"… She just ate my Spirit Shackle," Astrid mused flatly, wide-eyed at their ravenous foe.
Clearly, it wasn't going to be an easy fight, but much more worrisome was the other maneuvers that their foes were pulling. Fifty-One-Sixteen's cannons quickly fired off a multitude of seeds, seeds which immediately sprouted an array of vines that interwove like a net, while the blazing white beginnings of an absurd Hyper Beam coalesced between Glimmer's hands. Squad Glimmer's synergy was already becoming readily apparent- a Leech Seed net to hold them in place, a Tail Glow-boosted Hyper Beam to crush them, and a screaming Guzzlord to finish them off.
"That's a trap!" Raijin called quickly.
His comrades took note fairly quickly, Dren frantically aiming a Flamethrower overhead and Arashi sending a flurry of Water Shurikens to slice apart whatever vines they could touch. The hefty gaps sliced and scorched into the makeshift net allowed for moving, but a few cries of pain were nonetheless elicited at what vines still made contact. Astrid, though, didn't occupy herself with them too much, knowing her typing would ultimately keep her immune from the effects, and instead reached for an arrow again while darting between her comrades and their high-voltage foe. Lunala, on the other hand, completely disappeared from view like a shadow getting dispersed by a light source as Glimmer's Hyper Beam fired off.
"It was lovely meeting you, now say goodnight!" Glimmer cried as she let her attack go.
"Move!" Raijin called, not wasting any time in flinging the net remnants off and scurrying aside while some sparks shot up and down his form.
A wall of Light Screens from Rozen went up in front of them all to hopefully stave off a heavy hit, but right in the face of the attack, Astrid nocked her arrow and aimed it for where it'd hopefully meet Glimmer.
Arashi followed Raijin's move and dashed out of range, Dren gave a mighty flap of his wings to let it sail underneath him, and Rush practically dragged Rozen along to very narrowly get out of the way. The shields shattered instantly and whatever was in its path was instantly incinerated, leaving a charred, gaping hole in the brush that caused even more uproar when the tree canopies with incinerated trunks toppled down. Perhaps the off-worlders would've taken a moment to stare with their eyes bulging out of their heads and mouths hanging agape, but knowing that attack would almost certainly be aimed at them again was enough to keep them on their toes.
"O-on a scale of one to ten, how screwed would we have been if that hit us?!" Arashi exclaimed in fright.
"Nine, easily a nine," Raijin replied without missing a beat. "Do NOT let it."
Rush, though, got a wildly determined look. "Now that's what I'm talkin' about," he said, getting a concerned but knowing glance from Rozen in return.
Astrid, however, definitely felt it even if she was immune to it and didn't bother moving out of the way, and let her ghostly arrow fly straight through… right into a Wide Guard from Fifty-One-Sixteen that went up around herself and a flippant Glimmer who seemed to excitedly dance in place for a moment. A Discharge from Raijin, clearly meant for the Celesteela, was equally neutralized.
"No sight of the goddess, but likely still- AUGH!" Fifty-One-Sixteen started to say, but was quickly interrupted.
From within her shield, none other than the goddess in question re-materialized and bashed her over the head with the gold frame of one wing, breaching her defenses with a Phantom Force. It wasn't the usual nonchalant, pleasant expression on Lunala's face that they saw, either- it was frustration and impatience. Surely, having to go head-to-head with the occupants of the worlds she watched over had to be frustrating, much less the fact that those same occupants were getting in her way of trying to save those same worlds.
Glimmer, on the other hand, wasn't concerned in the slightest, giving a facetious wave and playfully tapping at where the arrow had met the shield. "Oh, human, you are precious~!" she cooed before going slightly limp and plugging all of her limbs into the ground.
It quickly became apparent why Forty-Twelve hadn't been put behind a shield too when she rushed forward with both sets of snapping pincers, trying to Crunch or Hammer Arm whatever she could get ahold of.
"Gimme a boost, Rozen," Rush said quickly, smirking at the flailing dragon.
The Audino looked rather concerned but nonetheless did it, keeping a very close eye out in case a screen was needed. Forty-Twelve tried to get her jaws around Rush, but the Scrafty moved with much more precision and instead pounded a fist into the side of one pincer. Yet another ear-splitting screech came from the Guzzlord, as if she were simply in an instinct-driven frenzy (which clearly was the case) and merely reacting to whatever stimuli she felt.
"That's what you get, you chomping bitch," Rush snickered. "I wanna see if ya got any bones to break!"
Rozen might've otherwise been unsettled at his partner's musings, but he didn't protest it whatsoever.
Astrid's eyes darted between their foes in rapid succession. Glimmer's damaging capabilities were simply terrifying already, Forty-Twelve evidently was beyond any hope of calming, and Fifty-One-Sixteen was already proving to be a nuisance. The Coalition bunch had their experts, to be sure, but even they seemed at least somewhat hesitant (if not outright afraid in the case of Raijin). She wasn't too sure who to target first, since each of their enemies was monstrous in their own right, but she got an answer in moments nonetheless.
