A/N: Let's find some dogs, huh?

Hop's Corviknight might have flown at a slower pace than Flygon on a day with clear skies, but as the wind battered us left and right, throwing icy rain droplets across our skin while it howled like a banshee, I was surprised at how steady it flew. It was far from an easy flight, but Corviknight confidently maneuvered the typhoon as if it had been doing it its whole life. That confidence extended to Hop, who stared straight forward, still as a statue save for his right hand, which was patting a soft spot beneath Corviknight's metallic crown. Hop muttered words of encouragement, just loud enough to be heard by Corviknight and me, desperately hanging on to Hop's torso as we flew past the chaos that was emanating from Hammerlocke.

Honestly, I was grateful for it. All of our energy was spent trying to stay upright as we flew South through the storm, and I couldn't expend it on worrying about how things were going down back in Wyndon. I knew Marnie, Victor, and the gym leaders could handle themselves when battling Rose's goons, but Eternatus had to be there by now, and from my quick brush with it earlier, I don't know if anyone was truly ready for it, even if it wasn't yet the Black Hand I recalled from the worst parts of my dreams. I hoped they were okay, but I had to leave it there because the second my mind slipped, the second my body began to follow suit. I burrowed my head into Hop's shoulder. His breathing was surprisingly steady despite it all. To think he had so much nerve now after seeing him through the slump of the midseason.

"Gloria," he said suddenly, after flying for some time. "I…I think we're out of it."

I lessened my grip and opened my eyes. The wind was still pelting us, but not quite as severely, and the rain had finally, mercifully, stopped. I blinked a couple times and twisted my body around to look behind us. Sure enough, I could see that the reddish black clouds of the Dynamax storm had slowed their spread and was possibly even retreating, Below I could see the dim lights scattered around Spikemuth, still getting battered from the rain as I looked, but Hop was right. We had made it through. "Don't get too excited," I warned. "Once we bring the sword and shield to Zacian and Zama—"

"I know, I know," he sighed. "Can I just have this little victory now?"

I looked back forwards to see that we were now crossing the Wild Area and already halfway to Motostoke. We were making such good time! "I think we ought to give this victory to Corviknight," I said, reaching forward to pat the underside of his crown as well. It was surprisingly soft. "No wonder they're such a premiere taxi service. You barely even flinched as you flew us through that, Corviknight."

"I knew you could do it," Hop said, his voice swelling with pride. Corviknight cawed loudly and flapped harder. Now that we were out of the patchy weather, we could fly faster, and soon Motostoke was in our sights. I could hardly believe how small it looked from so high up. Kabu's stadium looked like a rock that could fit in my pocket, and the tall, reddish black brick that dominated the central part of the Wild Area looked like the building blocks that Victor played with growing up. The dread of the past few hours briefly evaporated as I stared at the twinkling lights in awe, but as we finally passed over, the dread returned as I caught a glimpse of the Southern section of the Wild Area.

Beams of pink light shot up like lasers in the sky, beacons of Dynamax energy that was flowing chaotically underground. I even thought I could recognize the small copse of trees around where Victor, Hop, and I fought and captured his Butterfree, though it was hard to make out from the dozens of other pillars of light.

"I've never seen this many at one time," Hop murmured, his voice shaky.

"D'you think wild Pokémon will escape from them?" I asked, my mind flashing back to the wild Perrserker we watched Leon fight in Bridge Field.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Hop said. "If Eternatus stays North, we might not have to worry about them as much!"

"I don't think they were anything like this in the North section!"

Hop gulped. "That means they probably got absorbed by wild Pokémon."

I shuddered. Neither of us wanted to say what likely became of them, not wanting to will the possibility of fighting through an army of Dynamaxed Pokémon into existence. Motostoke slipped underneath us. I couldn't tell what it was like on the streets. There were a few figures moving around but they were far too small and distant to put any motives in their movements. I only had to hope that they remained safe and tried to push the thought of people in Hammerlocke and Wyndon who clearly were experiencing much, much worse right now. Now that we were over the city proper, there were a flock's worth of Corviknight taxis we had to zip around, but aside from a few surprised looks from cabbies, we were entirely ignored, and soon enough, we had left the city behind and were on the last leg of our flight.

