The Pokemon army rushed forward, their feet dragging across the ground as they tore through the cold air and towards the Rocket base that seemed to be drowning in the silvery mist of the moon. The mountains behind it stood tall like shadowed behemoths, watching the battle in a veil of silence that was broken from the cries of the Pokemon that were advancing upon the structure beneath their rocky grasps. The air was cool, yet filled with such tension that even the ground they were stomping upon seemed fragile to touch, left hidden behind a frozen shielding that made it feel damp, if such a thing was possible in the dry air that surrounded the barren plains. Waves of stars twinkled bright by the moon, shining fiercely all together as if showing their support for not the war – but the Pokemon fighting it.
Breaths were heavy, sweat poured from foreheads, and the vibrations of the army's stomps among the land made a permanent mark in even the thoughts of any creatures that were miles away, oblivious to the moment of liberation that was taking place by the Rocket base. Eyes became narrowed, determination glistening from irises, leaving their colors that blazed brightly like fire to shine in the night air, intimidation of their enemies soon becoming an advantage because of it all.
Raikou led the group, behind him Atsila, whose chartreuse gaze radiated with serious valor – obvious dedication to not leave the battle until the Legendaries were free from their manmade prisons. Bouldarin was by his side, his strong voice booming towards the back as commands were ordered to the soldiers, reminding them of the tactics they had thought up for the occasion – the plans that would aid them in the upcoming battle as the distance between their large numbers and the base grew smaller with swiftness. Even Jeff and Skyler were not far behind, blending in with the crowd as their faces contorted with hatred.
Soon their stomps among the land became unbearable to hear, reaching to a volume higher than any noise could counter. Their battle cries were even louder, surging through the air as if they were the call of colossal beast wanting revenge, or the words of a powerful force determined to shower its enemies with fear.
The battle was here, and they all knew it.
Their atmosphere was drenched with action...
...while the Rockets' atmosphere was drenched with fear.
Terotrey Horrifiance could not believe his maroon eyes. Never had anyone seen Pokemon come together and retaliate like the army that was advancing upon them, the moon's light bathing them in silver, adding the same hue to their bright eyes that glistened with seriousness. The silver-haired scientist was breathless, as were the grunts that surrounded him, their mouths gaped open and noise of any kind failing to emit from either one. The army coming towards them, they could tell, was there to free the Legendaries, but even then the act itself left them amazed by the simple fact that the creatures they longed to control were civilized enough to start a civil war.
As if finally comprehending this, Terotrey's eyes narrowed with anger.
He knew they wanted to stop him, ceasing him from completing his mission to change the world into one without sin – without crime, pain, or hurtful emotions. He knew they were arrogant, loyal to the Legendaries through the mere fact that they were oblivious to the misery the said beings brought to the planet – to all of life. He would not allow himself to be stopped – to be stunned by the idea that creatures below his intelligence were against his religious plans for the future.
Terotrey knew he was the messenger – the bringer of good despite how evil his actions appeared to be. He was doing it for all life, for the greater of the planet, and the very beings that lived upon it. By destroying the Legendaries the world would begin anew, allowing him to be their next leader and start a revelation that provided better things for all eternity. Life would change. It would change for the good.
He was the arbiter – the speaker of light.
Soon, though, he would be God – the creator of the light.
And nothing would stop him, not even those who were unknown of the truth.
"Send every single robot we have," he muttered to the grunts around him, his surprise disappearing quickly, his tone regaining its vile hue to where his minions struggled to follow his orders. "I will not allow my plans to be subsided for mere…" He ceased his words, as if to ponder for the phrase that would match his thought. "…sinners."
His voice was quiet, yet hissing like an Arbok hunting for prey. The grunts followed his commands, suppressing their amazement and surprise as, by pushing various buttons among the consoles in front of them, released the metallic tyrannies that had brought them past victory. Despite that they could see the various garage doors that decked the outside walls of the building open slowly, awakening the robots that rested inside and revealing the advancing army to them, Terotrey did not stay to witness them fight.
Instead he left the room swiftly, but without muttering a single word. He knew that the army was big, and risks of failure were too large to ignore regardless of the power that was on their side. If he were to fulfill his intentions, he would have to do so now.
It was time for the revelation – it was time for change.
It was time for him to become a Legendary.
Raikou could feel his eyebrow quirk as the large silver doors among the base's outer rim rose upward, revealing wide, darkened rooms behind that lined up against the structure's wall like giant garages. They first appeared silent and eventless, drenched in obsidian to where seeing the inside was impossible, although soon hundreds of red dots appeared across the sea of black. Instantly the familiar sounds of working smoke detectors filled the air, despite that the vast space around them lowered it to a distant stomach-churning echo, like the faint cries of an opposing army on the verge of charging straight towards theirs.
In fact, that's what it was.
As if on cue, hundreds and hundreds of robots shot out of the darkness, their metallic appendages gleaming in the moonlight, their robotic eyes doing the same. They came forward like a swarm of silver locusts, leaving the Rocket base behind as they advanced towards Raikou and the stunned army that lay behind him. The thunder tiger, as well as the others, knew that this was to be expected, and therefore swallowed their surprise before Bouldarin, who stood beside Atsila, looked back to the waves of battle-ready Pokemon.
"It is time to fight!" the Rhydon exclaimed, the army of robotic Pokemon coming closer by the second. Because of this he was aware he had little time to talk – little time to give any words of encouragement he had to the others before they were forced into the very bloody war that they had been spending weeks preparing for. "Remember what we told you! Do not give up – do not go down without a fight! Be proud to serve – we are fighting for the Legendaries! LET'S NOT LET THEM DOWN!"
