"One, two...three!"

Crest, Ira, Gigi, and Nidoking hoisted each individual out from their containment cells, one by one, until all were freed. The final person they rescued was an elderly man in a more regal get-up. He was much weaker than the rest. "Thank you, thank you," he pleaded as they sat him down against the wall.

"Easy there, old-timer," Crest said as he reached into his pack and offered the man some of his water, "what's your name?"

"I am Rood, one of the Seven Sages of Team Plasma - and the only one of them, along with everyone else here, who secretly supported our lord N." He hastily guzzled down the contents of the canteen.

"You must be the ones Vent was talking about," Ira said, looking around the room.

"Ah! You've encountered Vent?! Is he alive?!"

"He's um...well," Crest rubbed the back of his head.

"Did you know he was a Zoroark? And that he was infected?" Ira glared at the man.

Rood nodded, bowing his head. "Yes...yes, we knew. I was the one who taught him how to speak our tongue so long ago. Originally, we planned to bide our time until we could garnish enough support to overthrow Ghetsis...but Vent said he sensed our lord N in this realm. He didn't say more - he was convinced we were being found out. I wish I listened to him, then."

"Guess that explains all of this," Ira said, staring at one of the cells.

"Yes, we did have spies among us. But...but you're here! That means Vent revealed himself to you! Was he right…? Is our lord N…?"

Ira and Crest looked at one another, then over to Gigi. She nodded. It was better that they know. The siblings began to recount the tales of their journey - of the young professor they met. His condition. His passion. His pains. His heart. His promise. His...love. And they recounted Vent's determination - his almost sacrifice.

The room fell silent. Many members shuffled in their spots, unsure of what to think - what to feel. Some looked about ready to break down. But not Rood. For he jumped straight up as if he hadn't had the life sucked out from him. "I am...so relieved to hear that he is alive," he said, taking a deep breath. "Though our lord N's memories may be lost, perhaps that is not so bad. He has suffered far more than you know. I took the liberty to do a little research to see if we had counter parts in this universe, and let's just say...the Ghetsis from our world was far crueler to our lord N. Please, everyone!" he turned to the other members and raised his arm, "our King is not dead! Nor is he gone! He is renewed! And he has sent his companions to rescue us! Though he is no longer our lord 'N', he still very much needs our assistance!"

The other members looked at one another, still unsure.

"Look you idiots," Ira pinched the bridge of her nose, then pushed past Rood, "if you want to give up just because 'N' is different now, fine. I don't really care. But from what I've heard about this 'N' guy...Cladis and him are on the same page, let's put it that way. And besides, he's out there fighting that giant ice dragon because he wants to stop Ghetsis from destroying our world, too! At least hold out until he's dealt with, then figure out what you want to do after that!"

Crest's eyes were wide as Ira spoke. Once she finished, he smiled. "She's right. That madman needs to be stopped. We really could use all of ya to help us."

One by one, the other members nodded in agreement. "For N!" "For the King!" "For...Cladis?"

Rood smiled. "The loyalty you all have...oh, it's wonderful," he said, wiping away tears.

"Right...I just don't think he'd be too keen on the whole 'King thing'," Ira muttered. Although...Queen...

"Young lady."

Rood's voice snapped her back to reality. "Y-yeah?!"

"Could I trouble you two to help in healing our Pokemon? I have a hunch I might know where our healers are, and I'm sure all of your Pokemon have been through a lot to get here - they could use them, as well."

"Yeah, sure." When she turned to leave, she stopped herself. "Actually, before that...does the intercom broadcast outside the ship?"


Kyurem had taken to the air, shooting an Ice Beam on the way up which formed a massive, dusty veil. From there, Kyurem created a massive chunk of ice and sent it down, piece by piece. Once enough of the ground was covered in icy pillars, the mist began to descend and resonate with the pillars.

Knuckles and Sally began to feel an overwhelming cold, yet also burning sensation coming from the pillars. With the entire platform covered, they had nowhere to run as Kyurem's Ice Burn began. The seering air chilled them to the bone, yet begun to flare their scales all the same. Knuckles fell to one knee and huffed. It was quickly becoming too much for him to tolerate. Sally was quite a bit more resistant and quickly came up with a solution. She dragged her fire lashes in a massive circle around them, kicking up enough of a gust to give them a small pocket. Knuckles took the chance to use Flash Cannon on the closest pillars. They shattered quickly, and the mist subsided with them. The farther out pillars still resonated with the mist, but they had room to work with, now.

The pair gazed up at Kyurem, who was readying a large fireball. Fusion Flare came down, but Knuckles punched through it with his Flash Cannon, striking Kyurem in the process. It quickly retaliated with a massive Ice Beam. The resulting ice structure was far larger than all the previous ones Kyurem has created. It began to charge up another Fusion Flare, though instead of shooting it down at its foes, it shot it high into the sky.

