Is there some irony that I never used this chapter title in the previous trilogy? Ah, well, it fits here. Bring on Chapter 24!

Chapter 24

A Sword

The dark flecks choked what little light was left in the air. Covering up the red sky, and only letting the light of the rift through, Akari was certain she could feel Giratina's presence getting closer. It was only that, a feeling, but somewhere in the depths of her memory, she could remember the same emotion of terror as that night, made flesh. They really were running out of time. Facing to Zisu, the woman and her Security Corps surrounding their tiny group, Akari knew had to do something to get them free. The only thing she could think of was Sneasler, outside the perimeter and waiting.

"End this farce, Captain Zisu! Akari has done nothing wrong!" Irida cried, coming to her feet in defiance of the woman. At her yell, the soldiers under Zisu's command took a step forward, their own Pokémon before them, nothing more than tools.

"Be whatever you think, I am under orders. No one interferes with the operation, and Akari is to be taken in for questioning," Zisu said. Her bushy hair bounced, her lips pursed. At Akari's side, Typhlosion hissed at her, prompting Infernape to beckon them forward. Both of their flames stood out in that darkened space, flickering and whispering on the wind. "I'm not a fan of this approach. However, the commander's orders are absolute."

"And you'll just follow them to the letter?" Akari asked. She took her own step forward, trying to assert dominance towards the woman at least a head or two taller than her. "Captain, Kamado is walking into a trap."

"The commander is doing what needs to be done," Zisu insisted. Another step was marched forward, closing the ranks around them. Echoing off the mountains, the cries of battle were louder than ever, a showcase that the Alphas placed around the mountain had not been quelled. "Did you not do the same, Akari? Or is the commander's suspicion right, and you had a hand in this rift?"

Akari glared, but Zisu did not relent or budge. The distorted howls reached all their ears, along with the white lightning that gave an ambience to the air of conflict. Akari took a breath; she couldn't allow herself to feed into the same thing as what Volo wanted. "In some way, you could say I had a hand, but it was never by intention."

"She admitted it, captain!" Zisu held a hand, staying those of her men.

"It was only by manipulation, the same kind that brought you here. It was Volo, and he knows all about Commander Kamado's paranoia of Pokémon and anything we in the Survey Corps couldn't explain," Akari tried to explain, but none of it was wiping the doubt on Zisu or her men's faces. "He wants us all here, fighting, drawing out what he-"

"Do you really think I can believe that, Akari?" Another step, and Akari and her comrades were starting feel hemmed in. A single attack, and they'd be taken down, but any other movement would only result in them being pushed back into the ring. If it all continued, they would be finished before they even got a chance to start. "You're telling me a mere merchant of the Ginkgo Guild could orchestrate events to get the commander to come here and investigate the source of the rift?"

"Don't you people get it yet?! Volo, himself, is at the rift!" Adaman shouted. For the briefest of moments, Zisu's face scrunched with worry. It didn't last long, disappearing before Akari had the chance to burn it into her memory.

"Even if he is, I don't expect the commander to lose. He is a most noble man, and his sword stands by his side, ready to cleave this rift in two, if that's what it takes. They will fight on."

"That's what we're trying to prevent, captain!" Irida yelled. It proved to have the opposite effect, all of the Corps moving in to detain them. Typhlosion, Leafeon and Glaceon snapped, but Adaman held his hand out, his eyes beginning to search the sky. Akari just found Sneasler, but she, too, was watching the sky, a surer sign than anything of what was coming. "If the commander clashes with Volo, he'll be getting just what he wants. You won't build a better Hisui this way! You'll just destroy it!"

"The commander will rebuild it. I have faith in him for that."

"There won't be anything left, or haven't you noticed the sky disappearing!"

A harsh ringing sounded, that unearthly death screech, humming through the air. Like that of Giratina, longing to break free, it grew louder and louder, only increasing as Adaman and Irida were getting their hands tied. Akari felt her own about to be, but she also felt the nape of her neck tingling, the thick smoke of disaster on the air.

"That's enough! We're detaining you, and any other clan members, and will resolve this when we've taken care of the rift. This mess has gone on long enough and must be cleaned up."

