Tree of Beginning, Interior
Amidst the sound of dull groans, creaks, and the trembling all throughout the Tree of Life, one chamber was filled with the terrible noise of low, raspy sobs. Ash and Serena, their heads bowed, held onto one another as they let loose their sorrows.
Riley. Yet another loss to add to the pile. He had given them so much. Protected them, trained them, defended their lives with his own time and time again. And it was their fault. They had spent everything they had aiding the very man who killed him and further reduced the world to this pit.
It was the breaking point. Serena fell apart, and Ash no longer had the strength to hold his despair back any longer. Even as the world around them crumbled, all they felt they could do was sit in the dark and let their frustrations loose like this.
One of them was not quite as content with that. Paul, leaning against the side of the chamber, tapped his feet impatiently. The two had been at this ever since they were teleported here, and though Paul had been patient thus far, that patience was running thin before long.
Another tremor shook the chamber and nearly caused Paul to slide off the wall, and at that point, he was done waiting. Ash and Serena jumped slightly when their bags were thrown at them.
"Get up," Paul ordered, gathering his own belongings together. When the two glanced up at him with wet eyes, his bruised face scrunched up. "Look, I'm really sorry about your friend, but that bastard out there won't wait for you to grieve and we'll have a lot more to grieve about if you two do nothing but cry!"
Without waiting for a response, Paul took his Drapion's Pokeball in his bruised hand for the first time in what felt like ages. "With or without you, I'm going. I owe my Pokemon and myself that much for what they did to us."
Paul turned away from the two, making his way toward a tunnel at the edge of the chamber. Through wet eyes, Ash looked down into the Aura seeping from his hand as if it would offer him any answer.
That answer came in the form of pain. Of the agony of the Tree of Life. All around him, he could feel it. Bark ripping, branches breaking. Slowly but surely, it was dying by Nova's hand. It didn't matter that he was sick to his stomach, or that every hope he ever had of returning to the way things were before were continuing to be depleted. The world keeps turning. But it wouldn't if this tree went down.
Ash bowed his head, wiped away the last of his tears, and stood up. "You're right." All around him, his Aura surged with more ferocity than ever before, to the point it nearly filled the entire chamber. Serena recoiled with surprise, but the ivory flames did not hurt her.
"They had their chance," Hissed a furious Ash, recalling the meek Commander Thorn in particular, "And they blew it. They need to go down. I won't forgive them."
Serena was shocked to hear Ash of all people talk like that. Then again, she wasn't exactly feeling peachy for the Nova Branch either. She winced at the memory of what he had done to her, and to everyone else. It disgusted her to know she had been helping that monster all this time.
Her feelings alerted Ash. Around him his Aura surged even more greatly for only a moment, then shrank. He let out a short sigh. "Paul. I can't speak for what you've gone through, but I know it's more than enough. Serena's been through a lot too, so…"
Outstretching a hand, Ash focused his Aura into a single spot, creating a small white orb at his side. "You don't have to be hurt by them anymore. I'll open a portal to the Hall. Arceus will understand."
Paul scoffed at the offer. "Thanks, but no thanks." He pointed at his bruised face, then drew his finger across the innumerable scars along his arm. "You're living a dream if you think I'm gonna stand idly by after what they did. I'm gonna repay every single scar they put on my Pokemon and I."
"I'm staying too," Insisted Serena. "After that, do you really think I'm going to just leave you alone?"
Whipping around, Ash told her vehemently, "No."
Serena stepped back. "Wh-what do you mean no? I'm not going to-"
"You are." Ash flexed his hand, and a white portal emerged from the orb. He took Serena by her shoulder, staring into her eyes. "I just lost Riley. I am not losing you either."
Gripping his wrist, Serena pushed herself away from him. "You lost Riley? Riley wasn't just your loss, Ash! Do you think I don't feel the same?" She held his wrist tightly. "I'm not leaving you alone. Not here. Especially not after that!"
Ash briefly looked away from her, taking in a sharp, shaky breath. "You can be angry with me all you want. I'd rather you be angry if it means being alive."
"So what? You're just going to push me inside?" She scoffed, giving him a smirk. "If you do that, I'll find my way back. Then I'd have to fight my way through all those soldiers alone. You don't want that, right?"
With his free hand, Ash pinched his brow. She would do that. She absolutely would, and he knew it. Serena moved his hand with her own to get his attention again, and when he looked back up at her with his sullen, tired eyes, she was still giving him that confident smirk.
Serena told him, "You're the one who taught me never to give up, you know. Not on anything."
"I did," Ash responded quietly.
With a small giggle, Serena pulled him close. "The Ash I know isn't such a downer. Even when he was at his lowest, he still got back up." A wry grin crept up her face despite her wet eyes. "It took a snowball or two, but you got up." She shook his wrist again. "And who threw that snowball exactly?"
Ash stared into her eyes, growing more tired the longer he stared into them. With a weighty sigh, he hung his head and dispelled the portal against his better judgement. "Fine," He relented, "But, please, stay close."
Gently, Serena cupped her hands around one of Ash's. "Always."
The skies were filled with roars the likes of which no ordinary Pokemon had ever heard. Roars of engines, not Pokemon. Pairs of jets raced across the skies, dousing the area between the Pokemon and the encroaching humans in blinding smoke.
Thunderous booms filled the air, followed by shrill whistling. From the smoke, several shells descended upon the Pokemon. Only one of them, a Xatu, was able to discern their true danger through future sight. It tried to cry out to the other Pokemon near the forefront to no avail.
Along the front lines of the Pokemon of the Tree of Life, thousands of powerful Pokemon stood tall against the oncoming projectiles and used Protect. It didn't matter. The moment the shells made contact, the explosions ripped through the barriers as if they weren't there at all.
Their screams were drowned out by the roads of the explosions as shell after shell were hailed upon the Pokemon. Those not caught in the crossfire scattered. Some of the smaller ones sought refuge behind larger Pokemon, but many of those Pokemon simply bolted toward the smoke in an eager attempt to rid themselves of the bombardment.
"Looks like the Feint shells worked like a charm," Remarked a prone soldier , peering at the Pokemon through binoculars. He stood up, smacking the side of the tank next to him, its muzzle still freshly smoking. "They're on their way," He said into his transceivers, "Aim lower."
Wisely, that soldier lowered himself prone again and covered his head as the tank next to him lowered its barrel. All along the field, parallel to one another, dozens more did the same, including two particularly large ones. Like falling dominoes, each tank fired one after the other in a line.
