Hello once again, dear readers. This chapter is designed to go with the next one, but combined, they're incredibly long. So, instead, I'll keep them apart, and you can read as far as you'd like and/or can manage.
Anyway, the war continues, so buckle up for all that follows. Enjoy.
...
[Greninja]
Everything feels heavy after that climb, but we reach the top and begin to cross the bridge. Golduck glances back at me, but doesn't open his beak once. The serenity of the waters below the bridge is no longer comforting.
Even the wind up here has quieted, and that strangely makes the courtyard seem hollow, haunting. We pass the gates, and I glance around the surrounding area, but there are no signs of battle here.
My heartbeat quickens from that.
Slowly, Golduck approaches the palace's entrance and pauses. He looks back to me, one hand on the door.
"What is it?"
"Should we just go in through the door?" He blinks at me. "It was their idea to infiltrate through the waters, but I think we're beyond that by now." His head lowers a bit. "Regardless, they're going to expect us, no matter how we enter or breach."
"Do you really think they would just leave the front door open?"
"Of course, why would they…?" Golduck pushes against the door, but finds the resistance. He glowers at it and slams his foot into it, but stumbles back. "Ok, so, they're actually trying to hold this place. Super."
"But you know a way to enter through the water below?" I wait as he turns back to me, and then slowly nods. "Come on. Show me how to get in."
"We could try prying that open with our swords—"
"Golduck."
"Ok, fine, let's go."
Back out onto the bridge, Golduck dives into the water below. Inhaling, I leap in next, paddling as soon as I'm under.
Golduck kicks at the water, swimming toward the palace from below. I follow him, glancing back at the crafted pillars below, where I had battled with Quagsire not long ago. We drift below for a bit, passing frozen rocks as we swim closer to the palace. He twists around them, and we navigate around a series of stones and ice.
Ahead of us is a carved opening, a round tunnel that continues toward the palace. I glance overhead and notice that there are walls on either side, built down to the bottom of the waters.
Swimming inside, Golduck and I paddled further, passing through the rusty and worn tunnel. Darkness coats the surroundings the further inside we travel, and I reach out to feel where to move as the passageway shifts with several turns. Golduck lightly taps at the tunnel, with the echo indicating where to follow him through.
As we turn and clink along, I notice that our patterns shift higher, and we swim up towards the end. We resurface inside of the palace walls, and I glance around a lower chamber that I can't recall visiting. Grabbing a ledge, I pull myself from the water and onto a wooden walkway.
"That was a route they closed off years, decades ago," reveals Golduck. "Emperor Empoleon broke it open when he took over. They only teach us about it if we've been here a year or longer."
"Why isn't it used anymore?"
"Too risky when used by the wrong hands, I'd imagine," he theorizes. "Makes sense, since we just used it to break in."
"True."
We make our way up the broken ramp that leads from the room, and I glance back at the watery grotto. It's a strange spot, left unattended, yet common knowledge for the palace dwellers themselves.
Back through the corridors inside, it gets a bit more familiar, as we pass a larder and an armory. Golduck tugs at the armory door, but it's locked. Kicking at it, he twists away, and storms on through the hall. I pause at the door, but shake my head. We might be able to force it open, but we can't spend the time on it.
He takes a step up the stairs that lead back to the main level, but slows his pace as he does so. I follow, navigating quietly up as we sneak back to the main level.
Our hallway from the stairs, however, only goes to one room: the main hall.
Slowing as we reach the door, Golduck places one hand on it. He turns back to me, and reaches for his sword with his free hand. I grab at my tachi blade, nodding to him. He nods back, and pushes the door open as soundlessly as he can. We creep through the doorway and enter the hall.
It proves fruitless, though, as we spot General Abomasnow standing in the middle of the hall. He vacantly stares toward the front door, and holds a great battle-axe in his hand. Something is very eerie and wrong about his frozen posture.
Golduck slips behind a pillar, and I shuffle to a column right across from him. Though I tilt my head, he places his hand over his mouth, gesturing for silence.
Just barely, I peek out from the column as Golduck does the same. Abomasnow's head is already facing our direction, and my heart skips a beat as I duck back. Golduck's grip is tight on the pillar, and his tension matches mine.
For a minute, silence fills the hall. Then, heavy stomping begins to sound, coming toward us.
"Move!"
Sprinting out away from the middle, I dash away as General Abomasnow storms over. He swings his axe at Golduck's pillar, but he's beyond late.
Running in from the back walls and behind the stairs, I return to the room's center, as Golduck shortly follows from the wall near the entrance. The door is frozen shut. Abomasnow twists around, dragging his axe against the floor, and its sharp screech from the slide makes me shudder.
Ice ripples in a cyan glow against the ground, and surges through the hall, as it rips and rises from the ground, barricading the doors around us from the first level. My eyes dart to the stairs, but waves of ice block them as well. Facing back to Abomasnow, I lower my blade.
"General, it's us," I call. "Your soldiers."
"This empire has no soldiers," he rumbles. "Only corpses."
"Going to take a stab at that not being him anymore," determines Golduck.
Stepping back at General Abomasnow's approach, I focus on his eyes. They're a darker purple, with whitish lavender veins bulging from them.
"What did they do to him…?"
"Doesn't matter." Golduck tightens his grip on his blade. "We need to get away from him."
"How?"
A heavy grunt erupts from Abomasnow, and he lifts his broad battle-axe. He swings it through the air, and a whirlwind of frost coats the wide blade, as it crashes down to the ground.
From it comes a wave of ice, and it surges across the room, forcing itself up between Golduck and I, as we dive aside.
Swiping a shuriken from my belt, I lift it and glare at Abomasnow. Tossing it at him, I run after it and toward the general.
He bats it away, and spins his axe to block a flying knife from Golduck's end. Swiping up from the ground, ice shards fling from his axe at Golduck.
Before I can check on him, though, Abomasnow stomps down, and whips a wave of snow at me.
Crashing back against the floor as the frost buffets me, I groan and push myself back up. Shaking my head, I grasp it as I refocus my attention to the general.
Slamming down his axe, a wave rushes forward, and breaks some ice from the center of the room. My eyes widen as I wait for it, and jump over the frost rushing at me.
Glancing over, I watch as Golduck flips over his wave, tossing a knife as well. Its trajectory is off, though, and it simply falls, sliding against the ground.
Abomasnow roars and storms forward, swinging his axe back and forth as he advances toward Golduck. Each swing chips or shatters the ice in the middle, and I run toward his approach.
Another shuriken in hand, I toss it at Abomasnow, slicing at his arm. Though it cuts across and I watch the white fur fly, he advances undeterred from my attack.
As he charges at Golduck, though, he picks the axe up, and swings down from overhead instead of across like he had been.
This makes it easier for Golduck to dive aside, but Abomasnow smirks, and swings his axe, scraping the ground and launching ice chunks.
They connect and slice against him, and I spot at least one scratch against his arm. It's nothing serious, but Golduck glares at the general.
He pulls his blade back and darts in, swinging up as Abomasnow swings his axe down. They connect, and lock in, with Golduck dropping quickly to his knee.
Pulling out a pair of shuriken, I toss each at Abomasnow's shoulders. Both connect and slice at him, but even with a bit of blood mixed with the sliced fur, I still fail to get much of a reaction from the general.
Eying the cracks in the ice between us, I grip my blade. Dashing toward the center, I spiral and slash at the ice, hitting directly at a crack.
Though chipped a bit, the ice stands. Grunting, I lower my sword, and watch as Golduck struggles against the lowering axe.
But as I glance at the ice again, I notice it's cracked further. Stepping back a bit, I run at it again, and swing my leg into it. Kicking at the crack, the ice breaks.
My tachi blade is up as I run toward them, but Abomasnow lifts away from the deadlock, and swings at me as he steps from Golduck. I slide down against the ground, and slash up with my blade, slicing at the general's armor.
Struggling to steady my traction, Abomasnow spins around and cleaves with his axe again. Golduck parries it, barely, and both fumble back from poor footing.
It's Golduck who recovers quicker, though, and he launches himself forward, tackling Abomasnow into the icy wall before a staircase. It breaks as General Abomasnow crashes into it.
Yet he's quick to rise again, and charges at us. Golduck pivots away as I scramble from the axe, and run towards the stairs. Abomasnow's too sluggish to catch either of us, as we reach the staircase.
Grabbing at my belt again, I toss a shuriken as Golduck throws a knife. Abomasnow knocks them both away, but that doesn't matter. We start climbing the steps, and ready our weapons again.
