There's one part of battle that people never seem to consider.

Losses – on both sides – are one of the most remembered parts of any major conflict. As is collateral damage. The spoils that the victor gained, be they literal riches or an ideological victory, are almost talked about as often as the downsides. Battle tactics and strategies are remembered for decades and even centuries. Acts of heroism are seldom forgotten.

But nobody thinks about what to do with the battlefield afterwards. How to clean up the weapons and damage. How to tend to the survivors and help them recover from what they've seen. What they've done. The damage done by battle isn't just physical, it can leave lasting scars in the mind.

Unfortunately, cleaning up after a battle is just not as glamorous as lauding the heroes who had to do so.

The first thing Finn did when Ghetsis was incapacitated was throw him in a cell.

The second was find the pokeball he kept his hydreigon in and recall it.

Only then did Finn get to business cleaning up the facility.

It had taken a bit of effort to round up the remaining members of Team Plasma in the building and gather them in the cell block. Not a lot of effort, given his new and rather absurd powers, but enough that he was glad to be done with it when they were all locked up. Only a handful had put up any kind of fight, and those few had been woefully underprepared to fight him. Finn found it kind of funny, how he had possessed these powers for only an hour or so but was clearly far more powerful than hybrids who had trained their new bodies for months. Colress said it probably had something to do with how powerful his bond with Athena had been beforehand.

Once he was sure the fortress was secure, Finn collected his team.

Belle had needed a brief nap and some medicine before she was ready to go, and Crai and Rath were both doing perfectly fine, but it was the rest of Finn's pokemon that he was worried about. As it turned out, he needn't have worried at all.

Jitters was standing proudly in the middle of a hallway. The whole corridor was filled with an impassable tangle of spider webs, with many Plasma grunts strung up in cocoons. Jitters had left their heads clear, to make sure they could breathe. That didn't stop the complaints, though. Some of them had thought he was a Plasma elite, up until he laughed at their cries for help. Most of them finally just gave up after that.

Bastion stood triumphant at the top of the stairs he had been left at. A pile of pokémon hybrids lay crumpled in the basement below him. There was blood everywhere, but Bastion had assured Finn that it belonged to the toxapex and not his foes. That had sparked a moment of panic, before Finn considered Bastion and saw that he was practically unharmed. The air inside the base was carefully controlled, and that meant that Bastion hadn't dried out when he otherwise would have. It was close, though. A quick check confirmed that Bastion had managed to incapacitate the hybrids without killing any, dosing them with almost absurd amounts of poison.

Finn eventually located Nyx in the barracks near where she had left him. She was perched atop an unconscious hybrid, with groaning grunts laying arrayed out on the ground around her. She smiled at Finn as he arrived, hopping off of the hybrid and giving him one final thwack with her tail as she did.

The base cleared, Finn headed back what he could only call the Fusing room, if only because there was no purpose to it other than to house the Fuser.

Colress was hard at work, tweaking machinery with psychic force every now and then as he tapped away at the screen. The lights on his left hand flashed wildly every time he used his psychic powers. Anthony was close by, watching Colress work with a mix of confusion and curiosity. It wasn't Colress and Anthony who Finn was checking on, though.

While Finn had placed most of the members of Team Plasma in the holding cells they had used for hybrids that weren't or couldn't be mind controlled, there were three Plasma admins who weren't locked up.

Dua, Mono, and Renard looked… tired. Just tired. Dua's energetic personality had diminished, to the point where she was just sitting quietly in a corner. Mono had an arm around her shoulders, talking quietly to her. His crimson eye looked up at Finn for a moment, before returning to Dua. Renard was leaning against the wall next to the door, his helmet finally removed. It had repulsed Finn the first time he had seen Renard's face, but after a little bit he had gotten used to it. Renard's skin and flesh was translucent, revealing the muscle and veins beneath. Even with his eyes closed he was still looking out at the world, and seeing the man's teeth at all times was unnerving.

"What's the progress?" Finn asked as he reentered the room.

"Almost ready to test. We're going to need someone to try it out on before we get to de-Fusing everyone," Colress answered. "I don't particularly relish the idea of subjecting a pokémon to the process, either."

"It has to be a human hybrid?" Finn crossed his arms.

"If we want to be sure it'll keep the organs in the right bodies, yes." Colress stopped, looking up at Finn. "What's with the look?"

"It shouldn't be lethal, right? No matter how badly it malfunctions?" Finn scratched at his chin.

"No, the machine might mix up body parts at worst, but they should still be functional and we can always just re-fuse the component entities."

"I can think of someone who would be a good guinea pig for this sort of testing," Finn said darkly. "Although I'm not sure I want to stoop to her level."

"Cyril?" Colress raised an eyebrow when Finn nodded. "I have no qualms with having her be the first."

"Still…" Finn trailed off.

"For what it's worth, I was the human subject to test the Fuser's primary function. She laughed the whole time." Colress grimaced, then returned his attention to the screen. "Besides, this won't be any more painful than the Fusing process. Unless it fails, which it won't. It's a reversal of the base function, and should be flawless given how effective it is."

"Hmm…" Finn turned away. "Belle, could you go get Cyril?"

"Here." Colress reached into a pocket of his lab coat and pulled out Cyril's keycard. He handed it to Belle. "You already know the passcode."

