Disappointed the Mystery Dungeon in this week's Direct was Chocobos and not Pokémon? Did the Necrozma Arc in the anime leave you feeling empty inside? No worries, because Guiding Light's got you covered! It's astounding to think we're closing in on five hundred comments before we hit one year of the story being up on FFN. I may just have an autumn-themed bonus in the works as a celebration. But enough of that, onto the chapter!
Chapter 65: A Matter Most Dark
~Ultra Village Recon Base, Third Floor~
The return Ultra Warp Ride proved uneventful for Teams Paradox and Foxtrot. Once they touched down, Seraph leaped off S0L30 and attempted to grab the crystal despite it being much larger than her. A stern set of orders from Tori made her stop, however. Tori instead assigned Sticky and Luxeira to use a motorized platform to bring the crystal down to the medical bay on the third floor with Team Foxtrot in tow. She then dragged Seraph off to fill out the required paperwork, much to the latter's outrage.
Sticky and Luxeira sat in the medical wing's waiting area. Despite the bright white color scheme of the entire base, the metal floors and walls were somehow even whiter. It was likely a result of the extremely powerful LED lights used reflecting off the pristine glass tables positioned between white chairs of different shapes and sizes. Sticky constantly leaned over to rub his eyes with his hands.
"I don't see how anyone could work in these conditions," he said. "There's bright… and then there's uncomfortably bright."
Luxeira kept her gaze fixed on the double doors across the room. Medical staff had escorted Team Foxtrot and the crystal through the doors without giving her an explanation about what they'd be doing. Thirty minutes had passed since their arrival and no one had emerged from the doors to give any sort of update.
"Um, Luxeira? You… uh… didn't respond to my comment," Sticky said, laughing nervously.
"Quiet, Sticky," Luxeira growled, eyes locked on the red light above the double doors.
"I was just trying to strike up some idle chatter," Sticky said, tail drooping. "This is all rather boring. I didn't thing there'd be this much processing between individual assignments, that's all."
"This is an unusual circumstance, from the look of it," Luxeira said stoically. "Besides, with your track record so far, you'd find a way to knock all our paperwork into a shredder and ruin it."
Sticky winced and turned away from Luxeira, poking his arms together. "I didn't bungle up this mission," he whispered dejectedly.
Luxeira ignored him and continued staring at the door. 'What if Seraph was actually right? What if we need to be worried about what's inside that crystal?' She gnashed her teeth together. 'Tch! Listen to yourself, Luxeira. You were hoping to see that skank bomb this mission and get told off for it. You don't really think she's right.'
"You seem like you have something on your mind," Sticky said, leaning his head over so it fell in Luxeira's line of sight. "I'm happy to talk about it, if you want."
"I'm fine," Luxeira huffed, pointing her snout up.
Sticky slumped back in his chair. "You know… you say you don't hate UBs, but your behavior indicates otherwise. Were you involved in some sort of altercation in the past?"
"I'm not talking about this," Luxeira said, slapping a forepaw on the arm of her chair. "And if you know what's good for you, you'll keep your mouth shut."
"I'm trying to be flexible, you know," Sticky said. "If you keep all this stuff bottled up, I can't imagine you'll go on to be very popular here. You could even end up like Lieutena–"
Luxeira turned to Sticky, her visor disappearing in a flicker of static so she could stare him down. "You want to know what my problem is?" she said. "The UBs in my old school liked to pick on me… a lot. They called me 'Luxeira the Egghead.' And for what? Because I sat on the sidelines reading books during phys-ed... and I preferred to spend my days in the library, getting lost in a good book. Well, I don't think it's fair."
She huffed out embers and watched them fizzle out as they drifted toward the ceiling. "Us Pokémon were here first. You UBs came later. We're all different… but because you cretins are so much stronger, you think you can push around an innocent pup," Luxeira said, her tone bitter.
"Oh," Sticky whispered, fidgeting. "Look, I'm sorry you had to go through that. But don't you think you're projecting just a smidge? You're complaining about bullies… but what about the way you're treating me?" He floated up in front of Luxeira. "One bad incident shouldn't sour your perception of all of–"
Luxeira turned her visor back on. "I'm not talking about his anymore," she said.
"I just want to help… that's why I'm here," Sticky said.
"I don't need your help," Luxeira said. "My life is great. I've got a wonderful mate, a nice house, and a job that I'm mostly excited about." She cast an annoyed look at Sticky as she enunciated "mostly," sending him shrinking back into his chair. "As I said, this conversation is over."
Luxeira hopped off her seat and was about to walk away when the red light above the door switched to green. A white Blissey in a pink jumpsuit walked through the doorway. Team Foxtrot then proceeded out behind her in a single-file line. "I finished my workups," the Blissey announced. "These four are all set to return home."
"Told you there was nothing wrong with us," Cole scoffed. "Otherwise, we wouldn't have made it through an Ultra Warp Ride in one piece."
"C'mon, Cole, be nice to the nurse. She's just doing her part," Sherbet said. She turned to the Blissey and bowed her thanks.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Who do we have to talk to about paging our Solgaleo to go back home?" Cole said.
"Hang on a second," Luxeira cut in, walking over to Vixen. "What happened to the crystal you guys found?"
"Beats me," Vixen said, shrugging. "Your medics carted the thing off to a separate wing."
"Actually, I overheard one of the medics say something interesting," Flint said, tail wagging excitedly. "He mentioned a 'lightless black' and I got curious, so I ran the term through our search engine. Tell me… you guys ever hear of the Radiant One?"
Luxeira frowned. "Can't say that I have."
