Pokémon Radiant Sun
Howdy folks. Hope everyone's doing well!
I'm currently powering through not only more writing as the year winds down to a close, but also through life. Hoping things continue going well for ya boi.
Even if, at the time of editing, he's currently sick as a dog.
Shoutout to those who reviewed since the last update, which includes AnonymousEmboar, a new Guest reviewer known as Auger, and The Dragon Legend. Thanks for the support everyone!
Also, RS is now celebrating 500 Favorites! Thank you all so much for supporting the story and keeping this majestic trainwreck alive! We've only got more good times (and horrifying times) coming as we wrap up the Cipher Arc and begin making our way towards the main story conflict.
The following chapter contains disturbing imagery and scenes of intense violence.
Enjoy!
Chapter 132: At What Cost?
Celadon City
Many Months Ago...
"What have I done?"
Ashton Aupuni was sitting down in his office, his team surrounding him as he held his head in his hands. The Cipher Admin and head of the one largest companies in the world stared down at his desk without seeing it, his jet-black eyes glazed over with despair.
It had only been a few hours since he had encountered Sun leaving their home with a newly-hatched Eevee with the intent of becoming a Pokémon Trainer. Only a few hours since he had encountered his worst fear made reality...
And only a few hours since Ashton Aupuni had ordered Damien to murder Sun's infant Pokémon, Nova, in front of him and commanded Deoxys to meddle with his son's mind. He wasn't entirely sure if the 'tweaks' that the DNA Pokémon had made to Sun's mind would help the boy cope with the mental anguish he was going through or force him to remember the events in a different way. But it didn't matter.
What mattered is that for the first time since he had begun his dark work with Cipher, it had begun to affect his family. For the first time since Sun was born, Ashton Aupuni had harmed his child. Even if it was Nova who had been hurt, the effects on Sun would stay with him forever.
Ashton Aupuni breathed harshly as Rio patted him on the shoulder, the Alolan Raichu at least sympathetic. He had explained everything to his team and while they certainly hadn't approved, especially Enzo, they at least understood why he had done it. The man's expression hardened as the part of him that was Ashton Aupuni recoiled at the thought of what Borlath, the part of him that had hardened his heart and waged war against both good and evil for the sake of peace, had done. It was terrible. It was beyond the pale. It was too much.
"Amber was right, in a way." Ashton thought as he reached into his desk and pulled out a gleaming silver magnum. His Pokémon all watched him with concern as he regarded the weapon with reverence, knowing full well it was a way out. A way for him to stop feeling the guilt over what he had done to his precious little boy.
"I'm just as bad as the monsters I crusade against." Ashton murmured as he ran his fingers over the magnum, eyeing the fine engravings on the weapon that had become his within Cipher. He had owned it for far longer than he had been in the group, of course, but he also knew that the last time he had felt this much self-loathing he had nearly turned the weapon upon himself. It was only thanks to Laura that he hadn't gone through with the deed.
Ashton stood and began to pace around his office. Arin the Araquanid hissed softly with concern, even as Enzo rolled his eyes and continued tossing his melon up and down, the Passimian particularly disgusted with him at the moment. Just because his team understood what he had done didn't mean any of them approved of it. Only Rio hadn't outright shown any disdain towards him and that was because the Raichu was too soft-hearted for scorn.
"I'll probably lose Laura over this. If she doesn't find out something weird is going on now, she will soon. But...I can't let Sun become a Trainer." Ashton muttered, shaking his head before he heard the pitter-patter of familiar steps coming around to his office. Soon enough a massive Houndoom stood in the doorway, glaring fiercely at his Trainer.
"Still sulking?" Damien snapped at Ashton, who looked away with shame on his face.
"How's Sun?" Ashton asked quietly, making the Houndoom snort. Carlito began to say something to Damien, but the Houndoom gave the Whimsicott a venomous glare that silenced it instantly.
"He's finally stopped crying. He's also scared of me for reasons he doesn't fully understand." Damien responded, sitting down on the floor and staring directly at his Trainer.
"So. Have you finally decided that whatever happens to Sun as a Trainer is worth dealing with your delusions?" Damien said angrily, causing Ashton to finally look at his Partner and see the raw anger in his eyes. Ashton placed the gun on the desk and stood up.
"Dealing with this now is worth not having to put Sun through what we went through. Ruby Raiders. Roran. Team Rocket and more! He can be anything he wants to be, except a Pokémon Trainer. He can have whatever his heart desires except that. That's all I ask. And I'll be damned if I let it happen now."
"You're a fool." Damien said bluntly, which surprised Ashton. Damien had always been extremely loyal to him, and had only once questioned his orders or intentions. This was the first time the Houndoom had ever shown this level of frustration with him.
"No...I'm a father looking out for the best interests of his child. I've never once raised a hand against my child, unlike my own father, and I still haven't. But I refuse to deal with such cloak and dagger nonsense in the house I run."
"Unless it's your own cloak and dagger nonsense." Damien responded, causing Ashton to flinch at the remark.
"Damn it, Damien. All of this, even what happened the other day, was to protect him." Ashton insisted, turning away from the harsh glare that Damien was giving him. The expression of disgust on the Houndoom face was more than Ashton could handle.
"If that's the case...then what's protecting him from you?" Damien challenged, causing Ashton to flinch at the accusation. Penelope chirped softly as Enzo crossed his arms, disapproval evident on his face.
"That's…" The Trainer trailed off, unable to respond to that question. Because he had no answer.
It was a question that cut through to Ashton's core and challenged everything he had fought for up until now. What was stopping Ashton from going too far and putting his family, the ones he cared about most in the world, in danger? He didn't have an answer.
And he wondered if there was any way to keep himself from putting Sun and Laura in harm's way now that he had apparently sunken so low. Damien's next words snapped him out of his daze, with the fire of rage crackling within the Houndoom's voice.
"Then hear this, Ash. I made a promise long ago to obey whatever order you gave, even if I disagreed with it. Even if it made my heart recoil with shame at carrying it out. Even if it meant that I kill others in your name. Even if they were complete innocents." Damien growled at his Trainer, an audible note of resentment in his voice. The others looked surprised at the confession from Damien, and it was then that Ashton realized that it was indeed only Damien who knew the true depths that Borlath had gone to for the sake of his scheme with Cipher.
"And I still stand by that promise. After my failure to kill Roran where he stood, that promise is something I will honor. But know this. If you ever order me to hurt Sun, or whatever Pokémon come under his care again...I will refuse. I will not carry out that order. And more importantly, I may turn all of this anger and fury on you, Partner." Damien snarled at Ashton, who stared at his oldest friend with an expression of shock as his words set in.
Ashton lowered his head, shaking at the thought of Damien ever turning against him. Not out of fear of the Houndoom himself. But out of fear of somehow becoming so much of a monster that the loyal canine who had stood by him throughout the years would see him as a threat to Sun. Just as much of a threat as the criminals that Ashton was manipulating and killing from the shadows.
"Damien, if I ever become something like that, please hold yourself to that promise. I fear my heart may be becoming dark after all. Dark, darker, yet darker...But if succumbing to the shadows is what it takes to make this world safe, then so be it." Ashton Aupuni said to his Partner, who stared at him in the eyes before nodding.
"Now, go see Sun. Do whatever you can to make that boy smile." Damien said to Ashton, who rose from his chair and looked down at the weapon on the desk.
The feelings of hatred, despair and self-loathing only deepened as the words of Damien whirled around in his skull. The looks of concern, disappointment and disdain from his own Pokémon felt like the weight of the world upon his shoulders. And yet…
"I have to save them all...even if it means becoming a monster." Ashton thought as he regarded his pistol one final time before placing it in his safe where it was out of his reach for now, locking the door and turning to walk out of the room. Damien and Enzo's harsh glares followed him all of the way out of the room, even as the other Pokémon on Ashton's team watched on with sadness in their eyes at what their Trainer had become.
Present
Hau'oli City
Perfect Kyurem descended from the sky, flaring its four wings as its tails lashed out wildly. Right away, the Akala Captains released a string of attacks at the approaching dragon from afar, only for Perfect Kyurem to easily dodge them as it rolled through the air above them with the agility of something a tenth of its size.
Unfortunately for them, Regigigas took that time to recover and get back on its feet. The now-furious giant released a bellow of fury as it descended upon them all, firing twin Hyper Beams from its hands and driving the Trainers battling it towards the Trainers trying to fend off Perfect Kyurem.
"We're pinned in on both sides!" Aria snarled as she staggered to her feet, clutching her mangled hand that had been wrapped up in a torn off chunk of Wes' cloak. Sophie and Leon released another enormous wave of deadly lightning at the Titan Master, who blocked it with Protect before promptly punching the ground where both Electric-types stood, making the ground explode from the incredible force and knocking out the Jolteon and Luxray.
"We've got to figure out a way to handle these two or we're screwed!" Wes shouted as he called out Jet and used Revives on both him and Leon. With his team fully restored, Wes quickly returned the two Pokémon and tossed his bag of healing items to a recently-recovered Leaf and said, "Heal who you can. We'll deal with Regigigas."
"Got it." Leaf said as Aria returned Sophie and called her back out, allowing Leaf to heal the Jolteon while the two Trainers figured out a game plan.
Currently Sun and Hau stood behind them, along with Lillie, who had joined them thanks to Cosmog being able to (against all logic) Teleport to their location despite the blocker Cipher had up.
"Alright, let's try this again." Wes muttered as he called out Pyrrha and Eve, with the Braixen and Sylveon eyeing the behemoth above them with visible concern. Pyrrha tightened her grip on the wand in her hand while her other hand went to the Everstone pendant around her neck. Beside him Aria had called out Sebastian and Dimitri, with the Lucario and Tyranitar staring down the Titan Master and standing protectively in front of their Trainer.
"It's badly hurt. We shouldn't need much more to finish this." Pyrrha noted as Aria nodded in agreement.
"I nearly had it before the stupid prick shot me. I need another good window to charge up another Snag Ball." Aria said as she painfully pulled out another Timer Ball, activating the ball and preparing herself.
"Do we have a plan?" Eve asked, extending her feelers out and wrapping one around Wes' hand, causing the man to relax slightly, exhaling a shaking breath he didn't realize he was holding.