The Pokemon racing toward their enemy were hardly given a moment's notice to breathe before the wave of shells were upon them. For nimble Pokemon such as Luxray, they evaded the line of shells, leaving whatever was behind them to their fates in order to prioritize attacking. Durable Pokemon such as Aggron took the blows head on and kept moving.
Many brave Pokemon who chased down their attackers had neither of these advantages. A lone Throh, faced with the impending explosives, stood his ground and used Endure. It winced as a forceful shockwave and burning heat ravaged its skin, and yet, it survived, as was the nature of Endure.
What the unfortunate Throh could not account for was the laser sight pointed at the back of its head. Above, one helicopter among dozens hovered over the gap between the Pokemon and the humans. A soldier from its side took aim at the Throh on its last legs, and with one bullet, all was over.
"All HC bird units, intercept the enemy with suppressive fire," Came Nova's voice through the soldiers' transceivers. "Warplanes, thin and divide the numbers of the main horde with strafe runs. Infantry, remain prone, aim up. Drop any flying beast that you see."
On his order, the doors of the helicopters flew open. Large rotating barrels along their sides began spinning rapidly as the men operating them took aim. Hails of bullets rained down upon the Pokemon trying to bridge the gap.
As one stream neared a running Rhydon, it stopped and whirled around, only to be pelted into the ground. This fate was shared amidst many of the Pokemon looking to retaliate. Those lucky or sturdy enough to survive were beaten back by the next round of tank shells launched their way.
Roars of jet engines filled the air over the heads of the Pokemon nearest to the tree. Most of them were still banded together in the hopes that their numbers would give them an advantage. They had no way of knowing that it only made them easier targets.
Even louder than the engines were the weapons they fired. Taking turns in groups of five, the jets strafed over the heads of the Pokemon and left chaos in their wake. A loud, deep buzzing noise came from the jets, followed swiftly by the sounds of screaming Pokemon as they were bombarded by thick rounds.
Even powerful Steel-Type Pokemon such as Steelix and Aggron recoiled at the innumerable hits from the sky that threatened to break their metallic skin. Those that weren't Steel-Type never stood a chance, quickly wrent apart by the airborne threat. As the survivors retaliated with attacks of their own, the swift jets had already bolted out of harm's way.
Just as Nova suspected, there were flying Pokemon seeking to use the smokescreen to their advantage and attack from above. The moment they reared their head through that smoke, the soldiers below, lying flat on the ground, took aim and fired.
Their bullets drilled straight through their bodies, and they dropped like flies when struck. A Skarmory, with its metallic skin, shrieked in surprise as a bullet struck its chin and bounced off.
It shrieked down at them with rage, assaulting the ears of those who heard it with its high pitched voice. Rearing its head back, the Skarmory fired a Flash Cannon down upon a pair of prone soldiers laying beside a tank.
"Shields up!" One of them cried, and the soldiers nearby all raised their right arm over their head, causing the round devices on their wrists to emit a barrier above them. A similar shield appeared around the tank just before the Flash Cannon struck.
With its target disappearing in a veil of smoke, the Skarmory glanced away to fire elsewhere on its enemy. Something gleaming red shot up from the smoke, driving straight through its metal feathers and out the other end. And with a final choked wail, the Skarmory fell from the air.
"Bullseye," Garishly remarked a soldier, still holding his smoking rifle. "Armor piercing, elemental bullets, they really thought of everything, didn't they?" His eyes narrowed as he was reminded of the fresh memory of Mew's wrath. "I suppose they had to, now that I think of it."
As Nova's warplanes soared overhead, an Alakazam in the main horde was struck with an idea. With telekinesis, the Psychic-Type Pokemon transmitted orders to all Pokemon in the vicinity to use protective moves, and for those without such moves to hide near the ones that did.
Those orders never made it to the Dark-Types, their bodies inherently repelling the Psychic nature of the telekinetic orders. However, seeing the rest of the Pokemon hurriedly gathering beneath the Barriers and Protects of those who could use them, they quickly fell in line on their own.
All, save for a few prideful Pokemon, such as a lone Krookodile. It stomped its tail into the ground and roared up at the blaring jets overhead. It shot a barrage of Stone Edges up at them as they approached, and in return, the jets responded with a hail of bullets.
Those bullets beat against the shields of the Pokemon. Although the Pokemon that used Protect, Barrier and Reflect were able to withstand the pelting metal rain, many weaker ones could not. A lone Metapod using its tried and true Harden found this out the hard way, being scoured to the winds by the buzzing fire from above.
Nova watched this thoughtfully. "It seems, even without Mew, they are capable of organizing themselves," He murmured to himself. Pulling up his transceiver, he said, "Lee, let's get those turrets moving while the railgun is charging."
"You got it, shadow man."
High above the battlefield, the Azathoth began to whir to life once more. All along its black exterior and underside, metal panels opened and moved aside to allow weapons to reveal themselves. Long barrels shifted and twisted to aim down at the tree's branches.
Loud whirring and rumbling rang down from the skies as those hundreds of barrels began rotating. Those whirls were replaced with deafening booms with each shot as bullets began raining down upon the Tree of Beginning. Innumerable shells were loosed, crashing against the tree's thick bark.
Despite the tree being shaken, its solid exterior managed to hold up against the onslaught from on high. Billions of years of growing thicker and more solid would not be tarnished by mere bullets so easily.
Behind the shadow of his shades, Nova stared at the gash the Azathoth had made with its railgun. Although it was small, at the very bottom of that opening, he spotted a green glow slowly stitching the wound together.
"It's just as I thought," He murmured into his transceiver to Lee. "The tree is self-repairing. That means Mew's healing in there somewhere."
"Should we focus fire on the wound?"
Nova gruffly replied, "No. That would stop the healing, but it wouldn't get us any closer to taking down the tree itself." His gaze lowered from the wound to a low-hanging branch stretching out, evidently unharmed by the damage done so far. And as he looked lower, his eyes fell upon the main horde of Pokemon, and an idea struck him.
Slowly, he brought the transceiver back up to his mouth and tapped the side of his sunglasses. "You see the coordinates I just sent you?"
"That branch?"
"Drop it."
Lee flipped up a glass box covering a button for the Azathoth's speaker system. "Will do." Upon tapping the button, Lee pulled up a microphone on his desk and spoke.
"All Azathoth artillery staff, shift weapons thirty-two degrees lower."
That order was carried all throughout the ship, echoing throughout its metal interior. As they heard the orders, the men operating the weapons systems began typing away at their computers to properly readjust the aim. The weapons lowered, focusing solely upon the low branch.
