A/N: This chapter was a struggle to write, but I hope I managed to do it justice! Title is a reference to the book and movie 'I'm thinking of ending things".
Thinking of Ending Things
Silence pooled into that dark hallway amidst two empty hangars in the docks of Pastoria, so thick and heavy it could have been mistaken for the unbearable humidity in the air. It felt like breathing through a thin layer of water. A problem that had greatly exacerbated, now that the two young trainers were breathing harsh and heavy, their entire bodies shaking at the sight before them.
Cyrus and Cynthia looked down at the human, immobile figure collapsed against the narrow end of the corridor, surrounded by three others, smaller and more Pokemon-like. The silence gathered the heaviest around them, perhaps because they were the ones least likely to break it, all semblance of life gone from their wide, empty eyes.
"I-I… o-oh god…"
He was the first to collapse against the weight of that silence. Hands bloodied, shaking, Cyrus stumbled back and leaned against the nearest wall for support, looking down and holding his head tight. Cynthia and Lorencia looked at him, though neither of them moved. The blood covering them was much more substantial, as was the shock and emptiness in their expressions.
"I c-can't… dear Arceus, what have we…?"
His voice cracked and shook with every word, almost sobbing. That seemed to bring Cynthia back to reality. She blinked away the tears gathering in her eyes and hurried to place her hands on his shoulders, firmly, reassuringly.
"You… you saved my life, Cyrus."
All of the usual strength and bluster was gone from her voice, and even though hers wasn't on the brink of collapse, it still sounded raw, frayed, as though it were hanging on by a thread. There was a hint of delirium behind those grey, stormy eyes.
"W-we…" Cyrus held on to her as though she were the only thing keeping him afloat. "Cynthia, we just… she…"
Cynthia gave Kayn's body a side glance, although it only lasted a moment. She couldn't bear to look at the corpse for any more time than that. She was… about as disturbed as she would've expected, considering what she'd just done. But then, where was the panic? Where was the horror so present in Cyrus' voice?
"She… was trying to kill me," Cynthia assured him. "And she would've killed you too if she had the chance. We only… we only defended ourselves. No one can blame us."
Mouth hanging open, Cyrus shook his head in disbelief, like he couldn't process her words.
"That's… that's not the…"
"It was me." Cynthia said that with firm, violent conviction, the grey of her eyes flashing. "It wasn't you, Cyrus. I finished her off. This wasn't… you can't blame yourself for this, do you understand?"
Because if you do, then… then I would be the one who…
"Please, promise me," she whispered. "You saved my life, that's all that happened. I did the rest, so… so don't…"
She couldn't finish, and Cyrus couldn't have answered anyway. Bloodied, their nerves and emotions frayed, both teenagers stood in that dark hallway, holding each other, trying to keep the other from falling.
Finally, after long, arduous seconds, Cyrus looked at the body. His throat dry, but he managed to get some words out nonetheless.
"What… what do we do?"
Cynthia looked as well, this time managing not to look away. This was a problem, something with a solution. This, she could do. She had to. If she didn't do something right now… if she didn't jump into action, then…
"If… if they find her here, I doubt they'd be able to parse us out as the culprits without the knife," she said. "Even so… they'll probably use this for their own gain. This will just be another way they can push the pro-war narrative all across the region. A dead Gym leader… they couldn't dream of a better scapegoat."
Cyrus swallowed. Still mostly out of himself, eyes wide and unseeing. It took him a good ten seconds to be able to talk.
"Then… because of us…"
"No."
Cynthia's grip on him became tighter. Pursing her lips, she looked up at the boy's face and, again, the grey of her eyes flared with something powerful and foreboding.
"That will only happen… if they find her as she is now."
"What…" Cyrus gulped. "What are you saying?"
"…Cyrus. Do you trust me?"
He blinked, unsure of how to reply. "I… yes. But why…?"
His question hung there for a moment, as Cynthia looked away from him and gazed at the body, cold and lifeless, the silence around it still bearing upon them like liquid, suffocating air.
The words that finally cut that silence were the most terrifying Cyrus had ever heard coming out of Cynthia's mouth.
"There are… a few hours left until dawn. Until then… until they have a chance to find her… the ball is in our court." She smiled a terrible smile, full of delusion and desperation. "We can use her before they do."
Consecutive flares of stark white swooped through the circled outline of the valley like a wave of light, like dozens of candles lighting up for just a moment around Nyss before flaring out, her opponents appearing from within.
Her body moved as swiftly as it needed to, uncountable years of practice steering her muscles by sheer instinct. She took a simple step back, the flat of her greaves grinding against the hardened rock, and raised her sword tentatively, only a few inches. Her eyes remained open, a sharp, piercing gold. Their weight bore into them, as though every movement, every twitch of their muscles could be easily seen through, like she knew what they were going to do before they did it.
Metchi and the trainers felt it too. And there was only one thing to do.
The three raised their hands and yelled in unison, their voices echoing through the hollow valley.
"Flamethrower!"
Three pairs of steps echoed and the licking of flames crackled for a moment before Enma, Wrathia and Lorencia threw their heads forward and spat swirling torrents of fire, each one dwarfing their own bodies in size. They burned through the air in a straight line and converged together halfway toward Nyss, blooming in size and power. It was less a torrent than a surge, an explosion of heat and force that fell upon the woman with the speed of lightning.
She moved her hand quickly, one fluid motion right as the flames were upon her. There was little strength behind the swing, just as much as was needed. Because as Nyss cut through the flames with Obsidian, it was not the sword itself that made them part, but her Will. It was remarkably simple, from her perspective. She wanted the flames to part, and through a swing of her sword, she made them part.
Much more impressive from the trainers' eyes, the crashing wave of flames cut itself in half as though by a potent gust of wind, but it did not dissipate. After swinging her sword, Nyss raised it up again, this time over her head. It wasn't a lazy gesture by any means, but neither was it quick or hurried. More casual, as though it were as natural for her as breathing.
And as the sword was raised, soon did the flames follow. Pulled by some magnetic force, they rose high into the air in the form of long, brilliant ribbons of heat, rapidly swirling around the tip of the sword as they were siphoned, absorbed. Veins of brilliant red and white carved through the glass-like surface of the weapon, streaking past it and onto Nyss' arm itself, lighting up her scars like rays of lightning straying off thunder. All the weight and power of their attack now glowed from within Nyss, turning the mirage of her body more solid, making her heartbeat echo all throughout the valley like the hums of the drums of war.
From afar, past the awe and fear she felt, Inyssa recognized what was happening, and she would've bet anything Cynthia did too. It was one of the earliest Nyss tales, one of her favorites as a kid. In it, Nyss slashed at a wall of flames that stood in her way, absorbing them onto her blade, using its strength as her own. The way she did it now was exactly as it was described in that story, down to a T.
Now, faced with such a sight, Inyssa could do little but gulp.
Surging with power, Nyss closed her eyes and breathed in, then out. It was felt through the air like a rush of wind. Then she took a simple step forward and extended her arm over her chest, sword pointing behind her. Winding back.
"Well… that was bad idea," Metchi muttered, lips pursed nervously. "Y'all should probably…"
Nyss slashed in a wide arc, and a storm of gale and flames exploded from the length of the cut, falling upon them like a tempestuous wave. For that moment alone, their sight was nothing but red and white. A wall of heat and power unrolled throughout the whole length of the valley.
"Protect!" Barry, Cynthia and Inyssa yelled in unison.
