I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you all, again, for the continued support. I'm amazed at how well-received these last few chapters have been. And, because of that, I wanted to make sure this chapter was done right. I ended up having to completely rewrite it from the ground up. The original draft had been written following an infusion treatment that left my mind a bit scrambled. It was incoherent as a result. Also, I wanted to change things up to incorporate some of your guys' feedback. Namely, "Shane can't possibly be this stupid and not realize what's going on."

A lot of effort went into this one. I hope you enjoy it and that you'll let me know what you think!

Chapter 49: Divide by Zero

Necrozma popped out of the black smoke, with Zero by his side. "Trying to run off with the Hourglass while my back is turned, huh? Well, too bad! It's my light and I'm here to take it back!"

Braviary took off into the air, making for the Dusk Hourglass. At the same time, he yanked an Escape Orb from his satchel. Necrozma noticed this and disappeared in a burst of black smoke. He materialized in front of Braviary, eliciting a frightened squawk. Braviary gave a powerful flap of his wings, bringing his forward momentum to a screeching halt. However, he couldn't maintain a grip on the Escape Orb. A Shadow Ball met the falling item in midair and blew it into multicolored dust.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I guess I didn't make myself clear. None of you fools will be leaving this place in one piece! All of your light belongs to me and only me!" Necrozma bellowed. His red eyes flashed pink and the entrance to the temple slammed shut seconds before Tapu Bulu would have escaped through it with the Dusk Hourglass in his arms. A set of black, cast iron chains exploded out of the wall and wrapped themselves tightly around the door. Padlocks appeared in the chains, bearing Necrozma's star icon.

Tapu Bulu fled away from Zero, eyes widened in panic. "This no make sense. Why you look like Lunala?" he asked.

Necrozma frowned. "You can thank her for that," he hissed disdainfully, glaring at Zero. "She took the tiniest fraction of my spirit and shoved me inside this insipid body… forcing me to leech off Lunala's light or wither away into another awful stasis!"

"Now, now," Zero said, "if you're looking to point fingers, they should go in the right direction. Zero turned to Braviary. "After all, if it wasn't for this winged Neanderthal and his miserable excuse for a boss, none of this would've happened."

A volley of Air Slashes, a Flamethrower, and a small sand vortex all raced toward Zero. A massive pillar of yellow light blew the attacks apart like they were nothing. "Don't you dare try to attack her!" Necrozma snarled. "I won't see more of my precious light wasted on you fools and your asinine, uphill battle." He folded his wings over his chest, covering up his spasming arms.

"I don't take kindly to varmints who call me things I don't right understand!" Braviary shouted. "And I especially can't stand insensitive clods who insult the guild!"

Necrozma thrust his wings apart. Crimson energy exploded out all around him, forcing the various guild members to retreat farther into the temple. Tapu Bulu couldn't float away fast enough and the shockwave struck him from behind. It didn't appear to hurt all that much, but its intensity knocked him into one of his own statues, smashing it to pieces. Tapu Bulu kept a tight grip on the Dusk Hourglass and tried to fly for the door leading deeper into the table. Like the main entrance, however, it had been sealed shut with chains and heavy padlocks.

"Was… was that Night Daze?" Shane gasped. "As in, Zoroark's move?"

"You can't get mad at the truth, Braviary," Necrozma sneered. "After all… the only reason we're here right now is thanks to your wonderful, trusted Guildmaster."

Shane's and Tessa's hearts were up in their throats. They both looked at each other, eyes filled with horror. 'No, that has to be a lie!'Shane thought. 'I don't want my worst fears confirmed! I want to be wrong about Metagross! Please, god, just let me be wrong!'

Braviary didn't back down. Instead, he slung more wind blades toward Necrozma and Zero. Yungoos and Trapinch back him up with volleys of sand, Growlithe added a Flamethrower, Mimikyu contributed a purple Shadow Ball, and Umbreon sent a Dark Pulse rifling forward. The attacks coalesced into a swirling, dark gray vortex. Necrozma spread his wings in front of Zero. Multiple Shadow Balls surrounded him, brimming with pink energy. Necrozma thrust his arms in front of him. Bursts of psychic waves launched the Shadow Balls forward, destroying the guild members' combined attacks.

"I told you to knock that off!" Necrozma sneered. "You can act as angry as you want, it won't change the fact that your Guildmaster told me where you would be. He was practically begging me to take your light for myself!" He cocked his head to the side. "He sold you out. He sold all of you out! Your guild will soon be nothing but a memory!"

"I've already taken Team Captivate firmly under my possession," Zero exclaimed. "I think that they, like me, realize how futile it is to be an explorer. To prop up a world where we're at the mercy of ley lines and Mystery Dungeons."

"And those pathetic bugs provided a juicy little meal for me on the way over!" Necrozma added, licking his lips. "A nice palette cleanser after I got through that yappy rodent and the stupid fish with the obnoxiooooooooous voice!"

Shane's chest tightened. 'No way. He got Bruxish and Togedemaru, too?' He staggered backward, looking despondently at his teammates. 'This is horrible! We've played right into their hands!' He tugged Tessa's arm. "We have to get out of here. Grab an Escape Orb and get on Silvally. Then make a mad dash for Tapu Bulu."

"B-But… what if they attack us?" Tessa squeaked, shivering violently. "I… I can't stand up to them. None of us can!"

"If we stay here, we're as good as dead," Shane said. "There's nothing else we can do."

