Chapter 20- Revelation
The onset of a conclusion

"People of Kalos… It is I, Lysandre. Thank you… for aiding us."

"Ever since humanity walked this earth, it has become fraught with war, conflict, evil. The world has changed. As humans, we have changed as well. The world has become a vile and war-torn world."

"If you do not believe me, if you do not find truth in my words, then simply look around at the marvelous conclusion to a little experiment we have conducted today that affirms my theory. The Hunters? A mere lie! Flare Hunter Z was simply against my cause the whole time, and you, Kalos, aided me to allow this cause reach full fruition!"

"You would have been wise to have listened to that fool; I am, as are the Hunters, one and the same as Team Flare. The man you have seeked to destroy for so long… was me."

"Yet, you still blinded yourselves! You refused to turn from your war-like ways! In this, I was convinced. Instead of seeking out the truth like you shall claim you did in hindsight, you instead sparked a war! You hunted the man who was 'your' enemy and as I speak now, he has fallen in battle to the 'heroic' X, leader of the Hunters. In this, I am finally enlightened in the truth about humanity."

"You do not seek a world of peace; you want WAR."

"You spark a war, fan its flames, watch it grow. Then, from the ashes of the war, new 'heroes' and 'enemies' arise, and another begins once more! This never-ending cycle DISGUSTS me! It disgusts me to have to live in such an imperfect world. However, as the descendant of the glorious king of North Kalos, I shall follow in his footsteps and finish what my ancestor began! From the flames of an old Kalos, a new, perfect third reign shall rise! A world ruled by Flare, where all shall finally be a world of flawless, eternal beauty! As you fought, I gathered more resources for my ultimate weapon; Ragnarok! The ancient Final Weapon shall rise once more, and it shall be hailed as the beacon of the new world order! The herald of perfection!"

"This world nears its end. His rule shall be absolute!"

"I bid you all… Adieu. Heil Flare!" the madman finished with a salute.

-MISSION BRIEFING-

"That was the last we heard of Lysandre." Sycamore spoke, closing his Holo-Caster, "How could I have been so blind… I let him run free for too long!"

"How could WE have been so blind is a better question." Antonie spoke next, looking down at the floor, "I thought… I thought this was all a scuffle between friends, not an all-out war."

Black was silent, watching on to the conference. For once, all signs of mirth, of joy, had left his face. He looked as saddened and bleak as the world around him.

For the first time in a while, Black finally understood the meaning of WAR.

"It's not too late!" another voice spoke. Everyone looked up from the war-room's table to look at the boy with green hair who just spoke. His eyes, the same green as his hair, burned with an angry fury as he spoke, "Lysandre needs to warm up the weapon, does he not? This storm… That's proof that he hasn't won yet!"

"Yeah, but we might as well have lost already…" Calem sniffed, Serena by his side and rubbing his back, "We- I spent a whole week waging war on Z. In that time, he could have amassed an army… Even bigger than the one that…"

His eyes glazed over in memory.

"S-Stand down! Don't make me shoot!"

"Do you think you could defeat us all with that peashooter, X? You've outlived your usefulness already, so run away, screaming! Not that it matters…."

Calem sobbed, breaking down again, "It's no use! We can't win a war with so few men!"

"SO WHAT?!"

They all turned to look at Shauna, who stood in the entrance of the room. She stormed inside, walking over to X and pointing at him, "You're just going to-to give up?! To surrender?! For Arceus's sake, X! This isn't about your 'war' anymore! This is about the fate of the world! That cannon has the power to end all our lives, and Lysandre's finger is on the trigger! YOU CAN'T RUN FROM THIS BATTLE ANYMORE, X!"

"What Shauna said is right." Serena softly spoke to her friend, "You need to end this!"

"He… He's too strong! We can only r-run and pray we aren't in range of his strike!" X whimpered in terror, curling up and shuddering, "W-We can't win! There's no human way!"

"What about… Legendary?"

The doors to the room hissed open, and I rode in on Epona. Behind me, the two Legendaries of Kalos followed, Xerneas quietly and eloquently treading the steel floors and Yvetal's claws clanking across the metal, her massive wings pinned by her sides. I trotted over to my chair, "Once again, thanks for saving us from that jam, and… Can somebody get these two chairs?"

"It is fine, Flare Hunter. I fear they may not be large enough to accommodate our size." Xerneas spoke, his voice booming across the room. Everyone almost seemed to faint right there at the sight of the legendary Pokemon.

"Holy-Is that… Xerneas?!" Aile gasped, "THE Xerneas?! The Legendary Stag?!"

"Do not forget me, Yvetal; the guardian of winds of wisdom and sagacity." The red bird added, her blue eyes looking around the room, "We have come to aid you on this quest."

X looked up, before glancing away, "No! Even with those, we're still too weak! We-We can't win! We just can't! IT'S NO USE!"

"Hold your horses, X. There is a way." I replied, patting Epona's mane softly, "You need to suit up again. We need to amass all the forces we can gather for one last assault. Black, do you have control of anything that can help us? The Unovan Army?"

"That… That's a question for N, here." Black turned to the green haired boy, who had looked up from inspecting the desk.

The boy nodded, "The 12 through 15 Plasma Battalions are yours to command, Z."

"Excellent- Wait, Plasma?!" I did a double-take, looking up at the boy in white. He nodded, his face still as serious and emotionless as ever. He reached beneath his shirt, pulling out…No.

No way. That… That's not…

The Team Plasma coat of arms glittered back up at me, as I slowly edged back. N looked into my brown eyes, speaking with an inhuman calm for the situation, "Edward Auditore de Frienze. Zero Unit. Code Omega-Zero. How have you been?"

A gasp rose from the room. Everyone's eyes fell on me, with the exception of X, Y and Go.

"Y-You can't be thinking of… Killing me now, are you?!" I choked. My time… had it come at last?

However, N let out a small smile.

"Perish the thought. I bear no ill-will towards anyone who opposes their ambitions now. The enemy of our enemy is a strong ally. It is just… refreshing to see somebody in the same boat as myself. However… Your father…"

My heart skipped a beat.

"…He is one of the units under my command as well, after we defected against Ghetsis. Perhaps you can reunite with him, even… We, and the Flare Hunters, share a common goal; To protect the world from devastation! To Unite the People in the nation! To den-"

"Please stop saying that." Black grumbled, waving a hand towards N. He grunted, folding his arms, "Flare Hunter, I would be happy to provide you with support. We cannot allow our foes to claim victory!"

"Excellent. With extra forces, we can easily launch an assault. Any other recommendations?" Willow asked, pulling out a notepad and writing down this information.

"I heard some news there was a guy in Johto too." Tierno piped up, looking up from his 3DS, "Z, you were there too, right?"

I nodded, remembering the events of that crazy ninja Gym, "Yeah! Ethan… Hijiri? No, Hibiki!"

My politician friend raised an eyebrow, "…Gold…? I've met him."

"What?! That's great!" Go smiled, "What was he like?"

"…Weird. He's just… Ugh. Something seems to separate him from us. Not in a bad way, but…" White scratched her head, before shrugging, "His friends are nice, though! I like the little guy and the Rattata... Jimmy, was it?"

"In any case, we need all the help we can get! I'll beam into Johto and see if I can recruit him to fighting the end of the operations there." I nodded. It was just as convenient I had to give him the Soul Sheath too. Maybe I could use it as leverage to get them to join our team.

Antonie adjusted his glasses, "Z, you must understand; this is no war! This is a massacre if you go in unprotected! Even with these armies, the only weapon powerful enough to fight the superweapon is…"

"A giant rock." X suddenly spoke. His grey eyes lit up, as he looked up at me.

"…A what?"

"Clog up the top of the thing again. With a bit of luck, it'll backfire and kill the Flares in the blast."

I turned to face the ex-Hunter, "Oh, yeah. Forgot about that legend. You wanna find a rock?" Calem scratched the back of his head, before shrugging, "Understood. But… Obvious question, how DO we transport a massive mountain of stone halfway across Kalos?"

"I'll teleport it across, of course!" Aile beamed, "Well, once I find one of suitable size…"

Emma hummed to herself, sorting through several crates in the Guardian's cargo hold when she heard an odd sound coming from the back of the craft. She lowered the large crate of tea leaves, approaching the source of the sound silently.

"GOTTAGOFASTERGOTTAGO FAST!"

"Shut up, K.C! They haven't worked out we're here yet!"

"WHITE STREAK! SPEEDS BY!"

