can you explain what your plan is? Please?” Demitri begged.
“Palkia will make a Dungeon and warp him out right on time. Into Kilo, where that place will dissolve him. He’s of Void, so he’ll dissolve. He might even become a Deino again if I’m lucky!” Owen puffed. “Trust me, okay?”
He looked uneasy, but the hasty explanation was enough for Demitri to acquiesce. “Let us help, too. We’re still weak, but…”
“I’ve got a second wind goin’,” Gahi growled.
Mispy ate a pouch of Elixirs and pulled Demitri into her vines. As Gahi taunted the air, she dragged him in next.
The Elixir did its job for Owen, too. His stamina, while temporary, had been restored. With a powerful kick off the deck, Owen flew through the skies and got at the same elevation as Alexander, about twenty feet above the sea.
“Alexander!” Owen shouted. Then, murmuring into the communicator, he said, “On second thought, Palkia, not when I say so. Wait until I roar.”
“Ooh, dramatic.”
“Shh!”
Alexander was not one for conversation. By Owen’s estimates, he was about ten seconds away. Owen tried to close the gap, flying forward.
Alexander veered away.
“What?” Owen whispered. “H-hey!”
By the time Owen countered his momentum to chase Alexander again, he’d clashed with Migami. He could only be glad that Migami was fast enough to dodge it.
Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf backed them up. Each psychic blast was tinged with their divine power, trying to siphon away from Alexander’s mind like before.
But this time, he’d been more prepared. Every time Uxie tried to erase Alexander’s memory of his attacks, a puff of darkness splashed off of the Hydreigon’s forehead. Every attempt to demotivate him from Azelf only made a dark, once invisible armor over his chest flash. Mesprit tried to make Alexander apathetic to those same tricks, but that strange dark shield blocked their attempts.
“What is that?” Owen whispered. “Was that what he was preparing?”
He’d seen something like this before. It reminded him of the way Rhys had armor made of solid aura. Could that interfere with psychic waves? He had no time to theorize—only that Alexander had come prepared this time.
He was overpowering Migami and the three. Trina had gone in to hide with Zena, but they were still watching as if to find an opportune moment to strike.
Where was Mhynt?
Just then, a beam from above slammed Alexander into the water. Owen gasped and followed the beam to its source—Mhynt, with a shadowy Lunala looming behind her, fading away just as the beam’s true might ended.
“Nice shot!” Migami shouted.
“He’s coming back!” Mhynt warned.
Of course. Alexander was immune to the water. If anything, it was his domain more than anything else.
Mhynt conjured a Leaf Blade and crouched, but a blast from below caught her off guard. She narrowly dodged out of the way, deflecting the blast over her shoulder.
Cursing, she called, “Don’t let that hit you if you don’t have Shadows!”
“Oh, I never would’ve guessed!” Migami shouted back.
The Hydreigon burst from the water, snarling, wordless. He lunged for Migami again, and this time, he was just fast enough to graze their shoulder. The cut ate away at their flesh by several extra inches, widening the wound before a wave of healing halted its advance.
“Stop!” Owen cried. “Don’t you want me?!”
But Alexander pursued. As Migami tried to blip away to gain more distance, Owen noted their stamina was running low. That graze wasn’t doing them any favors, either. The Trio of Mind tried to halt Alexander, but all that accomplished was earning a few retaliatory blasts from Alexander’s scales, like his body itself was repelling against him.
Alexander was closer. And Owen felt… something. His Perceive clued him in… on a squirming inside Alexander’s body. Void Shadows—how many?—stuffed just beneath his scales, powering him while tearing up his insides at the same time. Owen had no idea how painful it was or how long Alexander could maintain it… but it was augmenting him the same way his Orb was.
He was even stronger than before.
“C’mon!” Migami shouted. “That all y’got?!”
They finally gathered enough light and blasted Alexander with a searing ray of a Solar Beam. It was a direct hit, enough that Owen had to double back and cover his eyes.
But his Perceive showed him the result. Alexander, parts of him ripping off only on the surface level, flew straight through the beam and followed it to its source. Migami couldn’t see it. Too focused on the beam. There was no alarm in their body language.
“RUN!” Owen screamed.
Alexander’s jaws clamped onto their neck. Crunched. And their body went limp, shocked surprise in their expression.
He crunched harder and something tore. Owen’s curse of perception forced him to witness every detail of that chunk of flesh sliding down Alexander’s throat, and then, with a careless push, Migami was thrown into the water.
They were still alive, barely. But that was worse. They were falling into the ocean.
Without thinking, Owen dived toward them. He could barely think. Alexander was flying toward him next. Pest. Demon. Monster.
He had just enough presence of mind to enact the plan. He pressed the communicator and screamed, banking upward and toward Alexander. He caught a glimpse of the blood-soaked mouths of the Hydreigon, and then a distortion appeared in front of him.
Alexander gasped in surprise, but couldn’t halt his momentum. He passed through the portal and it closed.
Owen fell into the water, hard, and dove down six feet. Nine feet. Twelve feet. He Perceived their body in the water and Perceived an overwhelming number of hands, limbs, and barely-formed bodies drifting toward them from all directions. Lost spirits, Void Shadows of the Abyssal Sea, coming to claim another to their fold.
Below, Migami was being split apart. Tendrils dug through their flesh and split the trio into their parts. And then dug further, intending to split them even more. They were barely conscious; Mispy was healing the fastest, but her body was losing its shape at the same time. Demitri and Gahi were barely recognizable anymore, and it had only been a few seconds.
