Time for things to start unraveling. I'd appreciate any thoughts about this chapter, as it has a few revelations in it. Enjoy!

Chapter 47: A Ring and a Prayer

Silence hung over the room. Shane quietly broke off his embrace with Silvally, leaving the latter blinking in confusion. "Um, are you okay? Did I do something wrong?" he muttered.

"Yes!" Shane barked, wincing when he realized that had come out far louder than he intended it. "Err… it's just… that was really reckless of you. You frightened me."

Silvally raised an eyebrow. "Wow, pot calling the kettle black much?" he said.

Shane frowned. "Okay, yeah, I know I've made reckless decisions before. But there's one key difference here," he said. He leaned over and whispered, "I don't have someone who cares about me as much as Riolu cares about you. After everything she's been through, she can't afford to lose her best friend, too. Breaking your mask won't mean a thing if you don't use your new powers responsibly, y'know. You're not invincible."

Silvally hung his head. "Yeah, I see your point. I just heard your cries of pain and, without really thinking, I lunged for Dark Matter." He awkwardly poked at the ground with his talons. "I don't understand, though. I was in so much pain before I passed out. I don't think a Reviver Seed could make me feel good as new. So, what happened?"

"I, um…" Shane started, but his voice trailed off. He shook his head. "Sorry, I can't really explain it," Shane said. Before Silvally could protest, Shane turned and ran toward Tapu Lele. He found Tessa kneeling next to her, a paw resting on her pink helmet. "Is she… y'know… dead?"

"I'm not sure," Tessa said. Her aura feelers twitched. "I think I can sense something. And she's got all her colors."

"But I didn't hit her with my Z-Move," Shane noted.

"True," Tessa said, "unless that Dark Matter clone was actually part of her… somehow. Because you did knock it into her body, so…" She stopped. "Wait, what am I saying? We've got to wake her up and get the Dawn Hourglass… quickly!" She fumbled through the item bag and produced a Reviver Seed. She paused, holding her paw over Tapu Lele's face. "Um, do you see a mouth on her?"

"Just, I dunno, mash it against her face or something," Shane suggested. He had turned around and was looking all over the room. "The longer we stay here, the more we risk that Necrozma guy realizing something's wrong and coming back."

Tessa went with his proposal and pressed the Reviver Seed to Tapu Lele's face. It dissolved into her skin. Tessa yanked her paw back in surprise. A couple of seconds passed, and then Tapu Lele began to stir. Her eyes slowly opened and her gaze met Tessa's. She tried to sit up, only to grab her right shoulder and fall back against the ground.

"Cuh-careful now," Tessa cautioned, kneeling beside her. "You're still hurt. Do you… um… remember what just happened?"

Tapu Lele nodded quietly. She turned and glimpsed Shane out of the corner of her eyes, spotting the Naturia Looplet on his foreleg. "You… you saved me, didn't you?" she whispered.

"It was a team effort, to be honest. These two were putting in most of the legwork," Shane said, gesturing to Silvally and Mimikyu. "Are you feeling okay? Any, y'know, weird stuff going on in your head?" he asked, twirling a digit around his temple and adding a cuckoo whistle for good measure.

Tapu Lele again struggled to sit up. This time, Tessa offered her a shoulder to lean on, and she rested against it, breathing heavily. "My head's tingling a lot. And…" Tapu Lele's voice trailed off. She shakily raised her hand. It briefly flickered pink, but the energy promptly faded. "My powers are nearly drained." Tears welled up in her eyes. "That monster… that horrible monster is still here. I can sense him."

"We know," Shane said grimly. "And that's why we need to ask you about the Dawn Hourglass."

Tapu Lele's eyes widened. She looked at Shane's looplet again. "You've been recognized by Bulu," she noted.

"Huh?" Shane looked down at the looplet. "Oh, yeah, I guess. Look, I'm sorry if I sound rude, but we're in the thick of a really serious situation, here. And we really, really need your help." Tessa shot him a concerned look, to which Shane looked back at her and shrugged his shoulders.

"No… I understand," Tapu Lele muttered, propping herself up higher. "It's not like I blacked out. I remember everything that happened. That monster… the one who looked like Lunala… he showed up and attacked me. He hit me with this weird beam." She shuddered. "I thought I was going to die! These… these slimy wires came out of nowhere, and jabbed themselves into my back. And I–"

"If you don't mind, I'd really prefer if we skipped the descriptions," Shane said, looking a bit queasy. "We need to keep the Dawn Hourglass from falling into Necrozma's hands. So, where is it hiding?" A guilty look appeared on Tapu Lele's face in response. Shane frowned. "Is there something wrong?"

"Necrozma doesn't have it already, does he?" Silvally asked, an alarmed look in his eyes.

"No," Tapu Lele squeaked. "It's… it's not here." Panicked expressions overtook Team Radiance's faces. "I'm sorry," she said, looking away from them. "I screwed up. Like, majorly."

"Why? What happened?" Tessa asked.

The room started shaking again. Mimikyu looked about in a panic. "Guh-guys? I think we need to speed it up a bit, here."

Tessa yelped as Tapu Lele grabbed hold of her paw. "Hey! What are you doing? That's my looplet. It was a hatch day present!" she barked, tugging on her arm.

