There was something about the place that set Finn on edge. It could be that it was enemy territory, although he had entered Plasma bases before and they hadn't caused him to react like this before. It could also be the presence of hybrids, but once again that hadn't been the case when he had previously encountered them. It was something else. Something he couldn't place a finger on.
It tickled at the back of his brain, just out of his conscious perception. It was annoying.
Actually, maybe it was the fact that despite the signs and arrows there were so many nearly identical corridors that he could hardly tell when he was making progress or going in circles. It felt like he was getting somewhere, but it was hard to tell where that was. All that said, it had only been at most five minutes since he had taken down Cyril. Finn didn't consider himself lost until he was wandering for an hour or longer. That time was cut down considerably by the urgency of the situation, but he didn't feel the pressure quite yet.
Finn turned a corner and he stopped. At the other end of the hall, at another bend in the corridor, was a Plasma grunt. The grunt whirled as Finn stepped around the corner, raising a shotgun of some kind.
"Stop right there!" The Plasma grunt shouted. After a moment, he lowered the gun a little bit. "Wait, a kid?"
A moment later, Belle and Athena also rounded the corner. The gun went up again.
"Wait a second, I know who you are!" The grunt took a step closer. "You're that kid Doctor Cyril warned us about! How'd you get in here!?"
Finn shrugged. "Back door wasn't dragon-proofed, and Cyril's a little under the weather."
"What!?" The grunt's jaw dropped, then he gritted his teeth. "Hands up, away from your belt. You give any commands to your pokémon and you're gonna get it!"
Finn complied. He wasn't very worried about this. He was pretty sure that his jacket was bulletproof, but more importantly he could just become intangible to become immune to bullets. He could handle this easily.
"Alright, now I want you to unclip that belt, and tell your pokémon to back off." The grunt waved his gun.
"Athena, Belle…" Finn trailed off, and he could hear Belle backing up. Athena moved silently, but he knew she was doing the same.
"The boss is going to be super pleased with me for this one." The grunt chuckled to himself. "I wonder why they made such a big deal out of some kid?"
"Vibe check!"
The grunt jumped and whirled towards the source of the shout, only to meet a metal baseball bat coming the other way. There was the hollow ringing of aluminum meeting face, and the grunt crumpled to the ground in an unconscious heap.
From around the corner stepped Anthony, holding a metal baseball bat in both hands. Hovering over his shoulder was Hecate the mismagius, a ring of purple flames floating around her. Anthony gave Finn a wide grin as he stepped closer.
"Heya Finn!" Anthony said, lowing the baseball bat. "I told you I'd be able to help."
"What." Finn blinked and lowered his hands. "Was that?"
"Oh, just a meme. I figured it'd distract him enough to get the drop on him." Anthony shrugged.
"No, why are you attacking a guy who has a gun?" Finn asked sharply.
"Be-cause he was about to shoot you?" A puzzled expression came over Anthony's face. "I'd think that's a good thing."
"I'd be fine if he shot at me. My jacket is bulletproof, I can turn my skin to steel, I can turn intangible." Finn demonstrated these last two, waving one hand through a wall and turning the other into metal. "And, to top it all off, I can just put up a shield. I told you I'm fine."
Anthony faltered for a moment, then spoke. "Yeah, but I'm here now. And I can help. I've stockpiled useful items. I've got pester balls, smoke bombs, repellants – those really hurt if you spray them in someone's eyes, trust me – and medical supplies of all kinds. I've got Hecate to distract and disrupt, and I can send out Ares or Poseidon to do heavy lifting or attacks. I don't have powers or combat training or anything like you do, but I'm not helpless. I want to make a difference."
Finn opened his mouth, then stopped. A large part of him wanted to say no. This child wasn't prepared for the consequences. He wasn't ready for the horrors he would face. He couldn't defend himself if he was caught without his pokémon.
But… Finn wasn't much older. The consequences for Finn were just as drastic. There were horrible things ahead for everyone if Finn couldn't reach Ghetsis and disable that mind control device. And if the odds could tip even a little bit into his favor thanks to Anthony's help, he had to take it. He had to.
"Okay." Finn took a deep breath and looked over at Athena, who gave as close to a shrug as she could without movable shoulders. "Yeah. Okay. I understand. You want to help. Let's go."
Finn started walking, making his way towards Anthony.
"Just like that?" Anthony seemed hesitantly positive. "You're not going to tell me to leave?"
"There wouldn't be much point. You're here now, and besides, I think I could use a little bit of help." Finn paused. "I did almost get captured by one hybrid. There's definitely more."
