"You know what to do, comrades!" Fourteen-Five called, hitting one last pose.

Seven Thousand immediately set to releasing a dense cloud of poisonous smog while Sixty-O-Three seemed to be focusing for a bit, a glowing sphere of blue forming at the tips of her claws.

"Astrid, use Ominous Wind and disperse that Toxic!" Raijin cried.

The Dartrix didn't waste any time, thoroughly perturbed at even seeing a Nihilego using that move in the first place. She flapped her wings as hard as she could and summoned up her ghostly breeze, mostly aiming for the purple cloud but trying to strike the other Beasts too. Fourteen-Five and Sixty-O-Three made a disgruntled sound or two (the latter more so than the former), but it was plainly obvious that her damage output was fairly lackluster. The poisonous cloud was dispersed at least, though even with the neurotoxin spread out in tiny concentrations, the mere fact that it was in the air at all wasn't pleasant to consider. Surely, if it built up… they'd be feeling its effects.

They felt something else fairly quickly too when the ground underneath them started to vibrate, and just as Astrid and Arashi darted off to one side and Raijin to the other, Fourteen-Five threw one arm to the sky and a caused a Stone Edge to erupt. Raijin Discharged a flurry of bolts at their foes, the rocks in the air thankfully acting as makeshift shields for Astrid and Arashi, though the Frogadier couldn't help wincing just a bit at two bolts striking out in front of and behind them. Even if the sky was clear, the crackles were just like thunder, and the air itself was buzzing. Astrid almost envied the fainted Cosmog limp on the ground, completely unaware of the blows being exchanged by a bunch of far stronger Beasts.

"Oh, gods, he's really cranking the voltage up, isn't he?" Arashi hoarsely remarked, grinning as hesitantly as could be at the sparks.

"If I were a Xurkitree, I would too," Astrid said flatly.

Seven Thousand stuck herself in front of Fourteen-Five to shield him, and Sixty-O-Three apparently could move lightning-fast in the literal sense, for she struck an odd stance that let Raijin's bolts fly past while she let her Focus Blast fly at Raijin in turn. The fact that it was a move that needed focus to shoot off in the first place gave the Xurkitree enough time to anticipate it and move, but whatever cliff side it struck off in the distance undoubtedly got an impromptu makeover judging from the crashing sounds they heard after. It wasn't even a second later before the Pheromosa was shooting off an Ice Beam aimed for Astrid, but a Quick Attack from Arashi at least put the Dartrix out of the way… but not the Frogadier himself.

"YIAH-!" he cried in pain.

Even if he resisted the move, Arashi slumped over with fluttering eyelids, and Astrid's eyes went huge.

"Urgh…!" Arashi groaned. "I resisted that, but still…!"

Sixty-O-Three cackled. "Hah! If I wasn't aiming for the human, I would've hit you even harder than that!"

Right after another Dazzling Gleam, Raijin quickly slipped the bag off and tossed it over to the two smaller figures. "Here! You two keep this for now- you'll probably need it!"

Astrid flapped up and caught it while the trio of Beasts were busy avoiding Raijin's attack, setting it down and kicking the flap open as soon as she could. Arashi reached in and grabbed an Oran berry, and Astrid scurried to stick her wings into the carrying straps. She might not have had any convenient anatomical features for opening and closing it easily in comparison to her teammates, but if Raijin was the one that their damage output mostly depended on and Arashi's speed would get hampered, she figured that she herself was easily the better choice to handle their items. Arashi seemed surprised at her for a second, but when she shot a quick glance between her partner and the lightning-fast Pheromosa, he picked up on her idea shortly.

Just as quick, they were moving again when Seven Thousand's tentacle hands started to take a purplish hue and drip with poison, the beginnings of a Venoshock that would've drenched them both had Arashi not jumped and Astrid flapped aside. Still, a little splash of it coated the tip of one of Astrid's wings, and immediately she was shaking it off as quickly as she could with a dismayed cry.

"You not like enlightenment in one form, Seven Thousand give it to you in another," the Nihilego said sweetly but matter-of-factly. "Seven Thousand have plenty of ways."

"Fuck," Astrid said in pure, hapless frustration.

The ground started vibrating again.

"You two, get over here!" Raijin called.

They made a dash for the Xurkitree right as another Stone Edge broke through the ground, but Sixty-O-Three made a dash of her own while spitting another suspicious purple liquid onto her claws- maybe it wasn't Nihilego neurotoxin, but it was definitely poison. Almost too fast to see, she was Poison Jabbing at Raijin, aiming her claws just under the spikes on his head.

"Agh-!" the Xurkitree cried, stumbling back from the hit.

The Pheromosa was retreating as quickly as she'd come when he started sparking again, a Razor Leaf from Astrid missing her entirely for the speed she was running. Still, Raijin planted all of his limbs into the ground and the two smaller figures ran inside of them, a Discharge following shortly thereafter. Seven Thousand let out a tiny whimper when she took the hit, but still, Fourteen-Five didn't have a trace of damage on him with her in the way, and Sixty-O-Three yet again struck up a stance that left her unscathed.

