Nothing felt outright wrong, but Astrid still couldn't help but to take notice of the near-instant change in atmosphere once they re-emerged on the other side of the wormhole. The ground was soft under her feet and she might've enjoyed all the greenery in any other setting, but her feathers still stood slightly on end knowing where they actually were. The soil underfoot was dark and rich, covered in a multitude of deep green and grassy patches trying to grow in every direction at once, interspersed with a few bright red or blue or yellow flowers. Rather thick vines draped down from virtually every limb of the huge, palm-like trees obscuring most of the sky from view, and even if they were somewhat similar to something she might have found on the other side of their wormhole, the trees seemed to be growing as though they had arms and torsos to pose. The air was about as damp as one might expect in a rainforest, but at the same time, she distinctly smelled smoke from someplace in the surrounding vicinity. Her comrades were sizing up the area too- or at least, the ones unfamiliar with it.
Even more eye-catching was something off in the distance visible between some branches that left an open gap in the canopy to see off in the distance through. A blinding light even brighter than the sun blazed out from the top of a foreboding-looking grey stone tower, the beginnings of the light rays tinted purple from a cloud of smog, and some gigantic metallic figures leaving fiery trails of smoke and flame as they circled it reflected caught some of those absurd rays to glow unnaturally bright too… Megalo Tower. Even the mere sight of it from so far away was intimidating, never mind the Blinding One atop it or the sickly-sweet tyrant inside of it that commanded that same gleaming figure…
"Okay, moment of truth here, let's see if the coast is clear," Lunala said, mostly to herself.
"Wormhole?" Dren inquired.
"Yes," the goddess replied, getting a look of concentration.
Everyone more or less paused for a moment while Lunala's expression turned rather intent, her eyes locked on the blazing light off in the distance. Astrid held her breath for a moment, and she and Arashi both shared a glance- hers one of determined caution, and his one of hopeful but uncertain excitement. Astrid didn't say it out loud, but her face did a bad job of hiding it- she really hoped Lunala's attempt at getting close would fail, for even if that would mean getting the upper hand on Necrozma much quicker, it would also mean her time with her friends would get cut even shorter… Her partner picked up on her hesitance (but definitely not the actual reason), sticking a hand on one of her wings, which she didn't protest.
Nonetheless, Lunala piped up again, "No good. They've got a barrier around the top of that tower, just like I suspected they would. We've gotta do this like we planned- converge on the tower as innocuously as possible before we strike."
"Well, if you and Adnea came up with that plan, I trust it, no questions asked," Rush remarked.
"Let's get going, then," the goddess said, easing up from her concentration. "I'm putting most of my effort into shielding us from Necrozma's perception. If they figure out that we're here, the only warning we'll have is a split-second of darkness."
Lunala and Raijin both knew what direction to head in, and aside from trying to carefully brush aside some foliage or trying not to crush a stick underfoot (mostly in Dren's case), the terrain truly was not outright oppressive. Even despite the heavy tree cover, it was still plenty light enough to see with what resembled sunbeams peeking through tiny gaps in the canopy, though they obviously were not sunbeams but rather the rays of a certain Blinding One…
"Damn, this ain't bad at all," Rush remarked, his gaze darting around. "I don't know what the hell I was expectin', but this could deadass pass as a place in our own world, minus those damned trees lookin' like they have a mind of their own."
"Don't get used to it," Raijin advised. "Once we get further north, things get a lot less welcoming."
The Scrafty shot him a smirk. "I wasn't exactly plannin' on gettin' used to it, heh."
"I totally could," Arashi piped up, grinning as usual. "This is so cool…! We're actually on another world, aha…!"
Astrid gave her partner a nudge, catching his attention. "Don't say this is a good day," she said flatly. "Don't jinx it. For the love of all that is good and holy, don't jinx it."
Arashi gave her a look. "Oh, I'll say it once we beat Void," he replied. "We can rub it in her non-existent face, ahaha!"
"Heavens, if enthusiasm could kill, we would have already won ages ago," Dren said with a chuckle.
Arashi shot the dragon a look too, but apparently didn't have much to say one way or another in reply.
