Through Their Eyes

by Capt.Hikimari

In the mountains of Kalos, a Meditite embarks on a journey that will take her far from her home. Joined by a slowly growing group of fellow Pokemon, she must navigate through a world full of possibility, but also one of cruelty and danger. Mostly game canon, though Anime themes come in from time to time.

31. The Battle Of Geosenge: Third Act

Hellhound knew that he should not be enjoying this so much. He knew his mistress had ordered these Pokemon to be defeated. He knew his mistress's orders were law. He hadn't even protested when his mistress had revealed her intention to join Team Flare.

If it were up to him, he would not have bothered. Why join the less powerful side? What was the point in fighting that kind of losing battle?

But regardless of Hellhound's personal opinions, his mistress had disagreed. And so here he was, fighting a Medicham and a Drapion in a basement room, two Pokemon that he'd initially expected to be easy to finish. For Pokemon belonging to a Trainer who hadn't even received all of his badges yet, they'd fought quite hard, surprisingly so. He could still feel an ache at his side where the Medicham had landed a Feint-augmented Force Palm.

So he'd dragged it out a little. After all, what was the harm in having a little fun during an easily winnable fight? But, ultimately, the outcome had been exactly as expected; them cowering before his dark flames, burning to crisps before his might.

Except they hadn't burned to crisps. Instead, he'd apparently triggered both of their Abilities, which meant he had a much tougher fight on his hands than before, a fight that he knew would not be nearly as easy as it was supposed to be. He knew he could have preempted this simply by going all out from the start. He knew not doing that had been a massive mistake.

And yet…the idea of a tougher fight brought joy to Hellhound's mind. He could not suppress the glee in his voice as he let out a roar of "Demon Burst!" A surge of Dark and Fire energy lanced out in all directions.

"Block!" the Drapion growled, raising a Protect before the flames. The Medicham leaped over it with what was clearly a Detect, letting out a cry of "Aura Dodge!"

"Flash Fire: Hellfire Whip!" Hellhound roared. The dark flames of the Demon Burst halted in midair before they could even strike the Drapion. Hellhound detached them, forming a single long line of flames, and then twisted it around himself and sent it flying at the oncoming Medicham.

"Pure Power: Fighting Strike!" Medicham cried, leaping at the whip, driving a fist forwards as she did so, a blast of Aura coming with it. The Aura collided with the Hellfire Whip, blasting it into oblivion. Medicham landed on the ground and continued to run, hurling herself at Houndoom once more.

Pure Power appears to be a purely offensive Ability, Hellhound thought. It seems to give this Medicham a wellspring of Aura she can pull from, augmenting the strength and range of her attacks. I wonder how far she can push it? The limits of that Ability might only be constrained by the amount of Aura in that wellspring; with experience she could channel vast amounts of Aura. A limited but extremely powerful Ability, to be sure.

Medicham was almost on him, drawing her fist back as she rushed forwards.

"Nightmare Breath!" The swift Shadow Ball formed and flew from Hellhound's jaws in the same instant. He knew that Aura could not affect it. It was easily his most potent weapon against this Medicham.

"No Escape!"

But Shadow Ball was quite vulnerable to Dark-type moves. Hellhound watched as a flurry of four Pursuit rays lanced out from the Drapion's own jaws. Only four: clearly Drapion was still a comparative novice with regards to that move. But it was enough to dissipate the swift, half-formed Shadow Ball. Medicham leaped through the resulting explosion of dissipating energy, one leg outstretched in a strong-looking High Jump Kick augmented by the familiar blue light of Aura. "Pure Power: Fighting Finisher!" Medicham cried.

"Demon Jaws!" Houndoom growled, once again covering his teeth with Dark and Fire energy. It was somewhat painful to block like this, but the energy had served to cushion the blow and injure the Medicham in the bargain the last few times this clash had taken place.

But this time, even though he knew the energy was cushioning the attack, agony exploded across his face as the sheer force of the strike knocked him off his feet. He flipped over in midair and landed back on his feet, his jaw aching.

Now the Drapion was charging him. "Demon Blast!" Hellhound snarled, launching a blast of dark flames that had downed many an unlucky Pokemon in his time.

"Battle Armor!" Drapion snarled, lifting an arm before him even as chitin thickened it drastically. The arm held against the Demon Blast as if it were a baby Houndour's Ember.

Whereas Battle Armor is definitely a defensive Ability, Hellhound thought. It appears to give Drapion a reserve of chitinous armor that he can extend and retract across his body as needed. It is a powerful defensive tool to be able to withstand even my black flames. It's also capable of being used offensively, it seems, to strengthen strikes via the sheer bulk of his armor.

"Slam!" Drapion roared, raising his arm high as if to corroborate Hellhound's latest thought.

"Flash Fire: Hellfire Barrier!" Hellhound countered, raising his own Protect to block the follow-up swing from Drapion's arm. "Rend!" Drapion roared, undaunted.

"Flash Fire: Hellfire Strike!" This time, the flames drew back, gathered together, and then lashed out in a brutal strike straight at the charging Drapion. "Battle Armor!" Drapion cried, the chitin extending over his face this time. The spear-like burst of flames slammed into the chitin, shoving Drapion backward a few feet. But now Medicham came on again. "Pure Power: Aura Blast!" she cried, tapping into her wellspring once more to hurl a streak of Aura at Hellhound.

"Demon Blast!" Hellhound tossed a quick burst of black flames at the Aura Blast, deflecting and dissipating it. "Demon Storm!" he roared, firing off two dozen miniature fireballs at Medicham.

"Battle Armor!"

Drapion hurled himself in front of Medicham, extending his armor to deflect the Demon Storm. He winced under the miniature explosions as the fireballs blasted his defenses, sending him stumbling very slightly but noticeably.

They form an effective team. Drapion's defensive Ability forms a perfect synergy with Medicham's offensive one. But Battle Armor is not invincible: he only has a limited reserve, and it is possible to overwhelm him with many small attacks or one extremely large one. And Pure Power also is limited by the user's command of Aura; it can stand against my black flames, but my black flames can also stand against it.

Medicham leaped over the top of Drapion, yelling a battle cry as the blue aura of power rippled across her body. "Demon Breath!" Hellhound snarled, sending a torrent of dark flames at Medicham.

"Pure Power: Fighting Strike!" Medicham countered, hurling an Aura-enhanced fist forwards to meet the blast of flames.

"Flash Fire: Hellfire Explosion."

Hellhound concentrated his willpower on the flames just as they reached Medicham's fist and willed them to erupt in a massive explosion right in Medicham's face. The force of the blast sent Medicham flying backwards, soaring past Drapion and landing hard on the floor several yards away.

The key is to separate them. Drapion is strong and defensive but slow. Medicham is fast and offensive but vulnerable. Each has vulnerabilities I can take advantage of. Together they will be much harder to take down than alone.

"Pierce!" Drapion let fly with a barrage of spikes from his claws even as he charged again. "Flash Fire: Incinerate," Hellhound growled, sending out a gout of flames that incinerated the spikes. "Nightmare Flame."

The gout of flame shrank into a small dot and then leaped at Drapion, augmented by a small burst of Ghost energy from Hellhound's maw. Drapion raised up a Battle Armor-augmented arm to swat it away. As they touched, the flame exploded, sending out a wave of Fire and Ghost energy across Drapion's entire body. Drapion staggered, snarling in surprise. "What in the-"

"Demon Storm."

As Hellhound rained down another burst of miniature dark fireballs, he eyed Drapion's body as it seemed to flare with ghostly energy. Nightmare Flame (or as Trainers called it, Will-O-Wisp) was a tricky move, essentially a Fire-type version of Curse that traded sheer effectiveness for a debilitating impact on the recipient's strength via sapping their energy. It was deviously complicated, and even with Shadow Ball and his mastery of Fire, it had taken Hellhound a good few months to master the move.

For those Pokemon who relied more on Energy-based attacks than pure strength, it was less effective, but both Medicham and Drapion heavily utilized strength-based attacks. Weakened by Nightmare Flame, they would be easy to finish.

All this ran through Hellhound's head even as Drapion bulldozed through the Demon Storm with a combination of Protect and Battle Armor. "Rip!" he snarled, extending his claws as they flashed with Dark energy.

"Demon Jaws!"

Drapion's claws met Hellhound's teeth, and this time the clash of energy sent Drapion, weakened by the Nightmare Flame, staggering backwards. Swiftly, Hellhound jerked back - "Demon Blast!" - and slammed a burst of Dark and Fire energy straight into Drapion's unguarded face. Drapion fell backwards and landed on his back, rolling across the ground until he finally came to rest against a wall.

Hellhound turned to face Medicham as she struggled to her feet once more. He could see, though, that she was tiring; the blue aura around her flickered momentarily before blazing bright again, and she was noticeably panting as she glared at Hellhound. She'd taken quite a few strong hits throughout this battle. One more should finish her off.

"Nightmare Flame."

"Aura Avoidance!" Medicham closed her eyes and allowed her Aura to jerk her away from the ghostly flame that Hellhound shot at her. "Pure Power: Aura Blast Barrage!"

The blue aura around Medicham noticeably dimmed as she shoved her hands forward open-palmed, collecting a massive sphere of Aura in their center. The sphere glowed, flashing with light as half a dozen smaller spheres flew from it at Hellhound. Hellhound bared his teeth. "Flash Fire: Hellfire Blade!" A roiling blast of Fire energy leaped from Hellhound's jaws, manifesting into an arced bladelike construct that Hellhound hurled forth to meet the surge of Aura blasts.

Another explosion of energy separated Hellhound from Medicham and Drapion. Hellhound's eyes glittered as he surveyed the smoke from the explosion, watching for either of them to emerge.

"No Escape!"

Even as the Medicham leaped out of the smoke, four Pursuit rays leaped from a different part of the smoke. "Flash Fire-" Hellhound began, but the rays moved too fast. Four sharp stinging pinpricks of pain ripped into his side even as he manifested a Hellfire Barrier, cutting them off a second too late.

"Pure Power: Aura Blast!"

There was no mitigation, no energy to be summoned; Hellhound flew, thrown off his feet by the Aura Blast. He felt his right side explode with pain a second before his left side slammed into a wall and do the same.

Hellhound dropped, landing on the ground with only the slightest of stumbles. He looked up, glaring at his two foes once more.

This was no time to play things stupid. He should have stepped back, should have been more prepared for the seeking ranged attack that he'd known Drapion had.