"How was I supposed to know the ship could fly?!"

"THEY MADDEEE A VOW THEIR MOTTTHEERR WOULD BE FOOUND!"

Emma blinked, her lavender eyes filled with interest, "Um… Is anyone here?"

The crates hushed up.

"…Do you think she heard us?"

"Go fast?"

"I'm still here, you know. And I have guns." The stealth unit spun one pistol out of habit, before tossing it into the air and catching it as it fell back down again.

"OH SHOOT! RUUN!"

A figure clad in white and olive green dashed past, only to be easily caught by her camera's strap by a black armored glove. Emma calmly tapped her over the head, knocking the woman out, before walking towards the crates, humming to herself again.

"FRREEEEDOOOMMMM!"

A white blur. The Essentia Unit locked on, dashing forwards and leaping onto the blur's back, revealing her to be a roller-skating blonde. She only had time to gasp before the two crashed into a pile of crates.

The blonde looked up at Emma, as a crate bounced off her helmet and crashing to the floor, spilling tea leaves around the cargo bay.

She let out a nervous laugh, "Um… Hi?"

Essentia's eye twitched.

"Oi! Z!"

The Variable Identity System strode into the main command center, carrying two limp figures under her arms. With a broad grin, she tossed them to the floor, "I found some intruders! They don't seem too bright, though."

I walked over to the two girls she had proudly dropped before me, "Wait, intruders?! This is a flying airship! How did they get onboard without us noticing?"

"They were arguing something about loading themselves into a crate two days ago." She replied, placing a hand on the side of her helmet in thought, "I mean, so much for stealth there!"

Go and Aile turned to look at the two intruders.

"…Viola?" Go questioned.

"Korrina?" Aile chirped, confused.

"Tea?" Thomas asked, before gasping, "Oh dear Arceus, they did not just spill my tea leaves."

"Unfortunately, yes." Emma sighed.

"NNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The cry of anguish was cause of alarm enough to cause several Pokemon to flee the skies around our craft.

I turned to Emma, "Take them to the med bay. I'll check up on them later."

"…We don't have a med bay." Emma noted, scratching her head. I shrugged.

"Well, um… Take them to the lab. I dunno, just somewhere to take care of them." I replied, turning my attention back on the task at hand, "Say, Aile. You know Korrina well."

The young mechanic nodded happily, "Yeah! She might as well be the mayor of my town, with how well everybody knows her! She's the fastest Gym leader in the world to me! Maybe I could work on her skates and improve her speed!"

"A unit designed for speed and evasion instead of outright combat. Curious idea." Prarie noted, "I'll ask her later if she wants to help."

"Vio… She's really only a camera girl." Go muttered, "I think she could serve as a lookout on the airship or man the defensive turrets. I'll have to ask too."

"If we act swiftly and stealthily, we could perhaps tip the scales in our favor, or even end this war!" Willow exclaimed, jotting all this down on his notepad, "Legendaries, can you head to the lab? We could use your help in redirecting Mega energy into a little project of ours… Tierno, Shauna, Dexio, we're going to need you as well. This project involves you too, Y'know! Aile, repair and prepare the ship for war. We need to get the base into the field to provide air-support."

"Working on it. That Flare airship X scrapped… We'll need to touch down there, and I'll see what I can scrap from it."

N looked down at his watch, "I shall prepare my units, Flare Hunters. They shall arrive in one day."

"One day-" I sputtered, "W-What?! We can't wait one day for backup! One day is another day for Ragnarok to charge! We need to strike now, hard and fast! We need to end it while he can't fire!"

"Haste makes waste. Come, Black. We must return to Unova." N spoke, leaving the command center silently. Everyone parted to give him way as he did, but before he stepped through the doorway, he paused.

"I can delay our leave by approximately five minutes. Black, depart any information you want the Flare Hunter to hear prior to his final mission. Fiatsu and I shall prepare for takeoff. Do not forget that your bodyguard awaits as well, and there is only so much patience he has."

"Alright, thanks bro!" Black smiled, giving a thumbs-up to his rival, "I'll be out in a flash!"

N left the room, leaving just the politician and his companion with us. White walked over to me, "Z-Zee, right?"

"It's pronounced Zed. And yeah, what is it, White?"

"…I've learnt a little something from my adventures with Black… An' I think it's important that all of you guys hear it…"

Black blinked, "W-White? You actually… This wasn't in the script , y'know. I don't really think you want to make a fool out of yourself here, Hilda."

"Don't call me that, Herbert! I thought you said that you would only refer to me as that in really dangerous situations!" the brown-haired woman snapped back, before turning to face us, placing a hand on the table to support herself.

"There's so many of them, and so little of us. They have bigger weapons and better plans. But we have something they don't; Each other! We share a friendship unlike any other!"

Calem looked up at the brown haired girl, rubbing tears from his eyes. He had a gut feeling that whatever this little girl clad in a torn black jacket had to say was important.

"I don't know where each of you come from. Heck, some of you guys probably hate each other! But what you did in the past is not important now! This is here and now, guys!"

'I started a war… I tried to kill Z… I helped Lysandre while he created Ragnarok…' the boy in blue thought to himself sadly, but just as he thought of leaving the room, a soft hand wrapped around his shoulder, white Mega Ring clinking against his black. He looked up, into the blue eyes of his blonde friend.

"We need to work together NOW to save our world! The three of us… Unova, Kalos and maybe Johto! A… A Threesome!"

A needle scratched a record. We awkwardly stared at White, who slunk back, "Um… Bad word?"

Black let out a chuckle, walking forwards, "How about… Trinity. This is Operation Trinity!"

I smiled, "I like that. Well, Black. Let's do this together!"

We shook hands, and with that, I could feel a new chapter in my story had opened up. One that would go down in history simply known as;

OPERATION TRINITY
Kalos, Flare Hunter: ATTACK

5 minutes have elapsed since the briefing.

Go opened up the door to her room, stepping inside. The blonde camera-girl clad in lime and white lay in the bed, her chest slowly undulating with each breath. The programmer took a seat next to the bed, resting her head on her hand, deep in thought.

Contemplating each decision, each choice, each variable that had led to this situation. She was just a simple cloud programmer who had certain skills in creating mobile apps and running servers. Networking was her specialty.

So, how did she go from working on a little mobile app that simulated Pokemon training to a hacker for a guerrilla fighting force that was fighting a man obsessed with rebuilding the world in his image? How did she end up in this airship, high above the ground, looking over an unconscious blonde childhood friend?

As with all her reality checks, the answers came flooding back slowly once more; she had volunteered to follow Z that fateful day, and since then, she refused to let go of him through thick and thin. Heck, if she didn't know better, she'd think she was in love with-

'No. Bad mind! No talky about lovey!' Charlie berated herself internally, blushing red hot. She still had enough problems outside of romance, such as the imminent apocalypse. If she made one wrong move, a miscalculation, a zero where a one should be, it could spell doom for the entire cause.

"Stupid Korrina and her yelling... I almost lost it there! Wait… G-Go? Is that you? W-Why are you… staring at me like that?"

The programmer jerked upright, "Oh, um- Vio! Welcome aboard the FH-'Guardian'!"

In the bed, the photographer had awakened, rubbing her forehead and looking at Go, confused, "Um… What? The… 'Guardian'? Is… Is that the name of your base?"

"It is. You've come a long way, haven't you?" Go questioned, looking down on the woman with a small smirk. Viola let out an excited gasp, as the clouds parted outside the windows to allow a beam of golden sunlight to illuminate the hacker's face.

A gloved hand reached out, and she took it, standing before her old friend, "I can't- You- How?!"

"Team Flare had some nifty technology. We simply snagged it before they could use it to take over Kalos." The programmer replied, "Actually, we have Aile to thank for that. Just look for the little girl in the blue jacket for details."

Viola slowly stepped towards the window of the craft, looking out over the clouds. The storm was still raging beneath, but from above, the white clouds were as peaceful as day. The blonde let out a small sigh, "I… I've always wanted to fly. We're really… We're really flying now?"

"Hey, it'd take a lot more effort for us to fake flight than to actually fly." A soft hand wrapped around her shoulder, "I always took it for granted, what with all the flying enemies we face, but now…"

Flight… Go never stopped to consider the forces that resisted gravity's clutches to keep the 'Guardian' in the air. Thousands of tons of steel, electricity and Synergy, all collaborating to create a metal bird, an almost divine craft that graced clouds in water's stead.

