Chapter 65 – Going Out in Style

We're getting closer to the end people!

You'll see a strong One Piece parody near the end; either way, get the tissues ready! You have been warned.

To Recap:

Nic converses a bit with Cana and Sophie of their parental ideals since he had a bad experience, telling of the meaning behind his phone, and soon regains his powers in time to arrive at the Heavenly Gates and the Keeper of Hell and broke in. Meanwhile on Earth Land, Erza and Vanessa squared off against Cobra, with Mega Mawile aiding in the fight. Back in the jailbreak, Nic and everyone fought against several lethal foes, and were trapped by an empowered Lysandre, whose strength has grown over the years and despair he's brought. He easily wounds Nic and uses Legendary Arts – Shadow Force to obliterate the spot where he stood, having Nic plunge into darkness while his allies watched in horror.

Chapter 65 – Going Out in Style

Cana was all shaken up as she watched Nic's image disappear. "No, this…this can't be."

"Lysandre…he just-!" Sophie was cut off when a sharp hoof grazed her back, making her fall forward onto her face.

"Quiet girly, you and little friends are finished." The giraffe Spirit taunted.

Pavo was pushing up with the strength he had, yet he was already terribly injured from Lysandre's Shadow Sneak. His eyes became all watery and he swallowed several lumps. "N-NIIIIIC!" His cry bellowed and echoed through the enclosed darkness all around.

Lysandre turned his attention towards the group in despair. His subordinates in front cleared the path, and he watched as Volans was slammed to the ground by Cetus's tail. He began walking forward. Each step caving in the shattered fragments of the stone flooring.

"That was easier than I thought." Lysandre stated. "Now for you." He reached out ahead, where a venomous and corrosive Shadow Ball with immense dark power had been formed. Without warning, he fired Shadow Ball, and the attack let out a shockwave of dark force as it traveled towards Pavo and the rest…

It was dark and damp; no signs of life anywhere. Not even small rodents could stomach this pressure and intoxicating air. All around was nothing put complete darkness that seemed to go on forever.

Three battered figures were sprawled on the floor. One was Nic, one was Greninja, and the last one was Garchomp. All three were unmoving, seemingly devoid of all energy. It was like they were nothing but torn up rag dolls.

A dreary silence swelled through the darkness, but there was a slim hope as Greninja's webbed hand slowly clenched the rotten ground. The Ninja Pokémon was barely shuddering as he clenched tighter. A small grunt escaped and he slowly placed both arms underneath.

With what strength possible, he grunted in agony as he struggled to push up. He pushed up against his body's better judgment and finally made it to his knees. He panted profusely and ignored all of the visible and lethal damages his body had taken.

'Those blows, they could've killed a normal Pokémon.' Greninja was using this time to be grateful that he was still alive, as his body had sufficient durability and endurance.

Another grunt was heard, and Greninja turned his head to see Garchomp grunting and getting back to his feet already. Greninja's head looked up, seeing the uneasy and shuddering look in Garchomp's eyes. The dragon was just as exhausted; perhaps he might fall over, yet his instincts said no.

"Gnnngh!" Garchomp grunted and impaled a claw to the ground, using it as support so as to keep himself steady.

Seeing as how they were both in one piece, Greninja only panted or a short bit once more and finally spoke up. "Garchomp."

The vicious yet battered dragon turned towards Greninja. A painful breath escaped. "Greninja."

"Where are we?"

Garchomp turned his head and looked around. "Beats me, but the last thing I remember was…"

Greninja struggled to his feet, wobbling and looked as though he was gonna fall over again. Garchomp hurriedly caught him and supported him.

Greninja's eyes opened up again. "Thank you, Garchomp."

"Don't worry, let's just figure out where we are."

Greninja's glance went downwards, and he began to process. "…Lysandre's last blow caught the ground to shatter, and I think we blacked out as we fell into the darkness."

Feeling some strength come back, Greninja supported himself, and Garchomp pressed his feet against the ground. "If that's the case, then if this is the darkness, why is there solid ground?" It was a skeptical question because they thought Draco's floor, which was the lowest of all floors in the Keeper of Hell, was the last one. It's the time to consider that maybe there was more to the Keeper of Hell than we thought.

"I could be wrong, Garchomp, but I think that we're now officially at the lowest floor." Greninja said. "You feel this energy? It's fouler than before.'"

Garchomp's eyes narrowed. "…which means there must be more forbidden Spirits." His mind then caught onto something off key, causing him to widen his eyes a little. "Hold on. Where's Nic?"

Greninja's eyes widened. "Nic?" He turned around, looking around for their trainer. "Nic!"

In the darkness of the fallen rubble, not a single sound was made, yet a long yet massive tail arose and waved away.

Garchomp narrowed his eyes as he got that bad feeling again. His instincts were making him suspicious, yet Greninja brought him back to the scenario at hand.

"Garchomp, look!" Greninja showed Garchomp the same direction he looked in. It was extremely bad, and it made them both shudder. It was none other than Nic, clad in his normal self. He was sprawled on the floor and drenched in fresh blood. He looked battered and beaten to a bloody pulp, and he was barely shuddering. The two Pokémon rushed on over and looked down at Nic. "Nic, say something! Anything!"

Nic was grunting, and his red hand was clenching the ground tight. He was barely holding on and red continued dripping from the sides of his mouth. He was covered in dirt and looked like he was gonna rot. He was slowly panting, but not a single word could be mustered. At best, only grunts escaped.

Greninja and Garchomp hurried to aid Nic. "One three one, two, three!" Nic was hauled up by the shoulders and the sudden movement made him choke on a scream that couldn't seem to escape. With his front showing, they saw the torn abdomen showing blood, lots.

"This is bad. He can't fight his way out. Not in his condition." Garchomp muttered. He remembered back to Lysandre's last attack, aimed at Nic yet swallowed all three of them. "He took more damage than both of us put together. I doubt he can stand without help…heh?"

Garchomp and Greninja both looked worrisome, yet something was close by and they felt a radiating force nearby. It was faint, but sensible. There wasn't much power underneath the rubble, but Greninja left Garchomp to support Nic while he went and search among the wreckage. His eyes wandered about, sensing the power, yet not a good lock on it. His eyes darted left, where he saw a faint glow under the debris.

"What?" He jumped on over and used his physical gift to punch through the tough rubble beneath. The pieces cracked, and Greninja jerked back as the light was bright. He covered up and jumped away from the rubble. "What is this?"

The bright light's lamination began diming, and in the background, many pairs of sharp teeth glistened as they were sharp.

Greninja and Garchomp's eyes were wide with surprise as the remaining rubble shook and eroded away, revealing a glowing object that was levitating. It had dim colors that shined like the rainbow. It gave off a luminescent feeling as it slowly rotated in suspension.

Garchomp stared at it. "Is that what I think it is?"

Greninja's eyes shook. "This has to be it, no question."

The key's brightness increased a little.

"The Andromeda Key."

Lysandre entered the control room, his dark aura tainting the air as the guards all around were stern and very productive. They were all forced to work under him and looked through the monitors all around. Within some monitors they saw some broken passageways, and some rubble, yet they never really helped since Lysandre's evil and wicked darkness never made anything easy to see inside the prison anymore. The prisoners were all either dead, and some with loose cages but never bothered escaping because of Lysandre.

A guard stood up and saluted to Lysandre. "Lord Lysandre, sir!"

Lysandre kept a neutral expression on his face as his dark purple energy coating him made the air almost hard to take in, yet his subordinates surrounding him seemed unfazed. "I take it that the drawbridge is now up?"

"Yes, sir!" The guard stated firmly.

"Good." His monstrous smirk turned towards the way he and his six subordinates came from. "Even if they did survive, they'll never escape the Keeper the Hell as long as I'm here."

The six subordinates bowed before him and his corrosive power. "And we shall make sure that they don't escape, Lord Lysandre." Camelo assured. "Even the Heavenly Gates shall never open for them."

Lysandre chuckled in delight over his enemy's misery.

A pair of eyes fluttered open, seeing rusty bars and dark stone underneath. Pavo groaned as he was coming around, having himself wounded in all the wrong places. "Where…are we?"