As they fired, the orange streaks of metal impacted the colossal branch at its base. The jets cleared away from the area to avoid being caught in the fire, leaving the Pokemon below alone with this new problem over their heads.
A loud crack caused the Pokemon to cry out in fear. That crack spread along the base of the branch where it met the tree until, with a snap, it was severed. The Pokemon below fled as fast as their legs could carry them. Psychic-Types such as Alakazam took as many Pokemon as they could before warping out of harm's way while Flying-Types and Ground-Types flew and dug away respectively.
As for the rest, they were left only with their own legs to carry them as far from harm's way as possible. The Pokemon were divided in two groups, each fleeing in opposite directions to avoid the falling branch. When it fell upon the earth, the ground quaked and splintered, rising and falling like a wave near the impact.
The force of the crash led to the swift end of the lives of many Pokemon close to the impact, a wall of wind and stone striking them from behind. Nearly all of the survivors were flung forward before a thick veil of dust completely covered them. The fall of the branch made every Pokemon caught between the tree and their enemy stop in their tracks, momentarily ceasing the chase to look back upon their comrades with dread suddenly weighing down on them.
With the main horde of Pokemon now out of sight, Nova directed his attention to his own troops. "Men, we're switching from defense to offense. You were briefed on your squads. Stick with them and move along the valley walls to keep the enemy surrounded as we approach the tree."
On his order, the men raised their weapons and bellowed before marching toward the tree. Through the clouds of smoke and dust, the Pokemon roared back and resumed the charge. All manner of vehicles rolled along the jagged ground beside the infantry. A lone flower, still blooming in defiance of the war around it, was crushed underneath the rolling treads of a tank.
Nova, his six men in red at his sides, followed the soldiers as they ran. His cold stare stayed upon the gash in the tree's center as that green light continued to stitch the bottom back together.
"Keep firing onto the tree. Leave the rest of the branches so our troops can proceed." His eyes narrowed at the memory of a gelatinous monster within. "The weaker we render the tree, the better. I'll handle the rest from inside."
Fire was exchanged between the soldiers and the Pokemon in the smoke once the Pokemon realized their target was approaching them. An Abomasnow, noticing shadows moving amidst the smoke, stood tall and prepared to launch a Blizzard attack until a red bullet pierced the fog and, between a fraction of a second later, the Pokemon's body. Mercifully, it was not given time to register what had happened before more bullets pelted it until it fell.
Along the eastern side of the valley, things were going less smoothly for the Nova Corporation. A lone soldier watched with horror as a Psychic grip pulled one of his squadmates into the smoke, leaving only a scream in his wake that was swiftly silenced.
That lone soldier breathed heavily, quickly loading a Dark-Type round. Something was taking out his entire squadron systematically, evading or blocking their ammunition before they even fired. In front of his face, the status displayed of his compatriots were unresponsive.
The moment he saw a large shadow slipping through the smoke, he fired the Dark-Type round at it, only for his gun to not respond. His breath caught in his throat. As he dared to look down, he found his gun shrouded in a purple glow before it was yanked away from him. The last he saw of it was it being crushed by something invisible before it disappeared into the smoke.
His legs gave way. Falling onto his backside, the lone soldier weakly scuttled away from where he had last seen the shadow. He looked all around him in the smoke, spotting fleeting things and shapes in the darkness for the briefest of moments.
And then, he saw it. Two gleaming red eyes in the smoke, staring squarely at him. A hulk of metal crashed down in front of him. A Metagross. It was no wonder his team was taken out so easily. The metal Pokemon stomped toward him, raising one of its front claws as it prepared to strike him down with a Meteor Mash.
The beast roared and brought down the attack. All the soldier could do was cower and close his eyes, awaiting the inevitable. There was a deafeningly loud clang that shook the soldier to his bones. As he daringly opened his eyes, he found the hulk of metal confronted with another one.
A large black hand gripped tightly onto the Metagross's arm. The Metagross glowered up at this challenger, only to be met with a cold, dark, empty visor. As the Metagross's eyes glowed, it was lifted off of the ground by the armored man. Panels opened along the man's arm and shoulder, spewing white hot flames that propelled the arm forward.
The Metagross was hurled into the smoke-filled sky like a bullet. More panels opened along the thick metal arm as it was pointed up at the flying Metagross. From them, flames so hot it made the air whistle were loosed. They honed in on the Metagross, and though it attempted to protect itself with Light Screen, it was enveloped in fire just the same.
Through his empty visor, the Burned Man kept his aim steady on the Metagross as it fell, keeping it tightly trained on his target despite its attempts to flee. When he lowered his smoking arm, a smoking black shell where there was once a Pokemon crashed onto the ground.
Wide-eyed, the soldier scrambled to his feet and saluted. "H-Harper, sir!"
Harper paid no mind to him, merely staring out into the cloud of smoke blankly. The soldier stood still, unsure of what to do until the sound of something clamping into the ground nearby caught his attention. Several wires stretched out from the smoke, embedding themselves in the solid stone ground. With a whir, those wires pulled a squad of Black Suits into sight.
One of them smirked at the flustered soldier. Noticing the lack of a weapon in the smaller man's hands, the Black Suit stepped toward him, shoving a large rifle into his arms. It was longer than he was tall. Just from looking at it, he was baffled from the idea of any person wielding it.
"That ought to serve you better than standard-issue gun," He told the soldier before shoving him off, making him nearly trip as he stumbled backwards. "Now get back into the fray."
Clapping a hand onto Harper's steel shoulder, he pointed out into the smoke. "Horde's not far off now. Ain't this nostalgic? We haven't gotten paired up since…" He chuckled, patting Harper's shoulder with a small clang. "Well, you know."
Harper grumbled within his suit. Kneeling down, several panels opened up along his back and the rear end of his arms and legs. "Take care of the ones that slip by me," He said simply. Propulsive jets of flame burst from the opened panels, slowly dragging his heavy body forward as the jets intensified until he launched forward. Smugly, the Black Suit shrugged and he, along with the others, fired their hookshots into the smoke to follow.
"Was it wise to give him of all people a crystal shard?" Asked a concerned Lee. "These things come from Necrozma, and Harper is far from stable."
Casually, Nova replied, "The crystal I suited him with happens to be unstable as well. Should Harper potentially compromise the mission, then…" He glanced down at his watch. "I can simply detonate his crystal."
As he sped toward the main horde of Pokemon on the eastern side of the fallen branch, the Burned Man grabbed the first one that entered his path: an unfortunate Golem. Bringing it over his shoulder, he smothered it in flames as it writhed in his grasp, then hurled it toward a large group.
