The two of them were in FLARE's medical wing, thought to be resting and left alone. They were instead having a conversation.

Serena's grip around his throat tightened.

"I didn't want to remember," she snarled. "How can you go around acting like it's okay when it's not? Did you see what happened to them? My family, their family, our other friends, Calem- They're all gone!"

The bedsheets she'd been tucked into were torn from the frame. The chair he'd been sitting laid sideways. The food he'd tried to give to her was scattered across the floor.

"They're… not… gone… forever," Blanche struggled out, trying to pry her fingers off of his neck. "Let me go… Serena."

Her grip loosened as he said her name before it tightened again. Blanche's windpipe bent further.

"Your voice… You have no right to it! It's not yours! It's his, it's his, and he's gone!" she spat. "If you remember, why aren't you grieving?"

"I already… said," Blanche said, clawing at his neck. "We'll see them… again… someday… somehow!" He gasped for breath. "When you see them, when you look back… you'll remember this, too."

After a moment she released him, stepping back silently.

Blanche doubled over, clutched at his chest for breath. He looked up.

Serena held an arm over her eyes, but he caught the redness in them as tears began leaking from their corners.

"It's not fair," she said, her voice cracking despite the attempt to keep it even. "Why doesn't it hurt you like it hurts me? Why? What did I do to deserve this?"

"Nothing," Blanche said, rubbing his neck. He coughed. "No one deserves pain like that. But would you rather have forgotten them entirely?"

"Yes. A thousand times yes!" Serena cried. "I don't want… I don't want to know that they're gone- I can't miss what I forget!"

"I guess that's what makes us different," Blanche whispered before his voice began rising. "Because I had to accept that everything I used to be was gone. Everyone I had, everything I had. I've already accepted it. You haven't. You just ignored them, ignored everything they did, because it was too painful, too difficult for you!"

"Then I'm not too different from you, am I?" Serena snapped, wiping her face. "That's what you do; I've seen it! You're a hypocrite."

"Then I'm just as much of a hypocrite as you," Blanche said. "I know what I am now, even if I don't know exactly who. I know what's out there. I know that if we try hard enough, we can see them all again."

"Says who?"

Blanche shrugged. "I don't know yet, but-"

Serena pushed past him, looking away. "I'm leaving."

"I think the doctors still need to check for mental contamination," he said.

"My head is fine. I can think so clearly it hurts. I'm leaving. No, I'm leaving the city, too. This place is like Vaniville now. I won't be able to forget if I stay here," she said.

"How can you try to forget?" he asked sharply. "Do you care about their memory or not? If they died for you, then you better remember that for the rest of your life!"

"If they died for me, then they wouldn't want me to suffer every day for the rest of my life!" Her back was still turned to him, the door still closed in front of her. She struck the paneling with her palm. "I can't live like this anymore! Everywhere I look I'll just see him, see you, no matter how much I try not to. I was so close to moving past it, forgetting entirely… but then you came along."

Her head thunked against the door.

"I thought he was back," she said. "I really did. You reminded me so much of him. When you did something impossible, it was as if he was breathing in front of me again. But I remember now. You're alive, and he's dead, but that feeling is never going away." She took a deep breath. "How am I supposed to honor his memory when I'll have to look at you every day I stay here?"

Blanche couldn't give her an answer.

"I'll give the others my last regards by myself. I owe them that much."

The door clicked shut behind her.


Blanche's head hung lower than usual as he entered Lysandre's office. The murals seemed to be laughing at him as he bobbed with each step.

"Do you have information in addition to the briefing?" Lysandre asked, shuffling through paperwork without looking up.

"I think I know how to bring them all back," Blanche said.

Lysandre's hands froze. He slowly put the papers in a neat stack and sequestered them to a corner of his desk. "That is a rather strange way to start a conversation."

"Cut the crap, you know what I'm talking about. I can read a little bit of body language- I'm not stupid," Blanche said. "You want to fix what was broken on Earth when the Heavens Shattered. I want to do the same thing so I don't have to keep fighting for my life. Those two things overlap."

"How so?" Lysandre asked as if he were speaking to a child.

"Something created my body from nothing," Blanche said. "You can call it a ghost, an Anomaly, a Stand, or whatever you like. It follows me around on nights of the full moon. It can manipulate AIAM fields. It registers as a missing number in the battle logs."

"That does explain it," Lysandre said. "Continue."

"With barely any AIAM fields, it can create one person. What could it do when there are a whole lot more?" Blanche asked. "Or if there was just a big enough explosion of Infinity Energy? Hell, if I blew up my Infinity Battery, it would probably make a few more people out of that. Imagine that, Lysandre."

"If this were possible, do you theorize that these people would be like you?" Lysandre asked.

"Probably," Blanche said.

"Then I won't allow further considerations," he said.

Blanche could have heard a pin drop.

"You… you heard me, right? If we just-"

"Anomalies, as a category of life, are unreliable," Lysandre said. "They cannot be reasoned with. They can act in patterns, yes, but their goals and motivations are entirely different from humanity's own."

"I've spoken with it, even if…" Blanche trailed off. MissingNo mentioned its vague purposes and how he was its avatar, but never much else. "It's intelligent."

"And? How do you know it won't give itself a physical form?" Lysandre asked. "How do you know that it won't simply ignore your sacrifice? How do you know that what it wants is the same as what we need?"

"Because it is a we," Blanche said. "MissingNo, this Anomaly, is formed of everyone who died when the Heavens Shattered; I've spoken with the dead themselves, what they want is-"

"How can you be certain?"

"I have slivers of its memories," Blanche answered. "Nothing more than a few seconds and a vague consciousness, but they're there."

"Who can corroborate those memories?" Lysandre asked. "What if it is misdirecting you?"

"Pokémon Tech. Kanto region," Blanche said. "College campus sort of area. Broken fountain. Big pillar of light. The Professor was walking towards it. The others were dying as each moment-"

"That is quite enough," Lysandre grounded out. "I will still not rely on such an entity to do what must be done."