Half the Pokemon around them raised their hands forward, and through their combined efforts a colossal wall of energy was raised, so thick and bright they could barely see the flames past it. But they certainly felt them as they crashed. Tremors shook the ground, and one by one the many layers of the barrier broke down, until only a couple remained before the flames fully dissipated.
The barrier vanished, and before them stood Nyss just like before, waiting, immobile, and surrounded on all sides by scorched, smoking earth. She looked up toward them, and a miniscule smile formed on her lips. She tilted her head up in a gesture that seemed to say 'Is that all?'.
The three trainers felt it. That buzz in their veins, that familiar heat that came in battle. Unconscious smiles were drawn on their faces, and their orders came soon after.
"Everyone, spread out!" Cynthia bellowed, throwing her hand forward. "Fighters in the front, sweepers and immobilizers in the back! Those who can fly, give them aerial support!"
"Got it!" Inyssa yelled. "Enma, Shadi!"
"Pedri, Kitsune!" Barry followed.
Unified roars echoed as the Pokemon threw themselves at their opponent, Cynthia's Garchomp and Lucario joining them only a moment after. Nyss saw them coming and took a step back, feet sliding slightly apart. She fell into a small crouch and raised her sword in a downward position, hilt up, blade down. Her golden pupils moved frantically from one Pokemon to the other, as though she were a machine analyzing them to the core. And as she did so, her posture changed ever so slightly. It was subtle, almost impossible to notice. A quarter of an inch slide back with her left foot, a couple millimeters of adjustment in her sword's angle, they were the kind of movements that only someone intimately familiar with combat and her own body would've been capable of.
As the other Pokemon roused to action behind them, Garchomp was the first to reach her, followed by Shadi and Lucario. The first wound her arms back and slashed at the woman in an X, an attack which was parried with minimal effort, the beast's claws bouncing off violently at the mere touch of the black sword. In an instant Shadi slipped past the dragon and spun on the ball of her feet, the buzz of her wings adding speed to her slash as Lucario jumped over and threw himself down at Nyss' head with a kick.
Nyss stood up out of her two-armed stance, swinging her sword down with her left hand to block Shadi's slash while raising the other one above her head, grabbing Lucario's ankle with an iron grip and completely killing the momentum of his kick. Both Pokemon froze in shock for a moment, but there was no time for such a thing. A purple glimmer shone behind Nyss. Kitsune materialized from nothing, a wellspring of psychic energy materializing into the form of a sword in his hands, which he raised forward and stabbed onto the woman's b–
"Too slow."
Although being called such was truly offensive for someone as fast as Kitsune, he had little time to worry about that as the woman turned around in a flash and –with strength that was entirely inhuman– slammed the airborne Lucario against him as though she were using a hammer to hit a nail. The sword of energy vanished into the air. Both Pokemon fell to the ground hard, cracks echoing as bones were broken by the impact.
Nyss did not wait. Moving on autopilot, she immediately gripped the sword with both hands again and raised it over her head, ready to skewer both Pokemon with–
Sharp, glass-like cracks resounded behind Nyss as a pair of vines as thick as her arms shot up from the ground, coiling tightly around her wrists and pulling them taut. Her brow knit up slightly at the feeling of thorns digging into her skin. Looking over her shoulder, she noticed the two Roserade in the distance, their bouquet-like hands pressed against the ground. Frowning, she started to pull against the vines, but a pair of streaking figures shot at her from the left and right.
"Aqua Jet!"
"Mach Punch!"
Pedri's entire weight and the momentum from his speed slammed against Nyss' side. Pieces of black iron flew off her armor as she was thrown back, straight toward Enma. She tried to spin and maneuver in mid air, slashing at the air with her sword, but the Infernape ducked under the slash and, with only a few inches of space between them, threw an uppercut with as much strength as he could muster, the flame-coated knuckles bending the metal of the armor and digging into the woman's stomach.
Breath and spit flew from her mouth as she was thrown dozens of feet up in the air, limbs uncoordinated, body spinning wildly. She recovered quickly, however. Still high up, she forcibly spun and angled herself to look down, both her hair and her blade streaking like lines of black behind her as she fell, eyes set on Enma.
"Again!" Cynthia and Inyssa yelled.
Another pair of enormous vines shot up from the ground, traveling more than a dozen feet up the air before coiling around Nyss' ankle. She threw her arm down and tried to cut at them with her sword, but just then the vines moved as though they had a mind of their own, rising higher and holding her up like a Magikarp in a fish hook.
"Now, everyone!" Barry yelled. "Blast her!"
"Right!"
It was like a show of lights, a night lit by fireworks. Torrents of water and flame, bolts of electricity and rays of frozen energy were shot in a circle, all aimed straight at Nyss. Looking at them upside-down, the woman blinked once, and smiled.
She moved her arm swiftly, but not hurriedly, and just like before an incredible force sprouted forth from the slash. It was as though a gust of wind had knocked the attacks out of place. They all bended around the air Nyss was occupying, crashing above her where the vines were holding her, the sheer force and brightness of the explosion blinding them for a moment.
Which was unfortunate, because that same force was now propelling Nyss like a bullet toward them, eyes cold and ruthless, sword raised behind her, ready to strike.
Again, thought Inyssa, nibbling her lower lip. That move she used, it's just like…
But there was no time for thinking, only acting.
"Lorencia!"
"Enma!"
"Intercept!" both women yelled in unison.
The Garchomp was the only creature in the battlefield that could move nearly as fast as Nyss, jumping up in a flash and slamming against her with her entire body, stopping the woman's momentum. Nyss wasted no time, however, slashing with enough force to cut a couple inches into Lorencia's rock-hard shoulder. A grunt of pain left the Garchomp's maw and Nyss retreated the sword to slash again, but she suddenly noticed a bright light in the corner of her eye.
"Rhaaaaaa!"
Covered head to toe in flames, Enma slammed his fist against her cheek with enough force for the impact to echo around them. Nyss' head was thrown back, a sudden breath leaving her mouth. Moving quickly, both Pokemon wound their arms back and attacked at the same time, but Nyss recovered too quickly, throwing her body back as their arms passed overhead and kicking at their chests with both her feet.
All three sent tremors throughout the ground as they fell, though Nyss and Lorencia were quick to get up, soon followed by Enma and the rest of the Pokemon close by. Nyss slashed strategically and took a few steps back as her opponents began to pile up, trying to surround her. She didn't fight desperately, like a wild Pokemon. Actually from the Pokemon's perspective, it was like they were fighting wind.
"Noria," said Cynthia. "Get ready to throw up a barrier if needed. Atlans, use your vines to immobilize her whenever possible."
"You too, Bret!" yelled Inyssa. "Johnny, attack with water when you've got a clear shot! Kuro, run around and zap her as much as you can!"
"Wrathia, Razen, follow their lead!" said Barry. "We should probably…"
Metchi took a step forward, absentmindedly spinning her knives in her hands.
"Don't go leaving me out of the action too," she said. "I know there's no way in hell I can compare to a monster like her, but if I can do at least a little bit of damage…"
She and Inyssa exchanged quick glances, and the same idea seemed to form in both their heads.
"Steven!" yelled the trainer. "Go with Metchi! You know what to do!"
There was no hesitation. The Staraptor swooped down and did the same thing he'd done with Mars in their fight against Shadi, grabbing Metchi with his talons and lifting her up, becoming her own personal pair of wings.
"Devias and Barry's Staraptor should join them in the air as well," Cynthia suggested. "And you three, do not forget about your powers! Even if they're weakened, we must use every tool at our disposal if we are to emerge victorious!"
