Ch.38: The Malignant Hunger! Bring Forth the Storm of Change!
Standing over the fresh corpse of the corrupted Steelix, all Callista could do was stared in disbelief at the wretched monster chewing on the remains of his own soldier like an unfeeling beast. Callista didn't have her shadow magic right now, but even she could sense the unfathomable fury swirling inside such a monstrosity. Even with no eyes, she felt like the monster stared through her soul like any Pokémon would to a freshly cooked pie.
The sheer presence of Famine stunned both sides into a ceasefire, if only to take in the majesty of his involvement. Once inactive to the conflict, now sensing a new challenge in the form of the treacherous witch who dared to show her face to former allies. It was truly the ultimate flavor of despair: the shame and guilt of treachery.
Famine slobbered his tongue across his maw, licking up flecks of metals, then stomped towards Callista. Callista hid behind Ozaran, who raised his scythe toward the beast.
"Alright ugly, that's far enough!" Ozaran called out. "Keep walking if you know what's good for you."
But Famine paid the specter no mind and kept marching forward.
Ozaran huffed, then raised his scythe over his shoulders. "Perhaps you're not listening. So, you basically decapitated your friend here? Good for you. Meanwhile, I can literally rip into your soul and feast on it. And after a tasteful snack like that, I'm quite curious what the main course is packing."
"Ozaran," Callista hissed. "Don't aggravate that thing. Puck created it. If that's supposed to be the leading general, we can't take it lightly."
"On the contrary, you can't take it lightly." Ozaran curled his bony fingers. "I, however, have no risk of consequence."
"Yes, but if it kills me, you lose your meal ticket."
"Permission to feast on his entire soul, then?" Ozaran suggested.
Though she gave her explicit word that she wouldn't have any souls erased, Callista couldn't risk taking on one of Aeternus' monsters, knowing full well just what kind of mad science was used to conceive such abominations. Still, she needed that thing dead more than anything, and she doubted Ozaran would be enough. There were still plenty of shadows and corrupted Pokémon on the battlefield. She needed to summon that elite demon sooner than later.
"I need souls, Ozaran. Lots of them," Callista whispered. "Help me cut down the army, then we can worry about that monster."
Ozaran groaned. "And here I was looking forward to a meal."
The duo froze as Famine ceased walking and curled into a ball. Confused for a moment, their eyes widened to maximum width as a copper glyph appeared under Famine. He started spinning in place, steadily picking up speed while another glyph appeared behind him.
Ozaran narrowed his eyes. "Uh, what's he doing?"
Callista squinted and noted light glowing off the beast's armor. From how fast Famine started to speed up, the light became clearer like film strip. Copper-glowing runes. And if Callista was reading them correctly, as well as the magic glyphs' runes, she knew what type of magic he was using.
"Momentum-based," she gasped.
"What?" Ozaran huffed.
Callista jumped off the Steelix corpse, just as a black blur grazed right past her faster than it took to blink. An entire chunk of the corpse vanished instantaneously. Callista turned in time to see Famine making a wide turn and shooting back toward her, just a bit slower. She fired webs at the ground and reeled herself down right as Famine flew over her head.
"Shit!" Callista gasped. She scuttled for her life towards the approaching army of shadows. "Ozaran, collect their souls! As many as you can!"
"Can I still—"
"Yes! Eat some! I don't care, just hurry and reap!"
Famine turned again and beelined for the witch. However, before Callista could think of summoning a different demon, a streak of burning light struck Famine in his side, brandishing a white hot mark into the armor. He veered off course and narrowly avoided hitting Callista.
She stumbled backwards and looked to Wolf, who landed beside her. "Thanks, kid."
"I'll keep him busy," Wolf said, flaring the flames under his feet. "Keep McGrabby and the shadows off my tail. Helios Booster!" His jet flames increased, sending him flying toward Famine.
Famine uncurled himself and inhaled the air, sensing the approach of something hot and filled with magic. He whipped his head around and snapped his teeth at Wolf, who fired a boost toward the ground to somersault over the beast. Wolf slammed his feet down on Famine's back and poured out his heat magic into the armor.
"Burn, monster!" Wolf yelled.
Suddenly, something slimy and wet grabbed Wolf from behind and whipped him forward to face Famine. To his disgust, it was Famine's surprisingly long and acidic tongue, where its surface felt rough like sandpaper or sharp like razor wire. Worst of all, Famine reeled Wolf into his gaping black hole of a mouth, where rows of teeth chittered in excitement to grind flesh and bone to dust.
"Helios Booster!" Wolf pushed tons of heat magic out from his feet to barbeque the inside of Famine's mouth and force himself free from the disgusting, lizard-like tongue. It had a tight grip on his body, regenerating faster than his Morning Lion Form could emit.
Come on, come on! Wolf inwardly screamed.
He kept taking glances at the sky, then toward Callista as she and Ozaran shredded through shadows and fended off against the corrupted Greedent. There was a reasonable enough distance between them to advance the stages of Morning Lion, but he wouldn't be able to help Callista if she found herself in danger.
Morning Lion was a powerful spell that increased the tiers of Wolf's magic output based on the position of the sun. He was at his maximum strongest from morning to noon and weakest at night, similar to how Tony first guessed the nature of his magic. Morning Lion's power and tiers unlocked themselves through the rise of the sun. Right now, he could advance to Third Form, but forcing a tier drop would cause a significant decrease in magic. If he did that, he won't be able to activate it again for some time. It was also the stage where the radiation he gave off started passively burning other around him.
In other words, he either had to save it for a surprise attack or risk it all now. Unfortunately, now wasn't the time for risks.
"Screw this!" Wolf growled as he forced his feet together. "Helios Booster: Second Gear Afterburn!"
A concentrated beam of heat shot from his feet and set Famine's mouth ablaze. All his firepower concentrated on a single part of the tongue, burning it down under the flesh couldn't hold up against Wolf's pulling force. He ripped the slimy organ out of the beast's mouth and blasted high into the air, incinerating the rest off his body.
Wolf hung in the air panting while his Helios Booster spell sputtered. The modifier gave him the speed and heat he needed at the cost of temporary speed reduction. Time to get creative.