"It's literally them! The people you're trying to bring back to life, that's what the Anomaly is!" Blanche said.

"And when it does bring those people back, what will they be like?" Lysandre said sharply. "Will they be fragile like yourself? Will we need to keep them locked away in this city so that they don't simply perish again? Will they have all of their memories or wisps of their pasts? How do you know what will happen?"

"I don't," Blanche admitted, "But I still think we should try."

"Denied."

"If you want to bring them back, then this is the perfect way to do it!" Blanche shouted. "What else do you need?"

"A god," Lysandre admitted. "Something strong enough to do such itself. Something that can right the imbalance of our world and set right what was sent askew. Something that can weigh death against life and find that there is an inequality."

"Zygarde?" Blanche asked.

"Quick on the uptake as usual," Lysandre said. "Yes. That is the ultimate plan. When we endure long enough and the level of AIAM fields becomes too high in this world, the true Zygarde will take notice. It will restore the peace that oh so few of us remember. The beast that can tame life and death, that is what we need. Xerneas does not appreciate its gift being destroyed in vain. Yveltal would rather take our lives itself instead of allowing Anomalies to do that for us. Zygarde will unite them together and bring balance."

"...Is that what this is? An endurance test?"

"You could say the same for life itself, in either case," Lysandre said, a wistful look flashing in his visage. "Yes. We must endure."

"Why endure when we can fix it now?" Blanche asked.

"You don't know for certain that you can," Lysandre said. "If it follows you around, then one must assume the Anomaly has a limited range in action. If it has a limited range, then there may not be a range from which it can manipulate volatile Infinity Energy without vaporizing anything in its immediate proximity; likely yourself. Damage and waste must be minimized." He paused. "Unless you feel like having another bout of manic depression," Lysandre added, "In which case, I trust this Anomaly even less to act correctly."

"Minimizing… wait, is this the part where you kill me because I know too much?"

"I do not kill people. We do not kill anyone in FLARE," Lysandre said. "You are not a hero. You are an Anomalous employee in the business of protecting the world from the Universe itself."

"I'm fine with that," Blanche said. "As long as you don't hurt any of my friends again."

"I have received Geranium's resignation," Lysandre said. "It is a regrettable loss, but not an irrecoverable one. Similarly to Dahlia's situation, it is a diversion from the trail that leads towards tomorrow. We must stay steadfast, do you understand?"

"Do you plan for it to happen again?" Blanche asked.

"I have contingencies," Lysandre said, deflecting his gaze.

"That's vague," Blanche said, trying not to seethe too hard.

"I plan for it to happen again. I do not expect it, but I must be prepared for it as if it were an eventuality."

"Is it?"

"You tell me."

Blanche stared at Lysandre for a few moments. His fingers clenched and unclenched repeatedly.

"Yeah," he finally said before sighing. "Alright. I'm not winning this. Business as usual, then."

"Indeed," Lysandre said. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. This conversation has been… enlightening."

"I try," Blanche said, shrugging before leaving the room.

The murals flickered with the hallway's light as he left.


Whitley's arm nearly gave out as she tried to tighten the bolt even further. Her hair was frizzed out in front of her face and sweat trickled from her brow.

"Babe, you need to take a break," Gin called from the entryway to her workshop, leaning against the frame. "By the way, I ate your part of the takeout, since you weren't going to."

"It would have spoiled," she said. Rather than stopping, she made another attempt. The wrench quivered under her grip.

"I can get you some dinner-flavored protein bars. You wouldn't have to stop for more than a minute."

"I don't have a minute to spare," she said, moving on to another bolt. "I need to finish this before anything happens."

"Who says anything is going to happen?"

"There's a pattern, Gin," she said. "The air is changing in the city. It's almost hard to breathe, and not because of smog. It's thick enough that I could cut it with a power saw. There's something coming, and if I don't finish this version before that something arrives, then it's going to all be for nothing."

"Won't the last version be good enough?" Gin asked, sounding befuddled.

She could tell that it wasn't condescension, but instead curiosity layered into his words.

"It needs to be better. It needs to keep improving. That's the story of-"

"How you came to Lumiose-3. I know. Great story. I love hearing about it," he said, again being entirely honest but sounding snarky anyway. "Did you ever run into that guy again?"

"He said he was a Knight Errant," she replied, "Capital letters and all. Except his armor was blue except for silver, if you remember. He was strange. He pointed me in the right direction, at the very least."

"Because now you get to build awesome robots?" Gin asked.

"Because now I get to build awesome robots and be with your goofy self," she said, not turning around for even a moment.

Gin made a show of clutching at his heart, as she could see in the mirror-like plating's reflection. She tried her best to keep her face flat, but a smirk snuck through.

"But seriously, take a nap once in a while. Overworking yourself will make you unproductive later," he said.

"I'm overclocked right now. When it's done, or when the storm passes, then I'll cool down," she said.

"Like how you slept for three days after that fight against Zygarde," he said.

"We're looking at a period of a week or so," she said matter-of-factly.

Gin sighed. "Yep, I'm not winning this argument. Please don't step on any screws again, I don't want to have to carry you all the way home again."

Missing the point entirely, she said, "I've got a cot in the corner."

Gin looked to the other side of the impossibly large underground workshop. Metal plates and scraps littered the floor and stretched further back than ten of his apartments would be side-by-side.

"Don't blow it up while you're working."

"That was LADY interfering with the hydraulics for fun," she said.

"Which time?"

"All of them. I didn't know artificial intelligences could get bored," she said.

Gin shrugged before shielding his eyes and looking up at the top of the apparent scrap heap.

"Don't fall," he called, as she hammered away at a plate on the robot's chest.

"It's only a dozen feet or so," she called back, "I'll be fine."


