For the majority of the expeditioners, Zariel's absence was a relief, but the comrades she'd left behind certainly weren't dissuaded in any way by one of their ranks splitting off into further reaches of the cosmos. Azure glanced off at the horizon where she'd vanished for a moment as if he missed her (and likely he did, seeing as he'd orchestrated an entire ambush to get revenge for her defeat mere days after Team Starstorm had formed), but Remi too almost seemed relieved. Perhaps it was disdain for the Charizard's wild nature, perhaps it was not having to worry about the errant embers of a blue-hot Flamethrower, or perhaps it was some other reason entirely… but Remi's eyes simply looked more focused on slaying all of the outsiders the moment that Zariel took off into the horizon.

The real reason became fairly obvious the moment Remi opened their mouth seconds later. "That bitch reminds me too much of Salem," they hissed, regaining their composure (or at least, the closest thing they had to it) once again.

"And I bet you're jealous Void gave her a fancy stone to wear around her neck instead of you," Adnea remarked, once again gaining the Pheromosa's crazed eyes on her.

"I know you are smart, but I cannot help but think you don't know just who you're addressing when you speak that way," Azure remarked, giving the Orbeetle a side glance.

Remi was no doubt entertaining thoughts of grievously mangling the tiniest bug, for that was simply the only explanation for the grin they wore. The words that left their mouth confirmed it pretty quickly, too. "I'm gonna claw her eyes out and pull her brains out through the holes.~ She's got a lot, so it'll take a nice, loooong time.~"

None of the expeditioners dignified such a saying with a response, but Rush shot the Pheromosa an utterly disgusted and wild-eyed look at the way they spoke about his comrade. He too was probably thinking some less-than-savory thoughts about bashing Remi's pretty face in, but he was electing to keep them to himself if he was. Still, a Wide Guard went up about the three remaining faction members when two Flamethrowers spewed from Dren and Shar's maws at Knox and Remi, and a Dragon Breath and Swift from Jingle and Chira flew at Azure.

Rush, though, gave a side glance to Cinder and said, "Yo, Cinder. I need ya."

The Fletchinder scurried closer. "The fuck you want?"

"Burn me," the Scrafty replied, holding one fist in front of the fiery avian's beak.

"You're crazy," Cinder replied flatly, nonetheless doing exactly as asked and spitting a few embers onto the back of Rush's hand.

"Damn straight," Rush easily replied, not even flinching as his skin smoldered a bit.

It might've seemed like a completely stupid maneuver, willingly injuring one's own body, but not a single one of the Coalition members gave it a second thought. Rush and Rozen both shared a glance, the Audino starting to get a little grin and the Scrafty giving him a smirking wink in return.

Dren, on the other hand, was more set on busting through the Stakataka's shield, and an Aerial Ace followed by a quick Flamethrower put some hefty cracks into it that the Stakataka eyed him for. Remi couldn't help but to notice too, still sticking close to the living rampart, but whenever the shield faded, they instantly had an Ice Beam aimed up at the enraged Salamence, who in turn had another Flamethrower welling up in his maw. The ice melted fairly quickly against the flames, but more than that, it appeared Dren's wild firepower was outdoing theirs for the way his attack lurched at the Pheromosa. Knox clearly noticed it too, for his bricks parted aside and his stick-thin comrade leaped backwards inside his walls, Dren's attack instead clashing against the Stakataka's stones. Even without Adnea's noticing it, the brief glimpse inside of Knox's walls that Dren caught made it even more obvious how he was hiding things inside himself- Remi leaped into a box instead of a rectangular prism with no bottom floor.

Xeno, though, morphed his form again into that of a Ditto-eyed Blastoise, aiming both cannons at the Stakataka. "Guard yourselves against this!" he hollered, setting off a Hydro Pump.

"Hell yeah!" Lazuli exclaimed, joining in with an Ice Beam and looking excited at the cannons firing off.

Even if Knox was still going, a few metallic shrieks erupted from several of his parts as Lazuli's blow froze them in place, but even more so whenever Xeno's attack threatened to burst through his walls. The bricks buckled and shifted, but rather impressively, they still held together even if a few shifting around might've gotten Remi inside a bit more wet than they would've liked. Still, not wasting the moment to (at least try to) hit them both at once, the ground beneath Knox gave way to an Earth Power courtesy of Azra, which elicited even more metallic shrieks from the conglomerate figure as his bottom 'floor' buckled and partially gave way, albeit not enough to drop anything that he was hoarding off. One of his legs shook and collapsed, making the living rampart look more like an injured quadrupedal creature than a lively horde of stones. He was standing like the defensive bastion he claimed to be… but sooner or later, he'd fall, and more than anything, the expeditioners didn't want their progress getting reset to zero when he inevitably healed himself with what he had stashed away in his walls.

Shar, however, seemed to enter a dazed state, calling out, "Mateys, am I done Outragin', or have the lot of ya been replaced with bouncing Shiny Spheals?! I can't fuckin' tell!"