Meanwhile, Callista shuffled through the barrage of shadow magic raining down on her while avoiding Greedent's thousand hands. Explosions of darkness rang from all sides while claws hands swooped from all around, swiping at Callista at every chance they could. She felt the breeze of a pair swishing below her underside as she jumped over a swarm.
Ozaran did his best to keep them at bay. He mowed through arms all around and sucked up half the soul spilling out while Callista muttered an incantation to absorb the leftovers. It was a lot trickier to do moving around, but she couldn't afford the luxury of quiet contemplation without fear of impalement.
A pair of shadows leaked through cracks in the ground and grabbed Callista, hoisting her into the air. "Mistress Callista!" the left shadow hissed. "What has become of you?"
"Have you truly been brainwashed by these creatures?" the right shadow hissed. Its red eyes glowed as they scanned the squirming Ariados over. "No, much worse. Your shadow magic has been…suppressed."
The left shadow formed black fog around his claws. "Allow us to revitalize it for you, Mistress Callista!"
Callista glared. "Thanks, but no thanks. Ozaran!"
The left shadow suddenly exploded into wisps with one clean swipe of the specter's scythe. He grabbed a handful of shadow and slurped it down. "Mmm! Delectable."
The remaining shadow locked its arms around Callista's neck. "Call off your demon, Mistress Callista! This is for your own good!"
Callista snarled. "I'd sooner die than rejoin the abyss, but if you insist." She clicked her front legs together and dispelled Ozaran back into the black fog. "I've collected enough souls, anyway."
Before the shadow could question her, Callista spat a piece of stolen soul from her mouth into the mass of fog building in front of her. The shadow readied its claws to pry Callista's out until something pierced the fog and nailed the phantom between the eyes. It looked like a pale blue bullet matching the color of soul.
Instantaneously, the shadow's entire head exploded off and went ablaze in soul-colored fire. Callista slipped from its hold and crashed onto the ground with a hard thud.
"Ugh…" She picked herself up and batted her cloak clean. "Not as much as I wanted, but it'll have to do. Turzin, you ready?"
A humanoid figure stepped out from the fog. A raptor-like, scaly, blue demon with twin tusks protruding up from the bottom jaw. He had backwards kneecaps, razor fins on the back of the forelegs, and a single fun poking through the back of his ragged black cloak. He had an ammo belt wrapped around his waist holding vials, all empty.
He raised his arm from under the cloak and spun his skeletal revolver. "Tell me where to shoot."
Callista expelled stolen soul from her mouth and transferred them into Turzin's empty vials. Once finished, she asked, "You see all those freaky looking creatures around us? The ones that don't look like Pokémon?"
"Yeah."
"Them. Shoot them. All of them. Protect the Pokémon, too."
Turzin clicked the hammer on his revolver, causing soul in one vial to empty its contents into the chamber. "Target acquired."
Shadows and corrupted Pokémon charged the Ariados. She turned away while Turzin closed one eye and steadied his aim. With a flick of his wrist, ten shots went off, and at least twenty-five shadows monsters exploded with soul fire. The sudden explosion caused shadows and monsters to stop and gawked as their allies crumpled to the ground.
Turzin blew on his revolver and glared stoically at the army. "You stand before the elite demon, Turzin the Revenger." He clicked his hammer and absorbed another vial of soul. "By all means, try and make this interesting for me."
Back over with Wolf, he continued flying around the battlefield and avoiding Famine's speedy attacks. His speed had yet to recover from his last spell, causing him to meet some close shaves with each of Famine's wide turn corrections. The speed this beast moved at was insane. The air itself barely rustled every time he missed Wolf. It was like the air itself was being eaten up to destroy air resistance.
Wolf wasn't an expert on speed or momentum-based magic, as Callista announced moments ago, but that seemed to mean he just had to limit Famine's mobility. It seemed like a long shot, but Wolf hadn't been slacking off since having his right as leader downgraded.
"You and me, monster! Come on!" Wolf took off into the air.
Famine shifted his rolling body into as tight of a turn as he could make, then used the torque to start spinning his body in place like a dreidel. A glyph appeared under his spinning body, then launched him after the airborne Raboot.
Wolf's eyes widened. "You've got to be kidding—" He fired off his Helios Booster and gave enough juice to narrowly avoid having his legs cut off. "Sun Chariot!" His jet boosters morphed into miniature suns.
Famine reached the apex of his climb and formed another launch glyph above himself, pinballing back toward Wolf. In the brief window of time before and after he launched, Wolf raced into the beast's line of fire as he poured his magic into the suns under his feet.
If I can stop him in the sky, maybe there's a chance we can win. "Sun Chariot: Helios' Assault!" Both suns merged into a larger, crimson sun, to which Wolf kicked into the careening beast. After that, he clapped his hands and shouted, "Helios Riposte!"
The sunlight receded into the sphere, turning it coal black, then cracked open with light spilling out. Once it connected with Famine, an explosion of light radiated across the sky, spreading a skin-melting heat through the air. Wolf covered himself as the shockwaves threw him backwards.
Behind the cover his arms, Wolf had to laugh. Ever since he fought Tony, he has been training nonstop to increase his Sun magic's power. An explosion like that could fry the skin off Pokémon without magic, and even those with would receive the worst burns of their lives. High tier Fire magic was not to be trifled with, especially against the likes of Wolf Blazestriker—
Wolf's split second of ego stroking shattered to pieces when the smoke of the explosion split open. To his horror, the smoking mass of Famine burst through the smoke and continued on his course towards the fire rabbit. Wolf, in a moment of disbelief, froze.
That…That didn't even slow him down. That should've cooked him alive, and he wasn't even slowed down a bit?!
He regained enough sense to boost himself out of harm's way. However, a split second too late, he felt Famine's armor graze the bottom of his foot. A graze, like a loose curtain fluttering across the skin or running one's hand across silk. Brief, barely any contact, and hardly noticeable.
Except this time, it was like sandpaper moving past the speed of sound.
"GAAAAAAH!"
Wolf screamed as blood sprayed from the sole of his left foot. He grabbed his foot and seethed with tears evaporated off his face. He sputtered out of control with only one booster active. He concentrated on keeping his aerial balance, but the pain shooting through his other foot hindered his focus. It felt like a whole layer of skin was shaved off his foot.