"In breaking news, the three Legendary Birds of Kalos have all been spotted flying all over the region over the last twenty-four hours," a newscaster said.

The feed switched to a picture of a snowstorm over the coast, with a quaint town being buried in snow while a tower stood out against gray clouds in the background.

"Articuno was first spotted flying in from the coast of Shalour City before moving west. Residents of Laverre City, be advised. The nearby Pokéball factories have announced a temporary cessation of production, so trainers should expect a hike in prices should the storm continue."

The feed switched again. Sandy hills and rock faces were being pounded by rain. Lightning struck every few seconds off the coast.

"The storms in Cyllage City were assumed to be normal thunderstorms, as expected of late July and early August, however, Zapdos's cries were heard before lightning first struck. The storm is blowing north at the moment, and the connecting cave is expected to flood somewhat. The League advises caution and for travelers to take alternative routes, if possible."

The feed switched once more, depicting smoke rising and a red sky.

"For the first time in years, the snow is melting in Snowbelle City as Moltres passes through. Forest fires are sprouting as we speak, but the League is containing them well. Insurance rates for wooden homes are projected to skyrocket. More on that at ten."

The feed switched to the usual set-up for a news station.

"We have an expert of Fire-types here to speak with us today, Malva of the Elite four. Miss Malva, thank you for coming to speak today."

A pink-haired woman nodded and rebalanced her equally pink glasses.

"I'm glad to be here, thank you. It reminds me of my roots to be back on the set," Malva said.

"For our unfamiliar viewers, Malva was once a reporter here before-"

"Yes, yes, I was a reporter on incidents involving Fire-types and weather phenomena, I discovered a passion for working with Pokémon in the field, I won a conference within three years," Malva made a shooing motion, "I came, I saw, I conquered, It's nothing special."

"Of course," the reporter said without missing a beat. "Now, speaking of Fire-types, what can our viewers expect from Moltres over the next few weeks?"

"Oh, I don't imagine it'll be too terrible. I would say that if you live in Lumiose-3, to get out while you can."

That did seem to throw the reporter off her game.

"C-could you elaborate, miss?"

Malva had a coy grin. "Well, it's only natural, isn't it? We rarely see all three of the Legendary Birds active at the same time. Where else would they go?"

"You don't think that their movement could be coincidental?"

"Oh, coincidental, certainly," Malva said. "Lots of coincidences nowadays. FLARE calls them Anomalies, we call them freak storms. And," she leaned to the side of her chair and called somewhere off of the set, "If you'll pull up each of the weather maps? I know you can overlay them, could you go ahead and do that, hon?"

After a moment, the green screen behind them flashed with a map.

"Their combined motion is clockwise, as you can clearly see here," Malva said, clasping her hands in front of her. "The center of that clock would seem to be Lumiose-3, would it not?"

"I see," the other reporter said.

Something else flashed on the screen, saying that the League is not officially calling for an evacuation, and that the Elite Four member's opinion was entirely her own.

"This is a bit of a shot in the dark, but I would say that history is repeating itself. Oddities turn up in the midsummer season, and not just those of a meteorological nature. Now, I won't speak of anything currently under League censure, however, I would advise caution as August draws closer to the four year anniversary of-"

The channel switched to a dead tuning. Not long after, the static was replaced by a click of silence.


"Sound off," Blanche said, rolling his wrist. "Amaranth."

"Ulex."

"Rue.

"Rhododendron."

"Agapanthus.

"Eryngo."

Blanche thought for a moment. Rain poured down around them as thunder repeatedly rolled across the sky. They numbered six in total, not including the smattering of shared Pokémon.

"Right. You all know the plan. Each of us will take a plaza. Keep an eye on your partners. Recall them if things get hairy and call for reinforcements. If you're out of options," Blanche tapped a compartment on his neck, straining against his own arm, "You're all authorized to administer Aural Sap. This is going to be a battle of endurance. Keep your bolter close and your wits closer."

"Yeah, yeah," Shauna sighed, counting up her remaining Pokéballs and returning Frogadier before flying off into the electricity-soaked storm.

The others quickly followed suit, disappearing and leaving Blanche with his team of four.

Blanche looked up at the blackened sky.

"I don't know what your game is, Lysandre," he said, "But I've gotta do what I gotta do."

The MagLevs were running as little as possible because of the storm, but thanks to FLARE's timing, he arrived at the central plaza soon enough.

There were others waiting outside the station, closer to the center of the city.

"Greetings," one of them called. She waved at him, or rather, the butterfly wing sticking out of her back waved at him, miraculously dry in the rain. A shield of solid air floated above her like an umbrella, keeping her totally dry.

A fan sprung up behind her, like white waves that washed over her and Blanche's head.

He turned and saw a Gardevoir, which bowed to him as Silvally suddenly noticed it and cried, equally dry in the rain.

"Uh, hello?" he said, trying not to sound confused but failing.

"Valerie, don't freak out the FLARE Ranger," the other person said, positively soaked in rain. A camera, hopefully waterproof, hung around her neck. "Even if it would make for a great photoshoot, it's for the best if he can concentrate."

"Yo," Blanche said, more confident.

The second woman turned towards him and flashed the kind of smile that was more at home on a journalist than a wet Furfrou. "I'm sorry, hello there. I'm Viola, the former Bug-type Gym Leader of Kalos, and this is Valerie, the current Fairy-type Gym Leader."

"I'm Amaranth. We're on watch duty until something happens?" Blanche double-checked.

Her expression suddenly morphed. "Something better," Viola growled, "If they called me out into this weather for an 'if,' then I'm going to make the Kalosian War of Tribulation look like a joke."

Blanche didn't press for answers or ask questions about that. It sounded too heavy for small talk from the name alone.

"Right," he said slowly.

They stood in the rain for a few more minutes before the sound of glass breaking slipped towards them.

"I'll investigate," Valerie said with an eerie smile, before walking off.

Blanche side-eyed Viola, though the expression didn't transfer at all.