My hand shakes a bit, though, and I'm running lower on the shuriken already. I used too many before. I glance to Golduck, who pulls a kunai out instead of a knife; one of his sets is already empty.
"Greninja, get out of here." Golduck faces Abomasnow below. "I'll handle him."
"Are you insane?"
"Not quite." Golduck keeps his focus on the general. "Either we both try to get out of here, and he chases us around the castle until one of us ends up in a corner, or I hold him off here."
"Can you even take him on your own?"
"Sure." Golduck glances to me with a smirk. "Sometimes I like taking the big guys."
"Golduck."
"Just go already." He turns away from me, stepping back down towards the main level. "Emperor Empoleon needs you." His smirk remains on his face. "Unless you want to watch your ex-boyfriend as he gets a pounding going."
"Fine." I roll my eyes and climb the remainder of the stairs. "If you're not dead after, make sure you check the palace over first for anything or anyone else."
"Aw, don't you care?"
"Shut up and help the general."
"Yeah, yeah."
With that, I hurry across the upper level, evading a blast of frost as I make my way out from the main hall. Golduck's sword clangs against Abomasnow's axe, but I don't look back as I begin my search for Emperor Empoleon.
First, I rush through a door, down a hall and around its corner, hoping to cycle to an entry above the throne room.
Bursting inside, I gaze into the room, but find Empoleon's throne vacant, and no signs of anyone in there.
"Of course not."
Even if it's somewhere to secure, the throne room is too obvious for anyone to be in for time during a siege.
Twisting back, I dash back out of the door and through the corridor, taking another and up a series of steps. I scramble up the first, and stumble as I reach the top. Tripping a bit, I grasp at the railing, and force myself back up, running up the next set.
This next hall puts me just above the courtyard out back. I glance from a window before a spiral staircase, and gaze outside. A tree has been struck down, and there's some stones tossed aside from the pathway before the arena, but no one's here.
"Maybe Abomasnow fought there…?"
Shaking my head, I pull back and run up the staircase, climbing up it to the next room. Bedchambers are this way, but I gaze down the corridor and shake my head. There's no reason for anyone to come here either, and it's pointless to find Empoleon's bedroom from these. His is separated, and he wouldn't hold himself up there, unless it has some kind of secret passage…?
No, I don't have the time to investigate for that. But where else would Emperor Empoleon go?
"Oh, wait!"
Darting through the hall, I run around a corner and through the next door. I glance at the paintings on the walls, and spot some torn portraits. This must be the right way then, right?
Reaching the top of this stairwell, I go into the next corridor, and shift my eyes back and forth. Some shattered pottery and sculptures; this must be the right way. Following them, I run toward the middle of the hall.
Finally reaching the library, I push through the door and survey the room from the top level. Bookshelves might obscure some of the room, but it's mostly the same mess that it's usually left as, to my knowledge. And though I'm tempted to climb down and shuffle around the bookshelves, I'm mostly positive that Empoleon isn't here either.
"Where could he be then…?" My murmuring is the only sound to fill the room. "Come on, Greninja, where would the Emperor go when his city is attacked or when his palace is invaded?"
To my knowledge, there wasn't a safety room that Empoleon would be hiding in at this point. More over, I don't quite see him as that type. In fact, he would rather get his city cleared first, and even sent all of us out to…
It dawns on me, and I know exactly where Emperor Empoleon is.
Darting from the library and back to the hall, I rush for the next set of stairs, and make my way for highest tower of the palace.
[Chesnaught]
Ice chunks slide from the palace walls and down the edge. I've got a moment to watch it flow before the bone comes flying at me again.
Smacking it aside, I frown as Marowak dives to catch it, and grasps the railing to stop from falling over the edge.
He growls and rushes at me again, pulling back on his bone club. Lifting my sword, I effortlessly block his attack, and knock the bone away from his hands.
Pointing my sword at him, Marowak backs away, as I advance upon him. He glares at me still, and his eyes shift around only slightly, checking for ways out.
"The easiest way is if you just—"
Marowak tries racing past me, and I swipe at him with my sword, kicking him into a wall as he loses balance.
"Listen for a minute."
"No."
"Why not?"
"You have nothing to sway my resolve," he snaps.
"Not even a little?"
"No!"
Before I can try another appeal, Marowak lifts his leg. I charge forward and swipe at him, as he fumbles back to evade me.
Spinning around, I slash at him and knock him away…but right to his bone.
Picking it up, Marowak runs at me again, and jumps up with his bone. I raise my Spiky Shield, and he slams into it.
His yell rips out, and it gets Gengar's attention. She blasts Delphox back, and soars over to us. I back up, but she dives into the shadows.
Pivoting around, I watch her rise from behind me, a Shadow Ball charging in her hands.
Cackling as it crackles, Gengar launches the Shadow Ball at me. Barely sidestepping it, I swing my sword down as I face her.
"Don't." Delphox dashes beside me, raising his wand. "She's mine. Concentrate on the spitfire."
"Aw, and you're going to deny me the chance to kill you both?" Gengar chuckles. "That's no fun."
"How, exactly?"
Pulling his free hand from the tip of his wand, Delphox summons an odd psychic wave that flows from his stick. Forcing his palm forward, the energy rushes ahead at Gengar.
Each part of the wave that connects blasts into Gengar, and she hisses from it. Her robes tear from the blasts, and parts of her body look like they're opening.
"True, you have a lot of power at your disposal," analyzes Delphox. "But where does that get you, when you're lacking defensively?"
"Psyshock…clever fox," commends Gengar. "Was that just for me?"
"Hardly."
"Interesting…" Her eyes widen. "You are quite the nuisance."
"Takes one to know one."
"Eheehehee…"
"She's toying with you," I murmur.
"Clearly," mumbles Delphox. "Go."
"Care to speak up, boys?"
"He's just muttering about how creepy you are," snaps Delphox. "And I agree, but that's nothing that deters you."
"Not in the slightest, eheehee."
"Marvelous."
Materializing another wave, Delphox strikes at Gengar again, who launches a Shadow Ball in retaliation.
My fists tighten as I twist away from them, psychic and magical flares whizzing behind me. Marowak tugs the last of the grass blades from his body, wincing and shuddering as he does so. He tries to throw them aside, but they just spin about in the air before floating down. Growling, he snatches up his bone, and turns his attention up, jumping at the sight of me.
"See that?!" He points his bone at me. "Your grass won't stop me, you hear?!"
"It just did."
"Not for that long!"
"Sure, good job recovering, I guess." I shrug. "What now?"
"Easy!" He pulls his arm back. "Now I end this!"
"Ok, great." I sheathe my sword. "Go for it. Hit me again, give it your best shot."
"Wh…what?!"
"That little bone of yours, hit me with it." I roll my shoulders. "Come on, show me what you've got."
His eyes twitch, but he gives a good toss with the bone. Lifting my arm, I smack his bone aside, knocking it into the palace wall. He widens his eyes, glancing at his bone, and then back to me.
"If you want to keep repeating this all day, I'm fine with that." I pull my arm back and flex my hand. "You'll get exhausted long before I do."
"Maybe I will, or maybe I'll finally break you!"
"Or, you won't, and you're wasting your efforts." I fold my arms. "Marowak, what is your point?"
"To get vengeance for my mother—"
"Right, right, revenge for your mother's death, and to go after the Emperor since he never atoned for her, sure." He glares as I raise an eyebrow. "Is that it? Where do you go from there?"
"Onto something else, while settle the disparity in other places across the kingdoms and continent!"
"Even if you succeed here, do you really think you'll make it across the rest of this empire? And from there, can you handle the other kingdoms? The world?"
"What's your point?!"
"You're one voice."
"And one voice makes a difference!"
"Not alone, and not by thrashing wildly about to make noise." My shoulders sink as I exhale through my nose. "You want to gain some kind of recompense from how you feel Empoleon slighted you, but all you're doing is helping cruel mercenaries tear an empire at its seams."
"That's the point!"
"That's a piss poor point." I shake my head. "You get the Iceberg Empire to crumble, kill Empoleon, and gain what? Do you get to feel better? Do you really help others, when their entire home is destroyed?"
"They can rebuild—"
"They're running scared, Marowak." My arm snaps out at the city in the distance below. "You see that? Smoke and dust are flying up from various spots around the city. Look carefully, and you'll see nothing but the destruction and terror your actions have brought."
"No—"
"Yes, damn it!" He jumps as I stomp down. "Houses and buildings have been broken down. Markets and businesses are destroyed. People have fled and will come back hoping to rebuild their lives. Why? So you could quell your anger." I throw my arms up. "Do you have no other ways to get that out of your system?! Was this really your only solution, rather than, I don't know, talking to Emperor Empoleon?"