It impacted them like a meteor, sending bodies flying. "Fifteen-hundred meters from base of tree," Droned Harper's logistics system. Unlike the rest of his compatriots, Harper could not care less about the tree. His aim was much closer.
Barreling into the first group of Pokemon he made contact with using his broad shoulder, Harper whirled around toward a stunned Trevenant and erased it with a single stream of flame from his palm. A Bisharp ducked low with the intent to strike Harper in the back with a Night Slash.
Panels opened along the side of Harper's right arm, releasing flames that propulsed his arm around. As metal clashed against metal, Bisharp's proved to be inferior. Its body folded on impact as Harper's fist sent its scraps across the valley floor.
An unwise Ariados attempted to bind Harper with a String Shot for a Pinsir, Gurdurr, and Crawdaunt to ambush him from his rear. From openings on his shoulders, a large burst of fire overtook the three Pokemon, and then, they were gone.
The Ariados stepped back with wide eyes, chittering in shock. From that noise, Harper's helmet turned, staring the arachnid into its many eyes with a blank, empty visor. As he raised his arm, the thick silk was torn from his armor.
The Ariados backed away, not daring to take its eyes from the armored monster of a man. That mistake proved fatal. It let out a shrill shriek as a heated knife was driven down through its back, then collapsed.
"Bug-Types," Spat a Black Suit as he kicked the corpse aside. "Even among the rest of these beasts, those ones are always especially disgusting. The sooner we get rid of that tree, the better."
Harper said nothing to him, instead merely turning around toward the main horde of Pokemon grouped together near the base of the tree. From them, thousands of their ranks were headed his way. Once upon a time, Harper would have felt his heart racing from a sight like this, as any Black Suit would.
As the rest of his entourage caught up, the Black Suit nearest to Harper glanced up at the sky and found a low-flying Aerodactyl glaring down at them. With a smirk, he said, "We're outnumbered a hundred to one by those things. Go ahead and give them hell. We'll be right behind you."
Not waiting to be told twice, Harper knelt down and opened the panels along his back. As he boosted off to intercept the approaching army, one of the Black Suits aimed their hook wire up at the Aerodactyl and fired.
The ancient Pokemon cried out as the wire wrapped around its foot. Seeing the wire pulling the man up toward it, the Aerodactyl screeched with fury and shot down a barrage of Stone Edges down at him. The Black Suit brought up his shield to intercept the jagged stones.
Retracting the wire, the Black Suit bashed the shield into the Pokemon's face when the two collided. The Aerodactyl was knocked upside down. As it fell, it felt the man's boot press down on its chest. This infuriated the Pokemon. Its eyes growing red with rage, it opened its mouth to let out a deafening roar, only for something small and metal to be shoved down its gullet.
"Eat hell for me, would ya?" Asked the Black Suit, kicking the Pokemon's mouth shut. He leapt off the Pokemon's chest and brought up his shield as it fell.
An explosion rang through the air behind Harper as he sped toward the horde. It seemed his presence did nothing to deter their march. Kneeling forward, the hollow metal man let loose more flames from his arms to bathe his body in a cone of heat. He wondered if this would deter them.
He drove his flaming fist through the first of them. His massive body piled through dozens of Pokemon. Only when he was already halfway through did the Pokemon manage to leap away on either side of the flame-coated menace. Digging his heels into the dirt, he shut off the flames and dragged himself to a halt.
Once he had finally managed to stop, Harper doubled over. His opened panels released heated steam into the air to cool his armored body. Through the steam obscuring his vision, the Burned Man could see that he was surrounded. That was fine by him. After all, that only meant he didn't have to bother aiming.
Spreading out his arms, glowing brighter with orange light, Harper opened the panels on them to allow his flames to rampage. White hot jets curved through the air and burnt away at the surrounding horde. Cries of agony arose from the Pokemon. Even those not directly touched by the flames found themselves recoiling.
A valiant Manectric stepped to the forefront and shot a Thunderbolt at their attacker. The lightning ran all along the conductive metal suit. Covering his visor with his massive hand, Harper took aim at where he had seen the Manectric and fired back.
As the flames approached, a Wobbuffet proudly stepped in the way and brought up its arm in a sort of salute. As it cried its name, a blue glow enveloped it. The flames stopped just as they reached the Pokemon, then suddenly turned on their source.
Harper lowered his arm to see what had become of the Manectric only to be assaulted by his own flames. He recoiled, gripping at his visor as his every sense was assaulted. Snarling, he swiped his arm through the flame and made a mad dash for the Wobbuffet.
It veiled itself in red as it prepared to use Counter against whatever Harper was planning, only to cry out as it was swiped off the ground by his grip. Bringing the Pokemon over his shoulder, he let fire spew from his arm to propel it before hurling it into the sky.
The Pokemon flinched as Harper let out a bellow that hardly sounded human. He sprinted into the crowd, the gaps in his plating still glowing brightly with heat. By the dozens, bodies were sent into the air by the metal wrath tearing at them.
Their paltry attempts to defend themselves and retaliate were ineffective. If any bolt of lightning or jagged stone made it past his thick metal armor, he did not show it. Every swipe of his arm spelled the end for a Pokemon. Every stream of flame did the same for more.
He held out his palm to spray the Pokemon around him, and as those who had nowhere to run agonized over Fire consuming them, a Magmortar leapt in the way of the jet. Harper scoffed. It must have had Flash Fire as an ability. That wouldn't save it from bludgeoning.
Sprinting toward it, he brought back his arm and prepared to drive his fist through the annoyance. As he threw the punch, a Hitmonchan intervened and struck the side of his arm. Narrowly, his fist missed the Magmortar as it was pushed away. And though the Hitmonchan internally celebrated its small victory, as it peered into the abyss of the metal man's visor, it felt that sense of victory quickly slip away.
A propulsed backhand sent the Hitmonchan's corpse skyward. When the Magmortar attempted to shoot up at him, he held a hand over its cannon arm and crushed it in one swift, effortless motion before tossing it away.
It hobbled back onto its feet, clutching its shattered arm. But as it attempted to flee, a hook and wire were shot into its chest. The Magmortar cried out in shock, frantically trying to swipe it off until the wire pulled a man in black up with it. Before the Magmortar could raise its good arm, a plasma knife was driven through the creature's neck and it fell.
Stomping down on its head, the Black Suit took in the looks of horror and fury on the faces of the surrounding Pokemon. Proudly, he puffed out his chest as he took in a long, deep breath.