"Is she an Esper, or…" he prompted.

"She makes designer clothing, they're all like that," Viola said dismissively. "She's normal compared to some of the people I've met."

Valerie returned a minute later, levitating a tan boy wearing a bright yellow bandana and inordinately muscled for someone his height.

"I've got dino DNA," the boy declared, floating upside-down with his arms crossed.

"Sure you do, bud," Blanche said. "Valerie, what did he do?"

"Broke into a card shop," she supplied.

Blanche shot an Aural Shell at his stomach, dissipating the faint purple haze forming around him and making him groan.

"Paintballs," he said, acknowledging the surprised look from Viola. "What's your name?"

"A soldier answers to no man but himself and his commanding officers!" he shouted, still defiant.

"I see," Blanche nodded, before inhaling. "WHAT IS YOUR GOD-DAMN NAME, PRIVATE?"

The Esper's back straightened reflexively. "Tyranno Hassleberry, sir!"

"Alright, Valerie, put him down," he said.

She did so, and Blanche shot him with another paintball.

"Go home, private," he said, flicking his bolter to the street.

The boy saluted before running off into the rain, becoming a washed-out wad of gray before disappearing entirely.

"Is that a common occurrence in Lumiose-3?" Valerie asked. "I don't linger long when I visit."

"Most Espers are stupid kids with powers that validify their own stupidity," Blanche said. He paused. "Including myself, but I use technology instead when I'm stupid."

"Fascinating. Do you mind if I treat this as an interview?" Viola asked. "I have an eidetic memory, so I don't need to take notes."

"A what?" Blanche asked.

"Photographic," she answered.

"Uh, my boss would probably have something to say about that…" Blanche said, rubbing the back of his helmet.

"Tragic," Viola sighed.

Another few minutes passed. The control room was all but silent, as the others didn't seem to have much trouble.

"The reports said there would be more Anomalies than this," Aveline said, looking between two screens. "It's as if they're waiting for something…"


Lightning cracked the sky as rain poured on the streets of Lumiose-3.

The dark clouds above cracked as well.

At first, it was a thin line of blue neon.

With the next scattering of hailstones, the line expanded, doubling into a thin X.

As smoke billowed on the outskirts of the city and the wildfires to the east burned on, the X became a six-pointed star and bent upwards and inwards.

A hole formed in the sky of Lumiose-3. The edges grew outwards, expanding and rippling across the sky until no part of the city limits went uncovered, no matter how thinly it stretched.

A white hole formed above Lumiose-3, stretching invisibly and infinitely into space where nothing could be seen within.

Something took form within the Ultra Wormhole, becoming a shadow in the sea of light, and began falling towards Lumiose-3.


"Great way to jinx us, Yew!" Blanche yelled, bracing as the Anomaly fell towards the center of Lumiose-3.

It was too large to be a living thing. It was simply impossible, and yet, the curves and edges in its body were too smooth to be artificial.


It was not simply made of metal. It seemed to be covered in ice.

It slammed down on the cleared base of Prism Tower, where the ground was reinforced and clear.

As its knees unbent, the clunky machine reared upwards, standing up straight. It was taller than some buildings, easily fifty feet tall if not more.

"We're dead," Blanche dead-panned, before actually panicking and yelling, "I need reinforcements in the Central Plaza! This thing is huge!"

No one responded to him as the master communicator opened up and he was bombarded with the sound of combat.

"Was that the signal?" Aveline asked. She suddenly clutched her stomach and bent over the keyboard.

It could have been a visual glitch, but Blanche could've sworn that her hair flashed gold for just a moment.

Augustine put a hand on her shoulder and leaned towards the camera. "Amaranth, there are combatants coming out of the woodwork in every plaza. They're just barely holding them off as it is, we don't have the people to spare."

Someone rushed past Augustine in the background, lugging along something the size of a briefcase.

The machine of ice raised its fist, and from its stance, Blanche could see that it was about to start digging.

"Fire!" he yelled, the drive clicking into place in his arm.

A lash exploded from his wrist, flash-boiling the rain water and creating a shockwave of steam.

Blanche slashed it upwards, and LADY lengthened it as it made contact. The fire lash trailed on its arm, flicking steam into the air and making water drip from its body.

It stopped moving for the ground, and though its head was wider than it was tall and had no eyes, Blanche felt its focus shift to him as it turned.

"Fantastic," Blanche muttered. "It's got to be weak to Fire! It looks like a robot, so use Fighting-types if you can to break the metal!"

A Heracross appeared beside Viola, and a Fire Blast tinged with white and pink exploded from Valerie's Gardevoir, encompassing the Anomaly's entire back and making it stumble.

Is that a Gym Leader's strength? Blanche's jaw would have dropped, but he had more to worry about.

The Anomaly's fist raced towards him, though its speed was hindered by the frost covering its joints.

A vine pulled him away with a shock, landing him next to a street lamp thanks to Quilladin.

Blanche nodded in thanks, sliding back into the right stance as easily as he breathed.

Plusle and Minun clapped somewhere far away, supporting the two Gym Leaders while he distracted the Anomaly.

Silvally leapt from its shoulder, claws breaking off chunks as it ran, before it delivered a mighty kick to the back of its head.

The Anomaly whirled, its torso rotating on its waist, and its elbow clipped Silvally before it could land, knocking him into a building.

Something, something, square-cube law, Blanche thought. It had to be incredibly dense to stay upright, and given its horizontal width, its balance wasn't an issue.

Worryingly, the ice he'd melted previously had hardened. More worryingly, icicles seemed to be forming upwards in the rain.

"It's getting stronger?" Blanche whined, before charging back in.

He then took a step back, seeing Viola's Heracross leap up, use Close Combat, and knock the Anomaly back an entire pace while putting a dent in its chest.

He got out of its blind spot, tagging Silvally as he ran past it. "Can't we just hire you guys full time?" Blanche asked after noticing he'd circled back around to the Gym Leaders.

