Hey everyone, I'm back from Egypt. I'm sorry to say that I found no Millennium Items while I was there, and the trip itself was…slightly not as nice as I had imagined…but overall, it was worth it. The quality of some of the ruins was fantastic…the cruise up the Nile would have been nicer, though, if it weren't so choked with dams and cities and other boats. sigh And then there were the merchants…oy. Still, I suppose I can recommend it as a vacation spot. Just don't drink any water that's not from a bottle, okay?

Disclaimer: All characters used here are mutations or modifications of characters used by somebody else, namely some guys in Japan. Thanks to DiamondLatias3000, Alex Warlorn, and ninetalesuk for helping me edit this chapter.

Orbiting high above the planet, hidden behind an impenetrable cloak of invisibility, was a great and terrible crystalline fortress, composed of spikes, spines, edges, and angles which defied reason.

Within this fortress, sitting on a jagged and twisted throne before his equally twisted minions, was the great enemy who had almost destroyed the Earth thousands of years ago, and had returned to instigate the cataclysm prophesized by the Unown, leading to the formation of the Chosen.

He had spent his time since his return to the little blue planet gathering shards of his broken crystal, recruiting generals, abducting and infecting thousands of unwanted and unnoticed humans and Pokemon from the planet for his army, and making numerous systematic and unrelenting strikes at various points throughout the world, wreaking much havoc and leaving a good portion of the population in a climate of fear and anxiety, certain that the end times were upon them.

They were right.

"The time has come at last," the master said to his lackeys. "Over the last week we have caused numerous widespread disasters across the planet. We have caused the prices of energy to rise around the world and sent the stock market to the verge of collapse. Orre is all but destroyed. Metaba is engulfed in war. Silica is impotent. The Ghost Kingdom, which might have been a major threat, has been almost completely dissolved thanks to the help of one of our newest brethren," he said, acknowledging the largest of the horrors gathered in his throne room. "And by allowing a horde of hungry Glalie to devour the leader of the dragon trainer clans and his son, we may have reduced some of their effectiveness as well. Water and food supplies have been poisoned, and people all over the world are dying of hunger and thirst. And my special agents have been seeded throughout the globe and are all waiting on a single command to carry out their orders. It will take only a little more effort to push this planet over the edge.

"The Chosen, after their ordeal the night before, are emotionally, physically, and psychologically exhausted, greatly reducing their effectiveness in the coming battle. And those of them who were not present at the Tower…I already have things in store for them." He glanced meaningfully at a pair of creatures, one big and one small, encased in crystal sarcophagi at the side of the room and chuckled to himself, causing the barely human thing that had once been James Morgan to whimper and curl up in the softest, least jagged corner of his cell nearby. "Of course, they will still fight with all their strength…I would not expect any less of them, for they are heroes. Nonetheless, they will still fall. They don't have the slightest idea what they're in for." He glanced at the crystal viewer occupying the far wall of the cavernous chamber, which was displaying the blue planet below them. "Soon, the Earth will cease to be blue. The humans and Pokemon of the world have seen their last sunrise."

"All shall perish!" Shining Ranger said zealously, brandishing his saber and nearly decapitating the startled Meowth. "And all evil on Earth will be destroyed!" He did not notice the snickers of his comrades.

"Indeed," the evil one said without a hint of irony. "Mewgle, have you done as I have asked?"

"Yessir!" the digital Dungeon Master said, saluting his master with the arm of his robot body. "All the programs have been set!"

"As I expected." The master leaned back in his throne, causing the spikes on its headboard to drive themselves into his back. He did not give them a moment's notice. "Activate the overrides you've planted, then. Let the festivities begin. Oh, but first…" He glanced at another of his newest generals, who had been mauling James with immeasurable glee last night and was potentially the most powerful of all the minions. "I would prefer it if you were out of sight for this broadcast. She will be watching like all the others, and I think it would be best if she was unaware of your existence until you introduce yourself to her in person."