Espeon and Umbreon both overhead their conversation and exchanged nervous looks. "C'mon, Umbry. Surely, you've got something in mind that we can do, right?"

"I… I…" Umbreon got choked up on his words. He shut his eyes and looked away from Espy. Worry spread across her face.

"Umbry, what are you thinking about?"

"I have a plan," he croaked. "Just lay low for a moment. I have to see how this plays out."

"What do you mean you have a plan?" Espeon hissed in a whisper. "You're going to tell me what it is, right? Right?" Much to her horror, Umbreon stepped forward. "Umbry! Talk to me, Umbry! This isn't like you at all. We're a team, remember?"

"I know. Which is why I need you to trust me," he said, though he refused to make eye contact with her. "This is going to work. I can feel it in my bones." He took another cautious step forward, ignoring the growing fright in Espeon's expression.

In front of them, Braviary lashed at the air with his talons. "Y'all don't know what yer talking about," he squawked. "I know Metagross better than anyone and–"

CLANG!

Zero slammed her staff into the ground. "No, you don't. None of you do. Because he pulled the wool over your eyes. He kept the guild functioning, so no one bothered to question him. Everyone was complacent. This whole wretched hive of a world is complacent!" Distorted ripples raced across her body and afterimages flickered around her. "No one questions the Legendaries. No one's held them accountable for the destruction they've wrought… for the lives they've ruined!"

"They've created a situation where a repugnant creature like Metagross can go out and murder a selfless, innocent man for seemingly no good reason! And then turn around and stalk his victim's mate when she tries to get to the truth… culminating in an attempt to permanently silence her, too!" Zero snarled. "Your whole organization is a sham! It's photographic evidence that this world is sick. It must be cured. Your gods – your world's persistent, intractable infection – must be purged. That is my purpose! It's why I'm here!" She pointed her sparking scepter right at Braviary. "And it's why I have no qualms about stripping you spineless cowards of your lives right here and now!"

A square beam made of glitchy black cubes raced toward Braviary, Mimikyu, Trapinch, Yungoos, and Growlithe. "Everybody move!" Braviary shouted, flapping his wings as hard as he could to ascend. Mimikyu shot his ragged arms out, shoving his guild mates to the side and barely skirting Zero's attack.

"Guys, we have to help them!" Silvally shouted. His cheek bolts spun about intensely in their sockets and lightning crackled across his body. He launched Thunderbolts toward Zero, but Necrozma popped up in front of her in a cloud of black smoke.

"Stop attacking, mistress! You're wasting my light! If anyone's killing these nobodies, it's me!" Necrozma thundered, snuffing out the electricity with pulses of pink psychic energy.

"We've gotta move in! We've got the numbers!" Braviary shouted, pointing a wing toward Zero and Necrozma. "We ain't letting your varmints do a doggone thing to us, is that clear?" He smacked his wings together and Air Slash crescents rippled forward. They were joined by a Dark Pulse, Flamethrower, Shadow Ball, and two plumes of sand. On the other side of the room, Silvally launched his own stream of razor-sharp wind blades. Shane added a multicolored Aurora Beam while Espeon contributed a pink Psybeam.

"I… said… that's… enough!"

Necrozma brought his arms crashing down into the ground. Another crimson dome exploded out around him. It raced forward, harmlessly passing by Zero but greatly weakening the two combined attacks the guild members had put together. Zero pushed him aside and stuck a flickering paw up. Distorted red waves raced ahead of her, dispelling the remains of the guild's attacks and leaving everyone standing there with mixed looks of shock and confusion.

The lone exceptions were Shane and Tessa, who sprinted along the side of the expansive entrance, trying to get to Tapu Bulu. He was feeling around at the walls with one of his arms, looking for a means of breaking it apart and making an exit. Zero caught them in her line of sight and hurled a red Aura Sphere forward as fast as she could. Silvally jumped into the air, a golden wheel encompassing his body. The wheel burst into surges of orange energy that coated his forelegs. He slashed the Aura Sphere in half and its energy flickered out harmlessly.

"Don't just float there, Necky. You're so adamant about all of this… do something!" Zero barked, charging up another Aura Sphere.

"We ain't gonna give you the chance!" Braviary shouted. Another combination attack spiraled toward Necrozma, whose wings twitched and armed spasmed.

"You… you fools… you will not keep all this light away from me!" Necrozma roared. He thrust his arms and wings apart. The former's light-blue coloration suddenly grew blindingly bright. Six glowing balls of light encircled Necrozma's body. A stream of blue energy raced from each ball to the center of Necrozma's body.

"I'll annihilate you all!"

A massive beam of light-blue and distorted black energy raced out of Necrozma's body. It not only effortlessly swallowed up the guild members' attacks, it continued heading toward them, growing steadily larger.

Yungoos' eyes widened. "No! NOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Get outta there, y'all!" Braviary hollered, desperately beating his wings.

"It's useless! Witness the raw power of Moongeist Beam and die!" Necrozma screeched. His attack completely engulfed Yungoos, Growlithe, Trapinch, and Mimikyu. Silvally looked up and saw the beam strike Braviary's right wing.

Braviary screamed and spiraled down to the ground, smoke funneling off his limb. "Hang on!" Silvally shouted, racing toward him at top speeds.

