Are you ready for a chapter even COOLER than the last one? Because I know I am!

Having to deal with school and homework left me with less time than I liked to write this, but I did my best to find the time to work, anyway. The result is before you…and waaaaayyyy longer than I thought it would be. How do I keep doing this, you ask? I honestly don't have a clue. I hope you can find time to sit and read it all, because trust me, it's going to take a while.

And oh, if you thought THIS part of the train ride was awesome…wait'll you see what I have in store for the future…

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that doesn't belong to me. I'd list everything that I've appropriated/ripped-off, but that would take too long and honestly, do any of you care?

This chapter is dedicated to the people of Japan who are suffering as a result of the recent earthquake and nuclear disaster. Our hearts go out to you in this time of troubles.

Things did not look good for the heroes who had chosen to help Fantina liberate the dead town of Dusty Ditch from the icy clutches of Fimbulvinter. After seeing how easily they had routed her army, the evil witch Bellum had summoned the mightiest creatures the frigid realm of Niflheim had to offer…the towering frost giants, creatures so big that even the snowy mountains surrounding the valley seemed small in comparison. What hope did the much, much smaller warriors and mages have against such an awesome force like that?

"What hope do we much, much smaller warriors and mages have against such an awesome force like them?" Zippo cried in disbelief. "They're so…big! I don't think that I could scratch them, even if I still had the Flame Plate!"

Leo frowned in thought, scanning the frost giants with his sunglasses for any sign of a weak spot. The results were not promising. "What can we do?" he murmured, mind racing. There had to be some way to beat those monstrosities. Surely he'd planned for something like this, hadn't he?

Unfortunately, try as he might, he couldn't think of anything that might work. He had considered the possibility they might run into giants, but he'd never imagined they'd be this, well, gigantic. What did he have that could possibly be of use against something of that size? There was nothing in his shell that could possibly-

Wait. "That's it!" Leo cried, taking out the modified Thermonuke.

"Uh, dudette, that thing's busted, remember?" Zippo said with a frown. "And even if it weren't, I'm not sure it could do much more than give those things a small burn."

"Normally, it wouldn't…" Leo agreed as he took out some tools and began tinkering with the machine. "But…with the right adjustments and repairs, we can turn it into something that has a shot at killing one of those things."

Zippo frowned. "What are you talking about, dudette?"

Leo looked up at the Charmeleon and grinned. "They have really tough exteriors…but do you think their insides are quite as insulated?"

Behind his sunglasses, Zippo's eyes widened in understanding. He burst into laughter. "Babe, I've already told you that if we weren't both in relationships and you weren't so much older than me, I'd totally do you, right?"

Leo paused, a little disturbed. "Um, yes, something like that…"

"Heh, just checking." Zippo took out his own toolkit. "All right! Let's get to work!" The two nerds eagerly took to their task, combining their mechanical know-how to repair the busted Thermonuke…and make it into something totally new…

Not everyone was quite as optimistic in the face of this incredible danger as they were, however. "It's hopeless," Rebecca murmured, blind eyes staring at the encroaching giants in dismay. "My spirits have fled me. I doubt I could hypnotize something that big. How can we hope to stand against such monsters?"

"There is one way," Cherry said as she walked over to the Hypno, seeming completely unruffled by the constant tremors as the giants approached.

Rebecca frowned. "What are you talking about? Even if I called every elemental I could muster, it still wouldn't be enough to defeat even one of these giants."

"Perhaps you aren't thinking of the right elementals?" Cherry asked, looking pointedly at a mountain.

There was a long silence. "Cherry, I can't see, remember? If you're pointing at something, I have no idea what it is," Rebecca said flatly.

Cherry sweatdropped. "Oh, right. What I mean is…the spirits of air, fire, earth, and metal might not be strong enough. But…what about a mountain spirit?"

Rebecca's white eyes widened in alarm. "A mountain spirit? Are you crazy, Cherry? You know I'm too old to do something like that!"

"You can do it," Cherry insisted.

"At this age? Impossible, the effort would kill me!" Rebecca protested.

"You'll be fine," Cherry said.

"…I'll be fine? What are you talking about? Even if I did something like that when I was in my prime, it would still have killed me!" Rebecca said incredulously.

"That may be true, but…if you do this, I promise you'll be okay," Cherry said.

Rebecca blinked in astonishment. "What? How could that be?"

"Because I have foreseen it. I have foreseen that, even after summoning a mountain spirit and using it to defeat a frost giant, you will still be here with us," Cherry insisted. "You will ride with us the rest of the way to Fichina and share in the accolades when we finally get there. You will survive this battle, and the one that comes after that."

Rebecca gave her an incredulous look. "What? But…but how? That…that isn't-"

"Rebecca," Cherry said. "Would I lie to you about a vision of the future?"

"You've refused to tell me about the future plenty of times," Rebecca grunted.

"That's not the same as lying and you know it. Would I really lie about a vision? As an oracle, you know I'm not allowed to do something like that," Cherry said.

"You might not lie, but you can easily twist the truth to make a prophecy sound whatever way you want it to," Rebecca said suspiciously. "You said I'll survive and still be with you. How do I know you aren't talking about my corpse, and you'll keep it safe so it can be buried in Fichina?"

Cherry sighed in bemusement. "We aren't going to bury you, Rebecca. You'll still be there with us, fighting and relaxing and having a good time. You will continue your profession as a spiritualist for many years to come. You will inspire other spiritualists by what you were able to pull off today, and will accomplish even greater feats in future battles. But none of that can happen unless you summon a mountain spirit now to aid us."

Rebecca looked at her for a long, long moment. "You…you're telling the truth, aren't you?" she said eventually.

"Of course I am. I told you I don't lie about the future," Cherry said.

Rebecca nodded slowly. "I'll…really make it out of this in one piece?"

"Yes," Cherry said with a reassuring smile, even though Rebecca couldn't see it.

The Hypno sighed, giving in. "All right. I'll…I'll do it. But if you're messing with me, my vengeful spirit will return to haunt you for the rest of your life!"

"I'm fairly certain that's not going to happen, but if that's what you want to do with your afterlife, I won't stop you," Cherry said with a smirk.

Rebecca wiped some snow away and sat down cross-legged. "This is going to take a few minutes," she said. "Not as long as that summoning spell which still isn't finished yet, but I won't be able to do it instantaneously. Will you keep watch and make sure nothing happens while I try to wake up the mountain spirit?"

"Of course I will," Cherry promised. "I'll keep both sets of eyes open."

"Good," Rebecca said gruffly. "I'm holding you to that promise." She closed her eyes and held her pendulum out before her, humming. A mystic aura surrounded her, and the pendulum began swinging gently back and forth. Rebecca smiled and turned both her heads away so as not to be distracted or hypnotized…and suppressed a faint twinge of guilt for not being as one hundred percent honest with her friend as she should have been.

"It's so…big…" an astonished Buck whispered.

"It's…it's…it's incredible! Goldor, it's even larger than your ego!" Silvia gasped.

"It most certainly is not!" Goldor said, although secretly he feared she was right. "It is rather large, though…ah, I say, Captain, I don't suppose you have any ideas on how to tackle something like this?"

"Well, I've got one idea," Briney said, telekinetically lifting a house into the air and flinging it at one of the frost giants. It blinked and scratched the spot where the house had hit its chest in surprise.

"…Was that supposed to do something?" asked a perplexed Goldor.

Briney shrugged. "When in doubt, I throw houses at things." He lifted several more houses and started throwing them at the giant. The doll family exchanged puzzled looks, shrugged, then started telekinetically throwing buildings as well, having no better idea.

The giant frowned as the buildings impacted its chest. The projectiles didn't hurt it, but it was somewhat annoying. It looked around, trying to find out where the houses were coming from, then shrugged and raised its foot, planning to just stomp the whole place flat until the houses stopped flying at it. "Whuh-oh," Buck said as the shadow of the tremendous foot covered them.

"Perhaps we should have tried a different tactic?" Silvia said anxiously.

"Good idea," Briney said, opening his mouth and firing a flaming Hyper Beam at the foot. Goldor raised his arms and fired fiery Hyper Beams of his own, followed by Silvia. Buck, much to his resignation, had yet to learn that technique, so just hurled as big a fireball as he could muster.

The blasts struck the giant in the bottom of its foot, causing it to grunt in surprise and draw it back, scratching the spot they'd hit it in irritation. "We did it!" Buck cheered.

"Yes, and now he's using his club instead," Goldor said flatly as the giant raised its club and started bringing it down towards them.

"Oh no he isn't!" Briney growled, flying up to intercept the club, grabbing it in his claws and pushing back at it with all his might. Much to his astonishment, even by utilizing his Psychic powers to the fullest, he was only able to slow the weapon's downswing by a fraction. It's so strong…stronger than I had expected, certainly stronger than Polly! He ground his teeth and pushed harder, determined not to be crushed under the immense club. But not…stronger…than ME! Exerting all his immense strength, he managed to slow the club down further, but, much to his alarm, not enough to stop it…

Until three more sets of arms joined him in pushing against the club. "Hang on, old boy, we're here to help!" Goldor said.

"Wh-what?" Briney spluttered. "What are you lot doing here?"

"You looked like you were in trouble, so we thought we would lend a hand," Silvia said.

"What? Bah! I had everything under control!" Briney blustered.

"We're sure you did, Captain," Buck said. "But we wanted to participate in the battle, too! Surely there's nothing wrong with that?"

Briney glared at the Claydol, a mixture of irritation and relief mingling through him. "Well…if you must, I suppose it would only be fair to let you have a piece of him too," he grunted. "He's big enough for all of us, after all!"

"Quite!" Goldor said, eyes glowing. "Now...all together, everyone!" The others' eyes glowed as they all used Psychic in unison. The frost giant, who had been staring at his club in confusion, wondering why it had stopped moving in midair, blinked in surprise when the weapon slid out of his grasp and rose into the air. He stared at it in awe, wondering if it had been possessed by some sort of spirit. This notion was reinforced when the club wound back and swung at his face, smashing into the side of his head and sending him stumbling back, crushing buildings and shaking the ground as he tried to regain his balance, blood and a few teeth spilling from his bruised face.

"Yeah, all right!" Buck cheered.

"That showed him what for!" Goldor said eagerly.

"Ew, he's even uglier now than he was before!" Silvia said in disgust.

"Eh, I've seen worse," Briney said.

And then the situation got worse when the giant shook its head angrily and stood back up straight, revealing that the powerful blow they had dealt it had not done quite as much damage as they had hoped. Then again, how were they to know that frost giants bashed each other over the head on a regular basis as a game, with whoever could sustain the most blows without falling over declared the winner? Enraged, the giant stomped back over, snatched the club out of the air, and started slamming it against the ground again and again to try and knock the evil spirits out of it. Unfortunately, since Briney and the doll family had been holding onto the club when he did that, that meant they got pounded against the ground as well, the repeated impacts smashing them flat against the bottom of the club. Pleased that he'd shown his weapon who was boss, the giant glanced around, trying to find what had happened to the little pests that had been bothering him earlier, unaware they were closer than he could possibly imagine…

And not able to do much about it at the moment. "Okay," said a dazed Goldor, his shiny gold body severely dented and scraped and imbedded halfway into the surface of the club. "That was an experience I would not care to repeat, not even for all the money in the world. Well…okay, if it were all the money, maybe…"

"Ohhhh…my head hurts worse than the last time I drank a wee bit too much at one of my sister's parties…" Silvia moaned.

"Sorry Mrs. Holon, but I don't have my homework…my Growlithe ate it…no, I didn't pay him to do it, why would I do something like that?" babbled a dazed Buck.

"Eh, I've had worse," Briney grunted, having managed to shield himself from the brunt of the impact with Protect and Iron Defense. Eye glowing, he managed to wrench the four of them out of the club with his telekinesis. "Take a moment to heal yourselves. I'm going to teach our large friend here to show his weapon more respect," he said gruffly as he adjusted his hat and flew up towards the giant, rather than away from the massive creature, like any sensible Pokémon would do.

"…My goodness. He really is something else, isn't he?" Goldor murmured as he cast a healing spell on himself.

"What a mon!" Silvia breathed, causing Goldor to glare at her.

"Go get em', Captain Whitestache! Show that Vice Admiral Joe Giant who's boss!" Buck said deliriously.

Briney rocketed higher and higher up the giant's body, flying straight for its head. "Hey, tall, pale, and frosty! Do you know what happens to those who try to kill Captain Thaddeus Irving Briney?" he bellowed both vocally and telepathically so that the giant could hear him. Confused and wondering where those words in his head were coming from, the giant ponderously looked around, wondering if a spirit or one of the other giants was pulling a prank on him. "No? Then I'll tell you what happens! Captain Thaddeus Irving Briney kills them!" Drawing back a glowing fist, Briney used his momentum to slug the giant in a jaw with a punch powerful enough to crack a small mountain in two…

And, much to his astonishment, flinched backwards, his knuckles smarting. "Ow! What…what the…"

"Ow! Hey, that smarted!" the giant complained, reaching a hand up to rub its slightly aching jaw. His eyes crossed as he tried to focus on the much, much smaller form of Briney floating before him. "Did you try and sting me, little bug? Well, let me show you what I do to bugs!" He lunged forward and snapped his jaws shut around Briney, eating him whole. "I eat them!"

The doll family gasped in horror. "No! It can't be!" Silvia cried.

"Good lord, he's been swallowed alive! We're all done for!" Goldor shouted.

"No we're not, he'll be out of there any second now," Buck said.

He was right. Abruptly, the giant howled in pain and vomited blood, teeth shattering as Briney smashed his way out of the monster's mouth with a powerful Explosion. "Ahhhh! Ahhhhhhhh! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the giant shrieked, mouth scorched and burnt black from the blast. "My mouf! My mouf!"

"And that's what happens to people who try to eat Captain Thaddeus Irving Briney!" Briney bellowed, doing his best not to show how rattled he was. He'd hit that thing with his strongest punch and blown up inside its mouth, but it was still alive? This was going to be a little harder than he had thought…

Fortunately for Briney, he wasn't alone. "Don't worry, Captain, we'll help you!" Silvia said, firing Hyper Beams at the giant's chest.

"Yes, you aren't the only one who can do terrible things to people that make you angry!" Goldor said, adding additional Hyper Beam fire.

As the frost giant growled and swung his club at the family, the dolls barely managing to fly out of the way in time, Briney focused his psychic powers on the giant's brain, trying to 'mind crush' it. All he got was a headache, however, and caused the giant to wince and rub its forehead in pain. He's not very bright, but his brain's just too big, Briney thought to himself in frustration. I can't just wreck it the way I usually would… He paused and glanced at the doll family, getting an idea. But if I had some help, then maybe I could… "Hey, you lot! I'm trying to destroy this giant's mind, but it's (slightly) too much for me! Care to lend a telekinetic hand?"

"What? But that sort of thing is forbidden!" Silvia said in alarm. "And rude, too!"

"This is war, womon, the rules of common decency no longer apply!" Goldor said, eyes glowing. "Everyone, focus on that giant's thoughts! Let your will encircle them like a crushing vice, and squeeze until there's nothing left!"

"…Wow, Dad, how do you know how to do that?" a surprised Buck asked.

"I'm a very wealthy businessmon and powerful mage, son. Sometimes I'm forced to do things that are…not entirely legal to keep business running smoothly," Goldor admitted, looking embarrassed. "I'd, ah, appreciate it if you didn't mention that to anyone…especially not that detective Looker. The last thing I need is a sleuth like him sticking his nose in my affairs…"

"Uh, sure thing, Dad," Buck said uncertainly.

"Anyway, put that out of your mind right now…and into that brute's mind! Destroy it until there's nothing left!" Goldor said, concentrating on the frost giant's brain.

"I hope we don't get into trouble for this…" Silvia said uneasily as she joined in.

"Mon, and I'm not gonna even be able to tell my friends I got to do this! Lame," Buck complained as he did his best to follow his parents' and Briney's example.

With all four Psychics focusing their combined mental power, the frost giant's mild headache grew into a migraine, and then into something far worse. "Auuuuggghhh! My head!" he cried, dropping his club and clutching both sides of his skull. "It feelf even worf than the hangover I got from drinking too much of Ymir'f brew!"

"Haha, we're doing it, lads!" Briney said excitedly. "Just a little more-"

"Hey, whatever you're doing, stop it!" a tremendous voice bellowed before a club slammed into the four Psychics, sending them flying. Dazed and smarting from the blow, Briney cursed as he struggled to reorient himself, realizing he'd forgotten there was more than one giant about. "Are you okay, brother?" the second giant asked in concern.

The first giant grimaced and picked up his club. "It ftill hurtf a little, but I'f had worf ffrom headbutting contefts!"

"Then let's see how they like getting their heads caved in!" the second giant snarled, raising his club.

"I think not!" A fiery lightning bolt shot down from the sky and struck the giant, causing him to grunt in surprise. A dragon made of flaming lightning swooped past, embers and static crackling off its form, Pikachu and Sparky riding on its back.

"Whoa, cool!" Buck said.

"The heck did they get something like that?" wondered a bewildered Briney. "…And how is the lightning on fire?"

"It's magic," Silvia said.

"Oh," Briney said. "Right."

"Taste the righteous judgment of Arceus, fiends!" Sparky said, raising Durendal and calling down another bolt of lightning.

"Arceus's Judgment is actually supposed to be a huge blast of light rather than a lightning bolt, actually, but considering you're using the Zap Plate, a fragment of his power, I suppose that was an apt statement," Pikachu said as he hurled a Thunderbolt at the giant.

Both of them were understandably surprised when the annoyed giant swung his club and…deflected the flaming lightning. Literally. He knocked it away as if he had been swinging a baseball bat, causing the lightning bolts to slam into a mountain and destroy a chunk of it in a large explosion. "Did…did he just…" Sparky stammered.

"Apparently," Pikachu said.

"But how…how is that-" Sparky started.

"Well, if we can ride around on a dragon made of flaming electricity, I suppose anything's possible," Pikachu said.

Sparky considered this for a moment. "Ah. You make a compelling case."

Pikachu sighed. "I wish I didn't."

"DIE!" the frost giant shouted, bringing his club down…

Only for it to abruptly change direction in mid-swing and slam into the other giant, nearly knocking him over. "Hey! What waf fat ffor?" he snarled angrily.

"I-It wasn't me! I didn't mean to hit you…this time!" said the surprised giant.

"Heh, forgot about us, did you?" Briney chuckled, his eye glowing along with those of the doll family. "Always a fatal mistake when you're dealing with Captain Briney!"

"Or myself, Goldor Goldorrington!" Goldor said.

"…Your last name is Goldorrington?" Briney asked.

"Well of course. Why did you think my company is named that? It's been in the family for generations," Goldor said.

"But…but your first name…" Briney shook his head and decided he didn't really care that much. "Oh, whatever."

"Whatever indeed! Dear, let's give those giants a taste of our combined spin attack! Perhaps that will finally give them some pause?" Silvia suggested.

"A smashing idea, Silvia! Captain, would you join us? With your power added to ours, we would be unstoppable!" Goldor said.

"Yeah, join us! Join us, please?" Buck begged.

Briney hid a smile. "Oh, all right, I suppose it can't hurt."

"Excellent! Let's get spinning!" Goldor said as he began his Rapid Spin. Buck and Silvia followed suit, and Briney went into a Gyro Ball, the other three whizzing around them.

As they spun faster and faster, energy crackled out from them and melded together to generate a tremendous cyclone with streaks of fire circling up its length, its tip smashing into the ground and sending buildings flying as its apex towered over the heads of the surprised giants. "Uh, I think we might want to move out of the way!" Pikachu said in alarm as the wind generated by the cyclone started pulling their steed towards it.

"That would probably be for the best," Sparky agreed, channeling more of the Zap Plate's armor and causing the dragon's wings to extend and beat faster. "However…I believe it would be to our advantage to add some of our power to that tornado, don't you?"

"Sure, the more energy in that thing, the better," Pikachu concurred. "Well, so long as it's being used against the giants, anyway!" They pointed their swords at the giant tornado and fired lightning bolts into it. Bolts of electricity spiraling around it as another element was added to the mix, the tornado flashed and pulsated violently, looking as if it would explode at any moment in a tremendous burst of energy. As Pikachu and Sparky made their escape, the tornado bore down on the two giants…

Who swung their clubs at it at the same time, causing it to shatter in a tremendous explosion that shook the valley, leveled any remaining buildings that hadn't been destroyed yet in all the fighting, flung the giants to the ground, and very nearly knocked Pikachu and Sparky out of the air. It also had the rather unfortunate side effect of sending Briney and the Goldorringtons flying in all directions, the force of the blast imbedding them in the surrounding mountains, extremely dazed and more than a little battered and wounded from the incredible explosion. "Ow," one of the giants said after a moment, smoke rising from his blackened body. Most of the hair on his body had been burnt, and some of it was still on fire.

"I think we could have handled that a little better," his equally singed comrade said.

"How?" the other giant said.

"…Dunno. Some way that didn't hurt so much?" he said.

"Meh," the giant replied. Grunting, they pulled themselves off the ground.

"Oh, come on! That didn't even faze them much?" an exasperated Pikachu protested.

"I guess we could try another attack…though the last one didn't seem to do much good…" Sparky said dubiously.

"That's because last time you didn't have all of us!" Rose said as she swooped down to fly alongside them.

"If we combine the powers of our Plates against them, we have a greater chance of defeating them," Happy said as she joined them.

"After all, it's the power of the Creator. The more of it the better, right?" Captain Salty said as he hovered into view.

Sparky smirked, relieved to see his friends. "It should indeed," he said.

"And it'll make for some great pictures, too!" Todd said as he flapped his wings frantically to catch up to them.

"You should probably stay back, you know," Happy warned him. "It's not going to be safe to be anywhere near those giants, especially once we really let loose with the full power of the Plates."

"Maybe so, but if I stay back, how'm I going to get the best shots?" Todd countered. "There's no way I'm missing out on this!"

"Nor I," Lu said from where she'd been riding on the Aerodactyl's back.

Sparky did a double-take. "Lu! Is that you? You've…evolved!"

"Yeah…I guess it was inevitable, considering my genetics and this climate," Lu said regretfully. "Oh well…I wanted to be an Umbreon, but I suppose a Glaceon'll do, too."

"I should think so," Sparky agreed. "And…no matter what form you take, you will always be ravishing to me."

Lu smirked. "Grazie, mi amore."

"Since when has she had an Italian accent?" Pikachu murmured to Sparky.

"Since always," Sparky said. "It's where she comes from, after all."

Pikachu blinked. "But…she didn't have it before."

"As a trained assassin, she can speak several dozen languages fluently, with all the appropriate accents and regional dialects," Sparky replied. "She didn't have an accent earlier because she didn't feel like it."

"…Ah," Pikachu said. That made him wonder what Dawn would sound like when she evolved. She'd had a voice when they were inside her heart, he remembered that, but…it had been some kind of weird pseudo-mystical illusion, so he wasn't sure how much accuracy he could attach to that. That also led him to wonder what she would look like when she evolved…considering she'd become a Lopunny, even with her burn scars she'd probably still be very beautiful, a thought that made him blush as he contemplated it. As if our relationship didn't get me teased enough by the others already…

"As de facto leader of Team Getem, I believe the appropriate thing to say would be…CHAAAAARGE!" Sparky declared, pointing his sword forwards.

"RAAAAAAAAHHHH!" the others shouted as they flew alongside him towards the giants, who ponderously turned to see them coming.

"Hey, look, brother," one said. "More bugs have come to pester us!"

"Good," the other giant said, picking his club back up off the ground. "If fere's one fing I like more fan anyfing elfe, it'f fquaffing bugf!"

While Team Getem tackled the two giants, the third found himself pestered by Looker, Bruno, Vladimir, Dean, Bob, Sasha, Butler, and Diane. "Grrr! Stupid, annoying specks! You go squish now!" the giant bellowed in frustration as he swatted away the houses Bruno, Butler and Diane were hurling at him. Swatting angrily at the swarm of black Woobat flying around his head that Vladimir had turned into, he brought his huge foot down on the Pokémon scurrying about underfoot.

Or tried to, anyway. Bruno raised his four hands and caught the sole of the giant's foot, gritting his teeth in pain and sweat rolling down his body as he tried to keep the huge appendage from crushing him. The ground beneath his feet splintered and collapsed as he sank down up to his ankles, and it looked as if soon even more of him would be buried, along with everyone else under the foot with him. "Everyone, go, now!" he shouted to the shocked Looker, Dean, Bob, Sasha, Butler, and Diane. "I'll hold it back as long as I can…get out from under here, before it's too late!"

Butler scoffed. "Oh, please…there's no need to be so melodramatic." He stretched his phantasmal limbs upwards and pressed against the foot with all his strength.

Bruno blinked in surprise. "Huh? What are you-"

"What, you thought you were the only one fighting?" Diane asked as her eyes glowed and she exerted her telekinetic power against the foot.

"Yeah, we're all in this together!" Dean said as he bounded upwards, digging his teeth into the giant's flesh and starting to suck away at its blood. Bob eagerly leaped up to join him, the two of them dangling rather comically as they drank the monster's vital fluids.

"We aren't going to leave anyone behind," Looker agreed, spewing Poison Stings into the underside of the giant's foot.

"I know when death is certain for someone…and right now, it is not absolute for you!" Sasha said. Master, will my garment's power to kill enemies work on this monster?

Dunno. He's kinda big…but I suppose it's worth a shot, Darkrai said.

Very well, she said, turning and bounding away.

"Hey, where are you going?" Looker protested.

"I thought you were going to stay and help!" the shocked Bruno agreed.

"I am," Sasha replied. "But I'm going to do so from another avenue!" It took her several seconds longer than she would have liked, but she managed to get out from under the shadow of the immense foot and back into the (relatively) fresh, cool air. She jumped onto the top of a nearby pile of debris, hopped from there to a larger pile, and bounded from there towards the giant's foot. She hit its sloping sides and nearly slid off, but by clawing into its flesh and biting into its thick (and rather distasteful) hair, she managed to keep herself from falling. She scrambled up the sides to the top of the giant's foot, paused for a moment to catch her breath, and lay down, allowing her black robe to spill out around her and make contact with the giant's flesh. The blackness of the robe flowed beyond its hem and began to cover the monster's skin, spreading out like an oozing stain of absolute blackness…

Which was not moving as fast or as far as Sasha would have liked. It's not working!

Well, I TOLD you he was a big one. It's gonna take a while for the robe to kill something that large, Darkrai replied. And that's assuming he lets you finish… Sasha grimaced, not liking the sound of that.

Above her, seeing what she and the others were trying to do, Vladimir coalesced back into his original form and shifted into his demonic Mightyena form, spreading his wings and swooping down towards the giant's foot. As he flew past it, his wings metamorphosed into segmented insectoid claws which dug into the ankle and arrested his descent, slamming him into the side of the leg and letting him dig his claws in. Howling, he began savaging the ankle with claw and fang and horn, blood flowing freely all over the place, some of it even landing in his mouth. This last assault, combined with the other rather unpleasant pricks and stings he had been receiving nonstop for the last few moments, was the last straw for the giant, who yelped and withdrew his foot, allowing Bruno, Butler, and Diane to sigh in relief. Dean and Bob, however, had much more to worry about since they were still hanging from the bottom of the giant's foot, and they quickly and reluctantly disengaged their fangs, dropped to the ground, and made a break for it, moving somewhat sluggishly due to the rather massive amount of blood they'd just gorged on. The giant's foot slammed down only meters behind them, the shockwave from the impact rippling across the ground and sending them flying.

Cursing and shouting angrily, the giant reached down and plucked Vladimir off his ankle, the vampire yelping in pain as his giant claws were torn off and his ribs were crushed between the giant's fingers. The giant started exerting more pressure, and he quickly dissolved into a swarm of Woobats which flew out of the giant's clutches before he could be squished. The giant snarled in frustration as he tried to snatch the retreating avians out of the sky…and paused, wondering why his foot felt…odd. He looked down and screamed in horror and alarm when he saw that almost the entire lower appendage had turned blacker than night, and the inky darkness was inexorably spreading up his ankle towards the rest of his body. He shook his foot frantically, trying to get the blackness off of it, and Sasha had to dig her claws into the surface of the giant's foot as hard as she could to keep from falling off.

When he saw the darkness was still spreading, the giant did the only thing he could think of: bash his foot in with his club. The others stared incredulously as the giant brought his club down on his dying appendage again and again. "That…seems counterintuitive," Butler said.

"Well, since he doesn't have any sharp implements, I suppose it's the closest he can get to amputation," Bruno commented.

Dean frowned. "Wait a minute…wasn't Miss Kutabe on there?"

They exchanged horrified looks. "Oh, crap," Looker murmured.

"I'm on it!" Diane yelled, Teleporting away as the others quickly rushed towards the foot.

Sasha was amazed to find that she was not, in fact, dead, despite being smashed repeatedly by a giant piece of stone large enough to demolish her entire forest home were it to fall on it lengthwise. She wasn't even hurting at all, she could feel the impact, but it was somehow…diminished, just annoying but otherwise harmless pressure applied to her back again and again. I am…alive?

Ha! I knew you'd be okay! Darkrai said, hiding a hint of relief. When I make an enchanted object, I do it right!

Diane appeared in a flash of light. "Kutabe, come on, we have to…ah, hold that thought." She Teleported as the giant bashed his club down on them, then reappeared once it was raised into the air again. "I'm here to get you out of here!"

"You can't-" Sasha protested, pausing as the giant's club smashed down again to interrupt their conversation. "I'm perfectly safe where I am, and if I leave-" The club came down again, providing another interruption. "What I'm doing here will cease!"

"And what are you-" Diane Teleported away as the club came down and reappeared, continuing right where they had left off. "Doing here?"

"Killing it!" Sasha said, bracing herself for the next blow…and was surprised when nothing happened. "Huh?"

Diane blinked and looked up, equally surprised. "Hey, why'd he-" She squealed in alarm and reflexively Teleported away just before the giant's hand came hurtling down to snatch her up. It caught Sasha instead and tore her off the foot, and the Kirlia Teleported back, realizing she'd forgotten the Absol, milliseconds too late. "Oh no…"

"You!" the giant bellowed furiously as he raised Sasha to eye level. "What do you think you're-ahhhh!" he cried in alarm when he realized that the blackness was starting to spread across his fingers too. Frightened, he hurled Sasha away as fast as he could, and sighed in relief when the darkness disappeared from his fingers as well as his foot…and frowned in puzzlement when he noticed they still felt rather numb. He tried wiggling his fingers and toes, but although most of his fingers were fine, save for the tips, his foot wouldn't respond at all to him. Which, he admitted, might be a good thing considering how much of it he'd gruesomely crushed with his frenzied club bashes.

Dammit! Darkrai swore as Sasha hurtled through the air.

Oh well. There goes that idea, Sasha thought wearily.

It's not that the enchantment was ineffective; it's just that he's too damn big! It's always difficult to cast direct-effect spells on things of that size unless you're an extremely powerful mage, because there's just so much volume for the spell to cover, Darkrai complained. If you had stayed on there long enough, you'd have either killed him or severely crippled him for sure!

Well, I can always try again, Sasha thought, surprised by how little her danger-sense was bothering her despite the fact that she was moving through the air incredibly fast and was several thousand feet off the ground. Ah, Master, I will survive hitting the ground, right?

Yeah, but at the rate you're going, you won't be getting back to the fight anytime soon, Darkrai said apologetically.

She sighed. Wonderful.

Fortunately, that proved to be less of a problem than expected, as abruptly a swarm of black Woobats swirled around her, biting their overlarge fangs into the fabric of her robes and flapping their wings frantically to try and arrest her flight. Incredibly, they managed to slow her down and bring her to a gradual halt, dangling her high above the ground below. "Are you all right, Sasha?" a few of the Woobats asked as they circled in front of her, speaking at the same time in Vladimir's voice.

"I'm fine, thank you," Sasha said. "I wasn't actually in any danger—my robe would have protected me—but I am grateful for it nonetheless, since it means I won't have to walk quite as far back to rejoin the fight."

"Ah, I see. Whatever magic you possess must be very powerful indeed to grant you such protection." The Woobats frowned in puzzlement. "Actually, something about it tastes…familiar somehow…almost like the Mistress."

"Well, I am a priest of Darkrai," Sasha pointed out, deciding not to mention her god was responsible for Gardevoir and Vladimir's subsequent transformation. "Lord of the dead. And undead. Which you are, being a vampire. I suppose it's unsurprising that you would recognize his power."

"Ah, that must be it," Vladimir said, the Woobats holding Sasha up flapping frenziedly, turning her about and slowly beginning to carry her back towards the frost giant. "Hmm…if that's the case, then I wonder if your blood would have the same taste as milady's…I don't suppose-"

"I'd rather you didn't," Sasha said firmly. "Though I appreciate you asking."

"Ah well, it was worth a try," Vladimir said wistfully.

"Vladimir's got Kutabe and they're on their way back," Dean reported to the others fighting the giant, having just received a message through the bond of affinity he shared with the elder vampire.

"Good, we need all the help we can get against this thing," Looker said as he spewed a constant stream of flaming Poison Stings up at the giant's body as the immense beast thrashed about, trying to catch Diane and Butler, who were Teleporting and vanishing all over the place to strike at him.

"Hold…still!" the giant grunted angrily as Butler evaded a club swing.

"Very well," Butler said, floating in place. The giant quickly reversed his thrust and swung his club at the Duclops…only for the immense weapon to pass right through the Ghost. "Oh dear, that didn't go quite how you had hoped, did it now? Would you care for another go?" he taunted, flinging his arms forward and firing flaming Shadow Punches at the giant's eyes. The giant quickly raised a hand to block them, and was startled when Diane abruptly Teleported onto one of his fingers and fired flaming Psybeams into his eyes. He howled in pain and clapped his hand to his eyes, dropping his club in the process and nearly crushing Bob, who had been stupidly standing in place barking at the giant but was saved at the last second by Looker, whom he rewarded by biting him.

"Oh crap," the Croagunk cried in horror as he yelped and dropped the ungrateful mutt. "Am I going to turn into a vampire now?"

"No, Bob's a minion-level vampire, he doesn't have the power to turn people into vampires," Dean said.

"Oh, good," Looker said, sighing in relief.

"They just die instead," Dean said.

"WHAT?" Looker screamed.

"Don't worry, I'll suck the virus out," Dean said, extending his fangs.

"You can do that?" Looker asked worriedly.

"We're about to find out," Dean said, digging his fangs into the holes Bob had made in Looker's arm and beginning to suck.

Looker expected it to be painful, but it actually felt…kind of nice, really. Almost euphoric. "What…what are you doing to me?" he asked, feeling a little giddy.

"I injected pain-killing enzymes so it wouldn't hurt," Dean said as he extracted his fangs, licking the last few drops of blood from his lips. "It'll also heal the wound. See?"

"Huh," Looker said, looking at his arm in amazement as the bite wounds from both vampires' fangs sealed up. "That's…interesting. Am I going to become a vampire now?"

"No, that would only have happened if I'd given you some of my infected blood," Dean said. "Bob's too stupid to know how to hold his virus back, though, which is why you would have died if I hadn't extracted it all from you."

"Ah," Looker said. "Thank you very much."

"No problem," Dean said. "And Bob, he was just trying to help you, there was no need to bite him and nearly get him killed! Bad dog! Very bad dog!" Bob whimpered and wandered off to sulk and wallow in misery.

"Well, now that that's settled…isn't there something we should be doing right now?" Looker asked.

"You mean fight that giant…giant?" Dean asked.

"I believe so," Looker said. Both of them looked dubiously up at the monster towering over them, wondering how they were going to make a dent in something that size.

As they pondered this, Bruno charged past them, bellowing as his muscles bulged with power, and leaped into the air, his strong legs boosting him hundreds of feet up and putting him on a collision course with the giant's knee. Roaring in fury as he sailed through the air, the Machamp drew back all four of his glowing fists and thrust them forward just before he could crash into the knee, hitting it with a quadruple flaming Dynamic Punch so strong that it shattered the giant's kneecap. The giant howled in pain and keeled over, clutching his broken knee in agony. As the giant's arms approached, Bruno, clinging to some of the hair sprouting from the giant's knee to keep from falling, Bruno kicked off and arced through the air again, landing on the giant's wrist. Hunched over, he started scurrying up the limb, using one set of arms to grab at strands of hair as long as he was tall to keep from falling off while using his second set to push against the ground like another pair of legs, moving up the arm with astonishing speed. Diane and Butler, realizing this was a pretty good opportunity and not wanting to give the giant even a moment to catch his breath, flew down to attack the giant's other kneecap, hitting it with powerful spells and energy blasts. They didn't hurt as much as Bruno's attack had, but they still got the giant's attention, and he angrily swiped at them, allowing Bruno to continue climbing up his arm unheeded.

Down on the ground, Looker and Dean stared in awe. "Woooow," Dean said.

"Rather impressive," Looker agreed.

"That guy is pretty cool," Dean said.

"And I think he has the right idea," Looker said. "We can't do much of anything here on the ground. If we want to do something really substantive to a monster this size, we need to get higher up."

"Ah, I get it," Dean said, generating his wings. Flapping them, he rose into the air and landed on Looker's shoulders, his feet sprouting claws that firmly clamped shut around the Croagunk's arms. "Hang on, we're going up!"

"W-wait, that's not what Iiiiiiieeeeeeeee!" Looker yelled as Dean's wings enlarged and, with a mighty flap, propelled them off the ground and into the air, rising up the side of the giant's immense body. Bob barked loudly and jumped repeatedly into the air, trying to follow them, only to find that he could not because he was unable to fly. Whimpering in disappointment, he sank onto his haunches, licked himself, then trotted over to one of the giant's feet and marked his territory on it.

A little further away, a stunned George looked on as the others fought against the frost giants. "Damn…that's some show going on over there…" She glanced at Sam and Max. "Any idea how we're supposed to get involved in that without getting squished?"

"Well, I have an idea, but…I'm somewhat reluctant…" Sam said uneasily.

"Oh, come on, Sam! What's the worst that could happen?" Max asked.

"You could develop a psychic brain tumor and explode in a blast powerful enough to rip a giant hole in the continent?" Sam said.

Max frowned. "Oh come on, that's nowhere near the worst! Barely even medium! Come on, you can think of something worse than that!"

Sam shook his head wearily. "You crack me up, little buddy."

"Um, what are you guys talking about?" asked a confused George.

"You might not know it just by looking at him, but my little buddy here is psychic!" Sam said. "Or used to be, anyway."

George glanced at Max. "Used to be?"

"Yeah, and I got my powers from a magic toybox that used to belong to the youngest of the elder gods…would that make him a junior god?" Max wondered.

"Well, his name was Junior," Sam said.

"O…kay…" said a confused George.

"Anyway, we blew up the toybox to keep an evil ventriloquist's dummy-" Sam said.

"That's redundant, Sam, all ventriloquist's dummies are evil," Max pointed out.

"Duly noted. Anyway, we blew up the toybox to keep some dummy from using it to summon Junior and destroy the world," Sam said. "In the process, Max lost the use of his powers, but ate Junior and turned into a giant monster that proceeded to rampage throughout New York and farted out spores shaped like his head on fire that ate the nightmares of anyone unlucky enough to fall asleep in his presence."

"…Uh…" George said.

"And then Sam, a weirdo in a fez with Yog-Soggoth growing from his stomach, and our heavily pregnant friend Sybil who's married to the giant reanimated statue of Abraham Lincoln went inside me to perform brain surgery and keep me from exploding in a psychic overload that would wipe out most of the Eastern seaboard, but they failed and I had to teleport into deep space just before I went critical, killing an evil alien gorilla and his mermaid girlfriend who'd been pretending to be the granddaughter of the local diner's owner as part of an overly convoluted scheme to take the diner from him," Max said.

"…WHAT?" George said incredulously.

"Huh, it does sound pretty weird when you put it that way," Sam admitted.

"Oh come on, that's gotta be one of our tamer adventures!" Max scoffed. "If she finds it that hard to believe, I wonder what she'd think of the time I went back in time and became your great-great-great grandfather!"

"Actually, that one still gives me headaches when I think too hard about it," Sam said.

"Psht, you're no great-great-great grandson of mine!" Max sneered.

"Wait, you…turned into a giant monster…and exploded…" George said slowly.

Max rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I just said that. Wow, you're slow on the uptake, huh?"

"But…you're here now!" George protested.

"I got better," Max said.

"Well, no, technically you didn't," Sam argued. "You aren't actually the Max who blew up in space, you're another Max from a parallel timeline in which I turned into a giant monster with electromagnetic powers and exploded, but since all you're part of a multiverse-spanning hive mind linking Maxes in every reality, you still have all the thoughts and memories of the Max who exploded, so you're basically the same person even though you technically aren't."

"Yes, but saying I got better would have saved more time and breath," Max pointed out.

"Ah, good point," Sam admitted.

"I…so…you…erk…" George's eyes crossed. "What…what does any of that have to do with right now?"

"As the most powerful and feared nation in the world due to Max's tyrannical acts of whimsy, we are constantly under attack from giant monsters and robots sent by other countries to try and destroy us," Sam said. "While our own standing army of giant monsters and robots is usually strong enough to repulse the invaders, occasionally something comes along that's too strong for the regular joes and it's up to Max and I to tackle them…mainly because Congress passed legislation stating we had to in a desperate attempt to get Max KIA so they could replace him with someone who's actually sane."

"Boy, did that backfire spectacularly!" Max said cheerfully.

"Traces of Junior's power still linger inside Max's body, and by studying it and our good friend Dr. Norrington AKA Yog-Soggoth, our scientists discovered a way to temporarily reactivate that power and, when necessary, transform Max back into a giant monster to defend truth, justice, and the American way!" Sam declared.

"…But…but if this is a Max from a parallel timeline and the Max who turned into a giant monster exploded, then how-" a confused George started.

Sam rushed forwards and clapped a hand over her muzzle. "Shh! Don't tell him that! If he realizes that, it won't work!" Sam hissed.

"Sam here was given the responsibility of safeguarding the pills that can turn me into a giant monster, because everyone else was worried that if I took charge of them, I'd abuse their power to conquer and/or destroy the world," Max said disdainfully.

"That's because you would," Sam pointed out.

"I know! It's so unfair," Max whined.

"So…you're saying you can turn him into a giant monster right now to fight those frost giants?" George asked slowly.

"I can, but as I said, I'm wary about doing it, since there's always a strong possibility that he'll either go on an uncontrollable rampage or explode, and then I'll have to explain to the First Lady how her husband died. Again," Sam said.

"You could always just snag another me from a parallel timeline," Max said.

"Yes, but then I'd be depriving parallel Sam of your parallel self, and that's something I'm not comfortable with doing," Sam said.

"You could shoot him and put him out of his misery," Max said.

"No, that's too much like Old Yeller, and you know how I hate that movie," Sam said.

Max rolled his eyes. "You cry at the stupidest things."

"You were crying too!" Sam accused.

"Yeah, because Old Yeller didn't kill Travis when he had the chance!" Max said.

"Um…okay," George said slowly, her head throbbing as she tried to make sense of all this lunacy. "It's dangerous. I understand. But…so's letting those frost giants go unstopped. They could kill the others."

"So?" Max asked, completely apathetic.

"They could also step on the train, meaning we'd have to walk the rest of the way to Fichina," George said, trying another tack.

Max gasped in horror. "No, not that! Sam, we have to stop them! Turn me into a giant monster, quick, before it's too late!"

Sam sighed. "Well, I probably shouldn't, but I can't think of a reason not to."

"What about the possibility of him going on an unstoppable rampage or exploding?" George asked.

"Other than that, I mean," Sam said, pulling out a small bottle and shaking a pill into one hand. It was throbbing and glowed a sickly green, and George could almost swear it had tentacles and purple eyes. She shuddered in disgust. "Down the hatch, little buddy!" Sam tossed the pill into the air. Max eagerly jumped up and snapped it up in his jaws. "And now we run," Sam told George as the white not-Buneary's body started trembling.

"Why?" George asked.

"So Max doesn't crush us as he transforms," Sam said.

"Ah," George said, seeing the sense in this.

They ran away as ominous voices started chanting in a guttural, alien tongue. Max closed his eyes as his head abruptly burst into flames and he began to levitate off the ground, his body expanding to become larger and larger. His beady eyes turned purple and sunk into great black pits, his sharp teeth elongated into fangs, his paws turned into webbed claws, purple spots formed on his shoulders and back, and his scalp tore open between his ears to reveal his purple pulsating brain. His skin turned dark green and covered in slime and scales rather than white fur. His long feet turned into cloven hooves, with barbs growing from his ankles and thighs. His muscles bulked up to startling proportions as bone plates and scales formed on his forearms and sides, and his back tore open as his spinal cord, now with engorged with elongated knobby vertebrae, emerged. His long floppy ears hung back over his head, becoming tentacles as suckers formed on their undersides. More tentacles appeared on his face, hanging down in front of his very wide, very toothy mouth in place of a nose, which had receded into his face. Now a giant monster over fifty meters tall, Max, or rather, Maxthulhu, threw back his head and emitted a blood-curdling roar that caused the entire tundra to quake in terror.

George's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Holy crap!"

"Yes, that's what most people say when they see him for the first time," Sam said indifferently. He pulled out a corn dog and waved it in the air, attracting Maxthulhu's attention. "Hey, little—er, big buddy! Over here!" Maxthulhu perked up when he saw the corn dog, licked his tentacles, and reached towards them.

"What are you doing?" George cried in horror.

"Getting us eaten," Sam said.

"WHAT?" George screamed. "You're crazy!"

"That's what they tell me," Sam admitted.

George tried to run away, but was too late, as Maxthulhu grabbed both of them in a scaly claw and raised them towards his face. As the Mightyena desperately tried to break free and Sam seemed completely unperturbed by the whole thing, Maxthulhu opened his gaping jaws wide and threw them down his throat. George screamed in terror as they plummeted into the bowels of the beast…

And was rather surprised when they landed unharmed in what looked like a perfectly ordinary kitchen with an oven, counters, stools, refrigerator, a spice rack, and a small island with a sink and food processor in the middle. The only thing-aside from the dim lighting and the fact that there was no ceiling but a great dark shaft that rose endlessly above them-that gave away the fact that they weren't in a real kitchen was that the walls were red and meaty and pulsating somewhat. "Wh-what? How…how did we get here?"

"Max ate us," Sam said, brushing his jacket off casually and throwing the corn dog he had been holding into the food processor, which activated and greedily started reducing the tasty treat into its component parts for easier consumption.

"But…but this is a kitchen! What's it doing inside of Max?" George asked.

"It's his stomach," Sam said.

"…His stomach," George said flatly.

"Yes," Sam said.

"Why does his stomach look like a kitchen?" George demanded.

"What else would it look like?" Sam asked, honestly puzzled. George's eye twitched. As she tried to come to terms with the impossibility of all this, Sam opened the fridge door and rummaged around inside of it. "Hmm, let's see, are there any…ah, good there's still some left!" He happily pulled out a brown Popsicle, licking his lips eagerly. "Mmmm, Fudgey Freezes…" He eagerly devoured it.

"…Did you just eat something that was lying around, half-digested, in Max's stomach?" George asked incredulously.

"Yes," Max said, licking the chocolate from his lips. "Why, do you want one?"

"I…no, I'd rather not, thanks," George said faintly.

"Good," Sam said, reaching back into the fridge and pulling out another half-dozen popsicles. "More for me, then!" He gleefully started eating them.

George briefly wondered if she was going insane, which, considering the company she had been keeping lately, meant she'd fit in rather well. She grimaced, wondering if Sam was really worth all this. "So, uh, why did you have Max eat us?"

"So we can control him from inside and make sure he doesn't do anything too crazy, naturally," Sam said as he finished the last of the chocolate treats. "And to do that, we need to go to the brain."

"Which is…?" George asked.

"Right over there," Sam said, pointing to a transparent tube running up the length of the wall behind George with a doorway cut into it and a picture of a brain over it. Strange green globs of something lazily drifted up its interior.

"Oh," George said. Sam walked past her and into the tube, where an invisible force took hold of him and sent him shooting up into the darkness. Groaning and knowing she was going to regret this, George reluctantly followed him.

One heady high-speed not-quite elevator ride later, the dazed Mightyena stumbled out of the top of the tube and found herself in what looked like a perfectly ordinary living room with comfortable couches, wood paneling, a throw rug, a fireplace with china plates that had pictures of Sam and Max on them placed on the mantelpiece, strange pieces of modern art decorating the place, a record player next to a bookshelf full of records, an incongruous white door, and two other tubes presumably leading to other parts of the body. A huge plasma TV hung from one of the walls, with an impressive sound system framing it, and what appeared to be a human with an impressive pompadour and elegant suit who looked like he'd just walked out of a black and white film sat on the couch across from it flipping through the channels while drinking a can of beer. Several dozen empty cans littering the floor and side of the couch indicated he'd been at this for a while. The human paused in his channel surfing and glared at Sam and George when he realized he was no longer alone in the room. "Oh, it's you again," he slurred. "And you brought a ladyfriend this time? My, I didn't even know you liked girls, Sam. I wonder how Max feels about his best friend bringing someone else into his innermost sanctum."

"Oh, he's cool with it," Sam said.

"I'm sure," the human drawled doubtfully. "Well, if you want to copulate or engage in some disgusting canine mating ritual, do it somewhere else, the only bed around here is mine and I don't want you getting your fur and saliva all over it."

"That won't be necessary, we're just friends," Sam said as George flushed.

"Yeah, that's what they all say…" the human grumbled before finishing his beer, crunching the empty can against his forehead, tossing it away and grabbing a fresh one from the cooler next to him, pointedly ignoring them as he went back to watching TV.

"Uh, Sam, who is that, and why is he inside of Max's brain…which, for some reason, looks like a living room?" George whispered.

"Oh, that's the Narrator, Max's superego," Sam explained. "He tried to kill Max once because Max was always ignoring him, resulting in Max's almost destroying the Eastern seaboard in a terrible explosion, but changed his mind when Max proved himself capable of selflessness after all. Unfortunately, that Narrator died in the resulting terrible explosion, so this one's still bitter and spiteful, but we managed to curb his self-destructive tendencies by giving him cable and an unlimited supply of alcohol."

"Yes, so now I can destroy myself with liquor and mindless television rather than in a fiery conflagration," the Narrator said bitterly. "How utterly typical." He belched and went back to his drinking.

"…Ah," George said slowly. "But…why is the Superego of a Buneary look like a black and white human?"

"Because Max is completely insane," the Narrator said.

"Oh," George said, deciding that made about as much sense as anything else. "But wait…you're a Narrator? Then what are you narrating?"

"The story we're in, of course," the Narrator said.

"…What are you talking about? We aren't in a story," said the confused George.

The Narrator burst into laughter. "My, you sure know how to pick them, don't you Sam?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked the confused Sam.

The Narrator rolled his eyes. "I'll let you figure that out for yourself. I'm sure you'll understand eventually. Then again, maybe not. You always have been a bit of a dullard, haven't you?" Sam growled in annoyance.

"If we're in a story, and you're narrating it, then why don't I hear you narrating it?" George asked skeptically.

"Because you're just a character in the story, and lack enough awareness of the fourth wall to realize it," the Narrator said. "Which is a blessing, really, since it means you have no idea of how meaningless your efforts are, how your every action and thought are planned beforehand and typed into place by the author, and how many people are reading about you and forming their opinions about your character and relationship with young Samuel…which has, of course, already been plotted out completely by the author. Your fate has been set in stone, and nothing you do or think matters…just like me."

"…You're a horrible person," said a disgusted George, hiding how disturbed she was by his comments.

"I was spawned from the demented mind of Max, what do you expect?" the Narrator said cynically as he turned back to the television.

"Just ignore him, he says things like that all the time," Sam said, unruffled by the Narrator's ravings. "Nothing ever comes of it."

"R-right," George said. "So…what are we doing up here?"

"As I said before, controlling Max to make sure he doesn't destroy the wrong thing," Sam said.

"And we do that by…?" George asked.

"I'll show you," Sam said, swiping the remote from the Narrator.

"Hey, I was using that!" the Narrator complained. Sam ignored him and changed the channel so the TV showed the three frost giants battling the other heroes in the ruins of Dusty Ditch.

"Hey, that's…what's going on outside!" George said in surprise.

"Of course it is, you dolt, the TV is connected to Max's optical nerves," the Narrator said blithely as he finished another can, crushed it, and grabbed another. "We can see anything he sees using it."

"And that's not all we can do," Sam said, bending over in front of the television and pressing the power switch on a white rectangular box under it. He grabbed what looked like another remote control, also white, that was hooked up to some kind of nunchuk with a joystick from next to the box and took a few steps back.

"What's that?" George asked.

"A Nintendo Wii," Sam explained. "We hooked it up to Max's brain so that we wouldn't have to go to separate parts of the body to control his limbs, as well as to give the Narrator something more constructive to do with his time other than drink himself to death and watch television."

"Yes, and look how well that turned out," the Narrator said snidely.

On the TV screen, a lengthy multicolored bar with an image of Maxthulhu's head at one end appeared on top, and big blue words saying 'LEVEL START!' flashed over the image of the frost giants. Sam pushed up on the joystick, and the whole room started shaking, while the giants began to loom closer on the screen. "You can control something as big as Max with that little thing?" asked an amazed George.

"Sure, it's just like a video game, only I'm using my big buddy instead of some player character," Sam said.

"And when that health bar on top of the screen depletes completely, we don't get any extra lives or continues, Max—and all of us-dies for real, in an enormous psychic explosion," the Narrator said, sounding disturbingly hopeful. George gave him a horrified look. "Care for a drink?" he asked as he held out a beer can, unbothered.

"…Yeah, okay," the Mightyena said, reluctantly taking the proffered can. Knocking the empty cans littering the couch onto the ground, she took a seat next to the superego. "So, is there any way I can help?"

"No," the Narrator said.

George frowned. "Then why am I even here?"

"To serve as a 'Watson' figure that elements of the plot can be explained to in a believable manner that doesn't seem like a heavy-handed attempt to make an infodump for the readers," the Narrator said.

"…I have no idea what you just said," said the confused George.

"No, but the readers do, and that's all that matters," the Narrator said.

"What readers? This isn't a story!" George protested.

The Narrator laughed bitterly. "If only you knew. If only you knew."

"Hey, can you guys cut it out? I'm trying to control a giant monster here!" Sam complained. "Now let's see…which button lets me kill things again?" Abruptly, Max struck a cheesy pose that would not have looked out of place in an anime featuring magical girls in ridiculously short skirts, except for the part with the person doing the pose being a giant tentacle-faced monstrosity. "No, that wasn't it…oh well, I'll figure it out eventually." He started steering Max towards the frost giants.

On the ground, Leo and Zippo, who had witnessed Max's transformation into Maxthulhu, stared at the giant monster striding through the ruins of the town in awe. "Oh wow, that is so cool! I didn't even know he could still do that!" Zippo said.

"Neither did I!" Leo frowned, a worrying thought occurring to him. "Uh, you don't think he's going to blow up again, do you?"

"Nah, and if he did he'll probably just teleport somewhere far away from here so we don't get hurt in the blast. I hope," Zippo said. He frowned. "Say, is it just me, or is he coming right towards us?"

"…Oh, crap," Leo said. They both yelled in alarm and scurried out of the way. Then they ran back to grab the modified Thermonuke harness they had been tinkering with so it wouldn't get crushed, and got out of the way again just before Maxthulhu could step on them, leaving a trail of scorched hoofprints in his wake.

"Phew! That was close," Zippo said.

"Yeah. Hey, take a picture of me in the hoofprint," Leo said, climbing down into the deep impression Maxthulhu's hooves had left behind.

"Uh, dudette, is it safe to go down there? There might be all kinds of horrible eldritch energies lingering from that junior elder god's passing through," Zippo said in concern.

"Exactly! Maybe I'll get mutated into a giant monster or something!" Leo said, grabbing some of the dirt from the bottom of the hoofprint and rubbing it into his face in hopes of absorbing any traces of forbidden magic that might still be in it.

"Ooh, good idea! When you're done, I want a turn!" Zippo said. "You aren't the only one who's fantasized about turning into a giant monster!"

"Sure thing! But…" Leo frowned. "If we do transform, what're we gonna do about our girlfriends? They're gonna be kind of…small in comparison…"

Zippo frowned. "Oh yeah, I never thought about that. Dang…turn into a giant monster, or keep my girlfriend? How's a guy supposed to choose?"

"I know, right?" Leo agreed. "Such a tough choice!"

"Isn't there some way we could have both?" Zippo moaned.

"Maybe we could transfer some of our twisted energies into them to make them abominations to equal us?" Leo suggested.

"…I dunno, dudette. Do you think they'd like that? You know how chicks can get about their weight…being a chick and all," Zippo said.

Leo blinked. "Huh? What are you…oh, er, yes, yes of course, I would know, because I'm a womon. Right." He laughed nervously. "Uh, anyway, I don't think this is working."

"It's not?" Zippo asked in disappointment.

"Nah, I feel the same as always," Leo complained. "I'm not even feeling sick from radiation or magical poisoning, which would have been interesting in its own way."

"Bummer. Oh well," Zippo sighed. "I guess we'll have to find a way to become immortal some other way."

"Looks that way," Leo agreed, recalling the advice Darkrai had given him on the way to Zero Isle. It had seemed promising at the time, but…now he was having his doubts. How was he supposed to go about getting something like that to happen?

Meanwhile, Maxthulhu had stomped up to the frost giants and bellowed ferociously, ready to battle…and it was then that a slight problem became clear. Maxthulhu was big, sure…but the frost giants were bigger. A LOT bigger. So big, in fact, that they were to Maxthulhu what Sam was to regular Sam in height. "Wow," one of the giants said, pausing in his attempts to fend off Team Getem. "That thing'f ugly."

"And short," the other giant agreed, hesitating in mid-swing, allowing a relieved Todd to fly to safety.

"Yeah," the first giant agreed. "Ffort and ugly."

"Let's kill it!" the other giant decided.

"Okay," the first giant said. Turning their backs on Team Getem, they started towards Maxthulhu, who had an almost worried look on his face.

"This could be a problem," Sam said uneasily as the giants advanced on them.

"You think? Oh well, looks like I get to die after all," the Narrator said cheerfully.

"What the…what is that thing?" asked a revolted Rose.

"I think it's Max," Pikachu said wearily.

"Max? You mean that loud-mouthed idiota who looks like a disgustoso Buneary?" Lu asked incredulously.

"I'm afraid so," Pikachu said with a sigh.

"Whoa, cool!" Todd said, taking a picture.

"How did he become a giant monster?" Captain Salty wondered.

"I sense a strange and…unnerving power around him," Rose murmured.

"Is it enough to protect him from those frost giants?" Happy asked.

"I'm not sure," Rose confessed.

"Then our course is clear. We must help him against those monsters!" Sparky decided. "And since we have been unable to fell the beasts ourselves, perhaps together we can turn the tide against them!"

"Sounds good. Let's get them!" Pikachu rallied. They flew after the giants.

Salty was the first to attack, using the Splash Plate's power over water to liquefy the snow covering the ground and cause it to surge forwards and over the feet of the giants, rising up to their ankles. They looked at the flaming water in bewilderment. "What'f ffat fuppofed to do?" one asked.

"You'll need more water than that if you want to try drowning us!" the other sneered.

"Fough it doef kind of fting…why if it on ffire?" asked the first giant in confusion.

"Then it's a good thing there's lots of water all around us, but since doing something like that would probably drown everyone else in the valley too, it's a good thing that's not what I'm trying to do," Salty said in amusement as Pikachu and Sparky raised their swords, electricity crackling around them.

"Hey, big green guy! I'd jump right now if I were you!" Todd shouted as he swooped past Maxthulhu's head, bellowing into his large ears.

Hearing this, Sam checked the controls. "Do I even have a jump button? Oh, here it is." He pushed it, and Maxthulhu started breakdancing. George sweatdropped and the Narrator facepalmed. "Whoops, that wasn't it." He pressed another button. Maxthulhu crouched down and used the powerful mutated muscles in his vaguely lagomorphic legs to jump into the air...

And the instant he left the water-covered ground, Pikachu and Sparky fired lightning bolts into the sky. The dark clouds overhead flashed and rumbled, and a tremendous serpent made of flaming electricity shot down from the heavens and struck the giants, causing them to roar in pain as the water amplified the charge and filled their bodies with several million volts of flaming electricity, their massive forms flashing so brightly that their skeletons could be seen silhouetted under their skin. When the two electric rodents lowered their swords, the forms of the giants were sizzling, static crackling around their immense, twitching forms. Smoke rising from their scorched hair, they turned in unison towards the knight and samurai, murderous looks in their eyes.

Fortunately, before the giants could exact their revenge, Lu swooped down on Todd's back and blasted the water with a flaming Ice Beam, freezing it solid (yes, I know, despite it being a FLAMING Ice Beam, just go with it, okay? I mean, the water was on fire too, right?) and trapping the giants in place. "What, was that supposed to stop us?" one of them laughed as he wiggled his toes, cracking the ice.

"No, it was supposed to negate the electrified water so our big friend wouldn't have to worry," Lu said sweetly as Maxthulhu landed from his high jump, shattering the ice, and lunged forwards, driving a punch burning with eldritch flames into the giant's crotch…

Which did nothing. The giant laughed. Surprised, Maxthulhu punched, kicked, and even headbutted the giant's groin a few times, but to no avail. "I don't understand…why isn't that working? They're usually vulnerable in the junk!" said a shocked Sam.

"Weren't you listening earlier, you nincompoop? Frost giants don't reproduce, they're born from mountains! As a result, they have no gentialia for you to exploit like the lowbrow pugilist you are!" the Narrator sneered, his latest can wobbling in his hand and sloshing beer all over the place.

"Wow. No wonder they seem to be in a perpetually bad mood," Sam commented.

"Is that what's causing your bad attitude, too?" George asked the Narrator sarcastically.

"Well, it's not exactly as if there's anyone up here for me to spend some 'quality time' with!" the Narrator snapped.

"What about the id and the ego? If you're the superego, shouldn't they be around here somewhere?" George asked, looking around the living room.

"Max is his id, so there was no need for a personification of it to materialize. As for the ego…" the Narrator looked sadly into his beer can. "I'd rather not talk about what happened to that poor creature…"

"Oh," George said, feeling awkward.

"Nife try, little monfter…but not good enough!" the frost giant laughed, slugging Maxthulhu hard in the chest and causing the abomination to double over in agony as he was lifted off the ground and flung halfway across town, the valley shaking as he hit the ground. The giant ran over, the earth quaking beneath his feet, raising his club and bringing it down in a tremendously powerful blow towards the prostrate Maxthulhu. Maxthulhu quickly raised his hands to catch the club, arms shaking from the impact. Trembling, he struggled to keep the club from smashing into his face as the frost giant planted a massive foot over his lower body and pushed down with both hands, a malicious look in his eyes.

"Shake the remote," the Narrator suggested to Sam.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Sam snarled in retaliation as he frantically waved the remote back and forth, mimicking an image of the remote being shaken back and forth on screen, covering the picture of the club pressing down towards Maxthulhu's face.

"Then shake it harder!" the Narrator said helpfully.

"I am shaking—whoops!" Sam cried in alarm as the remote flew out of his hand and across the living room, shattering one of the abstract sculptures against the wall.

"Ooh, I think you just destroyed Max's sense of taste," the Narrator said. "Nice going."

"Shouldn't his sense of taste be represented by a tongue or a fridge or something?" George asked.

"No, his aesthetic taste, not his appetite," the Narrator corrected. "Granted, he didn't have much taste to begin with, but now he's probably going to redecorate the place to make it look a lot more garish and unsightly."

"Um, I'd better go get that," an embarrassed Sam said, rushing over to collect the remote.

"This is why you should have gotten an X-Box 360 or PS3! Those have a far lower risk of causing bodily and property damage!" the Narrator yelled after Sam.

"Yes, but the Wii doesn't have to worry about RROD or deleting games by accident," Sam said as he fished the remote out of the ruins of the sculpture. "Plus, it was cheaper."

"Of course, it always comes down to money in the end, doesn't it?" the Narrator sneered.

"Well, it kinda has to, the economy's not exactly in the best shape, especially with Max in charge of it," Sam pointed out.

"And whose bright idea was it to put him in that position, anyway?" the Narrator asked.

"The Commissioner," Sam replied.

"Ah, yes, the Commissioner," the Narrator said with a disdainful roll of his eyes. "Remind me why the two of you slavishly obey a man you've never met in person, even after being put in charge of the most powerful country in the world and therefore theoretically outrank him?"

Sam shrugged as he reattached the remote to the nunchuk and walked back to the TV. "Can't think of a reason not to."

"Feh," the Narrator said in disgust, chugging down some beer.

"Um, why hasn't that club crushed us yet?" asked a confused George as Sam started shaking the remote again.

"When the remote got disconnected, the game automatically paused because it couldn't sense it anymore," Sam said.

George blinked. "But…this isn't a game, it's real life…how…"

"It's best not to think too hard about these things, otherwise you'll go insane," the Narrator said, patting her on the hand patronizingly.

The grin spreading across the frost giant's face grew wider and wider as Maxthulhu's struggles began to weaken, eagerly anticipating the taste of the strange creature's flesh…and then that grin disappeared as Captain Briney, flashing through the sky like a silver bullet, drove his flaming fist into the giant's eye all the way up to the elbow. The ocular surface caved in on itself partway due to the force of the Metang's punch, then exploded back outwards as Briney tore his hand, his bladed mustache held in it to cause extra damage in the exit wound, back out, bringing with him several gallons of optical fluids and nerves. "There's mud in your eye!" Briney laughed as he telekinetically slid all the gushing juices and blood off him and put his mustache back on.

The giant howled in pain, letting go of his club to clasp his eye, Briney barely managing to fly out of the way before he could get smashed into the giant's face by its huge hands. Maxthulhu kept hold of the club, however, and with renewed strength thrust it upwards, driving the point on its narrow end into the giant's throat. The giant choked and swayed backwards, gasping for breath, causing the pressure his foot was exerting on Maxthulhu's lower body to dissipate and allow the smaller monster to push upwards with his legs. With a little help from a telekinetic shove provided by Briney and the Goldorringtons, who arrived on the Captain's heels, the abomination managed to topple the giant, knocking it to the ground with a crash that rocked the valley.

"Woohoo! That was awesome!" Buck cheered.

"Quite," Silvia agreed. "But, uh, aren't we supposed to be fighting giants, rather than helping them?"

"No worries dear, this one's clearly on our side," Goldor said.

Silvia gave Goldor a skeptical look as Maxthulhu, who to her senses radiated unspeakable horror and madness, rose to his feet. "And you know this because…?"

"Because he was fighting the giants, too! And after all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend," Goldor said.

"Sounds reasonable," Briney agreed. "And if he turns on us, we'll just kill him, too."

"Booyah!" Buck said.

"Captain! It's good to see you're okay!" Pikachu shouted from the back of Sparky's ride.

"What, you didn't really think a little explosion like that would put me out of commission, did you?" Briney chortled.

"You lot take care of that giant, we'll help our friend here defeat this one!" Goldor called to Team Getem.

"No problem! We've got it handled!" Pikachu replied.

"Uh, do we?" Todd asked doubtfully. "I thought we were having a lot of trouble fighting these guys."

"That was when there were two of them, now that we only have one to worry about, we should be able to take it down on our own," Lu replied.

"Oh," Todd said. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense." He sighed. "I wouldn't have minded some super-sized backup, though…"

"Who needs that kind of help when you have the power of the Original One on your side?" Sparky said.

Rose nodded. "Right! Let's show him the true power of the Plates!"

"Quite…but, ah, what was that about a 'Captain,' Ronin? I thought Brindleworth was a Professor," Happy said.

"Yes, I thought I was the only Captain around here," Salty agreed.

Pikachu sweatdropped. "Um…look, it's kind of a long story. I'll explain later, okay? Right now, let's focus on the giant, before he decides that Talking Isn't a Free Action and goes back to trying to kill us."

"Die, puny ones!" the giant bellowed, charging towards them with his club.