"Potion?" the Nihilego gently inquired.

"Arashi, use Quick Attack and keep that Pheromosa busy!" Raijin instructed, unplugging from the ground again.

The Frogadier nodded.

Sixty-O-Three snickered a bit as she dug into the satchel she carried, and Arashi turned into a blur as he rushed her. Still, even as fast as he moved, Sixty-O-Three sidestepped him faster.

"Oh, that's adora- AUGH!" the Pheromosa laughed, but quickly lost her smirk.

The first Quick Attack might've missed, but the second one didn't, and the stick-thin Beast went toppling over with a max potion tumbling out of her hand. Arashi would've grabbed the odd bottle of liquid just to keep any of Squad Fourteen-Five from using it, but as he was withdrawing himself from Sixty-O-Three's reach, Fourteen-Five skittered over it with his fist clenched. The Pheromosa quickly got out of the way, and Arashi barely did so as the Buzzwole Mega Punched the ground where the both of them had been moments before. Still, whether it hit or not, the raw power of Fourteen-Five's punch was easily observed, for the ground shook and cratered under the force almost akin to an earthquake.

"Arceus above!" Arashi hollered in fright.

Astrid too flapped her wings a bit to keep steady, not wanting to think about what would have become of her partner if he'd taken that hit. A completely flattened Frogadier splattered across the ground wasn't a mental image that she particularly enjoyed.

Another Dazzling Gleam from Raijin aimed at Fourteen-Five was blocked by Seven Thousand, who clearly was getting close to her maximum number of hits to take judging by the way she hugged herself and hummed in discomfort. Much to the Starstorm trio's displeasure, Sixty-O-Three swooped up the max potion and sprayed the Nihilego with it in one swift motion, though the Pheromosa herself looked like she would appreciate some healing too by the look on her face. Maybe she didn't need it quite yet… but if her species was as frail as Raijin had said, then she definitely couldn't keep taking hits even from Astrid and Arashi's comparatively lackluster attacks.

Astrid flapped her wings and sent a leafy barrage at their foes, but just as Seven Thousand had been blocking, Fourteen-Five jumped in front of his other two comrades with his arms flexing to make himself bigger, and completely shrugged off the Razor Leaf. The Dartrix had been hoping to give the Nihilego a few cracks, but apparently that wouldn't be so easy.

"Stick to your ranged attacks," Raijin said, forming an Energy Ball between his hands. "If you can hit Seven Thousand with a Razor Leaf or two and upset her, that'd be fantastic, but I do not want you getting close to them if we can help it."

Astrid nodded. "Fine by me!"

She was using one fairly quickly when Seven Thousand released a cloud of poisonous smog, her own Ominous Wind dispersing it again and striking at the Beast brigade while Seven Thousand intercepted Raijin's attack.

"For fuck's saaaaake!" Sixty-O-Three groaned at the ghostly wind hitting her.

Fourteen-Five snarled a bit in discomfort too, giving the closest thing to an angry flex that either Astrid or Arashi had ever seen. Still, just like it had with Salem, the air was taking a purplish hue with Seven Thousand's broken up Toxic clouds, and none of the Starstorm trio was happy to see such. Squad Fourteen-Five didn't seem to care about it at all, but the reasons for that were fairly obvious.

Nonetheless, when the Pheromosa went reaching into her satchel again, Arashi jumped at her with another Quick Attack, but just as fast, she noticed and Lunged for him too. The claws at the end of her leg pinned him to the ground, jabbing into the dirt on either side of his neck.

"Holy hell, you're annoying," she hissed.

He shot an Ice Beam up at her, trying to wriggle out of her claws, but from the way he haphazardly moved, the residual poison was apparently starting to make him feel off. His attack didn't do a thing against the stick-thin Beast, for as fast as he shot it off, she leaned backwards and let it sail harmlessly into the air.

"Arashi!" Astrid cried, nonetheless alarmed at her partner being so close to their adversaries.

"Ah-…!" Raijin fussed in hesitance too.

The Pheromosa appeared to let him up while she grabbed up another max potion, but just as the Frogadier readied to run, Fourteen-Five's hand clutched him up in a vise-like grip. Another dismayed cry left the Dartrix's beak, and she whipped up another Ominous Wind with the frantic flaps of her wings, but Sixty-O-Three sprayed herself with the potion and Fourteen-Five jabbed the tip of his proboscis into Arashi's belly. A yell of pain left Arashi's mouth, blood trickling out from the puncture.

Thankfully, though, while Sixty-O-Three practically nullified whatever damage Astrid might've done to her with their otherworldly medicine, Fourteen-Five was disgruntled by it enough not to drain the Frogadier with a Leech Life straight away. Seven Thousand didn't react at all.

"Dammit, human!" the Pheromosa hollered in frustration, giving her a rather dirty look.