"Our thoughts exactly," Cyllene's voice echoed through, causing Akari's eye to twitch and look up. A glow was forming, pooling to one place. She thought she could hear Volo commanding it, but was unsure. All she knew was Cyllene's well-timed orders, and Typhlosion's expert knowledge. "Warden Sabi's observations are in. Split."

"Typhlosion!" Akari shouted. She jabbed her elbow backwards, knocking the wind out of her would-be captor. He stumbled back, into the other Corpsmen, freeing Adaman and Irida from their grasp. That done, she reached over and grabbed them, just as three spirits appeared around Typhlosion, bobbing in pink flames. He tossed them, causing Zisu to leap back, out of range, and the rest of the Corps to split. Only Infernape stood in place, blocking one of the lobbed flames with a glare in his eyes.

The lightning flashed down. It rocked straight into the earth, consuming the lone figure that remained. Everyone else either pushed themselves away, or was blown away by force. Zisu fell down, staring in frightened awe towards where her partner was consumed. It brightened up the area, just for a moment, everyone wondering just what would happen.

Everyone but Akari, who knew; Volo didn't want them getting any closer.

"I-i-infernape!" The fist soared out, this one a blinding white, faster than anything Typhlosion could match.

"Sneas!" Sneasler's claws intercepted the fist, tossing it upwards before her other claw flashed out, dripping with purple poison. Red eyes gleamed through the growing smoke, and a burning fist, larger than before, came to meet it. Both Poison Jab and Fire Punch met, crashing against each other in a quick flurry that was matched blow for blow, but buying Sneasler no time to break free.

Seeing Zisu staring with horror at the revealed form of her feral Infernape, Akari chose to act. "Iron Tail!"

"Phlo!" Typhlosion seemed to vanish into space a moment, Akari wondering if it was the twisting and warping of the air around them. He appeared next to Infernape, swiping his gleaming body to its side. Infernape whipped around with a Mach Punch and Fire Punch both, catching both of its opponents and pushing them back.

"Fer…nape…INFERNAPE!" From Infernape's jaw came the raging flame. Sneasler crossed her arms, taking the attack and being pushed back. Typhlosion began to spin, his Flame Wheel racing forth and straight into the streaking flames. It gathered energy, and with a snapping crack, impacted against Infernape's jaw to send him stumbling back.

"Infernape…? I don't…I don't understand…" Zisu said, completely gobsmacked at the sight of her own partner raging. His fists glowed with fire again, while Typhlosion leapt back, summoning the ghostly orbs and firing them. Each was batted aside, and that same fire traveled through Infernape's body, becoming a charging flame that heated and destroyed the rest of the snow.

"Hold it with Iron Tail!" Akari shouted, clenching her fist. It wasn't much of a chance, but Typhlosion whipping around to block the burning blow was the moment Akari needed to break from the wall. Sneasler was huffing, but assured the group of her status. Akari approached Zisu, and with a hand to her back, began to pull her up. "This is Volo, captain. The frenzies, the Alphas, the dangerous threat to Hisui. He wanted us to turn against each other, blame each other, force us to cut off all connection. Even here, he wants Infernape in a frenzy to defeat us and break the bond he had to you. The one you and all of Jubilife tried to pretend didn't exist. The one your face right now proves otherwise.

"And if you don't let us go, he'll do the same to Kamado and the entire world!"

Zisu still couldn't comprehend, too stuck in the moment of watching Infernape scream with barely restrained pain. Typhlosion was straining, himself, breaking free and melting at Infernape's face with his red-hot flames. Infernape's fists drew back and then snapped forward, pummeling all over Typhlosion's body until an uppercut sent him flying into the air. Infernape launched forward, his entire body lit aflame with a mighty Flare Blitz.

"Captain! You need to decide now!" Adaman shouted. Akari snapped her look to Typhlosion, the wordless command passing between them. He created his orbs of flame again, snapping them out with a rapid firing, hoping to slow down the monkey that was intent on taking him and all others out. The collision of the attacks sent stone and gravel raining over all of them. "Are you gonna let us go and save your commander? Or keep trying to detain us out of some duty that solves nothing?!"

