Pokémon Police Force Chapter 53: The Beginning of the End

I was operating as a policewoman at this point, but my mind wasn't on taking the Dune Bandits into custody. My mind was on Argyle. The entire trip back to town, he was clutching the left side of his face and groaning.

(Zygarde should be healing any injuries he takes. Unless… Zygarde is the one causing the pain.)

When we got to Treasure Town, Magnezone took most of the Dune Bandits to jail and Quagsire met some of his people and took Danté and Pyra the other way. Out of town. Once in town, Teams AWD and Razor Wind met us at the town gate.

"Once again, we miss the fight!" Said Zangoose.

"What's wrong with Argyle?" Asked Arbok.

"Not sure," said Diglett, "he's been like this the entire trip back."

Weavile began looking Argyle over.

"Wait, why is he white?" Asked Weavile.

"Once again, long story," said Keldeo.

"Where're those two kids at?" I asked.

"They're off to the Hidden Land with Grovyle," said Chatot, "I pray they'll be fine."

Suddenly, Argyle began screaming. A blood-curdling scream that would scare even the angriest Gyarados.

"ARGYLE!" Screamed Snow.

"Does anyone here know how to stop a rampaging Sneasel!?" Yelled Slowbro.

Drapion was quick on his feet. He held Argyle still with his pincers.

"Settle down! What has you on edge, boy?" Growled Drapion.

A blast of green energy blasted Drapion away. Now Argyle was howling in pain.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

Argyle kept spasming in pain as we all looked on dumbfounded. Eventually, the spasming subsided and he stood straight up.

"Argyle?"

"Argyle is no more. His body is my puppet."

"Zygarde? What is the meaning of this!?" Spat Sheriashuu.

"You are half-right. I am Zygarde, but not the one inside Argyle. I am controlling that piece of him."

"Give us Argyle back!" Shouted Chimecho.

"No. My entire purpose, the reason I was created, was to protect this planet. Once this world's time comes to an end, it will die."

Argyle turned away.

"I have no clues. Nothing to tell me who done this or how to stop it."

"Wolf, Dusk and Grovyle know how," said Dugtrio, "they're on their way to save the world."

"I won't work! There isn't enough time! I can't protect the planet."

Argyle turned around and faced us. He undid his mask and let it drop to the ground.

"If I can't protect the planet, I can still protect the Pokémon inhabiting the planet. By sparing you from a paralyzed planet."

We all took a step back. We knew what Zygarde was implying.

"I shall slaughter every man, woman and child. Argyle here will be my avatar of destruction."

(Argyle?)

"Argyle! Kill them all!"

A green hexagonal pattern began glowing all over his body. Other than that, nothing happened. Argyle just stood still.

"That's an order! Kill them!"

"No… I will… not…"

"What!?"

"I will not hurt… my… my friends!"

"What!? How!? How can a Core betray the hive!?"

"I am not you, not fully. You may give me my power, but you don't own me! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

The green pattern faded and Argyle collapsed to the ground, panting.

"Argyle!"

We all crowded around him and helped him back to his feet.

"What was that!?" Asked Chatot.

"Zygarde. It's going to kill everyone. Sees it as mercy."

"We have to stop it!" Said Wigglytuff.

Many, many beams of green light filled the air and began converging right on us.

"By golly!"

"It's too late. Zygarde's coming here."

The Zygarde cells converged into eight Doberman Pincher-like Pokémon with a dark brown body with green front paws, jaw and belly. There were a couple of green hexagonal patches on its chest and brow line. It lacked pupils or irises, instead had white hexagons in place of eyes.

"You all have the potential to become a particularly bothersome thorn in my side," said a Zygarde, "you all die first."

I pushed the other Pokémon away and approached the Zygardes.

"This town is protected by me," I said, "leave and I may show you mercy."

"I may not be able to kill you, but you will join us when you fall unconscious," said Zygarde.