Cladis watched the ball disappear above them, but when his eyes fell back to Kyurem, he witnessed the black half of the stone in Kyurem's chest begin to glow. The icy air spiraled around it, and when the mist faded, Kyurem had changed form once more. Kyurem-Black floated ominously as blue electricity began to build around it until it was entirely covered in a blue orb.

"It's a combination attack," Cladis called out, "get out of there!"

The Fusion Flare came down, striking the blue orb. Immediately, the orb grew larger and two fiery rings circled it in an X-shape. Knuckles grabbed Sally and dashed away as Kyurem came down with Fusion Shock, completely crushing the pillar. As shards flew everywhere, Kyurem cloaked itself in a bright light, then burst out electricity into the shards. Freeze Shock connected to all of the flying shards and each of the remaining pillars stuck in the ground. The massive influx of energy shattered them, too, pelting Knuckles and Sally. The two bounced against the ground, landing close to Cladis. Electricity surged all around their bodies. Sally was out cold; Knuckles barely pulled himself to his feet. Kyurem stared him down. The tubes connecting to its tail surged with the same teal that burned in its eyes.

Cladis clenched his fist. It has to be close to burning itself out. It's used so much energy...but so has Knuckles. If this keeps up...

"Cladis!"

"Yo, Prof!"

Cladis looked around for a moment before realizing their voices came from the ship. "Ira? Crest?"

"We found'em," Crest continued. "Everyone inside is safe. We can't see what's goin' on out there - things are really weird in here, man! That Ultra Energy is some freaky stuff!"

"That's not important right now, idiot!" The sounds of a body being shoved away from the mic came through clearly, peaking the microphone. "Cladis! Use your Z-crystal! You can use your Z-move! We-" Kyurem shot down the mast of the deck the speaker was on, clearly upset at the loud screech.

Cladis looked down at his wrist. His Kommonium-Z was still slotted into his Z-Ring. I've never been so glad that I never take this off. "Knuckles?"

His partner straightened himself out and nodded, crossing arms.

Cladis smiled. "Okay. Together now!" Cladis crossed his arms and began to glow. The two of them reenacted their incantation together. Knuckles's Aura flared up bright, resonating with the energy in the air and flowed into Cladis. Instead of a wave of gold, the light beaming off of Cladis shined through every color in existence. He suddenly started to feel lighter - his eyes and hair flickered brighter, but they quickly faded back to normal. For a brief moment, he felt his emotions surge, but for some reason, he knew not to fear it. The toxin… "Full power! Clangorous Soulblaze!"

The energy surrounded both of them. Knuckles scales began to shake as his Aura made them shine bright. He pounded his fists together, reeled his arms back, and let loose a massive wave of rainbow-colored energy. The ground quaked as the attack surrounded Kyurem, launching it a considerable distance. From the center of the shockwave, Knuckles used his remaining energy to charge his finger tips. He held the energy at his forehead, then pointed it right down the middle. Spiral Flash Cannon, as they decided to name it, struck Kyurem dead center, enveloping everyone in a bright light.

Cladis and Knuckles collapsed onto their hands and knees. "That...took way more out of me than usual," Cladis said, through ragged breath, "was that...you?"

Knuckles shot him a look or uncertainty, breathing all the same. But frustration filled his eyes as he looked up. When the light cleared, Kyurem still remained standing, though clearly it was drastically weakened. It had reverted back to its normal form, and slowly strode over. It raised its head, ready to deliver one final blow when a beam of energy struck it right on the stones embedded in its chest. They cracked even more, falling out of Kyurem. The teal in Kyurem's eyes darkened, and it fell over. Cladis and Knuckles weakly looked over at Sally. She smiled smugly, having surprised everyone with her mastery of Dragon Pulse.

Knuckles smiled back as he pulled himself and Cladis to their feet. He limped over to her, picking her up gently in his lap. She cooed at him before relaxing.

Cladis stumbled over towards Kyurem. He knelt down, picking up what remained of the Light and Dark Stones. "Reshiram...Zekrom…" He held them to his chest and shut his eyes. "You've both suffered so much...I hope your spirits can finally be at peace."

Kyurem stirred slightly and looked at Cladis. It let out a low, quiet groan.

Knuckles clenched his fist, but Cladis waved to him. He set down his arm and continued to watch.

"You've suffered, too. Far more than any being should have." Cladis gently ran his hand over the dragon's cheek. it shut its eyes and groaned. "We'll make this right," he bowed his head and shut his eyes, tears beginning to form. "I'll...make this right."

Kyurem stared at him for a moment. Its eyes were yellow. "Hurts…"

Cladis's eyes shot open. He stared down at Kyurem, pupils shuttering. "I can…" I...can… "Yes I...I know...but soon, the pain will go away. Just...rest...you need it."

