I like surprising readers. I may not always do the unexpected, but sometimes I seem to be able to. Last chapter seemed to do that. Lots thought there was a traitor, though that wouldn't have made sense. This twist, however, does, and you'll start seeing just how. Time for Chapter 21!
Chapter 21
A Resurgence
A horrible wrenching noise filled the air, and underneath Ash's feet, he could feel tremors. The roof was giving way beneath him and the others, but all he could do for that moment was look at the spot Deirdre had vanished. No…it was hard to say she had vanished when her form had never been real to begin with. His mind kept asking why. Why hadn't they noticed earlier? Why hadn't they tried to notice earlier?
"Ash, we need to move!" Serena shouted, gripping at his arm. She had recovered far faster than he, and Ash turned his head, locking eyes with his wife. Hers were just as wide, reflecting his own confusion setting in. She hadn't recovered, but she had enough presence of mind to know that they needed to get off of the building right that instant. There was another loud wrenching, and the sound of rubble falling.
"I think this whole hotel is about to completely collapse…" Clemont observed, kneeling at the edge of the chasm that was a sign of the hotel's splitting. "That Hyper Beam was insane…or was it the Z-Move itself that did it…?"
"Who cares?" Ash asked. Clemont shrugged sheepishly, clearly realizing that now wasn't the time to be scientifically musing about what was causing their command center to be broken apart. Ash didn't mean to sound so harsh, either, but in light of what had been revealed, he still felt himself slip into a state of shock. Serena's hand on his reminded him that they were in a battle, however. Knowing that, he reached back and pulled out the flute from his bag, blowing once on it. Charizard was too far away, scorching the enemy Pokémon in the air.
"Altaria's Hyper Beam never seemed that powerful before…" Serena commented while the three of them waited, their Pokémon drawing close. It prompted Serena and Clemont to return their own. The sharp cry of Latias filled the air, and Ash looked up to the rainbow sky. There were less Pokémon than before attacking the city, but still enough to cause problems for the fighters that remained below, especially with so little seeming to be fighting above.
"She was probably holding back," Ash said. Latias became visible now, shooting right for the three of them. The hotel shuddered, the piece they were on beginning to lean down towards the street. Their feet began to slip, and Ash took a final look around the airspace of the city; like its trainer, Altaria seemed to have vanished, but not in the same sense. "Didn't want us to engage her too closely. So, when we finally became too much of a threat, Altaria turned up the heat to stop us from reaching her, even if it didn't work. I'd hate to see that thing with even more power."
"Right now, the only power we should think about protecting is our own. I'm not about to die here," Clemont stated, pushing up on his glasses. Ash agreed wholeheartedly, letting a grin plaster itself on to his face. Latias had reached them, and all of them there jumped on to her back, with Pikachu yet again clinging to Ash's shirt. Greninja once more leapt from the building with alacrity, while she zoomed away from the falling building, aiming towards the ground, where Ash could see Diantha and a number of others still gathering, having escaped the building. Thankfully, among them were Brock, Aria, and even those that appeared wounded, like Astrid, now wearing a jacket on herself. Another creaking and cracking, and Ash looked to the collapsing building, watching as it was tipping over. Clemont reached for a pokeball. "I know you're tired, Vikavolt, but I need you to use String Shot and hold the hotel together as much as you can!"
"Vik…" Vikavolt seemed to breathe out heavily, but he still listened to Clemont, spewing a thick string as he zipped around the hotel. Latias finally lowered them to the ground and dropped them off. Diantha was at the front, her Gardevoir holding up a Reflect, while Gladion's Toxapex was out, helping to hold off the crumbling building as much as he could.
"Latias, use Giga Impact! Help push it into place," Ash called the second they'd touched down to the ground. Latias shot for the hotel, ramming into it with her yellow and purple aura. She strained, crying out, but continued to push.
"That's a hell of an idea! Yo, Gladion, get yer Honchkrow to bring Golisopod up there!" Guzma ordered. Gladion scowled at him, but nodded. Honchkrow appeared, grabbing hold of Golisopod and bringing him up to the level necessary to push the building further in. Vikavolt continued his rotations, slowly binding the hotel together. Ash looked up and saw some of his fliers, while Seamus called his Emboar out.
"Guys, bring any physical fighters up to the air! Push it back into place!" Ash yelled. All at once, his Talonflame, Staraptor, Swellow and Unfezant dove downwards. Charizard was right with them, but instead of picking up another Pokémon, he just joined Latias in pushing the hotel back into position. Everyone drew closer to Diantha, her Gardevoir continuing to shield them all while the others pushed. From Serena's side, Primarina appeared, pushing into the hotel with an Aqua Jet. Ash felt his throat constricting, watching as it slowly moved back into position. Then Vikavolt rapidly made moves around the building until he ran out of string, tumbling through the air. The Pokémon stopped pushing. The building stopped moving.
"Made it…" Seamus sighed out, with even Zoroark patting his back. However, his relief didn't last long as all those on the ground below turned to Ash. He knew what was coming. "What happened up there?"
"Last I heard was from Team Rocket, telling me that you'd found Deirdre. Was she on the roof?" Diantha asked. Steven was drawing closer now. Ash shook his head.
"She was, and she wasn't. We were played the entire time, Diantha," Ash informed the Champion. Everyone there didn't seem to understand, but that didn't matter, with Ash planning to explain it all further. "Deirdre…she was never real. At least, not in the sense that we knew her."
"Now…hold on…a damn second," Nanu's voice suddenly crackled over the walkies. Ash flicked his eyes briefly inside the destroyed lobby of the hotel, noticing that all of their communication devices had been destroyed by the Hyper Beam ripping through the location. Their walkies were all they had left now. "I know Deirdre, and so does dragon champ. She ain't some lie."
"Oh, she's real, all right," Serena sighed out, breathing a little loudly from exhaustion. "Just…the thing we've been facing wasn't. It was an illusion. Altaria might not have been, but she was."
"Deirdre's been in the city from the beginning," Ash told them. Diantha's face flashed with fury as Gardevoir lowered her Reflect. "She knew everything: where we were moving civilians, where the command center was. I'm sure they knew our entire battle plan! They planned everything from way before we came here!"
"And the meteonite with them," Clemont observed.
"So, it was a fake meteonite?" Kahili questioned over the walkie. "Where's the real one the-aah!" The sound of Kahili's voice getting cut off sent a disturbed chill down Ash's spine, along with all of those with him. He grabbed at his walkie, speaking into it.
"Kahili? Kahili!" he cried, but got no answer. There seemed to be none of his sister-figure's group to answer. Diantha stepped forward, clasping to her necklace, as if preparing to Mega Evolve and destroy the enemy before them no matter what. "Something happened, and it must have been something unexpected. They had defeated Alastair it seemed."
"And Matori," Steven commented. "Go and see. Diantha, I suggest we get a count on everything that's going on across the city. If Deirdre is, indeed, in the city, along with the meteonite, then we have far less time than we thought. We'll want to see how many we've lost, and how many remain."
"It won't be a pretty number, but I agree," Diantha said, jerking her head. She looked to Ash, and he got the message. Whatever had happened with Kahili, it was beginning to become a priority. "There might be confusion settling in, so we need to settle this fast. Remember to hold on to your walkies. With the command center gone, they're all we have. Guzma, Gladion, Seamus, head into the city."