Everyone else could tell fairly easily, including a certain Golisopod who took her confusion as an opportunity to land an X-Scissor. A Wing Attack from Riven smashed down on his hard shell in an attempt to throw him off, but Shar still had an X-shaped mark raked into her chest that made her growl and try to Crunch whatever was in front of her. Both her Honchkrow comrade and the armored bug himself had to swerve to avoid her snapping jaws, the latter holding up his hulking back arms just in case she got too close.

"Captain, can ya hear me?!" Riven cried. "You're confused!"

"I sure am, matey!" the Garchomp cried back. "When the fuck did ya dye your feathers green?!"

Thankfully, a cloud of Aromatherapy from Millicent filled the air, snapping the Garchomp out of her rage-induced daze. Azure whipping up a Rock Slide from busted sections of the ground kept both her and Riven from attacking him again, instead making them dive back out of the way while a Reflect from Rozen went up to ensure their safety. A Swift from Chira clashed against one of the Golisopod's heavily armored arms, not making too much of a scratch but still appearing to annoy him.

Remi, however, even with Knox's walls getting battered by a watery onslaught, came bursting out just underneath where the Hydro Pump connected and would've locked eyes on Adnea again had a certain Ditto-eyed Blastoise and Azumarill not been in the way. Still, they knew exactly where to target, and much like the homing star-shaped discs of a Swift, darted at Xeno while his attack started to die down, toppling him over while delivering a Brick Break to the side of his head.

"Gwah-!" the Ditto exclaimed in clear discomfort, eyes going wide.

Lazuli already had an Ice Beam aimed at the Pheromosa, but with her target's blinding speed, Remi had one ready to go at the end of one claw and fired right back.

"Oh, come on!" the Azumarill exclaimed, diving out of the way as her own was overwhelmed.

A Bullet Punch from Seth and a Flamethrower from Jingle would've hit the Pheromosa, but a Wide Guard from Knox quickly went up to keep them safe while the Stakataka reformed his bricks and Azure took a second to regain his composure.

"Xeno, darling! Are you alright?!" Ama called, patting her egg and looking concerned.

"Urgh, I've felt better…!" he choked out, visibly dazed.

Clearly he had, and the Blissey went scurrying to his side with a warmly glowing egg. Remi, though, locked their eyes on Adnea without Xeno and Lazuli in their way, and the Orbeetle in turn kept one eye on them, but focused more on Knox than anything… then went for a Hypnosis. One outward-facing eye glowed in response, turning blue for just a second instead of the hostile red, but the parts around it gave little shakes and tiny metallic shrieks, rearranging so as to put it out of the way. For just a moment, she felt a semblance of normalcy in the little glowing-eyed piece, but that was drowned out by the much larger hostile collective surrounding it. Knox himself seemed to give a little twitch, crouching forward like a carnivorous quadruped about to spring on some prey, but of course, he couldn't- and likely wouldn't- go springing on anyone.

"YOU THINK WE WILL BE SWAYED BY THE LIKES OF YOU…?"

Even so, the Wide Guard appeared to drop faster than it otherwise would, and when it did, Rush balled up his burned fist and locked his eyes on a certain hulking armored bug. Azure's claws still flashed in the dimness, and he was clearly looking for someone to strike them with…

"Rozen, watch my ass," Rush said quickly. "I don't wanna lose a fuckin' eye or some shit."

The Audino grinned haplessly. "As always, friend."

Azure seemed to catch on and started to position his back arms for striking, and Rush darted at him with narrowed eyes and his burnt fist drawn back. The Golisopod went for an X-Scissor, but met with a Reflect instead, which Rush ducked around without missing a beat. Still, Azure's claws retracted and his larger limbs began to get coated in water, but before he could go for a Liquidation, Rush had other ideas.

"Try that shit, bastard," the Scrafty snarled.

Crrrrrraaaack!

Before Azure's attack could land, Rush was cloaked in the glow of a Helping Hand and smashed his burned fist into the Golisopod's underside- a Façade boosted both by Rozen's help and the burn Cinder had inflicted. Truly, getting impaled on a Golisopod's claws had to hurt significantly, but being punched so hard that armored plates on the opposite side of one's body shattered from the rippling force had to hurt even more… and Azure quickly figured out what the latter felt like. His softer underbelly practically caved in, and on his back, cracks spread out all along his diamond-hard shell segments.

"NGH-!"

Hardly a sound had time to escape the hulking bug, for his eyes shot wide, then drifted shut as his form clattered onto the ground. Several small pieces of his armor littered the ground like broken glass, and Rush had to disentangle himself from his haphazardly sprawled arms, one of the big ones of which still had his claws half-retracted as if they wanted to tear into someone.

"Holy shit!" Riven cried from the air, looking excitedly stunned. "That was wicked!"

"That is for fucking up Li'l Blue, you giant jackass!" Rush hollered, giving his other hulking arm a kick.

