Cameron could only seethe as Courtney mocked Cynthia for being stuck underneath her unconscious Garchomp, her Lucario locked in a heated battle with the Talonflame of her own personal archenemy. It took every fiber of restraint she could conjure to prevent her from tackling Courtney and punching her lights out then and there, but her resolve was slipping with every sadistic word from the this conniving woman's mouth. Cynthia was in an immense amount of pain, the fin of her Garchomp stabbing into her leg. And all Courtney did was mock her for it.
"Oh, how the mighty hath fallen" she giggled. "The dreaded and terrifying Cynthia stuck under a waste of a Dragon Pokemon, with no one to save her!" She whistled for her Talonflame. "Let's send this little bitch to the great big Realm of Arceus in the sky! Flame Charge!"
The Talonflame broke off from Ryo the Lucario to attack Cynthia directly. But Cameron's Lucario grabbed the Talonflame by his tail feathers and slammed him into the ground. Cameron and her Pokemon's eyes burned with relentless hatred. "We're not done yet, you bitch!"
"Don't you get it that you're incapable of protecting anyone, Cameron?" the Team Magma Admin cackled. "This whole battle is taking place because of your stupidity. Never forget that!" Her Talonflame led another Flame Charge, this time directed at Ryo. Cameron's Lucario easily slapped it down by quickly grabbing it's tail feathers and slamming it to the ground with a Bone Rush. Courtney quickly recalled her Talonflame, dispatching a Magcargo which spat a powerful Flamethrower in retaliation. Ryo avoided the attack, as did Cameron, though the flames did singe her hair. Reveling in her command of the conflict, Courtney taunted her opponent more. "Must be odd reliving all these memories of your failure. First with Cynthia being crushed by a Garchomp and now your hair burning like when you failed Michael and almost let Elezar kill you all!"
Ryo used an Aura Sphere to quickly dispatch the Magcargo, who was replaced by a Delphox. The Delphox's Mystical Fire proved to be too much for Ryo to handle and Cameron was forced to recall him. Cynthia's Garchomp recovered and leaped to his feet, but Cynthia was still wounded on the ground, holding her hand to her chest as blood came out from where her Pokemon's sharp fins had pierced through her battle garb. Sinnoh's illustrious Champion fell to her knee, squeezing her eyes closed in pain. The Garchomp looked worriedly to his trainer and then to Cameron for orders. Cameron nodded and pointed forwards. The Garchomp used a ruthless Iron Head to smash into the torso of the Delphox before finishing her off with a Crunch.
"Still need others to fight your battles for you?" Courtney mocked as she recalled another fainted Pokemon.
Cameron whistled to her own Pokemon to defend herself: Azure the Salamence. "No. I don't need any help throttling you!" Upon hearing his trainer's summoning, the mighty Dragon Pokemon took off like a rocket down to join in the battle, growling menacingly at Courtney.
"Clearly you do!" Courtney took out another Poke Ball, this one containing her Coalossal. "Otherwise, why would you need your precious little crush to stay by your side?"
Cameron smirked. "You may be right. I may not be one who takes hints well. That's one thing you and I have in common. After all, I don't think I've ever seen Michael reject someone as many times as he has you." Her Salamence rushed forward, using an Iron Head to crash into Courtney's newest Pokemon and send it backwards. Before she could recover, Azure used a Dragon Tail to send it back into it's Poke Ball and force another of Courtney's Pokemon out into the fray: a Heatmor. The Anteater Pokemon spat a Flame Burst at Azure, who flew out of the way of it, roaring angrily.
Courtney looked like she was twitching due to her unrelenting fury. "Hehehehe. I am going to enjoy ending you." With a quick glance back to her still dazed Magmortar, she sent her Heatmor in for battle. A column of flame rained down on the Salamence and Cynthia's Garchomp. Cynthia's Pokemon responded by burrowing underground while Salamence responded by using a wickedly powerful Outrage that throttled Courtney's newest Pokemon. The Heatmor recovered, only for it to be finished off by a Dig coming from Cynthia's ace. With her back to the wall, Courtney sent out her Coalossal again to clash once more. "SCALD!" The Coalossal dumped over and unleashed a scorching hot vat of water onto the two Dragon Pokemon. Azure dodged it, but Cynthia's Garchomp took the worst of it, suffering from a burn as well as being drained of much of it's strength. With this, Courtney threw her head back and laughed. "I knew it! You're just another sad Kingston Case!"
"She's-stronger-than you think" Cynthia replied as she pushed herself to her feet, unable to keep balanced on her own. "You couldn't begin to imagine how strong she is, Courtney. Because all you know is hate. How can that hate gel well with someone like my friend Michael?!"
"Oh, he just hasn't seen the depths of my hate" she giggled. "But when I crush you two and claim him as my own, he'll come to understand it!"
"No. No he won't."
"Come again?"
Now, it was Cameron's turn to mock her opponent. "I've got news for you, nutbag! Even if you beat us, which you won't, Michael would throttle you! Do you know why? Because we all hate you! No one here likes you! And no being in this world ever will, so get off you whacked out pedestal and finish this fight so I can send you back to Mewtwo the complete failure you are!"