"There was never any talking to him!" Marowak sweeps his arm out. "I'm one of many voices who have complained all the same to him! He feels nothing in that icy heart of his."
"How would you know?"
"It's in his entire demeanor!" My mouth opens, but he shakes his head. "Shut up! You can't convince me otherwise, because you're too close to him! You'll never find fault in him, because you're basically brainwashed."
"Pot, meet kettle."
"Stow it."
"When you grow up—"
"I'm not a child!"
"Then quit acting like one!"
"I'm not!" He gestures at the city below. "You see nothing but a ruined city, but I see the opportunity to rebuild! Those citizens think their lives are ok as they flounder under Empoleon's reign, but they don't know what it's like otherwise!" He clenches his fists. "Maybe alone I'm one voice, but with my allies, we've been able to make a real change, and we're heard!"
"By maiming—"
"Extreme action gets results!"
"At what cost?" My arms drop. "If there's a child out there, and that child loses a mother, have you made any difference? Or are you just recreating yourself and your problems in others?"
"We…we haven't done that!"
"Do you know that for sure?" I tilt my head as he jerks back. "You haven't. Maybe Gengar here hasn't. Maybe not a lot of your forces have bloodlust and attacked citizens." My eyes lower as I fixate on Marowak again. "But you're going to tell me, with absolute certainty, that none of your allies would kill for sport, especially when unattended?"
"They're not that dumb."
"No killer needs to be a fool."
"They…still wouldn't…" Marowak falters. "They're just going to kill other soldiers, if need be—!"
"Because none of us have families or friends either, right?" Marowak grows silent as I step closer to him. "Look, I know you want to believe that you're in the right. But it's not that easy. None of this is." I smile a bit and reach out with my hand. "Just stop attacking here. We can fix things if you help us." He gazes at me, and my smile broadens a bit more. "She wouldn't want this, none of it brings her back, so just—"
"No!"
Marowak shakes his head wildly and squeezes his eyes shut, backing away. My smile fades and my arm lowers as he snaps back at me.
"You're wrong! You don't know anything, because it's not going to be like that!" He tightens his fists again and raises them. "None of you have any idea what forces you're dealing with, and in the end, I'll help my allies rewrite the entire world." Marowak gazes at me, but the malice is absent from his eyes. "I can help her."
"She's dead."
"She doesn't have to be!"
"Eheeheheehee, easy Marowak…"
Gengar dives from the palace wall, scooping up Marowak's bone. She deflects a blast of fire as Delphox rushes into my sight, scowling at her. Gently, she passes Marowak the bone.
"They think they can defy what we're meant to bring." She pats his head and spirals around him. "They're not ready for what will come. But as this empire crumbles, they'll come to understand." She grins and lowers her head. "Should they last that long…"
"So, now you're not killing us." Delphox places a hand on his hip. "Before, you were, and now, you're not sure. Hmm, wonder why?"
"There might be better ways still to deal with you." She softly giggles as her eyes widen. "But your interference will decide that."
"Can't you just admit that you're struggling against me?" Delphox slouches back and leans closer to me. Muttering, he adds, "They never take me seriously."
"Whisper your plans all you like," hisses Gengar, before she chuckles. "They won't help you."
"Ah, right, you're threatening us, with…" Delphox pats his wand against his palm. "You are meant to be threatening, right?"
"Ehee, no, now we're meant to be attacking."
She soaks Marowak's bone in a ghastly energy, and he tosses it at us. Directing her hands forward, Gengar accelerates the bone.
Stepping in front of Delphox, I raise my hands and form my shield. He places his hand against my shoulder.
"Hold tight."
Energy flows through me and my skin crawls as it travels across my body. Purple magic bursts from my arms and blasts back the bone, knocking Gengar's hexes out of it as the club falls again.
Lowering my shield, Delphox brushes past me and swings his wand out. He launches a stream of fire high, as Gengar and Marowak duck down.
Dropping to the ground, I unleash vines and whip at them from below, sweeping their feet. Gengar slips through it, but Marowak is caught and slams hard against the floor.
Fuchsia sparks emit from Delphox's staff, and he attacks Gengar again, his psychic energies zapping at her. All the while, even as she's hit, she maintains her sinister grin.
Putting her hands together, Gengar quickly forms another Shadow Ball. She tosses it at us, and then fires a dark hex from each hand after.
Delphox lifts his hand with his wand, creating a box formation with them before spreading them apart. A wondrous wall of light appears before us, suppressing the Shadow Ball to a mere rush of eerie wind, while blocking her hexes entirely.
Shuddering as the remainder of the attack connects, I clutch at my quaking body. Delphox taps me with his stick and a white light flashes from it. Inhaling and exhaling, I'm able to calm myself back to a steady rhythm.
His wand glows in a brown beam next, as he taps on my arm. Nodding, I feel the grass grow along the needles of my arm. Delphox's magic spirals around my arm as I pull it back.
Wildly slamming my Needle Arm down, I gape at the tremors that rush from it and ripple across at our opponents. Gengar levitates away from the burst, but Marowak stumbles from the shaking and crashes back against the floor again.
"Not my best idea," murmurs Delphox, and I glance down at the breaking ground and ice. "Ah well."
"Play time has gone on for long enough," cuts in Gengar.
Her hand fires up, and planks of wood rip up from the ground right after. They spiral as she rotates her hand around, and form into a wooden lance.
She points ahead at us, and the wooden lance rips across the air. Delphox lifts his wand and casts a wave of fire, but Gengar's quick to whip snow in the way, dousing his flames.
Sliding in front of him and lifting my shield, I block as much of the hit as I can, but fumble back. My arms flail around and I'm waiting to fall back and crash into Delphox.
But he keeps me standing, and psychic energy pulses from behind to keep me upright. Energy is bubbling around my arms and I glance at them, with the fuchsia light glowing over them.
"Clap them together," instructs Delphox.
Pulling my arms back, I slam them together, and the power flows from me, ripping across the air to Gengar. Her eyes widen and she can't lift her arms fast enough.
It connects and sends her flying back. Though she soars away, she halts herself in the middle of the air. Twisting around, she flies back toward us again.
Delphox pushes past me again, and a spiral of flame burns from his wand to the roof over Gengar. Her grin fades as she gazes up, snow and ice melting as the mokoshi collapses over her, burying her beneath the icy debris.
"There, see? Much better." Delphox blows at the head of his stick, as smoke disappears from it. "That'll take her a minute to come back from."
Groaning, Marowak rises from the floor behind the broken roof. He shakes his head as he holds it, and glares across at us. I step ahead and lift my hands.
"This is almost over," I call. "If you surrender here and now, we can still work things out in a more diplomatic manner." He flinches as I lower my arms. "Please."
He hesitates before he opens his mouth, but that's as far as it gets. Gengar blasts a spot open from the fallen debris and forces herself out from it. In spite of everything, she's back to grinning.
"Irksome efforts, I must admire that much." Her eyes widen with her grin. "But I've already called an end to our playtime together."
"Can you truly not accept defeat?" Delphox chuckles. "This is getting embarrassing for you, really. Can't you see that?"
"On the contrary: we're just getting started." Gengar giggles. "That's something you've failed to see though."
Blasting from the pile and soaring over to us, Delphox twirls his wand, firing psychic power and spells at Gengar. She spins around and forward through the air, evading his attacks.
Raising my arms back up, I run in front of Delphox. Gengar dives into the shadows below and disappears from sight.
A minute passes, and then another. I gaze at the ground, as does Delphox, but nothing happens. We turn to check behind us, then search above, and we trade places, but find nothing from her.
"She's abandoned you," I announce to Marowak, who appears to be frantically scanning the area as well. "She'll leave you out here in the cold. That's not an ally for you to depend on."
"Wrong."
Shadowy shackles burst through the floor beneath me, and clamp around me. They drag me down and I crash against the ground, but they break from me and slip away, back into the darkness.
Wincing, I roll over and lift my head as Delphox waves his wand, zapping away hexes that Gengar launches at him. She raises another binding around him, and he grunts as it ensnares him.
"For all of your effort, you've never seen this coming," taunts Gengar. "And now, little fox, let's see how blind you really are."
Her hands are up and a bright light bursts from them. Delphox screams out and blasts Gengar back with his magic, but she laughs and sinks back into the shadows.
I can't get up fast enough and hurry over as Delphox sinks to the ground, gripping at his eyes. He moans softly and clutches at them.
"Gods, ah, gods damn it."
"Delphox, I'm here, hang on!"