"That Celesteela's seriously gonna get in our way," Raijin noted quickly, nonetheless firing up a Dazzling Gleam aimed at Forty-Twelve. "If we get rid of her, then- ah-!"
The opposing Wide Guard dropped, and the Celesteela in question was fast to fire off another Leech Seed at the Coalition's own Xurkitree. The vine net snared him up, clinging to all of his limbs and eliciting a pained sound. His attack fired off, but it missed, even if it did get a startled shriek out of its target.
"Raijin!" Arashi cried, a set of shuriken forming in his hands as he rushed over to his snared comrade.
"How dare you talk about me that way, traitor!" Fifty-One-Sixteen hollered. "You have no right to be upset! None!"
"How 'bout ya go fuck yourself then, huh~?!" Rush hollered back in response, shooting her a devilish look as he turned to her with a balled-up fist. "Ya fucking hunk of metal!"
The smallish screech that followed insinuated that the 'hunk of metal' took offense, but she kept her words to herself and stayed focused. Forty-Twelve was focusing too, albeit on trying to get something into her jaws and likely little else, thus when Dren dive-bombed her and raked her with a Dragon Claw, she screeched again, and both of her pincers shot up in an attempt to grab her target. Two Reflects went up to shield the Salamence, and though they were filled with cracks soon, it nonetheless kept Dren from getting a chunk bitten out of him as he retreated to relative safety again.
"Urgh…!" Raijin said in pain, the vines sapping his energy even as his sparks singed them.
"Don't worry, buddy, I've got you covered," Arashi assuaged him hurriedly, kneeling down and holding the shuriken blades to the entrapment. "Don't spark for a second, okay?"
"Th-thanks…" Raijin replied.
The Greninja carefully sliced away at the vines as quick as he could safely go, but a Dazzling Gleam from the other Xurkitree in the vicinity made him have to dodge with a cry of fright. Yet another section of brush found itself with a distinct hole scorched through it.
"Darling, you were one of us too and you have one of my species on your side.~ You should know better," Glimmer laughed upon seeing Arashi's fright.
"I was never one of you!" Arashi loudly protested, sending a flurry of shurikens her way.
"You're going to regret those words," Lunala declared at their high-voltage foe, glowing bright with a pinkish fairy energy.
A Helping Hand-boosted Brick Break from Rush aimed at Fifty-One-Sixteen, Arashi's Water Shuriken, and a Moonblast from Lunala all collided with another Wide Guard around their enemies. Raijin took the opportunity to wriggle free of his vine restraints, his tail plugging into the ground to reclaim some of his leeched energy, and Astrid darted over to her two teammates with another arrow drawn.
"Something tells me I can't take Glimmer's other attacks like I can yours," the Decidueye mused.
"I'd be surprised if you could," her Beast comrade replied, sparks shooting up and down his form.
Arashi grinned uncomfortably. "That strong, huh…?!"
… And apparently even stronger than formerly, for Glimmer's tail yet again glowed blindingly bright for a moment. Even if she wasn't attacking, the Starstorm trio was hesitant at the sight.
"Fucking hell!" Rush hollered at seeing it too. "Is that really necessary?!"
"I think we all know the answer to that, friend!" Rozen replied.
"Maybe it's not necessary, but it's frightening!" Dren exclaimed.
Lunala kept quiet, her eyes instead locked on Glimmer and the stars glittering in her face seeming to shift around rapidly. The concentrated glow in her chest instead radiated out along her form, making her take on the appearance of a bright celestial body just as she had when first meeting them, and a third eye glowed into visibility on her forehead. Glimmer, on the other hand, definitely emitted some light too in the form of blinding sparks coursing along her body, and the moment Fifty-One-Sixteen's shield went down, she let loose a Thunderbolt that put Raijin's Discharge to shame.
"Here's to you, so-called goddess!" the enemy Xurkitree called out flippantly.
"Go on, keep claiming to be the brightest!" Lunala shot back, her own blinding flare coalescing into her own attack.
At that, the mighty bolt and a powerful ray of sinister light- a Moongeist Beam- met in the air, everyone in the vicinity feeling the raw energy that went into them as even the air itself seemed to bend around them. Astrid and Arashi were both taken aback, shocked at the prospect of one of Lunala's former subjects actually being able to stand off against the goddess herself, as well as shocked to see the goddess finally showing her battle capabilities. A quick glance between them said everything- both of them had wide eyes and slightly perturbed expressions.
Fifty-One-Sixteen raised her cannons up with yet another bright attack following, the shining barrage of a Flash Cannon firing out in an indiscriminate spray. A flurry of bolts from Raijin were Discharged at her, and a wall of Light Screens went up courtesy of Rozen to shield them all from her attack.
"Augh!" the Celesteela hollered, her two cannon arms folding in front of her to keep the bolts from hitting the rest of her bulky form. "Six-Seven, damn you…!"