"Foolish Legendary knock-off! I won't let you get between me and my prey!" Necrozma snarled. Two purple Shadow Balls rifled toward Silvally, but the chimera deactivated his Memory Looplet. They harmlessly struck him as he caught Braviary out of the sky. Braviary had completely lost consciousness, but Silvally looked at his injured wing.

"Ah! Your wing's totally crystallized!" Silvally gasped. He turned around, blowing the smoke from Necrozma's Moongeist Beam away. What he found were four piles of sickly-black crystals, each of which sucked the light of the room away. Silvally turned back to Necrozma, his silver eyes glowing brightly. "You monster! None of them deserved to die like that!" He shook Braviary off his back. "I'll rip you apart! I'll tear you to shreds! I'll–"

"Heeheeheehee! Now that sounds more like a proper God Killer," Necrozma taunted, licking rainbow-colored juiced from his lips. "But it's utterly meaningless. We're cut from the same cloth, you and I. We're both monstrosities… immortal monstrosities. None of these Pokémon here should mean anything to you!"

"Even if you somehow stopped me… you'd end up having to watch as the friends you claim to love so much die one by one until you're left all alone!" Necrozma ranted, his red eyes flashing erratically. "And then what will you do, Silvally? Go slink off and spend your existence alone in some cave like the Legendaries you were molded after? Or will the losses prove too heartbreaking? Will you drown in the depths of your own despair… and end your life like I did?"

Zero paused in the midst of charging an attack to strike Shane and Tessa at the far end of the room. The attack faded and she stepped away from Necrozma, her lone eye narrowing. Across the room, Shane abruptly skidded to a halt, tripping Tessa up in the process. His eyes slowly widened. "No…" he whispered. "No… it can't be! That's… this… there's no way…" His gaze fell to the ground and he started making dry heaving motions.

"Shane? What's wrong?" Tessa asked, waving a paw in front of her face. "You're scaring me!"

Necrozma paid them no mind. He leaned forward, leering at Silvally with a wide grin on his face. "Well, go on. Tell us!" He gestured toward Shane and Tessa. "Look your 'friends' in the eyes and tell them that, as they wither away into dust, you won't look any different than you do right now."

Silence fell over the room. Zero held her scepter close to her, opting to keep her eye trained on Tapu Bulu, who continued to ignore the conversation and move his free arm along the room's far wall.

"N… Nicky?"

Necrozma disappeared from Zero's side, teleporting over to Shane's location. Tessa yelped and scrambled backwards, aura feelers pulsing in step with her heartrate. "What's that? Speak up… we couldn't hear you over in the cheap seats!"

"Y… You're Nicky," Shane rasped, his voice filled with dread. "I'm so stupid. I should've realized it before." He looked up at Necrozma. "Dude, I can't… I… what happened to you?"

"… Nicky's dead," Necrozma replied coldly. "You made sure of that."

A stabbing pain gripped Shane's chest. "N… Nicky…"

"That name is meaningless! Nicky died centuries ago! I am Necrozma… Devourer of Light!"

Necrozma turned to his right and launched a red and black beam toward Tapu Bulu. The Land Spirit floated out of the attack's path. He raised an arm up and giant, ethereal vines shot out of the floor, looking to skewer Necrozma. Shane remained standing there, dumbstruck, as Necrozma used bursts of psychic energy to turn each of the vines aside and shatter them. Tessa, meanwhile, ran away from the scene as fast as she could.

"Nicky, you have to stop this! I… I'm sorry!" Shane begged. "I didn't know how you were feeling, I swear. I never realized the bullies had gotten to you so badly. I–"

"Of course you didn't know! Because you only care about yourself!" Necrozma roared. He pulled his right wing back. Three dark orbs resembling tiny meteors crackled into existence against his wing's membrane. Necrozma pointed toward Tapu Bulu. Two of the meteors streamed toward him, leaving trails of dark smoke. The remaining one went toward Espeon and Umbreon, forcing them to flee to the opposite corner of the room.

Shane's jaw dropped in shock. "Th… that's… just like... Drac–"

"Heeheeheehee! If I'm going to be stuck as a bat… I may as well make the most of it, right?" Necrozma said, a big grin on his face. In front of him, two pronged horns made of green energy formed in front of Tapu Bulu. He raced toward Necrozma, skewering his dark meteors and hurtling them into a wall, where they exploded.

Zero took advantage of the ongoing struggle. She pointed her free paw at Tessa and clenched it into a fist. A red circle surrounded Tessa, distorting the space it occupied. Tessa looked around and her aura feelers rose in alarm as she realized something was terribly wrong. Silvally noticed what Zero was doing. "Hey, you leave her alone!" he shouted, launching a Flamethrower toward her.

"This doesn't concern you, mutt," Zero growled. She pivoted and the red dome that had encircled Tessa went with her. Silvally's Flamethrower sailed inside the dome. Zero brought her fist to her chest and the dome collapsed, snuffing out the flames. But Silvally charged toward Zero, claws brimming with golden energy. He swung a foreleg at Zero, but she parried the blow with her staff.

Silvally's superior weight nearly left Zero open to a second strike from his other foreleg. But she raised her free arm up and absorbed some of the strike with the black claws protruding from her paw. The collision made her stumble backward. Silvally immediately readied another Flamethrower. "You're making a huge mistake," Zero hissed. "Though, if you're really molded after the Legendaries, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you're this willing to protect them."