Right on cue, Pikachu thought, somewhat relieved he wouldn't have to worry about how the other team of adventurers would react to learning the truth just yet. The heroes split up, flying around the giant as he blundered past them, swinging his arms wildly to try and strike them. Rose used Double Team to surround the giant's head in a ring of illusory Taillows and used druidic magic to have them all attack with Gusts of razor-edged wind. The weaponized superheated air blew fiercely against the giant, but other than making his hair even wilder than usual, it failed to do any harm. Snarling, the giant puckered his lips and blew, his frigid breath dissipating the fakes…

And allowing the real Rose to fly past his face, slashing at one of his eyes with her staff as she went. The giant cried in pain and clutched the eye while raising his free hand to try and catch the Tailow. Much to his surprise, the bird dissipated on contact, and he realized he'd been fooled again. He growled in fury and looked around wildly for something to vent his rage and pain on. He got his chance when Pikachu and Sparky zapped past him, their winged dragon having turned into a living lightning bolt that zigzagged all over the place, firing sparks and bolts of electricity in its wake. He tried to hit them with his club, but the lightning bolt just zipped over and past it, dropping Pikachu as it went. As Sparky kept his mount flying and firing distractions, the samurai clenched his sword in his teeth and dashed up the length of the club, doing his best not to slip on its icy surface. At the same time, Rose fired a spread of bright spells which exploded in flashes of light which dazzled but otherwise did not harm the giant, allowing Todd to swoop over the giant's head and drop Lu onto the monster's skull. The Glaceon vanished into the matted and messy shags of hair covering the giant's cranium, disappearing as only an assassin can.

While Pikachu and Lu both made their way onto the giant's body, Captain Salty, concentrating with all his might, used his control over liquids to rip a significant amount of moisture from the giant's body. The giant wheezed as his mouth and throat and just about every other part of him went dry, his skin sagging and shrinking as he underwent severe dehydration in mere seconds. Much thinner than he had been moments ago, he staggered about, feeling lightheaded and in dire need of a drink. While Salty drew all the water he'd sucked out together, congealing it into a single great glob of liquid, Happy flew close to the giant's skin, making a series of passes around his body and depositing dozens of flaming eggs she was able to generate using the power of the Insect Plate. The eggs instantly hatched into burning maggotlike proto-bugs, which wriggled and burrowed into the giant's flesh, which had become much thinner and easier to penetrate due to Salty sucking the moisture out of it. The giant howled in pain and frantically started scratching all over the place, struggling to get at the grubs that were biting and chewing at him, but most of them had already crawled under his skin where he couldn't reach them, no matter how hard he desperately scratched and scraped. Rose made him itch even more by flying around chaotically and flinging Air Slashes all over the place, her aerial blades breaking the skin and drawing blood due to its reduced toughness.

"Hey, why don't you do anything with his blood?" Todd asked Salty as he flew near. "Couldn't you control it using the Splash Plate, too?"

"Theoretically, yes," Salty murmured, not taking his eyes off the water he was congealing, leeching extra moisture from the air and the snow to make it grow and grow. "However, I haven't gained full mastery over the Plate yet. If I had, I'd have just ripped all the water out of him and caused him to shrivel into dust."

"Oh," Todd said.

"As for blood…I suppose I could try and take control of it, but…hardened veteran and warrior that I am, something about that seems a bit unclean," Salty admitted. "It feels wrong to use Arceus's power that way. Granted, I'm using His power to kill people in other ways, but…oh, I don't know, it might just be the foolish whimsy of an old mon."

"Well, the power is yours to do with as you please, so if you feel that strongly about it…" Todd shrugged.

"I do, thank you," Salty grunted. He looked at the big glob of water he'd formed, judging it to be big enough. Concentrating his will, he elongated and thinned it out, making it take the shape of an enormous spear made totally out of flaming water. With a great cry, he hurled the spear at the giant.

Incredibly thirsty and somewhat unhinged due to the bugs that were even now crawling into his brain, the giant opened his mouth wide, as if to drink the spear down. (Yes, despite it being on fire. Maybe he thought it was alcohol or something?) This did not work quite the way he had planned, however, when the spear went into his mouth…and the point ripped out through the back of his head. His howls of agony were muffled somewhat by the thick shaft stuck between his jaws. "Whoa!" said an astonished Todd, taking a picture. "How did you do that? It was made of water!"

"With enough pressure and force behind it, water can cut through concrete like a laser," Salty said smugly. "Never underestimate it!"

"I won't," Todd promised. "Especially since I'm already weak to it!"

As the giant moaned and stumbled about, Lu popped out of a patch of hair and fired an Ice Beam at the water spear, freezing it solid. She then fired a flaming Shadow Ball at the same time as Pikachu and Sparky hurled fiery Thunderbolts, Rose fired an energy blast from her staff, and Salty fired lasers from his eyes and jewel. The attacks slammed into the ice spear and shattered it, causing it to fragment inside the giant's head and cut up his mouth horribly, blood spouting all over the place in great droves as he screamed in agony. "Ugh," Todd said, before snapping a picture.

"War can often be very gory, lad. It's a fact of life," Salty said sagely.

As blood spilled from his grotesquely wounded mouth, the giant bent down and started shoveling snow into his jaws to try and staunch the bleeding and ease the pain. Amazingly, despite the grievous injuries he'd suffered—and the giant hole in the back of his neck!—it didn't look like he was anywhere near dead yet. "Arceus!" said an astonished Happy. "He's still standing after all that?"

"Well, he is a giant," Rose pointed out. "They have a reputation for being among the biggest and toughest of all magical creatures."

"Yes, well, as they say: the bigger they are, the harder they fall!" Sparky said, circling the giant to fire more lightning blasts, careful to focus the wattage into lance-like spurs rather than wide-area bursts so as not to risk harming Pikachu or Lu.

"Well, it's certainly proving to be pretty hard to make this guy fall, so I guess whoever said that was right," Happy commented wryly as she mentally commanded her brood inside the monster's body to mature into many-legged parasites that she hoped would chew at the giant's organs and vital parts until he finally dropped dead.

Perhaps I can be of some assistance? A telepathic voice rang through their heads.

They looked around in surprise. Who had said that? "Rebecca?" Sparky cried, recognizing the voice. "Is that you?"

Yes. It's taken a while, but I've almost finished something that I think might prove helpful in taking down that brute, the Hypno said.

"We didn't ask for your help," Salty said bluntly.

"Salty!" Sparky hissed.

Whether you asked for it or not, you're getting it, Rebecca said firmly. Just keep that thing occupied for a few moments longer, and I'll join the fight.

"How exactly will that help, though?" Rose asked. "I mean no offense, but I doubt hypnosis or spirits can do much against something this big."

Oh, you'll see soon enough, young one, the Hypno said with a chuckle, her telepathic voice fading away.

Team Getem exchanged puzzled looks and shrugged. "Well, you heard the womon," Sparky said. "Let's keep fighting!"

"You didn't need to tell me twice," Salty said, drawing more moisture from the air and snow around them to form a slightly smaller water spear, which he flung at the giant. The giant, though weakened and dazed from all the agony they'd inflicted on it, was ready for the attack this time, and tried to deflect it with his club. It partially worked; except rather than flying away, the spear penetrated his club and got stuck. He stared at it in surprise, and then quickly bashed the club into the ground, splashing the water all over the place. He grinned, his smile gruesome due to all the blood and broken teeth…

And had the smile wiped from his face when Salty commanded the water to rise up around the giant's feet and congeal into a thick blob, holding him in place. Surprised, the giant struggled to withdraw his feet from the water, his attempts to smash it failing since unlike the ice he'd been stuck in earlier, it was too fluid, flowing to maintain its shape in response to his efforts to extrude himself from its mass. "Sparky, you're up," Salty said.

"But what about Happy's kids?" Todd asked.

"Oh, don't worry, they've burrowed deep enough into his innards to be shielded from most of the shock," Happy said.

"…Ew," said a disgusted Todd.

"Lu, get moving! Pikachu, ready yourself! This is going to be a big one!" Sparky cried as he raised his sword, mustering his power. The storm clouds started swirling overhead, the snow spiraling around him as the weather changed to accommodate his will.

"Here I go!" Lu said, jumping off the giant's shoulder, much to the monster's surprise, since he hadn't even known she was there.

Rose generated a whirlwind to catch the Glaceon, the air cushion supporting her and keeping her from plummeting to her death. "Did you do what you set out to do?"

Lu smiled and nodded. "Si, that gigante will soon have another thing to roar about!"

Pikachu raised his sword, the light flashing off it catching the giant's eye and surprising him again, because he hadn't know the samurai was on his other shoulder, either. "I'm ready! Let it rip!"

Sparky did. He fired a flaming Thunderbolt up into the sky, and the heavens responded by sending back a fiery lightning bolt a thousand times as large. It struck his sword, which glowed so brilliantly as it drank up the electricity it was as if the sun had returned to the snowed-in Dusty Ditch. With a howl as much of pain as of ecstasy, Sparky drove Durendal into the back of his mount, transferring all of its power into the thunder dragon. The dragon bellowed, its ululations like thunderclaps, and transformed itself into a tremendous arrow of flaming lightning. As Sparky backflipped off the arrow, landing on Todd's back, the projectile fired itself at the giant. The beast's eyes widened in alarm, and it swung its club at the arrow, trying to deflect it.

It didn't work. The club shattered in a blast of light and heat that caused the giant to recoil, wailing as his hands blistered and burned, and then all of him burned when the arrow struck the water surrounding the giant's feet. The giant's screams echoed to every corner of the land as he convulsed wildly, his body flashing blindingly and exposing his skeleton in between strobe-like flickers. And that was just the beginning, as the electrical charge triggered the bombs Lu had planted in his ear, ripping open a huge cavity in the side of his head in a tremendous explosion. "Cooooool," Todd said, snapping a picture.

"Your lass is pretty good at demolition," Salty said approvingly.

"Well, she is an assassin," Sparky said proudly. Once he'd have been surprised to hear himself say that, considering knights and assassins didn't really…get along, but he now knew Lu well enough to respect her skills and the benefit they brought to the team. Even if he wasn't entirely happy about how she'd acquired them…

To keep himself from being overloaded by the holy (and fiery) electricity, Pikachu grounded himself with his tail and pointed his sword into the air, allowing his body to be a channel through which the energy could flow into his sacred blade and out into the open air, dissipating (relatively) harmlessly in the atmosphere. He had to grit his teeth as he did so, every cell of his body filled almost to the point of overcharge as the power coursed through him, his cheeks spitting out sparks as they tried to discharge the excess electricity. He had thought the power of Thunder Fang to be great…but now he knew it paled next to that of the Zap Plate. Any lingering feelings of jealousy he had harbored towards Sparky dissipated, he now realized there was no way he could utilize such incredible power without it burning him up from within. It took a special Electric-type to be able to master such power…and clearly Sparky was that special Electric-type.

Of course, he doubted Sparky would ever be able to wield Thunder Fang. At least there was one thing he'd always be able to do that the knight could not.

Eventually, the last of the electricity burned itself out, allowing the giant to collapse to his knees as the supercharged water evaporated, his blue flesh turned almost black and sizzling, most of his hair burned off. Embers and arcs of static still crackled off his body, and his muscles twitched and spasmed, both due to residual energy and because Happy's spawn were eating them. The giant's chest heaved, his breath coming out in shallow, abrupt gasps as he tried to still his palpitating heart. Every part of him hurt so much he almost didn't notice the very large wound in the side of his head, though that might have been because he'd lost so much blood he couldn't feel it. Pikachu, equally worn out, sagged, leaning on his sword so he could catch his breath. He reflexively licked one paw and started running it down his fur, which had puffed out in all directions due to all the juice that had passed through it, starting a few times as he shocked himself, but overall lulling himself into a calm stupor as he regained his wits…

And then lost them again when the giant reached up and plucked him off his shoulder, squeezing so tightly that his ribs started cracking. He tried to stab Thunder Fang into the giant's fingers, but the blade was pressed to his side, and while mere contact with its metal was enough to electrify any evildoer, considering how big the giant was in comparison and how little the shock was compared to what he'd just experienced, the monster didn't even notice. "Gaaahhh! Heeelllp!"

Team Getem gasped. "Oh no!" Todd cried as he took a picture.

"Quick, we have to attack him!" Rose said, spreading her wings.

"No, wait, we'll only kill Pikachu!" Sparky protested.

"Huh? I thought his name was Ronin," Todd said in confusion. "Why do you keep calling him that? And what kind of Pokémon has the same name as his species, anyway?"

"It's, uh, complicated," Sparky said lamely. "But what's not complicated is that he'll die if we try to attack the giant!"

Lu nodded in agreement. "Si, that gigante is so big the slightest tightening of a muscle will squash the samurai into red pulp. If we attack, he could kill him out of reflex!"

"Or malice! And what's to stop him from killing him now? We can't just do nothing!" Rose protested.

"No, but…what can we do?" Happy asked. The Taillow hesitated, uncertain.

"There…might be one thing I can do," Salty said slowly and reluctantly.

The others glanced at him. "What?" Rose asked.

Todd gasped. "Wait…you don't mean-"

"If I use the power of the Splash Plate on his blood, I can manipulate it to take control of his body and force it to let Pikachu go," Salty said. "I could even…kill him. Overload his heart, make it burst."

"But…you can't," Sparky protested. "You said you'd never use that power, because it would take you down a road you didn't want to take!"

"I don't want to," Salty admitted. "But…I can't hover by and let someone die because of my unwillingness to act. So I have no choice but to do it…no matter how much I'll hate myself later."

"But-" Sparky started.

"Don't try to talk me out of it, boy!" Salty snapped. "This has to be done! And besides…I've killed hundreds in all sorts of gruesome and brutal ways over the years. What's one more grisly death to add to my conscience?"

"…Captain…" Sparky said quietly.

"If…if this is what must be done, then…we will not stop you," Happy said softly.

"Horrible as it may be, we will forgive you, even if you cannot forgive yourself," Lu said.

"As will Arceus," Rose said.

Salty laughed bitterly. "Right, like He's going to forgive me for using His power to do something as terrible as this…well, it's not like I wasn't damned anyway. What harm's one more sin going to do?" He closed his eyes and started concentrating…

No, I don't think that will be necessary, Cherry said in their minds.

There was a flash of light, and suddenly Pikachu was no longer being held in the giant's grip, but on the ground, next to Cherry and Rebecca. He gasped and sagged to the ground, clutching his sides in pain. "What…what happened?"

"I teleported you," Cherry said, eyes glowing as she cast a healing spell.

"…But…Girafarig can't learn Teleport," Pikachu protested as his bones mended themselves, knowing it was somewhat petulant of him to be arguing with the person who had just rescued him.

"They can't learn the Teleport technique, the spell is fair game," Cherry explained.

Pikachu sweatdropped. "Ah. Of course."

"Huh? Where did fhe mouffy go?" the giant asked in confusion, blood spraying from his mouth and the holes in his head as he looked at his empty hand in puzzlement.

"Cherry saved him! Thank goodness!" Rose said in relief.

"Salty, you can stop now, Pikachu's safe!" Sparky cried.

"No lad, I've already committed myself to this, I can't back down now!" Salty growled, jewels glowing ominously.

That will not be necessary. I've got this, Rebecca told them.

A nearby mountain started shaking, causing thousands of tons of snow and rock to start cascading down its surface as great cracks and fissures split open all over its face. As Team Getem looked at the mountain in surprise, the frost giant started laughing uproariously, losing a lot more blood in the process. "Aha! It lookf like anoffer one off my brofferf if about to be born…and he'll make you pay ffor what you'f done to me!"

The heroes exchanged horrified looks. "Another frost giant?" Rose cried.

"We can barely handle this one, if one more joins the fray…" Happy said anxiously.

"Well, looks like you can't stop me after all…if we're to survive this, I'm going to have to do 'that' to kill both of them," Salty said gloomily.

"No…wait…" Lu murmured, narrowing her eyes at the transformation taking place on the mountain. "I'm not sure this is a frost giant. I think it might be…something else…"

This indeed seemed to be the case. Rather than cracking open like an eggshell to reveal a newborn frost giant—the way members of that species were brought into the world back in Niflheim—the mountain itself seemed to be taking on a life of its own. With a tremendous crack, four immense arms of stone burst out of its sides, debris flying all over the place. More layers of rock shattered and tumbled everywhere as the mountain's base unfolded into a set of six thick pillars of stone that tore the peak out of the ground with a rupture that sounded like the end of the world. An immense horizontal fissure split open along its front, a brilliant blue glow shining from within as it widened. Two smaller fissures opened higher up the face of the mountain above the bigger crack, similar light emanating from their depths. Much to the astonishment of Team Getem, it actually looked sort of like…a face!

"Mi dios…" Lu whispered.

"It's…it's so big," said an awestruck Happy.

"What…what the Abyss is that?" Salty cried in amazement as Todd snapped a picture.

Rose gasped. "Oh my gosh…that…that's a mountain spirit!"

"A what?" Sparky asked, unable to take his eyes off the immense creature, so large it was at least half again as wide as the frost giant and a few hundred feet taller thanks to the immense pillars that seemed to serve as its legs.

"A mountain spirit! Just as all living creatures have souls, so too do all inanimate objects have spirits," Rose explained. "Most of the time those spirits are dormant, but a good enough mage in touch with the forces of nature can awaken them and call them to their aid. Some spirits are more difficult to summon than others, however, and mountain spirits are among the hardest to awaken of all, due to how ancient and massive they are! I don't think anyone's managed to do it in hundreds of years!"

Until now, Rebecca said smugly, though there was an undertone of pain and exhaustion in her telepathic voice. Stand back, kids, I'll take it from here!

"Kids? Who's she calling a kid?" Salty snarled as the mountain spirit ponderously started towards them, its huge legs leaving thick round indentations in the ground as it went, slabs of rocks and dirt sliding off its form with every motion it made.

"You can yell at her for calling you that later, right now I think we need to move so we don't get caught in the middle of this!" Happy cried, spreading her wings and flying out of the way. The others followed as quickly as they could, except for Todd.

"Come on, move!" Sparky hissed, stamping on the back of the Aerodactyl's…back.

"But this is such a great angle! I need to be up close to get the best pictures of this spectacular showdown!" Todd protested.

Sparky facepalmed and briefly considered electrocuting the photomancer, before reminding himself that they'd both plummet to their deaths and get crushed beneath the feet of the two giants. "Wouldn't you be able to get a better image from further away, where you'll be able to see all of their mass more easily?" he asked instead.

Todd considered this for a moment. "Ah. Good idea. Let's move!"

As they flew out of the way, the giant sneered, clenching his fists and trying to muster his faltering strength. "If…if fat fuppofed to fcare me? I'm a ffroft giant! We fmash mountainf ffor ffun!"

Oh yeah? Have you ever smashed a mountain that could hit back?Rebecca taunted as the mountain spirit drew back a massive arm and threw a punch at the giant. The giant dodged the punch, the stone fist breezing past his missing ear, and charged forwards, bellowing (and spitting blood) at the top of his lungs. He rammed into the living mountain, throwing all his strength and mass against it…

And the mountain would not budge, rocking back slightly as it used its multiple legs to stabilize itself. Gripping the giant with two of its arms, it shoved the giant back, then began pounding it in the face with its other two hands, pulverizing it with fists the size of small buildings. His face turning black and blue and his head ringing from the blows, the giant struggled, found himself unable to break free from the rock-solid grip of the mountain, so instead lashed out with his massive feet, smashing them into the knees of the spirit's two front legs and cracking them, causing the mountain to stumble forward, the legs crumbling further as it put too much weight on them. Taking advantage of the mountain spirit's moment of weakness, the giant thrust his arms off, not only breaking free from the hold of the two arms clutching him but breaking the arms as well, house-sized boulders and bits of stone falling and crushing the remnants of the destroyed town around them. Bellowing, the giant lunged, headbutting the mountain spirit hard enough to crack both of their skulls before laying into it with all his might, punching it in the face again and again with powerful blows that sent chips of stone flying everywhere and left deep craters in the surface of the mountain. The spirit staggered backwards, seeming to weaken beneath the barrage of rock-splitting punches, and the giant eagerly surged forwards to land what he believed would be the final blow…

And was surprised when the mountain spirit opened its mouth wide, allowing his fist inside, and slammed its jaws shut on the giant's elbow. The giant howled in pain and desperately pounded on the spirit's face, trying to get it to open back up and yield its limb, but the mountain wasn't having any of it. It grabbed the giant's head in one of its remaining hands and squeezed, the monster's screams muffled by the thick layer of stone covering his face, then planted its other hand on the giant's chest and shoved without relinquishing its grip on the giant's elbow. The result was about what you'd expect: the giant was pushed away from the spirit, staggering back and tripping over his own legs as his aching head swam, spilling blood all over the snow-covered rubble nearby…

And then he realized that a lot of that blood wasn't coming just from his mangled head, but from the stump that was all that was left of his right arm. He screamed in agony as the mountain spirit opened its mouth, pulled out the severed limb, and carelessly tossed it aside before advancing to try for two for two, and avenge the arms the giant had ripped off. The giant stumbled to his feet, only to sway due to his dizziness from blood loss and the poundings he'd taken already, allowing the mountain spirit to easily hit him with a punch so strong it caved half his face in, sending the off-balance monster spinning on one foot before getting punched by the other fist, caving in the second half of his face and making his features even more gruesome than ever, but also more symmetrical. The mountain spirit kept moving, forcing the frost giant back with an unceasing flurry of blows, refusing to slow down or grant the giant even a second to catch his breath or counterattack. When the spirit knocked the giant to the ground with a tremendous haymaker that nearly split his skull open, the giant desperately lashed out with a kick at the spirit's weakened forelegs, hoping to smash them completely and bring it tumbling down. Unfortunately, the spirit wasn't going to fall for that again, and raised its legs off the ground just before the giant could hit them, bringing them back down just as the leg passed underneath them, pinning the giant's limb to the ground and bringing the mountain's full weight down on it. The giant shrieked as his leg broke under the pressure, tears of blood oozing from his eyes (and every other orifice).

The spirit marched forwards, tromping across the leg with its other feet and breaking it further, throwing the giant into too many paroxysms of pain to resist or fight back. Planting one leg on the giant's other leg, one leg on the giant's remaining arm, two legs on the giant's chest and one on the ground for balance, the spirit raised its sixth leg high into the air over the giant's head and brought it down repeatedly, stomping and smashing and bludgeoning until the underside of its foot was turned bright red. As the giant's struggles weakened and finally stopped, the spirit paused, then raised its leg into the air one last time and stamped it down with as much force as it could muster, completely crushing the giant's head and bringing an end to the monster's life. A satisfied grin on its craggy features, the mountain spirit lowered itself to the ground, retracting its limbs and completely covering the defeated giant beneath its bulk, closing its eyes and mouth and returning to its eons-long slumber, a massive grave marker to show where all that was left of one of Niflheim's most dangerous warriors had been laid to rest. If it weren't for the big hole where it had torn itself out of the ground or the massive destruction it had caused, there would have been nothing to show that it was anything other than a regular old mountain, and that it had ever been located anywhere other than where it now sat.

Team Getem stared at the dormant mountain, stunned speechless. "That," Sparky said finally. "That was…"

"Yeah," Lu said. She leaned against him, and they looked at the mountain in silence.

"There are no words to describe what we just witnessed," Todd said solemnly. "Which is why it's a good thing I got lots of pictures."

Salty shook his head slowly. "And here I thought I'd seen everything…I guess this world still has a few surprises left in it for an old sea Growlithe like me…"

"That was incredible," Happy breathed.

"Yeah," Rose agreed. She gasped, something occurring to her. "Oh! Happy, your children! They were still in there!"

"Oh don't worry, they're fine," Happy assured her. "They'll spend the next several months consuming the giant's corpse before burrowing out to the surface and flying off to seek their future elsewhere."

"That's certainly going to be an unpleasant surprise for anyone in the area when that happens," Sparky said with a grimace.

"Will there be anyone in the area, though?" Lu asked. "I mean…just look at this place. The town is completely destroyed, and everyone who lived in it was killed before we even got here. Nobody could possibly live here again."

"They'll rebuild," Sparky said confidently. "People always do. That's the wonderful thing about Pokémon, as a species, I mean. No matter what troubles or challenges knock us down, we'll always get back up and try again."

"And besides, this place was a major stop on the railroad," Todd pointed out. "So they've gotta rebuild the place, which means there'll definitely be people here when Happy's kids dig their way out into the sunshine…and I'll be here too, because I want to see it happen! And take a picture, of course. Do you want a copy, Happy?"

"Nah, I'm good," the Butterfree said.

"We had better go see if Pikachu is 'good' as well, along with the others," Sparky said, noting that the other giants had not fallen just yet.

"Good idea," Lu said. "And by the way, why are you calling him 'Pikachu?'"

"Yeah, you said you were going to explain that," Rose said.

Sparky sighed. "I did, didn't I? Well, it's sort of like this…"

And speaking of the samurai in question…

"That…that was unbelievable," said an astonished Pikachu, as he stared up at the mountain, still finding it hard to believe that just a few moments ago it had been walking about and beating the crap out of a frost giant.

"I know, right?" Cherry said. "I already foresaw it happening, but it was just as amazing to see the second time around."

"Ha, you only saw it, I was there controlling the damn thing!" Rebecca said as she stopped glowing and slowly got up. "It was unlike anything I've ever experienced…I can't believe I was able to awaken it and survive! You were right, Cherry, I had nothing to…to…" She trailed off.

Pikachu frowned. "Rebecca? What's wrong?"

"That's…funny. I haven't been able to see with my physical eyes in decades, but…I could swear that I could see…a…light…" She gasped, clutched her chest, and fell to the ground, her pendulum flying from her fingers and landing in a snowbank.

"REBECCA!" Pikachu shouted in horror, rushing over to her. "What-what happened?"

"She died," Cherry said calmly.

"What?" Pikachu cried.

"Nobody has summoned a mountain spirit in years…because the effort required is so great that nobody's been able to survive doing it. Even back in her prime, Rebecca would've been unable to manage it. As old as she is now, her body didn't stand a chance," Cherry said.

Pikachu stiffened and stared at her in horror. "…You knew this was going to happen."

"I did," Cherry said.

"But…but you let her go along with it? I thought…I thought she was your friend!" Pikachu protested.

"She is," Cherry said. "My dearest friend in the world."

"Then why…why would you let her do this?" Pikachu screamed, cheeks sparking in anger. "Why would you allow her to do something like that?"

"Because I knew she would be fine," Cherry said.

"Fine? She's DEAD!" Pikachu screamed, tears flowing down his cheeks and causing angry sparks to fly off his tattooed sacs.

"That's right," Cherry said, walking past Pikachu to telekinetically fish the pendulum from the snow before it could be buried completely. "She is."

"…By what definition could that possibly be considered fine?" Pikachu demanded.

Cherry gave him a surprised look. "Several, but…wait, you mean you thought she was going to stay dead?"

Pikachu blinked. "Huh?" He started when Rebecca's body started glowing.

Cherry burst into laughter. "Oh, you silly samurai. Rebecca's a spiritualist. She's very in touch with the spirit world. So if anyone's going to come back as a Ghost, it'd be her!"

Pikachu's jaw dropped as the glow flowed out of Rebecca's body and congealed in the air, taking mass and solidifying into a magnificent pink tentacled creature with a bulbous head tipped by a crown-shaped tuft, a frilly ring around its neck, two 'arm' tentacles with wavy pads at their ends, and blue eyes with red sclera. The Ghost, a Frillish, yawned and rubbed its eyes with a tentacle…and paused, realizing that its arm was a tentacle, and not a hand. She blinked and stared at the tentacle in bewilderment…and then she realized she could see, and was floating, which was not something she had been able to do before. "CHERRY!" she shouted. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?"

"Nothing, Rebecca," the Girafarig said with a chuckle. "You did it to yourself. You died, remember? And you came back as a Ghost!"

"…Oh, right. I did die, didn't I?" Rebecca murmured. "Huh. Which is funny, because I distinctly remember you telling me I wouldn't die!"

"No, I told you you'd be fine. At no point did I ever say you wouldn't die," Rebecca said with a smirk on both her faces.

The newly dead Ghost smacked her forehead with a tentacle. "Ugh! I can't believe I didn't catch that! Dammit, I've known you long enough to realize that you would mess with semantics like that! And now I'm dead…great."

"It was your choice to summon the mountain spirit, not mine," Cherry said. "You were fully aware of the consequences."

"You tricked me into thinking something else would happen other than what I knew should happen!" Rebecca snapped. "Arceusdammit, Cherry, I wasn't ready to die yet! I had lots of things I wanted to do!"

"You can still do them now," Cherry pointed out. "There's no reason you can't just because you're a Ghost. In fact, you can do them even more easily now, since you have more time to do it in and your spiritual powers have increased significantly due to becoming, well, a spirit."

"Well, yeah, but I had hoped to die on my own terms, not get tricked into it by my so-called 'best friend,'" Rebecca grumbled. She looked at herself in distaste. "Ugh, just look at me, I'm pink! Why the heck am I a Frillish, anyway? I'm not a Water-type, didn't die near water, and didn't favor water over any of the other elements."

"…That, I don't know," Cherry admitted.

"What's this? You mean there's something you don't know?" Rebecca mock-gasped. "Dear Arceus in the Celestial Heavens, it must be the end of the world! The Abyss has frozen over!" She paused and looked at their surroundings. "Well, I suppose I could have phrased that better…"

Cherry shook her head in bemusement. "You certainly could have…look, I'm sorry for tricking you like that, but I knew a mountain spirit would be the best way to kill that giant without getting one or more of Team Getem killed or forcing them to do something they'd regret for the rest of their lives. And I also knew that you'd come back as a Ghost. I foresaw it, just as I've foreseen that you'll come to enjoy your current status."

"You really think so?" Rebecca asked skeptically.

"Sure. Now that it's over and done with, being dead isn't so bad, is it?" Cherry asked.

"…Well, no, I guess not," Rebecca admitted. "Now that I'm past it, it doesn't seem like such a big deal anymore. Really, now I'm wondering why I was dreading it so much. I mean, I knew this was going to happen eventually, so why was I so worried about it?"

"Most people are afraid of death on some level, I suppose," Cherry said with a shrug.

"Well, I'm certainly not anymore," Rebecca said. "Although I suppose I'd like to avoid being killed again if possible. I mean, I just got this new—and rather attractive—body, and I want a chance to use it to the fullest now that it's mine."

"That's the spirit! As are you," Cherry joked. Pikachu smiled and shook his head in bemusement as the two friends laughed, glad that they had managed to reconcile their differences…although he wasn't sure that he'd have been so forgiving if one of his friends were responsible for his death. Well, he didn't think so, anyway. He guessed it depended on the circumstances…

And speaking of which, he really hoped none of the others were dead.

As Team Getem swooped down to reunite with Pikachu, Cherry, and the reincarnated Rebecca, Maxthulhu, Briney, and the Goldorringtons continued their fight against the second frost giant. Maxthulhu had kept his grip on the giant's club, and was eagerly swinging it around willy-nilly, apparently uncaring that he came dangerously close to bashing one of the four Psychics in the process of trying to clobber the giant. "Hey, watch it! You almost hit me!" Buck yelled.

"We're on your side, you nincompoop!" Silvia cried, narrowly dodging a club swing.

"Does that idiot have any idea what he's doing?" Goldor demanded.

"Hmm." Briney used his Psychic powers to peer inside of Maxthulhu's head and read the minds of the people in Max's brain/living room.

I have no idea what I'm doing, but I figure if I press enough buttons and shake the remote and nunchuk enough I'll eventually get it right, Sam thought.

Briney, stop reading my mind, the Narrator thought.

"Nope," Briney said.

"Ftop fwinging fat fing around! Fat'f not how you ufe it!" the giant snarled angrily, managing to catch the club's thick end and wrench it out of Maxthulhu's grip. "Fif if how you ufe it!" He swung it at Maxthulhu, cracking him on the head and flinging the lagomorphic abomination back several hundred feet.

"That thing really causes too much trouble in that cretin's hands," Goldor huffed. "What do you say we 'liberate it' from him, like we did before?"

Briney cracked his knuckles. "Sounds good to me. Let's do it."

All four of them concentrated on the club, and just like before, it levitated out of the giant's grip. He moaned when he saw it rise into the air. "Aw man, my club'f poffeffed again? Fif really ifn't my day!" He tried to grab the club, but the four Psychics quickly levitated it out of range. "Hey, get back here, you!"

"Okay," the Psychics said, bringing the club down with a crack on the giant's head.

The giant staggered back, grimacing and clutching his head in pain. "Ow…fat'f not what I meant, dammit…"

"Raaaaarrrgggghhh!" Maxthulhu raaaaarrrgggghhhed as he lunged at the giant, taking the behemoth's moment of weakness to attack. Although his weight was not sufficient enough to knock the giant over (rather alarming, considering they were both humongous beasts) Maxthulhu was still able to cling to the giant's torso, where he immediately began crawling around all over the place, clawing and biting and tearing out pieces of blue flesh. The giant screamed in pain and fear and surprise as the wounds Maxthulhu rent in his skin putrefied and decayed, rotting away as they reacted to the unworldly horror of the abomination's saliva and venom. He frantically grabbed Maxthulhu and tried to rip him off, but the Psychics dropped the club on his head again and again, stunning him and allowing the lagomorphic beast to inflict more damage. Growing frustrated and desperate, the giant waited until Maxthulhu had crawled onto his back and then deliberately fell backwards, crushing the other monster beneath his weight. As Maxthulhu gasped in pain, the giant sat up then dropped back down, slamming Maxthulhu into the ground again and again. Alarmed, the Psychics swung his club at him to try and get him to stop, but the giant managed to catch the club, bashed it into the ground a few times to 'exorcise' it, then swung it over his shoulder and smacked Maxthulhu in the back, cracking some of the monster's dorsal spines and dislodging him.

The giant stood up and turned around, preparing to finish Maxthulhu off, when the Psychics fired Hyper Beams, fireballs, and other powerful spells at the giant's back, failing to inflict any serious damage but drawing the monster's attention. Growling, the giant turned around and swung at them with his club. They scattered, and then started flying wildly all around his body, sporadically firing their attacks. Gritting what few teeth he had left in anger, the giant flung his arms about wildly, trying to swat them out of the sky. One of his swings managed to catch Briney, but the Metang grit his teeth and bore it, digging his claws into the flesh of the giant's arm to keep from being flung away. Concentrating his power, he Exploded, causing the giant to grunt in pain as the blast tore open a (disappointingly small) welt on his arm. The giant's other hand swung down to crush Briney beneath his palm, but Briney flung himself upwards, slamming into the giant's hand, causing it to reflexively curl into a fist. Before the pressure from the giant's fingers could become too much for even him to bear, Briney Exploded again, causing the giant to scream in pain and release him, his fingers burned and smoking from the blast.

"You know, that gives me an idea…" Goldor murmured. "Silvia, go to the right side of his head, I'll take the left!"

"Okay, and what do I do when I get there?" Silvia asked.

"Fly into his ear and Explode!" Goldor said.

"…What?" Silvia asked flatly.

"Fly into his ear and Explode! It couldn't be simpler!" Goldor repeated.

"But…but Goldor, there's going to be earwax in there! Lots of it!" Silvia protested. "And it'll be all dark and cramped and sticky-"

"Look womon, just do as I say!" Goldor snapped. "It's not like you're the only one who'll be tarnishing their finish, after all!"

"What about me, Dad?" Buck asked.

"Uh, well…I suppose you could go into his nostril and blow up there," Goldor said.

Silvia gasped. "Goldor! I thought we taught our son not to pick his nose!"

"Mom, I don't even have a nose…" Buck pointed out.

"We taught him not to pick his nose, we never said anything about anyone else's," Goldor reasoned.

"But…but Goldor, there's going to be boogers in there! Lots of it!" Silvia protested. "And it'll be dark and cramped and sticky-"

"Cool! All right, I'm off!" Buck said.

"W-wait! I'm not finished!" Silvia protested.

"You can finish nagging at him later, for now just go blow up that giant's ear, will you?" Goldor said.

"But…but I…oh fine, but I'm sending you the bill for my cleaning job!" Silvia snapped.

"Whatever, I can afford it," Goldor said flippantly.

They flew off, splitting up and going to the opposite sides of the giant's head while the behemoth was distracted trying to hit Briney, who was flying all over the place and telekinetically flinging rubble from the destroyed town at him. The giant frowned, catching their movements out of the corner of his eye, and having to go cross-eyed to see Buck fly towards his nose, wondering what they were up to. "I wonder what ffey're up to?" he muttered in puzzlement. He grimaced when both his ears started itching, and then his nose too, and he forgot about Briney for a moment as he tried to figure out which orifice he should stick a finger into first to fix the problem…

And then the Goldorringtons Exploded simultaneously, causing blood to fountain all over the place as great craters were torn open on three of the four sides of his head, causing the giant to howl in agony as most of his face was destroyed by the blast, making the bloody ruin of his mouth even worse due to the gaping cavity that had formed just above it. "Heh, nice trick," Briney said proudly. "I think I'm rubbing off on them!"

"I suppose you are at that," Goldor admitted when he and the rest of his family flew over, dripping with blood.

"Should I be flattered or worried about that?" Silvia wondered.

"Does that mean I'll be as cool as you one day, Captain?" Buck asked hopefully.

Briney laughed. "No, most certainly not, but you'll still be pretty cool, and maybe even grow a nice mustache of your own."

"Awesome!" Buck said.

Maxthulhu, who had recovered while the Psychics distracted the giant, leaped onto the pain-stricken monster's back, climbing up and digging his claws into the behemoth's shoulders. His facial tentacles wriggled and suddenly shot out, extending and wriggling into the holes the Goldorringtons had made in the giant's head. The giant screamed as the tentacles started worming their way up his ruined nose and ears, until more of the tentacles slithered into his mouth, cutting off his screams and choking him. "Oh my," said a disgusted Silvia.

"I could have gone without seeing that," Goldor agreed.

"Eh, I've seen worse," Briney said.

Hands scrabbling frantically, the giant managed to grab Maxthulhu by the neck, and, with strength born from desperation, managed to rip the scaled beast off his back, severing the tentacles going into his orifices in the process and causing even more blood to start spilling out in the process. With a roar of fury and agony, he tried to slam Maxthulhu into the ground…and was surprised when the monster's ears, which were also tentacles, wrapped themselves around his wrist, the suckers on their undersides sprouting fangs and digging into the giant's flesh, securing Maxthulhu in place. Howling in pain, the giant shook his arm frantically, but though Maxthulhu wobbled and swung all over the place, his tentacle-ears refused to loosen their grip. If the disturbingly joyous expression on his face was anything to go by, he was actually enjoying this. He enjoyed it even more when, on his next swing forward, he kicked off the giant's chest and pushed himself away from the icy beast, his ear tendrils stretching as he flew through the air and landed some distance away. The giant stumbled and nearly fell forward as the tentacles went taut and started pulling at him. He yanked back; trying not to lose his balance…but the four Psychics shoved him with a psychokinetic push from behind, causing him to trip over and fly towards Maxthulu as the tentacles retracted. Maxthulhu grinned as the giant shot towards him and jumped, lashing out with one hoof and making contact with the giant's face with a kick so hard it almost caved what was left of his face in. As the tentacles released their grip, the giant was flung away by the force of the blow, rolling across the ground and smashing the flattened ruins even flatter beneath his weight.

As the giant moaned and tried to get up, Briney exchanged a look with the others. "I think it's about time to finish this."

"Quite right, old boy!" Goldor said.

Briney glared at him witheringly. "Who are you calling old?"

Goldor sweatdropped and paled. "Er…"

"Let's try that cool tornado combo from before," Buck suggested. "It would've worked better if those guys hadn't blown it up, but I don't think that's going to be a problem, since the smaller green monster got the club."

"Ah, so he does," Goldor said as Maxthulhu whacked the giant in the knees repeatedly with the monster's own club, causing the giant to howl in pain.

"Well then, let's get to it!" Silvia said. The others nodded.

Maxthulhu paused in his beating up the weakened and heavily wounded giant to notice Briney, Goldor, Silvia, and Buck fly into place on all sides of the giant and begin to use Rapid Spin and Gyro Ball. As energy started building up the whirling Psychics, they started spinning around the giant, leaving trails of light and fire behind them. The grotesque monster tilted his head in curiosity, wondering what was going on.

"I'd move out of the way if I were you," the Narrator said. "Of course, if you don't, I won't particularly mind, since it'll probably kill us." George gave him a disgusted look as he finished off another can of beer.

"Hmm, morbid as that sounds, you're probably right," Sam admitted. "Sorry Max, no time to look at the pretty lights, we have to get to safety." He piloted Maxthulhu away from the giant before the energy building up around the spinning Psychics got too strong.

The pain-stricken giant blinked blearily at the rings of light spiraling around him, wondering what was going on. By the time energy and heat started rippling off the rings and began bombarding his weakened body, he realized what was going on, and frantically punched at the growing energy walls surrounding him, trying to break free. The power making up the swirling walls burnt his knuckles badly, and he yelped in pain as he withdrew them. Refusing to let that stop him, knowing what would happen if the Psychics gathered enough energy, he started punching at the walls again and again, and something started to give…

Unfortunately for him, that something was his skull, when Maxthulhu threw the giant's club over the top of the building cyclone, causing it to land on his head and stun him. "Nice shot," George complimented.

"Yes, Max never seems to miss a shot when you're in control," the Narrator commented.

"That's because I actually know how to aim," Sam said.

The giant shook his head in a daze, trying to regain his wits…but it was too late. With a brilliant flash of light, the powers of the four Psychics combined, converged, and exploded in a tremendous towering conflagration, multicolored flames spiraling upwards in a pillar of fire miles high that licked the dark clouds above and melted a great deal of the ice and snow in the area. "Ooooooh," Maxthulhu grunted, impressed.

"Nice pyrotechnics," George complimented.

"Yes, only now I think it's going to give Max ideas," Sam complained.

A dark form appeared in the midst of the great cyclone, and with a horrendous shriek, the frost giant, his form engulfed in flames, smashed through the side, wailing in agony as he blindly ran towards Maxthulhu. He didn't seem to know where he was going or what he was doing, his pain and fear instincts pressing him to run, run, and not to stop running until he had put the fires out or died, whichever came first, not caring what happened to anyone or anything that got in his way.

"He's coming right at us!" George cried in alarm.

"Oh, good," the Narrator said cheerily.

The words 'FINISH HIM!' flashed on the TV screen as the burning giant approached. "All right, it's time for the finishing move!" Sam said as he pressed buttons and waved his controls about in a complex and ridiculous-looking combination.

Maxthulhu tensed up, darkness and eldritch flames swirling around him. With a triumphant growl, he reached behind him and pulled out…his gun. (Yes, of course he still had a gun, he was Max, after all!) Aiming the Luger, which had been supersized along with the rest of him, at the flaming giant swiftly approaching, Maxthulhu pulled the trigger. Darkness and eldritch flames converged on the gun's barrel and discharged, causing a bullet the size of a car to rocket through the air towards the giant. But this was no ordinary bullet, instead of metal it was made of some strange green matter, with lots of purple eyes and fanged mouths and tentacles wriggling behind it. The bullet pierced the heart of the inferno, causing the giant to stiffen and halt in its tracks…

Just before hundreds of barbed tentacles burst from every joint and orifice and several other places all over his body. The giant didn't even get to scream as dozens of tendrils erupted from his mouth. As the tentacles waved furiously about, the giant collapsed to the ground, setting fire to the surrounding debris. He lay there, his once-imposing and indomitable frame no more than a colossal funeral pyre commemorating the defeat of another one of Niflheim's greatest warriors. Granted, most funeral pyres didn't have monstrous tentacles growing from them, but it was a funeral pyre all the same. Maxthulhu grinned, twirled the gun in his hand, and blew off some smoke from the end before roaring triumphantly, reality itself seeming to quake in terror from his cries.

The pillar of flames dissipated, revealing the sizzling and worn out Psychics. "Did…did we get him?" Goldor panted.

"I think he did, actually," Silvia said, pointing to Maxthulhu, who was standing over the giant's burning corpse and laughing malevolently.

"What? How dare he? We had him fair and square!" Goldor protested furiously.

"Yeah, nobody likes a kill-stealer!" Buck agreed.

"Now, now, calm down, it's not that big a deal," Briney said. "The giant's dead, and that's all that matters." He narrowed his eye ominously. "But if they ever do that again, I'm going to be having words with them…"

"Phew!" Sam said, wiping away some sweat. "Well, there's that guy taken care of."

"That was amazing!" said an awestruck George.

"And disgusting," the Narrator drawled.

"But still, incredible! I've never seen anything like it!" George said.

Sam smiled. "Oh, that was nothing. You should have seen the guy we beat before we came to this world. He was even bigger, and could make more of himself!"

"Wow! You've gotta tell me about that sometime," said an amazed George.

"We have it on DVR, actually," the Narrator said, pointing to a box underneath the TV. "Though why anyone would bother recording and rewatching something as vulgar and pointlessly violent as that is beyond me."

"Vulgar and pointless violence is what the Freelance Police are all about!" Sam bragged.

The Narrator sighed. "That they are…that they are…"

George frowned, a troubling thought occurring to her. "Hey, Sam? While that finishing move was pretty cool and all…if you could have used that gun all along, why didn't you pull it out sooner?"

There was a long, awkward pause. The Narrator burst into surprised laughter. "That's…a very good question," Sam admitted.

"The answer is quite simple, my dear," the Narrator said as he wiped away a tear. "Because Samuel is an idiot."

"I don't have to take that from you!" an irritated Sam said, pulling out his gun and pointing it at the Narrator.

The Narrator snorted. "Please, like you'd really fire that inside of Max's brain?" Sam responded by pressing the barrel against the Narrator's forehead. They both stared at it for a moment before the Narrator snapped, "Okay, really Sam, cut it out!" Sam smirked and put it away. George shook her slowly, wondering yet again what the Abyss she had gotten herself into.

And with two giants down, that only left one to go, but since the heroes fighting it didn't have any giant monsters to back them up, that meant they needed to improvise. Bruno learned this much to his dismay when the frost giant finally noticed he was climbing up its arm, snatched it up, and held him up before its eyes between its thumb and forefinger. "Foolish little mon," it sneered. "Your death will not be a gentle one!" He squeezed, intending to squish Bruno into red paste.

He did not expect Bruno to fight back, the Machamp pushing against the fingertips trying to crush him with all his might. Even with his phenomenal strength, it required more effort than he liked to admit to keep the two fingers apart, knot of muscles bulging out against his arms and legs and sweat rolling down his gray skin as he fought for his life. With a cry of fury, he managed to shove the forefinger upwards, striking at it with a razor-sharp Karate Chop that drew blood, forcing it to retreat in frost giant stared in astonishment at Bruno, wondering how one tiny mortal could possibly fight him for this long. This turned out to be the wrong thing for him to do, because abruptly Diane and Butler appeared in front of his face and blasted him with Psybeams right in his eyes. Roaring in pain, eyes smoking, he recoiled and flinched backwards, the shaking of his arm flinging Bruno up into the air. The Machamp flew so high he nearly crashed into a flock of ice dragons flying overhead, then began his descent towards the ground very far below. He wasn't particularly worried, though. He'd fallen much further distances and survived. As the frost giant flailed in pain, Bruno managed to grip the underside of one of the monster's fingers as he descended, swinging from there to land on the back of the giant's other wrist. Marginally annoyed that he was back where he had started, he started climbing back up the arm again.

As the frost giant's sight returned, he bellowed in rage and lunged forward, tusked jaws snapping shut around the smug Butler and Diane. This proved to be completely futile, however, when they reappeared before him, looking even smugger. "You really shouldn't have done that, big guy," Diane said cockily as the explosive runes she'd planted in the giant's mouth before Teleporting out detonated, causing him to gasp in pain and cough up some blood. Enraged, the giant tried to grab them, but as usual they Teleported and faded away, reappearing at a safe distance to taunt him while bombarding him with attacks. Snarling in frustration, he feebly swung his club at them, forced to limp in pursuit due to his broken knee and eerily unresponsive foot.

As he did this, he failed to notice Vladimir and Sasha land on his head. "Ugh, apparently they never heard of conditioner in Niflheim," said the disgusted Swalot as his compotent Woobats reconstituted themselves, looking at the filthy unkempt hair and dandruff surrounding them.

"They don't have it back where I come from either, but we manage," Sasha commented. She frowned, equally displeased with the condition of the giant's hair. "Still, we groom ourselves properly, clearly something this creature has not done."

"All the better for us, perhaps he'll just think we're lice or something," Vladimir said.

"What happens if he tries to scratch us, then?" Sasha asked.

"…Ah. That would be unpleasant, wouldn't it?" Vladimir admitted. "Still, I believe we could both survive it, what with my immortality and your impenetrable cloak."

"True, but I'd rather not put that to the test," Sasha said, lying down and bringing her cloak in contact with the giant's scalp. The darkness of her cloak shimmered and rippled outwards, slowly turning the giant's blue skin black as it spread.

Vladimir nervously took a few steps back as the wave of darkness approached him. "And, ah, this trick of yours won't affect me, will it?"

"Since you aren't my enemy, no, it won't," Sasha assured him.

"Right." The Swalot fidgeted and took a few more steps back. "But, ah, just to be safe, I think I'll take off and help Butler and Diane distract the giant. By drawing his attention away, we'll allow you and Bruno to continue doing whatever it is you're doing without worrying about untimely interruptions."

"A good idea, though at the rate I'm going I'll probably finish the giant off before he does," Sasha said. "Even if I get knocked off, if enough of my cloak's enchantment has spread before that happens, it should kill enough of the giant's brain cells to render him completely helpless."

"I wouldn't be so sure, he doesn't seem to use much of his brain in the first place," Vladimir joked. "Anyway, I'd best be off. Good luck to you, Miss Sasha." He dissolved into a swarm of shrieking Woobat and flew off, leaving Sasha to her work.

Meanwhile, Dean and Looker landed on the giant's shoulder just in time to see Vladimir fly off the giant's head, go off into the distance, and circle back so the giant didn't realize he'd just been on his head. "Hey, isn't that Vladimir? What was he doing here?" Looker asked as he tried to stop his knees from quaking from the terror of the flight up or the realization of just how high off the ground they were.

"He and Sasha are trying to use her magic cloak to kill the giant's brain," Dean explained, receiving an explanation from his superior through vampiric telepathy.

"An interesting plan," Looker said, squinting and trying to see spot the telltale darkness indicative of the cloak's magic. Some of the hairs on top of the giant's head had turned a lightless black, and more were changing color the longer he looked. "Hmm, but it's not spreading fast enough. We should try to come up with something of our own just in case her plan doesn't work."

"I'm all antenna," Dean said, the wing-shaped growths on the sides of his head wiggling.

"I don't suppose you could turn this big guy into a vampire, could you?" Looker asked.

Dean shook his head. "Considering his size? No way, it would take forever for the virus to spread to enough of his body to turn him. And besides, I'm not even sure we'd be able to control him, and would you want to see a vampiric frost giant roaming the countryside, thirsting for blood?"

"Not particularly," Looker agreed. "What about that hypnotic trick of yours? Do you think it could work on something his size?"

Dean considered this for a moment. "Hmm…that's a good question, actually. It didn't work on Brodie, but that's because he's a Ditto and his mind's naturally slippery and hard to get a grasp on. This guy's size makes him immune to most forms of magic, especially subtler varieties like my compelling voice, buuuuut…maybe if we got close enough and I shouted loud enough for him to hear, it could work?"

"Which means we would need to go for his ear," Looker said, pointing at the small (in comparison to the rest of the giant) orifice in the gigantic monster's head several dozen meters away from them.

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Dean agreed.

"All right, then let's get over there," Looker said, starting for the ear. "And in case you can't control his mind, we'll just do as much damage as we can to his inner ear, which should throw off his balance and maybe even allow us a shot at his brain."

"Cool," Dean said, running alongside Looker at speeds most Wooper could never dream of obtaining. "But, uh, what happens if he doesn't like us irritating his ear and tries to pick us out? Those pinkies of his are bigger than our car on the Enchanted Express."

"…We'll think of something," Looker said, which did not fill Dean with confidence.

Meanwhile, Bruno had managed to make it a good way up the giant's arm, thanks to the distraction caused by Diane, Butler, and Vladimir, who kept flying and Teleporting all over the place and bombarding the giant with attacks which, though unable to do much damage, still annoyed the monster and kept him from noticing the parasites on his body trying to kill him. Noticing a large and rather swollen blister in his path, the Machamp detoured, clambering around it using the hairs protruding from the sides of the giant's arm as hand and footholds. As he went past the blister, though, the giant made a particularly violent swing of his club—using the same arm Bruno was climbing up—which caused the Machamp to lose his grip with one hand and accidentally brush against the blister as he tightened his hold on the hairs in his other hands. Unfortunately, the blister, which had already been aggravated somewhat by a few of the magical attacks that had been flung its way during the battle so far, finally had enough of the abuse it was taking and burst, covering Bruno in blood and pus.

As Bruno gagged in disgust and spat out some of the disgusting fluid, the giant glanced down at his arm, startled by the sudden sharp pain he'd experienced, and growled when he saw Bruno. "There you are!" he bellowed, forgetting about the flying nuisances for a moment as he dug his fingers into his arm, raking them back and forth to try and scratch Bruno off. Bruno quickly scrambled back and forth along the limb with the sort of speed and dexterity an Ambipom would have been envious of, dodging the fingers with incredible athleticism. He paused between two of the fingers as they dragged their way back across the arm, then swung in front of one of them, grabbed the giant's nail in his surprisingly strong toes, and pulled with all his might. The giant howled in pain as Bruno managed to rip out his entire fingernail, causing blood to spout everywhere from the gaping wound it left. "You little bastard! You are a pest and deserve to be crushed like one!" Enraged, he slapped his hand down on his arm, trying to crush Bruno. The Machamp had moved with superPokémon agility to get out of the way, however, so when the hand struck Bruno was safely wedged between two of the fingers. As the giant drew his hand back to see if he'd squashed Bruno, the Machamp leaped onto the side of one of the fingers and pulled himself up onto the top, finding himself eye-to-eye with the frost giant when the monster, astonished Bruno was still alive, raised his hand up to the level of his face. "You are clearly a skilled warrior…"

"Yeah, I get that a lot," Bruno grunted, preparing to leap at the giant's face. Before he could, however, the giant flicked its hand, flinging the startled Machamp in the air. The giant grinned and flipped its hand over so that Bruno landed on his palm, then dropped his club so that he could clap his hands together and crush the Machamp into a bloody stain…or at least, that's what he expected to happen. Instead, Bruno managed to catch the giant's other palm in his other four hands and, using every ounce of strength in his body, struggled to push the palm back. With a roar, he used Bulk Up, his muscles bulging to even more ridiculously exaggerated proportions as he slowly managed to widen the space between the two hands. The giant gritted his teeth angrily, not wanting any of that, and pushed even harder in retaliation, swiftly depleting the extra reserves of power Bruno had called upon. Gasping, Bruno's legs quivered, and he was pushed down to one knee, then both knees, and then slowly his back started bending dangerously low…

And then Vladimir transformed into a demonic Houndoom and dove from the sky into one of the giant's eyes, ripping and tearing with flaming claw and fang and horn, while Butler and Diane tackled the other eye, striking it with a super-strong Shadow Punch and a magically-powered drill kick. Howling in agony, the giant stopped trying to squash Bruno and clapped a hand to his ruined eyes in pain, giving the Machamp relief from the excruciating pressure. Unfortunately, the giant's hand had flipped upside-down in the process, and now Bruno was dangling very precariously from its underside. Gritting his teeth and shrugging off the pain from every bone in his body, Bruno started swinging towards the giant's wrist to begin his climb anew again, using the lines and bumps on the monster's palm as grips to hang from.

Dean and Looker had managed to climb inside the giant's ear by that point, so were naturally quite surprised when the beast bellowed in pain from losing his eyes. "The Abyss was that?" Dean whispered.

"I don't know," Looker whispered back. "But I'm glad we aren't the ones who did that, because he'd be really pissed at us if we were."

"Yeah, totally. Why are we whispering?" Dean asked.

"Because we're inside of his ear, and if we talk too loudly, he'll know we're here," Looker replied.

"Oh, right," Dean said.

They crawled through the giant's auditory canal, which was rather dark and smelly and full of hairs and lots and lots of slimy mounds of earwax. Dean didn't mind the dark since he was a vampire, and Looker didn't mind the slime because he was a Croagunk, but the combination of both was not something either Pokémon particularly enjoyed. After a few minutes of travel, they found their way blocked by a membrane that Looker identified as the outer surface of the eardrum. "All right, give it a shot," Looker said.

Dean concentrated, darkness washing over him and causing him to transform into a Loudred. Looker blinked in surprise. "What the…how did you do that?"

"Oh, I can transform into any Pokémon whose blood I've tasted," Dean explained.

"…Does that mean you can turn into me?" asked a disturbed Looker.

"Uh-huh." Darkness washed over Dean again, and suddenly Looker found himself looking at an exact duplicate of himself. "Well? What do you think?"

"…That's…incredible," murmured the amazed Looker. "And kind of disturbing."

"It is? Oh, sorry. Hold on." Dean rippled and changed back into a Loudred. "Better?"

"Yes. I take it that means you've drunken the blood of a Loudred?" Looker asked.

Dean nodded. "Uh-huh. They fed one to us back in Dr. Tarantulas's lab. We sucked all the life out of him. Don't worry, he was evil," he said quickly when Looker stared at him in horror. "Totally had it coming."

"…Ah. Right," Looker said dubiously.

"Anyway, you might want to cover your ears," Dean said, opening his mouth wide. Looker did so, and Dean shouted, "HEY, BIG UGLY GIANT GUY! I, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL VAMPIRE DEAN, AM YOUR MASTER NOW! YOU WILL OBEY MY EVERY COMMAND! I ORDER YOU TO STOP TRYING TO KILL MY FRIENDS THIS INSTANT!"

"Gah! Who's shouting my ear?" the giant cried, wincing in pain and pausing in his blind and somewhat useless attempts to swat at Diane, Butler, and Vladimir.

"I JUST TOLD YOU, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL VAMPIRE DEAN! WEREN'T YOU LISTENING THE FIRST TIME?" Dean bellowed. "IF NOT, THEN LISTEN UP NOW: I ORDER YOU TO STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING RIGHT NOW!"

"Like Muspelheim I will! I only have one master, and that's Queen Shivhel!" the giant roared angrily. "Stupid little bugs, nattering in my ear…I'll kill you!" He extended his pinky finger and raised his hand toward the irritated ear.

"Oh, crap," Dean murmured, changing back to normal.

"You know, considering how often it's failed to work, I'm starting to wonder if that so-called 'compelling voice' of yours is a myth after all," Looker said, looking annoyed.

"I order you to punch yourself in the face," Dean said, his voice deepening a few octaves.

"Yes, Master." Looker punched himself in the face. He blinked. "Why did I just do that?"

"Because I told you to," Dean said. "Come on, let's get out of here!"

"I hate having to just cut and run, but I guess we don't have a choice," Looker said.

"You're right, you don't," Diane said as she appeared in a flash of light. "Fortunately, that's what I'm here for. Come on, let's get out of here!"

"Sure thing," Dean said, eager to leave the ear canal.

"Wait," Looker said. "Before we go, we might as well do some damage. That way, we won't have come all this way for nothing."

"Hmm, good idea," Diane admitted. She smiled sinisterly, a half-dozen ominously glowing runes materializing around her. The runes spun around her before scattering around the canal, plastering themselves against the walls. She then formed a rather large ball of swirling magical energy between her hands. "Okay, on three, hit the eardrum with your best shots!"

"Three!" Dean shouted, spewing a stream of darkness-infused water at the same time Looker expelled a Gunk Shot and Diane threw the energy ball. The attacks struck the eardrum and exploded, rupturing it and causing a tidal wave of blood to flood out into the canal. Diane quickly grabbed the other two and Teleported away just before the blood could reach them, telepathically triggering the explosive runes she had planted in the process. The giant's inner ear was wracked with explosions, tearing it open and causing blood to gush all over the place and spout out of the side of his head, splattering against the pinky that had been about to insert itself inside.

The giant howled in pain, shaking his head as agony streaked through him…and frowned when he suddenly realized that, although his eyes and ears hurt, and the rest of his face wasn't feeling too good, something felt…wrong with the top of his head. Namely, that he couldn't feel anything at all. It was eerily numb. Struck by a sudden suspicion, he reached up and started scratching his hair. Startled and alarmed to find that he couldn't feel anything, he started scratching more vigorously, trying to flush out Sasha, whom he suddenly realized had to be up there.

Well, here we go again, Darkrai said wearily.

Damnation! And I was sure I'd almost finished killing a large enough part of his brain to incapacitate him, too! Sasha thought angrily as she got up and started running away from the probing fingers, causing the darkness she'd spread to dissipate.

Better luck next time. Assuming there is a next time, Darkrai said.

Butler abruptly appeared in front of Sasha. "I'm here to rescue you, Miss Sasha. Come on, let's go!"

"I'm not sure I need to be rescued, but thank you very much," Sasha said, leaping into the Dusclops's arms. The Beckon Pokémon quickly flew up and away from the giant's head before he could find them.

"Gah! Where are you?" the giant snarled furiously as he vigorously scratched his head, trying to find Sasha, and completely unaware that she had already gone. "Stupid disgusting mortals, crawling all over me, blinding me, doing…something to me…I'll kill you all for this!"

"You have to see us to catch us!" Dean taunted, having reappeared with Diane and Looker nearby. The giant snarled and swung…completely missing him because with only one ear left, it was harder to tell where sounds were coming from. "Haha, missed me!"

"Dean, don't taunt the giant monster," Vladimir scolded, flapping over in his Woobat swarm form.

"Why not? It's fun!" Dean protested.

"Yes, it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, and we've hurt him, which means he'll be spoiling to hurt us back," Vladimir pointed out.

"Yeah, like that's going to-" Dean started until the giant swung again, smacking him out of the air completely by accident. "Waaaaahhhh!"

"I warned you!" Vladimir shouted after him.

"Well, we've been doing a pretty good job at crippling him so far, but at the rate we're going I don't think we'll be able to kill him," Diane complained as Butler floated over to her with Sasha in his arms.

"Perhaps Bruno will accomplish something?" Sasha suggested, noticing that Bruno had managed to reach the giant's shoulder. "He's been trying to climb this high for the last several minutes, perhaps he has an idea?"

Okay, I've climbed this high up, so what do I do now? Bruno wondered as he stood up and stretched his limbs to get the kinks out of them. He stared across the shoulder to the ear directly opposite him, set into the side of the giant's head. Well, I guess I could go in there and clobber his brain or something… Having no better ideas, he nimbly started running towards the ear.

"He's going for the ear? That's what we did!" Dean complained somewhat dizzily, still wobbly from getting hit by the giant's hand. "I was hoping for something more original."

"Maybe he'll succeed where we failed?" Looker, who was being held by a levitating Diane, suggested.

This, unfortunately, did not turn out to be the case. Bruno made it across the shoulder okay, and had started to climb up the rim of the ear, using ridges and hairs for handholds. He reached up towards another hair that was poking over the lip of the ear canal, intending to use it to pull himself up…and instead wound up pulling the whole hair out. The giant, his nerves raw from everything that had been inflicted on him so far, detected this at once, and, rather than assume it was nothing like he foolishly had all the other times he'd felt something like that, immediately suspected something was wrong. His hand shot up, grabbing Bruno and snatching him off the side of his ear. "YOU!" he shouted, not actually knowing which of the mortals he'd grabbed due to the loss of his eyesight but figuring it was probably one of the ones who'd hurt him really badly, and figuring that it sounded intimidating enough.

Vladimir gasped. "Oh no, he has Bruno!"

"Oh, don't worry, he got out okay the last few times the giant caught him, didn't he?" Dean asked.

Vladimir scowled. "Yes, because we distracted the giant! Which means we need to do it again, before it's too-" Abruptly, the giant opened his mouth, tilted back his head, and tossed Bruno down his throat. "Late…"

They all gasped in horror. "No! Bruno!" Looker cried.

Huh, I guess talking isn't always a free action after all, Darkrai said.

Master, is he- Sasha started.

If he were dead, you'd know it by now, Darkrai assured her.

Sasha nodded, realizing this was true. "He's still alive," she informed the others.

"Alive? How?" Diane asked incredulously.

"Because he's a total badass, of course!" Dean said. "He probably caught hold of the side of the esophagus, is climbing back up, and will punch his way out of the giant's mouth any minute now!" Nothing happened. "Yep, any minute now." Nothing happened. "I said, ANY MINUTE NOW!" Still nothing happened.

"I don't think he's going to punch his way out of there," Butler confessed.

"Hang on, I'll go try and find him," Diane said. "Here, hold this," she said, throwing Looker at Vladimir before Teleporting away.

"Ack! Stop tickling me!" Looker cried as the vampiric Woobats swarmed all over him, brushing him constantly with their wings.

"Sorry, can't help it," Vladimir replied.

Diane reappeared a moment later, dripping in saliva. "Okay, that could have gone better," she said in disgust, evaporating the gunk off of her.

"Did you find him?" Butler asked.

Diane shook her head. "I couldn't get in very far. If he swallowed me, I'd have a hard time getting out without possibly rematerializing inside an organ or bone and killing myself. He's not in the mouth or the upper part of the throat, I'll tell you that much."

"Then perhaps I can get further," Butler said. "If you'll just take Miss Kutabe, I'll go and see if I can find him."

"All right," Diane said, levitating Sasha out of Butler's arms.

"Wait, she's a Dark-type. How are you able to use telekinesis on her?" Looker asked.

"I'm not, I'm using magic," she replied.

"Oh, okay then," Looker said.

Butler faded away, presumably to go look for Bruno. Moments after he left, Sasha's badge, which Ash and Pikachu had insisted every member of the team take into battle just in case there was an emergency and they needed to get in touch with each other, started making noises. "Hey, Kutabe, this is Mother Leonora, one holy mama callin' another! Do you read me?" Leo's voice spoke out of the transmitter.

"No Mother Leonora, I do not read you," Sasha said as the others blinked in surprise.

"…Huh? What do you mean?" asked the confused Leo. "You can hear me, can't you?"

"You are a Pokémon, not a book. There is nothing for me to read," Sasha said, deciding not to mention that she was still unable to read, despite Oak's best efforts.

Everyone facepalmed, and presumably Leo did the same. "That's not what I…look, never mind. You guys need to get down here ASAP, Zippo and I have come up with something that can kill that giant once and for all!"

"That's wonderful news, but why are you calling me a sap? That is very rude," Sasha said reproachfully, a frown on her face.

Everyone facepalmed again. "That's not…look, just get down here, okay? We'll have Bob send up a Thunderbolt to show you where we are," Leo said.

"Oh, Bob is there?" Vladimir asked. "Is he being a good Manectric? Has he refrained from sucking out your blood?"

"He tried to bite us, actually, but then we tossed him some bloodbags and he started playing with them instead," Leo said.

"…Why were you carrying bloobags around?" asked a confused Dean.

"For just such an occasion!" Leo declared.

"Ah. Of course," Dean said flatly.

"We will be right down. See you in a moment," Sasha said.

"Roger!" Leo said, ending the transmission. Seconds later, a lightning bolt shot up from the ground below.

"I guess that's where they are," Diane said. "Hang on, I'll Teleport us down."

"Wait," Looker interrupted. "Before we go…Kutabe, why do you and Mother Leonora have a two-way communicator while the rest of us don't?"

"Um," Sasha said, drawing a blank. Master?

I got nothing, Darkrai said.

Wonderful. "Er…don't go hating on my religion!" Sasha shouted rather desperately. Everyone sweatdropped.

Deciding to just leave that question unanswered, they Teleported down to where the lightning bolt had originated from, where they found Leo and Zippo holding a complicated-looking web of cables and wires and other assorted doodads wrapped around what looked like the Thermonuke 8500. They also found Bob, who was eagerly drinking from a bloodbag, with several empty packs lying scattered on the snow around him. "Ugh, Bob, you are such a Tepig," said the disgusted Vladimir.

"Yeah, you could have left some for us," Dean agreed.

"There you guys are! What took you so long?" Leo asked.

"Never mind that, what was that about you two having something that can kill the frost giant?" Looker asked.

"Get a load of this, dude!" Zippo said, shaking his half of the thing he and Leo were holding. "When we saw those mondo giants appear, we knew there was no way we could possibly help you rad guys take them down on our own, so we invented something that we're pretty sure will kill them! Well, one of them, anyway."

"And we picked this one, since it's the closest and it looked like you guys were having the most trouble with it since you don't have any giant monsters of your own to back you up," Leo said.

"And…what is it?" Sasha asked.

"A bomb!" Leo and Zippo chorused joyfully.

"A bomb?" everyone else cried, stepping back in alarm. Bob, still drinking blood, paid no attention to them.

"Relax, it's harmless," Leo said.

"Until we activate the remote detonator, that is," Zippo said.

"Which we won't do until the bomb's in place, naturally," Leo said. "Wouldn't want to blow us up too, right?"