"Fuck. I'm falling apart out here from the violence and we're neck-deep in this crap. I've got to keep it together. Gotta protect them." Wes thought to himself as he centered his thoughts, his mind racing as he tried to come up with a plan.
"Wes, you've got company! Cipher personnel coming up down the road! We're keeping them out of your hair!" Ollie called in his earpiece, causing Wes to nod slowly as he finally regained his composure, though that didn't stop Pyrrha and Eve from looking at him with visible concern.
"Keep them busy. You guys don't want any part of what we're dealing with." Wes remarked, though he thought about it and managed a smirk. "But if any of you want to play dragon-slayer, don't let me hold you back."
"I'd make a joke about fighting a dragon to save the princess, but Laura's ten feet away and might smack me." Ollie replied dryly, earning a laugh from what sounded like Sun's mother in the background. Wes focused on the fight ahead of them, especially since it looked like Regigigas had recharged. Thankfully he now had a plan.
"Alright, Sun and Hau, back us up. Everyone, we hit it from all sides and keep it stunned so Aria can do her thing. Go for Status Conditions if you can. Go!" Wes ordered them all, pointing a finger forward as he barked, "Fire Blast and Psychic combination, with Helping Hand. Everything you've got!"
Pyrrha sprinted forward, lashing out with her wand and raising it high above her head as a sphere of crackling flames formed out of thin air. She then aimed it directly at Regigigas as Eve used Helping Hand, engulfing her teammate in blue energy to strengthen the next move.
A burning star erupted from the tip of Pyrrha's wand, easily four meters tall, but the Braixen wasn't done. Her eyes glowed a harsh blue color as she waved her wand a second time, releasing a pulse of Psychic that struck her own power-up attack, causing it to suddenly rush towards Regigigas with three times the speed. The star made contact with the Titan Master, causing an eruption of white-hot flames to explode into the sky as Regigigas screamed in pain, staggering backwards as Wes smirked.
"Got it!" Sun and Hau said as the same time, calling out Alastor and Rio as the Alolan Golem and Raichu erupted from their Poké Balls. Sun and Hau both called out commands, with Sun opting for a Thunder Shock while Hau went for an Electro Ball.
Meanwhile Lillie hung back several yards behind the Trainers, sitting atop Brago in case anything went wrong while the canine himself was alert for any more sneak attacks.
"I don't like this...I wish I could help." Lillie muttered, petting Nebby gently as she watched the four Trainers unleash a powerful combination of attacks in a surprisingly coordinated fashion. Wes' leadership skills were on full display, and Lillie understood now why her friends treated the former Snagger like a legend.
His orders were swift and precise, but never once showed any sign of strain or stress, ordering Hau and Sun to stay back and even having Sun call Oliver out to run interference with Protect once or twice while he and Aria begun whittling down the remaining strength of Regigigas. The Titan Master itself was something to behold, and she didn't blame Rotom Dex for one moment for recording video of the epic showdown taking place between four very talented Trainers and a Pokémon that was likely older than Alola itself.
Regigigas may have been exhausted, but it wouldn't go down without a fight. It swung a Mega Punch towards Sebastian, with the Lucario dodging with an expert backflip before landing atop the creature's huge hand. After dodging a swat from the behemoth's other hand the Aura Pokémon sprinted along the length of its arm and delivered an Aura Sphere directly to the face of Regigigas, causing it to recoil backwards with a roar. All the while Dimitri was charging up a Dark Pulse that it released right as Regigigas lurched forward to try and counterattack.
"I wouldn't worry about it." Brago said to Lillie, glancing back at her. The girl could tell that the canine wished that he could get in on the action himself, but respected the orders of Sun and would do as he was told. "We all have our place in this fight. This is theirs."
Lillie watched as the Trainers continued to coordinate their attacks to bring down the mighty Pokémon. She was amazed that it could withstand so much punishment but continue to lash out with attacks that were terrifying to see in action. The girl then gasped as Regigigas lunged forward and snatched up Dimitri and Eve within its hands, lifting them high into the air.
"REGOOOOGIGIGIGI!" Regigigas roared as it grabbed the Tyranitar and Sylveon with its massive hands, which began to radiate a fiery orange and yellow glow as the two Pokémon within its grip screamed in agony. Wes and Aria ordered Pyrrha and and Sebastian to rush forward and try to help their teammates, coordinating a combination attack that would free their Pokémon.
"Wait, I've got an idea." Sun said with a sudden grin, turning to Hau. The Kahuna's grandson raised an eyebrow at the remark. "Gonna need your help though, Hau."
"What do you need?" The other boy asked, curious.
"Well, I've got a question first. How's Rio's aim with Psychic?"
Hau looked at him for a moment...and then grinned.
"Hyper Beam, Dimitri!" Aria shouted as Sebastian fired off several Aura Spheres, trying to free his teammate while the Tyranitar tried to focus the energy for the attack. Pyrrha fired off several streams of Flamethrower at the Titan Master as it continued to use Crush Grip to squeeze the life out of the two Pokémon.
"Pyrrha, get close and-" Wes began to say, drawing another Poké Ball from within his cloak and activating it. He didn't even need to bother, because another voice cut him off.
"Alastor, use Rollout!" Sun shouted as the Alolan Golem smirked deviously, tucking his body inwards and rolling towards Regigigas. Lillie raised an eyebrow at that, but then she heard Hau call out a command.
"Rio, send him flying with Psychic!" Hau followed up, grinning as he punched out with his fist. Lillie couldn't help the smile on her face as her two friends coordinated their attack on Regigigas, realizing exactly what they were going for. And while simple, it certainly worked.
Alastor's body was engulfed in a harsh blue glow that all of them recognized, and much like Wes had done with Pyrrha's Fire Blast, Hau had Rio use Psychic to augment Alolan Golem's Rollout. So instead of a moderately speeding boulder racing towards the Colossal Pokémon, it was now a deadly missile speeding towards the massive Pokémon's forehead. The shockwave of force from the direct impact of the move could be heard for miles as Regigigas bellowed in agony, stumbling forward and releasing both Dimitri and Eve as it clutched its face and fell down to its knees, clearly stunned from both the intense damage it had taken but also by the surprise attack to its vulnerable face.
"Aria, go!" Wes called as he returned an unconscious Eve, even as he directed Pyrrha to attack with a Fire Blast and Hau and Sun had their own Electric-types attack with Rock Blast and Psychic. Aria nodded and clutched the Timer Ball in her hand, causing it to glow purple with light as it was converted into a Snag Ball.
The wounded Snagger then hurled the ball as hard as she could at the Titan Master, even as the goliath shuddered in pain from the onslaught of attacks it had weathered. It was sucked within the capsule, a wicked flash of light erupting from the Timer Ball before it fell to the ground with its prize inside. It then began to rock back and forth.
One...two...three...click.
"Snag confirmed." Aria said as the ball flickered out of existence, getting sent to PC. She then looked to where Hau and Sun were standing, offering the two kids a painful grin. "That was some really snazzy teamwork, boys."
"You two did really well." Wes agreed, glancing down at Eve's Poké Ball as Aria returned Dimitri. Pyrrha and Sebastian returned to their Trainer's side just in time for Alastor to roll back over to where they were. Sun promptly returned him before the Alolan Golem could offer any nasty comments.
"Now, let's turn our attention to the main event." With that Aria leveled a glare at Perfect Kyurem, who was currently weathering a maelstrom of attacks and as it tried to charge up a flickering ball of energy. Aria spotted a few nicks and chips in its armor but it was certainly fairing better than Sina, Dexio, Lana, Kiawe and Mallow's Pokémon.
"I know we kinda took down Regigigas and all, but I really don't like our chances against that thing if it took out Red and Blue." Hau remarked, sounding nervous.
"I know it's intimidating, but we've got numbers and teamwork on our side. Cipher is falling apart all around us." Wes said as he began to move towards Perfect Kyurem, but he was cut off when the massive dragon suddenly let out a piercing roar and threw its head up towards the sky, a snow-white ball of energy flickering within its maw.
"GET DOWN!" Wes screamed as Pyrrha quickly threw up a shield, with Oliver doing the same around himself, Hau and Lillie. Perfect Kyurem then fired off a ball of pulsing white energy that soared high into the sky and soared for several hundred meters upwards before exploding violently. The result was several streaking beams of energy that began to rain down upon them all, freezing anything that it touched including the road, trees, buildings...and people.
"Kiawe!" Lana shouted as the teen's screams were cut off almost instantly, the dark-skinned young man getting frozen solid where he stood. Leaf, Sina and Dexio were also struck by the attack that the others only managed to escape by either having a shield up or by sheer luck.
That was also when Lillie noticed that the road leading to the Absolution was now blocked off by a wall of ice, thanks to the attack that Perfect Kyurem had just unleashed upon them all. The entire road now resembled the aftermath of a devastating winter storm, and the temperature had dropped drastically as a result.
"Wes, you okay?" Aria asked, causing Lillie to look at the other man. She was startled to see that Wes' face had gone sheet white, with him looking at the road and frozen people in front of him with an expression of absolute horror.
"No...Nonononono-" Wes began to stammer, only for Pyrrha to suddenly thwack him in the back of the head with her stick.
"No! None of that now. We can stop this!" the Braixen snapped at her Trainer, the concern evident in her voice as she tried to keep him grounded in the here and now instead of in his own head. Lillie realized that the concerns about Wes' mental health that Sun had mentioned to her were more warranted than she realized.
"Let's just help them." Wes muttered as he ran towards the massive dragon, with Aria and Hau following close behind. Sun began to follow them, but then stopped where he stood with a surprised expression on his face.
"Wait, I just realized something." Sun said with a start, looking to Lillie. "You said Nebby can Teleport even with that weird thing that Cipher has up?"
Lillie nodded. "Yes, Nebby's done it twice now. He says it's harder to do than it normally is, though. Why?"
"What's stopping us from going straight to the Absolution?" Sun asked Lillie, who's eyes widened. Considering the anti-air cannons going off (which prevented any kind of aerial assault) onboard the ship and the Legendary Pokémon unleashing their wrath at the moment, it was the ideal time to escape the area and sneak aboard the ship. But on the other hand…
"Sun, do you really think we could stop your father? And goodness knows what else that man has onboard that ship?" Lillie pointed out, with Sun shaking his head.