Callista turned away from her fight and looked up at the flying rabbit, barely seeing the blood dripping from the sky. Her eyes darted to Famine, who ricocheted off another launch glyph. "Turzin, shoot the big one in the sky!"
With a quick flick of the wrist, Turzin fired a soul bullet right at Famine. Unfortunately, it pinged off his armor shell like a ping pong ball, not fazing him as he continued on his course towards Wolf.
Wolf regained a moment of clarity through pain-stricken steam tears as Famine came barreling into his field of vision. With barely a second to think, Wolf cut off the last booster and let himself plummet. He winced as tuffs of flaming hair were shaved off his ear, but not as bad as his foot.
He used gravity in his escape as he reignited the booster and accelerated toward the ground. A hole popped open underground with one of his thieves waving him in. Wolf targeted it and disappeared beneath the surface, cutting off his Morning Lion Form before he did so.
He tumbled past Inkay and a Farfetch'd. "Boss—err, I mean, Wolf!" Farfetch'd squawked.
Wolf collapsed onto his back and gripped his bleeding sole. "Frick! Shit! FRACK!" Tears streamed down his face in liquid form this time.
Inkay raced over with a first aid kit. She nearly vomited at the sight of his foot. "Oh dear…that's a lot of red."
"P-Please don't tell me that!" Wolf hissed.
"I-I don't see any bone or any muscly bits, so…it's not that bad." She quickly opened the kit and fumbled with the equipment. "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear."
Wolf glared at the roof of the underground tunnel. I should've used Morning Lion: Third Form when I had the chance. Maybe I could've burned through it. But still…is that thing some sort of juggernaut?
Callista dodged swarms of clawed hands from Greedent while overviewing Wolf's sudden retreat. She couldn't blame him for tapping out, even from something of a superficial injury. Well, superficial by her own standards. She had hoped his heat could burn through Famine's armor faster than he could regenerate. It seems Famine was designed specifically to take anything thrown at it and reduce it to nothing.
That didn't bode well for the rest of this fight, especially once he lost interest in her. Once done fighting Callista, how long before it digs up the kids underground and turns them into bloody messes? The mental image of the scene made her physically ill.
"You seem distracted, Mistress Callista!" In a moment of distraction, a hand seized her neck and slammed her against the ground. "Are you resisting the mind control?" Greedent exclaimed.
Callista, fueled with worry for the kids, ignored his taunt and yelled, "Turzin! Kill him!"
Greedent reflexively blocked his face as the raptor demon unloaded bullets into his bundle of arms. "Shadows! Apprehend that demon!"
Shadows swarmed around Turzin and grabbed his limbs. He mowed through dozens with only a few shots, but their numbers kept multiplying until the demon was completely overwhelmed in a black bubble of shrieking phantoms. Shots desperately fired from within the void, but the shadows kept increasing their numbers and size, replicating into greater numbers than he can execute.
Greedent approached the pinned Ariados witch, cautiously pinning the rest of her limbs down. He looked at her sympathetically. "I must apologize for this torment you're clearly going through, Mistress. Rest assured, we will bring you to your senses soon enough."
Callista clicked her mandibles furiously. "Though a storm we battle in, my mind has never been clearer!" She spat webs into his face.
Greedent sighed and grabbed the webs. "A futile effort, don't you think?"
"Do you honestly think an elite demon can be overwhelmed so pitifully?"
Greedent's eyes widened as a loud, thunderous bang sounded behind him. Right as he looked over his head, the entire upper half of the shadow mass exploded into a blaze of soul flame. Turzin leapt out from the mass coated entirely in the flames. His skeletal revolver had changed into a skeletal rifle with the barrel smoking with thick, soul-colored mist.
"Turzin the Revenger," Callista explained. "A demon of many talents. That revolver was for his special quick shot technique, but it has several different forms for different, specialized techniques. If one doesn't work, he can just switch up to something more fitting."
Greedent bared his teeth. "That's…That's insane!"
"And I paid the price for his contract, but at least the souls he fires can return to the afterlife anew, rather than being pointlessly extinguished for meals." Callista slipped one leg free and jabbed the webbing in Greedent's face. "Speaking of…" With a flurry of swipes, she carved a symbol into the webs. "I'll be taking yours."
"WHAT?!"
Callista widened her mandibles. "Emusnoc. Emusnoc. Emusnoc!"
Greedent let go of Callista and kicked away from her, covering his face. "I won't let you suck my soul out, witch!" He tensed up as she laughed.
"I suppose the one good thing about witch stereotypes? You weaklings are so easy to trick through fear." She tapped her legs together.
The symbol in the webs glowed, followed by an identical symbol appearing below Greedent. The ground rose up and coiled around his fat body all the way up to his neck. He gasped as the ground tightened over his throat. Callista picked herself up and laughed.
"Those tails of yours aren't meant to deliver powerful strikes, so good luck breaking out of that."
"Lady Callista!" Turzin called out.
Callista turned in time to see Famine divebombing on her position. Using her fog tether, she reeled herself over to Turzin's position, narrowly avoiding his attack. Turzin caught her, helped her onto his back, and took off running. Famine readjusted his bearings and rolled after them.
Callista glared back at the steadily approaching beast. "I was right! He needs time to build up speed! We're thinning out their numbers little by little, but that thing has been providing the most trouble so far."
"Shall I try executing it, Lady Callista?" Turzin offered.
"If you can breach that armor, sure!"
Turzin aimed his rifle and fired multiple rounds at their pursuer. Like before, the shots exploded off the armor without slowing Famine's momentum at all. Turzin glared, then aimed at the ground. One blast burned a deep hole in Famine's path, ensuring he'll fall through.
For a moment, it seemed that way as Famine passed over the hole and started to fall inside. However, once he hit the edge of the wall, he smashed through and continued his pursuit, this time breaching through the surface of the ground like a Garchomp chasing their prey. Famine mowed through the ground like it was air and slowly rose back onto the surface completely unimpeded.
"Turzin!" Callista cried.
"I understand, Lady Callista!"
