Chapter 55 – Arc 4 (Poni Island) The Beast Who Swallowed the Sun

Hi there peoples! So it would seem that I have made a couple more booboos in recent chapters. However, they're pretty small, so I'm not going to go back to edit them yet, just giving current readers a heads-up. I think I messed up the timeline during my Big Revision™ - it was supposed to be that during Nanu's interrogation by Looker and Selene's first discussion with Kukui following Aether's sinking that it had just been a couple of weeks. Then, through Hau's perspective with Mallow, it pans over the course of a couple of months. And THEN once Selene, Lillie, and Gladion caught up to him, they explain they had decided to take a detour to train some and catch up to him later (by, say, completing some trials they didn't do during their original run of the Island Challenge or just in general exploring and talking to one another more, likely staying at hostels/camping around different islands, except for Poni), give Hau some more time to, uh… recover, from the everything. However, I think the version that's up now just kinda… didn't mention any of that? Just suddenly went from a couple weeks to a couple months. Oops xD

Anyway, the takeaway here is that once they found Hau and Mallow convinced him he was good to go, it had been a few months, and everything since then has been taking time over a week and some days. Time is moving the same in Ultra Megalopolis (I thought about having it move differently at one point but scrubbed the idea because there was just too much going on in the story already). This was also supposed to cover for some plotholes where I kind of… just ignored Selene's other pokémon for a while, for the sake of focusing on more important characters an events. I mean, I could have decided to show her Miltank egg hatching, but that would have been really distracting and ultimately not added much to the story, lol. Also I'm pretty sure like 5 people total like or care about Miltank.

Anyway, in addition, I think I rushed the last segment of the most recent chapter (Rewrite the Stars), and didn't explain the setting very well. I have actually gone back and edited that, but for the sake of clarity for those reading on (and because it wasn't anything all that plot-changing that I edited), Selene, Hau, Gladion, Lillie, Plumeria, and Hapu are at the Altar of the Sunne. Tapu Fini was trailing along in her Absol form. Each of them likely keeps some pokémon out while they travel. In general, right now, the pokémon that are usually out are Selene's Decidueye (Bowtie), Hau's Umbreon (Ho'ololi), Gladion's Silvally (Null), Lillie's Alolan Ninetales (or… Elio's Alolan Ninetales, technically), and Hapu's Mudsdale (unnamed). Plumeria is the only one generally not keeping a pokémon out at the moment, since she still feels some private guilt for what her Salazzle did to Makua and isn't sure if she wants to risk something like that happening again. The new edit suggests that Lillie argued more with Gladion, as Gladion wanted them to wait through the night before trying anything (they arrived at the Altar late in the evening), but it soon becomes clear Lillie isn't willing to listen to that. Selene thinks to call it off herself, since Lillie isn't being reasonable, but Gladion just nods at her, implying he's telling her to just go ahead, forget it. I also edited Selene's dialogue toward the end sliiightly to suggest she's more surprised by the sudden gash in reality above her head LOL.

It's also an intentional divergence from canon to omit the flutes. I always found the Sun and Moon Flutes to be so… completely random. Maybe they're a reference to something and I never discovered that, but I didn't care for them, and they were always planned to be scrapped from this rewrite (plus, sidetracking to Exeggutor Island… would be such a major wrench in the flow of the story, I can't even begin to explain). Taking their place, Selene's and Elio's Z-Power Rings (which are both hewn from the Z-Crystal Tapu Koko left Selene after she tried to help Lillie and Nebby at the Plank Bridge) provide energies of both the 'Sun Beast' and 'Moon Beast,' activating the Altar when they touch the water in the engraved channels of the Altar. I also just felt like that fit with my custom mythology surrounding Alola's past anyway so hey.

Also also, I haven't forgotten about Guzma! I promise! Nor have I forgotten that Nanu hasn't shown his "power" yet. All in due time my friends! On a completely unrelated note, I think my computer is about to quit on me for this document alone… I generally use one big, well-organized document for my stories, and my Ultra Sun doc is ~602 pages right now. It's genuinely starting to lag, oof. I'm going to have to split it into a couple of files, I think. I'm not looking forward to that LOL.

