Merry Christmas everyone! Hope today's been joyful for everyone weather your spending it with family, friends or alone (some people like doing it alone and I don't blame them. How do people be around other people all day long?). No, I wasn't ever planning on skipping today, but I did expect it to be posted later, like around now. I hope you all enjoy this one! Also, has anyone seen Encanto? It's on Disney Plus now! One of my favorite parts is when Pepa keeps saying that they don't talk about Bruno, then go into an entire song about it. I just find it hilarious!
Warnings: Talk of character death. Battles. Talk of wounds. Protectiveness.
Disclaimer: Don't own Pokemon. Autumn's mine.
-Autumn's P.O.V.-
I'm honestly surprised no one asked why my jacket was wrapped around my wrist, or why I looked so awful. My clothes were torn in multiple places from when Winter and I slid on the ground as we crashed and I was covered in dust. Even my hair was going crazy since I haven't really been able to do anything with it. I was also hiding my exhaustion really well and (surprising me a lot) I was hungry. I'd been able to ignore it for the most part, but I was starting to hurt. Then Lusamine showed up, "Lusamine!" I cried out, making everyone turn around to see her.
Lillie gasped, "It's our mother!" She sounded terrified and I didn't blame her.
Lusamine was now halfway through the merge, "We've got to save her, quick!" Ash stated.
Solgaleo tried to help, but he ended up making her go farther away, "Let her go Ultra Beast!" He roared.
Lusamine didn't like that, "No, no, stay away!"
"Don't worry," Lillie stated, determined, "I'll save you!" And she started running.
"Lillie!" Ash and Gladion ran after her.
"Wait!" Gladion tried to warn, "It's dangerous!"
"But Mother's in trouble!" Lillie answered as we started to run after them.
Then I noticed Gladion asked Umbreon to destroy some of the rocks, "Wait! Don't!" I cried out, but I was too late.
"What's that?" Rotom asked, "Is it that Ultra Beasts power?!"
"Not exactly," I answered, trying to catch my breath, "These rocks are what they become when they die," Everyone froze, creeped out, "But the ones who are alive can control them to create different formations with it."
"What is that Ultra Beast planning to do with Lillie's mom?" Mallow asked.
"It's how they learn," I answered, "One of them absorbs the new person or thing into their membrane, learning everything about it. Then they share their knowledge with the others."
"Could mother's energy be drained if the two of them fully merge?" Gladion asked.
I nodded, "While merging with something, they feed off of their energy. It's what they eat."
"That sounds horrible!" Lana stated.
"How do you know so much about Ultra Beasts?" Gladion asked me.
Somehow, Ash realized I didn't want to exactly answer, "Hey, we've got to hurry, so, let's move!"
Lusamine just moved back, "It's getting away!" Mallow pointed out.
"No, Ash, if we chase after them, it's probably going to get angry!" Kiawe said.
"She already is angry," I stated.
"Go away!" Lusamine cried out, "I've been waiting a long time to experience this!"
"Lusamine?" Ash walked forward a bit. I followed him.
"We finally met! After all this time, we finally met!"
"But this isn't what you want!" I told her forcefully, "You just want to know about Ultra Beasts! You're not thinking clearly because the Ultra Beast is slowly taking control of you!"
"You be quiet, right now!" Lusamine turned away and started flying off.
"Hey, wait!" Ash ran after her. Lucky for us, she created rocks for us to follow her on.
We all ran after her, "What's going on? What's up with her?" Sophocles asked.
"She's acting like a child!" Lana pointed out.
"Maybe she's being controlled," Kiawe suggested.
"She sort of is," I answered, "But the Ultra Beasts here take what you want the most and make you think that they're giving it to you."
"So she thinks she's learning about Ultra Beasts," Gladion realized, "But she's really becoming one. She's not thinking straight."
"So, we're the bad guys?" Ash asked.
"In her eyes, yes," I answered.
"There has to be a way to get her out of there!" Lillie said.
We finally caught up to her as she stopped, "We've got to save her, whether she likes it or not!" Ash stated with no room for argument.
"Of course!" Lillie agreed immediately, "And I'll bring her back to her senses, no matter what! Snowy," She called Snowy out, "Use Powder Snow!"
"No, stop!" Lusamine wasn't liking this, "Stay away!"
The Powder Snow didn't hit Lusamine, but the rocks she moved in front of her, "Check it out," Ash awed.
"Can it even do that?" Kiawe asked, shocked.
"I hate you all!" Lusamine told us, "Go away!"