"Roger!"
Metchi and the rest of their Pokemon took off to the skies, the subtle, golden warmth emanating from the woman somehow shared amongst them, as though they were emitting sunlight. Barry and Inyssa didn't need to look to know the gold of her eyes burned brightly. Theirs was the same way.
In unison, both trainers closed their eyes and pressed a hand against their chest as the fight raged around them. There was a change in the atmosphere. An electric shiver, a revitalizing gale. An invisible energy began to flow and crackle between the two, resonating with the warmth Metchi was emanating from afar. Suddenly, they could feel each other's heartbeat as though they were their own. That feeling, that pressure was… definitely weaker than the one their foe was exerting, but it was theirs nonetheless.
"There's probably not much we can do without Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie backing us up," said Barry, eyes still closed. "But as long as it helps…"
"We are stronger than the sum of our parts," Inyssa declared. "Each of our efforts will be another shard of the sword that will grant us victory!"
They opened their eyes and threw their hands forward in unison, the gold of their eyes flashing as a sudden, electrifying gale fell upon the battlefield. Pokemon and humans felt it equally as it washed over them. A shiver like that of blood rushing feverishly through one's veins, a sudden flash, a memory of what they were fighting to protect, and the way to make it so, paved before them by their own force of Will.
Multiple roars echoed throughout the valley as their Pokemon threw themselves at Nyss, the barest hint of gold hemming their bodies like veils of sunlight. Nyss froze for a moment in surprise, and that was enough for Lorencia to slam against her. There was a crack in the armor as the hardened elbow dug deep, followed by a sharp whistle as the Garchomp jumped a few inches into the air and spun in place like a buzzsaw, throwing one of her forearm scythes down against Nyss' head. She moved her hand, tried to raise her sword, but dizzying trails of light closed in on her and she realized she was surrounded. There was no time to block.
With inhuman swiftness and precision, Nyss took a half-step to the side and raised an empty hand to the right, and the sword to the left. It was a matter of an instant. Three exact, simultaneous movements. Lorencia's scythe cut through the iron shoulder guard like butter, sending a substantial chunk flying off, yet barely missing her skin.
Time slowed to a crawl. Nyss' gaze moved to the left, then the right. Alakazam and Infernape came at her from either side, one winding a punch, the other slashing down at her shoulder with a golden sword of light. But this, too, would miss its mark. She was in movement, Obsidian cutting up the air to parry the slash while her free hand–
She heard a sound. A creaking, derisive laugh coming from the Alakazam barreling toward her. Then his eyes lit up a beautiful purple, and the rest of his body followed.
"What–?"
Both her foes blinked out of existence in a flash, then reappeared where the other had previously been. Nyss couldn't even be surprised. There was a sudden, dull pain in her wrist as the Infernape chopped upwards, throwing Obsidian off her hands and up into the air. Then came the buzz. Like thousands of insects flapping their wings at once, sharp in sound and luminosity, the golden sword fell upon her and cut straight through her armor and onto her shoulder, slicing down to her collarbone.
A wet creak resounded and blood trailed through the air as she stumbled back, teeth clenched and face scrunching up in pain. It wasn't a lot. The highly concentrated energy of Alakazam's sword meant that the wound was almost instantly cauterized, but…
"Now!" Cynthia's voice echoed.
Bolts of lightning fractured the air. Her entire body lit up as the weaker one slammed against her back and cut off her retreat, paralyzing her for a fraction of a second, all that was needed for the second, much more powerful one to run her through the stomach.
"Keep it up!" a voice said, though Nyss could not tell whose amidst the confusion. "Don't give her a second to breathe!"
Lights exploded all around her. The torrential buzz of pressurized water, the roar of flames, the shimmer of psychic energy, they all barreled toward her in a flash. On instinct, she fell forward into a crouch as the flames passed over her, then used every ounce of strength in her legs to jump. Dust and force exploded in a shockwave around her. In an instant she was twenty feet up in the air, hand raised toward the sword that Enma had knocked off her hands. It was falling toward her. All she had to do was seize it and–
A blur of black and pink swooped down from above. Propelled by the powerful beat of Steven's wings, Metchi threw herself back and slammed her feet against Nyss' chest plate, completely sopping her momentum as she seized the sword with her left hand. She smiled cockily and waved the weapon from side to side.
"Oh I'm sorry hon, is this what you wante–?"
"It is."
Nyss reached up, fingers closing like a vice around Metchi's ankle. Searing pain shot up her leg like needles of fire, erasing the smile off her face, and then they started to drop. She didn't know how much Nyss and that armor weighed together, but it was clearly more than Steven could lift.
"Devias!" Cynthia's voice resonated in the distance.
"Paulette, Auri!" Barry's followed.
The two winged Pokemon swooped down toward them, but Nyss was fast. Pulling Metchi's ankle down, she extended her other arm and grabbed at the girl's calf, the searing heat of her palms burning through the fabric of her jeans and driving into her skin. Metchi yelled and tried to kick at her face, but it was like kicking a rock. Nyss didn't flinch in the slightest, and instead pulled both her and Steven down with enough strength to slam her own forehead against Metchi's nose.
The pain was blinding. Obsidian slipped from her fingers and Nyss wasted no time seizing the weapon as they both began to fall. Luckily for Metchi, Paulette arrived just in time to save her from the deadly blade, slamming his glowing wing against the woman's stomach and sending her flying back, straight toward Devias and Auri.
"Moonblast!"
"Dazzling Gleam!"
There was no way she could dodge. In the blink of an eye, the Togekiss and Togetic expelled swirling, concentrated bursts of energy out of their mouths, shooting it point-blank at Nyss' face.
Force and light burst in a massive shockwave around them, followed by a cloud of smoke that seemed to darken what little of the sky could be seen through the valley. From said cloud Nyss plummeted down, smoke trailing behind her like black tentacles. She hit the ground hard, embedding herself into the rock and shaking the ground in waves.
"Metchi!" Barry yelled, concerned. "Are you…?"
"A-agh… yeah-yeah I'm okay, I'm…"
Metchi and Steven landed unevenly, both breathing harshly. Not only was there smoke coming from her right ankle and calf where Nyss had grabbed her, but a copious amount of blood was now running down her broken nose.
"Bitch really went for the head butt… forehead harder than my fucking life," she muttered angrily. "Agh… don't worry about me, what are you fucking waiting for!? Lay into her!"
It didn't need to be said twice. Raising their hands in unison, all three trainers bellowed their orders.
"Keep her in place!"
Nyss tried to move, to jump out of the way, but thick vines erupted from the ground around her. She cut at the first two but the ones behind her closed tightly around her wrists, lifting her up to her knees as another one gripped at her torso.
"Now!"
"Attack with everything you have!"
A storm of light and power ate through the valley. Pedri, Johnny and Razen spat torrents of water that combined together into a drill-like jet, Kuro and Auri shot twin bolts of lightning and Wrathia, Enma and Lorencia summoned forth every ounce of heat in their bodies, releasing them together into a cyclone of flames that turned the entire valley a bright crimson.
Noria and Kitsune were the ones to give it the finishing touch. Eyes ablaze with psychokinetic energy, they molded the air itself and twisted all the attacks until they merged into one another, creating a vortex of pure light and force, a destructive storm that swallowed their opponent whole.