"There were two shadows," Clemont commented, the inventor clearly having noticed them, as well. His hands were pointing in opposite directions, indicating their general paths. "One headed further into the city, while the other fled towards the exit."
"We'll head further in, then. It'll give us a visual idea of what's going on around the city, as well," Gladion stated, indicating with his head where the trio was going to head to. Guzma shrugged while Seamus was already way ahead of them, Zoroark taking point for all of them. Ash turned away, and Serena with him. They turned in the direction of where Ash had last seen Kahili and Nanu holding their battle.
"They're close by, Ash. Head there on foot; I think it'll be quicker. Brock, can you go with them?" Diantha informed him. Ash looked to the woman, seeing her smile at him. There was something resting there, like a resignation for him to do all of the work. Not that he minded, but it seemed strange to him. Regardless, he brushed it off and dashed in the direction of the most ruined of the buildings around the area. Serena took lead while voices began to crackle over their walkies.
"Sectors, report in right now. And if anyone sees an Altaria, inform us this instant!" Diantha's voice came over the line. Ash grabbed at the walkie, gripping tightly to listen to all of the reports coming in, hoping against hope that their battle hadn't cost more than they'd gained. Serena continued charging ahead, for the river that wended its way through the city. The houses got progressively more destroyed as they continued along.
"This is Lance. We've pulled back from the stadium to regroup and are further in town, towards fountain square," Lance's voice called over. "We've lost a good number. Derek and almost all of ARC that remained are gone, as are some IP members; only Alpha Squad seems to still be standing."
"The same here…only three of our brothers and sisters made it," Plumeria's voice crackled out dully, sounding a little choked up over the circumstances. Guzma's voice followed her own before anyone else could report in.
"Plumeria, what the hell happened? Those are our family…" he said, sounding like his voice was quickly filling with rage at what he'd just heard. Ash swallowed; he'd been so involved in flitting around the battle, finding a Deirdre that wasn't there, that he didn't realize just how many had fallen. Serena stopped walking a moment, looking back at him while his hand was shaking on the walkie.
"I didn't have the chance to stop those idio-" Plumeria's voice cut off, just the same way that Kahili's had. His fist further tightened, nearly denting the device Clemont had spent time making. What was going on? Was Deirdre enacting some sort of trap from within the city?
"Y reporting," Serena's father spoke, a small beam of light in the darkness. "We're okay over here, though we've faced some losses as well. If it weren't for the Kalos Gym Leaders and Malva on this side, the losses could have been far higher."
"The same for us," rumbled the familiar tones of Hala, gruff but okay. "The Kahunas and captains have protected their sector."
"We're good here!" Dawn and May's voices came over together. Relief was flooding his system, mingled with grief and regret at having not done more. So many people around him and he had done nothing to truly help them, spending time pursuing a phantom.
"We're…alive…right? We're alive?"
"Yes, Maka, we're alive," Keoni's voice sighed out. "The square was held…more or less. Took some Pokémon out with a missile barrage, though we tried to protect everyone we could."
"Ash," Serena's voice cut through his thoughts, making all other things silent to him. He looked to his wife, and she reached up with her hands, cupping his face softly. His breathing slowed, his body calming while he looked at her, smiling at him lovingly. "This isn't anyone's fault. We all knew what we were doing. We all accepted that choice, just like we have again and again and again. Okay?"
"I know, I just…" Ash felt Brock's hand clap him on the shoulder, having finally caught up. His best friend didn't say a word, just grinning at him. Even Pikachu put a paw up, reminding him. He finally chuckled out. He couldn't take the blame…he just had to stop the ones who were. He needed to keep moving forward. "Right. Thanks."
"Every time," Serena assured him, offering him a light kiss on the cheek as all three once more moved to proceed forward. This time, Ash pulled ahead as the rest of the reports seemed to have come in. A number of trainers had, indeed, fallen, but it seemed as though all of his friends had managed to make it out okay, even if they had some cuts and bruises on them. Most importantly, Ancien Castle seemed to be secured, and the citizens inside were safe, even if some turrets had taken damage.
The trio rounded a corner, and found themselves face to face with the most destructive amount of carnage so far: buildings smashed, the ground ripped up, and five people scattered across the cobblestone streets of Ancien City. Instantly, Ash caught sight of Kahili, his sister-figure passed out on the road. It seemed unlike her, and worrying, so Ash ran for her. Serena ran to Alain and Sawyer, both passed out on top of each other. Ash and Brock moved together before the former split off to grab hold of Nanu, the older man groaning. Ash slid to the ground, placing his hands behind Kahili and holding her up.
"Kahili! Wake up! Kahili!" Ash yelled. The woman suddenly punched upward, forcing Ash to dodge as she stirred in his arms. "What happened here?"
"Don't know…" the blue-haired woman groaned out, fully awakening and beginning to sit up. Ash supported her back, helping her up. Paul twitched a few feet away, his hand gripping at loose stones. "We were…talking…then it was so…sleepy. And Alastair!"
"He was dragged under," Paul grunted, himself waking up and spitting at the ground distastefully. The two awakening individuals looked at each other, as though they'd shared the same vision. "Before I passed out, he was being dragged under by a shadow with red eyes. Him and Matori both…Damn it! We were pathetic."
"I don't think there's anything you could've done," Ash admitted, sharing the thoughts and feelings that Serena and Brock had helped him to remember. He breathed out a little. "This was all planned…They were here…well, maybe not Alastair and the rest, but Deirdre was in this city from the start, keeping watch on things, tricking us, no doubt hiding in the shadows. Even taking them out, they must've had a backup plan."
"The same thing probably happened with Plumeria and the others over by the castle," Serena pointed out. Ash nodded, given that it made the most sense. Louise had been there, so whatever it was must have retrieved her own body, the same as her comrades. He just had to wonder what it was, and why it had waited until now. Was there a new plan to be had, or…?
"If all of that's the case…we have no time to be sitting around," Kahili grunted. She pushed on Ash's shoulder, forcing herself into a standing position while Paul did the same. It was foolhardy, and Brock's perturbed look told him as such, but Ash didn't bother trying to stop either of them. He would have done the exact same thing if he was in their position. The only one seemingly not pushing themselves up was Nanu, now moved against a still intact wall as Brock finished patching his wounds. The Kahuna looked mildly annoyed by that. "The meteonite's in the city, and our backs are against the wall…time for us to do what we do best…"
"Only problem is," Sawyer said, finally moving to stand on his own, with Serena not fully supporting him. Alain was the same, rubbing at his temples furiously. "We don't know where it is. I mean, a big glowing meteor? You'd think someone would notice…"
"Maybe they did…" Ash mused out, tapping his chin. Before he knew it, Ash grabbed hold of the walkie talkie and instantly yelled into it, rising above all of the other voices. "Aston! Mayor Aston, before all of this began, did you see Deirdre?"
There was silence, everyone in their small quadrant recovering. Ash waited, looking around to still see the passed-out form of Aerodactyl. Whatever had taken Alastair and Matori away hadn't done so for at least one of their Pokémon. Confused mutters and what seemed like panic began to come over the waves of their devices, Ash's question clearly stirring up less than pleasant feelings inside. After a moment, however, it was Aston's voice that joined in.
"Yes," was his response. "We had a talk, and then she moved towards the stadium. It was the last I saw of her, though, so I presumed…"
"The stadium?" James' voice now came over the line, but before he could choose to say any more, Jessie and Meowth's voices drowned him out, confirming all that was beginning to form inside of Ash's mind. They really weren't down and out yet. IDEAL had the upper hand, but Team Rocket's definitive statement screamed that they hadn't lost.