"Marowak, dear, I told you this would all work out perfectly." I twist my head around as Gengar rises up beside Marowak, and she hands him his bone back. "Now, shall we get on with this?"
"Yes."
He rushes at me, throwing his bone club through the air. I hold my arm up to smack it away, but it slows to a stop as it spins in place.
Shifting around, the bone then tumbles across the ground, rolling toward us. Gengar dives up from the floor, and slams the club against my arm.
Pulling her hand back, she blasts an orange spell at me, and I fly back. My chest burns as I grip at it, but I force myself back up.
She hovers by Delphox and starts batting at him with the club, laughing as she strikes him. Grabbing my sword, I charge at her and thrust, but she floats back, and drops back into her shadow.
Marowak runs over, and his bone drifts back into his hand. Gengar rises behind him, cackling as she rests her arms over his head.
As I bend over, I scoop Delphox into one arm, while the other keeps my sword pointing at them. Delphox keeps rubbing at his eyes, fumbling with his stick.
Grinding my teeth together, I step back as Marowak and Gengar advance upon us.
[Southeastern City Streets]
Under a pile of snow that rests in an isolated district, something shifts around. Two small feet burst from the snow, with a beak following at the top.
Delibird flails around, knocking more of the snow pile around, before finally forcing himself out from it entirely. He shudders and scoops his tail into his flipper, glancing around the abandoned city streets around him.
"Wow. They really cleared this place out." He surveys the area once more, finding no one in the vacant houses, nor loitering in the street itself. Delibird leans back, but then gasps and rubs his back. "Ow. What even hit me…?"
His eyes widen and Delibird jumps back up at once.
"Oh no! Quagsire!" The penguin scrambles down the street. "I have to go help him! He could still be in danger!"
Rushing down the road, he skids and slows to a slippery stop. Fumbling around, he slips and collapses to the ground. Groaning, Delibird picks himself back up, and dusts himself off. He looks around and deflates.
"My body is killing me," he mumbles. "And I don't remember which part of the city I'm in…" Delibird sighs. "Some messenger I am; I can't even navigate properly. And in my home city, no less…"
Wandering to the end of the street, he looks back up the road, in towards the palace. The further along, the more buildings appear damaged.
"Did Carracosta get everyone out in time…?" Delibird sinks down a bit, but then forcefully shakes his head. "Of course he did. It's Carracosta! He had to have…" Delibird walks a bit up the road, and gazes upon the houses. "And there aren't a lot of signs of, um, cannon fire? Not that I'd be able to tell, but, I'm sure that things would look a lot worse." He smiles slightly. "So, Quagsire must have stopped those too! He didn't need my help, maybe. And that's good too…" He sighs. "Maybe everything will work out like it's supposed to. Everyone will defend the Empire, and we'll capture the invaders. And then I…won't really have anything to do." Delibird trudges to a signpost, and slumps against it. "Yeah, that's really great. Everyone else helps save the Empire, and what did I do? Fumbled around the snow and saved no one at all."
Picking himself up, he turns to gaze at the sign he rests against. Stepping back, he studies the fliers advertising for help wanted at the docks. Delibird takes the corner of the paper and tugs it a bit.
"Maybe the area will be on the bulletin? Or I can find a landmark, and that could help. If I just…" Tearing slowly, Delibird yanks a bit too roughly, tearing at the papers beneath the signpost as well. "…Yeah, that's exactly what I wanted, thanks." He throws the papers down and groans, throwing his arms up. "Can I not be the screw-up on the roster?! Just once?!"
Head lowering, Delibird plods back toward the palace, and wanders through the road. He passes a small bakery, and gazes inside.
"Maybe I can become something else after all of this. This place sells different foods, so I could…I…"
Squinting, Delibird looks through the window, across the other side of the bakery's windows, and spots a pair of figures through it. He yelps and ducks down, but peeks up just enough to continue his surveillance.
"Wait, that's…"
The shorter figure of the pair, though his back is mostly to the window, is easy enough for him to make out.
"Lucario…!" Delibird jolts back, identifying the second. "And he's got Mewtwo with him! Oh no…"
Around the other side of the building, Lucario leans against the window, folding his arms and shifts his eyes back and forth, watching the streets and houses. Nothing stirs beyond him and Mewtwo, waiting quietly before him, tail swaying.
"We lost your…" Mewtwo tilts his head as Lucario shoots him a glare. "…That one you named…Exploud?"
"Yes, no one's been following us for a bit." Lucario huffs and pushes off from the bakery window. "What's your point?"
"Should we not go back?"
"No," snaps Lucario. "I'm getting out of this place!" He grabs Mewtwo's hand. "And you're coming with me."
"What of your two companions?" Mewtwo stands still as Lucario tugs at him. "That dark fox, and the green dragon?"
"They'll be fine!"
"Are you certain?"
"They're strong enough!"
"That does not answer my question."
"Then it goes unanswered!" Lucario tugs Mewtwo again, dragging him away from the bakery. "Geez, you're heavier than you look. Come on!"
"But…my friends…"
"Your captors were your friends?" Lucario snorts. "They kept your prisoner, and you were happy with them?"
"Not all of them were. Two of them kept me safe, and then the others began to trust me as well. They are my friends."
Lucario pauses and lowers his arm. He twists back to Mewtwo, who looks to the Iceberg Palace, standing on its peak in the distance.
"They are all I have now," realizes Mewtwo. "I had no one, and then I had them." He turns back to Lucario. "Do you not know what that is like?"
"…Surprisingly, I do."
"May we go back for them then?" Mewtwo slightly smiles to Lucario. "Your friends and mine?"
"Those aren't the friends that I'd die for." Lucario shakes his head. "And you've got more important things to do."
"Nothing is more important."
"We can't save them!"
"Perhaps—"
"No, nary a 'perhaps' nor a 'maybe,' stuff it all!" Lucario whips his arm out. "We can't save them, don't you get it?! There's too much going on, they're too powerful, and I'm not risking it!"
"Why not?"
"Because I need answers!" Lucario grasps at his head. "None of this was supposed to happen this way, we're not supposed to be…this wasn't my assignment."
"What was?"
"Now that, I don't know that anymore." Lucario drops his arms. "The Queen never made it clear, she just…she wanted to get on top of…I didn't think she'd…"
"Take a moment to sort everything out," suggests Mewtwo. "Maybe, if you think carefully, let your thoughts flow, you—"
"Stop reading my mind!"
"I have not."
"Then stop acting like you can!" Lucario grabs Mewtwo and pulls him along once again. "No one understands me, no one."
"You find yourself lost, as you lack a direction in what you believe you are meant to do, and you struggle with making decisions based on lacking facts."
Whipping back around, Lucario glares at Mewtwo, who gazes quietly back at him.
"Does that sound familiar?"
"Just shut up, and keep moving." Lucario tugs Mewtwo again, and takes him down the road, past a street with a torn signpost. "There should be an exit down this way, and then we can work our way back to the Mountains Monarchy from there."
"Is it a Queendom or a Monarchy?"
"It's both, now stop talking!"
He pulls Mewtwo further along, and the two reach a pathway that flows from the city, leading off into the cold wilderness. Lucario glances up at the tall glaciers on either side of the path, and stares out at the snowy trees and mountains in the distance.
"This could be the trail leading home," determines Lucario. "Come."
"Must we?"
"Yes, we must!"
As Lucario turns back, a glint catches his eye. He watches as a glowing orb sails overhead, and slams into the top of the glacier. Several more lob out, bouncing from the top of the icy walls, exploding after a moment.
Ice and snow crash down, as Lucario pulls Mewtwo back and away from the collapsing walls. He lifts his arm to shield himself from the debris, and pushes Mewtwo behind him.
As the frost settles, Lucario scowls at the path before him, with the icy roadblock towering back up to the top.
"Your escape appears to be cut off," assesses Mewtwo.
"Yeah, great, I see that!" Lucario pivots around. "Who in the blazes…?"
His mouth remains open, as Delibird shudders across from him. Another glowing Present rests in his wing, and he takes a step back. Lucario lowers his eyes, and releases Mewtwo, his hands crackling with fiery aura.
"Little bird," he snarls, "you've made a very grave mistake."
"N-no I didn't." Delibird shifts his shivering legs apart, and stands his ground. "You were trying to escape." He points at Mewtwo with a free hand. "And with him!" Delibird pulls back on his Present. "I won't let you."
"Quite honestly, you won't last long enough to make a difference."
Shifting his legs apart, Lucario cups his arms together, as the aura sparks between his arms. Delibird holds his Present, aiming where to fling it next.
