Chapter 106: A World Without Light

When everybody had stepped through the other end of the portal, they found themselves squinting to see in the near darkness. From what they could tell, they were in some sort of large city, though most of the buildings were just shapes to their eyes. The only distinguishable landmark was a tall tower looming over the city in the distance, emitting a faint light.

"What's that in the distance? I thought you said Necrozma stole all of your energy."

"All of our natural energy, yes. But we've managed to refine Z-Crystals into a power source, albeit a very weak one as you can see. Now come on, our captain would like to meet you."

Very carefully, the large group made their way through the darkened streets, focusing on the tower to help guide them. They were halfway there when...

"LUNALA!"

Alarmed, the group searched around frantically, before looking up to see Nebby swooping down towards them. At first they were delighted, thinking he had escaped, only to gape in horror when they saw him in full. Black armor in the same shape as Necrozma coated his torso, wings, and head, and his once purple eyes were now a menacing red.

"LUNALA!"

"Nebby! What did he do to him?"

"Necrozma must have fused with him. He knew we'd come for him, and took Nebby hostage to keep us from attacking!"

"Well, we need to unfuse them, and stat!"

Dawn Wings Necrozma charged up a Moongeits Beam, forcing everyone to take cover as it obliterated a building behind them. Necrozma began to charge up another attack, only to be tackled by a new Pokemon arriving on the scene. To everyone's surprise, it was Lunala's counterpart Solgaleo, looking none to happy to see his partner being controlled like that. He nodded to the others, signaling them that he'd hold Necrozma off so that they could escape, which they took.

"Solgaleo, please free Nebby!"

Solgaleo nodded in acknowledgment, putting Lillie at ease before she ran off to join the others. After a half hour of walking, they reached the tower. Approaching the door, Dulse knocked, stirring a voice from inside.

"Who's there?"

"Captain Phyco, its Dulse. We bring help."

"Hold on, I'll let you in."

After a few minutes of gears grinding, the door opened, allowing the large group inside. The interior was sparse, with just a long hallway leading to a control room. Inside, they found two people sitting at a computer console.

"Everybody, meet Captain Phyco and Soliera. They're the brains behind our operation."

"Did you guys find anything of value?"

"Yes, actually. Take a look."

Soliera typed in a few commands into her computer, bringing up a series of pictures.

"These Petroglyphs were found in a cave on Mount Lanakila. Take a look..."

The pictures ran slowly across the screen, seeming to tell a story. First was Necrozma rising from the ground, then a group of people bowing before him, then the people being attacked, and finally Necrozma being sealed inside the Earth once more.

"What is this?"

"The origins of our enemy. It appears that the ancient people of Alola first discovered him, and in exchange for gifts provided them with light and limitless energy. But Necrozma turned against them, and starting taking back all of the light he had given them. The people fought back, and managed to seal him back into the ground from which he came: right where we're standing."

"That's all well and good, but how does this help us?"

"Because we now know we can contain it, if not forever then hopefully long enough to rebuild and find a way to end it for good. And I think I have just the solution."

Soliera pulled a cloth off of a nearby table, revealing a strange contraption. It appeared to be a cannon of some sort, with lights and panels lining the sides.

"Meet my newest project. I've designed it to harness the power of the Z-Crystals to fire a powerful burst of energy. I believe if we can overwhelm Necrozma with enough energy, it'll be weakened enough tor reseal it."

"Soliera, you know we can't afford to spare any Z-Crystals. The tower needs them to keep what little power grids we have left active."

"But if this works, we'll have all the power Necrozma took back!"

"And if it doesn't, we'll have lost all our power for nothing."

It was at this moment Ash stepped forward, taking his Z- Ring off his wrist.

"Excuse me, but you can take my Z- Crystals. Hopefully 10 will be enough."

"Are you sure? If this fails, they'll never work again."

"If there's a chance to defeat that thing and save Nebby, I've got to take it. If nothing else, then at least we tried."

Nodding, Soliera took it, configuring the crystals into the chamber. After a few minutes, everything was ready.

"Thank you, Ash. Now come on, let's go save both our worlds!"

The group set off, finding Necrozma where they left him, still in a heated battle with Solgaleo.

"I need to keep him still somehow. Any ideas?"

"Only one. Pikachu, use Electro Web!"

Pikachu acted fast, launching the biggest net he could muster and ensnaring the possessed Lunala against a cliff. Try as he might, Necrozma couldn't break free, giving them the chance they needed.

"Now, Soliera!"

"Eat crystal, you gluttonous freak!"

With the press of a button, the weapon let out a multi-colored beam of light, hitting Necrozma dead center as it screeched in pain. Lillie had to look away, not wishing to see Nebby in pain while Gladion pressed her into his chest.

"Its alright, Lillie. He'll be okay."

Necrozma screeched as the light burned it, getting brighter and brighter until an explosion rocked the area, knocking everyone off their feet as the struggled to see through the dust cloud that had settled over them.

"Did...did we do it?"