Courtney's face twisted in hatred. "Fine. As you wish! FINISH THEM!" Her Coalossal prepared to finish the job with Cynthia's Garchomp by using a Heat Crash attack. But as he picked up steam for his move, Azure intercepted him and with one final ferocious Outrage, defeated the Coalossal and sent Courtney's mental health reeling. She was almost incomprehensible, babbling as if she were having a seizure.
Holding nothing back, Cameron lunged for the Magma Admin, slapping her face with all of the force of the hundreds of days she spent agonizing over her failures on Mirage Island. Courtney simply laughed maniacally as she was slapped, her face bruising the more Cameron wailed on her. "I've waited so long for this! And I am going to enjoy this! This is for putting my brother under Darkrai's curse!" SLAP! "This is for all of those whiplashes you gave to Michael!" SLAP! "This is for what you did to Cynthia!" SLAP! "This is for almost poisoning Julia against her husband!" SLAP! "This one's for Giselle!" SLAP! "And this...oh this...this one's for me! For humiliating me, for hurting me and for everything you've ever thought of doing to me!" Her hand moved so hard against Courtney's face she thought she knocked a tooth out of her head. But as she raised her hand to deliver a final blow, Cynthia caught her hand.
"She's done. Let it go."
Cameron tried to wrench herself free. "I'm not done yet!"
Cynthia remained firm. "Cameron! It's over. We beat her." She looked at her wound and laughed weakly. "To put it more bluntly, you beat her. I just have a battle scar to prove I was involved." She pulled Cameron away as Courtney lay on the ground, still giggling to herself.
Cameron nodded and looked to her idol, her dearest friend and the holder of her heart. "Cynthia? Before all of this ends..."
"I like our odds to make it to the end, actually" Cynthia replied earnestly.
"I'm in love with you" Cameron interjected. "I always idolized you the same way Dawn did. But everything you've done for me, all the kind words, the re-encouragements the training and just being there for me has proven to me that you make me a better person than anyone besides my brothers or my mother." She held Cynthia's hands and fell to her knees in front of her. "When all this is over, I'm going with you to Sinnoh! We'll rebuild the world together!" She looked up at Cynthia with the most genuine smile she had given anyone in ages.
Cynthia seemed eager to say something, perhaps even affirming that their feelings were mutual, but she simply helped Cameron back to her feet. "We've got time to talk about it, Cameron. For now, let's get some bandages for my wounds. And I have to make sure my Garchomp never falls on me again." The two recalled their Pokemon as Cynthia put her arm around Cameron, unable to walk on her own. Cameron happily led the way towards where they believed Jenna's Station was. She beamed at how proud she was of herself for telling her crush how she felt. And was equally ecstatic that her feelings might be returned to her.
In the depths of her mind, she was picturing it all. A future where she and Cynthia dominated the Sinnoh Region, with Dawn being a third in command of sorts if she went back. No one would be able to stop them. A dynamic duo the likes of which had never been seen before. Not even she and her brothers could say they were like that. She would miss Michael and Chris dearly, Chris more than anyone else. But the time had come for her to think about someone else's needs and somewhere else. Arcana would be in good hands. Now, her future legacy could be written.
Cynthia propped herself up in Cameron's arms and smiled weakly. "Let's get going."
"You know it."
Though it was faint, almost impossible to hear from the naked human ear, Cameron was sure she heard something. "Love? I'll show you love! I'll show you a kind of love you'll never forget!"
She could not begin to wonder what it meant, as the mistake she had made became all too clear to her. The Magmortar!
Arcana's Champion glanced backwards and saw Courtney's Magmortar back on it's feet, stumbling, but aiming a Thunderbolt. Not at any of their Pokemon. Not at one of the Pokemon battling in the skies. But at them. Courtney was on her rear end, waving to her mockingly as the Thunderbolt came out of the cannon for an arm that her Pokemon possessed. Cynthia would not be able to move in time on her own. Without a moment's hesitation, she threw Cynthia to the ground. The gorgeous blonde landed hard on the ground, before flashing a look of confusion and brief anger. Then, the last sight Cameron saw was her face turning to one of genuine horror.
{}
Michael Kingston had heard the Thunderbolt from the skies above. But his confusion was all the more rampant when the skies were surprisingly calm. There was no sign of more reinforcements coming from Mewtwo. No signs of more storm clouds gathering. And no Electric Pokemon in the air to be conjuring up storms like this. It was an attack. But how could he have heard it from so high into the air?
The battle was going on all around him. People he knew and adored were fighting with the very heart of darkness and evil. His sister and Greg were throttling several Syndicate Goons and their Pokemon. Chris and his cousin Jack Duon were taking on Clones of an Aerodactyl and a Heracross. Mark and Lizzie were launching Mandibuzz's out of the skies like it was a sport to them. Addison and Matthew were also both battling their hearts off, on opposite sides of the battlefield, with the White Mage blasting Golbats aside with her scepter and Matthew and his Noivern swooping down to aid the Arcana Police Force that was supposed to be under Billy's watch. Jon Kingston and his Father were combating a Copperajah herd. The battle was raging, with no winners being decided just yet. It could all be decided in a moment or so. He needed to be vigil for that one turning point.