"This is about protecting everyone! I'm not going to let you ruin the world!" Silvally cried and breathed out another Flamethrower. Zero pointed her free paw forward, unleashing a gray stream of liquid metal. The attacks met in midair and stalemate, resulting in an intense burst of heat pushing Zero and Silvally back.

"I'm not ruining the world. I'm the one who's going to fix it!" Zero barked, her eye sparking with blue fire. Tessa noticed the blue glint in Zero's eye and tensed up, bending over and clasping her paws to her chest. "Fix it so that there will be no more heinous crimes. And no more humans dragged here against their wills!" Zero pointed toward Tapu Bulu with her scepter, who was busy parrying more dark meteors from Necrozma with his energy vines. "Look at that. All Tapu Bulu cares about is himself. He's fighting for his own survival."

"That's not true! He gave Shane Z-Power which can put a stop to your awful schemes!" Silvally spat. A current ran over his fur and electricity jumped off his head crest, streaming toward Zero. She tapped her staff to the ground and a wall of black cubes formed in front of her. It absorbed the Thunderbolt, turning red in the process. The wall collapsed and hastily reformed to Zero's left. When it did, it launched the Thunderbolt in Tessa's direction. She yelped and fell to her belly, dodging the attack by a hair.

"It was a half-baked gesture he did on a whim to suit his own fancy. These Tapus are all fickle-minded cretins," Zero spat. "One of them is happy to give some worthless Vulpix a Naturia Looplet. But when I went to Tapu Fini, begging for an audience with Ho-Oh to restore a life that was unjustly snuffed out in its prime, you know what I got told? To shove off!"

Zero raised her glowing paw skyward. Giant red cubes formed in the air over Silvally and fell to the ground. Silvally sprinted over toward Tessa, dodging the avalanche of cubes as they struck the floor, sending out shockwaves of dark energy. He couldn't move fast enough, however. The last cube hammered him into the ground, leaving him writhing in pain in a crater.

"Tapu Fini told me that I was 'impure.' She called my soul tainted and told me she'd never grant such a ridiculous request," Zero continued. "What right did she have to judge me? I had come to her with noble intentions and was turned aside like a piece of filthy trash!"

Tessa dropped to her knees, staring at the floor in disbelief. 'Zero… the way she's shouting…' Tessa glanced up at Zero and her aura feelers scrunched up painfully. "That's Mom," she whispered. "There's nobody else it can be. Mom's totally lost it." Tessa looked over her shoulder, watching Shane stagger backwards from Necrozma. "Necrozma… he did something to her! He had to have!"

"Nicky!" Shane cried out again, making Tessa jump. "You don't have to do this, anymore. I'm here! I understand now! We can just forget about all of this!"

"Forget? There is no forgetting!" Necrozma shouted. He thrust his wings apart and another blue and black Moongeist Beam gathered around his chest. He launched the attack at Tapu Bulu, who barely managed to dodge. Shane looked at the wall the attack struck, noting a huge cluster of black crystals in its place.

Necrozma whirled on Shane. "While I was trapped in the Ultra Nexus, I had a very, very long time to think about everything that happened to me," he said, banging his arms against his wings. "About how laughably one-sided our friendship had become." He pointed an accusatory arm at Shane. "And it all falls back on you."

Tapu Bulu struck the ground with his free arm. A shockwave rippled toward Necrozma, but he teleported higher into the air, dodging it. Luckily for Shane, it fizzled out before it could strike him or Tessa. "I… I wasn't doing anything wrong!" Shane squeaked. "Maybe things weren't perfect, but I never realized how badly you felt."

"LIAR!" Necrozma roared. "You knew exactly how bad things were. You just didn't care. Because you're a self-serving, manipulative jerk!" He turned back toward Tapu Bulu and launched three Shadow Balls at him, driving him back. One of the Shadow Balls clearly missed its mark, but Necrozma struck it with a psychic pulse, pushing it into the far corner in an attempt to strike Espeon. Umbreon jumped in front and blew the attack apart with a Dark Pulse.

"But we had fun together. You never told me there was something wrong between us," Shane said, voice growing more unsteady.

"I couldn't do that! Because you, being a conniving wretch, knew exactly all the buttons you needed to push to guilt trip!" Necrozma accused, eyes flashing with anger. "No matter what kind of situation I was in – even ones that didn't involve you – you could twist the issue around to make it about you!"

Tessa turned to Shane, her head tilting. "That's not true!" Shane fired back, voice filled with uncertainty. "I was… I was confused and scared because you were upset and wouldn't tell me why."

"Don't give me that crap. The truth is that you were– no, are masterful at playing the victim card!" Necrozma thundered. "In your eyes, you can do no wrong. Everything bad happens to you, but never because of you." Necrozma shook his head. He turned around, using a blast of psychic energy to repel Tapu Bulu and shatter his Horn Leech prongs. "I had stuck by you because we had shared interests… things that no one else in our class liked. But by the time I chose to end it, you were browbeating me into sticking by your side… always making me feel guilty enough to think I was at fault when the problem was really you!"

Shane was backed up against the wall now, heart hammering in his chest. "I…" he started but couldn't figure out anything else to say. "I've changed. Even if that stuff was true, it's not anymore."