Once the light flared, then twice it bloomed, rising and coiling around itself like a tower of liquid sunfire. When the boom came, it was like slap from an invisible giant hand. Half the Pokemon were thrown off their feet like they were pulled back by a string, and all humans but Cynthia suffered the same fate. Metchi and Steven were thrown off the air, Inyssa flew like a leaf in a tornado and Barry barely managed to catch her before the shockwave hit him, sending both to the ground.
Spitting out a mouthful of Inyssa's hair, Barry grimaced and lifted both of them up to their knees, the world spinning around them. Everything was black and blurry. The thick smell of smoke and sulfur permeated the air. Even Cynthia didn't seem to escape unscathed, coughing and tearing up as the cloud of black rolled toward them. By the time they got back to their feet, it was hard to even see each other amidst the smoke.
Luckily, there was a quick way to fix that.
"Paulette, use Gust!"
The Staraptor beat her wings at dizzying speeds, and a torrent of wind fell upon the valley, sweeping away the smoke and dust permeating the air and covering what little was left of the setting sun. The cloud dissipated into the air in a hundred little motes, revealing the battlefield once more. The ground was cracked all over. Black and scorching. And there in the very back, ashes of incinerated vines trailing behind her…
A small glow. Weak, golden, like a dome of sunlight.
"W-what?" Inyssa's eyes went wide. "What is…?"
Metchi scoffed. "Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me."
Amber, the most renowned of all shields, held its glow strong for a few more moments before flaking away, melting into the air itself as the ring in Nyss' right hand did the same. The fingers behind it were charred, black, and most of her armor, especially past the circumference of the now destroyed shield, was smoking and red hot. Even so, most of the attack had clearly been absorbed.
Inyssa blinked in disbelief. This time, she was absolutely sure; all of Nyss' more complicated maneuvers so far had been… well, derivative, of her own tales and legends. They were all things she'd been rumored to have done before. Almost as if she were putting on a show for them. A 'Nyss' greatest hits' of sorts, as absurd as the idea was. But…
"Now…"
She was startled back to reality. Nyss stomped the ground, the air bending with heat around her, and rose to her feet, right arm falling limp at her side. She breathed harshly for the first time since the start of the fight. The lines on her face, previously framing the ruthlessness of her expression, were now relaxed and amused, and a smile could clearly be seen on her lips.
Pleasantly surprised, she laughed and looked upon them.
"I must say… there aren't many things in this world that could shatter a shield like Amber. You've all done exceptionally well so far. But that's enough warming up," she said. "Time may weaken the Spirit and dot rust across one's blade, but we humans will find ways to make them meet again and again, like an endless play."
And this time, when that feeling of déjà vu dawned on Inyssa, realization did as well. She understood now. All those incredible feats she'd performed so far, the words she'd just spoken the way she carried herself and even the weapons and armor she used… they were taken straight out of tales and legends about her. They were all…
They were all memories, Nyss herself included. It made sense; after thousands of years, so little of her immeasurable spirit, of her famed strength, must have remained. She was literally running on fumes now. Less than a shadow of her former self, Nyss was… she was only what she could remember of herself. She played through the battles she'd once fought, the maneuvers she'd once executed, because that was all that was left of her. Only memories remained, and she was using them as fuel, as kindle for her flame to burn one last time before it went out for good.
With that realization, now Inyssa knew, as the woman raised Obsidian over her head, exactly the words that would leave her lips next.
"For when steel and blood meet, a flame sparks alight."
Suddenly, the air felt very cold. It was like a vacuum, a sink of heat located within Obsidian itself. Barely-visible wisps of luminescence rose up from Nyss' blackened armor, from the blood running down her shoulder, from the smoking ground around her, expanding and twisting and coalescing into a mass of pure concentrated energy within the cracks and veins of the ebon blade. The heat donned its length in a light that should have been blinding, but seemed almost… contained, much like the heat itself. As though Nyss were keeping them both from pouring out by willpower alone.
Though only for a short time. The sight was so strange, so entrancing that it took the four of them longer than it should have to realize what was about to happen.
"Tsk!" Cynthia clicked her tongue, taking a step back. "Q-quickly, we–!"
"Everyone, look out!" Inyssa yelled. "Protec–!"
Her sentence was swallowed by the rush of flames. Every vein of heat carved across Nyss' arm and the length of her blade expanded, grew out like lightning from a storm, the immense heat within freed at last. It shot off in all directions, quick and indiscriminate, too fast to react to. Hundreds… no, thousands of thin strands, of veins of flame, weaved through the air and filled the circumference of the valley in an instant, stopping at nothing to swallow it whole.
The brightness blinded them. The sound was like that of a jet engine's flame divided into countless threads. Inyssa reacted instinctively, closing her eyes, raising her hands over her face, and she did not have to wait for the pain to arrive.
Screams echoed all throughout the valley, but none of them could drown out the roar of the flames. Inyssa heard it inside her head, then felt it as it pierced through her skin. It didn't feel like something physical. More just… pure energy, sharp and crystallized willpower wielded like thousands of arrows of light and heat. Her shoulder was first. Then her left flank, right under the last of her ribs, and finally her right leg, right under the knee. It didn't pierce the skin, but seared through it, so deep and powerfully she felt the pain in her very soul.
She screamed. Legs failing, she slid a wobbly step forward then fell to her knees as a dozen other trails of heat passed over her. The world blurred around her, nothing but bright, incomprehensible colors and breaths that wouldn't come, the buzz of her own heartbeat in her ears drowning all sounds around her.
"A-ah… f-fff…"
By the time she came back to herself, the ribbons of flame had been replaced by ribbons of smoke. Seared rock and fur and flesh trailing wisps of ashen grey into the air, the only other movement that could be seen being that of bodies shaking, deep in pain.
"N-Niss…"
She looked up hazily, and saw Barry wavily standing next to her. Cynthia and Metchi were a few feet to the left, both on their knees, hacking and coughing, dots of heat-pierced clothing and flesh all throughout their bodies. The two of them had been hit lightly in comparison.
"W-what… the hell…"
She dragged herself to her feet with Barry's help, her stomach doing a flip by the mere movement alone. The pain was piercing, unbearable. But she could still breathe, could still see. And though her right leg was a little unsteady, she could still stand. Flaring her eyes and looking around, even through the smoke and ash she could tell their Pokemon were in similar conditions.
Many remained conscious, although only Enma, Wrathia and Garchomp were fully unharmed. Razen, Paulette, Johnny and Cynthia's Roserade seemed to have lost consciousness, but they clearly still breathed. From what she could see, none of those strands of heat had pierced vital organs. None of them had been intended as fatal. Was Nyss…?
"I certainly hope you're not under the naïve pretense that I'm going easy on you."
Nyss' words were like a gust of wind across the smoking chasm that was the valley. Immediately, all eyes shot to her. She walked out of the black cloud surrounding her, eyes a piercing golden, blade now devoid of that deep ebon shade. It, much like her armor and her scorched arms, were now replete with veins of glowing red and white, pumping heat and power like a heart would pump blood. It showed as she moved, as she stepped closer. Hazy afterimages trailed behind her body and blade, and immense heat emanating from her every pore.
"Like I said, I've simply finished warming up." She smiled cockily, but not cruelly. It was the same expression Inyssa had worn countless times during her toughest battles. A mask, yet one she'd been born to don. "As such, I believe it is only appropriate for me to finally fight uninhibited."
She looked down, eyes closed, and pressed a hand against her chest plate. Then, words as heavy as mountains left her lips.
"I will make reality bend to my Will."
And the storm came to life. The gold behind her eyes burst, solidified, and her body finally lost what little transparency it still had. A ring of golden flames spun at her feet, pushing down against the rock and expanding outwards like a shockwave, a gale that grew and grew until it had encompassed the entire valley.
