"I have never asked you before, but… I was curious, it is said that you also have a counterpart, a being that is said to represent life itself.", Calem's eyes gleamed with a pure sense of curiosity as he regarded Yveltal out of the corner of his eyes. The Legendary slightly shifted its head towards him to meet his gaze, studying him with a slight tilt of its head.

On one side, the death pokémon was content, more than glad, even. Both of them were situated upon a small hill, overlooking the dense forest beneath while the sun was slowly beginning to set in the distance, painting their surroundings in a warm and dimming light. In all of their time together, Calem had grown a lot closer to itself, and along with it, his voice had grown so much more open, more revealing…

… more trustful… and Yveltal relished in the feeling of hearing it…

And yet, on the other hand, the mere mentioning of its counterpart, even if not by name, already managed to make it frown.

Calem watched with a sense of concern when Yveltal shifted its gaze to the ground while remaining unresponsive for a long moment, his hand almost subconsciously reaching out for its head before he suddenly caught himself in his act, a wave of embarrassment coursing through him. But even as he stopped in his movements with his hand barely an inch away from its jaw, it was then that Yveltal shifted its eyes directly towards him, the unspoken act not having gone past its attention. Even when it witnessed the way his eyes were avoiding its own, before Calem could retract his hand, its voice sounded in his mind in a way that Calem had never witnessed before, managing to send a small shiver down his spine.

"... do not waste a thought upon the giver of life, it is not worth to mention it now. You and I have so many more things in common than you might believe…"

Calem gasped lightly when its head suddenly leaned into his touch, and for the first time, he could feel the soft surface of its jaw against his open palm, taking his breath away when he met its gaze, for it was never leaving his own anymore.

"... and you are so much more in my eyes…"

A stinging pain coursed through Calem's body, his head throbbing as he slowly blinked his eyes open, his vision still remaining blurry for a long moment in which he could barely make out his surroundings.

And yet, he could hear a voice speaking…

"...yo... fi… ly… awa… ke… I see."

Calem shook his head slightly, gritting his teeth to try and ignore the pain before he blinked his eyes more rapidly again, his vision starting to focus slowly but surely. And the sight that began to reveal itself in front of him only managed to instinctively cause him to jerk back slightly in shock, his heart pounding against his chest.

The entire city could be seen from his position on the ground, and it didn't take long until he realized where he was, for he was laying not far away from the very edge of the top of the Prism tower, where one misstep could lead to a devastating fall upon the ground below. But it was not even just that which caused him to freeze on his spot, for it was the sheer destruction that was continuously spreading down below, more and more vines bursting forth from the ground to pierce anything in their path.

"Isn't it a beautiful sight to behold?", Calem shifted his attention to the source of the voice before he narrowed his eyes, witnessing the form of the one he had believed to be dead. And yet here he was, standing before him as if it was an image that was haunting him, tormenting him within another nightmare.

But this was not a dream, and he knew it when Lysandre turned his head slightly to look back at him with a light smirk.

"Just like that, all of the filth and impure is being purged, and when the sun has risen completely, nothing of it will remain."

"You are destroying their homes, you are killing innocent people!", Lysandre's smirk vanished the moment these words left Calem's mouth, nothing but indifference crossing his eyes.

"All of them are guilty for the same reason, only the Chosen Ones will survive to see a new dawn. But there is no reason for you to fret.", Calem's brows furrowed as he stared at the leader of Team Flare in a mixture of confusion and irritation.

"You have been a victim of the boundless arrogance of humanity as well. Those who are stronger claim everything as their own without ever wasting a thought on those who do not possess the same strength, and you are left with nothing. Only in a world where there are less people will there be enough for everyone… and you could lead humanity into a new dawn, as a Chosen One.", Calem's hands clenched into fists, his eyes reflecting nothing but anger before he all but spat his reply.

"Never."

Lysandre smirked slightly once more, crossing his arms behind his back.

"Are you that certain about it? Are you that certain that there is not a deep seated desire within you to simply take what you want? A sense of selfishness, arrogance, and pride…", and just like that, his expression turned serious once more, his eyes narrowing as he regarded Calem in a whole new way now.

"... there must be a reason why Yveltal has chosen to protect you."

A gasp escaped Calem, taken aback by the mentioning of the death Pokémon and what Lysandre was implying. He wasn't…

However, his eyes were suddenly drawn towards the sound of a screech, only now taking note of the large, green cell Pokémon that was located at one of the edges of the tower, overseeing the entire city down below as it was responsible for the continuous assault of the giant vines. And still, it was surrounded by a bright, red light that was covering its form completely…

"Ah, this is the third legendary Pokémon, Zygarde. If the ecosystem or the powers between life and death should threaten to come out of balance, it will interfere to try and return them to their original state and return order into the system once more. Along with our great purpose, it has decided to lend us its strength.", as Calem stared at the Legendary, its features reminding him of something, an image suddenly appeared in front of his mental eye, seeing the small cell Pokémon he had encountered within the forest many days before. And he immediately shook his head, shifting his attention back to Lysandre with narrowed eyes.

"It would never, what have you done?"

Lysandre merely smirked lightly before another screech echoed from the Legendary, prompting Calem to look back at it once more. That crimson aura, it must be responsible, and still, how could he stop it…?

The moment Calem rose from the ground, stumbling in the process as he desperately tried to regain his balance, Lysandre intervened, holding an arm high into the air. Calem looked at the small device that was attached onto his wrist, and seemingly upon his command, Zygarde began to turn its head and form towards them.

"I wouldn't suggest trying anything. It is not too late, the ticket into a new tomorrow is still in reach for you to take. But if you don't, I will have no other choice but to let you perish like the rest.", Calem gritted his teeth as he stared at the large, glowing eye of the Z Pokémon, its form almost entirely unmoving as it glared at him.