"We have our own towns to protect," Valerie said. "You all in FLARE handle the strange, but not necessarily the largest problems."

"This qualifies as both," Blanche muttered, shooting his bolter a few times for good measure, but to no obvious effect. The modified paint washed away almost immediately in the rain.

"Amaranth," someone called. Whitley was holding a massive brick of metal, jutting out in odd places and circulating wires.

"Whitley? Aren't you an engineer?"

"I've been working on," she breathed for a moment, rain soaking into her hair, "A Gear. It won't work with only your base battery, but I've built an amplifier. It'll teleport something in, and the way I've built it, it'll be self-sustaining from there."

"What is it?" Blanche asked.

"You'll see, just," she turned the box and revealed two ports. "Put your arms in here, it'll connect and everything on its own. Turn it towards the plaza before the Anomaly can recover."

"Right," he said, pulling it on. The weight was heavy and something around his chest clicked.

The whirring of the machine was unbearably loud, like a jet engine right next to his ear. Steam poured out of it and for a moment, it glowed red-hot.

Lines began tracing through the air, bright white against the dark sky.

"I suggest getting out of the way," Whitley said behind him.

They shot skyward, and the box on his chest began breaking apart, dispensing themselves in the outline as it formed, seeming to be random.

Except, it wasn't random at all, Blanche realized. Tubes unfolded around a Battery that levitated at the silhouette's rib level, and an empty cockpit around its heart.

It was at this point that Blanche realized it was, in fact, a silhouette.

The outlines exploded and took form as the teleportation went through.


AIAM FIELD PATTERN: BLUE

Designation: GOLURK-WHITE-2

Artificial Teleport Request Inbound

FLARE Designation: Galanthus

"Is that… Whitley?" Clemont asked, hesitating.

"Send it through!" Michael yelled, grabbing Clemont's hand and slamming it into the big red button.

The screen flashed in approval, and LADY cackled through the speakers.

Augustine shook his fist, the words of encouragement dying on his lips.

"It's… happening," Aveline whispered. Her hair flashed gold and a faint aura flickered around her. "There are too many fields in the city…"

Augustine rubbed her shoulder. "It's going to be alright," he said, "Just hold on for as long as you can."

"I can see what's happening at the center," she said, before doubling over and gasping for air. "I don't think I can stay here much longer."

"It's going to be just fine," he said, "We're all going to be just fine."


"You all need to get out of here," Whitley said, before beginning to climb the fifty-foot tall metal Golurk.

Blanche looked up after her for a moment, seeing her enter the cockpit as rain came down in pitter-patters. He was shook from his stupor as the ground shook.

The Anomaly got back on its feet, utterly destroying the block it had landed on.

An unstoppable force of Ice faced down an immovable object of Steel in Centrico Plaza.

"We should go," Valerie said, shivering from the sheer amount of iron in the machine.

Viola snapped a picture before nodding. "Yes. Let's. I'll head to Vert Plaza and help there."

"Then I will go to Magenta."

Blanche stared at the giant robots for another few seconds.

Golurk-White made the motion of cracking its knuckles, but the sound it made was more similar to a clash of swords.

"I'll go to Jaune Plaza," Blanche said. "I've got some family around there."

They split up and went their separate ways as the Anomaly raised its fists.

There was a force behind Blanche as he rode, and not just Quilladin reattaching to his back.

It was a wave of dry air that forced away the rain. It was for a scant few moments, but it was there.

Blanche looked back over his shoulder and saw an avalanche of icy diamonds explode away from the central plaza, flying higher than Prism Tower had ever reached.

"Yeah, that was a good call," he muttered.

Lightning cracked overhead as he rode onwards, briefly lighting up the blackened skies.

Three birds orbited Lumiose-3, and in unison, they unleashed a blood-curdling cry.


There were dozens, if not hundreds, of people and Pokémon cramming themselves into Jaune Plaza. All of them were duking it out without any hesitation or mercy.

Blanche raised his bolter to the sky and fired once.

Because it wasn't an actual gun, the pound drew no attention to himself, and a pompadoured greaser nearby punched someone dressed like a spy in the face.

"Silvally. Get their attention, please," Blanche said, dismounting.

Silvally reared its head, gyrating its neck for a silent few seconds, before it screeched so loudly a wave rippled through the falling rain.

That may have just been the visor, Blanche thought.

Luckily, it did draw their attention.

He tapped the side of his helmet and the mouth port opened. He didn't trust the mechanization of his voice to not muffle his words.

"Listen up! If you're not FLARE, Interpol, a Gym Leader, or one of Gin's punks, raise your hand!" he yelled.

There were jeers at that, but an idiotic few did raise their hand. Brightly colored clothing covered them and made them stick out, even with the rain washing the hues out. A stylized blue 'P' was emblazoned on one spy's uniform, which he wouldn't have considered if he wasn't distinctly aware that Colress had influence in Kalos.

"Any of those people that I just mentioned? Yeah, I'm on your side, and you're all on the same side." Blanche took aim at one of the rogue Espers, a shirtless fisherman holding a harpoon and surrounded by a halo of water.

With the sound of a paintball clipping his wings of water, the melee began again, and they were upon him.

Silvally scratched a wave of feral Pokémon, a trip of Skiddo gone wild, and sent them flying like ragdolls.

Quilladin couldn't latch onto anything without throwing off Blanche's balance, and instead settled for snapping his vines at anyone that got too close.

Plusle and Minun exited their Pokéballs in near silent blasts of light, though it didn't escape Blanche's notice how quickly they began buffing Chespin and Silvally.

The STRIKE formed in his hands as soon as he entered the stance. LADY was getting almost scarily accurate with those predictions, Blanche thought absently, before bashing a Team Plasma grunt across the face with the edge of the STRIKE. They'd live.