The monster in question grinned at his master's suggestion, revealing caked blood from James and his other torture victims on his grotesque teeth. "When at last we meet, I will cherish the horrified look on her face forever…before I rip her eyes out, that is." Smirking, he floated over to James' cell, which was out of the crystal viewer's range. Bloodcurdling screams and roars of devilish joy soon rang through the room, mixing with the notes resonating from the musical crystals strewn throughout the chamber and creating a melody of anguish and suffering.

The master sighed blissfully as some of his weaker-hearted minions (okay, just Meowth) cringed. "Ahhh…a paler shade of home…it warms my heart…if I had one, that is." He nodded to Mewgle. "Activate the programs."

"Yessir!" The robot turned towards the crystal viewer, which changed from the window image of Earth to a zoomed-out CGI view of the planet, surrounded by numerous green dots representing the Earth's satellite network. In seconds, every one of them turned red, and numerous red spots appeared on the planet's surface, representing broadcasting stations and radio towers all over the globe. "The planet's media network is now under your control, my lord. All television and radio signals are ours to command as we please."

The master nodded. "Very good. Begin broadcasting."

The crystal viewer cleared and went blank, save for a blinking light in the center of the flat screen indicating that they were on the air.

The master leaned forward in his throne to address the citizens of Earth. On the planet below, every television, radio, and computer with cable connections in the world switched on, either showing his actions or projecting his voice on their screens or through their speakers. Numerous Pokemon in the wild looked up in confusion, startled by the visions and voices which had abruptly appeared in their minds, projected there by the satellites amplifying Deoxys' telepathic powers so those who had no form of high-tech communication devices could take part in his broadcast. "Greetings, people of Earth. My name is Deoxys, and I have come to destroy all that you mortals hold dear. For the last few weeks I have made my presence felt on your planet, whether you knew it or not. Every disaster, calamity, and catastrophe which has befallen you recently has been ultimately engineered by me…and much worse is soon to follow.

"This is not a hoax, or a joke, or a clever attempt to get publicity for an upcoming movie or television special. Everything you are about to see and hear is nothing short of total reality." He sent a telepathic command to his agents scattered around the world, commanding all of them to act as they had been programmed to.

With a flash of light, a large amount of people appeared in a circle in the center of the room, closed in by tightly packed jagged crystal spines curved inward like the rib bones of some enormous beast. But these were no ordinary people who now found themselves suddenly in Deoxys' fortress. They were nothing less but the greatest leaders and most prominent individuals in the world.

There were presidents, prime ministers, royalty, parliamentary chairmen, ambassadors, and numerous high-ranking members of the United Regions, as well as the mayors and governors of every major city and country on the planet. There were generals, marshals, and dictators who ruled by force; every representative of the Earth's numerous military bodies. There were celebrities, movie stars, actors and actresses, corporate CEOs, and leading scientists and researchers. The crime element was represented as well in the form of gang leaders, Administrators, Team bosses, kingpins, and godfathers. Not even the more Pokemon-oriented branches of planetary power were spared, as every last one of Earth's elite trainers, League presidents and champions, and gym leaders found themselves amongst the crushing throng pressed together in the center of the throne room. Even the Frontier Brains had been captured with the rest.

Humans were not the only ones trapped in the circle, of course—there were numerous startled Pokemon as well, pack, clan, and hive leaders of very large and powerful groups from around the world, along with the Alakazam President of the all-Pokemon region of Poketopia. All in all, that numbered to nearly a thousand humans and Pokemon, all crammed together and piled on top of each other in a small space with a floor and walls made of very sharp and jagged crystal. Needless to say, all panicked immediately and started screaming and thrashing about, especially when they saw the horrific visages of the monsters surrounding their cage.

"Wh-what's going on!" Professor Oak cried, trying to get out from under his younger and less apt colleague Elm's armpit.

"What the fuck!" Lucy roared, struggling and lashing out with her spiked boots to no avail. "Get your hand off my ass, Brandon!"