"And where is the right place?" Vladimir asked.

"Inside the giant, of course!" Zippo said.

"All you gotta do is throw that thing down his throat," Leo said.

"Then we push the button…" said Zippo.

"And BOOM! No more giant!" they yelled in unison.

The others exchanged looks. "Well, that's certainly one way to solve our problem," Looker admitted.

"And it saves us the trouble of having to wear ourselves down wearing him down," Vladimir agreed.

"Just one problem," Dean said. "Um, isn't Bruno still inside of the giant? We can't blow it up with him inside, can we?"

"Oh, don't worry, Butler will be back with him any second now," Diane said.

"I couldn't find him," Butler said remorsefully as he appeared next to her.

"Or not," Diane said.

"What? What do you mean you didn't find him?" Vladimir demanded.

"I went as far as I could, but if I went any deeper into the giant's innards, I would have been unable to bring Bruno back with me," Butler said apologetically. "There's just too much body mass to phase back through. I barely managed to make it back myself…there's no way I could have done it with two of us. Wherever he is in there, he's beyond my reach."

"He's not…he's not dead, is he?" Leo asked in alarm.

"Yeah, he's way too cool to die!" Zippo agreed. He frowned worriedly. "…Or maybe he's too cool to live?"

"Don't even say that, mon, it's something I'm constantly worried Captain—er, some guy I know will fall into," Leo said anxiously.

"Bruno is not dead," Sasha told them. "If he were, I would know it."

"How?" Zippo asked.

"I'm the High Priestess of Darkrai," she pointed out.

"Oh, right," Zippo said. "Hmm, maybe I should have joined the Cult of Darkrai, rather than becoming a Cleric of Manaphy. So far I haven't gotten much out of it…other than some rad surfing skills, that is! Yeah, that makes it totally worth it." The others sweatdropped, except for Leo, who now found himself wishing he'd joined Manaphy's church as well. No, wait, then he wouldn't have been able to fight Manaphy with the others when they invaded Samiya…could he have?

As he pondered this, Looker said, "Well, if Bruno's alive, that's somewhat inconvenient for us, since we can't put that bomb into the giant so long as we know he's still in there."

"And since we can't get him out of there, that means he's going to stay in there for the foreseeable future," Diane said in frustration.

"Well, there is one way out…" Dean said slowly.

It took the others a few moments to realize what he meant, and then they wished they hadn't. "Ah," Sasha said after a while. "I…suppose that is an option…"

"Which also means that…maybe we could…" Diane glanced at Butler, whose eye widened in horror as he vehemently shook his head.

"No, absolutely not," Butler insisted. "I am not going to fly up that giant's rear end. I've done a number of…distasteful things for the sake of the Mistress in my centuries of servitude, but that is where I draw the line."

"You wouldn't obey your mistress if she gave you a direct command?" Vladimir asked, offended, knowing that he would do such an uncomfortable task instantly if Gardevoir ordered him to. He wouldn't really have had a choice.

Butler hesitated. "Well…if she told me to…but she's too busy fighting Bellum right now to give me such an order, so…"

"Hmm, true…well, in that case…Dean, go fly up the giant's rear and fetch Bruno, will you?" Vladimir said.

"What? Why do I have to do it?" the Wooper cried in horror.

"Because I outrank you, which means you have no choice but to do everything I say," Vladimir said.

"But how'm I supposed to get him out of there? I can't teleport or phase through walls, let alone intestines!" Dean protested.

"…Hmm. True," Vladimir admitted.

"Maybe we could build a submarine that we could then trick the giant into eating so that we could find Bruno, plant the bomb, and escape all in one trip?" Leo suggested.

"That's ridiculous," Diane said with a snort. "How exactly do you propose to build a submarine in this place?"

"Oh, it wouldn't be that hard," Leo said.

"Yeah, I have all the parts necessary to make a submarine capable of surviving inside the innards of a giant monster," Zippo said.

"Me too," Leo said.

Everyone stared at them. Finally, an incredulous Looker asked, "Why do both of you have all the parts necessary to make a submarine capable of surviving inside the innards of a giant monster?"

"Because you never know when you're going to get swallowed by one, duh!" Leo said.

"Yeah, everyone should carry around a kit or two to make one," Zippo said.

"I've got three," Leo said smugly. Everyone facefaulted. Sasha moaned and shook her head, knowing she should be used to this sort of thing by now.

"So, uh…does that mean you're going to start making one?" Dean asked a little eagerly.

"I guess, but…it'd take a few hours," Leo admitted.

"Hours we don't have," Zippo lamented.

Diane threw up her hands in exasperation. "Wonderful! Then how are we supposed to get Bruno out? It's not like he's going to just punch his way out of that thing's guts!"

As if on cue, the giant moaned and clutched his stomach in pain. "Ohhh…ooooohhhhhh…what avails me now? Queen Shivhel, have I not suffered enough already this day?"

Clearly the answer was no, because suddenly Bruno exploded out of the giant's side, thick ropy intestinal tubing slithering out behind him through the hole he'd made, causing the giant to howl in agony and grab his guts in his hands, struggling to shove them back into the gaping wound in his belly and keep the blood and other things from vacating his body. Bruno arced through the air and landed next to the astonished group hard enough to crater the ground, slowly rising and turning to stare at them with a terrifying gleam of victory in his eyes, his blood and gore-covered frame an incredibly imposing and nightmare-inducing sight to everyone except Leo and Zippo, who took pictures, and the vampires, who were hungry, and Looker, who was a hardened cop and saw worse stuff on the job all the time, and Sasha, who was a priestess of death so indifferent to that sort of thing, and…well, Diane and Butler were more grossed-out than really scared, so perhaps I misspoke. It would've induced nightmares in most other people, though!

"Well," Looker commented dryly after a moment. "That's certainly a dynamic entrance."

"Hey," Bruno said as he climbed out of the crater, leaving bloody footprints in his wake. "Sorry I took so long, it was a little harder to get out of there when I thought. Not that much harder, though. What'd I miss?"

"Mother Leonora and Zippo just arrived with a bomb they believe has the power to destroy the giant," Butler informed him as Diane used her Psychic powers to evaporate the…stuff off of Bruno.

"What? Oh mon, why didn't you guys get here sooner with that?" Bruno complained. "I could have saved you the trouble and taken it with me when the giant swallowed me!"

"Well, we would have been here sooner, if someone hadn't insisted on stopping to watch Maxthulhu fight the frost giant," Leo said pointedly.

"Me? You're the one who was begging me to take your picture with him fighting in the background!" Zippo shouted.

"Whatever," Diane snapped, telekinetically snatching the explosive away from the bickering nerds. "Bruno's out, which means we can use this thing. I just need to throw it down his throat?"

"Yep," Leo said. "And once it's in…"

"We'll do the rest!" Zippo promised.

"Right. Back in a second." Diane and the bomb vanished in a flash of light. Abruptly, the giant paused in his screaming to cough and retch and let go of his intestines with one hand to pound on his chest, wheezing and heaving and finally managing to swallow whatever was obstructing his breathing. Diane reappeared. "Okay, it's down the hatch."

"Great!" Leo said, whipping out a remote. "Now, I just need to push the button…"

"Hey, why do you get to push the button? I want to push it!" Zippo protested.

"The core of the bomb is made from my Thermonuke, therefore I'm the one who gets to blow it up," Leo said.

"We used parts from my Thermonuke too, and I helped build it just as much as you did!" Zippo said. "Plus, you got to abuse that thing's power earlier, so now it's my turn!"

"Never!" Leo said, holding the remote out of Zippo's reach. "You can't handle that kind of power! It can drive a mon mad, it could!"

"Exactly! Which is why you're going to give it to me now!" Zippo said, trying to grab the remote from Leo's hands.

"No way! You can't have it!" Leo cried, keeping his grip on the remote and refusing to let go of it no matter how hard Zippo pulled.

"Give…it…here!" Zippo grunted, tugging on the remote.

"Not…on…my…life!" Leo snarled through gritted teeth.

Everyone sweatdropped as they watched the two play tug-of-war with the remote. "Oh, for the love of-" Bruno, losing his patience, swiped the remote from the teenagers' hands, ignoring their protests and whining. "Give me that! How do you work this thing?"

"You just push the big white button," Leo said, crestfallen that he wasn't going to be the one to push it.

"What, not a big red button?" Looker asked.

"Nah, too cliché," Zippo said.

"Whatever." Bruno pushed the button.

The giant exploded in a tremendous blast of light and heat, sending body parts flying all over the place. Gallons of blood and thousands of pieces of flesh big and small tumbled through the air, and a horrified Diane quickly raised a barrier just before any of the gore could hit them, the remains splattering against her shield and covering the ground and ruins around them in a sticky red residue with lots of rather unpleasant-looking lumps sticking up all over the place. "Ugh," Looker said.

"Well, this is going to be a pain to clean up," said a disgusted Diane.

"You couldn't have made the bomb explode less messily?" a revolted Butler asked Leo and Zippo, who were trying not to vomit.

"If we'd made the bomb any stronger, it would have vaporized everything in the valley," Leo said, looking a bit green.

"Oh," Butler said, wondering if that might have been a preferable alternative.

Bob barked happily and ran outside the barrier, tongue extended as he ran about, collecting blood drops and bits of skin and organs falling out of the sky in his mouth. "Look Vlad, it's raining blood!" Dean said eagerly.

"Mmm, yes, what a delightful weather formation," Vladimir said, licking his lips. "And I was starting to feel a bit peckish, too!" They exited the magical shield to join Bob in feasting, much to the revulsion of the others.

"That's kind of gross," Looker commented.

"Well, they're vampires, I suppose this sort of thing looks appetizing to them," Butler said. "And completely disgusting to everyone else."

"Not to her, it's not," Zippo said, pointing to Sasha, who'd trotted out of their shelter and was starting to munch on the chunks of meat littered all over the place. Interestingly, though a lot of the falling detritus landed on her cloak, none of it left a stain. In fact, it seemed almost as if that eerie blackness was eating as well…

"Oh, Miss Kutabe, not you too!" Diane cried.

Sasha glanced up, her face covered in blood. "What? I'm hungry. And it's dead, so there's nothing wrong with me eating it, is there?"

"I'm fairly certain High Priestesses of Darkrai are not required to feast on carrion like a Mandibuzz," Butler said.

"Don't go hating on my religion," she said bluntly as she started digging into another bloody chunk of meat. Leo burst into laughter.

Eventually, the red rain petered off and became white again as the snow started falling freely once more. The other heroes approached; Maxthulhu carrying George and Sam in one hand while Briney and the Goldorringtons floated around his head, Team Getem and Todd flying beside them while Pikachu and Cherry picked their way through the organic debris while the freshly undead Rebecca floated next to them. "Zippo, everyone, you're okay!" Rose chirped happily as she swooped down to envelop the Charmeleon in a feathery hug.

"Well yeah, didja really think a big kahuna like that guy would wipe out yours truly?" Zippo bragged. "Just like I knew you guys would be fine, too! You took out your giants all right, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but we didn't make as big a mess as you did!" Rose replied.

Zippo smirked. "Aw, you know me babe, making messes is what I do best!" She giggled and pecked him affectionately.

"He has a point," Sparky said grudgingly.

Lu nodded. "And it is quite a big mess, at that."

"I'm not cleaning it up this time…" Salty grumbled.

"It might be a bit too much for our readers," Todd said, reluctantly snapping pictures of the carnage. "This level of graphic destruction and bloodshed may be a wee bit too mature for the kiddies."

"Hmmph, my children have much stronger stomachs," Happy sniffed. "They would look upon this as a gift from Arceus, and gorge to their heart's content."

"…That's…lovely," Todd said faintly.

"Well, it's a relief to see you're all alive," Rebecca commented. "Unlike me."

"Yeah, though it got a little close a few times," Looker said.

"Nah, not really," Bruno said.

Looker stared at him. "Bruno, that giant ate you."

"I was never in any real danger. I could have punched my way out anytime I wanted, I was just waiting until I was at the right point to do the most damage to the giant's body," Bruno said. Looker shook his head incredulously.

"Wow, that's so cool!" Buck gushed.

"I could have done the same thing," Briney said defensively.

"Really?" Goldor asked.

"Yes, of course!" Briney snapped.

Leo chuckled. "Heh, is that envy I detect, Cap'n?"

"Is that something other than female organs I detect, Mother Leonora?" Briney sneered in reply, causing Leo to Clamperl up.

"I'm amazed that after everything that's happened today, we're all still alive…especially after going up against those frost giants! It's a wonder we made it out okay!" Silvia said.

"Yep, it's just as I predicted. I told you nobody was going to die today," Cherry agreed.

"Well, technically you said that nobody was fated to die, but yes, it's a relief to know that the only people to get killed were the enemy," Sasha agreed.

"…What are you talking about? I died!" Rebecca snapped.

"Yes, but you're still here, aren't you?" Cherry said. Rebecca groaned in frustration.

"Being undead isn't so bad," Butler said. "I've been a Ghost all my existence, and I couldn't dream of being anything different."

"Indeed, being undead is wonderful! It's a pity you're all Ghosts rather than mighty vampires like ourselves, though," Vladimir boasted. "True masters of the night and rulers of darkness and all that."

"Yes, such powerful dark lords, who shrivel and die if they get hit by a sunbeam or touch silver," Diane snarked.

"…We're working on that," Vladimir said, embarrassed.

"You know, I think Max might be jealous," Sam commented to Leo and Zippo as he and George hopped out of Maxthulhu's paw, the horrendous monster looking at all the blood and gore with an annoyed look on his face.

"Jealous? Why?" George asked.

"Because he wasn't the one to kill someone this violently, of course," Sam said.

"…And the way he killed that giant wasn't violent enough?" George asked in disbelief.

"Of course not. You can never have enough violence," Sam said. Maxthulhu nodded in agreement, and George groaned, starting to understand why the Narrator seemed so depressed all the time.

"We made Max jealous? Whoa, this is so cool!" Leo said.

"Yeah, though we'll probably have to tone it down the next time. Wouldn't want him to eat us, after all," Zippo said. Maxthulhu nodded in agreement.

"Considering everything that's happened so far and all the close calls we've had, I'm relieved to see you're all okay," Pikachu said to Leo.

"Awww, you were worried about me?" Leo asked.

"No, I was worried about Sasha, actually," Pikachu said, causing Leo to almost facefault before remembering what the ground was covered in and wisely deciding not to.

"I am fine, thank you for asking," the puzzled Sasha said, wondering why Pikachu had called her by her true name.

"Dude, come on, you were worried about her, but not me?" Leo asked, hurt.

Pikachu smiled. "I wasn't that worried about you because I knew that if anyone could figure a way out of a mess like this, it would be you, Leo."

Leo gawked at him in disbelief. "You…you really mean that? D'awwww…I knew you cared!" He glomped Pikachu in elation.

Pikachu's eye twitched. "Let go or I'll zap you."

"My habit's insulated, it won't affect me," Leo said, still hugging Pikachu.

Pikachu sighed. "Of course it is. Of course it is."

Bruno frowned. "Wait…Sasha? Who's Sasha?"

Sasha coughed. "Er, you must be mistaken, my lord. I'm Kutabe, remember?"

"Sasha, give it up, there's no need for us to play this game anymore," Pikachu said.

"Yes, he's already told us everything," Sparky said.

"Same with this lot, though they had to pry it out of me," Briney grunted.

Sasha sighed. "Oh, very well. I guess there's not much point in continuing this farce any longer, is there?"

Bruno frowned. "Farce? What are you talking about?"

"The truth is, my name isn't Kutabe, just as Pikachu's isn't Ronin, and Briney's isn't Professor Brindleworth," Sasha admitted.

"And I'm not a girl," Leo confessed.

Zippo gasped in horror. "What? You're not?"

"Sorry, dude," Leo apologized as he took off his wimple. "To paraphrase Internet celebrity and comic reviewer Linkari, 'I am a mon!'" He punched the air.

"Holy crap! You mean I've been sorta crushing on a guy all this time?" Zippo cried.

"You've been what?" Rose shrieked.

"Er, forget that last part, babe," Zippo said quickly. "Wait, then does that mean you aren't actually a member of the Sisterhood of the Bountiful Gracidea? Dude, do you know what they do to people who impersonate members of their organization?"

"No, what do they do to people who impersonate members of their organization?" Pikachu asked.

"Bury them up to their neck in mulch for a month and treat them like flowers," Leo said. "Fortunately, that's not an issue since I'm a genuine bona fide Mother of the Sisterhood."

"Oh, okay then," Zippo said.

Pikachu stared at him. "…Aren't you going to ask how that's possible, since he's a boy?"

"Nah, he probably faked his gender on the application, it's what I would've done!" Zippo said, causing Pikachu to (nearly) facefault.

"And I'm not blind, I'm just wearing contacts. I'm a genuine high priestess of Darkrai, though," Sasha said.

Yeah, otherwise you wouldn't be able to wear that garment. It would eat you alive. Literally, Darkrai said.

Is there anything else about what I'm wearing you've neglected to tell me? she asked.

Mmm…no, I don't think…no wait, there was…oh, never mind, it's not important, Darkrai said, causing her to grind her teeth in exasperation.

"Wait…you mean none of you four are who you said you were?" cried an astonished Bruno. "You were in disguise the whole time?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Pikachu said.

Looker nodded in vindication. "Just as I suspected."

"You knew?" Bruno asked in surprise.

"Well, I am a detective," Looker pointed out.

"We knew too," Butler said.

"As did we," Dean said.

"And me. Kind of a given, since I can see the future and all," Cherry said.

"What? Was I the only one who nobody bothered to tell this little piece of information?" Bruno demanded.

"Actually, we didn't know until Pikachu told us," Happy said.

"And it was a real shock, let me tell you!" Todd said.

"Cherry didn't tell me, which is no surprise, really," Rebecca said grumpily.

"And we had no idea until we stumbled upon the good Captain beating the snot out of some ice monsters," Goldor said.

"Which was so cool!" Buck spoke up, causing Briney to hide a smile.

"And this is the first time I've heard any of this," said a stunned George.

"What, we never mentioned it to you?" Sam asked.

"No!" George cried.

"Huh. Must have slipped my mind," Sam said. George facepalmed, and Maxthulhu snickered, while in his head the Narrator sighed and downed another can of beer.

"We apologize for the deception, but we were trying to protect everyone on the train, as well as ourselves," Pikachu explained to an incredulous Bruno. "You see, Leo, Sasha, Briney, and myself, along with Ash, Tiny, Dawn, and Lily—whom you knew as Hiori, Rico, Mineko, and Sister Lilandra—are all part of a group called Team Aurabolt that's trying to defeat the Nihilators by collecting a series of magical artifacts they require to conquer the world. We found out that Fantina has one of those artifacts, but since we feared that Bellum, whom we've tangled with in the past, would probably target her and the vampires, we decided to sneak onto the train in disguise so as not to alert the Nihilators to our presence and make them realize Fantina possessed what they were looking for, which would cause them to bring down even more of their wrath on us."

"…I see…that makes sense…" Bruno murmured grudgingly. "But…then why didn't you tell me? I'm part of the security detail to make sure everyone on the train is safe! How'm I supposed to protect you all if I don't know what's going on?"

"Too many people knew already, the more who were aware of it, the greater the risk that Bellum and the Nihilators would find out," Pikachu said.

"But, seeing as we've just told everyone, I guess that's no longer an issue?" Sasha asked.

"Eh, the secret was bound to come out sooner or later," Leo said with a shrug.

Cherry nodded. "It was indeed, and Bellum is already aware of the truth as well. Once she reports this to her superiors, they will try their hardest to kill us tomorrow-"

"Wait, you mean she's going to get away?" Silvia cried in alarm. "After everything she's done, and everything we've done, she's going to escape?"

"I'm afraid so," Cherry said.

"Oh no you don't, not this time! The future isn't set in stone, no matter how much you act like it is!" Rebecca snarled. "We aren't going to let Bellum get away, not this time!"

"Yeah, after everything she's done to Dusty Ditch, and all the efforts we've made to stop her, we can't let her evade justice!" Sparky agreed.

Pikachu nodded. "I agree. We can't let Bellum get away. She's blighted this world for far too long. Today, we end her reign of terror once and for all!"

"Sounds good to me," Briney said. "I'm in."

"Yes, as are we!" Goldor said.

"Yeah, let's see how she likes being put in a cage!" Dean said wickedly.

"She has caused our Mistress distress for far too long. It is long past time for her to face judgment for her crimes," Diane said.

"And if there's one thing we Freelance Police know how to do, it's how to bring the perp to justice, even if it's severely disproportionate to the actual crimes they've committed!" Sam said cheerfully, causing George to give him a weird look.

"That's gonna be a sweet photo op…" Todd said eagerly.

Cherry sighed and shook her head. "I'm telling you, she's going to get away, no matter how hard you try. You'll find out for yourself soon enough." She frowned. "And besides, before we deal with her…we have something else to worry about."

They gave her incredulous looks. "Oh come on, what now?" Zippo groaned.

"Haven't we done enough already?" Pikachu complained.

"We just defeated the biggest and baddest monsters Niflheim could throw at us. What else is there?" Bruno asked.

"How about this realm's ruler?" Cherry asked.

There was a long, worried silence. "Ah," Rose said. "That would do it."

"Oh shit, Shivhel's coming? I completely forgot about her!" Leo gasped.

"Me too…which is weird, since Shivhel's not the sort of womon a guy would forget, especially with that enormous…hair," Zippo said.

"But what does she want with us?" Vladimir demanded.

"We have defeated her strongest warriors and brought fire into her realm. This is unforgivable," Cherry said. "And for that, she will force us to pay the ultimate price."

"Oh no! Not my bank account!" Goldor gasped in horror. Everyone facefaulted.

"I think she meant our lives, dear," Silvia said.

"Oh, that's a relief, I was worried it was something serious," Goldor said, causing everyone to facefault again.

"Shivhel? Great. This is gonna suck…" Diane groaned.

"Oh come on, after everything else we've defeated since we got here, surely we can take down some skanky ice queen…right?" George asked uncertainly, the worried looks on most of the others' faces starting to make her worried, too.

"I would not be so sure…" Butler murmured.

Abruptly, a pale light shone on them. Surprised, they looked up to see that some of the snow clouds were parting, revealing the top of the mountain that was blocking the tracks out of Dusty Ditch. Their jaws dropped in awe when they saw the source of the light: a magnificent crystal palace perched on its peak, a beautiful aurora twisting around its jagged spires. But there was something…wrong about the aurora, the light feeling malevolent and spiteful. A chill ran down their spines, and a deep feeling of dread embedded itself in their hearts, a sense of fear and unease growing in even the biggest and strongest of them. Sasha nearly passed out, startled by how loudly her danger-sense was screaming. M-Master, what do I do? She thought.

Don't worry, Shivhel can't kill you, Darkrai said. I think.

Oh, that's so reassuring! She snapped.

Rebecca cried out in pain and clutched her head. "The ice spirits…they're howling! I don't think I've ever felt them this angry before!"

"The worst is yet to come," Cherry said quietly, a resigned look on her face.

A pair of massive doors on the front of the palace shuddered and swung apart, snowdrifts and icicles falling from it as the portal opened, the clash as they struck the palace walls ringing across the valley. Eerie blue light shone out from the doorway, and with it came a wave of frost and fog that crept down the mountain and rapidly covered all of Dusty Ditch, causing everyone to shiver as abruptly icicles formed on their bodies, the already subzero temperatures dropping another five hundred degrees or so, becoming so cold that even through their heat enchantments they were starting to feel the chill work its way into their bones. The wind began to howl, and snow and hail started falling at the same level of intensity it had before Bow had cast her weather spell earlier. Eerily, in spite of this they could still see the palace with perfect clarity. "I-i-i-it'ssss a g-g-g-good th-th-thing I-I-I h-h-have a-a-a sp-sp-spare Th-thermonuke 8500," Leo stammered, his teeth chattering as he quickly pulled out the portable heater and switched it up to maximum, causing everyone to sigh in relief as the area around them warmed up considerably.

"I thought you could only get one of those by preordering one and being one of their 1000 MVCs," said a confused Pikachu.

"Yeah, I did," Leo said.

"…Then why do you have a second one?" Pikachu asked.

"Oh, I have a second account with the company under my mom's name, so I can buy lots of extra stuff once I've hit the credit limit with my regular account," Leo said.

Zippo smacked his forehead. "That's brilliant! Why didn't I think of that?"

"Wait, you buy stuff under your mother's name?" Pikachu asked incredulously.

"Well yeah, doesn't everyone?" Leo asked.

"They most certainly do not!" Silvia said emphatically.

"Um, yeah, exactly…" Buck said, shifting about nervously.

"And what does your mother think about this?" Sasha asked sharply.

"Considering she thinks she won all the free appliances and gadgets that keep getting delivered in a mail-in contest, she hasn't complained," Leo said. "And besides, if she ever finds out and gets angry, I have a third account to fall back on in my dad's name."

"LEO!" Pikachu shouted.

"What? He's been a skull trapped in a dragon's castle for the last few years, what was he gonna do about it?" Leo asked defensively.

"You are a freaking genius!" Zippo cried. "Oh mon, I should be taking notes or something, every idea that comes out of your mouth is pure gold! My kindasorta crush now feels completely justified, you gotta teach me everything you know, dude!"

"I'd be happy too, young padawan," Leo said with a smug grin.

Team Getem exchanged horrified looks. "Pikachu," Sparky said seriously. "If you don't kill him, we will."

"Oh, don't worry…" Pikachu said through gritted teeth. "I'll kill him, all right."

Suddenly, the Thermonuke sputtered and died. Everyone looked at it in alarm as the cold started setting back in. Leo frantically shook it and banged on it to try and get it working again, to no effect. "Uh-oh. That's not good…" the Squirtle muttered.

"Neither is that!" Vladimir shouted, pointing at the figure that had appeared in the doorway, silhouetted by the cold light emanating from behind it.

"Who dares to bring heat into my domain, Niflheim, land of eternal winter?" a harsh, imperious voice boomed, a gust of icy wind blowing down the valley as it spoke and causing everyone to get even colder.

"…Oh, come on!" Leo shouted when he saw that almost everyone was pointing at him. "What about the guy whose freaking tail is on fire?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, dude," Zippo murmured around his tail, which he had stuffed inside his mouth to conceal the flame.

"You disgusting warm-bloods do not belong in this realm. This place is my demesnes now, and all who trespass here will find nothing but cold…the cold stillness of death," the voice said ominously.

Hey, death is my realm, bitch! I can make it warm if I want to! Darkrai retorted, causing Sasha to sweatdrop.

"You're the one who doesn't belong here," Bruno shouted up at the figure on the mountaintop, earning him worried glances from many of the others. "This is not your world, Shivhel. Return to your realm, and leave ours alone."

"Foolish mortal. I have been summoned here, which makes this my realm…" the figure said haughtily, every word causing them to clench their teeth in pain as a fresh wave of cold washed over them. "It may be small now, but soon it shall grow, and grow, until I have brought the cleansing snows of Niflheim to every corner of this world, an endless winter which shall never be touched by the hateful thaw of springtime!"

"The seasons come and go, whether you like it or not," Rebecca said. "Your plane may be locked, but ours is not. No matter how hard you try, the sun will always rise again, and with it, the light that pierces your fog and cold."

"Yes, a pity about that…" Vladimir murmured.

"Look on the bright side, at least the Sun keeps the whole world from looking like this," Dean pointed out. "I don't think I'd want to spend my eternity in a dump like this."

"Hmm, point," Vladimir admitted.

"Perhaps it will…but I do not believe that you will be here to see it," Shivhel sneered as she stepped forward, the light dimming behind her and allowing them to make out her true features. "Gaze upon the face of your destroyer…I, Shivhel, Her Divine Majesty, Queen of Niflheim, Chatelaine of Winter, and Eternal Empress of the Ice! Behold, the glory of an elemental god!"

They recoiled in alarm when they saw what Shivhel looked like, the extreme distance between them doing nothing to diminish the shock of Shivhel's appearance. One half of her was unimaginably beautiful, a fifteen-foot tall Jynx with pale blue skin and incredibly long dark blue hair tied into thick braids and plaits hanging down to the ground, ice crystals and diamonds woven into its length. Unlike most Jynx, she wore little to no clothing, some strategically-placed shawls, ribbons, and bands of exquisitely sewn and embroidered cloth the only things concealing her nipples and nether regions, and even then they were so thin and scanty they barely covered them up. She wore a great many bangles, bracelets, anklets, necklaces, earrings, and rings, magnificent glittering diamonds set into each and every one. One of her eye was a pure ice blue with long, elegant eyelashes set over a perfectly shaped pair of deep blue lips. She was one of the most remarkable female specimens any of them had ever seen…or at least, half of her was. The other half was so different in comparison the only thing that would have been more disturbing is if it was male, and even then it might have been an improvement over the unadulterated horror that was the other side of her body, for while her right half had the figure of a voluptuous, healthy young womon, the left side was quite literally a rotting corpse. Shriveled and desiccated skin that had been mummified due to the subzero temperatures clung very tightly to her body, so tightly in fact that here and there holes were torn in it revealing her bones. Worms and other insects that somehow did not seem to mind the cold crawled all over her body, feasting on the dead skin that seemed to paradoxically regenerate the moment they'd ripped off a chunk of it. Her left breast, to counter the fullness of her right, was a sagging sack of flesh covered in wriggling maggots. While her right hand had exquisitely manicured blue nails and gracefully long fingers, her left was nothing more than a grotesque claw, with knobby knuckles and broken, yellowed nails. Her hair, which on her right half was thick and blue and luxurious, was just as long but far from beautiful on her left half, mangy and filthy and hanging in limp, dead clumps of greasy strands. Almost all the flesh had fallen from the left side of her face, leaving only a skull with its overlarge and poorly treated fangs frozen in a rictus grin, a gaping black void that the wind flew through, creating an eerie whistling noise, in place of an eye. Although there was no orb in that empty socket, they could feel it staring at them, piercing their hearts to read their every thought and secret…and dismissing all of them as not worth living.

"Don't look, Buck!" Silvia cried, covering his eyes.

"Don't worry, I don't want to," a revolted Buck replied.

"What the…I thought she was supposed to be beautiful!" said a startled Goldor.

"Well, half of her is, in any event…" Briney murmured, narrowing an eye.

"Gah! What the Abyss? She doesn't look anything like that in the Last Legend games!" protested a shocked Zippo.

"They probably prettied her up for them because otherwise she wouldn't be a good source for fanservice…" Leo said. "Well, I guess it's appealing to some people, but not the ones you'd really want to be playing video games…"

"Yeah," Zippo agreed. "Huh. For some reason, now I'm thinking she'd make a good girlfriend for Dosface from Gligarman."

"You too? Wow, we really are a lot alike, aren't we?" Leo marveled.

Psh, and she says she's prettier than Cresselia! Totally delusional! Darkrai said.

Sasha rolled her eyes. Would you like me to tell her that, Master?

Nah, I'll tell her myself the next time I see her…after you kick her ass! Well, assuming you do, anyway, Darkrai said.

Your confidence is very reassuring, Sasha said sarcastically.

"Eh, I don't see what the big deal is," Sam said. "I've seen worse."

George stared at him incredulously. "Worse? Like what?"

"The First Lady first thing in the morning, before she's had a cup of coffee, showered, and put on her makeup," Sam said. Maxthulhu growled and briefly contemplated stepping on Sam before admitting he had a point.

"Hmmph…so she does not bother to cloak her evil, but displays her sin for all to see? Good. That will make it all the easier to slay her," Sparky said.

"Assuming she can be slain…" Pikachu murmured.

"She cannot be," Diane said soberly. "She calls herself a goddess, and in a way she is, but in another way she's something more…basic. The Pokémorphic personification of a force of nature, the living incarnation of the kind of endless winter or Ice Age that drives entire species and even worlds to extinction."

"Once, she was a more benign entity, who brought forth winters that were cold but rarely lethal and were much more hospitable to life…but the atrocities of the Crisis Wars and the countless planets whose climates were disrupted so badly by the fighting that they turned into dead balls of ice corrupted and twisted her, turning a once beautiful and gentle creature into the abomination you see before you," Butler said ominously.

"Then why is one half of her still a vision of loveliness?" Looker asked.

"Either a punishment for her wickedness, to taunt her with the memory of what she once was…or perhaps a sign that some in the Heavens still believe she can be redeemed," Rose said. "Nobody is sure, or so I've heard."

"Hmmph. If it's a punishment, they should have gone all the way," Happy commented.

"I…guess I should take a picture," Todd said reluctantly, doing just that. "Maybe they'll crop out the ugly part of her in editing…"

"What…what is this chill that permeates my bones?" wondered an alarmed Lu, her knees trembling. "An urge to bow…to grovel and weep and pay obeisance to her? How can this be? I am an assassino! I bow to no one!"

"It's the Ice in you, reacting to her presence…" Rebecca said warily. "She automatically bends all ice to her will, which is why she is absolute ruler of Niflheim, and has such a negative effect on the ice spirits here. Do not worry, though. If you focus on the things that matter most to you and your purpose in being here, you should be able to resist her will and avoid being her slave."

"Nessun problema…I already know where my loyalty lies," Lu said, smiling at Sparky.

"Ugh…we may be basically undead, and therefore walking corpses, but I'm glad we don't look like that!" said a disgusted Vladimir.

"Well, at least part of her's kinda nice to look at," Dean said.

"Not as nice as the Mistress!" Vladimir said firmly, to which Dean had to agree.

"Is that supposed to impress us?" Bruno shouted. "All I see is a womon who neglected to put all her makeup on before coming out here!"

"Such pitiful bravado. Allow me to show you what such insolence brings." Shivhel pointed a long, dainty finger at Bruno…and frowned when nothing happened. "What's this? You are immune to magic?"

"That's right," the Machamp said with a grin. "So whatever ice juju you were about to try on me won't work!"

"Hmmph. No matter," Shivhel said, unruffled. "There are many ways to go about freezing a mon to death."

"Then let's keep her from using any of them! Attack!" Sparky shouted, pointing his sword at Shivhel and firing a flaming Thunderbolt at her. Taking his cue, everyone else quickly followed suit with their own attacks; Pikachu shooting a Thunderbolt of his own, Happy spawning a swarm of flaming flesh-eating bugs, Salty hurling a huge spear of water, Rose launching a tremendous mystical whirlwind, Lu spitting a Shadow Ball, Todd…taking pictures, Rebecca calling upon the spirits of fire to attack, Briney and Goldor and Silvia firing Hyper Beams, Buck hurling a massive fireball, Sam shooting his gun, George shooting her crossbow, Maxthulhu shooting his BIG gun, Looker spitting a Gunk Shot, Sasha's eyes glowing as she used Future Sight, the vampires firing powerful blasts of dark energy, Diane and Butler using Hyper Beams, Bruno ripping an entire block—buildings and all!—out of the ground and throwing it at Shivhel, Leo spitting a Bubblebeam, and Zippo belching out a Flamethrower, while Cherry closed her eyes and shook her head sadly, already knowing what the outcome would be.

The attacks shot through the air towards the top of the mountain, aimed right towards Shivhel, who smiled demurely and extended her corpse-like left hand. The variegated projectiles slammed into it…

And froze. Literally. Not only did they stop in midair, but each and every one of them was turned to ice. (Yes, even the flames!) As the heroes gawked in disbelief, Sasha's Future Sight materialized and slammed into Shivhel's back, only for that to freeze solid as well. "Ha! Was that all you have?" she taunted, unimpressed.

"Wh-what? How…how did she…" an incredulous Goldor stammered.

"But…but they were on fire! HOW DID SHE TURN FLAMES INTO ICE?" Pikachu screamed in disbelief.

"Because her body temperature is absolute zero, apparently," Leo said, scanning Shivhel with his sunglasses. "If not lower, as impossible as that may sound."

"…How can something be below absolute zero?" Pikachu demanded.

"What, you've never heard of absolute negative numbers?" Zippo asked. Pikachu's eye twitched, as did Sparky's.

"I…don't think this is going to end well…" Sasha said, her joints locking in place from the pain her danger-sense was coursing through her veins.

No, it's not, Darkrai agreed morosely.

"Well, I'm out of ideas," Sam said. "How about you, big buddy?" Maxthulhu shrugged. "Yeah, that's what I figured."

"G-go up there and punch her, Captain!" Buck said nervously. "Show her what for!"

"Um…sure thing, lad," Briney said uncertainly, finding himself uncharacteristically unnerved. Would his fist drop below freezing point and shatter on contact with the mad ice goddess, too?

"Cherry," Rebecca said abruptly. "You knew this would happen too, didn't you?"

"Yes," Cherry said sadly.

"…Is there anything we can do?" Pikachu asked.

Cherry closed her eyes. "No."

Shivhel laughed and snapped her fingers, causing the frozen attacks to shatter. "After the quick work you made of my thralls, I had expected better from you…how pathetic. Allow me, then, to show you how they felt as you defeated them…completely helpless and unable to change their fate as death callously snuffed out their worthless lives, as it callously snuffs out your lives, too!"

There's nothing callous about me! Darkrai retorted. I'm nothing if not compassionate. After all, what can the harvest hope for if not for the care of the reaper man?

Is that a reference to something? Asked the confused Sasha. I'm sorry, I don't get it.

Darkrai sighed. Sasha, you really need to learn how to read, if only to sample some of the best literature of this or any other world.

"All right, everyone hang on, I'll teleport us out of here-" Diane said quickly as Shivhel started gathering power to her.

"It won't do any good," Cherry said. "There's nowhere we can run to to escape this attack, not anywhere you can transport all of us too, anyway."

"…Then what are we supposed to do? Die?" Diane snapped.

"We won't die," Cherry said. "It'll be close, but we still have one hope left. One last ace to rely upon. One last chance to bet our lives on, in the darkest hour."

"What are you talking about?" asked an exasperated Rebecca.

"Oh!" Zippo gasped, suddenly getting it. "I know! She's talking about-"

He never got to finish his sentence, because Shivhel unleashed her attack, a wave of pure cold blasting outwards from her to engulf all of Dusty Ditch, and quite a lot of the surrounding area, too. There was a flurry of snow and ice and white light, and then…

Nothing. Everything was still. Everything was silent. Not a single creature moved or breathed in the ruined town. They were unable to, since every square inch of the valley had been frozen solid, burying the heroes beneath several thousand tons of solid ice, their bodies encased in a glacial mass so thick and cold it did not look as if any power on Earth could ever crack or melt or thaw it.

Shivhel threw back her head and laughed, the anguished looks on the faces of her new trophies but the first of many that would fill her heart of black ice with joy as she dragged every last warm-blooded creature in this land into a winter that would never end.

Several minutes earlier…

While the other heroes in Dusty Ditch battled the frost giants, Lady Bow found herself tackling a colossus of her own, and while it wasn't anywhere near the size of the frost giants, it was no less deadly than the denizens of Niflheim. This was made especially clear when the transformed Rotom's chest opened up, revealing a cannon that powered up with an ominous whine and fired a devastatingly powerful Flash Cannon that vaporized a quarter of the buildings in their enclosed arena, blasting apart several wind elementals in the process. (Don't worry, they got better.) "S-sacre bleu!" Bow cried, shaken by the destructive power of the weapon, and how very close it had come to hitting her. "'ow are you even doing zis? I zought Rotoms only 'ad five Formes!"

"Bzzzzzbzbzbzzbzbzbz!" Marianne buzzed as she turned towards Bow, eyes crackling with energy as evil-looking glyphs flashed across the visor covering them.

"Ah, good point, most Rotoms aren't powerful zunder mages," Bow admitted.

Marianne's eyes turned purple and fired twin Hexes at Bow. The blue and purple energy beams were too massive for Bow to evade, so the Drifloon quickly uttered a counterspell, hoping it would protect her. It did, but just barely, the runic shield of solidified air she conjured buckling and cracking under the power of the evil spell, causing Bow to flinch from magical feedback as the Hex's energy started seeping through her barrier. The wind elementals, seeing she was in danger, managed to reconstitute themselves and attacked Marianne, pelting her with razor-edged blades of solid air. Unfortunately, due to the Steel sub-type of the Rotom's current Forme, her plasma body had hardened into a nigh-impenetrable metal thickness, causing the blades to ricochet harmlessly off her skin. Trying another tack, the spirits banded together and spun around Marianne, swiftly generating a tornado to try and knock the robotic ghost off its feet. Unimpressed, Marianne extended her arms to the side and started spinning in the opposite direction, her midsection twirling at high speeds while her head and legs remained fixed in place. Her antenna crackled with electricity and fired lightning bolts at her whirling arms, charging them up and creating an electrical cyclone that burst apart the twister formed by the spirits, the counter-rotation rending them to pieces.

Bow clenched her teeth angrily, the sibilant wails of the elementals ringing through her spherical head. Aucun… pas encore ! Jamais encore ! Je ne lui permettrai jamais de nuire à aucun de mes chers amis toujours encore ! (No...not again! Never again! I will never allow her to harm any of my dear friends ever again! (What, you thought her internal monologue would be in English or something?)) Narrowing her eyes in determination, she dropped her barrier. The wicked Hex beams surged forward, ready to obliterate her…only to find themselves drawn into her mouth as she used Stockpile, gathering energy from all around her, including the energy of the evil spell! As Marianne buzzed in astonishment, Bow started absorbing more and more of the Hex, drinking it up and storing it within herself, causing her spherical body to get bigger and bigger as the mystical energy filled her up. In a matter of moments, she was at least a fourth as big as the incredulous Marianne, who cut off her attack in fear of making her even bigger. She needn't have bothered, because Bow had already been swiftly approaching critical mass anyway, and this saved her the trouble of having to stop the Hex on her own.

Now, as anyone familiar with the move Stockpile knows, once the technique has been used, a Pokémon can do two things with the power they have charged up: they can use Spit Up to release all that power at once towards their enemy…or they can Swallow it, using that power to make themselves stronger. Which do you think that Bow chose?

Je dois devenir… assez fort plus fort de sorte qu'aucun de mes amis ne souffre jamais encore ! (I have to become stronger...strong enough so that none of my friends will ever suffer again!) She grinned, the smile looking goofy on her overly-inflated purple form. Et des mercis à Marianne, maintenant je peux devenir celui fort ! Trop le mauvais j'ai dû m'inciter temporairement d'une manière affreuse obèse pour faire ainsi… l'espoir d'I vraiment personne regarde, particulièrement maman… (And thanks to Marianne, now I can become that strong! Too bad I had to make myself temporarily hideously obese to do so...I really hope nobody is looking, especially Mama...)

And with that last thought, Bow used Swallow.

Her body instantly shrank down on itself, but it was more of a condensation than a deflation, all the power she had stored within herself being compressed and fused to make it, and her, even greater. Her body glowed a brighter and brighter purple the smaller she became, and then it became a brilliant white…the white light of evolution. Her body stopped its contraction when it became about four feet in diameter, over four times her initial size. Her arms spread and flattened out to be rudder-like, with yellow points at the tips rather than heart shapes, a second pair of arms growing from her back. Her lower portion turned red and looked more torn, while her spherical body was divided into two hemispheres, one light purple and the other dark. Vertical lines ran up the sides, to make her look more like a hot-air balloon, while markings resembling clouds and curlicues of wind painted themselves across her circumference. Her eyes spread apart from the yellow X on her face and turned a vivid shade of red. The cloud on top of her head grew thicker and whiter, made up of lots of elegant curls and wisps. The red bows on the side of her head became more ornate and elegant with magical sigils embroidered on them in gold, while her bells became equally ornate and turned from silver to gold. She flexed all four of her appendages, a fan appearing in each of them and unfolding in a flourish that generated a powerful burst of wind and displayed the magnificent moving images painted on them; one a Dragonair, one a Torterra, one a Purugly, and one a Blaziken. She flapped them all downwards in a dramatic sweep that caused a tornado to briefly swirl to life around her, tearing apart the surrounding buildings and generating gale-force winds that buffeted Marianne but failed to move the giant. "Ahhhh…now zat's more like it," Bow said, looking over her new form in clear approval. "Tres magnifique, I am even more beautiful zan before! And ever so much stronger too, zanks to you, Marianne!"

"Bzzzzz…" Marianne snarled angrily, static crackling around her.

"Oh, don't look so put out, nobody ever said I couldn't change forms too!" Bow said with a smirk, fluttering a fan over her face while winking at the robot. "Of course, yours isn't anywhere near as refined or lovely as mine, so I suppose it's only to be expected for you to feel a little jealous…"

Infuriated that that smug pompous windbag dared to insinuate that she was envious of her for anything (certainly not for her looks, or popularity, or wealth, or respect, or a mother who actually loved her), Marianne opened her pincer claws, balls of electrical energy forming in them and launching from their tips as she fired Electro Balls at the Drifblim. The energy balls wildly zigzagged through the air, moving in a completely unpredictable pattern as they surged towards Bow. Unfortunately for Marianne, Bow had always been good at reading wind currents, and was even better now that she had evolved, and was able to use her climatological senses to tell which way the Balls were going to move next, allowing her to bring one of her fans up in a smack that deflected the volatile spheres whenever one approached her. One by one, the spurned orbs tumbled to the ground, exploding and tearing up more of the abandoned buildings. "Mmm, sorry, but zat's not going to cut it," Bow taunted.

Marianne retaliated with an even stronger offensive as weapons compartments flipped open all over her body and started charging up. Hexes blasted out of her eyes. More Electro Balls launched from jer claws. A Charge Beam fired from the strobe lights on her head. Astonish radiated from her electronic mouthparts. Confuse Rays, Thunderbolts, Discharges, Shadow Balls, and curses burst from the hatches that had opened all over her form. The beams and spells and electric blasts sizzled through the air towards Bow, who smirked and made no move to defend herself. The blasts collided with her and exploded, completely destroying…

The Substitute she had just created. "Desole, you missed me," Bow said from Marianne's side, casting a Hex. The robot lashed out with a claw, crushing her between its pincers.

"Mmm, nope, missed me again," Bow said from Marianne's other side just before firing a Shadow Ball. Marianne's head swiveled and obliterated her with an Astonish.

"My, my, you really need to work on your aim," Bow taunted from the ground before striking at the mecha with Ominous Wind. Marianne raised a foot and stomped down as hard as she could, crushing the Drifblim and generating an electric shockwave that blasted outwards, tearing the ground apart and shattering all the buildings in the arena.

"Zis really isn't your day, is it?" Bow asked sympathetically from right next to Marianne's head before hitting her with Will-O-Wisp. The robot's head turned 180 degrees and hit her with a point-blank double Hex beam.

"Are you even trying?" Bow said mockingly from the other side of the enclosure. Enraged, Marianne opened her chest and started charging up her Flash Cannon. Bow narrowed her eyes, her joking mood gone, and opened her fans up again with a crack that created another burst of wind. "Elementals of ze air, to me!" There was a tremendous gust of wind as the wind elementals reappeared and swirled around her, merging together to create a tornado that towered into the heavens. As Marianne continued powering up her Flash Cannon, feeding more and more energy into it to make it stronger than ever, Bow's eyes glowed, using her aeromantic abilities to bend the wind to her will, causing the tornado to collapse and reshape around her, taking on the form of a massive dragon made completely out of wind, with the Drifblim sorceress placed in its mouth. The dragon opened its mouth and started funneling the elementals making up its body into its jaws as Bow began spinning, drawing the spirits to her and adding their power to hers, the wind swirling around her taking on a violet hue in the process.

With an electric shriek that was equal parts agony and ecstasy, Marianne fired her Flash Cannon, the recoil shoving her several meters back as an energy beam at least twice as big as she was erupted from her chest. At the same moment, Bow used Ominous Wind, channeling all her power and the power of the wind elementals into a purple cyclone that spiraled out from her spinning body towards Marianne, making it look like the wind dragon she was inside was utilizing a breath attack. The white and purple beams clashed into each other with a titanic impact that shook the arena and shattered the surrounding ruins…again. Shockwaves blasted outwards from the point where the two beams collided, further damaging the landscape as the massive Steel-type laser struggled against the much smaller Ghost-type whirlwind. Finally, the Flash Cannon seemed to triumph, engulfing the Ominous Wind and surging forwards towards the wind dragon, annihilating it in a brilliant flash of light and a tremendous explosion. Marianne cackled insanely…

And gasped as she felt something pierce her chest and rip out the other side. Startled, the Flash Cannon ebbing, she looked down in astonishment to see that the Ominous Wind had not been subsumed like she had thought. Rather, instead of trying to surpass the Flash Cannon, it had gone through it, drilling through the much larger attack to deal a critical blow to the Rotom. As the wind dissipated, allowing Marianne to stare at the gaping hole going right through her midsection, her body started crackling and distorting, beginning to lose its stability. As Marianne desperately struggled to maintain her plasma-form's cohesion, a small whirlwind spun to life before her and coalesced to form Bow. "Whoo! Zat was somezing!" the somewhat winded Drifblim said, fanning herself. "I wasn't even sure I could pull zat off, but clearly I 'ad nozing to worry about…"

"Bzzzzzz?" Marianne buzzed incredulously.

"Hmm? You're wondering 'ow I was able to survive your attack unscazed?" Bow burst into laughter. "Ze same way you can evade attacks, by transforming into your respective element! Zanks to my evolution, my power over wind 'as grown to ze point where I can turn myself into wind, and drift on ze air currents! Now I 'ave even more in common wiz my elemental friends…and to zink, zat I 'ave you to zank for it, because ozzerwise I would not 'ave gained such power so soon! Funny 'ow zese zings work, isn't it?"

"Bzbzzzbzbzbzzzz!" Marianne snarled furiously, trying to muster the power to strike back, to crush the loathsome Drifblim, only to find that it was all she could do to keep her Meta Forme intact in its current state. If she tried to attack, she'd lose her control over it.

Bow was perfectly aware of this, which was why she smiled smugly and, with deliberate slowness, cast a Hex that flew towards Marianne at an agonizing pace. This was done specifically to mock her, because were she not in such dire straits, she would have easily been able to deflect or evade it. Instead, all she could do was grind her teeth and brace herself as the Hex struck her body and exploded, causing her to lose her grip on her gigantic form and disintegrate in a spectacular blast of electricity, the energy she'd drained from her summoned lightning elementals streaking away from her and returning back to the elemental plane of electricity from whence it came. All that was left when the light faded and the air no longer crackled with lightning was an exhausted and much-reduced overlarge Rotom, forced back to her original size and shape, and not looking at all happy about it. Bow smiled cruelly. "It's not so much fun picking on someone when zey can fight back, is it? If my mozzer 'ad been allowed to retaliate to your mozzer's bullying in such a manner, I 'ighly doubt she would ever 'ave become such an awful person…and maybe you would not be, eizzer. We might even 'ave been friends. But we are not friends, and we never shall be."

"Bzzzzzz!" Marianne growled as she tried to regain her strength.

"Did you know, I actually felt sorry for you once?" Bow continued, surprising the Rotom. "Yes, I 'ad been told you took after your mozzer in most zings, but I couldn't 'elp but zink it wasn't completely your fault. After all, growing up wiz zat womon, being raised by someone filled wiz such evil and 'atred and completely incapable of love, 'ow could anyone not come to be evil wiz such an upbringing and role model? I'm certain I would not 'ave become ze person I am now if I 'ad not been raised by such an upstanding person as my mozzer. Which is why, even after you ruined my birzday party and killed my best friend, a tiny part of me still pitied you, believing it was Bellum's fault as much as yours zat you were so wicked.

"But zen I met Lily, and saw 'ow she managed to turn out, 'ow she managed to find friends and freedom and a mon who loves 'er despite centuries of being tormented by you and your mozzer. Bozh of you grew up under ze same roof. Bozh of you presumably 'ad ze same upbringing. So why is it zat Lily was able to find ze strengzh to break free and choose anozzer pazh, while you 'ave been molded into a more fitting and obedient daughter for Bellum? Did she lavish you wiz better treatment and attention zan your sister? Show compassion for you zat she's never demonstrated for anyone else? Was your spirit weaker, allowing any traces of good wizin you to be crushed long ago while zey were still sustained somehow wizin your sister? Or were you simply rotten to ze core from day one, meaning any sympazzy I might 'ave once 'eld for you was wasted emotion better spent on Lily?" Bow shrugged. "I don't know, and I don't really care. I swore to make you pay for what you did, to make sure you never 'urt anyone else never again, to ensure zat you will never grow to become anozzer Bellum. Any misplaced feelings, or zoughts about what might 'ave been, are irrelevant now. All zat matters…is zat you die."

"BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!" Marianne screamed furiously, intending for Bow to die instead. How dare she talk to her like that! How dare she question her relationship with her mother! How dare she feel…sorry for her! She would electrocute that sanctimonious windbag to final death, and rend her ectoplasm to shreds! She would prove she was every bit as bad as Bellum, that she always had been, and what's more, that she could be worse if she wanted to be! Then everyone would see that she was Bellum's true daughter and heir, and that they'd wasted all their time worrying about that pathetic failure Lily when they should have been more concerned with what Marianne could do!

Enraged, the Rotom shifted into Heat Forme and unleashed a devastating Overheat. Bow snapped one of her fans open and swung it through the air, generating a gust of wind that dissipated the flames before they could reach her. Marianne shifted to Wash Forme, and fired her Hydro Pump. Bow cracked open another fan and generated a whirlwind around her, causing the water to flow into it, spiral up and around her, and spill out of the top, raining down around them, the extremely low temperatures causing it to freeze in seconds. It got even colder when Marianne assumed her Frost Forme and generated a Blizzard. Bow cracked open a third fan, and with her three limbs swung the blades before her repeatedly, creating gusts that deflected the ice pellets and sent them flying back into Marianne's face, irritating her and causing her to change into Mow Forme. Her lawnmower engine revving, Marianne opened her fanged maw and spewed a Leaf Storm at Bow. The Drifblim cracked open her fourth fan, and again her tentacles sliced rapidly through the air in front of her, but rather than create wind she hardened the air around the fan's edges to create incredibly sharp vacuum blades that sliced through the leaves, chopping them into green confetti that drifted about them towards the ground in short order. On the brink of madness, Marianne decided to try fighting fire with fire—or rather, air with air—by taking on Fan Forme, activating her fan blades and launching hundreds of Air Slashes at Bow. Spreading her fans out on all sides of her, Bow began spinning at high speeds, creating a cyclone that arced out from her body and started twisting towards Marianne, who howled and pelted it with Air Slash after Air Slash to try and drive it back. Rather than disrupting the cyclone, the Air Slashes were simply absorbed by it, making it stronger and causing blue energy balls to spiral around its interior as it smashed into Marianne, knocking her end over end and bashing her into her own Air Slashes again and again as the wind carried her across the battlefield, finally smashing her into the ruins littering the ground and causing them to collapse on top of her.

Bow sighed as there was an explosion and a pillar of lightning shot into the sky as Marianne blasted her way out of the debris. "I suppose it was too much to 'ope for zat zat would be ze end of it, oui?"

Marianne rose into the air, her rage so great that it looked like she was barely able to keep her plasma in one shape. Bow was understandably startled when Marianne decided to stop trying and exploded outwards, her orange energy form thinning and losing its shape as she expanded around the Drifblim. The surprised wind mage didn't have time to recover and do anything before Marianne's body, now a shapeless sheet of orange energy, surrounded and wrapped around her, creating a large sphere with her trapped in the middle. As Marianne's face appeared on the inner wall, leering insanely at Bow, the Rotom unleashed her pent-up energy on Bow, bombarding her with millions of volts of electricity. The Drifblim quickly wrapped her tendrils and fans around herself and created a shield of solid air to protect her, but Marianne didn't care, and kept striking the barrier with bolt after bolt of power, not caring how much of her energy she used up so long as she managed to kill her rival. This turned out to be her downfall, however, when she was so blinded by hatred and her zeal to destroy Bow that it didn't register in her mind that the Drifblim glowing a bright white might be something to be worried about…

Not until Bow Exploded, that is, shattering the energy sphere and ripping Marianne apart in a tremendous blast accompanied by a scream much like white noise on a radio whose volume had been turned to the maximum. As the sound of static hissed and eventually faded into silence, Bow looked out dispassionately around her as shreds of orange energy twinkled and tumbled through the air around her, each sparking and crackling and vanishing in bright flashes of light and miniature thunderclaps. All but one shred, slightly larger than the others, that struggled to maintain cohesion, trying its hardest to assume a vaguely lightning rod-shaped form but always collapsing back into a formless glob, a pair of eyes and a desperate, terrified grimace flickering across its surface.

Bow's features softened as she gazed upon Marianne's feeble attempts to keep from dissolving. She sighed. "It's 'ard to 'ate somezing as small and pitiful as zis…" she said wearily. She closed her eyes and shook her head sadly. "Even knowing what sort of a monster you are usually." She drew back a fan, gathering the power she would need to end Marianne's existence once and for all. "Je suis desole… I wish zere could 'ave been anozzer way. I will make it quick. You won't feel a zing."

Marianne's eyes widened in horror, realizing she was about to die, and there was nothing she could do about it. She squealed and sparked in alarm as Bow brought her fan down…

And stopped when she heard the wind spirits cry out, and felt a deep sensation of unease. "Que? What is-"

She flinched as the doors to Shivhel's castle opened and cold blasted through the valley. "Gaaaaah! Ugh…zis presence…could it really be-" She gasped when she noticed the last shred of Marianne flying away, borne on the icy wind generated by Shivhel's arrival. "Oh no you don't! Get back 'ere!" she snapped, bending the wind to her will and bringing the tattered fragment of the Rotom back towards her. "You aren't getting away zat easily-"

And Marianne didn't, but unfortunately, Bow didn't get the chance to finish her, either, because just before Bow could try a second time to end Marianne's existence, Shivhel released her power, freezing everything in Dusty Ditch, including the two sorceresses. Buried beneath thousands of tons of ice, they were suspended in place, the rivalry between them, born of the enmity between their mothers, unresolved…possibly forever.

Several minutes earlier…

While everyone else had been fighting the frost giants, Dawn and Palmer hadn't noticed, because they were too busy fighting Paul, who was more powerful and dangerous than ever thanks to entering Hyper Mode. Cackling, the black-blazing Weavile charged at Dawn at speeds so fast that even her trained eye had trouble keeping track of, putting her on the defensive as he lashed out at her with a hundred claw thrusts in the space of a second, forcing her to block and deflect his blows with her own claws, the clash of his blades against hers sending painful vibrations down her arms. Seeing Dawn was unable to retaliate, Palmer stepped in to help her out, forming a hammer out of ice and bringing it down on the back of Paul's head. At the last second, the corrupted ninja flipped sideways, dodging the hammer and allowing it to descend unhindered towards Dawn. Dawn immediately backflipped out of the way while Palmer quickly used his momentum to change the direction of his swing and connect the flaming hammer's head with Paul's chest. The blow was powerful enough to shatter Paul's ribs, or it would have been if his ice armor weren't protecting him, and as a result all the impact did was crack the ice plate covering his torso, and Paul was able to mend that within seconds. Not only that, rather than let himself be flung away by the mighty blow, Paul dug his claws into the hammer's head just before it hit him, and after he'd absorbed the blow, somersaulted onto the head and thrust a claw at Palmer's eye.

Dawn's sword interposed itself between them, sliding between two of his claws and allowing her to redirect his strike with a jerk of her arm, wrenching him off-balance and causing him to graze the Dragonite's cheek rather than put out his eye. Unbothered, Palmer opened his mouth and fired a point-blank flaming Dragon Pulse, the energy ball exploding and sending Paul flying while Palmer didn't even flinch as the recoil washed over him. Before Paul had even hit the ground, Palmer was in motion, a light blue orb with white streaks forming around him as he dashed forwards with Dragon Rush, Dawn charging along beside him with her claws at her side. Palmer slammed into Paul…

Who disintegrated in a puff of smoke, the real Paul appearing with a laugh behind Dawn and thrusting a claw at her back…only for the Buneary to disappear in a puff of smoke as well. Nonplussed, Paul immediately spun around with a whirling kick, but Dawn was not behind him. Instead, she emerged from his shadow, thrusting her sword at his back. Much to her amazement, Paul detected her in time, allowing him to backflip over her and land on her back, pinning her to the ground. He prepared to drive a claw into the back of her skull, but suddenly Palmer was right there, a Fire Punch aimed at his face. Paul bent over backwards as the Punch shot towards him, the flames from the Dragonite's fist passing so close to his face that it actually melted some of his helmet. The flames got a lot closer when Dawn suddenly bucked up from underneath him, pushing his face right into the fire. As Paul screamed in pain, a satisfied smile passed over Dawn's face at the realization that now he knew what it was like to get some of his face burned off.

As Paul staggered back, Palmer brought his other fist, this one clutching a handful of burning ice kunai, up to bear. Paul immediately recovered and tilted his head to the side to dodge the blow, then shoved a Shadow Ball into the Dragonite's armpit, hoping it would blow his arm off. It didn't, but it did cause Palmer to grunt in pain from the blast, giving Paul the opportunity to duck under his arm and thrust a claw at his chest.

Dawn was waiting there to intercept him, blocking his attack with her sword, and suddenly it was Paul's turn to defend herself as she ferociously attacked him with claws and blade and conjured kunai, relentlessly bombarding him in hopes that she could keep him off-balance long enough so he wouldn't counterattack. Frustrated, Paul backflipped out of the way, only to find Palmer's arms suddenly pin him to the Dragonite's chest and begin squeezing him like a vice as he used Wrap. "What's wrong, Paul?" Palmer sneered as the Weavile grunted and struggled, ignoring the pain caused by the blades on his armor penetrating his skin. "You never had a problem with my hugs before."

"You weren't trying to kill me, then…but then again, neither was I!" Paul snarled as he unleashed a blast of Shadow Aura, causing Palmer to flinch and squeeze his eyes shut in pain as the black flames flew right into his face. Despite the hurt, however, he continued squeezing Paul, trusting Dawn to finish him while he was held in place.

And that was certainly what the Buneary intended to do as she dashed towards them, drawing her claws back to pierce Paul's chest. Unfortunately, the Weavile had other ideas, and he pulled his legs up and lashed out with his feet at Dawn's face. She ducked beneath the kick and brought her sword up to skewer him from below, but Paul's legs snapped back down and caught the blade of the sword between his feet, allowing him to yank it out of Dawn's grip with a twist of his ankles and drive it into Palmer's side. The Dragonite grunted and loosened his grip. Not by a lot, but just enough for Paul to break free, kicking the hilt of the sword as he leaped away to drive it deeper into the Dragonite's skin. Master! Dawn gasped in alarm.

Palmer effortless wrenched the sword out of his side and fired a Hyper Beam at Paul. The Weavile dodged in midair and threw a Dark Pulse back. Dawn retaliated with a flaming Ice Beam, the two attacks colliding with an explosion that shook the battlefield. The blast sent the Weavile flying head over heels, landing on his feet in the snow…and sinking into it, vanishing into his own shadow. Dawn and Palmer quickly followed suit, not wanting to be struck unawares by Paul's subterfuge. For a few minutes, the shallow dip in the land was completely empty…but the sounds of a fierce battle could still be heard, but they seemed distant, as if happening far away. They occasionally grew louder, appearing to emanate from a shadow of a rock or hill or tree, only to decrease in volume again.

After a while, a shadow of a tree rippled and Paul soared out, his armor cracked and smoke trailing from him. He struck the dead tree as he passed with Night Slash, the trunk collapsing on top of the shadow and covering it up. That did not deter Dawn or Palmer, however, as the Buneary jumped out of the shadow of a nearby boulder and tackled Paul in midair, knocking him towards the ground, where Palmer abruptly appeared from the shadow they were making, spreading his wings and rising upwards to meet the two clashing ninja. Paul knocked Dawn away with a blast of Shadow Aura and dove towards Palmer with a Shadow End, black flames blazing around him. Palmer gathered power of his own around himself, using Giga Impact. The two ram attacks collided into each other, the shockwaves from the impact rippling across the battlefield and shattering rocks and wood and blasting snow away, black and purple and orange energy and flames streaking out from them as they pushed against each other with all their might. Dawn landed on her feet, skidded a few feet, then turned around and dashed right back towards the other two ninja, calling upon all her rage, all her hatred, all her Frustration with Paul and causing a powerful blazing red aura to ignite around her. With a wordless (and soundless, since she was mute) cry of fury, Dawn launched herself into the air and rocketed towards Paul, intending to help Palmer. She smashed into Paul, joining her energy to the struggle, and adding her strength to the elder Dragonite's as they pressed and pressed and…

It was not enough. With a derisive laugh, Paul summoned more of his power, causing his Shadow Aura to explode outwards in a ridiculous show of force that overwhelmed Palmer and Dawn, causing them to scream in agony as the black flames engulfed them and slammed them into the ground hard enough to crater it. Paul landed a few meters away, grunting as most of his armor cracked and fell off, damaged by the recoil from his own attack. "Phew…that actually hurt a little. Which just goes to show how strong I am, for my own attack to be powerful enough to hurt me! Ahahahaha!"

"Unh…so…this is…the power of Shadow?" Palmer grunted as he tried to pull himself out of the snow.

"No," Paul said as he phased out of view and reappeared inches away from Palmer, drawing back a claw. "This is my power. The power you were all foolish to deny."

Palmer grinned. "The only fool here is you…for wasting your time talking to me rather than killing me!"

"Huh?" Paul said in confusion just before Palmer flashed and exploded, flinging him back and breaking more of his armor. "Gaaaahhh!"

He really should have seen that coming, Dawn said as the real Palmer helped her out of the crater. Especially since he already knows how good all of us are at creating replicas.

"Perhaps all that Shadow is eating away at his brain," Palmer suggested. "Trading sanity for power is common among megalomaniacs."

Indeed. Dawn frowned. And speaking of power…I don't understand why my attack did not do more against him. The last time we fought, when I hit him with Frustration it was so powerful that it would have killed him outright were he not immortal. But this time, he deflected me with ease! Is he truly this much stronger?

"That, and you've gotten weaker," Paul grunted as he picked himself back up, Shadow Aura swirling as his armor regenerated.

Dawn stiffened with rage. What was that?

"Frustration is fueled by a Pokémon's hatred for their opponent. While I don't doubt that your hate for me is just as strong as it ever was, it's been tainted by other emotions. You've allowed yourself to grow soft, Dawn," Paul sneered.

WHAT? Dawn demanded furiously.

"What are you talking about, Paul?" Palmer asked angrily.

"Isn't it obvious? Her feelings of friendship are holding her back. Before, every fiber of her being was committed to destroying me…but now she has other ties. She's part of a team. She has people who count on her, who care for her, and whom she cares for in return. As a result, her heart is no longer completely given over to hatred…and as a result, her rage is no longer as effective as it once was," Paul taunted. "Everyone's always talking about the power of friendship and bonds…but the truth is, all they do is get in the way. I learned that a long time ago…which is why I severed all ties to my past, so there was nothing that could stop me from reaching my full potential!"

That…that can't be true…can it? Asked a shocked Dawn, alarmed by the implications. Was Paul right? Had her becoming a part of Team Aurabolt weakened her? Ninjas weren't supposed to form especially strong attachments to other people because it got in the way of doing their job. By bonding too strongly with her friends, had she crippled herself somehow, made it harder if not impossible to achieve her goal?

"Don't listen to him, Dawn," Palmer said. "While your friendship may have weakened the effectiveness of your Frustration, that doesn't mean it's made you any less capable a ninja. After all…there are other sources of power than hatred for a Pokémon like you."

Dawn gave him a puzzled look. What do you mean?

"You have not figured it out yet? Perhaps you should ask your other master, the samurai, for more information," Palmer said with a smile that Dawn completely failed to comprehend. What was he talking about?

"Other master? Wait, you've allowed yourself to become subservient to another Pokémon? And a samurai, at that?" Paul asked incredulously. "I was right…those friends of yours really have weakened you!"

"You're one to talk! When Oblivion's Shadow calls, do you dare hesitate to answer his summons?" Palmer retaliated.

"I only serve him for one reason…to become stronger! Once I regain my immortality and have amassed a large enough stockpile of Shadow, I will have no more need for the Nihilators!" Paul said.

Palmer smirked. "Stronger? All you're doing is making yourself weak, Paul. You deride Dawn for finding friendship, a master, a lover…but in gaining companions, she has become more like the person she was before your betrayal, and less like the monster you've become. She has found a way to become stronger…and it's true strength, rather than the false power you think you've found in isolation and drugs!"

M-Master, Dawn stammered, embarrassed and confused. What was he talking about?

Paul bristled. "False? FALSE? There's nothing fake about my power, old worm! Allow me to show you how real it is…and for the record, you're sleeping with the samurai? Seriously, Dawn? I thought you had higher standards than that!"