Perhaps it was a combination of her being a Flying-type and the fact that metal fairly easily conducted electricity, but the hapless guard's arms stayed sparking as though she'd had them paralyzed, and she certainly seemed to be having trouble getting them to move again. Arashi took advantage of her weakened state and fired a Dark Pulse at her, though at the same time, the energy sapped from Leech Seed returned to the Celesteela in a trail of bright sparkling particles that kept her from being too flustered. Forty-Twelve evidently was intent on taking advantage of Lunala exchanging blows with Glimmer, for the Guzzlord's jaw-like pincers turned on the goddess next as the one they belonged to rushed out to Crunch her.
"Absolutely not!" Dren cried, slamming himself into one pincer and Dragon Clawing it hard enough to gash deep wounds into her flesh.
"Hell no!" Rush yelled simultaneously, momentarily immobilizing her with a Helping Hand-boosted Brick Break to one of her stubby lugs.
Yet another ear-shattering bellow escaped her as blood splattered across the ground from her wounds, but at the same time, her injured pincer flailed and latched onto Dren, fangs sinking into the Salamence's back and flank and immediately piercing his skin.
It was the other dragon's turn to cry out. "AUUUUGH!" Dren hollered, eyes shooting wide in pain.
"DREN!" Rush yelled in return.
A frightened cry came from Rozen as well, the Audino immediately rushing in his direction. Having a shaking grip from her wounds likely kept the Guzzlord from doing as much damage as she otherwise would, but nonetheless, the fangs buried in Dren's flesh were concerning regardless and it was very easy to see how Forty-Twelve would be otherwise capable of taking a chunk out of someone. Deep red trickles seeped out from around the bite, adding more grotesque tint to the ground.
"Gyah! Blood tastes so good, but why mine too?!" Forty-Twelve shrieked, withdrawing her blood-soaked pincer.
"You wanna see some more?!" Rush hollered.
Lunala, on the other hand, looked relieved at not taking the attack but tense all the same at the goings-on. Glimmer's Thunderbolt and her own attack wavered against each other for a second, but soon, the Xurkitree's attack was overwhelmed and snuffed out, though a Wide Guard from Fifty-One-Sixteen luckily saved her from taking the goddess' hit. Forty-Twelve was likewise relieved to not have her other pincer bashed in by Rush's fists.
"Oh, tell us how you feel, darling," Glimmer said nonchalantly to her ravenous comrade. "You're angry, aren't you, you insatiable heathen~?"
"No," Raijin said flatly, hearing Glimmer's words. "NO."
Even more ear-shattering screams came from the gargantuan dragon. She started to become cloaked in a red glow as she kicked up a fuss, clearly getting worked up into an Outrage that only her comrades were happy to see.
"Why is she so loud?!" Arashi protested, disbelief in his voice.
"I'm gonna shut her up," Rush declared, eyes narrowing.
"Someone has to," Rozen corroborated, easing Dren's wounds as the Salamence haphazardly withdrew further away from his assailant.
"Oh, you don't love her beautiful serenades~?" Glimmer taunted blissfully. "You're no fun.~"
*If she keeps it up, our cover is blown,* Lunala said non-verbally. *We're pushing it as it is.*
At the mention, Astrid and Arashi got startled looks. They shared a glance, and the pure hesitance in Astrid's countenance was easy to see, and though Arashi may have been trying to hide it, she could easily see fright in his eyes too. Necrozma swooping in with lasers blazing was not what they needed at the time.
Rozen (very carefully) jumped onto Dren's back for easy access to the bite injuries, the Coalition's own hulking dragon getting much more relieved at the Audino's healing touch. It wasn't perfect, but the Heal Pulses would at least keep him from being too bothered in the interim, and an Oran berry retrieved from the bag that the Audino carried helped to speed up the process too. Lunala got ready to put up her own Wide Guard, for Fifty-One-Sixteen had her cannons poised at them again and Glimmer was sparking like an angry, tempestuous sky. Forty-Twelve was already flailing wildly in a frenzy.
The moment Squad Glimmer's shields went down, Lunala's went up, and a wicked Thunderbolt collided with it that likely would've struck every single one of the Coalition bunch. Another Flash Cannon from Fifty-One-Sixteen rained down too, but it was mostly the enemy Xurkitree's absurd firepower that made the shields shake and waver for a moment.
"That strategy is ridiculous," Raijin remarked. "Effective, but still."
"That one's a handful, alright," Lunala acknowledged, taking a bright fairy glow again.
No one disagreed.
The enemy guard still had her cannons pointed at them, and the reason became fairly obvious when another barrage of Leech Seeds rained down from them.
"Oh, come on!" Rush yelled.
A Flamethrower from Dren and a flurry of Arashi's shurikens filled the air overhead to dismantle the vine net, but it just wasn't enough in time. The entire Coalition bunch was ensnared in the tangle, feeling the sting of the energy sap fairly soon.
"Not now…!" Rozen protested.
"Kyah-…!" Arashi cried in discomfort.