Vixen whirled on Flint, a look of surprise on her face. "And just when were you going to mention your find to your captain, huh?"
"Aha ha… sorry, cap! It kind of slipped my mind while I was getting checked out," Flint said. Vixen fell over in disbelief. "Anyway, it seems like the Radiant One is a codename for some kind of super-rare Ultra Beast. Or, rather, one of several codenames. 'Lightless Black' was linked with it… but there's also 'Blinding One.' Apparently, the folks in Ultra Megalopolis itself came up with that one!"
"Ultra Megalopolis? Get out!" Cole gasped, ears sticking up. "Just how important is this Lightless Black thingy anyway?"
"It must be pretty critical… because all the files I tried to pull up require high-level security clearances," Flint said, chuckling nervously.
None of Team Foxtrot noticed the worried look on Luxeira's face. 'Classified files? Seraph may actually be right here. I've got to ring up Captain Tori on the double!' She pressed a forepaw to her helmet. "Captain, can you hear me? It's Luxeira.''
"Oh, funny timing there, cadet. Seraph and I are heading down to the medical wing," Seraph replied through the helmet's radio. "How is Team Foxtrot doing?"
"They cleared their physicals and they're in the waiting room with me," Luxeira said.
"Great! You can tell them their Solgaleo is on the rooftop," Tori said.
"No need. I heard it for myself," Vixen said. "You really ought to turn the volume down on that thing. C'mon, team. It's back to base for us!"
"Wait!" Sticky shouted, floating up from his seat. "You're not supposed to run around the base unsuper–"
Team Foxtrot sprinted out of the medical wing, leaving Sticky floating there, a defeated look on his face.
"–vised. Never mind… forget I said anything."
The doors to the medical wing slid open and Seraph marched through them, sleeves rolled up and an unamused look on her face. "Way to let those fuzballs run off on you, newbie," Seraph said. "You're just lucky Captain Tori was there to escort them away."
"Save the lecture for another time," Luxeira growled, stomping a forepaw on the ground. "We've got a problem, here."
Seraph's eyes narrowed. "What kind of problem?"
"Team Foxtrot overheard some of the medical staff talking about that crystal they found. From the sound of things, I think we may have stumbled across a weakened Lightless Black," Luxeira said.
In the span of a second, Seraph was up in Luxeira face, cupping her paw around the Houndoom's snout. "Is this your idea of a joke, newbie? Because I'm not laughing," she spat.
"I don't understand. What's the problem?" Sticky asked.
"The problem is that you Ultra Village bumpkins don't know what a Lightless Black is or what it's capable of," Seraph growled. "Hell, all I've heard are stories, myself. There are only, like, a handful of them in all of Ultra Space. And if the rumors are to be believed, Lightless Blacks are under constant surveillance by Ultra Recon Squads."
Seraph released Luxeira's snout. Luxeira rubbed it, an annoyed look on her face. "And this is an issue because…?"
"Because, if you're right, it means one of two things," Seraph said, holding up her paw with two outstretched digits. "One… that a Lightless Black was critically wounded without any of us knowing. Two… that we've stumbled on an unregistered Lightless Black. Either way means the biggest shitstorm imaginable is about to blow into town."
Seraph tugged at her left whisker. "I'm talking the most important brass from the most important URS branches all congregating in this base. And then there'll be hearings… and meetings… and new policies drafted… and so much red tape put up it's gonna suffocate us!" She kicked at the nearby garbage bin. "No wonder those Team Foxtrot nobodies got the hell out of dodge."
"But isn't this discovery exactly what Ultra Village needs to put us on the map?" Sticky said. "That all sounds like it could attract a lot of attention to us. If we get the credit… we could be famous!"
Luxeira swatted Sticky away with a foreleg. "Seriously? That's what you're gravitating toward? How about the fact that we found that poor thing in a coma… in some sort of empty void? That raises a lot of alarming questions, don't you think?"
"Which is exactly why I want definitive proof that we found a Lightless Black and not just some freaky-deaky crystal," Seraph said. "Stand aside, I'm going into the medical bay." She marched toward the door, rolling up the sleeves of her jumpsuit, when the door slid open. The Blissey nurse was back, holding a clipboard in her hands.
"Oh… Lieutenant Seraph. You're not due for a check-up."
"I'm not hear about a damn check-up," Seraph said, jabbing a claw into the nurse's clipboard. "I'm here about that crystal you were delivered. I need to see it… stat."
The Blissey frowned. "I'm sorry, but we're still running tests on–"
"Did it sound like I was asking you? That was an order, damn it. Now, stand aside," Seraph barked.
"Last I heard, you'd been put on probation," the Blissey nurse said, her expression souring. "You have no right to order any of us around."
The blue tuft of fur on Seraph's forehead glowed with electricity. "Stand aside right now, or I'm gonna–"
"Gyyyyyaaaaaaaaaaah!"
A huge fireball spilled out from a hallway behind the nurse. She turned around, dropping her clipboard in shock as the charred, bloody remnants of a Sawk slid down from the blackened wall. Seraph's eyes widened. "Outta the way, outta the way!" she shouted, shoving the nurse into the door.
Luxeira stood in the middle of the room, heart pounding in her chest. 'Oh no… something's gone wrong! What am I supposed to do? I wasn't trained for this! I–'
"Newbie!" Seraph thundered, standing in the middle of the scorched part of the hallway. "Don't just stand there, gawking. This is a Code Red! Sound the alarms! Start evacuation procedures! We have to get everyone to safety right this sec–"
Another explosion wracked the medical wing, taking out a portion of the ceiling in front of Seraph. A glass table fell through the hole, shattering on impact. Plaster and debris piled up in the middle of the ruined hallway. Seraph tried to look up through the destroyed ceiling but couldn't make anything out through all the smoke.
