Episode 32: The Is Who We Are -PART 2-
Even though she had psyched herself up for it, Lassic's roar of death still shook her to the bone. He may have looked like a mutated monster now, but his pain was real enough to let her know what she had just done.
Sophitia dared to look up, even though she shivered nonstop. Lassic bled from his mouth, and glared down at her with a mad fury in his eyes. Two feelers held her blade deep in his chest, but blood oozed from around the blade. Being so close to him, his heated breath brought her gradually closer to screaming. But she held on, and breathed frantically as she shifted back to pull her weapon out.
"You don't understand, do you?" Lassic said with a low, satisfied growl. She could only respond with a gulp, and then the colour of flames began to seep from his upper orifices. Between his eyes, somewhere around his neck, and whatever of his ears was underneath that flaming head fur. That was followed by his head beginning to bulge as well, and the whole group set off gasping.
"Sophitia!" Lute screamed and rushed toward her. Esthia and Kuri were several steps ahead, and pushed their way between the Sylveon and the mutated Delphox. He could just about see them activate Protect and Spiky Shield before Lassic's head exploded into a nasty mess of flames and flesh. This blast was strong enough to push their group back, leaving them disturbed and soaked in smouldering blood. They shook themselves off in a panic.
A few moments passed, then. No one made a move for an uncomfortable amount of time, as if someone else was supposed to do something to move this forward. But as the blood cooled, the group looked at themselves, all shivering by just how much had splattered around the arena.
"He's headless! Don't look at him," Genesis said as she floated back down to their level.
"I had to do it again, though," Sophitia whispered with a hard shiver. She glared at her stained feelers and paws, and her face turned pale. "I-is that really it?"
Phoenix didn't seem to have a problem with staring at the mutation, but he suddenly flinched. "Don't start celebrating. Something's coming!"
"But he's—" Sophitia whispered. She dared to look up with a feeler over her eyes. She blocked out his missing head from view. His body had remained standing, but it looked like it was going to evolve further. "You've got to be freaking kidding me!"
"That stab should have done it. Can he really recover?" Kuri clenched his fists.
All the others could do was growl and stand back as Lassic's chest began to pulsate, soon joined by the brown bulges by his missing arms. It all beat loudly, as if a giant heart in his body was pumping something into him that was trying to burst out. His body grew taller as a white texture took over him, and the familiar look of an authentic Pokémon evolution happened again.
His arms appeared first, stretching out far to the sides to give his enormous claws the space to shape out. His legs grew in a similar fashion, becoming even wider with longer nails. Lastly, a face burst out of his chest, which seemed to curl up his body as if he was shedding a skin. His tail grew bushier, his head fur resembled a war fan made of flames, and a new shape of armour replaced the chest he had just discarded. With his evolution complete, the light disappeared, revealing his new form.
Any resemblance to a known Pokémon was now lost. His head and upper body was a sludgy brown, torn towards his chest and misshapen around his mouth. Five eyes with empty red pupils and a gaping maw lined with huge fangs adorned his face, tipped by two horns. Those horns and his tail were the only yellow fur that remained of his original form, as his thick arms and legs had taken on an armoury appearance, though they bulged with muscle. He retained some fur on his knees and upward, though it was a deep red and stained with the blood lost from his previous evolution. With a triumphant roar, he landed so hard that a shockwave took everyone off their feet.
"Perhaps now you understand what you are fighting against," Lassic said. His voice had completely changed, becoming deep and grainy, but it retained the smart composure of the Lassic they knew. "My power is limitless. I control it. All form, all law, the very concept of evolution. It belongs to me, and I shall never let mortals take it away from me."
"Lassic, you've turned yourself into a monster. There's no way that's a Pokémon evolution!" Sophitia cried.
"I can revert at any time. This form is only temporary," he said, and stepped closer. Just that one step shook the whole cliff, forcing everyone to pay attention to their balance.
"Then change back. If you can change back, then we can still talk about this," Sophitia cried, unable to hide the tears in her voice.
"You would fight this far only to now call upon diplomacy? One might say that you are quitting when faced with certain defeat," Lassic commented. He bared his claws and the three eyes between his main two began to glow. "The time for talking is over. This will be the face of Aseria's rapture. With the immense power coursing through me, I will wipe out all the Pokémon I deem unworthy, and recreate the world with my perfect V-Pocket creations."
"Guys, we're on a timer," Kuri warned. The surrounding area had begun to take on the red aura that appeared when Lassic initially warned of the rapture, and all of it came up from the ground itself. The air was filled with red particles, and with it, oxygen grew thin.