I do, Dawn replied. Anything's a step up from Chobin. Or you. Palmer burst into laughter at that, and the infuriated expression on Paul's face. Snarling, Paul howled in wordless rage and sent Shadow Waves rippling outwards, tearing up the ground as they raced towards Dawn and Palmer, and…

Did nothing to them, as the Buneary and Dragonite vanished in a puff of smoke. The real ninjas appeared behind Paul and thrust their attacks at him, only for the Weavile to evaporate in a burst of Shadow aura as the real Paul, who had leaped high above them, roared in fury, Shadow Aura blasting out from him in great waves that rained down on the two ninjas as purple-black Shadow Mist, the evil fog dulling their senses and lowering their evasiveness. As they struggled to clear their heads from the debilitating effect of the Mist, Paul charged himself up with Shadow aura and slammed into the ground right between them, the Shadow Waves unleashed by the impact flinging them back. Cackling madly, the blades and claws on his gauntlets grew longer as he concentrated his power into them, driving them into the ground and channeling his Shadow aura into the earth. The ground shook, and Dawn and Palmer stumbled as huge purple spikes of ice started erupting all over the place. Startled, they quickly ran or flew as fast as they could, using their ninja senses to try and anticipate where each spike would appear next so they could avoid it…but thanks to the Shadow Mist, this was more difficult than it should have been, and more than a few times they tripped or faltered and nearly got skewered by a spike.

It didn't help matters at all that Paul had leaped back into the air and was raining Shadow Balls, Dark Pulses, and ice shuriken at them, leading his shots so that whenever they dodged an ice spike they'd blunder right into one of his volleys. They did their best to evade those attacks, too, but again thanks to the Shadow Mist this was easier said than done, and more than once they got singed, scratched, or even hit dead-on by the projectiles, which very nearly led to them getting skewered by the spikes on more than one occasion. In an attempt to confuse Paul, they used their cloning trick to split into several dozen Bunearies and Dragonites dashing all over the place, giving him extra targets to choose from while they tried to formulate a counterattack.

Not having any of this, the Weavile sent Shadow Waves blasting out in every direction to buy him some time and then landed on the ground, punched it to generate more ice spikes, an especially massive one bursting out of the earth right beneath his feet. As it rose with him on its peak, he generated clones of himself to perch on top of several of the smaller ice spikes to harass Dawn and Palmer's duplicates and try to weed out the real ones. While they did that, he stood on his hands, grabbed the ice mountain he was standing on between his hands, and ripped the entire thing out of the ground and threw it into the air. As it slowly tumbled above him, ice fragments flying off its massive bulk, Paul fired a Dark Pulse at it, shattering it into a million razor-sharp pieces that rained down all over the place, piercing and destroying most of the clones and forcing Dawn and Palmer to work even harder to evade the increasingly lethal environment around them. Just to be an asshole, Paul generated another dose of Shadow Mist just to guarantee this would be almost impossible, and grinned sinisterly as he saw them stumble and grunt in pain, many of the frozen splinters piercing their flesh.

As Dawn staggered from one of the ice shards imbedding itself in her hip, an ice spike exploded from the ground just behind her half a millisecond after she'd cleared it, the sudden eruption sending her tumbling head over head right into the spot where the next spike was going to emerge. Seeing this, a horrified Palmer swooped down and grabbed Dawn, flying her out of the way…but not before the spike appeared, ripping straight through his wing as he glided over it. He cried in pain and dropped from the air, clutching Dawn to his chest and curling around her as he hit the ground, plowing through the snow and smashing through several spikes as he rolled uncontrollably across the battlefield. He smashed through a boulder and shattered a tree before he managed to come to a stop, flipping upright with his front towards Paul just in time for him to unleash the Draco Meteor he'd been charging up, spitting an orange ball of flaming energy directly at Paul. Surprised, the Weavile quickly leaped out of the way as it struck the ground he'd been standing on and exploded, sending dozens of smaller energy balls rocketing across the landscape in every direction and destroying the remaining ice spikes, one of the stray projectiles slamming into Paul's back and exploding with a blast that shattered the armor on his back and badly burned his back, causing the fallen ninja to cry in pain as he was flung through the air and smashed headfirst into a boulder, shattering it before skidding through the snow beyond on his face.

Palmer clutched Dawn in one hand and reared back, flinging her at Paul with all his might before charging after her on foot, no longer able to glide due to his torn wing. Not caring what Paul had said before, Dawn called upon her Frustration to cloak herself in crimson flames. Paul staggered to her feet, saw her coming, snarled and quickly dashed out of the way…only for Palmer to slide right in front of him and strike him with a Fire Punch, flinging him right back the way he'd come…and directly into the path of Dawn's Frustration. The resulting explosion rocked the battlefield, shattered the Weavile's armor, and sent a smoking, howling Paul flying away…right into Palmer, who had conjured an ice sword and drove it right through the Weavile as he came at him, impaling him and ripping out the other side. "That was for my son!" the Dragonite snarled as Paul gasped.

"Oh…yeah? Well this one's for…ME!" Paul shouted as he released a blast of Shadow aura, shattering the sword going through him and knocking the startled Palmer back, before surging towards the Dragonite with Shadow End. Palmer tried to dodge using his ninja cloning trick…but thanks to the effect of the still-active Shadow Mist, the substitute didn't form as quickly as it should have, and so there was nothing to stop Paul from hitting him with an attack so powerful it would have disintegrated his torso.

Nothing except Dawn, that was, who had Bounced into the air the second she'd finished recovering from the power drain caused by Frustration, and crashed into him before he could hit Palmer, driving him into the ground hard enough to crater it…as well as driving her claws into his back hard enough to imbed her paws up to the knuckle in his spine. She grinned, satisfaction flaring up at the knowledge that the fiend was dead at last…

Until the Weavile exploded in a burst of Shadow Aura that flung her back. No! she shrieked, realizing she'd been deceived.

"Yes," Paul sneered as he drove a claw into her back, piercing her body. "You didn't think it'd be that easy, did you?"

No…I…didn't! Dawn clicked as she reached back, grabbed the startled Paul by the shoulders, and pulled him closer to her, face screwing up in pain as the tips of his claws ripped through her chest.

"Wh-what? What are you-" Paul cried in disbelief, struggling to pull his arm out or break free, but Dawn's grip on him remained firm, not faltering in the slightest even as he used blasts of Shadow aura to try and break free, severely burning her in the process.

Master, strike him now with the secret technique! Dawn clicked against Paul's arms, trying not to let the slick blood covering her claws keep her from enunciating clearly. I'll hold him in place so he can't escape!

Paul's eyes widened in horror. "What? The clan's secret attack? NO!"

"But Dawn, what about-" Palmer started.

Don't worry about me! I have survived everything life has thrown at me so far, and life has thrown a lot at me! If anyone can survive that attack, it's me…Paul, on the other hand… Dawn said.

Palmer stared at her in astonishment. "…I understand. You are a true ninja, Dawn. I am honored to have fought beside you." Palmer closed his eyes, concentrating. "I need but a second to ready the attack. Hold him steady for just a little longer!"

You couldn't tear me from him if you tried, Dawn said, and considering how hard Paul was trying (and failing!) it was clear she meant what she said. Desperately, Paul tried to phase away, but since he was touching Dawn she got dragged with him. He tried sinking into shadow, only for Dawn to fire an Ice Beam at their feet, creating a thick mass of ice that encased their legs and kept him from fleeing. He tried blasting her off of him with his Shadow Aura and countless other powerful attacks, not caring how badly the recoil hurt him, but through it all Dawn refused to let go of him, not allowing him the slightest opportunity that he could use to escape.

"Th-this won't work!" Paul said frantically as energy started coalescing around Palmer. "I'm not the real Paul, I'm just another fake!"

If you were a fake, you'd never tell me that, Dawn said serenely. You'd have let me think you were the real one and allow me to sacrifice myself for nothing. I had been fairly certain that you were the true Paul already, but this just cements my beliefs. Now your destruction is assured. After all these years, my vengeance will finally be fulfilled.

"NO!" Paul yelled frantically.

Yes, Dawn replied, closing her eyes. Master…I'm ready.

"As am I," Palmer said, making a complex series of hand motions and humming under his breath. His form blurred and split into seven glowing Dragonites, each of which flipped through the air and landed in a circle around Dawn and Paul. Each of those Dragonites made another series of hand motions, causing their radiance to increase. "Dragon's Claw special technique…" they intoned, eyes narrowing. "SEVENTH…SLAAAAAAAAAASH!"

They lunged forward, moving so quickly that a single blink of the eye was all it took to miss them as they converged on Dawn and Paul and went past, landing opposite from where they had started with their backs to the two ninjas. Six of the Dragonites vanished, and the remaining Palmer grunted and fell to one knee, his muscles sore from the exertion required by the secret move as well as all the other wounds he'd taken in the battle. He wasn't as young as he'd used to be… "It is done," he whispered, catching his breath.

Paul blinked in confusion. "Huh? What's done? I think you missed-"

He was cut off when the 666 cuts Palmer and his duplicates had made in his flesh exploded, spraying blood everywhere in a veritable fountain of crimson fluid. Copious amounts of blood gushed from Dawn as well, but Palmer had done his best to spare her from the brunt of the attack, so only had 111 cuts. Of course, considering all the other damage she'd taken in the fight so far, it was a rather small mercy, leaving her in only marginally better shape than Paul. They both collapsed to the ground, the snow around them turning a bright red from the blood spilling seemingly without end from their bodies. Grimacing when he saw how much blood was staining the snow, Palmer limped over, hoping Dawn was still alive. After everything else she had suffered in the years since last he had seen her, it would be a cruel twist of fate for her to die here beside her greatest enemy...and leave Palmer alone again, the last member of the Dragon's Claw. The world needed a ninja of Dawn's caliber…a ninja whose courage and determination burned stronger than any other ninja Palmer had ever met, including himself. If we survive this, I'm going to teach her everything I know, including the Seventh Slash, he thought firmly. And elevate her to the rank of Master. If anyone's earned it, she has.

"Dawn?" he whispered as he knelt next to the mangled Buneary. "Can you hear me?"

Ma…ster? She clicked, her claws trembling and slick with blood.

"Yes," the Dragonite said, relief washing through him. "I'm here."

Paul. Is…he…

Bless her heart, even with the life pouring out of her all she could think about was completing the mission! He was about to assure her that the traitor was, indeed, dead, when suddenly he heard a ragged cough and some spluttering wheezes as Paul's maimed body twitched, spitting up blood. Palmer shook with fury, his vision briefly going red as he realized that, in spite of everything, the Weavile was still alive. "…No. He still lives," he said bitterly. "But I promise you, he won't be for much longer."

Fin…ish…it… she clicked.

"I will," Palmer promised. "But first…" He closed his eyes, made a series of hand motions, and placed his hands over Dawn's chest. His claws glowed, and warm light slowly washed out from them to envelop the Buneary.

She shuddered and gasped as energy permeated her form, saturating into her cells and triggering her healing process, causing her many wounds to begin to seal themselves. It wasn't a perfect healing spell, but it was enough to stop her from bleeding, mend most of her internal injuries, and restore enough of her strength to allow her to sit up, although her head spun and she nearly blacked out from moving too quickly. How…how did you… she clicked in amazement as she stared at her body, which now had at least two hundred new scars but was otherwise in working order.

Palmer smirked. "Ninjutsu is good for more than just killing or deception, you know." He grunted in pain and nearly keeled over.

Master! Dawn said in alarm, trying to get up to help him and coming close to passing out herself. Oh…ohhhh…

"Take it easy…you're mostly healed, but you're nowhere near a hundred percent," Palmer said. "Neither am I, come to think of it. I used up a bit more energy than I expected…you were pretty far gone. I'm glad I was able to bring you back."

I would have been fine! She said angrily. You didn't need to waste your time and energy on me!

"But I did," Palmer corrected her. "Even if you would have been fine, I had to be sure. Your friends would never have forgiven me if I brought you back in such a bad shape. And besides…I had to make absolutely certain you didn't die. You're all I have left, Dawn. My son, the clan, the other ninjas…we're all that's left of the Claw. Now that I know what befell the others, I can't stand to lose you, too. I don't want to be alone."

Master… Dawn said softly.

Paul moaned in pain, interrupting the moment. "Ah, right, I'd almost forgotten," Palmer said, staggering to his feet. "We have some important business to finish with Mr. Yami, don't we, Dawn?"

Indeed, Dawn said, managing to draw her sword. It's time to end this.

They walked towards Paul, preparing to kill him once and for all…

When Shivhel unleashed her attack, freezing all of Dusty Ditch, and them as well. Paul's death sentence was postponed, yet again…

Several minutes earlier…

"BEHOLD MY POWER, FOOLS! YOU THOUGHT I WAS STRONG BEFORE…NOW WITNESS THE MIGHT OF A GOD OF EVIL!" Articuno screamed as her Shadow Aura burst outward and infested the clouds above them, causing them to gain an ominous purplish hue and crackle with black light. The snow stopped, and in its place purple rain began to fall on the mountaintop, causing the Lucarios and Pupitars to gasp in pain as it struck them, their Auras flaring up in protest to the negative weather.

"Gah! What is this stuff? I can feel it even through my armor!" Ritchie cried.

"Is…this what poison feels like? Ugh…no wonder everyone hates it so much…and gets exasperated that I keep forgetting I'm immune to it!" Ash grunted.

"You too? I thought I was the only one!" said the surprised Ritchie. Ash sweatdropped.

"Wait, if you're immune to poison, then why is it hurting you?" asked a confused Cruise.

"Because it's not poison, it's like…liquefied Shadow Aura or something," Ash said.

"That sounds really nasty," said a disgusted Tiny.

"It feels bad, too…ooohhh…I'm starting to feel kinda sick…" Tiny groaned.

"Yeah? Well I'm sick of you runts! DIE!" Articuno screamed, the Shadow Aura around her roiling as she swooped towards them with Shadow Rush. They scrambled to get out of her way, the black flames from her wingtips flaring out to strike them as she passed by, causing them to cry out in pain. It would have hurt more, though, if they had been in front of her, going by the deep, burning gouges her claws had left in the mountaintop.

"She's coming back for another pass!" Tiny cried in alarm as Articuno doubled back and prepared to charge them again.

"Then let's show her what we think of her so-called 'power!'" Ash snarled, hurling an Aura Sphere at the oncoming ice bird. Ritchie threw one of his own, Tiny used Hidden Power, and Cruise fired a Dark Pulse. They spread their attacks out, in the hopes that by dodging one projectile Articuno would fly right into another one.

They were understandably alarmed when Articuno cackled and kept flying straight towards them, her Shadow Aura blazing up around her to completely consume their attacks. "Is that all you've got? Try harder, losers!" she shrieked as she hurtled at them with Shadow Rush. Again, they barely managed to scramble out of the way, their moves sluggish and slower than usual due to the debilitating effects of Shadow Sky, allowing the edge of Articuno's Shadow Aura to clip them again as she went by. Ritchie, however, was able to bear it more easily thanks to his armor, and managed to get back to his feet and dash after Articuno while the others were still on the ground, leaping into the air and grabbing her tail just before she could fly off the edge, digging his heels into the rock and creating deep furrows as he used all his strength to anchor himself in place. Articuno squawked in alarm as she got yanked backwards, flapping her wings frantically to keep from falling out of the sky. "Hey, what the…what do you think you're doing back there? Hands off my tail, it's one of my best features!"

"Says you!" Ritchie grunted, pulling on Articuno with all his might and flinging her over his shoulder, causing her to slam into the ground behind him.

She grunted and staggered to her feet, only to scream in agony as a ferociously snarling Ash drove his staff into her chest, the crystal on its end glowing brilliantly as it sent positively-charged Aura surging through her corrupted veins. "Graaaaaahhhhh!"

"You like that, huh? Then here's some more!" Ash growled as he channeled more of his Aura into her. Tiny and Cruise charged themselves up with Aura and slammed into Articuno from behind, pushing her further onto Ash's staff and adding their own power to the Lucario's. Ritchie ran over, pulled back a fist, powered it up with Aura, and punched Articuno so hard he imbedded his arm inside of her up to the elbow, pouring his power into the evil goddess as well.

"Take it! Take it all!" Ritchie shouted as he pumped Aura into her. "Maybe this'll remind you of who you used to be!"

"I already remember who I used to be, thank you very much…and I was just as much of a bitch then!" Articuno cried as she released a blast of Shadow Aura that knocked all of them back and sent Ash's staff flying out of her body, flipping end over end before burying itself point-down in the ground some distance away. As they struggled to get their bearings, Articuno lunged forwards at Ash, trying to gore him on her beak, catch him on her talons, or decapitate him with her wings. Ash had to scrambled back frantically to avoid each attack until he managed to reach his staff, which he quickly wrenched out of the ground and held in front of him just as Articuno's head shot forward again, causing her beak to slam into it and recoil. "Gah!"

Ash swung his staff at Articuno's head, clocking her on the side and causing her to stagger back. "What the Abyss were you doing?" he shouted at Ritchie as the other Lucario ran over. "Were you trying to redeem her again? We've been over this! There's no changing her! She has to die!"

"I…I know, but-" Ritchie started.

"But nothing! She can't be allowed to continue living, and I'm not just saying that because I really want her dead or because I'm apparently fated to kill her," Ash said. "She's too powerful, dangerous, and unstable to be allowed to continue existing!"

"Oh, and you aren't?" Articuno sneered. Ash hesitated at this, and Articuno spat an Ice Shard at him that he only barely managed to deflect with his staff; the chunk of black ice had been twice the size of his torso!

"We're going to fix whatever's wrong with Daddy before it's too late for him!" Tiny cried, ramming into Articuno from behind and using Thrash to dig his spikes deeper into her body, drawing blood.

Articuno grimaced and released a blast of Shadow Aura that knocked Tiny back. "And what if you can't? What if he becomes a horrible monster like me? Are you gonna put him down, too?" she taunted.

"If that's what it takes…then yes. They will," Ash said solemnly.

"Whoa! Seriously?" cried the startled Ritchie.

"D-Daddy…" Tiny whispered.

"Wait, really? Wow, and you call me crazy?" Articuno said incredulously.

"We do, because you are!" Cruise said, throwing a Rock Slide at the bird.

"At least I'm not borderline suicidal!" Articuno retorted, knocking the rocks away with a sweep of her wing and exhaling a blast of Frost Breath at the Pupitar.

Ritchie jumped in her path and smashed through the freezing blast with an Aura Sphere that blasted through the attack and exploded against Articuno's chest, causing her to flinch. Ritchie rammed into her with Extremespeed, his momentum carrying both of them towards the edge of the mountain as he punched and clawed and kicked at her repeatedly. Ash dashed after him with Extremespeed as well, stabbing the pointed end of his staff into Articuno's chest again and again. "You're the suicidal one, thinking it was a good idea to pick a fight with the guy who killed you once already!" Ash snarled.

Shrieking in pain and frustration, Articuno released a blast of Shadow Aura that knocked the two Lucarios off and sent her flying off the side of the mountain. She spread her wings, catching the wind and allowing her to rise back up into the air, an extremely pissed look on her face. "Okay, that is it! I have had it with you punks! No more Ms. Nice Incredibly Beautiful and Powerful Legendary Evil Ice Goddess! You thought I was bad before, then get a load of this! SHADOW…CHIIIIIIILLLL!"

"Why did you shout that attack name?" Tiny asked in confusion as Articuno started gathering power, Shadow Aura swirling around her.

Articuno paused. "…Because, that's why! DIE!" She opened her beak and fired her ultimate Shadow technique, a tremendous beam of purple spiky energy that struck the mountaintop and exploded outwards, engulfing the startled heroes and covering the peak in jagged purple-black ice. "Ha! There! You're frozen alive, assholes! Who's laughing-" Abruptly, a large portion of the ice exploded in a blast of blue fire. "What?"

"Nice try, but did you really think something like that would keep us down?" Ritchie boasted, flexing his muscles, Aura rippling around him.

"Actually, it was pretty close. We might not have made it if we hadn't combined our powers to create an Aura shield just in the nick of time," Cruise said.

Ritchie glared at him. "She didn't need to know that."

"Sorry," the Pupitar said.

"Not bad," Articuno admitted. "But before you pat yourself on the back, there's one thing you should probably remember."

"And what's that?" Ash asked, narrowing his eyes.

"You SUCK!" Articuno shouted, covering herself in Shadow Aura and diving towards them. The heroes tensed, preparing their attacks…and were surprised when Articuno instead crashed into the mountainside, the rock turned brittle by the deep-freeze she'd caused with her Shadow Chill and allowing her to tear through it with ease, wings folded to her sides as she smashed through it and out the other side. Cracks and fissures started radiating out from the gaping hole she'd left, and the thick ice mass she'd created started shifting and groaning ominously.

The heroes exchanged alarmed looks. "Aw, crap-" Ash said just before the mountaintop shattered, sending them plummeting to their deaths.

Articuno cackled as she swooped by, reveling in the sight of them tumbling uncontrollably towards the unforgiving ground along with several hundred tons of jagged rock and ice. "See you at the bottom, losers!"

"No!" Ash snarled as the ice bird banked and started to glide away, Aura blazing up around him. "You aren't getting away!" He dug his staff into the side of one of the falling boulders and used it as leverage to fling himself through the air towards Articuno. He hopped from rock to rock as he chased after his foe, leaving the others behind.

"Ash, hang on, wait for us!" Ritchie cried in alarm, trying to mimic the other Lucario.

"Daddy!" Tiny yelled as they chased him.

Ash reached the edge of the plummeting debris and jumped into the air, taking a leap of faith as he soared towards Articuno. His arms stretched out, and he managed to grab her by the tail, nearly yanking her out of the air as his momentum carried him downward. "Ack! Wh-what the Abyss? What do you think you're doing?" she shrieked.

"Stopping you!" Ash growled.

"Seriously? You're nuts!" Articuno screeched.

"Says the one who's pumped herself full of soul-destroying drugs!" Ash retorted.

"Oh, get over that, will you?" she snapped. "And get off of me!" She folded her wings and barrel rolled through the air several times, trying to dislodge Ash. The Lucario gritted his teeth and dug his claws into Articuno's tail, bile rising up his throat, but he refused to let it out or lose his grip. Seeing this, Articuno frowned and did a sharp turn, tilting sideways as she flied past a nearby mountain. She flicked her tail as she went, bashing Ash into the cliff face and causing him to cry in agony and nearly fall as the rocks tore at his skin, leaving streaks of blood and blue fur smeared across the sheer surface. Laughing, Articuno flipped again and dragged Ash against the side of another cliff, exulting in his suffering.

Until Ash decided to fight back, anyway. The Lucario drove his staff into the cliff, causing him to gasp in pain as his arm was nearly wrenched out of its socket, but refusing to let go of either his staff or Articuno's tail as he dragged the weapon behind him, not only tearing up the cliff in his wake but also slowing Articuno down and forcing her to flap her wings faster to keep from falling. "Dammit, stop that already!" she snapped.

"You…first!" Ash roared, using his staff as leverage to plant his feet against the cliff face. Ignoring how it tore at the pads on his feet, he started running across the surface alongside Articuno, pulling his staff out of the wall as he went and using his momentum to move above her without letting go of her tail. When he was in position, he pushed off the cliff, released his hold on Articuno's tail, and took another leap of faith, landing on Articuno's back.

"Gaaah! What the—get off!" Articuno screeched, flailing about frantically to try to knock Ash off.

"Like the Abyss I am!" Ash snarled, sprouting Metal Claws and digging them into Articuno's back, drawing blood. Articuno howled in pain and released a blast of Shadow Aura, trying to knock Ash off, but Ash just kept clinging on with his claws, his own Aura blazing up around him to mitigate some of the damage the black flames were causing. He started ripping at Articuno's back with his claws, causing her to shriek and wobble as he tore out feathers, blood, ice spines, and chunks of flesh. She flipped over to try and knock him off, but Ash refused to let go even when he was dangling upside-down, continuing his brutal assault against his erstwhile steed. Desperate to dislodge him, she turned sideways and flew back towards the cliffs, slamming Ash into the wall and dragging his back against the rocky surface, the ice spines on her back goring his chest. Ash howled in pain as the cliff tore open his back, but just dug in deeper with his claws, rending open big tears in Articuno's back as the cliff dragged at him and tried to pull him off. Grimacing in pain, Articuno moved away from the cliff, realizing this wasn't working…

So she thought up a different idea. Folding her wings to her side, she shot forwards with Aerial Ace, slicing through the air at high speeds and causing Ash to be buffeted by incredibly strong winds. Ash ground his teeth and tried to keep hold, but started to find himself slipping. Sensing this, Articuno made things worse by doing barrel rolls and loops at high speed, the fact that she was doing all of this in Aerial Ace bringing her dangerously close to crashing into the surrounding mountains but figuring it was worth it if she could dislodge Ash. Her efforts seemed to be vindicated when, with a horrified yell, Ash found himself flung off of Articuno's back, tumbling to his death…

Until Ritchie extended an arm and caught Ash one-handed, stopping his fall. "Gotcha!"

Ash's jaw dropped in amazement. "Ritchie?"

"Do you know any other Lucarios in the area wearing suits of armor?" Ritchie joked. He was sitting with his legs wrapped around Cruise, using the Pupitar as a makeshift rocket of sorts to fly through the air, which was how he'd managed to catch up with Ash and Articuno and save Ash from a painful demise.

Tiny rose up underneath Ash and placed himself between his legs, allowing Ritchie to let go of him and drop Ash onto his foster son's back. "Daddy, what were you thinking running off like that?" Tiny demanded, his worry and anger throbbing up their bond so powerfully it almost caused Ash physical pain. "You promised you weren't going to do something like that again, remember?"

Ash flinched, realizing Tiny was right. He'd screwed up again. At least he hadn't lost control of his Aura and gone Void like he almost had last time… "You're right. Sorry…"

"Well, no biggie," Ritchie said, easily putting the whole mess behind them. "We're all together now, which means Articuno doesn't stand a chance!"

"Oh, please! You idiots think you can fight me like that?" Articuno guffawed incredulously. "I'm a ruler of the sky! Those are just flying rocks! You don't stand a chance against me in the air!"

"We've lasted this long," Cruise pointed out.

"On the ground, maybe…but the skies are my domain! Up here, I'm unbeatable!" Articuno said.

"Yeah? Why don't you put your Poké where your beak is and prove it?" Ritchie taunted.

"I'd be happy too!" Articuno started flapping her wings rapidly, generating a Blizzard of Shadow Aura that blew against them, the gale-force winds and negatively-charged weather combining to push them back quite a ways and nearly fling Ash and Ritchie off of Tiny and Cruise's backs. Folding her wings against her sides, she charged up her Shadow Aura and dove at them with Shadow Rush. The two Pupitars barely managed to get their bearings before Articuno breezed past them, the Tailwind she left in her wake sending them spinning wildly and causing Ash to slip off, only able to save himself by grabbing one of Tiny's horns before he could fall.

"Whoaoaoaoaoa…I feel dizzy…" said the dazed Tiny. Cruise threw up.

"You'll feel a lot worse than that when I'm through with you!" Articuno sneered, opening her beak and exhaling her Shadow Chill, hoping to freeze them solid and drop them out of the air. Ritchie and Cruise countered with Dark Pulse, and Ash, despite his visceral loathing for the technique, joined in. The three blasts of Dark energy collided with Articuno's Shadow Chill, slowing the beam down but failing to stop it outright. Articuno cackled to herself as the Chill kept creeping closer and closer towards them…

Until Tiny, getting a brilliant idea, used Screech. Ash, Ritchie, and Cruise were all relatively unaffected due to overexposure to the move, but Articuno was not so lucky, and she cried in surprise and alarm as the high-pitched wail bombarded her eardrums, breaking her concentration and causing the Shadow Chill to falter. The three Dark Pulses surged forward and collided with her chest, exploding and sending her flying backwards. As smoke trailed from her form, she flapped her wings to stabilize herself and glared furiously at them. "You little-! Yell at me will you?" She spat an Ice Beam at Tiny.

Ash intercepted the beam, putting his staff in front of Tiny so that the crystal on its tip caught the beam and absorbed it, glowing as it drank in the energy. "Whoa, I didn't know you could do that!" the Pupitar said.

"Neither could I," Ash admitted. He twirled his staff over his head and pointed it at Articuno, firing the absorbed Ice Beam back as a blast of Aura.

Articuno squawked in alarm and dove out of the way of the energy blast. "Ack! How did you…oh, nice trick, smart guy, but can you do that with this?" She exhaled Frost Breath at Ash and Tiny.

"Uh, can you absorb that?" Tiny asked.

"I don't think so, no," Ash said.

"Ah. Right," Tiny said, quickly dodging the attack before it could strike them.

As Articuno concentrated her ice breath on Ash and Tiny, Cruise shot towards her, Ritchie standing up on his back and tensing himself, waiting for the right moment. When they got within range, he leaped off of the Pupitar's back and sailed towards Articuno. Seeing him coming out of the corner of her eye, Articuno turned her head and hit him full-on with her Frost Breath, but Ritchie's armor shielded him from the freezing cold, allowing him to fly through the attack and land on Articuno's chest, where he dug into her breast with Metal Claws that grew from the knuckles of his armor and started punching her repeatedly with his free hand. "Oh, not again!" Articuno snarled in exasperation, bending down to peck at Ritchie's skull repeatedly to try and knock him off. Even with the protection granted by his full-body armor, Ritchie winced, the blows from Articuno's beak causing his head to ring painfully.

"Yes, again!" Ash shouted as he leaped from Tiny and landed on Articuno's back, wrapping his arms around her neck and beginning to squeeze.

"Grah! Cut it out!" Articuno squawked angrily, bucking and shaking her head about angrily, managing to wrench Ash off her back and swing him around her neck so that he slammed into Ritchie, dislodging the armored Lucario and nearly sending him falling to his death (unless his armor would have protected him, which he wasn't particularly keen on finding out) if he hadn't managed to grab onto one of Articuno's talons, dangling from her claw over the snowy plains and valleys below. Ash planted his feet on Articuno's chest and tightened his grip, doing his best to choke the life out of the ice bird. This turned out not to be the best idea, because he was in the ideal position for Articuno to bend her neck down and gouge out his eyes with her beak. Startled by the oncoming peck, Ash let go of Articuno's neck and slid down her body to her other talon, clinging onto it desperately and hanging right next to Ritchie.

"So…come here often?" Ritchie joked.

"More than I'd like to," Ash grunted.

"Why won't you two just die already?" Articuno screamed in exasperation, shaking her legs wildly to try and dislodge the Lucarios. Wings flapping hard to keep her hovering in place, she bent her head down to try and peck off her clingers-on. Fortunately, Tiny and Cruise had no intention of letting their fathers get eaten or maimed by the evil ice bird, and they slammed into her from in front and behind, causing her to gasp in pain and nearly drop from the sky as they pressed into her from both sides, using Aura to boost their gas propulsion systems. "Argh! Stupid…brats!" she snarled, releasing a blast of Shadow Aura that flung the two Pupitars away and nearly knocked Ash and Ritchie off, forcing them to grit their teeth and cling harder to Articuno's ankles to keep from falling. "This is why I've always hated kids! They don't even make particularly good meals, there's just not enough meat on them!"

"Guys, get down here! I have an idea!" Ritchie shouted to the Pupitars.

"You do?" Ash asked.

"Well, sort of," Ritchie said.

Cruise and Tiny quickly floated down next to their parents. "What is it, Daddy?" Cruise asked. "How can we help?"

Ritchie wrapped his legs around Cruise without letting go of Articuno's leg. "I want you to pull downward as hard as you can!"

"You too, Tiny!" Ash said, wrapping his legs around his son.

"Okay!" The Pupitars reversed the thrust of their jets and pulled down as hard as they could, using their fathers to drag Articuno towards the ground.

"Huh? What do you think you're…oh, I see, trying to ground me, huh?" Articuno burst into laughter. "Real cute, kids, but you're not nearly powerful enough to do that!" She started flapping her wings harder, rising back into the air.

Ritchie grimaced as the diverging pulls of Articuno and Cruise tugged his body in separate directions. "More power, Cruise!"

"What? But Daddy-" said the startled Pupitar.

"Don't argue with me, just do it! Full throttle!" Ritchie ordered.

"You too, Tiny! Give it everything you've got!" Ash cried.

With twin cries, the Pupitars complied, brilliant azure flames igniting around them as they poured as much power as they could into their jets, pulling on Ash and Ritchie with every fiber of their beings. The Lucarios ground their teeth as their bodies were rather painfully stretched between Articuno and their sons, but refused to let go, pulling on the ice bird's legs with all their strength as well. Startled to realize she was losing altitude, Articuno flapped harder, forcing the heroes to pull harder, forcing Articuno to flap even harder, in an escalating cycle that would, inevitably, tear one of them apart.

That someone happened to be Articuno. She shrieked in agony as Ritchie, using Cruise's thrust and the super strength granted by the Fist Plate, managed to completely rip off her leg. Flinching as blood spattered him and Articuno thrashed in pain, Ash growled, not wanting to be outdone, so he raised his staff and drove it into the side of Articuno's leg, sawing with the pointed end until her other limb broke off as well, the recoil as the severed leg tumbled free and Tiny was able to blast away from Articuno at full speed nearly causing him to fall off. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH! ! !" the ice bird howled.

Ritchie stared at the giant drumstick in his hands incredulously. "Okay, I was not expecting that to happen."

"Wait, what?" Ash asked in disbelief as he rubbed his incredibly sore arms. "What did you think would happen when you did that?"

"I thought we'd just drag her to the ground where we could fight her on our terms, not rip her legs off!" Ritchie said.

"THEN MAYBE YOU SHOULD HAVE FUCKING THOUGHT OF THAT BEFORE YOU FUCKING PULLED MY FUCKING LEGS OFF! I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!" Articuno screamed, blood gushing from the stumps that had once been her legs in copious amounts as she dove towards them, angling her wings against her body and using Aerial Ace. Tiny and Cruise frantically dove out of the way, the slipstream of her passage nearly knocking them out of the sky. "DIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!"

"Whoa, and I thought she was angry before!" Ritchie said in alarm as he righted himself, only to nearly fall off again when Cruise nearly turned upside-down to avoid Articuno's next screaming charge.

"YOU DON'T KNOW THE MEANING OF ANGRY!" Articuno howled as she spread her wings and slowed her charge, managing to bank and fly back towards them only seconds before she could crash into one of the mountains rising up all around them.

And that gave Ash an idea. "Tiny, take us away from her!"

"Huh? We're running away?" Ritchie protested.

"No, I've got a plan…and I've thought it out more than you did yours! Well…sort of," Ash said.

"…That does not fill me with confidence," Ritchie confessed. He yelped and ducked before Articuno's next flyby could take off his head. "But in the absence of any better ideas…Cruise, follow his lead!"

The two Pupitars took off, pushing their gas jets to the limit as they flew away from the crazed Articuno. "OH NO YOU DON'T! COME BACK HERE AND DIE LIKE THE STUPID MORTALS YOU ARE!" she screamed, Shadow Aura blazing up around her as she gave chase. She pursued the Pupitars as they bobbed and weaved and zigzagged all over the place, using their Aura-senses to anticipate the evil goddess's attacks only milliseconds before she rushed them, the shaves as she missed them so close that the tips of the black flames surrounding her licking against their armored hides. With each missed charge Articuno grew more enraged and volatile in her attempts to kill them…as well as somewhat more unfocused as the massive blood loss from her dismembered legs began to take their toll on her, causing her to get somewhat light-headed and have to concentrate harder to keep flying. "Ugh…get…get back here, you fuckers…stop…swimming all over the place…we're in the air, not underwater, flying is not like…swimming!" she said somewhat dazedly as the figures of the heroes started blurring in her vision.

"It's working…it looks like she's about to drop from the sky!" Ritchie said gleefully.

"So are we…" Cruise moaned, his Aura faltering. "We're exhausted!"

"We've been flying for what seems like forever…" Tiny groaned, his speed dropping. "I don't think we can do this for much longer…"

"Don't worry, I think one more try should do the trick…" Ash said. "Fly straight ahead!"

"Huh? But Daddy, that's a-" Tiny protested.

"Don't worry, just keep going and don't change direction until I tell you," Ash said.

"Well…all right, Daddy. If you say so," Tiny said, trusting completely in his father as he used the last of his power to thrust straight ahead.

The sensation of love and trust flowing through their bond buoyed Ash, and made him wonder what he had been thinking, trying to take Articuno on alone. "Hey, Articuno!" Ash yelled over his shoulder as they accelerated. "This game of Meowth and Pikachu's been fun, but we're leaving, you're just too slow for us to play with!"

"What? Slow? Me? I'll show you slow!" Articuno snarled, rocketing towards them with Shadow Rush, rapidly eating up the distance between them.

"Ash, she's gaining on us…" Ritchie said anxiously.

"Don't worry. Just a few more seconds…" Ash said, focusing on what was right in front of them, swiftly approaching as they flew straight towards it. "Just a little further…wait for it…wait for it…NOW!"

The Pupitars both turned ninety-degree angles and flew out of the way…clearing Articuno's fatigue-weakened line of sight and allowing her to realize that she was shooting right towards a mountain slope. "Oh, FUCK!" she screamed, desperately trying to slow down and change direction, managing to alter her trajectory…

But not fast enough. While she didn't crash into the mountain, she clipped it with her wing, knocking her completely out of balance and sending her tumbling uncontrollably through the air, screaming as her wings and long tail got tangled around herself and sent her plummeting back into the mountain, smashing into the slope, rebounding, and rolling down the surface, crashing into every boulder and tree and troll out taking a morning constitutional as she slid down the side of the peak, leaving a trail of blood, feathers, and devastation in her wake. She finally came to a halt when the slope leveled off on the floor of one of the valleys separating the jagged peaks of Niflheim, an utterly beaten and bedraggled mess, her Shadow Aura reduced to a weak purple shimmer, one of her wings not only broken but held onto the rest of her body by nothing more than a thin strand of sinew. She groaned and sagged to the ground, vomiting blood and a lot of other things all over the place. "Ohhh…this is really not my day…"

And it was going to get a lot worse. Cruise and Tiny wobbly lowered out of the sky, their gas jets petering out and finally cutting off a few feet off the ground, causing them to plummet the rest of the distance and hit the snow hard enough to bury themselves halfway beneath it. "That…is not an experience I want to ever repeat…" Cruise said.

"Why do Flying types love flying so much? It takes too much effort…" Tiny groaned.

Ash and Ritchie climbed off their sons and stood a little unsteadily, facing down Articuno. "Ready to finish this?" Ash asked.

Ritchie nodded. "Yeah…I guess so. To put her out of her misery, if for no other reason."

"I'll…stop being miserable…when you two are dead!" Articuno squawked weakly as they started running towards them, spitting Ice Shards. Their fists and staff flew through the air, deflecting the Shards and causing them to shatter all over the place. Wincing in pain, she stretched out her intact wing and feebly flapped at them, generating a Gust that did little more than blow their fur back and make them feel a slight chill but otherwise didn't slow them down in the slightest. She swept an Ice Beam across the ground, trying to freeze them or knock them off their feet, but they leaped over the beam as it went past, landing on the ice it left and sliding towards her, using the slick surface to close the distance to her even faster. Staggering up as tall as she could, Articuno mustered all her remaining power, preparing to use Shadow Chill…

But Ash and Ritchie struck first, flinging Aura Spheres that exploded against her chest and sent her reeling backwards, the attack she'd been charging dissipating in a burst of black snowflakes and ice chips. Using Extremespeed to dash ahead, Ritchie slammed into the off-balance Articuno with his shoulder, knocking her onto the ground on her back and causing her to howl in agony as every broken bone and gaping wound on her body acted up all at once. Ash leaped into the air, gripping his staff with both paws and raising it above his head, howling a battle cry as he sailed towards Articuno. The ice bird's eyes bulged in horror as they saw the fierce look in his crimson orbs and realized that this was it, that after all these centuries of waiting and dreading the prophecy of the gods would at last be fulfilled and Ash would finally kill her…

And Shivhel unleashed her attack, freezing all of them in a giant chunk of ice, suspending them in time and space; the grisly tableau paused only moments before it could come to its brutal end. It did not look as if that end would ever come, now…but it was questionable whether Articuno would have preferred this fate to the one she had been about to face. Either way, it looked as if her execution had been postponed yet again…

And yet again, poor Ash was forced to suffer. Would he ever get what he deserved?

Several minutes earlier…

While the other heroes were fighting frost giants, tackling massive electric robots, battling ninjas, and engaging an insane avian ice goddess, another titanic battle was occurring in the skies far above Dusty Ditch. The air was alive with magic as spell after devastating spell was cast and countered, the snowy clouds crackling with energy as the three witches Bellum, Lily, and Fantina dueled in a war of enchantments powerful enough to level a small city. Upon realizing that her erstwhile daughter was fighting against her, Bellum had stepped up her game considerably, focusing most of her deadliest spells on Lily rather than her rival Fantina, both because Lily was weaker and less experienced as well as because she really, really wanted to make her suffer. "If you had any sense at all, daughter, you would surrender now, or just kill yourself, because your suffering at Giratina's claws is nothing compared to what I will do to you once you're back in my grasp!" Bellum sneered as she conjured a swarm of Shadow Balls which she infused with ice power and hurled at Lily.

Lily retaliated by summoning a swirling shield of flames, the frozen Shadow Balls smashing into it and shattering. "I-it's because I have sense that I won't, Mother…I know if I give up, you'll do horrible things to my friends…and I don't care what you do to me, but I'll give up my soul before I let you touch them!" she cried, flinging flaming Shadow Balls at her mother.

Bellum waved a hand, freezing the Shadow Balls solid and destroying them with a snap of her fingers. "Is that so? I could accept a deal like that. If you give up your soul to me, I will leave your friends alone. What do you think? It's a very generous offer. I would strongly consider taking it, if I were you."

"Ha, not a chance, Bellum!" Fantina said as her eyes lit up and she fired a Psybeam from one eye and a Dark Pulse from the other, the beams of light and darkness intertwining around each other in a helix of incredible polar opposites that Bellum had to raise a shield to defend herself against, the Froslass growling as the volatile energy pushed her back. "Do you really zink she's so stupid as to take such an offer? She knows you better zan anyone, and knows zat you would never ad'ere to such a bargain!"

"Not to mention that giving myself up to you would only ensure Giratina's return to this realm…which would almost certainly spell the deaths of my friends, something I will never allow to be on my conscience!" Lily said, opening about a dozen portals around her and firing fireballs, Shadow Balls, and Hexes into them.

An equal number of portals appeared around Bellum, launching the attacks at them…but the Froslass sniffed and cast a counterspell, the attacks bouncing off of her and rebounding back into the portals, where they slammed into Lily and exploded. As she cried in pain, Bellum fired several Ice Shards, Shadow Balls, and Hexes of her own into the portals before they could close, the only thing saving Lily from even more damage a quick shield conjured into existence by Fantina to protect her. "It is inevitable, daughter. If you continue along this course of action, one way or another you will come to Giratina. She will take your soul. She will take the power you possess. She will use it to break free of her prison and take revenge on those who bound her, and bring about the revival of the Ruler of Evil! You cannot stop it! Nobody can!"

"We can…and we will!" Lily grunted as she cast Payback, a wave of Dark energy blasting out from her and striking Bellum, causing her to hiss in pain as she felt the same pain Lily had just received. "We are Team Aurabolt. We…we have already done the impossible! We have defeated the legendary monster Yamatorochi, reached the forbidden Zero Isle, killed a demigod and sank the Temple of the Sea, and even managed to reform Barbedo, the evilest pirate who ever lived! We will free Dusty Ditch from your icy clutches. We will unite the world against you and your Nihilators! We will make sure the Ruler of Evil and Giratina remain in the Abyss for all time, and…and send you to join them! As long as we stand together…there's nothing we can't do!"

"Wh-what?" Bellum gasped in astonishment. Where had her daughter gotten such spirit? What had happened to the weakling who'd cowered and whimpered before her, who'd meekly submitted to her abuse? Where was she getting the courage to defy her?

You're finally getting it, Lily, B said approvingly. You're starting to understand the power your friends give you. Even when they aren't with you, their hearts are still beside yours, giving you the strength to go on!

Yes… Lily agreed. I understand now. This is…the real power of friendship, isn't it? Just knowing that there are people who care about you and would do anything to help you…gives you the resolve to do the impossible, the thing that terrifies you most!

That's right, B said smugly. I told you so, didn't I?

"She is no longer your creature, Bellum," Fantina said proudly, grinning at the shocked look on Bellum's face. "You cannot cow her into submission any longer! Even if you were to recapture her, even if you were able to spirit 'er away and 'ide 'er from 'er friends…she will never be yours again, zanks to ze bonds zey 'ave formed wiz 'er!"

"Never mine? Never mine? You presume too much, Fantina. You forget, she is my daughter…and even though my control over her before was broken, her ectoplasm is still the same as mine, and so long as that is the case…she will always belong to me!" Bellum howled, thrusting her hand at Lily, a chain made of ice flying out from her wrist and wrapping itself around the Misdreavus. It tightened, trying to sink into her flesh…

Only for flames to ignite around her, leaping back up the length of chain and engulfing the startled Bellum, causing her to scream in agony as the flames consumed her. Fantina laughed as the chain shattered and Bellum struggled to extinguish the flames. "Really, Bellum? Did you zink zat we wouldn't prepare for somezing like zis? I knew you would try to reclaim Lily in zis manner, if you realized 'er identity…and I have made it so zat you can never bind 'er to you again, not like zat!"

"WHAT?" Bellum screamed incredulously.

"Th-that's right," Lily said, managing a smile. "You'll…you'll never be able to control me again, Mother!"

"You…" Bellum shook with rage, stunned that they had managed to thwart her. They…they dared to…Lily is MY daughter, and they thought they could… Her eyes turned red. "You…you will…rrrrrAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" A tremendous mixture of Icy Wind and Ominous Wind blasted out from her, creating a white and purple tornado which buffeted Lily and Fantina but did little damage, the two witches casting spells to protect themselves.

"Well, zat got 'er ire up!" Fantina said cheerfully. Lily nodded in agreement, a surprised smile on her face.

I should be terrified, Mother's horrible when she's angry…but why do I feel so proud and satisfied that I managed to elicit this reaction from her? Lily wondered.

Because it means you're becoming your own person…something she can never tolerate or allow to happen, B said.

As the tornado roared around her, the enraged Bellum's form shimmered and split off, creating a dozen ice clones which conjured weapons of ice and soared out of the whirlwind towards the two witches while she remained in the eye of the storm, gathering her power. As the ice clones screamed towards Fantina and Lily, the sorceresses prepared their counterattack. Lily flung fireballs and Shadow Balls, which the clones deflected with shields and swings of their weapons, but Lily had known they would do that, and had used it as a distraction to open up portals that engulfed the replicas and deposited them somewhere far away, where the environment was less conducive to them. Fantina, on the other hand, created a dozen massive fireballs which swirled around her and blasted out towards the clones. The duplicates fired spells and ice blasts at the fireballs, but the huge orbs exploded into several hundred much smaller fireballs that swarmed all over the place chaotically before colliding with and destroying the clones. Once the air was clear, Fantina's eyes glowed and she fired another Psybeam/Dark Pulse combo into Bellum's vortex barrier. Unfortunately, rather than penetrating the whirlwind the tornado sucked it up, adding rainbow and black streaks to its surface and causing bolts of Psychic and Dark energy to blast outwards all over the place, forcing Lily and Fantina to shield themselves to keep from being annihilated by the clashing energies. Things got even worse when Bellum finished the Curse she had been casting, causing hundreds of evil runes to appear around the tornado and fire tremendous beams of lethal energy in every direction that spiraled through the air and homed in towards them.

"Oh dear," murmured a startled Fantina.

"Follow me, I have an idea!" Lily said, opening a portal to somewhere else.

Fantina quickly followed her into it. Bellum laughed as the beams pursued them through the portal. "Fools! Where did they think they could go? There is no escaping-"

Another portal opened up right above her, depositing Lily and Fantina in the center of the whirlwind alongside her. "Don't mind us, we're just passing zhrough," Fantina said to the startled Bellum as they flew past her towards the bottom of the cyclone.

"Wh-what? Why…oh, crap!" Bellum cried in alarm, quickly raising a shield just as the beams from her Curse came through the portal, flying right towards her as they mindlessly pursued their targets. She gasped in pain as the beams smashed into her barrier and cause it to buckle and nearly collapse, causing her to both curse and congratulate herself for making such a strong spell. She strengthened her shield, knowing she could outlast the beams…

Until Lily and Fantina struck her with spells of their own from below, breaking her concentration and causing the beams to slam into her with a tremendous explosion that dispelled the tornado and knocked the two witches downwards. "Phew! Zat was a close one. Good plan!" Fantina complimented Lily.

"Th-thanks," Lily said, blushing. "Too bad that didn't take her out…"

"That's right, too bad…for you!" Bellum howled as she flew out of the smoke cloud from the explosion, crackling with rage. She opened her mouth, and a pair of immense phantasmal jaws with teeth made of ice appeared around Lily and Fantina. Before the jaws could slam shut and crush them, Fantina used her ability to create matter from nothingness to form a pillar of adamantine that appeared between the jaws, wedging them open. Bellum grunted in pain and surprise, her own mouth aching in response, and then even more of her ached when Fantina created a Thermonuke 8500 and blasted her with it at full power, flinging her back as the heat baked her alive—er, undead.

"How did you-" asked the surprised Lily.

"I took a very good look at your boyfriend's contraption. I zought it might be a good idea to know 'ow to make one," Fantina said.

"Oh," Lily said. "Then why didn't you do that sooner?"

"I need a lot of concentration to make an object, and in a combat situation zat concentration is usually better put casting quick spells zan trying to create somezing zat may or may not be 'elpful," Fantina explained.

"Oh," Lily said. "That makes sense. But, er, then why didn't you create a lot of objects beforehand that we could use against Bellum?"

"Because she knew that whatever she could create, I would be able to counter…just like that accursed machine!" Bellum snarled, gesturing and causing the Thermonuke to explode in a great ball of fire. "You should know better, Lily…as an ice witch I'm acutely aware of my weakness, so take as many precautions as necessary to protect myself from artifacts or spells that could harm me!"

"Zat 'asn't stopped us from roasting you again and again, zhough," Fantina pointed out.

Bellum grinned cruelly. "I'm not dead yet, am I? Er, deader, that is…which is what you're about to be!" She waved her hand, and suddenly a pair of tremendous icebergs the size of small mountains appeared on either side of the witches and shot towards them, trying to crush them between them. Evil runes swirled within them, generating a power that prevented either Ghost from being able to phase through them, and they were too big and moving too fast to move out of the way in time.

Fantina used her Psychic powers to flip her adamantine pillar between them, but the icebergs were stronger than the last attempt to kill them, and the pillar quickly began to crumple. Abandoning it, Fantina's eyes glowed as she used Telekinesis to grab the icebergs, her form trembling as she struggled to keep the icebergs from moving any closer…but Bellum's will was just as strong as hers, and the icebergs kept advancing, albeit at a more glacial pace. "Lily…I can't…'old zem back much longer…get…'er…"

"O-okay," Lily said, quickly opening a portal and using it to reappear behind Bellum.

Unfortunately, Bellum had anticipated this, and a clone spawned into existence in front of Lily, a psychotic grin on its face. "And what do you think you're doing, young lady?"

"Stopping you!" Lily said, hurling flaming wheels at the clone.

The second Bellum froze the wheels solid, spun them around her, and flung them back at Lily like big icy buzzsaws. Lily destroyed them with Shadow Balls, and then flung Hexes at the Froslass. The faux Bellum cast counter-spells that intercepted and destroyed the spells, then conjured up a half dozen ice spears that pierced Lily from all angles…

Except it wasn't really Lily, but as much of a fake as the Froslass, vanishing in a puff of smoke as the real Lily flew past the duplicate Bellum and launched a fireball at her mother. The counterfeit blew the fireball away from her original with Icy Wind and flung an ice spear at Lily, the Misdreavus barely managing to dodge the attack. The second Bellum then generated an ice chain and flung it at Lily, looping it around her neck and pulling her tight, causing the Misdreavus to gasp as it strangled her. (Well, not really, since she didn't actually breathe, but you know what I mean.) Another Bellum split off from the original, generated another chain, and looped it around Lily from the other side. The two Froslasses began pulling hard, barbs sprouting from the ice links and digging into Lily's ectoplasm as the pressure grew, the ice witches trying to rip Lily in two.

"Stop…IT!" Lily screamed, clenching her eyes shut, fire erupting around her as she tried to channel magical energy through the chains binding her. Bolts of power and embers spiraled up the icy links towards the Bellums…

And got no further, when the ice clones sent freezing energy back down the chains to counter it, the two extremes clashing against each other and causing the chains to flash and spit out sparks, but otherwise remain intact. Lily ground her teeth and concentrated, trying to summon more power to overwhelm the clones, but there were two of them and only one of her, and between them they were able to send their ice magic coursing through the chains towards her, pushing her fire magic back inside herself and causing a very painful feedback that caused her to emit a strangled gasp of agony. "Give it up!" one of the Bellums sneered. "It's over!"

"You never had a chance against me to begin with," the other said. "I am your Mother. I know every spell you ever learned, because I'm the one who taught it to you."

"This little rebellion of yours was pointless! There is nothing you can do that I cannot counter, nothing you can try that will protect you from my wrath!" the first one said.

"…Really? Then…do you have something to…counter…THIS?" Lily gasped, taking a deep breath and screaming at the top of her lungs, her hair stiffening in jagged spikes arrayed from her center of mass as she began her Perish Song.

The Bellums flinched as Lily sang, each discordant note causing searing pain to cut through their bodies like a hot knife. "What…what do you think you're doing?" one of them snarled, grinding her teeth.

"All you're doing is harming yourself! I am no stranger to pain! I can withstand anything you can dish out!" the other said.

Had Lily not been too busy singing and trying to ignore the damage she was inflicting on herself, she would have commented that she wasn't trying to hurt either of them; she was trying to divert the attention of her true mother. And it seemed to be working, the original Bellum was losing her concentration as pain wracked her body, the wordless wail of Lily's song echoing through her head and making it impossible to focus. As a result, the icebergs inexorably moving towards Fantina started to gradually slow down. "N…no…this…this is nothing! I can…I can outlast you! I can…I can…" Lily's response was to sing even louder, causing a few ice dragons that had been watching in curiosity from the distance to gasp as they abruptly had heart attacks and plunged to their deaths. As the volume and suffering became too much for even her to ignore, Bellum roared in fury and snapped, whirling on Lily and striking the Misdreavus with a punch so hard it shattered the clones and the chains wrapped around her and knocked her wimple off. "DAMMIT, WILL YOU STOP THAT NOISE? I CAN'T HEAR MYSELF THINK!"

"Aaaahhh!" Lily cried in pain as she flew back, hair spilling out around her.

"NEVER LAY A HAND ON HER AGAIN!" Fantina shouted, eyes flashing as she gained full control over the icebergs, flinging them at the evil Froslass.

Bellum hesitated as suddenly a pair of massive ice blocks appeared on either side of her. "Oh fuc-" she started to say just before they slammed shut, crushing her between them.

As the Mismagius panted, sagging somewhat from tiredness, a portal opened next to her and a ragged-looking Lily flew out. "Uhh…Fantina…are you all right?" she asked.

"I'm…all right. I just need to catch my breazh. Not zat I need it, really, but you know," Fantina said, recovering. "But…what about you? You look in even worse shape!"

"Oh, I've had worse," Lily said honestly. Fantina made a face, sadly knowing this was true. She conjured her witch's hat and placed it on her head where it belonged. "But so long as both of us are okay—and I don't have to hide this anymore—I'll be fine."

Fantina smiled fondly. "I'm glad to hear zat, Lily."

Their happiness came to an end when the giant ice mass cracked and shattered in a tremendous explosion, a shrieking Bellum rising from the remains as the huge chunks of debris violently swirled around her. "No!" Lily gasped in horror.

Fantina sighed in resignation. "Oh well, I didn't really zink zat would 'old 'er for long. It's not like ice can really 'arm 'er, it's 'er own element, after all."

"You think to use my own element against me?" Bellum howled, validating this claim. "I don't know whether to be outraged or amused by such presumption! Oh hell, I'll just stick with outrage, since that's how I really want to feel anyway!" Several of the ice chunks clustered together to create huge glacial boulders that she hurled at the witches. Fantina's eyes glowed as she used Psychic to catch the boulders and hurl them back, Lily igniting them and turning them into fiery meteors. Bellum telekinetically maneuvered some of her other ice chunks to shield her, the meteors smashing into the floating masses and destroying each other. She waved a hand, and the remaining ice chunks converged into three clusters, one of which centered on herself. The chunks flew together and fused, hardening and reshaping themselves into something new. Half of them assembled themselves into a pair of tremendous floating hands made of ice, while the rest formed a horrendous demonic mask of ice encasing Bellum, who vanished with a sinister smirk beneath its surface. The mask opened its mouth and roared, bombarding Lily and Fantina with a freezing Blizzard and knocking them back.

"'uh," Fantina said faintly. "Zat's new."

"Same here," Lily said. "Although it looks like any number of 'boss' monsters in video games Leo has shown me. I wonder why so many of them seem to consist of nothing more than a head and pair of hands?"

Glyphs shone in the eyes of the mask, and a pair of tremendous purple Hex beams fired towards them. Lily opened a pair of portals right in front of them to try and catch the beams, but the lasers zigzagged around the portals and streaked straight towards them. Fantina generated a shield around them, grunting as she had to exert all her will to keep the powerful blasts from breaking through. Lily opened another portal and quickly dragged Fantina through it, the barrier falling in their wake and causing the beams to smash into each other and explode. The two witches reappeared behind the mask and let loose with some of their strongest attacks, Lily flinging immense fireballs and devastating spells while Fantina hurled fire spears and used her Psybeam/Dark Pulse combo. One of the ice claws spun around and flew into the path of the attacks, a rune glowing on its palm that absorbed the blasts as they struck it. The other hand spun around, opened up, and a mirrored rune appeared on its palm, the attacks they had just flung flying out of it right back towards them. Lily frantically opened another portal and they flew through it to safety before they could be destroyed by their own spells.

As they reappeared elsewhere, the ice mask lunged towards them, jaws opening wide to swallow them whole. As Lily gasped in fright, Fantina's eyes glowed as she fetched the adamantine pole she had used earlier—having stowed it in her personal pocket dimension after it had failed to be of use against the icebergs—and lodged it in the mask's mouth, holding its jaws open. As the mask growled in frustration and struggled to crush the obstruction in its mouth, the two witches let loose with another volley against its face. They only managed to land a few hits before the ice claws flew up to protect the mask, one absorbing the attacks and the other firing them back at the duo. They quickly portaled away, and in the interim the hands managed to pull the crumpled pole out of the mask's mouth, crushed it, and angrily flung it away.

"What do we do? We can't attack her directly so long as those hands keep intercepting our spells," Lily said as they reappeared some distance away, trying to buy themselves time to think.

"Hmm…I zink I 'ave an idea," Fantina said, quickly explaining it to her as the mask turned towards them, eyes glowing as it powered up. "Got it?"

Lily nodded. "Yes, I think that should work."

"Zen let's do it!" Fantina said as the mask's eyes fired Hex beams at them. Fantina created another shield, but this one was based on the Reflect technique, so when the Hexes struck it they rebounded and flew back towards the mask. One of the hands quickly intercepted the beams, its rune greedily absorbing their power. As it did so, the other hand, opened up, its rune starting to glow. "Now!" Fantina yelled, firing her attacks at that hand, while Lily fired her attacks at the hand that was still absorbing the Hex. Fantina's attacks struck the magical energy that was starting to emerge from the hand, and since its rune was unable to both absorb and emit at the same time, the resulting clash caused it to explode. The other hand, with nowhere to send the power it was absorbing, overloaded as Lily's attacks pushed it past its limit, destroying it. "Yes! Good job!"

"Well, it was your plan," Lily said, blushing.

Snarling angrily, the now defenseless head opened its jaws and fired a ridiculously huge Ice Beam as wide as the mouth (which was very wide, let me tell you!) at them. It was so big there was no way they could avoid, block, or redirect it, so they quickly portaled away before it could strike them. They reappeared behind the mask and unloaded their attacks on it, blasting off large chunks of it and sending ice chips flying all over the place, but quickly found that Bellum had prepared for even this eventuality when a third eye opened up on the back of her construct's head and fired a Hex at them. "Oh, come on!" Fantina said in exasperation.

"Well, I always thought she had eyes in the back of her head…" Lily murmured. Fantina quickly conjured a Reflect shield, deflecting the Hex right back at the mask and striking the eye with an explosion that destroyed it as well as another good bit of the construct.

The mask roared furiously and spun about, eyes and mask open wide as it fired Hex beams and an Ice Beam all at once. "Oh dear," Fantina said as the three tremendous blasts zeroed in on them. "Zat looks painful."

"Follow me!" Lily said, opening a portal. Fantina followed her inside, as did the beams. Bellum laughed at their foolishness, knowing that her attacks would catch up to and destroy them in seconds…

Until a portal opened behind her head and the three beams blasted out and smashed into the mask with an explosion that destroyed nearly everything except for the eyes and a bit of the upper jaw, making it look more like a giant domino or opera mask now. "Very nice work!" Fantina complimented as Bellum reeled in agony. "Opening a second portal right in front of ze first portal to transfer ze beams…now zat's zinking outside ze box, ze sort of zing I try to train all of my daughters to do!"

Does that include you, now? B teased.

I…I hope so, Lily thought.

Bellum was really angry now. Enraged and humiliated, she let loose with everything she had left. Hex beams fired continuously from her mask's eyes. Dozens of lethal spells and curses formed around her and screamed through the air towards the witches. Winged ice elementals appeared out of thin air and swooped towards them, flinging ice spears. And to make things even worse, the thing's hands regenerated and started firing massive lasers of their own from their palms, wildly sweeping the beams everywhere. Alarmed, Lily and Fantina did the best they could to survive, frantically flying all over the place to try and dodge the projectiles, but with every narrow miss they came that much closer to being struck again by one of the other attacks. Any barrier they formed quickly got overwhelmed and destroyed, denying them even the slightest moment to catch their breath. They tried to buy time by creating Substitutes to draw Bellum's fire, but Bellum countered that by forming Substitutes of her own, scythe-wielding Froslasses that warped all over the place in flurries of snowflakes and swinging their blades at any witch they found, not caring whether it was real or illusory so long as they could kill it. With all the intense flak flying, they didn't even have a chance to retaliate!

Inevitably, the worn-out Lily faltered and was unable to dodge an ice spear in time, causing it to clip her and send her spinning right into the path of a curse, which struck her and exploded, sending her flying away, screaming as dozens of projectiles smashed into her and rent off great chunks of ectoplasm. "NON!" Fantina cried in horror, which might have been a mistake because her distraction at Lily's plight caused her to get full-on by one of Bellum's eye beams. She howled in pain, and screamed even louder when a half-dozen ice clones appeared and drove their scythes into her body, and at least a hundred spells hit her, and finally the two ice claws clapped and crushed her between their palms, interlocking their fingers and squeezing as hard as they could.

"No! Fantina!" Lily screamed in disbelief, the attacks on her petering off as Bellum diverted her attention to destroying her nemesis.

Bellum laughed malevolently. "You should be more worried about yourself, daughter, because once I finish Fantina off it's your turn! But I won't kill you, oh no, not yet anyway…I want you to exist long enough to watch as I torture your friends to death, drawing out their agony for decades, until they don't even know who they are anymore but will do anything to make the pain stop, even hurt you!"

Lily gasped. "Wh-what?"

"Ooh, yes, now that's a lovely idea!" Bellum cackled, seeing how much the idea shocked Lily. "Have the people you care for most do horrible things to you, an act of betrayal so heinous that it will destroy any last trace of hope and goodness within you! Up until now, I've been neglecting your sexual education, but perhaps I should remedy that oversight, seeing as I've been too lenient with you up until now and allowed you to get all these silly ideas. Perhaps I should have one of your friends 'teach' you? Yes, I think that would be the perfect way to punish…eh?" Her hands were starting to shake and smoke, light starting to radiate from within them. "Wh-what? What is-"

The hands shattered with a tremendous explosion, waves of light and heat blasting outwards in every direction and causing Bellum to shriek as her mask was buffeted by the blast. A tremendous conflagration unfurled from the epicenter of the explosion, and at the epicenter of the epicenter was Fantina, eyes glowing a terrifying crimson and screaming as waves of fire were generated by her battered, trembling form. "BELLUM!" the Mismagius shouted. "ZAT…IS…ENOUGH!" Shaped by her will and indignation, the flames began to condense and take shape around her, turning into four great tongue of fire spreading away from her body. One tongue stretched out and downwards, curling on itself and swelling out at the end into a vague arrow shape. Two of them expanded on either side of her, flattening and widening out into tremendous sheets of flame. The last tongue curved upwards in an S-shape, a large bulge forming at its tip and splitting partially open like a mouth. More features began to appear as the flames refined themselves, until finally a gigantic fire dragon loomed above them, the heat from its form evaporating all the snow falling around them.

"In…credible." Lily whispered in awe, the tremendous, magnificent display of power resonating with something buried within her…some power hidden and long forgotten. It stirred, the great fire dragon connecting with it on a level Lily did not understand.

"No…how…how can this be?" Bellum cried.

"You are not ze only one wiz a few new tricks, Bellum!" Fantina snarled, flames flowing from her eyes. "You would make Lily suffer more by perverting 'er bonds wiz 'er friends into somezing as 'orrible as zat? Zis I cannot allow!" The dragon spread its wings, threw back its head and roared, flames gushing from its mouth and falling all over the place.

"No! NO!" Bellum screamed, regenerating her giant ice hands and firing a dizzying array of spells and energy blasts at the dragon. The bolts punched through the dragon's mass and caused embers and flames to drip all over, but Fantina seemed to regard those as inconsequential, driving her construct towards Bellum. Realizing her attacks were ineffective, the Froslass tried to flee, but she was too late; the dragon fell upon her, wrapping its wings and tail around her ice mask. As it started evaporating, Bellum desperately flew out of the top, trying to make a break for freedom, only to find her way blocked by the dragon's head. It opened its jaws and bellowed as it bore down on her, and Bellum screamed in terror as its mouth close shut around her…

And then it exploded. The blast was so strong it actually tore open a hole in the dark clouds, allowing the sun to shine through, but only for a brief moment before the clouds flowed back into place and sealed up again. As the smoke and fire started to fade away, a dazed and awestruck Lily flew over, looking for her mentor. "Fantina? Fantina, where are you? Are you all right? That was incredible, I've never seen anything like that! Can you teach me how to-"

"Ohhhhh…"

Lily paused, hearing Fantina's moan. Her heart (if she had one) fluttered in alarm. It most certainly did not sound like Fantina was all right. "Fantina?" Where is she?

Over there, B said.

Where? Lily asked.

Right there! I'm pointing at it!

B, you don't have fingers. I can't see it.

Oh for the love of…look, see that big clod of soot over there?

Yes.

That's not soot.

Oh. Oh! Oh dear… "Fantina!" Lily cried as she floated over to what she had initially assumed to be a large clump of ash, but on closer examination was, in fact, Fantina. She looked terrible, most of her body scorched black, her hat destroyed and revealing that her hair was frizzled and askew, her jewelry shattered, and don't even get me started on the makeup. "Fantina! What…what happened to you?"

"Ohhhh…I zink…I zink I used up a little too much power in zat last attack," Fantina said wearily. "Zat beating she gave me before'and didn't 'elp, eizzer. It's unsurprising I'm not in ze best shape. Still…zis is ze worst I've felt in a very long time."

"Fantina…" Lily whispered.

"Don't worry, Lily," Fantina said, managing a smile. "I'm not going to die or anyzing like zat, it's not zat bad. I just need a nice, 'ot shower, several days of sleep, and a visit to my beautician (and maybe ze Mewrian Temple) and I'll be as good as new in no time."

"Fantina…" Lily said, her eyes softening. "Even if that's true, why…why did you do that? Why did you put yourself at such risk?"

"Because of you, dear. Isn't zat obvious?" Fantina said, looking surprised. "I know we 'aven't known each ozzer for very long, but a part of me feels like I've known you for most of my life. You are…very important to me, Lily. I promised I would not let Bellum get 'er 'ands on you again, and I am willing to do whatever it takes to prevent zat from 'appening, no matter ze cost to myself. What Bellum said, ze zings she said she'd do to you, zat she'd make your friends do to you…I could not allow zat to happen. And now…it will not." She smiled weakly. "Not bad, eh?"