"We saw that Altaria going right for the stadium, but not in the stadium."
"It looked like it was goin' ta go underground or sometin'," Meowth finished. Ash couldn't help his face forming a stern expression. He knew the space underneath the stadium better than any of the battlers here. There was plenty of space, secluded from the rest of the city or stadium, enough to hide a person or thing, especially if there was no major event taking place. That they had redesigned and added even more maintenance halls higher up all but confirmed that.
They'd found her.
"Wait, are you saying that our target should have been the stadium this entire time?" Alder's voice shouted out, clearly sounding disturbed by the turn of events. "How did they fool us?"
"But what about everyone who…?" asked the scared voice of a trainer that Ash didn't know. In fact, a multitude of voices were streaming in, panicking and scared. "Did they all die for nothing? !"
"What's going to happen next? !"
"What if that thing activates and kills us all?"
"Shut up! Bunch a sissies…"
"Guzma, keep moving," Gladion's voice barked in response to the last. From Ash's own speculation, it sounded like their group of three had already heeded the order and turned straight for the stadium as swiftly as they could. However, Lance was waiting to drop the hammer on them.
"The problem is that the road to the stadium was blasted apart by Toll. There's a massive chasm splitting the entire way there. They really wanted to keep us away," the Kanto Champion informed them. More distressed sounds started coming out of Ash's walkie and he could see Kahili grimacing from the loud noises. Things were clearly turning for the worst.
Deirdre's revelation had done everything it needed to in a matter of moments. With IDEAL's members being taken from right underneath their noses, the fallen mounting up, and the still glowing rainbow shimmer in the sky, there was no surprise that many people were growing discouraged. They weren't turning on each other, Ash knew, but they were hardly facing forward to the next battle. It was painful to listen to, one that Serena agreed with, going by her expression.
"Everyone, just calm down!" he yelled into the walkie, but it hardly seemed to do much for those arguing and freaking out over the connection. Ash thought he faintly heard Diantha's voice attempting to intervene, but hers, too, was drowned out by the wave of negativity that was consuming them. They were an army on the verge, ready to collapse now that IDEAL had pushed their pressure point.
It was almost like this was exactly what they wanted to happen: for them to fall apart, to prove to themselves that they needed a new, perfect world to prevent this very thing. It was disheartening until a single voice broke through the chaos. It was a familiar one, but not one he expected to hear again.
"SILENCE!" the command barked out. Serena froze, looking over to Ash, recognizing from the single word spoken that it had come from the lips of Merle. Or rather, the Merle that Zoroark had once presented herself as. No other word was spoken from her, but none needed to be. Seamus spoke instead.
"This isn't the time to be fighting each other, or arguing," he said softly, his voice vibrating, as though it was moving. "If there is any time for us to stand up, it's now. Leave behind everything you were. If you were someone selfish. If you were someone misguided. If you were a criminal. None of it matters now! The only thing that matters now is the fight we're heading into!"
"So, stand up! Move forward!" Ash yelled, picking up the thread of conversation. Though Seamus and Zoroark were far away, he could tell they appreciated it, beginning to smile as they no doubt ran to their intended destination. "We made a mistake! That's okay! When I started out, I made mistake after mistake, but every time, I picked myself up and walked onwards. I didn't give up on my dream, so you should never give up on yours! Move forward, hope further, and don't you dare give up!
"I don't care if you're scared. I don't care if you want to run. I want you to find your hope in the person standing next to you, drive them forward and drive yourself forward. Whatever mistake you made in the past, now is the time to leave it behind you. Head for Ancien Stadium! Let's end this here and now! Let's fight until the very end for our future!"
Silence followed those proclamations, and Ash's hand shook with the walkie in his hold, waiting for a response. Kahili smirked at him. Then, Diantha's voice spoke out.
"You heard the man. Get moving to the stadium. Champions, it's time we team up!" Diantha spoke, the hard humor in her voice not escaping Ash. If Ash's words hadn't done the trick, then Diantha's single sentence certainly had. For the first time in the entire battle, all of the Champions would be joining together in battle. There was enough cause for celebration at that.
"Well, guess we should get moving, too," Alain chuckled out, his Charizard roaring with the victory settling in their veins. Kahili tossed a glance back to Nanu.
"You up for another round, old man?" she asked. Nanu chuckled under his breath, pushing against the wall while Persian remained as a silent sentinel next to him. He got himself into a standing position while Kahili winced from her own wounds. Ash frowned, but chose to not say anything to any of them.
"I'm always ready if you are, bird lady. Can't have someone whose top Pokémon is a toucan be fighting while I'm not," Nanu snarked out. Brock seemed to take offense with both of them.
"The both of you look a step away from major blood loss, and your Pokémon are on the brink of exhaustion. I can't, in good conscience as a doctor, allow any of you back on to the battlefield," Brock said sternly. Paul flashed him a glare, rolling his shoulders as they cracked a little. Following that, the doctor gave a sigh, and Ash knew just what was coming. "That said, I know I won't be able to stop any of you, so you better find a doctor or stay with me so you don't get yourselves killed."
"Fine by me. Electivire, still on standby," Paul said. Electivire grinned, looking over at Pikachu, who nodded. They were ready to move on. Ash walked forward, the others all coming behind him. Greninja stood tall, just as all of the others had their Pokémon stand forward with him. Their allies were no doubt moving towards the stadium, especially with the sounds of movement behind their own group, towards the edge of the city.
"Everyone! Time for the final battle! Let's win!"
"Pikachuuuu!"
"Keep up, old man."
"Heh." The others remained silent, but all came to flank Ash, Serena standing right by him with twinkling eyes. His hand slipped in hers a moment, giving it a squeeze, thanking her for her words of encouragement. Then, he took a step forward, Pikachu grinning on his shoulder, and they all began to run.
The ruined streets of the city began to flash by them as they did so, the rubble no object to their progression. Pikachu leapt from Ash's shoulder, down to the ground to join with his fellow Pokémon. In the sky above, Latias and Charizard were in action, attacking the remaining Pokémon that were there. It seemed almost like half of the army was down, but many more were still standing or flying. IDEAL wasn't going to make this easy. A shout from a Skarmory sounded out, two closing in on their sides, but Alain and Sawyer were already snapping into action.
"Leaf Blade!"
"Dragon Claw!" Neither stopped their movements, but Sceptile and Charizard leapt forward, the green extensions slicing forward from both of them. The Skarmory fell instantly as two more swooped down from the air.
"Croagunk!" the Toxic Mouth Pokémon called out, leaping into the air from Brock's side and bringing a powerful Brick Break down upon the Skarmory's head. Up ahead, there appeared to be some Drifblim moving in, like an ominous cloud.
"Pikachu, Greninja, let's do this!" Ash called, flipping his hat back with a grin. Paul scoffed while Serena giggled. Kahili didn't waste time with any of that, Toucannon sailing forward into the mess of Drifblim. Pikachu kept running, sending a Thunderbolt hurling forward. It collided, sending three of the Drifblim down at once, only for more to rise up, pulsing with an orange aura.
"Shadow Ball!" Diantha's voice rang out. At the same moment as a large, shadowy orb came flying, a silvery beam shot with it. The two combined, slamming into the mess of Drifblim and exploding. No one stopped running, and neither did the group that was catching up with them. Diantha was right at the lead. "Didn't think you'd catch up with us, but I guess we have a rather large group to coordinate!"