Belle nodded and took the keycard, then turned and headed off down the hall.

Finn let out a heavy breath and leaned against a wall, closing his eyes. It didn't stop him from seeing, and he didn't even need to blink in his current state – his eyes didn't dry out since they were made of some kind of gemstone – but his mind was starting to get overwhelmed. It had been a long, long day, and it wasn't going to end any time soon.

Only a minute or so later, Finn's brief rest was interrupted by a thunderous clatter of metal on metal. There was a metallic roar, a high-pitched squeal, and then Renard screaming at the top of his lungs. Only then did Finn open his eyes.

Standing in the middle of the room now was a metagross. One Finn recognized. He furrowed his brow. How had Xollen gotten in here?

A quick look over at Renard showed that the cause of his screams was a switchblade embedded in the center of his chest. Standing a short distance away was Uncle Daniel, hands up and backing away. Behind him was Finn's mother, stomping in with a hammer made of turquoise metal in her hands. She scanned the room quickly, her eyes locking on Finn almost immediately. She lowered the hammer.

"Finn?" His mother's eyes widened. "What did they do to you?"

"No, no, it's okay," Finn stepped forwards, putting up his hands in a placating gesture. "I volunteered. It was our best chance, and I took it. I'm okay. Better than okay."

"Your hand…" Her voice was soft. "What happened?!"

"Oh, this? It's fine. Just a quirk of the fusion process." Finn held his right wrist in front of him and extended the blade. A moment later he retracted it. He unwound his sashes from around his arm. "I've got these now. They're just as good."

It was at this moment that the rest of the room seemed to finally start moving again.

"Fuck!" Renard cursed loudly, pulling the knife out of his chest. "You stabbed me!"

"What the hell is wrong with your face?!" Daniel shouted. "Where's your skin?!"

"My day was already horrible, and now I've been stabbed!"

"I just fought a bunch of fucking zombies and then I turn the corner and there's a skinless man and I can't handle this shit anymore-,"

"Daniel!" Finn's mother shouted, whirling to glare at the dark specialist. "Calm the fuck down and stop stabbing people!"

Finn reeled in surprise. He'd heard his mother swear maybe five times in his entire life. Daniel had a similarly shocked reaction, his eyes going wide before he managed to compose himself.

"Right, right." Daniel patted himself down, shaking his head as he tried to get himself back together. "Long day. Stressful."

"Merde…" Renard pulled the knife out of his chest and threw it to the ground, groaning. "I'm going to go find a nice quiet corner to regenerate."

Renard staggered off, heading out of the room by a different doorway than Daniel and Finn's mother had entered through. Finn's mother watched him go, then turned back to Finn.

"Is he a friendly?" She asked. She gestured at Mono and Dua, who hadn't moved, and then Colress. "Are all of these friendlies? I assume so since you seem to be at ease, but…"

"Yeah, they're all on our side." Finn nodded. "Renard and Mono are the ones who sent us inside info, and Dua's… had a change of heart. Colress is working hard on a way to reverse the hybridization process."

"Hmm." Athena Ferris looked over at the Fuser, then at Xollen. "Is that what the machine is?"

"Confirmation. Mechanism designed to combine disparate entities, currently undergoing restructured programming with the intent to reverse the primary function." The metagross rumbled.

"It's not particularly difficult. I created the machine with the intent to be able to use it both ways. It's never been used to reverse the hybridization process, so I need to modify the function a bit to get it to work properly," Colress said, tapping the screen a couple more times before sitting back with a satisfied smile. He turned his head towards Anthony. "Did you catch that?"

"Nope." Anthony shook his head. "But that's fine, I don't think I'll ever be able to get the hang of computer stuff."

"It does take a lot of practice." Colress shrugged. "This sort of thing isn't possible without at least one degree."

"I feel like I know who you are…" Finn's mother said, narrowing her eyes. "Colress… Colress… Achroma?"

"In the flesh," Colress replied, looking up at her. He stood, wincing for a moment as he overbalanced.

"The city freezer?"

"You freeze one city and that's all you're known for…" Colress muttered. "I mean, yes? I did freeze over Opelucid City. The city had been evacuated – no deaths – and the ice didn't last more than a day. The results were quite intriguing, but I'm far from eager to replicate the incident."

"You'd better not," Finn's mother said. She shook her head and grimaced. "And why should we trust you now?"

"Your skepticism is understandable, but I have no love for Ghetsis Harmonia. I owed him so much money I may as well have been a slave. It'll be a relief to no longer be under his thumb." Colress reached up to adjust his glasses, shrugging. "I understand I'll be prosecuted for my part in Plasma's machinations. At least I can get this mess fixed before I get locked in a prison for the next several decades." Colress turned back to the machine, fiddling with a couple of mechanisms before stopping. "And besides, you'll have my research notes to work with. That's a lot of information I've gathered over the years, even if most of it wasn't exactly ethically obtained. I'm rather proud of the advancements I've made, no matter how I made them."

"Hm." Finn's mother didn't have a reply.

The room was overcome by an awkward silence for several minutes. Xollen shifted, stepping over to hunker down against one wall. The metagross looked tired, which Finn didn't think he'd seen ever before. Athena Ferris set down her hammer, leaving it to balance on the flat top of the head. Daniel slipped his hands into his pockets, occasionally glancing over where Mono and Dua were sitting.