The Thunderbolt finally appeared in his eyes and he looked down at the battlefield. A Magmortar was launching a Thunderbolt at something. No...at someone! Two people, not even moving away from the blast. Someone with long, flowing blonde hair and another with dirty blonde hair and wearing an all too familiar outfit. The bolt moved at them with such speed that it would have amazed him if he wasn't horrified of who was in the way of it. The blonde was pushed aside within a split second of contact.
He froze in place as the bolt struck the other woman. He could not process what had just happened. He only watched as she took the blast head on and was launched backwards, landing on her back, spread-eagled and lifeless. While the battle was all around him, with Pokemon perhaps even rising up to challenge Arcana's King, his gaze never left the sight that would be embedded into him for all time to come.
His mind rushed through memories from what felt like an eternity ago. Living in the same house as her. Growing up alongside her. Playing and learning and battling. Seeing her in the stands and rooting for him in every Gym Battle. How they had become even closer after he returned from his exile. How he had taken her under his wing to become the new Champion when he was set to go. The person he trusted his life with. The sister he had chosen. One of the few people in his world he would absolutely lose his mind if they were gone. Now, all those memories intensified as she lie motionless on the ground.
"CAMERON!" he screamed. Rhaegar spied the situation immediately and soared down to inspect the situation. While a few curious Houndooms were scared off by Rhaegar, Michael scrambled off his Pokemon's back and rushed to Cameron's side. Cynthia was frozen by his side and could do little as he flung himself down to where she had fallen. His cousin was pale, several random jolts of electricity still circulating around her.
"CAMERON! WAKE UP! CAMERON!" He was desperate to do anything to get her to move.
"CAMERON!" Cynthia echoed at his side, slapping her face to get a response, but nothing came of their actions.
The scene was soon drawing attention. Michael recognized his mother and Dawn coming over to check on the situation. Erin Kingston tensed up at the sight of Cameron and was on the girl's other side. When Dawn desperately tried to stop a wound of Cynthia's from bleeding out, Arcana's former Contest Queen was shrieking her niece's name. "Cameron! Cameron, honey! Please!"
Michael's senses dimmed. His heart tingled. He could feel himself bottoming out. His heart shutting down as if to violently reboot into the monster everyone feared he could be in a Fury induced rage. He couldn't taste anything in the air. His sight dimmed to just his cousin's body. He could not smell the smoke of the nearby flames or the scents of blood and death he could have just a moment ago. He could feel nothing but the pain growing inside of him and the limp hand of one of the most important people in his world in his own. The taste of copper that had been in his mouth since the battle began was gone, all senses dulling to the point where all that mattered was what lay right in front of him. Or, more appropriately, who lay right in front of him.
His hearing went in and out. But the only thing he could hear clearly for one second was an infuriated scream from Sinnoh's wounded Champion, who broke free from Dawn's caring to let out her anger at whoever had done it. He had only ever heard Cynthia cry this badly one other time, when he and she parted ways after his failure to find a remedy for the Fury forced him to leave her behind in Sinnoh. It stung further now that he realized how hurt one of his dearest friends was devastated by this.
"YOU SICK FREAK!" she cried. "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?!"
"You're honestly telling me she didn't deserve it?!" a familiar voice asked almost mockingly.
At those words coming from this source, Michael's senses became dialed up to extraordinary levels. His heart's beating became rapid. His vision became nothing but crimson red. The short and quiet breaths he was taking made it clear to everyone that Michael was going to be lost to the Crimson Fury, perhaps for the last time in his life. Rhaegar responded in kind, howling as if he himself were having a heart attack. His mother frantically looked from her niece, to Rhaegar, to her son.
"Michael..." she spoke softly.
"Get them out of here!" Michael ordered. "Get them both to Jenna!"
"What about you?"
"I've got a score to settle" Michael snarled, glancing back at the lavender haired witch who had haunted his dreams for long enough.
Erin Kingston, not wanting to debate at the moment, looked to Dawn. "We need to get them to the Medical Tents!" Despite protests from Sinnoh's Champion, Dawn led Cynthia back towards the camp to be healed, with Michael spying Cynthia making horrified and desperate looks back towards Cameron. His mother quickly called out her Bewear, who scooped the form of Cameron into her arms and trotted along after Dawn and Cynthia. Erin made one look back towards her only son, as if knowing this could be the last time she ever saw him. "I love you, Michael. Never forget that." She then raced after the injured.
Michael grabbed at his arm. As he had when Cassius had forced him to do so on Mt. Heatmor. As he had whenever pushed to his ultimate limits. To the gift that Arceus had given him. Not taking any measures of caution, he put his entire hand on it and felt a stabbing feeling inside of his heart. Rhaegar felt the same pain, falling onto his side and howling. But the two, Trainer and Pokemon, who had been through it all together, knew that this nightmare had to end. The Dragonite looked at him with loving eyes and nodded.
