AN:

Graphic violence in the story tagged as graphic violence on Ao3. This chapter might be one of the few places it applies in my works.


Blanche rubbed his wrist as he rose into the air. "How does this work, Clemont?"

"The NSPACE emits a field of Infinity Energy around itself with adapters linked into both your biometrics and LADY's processors. Similarly to the STRIKE, it has thrusters at your center of gravity so you can maintain equilibrium when not in movement. LADY can manipulate the emitted AIAM fields for you for course correction and air flow, though only in amounts small enough to be safe."

He ran his fingers around the tube-like emitters poking out of his torso. "Right. LADY. Lumiose-3, top speed."

"Naturally," the computer responded.

The air whooshed past him as he flew, sounding distant through his helmet. The coastal plains passed by beneath him like a treadmill track.

"Why were you on probation, Amaranth?" Clemont asked.

"Good reason, but it's no big deal right now. We can have that talk later, alright? Patch me into the team's comm line."

"Right away. They should be sortieing against the Anomaly now," LADY said smoothly.

A jet stream sewed a trail in the clouds above as he shot towards Lumiose-3.


Fire poured from her soul and became her blood. Blood poured from her cuts and became her fire.

"I'm getting close, everyone! I'll be there soon!" Blanche's voice whispered through a broken helmet somewhere in the street. It went unheard and unknown.

Another spiral of flames erupted from her eye and flash-melted an ice beam, wrapping around it and suffocating it until it was a cold stream of air.

Type: Full ripped through the mist and lunged at her, raking its claws across her torso and throwing her into the apartment wall.

Ariel held a hand to her stomach, coughing, and white flames flared up with her breath. She got back up, swinging her arm outwards with a wave of fire.

Type: Full leapt above it, its mane tinged with blackened feather and ash.

A spear of heat shot upwards as she dove to the side. Flames wrapped around the creature before it crashed into the wall, choking the air with a new plume of dust.

Ariel took advantage of the split second of disorientation to run over to the glacier surrounding Serena. Her skin was pallor and if she wasn't thawed out soon, she would suffocate in the ice.

Becoming a sphere of flames, water began dripping from the iceberg and turning to the steam. Ariel pushed her arms further in, the water evaporating on contact with the flames billowing from her wounds.

Her only warning before she pushed herself away was a sharp cry from behind her. Ice shattered as soon as she got away, stumbling after pulling her arms from the dent in the glacier.

Type: Full reared its head, bounding towards her.

A wall of fire exploded upwards, an attempt at shielding her before the flash of claws in her face threw her from her feet.

Her back landed against one of the others. Shauna, Gin, Ash, Salem, she couldn't tell. She looked up at the Type: Full one last time as it slowed. As she didn't move, neither did it.

"All I need to do… is hold you back. I know that He… no, he will save us. He'll try. He always has."

Her vision was blocked by a final wall of flames, accompanied by the firing of a jet engine somewhere in the distance.

Type: Full's head was halfway through the wall, the helmet glowing red-hot as it was ripped away.

Blanche's arms tensed against the extra weight as he yanked it from the ground and high into the air. Only the shock-absorbing frame of his suit kept his arms intact as he shot skyward.

Type: Full thrashed in the air, shooting off beams of ice and bolts of lightning.

Blanche pulled it higher, the plastic in his gloves quickly melting. If he could get it away from the others, it might give them time to recover and fight it properly.

And then something strange happened.
The metal superheated, the spandex torn, and the artificial AIAM fields conflicting with Type: Full's, a chunk of its collar broke off. Type: Full's aura instinctively tried to heal it as they slowed, attempting to meld the metal back together.

It caught Blanche's forearm, melted around it, and set as the boy fell from the air screaming.

The snap, crackle, and pop that his skin made; it was a cycle of sounds that he would never forget. It burned through tissue and muscle and he had thought it had stopped, but truly there were no more nerves for it to melt through. Pinkish-red blobs sloughed off his arm and splattered onto the concrete below as LADY leveled him out and kept him from splattering along

Blanche clutched at it, bent double and shaking as he cried out soundlessly. His glove burned as he held the metal cuff and couldn't bring himself to let go.