Blanche stepped back as a sword cut across his vision, raising his shield. After a shower of sparks, he blinked before another slashed at him.

It was as if he was standing atop a hill of swords, as he was surrounded by Honedge on all sides. They clacked against each other, forming up like an army regiment performing a sword dance.

The rain of water was replaced by a rain of fire, as the sound of hissing filled his ears and a flame flickered above his head.

A spiral grew outwards, thin in the rain, before roaring downwards around him, leaving him and his Pokémon unscathed while bringing hell upon the horde of Honedge.

Ariel appeared through the flames faster than they could dissipate, Audino trilling behind her and using Heal Bell as they approached.

Silvally's heaving became that much less labored, and the cuts in Quilladin's vines patched themselves up as best they could.

"Are you alright?" she asked. "We only just got around the bend, but Mr. Ramos is still there if you want to speak with him."

"I'm fine, thanks. Is that everything over here?"

"For now…" Ariel shook her head. "They were trying to break into the FLARE entrance nearby and they appeared faster than we could defeat them."

Blanche's thoughts promptly ran wild.

Into the normal entryways? They'd always gone to the city's center before trying to dig, never circumventing it. Then again, there were many more human combatants than usual, and that meant planning was possible. Maybe not intelligent planning, since they were trying to keep the world from blowing itself up or something like that, but planning indeed.

He shook himself free of his thoughts.

"Whitley is fighting the big Anomaly in Centrico Plaza," Blanche said. "If we call for reinforcements, that's probably where we're going to need them."

"R-right," Ariel said. "I'm not used to fighting so many… Well, so many people like this."

"Can you think about it later?" Blanche asked, perhaps a little too tersely. "We're kind of screwed if you freeze up in the middle of a fight."

She tensed for a moment before forcing herself to nod. "Right, right, of course."

"I'm going to go check up on the others," he said, before pulling himself onto Silvally and returning Plusle and Minun. "Thanks for the tune-up."

"No problem," she said, voice shaking slightly.

Blanche rode off towards Rouge Plaza.

Ramos's cane tapped against the cracked pavement as he walked towards her.

"He reminds me of a Gym Leader from Kanto I met once," he said evenly, scratching his petal-like beard. "Rather harsh compared to a young whippersnapper like you."

"You think so?" Ariel asked.

"Oh, don't play coy, fire-sprout," Ramos said. "Meekness is a virtue when it's proper meekness; a willingness to learn. If you don't act firm, you'll be treated like a gardening tarp."

"I see," she said, before looking off into the rain. "He's having a hard time right now."

"We all are, whippersnapper," Ramos said, "That's no good excuse."

The rain continued beating down around them.

There was a tugging in the air around Ariel as if it were a field. Her hand moved to her heart as she felt it tense. She looked towards Centrico Plaza, although she didn't know why.

"I think we should go to the city center," she said.

Ramos put a hand on his beret and nodded. "Lead the way, whippersnapper."


The park in Rouge Plaza poured out onto the street, flooding the cracked pavement with more mud with each passing moment.

"Oh? You're approaching me?" the rogue Esper asked, coils of light dancing around their tiny limbs. "Instead of running further into your city of cowards, you're seeking your own demise?"

Ash flicked half of Doublade to the side. Rain flecked off of the crimson blade as he stepped over the rest of the unconscious Espers. "I can't complete my duty without coming closer," he said, "And members of my clan do not run away."

"Oho?" The blond Esper raised an eyebrow and the coils vibrated with glee. "Then come as close as you like."

Pollen crept along the ground, soaked by the rain and turned to purple liquid. It rose and fell like the tide with each step.

Steel clashed with solid energy as Ash blitzed forward, striking like a bullet train but meeting an unbreakable wall.

"Ah, ah, ah," the Esper said. "Time and space are simpler than illusions to me. This world of waves is easy for one such as I to understand. As long as you exist in that world, I will see your attacks coming from a mile away. No matter how fast you are, I can see and react faster! That is the power of my Stand," he said, raising his arms, "Lights and Sounds!"

"It's raining," Ash said. "You are a talking Pikachu."

Electricity crackled around the Pokémon's cheeks. "Stating the obvious won't save you a spot in the river to Hell."

"I can manipulate poison in all forms," Ash said. "No matter how diluted."

Spikes shot from the puddle beneath them and stabbed at the Pikachu.

"I don't believe Pikachu can see light in all directions at once, so you use your eyes. You cannot hit what you cannot see, and therefore, neither can your… Stand."

The traces of liquified pollen that remained on Pikachu slid around its body like water, before solidifying over its eyes like glue.

The coils around its body withered away from sight as Ash finally landed a sword strike. Like the load on a trebuchet, Pikachu traveled in a vicious arc before slamming through one of the few intact walls nearby.

Ash willed a poison coating onto Doublade. He nearly sheathed it completely before he pulled the coating away, leaving the blade completely dry as it rested inside.

He shot his bolter at the Pikachu's general direction twice. One shot to diminish its remaining aura, and another to let it know that he wasn't guessing.

The rain beat down on him as he shook the Gym Leader's shoulder.
The herd of Esper Pokémon were unexpected. Grant hadn't done very well with such a large group of enemies, and neither had his Pokémon. He stirred and rubbed the spot where his head had slammed into concrete.

"That should be all. We should get moving," Ash said.

Grant mumbled a bit before becoming coherent and rising. He tapped his Pokéball belt rhythmically, and his fainted Pokémon returned to their containers. "Does FLARE have medical facilities?" he asked, before gesturing to the unbroken barricade around the entrance.

"Indeed. It is of great use to us," Ash said.

"I'll catch up with you," Grant said, stumbling towards the cautious FLARE grunts sticking their heads out from behind cover.

Ash nodded without verbal reply before the mouth port in his visor snapped open. Rain trickled onto his face, but as he focused, he found that he cared very little.