"Hate us?" Lillie asked, sadly.
"Don't listen to her!" Mallow told her, "She doesn't mean that!"
"Right. What mother's saying right now isn't making any sense at all."
Lusamine went to hide behind the rocks once more, "Okay. Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
"Wait!" I grabbed Pikachu before he could start charging up, "None of that will work."
"What?" Pikachu asked me.
"What do you mean it won't work?" Kiawe asked.
"Dark type moves are the only thing that can even put a dent in these things," I set Pikachu down, finally putting the rock in my pocket so I wouldn't lose it, "And we shouldn't destroy these. They used to be people."
"Then how do you suggest we get over this?" Gladion asked.
I didn't have an answer for that, "There has to be a way to get around this," Ash stated.
I was staring at the wall, "Why not climb?" I finally asked, "It won't be too hard and I can lead the way if you want. I know exactly how to climb over this."
"Are you sure?" Mallow asked, "Those rocks look sharp."
I nodded as Ash took his backpack off, "What's going on in here?" He asked and started digging around in it. He pulled out a Pokeball that was shaking, almost immediately calling them out.
"Autumn!" Riolu immediately tackled me in a hug.
"Riolu!" I beamed and hugged her back, "I'm so glad you're alright," I told her, planning on never letting her go… Well, at least for the week.
I only moved when Riolu started to squirm a bit, "We should probably give you your Z-Ring as well," Kiawe said, handing said thing to me.
"This isn't mine," It was a red and brown Z-Ring that wasn't what mine looked like the last time I saw it.
"The Island Guardians did something to our Z-Rings," Ash admitted, showing me his, "And now they've evolved!"
I put it on my good wrist and looked back at the wall, "Alright, I wanna know everything that happened while I was stuck here, but first, we need to save Lusamine."
The climb wasn't too hard and everyone made it over safely. Riolu actually got mad at me when I tried to carry her over because I was so hurt. When we arrived on the other side, Lusamine seemed angrier, "Leave me alone!" Lusamine told us, "Or I'm going to do something frightening!" She tossed a Pokeball towards us and let out a Salazzle.
Rotom told us what he could about the Pokemon and Gladion and Lillie confirmed it as their mother's Pokemon. Kiawe ended up staying behind to take care of it and keep it busy while Solgaleo gave us a ride (which I nearly fell asleep on because he just felt so warm and soft). Sophocles, Mallow and Lana stayed behind to keep Lilligant, Milotic and Mismagius busy; they were also Lusamine's Pokemon. Ash left Rowlet and Litten with them to help as we moved on along with Rotom, "Hopefully we can all make it to Lusamine," I told the others, not wanting to lose anyone else.
"Here," Ash gave me the Pokeballs that Oricorio and Sylveon were in, "I forgot to give them back to you when we arrived."
"Thank you Ash," I quickly clipped them onto my belt as we continued moving.
Lusamine let out another Pokemon, an Absol that Gladion stayed behind to take care of, telling us to continue. Lillie was next to stay with Lycanroc to try and get Clefable back, "You'll rescue mother, right?" Lillie asked us right before we left.
"You know we will," Ash answered.
I smiled, "We won't stop until she's saved!" Then we were on our way. I looked back, "How do you think they're all doing with their battles?" I asked Ash.
"I don't know," He answered, not looking back, "But I know they're all strong. They'll be alright."
I nodded and looked forward once more. We were just about to reach her when she started to attack. The first attack didn't hit us because Solgaleo blocked us from anything that would hit us, but the second one was a bit harder, "She's surrounded herself with poison," I mumbled as we got off Solgaleo, "She knows that we can't reach her unless we cross here, but we can't touch it!"
Lusamine sighed in relief, "How are we supposed to get to her then?" Ash asked.
"We'll have to try reasoning with her."
"Right," Ash nodded, then raised his voice, "Lusamine listen to me! Lillie and Gladion are on their way and they'll be here in no time!"
"Stay away from me!" She cried out, "I hate you! Hate you!" The poison climbed up, nearly hitting us if Solgaleo didn't pick us up.
"Thank you, Nebby," I told him.
He just threw us back on his back and ran across the poison like it wasn't even there, "Stay away!" Lusamine cried out, shooting another move at us
Solgaleo dodged them all and we landed on the rocky island in no time, "Ok, let's go," Ash jumped down, me following him.
I didn't follow him in running forward though, "Ash!" I called out to him once Lusamine threw him away, "We have to get through to Lusamine before we can pull her out!"
"How are we supposed to do that?" He asked.