Still, the Dartrix had wide eyes and sent a Razor Leaf at the Beast triad the next moment, which Fourteen-Five again tried to block, but he couldn't quite do it fast enough and only Sixty-O-Three was successfully shielded from it. Still, Seven Thousand was perfectly fine too, setting up a Reflect to block it out, but Astrid sent another right after, then another, Fourteen-Five's clutch on her partner thankfully shielding Arashi from her own attacks as he tried to wriggle free to no avail.

"Let go of me!" Arashi cried, a Water Pulse forming in his mouth.

A squeeze of the Buzzwole's hand elicited a gasp of pain from Arashi, the attack he was about to spit coming to an abrupt halt.

"My gods, they're gonna kill him," Astrid breathed in frantic hesitation.

"Not if I can help it," Raijin said to the contrary, tapping the Dartrix with his tail. "Razor Leaf, then get over here."

Her eyes went wider, but still, she didn't question the Xurkitree and sent another leafy barrage, then ran inside of his limbs again when he planted them down. Arashi's eyes went wide in hesitance too at not being out of the way of Raijin's wild bolts, but he didn't have time to protest before they were Discharged in every direction. Seven Thousand let out a little cry of surprise, still hiding behind her Reflect, for she couldn't quite reach Fourteen-Five in time. The Pheromosa, though, could dodge just fine, and whipped out another max potion from the satchel that she sprayed Fourteen-Five with mere instants before Raijin's lightning struck him.

"GYAAAAH!" the Buzzwole bellowed in pain, his grip on Arashi instantly easing up.

The Frogadier dropped on the ground, eyes huge and smiling in terrified uncertainty. Fourteen-Five nearly collapsed too, his hands twitching as if he wanted to ball up a fist again but lacked the energy to do so. Whatever health the Buzzwole was clinging to, it was a tiny shred.

Still, when he realized he was finally free and not unconscious, Arashi jumped up and scurried back to his teammates as fast as he could, which admittedly, wasn't as fast as he could usually go with a painful-looking puncture wound and having just been used as a stress ball by a Buzzwole. Seven Thousand had the orange glowing beginnings of a Power Gem between her tentacle hands, and though she appeared to study the Frogadier, she didn't launch it at him just yet. Attacking or not, the Nihilego was nonetheless having other effects- Astrid started feeling disorientation seeping into her consciousness, and she knew what would happen if she kept breathing in too much of the poison in the air. She tried not to.

"That was our last potion," Sixty-O-Three noted to her comrades.

"Damn that traitor," Fourteen-Five growled tiredly, haphazardly flexing again.

The Starstorm trio could feel the ground shake again while Seven Thousand shot off her attack at the three of them, and all three of them darted backwards with Astrid swooping up her partner as she did so. Both of the Beasts' rocky attacks smashed into each other, the Buzzwole's Stone Edge acting nearly perfectly as a shield against Seven Thousand's Power Gem.

The Pheromosa groaned. "Seven Thousand, do me a favor, will ya?" she asked, holding a claw out.

The Nihilego seemed to know exactly what Sixty-O-Three was referring to, for one of her tentacles took a purplish hue as poison dripped out of it. Sixty-O-Three's claws were soon coated in poison not her own, and she rushed at the Starstorm trio almost too fast to see. Indeed, none of them did see her coming for the haphazard shield of rocks that shortly went clattering back down, but the Pheromosa herself practically leaped through them and Poison Jabbed at Raijin again before he could start sparking.

"Agh-!" the Xurkitree cried, caught off guard again.

The stick-thin Beast was retreating again, outmaneuvering a Dazzling Gleam that was aimed for her shortly after.

Raijin twitched a bit. "This isn't her poison, either- I can feel it," he noted tiredly, trying to shake it off. "Arashi, give me a Water Pulse so I can get this stuff off, and Astrid, get me that potion."

They both did as he said, Seven Thousand filling the air with yet another Toxic while Arashi's watery pulse got rid of the poison on Raijin. The Dartrix slipped the bag off and kicked the flap open, to which Arashi reached in and withdrew the potion that he quickly handed off to Raijin. The Frogadier himself grabbed an Oran berry, clearly needing some healing too, and shortly he was looking more vibrant than he had even if a stream of blood dripped from his wound.

"Come on," Astrid protested, whipping up another Ominous Wind to disperse the Nihilego's purple cloud. "This is awful!"

"It really is!" Arashi agreed, shaking his head. "But still! Nice try, Fourteen-Five!"

As 'nice' left his mouth, the Frogadier struck a pose of his own with both of his arms outstretched to the side, and on 'try,' he raised one upwards while bending the other and sticking his head into the bend of his arm. For whatever reason, Astrid almost wanted to cringe at the poses her partner made, but no, she figured it was far from the time to do such.

"You idiot, don't go throwing down poses like that at a Buzzwole!" Raijin exclaimed. "Now get over here, you two!"

Arashi's head snapped up in surprise. "H-huh?! Is that bad?!"

"That little runt just taunted me!" Fourteen-Five's holler explained why fine enough, the Buzzwole flexing yet again as best he could.