He looked up at the Type: Full, who's helmet had broken off on the same side, exposing its silvery mane and part of its snout. It looked at him curiously, standing still on the building's corner as if it were a porch.

His vision was red and electricity ran through his veins, though he knew that there would be no static that day. It felt as if he was sweating internally, with steam clogging his arteries and organs.

"You…" he growled out, though it was half-choked. "You bastards did this. All you higher ups with your greater goods and big pictures. You keep forgetting about the people who have to fix your bullshit!" His voice turned shrill. "You keep forgetting about the Pokémon that have to suffer for it! I'll never forgive that, and I'll never forget what you've done." He could only manage to gasp out one more word. "Never."

Even if he hated it, and hated that he didn't know what purpose he was working towards, he would do anything he could to protect them all. That would be what he lived for from that point forward, and that would be what he believed gave his life value.

He couldn't see it, but his subconscious mind could. All the knowledge, all the accumulated experience, all the power he'd gained in Lumiose-3.

By honing my body, I hone my mind. By honing my mind, I hone my soul. By honing my soul, I hone the drill that will open a hole in the Universe.

LADY read the data that had been welded onto the Clemontic Gear, the strange functions and their effects on aura. She compiled Blanche's tendencies in battle, both his strengths and his weaknesses.

Detecting the drives, or rather, the files and functions contained within, she connected each of them to the suit's barely functioning mainframe.

"Nine Memories are available for use, Amaranth," she said a split second later.

Blanche gripped at the remaining wires around his arm and the tubes that had been welded shut. He ripped away the emitters that produced his shields, creating a shower of sparks and pure lights that often flowed through his armor.

He lashed out with his arm, creating a tendril of pure energy, like that of a dragon. He reared his head and hunched over like a beast. Fluids clogged his vision, and with nary a thought, the helmet dissolved and let him free.

His hair was damp with sweat and his face was both pale and flushed. His eyes reflected the midnight light and like the mirrors to the soul they were, they showed his red-hot anger clearly.

He glared at the Beast Killer in front of him.

"Let's dance."


AIAM FIELD PATTERN: ERROR. UNKNOWN NUMBER.

Designation: ERROR. UNKNOWN NUMBER

Designation Request Inbound

FLARE Designation: LADY of the Lakes

"Never seen that before," Michael muttered. "LADY, what are you asking for?"

From the lab's speakers, the AI's voice came clear. "Please designate this Gear as INFINITE."

Aveline turned to Michael. "Why is LADY self-aware enough to think creatively?"

"I don't know. I thought her personality was just a side-effect of Clemont's "The Future is Now!"ing."

"I thought you programmed her," Aveline questioned.

Both of them turned to Clemont, who was watching the standstill intently.

"I wasn't me. I thought it was Michael."

There was a terse moment of silence as they all had the same revelation at once.

Aveline sighed. "Clemont, let LADY name the Gear, just this once."

"...You have an autonomous artificial intelligence in your mainframe? Can I have a copy?" Lusamine asked, the forced giggle making it clear she was trying to break the tension. "It'll go to a good cause!"

Aveline looked at Lusamine, at her dad, then sighed again before turning back to the screen.

"Blanche, if you win, I promise what happened to Rosa's Zygarde won't happen to anyone else. On my life."

Her words couldn't reach him, but everyone else in the room quickly fell into silence.


It was a split second event. The sputtering of Type: Full's collar, the clicking that echoed well through the dusty smog, the subtle movements of its legs as it prepared to pounce.

Blanche saw the flash of silver light around it as its type changed. His own possible types were burned into his retinas, and he couldn't tell if that was literal.

"Fighting," he grunted, slinging his arm in front of him, carrying the tendril of barely contained energy. The pure white turned to a deep red and condensed, wrapping around his wrists before splitting apart like clay. He felt heat brush along his arms as the edges of the second set of fists burned.

A Rocket Punch blasted Type: Full into the air, the Infinity Energy dissipating as it made contact. The Steel-type recovered, wings like that of an insect sprouting from its back as it took to the skies, hovering above him. It began charging a sickly green beam in its mouth.