Anyway, back to the scifi stuff, I'll be quiet now! 👀

A light had pulsed from the wormhole—Selene had recognized it, having never forgotten the image of the one in Aether Paradise—and then Nebby had lit up a brilliant orange, like the sun on a blisteringly hot day, and she'd been forced to cover her eyes and duck as the earth tremored and shook even more. Something roared, something shrieked, and then the earth convulsed and threw her to her side. Landing on an elbow, Selene yelped and saw double as she squinted against the brightness, trying to make sense of what was happening around her. Before the lights had faded enough for her to make anything out, however, she felt someone with rough hands seize hers and start hauling her to her feet.

Pulled out of the blinding lights, Selene coughed and staggered, catching her balance, as she realized it was… Nanu? Blinking fervently, she shook her head, "How—why—"

"Never mind that," he told her, gesturing with his chin behind her. Just before he spoke, she saw a man in a black and white kimono dart up to his side, a Liepard with a bright green collar at his side. "Look!"

Daring to turn around, Selene breathed a small sigh of relief as Bowtie slunk over to her, and together, they tried to adjust their eyes to the glittering lights, jarringly bouncing and refracting against a dark, night sky. She could make out a dark shape, its body made of a black, voiding darkness, but fighting it was something with wings and a glowing white circle between them. That one was harder to make out, for it seemed that its wings matched the starshine of the night. Fighting, of course, was a loose term; the flying beast seemed more to be aggravating the creature of the dark, taunting it. But below the high-flying spectacle was something else entirely. The source of much of the light that had temporarily blinded her was because where Nebby had been placed, a beast glowing as brightly as a sun stood, and roared like the world's most fearsome Arcanine at the creatures battling it out in the sky.

Breath hitching in her throat, Selene shook her head. "I d-don't—I don't understand, what's that in the sky, what's happening?"

Before Nanu could answer her, Selene heard someone shouting above the commotion.

"MOM!"

That voice was unmistakably Gladion's. Covering her eyes some, Selene was able to make out Lillie, who was busy gawking in awe at Nebby's new form, but she also saw Gladion making a beeline toward a part of the Altar of the Sunne that had been shattered by something. At the very edge of the Altar's leftmost side, the stone had given way to a nasty crater. With a flash of panic, Selene finally found the drive to move, darting away from Nanu and his friend (was Grimsley his name?) both. She felt the ghost of someone's hands at her shoulders just as she started, telling her someone had tried to grab her, but they had failed. Skirting past Lillie, Bowtie hot on her heels, Selene saw Nebby shake his head at her friend, and then bellow again at the creatures fighting in the sky.

Tripping over a fragment of the Altar she hadn't noticed, Selene grunted, and it was Hapu that jerked her up this time. On her feet again, Selene found Hapu and Hau staring her down. "We gotta go," Hapu hissed at her, brushing her shoulders off for her. Selene was having none of it, rolling her shoulders and fighting out of her hold. "I called for other Captains an' Kahunas to help out already, everyone'll be here as soon as they can, we don't—"

"Just, stop!" Selene shot back. "I don't know what we need to do yet, but we need to get ourselves together, where's Plumeria? And I have to go find Gladion, he took off running over—"

"I'm right here," Plumeria interrupted, panting and limping over to her from the shadows of some craggy overhang just beyond the Altar. Shaking her head, she looked up. "But what the hell is goin' on up there?"

Following her gaze, Selene shook her head. I wish I knew. Yet, just as she started to dart back after where she had seen Gladion run off to, Hau shouting after her, she saw Nebby jump into the sky, as if leaping after the dark creature, and the flying beast that had been keeping it entertained was knocked off balance. Just as Selene reached the crater Gladion was in, she instinctively ducked and yelped as the flying beast landed harshly far too close for her comfort. With the dust gathered in the air, she couldn't quite see the beast or the result of its crash landing, but she wasn't too keen on finding out, either. Skidding down the slope of the crater to where Gladion was, Selene panted and cried, "Gladion! What's going on over—…"

She trailed off as she found him and Null slumped beside what Selene could only think to describe as a mess. She gritted her teeth and winced at the sight, Hau soon joining her. Together, they saw what might have once been a Nihilego was scattered across that crater, glass shards and massive chunks of rock gathered about it. A severed, glassy tentacle was all that had told Selene it might have been a Nihilego at all. In the center of the debris, a thick layer of broken glass provided a bed for a lifeless Lusamine, the glass having ripped many small, bloody cuts into her back and arms. Her previously blond hair was a splotchy mix of black, brown, and sickly gold, her skin dappled and discolored with bruises and blood alike.