"Like hell I'm letting you get away," Seraph said. She crouched low and lunged forward. Her body turned into an electric current, racing forward, pinging off the rubble pile, and shooting up to the next floor. Luxeira and the nurse ran out the main door. After a moment of indecision, Sticky floated after Seraph, keeping his distance.
He found Seraph on the next floor, shaking soot off her face. She placed a paw against the side of her see-through helmet.
"This is Lieutenant Seraph of the com– surveillance unit, Team Paradox," Seraph said, speaking into her helmet's communicator. "I'm requesting immediate assistance. We have a Code Red! Repeat: Code Red! An injured Ultra Beast has blown up the medical wing and is trying to run rampant through the base. We think it might be an unregistered Lightless Black. I need Commander Magnum and the captains down here, ASAP!"
Static came out of her helmet's speakers. "Are you kidding me? Communication lines are down now?!" she shouted. Seraph looked around and, despite all the smoke and frayed wires, determined she was in some sort of large supply closet, with the broken remnants of shelves on the walls and powdered cleaning solvents spilled out on the floor.
"Show yourself, Lightless Black!" she yelled, raising up her paws. The black streaks of fur on her arms glowed blue as lightning gathered in her claws.
The room suddenly darkened. Seraph looked over her shoulder to see a ball of dark-purple energy forming between two racks of supplies. "Take this!" she cried, firing streams of electricity from her paws.
"gYaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAgH!"
A heavily-distorted cry of pain forced Seraph to her knees and nearly made Sticky fall to the ground. Seraph shut her eyes, gritted her teeth, and squeezed her helmet in a vain attempt to make the shouts stop. While she was incapacitated, the energy ball flew up into the ceiling. Next thing Seraph knew, the room was rumbling. More shelves toppled over, flinging boxes onto her. One of the shelves knocked Sticky against the wall, keeping him hidden from Seraph, who was preoccupied vaporizing cases of detergent with her lightning.
Seraph looked up, where cracks splintered through the ceiling. "Damn it… no!" she said. Seraph jumped into the air, turning into a lightning stream and shooting toward the hole that the mysterious creature had made. She reformed to catch her breath, then launched herself upward just as the rest of the ceiling crumbled.
Seraph emerged from her lightning-dash, digging her claws into the wall to brace herself. She looked to her right and found the smoldering remains of a metal door. 'You've gotta be kidding me! Those things are supposed to be resistant to our attacks. What kind of UB could do something like this, huh?'
Just as Sticky succeeded in floating out of the rubble, Seraph lightning-dashed from her spot on the wall into the hallway, where she found the black crystal slowly moving forward, hovering inches off the ground. It dragged its two metallic arms along the floor, making loud scraping noises that had Seraph's ears reflexively curling up inside her helmet. Sticky saw the crystal and opted to hang back inside the destroyed room, glancing out into the hall.
"Hey, you!" Seraph shouted. "Hold it!"
The crystal immediately stopped. "… jUh?"
"Yeah, you heard me!" Seraph said, punching her balled-up paws together. Electricity surged down her arms. "You just ran amuck in our base. I'm not about to let that stand, Lightless Black!"
"… nECrOZma… lIgHtLeSS?" the crystal muttered, swaying back and forth. "… wHeRe iS mY lIgHt?"
Seraph smirked confidently. "Oh, I've got light for you, buddy. Right here!" She lightning-dashed forward, popped up in front of the crystal, and punched its right arm. The limb shot off Necrozma's body and rolled across the floor, where it came to a stop in front of a bewildered turquoise Sceptile.
"W… what's going on here?!" the Sceptile gasped. Before Seraph could respond, Necrozma's arm shot into the air, socked the Sceptile in the jaw, and knocked him into the ceiling. He was out cold before he could hit the floor.
Seraph didn't bother yelling at Necrozma. She sheathed her arms in electricity, ready to pummel Necrozma from point-blank range. Instead, Necrozma hovered up until his head plinked against the ceiling. Seraph pointed her arms up, shooting two electric beams at him. They struck what appeared to be his chest. But rather than damaging him, the multicolored lights hidden underneath his black exterior glowed brighter.
"… yOu hAvE… lIgHt," Necrozma muttered. His dislodged arm shot back into the empty socket on its body. "… yOu wIlL gIvE iT… tO mE…"
"It just… absorbed my attack?" Seraph whispered, lowering her arms and ceasing the flow of electricity. "Just… what are you, huh? We helped you… and now you're blowing up our base? Give me one good reason I shouldn't blast you into pieces!"
"… hElP… mE?" Necrozma said, resuming his swaying missions.
Seraph crouched low to the ground, black shadows swirling around her arms. Necrozma jerked violently to his right, flinging his arms to the left. Two spheres of swirling purple energy shot toward Seraph. She pounced, snuffing out the energy balls with her pitch-black fists.
"nOoOoOoOoOoO!" Necrozma shouted, drifting backwards and aimlessly flailing his arms about. He swiped upward with his right arm and two more purple spheres shot toward Seraph, who lightning-dashed out of the way. "yOu wOn'T hElP mE. nObOdY wIlL."
'Come on! What is taking so long to get some help down here? Did the elevator system go completely offline with the communicators?'Seraph wondered. 'Guess it's just going to fall to me, then.' She hopped off the ground, somersaulting in midair to kick off the glass wall. Her scarf-like tail hardened into iron. But just as she was ready to club Necrozma in his chest, a quartet of white, thread-like needles speared her back.