Even for as otherwise non-threatening as the surroundings appeared, Astrid took note of something as she took a few more steps maneuvering through the shrubbery- she felt some definite vibrations underfoot, and some of the leaves in the vicinity were shivering too. She quickly piped up, "U-uh, h-hey, is there any reason the ground would be rumbling? Does it just do that…?"
"There's an active volcano in the area," Raijin swiftly informed. "That's a likely culprit if it's dripping lava again. Otherwise, Celesteelas can cause some pretty violent shaking if they're taking off, and a Guzzlord running around is easily noticeable… but that last one is really ugly and we'd all better hope that's not the case."
"Oh, I'll show that bitch or bastard what's ugly if they come rollin' up to us," Rush remarked.
"Friend, be careful," Rozen cautioned, rolling his eyes. "I can heal a lot of things, but a missing chunk from your body isn't one of them."
Rush only snickered in response, still obviously thinking of giving a Guzzlord a proper thrashing. Astrid, though, calmed down at her comrade's explanation, thinking the former two possibilities more probable- she did smell smoke in the air, after all, so lava or the explosive cannons of a Celesteela seemed reasonable. For as frightened as the Xurkitree - a clear expert on the Ultra Space occupants who would easily know what to be afraid of- seemed, she absolutely did not want to come close to a Guzzlord, either.
"I'll let you know if there's cause for concern," Lunala chimed in, expression still one of concentration. "And if there is, we'll tell you what to do."
. . . . .
Off in the desert, however, another group was getting a fairly good look at some of the less welcoming terrain. Team Charade's most adaptable member (or rather, team lead) and their own psychic in Ravi the Girafarig, a certain pink and fluffy bastion of a Blissey, the gnarly Seth the Scizor and Riven the Honchkrow, and the Coaliton's own fireball of fury and 'big' blue fairy all landed on the unearthly sands of Ultra Desert.
"Ooh! I've got a good form for this!" cried a certain Ditto, immediately taking a whitish glow as his body started to shift.
"Ah~! This place looks harsh, but the power of my love beats even the harshest things~!" Ama chirped, clapping her hands together as though absolutely nothing were wrong.
The blinding rays radiating out from in the distance cast glares all over the sparkling sand, which glittered in mostly shades of pale tan mixed with a few speckles of sea green. Pointed gemstones in the same greenish-blue shades protruded from the ground in several places, and some of them even amassed into larger, sparkling sandstone structures that towered over the troupe. The surroundings were already distorting from the heat radiating off of the ground, making the horizon look as though it shifted like waves in the sea. It was harsh, alright- the air was as dry as could be, even feeling dusty when breathed in, and their vision was already being messed with simply on account of the heat and glare. Riven gave a little jolt of surprise at the hot sensation underfoot, and Seth's wings began to beat rather fast to keep his steel carapace at a reasonable temperature. Cinder and Ama, of course, barely seemed to notice, Lazuli wasn't too fazed on account of her typing, and Ravi's hooves kept him from being concerned.
Xeno's form shifted into that of a Ditto-eyed Mudsdale, for which he seemed rather giddy and playful from the way he stomped his hooves happily for a second. "Hop on if you wanna!" he said, shaking his tail. "I got plenty of room!"
At that, Seth obliged and hopped on with his legs draped off of one side, and Cinder and Riven followed suit in roosting on the Ditto's back as well. Xeno didn't even seem to notice the added weight, still playfully flicking his hooves in place.
Ama giggled. "Oh, Xeno, darling, you almost have as many forms as all the different ways of showing love.~ It's spectacular.~"
"Careful, Ama," Cinder remarked, eyeing her. "If we meet any Beasts, they just might show you their love for Void again by ripping you in half or something."
The Blissey smiled nonetheless. "And I would still love them even if they did.~ Maybe that's what Void really needs- a little bit of unconditional love.~ But if she doesn't, I have plenty of tough love to give too, ahahaaa~!"
Somehow, they all seriously doubted that Ama's love would calm down someone subjugating an entire world for their own gain, but no one said anything to protest Ama's ideas.