No more games. This ends now.

Hellhound crouched and lunged back into the fray, letting out an echoing roar of fury as he challenged his two adversaries yet again.

---

"Solar Power! Emperor's Command: Electrocute!"

"Infiltrator."

Thanatos clearly knew he had to evade Heliolisk's brutal attacks, even at the risk of leaving himself vulnerable to Phantump's less brutal ones. Heliolisk took satisfaction in that even as fury filled him at missing again.

"Shadow Ball!"

Thanatos had reappeared, popping into existence right behind Heliolisk and Phantump. Even as Phantump swiveled and fired a Shadow Ball at Thanatos, the Chandelure's fiery eyes narrowed. "Reaper's Shadow," Thanatos growled. A Shadow Ball of his own flew from his body and collided with Phantump's, shattering it into a thousand ghostly particles in midair.

"Reaper's Inferno." Thanatos followed up with another massive wave of Fire energy aimed at consuming Heliolisk and Phantump. "Solar Power!" Heliolisk cried. "Emperor's Command: Discharge!"

Phantump lunged upwards as Heliolisk's wave of Electric energy slammed into Thanatos's wave of Fire energy. The two waves crashed against one another, sparking and flaring respectively as they both met and flew upwards, each seeking to go over the top of the other. They topped out only at the corridor's ceiling, whereupon they finally dissipated, both waves exhausted of their energy.

And then Thanatos popped into existence right next to Heliolisk. "Reaper's Curse," the Chandelure droned, reaching out one of its metallic arms to touch Heliolisk's skin

"Gyahhh!" Heliolisk shrieked as unrelenting agony suddenly shot through his entire body.

"Heliolisk!" Phantump cried.

"Reaper's Flame!" Phantump cried out in pain as Thanatos shot a blast of Fire energy at them, consuming them in its wash. Heliolisk saw none of it as he fell to the ground, writhing in agony as the Reaper's Curse ripped at his body.

"Im…possible…" he gasped. "I…cannot be beaten…"

"I will admit that your power is impressive," Thanatos stated as he appeared, floating, within Heliolisk's eyesight. "With your Ability, you can muster enough electricity to stalemate some of my stronger attacks. But that is all you can do. So I do not believe it is 'impossible' to defeat you. In fact, it is quite easy to defeat you, as I believe I have just demonstrated."

"Gnnn…I'll kill you for this…" Heliolisk snarled, feeling the Reaper's Curse continuing to tear at him.

"Overconfidence is not a virtue," said Thanatos.

"A lesson you would do well to take to heart. Shadow Ball."

Thanatos didn't turn in time to deflect or do anything about the blast of Ghost energy that sent him flying down the hall. Heliolisk felt the Reaper's Curse immediately fade and gasped for breath, looking up to try and find Phantump.

But it wasn't Phantump who had fired that Shadow Ball.

Trevenant rose from the ground, towering above the downed Heliolisk, eyes - no, just one eye now - flaring bright red and new mouth open to reveal jagged wooden teeth. Two massive leafy, branchlike arms jutted out from their body, ending in wicked-looking claws, and six rootlike legs connected them to the ground.

Trevenant looked inquisitively at their new form, first at one arm, then the other, then down at their legs. Their eye widened. "Oh, no!" Trevenant cried. "I…what happened?"

"It seems you have evolved," Heliolisk said drily, rising to his feet.

"This…this is awful!" Trevenant exclaimed. "I can't fly, I can't move as quickly, I'm a bigger target…"

"But you are stronger," Heliolisk pointed out.

"Fair," said Trevenant. "I did hit that Chandelure pretty hard. I'd like to see it get up from that."

"Reaper's Inferno."

"Oh, come on!" Trevenant cried as Thanatos rose back into view, eyes flaring with fury as he sent another wave of Fire energy streaming at him and Heliolisk.

"Solar Power! Emperor's Command: Discharge!" Heliolisk cried. Again, a wave of Electric energy blasted out, intercepting the wave of Fire energy and stalemating it. This time, though, remembering the trick Thanatos had pulled last time. Heliolisk was glancing around even as the waves ripped into one another, ready to fire a burst of electricity the instant Thanatos materialized.

"Reaper's Mind."

But Thanatos did not materialize. Instead, as a gout of Ghost energy leaped through the dissipating flames, Heliolisk realized that the Chandelure hadn't even bothered with Infiltrator this time. "Watch out!" Trevenant cried. "Ingrain!"

Trevenant's body exploded with roots and vines, slamming down into the floor and anchoring Trevenant in place. Trevenant raised one thin arm and gestured. The floor in front of Heliolisk cracked open and a surge of vines burst forth, rising up in front of the Reaper's Mind and deflecting it.

"Solar Power! Emperor's Command: Electrocute!"

"Infiltrator." Thanatos again blinked out of the way of the blast of lightning. The time he reappeared above both of them, looking down. "Reaper's Darkness."

A blast of Dark energy flew from the Chandelure's body straight at the newly restrained Trevenant. Trevenant gestured again, and more vines burst from the floor, snaking between him and Thanatos. The blast slammed into the vines, shriveling them and ripping them apart, but did not break past them.

"Solar Power! Emperor's Command: Electrocute!"

"Infiltrator." Thanatos droned, teleporting to a point right behind Trevenant. "Reaper's Flame."

"Grass Knot!"

Heliolisk spun in time to see Thanatos raise one of its arms, flaring with Fire energy, and then all of a sudden a vine leaped up from the floor, wrapped tightly around the arm, and yanked it downwards, throwing the Reaper's Flame wide. "Now!" Trevenant cried.

"Solar Power!" Heliolisk cried once more. "Two Thousand Volts! Emperor's Command: ELECTROCUTE!"

Thanatos, too distracted by the sudden weight on his arm, looked up in time to see a massive torrent of Electric energy rushing towards him. "Infil-" he began, but that was all the Chandelure got out before his voice was overtaken by a piercing scream as the Electric energy consumed him.

The scream went on and on as Heliolisk, driven purely by rage, pumped more and more electricity into Thanatos's body. Trevenant's face went from excitement to apprehension to slight terror as Thanatos's screams began to fade. "Um, Heliolisk-"

Heliolisk paid no heed to Trevenant's prattle, too busy drinking in the satisfaction of his successful attack, not even registering that Thanatos's screams had stopped a few seconds ago.

"Heliolisk!" Trevenant cried.

Fury pulsed through Heliolisk's mind as he finally beheld that Thanatos had stopped screaming. He ceased his Electrocute in order to round on Trevenant. "You do not address me in that tone," he growled, paying no heed to the sparking, incredibly unconscious body of Thanatos.

"I'm sorry!" Trevenant cried. "It's just…he was already beaten…"

"I needed to make sure." Heliolisk turned away from the fallen Thanatos in disgust.

"So why did you come back?"

Heliolisk glanced back at Trevenant. "I have unfinished business with that Medicham," he growled.

"What…what do you mean by that?" Trevenant asked.

Heliolisk paused for a moment. Should he tell Trevenant the truth, or should he lie? Lying might throw him off track, but…then again, why did he need to throw Trevenant off track? Trevenant was loyal, after all. He needed Trevenant firmly on his side, and lying would not help in that regard."

"I mean," said Heliolisk, "that Medicham ruined my entire life. She attempted to arrange for me to be imprisoned, then turned my subjects against me and got me thrown out of my own forest when that failed. I will not allow such slights to go unpunished. I am here to exact vengeance for what she took from me."

Trevenant's eye widened. "But…Medicham's my friend! And that doesn't sound like something she did! I thought Marcus sent you to a rehabilitation center!"

"Rehabilitation center?" Heliolisk snarled furiously. "Do you think I'm a fool? I know what he tried to do, and I know that his stupid Medicham influenced him to do it! She stabbed me in the back because she couldn't bear the thought of me being ruler instead of her!"

"No, she didn't!" Trevenant cried. "You know something, Heliolisk? I don't think you understand any of this at all! No - I think you refuse to understand it! All you're doing is deluding yourself! Medicham is kind, and understanding, and tries her best to work with everyone on the team!"

"She left you to die at the claws of that Weavile!" Heliolisk retorted. "You would side with a coward such as her over me?"

"You're a far greater coward than she'll ever be!" Trevenant shouted, their voice rising to a much higher pitch in their rage. "It's not her fault that the Weavile nearly killed me, it's Team Flare's! How can you blame her for that?"

"I'm a coward?" Heliolisk growled. "Look at your Trainer! All he does is hide behind his Pokemon! You would call me a coward over him?"

"Yes, I would!" Trevenant cried. "Because you do the exact same thing! You hid behind your Ghost-types back in the forest, and you tried to hide behind us when we fought Team Flare! Using his Pokemon to fight is literally Marcus's job! And, furthermore, what does that have to do with Medicham? You know what? I finally get it! All you do is hide your own mistakes behind false accusations and flat-out denial, because you can't accept that anyone but you could possibly be strong! Because you always have to be the bravest, the strongest, the smartest, but you're not! And you never will be! I don't know why I ever thought you were anything more than a heartless, uncaring coward!"

Fury blurred Heliolisk's vision. "Solar Power!" he roared. "Emperor's Command: Electrocute!"

Trevenant gestured again and summoned another surge of vines from the ground, deflecting the blast of electricity. Undaunted, Heliolisk pressed, pouring more heat and Electric energy into the blast, unheeding of the mounting feeling of exhaustion that told him he was running low on his heat reserves.

"How dare you?" Heliolisk cried as his electricity ripped at Trevenant's vines. For each one he tore away from sheer force of electricity, another rose to take its place as Trevenant, too, pumped more energy into his technique. "I saved your life, you ungrateful whelp! If not for me, that Weavile would have slaughtered you! And yet you side with that Medicham over me? I should have let that Weavile finish you! Electrify!"

With a flick of one hand, Heliolisk poured Electric energy into the ground beneath him, ready to strengthen his next attack. "I truly believed you loyal! But you're just like all the rest! I will destroy you for your betrayal! Solar Power! Emperor's Command: Five Thousand Volts! Maximum Electrocution!"

Heliolisk reached deep into his body, pulling out all of the heat, all of the Electric energy, he could possibly muster, pulling the Electric energy he had just set up with Electrify, and gathering it all before him. "DIE!" he shrieked, forcing it all into his hands and opening fire.

It was too much. Heliolisk had tried this attack before, in the forest. He had never been able to truly control so much energy. But at this point he didn't care, for anger had overridden rationality completely.