Seraph went off course and crashed into the ground, hissing in pain. She reached a paw back, expecting to yank the needles out, but they had mysteriously vanished into thin air. Seraph whirled back around, expecting another attack to be flying her way. Instead, Necrozma drifted clumsily down the hallway.
"Hey, get back here! I'm not finished with you!" Seraph said, preparing to lightning-dash once again.
"sIlEnCe!" Necrozma said. He thrust his left arm backwards, sending two more purple spheres drifting toward her. Growling, Seraph vaporized them with two well-aimed lightning bolts. "yOu… I cAn fEEl iT," Necrozma continued, slowly rotating until he was upside down. "hAtReD… iN tHe dEpTHs oF yOuR sOUl."
"You're damn right I've got something to hate… it's you!" Seraph said. "Now, get out of my sight! Focus Blast!" She raised a paw over her head. A bright red energy ball popped up and Seraph hurled it forward.
"… JuH?"
Necrozma floated to his left. Though he managed to skirt the attack's trajectory, he couldn't completely get out of the way. The energy ball detonated, taking out the glass wall.
"GyAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAaAeEaRgCh!"
A klaxon horn sounded off. Red emergency lights popped out of the floor and ceiling. Seraph rolled her eyes and ran forward, waving away smoke. 'Oh, sure. Now the alarm sounds. Because heaven forbid someone breaks the expensive glass.'
Upon reaching the spot where Necrozma had previously floated, she found a large hole in the metal wall on her right. Most of the smoke was funneling out from it. She tried to get rid of it with her arms.
"What the hell is going on down here, Seraph?"
A gust of chilled air blew away all the smoke in the area. Seraph looked to her left to find Anthus, Phygen, and Tori emerging from a doorway. Tori had a look of horror on her face. "It's not me!" Seraph said, gesturing to the hole in the wall. "It's that god damn crystal I told you to leave behind. The thing's alive! And I think it might be an unregistered Lightless–"
"NyYyYyYyYyYaAaAaAgH!"
The three captains raced through the hole in the wall, with Seraph hot on their heels. Sticky cautiously floated forward, rubbing his arms together nervously. His superiors had entered an empty cafeteria. Overturned metal tables lay strewn about on the floor, along with trays, paper napkins, and plastic cutlery. "What the heck was that awful screeching sound?" Anthus asked.
"Up there!" Phygen said, pointing his snout toward the ceiling. Necrozma floated overhead, flapping his arms about wildly. His forehead had partially shattered. Above his triangular core sat an eyeball with shadowy-black sclera and a sinister purple iris. The eye looked at the captains and flashed red.
"lIe… LiE… lIiIiIiIiIiIgGgGgGgGgGhHhHhHt!"
Necrozma swung his arms around from left to right, shaking them angrily. Three glowing circles appeared around him, each one bearing a sigil of a winged heart, with demonic horns and piercing eyes in their centers. Three bright flashes of light filled the room, sending Seraph stumbling back into the hall while Sticky floated away from the destroyed wall.
"What the heck?!" she growled, throwing an arm up over her eyes.
"Seraph! What seems to be the problem here?"
Commander Magnum strutted down the hallway, with an anxious Luxeira behind him. Three cries of pain immediately drew Seraph's attention back to the room. "No… the captains!" Seraph shouted, staring in horror as they struggled feebly inside Necrozma's alchemical circles.
"Seraph, what is the meaning of this? Why is there a Lightless Black floating in the middle of the room?" Magnum asked. "And… why does he look ultra-messed up?"
Necrozma screeched and raised his arms skyward. Heavy, black chains wrapped around each of the captains and shadowfire shrouded their motionless bodies, turning their fur pitch black. The eye in Necrozma's forehead focused directly on Seraph and pulsated dark red.
"de… DE… dEsTrOoOY!"
Necrozma pointed his right arm at Seraph. Anthus shot toward her like a bullet. Too stunned to properly react to the situation, Anthus hammered Seraph in the chest. Icy air engulfed her body, freezing her solid from head to toe and knocking her toward the edge of the hallway, where the glass wall had already been blown apart. Sticky and Luxeira both moved backward in opposite directions, silently praying Necrozma couldn't somehow see them through the wall.
Magnum darted to his left, stretching out an arm to keep Seraph from careening out of the base and plummeting to her death. Necrozma shouted loudly and, before Magnum could look up, his world ignited and flames spread across his body. Magnum stumbled around the hallway, with a comatose Phygen laying at his feet, still wrapped in heavy chains and doused in shadowfire.
Luckily, Phygen's flames thawed Seraph out. She looked up at Necrozma, who floated there, eyeball staring her down and Tori's body rotating helplessly around him like a moon going around a planet. Necrozma pointed his right arm forward and Tori's body flew toward Seraph. She lightning-dashed into the cafeteria to dodge. Tori struck the ground in the hallway, releasing stored up electricity that zapped Magnum and knocked him onto his back with a dazed look in his eyes.
Necrozma waved his arms back and forth, muttering garbled gibberish. "What the heck is wrong with this thing? Has it completely lost its mind?" Seraph said. Necrozma responded by putting both hands in front of him and yanking them backwards violently. Seraph heard movement behind her and looked over shoulder. Her expression blanched and she dropped to her belly. Seconds later, the three captains flew over her head. They settled back around Necrozma and resumed orbiting him.
"I will not let this injustice stand!" Magnum bellowed, staggering into the ruined cafeteria. "We must subdue it… ultra-quickly!" He raised his arms skyward and flexed. Red light sheathed his arms and Magnum charged down Necrozma, winding up to strike him.