"Emerald, Wigglytuff, everyone! Listen! Even as powerful as I am, I doubt I can last long against this many Zygardes. One or two, maybe. Three at most. I know this may sound selfish, but I would like to ask your assistance. One more time."

"Argyle, did you forget who you're talking to?" Asked Sal.

"Like we'd ever say no," said Emerald.

"Yeah, if this world is dying, it's our problem too!" Said Wigglytuff.

"Wigglytuff, everyone. You're right. Come on. Let's be heroes."

A column of green light encompassed Argyle. Those of us familiar with his transformations were unfazed by this, but the others, especially Wigglytuff's Guild, nearly fell over from the shock.

"Oh. My. Gosh. What's happening to Argyle!?" Said Sunflora.

I had expected Argyle to turn into his canine-like form in order to fight on even ground, but that isn't what happened. The form that appeared when the light faded was something unlike anything we've ever seen before.

First of all, Argyle was twice as big as before and nearly four times as muscular. He could give Machokes a run for their money. His nose and mouth had elongated into a snout complete with a set of long, razor-sharp teeth. Both of his now-hexagonal eyes were green and seemed to be bleeding a glowing green fluid. Finally, his arms and claws have grown to be disproportionately long and half of his body was glowing with the same green hexagonal pattern from before.

The charismatic Sneasel from before was gone and replaced by some horrific Sneasel-Machoke-Midnight Lycanroc hybrid. It struck me as simultaneously terrifying and oddly comforting.

[Argyle 20% Z activated]

"Argyle? Are you still… you?" Asked Snow.

Argyle gave us the creepiest toothy grin and charged the Zygardes. He grabbed one by the neck and plowed it into the ground.

"Well that gives us our answer," I said, "everyone! Time for some dogfighting!"

Our allies ran forward at my words, but those who were unfamiliar with this held back, dumbstruck.

"Chatot, please pick your beak off the floor," I said, "you look like an idiot."

With that, I charged forward and joined the fray.

I don't know what came over me. My previous personality was gone and replaced by a far more… brutal one. I had two Zygardes by the throat and a third one was biting my shoulder, drawing forth blood. The others were closing in.

"Secret Sword!"

Keldeo blasted in and cleaved one Zygarde completely in two. Regalia tore the Zygarde off my shoulder and flung it away.

"You okay, sweetheart?" Asked Regalia.

With all my strength, I used a Zygarde as a club and brained the other one with it. I then looked at my shoulder and watched the bleeding wound close up. Finally, I gave her my version of a thumbs-up and dove back into the battle.

"Yoom-tah!"

Wigglytuff took out a few more Zygardes on his own. Why was Chatot even there? Who knows? Now that everyone was here, the battle resumed anew. Out of everyone, Wigglytuff and I put up the best fight against them and Bidoof struggled the most. The others had their moments.

Snow, Keldeo and Team AWD moved like a well-oiled machine, playing off of each other like they knew what everyone was thinking. Team Razor Wind was the MVP of teamwork, Jessie and Slowbro were starting to show promise as teammates and Emerald and Sheriashuu were using skills that could only come from spending years together on the force.

Skarmory surprised me the most, saving my bacon on more than one occasion. He was assisted by Ivory riding on his back.

(Seriously!? Where did she come from!?)

As for me, it was Salandra, Regalia and I facing down three Zygardes.

"If we die here, let it go on record that my time with you guys has been the best years of my life," said Sal.

"Argyle, I am so glad you managed to convince a Salazzle to join your harem," said Regalia.

"What?" Said Sal in utter confusion.

Then, the most surprising thing ever happened. Four guided missiles plowed into the Zygarde facing me.

"What!?" Said Regalia.

"Silver!"

"Blue!"

"Brown!"

"Purple!"

Four Wartortles arrayed in the aforementioned colors posed in front of us.

"We're the ninjas of justice! The four fabulous Ninjatortle Brothers!"