Squad Glimmer wasn't wasting time, and the fussing Guzzlord quickly set to moving in on the tangled bunch much to their dismay. Rush tried to rip himself free and Arashi was slicing with more shurikens, but it definitely wasn't going as fast as anyone would've liked. The only one not feeling their energy leave was Astrid, her Grass-type attributes sparing her from that much, but she still didn't like the feeling of being plastered against the ground by an enemy trap, especially not in the presence of faction members.
*Astrid, use your ghostly side and go for Forty-Twelve,* came the detached but direct voice of Lunala. *I need you.*
As much as she didn't like hearing the goddess' voice directly in her head, the Decidueye was already on the same page and phased through the ground while reaching for an arrow. Lunala too phased through the ground, leaving an empty gap in the vine net, but the Guzzlord didn't care with fresh prey still nonetheless tangled up.
"Oh, how precious, she's running~" Glimmer laughed still, the beginnings of a Hyper Beam forming between her hands again.
"Fuck off, you tipsy bitch!" Rush hollered, ripping through another vine.
"This sucks!" Arashi protested, frantically slicing before shooting off an Ice Beam at the Guzzlord's legs.
Astrid reached for an arrow as she approached the edge of the heavy plodding footsteps, plucking one out as she re-emerged from the ground. Her partner's attack, while indeed super effective, did little to stop the rampaging Beast, and in her Outraging state, didn't even seem to register. Very carefully, and keeping a bit of distance, Astrid nocked her arrow.
"Rozen, can you put up some Light Screens?!" Raijin exclaimed, twitching a bit under the vines in an attempt to shake some loose while a rainbow glow started to cloak him.
"Do as you will!" the Audino affirmed, a wall of screens going up around everyone else but the Xurkitree.
They were all thankful they'd packed Reviver Seeds, for such a situation definitely necessitated them, but with the way the Guzzlord was flailing, they might not have even been alive to make use of them… Still, rather suddenly, though she was still flailing, she came to a screeching halt as spectral stitches latched onto her shadow and held her in place. More shrieks followed, but whether that was out of frenzy or out of protest at getting Spirit Shackled was anyone's guess. Her pincers and tail waved around like little tornadoes of fury, her arms scratching and clawing away at foes she couldn't reach.
"WHAT?!" Forty-Twelve yelled. "WHAT DID YOU DO?! LUNALA, LET GO!"
The goddess herself rose up from the ground, cloaked in fairy energy, and replied, "It's not me you should thank."
Raijin's Dazzling Gleam and a Moonblast from Lunala flew at Forty-Twelve, but just in time, she was yet again shielded by a Wide Guard from her Celesteela comrade. The others ensnared were happy to have the screens up to block off Raijin's attack, for most of them had hefty cracks put in them indicating a very likely KO otherwise.
"Urgh…!" Raijin exclaimed in frustration.
"Anything to see you squirm, Six-Seven," Fifty-One-Sixteen flippantly remarked.
The Guzzlord slowed down, not shrieking wildly and flailing just as much, but even if the post-Outrage confusion was setting in, she still knew where her prey was. "You think maybe Void'll let me take a chunk out of that traitor and his friends before she executes him like the scum he is?!"
None of them dignified such a question with a response, and the other two foes didn't appear to care in the slightest. Whatever damage Fifty-One-Sixteen had previously taken was probably a moot point with the energy gathered up from Leech Seed, though finally, Dren and Arashi were able to break loose from her snare. Nonetheless, they didn't have much time to help anyone else out when Glimmer's Hyper Beam fired off at them, much to their dismay all over again.
"No!" Astrid cried, yanking another arrow free.
"Are you serious?!" Arashi cried even louder, getting wide eyes.
The Greninja wasted no time in reaching down again and yanking some of the vines back in an attempt to let everyone escape, and more screens from Rozen went up, but their own hulking draconic teammate, on the other hand, had different ideas. Glimmer went limp and plugged into the ground, but someone else was shortly following suit when Dren quickly positioned himself in front of them all so that, even when the Light Screens shattered, none of the others went taking the hit.
"Dren!" Raijin cried, instinctively reaching out as if to yank him back out of the fray.
A mighty roar of pain escaped the Salamence and he slumped down motionless, heavy singe marks all over his body from the attack. His eyes were rolled back in his head and his wings drooped around him haphazardly. The moment Rozen was up and moving, he was yet again darting over to the fainted one with a Heal Pulse ready.
"Dammit, bug guy, you better be alive after this…!" Rush said through gritted teeth as he picked himself up, one of his eyes twitching at the corner.
Whenever Raijin jumped back up, he was instantly firing a Discharge at Fifty-One-Sixteen, the Celesteela again moving her arms in front to shield the rest of her. Another disgruntled screech of discomfort came, but Squad Glimmer still had their guard in any case.