Trevenant gestured with both hands, sending the largest cluster of vines Heliolisk had seen yet erupting from the ground in front of him. Electricity crackled wildly, some slamming into the vines, the rest sparking as it struck the walls with enough force to outright buckle them. Thanatos's flames had weakened them with their sheer heat; though they might have withstood Heliolisk's attack on its own, Thanatos's blasts had weakened them to a point where they rippled and crumpled under Heliolisk's uncontrolled barrage.

Trevenant looked around nervously. "Heliolisk, stop!" he cried.

"Never!" Heliolisk roared even as he struggled to gain control over the sheer amount of Electric energy he was releasing. "You will not keep me from her!"

"Heliolisk, you'll kill us both!"

"SILENCE!" Heliolisk screamed, forcing yet more electricity from his hands, electricity that battered at the vines and walls alike.

The vines burned and broke and shattered under the barrage. Trevenant screamed. Heliolisk grinned. Trevenant would suffer. They would all suffer for getting in his way.

A stressed groan came from the walls as electricity ripped into them. Heliolisk did not hear.

A horrific ripping noise emanated from Trevenant as Heliolisk's barrage of Electric energy ripped him clean away from his Ingrained roots and sent him flying, tumbling to the ground. Heliolisk ceased his fire, realizing that Trevenant was no longer in the path of his blast. The electricity stopped, leaving no sound but the quiet crackling as it continued to play across the walls and the groans from said walls that Heliolisk was deaf to.

He gazed upon the fallen form of Trevenant, who was still conscious, irritatingly enough. The Elder Tree Pokemon was lying right next to Thanatos; they looked up with their one wide red eye, fear in their gaze.

Heliolisk smirked nastily. "I will show you no mercy," he growled. "The same mercy you and your friends showed me. Solar Power…"

"Heliolisk, no…"

"Emperor's Command…"
"Heliolisk…"

"Two Thousand Volts…

"Look out…"

"Electro-"

Heliolisk's last word was cut off by a massive crunching noise that sounded as if it was coming from all around him. He halted, looking around as more crunches sounded. A screech of distressed metal came from directly above him.

Heliolisk looked up just as the walls, badly weakened by the barrage of Electric energy, gave way, and several tons of steel and earth and stone plunged down as the roof, left with nothing to support it, collapsed.

Darkness engulfed Heliolisk as his body exploded in agony. He screamed, screamed a long, drawn-out scream, piteous and piercing, echoing down the corridor as earth slammed down on his body, pinning him to the ground. The crashing of stone on metal was so deafening that Heliolisk could not hear anything except the crashing and his own screaming.

Somehow, through the screams, through the crashes, through the haze of his own agony, Heliolisk saw, as if in slow motion, a pile of crushed metal that probably had once been a machine plunging towards his face. A single piece of that machine was outstretched, narrowed to a dull point, aimed right at the center of Heliolisk's forehead.

Primal fear ripped into Heliolisk's mind and he let out another scream, this one in pure, absolute terror.

The sound of the ruined machine landing on his head, shattering his skull under its weight, and the feeling of all-encompassing pain was the last thing Heliolisk ever heard or felt.

---

"Lava Plume!" Malva ordered.

"Impenetrable Shell!" Cloyster cried, manifesting the Protect as Phlegethon rumbled "Volcanic Blast," and sent a massive fireball screaming at Cloyster. To Cloyster's profound relief, the Volcanic Blast glanced off of the Protect harmlessly.

"Icicle Spear!" Marcus cried.

"Rapid Spin!" Malva countered.

With a cry of "Ice Flurry!", Cloyster opened fire with a barrage of Ice energy-infued spikes. But with a countering rumble of "Obsidian Deflection," Phlegethon retreated into his shell. Swiftly, he spun in place, the hardness of his shell combining with the energy he summoned to deflect Cloyster's attack.

"Finish it!" Malva cried.

Phlegethon emerged from his shell, eyes narrowed in concentration. "Obsidian Shard." The Torkoal reared up and slammed down on the ground, sending ripples through the floor towards Cloyster.

"Withdraw!" Marcus cried.

"Defensive Shell!" Cloyster clamped his shell tightly around himself, making sure to rotate slightly so that the gap in his shell was not facing towards the ripples. He did not want anything getting through there.

A rough, loud grinding noise came from directly under Cloyster. "Oh, crap! Cloyster, wa-" Marcus's voice reached Cloyster's ears just as an unbearably loud shattering sound emanated from his underside.

Cloyster flew, feeling a sudden rush of air. Horror filled him as he found himself looking straight down at the massive towering spike of Rock energy that had pierced right up from the ground. But his shell was still closed, and therein lay the horror; the Obsidian Shard had carved right through his shell, ripping it nearly in two.

"Cloyster!" Marcus cried in similar horror.

"I warned you," Malva growled.

Phlegethon's voice came from somewhere below Cloyster. He could not see, could not muster any defense; shock at the destruction of his shell, his supposedly extremely hard-to-even-penetrate shell, left him motionless.

"Volcanic Eruption," Phlegethon rumbled.

"Cloyster, Protect!" Marcus cried, but where? Where was he supposed to Protect? He couldn't even see where the attack was coming from-

A brutal wave of heat and force slammed into him from the opposite side, and Cloyster flew. He realized a second later that he was heading straight towards Marcus. "Impenetrable Shell!" he cried, raising the Protect between him and Marcus a split second before he slammed into it. Cloyster dropped to the floor, barely conscious.

He finally mustered the will to retract his shell. His eyes rolled over to see Phlegethon, still effectively undamaged, standing strongly in front of his Trainer and readying another blast of Fire energy.

"Hold," Malva ordered. "We are not here to kill his Pokemon. Recall your Cloyster. The longer it stays out with a broken shell, the worse the breakage could get."

Marcus looked down, eyes wide, first with desperation, then with grim, reluctant acceptance. In a flash he raised Cloyster's Luxury Ball and recalled him.

Cloyster instantly felt the cooling gel on his skin and his shell alike. He hadn't realized how hot it had been out there until now. But he did not sit back. Instead, he wriggled so that he could stare out of the crack in the Luxury Ball, not wanting to see what happened next yet unable to sate his anxiety.

A massive crash sounded, accompanied by the shrieking of distressed metal and a scream that definitely from the throat of a Pokemon, a scream that went on for five seconds before abruptly being cut off. Malva looked to her right. "Thanatos!" she cried in sudden panic. In a flash she released a large Pyroar. "Prometheus, go over there and find Thanatos!" she ordered, pointing to her right. The Pyroar nodded and leaped out of view.

Malva looked back at Marcus. "Settle the wager," she said shortly. "Hand over your Pokeballs. All of them."

The sound of Marcus's heavy, almost tearful breathing pierced Cloyster worse than that Obsidian Shard. He'd failed him. It had all been down to him to face and defeat that Torkoal, and he'd failed. And now all of Marcus's team, all of his friends, would be taken away. All because of him.

"I'm sorry," Cloyster whispered as Marcus, hand shaking, slowly unclipped Cloyster's Pokeball from his belt and began approaching Malva. The Fire-type Elite Four member seemed partially distracted, looking nervously between Marcus and whatever was lying to her right.

As a result, her eyes were not on her left.

"Malva."

Malva's head whipped to her left. Her mouth fell open for a brief moment before she recomposed herself. "Siebold, good. I-"

"I know what you've done. Why?"

Those six words shattered Malva's poker face. She sighed. "Because Lysandre's right," she said. "All he wants to do is make a better world for Pokemon. To stop things exactly like this from happening! All this pain, all this suffering and death, this is exactly what he's trying to stop! What I'm trying to stop!"

"By joining the enemy?" Siebold asked, stepping into view with his Blastoise and Starmie at his heels. Phlegethon moved protectively in front of Malva, undaunted even in the face of the two powerful Water-types. "How is this going to stop any of this?"

"All I have to do is delay you," Malva explained. "Lysandre's probably already raised the Ultimate Weapon by now. He…he said that my job, along with the jobs of the rest of Team Flare, was to delay his foes until he was ready to raise the Ultimate Weapon. I know that short-term it might have caused less destruction, but unlike you, I thought more long-term. Siebold, listen to me. The weapon has to fire."

"No," said Siebold. "No, it doesn't. Malva of the Kalos Elite Four, you are under arrest for-"

"Phlegethon, Eruption!" Malva screamed desperately.

"Protect!" Siebold ordered. Both Blastoise and Starmie raised glowing blue barriers as Phlegethon opened fire with a massive Volcanic Eruption that dissipated harmlessly against the barriers.

And so, in the same way Cloyster had just done, Phlegethon fought a desperate, losing battle against overwhelming odds in the vain hope that some kind of miracle would bail him out. The difference was, in Cloyster's case, that miracle had come.

And so Cloyster finally allowed himself to rest.

---

Trevenant stared at the carnage in front of him where Heliolisk had, until just now, stood. It was horrific; rock and earth and twisted steel covered the space where the corridor had once been, with only a few gaps through which Trevenant could just barely see the corridor continuing on the other side.

Trevenant couldn't believe it. They'd known Heliolisk was irritated from being captured, but they'd thought that irritation would pass like Houndoom's fear and Heliolisk would soon adapt to life in the team. They'd been sad when Heliolisk went away, and overjoyed to see him again, thinking he was about to return to the team, this time for good.

But no. Heliolisk had never gotten past his irritation. On the contrary, that irritation had turned into anger, and with that anger had come absolute insanity. He'd become a monster, a monster every bit as bad as the Weavile that still popped into every dream Trevenant had.

Trevenant sighed, glad they could not see Heliolisk's crushed body underneath the rubble. The scream had been bad enough; the sudden stop of said scream had been even worse.

A crunch came from in front of Trevenant. They twisted, eye widened, wondering if maybe, somehow, Heliolisk was alive under all that.

But no, it was a large, broad-shouldered female Pyroar.

The Pyroar halted as she saw Trevenant. She gestured next to them. "Did you do this?"

Trevenant looked down at the still-twitching, crackling, unconscious form of Thanatos lying beside him. "I…helped," they admitted. "The other one…Heliolisk…he's under there."

Pyroar looked back at the rubble, then back at Thanatos. "You're not with Team Flare?"

"No, are you?" Trevenant asked.

"Yes," said Pyroar, ambling over to Thanatos. Trevenant tensed. Pyroar looked up. "I'm not here to fight. I just want my teammate."

Carefully, she stepped over to Thanatos, bent down, and grasped the Chandelure in her jaws. She paused. "Can you help?"