"I would," the ex-priest said. "But we're too tightly pressed together, I can't-" Someone elbowed him in the back of the head, throwing him forward into Lucy's cleavage. Needless to say, she did not take that well.

Sabrina's eyes dilated, not seeming to notice the panic around her. "No…" she whispered. "I saw it, I dreamed it…I knew this would happen…and I did nothing to prevent it."

"Like, ew!" the Waterflower sisters screamed. "This place is, like, totally NASTY!"

"This is really quite unusual," said a confused president, who had been in the act of making love to one of his secretaries (who had, in fact, been Deoxys' agent) before getting transported up to the castle.

"You see before you the leaders you have chosen or who chose themselves to represent you," Deoxys continued, his telepathic voice rising over the frightened screams and howls from the prisoners. "They represent the power you hold as a people."

Abruptly, a portion of ceiling directly above the enclosed leaders shot down in the form of a spiked crusher, smashing down on the fleshy bodies and pressing them into the ground. Bones shattered. Bodies ruptured, spewing blood everywhere. Screams intensified or were silenced by the crusher. Those near the bottom of the mass of bodies were squished into the floor by the weight of those above them and impaled on the jutting crystalline ridges rising from the ground. The ones in the middle frantically struggled, trying to squeeze out through the small gaps between the ribs of their cage. They screamed and cried and pleaded desperately as the crusher slowly rose back to the ceiling, then came slamming down again, pressing down harder and killing more leaders while others were simply crippled as their spines and limbs were broken.

"For the love of Whoever, help us!" Oak cried, frantically reaching out with his only working arm towards the Alpha Ranger.

Alpha laughed and lashed out with his dagger, severing the professor's arm at the elbow. "No help for you, old man! I've wanted to do this for years! DIE OAK, DIE!" And the professor did just that, as the crusher slammed down again.

"How glorious!" Shining Ranger sang joyfully, slicing off grasping arms with his sword alongside Shalor. "The death of deserving evil is wondrous to behold and take part in!"

Shalor sweatdropped. "Er, right…" he said, driving one of his swords into the forehead of a crime boss he had done business with in life.

Cerberus' three heads snapped their jaws repeatedly at the air, catching drops of blood and severed body parts which flew towards them as the crusher pounded the prisoners into a bloody mess. It did this for a total of seven times, before retracting into the ceiling for good, dripping blood and leaving behind a mishmash of blood, gore, flesh, and bits of bone so disgusting that Meowth, who was still trying to fit in with being 'truly evil' like the rest of the generals, vomited all over the largest general, leading to him being viciously mauled by it.

"And so your leaders fall," Deoxys said calmly, staring into the viewer. "You will find that the second, third, and for good measure fourth in line behind all of those who died before you have been assassinated while you were watching, as well as many of the numerous minor functionaries who ran your towns and public works and did their part to keep your societies running, so you shouldn't get your hopes up that a hero will rise from their ranks. I am sure that some of you will be able to find new leaders to represent you or to be thrust forward onto the chopping block, but it is more likely that the majority of you will panic and begin mass rioting and lawless chaos from terror for the few hours you have left before my forces arrive to kill you, capture your souls, and twist your bodies to serve me, not necessarily in that order.

"I am sure that many of you, perhaps those who are particularly religious, moral, or just plain stunned and horrified are wondering why I am doing this and what you have done to deserve this. The answers to both are as follows: I wish to and you exist. That is all the reason I feel I am justified to carry out my plans, and why all of you deserve to suffer at my hands. Enjoy the last few moments of your desperate lives. Use them wisely, although you probably won't. You people rarely do."

"Annnnd…cut!" Mewgle said, shutting off the broadcast. "Nice job, boss-man! You didn't even need to rehearse for that!"

Deoxys shrugged. "I have had a good deal of experience at this sort of thing. Now, if you please, activate the rest of the programs you've planted."

