Time for Chapter 8! Do note that this is the point where the fic gets... Noticeably less lighthearted and silly. It won't lose that entirely but... Don't say I didn't warn you.

As for what that entails...

Chapter 8: Absolute Destiny Apocalypse

The group sat and waited in a pocket dimension created by Giratina. The dimension swirled purple mist around the occupants, as Palkia pressed her ear to a "wall" and Dialga looked through a hole in the "floor." The thing was also rather crowded.

"Did we really have to bring the bear?" said Virion.

Wuzzles gave a disapproving growl.

"Yes. Yes we did," said Giratina, pouting.

Palkia muttered something to herself. "Okay, I remember this part of the script..."

She turned to Dialga. "You hear anything?"

"I hear soldiers marching down this passageway," said Dialga.

"I do as well," said Panne.

"Good! When they come running down the hallway, we yank them up!"

Soon the soldiers did arrive down below, and the eight reached down to grab them and haul them into the pocket dimension. The dimension closed and expanded, and the group made short work of the soldiers with fists and the butts of weapons - or in Wuzzles' case, paws. Palkia then conjured another portal that dumped their unconscious bodies halfway across the continent.

Virion dusted his hands off. "Now what?"

Palkia put another ear to the dimension walls. "Seems like Chrom and Robin escaped!"

"That's good, obviously," said Libra.

"Right, but that Validar creep that rules Plegia is probably going to ambush them and take the Emblem," said Palkia. "...Or something. Not like I already know this for certain or something. But I figure we let him think he's got it all to himself."

"And?" said Hoopa, raising an eyebrow.

"And then we make a decisive strike!" said Palkia, slamming her fist into her palm.

Surrounded by an armed guard, Validar stared down at the Fire Emblem longingly. It was easy enough to snatch from that annoying prince by manipulating Robin's fell blood. Now with it he could resurrect his dark maste-

He noticed movement. In an instant, he darted out of the way of a torrent of water that blasted a Plegian soldier instead.

Validar looked up to see a strange girl in pink with odd wings hovering overhead.

"Oy, shitty dad! Your slightly less shitty evil plan stops here!"

"...Who the hells is this, Aversa?" said Validar to the woman next to him.

Aversa looked at him, then at Palkia, then back at Validar and shrugged.

"Who am I?" said Palkia. She gave a haughty laugh. "I'm Palkia, here to give a divine whooping on your ass! With the help of some friends, of course."

At this, several space portals opened, and Dialga, Giratina on Wuzzles, Hoopa, Panne, Virion, and Libra emerged from them.

"Bah! You mortal fools think you can stop the might of Grima?"

"Mortal? Mortal?" Palkia gave a hysterical laugh, one that boomed in a way no human's should. Dialga, Giratina, and Hoopa joined her. Validar, for all his determination not to, gulped.

"Let's be real here," said Palkia. "Either you hand over that pretty little Fire Emblem trinket so we can give it back to who it truly belongs to... Or you can deal with our dragon-god forms and we'll clean up the mess later."

"Actually, that Fire Emblem would look mighty good in the Stash..." said Hoopa

Palkia gave him a glare.

"What?"

Validar, however, registered the mention of "Dragon" and smirked.

"So you're dragons, you say?"

"Yep!" said Palkia.

"Come at us then."

"If you insist."

She, Dialga, Giratina, and Hoopa shifted to their Pokemon forms.

Libra's eyes widened. "Wait, no, do-"

"Aversa, now!" said Validar.

Aversa conjured three dark portals, out of which emerged three fangs wreathed in darkness. They plunged into the bodies of the Creation Trio, creating sickly black vines that wrapped around their bodies as they screamed. Panne, Libra, and Virion rushed to remove the fangs, while Hoopa and Wuzzles confronted Validar and Aversa.

~Hey! T-that's just fighting dirty!~ said Hoopa.

The two rushed Validar and Aversa but it was too late. They had warped to safety. The fangs eventually retreated back into the portals, leaving the three dragons gasping and panting as the others tended to their wounds.

"What was that foul sorcery?!" said Panne.

"Those were Grima's fangs," said Libra. "Grima has Divine Dragon blood, and the fangs of Divine Dragons can pierce the hides of other dragons easily. It's how Falchion works the way it does."

S-So j-just like... our world... said Dialga hoarsely.

"Er, what was that?" said Virion.

~Dialga's saying Dragons are strong against Dragons in our world too!~ said Hoopa.

Dude... said Giratina. That was brutal...

We... We can't risk going full power against him anymore... said Palkia.

But... said Giratina, We need to-

NO! said Palkia We can't... We just can't... I don't want to put you two in another... in another Red Chain situation...