Perhaps Fourteen-Five would've outright tried to Mega Punch Arashi again, but the two smaller figures being inside of Raijin's sparking limbs again meant no one would be touching them. One of Sixty-O-Three's sets of claws started to take an icy glow right before Raijin Discharged more bolts in every direction, and luckily for Fourteen-Five, his Nihilego comrade was able to shield him.

However, Sixty-O-Three gave a little wink as she struck another odd pose to avoid getting shocked, and as she did, she sent an Ice Beam at the Starstorm trio… straight through the gaps in the sparking protective cage that Raijin appeared to form about the smaller two figures, specifically straight at Astrid. Perhaps Arashi would've Quick Attacked her out of the way… but that would've gotten them both hit by Raijin's Discharge, which would've KO'd them both. Nope, dodging was a moot point.

"WHA-!" the Dartrix squawked, eyes practically bulging out of her skull.

She couldn't possibly hope to cling to consciousness. Taking an Ice Beam from Harold in Sunken Cavern had been agonizing enough, but from the Pheromosa… it practically felt like her soul was getting ripped right out of her body. She went limp, eyes rolled back in her head.

"Are you serious?!" Raijin exclaimed, quickly unplugging and casting her a glance. "Ah! Forgive me, Astrid!"

Arashi tried to shake her awake, but she wasn't responding. "Astrid! Astrid!" he repeated to no avail.

Sixty-O-Three cackled while Seven Thousand happily clapped her tentacle arms together and Fourteen-Five flexed triumphantly.

"That's what you get for causing trouble, human!" the Pheromosa laughed. "What a dumbass!"

"Oh, go to hell!" Raijin hollered back. "Arashi, I need you to do something crazy, okay?!"

The Frogadier gave him an uncertain grin. "What?"

"Keep that Nihilego busy! Piss her off!"

He wasn't thrilled about getting close to Seven Thousand and her poison, but still, he wasn't going to question it. "If you say so!"

He crouched down, then darted out in a Quick Attack that Seven Thousand's Reflect went up too late to block. A little screech of pain left her, for her glassy form had a few new hairline fractures in it when the Frogadier slammed into her. However, Arashi himself had something to be upset about too, for touching Seven Thousand alone stung just a bit, but far more frighteningly, Raijin went sparking again, and the Frogadier knew exactly what that meant.

"Oh, gods," Arashi croaked in dismay.

Fourteen-Five was making Raijin move again with a Stone Edge while Astrid was batted out of the way of the attack by the Xurkitree's tail, and Sixty-O-Three had a Focus Blast forming between her claws that, judging from the way she smirked and stared at the smaller aquatic figure, she intended to aim at Arashi. The Frogadier's eyes darted to Seven Thousand, and carefully, he scurried closer to the Nihilego.

"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten you either," the Pheromosa laughed.

Seven Thousand's tentacle started dripping with poison again, but as Sixty-O-Three fired off her Focus Blast, Arashi darted beside the Nihilego, then Quick Attacked her… straight into the Pheromosa's attack. Sixty-O-Three's expression turned horrified almost instantly, and Seven Thousand shrieked in protestation.

"No!" Sixty-O-Three gasped.

"Yes!" Raijin exclaimed.

"Owwwwww!" the Nihilego fussed, hugging herself. "That one super effective! That hit too hard…!"

Whether she was strong to special hits or not, she didn't appear to be doing as well as she was earlier. Shortly, Raijin was loosing another Discharge, and while Sixty-O-Three made her usual maneuvers, she had another Focus Blast forming at the tips of one set of claws. Arashi still stuck close to the Nihilego, hoping that perhaps she'd be a shield (unwittingly, to be sure) against Raijin's bolts, for in her weakened state, she wasn't fit to do any shielding of her comrade even if she could reach him in time.

"NO-!" the Buzzwole cried to no avail.

A mere whimper left Seven Thousand, and both she and Fourteen-Five were a sparking, limp mess on the ground. Thankfully, the glassy Beast's body did indeed block a bolt from striking the Frogadier, to which he was relieved, but moments later and too fast for him to react to, Sixty-O-Three's attack smashed into him too.

"Yiah-!"

He too went limp.

The Pheromosa snarled, glaring at the smaller figure. "Annoying brat."

"I'd say that's you more than it is him," Raijin remarked, gaze never leaving her even as he took a few steps towards the fainted Dartrix.

The Pheromosa glared at him next, but at the same time, the fact that both of her comrades were completely unresponsive seemed to fully sink in judging by the way her gaze travelled between them and her eyes went wide. She paused for a second, a hint of hesitance creeping into her countenance.

"I don't guess that calmly talking things over is an option, is it?" Raijin asked gently but matter-of-factly, reaching over to Astrid with his tail and curling it around her to pick her up.

Sixty-O-Three snarled again. "You fucking traitor," she hissed angrily. "Why the hell would I talk to you?!"

She launched another Ice Beam, but a Signal Beam from Raijin overpowered it, and she had to duck not to get hit by it. With another shout of rage, she darted over to the limp form of the Cosmog still lying motionless on the ground and swooped them up while slipping her satchel off onto one hand. Another Dazzling Gleam fired off made her dart out of the way, and Raijin took a few steps closer to her. She backed away, keeping her gaze locked on the Xurkitree.