"What?" Asked a bewildered Regalia.

"Oh great. Them," said Sal.

"You thought the author forgot about us, didn't you?" Asked Silver.

"Silver! Save the fourth wall vandalism for later!" Said Purple, "we've some dogs to put down!"

"Right!"

With the Ninjatortles' help, we eventually managed to subdue all eight of the Zygardes. The one that had been cut in half had long-since been reformed.

"Oh, come on!" Said Keldeo, "I cut that thing in half! That healing factor is seriously OP!"

I willed the Cells away from me, returning me to my original state.

"Hey, hey! I love this feeling of power," said Corphish.

"By golly, that was one heck of a fight! Yup, yup!" Said Bidoof.

"Argyle," said Ivory, "I think we all deserve an explanation here. What was with those guys!? And that transformation! Explain!"

"Before that," said Emerald, "didn't you tell us before that there're no less than ten Zygardes? We've got the eight here and the one inside you-"

"Wait a minute!" Said Miltank, "one of those… things is inside Argyle!?"

"That makes nine Zygardes," continued Emerald, ignoring Miltank, "where's the tenth Zygarde?"

One of the Zygardes stood up and spoke.

"You've done it now," said the Zygarde, "now I have no choice."

One of the other Zygardes disintegrated into the composite Cells and Cores.

"I'll have to get rid of all the life in one fell swoop."

Another Zygarde disintegrated.

"That requires all of my Cells."

That Zygarde disintegrated too. One by one, the Cells and Cores dispersed and flew away to some unknown location until only Argyle remained. We all looked in horror as green lights began leaving Argyle! His right arm was rapidly disappearing!

"NO! ARGYLE!" Screamed Snow.

Everyone who Argyle meant the most to ran to his side. Snow, Weavile, Jessie, Keldeo, Regalia and myself were trying to shield him. Argyle was looking at his arm in total shock.

"ZYGARDE! GET YOUR PAWS OFF ARGYLE!" Roared Weavile, "TAKE ME INSTEAD!"

The left side of his face began disappearing as well.

"Snow! Jessie! Everyone!" Said Argyle, "Apex Mountain! Get to Apex-!"

Argyle disappeared into the green light. All that remained of him was the Razor Claw he kept around his neck and the good luck charm Meloetta made him. The one he wore around his ankle.

"A-A-Argyle?" Said a teary-eyed Wigglytuff.

"Keldeo, we're on," said Sal.

"Right," replied Keldeo.

Keldeo and Sal got together and began tinkering with something.

"What just happened…?" Asked Chimecho.

I reached down and picked up the Razor Claw. It still radiated with Argyle's body heat.

"Don't worry about it," said Skarmory, "he's a thief! He's probably off to steal another priceless gem!"

"Shut up…," I said.

"What?" Said Skarmory.

"JUST SHUT UP!" I screeched.

I trudged up to him and stuck my finger in his beak.

"We're all about to die and that's what you care about!?"

I took the Razor Claw and shoved it in his face.

"Argyle risked his life to save yours on multiple occasions! He's been trying to turn his life around and I believe he can succeed! Don't you DARE disrespect him!"'

"Forgive Skarmory," said Ivory, "he has the brain of a Metal Coat. Could you maybe tell us what's going on here?"

"All we know is that it involves the fate of the world," said Martha.

"I'll explain," said Snow, "it's like this…"

Snow explained to everyone the story of Argyle. She never left anything out, drawing special attention to his link to Zygarde and every time he's saved our lives. I wasn't paying attention to half of it. The Razor Claw was clutched tightly in my paw, until, eventually I tied it around my own neck.

"So, you're telling me that Argyle is actually a living weapon meant to protect the planet?" Asked Miltank, "and now that same weapon is attempting to destroy the very thing its meant to protect? Isn't that kind of… counterproductive?"

"Look at this from Zygarde's perspective," said Wigglytuff, "it was made to do one job: protect the planet, and now it can't even do that. The next best thing would be to spare all of us from living in a time-forsaken world."