Several other surprised looks and cries entered the fray at seeing a faction member downed, but more than anyone, Knox seemed to take notice- likely for good reason, seeing as he carried their healing stashes. Still, with Remi still running around, they couldn't afford much time for triumph, as the Pheromosa still brought more than enough problems with them to go around in two comrades' absences. The Pheromosa's grin locked straight onto Adnea again, and off they darted, leaving behind the remnants of a Rock Tomb courtesy of Azra that sprang up from the ground too slow to catch them when they moved.

"C'mere, you!" Remi hissed.

"No, no-!" Adnea cried, trying to hit them with a Psychic but only scathing one of the wings that streamed from the Pheromosa's head for all their crazed movements.

Rozen took note too and put up a Reflect and Light Screen in front of her for whatever attack Remi might have had in mind, but it was no use when they delivered a Brick Breaking kick to the Orbeetle's head. Perhaps her typing would've kept her from taking such a serious blow from literally anyone else hitting her with a Fighting-type move, but the Pheromosa's brute force, combined with their poison-induced madness, combined with the wrath Adnea herself had induced in them… it still may as well have been a super effective hit. Adnea tried to let out a cry of pain, but all that came out was a pathetic, heavy gasp as if she'd been drowning moments prior.

"FUCK YOU!" Remi shrieked in cocky rage.

"Adnea!" Rush cried in dismay.

"Darling!" Ama too cried.

Everything from the Orbeetle's point of view turned into a blur as if the entire world was spinning and tipping, but the next thing she felt was her body smashing into something cold, hard, and slightly jagged on the surface. Her eyes fluttered and hardly stayed open, but she could see the glassy ground in front of her was cracked as if it had already taken a hit from something heavy… but much more importantly, it had a slight red glow reflected in it along with several sets of eyes. Even if she could hardly see clearly, the hundreds of presences she felt immediately over her let her know as well as anything where she was- in a fine position for Knox to crush her. He seemed intent on doing exactly that too, for she could see the reflected bricks shift around and begin to come apart…

"FINISH HER, KNOX!" Remi screeched at the top of their lungs.

"NO!" Rozen hollered, putting up several Reflects above her to keep Knox from flattening her.

The Orbeetle herself simply wasn't moving. Remi had dealt her a hard blow, and clearly, it had just about done her in. Much to the expeditioners' horror, her tiny form became obscured in a pile of heavy bricks as if Knox was trying to bury her alive, and whether Rozen's shields had actually protected her or not was impossible to tell for all the parts surrounding her. Remi grinned wickedly, and Adnea's comrades half expected to see a stream of blood dripping out of the brick pile. In some attempt to get the Stakataka to back off, Dren breathed down a Flamethrower at the pile, since obviously, his fires wouldn't be touching Adnea herself, and some distressed metallic cries graced everyone's senses.

"Fuck no, not her!" Rush hollered, balling his fists up again and darting in her direction.

The bricks wiggled, and strangely enough, the distressed cries coming from them continued. One of them clearly tried bouncing back to its former position, but as if being held in place, it froze in midair and stopped glowing red… but rather, purple. All of them glowed purple, the same sort of color that anything being telekinetically controlled by the Orbeetle would have.

*ROZEN, GIVE ME A BOOST! NOW!* came Adnea's telepathic voice, loud and frantic.

Hearing her voice was enough to give the Audino wide eyes, but he certainly didn't waste time doing exactly as she asked. "By the gods, Adnea…!"

The expeditioners mostly heard it, but even for the Dark-types, the fact that Rozen appeared to reply to her and the fact that he started glowing to give her a Helping Hand indicated that she was alive as good as anything.

And alive she was, even if she felt like she was on the edge of death… if not because of Remi's kick, then because trying to telekinetically hold off such a heavy, hulking organism's myriad of pieces was nothing short of exhausting. At the center of the pile, she stared into several dozens of eyes, the pieces they belonged to trying to crush her even if Rozen's shields had prevented them from falling directly onto her. There were enough that they didn't have to fall directly on her- they still fell inwards towards her like a rock slide, Knox having tried to bury her in at least two-thirds of his body. She was borderline snarling herself, her entire body shaking from the sheer concentration and exertion as if it just couldn't contain her massive mind.

"Stop it, Knox…!" she breathed.

"We will never!" he replied, only one brick making the sound. Another piece piped up the next moment. "You cannot force us, you cannot control us!"

The glow of the Helping Hand transferred to Adnea, and she hissed back, "I don't want to control you, I want to stop you! And by the gods, I am going to…!"

Even from within the pile of bricks, the others could hear a loud "GYAAAAAAAAAH…!" that came from a certain Orbeetle. All of Knox's bricks started to take her psychic glow, the red replaced with purple, and the bricks started to float outwards away from her, albeit rather shakily. The expeditioners all held their breaths, and Remi's mouth started to drop open in stupor.