"Lillie, they want to kill him. I want to make him stop. He needs to understand...You know how much this means to me." Sun said to Lillie, who stared into the gray eyes of the boy she admired so much. Who had given her so much, despite what little she had to offer in return.
The blonde-haired girl held out her hand to Sun, who grabbed it immediately. With that, the children teleported on the spot, much to the surprise of Hau and Aria who had been nearby.
"Um, where did they go?" Hau asked, confused.
"I don't think we have the luxury of wondering, Hau. Look!" Aria shouted, pointing towards the Absolution. Hau's eyes widened as he saw a white figure soaring towards them atop a green bird. Wes caught sight of the approaching sight and swore under his breath.
"It's Amber!" Aria shouted, hate flaring up in her voice she narrowed her eyes at Cipher's Angel of Death. A terrifying roar pierced the night as Perfect Kyurem flapped its wings hard, creating a downdraft of freezing wind as it soared to where Amber was quickly approaching. Several moments later Amber was flung through the air with Psychic, twisting in midair before she landed on the back of the fearsome dragon as it spun around to face their enemies together.
Amber Fontaine stood atop Perfect Kyurem with a mad grin, hefting a gleaming Gatling gun in her hands as the temperature in the city continued to plummet. As she gazed down at the Trainers below Amber chuckled darkly, even as the Eternity Locket gleamed ethereally around her throat. Behind her flapped a familiar yellow bird that crackled with lightning.
"Watch out!" Hau shouted Shadow Zapdos suddenly flapped its wings and soared higher into the air, letting out a fearsome cry as purple lightning shaped like arrows erupted from its body and surged into the air, angling towards all of them.
"Scatter!" Wes shouted as lightning arrows surged towards them, nearly hitting the Trainers and striking Duke, Pyrrha and Mallow's Tsareena and knocking the former out completely.
"That little violinist put up one hell of a fight, but you should've known better to throw trash like her at me like that." Amber said as she looked down at them all from atop of the Arbiter of Tomorrow, the fearsome dragon glaring down at them all with hate in its eyes. Shadow Zapdos hovered above her while Avis stood behind her Trainer, prepared to defend her no matter what.
"What did you do to her!?" Aria shouted at the assassin, who scoffed.
"She did it to herself. She tried to use a Z-Move with her Mega Alakazam and brought that hospital down, killing all of my personnel and nearly killing me. I imagine the strain of using such a move probably left her too weak to escape." Amber mused, smirking sadistically. "In a way, I can respect that. She kept going on and on about protecting her friends and stopping Cipher. But that won't happen. Not with me bonded to Perfect Kyurem."
"Wes...what do we do?" Aria asked, unable to keep the fear out of her voice as she realized that not only was Perfect Kyurem now standing before them alongside Amber Fontaine, but that Amber was now in complete control of the Arbiter of Tomorrow. And unlike Borlath, she was more than ready to use lethal force against them all.
Wes grit his teeth as he struggled to remain in the present, not thinking about the last time he faced this monster. The last time everyone looked to him to save the day, only for him to fall short.
"What do we do? We end Amber once and for all." Wes said as he aimed his crossbow at the assassin with a determined glare. Amber responded with a heartless laugh of twisted delight, wincing slightly as she shifted her position on the dragon.
"I couldn't have said it better myself!" Amber shouted as Perfect Kyurem flared his wings, creating a thunderous maelstrom of wind, rain, lightning, flames and ice that erupted into the sky as a deafening roar pierced the city. The assembled Trainers braced themselves for the fight of their lives.
Meanwhile...
Sun and Lillie reappeared quite a ways down the road, astoundingly right outside of a large restaurant situated right at the end of the docks. Sun remembered that Ilima's family owned it, but he couldn't remember which of his parents did at the moment.
"Mama, I'm a little tired." Nebby whined from the bag, with Lillie patting the Cosmog on the head gently.
"It's okay, Nebby. Rest up." Lillie said gently, glancing around the area. They were about two miles down the road from where Regigigas and Perfect Kyurem were currently engaging their friends and allies, but it was enough to where both Legendaries wouldn't notice their presence. Or at least, that's what Lillie hoped.
"Alright, so here's the plan. I'll storm the boat and talk some sense into my idiot of a Dad. Lillie, can you go back once Nebby's had a chance to rest and Teleport some of the others over here too? The more people we have on hand here the better. I'll go slow so they can catch up." Sun explained to Lillie, who looked at her best friend like he was a moron.
"And let you storm a battleship full of terrorists?" Lillie said archly, putting her hands on her hips. "Absolutely not."
"As cute as it is watching you two squabble, neither of you are getting on that ship." Both Sun and Lillie froze and whirled around, only to hear the click of a gun's safety switching off. Captain Naps stood behind them, his Honchkrow hovering nearby. The man himself was scowling with annoyance, as if he agitated that he had to keep dealing with this.
"I'm sorry, but you can't just come aboard the Absolution." Naps said as he aimed the pistol right at Sun, who took a step back with a shiver of fear. "Now then, hands behind your hands and get down to the ground."
"You should really pick on someone your own size, young man." Chimed in a stern voice from behind Naps, who's eyes widened as he spun around. To his surprise, he was suddenly thrown backwards as a Gogoat slammed into him hard enough to make him go flying backwards into the ocean, with his Honchkrow screeching in alarm as it flew after him. Sun gaped at his and Lillie's savior, who simply gave them an embarrassed smile as he tilted his straw hat at them.
"Kids these days are pretty rude." Mohn remarked as he walked forward and patted the boy on the shoulder fondly. "How's it going, Sun?"
"Better now. You really did a number on that guy." Sun remarked, eyeing the Gogoat as it snorted in amusement. Lillie was simply staring at Mohn with an odd expression.
"Bzzzt. You would think with the combat training these bozos have that a middle-aged farmer guy wouldn't get the drop on him." Rotom Dex chimed in, making Sun smirk despite himself.
"That reminds me! I thought you weren't supposed to be here!" Sun exclaimed, grinning at Mohn as he smiled back at him, though the grin was somewhat wan as he glanced down the road where the others were frantically fending off the two Legendaries and a psychotic assassin.
"Well, I couldn't stand idly by while Wes took on all of these burdens on his own. He's been going around with Zinnia and a few others and doing all sorts of stuff to throw off Cipher in the background. All the while keeping me out of the loop…Well, I couldn't stand by much longer. Figured I'd check out this ship they were so interested in. I'd been looking at it for a few minutes now before you two popped up." Mohn sighed, tipping up his hat as he smiled. "Anyways, who's your friend, Sun?"
"Oh yeah! This is Lillie. She's one of my best friends. I think I mentioned her to you when I was at the Poké Pelago." Sun said with a grin, looking at the blonde-haired girl. She continued staring at Mohn with an expression of confusion on her face.
"Do I know you?" Lillie asked suddenly, causing Sun to blink in surprise. According to Mohn, he had complete amnesia and had lived on the Poké Pelago for years. That should've been impossible.
Mohn shrugged his shoulders and said, "Probably not. But I also don't remember anything about my life before the Poké Pelago, young lady. Why do you ask?"
"It's probably nothing, but...you seem really familiar-" Lillie began to say, only for a Mohn to calmly step to the side, right as a gunshot went off and a bullet whizz past his head as Lillie screamed with fear. Sun pushed Lillie to the ground as he ducked, with Mohn glaring at their assailant.
"You son of a bitch!" Naps screamed as he dangled in the claws of his Honchkrow while drenched with seawater, clutching his chest with a furious expression on his face.
"You should know better than to curse in front of children!" Mohn called back, only for Naps to flip him off with both hands. "Pleasant fellow. I bet he's a riot to have around at Christmas parties."
"I think he's just mad because my Dad is the most reasonable person he's worked under and we're trying to ruin his plan. Which is kinda sad, since my Dad's mental health is very questionable right now." Sun admitted, causing Mohn to nod.
"Well, you two were obviously trying hard to get to that ship. I think I'll keep this man company for a little while. Maybe teach him a lesson in respect." Mohn said as Naps landed on the ground, growling with fury as his Honchkrow screeched at them.
"We can take him together. I don't want to leave you to fight this guy alone." Sun protested, but Mohn shook his head and focused his attention on Naps.
"Don't you worry, Sun. Your friend Wes trained with me quite a bit in the time he stayed on my islands. I think I'm more than enough of a match for this misguided fellow." Mohn said as he adjusted his straw hat, a glint of determination in his eyes. "As the caretaker of the Poké Pelago, I dedicated my life to safeguarding Pokémon and helping them live their best lives. Letting Cipher do as they please doesn't sit right with me."
"Even if it means the world as a whole will become better? Cipher will stamp out all of the evil in the world. Safeguard everyone from the psychos who just want to destroy everything." Naps growled at the older man, who simply shook his head.
"How do you know that?" Mohn asked, causing Naps to blink. Sun and Lillie quietly made their way towards the ramp while Naps struggled with the question.
"What do you mean? I-no, wait! You're distracting me! I'm not falling for that! Honchkrow, get them! Whirlwind!" Naps shouted as Sun and Lillie charged towards the ramp that led onto the Absolution. The massive bird took flight with a menacing caw, causing Lillie to scream as it soared right at them and released a harsh blast of wind that sent them both flying backwards. Sun managed to roll into a crouch as he grunted against the wind, but to his horror he saw Lillie hit the ground hard with a cry of pain.
Sun felt anger spark within him as his eyes burned bright red, and stood upright as he clenched his fists. He pulled out a Poké Ball and called out Brago as he helped Lillie to her feet. Honchkrow continued to blast them with wind, but Brago kept the massive bird at bay with Flame Burst while Sun looked over Lillie.
"Lillie, take Brago and get out of here!" Sun called to her as the girl looked at him with surprise.
"Sun, I can't leave! Not again! Not after what Vivian did!" Lillie protested, tears forming in her eyes. Sun grabbed Lillie by the shoulders, looking into her bright green eyes with his own storm-gray ones.
"Lillie, please...I can't see you get hurt. Let us take care of this guy. Do what you said we should have done before and go get help." Sun urged the girl, who looked conflicted as Brago looked back and forth between the two of them. Sun looked to his Arcanine and said, "Brago, can you watch over her?"