"The clans are willing to set that conflict aside! Can't you let us?!"

Infernape's raging blitz pinned Typhlosion to the wall, raining fire, ice and rock in the black sky. Typhlosion screamed, attempting to get into a Flame Wheel and dislodge Infernape's hold, but it was doing nothing. There was only one way out, and Akari turned to Zisu, kneeling at her. "I know I haven't made a lot of great decisions, captain. But I am fighting so that the vision my brother saw for Jubilife and the Galaxy Team is made real. For there to be peace in Hisui the same as you. Right now, I think the only way to do that is reaching out for one another. I'm reaching out to you, and Kamado, against Volo's vision. You need to reach out to Infernape.

"But I can't stand here and wait around. I can't make everyone safe on my own. I need you, Captain Zisu. We need you."

Zisu looked up, watching as Infernape nearly broke into Typhlosion's body, summoning the flames to his mouth for a final, bursting beam of heat that would take out not only Akari's Pokémon, but possibly the mountainside. She sniffled, and pushed up from the ground. "I've never thought Pokémon were all that bad, or you, Akari. I was simply doing my duty as captain. Suppose that directive has changed."

"Then you'll-"

Zisu jerked her head. "Go, and quick, before Infernape's rage takes your Pokémon. I will take command. Do you hear that, Infernape?! You're here to protect others, not destroy them!"

"Fernape?" Infernape's burning eyes flashed around, twitching furiously. He zeroed in on his friend and partner, loosening his hold on Typhlosion, to the point he slid down the wall. With a flick of her wrist, Akari made to return him, but he shook his head. He could still guide them, just as he always had. Then, Infernape sprang for Zisu.

"Lilliga!" From out of the smoke and darkness, a thin leg arrived, kicking straight into Infernape's face. He was sent spiraling through the air, spinning until another form of fire bashed into him, like a burning ball. Infernape cried out, but righted himself, summoning a Flare Blitz to himself as he sought his opponent.

He never found it, though, as something hurtled forth, catapulted with electricity clinging to his body. That something swung his axes down with force, catching Infernape in the stomach and cleaving him downward. "Kleava!"

"Get going, you guys!" a new voice called, and Akari turned. Arezu and Palina were running their way, the pair supporting each other and panting. They looked like they had run a marathon to get there, perhaps earned some battle scars along the way, but were no less fit for the fight.

"Meet you at the top! Captain Zisu," Palina said, taking the woman's hands in her own. "Keep reaching out. It will work, as it did with our lord. We'll give you that chance. Arcanine!"

"Kleavor, play support! Trap it with Silver Wind!" Lian's own voice joining the chorus was all Akari needed. She looked for Zisu's nod, and once received, ran for Wyrdeer, now standing back up. His fur was singed in places, but he was prepared to carry them forth to the battle. Without delay, all three boarded, and with a wipe of her chin, Sneasler joined them. Typhlosion ran forward, taking the lead with her.

"Akari, tell Commander Kamado that Cyllene never made a wrong decision when it came to the Survey Corps. Remind him of that," Zisu said, walking forward towards her frenzied Infernape as he heaved, trying to pick which opponent to fight first. "As for you lot, I'll remind you why we are the Security Corps! It is because we secure! The people and the Pokémon! That we might create a brighter future! So, rally to me!"

"Let's go!" Arezu shouted. Lady Lilligant dashed forth, and Akari turned her eyes forward. They could leave things to them.

"Fast. We've got no more time to waste," Adaman said, his eyes upon the temple where the intersection awaited them. Wyrdeer took off, galloping across the snow and smoke that curdled the top of the mountain.

Like before, the lightning continued to flash down around them, creating more smoke and obstacles to avoid. It twisted everything, too. Instead of mountains, it once became a city of brick and stone, like some faraway citadel, or it turned into a giant flower, opening with deadly purpose. Typhlosion never lost sight of the true path amidst the lightning and images, allowing them to not ram into a wall or cliff, avoiding whatever danger came their way.

It only grew unsettling when they no longer saw pictures of the distant past or far-off locations. Instead, the space around them twisted and warped to show them that of the dais at the Temple of Sinnoh, itself. Akari cursed; Kamado was already there, a Snorlax present, already looking wounded by a no doubt backhanded blow from Volo. He was there, as well, a sneer on his face as the commander of the Galaxy Team stood before him.