"He's awake." He heard Sophie's voice in the distance. Turning his head back, he looked baffled as everyone was locked up in suspended cells like he was, like cages with wounded birds. Everyone was severely battered from Lysandre and his subordinates.

Cana looked from inside her barred cage. "Pavo!"

"Cana! What happened to us?!"

Volans was sitting in his knees in his cage. His eyes opened up as he looked at Pavo. "We were captured by Lysandre and his top subordinates. Despite our best efforts, his evil outmatched us by an unquestionable margin."

"What?" Pavo stood up in his cage in disbelief.

Corvus looked gloomy in his cage. "We didn't have a chance. He had us from the start."

Lupus gave a pout inside his cage. "We came all this way, and for what? To end up being caged corpses." He shook his head. "I never imagined going down like this."

Pavo looked determined. "Then don't imagine it. Come on guys! We have to get out and get that key!"

Sophie leaned against her cage bars. "We wanna get out of here as badly as you; really, we do." She looked sad. "But Lysandre's gotten overwhelming through the last 7 years. Nic didn't even have a chance."

"That's because he had the element of surprise on us! We weren't mentally prepared!" Pavo argued. "We'll break out of here and get that key!"

"Without Nic?" Corvus didn't at all sound optimistic; like that of his feathers, his mood was black. "Pavo, admit it…without Nic, we're hopeless."

Pavo grunted up at the crow. "Don't be stupid! What's with all of this negative talk about? Come on, Nic's still out there!"

"WRAR!" The harsh snarl emanated from Lupus, startling Pavo so much that he fell on his bottom and shuddered at the crestfallen wolf. Lupus gripped the cages. "Pavo, this is serious! For all we know, that guy and the others may have already fallen to their deaths!"

Cana looked at Lupus in disbelief. "How can you say that?! You don't know Nic as well as we do!"

"We know him well enough that he wasn't strong as you say he was." Corvus backlashed. "You told us he went head-to-head with the monster, and even underwent an incredible transformation to beat him. Well where was that?!"

Sophie gripped her cage bars. "Corvus! Lupus!"

"Enough, everyone!" Volans exerted without looking. His commanding and deep voice was enough to completely silence everyone again. A still and foul air seeped all around them, still making it hard for them to breathe normally. They all had to take deep breaths.

"Whether or not we see it in black or white, it doesn't change the fact that regardless of what happened, the outcome was still not in our favor." He paused. "The kind of vile tongues we're giving off is what's feeding the monster, and perhaps Nic does need to use this transformation, but since it didn't happen, it left us with little success." He began wincing. "We have been defeated, and Nic's gone."

Pavo was left with huge eyes. He gasped as he saw their fearless and honorable Volans broken. It was almost too much too take. Pavo didn't know what was going on anymore. His head was like a hurricane, and he didn't know what to do. He came all this way, but not to just give up like his friends.

Volans continued. "This power…it's too gre-!"

A sudden kicked stretched by a peacock beak reached out and smacked Volans right in the cheek.

"SHUT UP!" Pavo screamed, echoing through the dark space. Everyone grew silent and stiff as the mood shifted. Volans's teeth were apart as he looked at Pavo while toughing his cheek, where Pavo kicked him.

Pavo was panting as he stood up. "You can say all that you want about me. You can tell me that I'm dumb. That I'm inadequate. That I'm unworthy of a peacock…" He began to sniffle. "But what I will not tolerate *sniffle* is the neglecting of a true friend!"

"Pavo." Cana muttered.

Pavo's fists clenched. "We all came together to stop Lysandre, not mope around and give up like a bunch of sissy-babies! We all agreed to keep fighting until the bitter end! Is honor more important than a friend's life?! Is your own life more important than those you love?! We've all worked so hard to get back what was ours, and we can't give it all up now!" He began kicking the cage bars with relentless spins. "I want hope, thus I will keep it until my final moments. That means, I always hope for the best, and that means…I BELIEVE NIC WILL BE ALRIGHT!"

He reached into his all but destroyed attire, revealing a pocket intact that had the earpiece inside. He put the communication lacrima inside and began to speak into it, hearing static on the other end. "Nic! Answer me! Ni~c! Ni~~c!" Everyone was left baffled by Pavo not giving up. Corvus wasn't sure if Pavo was persistent or stupid. "Don't you dare stay silent! Come on, this static can't mean you're on the brink of death! You're the light, so shine bright! NIC! NI~C!"

"Pavo, just what are you trying to accomplish?" Corvus asked in disbelief.

Pavo ignored his friend's call and continued shouting into the earpiece. "You can't die on us buddy! We need you to live! Hang on, please! I will keep cheering out to you, to the bitter end!"

His desperate and supportive plea was like a wave of guilt that washed over everyone. As Pavo yelled out his support and faith, all they could do was watch on and feel guilt rile them up. Sophie and Cana looked down as images of Nic flooded their mind; and all of the crazy times they've shared in all the wrong places. If they gave up here, what kind of friends would they be?

"Hang on, Nic! I believe in you!" Pavo continued screaming.

Sophie winced as pools of tears went down her cheeks. She reached for her lacrima and put it in her ear. "Nic! Answer us! Ni~c!"

"Hang in there, Nic! Answer us!" Cana shouted as tears sparkled down her cheeks. "If you die, who's gonna accompany me behind the bar?! Who was the first to relate to me with decency?! Don't you dare die!"

Corvus winced and his body shook, Lupus included. Both haven't known Nic for more than twenty-four hours, but within that course of time, it felt like they all connected on a similar level. They all remembered the determined look Nic always gave, and ready to give it his all in battle. Whether they liked it or not, they were all friends, so if they threw their lives away, then what would they be standing for?

Corvus began to quiver and sniffled. Reaching for his communication lacrima in his earpiece, he began yelling in a swell. "Nic! Answer us!" He bellowed through the heavy static, indicating Nic's severe condition.

"Nic! Live!" Lupus bellowed.

Volans grumbled and lifted his hand from his cheek. He had too much pride on the line, and a reputation. Giving up to a great force, and letting a comrade die, is something that he can't seem to let happen."Nic! Answer us right now!" Volans exclaimed with a strong voice.

"Nic!" Pavo shouted. "Plea~se, answer! Ni~~c!"

"Nic!" Sophie screamed.

"Get your butt in gear! Nic!" Cana shouted.

"You and your Pokémon! Come on, answer!" Corvus shouted.

"Nic!" Lupus howled.

"Nic! Arise!" Volans shouted.

"NI~~C!" They all bellowed in unison. Finally, after all of that effort, the static on the other end began to muffle and the static began to lessen some.

It was a long wait, feeling like forever when it was actually so many seconds on the other end. Pavo's teary eyes remained still and watery until the static settled at long last, and then they began to hear an incoherent message.

"…sorry for the wait…guys…"

It was those words they waited to hear, and they finally reached them. Pavo began to sniffle and tears began to scroll down his cheeks. He was so happy. "NIC!"

Cana smirked. "Finally! You had us worried there."

"What a close call. You scared us there for a second." Sophie grinned.

In the darkest pits, Nic was speaking into his phone that was laced with the lacrima. He smirked as he spoke into it while being supported by Greninja. "Yeah, sorry for the wait guys; hope you can forgive me." His eyes glanced over to Garchomp, whom was in front of the Andromeda Key. "And we've found something that'll be most satisfying."

"What did you find?" Lupus's voice was heard in Nic's phone.

Nic smiled. "…The Andromeda Key."

Back up above, everyone gasped and had wide eyes. "The WHAT?!" Pavo bellowed. "You mean you've found it ?!"

"Yeah, it has to be. It's giving up some radiant energy." Nic paused. "It'll be awhile, but are you guys alright?"

"Yes Nic, we're just fine." Volans explained.

"I'm thankful. You guys hang tight." He insisted, not understanding that he was being ironic with them in suspended cages. "We'll get the key and-!"

"GWWOOOHHHHH!"

A monstrous bellow roared through the earpieces, making them all widen their eyes and cringe in freight. The monstrous roar was loud and sounded heavy, almost draconic. Everyone heard the roar one the line and heard it settle.

"Nic, what the hell was that?!" Cana shouted into her lacrima.

Static began to take up the sound as low growls were heard. Pavo's eyes shook as this sounded like a bad omen.