"My perfect creations will evolve this world beyond anything you aged mortals could ever comprehend. We will transcend all known Pokémon. We will transcend humanity. We will become perfect beings that rule over all living in this universe," Lassic announced. He raised a claw as if to taunt them. "Do you accept that? Will you bow down to me and succeed this ancient world at last?"
"Shut up! You know the answer is no. We're not going to let you kill everyone and turn them into- into- whatever the heck you are!" Lute shouted. He already sweated hard as he struggled to breathe.
"Then there is nothing more to discuss," Lassic said. He brandished his claws and fangs. "Throw yourselves at me, and face certain death: the pinnacle of Pokémon progression!"
With that, he inhaled deeply until embers leaked from his mouth, throwing everyone back into the fray. He belched out a sea of flames that spread far and wide, and towered high enough to block him from view. Esthia, Sophitia, and Kuri reacted with their shields, while Lute, Phoenix, and Genesis could only cry out and brace as the flames swamped over them, stealing whatever little strength and breath they had left.
Lute was left stumbling in a daze. His head was rushing to form some coherent thought, but all he could muster were the survival instincts to stay on his feet. His body hurt so much that it ached just from the cool that came after the flames. He managed to open his eyes to see Lassic stood over him with a claw drawn back. His vision was blurry so he could only make out the colours.
He threw himself to his side in an effort to dodge, but the claw struck the ground so hard that it created such a shock wave that knocked him into the air. He couldn't even let out a cry at this point, only a lifeless cough as he lost control over himself. He landed hard on his side, so worn out he could barely move a paw.
Still, he growled and ground his teeth to fight the fatigue and force his eyes open. Everything was still a blur, though worse than before thanks to sweat cascading down his face. He breathed hard and fast, and that was the only sound that was clear to him. Even then, that didn't provide him any strength. It only dried out his chest as he couldn't get any air from whatever he was breathing in.
"Sophitia," he mumbled. What looked like her pale blue was fluttering around the fiery reds and blacks of Lassic's moves. The ground shook hard, and the crackling of flames was constant. There were definitely screams and cries of pain going on there, and that kept him fighting his heavy eyelids.
"Lute, hang in there," Esthia said as she laid her paws on him. A harmless yellow light pulsed from the tips of her fingers and into his side, relieving him of his energy.
"Y-you can still heal." He shuddered. He was able to get to his feet, but he still stumbled and blinked a few times to focus. Nothing was working. His view was still blurry.
He didn't need to be able to see perfectly to be able to tell what was happening, though. The monster crushed everyone's best efforts. Lassic had well and truly evolved into a monstrosity that was adapted to fight them, and showed little to no damage from their attacks. Soon enough, Sophitia had all four of her feelers holding up shields, and had clasped them all together to block one of Lassic's claws.
"Sophitia!" Lute choked, finally focusing on her face.
She was strained, more strained than he had ever seen her. In just a moment, she was going to let up on those shields, and then he was going to have a nightmare of his paws. His feelings flared, and everything else just vanished to him. All he could think about was stepping in to stop her from getting crushed.
His eyes had fizzed out, but this time, he was aware. Aware of everything he needed to do and all the power he needed to bring up to do it. He launched himself away from Esthia with Quick Attack and crashed into Lassic's palm so hard that the monster stumbled back.
"You continue to struggle so?" Lassic said as he turned his full attention to Lute. Lute stood coolly on the edge of the cliff, totally silent and eyes locked onto Lassic. Noting his glowing body and fuzzy eyes, Lassic's own eyes twitched as if he was grinning. "I see. But not even that form will be able to best me. Come, try!"
Lute silently snarled, and took that invitation. He stretched to charge up Quick Attack again, and then he was off. He thought he would crash directly into Lassic again, but the monster was fast enough to step aside and clash with him with one of his claws. Neither combatant was pushed anywhere, enabling Lute to kick off the ground and fly straight back, where they both hit again in a similar fashion.
Everything flew by in the blink of an eye. Lute felt like he was flying through the air, charging into Lassic so hard that sparks flashed from their impacts every time, about four in the space of a second. He roared out loud as he skidded across the floor, and formed Swift stars by his paws as he did so. Lassic was the same and breathed in for a Flamethrower. Once again their attacks clashed, Lute's stars exploding against Lassic's flames. Loud and flashy explosions took over, and soon the whole core was enshrouded in flames.