"I'll protect her with my life, Alpha. Come, Miss Lillie." Brago said as he lowered himself to the ground. Sun hugged Lillie for a moment before helping the girl onto the canine's back, watching as he bounded away.
Sun then turned around in time to see Gogoat crash onto the ground with a pained cry as Honchkrow swooped past it, letting out a menacing caw of triumph as Naps aimed his pistol at Mohn, only for a Stoutland to erupt out of the ground and throw back the man, disarming him while also allowing Stoutland to attack Honchkrow with Thunder Fang and slam it hard down onto the ground.
However, Naps was far from done, calling out his Metagross once more and a Shadow Emboar, which snarled furiously at them both as Sun joined Mohn's side with Oliver, who he had called out again.
"Smart idea, getting the girl away from here. But you're not getting onboard that ship." Naps insisted, returning his Honchkrow before calling it back out in front of him, pulling out a Revive as he did so. "Shadow Rush and Hammer Arm!"
"Pluck on Emboar!" Sun shouted, throwing out his hand as Mohn grinned beside his young friend.
"Let's help 'em out, Stoutland! Aerial Ace to dodge and focus on the big guy!" Mohn called as his Stoutland growled fiercely, speeding forward like a bullet and swiftly dodging the furious glowing swing from Metagross' arms and slamming hard into Shadow Emboar, causing it to miss its own attack completely and setting up Oliver to deliver a direct hit with Pluck.
Shadow Emboar staggered backwards with a pained groan as Naps shouted, "Flamethrower, widespread! Metagross, blast them away with Psychic!"
"Dodge it!" Sun shouted to his bird, who flapped his wings hard. Metagross' body glowed a bright blue color before a wave of force erupted outwards, blasting Oliver out of the air and making Stoutland skid backwards across the concrete, snarling in pain from the powerful blast. Oliver righted himself in midair, wincing at the glancing blow.
"Flame Charge!" Naps shouted as his Shadow Emboar engulfed itself in flames and rushed towards them.
"Grass Knot!" Sun called out as Oliver's feet glowed bright green and he landed on the ground hard. Grassy vines erupted from the cement beneath Emboar, wrapping itself around its feet and causing it to tumble onto the ground.
"Follow up with Return!" Mohn called to Stoutland, with the large dog glowing white with energy before charging forward, slamming hard into the stunned Pokémon and causing it to tumble across the road. "Use Thunderbolt!"
Stoutland's eyes flickered yellow as electricity surged around the Pokémon before letting loose towards Naps team. Metagross tried to attack with Metal Claw, only for Oliver to intercept the attack with Protect, allowing Stoutland to attack all three of Naps Pokémon at once with the attack.
"Great work!" Mohn called to Stoutland, receiving a gruff nod in response. Sun decided now was as good a time as any to even the odds.
"Hit Emboar with Pluck! Full-power!" Sun shouted as he punched his fist forward, with Oliver flapping his wings hard to propel himself through the air. The glowing beak struck the Shadow Pokémon in the face, finally knocking over the massive fiery pig and making it faint.
"Shit…" Naps hissed, returning Shadow Emboar as Oliver hooted with triumph, releasing a wave of Razor Leaf that forced Naps to dodge for cover even as the attacks struck both Metagross and Honchkrow.
"We're losing time dealing with this guy. We need to stop my Dad." Sun said with a huff of annoyance, realizing that Naps was quite tough as far as Trainers went.
"Sun…run for the ship. I'll cover you." Mohn muttered, causing the boy to glance at the older man. Mohn adjusted his hat, grinning towards Naps as he called, "Hyper Beam! Blast those suckers back!"
Stoutland opened his mouth with a bark and a flickering orb of raw power formed. The large dog then released it towards the Cipher Captain and his team and swept it across the area, creating a massive explosion that caused smoke to fill the street.
"Come on!" Sun whispered to Oliver as he and the Dartrix charged forward, hoping to make their way through the thick smoke. Sun held his breath and prayed that Naps was stunned or his team were too hurt to try and stop him, but his hopes were dashed when he noticed the smoke fading away and saw the familiar glow of a barrier within.
"He used Protect!" Sun realized as the shield faded away, with Naps glancing in his direction with a grin. Sun looked towards where Mohn and Stoutland were, and saw that the large canine was standing still.
"The problem with a strong move like Hyper Beam is the recharge time." Sun thought as he kept running towards the ramp that led to the Absolution. Only for a laugh to reach his ears.
"You really think I'm that stupid? Dark Pulse! Psychic and drive them back!" Naps' amused tone became sharp as he barked the orders. Metagross' body glowed a harsh blue color, even as Sun had Oliver throw up a shield around them both. To Sun's horror the shield failed, and both Sun and Oliver were thrown backwards by Metagross as the Dark Pulse rushed towards Stoutland.
The large dog barked and rushed forward with an Aerial Ace to dodge, but it simply wasn't able to avoid the Dark Pulse and was knocked out, leaving Oliver to stand against two angry Pokémon and a Cipher Captain. Mohn tried to reach for another Poké Ball, only for Naps to suddenly snap his fingers, causing Metagross to glow once more. Mohn screamed in pain and slammed down onto the ground hard, making Sun gasp with concern before Naps held up a hand.
"Reach for another Poké Ball or otherwise move against me and I'll snap his neck." Naps said firmly, crossing his arms as Honchkrow and Metagross stared him down. Sun grit his teeth with frustration, knowing full well that after battling this man, his team could take him down. Especially since the man had been totally disarmed and no longer had weapons.
"Now...return your bird and get down on the ground. Now." Naps ordered Sun, who hesitated as he wracked his brain to try and figure a way out of this situation.
"Brago, hit them with a Flame Burst! Then use Fire Fang to finish off that Honchkrow!" cried out a familiar voice right above all of them.
Sun looked up in time to an Arcanine dropping towards them from above with a raging orb of flames in his mouth, releasing a Flame Burst from above that rained down upon Naps and his Pokémon. Naps screamed as he fell to the ground, his Pokémon crying out from the surprise attack that had completely caught them off guard, including Metagross collapsing with a pained groan.
But Sun had eyes only for his Arcanine, as well as the blonde-haired girl sitting atop Brago with a wild grin on her face.
Lillie held tightly onto her hat as Brago landed on the ground, leaping forward to sink his burning teeth into Honchkrow as the massive bird reeled from the first attack. The Big Boss Pokémon had time to let out a final screech before succumbing to the pain and fainting.
Naps gaped in shock as Honchkrow hit the ground senseless. Not only had his Partner been defeated, but it was by Lusamine Jardin's daughter. A girl who wasn't even a Trainer!
The Cipher Captain was then further surprised when a second fireball suddenly exploded at the ground right by him, throwing Naps backwards onto the ground with a pained groan as he also collapsed onto the ground.
"I can't believe you'd actually think I'd let you go on without me. Or her." Brago growled aloud as Oliver fluttered back over to them, chuckling at his teammate's actions and landing beside Lillie on the Arcanine's back.
"It's not like you to disregard an order, Brago. Can I assume Lillie was persuasive in convincing you to come back and help out?" Oliver asked with an amused laugh, causing Brago to nod.
"She was very insistent." Brago agreed, flashing his teammate a grin. All the while Lillie looked at Sun with a guilty expression while Mohn clapped heartily.
"That was really impressive, little lady." Mohn praised the girl, who blushed faintly at the praise from the man. "Not many people could be brave enough to come back and help out."
"It was nothing, really." Lillie said bashfully, rubbing Brago's head as Mohn laughed good-naturedly at her modest response.
"Though, if you ask me, I think you got my young friend here a bit surprised by your sudden reappearance." Mohn pointed out as he tapped Sun on the head, jerking him out of his trance. Even if a bit of awareness came to the boy's eyes, he still seemed completely stunned by Lillie's reappearance with Brago and the ease in which she finished off Naps' team.
"Sun?" Lillie asked, looking down at the boy as he continued to stare up at her in amazement as the girl shyly brushed her hair out of her face. She hopped down from Brago, seemingly nervous now since she had disregarded Sun's instructions and came back to help.
"Um, I know you told me to leave, but...But I just couldn't leave you behind. Not after what happened with Vivian. I'm not a Trainer, I know, but-" Lillie began to say, only Sun to suddenly rush forward and embrace Lillie, hugging her close.
"That was so awesome, Lillie! You were great! I don't know if I could've pulled that off!" Sun practically gushed, beaming at her with an expression of such pride that Lillie felt like her heart would burst with joy. The girl couldn't help a soft giggle at how cute Sun's excitement was.
"I'd like to think at this point I've learned a thing or two about being a Trainer from you, Sun." Lillie said brightly as she returned Sun's hug, causing Sun to blink twice in absolute surprise at that statement. The boy pulled away from Lillie for a moment, processing what she had said to him. Lillie simply laughed at Sun's reaction, grinning at her best friend.
And then Sun pressed his lips against hers and kissed her.
Lillie's green eyes went wide in shock at the fact that finally, at long last, she was sharing a kiss like this with the boy that meant the world to her. The boy who had taught her what courage, empathy and determination truly meant. The one who she trusted more than anyone else in the world, who she had bared her heart to, and who in return promised to do everything he could to protect her. Lillie knew that so long as Sun was by her side, nothing could harm her.
Here she was now, kissing the boy who had become her hero.
Lillie returned the kiss and leaned towards the boy, causing Sun to gasp in surprise. Before the two children could do much more than stare into each other's eyes for a few moments, a polite cough interrupted their kiss...reminding them that there were other things happening at the moment.
Sun and Lillie separated as Mohn looked at them with a knowing grin, with the two children blushing scarlet while Brago and Oliver laughed at them. Lillie lightly smacked the Arcanine, who was laughing softly at them, while Sun stuck his tongue out at the owl on his back.
"As tender a moment as this is, kids, I think we've got bigger fish to fry. You'll have time to be adorable later." Mohn said as he pointed forward to where Naps was forcing himself to his feet.
Lillie reached out to Sun, grabbing her crush's hand and helping him get on Brago's back before the canine sped down towards the ramp of the Absolution. Naps stumbled towards them, returning his Metagross and Honchkrow, only for a furious black blur to crash down in front of him and knock him back down to the ground.