"Well, Big Blue's got some tough love in that case too," Lazuli mused, smirking a little.
"I'll give 'em something tough, but whether it's 'love' is a whole other story," Seth remarked.
"Oh, who are we kidding, Seth- it's rage and spite, heh!" Riven crowed, shooting the Scizor a shifty glance.
"Oh, gods not-above, the effect is the same," Ravi remarked, his tail-head snickering in an almost creepy way.
"And we should see what that effect is!" Xeno exclaimed, stomping his hooves again. "Let's go say 'Hi, take us to your magnificent leader~!'"
Without any word of warning (and to the team's surprise), Xeno instantly started galloping off into the distance, startling the ones on his back and getting funny looks from the others on the ground. Ravi galloped after him too, his tail-head rolling its eyes, Ama and Lazuli skittering haplessly close behind.
. . . . .
On the opposite end of the desert, some other figures were gathering their bearings too. The members of Team Mirage, a certain eye-patch wearing Chatot, the perpetually flustered-looking Karma the Wobbuffet and her mischievously-smirking teammate Kuro the Zoroark, and the fluffy form of Yunael the Togekiss all touched down onto the same sands albeit in a very far away vicinity.
"Well, look at this," Delphi remarked, smirking. "This place is almost as hot as I am.~" Which meaning of the word 'hot,' whether literal heat due to her Fire-type nature or another… more suggestive indication, was something she didn't clarify.
"Oh, look at this," Polly piped up, mimicking Delphi's mannerisms but using a voice belonging to a certain stuck-up, maniacal Pheromosa, "a place almost as oppressive as being in the presence of a bunch of lesser-species. Fuck this world and everyone in it."
"For heaven's sake, don't go using our enemies' voices in normal conversation," Karma said, casting her a pointed look. "You almost make them sound reasonable."
Yunael too gave the Chatot a funny look, fluffing out just a bit. "Hey, now, everyone includes our comrades," she said, affectionate but prodding.
"And there's such thing as a loving 'fuck you' too, you fluffy softie," Polly, with her own voice again, replied without missing a beat. "You, a 'Mon belonging to Team Sweetheart of all teams, should understand. And don't worry, Karma- I'm only doing it to make fun of them."
Yunael's face lit up at the mention of something 'loving,' even if she still looked fairly puzzled by the 'fuck you' part, and Karma let up. Joker wordlessly eyed them, obviously thinking something but not vocalizing it.
"I wonder what those guards'll do if I start making myself look like them," Kuro remarked, getting a smirk himself too. "They might catch on if I start attacking, but hey, hopefully that won't be necessary!"
"Why don't you use your Illusion and make my eyes purple while you're at it~?" Delphi chuckled. "Then maybe I won't even need to bargain with them. They'll just… adore me by default.~"
"Or that could backfire horribly," Karma said to the contrary, mostly muttering to herself.
"Well, if they don't, I'll protect us!" Spirit declared, the tip of his tail flicking.
"Speaking of which," Polly piped up again, glancing up at the ghostly dragon, "can this little girl perch between those cannons, big guy?"
The Dragapult started to grin. "Of course!" he replied, immediately swooping her up. "I love having company up there! Tell William and Clerval to be nice!"
The two Dreepies peeking out of the cannons didn't appear to protest the extra company at all, and Polly nestled down comfortably between them.
Delphi glanced around the group. "Well, if everyone is situated, then let's go tell these guards hi," she said with a grin. "Let's give them a niiiiice surprise.~"
. . . . .
Off under a lightning-laden sky, though, things were looking much different. Almost the entirety of the surroundings were black, from the sky to the ground and most everything in between save for a few flickering fixtures. The ever-gnarly Shar and her bulky Aggron comrade Azra, the stylishly scarved Chira, the loving sweetheart of a dragon Jingle, the tiny Millicent, and the still sharp-eyed Adnea all made their own appearances into Ultra Plant.
"This is GNARLY!" Shar hollered, pumping both of her claws in the air. "Look at the damn sky! Now this is the kind of place I'd build me a lair in if the Crossroads weren't so convenient, bwahaha!"