Turzin morphed his rifle into a bazooka-type weapon. He absorbed three vials of soul into the weapon, then backflipped into the air. Famine rolled under the airborne demon, who aimed his skeletal bazooka and fired a concentrated blast of soul at blank point range.
Callista braced herself as a blinding flash went off, sending both her and Turzin flying backwards. A geyser of soul exploded between them and Famine, incinerating the surface of the land, spreading waves of soul all over. Turzin caught himself on the ground and kicked away from the soul wave, hiding himself behind his cloak.
Callista looked anxiously through the soul flames and, to her horror, saw Famine riding out from them, still unfazed by the destruction. He continued his chase after the pair, now steadily picking up speed.
"This thing can't be stopped," Callista mumbled.
Turzin glared. "Incredible. I've never faced a beast that could withstand my attacks so casually. What a worthy creature to face in battle."
"I just wished I wasn't here to witness it!" Callista cried.
Turzin morphed his bazooka into two revolvers. "I'm running low on ammo, Lady Callista. I require more."
Callista looked to the remaining shadow army, who were being steadily cut down by the underground team. She could see soul flying from their bodies. "This thing has to have a weakness. It can't be invincible, right? There's something we're missing, right? What is it?"
Turzin turned and ran to the dying shadow corpses. With a snap of his fingers, souls flew into his gun chambers. He turned toward Famine as the beast continued his persistent chase. "Weakness or not, I will not be intimidated by this monster. Have at you!"
He slammed both revolvers together, barrel to barrel, and fired a combined shot from both. A single, concentrated bolt slammed into Famine and predictably got swallowed up in the attack. However, that's what Turzin wanted.
"If this beast is invulnerable on the outside, then let's see how strong its insides are." Turzin snapped his fingers.
To Callista's shock, soul fire exploded out from Famine like a geyser. The beast was forced to stop and roar as the flames expelled from his mouth. It didn't seem to be harming him too much, as his skin was rapidly regenerating, but he seemed particularly distressed because of the flames.
Callista narrowed her eyes. "What the…"
Famine reared his head up and inhaled deeply, sucking up all the flames into the void that was his mouth. Once finished, he stomped his feet down and growled in Callista's direction. A newly regenerated tongue slobbered out from the cavern, whipping the air. He scuffed his feet against the ground in an expecting manner.
Callista understood his intentions. No more rolling around and chasing. Famine wanted a head-to-head battle now. Not her specialty, but she couldn't deal with the chasing any more.
Callista glared. "You ready, Turzin?"
Turzin raised his guns. "Let Hell's flames consume this beast."
Tony lay in the confines of his newfound prison, groaning as the sounds of epic battle sang beyond the outer walls of the tent. He flicked the cage bars mindlessly, finding it to be the only stimulating activity to keep his mind preoccupied without delving into what were most definitely unpleasant thoughts. Perhaps saying he was mindlessly doing something as to not think of the things on his mind sounded paradoxical, but was Tony always one for semantics?
Or perhaps he just didn't want to confront the horrible possibility that his annoying witch prisoner, who played an obvious trick to get him locked up in the first place, may have had a point about his behavior?
He couldn't help but harp on what almost slipped off the tip of his tongue to the treacherous Raboot he considered his right hand. To be betrayed after everything Tony did for the thieves, and he gets thrown into a cell. And yet, to hear himself almost say something along the lines of murder for insubordination rattled him. Tony was not above using threats like that with the shadows given they were already specters, and to the lives of actual murderers, but to a child?
As he rolled onto his back and stared at the cage's ceiling, he contemplated the spiral his life went down.
How far was too far before it became a serious problem? Was he even the same Dewott anymore? Who was Tony Sapienti if not a hollow shell of what was once a proud, suave, and confident thief?
Was it his fault he turned out so angry and hostile in the end? No! It was everyone else's. The world decided to kick Tony down once again because it was funny. A shitty father, living in poverty, taking care of his ailing mother and kid sister, turning to crime, facing the apocalypse, and now losing two people in his life he loved. One he admired, the other he cherished. The world decided to get mean, so Tony had to bite back the only way he could.
It stung. A lot. Losing Morgan and Indigo finally broke Tony. He couldn't imagine the suffering he would've gone through had it been his mom or sister in their places, but it rattled him to experience such pain through loss. Was he wrong for feeling sad? Was he wrong for feeling horrible, that he lost two people he cared about so much?
It was all the same sentiments, too, the kind you expect from such tragedy. It'll get better or it's okay to cry or all you can do is keep moving forward. As if some sentimental crap was going to change the outcome, especially when Tony could've tried so much harder.
Indigo was taken because Tony couldn't hold out against the portal dragging her away. His injuries were the reason he couldn't keep up against its suction power. If he were stronger, he could've overcome Aeternus and his goons and easily save Indigo.
Morgan could've been saved if Tony knew where he was. He could've easily maneuvered through the onslaught of Morgan's final attack and saved him. Or maybe he could've helped defeat the Shadow King. A losing battle, admittedly, but what was better than using your own corpse as a trap? Maybe if he had time to think, he could've stopped Morgan from pulling such a reckless stunt.
Maybe there are some things Tony just can't control, but that didn't change the fact he had to lose them. He suffered through so much for so long, desperately trying to keep those he loved alive. He sacrificed everything to keep his mom healthy and his sister happy. He did everything just to keep them safe. He could've done more for Indigo and Morgan.
Now wracked with that pain, what other choice did he have but to close off his heart? He didn't want to experience that heartbreak again. Perhaps if he stopped caring, he could make clearer decisions. Maybe he can help more if guided by logic. Tony's always settled for a balance of both, but it only got him into trouble. He tried desperately to be this King of Cool, but what did it amount to but belittlement and failure?
What was he supposed to learn? That failure is a cruel, unforgiving teacher? How can anyone learn if all they do is fail and never grow?
Tony covered his face and sighed. "I've tried…to learn from my mistakes, but it just feels like I'm never going anywhere. What was I supposed to learn other than my life is shit and I'm shit?" He kicked the bars. "What was that shitty father of mine trying to teach me?"
"See yourself in the eye of the storm, and reach out to the light. Grasp the truth of your nature, then set a sight for the path you trust in most."