"Hey, at least we're no longer spread out over the city," Kahili grunted. Diantha nodded in her direction. It didn't take long before she looked back to Ash, who could see others joining with their streaming group. Steven was leading the pack, joined by Aria, Burnet (who didn't have a Pokémon of her own), as well as Mallow and Lana. Kiawe was following behind on his Charizard, with Aston sitting alongside him, Tyranitar keeping up with the pack.
"That's a silver lining," Paul scoffed once more. Ash had to laugh at that, and Diantha laughed at his side. Serena grinned, Braixen reappearing with her as she did so.
"That's what we're all about!" she laughed out. They kept moving forward, going into one of the larger streets, where it seemed some thrashing Rhydon were milling about the streets. In Ash's periphery, he could see Brock joining up at Aria's side, the former Kalos Queen taking his hand as she briefly reached up to give him a kiss. Ash laughed a little, letting that faint positivity seep into him as he ran further. Some bodies littered the streets, remnants of an earlier battle, but no one let that stop them. Especially Serena, who kept talking. "Even if it seems impossible. Even if there's no hope…"
"We find it, and keep going!" Clemont shouted out, joining in with them.
"So, there's no need to worry!" Dawn's own voice rejoined, a sudden Whirlpool slamming into the streets ahead of them. That was soon met by a great outpouring of water that Ash saw was coming from Misty's Gyarados, slithering through the streets. All four of Ash's past companions were riding atop it, Blaziken and Excadrill atop its head as they went. The Rhydon were all washed away.
"Heck, yeah!" Ash yelled out with a great grin on his lips. The four women slid down Gyarados' back, joining their entire crowd. Some of their surging forces leapt over the broken houses and the rubble (with, indeed, some hobbling over the mess before them). On the horizon, the stadium was drawing ever closer. Although, it wasn't the only thing doing so.
"Looks like they won't be letting us through easily," Steven commented, and he raised his hand up to his lapel, taking his stickpin out. Diantha seemed to smile at him, the two Champions sharing an unspoken connection, while she grabbed her necklace. "Mega Evolve!"
As they continued to run, Ash watched as a number Mandibuzz appeared to swarm ahead like a dark crowd. Light blossomed from within their group as the two Champions moved into action, each Mega Evolving their Pokémon. They didn't seem to be the only ones, however. A bright light was shining from another intersection up ahead. Even behind them, there seemed to be light bursting, and from the smile blossoming on Clemont's face, he knew who it was joining them in the battle. Reaching for his back, Ash knew they weren't alone.
"Water Shuriken!" Ash cried out, and he made to throw the liquid blade. Greninja acted, doing so in his mimicked movements. The shuriken flew forward, slamming into the Mandibuzz as two Fighting types came charging from the intersection ahead, one with green blades for arms, and another with an orange glowing fist. Scorching electricity blasted out behind the two that landed in front, before an Ice Shard slammed into the Mandibuzz, knocking them off kilter, and revealing the path to the chasm before the stadium. "We're almost there guys, one last push!"
"Yeah!" The crowd cheered as the area opened up, the chasm nearly upon them. The remaining Mandibuzz dove towards them, firing out a Dark Pulse. From the sides, Ash caught a glimpse of all his own Pokémon coming to join the battle, his Infernape in particular offering Paul's Electivire a cheeky grin.
"Flash Cannon!" Steven yelled out, not stopping his running. He wasn't alone in attacking. From behind him, numerous Hydro Pumps fired out alongside the lustrous cannon. Ash flicked back to see Piplup working in concert with Gyarados, as well as Gary and Tierno's Blastoise. The Mandibuzz were knocked back while Dugtrio and Golem seemed to be emerging from within the chasm.
"Blast Burn!" Alain yelled, and to Ash's surprise, he wasn't alone. Trevor's Charizard came roaring in, his own plunging for the ground with the fiery fist. Riding atop it was a Mega Blaziken, leaping off and sailing inwards with a Flare Blitz, which Infernape joined in with, the blue blaze the most noticeable of the group. The fiery forces coalesced and slammed into that group of Pokémon lining the chasm, causing the area to explode further. More of the road crumbled away, but seemed to leave that path clear. Whatever was left was soon cleaned up by Sceptile's own whipping Frenzy Plant, Decidueye appearing from Ash's side and joining Ash's own Sceptile in slicing through the mess of roots. Finally, their group reached the intersection they had been approaching, and what looked like Korrina, Kukui, Maka and Keoni joined them. They were by no means alone.
"Clemont, you kinda left something behind! Hi, daddy!" Bonnie waved back to her father, but continued running, supporting Clemont's bag between her and Max.
"This thing is heavy…how do you wear it all the time?" Max groaned out, the duo catching up with Clemont and tossing him the backpack. Ash was surprised to see him so easily slip the bag over himself.
"Because my brother is awesome!" Bonnie shouted, merging with the stream of the crowd. "Now, time for us to be awesome! Squishy, rested enough?"
"Blrbl!" Squishy called, leaping out from Bonnie's bag. Green lights shined all around the city and began to stream forward, colliding with Squishy's body as he transformed into the giant green snake that Ash was used to at this point. Two other trainers ran forward, a Braviary carrying a Sawk as they beat away the recovering Mandibuzz, cutting them more of a path.
"We got this!" called the voice of Bruce, leaping down from a ruined building with a grin.
"Nothing we can't handle, bro. This is nothing compared to a sinking ship!" Trent agreed. Ash raised an eyebrow, but soon turned his attention to Bonnie's partner. Squishy reared back, and sent a Dragon Pulse flying out, the draconic beam roaring forth with three heads.
"Speaking of brothers, has anyone seen mine?" Lillie asked. Hau just shrugged with his grin as Pipi floated forward ahead of him, surfing along the ground. She flipped on her tail in greeting to Pikachu. The two joined a Thunderbolt together, matched with Conway's Dusknoir and a familiar Magnezone's Thunder to clear more of the path around Squishy.
"Last I saw Gladion, Guzma and Seamus, they were getting close to the stadium," Cynthia's cool voice answered. Ash looked to the other side, noticing the group he'd left behind earlier now approaching from their right. The chasm still remained as an obstacle to them. "I have no idea what became of them, but it's irrelevant."
"Yes," Diantha agreed. "We're all heading for the same spot."
Then fear not! Squishy's voice called out, his large form reaching the chasm and suddenly extending. I can hold this form as long as is necessary! You must cross me!
"Thanks, Squishy! You're the best!" Bonnie cheered on, her own face grinning. Diantha and Steven surged ahead, and were soon joined by Kukui, Cynthia, Lance and Alder. The six of them moved to cross the Zygarde bridge first, making it the easiest way to get to the stadium, even as their forces glutted the streets. Ash looked at Greninja, the frog nodding. Their feelings focused inward, trying to sense where Seamus, Gladion and Guzma had fled to. All he could sense, however, was a large conglomeration of pulsing power inside the stadium. Whether it was solely Deirdre or the meteonite, he couldn't know, but it put Ash on his guard and convinced him of the number one space for them to get to posthaste. It may have been covered up by Toll's presence before, but now it was all crystal clear.
"Watch out for IDEAL!" Serena shouted out. The Champions heeded her words, and she continued on. "If there are still this many Pokémon attacking, it means Aegislash may not have been controlling them, after all…and they're still getting orders."