… It was thanks to Z she was here, wasn't it…? If she never followed him through all the lightning that barred their paths, she would have been forever tied to earth. If Z hadn't given Aile the strength to keep going, she never would have rebuilt the Team Flare airship.

"… Where's the man himself, anyway?" Viola asked, bursting Go's thought bubble instantly, "That… That's actually why I'm here. I'm here to interview him and finally win the 'Reporter of the Year' Award instead of my sister, Alexa!"

Charlie Willow turned around sadly, "This isn't about journalism anymore, Vio. This is war. We need your help too, though."

The girl stood up, taking Go's hand, "In which case, you can still count on me!"

X and I walked down the hallway, Antonie following behind us.

"I… Z, will you ever… Will you ever forgive me?" X asked me, still sniffing and sobbing away. I tapped his shoulder, "Hey! Chill out, X! I told you! I'm not mad at you or anything. By all rights, I should hate you, but this is a war; We need each other to survive, so there's no time for hate or anger."

"… But… The war… You were so badly hurt… But all I felt was…" X closed his eyes, remembering how he had felt during the war.

Conflicted? No, not that… Pressured?

Enraged.

"I… I lost myself, didn't I?" X slowly stated, confused. I turned around, thinking back to the final strikes of our clash. Xerosic had made a brief appearance, didn't he? If I consider the path that X had taken…

A new armour… With a Z-crystal…

"Xerosic…It had to be him!" I realized all of a sudden, looking up suddenly. Antonie started with a gasp, running around before me, "X-Xerosic, you say?! Albert Xerosic?!"

"Dad… Who is he…? Did you know him?" X questioned, folding his arms.

Antonie looked between us silently, as if he had said something he wasn't meant to, before letting out a sigh, "I suppose it is time the truth came out, my son… The truth about what Operation Ekans Eater."

"It all began with a man named Jack… A name I haven't heard in a long time."

"Jack Summers was another old friend of mine. We go back as far as the war itself. During the events of Ekans Eater, I personally asked Jack to perform an important mission; saving your grandfather."

"…It wasn't the government?!"

"No, it wasn't. The Ranger union back then was small, as I can attest. Jack was one who showed promise, yet he wasn't the one who was the best. That title would go to his mentor, Pokemon Hunter J. She was often the head of many operations, the 'Boss' if anyone asked."

"But she wasn't."

"No. That would have been… Me."

Antonie reached into his pocket, pulling out a small blue badge. It was shaped like a spiral with green letters within, but the surface was scratched and burnt. As I read the text upon it, I realized how much deeper this tale was.

"I was the commander behind Ekans Eater. I ordered Jack… No, Solana… Into this operation."

"…Sol…Lana?"

"His codename. Since his 'victory', it became a rank in the Union that all aspire to. Back on the task at hand… I'm sorry, my son. I never should have under-estimated the brutality of the old Team Flare…"

Silence, accompanied by a sigh. Then, the old commander continued.

"Cerveau survived. Currently, he is hiding out in Kalos, under a different name in a high-security mansion."

My mind clicked, before I rubbed my chin in thought, "…He made armor and weapons, right? There's only one place in Kalos where I can remember a large palace with weaponry."

"Yes. He was particularly interested in the Eevee armors of old." Antonie spoke, "If you've put the pieces together, then I suppose I can reveal to you what name he goes under now."

"Mr Charles Paris."

At these words, all the anger and hatred for the Hero of Kalos X had been gathering all his life cracked, shattering away only to confusion "…Mr Paris?! That kooky old man was…?!"

"Why else would he have allowed you and your friends to stay the night? It wasn't because you solved the 'mystery', not by a mile." The man let out a small smile, "It was because of what he saw you, X. He saw Jack in you."

"I-Impossible! You're bluffing! Z, tell him he's wrong! This can't be… This isn't true!" Calem stammered. I admit, I was having trouble keeping up too. If this was all true, that kind man who gave us shelter in the storm was really X's grandfather, saved from a past evil incarnation of myself, during a war in which my partner's grandfather was drafted into after being betrayed by his fellow scientist, who in turn created Emma's powersuit. Oh, and Emma was a clone made from the DNA of said scientist's colleague and wife.

And me in the middle, an ex-Plasma grunt who wanted to be a farmer.

Convoluted as heck.

"Sorry, X. I'm afraid that it all seems to check out… But why the secrecy? Why hide Kalos's greatest scientist away?" I asked, "If he was still in action now, we'd-"

"We'd have weapons of mass destruction long before this war, and we'd be bombarding each other with nuclear weaponry instead of plasma." The man refuted, pointing at me, "Cerveau's research was to create war machines! In all honesty, though, I suppose it was my fault that his death had to be faked."

"…Why? Why go through all this trouble to hide your mistake?!" Calem suddenly barked, grey eyes filled with anger, "I-I could have visited him! He could have helped us create… We could have defeated Lysandre a hundred times over!"

"Exactly that." Antonie spoke again, "Remember how Pokemon Hunter Z attacked you? I was frightened when I heard the news, over your… and Cerveau's safety. Do you ever wonder why I constantly asked you to join the Rangers?"

"It was so you could rebuild what you had broken." I breathed, "If X had joined the Rangers, you could return to the field once more as his commander, allowing you to repay in full the damage Pokemon Hunter Z left on you."

"Exactly. You are just as bright as Jack was… X, I'm sorry if it sounds like I used you… But I wanted you to truly avenge what was truly at fault for Cerveau's faked death; not Z, nor the hero of Kalos. I wanted you… To complete Ekans Eater. The mission the whole time… It wasn't to destroy Shadow Hoard, nor to rescue Cerveau."

"It was to kill Lysandre."

November 12, 1990
Sinnoh

A dark aircraft flew over the dark country, several smaller aircraft escorting it.

Within the aircraft, a man clothed in red and yellow closed his eyes in a peaceful slumber, the cigar in his lips puffing away silently. A loud series of clanks awakened the man, and he turned to face the door.

"Jack, what are you doing? This is a pressurized cabin, put out your cigar right this moment!"

Jack Summers let out a sigh, "Alright, fine. You're no fun." He tapped the smoking end of the tobacco on his pants, snuffing it out, before tucking it away into his breast pocket of his red uniform.

Antonie Calem sat before Jack, pulling out a series of papers. The Ranger leafed through each one silently, studying each carefully, "So, we've got the green-light? Is that why I'm up at 4:00 AM with a mug of coffee?"

"Not exactly. Jack, you remember Operation Temple of the Sea?"

"Sir, that was entirely my fault." The ranger sighed sadly, "I… I couldn't do it. I couldn't shoot J… I should have kept to the mission. The union was right to have demoted me back to 'Ranger'." Unconsciously, the man reached for his still slightly aching arm.

Antonie shook his head, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Jack, you're still only human. You make mistakes, you feel… You have emotion. I will admit; I did not wish to lose J to them, either… But that's in the past. Our sources have discovered that there is a man in charge of Team Flare. Your mission is to take him out as soon as possible."

"You don't mean that man who was with J?" Jack gasped in realization. He remembered all too well the man's flaming hair, his red and black suit, and his metal armor.

"Yes, him. His name is Lysandre. He has something big planned with Team Flare, and you need to nip it in the bud! A stitch in time saves nine, as they say." The commander advised Jack, handing him a small red device. The Ranger took it in hand, letting out a sigh.

"The Styler again? After I've fought guys with guns?"

"This is still a covert operation. If you run into any forces, use the Styler's shock function. Don't forget the top's capabilities as well."

With a grunt, he slotted into his belt, "Understood."

A red light came on, signifying the aircraft was over the drop zone. Jack got up to leave the room, running a hand through his dark blue hair. He adjusted his red headband, before stepping out towards the doors.

"Jack, what's wrong? You've been awfully quiet since this operation began."

Jack glanced at Antonie silently. Even though he was older than the commander by around three or so years, it was a question that demanded a proper answer. The Ranger let out a small grunt.

"My wife's pregnant. We're expecting in a few months."

Antonie blinked, shocked at this revelation, "A-A child?! Since when did you…"

"Doesn't matter. I just want to make sure the future is one that she can live in peacefully… I'm also trying to figure out names for her, too."

"Oh, any ideas?"

"Just one; Kate. B-But that's not important right now!" Jack spoke quickly, heading for the exit of the aircraft.

Behind him, Antonie saluted, "Godspeed… Solana."