When Lute landed, his instincts kicked up to a million. Sophitia was stood beside him with two of her feelers holding swords. She put them both together and ran forward, prompting him to do the same. Neither of them were thinking, they just charged headfirst through the smoke and debris with fierce gazes, Lute putting his paws on Sophitia as if to help her. They had a mere instant where Lassic's face was visible in their approach, and then that was it.
That horrifying roar of death rang out once again, loud and powerful enough to blast the smoke away. Sophitia had her swords jammed so deep into Lassic's centre that they poked cleanly through his back, and Lute's paws were helping to push them further. The monster glared down at them as they forced those blades deeper and deeper.
Before Lassic could do anything, a powerful Thunder attack slammed down on him from above, keeping his body stunned. He struggled to look up and give Esthia the same leer, only to find Kuri, Genesis, and Phoenix high in the air with their strongest attacks at the ready. None of them said anything. He was at the mercy of a combined Frenzy Plant and Blast Burn.
An incredible force pushed the whole party back, while Lassic once again vanished into a cloud of black smoke. The group breathed heavily, brought to their knees as they anxiously awaited the remains of Lassic's state. As the smoke began to clear, he was revealed to be bleeding from a huge hole in his centre, and was shuddering sharply from pain.
"N-no matter how ma-many times you h-hurt me, I will always- e-evolve," Lassic said, struggling to gain breath himself. The red aura of his rapture vanished in a flash, and his body began to glow.
"Are you serious? Stabbing him doesn't work, pulverizing him doesn't work, what the actual hell is this guy made of now?" Kuri cried.
Lute still struggled to stay standing, even though the rapture had stopped. It wasn't from fatigue, it wasn't from the aura, and as far as he knew, his energy was limitless when he was in his berserk state. Yet still, his eyesight was blurred due to sudden colours obscuring it, while his body felt like energy was being physically sucked from it.
"Wait a minute, of course, it's all V-Wave powered!" Sophitia cried and slapped her forehead. "Lute, your necklace!"
He growled and blinked hard, and then it all became clear to him. Those random colours in front of him, they were waves of energy that looked like light, and they flew from him and the Mega Stone behind Lassic. He struggled to look down at his mane, and there it was – the overbearing glow of his prized necklace. He hadn't seen it look this explosive in a long while.
He didn't think twice. He stood up on his hind legs and squeezed it tight, causing the light within to burst. Just like that, the energy waves he could see reversed direction, flying from the Mega Stone and directly into him instead of Lassic. It looked like he was the one draining the energy from Lassic this time, and that was causing the monster's appearance to become panicked.
"Wha-what? Why am I—" Lassic said, and then he suddenly choked. More lights shone from within him, and his body began to bulge yet again. "M-my body… is s-so… h-hot…"
Lute could only growl as he himself was overwhelmed by whatever energy was flying into him. And while he fought to stay standing, Lassic's body was soon enveloped by sparkly blast of gold light. It looked as if he was exploding, not from new body parts bursting out of him, but actually evaporating into light. Those bursts intensified as time went on, until finally, one last wave of light blew across the area, throwing everyone to the ground.
It took a few seconds for Lute to get back up up, and it wasn't without some groans and moans. His sight was back to normal, but his body ached all over and he couldn't stop breathing through his mouth. He faced forward to find that Lassic had vanished completely.
"Did… that work? I can't sense him at all," Esthia said, glancing left and right. Nothing remained of that terrible fire type. Genesis walked over to where he just was, joined by a wary Kuri, but there wasn't anything to be afraid of.
"He's gone. Whatever you did, it made him evaporate," Genesis confirmed.
"Oh thank gods!" Esthia groaned hoarsely, and threw herself on the floor. "Talk about not knowing when to quit!"
"It's over?" Sophitia said, going blank. No one responded until she looked at Genesis, who gave a light smile. "It's actually over. Lassic's gone."
"He really lost," Naivie said, popping out of Lute's mane. "That guy was a heck of a deal, but we proved him wrong."
"Naivie," Lute muttered.
"I hope you understand what this really all means. You knew this already, but there's no going back on yourselves. There's nobody left to tell you guys that the ancient world is the wrong way to live. We'll do our jobs to make Pokémon rely less on V-Wave technology, awaken those flowers, and then the world is saved. Well, the seasons, anyway," Naivie explained. "Now let's get outta here before something weird happens!"
"She's… right. Can we use an Escape Orb from here?" Sophitia asked.
"Should do. It counts as a Mystery Dungeon," Phoenix said. "Everybody gather close, please."