"Maybe all of them are still up and fighting," Plumeria stated, herself now joining the surging army. Ash and Clemont looked to her, finally reaching Squishy's body. He silently thanked the noble beast, and began to lead the charge alongside all of them, over towards the hill of the stadium. The stairs were still cracked and gone, but Ash knew that wouldn't be a problem. "That Louise bitch vanished into the shadows, and before she did, it looked like she was up and moving again. And let me guess? Dumbass Guzma went right into the thick of it…show off."
"Well, that's Guzma for you!" Ash laughed out. Plumeria rolled her eyes; he forgot how much she hated complications, and this was certainly one of them. Nevertheless, she plunged further into the thick of the crowd alongside her Salazzle. A roar and cry above showed Ash that all of his airborne Pokémon were joining back into the battle, with some of his smaller ground-based ones gathering on both Charizard and Latias' back. They dropped off, as some of his own larger Pokémon, such as Heracross, Krookodile and Sceptile, came stampeding through the city streets to join with all of them.
Ash jumped off on the other side of Zygarde, but continued for the stadium. Serena nearly tripped over her feet, but she was caught by Aria and Maka, the two of them grinning at her as they helped her to regain her balance. In fact, as Ash looked back, he saw another, and familiar, younger girl pushing her back, supporting her. A beaming smile came to Ash's face while he looked to Pikachu; Serena was truly loved by so many, inspiring the generation that would come after to push her forward as their growing light. The same seemed to be for Clemont, with Conway and Kenneth, both, huffing and puffing alongside the inventor and some other uniformed Aether individuals. Seeing his friends and his wife being so supported by the trainers that remained, Ash threw his fist into the air, and others did the same alongside him.
"Pikachu, let's get to that stadium!" Ash yelled out. Pikachu and Greninja called back to him, agreeing, and he felt their own strength and presence surge inside of him. Some of the Pokémon above fired out attacks that exploded behind the army, but none of them stopped moving.
Ash couldn't see the chaos going on behind him, but he knew enough not to stop. If any had fallen, the army was pushing them back up. If they stumbled, they were dragged along. Lives lost or not, none of them were stopping, because they were still pulling the fallen forward with them. At last, Ash's foot stepped on to the hill that would lead to the stadium's entrance and the lobby beyond. Greninja was leaping upwards, and some of his other Pokémon were charging up the hill. The Champions were already halfway up.
"Looks like…we have…a little bit…to go…" Clemont breathed out. Ash reached over, locking his friend with his arm and dragging him up. Bonnie gave a loud cheer, reaching her hand out to Clemont, her brother taking it. Then she took Max's hand, who took Hau's and then Lillie's connecting them in a chain that refused to break. Serena gripped Ash's other hand, and then Aria's, and all of their Pokémon went ahead.
"Incoming!" shouted Cynthia from ahead. Ash looked up, just in time to see a streaking green Pin Missile firing out for them. It confirmed what Plumeria had suspected. The large projectiles fired outward, streaking for their whole group.
"Psybeam!"
"Shadow Ball!" Jessie and James' command came swiftly, their two loyal Pokémon zooming forth to fire their beam and projectile at the incoming assault. Ash looked up in time to see their balloon pass over head. Wobbuffet jumped out, sailing right for the center of those projectiles. Inkay and Gourgeist's attacks made contact, exploding around the air. But for those that were missed, Wobbuffet took them head on, shining brightly. The light coalesced together, and then blasted forward, cutting into the stadium. Dust and stone erupted from the top, obscuring the view of the top of that stadium. The Champions were nearly at the top of the hill, while Ash helped continuing to drag everyone atop the incline. Even so, Ash kept his gaze locked upwards, peering through that dust cloud.
"No further, I'm afraid," a voice rang out before it managed to clear. Ash's eyes narrowed, and each one of them slowed in their steps, even as they proceeded uphill, the entrance to the stadium nearly in sight. Finally, the obscuring dust seemed to clear from the top of the stadium, and standing atop it, watching them all with his right eye, was Alastair. Ash scoffed internally at the sight; he certainly lived up to his title. "You all had a good run of things, but our gloves are off now."
"We're not stopping!" Ash yelled to the man. Kahili spat out loudly as all of their hands disengaged from one another. The raven-haired trainer stepped forward, brandishing a fist up to Alastair. "You played us long enough, but we've figured you out."
"I seriously doubt that," was the reply.
"He looks almost unharmed," Kahili commented upon testily, and clearly not glad whatsoever at the sight. Ash could immediately agree with the observation as he watched Alastair. Aegislash was floating there, drooping slightly from clear exhaustion, but despite the wounds that had no doubt been inflicted in the man's earlier battle, he didn't show signs of them at all.
"Likely just another illusion," Clemont pointed out. Ash nodded, accepting it as the likely explanation. "They seem to be rather adept at them, and they're about as used to giving up as we are, which would mean not at all."
"Yes, Clemont, we are rather skilled at the art of concealment," Alastair spoke, turning his attentions to all of them there. The Champions had reached the top of the hill, all looking up to Alastair, his trench coat fluttering in the wind. A scowl stretched his face, Ash now saw, along with what seemed to be a grimace of pain. Hidden or not, those wounds most certainly hadn't gone away. "Concealing our presence, our intentions, our pain."
"Is your own pain really enough cause for you to do so for others?" Diantha asked, her own voice echoing across the area. "We've all suffered some measure of pain, so who are you to cause further pain?"
"Myself? I'm no one," came the simple answer. Aegislash continued to hover around while the man reached up, grabbing at his left eye. For a moment, just a few feet away from the Champions, Ash stopped, watching just what Deirdre's second-in-command seemed to be trying to do.
It was a sickening result.
With what seemed to be a twitch of his fingers, Alastair had reached in, and pulled his left eye forward. Only there was no blood or gore, or anything even remotely organic. Even the eye itself seemed to be made of technology rather than the usual biology, lights surrounding the interior of the artificial substance as it sparked with electricity, clearly having absorbed some of it. Alastair snapped it back in, and began speaking once more. "I'm just a shadow, abandoned by the League. My use to them is and was worth zero. All of us are. So, we're turning that zero into a one in the best way we believe, and sometimes that means putting our own accounts into the negatives. Sometimes that means not stopping, no matter what must be done to ensure it. I'm sorry, Champions, but I…or rather, we, require more of your blood."
"Everyone, defense, now!" Serena yelled back to the still approaching army. Alastair reached up and snapped. Like that, another volley of Pin Missile shot out, while flames began to erupt from the ground, separating them from the stadium. Protects shot up around the army, peppering them and trying to provide as much of a shield as possible.
"Head Smash, Bouffalant!" Alder roared out. His Bash Buffalo Pokémon glowed red around its tufts of fur and charged forward, right for the walls of the stadium. His immense force seemed to split the flames in two. Ash looked to Greninja, and the Ninja Pokémon leapt to the air, flinging his Water Shuriken down, joined with a multitude of Hydro Pumps and Water Guns (including his own Buizel's) to put the flames out. Bouffalant continued his charge, slamming into the stadium. It rocked from the force, though Alastair held his balance.
"Hyper Beam, Dragonite!" Lance ordered. He wasn't alone. Both Dragonite and Metagross aimed up towards Alastair and fired, one with a darkened beam and another with lustrous silver. Aegislash snapped to attention, forming a shield to block the attack. Alastair snapped again, and instead of attacks from within the stadium, more wild, controlled Pokémon went after them.