"Guys, I'll have to call you later…we got company." Just then, Nic stopped the line. Back down in the darkest pits, he, Greninja, and Garchomp all stood up and glared up at the dark beast before them. All were on their highest guard as the air was even deadlier because of the scent the huge beast glowering down at them had. It was a giant monster, the same height as Draco before being slaughtered by Lysandre. It was as dark as the shadows, and each of the five heads had glowing dull eyes and razor sharp teeth. It also had five smaller tails with forked ends that were attached to a single and thicker tail. All around the body was dark, spiky scales that ran along the back, necks, and the tails.

The five heads opened their mouths, showing their huge mouths and hot, rotting breaths, making the three's skin burn. As it settled, they winced and looked back up as the heads retracted slowly, hovering over the Andromeda Key. If the predicament they were in wasn't bad enough, they were already exhausted from before.

"This is bad." Greninja muttered. "This enemy is giving of a malevolent amount of Magic Power."

"And we're exhausted as we are." Nic muttered. "We gotta get that key."

Garchomp stepped forward, his feet pressing against the dark ground. He roared back up at the monster that looked like a Hydra. His roar bellowed just as loudly, sending dusty ripples all around and shaking the airspace.

"Garchomp…okay, it's all up to you." Nic put his faith in Garchomp as Greninja was supporting him. "Hold nothing back! We must get that key!"

"I never hold anything back!" Garchomp crouched and lunged up at Hydra, cracking the ground from where he originally stood. His claws and fins glowed green as he shot up at Hydra.

"Okay you bellowing bastard, time to lay some hurt! Dual Chop!" He swung his fins down harshly in a chop down on one of the heads as said head went to attack. The fangs clashed against Dual Chop, making a green explosion erupt as air ripples bellowed. Garchomp reared back from the explosion and growled out as the remaining heads bellowed out at him.

One head lunged at him, and Garchomp dodged with ease with his speed. "Too slow!" He glided and shifted as more heads lunged at him, all failing to snap down on him. Despite his smaller size, Garchomp was far more maneuverable than the whole beast itself.

As soon as he came to a stop, he found himself surrounded by all five heads. He showed no smirk, despite how easily he maneuvered them into a trap.

Hydra's heads all opened their jaws and lunged at Garchomp. The Mach Pokémon shot up at sonic speed, reappearing above the heads, watching them all bash into each other and gawk due to the sudden shock running through their heads.

"Dragon Rush!" Garchomp's head appendages glowed and he exerted great amounts of draconic energy, shaping into a thick dragon. The attack soared straight down onto all five heads, smashing into the converged point. A massive draconic explosion erupted that expanded outwards, rattling the ground and making all of the heads bellow and fall back in agony.

Garchomp emerged from the smoke cloud and arose above, he snarled downwards as the smoke began dispersing, but was attacked through by a tail shooting through the smoke. Garchomp moved fast and dodged the tail swat, and shifted and twisted to evade the spiky tails.

"Slash!" Garchomp's claws glowed and elongated. Raising both claws, he slashed diagonally, leaving a white trail as he gashed across one tail. Another tail lashed in its place, and Garchomp used Slash at it as well.

Slashing and dodging was his only capability at the moment, while Nic and Greninja had to secure the key. Greninja leaped ahead as fast as his legs could carry him, and a few heads looked down to see Greninja advancing.

They let out vile roars bellow, and unleashed dark beams from their mouths, spewing them like lasers. Greninja jumped and dodged as the ground beneath shattered from the explosion, leaving him in midair and to have a head charge for him with an open mouth.

"Dark Pulse!" He fired a jumbled array of dark rings, striking Hydra in the incoming face. The dark explosion erupted, and Greninja was able to straighten out a little, yet the head continued its course and rammed Greninja, sending the Water and Dark-Type screaming and falling to the ground.

He backflipped and landed on the ground, yet another head looked down and fired a vicious dark beam at him, forcing him to jump back and retreat in a skid beside Nic.

"No good, he's got all the points covered." Greninja informed.

Nic wasn't convinced. "Then we go in low! Garchomp, Dig!"

Garchomp heard his trainer's command and wasted no movements. He dove down at sonic speed, claws first as he impaled into the earth, making it shake as rock and stone shattered. Hydra looked down at the hole in front, and sensed hardly any vibrations.

In a few seconds, the ground beneath the Hydra cracked and shattered, exploding rock and debris all around as the Spirit fell backwards. As he fell, Garchomp shot up out of the blue and presented a foot. "How do you like…this!" He stomped his foot in the center of his body, making a shattering sound and a shockwave as Hydra crashed downwards into the stone.

Garchomp landed on the ground with a thud. "What did I tell you? The bigger they are, the harder they fall." He turned towards Greninja. "Get the key!"

"On it!" Greninja dashed for the floating Andromeda Key a distance away from the fallen Hydra. He closed in with excellent ninja movements, yet from his left a tail swung, causing him to jump and dodge the tail.

He landed and skidded back again, but had to jump once more as another tail went swinging down. He landed yet again, scrutinizing Hydra getting back up and each head growling and snapping at them.

"He doesn't even have a scratch on him!" Greninja said.

"How is that possible?" Garchomp angrily bellowed.

Hydra opened his five mouths and fired five dark beams simultaneously at the two. Each one was overwhelming with power like the ones before. Garchomp crouched and arched downwards, and Greninja crouched and sprung high upwards. The beams converged and made a humungous explosion that rattled in a dark field that expanded, causing Nic to cover up and get some cover while he was still able-bodied.

"Bounce!" Greninja shouted, descending down onto Hydra. The beast readied to exterminate Greninja, but as before, the ground beneath cracked and broke apart again, leaving him to fall back and lose momentum, making the dark beams fired miss.

"Dig!" Garchomp shot out of the ground behind the falling Hydra, roaring as he drove his knee into his back, making a forceful ripple echo through the beast's entire body. The shock made Hydra suspended from falling for a few moments, leaving Greninja's foot to stomp down on his abdomen, making yet another shock that drove Hydra back down onto the ground, making more dust and debris bellow.

Greninja and Garchomp landed in front of him again, watching the dust settle. Greninja wobbled a little, still not fully recovered. "Did we leave a mark?"

The dust cleared, spreading out as Hydra roared into the darkness all around. He didn't look at all exhausted; in fact, he seemed more excited than ever.

"Grrr! Blasted beast!" Garchomp scowled. "Now I'm really mad!"

Hydra opened all five mouths, shooting a bellowing beam of darkness that took up the whole area, shattering and shaking the earth as it traveled. The attack made the two wide-eyed, and engulfed them in a painful explosion. They screamed and shot back into a painful thud, slamming against the earth.

"Greninja! Garchomp!" Nic cried out, seeing his two Pokémon shaking as they could barely get up from that devastative blow. He tried moving, but when he took a step, a shock ran through his body and he got to a knee.

'Curse these injuries.' He thought. He looked ahead, seeing the Andromeda Key, and his gaze followed up to Hydra, starting to close in on him. 'I won't have time to use Recover. I gotta move!'

Garchomp and Greninja both stumbled back to their feet. The three were ready to evade if possible, and watched the five heads converge onto them.

"Descending Peck Memoir!" The sudden attack call was followed by a sharp foot angled down and striking one of Hydra's heads. Said head recoiled as the figure twirled his body with elegance and landed with a pose on one foot, with the other high.

"Did you miss little ol' me?" Pavo asked.

"Pavo!" Nic shouted with pleasant surprise.

"Memory-Make: Piercing Frigid Darkness!"

"Night Storm!"

An arrow of ice and darkness was supported by a black twister that gave it a powerful spin. The forceful attack created a huge icy explosion as it seemingly pierced another head of the Hydra, making him roar in agony.

More figures descending downwards revealed themselves to be none other than the ones that have been calling out to Nic – everyone that was caged up. Lupus landed on all fours, Volans descended while carrying Cana, and Corvus barely held up Sophie while Pavo was present.

"We have come in the name of our friendship! We'll not allow it to tarnish!" Pavo exclaimed, spinning in place.

Volans clenched his fists, ready for battle as the icy mist settle, showing the agitated beast known as Hydra. "The most lethal and darkest Celestial Spirit. I never would've imagined confronting Hydra. He's wicked beyond comprehension." Of course in retrospect he was still far below Lysandre's bloody caliber, though he dared not say.