"I thought you said you only dabbled in the broadsword?" Finn asked suddenly, looking at the hammer.

"I do, broadsword isn't good for large-scale engagements, and especially if you want to leave the target alive." She gave him a grin. "Besides, the only swords I had on hand were the old family heirloom and Clarent. One of those is… well, the craftsmanship is incredible but time has its toll. The other one would resent me the whole time, and that's just not worth it. There was some spare metagross carapace, and since it's denser than any human-made alloy, it was just the right choice."

"Spare… metagross don't shed, so…" Finn furrowed his brow. "Wait… is that Metzik? Why would you make a hammer out of the old family metagross?"

"Because otherwise Xollen would have eaten it." When Finn pulled a face, his mother shrugged. "Metagross don't believe in the concept of a soul, or in the sanctity of the body. There's a reason that metagross are the only natural predator for metagross, too. That carapace requires a lot of rare minerals, and the easiest source is another metagross."

"Metagross don't think they have souls?" Anthony spoke now, utterly shocked.

"Negative. The soul is a concept devised by lesser minds to ease the inevitability of death. Nothing has a 'soul'." Xollen's telepathic voice rumbled in their minds. "Life energy cannot be confirmed to pass to a new location after death."

"But that's just… dark…" Anthony trailed off.

"Useless propositions of afterlives and reincarnation are a waste of time and processing power," Xollen rumbled.

-"Do not worry yourself with the beliefs of others, Anthony. Everyone has their own way of getting through life, and it may not be what you're used to,"- Mono said from his position in the corner. With his one human hand he drew a symbol in the air that Finn recognized as the crest of Arceus. –"The Alpha watches over us all regardless."-

"Does he watch over Reaves Tenant, or all of the corpses that were being puppeteered by the spiritomb?" Daniel asked, his voice barbed.

Mono flinched. –"Reaves will be well, once I can return to him. I… I never intended things to get this bad."-

Awkward silence fell again, nobody wanting to speak in the uncomfortable situation that resulted.

Finn cleared his throat – unnecessary, since he only needed to breathe at all in order to speak – and looked over to his mother.

"So, uh, is Dad going to be joining us or…" He asked.

"No, he's still out there. Keeping up morale and offering support to the wounded and shell-shocked," Finn's mother explained. "The trainers out there haven't seen a real battle, and most of the hybrids haven't either. Having a familiar face, or perhaps mask, helps a lot with morale."

"I see." Finn nodded.

A few moment later, Belle entered the room with Cyril in tow. She was dragging the hybrid by a strand of spider web, since her arms and legs were still bound. Belle paused as she passed through the doorway, looking at Finn's mother and nodding in greeting. She dropped Cyril in front of the Fuser, which opened a moment later. Colress gave Cyril a fake grin.

"Hello, Cyril. How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Dismembered," She snarled back.

"Hold on…" Finn's mother narrowed her eyes as she looked at Cyril. "Are those…? Finn, did you remove her arms?"

"Yes," Finn said. "Well, Belle did. Actually, to be completely exact, she did it to herself when she tried to break out of the metagross pin you taught Belle."

"Noted."

"Would you mind retrieving her other limbs as well?" Colress asked Belle. "It should be a shorter trip to the lab, and we want to make sure she's intact before we attempt the process."

"How kind," Cyril muttered.

"You misunderstand. If you were de-Fused as you are now, your metagross would have its legs missing. If you were missing your other hand, I wouldn't care at all," Colress said, rolling his eyes.

"I'm going to kill you, Colress," Cyril growled.

"It's nice to feel so wanted." Colress snorted. "But I think you're going to have to wait until I've served a life sentence."

Belle returned almost immediately, holding a metagross limb in each hand. She stood over Cyril, holding the arms with a hesitant expression on her face. Xollen took action then, using his telekinetic powers to take the metagross limbs from Belle's hands and slotting them into Cyril's empty sockets. Then a shove of psychic energy pushed Cyril into the central chamber of the Fuser. Finn stepped forwards and sliced the spider webs with his blade, then stepped backwards quickly as she tried to lunge forwards with her remaining hand. Her steel claws only scratched the reinforced glass of the Fuser's holding chamber as it slammed closed, and she let out a scream of rage.

"No! You can't take this from me!" Cyril shouted, the sound muted by the glass. "I am ascended! Evolved! I am better than human!"

"Shut up already." Colress hit the start button.

The scream would haunt Finn for the rest of his life, a bone chilling shriek of loss and agony. The tube filled with light as Finn saw what the de-Fusing process looked like. It reminded him of a pokémon's evolution, the way they were enveloped in shining light as their body warped and changed into a new configuration. The other two chambers of the Fuser lit up as well, something solid taking shape inside the blinding white. After a few moments, the central chamber dimmed, leaving nothing inside, but the forms in the other two chambers only grew.

When the light dimmed, a minute or so later, there were two entities in the Fuser. In one chamber was a relatively small metagross. Its crimson eyes whipped around the room as it tried to reorient itself. It slowly climbed to its feet, only to slip and stumble, falling to its belly with a crash that made Finn wince. Xollen made its way over, communing with the other metagross as the tube opened.