Necrozma whirled around, slamming a fist into the wall above Shane. Debris rained down on Shane's head. His tails shot between his legs. "Yes, it is!" Necrozma bellowed. "Because you've done the exact same things to Tessa, your so-called 'new best friend.'" He fixed his gaze on Tessa, who jolted stiff. "You dug into her so badly you made her want to kill herself... just like me." Necrozma's head lolled to the side. "But don't worry. I'm going to fix that. Once I have my real body back, I'll make you into the perfect friend. And we will destroy this worthless world and every miserable creature living in it!"

Before Shane had the opportunity to respond, a blinding flash of light erupted across the room. Necrozma screeched, throwing his arms up over his face. Zero likewise staggered backwards, rubbing her eyes. "Necky, what are you doing?" she shouted.

"That wasn't me, mistress!" Necrozma hissed.

"Well, get rid of the light! I can't see a damn thing!" Zero barked.

Necrozma's red eyes flashed a red crescent moon appeared on his forehead. He sucked all the white light in the room toward him. Only, with the light dispelled, he immediately realized something was wrong. "What the–?"

"U-Umbry, what are you doing?!"

Necrozma and Zero looked up. Umbreon stood in the center of the room. His head was bowed in resignation and stardust coated his black fur. Far behind him, Team Radiance, Espeon, Braviary, and Tapu Bulu sat in the corner of the room, the latter clutching the Dusk Hourglass tightly. In front of them sat an activated Entercard. It spun in place, opening up a shimmering blue portal that started to swallow the group up.

"No! NOOOO! I'm not letting you escape again!" Necrozma snarled. But a Dark Pulse struck his wing before he could teleport. It folded up against his body, sending him crashing into the floor.

"Umbry, get over here!" Espeon shouted. "We're not leaving without you!"

Zero sprinted toward the corner, using a burst of Extreme Speed to try and close the gap. However, Umbreon blocked her path. Zero ran right into him, knocking him backward. Umbreon got to his feet and looked back at Espeon. "I'm sorry, Espy. This was the only thing I could think of."

"No, Umbry! I'm not leaving you here!" Espeon cried, tears welling up in her eyes. "Hurry! There's still time! You can still make it! You can't leave me alone! You said we're a team!"

"It's too late for me, Espy," Umbreon said, firing a black beam from his mouth to force Zero away from the portal.

"UMBRY!"

"I love you, Espy. Take care."

The Entercard portal vanished in a pillar of light, just as Necrozma teleported over it. He flew directly into the corner of the room and bounced off the wall, clutching at his head in pain. "You ingrate!" Zero snarled. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"Yes. I've kept the Dawn Hourglass away from you," Umbreon replied, glaring defiantly at her.

Zero raised her staff, dark energy crackling around it. "Well then, I think it's only fair I take something from you in retribution."

She didn't get the chance to attack him, however. A cloud of shadows engulfed Umbreon, drawing a frightened howl. The clouds materialized into Necrozma. He floated in the air, one hand firmly gripped around Umbreon's throat and the other pressing down on his forehead, cutting off his means of channeling energy for an attack.

"Do you think what you did is noble?" Necrozma hissed in a whisper. "This is no heroic sacrifice. I see your futile gesture for what it really is: a spineless, feeble whelp who's turning his back on his sister… on his mate!"

Zero stiffened and Umbreon's eyes widened. Necrozma squeezed Umbreon's neck, drawing out a garbled gasp. "Oh, please. There's no need for the looks. It was obvious... not that it matters. Egg-making is nothing like how humans have kids. There's no DNA and no worries. But I digress." Necrozma pulled Umbreon close, so their foreheads were touching. He locked eyes with Umbreon. "You abandoned her… because you couldn't stand to be around her anymore."

Necrozma held Umbreon away from him. "It's just as I've come to expect from you all. You don't care about each other. You'd rather face my fury than spend another second with your precious Espy."

"That's… not… tr… ue…" Umbreon wheezed.

"Lying fool!" Necrozma hissed. "If you don't have the spine to admit your treachery, then you can disappear like every other soulless mortal!" He leaned over again. The crescent moon on his forehead disappeared, only to be replaced by a red eye that looked right at Umbreon, who cried out in pain.

"Wh… at… are… you?"

Zero tilted her head curiously, watching as tiny fragments of Necrozma's crystal armor fell to the floor. Rainbow light radiated out from his torso, forming a peculiar pattern against the wall: a winged heart, with two demonic horns sprouting out from the top like a crown and a piercing eye in the center.

"Heeheeheehee! I thought the Expedition Society would've made it clear to the world, but it seems I was wrong. I'll need to spell it out for you, then," Necrozma said. "As long as there's a single ounce of negativity in the world…"

Necrozma tightened his grip on Umbreon's neck. Umbreon gasped and tried to paw at Necrozma's arms to no avail.

"… there will always be a Dark Matter," Necrozma whispered. He dug his claws into Umbreon's neck. Tears welled up in Umbreon's eyes.

"I wanted to help people… and then, after being brought here, I was willing to help Pokémon, too. But when the time came for them to return that favor, they ignored me! I hoped things would be different here than in the human world, but I was wrong! No matter what world you're in, you'll find nothing but a toxic cesspool of negativity!" Necrozma ranted as he slowly siphoned Umbreon's life energy.

"They brought me here to protect this world. But it cannot be saved! The only way to protect it is to burn it all down. So, I will fulfill Dark Matter's vision! I will regain my light and erase this world, leaving nothing but chaos behind!"

