Silver Notes: In today's chapter, Inyssa learns the Flying Raijin Jutsu.


Terrible to Behold - Part 2


We ultimately are what we are remembered for. In that, if nothing else, Noh was absolutely right.

He will be remembered for his stalwart stoicism, most likely. His legends will involve grand decisions and even grander stakes, for he never acted unless said action caused ripples in the fabric of the world. Noh never took three steps when only two were necessary. Despite his quiet nature, I can see his memory being preserved by stories in years to come.

My brother will be the most famous of us, I'm sure. Even disregarding his natural charisma, the very way he conducted himself –which I always found so irritating– ensured that his personality and his stories would ring louder than anyone's accomplishments ever would.

And, despite how much I wish my entire existence would be erased by time, I am unfortunately just as certain that my name will be known centuries from now, if not because of the curse I placed on myself then due to the atrocities I've committed. Some will praise me, yes. Fools whose thirst of power will blind them to, perhaps, the most important truth of all:

Power means nothing, if not in the right hands. I had all the power in the world and only once did I use it to create instead of destroy. I'm certain that any Caterpie out there has done more good for this world than I have.

And now, here, trapped in the most recondite of all places, hope is all that remains for me.

Hope that no fool ever follows in my footsteps. Hope that my one and only creation will continue to shine forevermore in the sky, bathing my dear Sinnoh with its light

Otherwise, all will be lost.


Inyssa's body felt weightless.

She ran straight for Pyxis, her skin growing hotter the more it was exposed to the sharp cold of the blizzard which, at any other point, she might have found ironic. However, rational thought was hard to come by at the moment. Staying focused on a task as simple as running forward was already taking up most of her conscious mind, the rest feeling as though it was floating away like the steam she could have sworn was coming off her pores.

"Inyssa…" Uxie's voice rang in her mind, worried. "I'm glad you're back but I'm not sure this is…"

It'll be fine! Just run with it!

Ahead, Pyxis finally reacted. She took a step back, her hand unconsciously going to the holster in her hip. Inyssa frowned. She was too far away; reaching her would take a few seconds that she might not have. That meant…

Her feet slowed briefly, the loss of momentum blurring her vision and numbing the feeling in her muscles. She grit her teeth and flashed her eyes once more. Crackles of energy surged throughout her entire body, dispelling the numbness and exhaustion with a clarity so powerful it felt as though she'd been hit with yet another lightning bolt.

Her scars burned. She knelt down and grabbed a pebble from under the snow, barely the size of a golf ball. By the time she began running again, Pyxis had already unholstered her gun and was in the process of pointing it at her.

"Stop!" she yelped. "S-stay there or I'll shoot!"

Inyssa kept going. It might have simply been the delirium talking, but something in Pyxis' eyes, tone and posture told her that she wouldn't dare pull the trigger. Or maybe she would. Panic made beasts out of even the most determined of people and attacking an already scared Pokemon almost always resulted in them fighting back, despite their fear.

What the hell? she thought. Where did that come from? Why am I thinking about that?

Time seemed to crawl, each step taking an eternity. It felt as though her body and mind were tied together by a silk string and even the barest breeze could send her tumbling into unconsciousness. Despite the fact that Honchkrow was no longer interfering with her and Uxie's psychic bond –he was too busy fighting an enraged Vi, after all– she still heard its voice muffled, as though at the end of a long and narrow tunnel. She was a mess; more than usual, at least.

All the more reason to end this quickly, she thought, grasping the pebble in her hand.

"I t-told you to fucking stay put!" Pyxis stammered, taking a sudden step back. "I'm serious! I'll shoot!"

"Inyssa, what are you thinking!? That girl will…"

She stopped suddenly, her heels dragging on the snow beneath, unearthing it. Winding back her arm, she breathed in deep and then tossed the stone forward with every ounce of strength she had left.

Pyxis, seeing a pebble fly at her, panicked and seemingly forgot she was carrying a pistol, yelping and lowering it as she shrank into herself. The projectile flew above her head, not actually aimed at her.

Inyssa allowed herself a tiny smile before she let her mind rise free of her body. Not wasting a moment, she flew like lightning toward the stone, the mist-filled world around her a pale approximation of reality. Her formless fingers closed around the pebble as it passed over Pyxis' head.

Release.

The air shook, parting as Inyssa materialized a couple feet above Pyxis, pebble in hand. She hung in the air for an instant, then dropped. Originally, her plan had been to grab Pyxis' arm and twist it behind her as she fell, thus immobilizing her, but she had underestimated how fast a body fell and she barely had time to move a couple fingers before she came crashing down on the girl, both of them falling to the ground with a deaf thump.

There was a scream of pain. Inyssa felt her scars flare, vision blurring, but she forced herself to move nonetheless. Pushing herself against the snow with the hand carrying the rope, she grabbed Pyxis' sleeve with the other one and pulled her right arm behind her back, forcing a gasp out of her. Confusion seemed to last for only a moment before she realized what was happening.

"A-Agh! Let…" She squirmed, trying to push herself up with her free hand. "Let go of me!"

Inyssa drove her knee into the back of her leg, making her scream and stop struggling for a moment. With her free hand she grabbed Pyxis' remaining arm, bringing both of her hands together, the rope resting on top of them along with the weight of her own hands. She had to tie her up fast.