*She's using you, Knox…!* Adnea non-verbally hollered at the Stakataka as she pried further. *Stop it…!*

The bricks shook some more, Knox trying his best to break free of Adnea's incorporeal grip. "You…!"

*I'm not going to let up…! I don't know what the real you is like, but for his sake, stop it…!*

No words, just distressed metallic cries.

*Listen to me, Knox…!*

… All at once, his pieces held still. The eyes peering back at Adnea at the middle of the pile all blinked in unison, and shortly thereafter, she could hear the Stakataka speaking back to her in his mind (with a voice that sounded identical to his physical one, albeit far less booming). *… Tell us something, strange tiny creature.*

She let out a heavy sigh, looking relieved but still going all-out with her telekinesis. *Yes?*

*Our recollection feels rather disjointed up to this point, and our last clear memory is of the one we call Salem dousing everything in flame… We see no need to kill you, yet here we are trying. Can you tell us what has transpired…?*

*Let me show you.*

The eyes all blinked in unison again as memories flashed in Knox's mind. *… Oh, how deeply troubling. We see we were not as successful at fending her off as we would've hoped… but in that case, we can surely be of assistance if you will agree to release us.*

*I will.*

Outside of the pile, however, Cinder was giving Rush a nudge with his beak, and when the Scrafty's gaze quickly fell on him, piped up, "Boss, I need you to throw me! I can't flap hard enough to leave the ground so I gotta get air another way!"

"Ya got it, ya bastard!" Rush easily replied, sliding his hands under Cinder's wings.

The Fletchinder winced a bit at Rush's rather strong grip, then winced even more as he spread his wings while the Scrafty hurled him into the air. Busted sternum or not, he kept himself together quite well, though surely, having muscles pull broken bones in multiple different directions had to hurt considerably. Seth wasn't staying still either, going for another Bullet Punch that made the Pheromosa swiftly turn their attention onto him.

"You mounds of filth just won't quit," Remi hissed, countering his punch with a Brick Break just as fast.

"Same to you," the Scizor hissed in return, jumping back.

A Wing Attack from Riven yet again caused the Pheromosa to be dodging, and an Ice Beam that followed shortly thereafter had the Honchkrow sprawled out on the ground.

"Augh…!" Riven croaked, eyes fluttering.

Ravi, on the other hand, glanced up at Cinder and stopped working himself up, instead starting to glow in the beginnings of a Power Swap. "There we go!"

Knox's bricks started to glow red instead of purple again, all of them bouncing back into position as one huge living rampart while Adnea swiftly floated out of the vicinity with a very tired look and blood dripping from the side of her head. She floated next to Ama, who was dousing Xeno in a Soft-Boiled light, and let out a heavy breath while the Blissey gently reached up with one arm to carefully feel of her wounds.

"Darling, you look exhausted and hurt," Ama noted softly.

"… Let's just say, that was one difficult target," the Orbeetle breathed faintly, looking relieved nonetheless at basking in her healing light too. "I don't think I've ever exerted myself that hard, but it just had to be done."

Ama didn't doubt her, that was for sure.

At the same time though, Cinder started losing altitude, focusing down on the wily Pheromosa with his wings still outstretched. "Just don't move," he said, mostly to himself.

Gravity worked fast, but Remi was faster still, taking note of the fiery avian trying to strike them with another Wing Attack. They outstretched one arm, an Ice Beam forming at the tip of one claw, aimed straight at Cinder… but the glow of a Power Swap enveloped him at about the same time, and a Light Screen shielded him just as fast. The Fletchinder certainly didn't mind the protection… but as he passed straight though the Light Screen, with an almost wrathful cry himself, Cinder took it head-on and sailed straight through it with the extra force provided to him from the Power Swap. His attacking wing went right between Remi's claws, which would've been problematic in many other contexts… but even if Remi tried to latch onto him as one leg started to move for a Brick Break, that maneuver quickly became futile when Cinder's force outright cleaved one claw off. The Fletchinder's momentum didn't stop either, travelling down their arm and striking their shoulder next.

The screech that escaped their mouth the next moment was even more unpleasant than that of Squad Glimmer's Guzzlord had been prior, even if not as loud. "GyaaAAAAAAAAaaah…!"

Cinder tried to flap his wings, but just couldn't pull himself up from hitting the ground in time and came skidding to a halt with his wings haplessly splayed out and eyes wide in the resulting pain from the impact, beak gritted together to stifle a scream. He wasn't the only thing that hit the ground- a limp, stick-thin arm bearing the markings of 'UB02B-0001' flopped onto the ground next to Remi, one claw a meter or so away. Both pieces dripped red from their severed ends, and tiny threads of muscle that had clearly been attaching them at their joints looked akin to snagged threads on a cloak or scarf. Remi's intact set of claws clutched at the empty joint socket, and the Pheromosa themself dropped onto their knees, eyes looking like little pinpricks and mouth hanging open with only gasps escaping. They probably wanted to go unconscious, but something made them tough it out- rage, determination, poison-induced madness… It was impossible to tell.