"What is the meaning of your presence here, merchant?!" he demanded, but his voice cut in and out, the space too unstable around them. Irida squeaked, her bare shoulder striking against what seemed to be one of the pillars at the temple, impossible as it was. Adaman even skirted to the side, Leafeon scratching at the pillar and leaving a mark behind on it.

"…rushed right in here! But then, you've never been all that smart. Tried to push the world out, only for it to come creeping in! You want peace, but you refuse to do what needs to be done. Just attack first, hope for the best!"

"Silence!" Kamado ran at Volo. Both were dressed in different garb, that of men prepared to go to war, and it was that which they were racing towards. Snorlax punched Togekiss.

The space cut out, but not before Akari could see Volo's sharp eyes, like he knew she was there, watching. His smirk spread before it vanished, and just like that, the rift cracked before beginning to oscillate wildly. There was no time left.

"Through the cave!" Adaman pointed out, right to where Sneasler and Typhlosion were waving them over. It was their ticket to the top, and they were stopping for nothing. The second Wyrdeer skidded to a stop, they hopped off, and Akari tapped the steed before them. He bent down, nuzzling her for a second.

"Help anyone you can, but get ready. We might need everyone to stop this."

"Wyrd." His hooves like thunder raced down the mountain. Akari faced the cave leading inwards.

"We're sure this is the path?"

"Looks like it connects to the path the professor took," Adaman said, glaring deep inside. He tried to see its portents, but with how dark the sky had gotten, that seemed almost impossible. Even the rift was starting to shrink, almost as though it was pulling back to the temple. The crackle of communication came into their ears.

"Can confirm. Straight forward! The path I used connected to it. Don't stop," Laventon said. Akari could almost imagine him pointing forward with gusto, urging them on.

"Right. Let's go." Akari led the procession inside. Typhlosion was with her, and flanking her were Adaman and Irida, their own Pokémon as antsy as anyone. The deeper they forged into the cave, the lighter it actually seemed to become, whether by the twisting of space or because of what awaited at the other end. It at least provided a place for Akari to put her feet without worrying of stumbling over them.

The cavern began to widen, emptying out to something much larger. Their breath continued to frost in that chilly place, causing Akari to rub her shoulders. In doing so, she noticed the branching path leading down, and up ahead was a slope, some snow rolling in it. The path she had taken was no doubt that way, too.

Another step, and it seemed to twist and warp again to their destination. The wind could be felt here, as could the blow of a Moonblast firing through Snorlax's gut. It swung with a crackling fist, but Togekiss danced out of the way. Volo paid no mind to the battle, or of Kamado, running at him. He caught the fist, grinning.

"More, commander! Show me that rage and hatred! Open it wide as you've so helped to do!"

"It feels so real…" Irida commented, whipping around at the trickle of a rock behind them. She bumped into Adaman, just as alert and concerned. With another step, everything twisted, as if breaking down around them. A young man was running at them, his fist burning with fire against a woman with auburn hair and a glowing stone. Akari and the others stood between them, and only when they were nearly there did Akari realize she could feel the energy.

"To the ground!" Akari yanked all of them flattening, but it needn't have mattered. The image faded before their eyes. "Cogita, what's going on?"

A moment, and then Cogita spoke with pointed words, "You're near the very center of the world. Time and space are warped, and not just as images. Everything is breaking down, becoming real, as if converging on a single point. In the moment it appears, it is very real to you, and you may be very real to them, but only like a passing dream."

"Or maybe…maybe they're fighting a battle on the other side of time, too," Irida said. With the images gone, they could all stand. Akari put her feet back towards the climb. "So, it's like tandem battles across time and space, blending together into one."

"Maybe, but let's deal with this time and space," Adaman said, facing one of the passages. Multiple red eyes appeared within. All three backed up, placing themselves against one another as the owners of the red eyes began to roll out, fly out and appear in the cave to surround them. "Looks like we have company."