Corvus clenched his fists. "Alright, let's beat this sucker and get that key!"

Lupus snapped his jaws at the foul air. "Time for pest control to do its job!"

Cana looked just as ready. "Let's kick this guy's ass and break out with that key! I'll lead!" She swiped her cards. "Icicle!" She shot giant icicles from the cards and they all pierced the ground right in front of Hydra, making the powerful Spirit lose concentration for a brief moment.

"Memory-Make: Baryon Lightning Impact!" Sophie launched a green beam with yellow lightning infused into it, making a direct hit in Hydra's abdomen, but to no avail as the beast wasn't even fazed. "He's still grinning away!"

Hydra roared out at them, making shockwaves bellow through the space and made everyone slid back some feet, but all were able to hold their ground, but just barely. The beast fired more dark beams again, and they all closed in with great force as before.

Lupus and Volans got in front, both readying their attacks,

"Tsunami Implosion!"

"Sonic Howl!"

Both Volans and Lupus unleashed their assaults, with water and midnight blue soundwaves bellowing. The force of both attacks met with the beams coming in, making an explosion with violent, foul winds that felt like a hurricane.

Once settled, Hydra bellowed down at them again, looking unfazed and more than a little angry. All of those attacks dealt so far barely made a scratch on him. He was more powerful than Draco even, hence why he was down in the darkest level.

"I shall get the key!" Pavo began spinning off like a top and onwards towards Hydra, attempting his shot for the Andromeda Key.

Hydra had one of his heads open the mouth and lunged at Pavo. Pavo kept on spinning and maneuvered around the head, dodging the fangs while spinning. He maneuvered left and right while dodging tails and more fangs. "Hyaaaaahhhhhh!" He leaned forward, increasing his momentum and rotation power.

"Alright, Pavo!" Cana cheered. "Go!"

Pavo let out a battlecry as he advanced onwards, and finally did a small skip and jumped. He grabbed the 3-foot key and twirled with it in hand. "I GOT IT!"

Lupus howled up in glee. "Wait a go, buddy!"

"HAHA! Now we can get out of here!" Corvus shouted in glee.

Pavo laughed as he held the Andromeda Key, so happy to have finally gotten the key. He was brought out of his musings when a snarl was heard overhead, and looking up, his eyes nearly bulged out of his head as a Hydra head went straight down from above. He screamed like a sissy and held the key tightly as he turned away to escape.

The Hydra head was closing in fast. And Pavo looked as though he wasn't gonna make it away in time…

A sudden dark and purple beam with massive force roared from out of nowhere, and the attack struck the head attacking Pavo, engulfing it in a rippling explosion that sent Pavo screaming and flying off through the winds.

"AAHHHH!" Pavo landed head first into a pile of debris, still holding onto the key. Winds continued bellowing and they quelled soon enough, leaving Pavo to pry his upper body out of the rubble with a 'pop' sound.

"Sorry for the sudden assist." He turned to see where the attack originated, revealing Nic to be the savior as the sides of his mouth steamed from the remnants of Hyper Beam. Pavo couldn't be any happier at the time as Nic grinned. "Glad Hyper Beam made it in time."

Greninja and Garchomp were right beside him, both ready to keep on going.

"Nic!" Pavo exclaimed.

Nic smirked in satisfaction and turned towards Garchomp. "Okay then. Garchomp, we've been down here long enough. Let's bury him."

Garchomp got the notion as Nic motioned his left wrist, showing the Key Stone embedded in the wristband. Garchomp deviously smirked. "Finally, now let's see what kinds of damage we can do!"

"Right!" Nic held up his Mega Wristband, emanating a strong power already. "Garchomp, stop Hydra will all the fire power you have!" He tapped the Key Stone, and it began to emanate a lot of rainbow colors, which had a great swell of power, enough to startle Volans and everyone around.

Cana's eyes widened as her hair shifted from the winds already given off. "Wait, his Charizard did this back on Tenrou Island." She looked at Nic and Garchomp both. "So that means…"

Nic tapped the Key Stone, releasing strong waves of light. "Garchomp, Mega Evolve!"

The light waves flailed about wildly through the dark air, illuminating the place. Garchomp began to grunt and roar as he unleashed purple light waves from his body. All eyes were on the transformation, and they all saw the light waves flail until they reached out to each other and connected. The connected light wave thus shined a bright light that began trailing down towards Garchomp.

Volans was feeling an overwhelming sense of power. "M-Mega…Evolve?"

Sophie swallowed as Garchomp was engulfed in a peculiar yet ominous light. "So he can do it too…Mega Evolution."

Everyone watched as Garchomp grunted through the power enhancement, and watched the small debris all around actually defy gravity due to the power given off. They watched the head and shoulders get angular, and the tail sing became a different shape. The claws and find seemingly combined, becoming blades.

When the light exploded, a massively loud and deep draconic roar bellowed through the airspace, letting loose a volatile shockwave that shattered all of the floating debris and shook the ground with impressive magnitude that cracked the ground profusely.

When it all finally settled, everyone gazed with deep awe at Mega Garchomp. They saw his sharp fangs and feral gaze set on Hydra. His snarling sent a shiver down their spines. Even Hydra was caught surprised.

"HWHAAAAAT?!" Pavo exclaimed. "Your Garchomp can power up?!"

Nic kept a confident grin. "Everyone sit tight, Mega Garchomp will handle this."

In compliance, Mega Garchomp snarled out at Hydra, and he stomped a foot forward, thudding the ground hard. His power had drastically increased, now it was time to bury Hydra like they said they would.

"Slash!" Nic shouted. Mega Garchomp crouched and the blades glowed. He lunged off the ground, sending a strong wind and dust in all directions, completely shattering the ground from where he stood. He lunged at sonic speed after the Hydra, whom recovered and fired beams at Mega Garchomp, same as before. Mega Garchomp brought a raised blade right behind him and let out a roar as he diagonally slashed, leaving a long trail of white that soon faded away.

In a second's time, the combined beam of darkness was bisected diagonally, making Corvus and Pavo's eyes nearly bulge out of their heads. All eyes were set as Mega Garchomp continued his course and raised his other blade and let out a low roar, slashing diagonally across Hydra's abdomen, leaving a white trail that faded away.

Seconds after that, a massive gash sliced across the abdomen, leaving Hydra to bellow screams and roars of agony. Mega Garchomp remained positioned in midair and bellowed out at Hydra, making air ripples that shook the air and earth they stood on. He looked as one of Hydra's heads lunged up at him, baring razor sharp fangs.

"Open wide! Slash!" Mega Garchomp slashed his blade once more, grunting as he followed through. At first the Hydra head didn't seem fazed, but a glint ran across the teeth, and then the teeth all were completely sliced.

The Hydra head screamed and flailed his head back in agony, and then the remaining four head all surrounded Mega Garchomp, all baring their fangs. Mega Garchomp narrowed his eyes. "You wanna join him? Be my guest!"

All four heads opened wide and attacked, lunging at Mega Garchomp. "Dual Chop!" His blades glowed green, and he let out a deep, bellowing roar as he spun in place with both green blades out. After making a full circle and remaining still, the aftershock kicked in, and the Hydra heads all slowed down to a complete halt. A green glint was seen and all of the teeth on all of the heads were sliced, falling off and apart like shattered glass.

All eyes were wide, except Nic and Greninja, whom gave expectant looks as the Hydra heads all bellowed in riling agony. They all flailed about and the tails wagged in agony. Everyone could've shuddered, but they were too in awe to even do that.

"Unbelievable." Lupus said. "Before, they were barely putting dents in that thing…now they're slicing that thing up like it was a piece of fruit."

Cana and Sophie looked up as dust past their feet. Both were too amazed to look away at this level of power. It was just like the time when Charizard Mega Evolved against Hades. It was so unreal that it terrified them.

Mega Garchomp landed on the ground with a thud, and snarled out as Hydra was unable to control himself. He was blasting dark beams from the broken mouths everywhere in his rage and confusion. The beams passed the group, rattling the ground as a line of explosions bellowed all around. Everyone covered up as Hydra was having no sense of what's right anymore.