"Sorry," she whispered. "But I have to…"

Just then, as she slid her hand against Pyxis', the bottom of the girl's glove slid up and their skin touched ever so slightly.

Her eyes flared golden, and a sound like thunder rang in her mind.

And then, she wasn't in the forest anymore. She wasn't even outside, nor was she herself.

Inyssa looked around, finding herself in an unfamiliar room, her own self as formless and semi-transparent as it usually was inside her own mind. The room was small, with a single window resting on the right wall. A couple of ceramic flowerpots sat at either extreme, framing the large wooden desk in the middle, behind which sat a grey-haired woman wearing a suit and half-moon spectacles. A young girl sat at the other side of the desk, small and thin, yet with eyes full of the strength and determination she'd only ever seen on trainers.

The woman sighed, rubbing her thumbs against her temples, eyes closed. Pyxis bit her lower lip, eyes wide in surprise. Neither seemed to notice Inyssa's presence.

"B-but… I finished first in all the tests!" Pyxis protested. "And I aced the practical too! And, a-and… you told my mom and I that I'd be skipping a year, not him!"

She spoke that last word with a contempt that reminded Inyssa too much of how the girl had said her name.

"I understand your frustration," said the woman, attempting to sound compassionate. "But… you have to understand. The school is barely keeping itself open as it is; a year or two more of things staying this way and we might be forced to close our doors. On the other hand…" She steepled her hands, unable to look at Pyxis. "Young Kolin's family is one of the wealthiest in the whole city. His parents… well, his father, specifically, offered us a substantial amount of money in exchange for giving him this opportunity, and–"

"He… bribed you." Pyxis' face was aghast with shock and disgust, eyes so wide they looked like plates. "Bribed you so he could take my scholarship."

The woman pursed her lips in what might have been a smile. "Now, this isn't technically a scholarship or a grant, simply a rare opportunity for one of our sophomore students to take the trainer exam a year earlier than usual. An opportunity like that…"

"Is mine," Pyxis cut her off, almost snarling. "I earned it and that rich asshole wants to take it from me! Like hell I'll accept that!"

For a moment the woman seemed taken aback by the young girl's outburst, despite the fact that she most likely weighed half as much as she did. Still, the fury behind her eyes would have been enough to paralyze anyone.

"I… p-please, I'm asking you to remain calm," she said, smiling nervously. "I understand you're in a very… delicate situation, but so is our school."

"So you chose the school instead of me," snapped Pyxis. "Needs of the many, am I right?"

"That…" She opened and closed her mouth a few times before finding her words. "Please understand. By giving this boy your scholarship…"

"I thought it wasn't a scholarship."

"By giving him your opportunity," the woman corrected herself, brow furrowing. "You'd be giving that same opportunity to countless future students who might otherwise find themselves out of a school." She leaned ahead a bit, locking gazes with Pyxis. "We are the only trainer school this side of the city. If we close our doors, how many thousands of kids like you will lose their one and only opportunity to become trainers? Everyone here relies on the Association's grants. We are the only choice they have."

That gave the girl pause. A few times she parted her lips to complain, but merely stammered as the fury in her eyes was slowly replaced by worry and something else Inyssa couldn't identify. After a few seconds she lowered her head, looking as though someone had slapped her across the face.

"Isn't a trainer someone who helps others above all else?" asked the woman, sadness clear in her voice. "Think of how many kids your choice might benefit."

"I…"

"Besides, it's not like you'll lose your chance to become a trainer," said the woman, trying to sound enthusiastic. "It's only a year more of school, no different than what your other classmates will have to go through."

Pyxis shook her head. "N-no. I can't keep doing this another year." She looked up at the woman, pleading. "Even with the grant from the Association, we're barely getting by. Mom can't afford paying for another year."

"Ah… I see." The woman leaned back onto her chair, pressing her thumbs as she looked to the side. Then, suddenly, her face brightened. "Well, how about this? You're in the same class as young Kolin, aren't you? I'm sure you've spoken to him on occasion."

"Not anymore."

"I…I'm afraid you might have to, for this to work." She took a deep breath. "Seeing… well, how deep the pockets of the boy's father are, I'm sure if we explain the situation to him and young Kolin they'll understand the importance of the opportunity they're… being given by you."

Pyxis frowned, tilting her head. Then, a second after, her eyes flew open. "Wait, you're saying…"

"Young Kolin's father is a generous man," said the woman. "Along with his donation, I'm sure he'd be more than happy to include a sum of money sufficient enough to pay for your last year of education. As a–"

"WHAT!?"

The whole room shook. Or at least it seemed so to Inyssa, who still watched from afar. Only now did she notice that the edges of the memory were starting to dissolve into fog.

The woman almost jumped by the sudden scream. Pyxis shot up from her seat, her face a terrible thing to behold.

"First he takes the future from under me and then I'm supposed to crawl on my stomach like a fucking Caterpie and beg for his charity!?" She spat out those words like they were venom, the boom of her voice echoing off the walls. "Fuck that! The only thing that asshole's getting from me is a broken nose!"

"N-n-now, let's be reasonable here…" The woman stood up as well, though despite being a head taller she didn't look nearly as intimidating. "Being greedy isn't a good trait for a lady, y-you see. I… there's a saying where I'm from: You can't have the Spoink, the Grumpig and also the Spoink-making machine, so…"

"Greedy?" Pyxis whispered that one word, perhaps too shocked by the audacity of the woman to call her that. "Me, greedy? Are you fucking mental!?"