"No...mercy..." Michael whispered as tears fell from his eyes as if he were leaking them. The Dragonite nodded and got onto all fours, roaring with malicious intent. The King of Arcana nodded. If this was the last moments they had on this planet, he would make sure this nightmare ended, once and for all. He rose to his feet and stared Courtney down. Slowly and meticulously, he walked over to her.
Courtney rose to see him, walking over to him with a bit more effort. "It's time, Sora. It's time for the lovers to be reunited. As they were a hundred years ago. We will be together." When the two were in range of making contact, Courtney leaped at him. Her arms wrapped around his neck as she expected to be held. She had deluded herself into thinking that nothing would separate them. Nothing would prevent their destined union. Not even the vicious and cold-blooded assault on one of the most important people in his life. It was time to show her how dead wrong she was.
"You..." It was all Michael could say as his hands moved from her slim waist to her arms and then to her neck.
"It's time, my love" Courtney giggled. "Sora and Celina. Together at last."
She moved her head and prepared for the kiss that would complete her twisted machinations. He made to move as if he would kiss her, but he paused. Courtney could not react fast enough as his hands fell around her throat. And he squeezed. Her protests, her choking, her grunts of pain. Nothing was going to stop him. Not even the Magmortar, who prepared an attack to protect his Master, only to be assaulted by a Fury induced Dragonite with no reason to hold back. While Rhaegar obliterated Courtney's trusted Magmortar, Michael dragged his 'lover' up one of the many Crag Hills. Beyond the hill was an abyss of fire, ash and bodies.
"You..."
"Stop!" she coughed. "Sora! Ple-ergh! Please!"
He did not stop. He kept climbing the hill until reaching it's peak. The inferno just a dozen or so feet in front of them blazed with the ceaseless fury of a wildfire. It was an appropriate hell for her to endure the last moments of her life in. Upon stopping at the hill's peak, Courtney made one desperate attempt to grab his hand and remind her of what she had meant to him when she was his Prophetess. Perhaps she could break the barrier of hate inside of him. Perhaps her dream of stealing him from Julia could succeed...
But Michael instead lifted Courtney's surprisingly lank and lightweight body over his head.
"PLEASE!" Courtney pleaded.
"You...you will never be my love!" Michael growled. "Sora and Celina are dead! AND IT'S TIME YOU JOINED THEM!" With one final movement, Michael threw Courtney towards the flames. Team Magma's former Admin screamed in horror as she landed hard on the ground and tumbled into the flames and vanished from his sight.
"SOOOOOOOOOOOORAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
Without another second wasted, Michael crumpled to the ground. His breathing was weak and he could not muster the strength to breathe more than he already was. He could feel nothing where his heart was supposed to be, but a few random sharp jolts. He clutched at his heart and fell onto his back. If this was his dying moment, he could die in peace. Courtney would never terrorize Julia or their children ever again. His realm would be safe of her treachery. And Chris was more than ready to don the mantle of Leader of the Family until his son would be named King, if Arcana even chose to keep it.
He thought of his wife and children. Though he wished to see them once more, he knew it was likely not in the cards. Julia...I love you. My little angels. I love you so much. More than you'll ever know. Goodbye.
A rough amount of pain forced him to open his eyes. He was being lifted up. His eyes flashed a glance and found the burly build of his father picking his body up on his shoulder and carrying him away from the field and towards the medical tents. His father looked backwards and said nothing. Big Mike simply carried his son as best as he could until they were set upon by a pack of Mightyenas and their Syndicate Trainers. Big Mike's Machamp came into the scene and throttled most of them, but one knocked the two of them to the ground.
Michael rolled a few feet away, in time for Rhaegar to rush into the fray and scare off the Pokemon attacking his trainer. He tried to call for Rhaegar, but his voice was too weak. The Mightyenas had proceeded to tackle his father and were clawing, biting and mauling him. Rhaegar finally saw this and proceeded to drive them all off of the bulky construction worker. The Machamp and Dragonite did their best against the endless wave of Mightyenas, but stopped at the chirping sound of a Clefable. They gave way as a Moonblast launched the entire group of Dark Pokemon back, scattering them for good.
Rhaegar barked orders at the Machamp, who rushed off to continue the battling while he rushed over to inspect the injured trainers. He helped Michael to see what they had done. His father was viciously attacked, bleeding out of almost every part of his body. He tried to call for his father, but fell over in immense pain. To his surprise, someone was lying next to him. He glanced down at his fellow wounded friend's body and saw a vicious scar with signs of bad poisoning. His eyes led him up to her face. His heart was crushed when he saw it was Olivia.
"Liv?"
She shushed him as she did everything she could not to clutch at the searing wound on her side. "I want...ergh...I want to spend my last...ergh...moments...with you."
"You need...you need an anti-"
She shook her head. "No. I'm not afraid...ergh...to die."
Michael winced and felt his breathing growing lighter. "I am..."
"You're tougher than that" she grimaced. "You'll make it. Me? No..." He could tell she was crying, but she did everything she could not to show it. "Please. Just promise me. Just promise...ergh...promise me you'll love him. That you'll t-urgh! Take care of him. Please, Michael. Please!"
