Hello Pearlshippers, I'm back again with another exciting update. I have some good news for most of my faithful readers that have stayed with me for over 2 years and to all those new readers who have joined since.

From now on I'll be updating this story weekly. Every Saturday you can expect a new chapter of Legacy of Aura until I have to take a break or the story reaches its climax.

With that out there let's get on with the fic!

Enjoy!


The Legacy of Aura

Chapter 8

Bishop takes Queen


Mt. Coronet – World Government Base Camp.

The door to the medicae bay flew open as though hit by a battering ram, startling the staff inside and causing them to jump back in shock.

Lord Aaron burst through into the complex, his narrowed eyes darting around, desperately searching. "Where is she?!" He roared, his coat of office blustering about as he twisted and turned violently. "Where is she?!"

The terrified personnel didn't know how to respond, most of them just staring wide-eyed in shock. One of the legendary World Leaders was stood before their eyes, bellowing orders at them, and they weren't prepared to deal with it.

Frustrated with the lack of answers to his question, the enraged Lord Aaron turned on the reception desk and slammed his hands down on the counter, his eyes blazing fury at the small woman quivering behind it. "You! Where is Serena being held?!"

Looking up into his piercing gaze causing the trembling clerk to sputter a slew of incomprehensible words in reply, her brain fumbling after being so violently put on the spot. Losing consciousness, she fell from her chair and flopped to the floor in a tangle of trembling limbs, foam bubbling from her mouth.

Roaring, Aaron decided to march through into the complex himself. No one would get in his way, but he needed to reach his niece before Dante caught up. Seeing her first was paramount. "Useless! All of you!" He exclaimed as he violently left the room, kicking open the doors into the patient wing strong enough to unhinge one them and send them flying inwards.

The look of surprise on the recovering men and woman from the vanguard force currently occupying the wing was quickly marred with confusion and fear, as they noticed just who had forced his way into their midst. The smart ones among them immediately averted their gaze to the floor, not wishing to incur his wrath, whilst those too awestruck to do any differently sat in their beds agape, staring wide-eyed at the World Leader as though he were a demi-god made flesh. Which to some of them he certainly seemed to be.

Aaron Rosenburg scanned the room. He didn't expect to find her here, she was far to valuable a target to put in with the riff-raff of the forces, but he couldn't overlook any detail. He wouldn't miss her presence due to negligence on his part.

He searched wing after wing, looking for the wayward Princess, storming through the complex like a whirlwind unleashed. Even as he scoured the back wards and bays that were reserved for VIP treatment he came up empty-handed.

Damn it Serena! Where the hell are you?!

A man wearing bloodied surgical gloves passed an intersection beside him and Aaron latched onto this lifeline full throttle. He rounded on the surprised surgeon and gripped him by the scruff of his collar, lifting him up into the air. "You! Tell me where the Shinonome patient is being held or Arceus help me I'll make your entire life a living hell!"

"S-She's being treated in a special facility built into the basement, M-M-M'lord!" He stammered out, sweat running off his forehead in buckets, his eyes trembling behind his thick glasses. "B-Behind a genetically coded door! It's hidden from sight by an illusion! We have Pokemon keeping it up at all times! I thought you'd have known!"

Discarding the surgeon like used toilet paper, Aaron flung him aside and charged down into the basement. Finding the hidden ward built into the centre of the complex, he snarled, seeing through the facade as easily as one might discern glass from air. I was never told about this room! It shouldn't be here! What the hell have those two being scheming behind my back?

Two guards dressed in the royal attire of the elite World Guard, responsible for the personal safety of the World Leaders and their property stood at attention outside the doors to this hidden inner chamber. Their masked faces looked up as he approached, and something flickered across their eyes. Even as he stood before the door they made no move to let him pass.

Lord Aaron blinked, incredulous. "Get out of my way." He warned, looking down on them for their sacrilegious behaviour.

They shared a glance, uncertain. Neither of them moved from his path and too his utter amazement actually started reaching for their weapons. "I'm afraid we can't do that my lord. We're under strict orders to not let anyone pass, even someone such as yourself."

The veins on Aaron's forehead bulged as his anger spiked to new levels. They actually dared to bar HIS path? These insignificant guards were trying to stop HIM from reaching his goal? The mere idea was so outrageous, so offensive that the reality of the fact made his blood boil. Fucking idiots. Do they not know whom they're dealing with?! Dante…! He's behind this!

"Don't waste my time!" Aaron bellowed.

A moment later, the doors to the inner ward flew inward as they were blasted from existence by a shattering boom and a flash of intense light. The medicae unit working within started as they watched the two elite guards follow the doors as they slammed against the back wall, smashing into shelves lined with irreplaceable medicines and destroying several expensive machines in a shower of glass and sparks.

Aaron entered the room like a vengeful deity, his face a mask of thunder as lightning danced across his stormy eyes.