"I'm sorry?" Trevenant asked.

"Can you lift him onto my back?" Pyroar asked. "I don't want to drag him through the rubble."

"Sure." Trevenant slowly reached down with their new arms - they were still getting used to those, along with the rest of their new body - and lifted Thanatos gently. His form was hot, and Trevenant winced slightly as he set the Chandelure down onto Pyroar's back.

"Thanks," said Pyroar. She began to walk away, Thanatos on her back, then stopped. "I'm sorry about your friend, by the way."

"He's not my friend," Trevenant said.

Pyroar sighed, nodded in acceptance, and then stepped back through the largest of the gaps in the rubble. The two Fire-type Pokemon were lost from sight.

Trevenant took a moment more before following them. Marcus was almost certainly on the other side of that rubble as well. He might need Trevenant's aid.

Trevenant stepped towards the rubble, moving after Pyroar and hoping that Marcus was doing all right.

---

"Thunder Release!"

"Flame Tongue!"

Ripper's blast of Electric energy collided with the flames that Houndoom shot from his mouth. The Electric energy proved to be stronger, pressing back against the flames.

"Earth Impact!"

At least until Kriesh dove for Ripper's side. The Manectric had to lunge out of the way, abandoning the Electric attack and sparing Houndoom another barrage of electricity. But lunge out of the way he did, for Kriesh couldn't follow all the way through lest she be struck by Houndoom's flames.

Ripper landed in a crouch, eyeing both of them warily. "Thunder Blast."

"Dark Surge!"

"Flurry Impact!" Kriesh cried, rising up in the air to fire four Dark-type rays at Ripper just as Houndoom launched a blast of Dark energy to counter Ripper's Thunder Blast.

"Static: Wings," Ripper growled.

Kriesh's wings abruptly locked up and she plummeted straight into the colliding blasts of Dark and Electric energy. Houndoom's eyes widened as the explosion from the blasts caught Kriesh head-on and sent her flying back up into the air. She slammed into the ceiling and then plunged to the floor, unable to stop her descent.

Her entire body exploded with pain and she snarled, trying to shake off the agony, hard to do with paralyzed wings. Ripper grinned. "Now that's more like it. Static: Beak. Thunder Blast."

Kriesh's beak was locked shut as Ripper sent a blast of Electric energy streaming straight at her, too widespread for Earth Impact to block. This was going to hurt.

"No!" Houndoom leaped straight in front of her. Kriesh attempted to cry out for him to stop, but with her beak locked shut all she could do was emit a muffled scream as the Thunder Release slammed straight into Houndoom.

Houndoom howled in agony but still remained standing, claws digging into the floor. "Stay away from her."

"I think not," Ripper growled. "Thunder Charge."

"Dark Jaws!" Houndoom countered. The two Pokemon leaped at each other, slamming together in midair and falling to the ground in a biting, tearing mass.

It was a fight that Kriesh knew Houndoom would lose. He was just less powerful, even without Static practically guaranteeing a win for Ripper the instant the two came together. She began to stumble forward awkwardly on her unfrozen feet, still unused to moving with her wings paralyzed.

Indeed, Ripper was hammering Houndoom, artfully dodging Houndoom's wild swipes and bites and retaliating with careful and precise attacks that drew blood and, more importantly, sent electric shocks into Houndoom's body. "Dark Surge!" Houndoom growled unexpectedly. Ripper's eyes widened as a point-blank Dark Surge slammed into him, throwing him off Houndoom. Once again he landed on his feet, though his body looked battered from the hits he'd taken throughout the fight.

"Solar Surge!" Houndoom growled, his Power Herb shining as he drew on its power.

"No, you don't," Ripper growled. "Static: Full-Body Lock."

Houndoom froze in place, allowing Ripper to easily evade the Solar Surge, but the hit had freed Kriesh of her Static paralysis. She knew she would need to make this count. "Beam Impact!" she shrieked.

"Static: Neck!"

Time seemed to slow as, just as Kriesh swung her neck over to blast Ripper, electricity flared in her neck and froze it in place. Her eyes locked on Ripper's triumphant grin as Beam Impact began to charge in her wide-open beak, aimed just to Ripper's left.

It was going to miss, and Ripper's shining eyes told Kriesh he knew that.

That was it. Houndoom was locked in place, and with the breathing room afforded by Kriesh's missed Beam Impact, Ripper would be able to quickly neutralize her.

No.

Kriesh let out a piercing scream as she threw her head to the side, trying to force her neck to move through the paralysis, but as the Beam Impact fired, her neck did not budge.

I won't let them take my flock again.

Impossibly, the Beam Impact twitched as it moved, and before Kriesh's widened eyes it curved, slightly at first but then more and more. Ripper's jaw dropped as the Beam Impact twisted to the left and slammed right into him, a last cry of disbelieving rage emanating from his mouth as he was picked up and bodily thrown straight into the wall. He slumped to the floor, unconscious.

Instantly both Kriesh and Houndoom regained their ability to move. Houndoom was breathing hard as he looked at Kriesh. "Um…what was that?"

Kriesh's mind flashed with knowledge that she knew she hadn't had before and yet felt as if she'd always had, and she looked at Ripper's body. "I think," she said slowly, "that I just unlocked my Ability."

---

Medicham felt more alive than she'd felt in ages despite the pain that wracked her even now. Her Aura Blast met a Demon Blast from Hellhound and she surged forwards. "Pure Power: Fighting Strike!"

"Nightmare Breath!" Hellhound retorted. But with a quick Aura Avoidance, Medicham flipped over the blast of Ghost energy and slammed her fist straight into Hellhound's face, knocking it to the side in a spray of blood and spittle.

"Demon Breath!" he roared, and Medicham had to dive out of the way as a blast of dark flames shot over her head. "No Escape!" came Drapion's roar from Hellhound's side, but that was met with a swift Flash Fire: Hellfire Barrier that deflected the Dark-type rays.

Ever since that Nightmare Flame move, Drapion's strength had been reduced, and as such he was hanging back, peppering Hellhound with ranged attacks as Medicham darted and punched at the Houndoom. It was a strategy that seemed to be working; Medicham had managed to land a couple more hits on Hellhound, and his retaliations - whips and blades of Fire energy, another explosive Demon Blast, and that last Nightmare Breath - had all been evaded, some only by inches. Of course, none of this would be working if Medicham wasn't able to shut down his Protects with Piercing Strike, removing a vital defensive component from Hellhound's arsenal and rendering him vulnerable.

That said, the hits Medicham had taken before adopting this strategy were not doing wonders for her stamina, which was fluctuating after this long of a battle. Worse, she could feel her Aura flickering; by leaning on Pure Power to sustain her assault, she was rapidly draining her reserves of Aura, reserves that she was learning the hard way were irritatingly finite.

But she could keep going for just a little longer.

She rolled to her feet and fired another Aura Blast. This time, Hellhound just raised another Hellfire Barrier to deflect it. "Flash Fire: Hellfire Inferno," he growled, sending a massive wave of Fire energy lunging towards Medicham.

Medicham closed her eyes. "Psychic Avoidance!" she cried, drawing on her Psychic energy instead of her Aura. She leaped out of the way of the Hellfire Inferno, and then all of a sudden she heard a loud bark from behind her. "Nightmare Jaws!"

"Medicham, look out!" Drapion snarled at the exact same time.

Not bothering with Pure Power or even Fighting energy, Medicham turned and decked the oncoming Hellhound in the face with the fastest punch she could manage, trading power for speed. But it was the wrong move. Even as his head snapped sideways, Hellhound grinned. "Nightmare Flame."

The Ghost and Fire energy crackling across his jaws lanced out and slammed into Medicham before she could react.

Instantly, she felt agony wrack her body and her muscles begin to spasm. She stumbled backwards, clenching and unclenching her fists.

Drapion howled in rage. "Pierce!" he bellowed.

"I've had enough of you," Hellhound growled. "Flash Fire: Demon Inferno!"

A wave of dark flames nearly fifteen feet high and thirty long burst from Hellhound's maw. "Block!" Drapion roared, but even with the Protect the flames still washed over it and came down on him. "Battle Armor!" Drapion roared, a roar that was swiftly replaced with a roar of pain.

Hellhound smirked as he twisted to face Medicham. "It's over," he growled.

Medicham clenched her teeth and drew upon all her remaining Aura. "Not yet," she challenged, summoning Aura to her hands as she threw them out in front of her.

Medicham leaped into the air with her strong legs, summoning a massive sphere of Aura in the spread palms of her outstretched hands. "Pure Power: Aura Sphere!"

"Flash Fire: Hellfire Sphere!" Hellhound retorted, opening his mouth wide, summoning his vast control of Fire energy to create a sphere of equal size with shocking speed.

Medicham threw her sphere, and Hellhound his. Both collided directly in between them and exploded against each other with a resounding booming roar.

And out of that explosion dove Medicham, her aura flickering as her body struggled under Nightmare Flame and the last of her Pure Power wreathed around her leg. For Nightmare Flame impacted her body and muscles, but it had no impact on her Aura. "Pure Power: AURA FINISHER!"

Hellhound, panting from the effort it had taken to summon a sphere of that magnitude, looked up with wide eyes. "Demon Burst!" he roared, all he could summon on such short notice.

It didn't matter.

The blast of Dark and Fire energy slammed straight into Medicham's outstretched, Aura-infused leg and collapsed, splaying out into five points before folding around her foot even as Medicham slammed it with all her strength and all her Aura straight into Hellhound's jaw.

And Hellhound flew, his great strength finally giving out, his body slackening even as he tumbled straight into a wall, actually leaving an indent before he plummeted to the floor, where he lay motionless.

Medicham fell as well, landing hard on hands and knees as her Aura died. Even now, she could still feel the Nightmare Flame lingering, and from the look of things Drapion felt it as well. Apparently it, unlike Curse, lingered even after unconsciousness.

She looked at Drapion, who was staring unbelievingly at Hellhound's fallen body, and gave a wan smile. "We just beat the Ace of an Elite Four member," she said, hardly able to believe it herself.

"Yeah…guess we did," Drapion growled. "Let's…get outta here."

"You said it." Medicham began to stalk over towards the door, stumbling as she walked and the Nightmare Flame tugged at her muscles.

Drapion joined her. "So, about our Abilities…"

"We'll discuss them later," said Medicham. "Right now, we need to focus. Hopefully, there's a way back up on the other side of the…"

Her voice trailed off, as did both her and Drapion's stride. For they had both heard the same thing - a shifting from behind them.