"Stop...false...King…"

"We will. I promise."

"Sorry...hurt...you…"

"It was not your fault. Please, rest now. And...when you wake up, this will all have ended...like a bad dream."

Kyurem shut its eyes. Its breathing evened out as Cladis gently stroked its cheek. Knuckles carried Sally over, and they, too, began to sooth the sleeping beast.

"Cladis…"

He turned to see Ira, Crest, Gigi and all the others they rescued from the ship. "Hey...you did it," he said, a smile forming on his face.

Ira walked over to him, wiping away his tears with her thumb. "Yeah...you did, too." She looked at Kyurem, holding her hand up. Cladis gently took her hand and placed it next to his. She began to gently rub the dragon's cheek. "It tried to freeze us...and yet here we are…"

"Kyurem didn't want to hurt us…"

"Yeah...I know." She looked over Kyurem's face. "In a strange way...it looks at peace."

"We can all be," he looked up at the castle, "once this is over." Cladis reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a Pink-and-white Heal Ball. "This isn't much, but maybe it will offer some relief, even if just a little bit…" He gently tapped it against Kyurem, and its entire body turned into red light and was sucked into the Heal Ball. It barely shook until it clicked.

Ira blinked, stunned. "But...how?"

"Well I uh," he scratched his cheek, "Ghetsis didn't throw a PokeBall out. I just sort of...guess that he didn't actually catch Kyurem and just, you know, manipulated it with Nihilego's toxin."

"You...guessed?" She couldn't help but chuckle. "You dolt."

"Whaaat? Worst thing that would've happened was that I'd have embarrassed myself!" he joined in her laughter.

"Um...excuse us."

Cladis and Ira turned to face the pair of voices. Two girls stood behind them. One with long, pink hair - Anthea - and one with long, braided blonde hair with the top shaped like a bow - Concordia.

Anthea covered her mouth. "It...it is! I-I sense his energy."

"There's no mistaking it," Concordia agreed. "Do you...remember us?"

Cladis bowed his head. "I know who you are but I…"

Anthea shook her head. "No, that is alright. Your loved one has shared with us everything."

Ira pouted, but didn't protest.

"There came a time that even we began to lose hope," Concordia admitted, "but you're alive. That's what matters the most."

"Allow us to heal you and your friends," Anthea said as she knelt down next to Knuckles and Sally and Concordia next to him.

"T-thank you," Cladis said quietly.

"Lord N - or, I suppose I should now call you Cladis," Rood said as he walked up to them, alongside Crest. "It is good to see you well, even if our lives are distant now."

"Thank you," Cladis answered, staring up at the man, "how is everyone?"

"We're fine now, thanks to your friends. And, memories or not, we are with you in this fight, my lord N - oh, Cladis." He and Cladis looked towards the small group of grunts behind them. They were all dressed in the original Team Plasma uniform. All of them bowed their heads and knelt down.

"I...appreciate it. But please, I am not a king. Just call me Cladis," he replied, a bit uncomfortable by their civility.

Rood rubbed his chin. "Yes we...will work on that."

Crest put his hand on Rood's shoulder. "Hate to interrupt, but it looks like we got company." He pointed up the ramp of the castle. Rows upon rows of Neo Team Plasma grunts endlessly poured out from the castle. In just a few seconds, their small band was vastly outnumbered. Amidst the sea of evil stood the other five sages. Zinzolin smirked as he bounced his PokeBall in his hand. "Well, well, well. I was hoping I'd get the chance to crush you, Rood."

"You know very well that what you hope will come of this is nothing short of a fallacy." Rood's voice boomed down the mountain. "Countless worlds will be destroyed, not controlled!"

One by one, the sages spoke up.

"Destroyed and remade in our image!"

"And this little rebellion isn't going to stop us!"

"Why, you're nothing more than a tenth of our size!"

"You should've understood your place!"

"Now you will pay dearly for it!" Zinzolin raised his arm. The grunts readied their Pokemon to strike.

"I don't think so, old man!"

Everyone turned towards the new voice. Grinning ever-so-smugly a top one of the fallen stone pillars stood Guzma, arms crossed and laughing. Standing in front of him were Archie, Maxie, Cynthia, and both Colresses. Behind them all stood their massively combined forces.

Cladis's mentor smiled. "My apologies for us being so late. It seems quite a number was done to the mountain's interior. Ah, but Colress Machine No. 1209 pulled through in the end. We'll have to catch up when this is all over, but for now..." he reached into his coat and pulled out a PokeBall.

"Everyone! Cut a path through their ranks!" Maxie commanded.

"Ira, Crest," Archie had dashed over and held them both on their shoulders, "you guys get Cladis and the Champ in there safely, you hear me?"

"Loud and clear," Crest answered.

"Yes...sir," Ira mumbled.

"Alright! Everyone, charge!"