Inyssa recoiled, expecting pain, but none came. Instead, she felt a… strange and energizing shiver run down her spine, a warmth that made her skin tingle and her blood come alive within her veins. It was the same warmth Metchi usually emanated, only immeasurably more intense. It imbued all she could see, wisps of luminescent energy rising from the ground like steam.
"T-this…" Cynthia couldn't help but gawk, fear and excitement mixed in her expression. "The power of your Spirit, even after so long…"
Metchi scoffed. "What a show-off."
"S-so this is her at her strongest?" asked Barry.
Inyssa nodded. "Yeah. And it's just a shadow of what she was once capable of."
It was far and beyond that incredible pressure Cynthia had exuded the last two times they'd fought her. There was simply no comparison. And yet they had to emerge victorious here, where before they had failed.
How could Inyssa not smile at such a prospect? She didn't need to look to the side to know the same expression was on everyone else.
"The time is ripe," Nyss' voice echoed, booming, all-encompassing. "Now…"
She started to run. Slowly at first, picking up speed with every ground-shaking step as both her hair and her hazy after-image trailed behind her, flames and cinders licking up her body. Her remaining opponents rose to meet her, in her eyes but a row of paper dolls attempting to stop a storm. She smiled a proud, terrible smile and suddenly fell into a crouch, a ring of flames spinning around her feet for only a moment before she leaped.
The ground cracked. Her foes looked up, seeing only a blur, only the flames trailing behind her. Then they saw her fall. Quickly, far more than should have been possible with gravity alone. She fell toward them like a flaming cannonball, blade held high.
Orders echoed through the air. Several figures jumped to meet her descent, and several more filled the air with attacks in an attempt to slow her momentum. It was pointless. Kuro's lightning and Pedri's water somehow… missed her, despite how sure they'd been of their aim, and Wrathia's flame did little more than momentarily blind her. She streaked past them and onto the blood-hungry streak of Lorencia's scythes.
Nyss parried them with minimal force, only enough for the slash to streak under her by an inch. Her momentum carried her forward as she drove her elbow onto the Garchomp's face. She growled and was thrown back, a blotch of purple on the dark blue where she'd been stricken, but she did not let that stop her. With incredible speed, she closed her claws around the woman's right arm and spun in place, throwing her straight down onto her companion's path.
Shadi and Kitsune flew up toward her, jumping on what appeared to be invisible panes of psychic energy. Nyss readied her blade. She was about to swing at them when the fox' eyes shone, and about a dozen of those same panes materialized before her, fusing together into a powerful barrier.
Nyss tore through it like fire through paper. That gave Kitsune pause, eyes wide in shock. His movements slowed, but Shadi's did not. She met the arc of the ebon blade with a skillful parry of her own, then jumped off nothing to the side with some of her stored momentum, using the strength of her wings to spin in mid-air and slash at Nyss' side with her scythes.
Once, then twice she was parried, but the speed and unpredictability of her blows was enough to keep Nyss on the defensive for a few moments. Shadi had to fly back and away as they finally met the ground. The impact of the woman's fall was followed by a shockwave as she immediately shot forward, falling into a crouch as she ran, twin streaks of red and blue streaking toward her from opposite directions.
"Force Palm!"
"Close Combat!"
Enma and Lucario fell upon her, battering her with a storm of kicks and punches as the rest of their companions hurried to join them. Nyss moved through them like a Vaporeon in water. Like smoke through the fingers of a closed fist, she weaved with inhuman speed and accuracy through the blur of light and flames, emerging behind the two Pokemon only an instant later. Enma and Lucario froze, eyes widening. They turned around just in time to see the arc Obsidian made toward them.
"RHAAAAAA!"
Pedri cut through the battlefield in a mantle of swirling water, pushing the two of them aside as he met the slash of flame with one of his own. A sound like a gong being struck resonated. Pressurized steam exploded in a cloud as he and Nyss were thrown back by the force of the impact. Pedri wobbled a step back, fins shaking, but his opponent did not wait. There was a yellow blur behind her, and as the air crackled with electricity she lazily slashed at the air behind her, re-directing Kuro's lightning away from her. Then she fell into a crouch and leaped forward, onto her enemies.
She was a blur, a frenetic chaos. The sheer speed and ease with which she dodged one attack, parried another and struck back against a third opponent all in the same moment was… unfathomable. There was no doubt, no delay to her movements. Her fighting style was nothing short of perfect, and even as all the front-fighters threw themselves at her again and again, and even as the others around the battlefield tried to slow her down with vines or pelt her with bolts of energy, none of it worked. Nothing slowed her down. Nothing… hit the mark.
A worried look began to cross Inyssa's face. They weren't landing hits anymore, but Nyss was getting closer with every second that passed. Thin streaks of blood cut through the blur of combat every few moments. As Nyss flowed and weaved between the small army of Pokemon attacking her, she made sure to strike back, more often than not finding its mark, although not yet striking a vital point.
Not yet…
The thought made her stomach sink. The Kricketune was holding her own against that monster… no, more than that. If Nyss was a storm then Shadi was a red ribbon caught up in it, not resisting its pull, instead flowing alongside it, searching for its center. Wild trails of blood-red mist exuded from her body with every movement like steam from a kettle; a mere drop of the momentum she'd accumulated throughout the fight. Combined with the hazy after-images left behind by Nyss' attacks, it made for a breathtaking sight. Two mirages of ebon and crimson crashing again and again, making sharp, frenetic music like a violin's bow being feverishly dragged across its strings.
Yet there was not denying it. Shadi was getting slower, the momentum she absorbed from each blow too powerful to keep inside her body. She gave back as much as she could, strike after strike, but it wasn't fast enough. Even with the other Pokemon assisting her, she couldn't keep up for long.
Inyssa opened her mouth to yell something, but stopped herself. Was it really okay to interfere? Hadn't she failed Shadi time and time again by pulling her out of fights she didn't think the Kricketune could win? And after promising her so much, no less. She frowned, teeth nibbling at her lower lip. This was…
She felt a hand on her shoulder. When she turned around, Metchi's smile met her, all pained and bloody, yet just as genuine as always.
"It's gonna be okay," she said. "We can beat her."
It might've been something in Metchi's voice, but she believed it. Feeling a bit of that anxiety die down, she looked toward the battlefield.
"Are you still insisting on fighting too?" she asked.
"I gotta pay her back for that head butt somehow, don't I?"
Inyssa smiled. "Then I think I've got an idea. Here."
"What are…?"
Metchi was surprised when Inyssa took off one of her gloves and grabbed her right hand, the tips of her fingers touching the knife she was holding. Her eyes glowed as she infused the weapon, and there was a small crackle between them. A wordless conversation.
"Ah… gotcha," said Metchi as she let go of her hand. "That's… not gonna be easy."
"You never know, might as well try," she shrugged. "Now go, see if you can give Shadi some space. Steven!"
The Staraptor's talons grabbed onto Metchi and they were off, wind exploding in shockwaves around every beat of his wings as they joined the fight once more.
Yells and orders echoed at her side, Barry and Cynthia's voices joining together as they tried to find a way for their Pokemon through the chaos of the battlefield.
"Pedri, Rock Slide!"
"With him, Lorencia!"
Jumping back, the two Pokemon positioned themselves on opposite sides of Nyss and roared as they slammed their hands down against the ground, sending waves of energy powerful enough to make it crack and explode. All the other Pokemon stepped back. Nyss shook, her foothold suddenly unsteady as it began breaking apart from under her, sharp spires of rock erupting like spikes.