"I'm never gonna fly again after this, am I…?" Cinder groaned.

"Cinder! Holy fuck!" Lazuli exclaimed.

"G-good heavens…!" Rozen cried, eyes wide.

Remi wasn't moving, too taken aback by their grievous wounds and staring blankly at the ground. Adnea, though, wasn't wasting the opportunity, and drifted directly in front of their face while staring them straight in the eyes. They twitched, but when their eyes glowed from her Hypnosis, they didn't fight back. Unlike Knox (or even Team Sweetheart or a prior 'crazy' incident victim), there wasn't too much effort to be expended- the horrific injury had utterly psyched them out, so much so that freeing their mind was like turning the pages of a book and simply wiping some dust from the papers.

"Stop it, Remi," the Orbeetle said softly. "Stop this madness. The real you is buried under the poison somewhere, and they're probably very tired."

Remi blankly stared back at her for a moment, then blinked a few times as the glow left both their and Adnea's eyes. "The real me, you say…?"

The expeditioners paused. For once, the Pheromosa's voice sounded calm, not dripping in cockiness or wrath or sardonicism. It was almost jarring, seeing them kneeling on the ground motionless, clutching their blood-dripping shoulder socket, and not kicking up a huge fuss (literally or figuratively).

"Yes," Adnea replied. "You're number one, so you've been at it longer than anyone. You can rest now."

The Pheromosa… smiled. Their eyelids drooped, and they chuckled tiredly. "Well, count me fucked.~ You really went and did it, didn't you…~?"

Adnea said nothing, nor did anyone else present. They had no idea what to make of Remi, except that Ama and Rozen (the former far more so than the latter) looked concerned at their severed arm and likely wanted to give them some healing if they were no longer under the poison's influence. Knox was silent, though he did carefully take a few steps towards his fellow Beast with multiple eyes locked on them. Of course, the other expeditioners had no way of knowing that he was no longer under the influence either, but when Adnea chimed in shortly, none of them made a move to stop him either and those that heard her gave some gestures to the Dark-types to pass it along.

*Don't make a move on that Stakataka, trust me,* the Orbeetle's voice broadcasted into the minds she could reach.

Remi chuckled some more, eyes going wider. The pain of their injury was likely back in full force without the hypnotism to distract them, but when Adnea went to try and redirect their mind off of it, she was surprised to find that it was suddenly much harder to get any sort of read on them.

"… You lesser-species really are something else, I'll say," Remi remarked in a more strained, borderline husky voice, their smile turning into a smirk. They chuckled again, then laughed, then full-on cackled, all the while still kneeling and clutching their empty shoulder. "Answer me, you tiny thing.~"

They got up, intact hand still on their severed joint, and Adnea rose with them to keep her own eyes still staring straight into theirs. The ordinary smile certainly hadn't lasted, replaced by yet another wild smirk.

"… You think it's that easy…~?" their voice trailed off, a mix of amusement and dismissiveness.

The faces of the expeditioners fell, and many of them went right back to taking a fighting position in case the Pheromosa made any movements. Rush balled his fists, Dren snarled, Shar raised her claws, and an ember welled up in Jingle's throat. Knox still crept towards them, but strangely enough to everyone that wasn't Adnea, he paused for just a moment to practically drop the lower quarter of his body on the ground with his stash of healing items still boxed up.

"Let me tell you something," Remi said pointedly. "I don't care who's right or wrong. I don't care who I hurt or who I piss off. I don't care about you wastes of life or your filthy, impure world. That Nihilego is my entire fucking world- she said she loved me and gave me the attention I fucking deserved! She was the only one who ever recognized me for how fucking great I am! I'd run across worlds with her on my head and she'd hug me and cling to me and tell me how much she adored me, and when I'd tuck into a hollow or a cavern for the night, I'd drift off to sleep with those dainty little tentacles stroking my face while she cooed about how I was her number one! I'd never been fucking happier, not even close!"

That… certainly hadn't been what the expeditioners had been expecting. It was Adnea's turn to blink as the recollection played in Remi's head- them laughing while running across the desert with a certain Nihilego perched on their head and her tentacles wrapped around their neck, that same Nihilego grabbing them up in an embrace and nuzzling her head against their cheeks as best she could, that same Nihilego sprawled across a sparkling cave floor next to them with one tentacle gently brushing their face while their eyes fluttered shut… It certainly did seem like a happy existence, but it was painfully obvious to anyone on the outside how utterly fake it was. Void was only saying those words because she was getting something out of Remi, but all the same, Remi basked in the admiration as if Void wouldn't throw them to the side if they stopped serving their purpose as her host.

"You can say she's a devil, you can say she's evil, you can say she's using me all you want to- I don't fucking CARE!" Remi declared, taking a step towards Adnea with an unhinged enough expression that the Orbeetle floated backwards away from them. "You can cry and moan about how I'm a bad, bad Beast, but all I'm hearing is you trying to take away my happiness! Let me cut straight to the chase and spell it out for you- if you want me to leave Void's side, you will KILL me!"