"There's no time," Tapu Lele said. Pink energy funneled into her hands, and she channeled it into Tessa's looplet. Tessa's eyes widened and her aura feelers stood straight up. "I sensed that something was wrong in Aurora Vale, so I sent out a Ditto to investigate. When Ditto didn't return, I began to panic. I was going to get the Dawn Hourglass and flee the Temple but I was careless… and I broke it."

"You WHAT?" Shane shouted, the volume making his teammates wince. "Well, where are the pieces, then?"

"Gone," Tapu Lele whispered. "The moment it shattered, all of its pieces vanished. My siblings and I placed hexes on the Hourglasses. If someone were to break them, the shards would scatter. Otherwise, large amounts of energy would leak out of the shards and create a huge explosion!"

Silvally's eyes widened and he winced, recalling the blast he had taken from Dark Matter. "But what are we supposed to do, then? We need to keep that power away from the Prism Virus," Shane growled. "Don't you know where they went?"

"I'm sorry," Tapu Lele whimpered. "If I was feeling alright, I'm sure I could help you. But my powers are totally sapped right now. Even doing this… is taking a lot of me."

The glow faded from her hands and she pulled them back. Pins and needles ran along Tessa's arm. She looked down at her looplet and her eyes widened. "Wh… what did you do to this?" Tessa gasped.

"I've… charged your looplet," Tapu Lele wheezed. She slid back down onto the floor, brushing sweat from her brow. "If you're really… going to go against that monster… you need Z-Power. It's the least… I can do for you. Heck… it's about all… I can do for you… right now. Again… I can't apologize… enough."

Before Tapu Lele could say anything else, a column of shadows swallowed her up and she cried out in terror. Tessa scrambled backwards, heart pounding in her chest. Silvally took up a protective stance in front of her, narrowing his eyes as the shadows shaped themselves back into Necrozma. He pinned Tapu Lele against the destroyed wall.

"Broken? BROKEN?!" Necrozma snarled. "You told me it was downstairs in the Temple cellar!"

"I know. I… urgh… did you really think… I was going to tell you the truth? You came in here… and threatened me," Tapu Lele groaned. Necrozma pressed down on her torso, eliciting a pained squeal.

"You lied to me!" Necrozma roared, to Team Radiance's alarm. "LIAR! LIAAAAAAR!" He reared his arm back and slammed Tapu Lele into the wall several times. Tears welled up in her eyes. "I gave you light! I gave you Z-Power! It was me! MEEE! And this is how you repay me? BY LYING TO ME?!"

Tapu Lele meekly struggled in Necrozma's grip. "Nuh… no…" she rasped. "That can't be… that's impossible! You're… you're supposed to be gone. Solgaleo and Lunala took care of you!"

Necrozma paid her no mind. "You're no better than the Pokémon that took my light away from me. Everyone lies to me… everyone uses me for whatever suits them. Nobody cares about what Necrozma thinks!" His arms and wings twitched. "You gods… if you're really a symbol of what this world has to offer… then I'm in the right! Pokémon… they don't really care about each other at all. No… you're just like humans! Lying and back-stabbing and twisting reality until you get the result that you want!"

"And Mistress Zero really believes she can save this world. She wants to use my light to make things better. But none of you deserve it! The only thing you fools deserve… is to spend eternity in oblivion! ON MY TERMS! I gave this world a future and it gave me nothing in return! It's only fair that I take it all away! Burn it down in a blaze of glorious light!" Necrozma ranted, drenching Tapu Lele in spittle. "But I can't do that. The power I need… is stuck with someone else! So, I'll have to settle for your life energy as a consolation prize. My Z-Power flows through you. And it's time I took it back."

Shane's jaw dropped. 'Oh my god… this Necrozma guy… he's gone completely off the deep end! He's gonna kill her! He's gonna kill us!' He found himself staggering back toward his teammates. "Guys," he whispered. "We've got to get out of here… now!"

"But what about Tapu Lele?" Tessa asked.

"Forget about her. What about us?" Shane panicked. "Look, the door's open. Let's get the heck out of dodge before we wind up just like h–"

A bloodcurdling scream filled the room. Shane looked back to see Necrozma squeezing Tapu Lele's tiny frame between his large, metallic hands. Her eyes bulged out of her head briefly before a loud popping noise sounded. Tessa's knees grew weak. She sank to the floor, watching Tapu Lele's eyes roll back in her head. Necrozma then dug his claws into her torso. He forcibly yanked his right hand back, pulling all of the color off of Tapu Lele. He took the swirling globe of energy and swallowed it in a single bite. Dark energy ran down his left hand. It raced along Tapu Lele's body, turning her into crystal.

Necrozma clenched his fist and Tapu Lele's body shattered into tiny fragments. "NO!" Tessa shouted. Her mind flooded with the memory of Zero killing Sylveon and Eevee in a similar manner. She turned and buried her head in Silvally's shoulder. "Make him stop! Make him stop!" she squealed, shuddering against his hide.

"What are you doing?" Shane hissed, trying to shove his teammate to her feet. "Get up! Get up! We need to get out of here while he's still distracted, or else!"

But Necrozma teleported in front of Team Radiance. "What's that? Leaving already?" he said. "Come now. There's no need for that." His arms twitched again. "I can't believe this is the company you're choosing to keep, Shane. It leaves much to be desired."