"Wait, one thing first," Kuri said.
He walked right up to the Mega Stone, eying the computer positioned in front of it. He clenched his fists, rekindled his Overgrow boost, and then hammered it as hard as he could. Everyone was surprised to see him go on a rampage of sorts, reducing all the machinery into sparking rubble.
"There. Now let's hope I never have to use these powers again," he huffed as he walked back over.
"Hey, y'know, you don't have to look so edgy anymore," Naivie commented.
"Piss off. I'm just tired as hell," he grumbled.
"You're telling me. I don't wanna do anything for like, a month," Esthia said with a lazy stretch. She fell back to the floor again, where she was surprised to see a number of the Spinarak by her face. "Oh hey there little guys. You're the perfect V-Pockets, aren't you?"
They didn't make a sound, but a whole swarm of them had gathered up to the group. If there was anything to tell from their faces, it was that they were confused.
"Well don't just stand there, tag along," Esthia said with a giggle. The spiders still didn't make a sound, but they obeyed and scuttled around her. The thought brought a smile to Lute's face, and he activated the Escape Orb.
…
First thing was first. A private meeting with the staff that had sent them off to the Inner Storms in the first place. Just like all their other meetings, the team had been gathered in one of the main rooms in Pokétopia's King Shield base, where they reported and explained everything that they had been through. Sophitia was the quietest, and she wouldn't stop staring at Marina.
"And so he vanished. So Lassic's dead now," Marina said, finishing for them. There was silence, and she shut her eyes. "Lute, Sophitia. Your team have been through a lot. So let me now say: you guys are absolutely incredible."
"Incredible?" Sophitia replied.
"Yes. You took on an incredible role, and despite the number of Pokémon standing against you and the power they had, you stood your ground and did what you had to do. You guys really did something that nobody else could, and for that, you guys deserve the best holiday you can think of," she said with a warm smile.
"Ooh ooh ooh, I know just where!" Esthia cheered, bouncing and raising a paw. At that moment, she took on a glow and separated, leaving Infia and Esther on the floor.
"Esther, you're crazy. No!" Infia cried.
"Aww c'mon, it'll be fun!" Esther whined.
"No less than it'll be embarrassing!" Infia scrunched herself up.
"Wait, you two," Sophitia gasped. She slapped her forehead. "We weren't good enough, though. We couldn't save Lassic."
"Save Lassic?" Marina said. Kuri had been leaning on the wall, and his eyes opened at that.
"He was your friend, wasn't he? The head of the Agents of King's Shield. And the one who created so much that's helped the world. If we could just have brought him back here and maybe talked about all this… things might've been different," Sophitia said.
"You're really regretting that? You, the ballsiest fighter on the team?" Kuri said.
"… Of course. I might enjoy fighting and be good at it, but I don't like killing. I mean just think about it, his real intentions were good, you know?" Sophitia reasoned.
"His intentions were good, but the way he went about them threatened to wipe out all life. He also betrayed the trust of the entire world, commanding Spirle as a terrorist group. By literally fighting himself in predetermined battles, he falsely rose through the social hierarchy," Kuri clarified. "He was evil, Sophitia. Evil Pokémon do terrible things while making you think that they're right. As long as he was that, he deserved judgement."
"It's good that you feel compassion about others, including those that you fight. However, Kuri is right. Lassic was a villain who stood for his evil goals until his death. I wouldn't have had anything different to say to him that you guys hadn't already said," Marina assured. "I won't have another word on this, understand?"
"Yes. I understand," Sophitia said, looking away.
"C'mon, don't gimme that look. I don't want to have to be a mum again," Marina said, half-lidded.
"I got it I got it, yeesh." Sophitia flinched.
"Now, that goes for the rest of you, too. Aseria is on the verge of a major breakthrough towards peace! Spirle are no more, their main base is destroyed, and their leader is in the afterlife. The four temples are able to restore the seasons and weather at a moments notice. And it's all thanks to these heroes, right here!" Marina announced. She jumped on the table to address everyone. "They deserve a rest, now. It's time for us to take over and clean up the remainder of this mess. We need to rebuild the most structural parts of Aseria as quickly as we can. Find an alternative to gondolas, round up the remaining Spirle goons, and prepare ourselves for a world without V-Wave technology. And we also need to help these two."
Kuri and Gen beamed up, surprised to be addressed. "Oh yeah, you two aren't getting left in the dust. You two knew about Lassic's true aims before anybody else. Heroes before any of this started. If you don't mind waiting on your holiday a bit, we can help you out on rebuilding Angard."