It was a minor aspect of his training, but his sixth sense had come before his seventh. To use his aura, he needed to sense it first, as his teacher had said. Perhaps it was metaphorical, but it turned out to be truer than expected.

Ash looked to Centrico Plaza in his mind's eye, his body following along with the motions.

A light was rising from deep inside the Earth. It was slow and flickering, but it was there, where the largest bits of aura in the city overlapped. It snapped between being beneath the streets and far above them, where the sky was cracked wide open.

Ash began running towards the city's center, feeling a great gravity from inside his heart.

It was easy for him to be stoic when such a heavy feeling was so rare.


Two clumps of rubble floated into the air and slammed together, knocking a feral Fletchinder from the sky before it could divebomb Salem and Meowstic.

Olympia snapped her fingers behind them, and her Clefairy wagged its finger.

The battlefield was immersed in flames. Fire roared up around them and petered out with the steady rhythm of a metronome.

Valerie giggled and her Gardevoir exploded forward, a Psycho Cut extending from its arm like the polearm of a knight. It cut at the feral Pokémon as they rose, striking them down before the swirls could clear from their eyes.

Magenta Plaza was clear.

"We work well together!" Salem exclaimed, waving her arms in unison with Meowstic.

"Synergy is an important factor," Olympia said with a hint of a grin, nodding. "I hope if you ever feel the desire to compete in the Gym circuit, that you consider it heavily."

"Mhm. You've got the right idea," Valerie said. "Gardevoir likes fighting more than I do, so she works well with others that think the same way. Lots of pent-up energy after years of not being considered a proper Fairy-type.

Somewhere off to the side, Gardevoir swept dust from the blade of Psycho Cut before it dissolved. It would seem to be a pointless gesture, but to the few conscious Pokémon remaining, it was a clear enough symbol to stay down.

"That must have been a long time ago," Salem said. "Oh. Oh! I'm not calling you old, I just haven't heard about Fairy-types being excluded."

"It's a long story," Valerie said, looking far off in the distance, "One I don't believe we have time for."

Salem traced her gaze towards the center of Lumiose-3 where light was still pouring from the crack in the sky. Her mind was protected by her Psions, but she felt something tug at her heartstrings, almost literally if her mind would have made it real.

"Huh. Should we go check up on them?" she asked as the sound of ice cracked bounced towards them through the central boulevard.

Golurk-White, though the metal of its chassis was dented in some places, punched the Anomaly again.

"If there is nothing else here," Olympia said.

Valerie looked at her Gardevoir.

The Psychic-type used Psycho Cut again, only to tap it against their palm.

"I don't think there will be," Valerie said.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Onward!" Salem cried, beginning to run with Meowstic in tow.


Wulfric threw a Plasma grunt over his head, knocking over a row of them like bowling pins.

"I've fallen into lakes more solid than the lot of you!" he shouted as his Abomasnow shot out orbs of ice that encased the group.

Gin smirked as he punched another grunt, then their Swoobat, and then the grunt's kidney, before lining them up and kicking them both with one kick. "I like your style, old man."

"It's an acquired technique," Wulfric barked back, turning his head even as he lifted a grunt by the throat . "I've conquered the tallest mountains and the coldest waters in Kalos! This is nothing compared to that, not even…" he threw the grunt over his head, "CONDITIONING!"

Around them, Gin's callously trained grunts battled Plasma's, using sheer numbers and physical strength over strategy and refined skills.

"War for the War Boss!" one shouted after a Swoobat swiped him across the face.

With a single voice, they cried, "WAR FOR THE WAR BOSS! WAAAAAAAAAGHHH!"

"They've got it handled here," Gin said to Wulfric, giving the Gym Leader a thumbs-up. Like the eye of a storm, there was little movement directly around them.

"I'll take your word for it," Wulfric grunted.

"I can feel something in the air," Gin said. "I don't think it's the old takeout I ate a few days ago. Still a tugging sensation, but towards the central plaza instead of the bathroom. Do you think I should follow my gut?"

Wulfric crossed his arms and made a sound like the huff of an Emboar. "If it is reliable, rely on it. If it isn't, don't trust it with anything important."

"Right," Gin said, before immediately turning on his heel and running through the sea of combat. It split before him and left his path wide open as sharp cheer rose from among his punks.

Wulfric shook his head and followed along. He didn't need Abomasnow to clear a path in front of him.


Shauna watched Korrina as she fought alongside her two Lucario. The three swirled with a line being drawn as they fought; to cross that line was to be destroyed a split second later. She bobbed and weaved around them, and they did the same around her. The way she used her rollerblades almost like actual blades as she kicked was… familiar.

"Your fighting style reminds me of someone else I know," Shauna finally said as the crackling of her last bolt faded.

Korrina spun as she slowed and the two Lucario continued fighting the feral Pokémon without her. Even when dropping out of combat entirely, she conserved as much momentum as possible while not slipping a bit in the rain.

"Really? I like to think it's unique," Korrina said.

"I'd like to snap some pictures of it," Viola said. "Though capturing elegance may be a challenge, that's what makes the final photo worth it!"

Meanwhile, her Vivillon let loose a gale force wind, blowing ferals from their feet and paws. It was a wild hurricane, one that tore away loose bricks from the ground and lobbed them at the Anomalies.

"The elegance of emotion," Viola clarified.

The winds that had just kicked up suddenly dissolved. There was an eerie calm before an even greater wind blew Vivillon from the air and most of them sideways.

Shauna looked up at the sky and saw Zapdos flying overhead, swooping low as its wingbeats carried it in an arc around the city.

Further away, she could see two similar shapes doing the same in the same pattern; all three of them were swirling towards the center. They flew low beneath the cracked sky, but high enough to avoid the skyscrapers.

"That… that can't be good," Shauna said, her feet already carrying her towards Centrico Plaza. "I hope everyone else is alright…"


Golurk-White's chassis swung one final time along with its arm. Its fist cascaded against the Ultra Beast's shell, cracking off another layer of ice and dropping it to the pavement.