"Alright then!" Anthony rested his bat on his shoulder and stepped up to keep stride with Finn. "Where to?"
"I don't know. I just… have a hunch." Finn shrugged.
"Like, some kind of destiny?" Anthony asked.
"Probably not, but to be honest I have no idea." Finn shook his head. He looked up at a sign hanging on a doorway. "Cloning labs… why here?"
"Maybe there's something inside that you need to see?" Anthony suggested.
"Hmm…" Finn narrowed his eyes. "Maybe. Come on."
Finn stepped into the cloning chambers, his pokémon and Anthony right behind.
O-O-O
"Detecting multiple high priority targets approaching. Psychic signatures familiar. Attempting to identify."
"Based on what Tyson said, it's probably Ada and Terrance. Can you confirm?"
"Affirmative. Targets identified. Terrance Jackson and Ada Renner converging upon our location. ETA T-minus sixty seconds. Heather Illevith detected at the edge of psionics. Approaching at rapid speed."
"On your mark, then."
Athena Ferris readied her warhammer from her position atop Xollen. The turquoise metal head of her weapon was extraordinarily dense, which was to her benefit since it made every hit with it more impactful. She held it close to the handle (head?) for precision. Her target wasn't particularly durable, but she was hard to hit. That's why Xollen was handling the timing.
A quick glance around ensured that she was safe from the encroaching horde of undead. Kasparov was, as always, far too fast for his opponents. Clarent was dishing out shadow claws to anything that dared get within melee range, and throwing energy-based attacks at anything else within eyesight. Mostly more undead. That was the biggest downside of charging headlong into the center of a horde of zombies: you got surrounded very quickly. Not that being surrounded mattered that much, considering just how little attention the spiritomb was giving her. It didn't consider her a threat. That would be its downfall.
"Mark"
Athena swung her hammer at head height, colliding with something that had been moving so quickly that she could hardly see it. Heather, in her mutated part-ninjask form, collapsed to the ground as the wind was driven out of her lungs. Her own speed had gotten the better of her, causing her to slam into the weapon before she could react. As soon as she was on the ground, Xollen placed one heavy foot on her chest, claws clamping onto the ground around her to keep her from getting free.
"Sorry dear, but you're going to have to stay there for a while," Athena said as she glanced down at the trapped hybrid.
Interestingly, Heather hadn't reacted as quickly as Athena had expected. Even at the speeds she had been traveling, Heather had lightning reflexes. There should have been some kind of attempt to dodge or swerve around the attack. Even if she couldn't fully avoid it, Heather should have tried.
Unless, of course, she had flown into it deliberately.
That indicated that the mind control was imperfect. It wasn't brainwashing, it was puppeteering. The distinction was usually surface-level, but important. That meant that the hybrids weren't fighting at full power.
"Detecting the attention of a large entity. Imminent possibility of coordinated assault from both undead and hybridized foes," Xollen said, hunkering down to prepare a psionic blast.
An instant later, the undead surged towards Athena's position. Kasparov was cutting them down as fast as they came, dismembering rotting limbs with precise cuts. Every slice disabled a corpse, at least temporarily. Clarent was similarly effective, imbuing every hit with spectral power to keep the spiritomb out for just a little bit longer than mere dismemberment could. Kinetic blasts of psionic power hammered away those that got too close. Athena herself crushed the undead that managed to shrug off Xollen's powers, her hammer destroying the zombies with ease.
From behind the backline of zombies a humanoid form leaped towards her. Its body was twisted and hunched, with fused fingers that resembled malformed hooves. A mane of thick black and muddy red fur started above the hybrid's forehead and ran down its hunched back. Its eyes were wide and wild, its face deformed and unnaturally elongated. It jumped over Kasparov, stomping the bisharp in the side of the head with a heavy hoof and using the momentum to lunge towards Athena.
She recognized Terrance immediately, despite how horribly deformed he had been. Combined with his mudsdale.
Athena raised her hammer to knock him aside. She knew that the blow would only serve to increase his durability, but she had to do something to protect herself-
A shape blurred through the air, intercepting Terrance and driving him to the ground. It was a greninja, striking rapidly with watery swords.
"Daniel! His ability's stamina. Every hit increases his skin's thickness!" Athena shouted over the chaos of the battlefield.
"Right. Eddy, back off! Special attacks only!"
The greninja leaped off of its foe to land at Xollen's feet, then threw a pulsing blast of water at Terrance. The water wrapped around Terrance's limbs, forcing him to the ground.