"…Fantina. Thank you," Lily said, eyes tearing up.

"Don't…mention it. I would do ze same for any of my daughters," Fantina said.

Lily's eyes widened. "Then…you mean-" She was interrupted when Fantina gasped and suddenly lunged forward, knocking her out of the way just an ice spear flew through the air and pierced her side. "NO! FANTINA!" Lily screamed as Fantina shrieked in pain.

"There's…only room for…one mother in her unlife…and that's…me!" Bellum rasped as she wobbly floated towards them, her body trembling with rage and exhaustion, most of her body burnt black. She'd lost a significant amount of her ectoplasm, and as a result most of the left side of her head was gone, leaving a gaping cavity trailing white particles, with other holes where large chunks of her had been blasted off dotted her body. It looked as if hatred and force of will were all that was holding her together. "You…try to steal her from me? Fool…no matter what, she will always belong to me!"

"Mother! You…you…RAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Lily shrieked, flames igniting around her as she formed the strongest fireball she'd ever mustered in her life and flung it at Bellum, exploding and flinging the Froslass back. "All my unlife, you've done nothing but make me miserable!" Lily screamed, flinging fireball after fireball at her. "You've tortured and beaten me, berated and belittled me, cruelly punished and toyed with me for your own sick amusement, created me as a tool to fulfill your plans to destroy the world, made it clear that I mean nothing to you, was a tremendous disappointment, and convinced me that my existence was meaningless…and now that I've finally found some measure of happiness, you'll do everything you can to destroy it, kill my friends, kill the first person who's ever treated me like a real mother should? You're horrible beyond words! I HATE YOU!"

"Ah…so…you finally have enough backbone to admit it?" Bellum croaked, laughing hoarsely even as more of her disintegrated. "It's about…damn time…"

"Shut up! This isn't something you should be happy about! I'm going to kill you! I'm going to remove you from my unlife forever, so that you'll never threaten the people I care about again!"

Bellum narrowed her eyes. "Oh…is that so?"

And that's when the doors to Shivhel's palace opened. Lily stiffened as a wave of cold and an aura of pure malice filled the air, an evil that was almost worse than her mother's…but not by very much. It was certainly more powerful, though. "No…it, it's Shivhel!" Lily gasped.

"That's…right…" Bellum cackled. "All the fire…you and your friends have…been throwing about has finally…gotten her attention. Now…she's going to kill them."

"No!" Lily cried.

Bellum laughed, then broke off and started choking, spitting up more bits of ectoplasm. "Y-yes," she wheezed. "Which means if you're going to do anything to stop her, you'll have to…go now. But if you do…I'll get away. I'll be free to continue my evil…and one day, I will…return and destroy everything…you cherish."

"I won't let that happen!" Lily said angrily, gathering what little power she had left for one final spell, one that would seal Bellum's fate forever.

"You can either…strike me down, or save your friends," Bellum said, a satisfied grin on her face. "Not…both. You don't have time. Which means…you have to make a choice. You can go to your friends…and let me escape, or…you can strike me down, and in doing so…abandon your friends, and begin your journey…to becoming just like me."

Lily hesitated. …B?

Do you really need to ask me this, Lily? B asked. You know what you have to do.

Yes. I do, Lily said wearily. "This isn't over," she told Bellum, dispelling the curse she had been about to cast.

"I know," Bellum said smugly as Lily grabbed the wounded Fantina and flew towards the town below, not having enough strength left to open a portal. Bellum grinned sinisterly. "But it will be…soon enough…"

Lily rushed towards Dusty Ditch as fast as she could, dragging Fantina behind her. From the moans and grunts the elder Mismagius made, it was clear this swift travel wasn't doing any favors for her in her current condition, but Lily didn't have time to be gentle. She had to make it to her friends before it was too late. She was getting worried, however, that she wouldn't make it in time, since she could feel the change in the air as magic began building up around Shivhel, indicating she was about to do something that boded ill for everyone. I just need a few more seconds, and I'll be there, she thought to herself, flying for her friends as fast as she could. It was pretty easy to tell where they were, since Maxthulhu's giant form stuck up like a sore thumb. I don't know what I'll do when I get there, but I'm sure Leo will think of something, he's always got a plan, and then together maybe we can-

Unfortunately, Lily didn't make it in time. Bellum had been lying. Lily's decision whether or not to kill her would have made no impact on the events that were to follow, even if she had killed Bellum she would never have gotten back to her friends before it was too late. As a result, she could do nothing but look on in horror (and get flung backwards as the wave of pure cold slammed into her and Fantina) as Shivhel unleashed her power, freezing the entire town and quite a lot of the surrounding region in a thick sheet of ice. After she recovered from the shock and shook the icicles off her hat, she looked down in horror at the solid lake of ice covering the entirety of Dusty Ditch…including her friends. Not even Maxthulhu had been spared; the surface of the ice sheet was a few meters above the tips of the giant monster's ears. She just floated there for several minutes, speechless. "…No." Unceremoniously dropping Fantina on the ice, Lily zoomed over to the spot right over where her friends had been. She exhaled some fire breath to melt away some of the frost, allowing her to stare right down through the ice to the frozen Pokémon down below. They were just…standing there, as still as statues. It was almost impossible to tell that they weren't statues, that they had once been living, breathing, talking, loving-

"No," she repeated again, body quivering and on the verge of tears. "Nonononono." They couldn't be dead. She refused to believe it. She tapped her badge. "Leo?" she said. There was no response. She tapped it again. "Leo? This is Lily. Please respond." There was no answer. She tapped her badge again. "Leo? This is Lily. Please…please respond." There was no answer. She started shaking harder. She tapped her badge once more. "Pikachu? Ash? Tiny? Briney? Sasha? Dawn? Le…Leo? Please…please, if there's somebody, anybody there, answer me!" There was no response. Unable to hold it back anymore, she burst into tears and collapsed onto the ice, feeling utterly alone. "They're all gone…"

They're still alive, B said.

What? Lily asked in surprise.

They're still alive…but they won't be for much longer. A person can survive being frozen for a certain amount of time, but if it goes on for too long the chill sets in and their bodies stop working. That might not be a problem for someone like Briney or the Goldorringtons, since they don't have flesh or blood like most mortal Pokémon, and Sasha and everyone who's undead will be fine, albeit paralyzed indefinitely, but everyone else will die soon if you don't get them out of there, B said.

Then…then there's still a chance? Lily asked hopefully.

Of course there is, B said. Wherever there's life, there's hope.

That's right! And I suppose if they die, I could always use necromancy to keep their souls close to me until I can create some new bodies for them through alchemy, Lily said. Or turn them into Ghosts like me.

Uh, yeah. I guess that's an option too… B said slowly.

"Uhhhhh…Lily…why am I lying on an ice lake?" Fantina asked weakly, regaining consciousness. "Are we at ze Yuki'imi estate already? Zat was fast…"

Lily gasped. "Fantina! Omigosh, I'm so sorry!" She flew over to the severely injured Mismagius and cast as many healing spells as she could to try and restore the elder witch to a better state of health. When she was finished, Fantina didn't look much better, but she didn't look worse, either.

"Ow…my everyzing hurts…" Fantina grunted. "What…'appened? Where are we?"

"Dusty Ditch," Lily said. "Shivhel's covered the entire town in ice! Everyone is trapped down there!"

Fantina gasped, becoming more alert. "What? Even my daughter? Sacre bleu! We must get zem out of zere!"

"Exactly," Lily said. "But…how are we going to do that? I don't think either of us have enough strength at the moment to melt this."

"…'ang on. Zere might be somezing in my inventory…" Fantina murmured, mentally sorting through the myriad items she had stashed in her pocket dimension.

Unfortunately, she wasn't going to get the chance to use any of them. At that moment, Shivhel appeared, descending from her mountain palace and gracefully landing on the ice, an extra layer spreading out from her feet and covering up the hole Lily had made in the frost. The two witches feebly floated into the air before the ice could reach them, not wanting to be frozen, too. Shivhel frowned at them. "You are not frozen, like the others."

"No, we aren't," Lily said.

"That is something I shall remedy, then," Shivhel said calmly. There was a clunk as Fantina dropped from the air and landed on the ice, frozen solid.

"No! Fantina!" Lily cried.

Shivhel smiled coolly. "The fire was strong in her…but in her condition, she had no chance of resisting me. Nor do you." Before Lily could protest, she too was frozen solid.

"Ah…excellent…I had hoped you would do that," Bellum grunted as she slowly floated into view, looking at the frozen figures of her nemesis and daughter with relish.

Shivhel frowned. "Bellum. You are injured."

"Yes, I hadn't noticed," the Froslass grunted. "I don't suppose you could…?"

"Very well." There was a gust of wind, and snow swirled around Bellum, flying into the gaping holes in her body and filling them up. The snow solidified and melded with the Froslass's flesh, repairing all the damage she had taken from battle.

Bellum sighed in relief and stretched out her arms. "Ahhhh. That's much better. Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Think nothing of it. It is the least I could do for the one who summoned me here. Niflheim has been in need of expansion for quite some time, if we are ever to have a chance of defeating our eternal foe, Muspelheim," Shivhel said.

"And I shall help you to expand your realm even further," Bellum promised.

"Very good. It is a pity you are already beholden to Giratina, or else I might make a servant of you," Shivhel said.

"To be honest, you were my first choice for an evil master—what with the ice theme, something I myself am quite fond of—but I wanted a deity with a bit more…power," Bellum said.

"And even imprisoned, Giratina is still far mightier than I," Shivhel said resignedly. "Well, we shall see how much longer that lasts. If you were ever to change your mind, though, my door is always open to you."

"I shall take that into consideration, but it is unlikely. Giratina does not look favorably upon those who abandon her service," Bellum said.

"Neither do I," Shivhel said. "In any event, it is done. All resistance has been crushed. This realm belongs to me now. All warm-bloods have been defeated, and every last trace of heat in the land has been destroyed."

"Er, yes, speaking of defeat…I believe a few of my cohorts got frozen along with those meddlers when you unleashed your power. I don't suppose you could release them?" Bellum asked politely.

Shivhel frowned. "They failed you. All of them were horribly beaten by their enemies, and would have perished had I not intervened, freezing them for all time."

'True, but I can still make some use of them, despite their shortcomings," Bellum said.

"Very well," Shivhel said. Some of her hair twitched, and suddenly Marianne, Paul, and Articuno appeared, all of them frozen in blocks of ice.

Bellum made a face when she saw how badly injured they all were. "My, those fools really did a number on them, didn't they? Then again, I suppose I'm one to talk."

"Do you wish me to heal them, too?" Shivhel offered.

"No, I'll let them take care of that themselves. Think of it as a lesson for failing at their task," Bellum said, transporting the three Nihilators elsewhere in a flurry of snowflakes.

Shivhel nodded approvingly. "Precisely what I would have done. You really would make a good fit for my household. Were I not concerned for the…potential repercussions of stealing you from Giratina, I might have considered just taking you against your will. You would have grown to like it…eventually."

"…Er…yes, well, it's a good thing you're concerned about those repercussions, then," Bellum said awkwardly, not liking the way Shivhel was looking at her.

"In minutes, the cold will set in and kill the intruders. Are there any others you wish to remove from my realm, to do as you wish?" Shivhel asked.

"To be honest, I'd love to take all of them back and torture all of them to death for daring to oppose me, but that's not really practical, and as an ice witch myself I can appreciate the cruelty of letting them freeze to death," Bellum said. "There are perhaps three I desire to take with me, at your leave."

"Which ones?" Shivhel asked. "Name them, and they are yours."

"That giant behemoth beneath us, for one thing. I want to study him…find out how he was able to change sizes and forms so quickly, and why I sense so much…chaos swirling around him," Bellum said.

"Very well. Do you have a place where he can be stored safely?" Shivhel asked.

"I have a cavern in my lair designed for just such a purpose," Bellum said, gesturing and causing Maxthulhu to vanish from beneath the ice.

"And the other two?" Bellum asked.

"My daughter Lily, of course," Bellum said, smiling cruelly at Lily, whose eyes stared at her in terror from beneath the shell of ice imprisoning her. "She and I have some…unfinished business to settle."

"And the last one will be your nemesis, I suppose," Shivhel said.

"No, I'm going to kill her right here," Bellum said. "I'd love to take her back to my lair and have her at my mercy, but realistically that probably wouldn't end well. So I'll just end her unlife now and get it over with."

Shivhel frowned. "Then who is the third you wish to take?"

"One of the two Lucarios. The one not wearing armor, I believe. Not only is he carrying some artifacts my organization desires, but my leader wishes him to be brought back either alive or as a captured soul," Bellum explained.

"All right," Shivhel said, causing Ash to appear in a block of ice, his body frozen in the act of bringing his staff down, a look of fury and culmination etched on his face. "I do not sense any artifacts on his person, however, other than his staff and gloves. They possess the power of Aura."

Bellum frowned. "Is that so? No star-shaped jewels, no map?"

"No. If he were carrying items of that description, I would know," Shivhel said.

Bellum shook her head in puzzlement. "Well that's peculiar…what of the others? Are any of them carrying items like that?"

"No. Several of them are carrying other objects of power—including the Plates of Arceus and the robes of a high priestess of Darkrai—but nothing like that," Shivhel reported.

"That's…odd. Oh, ah, speaking of the Plates, I don't suppose-" Bellum asked hopefully.

"Bellum, I am grateful to you for summoning me, but my generosity has its limits," Shivhel said, an annoyed look forming on her face.

"Right, sorry, forget I said anything," Bellum said quickly, seeing Shivhel was growing impatient and knowing when not to push her limits. Oh well, no big loss, it wasn't as if she could use any of the Plates herself anyway. Stupid single-Type limitations… "Wait, what was that about robes of Darkrai?"

"The Absol is wearing the garments befitting a high priestess of the god of death and darkness. They are enchanted to prevent her from dying…which means she will remain alive beneath the ice, forever. I shall enjoy watching her go mad," Shivhel said cruelly.

"But…but that can't be right!" Bellum protested. "The Absol is a member of Team Aurabolt, who are opposed to we Nihilators! And we were able to force Darkrai to sign a contract stating he wouldn't lift a finger, directly or indirectly, against us! How could she be wearing a garment of office in his priesthood? Are you certain it's genuine?"

"Of course," Shivhel said, looking offended and annoyed. "Do you doubt I would know such magic if I sensed it?"

"N-no, of course not," Bellum said quickly. "But if it's genuine, that means she's a real priestess, because otherwise she wouldn't be able to wear it, but that means…Darkrai must have found some way out of his contract!" She snarled. "Oblivion's Shadow will not be pleased to hear this…thank you for telling me, Shivhel, this is momentous and…troubling news for my organization."

Shivhel shrugged. "If you say so. It means nothing to me."

"Aren't you worried Darkrai might exact some retribution against you for incapacitating one of his servants?" Bellum asked.

"It's not like I've harmed her. As I've said, she is still alive. And as a god of nightmares, I see no reason he would not reap a great harvest from the madness that sprouts in her mind as she remains conscious but trapped in an immobilized body for the rest of eternity," Shivhel said indifferently. "And in any event…I am the mistress of winter. The darkness holds no terror for me."

"Very well. But back to those objects I'm looking for…these artifacts are notoriously difficult to sense magically, I don't suppose you might have missed-" Bellum suggested.

Shivhel shot her a furious look. "Do not insult me, Bellum. In this place, my power is absolute. If they held such items, I would know."

"My apologies, great Queen," Bellum said quickly, trying to placate the angry elemental. "I'm under a lot of pressure to retrieve those items, I just wanted to be certain."

"Very well," Shivhel said, looking slightly mollified by Bellum's apology.

"But if they aren't here, then where…ah! Perhaps on the train?" Bellum suggested.

Shivhel concentrated for a moment, and then frowned in alarm. "That is…odd."

"What is?" Bellum asked.

"I cannot sense anything from the train. It is as if it isn't there…but I know it is. The ice tells me so," Shivhel said, looking perplexed.

"Well, the Enchanted Express is covered in all sorts of protective spells. Perhaps some of them are enough to shield its innards from even your senses, O Mistress of Winter?" Bellum suggested. "But not for long, of course…"

"No, not for long indeed," Shivhel said angrily. "That means there may still be some sources of heat burning in there, warm bodies blighting my perfect cold! I shall crush that vehicle until it splits open, and extinguish any lingering sparks of life inside!"

"And I shall retrieve the map and Star Badges from the remains," Bellum said eagerly. "But before we do that, there's one last thing I need to take care of." She turned to the frozen Fantina, an evil grin forming on her face as she created an ice spear. "Goodbye, old friend. I shall not mourn your passing, save for a mild disappointment that things will no longer be quite as interesting with you gone. Take solace in knowing that I will send your daughters to join you eventually…but not until I'm through with them, which will take a very long time indeed." Cackling at the look of rage and horror in her oldest enemy's eyes, Bellum drew back her spear, ready to kill Fantina.

Meanwhile, inside the Enchanted Express…

"We're all gonna die!" the Magneton engineer screamed as he wildly flew about the engine room.

"Dammit, we're completely ice-locked. I can't get enough power from the engine to break us free," the Aron engineer said in frustration, wiping away some sweat.

"We're all gonna die!" the Magneton engineer screamed as he wildly flew about the engine room.

"Well keep trying, if we can't break the ice, we're going to be stuck here forever…and the passengers are going to be stuck out there!" the Ampharos chief engineer said, gesturing at one of the windows, which was completely covered in frost, making it impossible to see what was outside. Not that there was anything to see out there but ice, ice, and more ice. The walls groaned ominously as the pressure of the glacier they were buried under exerted itself on the train's hull, and everyone looked up anxiously, worried they would shatter and the ice would come crashing down on them at any second.

"We're all gonna die!" the Magneton engineer screamed as he wildly flew about the engine room.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" the Grumpig guard asked.

The Ampharos chief engineer shook her head angrily. "We're using up all the train's power just keeping the shields up, we can't afford to divert any to smashing our way out of here. Any magic the rest of us could muster up will never be enough to make a difference, not against this much ice."

"And even if we could get out…there's still the one who made it to worry about," the Gastly conductor said nervously.

The Abra waiter nodded soberly. "None of us would last more than a second against Shivhel. If the passengers couldn't, what good would we be?"

"We're all gonna die!" the Magneton engineer screamed as he wildly flew about the engine room.

"Dammit!" the Haunter guard said, punching a wall. "We're the ones who should have been out there to begin with! It's our place to fight to protect the passengers, not the other way around! And now we're stuck in here, unable to do a damn thing!"

"Oh, we won't be stuck in here for long," the Aron said pessimistically.

"Why do you say that?" the Grumpig asked.

"Well, it's only a matter of time before Shivhel realizes we're still alive and tears the train apart to kill us," the Aron said. "I doubt our defenses will last long against an entity of her caliber."

"Maybe she won't notice," the Gastly said desperately. "Or care. I mean, we're no threat to her, right?"

"Doesn't matter. She hates us all anyway because we're beings from a place where it's not always cold, which means we have to die," the Abra said. "And even if that weren't the case and she ignored us, we could only survive down here for so long until the power failed or the food replication spells stopped working. Then we'd be forced to feast on each other to survive."

"We're all gonna die!" the Magneton engineer screamed as he wildly flew about the engine room.

"…Wow. That's really morbid," said the disturbed Gastly.

"Yeah, I know," the Abra said. "I've already decided who I'll eat first. Don't worry, though, you're off the menu since I can't eat ectoplasm."

The Gastly sweatdropped. "…Ah. That's good to know."

"Wait, ectoplasm…maybe I could phase through the hull and out of the ice, go for help-" the Haunter started.

"From where?" the Aron asked. "There's nowhere and nobody you could go to that could possibly get here in time to make a difference. Not before we're all dead, anyway."

"I'm not sure you could pass through this ice, anyway," the Grumpig commented. "It feels too…malignant. I don't think you could get very far."

The Haunter sighed in resignation. "Yeah, I guess, but…but we can't do nothing!"

"What else can we do?" the Abra asked.

"We're all gonna die!" the Magneton engineer screamed as he wildly flew about the engine room. More than a few of them were starting to share his sentiment.

Not the Ampharos, though. "Shut up, already!" she yelled, throwing a wrench at him.

It smacked into his head, making him stop. "Ow…" he whined. "That was uncalled for!"

"No it wasn't," the Ampharos said. The others nodded in agreement, and the Magneton scowled at them.

"By the way, I've been meaning to ask: what's with that big ball of fire in the middle of the room, and the fiery things surrounding it that look like Duchess Fantina, Rebecca, and Sister Lilandra?" the Abra asked, pointing at the conflagration in the middle of the room.

"Yeah, it's making things a bit too hot in here," the Grumpig said, wiping away sweat.

"Oh, that's a spell they cast before going out to fight that's supposed to summon a being who'll defeat the forces of Niflheim and save the day," the Aron said.

"Oh," the Abra said. "So…why hasn't it done that yet?"

"Because it's a worthless piece of crap," the Magneton said.

"It is not!" the Aron said.

"It is too! Otherwise, it would have stopped all this from happening!" the Magneton said.

"And stopped taking up so much room in my engine room," the Ampharos said in exasperation. "It just keeps getting bigger and bigger! If it's going to do something, can't it just go and do it already?"

Abruptly, the three fiery effigies dissolved and flew into the giant ball of fire, the Flame Plate flipped into the air and vanished into the sphere, and the lines of the summoning diagram burst into flame and vanished. The fireball swelled up and burst upwards in a tremendous pillar of fire, smashing through the ceiling and the hundreds of feet of ice above it, leaving a gaping hole and a tunnel to the surface in its place that started dripping water and snow into the engine room and causing everyone to feel cold and damp. They all stared upwards in disbelief for several seconds. "Huh," the Abra said finally. "I guess it heard you."

"About time," the Magneton said.

"MY ROOF!" the Ampharos screamed.

"You know, I think I miss it already, it's kind of cold with it gone," the Grumpig said.

Up on the surface, Shivhel and Bellum stiffened as there was a massive explosion and a giant fireball erupted from beneath the ice. "No…" Shivhel whispered. "It can't be!"

"I, ah, don't suppose that's the train's engine exploding, is it?" Bellum asked hopefully, alarmed by the waves of heat and incredible magical power coming out of the fireball. It was even hotter than that fire dragon Fantina had conjured up.

"No…there is only one being it could possibly be…but he should not be here! And not this strong! How can this be possible?" Shivhel shrieked, actually looking worried, which made Bellum worried as well.

The fireball arced through the air and came crashing down nearby, releasing a tremendous wave of fire that erupted outwards towards them. Shivhel quickly raised a shield of ice that protected them from the brunt of the flames, but the heat still washed over them, causing the Ice-types to hiss in pain as their bodies sizzled. The flames completely destroyed several of the top layers of ice making up the glacier, as well as melting the ice encasing Lily, Fantina, and Ash. "RAAAAHHHhuh?" Ash stammered in confusion as he brought his staff down on the partially melted ice, realized he wasn't fighting Articuno anymore, and looked around in confusion. "What…where am I?"

"Ash! You're alive!" Lily said in relief, tackling him.

"Uh, so it would seem…I didn't know I was dead, or at risk of dying, though…" said the very bewildered Ash. "What…happened? Where are Articuno and everyone else? And why's there a freaky half-corpse Jynx over there and a big ball of fire?"

"Zat 'alf-corpse is Shiv'el, ruler of Nifl'eim," Fantina said wearily as she weakly floated over. "She grew tired of your friends defeating 'er minions, so decided to put you all in deep-freeze and let you die of ze cold. 'Owever, ze summoning spell Lily, Rebecca and I set up earlier 'as finally paid off, and now a being 'as arrived who can 'elp us end zis unnatural winter once and for all!"

"…Oh," Ash said, only marginally understanding a little more now. "But…then what about Articuno? Where is she? I was just about to kill her before we got frozen."

"…I'm sorry, Ash, she got away. All of the Nihilators did," Lily said apologetically.

Ash sagged despondently. "What? You mean after everything, she escaped? But…"

"Don't worry," Fantina said. "Zere's always next time."

"…But I was so close. There wasn't going to be a next time…" Ash moaned.

"Well, it looks like there'll have to be one," Lily said. "And when it happens, all of us will be there to help you."

"Yeah, I guess…omigosh! I forgot, the others!" Ash gasped, feeling incredibly guilty that the condition of his friends had not been the first thing to come to his mind. He could only barely feel Tiny through their bond, which set his heart to racing in panic. "Where are they? Are they okay?"

"They're frozen under the ice too," Lily said, pointing beneath Ash's feet. "The only reason you're here is because Bellum thought you might have the Star Badges and map. Well, and because Oblivion's Shadow wants you for some reason."

Ash winced. "Yeah, he's kinda fixated on me…well, good thing the Star Badges and map are still in the train. And the others?"

"Zey should be fine, now zat my good friend is 'ere," Fantina said, smiling happily at the fireball that was filling Bellum and Shivhel with so much alarm. "Wiz 'is power, Shiv'el and all zis ice will be sent packing in no time!"

"Oh, good," Ash said in relief. He frowned as the fireball resolved itself into a figure that started to stand up, the immense heat given off by his form melting a deep crater in the ice. "Just who is this guy, anyway?"

"Ze Swarzy One, Old Black, Supreme Ruler of Muspelheim and Lord of Flames, ze inestimable and unmatched-" Fantina said excitedly.

"SURTRIT!" Shivhel shrieked furiously as the flames died down somewhat but continued burning around the figure, as if they were a part of him, which didn't seem that unlikely considering who he was. "What are you doing here?"

"I was summoned, much like you," Surtrit said, grinning and showing a long mouth full of soot-blackened fangs. Surtrit was a fifteen-foot tall giant who loomed over even Shivhel, a humanoid Houndoom standing on his hind legs with so many muscles that even Bruno looked scrawny in comparison to him. His thick double-jointed legs ended in clawed hooves with tufts of hair that looked like flames (and probably were) rippling around his heels, knees, and hips, steam emanating from them as they melted the ice they were standing on to the point that they were actually starting to sink through them. A long tail ending in a flaming barbed tip whipped through the air behind him, burning the air as much as the ice. Immense flaming shackles were wrapped around his wrists and ankles, burning spikes and rubies studding their surface. His massive hands had five digits, each of which ended in a very long claw, one of which was holding a flaming sword as long as he was tall that was so bright it was as if the Sun had been transformed into a blade, illuminating the darkness of the wintry realm. A bead necklace with several burning skulls hung around his neck, the teeth of the skulls chattering as if still alive. His horns were pitch-black and incredibly long, hanging over the back of his head and going down to his waist, with a pair of smaller-forward facing horns growing from around where his ears would have been and similar spikes growing from his shoulders. A long mane of literally burning red hair fell down his back, flickering and writhing and adding to the aura of flames surrounding him. Similar flames burned on the underside of his jaw and around the sides of his head, like some kind of beard. His eyes were completely made of crimson fire, with embers and flames licking out from their edges. And on top of that, the majority of his body was covered in skin-tight crimson plate armor with flame motifs covering it, flames emitting from vents placed all over it, and a big flame symbol embossed on his chest. "But while you were brought here to freeze this world…I was brought here to send you packing."

"NO!" Shivhel cried.

"Y-you! You did this!" Bellum screamed, whirling on the unfrozen Fantina.

The Mismagius smirked wearily. "Zat's right. You didn't zink I'd come into a place like zis wizout an ace up my sleeve, did you?"

"You don't have sleeves," Ash said. "Or arms."

"An ace up my 'at, zen," Fantina said.

"Damnation…I should have killed you when I had the chance!" Bellum snarled.

"It wouldn't 'ave made a difference. Surtrit's summoning was underway before we even got 'ere. Killing me wouldn't 'ave stopped 'im from arriving," Fantina said. "Nor will it send 'im back to Muspel'eim, in case you were getting any ideas."

"I don't care…I'm going to kill you anyway!" Bellum roared furiously, forming an ice spear and lunging forwards. She found her way blocked by a wall of fire, causing her to yelp and back away. "Wh-what?"

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't harm Fantina in my presence," Surtrit growled. "Aside from the little fact that I owe her for summoning me, she and I have a…history, and I would not like that history to end just yet."

"…Wait," Lily said slowly, looking from Fantina to Surtrit and back. "Did you two-"

"'e's an old flame," Fantina said, causing them to facefault at the terrible pun.

Bellum gnashed her teeth in frustration, unwilling to believe that she'd been thwarted again. "No…NO! I was so close! So close! It can't end like this!"

"Nor will it," Shivhel said, stepping forward. "I do not care that you somehow managed to be summoned here, Surtrit. You do not belong here. This realm is mine, now, and fire has no place in it! Return to Muspelheim, before I send you back there by force!"

"Ha! I'd like to see you try," Surtrit sneered, slinging his sword over his shoulder.

"In this place, my power is at its peak! Your flames are nothing but a brief hiccup, an aberration that will swiftly be buried beneath my glacial onslaught!" Shivhel snarled.

"If we were in Niflheim, yeah, that might be the case," Surtrit said with a grin that seemed to imply he didn't really believe it. "But we aren't in Niflheim, just a place you've made up to look like it. And aside from that, I have a little advantage that you can't beat. These mortal mages used the Flame Plate to summon me…and with its power fueling my fire, there is nothing you can throw at me that I cannot burn down!"

"Oh, so that's why his armor looked familiar…" Ash murmured. "So…he doesn't usually look like that?"

"No, 'e usually doesn't wear anyzing at all," Fantina said with an…odd expression on her face. Almost wistful. Lily shuddered.

"No matter how strong the flame, all fires are eventually extinguished by the endless cold of an ice age!" Shivhel cried, calling upon all her power and releasing a tremendous wave of freezing energy outward just as she had before, intending to freeze Surtrit in his tracks. Ash and the others tensed, worried they were about to be frozen again…

But they needn't have bothered. Surtrit just blew on the ice wave rushing towards him, and it dissipated instantly. "Wh-what?" Shivhel cried in disbelief.

"Ice ages may be cold and dark and long-lasting, but like every winter it has to end sometime. After all…the Sun will always rise again, to thaw the snow and bring forth the Spring!" Surtrit said, forming a ball of fire in one hand, tossing it into the air, then swinging his sword at it, sending it flying high into the sky.

"No!" Shivhel cried, realizing what he was about to do, even if the others didn't. Frost and snowflakes swirling around her and she fired a tremendous bolt of ice at the rising fireball, trying to extinguish it.

Surtrit opened his mouth and belched out a torrential stream of flames that surged through the air and collided with the ice beam, creating an explosion powerful enough to shake the ground and cause the ice to start cracking. Ash looked at the ice beneath his feet uneasily and started looking around for more solid footing. "Sorry, bitch, but I think it's time this Fimbulvinter came to an end!" Surtrit quipped.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" both Shivhel and Bellum screamed as the fireball reached the snow clouds above them and exploded. A tremendous wave of fire blasted out from the orb, burning away the clouds and causing them to recede, allowing the Sun to shine down on Dusty Ditch again. Ash, Lily, and Fantina sighed gratefully as the sunlight washed over their skin, warming their cold-numbed bodies. The light had an effect on everything else it fell on, too, but it was far less beneficial. The snow and ice began to rapidly melt, thawing so quickly that it went straight from a solid to a gas without bothering to become a liquid. The various icy mountains foreign to the area that had seemed so towering and ominous before were now looking somewhat hazy, almost translucent, like a mirage. Shivhel screamed in agony as the sunlight touched the blue skin of her intact half, causing it to burn…literally!

"Whoa," Ash said as Shivhel desperately tried to put out the flames. "Is she a vampire?"

"No, she just 'as a very delicate complexion," Fantina said.

"My spell! My beautiful spell! Do you have any idea how many people I had to kill to pull it off?" Bellum screamed.

"The entire population of a small town?" Lily guessed.

"Precisely! Not that I didn't enjoy it, but still! It took a lot of time and effort, and now I'm going to have to do it all over again!" Bellum snarled.

They started. "What?" Ash cried.

"What, you didn't think it would end so easily, did you? If you win here, there's nothing to stop me from calling the Fimbulvinter again, and again, and again, as many times as it takes until I create my winter wonderland!" Bellum said.

"You will not even have to do that much…" Shivhel growled as she managed to put out the worst of the flames, though her skin was charred now and no longer as flawlessly beautiful…which made her look slightly more symmetrical. "As soon as I defeat this buffoon, I can call back the winter snows…I will not be bested! This realm is mine, and shall remain so, no matter how hot your flame burns it away!"

"Yeah? Well, I can burn it really hot at the moment," Surtrit said, raising his sword into the air. "Wanna see?" He drove it into the ice, sending lines of fire racing out in every direction. The ice trembled and cracked, splitting apart under the heat of the flames. The ground rumbled, and pillars of fire punched their way out of the ice sheet, roaring into the heavens and causing Bellum and Shivhel to flinch as heat beset them on all sides.

The ice elemental roared in fury and unleashed waves of cold in every direction, putting out the flames…but the damage was done; the ice sheet was collapsing, each chunk that split off from the rest dissolving in a cloud of water vapor before it could hit the ground, which was rapidly becoming clearer as more and more of the ice encasing it melted away. It wasn't long before the frozen heroes were exposed, blinking and looking around in surprise and bewilderment as the enchanted ice melted off of them and allowed them to move and live again. "Whoa," said a dazed Looker. "What happened?"

"Whatever it was, I think it made me come down with something," Zippo sneezed, releasing a jet of flames that set Diane's hair on fire. "Whoops! Sorry!"

"Aaaaahhh! You idiot! Do you have any idea how much time I invest every morning into making my hair look this good?" Diane screamed as Salty quickly put her hair out with the Splash Plate

"Um…a lot?" Zippo guessed uneasily.

"YES! BUTLER!" Diane shrieked.

"On it," Butler said, cracking his knuckles and advancing on Zippo.

"Waaaahhh! Sparky, help!" Zippo screamed, hiding behind the knight.

Sparky sighed. "Butler, please don't hurt Zippo. We need him…for some reason."

The Dusclops sighed reluctantly. "Very well."

"Don't worry, it's not zat bad," Bow assured Diane as the Kirlia looked at her reflection in a conjured mirror in distress.

Diane sighed as she patted her burned hair. "Thank you for saying so, milady, but I know you're just trying to be nice-" She gasped and dropped the mirror. "Milady! You…you've evolved! When did this happen?"

"While battling Marianne," Bow said.

"Congratulations, milady! Your mother will be so pleased!" Diane said excitedly, forgetting all about her hair dilemma for the moment.

"Then does that mean Bellum's spawn is finally dead?" Butler asked hopefully.

Bow sighed. "No…I'm afraid not…I almost 'ad 'er, but when ze ice zawed, she was gone…vanished, wizout a trace."

"Oh," Butler said, seeing how disappointed Bow was and sharing in her unhappiness. "I am sorry to hear that, milady."

"As am I, since it means my cake remains unavenged…" Diane said darkly. They stared at her. "Oh, uh, and your friend too, milady. Can't forget her."

"No…" Bow said sadly. "I certainly can't."

"Aaaahhhh! The sun! It burnssss!" Vladimir screamed as he and the other vampires were exposed to the sunlight, causing them to burst into flames.

"Here you go," Leo said, handing them umbrellas and then spraying all of them with Water Gun to put out the flames.

"Ohhhh, thank you," Vladimir said in relief as he huddled beneath the umbrella, using it to shield himself from the sun.

"Yeah, thanks…wait, why did you have more than one umbrella, anyway?" Dean asked as Bob whimpered and cowered behind him, not wanting to leave the umbrella's protective shadow.

"In case the first one got ruined, of course," Leo said.

Pikachu sighed. "Of course…"

Sasha shivered and shook herself off, although her cloak wasn't dampened in the slightest. "Well, that was…unpleasant…" Unlike most of the others, she'd been completely aware and still alive while trapped in the ice…unable to move, or breathe, or see. It had been incredibly uncomfortable, to say the least.

Don't worry, if you were in there too long I'd have stopped your heart to spare you going insane, Darkrai told her.

Thank you? Sasha said uncertainly.

"Little buddy? Little buddy?" Sam called, looking around worriedly upon noticing Max was gone. "Has anyone seen Max? He was just here a second ago…"

"That's odd…" George said, starting to get worried as well. "He was kind of hard to miss. Where could he have gone?"

Briney frowned as he expanded his telepathy to cover the valley. "I don't sense him anywhere. Which is odd, because that mess of a mind of his is unmistakable…"

"Max…where are you?" Sam wondered anxiously.

"I'm sure he'll turn up eventually," George said reassuringly.

"Yeah, unless he got kidnapped by bad guys who want to steal his brain for a nefarious plot to take over the universe," Leo said.

"Again," Zippo added.

"Not. Helping," Sam said through clenched teeth.

"Son, are you all right?" Goldor asked Buck in concern.

"Y-yeah," Buck said, wobbling uncertainly. "But I think my body's become kinda brittle due to all the cold."

"Oh dear…if that's the case, this sudden influx of heat could cause us to crack," Silvia said, examining her body in concern. She screamed when she saw what looked like a tiny hairline fracture, but was relieved to discover it was only a hair. Which led her to wonder where it came from, since she didn't have hair…

"Well, don't worry boy, if you crack up, we'll rebuild you…we have the pottery!" Goldor assured Buck. The Baltoy stared at him blankly, not getting it.

"That's a terrible pun," Silvia said.

"It was a literary reference, womon!" Goldor snapped. "Is it my fault if you aren't well-read enough to have gotten it?"

"I got it," Leo said.

"Me too," Zippo said. "I love that series!"

Yeah, me too. I especially like his portrayal of Death, though I'd like to think I'm a little less gloomy and lonely than that guy, Darkrai said, confusing Sasha.

"Is everyone here and accounted for?" Sparky asked worriedly as he looked around, counting heads to make sure nobody else had disappeared.

"I think all of us who were here before still are except for Max," Pikachu said. "I can't say that I miss him much, but it is a little worrying that he up and vanished…" He frowned as he recalled that Marianne had vanished too, just before Bow could kill her. This left him to wonder if Dawn had managed to kill Paul and Ash had managed to take care of Articuno…and if any of them had been affected by Shivhel's attack, and subsequently freed by whatever had just happened to them.

"Well, at least the rest of us are here," Rose said brightly.

"And happy to be alive!" Lu agreed, stretching out the kinks in her back. While the cold hadn't been much of a problem for her—since she was an Ice type, she could have hibernated indefinitely in it—she was happy to be able to move again.

"Yes, and now maybe my children inside the frost giant corpse will mature sooner, since they won't have to hibernate to wait out the cold weather anymore!" Happy said.

"Um…good. That's great," Salty said awkwardly. "We're all happy for you."

"We're really okay?" Rebecca said in amazement, touching herself all over. "I'm not just hallucinating to try and keep from going insane due to being buried beneath hundreds of tons of ice for all time?"

"Nope! I told you we would be okay!" Cherry said cheerfully.

Rebecca sighed. "Yeah, I guess you did…you were right again…as usual."

"So…what exactly happened?" Bruno said in confusion. "The last thing I remember is Shivhel's attack rushing towards us and freezing us solid…and now we're fine, and the sun is shining, and there's a big fiery guy over there facing off with Shivhel."

"Big fiery guy? Where?" Pikachu asked.

"Over there," Bruno said, pointing.

They looked, and dropped their jaws in amazement when they saw the armored blazing elemental. "Whoa, that's so cool!" Todd gasped, suitably impressed. Naturally, he took a picture. He frowned when he saw that the picture was incredibly blurry due to all the light emanating from Surtrit's flaming body. "Darn, looks like I'll have to put the light filter on." He put on some sunglasses and took another picture.

"Wow, he looks even more badass than you, Captain!" Buck said.

"What? He does not! I could take him!" Briney blustered.

"I'm sure you could," Pikachu said soothingly. "But, uh, let's not put that to the test, especially since he's probably the one responsible for thawing us out, okay?"

"…Bah. Fine. 'Snot like I need to prove anything to anyone…" Briney grumbled.

So, that is Surtrit, Sasha thought. Are you at odds with him too?

Eh…it depends, Darkrai said.

What do you mean? Sasha asked.

Well, Surtrit is an embodiment of fire, and like fire, can be kind of capricious. One minute you can be palling around with him, hanging out and drinking nectar, the next he burns your house down and seems confused that you've got a problem with that, Darkrai said.

Why would he burn my home down? Sasha asked in alarm.

Pure whimsy. He's not a bad guy, overall—well, unless he feels like it—just sort of…unpredictable, like fire itself, Darkrai said.

And we've called upon someone like this for help?Sasha cried in disbelief.

Don't worry, if there's one thing you can always count on Surtrit to do, its fight Shivhel. They have a rivalry that's lasted for billions of years, and even predates the Crisis Wars…of course; they were both a bit more casual about it back then. Most of us were, to be honest, Darkrai admitted sadly. War does things to a person…terrible things. Sometimes the scars it leaves never heal properly. For a while it actually looked like Cresselia and I were going to break up over some of the lingering doubts and resentments that conflict stirred up…we were able to patch things up between us eventually, but, well…there's a reason we have palaces on opposite sides of the Moon rather than living under one roof like in the old days…

That's terrible, Sasha said, surprised to find herself feeling sympathetic for her master, who rarely talked about issues in his personal life. She couldn't imagine waking up every morning and not finding her mate lying next to her… War sounds dreadful. I hope I never have to participate in one.

Heh. You haven't figured it out yet, Sasha? Darkrai said sadly. You already are. She grimaced, realizing the truth of this. Oh, and on an unrelated note, I think Bellum's figured out you're working for me.

What? How? Sasha cried in alarm.

Well, in retrospect, perhaps you shouldn't have chosen to wear garments denoting you as someone who, you know, works for me. Sort of gives it away, Darkrai said.

It didn't occur to you either! Don't pin this on me! Sasha snarled.

Yeah, that's true. That's hindsight for you, always 20:20, Darkrai admitted.

But this is terrible! Weren't you relying on the Nihilators never figuring out you were backing us to protect Lady Cresselia from harm? Sasha asked.

Well…yeah, I kinda did, but…look, it's no big deal. I'll sort everything out somehow, Darkrai said.

How? Sasha demanded.

Look, I'm your deity, okay? Just trust me on this! Darkrai said. In any event, it's nothing you need to worry about, it's my and Cresselia's asses on the line, not yours.

Didn't you cast death spells on us that would kill us if we revealed your involvement? Sasha asked.

Yes, but someone figured it out all by themselves, so they never triggered. Guess I should remove those now, since they're sort of redundant, Darkrai said.

I would appreciate that, Sasha said. I will inform the others later. But…what will happen to you and Lady Cresselia?

I told you, I'll deal with it, Darkrai said curtly. I already have a plan, so everything should be fine. But…ah, if you don't hear from me for a while, don't get worried, okay?

Now I'm really worried, Sasha muttered as Darkrai went quiet in her head.

"Dude, he's totally awesome! And looks exactly like he does in the games!" Leo gushed.

"And he's wearing my Flame Plate!" Zippo said, equally giddy. He frowned. "Wait, why is he wearing my Flame Plate?"

"Because we used it to help summon him, remember?" Rebecca said. "You lent it to us."

"Oh, right…" Zippo murmured, somewhat envious of how the armor looked better on Surtrit than it did on him.

"So that's the guy you were trying to summon?" Bruno asked.

Rebecca nodded. "Yes, Surtrit, ruler of Muspelheim, Shivhel's eternal rival."

"Ah. Why didn't he get here sooner?" Looker asked, a perfectly reasonable question that was on everyone else's minds.

"That's…a good question," Rebecca admitted.

"He certainly did take his time, didn't he?" Silvia said disapprovingly.

"Quite, you'd think someone like that would be more punctual for their appointments," Goldor agreed.

"He had to wait until the last second to show up, because otherwise it would have been less dramatic!" Leo said.

"Yeah, duh!" Zippo said with a roll of his eyes, before sneezing and setting Bow's ribbons on fire.

Bow gasped in horror, quickly putting the flames out with a gust of wind. "Qu'est-ce? Comment osez-vous! Viens ici!" she bellowed, spreading her fans and floating over.

"Waaaaaahhh! Sparky, help!" Zippo cried, running behind the armored Pikachu…

Who stepped out of the way and pushed him forward. "He's all yours, milady."

"What? You're giving me up to her? Whatever happened to your code of chivalry, dude?" Zippo screamed in horror.

"It's because of my code of chivalry that I'm turning you over," Sparky said. "Bow is a noble lady of finest breeding, and as a knight it's my duty to protect her honor. You have besmirched that honor, and therefore I am required to punish you in her name…or allow her to do it for herself, if that is what she wants."

"And it is!" Bow said, whacking Zippo with her fans repeatedly. "Bad Charmeleon! Bad! Bad! Bad!"

"Aaaaaaaghhhh! Anime taught me this would hurt, but not that it would hurt this bad!" Zippo wailed.

"Wait, then why did you defend him when he set my hair on fire?" Diane asked angrily.

"Because rather than handle him yourself, you sent Butler to do it for you, which meant I was honor-bound to protect my teammate from a threat to his health, rather than a spurned lady seeking her righteous retribution" Sparky said.

"And aside from that, you aren't a noblewomon, so he wasn't required to do anything if he didn't want to," Lu added, confident this would never be a problem for her, both because she was Sparky's lover and because she was part of a noble household back in Italia. (What, an aristocrat can't be an assassin too?) Diane's eye twitched.

"…You'd have let Bow do that even if your knight's code didn't say you had to, wouldn't you?" Pikachu asked Sparky quietly as he watched the Charmeleon get beaten, taking a guilty and perverse enjoyment from it.

"You'd have done the same thing," Sparky said.

"Yes…yes I would have," Pikachu said, looking at Leo, who gulped nervously.

"Guys!" Ash yelled as he ran over with Lily and Fantina. "You're okay!"

"Ash! So are you!" said a relieved Pikachu.

"Leo!" Lily cried happily as she tackled the Squirtle. "You have no idea how worried I was! I'm glad you're all right!"

Leo laughed. "Awww, thanks babe…but you had nothing to worry about! If we'd stayed frozen in that ice sheet for too long, the temperature-sensitive trigger I set on my third Thermonuke would have gone off and thawed us all out before we could freeze to death!"

"Your…your third…" Pikachu stammered incredulously.

"Yeah, I told you I had another account in my Dad's name, didn't I?" Leo said.

"I…you…gah…" Pikachu stammered, eyes crossing and developing a nasty twitch.

"Dude, you are the master of crazy prepared!" Zippo gushed. "I thought I was ready for any situation, but you've proven just how far I am from reaching that ideal! You gotta teach me everything you know!"

"Sure thing-" Leo started.

"NO," Pikachu shouted.

"But-" Leo protested.

"NO!" Pikachu shouted even louder, looking like he was on the verge of exploding.

"Yes, what he said. Absolutely not," Sparky said sternly.

Both Leo and Zippo sagged in disappointment. "Awww, mon," Leo complained.

"You swordsmice are such fascists," Zippo whined. The fascists electrified them. "Owowowowow! You're just proving my point, you know!"

Ash sweatdropped. "I take it we aren't bothering with the fake identity thing anymore?"

"Nope," Briney said as he and the rest of Team Aurabolt gathered round. "Good riddance to that, too. Seemed like a big waste of time right from the start, if you ask me."

"Nobody did," Pikachu said flatly. Briney grunted.

"We're glad to see you in one piece, but…where's Tiny?" Sasha asked.

"And Dawn?" Leo asked, causing Pikachu to bite his lip in worry.

"And Ritchie and Cruise? You were last with them," Sparky said as he and the rest of Team Getem joined the conversation.

"Um…sorry, but I don't know where they are," Ash confessed. "Probably where we last were before we got frozen, battling Articuno."

"I see…I hope they're okay…" Sparky murmured.

"Ooh, did you beat Articuno?" Leo asked excitedly.

Ash sighed. "No…I was about to, but then we got frozen, and I found myself here. According to Lily, though, she got away."

Lily nodded unhappily. "I was frozen too, but I saw Shivhel summon Marianne, Paul, and Articuno from where they were frozen. All of them were in bad shape, but still alive, and will probably get better soon because Bellum sent them away to get treated elsewhere."

"Aw, mon! That's so lame!" Leo complained.

"Then the whole fight was for nothing…" Sasha snarled.

"And that means Dawn and Kairyu didn't kill Paul, either," Pikachu said in disappointment, ears lying flat against his skull. He could only imagine how distraught Dawn would be that she'd failed again. She and Palmer had been so determined to end it today, too…looks like that wasn't the way things were fated to happen.

"Oh well…there's always next time, lads," Briney said sympathetically. "That's what I always told myself whenever one of the bastards who killed my wife slipped away."

"You too?" Captain Salty said in surprise. "Wow, Sparky was right, our teams really do have a lot in common."

"Yeah…kind of creepy…" Rose agreed. The teams eyed each other warily.

"Milady, are you all right? You look terrible!" Diane said in concern as she and Butler doted over the injured Fantina.

"Please, is there anything I can do to help? Anything at all?" Silvia asked anxiously, trying to 'help' (and maybe steal some hair), only to be politely but firmly rebuffed by Butler every time she got too close.

"Ugh, here we go…" Goldor murmured, rolling his many eyes.

"Like you wouldn't do the same to someone you really admired, Dad?" Buck teased.

"Don't be preposterous, boy, of course I wouldn't!" Goldor snapped.

"Not even for Corey Demario?" Buck asked.

"That's different, he's an athlete! There's nothing wrong with a mon gushing over his favorite sports star!" Goldor insisted.

"How is that any different from my idolization of Fantina?" Silvia asked.

"Because she doesn't play baseball!" Goldor declared, causing his family to facefault.

"I'm fine, really," Fantina said, trying to get her servants to quit hovering over her. "It's nozing a good long nap and a complete makeover won't fix!"

"I zink it'll take a bit more zan zat to get you back to your full radiance," Bow said, looking distraught. "Did Bellum really do zat big a number on you, Mama?"

"Don't worry, she 'ad it just as bad," Fantina assured her. She scowled. "Alzhough she seems fine now…lucky bitch…but speaking of lucky, Bow, you've evolved! Congratulations! I 'and't zought you were due for quite some time!"

"Neizzer did I…but I was so determined to defeat Marianne, I guess I triggered it prematurely. Won't ze ozzers be envious!" Bow giggled, spinning about to show herself off. "I'm curvier zan ever now!"

"Yes, you are especially rotund, milady," Butler said dutifully.

"The sphere is the perfect shape, and it suits you well," Diane agreed.

"It does, doesn't it?" Bow said, fanning herself. She pouted. "But it's 'ard to enjoy my newfound maturity wiz ze knowledge zat Marianne got away…and after all ze work I put into cutting 'er down to size, too!"

"Don't worry, dear, you'll get 'er someday," Fantina said.

"You've been saying zat about Bellum for centuries, and yet she's still undead and kicking!" Bow said angrily.

"She's also right over zere, so after Surtrit's done wiz Shiv'el we can go and beat ze crap out of 'er," Fantina said.

"…Ooh! I would enjoy zat very much!" Fantina said eagerly.

"As would we, we would like to have a few words with her over what she's done to you…" Butler said ominously.

"It's worse zan it looks, really!" Fantina insisted.

"Oh really?" Diane asked skeptically.

The Mismagius flushed. "Well…it would 'ave been even worse if Lily 'adn't been zere to back me up!" Fantina said.

Everyone turned to look at Lily, who turned red when she found herself the focus of so much attention. "I-I didn't do that much, really…" Lily stammered.

"Don't be shy, dear, I doubt I would 'ave lasted zat long wizzout you! You pulled my buns out of ze freezer more zan once back zere!" Fantina said.

"Shouldn't that be 'out of the oven?'" Dean asked.

"Bellum's an ice witch," Vladimir pointed out.

"Oh, right," Dean realized.

"S-still," Lily stuttered, turning even redder. "You did most of the work."

"Yes, but you're ze one who almost killed Bellum! Anozzer good blow and you'd 'ave finished 'er off once and for all!" Fantina said.

"Whoa, really? That's so cool!" Leo said excitedly.

"Wow, nice job, Lily," Ash said.

"Well done," Sasha said.

"Heh, good to see you were able to stand up to her," Briney complimented. "I knew you had it in you somewhere."

"Oh…well…" Lily looked away. "It's not that big a deal…especially since I didn't actually manage to kill her…" Mainly because she tricked me by making me think I had to choose between finishing her off and saving you, she thought, not wanting her friends to know that her concern for them was the reason she'd failed to kill Bellum for good.

"Even so, you managed to conquer your fears and prove you're not the same Lily whom she was able to hurt and boss around all the time," Pikachu said.

Rose nodded. "I haven't even reached that stage with my own mother yet…you're a real inspiration, Lily!"

"What does your mother have to do with anything?" asked a confused Bruno.

"Oh, my mother's an evil mage, just like Lily's," Rose said. "Except Lily's mother is a lot eviler than mine, because she's Bellum."

"…Wait, Lily's Bellum's daughter?" Bruno cried.

"Ah, just as I thought…" Looker murmured.

"Wait, you actually figured it out ahead of time?" asked the surprised Vladimir.

"Of course, I am a detective after all," Looker said.

"Didn't you know? I thought everyone did by now," Happy said.

"No! Why does nobody ever tell me things like this?" Bruno demanded.

"Because it's funnier that way. Anyway, let's hear it for my girlfriend, the witch who nearly killed Bellum!" Leo cheered. "You rock!"

Lily turned redder and redder as everyone kept praising her. Wh-why are they all making such a big deal out of this? I didn't kill her! She's right over there! I had the chance to destroy her once and for all, and I blew it! Doesn't anyone realize that?

It's not your near-victory they're celebrating, so much as what it means for you, B said.

Huh? What do you mean? Lily asked.

Don't you get it? Earlier, you were absolutely terrified of facing Bellum. But during the fight, you lost that fear. You became determined to do whatever it took to stop her and protect your friends. You refused to be afraid of her anymore. They're congratulating you for finding the courage to face, and nearly defeat her. That's something to be proud of!

But I didn't defeat her, and I'm still scared of her! Lily protested.

Oh? Are you as scared of her as you were before, after seeing her at her weakest and coming this close to killing her? B asked.

Lily considered this for a moment. I…no, I guess not, Lily thought, startled.

To you, Bellum has always been invincible, unstoppable, the dominating force of your unlife, capable of destroying everything you held dear at a whim…but now you know she's not nearly that strong. You almost killed her. You came within inches of it. Even though you didn't, she's always going to know that you could have in a heartbeat…and that next time, you might not hesitate to finish her off, B said. She knows now that you aren't a helpless pawn for her to torment at her pleasure…and now, so do you.

You're…you're right, Lily said in growing amazement. I…I can beat her, can't I?

That's right, you can, B agreed. And next time, you will.

No, Lily thought, a smile forming on her face as she looked at her friends. We will.

"Have you seen Max?" Sam asked abruptly as he pushed his way over to them. "I've been looking all over for him and asking everyone else, but nobody's seen him!"

"Sorry Sam, I don't have a clue," Ash apologized.

"Um…I do…" Lily said uneasily.

"Where? You've gotta tell me!" he demanded, grabbing and shaking her.

"Hey, hands off my girlfriend!" Leo said indignantly.

"Sorry, but it's a matter of life and death, possibly Max's, and more likely whoever took him!" Sam said.

"B-Bellum t-t-took h-h-her!" Lily stammered.

Everyone gasped. "What? Oh no!" Zippo cried.

"Zat's not good…" Bow murmured.

"Bellum? Why?" Sam asked in confusion, letting go of Lily.

"She wanted to know how he became a giant monster and why he had some strange magic surrounding him," Lily said. "She transported him back to her lair, where she'll probably do all sorts of terrible experiments and…other things to him. I'm…sorry, Sam."

"Why didn't you do anything to stop her?" Sam demanded.

"I couldn't!" Lily protested.

"Neizer of us could. Shiv'el froze us solid," Fantina said. "All we could do was watch."

"Well, you're not frozen now, so do something about it!" Sam insisted. "Send me to Bellum's lair! You're her daughter, you have to know where it is, right?"

"Hey yeah, she should, shouldn't she?" Pikachu realized.

"Why'd we never ask her about that before?" Ash wondered.

"Because it wouldn't have done any good," Briney said, having already read Lily's mind.

"How do you mean?" Goldor asked.

"Because I don't know where her lair is," Lily confessed.

Everyone gave her confused looks. "What do you mean? You lived there, didn't you?" Looker asked.

"Yeah, for at least three hundred years!" Leo said.

"Yes, I lived there, but I don't know where it is…at the moment, anyway," Lily confessed. "You see, Mother's hideout is a hollowed-out iceberg of Nevermelt Ice, set adrift in the ocean. The current carries it all around the world, so it's never in any one place for very long, and rarely stops in the same place twice. As such, I have no idea where it might be now."

"So zat's why I've never been able to find it!" Fantina gasped. "And all zis time, I figured it was shielded or in anozer dimension or somezing! 'Ow fiendishly clever…and just what I would expect from 'er!"

"I don't think now's the time to be admiring her," said a disturbed Salty.

"I'm not admiring 'er. I despise 'er. Even so, I 'ave to admit she's very smart and good at what she does, which is being bad," Fantina said.

"A floating iceberg? That's a bit of a problem…" Sam murmured with a frown.

"Wait, but if you don't know where it was, how were you able to get to or from it?" Pikachu asked.

"Through portals," Lily said. "Even if I didn't know exactly where it was spatially, I always knew what its interior looked like because it was…well, home. As such, I could get there from just about anywhere within range, and if I wasn't in range, I'd travel until I found somewhere I could portal to it from. That was rarely a problem, though, since Mother almost never let me out by myself, so usually whenever she and Marianne headed back I returned with them."

"Then open a portal and send me there!" Sam said.

"I'd love to, but I can't do that either," Lily apologized. "Considering that I ran away from home, I'm not exactly welcome back there. It's rigged with all sorts of horrible curses and traps to keep unwanted people from getting in…and I should know, since Mother tried out more than one of them on me to make sure they worked properly. If I opened a portal, it would trigger the defense systems and hit me and anyone else in range with an unblockable and absolutely lethal curse that would kill us after forcing us to writhe in unimaginable agony for about…twelve hours or so."

They stared at her, disturbed. "…Did she test that on you, too?" asked a horrified George.

"Oh yes," Lily said. "Well, except for the killing part. With that bit removed, the curse lasted for about a week. It was very unpleasant, but certainly not the worst thing she's ever done to me."

There was a long, dumbfounded silence as everyone processed this. "…Yeah, you definitely have me beat in the evil mother category," Rose murmured.

"Oh Lily…" Leo said sadly.

"Geez…" Ash whispered.

"Anozzer reason to 'ate myself for not finding 'er sooner," Fantina muttered to herself.

"Wow," Sam said finally. "That…does sound rather bad." He frowned and scratched his head. "But…it doesn't matter. I'll face a million instant-death spells to get Max back."

"Well, yeah, but how are you going to do that? No offense, but it kinda sounds like he's…you know, out of bounds. Forever," Buck said.

Dean whistled. "Mon, am I glad we never got locked up there…"

"Simple," Sam said, shrugging off his jacket and tossing his hat away, the frighteningly serious expression that had briefly been on his face when he had interrogated Brodie returning. "I'm going to go and 'ask' Bellum how to get my little buddy back. And if she doesn't return him, I'll shoot her until she tells me." With that, he turned and started walking across the debris field towards Bellum.

Everyone exchanged looks. "…Is he about to go and threaten the world's evilest witch to give back his best friend at gunpoint?" Pikachu asked incredulously.

"SO! COOL!" Leo and Zippo shouted.

"I'm…just going to go after him and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid," George said, running after Sam.

They exchanged looks after she left. "Does anyone else think we should go help him?" Sparky asked very reluctantly, his code of honor demanding it, but the rest of him really just wanting to wash his hands of the whole thing.

"I know I am," Fantina said.

"But Mozzer, you're still-" Bow protested.

"Bellum is my arch-nemesis, and I know what she's capable of more zan anyone 'ere except for Lily," Fantina said sharply. "Which is why I 'ave to 'elp him!"

Butler sighed. "Which means, of course, we're helping too…"

"And we've gotta help too, right?" Leo begged the others.

"Yeah, we have to," Ash agreed. He wasn't particularly fond of Sam either, but he didn't want him to get himself killed. The rest of the heroes nodded reluctantly but didn't argue.

"Us too, right?" Zippo pleaded Sparky.

The knight groaned, giving in. "Yeah, all right…"

"Which means we're going too," Bruno said.

"We are?" Dean asked in alarm.

"Yes, we are," Bruno said.

"Hey, you can't order him around, only I can do that!" Vladimir protested. Bruno glared at him, causing him to gulp and stammer, "W-which is why I'm ordering him to help fight Bellum, because it's the right thing to do!"

Dean groaned, while Bob whimpered in dismay. "Oh, come on…"

"We'll go too!" Silvia insisted.

"Do we have to?" Buck whined. "Haven't we done enough fighting already?"

"You can never have enough fighting!" Goldor said. "And besides, by this point she's run out of minions and other obstacles to throw at us, so we should be able to overpower her easily and make her tell us what she's done with that hideously deformed Buneary!"

"Well, unless Conservation of Ninjutsu kicks in…" Zippo muttered.

"Dude, you just jinxed us!" Leo cried in alarm.

"Conservation of what now?" Looker asked.

"You don't want to know," all of Team Aurabolt and Team Getem said deadpan.

"Well, either way, it'll make for a picturesque fight!" Todd said as they set off to go help Sam. "Hmm, but then again, so will the fight between Shivhel and Surtrit…and I can probably only take pictures of one, but which? Decisions, decisions…"

"Hey, speaking of Shivhel and Surtrit, why haven't they started fighting yet while we've been talking here?" Buck asked.

"Talking is a free action," all of Team Aurabolt and Team Getem said wearily before Leo and Zippo could open their mouths.

"Oh," Buck said, looking more confused than ever.

Speaking of Shivhel and Surtrit, they really should have started fighting by now, shouldn't they? Let's do something about that…

"You imbecile! You've ruined everything!" Shivhel screamed as she stared at the valley floor, only a few big chunks of ice remaining, and most of those were already disintegrating fast. "This was going to be my new ice rink! I would have had the greatest skaters and dancers from the furthest reaches of Niflheim come here to perform for me…and battle to the death in my name!"

"Ooh, there's a good idea," Bellum murmured to herself. "Note to self, get an ice rink/coliseum to force my prisoners to dance and kill each other for my amusement…"

"Bah, ice skating's for girls," Surtrit snorted.

"There are lots of great male skaters, you know," Shivhel pointed out.

"Whom are gay, and therefore girls," Surtrit said.

"…That is horribly politically incorrect!" said a disgusted Shivhel.

"Seriously? Something like that bothers you?" asked an incredulous Bellum.

"I'm evil, but I'm not prejudiced! Well, except for warm-bloods like this lout, but it's more of a general loathing than out and out bigotry and discrimination," Shivhel said.

Surtrit sweatdropped. "Are we really talking about this right now?"

"You're the one who started it by destroying my ice rink!" Shivhel shouted, gathering her power. "Destroying things is all you're good for! At least I can create things and make beauty, all you ever do is burn and burn until there's nothing left but ashes!"

"Some of us like ashes!" Surtrit snarled, his fire blazing up around him.

"NOT ME!" Shivhel shrieked, thrusting her hands forward and firing a massive blue-white ice blast at Surtrit.

Bellum sweatdropped. "Am I the only one who thinks they bicker like a married couple?"

Surtrit grunted and was pushed back a few feet as the ice blast smashed into him…but he shrugged it off, fire burning even brighter as his Flame Plate armor started glowing a brilliant red. Snarling, he surged forwards like a flaming comet, smashing through the energy blast towards Shivhel. Seeing he was coming, Shivhel quickly stopped firing and darted to the side out of the way. Surtrit swung his flaming sword as he shot past, and Shivhel had to bend her head so far back her neck snapped to keep from being decapitated. But such an injury meant nothing to her, and she snapped her neck back into place, pointed a hand at Sutrit's back, and fired another incredibly powerful ice blast at him. The attack propelled him through the air and smashed him into the side of the mountain that Rebecca had briefly brought to life which was now sitting awkwardly in the middle of the town's ruins, the continued force from her beam pushing him into and through the rock, creating a deep indentation. Shivhel spread her hands, blue energy balls forming in her palms, as she fired twin ice beams at the hole she'd created, covering it, as well as about a third of the mountain, in a thick sheet of ice. She grinned, believing him to be buried alive…

When abruptly, the mountain started shaking. The sides turned red from heat, and some of the rock actually started melting and sliding down the sides. As Shivhel flinched backwards from the temperature increase, her jaw dropping in disbelief, the top of the mountain abruptly exploded, a pillar of fire and lava rising hundreds of feet into the air, fireballs and huge lava bombs falling from its apex to rain down upon Dusty Ditch, tearing up the already devastated landscape further with explosions and massive craters as the projectiles smashed into the ground.

"No! My children!" Happy screamed in horror. "They were gestating under the mountain! That bastard's killed them!"

"And that's a bad thing?" Salty murmured to himself. Lu frowned and smacked him.

"Don't worry, I'm still picking up life from underneath that thing," Ash said as he scanned the flaming mountain with his Aura-sight. "All the lava and stuff seems to be generated by Surtrit rather than coming out of the ground, so none of it's touching them."

Happy sighed in relief. "Oh, thank goodness…I was worried the poor things would be scorched alive, before they had the chance to fully mature!"

"But instead, the heat from that fiery mountain should serve as an incubator to speed up their growth rate and make them come out even sooner, right?" Zippo guessed.

"Precisely!" Happy said.

"Joy…" Salty grumbled.

"Which means I'll get to see their hatching after all! I was getting worried about that," Todd confessed. "Glad they're gonna be okay…"

"RUN!" Sasha shouted, dashing away. Her friends exchanged startled looks and chased after her. Team Getem quickly followed, as did almost everyone else except for the confused vampires.

"Where are they all going so fast?" Vladimir wondered.

"Hey, is it just me or is one of those lava bombs heading right towards us?" Dean asked.

Vladimir glanced up, though it was difficult to do without looking into the Sun, which would burn his sensitive eyes. However, he was still able to make out enough to see that one of the falling projectiles was indeed growing larger at an alarming rate. "You know, I think it is," he said.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Dean said. There was a pause, and then they screamed and ran after the others, doing their best to stay in the shade of their umbrellas while still running as fast as they possibly could.

Uncaring of the chaos he had caused, Surtrit rose up the center of the pillar of fire from within the newborn volcano, a savage grin on his face. He crossed his arms, flames building up around his hands, and then he roared and started making a series of rapid throwing motions, flinging fireballs at Shivhel. The ice elemental ground her teeth in frustration and flew upwards, lithely dodging the fireballs and burning rocks that were hurled her away, flash-freezing any that came to close to her with thrusts of her palms and swift exhalations. She cupped her hands and started charging up a ball of freezing energy. Seeing this, Surtrit stopped in his volley and raised his hands to do the same. Shivhel managed to finish charging hers first, though, and hurled it before Surtrit could get his off. The energy ball struck the base of the pillar of lava and froze it solid, cooling it instantly and causing it to harden into a tower of rock. Shivhel smirked, pleased that it had petrified with Surtrit inside. "There, now that's a bit better," she said as the rain of fire came to an end.

"I think that's a matter of opinion!" Surtrit roared as a horizontal crack ran down the midpoint of the column and the upper half shuddered and rose upwards in the fire elemental's claws, his massive muscles barely having to exert themselves to haul the colossal weight. With a mighty bellow, he set the column ablaze and swung it at Shivhel like a baseball bat, smashing into her before she could fly out of the way and sending her flying, embers and snowflakes trailing in her wake as she flew across the valley and smashed into her palace, causing the front portion of it to cave in with the sound of shattering glass. Surtrit backflipped off the top of the mountain, landed at its base hard enough to crater the ground, reached down to grab its edge, lifted the whole thing into the air, and HURLED IT AT SHIVHEL'S PALACE.

The two mountains collided with an impact so strong it shattered both of them, sending massive boulders and jagged fragments of ice flying all over the place, forcing the heroes to run all over the place, firing attacks and raising shields to keep from being crushed by the debris. "What is he doing? He could get us killed!" Goldor sputtered.

"I thought he was on our side!" Bruno said.

"'e is! 'e just…well, gets a little carried away in a fight," Fantina said in embarrassment.

"If I knew he'd be this much trouble, I think I would have advocated for a less feisty fire spirit," Rebecca complained.

"What, they aren't all like this?" Cherry asked.