In the other cell was Cyril. Her brown hair was disheveled and loose, dangling down over her downcast face. She tilted her head back up, her violet eyes filled with hatred. Her skin was fair again, rather than the metal alloy that she had as a hybrid. The metal protrusion on her back that had held her metagross limbs was gone, leaving a gaping hole in the back of her outfit. She was sobbing, no tears this time since she was dehydrated.

"Hm. How badly would you say that hurt? On a scale from one to ten?" Colress asked, not looking at Cyril. He didn't want to acknowledge her suffering.

Cyril retched, dry heaving for a few moments before she spat out a mouthful of bile. "Fuck you."

"We'll put it at a seven or eight then. I'll make some adjustments to hopefully lessen the pain for everyone else." Colress walked around to the side of the machine and began making changes to the machinery. "If someone could take Cyril back to her cell, that would be appreciated. Oh, by the way, where's your metagross' pokéball, Cyril?"

"Fuck off."

Belle chose that moment to grab Cyril by the wrist of her intact arm, dragging her out of the room roughly. Cyril stumbled, but was unable to do more than curse at Belle as she dragged the Plasma admin away.

"Regardless, Anthony and I can take care of the rest at this point. Anyone we should start with?" Colress looked over at Finn's mother.

"The ones who are suffering, probably. There are bound to be some that had bad reactions. They'll probably also be eager to end their condition, which means they'll be less belligerent. Plasmas can wait until last," Athena Ferris said.

"I assume I fall into the final group, which I suppose is fine." Colress shrugged. "As I said, Anthony and I can de-Fuse anyone who won't be trying to fight us. We might need Finnegan's help later on for more… belligerent individuals."

"Why Finn specifically?" Daniel asked.

"Because Finnegan is a one of a kind individual with powers that far exceed every other hybrid on record. And because I trust him to be far kinder to the members of Team Plasma than I would be." He glanced over at Finn for a moment before returning his attention to the machine. "I'm still surprised he didn't kill Ghetsis."

"Hmm." Daniel hummed to himself. "And you're good with doing this, Anthony? Sticking around in an enemy base with a scientist of morally dubious quality?"

"Yeah, I want to help with this." Anthony nodded.

"Alrighty then." Daniel shrugged. "Finn, you wanna head outside and take a break?"

"Yeah, I think so." Finn nodded.

"Come on." Daniel started walking, only to stop when Finn's mother put out a hand and narrowed her eyes at Rath.

"Hold on just a moment," She said.

"Why do you keep finding things to question?" Daniel complained.

"What's your name?" She asked Rath, ignoring Daniel.

"Ratherian, Madam Ferris." Rath bowed. "I am honored to be in the presence of such a great warrior."

"Flattery will get you nowhere," Finn's mother said. "We're going to have a talk later. But right now… thank you for helping my son."

Athena Ferris picked up her warhammer and started out the door. Xollen rumbled, nudging under Cyril's metagross to carry it on its back, then followed after Finn's mother. Daniel rolled his eyes and followed suit, waving for Finn to follow.

Finn looked to his pokémon and recalled a few. Nyx, since she was tired. Jitters, since he didn't want to see any more of the aftermath. And Bastion, who didn't want to walk. Crai and Rath followed him as he exited the Fusing room. Belle rejoined them on the way out, finding her way to them from the holding cells thanks to the bond Finn had with her. A bond that had only gotten stronger since becoming a hybrid. Since developing psychic powers.

They exited the base and Finn blinked in the sunlight. The front gate was a ruined mess – as would be expected if Xollen or Registeel had torn it down – and the rubble was scattered to either side. The battlefield had calmed, littered with craters and debris but clear of combatants. More tents had been added to the permanent camp at the base of the mountain, enough to house a few hundred additional people. To one side a large pen had been set up, sectioned off to house different types of pokémon Thathybrids. Still in the middle of the battlefield was Carsen, the psychic type gym leader of Skolar. He was drawing some kind of circle in the dirt, around a small object maybe the size of a basketball.

As Finn got closer, he saw that it was the keystone of a spiritomb.

Carsen continued to draw arcane sigils around the stone as the group passed, only glancing up a couple of times to wave before he returned his attention to the ritual he was performing. Through Athena's eye, Finn could see the man's aura lingering in each line drawn in the dirt. Perhaps what most considered magic was just a different way to use aura. It was certainly food for thought.

Now that the mind control device was destroyed, hybrids of all types were just… around. Being people. Very confused, often disoriented and injured people, but normal people despite their changes. Not that Finn had expected anything else – most of Plasma's stock for hybrids had been normal people abducted off the streets. They were just people, forced into a situation they had never planned for, never trained for, and never wanted to be in. He even saw a few familiar faces. He recognized Terrance, despite his entire face being restructured and his body being malformed. He recognized Ada, gently rocking a baby kangaskhan in her hybridized arms and humming a lullaby. He even recognized Heather now, sitting against a wall since her ninjask legs couldn't possibly support the weight of a human body.

Standing prominently in the middle of the camp was Registeel, with Finn's father standing in its shadow. He was looking at a porta potty, shoulders shaking in barely contained laughter. When Finn, his mother, and Daniel drew near he looked over, his eyes twinkling behind his mask. He waved them over, gesturing wordlessly into the porta potty.