“STOP!” Owen cried. “Give them back! Don’t… don’t take them away! I’m so tired… of losing everything…!” The water tasted foul. The bubbles of his words resonated. His wings were bright, scaring the dark things from grabbing him, but the same couldn’t be said for those around his friends. They were drifting further but had slowed down.
“GIVE THEM BACK!” Owen roared again, pulling his arm back, channeling power from somewhere deeper. Such a strain, a searing pain in the center of his chest. It crept over his shoulder and out his palm, and then snaked back around his arm, forming a lance of light and darkness.
Before he had the chance to use it for anything, though—and he didn’t know what; he was running on instinct—the flow of the sea… stopped.
Demitri, Mispy, and Gahi—still bleeding, still melting—were stabilized. Mispy’s eyes fluttered open. Per routine, she glowed, and her wounds began to close. She saw Demitri and Gahi, and she glowed, and their wounds closed next. They all looked at Owen and tilted their heads.
They were fine.
They were… fine?
Owen had stunned them. That was his conclusion. And he wasn’t going to let them come back to their senses and take them again. He gestured for them to follow, and they quickly did, swimming upward. Gahi grabbed Demitri, who grabbed Mispy, and they all ascended to the Sea’s surface. Upon glancing at the ship’s deck, all four of them disappeared and reappeared on the deck.
Owen coughed out mouthfuls of sour, bitter ocean water. He grimaced when he realized some of it was… chunky with Void matter.
“Oh, gross,” he mumbled. “I-is everyone okay?”
Demitri made a gurgling noise and collapsed. Mispy picked him up by the legs and held him upside-down, Abyssal water pouring from his mouth. After a fit of coughing, Demitri smiled and gave a nod to Mispy, who set him down again.
“Been better,” Gahi groaned, rubbing his forehead.
“How in the world…”
At the entrance, some of the crew emerged.
“They’re alive! H-ha! No way!”
Some were cautious, but three of them rushed over to look Team Alloy over. One also approached Owen and offered a hand.
The Charizard smiled gratefully and took the offer. Some Abyssal water still soaked him.
“Oh—sorry,” he said, but the person he’d touched stiffened a little.
There was a look of… horror in his eyes, but then it washed to his simple smile again.
“You okay?” Owen asked.
“Just fine,” he replied.
“Okay.” Owen let go, nodding. “I’m fine. Uh—help the others, they were the ones inj—”
The crewmate walked to Team Alloy to inspect them.
“…Right,” Owen said, looking at the others. “Sorry about that, everyone… I… Actually, can I just… go to my room and cry for a bit?” He tittered, the emotions finally coming back to him as the adrenaline wore off.
“Take all the rest you need,” Mhynt said with a firm nod. Zena and Trina coiled up nearby and nodded the same way, and Owen was glad to see them all unharmed.
“Thank you,” Owen said with a small sigh. “Hey, guys?” He addressed the rest of his team.
Demitri, Mispy, and Gahi all looked toward him, attentive. It was a little weird.
“Uh… just rest, okay? Don’t strain yourself.”
“You got it,” Gahi said, nodding, as did Demitri and Mispy.
They remained there as the crew looked them over. One was murmuring about being checked in the medical ward a little more thoroughly, just in case.
“Good idea,” Owen said. “How about you guys rest up there and—”
They were already heading down to the lower levels of the ship. No snide remarks, no resistance, simply…
“Wait,” Owen said, and they all looked back at him. Obedience in their eyes.
The coldness that ran through his body was a little faster than the logical realization. They weren’t listening to him. They were obeying him.
“Something wrong, Owen?” Zena asked.
“I—just need a moment,” Owen replied. And it was technically true. “Just a second, sorry, I—I—”
Zena and the others looked at him with concern, but before they could touch him—he had no idea what activated this—he rushed for one of the empty cabins. He closed the door. He found a wooden plank and lodged it on the door. He found another and lodged it further.
Zena was slithering toward the door, concern in all her movements. Owen ripped out his horns.
“Owen?” She knocked against the door. Jiggled the handle and tried to push it. “The door’s stuck, Owen, er…”
“Later,” Owen whispered. “Please, later… I—I’m okay. I’m okay, I promise. I need… to… ch-check on Palkia. I just need to check on Palkia.”
Mhynt spoke next. “Take your rest, Owen, but you’re answering our questions after. Understood?”
Icy dread raced along his back. “Okay,” he croaked.
With a quiet sigh, Owen reached for the communicator again and quietly asked, “Palkia? How’d it go? Did Alexander… dissolve?”
Silence.
“Palkia?”
“Palkia, are you okay?” Diyem’s voice came next. “What happened?”
“I heard the plan, what’s going on?” Spice said. “That should’ve worked. He’s the Voidiest of all of us.”
“Ah… h-hello,” Palkia said, sounding strained.
“Palkia!” Owen’s chest tightened. “What happened? What’s going on?”
“Small… problem. Ah, you see. Dissolve, he did not. Some kind of… shield around him? Quite a lot of screams! But not his. I don’t think I can feel my other arm, quite difficult to move right now. But the wound has… stopped spreading…”
“W-what about the others?!” Owen asked, trying to keep his voice down and he didn’t know why.
“Wounded or dazed. Alexander… avoided most of us. We were too alert. Ah… but… alert everyone, please.
“He is flying toward Kilo Village.”
by ignoring it.