"Your stupid riddle means nothing to me. They're just words. Nothing about this makes sense." He grasped his unshaven face and growled. "I've done everything to gain control, to close off my heart! So, why do I still feel like shit?!"
He violently kicked the bars for as ineffective as it was. He punched, kicked, and screamed his heart out, the only reliable means of offense he had left in this enchanted cage. And yet, it amounted to nothing. The worst he did was bruise his knuckles.
He took a moment to calm himself and looked down at the cage floor. "What's the lesson here? I'm not wrong. Aeternus needs to die. Is it wrong I want revenge? Aeternus is a horrible monster! Callista said as much! Is it wrong I feel so bad?"
"Instead of suppressing your rage and letting it consume you, incorporate it into your ambition."
Tony lingered on that one piece of advice given to him by his hotheaded rival. Griffin, a Grovyle driven by rage and anger his entire life, seemed like the kind of person who would get Tony's struggle. Griffin lost his clan. He had to watch so many others die, and at such a young age. Griffin spiraled his entire life. Griffin was driven by revenge, too.
But Griffin also allowed himself once again to feel sympathy. He seemed like someone closed off from the world until he joined a rambunctious team of weirdos atop a volcano. He opened up to them, even Tony when they had that heart-to-heart in the Storm Zone.
"We all have reasons to fight. Even the most selfish and distant of us who seek to live have something that keeps them from falling victim to Yveltal's grasp. That's the controlled anger. Not rage, but that motivation to continue. And you have one reason to fight."
"Reevaluate your anger. Consider your goals. Choose your path."
…Tony was stuck in the past. He, the one who was always observing and breaking down his foes, couldn't stop himself from looking to the past. It infuriated him to think he couldn't do something, so he constantly thinks of the ways he could've. But it's also pointless for it already happened. Rather than cope, all Tony could do was lash out or huddle away in the darkness.
Tony covered his face, gritting his teeth tightly. "I can't protect anyone…if all I keep doing is thinking about how much of a loser I am. I've failed over and over, but I can't improve. Do I just keep falling, or do I keep back up? And what if I never improve? What if I'm a failure for the rest of my life? What if that's my destiny?"
"If you don't let go of that fury in your heart, you'll never get anywhere. Even if you build up a resistance to the storm's power, you will still be forsaken under its dominion. That storm follows no master, no laws of nature. To truly conquer it is to become a being worthy of its power. How does one prove they are worthy if they let anger quake beneath their soul?"
Tony frowned. "What was the purpose…of the storm's test?"
"It was the worst year of my life trying to endure that storm's lightning."
"It was…the worst." Tony narrowed his eye. "To endure all that pain, yet to keep trying…"
"AAAAHHH!" Tony slammed his fists down and growled at the thunderstorm as it raged on above his head. "What do you want from me, you damn freak of nature?" He grunted and covered his wounds as he collapsed onto the rock.
"Perhaps that's enough for today." Tony glared over at his father, who stood off to the side. "There's only so much even a Storm Mage can take, after all."
Tony huffed, then pushed himself onto his knees. "I can…keep going. Just a little longer."
Leroy closed his eyes and sighed. "I admire your steadfast determination, boy, but the storm's lesson won't sink in if you keep at it nonstop. There's a point for rest and reflection."
"What am I supposed to be reflecting on? You're asking me to stand here and subject myself to torture worse than sampling the biological weapon known as your cooking!"
Leroy shook his head. "Some learn differently, boy. Some learn through positive reinforcement, while others strive stronger in criticism. Some even strive when they are called failures, for it ignites a drive to keep fighting until they prove the naysayers wrong. And some learn over time."
Tony scoffed, then struggled to his feet. "I can take another blast. I'll prove to this stupid storm that I'm worthy."
Leroy glared. "You're barely standing. It's enough progress to have survive a single one."
"And now I'll prove I can take it again. I have to obtain this power, then I can finally hunt down that bastard, Aeternus." Tony grabbed the lightning rods.
"Boy, all you're doing is putting stress on your body. You're missing the point of this lesson. Why would anyone willing subject themselves to this kind of pain over and over? It's because there's something else to than just taking a few lightning strikes. You're still not understanding why I brought you here."
Tony tightened his grip. "Because you're not telling me."
"Because you're not listening. That's the problem. You're not listening. You're mind is clouded. You're not focusing on the heart of this lesson, but the reward you'll get from overcoming, thus you seek a faster method of obtaining the storm's grace."
"What else is there other than this power?" Tony growled.
"Sometimes the greatest power isn't what is obtained, but the knowledge gained from achieving it. All you seem to care about is earning this power, but not for the reasons. Are you even paying attention whenever the lightning strikes? Do you not hear the storm's voice crying out to you, desperately trying to get the point across?"
"Maybe give me something concrete instead of a damn riddle?" Tony huffed.
Leroy sighed. "…The Storm Zone is in a constant state of chaos, striking down everything in sight. One attributes this to wild unpredictably. That is the nature of the Storm Zone, but to say it is stagnant is foolish. The storm is always changing, as does nature itself. Mysto itself has changed with the influence of magic. We have to respect nature and the lessons of the past. We learn from the past, but we cannot be bound to those teachings. Rather, we must use that knowledge to decide where to go next. We learn from the past, we decide in the present, and we march to the future."
Tony said nothing as he looked down the mountain.
"Decide for yourself what that means, for you can't control the storm's actions. Only adapt."
"We can't change the storm's nature. We can…only adapt."
Tears splattered down on the cage floor, leaking from the good eye and the bandaged eye. Tony covered his face and shuddered as he leaned back against the cage. He felt his heart thumping wildly inside his ribcage as his whole body shivered. He choked back a sob, but couldn't stop weeping into his hands.
The storm was trying to teach him how to deal with pain. Tony let himself be struck down unconscious until he forcibly connected with the storm. Instead, it was trying to tell him to manage that suffering by learning with each success. Instead of learning from his mini victories, Tony kept rushing the training. Even if his father took a year, he wasn't as clever as his son, yet he probably didn't have to get struck down every single day like Tony.