"You're not getting this one," the Pheromosa hissed, clutching the Cosmog closer. "It's obvious what you were trying to do- you were gonna slip back into Ultra Space like nothing had happened, weren't you?!"

"You aren't someone I'll answer questions for," Raijin pointedly replied, still striding closer. He was close enough to swoop Arashi up in one arm, trying to be careful with the blood still trickling from the Frogadier's belly. "And if you wanna get ahold of these ones, you'll have to take them from me. I can still take a hit if I need to, but unless you're the most durable Pheromosa I've ever seen… you can't say the same."

Sixty-O-Three's eyes narrowed, and moments later she produced a Reviver Seed from her satchel that she carefully held between her claws. Raijin paused.

"You know what they'll do to you, right?" Sixty-O-Three coldly taunted.

"I don't, and neither do you, but I can't imagine it'll be pleasant. I've got no intentions of finding out either way."

Yet again, Sixty-O-Three was darting away from a Dazzling Gleam, then one more, though she didn't appear too concerned. Something of a cocky snicker left her mouth as the seed glowed and revived the Cosmog she held, who quickly gave a jolt of fright. However, at the same time, she glanced up at the sky and got an uncertain grin, then swiftly glanced back down to the starry one.

"Take us home, little nebula!" she said quickly.

The little nebula had no idea what was going on and looked exceedingly startled, but nonetheless did as she said. The ground seemed to crack with white energy, and the moment it did, Raijin turned around and darted away as fast as he could to avoid it. He shortly got an easy view of what Sixty-O-Three had seen- a Mega Salamence speeding towards them with an Orbeetle perched between the horns on top of his head.

Adnea immediately tried Hypnosis on the Pheromosa, but that endeavor apparently wasn't going anywhere. A wormhole opened underneath the Beast squad, and Dren stuck his tail out that Raijin leaped out and grabbed before it could swallow him too.

"Have a nice life while you can, traitor!" Sixty-O-Three cackled.

"I will!" Raijin shot back, clinging to Dren's tail.

The wormhole shut, taking with it the busted up Squad Fourteen-Five. Dren set the Xurkitree back on the ground, then landed himself.

"Thank you," Raijin said, easing up just a bit. "That… that was close."

"Too close," Adnea remarked.

Raijin wasn't disagreeing even if he didn't say a word. He turned Astrid loose from his tail and swooped her up in his other arm, clutching the two smaller figures as though someone just might try to pry them away.

"Get on," Dren said, crouching down a bit.

Raijin did so, curling his tail around the Salamence to keep hold while the smaller figures were snug in his arms. "This form can fly faster, can't it? We need to get out of here before a dozen more wormholes open on us…"

"It can, that's why I'm using it," the Salamence replied. "And just in case I needed to tangle with another Beast, too. We weren't about to leave you three with no help."

With a slight running start, Dren leaped off of the nearest ledge and started to soar.

"A-ah… Thanks for that…" Raijin's voice trailed off. "I know you two don't like that sort of thing…"

"Whether we like it or not is irrelevant," Adnea brushed it off. "Put some pressure on Arashi's wound while you've got him. My hands are too small to do much."

He did so. "U-um, Adnea…? It wasn't near the amount that we normally would've gotten, but all three of us took Nihilego neurotoxin…"

"I am aware," the Orbeetle replied, turning to face Raijin while keeping one hand grasping Dren's horn so she wouldn't fly off. "And you're starting to feel the effects. You telling Sixty-O-Three to go to hell and using Discharge while Arashi was out in the open was… surprising, coming from you."

"Y-yeah…"

Her eyes started to glow, and Raijin didn't protest it.

"We'll get those two fixed up back at the base," Adnea noted, gesturing at Astrid and Arashi. "I'm no cleric, but I think they'll feel a lot better if we wrap them up in a few Heal Ribbons and stick some berries in their mouths. Then we can put this behind us and go from there."

The Xurkitree nodded. "… Just as long as they're okay."


Still, it was quite a while before either one of them went waking up, but when they did…

"Astrid! Astrid!"

"WUUAAAAGH! NO!"

The Dartrix's eyes shot open in panic, accompanied by the wild flailing of her wings.

"Hey, hey!" said a familiar voice, one belonging to a Fletchinder.

The Dartrix was still frantic, but she quickly came to a halt. She felt… fine. Warm and cozy, even.

She looked around. Arashi was next to her on one side, a Heal Ribbon still wrapped around him like a bandage over where the puncture from Fourteen-Five's proboscis would be. Cinder was on her other side, fairly obviously the source of the warmth with one wing wrapped around her, and around all three of them was Dren's tail. Lazuli perched on the dragon's back, Rush and Rozen weren't too far away, and Raijin was certainly sticking close by too.

"Heh! She's alive!" Rush laughed, grinning.

"Oh, don't say it like that," Rozen playfully scolded, giving the Scrafty a nudge. "You'll terrify her!"