Blanche rid himself of the second fist, slinging it towards Type: Full with the hope of distracting it, saying only, "Rock." No tendril of projection appeared, but he felt a hiss as the air changed. The colors remained constant but it seemed hazy and focused at the same time. A field was deployed around him, controlled consciously by something that wasn't him. It rolled over him like a light breeze, nearly unnoticeable.

Honestly, he trusted LADY more than MissingNo. She wasn't liable to leave him out to dry until it was too late.

He kicked at the debris, his right arm flopping uselessly by his side and still burning like a hot pan. Dust rose into the air, carrying towards Type: Full uselessly, before it began clumping together. Debris rose along with it.
Blanche spun, kicking with his other leg and preserving the moment. With a final scuff against the shattered concrete, the rubble flew at Type: Full like a skybound meteor shower.

It fell slightly, the cry the only thing signaling a hit as it was engulfed in a cloud of dust.

He stepped back, trying to think of his best defensive option before it charged.

"Electric," he guessed.

Type: Full blasted towards him, burning like a rocket and igniting a dust explosion behind it. Lightning sparked into the air around him as flames licked at his vision. Type: Full pulled up at the last second, avoiding the lightning strikes that exploded from Blanche's chest.

He fell back, before rebalancing with footwork like a boxer's. "Get back here!" He thrust out his palm, tension running up and down both his arms. "Water!"

The air became denser around him, almost slicker. Tiny droplets coalesced in the air from the artificial field, and the air became no dryer. They spiraled together into a spear and lanced towards Type: Full, engulfing the flaming tailwind and dousing it, while also knocking it off trajectory.

At it fell, he saw its exposed eye gleam and its collar sputter. The earth came up to meet it, shattering the street as concrete and foundations melted and spun into a ramp, redirecting and slowing its descent. It jumped at him, javelins made of the ground itself shooting along with it.
"Grass!" he said, crouching low to the ground.

For a terrifying split second, nothing happened, before the energy diffused deep into the soil, beneath the street, the ground, and the past that the city had been built on.

Roots exploded upwards, sending up plumes of dust but rooting the earth, stopping it in its tracks and looping around Type: Full's limbs. It struggled against them while they overlapped on themselves.

He stood up, taking a deep breath and taking the moment he could to breather.

The click wasn't warning enough as something struck his shoulder.

The spine stuck out of his flesh, trickling with purple liquid that slowly began mixing with red.

"Shit!"

LADY made no response as he jumped back from its range. Purple glows began forming around each of Type: Full's feathers, folding out and towards him, as if setting up for cannon fire.

"Flying!" he shouted, jumping into the air as the barrage exploded towards him.

The purplish gleams counted one extra in number as he ripped the spine from the hole in his shoulder. Wings flapped furiously around him, tinged a pale blue.

White energy, a pure white, began glowing in Type: Full's mouth, though it was still rooted firmly to the street. It grew wider and wider, and Blanche realized that from such a close distance, he had no chance of dodging it.

"I'm gonna stop you. No one's dying today! Not me!" Blanche screeched, diving towards Type: Full. If he stopped it before it could fire, it couldn't hurt anyone else.

The Hyper Beam shot off before he could reach it, and it would have glanced at him had his wingspan not reached down so far. The false wings dissolved but he continued falling towards Type: Full, his nostrils filled by ozone.

"Ice!" he struggled out, raising his hands above his head as if to spike a ball.

Boulder-sized clumps appeared from the air around him, a blizzard whipping up and slowing his fall only slightly enough so that his legs didn't shatter as he landed in a crouch.

All he could see of Type: Full was a purple haze, like that of a ghost.

Claws raked against his back as Type: Full became tangible again, throwing him from his feet against the boulders. Something cracked in his chest, but he couldn't register the pain, only the electrical snap that ran through him.

Blanche pushed himself off. Type: Full reared up, the purple becoming denser, lighter, and deeper around it. The purest energy it could muster, that of a dragon.

"Psychic," Blanche grunted, shielding his face as he let LADY do the work. The ice around him was surrounded by a faint glow.

Type: Full's projection grew yard by yard, lengthening around it though it was transparent. Wings tried to form but were struck by hail. Scales tried to protect it but were shattered. Draco Meteors formed in the air above it but dissolved into nothing as Type: Full was pushed back by the shower of ice.