"We'll circle from behind," Diantha called, she and Cynthia leaping over the remaining embers to aim for the lobby, leaving the male Champions to battle behind, except for Kukui, who joined the women. Alastair watched them, but his expression remained unchanging.
"He has something waiting for them inside," Ash realized, looking to all his friends around him. They may have been Champions, but an ambush was still an ambush. Clearly, Alastair wanted to prevent them from getting to Deirdre and the meteonite at all cost. Dragonite flew upwards, pulsing red with an Outrage as he aimed for Alastair. Ash looked back to the elderly Aston. "Mayor Aston, how can someone get below the stadium?"
"Maintenance door we put in during the redesign to reach the uppermost hall…but that's on the other…side of the stadium," Aston puffed out. He leaned back, resting on a walking stick before Brock propped him up, looking after the old man's health. Ash had no doubt that was where Seamus' group had headed, probably hoping to circumvent the damage or the fight, given they were nowhere to be seen. "Otherwise, the controls in the commentator's box will lower the arena. You know that."
"Yeah…all too well," Ash agreed. His brain was trying to think of a way to get past Alastair's defense, when Serena reached up and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked to his wife, and she smiled.
"The three of us," she insisted. Ash looked to her, almost confused, but she leaned up and kissed him. "Clemont and I will go for Team Rocket and get to the box. You just get ready to fight her."
"Serena…" Ash said worriedly, but seeing the steel within her eyes, he knew he wouldn't be able to convince her in any other way. He nodded, and clasped her hands, before throwing an arm over Clemont again. "Be safe. Kahili, everyone else, keep fighting! Make Alastair distracted as long as possible! Team Rocket!"
"We're on it, twerp!" Jessie shouted out, and Ash saw the balloon begin to lower, scooping up Wobbuffet. Giving another squeeze to his wife's hand, Ash split away from the two of them, running right for the entrance to the lobby, the doors now broken in from Cynthia's Garchomp's Dragon Rush. His Pokémon gave an affirmative cry behind him, indicating that they were following his orders.
"Meteor Mash! Go!" Steven shouted, catching sight of Ash and urging him onward. Ash nodded. Pikachu and Greninja flashed ahead of him, sprinting through the still dying flames. Ash was just feet behind them, aiming for the lobby. Before entering, he looked back once more, seeing Team Rocket's balloon take off, while Kahili seemed to take charge of the others there, still battling. On top of it, he saw Decidueye, Bulbasaur, Bayleef and Sceptile back to back, making a combination on the foes besetting them and protecting a group of trainers including the also back-to-back Maka and Keoni, wearing matching grins as they glanced at each other. Even his fliers, including Latias and Charizard, were pulling their weight in the skies above. A large blast rocked the stadium again, this time from inside.
"Pikachu, Greninja, get ready to attack!" Ash yelled to his partners. They confirmed receipt of his commands as they finally ran into the lobby. Sure enough, forces were inside there, as if appearing from the shadows, a number of Haxorus and Druddigon appearing, each pulsing with that wicked orange glow. "Thunderbolt! Aerial Ace!"
"Garchomp, Giga Impact!" Cynthia called. Each struck forward, Pikachu sending his searing lightning bolt to one of the Druddigon, while Greninja aimed for a Haxorus. Ash found himself mimicking Greninja's movements, stomping down on the ground while his Water type forced the Axe Jaw Pokémon's head to slam into the hard surface. Garchomp charged forward, the swirling purple and yellow light around her figure, before breaking through a row of the Totem Pokémon and straight through the walls of the stadium. Ash quirked an eyebrow. In a single movement, Garchomp's attack had broken through to the actual arena itself, now visible…and empty.
"Sable!" Ash twisted around, hearing Greninja's cry in his head as he saw the shadowy claw shoot out from the ground. His body twisted, barely nicked by the slice, only ripping his jacket a bit while the Sableye emerged from the ground. Ash's eyes flicked all over the place; was Matori nearby? It almost seemed like she was, from Sableye's presence, but she didn't show herself.
"Moonblast!" Diantha roared out. To that, Ash dove out of the way, pulling off a combat roll to the side to gain ground faster. Diantha's Gardevoir absorbed light quickly, and with a great heave, sent the pulsing, pearlescent orb firing out, growing in size as it slammed into Sableye. The attack continued on, crashing into the walls that framed the entranceway, before exploding all around them. The rocks rained outward, and Ash saw many of the fighters putting up Protects to shield their groups from the rubble. The path, however, was cleared at last. More Dragon Pokémon were emerging from the shadows, only to be sliced by a purple Psycho Cut that damaged more of the walls into the stadium, but left the other two standing.
"You all best head on! Gallade and I can handle things here and use an expert Beat Up on these guys," Kukui called out as his Mega Gallade pummeled a Haxorus and quickly left it slumped.
"Right! Thanks, professor!" Ash called. He sprang back to his feet and ran forward with all the haste he could muster, Pikachu and Greninja running right along. Cynthia and Diantha were right at his side, their prize Pokémon joining in on the flight forward. Ash leapt upwards, climbing atop the rubble to get into the stadium. Cynthia's earlier attack had destroyed a portion of the stands, making it a little difficult, but still easy enough to climb over.
"Dura! Dura! Durarara!" The clicking and creeping noises made Ash turn his head, and with widened eyes, he saw a whole fleet of Durant making their way towards their group from both sides of the halls in the stadium. It was like a metallic swarm that was looking to consume them. Cynthia stopped running, and her reasons didn't need to be spoken. Further back, others had started entering into the lobby.
"Don't die," Diantha spoke, she and Ash continuing to flee onwards. They climbed upwards, and soon Gardevoir's eyes glowed blue, lifting all but Greninja upwards (though he scaled them in leaps). Before long, they were at the top of the destroyed rubble and began working their way down. Overhead, Ash could see Serena and Clemont dropping from Team Rocket's balloon on to the stands opposite Alastair, running for the commentator's box that they knew so well. "Gardevoir, Shadow Ball!"
The second they'd skidded into the stadium, Gardevoir made an about face, forming a pulsing Shadow Ball that grew to nearly ten times the size of her usual assault method. Then she sent it flying towards Alastair, the man still dealing with the Champions on the other side. The inky orb shot forward, whizzing through the air, while Alastair turned. He jumped to the side, and the blast blew apart the stands, barely missing him while Aegislash went unharmed. Ash looked to see, and noticed both Camerupt and Beedrill there, though they looked nearly spent from their earlier battles.
"This ends now, Alastair!" Diantha called out, raising a finger to point up at him. His face tightened.
"For you, yes," he told her. Then, he sighed, and patted his leg a bit. A shadow rippled between both Beedrill and Camerupt. "And it is for you, and you alone, Champion, that I will make a simple concession in this battle. Gengar, Shadow Ball."
"Moonblast!" Diantha roared out. Ash nearly dove to the side, not wanting to get involved in their battle. Gardevoir charged up her pearlescent orb, and then fired it upwards. A Gengar materialized, eyes glowing red, and realization began to set into Ash about what had been controlling the army the entire time. The Shadow Ball and the Moonblast collided, sending ripples all across the stadium. Ash almost flew from his feet, but charged headfirst for the stadium's center. Serena and Clemont were at the commentator's box already, looking for a way to lower the arena, while Team Rocket made a turnaround back for the battle. "Shadow Ball!"