"We don't have anything to say to the likes of you," Shane said, but his voice cracked and his gaze fell to the ground.

Necrozma frowned. "Nothing at all? Even after all my hints?" he muttered. "My god, you really are the densest moron in all of reality." He shoved his head under his wing and whispered under his breath, "No wonder I had to spell it out for you that we were being bullied back in school."

"Of course we don't want to talk to you. You're trying to kill us!" Mimikyu shouted. Necrozma looked right at Mimikyu and he shrank back behind Silvally, letting out a frightened, "Meep! Please don't hurt me!"

"I get it. It's fine. You think I'm some sort of freak, don't you? Now that Tapu Lele's light is rightfully mine, you want to slink off and forget you even met me. That's it, isn't it?" Necrozma's wings tensed and he flicked an arm toward the door. "I'm not surprised. After all… heeheeheehee… forgetting and moving on is what you specialize in, isn't it, Shane?"

"I don't know what you're talking abo–" Shane started, only for Necrozma to vanish. He reappeared behind Tessa. Silvally immediately unleashed a flurry of Air Slash blades in Necrozma's direction. He hissed and teleported across the room. Necrozma dusted off his right wing.

"My, my. Aren't we testy?" Necrozma taunted. "Tell me something, Tessa. Did Shane ever tell you that his one and only human friend took his own life?"

Tessa turned so her right eye poked out from Silvally's fur. "Wh… what do you mean?" she gasped.

Shane bared his tiny fangs. "Hey! You're not allowed in my brain!" He panicked when he realized what he had said. "Um… that's… I mean… liar, liar, wings on fire?" Shane shrank down toward the ground, feeling his teammates gazes fall toward him.

"I mean that your 'precious' little human… the one whose sob story you've bought… is really an idiotic, ignorant LOSER! He is a failure in every facet imaginable… so he clung to his games. He hunkered down in his room – in his perfect little fantasy worlds where he could always be the hero – and hoped that all his problems would just go away. And the one guy who felt sorry enough to keep hanging out with him? Mocked! Bullied! Humiliated by his fellow humans! And when he turned to Shane, begging for a bit of kindness to reel him in from the brink, you know what Shane did? Casually brushed his so-called friend aside and went on like nothing was wrong in his life," Necrozma exclaimed, his arms twitching. His tongue fell out of his mouth and he forcibly slurped it back in.

"Then his human friend killed himself. And just like that… little Shane was all alone." Necrozma clawed at his forehead. "It's all there in your partner's mind, Tessa! And you stand as proof that he can't learn from his mistakes!" he crooned before turning back to Shane. "You never made another friend, did you? Heeheeheehee. No wonder you latched onto the first Pokémon you met when you got here. It helps that she has the potential to be a Lucario, despite your bumbling making that increasingly more unlikely with each passing day."

A wicked grin spread across his face. "Don't try to hide it, Shane. I know that's what you want to see. Your mind's as easy to read as a baby's first pop-up book. Those… ahem… pictures on your computer? Your human friend knew about them. He was just too embarrassed to say anything."

Shane turned to Tessa, a look of utter horror on his face. But his gaze faltered when she made eye contact. Tessa tightened her grip on Silvally's leg and buried her face in his fur again. Images of Zero holding her in the air and strangling her with psychic energy flashed through her mind. She squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lower lip. "I can't… take this anymore," she whispered.

Silvally once again launched a bevy of Air Slash crescents. This time Necrozma's eyes flashed. A psychic ripple raced forward, breaking Silvally's attack apart. "Tell me, Shane. Why did you help Tessa, anyway?" Necrozma asked. "Do you really care about her? Or… heeheeheehee… were you just doing it to ease your own guilt." His lips curled into another unhinged smile. "Yes… the guilt from turning your back on your real friend."

"Sh… shut up!" Shane hissed, slamming a forepaw on the ground. "My teammates mean the world to me! Even if things haven't been perfect between us, I consider them my friends!" He glanced at them, and then turned back to Necrozma. "In the past, I'd have probably just given up… and turned myself over to you and Zero. But that's not who I am anymore. I'll do whatever it takes to stop you!"

"Stop me? Heeheehee… bwahahahahaha! You've got it backwards, Shane. Why would I want to do anything to you?" Necrozma's head lolled to the side and his wings spasmed. "No… I need you alive. I want you around… so that we can annihilate this worthless world… and have ourselves an eternity's worth of fun with what remains!" He swung his head to his other side. "But that can't happen without the Dawn Hourglass. So, it looks like, we're going to have to gather the pieces somehow."

He vanished, reappearing next to Shane's teammates. "You three, on the other hand, are not needed. Mistress Zero wants interlopers dealt with. And the happier she is, the easier things are for me. You see where I'm going with this?"

"Get away from them!" Shane hollered. He spat an Aurora Beam but Necrozma teleported to his right and easily dodged the attack.

"What are you getting so worked up about, Shane?" Necrozma sneered. "Why do you care what happens to them? You only know how to think about yourself!" Ectoplasmic energy gathered up in his mouth and he shot a Shadow Ball right toward Tessa and Silvally. The latter stepped into the attack's path, letting it harmlessly strike him in the face. He lunged at Necrozma, darkness filling up his mouth. Silvally crunched down on Necrozma's torso, generating a pained screech. Necrozma swatted Silvally off of him. Silvally landed on the ground, growling.