[Palace's Main Hall]
Ice shatters across the room. Abomasnow raises his axe, glaring at the crater he left in the floor. He lifts his head, turning his scowl on Golduck, who leans against a broken pedestal.
"Missed."
Swinging it overhead again, Abomasnow cleaves his weapon down, while Golduck jumps aside. The axe crashes through the pedestal, breaking it apart.
"That's another miss!"
With a growl, Abomasnow spins the axe around, but Golduck runs to him, and ducks under the swings. He thrusts up with his sword, and slashes at his general.
"You missed, but I didn't!"
"Is that right?"
Golduck raises an eyebrow as he stands up, only to be grabbed by Abomasnow. He gags and swipes the general with his sword, to no avail.
"Got you."
Rearing his head back, Golduck's eyes light in a soft blue light. His gem lit up, and the red jewel flashes as Abomasnow roars, dropping Golduck.
With a smirk, Golduck sprints away, lifting his blade as he hurries off. Abomasnow rubs his eyes, and glares after Golduck.
"Not bad, Golduck," vacantly compliments Abomasnow. "Even as you resist, you still show aptitude for combat."
"Holy hell, you're actually in there," calls Golduck, stopping by the staircase.
"Of course I am," snaps Abomasnow. "I'm still me, you know. Just open to understanding how very doomed this empire is."
"I take it back, that's definitely not you," realizes Golduck.
"It's entirely me," contests Abomasnow. "Just stronger and more resolute in stopping all that foolishly think they can 'save' our failed city."
"Does it hurt to talk like that?"
"Not at all."
"Really? You and your stupid pride for this place aren't taking a huge beating?"
"Not at all."
"That proves you're gone. You're completely not you."
"Think as you like."
"Gods, stop talking!"
Ripping a chunk of ice from the banister, Golduck tosses it like a knife at his general.
Merely lifting his arm, Abomasnow lets the ice crash and shatter into him. He drops his arm, chuckling at the ice splinters on the ground.
"Was that your best strategy?"
"Not even close."
Gripping his broadsword, Golduck runs toward Abomasnow, batting the ice chunks in his way at the general.
Laughing, Abomasnow punches each piece of ice flung at him, while any he misses bounce off. He lifts his axe as Golduck approaches.
Cleaving down, Abomasnow growls as Golduck hops aside, and slashes at him with his sword. He drops back down, and ducks as Abomasnow spins with his axe.
"General, you're much too slow for that," taunts Golduck, and he hurries away.
"That's always been the trouble with you, Golduck," calls Abomasnow. "You underestimate your opponents."
"When they're weaker than me, it's not a problem." Golduck skates around the middle of the room, slipping behind a column.
"Am I weaker?"
"Like this, yeah."
"Ho, I see." Abomasnow chuckles. "You will see otherwise, soon enough."
"No chance."
Golduck dashes out, only to have a blast of snow and ice pelt him away. He rubs his face to clear the snow, only to be promptly met by a fist.
Slamming back against a desk and knocking over vases and ice sculptures on it, Golduck glances up as Abomasnow swings his axe down again.
Diving aside as the desk is split apart, Golduck spirals around, sliding back on the icy floors. He jumps aside as Abomasnow swipes for him, but takes a hit when the general uses the handle for a follow-up.
Abomasnow smirks as Golduck flops back down, and struggles to regain his balance. He stomps closer as Golduck drops entirely and rolls away.
"Come now, Golduck," taunts Abomasnow. "Haven't you lived here long enough to work with icy conditions?"
"They're not the problem." Golduck drives his blade into the ground, and helps himself back up.
"It can't be anything else, can it?"
"Sir, you're even more annoying when you're not yourself."
"Still less often than you."
"Fair."
With a chuckle, Abomasnow stomps toward Golduck, who takes a few steps back. An icy mist surrounds his free hand, as he closes it into a fist.
Jumping up as Abomasnow nears, Golduck slams his Ice Punch into the general, hitting him directly in the face. He rears back and thrusts forward with his sword.
Grunting, Abomasnow knocks the blade aside with his arm, and drives his battle-axe down at Golduck, who pivots away from it. This time, Abomasnow leaves his weapon stuck in the ice.
"You're going to use the move that I tutored you in developing?" Abomasnow shakes his head. "Against me?"
"Yeah, why not?"
"Several reasons," declares Abomasnow. "Chief among them being that I taught it to you, after all."
Rearing back with his ice-coated fist, Abomasnow throws his punch forward, as Golduck drops down. The fist slams into the wall and leaves a powerful indentation in it.
Pulling back, Abomasnow backs away as Golduck throws another punch, attempting to slip aside for his sword. But the general grabs him, and slams a heavy Ice Punch back into him.
"That…tickles," manages Golduck.
"Ice may not bother you," contests Abomasnow. "But you're not immune to pain."
He throws Golduck back, as the duck crashes against the floor and tumbles away. He claws down to it as best he can, trying to force himself to a halt.
Staring ahead at his fallen broadsword, Golduck pushes himself back up. Abomasnow steps in front of it, blocking the way to the weapon.
"Try it."
"Oh, I intend to."
Sprinting in, Golduck narrows his eyes, first on his sword, and then to Abomasnow, as he lifts his arm back up. His jewel lights in a bright flash, as Golduck's eyes shine in a light blue glow.
As Abomasnow swings his arm, Golduck sidesteps the punch, and leaps up. Driving his head forward, he forces down his Zen Headbutt against the general, slamming into his chest with a mighty blow.
Fumbling back, Abomasnow clutches his body, and staggers back as Golduck retrieves his sword.
Twisting around, Golduck slices at Abomasnow, carving into him with his blade. He pulls back and readies to thrust forward, but Abomasnow stomps down, with the tremor throwing Golduck off-balance.
Stepping back, Abomasnow picks his axe from the ice, and swings it around, as Golduck parries it. They clash with their weapons in another swing, and reach a deadlock as they meet again.
"You can't win," warns Abomasnow. "You lack the strength."
"At least its my own," snaps Golduck. "You're literally a puppet!"
"A puppet with power!"
Thrusting hard, Abomasnow breaks through, launching Golduck back. He swings his axe forward, as Golduck barely manages to reposition his sword.
Flying back from the impact, Golduck crashes through a remaining wall of ice, as it shatters from his weight. Ice slices at his arms, and he grips them tightly.
Slowly rising back up, Golduck spews water onto his arms, rinsing away the blood from his cuts. He glares ahead as Abomasnow approaches, and tightens his hold on his broadsword again.
"What's your next brilliant move?" Abomasnow lifts his arms as he approaches. "Rush in at me again? Strike me like I'm not expecting it?" He laughs. "I know you're just trying to delay me, keep my attention here so that the little frog can search the palace." He smirks. "What you don't realize is that I'm in no hurry to hunt him down. I'm enjoying my time with one of my top soldiers."
"How is this enjoyable to you?" Golduck straightens his posture. "You're taking heavy hits too."
"Hardly." Abomasnow brushes his arm over his recent wound. Leaves and frost shift over it, and coat it. "All you're doing here is wasting time, and that's mostly your own, really."
"It's not a waste if I can get you back."
"Ha! What kind of sentimentality are you spouting?" Abomasnow spins his axe around, and points it at Golduck. "I've trained you better than that."
"Believe me, if I need to kill you, I will." Golduck points his sword back at Abomasnow. "But neither of us are without emotion, now are we?"
"Such weakness—"
"Is it?"
"Invariably." Abomasnow grins. "I've held back on telling you, but you've gotten far worse since Greninja appeared." He chuckles as Golduck flinches. "It's almost like his very presence mocks you, throws you off balance entirely, and cripples you immeasurably."
"Distracting, I'll allow," admits Golduck. "I don't like my past catching up with me."
"It shows."
"Make no mistake, I'm beyond that."
"Not at all." Abomasnow shakes his head. "Your interest in him may be waning, but not fast enough to help you."
"Please."
"What made you decide to throw yourself away for him now?" Abomasnow digs his axe back into the ground. "You didn't have to stay here, and yet you sent him on his way, rather than seeking the glory yourself."
"Surprise, surprise, I know how to be selfless sometimes."
"Doing otherwise has kept you alive."
"Maybe." Golduck shrugs. "If you want to point out that his new boyfriend is distracting me next, feel free. Chesnaught's not much to talk about."
"Did he ever love you the same way he shows such affection for Chesnaught, though?" Abomasnow stretches. "You know, he's actually proven to be quite capable. Whose idea was it for you to infiltrate the palace?" Golduck seethes as Abomasnow chuckles. "I thought as much. You and Carracosta don't get along well enough to think clearly."