"The codename Solana was chosen shortly thereafter to illustrate the fact that Jack was like a sun to light up the darkness of the conflict, to shine through the doubt and fear. This mission would eventually be a bar to live up to, the naked essence of the Union…But Irony is a fierce mistress. His operation… Ekans Eater succeeded, but Lysandre still escaped." In the man's grey eyes was flame once more. He simply looked away quietly, gritting his teeth.

"My son… Xavier, it is my fault he lived. I should have told you… That way, you would have gone down a path that truly would avenge Kalos… But here you stand now, having aided Flare's domination. This was no fault of your own… Rather, it appears to be mine."

X's eyes were filled with tears now, "D-Dad! Don't… The war… I will finish… what was started…!"

"Solana will live on." I promised, placing an arm over my chest in salute, "But… Why did Xerosic remind you of all this?"

In response, Antonie only let out a sad breath, "…Xerosic… He looked up to J. When he heard that she had defected, he followed, but when Jack killed her… He just lost it. Once, Xerosic was a good man. Handy with a revolver, skilled with technology… And rather suave to boot. Sadly, following his mentor's death… I don't know what happened, but the next second he had brutally wounded everyone in his unit's base and escaped. Literally overnight."

I clenched a fist, "So… Team Flare was all behind this all along? Xerosic joined Flare in order to avenge the death of J. He willingly created Essentia as a war machine to accomplish said goal, and Lysandre created the Hunters in order to lure his enemy into working for him, leading to this."

"I won't forgive Flare!" X roared angrily, "Thank you, dad..."

"Why do you thank me? I kept this information from you for years now." The doctor spoke, almost worried and fearful. However, our worst fears were dispelled once Calem looked up, sense and determination in those grey eyes.

"You've given me something to protect. X is back."

Emma padded down the hallways of the airship, humming to herself. While to the outside observer, it looked like the black-haired girl was casually strolling down the steel corridors in her armor, simply procrastinating. However, said observer would only need to glance at her face to notice the hundreds of blue holographic screens popping on and clicking off and her left hand's odd wriggling as it tapped on the air.

"This is weird." She finally spoke to nobody in particular, "Every single signal I've observed on that frequency…. It's been spiking like crazy recently." She tapped on her helmet grumpily, almost willing the blue screens to go away, "But all I know is that it's been pinging off like crazy since my last mission! Argh! Where is it coming from?!"

Just then, she bumped into something very big, very blue, and quadruped.

"Forgive me. I was simply searching for a location where I may defecate." Xerneas politely spoke, trotting past her. Emma blinked, "I'm sorry, you what?"

"I am travelling in search of an orifice in which to dispose of my mortal bodily wastes from consuming energy. While I am a Legendary, I am still a Pokemon. This body needs to dispose of waste."

"… In English?"

"… I need to pee."

The Essentia unit giggled, "Alright. It should be cabin 2A. Though… Shouldn't you be in the lab, helping the Professor?"

"He looked like he was contacting his superiors, thus, I decided to leave to relieve-" A brief moment passed, where the stag froze up. In the Legendary's mind, several pieces linked together at last. It only took him a few moments to realize what Emma had discerned almost instantly. The black haired girl let out a war-cry, dashing down the hallway in a flash of black and amber.

"…Curse my gullibility." The stag shook his head, resuming his canter down the hallways.

The steel bulkhead blew off its hinges. Emma landed behind it, smoking foot outstretched from where she had kicked the door open, "SURRENDER, FLARE SC-Wait, what?"

In the center of the lab was Professor Sycamore with two fingers on his ear, muttering something in Kalosian. Emma's helmet silently tuned to its translator, deciphering what the professor was saying and relaying it as convenient subtitles on her display.

"Yes, understood." The Professor spoke, nodding his head, "Don't worry, I'm fine. Call off the SAR operation and focus on evacuating Geosenge City instead… What?! It's not a priority?! Well, make it one, man! The world could literally end any day now, and you're still worried about finding that-"

The Professor's eyes widened, and he hissed angrily, "What the- What use is a national icon if the world is gone?! Are you crazy?! I demand to speak to the president! Where is he- Christening a boat. Are you-You can't be serious."

Emma flinched, as the professor almost yelled, "What the- this government is crazy! I don't care what you, or anyone else says! Send your army if you want, but if you're going to waste time on trivialities such as smashing liquor against steel when there is an ancient super-weapon primed to destroy this Earth, then Xerneas help me, I'm going to attack Lysandre on my own!"

A pause. Sycamore put his free arm on his other arm, leaning on a desk. He grumbled, letting out a sigh, "…Look, I apologize, but the situation is very tense now. Unless you want to be the ruler of a land of ashes and dust, GIVEN that you somehow survive the initial blast, then you MUST squeeze this past the bureaucracy, the cabinet, you need to make this a priority for the nation!... No, I don't care, and frankly, my friend, I don't give a darn. Mobilize whatever resources you have to eliminate Lysandre and halt that weapon!"

"…Good. Now, perhaps I can see what we can do about that stone of yours, alright? Understand? Get the president to contact me as soon as possible when you've reached a decision. You already know my frequency, so there is no need to fear now… Written it down? Good. Alright, I need to return to my tasks now. Goodbye!"

He tapped something on his wrist, letting out a sigh.

"I suppose you want to know the truth." He spoke suddenly, turning around.

Emma let out a gasp, pulling out both guns, "D-Don't get any closer, Flare Scum! I-I can handle you w-without Z's help!"

"There is no need for further violence, Emily. That was simply my contact in the International Police." Sycamore spoke calmly, picking a mug of tea off the table and taking a sip, "Perish the thought that I may betray you to Team Flare."

"I-International Police?" Emma asked, calming down slightly but still keeping both guns in her hands, "You mean you had contact with proper authorities the whole time, and you didn't tell them about any of what was going on?!"

"Mon ami, what was there to tell that wasn't already obvious?" he spoke, glancing out the porthole of the ship.

"I dunno… MAYBE to call off their Hunter dogsbodies and that TEAM FLARE was behind them the whole time?!" Emma exclaimed, tightening her grip on her guns, "If you did that, we would have ended this war days ago!"

"We were within a Hunter jamming field. I couldn't transmit my codec's signal safely without the Hunters gathering wind of it, or blocking it. Currently, we are too high above Kalos for any short-range jammer to catch me, so I could only get into contact with the IP just now." The professor lowered his mug, motioning to the watch-like device on his arm, "So I simply asked Xerneas to leave the room briefly. Other than that, I am not guilty of anything."

Emma slowly lowered her guns, but kept her energy shielding and fists up in case of attack, "Right… Sorry for thinking you were trying to harm us. It's just… This signal keeps going off in my helmet continuously, so I decided to check up what it was."

Sycamore looked surprised, "… You could pick up on the Codec transmission?"

"Only garbled sounds. It sounded like some sort of sloshy-static sound." Came the girl's reply, tapping the side of her helmet, "But yeah. Why are you acting so surprised?"

"That's strange… How could you pick up on those conversations… Your armor must be more advanced than I previously thought." Sycamore muttered, inspecting every inch of Emma's plating and helmet, "Truly, whoever created this was a genius…"

"… Yeah, well… Xerosic did." Emma muttered. Sudden flashes of green light and amber energy flashed in her head, and she shivered at the memory.

"…A madman, though…" she added quietly, closing her eyes.

Sycamore put a hand on her shoulder, "Emma, look. Your past does not matter now. What matters more is how you move towards the future. Will you create a world of war? Or will you keep fighting for the side of peace?"

Sunlight filtered in through the window. Emma slowly lowered her arms, letting them fall to her sides sadly.

"I made a promise I intend to keep to a friend of mine." She muttered, as the memory of the girl in the white jacket wielding the sniper rifle flashed through her head once more, "…That's why I choose to fight…"

The professor let go of her, walking across the room to resume work on a tangled mess of wire and green plating, "I see. To promise someone is to share a bond with them via that task, one would observe. Do not forget what you have sworn to her, no matter how dark this war may get."

"…Wait, don't distract me from the task at hand! What about this 'Rock' you were talking about earlier?!" Essentia suddenly snapped, turning to face the professor, "You claimed that it was a pointless mission, didn't you?! What was it?"

The man paused, turning off his soldering iron, "…Oh, that? Oh dear, I was hoping it would slip your mind…. Alright, I'll tell everyone at the next mission briefing. I suppose it can wait, if only to spite the IP."

The street girl let out a soft sigh, leaving the room, "You better have a good explanation for this, Syc. Otherwise, the next thing you'll be patching up is yourself."