"hYecH," Necrozma said, floating aimlessly to his left. Magnum's punch only succeeded in connecting with Anthus' chains. Ice encased Magnum's arm, freezing it solid and making it drop to the ground, dragging the rest of Magnum down along with it. "kYaShAcK!" Necrozma said. He raised his left arm and Phygen shot up toward it. Necrozma grabbed hold of Phygen with both hands and drifted forward.
"Grrr… take this, you monster!" Seraph shouted, lunging for him while dark energy raced down her paws. She succeeded in slipping past Tori and Anthus before they could levitate forward and block her path.
"HaAaGh!"
Necrozma swung Phygen's body like a furry, oversized club. He connected with Seraph's skull, shattering her helmet and sending her reeling across the ground. Luxeira gasped and jumped forward, bracing herself. Once Seraph collided with her, she barely managed to dig her paws in and bring their forward momentum a stop before they went sailing out of the building. Meanwhile, Necrozma turned around and swung Phygen wildly at Magnum. This time Magnum avoided Necrozma. Using his tiny wings, he went momentarily airborne, preventing Anthus from crashing into him.
Magnum shrouded himself in green energy and lunged at Necrozma. The green blur slipped past Tori and struck Necrozma in the side. Magnum shoved Necrozma as hard as he could, sending Necrozma floating backward, still tightly gripping Phygen's body. Though Necrozma faced Magnum, the eye had rotated back so Seraph and Luxeira were in its line of sight. It flashed violet, then Necrozma floated in their direction.
"Trying to run from the Mighty Magnum is an ultra-huge mistake, villain!" Magnum said, flexing his arms out while green energy encased his body again.
"Luxeira… Seraph… run! The Lightless Black's coming for you!" Sticky cried, waving his arms about frantically.
Seraph shakily lifted her head up, revealing the bloodstained fur around her face. Her eyes widened at the sight of the approaching Necrozma, with Magnum charging him down from behind. She grabbed Luxeira around her harness and dived to her left, taking the Houndoom with her. Seconds later, Magnum hit Necrozma from behind. But he didn't succeed in pushing Necrozma forward. Instead, Necrozma whirled around, beaning Magnum with Phygen.
Magnum hurtled back into the cafeteria, but Necrozma didn't let up. His eye flashed red. Necrozma hefted Phygen above his head and slammed him into the floor. Two streams of fire raced out on either side of Necrozma. Sticky turned and floated down the hall, shouting in terror. His teammates were less fortunate, however, as their half of the hallway quickly led to a dead end. Luxeira jumped toward the oncoming flames, wincing as they ran across her suit.
Seraph limped up to Luxeira, arms shaking and fur matted with blood. Luxeira expected to get chewed out for daring to come back and investigate what was wrong, but a quick glance into Seraph's eyes showed not her usual fiery demeanor, but one of pure terror. "Th… thanks for the save," Seraph whispered, her gaze fixed on the floor.
"What are we going to do about this guy?" Luxeira said. "I can't battle to save my life!"
Seraph grimaced. "You've got supplies, right? I could use a pick-me-up…"
"Gotcha," Luxeira said.
"GyRgHuIlK," Necrozma blabbered. He yanked his arms up and Phygen shot back toward him. Necrozma retreated into the cafeteria, the captains orbiting around him even faster.
"C'mon, newbie!" Seraph growled, grabbing her left shoulder in pain and, much to Luxeira's shock, eyes darting about the room in desperation.
'If she's this shaken up about all this, then what chance do we realistically have?' Luxeira thought. The medical kid dropped out of her harness. Seraph threw it open and grabbed the corked syringe inside it. She jabbed it against her thigh, briefly wincing in pain, and pressed the plunger. In an instant, the fatigue drained from her eyes and her wounds stopped bleeding.
"What should we do?" Luxeira asked.
"Go get the cue ball… and make sure he didn't ink himself or whatever it is Poipoles do when they get scared," Seraph said. "I'm going to make this thing wish it was never born." She crouched onto all fours and darted into the cafeteria.
Luxeira scrambled down the hallway, fur standing on end as static electricity rushed out from the wrecked cafeteria. 'I started the evac procedures… because that's the standard policy,' she thought, searching the halls for any signs of Sticky.
"Get down, Seraph! He's about to throw Tori at you!" Magnum's voice carried from the cafeteria, eliciting a wince from Luxeira.
'But now I wish I'd been more like Seraph and not listened! We need reinforcements,' she continued, her frown deepening. She tried her helmet's communicator, but static greeted her. Luxeira located Sticky, curled up in a tiny ball in front of a locked doorway. "Come on, Sticky," she said. "You can't just stay crouched down there. We've got to offer support for our superiors."
"Th… there's… I… nothing," Sticky said, clicking on his visor to hide his terrified expression.
"We have supplies," Luxeira said. "C'mon. You've got to get up. We…" She stopped and took a breath, trying to steady her trembling voice. "The people of Ultra Village need us."
Sticky poked his head up. "R… right…"
Pained screams drew their attentions back toward the cafeteria. Luxeira sprinted forward, Sticky trailing behind her. But she screeched to a halt when Magnum's limp body struck the ground in front of her. Luxeira reared up on her hind legs, barking in surprise.
"Oh no," Sticky said. "The Commander… is he dead?"
"No!" Seraph hollered, ducking underneath Necrozma's attempts to strike her using Anthus as a club.
"hOiGhT fSsShK!" Necrozma snarled. He released his grip on Anthus. His eye flashed bright orange and looked straight up at the ceiling. Necrozma pointed his arms down at the ground. Four orange circles formed in the floor, each bearing the same winged heart rune Seraph had seen earlier. The circles bubbled and the floor underneath them fizzled.