"We'll keep them back. Typhlosion, Infernal Parade." Typhlosion spun, his orbs of fire forming. He threw them in a wide arc, creating a reach of flames. The Alpha Pokémon weren't deterred in the slightest, but Akari tossed both of her remaining Poké Balls to the air, calling out Decidueye and Samurott. Glaceon and Leafeon also stood by. "Triple Arrows! Ceaseless Edge!"

"Samura!" Samurott leapt forward, his horn wreathed in a dark water to part some of the flames and slash at the Alpha Crobat and Golem bearing down on them. Likewise, Decidueye flipped, summoning his arrows and firing them.

"Focus everything at the spot where we can run forward! Energy Ball!"

"Ice Beam!" Irida and Adaman threw their hands out together, almost joining them. Their partners summoned their elemental energies and fired at the command, right for the pack of enraged Graveler blocking their path. It met and exploded, but soon as even a few fell back, they were replaced by more, streaming out from the caves and crossing Typhlosion's line. "Too many! We can't hold them all back! Where's Sneasler?"

"Sneasah sneas!" Akari looked up. Sneasler was hanging from the ceiling, waving them on, as impossible as it was to emulate her. She communicated she was moving forward, nevertheless, and began to pierce the ceiling with her claws to get to the other end.

She would have remained there, except for the flying purple crescent that caused her to drop to the ground on all fours. Another followed, this one crashing through the rows of Golbat to try and get to her. Akari didn't tell her to run, or to move on ahead; that was implicit in her movements as she dashed from the cavern to avoid the violent blows. Akari, herself, tensed. She had taken her eyes off the action a second too long, and a Golem bounced up, shining with explosive power.

"Leaf Blade. Rend them." The basic command, as if given to a Pokémon whose only purpose was to serve as a sharp weapon, sent shivers down Akari's spine. However, it wasn't because of the sudden flash of white and green that sped through the cavern, knocking apart the Alphas before they could realize it and sending them where they came from. Instead, it was from the voice that had said it. Though cold, far colder than usual, Akari knew it far too well. "It would seem you're late, Akari. Though not so late as I can't stop you from interfering."

"Beni, is that you?" Akari called. The blur of what had saved them, and attacked them, came to a stop in the center of the cave, revealing a Gallade. His eyes were dead, a pitiless face that regarded all three of them standing there as targets. It was a feeling Akari knew all too well, stepping forward. In a rush of dust and smoke, someone appeared beside Gallade, a mask over his face and his whitened hair sticking out. None of it concealed his true identity. "What are you doing here?"

"No," Adaman said, grabbing Akari and pulling her back. He was well to do so, Akari catching the light of a blade in Beni's hand, no different from the Pokémon at his side. She swallowed. "I thought you were just some cook. What are you doing here?"

"Cook? You thought wrong, though one could say my skill does indeed lie with the blade," Beni said, twirling the kunai in his hand. Akari took another step back, the cold eyes that Beni wore so unlike him during their days in The Wallflower. Decidueye rustled, his own sense of danger activated, and the action caused Beni to chuckle. "Well, it would seem one can sense power. Just as I could sense yours, and Rei's. Two people so opposed to his vision. Rei with his love of Pokémon as actual beings, trying to bring the clans together when they couldn't even work together to wipe their own asses.

"And you, Akari, watching you dive further and further into vengeance. What a threat you became to Kamado and his vision of peace. You'd have burned the village down, and nearly did. It took everything to stay my hand, but now you're here."

"Kamado? You mean you're the commander's-"

"I am his sword!" Beni leapt forward without warning, and Gallade with him. Akari fell back, hitting the ground, but she rolled to the side, avoiding the thrown knife. Adaman took her place, stepping in to intercept Beni's intended strike. He received a kick to his chest for his troubles, flying back and toppling over Irida. Gallade sailed forth, too, but was met by Decidueye, the pair of them sending an aura pulsing through the cavern. "Hah! Rei's strength, subsumed by your violence! A daring foe! One who's falling form will spell the eternal vision for Kamado's peace!"

"We're trying to keep the peace!" Akari yelled, still trying to catch up to the man's appearance. Worse yet was his sudden, almost unprovoked, attack. "We want to stop Kamado from engaging Volo! Beni, can't you understand-agh!"