"Skrrreeeeeeeevvvvk! You pathetic, miserable fool! I'll feast upon your light and then rip your girlfriend to fuzzy shreds!" Necrozma snarled. He pointed an arm forward and psychic energy raced ahead of him. Silvally changed to a dark-type and, once again, the attack harmlessly washed over him. Silvally sprang up toward a startled Necrozma, who just barely managed to teleport out of the way. Silvally hit the floor and skidded forward.

"FOOOOOL! You left Tessa wide open," Necrozma cackled, having reappeared over the Riolu. "Your light is mine!"

"TESSA, NO!" Shane screamed. He started to gather the energy needed for an Aurora Beam when a golden ring appeared on the floor underneath him. The icy energy dissipated. Shane dropped into the ring with a frightened shout. Seconds later, his teammates all fell into identical-looking rings. Necrozma looked down. His arms and wings spasmed in protest.

"What? That can't be!" he shouted, looking about the room. "How could they have warped out of here? My powers should've blocked them! Who is responsible for this nonsense?"

~Aeon Town~

"Bum-da-da-daaaaaaah! Alléhoopariiiiiiiiiiing!"

Shane tumbled out of a ring-shaped portal. He faceplanted into the ground and skidded forward, scuffing his fur. He didn't even have a second to get his bearings straight before Tessa was flung out of a second, identical portal. She slammed into Shane's rear. Shane yipped in surprise and scooted forward. Mimikyu next flew out of the second portal, ending up draped over Tessa's arm. And then Silvally struck her from behind. Team Radiance collapsed into a heap.

"Ooooooooogh. What just happened?" Shane groaned, eyes spinning around in their sockets.

"Why, Hoopa saved your sorry butts, of course," a high-pitched voice replied.

Shane blinked a few times and managed to crawl out from the bottom of the pile. "Wait, did someone just say Hoopa?"

"Hoopa did! Hoopa did!" the small djinn cheered, floating right up to Shane's face. Shane shuffled back uneasily, contacting Silvally's face.

"Hey!" Silvally grunted. "Watch where you're pointing those tails. This is hardly my idea of a flattering view."

Shane looked over his shoulder and his face went red enough to make a tamato berry jealous. He stumbled forward, tails reflexively curling against his hips. "Heh heh heh! You're pretty funny," Hoopa chuckled. "Are you the human Latias was talking about?" He floated above Shane and his expression immediately went stern. In a pale imitation of Latias' voice, he said, "Hoopa, you need to help these explorers in Horizon. I sense that they're in trouble. And you're the only one brave enough, smart enough, and cool enough to get the job done!"

Hoopa smirked and crossed his arms. "And so, Hoopa bailed you out. Once again, the day is saved… thanks to Hoopa!" He raised his right arm, posing dramatically. One of his ring portals opened behind him and a trio of fireworks shot up.

Shane's teammates had managed to untangle themselves and joined him in watching Hoopa. "Is this really happening?" Mimikyu whispered.

"I don't know. At this point, I'm waiting for the giant tap-dancing rubber chicken to show up and tell me this has all been some crazy nightmare brought on by eating too much ice cream," Shane groaned, rubbing his forehead.

Hoopa broke off his pose and furrowed his brow at Team Radiance. "Hey, what's the matter with you guys? Why aren't you cheering for Hoopa?"

"Because we're still a bit confused, to be honest," Silvally replied. "You yanked us out of Mystery Dungeon like it was nothing." He walked forward and sniffed the air. "What's your secret, huh? Because you don't smell like you're made of Escape Orb."

Tessa facepalmed. "That's… not how it works, buddy."

Hoopa rolled his eyes. "What's there to know? You needed rescuing. So, Hoopa gave you a rescue. Isn't that what we guild folk do?"

Tessa's jaw dropped. "You're part of a guild?"

Hoopa twirled around to show off the Expedition Society badge dangling from his neck. "You betcha! Hoopa is Team Gaia's trump card. When trouble's afoot, Hoopa swoops in to save the day. Like this!" He threw his hands to the sides and shouted, "Alléhoopariiiiiiiing!"

A ring portal opened over Shane's head. He just had enough time to look up before a column of water gushed out of the portal. "AUUUUUUUUGH!" Shane shouted, collapsing on his belly. Hoopa shut the portal, snickering loudly.

"There. Now you're squeaky clean," Hoopa declared, dusting off his hands. "No need to thank Hoopa. Hoopa will put it on your tab."

"Wait, what tab?" Tessa gasped. "We didn't agree to anything like that."

Shane spat out a mouthful of water and coughed up a string of kelp. "Oh… great. You're one of those genies," he growled.

Tessa raised an eyebrow. "Do you know something I don't?"

Shane shook out his fur. Tessa hissed in displeasure and threw an arm up over her face. "Of course I do," he said. "In human stories, genies are conniving little buggers. There's always a catch to accepting help from them."

"Oh no, there are no catches with Hoopa. It's really simple. Hoopa helps you and you do a favor in return for Hoopa," Hoopa explained. He shot a glance over toward the forest and his eyes flashed blue. An annoyed howl erupted in the distance, making everyone jump in surprise.

Splaaaaaash!