"Your fight isn't with them." Mohn said calmly, but with an undeniable hint of steel beneath it. The massive black and red wolf that stood beside him, a Zoroark, growled softly in affirmation.
Naps staggered to his feet, scowling furiously at the strange man who had shown up out of nowhere to assist two of the three people that Borlath and Amber had told them not to harm. And naturally, those two out of three people were now making their way onboard the ship that was at best minimally-manned.
"It's fine. They're not going to do anything to Borlath before I end this foolish old man's life. It's fine. Yes...Now. Let's take out the trash!" Naps barked as he grabbed his fourth and final Poké Ball with an exhale of furious air. Mohn simply smiled back at the other man, his eyes drifting to where Sun and Lillie were escaping to the Absolution.
"Those two...remind me of something. Something from before." Mohn thought for a moment, smiling warmly to himself as he felt not quite a memory, but a feeling of joy in his heart. Seeing the two children share a moment like that, a moment of blossoming romance born of close friendship and trust, was heartwarming to the older man. It made him feel a sense of peace.
And so Mohn adjusted his hat and prepared himself to take on the Cipher Captain, his eyes narrowing as his Zoroark prepared to fight. While the two children went ahead to help save the day, Mohn would make sure this joker didn't get anywhere near them.
He would protect those two children with everything he had.
Meanwhile…
Things had gone from bad to worse.
"You all just don't understand how frustrating it is. Watching you crawl around like insects and disrupting our plans again and again and again…" Amber hissed as she continued to unload bullets into the air, her Gatling gun rattling furiously as she tried to murder to them. Perfect Kyurem slipped into a more passive role in things, continuing to drop the temperature around them while causing rain and snow to continue to engulf the city, deafening thunderclaps joining the cacophony of gunfire from the deranged assassin.
"Shadow Ball and Psychic!" Wes barked as Eve and Pyrrha rushed forward, with Eve firing off a sphere of darkness while Pyrrha used her powers to send it hurtling towards the Cipher Admin, only for Perfect Kyurem to block it by raising both of its arms. Amber shifted her gunfire to the Pokémon themselves, laughing all the while as the various creatures scurried away or risked succumbing to the barrage of bullets being sent their way.
"Sophie, use Quick Attack! Then use Protect in mid-air!" Aria shouted, thinking of Sun's use of the same combination with his Dartrix. The Jolteon rushed forward with a great spurt of speed, leaping past the gunfire and attacks and leapt through the air. As she did, a green shimmering barrier appeared around the Jolteon before she collided with the chin of Perfect Kyurem, causing the dragon to stumble backwards with a snarl of pain.
As the shield faded around Sophie, however, she was immediately swiped at by a massive burning claw and sent hurtling through the air before crashing in a crumpled heap on the ground, fainting from the damage she had taken and now sporting a bleeding gash on her side.
"Sophie!" Aria screamed as Perfect Kyurem levelled its fury at her, with Amber laughing cruelly as she took aim at Aria, only for a metal bolt to suddenly stick to the side of her chaingun and detonate, causing Amber to stumble backwards with a pained cry.
Wes dashed forward, reloading his crossbow as Pyrrha and Eve rushed forward, lashing out with a Flamethrower and Moonblast that Perfect Kyurem repelled with a flap of its wings, creating a harsh gale that rippled with lightning. Perfect Kyurem roared as it surged forward, only for the sudden appearance of a Gyarados and Lapras firing off Hydro Pumps to knock back the fearsome dragon.
"We're not giving up! R-r-right Lana?" Hau said as his Z-Ring glowed brightly, with Cassy striking a pose alongside him.
"That's right Hau!" Lana said with a determined grin, despite the horrors happening around them. "Show that awful woman what Trainers from Alola can really do!"
"Cassy! Channel Sparkling Aria...and use Oceanic Operetta!" Hau shouted as Cassy sang out a haunting, yet beautiful note and held her hands high into the air. Water erupted from the ocean and flowed skyward above the Primarina while Perfect Kyurem was still being repeatedly struck with Hydro Pumps.
"Hyper Beam, Gyarados!" Lana shouted as the serpent roared an affirmative, charging up the attack and releasing it towards the almighty beast. Perfect Kyurem snarled in pain as it was knocked backwards into a nearby building, causing Amber to tumble off of the dragon and hit the ground hard.
Hau finished the Z-Move and Cassy's attack had formed an enormous sphere of water above the head of the Soloist Pokémon. Cassy's eyes flashed blue as she pushed her flippers forward, causing the Z-Move to move towards the stunned dragon until it was directly above its head.
Hau raised both hands and pointed his fingers into the air as Cassy sang out a second note, this one being considerably louder. The watery orb descended, engulfing the top half of Perfect Kyurem much to the dragon's confusion before detonating, knocking the Arbiter of Tomorrow to the ground while Amber was washed away on the streets.
"Awesome work, Hau!" Lana cheered, causing the boy to grin back at the Captain. He was about to open his mouth to respond when his eyes widened and he ran forward, tackling Lana to the ground just in time to miss getting hit with a Thunderbolt from Shadow Zapdos.
"Well...played." Amber hissed as she staggered to her feet, limping as she clutched the Eternity Locket with a demented smirk. "You kids are something else-"
"Hydro Pump!" Lana shouted, with her Lapras and Gyarados releasing the powerful water attacks at Perfect Kyurem again. To their surprise, Perfect Kyurem flapped its wings hard and flew into the air, roaring as its tails suddenly pointed downwards. Bright blue electricity surged within the tails like conductors, and that was the only warning they got before the beast was engulfed in a pulsating sphere of raw electricity that actually made the sky darken further.
"Fusion Bolt!" Amber cried out, a triumphant grin on her face as the dragon descended from the heavens directly towards them, ignoring the Pokémon and aiming its fall from the sky towards Wes, Aria, Hau and Lana.
"King's Shield!" Aria was surprised when a familiar blond-haired man in a vest suddenly appeared in front of her with a ghostly sword and shield in hand, a hexagonal shield springing up in front of them that blocked an attack that would've certainly killed her.
Perfect Kyurem recoiled from the attack being repelled right before getting hit with another wave of Hydro Pumps and a Sparkling Aria from Lana and Hau's Pokémon. The dragon glided to the ground where Amber was, only for a fresh wave of attacks to strike it from the side and force Amber to retreat to cover.
Meanwhile Aria was regarding the new arrival with surprise. Ollie offered the Snagger a fierce grin as he did a small fist pump, clutching his rifle with his other hand. "Got here just in time."
The Snagger noticed that the man had splotches of blood coating his uniform and looked like he was now sporting a black eye, but he was otherwise in good shape. The sound of several shouts and cries caught her attention as Ollie helped her upright, and she noticed that a mob of Trainers were now attacking Perfect Kyurem as the dragon roared in pain.
Captain Ilima seemed to hold true to his word, since a large crowd of Trainers had joined Team B and had surrounded Amber and Perfect Kyurem. The sole Captain of Melemele Island was coordinating the attacks as best as he could while his own team dished out plenty of damage, keeping Perfect Kyurem at bay for the moment and allowing them a reprieve.
"What's the situation?" Ollie asked, looking to Wes and Aria as Hau and Lana rejoined them, with the two children looking as though they were beginning to suffer from hypothermia. Aria called out Daruk and had him release some fire around them, giving them all some much needed warmth.
"Bad. Sun and Lillie, who somehow teleported here thanks to Nebby, vanished somewhere and Perfect Kyurem is proving exactly why going after the Eternity Locket was so damn important. It's a monster." Aria panted as she held up her mangled hand, which had already bled through the makeshift bandage Wes had given her.
Ollie opened his mouth to speak, only for a piercing roar to erupt from Perfect Kyurem as it took flight, with purple blood dripping down segments of its armor as its eyes narrowed with fury. Amber thrust out a hand, a maniacal grin on her face.
The assassin chuckled darkly as she Perfect Kyurem held out its claws, white icy energy surging within them. "More lambs to the slaughter. Delightful. End all of this! Hero's Wrath-"
"NOT ON YOUR LIFE, BITCH!" shouted a familiar voice, causing Amber to freeze in surprise before glancing behind her and opening fire. Unfortunately, she didn't react quite quick enough for what happened next.
A Dragonite collided with the back of Perfect Kyurem while engulfed in a surging aura of raw energy. The Arbiter of Tomorrow crashed onto the ground with a roar of pain while also having the effect of making Amber tumble off of the dragon and hit the ground hard. The Dragonite charged up a sphere of raging flames within its mouth before firing it skyward. The assembled Trainers below watched on in awe as the sphere detonated violently in midair, sending streaks of burning meteors down towards the stunned Legendary on the ground and engulfing it in a devastating Draco Meteor.
Wes and Aria winced as a whirlwind of smoke blew through the street, though that was when the two Trainers noticed that they recognized the voice and as the Dragonite burst through the smoke, the Trainer dismounted from the Dragonite and glanced at them for a moment, his face pale and his eyes red and bloodshot from the fresh tears still in his eyes.
"Noah! I thought you went with the people who got hurt at the hospital?" Aria asked her friend, who barely registered what she had said as he glared down at Amber Fontaine with an expression of absolute loathing as the smoke cleared. "And when did you get a Dragonite?"
"That would be my doing." Aria looked to her side and saw that a group of men in white uniforms had come onto the scene, led by a familiar-looking man wearing a yellow visor.
"Branch Chief Faba? What is the Aether Foundation doing here?" Ollie asked, surprised by this development. The Dragonite in question returned to one of the Aether Foundation members wearing body armor and wielding an electrical staff-like weapon, landing beside him.
"Lending a helping hand." Faba remarked, looking towards Amber Fontaine with an expression that promised violent retribution for what she had done. As it was, several of those who were still standing were now attacking her and Perfect Kyurem while they were down, with the Legendary shielding the assassin with its body and just tanking the hits. "After the attack on the Paradise, President Lusamine ordered a battalion of our finest Trainers, led by myself of course, to assist in any efforts to combat Cipher. Councilman Palena sent word of an attack against a strange battleship in Hau'oli Bay half an hour ago and we quickly mobilized. My apologies for our tardiness."