"Double Team, and fire," Alastair spoke. Aegislash remained guarding from behind, consistently changing forms, but Ash didn't focus on that. He just watched his wife and friend working up above. The Gengar split into multiple copies, each forming their own Shadow Ball, and then firing. Gardevoir did the same, all of the orbs launching into the air and slamming into each other. They burst in smoke and shadowy particles, raining downwards. "Pin Missile!"
"Reflect!" Diantha called. The green projectiles burst from Beedrill, and Ash finally realized that neither Louise nor Toll were anywhere in sight. Alastair was running this all on his own, ragged though he was beginning to seem in the moment, his very breath seeming like a guttural growl. They truly were not stopping for a second; neither side was giving up an inch in the least. The missiles slammed into Gardevoir's blue, circular shield, barely defending her. "Now, Psychic on the stands."
"Garde!" Gardevoir shouted out, eyes glowing a bright blue, and the stands of Ancien Stadium began to crack, large chunks lifting outwards from the force of it. Ash finally reached the center, and Serena leaned out of the box.
"We're on it, Ash!" He threw a thumbs up towards his wife, and seconds later, he began to feel his feet shifting, the ground beginning to lower with the stadium pieces there. His gaze traveled up, towards the lobby, where he could see a mess of shapes, and Cynthia battling fiercely. Then, there was Diantha, whose Gardevoir was hurling chunks of stone at Alastair and all of the Pokémon on his side. One slammed into Beedrill, sending it flying into the stands, while another hit Camerupt on the head, causing it to slump, not quite out, but clearly exhausted. Alastair avoided one, but Diantha's fury was not to be denied.
"MOONBLAST!"
"VOIR!" Gardevoir chimed out with her trainer, power creeping into her, rushing forth like the Embrace Pokémon was absorbing from a deep, deep well. Her body glowed pink, and then she fired, enough for Ash to get a sight of the giant orb barreling for the stairs. Alastair dove to the side, but the attack hit, consuming Gengar and Beedrill both. Alastair was thrown forward, onto another section of the stands as the stadium began to crumble. From that lone action, more cracks appeared along the stadium floor, even to where he was lowering, causing his own ground to become unstable, but still mobile as it lowered.
Alastair saw that. He pushed himself up, and looked to Camerupt. Ash's eyes widened.
"Explosion on that box, Camerupt. Gengar, our combo," the man called out, calmly, but with precision. Greninja tensed, his eyes flinging up towards the box. Ash didn't know what was about to happen, but his own body tightened, ready to do what was necessary to stop it.
And that was when Ash realized it: Alastair had created a choice. The stands glowed red hot, cracking further, power erupting from Camerupt's body as it dug its feet straight in what remained of the ground it stood on. Gengar split itself into multiple copies, all of its Shadow Balls forming. Explosions started going off around Camerupt, each resulting in a quick chain outward, along the stands. Their destination point was very clearly the commentator's box.
"Greninja, Water Shuriken! Stop it from-"
"NO!" Diantha screamed. The air went silent. Ash turned to look, even as the ground beneath him began to crumble. "You need to conserve everything you can, Ash! Fight her! Show her the future we wish to protect! As for me, this is how I will protect our future! Psychic!"
"Gardevoir!" Gardevoir shouted out, eyes once more glowing blue.
Serena and Clemont began to scramble, Ash's elevator downward stopping its movement, but still giving Ash enough vision to see what was going on in the stadium up above. He could even see a little bit of down below, and hear mutters and voices. Suddenly, with Gardevoir's glowing eyes, the explosions stopped, contained by the move. She strained, holding them away like a giant ball of flame, just in time for Serena to grab on to Clemont, the latter using his Aipom Arm to pull them to the top of the stadium and away from the blast radius.
Then, Gardevoir bundled them all up into an even more massive orb of fire before splitting it apart in the air above the stadium, causing it to burst with floating cinders and a great cry. "VOIR!"
The explosion ripped out, the ground crumbling even more, and Ash saw Serena and Clemont catching their breaths. The Shadow Balls slammed outward, and with no time to move after her efforts, they impacted with Gardevoir, battering her mercilessly until she was flung back into the walls of the arena. Others sprayed outward, forcing Pikachu and Greninja on the defensive to beat them away, Ash turning his body to avoid being hit. Diantha began to run for her fallen Pokémon, and a snap was heard.
Slash!
Ash stared up, eyes wide with horror, and his weren't the only ones. Other trainers had begun to near the interior of the stadium, stopping at the sight. There was a gagging noise, and Ash made to climb back up, not wanting it to be real. Wanting to just imagine it all away, but Diantha's words, Aegislash's glowing blue blade impaling the Champion through the chest and ripping through straight on to Gardevoir for a fatal blow, made him stop.
"This was…all I could d-do…for the future…" she gasped out, her voice strained in a whisper. Along the stands, Alastair was beginning to rise. Diantha coughed, blood spurting from her mouth. Aegislash withdrew from Gardevoir's own lifeless body, and more of the red fluid came from Diantha's chest. She yet remained standing, however. With a shaking body, the Champion's head rose up, smiling her graceful smile to Ash. "A-all…I could ever do…"
"Diantha…no…" Ash whispered out. Her hands reached forward, as if wanting to touch him, to tell him that everything would be okay. Tears pricked at his eyes, and the sounds of battle almost seemed to die, hope fading with Gardevoir and Diantha's broken bodies. She just continued smiling.
"I'm sorry…I couldn't do more…but…" She hacked again, and finally, her body began to fall. Ash wanted to reach forward, grab her, as if doing so would make the difference between life and death. "The future…it's…yours now…Ash…
"So, protect it…"
Then, Diantha's body hit the surface of the stadium floor, her eyes growing cold with a smile still on her face. To the side, Gardevoir's body shined, reverting form as it slumped and rolled to her trainer's side. Ash's body shook. Color seemed to burst from every orifice of the stadium. A faint cry was heard on the wind. People gasped in shock. Another explosion seemed to be starting, but Ash and everyone else remained in shock.
Diantha, Champion of Kalos, had died…and hope had seemed to die with her.
"Guzma, hurry it up!" Gladion called back, Silvally running alongside him. Seamus remained silent, Merry dashing along at his own side while he gripped to another pokeball of his. "We're almost to the maintenance door on the city and stadium schematics. If Ash is right-"
"Ya don't need to lecture me, Gladion! Your boy Guzma knows what he's gotta do!" Guzma snapped. He was the only one without a Pokémon by his side, though from Seamus' own observation, the man was a force of nature so much, himself, that he hardly needed it outside of the trickier battles. Explosions went off in the distance, and it seemed like their own army was amassing. Nevertheless, the three of them and their Pokémon seemed to almost be out of sight from the enemy, reaching the back of the stadium.
Sure enough, the door was approaching that Gladion had noted. For a brief second, Seamus wondered if, perhaps, the shadow that Clemont had seen earlier had gone through this very same door. It didn't matter, in any case, because now Guzma had called out his Golisopod, the large bug slashing through the door with a Razor Shell. Seamus tossed him an almost incredulous look.
"We could have just opened it, you know," the blond pointed out to him. Guzma just shrugged as all six of them ran to the door and towards the service elevator that would take them to the bowels of the stadium maintenance area. Gladion cracked his knuckles, clearly not bothering to give a word of remonstration.