We touched down at the chained-up entrance to the Weald right in front of my house, dark and empty as Mum and Victor were all the way up North. I felt a pang of guilt knot in my stomach, and for the first time all night, I pulled out my Rotom phone, hoping for an update from someone. "Gloria, come on," Hop urged, slipping the loops on the back of his left arm, looking like the most ridiculous knight I had ever seen, as I flicked through a sea of texts and notifications, largely from people well out of harm's way in either Hammerlocke or Wyndon. Just as I was about to despair at the lack of updates from anyone at the scene, the phone began to vibrate, and Marnie's name popped up onto the screen. I gasped and tapped the "answer" button as Hop groaned and pulled me by the arm towards the entrance to the Weald.

"Marnie?" I asked, pressing the speakerphone key. I know Hop would want to hear about whatever had happened, even as he pressed forward.

"Gloria!" Marnie's voice crackled through the speaker. Was it the distortion of the call, or did her voice sound hoarse? "Oh thank Arceus you picked up."

"Don't sound like you miss me too much," I laughed weakly.

"Hi, Marnie," Hop said. I could tell from the tension in his voice that he was anxious to hear anything as well.

"Oh," Marnie said. "You found Hop. Good."

"One of these days you'll admit that we're friends," Hop said, tossing a Pokéball. Dubwool appeared in a flash. "Okay, Dubwool, I'm sure this is all super familiar to you." Dubwool needed no explanation and trotted off a few paces behind us.

"If you say so," Marnie said, her voice taking a similar bemused tone to the one she used when she and I first met, not unlike a Purrloin playing with its food. "Listen, I dunno if you saw this when you were off on your hero's quest, but Eternatus is here."

"Yeah," I gulped. "Damn near bowled Leon and me over on the way to Circhester." As I spoke, Dubwool sped by me at full speed, and with a crash, had broken through the fence gate and rolled, hardly losing any momentum, into the trees.

"Damn," Hop said.

"I was not expecting it to be that quick," I said.

"He's a lot more powerful than he was as a Wooloo," Hop guessed, shrugging, and charged after his partner. I followed suit, a little more cautiously. As I stepped over the gates, I noticed that while chains may have been wrapped around the gate like a snake, there was a single padlock that was lying on the ground. The locking mechanism was torn open entirely. I gulped. Dubwool was strong, but tearing through metal like that was not from the sort of blunt force that had pushed the gates open. I grabbed at Bewear's Pokéball.

"You still there?" Marnie asked over the speaker. "What's goin' on?"

"I'm here," I replied, ducking into the trees. "Heading into the Weald right now. Haven't tried to call someone in these woods so if the line goes dead on you, I'm probably still fine."

"Heartening," Marnie said dryly, after a long pause.

"How are things out there?" I asked, not sure if I wanted an answer.

"Well, no one's died that I know of," Marnie said. "Once you and Leon were clear of the ceiling, Rose tried to leave, but Team Yell was all worked up, and I'm sure you can guess how well that went. Absolute chaos. Me, Vic, and the gym leaders—"

"Is Victor okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, we're fine," Marnie said quickly. "We had a massive do right there on the pitch, but in the fight, Rose got away. Not sure where he went, but by the time anyone went to chase him, the storm started to hit Wyndon and things have been hairy ever since."

"It sounds quiet. Are you safe?"

"Yes, Gloria, I told you, we're fine for the time being. We're all here in the stadium, but there's Dynamax energy everywhere. No telling how much longer it'll be til enough of it gets in here that…well, you know what's going to happen." There was a pause. I could hear indistinct murmuring on Marnie's end of the line. Finally, she spoke again. "There's, er, outside noise that's not so good."

"The storm?"