"Then why put us in charge?!"
"You're supposed to overcome your differences in a crisis." He laughs. "Hell, Chesnaught sent you with his boyfriend, and I'm certain that wasn't to his liking. Yet he did it."
"So now he's better than me, and Greninja's still my weakness as both drag me down." Golduck rolls his eyes. "You got a point in all of this?"
"This is where you're going to die, and why the Iceberg Empire is doomed."
"Oh, so, no point then." Golduck chuckles. "Didn't think so."
Golduck runs at Abomasnow, but slides past him, slicing at his legs. He picks himself back up, and runs around the main hall, vaulting from the wall and back to Abomasnow.
Just as he nears the general, who pulls back for a swing at him, Golduck pivots aside, and keeps running. He bounces off from a column and leaps back up, punching Abomasnow across the face.
Scooping up a dish that remains intact, Golduck tosses it at Abomasnow, and it shatters against him.
Shuffling back, he sheathes his sword and grabs a fallen picture of Emperor Empoleon. Spinning it around, he lobs it back and at Abomasnow, who smacks it aside.
Though mostly evading the attack, Abomasnow grips his arm and flexes it. He raises an eyebrow as Golduck runs across the room, picking up several bits of ice.
Spotting some of his knives, Golduck collects these as well. He dashes to the stairwell and climbs up a few steps. Pulling his free arm back, he proceeds to toss shards of ice and knives alternately, as Abomasnow knocks some aside, but others slice him.
"See, my general knows that I've got plenty of tactics up my sleeves at all times," mocks Golduck. "You? You're not even paying any attention to what I'm coming up with."
"No, huh?"
"Clearly not."
"Strange." Abomasnow smacks a knife aside and into the wall. "I like to think I pay close attention to my favorite knights."
Plucking a shuriken from behind him, Abomasnow launches it out, and it slashes across Golduck's arm. He grips it tightly, and gawks back at his general.
"Of course, you've perhaps been falling out of my favor for a little while now," admits Abomasnow. "Those newcomers, they're…something else. Greninja's skill, Chesnaught's tactics, and even Delphox's ingenuity…I've never admitted how splendidly their abilities help them shine." He chuckles. "And they tend to surprise with new, clever ideas at every turn or another." Abomasnow shakes his head. "You, Golduck, are…a little more predictable, these days."
"Out of all your soldiers—?"
"A lot have made great strides of improvement. Even those that I didn't anticipate doing so, that seemed less capable of even being knights…they surprise me more and more." Abomasnow shrugs. "You…less so. You heavily lack in development."
"Please." Golduck throws another knife, only it to hit the floor without reaching Abomasnow. "None of them could touch you like I can."
"On the contrary, several have outsmarted me in atypical methods and solutions," divulges Abomasnow. "In these past few months, they've all improved."
"And, so what?" Golduck stomps down the stairs, smearing the blood from his arm against the banister. "What, I'm not to that level?"
"Even with my eyes being opened by the invaders, I can see this, yes."
"You're full of crap." Golduck pulls his sword out. "They're just making you lie to mess with my head."
"Actually, lying is incredibly difficult like this," reveals Abomasnow. "My mind is open, malleable, and my thoughts flow…freely."
"Piss off."
"You first."
Golduck lifts his sword and staggers forward, panting. He glances at his arm, and washes some blood away. Stepping forward again, he stumbles, and pauses.
"See, while you were running all around this room," points out Abomasnow, "you were exerting more energy than I was, at every turn and every attack you made."
Closing the distance between them, Abomasnow storms over. Golduck backpedals but straight into a corner, and spins around as Abomasnow towers over him.
Swinging up with his sword, Abomasnow grabs it, and punches Golduck. Gripping him tightly in a chokehold, he lifts the duck up.
Golduck grasps at the general's arm, swinging and missing with his sword.
"Let's try this again." Abomasnow smiles menacingly. "You're going to die here."
Swinging Golduck around, Abomasnow smashes him against the wall. Dragging the duck back from that, he throws him into a pillar, with Golduck smacking hard against it as the column cracks.
Sinking down, Golduck clutches his shoulders and back, pushing himself aside and back as Abomasnow approaches.
[Inner City Border]
An orange orb of magic energy soars through the air, crackling in a blaze. Weavile dives aside as it comes sailing down to her, and rolls as icicles pelt the area she had been.
Froslass floats in the air, and wags her scepter back and forth, laughing maniacally as she moves. Waves of snow rise and crash down, slamming Weavile to the ground.
Forcing herself up and pushing through the snow, Weavile grasps at her dagger, pulling it closer to her. She gazes into Froslass's now dark purple eyes, and winces as she follows whitish lavender veins bulging from them.
Then her mouth gapes at Froslass jabbing her wand forward.
Sprinting aside from a blast of ice, Weavile ducks behind a broken statue, panting as she holds up her dagger. Glancing behind her on the right, Froslass floats closer.
On the left, however, Malamar drifts away.
With a tightened grip, Weavile races out after Malamar. The squid smirks as he continues to drift away, and Froslass soars between the two.
"Froslass, come on!" Weavile skids to a halt to glare at her friend. "Fight him!"
"We've been fighting the whole time," airily murmurs Froslass. "And we've been losing."
"That's not true!"
"Your words are a waste on her," taunts Malamar. "She's seen the light, so to speak. If only I had the means to replicate the Miracle Eye."
"Dastard!"
Scooping up at ice, Weavile flash-freezes it and launches it across the sky. Froslass bats it away, shattering the ice. Still, Malamar spins around, smiling at the scene.
"Tell me, what will it take for you to learn that there is no hope?" He chuckles. "You've already lost your friend, and this fight will soon be over, and she'll kill you herself."
"She would never."
"Oh no?" Malamar drifts forward, and leans close to Froslass. "Be a dear, and kill your friend for me."
In a vacant voice, Froslass utters, "As you command."
Descending from the air, Froslass hovers a bit over the ground. She chuckles and then flies forward, rocketing across to Weavile.
Wildly shifting her eyes back and forth, Weavile leaps aside and behind a rock. She runs off as Froslass chases after her, with her Icicle Staff glowing.
Kicking off from a wall of ice, Weavile twists about and charges back at Froslass, lifting her dagger. She jumps and swings, twirling as she cuts at Froslass's arm and evading the glowing staff.
Crashing down to the ground, Weavile rolls aside and grips her blade. With her free claw, she reaches for the ground and forces herself to a stop.
She glances up, slowly lifting her head at Froslass. The ghost tilts her head, lifting her arm to stare at the blood dripping from it. She giggles at the sight.
"Useful," whispers Froslass.
"Don't!"
Waving her hand over her wound and wincing, crackles of red bolts vibrate up Froslass's body. A red flicker lights the center of her eyes, and she stares down at Weavile.
"Like I told you," murmurs Froslass. "We've lost. You…lost."
"Not yet," growls Weavile. "And not by you."
Lifting her uninjured arm, Froslass opens it, as icy pillars burst from the ground and surround Weavile. She morphs them into spikes, and closes her hand.
As the ice courses to Weavile, her free claw glows in a dark energy. Diving at the one closest to her, she slashes at it, first with her dagger, and then her hand. It cracks and breaks open, as the others crash together behind her.
Their force blasts Weavile away, but she tucks and tumbles into a roll. Froslass surveys the area around her, cackling as Weavile rises and sprints off.
Clutching another Ice Shard, Weavile narrows her eyes on Malamar, as he floats past ruined minkas. She throws it and spirals around, slashing at Froslass as she approaches.
Ice connects with Malamar, and pelts him down to the ground. He groans and slams a tentacle through the ice.
Sweeping back, Froslass evades and pivots around, ice forming around her fingers from her injured arm. She slashes at Weavile, carving her shoulder. Froslass watches as the blood hits the snow, and stares at it as Weavile grips her fresh wound.
"Oh. That gives me an idea." Froslass giggles and scoops up with her hand, closing each finger in as they glow with a red light. "Blood is very useful."
Closing her fist with the red glow, her hand shakes and Froslass grins at the bloody snow. It rises from the ground, and Weavile backs away as shadows dart from the blood drops, encircling the snow. She grunts in pain as her shoulder stings.
As the shadows dissipate from before her, Weavile gawks at her own form standing before her. Lacking a face and details, it lifts its dark claws, as Weavile takes a step away from her risen shadowy duplicate.
Froslass giggles into a fit of laughter. Cackling as her lifts her arms, the shadowy duplicate lifts its arms as well, and Froslass grins.
"This will be fun."