"You figured that out quickly," Daniel said, becoming visible from his position next to Xollen. Maria appeared as well, and above them Lumin the malamar hovered lower down. "You would not believe how close we were to getting shot down on accident."
"I thought you said you weren't going to be on the battlefield?" Athena asked.
"Yeah, well, I'm a lying liar who lies." Daniel shrugged. "Besides, you didn't tell me that Torina was already going to watch troop movements."
"You didn't check in for assignment, or I'd have you do the job." Athena shrugged. "You just decided on your own, without consultation."
"Well damn." Daniel faked a heavy sigh and slipped one hand into a suit pocket. When his hand emerged, there were metal loops around his fingers. The other hand pulled a collapsible baton from a hidden pocket, which he promptly snapped to full extension. "I guess that means I've gotta fight. Aw heck."
"Oh no," Athena said sarcastically. "What if it ruins your suit?"
"Why'd you have to bring that up?" Now Daniel seemed genuinely upset. "I like this suit. It's not going to survive this chaos."
Terrance finally wrangled himself free from Eddy the greninja's water-control abilities, letting out a whinnying scream of agony. He slammed a fist into Eddy, sending the greninja flying, then let out another scream.
A huge shape barged through the zombies, bashing them to useless heaps as it charged towards Athena and Daniel. Its bulky form was larger than any human being, heavily muscled and covered in thick hide. A black plate of bone or other armor adorned the top of its head, unkempt tufts of brown hair sprouting up around it. Its face was flattened and blunted, with fangs visible when it roared. The hybrid was wearing the tattered remnants of clothing, leaving its midriff bare. There, Athena could see a large pouch, with a shuddering, lavender shape curled within.
Athena felt a chill run down her spine. They had forced Ada to fuse with her kangaskhan, and worse they had forced her to bring the kangaskhan's child.
As Ada approached, Athena thought fast.
"Kasparov, strike the heart. Maria, assist," She ordered, readying her hammer.
"Heart of what, boss?" Kasparov asked. Maria dropped into a running stance.
"The spiritomb."
"Will do."
The air distorted for a moment, and both dark types were gone. Disappeared into the horde of zombies. She could see the aftereffects as they cut down anything unfortunate enough to be in their way.
"You know, normally I'd say don't tell my wife what to do, but when you talk like that even I'd do whatever you tell me to do," Daniel commented as he readied himself for the charging hybrid. "Wouldn't even need to be a battlefield."
"Shut up, Daniel." Athena rolled her eyes.
Terrance made another leap for Athena, intercepted only by Daniel launching a vicious uppercut that sent the mudsdale hybrid stumbling. That was a good move, Athena had to admit. Terrance had something of a glass jaw, and the effects of a mudsdale's stamina ability wouldn't be enough to cover that weakness. Not yet.
By acting in communion with Xollen, Athena directed Clarent telepathically. Through the metagross, she commanded him to engage an aggressive assault on Ada. She couldn't let Ada get going. Her kangaskhan was absurdly strong, enough to match Xollen on a good day, and with Ada's skill in adaptation that made her one of the biggest threats on the field, second only perhaps to the spiritomb that commanded the zombie horde.
She only just caught Clarent before it tried to impale the baby kangaskhan, and an angry glare told the ghost sword all it needed to know.
An instant later, Kasparov returned. No longer cloaked by illusion, he made a glancing strike at Ada's leg as he blitzed past. He came to a complete stop a couple of feet from Xollen, holding an ancient stone in one hand. He hadn't made it unscathed, with scratches and dents on his metal plating.
"Okay, what now?" He panted, holding it up.
"Where's Maria?!" Daniel asked incredulously. He swatted a zombie with his baton, the blow causing its fragile spine to crumble.
"She said she wanted to have a little more fun before we did something with the rock," Kasparov said. "Speaking of-,"
A spike hurled through the air, likely aimed at a completely different target as it careened towards Kasparov. It slammed into his neck, stopping.
Kasparov blinked and opened his mouth, but instead of the synthesized voice that Athena was used to, the collar emitted only garbled static. He frowned and pulled the spike from his collar, looking up at Athena with quite possibly the most pathetic expression she'd seen from him in almost a decade.
"Oh calm down, we'll get you a new one." Athena shook her head. "Get the spiritomb to Carsen, he'll know what to do."
-ThE LiBraRiAN cAnNoT HElP YoU- The spiritomb's voice hissed from a nearby zombie, its empty eye sockets lighting up green.
"Shut up." Daniel punched the zombie in question, causing its weak neck to snap.