"Surprisingly, no." Rebecca sighed. "On the other hand, most of the calmer ones tend to be weaker…I guess it makes sense, the hotter they burn, the greater their power…and the wilder they are as well."

"…Would this have anything to do with why he's an 'old flame' rather than a…well, you know…" Lily said slowly.

"'mm? Oh no, ze two are completely unrelated. We broke up because 'e couldn't satisfy all my needs, if you know what I mean," Fantina said.

Everyone who knew or thought they knew what she was talking about goggled at her incredulously. "Ah," Lily said faintly.

"You know, I'm glad Tiny's not here, because I don't want to have to explain something like that to him," Ash groaned.

"I'm glad Cruise and Ritchie aren't here, because I don't want to have to explain something like that to them," Sparky said.

Ash blinked. "Wait, I thought Ritchie was in a relationship," he said.

"They are. They just haven't worked up the nerve to…you know, do it yet," Sparky said.

Briney shook his head bemusedly. "Kids these days…"

"Yes, they should stop wasting time and get around to doing it already," Salty agreed.

"I do not understand the mating customs of you civilized Pokémon," said a disgruntled Sasha. "Why do you not simply procreate already? Why spend so much time talking around the issue or procrastinating or pretending it's not on both of your minds?"

Most of them flushed. "Uh, well…" Rose said.

"Actually, most sensible individuals don't beat around the bush and just get to it straight away," Looker said knowledgeably. "Others, however, are a little more thick-headed and need reason to be pounded into their skulls. Repeatedly.":

All of Team Aurabolt looked at Ash. He sighed in exasperation. "Oh for the love of—can't we go one day without anyone bringing up my…relationship with Misty?"

"No," his friends all replied. His eye twitched.

"Zat's not somezing Mama or I worry about, but zen again, we're Mewrians, so generally don't waste time wiz zat nonsense and get right to ze good stuff," Bow said.

"Perhaps you should consider converting? I could teach you a few zings to make your boyfriend very 'appy…" Fantina offered Lily.

"Um, n-no, I'm perfectly happy being in the Sisterhood of the Bountiful Gracidea," Lily said nervously. "Er…Leo, our religion is a bit stricter about that…sort of thing, right?"

Leo frowned. "Huh? Heck no, where'd you get that idea?"

Lily sagged as Fantina and Bow giggled. "Oh…never mind…"

"Mi amore tried that tack for a while, but I got fed up and jumped him when his guard was down," Lu said, snuggling up to a resigned Sparky.

"It took Pikachu getting completely wasted for Dawn to unsheathe his sword, if you know what I mean," Briney said slyly, causing Pikachu to grit his teeth and briefly consider electrocuting him. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, boyo."

"Dammit Briney, stop reading our minds!" Pikachu snapped.

"No," Briney said flatly.

"…You're all completely insane," Goldor said.

"Mom, what did the Captain mean with that sword comment?" Buck asked.

"I'll, uh, tell you when you're older," Silvia said anxiously.

"Hey Ash, you're not gonna waste time with that nonsense anymore when Misty gets back from space, are you?" Leo asked a very embarrassed Ash.

"Wh-what? Um…er…I haven't really thought about it much…" Ash lied.

Leo sighed. "Of course you haven't. Stupid chaste Aura Guardian…"

"Who's Misty and why is she in space?" asked a confused Bruno.

"Oh, she's Ash's girlfriend," Happy said.

"She got abducted by the Nihilators and taken to their base, much like us," Vladimir said.

"But where they got turned into vampires, she got her particles scattered across reality by the insane Doctor Tarantulas," Cherry said.

"Fortunately, the Savior Deoxys reassembled her and is bringing her back, and will hopefully arrive in time to help defeat the Nihilators once and for all," Butler said.

"Yeah, that's pretty much the gist of it," Pikachu agreed.

"Quite a story, huh?" Leo said.

"…Dammit, why does nobody tell me these things ahead of time?" Bruno shouted in frustration, seeing that he was one of the very few people who had not known any of this.

"A better question is why everyone else seems to know these details about my personal life?" Ash demanded.

"Because it's fun to gossip, of course," Briney said. Ash facepalmed.

The remains of Shivhel's palace started shaking. Surtrit grinned and drove his flaming sword into the ground, causing a jagged fissure to start zigzagging across the landscape, flames and spurts of magma bursting out of it. Just as the crack reached the base of the mountain, a tremendous cluster of ice crystals erupted from the debris, towering thousands of feet into the air with a screaming Shivhel perched atop the tallest spire, snow and ice chips whirling around her. The crack touched the base of her crystals, and the mountain began to rumble again as it prepared to erupt. Shivhel directed her power down into the ground, turning the mountain itself into ice and freezing the eruption in its tracks, causing the ground split open by Surtrit's fissure to explode as the heat energy it had been conducting backfired, sending globs of lava and fire flying all over the place and leaving a gaping pool of magma in its wake, a pool that was starting to turn into stone as ice rapidly spread outwards from Shivhel's positon. Growling, fire blazing up all around him, Surtrit leaped into the air and dove into the lava pool with a cannonball, causing a tidal wave of lava that appeared to be far in excess of the actual contents of the pool to rise up and surge towards Shivhel, melting the hardened rock in its wake and destroying any ice in its path. Gritting her teeth, Shivhel planted her feet, spread her legs, and thrust her arms out, firing a tremendous ice blast at the tidal wave that cooled it to solidity in moments, creating a huge wave of stone looming over her.

Surtrit ran up the slope of the petrified lava wave, jumped off the crest, and sailed down towards Shivhel, raising his sword in the air and bringing it down on the ice elemental with all the force in his extremely powerful body. Shivhel caught the burning blade between her hands, encasing her limbs in mitts made of ice so as not to burn her sensitive flesh, generating new ice to by the second replace whatever was destroyed by contact with the sword. They ground their teeth as they pressed against each other, Surtrit trying to break Shivhel's block, and Shivhel trying to fling him away, elemental power building around them and causing fire and ice to blast away from them in all directions, shattering the stone wave, destroying the ice spires, and even causing the nearest mountains to start to crumble. As their eyes locked, hatred born from millennia of fighting and bad blood seemed to ignite the air between them, causing the ground to shatter as blasts of fire and ice intermittently burst out, dissipated, and were replaced by new ones seconds later. Finally, the energy grew too great for either of them to control, and with a tremendous blast the conflicting power exploded, flinging either elemental away in opposite directions, each crashing into a mountain so hard that they collapsed on top of them.

They didn't stay under for long, though. As the heroes watched in amazement and more than a little terror (and Todd took lots of pictures), in great explosions of their respective elements Surtrit and Shivhel emerged from their mountains, fire and ice swirling around them. As Surtrit threw his head back and howled, causing pillars of lava to erupt from the ground all around him, Shivhel raised her hands in the air and conjured icebergs which she telekinetically flung at Surtrit like giant frozen missiles. Surtrit took a few steps back, then with a running start leaped off the ground, fire blazing around him as he flew through the air towards the incoming icebergs. Spitting out fireballs of equal size, he destroyed the first dozen he encountered. The next dozen after that, he shattered with crushing blows from his immense claws and flaming sword. The final iceberg, one so big even a frost giant would have felt dwarfed by it, Surtrit simply grinned at and slammed into at full power, turning up the heat so that his flames melted everything they touched so that he could fly right through the ice mass and out the other side, the whole thing exploding behind him. An alarmed Shivhel quickly backflipped just before Surtrit landed where she had been standing with an impact so great that the ground actually exploded, a small mushroom cloud of fire and smoke billowing up from where he had landed.

Shivhel landed some distance away on the burning and scorched battlefield, the earth cooling and hardening as it came in contact with her feet. She gestured, and a blizzard stirred up, blowing away the flames and revealing a grinning Surtrit, buried up to his waist in a pool of liquefied rock. Planting the tip of his sword in the (slightly less melted) ground outside the pool, he hefted himself up and out and started running towards Shivhel, embers and magma dripping from his armored frame, the icy winds only serving to make his flames burn brighter, the snowflakes and hailstones evaporating before they even got within a foot of him. Snarling, Shivhel extended her necrotic left arm, which split apart, the dead flesh peeling back to reveal her ice-laced bones, which gruesomely cracked and split and reconfigured themselves, transforming into a blade of ice and bone. Howling like the north wind, she ran towards Surtrit, her long hair flying out behind her. With a roar of equal volume and intensity, Surtit met her, their blades swinging through the air and colliding with a thunderclap that disintegrated the surrounding mountains.

They dueled, sword of flame striking against sword of bone and ice again and again, their swordplay much like their respective elements: Surtrit was impulsive and fierce and relentless, attacking again and again from unexpected angles and directions, to counter Shivhel's seemingly impenetrable defense, her sword always just at the right spot to block his next strike, as cool and patient as a glacier, inexorably advancing and waiting for the opportunity to strike. He did not intend to give her that opportunity. When next their swords collided, locking against each other, he leaned forwards and vomited lava right at her face. She cupped her lips and blew, freezing the lava solid before it could reach her face and causing a very thick lump of stone to form inside Surtrit's throat. As he choked and tried to liquefy the obtrusive mass, Shivhel pressed forward, pushing him off balance and knocking his sword arm away from her. Cackling triumphantly, she lunged forwards to drive her sword through Surtrit's gut…

And screamed in pain and surprise when her sword shattered on impact with his armored torso. She stumbled backwards, crying in alarm as the rest of her arm caught on fire, desperately trying to put it out only to find that, no matter what she did, the flames wouldn't stop burning. Surtrit snapped his jaws shut, shattering the rock that had been stuck in them as he managed to liquefy and swallow the rest. "Stupid bitch. Did you really think that puny thing could penetrate the armor of the Flame Plate?"

"Perhaps not…but not all of you is protected by it!" she shrieked, her hair writhing and suddenly surging towards him, elongating and thrusting at any exposed part of his body in massive drills and screws and tiny razor-sharp needles. Surtrit simply grinned and ignited his fiery aura, the hairs flying right into the fire before the horrified Shivhel could draw them back, and when she did draw them back, she brought some of the fire with them, the flames rushing back up the strands to set her head alight, her cranium erupting into a great conflagration. "!"

"Heh, I always did say you needed a haircut!" Surtrit quipped. "And look, now your face looks better…or at least more symmetrical, what with both sides having all the skin burned off them and everything." He drew back his sword. "I'm sure your subjects won't mind…much. But we'll find that out soon enough, once I send you back to Niflheim!"

"No…NOOOOOOOOOO!" Shivhel screamed as Surtrit thrust his sword forwards, impaling her through the gut. The flames exploded outwards to consume her, causing the ice queen to disintegrate in a shower of embers and ash that drifted to the ground.

"!" Surtrit said mockingly, before throwing his head back and howling triumphantly, flames bursting from the ground all around him.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Bellum also screamed as she felt the last piece of her Fimbulvinter spell break. The earth trembled, and every trace of the intrusive other plane began to disappear. The extra-large mountains vanished, the remaining snow melted, and any lingering monsters faded away. Within moments, there was no trace of Niflheim to be left in Dusty Ditch or the surrounding landscape. In its wake was a heavily scarred, war-torn battlefield…but at least it was a completely terrestrial one, rather than one from another dimension. "What…what have you done? My winter wonderland…my glorious new ice age…it's all gone! You've ruined everything!" Abruptly, something small and hard and incredibly fast struck her arm, nearly tearing it off and causing her to spin about from the momentum. Startled, she looked down at the missing chunk of ectoplasm in her elbow. "Wh-what? Who…how…"

"The name is Sam…and the how is my second little buddy!" Sam snarled, pointing his smoking gun at Bellum. "And unless you want a second bite from him, I'd suggest you tell me what you've done with my first little buddy!"

"Or you'll have to deal with me," George said, pointing her crossbow at Bellum.

"And us!" the other heroes said, amassed behind Sam and George.

Bellum was startled and more than a little worried to see them all. Damn, I was so engrossed in the fight, I forgot all about them! "Are you trying to intimidate me? Don't make me laugh! The lot of you is on the brink of collapse from everything you've been through, while I'm back at full power thanks to Queen Shivhel! You don't stand a chance against me as you are now!"

"Damn, she knows about Conservation of Ninjutsu!" Leo hissed.

"Why does it have to work for villains, too? So lame!" Zippo complained. Their respective teams facepalmed.

Fantina smirked. "Even if you could take us…which I doubt…could you also 'andle Surtrit, who's sure to be 'ere any minute now?"

Bellum froze. "Ah…hmm. Perhaps, ah, I should take my leave and save killing you all for another day…Oblivion's Shadow must be told of what happened here today, so we'll be ready for you the next time!"

"Wait…the next time? What do you mean?" asked a startled Ash.

Bellum looked at him in surprise. "Wait…you mean…you didn't actually think…" She burst into laughter. "You did! Oh, that is so rich! You actually thought that was it? That I was going to be our only attempt to prevent our escaped fugitives from presenting their evidence against us to the whole world? Did you really think we would pour everything we had into one attempt? I may have failed now, but our next attack will be even worse!"

They gasped in horror. "What? No!" an alarmed Lily cried.

"She's right," Cherry said. "They'll launch another attack tomorrow, and while it won't be quite the same as fighting the denizens of an entire other dimension, it's still going to incredibly difficult to overcome."

"What? Why didn't you mention this before now?" Rebecca cried.

"Because I figured we had enough on our plate already, we could wait until after the battle to deal with what's coming next," Cherry said.

Bellum frowned. "That's right, you're an oracle, aren't you? So that's how you were able to prepare for the hordes of Niflheim…hmm, that could prove a problem…then again, I doubt I'll be involved in the next assault, which means if it fails, it'll be on Tarantulas's head, so it's a win for me either way!" She burst into laughter.

They sweatdropped. "Aren't they on the same side? I'd have thought she'd be more concerned about something like that…" Diane commented.

"Oh no, Bellum and the Doctor hate each other," Vladimir said.

"Yes, incredibly so, one of the worst tortures we suffered in their care was one of them ranting about how much they despised the other," Dean agreed.

"Yes, Mother even has a number of effigies of him she enjoys tormenting, though none of the ones she's made as voodoo dolls seem to work," Lily said.

"Unfortunately," Bellum grumbled. "But I get my jollies on ripping out the appendages and organs of regular Ariados and pretending they're him."

"…So, this is the kind of hatred where you really dislike the guy, not where you're secretly in love with him, I take it?" Leo said as the others made disgusted faces.

"Ugh! The former. The very idea makes me sick!" said a revolted Bellum. "You've just given me one more reason to kill you, Squirtle."

"'Kay," Leo said, unbothered since lots of people already wanted to kill him for lots of reasons. What was a couple more?

"Anywhere…where were we? Oh, yes, I was pointing out how futile your actions here were!" Bellum cackled. "Not only has your victory today failed to thwart us, it's failed to seriously inconvenience me as well…true, my attempt to bring Niflheim to this world failed this time, but now that I know my spell works, there's nothing to stop me from casting Fimbulvinter again and again, as many times as it takes until this world is covered in ice forever!"

"There's one thing…" Butler growled.

"Namely, that we aren't letting you get away to do any of that!" Ash said.

"We've already cast spells to prevent you from teleporting or portalling out of here. You have no choice but to face us!" Goldor said.

"Bellum, you're under arrest for crimes against Pokémonity. We're going to drag you before the Order of Merlin to face justice for everything you've done both as a Nihilator and one of the evilest sorceresses in history!" Looker croaked.

Bellum snickered. "Oh my, you're serious aren't you? You know, that might almost worry me if it weren't for one thing…I'm not actually here!"

"What are you talking about? You're floating right in front of us," said a confused Sasha.

"Wait…no, she's not!" Leo gasped, scanning the Froslass with his sunglasses. "It's just a projection! A Substitute she's controlling from somewhere else!"

"That's right!" Bellum sneered at the shocked looks on their faces. "When I saw Shivhel beginning to lose ground, I thought it best to beat a hasty retreat before the heat became too much of me. I'm already safe and sound in my hideout, plotting my next move…and trying to figure out what to tell Oblivion's Shadow that will minimize my punishment…"

"Then…then that means that all this was for nothing?" Rose cried in despair. "We didn't catch or kill you or any of your subordinates, we haven't stopped the Nihilators' plans to eliminate us, and we haven't permanently stopped your efforts to summon Niflheim?"

"That's right! Everything you've done was a complete waste of time!" Bellum cackled.

"Not so," Fantina interjected. "Even if we 'aven't stopped you permanently, we prevented Nifl'eim from taking root in zis area, and managed to give you a sound zumping you won't forget. Even if you've gotten away, you know zat you've lost zis day, Bellum. You zrew everyzing you 'ad at us, and it still wasn't enough. Not only zat, your own daughter, whom you 'ave belitted and abused 'er entire life, came wizin a 'airsbreadth of killing you. You nearly lost everyzing today, and you will always remember zat!"

Bellum yawned and rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, you're the moral victor here, blahblahblah, I don't care. I'm going to leave you now to lick your wounds and worry about just what sort of firepower we'll muster against you next. I can almost guarantee it will be more than you can withstand."

"I don't care about any of that!" Sam snarled as he fired a shot that passed just above Bellum's head, causing her to flinch. "Where's Max?"

"…Who's Max?" asked the confused Bellum.

George grabbed Sam's arm before he could fire again. "The giant monster you took?"

"Oh, so that's his name. Thank you, that's very informative," Bellum said.

"Where is he?" Sam demanded. "Tell me or I'll pump you full of lead!"

Bellum rolled her eyes. "Not that that would do anything, considering I'm not really here, but if you must know, he's at my lair, of course."

"You lie!" Sam barked.

"…Um, no I'm not," Bellum said, looking puzzled.

"She isn't. I, uh, sort of told you that already. Remember?" Lily asked.

"Oh. Right," Sam said as everyone facepalmed. "Well, uh, where's your lair?"

"Oh please, like I'm going to tell you that?" Bellum snorted.

"If we're all going to get killed tomorrow, why not tell us? What's the harm if the secret will die with us anyway?" Lu asked reasonably.

"Oh no, I'm not falling for that one! While I'm confident you'll die, I'm not certain enough to let information as valuable as that slip, just in case you make it through and manage to report it to the authorities," Bellum sneered. "Not that the information would do you any good anyway. As Lily's no doubt told you already, my hideout is an iceberg adrift in the sea, and even if you know where it is now, there's no guarantee it'll still be there by the time you arrive, since it's constantly carried by the ocean's currents, its location constantly changing from one moment to the next."

"Everyone's an iceberg adrift in the sea of life," Sam rambled spontaneously. "Where are we going? Where do we come from? We have no way of knowing these things. The currents of fate guide us against our wills, directing us where they please with no control over our destinies, carrying us from the glaciers or arctic regions we broke off of down to the warmer seas where we die, melting all alone in front of an uncaring world and a bunch of tourists who take lots of pictures because they think our death knell is really cool for some reason. Unless we crash into another iceberg, or a ship slams into us and sinks like in that one cheesy multimillion dollar movie with Leonardo Whatshisface and Kate Whosits, which, while sappy and overblown, is still infinitely preferable to the animated version rife with Disney rip-offs and a thoroughly anachronistic rapping dog of all things, or the other animated one where the ship was saved by a giant squid with a dog face. That makes a pretty good analogy for relationships in general, actually."

They stared at him, utterly dumbfounded. "…Huh?" said a confused Bellum.

"Okay, that one went over even my head," Leo admitted.

"He's right, though, those movies were bogus," Zippo said. Leo nodded in agreement.

"What if you had a sea chart?" Salty said.

"Hmm?" Sam asked.

"A sea chart. Those usually have currents marked on them, so sailors can know where to take their boats that'll get them to their destinations faster, and where to avoid to keep from getting slowed down or smashed into a rock or something," Briney said.

"Don't be ridiculous, how's an iceberg supposed to read a sea chart? They have no eyes, or years of nautical training!" Sam said. Everyone facefaulted.

"…Yyyyeah, I'm just…gonna go do something else now," Bellum said slowly. "Bye." Her Substitute hardened into ice, turned brittle, and shattered.

"Noooooooo!" Sam howled piteously, falling to his knees and firing his gun wildly into the sky, forcing everyone to duck in alarm. "Max! Where are yoooooouuuuu?"

"Sam…" George whispered.

"I thought we knew it was Bellum's lair," Sasha whispered.

"It was a rhetorical question, I think," Pikachu murmured.

"Not that rhetorical, since we don't know where Mother's lair is," Lily reminded them.

"No, but we can find out. Sam, I know you are worried for your friend, but once we get to Fichina, we can use ze resources zere to find 'im and get 'im back," Fantina said.

"But 'ow? Mama, I zought you said you've never been able to find 'er 'ideout before," Bow pointed out.

"Zat was before I knew what we were looking for. Now zat I know it's a mobile iceberg, zere are ways to figure out which one it is. Just as Briney said, sea charts already exist displaying ze world's ocean currents, and if one of zose currents is carrying an iceberg, zere are any number of ways to find out if one of zem is where Bellum is 'oled up or not," Fantina said. "Once we present all our evidence against Bellum and ze Nihilators to ze Order of Merlin and ze rest of ze world, an international monhunt will be put into effect to track down and destroy any enemy bases or agents Vladimir and Dean can tell us about. As a 'igh-ranking member of ze Nihilator organization and zreat to ze free world, extra effort will be expended on locating Bellum's lair, so zat we can free all 'er prisoners, end 'er blasphemous experiments, and put an end to 'er wickedness for good."

"I'll help," Lily promised. "I know Mother's lair better than almost anyone else, though there are parts of it even I was forbidden to enter. Don't worry, Sam. We'll get Max back." She didn't mention what condition he might be in by the time they actually rescued him, though. She knew all too well what sorts of things Bellum did to creatures that interested her…

"…All right," Sam said, calming down somewhat. "But I want to be part of the raid on Bellum's lair. And if those egghead politicians take too long setting up the operation, I'll head out on my own to rescue him. I don't care how difficult you say it'll be, Max is my best friend, and I'll do whatever it takes to get him out of there."

"And I'll come too," George said.

Sam blinked. "You will?"

"Sure! Max is…well, okay, he's not really my friend, but he's your friend, and you're my friend, so…I'm obligated to help out," George said. And besides, it also meant she'd get to spend more time with Sam.

Sam scratched his head. "Well, all right. I'll have to deputize you as a member of the Freelance Police, though…but it's only going to be a temporary thing, since 'Sam and George' doesn't have quite the same ring to it as 'Sam and Max' does."

"'Bob and George' sounds pretty good, though," Zippo commented out of the blue. Bob glanced up and looked around, wondering why someone had mentioned his name.

"Hmm, this also means I'm going to have to let Sam Jr. stew in prison for a little while…oh well, I'm sure Max Jr. will find a way to save him from being executed in time," Sam said.

"Sam Jr.? You have a son?" George asked, startled.

"Yes, as the name implies," Sam said.

"Don't worry, he's adopted," Leo said.

"Oh," George said, trying to hide her relief.

"And a giant cockroach!" Zippo said.

"…A what?" asked a confused George.

"A big ugly bug," Leo explained.

"Hey, I'm a Bug!" Happy said.

"Yes, but you aren't ugly," Leo said.

"Oh, that's true," Happy admitted.

"Ah," George said vaguely.

"Why…why is his son…" a dumbfounded Sparky started.

"Don't ask," Pikachu said flatly. "Trust me, its more trouble than it's worth."

The heat rose sharply as Surtrit descended from the sky, landing nearby. "Well, that's Shivhel taken care of. She won't be bothering you again anytime soon, and it'll be a while before she's a problem to anybody else, either. It'll take her ages to recover from the beating I gave her!"

"Beating? You completely disintegrated her," Ash said.

"Yeah, but creatures like her and myself are pretty much immortal, so something like that can't kill her. It hurts like the Abyss, though, and it'll take a really long time for her to restore herself back to full power after a defeat like that," Surtrit explained.

"Really? But Bellum said she'd just go and cast her spell again, and start this all over," Buck said.

Surtrit frowned. "She did? I can't see what gave her that idea. With Shivhel in her current condition, control over Niflheim automatically goes to her lover, Shivhar, until she recovers. While it's possible for Bellum to summon him, he's not nearly strong enough to bring even a small part of Niflheim with him."

Their eyes lit up at this. "Then you mean…" Lily said hopefully.

"That Bellum won't be able to try something like this again anytime soon?" Surtrit grinned. "Precisely."

They all sighed in relief. "Thank goodness! That's one less thing for us to worry about," Diane commented.

"Heh, I'd love to snap a picture of the look on her face when she tries to cast Fimbulvinter again and it doesn't work!" Todd laughed.

"You mean after she murdered an entire town of innocent people to fuel the spell in the first place?" Sasha asked.

"…Oh. Uh, on second thought, I hope she finds out before she does that…" Todd murmured anxiously.

"He may be weaker, but is this 'Shivhar' a threat at all?" Bruno asked just to be certain.

Surtrit shook his head. "Nah, the guy's a total pussy. That's part of the reason Shivhel keeps him around, she knows he'll never be able to overthrow her should she be incapacitated, like she is right now."

"Then we won't have to worry about him coming after any of us for revenge for what happened to his wife?" Rose said, looking relieved.

"Nope, you just have to worry about the psychotic evil ice witch instead," Surtrit said.

Rose blanched. "Ah."

"Zank you very much for everyzing, Surtrit. We could not 'ave done it wizout you. Zanks to you, zis world 'as been saved from ze 'orrors of Nifl'eim," Fantina said gratefully.

Surtrit smirked. "Hey, it was no problem. Anything for an old friend. Besides, any chance to roast that bitch Shivhel a few times is more than enough reason for me to get involved in a scuffle like this."

"…He called that a scuffle?" Dean said incredulously.

"If that's a scuffle, I'd hate to see what he'd consider a full-blown fight…" a disturbed Looker murmured.

"Thank you very much for your help. We all appreciate what you've done for us. Now get out of here and go back to your world before you get any ideas of introducing the horrors of Muspelheim in Shivhel's place," Rebecca warned the elemental. "We summoned you, which means we can banish you too if you don't comply."

Surtrit rolled his eyes. "All right, geez. I was just about to leave anyway, this place is too cold for my liking and it's not worth the effort to make it hot enough to be comfortable."

"…He calls this cold? We're in the middle of the desert in the center of a lot of recent volcanic activity and explosions and seismic upheavals, and this is cold?" Lu asked incredulously, already starting to feel a little dizzy from the swiftly increasing heat.

"If this is cold, I'd hate to see what he considers hot…" Salty murmured, dousing her in water to cool her off. She smiled gratefully at him.

"Before you go, I think you have something that belongs to me, dude," Zippo said.

Surtrit blinked. "Huh? What're you talking about?"

"The Flame Plate. It's mine. Give it back!" Zippo demanded.

"What? Oh, come on! Do you have any idea how long I've wanted to get my hands on something like this?" Surtrit whined.

"I don't care! I found it first! Give it back!" Zippo shouted.

"Oh yeah? And what if I don't want to?" the fire elemental asked, standing up to his full height. He would have covered the Charmeleon in his shadow, except that he was completely on fire and so had no shadow.

Zippo paused, realizing this was a very good question. "Then…um…I'll have the dudettes who summoned you make you give it back!"

"Oh, please! They're not the bosses of me!" Surtrit said.

"Surtrit, give him back ze Flame Plate," Fantina ordered.

"But-" he protested.

"NOW!" Fantina, Rebecca, and Lily shouted.

He sulked. "Oh, fine. Here." Reluctantly he gripped the embossed flame on his chest and pulled on it, causing his armor to shudder and retract into it, shrinking and compressing into a plain red rectangle that was just barely visible in his massive claws. He sullenly tossed the Plate to Zippo, who eagerly caught it, then yelped in pain and dropped it to the ground, the artifact too hot even for his hands. Pouting, Surtrit folded his arms over his ridiculously chiseled chest, causing Bruno to feel a little self-conscious...and not just because of his musculature. Quite a lot of Surtrit's body was exposed now that he was no longer clad in armor… "There. You've made me give up a prize I've been craving for millennia. Can I go now?"

"Yes," Fantina said.

"Fine. Oh, hey, am I still invited for that thing next month?" Surtrit asked hopefully. "I've been looking forward to it for a while."

"So long as you wear somezing decent," Fantina said.

"What, seriously? But I'm totally out of clothes! Do you have any idea how hard it is to find something that won't burst into flames the second I touch it?" Surtrit whined.

"You can't wear something fireproof?" Silvia suggested.

"Those burst into flames too! When most people fireproof stuff, they don't usually have a guy like me in mind," Surtrit complained.

"No tux, no tie, no entry," Fantina said firmly.

"Oh, fine," Surtrit said in exasperation. "I'll see what I can do. Oh well, at least you didn't say anything about pants." Before Fantina could say that he did, in fact, have to wear pants, he vanished in a burst of flame that singed the eyebrows of everyone who had been standing too close. Those of whom had eyebrows, anyway.

Fantina huffed in annoyance. "Well! 'Ow rude, 'e didn't even say goodbye! 'Onestly, it's times like zis I wonder why I ever associate myself wiz him!"

"Because-" Bow started.

"Ozzer zan zat!" Fantina interjected.

"…You're summoning him again in a month for a 'thing?'" Lily asked in confusion. "What kind of 'thing' is that?"

"A formal party, I'm guessing, if the dress code is anything to go by," Leo assumed.

Diane nodded. "Yes, just a little get-together Her Grace holds once a decade or so."

"Oh! Can I come?" Silvia asked hopefully.

"Sorry, it's for masters of Fire magic only," Butler said.

"Oh," Silvia said, slumping in disappointment.

"Well, I never!" Goldor growled to himself. "How disgustingly decadent and exclusive!"

"But Dad, don't you throw parties all the time that only a few select people can attend, and thumb your metaphorical nose at everyone you don't invite?" Buck asked.

"Yes, but none of my parties are ever attended by the ruler of a whole other dimension!" Goldor snapped.

"Didn't we have some of the Vanir over just the other day for croquet?" Silvia recalled.

"Yes, but those are the Vanir, they show up at every party, even the ones they aren't invited to, lousy bunch of freeloaders," Goldor grumbled.

"Fire, eh? I, uh, don't suppose that I could come?" Zippo asked hopefully, gingerly touching the still-smoldering Flame Plate with a toe to see if it was okay to pick up. He flinched and hopped back, finding it still too hot.

"Mmm…I suppose so," Fantina said.

"Radical! Can I bring a date?" Zippo asked. Rose's face lit up hopefully.

"Sure," Fantina said.

"Awesome!" Zippo cheered, high…appendaging Rose.

"Oooh, can Lily and I come too?" Leo asked.

"Leo, I-I don't think I qualify to go to an event like-" Lily protested.

"Of course you can come, dear," Fantina said.

"Wh-what?" Lily cried in surprise as Leo whooped and punched the air. "But, but I'm not nearly powerful or experienced enough!"

"Considering that you helped summon Surtrit and nearly killed Bellum, I'd say you're more than welcome to attend," Diane said, causing Lily to blush.

"Hmmm…" Goldor hummed, narrowing his eyes. "Buck, that settles it, you're marrying the Fire Countess the week after next."

"I thought I was going to marry the heiress to the Grammy-Meier hot Growlithe empire," Buck said.

"Not anymore you're not!" Goldor said. Buck rolled his eyes, certain that this latest engagement would be forgotten in a few days' time and replaced with some other prospective marriage to further his father's ambition…as usual.

"Well, this was certainly an interesting day," Briney commented.

"And so will tomorrow, if what Bellum and Cherry said is anything to go by," Pikachu said, shaking his head wearily.

"It is," Sasha said. "I can feel it brewing on the horizon…we are not yet out of danger."

"Oh, great," Ash groaned, plopping on his rear in exhaustion. "As if what we faced today wasn't bad enough? I can't even imagine what they're going to throw at us next…"

Looker sighed and shook his head. "This is definitely not what I signed up for when I joined the force."

"Well, there's an easy way to avoid all this, isn't there?" Bruno suggested. "The Nihilators can only attack us tomorrow if we're somewhere that can be attacked. Why don't we all just teleport or portal or take another form of transportation to get to Fichina immediately? That way we'll all get to safety and the vampires and Team Aurabolt and anyone else here with some evidence against the Nihilators can testify at the tribunal, Team Getem can get those Plates they've been looking for, Todd can deliver his pictures to his newspaper's office, Sam and George can start their search for Bellum, Looker can…uh, do whatever he's doing, and most importantly, I can get paid."

They all perked up at this. "Hey, that's a brilliant idea!" Pikachu said.

"Indeed! In fact it's so brilliant, I have to wonder why we didn't just do that in the first place, rather than riding on a train and making an easy target," Vladimir commented.

"…I like riding trains," Fantina said shiftily. "And besides, taking ze scenic route is more fun!" Lily frowned. From the uneasy looks on Fantina and her retinue's faces, it was clear there was something else behind this…something she wasn't saying.

"More fun, perhaps, but also infinitely more life-threatening!" Goldor said. "Right, let's get in touch with the authorities in Fichina, and they'll send someone over to start cleaning up this mess and take us safely home. Then we can put all this nastiness behind us and go on with our lives. What do you all say?"

They all nodded, seeing reason in this…except for Cherry, who shook her head. "We must not. What will take place tomorrow is something we cannot turn our backs on. If we run from this fight, many will suffer and the future of the world may be in jeopardy."

"Oh, come on!" Rebecca shrieked as everyone groaned. "What now? Are the Nihilators going to destroy some other town if we don't show up? Are they going to blow up a country? Split a continent in half? Boil the oceans? What is so Arceusdamned important about tomorrow that we can't just skip it and go home?"

"Lugia," Cherry said.

Ash stiffened, and everyone stared at Cherry in surprise. "…I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" asked the startled Rebecca.

"Lugia," Cherry repeated, pushing past the Frillish to stare into Ash's eyes.

Leo snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah, that's right! The Nihilators have Lugia, don't they?"

Pikachu nodded. "Manaphy told us he'd helped them capture him when we fought him."

"Right before we beat him up and Kyogre ate him," Briney said smugly.

"Wait…Manaphy's evil? And dead?" Zippo cried in horror.

Team Aurabolt exchanged guilty looks, belatedly remembering that Zippo was a priest of Manaphy. "Oh…uh…don't worry, I'm sure by now he's been reincarnated somewhere out there as a good Pokémon…" Leo said quickly.

"Yes, the latest report from home indicated that Manaphy's children, the Phione, would like to move into Pokémon Square since they can't find a home anywhere else. They said they'd dropped Manaphy's egg off with someone they believed could raise him properly, so he could have a fresh start," Pikachu said.

"Oh! Well, that's good, then," Zippo said in relief. "But he was a bad guy for a while? Well, now I know why my surfing's been suffering lately…and why I've occasionally had urges to take over the world."

"Me too, buy I don't think Shaymin's evil, so that's probably all me," Leo said. His friends gave him disturbed looks.

"Manaphy became evil, died, and was reborn elsewhere? Why does nobody tell me these things?" Bruno demanded.

"Actually, this is the first time most of us have heard about that, too," Looker said.

"Oh," Bruno said, relieved that he wasn't the only one who'd been in the dark about this.

"Lugia…they're going to send Lugia against us?" Ash demanded.

Cherry nodded. "And just like the other legendary Pokémon in the Nihilators' service, he's been transformed into a Shadow Pokémon…but where the three birds' hearts grew dark long ago and they joined the forces of evil willingly, Lugia was tortured and twisted and broken until his heart was closed and he was transformed into a monster. As such…there is still a chance that he can be purified and redeemed. However, only an Aura Guardian is capable of this, and even then…it must be you, Ash."

"Why him? Ritchie's an Aura Guardian too," Salty pointed out, looking as disturbed as everyone else at the news that Lugia had been transformed into a weapon of evil.

"Because I'm the Chosen One," Ash said resignedly.

Everyone gasped. "Wait…the Chosen One? The legendary hero who is fated to save the world and restore balance to Creation?" Goldor cried in incredulously.

"You are ze one spoken of in prophecy?" Fantina said incredulously.

"Funny, I zought 'e'd be older," Bow commented.

"And taller," Butler agreed.

"And handsomer," Diane said. Everyone looked at her. "What? Like you weren't thinking it too?"

Cherry nodded. "He is indeed the Chosen One…and a special bond exists between him and Lugia, from an adventure they shared long ago, a destiny they fulfilled together. It is that bond that will allow their hearts to link, and release the light that has been imprisoned. Only you can do this, Ash. If you are not there to meet the Nihilators when they launch their attack—if there is nobody for them to attack—there is no telling what target they will use Lugia against instead, and no guarantee that you will be able to purify him before you and your friends confront the Nihilators for the final battle. If they still control Lugia when that happens, it will be nearly impossible for you to prevail."

Ash nodded resolutely, his unhappiness about his fate being decided for him diminishing at the realization that he had to help Lugia, that he could not possibly choose any other course of action. "I understand. I'll save him. You have my promise on that…and when I make a promise, I do my best to keep it!"

"Which means we're in, too," Pikachu said.

Leo nodded. "Yeah, any fight you're part of is one that involves the rest of us too!"

"You can count on us," Lily agreed.

"I can sense you will need all the help you can get…which is why we will be there beside you," Sasha said.

"And besides, it'll give me another chance to punch out a god," Briney said with a grin.

Ash smirked. "There's no point in my even trying to talk you guys out of this, huh?"

"Nope!" Pikachu said. "And I'm sure Tiny and Dawn will say the same thing, once they get back here!"

Ash chuckled. "I figured…well, I'm glad to have you with me all the same."

"You will need them," Cherry said. "Because it will not only be Lugia the Nihilators will throw at you. Among other things—which I shall elaborate on later—Articuno will be back, along with the other two legendary birds."

Leo whistled, impressed. "Whoa, they're sending all of them after us? Huh, they really want us dead, don't they?"

"That's a bit of an understatement," Pikachu said.

"Ash, as you've found out today, it is your destiny to defeat the legendary birds and end the blight they have cast upon our world once and for all. Much like Lugia, if you do not do it now, when they will all be gathered against you, it will be much more difficult to defeat them later," Cherry said.

Ash nodded. "All right. I'm looking forward to finishing what I started with Articuno."

"Wait, it's your destiny to kill the bird trio? Since when?" Pikachu asked.

"I'm pretty sure that's not in the prophecy of the Chosen One…" Looker murmured.

"It's not. Basically, since I killed the bird trio after they attacked my friends and I on a flimsy justification a thousand years ago, just before the great cataclysm, I've apparently been designated to execute them permanently to punish them for all the crimes they've committed over their long lifetimes," Ash explained.

"Wait, you killed the birds once? And were alive a thousand years ago? Why does nobody tell me-" Bruno started.

"Look, we'll explain everything later, okay?" Pikachu said wearily.

Ash nodded. "Yeah, it's a long story, and not one I enjoy telling."

"I have no problem with it!" Leo said cheerfully. Ash glared at him. "What? What you did back then was totally badass! You should be proud of it! I hope I get to do something as cool as that someday!" Ash put his face in his hands and groaned.

"I'm…not sure I'm okay with you killing gods," Sparky said dubiously. "But…if you intend to battle such formidable opponents, then I suppose we shall have to postpone getting to Fichina until we take care of this. Ritchie's not here right now, but I'm sure he'd agree with me once he gets back from…wherever he is."

"Which means we're all in too," Lu said.

"Um, actually-" Happy started.

"We're all in too," Lu repeated. The rest of Team Getem gulped and nodded quickly.

Todd sighed. "I really do need to get these pictures back to the office…but what the Abyss! It sounds like there's going to be even better opportunities for pictures if I tag along! You can count me in too!"

"We shall be zere as well," Fantina declared.

"What? But, but Mistress-" Butler protested.

"No buts, Butler, I'm going," Fantina said.

"But in your current condition-" Diane argued.

"I will be fine tomorrow. Ash and 'is friends stood by me yesterday and agreed to 'elp me fight Bellum. Now I must repay ze favor. And besides…if Lily's fighting, zen I 'ave to be zere to make sure nozing 'appens to 'er! I've only just now found 'er after centuries of looking, so I'm not going to let her slip away!" Fantina said.

Lily blushed. "F-Fantina…"

"Oh well, I guess I'll be zere too," Bow said. "Not like I 'ad any pressing social engagements tomorrow, anyway."

Butler sighed. "There's no point in us trying to convince you otherwise, is there?"

"Non," Fantina said. "Just like zere is none in trying to convince you ozzerwise, yes?"

"Yes," Diane and Butler groaned.

"Zen it's settled! We're all going!" Fantina said cheerfully.

"Well, uh, good luck to you, Vlad and Bob and I'll just take one of those alternative transports you mentioned and meet you in Fichina-" Dean started.

"No, we're going too," Vladimir said.

"Oh come on!" Dean screamed. "Why? They'll probably attack in broad daylight, we'll be completely useless!"

"We have to be there, because if the Nihilators don't think we're on board the train, they might not bother attacking," Vladimir pointed out.

"…Oh," Dean said disgruntledly, hating how much sense that made. Bob drooled on his foot obliviously.

"Well, I'm still being paid to protect you guys, so I'm in too," Bruno said. "But how are we going to convince the train crew to take the Enchanted Express into more danger?"

"With money, and lots of it!" Goldor said. "I'll throw Poké at them until they're willing to take us where we want to go! After all, for enough money, any mon will walk barefoot into the Abyss! Wearing a blindfold! With a big 'EAT ME' sign hanging from their neck! Well, okay, maybe not that last part…"

"Dear! Then does that mean we're going as well?" Silvia asked hopefully.

"Of course! We can't let those Nihilators think they can frighten us away or boss us around! And besides, we took down a frost giant, what's a few measly birds?" Goldor boasted. He didn't mention that he also didn't want to lose face in front of Fantina. If she toughed it out while he and his family ran away, that certainly wouldn't look good in the circles they both shared. People would be snickering at him behind his back and calling him a coward! Well, he'd show them that Goldor Goldorrington feared nothing, and was just as big and heroic a mon as Fantina Fantasma! Let's see them laugh at that!

"Do I actually get a choice this time?" Buck groaned.

"Of course you do," Silvia said.

"Really?" Buck asked, perking up.

"Certainly. If you wish to go home, we'll send you there straight away," Goldor said.

"Cool! But…oh…you're not coming with me, are you?" Buck asked. His parents shook their heads. "Then I'm definitely staying. We should fight as a family. We're stronger that way! We proved that today, right?"

Goldor chuckled. "We certainly did! Then your mind is made up?"

"Oh yeah! I'm not leaving! No way in heck!" Buck said.

"Then you're welcome to stay!" Silvia said, giving him a hug.

"Let me guess, you're going to tell me that I have no choice but to come along?" Rebecca asked Cherry in resignation.

"No," Cherry said. "If you don't want to come, you don't have to."

Rebecca blinked in surprise. "Huh? Really?"

"Sure. You already died, and once is enough for most people. There's no need for you to risk your new unlife a second time," Cherry said.

"Oh! Well…in that case, I guess I'll…" She paused and narrowed her eyes. "Waaaaiiiit a minute. What about you?"

"Oh, I'm staying," Cherry said.

"What! But why?" Rebecca protested.

"To make sure my vision of the future comes true," Cherry said. "If I wasn't there to help make sure everything turned out okay, I would never be able to forgive myself if something bad happened."

"…Dammit. I really hate you sometimes, you know that?" Rebecca growled. "Fine, I'm staying too."

Cherry gave her a surprised look. "What? Really?"

"Yeah…if I left, I'd be constantly worrying about what happened to you and wondering if there was something I could have done to help," Rebecca said with a sigh. "And besides, if I'm going to die (again) it might as well be with my best friend."

Cherry blinked, and then broke out into a warm smile. "Thank you, Rebecca."

"I'll fight with the rest of you," Looker announced. "It's my duty as an International Police detective to take down crooks, and right now there's no crooks bigger than the Nihilators!" And besides, I can't let my perp have the chance to make a break for it…I've been on the trail for so long, and soon I'll finally have the chance to make a collar!

Sam frowned, looking conflicted. "What's wrong, Sam?" George asked.

"I can't decide whether I should stay on the train or go ahead to Fichina," Sam said, grinding his teeth. "On the one hand, I really want to take out my anger on something, and these Nihilators sound like a good target. On the other hand, the faster I get to Fichina, the faster I can start looking for Max."

"Well, whatever you decide, I'll stick with you," George promised.

"…Thanks," Sam said, surprised to find himself smiling at her.

Ash was smiling too, at everyone else. "Thank you, all of you. I'd try and talk you out of it, say this isn't your fight…but since the Nihilators already tried to kill us once today, I guess that makes it everyone's battle. I'll be happy to have you with me."

"Don't mention it," Sparky said.

"After all, 'ow many people get to say zey purified and/or killed some Legendary Pokémon alongside ze 'onest-to-goodness Chosen One?" Bow said.

"You're going to have to explain that part to me, by the way…along with a lot of other things," Bruno said.

"I'll see what I can do," Ash said wearily. "Anyway…I wonder where Ritchie, Tiny, Cruise, Dawn, and Kairyu are? They're the only ones who aren't here…"

"We're on our way!" Ritchie's voice echoed from Ash's badge, causing everyone to jump in surprise.

"Ritchie? Is that you?" Sparky called excitedly.

"Yeah, and I'm with Cruise and Tiny," Ritchie said.

"Hey guys!" Cruise said through the badge.

"Daddy, are you all right? What happened?" Tiny asked in concern.

"It's a bit of a long story. Basically, Shivhel froze everybody, including us, then brought me here to give to Bellum, but then a big fiery guy called Surtrit showed up and saved the day," Ash explained.

"Which is why everything's back to normal, I take it?" Cruise asked.

"Pretty much, yeah," Ash said.

"Darn, we missed out on the big fight!" Ritchie complained.

"Don't worry, Ritchie, there'll be an even bigger one tomorrow," Sparky promised.

"Yeah, and you'll get a second shot at Articuno, too!" Zippo added.

"Articuno? Wait…she's still alive?" Ritchie cried.

Ash winced. "Yeah. Bellum sent her away. She and the other legendary birds are going to be attacking us tomorrow along with a huge Nihilator attack force, according to Cherry."

"And Lugia'll be there too," Leo added.

"Whoa, seriously? That's going to be an incredible fight! You're not going up against all of them alone, are you?" Ritchie asked in concern.

"No, everybody here's agreed to help," Ash said.

"Including us," Sparky said. "I didn't have your input, but I was fairly certain you'd choose to take part in the battle too."

"Well, you were right! You can count me in! Team Getem will back you up one hundred percent!" Ritchie said.

Ash grinned, as did his friends. "I'm glad to hear that…and Tiny, are you okay?"

"Yeah. Sorry we didn't call sooner, but my badge wasn't working properly. A little while after all the big explosions we saw off in the distance faded, though, it started working again," Tiny explained.

"It must have been all the clashing elemental energy in the air from Shivhel and Surtrit fighting…it probably interfered with your communicators," Rebecca said. "Now that they're both gone, they should be working properly again."

Pikachu's eyes widened. "Then that means…" He tapped his badge. "Dawn, come in, this is Pikachu. Can you hear me? Dawn?"

There was a long and nerve-wracking silence, before finally there was a response. "Pikachu, this is Kairyu. I hear you."

Pikachu's eyes widened in alarm. "What? Kairyu? Where's Dawn?" Everyone exchanged worried looks.

"Right here. I'm using her badge communicator, after all! Unfortunately, she's not able to talk right now. She took a lot of damage during the battle, and while I've done my best to mend her wounds, she's going to need more healing and some bed rest before she's in tip-top shape again. The same could probably be said of myself, of course…that fight really took a lot out of me!" Palmer said.

Pikachu sighed in relief. "Thank goodness…I was really worried for a minute."

"Nah, everything's fine. Well…except…" Palmer hesitated.

"We know," Pikachu said. "You didn't kill Paul. None of us were able to kill our targets, either. All of them, including Bellum, escaped."

"…I see. That is most distressing news," Palmer said after a moment.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Zippo grumbled.

"Dammit…we had him! He was completely helpless! We were just about to kill him when that…that ice wave thing came out of nowhere and blindsided us!" Palmer snarled.

"Ze same zing 'appened to all of us," Bow said sadly.

Fantina nodded. "We came very close to ending ze zreat zey posed once and for all…but zanks to Shiv'el's interference, zey will all live to kill anozzer day."

"This isn't how it was supposed to happen," Palmer said miserably. "We were going to do it. We told ourselves that we would, that today was the day that that bastard would die, that he'd pay for everything he's done…but he got away. We failed. Again."

Pikachu closed his eyes. "I know. I'm sorry. Not as sorry as you, I know, but…I wanted him dead too. All of us did."

"Not as much as we did," Palmer said bitterly.

"I know, but we wanted him gone all the same," Pikachu said. "Which is why next time you take him on, we'll all be there to help you. No more of this solo act or 'this is something only I can do' thing, Dawn's part of our team, which means we'll always have her back, and yours, if you're fighting beside her."

"…Thank you, Pikachu. I will remember that," Palmer said gratefully.

"So will I, just in case you 'forget,'" Pikachu said with a smirk.

"Why do they both want Paul dead so much?" Bruno asked.

"Dawn and Paul came from the same ninja clan, but Paul went insane and killed everyone but her," Briney explained.

"Not sure what Kairyu's deal is, though," Leo said.

"Paul killed his son," Pikachu explained. He hadn't told any of the others Palmer's secret identity, and for the moment he had no intention of telling them, guilty as it made him to be keeping secrets from his friends.

"Ah, that'd do it," Leo said.

"I see," Bruno said. He blinked. "Wait…Dawn's a ninja? Why does nobody-"

"Okay, that's getting a little old," Looker said.

"Oh. Sorry," Bruno apologized.

"Hmm? Oh, I think Dawn wants to talk to you. Hold on," Palmer said.

There was some rather loud fumbling on the other end, followed by some familiar clicking. Master? Dawn tapped.

"I'm here, Dawn," Pikachu said.

I'm sorry. We failed.

"I know. It's okay. It wasn't your fault. Everyone else failed to kill their targets due to Shivhel's intervention. If it weren't for her, the world would now be out several very evil Pokémon," Pikachu said.

We had him. We had him. Just another few seconds, and he would have breathed his last, Dawn said angrily. I swore on my honor and the memory of my clan that I would kill Paul today. I have let my family, and myself down, again. This is inexcusable.

"Wrong," Pikachu said. "I'm excusing it, and as your master—and future husband-that means my orders supercede your shame or guilt or whatever…I think. You did everything you could do, and there's nothing to feel angry at yourself about. It wasn't your fault he got away. So remember that before you think of doing something stupid like committing seppuku or whatever, because you still have a lot of friends who care about you—and me—and none of us want to see you dead or unhappy. Come back and get some rest, and we can plan out how to take down Paul the next time we meet him…as a team. Got it?" There was no reply. "I said, 'Got it?'" Pikachu repeated, a little sharply.

Yes Master. I understand. We will return shortly, Dawn said. …And thank you.

"Good. We look forward to seeing you soon," Pikachu said, smiling.

"Whoa! So you're finally admitting you're gonna marry her, huh?" Leo asked.

Pikachu shrugged. "Well, it's looking inevitable by this point. Might as well."

"Congratulations, lad! It's about time!" Briney said, smacking Pikachu on the back so hard he fell over.

"I'm not entirely sure what the point is, since you already seemed committed to each other, but congratulations all the same," Sasha added.

"Um…I'm sure the wedding will be very nice…" Lily said timidly. "We, uh, are all invited…aren't we?"

"Of course! There's no way I'd turn my friends away," Pikachu said, much to her relief.

Plus, it'll give me a chance to figure out what to do to make my wedding better, Leo thought with an evil grin.

"Everything they just said applies to us too, you realize," Sparky said to Lu.

"Hmm?" the Glaceon said.

"Rodrigo Borjia. The mon who orchestrated the downfall of your family. When you find him again, you aren't taking him down alone, got it?" Sparky said.

She gave him a surprised look. "I…Grazie. Thank you. I will be happy to have friends like you by my side when I kill that bastardo."

"I think he was talking about the wedding part too. Can I come?" Zippo asked hopefully.

"We'll see," Sparky said, causing the Charmeleon to sulk in disappointment.

"Heh, it sounds like things are getting pretty interesting over there," Ritchie said over Ash's badge.

"They certainly are," Ash replied. "You and the boys should get down here soon. How much longer do you think it'll take you to get here?"

"I can Teleport over to them and pick them up if they're really far off," Diane offered.

"Nah, according to the locator thing on Tiny's badge, we're almost there. This is a really nifty gadget. I can't believe our badges don't have those!" Ritchie said.

"Hmm, that gives me an idea…" Zippo said, a lightbulb going off in his head. "And maybe I could install a communicator like theirs too, while I'm at it, so we can keep in touch more easily if we get separated."

"That's actually a really good idea," Sparky admitted. "I'm surprised we didn't set up something like that sooner."

"Ooh, can I help?" Leo asked hopefully. "I've been tinkering with my own badge to figure out how it works and try and boost its power, and I think I'm this close to rewiring the latent teleport circuits so I can jump from wherever I am to anyone else with a badge in the vicinity if we somehow got split up."

"Oh wow, that sounds awesome!" Zippo gushed. "I'd love to be able to do something like that! And maybe while we're at it, we can install deflector shields?"

"And lasers!" Leo said enthusiastically.

"And retractable armor similar to the Plates of Arceus, so we'll be protected even if the bad guys manage to take them from us!" Zippo said.

"And holographic projectors!" Leo said.

"And this would be why we didn't do it sooner," Salty said as Sparky's eye twitched while Leo and Zippo rambled about all the cool things they could do with their badges.

"Uh, wow, sounds like they're having fun," Ritchie said. "We'll be there soon to join in."

"And then we can have a victory celebration!" Cruise said excitedly.

"Um…we did win, didn't we? I mean, is everyone okay?" Tiny asked worriedly.

"Yeah, all of us are fine," Ash assured Tiny.

"Not me," Rebecca said. "I died."

"…Then how are you talking to me?" asked a confused Tiny.

"I got better," Rebecca said.

"Oh," Tiny said.

Ash chuckled and shook his head…and then got a serious look on his face. "Yeah, we won…but to be honest, I'm not sure it feels like it." He gazed out at the desolation surrounding him. Every last vestige of Dusty Ditch had been completely destroyed, all the buildings and streets trampled and crushed and flattened and exploded and burnt down several times over. The ground had been cratered and cracked and split open so many times the landscape was thoroughly jagged and schizophrenic. Very few of the surrounding mountains were still standing, and those that were had been pitted and scarred and looked like they were slowly crumbling even now. And that didn't even get into all the blood that was soaking into the ground, or the countless corpses of townsPokémon and monsters in various states of decay and disrepair that, for some reason, hadn't vanished back to Niflheim when the rest of their kind were drawn away. Some of the corpses were relatively intact, but others had been badly pulverized and torn apart by the titanic struggles that had reshaped the region, and it made his stomach churn just to look at them. It was a marvel that the train tracks leading in and out of the valley were still intact, but he supposed that could be chalked up to magic more than anything else. Everyone else stared out at the ruins of the town as if seeing them for the first time, their faces taking on stricken and distraught expressions at the carnage they had left in the wake of their battle. Even Todd briefly wondered if this was too much, too awful, too depressing to take a picture of…then he went and did it anyway, not because he wanted the bonus it would probably add to his paycheck (well, okay, maybe a little) but also because people had to know what had happened in Dusty Ditch, the full truth, even if it wasn't very pretty. "We beat the bad guys, but we didn't save anyone," Ash continued solemnly. "We barely even managed to save ourselves."

"And I died," Rebecca reminded everyone.

"You got better," Cherry pointed out.

"Yeah, but still. I died," Rebecca said insistently.

"So no, we aren't going to hold a victory celebration, because this isn't really much of a victory," Ash said sadly. "There is one thing we can do, though."

"What?" Ritchie asked.

"A memorial."

Some time later…

Eventually, the wayward Ritchie, Cruise, Tiny, Palmer, and Dawn made it back to the town ruins. They were all overjoyed to be reunited with their friends, but appalled to see the destruction that had happened in their absence. Understanding Ash's feelings, they agreed that something needed to be done to honor the memory of the people who lived here, the people whose lives had been destroyed by Bellum…all to try and kill them. In a way, they felt responsible for the destruction of Dusty Ditch, and guilty for not being able to save the people here. The least they could do was give the citizens of Dusty Ditch a proper funeral, to 'put their spirits at ease,' as Rebecca said it.

So while the train crew worked on repairing the damage Surtrit had done to the roof of the engine car, the main engineer grumbling and cursing all the while and swearing she'd get revenge on the fire elemental some day if it was the last thing she did, the passengers of the Enchanted Express spent the rest of the day trying to clean up some of the mess they had made while fighting the forces of Niflheim. Even as tired as they were from their long battles, they still had enough power left to clear away rubble and debris with their magic, Psychic powers, super strength, and other remarkable abilities, allowing them to retrieve any bodies buried within…or what was left of them, anyway. It was grueling, bloody, unpleasant work, and certainly not the kind of thing people like the Goldorringtons, who were used to living in the lap of luxury and letting other people do the dirty jobs for them, were at all comfortable with, but when they saw how everyone else was doing the same grim task without complaint, they swallowed their pride and helped as best they could. They collected as many remains of the citizens of Dusty Ditch as they could, leaving the monster corpses where they lay, unable to bring themselves to give them a decent funeral as well. Besides, once they left people from Fichina and elsewhere would descend on the valley to take stock of the destruction and see what, if anything, could be rebuilt in the wake of this great disaster, and they were sure there was something they could do with the husks of the beasts of Niflheim.

Eventually, they managed to gather as many bodies as they could in one place. By this time, the Sun was setting, and the shadows had lengthened enough for the vampires to discard their umbrellas for the moment and help out more. They stacked the corpses in a large heap in the center of the valley and had Leo, Zippo, and a somewhat reluctant Sasha say a few words in their position as the closest thing among them to holy mons. After they'd stumbled through the funerary rites for their respective religions to the best of their ability, they set fire to the bodies, using the power of the Flame Plate to burn hot and bright enough to reduce them to ashes in moments, a funeral pyre that could be seen from miles away. And once the flames stopped burning and there was nothing left of the bodies but dust, Rose and Bow used wind magic to send them flying away, scattering them across the land. Sasha watched them go, lamenting the loss of life…and the loss of good meat. She hadn't even been allowed to have a single bite. Not that she had been really tempted, the unclean way most of the villagers had died repulsed her, but still.

"This is the second time on our watch that the Nihilators have destroyed a place and killed lots of people before we could stop them," Ash said finally. It was the first thing he had said since they had started working on their macabre task.

"Let's make sure there won't be a third time," Pikachu said, holding the half-asleep battle-scarred Dawn's paw as they watched the ashes spread out into the distance.

With the dead disposed of, there was only one more thing left for them to do before they could rest. They gathered stone and wood and metal from around the valley and used magic to fuse it together on the spot where they had burned the villagers' remains, creating a shimmering block of composite material. A bowl was placed on top, and a magical flame was ignited in it, a flame that would burn forever, even long after every one of them, and maybe the world itself, was gone. An epitaph was carved onto the front, with yesterday's and that day's date and the words, 'On this day, a great atrocity was committed. The people of Dusty Ditch were slain to fuel a mad witch's scheme to bring an everlasting winter to this land. With the tireless efforts of a group of heroes who were in the right place at the right time, her plan was thwarted, but not in time to save the people of this town. This flame shall burn forever in their memory, so that all will remember what happened in Dusty Ditch, both the glory and the tragedy. Let us never forget their loss, and the depths to which evil will stoop to destroy all that we cherish…as well as the lengths good will go to to stop them.'

By the time they finished, night had fallen, and one by one the stars started appearing in the dark sky above them. They stared at the marker and the eternal flame, worn-out and utterly exhausted after all the things they had done that day, in repelling Niflheim and paying their respects to the fallen. There was a great deal of melancholy in the air as their earlier optimism and confidence was overshadowed by the harsh reality they had been forced to confront, and the very real possibility that somebody might be erecting a similar monument to them by the end of the next day. More than a few of them cried, and friends and loved ones clustered together, drawing strength from each other, while those who had no one stood apart, suffering in silence…until the others extended a hand, offering to share in their grief, reminding them that in this hour, none of them were alone.

And it was then that something marvelous happened, a reminder that in spite of all the terrible things that had happened to the inhabitants of Dusty Ditch, all the bad things Bellum and all the other villains in the world were capable of, there was still a sliver of light to be found even in the deepest darkness. "Oh!" Happy gasped, her antenna stiffening. "My…my children! They're coming out!"

Everyone looked at her in astonishment. "What? Already?" Ritchie cried.

"I thought they weren't going to be out for another few months!" Sparky said.

"Neither did I, but it looks like all the heat Surtrit generated from that volcano, and all the other energy that saturated the valley from all the fighting we had, has sped up their maturation cycle to the point that they're coming out…well, right now!" Happy said.

"Wow, what a coincidence that it would happen to take place not only before we could leave, but right after we had a really depressing moment, giving us renewed strength and the drive to continue on!" Zippo said.

"…Seriously? That's a bit contrived even for us, isn't it?" Pikachu asked incredulously.

"Not really, when else would they come out?" Leo asked.

"I don't know, like maybe after we left? Or any other time in the near or distant future?" Pikachu asked.

"What, and risk doing it when nobody's around to see them? Where's the drama in that?" Leo asked. Pikachu groaned and looked for a rock to bash his head against.

"Wait, if their maturation cycle's sped up, won't that also mean their lives will be drastically shortened and they'll probably die in a few days?" Lu asked.

"Yes, but they'll live to the fullest in those few days, and find plenty of other Bugs to mate with before that happens so they can know their genes will live on in the next generation, making me a grandmother several times over!" Happy said.

Salty shook his head in bemusement. "Considering how many other children you've already had, both from use of the Insect Plate and otherwise, I'm surprised half the Bugs in the world aren't descended from you."

"It's something to shoot for. Maybe someday," Happy said, causing Salty to sweatdrop.

"Oooh! So we're going to see ze miracle of life in action! 'ow fascinating!" Fantina said.

"And welcome, after all the death we've drowned ourselves in since getting here," Rebecca agreed, her spirits rising. (Literally. They were excited, too.)

"Oh mon, this is going to be so cool!" Todd said excitedly. He frowned and looked at the sky. "Too bad the lighting's pretty awful. I'll have to use my night lens." He took out a pair of night-vision goggles and strapped them on his head.

"When's it gonna happen? When's it gonna happen?" Tiny asked giddily.

"I think it's starting…can't you feel it? There's something in the air…" Palmer said.

It sounds like something's humming, Dawn said, ear twitching.

Palmer chuckled. "That's what I meant."

It did indeed sound like someone was humming. Not just one person, but several, and the noise was growing louder. They looked around, trying to pinpoint it, before finally spotting the behemoth hulk of one of the dead frost giants, which under the starlight was almost indistinguishable from the other hills or mounds or rock formations that had sprouted up everywhere as a consequence of all the earth-shaking upheavals. As they looked on in amazement, and Leo and Zippo eagerly started recording on their digital cameras, lumps started forming on the dead giant's skin, lumps that wriggled and multiplied rapidly, the humming growing in intensity as more and more of them appeared. One by one, the lumps began to glow, and brilliant shafts of white light tore out of them and shot into the sky, creating a dazzling light show that illuminated the entire valley and bathed them all in its austere radiance.

The train workers stopped their repairs on the Enchanted Express and looked up like everyone else, jaws dropping in awe at the brilliant display. "What…what is that?" asked the stunned Gastly conductor.

"That light…it's…the light of evolution," the Grumpig guard whispered.

The Ampharos engineer shook her head in wonder. "And they call what we do magic?"

The humming grew louder and louder as the light increased, but not loud enough to be annoying. Rather, there was a rather sooming quality to it, a harmony that gently washed over them and made them feel at ease, the aches and pains they had accumulated throughout the day seeming to fade away. One or two of them nearly dozed off, but were shaken back to consciousness by their friends. This was a good thing too, or else they would have missed the best part, when the light began to fade…

And Happy's children flew out full-grown, wings spread and buzzing energetically, the rapid movement of so many limbs blending together to create the wondrous humming filling their ears. There was an astonishing variety to the insects that vacated the giant's carcass and rose into the air. There were Butterfree and Beedrill, Venomoths and Scizors, Ledians, Yanmegas, Heracrosses, Beautiflies and Dustoxes, Masquerains, Ninjask and Shedinjas, Volbeats and Illumises, Mothims, Vespiquens, Escavaliers and Accelgors, and even some Volcaronas. They happily flew over the amazed Pokémon on the ground, weaving and dancing about each other in complex and graceful patterns, residual light from their premature evolution still being generated by their bodies and causing them to seem to glow beautifully from within.

"It's so beautiful…" Lily whispered, floating close to Leo.

"Yeah," he agreed wordlessly, no longer looking through the viewfinder of his camera so that he could stare up at the spectacle with his own eyes. "It is."

"You know, this reminds me of the day we first met," Lu said, leaning against Sparky. "There were lights in the sky then, too."

"Those were explosions caused by us destroying the lair of the monster that was terrorizing Leo's village," Sparky said.

"Yes, but it was still beautiful," Lu said.

"So were you," Sparky said.

She laughed. "Oh, you," she said, kissing him passionately.

"Dang!" Ritchie said. "Too bad Melody's not here…she'd love this!"

"I'm not sure my girl would," Ash said. "She's scared of Bugs."

"Really? That's a shame. She'd be missing out on something as great as this, then," Ritchie said.

"She's missing out on a lot of great things right now," Ash pointed out.

"…Yeah," Ritchie sighed. "So's my Melody."

"Daddy, will we look anything like that when Cruise or I evolve?" Tiny asked hopefully, interrupting their melancholy.

"Sorry Tiny, but Tyranitars are reptiles, not Bugs," Ash said.

"…Then why do I turn into a cocoon?" Tiny asked.

"That is a very good question," Ash admitted.

"This reminds me of Firefly Bay back home," Pikachu commented, gripping Dawn's paw tightly. "Every night, the lights come out and dance above the surface of the water. They aren't Bugs, they're something else…fairies or spirits or something mystical like that."

And it reminds me of a festival we used to hold in our stronghold once a year to celebrate the anniversary of our clan's addition to the Empire, Dawn clicked back. We would make lantern balloons with dragons painted on them and release them into the night sky.

"Wow," Pikachu said. "I'm…sorry I'll never get to see that…"

As am I, Dawn said. But I would be more than happy to see this Bay of yours… She squeezed his paw. Together. They smiled at each other, and Palmer felt the ache in his hurt ease at the realization that maybe their clan's future wasn't a doomed one after all.

"…This remind you of your wife?" Briney asked Salty without moving his eyes from the Bugs flying above them.

"Yeah," Salty said. "You too?"

"Yeah," Briney said. They said nothing more. Neither of them needed to.

"Wanna make out?" Zippo asked Rose, finding himself turned on.

"Maybe later," she said.

"Okay," he said, willing to wait a little longer.

"Incredible! It's like some of the light shows they sometimes put on back home…but it's completely natural! No magic at all involved!" said an amazed Goldor.

"Nothing but the magic of nature and evolution, anyway," Silvia said, equally moved.

"I never thought something that didn't have lots of explosions and loud noises could be so coooooool," Buck said, awed.

"It's almost as if the people of this town have been reincarnated and given new life as winged insects," Cherry marveled.

"Except they haven't," Rebecca said.

"No?" Cherry asked.

Rebecca shook her head. "No. No relation. Trust me, if they were, I could tell. You may know tons about the future, but I know much more about spirits."

"Oh well. Still pretty," Cherry said, shrugging it off.

"Yeah, it is," Rebecca agreed.

"…Huh. Not bad," Looker commented.

"Nope," Bruno agreed, folding his arms and hiding a smile. "Not bad at all."

"I wish Max were here to see this," Sam said sadly. "He'd turn this into a game and try shooting as many of those bugs as he could."

"…We could shoot them together, if you like," George offered half-heartedly.

Sam sighed and shook his head. "No, it wouldn't be the same."

"Tres magnifique!" Fantina gushed.

"Oui, oui!" Bow agreed, clapping her fans together in approval.

"It's not as lovely as you," Butler told Diane.

She flushed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, you flatterer…"

"It's so pretty…" Dean said. He looked down at himself and sighed. "We'll never be like that, though. We can fly, and change, but the light of evolution will never shine from us. We're creatures of darkness, not light."

"I wouldn't say that. After all, the darkness has its own allure. It may even be greater than the light, depending on who you ask," Vladimir said…although a longing similar to Dean's was glimmering in his eyes. Bob, uninterested, wandered off to pee on something.

Sasha frowned as she listened carefully to the sound the bug wings made, hearing its cadence, its tone and pitch and how it rose and fell. "It almost sounds like they're…singing," she said after a moment.