Inside the cockpit, within the chamber of levers, buttons, and instruments, Whitley wiped her brow.

Her eyes shot to the air pressure reader as it ticked slightly upwards. She could see three shapes swoop towards her from every angle.

One Anomaly on her own was enough. Gin would argue that it wasn't enough of a challenge. She'd like to prove him wrong, if only to make him raise his minimum number even higher.

She gripped the controls again, every muscle in her body tensing.

"You want to do things like this? Fine." She inhaled. "Yippee-kay-yay, you rule-of-three-following flying elemental mother-"


"There's… too… much!" she cried, curling into her knees as she clutched her head.

BREAK.

Aveline's hair and skin turned to molten gold as she gave half of a scream and disappeared.


After finding nothing else to fight, Blanche immediately returned to Centrico Plaza.

His first sign that something was wrong was the storm clouds being blasted out of the sky. A harsh falling sun beat down on the city, and humidity was already rising.

His second was hearing Golurk-White fall to the wayside.

His third was realizing that the Ultra Wormhole had, in fact, closed. The only reason he hadn't realized before was the shattered ice falling like a blanket over the city.

There was another sun in front of him, he saw. Only, it floated in Centrico Plaza, free in the open air.

"Aveline?" he whispered.

A golden light surrounded her as she floated, clothing formless and skin seemingly made of mirrors. Her eyes were glazed over with a coating of chrome.

As Golurk-White rose from the street, she didn't move an inch. Instead, a pillar of light shot out of her and towards the mech. It passed through it entirely, rather than reflecting off.

The machine slumped back to the ground and the light seemed to glow brighter.

"Galanthus?" Blanche said into his headset, "Are you alright?"

Whitley didn't respond. The control room was in chaos and Aveline was nowhere to be seen on his interface.

"What the hell?" he whispered.

Gin appeared in his periphery, running towards the cockpit and Golurk-White by proxy.

Another pillar burst out from Aveline.

There was a hiss and empty air.

"...Ulex's vitals have flatlined," someone said on the other side.

Blanche's vision blurred and he took a step back.

From another road, Ash charged forward, holding both parts of Doublade aloft. He dodged from the first pillar of light, but the second came quickly after.

"Agapanthus as well." There was shock in that voice, Blanche could hear it, but he couldn't register it in his mind.

"Make them stop," he whispered.

Salem padded forward like a running cat, Meowstic beside her, as she entered the plaza and there was a flash of Magenta.

There was a greater flash of gold.

"Rhododendron has…"

"Make them stop!"

Why were they being so stupid? Why were they running headfirst into danger? Why were they doing anything they could to try and protect som-

Ariel ran forward, fire pouring outwards from her suit. It clashed against the golden light, as if it could melt away the unlimited brightness.

"Eryngo…"

This is my fault, he suddenly thought.

He'd done it. They'd followed him. He had tried to throw himself away, but instead of pushing them away, he pulled them closer. He'd only made them...

He was their leader. He hadn't wanted to be, but he was. That made how they acted his responsibility.

What kind of example did I set?

Shauna flew downwards like a dragon, lightning crackling around her.

Scraps of metal flew through Aveline's body as if it were nothing but air. The light only grew stronger, expanding to the opening mouths of the street.

Another pillar of light shot outwards.

"..."

Blanche's vision blurred twofold as he fell to his knees. Light blinded him through his visor and through his eyelids. A roar of silence pounded through him.

Light soaked through the streets of Lumiose-3. It swept through FLARE like a tidal wave. Any aura it touched was absorbed as if it had entered a black hole. Nothing was left behind.

It grew stronger.

It rolled across the rest of Kalos like a tsunami. The ruins of Santalune, the coasts of Cyllage, the towers of Shalour, the factories of Laverre, the fields of Dendemille, the ice sheets of Snowbelle. All were immersed in an ever-growing light.

And when it had traveled even further, consuming all that it could on Earth, it stopped suddenly. It paused, shrinking and growing, before deciding to coalesce into a smaller shape.

There was nothing on the other end of the line, no one to speak to. The communication network itself fell not long after. LADY did not stir in his headset.

A second sun hung in the sky above Lumiose-3. It seemed as if the world itself was bending around it. A halo of energy surrounded it, though faint as remnants of aura were continuously absorbed.

There were only two that the dark star would shine for.


Santiago pulled the strap of his rucksack tight over his chest and let it rest on his woolen cloak. He looked back over his shoulder, illuminated by the light pouring in through the doorway. A smile appeared on his face, though it came muscle by muscle.

"I suppose I was necessary after all," he said. He shifted his weight and left the emptied laboratory.

Yea, into a dark world he walked, and yea, he was not alone.


AN:

Three chapters left, God, I can hardly believe it.

The original Ultra Beast is called Icicamecha in my notes, but I couldn't work it in naturally. UB Glacier would be the official name, I think.

I straight up forgot that Lumiose's central plaza had an actual name for around twenty-one chapters. That's my bad. Is Centrico even a color? If the theme for the plazas is color names, then it should be called white in French- Oh, wait. As funny as it would be, I'm not taking the AU that far. Maybe. Depends on how I feel when I write the ending.

I think I accidentally made MissingNo a metaphor for the afterlife. That's… something, I guess. They're talking literally when they say that they'll meet again (at least Blanche is), but taken out of context, it sounds a lot like a sermon. Huh. The basic idea behind MissingNo was that it was just the scraps of souls the world left laying around, I didn't intend it to be a symbol. I think. I hardly remember half of my planning after I write it.

God, I've got to start planning my original fiction. I'm totally repurposing the AIAM field junk but I'm going to make it more scientific/specific to make it seem like a proper magic system instead of Rule of Cool.

I think I'm skipping the author's note next chapter. It'll build up suspense or something.

They're not dead, by the way. I may be bad at tagging, but I'm not going to lie outright.