"This is a hell-raising environment if I've ever seen one," Azra concurred, smirking.
Loud peals of thunder cracked and echoed throughout the area, leaving a perpetual rumbling sound to hang in the air. The sky was obscured entirely by pitch-black storm clouds that towered off into the heavens for what looked like miles, occasionally flashing grey as giant bolts of lightning danced through them or descended to the ground. A slight vibration was easily felt underfoot, the cause of which was easy to determine based on Jingle's fur standing up on end in a ridiculous fashion. The shiny black rocks had electric jolts coursing over them, and even among some smaller ones, a faint lightning bolt silhouette could be made out… but no, it wasn't time for collecting Thunder Stones. A soft white glow kept them from being shrouded in complete darkness in the absence of lightning flashes, the source of which varied- a multitude of black cable-like stems and limbs sprouted from the ground, affixed with spiked spheres at their peaks and flattened leaf-like fixtures sticking out perpendicular to the cables that emitted the light. Some of them weren't more than a meter tall, and some of them were gargantuan with a single limb wrapping around a much larger stem. It was… different, undoubtedly not a sight to be seen anywhere else.
"Well, I'm glad you two like it, because I think this is… disturbing," Chira admitted, uncertainly studying her surroundings.
"'Disturbing?!'" Shar exclaimed. "What're you on about?!"
Chira shrugged disarmingly. "Look, I'm just saying… I love being a Cinccino, I love my Cinccino fur and my Cinccino scarves and my Cinccino body… but if I went to a place where all the hedges had Cinccino-colored leaves and grew in Cinccino-shaped patterns and had to be watered with Cinccino blood, I'd freak out."
Shar and Azra both gave her a disbelieving look, thought shortly, she was getting some reactions from the others present.
"Oh, by the gods, now that you mention it, that is disturbing!" Jingle exclaimed, glancing around as well. "Heavens, if Raijin were out here standing still, I would barely be able to pick him out! How would he ever enjoy living here?! I'd feel like I was constantly being watched!"
Millicent too wore an unsettled look, making some hand gestures that Chira and Jingle answered with nods, indicating that she too had the same sentiments.
Adnea, however, was as stoic as ever. "It's already well-established that 'normal' between our respective worlds is extremely subjective," she remarked, unfazed. "And if anyone is doing any watching, it's me. We have plenty of things to worry about outside of strange terrain."
The Orbeetle's usual flat tone snapped them out of whatever fright that the sweetheart triad may have been experiencing, and put an end to the gnarly duo's quips. No one protested a thing she said, even looking relieved at the mention of her monitoring their surroundings as she usually did. Without another word, their group turned their attention on the blinding visage far off in the distance and set off.
. . . . .
"Well, our comrades didn't hit any hiccups landing," Lunala noted, folding up her wings slightly to squeeze between two trees. "Nothing is amiss yet; let's hope it stays that way…"
"The terrain isn't too hard on them, is it?" Raijin asked, glancing up at the goddess. "I know we prepared and they knew what to expect, but still…"
Lunala shook her head. "No, from my brief glances, it's not too bad, but the ones from Team Sweetheart over in Ultra Plant aren't liking it anyway," she answered.
The Xurkitree perked up. "Oh? Is the weather too bad?"
Another shake of Lunala's head followed. "Something about how, if they lived in a place where everything looked like them and only grew bigger when treated with their own species' blood, they'd never be comfortable."
The others present were each getting funny looks in varying degrees.
"… That's not how that works," Raijin brushed it off.
"Well, I see their point," Rozen acknowledged.
"As do I," Dren agreed.
Arashi's expression contorted for just a second, though a smile always graced his mouth. "I mean, if I came across a place with a bunch of Greninja look-alikes, I'd just say that's nature recognizing greatness! The blood part, though… There's the problem!"
Astrid simply blinked, stupefied that such a connection could be made in the first place.
"Are y'all kidding yourselves?!" Rush laughed to the contrary, looking disbelieving. "That's hardcore as fuck! Nature recognizing greatness and I get to drag some other Scrafty's ass out there to have a bloodletting?! Sign me the fuck up!"