Necrozma snapped Umbreon's neck. The last of Umbreon's light trickled into Necrozma's mouth and his head slumped against his shoulder. Necrozma tossed his colorless body to the ground. "Shall we get going, mistress?" He turned around, only to find Zero wasn't standing there. The door to the temple had been forcefully opened and Necrozma's locks lay shattered along the ground.

"Oh? Well now… this should be interesting," Necrozma whispered, disappearing into the shadows.

"She's gone."

Shane blinked in confusion, his gaze fixed on a tearful Lunala. "Wh… what do you mean? Who's gone?"

"Cresselia!" Lunala blurted out. "She passed away last night."

"Oh. Uh… that's… I'm sorry to hear that," Shane whispered, except his voice was much deeper than usual. "I know you two were close."

"Of course we were close! We were best friends!" Lunala sobbed. "She was one of the few Pokémon who was active at night. But she didn't even tell me she was ready to pass on! No goodbye… not even a letter!" She threw a wing up over her face. "And now she's gone… forever!"

"I mean, that's not technically true," Shane muttered.

"We both know her daughter doesn't give a lick about either of us," Lunala said, rubbing her eyes with her wing. "She cares about Darkrai… and only Darkrai."

Shane shook out his unusually heavy, metallic body. "Yeah… the less said about that guy, the better." He stepped toward Lunala. "I'm sorry for your loss." He saw her shiver. "Listen, you want to talk about it?"

"With you? Please. You weren't close with Cresselia like I was," Lunala dismissed, giving him a shove.

"Maybe not, but I am close to you," Shane said. "If you're hurting, then I want to help."

Lunala pulled her wing away from her face. "Do you really mean that? Or are you just saying that to make yourself look better?"

Shane winced. "I…" He paused. "We're partners, Lunala. We stand by each other, no matter what," he whispered. "Whatever you want to say… say it. And if you'd rather sit in silence, we can do that too."

Lunala sighed. She pulled Shane into an embrace and rested her head on his shoulder. "Just give me a minute," she said.

"Of course."

~Aeon Observatory~

Shane's body jerked forward. He looked to his right and spotted the Dusk Hourglass sitting next to him. A fine black mist evaporated off of the artifact, some of which brushed his fur. He took a few hesitant steps back. Suddenly, his ears twitched and folded against his head.

"UMBRYYYYYYYY!"

He turned around to find Espeon sprawled out of the ground. Tears poured out of her glowing eyes, while pink vapors streamed out of the broken gem on her forehead. She thrashed about from underneath Silvally. The chimera had his dark-type form active, absorbing the energy Espeon tried to channel.

"LEMME GO! I HAVE TO GO BACK! UMBRY! UMBRYYYYYYYYYY!" she wailed, turning to try and bite Silvally's foreleg. He quickly moved it back, out of range of her snout.

"You can't do that, Espeon," Silvally said. "You'd just be walking right into certain death."

"I don't care!" Espeon screamed. Silvally squawked loudly, hind legs tensing. He looked back to see Espeon brushing her tail against the base of his. She tried to seize on his momentary discomfort and slide out from under him. But Silvally dug his talons into the ground, and she went nowhere. "Get off of me!" she hissed. "I need to go back for him! I can't lose him too! Not after today… not after I've lost everything else!"

"Espeon, you need to be reasonable," Tessa pleaded. "I know this is bad, but trying to go back to the temple isn't going to bring Umbreon back."

"DON'T SAY THAT!" she shouted. A Shadow Ball raced toward a wide-eyed Tessa, only for pink energy to detonate it prematurely.

"Espeon, what are you doing? You have to calm down," Silvally begged. "I know this is bad… but… but we can work through this… together."

"SHUT UP!" she screeched, again trying unsuccessfully to escape Silvally. "You don't understand. Umbry was all I had left. And now he's… he's gone too! How he could do this? We said we'd always be there for each other! But now he's gone and I'm alone and…"

Espeon burst into tears, burying her face in the ground. Shane stepped away from his teammates, biting his lower lip. He thought back to his overnight conversation with Umbreon.

I've tried to do the best I can to support her. It's tough sometimes.

'Wait…' Shane's brow furrowed. He looked back up at Espeon, who shuddered as Tessa rubbed one of her shoulders.

She's unbearable! And, after all that stuff with Zero, it's just too much for me to handle. I'm afraid of what the future holds for her. I can't keep her grounded anymore. I'm exhausted. And I really don't know what to do.

'No,' Shane thought. 'He couldn't have done this on purpose, could he?' His gaze fell back toward the ground. He squeezed his eyes shut. 'But, did he really need to sacrifice himself like that? Oh god… oh god!' He shook his head rapidly. 'No, please don't tell me I let it happen again. I can't have let someone just throw their life away again!'

His chest tightened. 'Nicky… how did this all get so out of control? That couldn't… you were like a completely different person!'

I see you've returned with the Dusk Hourglass… and Tapu Bulu.

Shane's fur crawled. Before he had the chance to turn and look to his right, Silvally sprang off of Espeon. He channeled his dark memories and sheathed his forelegs in black shadows.

CLANG!

Silvally's shadowy talons met Metagross' foreleg. The chimera bounced back, black shadows streaming out of his eyes. A shockwave of dark energy raced forward, leaving Metagross with no means of countering. The Guildmaster's legs buckled, black bolts crackling across his body.

Wh… what is the meaning of this?

A weak cough drew Metagross' attention. Braviary stood propping himself up against a wall. "Guildmaster…" He shuddered. "No… Mets… what have you done?"