As his compatriots touched down by his side, he glanced over at Harper and said, "Looks like you could use some help."
Holding a squirming Hoppip in his hand, Harper asked, "Is that what this looks like to you?" A single, short lived jet of flame from his palm then erased the small Pokemon as if it hadn't been there at all.
Although he opened his mouth to reply something witty, the Black Suit paused, feeling the hateful stares all around him. "Forget it." With his thumb, he pressed a button on his knife's hilt to set it alight with electricity. "Let's just get down to business."
Streams of flame erupted from gaps along Harper's torso. They swerved around the Black Suits, who whirled around toward where they had gone and raised their shields. The streaks exploded violently as they struck the wall of Pokemon around them, bathing the area in smoke and fire.
A stalwart Hariyama pushed its way through the flames nipping at its skin. It saw the metal monster of a man, turning back to look at it. Although stricken with a sudden sense of fear, it pushed forward. Bellowing the latter half of its name, it prepared to strike against the metal man with its massive palms.
Just before it could deliver the blow, a smaller shadow leapt through the smoke to intervene. A barrier sprang up as a Black Suit raised his arm, and the Hariyama's attack was repelled. There was a loud bang from its side, and suddenly, the Hariyama felt an agonizing sting in its side.
Before it could put a hand on the wound, Harper lurched toward it and grabbed its head. It cried out in pain as the man's steel grasp squeezed its skull. Before Harper could finish it off, he was alerted by several elemental attacks coming his way.
He brought the Hariyama up as a living shield to block the attacks. It cried out in further agony as its wound was struck. Those cries were not lost on the attacking Pokemon, who quickly ceased fire. Through the smoke, the body of the Hariyama was launched at them like a bullet, knocking them onto their backs. The last thing they ever saw were men in black suits hovering over them.
Amidst the flames, a lone Shinx called out to its mother. There was dust all around it, making it nigh impossible to see. It bumped between bodies of Pokemon as the deafening booms of war raged on around it. Yet still, even as its cries for its mother were drowned out by those horrid noises, it kept shouting just the same.
However, those pathetic mewls did not go completely unheard. A loud, metal thump caught the young Shinx's attention. Low groans of hard steel and the slight whirring of machinery made its blood run cold. And as it shakily turned around, it was met with its mother, hanging limply in the grip of a metal demon posing as a man.
As the Burned Man stared down at the Shinx, parts of his armor shifted to loose more flames out at the horde around them. The world around it bathed in flame, the young Shinx was held privy to its every sense being attacked by flames and screams.
All while its mother hung limply in his hand.
The sight stunned the young Pokemon. Its mind simply shut down, unable to cope with the sight. It was paralyzed. The Burned Man raised the Luxray over his head, and in a blinding flash of light, everything it had ever been was gone. He lowered his smoking palm upon the pitiful beastling beneath him and took aim.
There was a fearsome trembling in the ground that at last shook the Shinx out of its stupor. Instinct took over, and it bolted out of the way as a Steelix rose from the earth with a titanic bellow. The metal snake glared down at the metal man, only receiving the emptiness of a black visor in kind.
Upon opening its maw, a silver glow flared to life inside. Harper raised his smoking arm, orange light crawling along the gaps in his armor to his palm. And as they fired upon one another, the collision bathed the two in a thick black smoke darker than what already surrounded them.
A wire shot into the smoke and struck the steel serpent, its hook sticking between the gaps in its body. Snarling with irritation, the Steelix turned to rid itself of the annoyance until its face became bathed in flames from below. As it's head reared back, it let out a howl of rage.
The wire retracted, bringing a Black Suit flying toward the Steelix with a blade in hand. With a shrill hiss, like the grind of rusted steel, the Steelix prepared to crush Harper with a Crunch. And yet, as its jaws clamped down, it did not hear the sound of crumpling metal. Instead, there was a loud clang.
To its shock, the Steelix's maw was held firmly in place by the armored man's arms. They groaned under the unimaginable pressure of a Steelix's unparalleled bite, yet held firm. Harper raised his boot and pressed down on the Steelix's jaw to substitute his left arm. Orange light crawled up the gaps of that arm's armor as Harper pointed it into the steel snake's gullet.
A flash of fear suddenly struck the proud Pokemon. To combat the Burned Man's plan, the silver light of a Flash Cannon appeared in its opened maw. The Black Suit it had made the mistake of forgetting about jammed the blade between the gaps of its body, and upon presiding a button on its hilt, set the blade alight with sparking heat.
That heat sent a sharp pain through the Pokemon's body. It flinched, instinctively turning away from Harper to whatever had made the mistake of interfering with its fight. It was unaware that it had made an even more grave mistake.
Flames engulfed its head inside and out. Raging, burning flames quickly spread along its softer insides. As it wailed, the surrounding Pokemon that still drew breath were beholden to the ghastly sight of flames escaping the Steelix's body along its joints.
The Black Suit leapt away to evade the titanic metal snake's thrashing. Even as its very flesh was consumed with fire, the Steelix saw, between the sparks rising past its eyes, the armored monster responsible and lost what little sense it had left.
Shrieking in an agonized fury, the Steelix launched a Hyper Beam with all of its strength. Three wires stuck into the ground in front of Harper's feet. Just before the beam could land, the Black Suits shielded their companion with their barriers, deflecting the beam into the screaming horde.
Harper rushed out from behind them to attack, but the Steelix had already fallen. His arm fell to his side. From his hollow visor, he stared down at the beast as he approached it. Behind him, the Black Suits looked to one another, unsure of what to make of it.
A burned man and a burned snake. Two heaps of steel bathed in flame wrought with flame inside and out. Harper stood over it motionlessly. On the dead serpent's metal skin, he could make out his own reflection. It appeared that a chord was stricken within him. Two flame coated metal warriors, created only to fight. His black, metal arm reached out, his hand gently hovering over the creature.
And then, his steely, unforgiving grip took hold of the Steelix's tail. Jet thrusters on the underside of his arm flared as he pulled the beast overhead and swung it through the air to fan away the smoke clouding his vision. Several Pokemon that had been obscured to him cried out in terror as their cover was blown.
"It's not enough," Rasped the Burned Man, still clinging onto the Steelix's tail like the hilt of a whip. None of the worthless creatures he had slain sated his itch. He could feel it rising in him all over again. That horrible burning feeling, crushed underneath the merciless wing of Moltres.