Beni's actions pinned her to the wall of the cavern, choking Akari with such the pitiless expression. "Stop him? I would say you're delivering the threat to him right into the hands of the enemy."

"Be…ni…" Akari choked out, reaching up to try and remove his hands from her throat. Samurott and Typhlosion charged, but Gallade swung, a Psycho Cut overcoming Decidueye and allowing him to leap through and kick both aside. "Why…? How…?"

She was failing to keep up, the man who had given her a job, looked over her, now strangling her with no thought. Though he wore a mask, like Volo before him, his own had dropped. The knife he had concealed was revealed. He didn't revel in it, however. He merely continued to try and choke the life out of her. "The why is simple: Kamado. My friend. My steadfast companion. I would follow wherever he goes, follow his dream for a peaceful Hisui. You were, are, a threat to that. If you deliver the pieces Volo desires, there will be no peace, and as long as you and these weak clans continue to seek destruction and quarter gods with no care for humanity, you are threats!

"Long have I hidden this blade, and were the threat not so dire, I'd have hidden it longer. Now, however, we reach the end of the farce. Kamado has willed it of me, to stop all threats. I will not let you and your weakness continue to get in the way of him!"

Blade… Akari managed to think, even through the hold on her windpipe. Her hands fell off, going for her knife, almost finding it. Hoping to keep him distracted long enough, she tried to croak out her words. "I thought…we were…friends. I thought you…cared…to see me…"

"Cared?" Beni scoffed, shaking his head. "I only care for the vision of the strong, not a weak-hearted fool who runs when she no longer has her brother to turn to-oof!"

Adaman had tackled Beni, shoving him off to the side. His grasp loosened, and Akari coughed, sucking in some air. The man was unfettered by it, sliding along the ground and narrowing his eyes. "We don't have time for your nonsense. Akari, get going!"

"R-right!" Akari said, shouting. It took her a moment to fully regain her senses, her eyes looking at Beni. There were shades of his care there, but the longer she looked, the more she knew he was simply devoted to Kamado, to a world just as unfeeling as Volo's.

And it was for Volo that she needed to reach. She started to run, her three Pokémon forming a protective barrier around her.

"No one's going anywhere."

"Gall gallade!" Just as fast as before, and with the snap of a finger, Gallade crossed the cavern, appearing before all four of them with glowing arms of purple and green, prepared to rend them apart if it meant them not interfering.

"Quick Attack!" The double command echoed, and Leafeon and Glaceon disappeared. Within seconds, and before the blade could hit, the two Pokémon struck Gallade in the chest, driving him up towards the ceiling. Irida, too, ran forward, aiming a punch for Beni's back that he sidestepped. His eyes showed dismissal of the fact, and with a single sweep of his leg, he toppled Irida. "We'll handle him! You need to go and stop Volo before it's too late! Before Giratina!"

"I'm on it!"

"You'll handle me? Hah! A lark if ever I heard one!" Beni shouted, clapping his hands together. The action called Gallade back to his side. Akari paused, one foot on the slope, unsure if she should leave them behind. "You and your squabbling clans, constantly bickering over irrelevant things. You cannot guide the future of Hisui, and as Kamado's sword, I will make sure you never can!"

"Go right ahead!" Adaman shouted. He, too, aimed a punch, only to be nailed in the gut. Adaman stumbled back, but when he recovered, he offered a hand to Irida. The leader of the Pearl Clan accepted, standing. Both of their eyes flashed, and Akari knew she could delay no longer; even the caverns were humming with that sense of electricity, like reality as they knew it was breaking apart. "You wanna be a sword for Kamado, then we'll be Akari's shield and buy her the time she needs!"

"We'll make Hisui more! Go, Akari! NOW!"

Irida's snap was enough. Wordlessly, burning with the need to forge on, Akari turned and ran, her legs straining as they climbed the slope. The air grew yet colder, the entire space twisting and warping, as though entering the start of a distortion that was about to cover all of Hisui. Her hair stood on end, and she began to pant in her climb until the cave finally appeared to end, replaced with snowcapped rocks, draped in the multiple, ugly colors of the twisted world.