"Lusamine!" I got her attention once more, "Please, listen to us! Your children are coming and we are going to save you! They miss you!"
"Stop talking!" I had to dive out of the way of some of her shots.
"Yeah, I don't think we're going to get through to her," I finally told Ash as I stood up, checking my pockets. Nothing fell out, which I was thankful for. I wasn't going to lose the rock, "Do you have any ideas that don't consist of us running towards her?"
"Could you use your Aura to calm her down?" He asked, "I can't think of anything else."
"Riolu could," I picked her up, despite her not wanting me to, "I'm trying to save my Aura in case we need it. I've used it a lot."
"Then we'll do that!" Ash beamed, "Pikachu and I can distract her while you sneak in and calm her down!"
They didn't wait for me, just started running towards her, "We'd better hurry if we want to do this," Riolu told me, getting me to start running.
We were able to make it look like we were going to hide behind some rocks, but we just used them to sneak closer to her, "You ready Riolu?" I asked her.
She nodded and we actually touched her, Riolu already sending a calming Aura towards her, "No! Stop!" I blocked the feeler aimed for Riolu as we were both sent rolling along the ground, my arms wrapped around Riolu to minimize the damage to her.
Of course, I temporarily forgot that my entire back was covered in scratches and bruises. I cried out in pain once we stopped, "Autumn!" Ash, Pikachu, Riolu and Nebby cried out, running towards me.
"I'm fine," I gritted out, trying to ignore the pain coming from my back, "Just… don't think I'll be able to do much more now."
Ash helped me to an area where I wouldn't be hurt as Gladion and Lillie showed up. I would have gotten up to help, but all my energy was spent, "Don't move," Ash told me as Lillie and Gladion came over once we learned about the Pokemon getting energy from the Ultra Beast.
I just called out Oricorio and Sylveon, "Hey you two," I mumbled, gently petting both of them.
Sylveon wrapped one of her feelers around my broken wrist, giving it more support, "Is this helping?" She asked.
"Let's take care of some of the worst injuries," Oricorio said as I nodded.
Slowly, they tended to my injuries and did their best to clean them, "We don't have much to work with," Riolu admitted once she was exhausted from Heal Pulse, "We can't do anything more."
"You don't need to," I petted each and every one of them with a beaming smile, "You've all done more than enough."
I turned back to what was happening and forced myself up, "Mother!" Lillie cried out as Gladion and Sylvally saved her.
"It's getting bigger!" Ash cried out.
"It's unbelievable!" Gladion added.
That wasn't good, "We need to act fast!" I ran over to them, ignoring how hurt I was and my Pokemon trying to get me to sit back down, "It's merging with your mother faster now that it knows she can get away!" I warned as rocks surrounded the Ultra Beast.
"She's completely trapped inside of it!" Ash was starting to worry a bit.
"The Ultra Beast doesn't want to let my mother go," Gladion realized.
The rocks grew, creating spikes around the tomb it made for itself, "Gladion," Ash turned to him, "If we use our Z-Moves together, we might be able to stop the Ultra Beast!"
"But the thing is, I already used Continental Crush against Absol," He admitted.
"Riolu and I can still use our Z-Move," I added.
"But Autumn," Lillie pointed out, "You're still weak. You need to rest."
"I can do this Lillie," I smiled, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Gladion and Silvally can distract it while Ash and I use our Z-Moves, then you can pull your mother out."
"Are you sure you can do that?" Ash was still worried.
I nodded, "Alright," Gladion was the first to act, "Use Air Slash!" He called out, countering the Ultra Beast's attack, "Now's your chance!"
"Ready Riolu?" I asked as she jumped in front of me.
"Let's do this! To save their mother!" Riolu nodded.
Ash took a moment to look at his changed Z-Crystal, but I didn't stop. I crossed my arms, then swung my arm down and around to cross underneath my other hand in front of me, "Our love and bond shining though," I said as Riolu powered up, "To power us to victory! Use Drill Steel!" Riolu punched the rock around the Ultra Beast with a pure silver beam that turned into a point of pure power at the front.
The rocks all separated around it as Ash was right behind me, "Use 10 Million Volt Thunderbolt!" He cried out, with Pikachu getting a perfect hit on the Ultra Beast. Riolu and I looked at my Z-Ring with a changed Steelium Z in it. The box that was in the middle of the regular Z-Crystal was now on top, outlined in silver. It wasn't there for long as it slowly disappeared.