Seraph's nose twitched. "Is… is that metal burning?" She looked down. "Holy shit… that's lava! He's summoning lava!" She looked up to see Phygen hovering over Necrozma, glowing brightly and spinning rapidly.
"KzZaAbB sYuUoH!" Necrozma screamed, hoisting his arms up toward the ceiling. The four circles erupted into columns of lava. Seraph backpedaled out of the room with a yelp, shoving Magnum through the busted wall in the process. Luxeira and Sticky looked at the lava, their jaws dropping in terror. Above Necrozma, the ceiling melted. Molten metal dripped onto the ground around Necrozma, burning holes through the floor.
"Gimme another med pack!" Seraph shouted, drawing Luxeira's attention. She stumbled over to Seraph, stealing glances back at Necrozma, who had succeeded in burning a hole in the ceiling large enough for him to fit through.
"G… guys? He's doing something else!" Sticky said.
"Then fire an attack at him!" Seraph barked, yanking another syringe out of the new med pack and jabbing it into Magnum's abdomen.
"B… but I… uh…" Sticky stared down Necrozma, who paid him little mind and instead clasped his hands together. Tori hovered over Necrozma and spun in place, lightning crackling around her.
"fRaCkLe!" Necrozma yelled. He thrust his hands toward the ground. A massive lightning bolt descended from above, complete with the sounds of metal shattering. The lightning contacted the floor, releasing a shockwave in all directions.
"Get up! Move!" Sticky shouted. Seraph looked over her shoulder at the oncoming shockwave and jumped at it. She punched the ground with both fists. Pillars of plasma shot up, safely diverting the shockwaves. The plasma raced forward and struck Necrozma. But he didn't so much as flinch from the attack. Instead, the eyeball simply rotated around wildly, before coming to a stop and flashing blue.
"Thanks for the Helping Hand, Seraph… aha ha ha!" Magnum said, his normally thunderous laugh lacking its usual punch. "Let's rush this guy in tandem. He's not ultra-bright, so I doubt he can focus on both of us at once."
Necrozma swayed back and forth, raising his arms up again. This time Anthus hovered over him. Five blue circles appeared in the air around the cafeteria, all containing a winged heart. Necrozma brought his hands to his sides and the circles erupted into tornadoes of frozen air.
"Agggggh!" Seraph howled, halting her charge. She threw her arms up to keep slush and ice from battering her face.
Magnum jumped in front of her and spread his arms out wide.
"Go! Attack him now!" Magnum said. Seraph zipped forward, lightning-dashing through the frigid winds.
Necrozma was in the process of floating up to the next floor with the limp captains in tow. His eye looked down and spotted Seraph shooting up toward him. Necrozma raised his left arm and Anthus shot toward Seraph. She was prepared this time, however, and changed course. Seraph lightning-dashed onto the wall and rebounded off it. She rematerialized, fists turning pitch black.
"Now I've got you! Suck on this Throat Chop!" Seraph roared. She swung her fists around, hammering Necrozma in what appeared to constitute his face. Black crystal shards broke off his body, dropping to the ground along with the three captains. Necrozma hovered away from Seraph, flailing his arms about and hissing angrily.
Seraph landed safely on the ground. "C'mon, guys! We've got to free the captains quickly before–"
"UwAvPsQoP gYaRnNGH!" Necrozma hollered. The unpleasant sounds of scraping metal echoed through the cafeteria, making Seraph's eyes water. Through her blurry vision she could see the crystalline parts of Necrozma's body moving around, briefly exposing his triangular core. Necrozma pointed his hands down and made a yanking gesture. The three captains flew back toward him, offering no resistance.
"Aww, come on!" Seraph hissed. She readied herself to attack Necrozma, only to notice him contorting into a grotesque, crystalline sphere. The captains then surrounded Necrozma from all sides, forming a ball of swirling ice, fire, and electricity. "What the heck?" Seraph gasped.
The ball landed on the ground, forcing Seraph back to dodge a fireball racing toward her. She rifled off a burst of plasma from her paw, but it struck Tori's chains and deflected into a wall. The giant ball revved up and then raced forward, looking to flatten Seraph.
"vRrRrOoOoOoOoOoOm!"
"Out of the way!" Luxeira shouted, tackling Seraph to the ground just in time to avoid Necrozma's ball. It didn't stop, however. Its momentum carried it to the edge of the room, where it proceeded up the wall and disappeared through the hole in the ceiling.
"Wh… where is it going?" Sticky said, floating up toward the wrecked ceiling. "Ah! It's already up on the seventh floor and it's revving up again!"
Seraph's eyes widened and she leaped to her feet. "No! This is worse than bad! That monster's heading for the Ultra Village Core!"
"No way, that thing's supposed to be highly protected, isn't it?" Luxeira said.
Seraph lunged at the wall, digging her claws in to get a look up through the hole. "Commander, we've got to stop this thing! If it gets to the core… it could destroy it!"
"Not to worry. The core is ultra-fortified," Magnum said.
"But he can spew lava, Commander!" Seraph said. "The core's in a heap of trouble!"
"What happens if the core gets destroyed?" Luxeira asked.
"It could set off an ultra-devastating chain reaction that could atomize this entire city!" Magnum said. He stomped off after Seraph, who shot up through the whole in the ceiling. "Come, Lucina! There isn't a moment to lose!"
Luxeira raced toward Magnum, not even bothering to correct him. He scooped her up in his massive arms and leaped upward, easily reaching the next floor. Sticky floated at the head of the group, stealing glances back down at them to monitor their progress. "He's broken through to the eighth floor!" Sticky shouted.