Hearing Nebby roar way too close, not to mention the added trepidation from feeling the ground tremble below her, Selene swallowed against a dry throat. "Gladion," she started to plead, "we have to go, come on, please… I said we'd leave if things got too out of hand, I think this is the definition of out of hand—"

"She's not dead," Gladion softly interrupted, not so much as glancing back at her. "She's still breathing… But I can't move her, the glass…"

The earth shook again, violently, this time. Selene fought to keep her footing and shook her head. Feeling some desperate frustration, she stamped a foot. "Gladion, please! I thought you hated her, anyway—there's probably nothing that even can be done, look at her!"

"But what if it was just the Nihilego…? What if she can be saved, now…?"

Just as she went to open her mouth to frustratedly implore him to move yet again, Selene felt a weight on her shoulder, and when she jolted to look at the source, she found Hau smiling at her warmly. "Ae, I'll handle," he told her. "Go get Lillie, get the others together."

Genuinely surprised—Selene was fairly sure Hau and Gladion didn't get along, after all—she just breathlessly nodded. "Right, okay," she whispered. "Okay." Turning away, she fought to climb up the crater's bank, and with some help from Bowtie, found herself at the crest of it. But at first, she thought she had fallen back in—because she found herself looking down the bank of yet another crater. This one, however, was different in that there was no broken glass… just a gentle slope down to the trough of the hole. The beast in the center of this one looked almost made of stars, and Selene realized she recognized this creature.

She had seen it from Tapu Fini's eyes. The Moon Beast. Pink eyes flitting tiredly, the beast looked up at Selene, and struggled to raise her head. In the end, she closed them, and her head slumped back against the earth, but she slowly unfurled those star-spangled wings and revealed that she was not the only thing in this crater. Someone in a suit similar to what she had seen Dulse and Zossie wearing in the past was cradled against the Moon Beast's chest, unmoving and unresponsive. Against her better judgment, Selene slowly picked her way closer to the Moon Beast and touched the spine of her wing with quivering fingertips. She was cool and smooth to the touch, but she was practically vibrating… was that her breathing? Was it truly that rapid…? Just how long had she been fighting…?

Bending down to the person tucked against her chest, Selene groaned as she tried to flip them over. Within a couple of seconds, Bowtie was eagerly assisting her, and when the person rolled over, the visor of their helmet lifted as if of its own accord (or perhaps it was broken; that seemed more likely, given the cracks in it), and Selene almost screamed, scrambling away from them. "Elio?" she shrilly squeaked, tears forming at her eyes already. She felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck her in the chest with the shock, and she collapsed to her rear, only narrowly catching herself with her hands to stop from slamming her head into the earth.

Bowtie, however, was unbothered by the revelation, instead only eagerly nosing and pushing on the suited man. After a breathless second or two, Selene saw him cough, and stiffly try to stand back up. The Moon Beast made no effort to do the same, but within the minute, Elio was standing upright and brushing himself off. It didn't appear he noticed her right away, or even Bowtie for that matter, as when he finished dusting himself off, he looked straight at Selene—and it was like watching a Deerling notice headlights. He froze, his jaw fell open, and they both stared at each other for what could have passed as a small eternity.

"How—it's—it's—oh, Elio!" Selene yelped in the end, throwing herself at him to hug him tightly. She had so many things she wanted to ask him, but it all materialized as incoherent sobs and sounds, clutching at his unfamiliar, cold suit. She didn't notice right away, but his muscles seized when she held him, and he hesitated before hugging her back. She only fleetingly felt his chin touch the top of her head before he harshly grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away. Heart practically leaping into her throat at that, Selene wiped away the tears blurring her vision and waited with bated breath for an explanation from him.