Both of our super powered up Z-Moves were ignored as Lillie and Gladion ran forward to get their mother out, "Wake up!" Lillie pleaded as she and Gladion held her in a sitting position, "Please, Mother, you've got to wake up!"
I ran over to see if I could help, "Gladion, can you join your sister?" I asked him, already moving into position.
He moved out of the way, "What are you doing?" He asked.
"I'm going to see what I can do to help," I answered, still checking Lusamine for injuries, "Sylveon, could you get the leftover poison off her?"
"Poison?!" Lillie and Ash yelped, Gladion's eyes just widened.
"Don't worry, it's non lethal," I reassured, "It just zaps your energy."
"Where do you want it?" Sylveon asked once it was all in a ball.
"Away from us," Oricorio added, keeping me calm as I kept on touching Lusamine.
Once the poison was off, it was easy to see what was wrong, "Riolu, do you have any more energy?" I asked her.
"I'm all out," She admitted, still holding onto me, "It's why I'm getting a ride from you."
"Alright then," I mustered the little energy I could and gave it to Lusamine, "There," I breathed once I was done, "She'll live, but she's going to need a lot of rest."
True to my statement, Lusamine started to open her eyes, "Can you stand mother?" Gladion asked as he and Lillie helped Lusamine to her feet.
Ash pulled me away, but was tired himself, so just helped me to the ground away from them, "Yeah," Lusamine answered softly, "I think so."
"You know what?" Lillie smiled, "You're a strong person for sure! Just like I thought you were."
I was distracted as Ash took my attention, "Autumn, is there anything I can do?"
"I'll be fine," I mumbled, trying to stay awake, "Just probably sleep for a few… weeks."
Ash laughed, "Alright, but we need to clean your cuts before they get infected… if they haven't already," Then he frowned, "What's this?" He picked up the heart shaped rock with a ribbon around it.
I gently took it from him, "It was… a friend," I smiled sadly, what she did for me finally sinking in.
Ash pulled me into a hug, but I didn't let myself cry yet, "Hey Ash! Autumn!" Kiawe called to us as everyone joined us.
"Lillie! Lillie!" Mallow and Lana cheered.
"Hey everybody!" Ash started waving, "We did it! We did it!"
"Thanks to all your help, my mother's safe!" Lillie added, "Everything's going to be fine!"
Rotom was wondering about the Z-Moves we did and wanted to know everything about it, "First, we should get back home," Gladion said, "Mother needs to get to the hospital."
Nebby ran over to us and bent down, "Kiawe?" Ash asked, "Could you carry Autumn? The Z-Move I did with Pikachu kind of drained me."
"Of course," He immediately got down, but I was already trying to stand.
"I can walk on my own," I mumbled, but nearly fell back on the ground.
Kiawe caught me just in time, "You do know that you have a huge cut on your leg, right?"
I looked and it was indeed there, "Now I do," Every second it was getting harder and harder to stay awake.
Ash got on first, then held me as Kiawe got on behind him to make sure I didn't fall. Gladion and Lillie did the same with Lusamine as everyone else got on behind us, "Everyone ready?" Ash asked once we recalled all the Pokemon except Nebby, Pikachu and Riolu.
Soon, we were going through an Ultra Wormhole, back home. We landed safely as Professor Burnet and Professor Kukui ran to us. Both were relieved to see me and Lusamine, "You're safe!" Burnet smiled.
Lusamine smiled as well, "And it's all thanks to them," She turned to us, still being held up by Gladion and Lillie.
Kiawe was just carrying me since Ash was tired and I was already falling asleep, "Well done!" Professor Kukui cheered as he came over to us.
Ash beamed, "And that's because…"
The others joined him in pumping their fists out, "We're the best team that ever was!"
The Ultra Wormhole disappeared soon after that as Professor Kukui carried me over to Burnet's pack, "Let's get your cuts cleaned, then get you to a hospital."
I smiled, "I'll be fine, I promise."
He gave me a knowing smile, "Alright, get some sleep Autumn. You look ready to pass out."
I yawned, but kept myself from falling asleep. Instead, I pulled out the rock I brought with me, "You brought a rock with you?!" Sophocles asked, shocked.
"Yeah," I couldn't really stop the tears that came, "She was a really good friend."
I felt more than saw Professor Kukui and multiple people wrap me in a hug and fell asleep crying, but finally feeling better about everything that's happened. Honestly though, I felt like I was in a never ending nightmare once I did. My panic attack came as I slept, but it was like I couldn't wake up. It felt like forever before they finally stopped and I just saw black.