Ollie was stunned to hear that the pig-headed man had thought to send out a request to help them. He endeavored to have a conversation with Palena later if they survived all of this.
"Ollie!" Laura called, causing the International Police Captain to whirl around as she caught up with him. "I can't find Sun! I thought he was with Wes and Hau and everyone else."
"He's supposed to be." Ollie frowned, hiding how concerning he thought this was. Meanwhile Amber had leapt out from cover and was firing her guns at the crowd while Perfect Kyurem fired an Ice Beam to create a wall of ice around them.
"We've been kind of distracted with the giant asshole dragon in front of us. Sun and Lillie teleported somewhere a little while ago. Honestly, I'm hoping they just got out of here." Aria said tersely, glancing towards where Perfect Kyurem was hiding behind the ice wall.
The dragon's head then snapped up above the icy wall as it suddenly growled, its eyes burning with white flames as the frozen wall around it began to crack from the repeated attacks coming towards it.
That was all of the warning they had before the wall of ice around Perfect Kyurem shattered in a massive explosion of raw force. The Arbiter of Tomorrow opened its mouth and released a torrent of searing white flames across the street, creating a series of explosions of pure white fire that sent everyone scurrying for cover or throwing up shields.
As Perfect Kyurem stood tall once more, Amber staggered to her feet with a grimace as she looked down at the ruined chaingun across the street before shaking her head. A deadly smile leaped onto her face as she turned to face the Trainers that were returning their injured Pokémon or trying to flee from the wrath of the ancient dragon.
"Not bad. But you all can't really expect such defiance to last, do you?" Amber said as she kicked off of the street as Perfect Kyurem lowered himself to the ground so that the assassin could land on its back. Amber wobbled for a moment, with Wes noticing how she favored her left foot as she adjusted herself.
"You're looking a little ragged there, Amber. How about we put you out of your misery!" Noah shouted, his Machamp reappearing in a flash of light as the sickly Trainer called him out. Amber simply scoffed, shaking her head as the Superpower Pokémon charged up a Focus Blast and fired it directly at Amber.
"Hero's Wrath! End this once and for all!" Amber bellowed, a mad gleam in her eyes as bright blue light erupted from the Eternity Locket wrapped around her neck. Perfect Kyurem released a bellow of rage as white veins of light suddenly began to spread across the body of the Arbiter Tomorrow…
Wes felt his soul go cold along with everything else in Hau'oli City, because he knew what would come next.
"Everyone! Throw up shields! Brace yourselves!" Wes screamed as Perfect Kyurem's body began to glow brighter and brighter, with ice forming on the ground around it as it suddenly launched itself off of the ground and soared into the sky, throwing back its head as a pulsating ball of shining light formed within its mouth. Barriers were quickly thrown up and some even tried to run for cover, taking the word of the veteran Trainer who knew Cipher better than anyone.
It wasn't enough.
Meanwhile…
Onboard the Absolution
"Sun, this...wasn't quite what I expected."
"What were you expecting?"
"...more people."
Sun and Lillie crept up the stairs of the battleship, their footsteps echoing ominously in the seemingly empty stairwell before they emerged onto the third floor. The walls were a uniform steel gray, gleaming in a manner that bespoke a ship that was not only new but meticulously unkempt. Shining white lights were embedded into the ceiling every three yards, brightly illuminating the interior of the ship's hallways.
But there were no Cipher personnel patrolling the hallways. No guards waiting to stop them. Nothing to stop two children who were in way over their heads from exploring the eerily quiet ship at their leisure. All the while, Sun wondered what exactly this ship was for.
It had to have cost a fortune to outfit a ship like this. Something so new with such weaponry had to have been incredibly hard to finance. So how and why did his father have something like this at his disposal? Was it to be used as a weapon against Cipher's enemies? Or was there some other reason for its existence?
"Still no people. It's creepily quiet." Sun muttered five minutes later as he glanced up and down the hallway, with Finn and Oliver already out and ready to attack at a moment's notice. Lillie held Sun's hand tightly, visible unease on her face as she wondered just where everyone was.
"Cipher must have been hurt harder by everything than we thought. I bet there's just a skeleton crew here now." Sun remarked quietly as the group made their way through the battleship as silently as possible.
"So just enough people on the ship to get it to function? Makes sense, I suppose."
"Yep. But I find it hard to believe that no one has noticed us here yet. Just Naps was guarding the entrance to the ship. That strikes me as...odd."
"Perhaps Amber was so confident that she could keep everyone away that they diverted most of the Cipher personnel away from the ship?" Lillie ventured, with Sun nodding after a moment. It made sense, in a way. After all, the only reason they weren't currently dealing with Cipher's Legendaries was because Nebby was somehow able to Teleport despite the strange signal that the Absolution was broadcasting that kept other Pokémon from doing so. Mohn admitted he got lucky and snuck by, avoiding the Legendaries altogether, but he was just as lucky not to be shot by any Cipher Peons lurking around.
It was then that a brief whining noise echoed throughout the ship. Sun and Lillie both froze in their tracks, but to their confusion, that was all there was. Just a noise, but no alarms. No warnings.
Nothing.
"I think they know we're here after all…" Lillie whispered, tightening her grip on Sun's hand as he walked towards the door that stood in their way. Finn and Oliver observed the door as well, and after a few minutes of staring at the door and having Finn try and yank the padlock off, Sun was forced to admit he was running out of ideas besides backtracking and going another way.
"At least they were smart enough to lock the doors to most of these rooms." Sun remarked, sighing with annoyance. So far there hadn't been any rooms they could actually get into.
"I don't think I can punch through this door." Finn grumbled, tapping the metal door with his fists.
"You probably shouldn't. I'd imagine that'd get us in even more trouble. This was a very poor idea, Sun." Oliver remarked, glancing at his Trainer with surprise. "You should have brought some more Trainers."
"Instead of me...I'm really not of any use, huh?" Lillie muttered, only for Sun to turn around and shake his head at her with a small grin.
"Nope. You don't get to talk down to yourself like that. Not after teleporting in on Brago like a total badass and saving us." Sun said to Lillie, making the girl blush bright pink at the praise. And then, a few moments later, she blushed even harder at the memory of Sun kissing her on the lips.
It was at that moment a door a few feet behind them unlocked with a click, the red light fading away and shining bright green instead. The door even shot upwards, allowing them clear access to the room.
"That...seems very suspicious." Sun muttered, walking towards the door with a frown. Oliver soared through the entryway, scouting inside of the very dark room with his superior night vision.
"Nothing's in here except a lot of weird machines. Come on in." Oliver hooted as he landed on the floor, glancing back at his Trainer as he and Lillie stepped into the dark room, with Finn bringing up the rear.
"What...what is this?" Sun whispered as his gaze traveled across the massive chamber, with a large glass tube-like structure a few feet away filled with liquid and containing some large object.
Sun cast his gaze around the room, seeing more test tubes just like the one in front of him. The lab, if one could call it that, was eerie and silent save for the gentle hum of machines around them. The dim light of the room made it hard for any of them to tell what exactly was within them, so all that could be made out was large shapes floating in the tubes within the liquid. Lillie grasped Sun's hand tightly while Finn and Oliver looked around the room, ever-alert for danger.
"I've got a really bad feeling about this." Finn said in a subdued tone, with Oliver remaining silent as his gaze travelled the room. Considering how boisterous the Poliwrath was, it was a clear sign of how unnerving the current situation was.
"Sun, we need to get out of here." Oliver warned his Trainer, who nodded silently. Before they could do more than take a step back, the door behind them slammed shut with a metallic click.
"Crap. We're trapped!" Sun hissed angrily, whirling around. It was then that the door in front of them across the room turned green, signifying that it was now open.
"Um...maybe not?" Lillie suggested. It was then that the lights of the room turned on, making them all flinch at the light as some of the test tubes began to darken, with bubbles frantically rising within them.
"This is what's left of our teams…this is the Umbral Project. One of my many, many sins." A familiar voice spoke, his voice deep and melodious despite the faint note of strain on it. Sun froze at the voice of his father and frantically looked around the room, earning a weak chuckle.
"You didn't seriously think you could sneak aboard this ship without me knowing, did you?" Borlath asked quietly, his voice tinged with amusement. "Welcome to the Absolution. Come, children. Make your way to the bridge and let's see if we can do business."
"Wait...your teams?" Lillie asked, eyeing the pods with growing horror as Sun slowly walked over to the nearest of them. Suddenly the object inside began to weakly thrash within the tube, and then slammed itself against the thick glass.
Sun screamed in horror, stepping away from the monster within as it released a pained gargle of torment. It had black and white feathers that now glowed a faint purple color. Its feet were long and spindly, unnaturally so, while its beak was filled with deadly teeth that were sharp enough to shred skin with ease. However, Sun recognized the creature inside as a bird of some kind. And then, the boy realized that the creature within reminded him of his own birds, specifically Penny.
And then it struck him like a thunderbolt.
"Penelope!" Sun screamed as he ran to the tube, slamming his palms on the glass as the Cannon Pokémon violently twitched within. Lillie took a step back with a horrified gasp, covering her mouth with her hands as she realized the truth of Borlath's words. The Pokémon inside of these tubes were the Pokémon of the Cipher Admins. And Sun had grown up alongside Borlath's team. They were like family to him.
"What did you do to her!?" Sun demanded of his father, staring at the mangled bird within the tube with pure white eyes.
"When I began the Umbral Project, the Cipher Admins contributed our own Pokémon." Borlath explained gently to his child, his words slow and deliberate. "We were confident that with another batch of Umbral Pokémon, the League would fall before us like dominoes. Jojo, an Umbral Hypno and the first confirmed success of the Umbral Project, was powerful enough that it took one of the world's most skilled Trainers an extreme amount of luck and planning to stop it. Imagine a small army of them...There would be nothing beyond our grasp." Borlath explained, causing Sun to glare at a corner of the room as he grit his teeth.
"Did you all succeed?" Lillie asked.
"Yes. Thanks to some of the…contributions we discussed the other day, Lillie, the Umbral Project was made possible. We've created four Umbral Pokémon within the past year. An Umbral Noivern. An Umbral Rhyperior. An Umbral Torkoal…Though they're all dead, the amount of destruction they left in their wake more than showed we were right in thinking they could prove powerful enough to tilt the balance in our favor."