Astrid, on the other hand, aimed an arrow at Glimmer next, but the enemy Xurkitree apparently noticed and disconnected from the ground to let loose a Thunderbolt which Astrid frantically phased through the dirt to avoid. Her arrow was practically vaporized, and the greenery behind her looked a lot more burnt than it had seconds prior. It was a risky move getting close to someone with even more firepower than her own Beast comrade, but nonetheless, if Forty-Twelve was locked down too…
The Decidueye re-emerged with another arrow nocked and aimed up at Glimmer mere centimeters away, a surefire hit…
… But the enemy Xurkitree seemed almost happy to see her, giving off an electronic chuckle as the prongs of her tail pressed into Astrid's chest. "… Hello, darling human.~"
In the same instant that she felt the prongs touch her, Astrid tried to jump further backwards as she let her arrow go, straight into Glimmer's chest (or at least, the closest thing to a thoracic region she had), but she still couldn't outpace lightning.
"AAAUUUUUUGH!" Astrid squawked in agony as her nerves were practically fried by electricity.
Her feathers were left with multiple jagged burn marks, her skin underneath a bright red too, and she felt as though her eyes would melt right out of her skull. She too slumped down, sprawled like a fresh corpse that had fallen out of the sky, vision blurring over and body numb but burning all the same as her senses went null. She resisted Electric-type attacks, but Glimmer's blow nonetheless made her feel like she was getting dragged into hell.
"ASTRID!" came simultaneous cries from Arashi and Raijin.
A flurry of Water Shurikens and a Signal Beam aimed at Glimmer, and another Moonblast from Lunala aimed at the fussing Guzzlord, all met with a Wide Guard yet again much to the Coalition bunch's frustration.
The enemy Xurkitree still wasn't too fazed, even when locked down. "Oh, Astrid, darling.~ You're feisty and I like that.~" Her tail curled around the feathered ghost's neck as if to lay claim to the other fainted figure.
Lunala, though, took her own turn seemingly phasing out of existence, but the moment she vanished, Glimmer started to become cloaked in a rainbow glow. The enemy Xurkitree's blinding Dazzling Gleam apparently bothered Lunala enough to be effective, for her strike didn't seem to hit as hard as it otherwise might, but even so…
"Ack! Goddess, lighten up!" Glimmer exclaimed in discomfort as the edge of Lunala's wing bashed her over the head.
It disgruntled her enough to turn loose of Astrid, and the moment she did, Lunala swooped down and phased through again while grabbing Astrid to take her along. She re-emerged nearer to her comrades and carefully let Astrid down, and rather quickly, Arashi was retrieving a Reviver Seed from the bag on his partner's back and holding it to her while Rozen was busy with Dren. The shield on their foes dropped, but Glimmer's attack had thankfully been contained from it prior.
"Arceus above, it hurt just seeing that, but maybe I'm biased," the Greninja mused.
"Oh, that hurt me to see too, don't worry," Raijin affirmed.
Apparently Forty-Twelve was agitated at being stuck in one place, for she simply started Thrashing around in the same spot with every single one of her limbs flailing as if trying to beat some imaginary foe to death. Her movements were simply deranged- no rhyme or reason to any of it, just poison-fueled wrath.
"I can watch over this one in the interim, but frankly, I think that one needs a good knock upside the head too before she causes a damned tectonic rift," Lunala said, floating around Dren and glancing over at the Guzzlord.
"Oh, I was thinkin' the same thing, goddess," Rush replied with a smirk.
"You will not- augh!" Fifty-One-Sixteen started to protest.
The Celesteela quickly shut up when she took another Discharge from Raijin, the cannons she was about to point at them starting to spark and not listen to what the rest of her was saying. Whether she intended to hit them with another Leech Seed or a Flash Cannon was anyone's guess, but she definitely wasn't making any maneuvers. Glimmer too became fairly occupied when another Moongeist Beam was about to rain down on her, countering with another wicked Thunderbolt.
Rozen definitely wasn't getting within range of the ravenous Beast, but he nonetheless gave Rush a Helping Hand and kept a very keen eye out as the Scrafty charged over to the Guzzlord. Apparently Thrashing wasn't doing it for her, and a Hammer Arm from her non-injured pincer threatened to flatten the Coalition lead right there, but it only collided with a Reflect. She might've like to dart around, but the stitches on her shadow prevented her from doing so, and rather swiftly, Rush leaped atop her giant pincer before she could pay it much mind.
"WHAT-!" Forty-Twelve exclaimed, the set of eyes on her head and the ones on her belly looking surprised.
Lunala, though, gave Dren's head a little pat with one set of fingers, the Salamence stirring momentarily thereafter.
"Ah…?" the Coaliton's hulking dragon asked, perking up.
"You still need healing, but I can ease the discomfort you perceive," the goddess noted. "And you of all creatures right now need that."
Dren got a slight grin on his face, shaking his head and his tail a bit as if to stave off drowsiness. "Oh, goddess, you're quite a nice addition to have."
The Guzzlord, however, started flailing again, trying to throw the Scrafty off of her, but he simply used the momentum to jump onto her head and stare her straight in her smaller set of eyes.
Rush smirked as he drew his fist back. "Shut the fuck up.~"
Her pincers and her claws both reached for the Scrafty, but Rush's fist was faster. A shriek of dismay started to escape her ravenous maw, but it was cut off as quick as it started when a Brick Break slammed into her head with a loud crack. She shut up, alright- and entirely stopped moving, too.