Kasparov was gone again, running across the battlefield to the position Carsen was holding. Athena hadn't seen the psychic specialist since the massive psychic creature disappeared, but she assumed he was fine. He was near Aelius and Nik, after all.
A moment later, all of the zombies let out the same anguished scream as the purple mist flowed out of their bodies. The mist flowed into a massive purple ball in the sky, a tortured face appearing in green lights from within the mist. The scream spread over the whole battlefield, and even Athena and Xollen couldn't keep their focus in the supernatural cacophony.
And then it was gone.
Athena and Daniel, along with their pokémon, were surrounded by long-dead corpses. The only threats left to face them were three hybrids, one of which was already incapacitated. Athena checked on Heather, who was still writhing.
"As I said, dear." Athena looked up to see Maria and Kasparov returning from different directions to help face down Terrance and Ada. "You're going to be there for a while."
O-O-O
There was something about unethical science that led to creepy lighting. Finn wasn't sure if it was inspired by movies, or if the movies were inspired by the actual experiences of people who had seen cloning labs, but it was pretty consistent. The laboratory was lit only by bulbs behind the massive glass tubes that contained unfinished or malformed creatures. The green liquid inside the cloning vats tinted the entire place green, which was both unnerving and mildly annoying since it made everything harder to see.
"Whoah…" Anthony gasped as they stepped into the cloning lab. "I read the sign but I didn't expect… all this…"
"Well, when you do one kind of illegal experimentation, you tend to do more as well." Finn shrugged. He stopped in front of one cloning vat, looking up at the creature within. It was some sort of bipedal feline – maybe? It didn't have fur, and its neck was a tangled mess of tubes and bone instead of, well, a neck. Its lower half wasn't even partially formed, leaving its spine exposed below the stomach. Its pale skin was dotted with darker spots that indicated that its veins weren't properly formed. Finn shuddered.
"Yeah, but…" Anthony looked up at another vat, a partially formed human inside. "Hecate, is there, like, a soul in there?"
The mismagius floated up and tilted her head, placing one tendril on the glass. A moment later she shook her head, backing away.
"Huh." Anthony furrowed his brow. "Does that mean that clones…?"
"I heard, somewhere, that the 'soul' is just another word for 'aura'," Finn said, also stepping over to look at the human in the vat. Saying 'somewhere' was almost a lie, since he had actually heard it from his father. "Aura is, after all, life energy. But your aura doesn't just come from your body working. You need a little bit from someone else. And even a little bit of love is enough to give a tiny fragment of aura to someone. That's how bonds form, after all. And then, once you have that fragment, it can grow and develop into a full aura."
"So, they're not soulless. They just haven't received any love yet." Anthony frowned. "That's… sad."
Finn looked out at the other cloning vats, Athena floating up to look over his shoulder. He closed his eyes to look through her eye, and what he saw only confirmed the notion. Nothing in the vats had an aura. Nothing. None of them had been shown even a crumb of affection. Which, honestly, made sense if Cyril was the one to make them.
Finn paused, looking at one vat in particular. Floating within was a humanoid shape, but it was very much not human. Its skin was white, beyond the normal pale humans were capable of. Its arms were green in color, ending in short digits. A teal fin adorned its head, and a red crest jutted out of its chest. It was a gallade.
"Oh." Finn walked over to the vat, looking up at the fully-formed yet soulless gallade. "This is why. Huh."
"What's up with the gallade?" Anthony asked.
"He's why I'm here." Finn took a pokéball from his belt and released Crai.
Cratarot looked around confused until he saw the gallade. Then understanding dawned.
"Oh. Huh." Crai rubbed his chin. "That remind you of anyone?"
"You already know what I'm thinking," Finn said. "He did give me everything."
"Do you think he planned this? Or foresaw it?" Crai asked. "He did touch that orb."
"He didn't." Finn shook his head. "I know everything he ever knew. He never knew this was a possibility."
"There's also a sizable chunk of his aura in yours," Athena pointed out. "If you wanted to, we could just put it all into the clone and bring him back."
Finn laughed quietly to himself, shaking his head. This was far too convenient to be a coincidence. If someone other than Darkrai was guiding his actions, they must be having a laugh.
"Um, what's up?" Anthony asked, confused.
"You'll find out shortly," Finn said. "Crai, can you go through and separate what's mine and what's not?"
"If you're sure…" Crai hesitated.
"I am." Finn nodded.
"Then yes." Crai closed his eyes, and Finn felt something enter his mind.