"You mentioned only three Pokémon." Lillie pointed out, with Borlath chuckling in response.
"That I did. Our fourth Umbral Pokémon, a Medicham, has only been a recent development. Funnily enough, it's contained within the very room you too are standing in." Borlath pointed out, causing Lillie to freeze and look around the room. Her eyes settled on a strange vault-like structure at the far side of the room she could feel something terrible emanating from. Nothing she could distinctly point out, just a feel of wrongness coming from the vault.
Sun remained silent during all of this, though his eyes followed Lillie's gaze to the vault that contained the Umbral Medicham. He then turned back to the mutated Toucannon that he had known when he was a child, twisted into a nightmare as a result of his father's schemes.
And then his gaze drifted to the other tubes.
Sun slowly moved to another nearby container, seeing another figure inside as the bubbles cleared up. It vaguely resembled a spider, with its body having turned bright red and purple and missing half of its legs. Arin the Araquanid twitched violently in its tube as Sun's body shook with tremors, the boy trying to contain his emotions. But Lillie saw his eyes become black as night, and she was almost able to feel the despair pouring from his body.
"How could you...They trusted you! And you let this happen to them! Trainers are supposed to protect their Pokémon! Help them grow! Not whatever the hell this is!" Sun shouted at his father, who's sigh reverberated throughout the room.
"Because I'm evil, Sun." Borlath responded gently, causing the boy to whirl around with his eyes bright red with anger.
"That's a coward's answer! How could you do that to your team!?" Sun screamed, tears in his eyes as he moved to the next tube in the line-up, an Alolan Raichu that's eyes were fused open and now sported two additional tails in the shape of circles. Rio's face shifted towards Sun slightly, almost as if recognizing him, before his face moved away and Sun choked back a sob of despair.
"I did what I had to. I needed power, Sun, and the Umbral Project was exactly the kind of power that no one else would dare try to replicate. A power Cipher could wield to make the world finally recognize the issues at hand. That there need to be safeguards in place that a rich maniac with a powerful team couldn't get around." Borlath responded, his own bitterness almost matching his son's sorrow. "I'm sorry. More sorry than you could possibly imagine."
Lillie put a hand on boy's shoulder, trying to remain composed despite the terror she felt. It reminded her so much of her mother's own experiments within her secret room. However instead of preserving their beauty forever, this was done for the sake of creating weapons.
"They each chose to do this. They chose to make the sacrifice for the chance to become strong enough for me to make a true difference in the world." Borlath responded, his voice pained but holding a firm note of resolve. Sun moved to the next container, and saw that it contained Carlito the Whimsicott. The only reason he could tell was because of the cotton mane around its head, as the rest of its body had melted into a horrifying mess of limbs and claws, its face no longer visible. Lillie looked away as Sun fought the urge to throw up.
"You're a monster!" Sun hissed, unable to tear his eyes away from the experiment that used to be a Pokémon.
Borlath sighed wearily, considering his words. "Maybe so. I hate what I had to do to my friends. My team. But I did what I had to do, Sun. Sacrifices needed to be made, for one reason or another. It was all for the greater good. They understood that."
"That's not good enough!" Sun shouted back at his father, who remained silent for several seconds as Sun moved away to the final Pokémon, Enzo the Passimian. The massive ape had shrunk in size by at least half, and its arms had been contorted into spike-like appendages. Enzo wasn't moving at all, and the electronic vital sign monitors were flat-lining, showing that the creature within that had once been a Passimian had perished.
"Why did you show us this?" Lillie asked suddenly, causing Sun to go still.
"You're a clever girl, Lillie." Borlath remarked, almost fondly. "I did this to show you that I can't be saved. That I don't deserve to be given mercy. I became a monster in my pursuit of power. And I should die like one."
"So you did this to convince us to leave?" Lillie demanded, her voice approaching angry.
"Of course I did. Don't you see now why I want to end it all? To make everything right again? To save them from my mistakes. To save everyone...I have to die." Borlath said gently, trying to console the obviously distraught child and his friend. All three of them knew that nothing could make such atrocities better. Nothing could make this okay. Nothing could correct the sins that Ashton Aupuni had committed in his war against the world.
Sun lowered his head as a tear ran down his cheek, his body shaking as he realized the true depths of what his father had done. Each one of these Pokémon had been with Sun for most of his childhood. They played with him, watched over him, and helped fuel his love of Pokémon.
All of them had been willing to help their Trainer make the world a better place by any means necessary...
And Ashton Aupuni had condemned them to a fate worse than death.
Lillie gently pulled Sun backwards into a soft hug, and opened her mouth to say something comforting, but she had no idea what she could possibly say. Thankfully, or maybe not, Sun's father spoke to them again.
"Then let's cut to the chase, shall we?"
Sun heard a sound of movement behind him and turned around to see a familiar Greninja looking at him from across the room, leaning against the wall. Finn and Oliver moved in front of Sun and Lillie protectively, but Zorro made no moves to attack. The Ninja Pokémon looked at Sun with a fond expression before nodding once towards him.
"You've seen the worst of what I've done. The Umbral Project, the massacres, assassinations, torture and so much more. I don't deserve mercy. I deserve to die for what I've done." Borlath said to the two children, with the Greninja lowering his head at the words of its Trainer.
"I'm giving you two a decision to make. You can either run, and get far away from here as I break Tapu Koko's will and invoke a wish to save the world from the mistakes I've made with Cipher. You will be given safe passage out of the city and be free to live your lives as you see fit." Borlath said as his voice became stronger, more confident as Sun looked upwards defiantly. It was then that Zorro extended a hand to Sun and Lillie.
"But should you wish to proceed further and try to stop me...then return your Pokémon, Sun. And let's all have a long-overdue talk." Borlath said with a sigh of finality and exhaustion, as if he was desperately hoping the boy would turn away. Would allow his father to escape from his sins and wipe the slate clean at the cost of everyone's lives and memories.
For Sun the decision was an easy one. Because there was no decision to make. He'd stop his father and make him understand. Because despite the hardships he'd gone through, Sun had been able to go on his journey through Alola because of his father's mistakes. And he wasn't about to have that taken away from him.
Sun exchanged a glance with Lillie, who bit her lip and considered their options. It was either to face Borlath and convince the man to end his schemes, or risk whatever consequences that changing the course of history would wreak on the world. At the very least, Lillie would never know Sun or his team. And that was something she could not, would not, accept. Not after everything she had learned from the boy. Courage. Kindness. Empathy. Friendship. Strength.
Lillie nodded to Sun and grasped his hand tightly. Sun smiled at his best friend and returned Finn and Oliver before reaching forward and grasping Zorro's hand. The Greninja nodded and stepped backwards using Shadow Sneak, dragging them into the shadows. Moments later they were stumbling into a very large room.
The two children took a moment to observe their surroundings. They were now standing in what seemed to be the Bridge of the ship, the communication center and where the Captain would likely be if the ship were sailing. Computers of all kinds surrounded them as well as various holographic displays. The view outside of the massive windows at the edge of the room allowed them a clear view of the ocean. A raised platform rose several feet into the room, where the only other occupant in the room sat behind a mahogany desk in a black throne-like chair. Zorro led the two children up the stairs to the desk, where their target awaited them.
Sun's father looked terrible. His raven-colored hair was sloppily put into a ponytail and he was sporting stubble on his face, a haunted and pained expression looking back at them. He wore only a pair of black slacks and a pair of black dress shoes, with his chest bare save for the bandages wrapped around his chest. His eyes gleamed with gentle insanity, a worn smile on his face.
It wasn't the face of a criminal mastermind or someone who had tortured their former mentor to death. An exhausted father looked at the two children with an expression of fondness, his smirk lopsided as he slouched in his chair with a glass of dark red wine in his left hand.
"So, you kids are up awfully late." Ashton Aupuni said languidly, leaning back in his chair with a sigh as his gaze slid across the three holographic screens floating above his desk. Zorro steered the two children to the equally comfortable chairs and gestured to them. Sun and Lillie sat down opposite of the businessman as silence enveloped the room.
"Dad…" Sun began to say, only to find that he didn't know what exactly he wanted to say. He hadn't expected his father to be alive, much less standing after what Guzma had done to him. And while he was horrified by what had been done to his team, Sun knew that his father had done that in an attempt to dissuade him from talking. In a way, it was a calculated move designed to make Sun give up and let his father die.
Lillie placed a hand over Sun's and gave it a brief squeeze, causing Ashton's gaze to flicker to them for a brief moment before returning to the screens.
"Mr. Aupuni...Um, how are you feeling?" Lillie asked politely, knowing full-well that the man had a soft spot for her due to his friendship with her parents. That being said, his decision to show them the Umbral Project had made her unsure whether or not she wanted to remain courteous as usual or scream at the man who had done unspeakable things to his Pokémon.
"Sore and weak. My doctors advised me against doing everything I'm currently doing now, but I sign their paychecks and I'll be damned if I let things fall apart because I was so arrogant that I didn't expect a sneak attack." Ashton said with a ragged sigh, placing a hand over his chest. Both children noticed that the bandages there were faintly stained red. "I barely survived that. I won't be underestimating Guzma again."
"Now then...What can I do for the two of you?" Ashton said as he collapsed further into his chair, his eyes deepening into the terrifying gleam of insanity that Sun had become increasingly familiar with after his father had executed Roran Rubinara.
"We want you to stop your plan. Let the Tapu go, end Cipher and let us figure out a way to put all of this behind us. I don't want to lose you, Dad." Sun said to his father, who considered the boy's words for several moments.
"No." Ashton said simply, a smile coming to his lips. "You'll have to do better than that. I hold all of the power here. The only thing keeping this big bad criminal from killing you both are my morals. If Sun wasn't my child and if Lillie wasn't who she was, I'd have had Zorro slit your throats."
Lillie realized that the man was intentionally being vague about her parents, yet again, for her own benefit. And while she appreciated that he was being discreet about her identity in front of Sun, it still didn't hide the fact that Ashton was right. And that they had made a serious error in judgement coming here alone.