The professor watched in silence as the girl clanked out of the room. With a small shrug, he continued soldering several wires together on the metallic device before him, humming a Kalosian song to himself. Xerneas wouldn't return for another few minutes, he theorized, so he would have to wait before installing the Gaia blades on the wrists. A holographic image of a small red wrist-mounted device flicked on the display before him as he tapped a few keys, and he zoomed in, inspecting the circuitry on the device before copying them in reality on his workbench.

"AAAAAAA-Oof!"

A strand of brown hair dangled from above, tickling the professor's nose and causing him to sneeze. This was followed up by a gasp, as he scurried about to pick up the electronics that were scattered across the ground-

"Wait, where did that hair come from?"

He slowly looked up, before realizing the situation was more dire than he first thought.

"Um… Hi?" Prarie squeaked, tied up in a mess of cables on the ceiling. A roof panel dangled by her side.

Sycamore blinked, "How long were you in the maintenance vent?"

"Um…Why isn't Geosenge City being evacuated?"

The professor's eye twitched.

"WHY ISN'T THIS SECURE LINE SECURE?!"

Yveltal froze up in the air as she heard the loud cry. A blur of orange zipped past her, shaking her out of her thoughts long enough to start rocketing forwards again. White clouds formed speed lines around her vision, as she spun through stratus in order to catch up with her target; a cocky vulpine on the back of a Charizard.

"What chance do you stand against a Legendary?" the falcon spoke calmly, swooping alongside Chariz's rider, "You know my speed far outclasses yours, yet you still fly!"

"Careful with that kinda talk, Yvetal!" Ryu smirked, waggling his finger at the red falcon, "You never know when your luck could change! Chariz, Dive!"

The dragon let out a gasp of exhaustion, folding in her wings and speeding towards the clouds below. Yvetal followed, chasing the two fire-types towards the vapor. Ryu glanced over his shoulder, holding on tighter to his mount's shoulders.

He gripped on slightly, "Inbound and closing in. Evasive maneuvers are advised!" Chariz moaned in pain, rolling aside to hide in the cloud layers, "Can't… take much… more… Need… to lie down…"

Ryu snapped his fingers, as an idea struck him, "Chariz, bring me in close. I have an idea."

"Bri-WHAT?! Ryu, the goal is to run from her, not let her-" the dragon suddenly felt her wings cramping up again, and sighed, "Fine. I'm slowing down."

Yvetal rocketed closer, almost smiling. Her target had faltered, just as she predicted. It would be too simple to simply swoop in close and tag the Charizard where she glided-

"RULES OF NAY-TURE!" a high-pitched squeal came from above, taking her by surprise. All of a sudden, a pair of black feet pounded on her back, eliciting a squawk of surprise.

Ryu clutched on to the eagle's back, pulling back hard and driving her directly skywards, "AND THEY'RE UP WHEN THE SUN COMES UUUP!" Yvetal began spinning and shaking, attempting to throw the fox off her back into the skies below, yet the canine remained on her back, soaring high above the Guardian as a red streak.

"WITH THEIR LIVES ON THE LIIIINEEEE!" Ryu punched Yvetal's face repeatedly, having swung around and grabbed onto the scruff of her neck. The eagle roared, scratching at the small Braixen, but a whip of fire wrapped around her talons, swinging him around back onto the back with a cry of, "ALLLIIIVVVEEEE!"

"WITH ROPE AND A LINE! NO CHARGE!" the searing flames burnt at her feathers, and she reflexively dove to attempt to put out the flames. The fire-type jumped off, becoming a flaming shooting star that glided alongside the bird. He grasped onto her tail, spinning her around through the air like that red guy from that N64 game he saw.

"SO LONG, AY-BOWSER!" the fox finally yelled, using all his strength to hurl the Legendary to the deck of the airship, before jetting down himself on a stream of flames and landing on the deck, drawing his staff and charging up a massive fire attack. Yvetal tumbled through the air, before righting herself and flapping unceremoniously to the deck and clanking both talons on the ground.

Ryu landed before her, charging forwards cloaked in flame, "SENGATOTSU!"

A loud ringing sounded across the top deck, causing both combatants to freeze in place as if somebody had hit a pause button on reality. Ryu lost his balance after a few seconds, falling over onto the steel with a loud thud.

The fox slowly stood up, as a blue wolf approached him, holding a stopwatch in one hand and a clipboard with a sheet of paper in another, "That took you 30 seconds to bring down Yvetal that time. You're getting slower as you go on."

Yvetal leaned over Chris's shoulder, "It appears that Ryu doesn't seem to have much in the way of aerial attacks. I'd advise looking upwards as you fight by his side, in addition to watching his back during combat."

The Braixen scoffed, folding his arms grumpily, "Yeah, right! Look here, you! I'm not trying to get myself killed!"

"Well, you will if you don't keep your eyes open!" Chris barked, "You're too sloppy! Your entire body is just too open!" Chris replied, frustrated, "You spend too much time calling out your attacks instead of actually striking!"

All of a sudden, the three pokemon were interrupted by a loud squeal of wind, followed by a loud clank as a familiar orange dragon smashed into the deck of the craft with a moan. Ryu was only narrowly able to leap aside before Chariz skidded to a stop on the deck, letting out a moan of pain.

"Ryu… I… will… tie… your damn tail… to your neck… if… you tell me….we need to go again…" the Charizard hissed at the kitsune. The fox slowly edged back, reaching for his staff, "Um… Please don't…?"

Chris and Yvetal exchanged glances.

"Break time now?"

"Advisable."

Ryu munched on the sandwich, turning to Epona, "This is surprisingly good! How did you make it?"

The little goat let out a grin, trotting to sit by Chariz and hand her another breaded snack. As she did, Chris approached Ryu, holding her clipboard.

"Alright, the results are in!" the Lucario stated, tossing her pen over her shoulder and neatly catching it in one of her dreadlocks. The fox ignored this feat, leaning over to glance at the notes. In massive blue letters, it was written;

YOU'RE TOO SLOW.

"Hey! Wait a second, that can't be all that you wrote for the last 30 minutes I was training!"

"I know. The real information is underneath. However, this statement summarizes the main geist of my observations. In using more flashy attacks, there is a tradeoff of the startup time to the enhanced strength of the attack. In addition, the yelling allows your enemy to see where you're coming from and prepare a counter-attack!"

"…The reason why I yell is BECAUSE I need to charge up!" the fox replied, "I can't magic flames out of nowhere! I got to pour some of my power into the move! It's like you trying to launch an Aura Sphere without charging up first. I can't just… I'm not made of fire, okay?"

"Justifiably so, but even such, you spend so much time posing prior to an attack that I could see over 37 ways to hit you while you're standing there." Chris poked the fox playfully, "Likeee… Here!"

The blue hound suddenly leapt onto the fox, tickling under his sensitive arms. Ryu instinctively began thrashing around, attempting to throw the Lucario off him, however the hound refused to relent, and eventually, Ryu submitted to the agitation.

Yvetal swooped in from above, looking over the… curious actions of the duo, "You two couldn't wait until after the war ends, could you?"

Ryu and Chris suddenly hopped off each other, shaking their heads quickly, "I-It's not what you think! We-we weren't- No! Nothing here!"

Yvetal spoke with a hint of humor in her voice, "I've heard of crossbreeding…"

"SHUT UP!" Chris yelled, blushing bright scarlet, "Besides, you live in… wherever you live! How did you even hear about crossbreeding?!"

"…That is not important." Yvetal quietly stated, realizing that she may have made a tactical mistake.

"So, you've been looking?"

"Um… I have important tasks to undertake with Z! G-Goodbye!" the falcon leapt off the side of the ship, stretching her wings with a flustered sigh and speeding away before the researcher Lucario could determine whether the legendary could even die of embarrassment.

"Nice!" Ryu fist-bumped Chris when she wasn't expecting, resulting in a white fist colliding with the hound's side. She turned to look at the fox, who edged back, stammering apologies, before smiling and playfully punching him back.

Then Chariz spoke up at last.

"Um… So… What's crossbreeding? Because I think I would understand that joke better if I knew."

Both canines stopped, freezing up as they turned to look at the curious dragon.

"STUPID! STUPID! DAMMIT! WHY! AREN'T! YOU! WORKING?!" came a young cry from the corridor, each word punctuated with a loud clang. This cacophony of sounds diverted a certain speedy Fighting-Type Gym Leader who had just set foot from a nearby bed-chamber.

"…Aile?" Korrina asked, rubbing sleep from her eyes and nursing the massive bruise on her forehead.