Blanche pushed himself up, not blinking as he took a deep breath. His eyes were locked on Type: Full, and the two stood silently, not a cry between them.

Type: Full's collar clicked for the ninth time, before an aura began surrounding it and sucking the light from the air itself. A black hole seemed to form around it, though he could see its body perfectly fine. It was something that needed to be eradicated, an evil that could only be born of desperation.

"Fairy," Blanche immediately said, his last option ticking away like nothing. It was his best chance.

"I… choose… life!" Blanche roared as he began running. "I'm going to live!"

The Infinity Energy around his left hand split into a hundred pink spokes, spreading out like a crown of thorns, or a set of antlers.

The haze of darkness reached out towards him as he ran towards it, like a set of wings. Type: Full's head was bowed down, its head shaking as the collar refused to click anymore, sputtering uselessly.

Blanche kicked over its head, tightening his hand around the bottom lip of its collar as he went.

The Fairy-type thorns dug deep into the metal, and with so much wear, it broke off like nothing.

He heard the rest of Type: Full's helmet clatter to the ground as he stumbled to a stop.

Metal warped around his arm, the antlers wrapping in on it, absorbing it and forcing it into his skin. Compounds of energy seared his flesh as the cuff of drives pushed out what had been there before. Tissue was pushed out in pulsating waves before dropping to the ground in piles of oil and blood.

Blanche fell to the ground, wracked with so much pain that he couldn't scream. The burning was practically nothing compared to the cold, sinking feeling in every one of his bones.

"No one else," he sobbed. "Don't kill anyone else, please. Just take me and do what you need to. Give me a sign if this is what I was supposed to do with my life."

Type: Full padded over to him, its white mane covered in scratches of tar-like blood. A ring around its neck was singed black and despite the damage, contained all sorts of ports and wiring. Even so, it stood over him, the feathers that crested its head pointing straight towards the heavens.

"Please, just give me something to work with," he said, shutting

Blanche heard it kneel down next to him, pushing rubble aside. It put its head on his chest, and was still. It kept breathing, a ripple traveling across its body that seemed like the ideal of peace itself.

"I… I don't understand," he said, tears pouring from their ducts and trailing off into his hair. "Why… why am I here? Why do I have to keep going on like this?"

There was nothing to answer him. Not even the air.

He still felt an answer deep within himself, though it felt as if he had never heard it before.

"Is that really the truth?" he asked himself, looking at the waning moon above him. The light of the stars were choked by the dust in the air, but some of it came through, precious in its scarcity.

His heart beat again.

"I'm done being selfish. Everything I've done, it's been for myself," he murmured, his throat raw and swollen. "I can't live like that anymore."

His body cried out to him, not in physical pain, but in spirit.

And by honing his body, he honed his mind. And by honing his mind, he had honed his soul. And by honing his soul, he had honed the would open a hole, though not in the Universe, certainly in his.

At that moment, it really did seem open to him. It seemed that when he really and truly wanted something, all the Universe would conspire to make his dream come true.

Though it hurt to do so, both the effort and the fear, he lifted his arm- unaware of space or time, at that point- and placed it on Type: Full's neck. He stroked its mane gently and smoothly, without fear.

"I think… I could use some rest," Blanche laughed, blinking away the tears in his eyes. "Could I have a little, please?"

And so the boy with no name slept beneath a sky full of stars that did, truly, shine for him.


The evacuation order was lifted the next morning in Lumiose-3. Postings of MagLev delays and closed areas went along with that, consisting of Autumnal Avenue, its side streets, and the city's central plaza. The quadrisected rubble of Prism Tower served as a grim reminder as to what occurred only days before, but that wouldn't stop the rebuilding efforts. Events were planned in celebration that they had made it through, because everyone knew that soon enough- even if it wouldn't quite be Lumiose-4- they would build back up, stronger than before.

Few knew of what was happening beneath their feet.


Shauna was of two minds. Not the harsh and sweet ones as usual, but of conflicting opinions.

Whatever the Anomaly was, (Type: Full, as that blonde Kantonian lady called it), it was strange, powerful, and frankly she had no idea how they had defeated it.

Blanche had run away. Rosa was still at home, hopefully with Miss Grace there to watch over her. Serena had been frozen and knocked out of the fight. Gin, Ash, and Salem, despite being helpful, went down fast with only four-ish months of experience. Shauna herself had been knocked out of the air.