Medicham and Drapion twisted to see Hellhound, shaking like a leaf in a hurricane, planting one of his paws on the ground and forcing himself to rise.

"Crap," Drapion summarized succinctly as Hellhound's baleful gaze fell upon them.

"I…" Hellhound's voice was shaky as well. "I…you actually did it. I never thought…you'd actually beat me…even in my base form, I thought…I could beat you…"

"What do ya mean, base form?" Drapion snarled.

Hellhound shook his head as his entire body began to glow with light. "Simply put…this isn't even my final form." His shivering voice rose strongly once again. "I call upon the power of Mega Evolution!"

Hellhound exploded with a blinding multicolored light. Medicham and Drapion had to extend their arms over their eyes to shield them. When the light cleared, Hellhound had shifted; he looked somewhat like he had before, but now a massive white spiked exoskeleton effectively covered his upper body, his tail was forked, and he looked even taller to the point where Medicham had to look up to see his eyes.

"I was hoping to save my Mega Form for later," he growled. "But you…you actually made me use it against you. I commend you for that…but now? This battle is truly over. Solar Power!"

Medicham looked at Drapion in a panic. He has Heliolisk's Ability now? How can he change Abilities? Is that part of Mega Evolution?

"Hellfire Eruption!" Hellhound roared, and with that his body glowed with power as a wave of Fire energy that stretched from floor to ceiling exploded out of his gaping maw and leaped straight for Medicham and Drapion.

"Battle Armor!" Drapion snarled. "Block!"

But they both knew it wouldn't be enough.

Medicham and Drapion flinched, awaiting the moment where the heat and flames would consume them, and as such barely registered the impact on the ground between them and the onrushing flames.

"Torrent. Hydro Barrier."

Medicham looked up as a massive, stocky Blastoise who had just leaped down between them and the flames spread his arms wide and fired two torrents of Water energy from his back cannons. The streams of Water energy twisted, came together, and exploded into a barrier of the exact same height and width as the Hellfire Eruption. The Fire-type attack slammed into the Hydro Barrier and dissipated in a cloud of steam.

"Siebold's Blastoise…" Medicham recognized the visage of the Blastoise from the Power Plant.

Blastoise looked back with a smirk. "Good on you for getting him down this low," he growled. "Makes it easy for me. Your Trainer's all right. Now get out of here - I've got this."

The steam cleared. Hellhound's eyes widened as he beheld his new opponent. Blastoise smirked. "What's the matter, Hellhound? Couple of newbies giving you trouble?"

Hellhound bared his teeth. "Damn you. DAMN YOU! I'll destroy you! Thunderous Jaws!"

As Hellhound charged, electricity crackling across his teeth, and Blastoise rushed to meet him with a fist drawn back, Medicham and Drapion turned and rushed through the room's exit at last.

---

Malva lay on the ground, Psychically held by Siebold's Starmie with Phlegethon unconscious next to her. Malva's Pyroar, Prometheus, had arrived with the unconscious form of her Chandelure on her back and had been quickly convinced to stand down. Trevenant had appeared afterwards - Cloyster's cheer at Phantump's evolution was tempered by the haunted look in Trevenant's eyes. Kriesh and Houndoom had appeared soon after from the corridor Siebold had arrived from. And, from the sound of it, Medicham and Drapion had been fighting Malva's Houndoom in the room below for the entire time, and Siebold had sent his Blastoise through the hole in the floor to finish the job.

Apparently, Medicham and Drapion had used the opportunity to flee. With Trevenant, Houndoom, and Kriesh all injured from whatever battles they'd faced (and Cloyster wanted to know the story about how Trevenant had managed to take down Malva's Chandelure right now), Marcus had been quick to recall them into their Pokeballs. Siebold had been reluctant to allow Marcus to pursue his team, but had eventually relented after forcing Marcus to promise that he would come back the instant he found and recalled Medicham and Drapion.

"Be careful," Siebold had warned. "You've done well. Don't press your luck. And please take the stairs. Blastoise's ankles can handle a fall through that hole - yours can't."

So it was that, as Siebold secured Malva and brought out a radio, probably to contact Diantha or another member of the Elite Four, Marcus ran the same way Serena and Calem had gone - down the stairs to the basement - in search of his last two Pokemon.

---

One of the more interesting facets of the Perish Dimension was that, while pain that you had taken in the outside world did not come with you to the Perish Dimension, pain that you took in the Perish Dimension came with you when you went back to the outside world.

It was for that reason that Seeker-Of-Endings knew, at the back of his mind, that he was going to die.

Not yet, of course - one could not die in the Perish Dimension. Once he got back to the real world, though, he knew that with these kinds of injuries it wouldn't take long. But as the chains of pure darkness that wrapped around his body twisted it unnaturally in a hundred different directions that it could not have ordinarily twisted in, and twisted it slightly more every time the pain ebbed even for a moment, he would freely admit that death was preferable to this.

"Come now," Betrayer-Of-Kin hissed. "Release the Song and the pain stops. Is that so difficult to understand?"

Again, as he had several times, Seeker-Of-Endings almost gave in. But Marcus was still out there. And he had to buy as much time as he possibly could for him to escape.

Did Marcus even know about Betrayer-Of-Kin's presence? Well, yes - he'd seen her at the other end of the hallway, but he probably didn't know she had gotten so close to him.

What if he wasn't leaving? What if he'd been kept there, or was staying there voluntarily to try and find his team?

Betrayer-Of-Kin yanked the chains again, eliciting what would have been a scream if Seeker-Of-Endings's mouth wasn't being pulled in five different directions; ultimately, it came out as a loud, terrified gurgle.

"Give in!" Betrayer-Of-Kin hissed, stepping closer swiftly.

Even as the fresh wave of pain wracked his body, Betrayer-Of-Kin touched her horn to what had once been Seeker-Of-Endings's forehead. His mind, the one thing that until now she had left undamaged, burst with raw agony, agony that threatened to spill out of his head.

He couldn't take it anymore.

I'm sorry, Marcus, Seeker-Of-Endings thought. I only hope I bought you enough time…

Then they landed, Betrayer-Of-Kin standing over Seeker-Of-Endings. At once Seeker-Of-Endings felt his body crack in a hundred different places as most of his bones shattered. He could feel the life bleeding out of him, feel death's embrace coming to him. But he smiled anyway. For Betrayer-Of-Kin was staring, eyes wide, at a blonde man that had to be Siebold of the Kalos Elite Four, his Starmie, and the paralyzed form of fellow Elite Four member Malva.

Marcus was nowhere to be seen.

From Seeker-Of-Endings's horribly distended mouth came two satisfied words. "You…lose…"

"Arceus!" Siebold cried as he saw Seeker-Of-Endings.

Betrayer-Of-Kin's shocked expression shifted from shock to rage to cold determination. With a swift leap she was away, charging down the corridor at a rapid pace. In practically an instant, Seeker-Of-Endings saw Siebold withdraw an odd bright pink Pokeball from his belt and, despite the fact that Seeker-Of-Endings already had a Pokeball with Serena, summoned him into it.

He felt his body freeze - it was as if he was back in the Perish Dimension, unable to die, except without the horrific pain. He heard Siebold's voice barking from outside. "I need a medical team down here! I've got an Absol in my Emergency Heal Ball! They need treatment immediately! Repeat, immediately!"

And for the first time since Betrayer-Of-Kin had trapped him in the Perish Dimension, Seeker-Of-Endings felt hope that maybe he wasn't going to die after all.

---

The Golurk slammed one mighty fist into the face of Lysandre's Mienshao, then twisted and, with a shift of his foot, sent a wave of Rock energy at the oncoming form of his Gyarados, who barely dodged it and gnashed down on the Golurk's body with Dark energy rippling across his teeth. Above him, the Sigilyph engaged in a swift aerial duel with Lysandre's Noivern and Honchkrow, fast enough that an untrained eye could barely have made it out.

Yveltal's eye was not untrained. And he knew that, even though both Pokemon looked to be standing strongly, even though the unconscious forms of Lysandre's Pyroar and Trevenant gave testament to their skill, that they were losing. He could see it in their exhausted eyes, in their more sluggish movements. The power of the Immortal King's Pokemon was astonishing. Perhaps with four, maybe even three Pokemon he might have won the day. But two-on-six odds were just too great, even for him.

The Immortal King himself, AZ, was frowning deeply. Yveltal knew that he was relaying commands to his Pokemon psychically, but his wordless demeanor provided a sharp contrast to Lysandre's barrage of orders to his Pokemon.

Yveltal felt something sting at him. It wasn't the first time - something had been stinging at him for about half an hour now, intermittently. But that stinging was growing stronger.

Yveltal looked up, reaching out with his mind, and his eyes narrowed.

The Heralds. Of course. Always such an annoyance.

Yveltal debated his options. He could reveal himself - he envisioned himself ripping apart every last one of them and grinned at the thought - but he'd gone through all of these hoops of working with Team Flare so as to not reveal himself, and destroying the Heralds would defeat that purpose.

His mind reached out, searching for reasons why they would be so determinedly throwing their minds against his Psychic shielding. The reasons became clear immediately - two Heralds were in the base, one outside fighting Xerosic's creation and one heavily wounded in what looked like some kind of healing Pokeball, along with a third Absol that could only be Betrayer-Of-Kin.

Truth be told, Yveltal had completely forgotten about her.

He considered dropping the Psychic shielding, but remembered that Xerneas could still get a message out, and that would be problematic. No, he would keep it up for now. Endure the stinging.

Once the Ultimate Weapon was initiating its firing sequence, though, he would drop the Psychic shielding. And he would watch gleefully as panic entered their eyes and they realized exactly what was happening.

Yveltal turned back to the battle just as Sigilyph, struck by a lucky Night Slash from Honchkrow, fell from the sky, only dropping halfway to the ground before the grim-faced AZ recalled him. Golurk, now with four Pokemon attacking him, was swiftly overwhelmed. It took only ten seconds more before AZ recalled him as well.

"Good work," Lysandre told his team. The team responded with thank-yous as Lysandre turned back towards the Ultimate Weapon.

"Lysandre-"

"Enough, AZ," Lysandre ordered. "You challenged me for the fate of Kalos. I won. The matter is closed."

Yveltal's sharp eyes caught something else moving at the entrance to the room. Lysandre did not see. Rather, he turned again to the Ultimate Weapon. "Very well," he said. His fists clenched. "I have spent a year working to see this through. I will not stop now. It is time."