All she got was those bright blue eyes of his own glassing over as he shook his head, mouthing something at her she didn't understand. Anxiously grinning at her, he started to walk her away.

Digging the toes of her shoes into the earth, Selene angrily fought against his pushing. "No!" she yelled, wiping her face again. "Where have you been? What's—why—" Why are you pushing me away?

Looking back at the Moon Beast, Elio appeared to sigh, but then his face lit up. Practically beaming, he hugged her close and touched his forehead to hers, all too much like when he had told her goodbye aboard Aether Paradise. Freezing up at the familiar scene, Selene wondered, terrified, just what he was about to do, but that was when everything around her melted away with the start of a vision. Distantly, she heard his voice vaguely, though as impersonal and garbled as it sounded, she wondered if she was hearing a thought as opposed to his voice. It was spoken in Kantonian as well.

"Maybe I can't talk to her, but I can show her…"

She dug her fingers into his suit as she felt reality slip away from her. Although wanting desperately to know where he had been for so long, more than anything, she just wanted to cling to him, to feel the proof that he still existed… almost to the point that living his memories, showing what had happened to him, was a hollow, hollow victory.

Hau wasn't all that sure where Selene had gone or what the others were doing, but taking a deep breath, he weaved his way through the broken glass, the shattered Nihilego, and toward Gladion. His earlier apprehensions and insecurities were burned away by the sight, like the insignificant leftover ashes from so many years feeling alone that they were, as he crept closer and saw the battered, bloodied Lusamine, nearly unrecognizable in this state. Heart fluttering as he swallowed hard against a pang of fear, Hau dared to glance at Gladion, knowing he had to convince him to leave this pit. His face was as white as a sheet and Hau forgot what he had wanted to start with as he recognized this look on Gladion's face, identified with the quavering of his voice. "Hau, I can't—I can't move," Gladion whispered, slumping to his knees. His Null jumped away, glowering at Lusamine, issuing mechanical growls at her and the dismembered Nihilego as he went. "I… I just can't…"

The loud clattering and booms from the creature of the dark fighting… whatever it had been fighting, echoed distantly, but the sounds seemed to fade as Hau sighed, resigning himself to this difficult conversation he was about to have, with someone he never would have thought he'd empathize with. Slowly, he reached out a hand and grabbed Gladion's left, raising it forcibly to flatten it over Gladion's own heart. That seemed to wrench him from his stupor, as he jolted and gave Hau a frightened look, confused by the sudden sincerity.

In Alolan, Hau deliberately chose his words, carefully whispering to him, "Everything will be okay." Withdrawing his hand once he was sure Gladion wouldn't move it again, Hau made the same gesture, closing a fist over his own chest in that solemn, eternal symbol of solidarity. "Whatever happens, it'll be okay. Ae, I can't tell you how we'll get out of this, but it'll be okay."

Responding in kind, as if on autopilot, Gladion mumbled, "I… tried understanding her, I tried hating her, I tried turning to Lillie, and when all that didn't work, I tried working for someone else, running away, I tried blaming Lillie, I tried—I tried so much, but what if… what if it never meant anything anyway, because she was under the influence of…"

"Ae, don't listen to that voice," Hau insisted urgently. Giving a small, pained grimace of a smile, he realized that he and Gladion were perhaps not so different after all. Feeling his heart go out to the other, whose circumstances he recognized oh-so well, Hau wished Gladion wouldn't feel that guilt, that crippling isolation, the wondering if there was something higher he should have been shooting for, when he had just been trying to survive. Sometimes, that was all one could do, and… and that was okay… If Icarus burned away his wings by flying too close to the sun before he was ready, then it was smarter to go at one's own pace before attempting to fly Apollo's chariot, was it not?

If only someone had been there to tell me that…

Closing his eyes to take a second to collect his thoughts, once he opened them again, Hau pressed, "This is not your fault. What else could you have done? Like you said, you tried so much…"

"She's my mother… This isn't how it was supposed to go…" Gladion winced as he shifted and found glass shards digging into the knees of his pants. Null, still growling at Lusamine, and casting suspicious looks at the shattered Nihilego viscera, abruptly turned his attention back to Gladion at the small sound of pain. Immediately, he began to dig at the fractal earth beneath Gladion, digging away the shards and tossing them away. With that, Hau extended his hand to help Gladion stand back up, out of the dirt. To his relief, Gladion shakily accepted.