"Yessir!" Mewgle turned back to the crystal viewer, which changed from the blank broadcasting screen to the default view of Earth. After a moment, the planet darkened significantly, as every light in every city switched off as the virus Mewgle had programmed into every electronics system on the Earth went to work, shutting down power plants, cutting off life support in hospitals, destroying the Internet, and causing the stock market to crash. Admittedly, some cities and towns didn't use electricity, and others relied on Pokemon for backup power, but so much of the world relied on electronics and the Internet in this modern age that with this single act Mewgle had thrown the Earth into utter chaos.

Chaos which his master was going to take advantage of.

"Phase 1 is now complete," Deoxys said, amused. "The planet's defenses, as minimal as they may have been before, are now all but nil. On to phase 2." He resonated at an ultrasonic frequency, and the crystal viewer changed to display a scrolling 2-D map of the Earth. Hundreds of colored lights lit up at various spots on the map, each looking remarkably like a targeting cross-hair.

"What's that?" Meowth asked.

"Phase 2," his master explained. "Systematic bombardment of Earth. The red targets are major cities and military facilities, which will be devastated by missiles. The blue and green ones represent small villages, towns, tribes, and other key areas which will be either invaded by shock troops (including the Pokemon I've liberated from the Prison Balls we've stolen), infected by virus bombs, or both." He glanced at his minions. "Do any of you have any specific places in mind you would like to add to the list which are not already on the map?"

"Ooh! Ooh! Hollywood! Hollywood!" Meowth hooted, hopping up and down, waving his arm, and cutting his feet open on the floor.

"Any particular reason why?" Deoxys asked, already knowing the answer.

"Revenge!" the feline roared.

"For what?" Shalor asked.

"This girl cat I liked wasn't interested in me," Meowth told them. They sweatdropped. "Oh, and I was picked on a lot growing up there."

Deoxys resonated at an ultrasonic frequency, and Hollywood was lit up by a red target. "Any others?"

"Ever Grande City!" Shining Ranger cried.

"No."

"No?" Shining Ranger asked, looking disappointed.

"No. Not this moment, anyway."

"Darn." Shining Ranger sulked. Blazeatrice rolled his eyes and patted him on the back.

Alpha Ranger glanced at the map. "Pallet Town's on there."

"So it is," Deoxys agreed. "Is that a problem?"

Alpha paused. "No…I just wanted to destroy it myself."

"I anticipated that," Deoxys told him. "Which is why Pallet Town is only going to be virus bombed. That way you can go down once we are through with our other business and raze the place to the ground…and destroy the infected inhabitants, if you wish. If that's not enough, you may have their souls as well."

"…Heh. Yeah, that sounds good. But…" He paused. "Where's Delia Ketchum?"

"In Ever Grande. I do not know for how long, though."

Alpha nodded. "Good. I look forward to hunting her down myself…so I can see her horrified reaction when I wring the life out of her, wearing her own son's face."

Deoxys nodded. "Very good. Shalor? It looks as if you have something on your mind."

The Black General paused. "Yes sir…it's just that…the Sevii Islands…none of them are targeted. And none of the people there were among the leaders we've killed."

"A very good observation, general," Deoxys said, pleased. "No, none of the have been targeted. The Dream-saturated air there is infertile spawning ground for my virus, and as a result my shock troops would suffer a significant drop in power, which is why none of my agents are present there. Do not fret, though, the Islands will fall to us soon enough…once the last few elements of my plan are in place."

Shalor nodded. "As you command, my lord."

"Ooh! Boss! Can we destroy Circlehard headquarters?" Mewgle asked hopefully. "The guys who made me? They're the ones who trapped me in the RPGenerator to begin with!"

Deoxys chuckled. "I see that crippling their gaming engines with your virus is not enough for you…very well." He resonated, and a new red target appeared on the screen. "Any other targets? No? Very well, then." He resonated again, and the castle trembled in response.

The fortress' exterior shook as one by one, hundreds of the large crystalline edges and spikes making it up detached themselves and rocketed towards the fragile Earth below, carrying their lethal payload of explosives, virii, or nightmarish monstrosities.