When she came to, Ariel was literally bleeding flames and trying to free Serena from the block of ice. The Anomaly was nowhere to be seen. Everyone was recovering from the daze, shaking off the dust and ash.

She'd asked Ariel what had happened and she replied that she honestly didn't know.

They'd been called back to base for briefing without any other commands while medical teams were sent topside. Aveline mentioned something about an orange AIAM field going dark. Instead of being briefed, they were immediately sent to the medical wing. It was certainly necessary and perhaps should have been the priority, but she was curious. It was a puzzle. A terrifying puzzle she couldn't get the answers to.

The next morning, she saw the Anomaly just… walking around the base, padding along with Blanche's footsteps. His clothes were completely normal, though it was a bit odd he was still wearing that silver jacket of his in May.

"Blondie!" she yelled immediately as she ran up behind him, though she herself couldn't tell whether she was angry or happy about it.

"Oh, hey, Shauna," he said, dumbly as usual. "I kind of have a headache, can you not yell?"

Her voice dropped to a whisper, though her tone was still sharp.
"I thought you left! Why are you here? And why is that… thing following you around?"

The Anomaly raised its head, which was now wrapped in bandages instead of the bronze helmet that it had when it attacked.

Blanche got an odd look on his face, absent-mindedly reaching out and scratching the back of its neck. "I… can't really explain it. Well, no, I can, but I don't think you'll get it. Honestly, I don't get it either," he chuckled. "Silvally is sort of weird like that."

Silvally? Where had he come up with a stupid name like that?

"Fine. Why did you run away?"
There was a flicker in his expression, she was certain. Something darker than the usual awkward grin he bandied about in. It disappeared immediately, but it was there.

"I don't like myself that much. I realized that, and that I didn't want to be a burden. That was… the wrong way of thinking so I came back. I've got to work through it on my own, now," he said. "You don't have to worry about it, I'm not in denial anymore."

"I- I-" her face turned reddish. "I want to worry."

"...Is this one of those social cues I can't pick up for shit?" Blanche asked, bewildered.

"I didn't mean, uh, um- Stop laughing at me!"

"I didn't say anything," Blanche replied, his face stock-still.

"What I mean is that you should let me- us- worry about you. We're your friends, even if we can't fix your problems." Shauna stared at her shoes and tapped them together. "We're there to help you if you need it, and that means, well, we get worried."

There was a moment of awkward silence.

"You know," Blanche finally said, "I think this is the first time I've seen you even remotely subdued. It's weird."

"S-shut up!" She bounced back immediately. "What's that supposed to mean? I'm a girl, so what? I don't have to be all perfect and stoic and-"

"Didn't say it was a bad thing," Blanche muttered, nodding his head.

"-quiet and s- wait, what?"

"I didn't say anything, go on." Blanche said, making a sideways and oddly limp 'shoo, shoo' gesture. His sleeve slipped down slightly.

Shauna was a bit hot-blooded, but she wasn't stupid, if you understand. She could be incredibly perceptive, it was just that she often read too much into things and thus, caught a lot of implications that might not have been intended.

Thus, when she saw bandage tape shift on the inside of his jacket, she immediately snatched his forearm.

"What's happened?" she asked, staring straight into his eyes.

"Ah, well, you see, uh-" he quickly looked away as his weight shifted to his back foot. "I don't wanna make a big deal out of it, and I'm on a ton of pain medication right now, so it's really not even that bad, I promise."

"Take off your jacket."

"It's not hot anymore, I'm fine, it doesn't burn," Blanche protested, even as he awkwardly slid his jacket off.

And no, Shauna did not take the opportunity to use her skills of perception as he unintentionally flexed. That would be stupid. Nope. Didn't do that. Not at all.

Blanche's arm twitched and dropped his jacket. He held out his arms and looked away.

Shauna took hold of his arms near his elbows and exhaled slowly.

There were two strips of bandages on each arm, sectioning off where his skin was replaced by bronze plating that seemed melted on. Her thumb traced along the edge of the cloth and despite his denial, it felt almost… warm.