"Yeah. We saw Eternatus. Flew right over the roof. And there's camera feeds catching it everywhere. It's so much bigger than you and Rose made it out to be. I don't think anything's Dynamaxed in the streets but I think most people are just hunkering down with their partners indoors."

"That's good, at least."

"About Eternatus..." Her voice quivered.

I gulped. "What about it?"

"You aren't…you aren't actually going to try and stop it are you?"

"I have to."

"Do you?" Her voice quivered again and my heart almost broke.

"I'll…I'll have Zacian," I replied, sounding a lot more confident than I felt.

"Well good," she stated, her voice hardening, propped up on what could have been that same rush of false confidence. "Because if you die, I will kill you. Can't just say you love a girl and then run off and die. Not polite."

"When did you ever care for manners," Hop snorted. There was a tiny, nearly imperceptible squeak on the other line before half a second of silence. "Still here, Marn," he said with a laugh.

"I'll get there as quick as I can," I assured her. "Promise me you'll stay safe too."

"Is Lee back yet?" Hop asked.

"I…I dunno," Marnie replied. "Most of the gym leaders ran out once we saw that Eternatus was here. They ordered us to keep inside. Didn't want to risk any of the strongest Pokémon in the League losing control in such a populated area."

"I hadn't even thought of that," I gulped.

"Just…just come back when you can," Marnie said. "We'll do what we can with it. I can give you any more updates as I get them."

"Right," I said, smiling despite myself. "Please tell me you won't do anything too stupid," I added.

"Tough talk, you should see the shite my girlfriend is pulling right now," she said dryly.

"Well, fine. Hold off on the super dumb things until I get back to Wyndon so we can do them together like a proper couple. I love you," I said quietly.

"I love you, too," she replied, the sarcasm instantly gone from her voice. "Please hurry." And then she hung up.

I slipped the phone back in my pocket and picked up the pace so I was next to Hop, sword firmly in my hand. "You remember the way?" I asked. He nodded, and the two of us walked on, side by side. The silence of the Weald was especially jarring, after the chaos of the past few hours in the sky. Our footsteps were muffled as we trudged through fallen leaves and mossy dirt. The occasional noise of a Pokémon that we had heard the first couple of times we ventured in were now completely absent, as if the entire forest had its breath held, watching us walk through. Zacian's sword was heavy and foreign in my hand, and on more than one occasion I had to switch hands as my wrist grew tired. Hop did the same, sliding the shield between his arms. The noise that was most peculiarly absent, though, was the voice of Zacian. She had been ever-present as of late, like a second self inside my head the past week, but I couldn't feel her at all now. I hoped she was simply waiting for me at their altar.

As we walked further into the silence, the fog began to thicken, and soon our visibility dropped from fifty yards to thirty to ten. Even the trees, already barely visible due to the darkness of the storm, became harder to see. With my spare hand, I tapped on Rapidash's Pokéball. She appeared next to me, neighing valiantly, and with a swish of her blue and gold mane, she lit up the area brilliantly. The sound was jarring, and though we could see better now, the air felt even heavier, as if every set of eyes in the forest was now trained on us as we walked. I shuddered. It was hard to tell if Rapidash had made things better or worse for us.

Finally, after maybe twenty minutes of walking, an overgrown path began to stand out more, and I felt my pulse quicken – we were getting close. We stepped out from the leaves and dirt and heard the tapping of our rubber soles on ancient stones. Hop and I both broke into a jog, and soon enough, we had run into that fateful clearing yet again. The fog lifted, choosing to cling to the trees as it always had, and there, as it stood for centuries, was the altar to Zacian and Zamazenta, standing broken in front of a glassy and undisturbed lake. The sky was turbulent and black – the storm clouds were even reaching Postwick now. I broke into a run, Hop behind me.

"Zacian!" I called out as I ran. "We got them! Your sword is here!" I reached the altar and laid the sword gingerly on the stone. Hop arrived just a moment later, slipped the shield off his arm and lay it next to the shield. We both took two steps backward, bracing ourselves for whatever might happen, but nothing did. Seconds turned into a minute, and when nothing continued to happen, Hop and I shared a nervous glance. "Zacian?" I asked tentatively.

