Bronze was still fighting Henry when the light shone from the main island. The appearance of the radiant, yet empty being had created a standstill of the battlefield, and the fighting simply ceased for several minutes.
Once the glow disappeared, the fighting resumed as normal, the spell of peace vanishing. Cheren was long since defeated, but only Aegislash was still fighting on the side of the Eclipse Admin.
Rayquaza was fighting with Kyurem and the Legendary Birds, keeping at a standstill. Yellow saw this, and yelled at Bronze and Wikstrom to leave. "I can handle him! You two have to go and help the others free the legendries of Cypress's control!" Bronze saw that some people were fighting with Rayquaza as well. He nodded to Wikstrom, and they ran away from Yellow.
The group of trainers not only held Gym Leaders and skilled trainers, but none other then Pryce himself. Bronze knew of the attempt Pryce made to control time, under the disguise of the Masked Man back when Bronze was only a young child.
Pryce turned in his wheelchair to face Bronze. "Young master Bronze...if we are to end the legendries battle, we must free them form the iron grip of the Evil One. Considering that the Evil Djinn has made his appearance, we now know our true opponent. I have some authority over the legendary birds, and Rayquaza has the ability to enact a modicum of judgement. And also..."
Three large quadrupedal Pokémon landed next to Pryce, much to everyone's shock. Pryce smiled. "Are you willing to fight to regain your control of your lord's mind, as you did twice before? Have you...forgiven me?"
The one in the middle who glowed like pure crystal spoke into the minds of everyone. "We have forgotten your past sins in order to defeat the true evil. Ho-Oh gave us life over 160 years ago, and we will fight to restore its sovereignty from the Evil One who would seek to use its power for wicked gain. We are ready."
Pryce turned back to the raging battle, satisfied. "Very well. Suicune, Raikou, Entei, we will attempt to break the curse. We all will work with Rayquaza and I. Everyone! When the time is right, use your most powerful attack to gain Lugia and Ho-Oh's attention. We will provide the rest."
Ho-Oh and Lugia were eclipsed by Rayquaza and Kyurem for the moment, preventing any action from being taken. But then the two birds flew just a little bit away-
"Now!"
A massive attack from the trainers Pokémon!
A command from Pryce to stop!
A roar of judgement from Rayquaza!
The imploring of the legendary beasts!
Ho-Oh and Lugia fell unconscious, floating into the depths of the void. On the main island, Cypress was screaming at his powerful tools being taken from him. The evil that surrounded the two birds vanished, and only Kyurem and Rayquaza were left fighting.
Pryce seemed exhausted from the effort, and was trying to gain his bearings. "We...have scored a victory. But there are still more battles that need to be fought. I believe I have served my purpose here, and will diminish." Pryce activated a small rocket on the bottom of his wheelchair, and flew away to other islands. The others waved goodbye, and Bronze went of too see if Yellow had defeated Henry.
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X and Y were fighting near the rift when the saw Ho-Oh and Lugia tumble past, out into the normal world. It seemed that Cypress had lost his slaves once again.
"Alright!" Y cheered. "Now we can defeat the other legendries!" The Pokedex Holders cleaned up the rest of the grunts, and headed off to another island.
Before they could leave, a burst of energy accompanied with the smell of sulfur pushed them back, leaving a figure dressed in robes and holding a staff towering over them.
Emrett grinned at his opponents. "Interesting...the master was correct when he said that I have been a idle player in this conflict! Bow before the power of the wonder workers!" On his cue, Boreas and Freya appeared next to him, just as cocky.
X and Y knew that the sorcerer standing before them was beyond their ability to fight. But they couldn't run, as he would effortlessly teleport to them. They were trapped between hopeless escape and hopeless combat.
Emrett sensed their fear, and brandished his staff into a whip with the head of a snake. "Gyahahaha, death to you all-"
"HEAL BLOCK!" A voice yelled out a command, and Emrett screamed in pain. The other sorcerers seemed to have been affected by the same attack. X and Y turned to see the Swords of Justice, combined with Lance, Cyrus, and Lysandre, the former's Dragonite cooling down from its triple attack.