The mechanic's reaction was to leap away a good few meters, her Mega Arm warping on around her hand, and take aim at the woman, "AAAAH-Oh, hai Korrina." Shyly, she deactivated her weapon, clutching her shoulder and catching her breath again, "Don't scare me like that! Anyway, good to see you're back in the world of the living."

"Isn't this that airship that crashed near the city?" the blonde whistled, looking all around the craft. She did remember seeing the brunette mechanic busily hacking and working away at the crashed aircraft, but to have seen her gotten this far with the repairs to a full-if not, more than- functional flying machine…

At the young age of 15?! The Gym Leader didn't even get a car until she was 18!

"That's…. Pretty impressive for your age." Korrina finally spoke, as Aile turned back around to keep staring at the wires before her, "But… What's up with the dents in the wall?"

The mechanic sheepishly scratched her head, "Well… I was slamming my head into it. Repeatedly."

"…Is something wrong?"

The mechanic dug into her pocket, pulling out her own little tablet and holding it up. Displayed was a multicolored circuit diagram that the Gym Leader studied closely. She couldn't make head nor tail of any of the symbols on the diagram.

"Basically, the primary drive conduit is directly connected to the generator core (Well, to a transformer connected to the core) that converts Mega energy into electricity. However, the production is being curbed by the resistance of the cable and transformer, meaning that the primary defense drives have lower power priority compared to the hover drives. In addition, the secondary generator is non-functional, 'cos it does not connect to a transformer. Now, obviously, most would reason that I would just need to kick both into gear and plug it into the transformer, but in doing so I could overload the systems and cause catastrophic failure of the peripherals connected to the craft." Aile explained, pointing to several spots on the circuit diagram. She turned to face the roller-skater, "…Of course, the weapon systems previously were not required, however, in order to handle enemies, I would need to-"

"Woah woah WOAH! Okay, sorry I asked!" Korrina exclaimed. The young mechanic blinked, before sighing, "The guns have low ammo. I can take fuel from the engines to power them, but then we can't fly. How can I…"

Aile slumped over tiredly with a sigh, "And I need to use one day to solve this…"

"…You… Could get energy from the air…?"

This was like a jolt of energy to the girl. Her green eyes flickered into life again, "W-Wha?!"

"I-I mean, that Mega Arm thing X has... It gathers energy from the air, doesn't it? When he fires his normal shots, he doesn't need to use any more energy from the air… And I haven't seen him reloading it, so…" the blonde skater stuttered, not quite sure what the brunette would make of it.

"That's it!" Aile gasped, swiping aside the circuit diagram for an image of a cut-away Mega Arm, "The charge mechanism… I could mount several salvaged parts from the scrapped weapons… Not to mention that… But… No, it… he only uses that for his sub-weapons… Korrina, you are a genius!"

The mechanic jumped about twice her height, glomping the gym leader in an excited embrace, "Thank you! The Synergy gathering units could power the machine I have in mind, and keep the craft afloat! Why didn't I realize this earlier! The secondary generator can be modified into absorbing all the external residual energy from the air, and… That's it!"

Aile let go of the gym leader, picking up her radio and speaking into it, "This is Wing-girl to Ground Units! How many Mega Arms have you recovered so far?"

On the ground, Shauna picked up another radio, flicking it up and providing a response, "Well, we've managed to extract about 50 or so, but there is plenty more left. Some are still-" She paused, throwing herself to the ground as a large blue orb of plasma flashed past her head.

Shakily, she stood up, before yelling at the boy in green who was fiddling with a dented blue blaster, "TREVOR! YOU'LL HAVE SOMEONE'S EYE OUT WITH THAT!"

The orange-haired kid blinked, before shrugging and unplugging two small wires, "Alright, alright. I got word back from the locals, by the way. They said they're sending in some people to aid us soon!"

The brown-haired girl grinned, flicking her radio again, "Sorry about that, Aile. The area is mostly cleared now, and there is a local construction crew coming in to aid us in acquiring some of the scrap metal."

"Tres bien!" Aile was beaming as she spoke, scratching the back of her head, "Also, is the recovery of the refractor progressing well?"

"Um… About that… Tierno said he was going to do it, but…"

The mechanic's face darkened, slowly twisting into a mask of rage. Korrina wisely backed away.

"…What… did… he… do…"

"…He's just… he's not there! He just up and vanished!" came the squeak of a reply.

"WHAT?!"

The dark doors of the lab hissed open, as sneakers padded against the steel. The large figure in the rotating chair spun around to face the visitor.

"So. You came."

"Yeah, well… Can I make this quick? The guys probably worked out by now that I'm gone." Tierno muttered shyly, looking down at the steel, "And Aile… Well, everyone needs me."

"What have you come here seeking, my boy?"

"You know what I came here for, Professor. I want to help Z, but I'm too weak on my own!" the boy sadly looked down at his hands, his pale skin, "I heard you had some old armor here, so… Can I borrow one?"

"…What?"

"That pink one! The one with the big guns! Y told me that it was the strongest, so I could use it… It could help me carry stuff like the parts we need, and maybe beat up some Flares during the big battle that's coming up!"

The man shrouded in darkness seemed to stop. Then he grinned. A small giggle gave way to guffaws of laughter, as the much taller man rested a hand on the dancer's shoulder.

"Sure thing, Tierno!" Professor Willow replied, stepping from the shadows and flicking on the lights with his PokePad, "But… Pray, tell me. Why didn't you just say so earlier?"

"W-Well, I thought Serena would get mad at me if I borrowed the armor earlier, and she's the only person who researches them. But I never thought you…"

"He's not alone."

A figure stepped from the shade, clad in thin black armor. For a second, Tierno thought it was Emma herself, but on closer inspection, he could see blonde hair poking out from beneath the helmet.

"…Emma?"

"Nah, just me." Serena's voice came, removing the helmet to reveal the familiar grey eyes and blonde locks. From her neck down, she was wearing what looked like X's clothing, but that illusion flickered off as she tapped a button on her wrist, and she stood upright to talk to the younger boy, "What's up?"

"Um… Well, Serena, I need power armor. Preferably with emphasis on the POWER part." Tierno spoke, not sure what to make of the odd black suit she wore. Y only smiled, tapping another few buttons on her wrist to eject the armored plating onto the ground, clanking on the steel by their feet and revealing her regular clothing.

"Sorry about that. Just testing out a sneaking suit I was working on. You want power, though?" Y led the boy aside by his arm, "Let me just recalibrate the FORC armor for you…"

"Prepare yourself, knight."

I lowered my blade, as my opponent raised his large antlers, "I have seen many fighting styes, Flare Hunter, but yours has a certain familiar flair to it."

In an instant, he lowered his head, charging at me. I quickly brought out my blade, holding it before me to block his strike, before letting out a cry of, "TENSHOUZAN!" and leaping skywards with a burning blade. The stag I clashed with glided into the air, before quickly speeding down where I stood in a pounce that looked like it could shatter bone. However, my dash boots flared up, allowing me to rocket aside with nary a flinch before pulling out my gun and unleashing a charge shot into the chest of the beast.

"To the last, I shall grapple with thee!" Xerneas roared, galloping across the steel floors of the training room and skidding to a stop before me, sparks flying from his hooves as he elegantly glided up.

"X!"

I leapt back, as a burst of plasma roasted the ground before the stag. He peered upwards, catching only a glimpse of blue before rolling to dodge his next opponent.

A loud clank on the steel, as a pair of blue boots with smooth armor plating crashed to the ground. An oval red forehead gem gleamed on his helmet, as the ex-Hunter arose again. His armor was simply his original, unmodified suit with a simple arm cannon upgrade.

Xavier's grey eyes gleamed, as he switched to a white and red color scheme, "SPEED FIGHTER!"

He dashed forwards, fist glowing with blue flame. Xerneas summoned a blue sword with his powers, blocking the strike with a simple parry. The Legendary didn't expect Xavier to suddenly drop to the ground, a small booster poking from behind his back as he did, and slide beneath his blade like a batter sliding to first base.

"W-What?!"

The trainer rolled, hopping upright and opening fire rapidly with his arm cannon. Disoriented by the sudden attack on his rear, the stag could only let out a undignified cry of confusion.

"SEED BOMB!" Xavier called.

Marisso ran in off the side of the arena, ramming into Xerneas and punching into his antlers. The legendary Pokemon let out a roar, blue flames bursting from the stag to send the Chesnaught flying back, "Unrefined... Jerks!"

