This took a detour from our original plan, but I hope it turned out ok.
And to the reviewer who wondered how the Necrozma thing will end up, I hope it's good enough for you, too.
There was an uncomfortable silence in the cave as three sets of confused footsteps echoed, another three attempting to stay quiet behind them. The Zubat swarms were silenced by a strong coat of Max Repel, and Diglett ducked for cover. This did nothing when they found that Diana was a terrible navigator.
"It's been a while," she told them when she could feel Phyco's disappointment.
"Try a sixth sense," he snapped, and she struggled not to turn around and rip into him with that one.
"You're even more alien than I am," she told him. "You use a sixth sense."
"I don't have..." Phyco looked to Soleira for help, but she ignored him, focusing only on the end goal.
Eli didn't speak. He knew that these aliens didn't have the same 'quirks' that he and Diana possessed. Even with Salazzle at home, he had a team of five, including a Ninetales and Incineroar that had won him so many battles, and Diana was a Champion. They had only, as Zossie had said, a Solgaleo and Poipole...not that he knew exactly what they were, but two Pokémon between the four of them further tipped the odds in his favor.
He wasn't sure if he could use a sixth sense. His abilities were much less practical than that. But if there was a reason that his paranoia had been trained since birth, perhaps he could use that instead.
His instincts were telling him to head right back to the exit. Phyco, Soleira, and Zossie were between him and the exit, and Dulse was too close to try to get past him. That plan was cut as soon as it started to form. So now he was thinking he was almost safe in the cave.
He headed up when Diana turned right. Seeing him gone, she ducked under Dulse's arm and followed, their odd companions following in reluctant amusement.
Diana caught up to Eli, Rotom floating beside her head. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"
"Going against every instinct I have," he answered, as if it was useful information. "Other than that, no, I don't have a clue."
"I thought so." She looked behind them, and he saw her annoyance at the sight of the group trailing them. "Do you think we can summon Tapu Koko?"
Eli stopped to think it over. "Maybe," he decided. "It does have this suspicion about our family."
Diana muffled a laugh, and even Rotom smiled a bit. Then, out of nowhere...
"Ko-ooo-ooo-ooh!"
The laughter stopped at once.
"That would be a yes," said Diana. "That's the exact sound it made when it woke me up tonight."
"And it's coming from out there," Eli continued. "That means I'm right." His smile did not contain the gloating that she'd expected. "Again. That's Lusamine is evil, Lillie's a jewel thief, and the alien theory."
Tapu Koko cried again. Deciding that there was no other option, the kids followed.
They were in the same area where Diana had captured her Lycanroc when he was still a tiny Rockruff, and Tapu Koko was there. Zossie immediately wanted to take pictures, but Diana stopped her.
"We have a mission," she pointed out. "Come back for it later."
She didn't know a chicken could look so disappointed. It would have been funny if she didn't hate the thing so much.
Luckily, Eli held only half of his cousin's hatred for the thing. "So," he said, as if he were facing a former friend for the first time after a betrayal, "where is it?"
Tapu Koko made a soft cooing sound. It didn't seem to want to show them when the others were right there.
Diana understood. "Scram," she ordered. "Leave this to us. If you smell smoke, you can come back."
Tapu Koko seemed to agree to that. The group retreated back into the cave, watching from the entrance. Knowing that this was as good as it was going to get, Tapu Koko slowly moved away.
It stopped in the middle of the meadow.
"What." It was all Diana could think of to say at the moment.
"It wants you to wake it up," Rotom explained. He didn't seem to believe what he was hearing, either. "It wants to..."
Tapu Koko said something else. Rotom grew even more concerned.
"It wants us to wake the thing," Rotom corrected himself. "Look, pal, I don't think you understand -"
"Leave it," Eli ordered. This was something he could do. Sure, he was paranoid. He'd felt something watching him the first time he came here, he thought he was descended from aliens, he was convinced that Lusamine was evil. But he'd been right about all of that.
He felt a maniacal cackle building, and waved Diana and Rotom back to the cave. "Stand back, guys. I'm going to Eli this place."
"It wanted us," Diana corrected. She looked over at Rotom, then Tapu Koko. "Which one of you wants to complete the Fire-Ice-Lightning trio? The other..." she took a deep breath. "The other can get Guzzlord from my bag and get us started on the train of destruction."
"We don't need to go that far." Tapu Koko said it like a command, not a request or even a warning.
Naturally, Rotom did not provide a translation.