"W-W-What is the meaning of this?" The head surgeon spluttered as he slowly approached the World Leader, fear lacing his every step.

"Shut up!" Aaron bellowed, swatting him aside and sending him careening into the wall, causing more damage. None of the men here could be trusted if the guards without were anything to go by. He had no patience for traitors.

The object of his fixation laid before him on a raised bed, tubes and different machines linked to her body, taking various readings and filling her with life-saving fluids. The sudden commotion had roused her from her slumber and her eyes slowly opened, her sapphire gaze which so much mirrored his own found him out amidst the carnage. There was a clarity in there that hadn't shown itself since she was a youngster, and they bored right through him.

Despite everything, the corners of Serena's mouth curled upward slightly at the sight of him. "Uncle Aaron." She croaked, her voice sounding like crumpled paper.

He approached her bedside, eyes narrowed to mere slits. "So," he spat, "you remember who I am?"

She attempted to shake her head, but the movement only caused her to grimace and cough slightly, the stress still too great for her to handle in her current condition. "They told me everything when I came to. The mind-alteration done to me by Ash has cleared." She said that last bit with hitched breath, as though the fact gave her more pain than her physical injuries ever could.

Aaron examined her carefully, his expression never changing from one of outrage. Did the removal of Ash's tampering also remove mine? That doesn't seem likely… The thought troubled him. There was a shift happening within the power structure of the World Government and they were trying to outmanoeuvre him. He knew who he suspected, and he would be damn sure that they wouldn't ruin his plans.

The presence of another filled the destroyed doorway, and as he turned around he wasn't at all surprised to see Dante stooping there to fit his massive frame. "Aaron." He rumbled, stepping into the room. "You've made quite a mess of things." He spared a glance behind his fellow World Leader at Serena's prone form, checking if she was still as he'd left her.

"You're partly responsible. Did you really think you could stop me with such paltry guards? It's insulting." Aaron's words dripped venom as he glared up into Dante's eyes.

"No," the bigger man admitted. "But I did expect you to be a little more civilized in your approach. They were placed here as a security measure, nothing more. We can't have information leaks with something so sensitive. You know how misinformation would spread and what it would lead to."

Aaron spat on the floor before Dante's feet. "You clearly don't think I'm able to keep such information, either that or you didn't want me to know what happened in here. Such as this room's very existence, perhaps?"

"You're starting to sound like a delusional fool." Dante shook his head, moving over to the destroyed equipment and examining the damage. "This will be awkward to replace in the current circumstances," he muttered to himself, before turning back to address his fellow leader. "Don't start making conspiracy theories against yourself. There are things you do that I'm not privy too either. That's part of the contract we signed upon being appointed. And if I truly wished to keep you in the dark, why on earth would I have told you about Serena's internment in the first place? I could've whisked her off and you'd have been none the wiser. "

Everyone in the room tensed as the tension between the two World Leaders reached breaking point, sparks literally flying from their eyes. "Tch!" Aaron finally spat, as he flicked his eyes between Serena and Dante. "Don't think I don't realize what's going on here. You're playing a dangerous game." He said as he pushed past the larger man on his way to the exit, deliberately slamming his shoulder into him as he did so.

Dante shook his head and turned to watch his colleague leave through the ruined doorway. "Just what did you hope to achieve by coming here?" He asked to the retreating form.

Aaron stopped at the doorway, turned to glare over his shoulder at those assembled in the room before storming off in a flurry of cloth, his long golden hair blustering out behind him with the movement.

Mt. Coronet – The World Chamber

The space was cavernous, stretching far out into the darkness. It easily matched the size of its parent mountain under which it was located, and seemed to bore down into the earth's very core. The fact that magma hadn't penetrated its vaulted depths was proof enough that this was no natural formation.

Gary Oak was the first to enter, walking up the final step that had been hewn from the very rock into a makeshift overlook. What he saw below took his breath away.

The room was illuminated by an emerald glow, emanating from the crystals growing from the walls, ceiling and floor. They were unlike any natural growth he'd seen before, but he could already sense the incredible power they exuded like a physical force. It sent shivers down his spine and goosebumps appeared all over his exposed flesh.

Deep below where he stood, down in the centre of the vast space, a singular column stood, engraved with runes beyond his ken. It was colossal, rearing up from the base of the cavern and threatening to scratch its apex. Its sides were perfectly smooth and it sheened with a brilliance from within. It looked as though some artisan had painstakingly carved it over a thousand years, never once leaving its side to put down their tools, yet at the same time appearing natural as though it was a work of nature herself. Deep down he knew both answers were true.

The rest of his little expedition party finally entered behind him, some of them winded from the exertive climb. As they joined him on the levelled out plateau at the top of the ancient stairs they all gasped and stared in wonder at the sight presented before them. It was truly miraculous and utterly out of this world.