Though he expected this would be his last moment, he nodded. "He'll be loved. I can assure you of that." He made one last desperate look to his father and laid down, his head making a brief thud on the ground beside a cousin who loved him, having avenged another cousin who adored him and himself saved by the man who truly had proven to be a father worth having. He held out his hand to Olivia. "That's my promise." He felt his eyes fluttering and his life force fading. The last thing he felt was Olivia take his hand. And the last thing he heard before blacking out was:
"Michael...I'm p-"
{}
Courtney lied on her back as the flames circled where she had fallen, her eyes looking into the deep violet skies above her. The flames had somehow avoided burning her as if they were trying to tell her something. The ground had not crushed her, nor had Michael Kingston's hands around her throat killed her. Nothing on this battlefield had killed her. Nothing physically, at least. She was alive. She was breathing. She was even calculating what had unfolded for her, her brain moving a rates faster than ever before.
But emotionally, she was dead.
She had been wrong.
She swore to herself she was right and she had been wrong.
Michael Kingston was no more Sora than she was Celina. The world she had envisioned for them, the love they had shared, the child they could have raised, all of it was a lie. A dream of a life lived a century ago that she had deluded herself into thinking was meant to be. Just because souls might travel long distances or even reincarnate, does not mean that they remain mates forever. This was a harsh lesson, one she wished she had learned long ago. She might have served as a better lieutenant to The Grand Master had she not been so blind.
Now? She had nothing.
The Black Knight was going to supplant her as Mewtwo's second in command, assuming either of them even made it past the Kingstons. Her telepathy had failed her, showing her images of a life she was never meant to have. Her charms and looks had failed her in seducing the King of Arcana. Her calculations had failed. She knew, at this very moment, that little runt Avery Frost was using Cresselia to waken all of the trainers put to rest by the Dark Void. The Battle of Arcana was over. And she had absolutely nothing to show for it.
Even the victory of potentially eliminating Cameron Kingston did nothing. It only invigorated her own failure.
A heart is just pain...
She placed her finger on the Mark of the Singularity on her head and closed her eyes. There was one thing she had left. And it was the last thing she had to lose to get out of this wretched, miserable existence. In a flash of lightning, she vanished to report to The Master.
{}
With Michael's descent into the Crimson Fury, it suddenly fell upon Matthew, Mark and Lizzie to guard the skies over the battlefield. A predicament that he was truly not in the slightest happy with. The skies were swarming with Golbats, Mandibuzz and Honchkrows all intent on skewering the few fliers they had left in Arcana. The trio did their best to hold their own, with Matthew's Noivern blasting Pokemon out of the skies left and right and with Lizzie on the back of her Salamence rushing through everything she could. Mark was slowing down, his and his Pokemon's age beginning to show and he would constantly have to be bailed out by either Lizzie or Matthew. Fed up with being of little use, Mark used the Key Stone on his wrist to Mega Evolve his Charizard and sent his new Dragon Pokemon into battle. With several Dragon Claws and Flare Blitz attacks, he had managed to wipe out an entire flock of Mandibuzz.
"Whew. I forgot just how draining this was" Mark admitted to the others as they regrouped.
"We got used to fighting Claude's thugs" Lizzie theorized. "And you missed out on our fight with Hunter."
"I think we might be better off taking this fight to the ground" Matthew answered honestly as his Noivern spat a Hyper Beam at a Honchkrow, knocking it out of the skies. "We need to figure out why Michael went down."
"He's trying to take care of the ground forces" Mark replied. "We need to hold up here."
"Well, we did a number on the Flying Pokemon they were sending to us" Lizzie said hopefully. "I'll hold the fort down for a bit while you two go down to ground level and reinforce them."
"But Liz-"
"She's right" Matthew insisted. "We don't know how many more Clones or minions Mewtwo has." He veered his Noivern out of the skies and lower towards the ground. Only then did he realize how dire their situation was.
The entire battlefield was chaos. Cloned Pokemon were overrunning the entire area. Anywhere Clones weren't there was usually injured bodies or enormous walls of fire. Several key contributors to the battle were nowhere to be found. Billy, Jon, Byron, Michael, Cynthia, Addison and Cameron could not be seen from where he was, though he suspected the smoke had something to do with that. He could see only one faint area where they held the line. On one end, Chris and Jack Duon were killing it, blasting Pokemon backwards left and right. At the other end, Garret Fiveroux and James Junior were desperately trying to hold off an impending swarm of Pokemon. While Mark flew off to aid Jack and Chris, Matthew flew down to assist his uncle and Garret.
It was worse than he could have imagined. Junior took a Hyper Beam to the chest from a Reuniclus, with his Stoutland quickly dragging him off the battlefield, leaving him and Garret alone to fend off the horde of Clones Pokemon. Garret's Hitmonchan defiantly stood bouncing in front of his trainer, as if ready to go more rounds to defend him. Matthew landed right by his side, his Noivern vanishing into a Poke Ball and being replaced by his Marowak.
"Good to see some of us have our fighting spirit left" Garret replied, half-jokingly and half-nervously.