"Make that two favors," Hoopa declared, crossing his arms and smiling. "There was a group of thugs in the bushes over there. They were waiting to ambush you." He jerked his head in that direction. "But, no need to thank Hoopa. You can make up for it lat–"

"That's enough out of you, Hoopa."

Latias materialized beside him and bit down on the horn protruding from the right side of his face. "Ow! Ow! No biting!" Hoopa wailed, flailing his arms about. Latias released her grip and Hoopa started rubbing his injured horn. "No fair. You snuck up on Hoopa!"

"I thought we had a deal. Whatever favors you need taken care of, I'll handle them," Latias huffed.

"Aww, Hoopa just wanted to have some fun with the kiddies," Hoopa said. "What's so bad about that?" Latias' response consisted of biting him on the same horn again. "OW! Okay, okay! Hoopa's sorry! Hoopa's sorry!" Latias again released her grip.

"Thank goodness you're all okay," Latias said. "Hoopa here can see through the ley lines in dungeons. I was worried the Prism Virus might be able to block his powers, but Hoopa didn't have any problems monitoring your situation." Hoopa grinned triumphantly behind Latias. Despite this, she put on a grim expression. "It looks like this is worse than we thought."

"What are we supposed to do, then?" Shane wondered.

Latias looked up toward the sky. "I think it's best you guys regroup back at the Observatory. It's not safe to stay outside the barrier too long. That monster that attacked you guys could try to follow you here."

"What about you two?" Shane asked. "You have to come with us!"

"Not a chance," Latias replied, a nervous look on her face. "Metagross didn't want me bringing in outside help and, quite frankly, I don't want to be there to see how he reacts. Plus, Hoopa and I have some work that we need to do anyway. Isn't that right?" She turned to Hoopa, who rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. We're stopping for lunch first though, right?" Hoopa said as he and Latias disappeared into one of his portals. Once they were gone, Team Radiance headed for Aeon Town. A small hole appeared in the barrier, allowing them all to pass. It resealed itself as soon as they were inside it.

None of them looked back and spotted the ripples in the water as a soggy Lycanroc staggered out. "This blows!" he hissed, resting his head against his shoulder and smacking it. Water trickled out of his ear.

"Yeah! I hate water… especially wet water!" Jangmo-o whined, shaking off his body.

Sneasel smacked him upside the head. "How many times do I gotta tell you? If you're thinking of saying something stupid, bite your tongue instead." He turned to Lycanroc. "So, now what? You saw the Pokémon Snowy's running with. We can't deal with that much firepower!"

Lycanroc backhanded Sneasel, knocking him back into the water. "I ain't blind, mate. I can see that for myself." He crossed his arms. "If we can't ambush Snowy, then we look for an unsuspecting target and get the leg up on 'em."

"Um, not to question your decision-making, but how will extra legs help us in this situation, exactly?" Jangmo-o wondered.

Lycanroc sighed and slumped over. "Just… get back in the bushes, ya dumb git."

~Aeon Observatory~

"Well, I reckon this complicates things… uh… a lot," Braviary groaned, burying his face in his right wing. "So, lemme make sure I have this straight. The Dawn Hourglass is gone?"

"Smashed into pieces, apparently," Shane replied. "According to Tapu Lele, if the Hourglass breaks, the pieces scatter themselves. Something about chain reactions and explosions if that doesn't happen."

Braviary's brow furrowed. "Which means the Prism Virus ain't got it. Fer now, anyway."

Shane's stance slouched. "Yeah, thanks for the reminder that we blew it… again."

"Shane…" Tessa muttered.

"I know, I know. 'Now's not the time,'" he grumbled. "Sorry, Braviary. Continue."

Braviary started pacing in front of the Observatory's front entrance. "Tapu Lele was done in by the Prism Virus, though. Which means a whole quarter of Horizon ain't got no Land Spirit looking after the Mystery Dungeons there."

Tessa stiffened. "Um, is that a problem?"

In the short term, no, Magearna replied. But without a Land Spirit exercising control over a dungeon, there is a one-hundred percent chance that the ley lines will become unstable.

"Which means what, exactly?" Silvally asked.

The Tapus used ley lines to anchor the Horizon Continent to the ocean floor, Magearna explained. If they are not properly maintenanced, then they could detach and set Horizon adrift once again. Or worse… the continent could just sink into the ocean.

"WHAT?" Tessa gasped, aura feelers shooting up and tail bristling. "But… but that…"

"Settle down, now. We've still got three of the Land Spirits around," Braviary said. "If'n anything, we ought to be worried about this… uh…" He rubbed the back of his head. "Now, what did that feller who attacked you guys call himself?"

"Necrozma," Silvally replied.

"Right." Braviary nodded slowly. "And, from what it sounds like, he's actually possessing Lunala?"

"Either that, or he's made himself look like Lunala to throw us off," Shane exclaimed. "In any case, he's definitely working with the Prism Virus. He infected Tapu Lele, and then sucked the life out of her."

"Working for? I wouldn't be surprised if Necrozma's the mastermind, here," Tessa mumbled. "He could teleport. And… and…"

Silvally shot Shane a scathing look. He quickly looked away, biting his lower lip. 'Oooooh, I really hope you're right, Tessa. Because that's the only way I can see things ending well for you, here.'

Shane snapped back to attention when he heard Mimikyu say, "He also seemed to know Shane for some reason."