Astrid's eyes shot open again at about the same time, her body giving a jolt of fright at literally hearing the cut-off screech before anything else. "A-ah-!" she exclaimed in uncertainty, though the sight of Arashi crouching over her put her at ease. "… I'm not dead or poisoned."
"Nope!" her partner replied, jumping up and giving her a hand. "Just got hit really hard!"
"Really hard," Raijin corroborated.
She breathed a sigh of relief, taking Arashi's hand and getting back to her feet.
The other two of Squad Glimmer appeared to notice that their hungry comrade was out of commission, for a screech of wrath came from Fifty-One-Sixteen and Glimmer gave a huge twitch of surprise.
"How dare you!" the Celesteela fussed. The ends of her cannons and her pipe-like roots started to smolder with fire.
"MY DARLING!" Glimmer hollered. "My high-maintenance, hungry darling! NO!"
"If that were coming from Ama, it'd be cute, but from her, it's disturbing," Rozen remarked flatly as he eased more of Dren's singe and bite marks.
Lunala turned on the Celesteela with a Moongeist Beam next, but a Wide Guard yet again went up and enveloped their two foes as the metallic Beast blasted off from the ground. Rush leapt down from Forty-Twelve's head, giving her side one last little flick of his fist for good measure.
"If you think you're gonna seed all of us, you've got another thing coming," Lunala declared, her eyes following the Celesteela.
"Oh, Void's going to LOVE hearing about this!" Glimmer exclaimed, a mix of excitement and rage in her voice as her body sparked. "The human and the goddess are safe, but the rest of you are in for a WORLD of pain!"
"Sounds like fun, bitch!" Rush yelled back, balling his fists up. "Lemme see if your head cracks too!"
Dren, on the other hand, gave a mighty flap of his wings and took to the air after Fifty-One-Sixteen, embers welling up in his maw for whenever her own shields dropped. She definitely noticed and pointed her cannons at him in return, a Flamethrower and Flash Cannon filling the air as soon as the Wide Guard vanished. Glimmer seemed like she would've liked to knock the dragon out of the sky with a Thunderbolt, but a Signal Beam from Raijin aimed at her made her direct her attack at countering him instead.
"Six-Seven, darling, you should know you're outclassed," the enemy Xurkitree laughed. "Outclassed und unneeded.~"
She definitely fired harder than he did, and multiple Light Screens from Rozen quickly went up to halt her attack from overwhelming the rest of them. Even if she was locked in place, she evidently was still going to kick up a huge fuss, for a Dazzling Gleam cloaked her again to be fired in any direction that someone could come at her from.
"Tell me how you really feel," Raijin said haplessly.
"Oh, I think they all are," Astrid noted hesitantly, pulling another arrow free.
A Leech Seed threatened to ensnare Dren and make him fall, and a Dazzling Gleam blazed through the air from Glimmer, but both attacks had no effect when they met with Lunala's Wide Guard.
"You're as irritating as ever, Lunala," Fifty-One-Sixteen remarked.
The shields dropped soon and a Flamethrower from Dren elicited a cry of pain from the Celesteela, but oddly enough, the dragon assailing her didn't seem to be her focus. She didn't point her cannons at him or anything, simply hovered over the rest of them down below. Glimmer fired another Dazzling Gleam in every direction, still keeping the Coalition bunch at bay, and though more Light Screens went up, Lunala dove in front of everyone to take the residual energy whenever they inevitably shattered.
"Lunala?!" Arashi exclaimed.
"Goddess!" Rush cried.
She grunted in discomfort a bit, but with her wings spread wide, she shielded them even without a Wide Guard in place. "That's right- I'm a goddess and I can take it," she brushed it off, albeit sounding pained.
The enemy Xurkitree giggled and even seemed to dance a bit, giddy with mischief even if she was stuck in place and down a comrade.
However, their attention turned to the guard above them when her launching appendages ceased to burn. Dren hit her with another Flamethrower, but she said nothing, and Astrid looked up in uncertainty to see the giant metallic Beast getting closer. Closer…
"MOVE!" Lunala yelled quickly.
They weren't wasting time. Every single one of them scurried out of the way, since clearly, Fifty-One-Sixteen wasn't crashing herself but rather going for an attack.
"Is that Heavy Slam?!" Rush exclaimed.
"It is, and it'll kill you!" Raijin affirmed.
WHAM!
It wasn't an earthquake that followed, but it may as well have been, for the impact to the ground put Forty-Twelve's thrashing to shame. It was quite easy to see where Raijin's assertion came from- a crater was left in the ground with the Celesteela at the bottom at least five meters down. Anything beneath her would've been utterly pulverized.
"A-Arceus above!" Arashi exclaimed in fright.
Dren quickly landed back amongst the rest of them, glancing around as if unsure if everyone were present. "I had a feeling she was up to something," he said, voice wavering a bit.