"They are," Happy said, eyes tearing up. "Beautiful isn't it?"

"It is. What are they singing about?" Sasha asked her.

"About life, and living," Happy said. "About how happy they are to exist, to be born into our world, to break free from the putrefying flesh they've incubated in and soar on wings of their own, reveling in their freedom and the sheer ecstasy of being alive."

"…But surely they know they are going to die, don't they?" Sasha asked. "And in the very near future, as you said before. How can they stay so joyous with such a short time to spend on this Earth before my Lord Darkrai comes for them?"

"The same could be said of any of us," Happy said. "Sure, some of us have lifespans longer than others. Some of us can even live for millennia, if we survive long enough. But compared to the endlessness of the cosmos, we don't really live any longer than my children. All of us are brief sparks of life, passing into this world without warning and leaving it just as quickly. It's not how long you live, but what you do with the time you have that makes life worth living. And my children intend to get as much living as they can done before your master enfolds them in his welcoming embrace."

"…You know," Sasha said after a moment. "I do believe you're right."

I coulda told you that, Darkrai said.

Then why didn't you? She asked.

You didn't ask me, he said. She rolled her eyes.

They stayed there and watched for the next hour or so as the Bugs danced and sang and finally split off, spreading out across the land and leaving Dusty Ditch behind, each off to seek their own destinies and use the few days they had at their disposal to the best of their ability. It was only when the lights faded from the sky and the last of the insects vanished over the horizon that they finally headed back to the train to eat and sleep and prepare themselves for the next day. And while most of them didn't know what they had to look forward to (except Cherry, and she intended to let them know once they'd had some time to recuperate), their confidence had been restored, and they felt certain that they could overcome whatever the new day might bring. After all, they had just seen for themselves how life could spring from the body of death. How could they not persevere, with something like that to buoy their spirits?

Inside the train, Brodie resignedly looked out the window of his prison as Happy's children flew away, sadly thinking that they would have made a great meal. He wondered if they were ever going to remember to feed him.

Meanwhile, in Secretive Forest…

"Whoa," Raiki whispered in awe. "Did he just…"

"Yes," an equally dumbstruck Rayquaza said. "He did!"

What had who just done, you might ask? If you didn't read the last chapter, the answer is simple: Aaron had sought out Zorra, the girl he once loved, the girl he had spurned almost a decade ago, and asked her to take him back and marry him. As his second wife. With any other mon and any other womon, something so brazen as that might have resulted in the male of the couple getting a resounding slap, if not worse. But this was no ordinary mon or womon, as the other Pokémon who'd accompanied Aaron into the forest knew all too well. Sabrina sighed and looked away. She'd know Aaron was going to do this—how could she not, given what she was?—but it hurt her all the same, to know that once again, his heart would never be hers.

"Ha, I told you! I told you threesomes make everything better!" Latios said giddily. He paused. "But what's that thing Aaron's offering Zorra? It doesn't look like a ring to me."

"It's a Time Flower," Latias explained. "They're not actually flowers, but a silicon-based organism made of living crystal that can record events and play them back like a hologram later, if stimulated by the right Aura. Since they're crystals, they never wilt and last just about forever if taken good care of, so Aura Guardians have used them for millennia to record important messages and lessons to pass on to the next generation."

"That's not all they're good for, though," Raiki said. "From what Aaron's told me, it's customary for an Aura Guardian to offer the womon he's going to marry with a Time Flower. It's a symbol of how their love will be eternal, since the Flower in question is usually imprinted with the memories of their time together and will continue to record their lives as a bonded couple. It's a living symbol of their union. Pretty romantic, huh?"

"Yes, very," Rayquaza agreed thoughtfully. A pity the Flowers only worked with Aura, otherwise he thought he had a pretty good idea of what he might do with one…

Zorra stiffened, staring at the flower in Aaron's palm. She shook with rage, and possibly another emotion. "You…you dare…after everything you've done to me, you have the presumption to come here, remind me of our past, make me feel all upset and uncertain about what happened, and then ask me to marry you, like nothing happened? After all that you've done to me, you have the gall to ask me to be your wife?"

"Yes," Aaron said plainly. "I do."

"Why?" Zorra demanded.

"Because I love you, and I'm sorry for what I did. Just like I know that you still love me, even after all this time," Aaron said. "I know I may never be able to make up for breaking your heart…but I have to try, and this is the only way I can think of to do so, by correcting the mistake I made all those years ago, and giving 'us' a second chance. I'm willing to take the plunge, Zorra. Are you?"

"…You hurt me," she hissed, although her rage was starting to drain away. "You hurt me, Aaron. Even now that I know why you did it, how…how do I know it won't happen again? Why should I do this? Why should I open myself up for more heartbreak?"

"Because you know that if you don't, you'll hate yourself for the rest of your life," Aaron said bluntly. "And you come from a rather long-lived species, Zorra, which means you'll be stewing in that hatred for a very, very long time. I care about you too much to see that happen…and I'm pretty sure you care enough for your son to spare him having to live with a mother like that."

"Hey, don't bring me into this!" the Zorua said.

"Yes, don't drag him into this!" Zorra snarled.

"My apologies. But we both know that whatever decision is made will affect him just as much as the both of us, if not more," Aaron pointed out.

"He doesn't need a father!" Zorra growled.

"No, but I wouldn't mind one," the Zorua said abruptly. "And I think he'd make a fairly good parent for me."

Zorra gave him a startled look. "Zachary…"

"Meema, I know you're hurting, a lot. I know Aaron and you had a rather bad breaking off. But I also know that, beneath it all…you still love him," the Zorua (now identified as Zachary) said softly. "If you didn't, you wouldn't allow yourself to be so governed by his memory, or why sometimes you make illusions of him and-"

"That's enough!" Zorra snapped, turning red.

Latios's eyes bulged. "…Uh, whoa. Was he going to say that she, ah, mated with the illusions or…killed them?"

"How do you know it's not both?" Latias asked.

"…Dude, that's all kind of messed up," Latios said, making a face.

"Or…kinky, when you think about it," Raiki said. Everyone stared at him.

Aaron decided to proceed as if nobody had said anything. "I am not trying to influence your decision, Zorra. This is a matter of the heart…and as an Aura Guardian, I know that only your heart can tell you what choice to make. If you truly hold no desire to be with me, if you completely despise me and wish me to leave, then I will exit this forest and your life, forever."

"Not before she tells us what we want to know, though, right?" Rayquaza asked.

"Yeah, otherwise we'll kind of have come all this way for nothing," Raiki agreed.

"Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes," Latios begged, to Latias's amusement.

"Look into your heart, Zorra," Aaron urged the Zoroark, ignoring them. "What do you want? The choice is yours to make, and yours alone. Putting aside the needs of your son, and my feelings, and anything else…what is it that you, and only you, want?"

"I want-" Zorra stopped, hesitated, and slowly said, "I don't…I don't know what I want. Part of me wants you to leave. Another…another part…doesn't. What…what do I do?"

"Whatever you want," Aaron said. "Neither Zachary or myself or anyone else matter. All that counts is what you want, Zorra."

"But I don't know what I want!" she snarled, looking frustrated and a little scared.

"Then touch the Time Flower," Aaron said.

Zorra blinked. "Huh?"

"This Time Flower holds the memories of the time we spent together. If you touch it, it will react to our Auras and project those memories for us as they really happened, and not as we might wish to remember them," Aaron said.

"I've already relived those memories, countless times," Zorra snapped.

"Yes, but always tainted by your own feelings," Aaron pointed out. "This will show us—both of us—how those memories actually took place. Perhaps we will both learn something from it. Perhaps they were not as good as I remembered…or not as terrible as you remembered. Either way, it will show, beyond a shadow of a doubt, whether we really had something back then…and if we might have a future."

"This could just be some Aura Guardian trick to change my mind," Zorra said warily. "Why should I do it? Why should I give you this chance?"

"Because, as I said before, you'll never forgive yourself if you don't at least try," Aaron said. "And because doing so may finally help you to move on. And if that is what you choose to do, Zorra, I'll support you no matter what…because I still love you, and I don't want you to hurt any longer."

Zorra growled, squeezing her eyes shut and clenching her fists. "Damn you, Aaron…why do you always have to be so freaking nice and reasonable? It makes it that much harder for me to say no to you." She sighed, shoulders sagging in defeat. "Fine. I'll touch the stupid flower. But if I don't like what I see, then we're through, and I never want to see you again. Understood?"

"Perfectly," Aaron said.

Zorra took a deep breath, closed her eyes, then reached out and touched the flower. There was a flash of blue light, and the crystalline organism's petals unraveled, light shining from within and causing the forest around them to shimmer and suddenly transform into the clearing outside Krysta's den at the top of Mt. Freeze. "Whoa, cool!" Raiki said.

"Another illusion?" Rayquaza murmured.

"Yes, but not one made by my mother or I," Zachary said, looking impressed.

A second Lucario was standing before them, but this one had less scars and was not wearing a blindfold. A familiar Ninetales was present as well, giving the Lucario an appraising look. "Whoa, two Aarons?" Latios said in astonishment, glancing back and forth between the Lucarios.

"This is a vision from the past," Latias said.

Sabrina nodded. "From years ago…before Aaron lost his eyesight, just after he left Pokémon Square to embark on a journey of self-empowerment."

"Which would explain why he has fewer scars, and no blindfold," Raiki observed.

Zorra stirred, staring at the other Lucario in amazement, and the real Aaron smiled. "Do you remember this day, Zorra?"

"How could I not?" she said. "It's…the day we first met."

"A day when both our lives changed forever…although it didn't seem like it at the time," Aaron agreed.

"Hmm…there is great power within you. The strength of your Aura is impressive. I have not felt it's like in quite some time," the Ninetales, Krysta announced. "And yet you seek to become even stronger? Why?"

"Although I am strong enough now to protect the people I care for, I fear that one day an enemy will arise that my Aura will be insufficient to defeat," the younger Aaron said. "I have come to you in hopes that you can help me obtain the strength I need to defend Pokémon Square, no matter what threatens it."

"And what makes you think that I can help you? Why not seek out another Aura Guardian, a Master? They are the ones who usually handle matters like this," Krysta said.

"Because there are no others," Aaron said sadly. "At least not on this continent. As far as I know, I am the last Lucario on Kanjohenn. There is nobody I can turn to to help me train and grow stronger, not without leaving the continent altogether and possibly putting my home at risk, unable to return to it swiftly should something happen. I have a book written by my predecessors that has been very informative, but there are some things that can only be taught, not gleaned from a text. That is why I have sought you out, for tales of your magical prowess and wisdom range far and wide, and I believe that if anyone could teach me what I needed to know, it would be you."

"…Perhaps you are right. Perhaps I do have the knowledge you seek. But why should I train you? What do you believe that I will get out of taking you on?" Krysta said.

"A companion," Aaron said.

Krysta stiffened. "What?"

"Oooh, nice," Raiki chuckled.

"He didn't mean it like that," Latias said.

"Then how did he mean it?" asked a disappointed Latios.

"Just watch," she said.

"While stories of your wisdom are famous…so are tales that you live up here all alone. It seems to me that someone who has dwelled in solitude for centuries on end could stand to have a little company once in a while," Aaron said.

"What makes you think I want company? How do you know I don't like being alone?" Krysta asked, trying to hide how shaken Aaron's insight had made her.

"Because even the most curmudgeonly of hermits never lives that far away from other people," Aaron said. "After all, what's the point of proving how strong and self-reliant you are by dwelling on your own if there's nobody for you to prove how strong and self-reliant you are to? There's almost nobody out here. I didn't even encounter many Pokémon climbing up the mountain. Either they're all too afraid of you to make their dwellings here…or it's too inhospitable even for the hardiest of Ice-types. Either way, you're the only Pokémon I've sensed for miles around. I don't know about you, but that sounds like an awfully lonely position to be in."

"…Very well. I will take you on and teach you what I know of Aura," Krysta said, her tails flicking agitatedly. "But not because I'm in need of a companion, but because you…intrigue me. You are correct, most Pokémon in the area are afraid of me, and very few people on this continent would have had the courage to come up here and seek me out. However…you are not the first to do so in recent times. You were wrong, you see, I'm not alone. Not at the moment, anyway."

"You aren't?" Aaron asked, somewhat surprised.

"No," a younger Zorra said, appearing from thin air behind him. "She has me."

The real Zorra flinched when she saw her younger self. "Did I really look like that once? I seemed so…happy…she almost seems like another person compared to who I am now."

"All things change with time, but there is no reason you can't be that happy again," Aaron said.

"…We'll see," Zorra said.

The younger Aaron started and stared at Zorra in astonishment. "H-how did you do that?" he stammered incredulously. "My Aura senses don't work so well up here, but my other senses should have been able to detect you!"

"I'm a Zoroark," Zorra bragged. "Illusion is my specialty."

"What kind of illusion can mask a mon's scent, the sound of its heartbeat or breathing, the way the air currents are displaced by its body?" Aaron asked in amazement.

"Mine," Zorra said with a cocky grin.

"Zorra arrived here just last month. Like you, she also seeks tutelage, but in illusions rather than Aura," Krysta explained as Aaron struggled to calm down. "She has a special talent for illusion, even for a Zoroark. I believe in time she may be able to craft illusions that are not only as close to real as they can possibly be, but are good enough to fool even a Psychic, Aura Guardian, or archmage."

"An illusion an Aura Guardian can't penetrate? Impossible!" Aaron said, dumbfounded.

"Maybe not now, but someday, perhaps," Zorra said with a smirk. "I'm going to be the greatest illusionist in the world! I may even make my own world someday, one so good that nobody will notice it's not the original!"

"Then I'll just have to become the greatest Aura Guardian in the world, so I'll be able to see through your illusions and save everyone from your trickery!" Aaron snarled.

"Ha, I'd like to see that!" Zorra said.

"As would I," Krysta said, getting their attention. "I shall teach both of you what I know, and you shall hone your abilities against each other to grow stronger. Perhaps you shall grow closer in the process, perhaps not, it matters little to me so long as you learn what I have to teach you, and learn it well."

"Yeah, fat chance of me getting to like this stick-in-the-mud," Zorra sniffed.

"Same to you, trickster," Aaron growled.

Krysta smiled in amusement. "This should be interesting."

"It certainly was," the real Aaron agreed as the Ninetales set their younger selves to spar.

Zorra moaned. "If only I'd known what I was getting myself into…"

They settled back to watch their memories unfold before their eyes. Every now and then the Time Flower would pulse, and the images around them would shimmer and jump ahead to another important event in their past, showing another scene of the Zoroark and Lucario together. Aaron and Zorra and the others watched as time passed, and the rivalry between their younger selves deepened as Zorra played constant pranks and tricks on Aaron, who retaliated by doing his best to outdo her at every other aspect of their training, which encouraged her to try harder as well, and he'd retaliate by working himself even more, and so on until they both were nearly passed out from exhaustion and a bemused Krysta chided them for trying too hard. A grudging respect formed between the two of them…and over time, that respect grew into friendship as they learned more about each other and saw their rival as more than just an enemy. And then, as often happens when two people of the opposite gender spend too much time and emotion together, that friendship became something…more.

Zorra winced as she watched her younger self kiss Aaron for the first time. "Oh Arceus, it's even worse than I thought it would be."

"I thought you said you'd revisited this moment lots of times," Aaron said.

"I have, but it was always different then. Then I could always say I was just overly romanticizing it, and I probably was, but now I have to relive it as it actually happened, and…and I can't take it," Zorra said, looking extremely uncomfortable.

"Because it hurts? Or because it makes you want it again?" Aaron asked.

"What do you think?" she asked bitterly.

"Um, are they going to…" Latios asked slowly as the memory of Aaron and Zorra kissing started getting a bit more…intimate. Sabrina looked away in resentment, Rayquaza blushed, and Raiki stared with a voyeuristic look on his face.

"Neat," Zachary said, intrigued.

"No," Latias said. "She wanted to, but he refused."

"Wow. No offense, Aaron, but that was really stupid of you," Latios said.

"It seemed improper at the time," Aaron said defensively.

"That infuriating nobility of yours…which made me both despise you…and only want you more," Zorra said miserably, looking longingly at their younger selves.

More time passed, and they watched as the budding relationship between Aaron and Zorra grew to encompass Krysta as well, who was somewhat surprised to find herself growing a lot closer to her students…and they, in turn, to her. Their time together became more intimate, but not in a physical sense, though it was clear at least a few of them would have wanted it to be. However, as they spent more time together as a trio, Aaron began growing more and more uncomfortable. He started trying to spend more time with one of the females, then the other, as if having trouble reconciling with the idea of being with both of them at once. As they watched, growing somewhat uncomfortable themselves, that uncertainty began to put a strain on Aaron's relationship with both womon. He mentioned repeatedly to both of them that Lucarios were traditionally monogamous, something Zorra and Krysta both dismissed, saying they could work around it, trying to convince Aaron there was nothing wrong with him going against custom…and although a part of him, a very large part, agreed, another part of him was less certain, not only that it was permissible, but that he would be able to manage it without ruining all their lives. They watched as he spent long hours of the night debating with himself over this, trying to figure out the best course of action, wondering if he could really go through with this…and if he did, that it would be the right thing to do.

And so, as his doubts kept eating away at him and making it harder for him to concentrate on his training or on his relationship with the two womon he believed he loved, he finally, reluctantly, decided to break their love triangle. Nobody spoke, none of them even breathed as they watched a distraught and conflicted Aaron break it off with Zorra. He did his best to let her down gently, telling her he still loved her and would always be her friend and wanted her to still be a part of his life, but as we all know, that sort of thing always just makes matters worse. An anguished and heartbroken Zorra screamed at him, attacked him, and finally ran off in tears. She didn't see that Aaron had been crying too.

Time shifted again, and they watched as Aaron frantically searched the region for Zorra, and beyond, guided from afar by Krysta, who was doing the best she could to locate the wayward Zoroark. But Zorra had been taught too well, and days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, and eventually they were forced to admit that Zorra didn't want to be found and gave up. Aaron returned to Mt. Freeze and continued his training, and even though his relationship with Krysta remained intact, there was still an indelible sense of guilt and regret tainting it. In a twisted way, it brought them closer together…but the shadow of their failure clearly hung heavily over their hearts.

The visions dimmed and faded away, the light from the Time Flower winking out as the organism folded itself back up again. Nobody said anything for several minutes, overwhelmed by the emotion conveyed by the scenes they had just witnesses. Finally, a stunned Zorra stammered, "You…y-you really did look for me…"

"Of course I did," Aaron said. "Whatever gave you the idea that I wouldn't?"

Zorra shook her head wordlessly. "You…you were hurting too. I never realized…I never thought that the two of you would be anything but…happy without me."

"We were happy…eventually. But the hurt never really went away," Aaron said. "And while eventually, we did get married…it took quite some time before we worked up the courage to do it. It was difficult, with the Donphan in the room."

"What Donphan?" Latios asked. "They had a Donphan living with them?"

"He's talking about Zorra," Latias.

Latios gave her a confused look. "But Zorra's a Zoroark, not a Donphan. Or did she use illusion to make herself look like a Donphan? Why would she do that?" Raiki and Rayquaza facepalmed. Zachary snickered.

"And before we even got around to that, something else happened that very nearly destroyed us…or at least, me," Aaron said.

"W-what?" Zorra gasped.

"Hey, wait a second, what are you talking about?" Raiki said in concern. "You never mentioned anything like that."

"There is a lot about my decade away I haven't told you. This part is one I am not proud of, and one I did not feel comfortable speaking about…but now is when it must be revealed," Aaron said. "As I told Ash when he spoke to us through webcam for the first time, I, too, tried to become a Shining Pokémon once upon a time, to purge all darkness from my heart. I failed. I very nearly lost my life, so I guess I'm lucky my eyes are all that got taken away."

Raiki frowned. "Yeah, I remember that. What does that have to do with anything?"

"The reason I failed…was because of Zorra," Aaron said.

Zorra stiffened. "What? Wh-what are you talking about?"

"I apologize, that came out wrong. What I mean is…I failed because of myself. What I did to you, Zorra. When I dove into my heart to try to purify myself…the guilt and shame from how I mistreated you, how I broke your heart…it was too much. I could not overcome it. I could not forgive myself. And so I failed, losing my eyes and my opportunity at transcendence." He smiled sadly. "Ironic. When I tried to break up with you, I did what I thought was best at the time…and only made things worse for everyone further down the line. There's a moral in that, I suppose."

"…I'm sorry," Zorra said quietly.

"Don't be," Aaron said. "The fault was all mine. It always has been." He touched his blindfold. "I did this to myself…because I lacked the courage to follow my heart, a mistake that no Aura Guardian should ever make. Afterwards, I swore to always be true to my feelings and convictions again…and it is because of those that I'm here. I came here to make amends…and to try and put both our pain behind us. And so I ask you again, Zorra: will you allow me to do what I should have done all those years ago? Will you become my wife, so our trio can be whole again?"

Zorra closed her eyes and shuddered. "I shouldn't. Every logical part of me is screaming that it's a mistake, that you'll only hurt me again."

"And your heart?" Aaron asked.

"Please say yes please say yes please say yes," Latios hissed desperately.

"My…my heart…my heart says…" Zorra took a deep breath, then opened her eyes and stared into Aaron's. "Yes. Yes, a thousand times yes. I will marry you."

A smile of relief and joy lit up Aaron's face as he rose to his feet. "That is what I had hoped you would say." He hugged her, burying his paws in her thick mane.

"I think…that I did, too," Zorra agreed, wrapping Aaron in her arms and lifting him off the ground in a strong embrace. The forest around them shimmered, trees disappearing abruptly until they were no longer in a forest at all, but a beautiful sunlit meadow stretching as far as the eye could see. Flowers sprouted around Zorra's feet and spread outwards to fill the landscape, the scent of fresh blossoms filling the air.

Raiki tentatively poked one of the flowers and was relieved when his hand passed through it. "Phew, just an illusion." He smiled at Aaron and Zorra. "Heh. Not a bad proposal, Aaron. Not as nice as how I won Delia over, of course, but still pretty good. Way to go, buddy."

"Awwwwww," Latios said, wiping away a tear as he watched the reunited lovers. "That was even more wonderful than I had hoped."

"Indeed. I'm glad that ended well," Rayuaza said. And I'm going to have to find a way to outdo that when I finally get around to asking Latias to marry me.

You can just come out and ask me, you know. I don't need anything big and fancy, Latias said telepathically, startling him.

You are the Guardian of Light, one of the mightiest and most dedicated members of Arceus's pantheon! Rayquaza said. Anything less than a perfect proposal would be an insult to your position!

Considering that we share the same status, I think anything you choose to do would be appropriate, Latias said.

I'm not on your level yet, Rayquaza pointed out. Once I am, though…well, I guess we'll see, won't we?

Latias smiled. Yes. We will.

Sabrina sighed and closed her eyes as she watched Aaron and Zorra, knowing once again that he could never be hers…and oddly enough, she found she was fine with that. She still loved Aaron, and probably always would, but…so long as he was happy, she was sure she could bear being 'just' friends. At least it would mean she'd still be a part of his life, and he of hers. Aaron…I'm glad you've found happiness, she thought, honestly meaning it. She opened her eyes and looked up, managing a smile. And I hope that someday, I shall be half as happy as you are with someone I love.

Latios frowned, a thought occurring to him. "Wait…I just realized something. Aaron said Krysta was unable to find Zorra because she'd become too good an illusionist…but…Krysta was the one who told us exactly where to find Zorra! How could she have known that? Did she know it all along, and was hiding it to keep Aaron to herself or something?"

"No," Latias said. "The answer's much simpler than that…isn't that right, Zachary?"

Zachary gave her a surprised look. "How did you know? I've been using illusion to shield my thoughts!"

"You might be, but Krysta wasn't," Latias said. "She told me the whole thing, and asked me not to mention it to anyone because she thought it might make it impossible for Aaron and your mom to get back together if she knew you'd been plotting behind her back."

"W-wait…are you saying…all of this was his doing?" Rayquaza asked incredulously.

"Aw mon…guess the jig's up then, huh?" Zachary said ruefully. "Yeah, I told Krysta where we lived and what we were doing, hoping she'd pass the information on to Aaron."

"But why?" asked the amazed Raiki.

"And more importantly, how?" Latios asked, baffled. "I mean, we're kind of a long way from Mt. Freeze."

"Oh, it was easy," Zachary said. "I just called her up."

"…You called her up?" Latios asked.

"Yes, on my phone," Zachary said.

"You get coverage out here?" asked the surprised Raiki.

"Yes, illusionary coverage. Because it's an illusionary phone," Zachary said. "Which is good, since that means I don't have to pay a phone bill."

"But…but then…how did Krysta get the message?" asked the confused Latios.

"On her illusionary phone, duh," Zachary said.

"I…what? But…but that doesn't…" Latios stammered, eyes crossing in confusion.

"Why did you contact Krysta?" Sabrina said quickly, getting them back on subject.

"All my life, Meema's talked about Aaron," Zachary said. "Some of it good, some of it bad. I wasn't really sure what to think of him, except that he affected her life in a very big way, and, despite how much she said she hated him…she didn't. She couldn't. Some part of her refused to. So, when we saw Aaron come back to Pokémon Square, and I got to see the real him for the first time…the look on Meema's face was…indescribable. She told me later it was nothing, but we both knew otherwise. She started focusing more on you, watching Aaron's every move, even though she said it was just to make sure he didn't come out here. And I decided that…well, enough was enough. It was clear that she needed to go talk to him, get whatever was between them off her chest, but there was no way she was ever going to go into town to see him, so I figured I'd have to find a way to get him up here instead. Then I remembered Krysta, who Meema had also talked about a lot, and how she and Aaron had been close, and some of the stuff we heard Aaron talking about in town impied they were still close, so…I figured if I called her she might be able to get a message to him. And if that didn't work, I'd call town and leave an 'anonymous tip' that there was something interesting out this way. One way or another, I'd make sure he and my Meema were face to face again, and could resolve their past once and for all."

"Heh. Pretty clever, kid," said the impressed Raiki.

"Well, I am a Zorua!" Zachary bragged. "But, uh, don't tell Meema, okay? I'm not sure if she'd tear me limb from limb for setting her up…or compliment me on my deviousness."

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with us," Rayquaza assured him.

"What secret?" Aaron asked as he and Zorra came over to them, paw in paw.

"Oh, that your son still wets his bed," Latios said quickly.

"I do not!" Zachary protested.

Zorra frowned. "What, still? Zachary, I thought we'd gotten over that by now."

"I have! They're lying!" Zachary yelled.

"Well, considering you haven't had any 'accidents' in my mane for a very long time, you're probably right," Zorra admitted. She frowned at them suspiciously. "Which means something else must be his secret. What is it?"

"Um…" Raiki fidgeted uncertainly.

"That he's really looking forward to having Aaron for a father-in-law and is ecstatic that you're getting back together, which means he doesn't have to live in the forest anymore," Latias said quickly.

"Oh! Thank you," Aaron said, flattered.

"Awww, that's sweet! But why keep it a secret? And what's wrong with living in the forest?" Zorra asked, perplexed.

"Um…because I didn't want you thinking I hated living out here or something," Zachary said, improvising on the fly like any good trickster could. "I mean, I love living out here with you, Meema, but…we've spent so much time watching the townsPokémon of Pokémon Square going about their lives, I wanted to stop watching and actually be a part of their lives. I wanted to have friends and play and get to hang out with other kids my age. Maybe even become part of a Rescue Team!"

Zorra gave her son a surprised look. "Zachary…you were lonely? Why didn't you say anything sooner?"

"Well, because you seemed uncomfortable at the idea of becoming part of town life," Zachary said. "And I'd never want you to be unhappy, Meema! You had enough on your shoulders as it was!"

"Awww…you're such a good little pup," Zorra cooed, picking Zachary up and cuddling him. "Putting his mother's feelings before his own…so mature and considerate! Perhaps too considerate…I'm sorry, Zachary, it never occurred to me how our imposed isolation might be affecting you. We're a very social species, it really is unorthodox for it to be just the two of us out here, all alone. It'll be good for us to become a part of society again…even if it's not a society of our own kind."

"Don't worry, Zorra, everyone in town will be more than happy to welcome you into their lives," Aaron assured her. "Zachary, too. You'll both have more new friends than you'll know what to do with before this day is through!"

"Cool!" Zachary said.

"I'd like that," Zorra admitted. "Maybe it's long past time I got to really socialize with the people I've been spying on for years."

"You, uh, might want to leave that part out," Rayquaza said.

Latias nodded. "Yes, they seem uncomfortable with that sort of thing, for some reason." Latios rolled his eyes.

"I certainly won't, at least not until after the wedding…which is tomorrow…" Zorra's eyes widened, and she surprised everyone, and herself, by squealing happily. "I can't believe this is happening! I'm going to get married, and to Aaron! It's like a dream come true!"

"Yeah, and one that most of the single—and more than a few who aren't—ladies in town have had for quite some time," Raiki chuckled, causing Aaron to blush.

"Speaking of the wedding…everyone in town will be at it tomorrow, including the sorceror. Could you please tell us who our foe is, so we can set our trap?" Sabrina asked.

"Oh, of course! I almost forgot!" Zorra said. "The mage who's been giving you all so much trouble is…"

Meanwhile, in a cave in the Sinister Woods…

It was eleven against one. Going by numbers alone, the average person would think the one didn't have a chance. Unfortunately, the eleven were undertrained rookies, and the one was not only a Tyranitar, an incredibly formidable opponent in any altercation, but was also a Shadow Pokémon being controlled by a jerkass Skuntank. To say the kids didn't really have much of a chance was an understatement.

"I don't think we really have much of a chance," Max confided nervously when his Bullet Seeds ricocheted harmlessly off the Shadow Tyranitar's hide.

"That's no way to talk, mon! You're on a Rescue Team! We never give up!" Torch bellowed, spewing Embers at the Tyranitar.

That's when Gilbert, whom the Tyranitar had bodily picked up and thrown through the air when the Squirtle sprayed her with his Water Gun, crashed into Torch, knocking him over. "I give up," the Squirtle said dazedly.

"Gilbert-kun!" Kira cried in alarm.

"Gilbert!" Sapphire shrieked.

Both of them ran over to the Squirtle, and frowned when they saw each other. "What are you doing here?" they asked suspiciously.

"And why is nobody asking how I'm doing?" Torch complained.

"So weird…" Hubie murmured, shaking his head in bewilderment.

"Hubie, hit her with a Whirlpool! I'll keep her distracted!" George shouted, curling up and spinning into a Flame Wheel which rolled across the ground towards the Tyranitar. The Armor Pokémon looked at it indifferently and kicked it before it could reach her, knocking George out of the fire and sending him flying through the air, smashing into a wall so hard he got his head stuck in it.

Hubie sweatdropped. "Gee, thanks for the distraction, George." There was a tremendous roar, and he gulped when the Shadow Tyranitar loomed over him. He didn't need Dimensional Scream to tell him he was about to be in some serious pain. "Aw, crap."

Fortunately, he had friends brave (and stupid) enough to protect him. "Don't you dare hurt him!" Pichu said as he leaped in front of Hubie and fired a Thundershock at the Tyranitar. Naturally, it had no effect.

"You were aware that she's a Ground-type and so completely immune to Electric attacks, right?" Max asked from a safe distance.

"Of course I know that, I was just trying to divert her attention from Hubie!" Pichu said.

"Well, it seems to be working," Matthias said as the Tyranitar turned towards Pichu and started powering up a Hyper Beam. "Now what?"

"…I assumed I'd figure something out when I got here," Pichu admitted, causing his teammates to facefault.

"Then I guess I'll have to do it for you!" Collette shouted, blowing a Sweet Kiss that struck the Tyranitar, causing her eyes to go all swirly in confusion and make her fire her Hyper Beam away from Pichu and Matthias. "Now, everyone, hit her while she's dazed!" she cried as she flung Magical Leaves at their enemy.

"Gilbert, Hubie, let's give her a good dose of waterpower!" Sapphire said, inhaling and spitting Bubbles at the Tyranitar.

"Sure thing!" Gilbert said, firing his Water Gun.

"You want waterpower, get a load of this!" Hubie bragged, forming a Whirlpool and throwing it the Tyranitar. The powerful Water moves washed over the Tyranitar, causing her to flinch in pain. Junior and George, who had managed to extricate himself from the wall with nothing worse than a concussion, curled into balls and rolled towards the Tyranitar with Roll Out and Flame Wheel. The Tyranitar shook her head to clear it and pulled back her tail to smack them away…only to find that Kira had used Grass Knot to tangle up her feet, and her attempt to turn around had thrown her off-balance, making her susceptible to a heavy body blow to the chest from the two rolling Pokémon that knocked her over and caused her to hit the ground with a heavy thud.

Torch howled incoherently and jumped onto the dazed Tyranitar, trying to penetrate her armor with Scratches since she didn't seem very affected by his Fire attacks. He winced and back off when he broke his claws, though. "Okay, I could have thought that out better…" he whimpered.

"Nice work, guys (except for Torch)! We'll finish her off!" Pichu said, raising his sword.

"We will?" Matthias asked.

"Yes, we will! Let's use that super-cool move we've been talking about!" Pichu said.

"…You mean the one that you saw on TV?" Max said skeptically.

"Yes, that one!" Pichu insisted.

The Treecko sighed and rolled his eyes. "Oh, fine…"

They positioned themselves in a triangle around the Tyranitar while the others bombarded her with Water and Grass attacks to keep her pinned down. In unison, they drew their swords and got into stances. "Team Awesome Finishing Move…DELTA SLASH!" Pichu yelled, which was the signal for all of them to use Quick Attack and run to their right, leaving trails of light that formed the sides of a triangle. When they reached the point the teammate on their right had been in before the attack had started, they sharply turned left and inwards, converging on the Tyranitar. There was a flash of light as they struck, and then breezed past her, standing with their backs to her. There was a moment of anticipation in the air, and nobody dared to breathe…

And then all of their swords shattered into wooden splinters. "…Okay, that did not go as planned," Pichu said faintly.

"In retrospect, perhaps it wasn't the smartest idea to use that move on a heavily armored Pokémon with wooden swords," Max said.

"Aaauuuggh! My paws! I've got splinters in my paws!" Matthias wailed, shaking his throbbing paws in agony. "Ow, ow, owwwww…hey, do you think-"

"No, it won't get you out of sword training," Pichu said.

"Figures," Matthias grumbled.

Jeremiah cackled. "Chaw-haw-er, I mean, hahahaha! Is that really the best you chumps can do? Let me show you some real power! Hrrrraaaaaaahhhh!" The Tyranitar stood back up and roared, causing the cave to shake as Shadow Aura blazed around her.

"W-wow, boss! You're really getting the hang of this!" said the impressed and slightly frightened Chao.

"Yeah, these brats got nothing on you! This is why we're Team Rocket material, while they're just losers playing hero! We got ambition, but what do they have? Nothing!" Smogon said.

"Not true! We have lots of ambition!" Hubie said.

"Yeah, we have the ambition to be the rest Rescue Teams around, to take up the mantle once our parents and elders retire!" Collette said.

"And I have the ambition to make a name for myself, literally," Pichu added.

"And I have the ambition to marry Gilbert-kun!" Kira squealed, eyes turning into hearts as she stared lovingly at Gilbert, who sweatdropped while Torch clenched his claws into fists, trying his best not to be envious of his best friend.

"Psh, those are all lame ambitions!" Jeremiah said dismissively. "There's nothing material to them at all! You just want to do the same thing your parents have done, like blind little soldiers, with no desire to be anything different or become something new!"

"Um, actually, I'd be perfectly happy doing nothing but relaxing back at Pokémon Square rather than doing something as incredibly hazardous and life-endangering as this, except I wasn't exactly given a choice," Matthias said. He thought for a moment. "Well, that, or become a chef."

"You want to become a chef?" Sapphire asked in surprise.

"Well, maybe. De…Mom's been letting me help out a lot in the kitchen, and I think I'm pretty good at this food preparation stuff. Dad's actually supportive of the idea, but wants me to still practice swordsmonship and be on a Rescue Team because those skills will help me become better at the culinary arts or vice versa…somehow," Matthias said.

"Wow, that's a really nice goal, Matthias. I hope you succeed," George said.

Matthias blushed and rubbed the back of his head Mareepishly. "It's not that big a deal, just a little something for me to shoot for-"

"Gah, will you kids shut up already?" Jermiah shouted in exasperation. "This is exactly what I'm talking about! All your ambitions are lame! You want to waste your lives being nice and helping people and getting absolutely nowhere in life! Not like us! We want to be movers and shakers! We want power, the power to change the world! And as part of Team Rocket, we'll get that power! Heck, I've already got a taste of it now…and let me tell you, it's way sweeter than anything you could possibly whip up in a kitchen!"

"Hey now, that's a bit much, isn't it?" Chao asked.

"Yeah, Mrs. Thunderblade makes some really good stuff," Smogon agreed.

Jeremiah considered this. "Well…okay, it's not quite as good as anything Mrs. Thunderblade can make, but it's pretty close, and I'm sure it'll be even tastier once I have more of it! Chaw-haw…um, ahahahaha!"

Proton's eye twitched. "Why on Earth did we pick these idiots again?"

"Nepotism. And they're expendable," Petrel whispered back.

"Ah, true," Proton said.

Chao's sensitive ears twitched. "Hey, did you just say we were expendable?"

"What? Uh, no, um, I said…er…that you're expandible!" Petrel said quickly.

"Expandible?" asked a confused Smogon.

"Yes, because…um…with quality agents like you, you'll help Team Rocket expand, and take over the world!" Proton said.

"Oh, neat!" Chao said.

"And the first step to that is beating you brats!" Jeremiah said as the Tyranitar roared and stomped the ground, causing boulders to fall from the ceiling as she used Rock Slide.

"I don't think the cave can take too much more of this before it collapses!" George said in alarm as they scrambled to avoid the falling rocks.

"Then we need to take her out before she goes too far!" Collette said, wiggling her arms back and forth as she used Metronome.

"Boss, quick, take her out before she calls up some super-devastating attack that defeats us!" Chao cried in alarm.

"Nah, don't worry, Metronome randomly selects one attack out of the hundreds or so any Pokémon can use. The chances of her getting a one-hit kill move like that are astronomical!" Smogon said.

"Oh yeah! Then what do you think of this!" Collette said as she pointed her arms upwards, glowing blue…

And Howled. Nothing else happened. There was a long, awkward pause. Collette laughed nervously. "Okay, that could have gone better. Now I remember why I don't use that move very often…"

"Nor will you anymore!" Jeremiah said as one of the Tyranitar's hands shot forward with a Dragon Claw.

"Yikes!" Collette expertly dodged out of the way…and flew right into the Tyranitar's other hand. She cried out in alarm as the monster threw her in her mouth and bit down hard with Crunch, screaming in agony as the beast's Darkness-infused fangs started crushing her small pale form.

The others gasped in horror. "No! Sis!" Junior screamed, charging blindly towards the Tyranitar with Take Down. Jeremiah grinned, and the Tyranitar did as well, fangs digging deeper into Collete's flesh as it turned and lashed out with Dragon Tail, knocking the Donphan back towards the others, smashing into them and sending them flying like bowling pins.

"We gotta get her outta there!" Pichu cried.

"How?" Max demanded.

"…I dunno! Can't you think of something? You're the smart guy!" Pichu yelled.

Max groaned. "Great, way to put all the pressure on me…Matthias, what about you? Do you have any thoughts?"

"Why are you asking me?" the Rattata asked incredulously.

"As a creature from the wild, you've probably had more experience surviving hopeless situations like these. What do your primal instincts tell you to do against a predator that's physically superior to you in almost every way?" Max asked.

Matthias thought for a moment. "Run," he said. "Very far and very fast."

"…That's it?" Max asked in disappointment.

"That or lie down and play dead, and hope that they lose interest," Matthias said.

"Why would they lose interest? Wouldn't they be happy to eat you even if you were dead? I mean, because they were going to kill you anyway," Max asked.

"I dunno, it just works sometimes. Except when it doesn't," Matthias said.

"Okay, your primal instincts suck. We need to think of something else," Pichu said.

"S-somebody…take…this!" Collette wailed, closing her eyes and using the last of her power to use Bestow, one of the items in her knapsack flying away from her in a ball of light towards her friends.

"I got it, I got it!" Hubie cried, rushing forwards and catching the sphere. It faded away to reveal… "Oh yeah! Just what the doctor ordered!" the Piplup Murkrowed as he saw it was a One-Shot Orb. "Wait, but why didn't we use this sooner?"

"Probably because we're trying to save the Tyranitar, not maybe kill her!" George said. "But right now, we don't have much of a choice if we're going to save Collette!"

Hubie's eyes shrank as his Dimensional Scream activated, and he got a vision of himself throwing the Orb at the Tyranitar. "Yeah…yeah, I guess we don't." He took a deep breath and wound back his arm. "All right…here we go!" He threw the Orb at the Tyranitar with all his might. It soared through the air towards the monster…

Whose arm shot out, snatching it out of the air before it could hit her. Hubie's jaw dropped. "What?"

"Oh, sorry, did you lose something? Here, let me give it back!" Jeremiah said, making a throwing motion. The Tyranitar hurled the Orb back at Hubie, hitting him so hard that he was knocked off the ground, flew through the air, and hit the floor several meters away with a rather sickening thud. His last thoughts before he passed out were Useless-ass psychic powers…

"No! Hubie!" George yelled.

"Oh, and I think you've lost something else. Here, let me give her back to you!" Jeremiah said as the Tyranitar opened her jaws, charging up a Hyper Beam…

With Collette still inside! "NO!" Before she could fire or he could realize what he was doing, Matthias dashed forward, ignoring the pain in his paws as he used Quick Attack to leap into the air and soar into the Tyranitar's mouth, grabbing Collette as he went and pulling her out of the beast's jaws just before it could fire and quite possibly kill her, the Beam slicing through the air behind him. He tumbled through the air, and for a moment he was worried he was going to lose his grip on Collette…

But thankfully, Kira's Vine Whips shot out to grab them and safely lower them to the ground. "That was incredible!" said an astonished Gilbert.

"You totally saved her life! That was one of the coolest things I've ever seen!" said an awe-struck Torch.

Matthias blinked in disbelief. "Did…did I just do that?"

"Yes…" Collette said weakly, smiling up at him. "Thank…you…" Matthias blushed, and he smiled back at her.

"You monster! You almost killed my niece!" Pichu shrieked in outrage, firing a Thundershock at Jeremiah. The Skuntank yelped in alarm and hopped backwards…and so did the Tyranitar. Max frowned as he noticed this.

"Don't be silly, she'd have been fine! Just…probably severely injured," Chao said lamely. "Nothing Nurse Joy couldn't fix up."

"Oh, and that's so much better!" Pichu said sarcastically, cheeks crackling.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Junior bellowed, running towards Jeremiah with Take Down.

"Not if she does it first!" Jeremiah said as the Tyranitar opened her mouth and fired Hyper Beam, the beam streaking through the air and striking the ground just behind Junior, causing an explosion that sent the Donphan flying through the air and smashing into the wall hard enough to get through even his hard head and knock him out.

"STOP HURTING MY FAMILY!" Sapphire shrieked, firing a Bubblebeam at the Tyranitar. The others joined in with Water Guns, Razor Leaves, Flamethrowers, and Bullet Seeds.

"I will, when you stop being so pathetic!" Jeremiah taunted as the Tyranitar snarled and unleashed a Sandstorm, the sandy winds blasting out from her and knocking the attacks away as well as buffeting the children, causing them to cry out as the sand got in their eyes and mouth and scraped their skin and flung them away. As they tumbled through the air, the Tyranitar crossed her arms and used Stone Edge, rings forming around her body that transformed into sharpened rocks that flew outwards and bombarded the young Pokémon, causing them to scream as the stones broke bones and penetrated their flesh. They hit the ground trailing blood, too battered and beaten to get up again…

Except for Team Awesome, who popped out of the ground through a tunnel made by Matthias. "Wow, good thing we taught you how to use Dig, Matthias," Pichu said.

"Yes, I figured it'd be good to use if I ever needed to run away," Matthias said.

"Uh oh…I think we're the last ones standing," Max said in alarm when he saw the defeated forms of their friends lying about.

"Dammit! This…this isn't how it was supposed to happen! We were supposed to kick ass! We were supposed to be heroes!" Pichu hissed.

"Well, that's the real world for you," Matthias said, looking depressed. "We're just kids, and that's one of the most dangerous species of Pokémon ever to walk the Earth. We never really had much of a chance."

Jeremiah sneered. "That's right! You guys should've just stayed home with your mommies and daddies! Chaw-haw-haw-"

Abruptly, Proton smacked him with a wing. "For the last freaking time, STOP! LAUGHING! LIKE! THAT!"

Jeremiah gulped and cowered, rubbing his head. "S-sorry."

Max narrowed his eyes, noticing that the Tyranitar was mimicking the Skuntank's exact motions. "Gentlemon, I think I have an idea. Have you noticed that the synchronicity between Jeremiah and the Tyranitar seems to be almost one hundred percent, to the point where they move as if they are the same person and possibly feel what the other does?"

"I have no idea what that big word you just used means, but if you're saying that you think we might have been aiming for the wrong target all along…I think you might be onto something," Pichu said slowly, a grin forming on his face.

"So…you think that if we take out Jeremiah…" Matthias asked.

"We'll take out the Tyranitar? If the neural link between them engendered by that 'Capture Styler' is as strong as I think it is…then yes, I believe it would," Max said.

"All right then…" Pichu smirked. "Team Awesome…let's get awesome!" The other two stared at him. "What?"

"Seriously? That's supposed to be our catchphrase?" Matthias asked.

"It's a work in progress, okay? Just…go!" Pichu snapped. The other two shrugged, and they started running towards Jeremiah.

"What the…what do they think they're doing?" asked the confused Chao.

"I think they're coming right towards us," said the puzzled Smogon. "But why would they do that?"

"Because they're Water Gunning for me!" Jeremiah realized in alarm. "Well, that's not going to happen!" The Tyranitar started charging up a Hyper Beam…

And Proton smacked him again. "You idiot! They're coming right towards us! If she misses them, we'll get hit instead!"

"Oh…uh…in that case…get them!" Jeremiah said.

"Mmm…nah," Petrel said.

"Wh-what?" Jeremiah cried in alarm.

"This is your test. We'll take no part in it. If you can't beat these kids on your own, then you're not fit to be in Team Rocket," Petrel said.

Jeremiah ground his teeth. "Fine! Then I'll take care of business myself!" He opened his mouth to fire a Flamethrower…

And the Tyranitar began preparing a Hyper Beam. "Cut it out!" Proton snapped, hitting him again.

"You cut it out!" Jeremiah snarled. He lifted his tail, preparing a spray of Poison Gas…

And Proton hit him again. "Don't you remember what I said earlier? Don't set off something like that in here, we'll all asphyxiate!"

"Not to mention you'd probably make the Tyranitar pass gas, which is something none of us want to happen," Chao commented.

"Oh for the love of…fine! FINE! You two take care of them, then, if there's no way I can attack without possibly screwing us over!" Jeremiah shouted, losing his patience.

"On it, boss!" Chao and Smogon chorused as they leaped forward to meet the kids.

"I think it's time you stupid kids went into time out! Take some of this!" Chao said, flinging Air Cutters at the trio.

"And this!" Smogon said, spitting Sludge Bombs.

Matthias used his Agility to dodge the aerial blades and leaped at Chao, opening his jaws wide as his large front teeth shone. "No, you take some!" he shouted as he bit into Chao with Super Fang, knocking him out of the air and slamming him into the ground, wrangling him with his mouth and digging his teeth in deeper.

"Auuuuughh! Make it stop, make it stop!" Chao screamed.

"Now you know what Collette felt like! Not so fun when you're on the receiving end, is it?" Matthias snarled around the Zubat filling his mouth.

Rather than use his Agility, Max spun around, bringing his thick tail up to deflect the Sludge Bombs with Pound, causing them to fly through the air and explode in Smogon's face, covering it in black muck. "Ahhhh! I can't see! I can't see!" he cried in alarm, wobbling all over the place.

"Now you know how all the nerds you've probably picked on over the years felt when you stole or broke or covered up their glasses!" Max growled as he leaped into the air and smacked him away with Pound, sending him flying through the air and smashing into some of the Rocket Grunts, sending them flying.

"O-oh crap," Jeremiah said in alarm, realizing there was nobody left to protect him and Pichu was bearing towards him, a grim look of determination on his face not unlike the kind he had occasionally seen Pikachu or Raiki sporting when they were about to teach him a lesson for picking on someone or were going out to defeat a particularly loathsome barbarian. "P-Proton, Petrel, anyone, help!"

"Eh. Don't feel like it," Proton said.

"Not in the mood," Petrel agreed.

"You guys suck!" Jeremiah screamed angrily. He opened his mouth and prepared an attack, causing the Tyranitar to do the same thing.

"What are you doing? How many times have I told you-" Proton shouted.

"Don't worry, there's no way she can replicate this!" Jeremiah said as he used Acid Spray, spitting corrosive fluid towards Pichu. The Tyranitar tried to mimick this, but only succeded in hocking a loogie, which flew through the air and smashed into a Rocket Grunt so hard it knocked her out cold.

"Huh. That was kind of impressive," Petrel commented.

"And disgusting," Petrel said with a grimace.

Matthias gasped and dropped Chao when he saw the tremendous cascade of acid surging at his brother. "No! Pichu!"

"There's no way he can get out of the way in time! He's going too fast!" Max cried.

Oh crap, Pichu thought, time seeming to slow down to a crawl as he ran right towards the Acid Spray, unable to stop himself or change his course. He could make out every drop of acid flooding towards him, and plenty of time to think about how much pain he would feel when it made contact with his small fuzzy body. This is gonna hurt. Even if it doesn't completely melt the flesh off my bones, I won't be in any condition to take out Jeremiah, and then he'll defeat the others, and…

And we'll have failed. Our first mission, a complete failure. All my friends hurt, my sibling and nieces and nephew in bad shame, my team in shambles…we'll be split up. We'll never get another chance to prove ourselves again. I won't get a name, and...

And Tiny won't get his mom back. That's his mother trying to kill us. She's been tortured and driven mad by the Nihilators, enslaved by the Rockets, and I…I wasn't able to do anything to save her. I'll have let him down. I'll have…failed him. I'll have failed EVERYONE. I…I'll be a disappointment to my family, to our legacy, to…to…

No.

I…I am a Thunderblade. My father was a hero, like his father, and his father before him. My brothers are heroes. My nieces and nephews are heroes. The blood of ancient samurai flows through our veins (Even those of us who were adopted. Family isn't always genetic.). We have fought for and protected the people of this land for generations. Failure…failure is not an option. It's not even a word we admit to knowing!

I can't lose, especially to a coward and a bully like Jeremiah. I will defeat him and the rest of those Rocket scum. I will save Tiny's mother! I will save my friends! I will prove that I am a hero! That…

"I…AM…A THUNDERBLADE!" Pichu shouted at the top of his lungs. His cheeks turned white, and abruptly golden electricity exploded out from his body, his form turning black and white as it engulfed him, leaving a brilliant streak in his wake as he ran forwards even faster than before, the Acid Spray hitting his body…and sizzling away in flashes of static, completely destroyed by the high voltage coursing through his form.

"Wh-what?" Jeremiah cried in alarm.

"Well, this is certainly an interesting development…" Petrel murmured, impressed.

"How is he doing that? I thought Pichu can't usually learn that move unless both their parents are of the Pikachu line and one of them was holding a Light Ball while they were conceiving it!" Petrel protested.

"How do you know his parents didn't?" Petrel pointed out. "But even if they weren't…the Thunderblade bloodline is blessed. Special. I see no reason he couldn't figure out the move for himself, if his heart were stimulated in the right way. Fascinating, wouldn't you say?"

"What…what is he doing?" Matthias cried in astonishment.

"That's Volt Tackle! The signature move of the Pikachu evolutionary line!" Max cried, eyes wide in awe. "It's so beautiful…"

"N-no! Stop! STOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!" Jeremiah screamed in terror as Pichu filled his vision like a golden specter of death.

Pichu didn't stop. He smashed into the Skuntank, triggering a tremendous explosion of light and electricity that temporarily blinded everyone in the cavern. Screaming, his fur turned black, static crackling around his form, Jeremiah flew through the air and smashed into the back wall of the cave so hard he created an imprint shaped like his body. Convulsing and gurgling, he fell out of the hole and hit the floor face-first, his Capture Styler crackling with electricity and exploding, taking his paw with it…not that he was in any condition to notice at the moment. Pichu panted as he staggered to his feet, grinning triumphantly at the astonished Rockets. "And that's…why you don't…mess with my family…guhh!" He winced and got down to one knee, sparks of yellow electricity crackling around his body.

"PICHU!" Matthias and Max yelled as they ran over to him, flinching and backing away when they got shocked while trying to help him out.

"Ow…what…what's wrong with him?" asked a confused and smarting Matthias.

"He's never done that move before…and he's still pretty young. His body hasn't conditioned itself to handle such intense bursts of electricity just yet," Max said.

"Ugh…then this is gonna happen every time I use Volt Tackle?" Pichu complained.

"Until your body becomes stronger, yes," Max said.

"Oh well…it's worth it, to be able to use an attack as cool as that! Heh, won't Dad and my big brother be happy? Especially since I was able to use that move to finish off the battle in awesome fashion!" Pichu bragged.

"Actually, the battle's far from over," Petrel said, startling them.

"Oh crap, I forgot about the Rockets!" Pichu gasped.

"Um…I don't think we can take them all…" Matthias said nervously, realizing how outnumbered and overpowered they were.

"Especially not after all the fighting we've just done," Max agreed.

"Don't worry, we have no intention of fighting you," Petrel said.

"Oh, that's a relief," Pichu said.

"Yeah, why bother when you still have her to deal with?" Proton asked, pointing to the Tyranitar, who, much to Team Awesome's alarm, was still standing. The Armor Pokémon bellowed with fury, and Shadow Aura erupted around her, causing the whole room to shake. Cracks started snaking ominously across the ceiling as more of the cave was weakened by the Shadow Pokémon's overwhelming power.

"What? She's still berserk? But…but that's not possible!" Pichu protested. "We beat the guy controlling her! That means she's supposed to snap out of it! That's how it always works!"

"Well, that might be what have happened if she hadn't already been berserk to begin with, given that she was a Shadow Pokémon," Max pointed out.

"Which means…that by breaking Jeremiah's control over her, all we've done is make her even more of a threat?" the horrified Matthias realized.

Max nodded unhappily. "So it would appear."

"Oh, come on!" Pichu moaned, falling on his tuckus with a groan. "That's not fair! We're in no condition to fight her!"

"But we have to, or else she'll kill us and our friends," Max pointed out.

"We could probably sneak around her, grab the others, and teleport out of here," Matthias pointed out nervously. "She seems a bit too hung up roaring and shaking the place up to notice us making a break for it…and Collette grabbed the egg earlier, so we could say it was mission accomplished, right?"

"…No. We can't," Pichu said, narrowing his eyes and standing up. "We have to bring back Tiny's mom! I can't look him in the face over the Internet and tell him I couldn't save her! And besides, do you really think the Rockets are going to just let us waltz out of here with that stolen egg?"

"Actually, we would," Proton said.

"We never wanted it in the first place," Petrel said. "You can keep the egg."

Team Awesome stared at them blankly. "…Wait, what?" Pichu said.

"I…I don't understand," Matthias stammered.

"The thing's useless to us. We don't need it," Proton said.

"Yeah, what're we supposed to do with a Phione? They aren't exactly the most powerful Pokémon. Sure, they're rare, semi-divine, and that liquefying trick of theirs is pretty nifty, but considering how many other Pokémon know Acid Armor that's not a particularly unique ability. As such, the only reason we'd want a Phione was if we were in the market for ultra-rare Pokémon…which, at the moment, we aren't," Proton said.

Petrel nodded. "A big war is coming. Everyone in Pokémon Square is preparing for it…and soon, so will the rest of the world. When it comes, Team Rocket will be ready, because we're acquiring some of the strongest Pokémon and most brilliant minds around. Power is what we need right now, not a novelty like Phione. So you can take it and go."

"But…but then…then why did you take it in the first place?" Max demanded.

"To bring you here," Proton said.

A chill ran down the spines of the young trio. "…What?" Matthias whispered.

"Of course," Pichu snarled, fur bristling. "Now I get it…You guys have time travelers on your side, right? You knew that Phione would turn up on our beach with that egg, and knew that we'd all be there at the same time. So you told Team Skull about it in advance so they'd steal the egg, ensuring that we'd be assigned to get it back, giving you the opportunity to capture the children of some of Pokémon Square's strongest and most respected citizens so you could use us to blackmail our families into working for you!"

"Ooh, pretty clever!" Petrel said, looking impressed.

"Yeah, that is a good idea, isn't it?" Proton agreed. He sighed wistfully. "Too bad you're completely wrong. Such a pity."

Now Team Awesome was even more confused than before. "Wait…that wasn't your plan? But…but then…why…" Matthias stammered.

"You're half-right. We did know you kids and Phione would be on that beach, and we did send Team Skull to grab the egg so you'd come after them…but we wanted you here for a completely different reason," Petrel said. "Someone fetch the backup Stylers, please?"

"Right here, boss," a Gloom said, bringing forth a suitcase. She set it down in front of Team Awesome and opened it, revealing three devices identical to the one Jeremiah had been wearing.

"Those are…Capture Stylers, right?" Max murmured.

"The thing Jeremiah was able to use to control the Tyranitar?" Pichu realized.

"Yep," Petrel said.

"But…why are you giving them to us?" asked a confused Matthias.

"The reason we wanted you kids here…is to field-test our Stylers," Proton said.

Pichu blinked. "Huh?"

"The Stylers were designed by Professor Hastings and reverse-engineered from a fascinating device a group of peacekeepers called 'Pokémon Rangers' used back in the days when humans were still around," Petrel said. "By using a Styler on a wild Pokémon, the Rangers were able to temporarily capture that Pokémon—unlike Pokéballs, which permanently captured whoever they hit—by conveying their feelings to that Pokémon's heart and convincing them to help them do whatever task was required of them."

"That…sounds like a really effective way to brainwash someone into being your slave," said an alarmed Max.

"So that's it! You recreated those things to forcibly make more Pokémon join your army!" Pichu snarled.

"Yes, actually, but again that's only half of the story," Petrel said.

Pichu blinked. "Huh?"

"There was another thing Stylers were good at…and that was freeing Pokémon who were being controlled by criminal organizations," Proton said.

"What, like you?" Max asked snidely.

"Yeah, pretty much," Proton admitted.

"A number of evil syndicates were able to use devices similar to Stylers, but far less benign, to force Pokémon to do their bidding and attack people and destroy stuff. Why they bothered with that rather than using Pokéballs like most other humans did, I have no idea, but it's what they did," Smogon said.

"Pokémon Rangers were able to use their Stylers to connect with the hearts of the enslaved Pokémon and break the control of whoever was pulling their strings," Proton said. He grinned. "In fact…you might even say they opened their hearts."

Realization struck them like one of Pichu's Thunderbolts. "Shadow Pokémon! You…you think you can use them to purify Shadow Pokémon!" Matthias gasped.

"And you wouldn't have to rely on an Aura Guardian to do it…you'd be able to use technology to replicate their purifying abilities!" said the astonished Pichu.

"Why didn't I see it sooner? It's so obvious!" Max cried. "Except…wait, no it's not. Clearly it didn't work, or else Tiny's mother wouldn't still be insane!"

"Er, yeah, we're still trying to fix that problem," Petrel admitted, looking embarrassed. "However, we think we have a pretty good idea why we haven't been able to successfully purify her with a Styler yet. Since it creates a temporary connection between the hearts of two Pokémon, we think the reason her heart is still closed is because we haven't been using the right heart to talk to her."

"…Ohhhh, I see," Pichu said with a smirk. "It's not working for you guys because you're all evil and stuff, and your hearts are too similar to the people who did that to her!"

"Well, I'd say similar is a bit of a stretch…" Petrel said, looking offended.

"Yeah, we're trying to save the world, not destroy it!" Proton said angrily.

"Yeah, by conquering it! That still makes you evil in my book!" Pichu said.

"Which is why Jeremiah couldn't open her heart either…since he's just a greedy, selfish bully, all he could do was control her," Matthias realized.

"And…and that's why you lured us here, isn't it?" Max guessed. "To see if our hearts…the hearts of children…would be able to succeed where you've failed."

"Heh, you really are a smart guy, aren'tcha?" Petrel said, looking amused.

"If you can successfully purify her, we'll know the Stylers work and can recruit Pokémon with hearts similar to yours to help us against the Nihilators," Proton said. "If not, we'll have to scrap the project and try something else."

"Fortunately, the Capture Styler isn't the only avenue towards purification we're looking into, so if this doesn't work, no big deal, we'll figure something else out," Petrel said. He frowned. "But most of our other options are less efficient or portable as the Stylers, so we're kinda betting a lot on this working."

"So now you want us to help you further your diabolical plans?" Pichu asked angrily.

"A diabolical plan that'll save thousands of innocent Pokémon who've been tortured and twisted into living weapons by the Nihilators," Proton pointed out. "You Rescue Teams are all about saving people. Are you saying you'll turn your back on them just because the only way to rescue them is to help the people you consider to be the bad guys? Even knowing we aren't nearly as bad as the other bad guys?"

Pichu hesitated at that. "W-well…I…"

Max sighed. "I suppose it would be the lesser of two evils…"

"But…but we don't have to!" Matthias pointed out. "We already have the egg! We have what we came for! We can just grab our friends and leave! We can let them find some other kids to test this for them!"

Max raised an eyebrow. "Then you're willing to let them kidnap and force another group of kids like us into helping them with this? And allow Tiny's mother to continue to be not only a tormented monster, but a pawn in their game of global domination?"

"Wh-what? I…I…" Matthias hesitated, and then slowly shook his head. "No. No, I'm not. It…it would go against everything Raiki…Dad…and everyone else have taught me."

"Which is why you wanted us, out of any other bunch of kids you could have used," Pichu said slowly, raising his head to stare at the Rockets. "Because you knew that we'd never turn our backs on someone in need."

"That's right," Petrel said cheerfully. "So…I take it you'll be helping us with our test?"

"Yes," Pichu said sullenly, grabbing one of the Stylers from the suitcase.

"But we're taking her back with us," Max said, grabbing one of his own. "And the egg."

"Sure, keep them. We won't need them anymore after this, anyway," Proton said.

"So, uh, how do we use this thing?" Matthias asked, staring rather dubiously at the device he'd just strapped onto his wrist.

"What, you weren't listening to the explanation I gave Jeremiah?" Petrel asked.

"Uh, no, we were a little busy fighting your henchmon," Pichu said.

"I heard it," Max reported. "I always find new technology fascinating. I think I know how it works."

"Really? Good, then you can tell us what to do," said a relieved Matthias, who wasn't very good with technology and didn't relish having to figure things out on his own.

"These things have some kind of telepathic circuits that cause the Capture Disc—that's this round thing here—to obey our thoughts," Max explained. "We basically will it to launch towards our target—in this case, the Shadow Tyranitar—and pilot it with our thoughts. We need to make them draw loops around the Tyranitar repeatedly until the little bar that will appear on this screen here fills up completely. Once it's full, she'll be under our control, and purified…I think."

"How does it do that?" Matthias asked.

"Somehow completing circles conveys our feelings to her heart, I believe," Max said. "And we want to save her and open her heart, and that will be transmitted to her by the Styler, and if it's done strongly enough times, we should be able to break through the corrupted Aura surrounding her and purify her."

"Yep, that's pretty much it," Petrel said.

"One other thing you should note is that she's not going to be paralyzed like before," Proton added. "She's on the move, and angry. She'll notice you're making some spinning things go around her that are doing something to her heart, and she'll lash out. When you move your Styler, it leaves a trail behind it, which you need to use to make a loop to successfully affect her. However, if her body or attacks touch any part of the line, it'll break and you need to start another loop. Fortunately, it won't affect the progress you're making on the purification gauge, which was apparently a major fault in some of the very first Stylers used by the human Rangers in olden days."

"What happens if she attacks the Styler rather than the line?" Pichu asked.

"Pretty much the same thing, except that your Styler takes damage, and it'll eventually break if it gets hit too often," Petrel said. "Right, I think that's everything important. So, ready to try them out?"

"I have one more question," Matthias asked.

"Yes?" Petrel asked.

"Why hasn't she attacked us while we've been standing here talking?" Matthias asked, pointing to the Tyranitar, who was still standing some distance away, roaring and blazing.

"…Er…she's so crazed and angry due to her Shadow state she…doesn't know we're here?" Petrel said uncertainly.

"And why hasn't the cave collapsed? Shouldn't that have happened by now with all this shaking?" Matthias continued.

"Don't question it, that's just the way these things roll," Max said.

Pichu nodded. "Yeah, my brother questions it all the time, and it's only a matter of time before he goes completely insane."

"Oh…all right," Matthias said doubtfully.

"Now, before something else happens…let's save our friends and Tiny's mom!" Pichu said, pointing his Styler at the Tyranitar, concentrating on her. The screen on the Styler flipped up and targeted the Tyranitar, data and vital statistics flashing around the cross-hairs. As the others brought their Stylers up, Pichu tried to do as Max had told him, willing his Capture Disc to move…

And, much to his excitement, it launched off his arm, spinning across the floor and leaving a trail of colored light behind it as the words 'Capture On!" flashed on his display. "All right! I did it! I did-" That's when Max and Matthias's Discs flew off their wrists and crashed into his. "Hey!"

"Sorry," Max apologized. "This is my first time using this. I need to get the hang of it." He narrowed his eyes and focused on his Disc, which wobbled a bit before it veered away from the others and started making circles on the ground. "Hmm…fascinating. It really does respond to my thoughts…"

"So…I just want it to move somewhere, and it…does?" Matthias asked, gritting his teeth and concentrating on his Disc. Much to his amazement, it jumped away from Pichu's and started zigzagging across the floor. "Yeah! I got it, I got-" Abruptly, the Disc started wobbling and spinning crazily all over the place. "Whoa! What the-"

"You have to stay focused to maintain proper control over it," Pichu said, eyes locked on his Disc, which he was using to try and draw a kanji on the floor with its trail. "Imagine it's like your sword, a part of you, something you have absolute control over…an extension of your body that does only what you will it to."

"My sword broke when it hit that monster's armor. Does that mean I'm maimed or something?" Matthias asked sardonically.

Pichu rolled his eyes, nearly causing the Disc to slip up and turn the kanji he was writing into something rather…vulgar. "You know what I mean…"

Matthias sighed. "Yeah, I guess I do." He focused on his Disc, and soon managed to regain full control over it.

"Excellent!" Petrel said. "I think you've gotten the hang of it!"

"Good, now go and capture that Tyranitar already," Proton said.

"We don't take orders from you!" Pichu snapped. "…But, uh, I guess we should go and capture that Tyranitar already." His Disc twitched and spun towards the Tyranitar. The other two quickly placed themselves on either side of it as they approached the monster, who paused in her mindless fury to look at the three tops in confusion, the bright lights they generated causing a…strange reaction in her.

"So, uh, how do we do this?" Matthias asked. "It's going to be a little tricky to have all our Discs looping her at the same time without colliding, isn't it?"

"Two of us can have our Discs distract her attention while the third draws circles around her," Max suggested. "Pichu, you seem to have mastered your Styler the fastest, so you should be the one to take that role."

"No problem," Pichu said.

"Why does he have the best control over his thing, anyway?" Matthias wondered. "He's just as fresh to it as we are."

"Yes, but he's had more experience fighting or using a sword than either of us," Max pointed out. "So he's already got more skill in focus and willpower than we do."

As Pichu's Disc zipped towards the Tyranitar, Max and Matthias's started zigzagging all over the place, leaving chaotic squiggles of light behind them. The Tyranitar frowned in perplexity, briefly wondering what was going on, then decided she didn't like it and opened her mouth, firing a Hyper Beam at the discs. Matthias and Max quickly steered their Discs out of the way, allowing the Beam to cut a tremendous trench through the ground between them. She grunted in annoyance and started stomping the ground repeatedly, causing boulders to fall from the ceiling and crash all over the place, forcing the Treecko and Rattata to take evasive maneuvers to protect their Discs from the rocks. Inexperienced Matthias was unable to maintain full control over his Disc with all the shaking, however, and accidentally steered his Disc right under one of the falling rocks. Max saw this and quickly piloted his Disc into Matthias's, knocking it out of the way and taking the impact full-on. Both of them flinched as feedback from the damaged Discs flooded into their minds, Max's a bit worse than Matthias's due to getting hit by a boulder rather than another Disc. "Max! Are you all right?" Matthias asked in alarm.