The woman gasped. "Y-young lady, do not speak to me like that. If you continue… you can be assured that your mother will hear about t–"

Pyxis swiped her hand, causing the woman to gasp. The lonely flower vase resting at the right of the table flew, crashing against the wall with a sound sharp enough to make even Inyssa wince. A wet stain was left at the impact point, slowly bleeding water on the puddle of flowers and glass fragments.

The woman froze, one hand clutching her chest. Pyxis said nothing, arm still extended, eyes hidden by the shadow of her hair.

"I doubt my mom will care much about what she hears from you," she finally said, voice cold as ice. "Because… this is the last time I set foot on this place."

She turned toward the door, facing the invisible Inyssa. Her expression was like jagged pieces of broken glass.

"I'm about to get myself expelled," said Pyxis. "Call the nurse and tell her to go to our classroom in five minutes."

"What!? Y-young lady, you can't…!"

"He wants my spot? Fine." She spat out that last word, lips curving into something almost like a smile. "But it's gonna cost him."

The memory exploded into mist and Inyssa felt herself being pulled backwards as though by a powerful cyclone.

She came back into her body with a jolt; pain, dizziness and exhaustion hitting her like a hammer to the face. Pyxis still struggled under her, so no time had passed. Inyssa breathed in deep, the inside of her throat burning against the freezing air, but she barely felt that, or anything else for that matter. She stared ahead with wide eyes.

I did it! I did the Memory thing aga–!

Pyxis threw herself up with a grunt, the back of her head connecting with Inyssa's chin. She let out a scream, vision swimming, and unconsciously stopped applying pressure on the girl's hands. The rope fell from her wrists and she placed a hand against the ground as she rolled to the side, throwing Inyssa off her, and immediately climbing on top of her, locking her knees in place with the weight of her body.

Their eyes met. Inyssa felt a shiver, her muscles stiff and frozen by the terrible expression on the girl's face.

"W-wai–"

Pyxis punched her. The impact felt like it made Inyssa's brain shake around in her skull as her cheek crashed with the snow beneath her, a dark bruise appearing on the left corner of her lip. Through the pain and dizziness, however, she also heard Pyxis yelp in pain. The girl grit her teeth, looking down at the now bruised knuckles on her right hand.

Inyssa had no qualms about taking advantage of that. She twisted with all her strength, momentarily lifting Pyxis up and freeing one of her legs from under the rest of her body. Then, winding back, she kicked up with all her strength before the girl had time to react. Her heel dug into her stomach. She was lifted up a few inches, shoulders stiffening and a gulp of air escaping her mouth, but was not thrown backwards as Inyssa had intended. She simply didn't have enough strength in her legs or anywhere else in her body. The fever and exhaustion had sapped all of it.

There wasn't enough time to crawl away from under her. Gasping in a gulp of air, Pyxis looked up and gnashed her teeth in fury, raising her other fist and putting all of her weight into bringing it down on Inyssa's nose.

She heard a crack, followed by the familiar warmth of blood running down her nose and into her mouth. Everything went black for a few seconds. She instinctively tried to breathe, instead inhaling a bit of blood and being forced to desperately cough it out, every inch of her body screaming in pain.

Pyxis' weight on top of her felt like it changed and a moment after she heard a shuffling in the snow beside her. It took her a couple seconds to be able to breathe again. Once she did, she slowly opened her eyes, vision still incredibly blurry.

Her body froze like that of a frightened Glameow.

The barrel of a gun was pointed straight at her forehead. Pyxis held it with both hands, one finger hovering over the trigger, the tip of it shaking like the rest of her body. Her face was scrunched up in anger and pain.

"Sit. Still." Her voice was barely audible over the blizzard. "If I see your eyes flash gold again, I'll shoot."

They stared at each other, not moving, breathing hard, for what felt like a minute. Blood kept running down Inyssa's nose. A few drops had already splashed against her scarf, dying its white a dark crimson.

"Inyssa… do not try anything foolish."

She would have scoffed if she could. Easy for Uxie to say; it didn't have a gun pointed at its face and a fever that seemed to be slowly consuming her conscious thought.

And still, Pyxis didn't move. She looked doubtful, wondering what she should do. Maybe she was thinking of a way to get up from on top of Inyssa without giving her a chance to attack her, or maybe…

Something happened then. For just a moment, the strand of consciousness connecting her mind and body felt like it severed, and the sound of the blizzard dimmed all around her. Her mouth moved on its own.

"Y'… you're not gonna shoot," she said.

Pyxis froze. "W-what?"

"Before… when I ran at you. You had plenty of time to shoot." She inhaled in between every sentence, her chest feeling like it was on fire. "In the leg, or the arm, or somewhere non-lethal. But you didn't, 'cause you realized. In… the state I'm in, even a non-lethal shot could kill me."

The barrel of the gun stiffened, Pyxis' eyes going slightly wider, lips pursing until they were as pale as the rest of her face.

"You think I care whether you live or die?"

She let out a sound that might have been a chuckle, but was more likely a splutter of blood.

"Cyrus does. And you respect him a lot, don't you?"