Leroy knew Tony could've adapted quicker to the storm's lessons, but he kept forcing himself to continue with the pain and struggling…because it took his mind off the pain he was feeling. That brief moment of intense agony where he was clawing away at the edge of the afterlife were the only times he could forget the pain he was suffering from. He let himself get struck down over and over because he didn't want to feel a pain worse than magically charged lightning.
Only when he closed off his heart did the storm finally listen, but was it out of pity? Or was Tony nowhere near as in control as he thought? The storm reacted whenever Tony had an outburst. It linked with his emotions. He recalled how Gwyn could do something similar when she got angry, but the warnings were more ominous. Plants would sway in her direction, on guard and ready to attack. When Tony lost his temper, something would blow up.
He refused to change, thus the uncontrollable storm responded in kind. Tony wasn't commanding the storm. He was becoming the storm, and in the worst way possible. A destructive, unpredictable force of nature…that could kill without hesitation.
Tony sank to the floor and cried into his hands. "Oh…Arceus, what have I been doing?" He dug his fingers into his face. "I…I just wanted to be stronger for them. I…I haven't learned anything." He hugged his legs and rested his face in his knees, shuddering in between sobs. "I just…I didn't want to see anyone I loved die. That's why, if I stopped caring, no one would…go after the ones I loved. How effing selfish does a bastard like me have to be…to forget about love?"
Unbeknownst to Tony, the dreamcatcher attached to his cage started to wilt, losing some of its power.
"I love…each and everyone one of you. My friends. My family." Tony paused for a moment, letting himself weep. "Mom. Cheri. Morgan. Indigo. Wes. Flint. Ella. Gwyn. Holly. Mack. Even that bastard, Griffin. Ava. Krystal. Cybil. Saffiro. Oswald. Ebony. Hugo. Wolf. Hendrix. My thieves. Everyone…" Tony clenched his fingers. "And maybe, maybe even Callista…even after everything I've said to you, even with our history, you were trying to save me. And that shitty old man. D-Dad."
Tony huddled into the corner and just let himself cry. Even with the fighting outside, all Tony could do was cry and hope for everyone's safety.
Famine went on the offensive, springing off a launch glyph and swiping his claws at Callista and Turzin. Turzin kept one arm around his summoner and dodged Famine's gnarly claws, which shoveled a chunk of dirt in a smooth slice. The beast didn't pause, continuing his hunt as he chased Turzin down. His tongue shot from his mouth like a whip, striking the elite demon in the stomach.
"Grr!" Turzin growled. He pressed his gun into the tongue and shot it in two.
Famine retracted his burning, severed tongue and stamped the flames out. He slammed his front paws down and unleashed a wave of rock into the duo. Turzin jumped over the rocks, kicked off the tallest spire, and fired down several rounds with his transformed rifle. Shots exploded off the armor, but Famine remained unfazed. He whipped his tongue and caught Turzin's ankle, then reeled him into his cavernous mouth like a fish.
Turzin unloaded several rounds into the monster's mouth, lighting it up in soul flame. Famine staggered, but endured and started inhaling the flames, vanishing into the endless void.
Callista shot webs from her mouth and caught the ground. They snapped taut, briefly holding up against Famine. Of course, the beast had strength that could outdo the tensile strength of her webs, whether regular or enhanced by witchcraft. Still, all she needed was a moment for Turzin to find his bearings.
He transformed his rifle into its bazooka form and fired a blank point blast that propelled himself and Callista away in the explosion. Turzin dug his claws down while keeping one arm around Callista, then took off running. Famine shook off the blast, then slammed down a wave of rock towards the duo.
Turzin formed his rifle again and blasted the rock apart. "Lady Callista, I'm afraid I don't have much soul ammo left."
Callista grimaced as she watched shadows and corrupted Pokémon all around dropping like flies. With Famine distracted, the kids were able to focus their time on cutting down the army, but that meant less ammo for Turzin to use. "How many shots do you have left?"
Turzin formed his revolver. "Three."
"We need to find a weakness on this thing."
"It doesn't seem to like us shooting its insides," Turzin deduced.
Callista glared. "No, it can't be that simple. He was definitely furious about us shooting inside his mouth, but for whatever reason?"
They didn't linger on the thought for long as Famine curled up and launched himself at the two. Turzin sidestepped and fired a shot into the monster's side, hoping some space remained that was armored. Famine seemed to shrug it off as he spun around for another attack. Worst of all, the ground seemed to be disintegrating in a trail behind Famine as if he were eating it up.
Turzin dodged another roll, but Famine quickly uncurled and bucked the demon with his hindlegs, throwing him and Callista to the ground. Turzin did take the opportunity to get his last two shots off on whatever fleshy bits he could find, scoring direct hits on the monster's underbelly.
This incited a furious roar from Famine before lunging at the demon. Turzin quickly pushed Callista away before dodging to the other side. Famine was shockingly fast for a creature his side and flew past Turzin, tearing his right arm completely off. Black blood sprayed across Famine as he devoured and mulched the arm in one bite.
Turzin stumbled back and covered his bleeding side. "Shit…"
Famine snarled and lunged again to take out Turzin's upper half. However, when his teeth snapped down, they tasted smoke instead. He sensed the trail of magic receding back toward Callista and started on his attack again. He curled into a ball, built up some speed, and launched himself at the spider witch.
Callista wasn't having it.
"Drogas! Bury this creature into oblivion!"
Famine never expected the giant red hand forming from smoke and swatting him into the air. Famine regained his bearings and sensed a new challenge rising above Callista. The giant centaur with six muscular arms, four of which acting as legs.
Drogas' single eye followed the flying beast. He proceeded to pound his chest and roar. "No creature can pierce me!"
Famine accepted this challenge and suspended himself in the air with a launch glyph. He built up his rotational speed, then fired down like a meteor. Drogas roared and swung his palm into the oncoming pinball.
A fiery explosion ripped through the air as the two titans of power drew on a stalemate. Drogas' unbreakable skin vs. Famine's unmatched destructive power. A collision of two forces so close to absolute that space itself seemed to distort in black flashes. Callista herself felt the rush of energy passing through her, disorienting her even. She held strong on the ground and silently pleaded for Drogas to pull through.