"Anyone?" Hop asked, stepping back towards the altar.

"This is the right place, right?" I said. "There isn't a second altar for legendary beasts that we didn't know about is there?"

"No, this is the place!" Hop said, whirling around and examining the area around us. "I swear!"

"It is, it's just…why is nothing happening?" I shouted, my heart beginning to pound, I rushed up to grab the sword and look at it closely…was there something wrong with it? Was there something wrong with me?

"Zamazenta, where are you?" Hop asked, squinting his eyes shut. I did the same, trying to reach out in my mind like I had before but I couldn't feel a thing. My eyes fluttered open and I looked at Hop. His mouth was hanging open and he was staring at me with despair. I shook my head slowly, feeling my heart sink into my stomach. All that effort…for what?

"Of course, it would be you making all this ruckus," a high pitched and snivelly voice whined from behind us. "Brother, I don't know why we even bothered to come back once we got them."

"I'm more interested in why they even bothered to come!" A second voice barked. "You two! Shouldn't you be busy keeping that idiot Rose occupied?"

Hop spun around and groaned. "Shouldn't you have an army of security with you, then?" Hop spat, glaring at them.

"My dear boy, we've upgraded."

I wheeled around to face the intruders, who I knew the moment they opened their putrid mouths. Edward and Herbert Buckingham strode out from the trees, smirking the way a school bully would smirk at their prey. I was prepared to volley every insult in the book I had at them, but all that could come out was a shocked gasp as I saw what was in their hands. Clasped in Edward's hands was a sword that looked exactly like the one in mine, and wrapped around Herbert's arm was a shield that mirrored Hop's.

"Wh-where did you get those?" I asked.

"By the looks of it, the same place you found those," Edward said, raising the sword as if to make it glint in the light that was absent from the sky. But even if the moon had cast any light through the turbulent clouds above us, the sword was so rusted and broken that it would not have caught even a sliver of it.

"You really ought to keep up with the news, children," Herbert mused. "You ought to have known that wonderful relics such as these wouldn't just be left out in the open after that vile attempt to steal them just a few weeks ago."

"Brother, maybe their attention spans are just that poor and they simply forgot," Edward laughed haughtily.

"We didn't forget and you probably switched them yourselves," Hop growled.

Edward's eyes flashed with malice. "Perhaps," he said. "It would be quite easy to leave a convincing pair of fakes behind in a place easily found, and we do have the means to…keep those Police Growlithe's noses pointed in another direction, if it had to come to that."

"Yes, brother, it's quite plausible," Herbert agreed, "but of course you'd have no proof of this, because we very much did not do it. But even if we did, why would it be theft if we were taking things that are rightfully our own?"

"It's not your right to own them at all!" I shouted, grabbing Bewear's Pokéball again. Rapidash whinnied behind us, and Hop grabbed a Pokéball from his belt as well, a deep frown spread across his face.

Edward's smile dropped to a sneer of pure disgust. "Oh, you'll see exactly what our right is," he muttered. "Zacian, if you will." I gasped, as two figures tramped out behind the fog. Zacian and Zamazenta stood, taller than they did the last two times they appeared before us here. And unlike the last time, where I could almost see the rocks behind their ghostly forms, their bodies were fully corporeal now. The two of them stood, ragged, ravaged, wild, almost feral. Like they hadn't eaten in centuries. They stared at Hop and me, their eyes empty, as if looking at us the first time, then their heads snapped to their masters. Edward's smile crept up his face again. "Time to see the power of legends can do. Zacian and Zamazenta, the sword and shield of Galar, only answer to those destined to them, such as our ancestor, the Great Hero of Galar! And when we, like our ancestor before us, slay the Black Hand, we can once again bring our family the glory we have lost!"

"They won't listen to phonies like you!" I yelled.

"Go! Snorlax!" Hop yelled, throwing out Snorlax. I did the same with Bewear's Pokéball, and as our two biggest Pokémon stared down the literal legends in front of us, I felt my confidence beginning to slip. Zacian, how could you? Were the pull of the sword and shield that powerful?