"It will take a lot more to take us down than losing some help" Matthew asserted. His Marowak shuffled in front of him, brandishing his Thick Club. "Let's take these creeps down!" His Marowak used a Bonemerang to take out the Reuniclus that had brutally harmed his Uncle, while the Hitmonchan sent a few Galarian Linoones packing. With one well timed Ice Punch, the Hitmonchan even knocked out a Rhyperior. But this war of attrition was starting to slow everyone down. Garret was forced onto his knee after nearly being hit by a Psybeam from a Gothitelle. He pushed himself back up, but Matthew could tell he was weary.
"Have you seen the King?" Garret asked. "Lord Kingston said he might have fallen in battle."
"It will take more than this to take him out" Matthew proclaimed as his Marowak dodged an Ice Punch from a Weavile before smashing his head in with a Thrash attack. "It's us that I'm starting to become worried about."
"Well, if this is the end, then let's make it one worth remembering" the last Fiveroux proclaimed. Garret sent out his Hitmonlee to fight alongside his Hitmonchan. The two Pokemon then chased after a few Watchogs and Liepards, smacking them down with a few well timed Sky Uppercuts and Jump Kicks. Matthew's Marowak slammed his Thick Club into the ground to cause an Earthquake. It leveled much of the battlefield around them, taking out a few Muks and Skuntanks that were lurking, but this was not going to be a winnable match either. There was just no way they could keep this up.
He glanced over towards Chris and Jack's group. After a successful charge, they were being pressed hard by a horde of Clones attacking them, including a Tyranitar, a Dragonite and a Gyarados. If they were to fall there, even with Mark's help, then the battle would be lost. He looked to his Marowak, who simply gave him a look of complete confidence in himself and sent him out for more. The Marowak proceeded to smash his Club into any Pokemon that came his way, even managing to land on an ordinarily flying Swoobat and clubbing it repeatedly. Garret was absolutely right. If this was the end, they would make it one worth remembering. He reached onto his belt and plucked off the Poke Ball containing his Primeape. The Fighting Type came out screeching for a fight and rushed forward with a series of Cross Chops and Low Sweeps while protecting the Marowak.
But his Pokemon making a distance from him made Matthew an easy target. Before he could react, a Mightyena pounced on him and forced him to the ground, baring his fangs angrily at him. He made to bite Matthew's throat, but a Low Sweep from his Primeape saved him. The Mightyena fell backwards, only to be grabbed by Garret's Hitmonlee and tossed into the air, with the Hitmonchan finishing the job with a Sky Uppercut. As the Dark Pokemon flew out of sight, the fledgling group knew they could do little but quiver when a bolt of lightning struck down a bit behind the incoming hordes.
"You've got to be kidding me" Matthew cried as Garret helped him to his feet. "More of them?"
"Well, we said we were going to make this memorable" Garret chuckled. "Let's do this!"
Matthew whistled for his Pokemon to come in front of him. Both leaped over to his side in a matter of seconds. He patted the two of them to brace them for what was coming. "Look guys. I know things don't look good. But I just want to say...thank you for sticking it out with me." His Marowak held out his club in solidarity, allowing him to shake it firmly. His Primeape screeched proudly before spinning around to await the oncoming assault. But it didn't come. The lightning portal only spat out one lone figure. He expected it to be the Black Knight or Courtney at first. But neither of them had a cape as flamboyant as this one. He had to squint as low as he could to even see if he was seeing what he thought he was. It didn't seem possible. But that silhouette was everywhere in the Johto Region. He and Jocelyn had seen it everyday, including the day he had finally met him after an encounter with Team Rocket.
"Lance?" he remarked in awe.
The figure raised his arms. Two more figures appeared on his side. The one on his right was in a bright white and pink gown with thick purple hair adorning her head. The one on his left was in a fine fitting suit and appeared to have steel-colored hair. Another two appeared by their sides. To the suited man's side appeared a face Matthew himself had never met personally, but had heard plenty of stories of to make him nervous. Giselle Odelia now stood beside these newcomers, eager to fight. To the gowned woman's side came another man in a blue jumpsuit with similar colored hair to the suited man.
Garret walked to his side and cocked his head. "What the devil?"
The quintet took a step forward in unison, revealing an entire line of trainers behind them. And one behind them. And another behind them. And in a sound of complete bliss to the tired trainers like him and Garret, almost a hundred Poke Balls opened, unveiling Pokemon of all shapes and sizes. A Dragonite, a Druddigon, a Haxorus, a Metagross and a pair of Eeveelutions in Espeon and Umbreon. Followed by a Wailord, a Tyranitar, a Heracross, a Skarmory, and hundreds of other Pokemon he could not have imagined he'd see in his lifetime.
The Cloned Pokemon turned their attention to the newcomers and snarled. Matthew was elated. Reinforcements. Somehow, they were going to win this. He sent his Pokemon forward to attack the distracted Clones, his Marowak throttling them easily and his Primeape leaping with such grace that it made him smile for the first time since the battle had begun.