Pyxis inhaled sharply, nostrils flaring. "Don't say his name!"

"See? You care so much about him, about his plans…" She swallowed, her throat so dry it felt like it was full of broken glass. "He's the only adult who gave you a chance, wasn't he? The chance you were robbed of."

A stutter was the only response she got. Pyxis' mouth opened and closed a few times, but whatever she tried to say didn't seem to want to come out.

"You're loyal. Even if your anger sometimes gets the better of you," she continued. "Cyrus wants me alive, so you'd never dare kill me. You believe in his ideals and his plans, and I… I believe in the strength of your loyalty to him. So I know that you won't pull the trigger." Her bloodied lips spread into a cold smile. "You wouldn't disappoint the one who gave you everything, would you?"

Inyssa herself was barely aware of what she was saying, her consciousness so thin that it almost felt as though someone –or something– else were speaking through her mouth. The gold in her eyes seemed to dim for just a moment. As she was, head resting against the snow, looking up, she could have almost sworn that she saw a glimpse of moonlight past the thick branches above.

The gun shook. Pyxis hesitated, lowering it ever so slightly, a hint of wetness in her eyes.

A lot of things happened at once. Inyssa returned to herself, gasping for air as every horrible sensation assaulting her body came back all at once. Pyxis blinked, looking down at her. The roaring of the blizzard came back, deafening. So loud, in fact, that neither of them heard the scream, nor the whistle of a feathered body flying through the air.

They both jumped as Honchkrow crashed a few feet from them, snow exploding all around him with the force of the impact. Most of his body –wings especially– were covered in a thin layer of frost and the feathers that formed what looked to be a hat on top of his head were ruffled and covered with splotches of blood. He was clearly unconscious.

Pyxis shook her head. "What t–"

A transparent figure crashed against her, slapping the gun out of her hands and sending it flying behind one of the thick trees a few feet from them. Pyxis screamed, her hand now covered in frost. She didn't have much time to do anything, however, seeing as she was then carried off by invisible hands and dropped face first on the ground with enough strength to severely stun her.

Inyssa stared in shock as Vi made the rope laying next to her fly to her hands and tied Pyxis' wrists together, immobilizing her. The ghost retained her human form, barely. Every third blink or so, her appearance shifted back into that of her Pokemon body, though only for a moment, before changing back.

"I… did it," Vi said to herself, floating away. "Holy shit… I did it!

It was only with grueling, excruciating difficulty that Inyssa pushed herself to her feet, one sleeve pressed against her still bleeding nose.

"Y-yeah. Congrats, but uh…" She looked toward the Honchkrow. "How the hell…?"

"I don't know!" yelled Vi, a huge grin on her face. "I just… concentrated really hard and then I started shooting icy beams from my hand! And that feathery asshole… he couldn't touch me! It was like… like all his attacks went straight through me or something! It was the coolest shit ever!"

Inyssa blinked twice, tilting her head. In the state she was in, it took her a few moments to remember that odd ability Cynthia's Vulpix had shown during their fight, making him almost impervious to attacks during a hail. Could this be the same thing?

"Well… I'm glad you're seeing the upsides of your new body," she said, voice muffled by the sleeve pressed against her nose. "And thanks. I–"

"Agh! Let me! Go!"

Pyxis squirmed and tossed around in the snow, fruitlessly trying to untie her wrists as she glared at them with a look no one would have wanted to be on the receiving end of. Vi frowned, the white energy outlining her body glowing stronger.

"What do we do with her?" asked Vi, a hint of anger in her voice. "I'm not like… eager to hurt her or anything like that but if you want me to…"

"No," she said, raising a hand to cut her off. "We… have to find Barry and escape. Can't waste time."

Pyxis' eyes went wide. "No! You're not… Agh!" She tried to rise to her knees, but slipped on the snow and fell on her chin. "You... think you got me good, huh!? You bitch! Saying all that goody-goody stuff just to distract me!"

"Oh go to hell," Vi snapped, rolling her eyes. "Let's leave her here, Inyssa. Have her toil in the snow like a Caterpie for a little bit, see how she likes it."

Pyxis shouted something back, but just then a wave of dizziness overcame Inyssa, so intense that she had to take a step back and hold her hand between her hands to re-focus herself. This was taking too long.

"I'm… sorry," she said, looking down at Pyxis. "For everything that happened to you. But… you did kidnap me and my boyfriend, so you really leave me with no choice." She closed her eyes, sighing. "Some other time… I'd be up for a talk, assuming you don't try to kill me. But for now, I'll settle with having you tell me where my Pokeballs are."

The girl spat some air, offended. She looked somewhat funny, face down with her chin against the snow.

"L-like hell. I'm not gonna tell you shit even if you torture me for it!"

Inyssa frowned. That was most likely not true, though she wasn't in any way interested to prove that. "I don't want to hurt you. I'm… not your enemy, Pyxis."

Pyxis laughed. "Now that's fucking priceless."

"I'm not the person you think I am," said Inyssa, a part of her desperately wanting that to be true. "I promise I'll change things. Once I'm at the top, I'll make sure what happened to you can't happen to anyone else."

"You're… agh, so fucking full of yourself." The girl kept struggling, face scrunched up in effort. "It's that easy, then? Yeah, go ahead and tell all the people like me to believe the words of a rich spoiled brat when she says she'll fix everything! I'm sure they'll believe you in the drop of a fucking hat!"