That cemented things as good as anything else could.

*Ravi, Trick Room,* Adnea quickly piped up to Team Charade's Girafarig.

*But what about Knox-*

*DO it!*

The Girafarig didn't question her again, and as Remi went to point an Ice Beam directly between Adnea's eyes, they quickly found that process far more cumbersome with a look of disdain crossing their face. A Flamethrower welled up in each of the dragons' mouths, Chira aimed a Swift, Lazuli had her own Ice Beam to set off, and Rush looked ready to bash the stick-thin Beast's head in, but faster than anything, Knox was on the move. With speed rivalling Remi themself, he darted to them with his bricks folding aside so as to envelop them in his walls, which his comrade certainly started to look giddy about while everyone else but Adnea looked horrified.

With a loud WHUMP, he retracted his legs in and perched like a hulking, heavy stone fortress on the ground with Remi completely sealed off inside… and with a sickening crunching sound like a bundle of twigs snapping, his walls closed in too fast for Remi to fully comprehend what was happening. Trickles of red dripped out from between his bricks, and many of them shifted around in what was likely an effort not to look too hard at the mangled corpse inside… It was rather unsettling to behold.

Ravi's Trick Room faded shortly thereafter, but not a single soul made another move. Rozen eyed Cinder, wanting to dart over and give the poor avian some proper healing, Ama's expression was nothing short of horrified as she tended to Xeno, Shar and Dren both looked like they were debating unloading a mouthful of flames onto the Stakataka, while only Adnea was unfazed.

Rush verbalized what most of them were thinking first. "What. The fuck. Just happened?"

Wordlessly, Adnea floated closer to Knox and placed one hand against one of his bloodstained bricks, which flipped outwards to look at her in turn. "… This one is no longer an enemy," she noted gently.

"… THAT IS CORRECT," his booming voice replied, sounding somewhat subdued despite its volume. His bricks shivered a bit, and more of his eyes flipped outwards. "OH, REMI… I HAD A FEELING THAT WOULD HAPPEN, AND THIS BLOODBATH WOULD CONTINUE… COMRADE, DON'T THINK ILL OF US IN THE AFTERLIFE; IT WAS FOR THE BEST THAT THINGS ENDED HERE…"

At that, the hesitation melted. Rush started grinning, and the more combative ones of the group stood down.

"Okay, Adnea, I didn't see any of that, so you're gonna have to give me a replay…" Cinder groaned, still sprawled on the ground.

"We can worry about that later, dear," Rozen said, running to his side and giving him a Heal Pulse.

A burst of energy later, and Dren was no longer in his Mega form. "Heavens, I'm glad that's over…"

"You were really getting into it, y'know?" Lazuli teased, giving the Salamence a nudge.

"Millicent, my darling~!" Ama cried happily but frantically. "Come hee-eere, Ama needs to make sure you don't fall apart into a puddle of cream…~!"

Xeno snapped out of his daze fairly quickly from Ama's attention, and when he did, there were two Blisseys running around tending to the injured ones. The healers certainly had their hands full- the faction members (namely a certain Pheromosa) had dished out plenty of damage to go around when their attacks had landed.

Rush, though, alongside Adnea, was far more interested in whatever was going through the unmoving Stakataka's mind. "Yo, Knox," he piped up, striding up to the blood-covered walls. "You know more than we do- the fuck is Void up to, huh? Can ya tell us?"

A single brick's voice piped up. "We do believe we can," was the answer, before another brick flipped outwards to speak next. "After Azure failed to steal away Astrid, she settled for the next best course of action…" Another flipped out, then another, and another, as he went on. "She knew that if anyone could get close to her, it would be her partner, so she decided to use the cards that had been dealt her and send him to secure her instead. Of course, there is always a probability of failure, and she wasn't fully confident that something wouldn't get in the way of her plan again, so she let him see a great deal of the inner circle surrounding herself but not enough to put her at a disadvantage in the event he too failed. And if he did fail, the information he would divulge to you would make your group feel confident enough that you all had the upper hand, therefore she knew you wouldn't squander the supposed opportunity while Necrozma still was not at full strength. She pulled us cadres aside specifically to discuss the possibility and our course of action after she finished telling him what to do, and she put her underlings on this island on high alert in the event of your arrival.