Guzzlord, again, reacted negatively to Diana's presence. She would have been proud, if she wasn't so horrified at the sight of the other black monstrosity that had appeared when she and Eli had seen Guzzlord.
It didn't find itself in the middle of a fire, or facing a sharp blade like Lusabeast. The meadow was oddly normal - though Rotom had noticed Tapu Koko bring out Electric Terrain, which appeared to nullify any other effects. And it seemed that Guzzlord wasn't a fan of Fairies, either.
Good. Tapu Koko could keep it in line. Diana and Eli needed to focus on the other monster.
It was tall and apparently made of black crystal, with multicolored spots on its forehead that almost resembled Z-crystals. Diana prepared to send out Honchkrow to see how well Foul Play would work against it, when it suddenly spotted her Z-ring. Enraged, it lowered its head to charge.
"Robbie, interrupt it! Darkest Lariat!"
Eli was fast when he wanted to be.
The Incineroar stepped in, pushing the creature away from the Champion in a blur of attack. The monster stepped back, concerned and damaged more than anyone thought it would be.
Ghost or Psychic, Diana realized. Or maybe both, like Artemis.
"Do you really want to fight us?" she asked it, and it flinched away, shaking its head. "And do you really want to eat my bracelet?"
This it seemed to confirm. It took another step forward, and Robbie blocked its path. Diana stayed still.
"I have faced things more terrifying than a rock," she told it. "We're going to do this one way or another. Do you want to have a double battle with me and my cousin, or do you want to go with these people?"
She gestured behind her to show the aliens hovering around the cave entrance. The monster made a half-hum half-growl sound, apparently speech. Tapu Koko had to translate it for Rotom, who translated it for the kids.
"It says that it wants to take a third option."
"There is no third option," Eli said seriously. "You don't get to eat Diana's shiny things. You don't get to terrorize people. You don't get to eat their Solgaleo."
The monster looked up at that, seeming to recognize the name of the Pokémon. It turned to Diana one more time, looking from her Z-ring to the bag she kept a very well-cared-for Luxury Ball in.
"I think," Eli told it as Diana pulled the bag closer to her, "that Lunala can help you get back to your world. You've just got to promise that you won't eat anyone's Solgaleo anymore."
"She has a Lunala?" Phyco didn't expect that. Which was strange, since he was supposedly watching her YouTube with the rest of them.
Soleira thought it over. "Perhaps she can help us, then," she decided. "We did want to learn where Solgaleo came from, after all."
Zossie shushed them and went back to watching.
Eli held out a Pokeball. "Get in," he ordered, "or face another Darkest Lariat."
The monster leaned back, making another humming sound. "Is it surrendering?" Diana asked hopefully.
"No," Rotom said after Tapu Koko explained. "It's planning its escape."
As soon as he said it, the monster took to the sky, leaving them all behind. Diana, not impressed, tossed out a ball.
"Artemis! Fetch!"
Artemis shot up into the sky after the creature, but stopped midair as it swerved and headed towards her, instead. Thinking quickly, she ducked, the monster sailing over her head before chasing again.
Then a bright white creature, glowing in the dark of the early morning just like Artemis, slammed into it and knocked it off the path.
The monster stopped, apparently judging the pros and cons of facing two of these things at once. This let Rotom get a good shot of the white lion floating a good four feet off the ground.
"Solgaleo?" Diana asked as he took as many pictures as he could.
Phyco twirled his mustache. "As if I would let Lunala suffer," he told her.
Zossie laughed out loud. "This is Solgaleo! It's an evolution of Cosmog believed to be male."
"Those are some weird gender differences," said Diana.
Solgaleo and Artemis were switching between looking at their opponent and each other. Then, slowly, Solgaleo lifted his paw for a fist bump. Artemis screamed in joy and gave him what he wanted.
Eli laughed. "That's cute."
"Please don't tell me you ship it," said Diana.
"They're actually siblings," said Rotom. "Do not ship it."
"I don't ship everything!" Eli protested, but the monster growled something again. Tapu Koko listened intently.
"It's judging the odds of fighting Lunala, Solgaleo, and Incineroar."
"What's the verdict?" Rotom asked.
"It wants to fight the guy with the Poipole."
Rotom quickly passed that message along. Dulse stared up at the creature, weighing his own chances.
"Diana," he said, too calmly. "I believe you can cut this fight short."
"But it wants to fight you," she pointed out.
"I have a Poipole. On purpose."
"What's a Poipole?"
He tossed a ball. Inside was an adorable purple creature, who at first squealed in excitement at the new faces before realizing exactly what it was called out to do and hiding behind its trainer.
"I understand," Diana said at once. "I'll end this fight for you, but you have to promise me that you'll let me investigate these things with you. I am a scientist, after all."
Dulse looked down at her, and she could almost sense his reluctance. "So you're the one that the man in the beeping coat talked about."
"You know Colress?"
"Yes," he confirmed. "We hope he doesn't hurt us."
Diana laughed, and reached into her bag. "Have Poipole distract it. I've got this."
She pulled out the Master Ball that Gladion had given her a long time ago. Then, as the monster prepared for the attack, she tossed it from behind.
"The Blinding One," Soleira explained. "Also known as Necrozma. It was once a victim, now it seeks to make other worlds its victims."
"And it hasn't eaten in decades," Eli reminded her. "What do you want to do with this?"
"We're aliens," Zossie pointed out. "We're going to do the alien thing. Probe it, dissect it, all that fun stuff."
"It does sound like fun," Diana agreed happily. "When do we start?"
There was a moment of horrified silence. Then Soleira broke it. "I'm sorry...what?"
"When do we start?" Diana repeated. She waved the Master Ball around. "I caught it, so I get to help out. Those are the rules."
"I don't think the rules have covered this situation," Phyco insisted, reaching for the ball. Artemis pushed him back, amused.
"Well, I make the rules for this situation. 'In the event that Necrozma is captured by Diana Freeman, Champion of Alola, the Ultra Force will be dissolved, leaving her to science it in peace with or without them.' It's mine and I'm keeping it."
"We're called the Ultra Recon Squad," Zossie told her.
"Eh, close enough."
Phyco stroked his mustache again, before pulling the others into a huddle. "I don't want these abominations in our world," he said seriously.
Soleira glanced behind her to where the heroes stood. Rotom waved. Diana tapped her fingertips together like Mr. Burns. Eli finally managed to set a fire intentionally.
"Agreed," she said after returning to the huddle.
Zossie looked up at Dulse, almost sulking. "I'm outvoted, aren't I?"
"You are."
"Fine."
Satisfied, Phyco turned back. "We have discussed it," he announced, "and would like to make a deal. Diana, I have heard that you have more Ultra Beasts than you know what to do with."
"I have already promised the new Aether President that he'll get to help me return them to their homes." She smiled. "I'm holding all the cards, here. When do we start our science?"
"There will be no science," Soleira insisted. "Zossie was enjoying her status too much. Our true mission was to restrain and protect Necrozma as well as the world it was living on. There will be no probing and no dissecting. We will hold it until it can adapt to our world's artificial light. It will be a very boring process."
"And why can't it stay with us?"
"Do you want it?"
Diana, reluctantly, handed over the ball. "Take care of it," she warned. "If not, I'll have Artemis track down whatever world you live in and pay you a visit." She smiled, pretending not to notice how horrified they all were. "Probably with Eli. Maybe even with Colress."
"That won't be necessary," Phyco said quickly. "Solgaleo knows the way to your world. If we have need of you, we will send him."
"And what if Necrozma eats him?"
"What if it eats Lunala?"
"For corn's sake!" Eli shouted, causing all of them to jump. "I'll take it! I'll take Necrozma. Diana can study it, Gladion can protect it, I can stop it from eating all my world's light. It'll be a team effort."
"I see nothing wrong with that," Dulse said before anyone else could object. Diana handed Necrozma over without hesitation this time. "I hope you're aware that we will continue to check up on it once per year."
"Fine with me." Diana shrugged. "We can take it. It's Psychic-type - he's got an Incineroar and Volcarona, and I have a Honchkrow and at least three Ghost-types. Between the two of us, it won't stand a chance of rebelling."
"Speaking of rebelling, though..." Eli handed the ball back to Diana. "I can't have a Pokémon registered to you in battle, it might rebel. At least until I take my own island challenge. You should keep it after all."
"You'll overpower everything," she pointed out.
"Which is why I'll catch more Pokémon in Unova." He smiled innocently. "I have to set up a type specialty someday."
"Let them keep it," Zossie agreed.
"But your thesis!" Phyco insisted. "You were going to write about the Blinding One and Ultra Wormholes!"
Zossie gave Eli and Diana a meaningful look. "I have something more interesting than Necrozma to write about."