Metagross stepped back toward his office, and then lunged for Silvally, his forelegs glowing bright orange. Silvally jumped upward, dodging the Hammer Arms and landed on top of Metagross. He bit down on Metagross' head with his blackened beak. Shadows raced across the Guildmaster's vibrating body.

Get off of me. This behavior is unacceptable!

"No, it ain't!" Braviary cawed. "You sent us out to that desert to get slaughtered!" He pointed his good wing at Metagross.

Negative. I sent you all in anticipation of a Prism Virus attack.

"Liar!" Silvally snarled. He raised his shadow-covered talons to strike, but Metagross knocked Silvally off of his head. Metagross then kicked Silvally in the stomach with his hind legs. Silvally rocketed back into the office door, bouncing off of it with a sickening crack.

"We heard everything… you done turned traitor on us! You told the Prism Virus everything!" Braviary accused. "We lost almost everyone. Look at what happened to me!" He tried to raise his crystallized wing to no avail. "I'm ruined! I'm never gonna fly again! And it's all yer fault!"

Multicolored glows overtook Metagross' eyes. You have no right to stand there accusing me! You were trying to kill me first! You… and Incineroar… and that wretched human-turned-Lucario…

"Wait, what?" Tessa gasped, looking like she'd been punched in the gut.

… you all had it in for me. All of you wanted me dead! Incineroar left me to flounder while Dark Matter wreaked havoc. Only sheer dumb luck prevented my death, but I know that you all kept scheming, Metagross continued stomping toward Braviary, whose eyes had gone wide. Silvally let loose a Flamethrower, but Metagross spun around and pushed the flames back with a blast of psychic energy.

"How could ya ever think that, Mets? I've been yer best pal for ages! We were teammates! We–"

CLANG!

Braviary's head hit the wall and rebounded off it. His beak opened and closed a few times but no words came out. Trembling, he placed his good wing against his head and then let go. He glanced at the blood staining his feathers. His eyes then rolled back into his head and he slumped down onto his side, drool trickling out of his mouth.

"It was you…"

Metagross turned around, locking eyes with Tessa. She pointed right at him with a shaky paw. "Gallian was right. You killed Dad."

Of course I did! He tried to have me killed. Just like you all! You all want me to disappear, but I refuse. I deserve to live! I will not disappear! Metagross said. Necrozma was supposed to destroy you all. Then I could forge a path toward a new life... in a new reality. Away from all of you and your minds. Your obnoxious minds! No more intrusive thoughts! No more intrusive people! And no more threats to my existence!

"You're totally delirious!" Silvally spat. "Nobody's been trying to kill you at all!"

LIES! Metagross shouted, slamming a foreleg on the ground. It was Incineroar who got the ball rolling. Ever since he evolved, I knew he had it out for me. Everyone has it out for me! He took a step toward the Dusk Hourglass. I will be taking this. If you dare to oppose me, then I will strike you do–

Silvally sprinted across the room as fast as he had ever run. Dark energy erupted around his forelegs. He slashed the center of Metagross' face, shattering the metal cross and exposing the gray plating underneath. Metagross stepped backward, eyes flashing a multitude of different colors and screaming in a voice that constantly shifted its pitch.

That will be quite sufficientary, criminal.

A pink gas washed across Metagross' body. His eyes turned black and he collapsed onto his belly, not moving a muscle. Silvally looked up to see Magearna standing by the hallway leading toward her workshop, an arm pointed at Metagross.

"What did you do to him?" Silvally asked.

I applicated a sleeping agent, Magearna declared. This should hold him until Officer Magnezone gets here. Then he'll be out of our lives for good. She held up her other arm and a grappling hook shot out of it. It wrapped tightly around Metagross. Magearna started walking toward the stairs.

"Do you, uh, want any help with that?" Silvally asked.

I'm alright, Magearna replied. Right now, you all need to focus on recovering. I think you've been through quite the ordeal.

Team Radiance watched her disappear up the stairs, dragging Metagross' limp body behind her. Tessa's shoulders, ears, and aura feelers drooped. "This is… unbelievable," she whispered. "What are we supposed to do now?" Thoughts of Zero's angry comments filled her mind. 'Mom is Zero. How can I possibly fight the Prism Virus knowing that? Did she know about Metagross and Dad? Is that what really led her to leave me behind?'

Silvally looked between Tessa and Shane, who was similarly lost in thought. "G… guys? Are you, um, doing okay?"

Neither of them responded. They both continued to stare at the floor. "Umbry," Espeon suddenly sniffled, drawing everyone's attentions. "Why did you have to go? You'd know just what to do right now." She rubbed her face against the floor.

"This… I…" Shane stammered, immediately looking back down at his feet. 'Everything's spiraling out of control. I can't deal with this! I want out. I've had enough. If Nicky's the one behind all of this, then I can't go forward anymore. The Prism Virus can have this world… just send me home!' he thought, shuffling backward. In the process, his right hind food brushed against the Dusk Hourglass. It wobbled from the contact. At the same time, some of the purple mist swirling around it raced up Shane's leg.

His fur stood on end and his tails shot into the air. A tingle raced up toward his head. Shane's jaw fell open and a weak gasp of air escaped. The assembly room melted away around him, replaced by the vast expanse of outer space. Stars twinkled around him and, in the distance, a bright yellow fireball hovered there. Solar flares raced around it, making Shane's eyes sparkle.