Of course, despite Drogas' durability, Famine's momentum magic started to pull through. Without stopping, the symbols on his armor glowed brighter, increasing his rotational speed. Soon, he wasn't just a spinning armored ball, but a ball of orange, rotating light. Drogas' durability prevailed, but his strength wavered.
The centaur growled as a strain surged down his arm. Despite no solid ground to work on, Famine was pushing down hard on his arm. Drogas dug his legs' fingers into the ground to keep himself still and steadfast, pushing his resolve up against the burning titan of Famine.
Without warning, Famine vanished.
Drogas' eye widened, catching only a visible light trail leaving his palm from his left. His reaction time was too slow.
"Drogas! On your right!"
Too late, as an orange light hammered across Drogas' face without warning, tilting him hard onto his left side. As he fought for his balance, not a second later, the light passed by again and ricocheted off his stomach, caving it in from the impact alone. It barreled into his back, catapulted against his kneecaps, bashed his nape, then concluded with an all-out barrage from every direction imaginable in the span of mere seconds.
Drogas found his foot and raised his guard as Famine's unruly ricocheting pummeled merciless into the demon's tough skin. Though no blood was drawn, Famine rapidly picked up speed by the second, going from a barely comprehensible ball of light into an unintelligible blur. It was like looking at the sun for too long and having the lingering sight of colored spots in your vision. They were faint, abstract, and in a strange limbo of there but not. Drogas could endure Famine's onslaught, but he couldn't fight back.
The ground beneath Drogas didn't fair better. In his desperation to keep his guard up, the ground slowly withered away, leaving nothing for the centaur to stand on. One front leg collapsed first, so it reached for any rock to latch onto. Another leg lost its footing, so it tried correcting. Little by little, it became clear that Famine was more than just a hungry monster.
He was literally tearing the world apart by the second. The very space around Drogas seemed to be deprived of oxygen, a resource he didn't benefit from, yet the effects passed toward Callista even as she scuttled from the destruction.
Callista nearly collapsed as she found it increasingly difficult to breathe. He's eating up the air around us. Shit!
She had to disengage the summon, but Drogas was perhaps the only demon she had who could withstand Famine's onslaught, apart from Ozaran who might not even have the speed necessary to cut the flying ball of fury.
Callista struggled to stay conscious as she tried to devise a plan. We need to stall Famine for just a second, then maybe Drogas can grab him. But that won't be enough. We need to hit him with something big. That's for later. How do we get him to stop?
Something dawned on Callista then. Famine seemed to be a bloodthirsty creature. It clearly had intentions to go after Tony, having no knowledge of her switching sides. When she revealed herself, only then did Famine intervene.
Perhaps…
Callista dug one leg into her side and drew a small sampling of blood. She stared into the visible vortex of voracious violence and threw her blood into it. It barely made contact with what could be called the outer wall before instantly being obliterated.
Callista had to pat herself on the back for her play. Famine's speed dropped significantly as he tried to search for more of the delicious blood it got a taste of. Famine was a relentless, but single-minded creature by Callista's judgment. He hadn't tasted her blood yet, and the creature with no eyes had to slow down enough to find it.
"Drogas!" Callista commanded. "Now!"
Two hands slammed between the suspended beast and trapped him inside his muscular prison. The centaur flexed his muscles and poured his strength into crushing the tiny monster into a bloody paste.
Famine, however, resisted with his own impressive brawn. He pressed his legs into Drogas' palms and pushed back against the demon's titanic strength. Drogas bared his teeth and pressed harder into Famine, who returned in kind. The demon's hands were slowly parting open, but endured to the best of his ability.
"Lady Callista!" Drogas growled. "I don't know…how long I can hold him! He's quite…difficult to squish!"
Callista narrowed her eyes worriedly. She didn't have her shadow magic, and she could only summon one demon at a time. She didn't have the time to perform witchcraft, either, or at least produce something with any killing power assuming that was possible.
We have him trapped, but now what?
"Don't worry about it!"
Callista gasped and turned around. Wolf emerged from a hole in the ground with his foot bandaged. He dropped into a runner's starting position as waves of heat emanated from his body. He locked his glare onto the trapped beast.
"I'll burn him alive. Morning Lion: First Form! Second Form!"
Wolf's body lit up with a heated glow and a fiery aura. The ground melted beneath his hands and feet.
"And…Morning Lion: Third Form!"
Sun magic radiated off Wolf's body, shaping as a mighty flame. Its orange glow shimmered and transformed into a red glow, as did the glow surrounding Wolf's body. Large, flame-like tuffs grew from Wolf's ears, heels, shoulders, elbows, and nape.
The ground, rather than melt slowly, instantly oozed into a muddy, boiling puddle until all the moisture evaporated out from it, leaving the chalky, burnt ground behind.
Wolf narrowed his eyes and started up his Helios Boosters, powering them to max power. "Witch! When I give the signal, call off your demon!"
Callista stepped back as the heat reached her. She pulled her hood over her face and yelled back, "Roger, kid!"
A torrent of flame blasted behind Wolf. He kept himself rooted firmly into the ground and focused everything on destroying Famine for good. He wasn't one hundred percent sure, but he had been watching the fight from below. Famine had armor surrounding just about every part of his body, expect his underside.
If Wolf were a betting man, he'd call that a weak spot.
"Solaris Stampede: Third Gear Revolt!"
He kicked his toes off the ground and rocketed as a solid beam of burning red light. The air around Wolf caught fire. The ground incinerated beneath him as a streak of smoked black. He reoriented him and stuck his uninjured foot out as heat swirled around it, catching fire in the most radiant red colors.
Callista had only a second to call off Drogas. The black fog surrounded the centaur and turned him semi-intangible, leaving Famine suspended in the air with the limited time frame.
Famine tried to curl himself up, but underestimated the Raboot's speed. Wolf crashed right into Famine and unleashed the full power of his Third Form into the beast's stomach. Flames burst off Famine and set him in a tumultuous inferno resembling jet fire.
An unholy screamed shrieked from the monster as he felt his insides catching fire. Layers of shadow skin bubbled and popped with geysers of flame shooting out. Any trace of shadow on his body was blotted out in burning red. The air itself mixed with the attack and added fuel to the size of the flame, burning hotter and brighter.