An explosion echoed, both from ahead and behind, the battles to decide Hisui's direction already raging on, and her needing to choose between both.

Hisui's future. I don't think I have a right to decide that, but… Akari reached up, wiping at the freezing sweat on her brow. She looked back, noticing Decidueye twitching with nervousness at what they'd left behind. "You want to help decide, don't you?"

"Koorai?" Decidueye turned, but was unable to mask his own emotions. She really felt he didn't need to, so much like Rei was before him.

"Rei wouldn't want someone like Beni to be the dictator of what belongs in Hisui. He'd probably go back and fight, because he was always the type to help everybody out. You're really not any different, Decidueye," Akari said. She didn't touch him to give him permission, however. Her body turned for the temple, visible through all of the madness that was ahead. "I'm the selfish one. But I need to be the one to face Volo, stop him from using my mistakes. That's why I think I'm selfish, in a fight that's about the connections between people and Pokémon. That's who it's for, and Rei would understand that.

"So, if you want to help them, help them. I'll trust you."

Decidueye still looked unsure, wanting to help in the fight up ahead. The emotions inside him must have been complicated, and Akari knew that. She also knew the place she needed to be, as did her partners. When Decidueye looked at them, receiving the nods from both Samurott and Typhlosion, he knew where he needed to be, too. It wasn't here.

"Desai!" His wings took off like the sound of leaves in the forest.

"Let's finish it," Akari said. She pounded her hand into her fist and set off into a sprint.

The stairs climbed upwards, feeling more arduous than it had the last time she approached the temple. Something heavy pressed onto her chest, an oppressive wind of darkness, lingering in every single corner of the temple. It was almost like here, at the very origin of the world, space was at its most twisted and gnarled. That left only the sounds to guide her onward, making her pick up her steps. She could feel the danger rising, and the heat of the Moonblasts exploding made that worse. Hoping to reach in time, she started to jump stairs with all the alacrity she could, and she charged headlong down the path to where Snorlax aimed one more attack, and Kamado leapt at Volo.

"So honorable of you to face me head-on. But you've lost, old man! The pieces are here!"

"COMMANDER!" Akari shouted, her lungs bellowing to a point that all of the combatants froze in place. Kamado's face wore one of instant confusion, shock and betrayal, every emotion boiling inside him. She just didn't know if it was for her or for Volo. He completed the swing of his punch, the armor he was wearing clanking. Volo took it, flying back on the dais and looking up.

"Akari, you shouldn't be here! I don't want you here!"

"That doesn't matter, because you definitely shouldn't be here!" Akari shouted, running forward. She hoped to make it in time, and Samurott tried to, his Aqua Jet activating and surging him forward for all of them. "You need to stop, now! If you don't-"

"If you came here to lecture me, you who almost brought doom to all Hisui, I will not hear it!"

"Oh, commander, don't tell me you still believe that!" Volo said, hissing as he did it. Now closer to the man for the first time since his murder of Rei, Akari nearly paused. She could see the madness in his eyes, the glee of Kamado's state as a cackle rose. "You know what caused it, and it wasn't her, or else you wouldn't be here. Then again, you've always been a foolish person to have such damn sentiment!"

Volo sprang forward, like a beast upon prey. Kamado prepared to intercept, both fists raised, curling for a sumo grab. Akari saw Togekiss move, her trajectory altering just a bit. The Air Slash began to form.

Rei's wound appeared before her eyes.

Akari leapt.

"NO!" As she shouted, Togekiss fired, the spinning, gyrating air on a collision course not for Snorlax, but for Kamado himself, too occupied with the man that had taunted him. Soon as the Air Slash was let loose, Togekiss turned once more, sending a Moonblast firing right into Snorlax. It built in strength, colliding with his form and driving him back to blast off the mountainside. "Sneasler, go! Commander Kamado!"

Everything threatened to happen all at once. Samurott made contact with Togekiss, their opponent's eyes widening in both recognition and anger. She was thrown back, right into Volo and sending them tumbling, if not very far.