Astrid couldn't help but to think that Rush sounded far too eager at the prospect, and Rozen apparently was of the same mindset from the way he rolled his eyes. However, they all dropped the subject fairly soon.
"Hey," Lunala quickly and softly cut in, amiable but pointed. "Keep your voices down. We're not alone anymore, and the ones I'm reading are really better left alone than dealt with in battle."
They all piped down at her mention, continuing only in whispers.
"… Guzzlord?" Raijin inquired, voice almost akin to faint static for how quiet it was.
"The ones Delphi showed you and Astrid," Lunala affirmed. "Squad Glimmer, consisting of Glimmer the Xurkitree, Fifty-One-Sixteen the Celesteela, and Forty-Twelve the Guzzlord. One of them in particular is extra concerning, and… Well, maybe I shouldn't tell you now."
That got her some odd looks.
"… Nah, if I'm bein' honest, I'ma say I'd rather ya fuckin' tell us," Rush said to the contrary.
"I trust you either way, but now I want to know too," Raijin corroborated.
Lunala nodded, switching entirely to telepathic communication as she answered, *Glimmer's packing both Tail Glow and Hyper Beam, Tail Glow being used to drastically boost her special attack and Hyper Beam… You know.*
They all paused for a second.
"Wha-!" Arashi started to exclaim, but was promptly cut off by Astrid shoving one hand into his mouth and Raijin too reaching out to silence him. "… Thanks," he said, back to whispering when they let go.
"Good heavens, that's frightening," Rozen remarked, eyes wide.
"… You ain't fuckin' with us, are ya?" Rush inquired, eyeing Lunala incredulously. "Why the hell would a damned Xurkitree need Tail Glow? Like, ain't they already a walkin' manifestation of stuff goin' boom?"
"Because it's a brilliant setup, that's why," Raijin chimed in, tapping his fingers together. "Lunala, is that Celesteela a guard?"
*She is,* was the quick answer. *And you're exactly right from what I can tell beneath the poisoned frenzy.*
"Exactly right about what?" Arashi inquired, studying their two Beast comrades. "What're they up to?"
"That Celesteela's got Wide Guard in her arsenal," Raijin explained. "Which means, in this case, every time that other Xurkitree is either charging her power up or recharging from Hyper Beam, she's got a shield to hide behind while she's vulnerable. That's… a strategy that probably works insanely well."
No one else doubted it. Astrid thought about the hazards of facing such a setup and was very glad to have two creatures with shielding capabilities in their group, seeing as they'd definitely need Lunala's Wide Guard and Rozen's Heal Pulses if a fight broke out.
Lunala sighed audibly before continuing on. *Well, as much as I'd like to try clearing their minds and expelling the poison right now, that might just cause another issue seeing as that Guzzlord in particular would likely fly off the rails and try to devour her teammates out of sheer uncertainty. I doubt an incident like that would go entirely unnoticed by the higher-ups, since at the very least, it'd be a huge uproar.*
"Oh, heavens, we just set foot in this place and we're already getting spooked by the inhabitants," Dren's voice haplessly trailed off.
"Welcome to Ultra Space," Raijin said sarcastically, throwing his hands up as if to beg for divine intervention from a deity that wouldn't be coming to their aid.
"Oh, I feel welcome, alright," Rush laughed under his breath.
They carried on in near-silence, wanting to avoid alerting their unwanted company to their own presences in any way possible, and the only sounds that followed were the flora swishing as someone walked past. Astrid practically held her breath, not even wanting to make as faint a sound as that, for if a fight did occur with the Beast squad prowling, it wasn't likely to be pretty. She had two experts on everything Ultra Space within a meter's reach, but all the same, if an uproar could be avoided, it was best avoided.
Even so…
"GYAAA-AAAAAAAAAH!"
Everyone certainly perked up at the sound of the ear-splitting scream that filled the air, rather discomforted by the sheer volume even if it was somewhat further off, but Lunala was quickly getting an uncertain look and Raijin outright drooped like a dying flower.