"Looks like you don't need to do much work to terrify her as she is," Cinder remarked.

Lazuli giggled. "Oh, come on! Those two are little troopers!"

She blinked a bit, her feathers fluffing out in discomforted confusion, but when her partner's arms wrapped around her, she eagerly hugged him back. Her comrades were there and in one piece- that was enough, at least for the moment.

"What… happened…?" she inquired, wings still wrapped around Arashi. "The last thing I remember is… that Ice Beam…"

Moments later, the blanks in her memory were quickly filled in, courtesy of a certain Orbeetle up in her study. The Dartrix blinked some more, eyes going wider and feathers fluffing out some more, but after a second or two, she deflated again. They'd gotten away, in one piece, without any serious complications… That was good enough for her.

"Th-thanks, Adnea!" she called, shooting a glance up the stairs, then looking to everyone else, "H-how long were we out…?"

"Four hours, give or take, and Arashi about a minute and a half less than you," Rush answered. "We all came runnin' back to base when Adnea told us what happened! You three could not have had a suckier morning, could ya?"

"Even I'd say this is a bad day," Arashi said awkwardly. "You and I got our butts kicked ten times over by that Pheromosa alone, I got pummeled by a Buzzwole using only one hand and his proboscis, we don't have a Cosmog, and Void's faction has Raijin nailed as a traitor! This sucks!"

For once, she and her partner were in complete agreement over what constituted a terrible day.

Lazuli jumped down off of Dren's back and gave them both a pat on the head, chuckling. "Well, you've got one hell of a story, at least! Every expeditioner has one time or another where things go terribly wrong, and apparently today was your turn!"

That much was true, they couldn't deny.

"Let's just hope things don't go this spectacularly bad again," Dren gently chuckled, his tail curling a bit tighter. "Your own Beast comrade here hasn't left your side the entire time, and Cinder's had you both tucked under his wing since he got here."

"H-hey!" the Fletchinder cried uncertainly. "Th-that's just because there is nothing wrong with wanting to keep your unconscious comrades warm while they recover! That's all!"

"Oh, drop the act, you idiot- you were worried," Lazuli said to the contrary, giving the fiery avian a pointed grin.

Cinder gave the Azumarill a look like he might start flogging her, but her grin only grew wider and he haplessly eased up. Neither one of the 'unconscious comrades' said a word, though Astrid did untangle herself from the Fletchinder's wing.

"So… we're okay for now…" her voice trailed off, then looking up at the Xurkitree, "But… they know."

Raijin nodded. "They know," he said softly.

She fluffed up again, her gaze drifting down to the ground before her eyes closed and a heavy sigh escaped her mouth. "What's gonna happen to us…?"

Raijin stepped closer to her and knelt down, gently patting one of her wings. "I honestly couldn't tell you. I knew this would happen eventually, but… that doesn't make it feel any better. We'll have to seriously watch our backs now."

She nodded in utter silence, opening her eyes but staring at the ground.

"You two could probably use some time to decompress," Rozen gently noted, looking between the Dartrix and Frogadier.

"That would be great," Astrid quickly agreed.

The Starstorm trio retreated to the basement again, Astrid fluffing up on her perch while Arashi hunkered down comfortably on a cushion and Raijin plugged into the ground. Of course, seeing that the rest of the Coalition apparently cared enough about them to come darting back to base to make sure they were okay was quite comforting, but the context for which they all rushed back made Astrid deeply unnerved. Raijin was right, being found out was bound to happen at some point, but Astrid had definitely been hoping it would've been later rather than sooner.

"Y'know, I just gotta say," Arashi piped up, sticking his hands behind his head, "Raijin, I'm glad you knew your stuff when that fight happened, because I think it's safe to say me and Astrid would've been screwed without you."

"'Screwed' is an understatement," Astrid said, shaking her head aimlessly. "Come to think of it… Raijin, they were using the exact same moves you predicted they would back when we talked to Yunael in Shar's base. You do know your stuff."

"Well, I've got a lot of experience," the Xurkitree replied rather simply. "If I didn't have the logistics down by now, then I'd be concerned."

"Well, that's true," the Dartrix mused. "But still… thank you. Really. There's no ridiculous plan I could've cooked up that would've kept us from getting thrashed by those crazies."

"There's no way we could've whittled them down, not with our attacks against their setup," Arashi haplessly concurred.

Raijin twitched slightly. "Oh, don't thank me," he softly brushed it off. "That's why I'm here. You two are safe and that's all that matters."

The Frogadier shot him a funny but still amiable look. "Hey, don't say it like that," he said, cheerful but pointed. "We're friends, aren't we?"

Another twitch. "What do you mean?"

"'You two are safe and that's all that matters,'" Arashi repeated, looking amused. "You don't hear anything wrong with that?"

"Should I…?"

Astrid studied her partner, having a small idea of what he was getting at but staying quiet for the time being.

"Yes!" Arashi exclaimed, rolling his eyes. "Just imagine for a second that Astrid didn't get hit by that Ice Beam and Dren didn't fly fast enough, so only me and Astrid made it out while you got sucked into that wormhole. Wouldn't that suck?"