In one massive movement, the entire mass of incoming trainers fell on the horde of Clones and Syndicate Troops. In what could only be described as sheer carnage, the fresh trainers obliterated their opponents. Lance on the back of his Dragonite rivaled even Michael atop Rhaegar as he torpedoed Cloned Pokemon with Dragon Pulses. Iris of Unova sent her own horde of Dragon Pokemon to overwhelm a panicking group of Syndicate Peons. Steven Stone's Metagross rampaged all over the battlefield, crushing some clones so badly that they evaporated into goop almost immediately. An entire swarm of Golbats was paused in air and sent scattering throughout the air by just a single Psychic from the Espeon. And Giselle's Haxorus continued it's own personal path of destruction, leveling a clone of itself in the process.
It was with Giselle and Steven Stone's actions that Matthew realized their path to victory. "We have to hit them as hard as possible. Their makeup is unstable."
"So if we hit them with enough raw power" Garret theorized, it could level them all out. He grinned at this. "Worth a try, at least."
Lance's Dragonite rained Thunder across the skies on the remaining Pokemon there, prompting Lizzie West to retreat to lower levels. Garret and Matthew implemented their plan while Chris and Jack, reinvigorated by the new arrivals, pushed back their own clone opponents, with Chris's Blazekin using a single Blaze Kick to blast the Tyranitar to a pile of goo. Matthew's Marowak used another Earthquake while Garret's Hitmonlee used High Jump Kicks to try and make the Pokemon implode on themselves. They succeeded, but the process was too slow for them to keep it up and maintain quality stamina with their own Pokemon.
"We need more" Garret grumbled. "Damn, it was so close too."
"What we need is a Pokemon with almost limitless power" Matthew answered. "But where are we going to-"
"Would you mind if I borrowed your Marowak?" a voice called from nearby. Without his consent and catching him completely off guard, a Tyranitar picked up his Marowak and looked back towards a girl who commanded him. She had red hair, a pair of sleek glasses on her face and gave Matthew a cheeky yet equally fiery smile. Matthew felt himself stunned and stunted. For the first time in his life, he felt weak-kneed in front of someone not named Addison.
The new girl glanced back and him and smiled brightly. "Thank you! Tyranitar! Marowak! How about a Double Earthquake?!"
"Who is-" Matthew began.
"Annette?" Garret cried out in utter shock.
Neither got an answer, as the Marowak, his club in hand, and the Tyranitar combined their strengths into one absolutely colossal, land shattering Earthquake. Thinking quickly, Matthew leaped onto the back of his Noivern as the earth exploded all around them. He grabbed Garret as enormous geysers of molten liquid exploded from the land beneath them. Just to the West of their position, Mt. Heatmor erupted, spitting an ocean of lava down on the Cloned Pokemon and the forests nearby. The clones became goop immediately following the blast, while the remnants melted upon making contact with the molten liquid crawling up behind them. Before the lava could cause anymore destruction, Matthew saw a Wailord unleash a tremendous Water Spout on it. The massive rush of water cooled the Lava almost immediately, turning it into molten land forms. The steam the collisions caused created an almost invisible atmosphere to the battle. Nothing was visible on ground form, save for the craggy cliff that Annette Fiveroux had made for herself upon using the almost god-like attack. The mist combated with the flames that erupted from the battlefield, but the devastation would still be strong.
But none of that mattered to him immediately. All that mattered to him was...Annette Fiveroux?!
The duo landed where she stood as this vivacious red-head's Tyranitar lowered his Marowak to the ground. She smiled at both her brother and Matthew Kingston. winking at the latter as she restored his Pokemon to him. "Thanks again." She then rushed off into the steam covered battlefield.
"ANNETTE!" Garret cried out. "Is that all I get? I'm only her brother who's been worried sick about her for months."
Matthew could not say a word. Whether it was from how content he was to know that they had come out on top or from the most fiery and vivacious girl he had personally ever laid eyes on, he simply stared slack-jawed as Annette vanished from his sight. The pedestal that once held only the girl with the chestnut-colored hair and haunting violet eyes was now being filled with an image of his red-haired muse, with those tantalizing and deep blue eyes and the welcoming smile that made color flush to his cheeks more rapidly than it ever had in his lifetime before this moment. He touched his hand to his cheeks and let out a doofy grin.
"You okay, kid?"
Matthew's eyes drooped and his face wore a smile he was sure Garret would eventually punch if his plans for the future were to come to fruition. He could only find the words to respond after recalling his Pokemon. "Okay? No, man. I think I'm in love."
"That's my sister you're talking about" he warned.
"My cousin's the King, I'm sure we could work it out" Matthew replied cheekily before rushing off to catch up with her. To his disappointment, he did not immediately find her, but instead a dozen or so Arcana Police Force cadets still trying to process what was going on. After another moment of searching, he came across someone else. Sure enough, it was the man who had led the successful charge that obliterated Mewtwo's forces. Upon locking eyes with Matthew, Lance simply wore a wry smile on his face.
"Well, well. Look who made it back to Arcana, after all?" Johto's Champion remarked.
"Lance" Matthew replied.
"Guess you couldn't take the Dragon Elder's rejection, could you?"