Silvally bowed its head next to them, tensing up and radiating some kind of emotion. It seemed angry. Remorseful? Regretful? Shauna didn't know.

She looked back up at him. He was still looking away.

"What is this?"

"Silvally had some kind of… collar on him. It was changing types until I broke it and then LADY did something with mine and I don't know," Blanche said. "I know the procedure for burns, don't worry about it."

"That's not-" Shauna tapped on the metal. It didn't echo as if it were hollow, but it reverberated strangely. She tried to turn his arm but he flinched as it suddenly locked up.

"I can't, uh, turn my arms all the way anymore. Best I can get is halfway. These things stop the bones from crossing over like they should."

"That's terrible!" Shauna exclaimed, before remembering Blanche's alleged headache and quieting back down. "Do you need surgery or just a saw to get them off?"

"No. No, I don't think I'm going to," Blanche said.

"Which one?"

"Neither. It'd be… wrong."

"But… they're cuffs!" she whisper-yelled. "All you need is a chain and they're literally shackles!"

Blanche shook his head. "I know, I know, it sounds weird. I think I just need to keep them. Silvally… I don't have aura so I don't have capital-e Empathy, but I know what his life has been like. I've seen it. He's suffered more than I have, and I've freed it from that."

Silvally hooted in a low tone, bumping its head into Blanche's side.

The boy chuckled, and Shauna let his left arm go so he could scratch the chimeric Pokémon.

"He's bled for the people that bound him. This technology was forced onto him and hurt him. He didn't want to hurt anyone; at least, I don't think so. I've bled for him, so these shackles are mine now. They're my responsibility. To answer your earlier question, I think he thinks he owes me something, in a weird way." He looked straight at her for the first time in the conversation.

Shauna's grip loosened, but she placed her free hand in his, holding him by the unbound wrist.

"I've already been briefed. The Aether Foundation's not happy. They were doing some shady stuff and I may have let slip some stuff, and now their president is demanding FLARE to make me go to surgery, have these removed, so they can repurpose them and Silvally."

"And are they…?"

"No, not a chance. Aveline almost slapped her, it was nuts," Blanche laughed again, trying to lighten the conversation. "There's some talk about getting the UR involved. They have to when the bodies under them are in a stalemate."

"So what happens? Are they going to arrest you if you say no?" Shauna asked, her hands tensing.

"Maybe. I'll talk with Lysandre again and maybe not cuss him out." Blanche shrugged. "Who knows?"

"This is serious!"

"Again, headache and pain meds."

Her voice dropped again. "You can't let them take you away, they can't! We need you, and you… you can't just leave again! You keep leaving and coming back and leaving and leaving and I'm just really scared that you've leave one day and not come back and you know what I'm more afraid of than anything is everyone leaving me-"

Blanche cut her off by wrapping her in a hug.

"Codependency really doesn't suit you," he commented as Silvally padded over, wrapping around the two.

"Shut up, I'm just… worried."

There was a blast of light from Shauna's Pokéball belt before Frogadier appeared above their heads. "Ribiribi!" she cried happily, dropping between the two and wrapping her amphibian arms around them.

Someone called out from down the hall, "Ayo, are we doing a group hug right now?"

"Goddamn it, Gin," Blanche muttered before breaking down into a fit of laughter. "Yeah, sure. I'm cool with that."

Shauna was still of two minds long after that conversation.


"Before we continue, I'd like to establish that my office is a neutral ground. I will not tolerate shouting from either party," Lysandre said, sitting behind his desk in the same pose as usual.

On one side of the room was the Aether Foundation's contingent. The blonde lady in charge had introduced herself as Lusamine. The large woman and hunched over man were Wicke, her right-hand, and Faba, her chief scientist, respectively.

On the other side was Blanche, Silvally standing behind him as if shying away from the group's personnel. Both Sycamores were present, with inverse levels of nervousness. Aveline stood confidently beside him and he'd noticed Augustine fidgeting before he'd stuck his hands in his pocket.

Between them and completing the circle, closest to the door and opposite Lysandre, was a man that called himself Looker. He wore a brown trench coat, which would have appeared normal, if it hadn't been worn on top of a dark purple set of slacks and a waistcoat.

"To be clear, am I getting arrested? Is that what's happening here?" Blanche asked.