"What's it matter, yeah? I mean, whole town's gonna need some major work from Guzma and Family, anyway," the white-haired man grinned out. Seamus rolled his eyes, while Gladion snorted before finding the controls to the service elevator and pressing on it for the nearest maintenance hall. It quickly began to lower, making the sounds of battle on the city surface above fade away. "Besides…this bitch has got somethin' fierce comin' to her for darin' to treat my boys and girls that way. Anyone that makes Plumeria cry has got a fierce Guzma uppercut to her face that needs deliverin'! I'll beat her down and beat her down and-"
"We all want a chance at that…some more than most," Seamus spat out vehemently. The former leader of Team Skull looked to Seamus, but the blond said nothing. Neither did Gladion, as the elevator continued down, quickly descending to the place they needed to go. Seamus' fist clenched, each of them thinking about the woman they were heading off to clash with. "She needs to pay. Thinking the world would be better off without its flaws, hurting other people to do it. She's just like her son; just like someone who wants to run away from what the real problem is, but she's only masking it in her altruism. At least Dalton didn't hide who he was."
"Hmm," Gladion mused out, though it sounded as though he agreed. The elevator shuddered to a halt, and they were suddenly deposited in a long hallway, track lighting placed around the edges, leading to where Deirdre no doubt was. Up ahead seemed to be a swirling mess of colors, though its source was not yet visible. "I'd have to agree with you there. I don't know who this Dalton was, but Deirdre has clearly shown herself unwilling to forgive mistakes or advocate the change we've all worked hard to achieve."
"Don' know if I've changed anythin' much, but I've tried to change myself," Guzma said, looking up towards the light they had left behind them almost wistfully. The hallway suddenly shuddered, some dust and pebbles falling down to the ground.
"That's the point," Seamus said, walking forward, taking the lead for all of them. They moved a little slower, careful in the darkness. "We don't know much about each other, but what we do know is that all of us made mistakes; mistakes we had to truly make up for to a lot of people. With Ash's help, and all of those fighting out there, we were able to take our step towards the new future and begin to change, creating one we'd be proud of, regardless of our previous nasty path. But they want to take that from us. She wants to take it from us, and for what? Perfection?
"I won't let her! Even if we're no match; even if the Champions or Ash should be standing here with us, I want to do my part and prevent her from doing this. I promised I would never let another Travis do what he did, but now his origin is right in front of me. I look at this as my responsibility as much as anyone else's."
"I hear that," Guzma called, slamming his fist into his open palm. Finally, the path widened, and the glow began to shine brighter, all seven colors refracting around the place. The hallways shook again, and the walls almost seemed to crack a bit while the hallway curved, as though into a large, open area that sat almost directly beneath the stadium. The trio rounded the corner and their Pokémon all began to react, growling loudly at the power emanating ahead. Finally, they stopped.
Seamus looked upwards, his eyes widening at the sight of the meteonite, the true one, suspended above the area. It looked like it was funneling energy, almost, with the ground itself glowing the same rainbow color as the meteonite while it spun. Said object had grown to a considerable size with it, wrapped in a protective cocoon that was caused by something attached to it. It was proof positive that the true meteonite, some chips here and there on its surface as if a shard or two were broken off, had been here the whole time. And if that had been true, then the woman who started it all had to be here, as well, now almost visibly emerging from the concealing shadows. Seamus lowered his eyes, and disgust and fear was suddenly scrawled all over his face.
"Deirdre…" he breathed out. "No way…"
"Yes, I'm such an ugly, wretched sight, aren't I?" the woman spoke, her voice a little croaky, as though from disuse, but holding a strength and conviction that ran completely counter to the sight before him. In front of him was the same auburn-haired woman he'd encountered multiple times, but she was nothing like before. Looked nothing like before.
She was just sitting there, her legs dangling over the edge of a wheelchair, what looked like IV lines attached to her body. They didn't seem to be all that important, though, as the thing that drew Seamus' attention the most were her legs. With one glance, they appeared atrophied from disuse, and looking limp, as though all feeling had been sucked dry from them, now mere unusable appendages that were emphasized by the combat shorts she was wearing. As Seamus continued to stare, he saw the woman look up, still smiling a cold smile, but now with a burning rage smoldering inside; the same rage that had consumed her son.
"What happened to you…?" Deirdre didn't answer. She just smiled enigmatically, and the meteonite began to pulse. Her head turned up to it, and she turned the wheelchair slightly, placing the missing shard that was revealed in her hand, back on to the meteonite. It flashed with light, as though complete. Seamus rose his voice and tried again. "Deirdre, answer me! What the hell happened to your legs? ! Is that why you're doing all this? !"
"Does it matter, Seamus?" Deirdre finally spoke. The lights from the Alpha seemed to almost go crazy, and Seamus felt a tight pressure around his chest, like he was stepping into another world, akin to the beginning of time, but it was fleeting. Deirdre reached down, gripping at her legs with a sudden hope shining in her eyes. A shadow, the shadow, flitted around the lights, shooting down to the ground silently. Deirdre began to stand, self-assured. "The last of the blood needed is spilled…well, except for one."
"How are you movin', lady? ! Yer legs look like they're made of jelly!" Guzma roared out, but Deirdre didn't answer. Seamus had to wonder if it was all a ruse, just like everything before. However, that soon proved to not be the case. Deirdre's legs didn't change, but she was still standing, her shadow now rigid and unwavering in the light, matching her every movement more than perfectly.
"My dream of an ideal world is here. I've saved every ounce of strength I have left for this. Why would I not move?" Deirdre spoke, the smile stretching her face to wicked proportions. "My legs don't even feel a thing. Haven't for years. But now, I can stand again and do what needs to be done. That, at least, has never changed. Now, will you three boys give me some entertainment before the end of this world? I haven't had a good fight since I lost use of my legs almost two decades ago. Who wants to go first?"
Yet before anyone could answer, a small sliver of sunlight and rainbow cracked in from above, and beyond that stone, a loud screech could be heard. Deirdre's face grinned, and Seamus knew what the loud cry was: Ho-oh had been summoned, and was hitting the battlefield at long last.
Author's Note: Deirdre is revealed at last. And, surprise, she's quite the broken woman, relegated to a wheelchair, having lost the use of her legs. Of course, she's standing now, but there's a specific reason for that, and why she never did it before. I hope it informs you quite a bit of her character, and of Alastair's as well. This tells you pretty much everything about why they want a new, perfect world: part-altruism, part-selfishness.
That said, there was a lot more to this chapter, what with the panic that set in, followed by the heroic surge forward, and then the final, blistering blow to morale in the face of Diantha's death. Yes. Diantha is dead, along with Gardevoir. After all, a lot of the theme of this story has been the current generation handing it to the next, and she made her choice to do the same. How will this fare for the characters now, however? You'll find out next time.
That said, this time you'll get all those thanks from me: Hero Time 18 for favoriting; and a really great thanks to XDiamondX90, Amourshiper35, EWNetwork, gamer212, Tenzalucard123, Alexandria Prime, AdvancedAlto, Rajiv A. Rajaram, potat lasaro, aliensinnoh, ScytherNoSwiping, FantasyLover88, Omegaz, M, Ooobserver, StacheKing, ShiningAura, ChE clarinetist, AmourshippingCanon and 1 guest for reviewing. Clearly, the battle isn't over yet, but it's clearly reaching its zenith. Hopefully this was a range of emotions for you all. And I hope you'll tell me all this in a Review, and remember, Dare to Be Silly.