"When too much time passed after she sent him off, she knew he had likely been reclaimed, and set her next course of action into motion. Megalo Tower is her utmost stronghold, which Six-Seven undoubtedly had to have told you about… so she removed everything of interest from inside it so it wouldn't be the bastion of usefulness that Six-Seven would remember it as. She instructed us- as in us, the collective known as Knox- to wall off all of the things that could be useful for healing purposes, and she instructed her next three sturdiest Stakatakas to carry the little nebulas in their bodies, the reasoning being that you wouldn't dare to tackle us guards head-on and would instead try to circumvent being noticed. No one else was to hold the little nebulas, save for those immediately leaving for further reaches or other worlds, or any form of healing items, as there was a chance they could be lost if you bested our Beast squads, and under no circumstances did she want to give you any advantages. All the while, Necrozma would be holding a barrier around the top of the tower so that Lunala could not swoop in, and if her presence was detected, then they would swiftly drop in to deal with her. If your group managed to make it to Megalo Tower, past the guards, then there would be no way for you to make use of the stashes, nor any way to secure yourselves a little nebula with which to make a quick escape should the need arise. You would then likely press on regardless so as not to linger in the same place for too long, lest us guards notice you eventually…

"And after thirty floors of hostile defensive bastions, you would be tired by the time you reached the summit where she and Salem wait. Six-Seven has likely explained to you just how fearsome those two are together, so much so that they managed to down Solgaleo and turn him against his master… Needless to say, they were not worried about the possibility of facing your entire expedition alliance in battle. If Void hadn't been concerned about Astrid escaping again as she's so prone to do, she would've dropped a Guzzlord on the Crossroads and burnt it to the ground with Salem to draw her out. It pains us to say this now, but it seems you played straight into what she wants."

The more he went on, the more Rush and Adnea got some rather narrow-eyed but contemplative looks. They shared a glance, and didn't need to say a single word to know they were both on the same page. That Nihilego's backup plan had a backup plan… and that backup plan had its own backup plan too. Knox was right- they had played into what she wanted, and it almost seemed impossible not to with the layers to which she was crafting her ideas. Rush's fists shook, and Adnea wore an absolutely piercing look.

"… Holy fuck, she's good," the Scrafty remarked.

"… She is," Adnea didn't protest. "She really is."

The Stakataka went back to his booming voice shortly thereafter, having gotten most of his words out of the way. "IF WE MAY," he noted, "WE WOULD BE ABLE TO GET YOU THROUGH TO HER FAIRLY EASILY… PLEASE, LET US ASSIST."

"Abso-fucking-lutely," Rush easily replied. "Big guy, you're one hell of an ally."

"We really got that huge blockhead?!" Riven cried weakly, still slumped on the ground with frozen chest feathers.

"Oooh! How lovely!" Ama cried happily whilst very carefully tying Millicent's team scarf around her head like an eyepatch.

"Huzzah!" Shar exclaimed, sticking one claw in the air before her comrades followed suit in her exclamation.

Adnea, however, while undoubtedly quite receptive to having Knox join the entourage, quickly got an unsettled look that caught Rush off guard with just how grave it was. Her own eyes, while usually unfazed and aloof, practically bulged out of her head and her mouth fell open a bit, her tiny body shaking slightly as she floated.

"Adnea?!" the Scrafty pressed, studying her cautiously.

Knox caught on too and several of his bricks tilted and shifted so the eyes in them could look at her too. "COMRADE…? DID REMI HIT YOU TOO HARD…? THEY DO HAVE A TENDENCY TO DO THAT- OR RATHER, DID…"

The Orbeetle shook her head, instead turning frantic. "It's Team Starstorm," she said quickly, hurriedly floating away and towards some of her other comrades. "Dren and Rozen, I need both of you now!"

Her tone of voice caught everyone's attention very easily. The Audino and Salamence both perked up, as did Rush, who got a concerned look. Nonetheless, Rozen was quickly crawling onto Dren's back after exchanging a nod with Ama and letting the Blissey take over with Cinder while her Ditto-eyed clone took over with Millicent.

"Heh?! The fuck's wrong?!" Rush exclaimed, scurrying back to Adnea's side. "Hearin' ya sound like that is freakin' me out a little, Adnea!"

"Let's just say, Zariel is dead and Raijin will be too if we don't do something fast," the Orbeetle hastily replied as she positioned herself between Dren's horns and grabbed hold of one. "This might just be a lost cause, but it'd be utterly wrong not to try."

Everyone perked up even more.

"What?!" Rush exclaimed. "Hold up, y'all ain't leavin' me behind if that's the case!"

"By all means, come along," Adnea didn't protest.

"How bad is it?" Rozen inquired.

The Scrafty too was shortly scrambling onto Dren's back, and when Adnea flashed the mental picture into Rozen's mind, his eyes turned to little pinpricks and he looked as if he'd suddenly become deathly ill. Even without seeing what he'd seen, his reaction was plenty enough to tell everyone else that it was something horrific.

"I'm not going to waste any time," Dren noted, a burst of energy enveloping him again to bring about his Mega form. "Hold tight, you three."

The ones on his back certainly took heed of those words when he took off with blinding speed, Rush having to grab hold of Rozen to keep him from falling off. Adnea clung to his horn with both hands, looking as though she might have had to use more telekinesis just to hang on.

"Give 'er hell if ya get there before we do!" Rush hollered down as they quickly sailed off.

"Take care, all of you!" Rozen too called down.

They were sailing off into the distance before anyone could say anything.