Until suddenly, a terrible scream echoed in the air, tearing the attention of both Lysandre and Zygarde away from him while Calem's eyes immediately widened, recognizing it in an instant.

And a small smile began to form on his lips in relief.

A crimson beam of destruction suddenly impacted upon Zygarde's form, pushing it back several meters before it crashed against the tip of the tower. Lysandre instinctively took a step back once he witnessed the arrival of the death Pokémon as it hovered in the air, releasing another ear piercing scream that was filled with pure rage.

"What…? What reason do you have to interfere!?"

Calem watched as Yveltal solely shifted its eyes towards him, the rage beginning to subside immediately when it reached out its mind towards his own, gently brushing against it to sense his well being.

With a more gentle scream, it landed at the edge of the ground and directly in front of Calem, reaching its head forward to brush the tip of its mouth against his nose. A burning feeling began to dwell within him as he looked back at the Legendary while it gazed at him, and before long, he hugged the tip of its head, causing Yveltal to shift slightly in surprise before it leaned further into his touch, its eyes lidding ever so slightly.

"Who dared to cause you suffering…"

Its voice almost purred in his mind, and yet, it was laced with a dark intent that only sparsely revealed what it would do to those who were responsible for his pain.

Meanwhile, Lysandre glanced at the form of Zygarde as it laid on the ground, witnessing how the very edges of its body almost turned into stone, revealing the devastating effects of the life draining attack it had to endure. And his hand clenched into a fist, gritting his teeth as he looked back at the scene that was displayed in front of him.

"I see… when even the embodiment of arrogance and destruction finds something to hold on to… rise from the ground, Zygarde! Annihilate them!", Zygarde shifted from its position as it slowly rose from the ground, albeit shakily, before it started to gather energy towards the tip of its head.

Witnessing this immediately, Yveltal shielded Calem with its wings before it gathered energy of its own, releasing yet another Oblivion Wing. Their combined attacks collided against each other for a long moment until the sickeningly red beam managed to fight through the dragon pulse, impacting against Zygarde once more to which it fell against the ground again.

"How…!", Lysandre clenched his hands, having underestimated the power of the death Pokémon. He knew that Zygarde had only gained enough cells to reach its second form, but even so, he would have thought for it to be a better match against Yveltal.

"It's over, Lysandre.", the Team Flare leader narrowed his eyes at Calem, witnessing as Yveltal screamed once more.

Suddenly, a bright green light tore his attention to the Z Pokémon, its body slowly beginning to dissolve as the cells parted from one another once again to spread around the entire region.

"Xerosic, charge the weapon once more.", Lysandre held a hand to his ear, hearing the voice of his lead scientist over the intercom.

"I can see which target you mean, it will be under our control within seconds."

Before Calem could say anything in protest, he caught sight of a red light out of the corner of his eyes, witnessing the weapon Lysandre had mentioned within a high building just opposite of the Prism tower, its tip pointing towards the death Pokémon.

The moment it fired a thin, concentrated beam towards Yveltal, Calem's eyes widened in horror before he reacted on instinct, rushing in front of the Legendary since the latter realized too late what was happening as it shifted its head back towards Calem.

And he stood protectively in front of it, taking the impact upon himself to shield it.

Even Lysandre gasped at his actions as Calem cried out in a sheer pain, feeling as if his body was burned from within before it resulted in a blast, knocking him back and onto the ground. The moment Yveltal felt the unimaginable pain that was coursing through him, lying unconsciously in front of its feet, its mind went blank and nothing but hatred filled its eyes.

A terrible scream echoed in the air, reaching out to every corner of the city and beyond before it mustered every single bit of energy it could possibly gather, creating an Oblivion Wing with a power that caused even the ground to tremble.

And in a blink of an eye, it fired towards the building where the weapon was located, resulting in an explosion that tore the entire building apart, nothing but debris remaining. But it was not finished…

Its eyes had long turned into a purple color, the sheer malice and fury reflecting from them as it eyed the form of Lysandre standing frozen in place not far away from itself, and it gathered the same amount of energy once more, emitting a crimson light that began to engulf Lysandre's entire vision.

For it was the last thing he could see before the entire energy was released into a concentrated beam that fired in a straight line towards him, his eyes closing before it washed over him, another explosion ripping through the ground. Once the smoke cleared, the only thing that remained of him was a stone statue that was left standing in place, his fear in his last living moments being caught within his expression for eternity as every bit of life had been drained from him.

But Yveltal didn't pay its surroundings any heed anymore, for the moment it witnessed the death of those who were responsible, it immediately shifted its full attention towards the unconscious form of Calem, who was still remaining on the ground. And once there was no anger left anymore, it only left space for another feeling to take root within itself, spreading throughout its entire being as it curled its wings around him, shaking almost.

Reaching its mind out to his own, it couldn't feel the spark of liveliness within him anymore that it had grown so fond of, and when it gently but carefully touched his cheek with the tip of its mouth, his head merely fell to the side, being limp in its embrace.

And it finally knew what that feeling was. It was pure and utter dread.

It screamed towards the heavens, remorseful, pained, longing… and yet, nothing it could do would help him. It possessed the power to destroy, to take, to steal the lives of any living being around itself… but it could not give it to him… it could not… save him…

Only one being could grant eternal life. And within this moment, Yveltal cared for nothing else before it gently placed him upon his back, surrounding him with a blue aura to keep a hold of him with its psychic powers once it took off into the sky.

And it screamed one last time to the lands below, far enough so that even the giver of life could witness its call.