In the meantime, Hoopa was rapidly translating for the others.

"...What's the Red Chain?" said Libra.

~It's... a device,~ said Hoopa. ~A device this asshole named Cyrus tried to use to make Dialga and Palkia wipe out our universe and build some brand new universe in his image. Thankfully Giratina saved them but... It's not a happy memory.~

"Disgusting," said Panne.

I've never felt so vulnerable... Neither did Dialga... And Validar striking us so fast... So hard... The feelings are coming back...

Sister... I would be lying if I didn't feel the same way... said Dialga. But we still need to stop them. This world depends on us. We just... Need to rethink our strategy...

Palkia paused. She shrunk back down to her human form. Dialga, Hoopa, and Giratina returned to their disguises as well. Wuzzles nuzzled Giratina as Palkia looked over to the others.

"We need a new plan."

Robin was alone.

Thoughts raced through his mind. Could he really do this? Chrom had been supportive, and he had the rest of the Shepherds to back them up, but-

"Yo."

Palkia entered Robin's quarters. "Chrom told me to talk to you."

"He... Did?" said Robin.

"Yeah. He mentioned you were having a hard time and I offered to help."

"...Thank you."

He sat down.

"I'm just so unsure of... Everything?"

"Robin... Can I confess something?"

"...Yes?"

"I'm honestly a huge fan of yours."

"You are?"

"Yeah! You're stylish, level-headed, knows strategy better than anyone else in this damn army... What's not to like?"

"Thank you... But... Can I overcome this?"

"Of course you can. I know you're scared. I know I'm scared. But... I believe in you. I believe in the Shepherds. We can beat Validar's ugly mug in. And at the end of the day once all this is over we'll laugh and have a good time and chow down on Giratina's burritos."

Robin stared at her, then laughed. "Ah... Thank you Palkia. That helped." He paused. "You know... You've been a good friend too. Thank you for everything."

"Thank you, Robin."

"Not a problem. I... I just hope you're right."

Palkia nodded, then exited Robin's quarters, shaking her head as she left as tears started rolling down her cheeks. "I... I hope I'm right too..."

The Dragon's Table, the altar to Girima, was almost ready.

Nearby, Virion was scouting the area. He scanned the landscape for any signs of what he was looking for. Then, moving in the distance, he saw it.

"Palkia, company, now."

Spatial, temporal, and antimatter distortions moved toward the shapes in the distance. They silently approached a group of soldiers. One by one they struck, pulling the soldiers into the nether. A hand reached to grab the figure at their center.

It only grasped straw.

"What the..." said Giratina.

"Damn it!" said Palkia. "Validar knew we were coming! He left a dummy!"

"If this was a decoy," said Dialga, "then Validar must-"

A sickening crack was heard from the Dragon's Table. Palkia's eyes widened. "No..."

She attempted to warp over, but a force stopped her just outside the massive structure. A voice echoed outward, amplified by the walls. Palkia recognized it clear as day. It was Robin's.

"Chrom... No... I..."

"No... No no no no no no!" said Palkia

"I murdered you... You trusted me... Everyone did..."

"Robin, it's not you, Validar did this-"

"Validar... He was right... How could I ever go back to the others..."

"Robin, please, listen to yourself-"

"...And in light of this... Why should I?"

"No... No!"

"All bonds I make in life... From my mother to my mentor to Chrom to the rest of the Shepherds - shatter of my own doing! All prove utterly futile, meaningless! I ''was'' born to be a destroyer, and it shows in what happens when I get close to other beings!"

"No, please, you can't-"

"In light of that... My father was correct! Why bother? Other beings... They're ultimately doomed to worthlessness to me! No - they've been worthless from the start!"

"Robin that's not true you have to-"

:"Bonds with others are doomed to break and tear! I have no use for them! Never have!"

"Stop..."

"In fact... Why should I ever need others at all?"

"Stop stop stop!"

"Trying to find happiness with others has only ended in pain! So if I'm to be a god... They'll have other uses to me, sure..."

"Stop this now!"

"Servants, playthings, food..."

"You can't... I won't let you fall..."

"But the rest... Insignificant! I shall exterminate them like the vermin they are in comparison to my perfection!"

The skies darkened. The massive head and body of a dragon with six black wings and six glowing red eyes rose from the Dragon's Table.

"I am Grima! You shall be cleansed of this world, mortals - for it is mine and mine alone!"

A loud, booming, maniacal laugh echoed across the landscape.

Palkia let out a scream of "No!" She watched in utter helplessness as the dragon ascended, then collapsed to her knees and sobbed.

...I warned you. And it's gonna get worse from here.