Thrusters on his suit's back blasted out, sending him and his new weapon shooting toward his victims. More of them revealed themselves in the absence of the smoke. "More." Harper swung the makeshift whip into the first of the beasts, sending dozens of bodies skyward.
Bringing the Steelix over his head, he stomped into the ground to halt his movement just in front of a new horde. An Ursaring, unfortunate enough to be at the head of the group, felt its skin crawl in the short time it was given.
"I NEED MORE!"
The head of the dead Steelix was brought down, smashing into the ground like a meteor. Amidst the dust and stone raining down around him, Harper flailed the Steelix's body wildly at everything around him. Yet still, he could feel it. No matter how many of the beasts he slew, those flames still licked at his skin.
With a wild roar, he smashed his makeshift whip down with a loud crack. Its body shattered, the collection of steel orbs making up its form scattering. But Harper did not see this. He could not see anything other than that demon bird's wing pressing down against him. And so, he retaliated with flames of his own.
He thrashed against the dust-filled air, relentlessly tossing jets of fire out at everything. Within the depths of his suit, a small, cracked crystal shard began to spin rapidly. Pokemon near and far were suddenly assaulted by a hellish rain. Red streaks of fire became a blinding white that scorched anything it touched.
Those flames collected within his suit. Each and every plate of his armor shifted to make way for this newfound surge of energy. Harper's arms shot out, white-hot energy rushing throughout his armor. The fire that engulfed him became plasma that crawled along his suit. He screamed out in terrible fury, becoming bathed in a blinding explosion of light.
The crystal gradually ceased its movement before the energy could overload. Harper suddenly fell to one knee. Billowing smoke vacated every possible vent his suit held. He panted for air, his mind in a haze. Gone, at least, were Moltres's maddening flickers clouding his every sense. In their place were ashes. The ashes of a thousand beasts, falling around him like grey snow.
His companion Black Suits watched on from afar, their mouths agape. "Could…he always do that?" One of them asked.
Before he could receive an answer, an alarm flared on the interior of his shades. Innumerable dots were closing in one something that wasn't them. "Dammit. Flying Pokémon en route to Harper."
"Beasts looking for revenge?" Scoffed another Black Suit. "Let's move. Even Harper will need a minute to cool down after that."
Far west from the burning wastes of Harper's making, the main front had come up upon a wall. Thousands of Pokemon had bundled together in an attempt to bar the progress of the Nova Corporation. Their troops fired round after round into the horde, but the sheer amount of Pokemon using moves like Protect, Reflect, and Light Screen had dulled the humans' damage down to little more than an irritation.
One soldier retreated behind the shield of an ally. "The enemy is barring our path with defensive moves," He relayed into his transceiver, flinching as a stray Thunderbolt clipped the ground near him. "Awaiting further orders!"
"Maintain formation," Came the voice of a Black Suit.
That Black Suit oversaw the field of battle as he hung from the leg of a helicopter. The wall of beasts was dense. If he were a gambling man, he'd have wagered that those annoying Psychic beasts were responsible for their behavior. His eyes snapped toward the line of tanks slowly rumbling behind the infantry. Only three of them were close enough to the beasts to aim effectively.
"Tank unit 012, aim thirty degrees up, twelve degrees East. Fire with Dark-Type shells. Units 011 and 013, fire upon the shared coordinates from 012 with Feint shells."
As he finished with his orders, the Black Suit placed his transceiver back into his suit and watched the field below intently. He could see the three tanks halt their movement to take aim. If all went well, the wall of beasts would be barraged by a hail that would not only blow straight past their defenses, but also cut off any attempt at orders by the Psychics.
There was a loud warning beep from his shades. The lenses alerted him to something moving toward the tanks from beneath the ground. Whatever it was split into three, one of them making for the infantry closest to the beast wall, one continuing the approach toward the tanks, and one branching off to the East.
"What in the world?" He wondered. Grabbing his transceiver, he quickly issued a warning. "Tank units 011, 012, and 013, cease prior orders immediately and reverse! Infantry units nearby and at the wall, watch the ground and disperse!"
The orders came too late. By the time the affected infantry began scrambling, the ground beneath their feet began to quake. It fell away beneath Tank unit 012, swallowing the armored vehicle and all inside. One soldier near it gasped as the loose rocks gave in to gravity, taking him with them.
A hand clasped his to prevent his fall. "Not today!" Came the voice of a fellow soldier that smirked down at him. "We're seeing the new age of humanity. We didn't come this far just to die at the end."
Before he could pull up the fallen soldier, a large shadow rushed up from the hole just passed the hairs on his head. There was a loud crash behind him, followed swiftly by a terrible quake that nearly sent both soldiers into the gaping abyss.
That soldier, hanging onto his friend for dear life, dared to turn his head toward whatever had sprung up from the hole. His face paled when he saw what towered over him. A brown golem made purely from stone, its numerous yellow eyes brightening, darkening, and making some horrific beeping noise as it peered into his soul.
"R-Regirock?!" Cried the soldier in disbelief.
He tried to yank his friend up quickly, but Regirock was quicker. A fast Hyper Beam sent the two soldiers careening down to meet the same fate as the tank, screaming all the way down.
Behind Regirock, Tank unit 013 took aim at the golem with the intent to avenge its comrade. It fired, and in an instant, Regirock was consumed in a plume of fire and smoke. From that billowing smoke, the lights of Regirock's eyes glimmered, beeping furiously.
"OM-OM-OM-OM-OMOMOMOM-"
A potent orange beam cleaved through the smoke and shot toward the tank. In turn, a bright blue barrier emerged in the tank's defense. That barrier's form warped and reddened from prolonged exposure to the Legend's attack until it could withstand no more. The beam flew straight through the vehicle, and it exploded violently.
All manner of elemental attack met with hails of bullets between the wall of Pokemon and the Nova Corporation's infantry. Between the exchanged fire, a figure shot up from beneath the rocky ground. A golem of ice peered at the offending humans, and in response to this threat, computed a decision swiftly.
Regice held out its crystalline fingers into the crowd, just as they took aim and fired at the new threat, and responded in kind. Ice Beams froze the few bullets loosed against it midair before quickly moving onto their sources.
Many soldiers hardly had the time to scream before they became encased in thick ice that crackled loudly before shattering. Blocks of that ice, trapping the scattered remains of those men inside, fell upon the ground at the feet of their surviving comrades.
"How's Harper looking?!" Shouted one of the Burned Man's Black Suits over the sound of gunfire. Harper's squadron surrounded him defensively, some firing into the smoke at any shadow seeking vengeance for the armored man's slaughter, while one tampered with that armor.