"Woah…"Brock breathed. "Have you ever seen anything like this before?" He asked in wonder, the question not particularly aimed at anyone, his eyes transfixed on the display below.

Gary chuckled and shook his head. "Can't say I have. Nor will again, I suspect. I guess this answers the question as to where they all went."

"I've not seen something like this for… well about twelve years." Melody said, looking down. She chuckled slightly as a thought occurred to her. "All this stuff always seems to happen around Ash."

As Misty joined them on the precipice, she found herself inclined to agree. "I… can't fault you there. I'm beyond counting it as coincidence when it comes to him."

"So… many… Pokemon…" May gaped, her eyes as wide as saucers.

All around the pillar and scattered through the many layers and secondary entrances to the vast cavern was every type of Pokemon known to exist, as well as several that had never been seen before. They all intermingled, without fuss, and transfixed themselves on the structure at the heart of the mountain.

A gentle sound filled the air and seemed to reverberate from the illuminating crystals. It took them all a moment to realize that it originated from the Pokemon themselves, as they all sang in harmony with one another, creating a melody that soothed and eased, like a lover's gentle breath against the ear. Each syllable entered the mind as though wrapped in silk, harmonising with their very essences.

"Beautiful…" Melody whispered, her eyes closed as she opened herself up fully to the mystical song.

"I never knew so many Pokemon could sync their voices together like this. Nothing of the sort has ever been recorded throughout history. I don't think this has ever happened before." Brock wondered in amazement. Despite the wondrous display around him, he found he couldn't tear his gaze away from the pillar, much like the entranced Pokemon below. Combined with their music it threatened to suck him into its caressing embrace.

Gary crouched down at the edge of their perch, his eyes narrowed deep in thought. "You're wrong on one account Brock. This has happened before." The doctor looked at him in confusion as he stood back up, waiting for him to explain. "Notice how they all came here in response to what's happening at Spear Pillar. They have a natural instinct to do so. Nothing alive up until this point knew this chamber existed, and it's only by following their trail that we found it at all. This place is special. I think an event like this occurred during the very start of this world, and shaped it into what we know now it to be, albeit in a primordial state."

"If that's the case," Cilan said, a finger on his chin as he mused over his thoughts, "then what would prompt them to return? Are you suggesting that what's happening right now rivals that momentous moment of creation?"

"A most troubling thought…" Nando admitted, already losing himself to the charms of the music. Much like Melody, he seemed susceptible to its touch.

James approached the edge with trepidation, looking over the massive drop. Among all those Pokemon gathered below in their thousands, his eyes managed to find the one species that had occupied the majority of his early adult life. Eyes sparkling with excitement he leaned over, pointing. "Hey look! There's a whole host of Pikachu!"

Everyone gathered stopped for a moment and turned to look at him. Laughter erupted and dispelled the mystic trance that the group was feeling from their proximity to the pillar and the eldritch quality of the song.

"You idiot!" Misty said between fits of laughter.

James looked back confused. "What did I do?"

Shaking his head, Brock chuckled softly. "Trust you to bring us back to reality. You guys were nothing if not reliable in your predictability."

"Come, let us descend down. We can't solve anything whilst we tarry here." Gary said, moving to the stairs carved down from the ledge upon which they stood, down into the emerald gloom below. From what any of them could discern it was the only way down from their position, although smaller cave entrances opened up on to the cavern floor. Perhaps some of the Pokemon entered there? The Grand Champion thought to himself as he took the first steps. It's hard to imagine how such a space has remained a secret for so long…

The group tentatively followed him down the stairs, Misty grabbing James by the scruff of his collar and dragging the ex-Rocket member down behind her. They seemed to descend forever, no matter how far they travelled, the cavern floor appeared no closer by comparison to their efforts. It was as mystifying as the pillar itself and added to the whole mystery of the place. After around twenty minutes of climbing, they suddenly levelled off, finding themselves amidst the hordes of gathered Pokemon and towering stalagmites.

As they slowly approached the towering column in the centre of the cavern, none of the Pokemon they passed seemed to even acknowledge their presence. They sat or stood where they had since the group entered, neither moving nor reacting to anything around them, just continuing to emit the soothing melody from their open mouths in a continuous chorus. A light shimmered in their eyes, resonating with the sounds.

Upon closing in upon the structure, Gary noticed something he hadn't been able to notice further away. Surrounding the pillar like a haze was a golden mist, swirling around like an ethereal dancer. For a fraction of a second the dust seemed sentient, moving with a will of its own, but he dismissed it. It was too troubling to dwell on.

Finally reaching the base of the pillar, the group all glanced up at its colossal majesty. It seemed to reach forever upward, unto the heavens themselves rather than just shy of the cavern ceiling.

"It's like a whole other beast from down here. I can't even see the top through that golden hue." Cilan commented, his gaze trying its best to find the illusive apex of the structure.