Seraph lightning-dashed up through the next hole in the ceiling, with Magnum soaring up behind her. She banked off a wall and continued sailing upward, while Magnum had to stop so he could reangle himself and jump again. Seraph managed to catch up to Sticky, who floated a fair distance away from Necrozma's rolling ball.
"C'mon, you dunce! You have to slow it down! Attack it!" Seraph growled, rematerializing in the middle of a conference room and leaning against the table to catch her breath.
"I… I'm trying," Sticky said. He pointed his head at the spinning ball and shot a tiny ball of orange acid toward it. It harmlessly plinked off the ball, bouncing back in Seraph's direction. Her eyes widened and she rolled to her right, watching as the glass table she was resting on dissolved in the acid.
"Seriously, dude?!" she groaned. Having caught her breath, Seraph lightning-dashed upward.
"I'm not much of a fighter," Sticky said, following her. Necrozma burst through yet another ceiling with Seraph and Sticky hot on his tail. They had arrived in a room bathed in red light from warning signs stationed throughout it. Various computer terminals lay dotted around the room, with four of them surrounding a gray cylinder in the center. Heavy steel plates hid whatever was inside the cylinder.
"pReOaWrRRrrRRrr!" Necrozma growled, spinning his ball around faster and faster in midair. The ball broke apart, with Necrozma shooting the captains at Seraph and Sticky. Seraph sprinted forward. Phygen grazed her backside, burning off her ponytail and leaving behind a tiny yellow stump between her shoulder blades.
Tori collided with Sticky, slamming him back into one of the computer screens on the wall and destroying it. Lightning raced across the wall from Tori getting lodged in it like she was an oversized tack. Likewise, Anthus and Phygen were stuck into the floor like pegs, venting wind and fire, respectively.
Seraph lunged for Necrozma, who floated in midair in a daze. She pushed a red energy ball right into Necrozma's exposed eye. The resulting blast sent Necrozma reeling. His spinning form collided with one of the central computer consoles, destroying it along with the metal pipe extending out of it. White gas began filling up the room.
Danger! Core ventilation system compromised, a mechanized voice declared. System functioning at seventy-five percent. Diagnostic recommended.
Magnum finally made it up into the room, dropping Luxeira to the ground. She dashed over toward Sticky but had to tread carefully due to the static Tori gave off. Necrozma floated back into the air and raised his arms up. Magnum halted his charge in order to dodge the incoming captains as they floated back to Necrozma.
"LuWeK," Necrozma whispered, thrusting his arms out to the side while his cracked head rotated around in a circle. The captains smushed up against one another, forming a circular wall that Necrozma ducked behind. The wall floated toward Magnum, brimming with ice, fire, and plasma. Magnum retreated, while Seraph charged around it, trying to find an opening.
"pOiGhT!" Necrozma shouted, popping up from inside the wall and waving his right arm. Three purple, meteor-like energy balls shot toward Seraph. She raised her paws up and blasted them apart with her lightning. But before she could attack Necrozma, he ducked inside the wall again. Her lightning plinked off Tori's chains, instead striking one of computer terminals lying on the wall and blowing it apart.
Core paneling deactivated.
Seraph and Magnum both froze. They turned their horrified gazes on the center of the room, where the shielding was retracting into the ceiling. "Crud! The core's completely exposed! We have to shut it down, now!" Seraph said.
"pEeKaAbOooOOo!" Necrozma yelled, poking his head and arm out to toss three more energy balls. Magnum flew into their path and sliced them cleanly in half with a glowing arm. He tried to smack Necrozma as well, but Necrozma ducked back into the wall and Magnum instead punched Tori. Electricity surged through his arm. He dropped to the ground, frantically massaging his injured arm with his good one.
"Lucina! Head to the terminal over there," Magnum said, pointing weakly toward a lone red console in the corner. "It's the emergency lockdown system. Turn it on and enter one-three–"
"Duck and cover!" Seraph said, blasting two plasma streams toward Necrozma, who had popped up from the wall, gathering purple energy over his head. Her attack was fast enough to strike him right in the eye, which spun about wildly. Necrozma nonetheless hurtled his large meteor forward.
"Someone stop it! It's heading for the emergency lockdown terminal!" Luxeira cried. She opened her mouth wide, but only coughed up a single fireball which fizzled out before reaching Necrozma's attack. Seraph zipped across the room, sliding in front of the terminal and spinning around to shoot lightning bolts at the meteor. Seraph's jaw slackened as her attacks failed to destroy it.
Plasma gathered in her paws and she lunged for the meteor. She swung her arms at it, only for the meteor to suddenly explode, tearing Seraph's jumpsuit to smithereens and jettisoning her right into the computer terminal she was trying so desperately to protect. A yellow and blue explosion erupted around the terminal.
"Seraph!" Luxeira gasped, breaking into a clumsy run toward the other side of the room. Magnum, on the other hand, immediately leaped into action. Green energy shrouded his body and he charged Necrozma down as fast as he could possibly manage. Necrozma ducked behind his wall again, but Magnum didn't slow down. He collided with the wall at top speeds, forcing the captains apart and sending them crashing to the ground while Necrozma reeled back through the air.
"NyArGhAiIgGhHt!"
A heavy thud echoed through the room. Seraph poked her weary, bloodied head up. "N… no," she whispered. "The core… it…"
Luxeira froze and turned around. Behind her, Necrozma lay amongst the remains of another computer terminal. A broken pipe vented cooler fluid into the room. About a foot above him sat a large crack in the glass containing the core's raw light energy.