Emrett got up, and screamed in anger. "YOU! HOW DARE YOU LIMIT MY POWER? Without my ability to repair damaged tissue, I can no longer perform strenuous magic! However, my resolve is not broken! I will settle this, here and now!" Emrett launched a plume of electricity at Cyrus, who simply dodged and had Terrakion launch a rock at the lead wizard, although the throw was cut in two by Emrett's whip.
As Lysandre continued to fight, he spoke to X and Y. "I understand your misgivings about me, and I know perfectly well why. But we have a common enemy, bent on the total destruction of the world. Fight with us, and perhaps we will see another day."
X was not completely convinced that Lysandre had truly changed, but he was definitely on their side, for the time being. Emrett and his peons were now fighting against the combined might of the powerful leaders of disbanded organization, the Swords of Justice, and two Pokedex Holders.
The only troubling thing seemed to be how unconcerned Emrett seemed to be about winning.
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Tess and the others had moved away from the main island, and discussed what was about to happen.
"First," Sycamore began, "It appears the Cypress can communicate, and we cannot. Also, we simply can do nothing about that energy field yet. Darkrai and Cresselia are likely being used as a source of energy to prevent anyone from interfering, in the from of generating the energy shield and the gunships ray shields. As far as we know, Cypress has us pinned."
"Your right about that." Wallace said. "But...there is something else. There are far more grunts here then at Anthien City. I can't believe that Team Eclipse recruited that many more people in that timespan."
"I think I can answer that," AZ said. "In the past two days, I have heard rumors going around that Cypress was spotted in Kalos, and in other regions. Perhaps this was some trick, but it seems that he has incited those who would fight for the final creation of a new world to join him. So, naturally, there are far more enemy combatants then before."
"You are correct, Lord AZ!" A oily voice came from behind the veil of mist, earning the attention of the others. "What a delightful trick! You have cowered under this veil for long enough!"
The figure used his Seviper to blast away the veil, exposing the four. Before they could fight back, Seviper smashed the ground, detaching Wallace, Sycamore, and AZ from the rest of the island, leaving Tess alone to face the threat.
"Little girl...I am Eclipse Commander Drake, and I order you to cease and desist your pointless fighting! Leave, and the creation of the new world will be much more bearable for you." Tess secretly gripped her Garchomp's Poke Ball. "Oh, okay, that actually makes sense. I'll leave now...you seriously think that I would say that? Garchomp, go!"
Drake jumped back, glaring. "I detest disobedient children! Seviper, Iron Tail!" Garchomp caught the attack, and threw Seviper to the ground. Drake sent out his other Pokémon, and continued the fight.
Despite Tess's early victory, Drake had the edge. He had plenty of Ice-types to counter her, and was far more skilled. Eventually, it was Tess's Haxorus facing off against a Vanillish and Glalie, at a obvious disadvantage.
"Care to give up? I have already bored myself with this one-sided battle..." Tess panted, not knowing what to say.
There was a crackling, and Drake grunted. He held his arm up, and saw that it had a cuff made of ice around it. "What is this devilry? Unhand me?" He pointed at Tess with his free hand. "Is this your doing?! I demand that you unhand me from this bond of frost!" Tess shook her head, but Drake interpreted that as if she wouldn't free him, not that she hadn't created the cuff in the first place.
Drake lunged, but was thrown aside by a rocky creature. The Cloyster opened up its shell, revealing a middle-aged woman holding a doll made of ice. Tess noticed that on the dolls arm, there was a lipstick smear right where Drake's cuff was.
"I don't like people who use Pokémon to get what they want, Commander Drake. You Team Eclipse fools were rotten from the start. Now, I, Lorelei of the Kanto Elite Four, will stop you from destroying the world I love!"
The battle began again, the match now equal in terms of type. Drake was trying to pry the cuff off, cursing. "Kanto Elite Four? HA! They failed long ago. A noble vision, perhaps, but doomed to human faults! Our leader is divine and all powerful! I may be defeated, but you will fail in-" Lorelei marked the mouth of the ice doll with her lipstick, and Drake was gagged.