"Oh," Herbert said. "A Pokémon battle? How quaint. If only we had time for one, brother."

"True, true, we must be off. No time now," Edward said.

"You're not goin' anywhere until you drop that sword," I threatened.

"Oh is that the case?" Edward asked, bemused and raising the sword directly at me. "Well I can't have you making me late for the salvation of Galar. Zacian?" Zacian stepped forward, nearly as tall as him in his ridiculous pompadour. "Ignore the Pokémon. Kill the trainers."

My heart stopped for a second as Zacian's head snapped toward me. Her eyes were empty; completely devoid of emotion, but she did not strike yet, and in her absence, Bewear stomped in front of me, blocking my view entirely. He growled valiantly, flexing his massive paws before I reached out, feeling his soft fur between my fingers. "Don't worry," I said calmly to him. "She wouldn't." And I stepped around Bewear so I could see Zacian again. He raised an arm to protect me, but I ducked under it.

"Are you listening, Zacian?" Edward roared, spit flying from his mouth. "Kill her!"

"It won't work," I replied, my voice remarkably calm for how much my heart was ricocheting around my ribcage. I took another step forward, locking eyes with Zacian. Her lips tightened in a snarl, and I saw a glimpse of long, yellowed fangs that had not dulled in the slightest. I froze, but still, she did not attack. There was something holding her back. I took a deep breath and advanced forward. "Zacian," I said calmly. "I'm here. Just like I promised you. Tell me what you need me to do."

"Don't listen to her!" Edward wailed. "Brother! Don't just stand there!"

"Right!" Herbert exclaimed. "Zamazenta, why don't you make yourself useful, you damned mutt!" I heard Zamazenta growl in warning, but he also stood still.

"Zamazenta," Hop said, taking my lead and stepping forward around Snorlax. "Don't listen to them. You've gone this long with your shield in the wrong hands, go just a little longer while we deal with these pissers."

"Bloody worthless, you are!" Edward screeched, waving the sword wildly. "Zacian, as your rightful master, I demand that you—"

Zacian finally moved, throwing her head up and howling mightily. Her voice echoed throughout the clearing, and Zamazenta threw his head back and howled along. Their voices merged into one powerful chord, causing all of us to take a step back, and when they looked back down, I saw that the familiar light had returned to Zacian's eyes. I grinned and turned to Edward and Herbert, who were shaking with their pathetic fury. "Nice try," I said, "now give us the sword and shield."

"What, you want a show of power then? Fine!" Herbert yelled, appalled at the thought of having to work for a single moment of his life. "I'll show you power. I'll show you the finest power that money can buy!" He pulled out a Luxury ball, an expensive-looking black Pokéball lined with gold and gems and threw it to the ground. There was a flash of light, and six little helmets popped out, each about a foot tall and sporting glowing blue eyes underneath their visor. A Falinks.

"Hammer Arm!" Hop and I both roared, and Snorlax and Bewear jumped in front of us, swiping with their massive paws and catching all six of the little helmets before they could make any sort of formation or attack, knocking them into the water.

"How dare you!" Edward screamed, pulling a Pokéball out of his pocket as well and throwing it to the ground. In another flash of light, a Sirfetch'd appeared, ready to brawl. But this one looked like it couldn't even hold a candle to Bea's. I rolled my eyes and looked at Rapidash. She whinnied, and without any other instructions, her horn exploded into a bright white light, and following the Dazzling Gleam, she charged at the Sirfetch'd, only to find it knocked out before she could make a follow-up attack.

"W-what is this?" Herbert asked, his voice beginning to waver as Zacian and Zamazenta turned and stalked toward him and his brother. "We have the legendary sword and shield! It is ours! We own it and we own you! Why do you not obey us?"

"But they aren't yours," I explained simply. "And Zacian and Zamazenta don't take kindly to stealing."