Braviary looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. Shane went stiff as a board. "I… well… he read my mind, that's all. Probably trying to mess with me or… or…" His eyes darted around as he tried to come up with an answer. "Look, I have no idea who Necrozma is, okay. Honest! All of this is just as confusing to me as it is to you."

But the skeptical look didn't vanish from Braviary's face. "Hrrrrm. Well, I'm gonna have a word with the Guildmaster. See if he has any thoughts on the matter. Y'all wait out here for the moment. Yer day might not be over yet." He walked into the Guildmaster's office. The door immediately slammed shut behind him, drawing worried looks from Team Radiance. They stared at Metagross' office with baited breath. But when they all determined they couldn't hear anything, they relaxed.

Shane lowered his head. "We failed again," he whispered. "Why do we keep failing?" He snorted out tufts of ice. "This is getting ridiculous. Ever since Twilight Forest we can't seem to do anything right. All of our missions turn into disasters. And the Prism Virus' forces are getting tougher and tougher." He squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. "I can't believe I was stupid enough to think I could really save the world. We're… I'm…"

He flopped onto his belly and buried his head in his forepaws. "It's too much! It's hopeless! Things keep getting worse each time we face the Prism Virus. At this rate, we're going to get killed tomorrow."

"Hey!" Tessa barked, walking up to Shane and shoving him with her foot. "What happened to trying to stay positive and actually mean it, huh?"

Shane looked up at her. "How can I possibly be positive after the last few days?"

"Well… uh…" Tessa turned to her right and rubbed her shoulder. "We have Silvally now." She looked toward Silvally, who puffed his chest out.

"And he nearly got himself killed in his first battle," Shane pointed out. Silvally deflated and poked guiltily at the ground with a talon. "Face it, guys. We're so far out of our league. It's just a matter of time before our luck runs out."

Tessa's ears and aura feelers drooped. "You don't think I don't know that?" she whimpered, to Shane's displeasure. "But we have to keep fighting. If Necrozma and Zero have their ways, then… then…"

"No," Shane whispered.

"No?" Tessa repeated.

"You two… you should go," Shane said.

"Excuse me?" Tessa raised an eyebrow.

"You heard me. Go!" He turned to Mimikyu. "You too, li'l guy. You all saw it for yourselves. I'm the one Necrozma's fixated on. You're only putting yourselves at risk by sticking with me." He shook his head. "Zero said something about trying to make things better for normal Pokémon. And you fit the bill…" He looked up at Silvally, whose head was cocked in confusion. "… well, reasonably speaking, anyway."

"Look, the point is. This doesn't have to be your guys' fight. I don't…" Shane lowered his head. "If the Prism Virus kills you guys because of me, I'll never be able to forgive myself."

Tessa grabbed the scruff of Shane's neck and yanked him to his feet despite a yip of protest. "Seriously, Shane?" Tessa growled. "What, do you think you're being heroic or something? You're not just some sort of walking sacrifice."

"But I don't want you getting hurt," Shane whimpered.

"It's a little late for that, don't you think?" Tessa said. "Sure, we could run away. But what if Zero's lying? What if the Prism Virus isn't going to ignore us, huh? Then we're basically rolling over and dying!" She put a paw on his shoulder. "So, sorry, but we're going to keep fighting."

"Yeah! And we've pulled through as a team so far," Silvally chirped. "Which means our best bet is to stick together." He bent down to make eye contact with Shane. "Besides, it's not all doom and gloom! You've given us some good times. Like when you get blown up… or dropped in water and mud and…"

Shane put a forepaw on Silvally's beak. "I get the idea," he said, sighing. "Okay, I guess I might've overreacted just a little bit."

"I don't know. It sounded like a lot bit to me," Mimikyu muttered. Shane gave him a stink eye and Mimikyu tensed up. "Meep! I'm sorry… I was just making an observation." He threw a raggedy arm up over his eyes.

"Still, if we're going to stand a chance against the Prism Virus, we need to make improvements," Shane said. He turned to Tessa. "And that means we both have to evolve."

Tessa tensed up at this. "Evolve? Are you serious?"

"Yes. Right here. Right now," Shane declared.

"Uh, not to offend, but did you hit your head really hard when Hoopa brought us back here?" Tessa growled. "I can't just magically wave my arms around and turn into a Lucario! It doesn't work that way."

"I'm aware of that," Shane retorted. "But we can make it happen!"

"You can?" Silvally's eyes widened. "Does this mean you're secretly made of evolution pheromones?"

"Yes, I– wait, what? No!" Shane recoiled, only to pause and sniff at his backside. "Yeah, no, that's just sweat. Look, we already discussed this the other day. You just need to fully tap into your aura powers." He poked Tessa's Naturia Looplet with his snout. "And now we can try testing out Umbreon's theory."

"Huh?"

"It's simple! You just use a Z-Move on me," Shane declared. He stepped back and puffed out his chest. "Just, I don't know, remember when you hated me and wanted to yank my tails off. Then channel that anger into an attack. That oughta do it, right?"

Silvally and Mimikyu exchanged unconvinced looks. Tessa rubbed her shoulder. "Um… but I don't feel anything."

"What are you talking about? You've just got to focus!" Shane insisted.

"That's such a vague way of describing it," Tessa growled frustratingly. "What does 'focus' really mean, huh?"