But as Lysandre began to stalk over to the firing button of the Ultimate Weapon, a voice rang out from his team. "Savior!" Gyarados cried. "The door!"

Lysandre whirled to see what Yveltal had seen; two teenagers, a boy and a girl, standing in the doorway.

AZ stepped back against the wall as the two teenagers slowly strode into the room.

Lysandre sighed. "The Immortal King and a couple of teenagers. Is this all Diantha has to stop me?"

"It's gonna be enough," the boy growled.

The girl looked somewhat more scared, but both she and the boy released all of their Pokemon. Amusingly, the boy only had five and the girl only had three, and all of them had wounds that indicated they'd already been in combat.

But still, the Blastoise, Lucario, Chesnaught, Lapras, Aurorus, Meowstic, Delphox, and Jolteon presented quite an intimidating front against Lysandre's four remaining Pokemon.

"Very well, then." Yveltal did not miss the almost relieved tone in Lysandre's voice as he stepped away from the Ultimate Weapon and towards the teenagers. "If you wish to stop me, then show me how strong you are."

With that, his orange visor lit up, the Pokemon surged forwards, and battle once again filled the chamber.

---

Gardevoir stood, panting heavily, eyeing her fallen foes and friends along with her last remaining opponent, a snarling Tyranitar that looked as if it was on its last legs despite its confident rage.

The battle had been devastating. Clearly, Celosia's team had been bulked up with Full Restores, turning off their sense of pain momentarily. Combined with the numbers and it had been, frankly, brutal.

Gourgeist had fallen first courtesy of Celosia's Toxicroak, who had managed to hit her with a Sucker Punch that had opened her up for a ravaging assault by a gang of Executive and Grunt-level Pokemon. Unlike Goodra in the first battle, by the time Gardevoir had sent all of them flying with a blast of Fairy and Psychic energy, she was already unconscious.

Furfrou had been next. Her fur was thick and hard to break, but fire was definitely its greatest weakness, and when Celosia's Pangoro and Tyranitar had opened up on it with a pair of Fire Punches the opening had given them a perfect opportunity. It had cost Pangoro consciousness thanks to Hawlucha, but Furfrou had not lasted long enough to see it.

And Hawlucha, who had stood so strongly and fought as hard as he could, had fallen to, of all things, an Ice Shard from an Executive's Weavile straight to the back as he stood atop the unconscious form of Celosia's Toxicroak. Gardevoir had been quick to avenge him, but now it was her against the somehow still-standing Tyranitar.

"I'm gonna rip you to pieces," Tyranitar growled.

"You won't even get close enough," Gardevoir challenged.

"Let's see if you can back that up," Tyranitar growled. With that, the behemoth lunged forwards, raising a fist. "Full-Power Stone Pummel!"

"Life Blast."

Tyranitar collapsed.

Gardevoir looked back at Diantha, then at Celosia as she recalled her last Pokemon. Celosia's face fell. "Well, now that's just la-"

"Don't. Even. Give me that," Diantha snarled. "Gardevoir, knock them out."

Gardevoir did so; Celosia and her attendant Grunts and Executives collapsed like puppets with their strings cut. Diantha sighed. "Siebold," she said, raising her Pokegear. "How's everything going?"

"Malva was going after a teenager who somehow made it in here," said Siebold. "Seemed she actually overreached herself, because his Pokemon were doing surprisingly well against hers. Made it easy for me to take her down. Anyway, the kid's gone off to chase down his remaining Pokemon because they fell down a hole in the floor, and Malva's secured."

"Gone off on his own?" Diantha asked.

"I tried to stop him, but he was insistent, and Malva's more important," said Siebold. "Oh, and you won't believe this, but a couple of Absol just straight-up popped into existence right in front of me. One of them was-"

"Not now, Siebold," said Diantha exhaustedly. "I've beaten Celosia, but all I've got left is Gardevoir. I'm heading down to the basement. Do not follow me - focus on the rest of the base and on getting Malva, Surge, and Jasmine out of here."

"Diantha, I have to-"

"That's an order, Siebold," said Diantha. "Diantha out."

She shut down her Pokegear, and then turned to Gardevoir. "Ready?"

"Why refuse Siebold's aid?"

Diantha sighed at Gardevoir's query. "Because…I know Lysandre. And if I go alone…I think I can reason with him. If I bring Siebold, all hope of reason will be gone."

"And what if you can't?"

Diantha closed her eyes for a moment. "Then I will die happier than if I die feeling as if I could have. Now come along. Let's go save the world."

---

"Mold Breaker: Poison Claw!"

Keeper-Of-Memories's eyes shut tightly as he awaited the burst of pain he knew would come. And yet it did not come.

He opened his eyes.

Type: Full was frozen in place inches away from him. Embedded in its side was a claw, and on the other end of that claw was the arm of Drasna's Haxorus.

"Error," Type: Full droned. "RKS System failure. RKS System failure."

Haxorus grinned. "So Mold Breaker shuts down your little type-switching gadget. Good to know. Now let's-"

"Giga Impact."

Haxorus, like Keeper-Of-Memories before him, was completely not expecting Type: Full to simply gather a burst of energy and slam directly into him. After the previous hits he had taken, it was too much; Haxorus was tossed away, unconscious before he even hit the ground.

Keeper-Of-Memories took the opportunity to back away, summoning half a dozen Double Team copies as he did so.

"RKS System rebooting," Type: Full stated. "RKS System rebooting. RKS System-"

"Thunderstorm!"

Type: Full roared in agony as a blast of Electric energy slammed into his side.

"Haxorus isn't the only one with Mold Breaker, monster! Thunderstorm!"

Electricity crackled as blast after blast slammed into Type: Full, sending him stumbling. Without his RKS System, he was clearly a much easier target.

"We need to shut him down!" Keeper-Of-Memories turned to see Drasna's Altaria. "I can't sing, because he's got that sonic thing, but I can hit him with something big! Can you distract him?"

"I believe so," said Keeper-Of-Memories.

"Keep using Double Team," Altaria advised. "That'll-"

"I'm Elite Four, same as you," Keeper-Of-Memories pointed out. "I know what I'm doing."

"All right, then," said Altaria. "Let's do this. Dragon Dance!"

Altaria flared her wings high and began to gather Dragon energy around herself, taking in more and more power.

"Hyper Beam."

Keeper-Of-Memories whirled as Type: Full fired a massive beam of energy at the oncoming Thunderstorm barrage from Mega Ampharos, stalemating it. He charged, knowing that with the Thunderstorm battled back it wouldn't take long for his RKS System to reboot. He didn't know how long, but he hoped it would be long enough that he could get there before it did.

"RKS System rebooting."

Keeper-Of-Memories's feet pounded across the ground.

"RKS System rebooting."

"Altaria, I've got an idea!" Drasna's voice burst in Keeper-Of-Memories's ears. He ignored it.

"RKS System rebooting."

Keeper-Of-Memories lunged, horn sweeping through the air in an arc down upon Type: Full's shoulder.

"RKS System rebooted. RKS System: Ground Memory. Multi-Attack."

The next thing Keeper-Of-Memories knew, he was flying backwards as a wave of Ground energy swept out in all directions, his Double Team copies flickering out of existence. Mega Ampharos's Thunderstorms finally overpowered the Hyper Beam that had been nothing but a delaying action only to break uselessly against the now Ground-type Type: Full.

"Now!" Drasna cried.

Altaria began to sing.

Keeper-Of-Memories grinned as he recognized Perish Song. Type: Full looked up just as Altaria fired a blast of Dragon energy at him with a cry of "Draco Blast!", the notes of Perish Song still emanating from her.

"RKS System: Ice Memory. Ice Beam."

An Ice Beam shattered the Draco Blast and streaked towards Altaria, but Dragon Dance had boosted Altaria's speed to a point where she easily evaded the attack. "Draco Blast!" she cried again. Now Keeper-Of-Memories understood the plan; with Dragon Dance's speed boost she could evade all of Type: Full's attacks and keep up a barrage of her own attacks to prevent Type: Full from taking the time to disrupt the Song with a blast of sound.

"Not bad," said Grimsley.

"If this doesn't take it down, nothing will," Drasna said grimly.

"Ice Beam." "Draco Blast!"

"Ice Beam." "Draco Blast!"

Again and again Type: Full fired, and again and again Altaria evaded with ease and returned fire, forcing Type: Full to repeat the cycle. Keeper-Of-Memories smirked - six seconds left on Perish Song.

This fight was over.

Then Type: Full's eyes narrowed. "RKS System: Ghost Memory. Explosion."

Altaria and Drasna's eyes both widened. "Protect!" Drasna called, but it was too late, for Altaria was already swooping in to fire another Draco Blast from her mouth. Type: Full erupted in a massive explosion, sending Altaria flying with its power, dissipating the Draco Blast on its way out of her mouth. The Perish Song stopped as Altaria fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Well," said Grimsley, "didn't see that one coming."

"At least it's down now," Drasna said with relief clear in her voice. "Let's radio Diantha and…and…no. That's completely impossible."

And yet Type: Full was standing in the rapidly dissipating cloud of smoke caused by the Explosion, completely unharmed.

"What…did it just nullify the effects of Explosion on its own body by turning into a Ghost-type?" Grimsley asked. "That shouldn't even be possible!"

"Possible or not…at the very least it seems to have taken something out of it," said Drasna.

Indeed, Type: Full was panting from the effort of the impossibility it had just unleashed.

"Great," said Grimsley. "So now we get to be killed by a tired Pokemon instead of a less tired Pokemon. Really makes me feel better about our impending deaths."

Keeper-Of-Memories looked over at Mega Ampharos. They were the last two standing, and both of them knew they could do nothing. Keeper-Of-Memories barely managed to stand, especially after that last hit, and though Mega Ampharos hadn't taken a real hit yet in this entire battle, in a one-on-one fight Type: Full would easily win.

"Well," said Mega Ampharos, "let's do this. One last time."

"One last time," Keeper-Of-Memories agreed as Type: Full rose to its full height.

"RKS System: Fairy Memory," Type: Full droned. "Multi-"

It happened in an instant; one moment the two of them were the only ones in the clearing, the next it was completely full. "Protect!" several voices screamed at once.

"-Attack," Type: Full finished, only for the massive blast of Fairy energy to bounce uselessly off several Protects.