She dodged the first two and slashed at the third as though it were made of butter, but soon she realized that the attack wasn't entirely meant to harm her. Looking around, she realized that the spires had risen all throughout the battlefield, a hundred miniature protrusions erected in rows with her at the center. She frowned in confusion, only a second before seeing the red blur.
Nyss' eyes widened. She'd been astounded before that a simple Kricketune could move so fast, fight so deftly, but this was beyond her wildest expectations. Calling her a blur would've been insufficient. She was nothing more than a streak, a crimson arrow that whistled through the battlefield, jumping from spire to spire in wild, erratic patterns. Nyss' eyes flew as she tried to follow her movements, but she couldn't keep up, it was too…
"Now! Obsidian Overture!"
Were it not for the quick feeling of the Pokemon's gaze setting on her, Nyss wouldn't have been able to react in time. Even then, she was only able to raise her sword a few inches. Just enough to meet the blow. Shadi flew toward her, spinning on herself with her scythes outward like a saw. When the two met, a horribly shrill screech of sharpness against sharpness echoed through the air, and sparks flew in all directions as the two vied for control.
But for once, Nyss' parrying was sloppy. Angled as it was, her blade couldn't keep the impact at bay and flew out of her hand, spinning through the air erratically before falling to the ground. But Shadi's scythes kept going. They went past Nyss' arms and slammed against her chest plate, sawing into it, going past metal and cloth and digging into skin and flesh.
"GHK-GAAH!"
Nyss' punch was quick and desperate, wholly different from her calculated movements before, which caught Shadi off-guard. Unable to block, it caught her on the side of the head like a blow from a hammer. She was thrown aside and to the ground while Nyss took an unsteady step back, teeth clenched. There was a thick gash down the middle of her chest plate, dark blood starting to stain its edges.
"Obsidian, w-where's…"
There were flares behind and above her, and she moved instinctually, jumping back as Lucario landed in her previous spot, driving a stake of glowing energy against the ground. From behind him streaked Infernape, flames exploding off every pore of his body, boosting his speed considerably as he threw himself at her. Red and white licked at Nyss' own fingers as she raised her palm and caught the punch with it, heat and force expanding in a shockwave around the impact. She tried to grab at his wrist but he was fast, throwing another two punches that were but smokescreens for a roundhouse kick at her side, the centrifugal force of his flames giving him enough speed that she had to focus wholly on blocking for a couple seconds. And a couple seconds was all the other Pokemon needed to reach her side.
Away from her blade, Nyss could only duck and weave in between the storm of blows and slashes as she tried to reach for her weapon, but every inch gained was a hit taken, a drop of blood sprayed. But she was close now. She threw herself forward and slammed her forearm on the inside of Garchomp's elbow, stopping her slash, then punched her in the face and used the confusion to slid past her.
There. Obsidian rested on the ground, not too far. She heard the crackling of flames and psychic energy; Infernape and Alakazam would be upon her soon, but she could get there in time, she could–
She noticed something odd then, out of the corner of her eye. The Luxray, the one that had been blasting away at her with bolts of lightning. She'd seen him running around the battlefield in circles, and figured he might be waiting for an opportunity to strike, but… no, that wasn't it. There was something on top of him. A Pokemon, a… Roserade? It stood atop his back, shooting vines in all directions, wrapping them around the many jagged spires of rock littering the battlefield and connecting them together. What on…?
"HGHAH!"
In her short-lived confusion, Nyss failed to notice as Metchi came flying in and slammed against her with the full brunt of her momentum, falling on top of her. They hit the ground hard and rolled forward, limbs entangled. By the time they stopped, Nyss found herself on her back, Metchi kneeling, almost collapsed on top of her, hands pressing her wrists tightly against the ground.
Their faces were close, too close. For the shortest moment, fluster kept Nyss more pinned than Metchi's strength ever could.
"Hey," Metchi whispered. "Miss me?"
Nyss kneed her in the stomach. With a gasp and a wretch Metchi was thrown back, freeing her wrists. She twisted in place and stretched her hand to grab Obsidian, fingers closing tightly around the sword's hilt. Then, without thinking, she raised the weapon and slashed at Metchi's ches–
The blade stopped in place, its momentum slowing with great difficulty, then dying completely. Eyes widening, Nyss looked to the side, finding the culprits. Espeon and Alakazam were ablaze with their own psychic energy, using every ounce of it to stop the swing of her arm.
She felt a pull, like a vacuum of space, and her arm was pulled up like a puppet from its strings, pushing her to her feet in an instant. Nyss grit her teeth, focused her strength and smashed through the psychic hold like a hammer shattering glass, but she couldn't do it fast enough to avoid the Pokemon barreling toward her.
"Wild Charge!"
With a roar that boomed like a gunshot, Luxray slammed against her, head digging into her stomach. The high voltage running through his fur instantly transferred to her armor and Nyss' limbs went limp as she was thrown through the air, the world spinning around her. She tried to move, but her body wouldn't list–
One of the taller rock spires cracked as her back crashed against it, stopping her flight and embedding the back of her chest plate onto it. Nyss shook her head, swatting away the confusion. And as she looked down, two things surprised her.
First, she was not alone. The Roserade that had been riding atop Luxray's back now held on to her chest plate as tightly as he could, apparently having been thrown alongside her. And second, she could feel the texture of vines against her elbow and the back of her forearm, lining the outline of the rock.
"I…"
It was too late when she realized what was happening. Someone cried out in the distance, and the small Roserade placed its bouquet hands against her chest, his whole body bursting with a greenish white glow.
Then, vines exploded in all directions. They grew fast, violently, the full might of life's essence pouring forth from Roserade's hands. In an instant they covered Nyss' torso whole, wrapping around the rock behind her and securing her tight. She gasped and attempted to break free, but then more vines, longer and thicker, shot out from the clump keeping her in place. They cut through the air like whips and joined with the ones wrapped around every other jagged spire littering the battlefield. They were all joined together by vines, with her at the center.
As realization dawned on her, Inyssa's scream cut through the air.
"Now! Thorn Burial!"
The vines went taut, pulled inward. Espeon and Alakazam flared psychic energy once more and lent their power as well, making every single one of the spires dislodge itself from the ground and shoot toward the bound Nyss as though by a great magnetic force.
She could only stare, dumbfounded. Roserade jumped out of her chest just as the dozens of boulders converged and slammed against each other as well as every inch of her body, dull and sharp edges denting and piercing through her armor and onto the skin and flesh below. The crackling of the impacts and the massive cloud of dust that rose up from them did wonders at masking the wet, broken gasp that left Nyss' lips, as well as the mouthful of blood that came with it.
A scream broke through the pain. Cynthia's. It boomed like lightning throughout the valley.
"NOW!"
Nyss saw them through a haze of pain and blurriness, her own heartbeat echoing in her ears, deafening her. Multiple figures leapt high into the air and fell straight toward her. Gleams of red and gold and blue covered their fists and scythes and blades, all that they could bring to bear against her, the peak of their power. They intended to finish her off here and now.
That thought brought clarity like a hot iron pressed against her skin. Nyss inhaled sharply, eyes shooting wide. She tried to free herself but couldn't; her right arm was crushed and bloody in between two large boulders, tightly keeping it in place. She couldn't free it in time. They were almost upon her, she could see them through the corner of her eye.
Nyss pursed her lips, and raised her blade. Only one thing to do.