"I guess you can start by like, y'know, talking to her like an actual queen?" Kuri folded his arms.
"Oh don't be like that," Genesis said and pinched him. "For the first time in so long, we can live out in the open. Without fear. I couldn't give a claw if Pokémon didn't talk to me with all that stiff authority nonsense. Of course we don't mind sticking around."
"And then you go and order me around. What if I wanted to take my holiday first, huh?" Kuri said smugly. His wife giggled and pinched him again. He prodded her back, making her squirm. "Hey c'mon now, I'm being serious. You've probably got a decade's worth of annual leave to use up, but I'm not having it without you."
"If you're going be like that, I am going to treat it as a royal order. You'll get your annual leave, mister," she said, poking him back.
"Naivie, it might be better if you stayed with Mum for a while, too," Lute suggested.
"Oh really? You're going to pawn her off on me?" Marina said.
"If you're building stuff without V-Waves, you'll need her guidance. And we're not doing stuff related to the journey anymore, so," he reasoned.
"For once, the little kid has a point," Naivie said as she popped out. "You're a grownup, so I expect you to not be as annoying to work with."
"And I expect you to know your place," Marina replied. She leaned on the table towards Lute and Sophitia, making them lean away. "So, what're you planning to do, then? The whole house to yourselves for a little while."
"Oooh, I get it. Smooth moves, Lutey," Esther added with a half-lidded smirk.
"Wait, what? I'm not – why are you guys acting so weird all of a sudden?" Lute groaned. Sophitia rolled her eyes. "I'm not planning anything."
"Yeah yeah, sure. We'll make sure we leave you alone for your honeymoon and all," Esther said with a giggle. "Infia, you can come with me, though!"
"What about Phoenix, though?" Infia said. "Wa-wait, but I live in…"
A smile grew on the Pikachu's face, making her blush. "We've got a revival show to work out, and your big debut, too."
"I, you're right," she said, smiling.
"I am comfortable helping out here. It might seem disappointing to you, but I do not get much out of holidays anymore, since I cannot sleep," Phoenix said.
"Oh, yes. If you still want it, we can finally put some proper time into doing something about that, you know. Turning you and Infia back into normal Pokémon instead of soldiers," Marina said. She eyed the Spinarak they had brought back, who weren't doing anything. They were positioned all around the room, but they were motionless and quieter than a Whismur. "And… something about these lot, too. They're so well behaved."
"That… I didn't get the chance to tell you, but that won't be necessary anymore, Miss Marina. You can focus on Mister Phoenix and those Spinarak." Infia bowed to her. "I'm sorry for the trouble I caused you!"
"So that's really it then. We're just, going home and relaxing?" Sophitia said quietly while the others broke off into their happy conversations.
"Well no, not really," Lute said. He walked off hastily. Sophitia seemed surprised and blankly followed after him. They wound up outside, where the street in front of the arcade was empty. "I don't plan on really resting yet."
"Oh. Is it Evoli?" Sophitia guessed.
"No, actually. I don't think anything worth while's gonna come out of looking for him," he said, staring at the empty, lit road. The city still managed to look lively, even though nobody else was around. He took a deep breath, and then faced her. "It's you."
"Me? Wait a minute, I don't have – oh, right, my memory and stuff." She turned away.
"I know you said you didn't mind about it and all that, but we haven't found a thing, even though I promised you. If the others are going to sort everything else out, then I finally have time to look out for you properly. And Naivie won't be able to complain or drag us away on anything."
"Oh Lute, you silly thing. You're really worried about my past, but honestly, I don't care. It doesn't mean anything. I've made a new life, with new memories and new friends, and I couldn't ask for better. I don't need to worry about the old me. If it was important, then something would've happened by now," she said.
"Really? You're absolutely positively okay with it all?" he asked, tilting his head. She smiled and winked. "You're not just saying that to stop me from worrying, are you?"
"The only thing I wanna do is go home, kick back, and have a heck of a meal," she said with a cheeky smile.
"You and food. But I do agree for once. My stomach feels like it's gonna eat me inside-out," he said.
"Ew. That's an image I didn't need to think about," Sophitia commented.
"Sorry, figure of speech. I really am famished, though," he said with his own cheeky smile.
"And, well," she said, playing with her feelers. "If we are gonna be back in Everend alone for a while… I… look, don't take this the wrong way, but I'd be happy if we spent some time together properly."