*I will still keep you all updated,* came Adnea's telepathic voice. *From what I can gather, Necrozma is indeed down and so is Lunala. Astrid and Arashi are fast approaching Megalo Tower from what Delphi has relayed to me, and they're understandably extremely shaken up. I currently cannot reach them.*

"'Fast approaching?!'" Shar exclaimed. "How fast, Adnea?! They can't go in there alone!"

"IT WOULD BE MOST UNWISE," Knox chimed in, shifting around a little. "IF THEY ARE AHEAD OF US, WE CAN MAKE USE OF A LITTLE NEBULA TO CATCH UP TO THEM. WHERE ARE THE OTHER GUARDS?"

*Delphi has them occupied. They're in the further edges of Ultra Desert.*

Everyone's attention shifted to Knox, the Stakataka's eyes blinking.

"IN THAT CASE… WE MAY NOT REACH THEM IN TIME FOR US TO GIVE THE APPROPRIATE ORDERS."

"What about the Light Trio?" Chira chimed in. "They can open wormholes too- why don't we have someone heal them up?"

"IT IS NOT THAT SIMPLE," Knox said to the contrary. "NECROZMA AND LUNALA NEED LIGHT TO KEEP THEIR VITALITY, AND IT IS LIKELY THAT SOLGALEO IS NOT IN ANY CONDITION TO BE GENERATING ENOUGH OF IT TO SUSTAIN EITHER ONE AS IT IS NOW. AFTER THE FIRST DEFEAT, IT TOOK HIM SOME TIME TO REGAIN HIS SHINE."

"So we just need to haul ass and head to Megalo Tower, then," Seth proposed.

"Hey! Not quite!" Xeno noted otherwise, getting a big grin. "What if we just get another Solgaleo~?! One that's cheeky and full of life!"

Some uncertain, awkward looks graced several faces, and some others perked up. They knew exactly what he was referring to- going and morphing his form into Solgaleo's and revitalizing the other two members that way. Knox seemed to catch on too, but his eyes merely blinked and he didn't say a word.

*… That very well may be our best bet,* Adnea noted. *You should tend to our injured teammates first so everyone is in good health before a fight. Keep in mind, however, that Necrozma is still under Void's influence, so merely Transforming right then and there might make us worse off than we started if there is not an adequate way to keep them under control. Lunala's help is a must.*

"Yep, you're right!" the Ditto affirmed. "We'll figure something out!"

"I'll go with ya and block the light from hittin' 'em!" Shar piped up. "And if they start stirrin', I'll hold 'em down!"

"Me too!" Riven concurred.

*The rest of you should still make for Megalo Tower in the event you can catch up with Astrid and Arashi. We should not neglect those two.*

"STAY BEHIND US IN THE DUNGEON AND IT WILL BE MUCH EASIER," Knox noted. "THE ONES INSIDE WILL RECOGNIZE US."

It sounded like as solid of a plan as anything.

*We are all in agreement, yes?*

Several cries of "Fuck yeah, matey!" and "Yes, Adnea, darling~!" and "Don't worry, I won't use my powers for evil when I turn into a god~!" and "YES," answered her.

The expeditioners remaining exchanged some glances and nods, grins starting to cross their faces again, and the Dark-types getting the gist for the telepathy they of course hadn't been privy to. Ama and Xeno still scurried around to heal everyone as quick as they could, and Knox finally roused himself from his stationary box-like position to reclaim the bottom 'floor' full of items that he'd dropped before slaying Remi. When he moved, some of the more lighthearted ones had to avert their gaze, for the Pheromosa's crushed remains were a grisly sight… Their body wouldn't have been recognizable to anyone that hadn't known it was them beforehand, for what was left looked akin to a pot of soup with white leafy vegetables in a red sauce that had been thrown across the ground. Chira couldn't help but try to brush the blood off of the Stakataka's bricks with her tail, and he didn't seem to mind it one bit save for getting a little jumpy when she crawled on top of his walls. He seemed as fine a comrade as any… and they easily welcomed it.

The tower guards were occupied by Delphi's group, the ones hanging tight to Dren were making their way to their destination as fast as they could, the other expeditioners tried to make progress and be on their way as quick as possible… and even if they were hanging on by a thread, Team Starstorm wasn't giving up.


Author's note: Yeeeaaaaaah, I'm going to hell for that title, hehehe.

I probably spent a bit too much time looking at pictures of squashed bugs and thinking to myself if I could describe them as 'a pot of beef stew someone threw out the window' akin to how I'd describe a very mangled human corpse, since of course, a very humanoid-looking cockroach has to fit in there somewhere… and then I wondered what the hell I was doing with my life.

Remi was actually one of my favorites, dammit, but sometimes, you just gotta kill someone. (I say that in the purely figurative sense and not… literally killing anyone, but y'all are smart, I'm sure.)

I digress. Have a lovely day, beautiful (and not-beautiful, if you so prefer) people.