Volans uncovered and assessed the situation. "He's lost control! All the sudden damage he's taken is too much, and he's become unstable!" He covered up as an explosion happened nearby. "We have to defeat him now!"

"Right! Mega Garchomp, go!" Nic shouted.

"With pleasure!" He lunged ahead, making the ground crack and shatter yet again and air ripples went about. He accelerated past a beam without flinching, and slashed diagonally to completely slice through a beam. He straightened out and kept a steady course for the cut abdomen.

"Dragon Rush!"

Mega Garchomp bellowed out a roar that made the earth shake again, and the appendages on his head glowed light blue again. His body that then enveloped in gruesome, draconic energy that shaped into a devastating dragon.

Mega Garchomp roared out some more and Hydra roared in searing agony when Dragon Rush met his cut abdomen, the shockwave expanding out so much that the entire ground they all stood on shattered and broke, making them fly away, though Nic, Greninja, and Volans were able to just skid.

A massive, sound barrier-breaking ripple echoed and the humungous beast screamed in agony as he shot backwards a far distance away, his roaring getting weaker and weaker, until he finally crashed and was enveloped in a dome of draconic energy that spread out, erupting the land once more and leaving everyone in sheer awe.

They all watched the dome disperse, and Mega Garchomp landed on the ground, making it thud and crack beneath his feet. He snarled out as the Hydra heads all let out a bellowing cry before falling back to the earth, defeated and literally scarred for his life.

In victory, Mega Garchomp let out a mighty draconic roar that echoed outwards, shaking the earth and having dust ripple in all directions.

Volans's eyes shook in awe. "Hydra…defeated."

Cana whistled. "Dang, I am never gonna mess with those guys."

Sophie looked in sheer awe, her eyes wide. "I can't believe it myself, and I've remembered it all, yet I didn't." Her Memory-Make couldn't remember or forget Pokémon moves, to her implication.

Pavo's awe slowly grew into pure happiness. "Ah…ah…I knew! He is the light!"

Mega Garchomp walked on over towards Nic, each footstep shuddering the ground until he was present in front of a smiling Nic and Greninja. Nic reached out and petted Mega Garchomp's head, who seemed surprisingly delighted. "You were amazing, Mega Garchomp." Mega Garchomp then lifted his head, seeing the serious look back in his trainer's eyes. "Now that we have the Andromeda Key, let's get out of here."

Cana smirked. "Now we're talking. Let's get the hell out of here!"

Volans spread his large wings out. "Lupus, Miss Cana, hang on." The two latched onto the fishman.

"I gotcha." Corvus grabbed Sophie by the arms and hoisted her up.

"Greninja, let's get going." Nic commanded and he latched onto Mega Garchomp's back, and Greninja's light weight was no trouble for the Mega Evolved Pokémon. With all of them set, they all crouched, and left the floor of pure darkness, with the only light being the Andromeda Key Pavo carried as he ascended.

Sirens were going off in the control room and everyone turned to the visual monitors. The guards looked into the dim screens, barely catching glimpses of figures breaking through the flooring of the mid-level. "Lysandre, sir! We have a problem!"

"What?" His dark purple aura nearly rotted the guard's entire body as he leaned in to look at the few monitors onscreen. Despite the dim darkness, he saw as clear as day, witnessing the intruders escalating up the floors and opened ways. "What?! Nic is still alive?!"

A low growl escaped his breath, exerting dark, steaming air that could've melted or rotted anything it touched. Angrily he turned towards the six subordinates. "Don't let them escape alive!"

"Right!" They all went out the door in an attempt to stop Nic.

"Abyss Palm!" Volans did a palm strike with deep blue water in front, erupting and sending many guards flying.

"Peacock Capoeira!" While holding onto the key, Pavo unleashed a furious amount of kicks at the guards, so fast and nimble that they never had time to attack. Many guards laid at their feet, giving Nic and everyone room to go on ahead.

"Mega Garchomp, shoot up!" Nic bellowed. Mega Garchomp roared outwards, and everyone followed his lead as he lunged up from the passageway, breaking it apart with his raw power. They all continued flying upwards, though Volans and Pavo stayed behind to assure that the guards don't get a shot at them.

Pavo spun into the enemies with elegance and with his cape slapping them, and Volans slashed at many in one go. The nearby guards advanced, yet even they were left unmatched with Pavo's furious spinning and kicking, keeping them on their backs and groaning.

He posed with one leg up with still holding the key. "Now that's what I'm talking about!"

Volans nodded. "Excellent work, Pavo." As he turned to spread his wings, Pavo looked a little shocked as an epiphany flourished. "We should hurry up and meet with them as quick as we-"

"Wait, Volans." Pavo said. The sudden intrusion made the fishman turn back towards him. "I just realized something!"

"What?"

"The Heavenly Gates!" Volans's eyes widened as he quickly caught onto Pavo's epiphany. Pavo continued. "How did the Heavenly Gates work? It has to be a one-way trap. If we remember correctly, the Heavenly Gates has two sets of gates, right?" He began picturing a square, with entrances on the top and bottom, with the Keeper of Hell on the left-hand side. "If that's the case, then…"

Volans looked down as he clenched his fists. "Of course. Now it makes sense. Even if we get out of the Keeper of Hell, we're left to open the other set of the Heavenly Gates, which is impossible."

Pavo clenched the key tighter than before. His eyes were shaking and he looked troubled. "…no, there is a way…"

Mega Garchomp roared as he plowed and smashed through the passageways as they shot up like rockets. The others followed behind, evading the debris. As they advanced, there was a glint high above, descending downwards.

"Stop!" Aquila shouted, his wings tucked in as he soared like a missile. "HRAH!"

"Out of our way!" Mega Garchomp bellowed, rocketing into Aquila, forcing the Eagleman to get out of the way so as not to get his bones shattered.

"You're doing it all wrong!" The tall and tan man with the huge rainbow coat hovered above, swiping his arm. "Like this!" He fired a swirling wave of rainbow feathers downwards, and yet despite it, Mega Garchomp bellowed and slashed right through. "Heh?!" Mega Garchomp sailed with the others upwards, with Aquila and the other following behind.

"I think I can see the top floor!" Sophie shouted.

"Alright, We're almost there!" Corvus shouted. "Just a little more!"

Lupus smirked. "It's 'bout time! I thought I was gonna shed due to the foul air down here!" They all landed with a great thud, dust rippling upon their arrival to the first floor. With the ground much more solid than the other floors, they all ran ahead, seeing the exit and some lighter darkness ahead.

Cana smirked. "Alright! Now we're-!" She stopped and her eyes widened. A sudden wave of fear echoed and they all came to uneasy halts. Greninja and Mega Garchomp both came to slow stops from running, and they were on guard as the energy growing was immense.

"What?" Sophie wondered. "But…but we were so close."

A maniacal laughter echoed through the first floor, and they all looked uneasy as dark shadows eroded from all around, streaming in front and shaping into the one man they thought they could pass by.

"I told you, you're not getting away." Lysandre, now revealed, said.

Nic grunted as he, Greninja, and Mega Garchomp were all on edge and still uneasy from the last confrontation. Just the remembrance alone was enough to make them hurt again, though they powered through.

"Lysandre." Nic said.

Behind the group, the six subordinates all stood with rough smirks on their faces, all glaring out at Nic and the present group. The group looked back and forth, seeing as how they were caught on both ways. They looked from all positions and Nic and his Pokémon looked out at Lysandre.

Lysandre smirked. "Try dodging this! Shadow Ball!" He conjured up a heinous sphere of black and purple. The immense hatred in the attack was swelling, and he fired the Ghost-Type move at Nic and friends.

Nic extended his arm out. "Mega Garchomp, Dual Chop!"

Mega Garchomp roared out and his blades glowed a green color. He raised one of his blades and slashed his blade downwards. The attack completely bisected Shadow Ball, making the ball split into two and travel outwards on either direction, exploding in the darkness. Mega Garchomp lunged after Lysandre with his other green blade, and in turn Lysandre readied his Dragon Claw. Both attacks met in the middle, where they slashed and created a blistering shockwave that rampaged all around, shattering the nearby walls to the entrance and making the ground quake violently. A huge crater encompassed the two and shockwaves made everyone all around cover up.