"Shut it down!" a female voice cried. "Clefable, Cute Charm! Mismagius, Hypnosis! Lilligant, Grass Whistle!"

"Alakazam, Hypno, Hypnosis!" A male voice joined the female one.

"Error," Type: Full droned. "Vital systems…fading…entering…sleep…mode…"

And with that, Type: Full collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.

Keeper-Of-Memories looked up at their saviors, a group of Trainers in blindingly white suits that stuck out like sore thumbs in the rather darkened landscape. They were dominated by a pair of Trainers, the male and female who had subdued Type: Full. Both were blonde; the male was short-haired with a goatee and a large green translucent pair of goggles, while the woman was very long-haired, to the point her hair came down to her waist, with a serene expression on her face and a white and gold dress that gleamed in the sunlight.

Grimsley chuckled. "Well, well, well," he said. "Didn't expect you to show up, Lusamine. What are you doing here?"

"That's Aether President Lusamine to you, Grimsley," Lusamine retorted. "And, for your information, we came to help against Team Flare. Now can someone please explain to me exactly how a fully-functional Type: Full ended up in Kalos?"

"You know this Pokemon?" Drasna asked.

"Aether Paradise attempted to develop a prototype for a new artificial Pokemon," Lusamine explained. "The prototype went berserk and the experiment was discontinued. The fact that one is here, now…should not be possible."

Keeper-Of-Memories tuned out the rest of the conversation, for his eyes, roving around the area as the remaining Aether Foundation personnel secured Type: Full, caught sight of a pair of red-tinted glasses watching from the bushes.

The glasses pulled away after a couple seconds, but Keeper-Of-Memories knew who those glasses belonged to. He considered pursuing, but his aching body warned him against it.

Xerosic could be dealt with later, once all this chaos was over with.

---

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO!" Xerosic cried as he scuttled through the bushes, away from the clearing, Kecleon following in his wake. "This wasn't part of the plan! They weren't supposed to show up! How…how could I have anticipated this?"

Kecleon looked up worriedly at his Trainer. With a wave of his hands he summoned letters in the air before his Trainer's eyes. TRAINER, ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?

Xerosic sighed. "I'm fine, Kecleon," he said. "And I guess I did get my research. Now, though, I'll have to make another one from scratch. Oh, this'll take ages! Thank goodness I still have my blueprints in-"

It was at this moment that a tall, black-haired man in a long brown coat and a smaller woman with tangly brown hair and a similar coat materialized right in front of them.

"Good work, Zoroark," said the man. "Xerosic of Team Flare. I am International Police Officer Looker."

"And I'm International Police Assistant Officer Emma," said the woman.

"You are, as of this moment, under arrest," Looker finished.

Xerosic grinned sheepishly, raising his hands into the air. "Ah…any chance I can speak to my lawyer?"

---

Drapion shouldered open yet another door. Both he and Medicham looked through it only to see another empty room with another door on the opposite side. No furniture, not even any lights.

Medicham sighed in disappointment. "Where is the staircase? It's got to be around here somewhere."

"Let's go through that door, an' if that doesn't lead ta anythin', we can backtrack," Drapion suggested.

"All right." Medicham stepped forwards, traversing the room in a slow, controlled fashion. That Nightmare Flame was still hurting her - both of them, in fact - although thankfully, with nothing else to worry about, the pain was nothing more than an annoyance.

Drapion followed as Medicham pushed this new door open.

The room before them was most definitely not empty or lightless.

This room was massive, filled with tables, chairs, and computers, blinking and looking as if the room had been in use fairly recently, a look enhanced by the several unconscious Grunts on the floor. The room was bright white and light gray, and at the opposite end of the room was a massive, floor-to-ceiling window through which Medicham and Drapion could see a much darker room with a massive multicolored construct in the center. And in the middle of the construct-

Medicham's breath caught in her throat. "Is that-"

"The Lifebringer," Drapion finished with a growl.

Indeed, the Lifebringer stood hunched in the midst of the multicolored construct, unmoving and, in fact, looking as if he was asleep.

Medicham's mind flew back once more to that clearing, to that very same figure stepping out of the trees, frightening Betrayer-Of-Kin away with nothing but a few words and a small display of power. The Lifebringer had saved Marcus, possibly saved them all.

But if Betrayer-Of-Kin was with Team Flare, had that act led them straight to him?

Had the Lifebringer gotten captured because of them?

"What kind of thing is that?" Medicham asked.

"A prison, from the looks of it," Drapion responded. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"Wait!" Medicham cried. "Listen!"
Drapion stood still. Now he registered what Medicham had clearly heard: the shouts and cries of battle coming from below.

Medicham began creeping forwards.

"What are ya doing?" Drapion asked.

"I'm just looking," Medicham whispered. She stepped closer. Closer. Looked down. "It's Calem and Serena!"

Curiosity overrode sense. Drapion stepped forwards to look down beside Medicham. Sure enough, it was Calem and Serena.

And Lysandre.

They were fighting, and it seemed that Lysandre was winning.

Two of Calem's Pokemon and three of Serena's were unconscious on the ground; Drapion also could not see Serena's Absol, though he admitted to himself that that didn't entirely feel like a bad thing. That left Calem's Blastoise, Chesnaught, and Mega Lucario up against a Noivern, Mienshao, and Mega Gyarados that belonged to Lysandre - and it was obvious that even Calem's extraordinarily powerful Pokemon were no match for Lysandre's. Even as they watched, Lysandre's Noivern sent Chesnaught flying with a wave of pure sound, while Mienshao engaged Mega Lucario in a brutal, high-speed battle of fists while Mega Gyarados ripped into Blastoise with a brutal-looking Dark-type attack.

"Oh, no," Drapion growled. "Ah am not gettin' caught up in that."

"Agreed," said Medicham. "Let's get out of here."

"Medicham! Drapion!"

The duo turned to see Marcus burst into the room through the exact door they'd came in through. "Told ya we should've backtracked," Drapion growled.

"Not now, Drapion." Medicham looked up at Marcus as he ran over to them and smiled warmly. She raised a hand. "Hello, Marcus."

Marcus knelt down next to them. "I'm so glad you're both all right! It's…the rest of the team is injured but fine. How are you feeling?"

"Like gettin' outta this place," Drapion growled.

Marcus's eyes now wandered past Medicham and Drapion to spy the conflict down below. He winced at the sight. "That looks terrifying. We should probably get-"

"I have a feeling that you're the teenager Siebold was talking about."

Marcus turned to look at Diantha as she stepped into the room through a side door. Her Gardevoir slid into the room behind her; both of them looked somewhat haggard as they walked up to Marcus.

Marcus stood quickly. "Champion Diantha! I was just-"

"Oh, Arceus…" Diantha's Gardevoir was at the glass window, hands pressed against the glass as she beheld the imprisoned form of the Lifebringer. "Lifebringer, what have they done to you?"

Diantha smiled at Marcus. "It's perfectly all right, Siebold told me everything. And while I don't necessarily agree with him sending a child down here on their own, it seems you are safe and have reunited with your team." Her face hardened. "That said…it seems that there are other children here as well."

Marcus followed her eyes. Medicham did the same just as Calem's Lucario managed to send Mienshao flying with a powerful-looking blast of Aura, but left himself open to a wave of Flying energy from Noivern that knocked him flat on his back. Marcus gulped. "I…uh…we were together. When Malva showed up, I told them to run."

"And of course they came down here." Diantha sighed. "What is it with children these days? It's like half of them want to emulate Red…whatever. Marcus, you should leave. It is not safe for you down there. Gardevoir and I will handle this."

Marcus nodded hastily in agreement. Diantha's warm smile returned. "You have a good team, Marcus. From what I heard they did quite well against Malva. I look forward to seeing you in the Kalos League."

"I'll be there," said Marcus.

"Gyarados, Hyper Beam, full power!"

Medicham looked back to see Lysandre's Mega Gyarados open its maw wide and open fire with a ridiculously large beam of energy. But Blastoise, his target, managed to leap out of the way. The Hyper Beam disappeared from view as it slammed into what had to be the wall just under them.

Time seemed to slow down as Mega Gyarados twisted, carving his Hyper Beam across the wall, chasing down Blastoise. The room around them began to rumble; under them, metal groaned and a loud snapping noise made itself known.

"Is this…" Marcus swallowed. "Is this room built on an overhang?"

Medicham looked around wildly as the room slowly, but surely, began to tilt.

"It seems that way," Diantha said, swallowing. "Gardevoir, Protect bubble, now!"

The command was almost drowned out by the massive crashing noises as the room essentially cracked in half. The overhang portion, the portion that Marcus and Diantha were both standing on, began to tip more and more as all the tables, chairs and computers on that section of the room toppled over, tumbling to the ground, screens shattering and sparks flying. A few unlucky unconscious Grunts began to slide towards them along with the falling furniture.

"Mind Barrier!" Gardevoir cried.

The five of them were suddenly encased in a purple translucent Protect bubble. "Psychic Hold!" Gardevoir cried, and in a flash the five of them were frozen in the bubble, not sliding despite the fact that everything else in the collapsing half-room was. A few pieces of furniture struck the bubble as the room, groaning in stress, began to slide down into the dark chamber below.

Cries of panic came from Calem, Serena, and Lysandre as they dove out of the way. The room fell, its furniture slamming into and bouncing off the Mind Barrier, the group locked in place, defying gravity itself, by Gardevoir's hold.

There was a massive, earth-shattering slam, and then everything finally stilled.

Gardevoir released the Mind Barrier, then the Psychic Hold, and all five of them collapsed to the slightly diagonal ground, even Diantha.

"That was…something," the Champion murmured. "I apologize, Marcus, but it seems you have become involved in this after all. Please, stand back. I will handle Lysandre."

Slowly, Diantha looked over her shoulder through the now-shattered window. The window was at a diagonal to the floor, but they could all see Lysandre glaring at them through it anyway.

"Gardevoir, no sudden movements," Diantha ordered, before turning and stepping slowly out of the room.

Medicham looked around at the carnage. AZ was standing against the wall, looking surprisingly calm considering the fact that half a room had just dropped into the chamber he was standing in. Calem and Serena looked much less calm, as did Calem's Chesnaught, the only one of his Pokemon that was currently left standing; apparently Mega Gyarados's Hyper Beam had caught Blastoise after all. Speaking of Mega Gyarados, the massive snakelike Pokemon was coiling protectively around Lysandre, while Noivern hovered above. Lysandre's two remaining Pokemon glared with him at Diantha as she stepped from the wreckage of the fallen room, Gardevoir beside her.