Xerneas stopped to catch his breath, looking around the room, "Just attack after attack, X?"

In response, the armored blue boy smirked, pointing up at his antlers, "I could say the same thing, pal!"

The blue stag glanced up, before realizing a large seed, about the size of a cocoa pod, was jammed in between two of his head's spikes.

"…Well played."

The resulting blast, Xerneas felt. He soon found himself slammed into the steel floors, skidding to a stop before a deep maroon boot.

I prodded his head with my toe, "That good enough?"

"… Zygarde… That's who it was…"

I froze as soon as I heard the name.

"He… He often said those words." Xerneas spoke, rising to his hooves once more. His face was unreadable, silent and emotionless as he spoke.

"When I fought with him… Alongside and against… He would always keep asking me 'Is it good enough?'… His blade was just as furious as yours, but I still cannot understand why he fought. Less and less people believed in him, and he was slowly weakening his bonds with the earth."

"Not many people believe in dreams anymore, I guess." X muttered, letting out a sigh and looking out a viewport, "As people stopped believing in having a dream…"

"He was fading away. Zygarde's behavior, on the other hand, was highly contradictory of his state! He would joke around about his mission, creating the most flamboyant of names for that which he created and…" the stag paused at these next words, "…He was prone to smiling. Despite knowing that his life could end at any moment, he smiled. In the most risky situations, he had no fear. He was… happy."

"Zygarde… Was he really like all that?" I asked, scratching my head, "That sounds… unlegendary-like."

"Often, I told him as such. In fact, part of me wonders what compelled Arceus to make him a Legendary of Kalos. His mind is young, Flare Hunter. Much like your own."

"Yet, he was able to become a legend of this world."

Yvetal bowed her head, walking through a pair of steel blast doors into the room. She looked at me, "We, the legendaries of Kalos, have a task to request of you; Save Zygarde."

Once again, these words caught my attention. Xavier came to my side, asking the question I had in mind, "What's wrong with him?"

"Zygarde… We lost contact with him for so many years, that when he suddenly spoke again, we were alerted." Yvetal spoke, urgency in her voice, "He had somehow been summoned once more to aid an evil man's purposes. As we speak, his power is draining at incredible rates."

"As a result, he sent part of his body to re-create the legendary weapon of an age long past; The Zygarde Sabre."

The blade in my hand suddenly began to tug. In shock, I let go of the sword. It drifted upwards, before spinning and planting itself, blade-down, into the steel floors.

"One of his Cores reside within the blade, in addition to his consciousness… In essence, you truly wield Zygarde."

I reached for the blade, but it zipped back upwards, the handle catching me in an uppercut. I fell to the ground, as the blade swooped around to hover behind Xerneas and Yvetal. The falcon prodded the green phase weapon, and it let out an odd hissing sound, shining bright.

"Through this core, he has been teaching you and your Pokemon his combat knowledge. His power… is yours."

The weapon floated back to me, drifting directly before me. In its surface, my own face was reflected, just like a window. Just as I was studying my visage, the image twisted and morphed into me wearing what looked like armor, badly wounded and scratched. I let out a little gasp, stepping back.

All of a sudden, my world phased into green, as I saw visions…

'R…ge…' A red jacket, yellow trim… A Plusle? '…F…ter' Blue blades locked with each other, as her ponytail…A bolted behemoth revved up behind them. X blasting away as water fills- '…SSI…N ST…' A boy in red backflipped off a bike, twin SMG's blazing as he did. Black shadows fell all around… 'H…LP… CR…' A cracked blue guitar. A spinning top slowed, before coming in to rest on its side. A scream of a young girl. Y looking at a sign- '…IGHT!' Ryu dodged several fireblasts, rocketing forwards and punching upwards with speed lines… '…No h…ro' A black tower, as a beast loomed overhead. Blade cracked. Blood spilling. Willow gone. Aile struggling. Must protect my ch- '…Death.' Come in! E—a! D- r-ad m-? D-wn Δ i- -o -angerous! A-don m-sio-…! In vain, I scream. Blue energy. Lights fade. Betrayed by Δ-

I let out a cry, clutching my head. Sword and swordsman collapsed to the ground, the latter rubbing his head in pain.

"Z! What happened?!" my blue-clad partner ran over, helping me up. With a moan, I rose to my feet, dizzy and spinning.

When I had finally regained my bearings, I turned to face Yvetal, "W-What the heck was that?!"

"…I do not understand myself. Perhaps you would be wise to heed those visions as warnings. Perhaps those times may come to pass. But now, we must simply focus on the mission. Am I clear?" the falcon spoke. For a brief second, and I will swear until the day I die, I think I saw a translucent figure with a long blue ponytail dash past behind her.

I gritted my teeth with a nod. While, to this day, I still have no idea what was happening in those flashes, there was still one thing that was clear.

Zygarde was captured. I had to find him to save Kalos.

Mission start.

White explored the hallways of the gunship, gasping with amazement at the whole spectacle. She had never seen so much technology in one place before! Each blinking light, each steel panel, each weird screen and hologram, each held her in a shocked and impressed silence.

A girl in blue ran past, hauling a large crate of electronic devices. She slapped the curious Unovan's hand aside as she leaned in to inspect a button, "Don't touch that! Sheesh!"

"Ah! S-Sorry!" the girl apologized quickly. Aile glared at her, before diving beneath the control panel and pulling out her power tools. While the mechanic wasn't looking, White slowly reached for the button again…

"Pretty cool, huh?"

The street girl stood bolt upright, whipping around to face Go, "Eep! How did ya- Nah, no matter. Hey."

Go gently tugged the girl away from the control panel, "Just wondering, how is Black?"

"Um- Wait, Black?" she replied, scratching her head, "Mm….Well, I suppose he's kinda good, yeah. He hasn't tried to hurt me or nothin', an' he saved me from all those jerkasses back in the alley, an'… I guess that's all."

The programmer took a few seconds to process everything the person standing before her said, finally resolving with a, "Um… Huh?"

"Sorry…" she shyly spoke, scratching the back of her head, "It's a defence mechin… mechan… thingy I guess grew after living in the alleys. I kinda just adopt the act to people I don't trust. I guess it makes me seem tough and all, so if they wanna beat me up…"

"White?! But why would I beat you up?" Go inquired, only half-faking her shock, "I thought we had a thing going on here!"

Aile poked her head out from under the control panel, "And it's 'mechanism'. It's not that hard to pronounce." The two girls awkwardly stared at her, before the brunette in blue shrugged and ducked back under the mess of steel plating.

"I…I can't trust anyone! You'd never know, ya fancy city girl with all the technopads and holo-thingies, but I was a mistake. 'Rents didn't want me 'cos I was a failed 'bortion, so I was dumped into the slums." The little girl sadly spoke, "I was… I was like 5 at the time. Since then, I've been a thief, raised by thieves."

These words silenced the room for a moment. Then, a soft clink was heard as Aile fumbled with a bolt.

"W-Wait, seriously?!" Go gasped, "Are- You can't be kidding me! That sounds… So, do you even know your parents?!"

"Nup. They cover up real good. I had to learn everythin' I know from what I could find in the scraps. Stuff that was thrown out… like me." White sighed, leaning on Go's shoulder, "Nobody ever loved me, ever has, nobody ever will. That's what they told me."

"And… THAT's why you don't trust anyone? Because you were… dumped out?" the more she heard, the more horrified at this girl's story Go became.

"Yeah. But don't go revengin' because of my folks, please! I don't wanna start you goin' all crazy!"

"I believe the word you were searching for was 'Avenging'."

"Not now, Aile." Charlie deadpanned, "How many people lived in that slum?"

"Hundreds. Most haven't seen stuff like the stuff you have. And each of them haven't been cared for, either. It's just… I'm all sad about this, right? But I feel like what I can do is tiny! Like it doesn't even matter to no one!" the girl shook her head, "I probably would've kept bein' one of them if Black didn't decide to… Wha-"

All of a sudden, Go realized that, without even knowing it, she had placed her arms around the young Unovan. She hurriedly brought her arms back, "A-Ah! Sorry! I didn't mean to- Don't call the child services on me!"

White laughed, "S'okay. Black did practically the same thing too. 'Sides, no service will care about a little slum girl like me, either. The other guys just… Well, they just ignore us."

"Not anymore." Go spoke, adjusting her cap, "White, just remember that my door's always open in case it gets has too harsh out there."

"…Not much help if it's all this way up in the sky."