The two growled angrily at the other, and much to Lysandre's shock, Mega Garchomp was actually holding up and finally broke through the Dragon Claw, but just barely. Lysandre scooted backwards and as Mega Garchomp ducked, Greninja appeared, jumping from behind and lunging forward with a Drak Pulse in hand.

"Dark Pulse!" Greninja let loose the Dark Pulse, where the Dark-Type move went beaming at near point-blank and blasted Lysandre, engulfing the man in a dark and super effective explosion. Greninja and Mega Garchomp both backed away in a hurry and landed with thuds right beside Nic.

Both suddenly dropped to their knees, exhaustion piling on. Nic looked worries. "Stay strong!"

The dark explosion was converging, and everyone watched as Lysandre was converging the residue to a single point. "Mirror Coat!" He roared, and fired the newly-formed Dark Pulse and blasted it at the group. They were all engulfed in a heinous explosion that erupted upwards, as though a bomb went off and black dust looked around.

It settled, and Lysandre chuckled in amusement as everyone was on a knee, severely bruised and looked like they could barely stand. Nic grunted as the attack backfired, yet refused to give in as Greninja and Mega Garchomp were just as exhausted. "Do you ever learn, Nic Pularis?" He began to advance forwards Nic, looking distasteful and unwavering.

"Did you really believe that you could just run away when you're inside of a one-way prison? If that isn't sad, I don't know what is." His eyes narrowed with sadistic satisfaction. "You don't have a prayer in the state you're in, which is why I'm having my subordinates take care of you while I watch."

He morphed into shadows and reappeared some ways away. He watched as the six slowly closed in. "This should be a nice show. My masters and I will finally watch as your helpless state is left to rot by those weaker than me. Have at them."

Cetus raised a scaly clawed hand. "Oh, I know I'm gonna savor this!"

Nic, Greninja, and Mega Garchomp all slowly arose to a knee, all ready to fend them off…

"HYAAAHHHH!" A sudden spinning kick rotated with unparalleled speed. It was like a rampaging beast that kicked the six beasts and was followed by a sudden blast of deep blue water moving in an arc that swamped the six, knocking them onto their backs.

"What?!" Lysandre bellowed.

The figures revealed themselves to be none other than Volans and Pavo, both finally caught up with grins on their faces. Pavo laughed out loud as they all didn't see that coming.

"You guys!" Cana shouted in surprise.

"It's about time you caught up!" Lupus exclaimed.

Volans began to run towards them and Pavo spun out to them as well. Volans was ahead by just a little. "We can't beat him like this! We have the Andromeda Key, let's go!" He had the Andromeda Key, to which Pavo had previously.

"Kill them!" Lysandre bellowed.

"Blizzard!" The sudden call from Nic caught Lysandre by surprise, and he turned to only be bombarded by the fierce Blizzard from Nic, who was clad in his Icicle Plate Form. Lysandre was engulfed in the super effective attack and grunted as the cold attack smashed him against a nearby wall. The Blizzard stopped, and Nic turned towards Greninja. "Now!"

"Smokescreen!" Greninja made ninja hand signs and spewed out smoke. The thick, black cloud expanded outwards, and the enemies all covered up from the smoke. Sirius snarled as he couldn't get a lock on the targets since the smoke was violating his nostrils.

"Slash!" Mega Garchomp bellowed, and a white trail glistened through the smoke, and everyone heard something enormous break apart.

"What was that?" Camelo wondered.

"Don't tell me…those brats knocked down the drawbridge!" The tan subordinate exclaimed.

Lysandre swiped his arm, dissipating the Smokescreen and seeing the drawbridge door was sliced up, despite being five-feet thick. His eyes narrowed and his aura thickened. "Grrrr!"

Now on the edge of the port, everyone looked out to the ship, and Volans still held the Andromeda Key. "We need to get out of here, and fast. No matter what, don't look back!"

Mega Garchomp growled and Nic looked at him. He saw how tired he was, though if they were both honest, they might actually go on for awhile, but Mega Garchomp did his part. "Mega Garchomp, well done."

Mega Garchomp made an array of rainbow colors and was encased in them shortly, and flashed back to being Garchomp. He huffed as he had scratches all over his body. "Yeah."

"Return." Nic finally recalled Garchomp back into his Poke Ball, and with him out of harm's way, he turned towards Volans. "We're ready!"

Lysandre rushed out of the prison, his lower half nothing but shadows as the six followed behind him. "Stop them now!"

Volans clasped his hands together and grunted. Water began to encompass everyone present, and they all were in water veils with plenty of oxygen to reach the ship. Everyone let out cries as they jumped into the water, splashing and evading the incoming Lysandre that arrived at their spot just mere seconds afterwards.

He looked down at the water, unable to find them. "Where are you? Where…?" He growled and turned around, facing his six subordinates, whom hurriedly bowed before his growing wrath. "Cetus, you be ready to make a current. Apus, get us a ship!"

Apus, the tan man with the rainbow-feathered coat, smirked with his head down and sunglasses covering his eyes. "On it, boss man."

Lysandre looked ahead, taking a pause. "The Heavenly Gates will be their end."

The small group were carried by Volans by his Magic, and they all shot up from the sea and onto the deck. They were all stepping foot on the wood and Corvus stretched overhead. "ALRIGHT! WE ACTUALLY BROKE OUT!"

Volans went for the steering wheel. He grabbed it and began turning. "Everyone be ready! With the Andromeda Key, we're leaving the Keeper of Hell!"

Cana raised a fist. "Let's get rockin'!" She and everyone got into position as the ship began to turn, and they all sailed off northwards, not looking back as Volans told. Though if they did, they'd see that there were eight ships, all armed with Lysandre's forces. They all sailed off, and as shocking as it was, they were moving extremely fast.

"Don't let them escape!" A member shouted.

"They'll be executed for sure!" Another one bellowed.

"We'll be dead if we fail!"

"Go!"

Corvus grunted as he was on the net ladder that led up to the mast top. "They have ships incoming! And they're moving in fast!"

"How the heck are they moving so fast?!" Sophie bellowed.

Lupus looked ahead, shocked. "Forget about those guys! They're the least of our worries! Look!" He pointed upwards. To their horror, they realized that they were sailing right into a trap, and that was known as the Heavenly Gates.

"GAH! We forgot about the gates!" Corvus screamed.

It didn't hit them at first, but even Nic felt like a fool. "Don't tell me…" He looked up at the Heavenly Gates, seeing as how they were unmoving with them advancing. "…the gates are a one way opening."

Greninja was still on a knee as he panted on the deck. Catching his breath, he looked up. "If this is a prison, it has to be designed to make sure no one escape; in other words, it's a one-way trip."

"Yes." Volans said, having the Andromeda Key close by. "…it would seem so, the Heavenly Gates only open up from the inside of the Keeper of Hell's control room."

Corvus immediately grabbed Volans by the collar and looked startled. "Please tell me there's a plan! There is a plan, right?!"

"We're going on through." Volans stated firmly.

"WHAT?! We can't do that!" Corvus shouted back. "That's physically impossible! How are you not panicking like the rest of us?!"

Volans remained sternly silent.

"Say something!" Corvus shouted in concern.

"Forwards!" One of the captains of the incoming ships bellowed. They sped in like jet skis surprisingly, and they were looking as though they were gonna catch up if the crew ran into the gates. They were all closing in, and as long as the gates didn't open, they'll catch up in time and corner them.

"Ready the grabbling hooks!" The ships all began to open up compartments, where hooks were seen ready. "When we get close, reel them in. We'll haul them back to Lysandre and…" The commander trailed off as they all heard loud clang sound. They all heard a loud gear shift and saw the gates actually beginning to open, "N-no way…."

The crew looked shocked as the gates were opening up slowly for them. They felt the current beginning to slowly pull them out, and the ship wobbled a little as it was surprising to say the least. "It's opening!" Cana exclaimed.

Volans kept a stern look on his face as they began their course. They began to slowly advance towards the Heavenly Gates

"W-what?! How are the gates opening? I thought they were controlled inside?" Sophie asked.

Nic looked around. He and Greninja were both catching onto something. Something was off, and it was feeling like a terrible omen. As they looked around, they saw the individual faces of the crew, seeing how happy and curious they were.