"Well, yes," Raijin answered. "Sorry, that was too much of a generalization. Void would get all of our information out of me one way or another and she'd know exactly where to find Astrid."

That was definitely a concern too, but Arashi still gave a playful sigh, burying his face in his hands. "Well, yes, but c'mon! That's not a wrong statement because you matter to us too? That we care about each other, Raijin?"

… The Xurkitree was silent, and seemingly frozen again too.

"Seriously!" Arashi continued, jerking his head up and throwing his arms out to the side. "You've said that several times before, and I get it- that's literally why you're here. If Big Blue asked me if I wanted to go swimming or something, I'd probably say 'That's literally what I'm made for!' or something. But now you're saying it, then saying that it only matters that we're safe… I mean, we all know you'd throw down with anyone to keep Astrid away from Void, of course that's a huge concern to us all, but just the other night you were saying you'd make Cinder eat a few bolts if he attacked me again, which is something friends do for each other, right?! You're not actually implying that the only reason you'd do that is because that's why you're here, is it? Like you're just some tool? Because that's what that sounded like!"

Raijin went back to his bipedal stance, looking down at the ground and shrinking up shyly. "Th-that's… A-ah…"

He was definitely looking uncertain about something, but it was a bit unclear as to what, precisely, it was. His fingers tapped together in silent contemplation.

"… Oh, come on," Arashi sighed, haplessly studying their comrade. "You don't think we'd miss you if you weren't around, not even counting that other Beasts are freaking scary and you know best how to deal with them? What's got you so quiet all of a sudden? Have we had you pegged wrong this entire time?"

Astrid studied their comrade too. They all had their purposes, to be sure, but… there was more to it than that, at least in her mind. She wasn't quite sure what to make of Arashi's inquiries and Raijin's shyness that followed them.

Still, they got an answer moments after. "No, no, no, it's not like that," Raijin quickly piped up, shaking his head. "It's… not like that, I swear it isn't. It's just that… A-ah, you two probably wouldn't understand…"

"Understand what?" the Frogadier pressed. "You look like something's bothering you."

"No, nothing's bothering me… I'm just… not sure how to say it…"

"Just say it," Astrid piped up. "If you need to get something off your chest, just say it and we'll listen."

It didn't take much prodding after that, and the Xurkitree snapped back from his hunched-up position. "I'm still not sure if I completely understand this yet," the words practically came gushing out like a flooded river as he studied them both. "And I don't mean this world, the Coalition, being Necrozma's emissary and trying to thwart Void's goals, either. I mean, yeah, this is all completely different than what I'm used to, but… you two, specifically. Look, you don't know how surreal it was when you two said you wanted me on your team or when you gave me a name because using my identification was too impersonal. No one had ever done that before. Necrozma comes close, but it's not like I get to see them all the time, or heck, even see them at all. Before I was with the faction, I was just minding my own business off in Ultra Plant and not really caring about anything in particular, then after Void poisoned me, I didn't care about anything but advancing the faction into a giant empire under her rule. I was on teams there, sure, but not like this. I was only on them because I was there for some tactical purpose. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying myself, wrecking dissenters and zapping humans until they flat-out died, but that was the poison talking and not me. But this? Team Starstorm is completely different. You don't have to brainwash me to like you. I called the faction Beasts comrades, sure, but as far as friends go… you two are definitely the first. That's what I meant… that I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to you. When Squad Fourteen-Five was giving us hell, obviously I was worried about them winning and all the horrible connotations that would have, but… I was afraid of losing my friends too. I… can't replace either one of you, and for a lot more reasons than the obvious ones."

As the words left, despite their meanings, Raijin was avoiding their gazes and shrinking up as much as he could, but Astrid and Arashi intently listened to every word. The Dartrix tilted her head to the side, blinking a few times while eyeing their comrade. She and Arashi looked to each other, then back at the Xurkitree, and she jumped down off of her perch.

"Hey," Astrid said gently, scuttling closer. "Are you okay…? You don't have to be shy about it…"

"I'm fine," was the rather subdued answer, Raijin kneeling down and gently placing a hand on one of her wings. "Really. It's not like I can smile or cry, but… trust me, I'm happy."

She nodded. Arashi too jumped up and darted closer, and he too got a copper-plated hand gently placed against him.

"Sheesh," the Frogadier chuckled, smiling haplessly. "I didn't know that was such a huge deal to you. I just thought that was… normal."

"Well, I think 'normal' is pretty subjective between the three of us," the Xurkitree mused. "But… still. It meant a lot."

Moments later, Raijin's arms curled around them and he clutched them up just under his head spikes. Astrid's feathers fluffed out (merely because of the currents running through their comrade's form) and Arashi was surprised for a second but didn't protest it (though the same currents made him go a little wide-eyed at feeling them).

"Look, I'm thousands of light years away from where I would otherwise be, but… I feel right at home with you two," Raijin gently noted. "I know that might be strange, but it's true."