"No," the Xurkitree said flatly, staring downwards.
Whump!
It wasn't an earthquake, but a definite vibration of something huge moving about rattled the ground. Astrid was instantly on guard, reaching for an arrow, and Rush was balling his fists up while quickly scanning the vicinity.
Raijin snapped back to life, twitching and turning to Lunala before saying in a very alarmed tone, "C-can you throw them off?!"
"Dammit, no!" Lunala fussed, looking flustered as though she were talking to someone completely different. She stared straight at her emissary, but her words were clearly directed at someone else. "C'mon, ignore those instincts, there is nothing here for you to see!"
Astrid and Arashi both looked to their resident Beasts, the latter of which piped up, "What does that mean? Is that bad?!"
Raijin was pretty fast to answer, turning to them next. "That sound you just heard? The only thing that screams like that is a Guzzlord that's picked up on prey. I'll let you guess what that prey is."
That answer was… unsettling, to say the least. Lunala, as flustered as she looked, nonetheless was clearly concentrating rather hard on something- trying to erase any hint of 'prey' in their company's minds, based on what she'd already said. Astrid certainly hoped she could do it soon, for the whump, whump, whump of the ground that quickly followed indicated that the fussing glutton was on the move.
"I'll punch that bitch in her ugly face if she tries devourin' us," Rush declared, not too fazed.
"Friend, be careful," Rozen cautioned.
"Well, nothing beats a dragon quite like another dragon…" Dren's voice trailed off, the Salamence tensing up slightly as if ready to pounce.
"Sh-should we run…?!" Astrid inquired, still gripping an arrow but looking perturbed.
"That won't do us any good," Raijin replied. "That glutton's got our scent. They'll just keep chasing us down."
"And I'm not gonna be able to throw them off in time for as frenzied as this hungry glutton is," Lunala noted flatly. "Dammit, dammit, not already…"
Crash!
The sound of some rather close by trees being snapped or cracked graced their senses next, along with some shouting voices.
"I smell them! I smell them!" cried a raspy, shrill voice somewhere between a growl and the sound of giant pieces of metal creaking. "They smell so exotic! I HAVE TO SEE!"
"Forty-Twelve, darling, let's not be hasty!" a robotic-sounding voice hollered, as if the individual making the call was trying to sound sweetly energetic but was too flustered to succeed.
In instants, Lunala was putting up a Wide Guard around them all as several of the large trees in front of them were battered aside by two mouth-like pincers (the left one marked 'UB05-4012') and then crushed under a gargantuan black body with the most gigantic set of snapping jaws that all of the non-natives in the group had ever seen. However, the Guzzlord quickly went shrieking again, but for different reasons- another figure with a glowing spiked ball for a head (along with the cable on one arm marked 'UB03-1213,' but not twisted away to hide it like Raijin's own mark) climbed atop the ravenous creature's form, staring straight down at the unruly glutton and cloaked in a blinding Dazzling Gleam with one hand held downwards in what had to be a threatening gesture. The gargantuan black Beast came to a screeching halt.
"Don't make me hit you with Dazzling Gleam like last time, darling!" the Xurkitree hollered. "You know this is why Void entrusted you to me!"
"GYAAA-AAAAAAAAH!" another ear-splitting shriek followed, but one more fearful than anything as the Guzzlord shivered and shrunk up in fright, all four eyes tightly shut in terror. "No, Glimmer, no! Fifty-One-Sixteen, help me! Get her offa me! She's gonna kill me!"
Astrid wasn't sure whether to be relieved or horrified. Arashi was still smiling, but his eyes were practically bulging out of his head in what she guessed was uncertainty.
Even if the fussing glutton had stopped, all of them could still feel a rumbling, the source of which soon came to light. Thankfully, Lunala was still holding her shield around them when another set of trees outright burst into flame behind them, then got crushed under another figure even more gargantuan than the Guzzlord before them- the massively elegant steel frame of a Celesteela, one metal sheet marked 'UB04-5116.'
"She's not gonna help you, Forty-Twelve~!" the Xurkitree chirped rather pointedly, still aiming her blinding attack down. "Get ahold of yourself!"