It didn't even take a minute for Finn to feel the effects. He gasped, leaning heavily on the glass of the vat. Tears pooled in the corners of his eyes, and he wasn't quite sure why. It felt like someone had just ripped something important out of his chest, but he couldn't remember what it was.
"Finn, are you okay?!" Anthony's voice sounded farther away than it was.
"Just… trying to figure out who I am after getting a hundred fifty years of memories removed," Finn answered. "Having a bit of an identity crisis."
A moment later and it was over. He was him again. He felt a bunch of emotions hit him all at once. Regret at telling Anthony off. Terror at running into battle. Confusion. A lot of confusion. At just about everything.
"Oh Arceus," Finn gasped. "I really don't have time to be having an existential breakdown."
"Go ahead and do your aura stuff. I can't deposit the memories without a mind to target," Crai said.
"Right." Finn closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
When he let it out, he pushed with his aura. Athena floated beside him, pulling and tugging at bits of his aura with her sashes to isolate a piece that felt ancient. With just a sliver of his own aura attached, and leaving just a sliver behind, Finn shoved the chunk of life energy into the clone. A mental weight lifted from Finn an instant later, giving the clone the mind that it needed in order to be.
The gallade in the vat opened his eyes, looking around in panic, which gently faded into confusion. He closed its eyes, and in a flash of pink light, teleported out of the vat. He opened his mouth to speak and coughed, green fluid spattering on the ground. After a couple more coughs to clear his lungs, the gallade spoke.
"Finnegan?" The gallade asked, its voice soft. "Why am I alive?"
"I don't know." Finn shrugged, holding his head. "Maybe it is some kind of fate? Or sheer coincidence? I just… the opportunity was there, and I can't just - I can't do nothing. I could do something to help, so I did."
"Huh." The gallade looked down at his hands, blinking rapidly. "So you did."
"For what it's worth, I'm super confused but also very impressed," Anthony said.
"Right, sorry." Finn ran his hands through his hair, then gestured at the gallade. "Anthony, this is Ratherian. A couple months ago he gave me his knowledge on fighting and, well, everything else, in order to preserve his legacy and make a difference. I just dumped those memories and an appropriate aura into a suitable but non-living body."
"Right…" Anthony slowly nodded. "I'm sure that makes sense, but I'm going to need a couple of hours before I understand it."
"You know what, that's fair," Finn said.
"There is quite a lot of nuance to the situation, but the explanation can wait until later," Rath said telepathically, morphing one arm into a blade for a moment. He turned to Finn. "How may I assist in your endeavors, F- Finnegan? Are you okay?"
Finn blinked, reaching up to touch his cheek. He was still crying. He couldn't figure out why. But he also knew why.
He could feel Rath on a level he hadn't experienced with anyone other than Athena. Feel his emotions. Felt his confusion and worry and the very faintly bubbling anger that had been boiling in Finn for the past two months and was now gone. Finn could feel Crai's concern and his disdain for Rath. He could feel Belle's disease (unease?) being in this Plasma fortress. He could feel, even from this far away, Jitters' anxiety about Cyril, and the drive to make Finn happy.
"Oh," Finn choked out. "That's new."
"What's going on?" Anthony asked.
"I… I think I'm going to need time to process this." Finn swallowed. "Although I doubt we have enough time for that. I'm… fine enough."
"You sure? Because you don't look fine," Anthony said.
"As I said, we don't have time." Finn shook his head, blinking the tears away and furrowing his brow.
Finn started off, pausing when he noticed that the others weren't following. He turned around to see their concerned looks and confusion.
"Come on." Finn tilted his head, resuming his march away from the cloning lab.
He didn't turn around again. He needed to get this done, and tears wouldn't help. They could wait for later.
O-O-O
Iris wasn't quite sure what she had been expecting when Zane called for her help, but this was pretty far from it.
She had known that Plasma had moved operations to Toreta for a while now, but she thought it was similar to the last two times. A relatively small-scale affair, maybe a superweapon or legendary pokémon. Probably both. The first time, Team Plasma had fallen within an hour of showing off their fancy underground castle. The second time, it was only a couple days after they froze Opelucid City when Ghetsis was defeated again. Here in Toreta, though? The past five years had apparently been very busy for Team Plasma. The past year especially, given just how many hybrids there were.
Iris' haxorus smashed through another hybrid – this one covered in steel plating – and let out a frustrated roar. Iris couldn't blame her. These hybrids just kept coming. For every hybrid dragon pulsed, hyper beamed, or outraged, there would be two more to take its place. In fact, she was pretty sure she'd seen one or two of them multiple times. Which, honestly, was a pretty bad sign.