"We're requesting the return of the RKS system as well as Type: Full. We had believed that it was a failed experiment until it was tested in the field. With further research, we can ensure more successful iterations for the UR's use in the future," Lusamine said.

"Silvally is sticking with me," Blanche said back. "I'm not letting you hurt it anymore. You have back-up data, don't you? Work with that."

Lusamine looked at Lysandre. "I don't believe this is a discussion for children to be present for. Regardless of his regrettable status, you can't rely on his opinion for your decision." She turned to Looker. "Neither can you. He's just a child."

"I have a license. Also, I was up there fighting while all of you were down here in the coziest bunker on Earth."

"I agree," Aveline said, stepping forward. "Um, with the idea, not the tone, ma'am and sir. Amaranth supplies a valuable perspective. We didn't know what was happening topside after his helmet broke; the other Rangers were out of his range. What little footage we do have is grainy and practically indecipherable."

Looker rubbed his stubble. "Yes, this is true. I believe this young man's input will be necessary. The higher-ups will have questions for him anyway, so you might as well get his answers now."

Lusamine crossed her arms. "That's fine. It was a moral concern of mine, but I'll let it go. What we're discussing is how to proceed. This boy is withholding Aether Foundation property- research materials that directly support the goals of the United Regions."

"Which are?" Lysandre asked.

Her tone switched to something much softer, like it had been rehearsed. "Obviously, the Aether Foundation's purpose is aid Pokémon and preserve nature."

Lysandre's hands lowered, making the eyebrow he raised that much more prominent. "I don't doubt that. However, I must ask how that is related to the Pokémon that is standing for us today."

"Y-You knew what its purpose is!" Lusamine said, shock quickly turning to anger. "You are very well aware what Type: Full will do for FLARE and the United Regions."

"Of course," Lysandre said, "So you must forgive me when I ask why you want it back."

"For study and reproduction. We must be able to replicate and extrapolate on this breakthrough. Faba?"

"Indeed, Madam President." Faba adjusted his bug-eyed green goggles. "By studying the changes in its biology, how its healed, and how it fairs without the RKS system implemented.

"I think it's fairing just fine now that the system is gone," Blanche shot back. "Definitely in a lot less pain, no thanks to you."

"It doesn't have the biology of a Psychic-type, it's very clearly non-sapient," Faba replied. "It's not as if it were suffering."

Blanche tapped at a tab sticking out of his arm. The metal plinked around the pink rectangle that stuck out. "It had the potential to be Psychic-type, and it was in pain. That's enough."

"Children, naturally, do not understand Pokémon brain anatomy," Faba said.

Before Blanche could snap back that he had a license, Lusamine spoke.

"I do suppose we can arrange for more humane treatment after its return," she sighed. "It's hardly sentient, but if the process is made simpler by doing so, I will agree to those terms."

Lysandre nodded. "Amaranth."

"Huh?"

"...Your input?"

Blanche could've punched himself right then and there. "Oh, yeah, except I noticed you said 'more humane' and not just humane. Was that leaving yourself a loophole or just a Freudian slip?"

"I misspoke," Lusamine said. "Hm. You're sharp."

"Thanks, it keeps me alive when I'm fighting battles for you old-"

"Amaranth, do not speak out of turn," Lysandre interrupted. "Now, another point has been raised. Amaranth's arms have been damaged extensively by this incident. How do you propose the Aether Foundation will compensate for this?"

Is he… arguing for me?

Blanche was surprised before remembering that Lysandre was Lysandre and it was incredibly likely he was trying to get his pound of flesh when he could.

"We can arrange for a surgical procedure and physical therapy processes," Lusamine said immediately. "It's very unfortunate that one of FLARE's greatest resources-" laying it on a bit thick, there- "Was injured so heavily by this accident."

"I'll take the therapy but I'm keeping these," Blanche said, crossing his arms the best he could and leaning on his back foot. "You don't need them, right? It's different from biology, and I doubt you could reuse them."

A short silence followed his words.

"You… don't want your arms back?" Lusamine asked.

"I can manipulate Infinity Energy directly with these," Blanche said. "LADY, the computer, hooked them up to the suit and her own AI. Until I don't have to fight anymore, I'll keep my arms like this."