"Uh… well…" Shane's brow furrowed. "Okay, so you got me there."

"You're the one who's used a Z-Move twice already. So why don't you tell me how you did it?" Tessa said, jabbing him in the chest with a digit.

Shane looked down at his Looplet. "How I did it?" he repeated. "Um… lemme think…"

Tessa's eyes widened. "You mean you don't even know how you used your Z-Move?"

"Hey, give me a break! Both times were in the middle of really stressful situations where I thought one of you was going to die. I didn't think… I just sort of leaped into action," Shane explained, his tails twitching nervously. "I was desperate. I guess, I dunno, the looplet sensed that desperation and channeled it into a Z-Move? Which means, the best way to get a Z-Move to work for you would be to put you in an extremely stressful situation."

Tessa crossed her arms and gave Shane the most sinister glare she could muster. Shane shuffled backward, the back of his head turning dark blue. "Aha ha… uh… that came out wrong."

"What we really ought to do is speak to someone who knows more about Z-Moves," Silvally thought aloud. "Like Magearna."

"See, now that's a much more reasonable solution," Tessa exclaimed, gesturing toward her friend.

"Thanks!" Silvally chirped. "I figured since she was the one who explained them to us in the first place, she must have some sort of theory about making it work."

WHAM!

"Ah!" Tessa jumped into the air, squeaking in fright. She landed in a collapsed heap on the floor.

"Now, Guildmaster, don't ya th–"

I will not have Latias' reckless abandon get the lot of us killed!

Worry flashed across Shane's face. "He… he sounds mad," Shane squeaked.

"Really mad," Mimikyu agreed, hunching low to the ground.

"I understand, sir. I feel the same way, but–"

You do not. You are skeptical of my plans. I can see it. Are you questioning me? Are you siding with her over me… your best friend?

"Of course not! I reckon I'd never…"

Metagross' door slammed open. Team Radiance jumped to attention. Braviary fluttered out, his feathery head crest completely disheveled. "But, Guildmaster, don't ya think it's a bit unreasonable to send all of us down there, sir?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head with a wing.

Metagross walked out of his office. Shane could just barely see the corner of one of his eyes, which had a rainbow gleam in it. The gleam abruptly disappeared. At the same time, Espeon, Umbreon, and Magearna appeared from the hallway leading to the latter's workshop. They all fixed curious looks on Metagross.

Negative, Metagross replied. The only avenue for success is for you all to proceed to the Solaris Wastelands. He turned to Team Radiance. That includes Espeon, Umbreon, and you four.

"Wait, what? But we just got back from a really tough mission!" Shane complained. "Can't we at least wait until tomorrow?"

Negative. Fact: time is of the essence, Metagross answered. Fact: Yungoos, Trapinch, and Growlithe reached the Temple of Body. Fact: they discovered that Tapu Bulu is holding the Dusk Hourglass, but were promptly ejected from the vicinity. With the Dawn Hourglass fractured, we must prevent it from falling into the Prism Virus' hands.

"And you need to send all of us out there just to get it?" Umbreon said. "Espy and I really don't feel up to–"

Metagross turned and glared at Umbreon. You have much to atone for. Do as I command or I will hand you over to the authorities.

Umbreon and Espeon wilted at this. Shane bit his lower lip. 'I don't like the sound of this,' he muttered. 'If he's sending all of us, then there'll practically be no one left in the guild besides him.' Thoughts of Gallian flashed through is mind. 'Wait… he couldn't have an ulterior motive for wanting to do this, could he?'

"Why have us go, then?" Shane asked. "We're weary from battling Tapu Lele and we need rest."

Fact: you have a looplet gifted to you from Tapu Bulu. You are far more likely to be able to get through to him than Yungoos, Trapinch, and Growlithe, Metagross replied.

"So, why do I need all this backup, then? Is Tapu Bulu super hostile?"

The rainbow gleam flashed across Metagross' eyes. Everyone in the room noticed. Several Pokémon tensed up. Metagross glanced around the room and proceeded to glare directly at Shane. You are not in a position to question my strategy! The backup is in anticipation of a possible attack by the Prism Virus! Metagross replied. His eyes glowed blue. You would dare challenge my authority, human?

Shane shuffled backward. "Nuh-no…" he squeaked, avoiding Metagross' glare.

"Well, I sure am, sir," Braviary exclaimed. "Why are ya sending me? I know that there's my home turf. But don't you think I'm of better use here coordinating and whatnot?"

Metagross turned his glare on Braviary. No!

This time Shane jumped in alarm. 'His voice… it's getting higher-pitched. What's going on here?'

You know the fastest, safest routes through the Solaris Wastelands, Metagross said. With the harsh sandstorms, I'm unwilling to take any chances. We must succeed at all costs!

"Then why not have Latias and Hoopa send 'em all over?" Braviary asked.

Did you not hear me before? They're going to get us all killed with their poor decision-making! Metagross thundered. Espeon and Umbreon exchanged panicked looks and shrank backwards, looking as if they were ready to bolt at a moment's notice. Metagross ignored them. Magearna, give them their supplies so they can get going.

Magearna remained frozen in place, staring curiously at Metagross. Again, a rainbow gleam flickered in his eyes. Now, Magearna!