"I'm all right," Max grunted. "These things seem to be pretty durable, my Styler still is in working order."

"You didn't have to do that! That looked like it hurt," Matthias said in concern.

"Well, I had to," Max said Mareepishly. "Teammates are supposed to help each other, right? Like I should have yesterday, during the simulation."

"…Yeah. Yeah, you're right," Matthias said. He smiled. "I'll be more careful from now on. You do the same…or else I'm going to have to return the favor!"

Max smirked. "Duly noted."

"Here we go…here we go…yeah, we're doing good!" Pichu said with a grin as he drew loop after loop around the distracted Tyranitar's feet, causing the bar on his screen to start filling up more and more…

Until the Tyranitar growled and started stomping towards Max and Matthias's Discs, causing her to nearly step on Pichu's. The electric mouse squealed in alarm and quickly steered it out of the way, bringing it into the Tyranitar's range of vision. She growled angrily and tried to crush it with her feet, stomping all over the place and forcing Pichu to zigzag erratically to dodge her, the line his Disc made being shattered repeatedly by the Tyranitar's feet. Max and Matthias quickly brought their Discs over to try and catch the Tyranitar's attention, but she was too focused on Pichu's Disc to notice them. Losing her temper, she lashed out with Dragon Tail, sweeping her tail across the ground and smashing it into Pichu's Disc, sending it flying through the air and crashing into the wall. Pichu cried in pain and fell to his knees as stars exploded inside his head. "PICHU!" Max and Matthias cried in alarm, immediately breaking their concentration and causing their Discs to wobble and fall over. The Tyranitar roared triumphantly and started charging towards the immobile Discs, intending to crush them, and Max and Matthias had to quickly turn away from Pichu to reactivate the Discs and move them out of the way before they could get destroyed.

"I'm…I'm fine! Don't take your eyes off of her…we have to keep going, no matter what!" Pichu said through gritted teeth as he tried to stand back up, ignoring how much his head was throbbing. Focusing through the pain, he managed to right his Disc and start it spinning again, trying not to worry too much about how wobbly it now was.

"Hmm, we might want to install something to keep our agents from feeling that level of pain in response to damage to their Capture Discs," Petrel commented.

"I dunno, I think it's a good thing. The pain will keep them sharp," Proton said.

"These Stylers are supposed to help (and brainwash) people, not harm them," Petrel pointed out. "That policy should extend to the people using them as well."

Proton rolled his eyes. "Wuss."

Pichu tried to get his Disc near the Tyranitar again while his teammates played distraction, but she wasn't falling for it this time and fired a Hyper Beam at the Disc when it approached, forcing him to quickly reverse direction to dodge the attack. She crossed her arms and started hurling Stone Edges outwards, and Pichu and the others had to swerve and dodge all over the place to evade the sharp rocks. "Dang! I can't get close to her!" Pichu grunted. "And if I can't get close, I can't loop her!"

"Couldn't you draw a circle around her from further out?" Matthias suggested.

"No, the trail doesn't last that long," Max noted, steering his Disc in a wide arc around the Tyranitar. While a curvilinear trail of light emanated from the Disc, it faded the further it got away from the Disc, until by the time the Disc had made a complete circle and was back where it started, there was no longer a tail end there.

"Hmm, that's another thing we need to add. Longer lines," Petrel commented.

"Well, even if this purification thing doesn't work, at least we're getting some valuable test data," Proton said.

"Gee, I'm so glad we're able to help you guys out," Pichu said sarcastically.

"Thanks, we appreciate it," Petrel said.

Matthias frowned, getting a sudden idea. "Wait…when her attacks touch the line, it breaks it, but what if we…" Trailing off, he steered his Disc towards the trail left by Max's. Much to his delight, the Disc passed right through the line without breaking it, and the point where both their trails intersected was glowing brighter. "That's it! Max, Pichu, start drawing circles around her again, I think I know what to do!"

"Huh? What do you-" Max started.

"Just trust me, okay? After all, you aren't the only one who can get bright ideas!" Matthias said.

"…Heh, if you've got a plan, then I'm all for it, Brother!" Pichu said. "Max, let's do this! I have a good feeling about this…" Max shrugged and complied.

The Tyranitar frowned as two of the spinning shiny things whizzed past her, going in opposite directions. She briefly wondered which one to go for, then decided to just attack both at once with Stone Edge. Max and Pichu's Discs weaved out of harm's way, but the rocks pierced the trails, destroying them and causing them to start from scratch…

Where Matthias sent his Disc in, his trail intersecting close to the end of Pichu's line and heading in the opposite direction, the combined lines glowing brighter and creating a rough arch. "Oh, I see!" Max gasped, astonished he hadn't thought of this idea sooner. "That's brilliant, Matthias!" He changed the direction of his Disc, moving it around and behind Pichu's Disc and passing through his trail, aiming right for where he estimated Matthias's Disc was going to be in a moment. When the Rattata's Disc spun into view, Max steered his Disc behind it, intersecting their lines and creating a vaguely triangular ring around the Tyranitar, causing her to flinch as the lines flashed and her Shadow Aura shrunk slightly.

"Yeah! That did the trick!" Pichu exulted as the purification gauge rose significantly.

"Ooh, very clever," said an impressed Petrel. "We're going to need to remember that one: when working together, multiple Stylers can Capture Pokémon faster. I guess this is the power of teamwork or something, huh?"

Proton grunted. "Eh, I guess it's okay."

Team Awesome managed to complete another loop while the Rockets discussed this latest development. "All right, this should work," Max said. "This will allow us to complete full circuits around her without having to worry about getting close enough for us to get stomped or smashed by her."

"Uh, what's to keep her from breaking the loops with her other attacks?" Matthias asked as the exasperated Tyranitar roared and fired a Hyper Beam at his Disc's line, breaking it and preventing the combined loop they had been building from completing.

"Well…nothing, I guess," Max admitted.

"I guess we'll have to do our best to avoid it when she does that," Pichu said.

"Our Discs can, but what can we do about the lines?" Matthias persisted.

"…I'm working on that," Max admitted Mareepishly.

"Actually, I think I may have an idea," Pichu said. "Everyone, line your Discs up and spin in opposite directions around her!"

"Why? What good will that do?" Matthias asked.

"Maybe nothing, maybe a lot, we'll see soon enough," Pichu said cryptically.

His friends shrugged and complied with his instructions, lining up their Discs and then moving away from each other, two going one way and one going the other, spinning in circles around the Tyranitar. She growled and flung Stone Edges, breaking their trails and coming close to hitting the Discs, but the Discs dodged the rocks and just made new lines. The Discs passed each other behind the Tyranitar and came back around to her front, compelling her to fire at them with a Hyper Beam. Pichu promptly reversed his Disc and went back the other way to dodge the beam, and the others did as he did. "Is there a point to this?" Max asked.

"Yes," Pichu said. "Keep moving in opposing directions, and whenever you see an opening…fill it! And I mean that literally, whenever you see a gap in a line, fill it up with your own. So long as we keep at it, we should be able to draw our lines faster than she can break them!" He started moving his Disc chaotically, first spinning it one way, and then another, making it almost impossible for the Tyranitar to predict where it would be next. The Tyranitar tried to focus her attacks on it, but when she did the other two, realizing what Pichu was up to, would quickly start looping around her. When she switched attention to one of their lines, Pichu would swoop in and take one of his friends' places, and when she tried attacking him again, the friend he'd swapped out with would come back in to loop once more. Giving up on Hyper Beams or on moving fast enough to catch up to the lines, she tried wide-area attacks, Rock Slides and Stone Edges, but whenever she shattered someone's line, another Disc was almost immediately there to fill it in since it was coming around the other way, forcing her to constantly turn in circles to try and keep up with the Discs whizzing all over the place and irritating her peripheral vision. All the spinning, both of the Discs and of herself, started taking its toll on her, and she began to stagger about, getting dizzy and confused. By this point, in spite of her efforts, the trio had managed to complete several more loops around her. She'd broken more than they'd finished, but they'd just kept at it Growlithedly, taking whatever victories they could get, slowly wearing her down and filling up the purification gauge, her Shadow Aura getting smaller and smaller the longer the fight went on.

"Phew…I think we've almost got her!" Pichu said.

"And she's almost got us," Matthias groaned, sweat matting his fur. "I don't think I can take much more of this…"

"Neither can she," Max pointed out, wiping some sweat away. "I believe one more united loop should do the trick. The gauge is almost full, which means she's almost purified!"

"Which also means we've almost won!" Pichu agreed. "Okay…let's try that finishing move one more time, guys?"

Matthias grimaced. "What, that again?"

"Would that even work without a sword?" Max asked.

"I don't see why not! Of course, uh, we probably shouldn't actually touch her or each other with our Discs. It should still work the same, though, and look really cool!" Pichu said insistently.

"Well, all right…I guess we can give it one more go," Matthias said.

Pichu grinned. "Right! Here we go!" They positioned each of their Discs at a point surrounding the Tyranitar. "Team Awesome Finishing Move: DELTA SLASH!" Each Disc spun to the right, leaving a straight line behind it. The Discs spun into the tail ends of their partners' Discs to create a triangle, then turned left and inward, whizzing under the Tyranitar's feet (and doing their best not to slam into each other) and coming back out, their lines intersecting behind them. The Discs spun out of the triangle and skidded to a halt. The dizzy Tyranitar regained her senses just in time to notice the diagram that had been drawn underneath her, but not in time to do anything about it as suddenly the lines flared upward, engulfing her in a triangular pillar of light. She bellowed in surprise and terror, her Shadow Aura desperately igniting to protect her…only to get ripped to shreds by the unstoppable flood of light, until finally there was nothing left of it.

As the light faded, the maddened look in her eyes slowly dissipated as well. "Uhhh…what…where…where am…" she whispered, throat raw from all the screaming and roaring she'd been doing. "Ohhhh…why is the world…spinning…" Groaning, her eyes rolled back in her head and she sagged forwards, collapsing on the ground.

Team Awesome collapsed as well, their displays flashing the words 'Pokémon Captured' over and over. "We…we did it…" Matthias gasped.

"We purified her…we…we won…" Max said, breathless both from amazement and from sheer exhaustion.

"Yeah…" Pichu managed a weak smile. "Won't Tiny be…happy?"

"He certainly will. Good show, boys!" Petrel said jovially. "Your parents will surely be pleased by your accomplishment here today!"

"As will our Boss. Now if you'll please relinquish those Stylers, we'll be on our way," Proton said, signaling the Grunts, who came forwards and started pulling the Stylers off the three children.

"H-hey, give that back!" Max protested as the Styler was wrenched off of him.

"Get your paws off me!" Pichu snarled, trying to generate a Thundershock, but was too tired from using the Styler to be able to put up much resistance.

Matthias, not seeing any point in fighting at this point, since the Rockets could defeat them easily if they really wanted to, resignedly gave up his Styler. Oh well…it was fun while it lasted…

"Thank you very much for participating in our little experiment," Petrel said cheerfully as a green time portal appeared at the back of the cave, Team Paradox stepping out of it. "We appreciate your assistance and will make good use of the data you've provided us. Now if you'll please excuse us, we must be on our way."

"No…dammit, come back! We aren't…we aren't through here!" Pichu snarled, struggling to his feet only to fall on his face.

"For now? Yeah, we are," Proton sneered. "I'd be more than happy to go a few rounds with you, kid…but not right now. Try again when you're older and more on my level." Pichu ground his teeth in frustration as the Crobat vanished into the portal, the Grunts following after him one by one, unable to stop them.

Max frowned, realizing the Rockets weren't moving to pick up Jeremiah, Smogon, or Chao. "Wait…Team Skull…aren't you taking them with you?"

Petrel shook his head. "No, we were never going to let them into Team Rocket. We only told them that to trick them into helping us lure you here. They're just thugs with little sense of decency or standards, not unlike the Nihilators. We of Team Rocket like to think we've got a bit more class than that. You can keep 'em. We have no use for them."

"…But isn't Smogon your nephew?" Matthias protested.

"Regretfully, yes," Petrel said. "And kind of a disappointment, at that…oh well. Maybe some time in the town jail will finally teach him a lesson. Anyway, I'd better get going. I'm sure we'll see each other again someday!"

"The next time we do," Pichu growled. "I'm kicking your butt."

Petrel laughed. "I'm sure you will, kiddo. I'm sure you will." He vanished into the portal, leaving no Rockets but Team Quantum behind.

"And what do you lot want?" Max asked. "Going to make some cryptic comments about the future or fate or how you're manipulating us for our own good?"

"Not today, sorry," Paradox said, gesturing and causing the wounds of all the young Pokémon to vanish, time reversing itself to mend their injuries. "We're just going to heal you and leave."

"We would thank you and tell you that what you've done today helped to ensure the perfect future will come to pass, but we rather doubt you'll appreciate it," Crono said. Max frowned, wondering why the sword-wielding Grovyle looked…familiar…

"No, we wouldn't," Matthias said sullenly.

"Not even you, Pichu, a strong believer in destiny?" Aeon asked.

"As the second-born son, I've never had much of a destiny compared to my brother," Pichu said. "I'm going to be a hero, that's for certain…but that's a choice I've made, not one that someone else did. The sacred sword will never be mine…which means I have to make my own path to become a samurai hero of legend."

"Then we have nothing more to say to each other," Aeon said. He turned to the other two. "We've done what we needed to do and seen what we needed to see. Let's depart."

Paradox nodded. "Right. Time to-"

"Crono?" someone whispered. The Grovyle and the rest of Team Aeon stiffened. Team Awesome blinked in confusion and looked over their shoulders, surprised to see Hubie had regained consciousness…and was staring at the time travelers as if he knew them. "Marle? Janus? Is that you?"

Crono's eyes widened. "No…"

Paradox gasped. "G-Glenn?" Aeon gestured, his eye flashing, and suddenly the Piplup groaned and passed out. "Hey! Why did you-"

"We have to go," the Dusknoir said.

"But…but Aeon, that's-" Crono stammered.

"He made his choice. He is no longer one of us," Aeon said curtly. He floated into the portal and disappeared.

Paradox looked guiltily back at Hubie, sighed, and shook her head regretfully. "Yeah…I guess not…come on, Crono." She flew through the portal as well and vanished.

Crono bit his lip and turned away. "…Sorry, Glenn." He walked into the portal. It sealed shut behind him.

Team Awesome stared at where the time travelers had disappeared blankly. "…What the heck just happened?" Matthias asked finally.

Max groaned and laid his head on the ground. "You know what, I'm too tired to care. Let's contact Scotty to transport us all back to town. We can tell the grown-ups everything there and let them sort it out; it's what they're there for."

Pichu nodded. "Yeah." Abruptly, he burst into a grin. "I'm not entirely sure what just happened there, and everything we've gone through today was way tougher than I had expected…but at least one good thing has come out of all this."

"What, we've proven we can pull together as a team and therefore shouldn't be reassigned to other partners?" Matthias asked.

"Even better, I think I've finally earned my name!" Pichu said excitedly. "I'm the youngest member of my family to ever use Volt Tackle, that's gotta be worth a naming ceremony, and a really good one, too! Ohhh, just wait'll my bro hears that I'm getting named before him! I can't wait to see the look on his face!" His friends facefaulted.

Meanwhile, in Chroma Ruins…

Cranger led Team Nightshade deeper into the ancient Lemewrian ruins, the stones around them growing older and older the further they plunged into the depths. While they had passed by several Ghosts and other undead creatures in the upper reaches of the catacombs, as they descended into the lowest reaches of the ruins they began to spot fewer and fewer inhabitants, until finally the only dead they came across was the ordinary kind, the ones that didn't get up and walk about but just sat in coffins being boring. "Why isn't there anyone else down here?" Jerry asked after a while, realizing it had been almost an hour since the last time they'd seen a living…er, unliving thing.

"This area is where the oldest and first among us used to dwell, back when the ruins were still young," Callista explained. "But when the great cataclysm struck the Earth, very few of the undead who used to inhabit this space came back…at least, not in any form we would have recognized. Everyone you saw in the upper levels are more recent, only having died in the last thousand years or so."

"Or born, in your case," Mary said.

Callista grimaced, hating to be reminded that she was still mortal. "Essentially."

"Although there is certainly lots of space down here, none of us have chosen to inhabit it," Cranger explained. "We leave it alone, out of respect for those who came before us that we will never get the opportunity to meet."

"And because it kind of creeps us out," Nefertiti admitted. "We're dead, yes, but we're active. Our ancestors down here…aren't. We know there is more awaiting us beyond this world, but…well, we're so used to being here that the idea of leaving and becoming really dead is rather…frightening. We're kind of afraid of the beyond, because it's so, well…beyond everything we know and are used to."

Cranger frowned at her. "Not that most of us like to admit that…"

"Well, usss living folk are pretty ssscared of death too, sssometimesss," Evan said. "I guesss we aren't that different, huh?"

"…I think that's stretching things a bit," Gary said.

"So, basically, your people don't live down here because it reminds them that not even they are truly immortal?" Maren asked.

Cranger grimaced. "Essentially, yes."

"There is another reason," Callista said.

"Yeah? What's that?" Mary asked.

"The Mirror of Truth. Most of us are rather…uneasy around it," Nefertiti said.

"Why?" Janine asked.

"Because it shows the truth about whoever looks into it…and sometimes, that's not a truth we want to confront," Callista said ominously.

Gary sighed. "And it's a truth I'm going to have to face if we're going to get that Compass piece."

"Royal Ssseal pieccce," Evan corrected helpfully.

Gary rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"Don't worry, Gary, we know you can do it," Jerry said.

"We do?" Evan hissed. Mary punched him. "Ow! Uh, I mean, yesss, we do."

"So, how much further is the Mirror?" Maren asked. "It feels like we've been walking for a while."

"You're not walking, you're flying," Mary said.

Maren rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."

"Well, we would have been here sooner if so many of you weren't bound by your fleshy cages," Callista said contemptuously.

"Oh, and you're not?" Mary asked.

"Actually, no, she's not. She's spent so much time among us undead that she's learned how to walk through walls and floors just like a real Ghost," Cranger said proudly.

"…Oh," Mary said.

"Cool!" Evan said.

"Hmm, that would be a useful skill in my line of work," Janine said, looking interested. "I don't suppose you could teach me how to do it?"

Callista considered this. "…Well, I guess I could try. It's something that's always come naturally to me, but that's because I've been around the undead all my life. It's something I just…picked up along the way."

"Well, my brother is a ghost, and we trained together for most of our childhood after we evolved and split off from each other, if that counts for anything," Janine said.

"Hmm…perhaps," Callista murmured, rubbing her chin thoughtfully as she looked at the Ninjask. "That's right, your kind have an unusual form of evolution, don't they? I wonder if there is some way I could mimic the process…split away from my body when I evolve, so that my soul and corporeal form are two different people?"

"You could do that, but then what would your body think?" Jerry pointed out. "Wouldn't she be unhappy you cast her away?"

"Or worssse, jealousss that one of you got to become a Ghossst but the other didn't," Evan added.

"Plus, there's no way to know which of you gets to be the Ghost, while the other one stays, well, fleshy, until it's too late," Gary said.

"That's true," Callista admitted. "Oh well, it was just a thought."

"You're really serious about this becoming undead thing, aren't you?" Mary asked.

Callista nodded. "I'm the only thing with a pulse for miles and miles. I've always felt…somewhat out of place among my deceased brethren. Becoming like them will make me feel like I finally belong."

"You already belong, sister," Nefertiti said warmly. "You always have."

"True, but so long as warm blood courses through my veins, there will always be something separating me from the rest of you," Callista lamented. "Which is why I endeavor to break down that barrier…so I will be able to hug you at last without you always fearing I'll wither away and die from your touch." Nefertiti flushed, speechless.

"Well, if you find a way to do that, more power to you," Gary said. "But that doesn't answer Maren's question: how much further?"

"We are here," Cranger said, stopping before one of many darkened archways lining the ancient corridor they were walking down.

"Oh, okay," Gary said.

"It'sss dark in here!" Evan complained as they passed through the archway and into a pitch-black chamber that not even those with night vision were able to perceive.

"Not for long," Callista said, concentrating, Aura blazing up around her. Four blue tongues of flame spiraled away from her and landed in sconces placed on the walls, igniting them and illuminating the room…

And the Mirror of Truth. It stood on a tall dais in the center of the room, positioned so that all found their eyes drawn to it and yet were unable to see their reflections from the entrance. It was surprisingly plain, a single sheet of rectangular glass held in an unadorned frame of some silvery metal. A chill ran down their spines as they stared at it, something telling them they were beholding something truly ancient; older than their hosts, older than the ruins, maybe even older than the Earth itself…

And something else told them it was alive. And aware of them.

Jerry swallowed. "Wh-why do I get the feeling that it's looking at me?"

"It looks at all of us," Nefertiti said with reverence and more than a little fear. "It stares into our hearts, reading our innermost thoughts and feelings…seeing the secrets we keep from everyone, even ourselves."

"…I am beginning to understand why your people stay away from this artifact," Janine said, sounding nonplussed, which alarmed Maren, because if something unnerved the ninja, it must be really bad.

"And it's going to look into me, soon enough…" Gary murmured.

"It already is," Cranger said. "But now that you are here, you will peer back into it…and in doing so, know yourself completely."

"And if I do that, I'll get the fragment we need?" Gary asked. Cranger nodded. The Gengar sighed. "All right. What do I have to do?"

"Get onto the dais and enter the mirror. Once inside, you will be forced to confront the truth about yourself. More than that, I cannot say," the elder Gengar said apologetically.

"Right, like anything's ever easy for us…" Gary sighed. "Well, no sense putting it off then. Um, how long am I going to be in there?"

"That depends entirely on you," Cranger said. "However long it takes you to come to terms with the truth is how long you will be inside the Mirror."

"Ssso…we'll never sssee him again, then?" Evan asked. Mary punched him. "Ow!"

"We'll wait here for you," Mary promised. "No matter how long it takes, we'll wait here until you return. And you will return, Gary…won't you?"

"…Yeah. Of course I will!" Gary said, managing a grin. "You're my team! My…friends. I know we aren't always the best to each other, but…deep down, I know we all care a lot about one other, right?"

The others nodded, except for Janine. Maren elbowed her. "Hmm? Oh, uh, yes. Right."

"Gary…be safe in there, okay? I don't know what you'll have to face, but I know you can handle it," Jerry said loyally, causing Gary to smile.

"But in cassse you don't, am I leader if you never make it back or go insssane?" Evan asked hopefully.

"No! I'm leader if something happens to Gary! Which…which it won't!" Mary said.

"Actually Mary, Jerry's in charge if something goes wrong," Gary said.

"WHAT?" everyone asked incredulously.

"M-me?" Jerry stammered in disbelief. "Why?"

"Because you're the only member of this team who isn't keeping secrets, working towards their own agenda, stealing food, or Evan," Gary said.

"Hey!" Evan shouted. Maren fidgeted.

"I still need to kill you for taking my jam," Janine snarled at Mary, who sweatdropped.

"I feel I can trust you the most out of everyone…which is why I know you'll do fine as leader if something happens to me," Gary said.

Jerry trembled, tearing up. "I…I swear I won't let you down, Gary!" he cried.

Gary chuckled and rubbed the Cherubi's head affectionately. "I know you won't, kid." He turned to Mary. "I'm sure everything will be fine, but in case it's not, I know I can count on you to keep everyone safe and make sure Evan doesn't choke to death on something, right?"

"You can count on me to do that, but not to lead?" Mary asked sullenly.

"Mary, you're my best and oldest friend, and it's precisely because of that I don't trust you to lead. I know you too well," Gary said.

Mary sighed. "Yeah, point. Don't worry, I'll…I'll try to keep everyone on track. You can count on me. And…Gary?"

"Yeah?" Gary asked.

Mary opened her mouth, tried to say the words she'd been harboring for what felt like forever…and, yet again, found herself not up to the task. "I…nothing. I'll tell you when you get back, okay?" she said, cursing herself for Combuskening out again.

"Sure, okay," Gary said, wondering what was up with her. He turned to Maren and Janine. "And as for you two…you'll make sure they keep on task and finish the mission, won't you?"

Maren nodded. "Of course, Gary. You know we will."

"We will make certain the Princess is rescued, no matter what happens," Janine said.

Gary smiled knowingly. "Yeah, I know you will." He took a deep breath, and then turned away before he could lose his nerve. "So…here I go. Wish me luck, guys."

"Good luck," they said quietly.

Refusing to look back lest he change his mind, Gary floated into the air and landed on the dais right in front of the Mirror. He stared at his reflection…

And it stared back, except the thing he saw in the Mirror was not himself. Or at least, it wasn't himself as he was now. "No way…" Gary whispered, raising a hand to touch his cheek, awed and horrified when the figure in the Mirror did the same thing. "It's…it's me…like…I used to be. Back when I was…alive." The Gengar stared at the human in the mirror, both intimately familiar with this reflection but at the same time feeling like he was seeing it for the first time. The other Gary was taller than he was, with pinkish skin rather than the purple he was used to now, wearing a black T-shirt and purple jeans, with a purple backpack, waistpack, armbands, and a small purple stone hanging from a string around his neck. His thick brown hair was about as spiky as Gary's hair was now, but his eyes were green rather than red, and his mouth wasn't fixed in a permanent grin. It was…rather unnerving, to be honest. "This is…so weird…"

And things got weirder when suddenly the reflection stopped mimicking Gary's every action and crooked its finger, beckoning him forwards. Gary stiffened in disbelief, wondering if he was hallucinating or something, or if this Mirror was playing some kind of trick on him, which wouldn't really be much of a surprise. When Gary didn't move, the human reflection frowned, reached into its waistpack, and pulled out an unassuming shard of glass. Gary gasped, realizing it was the Crest fragment they were looking for. Reflexively, he reached out for it, and was dismayed when his reflection shook its head and put the shard away, then beckoned again and extended its other hand, palm open. Gary stared at it for a moment, uncertain…

And then he reached out and pressed his hand against his reflection's. Much to his amazement, his hand passed through the surface of the mirror with only the slightest resistance, the image rippling faintly as his hand transposed itself in it. Alarm, he tried to pull his hand back, but something on the other side grabbed it and pulled, and before Gary could do anything, he found himself tugged forwards and into the mirror, vanishing without a trace.

His friends gasped when they saw this. "He-he's gone!" Jerry gasped.

"Okay, that was freaky," Maren said.

"Wh-where did he go?" Evan asked.

"He has entered the world of the Mirror," Cranger said. "There, he will either accept whatever truth it wishes to show him…or go mad from the revelation."

"He won't go mad," Mary insisted. "He'll come back to us. He promised."

Maren nodded. "And when he does…he'll find us right here, waiting for him."

Meanwhile, in northeastern Sinnorre…

As the moon shone brightly down on Treeshroud Forest, the new village of the Caretakers was full of life and light as everyone came together to throw a great feast in honor of their guests. All the villagers had descended from their treehouses to the forest floor, where great bonfires had been set ablaze which several Pokémon in colorful tribal costumes and makeup danced about, much to the delight of their peers and the younger tribesmon. Fresh food was constantly being piled before the Pokémon who would rather sit and eat than take part in the dancing and festivites by attractive servers, and it was all the diners could do to finish their massive helpings and leave room for more before the next course came around. The air was filled with music as singers joyfully recited chants and melodies that had been part of their culture for generations, as well as more than a few they'd written fairly recently.

None of this spectacle was lost on their three visitors, who were awestruck and impressed by the display the Caretakers were putting on for them. Only a few weeks ago, the Pokémon who were now dancing and feasting and celebrating had been emaciated, dying, and on the brink of utter despair. Now they were full of color and vitality, and if it weren't for telltale scars or other…deformities, it would be almost impossible to know that any of these cheerful and happy Pokémon had only recently been released from unimaginably brutal torture and enslavement, their ancestral home destroyed and many of their kin slain, and more than a few of them driven mad by grief and Tarantulas' cold-blooded experimentation. As Mondo hooted and cheered and stuffed his face full, a somewhat uneasy Gardenia couldn't help commenting on this to the Pokémon she had been seated with, Michael's wife, Chora. (That's right, Michael was married. Don't look so surprised, he is leader of the tribe, after all, and there's no reason for someone like that not to be married off pretty young, is there?) "Everything you're doing for us, everything you've managed to accomplish since coming here, is simply astonishing. But…how is it possible? After everything that was done to you, everything that you've lost and all the pain and cruelties you've suffered, how are you able to laugh and dance and sing and act like…well, none of it happened?" the Cacturne asked her companion. "I mean, it wasn't even that long ago, for goodness' sake! How have you gotten over it so fast?"

"That's a very good question," Michael's wife said. Chora was an attractive Liepard whose sleek purple fur, quiet poise and grace, and nearly impenetrable air of complete self-confidence combined to create an allure that Gardenia, who still felt rather clumsy and unappealing even after her evolution, admired and looked upon with awe and more than a little envy. However, that pretty face now seemed rather melancholy and a little…haunted as it considered Gardenia's query. "I suppose the simple answer is…we haven't gotten over it. I'm not sure we ever will. Some of the scars that the Nihilators inflicted on us go so deep that they will never heal. The best we can do is just…go on with our lives as if nothing has happened, because if we ever ponder too deeply about the full extent of our loss, we will drown in a black pit of misery and tears."

"…Oh," Gardenia said, looking uncomfortable.

"I suppose that is why we were able to muster up so much energy to build the village and put on such a magnificent banquet for you and your friends," Chora continued. "We desperately cling to life and activity to keep from being reminded of…what happened back there. Which is not to say that we are actively trying to forget what the Nihilators did to us, what they did to our Tree. That sorrow will always be a part of us. But…we cannot allow it to dominate our lives, lest we render ourselves impotent and incapable of creating a new future…or worse, imparting too much of that sorrow upon our children and making it impossible for them to enjoy that future."

"I'm sorry," Gardenia said quietly, unable to look at the Liepard. "I didn't mean to pick at an old wound."

Chora managed a smile. "I'm making it sound worse than it is. This forest, our new home, has an energy to it that's created a salve for our injured spirits that makes it easier not to let the horror of…back there intrude too much on our new lives, unless we spend too much time worrying at it. The peace and vitality of this place has given us the power to hope and live again, and the strength to try and put the past behind us. Michael, more than anyone else, has helped us to work towards a new beginning."

"How so?" Gardenia asked.

"He is the Protector. He is the physical and spiritual leader of our people, and very literally the heart of our tribe," Chora said. "He suffered as much as any of us, if not more. His ability to continue leading us despite the trauma and anguish he has suffered, his determination to press on no matter how hopeless things seemed both back there and on the long, hard journey to this place, his earnest belief that we still had a future…all of this made it clear to even his staunchest detractors that, even though he had lost contact with the spirits, he was still more than fit to be our leader. He never once asked us to believe in him, since there were times it seemed as if he had trouble believing in himself…but the fact that he pressed onwards anyway, and was willing to do whatever it took to deliver us to a new home and a fresh start, earned his undying loyalty from us. The fact that his link to the spirit world was renewed when we at last reached this promised land only validated our beliefs that he was indeed our rightful leader, since if the ancestors believed in him, then how could we do any less?"

"…Wow," Gardenia said as she processed this, more than a little awed. "No wonder all of you look up to him and treat him with so much respect."

"He would do anything for us, and we for him," Chora said firmly. "By believing in him, we helped him to believe in himself, and eventually found the strength to believe in ourselves again as well. He is our savior, and I am certain that future generations will remember him as one of the greatest Protectors we have ever had."

"And that's why you love him, huh?" Gardenia asked.

Chora smiled. "Not exactly. I was promised to Michael before either of us was born. It was an impressive accomplishment for my family, to become tied with the sacred bloodline of the Protectors. We grew up together, and since it was already determined that we would be wed someday, I was…encouraged to fall in love with him." She smiled and glanced at the Leafeon, who was sitting nearby with Wabbaku, the two of them possibly the only ones not enjoying the feast, serious looks on their faces as they discussed the situation that had brought the shaman to the village. "It wasn't very hard. Even before he took over his grandmother's role as our leader and guided us out of the ruins of our old home and helped us establish our new one, my heart already belonged to him…but the strength he demonstrated upon becoming the Protector, the way he was able to bind us to him and make us hope again? That only made me love him more."

"Wow," Gardenia said. "That's really romantic."

"And what of you and Wabbaku? Was it not the same for you?" Chora asked.

"Eh, not really," Gardenia admitted. "I only met him fairly recently, to be honest. A…former colleague of mine saved his life, and as such he owed her a life debt. At first I thought it was kind of weird for him to be hanging around us all the time with that serious and often disapproving look on his face, but he was always nice to me and treated me like…like I was a real person, not just somebody to get bossed around." She smiled fondly. "He was…the first person who ever made me feel like that. I guess it was inevitable that I fall in love with him, huh?"

"It sounds that way," Chora said approvingly. "And I suppose you will be wed as well, soon? My marriage to Michael was originally planned to take place years from now, but recent events rather…expedited matters, and it seemed fit that we finalize our engagement after we had gotten situated here in Treeshroud, to symbolize a new beginning as well as provide everyone with an event that would boost morale."

"Ooh, it must have been lovely!" Gardenia said.

"It was," Chora said happily.

"I hope ours will be as nice. Once we finish the thing we need Michael's help for, we're going back to Wabbaku's village in Kanjohenn to get married," Gardenia said. She frowned. "Only…I'm not his first wife. I'm going to be his second, which means I have to share him with someone else."

"Does that bother you?" Chora asked.

"Well…maybe a little," Gardenia admitted. "It means I'm not the only person in his heart, and that he's loved someone else a lot longer than he has me. But…but I'm going to do the best I can to become friends with her. She sounds like a wonderful person from what Wabbaku says, and I'm sure we can get along if we try. And…in any event, so long as I'm with him, he's all I need to be happy."

Chora nodded approvingly. "Very good. The same could be said for Michael and I."

"Are you his only wife?" Gardenia asked.

"For now, yes. He might choose another later, he might not. It is his prerogative. So long as I am capable of producing successors to his bloodline and providing the companionship and…satisfaction he requires, I am all he needs," Chora said.

"He's lucky to have you," Gardenia said. "I hope I can be as good a wife as you."

"I'm still rather new to this myself," Chora reminded her. "I just got married a little while ago, after all. I'm sure you'll do well on your own."

"Thank you. I'll try," Gardenia said. She hesitated. "Um, are you guys okay with us taking Michael when we go out tomorrow? I know he's really important to your emotional well-being and stability, but we…kinda need him really badly."

Chora clenched her paws for a moment, then sighed and said, "To be honest, no, we aren't entirely happy with it. Ever since the Tree's destruction, Michael has provided us with a beacon of hope, an unyielding center to fall back on. We can't really imagine life without him, even for a little while. But…I at least understand that what he will do with you is important, and since the spirits have voiced no objections, they must feel this is something he has to do as well. Besides, I know that you will borrow him for no longer than is necessary. You…should have him back in less than a day, right?"

"We'll try to," Gardenia said, sympathizing with the somewhat desperate look in the Liepard's eyes. "If everything goes according to plan, anyway."

"All right. That's good to know," Chora said, though not all of the tension melted from her lithe form. "It's not as if we'll be completely helpless without him, anyway. I can serve as the leader of secular matters in Michael's absence, and Pipi and Mimi will handle the spiritual."

Gardenia blinked. "Pipi and Mimi? What, you mean those two?" She pointed at the heavily scarred and button-eyed Plusle and Minun standing just outside the circle of dancers, as still and motionless as statues. One of them turned to stare at her, and the Cacturne shuddered as that literally lifeless gaze focused on her.

Chora looked at the twins sadly. "Doctor Tarantulas' experiments have irreparably damaged their psyches, but in the process given them a…connection of sorts to the supernatural, one similar to Michael's. They can serve as mediums and oracles when Michael is unable to, although their guidance is somewhat more cryptic and difficult to interpret than his are."

"Did they have anything to say about what we're doing tomorrow?" Gardenia asked.

Chora shrugged. "They just rambled about letters and word scores or something like that. I don't really get it. Then again, I don't really get anything they say these days."

"Poor things," Gardenia said sympathetically. "None of you came out of this unscarred, did you?"

"…No," Chora whispered, her expression haunted, her gaze distant as she relived some past trauma. "Not a one of us."

As Gardenia and Chora sat in uncomfortable silence for a time, the important mons in their lives conversed nearby on what would happen the next day. "Tell me of the foes we are up against," Michael said to Wabbaku, the joy of the festivities unable to lighten his mood due to the knowledge of what the Wobbuffet shaman was asking him to do. "I would know what sort of monsters we may encounter. Even the ancestors seem frightened to speak of them, which doesn't bode well."

"It certainly doesn't," Wabbaku agreed. "My spirits are reluctant to speak of them as well…but here is what I have gleaned from them. The Leviathan was originally a weapon created by the Ruler of Evil during the ancient Crisis Wars as a soul harvester. Since both sides in that multiversal conflict had deities, they were able to resurrect their forces almost immediately after they fell on the field of battle, so they could be dispatched to fight again. The Ruler of Evil tried to counter that by using Leviathan to steal the souls of the Celestial soldiers so that they could be forcibly converted to serve it. However, the Leviathan mutated, the souls it captured bonding with it in agony and terror and eventually causing it to transform into a mindless conglomerate that is always hungry and always hurting, in constant search of more souls to feast on to slate its appetite and lessen the pain caused by its tormented, anomalous existence. Even though the Leviathan was as likely to turn on friend as foe, the Ruler of Evil considered it a success anyway, and used it to devour countless heroes, gods, and spirits. Most of them are still trapped in its bowels, driven mad by their endless torture."

Michael shuddered. "No wonder the spirits are afraid of it…why didn't the Guardians destroy it?"

"They tried to, but when the Gaiavore came into existence they found themselves with bigger problems to deal with then a mere devourer of souls. In the calamity that followed, along with the Ruler of Evil's eventual defeat, quite a lot of weapons and entities from both sides slipped through the cracks…including the Gaiavore itself," Wabbaku said. "It finally resurfaced millions of years later, on our world. It was discovered by the people of Hyperbeamoria, who, due to their common sense being as nonexistent as their taste in art, thought it was a god and started worshipping it and feeding it souls as sacrifices. Eventually the powers that be took notice and sealed Leviathan away, sinking Hyperbeamoria to the bottom of the sea, where it remained…until now."

"Because this 'Mewgle' let it out," Michael said.

Wabbaku nodded. "While Leviathan's power is terrifying, in the end it's little more than a mindless beast, with no plans or motivation beyond impulse and hunger. Mewgle is the true threat, since with his diabolical mind guiding and controlling Leviathan, he will be able to wreak much greater destruction and chaos than it ever could on its own."

Michael frowned. "Mewgle…just what is he?"

"Surprisingly, he actually used to be one of the good spirits," Wabbaku said. "He was a patron of games, and gamers. However, over time he began to grow dissatisfied with gamemakers and the people who played their creations, finding the games too derivative and unimaginative, and feeling that gamers lacked initative or a sense for good quality. He became disillusioned with the industry, feeling they weren't going far enough to stimulate the minds of players, and that the gamers were only making things worse by buying up whatever drivel came out with little complaint or imagination, and when people did complain, he felt that they didn't do enough about it. He began to believe that he could make much more interesting games than the developers he was supposed to be representing, but since he was a patron spirit rather than a creator he lacked the power or authority to do something like that, and his petitions to get that kind of power were constantly rebuffed because his superiors knew that the kinds of games Mewgle wished to make would sacrifice safety in the name of being 'interesting.' Before long, Mewgle became dissatisfied with them as well, and he grew bitter and angry towards all the Heavens. When the Ruler of Evil began recruiting and promising people a better life in a world free of the gods, Mewgle eagerly jumped onboard, believing this was just the break he needed." He shook his head sadly. "The results…were not pretty. The Ruler of Evil's corrupting influence nurtured the darkness that had already taken hold of his heart, molding him into a sadistic control freak whose idea of a good time is creating a game that only he can win, where the rules are constantly changing to support his ego, and the players struggle futilely as he forces them to go through endless deathcourses and impossible challenges until he gets bored and kills them in pointless, stupid ways. I believe the proper term for someone like that is 'Killer GameMaster,' and Mewgle is the demonic personification of such a concept, with all the power he needs to make the consequences and events of his games real rather than just make-believe."

"Oh my," Michael murmured. He sighed and shook his head. "When the divine fall, they always fall farthest, don't they?"

"That is because they descend from such a lofty perch," Wabbaku said sadly. "Some eventually realize what they've become and try to climb back to the heights they once occupied. Mewgle was not one of them. He reveled in his newfound power and evil, and although he was not a major player in the war, he managed to turn a number of universes into twisted playhouses where he forced people repeatedly to the brink of misery and despair and madness just for the fun of it, creating worlds where joy and love could not exist and cruelly torturing and shattering the lives of anyone who was foolish enough to think the world could become a better place. He even started harboring thoughts of usurping the Ruler of Evil and making all the Omniverse like the universes under his control. Fortunately, he was defeated before that could happen, although it's unlikely he would have succeeded in such a mad scheme even had he had the chance to execute it."

"That's a relief," Michael said. "How was he stopped?"

"Before he fell, he had been part of a duality of divine spirits. Although he became evil, his partner remained saintly and loyal to Arceus, and fought against him repeatedly during the war. They were evenly matched, however, until a great warrior appeared who tipped the scales, managing to help Mewgle's counterpart defeat the demon and throw him in chains into the Abyss." Wabbaku leveled his gaze at Michael. "That warrior…was a very distant ancestor of your friend Leo. A prior incarnation, actually."

"Incredible…" Michael murmured. "And now he seeks vengeance against the descendant and reincarnation of the hero who defeated him?"

Wabbaku nodded. "Before his banishment, Mewgle told the hero that he would return one day and have his revenge on the warrior's descendants. You know, standard villainous promises. His oath became a mystic bond that intertwined the fates of Mewgle and that hero, ensuring that they would clash again and again throughout history. Mewgle has escaped from the Abyss numerous times, and has always been defeated and sent back by the reincarnation of the hero, by his former partner, or by a combination of the two. It is an endless cycle pitting the two enemies against each other time and time again…"

"But now that Mewgle has Leviathan, he can break that cycle, can't he?" Michael realized. "If Leviathan eats Leo's soul, he won't be able to reincarnate and fight him again in another life, and Leviathan could also eat the spirit of his old partner, which would mean…"

"Which would mean that he would be able to consume both of the individuals who have ever stood a chance of defeating him, making himself invincible," Wabbaku said.

"Can't someone else defeat him?" Michael asked in alarm.

Wabbaku shook his head. "No. Destiny has stated that only Leo and Mewgle's counterpart can truly defeat him, and even then Leo is the only one who has a chance of destroying him once and for all. It must be them, or no one."

"All right…and I'm guessing the spirit we're going to revive is Mewgle's former partner?" Michael asked.

Wabbaku nodded. "Centuries ago, the last time Mewgle freely walked the Earth, he managed to defeat her and seal her in Aegis Cave. He did not have time to cherish his victory, however, because Leo's ancestor and incarnation of that time managed to best him and imprison him outside his home of Turtle Town. But now Mewgle is free, along with Leviathan, and his old foe is not…and if Leo is ever to stand a chance against both of them, he must join his power with hers to create the only force capable of ending Mewgle's threat forever."

"And we're going to help him do that by freeing the spirit from the cave," Michael said.

Wabbaku nodded. "Indeed. With our powers, we will be able to revive her…however, I fear that Mewgle will realize what we are doing, and try to stop us. If he manages to do so, then there is a very good chance that all hope will be lost."

"…Then…should we go there now? Are we wasting time by sitting here and eating?" Michael asked, looking worried.

Wabbaku shook his head. "He is far from here. Even on Leviathan, it will take him a while to reach Aegis Cave. We have more than enough time to get there before he can."

"…Very well. I will take your word for it," Michael said, although he still looked hesitant. "You seem to have the most knowledge and experience on this matter, so I will defer to you and trust that you know what you are doing."

So do I, Wabbaku thought to himself, trying to hide his uncertainty. Your people venerate me, claiming that I helped them to find their new beginning…I do not wish to be responsible for miscalculating and depriving them of you, their guiding light. I can only pray that my intuition in this matter is correct, otherwise we will all have to pay for my failure to banish Mewgle from Mickey. Because I was unable to expunge him in time, a great evil has been unleashed, and all the deaths and suffering it has caused fall on my shoulders. He looked sadly at the Caretakers celebrating around him, all of them happy and content and completely unaware of how close they were to experiencing another horrendous tragedy like the last one. Dear spirits…these poor people have been through enough already. Do not let them feel more pain because of me.

We will do the best we can, the spirits replied. But there is only so much we can do for them. The rest…is up to you.

Wabbaku sighed. Of course it is… He sighed and looked up at the stars. I only hope that I am up to the task set before us.

You are, the spirits said. You know you are. And once this last trial is done, you may return home, to be with your family. You have been away for far too long.

Don't I know it, Wabbaku said wistfully. I shall keep going, then, and happily look forward to the day when I can finally see my loved ones again. "You and your wife are going to have children someday, aren't you?" he asked Michael out loud.

"Huh? Yes, of course, why?" Michael asked.

"Because I would like them to meet mine someday," Wabbaku said. "I hope they would become friends, like we are."

"Heh, or maybe more," Michael said. "Wouldn't that be something, a familial bond connecting two tribes on completely different continents?"

"Yes, it would be," Wabbaku agreed. "A shame all my children are already betrothed." He stiffened, having a thought. "However…I am going to marry Gardenia soon…"

"And Chora and I have been trying our hardest to conceive," Michael said slowly, getting the same thought. In unison they glanced at their wives (or wife-to-be in Gardenia's case) then looked at each other. "How about my firstborn and your firstborn by Gardenia?"

"Deal," Wabbaku said, shaking Michael's paw with a flipper and sealing the pact.

Michael frowned, struck by a sudden worrisome thought. "But wait, what if they're the same gender?"

"Then the next one either of us have of the opposite gender will marry the firstborn of the other couple," Wabbaku said.

"Works for me," Michael said. Both of them smiled, their worry about what they would have to do tomorrow forgotten in their plans for the future…and the way they'd be getting that future to come to pass.

"Why did they just look at us like that all of a sudden?" Gardenia whispered to Chora, having noticed the glance Wabbaku and Michael had given them.

"Either admiring our beauty or planning to marry our firstborn to each other," Chora said.

"Oh," said Gardenia, uncertain if the Liepard was joking or not.

"Hey baby, how'd you like to have my firstborn?" a slightly intoxicated Mondo asked the next server to refill his bowl.

The server, a comely Archen, actually considered this for a moment. "Sorry, but I'm already a mother. However, I have a friend who's unattached at the moment. I'll let her know you're interested."

"Uh, thanks," Mondo said in surprise as the First Bird Pokémon went away. Holy crap, that pickup line actually worked? I've gotta start swinging by relatively uncivilized people like this bunch more often, they're completely unfamiliar with my material! Mondo's gonna score tonight!

A very large Carracosta stomped over. "You the guy who wanted to mate?"

"Uh, yeah," Mondo said uneasily.

"Meet me behind that tree over there in five minutes," she said before walking away.

Mondo briefly wondered if this might have been a bad idea. Okay, she's…not the ideal candidate for a bedmate I had in mind…eh, on the other pseudopod, a lay's a lay. Oh yeah! Mondo's gonna score tonight!

He also became a father and wound up finding himself betrothed according to tribal law, but that's a story for another day.

Meanwhile, in the Nihilator base…

Oblivion's Shadow stared dispassionately at Bellum, who lay convulsing silently on the floor, missing several large chunks of her body and face. Pools of white ectoplasm oozed across the floor from her form and dripped from the Shadow's gauntlets. "I warned you what would happen if you failed," he told the Froslass with her own face and voice, using his powers to overstimulate every nerve center in her body at once so that she would feel everything a thousand times more intense than usual, as well as overloading her pain center so that the only thing she could feel was hurt, and a lot of it. "Your selfish desire and arrogance has cost us dearly. Your attempt to beat your childhood rival in an inane and pointless contest has put our entire organization and everything we're working towards in jeopardy. The only reason I haven't killed you yet is because you are still useful to me, and because I don't want Giratina rewarding you for your loyal service after all the screw-ups you've made around here lately. You don't deserve it."

"…Huh. I should be enjoying zis," Doctor Tarantulas said slowly as he watched his hated rival writhe on the floor helplessly. "And I am! Very much so! Gyahahahahaha!"

"Wait but…isn't it being the Shadow of fault's Oblivion? He's the one was let the vampires take Bellum contest the to," Chobin asked, scratching his head.

"Chobin!" Tarantulas hissed in alarm.

"You're correct, I did give her permission," Oblivion's Shadow said, turning towards Chobin so the Sunflora's face filled his mask. "But only because I believed that even if Bellum lost control of them, they would be unable to reveal any worthwhile knowledge to our enemies. They were only prisoners and test subjects, after all, and so had no way of knowing any vital information. However, these vampires claim to not only know the whereabouts of our main fortress, but the location of just about every major base we have on Earth, the identities of several of our covert agents and officials in our pocket, and the details of countless of our plans, the revelation of which will seriously hamper our efforts worldwide and make it that much more difficult to achieve our ultimate goal." He turned to Tarantulas, taking his face next. "Are you any closer to figuring out how zey vere able to gain such knowledge, Doctor?"

"Er, well, no, not as such," Tarantulas admitted reluctantly.

"Neizer have I. Zis is an oversight zat must be corrected. As for Bellum, vhile it is indeed my fault for allowing her to remove such potentially dangerous individuals from our stronghold, if she had been more responsible and taken more precautions to prevent zis from happening, zey vould never have left her possession in ze first place. Additionally, if she had used her magic more effectively razzer zan vasting it all on some stupid plan to turn ze region into ze arctic, she might have actually succeeded in killing her targets. It is because of her sheer incompetence and repeated failures as of late, as vell as ze degree to vich her failure imperils our operations, zat I have punished her so."

"Too are you punishing us like going to be that?" Chobin asked eagerly.

"I might, if you screw up as badly as Bellum did," Oblivion's Shadow said darkly, glaring at Chobin. "And why is he talking like that?"

"I zink somezing vent wrong ven I cloned zis one. His brains are more scrambled zan usual," Tarantulas said. Chobin demonstrated this by molesting Bellum, who was unable to lift a finger to stop him.

"Zat seems normal to me," Oblivion's Shadow said.

"No, normally Chobin vould have started violating her ze minute he saw her in such a helpless state, he usually doesn't take zis long," Tarantulas said.

"Ah," Oblivion's Shadow said, making Chobin's head explode. "You had better get ze next one right, zen, because if you fail me like she did, zere is a good chance he vill be ze last Chobin you ever have."

Tarantulas sighed. "Vunderbar. Guess I'd better get Chobin v. 81.0 ready, zen…"

"Tarantulas, it is absolutely vital zat you succeed in killing not just ze vampires, but everybody on board zat train," Oblivion's Shadow insisted. "Zey cannot be allowed to testify and reveal our secrets to ze vorld. Ve are at ze penultimate stage of our master plan. Ve cannot allow anyzing to interfere at zis crucial point. Kill zem all, and bring zeir souls back to me for interrogation. I vant to know how zey found out so much about us…alzough I am beginning to have my suspicions. You may use as many of our resources as you vish, just make sure zat ze job gets done. Understood?"

"Jawohl, mein fuhrer!" Tarantulas saluted. "But…ah…you are aware zat zey have an oracle, ja? Bellum said as much, and zat she helped zem formulate zeir plans ahead of time. Zere might not be anyzing I can do to kill zem if zey already know vhat ordinance I'm going to bring viz me…"

The Shadow considered this for a moment. "…Zat is true. In such a circumstance, your failure vould be…understandable."

"Vhich vould mean…?" Tarantulas asked hopefully.

Oblivion's Shadow sighed wearily. "Vich vould mean zat I might be inclined to…show some some measure of lenience. I did not demonstrate mercy towards Bellum, even zough part of ze reason she failed vas for ze same reason you might, because it's all her fault ve're in zis mess to begin viz. However, don't zink zis means you'll get avay wiz a slap on ze vrist if you fail. Zis is very important, Tarantulas. Zey cannot be allowed to survive. Use everyzing, and I mean everyzing at your disposal. After all, just because someone can see ze future doesn't mean zey can do anyzing to change it, especially if zat future has so much firepower behind it nozing can stop it from happening."

Tarantulas smiled gratefully. "I vill do my best, Herr Shadow! I'll use every veapon in my arsenal, if need be! Er…and speaking of vich…does zat mean I have permission to use…Pokémon XD001?"

Oblivion's Shadow hesitated for a moment. "…You are aware zat zat Pokémon has a bit of a…history wiz ze leader of Team Aurabolt, ja? And zat he is an unvilling member of our army, unlike ze ozzer legendary birds, meaning zere is a chance he can be purified?"

"Zat's true," Tarantulas admitted. "But XD001 is one of ze most powerful Shadow Pokémon I've ever created. Of any of zem, he has ze best chance of defeating zose who zreaten to reveal our secrets. And aside from zat, I intend to bring ze ozzer zree birds wiz me to back him up and make it harder for zem to get a chance to purify him. I admit, it's risky, but…considering how desperate ve are, do ve really have a choice?"

"…No, I suppose not," the Shadow said reluctantly. "Very well. You may use XD001. However, do your damndest to make sure ve don't lose it."

"Don't vorry, Herr Shadow, if zings start looking really hopeless, I'll just drop a few nukes or blast zem from orbit," Tarantulas said.

"…Vhy don't you just do zat in ze first place?" Oblivion's Shadow asked.

"I'm not one hundred percent sure I can. By ze time I get zere, zere's going to be fairly close to Fichina…zey might be able to counterattack an action as severe as zat somehow. Zat's vhy I'm saving it for a last resort," Tarantulas said.

"Very vell. Good luck, Doctor," Oblivion's Shadow said.

"I'll need it, if zey vere really strong enough to defeat just about everyzing Bellum zrew at zem," Tarantulas muttered. "Still, I should have a few zings ready zat not even zeir magic can vizstand…er, by ze vay, Herr Shadow, vould you like to come along? You know, to make sure nozing goes vrong?"

"I would like to, Doctor," the Shadow admitted. "But unfortunately, some of my most important and time-sensitive experiments have approached a crucial juncture, and I require all my concentration to make sure zey succeed. Whezzer you succeed or not, zeir results may be imperative to our ultimate victory."

"Yeah, I know vat zat's like," Tarantulas said sympathetically. "Well, good luck to you wiz zat. I vish you'd clue me in as to vhat sort of zings you're doing up in your lab all day, I'd be happy to help."

"Doctor, trust me vhen I say zat ze zings I'm working on are far, far beyond your comprehension," the Shadow said. "You vould only get in ze vay."

Tarantulas scowled. "So it's like zat, is it?...Fine, vhatever. I'll just get cracking on taking out zat train vhile you do vhatever it is you do up zere. Say, it vouldn't happen to involve a certain vampire, vould-"

"Finish zat sentence, Doctor, and I'll remove anozzer one of your legs," the Shadow said.

"Right! I'll just be going zen," Tarantulas said anxiously, snaring Chobin's corpse with his webbing and pulling it onto his back. He started to leave, but in the threshold he paused and looked back at his master. "Um, by ze vay, vhat do ve do about ze…ozzer problem Bellum brought to our attention?"

"Leave zat to me," the Shadow said ominously. "I shall handle it personally."

Tarantulas nodded, relieved. "Right, zat makes me feel a lot better. Auf Wiedersehen!"

He left. Oblivion's Shadow dismissively gestured at Bellum's tortured form and Teleported her away, leaving him alone in his command center…

Or was he?

"You'll handle me, huh?" Darkrai asked in amusement as he rose out of Oblivion's Shadow's…shadow. The Shadow whirled around, grabbed Darkrai by the neck, and slammed him into the wall so hard that a significant portion of the Pitch-Black Pokémon splattered on impact, coating the wall in shadow. "Huh, looks like somebody's in a bad mood," Darkrai said, not seeming the least bit perturbed by the Nihilator leader's fury as the shadows flowed back into his body. "What's wrong? Having trouble sleeping lately?"

"Darkrai," the Shadow growled, his mask struggling to mimic the dark god's face and voice and failing, causing it to flicker and crackle. "You broke our agreement."

"Did I?" Darkrai asked, feigning surprise.

"You signed a contract stating that you would do nothing to hinder our operations, and in return, your wife would be unharmed," the Shadow said slowly and deliberately.

Darkrai nodded. "Yep, I remember that part, mainly because I had no choice in the matter and was really, really angry."

"You broke the contract!" the Shadow snapped, struggling to retain his composure.

"Huh? I have no idea what you're talking about," Darkrai said.

"No idea? No idea? One of the members of Team Aurabolt is your High Priestess!" the Shadow snarled.

"Ohhhh yeahhhh, that's right, she is, isn't she?" Darkrai recalled. "Sasha, right? Lovely girl. I'd almost forgotten."

"Forgotten? You put her on the team!" the Shadow said. "Which breaks the terms of our contract, since you are not allowed to oppose us directly or indirectly, and I'm pretty sure that having your High Priestess serve on the Rescue Team that's trying to defeat us counts as indirect opposition!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up there. You've got it all wrong," Darkrai said.

The Shadow's eyes narrowed under his mask. "Do I now?"

"Yeah. Sasha's not on Team Aurabolt as my servant, she's there as a reserve member of the team, since, last time I checked, she joined up with them a while back when you hurled that meteor at the planet which somehow made a lot of people's minds go screwy. The fact that she works for me occasionally on the side is a complete and utter coincidence," Darkrai said innocently. "She's there to help her friends in her capacity as a reserve member, not as some kind of covert operative for myself, which you seem to mistakenly think that she is."

"A coincidence? You expect me to believe that you had nothing to do with her joining the team back then as well as now? That she left Kanjohenn and went all the way to Sinnorre, somehow managing to find them without possibly having any way of knowing where they were, without you telling her to go?" Oblivion's Shadow snapped, starting to lose his temper.

"Well, sure. She's an Absol, isn't she?" Darkrai pointed out. "They get premonitions and omens of big looming disasters all the time. How do you know she didn't get a vision or something telling her you guys were about to destroy the planet and that she needed to team up with Ash and his crew to save the world?"

"Because you and I both know that's not what happened," the Shadow hissed.

"Maybe not, but can you prove it? No? I didn't think so," Darkrai said smugly. "Sasha's my girl, yes, but she's not on the team as my representative against you, she's just there to help her friends. Or at least, she isn't my representative in any way you can conclusively prove."

"Then care to explain why she was wearing her robes of office and using their powers against us in Dusty Ditch?" the Shadow shouted, unable to retain his usual even temper when faced with someone as unflappably infuriating as Darkrai.

"She wasn't using them against you," Darkrai said.

"…What?" the Shadow said.

"She was using them against the forces of Niflheim, which, last time I checked, work for Shivhel, who is in no way shape or form affiliated with you," Darkrai pointed out. "Therefore, she was using her powers as my priestess to fight against an enemy completely unrelated to you guys, and therefore outside the terms of our contract."

"Unrelated? They were summoned by Bellum, who is very much one of 'my guys!' They were used as part of an attempt to destroy them!" the Shadow protested.

"No, they were used by Bellum as part of an attempt to turn a good portion of Sinnorre into her frozen paradise," Darkrai corrected. "Which, last time I checked, wasn't something you were trying to accomplish. As a result, the fact that she used the summoned forces of Niflheim to try and kill her longtime rival and several other people who had embarrassed, humiliated, or otherwise pissed her off somehow could be seen more as an act of personal vengeance rather than something you ordered her to do."

"But I did order her to do it!" the Shadow insisted.

Darkrai raised an eyebrow. "You specifically told her to cast Fimbulvinter?"

The Shadow hesitated. "…Well, no, but-"

"Then she cast it of her own volition, to fulfill a long-held dream of her own, that had nothing to do with you or the other Nihilators," Darkrai said. "The fact that she'd be carrying out your orders and killing your enemies in the process was just a coincidence."

"A coincidence?" the Shadow demanded incredulously.

"Sure. What do you think she was thinking about when she was doing this, how much she needed to do this to protect the Nihilator organization, or how much she needed to save face and kill her oldest enemy once and for all?" Darkrai pointed out. The Shadow did not respond. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"But Bellum was not the only Nihilator there," Oblivion's Shadow pointed out. "There was Marianne, Paul, Articuno-"

"Marianne had a previous grudge against one of the train's passengers, just like her mom," Darkrai pointed out. "Paul had unfinished business with Dawn and Palmer, and Articuno with Ash. Therefore, in that instance they were carrying out personal vendettas rather than serving as your subordinates, so technically nobody was there representing the Nihilators, so I had no part in opposing them. And if that's not good enough for you—since, after all, none of them even knew Dawn or Ash or the others were there initially-I'll remind you that Sasha never once actually engaged in combat with any of your agents there, only with the monsters from Niflheim, therefore she never used any of her or my powers directly or indirectly against anyone who can legitimately be considered a Nihilator, other than her danger-sense, which is something that all Absols have and is completely unrelated to me. Ergo, I have done nothing to breach our contract."

"…But…but Brodie…on the train…he failed to carry out his assassination mission, and she was wearing the robes then, so wasn't she-" the Shadow said, grasping at straws.

"Again, that was her danger sense, which as I've already said has nothing to do with me," Darkrai reminded Oblivion's Shadow. "And while just about everyone else ganged up on the twerp, I explicitly told her to hang back just in case, so there could be no evidence that someone working for me did anything to violate our contract. Therefore, I am one hundred percent in the clear. What do you say to that, asshole?"

Oblivion's Shadow drove his fist into Darkrai's chest and released a tremendous blast of Shadow Aura with a scream of fury that caused the dark god to explode, splattering the walls and floor and ceiling and even the Shadow's armor in black stains. As the Shadow shook with rage, Shadow Aura burning around him, the stains quivered, liquefied, and flowed back together, coalescing to reform Darkrai. "Ugh…hate it when that happens," he grunted, cracking his neck. "Nice try, but after Ash beat me that way on the big day a thousand years ago, I took precautions to make sure it wouldn't work on me again. I'm the god of death, after all. I wouldn't allow myself to get killed the same way twice."

"How were you able to do it?" the Shadow whispered, his anger so great that the computers and monitors behind him started shaking and bursting into flames.

"Do what?" Darkrai asked.

"Find a loophole. I thought our contract was ironclad! Bellum and even Giratina assured me it was!" the Shadow snarled.

Darkrai snorted. "Come on, mon, you think you're the only guy with smart-ass mages and lawyers? I'm the fucking god of darkness. If there's a sneaky or underhanded way to get out of something, I'll find it, guaranteed. And I'll keep doing it, too."

The Shadow stiffened, his Aura fading. "…Sasha's not your only pawn against us, is she? The vampires. You had something to do with their outbreak, with them learning so much about our secrets, didn't you?"

"Mmmayyyybe. Maybe not. You'll never know for sure, now, will you?" Darkrai asked.

Oblivion's Shadow clenched his fists. "I will have the contract torn up and rewritten, so that you can't play these sorts of games anymore."

"Oh, I really wouldn't do that if I were you," Darkrai said.

"And why is that?" the Shadow asked.

"For one thing, even if you wrote up a new one, what's to guarantee I'd sign it, or that I wouldn't find another way out of it?" Darkrai pointed out.

"You'd have no choice but to sign it. I have your wife. I can kill her and keep you from ever reclaiming her soul," Oblivion's Shadow pointed out.

Darkrai burst into laughter. "Oh, so very, very wrong! The contract works both ways, my friend. You can't do that so long as it's in effect, or you're the one who's breaking the rules. And if you tore up the contract and started over, you'd also destroy the only thing that's keeping me from coming down on you guys like a sack of bricks and wiping you off the face of the universe, since I can't do anything to oppose you so long as it's in effect, remember? But if it were to somehow become invalid..."

"Even without the contract, you could do nothing," the Shadow argued. "I defeated you once before, remember? Very soundly, as I recall."

"The last time, I had no idea what I was getting into," Darkrai said. "I underestimated you, and badly paid the price for my hubris. This time, though, I'd know exactly what I'm up against, and I'd bring everything I had. All my reapers and shinigami, all my Ghosts and undead, all my nightmares and creatures of the dark and horrible things that have no name. Yeah, you guys would put up a good fight—you especially, I'm sure—but in the end, I'd win. Death always wins, sooner or later."

"…You wouldn't," Oblivion's Shadow protested, but weakly, suddenly realizing he was not as in control of the situation as he had thought he was. "You'd…you'd kill countless innocent lives if you did that. You would destroy my prisoners as well as my minions."

"So what if I did? They'd die anyway, wouldn't they? Doesn't everyone eventually?" Darkrai pointed out. "And besides, the end I'd grant them would be a mercy after all the things you've done to them, and I'd make sure they get the peaceful afterlife they deserve. And sure, you could kill Cresselia and hold her soul hostage, try to use it as a bargaining chip…but you know what? She can take it. She'd want me to keep going no matter what, and not let myself be countered or controlled on account of her. All you'd be doing is making your inevitable demise that much more pleasurable for me and excruciating for you. I know who you are. I know the demons you have locked in your skull, and trust me when I say that I can make them real and even more horrifying than you've ever imagined." He grinned, his smile so terrifying that the Shadow's heart actually skipped a beat. "So go ahead. Tear up the contract. I dare you."

"…" The Shadow's shoulders slumped, realizing, much to his dismay, he had been outsmarted. He didn't like it, not one bit. "This won't work again, you realize," he said after a moment. "That legalese you used to justify Sasha using your gift in battle won't work tomorrow against Tarantulas, or in any future conflicts."

Darkrai nodded. "Yeah, I know. I've already told her to put the robes away until further notice. So next time she fights you guys, it'll be as a member of Team Aurabolt, not as my High Priestess."

"Except she'll still be your High Priestess," the Shadow pointed out.

"Yeah, but it won't be Sasha the High Priestess who's fighting you, its Sasha the Rescue Team member. They're two completely different roles," Darkrai said. Oblivion's Shadow gnashed his teeth under his mask but said nothing. "Now, unless you have any other accusations you want to lob at me, I'll just be on my way-"

"Wait," the Shadow said.

Darkrai glanced at him. "Yes?"

"You…you said you know who I am," the Shadow said. "How did you figure it out?"

Darkrai chuckled. "Oh, it was obvious really, in retrospect. The only thing I haven't quite figure out yet is why…but I'm sure it'll become obvious as well eventually." The Shadow growled, causing Darkrai to chuckle again. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm just going to go back to the Moon to continue plotting your downfall. I'd watch your shadow, if I were you. When the end comes, it's going to be from where you least expect." He began to sink into the Shadow's shadow. "I'll be seeing you…in your nightmares." With those haunting words, he vanished into the darkness.

Oblivion's Shadow stared at his shadow for a long moment, stunned. He found himself feeling dizzy, as if his entire world had abruptly been tilted on its axis, everything he had thought he had known turning out to be false. It wasn't the first time something like that had happened to him…

And to make things worse, his other detractor arrived to pester him. "I warned you," his mother said sadly. "I told you you weren't as on top of things as you thought you were."

The Shadow squeezed his eyes shut. "Go away, Mother."

"The harder you squeeze, the more everything slips out of your fingers," his mother said. "All you're doing is making things worse for yourself. Can't you see that?"

"It's the only way, Mother," he said, his voice hoarse.

"It doesn't have to be," she said quietly. "It's still not too late to stop this. To turn everything around."

"Why do you continue to torment me?" he moaned. "Why won't you leave me alone?"

"Everyone needs a conscience," his mother said. "And who better for the job than me? After all, I'm your mother. I love you. I'm probably the only one left who still loves you. Well…maybe not the only one…"

"Why? Why do you love me?" he shouted, whirling around and finding…

Nothing. There was nobody there. There never was.

And yet, as he shook in confusion and frustration and exhaustion, he thought he heard a voice whisper, Because somebody has to.

And then he was alone again. Just as he always was: completely and utterly alone.

And…done!

Wow, that took a while, and the site going screwy for a while doesn't help matters.

In any event, we're roughly half to two-thirds of the way through this arc, and trust me when I say that if you thought THIS was cool, just wait until the next part!

When that part'll be, I can't say. Hopefully it'll be sooner than it took to write this one, and hopefully it'll be shorter. I can't guarantee either, though, but rest assured that one way or another, you WILL see chapter 54 eventually, and I hope you'll like it. I hope you liked this one too, as a matter of fact.

See you then!