"The song is louder here too. More vibrant. It speaks with colour and soul rather than mere words." Nando exclaimed breathlessly, his eyes shimmering with barely restrained tears at being in such close proximity to the source of his pleasure.

Kneeling beside the base of the pillar, Brock studied the ground carefully before standing up and circling it. As he came fully back around to where the group was standing, his brows creased. "What's the matter Brock?" Gary asked, noticing the doctor's discomfort.

"Have you noticed how the Pokemon are all exactly twenty meters away from the pillar? They form a perfect circle around it. Why won't they advance any closer?"

Most of the group blinked in surprise to find out that, sure enough, none of the closest Pokemon were within an exact twenty meter radius from the base of the structure. It was eerily perfect in its unison.

"Only one way to test that theory." Gary mused, reaching for a Pokeball.

Thumbing the activation within his hand, it burst open within the clear zone around the pillar. As the white light finally settled into Arcanine's shape, the proud pseudo-legendary instantly dropped to all fours and growled defensively, sensing threat.

Gary watched carefully, not making any move toward his Pokemon nor issuing any commands.

The golden dust that swam around the rocky column suddenly descended and enveloped Arcanine, engulfing his body tail to snout. Letting out a surprised yelp the hapless Pokemon was shrouded entirely from view for a few precious moments. Everyone in the group watching held their breath, watching with fascination and trepidation.

When the aurora released him and ventured back up to continue its dance around the pillar, Arcanine had a subdued look in his eyes much like those gathered on the cavern space. Seemingly robotically, he began padding his way to the front ranks, intent on joining the throng and their unearthly choir.

Holding out his Pokeball, Gary re-thumbed the activation. "Arcanine, return!"

The red beam darted out to reclaim the fire-type, only to hit a golden barrier and be buffeted back. The Grand Champion shook his head and made a cursing sound, putting his Pokeball back on his waist. "I figured as much."

"What's wrong? Why won't he return?" Brock asked with genuine concern.

"This pillar, whatever else its function, has the ability to completely control a Pokemon. As far as my Pokeball is concerned Arcanine is no longer mine."

Brock glanced up at the mysterious structure with a furrowed brow, watching the golden dancer make another lap around the edifice. "For what purpose would it need to control so many Pokemon?"

"Hey guys?" Misty called out before Gary could answer.

"Yeah?" The Grand Champion asked, turning around to face her. "Did you discover something?"

She shook her head and pointed to the woman beside her. "There is something seriously wrong with Melody."

Gary's eyes shot wide open as he saw the brunette wander toward the pillar as though in a trance. "Melody! Hey! Snap out of it!" Rushing over he grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her around to face him. "Can you hear me? Melody!"

Her gaze was filled with golden light, and although she stared directly at him, she was looking at something far away; something that no one else would even begin to comprehend. "I know what I must do." She muttered.

"What are you talking about?"

The others of the group had gathered around to witness the commotion. They hung back, watching fearfully. Cilan and James eyed the pillar as though it were about to lash out and attack them.

"The song." Melody said, simply and calmly. "I have to play the song. It needs me to. It's crucial to its plans."

"You're not making any sense!" Seeing his words literally go right over her head, Gary resorted to the only thing he could think of in the situation. Pulling his hand back he slapped her fully across the cheek.

The reaction was instantaneous.

Possessed by an inhuman strength that was not her own, the Shamouti island native gripped Gary with one hand and launched him back, sending him flying into the ranks of assembled Pokemon. A golden light shot up around her, cracking the stone beneath her feet and kicking up a powerful wind, scattering everyone's clothes and hair. The Pokemon arranged closest to the pillar were sent hurtling into the air by the surprise hurricane and for a brief second their assembled song was drowned out by gale force winds.

Landing on his feet, Gary quickly recovered and began sprinting back toward her. "Melody!"

"Hey Melody you need to stop!" Brock called out over the winds, holding his arms up to shield his face.

Misty surged through the winds to try and grasp hold of her arm and drag her back to her senses, but as she closed the redhead was knocked off her feet by a surge of power.

James was desperately trying to stay grounded, having had one too many experiences of been sent hurtling skyward, this was dangerously close to that feeling. "Make it stop! Please! I can't deal with blasting off now! I'm not even part of Team Rocket anymore!"

Ignoring them all, Melody suddenly leapt into the air, the strength released from her jump blasting a hole in the cavern floor and sending shards of rock scattering everywhere. Landing gracefully on a ledge overlooking the majority of the vast pillar, she turned to face it and reached inside her bag. Pulling out an ornate and ancient looking ocarina, she immediately placed it against her lips.

The wind evaporating with her heroic leap, the group below stared up in confusion, wondering what she would do next. Misty narrowed her eyes, focusing in on Melody's instrument. "Hey I recognize that instrument…"

Brock raised an eyebrow at her. "You do?"