Blinding sparks flew from Harper's armor in response to the welding tool of one Black Suit. "Just minor damage!" He called back. "Besides that, his suit overheated from the inside! The big guy'll live!"
"Yeah, that's great and all…" Responded the first Suit, hissing as he tilted his head to scarcely avoid a Poison Sting from an Arbok. He quickly took aim, putting down the snake Pokemon. "…But when is he getting back on his feet?"
That Black Suit received no answer, and so he scoffed indignantly, his patience thinning. Instead, he chose to focus on continuing to fire at every shadow in the smoke that drew too close.
"Dammit!" He swore angrily. "Why are there so many of them?! You'd think an explosion as bright as the sun would have scared them off! It's like they're taking orders, but Mew's down, isn't it?!"
He and the other three continued firing into the smoke, none speaking up to answer his question. That question weighed on his mind more and more while the shadows continued to approach. It wasn't long before he couldn't stand it any longer.
"Take this," He said, knocking the welding tool out of his fellow Black Suit's hands and thrusting his rifle into them instead. Despite their protests, he peered out into the smoke and zoomed in using his shades.
Near endless shadows of Pokemon awaited them through the veil. "You gotta be kidding me. There's still thousands of 'em! What, was there a whole world inside that damn tree?!" Grumbling, he peered further into the smoke. Amidst the horde, there was something else.
Yellow lights, arranged in a circle with one in the center, peered back at him dimly. The Black Suit winced, instantly recognizing it from the data they were made privy to before this operation.
"Registeel." The name came out as if he were swearing. Immediately, Harper's head perked up. "No wonder these damn things are being so relentless. They're probably being ordered around by that monster.
Unbeknownst to the Black Suits due to the roar of bullets filling the air, the plates on the back of Harper's armor shifted to allow heat to gather there.
Another Black Suit spoke up. "It's still operational? You would think that rattling the Tree of Beginning like we did would have made it short circuit or something."
"Maybe it did do something," Offered a third Black Suit. "It took a while after Mew went down for it to arrive, right?"
The first one grumbled. "Well, that won't help us now. Let's just thin the numbers of the regular ones without provoking it. When the big man wakes back up, we can blow past these things and-"
He and the others were knocked off their feet by a sudden blast of hot air. Sitting back up, the first Black Suit could hardly believe his eyes as he saw Harper rocketing straight toward the steel golem.
"What the hell are you-?!" His words choked in his throat. Narrowly, he rolled to avoid the claw of a Scyther bearing down on him. As he tried to raise his gun against it, a Rampardos barreled toward him with a Skull Bash that would have certainly spelled the end for him if he hadn't brought up his shield in time.
The impact sent him sprawling across the ground at the Scyther's feet. It slashed at his shield repeatedly. He couldn't do a thing to retaliate without risking its claws dicing him apart, and furthermore, couldn't see any of his comrades. All he could see through his shield were more beasts surrounding him with wild fury in their eyes.
Through grit teeth, he pushed up against the Scyther and pulled out his plasma knife, brandishing it against the endless horde of beasts on all sides.
"Harper…!" He seethed. "You bastard!"
Pokemon were tossed in the air like paper as the Burned Man barreled through them. The lights of Registeel's eyes flickered and beeped with odd warbling sounds. In response to this noise, the remaining Pokemon between Harper and Registeel gratefully parted before they could be struck.
Registeel dug its heel into the burned ground and pulled back its fist. Harper did the same, a jet of flame escaping from his elbow to propulsed him further. His fist met with the steel golem's Superpower attack, and the deafening clang of metal against metal was heard across the entire valley.
Reverberations of the attack wracked Harper's suit, but he paid no mind to a trifling matter like that. His fingers interlocked with Registeel's as the two pushed against each other.
"Moltres!" Roared Harper as more flames escaped his armor and licked at Registeel's body. "Where is Moltres?!"
Author's Note
Pokextinction Fact of the Day: Scenes such as those in the beginning of this chapter, where ordinary Pokemon and ordinary humans were warring with each other, was probably the second biggest inspiration for the majority of this story's plot early on. The first being Nova's reveal.
Creator: The choreography between Harper and the Black Suits working together while fighting was what slowed this chapter so much. There weren't a lot of opportunities to show the suits doing their thing alongside Harper where he wouldn't just one shot whatever they were fighting, and I also wanted to have a scene where he berserked the enemy all at once without going into too much detail about every Pokemon he was killing. I think the struggle was worth it in the end, although Harper ended up with more screentime than intended. Especially since he's supposed to get so, so much more later on. Have fun imagining that.
Hydra: We're back and better than ever my friends! This chapter was brutal as hell, the part with the little shinx was so sad, just seeing it's mother get absolutely obliterated before it's eyes. A life of being shielded from all dangers and violence went right down the drain. Anyway, onto the reviews!
G: "Great chapter, was notably intense the battle of Mew vs Nova corporation, seriously, was very hard to see whom had the upperhand during this conflict, because for Mew side, she was clearly holding back during the battle, even to the point of get low her guard to help an enemy soldier, that almost cost Mew her life, yet she still showcased her poweress against them. But for Nova side, they were showing a lot tricks under their sleeves, to the point of catches Mew with the guard down in several instances, even to the point of Nova took a hyper beam from Mew directly, and was completely unscathed, leaving clear that Nova corporation were very prepared against her, making that this battle was notably titanic.
Also, regarding to your point The Creator, about that the new personality of Mew bites her back during the battle, this makes me think in Kratos of God of war again, specifically about his new personality in God of war 4, because according to the producers, Kratos was holding back during his time in God of war 4, implying that the only reason to that Kratos struggled with some battles, was simply by refused to give in into his past self, allowing some characters like Baldur be a notable challenge for the new Kratos. Much like Mew, whom chose to changes and mature in a more wise and selfless pokemon, making her less prone to the violence and less indifferent to the suffering of others, allowing Nova corporation have more chance against her.
Even as similarity, Kratos and Mew developed a more pragmatic and diplomatic behavior, in the sense that they both tried to avoid have to fight against Baldur and Nova corporation, to tries to talks them to not tries fights them, but sadly their enemies refused to back off and still want a fight, forcing Kratos and Mew to this battle. Adding that to considers this details, could be implied that if Kratos and Mew were still their past selves during this parts, maybe their battles against Baldur and Nova Corporation would be shorter, as the old Kratos and old Mew would show no mercy toward them. Though that as you mentioned, if Mew was still her past self, even if she would defeated Nova corporation, perhaps her actions would still meant other consequences, for everybody.