Looking the other in the eyes (which he had finally managed to wrench away from Lusamine), Hau nodded, "Ae, I know… I know." Oh, how I know… But I won't let you dwell on that. Not like I was allowed to do. Then, he gestured with a dip of his chin toward Null. "But look…"

Gladion followed his gaze hesitantly, looking as if he wasn't sure what to make of Null, as the pokémon went back to growling at various pieces of the broken Nihilego.

"He needs you, doesn't he? You told us that they did awful stuff to him back at Aether… That's true, isn't it?"

"Yeah… I still don't understand how he lost his helmet finally, but… yes… They did so many awful experiments on him. Whenever they were done, they operated on him to alter whatever they wanted to alter, all while he was awake, 'cause they believed he couldn't feel pain anyway. And every time the experiment was over, they had to put that helmet back on, to stop him from attacking them… I could only imagine that hurt, he yelped every time…"

Thinking back to the messy confrontation between Elio and Gladion that had led to Null leaping at the former, and glowing brightly as his helmet finally fell off, Hau thought he finally understood. "You gave up a lot to help him. I think that pokémon knows a lot more than you give him credit for," Hau suggested, gnawing at his lower lip. I know Popper did. He was so smart. I showed off all those tricks to Selene, but really, they weren't hard to teach… It was like he understood everything about me. It was everything I'd ever wanted in a friend. Continuing on, his voice starting to quaver, Hau said, "He saw Elio was going to hurt you, a-and… and even though he knew every time that helmet came off, it got put right back on, and something bad happened in between, he was willing to let it go to try to protect you better. Because you did the same for him."

Blinking and giving Hau a disbelieving look, Gladion shook his head. "You… do you really think that? That he could have just let the helmet go at any time, but kept it on until he knew he could trust me enough…?"

"I believe Popper would've done that for me, in those shoes… I don't see why Null wouldn't," Hau shrugged. "But, hey… he's not the only one. Selene's worried about you. I know Lillie is, too, underneath it all… Gladion, ae, we have to get out of here." Casting Lusamine one last glance, Hau sighed. "You can't be her hero. Even if it was the Nihilego that did it to her, really, you… you're just you." Sniffling a little, Hau cracked a weak laugh. "You're just you. We're all just us. And that's okay, ae… cousin. We need you."

"I still can't just leave her here," Gladion replied after a brief delay, though he was at least moving more than he had been a few minutes ago. Wiping his face clear of dirt and emotion, he steadied his breathing. "I—I'll come back for her, once we figure this out… Null?"

The pokémon was nudging the severed Nihilego tentacle and jumping a little when it rolled lifelessly upon his touch. At Gladion's words, he jerked his head to look over to him.

"Can you keep an eye on her? …Please?" Gladion asked, almost apologetically, as he pointed at Lusamine. "I'm… I'm sorry, I know she helped hurt you, but… please…"

Without waiting for Gladion to finish, Null trotted over to Lusamine's side and sat down. Breathing a sigh of relief, Gladion bent his knees and hugged Null tightly. "Thank you," Hau heard him whisper. "Thank you. I'll be back, I promise… And I'm glad you… you trusted me, about the helmet… I promise, I will never put that back on you."

With that settled, Hau and Gladion both started to climb out of the crater.

Breathing heavily in amazement, Lillie felt almost rooted to where she stood on the Altar's center stage, watching as the flying beast was knocked from the sky and then Nebby gave a warning roar, and shot into the air after the darker beast. Clashes of sunlit fire met with abyssal darkness, and every time, shafts of light glinted off the dark beast's crystalline body. Several times, Nebby landed back on the Altar to catch his breath, and then rocketed back after his foe. Each time, the ground shook like the earth itself might give way below her, and she could feel the heat rolling off his body…

"Lillie?" Looking over her shoulder, Selene saw Plumeria nervously looking after her. Yet, just beside her, were quite a few faces Lillie hadn't expected there.

"That's—that's the Sun Beast, isn't it?" Mallow breathlessly asked, her eyes bulging slightly.