"From Shamouti's shrine," Misty nodded. "She played it to soothe a terrible storm when Lugia and the legendary bird trio went berserk."

"What in the world could she hope to do with it now…?"

"I don't know," Gary said as he rejoined them at the pillar's base. "But I have a bad feeling about whatever it is she intends to do."

Sinnoh Region – Mt. Coronet

Standing up right after finishing tinkering with the final device, Colress spread his arms to the heavens like a conductor before an orchestra. "It's complete! My masterpiece is ready! Come armies of the world! Come and give me your power!"

He turned at the sound of the air displacing beside him, and pre-emptively shielded his gaze as space warped and a flash of purple light lit up mountainside beside him. Sabrina stepped through reality, her cloak flapping about in the roiling psychic energies, her eyes blazing natural power that had no ties to Aura.

He turned and performed a mock bow to her. "Sabrina! You're just in time! The preparations are finally finished."

She regarded him impassively, nodding ever so slightly. "Good, the master was becoming impatient."

"So I see…" Colress said, eyes narrowed toward the summit where the fierce aerial battle raged between Sir Aaron and Tobias, their clash easily visible to the entire summit. "Unexpected company, I gather?" He shook his head in disdain. "Such a waste of energy! He could have waited for me to finish setting up before so selfishly engaging the enemy like that!"

Sabrina shrugged. "It couldn't be helped. He was aiming to disrupt the ritual."

He gave her an exasperated look. "You really are droll, you know that right?"

"I merely act to secure the master's plans."

"And which master exactly are you playing secretary for, I wonder?" He asked with an outrageous smirk. "It seems to me that Ash coins more loyalty than our venerated leader a late. You wouldn't betray the noble Sir Aaron, now would you?"

She stared at him blankly for a few moments. "Are you finished?" When he didn't respond, her power shimmered around her once more, her psychic abilities firing up in preparation for another jump through reality. "I have to check up on the others before reporting back to the summit. Don't fail."

The air tore and she stepped through, exiting in another violet burst of light.

No sooner had she left than momentum below caught his attention. "Oh? What have we here?"

Tearing up the mountain path was a blazing yellow aura crackling with latent electrical power. It was obvious to whom it belonged, and whilst its presence was hardly surprising given the circumstances, the person following it was. Long midnight blue hair trailing behind her as she ran at breakneck speeds, Dawn Berlitz sped from the entrance to the mountain's underground tunnel system and showed no signs of slowing as she powered up the trail.

The smile returned to Colress' face. "So... the jolted lover returns."

A furious Dragonite burst from the tunnel. Like an arrow shot from a bow, it cleaved the air with deadly precision towards her retreating form, rapidly closing the distance between them. She seemed to notice and reached for her Pokeballs.

Drake appeared moments later, his cloak snapping around him as he sprinted after her, a burning determination in his eyes.

Laughing, Colress activated the final device before him and jumped down the slope, breaking out into a full run despite the severity of the angle.

Drake saw him coming, a smile creeping up his face at the fellow member coming to his aid. The Orange League Champion redoubled his efforts, closing in for the kill.

Colress leapt, clearing the rest of the distance in seconds.

Drake's face turned to confusion and he nearly tripped as he tried to bring himself to a sudden stop. The scientist was stood inexplicably between himself and his pray, a huge smirk splitting his face. "What the hell are you doing Colress?! She's going to get away!"

"I can't allow you to interfere with our Lord's great plan, little Drake!" Colress said, wagging his finger.

The confusion on Drake's face only deepened. "Are you insane or just plain stupid?! Our Lord doesn't want the ritual disrupted! She will do just that!"

The laughter erupted from Colress' throat in unrestrained cackles. "Oh Drake, you know so little. Though I suppose with an intellect like yours it's no surprise he didn't confide in you the important details!"

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

Colress cocked his head to the side. "You wish to serve Sir Aaron faithfully yes? Then just let Dawn Berlitz carry on her merry little way. You don't need to worry your head about it any further. Simply go back to your post and delay the World Government. Simple yes?"

Drake's brows furrowed in anger. "Listen you! Don't think just because you outrank me that you can order me arou-"

He was cut off mid-rant as an unbelievably strong killing aura began emanating from the scientist. His intent to kill was so powerful it became visible, radiating from him in dark waves. As Drake watched with wide eyes, Colress seemingly transformed into a demon, his eyes sunken hollow pits as black leathery wings of rage unfolded from his back in puffs of smoke. "You will obey your orders little Champion!" He roared in a voice that wasn't entirely his own.

When he blinked it all went back to normal, but Drake couldn't supress the shiver of fear at the look of murder in his colleague's eyes. "F-Fine. But if this all goes tits up don't blame me!"

Returning to his normal insanity, Colress grinned. "Oh no need to fear there," he turned and glanced up at the beam of Aura penetrating the heavens at Spear Pillar, "things are going exactly how Sir Aaron planned."