"You," Edward turned to me. "You are ruining our great plans! How dare—"

"What plans?" I laughed. "What, goad a billionaire egotist into reviving a cosmic horror that you know nothing about and try to fight it by stealing a power you could never hope to understand or control because of some bogus claim to bloodline? It's a shite plan at best, and you certainly didn't need Hop or me to come and ruin it."

"You…you peasant! You are nothing more than the dirt you stand on!" He spat, but as Zacian and Zamazenta closed in on him, his voice changed from boisterous and confident to pathetic and snivelly.

"Funny," I said. "I remember someone telling me how quaint it was to watch someone pull themselves up from the dirt." My eyes flicked to Herbert, who was shivering. "Something romantic about creating my own legacy?" The two brothers exchanged a glance.

"I…you are…you are ruining…" Edward began, but he was silenced the second I snapped my head back to him.

"Drop the sword," I said. Edward gulped, and opened his hand. The sword fell to the rocks below with a dull clang. Herbert didn't need any other instructions either, because a second clang told me he had done the same with Zamazenta's shield. I stepped up to face him and he cowered as I got near enough – had he always been this short? – and looked away as I bent down to pick up Zacian's sword. It was much heavier than the one I had been carrying, but with it came a strange tingling sensation that slowly moved from my fingers, up my arm, and into my heart.

Thank you, my champion, Zacian's voice said, echoing in my head as if it had never left. I smiled at her and turned back to Edward.

"Please…please don't…" he began to beg.

"Here," I said, tossing the false sword at his feet. "A façade of a weapon for a façade of a champion. Fitting, isn't it?" I turned back to Zacian and held the sword by its blade, offering the hilt to her. "I believe this belongs to you."

Zacian gently opened her mouth and bit down on the hilt. As she did, golden light erupted from the sword and swirled around the two of us, pulsating out to the ends of the lake, sending the water splashing away from us. As the light pulsed, I could see her fur grow into its majestic royal blue, her emaciated body grow stronger, and the scars and mats that covered her faded into nothing. A golden crown formed atop her head, and her sword began to gleam with new life as well. The golden crown continued to expand, forming a plate around her shoulder that extended up and out like wings. And finally, with one last burst of golden light, she stood in front of me, sword in her mouth and brilliant eyes staring at me with the same love and trust I could see in Cinderace, or Bewear, or Rapidash, Sneasel, Boltund or Flygon. Behind her, Hop had handed the shield to Zamazenta, and he had undergone a similar transition. His mane had fused with the shield, and his brilliant red fur was now lined with similar gold armor.

"Thank you, Gloria and Hop," Zamazenta said, his voice truly his own.

"Don't mention it," Hop said, scratching his head and smiling. "Better late than never, right?"

"What shall we do with these false champions?" Zacian asked, her diction remarkably clear for having a sword in her mouth.

I glanced back at Edward and Herbert, who were cowering in fear next to Zacian and Zamazenta's altar. "Let them find their own way out," I said. "And then they can let their adoring public decide what to do with the ones who brought about the Darkest Day with Chairman Rose. Come on, it's time we make things right again."

"It's a long way back to Wyndon," Hop added, "So we better get going."

"Allow us," Zamazenta offered, kneeling next to Hop. Zacian did the same with me.

"How fast can you get us there?" I asked.

Zacian smiled. "It has been a long time since we ran at full speed," she said, "but I think we will not disappoint." I smiled and returned Rapidash and Bewear, and Hop did the same with Snorlax. We clambered onto our respective wolf, and with one final look at the pitiful brothers Buckingham, Zacian and Zamazenta howled mightily and began to run.

A/N: I thought about making this a big climactic battle, but these little assholes sucked in the game and I can't think of any good reason they'd have a well-trained team anyway; like any other short-sighted nincompoop, they couldn't think that far ahead. But AYYYY we got our DOGS now, let's go kill a cosmic horror, shall we?

(P.S. did you like the callback to chapter fourteen, I was very proud of myself for this callback to chapter fourteen)

NEXT WEEK: THE DARKEST NIGHT