Astrid chuckled, the edges of her beak curling up in a little smile. "Hey, me too."

The Xurkitree gave them both a little squeeze. "Whatever happens, I just wanna stay with you two. I don't ever wanna go back to how things were."

"Neither do I," Arashi laughed.

"Neither do I," Astrid softly concurred.

One more little squeeze, and Raijin put them back down before straightening back up.

Arashi, though, gave Astrid a jesting look. "You don't even know how things used to be on your end, though!" he remarked, giving her a playful nudge.

"And I don't care," she brushed him off, not bothered in the slightest. "If my memories were worth erasing and my existence unimportant enough to warrant sending me here, then it's probably nothing I'd care to go back to. I'd say I belong here way more than I do on my homeworld."

"You and I both can relate to that, apparently," Raijin nonchalantly remarked.

She smiled, jumping up on her perch again and nestling down.

… They certainly hoped they could all stay together and keep the status quo, at least.


Megalo Tower 0F- Base

Light years away, however, a certain Nihilego had already finished seething with rage hours beforehand and started thinking of the best way to dismantle their status quo. If anything was certain, it was that Void wasn't going to let the developments she'd been apprised of slide. She floated back and forth across the floor, occasionally stopping to either hug herself like an upset child or wildly shudder with a tiny screech of displeasure coming from her. There were still two Stakataka guards at the entrance, the little glowing square pegged to the wall occasionally twitched, and Necrozma's blinding light flickered off in the distance accompanied by bursts of fire from Celesteela cannons, lightning strikes, draconic energy pulses, and a myriad more attacks. Knox still kept close by Void, albeit staying out of her way as she paced around, but leaning against one side of his walls was another figure. A Pheromosa, UB02B-0001 marked on one arm and a pair of X-Ray Specs perched on their head, smirked with their arms crossed and practically followed Void's every move with their eyes.

"I'm not questioning you if this is what you want, but I'm just saying," the Pheromosa remarked with a grin, "I have absolutely no qualms about strutting through that surrounding area and beating the everloving shit out of whoever I see until someone spits out where Astrid is.~ And I've got no qualms about beating the shit out of whoever tries to stop me or get in my way, either.~"

Void paused, swaying like a flower in a breeze and turning to her underling. "Void appreciate it, Remi, but Void not like that idea. Astrid and her comrades probably hear about it before you get to them, and she run away again. Void not want that. Void know that no Beast can outrun you, but Void not want take chance."

Remi acquiesced without a fuss, giving the Nihilego a wink. "In that case, whatever my goddess says is law and I'll be your prophet.~"

Void gave them a reassuring nod, then floated over to the Stakataka. She would've been looking him straight in the one eye facing her had she had any visible eyes of her own, and she gently reached out with one arm to touch him. Several of his bricks flipped sides so more than one eye was on her.

"And Void know that you have strongest walls, Knox. That why Void always keep you close. But if it just for short time, Void can have other guard. Void have plenty more Stakatakas Void can pick while you gone. You go with Remi, keep Remi safe for Void."

"WE WILL DO AS YOU SAY," the conglomeration of voices from the living rampart replied.

The Nihilego turned back to Remi. "Remi, Void not care what you do with that world's dissenters. But Void not want you kill Six-Seven or Arashi yet. Void want them spill everything in their minds first that they hiding, Void want them tell Void everything, Void want hear them beg for mercy…" One of her tentacle arms took a purplish hue and started to drip with poison. "And Void make them do it. Then Void let you have your fun."

The stick-thin Beast burst into sadistic laughter, looking absolutely enthralled with the idea.

Void turned away from both of them, clapping gently and swaying nonchalantly. "Azure should be close- that who Void send you to," she sweetly noted. "Tell him plan, then be ready. It might take day or two, but Void know those three come."

Remi was practically a happily jittering mess, their claws clacking together while they cackled, while Knox neither protested nor gloated.

"AS YOU WISH," Knox affirmed, going back to only having one eye watching.

"Anything for you, Void~!" Remi cried in wild bliss.

The Nihilego gave another little clap. "Good. Void get what Void want… one way or another."

Her underlings didn't doubt that she would.


Author's note: Y'know, this probably should've clicked way sooner given how frequently I listen to what I'm about to mention, but I have finally realized what a good example is for how I would imagine Void and, similarly, Seven Thousand's voice to sound like- this effect that a band I quite like, DenKare, uses in their re:charge album. It's particularly prominent for the vocals in "CHAIN" and "Zangekiyo! Unare! Houkou no Gotoku!" (but only the re:charge version, not the originals- there's a playlist on YouTube that should come up if you type 'denkare recharge' for anyone who is curious). I'm not entirely sure how to describe it, and I've got no clue how they make it sound like that, but if you've ever wondered what I mean by 'sweetly metallic' or the like, there you go. I guess I was being subconsciously influenced by my favorite music and didn't even notice, hehehe.

And yes, I did indeed make Arashi T-pose and dab at a Buzzwole. Me and TheDragonSaver loved that idea weeks before I wrote this chapter, and I HAVE NO SHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAME.