Chapter 42: Where Mo pays the ultimate price ...
"Get away from him!", Hilarius shouted out and jumped up to help Aaron.
Too late, Mo already grabbed Aaron by his head, SLAMMED it against the hard ground, knocking the Sylveon out instantly, and threw his limb body against the abandoned house next to the store.
Hilarius ran at the now strange looking Mimikyu preparing to slice at him with the blade on his arm, but simply took his arm and pulled the Bisharp to the ground. Mo proceeded to walk on his back and push Hilarius' head into the dirt probably very strongly, as Hilarius did not managed to get up again due to not being able to raise his head.
"Mo, what are you doing?!", Axel called out to him.
"I'm not your Mimikyu friend, I'm Necrozma.", Mo, or rather Necrozma told him, raised Hilarius' head a little before slamming it really hard into the dirt. "Take a good look, this is what I wanted to do to you."
Necrozma approached Axel.
"You see, I have the ability to take over the bodies of others and gaining their traits in the process, and it makes me stronger."
Axel seemed to slowly realise something and his mouth slowly opened as well.
"THAT'S why all the legendary ones where hiding from you! I thought you only need Lunala and her husband!"
"But only Solgaleo and Lunala can help me achieve true power again.", Necrozma further explained. "They, and the Origin Stone."
Necrozma turned his back to Axel, jumped over Hilarius and walked over to the square centre.
"Now, if you excuse me, I would like to look for the stone.", he said.
Necrozma was greeted with odd stares from both the adventurers, surprised that he and Mo were now one and the Dark Lord was now the smallest Pokémon around. The adventurers did not dared to fight him, having seen his power and struggled not to interfere.
"That brat can fight my minions and defy me, but let's see how she'll behave so little and powerless and forced to fight one of her own friends.", Necrozma said out loud. Mo struggled to not let him do this, but to no avail. He worried for Amy, for Axel, the other adventurers and the outcome of this story. He feared that in the end he not only did nothing, he caused the downfall of their world.
Necrozma positioned himself at the portal and, what felt like to Mo, tried to push himself up the ground to levitate to it, but was not able to do so.
Necrozma looked over to the battle marked Noivern.
"You there! Give me a hand and pick me up! This body made me earthbound!"
At the same time, Mo felt someone coming closer to him, and so did Necrozma who turned around to see who it was. Charlotte was rolling up and stopped right in front of him, while Axle was helping Hilarius back up far behind her. She was certainly not amused rigthn ow.
"What do you want?", Necrozma rudely asked, and right afterwards Charlotte grabbed Mo's disguise, holding a piece of it tight in her small hand, and slowly shook her head in disapprovement.
"Get your dirty hand off me.", Necrozma demanded, but the Komala remained silent and motionless.
Necrozma raised his claw and positioned it at her face, Mo feeling a large amount of energy flowing into it.
"I will not ask you again.", Necrozma told her, but she remained stubborn.
"There is nothing we can do now, Charlotte!", Ziggy called out to her. "Let him go!"
"Then let this one be a lesson to everyone who dare to defy me.", Necrozma finally said.
Mo felt the energy in his claw growing stronger and his palm starting to glow. One of his team mates will die by his own hand, against his will or not. And there was nothing he could to about it. Charlotte, who confessed her love to him, who he had rejected, who was there so many times. She, from so many Pokémon Mo met in his life, deserved this fate he least. The thought about it made Mo sick and he struggled to not let it happen.
"Nooo!", Gangolf shouted out and similar like Mo did ran to them.
He tried to pick up Charlotte, ripping her loose from her own clutching and getting her away from Mo, but he only picked her up with Mo as well. She still holding onto Mo with one hand and Mo still aiming his palm at her. Gangolf began shaking them, trying to get her loose, but to no avail. In the end he had to drop her again and went for cover.
Then ... nothing happened.
Necrozma still held his palm at the Komala, with her still holding him. Mo feared the end of her at any moment. What felt like an eternity went by and they both remained in the same position. By now, Axe and Hilarius arrived back at the square as well, watching the whole scene.
The Noivern carefully approached the possessed Mimikyu.
"Lord Necrozma, is everything alright?", he asked. Necrozma's claw was shacking nervously while still aimed at her.
Without warning, Necrozma turned around, his energy was released, but instead directly at the Noivern behind him. He screamed up for a moment as it hit him and went to the ground in front of the other Forces members, steaming from his body.
"My goodness, he's dead!", someone screamed.
The adventurers, the Forces, even Mo himself was surprised. He was still struggling hard, but somehow he managed to get back in control of his body, slowly and shaky. He turned back to Charlotte, who had now let go of him.
"Get ... out of here.", Mo said to her, still with both his and Necrozma's voice. "Save ... yourself."
Charlotte herself seemed confused and worried. But she respected Mo's wish and, at least, rolled over to Axel and Hilarius. The adventurers watching on and wondering what was going on.
The Houndoom of the Forces approached Mo.
"Master, what are you doing?!"
Immediately Mo turned over to him, aiming his claw at the Houndoom who reacted afraid.
"I ... will ... I ...", Mo tried to say to him. "Something is wrong with this body!"
Again, Mo lost control and Necrozma took over completely.
"Someone go and get me up the portal already!", Necrozma ordered and turned back to the Forces, all gathered around the Noivern.
Said Pokémon, much to all the Pokémon's surprise, raised his head. Still steaming, slightly burned and in pain, but still kicking, too.
"Okay, he's not quiet dead.", the same voice from before corrected itself.
"No ...", the Noivern himself declared, dizzy. "I feel much better ..."
"How?!", Necrozma asked loudly, he himself being surprised as well. "I blasted you directly in your face! You shouldn't even be there anymore!"
"Didn't you say that taking over other Pokémon makes you stronger?", Axel asked.
Necrozma quickly turned around again.
"It SHOULD!"
Ziggy's healthy eye widened, having realised something.
"Absorbing Mo made him weaker!", he called out.
Silence. Everyone was now looking at Necrozma. Mo did not know if he should feel happy or angered knowing that his body was weakening the evil parasite from another dimension.
Hilarius was looking at Necrozma, having the same expression when Mo met him for the first time before their test battle. He signaled Axel to stay behind and slowly approached Necrozma.
Necrozma turned to the Forces members.
"Don't stand around! Get 'em!"
The Forces and the adventurers went on where they stopped before, clashing with each other. Many, specially the Noivern, were already to exhausted to keep up. The Graveler twins, told what was going on by Aaron before and worrying what was going on, arrived and also joined in, tipping the scales even more to the adventurers favour.
"Your the leader of these Pokémon.", Necrozma said to Hilarius. "Everything I feel, this body, or rather the one this body used to belong, feels, too. Are you prepared to hurt one of your own minions?"
"If it is this what I have do ...", Hilarius answered in a serious tone. "I'm prepared."
Mo feared this will hurt ... a lot.
Hilarius suddenly started to run at him and jumped, planning stomp on him. Necrozma stepped away in time, unleashed his claws, shimmering in a metallic way and slashed at the Bisharp, hitting him on his belly just between the two blades he had and leaving mark there. Necrozma jumped up himself and tried to slash at him again while the Guild Master was stunned for the moment, but he managed to block the attack with the blade in his left arm.
"You really were more intimidating when you where the tall one.", Hilarius mocked him.
"How dare you look down on me!", Necrozma angrily responded and his eyes underneath the mask glow up.
Hilarius reached out with his arms and spread them out, almost making a t-pose. Necrozme prepared, expecting Hilarius to attack now, instead, Hilarius slammed his arms together, the blades on each one of them slamming against each others and made a loud and high pitched sound. Necrozma was struck by a wave of his terrible noise and it made Mo's ears and brain hurt and well as Necrozma's.
Hilarius took the chance, ran over to Necrozma and simply picked him up with both his hand. He held Necrozma in front of him, holding him tight while he tried to get loose, both trying with all their might to get the upper hand, with Hilarius just barely holding on to him. Looking into the Guild Master's eyes, Mo saw sadness and regret.
"I'm sorry, Mo, but I need to keep Axel save.", Hilarius said, the large blade in his head began to shimmer.
He then swung his head back and screamed as he rammed his head forth again and rammed the blade right into Mo's fake head, sinking in deep and completely ruining his disguise now if it already wasn't torn and burned enough.
Hilarius took his blade back out of Mo and looked at what he had done. A gapping cleft right in the middle of Mo's fake head, dark smoke fuming out of it, but Mo himself was unharmed.
"... that's it?", Necrozma.
The Guild Master's eyes opened wide in shock, his pupil shrunk in. He FORGOT that was NOT Mo's REAL head and just realised his mistake. Reasonable or not, Mo would never forgive Hilarius for this act.
With Hilarius' plan failed, Necrozmas freed himself and now stood underneath the Bisharp.
"ENOUGH!", Necrozmas loudly declared and Mo's body began to glow bright golden.
He unleashed his claws, made the into fists and hit the ground with them very hard. Crack build underneath him and grew over underneath Hilarius, too, not knowing what was going on. Without warning huge rock pillars emerged right under the Bisharp, shooting up and sending the Guild Master flying in a cloud of rubble and dust. Flying high and screaming, he crash landed in the middle of the town square. For the moment, the ongoing fights stopped again. Everyone's eyes were on the knocked down Guild Master, lying there, bruised and moaning in pain.
Necrozma walked past rock pillars and over to Hilarius, who was breathing heavily, knocked down and defeated in front of his whole guild. Necrozma simply shock his fake and torn head and put his attention back to Axel, just when the already dark and cloudy sky slowly turned even darker than before, eventually becoming pitch black. Most of the guild members and the Forces looked around what was going on, others like Axel and Necrozmas himself already knew better.
"WHAT ... WHAT IS HE DOING?!", Steve asked surprised, thinking it was Necrozma's doing.
"It's not him ...", Ziggy answered.
"IT'S HER!", the Houndoom suddenly screamed like a maniac.
As majestic the time Mo saw her for the first time, meaning yesterday, Lunala returned and floated down from the sky, hovering over Axel like a dark guardian angel. The adventurers where surprised to see something like this to say the least, but Team Blue assured them she was on their side.
"Lunala ...", Axel said to her.
"I know.", Lunala already answered and sounded caring, like she was assuring everything will be fine.
"You don't believe how happy I am to finally see you again.", Necrozma said to her and his voice became more sinister with each word he spoke.
Lunala looked over to him.
"You monster! What did you do to Solgaleo?!"
"Nothing, yet.", Necrozma answered. "Believe me, I miss him just as much as you do. Still ... Foolish of you to show yourself to me, I must admit."
"I don't know why this body is weakening you, but I will not let this opportunity go to waste.", she threatened. "I will end you and remove this parasite that his not only hunting this world."
Mo did not like that at all and kind of began to panic inside.
"But what about Mo?", Axel asked her.
"... collateral damage.", she simply answered without looking at him and now Mo REALLY started to panic. "I have to do this, even if it is foolish of me."
Her eyes began to glow.
"Everyone, step back.", she told and flew up high in the sky. Both the adventurers and Forces did not know what to expect, forgot the fight they just had and did what they were told. Necrozma also stepped back a little, almost standing right in front of the pillar he created.
Lunala's eyes began to glow again, now more brighter than before and a third, eerie looking eye appeared on her forehead. She spread her wing, forming a fully shaped circle with them as if she was mimicking a full moon. Addition to it, her wings also began to glow in a bright but cool blue colour.
"Going right to the main event?", Necrozma asked and sounded rather amused.
Spheres of light appeared around Lunala's wings and they formed beams that met in the middle of her torso, appearing to for some kind of wheel and forming another, more larger sphere.
"TAKE COVER!", Axel shouted and hid behind the old Kangaskhan Storage. The others did as he did and hid behind the old houses from the incoming attack. For a moment Gangolf left to quickly receive the still knocked down Hilarius, as well as Aaron.
Necrozma reached out with his arm at Lunala and gathered energy for his own attack.
"Give me your worst!", he told her.
In a matter of only a second, Lunala was envelops in a bright light and a huge energy beam, glowing in every tone of blue shot at Necrozma, with Mo still being along for the ride. Necrozma responded by shooting his own laser from the palm of his and back at her.
The shock wave as the two beam met shock the whole area. The ground was shacking, building loosing pieces and starting to crack, trees slowly being uprooted. The adventurers and the Forces cowering together behind their hiding places, both hoping their own side would win.
Despite still being more powerful than everyone else, Mo's body was till weakening Necrozma, giving Lunala the upper hand. Struggling to keep up, as Lunala's beam came closer and closer, Necrozma used his other hand for another laser as well. This constant and immense use of energy was tiring Mo.
Then, for some reason, Lunala's beam began to get weaker, now giving Necrozma the upper hand and Lunala began cursing for some reason. Necrozma looked up to see why.
Charlotte appeared out of nowhere on top of Lunala. She FLEW through the air and headed to Lunala. No one, not even Mo, knew how she managed to leaped herself up that high, but she somehow did. She landed on Lunala's head and was hitting her with her log over and over again, desperately trying to weaken her and making Necrozma, or rather Mo, win.
"Fool, what are you doing?! You will doom us all!", Lunala shouted and tried shacking her off.
Charlotte still wanted to protect Mo? She should not. Not anymore.
"Get off there, Charlotte!", Gangolf called out to her from his hiding place, but to no avail.
At this point Mo realised there where only two outcomes: Either him and the world being saved, or her and a doomed future for everyone.
"If it is this what I have do ..."
Mo struggled and tried fighting against Necrozma's control. It had to be done. A final act.
"Charlotte!", Mo managed to call out to her. "It's ... okay!"
Charlotte stopped hitting Lunala as he heard him and looked at him with a kind of surprised expression.
"I'm ... ready!", Mo struggled to said.
No only was Lunala's attack getting stronger again, Necrozma's was also getting weaker.
"What's going on?!", Necrozma shouted out.
The beam steadily coming closer to him, almost having reached him and overtaken his own beam.
"No!"
Finally Necrozma lost the battle. The Moongeist Beam swallowed Necrozma in it's light, the energy burning and biting through the already heavily damaged cloth and on his, or rather Mo's skin. For Mo it felt like being burned alive, but it was over now anyway.
"NOOOO-!", Necrozma screamed as it happened.
The area where Necrozma stood blew up, evaporating everything around. The beam further destroyed and created a crater like path down to the former Pelipper Post Office. The beam was still strong enough for the building to explode, bursting into thousands of pieces that flew through the air, the cliff the post office stood collapsed due to the damage and fell into the ocean alongside what remained of the post office. Only the old withered bulletin board was left, one of the last few things remaining from the past.
Mo's ears where ringing, his skin still burning and he could only see white. He either survived this attack in the end or the afterlife was not like how Mo expected it. Turned out to be the first case. In comparison to the surroundings Necrozma and Mo's body where the must unharmed but still heavily injured and defeated, lying face first in the dirt in the crater that was created in the blast, his body steaming and half charred.
The Pokémon came out from their hiding placed to see the result of the battle and gathered around the crater. Lunala slowly floated towards Necrozma. Charlotte was nowhere to be see. They all looked at him, breathing heavily, gasping. It was hard for Mo to breath, it seemed he had trouble getting enough air, like a Magikarp out of water.
"He's still alive.", Lunala pointed out and sounded rather disappointed.
She floated up higher again.
"But not for long.", she added.
The third eye appeared on her forehead again and she spread her wings again into a circle. The adventurers and the Force's saw what was about to do again. While the adventurers went hiding again, the Force's made their escape, fleeing down the path to Baram Town. The two Meowth were not with them the entire time.
Mo's vision an hearing slowly returned. He knew what was about to happen and just hoped it would end quickly, while Necrozma clutched his claws in anger.
Axel, hesitating first, came back and placed himself in front of Necrozma, protecting.
"Axel, get out of my way!", Lunala cursed.
"I won't let you do this!", Axel spoke back.
"Your Mimikyu friend does not matter right now!", she defended her point. "That monster needs to be stopped! NOW!"
"I'm not only talking about Mo!", Axel defended himself and turned his head to him. "He may be against us and what he stand for, but he has his reasons!"
Silence. Everyone were looking out from their hiding places in surprise. Lunala was still floated above him with an open mouth. She undid her circle pose.
"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!"
"He has the same right to live as you and I do, and I hope he will realise the errors he had made. I plead to you to give him a chance for redemption!"
Necrozma slowly stoop up. Every move hurt Mo, aching all over.
"Redemption?!", Necrozma asked, both angered and surprised.
"And I hope you will see we Pokémon can, in fact, take care of ourselves and have no need for that stupid stone or the tyranny of an Ultrabreat.", Axel said to him and Lunala and smiled at Necrozma.
Back at Lunala, she did her circle pose again and her wings glow very bright.
"I WILL COUNT TO THREE AND THEN I WILL FIRE, NO MATTER IF YOU'RE STILL PROTECTING HIM OR NOT!"
Axel was shocked seeing Lunala doing this now. Mo knew Axel did something right showing kindness, even to something like Necrozma was, or what he had become now, but was not sure if this was a bright move of the Cyndaquil.
"Axel, get away from there!", Ziggy called out to him.
"One!", she began to count.
Axel looked at Lunala.
"Will you really slay me as well just to slay him?!"
Lunala hesitated for a moment, she shock in nervosity and there were even some tears in her eyes.
"Do not make me chose, Chosen One! I see you as a friend, but under these circumstances I have to treat you like an enemy!"
Like before, Lunala gathered energy in the middle of her torso.
"Two, and may Arceus forgive me! He hopefully will find another Chosen One who can fulfil your mission!"
Behind Axel, NEcrozma's eyes glow up and he unleashed on of his claws to strike at him. The Cyndaquil was fast enough to turn around and realise what would happen, but not to do anything about it. Just in the nick of time, Charlotte jumped in and between them. Mo would had never forgive himself what would have happened if it was not for her log and her protect move.
"THREE!", Lunala shouted.
Necrozma just waited for this moment. With Lunala distracted he separated himself from Mo, leaving his body and turning back into his former self above them, while Mo turned back to his real self as well. As he did, Mo immediately realised this act was very bad for him.
All the pain just got even worse, a constant feeling like when he got blasted minutes ago. He felt very sick and very weak and just fell over because he could no longer stand. His vision was getting blurry, zooming in from clear to fuzzy and all the sounds, the voices around him eachoing, sometimes louder, sometimes quieter. The worst, Mo became unable to actually breath out while gasping for the little air he could breath in. He was scared.
Charlotte picked him up and he could, more or less, see and hear what was still going on.
Lunala aimed her shot at Necrozma at the last second, but the dark and prism like Ultrabeat dodged the attack by flying higher, with the beam shooting at the horizon. Having her cover open, Necrozma rushed at her, grabbed her face and slammed her to the ground. Axel, Gangolf and Ziggy tried stepping in to help, but in that time Necrozma floated higher again and like before broke into many pieces again, this time aiming for the knocked down Moon Ultrabeast. The adventurers came too late, Lunala could not do anything either and a bright light brightened the darkness for a moment.
The comming adventurers stepped away in horror what was now unfolding in front of them. Lunala rose from the ground, her body and wings glowing in a bright blue light, long, black, rock like claws reaching out from her torso and a black mask adorner her face.
"You Pokémon are so weak and misguided.", she said with both hers and Necrozma's voice.
The worst scenario had happened. Mo knew he had failed.
Gangolf quickly rushed over to Axel and spoke to him. Mo could not properly hear. Something about "hurrying" and "Amy", then he picked Axel up, swung him around and threw him into the still open portal.
Necrozma looked at the Golem, who turned at him and prepared for the worst. Instead, Necrozma just smiled and shook his head, saying something about "The second phase". He then followed Axel into the portal. The sky became brighter again as he disappeared and the sky was clearing up.
The adventurers gathered, seemingly not knowing what to do next. Charlotte was still by Mo's side, holding him, looking at him as he was slowly suffocating due to his injuries.
His vision was getting more blurrier and the voices of his colleagues started to fade into silence. This is not how Mo wanted it to end. He had failed himself and everyone else, probably dooming the world in the process. He worried about Axel, Amy, Aaron ... Charlotte sadly looked at him, stroking his side. There were some many things in his life he wished he could have done better, done different. He wished all of that never happened and believed everything would probably had gone better if he was gone anyway. He wished he was stronger to protect his friends, to protect her, too. He wished ... maybe it was wrong to reject Charlotte's proposal to him back in that hotel room. That night ... when they all slept at that hotel ... and Aaron talked about Mo's parents ... he disappointed them as well ... how they said Mo's older brother got married and ... they were expecting?!
He began to cry. He disappointed her, too.
"I ... tried ... my best, ... but ... it wasn't ... enough.", Mo hoarsely said to Charlotte with the little breath he could bring out. He stroke Charlottes fluffy cheek with his claw.
His eyes were on Charlotte, but he could see behind her the portal opening wider. White jellyfish like creatures came out of it. First one, then more. A fight broke out, but the adventurers were quickly overrun by these thing.
"It never was ... enough...", Mo said one last time.
Regretting everything he did and wishing for a better outcome of this story, his vision started to zoom away like he fell in a deep, dark tunnel, all the pain just stopped. His last vision was that of the partner and girlfriend he never had and his mind were on his three most important Pokémon in the world.
His claw got limb and fell to the ground next to Charlotte. While hell broke loose behind her, she hugged Mo's lifeless body tightly. She cried bitter tears of sorrow as she rocked back and forward with him, having failed herself as well.
...
"Wait a minute, that can't be right!"
"Huh?"
"You're telling me he died there?"
"Yes."
"You mean, for real?!"
"Yes!"
"... what?! And-?!"
"Well, it's not the end of the story. ... not yet. Listen! Here's where the story gets kind of weird but also interesting."
...