"So, it's feeling… desperate?" Asked Ivory.

"That's my take," replied Wigglytuff.

"So Zygarde's willing to live in a frozen world all alone if it means saving all of us?" Chimecho asked, "that's just sad."

"There's hope yet," I said, "the Losers are on their way to restore the flow of time and none of us have died yet, which means Argyle must still be out there fighting."

"We have no idea how long Argyle will last," said Jessie.

"We need a fast way there, now," said Slowbro, "Apex Mountain is a three week walk."

"And that's if we don't sleep," said Sheriashuu.

"By golly, we may not be alive that long," said Bidoof.

"Well then, time for us to shine," said Keldeo, "Sal, bring the Entercards!"

"Way ahead of you!"

"The what-?" Asked Chatot.

"Entercards. They're something that Sal and I have been working on in our spare time," said Keldeo.

Sal set down a wooden board with four squares gouged out of it. Three of the four squares have been filled with cards with either a sun or moon motif.

"I'll try to keep this simple," said Sal, "our planet is always emitting energy. That energy flows around the planet in currents we call Leylines. These Entercards allow us to manipulate the Leylines and create paths for us to travel great distances."

"In other words, these Entercards create what's known as a Magnagate," said Keldeo, "this is a portal to an artificial Mystery Dungeon. Using this, we can go to the other side of the planet in just an hour or two."

"What!?" Squawked Chatot, "you can teleport!?"

"You're half-right," said Keldeo.

"We've just got done figuring out the right combination of cards to get us to Apex Mountain," said Sal.

"Well, let's go," I said, "everyone. I know some of you may despise Argyle, maybe even hate him, but know that he's fighting too."

I began staring at the ground.

"We may die out there today, or we may not be able to get back home," I said, before looking up, "if that happens, I want each of you to protect as many Pokémon as you can. Destroy Zygarde if need be. Take up the reins and defend this world."

"I wouldn't worry," said Martha, "you will rescue Argyle. I have the utmost faith that you will."

One by one, everyone agreed with Martha until only Skarmory remained.

"Look. I'm still angry at Argyle for stealing from me, but I still don't want to see him die," said Skarmory, "bring him back here, so that I may discipline him myself!"

"If you're done, we'll summon the Magnagate now," said Keldeo.

Everyone stepped back and gave Keldeo and Sal room.

"Placing the last card, now," said Sal.

Sal placed the last card in the slot and a brilliant column of red light erupted from the board. Three magical circles appeared on the ground, centered around the beam of light. Finally, the light erupted once more and disappeared.

What remained was a glowing font of red energy with pieces of the circles below floating in the air round about. Everyone was floored by this wonder of energy.

"This is the Magnagate," said Sal, "we should hurry. It will only stay open for a few minutes."

Sal, Keldeo, Snow, Sheriashuu, Slowbro, Regalia, Jessie and myself all stepped into the Magnagate. However, before it disappeared, I turned my attention to Miltank.

"Miltank, over at Chansey's Day Care Argyle and I left an egg. Our baby girl," I said, "her name is Eclipse. If neither Argyle or I make it back, please look after her."

"You have my word. I will look after her as if she were my own," said Miltank, "and I'll be sure to tell her stories of her brave parents that died to protect her."

Weavile picked up Argyle's mask and his two bags and entered the Magnagate with us. Snow had already picked up Meloetta's charm.

"Mistress Weavile!" Shouted Drapion.

"I'm going to save my nephew. I will be back. I'm entrusting the town to you while I'm gone," said Weavile.

"You can count on us!" Said Arbok.

Weavile handed me Argyle's effects. I placed the mask in my tail, kept his Treasure Bag and gave the Cerebelomotion bag to Sal.

(Don't worry, Argyle. The world isn't going to be destroyed today. We're coming to save you and we'll greet our daughter's birth together.)