Olivia nodded grimly just beside her, pointing out the dark beast Nebby was fighting. "And something else…"

In Alolan, Kiawe, rushing past Lillie, cried, "Don't mind that, Lana! Can't you shoot some water at the thing attacking it?"

An annoyed Lana sniped back, in Galarish, as she ran up between them, panting, "That's not how my thing works, Twinkle-Toes! Unless you can find some Go-Go Gadget arms for me so I can touch him, anyway!"

Blinking, Kiawe just said, "Eh?"

"What—what are you all doing here?" Lillie asked in disbelief, voice catching in her throat some.

"Hapu said she called 'em a little bit ago, while we were just gettin' here, somethin' about sensin' that this was prob'ly not gonna go well," Plumeria joked uneasily, flinching at a flash of bright light from behind them. Looking back at the fight, Lillie saw the dark beast land a particularly brutal, fantastically bright blow on Nebby, and he crashed to the ground in front of her.

Yelping, she jumped away, and then cried, "Nebby, get up!"

When the dust settled, however, Nebby was on his side, the stone of the Altar around him cracked and broken. The dark beast slowly descended until it was hovering just over them, finally giving them all a clear view of it. Before anyone made the decision to do anything, the beast seemed to narrow beady, red and blue eyes at them, and a horribly deep, robotic voice seemed to command the air around them.

"MY NAME IS NECROZMA. I AM A GOD OF LIGHTS AND MAGIC."

Shifting forward, it pressed massive claws over Nebby's neck, digging them in slightly. Exhausted, Nebby in his new, fiery form made no attempt to fight him off, just heaving for breath.

"ULTRARIANS HAVE STOLEN ALL OF THAT FROM ME, MUCH OF WHICH CAN NEVER BE RETURNED."

It squeezed some more on Nebby. Shaking her head in a panic, Lillie rushed forward, motivated by sheer fear, which overpowered all of her instincts, which were screaming at her to stop, that she was being an absolute idiot. Almost shrieking, Lillie wailed, "Stop! Let him go! You'll hurt him!"

"I'LL HURT HIM?" Necrozma narrowed those eyes specifically at her just then, practically scoffing the question. Paralyzed with fear from having such an oppressive creature eyeing her like that, she was deaf to the howls from the Captains, Kahunas, and others behind her, calling her to get back. "YOU KNOW NOTHING OF ME. TELL ME, SMALL ONE: DO YOU KNOW WHAT MAKES A GOD?"

Necrozma's fingertips began to glow, and Nebby finally started to struggle, hissing and clawing at the powerful hand holding him down, but ultimately failing to faze the beast.

"No, I don't!" Lillie cried. "What's wrong with you? What do you want with him? Why are—" She shut up suddenly. Everything fell into place all in one horrible moment, all as she was forced to cover her eyes as everything lit up with a blazing, fiery light.

The story Tapu Fini had weaved for them.

Everything her mother's papers had droned on about regarding Nebby and his ability to open a wormhole, even if she had mistakenly believed he could only do it once prior to dying; no, he hadn't died, he had fallen into an inactive state—evolved. Yet, because he wasn't from their world, there had been no way for even their most esteemed scientists to understand it was an evolutionary process…

…Nor for the Alolans of old to know that the Sun Beast and Moon Beasts may have just been regular, standard creatures from a world far, far away, revered into legend simply by their uniqueness. The meaning of Necrozma's question sank in with a dread that iced her veins.

Then, the harrowing warning Dulse and Zossie had given her so long ago, to keep Nebby away from her mother, lest 'The Blinding One' find its way to Alola. Not to mention, how Tapu Fini had repeatedly mentioned a beast, a terrible Beast Who Swallowed the Sun, and how it originated from a world beyond their own…

Blinking and clearing her vision, Lillie gasped in shock as she found that, in place of Nebby and Necrozma, there was just one creature now. A heaving, trembling Nebby, with dark crystals sickeningly draped and digging into his body in unnatural, contorting ways, making his eyes glow a ghostly, pale cyan. Growling and foaming slightly at the mouth, the merged beast started to hiss, digging massive, dark claws into the broken Altar's stone.