A screeching whimper followed after.
However, Lunala had something to say, her shield starting to fade. "Everyone, get behind Raijin."
They didn't question her and did exactly that, their own Xurkitree firing up a Dazzling Gleam of his own that quickly flew through the air. It didn't do much good, though, as another Wide Guard similarly went up around all members of the Beast squad in their vicinity. At that, both the Guzzlord and the enemy Xurkitree perked up, gazes instantly shifting to Lunala's group.
"Hostility present, and significant hostility too," the Celesteela said flatly, her chime-like voice something that would've sounded pretty in any other context.
"Dammit," Raijin cursed, even more flat.
An electronic chuckle came from the other Xurkitree as she jumped down from atop her comrade and dissipated her attack, tapping her fingers together. "… Oh, my~" she chirped with glee, taking a few playful steps closer with a wag of her tail. "If it isn't the disgraced former goddess, the traitor that I'm almost ashamed to share a species with, and the human~!"
"Oh, I'll show you disgrace, ya tipsy bitch," Rush shot back, holding his fists up.
Wordlessly, Astrid aimed an arrow at the two in front of them with narrowed eyes, and Arashi edged closer to her with a shuriken forming in one hand.
The other Beast at the helm of their enemies, though, gave her ravenous comrade a playful pat, saying cheerfully, "Forty-Twelve, my darling, I won't get in your way.~ Feel free to do what you do best.~"
Their shields dropped fairly shortly thereafter, a "GYAA-AAAAAAAAH!" sounding again. However, the fanged pincers could only attempt to clobber yet another Wide Guard, put up by Lunala once more.
"… Squad Glimmer," Lunala mused, studying their company.
"That's right~!" the other Xurkitree affirmed, twirling happily and bouncing in place for just a second. "And I'm Glimmer, the brightest glow in Ultra Space short of Necrozma right now.~ Here's how this always goes down, you pests- if you want to trouble Void, and we all know you do, then I blast you so damned hard that whatever unfortunate floating islands in your general direction get an impromptu makeover, Fifty-One-Sixteen makes sure that you have an awful time trying to beat us, and our beautiful Forty-Twelve erases you all except for the important ones that Void wants.~ She's very hungry and impatient to sink her jaws into something, as you can see.~"
Another awful-sounding shriek came from the Guzzlord, her pincers still battering Lunala's shield even as it began to drop.
Lunala studied her just a bit. "And if you want to get in our way of snapping my two closest friends and everyone else on Ultra Space out of their trance, then you'll have to get through me, my emissary, that human-turned-Decidueye, and our comrades," she coolly but pointedly replied.
Glimmer wasn't too fazed, giving a playful bow. "Oh, I'm looking forward to it, darlings~!"
The shield dropped, and Astrid let her arrow fly at Forty-Twelve, wanting to lock down such a fearsome foe as soon as she possibly could… but one of the ravenous creature's pincers reached out and caught it, then shoved it straight into her gaping maw. There were no spectral stitches, no sign of the Guzzlord being discomforted in the slightest. What was more, the prongs on Glimmer's tail started to glow brightly for a moment, and they all had an idea of what that entailed… which wasn't anything they looked forward to dealing with. Her Celesteela comrade poised her cannons to attack too, and what she'd shoot out of them was anyone's guess.
Lunala took her turn piping up again, saying softly so that only her comrades could hear, "… This isn't gonna be easy."
Author's note: Well, I ranted about the Gen 8 mass move deleting some chapters back and how I thought it was ridiculous, so here it is, Tail Glow BS because why the hell not and Hyper Beam because YES. (I may or may not be taking a page out of DBZ shenanigans with inspiration in the form of Final Flash being lovingly dubbed the 'fuck everything in this general direction' attack by the fans, but I rest my case.)
Also, gotta mention my buddy TheDragonSaver here, since he showed me clips of what Guzzlord does in the anime (as in, its cry is literally just a dude screaming) and I was like "You know what? Screw it, I'm doing that too" since we both thought it was… just fantastic.