Inyssa frowned. "Someone has to do something."

"Yeah, way ahead of you on that one."

"You're terrorists," Inyssa spat out. "You're the problem."

"We are the solution. The only one…"

"Justice can't come from hurting innocent people like you've all been doing!"

"Justice is dead," Pyxis said, her expression growing dark. "We're all that's left."

That gave Inyssa pause. She opened her mouth to speak, unable to find the right words, the right argument.

"I…"

"Say whatever you want," Pyxis interrupted her, lifting her chin slightly, teeth gnashed. "I'm never going to believe anything you say. I don't care if you pretend to be nice or if you really are! In the end, you're still the one who killed Auriga!"

Inyssa's eyes flashed gold. "I don't have time for this," she said, tone full of impatience. "Tell me where my Pokeballs are or…"

She trailed off, her words swallowed by the blizzard. There was a pause in the air in which she frowned and almost felt like she could hear something in the distance.

Then came the scream.

"PYXIS!"

Inyssa jumped, turning on the ball of her feet fast enough for her head to swim and for her vision to blur. Vi tried to do the same, but neither of them were fast enough.

"Thunderbolt!"

The air cracked with a sound like a whip, a single line of white breaking through in an infinitesimal fraction of a second, hitting Vi straight in the chest. Her scream was swallowed by the roar of lightning. The glow momentarily blinded Inyssa, but even without her vision she felt the air heat up and expand from where Vi was, sending her tumbling back a few steps, almost throwing her to the ground.

Vi collapsed without another sound, completely unconscious. Steam rose from every inch of her gaseous body, along with intangible bits of the body itself, dissipating like mist.

Inyssa saw them after blinking a few times, though to her they were mostly shapes. Unmistakable shapes, but shapes nonetheless. Every remaining member of Team Galactic ran toward them, three of them accompanied by a Pokemon and possibly all of them carrying handguns with them. The one in the center –Orion, maybe– seemed to also be carrying another person by the scruff of the neck.

Inyssa gasped; that blonde hair was impossible to miss. Barry trudged along, eyes half open and a veritable amount of blood running down his forehead. She opened her mouth to scream something, eyes flashing with anger, but once again she was too slow to do anything.

"Thunder Punch!"

The Pokemon in the front, almost as tall as her and covered in yellow fur, jumped forward with a speed she'd only ever seen on Kuro, arm wound back and covered in a coat of electricity.

Dazed as she was, Inyssa barely had time to realize that was an Electabuzz before his fist connected with her gut.

She didn't feel the pain, only that disgusting contraction of her muscles from the last time she'd been hit by a powerful electric attack, followed by her body momentarily shutting down. Only barely conscious, she was somewhat aware that she was flying through the air. The frigid wind caressed her as she moved, weightless, eyes wide open yet seeing nothing but pure white.

Then she fell. The impact, unfortunately, brought her back to reality with an excruciatingly painful jolt. Her stomach felt numb. The nerves around it, however, were probably on fire judging by how much they seemed to cry in agony.

Inyssa opened her mouth to breathe in, but only managed to splutter blood. Its warmth under her lips contrasted with the cold under it. That… yes, that's right, she was laying down on the snow. The realization came to her way too late. Then again, it's not like she could do much with it.

Uxie was saying something inside her head. Something about how she should breathe and remain still while it tried to dull her pain by dimming her senses. Its voice sounded distant, muffled. The color of her eyes flickered from gold to green as she partially sunk in and out of consciousness, her body completely paralyzed.

After what felt like an eternity, she breathed in. That was the worst part. Staying perfectly still had been painful enough but now even the small movement of her chest rising up and down with her breathing felt like her body was made of ice and she was slowly cracking and coming apart.

I… have to move. Do something. She scrunched up her face and tried to move her legs, but they were too numb. Barry's hurt. I have to…

"Stay still!" Uxie screamed inside her head. "You're in a terrible state, Inyssa! If you keep moving…"

I have to, she thought, gritting her teeth. Uxie's voice dimmed. I have to save Barry and Vi. I have to stop Pyxis and the others… I have to…

Take them out.

Inyssa froze. The voice was neither hers nor Uxie's, yet she had heard it come from inside her head. It sounded familiar. Cold. Sharp. Gentle. In the state she was in, that's as much as she could realize.

Y-yeah… you're right. I have to take them out.

Inyssa's body moved on its own, her hand pressing against the snow and lifting her up to her knees with incredible effort, her pale face completely covered in sweat and blood. Her eyes flashed, a powerful shiver running through the length of her scars.

The air crackled around her.


Orion hurried to Pyxis' side with a knife and a look on his face which perfectly spelled out 'I am one hundred and ten percent done with this shit'.

"Twenty minutes," he said as he knelt beside her, pressing the blade against the rope tying her wrists. "We left you alone for twenty minutes. How on earth did you and Spica manage to fuck up this much in that amount of time?"

Pyxis bit her lip, swallowing a rather crass reply. "Just… untie me."

"I'm serious, it's a talent. I'm thinking we should send you to work for the Association. You'd make it fall apart much faster than the boss ever could."

"I'm…" Pyxis closed her eyes and pressed her forehead on the snow, hiding her smile. "I'm glad you were so concerned, you dork."