"I ONCE SHARED MY LIGHT AND MY MAGIC. I ONCE FREELY GAVE THE CRYSTALS THAT OFTEN SHED FROM MY BODY. IN EACH ONE, IS A FRAGMENT OF MY POWER. FROM INHERENTLY UNDERSTANDING EVERY LANGUAGE IN THE MULTIVERSE TO CONJURING FLAME FROM NOTHING OR PERHAPS FREELY JUMPING BETWEEN THE MEMORIES OF OTHERS… I HAD MANY, MANY GIFTS. AND I WAS THE ONLY ACROSS ALL OF THESE WORLDS."

Lillie didn't even react as Hau, Gladion, Selene, and a heavily suited man, who reminded her vaguely of Dulse and Zossie, joined her at her sides. Not even when Elio's Poké Balls, attached at a belt hidden by her shirt, began to shake violently. "You're The Blinding One… you're also the Beast Who Swallowed the Sun… Necrozma…"

The beast fearsomely roared again. "I DO NOT CARE WHAT YOU CALL ME." Whirling around, it stalked closer to the tear, still open in the sky above the Altar. "YET, DESPITE ALL I GAVE, IT WAS NEVER ENOUGH… ULTRARIANS STOLE WHAT WAS NOT GIVEN. BECAUSE OF IT, I AM BROKEN. I AM INCOMPLETE. I AM AS MUCH A PARASITE AS THE NIHILEGO THAT ROTTED AWAY THAT WOMAN'S BRAIN. I HAVE TO BE IN ORDER TO FIGHT, FOR NOW. I HARDLY HAD ENOUGH ENERGY TO SWALLOW THIS SOLGALEO. HE WAS JUST WEAK, WEAK LIKE THAT WOMAN WHO HOSTED THE NIHILEGO. BUT THIS TIME, THIS TIME I WILL NOT FALTER, AND THIS TIME, I WILL DESTROY THE ULTRARIANS. AND THEN I WILL RAZE THIS PLACE YOU CALL ALOLA FOR ALL IT HOLDS OF ME, TOO. I WILL NOT KNOW THIS CRUELTY FOREVER. I WILL REBUILD MYSELF. I AM NO LONGER A GOD, I AM JUSTICE, SINCE SUCH VICIOUS CREATURES AS YOURSELVES AND ULTRARIANS DO NOT DESERVE NOR UNDERSTAND THE FORMER. YOU WILL NEVER KNOW MY GIFTS AGAIN."

Of all things that could have interrupted such a chilling, gut-wrenching speech, it was a Gumshoos charging at the dusky-maned Necrozma from the sidelines that broke the beast's concentration. The Gumshoos slashed claws across some of the white, feathery fur of Necrozma's mane, and then darted away. Likely nothing more than mildly annoyed by the attack, Necrozma turned his head to see the source of the transgression, and Lillie gawked, realizing it was none other than Ilima that had commanded the Gumshoos from the sidelines. Kahuna Hala and Professor Kukui flanked him on either side, one with a Hariyama, the other with a Midnight Lycanroc, and they both waved at Lillie, then quickly went back to guiding Ilima, it seemed.

"What the hell are you doing?" Lillie tried shouting, though her voice was drowned out as Necrozma lumbered closer to them. What the fuck is Ilima doing here? Is he trying to get himself killed?

"YOU. YOU WEAR BANDS MADE OF MY CRYSTALS." Necrozma growled, flexing claws against the earth as he walked. His mane started to give off embers and smoke. "WHAT USE EVEN ARE THEY FOR YOU? YOU ARE BLIND. YOU CANNOT USE THAT CRYSTAL ON YOUR WRIST FOR YOURSELF. IT REQUIRES YOU TO SEE… SO WASTEFUL. SO UNGRATEFUL."

"Lillie!"