He frowned at that. "That feels like a lifetime ago."
"In many ways, it was. You certainly don't look as much like that boy I saved from Entei's wrath a few years or so ago." He stared at Matthew as if speaking to an equal. "No. I see someone far more interesting. I see the formation of the man you will become right before me. But there's still work to be done. And I have some things I need to discuss with this new King of yours while I'm here." He grinned and walked off on his own into the mist. "We'll meet again, I expect."
Matthew continued on in his search of Annette, finally catching up to her as she was warmly embracing her friends. Addison and Holly were choking up at the sight of their old friend, with Addison currently hugging her as Holly looked into the distance, her hands over her mouth in stunned shock.
"Holly?" a voice called out to her. "Holly?! Where are you?"
"Jeremy?" she squeaked. "It can't be."
Matthew watched as from out of the mist, Jeremy Lockhart sauntered out towards his friends. The long since separated couple rushed at each other, with Jeremy taking Holly into his arms and spinning her around before lowering her and taking her into an embrace. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of lovers reunited. Holly buried her head into Jeremy's arms as he himself stroked her back tenderly.
"This is real" Jeremy told himself. "This truly is real."
"I don't care if it is or not" she wept. "This is the only thing I need right now. You're here with me!"
Matthew slowly made his way down to their group as Annette and Addison came apart. Jeremy eyed Matthew coming first and paused curiously. "Matthew Kingston?"
Annette spun around and took a step back. "The bad brother?"
"So I am the bad brother" Matthew smirked.
"Well, back when these two were here, you were" Holly interjected. She then quickly eyed Jeremy. "But he's one of us, now. He's done so much for us since coming back. We wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for him. Heck, some of us might have been stuck on the island with you guys when you were caught if it weren't for him." She looked to Matthew and nodded. "He's not the boy we grew up with. He's becoming a better person."
Jeremy nodded. "Alright. I can accept that."
Annette, though still weary, followed Jeremy's movements and gave him a polite nod. "Then I guess we're on the same side."
Matthew shrugged. "I mean, unless you want me to go and become a puppet of Mewtwo or something..."
Addison punched his arm. "No. We don't need that."
The redhead who had unknowingly captured his heart made her way over to him and held out her hand to affirm at least the beginnings of an amicable friendship. "Then it's time we were formally introduced. I'm Annette. You helped my brother."
"Your brother helped me, is more like it" Matthew answered, taking her hand and shaking it. "Not for nothing, but I-"
Annette gasped and quickly slipped her hand out of his. "Oh my gosh! Garret!" Without warning, she rushed off into the mist to reunite properly with her brother.
Matthew sighed. "Well. The chase begins again."
"The chase?" Jeremy asked, an eyebrow rising at this.
"It's a long story, but I-" He paused when Addison rushed at him and threw her arms around him. For the first time in one of their embraces, Matthew was not even slightly tempted to kiss her. All of his thoughts romantically hinged on the new girl he had just met. He simply hugged his best friend back as she clearly needed him. "Thanks, Addy. But what's all this for?"
She smiled up at him, tears falling from her eyes. "I want to thank you. For being there for me. For saying the right things. And for just...just being here for me."
"You repeated yourself" he joked.
She squeezed him tightly. "I know I'll never be able to truly explain it, Matt, but let's just say I realize just how much faith you've always had in me. And even though I can't have Ryan here with me now, I'm glad you're with me now."
Jeremy let go of Holly and walked over to Addison. "Addy. You should know something. About Ryan. Avery said-"
"I know, Jeremy" she replied sadly. "I know it was him."
"I'm so lost right now" Holly admitted.
"The Black Knight was Ryan" Jeremy explained to her.
"WHAT?!" Holly cried out. "That's impossible!"
Matthew was stunned. His own brother was The Black Knight? He was eager to challenge this assertion, but the look on Addy's face made him realize there was far more truth to this than he would likely ever know. He simply stood his ground as Addison came up with the proper words.
"Nothing's impossible" Addison answered as she let go of Matthew. "Ryan's him, alright. And I managed to get through to him. Even if it was just for a minute, Ryan is still in there. Mewtwo hasn't broken him completely." She looked at all of her friends with loving eyes. "And we're going to get him back." She looked around at the mist as it was beginning to let up from the Water Spout utterly obliterating the eruption from Mt. Heatmor. "But I have a feeling we need to keep our focus here, first." She closed her eyes and moaned. "So many people here...families broken, friendships destroyed. Before we think about mending what we've lost, we need to make sure everyone in Arcana is taken care of first."
Holly nodded. "I need to check on Tommy. To make sure he's okay."
Jeremy took her arm. "I should go too. He was my responsibility on Mirage Island, after all."
"And we need to get you to see your family" his girlfriend insisted, leading him away and leaving Matt and Addison alone.
Matthew stayed by his friend's side. "You gonna be okay?"
She shook her head. "No. Because I can see just how many lives are about to be torn apart." She took his hand in hers. "Can you come with me?"
"My promise to fight for you doesn't stop until Mewtwo is gone" Matthew assured her. "Come on. Let's go."
"Thank you."