Orion smiled back, finally cutting through the rope and helping the girl up to her feet. She winced in pain when he accidentally brushed one of her hands.

"Did she hurt you?" he asked, frowning.

"Huh? Oh, no. It was me." She curled and uncurled her fingers, brow furrowed. "I think I punched her too hard and broke something."

He couldn't help but smile. "Atta girl."

The rest of their team caught up to them, equal looks of confusion on their faces, some of them looking a bit more angry or worried than others. Electabuzz stood next to the unconscious Froslass, keeping an eye on her. The two other Pokemon they'd brought with them, Sandslash and Kadabra, hung back and stared, a look of boredom in their eyes.

"The hell happened here, boss?" asked Nova, one of the new recruits. "Almost looks like a stampede of Tauros passed through 'ere."

Pyxis looked down. "I… got careless. Never should've left that Froslass in the same place as Inyssa." She shook her head. "But it's fine now. The plan hasn't changed." She looked up at Orion. "You had the same problem, I'm guessing."

Orion glanced back at the blonde boy being held by Grus, most of his face covered in blood and his eyes only halfway opened. He seemed to be struggling to stay conscious.

"We weren't given very good info on these two," he said. "Banana hair over here has to be a psychic or something, judging by the crazy stuff he did to try to escape. We were lucky to have Sandslash so close. Though he… might've gone a bit overboard to stop him."

"It's fine as long as they're alive," said Pyxis with a sour tone that surprised Orion. There was a strange air about her all of a sudden. "Anyway, it's too dangerous to stay here anymore. We're going back to the base. If Asta has any problem with it then she should've come here when we fucking told her to."

The rest of the group murmured in agreement, most likely relieved to finally leave this shithole of a forest, and Orion couldn't blame them. Besides, Pyxis was right, on this at least. Asta really was making them wait too long.

"Right. Back to base, then." He turned around, facing the other grunts. "Nova, go get Spica. Electabuzz, grab the Froslass and paralyze her if she tries anything. Kadabra, prepare to teleport all of us back to base." He took a moment to breathe. "I'll get Inyssa. Not really in the mood to carry an unconscious girl on my shoulder, kind of like I'm already carrying this whole team already, but someone has to–"

A sudden chill ran down his spine, though it had nothing to do with the cold. As his voice trailed off he noticed that the gaze of the rest of his team had suddenly focused on something behind him, their eyes going wide in shock. He would have sworn he heard the crackle of thunder in the distance.

Both him and Pyxis turned at the same time. A gasp got caught in his throat.

Inyssa was back on her feet, head down and arms hanging, lifeless, from her lowered shoulders. Golden threads of energy spiraled around her arms and torso, so fast that his eyes could barely catch the tail-end of them before they dissipated.

At first he thought it might have been residual energy from Electabuzz' punch but… no, that didn't make sense. She wouldn't have been able to move if that were the case. Besides… the way she stood, the way that energy cackled all around her, it was too familiar. Pyxis seemed to agree, judging by the sound that left her mouth, almost like a sob.

Inyssa took a step forward, her arms crackling with electricity, just like the storm clouds gathering above her.


It all felt so terribly familiar to Inyssa. The cold, the excruciating pain all throughout her body, the way the pulses of electricity licked at the length of her scars and made her shiver…

That's right, she thought. These scars still hold the memory of lightning.

Her tired, dull eyes looked ahead, finding their target. The group of grunts stood frozen, staring at something with looks of surprise in their faces. Looking at her? Whatever the case, it didn't matter. One of them still held Barry captive, the boy's blood falling from his face and dying red the snow under him.

The electricity surging through her body began to crackle more powerfully at the sight, steam rising from the melted snow around her feet. Above her, in the heart of the blizzard, she heard a distant roar. Thunder waited to be released.

"Don't move!" a voice cried out. One of the grunts was pointing something at her. A gun? "If you try anything we'll shoot!"

Her brain interpreted those words, but their meaning dissipated from her like the sweat currently evaporating off her body. No, their words didn't matter. She had to save Barry, no matter what. Even if it meant…

Her hand rose, slowly, energy coalescing in spirals around her fingers. She wasn't the one to move them. She was too weak, too tired. It felt as though invisible threads pulled at her muscles, connected to an unseen puppeteer high above. The sensation reminded her of the few times she'd entered a dissociative state, only a dozen times stronger and more painful. It felt as though she were existing a few feet to the left.

"This is your last warning! Stop or we'll–!"

Their voices were irritating. Inyssa swiped at the air as casually as though she were swatting a fly. A wave of electricity exploded in a circle around her, reaching the grunts in a fraction of a second. A few fell to the ground. Others simply yelped and let their guns slip from their fingers. The Electabuzz was the only one who didn't seem affected by it.

"Inyssa! Inyssa, can you hear me!?" She could tell that Uxie was screaming, but its voice sounded smaller than a whisper in her head. "You mustn't call lightning, much less in the middle of a storm like this! It'll kill you!"

So what, another voice seemed to ask. Wasn't she dying right now, anyway? Her own sweat evaporating into mist, electricity running through her body, none of that could be healthy, on top of the fact that she was delirious and in incredibly severe pain. What other option did she have?

She raised her hand toward the sky and the roar of thunder above grew until it was more deafening than the blizzard.