Hands grabbed Lillie's shoulders, and forced her to whirl around, meaning she only fleetingly caught sight of other Captains, like Acerola and Sophocles, as they arrived on the scene. Blinking in shock, Lillie realized she was nearly hyperventilating as Selene forced her to look at the suited man, whom she had paid no attention insofar. "What?" Lillie demanded, annoyed, wanting to go back to the task at hand. You know, like the angry monster that just ate Nebby? Lillie thought furiously. Why the hell would you stop me for thi—

Yet, all those angry words she was preparing to say died in her throat as the suited man flicked open his cracked visor, and none other than Elio gave her a goofy smile despite teary eyes. "Surprise." She saw his lips form the word, even if she didn't hear it. Not questioning that right that second, Lillie practically launched herself at him, wrapping him in a hug that might have impressed even a Bewear.

So would his reciprocated hug, she thought through a tired laugh, as he squeezed her hard against his chest, and kissed her on the top of her head. Despite the chaotic circumstances, she could have enjoyed that attention all day, but almost as soon as it began, he was pushing her away, holding her firmly by her shoulders. Despite a tear streaking down his face, he was very articulately mouthing out words to her… It dawned on her very quickly that he wasn't making any sound, not speaking at all, and that alarmed her, but she couldn't find the words to explain her confusion.

"Lillie, listen to me," she thought she caught from his strained mouth movements, "we can't let him"—he pointed exaggeratedly at Necrozma—"get into that"—then at the wormhole in the sky—"or else people will get hurt."

"Why… why aren't you…?" I don't understand…

"Do you trust me?" he mouthed at her, seemingly gripping her shoulders even tighter. "Lillie?"

Nodding vigorously, a small sob escaped Lillie. "Yes, yes," she answered finally. "Yes…"

She felt him gently stroke her cheek just before finally letting her go. Managing to clear her eyes enough to see him again, she saw him smile patiently, and 'say,' "Thank you…"

Interrupting their reunion, Selene panted above the commotion in the background, as Captains and Kahunas kept the beast busy, "Listen, that thing, Necrozma—we need to try to catch it. There's nothing else we can do at this point. If it goes back to Ultra Megalopolis, it just might go on a rampage and kill everyone there, and here, it might do that to try to get its Z-Crystals back. It's… it's hurting, and it's strong, especially having absorbed Nebby, but with all of us, we might be able to exhaust it enough to use some kind of Poké Ball!"

"Ae? What are you talking about?" Hau sounded just as confused as Lillie felt.

"Where did you learn… any of that?" Lillie asked. I mean, sure, I could tell this thing was planning to hurt people, but where did she learn all those nam—… Looking up to Elio, Lillie suddenly understood. "She saw what happened with you while you were away, didn't she?"

Elio nodded.

"Then there's no time for us to question it, I guess," Lillie sighed, then frustratedly quipped, "even though I wish you'd just talk…"

Wincing, Elio looked down. "Can't," he mouthed, tapping the helmet on his head.

Feeling a bolt of horror, Lillie froze. "What do you mean, 'can't?'"

"He means he can't!" Selene irritably spat, making Lillie glare at her. "Look, Lillie, give Elio Macho; Hau, send out your Raichu and use your Electric-type powers; Gladion—"

"I have my other pokémon with me, but Null's keeping watch over Mom," he cut her off slightly.

"Works for me," Selene shrugged. "Now, let's go, help the Captains and Kahunas whittle it down, and try and stop this thing once and for all!" Turning to her brother, Selene nodded at him, "I'll go help Lunala!"

As soon as she was done with her explanation, Lillie felt a cold shiver crawl up her spine, as it seemed they had not been the only ones to hear what Selene had to say.

"I WAS WHITTLED DOWN BEFORE. I WAS WHITTLED AND CARVED UNTIL I HAD ALMOST NOTHING LEFT… IF YOU INTEND TO DO THE SAME, THEN YOU WILL DIE THE SAME AS THE ULTRARIANS THAT ONCE USED ME. YOU WILL BECOME HISTORY LIKE MUCH OF THEIR HOME PLANET. ALOLA WILL SINK FIRST, THEN, I SUPPOSE. NOT THAT IT MAKES ANY DIFFERENCE TO ME." A bellowing roar, one that made Lillie's chest hurt, sounded just before it continued. "I WILL NEVER KNOW CAPTIVITY AGAIN IF IT IS THE LAST THING I DO!"

Is it bad that it felt a little liberating to just type entire paragraphs in capitals for a while? Sometimes you just.

Sometimes you just need to scream, man