"The bombardment is on its way," Deoxys said, pleased. "Phase 2 is complete. And now for the next part…" He resonated, and the crystal viewer changed to show profiles of numerous very familiar Pokemon, and a few humans as well. "Behold the faces of our enemies. The Chosen."

Meowth hissed angrily at the faces of Pikachu and all the other familiar Pokemon who had beat him up on a regular basis. Alpha sneered at his former friends. Cerberus growled at the picture of Ho-Oh. Blazeatrice smirked at an image of Charizard and Charla. Mewgle cackled with glee, anticipating how much fun he would have playing with the heroes. Shalor stood stoically, studying his foes with interest. And the two mysterious and most dangerous generals, the giant and the one whom had been torturing James, showed particular interest in a specific Pokemon displayed on the viewer.

"These few are the only obstacle between us and my ultimate goal," Deoxys told his minions. "The crystal Unown sought to deceive me by showing me only certain Pokemon when I was chosen like the rest in an attempt to convince me that those would be the only ones I would have to worry about, but once I understood and remembered just who and what I am I saw through their games and noticed several other individuals they had interest in who they believed might be of use against me. I have already eliminated most of those others to prevent them from being a threat, and have prepared countermeasures for the rest. This is not to say that they cannot triumph, for that is always a possibility…but I believe that with what I have in mind, they have a very low chance of stopping us."

"All evil shall fall before us!" Shining Ranger said triumphantly, causing his comrades to roll their eyes.

"Indeed they shall," Deoxys said soothingly. "But first, we must make certain that you are ready for them. They managed to defeat you just last night…true, they had overwhelming numbers, but nevertheless were more powerful than you had expected."

"That is so," Shining Ranger lamented. "My shame at defeat is without end!"

"The same could be said of you, Alpha Ranger," Deoxys told his other new minion. "You lost not once, but twice: first to Latias, then to the combined power of her friends."

"Those punks just got lucky…" Alpha growled.

"That may be so…but if you wish to defeat them once and for all, you will need to become stronger…as will you, Shining Ranger. And Blazeatrice as well…"

"What about me?" Meowth asked.

"What about you?" Deoxys asked.

"Um…don't I get to become stronger too?" the feline asked timidly.

"Hmm…I suppose so," Deoxys said with a shrug. "You would want to be as powerful as possible to defeat that mouse you're obsessed with, wouldn't you?"

"You bet!" Meowth said enthusiastically.

Deoxys nodded. "Very well, then. Shalor. Alpha Ranger. Shining Ranger. Step forward. Meowth and Blazeatrice, you will get your own upgrade later, the throne room is crowded enough as it is, we don't have room in here for the forms I have in mind." Meowth sulked, but Blazeatrice smirked in anticipation of the power he would receive. He hoped he'd be able to kill Harrison's Blaziken and finish the job he'd started on the Charizard with it.

Deoxys produced two small crystals in his hands as his three humanoid minions stepped forward. Cerberus watched eagerly, recalling its own creation through the use of a similar crystal, and Meowth and Blazeatrice paid attention, wondering if this would give them any hints as to what they could expect from their future transformations.

"I grant you three these powers so that you may better serve me," Deoxys intoned, the small gems in his hands glowing. "Let two become one in a glorious whole! A whole which is more than the sum of its parts!" he cried, tossing the jewel in his left hand at the ground before Shalor.

The crystal shattered on impact, releasing a crackling bolt of multicolored energy which shot towards a startled Shalor and encircled him, completely covering his black armor in pulsating light. Shining Ranger was perplexed. "What is this? I thought I was to become more powerful as we-"

Without warning, the shimmering mass which had engulfed Shalor reached out at Shining Ranger with lightning-fast tendrils of energy, grabbing the golden figure and pulling him, screaming, into the heart of the colors. The figure's mass swelled, doubling over in pain, and howled as it exploded in a blinding flash of light, forcing the weaker minions (once again, just Meowth) to flinch and look away.