Finn peeked in, and found himself suppressing laughter at the sight. Lee was in there, glaring angrily at everyone he could see. His body was limp, leaning against one of the inner walls.

"Fezzick put him in here after I paralyzed him. The door was locked from the inside, probably to prevent anyone from letting him out," Zane Ferris explained. "It took a while to find him, but here we are."

Finn's mother let out a short bark of laughter before she composed herself. "I'm sorry, but I needed that laugh."

"Get fucked, Lee," Daniel said, smirking. "That's what you get for selling out to terrorists."

Lee didn't answer, just continuing to glare.

"I'll take him." Finn's mother stepped forwards and picked up Lee by the front of his shirt. She heaved him over her shoulder, stepping away as she set down her hammer with her other hand. "A lot of dead weight here. What did you do to him?"

"I crippled his aura. Same technique used in the move force palm. If you mangle someone's aura bad enough, they become paralyzed." Zane nodded at Finn. "Like what happened with your arm. Lee's aura is healthy enough that he'll recover in a few days, but the lethargy will last a bit longer. Oh, and I'm pretty sure he's going to hold a grudge for the rest of his life, but to be honest I'd rather that than getting knocked out or killed on a battlefield."

Finn's mother laughed again, leaving with Lee hanging over her shoulder like an angry duffel bag. Finn turned his attention to his father.

"You don't seem very surprised that I'm… not human anymore," Finn said.

"Eh, it seemed like the rational endpoint. You had superpowers, Plasma goons had super powers. Plasma goons upgrade to hybrids, only makes sense you'd upgrade too." Zane Ferris shrugged. "Honestly, after everything we've seen it's not that out of the ordinary. If you're feeling fine, then you're alright."

"Zane's good at taking things as they come," Daniel said, crossing his arms and brushing a hint of dirt off of his suit. "Me? Not so much. That's why I'm not the champion."

"You're not the champion because your team sucks at battling," Zane teased, a grin forming on his face.

"How dare you?" Daniel scowled. "My team is way better than yours will ever be."

"Fight me."

"N-no..."

Finn snorted, shaking his head. "How did things go out here? I saw Carsen casting a spell with the spiritomb's keystone, and it doesn't look like anyone died, but it was hectic inside and I imagine it was worse out here."

"It was… bad." Zane took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Registeel's the only one of my pokémon still going, and that's because it's an invincible machine powered by some kind of divinity. Darling got landed on by a tyranitar hybrid, and I had to recall Cookie before he lost all of his skin. Athena's whole team got worn down – they usually end battles quickly so they're not used to prolonged engagements. Daniel's team is all either downed or MIA."

"Maria will be back soon, I'm not stressed." Daniel shrugged.

"Right. Well, there were… five deaths. Two humans, three pokémon. One trainer, one human hybrid – a Plasma, so I'm not too broken up about it – two trainer pokemon and one pokemon hybrids." Zane ran a hand through his hair. "N showed up riding on Zekrom, which helped. A lot of Plasma VIPs just started falling asleep close to the end. Best guess is that exhaustion caught up to them. Red called a friend partway through, and they helped patch up Blue's leg. Won't let me know who they are though, so I'm a little suspicious but it's not a big deal. Our luck improved after that point, maybe literally. Could have been a coincidence. Oh, Red said that he wanted to talk to you ASAP, although I don't think he'll mind if you take a break first."

"I'll go see what he's up to. Where is he?" Finn asked, scratching the back of his head.

"One of the bigger tents. His charizard is in front, so you'll be able to find it easily. Nobody else has been allowed in, not even me, so I think it's probably something important." Zane shrugged, sighing. "I need to get to work. It's good to see you again, Finn. Let me know if you need anything."

"Thank you, I will." Finn nodded.

Finn started off, heading through the camp to where the bigger tents were. He located Red's tent quickly, the charizard out front laying down with its tail over its snout. It looked up at him as he approached, then tilted its head towards the door of the tent. Finn glanced over at Crai, Rath, and Belle, and then back at the charizard. When it shook its head, he shrugged and headed into the tent without them.

The middle of the tent had a large cushion, on which three figures sat in various poses. Laying back with his eyes closed was Blue, his left leg bound in a cast. Red was sitting on the cushion with his back to Finn, gently brushing the third individual on the cushion. That third individual was almost unseeable from this angle, and what little he could see was hazy and blurred, like the air had decided he shouldn't be allowed to see who – or what- was sitting there. Red looked over as Finn entered, and he stopped brushing and tapped the third individual on the shoulder.

The haze vanished almost immediately. The mystery individual shifted, floating up and levitating around the cushion so that they were facing Finn. They were, quite obviously, not human. Pale purple skin covered their form. Their body was alien, and yet there was just enough there that hinted at a human origin. Its bulbous tail lashed behind it for a few moments as it settled back down, and Red adjusted to continue brushing the creature's head with the soft brush in his hand. The former champion had a small smile on his face, and he was humming quietly to himself.

Finn swallowed. "You're Mewtwo."

"Yes, and you're Finnegan." Mewtwo raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. Their voice emanated from the air, without any movement of the mouth or telepathy. "Red has told me about you."