Callista covered herself under her cloak, her only source of protection. She weaved a glyph into the underside to give it some heat resistance, yet it still felt like her skin was catching fire. If anyone told Callista she would encounter a child with unimaginable firepower on par with her enemies, she'd have scoffed at the notion.
Guess the Shadow King was right about one thing, Callista admitted. Magic users keep getting stronger and stronger with each generation.
With his attack reaching its end, Wolf lifted his foot above Famine and shouted, "Burn into oblivion, Monster!" He slammed his heel down on Famine's jaw and kicked him into the ground like a flaming meteor.
Famine crashed and uprooted the ground akin to a volcanic eruption. Flames showered into the sky and rained down like fireworks. Wolf and Callista fled the explosion as flaming rock bombarded on them. Heat passed by them, mixing with the humidity and leaving a thick curtain of steam surrounding everything.
The smoke of the explosion, after a moment, settled and cleared away. The ground, dried of moisture, was blackened to a crisp with no visible sign of Famine, save for a single shard of armor that was no doubt ripped off within the final attack.
Wolf landed, cutting off his Morning Lion, and breathed a sigh of relief. He collapsed onto his rear and covered his face. He focused on the spot and detected no sign of Famine beneath it. No signs of magic.
"Phew…" Wolf collapsed onto his back and huffed. "That…was freakin' awesome."
The thieves emerged from their secret tunnels once the coast was clear. All but the trapped Greedent were killed in the battle. Smiles formed all around. Not a single life on their side was lost. With that revelation in mind, they popped out onto the surface and sang celebratory cheers, hugging and laughing together.
Wolf grinned lightly, then looked up at the storm clouds above. "Not bad…"
"Not bad, indeed." He craned his neck as Callista scuttled up to him. "I can see why Sapienti thought so highly of you."
Wolf groaned and pushed himself up. "He put me through the wringer when he usurped my position, though I never showed him the full arsenal." He dusted himself off and glared at the trapped Greedent, who was still struggling to get free. "What should we do with him?"
Callista glared. "He's a usable source of information to us. Question is, what do we need from him?" She scuttled up to the corrupted squirrel with Wolf following close behind. "Alright Grabby, your move. We can either kill you now or wait until you give us what we need."
Greedent kept struggling in the hardened dirt before sighing and drooping his head. "Mistress Callista, I'm appalled to see you so distressed. Torn to play this role against your own will—"
"Oh, can it! I'm perfectly fine!" Callista snapped. She crawled up to him and grabbed his scruff. "I want to know about the Shadow King. What's his condition? Is he still locked away in Wendrake's body? Has he been awakened?"
Greedent glared. "You won't get a peep out of me."
Wolf crossed his arms and scoffed. "You're the only one left. You're in no position to act smug with us."
A chilling grin appeared on the corrupted squirrel's face. "That attack of yours was quite impressive, Raboot. It could've destroyed a lesser corrupted creature of Count Aeternus' own design. Sadly, you face not a second-rate monster, but one of four perfect creations. All you did was piss it off."
Wolf raised his brow. "Please. I don't sense its energy anywhere around us. I torched it to ashes."
"General Famine is a beast that won't stop until all has been dried up. He is the weapon of despair, depriving all of everything for a slow, painful death. At least, that's the inverse to what he's capable of. You may have exploited a critical weakness, but you've only pushed Famine to his second stage."
Wolf laughed. "Oh? That wasn't his final form?"
Callista, however, narrowed her eyes worriedly. "Kid, something's wrong…"
Greedent chuckled. "When a starving beast is pushed to the brink of desperation, they call upon their inner strength to obtain their meal. Rejoice in despair as you witness…Famine's malignant hunger!"
There was a soft trembling beneath the ground. Callista and Wolf watched the tiny pebbles at their feet bouncing from rumbles beneath the surface. The thieves ceased their celebratory dancing and scanned the land in a mix of confusion and fear.
A crumbling sound reached everyone's ears, like solid rock was moments away from splitting in two, maybe more. Those rumblings turned into tremors, the physical weight of the shaking earth felt through the body. An earthquake? Or something worse? No one could be absolutely certain. After all, they defeated Famine, right? He was dead, right?
Wolf and Callista inched closer together and scanned the calm surface warily as Greedent laughed at their worry. "Deny it all you want, but you've merely angered our dear beast. And now…you'll see just how truly ravenous his appetite is. Suffer as you lose everything and struggle to survive. He will come and take everything from you one morsel at a time. He is Famine."
"Kid, where is he?" Callista hissed.
"I don't know," Wolf whispered, eyes flickering around. "I don't see his aura anywhere. Is he hiding it? I didn't think that monster was smart enough to hide his aura."
Callista traced a circle in the ground. "He can hide his magic, but not his soul." Her eyes glowed pale blue. "A beast like this…"
She froze. Her eyes descended below her legs, sensing a presence.
A presence rapidly approaching the surface.
Towards Wolf.
"KID!"
Wolf suddenly flew forward as Callista kicked him with her back legs. The ground split open, throwing them both back from the shockwave. Blood sprayed out from Callista where her right back leg used to be, torn to shreds and ripped off like dough. For Wolf, half his left ear vanished with a bloody mess flying out.
Both Callista and Wolf were too stunned for words to express pain, instead watching the curled figure rising high above them, reaching the apex of his climb.
Greedent's smirk grew to manic levels of wide. "Yes, General Famine! Destroy the world as you see fit in the name of Count Aeternus!"
With a burst of speed, Famine instantly crashed down, sending a magic wave scattering through the earth, reaching as far as the camp. A second after, the ground split open into chunks with geysers of pressurized air pushing up mountains of rock beneath Wolf, Callista, Greedent, and the thieves.
Everyone braced themselves as they flew up into the sky with a rising structure of rock taking shape and basking over the horizon of the Storm Zone. A pillar that could reach the clouds itself if it so chose.
A mountain where helpless Pokémon must survive the Famine.
Tony gripped his cage bars as a tremor passed beneath him. "What in the—"
Rock exploded from underneath and launched his cage into the air. Tony braced himself as rising pillars of rock tore the tent to shreds and bashed around his cage, climbing with the rise of the mountain and throwing him around like a loose pebble.
What the hell is going on out there?!