When the light faded, a smoking being covered in armor grunted and stood back up, rising a towering twenty-five feet in height, making him almost as tall as Cerberus. He was mainly humanoid, just as Shalor and Shining Ranger had been, but most of his body had become less human and somewhat…different. His powerful legs were bent back and looked like those of a carnosaur, with two feet each ending in very long yellowish talons extending a foot and a half across the floor. The legs were covered in black chitinous armor with gold trim and spikes on the joints, with exposed musculature and bone in place of flesh at each gap in the armor plates. The monster's lower chest and abdominals were skinny, almost beanpoleish, and looked rather twisted and contorted, as if the tough, leathery black flesh there had been wound up like a spring. The torso, strangely enough, was shaped like a very large ovular sphere, composed of thick black armor with gold spikes jutting out at odd angles everywhere. His shoulder guards were comprised of two huge pieces of armor that looked almost exactly like the helmets of Shining Ranger and Shalor, the golden 'hero' on the left, and the Black General on the right. From the shoulder guards came the forearms, both of which looked less like arms and more like flexible tentacles of hardened pockmarked flesh, like giant worms ending in a pair of massive gauntlets. Both were thick and ended in huge three-fingered hands comprised of jointed claws, with bulges protruding from the top of each gauntlet that had large holes in the front, over the knuckles, as if something were intended to come out from there. The left gauntlet and hand was golden, and the right was black.

Along with a long cape, as both Shalor and Shining Ranger had possessed, the monster had a pair of immense spiked hoops, one laid over the other, affixed to his back, one rotating clockwise and the other counter-clockwise.

The head was small in comparison to the body, made up of a helmet with no visible neck. The helmet had a gold faceplate carved to look like a snarling fanged maw, with a cycloptic red visor placed over it. A long, curved gold horn rose from the forehead, and a pair of gold antlers from the sides. The rest of the helmet was a simple black, with another red spot on the back with a gold stripe bisecting it. "I…" the warrior said slowly, his voice deep and sounding like a mixture of Shalor and Shining Ranger's. "I feel…such power…"

"Whoa," said Meowth his eyes wide. "Am I going to be that cool when I transform?"

Alpha laughed and rubbed his hands gleefully. "Oh yeah, this is gonna rock!"

"Welcome to the ranks of fusions, brother," Cerberus growled. "Let us hope you prove more resilient than Coldstone did."

"I name thee Omega…the end," Deoxys told his massive new servant. "Which still leaves Alpha…the beginning." He turned his gaze to the ecstatic and hopeful Alpha Ranger.

Alpha laughed. "Oh yeah baby! Wait…I'm not gonna have to fuse with anyone, am I?"

"No."

"Oh yeah!"

"I grant you this power so that you may better serve me…receive it and destroy all who stand before you!" Deoxys tossed his remaining crystal at the Alpha Ranger's feet. It shattered as it hit the ground, releasing a bolt of multicolored energy which shot out and wrapped around him, bathing him in its power.

Alpha cackled insanely as the power of Deoxys engulfed him in multicolored energy, flooding his body with a rush greater than any drug. "Hahahaha…ahahahaha! Oh yeah! YEAH! HAHAHAHAHA!" There was a great flash of light, and once more Meowth had to avert his eyes. (The wuss)

When the light faded, it revealed Alpha, who had transformed just as radically (if not more so) than the fused Shalor and Shining Ranger.

He was both humanoid and reptilian at once, like some mix of man and lizard. His legs were thick, white, and covered in leathery scales, with a gold ridge running up the left leg, chest, and all the way to the shoulder. They were positioned like human legs instead of those of a dinosaur, with only a single knee each which had a long downward curving red black-tipped spike. A pair of black curved spikes grew out of each thigh. The lower legs had greaves with gold sides growing a pair of curved black spikes from the ankles and a white front piece with black pits which almost went up to the knee. The feet were shaped like those of a human, but had three toes instead of five, each of which ended in a black claw. His waist and groin area were covered in gold and purple scales and white plates. His torso was made up of a red and blue spherical growth with the Latin symbol for Alpha engrave on it covered by a pair of dull gold breastplates making an armored 'vest' with two black spikes each growing outward from the pectorals. He had white fluted shoulder guards with muscular scaly arms, the left one blue and the right white. Both lower arms were covered in bony white armor plates with jagged black spikes growing outwards and back from them. Both hands were five-fingered claws, but the left one wore a watch-like device on a band around its wrist with the Latin Alpha symbol glowing on it. A pair of small draconic wings, white with black arms and fingers, extended from his back, not big enough to grant him flight but they surely served some purpose.