"Good things, I hope?" Finn asked.

"By and large." Mewtwo closed their eyes and leaned their head back as Red brushed behind the ridges that served as the legendary pokémon's ears. "But I wanted to talk to you myself."

"What about?" Finn sat down on the floor of the tent, crossing his legs.

"The nature of hybrids, the interference of the gods, and the fate of the world." Mewtwo said these things like they were as important as the weather, but Finn still shivered. "Don't worry, I've no intent to saddle you with guilt or anxiety. Let me begin: I would probably be what you consider the first hybrid. Born of the genetic data of Mew – the progenitor of all pokémon – and humanity. My body is a mess, one that only works because of my divine heritage and psionic power. And because of my power, I am forced to hide myself from the world. I am born of humanity and Mew. Two very social species. It is not a good life. You, Finnegan, are the catalyst for this second wave of hybrids."

"…I'm sorry."

"Why?" Mewtwo tilted their head. "You did not choose it, I'm given to understand. It's just… a quirk of chance. It makes you like a brother to me, a catalyst for change that had no say in their role."

"I…" Finn blinked. "I hadn't thought of it like that."

"It helps to be able to see the patterns of chance." Mewtwo bowed their head, allowing Red to brush the back of their neck. "So, what role have the gods played in your life, Finnegan? I'm told that the legendary pokemon of our world have done all they can to prevent a repeat of my creation – for good reason. You, though… I can sense some divinity about you. Not your own, but powerful."

"I've… made a pact with Darkrai," Finn said. "He offered me a chance to avoid killing anyone, and… I took it."

"That's good." Mewtwo nodded. "Darkrai is one of the few members of the pantheon who does not wish me gone. His reputation is deceiving."

"Yeah, I found that out." Finn let out a heavy breath. "Zekrom tried to kill me a while back, but Darkrai's done nothing but offer what help he can. Well, I think so. Apparently there are limits to what he's allowed to do."

"There are, very restrictive rules that Darkrai ignores because he cares more about people than he does about what Arceus thinks," Mewtwo said. "You're far from the first person he has enlisted to fix something, and you will not be the last." The psychic pokémon closed their eyes for a few moments. "Before you go, I have another question to ask you. Despite being closer to human than most pokémon, and especially the gods, I still don't really understand you as a species. There are tendencies to do some… rather odd things." Mewtwo's eyes opened and he glanced down at the sleeping Blue before he returned his attention to Finn. "Why did you go into the Plasma base, alone, knowing that it could mean that your life would change forever?"

"Because…" Finn hesitated, thinking. "Because someone had to. Because I knew I could do it. Because if I didn't, someone else would have to. Because it was the right thing to do."

"I see." Mewtwo nodded. "Thank you, that's… about what I expected. Please don't let me keep you."

Finn nodded, taking his cue to leave. He stood, turning towards the exit.

"Yes, right behind the ear, thank you."

He had to stifle a laugh as he stepped out of the tent. The absurdity of a creature as powerful as Mewtwo delighting in being brushed was just… probably not even the strangest thing to happen that day. And as the legendary had said, they were a social creature who spent a lot of time in solitude. Perhaps a bit of companionship was all they wanted.

Finn could sympathize.

O-O-O

He met up with the other champions at the mess hall. It was one of the few permanent buildings in the base camp, probably for sanitary reasons. It was easier to have a permanent kitchen if it was going to be used for years on end. Since the ace trainer camp had been in place for nearly a decade, it only made sense to have real buildings constructed. The occupants may come and go, but with a permanent basis to cluster around the camp was far more stable and safe.

Finn had never really been able to blend into a crowd before. People tended to avoid him. But now that there were hybrids everywhere, he could ironically blend in better than ever before. He got a tray of food and made his way to a secluded table at one end of the mess hall, where he could already overhear a conversation. All of the champions were there, except for Red and Blue who hadn't showed up. There was a new face there, a tall young man with purple hair and a lavish cape.

"So, what are you all planning to do now that the actual combat is over?" Finn's father asked. "I'd appreciate some help with cleanup, but I won't hold you if you have other plans."

"I have to head back to Kanto. Apparently one of the most notorious villains in the modern world has made a reappearance, and I need to check on that," Lance said, scowling.

"I'm in a similar situation." That was the purple-haired man. He had a light Galarian accent, which made the gears in Finn's head turn. "I only just managed to get the situation under control, and Rose needs me to make sure it doesn't pop up again. I only barely have enough time to catch up."

"That sucks," Cynthia said.

"Yeah, it's rubbish. But that's the life of the greatest champion in the world." The man winked, grinning as he took a sip of what looked to be tea. He pulled a face and looked at his drink. "This is… not what I was expecting when I asked for a cup of tea."

"It's iced tea, sorry." Zane snorted in amusement. "Not exactly you're used to in Galar, I know."

"Mister Tanner, I love your country and a lot of the people here, but…" The man gently set down the cup and slid it away from himself. "This is an affront to tea."

"I'm inclined to disagree, but I have different tastes from you," Steven said, taking a sip of his own glass of iced tea. When he spoke next, it was directed at Zane. "I actually wanted to ask if I could delve into the caves beneath the region. I have more than a passing interest in geology – as you all well know – and the wealth of powerful stones in the History Caverns is of great interest to me."