"Alara, hit them with another dragon tail!" Iris ordered.
Alara the haxorus roared and swept her tail into the horde, sending hybrids flying backwards but ultimately leaving them unharmed. Even the most fragile hybrids were too durable for the attack to do anything notable. That's why Tetra the hydreigon was hovering above, firing blasts of fire, dragon energy, and everything else into the staggering hybrids.
And… it wasn't enough. They kept getting back up anyways. The overwhelming force of a champion-level team only served to hold them back, without making any progress. It was a volatile situation, one that couldn't last forever. Or even an hour, considering that even top-level pokémon were used to fights that lasted five to ten minutes at most.
Twenty feet away, Cynthia looked like she was having the same problems. Nothing could keep the hybrids down for long, not even that garchomp. And it was one of the most powerful dragons Iris had ever seen; not counting the times she had caught glimpses of the legendary dragons of Unova, of course. Even still, the hybrids were too much. Far too hard to disable for any length of time, much less for long enough to allow Finn a chance to take down the mind control device.
In short, it looked pretty hopeless.
A hybrid that looked to be part steelix and part human swatted Alara aside, then headbutting Tetra out of the air. When Cynthia's garchomp ran up to strike it, the hybrid ignored the strikes until a lucky blow knocked it off balance. Then it fired a hyper beam at point blank.
As the garchomp went flying, a form swooped down to catch it. The flying pokémon set the garchomp on the ground and a rider hopped off, before the charizard flew back up into the air and let loose a blast of flame that engulfed the steelix hybrid entirely.
"Hey, sorry I'm late!" The newcomer said, stepping over to Iris. His unruly purple hair was swept back into a ponytail, and held in place by a black baseball cap. He donned a cape as he landed, giving a confident grin. "Finished up with the dynamax problems and came as soon as I could, but I got lost for a couple days. Would you believe I wound up in Orre?"
"Leon! You have no idea how glad I am you're here!" Iris sighed in relief.
"It's good to have the big guns here," Cynthia said. She had pulled a potion from somewhere and was tending to her garchomp as her lucario held off hybrids. "Even if all of us would be considered the 'big guns' to most people."
"Well, I'm not world champion for nothing." Leon grabbed two more pokeballs from his belt. "Dragapult, Mr. Rime, let's go!"
Two more pokémon appeared on the battlefield, letting out their own battle cries before going to work.
"How'd you even find us, anyways? You're awful at getting where you need to go." Iris said, arching her brow as she glanced over at Leon. "No offense."
"None taken." Leon shrugged. "To be honest, it's pretty hard to miss all of, well, this. But I had a little help from a mutual friend."
"Who?"
"One moment…" Leon looked skyward, then pointed. "There he is!"
Iris followed his gaze and gasped. A huge shape flew through the air, its dark form imposing and foreboding. The scaled form crackled with lightning, its conical tail thrumming with power. On the legendary pokémon's back was a human shape, and even from this far, Iris could see his mass of green hair. The dragon spoke.
[I know you are not yourselves, mortals. As such I will hold back. But know you face the power of Zekrom.] The legendary dragon's voice boomed across the battlefield, accompanied by a crack of thunder. [For the good of the world, and the people that live in it, I will not permit you to succeed.]
And Iris felt hope.
O-O-O
The next place Finn's instinct directed him was some kind of prison.
It was just as horrible and unnerving as the cloning lab, honestly. Probably more so, since everything that was sealed away in these cages were alive. And it looked like most of them were human. Or at least, mostly human. It made sense that any hybrids that wouldn't be useful in the actual conflict would be held in cages like this, but that didn't make the prospect any less disturbing.
One cell contained a sharpedo hybrid, leaning against a wall and struggling to breathe. She had to continually take handfuls of water from a nearby sink and splash it on her neck just to stay upright. Another cell had a man with metal skin and three eyes, fruitlessly trying to pull his hands off of a metal bed frame. The third cell contained a hybrid whose joints were covered in clusters of ice, rendering them immobile. A fourth cell had a slumped humanoid form in the corner, its skin melted into a pink mass that pooled against the wall, leaving it only barely identifiable as once human. Finn stopped looking at that point.
"Oh… Oh Arceus…" Anthony said quietly. "We have to help these people."
"We are," Finn replied. "We're going to. We…" Finn stopped, swallowing. "We can't help them yet. We have to end it all before we can free them."
"Still…" Anthony trailed off.