His head was encased in a helmet which looked almost saurian and monstrous in nature. His blank metal faceplate had been covered by grayish-white armor which matched the color of the side guards curving around and behind the helmet. The jagged black visor had diagonal lines engraved in it to make it look like a toothy maw, and the small glowing red eyes and pointed crest extending over the top of his helmet helped drive this look home and made it seem as if it really were a mouth. Said crest was black and curved downward like a beak, with a red stone on the tip and a jagged black spike rose from the back. Six smaller black spikes grew from Alpha's neck, which was protected everywhere else by his new helmet.

"This…this is perfect," Alpha growled gleefully, his voice deeper and more bestial. "Now…now I can rip them apart…rend them limb from limb, rip out their hearts…hahahaha…and then there will be nothing left that has any relation to Ash Ketchum…and he will die forever, his soul in my keeping."

"You are pleased with your new form," said the bemused Deoxys. "Excellent. And now, we are all ready. Or almost," he amended. "Meowth and Blazeatrice have yet to change as well, but soon enough they shall. And I expect an ally or two…those whom I have kept hidden, just as the Unown did with some of their chosen heroes…to join us shortly in the coming battle. They shall prove to be of great aid to us, I should think."

"As long as they stay out of my way…and leave her to me…" Deoxys' unknown, most powerful general growled.

"The planet has been thrown into mass chaos…our enemies are gathering in Ever Grande City…and so we must go and defeat them," Deoxys said, gazing in amusement at the Chosen snapshots on the crystal viewer. "Meowth…get Chimecho and Growlie and go into the dungeons and retrieve Wynaut. Wobbuffet possesses one of my shards…we could easily take it from him, but dangling his sister…or what's left of her…before him should cause much more satisfying pain."

"You got it, boss!" Meowth saluted and exited the throne room.

"Master," Cerberus asked once the feline was gone. "Was it really necessary to promote him to general status?"

"No," Deoxys said calmly. "I'm almost certain he'll fall to the Chosen. But he will delay them…and in a fight, sometimes holding off the enemy for long enough is the best way to victory."

The crystal enclosure in the middle of the room sank into the floor, and the puddle of gore was greedily absorbed into the ground, causing the fortress to vibrate as the streams of blood pumping through its walls swelled and flowed faster.

"The castle is fully charged for the battle," Deoxys noted, pleased. "It will serve me well…" He glanced at the corner of his throne room, where James lay broken and bleeding in his cell, only partially healed from his latest torture. "However, I cannot risk a pawn as important as James by taking him into battle…therefore, I will give him a respite…by launching him into orbit, where he will remain until I have need of him again." James whimpered at the thought, but there was almost a gleam of--could it be hope? Or perhaps relief—in his eyes as he realized he might be free of torture for at least a little while.

Deoxys detected this and immediately quashed it. "Of course, it would not do to leave him all by himself for so long…he may get lonely, or even comfortable. Therefore, I will send the Jessies with him to keep him company."

At this James fell (deeper) into despair and started screaming in horror, clawing at the bars of his cage (and cutting himself up even more) as the crystal wall behind him irised open and three hideous identical creatures walked in. They were humanoid, but hunched over as they shuffled towards James, scratching their thick feet against the jagged ground. Their skin was leathery and covered in a rough, sand-papery surface. Wide membranes ran from the space between their wrists to their ankles, like the ones which allowed flying squirrels to glide.