Sparing the beam of energy a glance, Drake shook his head before placing his index finger and thumb into his mouth and blowing out a high pitch whistle. Dragonite heard and turned from its chase at once, returning to its master's side. He returned his faithful companion and turned back down the mountain, wanting to rid himself of the scientist's presence more than ever. He had no idea what was going on, but left it in the others' hands. He would do his job, it wasn't his problem if the others failed to do theirs. Whatever happens I did my best. For that I can have no regrets.

The image of the demonic Colress haunted him all the way back to his post.

Sinnoh Region – Spear Pillar

Another pillar crumbled, its power drained.

Ash flicked his eyes over toward it briefly to see which legendary had been assimilated. Latias. Damn it… It sent a painful pang through his being to see Lati being used so. He had to content himself with the knowledge that it wasn't a permanent fixture.

Around the rune on the floor both Soreimaru and Leaf had already exited from the ritual, their parts in it complete. Both of them stood off to the side panting heavily, their Aura reserves exhausted. Unfortunately their bodies couldn't handle Ash's power for any extended period of time without burning to ruins in the process. Even after a few hours both their eyes were bloodshot and blood trickled from their ears.

The ritual was his. Alone. He stood before the torrent of power, feeling it course through his veins. It was the only power in the world that matched his own, but it was still entirely controllable.

Behind him he heard the continuous roars of the battle between Sir Aaron and Tobias. He could tell who the Guardian's opponent was purely based on his auric presence in the ether. The fight could go either way as it stood, but something about it made him uneasy, as though this was being orchestrated by someone other than those that ought to be meddling in these affairs.

Being so tied to the world and its natural energies was giving him an almost omnipotent sight. Everything around him was rendered in crisp detail within his skull, so real it was like he could reach out and touch it, alter it. Mold it.

Focusing on the ritual kept him grounded. I am not God. I'm human. Repeating those words over as a mantra stopped him from giving in to the urge to embrace the power stream and make himself one with it. The consequences for doing so would be dear, and he had no doubt it would cost him his soul.

There are certain powers no man is meant to have.

Is that truly how you feel?

Ash shook his head to dispel Zeranth's voice. The God Pokemon had already been absorbed yet still plagued his thoughts. He wouldn't allow himself to be distracted by him at such a critical time.

Only six pillars remained. Once they crumbled and fed their powers into the matrix he was channelling, the ritual would be complete, and he could finally bring an end to all the misery and suffering that was rampant in this world.

He just needed Tobias to keep Sir Aaron distracted a little while longer.


"Giga Impact!" Sir Aaron roared over a crash of thunder.

Fearow opened its beak in a vicious caw as it charged headfirst into its struggling opponent. Plumes of energy transformed the flying-type into a living comet, trailing off and around it as its speed built.

Unable to dodge such a manoeuvrable opponent at such velocities, Latios could only grimace as it was struck in its side, taking the attack full force. Both of them plummeted through the air as though shot forth from a cannon, hitting the mountainside with punishing force.

The attack was a suicidal one, meant to take out the stronger legendary in a decisive blow and end the fight before it could drag out further. Fearow had already been flagging and this way it payed for itself tenfold. Tobias and just lost one of his signature pieces in exchange for one of Sir Aaron's weakest.

The Guardian grinned behind his mask and Charizard beneath him roared in triumph, begetting a gout of flame from its reptilian jaws.

Tobias cursed and returned his fallen Pokemon. He reached down to his belt, feeling how many capsules remained. Down to just five. This isn't going well. At this rate I won't have the strength to stop the ritual. Four out of the five were his official B team. He still had his final trump card if it called for it, but he'd prefer it if he wasn't forced to show his entire hand in this preliminary fight.

Although he was fighting the leader of the group, the man he needed to stop was Ash. No Ash, no ritual. No ritual, no victory. He was fighting the queen to reach the king. Taking the queen wouldn't put Shinonome in checkmate.

"Looks like you realize that you can't win!" Sir Aaron boasted as lightning flashed azure through the tainted skies. Even the weather had become saturated in Aura. "I still have plenty of ammunition, while I'm guessing from that despairing look on your face that you have, what? Close to five Pokemon left at your disposal?"

Shit, he's sharp. Tobias didn't entertain trying to fool the masked man with lies, but he'd hoped he wouldn't catch on to his advantage so soon.

"Why don't you bring out X56?"

Tobias froze, his eyes flying wide open. He stared across the gulf at his opponent with surprise and confusion. "How do you know about that?"

Sir Aaron laughed. He laughed and laughed and laughed. "Now there's the question, isn't there?!"

"Project X56 is a highly classified piece of information that only those with the highest level of clearance even know the existence of! How do you know?!" Try as he might, Tobias couldn't quite quell the rising hysteria from his voice.