"You'll have them for a long while, then," she said. Her tone became softer, much different from the strictly-business one she'd been speaking in. "Are you sure? Your body is unlikely to rebuilt what mass you have lost after enough time."

"I'll live," Blanche shrugged.

"I… I don't suppose I can force the issue, then," Lusamine said, shushing Faba who seemed as if he was about to interject. She looked to Lysandre. "Amaranth can keep the remnants of the RKS system as long as he wishes. Can a deal be struck regarding Type: Full?"

"I'm not comfortable with that, and I don't think Silvally is, either," Blanche said. "He's been by my side since I woke up."

Silvally crowed in an odd sort of agreement.

"How on Earth did you come up with that ridiculous name?" Faba exclaimed. "It's incredibly childish to nickname a science experiment."

"Faba!" Lusamine spoke evenly, but the snap of her fingers carried her meaning. "We are not rulers here. We are here as delegates, not as scientific overseers. Your opinions will be contained until after we depart."

"...Yes, Madame President."

Blanche answered anyway. "I heard the name from someone a long time ago. I felt like it fit."

Lusamine nodded. "Well, should you encounter difficulties, FLARE can, of course, call upon us for aid."

"Look how that turned out the first time," Blanche said, scratching Silvally's neck. "Maybe keep a hold of your own problems so this doesn't happen again."
"Amaranth," Lysandre warned.

"Yeah, yeah, I know…"

He was getting dangerously close to asking about her children. He was wrong about… wait, no, no, he wasn't. Lysandre was as bad as he thought, or at least could have gone down that path. In this world, had everything not become infinitely worse, the plots likely would have carried over.

So he asked anyway. Or, at least, made a suggestion.
"I fight Legendary Pokémon way too often," he sighed exaggeratedly. "I'd hate to fight another. Hey, with my track record, the next one could be the sun or the moon."

Lusamine's eyes widened a fraction, as he caught with a flickering glance, but he was still putting on the act and complaining to his shoes.

"O-of course. That would be rather unfortunate. If there is nothing else, I believe we are done here. Wicke, Faba, we are taking our leave."

"Anything else that I'm required for?" Looker asked, though he spoke as if he already knew the answer.

"No," Lysandre said simply.

The revolving door finally closed after a minute. Blanche, Silvally, Lysandre, and both Sycamores were left in the darkened room.

"Dismissed," Lysandre said.

"You didn't screw up," Augustine said, forcing a laugh. "Ah, that takes me back to Tech. See, I had one teacher and she really didn't like me. The first time she yelled at me, though, I nearly-"

"Dad!" Aveline practically shouted. Her face was certainly red, even in the low light.

"Ah, just a joke. Aveline, do you mind escorting Blanche to the others? I doubt he's fully healed yet," Augustine suggested.

"I'm not going to start tripping because of a broken rib," Blanche muttered. "Is it a left or a right down the next hallway? I always forget."

"That might be for the best," she agreed.

Aveline tugged him to the door by the wrist, Silvally close behind.

"Just a moment," Lysandre called.

Blanche turned, halfway through shutting the door behind them.

"I do care, Amaranth. I hope you can see that."

And then there were two.

"...Something he said is sticking in my mind. How much longer will he be fighting for?" Augustine asked.

Lysandre burrowed his nose into his tented fingers. "Not too much longer, I hope."

The light in the hallway outside flickered and both murals gleamed in harmony.


AN:

I'm hoping this is the closest this story gets to body horror, but I don't know. God-level threats tend to exaggerate your intentions.

Part-way through this chapter, I realized that Type: Null's RKS system did not work how I thought and didn't cycle automatically. Accept this as a break from canon as the extent of adaptability is what makes a weapon useful, and without a system similar to the one I've described, Type: Null is only as powerful as the human that has to change its drives in the field. Also, it's not a collar. I changed that too, because it's symbolic of stuff. No, seriously, trust me. Also, I forgot it wasn't, so I made it a collar. Lol.

For the people that care, I got a 33 on my ACT so that week off for studying worked out well. You'd figure my writing would be a bit better, but my English score was relatively shit so go figure.

There's a poll on my profile for this story; it's a minor thing but I'd like input on it.