Weavile darts away as her shadow sprints after her. It catches up to her quickly, and both slash at each other with their claws.
Knocking back from each other, the shadow ducks down as Weavile swings up, and slashes up at Weavile's chest, slashing past her armor and cutting her.
Blood falls as the shadow twists and bends down to catch it in its claws. Wiping the blood across her blank face, it sinks into the shadow's body.
As Weavile grips her wounds, she runs from the shadow, and glares as a smirking Malamar drifts away from the scene. She stumbles and forces herself after him, while her shadow doppelganger hurries behind her.
Faster than before, the shadowy creature catches Weavile quickly. However, Weavile latches onto her, and drops back.
Throwing her opponent over and away from her, Weavile kicks the creature at Malamar. It collides into him, and both crash to the ground.
"Pretty fast," observes Froslass, floating to Weavile. "I'll keep that in mind now."
"Froslass, please!"
Desperate pleas from Weavile fail to reach Froslass, as she cups one hand over her wrist. She jerks this hand through and out, as an unsheathing blade rings out behind Weavile.
Pivoting back to her duplicate, she spots a shadowy dagger in her other's hand. Withdrawing her blade, Weavile crouches down as she lifts her dagger up.
As it runs to her, Weavile repositions her arms, taking a defensive stance and crossing them before her. The shadow lunges at her, swiping in a spiral.
Weavile narrows her eyes, and knocks away at the creature's arm, slashing at the other arm. Both blades connect, and each Weavile fumbles back, with the shadow collapsing to the ground.
It jolts up quickly, and slashes back and forth at Weavile, who barely parries each consecutive blow. Neither concedes an inch as they clash with one another, blades ringing off of one another with each hit.
Sidestepping a stab, Weavile slashes down, cutting at the shadow's arm, and slicing it off. The arm remains in the air, stuck from the slice, as the shadowy bit disappears in a gust.
Tackling the shadow, Weavile spins around and launches it again, knocking Malamar back down. The squid jumps up from the ground, spiking the shadowy Weavile away from him.
"You've delayed me for far too long," snaps Malamar. "My command was to kill her, Froslass, not toy with her! Obey, and kill her!"
"Yes…of course."
Darting forward, Froslass jabs at Weavile's body, hitting her wounds. She doubles over as Froslass snatches her dagger, and pulls back, slicing at a retreating Weavile.
"Your arsenal is depleted," notes Froslass. She giggles. "Mine, however, is fully armed again."
She sweeps her free arm at the blood on the ground, which fades in a cloud of purple smoke. Weavile's eyes shift to her shadow doppelganger, as its arm emerges from a smoky veil.
It lifts the dark dagger once more, and crouches down at Weavile, who steps back. Froslass drifts closer, holding Weavile's dagger up in one arm, and clutching her staff in the other.
"Fine," grumbles Weavile, relaxing her arms from her body. She glances at the blood that slips down her claws. "Let's all play with blood magic, then."
Flicking her claws and the blood on them, it splatters against her dagger and Froslass. The ghost jerks back as Weavile closes her claws together.
"Blood for blood, can you live with such sins?"
Shrieking, Froslass grabs at her head, and pulls back, shaking as she shrinks away. Malamar sways as he watches, his eyes widening as the shadow duplicate stills.
"How…?"
"If death consumes me," chants Weavile, "then let that death be true to you."
"Ah, stop!" Froslass tightens her grip on the dagger and her head. "…Weavile…"
"What the hell is she doing?!" Malamar soars over to Froslass. "Explain!"
"…Why…Weavile…?"
"Answer me!"
"I'm only yours if you remain true." Weavile pulls her claws apart. "Blood for blood."
"She's…hurt…!" The red flickers from Froslass's eyes. "This…her blade, I…I can't…"
"Drop the dagger!"
Froslass opens her hand, dropping Weavile's blade. It falls into the snow, and Weavile runs to it.
"Strike her, now!"
Lifting her arm back, ice forms around her fingers again. Weavile skids as she falls, and pushes away as Froslass swings at her. Wincing, Froslass falls back, dropping her staff and clutching her hands together.
"Worth a shot." Weavile rolls back up from the ground, clutching at her chest. "Sucks to fight friends, though, right?"
"How the hell did you do that?" Malamar tendrils sway as he picks up the dagger. It jolts in his tentacles, and he flings it away. "What is this?!"
"Don't you know a hex when you see one?" Weavile smirks. "Froslass never really got a lot through me, but I managed to pick up on that one." Her eyes lower as she gazes over her friend. "She wanted me to have countermeasures for something like this."
"Wretched witch," grumbles Malamar. He eyes the shadow again and grins. "No matter. Froslass doesn't need your weapon to kill you." Pointing at Weavile, Malamar glares at Froslass. "Do it."
Eying the shadow, Froslass raises her arm. She shrieks as her arm burns her, and grasps at it while red bolts scale up and down it.
"My blood's cursed now," taunts Weavile. "All of it. And any that she uses."
"Clever little twit." Malamar twirls his tentacles around together. "I underestimated you miserably. No longer."
Striking through the shadow creature with his tendril, Malamar pulls back as the duplicate disappears in the wind. His arms light with red bolts, and he drifts beside Froslass, who shakes her head and glares at Weavile. Her eyes remain a dark purple.
"Your little magic trick won't save you from both of us." Malamar grins as his eyes widen. "Now, this time, die!"
Snapping a tentacle forth, a bolt of electricity fires out, blasting Weavile back and into a ruined building. She scrambles back up, grabbing at herself as she ducks in past the walls, both Froslass and Malamar closing in on her.
[Greninja]
My feet pound against the ground and I sprint through the hallway. Pushing open a door, I shake my head and hurry to the end of the corridor.
This would be easier to find if I went up there more often.
Once I reach the last door of the hall, I shove it open and speed up the stairwell. My feet slip a few times, but I push against the walls to keep my balance. The higher I climb, the more I'm panting.
Have I really been running for that long?
At the very top, though, I reach the dark, icy blue door. My hand rests against it, and I take a second to catch my breath. It's not enough, but I don't have any more to waste, and my weight pushes the door forward.
Wind blew through the wide windows around the room. East to west, I think. Scanning the room as I slowly enter, I take in the icy columns again, and spot one of the crystal bells with its long blue rope.
It's the center of the room that gets my attention first. There's some kind of sticky webbing around the largest bell. Squinting, I spot a keg strung up along the inside, with ropes that come back to the floor. Not ropes…fuses…?
Beyond this and just across the room, however, waits Emperor Empoleon, with a trident in one hand, and a tome in the other. He snaps the book shut and turns to me; his eyes similar to General Abomasnow's before, though it's a brighter violet that coats his eyes, and red-violet veins that stretch across them. Empoleon's eyes twitch a bit as he sees me, but he shivers and stills himself. He blinks and steps forward, his attention fixated on me.
"Ah, you." Even with those two words, there's something icier in his tone than usual.
"Your imperial highness."
"Somehow, it fails to surprise me that none of my soldiers are here, but one of you instead," observes Empoleon. "Between the three of you, I had correctly assumed you would be the one to find me."
"I'm here to save you, sire—"
"Ha, save me? From, what, pray tell?" He waves his trident behind him, gesturing to the city below. "They've already ravaged this place, even after they invaded the palace beforehand." Empoleon frowns, his head tilting at me. "They've already gotten to us long ago."
Zoroark had, that's true. But, he doesn't seem capable of…whatever happened to Abomasnow and Empoleon.
"Sire, please," I try again, and take a step in. "I can help you."
"How?" He lowers his trident, and cranes his body around to fully face me again. "My city is lost."
"Not your empire."
"What does it matter?" Empoleon lowers his head. "It will all crumble in time."
"War is unfolding as we speak, sire!" I place my hand on my chest as I step forward. "We're fighting to keep this city from falling, and keep your empire in tact as well! You can't just give up on us, sir."
"If I do though, this ends."
"It never ends."
"No, war never does end," agrees Empoleon. "It's a vicious cycle that only ever has lulls in the horrors that constantly unfold." He raises his head, and there's a smile on his face. "But what I can end is their suffering."
"Whose?"
"My family's, theirs." He forms a bubble and slips the tome inside of it, as it floats around him. "Can you hear their whispers?"
"From…your family?"
"Gods, no. That would be lovely though." He chuckles as I take a step back, my hand falling from my chest, sliding to my belt. "There are…voices that I hear now. They're hissing little things, but they buzz around my mind."
"Sir, that's the hypnosis."
"Is that it?" He nods. "Fascinating."
"Horrifying, really."
"Regardless, I ought to listen to them."