Alert! Alert! Reactor system compromised. Unable to engage emergency shutdown.
Inside the fragmenting glass, the core's light spiraled about wildly. The room started shaking. Computer monitors fell from their hinges, with one striking Sticky right in the back of head and knocking him out. Luxeira tried to heft Seraph back to her feet but stumbled and fell to her side. "No… this can't be happening!" Luxeira cried, eyes darting about the room. "We have to shut that thing off! We–"
Necrozma hovered into the air, sputtering about as he moved. The eye in his forehead rotated around, staring into the core of light. "lIgHt… LeIgHt?" he grunted. "WaNt… tAkE…" Necrozma spun around and struck the core with both of his arms, digging his claws into the glass and splintering it further.
"No… stop! You mustn't touch that!" Magnum shouted, lunging at Necrozma. But a massive swarm of golden light erupted around Necrozma, blasting Magnum into the ceiling. Rather than bouncing off it, Magnum's large frame broke through the metal grates, leaving a large hole. The hole slowly expanded, until a S0L30 unit tumbled down from the roof, slamming into the floor in front of a dazed Luxeira.
She finally managed to stagger back to her feet, only to freeze in terror at the sight of Necrozma. His arms had penetrated the glass and his own core was flashing brightly with each surge of light rushing down his body. "I fEeL iT… pOWeR rEtURning… thOughts becoming… clearer!" A surge of light repaired the damage to his head, hiding the eye underneath a fresh layer of black crystal.
"Yes… yes! I… am… Necrozma!"
"N… newbie," Seraph croaked, reaching a bloody paw up and tugging at Luxeira's jumpsuit. "W… we… have to… go…" She pointed shakily at the S0L30 unit lying in front of them. "The core… it's gonna blow…"
Danger! Danger! Reactor levels critical! Manual shutdown required!
Necrozma backed away from the core, his black arms still pulsating with light. "What's going on here?" he said, his voice much deeper and more coherent. Necrozma looked around the room. "Wait… the Ultra Nexus… it's gone?" He raised his hands up and looked at the core. "I… I'm free? I'm finally free?!" Necrozma dug his arms into the core once again and resumed siphoning its light. "I must get my light back! I want my power back… now!"
A surge of golden light shot out from the core. It soared over Luxeira's head and blew a large hole in the wall. She scrambled toward the other end of the room, grabbed Sticky in her jaws, and sprinted toward the S0L30 unit. Seraph was leaning against it, frantically typing commands into the system.
Luxeira howled in fright as more tendrils of light shot out of the core, blasting more holes in the wall. Necrozma withdrew his arms. "What's going on here? Where is that infernal racket coming from?!" he said.
Danger! Danger! Reactor levels critical! Manual shutdown requ–
It all happened in the blink of an eye. Seraph hammered S0L30's ignition, opening an Ultra Wormhole underneath the massive machine. Luxeira lunged for it, landing on its back just as it disappeared into the Ultra Wormhole. At the same time, they heard a massive explosion, followed by a loud cry of pain.
Luxeira looked back at the closing wormhole. She saw the remnants of the room she was in vaporizing before her very eyes. Seconds later, a solar flare shot through the Ultra Wormhole. The bright light died away, revealing Necrozma's limp body flying toward them like a black, flaming comet.
"Seraph! Steer us left! Left!" Luxeira shouted, grabbing Seraph by the shoulders and jerking her to the left.
Seraph wasn't fast enough on the uptake, however. Necrozma careened into S0L30's backside, destroying the machine in a large blast of napalm and scrap metal. The force of the blow sent Team Paradox and Necrozma hurtling through open Ultra Space. Thick purple crystals encased Team Paradox's unconscious bodies, leaving them completely unaware of their situation.
Alongside Necrozma, they fell into a nearby Ultra Wormhole. They spiraled through the portal, which shot them out into a mist-covered series of cliffs and waterfalls. There, they all careened toward the ground. The members of Team Paradox landed with a splash in a waterfall basin, while Necrozma hurtled toward a cliff, shedding off fragments of his crystalline body as he fell. Only his core was left when he struck the ground and created a giant, rainbow explosion punctuated by a single, bloodcurdling scream.
Lightless Black, Necrozma
So long was Necrozma's fractured spirit imprisoned in the Ultra Nexus that most of his life energy withered away. But his alchemically-forged body refused to crumble. The result is an empty, mindless husk that carves a path of wanton destruction, desperately seeking light to mend a broken soul. Unbeknownst to his foes, a terrifying dark power forms the foundations holding his core together.
I'm pretty sure the inspiration for this battle's obvious, so I can only offer half a Shane point if you know it. Better than nothing, of course. Also, assuming the change went through, this story finally has a nice little picture of its own that's not badly photoshopped concept art. A huge thanks to canisaries (aka wolframclaws) for the drawing. A "link" to her deviantArt is on my profile page. Onto replies!
SuperOmegaGuest: you're right. When I saw the USUM trailer with the Ultra Recon Squad, I thought to myself, 'Dang, I've got to make this the Ultra Space equivalent of Rescue Teams. It's too perfect!' And so Team Paradox came to be!
Anon Omega: that quote would be far more appropriate if they were flying through Ultra Space on a Lunala. You'll have to wait a while to see something like that happen.
Veralix: as I hope you could tell, things went a bit differently from what you predicted. Still hope it was satisfying and fun to read.
Another guest: I was going for Zoids vibes with S0L30, since Solgaleo looks so much like the Liger Zero, but I'll take it! Also, please be nice to Namo. He's a swell guy and his story's been fun to read so far.
That'll do it. Next time: fall-weather friends?