Shane looked about in a panic, only for a loud roar to echo in his mind. A burning, lion-shaped silhouette charged out from the fireball, drawing closer and closer to Shane with each step. He tried to move, but his limbs failed him. All he could do was squeak in fright as the flaming lion charged into him. The instant he did, Shane snapped back to reality. His pupils dilated and he doubled over in a coughing fit.

"Shane," Tessa gasped, looking concerned. "Are you okay? You look like you're about to puke."

Shane opened his mouth, trying to say something. But instead of words, he gave a single, violent cough. With that cough came a large, bright-red fireball. It flew across the room, grazing an unsuspecting Espeon's tail before hitting the far wall and burning a hole in the purple tapestry.

Silvally turned to look at Shane. "Did… did you just breath fire?"

Shane's legs trembled. He took a few shaky steps forward. "I… I don't…" His voice trailed off while his eyes darted about the room in confusion. He looked over at Tessa, but she seemed just as confused as she did.

"You… you stupid… stupid loser!"

Shane jumped from Espeon's angry shout. He looked over to see her staring at the blackened end of her tail. She turned and locked eyes with him. "This is all your fault!" she accused, stepping toward him. Her eyes turned blue and her irises vanished. "You did this to us! You're the reason Necrozma's here! You're the reason the Prism Virus is terrorizing all of us!" Tears poured out of her eyes. "It's all on your head! If you had just given up, then everyone in Pokémon Paradise would still be alive! Umbry would still be alive!"

"Espeon, wait. I'm sorry," Shane said. "I swear, I could never have known Nicky would end up here! Everything's just–"

"I hate you!" she shrieked, smacking a forepaw on the ground. "You ruined my life! I want you gone! You hear me? GONE!"

Pink energy leaked out of Espeon's cracked gem. More splinters appeared in it as Espeon levitated Shane into the air. Shane flailed his limbs about in vain before Espeon tossed him down the southern hallway.

Craaaaaaash!

Before Silvally could try to subdue her, Espeon turned and sprinted off toward the housing wing, sobbing uncontrollably. Silvally and Tessa stood in stunned silence. They traded looks with each other, but neither of them could find their voice. The silence persisted, until they heard a groan coming from Shane's direction.

"We should go help him," Tessa muttered. Silvally stepped in her path, blocking off the southern hallway.

"What about Espeon?" he asked. "We shouldn't just leave her alone while she's…" His brow furrowed. "… like that."

"Then you deal with her," Tessa said. "I'm not going anywhere near her until she's simmered down."

Silvally blinked. "But…"

"Look, things are… everyone's in a bad place right now," Tessa said. Her mind was filled with thoughts of her mother, but she forced herself to push them aside. "Shane's our teammate. We should tend to him first," she insisted. Tessa moved to shove Silvally out of the way, but he stood firm.

"Tessa," he whispered. "Think about what's happened to Espeon today. I'm not saying it was okay for her to attack Shane like that. But… I think she has a right to feel that awful. Don't you?"

Tessa again thought about Zero. But then thoughts of Gallian popped up in her mind. She tucked her head against her chest and fidgeted with her paws. "I… I guess."

"I don't think there's anyone here who has a better idea of what she's going through than you do," Silvally said. "Which is why you should go talk to her."

"But what about Shane? I should–"

"I'll go help him," Silvally said. Tessa's fidgeting intensified. Silvally crouched down and leaned in toward her face. "Please," he whispered, gently bopping her snout with his beak. "She needs a friend right now."

'And so do I,' Tessa thought.

Silvally frowned. "Is there something wrong?"

Tessa stiffened. "It's just… I'm not Espeon's friend," she whispered meekly.

"Then, as cheesy as it sounds, just give her a shoulder to cry on," Silvally said. "I'm not the right Pokémon to help her. You are. I'm just asking you to trust me on this one."

Tessa sighed and nodded slowly. "Okay," she said. "And you're sure you can tend to Shane?"

Silvally nodded. "You have my word."

The two exchanged silent looks, before slowly turning and departing down different hallways. Tessa knew she would have to confront the truth about Zero, since those thoughts were racing through her head.

'But maybe, if I can calm Espeon down, I can start to feel better, too.'

Remember how Espeon almost died? That was a deliberate fake-out... because Umbreon was going to bite the big one instead. Again, I need to stress I really like Gates to Infinity. But I also like Super. And, just like in that game, everyone's dying. It's just happening a lot earlier into the story. I did say Episode 10 would shake up the status quo. I'll answer some guest reviews before I go and hide from all the angry Umbreon fans.

Veralix: I trust you're happy that Shane's finally caught on to things?

Anon Omega: Necrozma has different themes depending on what form he's in. As Dawn Wings Necrozma, his theme is "The Smokehouse" from Edgar Wright's film, The World's End. I think it suits an Ultra Beast rather well.

Commenter: I tend to write a thousand words a day. It's only about a 35-40 minute process, so I'll either do it before work or during lunch. I actually keep a buffer of chapters going. So, as I'm posting this, I just finished drafting Chapter 59. I'll then go back and revise 59 in about 10 weeks to post it up here.

SuperOmegaGuest: Yes, this is the first chapter fic I've ever written.

Unnamed Guest: Uh, I do not speak Russian. But, if Google Translate is to be believed, Благодаря!

That's all for now. Next time: the healing process begins.