"You weren't wrong," Rush flatly acknowledged.
Astrid, on the other hand, had a different idea when she felt the ground rumbling again- surely the result of the Celesteela firing up to take off again and get herself out of a literal hole. She nocked her arrow, pointing it at the guard's shadow, and let it go. Whether Fifty-One-Sixteen was trying to go anywhere was a completely moot point, for she definitely wasn't going to leave her position whatsoever.
"Urgh! W-what?!" the Celesteela cried, clear panicked frustration in her voice.
She wasn't taking chances, and instantly, a Wide Guard went up around both her and her comrade again.
"Oh, that human darling is making me want to show her what happens when her natural human kin get hit by high voltage," Glimmer remarked, sparking wildly for a second. "It's dreadful!"
"I dare you to try," Rush taunted viciously.
Raijin, on the other hand, appeared to be issuing taunts in a different way when a flurry of bolts hit the Celesteela's shield. "Go on, prolong the inevitable," he said flatly. "You've done enough."
She seemed intent on doing exactly that, for she screeched angrily even while stuck in place. Glimmer was cloaked in bright rainbow light again for when their defenses dropped, still intent on wreaking havoc even with her own less-than-ideal position. Sure enough, when the shields went down, Lunala was putting up more of her own in the face of Glimmer's Dazzling Gleam.
"These ones really don't quit, do they?!" Arashi exclaimed.
"Poisoned ones usually don't," Raijin brushed it off. "These ones just happen to be really troublesome."
"Well, snuffing out trouble is my job," Lunala remarked. "So to do that… Rozen, how about you give me a Helping Hand?"
The Audino started to get a slight grin, and Rush and Arashi perked up in interest too. Astrid had an idea of what that entailed, and simply cast her gaze to the enemy Xurkitree with an almost pitying look.
"I'd love to," the healer easily replied.
"You are not going to extinguish us!" Glimmer hollered in protest, revving up for another attack. "You're clever, but you aren't our darling Void!"
A flurry of Water Shurikens from Arashi certainly disgruntled her, but Glimmer was still going.
Raijin, on the other hand, turned his attention on Fifty-One-Sixteen. "You'll forgive me later," he declared, sparking like a thundercloud.
"No!" the Celesteela fussed back, her cannons pointing at him next.
She too couldn't shoot off a Flash Cannon faster than lightning could Discharge at her. A flurry of bolts overwhelmed her fairly quickly, a metallic cry of pain following as her body sparked and ceased to listen to whatever her mind was telling it. Her cannon arms went limp and clattered to the ground with a great thud, making the ground shake for the umpteenth time that day.
Glimmer noticed it almost as fast. "MY OTHER DARLING!" she fussed as loud as she possibly could, a nest of lightning bolts sparking in her hands. "HOW DARE YOU HURT MY DARLINGS! YOU WILL REGRET THIS!"
Another monstrous Thunderbolt flew at them, but with the aura of a Helping Hand cloaking her, Lunala countered with another Moongeist Beam.
Glimmer's entire body twitched as if she were quite literally firing off every ounce of current she had left, and moments after, she had one hand and her tail plugged into the ground for more energy. "Urgh…!" she cried, almost akin to distressed static.
Astrid wasn't going to sit around either. Swiftly, she pulled and nocked another arrow, aiming it for the Xurkitree's head. She let it go without any hesitation.
Whatever sound that followed from Glimmer certainly wasn't a happy one, someplace between static and the kind of high-pitched screaming that would make glass shatter. The arrow put a smallish fracture into the spiky shell around her head, which was apparently enough to throw her focus off. In moments, she was taking Lunala's blow, and even with her ridiculous boosts, it simply overwhelmed her. The ground was left with yet another crater in it, the dirt burned to a darker shade, with a limp Xurkitree at the bottom with faintly sparking wounds and an extinguished glow.
All at once, things became… quieter. Astrid darted over to the edge of the new hole with Glimmer in it, another arrow drawn and ready to go, but she quickly discovered that such wasn't necessary. Arashi followed after her with a handful of shurikens, but he too paused and stood down. They shared a glance.
"… Something tells me this one must keep her comrades either busy or entertained or both," Astrid remarked. "And that damned Guzzlord must keep her busy."
Arashi smiled, but it was a perturbed and hesitant smile as much as it was a playful one. "She scares me, aha…!"
Their gazes quickly travelled between all three of their foes and then back to each other, saying with all but words that the entire Beast squad frightened them in their own right.
Lunala breathed a sigh of relief, giving her emissary another pat on the head. "Sheesh! That was something!"
Raijin was quiet for a moment, freezing up as though in deep thought over something, then piped up rather swiftly, "That was bullshit, pardon my language."
The language in question definitely turned a few heads in surprise.
"I didn't know you cussed," Rush said mischievously.
"Neither did I!" Arashi exclaimed, whirling around and getting a wide-eyed look. "You're the pure, wholesome one of our team! Since when did you cuss?!"
"He dropped a 'fuck' after we lost you in the wormhole," Astrid brushed it off.