"Stop this! You'll kill them all!"

A single, thin line of electricity extended from her fingertips to the clouds above, connecting her with the incoming thunder. All she needed to do now was bring her hand down. The air vibrated in preparation, the entire world standing still, a moment stretched into what felt like several seconds. A last calm before the storm. Inyssa spread her fingers, looking toward the Galactic grunts one last time before unleashing the thunder.

Terrified eyes stared at her. Pyxis was the only one who averted her gaze from her; the girl grabbed onto Orion as though her life depended on it, eyes tightly closed and face scrunched up, expectant. Tears fell down her cheeks.

A part of Inyssa froze, her hand stopping just before it fell down. Something resurfaced from the depths of her mind, rising like pockets of air from deep water, her vision going white as a memory played out before her.

Inyssa looked down at a group of people from high above, violent waves of electricity surrounding her bare scars. She moved her hand and a flash blinded her. A moment after, one of them was dead, body slouched against a wall, burn marks all throughout her body. Her lifeless eyes stared up at Inyssa, seeing nothing.

Pyxis screamed and grabbed onto Orion, her whole body shaking. Both of them looked exactly the same as they did in the present.

The memory vanished. Inyssa lowered her head, sighing, and closed her hand into a fist, forcing the electricity around her to dissipate.

The gold in her eyes disappeared and she collapsed, her back cushioning the fall and preventing her head from bouncing. The world was still for a few seconds. Inyssa's eyes stared up at the sky, their green dull and washed out.


Orion breathed for the first time in almost ten seconds, the look on his face that of a man who almost shit himself.

That seemed to break the spell the rest of them were under. As the roar of thunder above dimmed and the Inyssa girl ceased to move, the other grunts shifted uncomfortably where they were, probably wondering what the hell had just happened.

Orion looked down at his right arm, still being strongly held by a shaking Pyxis. Her eyes were as wide as plates, wet with tears, and despite the fact that the danger had passed she couldn't stop shaking like a leaf, teeth clattering and every muscle in her body tense and expectant.

"Is it…" She gulped, blinking a few times. "Is she…?"

"We're fine," he replied almost automatically. "It's fine. She's down."

Pyxis nodded doubtfully, seemingly coming back to herself. Realizing the state she was in, she sniffled and wiped the tears from her face, forcing herself to stop shaking. Orion didn't buy it one bit. But he didn't need to. As long as everyone else bought it, Pyxis would be happy.

He heard coughing behind him. The blonde boy was making an effort to raise his head to look ahead, eyes narrowed in pain.

"N-Niss…"

"Keep it down," Orion told him, though he couldn't muster any irritation in his tone. "The rest of you… fucking, here, come here."

A deep breath. He had this. It didn't matter that he almost had a bolt of lightning chucked at him by an adolescent girl. Sometimes things didn't make sense. He'd accepted that a long time ago. Now all that remained to be done was force them to make sense again, which began with him and Pyxis –and the rest of the people here, why not– getting the hell out of this god-forsaken forest.

"Someone go grab her," he said, pointing over his shoulder at Inyssa. "Two or three of you, just in case. Someone else go get Spica. We're leaving now."

"Don't gotta tell me twice," said Nova, shaking her head. "On it, boss."

She and another grunt –whose name he couldn't remember at the moment– headed over to where Inyssa's probably unconscious body was. Orion allowed himself a moment to sigh. The two were halfway there by the time he felt a hot gust of wind ruffle his hair.

A gigantic pillar of flame fell from the sky, mere inches from the two grunts.


Inyssa was furious at herself.

She couldn't do it. She couldn't just bring that thunder down on those grunts and fix the situation they were in; no, that would've made too much sense. Instead, her stupid pity had gotten the better of her. And now thanks to that, she'd doomed Barry and Vi. Doomed herself, and her Pokemon too, probably. Who knew what Team Galactic would do to them?

If she still had enough strength to sigh, she would have. Instead she simply stared up at the white sky, eyes slowly losing their light, her consciousness fading. It was all over.

Then a shape appeared high above. Inyssa blinked. Okay, she was definitely hallucinating now, which wasn't surprising considering her current delirium. The shape flew through the air, completely ignoring the blizzard. It looked almost humanoid, the outline of its body glowing red, two enormous wings growing from its back. It stopped just above her, then looked down. She felt its eyes on her.

Her level certainty on it being a hallucination quickly dropped as soon as the figure breathed in and spat down a pillar of flame in between her and the grunts coming to retrieve her.

The sudden heat haze as the air from the flames expanded and rose hit Inyssa in the face, waking her up somewhat. There were screams and curses. Voices full of panic could be heard in the air, though she couldn't make out anything they were actually saying.

The figure split into two, wings detaching from body. What Inyssa had considered a single winged humanoid creature was instead two Pokemon, one of them a flying type carrying the other by its arms. That one began to fall, the flames surrounding him contrasting immensely against the stark white of the snowflakes burning to steam around him.

Inyssa blinked in confusion. Wait… him? How had she known…?

The Pokemon landed, kneeling and with one hand pressed against the ground, a wicked grin spread across his face. Inyssa's breath left her. So that's why. His shape had looked so familiar, even while obscured by the blizzard.