There was a blur of movement, a spray of red, and then the impact came. Like a whirlpool being overflowed, the clump of sharp boulders were half shattered and half buried from the sheer power of their combined assault, only for that same momentum to explode outwards a second later, dust and steam and shattered pebbles flying in all directions.
But as the Pokemon recoiled from the impact of their own attacks, they realized. There was no blood. No screams of pain, no… presence where Nyss' had been before. But she was there. She had to be, that pale thing sticking through two of the boulders…
Realization came a moment too late to them. What lay on top of the wreck was indeed an arm, crushed and bloody and bent unnaturally, but it was not attached to their opponent.
"Wh… crap! Up, up!" Cynthia's scream brought them back to reality, shrill and fearful. "There, above!"
All the Pokemon looked up, and felt their breath leave their bodies. Time slowed to a crawl. There, about twenty feet above them, hovered Nyss, reaching the height of her previous jump. She hung in the air for a moment, her previously ornate and beautiful armor now little more than scrap, dented and pierced all over, stained almost entirely with the woman's blood. It trailed behind her as she fell; long, thick ribbons of dark red not only from her wounds, but from where her right arm used to be.
Her expression was darkened, eyes wide and terrifying, gleaming with nothing but death. She raised her sword and pointed down as she began to fall. Then, she parted her lips and screamed.
Every drop and trail of blood ignited. Nyss became a falling star, a pure source of luminescence and heat that slammed against the ground with force unfathomed, her roar shattering the air just as her blade shattered the ground.
The light was the last many of them saw, as the ground erupted like the surface of a volcano and flames engulfed all.
Inyssa took a sudden breath, and immediately had to cough it out, smoke and ashes making her choke and tear up.
She pressed her elbows against the ground and pushed herself up, the world spinning around her. If she'd lost consciousness from the heat, it couldn't have been for longer than a few seconds. Everything before her, the valley… it was unrecognizable. Nothing of it remained, only scorched, shattered stones as far as the eye could see, serving as little more than spots for the score of unconscious Pokemon to lean against. Though even they were hard to make out, just as smoking and blackened as everything else.
"W-wh…"
Inyssa blinked, and just then the transparent barrier she hadn't even noticed shattered into a thousand pieces, burned away. A second after, the mantle of light engulfing Noria and Kitsune vanished, and both Pokemon crumpled to the ground, utterly spent of energy.
So that's why… if it hadn't been for them, we'd be…
The others were starting to rouse up around her. Just like her, they'd probably been blown back and momentarily knocked out by the explosion of heat, but other than a few singed patches of clothing here and there, none of them had been burned too badly.
"F…f-fucking hell," Metchi could be heard not too far away. "That was…"
"Is… is everyone alr-?"
Cynthia's question was interrupted as a heavy step, iron against stone, echoed through the valley. All eyes shot toward the noise. It came from the middle of the valley, from within the thick column of smoke and ash. There was another step, and a figure could finally be made out.
"I-it's…"
Nyss stepped out, slowly, weakly. Every inch of her bled smoke, trailing past skin and armor and hair much like the hazy afterimage did before. Only now, she…
"S-she's weakened."
Barry was right. Nyss shuffled toward them as though she were carrying a mountain on her back, every step slow, laborious. Her breathing was heavy and no hint of gold could be seen past the curtain of black that was her hair, covering her face.
That sight was enough to motivate them all to their feet. But even so, even if she was weakened…
"O-our Pokem–"
Another figure rose to its feet. Pebbles and rocks echoed as they slid off the top of her body and fell to the ground, getting Nyss' attention. The legend stopped, tilted her head to the side and found herself face to face with the only Pokemon still standing. A wounded, bloody Kricketune, scythes held high.
Inyssa's heart sank.
"I see… it will be you, then?" asked Nyss, the echo and power of her voice waning, yet still a smile formed on her lips. "You want the honor of defeating me… then come. Snuff this flame out, once and for all!"
One last flare, one last burst of strength. Feet dragging across the shattered rock, standing amidst a blackened, smoldering chasm, human and Pokemon stared each other down, falling into a crouch as they prepared to strike. White, luminescent heat rose from the ground to coil around Nyss' arm, coating her blade. Dark, blood-red steam exuded from Shadi like mist, all the remaining energy she'd accumulated bleeding into her scythes.
The two warriors shone each other a quick, simple smile, and threw themselves forward as a terrified scream echoed.
"SHADI!"
Inyssa's eyes burst alight, and time slowed to a crawl. Her sight true, her senses enhanced like never before, Inyssa saw through every twitch, every small movement and adjustment of their weapons as they flew closer and closer to impact, and knew… knew that Shadi would win. She would kill Nyss… she would emerge victorious.
But at the cost of her life.
In that moment that stretched into eternity, the deepest fear stabbed into Inyssa's heart like icy claws digging into flesh. And yet… she froze. Stopped herself from interfering.
Hadn't she promised Shadi this? A chance to stand where no others had stood, to show the world that any Pokemon, no matter how weak and frail, could rise above all others? And here she was, moments from taking down the most renowned warrior that had ever lived. This was her moment of glory, her chance to be immortalized for all time as the strongest of her species.
This was what she'd trained and suffered so much for. It wouldn't be right for her to…
To…
You're seriously the best.
The words and the feeling of that memory echoed in her head. The tears running down her cheeks, the feeling of holding an exhausted Shadi against her, hugging her so tight, pride dripping from her every word. A smile she couldn't contain.
I love you.
Time sped up again. Inyssa's body moved automatically, fueled by pure fear and desperation. Her eyes flared, her body burst into light and she vanished, reappearing with a puff in between the two, one hand raised toward each.
There was no sound, no shockwave of impact, only a sudden burst of light. Nyss and Shadi squinted, equal looks of confusion on their faces. Their momentum was completely gone. They could feel something warm and ethereal wrapped around their arms, stopping them in place.
"Be…lele?"
"Inyssa?"
Inyssa knelt between them, looking small and frail within the creature of light that surrounded her like a suit of armor. A familiar presence, one she'd summoned twice before. The glowing Golurk moved as she did, seizing both Nyss' blade and Shadi's scythes, holding them firmly in place with its massive hands.
There was another, subtler glow, golden in hue, that bled from one of the hands to Nyss' sword, though Nyss failed to notice, as it was there for only a moment.
Inyssa lifted her chin shakily, looking at the dumbfounded Kricketune. Every inch of her body shook with effort. The gold of her eyes flickered on and off, like a faulty light bulb.
"I'm… sorry," she whispered, her voice echoing as though at the end of a long tunnel. "I'm the one that s-sent you down this path, and still…"
A frail, shaking smile formed on her lips, and when she spoke Inyssa's voice cracked.
"I… don't w-want you to die," she breathed out, almost like a sob. "What good is winning if I can't celebrate it with you? I want you here, alive… by my si… de…"
Her voice trailed off. The giant of light broke apart, then poofed away entirely, bleeding into the air like white mist as Inyssa collapsed, limp, all strength gone from her. She was surprised to feel something soft and warm stop her fall. Shadi held her, shakily, carefully, against her own body. Looking through lidded eyes, she saw her face only inches from hers, an indescribable expression on her face.
"I'm sorry…" Inyssa repeated, sounding almost delirious. "I love you too much… to let you go. G-guess that makes me a pretty selfish trainer, ha…"
For a few seconds that felt like minutes no one said anything, the heated battle seemingly frozen in time as Pokemon and trainer held each other, hurt and exhausted. Even Nyss stood there, staring, an uncharacteristically distraught look on her face. Despite being covered in blood and curls of ash, despite looking like a demon straight out of anyone's worst nightmares, there was something terribly human and vulnerable about her face just then. It looked as though she'd just seen a ghost.