"Actually, I want to go down there too!" Iris leaned forwards, eyes widening. "I've heard that there are rumors of Zygarde down there. If I'm going to be the greatest dragon trainer in the world -," That got a snort from Lance. "-I need to see it in person."

"Yeah, the two of you can head into the depths of the caves." Zane nodded. "Normally it's a heavily restricted area – it's dangerous, possibly one of the most dangerous places in the world – but I imagine a pair of champions can take care of themselves."

"I'd also like to join them," Cynthia said. "There are already ancient ruins down there, and, well, I have to see them for myself."

"Anyone else want to delve into the caverns?" Zane asked, looking around the table.

"Yeah, I do." Finn pulled up a chair with his shadow and sat down.

Steven glanced over as Finn sat down at the table, then did a double take. The shock nearly made him fall out of his own chair before he composed himself. "Finn, what happened to you?"

"I made a strategic decision." Finn shrugged. "It worked out. Anyways, I'd like to see what's down in the caves. I've been in there once, but I was too worried about not dying to see anything interesting."

"Alright, group of four champions." Zane nodded. He glanced over at the purple haired man. "Leon, this is Finnegan. Current champion of Toreta, and currently not entirely human. Finn, this is Leon. Champion of Galar. He arrived in the middle of the battle with some much-needed backup."

"Cheers!" Leon smiled, extending a hand to shake.

"I, uh." Finn lifted his right arm, looking at the slot on the end. "Appreciate the gesture."

"Oh." Leon winced. "Still, it's good to meet you. I've heard lots of good things."

"Like what?" Finn asked, picking up his fork.

"Like the fact you're an amazing trainer." Leon flashed a grin. "I'd love to battle you some day, but I've got to get going in less than an hour."

"Fair enough." Finn nodded.

The conversation collapsed at that point, turning to casual topics that Finn didn't really tune into. He picked at his food, finding that his appetite was failing. He hadn't had anything to eat since that morning, and yet, had no drive to eat lunch.

It was just another oddity of his current form. No need to breathe, no appetite to eat, and no physical exhaustion. That last one was the most odd – despite fighting like hell, he didn't feel tired. He felt perfectly fine. There was some aura fatigue, but that was already feeling better. Finn couldn't help but wonder if other hybrids experienced similar increases to their physical stamina. Probably, actually, given how powerful hybrids were when compared to humans or normal pokémon.

Finn glanced up as someone else approached. The newcomer was a dark-haired, dark-eyed middle-aged man. There were hints of gray at the roots of his hair, and just the beginnings of stress lines on his face, but they didn't do much to diminish his handsome features. The man cleared his throat as he approached, causing Zane to look over.

"Ah, Looker. Good to see you. It always means the bad times are coming to a close." Zane stood up, extending a hand.

The newcomer shook Zane's hand, nodding. "Yes, well, I'd like to be able to help end these sorts of things, but I don't ever find out until it's already over."

"Still, it's good that you're here. I'm guessing you want to take Ghetsis into custody?" Zane asked.

"Yes. Much as I'd like to stick around, things are busy. As always." Looker sighed. "If you would take me to Ghetsis?"

"Sure thing." Zane looked over to Finn. "Finn? This is Looker. He's a detective with the international police. Could you take him to where you stashed Ghetsis?"

"You're Finnegan Ferris?" Looked looked Finn up and down. "… Are you okay?"

"Just fine." Finn stood up. "Come on, he's still in the fortress. I'll lead you there."

Looker nodded. "Lead the way."

Finn started off, taking long strides as he left the mess hall. Looker and Zane followed behind. Finn passed Rath, Crai, and Belle on the way out, telling them he'd be back with a quick mental impulse along their bond. Crai decided to follow anyways.

They passed Carsen's sigil on the ground on the way to the fortress. Dark purple energy crackled along the lines drawn in the dirt, occasionally arcing out to zap the keystone in the center. Looker turned to look at it with a bewildered expression as the group passed it, but didn't comment.

Inside the Plasma fortress, Finn made his way to the holding cells. He'd taken Ghetsis' keycard and it was enough to gain total override on everything in the building. It ignored the need for a passcode, probably because Ghetsis wanted absolute control over the facility. It had even been enough to lock Ghetsis in a cell, which Finn led Looker and Zane to.

The leader of Team Plasma sat in the back of the cell, his eyepatch askew to reveal the milky and scarred surface of his right eye. The hateful crimson of his left eye glared at them from the shadows. Finn had stripped Ghetsis of his eye-covered cloak, keeping him from hiding any more weapons. Ghetsis' right arm was burned and scarred from the shoulder down, although that hadn't stopped him from using an arm-mounted disk launcher to try and kill Finn. Similarly, Ghetsis' left leg was scarred and damaged from fire. The clear aftermath of a dragon's wrath.

Finn swiped the master keycard and the door to the cell opened, allowing Looker to enter.

"Ghetsis Harmonia Gropius," Looker said, taking a badge from within his trench coat. "For your crimes against Unova, Toreta, and the world as a whole, you are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney, although I doubt one would be willing to speak for you."

"That thing stabbed me," Ghetsis snarled, gesturing at Finn. "Stabbed me with this!"