"Oh faithful little Tobias, how well do you really know those who you serve?"

The question shot through Tobias' brain like an arrow. Direct and painful.

"Do you really think the World Leaders are so noble? They are so benevolent to those they rule?" Sir Aaron laughed once more. "They're nothing but poisonous snakes that do everything for their own merit. You're nothing more than a deluded fool if you believe people with that much influence would use it for the good of others."

His first instinct to dismiss the words as nonsense were warring with the knowledge that Sir Aaron somehow knew about one of the most closely guarded projects that the World Government had ever undertaken. He's just trying to trick me! He has to be! But how does he know?! Did he used to work for the government? The League? WHO IS HE?

Frustrations boiling over, Tobias roared, letting out all his emotions in the most primal way possible. Rage escaped his lips. Pure unaltered rage. Grabbing the Pokeball at the end of his belt with X56 engraved onto its top, he urged his mount forward and charged towards the masked man.

The smirk behind the mask only grew. "That's it! Give in to your rage!" Sir Aaron goaded, grabbing two Pokeballs from his belt and holding one in each hand, spreading his arms wide as though to embrace the noble charging toward him in a killing frenzy.

Spittle flying from his mouth, Tobias bellowed his fury and launched the strange Pokeball before him with all the strength he could muster.

The eyeholes within Sir Aaron's mask lit up with fiery azure anticipation as he watched it hurtle towards him. That's it! Come! Unleash your contents! Even as it continued to fly through the air, he chanced a glance down at the path leading to the summit as movement caught in his peripheral vision. A shock of blue hair and a white flapping coat were coasting up the mountain side. Right on que. Dawn, you never fail to disappoint.

He could practically taste victory it was so eminent. Time seemed to slow. He savoured every last precious second. This was his moment. It all started now.

The Pokeball opened.

A colossal roar shook the heavens, the herald to something entirely unnatural in its overwhelming power. Titanic, a shadow rose up. Even flying several meters above the mountainside, the behemoth towered over the masked man and his Charizard both.

It had wings that expanded from its back in jagged spikes, its head had too many teeth and a blunt snout covered in hardened carapace. Twin red eyes shone from two darkened pits in its skull. Claws, excessively massive to provide the maximum overkill extended from arms bunched with more muscle than ought to exist in one place, so compact they threatened to burst the skin. Stood on two bunched legs each the width of a house, it balanced on splayed claws of dangerous lethality. Behind it a tail swished in agitation, a series of sharp spines protruded from its back.

Despite the malformed nature of the beast, its eye blazed with a malign intelligence. It's clear it had been formed with only destruction in mind, and the intellect shining from within showed that it knew this fact well and revelled in it.

The light faded and colour found its place on the monstrosity. It had the appearance of every legendary that had ever been recorded, fused into one hideous form that somehow blended every aspect together as though it were natural. The power it exuded was phenomenal. Here was a being that could destroy nations in a single stroke.

Sir Aaron took in the sight with relish rather than fear, his blazing eyes shimmering with joy. His catalyst had finally been brought out into the open.

As X56 roared its fury, shattering stone and disrupting the sky above it with its mere presence, Dawn neared the top of the stairs.

Sir Aaron spread his arms wide and laughed. Things had finally fallen into place.


Her lungs burned, her chest heaved. It all seemed trivial now.

Spear Pillar loomed before her, the plume of energy piercing the heavens so close she could almost reach out and touch it. It was inviting her to the table of legends, unerringly so.

In the back of her mind she knew something was amiss. It shouldn't have been so easy to reach the summit. She hadn't encountered a single member of the group since confronting Drake. The alarm bells should have been ringing. Common sense alone should have dictated that this was a trap.

Dawn just found it hard to care.

The only thing burning through her mind was that she was within arm's reach of Ash. Her Ash. If she could just reach the pillar, as soon as she made it she could put a stop to this madness and end the whole war before any blood was spilled.

Yes, the voice in her head was telling her, it was the only thing that made sense, and every urge in her body seemed to agree. She'd known this as the only solid fact since she started her ascent up the mountain. Reach Spear Pillar. Reach Spear Pillar. Reach Spear Pillar. That was her mission. Her only goal.

The steps to summit dwindled. Fifty. Forty. Thirty. Twenty. Ten.

And then, as though breaking through a storm and into the tentative light of the merciless sun, she put her foot down on the summit.

His back to her, his long spiky black hair billowing about with the power he wielded, Ash stood at the crux of the ritual, his silhouette prominent against the sharp light emanating from the column of power.

Her feet moved of their own volition, steadily moving her toward her lover. She reached out with her hand. He was close now, she could almost reach him. Maybe if she reached just a little further…? "Ash." She called out faintly, as though in a trance.

Oblivious to her presence, her voice lost in the maelstrom of sound filling the summit, he continued on with his work.