Kamado was the complete opposite. The Air Slash hit him, grinding into his armor and breaking away great chunks of it to impale through him. Akari and Typhlosion completed their jump, getting behind him as Togekiss's attack lifted him off the ground and threw him backwards.

Their own arc complete, Akari caught the commander and was flung back, straight towards the entrance of the temple. They slid, only stopping when they hit a pillar, the scratch made upon it from earlier present. It was a luck that no bones had broken.

Kamado coughed.

"I don't…I don't understand…" he choked out. His hand reached for his side, and the wound present. It came away with blood, though he seemed to be in a fine enough state to talk. He didn't, in any case, until Akari had gotten out from under him and propped him against one of the columns supporting the roof of the temple. "Why are…why are you here? Why did you…try to help me?"

Akari didn't know. She couldn't have an answer. Not one that made any sense. Nor did she have time to formulate any. So, she said the only thing she could truly say she felt. "Because I wanted to. I guess you could say that I think we've had enough death."

"But I exiled you. Tossed you away. In my haste and my paranoia, I assumed you the cause of everything. I marched my people here and you can see, what that has led to…" Kamado lifted his arm not on his wound to gesture around him, and Akari followed that sweeping hand. Filling her eyes with the images around her, she held back her gasp: it was his entire contingent of Security Corps members, strewn around the temple floor like pieces of trash. Each of them was bleeding, wounds that looked just the same as Togekiss's evident. Akari flashed her anger in the man's direction, but Kamado grabbed her arm. "So, please, tell me why you would want to…to…?"

"Because, commander, I don't think we should live in a world where we can't trust each other, and that goes for people and Pokémon, both," Akari said. She patted his hand, managing to remove it and starting to stand. "And honestly, I don't think we were all that different. You might've exiled me, but at the end of the day, we were searching for the same thing: someone to blame."

"Yes… I guess you're…right!" Kamado's strained sentence was followed up by hacking coughs, his wound tearing at itself. He beat at his side, trying to stop the bleeding that way before he looked up, right in her eyes. "That's the…sort of world we live in."

"It doesn't have to be. Honestly, I think you believed in that most of all, commander," Akari said. She began to walk away, rolling up her sleeves and preparing to ascend the final steps, her lips set in a grim snarl. "You wanted the same world as my brother, one that was peaceful, happy, and free of fear. I wanted it, too. Maybe Volo, as well. It's the reason we're all here at the same place, each going for the same thing.

"But you put up walls to try and keep the pain out. He wants to destroy it outright. Neither of those worlds will turn out happy, in the end."

"Then, what sort of world would you…you want?" he coughed out, trying to keep himself long enough to hear her answer.

Akari made it, stomping her foot down at the top of the dais.

"I want a world where we can make miracles happen, all of us. I want us to have a chance. If you'll let me."

"Heh…" Kamado chuckled out, the sound of his wound spurting some blood audible for a second. "That…doesn't sound so bad. Maybe we do understand each other. Perhaps it means…you can forgive me."

"As long as you forgive me, commander," Akari said, her voice rising. Like it meant something to the person and his attack Pokémon she was standing to confront. Samurott and Typhlosion flanked her. "However, the one person I will not forgive, is the one who's tried to take that chance away from all of us.

"For everyone we've loved, I will never forgive you, Volo! I'm ending this here!"

Akari and Volo's eyes met at last, atop the temple where the world would change.

Author's Note: I told you things would pick up this chapter. From the tense confrontation on the mountain, to Beni's appearance, to the final scene. All of it is building upon itself. Every little detail becoming important as Akari finally faces Volo. The major climactic battles are upon us!

That said, yes, I changed the Beni battle to have our esteemed clan leaders facing him instead. It gives them a major role and has a very important thematic purpose in the long run, as Beni consistently was built to someone believing in a vision for Hisui that is the strong surviving while the weak do not. And he sees the clans as weak. How will their battle play out?

Regardless of those points, there are thanks to give, once again for those people who took their time to review: aliensinnoh, MythGirl Writes, PurimPopoie, Tenzalucard123, XDiamondX90, StacheKing, AmourshippingCanon, potat lasaro and SirSoundwave.

Please look forward to the exciting conflict next time, and please Review. Most of all, remember,

Dare to Be Silly.