"S… Synn…"
It was barely a whisper, so small that not even Shadi and Inyssa could hear it. Nor that they could have even if it wasn't, because just then another voice cut through the silence. A growl, a scream.
"Hhhaaaaagh!"
Fueled by nothing but fear at the sight of Nyss' blade so close to his girlfriend, Barry stomped the ground and barreled straight toward them, eyes gleaming, ominous. Nyss blinked away the shock and tried to react, but she couldn't. It was as though the wind were pushing against his back, driving him forward, because he reached her in only a second and, turning to the side in the last moment, slammed his shoulder against Nyss' side strongly enough to knock her off her feet. She fell to the ground, landing on her shoulder with a surprised grunt, the rock cracking under her weight.
And just like that, the heat and desperation of battle returned, like a sudden gust of wind upon the valley.
A lot of things happened at once. Nyss spat out a mouthful of blood and tried to push herself to her feet, Shadi screeched in warning and placed her scythes protectively in front of her trainer, and Metchi began to run, quickly picking up speed, her one remaining knife held firmly in front of her.
"Half-pint!"
Inyssa perked up, blinking away the haze of exhaustion. Metchi was calling to her. She looked up, and saw her running like a stampede of Tauros straight at Nyss. She saw Nyss get up just in time, breathing harsh, back hunched forward, wet and reddish streaks of ashen hair stuck to her face like a bloody spider web. Eyes wide, terrifying, she turned her gaze to Metchi, and began to move. A wobbly, exhausted step, followed by a quicker, perfect one as she threw herself forward, raising her sword.
Then her eyes met Metchi's, and she gave a short, weak nod. Just like they'd planned.
The ground seemed to shake as both women raised their weapons, so close they could see each other's faces perfectly. Nyss brought her blade down in a diagonal slash. Metchi stabbed up with her knife, straight at her foe's chest.
And in the instant before they connected, Inyssa raised her hand and squinted, one last, weak burst of energy flashing behind her eyes.
Re…lease…
There was a quick, almost imperceptible flash, and both weapons switched places with one another.
"WH–GHK!"
Wet and crackly like stepping on wet branches, Obsidian made a horribly unpleasant noise as Metchi drove it straight through Nyss' chest, piercing skin and bone and flesh and coming out the other side, black stained a deep red.
Nyss froze for a moment, eyes wide, somewhat hidden by locks of ashen hair. Slowly, shakily, she looked down, and laughed.
It was a weak laugh, one could have easily mistaken it for the cough that came after, wet and violent and with a mouthful of blood. But it was a laugh nonetheless. As though the sight of her own blade piercing her through the chest were the funniest thing she'd seen in thousands of years.
Metchi shared in her laughter, though in her case it was more of a shaky sigh accompanied by a smile.
"There's a very crude joke I could make right now," she whispered, hands still holding on to the sword. "But I wouldn't want to ruin the occasion."
"Ha, how con…siderate of y-you…"
Knife sliding from her fingers to the ground, Nyss took a shaky step back and fell to her knees limply, like a puppet who'd been cut free of its strings. Small strips of blood fell from the tip of the blade sticking out of her back. She didn't attempt to pull it out. For a few long seconds, she simply knelt there, breathing slowly, eyes hidden in darkness.
Metchi stepped back. The others said nothing for a few heartbeats, though they all wondered the same thing.
"Is… is it… over?"
Barry's hopeful whisper was met with a pained chuckle. Slowly, Nyss looked up from where she was kneeling, eyes and body wracked with pain and exhaustion, almost all of her energy spent. But she wasn't gone yet.
"As long as I still breathe, I will continue to fight," she whispered with a smile. "But I believe… you three have done more than enough already."
The clear confusion on their faces was cleared up as Nyss looked over her shoulder. It was harder to see now, amidst all the smoke and destruction, but what they had come here for was still there in the other extreme of the valley. Almost hidden, a small entrance, little more than a crack in the rocky wall.
"That's right."
Cynthia stepped forward, just as exhausted and covered in wounds and soot as everyone else. Her hair was a frizzy mess, and for once they could see her left eye, the one usually hidden by a large golden tuft of hair.
"You've all done more than I could have ever hoped to ask of you," she said through harsh breaths. "But this is not what you came here for. Our time is running out."
Nyss nodded, as best she could. "It… won't be long now, until the moonless night. I can sense others fighting on Mt. Coronet's peak. They are doing what they can to delay this eternal twilight, and you three… must now do the same."
Inyssa and Barry exchanged a look, the same expression on both their faces. Metchi, however, just chuckled and rolled her eyes dismissively.
"Wanna steal my victory that badly, huh?" she said. "Fine… I guess it can't be helped."
"I…" Barry frowned, looking from Cynthia to Nyss. "Are you sure? I-I mean yeah, I know we have to go but…"
As Inyssa was helped up to her feet by Shadi, a clear look of worry crossed her face, one that Cynthia didn't fail to pick up on.
"You needn't worry," she said, shining Inyssa a warm smile. "I will not let any further harm come upon your friends. You can trust me."
As much as she would have loved to complain, Inyssa figured there wasn't much more to be said, not with such a heavy time limit hanging upon our heads. So she swallowed down her worries and answered the smile with a reluctant nod. Then she turned to look at Shadi. She was prepared to apologize again, but something in the bug's eyes… there was nothing but love and understanding there. There were no unsaid words between them.
Inyssa smiled, and pressed her forehead against Shadi's, smiling. "T… thank you…"
Metchi and Barry were quick to help her up at last, hooking her arms around their shoulders and helping her stay on her feet. It still hurt terribly every time she on her singed leg.
"W-well…"
All three of them looked at the battlefield around them, the destruction, the unconscious bodies all over. Then they looked at Nyss, brought to her knees at last. And even so…
"Ha… you three are… so kind. But it's just like Cynthia said. You needn't worry."
Nyss looked to the side, toward them, and underneath all the blood and iron and smoke, they saw a kind, warm expression. Motherly, almost.
"I can't ever hope to thank you enough. If I finally leave this world, I will do so with the knowledge that all I cherish is left in good hands," she told them. "The bitter sight of death would ill-suit the victory you've earned… so go. Go, and do what I, in my foolishness, could not. Ensure a tomorrow for all that live."
"I…" Barry swallowed, then gave a firm, determined nod. "We will! I promise!"
"Thank you. For everything, and…" Inyssa gave her a tilted, exhausted smile. "… and for such an unforgivable battle."
"Just go on and get that well-deserved rest, and leave everything else to us," said Metchi. "And make sure to doll yourself up there on the other side. 'Cause when I die I'll be there to sweep you off your feet, even if I gotta blast through the doors of hell to reach you."
"Ha… I will look forward to it."
And with that, there were no more words to be said. Looking back one last time, Metchi's gaze lingering the longest, the three walked away, stepping over craters and walking under arcs of jagged rock until they reached the other side, the small opening that led further down the valley, and onto the World of Distortion itself.
The opening called to them. Drew them deeper like air being breathed in, like a magnet to iron. Whispers danced in their minds as they got closer, until they were practically staring down the abyss, one step away from entering it.
"Well… here goes nothing."
And with that whisper, Metchi stepped forward alongside Barry and Inyssa, disappearing past the opening and onto the endless darkness.