They were somewhat feminine in spite of their bestiality, although their breasts were tipped with spikes and looked as if they could peel open like a split melon and the space between their legs was occupied by a slavering mouth. Their faces were pale, pinched, feral, and looked rather vampiric, with solid yellow eyes. Their long tongues, ending in a smaller pair of jaws, lashed out of their mouths, licking at the air. They had very long red hair trailing to the ground that looked to be made more out of razor spines than actual hairs, and a closer examination revealed the red was actually permanent bloodstain.

James screamed and tried to impale himself on a jutting spike on the bars of his cage, but it was no use, the spike would not penetrate his frail flesh because Deoxys did not wish it so. He sobbed, moaned, begged, and pleaded to no avail as two of the Jessies tenderly, lovingly grasped his weak and pitiful arms by the shriveled wrists hard enough to bruise them and yanked him off his feet, causing him to hit the ground. They shambled back towards the door they had come through, dragging James behind them and slicing his back, buttocks, and legs to ribbons on the sharp-edged floor as they did so. The third Jessie climbed over James' legs and positioned herself above his nether regions as her sisters pulled them from the room, her lower mouth opening its fanged maw wide eagerly as she lowered herself onto the human. The wall closed shut behind them, but not before James' bloodcurdling screams resounded through the chamber.

"…Whoa," said a stunned Alpha. "Were those-"

"Jessie, Jessiebelle, and Jessie's mother Musashi," Deoxys said, answering Alpha's question. "Three of my cruelest torturers and wardens."

"Whoa," Alpha said again.

The fortress rumbled slightly as a small spherical pod, containing James and the three Jessies, was jettisoned from the space-borne castle, falling away through the cloaking field and getting caught by the Earth's gravity into a low orbit. There it would remain until its master returned for it…leaving James alone with the three monstrosities until then.

"And now, I believe we are adequately prepared for what awaits us," Deoxys said as the crystal viewer changed to show the Earth again. "We will depart for Ever Grande shortly. It is there that this planet's fate will be decided."

"My lord…" Omega started.

"Yes?" Deoxys asked.

"I was just wondering…you have done little to prevent the actions of your nemeses, the Divine Trio," the general pointed out. "You have distracted Mew and Celebi with various simultaneous disasters, yes, but left Jirachi alone last night when he could easily have been captured and eliminated. And now he has rejoined his siblings and is somewhere in the Sevii Islands now—which you do not seem to be interested in attacking—and will surely gather enough power from the hopes and dreams of all the people of the world to transform into the Mother. I am sure you have a plan or countermeasure to prevent this, my lord, but…I just do not understand why you have done nothing up to this point to prevent their reunion."

Deoxys laughed, amused at his general's observations. "Prevent their reunion? Now why would I do something like that? Especially when my master plan depends on them becoming my greatest foe again?"

His generals were startled, save for the mysterious ones, who were unsurprised by this revelation. "What?" asked a confused Cerberus. "You…want them to become all-powerful and fight you when your crystal is still incomplete?"

Deoxys chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. "My friends, you understand so little. Yes, I could have targeted Jirachi and terminated him easily, preventing the Mother's rebirth and claiming the planet…and in winning I would have failed my true goal. Earth is nothing, a speck of dust in a soap-bubble of a universe floating through the great reaches of infinity. Conquering it, and the other worlds in this dimension, will make very little difference on the big picture."

He resonated, and a pillar of crystal rose up from the floor beside his throne, splitting open at the top and revealing a beautiful jewel radiating bright white light, causing the generals to flinch. Deoxys was unbothered by it. "You are correct, Omega, in guessing that I have countermeasures in store for my oldest enemy." He caressed the gem next to him, causing it to flicker and waver. "And once she has fallen…then the real work begins."

And so the true enemy is revealed, his army is gathered, and Earth is all but doomed. Will the Chosen be able to fulfill their destiny and defeat Deoxys? Find out as their epic multipart battle begins next chapter!

By the way, do any of you know Spanish? If so, can you please contact me?