Finn turned around to look Anthony in the eye. "I promise, when we take down Ghetsis we'll come back to help these people. But right now, they're safer in here. They're in these cells because they can't fight, and letting them out means that they'll have to try to fight their way out of here. Okay?"
"…Yeah."
"We're here for one person. Just one. He won't be fighting, but we do need him."
"Who?"
"I don't know yet." Finn turned back around. "But I've got a few ideas."
"How can you not know yet?" Anthony asked.
"I'm pretty sure there's some subliminal precognition going on, but I don't know for certain." Finn rubbed his temples. "I've already shown you the abilities I got from Athena, but I'm pretty sure I've begun manifesting powers from the ralts family of pokémon."
"…How?"
"I'll explain in detail later, but it's an aura thing." Finn shook his head. "A unique aura thing. One which made my life awful for fourteen years and has only recently had any sort of benefit. Except that right now it's giving me a headache."
"…Okay," Anthony said eventually.
There was silence for a moment as Anthony, Finn, and their pokémon walked through the prison. It was only broken when Rath spoke.
"Finnegan, did I do this to you?" Rath asked quietly.
"No. At least, I don't think so. It was already happening when you met us." Finn shook his head again. "It just started getting more intense now."
"Hmm," Rath put one hand on his chin. "Perhaps the psionic abilities are manifesting more rapidly due to you having a bond with two psychics? It did take well over a year before your bond to Athena resulted in your powers."
"We'll figure it all out later." Finn waved one hand. "The how isn't important at the moment."
"Fair enough." Rath nodded.
They turned a corner and Finn came to a stop in front of a cell. Between the bars crackled red energy, emitting a low hum that gave him a mild headache. The cell itself was dimly lit, even compared to those other prisoners were in. The inhabitant was sitting with their back to the bars of the cell, a book held in their right hand. Their left had three truncated digits instead of fingers, glowing red green and yellow respectively. A round lump of bronze skin protruded out of the left side of the prisoner's head, parting blond hair. A shallow depression in the side of the misshapen head clued Finn into just what the individual had been hybridized with.
The individual in the cell turned his head as Finn approached. He was wearing glasses, which framed two very different eyes. One was human, with a golden iris. The other was a solid, luminous green, with a black dot in the center. The hybrid looked disheveled, but held a certain dignity about himself.
"Oh, that's quite a surprise. I recognize that face," The hybrid said, setting down his book. "Hello Finnegan."
"Colress?" Finn asked quietly.
"In the flesh." Colress nodded. "What brings you to my humble prison cell? I doubt you've been captured, given the fact that the young man behind you is not wearing a Plasma uniform and Ghetsis ruled that regular pokémon would either be put into storage or hybridized. One of his less intelligent rules, but I believe that it's because hybridized pokémon are more susceptible to mental manipulation for the first month or so after the process."
"I need you for something. I'm not sure what yet," Finn replied.
"Well, I am the leading expert on hybrids. Both human and non-human." Colress shrugged. "I'm sure I could be of use in some manner."
"That sounds right," Finn said. "I'm sure it has something to do with that. How do I get you out of that cell?"
"You need a keycard and the passcode," Colress said. "And you can't just get them from anyone. You need to find an admin and take their keycard."
"Would Cyril do?"
Colress' brow went up. "Yes, but she's possibly the strongest hybrid in the building. You of all people should know how powerful metagross are, given your family's legacy."
"Yes, but I also know how to take one down. They've got a couple biological quirks that can be heavily exploited." Finn turned to Belle. "Belle, could you go and grab Cyril for me? And Jitters too, of course."
Belle nodded, then started jogging off down the hallway. Finn turned his attention back to Colress, who had a surprised expression on his face.
"You've already disabled her?" Colress asked.
"She was waiting for me when I got in." Finn shrugged. "It was close, but I managed a couple of things she wasn't expecting."
"Would it have to do with the traces of honedge in your genetic sample, or was this something new?" Colress leaned forwards.
"A little of both."
"Very interesting." Colress nodded slowly. "Are you aware that there's a very recessive gene for a rare genetic disorder in your DNA?"
"Yes," Finn said. "Why? Does it have something to do with the hybrids?"
"Kind of, actually. The inclusion of pokémon genetic material seems to be something of a stabilizing agent. One sample began to deteriorate, and then just… stopped. When I checked it again, there was no more genetic deterioration. Absolutely fascinating." Colress grinned.
"Are you telling me that the condition that has made my life awful, the disease that I've thought was going to kill me for my entire life – it's just gone?!" Finn was nearly shouting by the end of it.