"You get the idea. Here, take this."

Go dug into her pockets, before pausing.

"W-What?! Um… It's gone! I had it a second ago, I know it!"

"…Old habits die hard." White admitted sheepishly, pulling Go's wallet, several shotgun shells, a bag of USB drives, a headset, Go's belt, Pokepad, smartphone, and a small device from her back pocket. Go stared at this massive collection of her items for the longest time, before shrugging and picking them up.

"How did you even remove my belt without me noticing?"

The girl simply smiled.

"…Nevermind. Anyway, I created this using some Hunter Weaponry I managed to salvage. Originally, I was planning to use it to help find my PokePad when it went missing, but perhaps you'll get more use out of it." Go smiled, holding up the small black device. On first glance, White thought it resembled an electronic car key, but on closer inspection, she realized it was vastly different.

"Built in watch and compass. Torchlight and short-range laser weapon as well." Go tapped a small button on the side, and a red LED began to flash on the side, "Finally, and here's the important bit; you press this button, and it activates a long-range comms link with me."

The Unovan slowly picked up the small device, inspecting it, "A-Are you sure this is okay? The laser- Oh!"

White accidentally tapped a button, and a small light-blue beam shot from the end of the device, bouncing off several metallic surfaces before nailing the back of Go's ponytail. The programmer let out a hiss, quickly patting out the small flame that ignited as a result.

"Ack! Sorry!"

Go grumbled, "No, it's fine. The laser is only set to stun, anyway. But the comm link is what's really important about this. If things get too dangerous… Just send me a call, okay?"

The street girl glanced down at the device in her hands, before wrapping her arms around Go in a hug, "Understood!"

Trevor tossed aside a piece of sheet metal with a small grunt, before attaching the large hook that dangled by his side to a rope that had been lashed around a piece of the debris. He whistled, and a loud roar sounded.

"CRANE UP!"

The cord attached to the hook became taunt, and several large pieces of steel clanked, falling aside. A brilliant scarlet stone, lashed with steel cable and rope rose from the rubble, tethered by a massive cord to a crane nearby.

A worker whistled, taking off his safety helmet, "That's some rock!"

"Incredible… To have shattered it so perfectly…" Shauna muttered, watching as the ruby shard was slowly lowered onto a large wooden pallet. Several other workers hurriedly lashed cables around the rock, tethering it to the wood in seconds.

She turned her attention back to the task at hand, extracting more guns from the remains of the battlefield. So, this was the price of war. Scrapped steel, wounded men on both sides, destruction, mental and physical…

'At least this will be over soon.' She smiled to herself, pulling an iron sabre, probably belonging to one of the braver Hunters, from the rubble. She gave it a few swings, before placing it, blade down, into the pile of discarded weapons. A helmet, next, the red visor cracked and shattered. Body armor with burn marks upon it.

She shuddered as she pulled out a significantly larger Mega Arm, placing it onto the pile of live ordinance.

As the day had gone on, the various piles had grown larger and larger, with other residents and workers pitching in to aid the cleanup. Already, a salvage crew was by the harbor, pulling the fallen concrete from the ocean, and a large black helicopter had flown in to pick up the stone-

Wait, where did that-

"Aile, did you call in a helicopter?" Trevor piped up into his radio.

"Red wire's connected to the- huh? What helicopter?"

"Um…" Trevor squinted, studying the features of the helicopter, "Big black one, two rotor blades, large machine guns on the bottom, red R on the side…"

"…OH SHIT!"

"THIS IS AN URGENT CALL FOR ALL AVAILABLE FLARE HUNTERS! I REPEAT, SCRAMBLE!"

I looked up from my training, as Xerneas lowered the gigantic great sword. X lowered his arm cannon, dashing down the hallways with me in tow.

"AN UNIDENTIFIED AIRCRAFT IS MAKING OFF WITH A SHARD OF THE CRYSTAL!"

As we ran down the hallway, Emma leapt from the kitchen, phasing the apron she was wearing off to reveal her standard armor and pulling out both guns.

"ALL AVAILABLE FLARE HUNTERS, DISPATCH! HURRY!"

The lab's doors flew open, and a boy clad in bulky orange armor roared out, stomping on the steel as he ran behind us. Ryu, Chris, Croaky and Epona ran out from a nearby elevator, as we made our way to the top deck of the airship…

MISSION START!

Only to find said helicopter was flying away, the large stone in tow. I growled, running for the edge of the airship and double jumping as far as I could, "Chariz! Get that helicopter!" X followed soon after, grappling onto Chariz's leg and soaring off.

Tierno turned to Emma, "Um… Any chance of a piggyback?"

The girl went wide-eyed.

I circled the helicopter, "IDENTIFY YOURSELF!"

In response, those large gatling guns on the side rotated around to face me, letting rip with a storm of bullets. Chariz let out a roar, swooping around to avoid enemy fire as X chose this time to leap off, grabbing onto the side of the aircraft and climbing inside.

"This is X. I've entered the aircraft!"

He turned around, coming face to face with several people clad in black uniforms with red 'R's emblazoned on the front, "…You!"

"Prepare for trouble!" the Flare Hunter declared, drawing his weapon.

"Make it double!" I followed up, leaping on top of the helicopter between the two rotors and slashing my way inside.

Before us were none other than Team Rocket grunts! I only ever heard of them from the news from Kanto, but why would they be attacking us here?!

A grunt (Probably their leader) stepped forward, holding an SMG in one hand, "What do we have here?! A pair of bugs managed to squeeze in through the windows? Squash them!"

The grunts sent out various Pokemon; namely a Meowth, Ekans and a Raticate. I leapt forwards, as the snake attempted to bite my leg, and landed a roundhouse dash kick with my left foot into the Meowth. Meanwhile, Xavier switched to Freeze Frame, dashing behind each grunt and punching them in the back of their heads to knock them out.

The grunt leader sweatdropped, "…So much for battles."

Bullet holes suddenly peppered the steel wall. I let out a cry, avoiding enemy fire, "Firing off a gun in here?! Are you crazy?! What about cabin pressure!"

"Hey! You were crazy enough to give the place a new skylight!" he shot back, verbally and literally. Damn, he had a point there…

As did I! I stabbed forwards into the Raticate, backflipping away from the Ekans lashing out at us. The snake leapt up at me again. Time slowed for me, as I dodged easily and snatched up the snake with one hand, spinning it around like a nunchuck and bashing away at the Meowth, before releasing it and allowing the snake to fly into a wall, becoming embedded by its teeth into the steel.

"This is too easy!" X laughed, activating his standard form and spraying the grunt before him with stun shots.

"You're right. Ninjas, ATTACK!"

All of a sudden, a trio of whoops behind me caught my attention. I only managed to turn around before a katana was pressed up against my throat as a thin silk covered arm grabbed me. I let out a gasp, "W-Where did they come from?!"

"My friend, we hide in the shadows of light!" a ninja rasped, holding X in a similar position. The Ex-Hunter, however, only had a bored look on his face.

"Um… And this is supposed to scare me, how?" X questioned, looking at the Grunt leader, "Your katanas can't cut through my neck armor."

The ninjas exchanged glances, "We, um… you see… Er… Didn't plan for that. We're just kinda told to hide here by the boss and… um… attack you like that."

X yawned, "And that's why you fail."

All of a sudden, the back door of the aircraft exploded open! Standing there, or rather, on the deck of the 'Guardian' in pursuit of the helicopter, was Tierno, clad in an orange variation of Inepte's first armor, "HERE'S JOHNNY!"

His bazooka was fully charged, aimed into the helicopter.

Xavier's eyes widened, "Oh shi- NONONONONONONONONON-"

BLATT!

That was the last thing I saw before the flames erupted around me.

MISSION FAILED…

"AAAAAAAAAHHH!"

I sat up, covered in a cold sweat. Once again, I was naked in a bed. I grabbed my forehead, gasping.

"Ah, good. We must stop meeting like this."

I turned to face Antonie, who was holding a mug of coffee.

"W-What… Did we get the helicopter?!" I quickly asked.

"No. The force of the blast did manage to launch you away from harm, though!"

"But Team Rocket still got away, right?"

"Yes, yes they did."

Silence.

"Coffee?"

TO BE CONTINUED…

"NOW IT'S MY TIME TO SHINE!"

Quiet! You don't appear until next chapter!

"SILENCE, PEASANT!"

NEXT TIME ON FLARE HUNTER Z:
A NINJA, A FLARE HUNTER, AND A CRYSTAL!