That surprised her partner even more, an awkward look gracing his face again. "Really?! Oh, sheesh, I made someone like him say something like that?!"
The conversation evidently made their comrade uncomfortable, for a hapless whimper of "Ah…!" escaped him while he nervously tapped his fingers together. Lunala chuckled, patting him on the head again.
"Well, he ain't wrong anyway," Rush acknowledged, glancing around. "That sparky bitch is a fucking weirdo, and you…" He turned to Dren. "How are you doing, big guy?"
"I've been better, but I'm not complaining," the dragon replied, albeit rather tiredly. "Just glad to be in one piece."
"We should keep moving," Lunala chimed in, everyone turning their attention to her. "These three are going to be down for a while. Normally I'd wipe the poison from their minds, but for now, we don't need any witnesses or anything to tip off the higher-ups more than the commotion we just had. Adding three to our group would make masking us harder, and we need precision more than anything."
She got several nods in return.
. . . . .
Elsewhere on the verge of Ultra Jungle, things weren't so hectic, save for maybe the thoughts running through a Kartana's mind while staring at a certain flippant Pheromosa with 'UB02-0001' marked on their arm. Necrozma's light blazed down from atop Megalo Tower off in the distance, the plant-like rocks emitted their usual soft glow, and all seemed like just an ordinary day off in Ultra Space…
"REMI!"
The call was loud and harsh enough to make the one being yelled at jump and get a frown instantly afterwards.
Remi quickly whirled around, where a certain purple-eyed Delphox came darting out of the brush, countenance a mix of annoyed and amused. They quickly turned to their very sharp company and said, harshly and quickly, "I told you where to go and what you need to know about the area. Go get your squad, go ask to borrow Squad Thirty-Fifteen's little nebula, and get going."
"Y-yes, Remi!" the hapless Kartana affirmed, quickly turning around and hurrying off the other way.
The Pheromosa looked back to Salem, eyes narrowing as they crossed their arms. "The fuck's got you all flustered?"
Salem came to a plodding halt just shy of plowing into her stick-thin comrade, smirking just a bit as she looked at them. "I went to go check in on Squad Glimmer and their surveillance, and not only are they not in their usual position, but there's a damn commotion."
Remi's expression started to turn amused. "… That damn Guzzlord hasn't run out of enlightenment again, has she? Did you fuck up last time you gave it to her?"
"No, I didn't fuck up," Salem shot back, looking even more amused. "It's gotta be another episode of Guzzlords being Guzzlords, and it sounds intense. I want some backup."
The Pheromosa's expression turned mockingly inquisitive. "'Backup~?' You mean… you're inadequate by yourself~?"
"No," the Delphox back, even more harsh. "Celesteelas don't move fast enough and if Glimmer shoving a Dazzling Gleam in her face isn't working, I want someone who can hold her jaws open of she decides to bite me." She snickered a bit, eyes narrowing in scrutiny. "Look, Remi, we both know you're insecure as hell, but you don't have to project your own inadequacy onto me, you get it~?"
A hissing growl was her answer. "You're a damn lesser species and the only reason I let you address me the same way Void does is because I don't want to bother our goddess with a personal problem. You're fucking lucky I don't kick your head off of your shoulders."
Salem wasn't concerned at all, sticking one hand behind her back and reaching into her tail fur. "Yeah, because that went so well for you the first time we met and because Void totally wouldn't be livid if you laid a claw on me. Look, just tell me you're not up for it and I'll get a comrade that is."
Fury flashed in Remi's eyes, one of their claws quickly pushing into the Delphox's chest. "You better not be calling me weak."
The Delphox didn't even flinch, getting a pointed but still cocky look as she said, "Don't you put your claws on me, Remi."
"Or what~?"
Her eyes practically dared them to make a move. "Go on, try it."
Apparently, Remi intended to do exactly that, for they withdrew their claw from her chest and instead delivered a lightning-fast kick to her head… or at least, they would have, had the move made any connection. They stopped dead, mere millimeters away from touching Salem, their leg shaking as if being held back by some invisible force. Their eyes went wide, a mix of confusion, despair, and rage.
Salem laughed. "I thought so.~"
She took her hand out from behind her back, holding her wand that burned with a purple flame. A trail of heavy purple smoke followed it which, when swiftly waved in front of Remi's face, made them drop onto their knees with another frustrated hiss.
"You're not gonna get rid of me, Remi," the Delphox snickered. "Not as an ordinary Delphox, and not as Void's host." She crouched down, sticking one of her own claws to the side of Remi's face. "Are you done throwing a tantrum now? Is it all out of your system~?"
Her Beast company looked as though they wanted to rip her heart out of her chest right then and there, and their body shook as if it were trying to move on its own volition to do just that, but they nonetheless replied in a rather subdued tone, "… Give me a minute and I'll get us a little nebula."
Before Salem could say anything, the Pheromosa was on their feet again and sprinting off into the distance towards the looming stone tower.
She chuckled, watching them dart off towards the tower. "… I thought so."