"Not gone, stabilized," Colress clarified. "Any damage it's already done should be permanent – although your condition is remarkably healthy from a glance – but it won't get any worse. It's worth noting that this does mean that all the hybrids have it as a recessive gene. Although I'm not entirely sure if they are capable of passing it on to begin with. As you can see, I was subjected to the process and then promptly dumped in this cell."
"Wait, Finn, you're… dying?"
Finn turned to look at Anthony, who looked like he was about to cry.
"Not anymore, I guess." Finn ran a hand through his hair. He turned his attention back to Colress. "What would adding more pokémon to the equation do?"
"Depends upon the pokémon, but I can't think of many that would have a purely negative effect," Colress answered. "If it works anything like the second generation of Sequencers, then you should gain more powers. Although with the Sequencers using multiple could cause genetic instability and organ failure. You should be far more stable."
"I'm sorry, what's a sequencer?" Anthony asked.
"An older experiment that came back recently. I originally devised it as a miracle medicine – and honestly the results are very impressive. The survivors of the first generation of Sequencers recovered from life-threatening physical and mental ailments." Colress paused, grimacing. "The survivors. The first generation was used on twenty people with disabilities or terminal illness. Four survived. And the side effects on the survivors range from painful to personality altering. The powers they granted are reflective of the pokémon the Sequencers are derived from, and in order to keep the subject alive that source pokémon needed to already hold a strong bond with the recipient.
"The second generation was based upon a sample of Finnegan's DNA. It turns out that the important part was somewhat aura-based. We had exactly zero aurics working on the process, but we managed to make it work regardless. The important part of the second generation is that the side effects are practically nonexistent. They grant powers and enhanced physical ability without notable downside."
"There was going to be a third generation of Sequencers, but I destroyed them," Finn said.
Colress winced at that, but nodded. "Probably for the best. In Cyril's hands they're nothing but weapons. The medical potential, though… No. It's better this way."
The conversation was interrupted at that point by Belle turning a corner with something dragging behind her on a thick cord of spider silk. The object she was dragging came into view, revealed as a thrashing Cyril. Her arms were wrapped in webs up to the elbow, and her legs were similarly bound below the knees. Jitters followed after her, still making a low hum to dampen her psychic abilities.
"Oh." Colress seemed taken aback. "I didn't think you'd rip her limbs off."
"They can be reattached, but it takes a week to be functional again. The benefits of biomechanical life," Finn said dismissively. "Or they can be regrown, though that takes significantly longer."
"Interesting," Colress said.
Belle dragged Cyril to a stop in front of Colress' cell and gestured at her. "There she is."
"Thank you Belle, Jitters." Finn bent over to take the keycard from Cyril's uniform. "I'm taking this."
"It's useless to you without the passcode anyways," Cyril said, her voice hoarse. "And good luck trying to make me say anything. You've already ruined my life. You can't torture me more."
"The passcode is seven-seven-five-eight," Colress said helpfully.
Cyril just stared at him in disbelief through the anti-psychic shield. Finn shrugged and slotted the card into the keypad, then input the number combination that Colress had said. The anti-psychic barrier dissipated, and the door to the cell popped open. Colress stepped out, brushing his jumpsuit.
"Ah, it feels good to be able to think now." Colress gave Finn a sunny smile.
"How did you…?" Cyril trailed off.
"I paid close attention, Cyril. It's not that hard to figure out which button is which when you see it punched in every day." Colress shrugged. "And a beheeyem's mind is designed for collecting information."
Finn grabbed the spider silk cord and dragged Cyril into the cell. Then he stepped out and closed the door. Colress pulled the card from the keypad, and the anti-psychic barrier thrummed to life.
"You won't succeed," Cyril snarled. "There are more hybrids in the building, and you don't stand a-,"
"Yes, yes, Ghetsis' honor guard. Not an easy group of foes, but I doubt Finnegan will have too much trouble with them. Especially since half of them hate the idea of hurting him," Colress interrupted. He glanced at Finn. "Although…"
"What?" Finn asked.
"In your current state, I don't think you can face them," Colress said. "Come with me, we're going to make a difference."
Colress set off, his bare feet slapping against the metal tiles for a couple of steps before he began to hover a couple of inches off of the ground.
"Do you trust him?" Anthony asked quietly.
"I do," Finn replied. "I'm not sure where this is going, but I trust him."
"Okay." Anthony nodded. "Then let's go."
They left Cyril behind, shouting impotently at them from the cell she had once used to trap Colress.