"Mr. Aupuni, you must realize how many people you're hurting with your actions. This isn't the way to make things right! Do you know how much damage you'll be doing? How many lives will you ruin if you undo what you've done with Cipher?" Lillie asked the businessman, looking to Sun for a moment.
Ashton's expression twisted into something horrifying, his mouth now scowling with anger at them as the insanity in his eyes gleamed. Lillie and Sun both flinched back into the chairs in fear of the man as he spoke, his words harsh. "You stupid, stupid children...You really would've been better off listening to the adults who planned this attack instead of going off on your own. Look where you are now. Stuck in the lion's den with only the vaguest plan of how to stop me. Did you really think I could be talked down at this point, Sun? And Lillie, you're not even a Pokémon Trainer! Damn it, this is exactly the kind of reckless crap I tried to keep you from doing…all of my efforts to protect you were for nothing."
"So now what? You've got us in your clutches, but you still haven't done anything with us." Sun asked his father, who hummed at the question.
"What indeed? I could always have you detained until this mess is over with, but I feel that's such a lazy answer." Ashton answered with a careless shrug, wincing in pain at the motion. "I'm in the unique position of being able to handle this however I want. Once Amber has eliminated the opposition, I'll likely have more time than required to break Tapu Koko's will."
"You really think that evil monster can stand up against Aria and everyone else? There's no way she can win." Sun said with an air of confidence, though it was obvious he had no idea considering how tough Amber was. It'd be a long shot at best.
"I wouldn't count Amber out quite yet." Ashton said with a taunting grin, as if he knew something that Sun and Lillie didn't. His shift in emotions made Sun concerned, but he also knew his father wasn't entirely sane anymore. "Now then, we have some time before I'll go check in on how Tapu Koko is doing. Can I get the two of you anything to drink? I'd hate to be a discourteous host to my boy and his girlfriend."
Despite everything, both Sun and Lillie blushed bright red at the accusation, especially because Lillie was still holding onto Sun's hand. She quickly released it as if it burned her while Sun looked back and forth between them.
"So when did you two start dating?" Ashton asked with genuine curiosity, swiping a hand through his screens to turn them all off at once, allowing him to fully see Sun and Lillie before smiling knowingly at them.
"We're not dating!" Sun and Lillie shouted at the same time, standing out of their chairs as Ashton laughed painfully, clutching his chest for a moment before he calmed down, offering the two children a fatherly grin as he gazed upon their blushing faces and clear denial.
"Of course you're not." Ashton said with sarcastic amusement in his voice, leaning back in his chair as his eyes flickered to gold for a moment. Just a brief moment, but Sun knew what that meant.
And he knew that maybe, just maybe, there was a chance he could get through to his father after all.
Meanwhile…
Hau'oli City
"This was not how tonight was supposed to go." Amber thought as the blinding white light began to clear. However, as she gazed out upon the street where her opponents had gathered, she conceded that sometimes things were more interesting when they didn't go according to plan.
The street in front of her was now coated completely in ice, as was most of Hau'oli City at this point. Much like Nimbasa City, the entire area had succumbed to the power of Perfect Kyurem. And all those who stood against her were frozen solid where they stood, a testament to the Hero's Wrath, which was the strongest attack in Perfect Kyurem's deadly arsenal. Ghetsis, under the instruction of Borlath, had only ever used it once. And for good reason.
"Is it a bit cold in here or is it just me?" Amber remarked with a sick grin as she eyed the army of frozen Trainers. Perfect Kyurem suddenly lashed out with its tails, obliterating the frozen forms of those trapped in the ice by smashing them into bloody pieces.
Amber heard some noise ahead of her and noticed movement just behind one of the buildings on the street. Two spheres of ice collapsed inwards and showered the shivering humans and Pokémon inside with snow and frozen shards.
"Naturally." Amber muttered darkly, seeing Wes, Aria and a handful of others emerge and stumble into the streets, disoriented from the drop in temperature. Wes called out Pyrrha once more and had her shoot flames onto the street to help them not collapse from the brutal chill in the air around them.
"What…what the hell did she do?" Ollie whispered, glancing around as his breath came up in a harsh puff of white air.
"Hero's Wrath…it causes recoil damage to Perfect Kyurem and it can't move for a while after using the attack since it needs to recharge, but it's strong enough to turn an entire city into a frozen graveyard." Aria explained as she turned to look at Wes, who's normally composed and confident face was wearing an expression of total horror as he gazed upon a familiar sight. A mausoleum of frozen people standing completely still and gazing back at him. Judging him.
Judging him for his failures.
"I'm genuinely astounded you idiots managed to survive that. But you always were good at surviving things that, by all rights, should have killed you." Amber remarked, crossing her arms.
"Says the woman who's somehow escaped two collapsing buildings in the past two months." Ollie snapped back, causing Amber to grin again. She then noticed Noah moving towards her, stumbling as he moved across the frozen street.
"I don't…give a fuck. What kind of monster you've got under your control. You…killed Vivian. And I'm going to kill you!" Noah snarled at the assassin, who nodded in approval as the sickly teen stumbled forward, half-dazed from the chilling temperature.
"That's right. Your girlfriend was just as brave as you. And just as foolish. Do you really think you can do anything to me or Borlath?" Amber asked, sounding genuinely curious as Noah clutched his freezing body and glared hatefully at the murderous assassin, his Machamp walking alongside him. "You'll likely die of hypothermia before you get to me."
"W-w-we…a-aren't done yet." Noah wheezed, stepping forward as his Machamp charged up another Focus Blast.
Amber simply smiled at Noah and raised her hand…before curling it into a fist.
Perfect Kyurem snarled softly before suddenly punching forward with a clawed fist, causing a trail of icicles to quickly spread towards Noah faster than he could react. Machamp was blasted backwards as ice coated his body. To everyone's horror, the attack kept going and struck Noah directly.
The young man was hurled backwards as his body became coated with ice, but even worse was the fact that a massive icicle had sprang up from the ground under Noah's feet, impaling him through the chest and extending out of his back another twelve feet.
"NOAH!" Aria screamed as her friend struggled against the ice for a moment, his bleeding form twitching for several seconds before he finally went still as the blood trailing down his chest and mouth froze instantly. Aria stared at her friend, tears streaming down her face as the life left the man's eyes before turning her gaze to Wes who was shaking violently, his eyes wide with terror.
"No...Nonononono, not again." Wes hissed, not seeing that Perfect Kyurem had risen once more and Amber was eyeing them with a malicious grin, glancing at Noah's dead body with clear amusement.
"Isn't this familiar? I do believe Perfect Kyurem killed Zarren in the exact same way." Amber taunted the former Snagger, who continued to shake while trapped within his own memories.
"W-w-w-who's Zarren?" Faba asked, barely able to think through the cold.
"He was a Flygon that Wes snagged and purified years ago. After Sol and Nox, his Espeon and Umbreon that Amber killed years ago...Zarren was Wes' strongest Pokémon and the one he was closest to. Perfect Kyurem killed him in the exact same way it just k-killed Noah. I think that's what pushed Wes over the edge last time." Aria admitted quietly as Wes continued to stare at Noah's corpse with an expression of utmost horror.
Right now Wes was only half there, with his mind currently onboard Neo Team Plasma's floating fortress and watching as his Pokémon was impaled before his eyes while Borlath laughed at him, all the while footage of Nimbasa City's destruction played in the background on monitors.
But Amber wasn't done, with the fearsome dragon she stood upon flaring its wings and causing the skies overhead to crackle with lightning and rumble with thunder. Shadow Zapdos screeched as it soared high above, with several lightning bolts flashing down from the sky and striking the bird.
"Brace yourselves!" Aria screamed as Pyrrha and Sophie both threw up Protects, with the shields overlapping over their Trainers. To their horror, Sophie's Protect flickered and faded away as the overwhelming storm of electricity raged towards them with an almighty roar. The Jolteon bolted forward and tanked the attack instead, releasing a Thunder right back at Perfect Kyurem. The Legendary snarled as the massive bolt struck its chest, but it reared its head back and began to charge up a sphere of white flames within its maw-
"And cue the dramatic entrance!" shouted a familiar voice that made Wes' eyes widen. It was then that the ground underneath Perfect Kyurem exploded outwards with a great rush of green light, throwing the Arbiter of Tomorrow backwards onto the ground and sending Amber Fontaine crashing down hard onto the frozen street.
Bursting free from the earth was a large strange-looking snake Pokémon with black and green designs around its body. From the air a familiar figure descended from atop her Mega Altaria, grinning down at her allies as she joined the fight proper.
"Sorry I'm late. Had to pick a little something for Zygarde here." Zinnia said with a confident grin as she held up the Zygarde Cube to the sky, causing the device to shine bright green. In front of her the strange snake-like Pokémon hummed in response, its eyes flashing green for a brief moment as it glared down at the stunned form of Perfect Kyurem.
"You...You got Zygarde back to its 50% Forme?" Aria asked the other woman, who nodded in response.
"I scoured the island looking for any Cores or Cells. And I got lucky." Zinnia laughed as she pointed forward, her eyes darting to Noah's corpse and Wes' expression of horror, along with the field of frozen bodies such as Hau, the Captains, and countless others. Branch Chief Faba and Laura Smiles were currently trying to compose themselves due to the immense cold.
"Now then...Let me show you exactly what a Lorekeeper is capable of." Zinnia said fiercely as her Mega Altaria hovered above her, with the last of the Draconid's glaring down Amber Fontaine as the assassin weakly got to her feet. Zygarde, now at fifty-percent power, reared back and released a bellow of fury as it prepared to do battle with its greatest foe yet.
"Wes, get your head in the game! We're not done!" Aria shouted to the former Snagger, who blinked and shuddered, placing a hand over his head as he struggled to ground himself. Laura, Faba, Ollie and Zinnia moved in front of the traumatized Trainer and prepared themselves, calling out their Pokémon.
The Cipher Admin clutched the Eternity Locket in response, glancing towards the Absolution for a moment before focusing her attention on the Trainers before her, drawing her sidearm and unsheathing a dagger. Her expression settled one of murderous determination as Perfect Kyurem slowly rose to its feet behind her.
The battle against Amber Fontaine had only just begun.
NEXT TIME: Sun and Borlath strike a deal and the Angel of Death spreads her wings.
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