High above, the flying Pokemon extended its wingspan and let out a shriek that shook the air itself. There was pride and victory in its cry. With a powerful bat of its wings it sent down a cyclone of frozen wind which spiraled into a dozen threads as it hit the ground, blowing away everyone but a wide-eyed Barry.

However, Inyssa couldn't focus on that. To her, time had slowed to a crawl as she used whatever strength remained in her to roll to the side, both of them turning to look at the other. Their eyes met, his going wider in shock and worry. Inyssa's regained part of their color and, as she opened her mouth to speak, she found that her voice didn't shake as much as she expected it to.

"Enma?"

The sound of his name being spoken washed over him like a storm. He began to glow.

A wave of scorching air rippled around his body as it caught ablaze, flares of white and red and yellow swallowing him whole, dancing around his changing form and rising high into the sky like the flame of an enormous candle. Bursts of energy combusted off the initial explosion in waves, spiraling up only to fall down on top of him again, setting like the sun on the horizon, like a crown on the head of a king.

Once the explosion dissipated, the form that emerged from within it came into view, its white fur and golden pieces of armor on its hands, knees and chest glowing with the light from the flames surrounding him. Enma looked up, the flaming crown upon his head shining like the sun, and flashed Inyssa a smile full of pride and joy.

"Frer!" he bellowed, lifting up his chin and setting his fists ablaze. "FREEER!"

"T-the hell? What's…!?" Orion's voice was heard. "E-Electabuzz, get him! Thunder… something!"

"Sandslash, Night Slash!"

"Use Psybeam!"

The three Pokemon attacked in unison, Electabuzz and Sandslash jumping at Enma from the right and left while Kadabra brandished his spoon and shot a multi-colored beam of light straight at him. The Infernape simply smiled, flames licking at his fur and steam rising from every inch of his body.

"Freer!"

As he roared, the flying Pokemon above tucked its wings and flew down with incredible speed toward the grunts, grabbing Barry with its talons before any of them had time to react and carrying him away to safety. Inyssa frowned. Those wings, that strike of red feathers above its forehead… a Staraptor? But how…?

She didn't have much time to consider that. Electabuzz and Sandslash reached Enma at the same time, their right arms wound back, coated in electricity and dark energy respectively.

Enma was a blur. He raised his hand and, a flash of movement after, a powerful thump was heard and Electabuzz inhaled sharply, a bruise in his stomach and the energy in his hand dissipating. Following the punch, the Infernape tilted his head just in time to dodge the Sandslash's slash as he passed over him. In another flash he snatched onto both Pokemon's wrists, lifting them up high in the air before slamming them against the incoming Psybeam.

Their bodies lit up with the same multi-colored light as they twisted and bellowed in pain, the power of the attack keeping them in the air for a moment. Enma grinned. Just what he needed.

He balled his hands into fists, every inch of his body catching ablaze, tendrils of flame coiling and dancing around him. Leaning back, he breathed in as deep as he could. The flames climbed up in a spiral, coalescing in a gigantic ball within his maw, pulsing with power. Enma threw his head forward and the flames exploded into a pillar in front of him, bending the air around it and traveling with the speed of a bullet. The attack swallowed Electabuzz and Sandslash first, their screams of agony impossible to hear over the roar of the flames, and even Kadabra, as fast as it surely was, couldn't step out of the way before the flames fell over him as well.

More screams, all swallowed by the combined bellowing of the blizzard and the fire, soon followed by Enma's laugh. There were sounds of people running. More pillars of flame. More waves of heat and enormous gusts of wind.

Unfortunately, Inyssa had reached her limit. A part of her had stood defiant, defending her from unconsciousness like a single, lonely knight against a thunderstorm. But seeing Enma, seeing Barry saved and the Galactic grunts defeated like that, that part of Inyssa felt safe enough to retreat to the back of her mind, safe enough to rest, finally.

Inyssa's eyes fell closed, and everything disappeared around her. The last thing she felt was the sensation of her body being lifted, and the strength of a pair of arms carrying her.


Asta's Poketch rang again. She pressed the Ignore call button without taking her eyes from her target, the barest hint of excitement showing in her expression.

Those fools could wait. Yes, she had told them to contact her as soon as they captured the girl, but surely they could hold her for a few minutes while she took care of business. Even they could accomplish such a simple task.

Her prey spoke.

"Sure took you long enough to find me, As. And yes, I did just pronounce that like it has a second S."

Subtle threads of psychic energy danced in the air, condensing and imploding into a burst of light next to her. Sabrina appeared with a hum, her blood-red eyes gleaming. They both stared down their target, not a hint of doubt or nervousness in their faces. The patch of frozen forest felt still and silent despite the roaring of the blizzard all around them.

"I assume you're done running, then?"

Mars smiled from where she was sitting, cheek resting on one hand.

"It seems to me like you're the one running here," she said. "Running perfectly good jokes like the one I just told into the ground, then stomping on them for good measure. I mean come on. I know I'm a murderer but that's just plain rude."

Asta closed her eyes, stifling a sigh.

"I'm going to kill you now."

Mars beamed at that, lazily pushing herself to her feet and dusting the snow off her clothes as casually as though she were expecting Asta to invite her to some tea and biscuits.

"Lucky you, then. You're the last one on my list." She tilted her neck to the side, making it click. "Try to make it worth my while, will you?"