That's when it hit them. Their eyes widened. "Hold on, guys!" He cried out. Everyone turned towards him, while Volans remained firm.

"Where's Pavo?!"

"That's it Cetus, keep those currents going." Lysandre directed, watching Cetus with his hands in the sea and jutting out a great current for the ships aiming at the ship leaving. Lysandre turned to board a ship that Apus had gotten. He was ready to board it with a serious frown.

"Hey boss, you might wanna see this!" Camelo exclaimed. Lysandre looked up at the giraffe and turned his head in the direction he was looking at. Ahead they all saw the Heavenly Gates opening up, much to their shock.

Lysandre gasped. "But how?!"

Inside the control room, all of the workers were being exceedingly cautious. They watched through the monitors, seeing the gates open up and letting the intruders escape with the Andromeda Key. The chief was looking nervously at the monitor and back at someone.

"Are you definitely sure about opening the gate…" He turned to look at the person that was making him nervous and very shaking. "…Lysandre?"

Lysandre was in front of everyone, yet he wasn't giving off an aura for some reason. A good mood maybe. Whatever the reason, he looked displeased.

"You dare question me?" He threatened.

"A n-no, sir!" The chief saluted, and turned back towards the monitor.

"Good, then close the gates when they pass through, and not a second sooner. Understand?" He instructed.

"Y-yes, sir!" The chief stated.

Suddenly, the doors to the control room rotted away by the shadows, and they all turned around to find seven figures present. On the other side of the rotted doorway was none other than a second Lysandre, whom was followed by his six subordinates.

"What the hell is wrong with you all?!" He bellowed. "Why are the gates opening…" He looked and saw the copy of him, surprisingly catching everyone off guard. Lysandre's dark purple aura flared as he didn't know what was going on.

'Lysandre' turned to face him. "Uh…hello~!"

"He did WHAT?!" Nic bellowed, hearing every word that Volans told. His body and heart were thumping like crazy, and Greninja was just as shocked as his trainer.

Even after explaining, Volans was keeping his gaze forward.

"You mean, Pavo is…" Nic turned around, seeing how the ships had slowed down gradually from having no current. He looked at the fortress itself. "…oh no."

Lysandre had his eyes go pitch black with blood red slits. "You…"

'Lysandre' scoffed. "Looks like I've been found out!" He turned into smoke, and in his place was none other than the one guy he never had expected – Pavo! "Surprise~!"

Pavo struck a pose with a leg up and out, laughing in glee that his plan worked.

"You scum!" Aquila scolded. "You dare trick us!"

"I knew learning Transformation Magic on Earth Land would come in handy!" Pavo shouted while spinning.

Sirius turned towards Lysandre. "Lysandre, sir! The gates are open, they'll escape!"

"We won't let that happen." Lysandre scoffed while Pavo had a huge grin and spin in place. "The Heavenly Gates won't close unless we do so. We'll get on a ship and then speed on towards them. They can't outrun us."

Pavo thus gave a glint in his eyes. "Oh, is that so?" He jumped up, startling everyone present. The guards all gawked as Pavo spun and pointed his foot down on the control panel.

"Descending Peck Memoir!"

He crashed his foot on the close button of the panel, ultimately breaking it and causing a huge malfunction, keeping the gate's settings to closing up.

Pavo smiled confidently. "Did you like that elegant display?"

Lysandre's fangs grew blood red. "You…"

Pavo smirked. "If you wanna go after Nic, you'll have to deal with me first!"

"The gates, they're closing!" Corvus shouted out, seeing the gates starting to close as they were starting to get closer to passing through. "If we get through, they'll be stopped."

Cana turned towards Nic. "Alright the-!" She was cut off as she and everyone was hearing the argument boil up.

"We were with him just before we went to the port! You mean to tell me he used that chance to head to the control room just to open the gates for us?!" Nic shouted up at Volans, yet Volans could not answer fully, yet he was silent entirely. "He's our friend! We can't leave him behind!"

Volans still couldn't say anything.

"It's because of that man we all came together and got to know each other, and this is how we repay him?!"

"YOU THINK THIS WAS EASY?!" Volans snapped, catching all of the crew's ears. "He knew the risks! He knew we had little time! He was the one who figured out the Heavenly Gates could open up through the Keeper of Hell! DO YOU WANT TO GO BACK AND GET KILLED BY LYSANDRE IN THE CONDITION YOU'RE IN?! DO YOU WANT TO PUT HIS PLAN IN VAIN?!"

A struggling silence fell through the air, as Nic could only stare out as a shadow fell over Volans eyes as he panted in exhaustion. If he were completely honest with himself, he hated this plan just as much as Nic; he hates himself because he agreed to the plan. Thinking back at it only made the shadow over his eyes blacken some more.

"Volans, I'll be the one to open up the Heavenly Gates." Pavo stated. "With my Transformation Magic, I'll trick everyone in the control room while he's after you guys."

Volans looked back as they ran through Greninja's Smokescreen as cover. "How are you gonna get back to the ship, or a better question is what are you gonna do to reach us?" He sounded uneasy, remembering that Pavo said there was a way.

All Pavo did was smirk. "If I told you, then where'd the fun be in that?"

Volans's eyes widened as Pavo went off in another direction. "Don't come back for me." He looked back with a smile. "A peacock…always likes to go down in style."

Volans kept a stern gaze back ahead, focusing on passing through the gates. "…the communication lacrima." He said low.

"Hm?"

"Remember what I said. They correspond with its user's condition." Volans paused. "Nic…use this time wisely."

Nic looked down at his phone and his eyes shook with uneasiness.

The machinery wasn't budging and the chief was looking scared. "Sir! It's impossible to fix it in time! We're stuck on the closed setting!"

Lysandre's aura thickened and his pale face was that of the devil. "Damn you, peacock!"

All Pavo could do was laugh some more as his plan actually worked. His mouth was huge and he couldn't stop laughing.

"I still can't believe that my cheap disguise worked! Even without the powers of you, they feared you with just your presence!" Pavo blurted out. His mouth was wide and he bellowed out more laughter.

"Pavo!" His earpiece ringed, and everyone around him backed off in slight surprise.

Pavo hiccupped and raised a brow. 'Nic?' He reached for his earpiece, and he held it out as the voice of his friend was loud and clear.

"Pavo? Can you hear us? Pavo!" Nic shouted. Lysandre and everyone gave death glares and Lysandre's infuriated face made him look as though he was gonna kill him. "Pavo, tell me! Why are you sacrificing yourself again to buy us time?! This is the second time now!"

Pavo's eyes shook as he remained silent. Small gasps were escaping him as he remembered the first time he met Nic, Cana, and Sophie back on Earth Land.

Looking back at the alley's darkness afar, he spoke. "So…for the sake of one's duty…and to never turn your back on those who need to be saved." Pavo put up a brave smile with small tears of joy running down his cheeks, much to everyone's surprise.

"Listen, Nic and friends." He started, turning around towards them. "There's something that must be done…

…

Pavo landed on the ground with a twirl and struck a pose. His face had a grave shadow over it as he looked down at his palm.

"I never liked you either." Pavo said low. "You planned to kill many innocence. You go against humanity. You want nothing but war. You are but a fraction of what I put up with. And so…"

Kaulas got into a fighting stance as Pavo's expression was by far very dark with a grim vibe.

"Bring it on!"

…

The next thing that happened was Kaulas's shoulders and elbows jutting out sharp bone-like extensions. He rushed in at blinding speed as Pavo clenched his fists and turned his body as Kaulas went to attack.

Pavo let out a primal cry as he went to attack Kaulas, both heading at the other with sheer intensity.

"Why are you always taking the fall for us?!" Nic continued. "We never wanted you to resort to this drastic measure!"

'Nic…' Pavo thought. 'I didn't think you would be that considerate of that time we were enemies, I was so wrong!'

Back on the ship, Nic was shouting into his phone with the crew gathered around. "Pavo! We came this far because of what you've done! Do you know how many times I was saved by you from start to now?!"

Pavo looked away and gritted his teeth, stoically remaining silent.

"We came together, all of us, and we came to this world to meet your friends, and it was all you! Pavo, I know you're there! Please answer!"

Sophie bit her lip and shuddered. "W-wait, so that's it? You mean…he stayed behind so to buy us more time!"

"Pavo!" Nic yelled again.

"Come on man! Don't leave us hanging like this!" Cana yelled while her body was shuddering. "Please, you're our friend! Answer us!"

"Why aren't you saying something?!" Greninja shouted. "Please, explain!"

"Pavo!" Pavo heard Nic and everyone's plea, yet despite what they were yelling, he remained stoic and silent. As seconds past, he found it harder and harder to stay silent as guilt was piling on.

Lupus was gritting his fangs and was looking over the edge. His eyesight was set on the fortress, where the peacock was. "Pavo!" He howled.

Corvus was streaming polls of tears. "Pavo! You foolish peacock! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry for every negative thing I said!" He apologized.

Volans kept a stern gaze forward, but his eyes were still shaken up bad.

"Pavo!" Cana shouted again.

The gates were beginning to slowly shut as they all were slowly passing through.

"Pavo!" Nic bellowed into the phone. "PAVO!" Still, no answer.

On his knees, Pavo's lips were quivering as his teeth were still gritting. "Pavo…the gates are beginning to close." Nic's voice was low and swelling with sadness than plea. Pavo could barely swallow a gasp.

Nic leaned in closer to his phone his eyes misty. "My friend…we have to…go on ahead."

Cana and Sophie looked at Nic as tears were in the corners of their eyes. Even Greninja was becoming sad. But they all knew what Nic said was true; in anything, he looked as though he was hurting more than all of them.

"THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING!" Nic cried out.

Pavo was having a very hard time. This was the most strain he's put on himself to remain silent. Shadows were very slowly converging from all around him, catered by Lysandre. His eyes were streaming tears. So much that they were huge globs running down his face. He began to cry profusely and gritted his teeth tighter.

"Pavo! Thank you! Thank you for everything!" Through the lacrima, all of their voices cried out, save Volans. All of their voices were clear it made Pavo feel so happy, yet guilty. He looked up to the ceiling and sobbed even more.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore.

"NNIIIIIIICCC!" He screamed through the lacrima, his tears flying all about.

Nic gasped in surprise. "Pavo!"

"Nic! Everyone! I should be the one to thank you! Thank you for everything!" He bellowed.

As the gates began to shut, sealing Pavo's fate, Nic began to cry. Small tears were running down his cheeks.

"Nic, I know you can do it. You're the one who can save us all! I was so glad to have a friend like you on my life, as your Pokémon!"

"Pavo!" Nic screamed, his heart shattering as his friend was embarking his final words.

"Cana! Sophie! I'm so happy to have met you two! You two kept strong and beautiful faces throughout the hard times! Don't ever lose those, for all of our sakes!"

Sophie and Cana were shedding tears and having hands over their mouths. Sophie and Cana at first were grateful considering Pavo as a friend after the Dahlias incident, but now he was like a dear friend to them; and because of that, they just couldn't stop crying.

"Volans, Lupus, Corvus! I'm so glad we all came together! You guys were my family, as was Nic and everyone else! I know, that all of you can work together, and save our world! Everyone…"

The gates behind them finally shut.

"…the time we've spent together…good and bad…was the happiest and proudest of my life…"

It all hit them like a massive flood. The memories from start to finish began to come to them.

"Why hello~! And how are we this fine day?"

The memories of Nic's first meeting with Pavo arose; how he lost to Nic. How he met up with Pavo again. How he got them time by sacrificing himself. How he met up with Cana and Sophie once more.

"It's good to see you alive and well! Old friends!"

Remembering how he assisted them in Lucy's quest; how he stopped Coco. Meeting Nic again. How he accompanied him to the mansion. The small smiles and talk in the library. Traveling through the ruins. How they evaded traps.

"Hoh! Anything for a friend!"

How he battled against Dan. How he fought against Kanaloa. How he backlashed at Byro.

"Why don't you put yourself in Nic's shoes and consider his situation! He has the greatest burden in the universe, and not even Zentopia will brainwash him! You guys are nothing more than puppets, because you don't follow the goodness your hearts hold!"

How he was caught in the Reborn Oracion Seis attack. How he recovered at the Blue Pegasus Guild. How he pleaded for Nic to stop fighting against Erza. How he admitted he was a Celestial Spirit.

"Then off to the Celestial World we go!"

How he reunited with Corvus, Lupus, and Volans. How he ran off with them. How he took a wound for Nic from Sirius. How they found the ship. Fighting against Hydrus. Sailing off for the Andromeda Key.

"Don't be stupid! What's with all of this negative talk about? Come on, Nic's still out there!"

Infiltrating the Keeper of Hell. Battled many guards. Fought Draco. Ended up in a cage. Not losing any signs of hope. Screaming that Nic will be okay.

"Hang on, Nic! I believe in you!"

Rallying everyone's hopes up. How they all confronted Hydra. Stopping Lysandre's minions from behind.

He looked back with a smile. "A peacock…always likes to go down in style."

"PAVO!" The crew screamed, tears flying.

Inside the gates, the crews on the malevolent ships all grunted as they were in front of the gates. They all looked up and down, seeing there was no way in and out now. The crew began to despair.

"Oh crap…they got away!"

"We're so dead."

Back on the ship, sniffles and tears were streaming as the crew was beginning to hear static from Nic's phone. Volans was the only one keeping his eyes forward on the open waters.

Pavo tears glistened as he spun around slowly, letting out a primal battlecry as he tore his cape off and it landed in the shadows, immediately rotting away. He took up one of his signature fighting poses as his face had stained tears.

"We shall dance in joy in elegance, when we all meet up again someday!" He bellowed outwards, no longer speaking into the lacrima, but as a primal statement to all the world. "And ours feathers shall be spread with hopes and dreams!"

On the ship Nic, Greninja, Cana, Sophie, Corvus, and Lupus were all crying out as tears ran down their cheeks.

"PAVO!" Nic cried out.

"Pavo~~!" Lupus howled out.

"Pavo!" Greninja and Corvus screamed.

"Pavo!" Cana and Sophie yelled out.

All of them had thick tears and cried outwards, their tears glistening.

Lysandre crossed his arms, and the shadows all around Pavo snatched him, keeping him in place and making his whole body sizzle and burn. He felt his own skin rot; but through it all, he shed no more tears, and gave a confident smile.

Lysandre raised an arm and shot a vicious Shadow Claw. "Any last words?!"

Pavo kept his smile and confidence to his end. "A peacock has no regrets when going down in style!"

With those words, Lysandre's Shadow Claw pierced Pavo's chest and heart, and the shadows coating Pavo began swallowing him up. Lysandre retracted his Shadow Claw, and the blob of shadows imploded the rest of Pavo, yet it all dispersed in dainty streams than a blast of shadows everywhere.

"I can relate to style, so consider this mercy." Lysandre scoffed, choosing his method and watched as there was nothing left in Pavo's spot.

Nic's phone went dead silent. As was their beings. They all shed tears as Pavo had met his fate and accepted it, so that they could save the world.

As the crew cried, Volans remained a steady course, but he only let a single tear escape, running down his cheek and splashing on the boarding.

A feather fluttered out of the prison, being carried off by the winds, twirling and spinning all carefree and off into the sky.

"Until we meet again…with wings spread to show the elegance in our eternal friendship…farewell, my friends…"

I'm not gonna lie, I was sobbing as I was writing the last 1/3 of the chapter. I could be wrong, but this may very well be the most emotional chapter I've written up date. For One Piece fans, you guys clearly saw the parody there, but it was still just as effective. I'm sure many of you were fond of Pavo, and you may have had mental breakdowns and may be crying into your pillows, but please be strong.

Throughout the story, I've been having hiccups, but I never gave up. I had a crappy beginning, granted, but I made do with what I had, and look just how far I've taken the story. I went all over the place; from romance, to horror, to awe-inspiring action, to the most insane adventures ever, and now I made a tragedy. Every story needs a tragedy in some way, this is one. I assure you, things will get better from this point onwards, just sit tight and I'll have another chapter in at least a week's time.

Please Favorite, Follow, & Review this story and/or chapter if you guys were touched by the writing, the drama, and the friendships made throughout the story.

Next Time: The Meaning of Bonds