"Ash." She called again, steadily getting closer, her voice raising in volume. "Ash, can you hear me? I'm here. You can stop this now."

She caught sight of the two others who occupied this space noticing her presence on the other side of the pillar, but barely gave them a second thought. They were meaningless. All that mattered was reaching her Ash.

Vindication filled her being, knowing that her actions were the most righteous thing that anyone had ever done, she filled her lungs with air and broke into a run, rapidly closing the distance between herself and the ritual. "ASH! " She bellowed, her voice echoing off the stone floor.

Her voice finally reached him. He heard her. Slowly he turned, shock and surprise filling his glowing eyes as he momentarily took his attention off the ritual.

That moment was all it took.


As Dawn stumbled up to the ritual, Sir Aaron reached inside his cloak, gripping the staff of life and releasing it from its hiding place.

Roaring his triumph, he kicked Charizard in the side, ordering him to fly directly into the giant monstrosity stomping towards them.

X56 opened its mouth and a beam composed of every element burst forth. Charizard nimbly banked to the side and dodged the destruction which proceeded to gouge the mountainside and evaporate rock and stone like water in a desert.

Holding the staff like a lance, he leapt from Charizard's back and speared the strange Pokemon directly in the chest. Blue cracks formed like bruised veins at the point of impact, spreading through X56's chest and absorbing its unique strength.

The weapon of the Gods could reshape reality depending on its master's will. And no man had a clearer will than Sir Aaron.

X56 screamed in pain as its internal energies were transplanted into the Staff of Life. No sooner had he stabbed the monstrosity did he yank the staff free, having already taken what he needed from it.

Grinning, he used his legs and propelled himself in a back flip from its stomach and dropped through the air. Reaching toward his belt he unfastened Alakazam's Pokeball and unleashed his most faithful partner beside him as he continued to fall.

Both of them vanished in a psychic burst.


Dawn faltered in her run. A figure appeared beside Ash out of thin air, brandishing a strange staff-like weapon.

The weapon looked strangely familiar…

Her eyes shot open and horror filled her being at the colossal mistake she'd just made. The corrupting influence lifted from her vision. The concentric rings engraved on her leg suddenly began glowing fiercely, sending burning pain deep into her thighs. That's Riley's staff! The staff of life!

"Ash look out!" Was all she could yell as she hopelessly dropped to the floor. The warning was far, far too late.

The staff struck Ash on his back, in one foul swoop draining his power into the staff.

Spasming as though electrocuted, Ash fell to his knees, his Aura escaping from his body and absorbed into the ancient weapon. It only took a few seconds before it stopped its vampiric attack, its victim drained dry.

The masked man turned toward the ritual, his eyes glowing, he slammed the staff into its centre.

The column of Aura warped, changing its contours again and again, as its internal patterns were manipulated over and over in a complex matrix that only the mind of the insane could ever hope to comprehend.

The sky roared in agony as reality was torn asunder. Black lightning lit the clouds the colour of madness, and in the apex of the ritual Sir Aaron stood like a prophet beseeching his divine orders, clutching his staff in one hand and reaching to the skies with the other.

It was only then that he began to chant.

"A thousand years of pain! The sword of darkness! The shield of despair! The sluggish blood that pumps through the corrupted heart! The colossal weight of the ages! Crack the iron! Obliterate the stone! Cut, maim and destroy! Tear the land asunder and wrack the body with agony! Forbidden Aura technique! Gate of the Heavens!"

As his lips uttered the final word the beam of power splayed, a blast of pure Aura shot from his outstretched hand and wretched open a hole of pure darkness above the Spear Pillar. Nothing mortal had ever gazed inside that hole without losing their minds at the fathomless impossibility it represented. It was the realm of the Gods, and the sphere of unreality a gateway to their forbidden domain.

"Come forth and be reborn! I summon you, Original One!"

The sounded that echoed from the sphere was unlike anything else. It was the sound of the ages grinding together in a mournful lament of vengeance. A God had had its stolen power returned to it, and it would annihilate everything that had so arrogantly used it in their ignorance.

Lost in his moment of triumph, he didn't see the danger until it was right on top of him.

An Aura powered punch flung around with the force of a sledgehammer, catching him directly in the face.

Losing his grip on the staff he stumbled back, shocked and in pain, a vicious crack spreading over his mask from the force of the impact. His eyes flashed toward the perpetrator. "You…?" He said in disbelief.

Soreimaru stood over his falling form, the smirk on his lips more mocking than ever, his fist still outstretched and covered in azure light.

Sir Aaron hit the floor, and his shattered mask fell from his face in splinters.


To Be Continued…

Hope you enjoyed! And I hope you'll come back next week for the next installment. I'll do my best to keep to this schedule until I can get this story finished. I doubt it'll be as large as the first but I'm aiming for a least 20 chapters.

Thanks for reading!

Until next time Pearlshippers! Peace Out!