Oh… right! Magearna jumped to attention. She placed a large bag on the ground, and several pairs of goggles tumbled out. Behold, my patented Geatronic Weather Optical Dehazardification Units!

Happy for any sort of distraction from Metagross, Shane looked down at the goggles. He raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?" Tessa asked.

"I was half expecting her to introduce them with something along the lines of, 'the future is now, thanks to science!'" he mused.

Science is not about catchphrases. Especially cheesy ones like that, Magearna harrumphed. I will have you know that these goggles all releasemit special protective forcefields that will keep you safe from any hazarterious effects of the desert sandstorms.

"Yeah, I know. They're just Safety Goggles, after all," Shane scoffed, grabbing a pair and sliding them onto his face.

They are not. They are Geatronic Weather Optical Dehazardification Units, and I would appreciate it if you gave them the respect they deserve, Magearna corrected, crossing her arms.

"Whatever," Shane said, rolling his eyes. "So, I guess this means we're going to the desert, then?" He cast a glance at Metagross. 'Trap or not, I'd rather go there than stay here with him. He looks like he's gonna blow a gasket. And even with all of us here, could we really take him if he went on a rampage? What if he has an Awakening Emera hidden somewhere?'

Metagross tapped a foreleg impatiently on the Your Sharpedos will arrive at the port in fifteen minutes, he declared.

'Great. But I still have a really bad feeling about all of this,' Shane thought, his stomaching churning.

Do not delay! Go! Now! Metagross thundered, stomping his foreleg on the ground. Several of the guild members again jumped in surprise. The group hurried toward the stairs, scampering up them without a second thought. Only Magearna remained, eyeing Metagross cautiously. What are you looking at? You have work to do! Monitor the forcefields or this will all be for naught!

He turned and stormed back into his office. The door slammed shut behind him. Metagross' right eye twitched. Ngggrrggghhh… that stupid, stupid human! He's going to be the death of me! I can see it in his eyes… in all their eyes! They want me dead. They're trying to off me! ME! After everything I've done for them!

Metagross stomped forward, his gaze darting back and forth across the room. It's all the same. Incineroar… Lucario… now their children… trying to put an end to me. I have just as much right to live as any of them! He reached his tapestry handing from the wall and tore it off, revealing a small safe. It doesn't matter… it doesn't matter… they won't succeed. I will persist. I will survive. No matter what it takes! I'll get rid of them before they get rid of me!

His eyes flashed blue and the safe's dial turned. The handle moved into the open position and Metagross flung the door open. He reached inside and pulled out a smoothed, obsidian stone. A familiar star emblem was carved into it. Metagross set the stone on the ground and pressed a foreleg to it. Rainbow glows overtook his eyes. Dark energy swirled around the stone, expanding into a cloud of black shadows. Necrozma's hollow red eyes stared back at him.

"What do you want? I told you not to bother me unless it was important!" Necrozma spat.

I have news… Metagross exclaimed. Important news. I've sent Team Radiance to the Solaris Wastelands. Tapu Bulu is the one with the Dusk Hourglass. Espeon, Umbreon, and Braviary are with them. Just go there… and you can get the Hourglass and the spirits of all of those conniving miscreants.

"Heeheeheehee! Is that so? I see you're working very hard to keep up your end of the bargain," Necrozma said, laughing jovially.

Yes. And I expect you to honor our agreement.

"Of course. You give me what I want… you get to live on even after I wipe this world out of existence," Necrozma replied. "Of course, I'll need to verify that you're not misleading me. Because I would really hate to show up there and find myself deceived." His red eyes flashed and black mist swirled around Metagross.

I am telling you the honest truth.

"What of Tapu Koko, then? I thought you suspected he was holding the Dusk Hourglass," Necrozma exclaimed.

I have not heard back from Teams Captivate and Buzz Buzz, the scouts that went to Tapu Bulu's temple found the Hourglass, Metagross explained.

Necrozma's eyes flickered with interest. "So, Team Captivate is tying to get to Tapu Koko? I have a partner with a vested interest in them, so if you value our deal, you'd best answer truthfully."

They are proceeding through Voltaic Crater, Metagross replied.

"Heeheeheehee! How very informative. Thank you so much for your help, Guildmaster." Necrozma's eyes vanished and the black cloud spiraled into the stone.

Metagross looked down at it and shut his eyes. Just a bit longer. All of my enemies will be gone. I will finally… finally know true peace.

And we end with guest review replies:

Anon Omega: this story does love its Kirby references. Trust me.

SuperOmegaGuest: I promise there will be answer about exactly how much. But it won't come for a little while.

Guest #1: Primal Dialga is obnoxiously tough, you say? I wonder if this story might tackle that subject sometime down the road?

Another guest: all of them were copies, not the originals. They're gone now, though, so it can't matter much.

Guest #2: I'm not sure if you're the same person as the other unnamed guest or not. You sure sound different, anyway. I think you might want to go back and read Episode 8, especially the Valentine's Day special. Because that makes it pretty clear what Zero's motives are here. I did not start watching DB Super until after I began writing this story, so any Beerus similarities are a happy accident. Her powers are supposed to be similar to Dark Matter (except her victims end up crystallized instead of turned to stone). And, well, she wouldn't have been able to use them on a full-strength Zapdos, so she had Dragonite weaken him enough to go in for the kill.

That's all for this week. Next time: a trek through the desert sands.