Lorelei easily defeated Drake's other Pokémon, as he could no longer give commands. Lorelei fully bound him with the ice, and tossed him into the void.
Tess was shocked. "Why did you just throw him into the void? We should have kept him alive!" Lorelei sighed. "He is alive. The void in this place loops around on itself, so he'll just come back around to the islands. Or maybe he'll float out the rift. It isn't my concern, or Cypress's about what happens to one solider. I never did get your name, anyway."
"Tess. Your Lorelei?" The two shook hands. "At your side, I suppose. In these times, allies and enemies are everywhere, and you look like one I can fight beside. We should heal your Pokémon..."
After Tess's team had recovered, Lorelei led her off the island on her Cloyster to the other parts of the battle. Neither side seemed to be gaining any ground or losing, although that was the goal of Team Eclipse.
Tess continued to fight grunts with Lorelei, although they seemed to just keep coming.
"Grr...they have the advantage here!" Lorelei complained. "They are fighting without regard for their own safety or their Pokémon's, because they think that a new world is about to be created! They are even hurting themselves just to stop us."
A Vikavolt buzzed around Lorelei's Cloyster, attacking it. Tess thought that she had recognized it from somewhere, but it couldn't be...
A Mightyena pounced on Tess's Salamance, along with a Pangoro. Tess whipped around to see who was commanding them.
"Grahhhh!" Admin Linda yelled. "I will not let you fools interfere further with the creation of the new world! Prepare for battle!"
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Colress handed the latest translation of the Old Rorian text from the walls to Cypress, who eyed it with a hungry gleam.
"Perfect...now, we know how to implement the missing piece! But first, the portal requires more power. Are the feeds ready? Colress nodded. "Yes, my lord. The amount of energy required to put the gateway into working order is quite large, but we should be able to completely transfer it in a few minutes. May we begin the process?"
"Fire away. We still must retrieve the Bronze Brick, although it will come to us with luck. We are not entirely sure of the position of the relic, although the boy is fighting on the battlefield. It will not leave him by force, as it was entrusted to him by love. Love is a ancient, dangerous force as old as time, when the Tree of Life was forged and thought sprang into being. We must not underestimate it. He can only surrender it willingly. We do have leverage for that...as I said, fire away."
Colress messed with the feed controls, and a high-pitched whine started coming through the wires, and the portal frame began to dimly glow.
"Perfect. Once we have the final piece, my divine essence will indwell with the being that lies behind those closed doors, and begin the creation. The seed will spread thought this world, and into the other! It will ingulf everything! That which is not in my image will be eradicated! And I...will reign forever, with my followers beside me."
A even louder roaring could be heard outside. It seemed that Giratina had recovered, and was fighting with Rayquaza against Kyurem. Perhaps Cypress should have been more lenient with the antimatter dragon...
"No." Cypress whispered. Compassion was a weakness. Self-preservation was a weakness. Mercy was a weakness. All were tokens of a world in which his master had not yet perfected the original creation. But his master was not a creation. It had arisen alongside Arceus from the primordial life-energy, and was equal, no, greater to the False One! Only the combined might of the Rorian people and the creation trio had imprisoned his lord's physical form.
Cypress did not regret absorbing his master's essence. He was proud that he was chosen for the great act.
But ever so faintly, only in his deepest sliver of consciousnesses not controlled...
He felt like every inch of his inside was screaming.
.
.
.
(Author Note: I have been getting some PM's about this, so I'll put it on this chapter.)
(Q: Why didn't you focus more on Bronze dealing with his parents being kidnapped? It was a central part of the game!)
(A: There are multiple reasons. One, Bronze did not initially know that they were kidnapped, a difference from the game. When he found out, he was a bit desensitized. Also, it is rooted in Rorian culture for youths to be far more independent. Bronze was about to go on a long training journey anyways, so his parents being kidnapped was simply another reason to defeat Team Eclipse.)