"Please don't." I step forward again, under the bell. The fuses that lead up, to the keg are long, but if they light at all…my hand is reaching for my blade. "Sire, we shouldn't—"
"I can't let you stop that."
He lifts his arm, as the tome in the bubble flips open. Water forms before me and shoves me back from the bell. My arm pulls my blade free, but the wave pushes me from cutting the ropes.
Forcing myself past the water, I jump from it, and rebalance myself. Empoleon narrows his eyes on me, pointing the trident.
"That stays." His hand twitches a bit. "It's…to help…"
"Emperor Empoleon, I'm imploring you—"
"You don't really understand, do you?"
"Yes, I do." My shoulders sink and my heartbeat quickens. "I know what it's like to want things to back to normal, to have this horrid pain inside you and a longing for your life, your family to return to what it might have been ages ago. Nobody wants theirs to end up…" I wince and shake my head. "Sometimes, you just have to let go."
"But you wanted to leave yours. Wasn't that your choice?"
"Not at first." I blink and rub behind my head. "Not at all, really."
"Ah…forgive me, then." He nods. "Perhaps you can relate." He shrugs, his grip tighter on his trident. "But I have the opportunity to get back what I've lost. Bring them here, home."
"At what cost?"
"My life."
There's stillness in the tower around us. He seems so…eerily content with that. His body is even at ease. I shake my head quickly and approach him again.
"Sire, that's not the answer."
"Why shouldn't it be?" He lowers his trident, but it's still pointing forward, at me. "I die by the enemy's hand or by my own, but either way, I can end the battling here, and my family can return."
"They'll hunt your wife and son next."
"If I lose the throne, there's no need. They've told me so." He smirks, his tone hollow. "After all, they can take it over, and who would oppose dethroned heirs?"
"Many supporters of yours, I'm sure."
"Please." He chuckles. "They're heavily outnumbered by those who hate me." His smile fades and his eyes waver as his head lowers. "I've thought I could be many things, you know. Dreamed that I could restore this place from the sins of my predecessors, give reason to the losses we've suffered. And I never did." Empoleon glances back up at me. "I've failed my people so many times, even on basic levels of small things. Finding emotional resonance. Showing meaning through sacrifice, forming stable alliances, I've done nothing right."
"Emperor, I'm proof that you're wrong." I gaze into his dark eyes, though part of me knows this is a losing battle. "I'm part of an alliance you formed with Nidoking. I've helped your forces find someone lost and alive in the fields. We've strengthened your armies' bonds." My hands tighten. "This all falls under your leadership and guidance. With your help, sire, we can turn the tide in our favor and—"
"That's more to your credit, yours and your boyfriend's." Empoleon shakes his head. "I haven't been able to bring anything but pain and misery myself."
"This isn't like you." I lift a fist. "Where is your pride, Empoleon?"
"Don't you get it?" He glares at me, icy again. "That's what brought this empire to ruin in the first place. My foolhardy pride."
"Emperor, that's not true—"
"It most certainly is."
"No, things just took time, but—"
"Hubris and the delusions that guided me forward for so many years ailed my empire," he firmly insists. "Had I truly changed how things flowed here, we wouldn't be here now."
"Sir, we would always end up here." I lower my eyes, checking his trident. "They want Mewtwo, and they don't understand—"
"The prophet," he murmurs. "He's…"
"It's not him!" I blink as Empoleon stares blankly at me. "Sire, you know this."
"If he's not…why else would they…?" He winces and grips his head with his free hand. "No, he's…I must…"
"Empoleon!"
"Such matters are beyond me," he decides. "My death and the fall of this city secure the end for us."
"It's not lost yet."
"It will be. It must be." Empoleon lowers his head. "Or we'll never be rid of this turmoil." He picks his head back up, and his glower is sharper. My eyes widen as I inhale. "But that's enough on that." Empoleon lifts his trident, and narrows his eyes on me. "So long as I obey, this will have an end. If you're all that's left in my way, so be it."
Twirling his trident, he storms forward, and I step back. Pulling back on it, he thrusts down over me.
Jumping aside, I evade as he pulls up and drives down his trident repeatedly. My blade blocks one blow; I sidestep, and parry another.
He spirals back and stabs down as I leap back. Reaching at my belt, I hesitate and let my hand fall aside.
Even if I have enough shuriken, I can't use them to kill him.
"Are you hesitating?" He grunts as he pulls his weapon back. "That will get you killed easily!"
Striking forth with it, Empoleon gawks as I jump up and run up the length of his trident, blade back.
With a spin, I twist around and kick his chest. He falters back as I flip away. Once I land, I lift my head as I jolt back up.
The bubble floats behind him, and my eyes widen as the pages in it turn. I glance at Empoleon's claws from his free arm, two under a blue glow as they turn the pages.
Before I can run forward, a burst of water fires out at me and throws me back. My grip on my tachi is loose, but I pull it in as I slide back, and keep it with me.
"Please, Empoleon!"
"Stopping you is the only way. And you must fall first." Pink aura glows from his trident. "Help me make this easy."
"I can't do that."
"Then I'm sorry."
A beam of light launches from his trident and I dive away from it. Still, the beam follows me, and a pulse knocks me from my feet.
My back smacks down first, and I slide a bit, grunting as I crash. My sword slides away from me as I grip at my body.
"Don't…make me…"
Forcing myself up, at least from my back, I glare at him. He steps forward, pointing his trident at me.
"Emperor—"
"No! …Don't…"
His grip on the trident slips and one claw shoots up to his head. Empoleon grumbles as he shakes his head, and I grab my tachi blade.
Pushing myself to my feet, I wait as Empoleon stumbles back.
"Come on, Empoleon! Fight!"
"…As you wish."
Damn it.
Scrolling through his tome, he lifts his spear, and pillars of light burst from the ground beneath me. One fires up right in front of me, and I pivot away.
Spotting a slight glow in the flow, I evade the next beam, and continue to spiral around and away from each blast.
Twisting around to get away from the sixth one, I glance behind me. Empoleon's trident smacks into me, and slams down around me, locking me into the ground.
"Huh." He blinks at me, and then studies his trident. "Didn't realize there was quite so much space for this."
"Maybe I'm skinny?"
"Eh, not that thin."
Compressing water into my hands, I soak my body and slip out as he fails to dig the trident down deeper.
Empoleon doesn't let me get far, twirling his trident back around, and striking for my legs. Attacks come quicker from him than I anticipate, but not fast enough.
After I pivot from his last trident swipe, he pulls back on it. A blue aura lights around him, and there's a slight puddle before him.
Jumping forward, Empoleon launches himself in a stream of water, ramming into me at a high speed.
Crashing back on my shoulder, I yelp as I tumble from the fall, and slide across the tower room.
Not letting up, Empoleon barely allows me a moment to look up as I spot the trident falling from the air and down to me.
It slams into the ground, and tears at robes, snagging a loose, torn cloth by my waist. Tugging, I can't break free right away, and he approaches.
With a sharp inhale, I rip my robes open and roll away from him. Empoleon throws his trident forward again, gripping it tightly as he follows through with his stab.
My sword is up, and I block at the center, longest spear of the trident. Sidestepping as I parry it around, his weapon is off-balance, as is he.
Ducking down, I sprint forward and slice at him with my tachi blade. It cuts through his robes, and right into him. Pulling myself up and backing away, my eyes widen as he clutches his side.
Through the spot of missing feathers, I see a slight streak of blood dripping. I wince as I sheathe my tachi, and wait as Empoleon chuckles.
"Ha, I suppose if you kill me, that does satisfy my role just as well."
"Neither of us will be dying here, emperor."
"Both of us going would be far more likely."
Cold winds flood my ankles as I twist around, with a bright blue beam trailing from the bubbled tome to my legs. Ice encases my feet up to my knees, and I'm stuck slashing away at them to be free.
That's not the worst of it, though.
Flipping through the tome as he walks past me, Empoleon clicks his claws together and snaps them, as a bright light hits the ground with a spark.
Barely, I can spot a white flare flash as it slowly travels along the fuse.
Hacking harder at the ice, I break enough to free myself, and surround my sword with water to smash away the remainder, staggering out of the trap.
Hastily, I form a Water Shuriken, and toss it at the lit fuse. It splashes into the flare, but does nothing, as the light steadily continues its crawl to the keg in the bell.
Empoleon's dark purple eyes twitch along with the corners of his beak. Behind him floats his blasted tome, still inside the bubble. He spins his trident around and points it at me again, as I lift my sword and hold it out.
There has to be a way to stop him or the bomb.
...