As other point, regarding the death of Riley, to be honest, this makes me thinks more in the Glenn's death in hands of Negan, than Hershel's death in hands of the Governor, because in the case of Negan, much like Nova, both villains originally planned to executed other different person; Daryl and Serena, but in the last second, their weapons strike down others people; Glenn and Riley, leaving Daryl and Serena notably traumatized for their close death experience and for watched their friends being executed. Though that as difference, in the case of Negan, this was intentional, as the villain chose to changed of victim in the last second, to punishes the defiance of Daryl, unlike Nova whom truly tried to killed Serena, but Riley interfered in the last second, costing his life in the process.
Also, regarding to your point Hydra, could be interesting to analyzes all the similarities between Nova and Truth, as both showed be charismatic, yet manipulative and ruthless men, that are willing to provokes bloody wars only to accomplishes their objectives, regardless the casualties, from enemies and allies alike. Adding that to considers the similarities of Nova with Truth and Darth Sidious, i can't help in noted that in the case of the two latters, both villains ended dying in hands of their former subordinates; Arbiter and Darth Vader/Anakin respectively, making me think that if in the case of Nova, he could ends being killed by some former subordinate as well, though that if this is possible, whom could betrays Nova in this organization? Well, we can only waits for this answers.
To finishes, so Nova Corporation managed to defeated Mew and leaves damaged the Tree of Beginning, well, even if this organization don't destroy the tree yet, i guess that this could implies a severe consequence for the pokemon to global scale, something that could get worse with the propaganda that Nova corporation is spreading, meaning that perhaps we could see something like a Pokemon purge, or a Great Schism in the pokemon world; trainers and pokemon vs Nova corporation and human supremacists, meaning that maybe the events of this chapter, was only the beginning of the end.
PS. I liked also the part in that Mew used her double team and transformation to apparents that the others legendaries appeared, as we watched the Burned man trying to get revenge in Moltres for his mutilation, though that this was short life when he discovered that Moltres was only a copy. Nevertheless, maybe this could serves like a foreshadow, in that if Moltres ends being found by the Burned man, the Fire bird could be in notable danger, as Moltres will never by a match for this war machine and T-800, as the Burned man will never rest before to set score in the pokemon whom cost him his normal life, out of a life preservation unit.
Keep the good job."
Creator: In Nova's mind, Mew was always the biggest hurdle to overcome. As we saw, he had ways of getting most other Legends out of the way like orchestrating the war against Necrozma to weaken them, then setting his organization up as a "branch" of Team Rocket to get the remaining Legends to focus on them to get them to let their guard down while he attacked the tree.
But Mew? Mew never took part in any of that. She was at her prime and no opportunity to change that ever presented itself to Nova like it did for the other Legends. It's ironic. Her selfishness earlier gave her better chances against this threat. But at what cost?
The Kratos comparison fits surprisingly well. Although Mew was never quite as battle crazy as he was, they both were once ruthless and even monstrous at times, and now, due to time, sacrifice, and guilt, they reflect on those actions. Because of that, their enemies take advantage of their new mindset.
You were definitely right about the Burned Man not resting. It seems the longer time goes on without him finding Moltres, the more crazed he becomes. What happens when this all boils over? Or…if he should find Moltres again?
Hydra: You definitely make a good point that Riley's death was more on par with Glenn instead of Hershel. When I had originally envisioned the scene with Nova killing Riley the walking dead wasn't at the Negan season yet, but I would say that it ended up being more similar to Negan instead of the governor. I gotta admit I couldn't stop smiling when I read that scene when Mew blasted Nova with a hyper beam and her jaw just dropped in shock on how it had no effect. Never in her life has she ever faced an enemy that she couldn't pulverize in a second so her reactions to Nova are priceless.
Leafy Boi: "My neck and back of my head are all tingly and prickly from this chapter, angry mew is very not good o.o, and now the tree qwq nuuu and.. where tf did ash go!? Pikachu still at the tree but where ash? Nice touch on the double team morphing into others then mew using all the moves to try and trick them. And ugh of course they had necrozmas stuff to make a giant af cannon ship to fire at the tree why wouldnt they."
Creator: I hope this chapter satisfied you. War between man and Pokemon, fiery wrath of the angriest man alive, more tactics, more pain, more fun. And we get to see more of Nova's toys. But at least the Regi trio is now on the field. But will they be enough, with Mew down and the tree in tatters?
Hydra: Nova is definitely resilient in that he makes sure he covers every front and tries to leave nothing to surprise. I wanted to have a scene of her transformation into other legends as a callback to chapter 14 when she became Rayquaza because I reread that chapter many many times because all always loved Mews antics and when she would mess with someone.
SilverWolf1130: "Wow… just wow… this chapter was insane…
I assumed Nova would kill Riley to make sure the tree can't be salvaged. Cause remember, he knows pretty much everything about Ash and what's happened on his journey, which would include his first time at the tree.
But no, he was aiming for Serena. Sooo I was wrong about who he was aiming for but right about who would die here. Still, rip Riley.
Man, this entire fight was so tense. I was really worried for Mew here. You guys are so good at creating tense fight scenes.
Oh shit, the tree has been damaged! Well, we all had a feeling it would be cause of what Kyogre and Lugia felt. Sooo now all the remaining Legendaries are gonna head towards the Tree. But is it already too late?
Once again, you leave us with a mean cliffhanger, dude. A writer's most evil tool, indeed.
I can't wait to see where this goes. I'm probably gonna shed some tears these next few chapters."
Creator: Nova doesn't mess around. When he wants to make a point, he does it with style and swiftness. Of course, even he isn't perfect. Even if he's almost there.
Thank you. Fight scenes are what I consider my specialty, so I'm glad that my audience thinks so as well. It'd be slightly disheartening if they were bad, but that just means I could work to be better. I've been reading Eragon again to get a handle on that stuff.
The cliffhanger is indeed the most cruel power of the pen and I intend to be as cruel as possible with this arc. Was the Luxray scene tear jerking enough? Or should I make it worse.
I'm going to make it worse.
Hydra: What would you say your favorite part of this entire fic has been now that we've gotten this far? Is it an emotional scene? A fighting scene? Or something to do with a characters development? I'm excited for your answer!
The Creator- Next chapter, the war continues. Can the Regi trio fight off the rest of the Nova Corporation alone, or will they need some extra firepower? And what will happen when the other Legends sense something is wrong?
Hydra- And that does it again for this one guys thanks so much for reading and I hope to see you all on the next one because it's gonna be a hell of a chapter!