"Lysandre," said Diantha. "It doesn't have to end like this."

"It does," said Lysandre. "Don't you see? This world must be changed!"

"And you have changed it," said Diantha. "Twenty years. Twenty years fighting against those who sought to use Pokemon for ill. You changed the world, Lysandre."

"No, I didn't!" Lysandre snarled. "Every time I took some no-name poacher or group down, another just took its place! Team Rocket! Aqua! Magma! Galactic, Plasma, Cipher! None of what I did changed everything! Evil team after evil team just kept on coming!"

"And so you founded your own?" Diantha asked.

Lysandre paused momentarily but noticeably. "It was a means to an end," Lysandre defended. "Their task was to steal Pokemon, yes. But not to use them for ill. To save them. So that they could be redistributed in the world after the Ultimate Weapon was fired."

"And so you'd wipe out all the humans," said Diantha. "Exterminate all of those poachers and monsters for good, and leave Pokemon in a paradise where no humans could possibly hurt them."

"Exactly!" cried Lysandre. "I can do more to help Pokemon with the press of a single button than I did in twenty years of work!"

"And what about the Trainers who do not steal and mistreat Pokemon?" Diantha asked. "Do they deserve the same fate?"
Lysandre paused for even longer. At last he said, "They are acceptable sacrifices."

"How can you speak of people like that?" Serena demanded from the corner. "Professor Sycamore, our parents, the Gym Leaders…are they just sacrfices to you?"

"What about Pokemon?" Lysandre asked. "Those countless Pokemon that are constantly stolen and kidnapped by unscrupulous Trainers, caged and sold off or used to steal other Pokemon or even experimented on to create monsters! You weren't there in Orre when Cipher invaded! There are countless millions of Pokemon who have suffered at the hands of poachers and other human monsters, and unless I use this there will be countless millions more!"

"You don't believe that."

Lysandre stopped short in his rant. Marcus, Serena, and Calem looked at Diantha with shocked eyes. Even AZ looked stunned.

Diantha smiled. "I can see it in your eyes. You are saying words you do not actually believe."

"N-no," said Lysandre. "Of course not."

"Then why have you not already raised the Ultimate Weapon?"

Lysandre froze.

"I know you, Lysandre," said Diantha. "I can see the conflict in your eyes. You say you want to fire that weapon. Trade a few million lives for countless millions. A million is a statistic to you, isn't it? The thing is, Lysandre...you can talk all you want about pressing that button and firing that weapon. But when you stand over that button, can you really bring yourself to make that trade?"

Lysandre's eyes widened and he looked back at the Ultimate Weapon. His eyes glanced between a few buttons. A red one labeled "Raise". A blue one labeled "Fire". A gray lever labeled "Containment Release".

And then turned back towards Diantha, tears streaking his face from under his visor.

"…I can't," he whispered. "I…can't do it. But...it's too late. I've...already gone too far, haven't I?"

Diantha stepped towards Lysandre. Lysandre flinched, but Diantha merely touched his shoulder. "No, Lysandre," she said. "It's never too late."

Lysandre sighed heavily, and then his Mega Gyarados tapped on his shoulder.

Lysandre turned to face Mega Gyarados. The Atrocious Pokemon smiled sadly. "She's right," he said simply. "Make the decision you want to make."

The orange-haired man smiled back at his Gyarados, then turned back towards Diantha. "You...you need to run," he whispered.

"We are leaving together," said Diantha. "I-"

"No!" Lysandre snapped. "You need to run! All of you need to run! Because as soon as he realizes-"

"Dark Aura."

At that very moment, the sound of massive wingbeats burst in the room as another being materialized on the ceiling. All that Medicham could see of that being was a single dark cloud with two piercing red eyes and what looked to be the hooked tips of two long black wings. But that image, and those words, told Medicham exactly who this was, just as a wave of power slammed straight into Medicham's mind. She fell to her knees just as the Nightmare Flame flared up again, clutching her head with both hands. Everyone else around the room staggered, even AZ.

Medicham looked up, bleary-eyed, as Yveltal, the Harbinger of Death, descended from the ceiling, baleful gaze locked firmly on the trembling Lysandre.

"I-"

"Silence," Yveltal snarled. "We had a deal, Lysandre. I would aid you against the Lifebringer and finish off Team Flare once the weapon was fired. All you had to do was fire the weapon. Is that truly so difficult to understand?"
"Yveltal…" Lysandre gasped. "I…I couldn't…"

"This is what I get for relying on pathetic humans," the Harbinger of Death growled. "Dark Aura: Oblivion Wing."

A dozen black tendrils reached out from the cloud, snaking around Lysandre's limbs and body and neck and lifting him into the air.

"SAVIOR!" Mega Gyarados roared. "Mold Breaker: Hyper Beam!"

Noivern lunged into the air. "Sound Wave!"

"No. Dark Aura: Oblivion Pulse."

An eruption of Dark energy lashed out from Yveltal, slamming straight into the Sound Wave and Hyper Beam and ripping through them both. Mega Gyarados and Noivern plunged to the ground, unmoving.

Lysandre gurgled in distress. Diantha's eyes narrowed. "That is enough! Gardevoir!"

Gardevoir lunged forth. "Life Blast!"

"I decide when it is enough, Champion," Yveltal snarled. "Dark Aura: Oblivion Wing."

Medicham saw with mounting horror that Lysandre, gasping and struggling in the Harbinger's tendrils, seemed to be rotting in their grasp, his body aging and falling apart as the tendrils appeared to drain his life. Another surge of tendrils reached down, this time aiming for Diantha, but Gardevoir's blast of Fairy energy exploded against them, ripping them apart.

"Oh, Disciple of Life, that was a mistake," Yveltal growled. "Dark Aura: Oblivion Burst."

"Trace: Ability Scan!" Gardevoir cried. "Attack RefleeeeEEEEEYAAAARGGGGHHHH!"

The form of Diantha's Ace collapsed to the ground, hands clutching her head as tightly as she could. A second later, a whirlwind of Dark energy slammed into her, increasing the scream to a fever pitch.

Medicham tore her head away, unable to watch, and her eyes beheld something that she hadn't expected. While everyone else was watching in horrified fascination, Calem was very slowly creeping over to the console of the Ultimate Weapon.

The Dark energy dissipated, revealing the unconscious body of Diantha's Gardevoir.

"Only I can use my Ability without shattering my own mind," the Harbinger of Death gloated. "Ah, it appears I am finished."

With a casual swing he tossed Lysandre aside. The tall, orange-haired man fell to the ground, aged almost beyond recognition.

"Savior…" Astonishingly, Mega Gyarados was still conscious, for he began crawling towards Lysandre's body, tears streaming from his eyes. "Savior, no…"

"Why are you doing this?" Diantha screamed furiously, her calm demeanor completely nullified by Yveltal's casual brutality.

"Why, you ask, Champion?" the Harbinger asked. "As I so recently pointed out, I made an agreement with Lysandre. He would fire the Ultimate Weapon, granting me a few million souls for me to take to my master. And in return, as per his request, I would not only aid him in capturing the Lifebringer, but I would also, once it was finished, kill everyone in Team Flare." Yveltal chuckled darkly. "Funny thing…he didn't exclude himself from that count. I have to wonder if that was intentional…"

Yveltal sighed. "But he, of course, welched on his agreement. It is truly a shame…but the souls of the Champion of Kalos, her team, and all of the other Trainers and Pokemon in this bunker should be an acceptable consolation prize for my master. And best of all, since I will remain in this bunker, I will not be seen by any others, and my involvement will not be known. Which was the reason I aligned with Lysandre in the first place - in order to mask my involvement to those who are actually strong enough to face me." Yveltal chuckled again. "So, Champion Diantha, and for that matter everyone in this room, you would do well to say your goodbyes. For this will be your last minute in this world."

Medicham looked up at Drapion and Marcus. Marcus looked as if he was about to faint in fear, while even Drapion looked terrified. He looked at Medicham worriedly, and Medicham forced a smile onto her face even as pain wracked both her body and her mind.

"It's going to be fine," she whispered.

Marcus jerked suddenly. "What the-"

The sound of a lever being pulled echoed out into the room. Everyone's attention snapped to Calem, who had his hand clutched firmly around the "Containment Release" lever and had just pulled it down.

"What…" Yveltal snarled. "What did you-"
A series of loud snapping noises, one after the other, echoed after the crunch, drowning out Yveltal's next word or words. Medicham could have sworn the Harbinger of Death backed up slightly as the Ultimate Weapon's multicolored form opened wide.

And the form of the Lifebringer stepped smoothly out.

Yveltal glared down at Xerneas. Xerneas looked up at Yveltal with a disappointed gaze.

The dark cloud around Yveltal began to roil, turning from a cloud to a thundercloud to an outright storm.

Xerneas sighed. "You know, Yveltal," he said, "you were wrong."

"What about?" Yveltal asked.

"Your Psychic shielding," said Xerneas. "I will admit it was effective. You stopped the full might of the Kalosian branch of the Heralds, even shut down my telepathic communication. But I do not use telepathy to communicate. My way of communication is via the earth and the Life within. I made contact with the Dogs of War days ago."

Yveltal shivered slightly. "You're lying."

"I do not lie, Yveltal," said Xerneas.

"Then why are they not here?" the Harbinger of Death asked.

"Because I didn't want them to be," said Xerneas. "Because I thought that I could make you see reason. That was why I allowed you to capture me. I truly believed you could be dissuaded from this self-destructive path."

"Then you were a fool," Yveltal hissed.

"Indeed," said the Lifebringer, "I was a fool. But I am done. This farce ends now. End this and return to Oblivion, and I will speak no more of it."

"Even now, you still try and dissuade me," Yveltal stated, amusement in his voice. "Pathetic! You were always pathetic, Lifebringer. I will not yield to you. I will not turn tail and run from you. I have come too far to lose here!"

Xerneas's eyes shone with light as his horns lit up a thousand different colors and he planted his great hooves into the ground.

"So be it."

9,500 words. 12,000 words. And now I've written a chapter with 15,500 words.

Each in two days.

This is getting ridiculous. I seriously didn't intend for this arc to have such inconsistently and stupidly long chapters. To quote from Lord of the Rings, this arc "grew in the telling."

The next chapter is the finale of the Battle of Geosenge, though, and I think it'll be a return to a more manageable length.

Thank goodness for my sanity...