Ghetsis reached up with his left arm and pulled away the collar of his shirt, showing the spot where Finn had stabbed him with the Terror Spike. The skin around it was angry red, with black veins running along underneath the surface. The spike itself had sunk deeper, now embedded almost to the ring of crimson spines on the head.

"Uh-huh." Looker glanced over at Finn and tucked his badge away. "I assume you found him with that, uh, thing in his shoulder?"

"More or less," Finn said with a shrug. It may have been an outright, obvious lie, but Looker was handing it to him.

"Lying brat!" Ghetsis struggled to his feet, limping forwards. "You little monster!"

"Yeah, you never know what kind of things people will do with ancient, supposedly magical artifacts," Zane said offhandedly, pointedly ignoring Ghetsis. "Seriously. Embedding an ominous black and red relic in your shoulder isn't the weirdest thing I've seen."

"Yes, I'd have to agree." Looker nodded, rubbing his chin.

"You cannot seriously believe-," Ghetsis started.

"Yes, I can. And I do. Because while you are a terrorist known for your manipulation of well-meaning people, Finnegan is the current champion of the region and a known ally in the nearly eternal fight against people like you." Looker didn't raise his voice, but it was clear from his tone that he was irritated. "Now turn around so I can cuff you."

"But-,"

"You know, I've learned that the best way to keep manipulators like this from working their charms is to just not let them speak," Zane said conversationally. Looker forcefully turned Ghetsis around and produced a pair of handcuffs, cuffing Ghetsis with quick movements. Ghetsis, for all his posturing, was physically frail, while Looker had the steely strength of an experienced policeman. "It puts them off their game, and really riles them up."

"You will all pay for this," Ghetsis sneered. "When the world is mine-,"

"It won't be." Looker started dragging Ghetsis away, heading back out the way they had come. "Too many heroes around for something like that. Too many people who want to do what's right instead of what's easy."

Ghetsis couldn't even form a counterargument for that before Looker dragged him away. Finn shrugged and followed. They made it outside quickly, and as Ghetsis opened his mouth to say something else, Looker pulled a walkie talkie out of his coat and pressed in one of the side buttons.

"The suspect is secured and ready for transport."

A pink flash heralded the arrival of an alakazam, which looked over and nodded. Looker turned back around to speak to Finn and Zane once more.

"Thank you for your efforts in capturing Ghetsis. We'll keep you updated on what we end up doing with him," Looker said.

"That would be appreciated, thanks." Zane nodded, stepping forwards.

"Let's go." Looker nodded to the alakazam, and in a flash of pink light the policeman, the terrorist, and the psychic type were gone.

After a moment, Zane spoke.

"Well, I need to get going. Thank you Finn." He paused. "And while I'm not going to press you on it, I would like to know what the deal was with that thing embedded in Ghetsis' shoulder."

"I'll tell you when we get everything cleaned up," Finn said with a sigh. He glanced over at Crai. "I'll explain to you and the rest of the team too. Sorry."

"Okay." Zane nodded. "I'll see you later."

"See you later."

Zane started off, walking across the battlefield once more. Finn watched him go, lowering himself down to sit against the wall of the Plasma fortress. Crai sat down next to him.

Only a few moments later, a helmeted head poked out of the ruined gate. Finn immediately recognized Renard's psychic amplifier helmet, but the hybrid was wearing a jacket to hide the Plasma logo on his bodysuit.

"Is he gone?" Renard asked.

"Looker?" Finn looked up at Renard's helmeted head. "Yeah, he left a minute ago with Ghetsis."

"Oh thank Arceus." Renard stepped out all the way. "While he probably wouldn't have recognized me, that is not a reunion I am looking forward to."

"Why?" Finn raised an eyebrow. "is he an old coworker or something?"

"Or something…" Renard turned around and headed back into the fortress.

Finn shook his head, settling down and closing his eyes as Crai leaned over to rest on Finn's shoulder.

They sat like that for a while, cooling off in the shade of the castle built to house one of the most dangerous groups in the history of the world.

A/N:

After every fight, there has to be someone who cleans up the mess.

We're back, and the worst is over now. This chapter is mostly character interactions and the closing of Ghetsis' plotline. This chapter and the next were initially going to be one chapter, but then I hit 8k words and decided to split it in two. Next chapter should be up in a week.

In my interpretation of the pokémon world, Mewtwo is an interesting figure. There's a lot of background lore I'm probably not going to be able to put into this story, but in this world most legendary pokémon are essentially deities. Mewtwo is the result of combining the DNA of Mew with the human genome, and the result is a creature far more powerful than anything the world has seen before, possibly even including some of those deities that meddle with the world. This Mewtwo is one that has been around for more than a decade with minimal human interaction. That can really mess you up. You tend to get very attached to the few friends you do have.

I did a little bit of digging, and I'm almost certain that Looker is from Kalos, or at the very least it's where he spends a lot of time. Yes, he's an international police officer, but Kalos is the only region where he actually has a base of operations. Additionally, his lines are a little awkward in his other appearances, but not nearly as awkward in X and Y. This was initially to show that he wasn't a native - his first appearance was in Sinnoh - but the continued awkwardness indicates that he doesn't natively speak the language of whatever region he shows up in. Just some weird details that I decided to link together.