The army roared into the air, the light winds carrying their voices for miles despite. The cloudless sky appeared to brighten alongside this, although with the fact that the stomps of the robotic Pokemon grew closer, nervousness still surged through some of the warriors. They knew it was now or never, though, and therefore forced themselves to be brave.
Jeff and Skyler soon emerged from the crowd, however, rushing over to Bouldarin's side. The Roselia climbed on top of the Flygon's head, facing the mile-long army before him, and took a deep breath. "Or in other words…" he then began, turning around, facing the approaching robots, and he suddenly threw his rose hand in the air, his voice coming out as a strong roar.
"LET'S KICK SOME ROCKET ASS, DUDES!"
The following cry from the army was even louder than their previous one, and Raikou could feel himself smile before his face grew deep with seriousness once again. He took his spot up front, placing his paws firmly on the stone ground, narrowed eyes focused on the robots that were mere feet away from them.
"ATTACK!"
And that's when the army charged onward, heading straight towards the robots, faces permanently contorted into ones fit for soldiers ready to die for their country. Mewtwo and Deoxys, who had been in the back, hovered forward using their psychic abilities and therefore led the fliers of the army ahead of the land-walkers, which allowed most of the bug types with wings to spread their Stun Spores and Sleeping Powders across the battlefield. The robots seemed to slow in movement because of this, despite that the powders' effects did not do much to their unnatural senses.
Of course, it wasn't long before only centimeters separated the robots from Raikou and the others, and the air seemed to explode with action as the two groups suddenly collided.
As the 'tough' Pokemon moved forward to push against the opposing robots, acting like a barricade for the Pokemon that specialized in shooting ranged attacks from the far back, both armies spread out across the plains that surrounded the Rocket base. The echoes of Fire Blasts and many other attacks soared through the air alongside whimpers of pain, as well as the battle cries from the Pokemon that were determined not to let the robots win. However, the robots seemed determined to keep the Pokemon from entering the base.
Soon actual Rocket grunts emerged from the various doors of the base, releasing their own Pokemon to aid the robots in battle. The battlefield was decked with soldiers of all kinds, and both sides were at a tie.
Raikou ran across the plains, maneuvering through the groups of soldiers that decked the grounds. Beside him were Bouldarin, Atsila, Heatran, and Drendan, who were fending off any robots that came close, and all in the act of clearing a way to the base so the thunder tiger could at least get through. It wasn't long before the barricade of Rocket grunts and robots came into view – a long line of them that covered the door behind a mesh of flesh and metal. Raikou could feel his eyes narrow, as did his allies, although they kept going forward.
"Raikou," Atsila called, "we will lead the robots away, and then you enter the base!"
The thunder tiger nodded.
Eventually the robots of the barricading group shot forward, hoping to keep away the approaching exile and clan leaders before they could even come close. Bouldarin, Atsila, Heatran, and Drendan exchanged glances, and they followed through on their plan, veering off into opposite directions while Raikou disappeared behind a nearby crowd. The robots stopped in confusion, their eyes surveying the area, although after they caught sight of Bouldarin and the others, they sped forward towards them like speeding bullets.
Using this as a distraction, Raikou ran out from under the crowd, heading straight towards the base, which was only blocked off by mere grunts now. Their Pokemon were out fighting in the battle, leaving them utterly defenseless to a creature that was able to use elemental powers, and because of this the thunder tiger easily shocked his way through the group and into the building.
Meanwhile, however, Atsila and Bouldarin backtracked once they noticed that Raikou had made it successfully into the base, launching themselves towards the robotic Pokemon that were following. The robots seemed to widen their real eyes in shock as the Charizard and Rhydon smashed into them, soon Heatran and Drendan joining in and keeping the artificial creatures down.
"Haha!" Atsila found himself laughing in childish joy as he jumped up to tail-smack a robot that was coming towards him. Afterwards he stretched out his wings and even flexed his muscles, showing off his still-present athletic joints. "I still got it!" he then squealed happily, grinning.
Bouldarin soon chuckled as well. "Aye you do, Atsila." He punched an opposing robot. "Aye you do."
"Suicune! Darkrai!"
Raikou's voice echoed throughout the Rocket halls, which seemed to be deserted. Every grunt in the area was outside, fighting the war, leaving the tiled grounds within the actual structure they were protecting empty. The drums of war sounded distant now, becoming muffled from the thick walls of the building, which gave the exile the ability to hear his own heavy breathing without fail, as well as how his paws slapped across the flooring during his run down the long hallways. He snapped his head side-to-side, taking a quick peak into each room as he passed by them, even bringing his eyes upward to eye the overhead lights that illuminated every single inch of every single room. Despite that the air was quiet, cool, and eventless, the isolation brought more nervousness to him than being in a area filled with people.
He continued forward despite this, calling for his lover and his best friend, hoping to at least get the response of a Legendary – any Legendary. Every room was empty, though, the soft purring of the air conditioners, as well as the computers, were the only other sounds apart from his breathless voice. He grew desperate and antsy, searching for any form of life within the deserted rooms.
Eventually, as he made his way to the end of a hallway that broke off into two directions, he caught sight of something silver disappear into a corridor at the far end of one side. He immediately knew who it was, and the person's identity made his eyes furrow, his nervousness dissipating and being replaced by severe hatred.
"Terotrey…"
He ran in the same direction.
"Alright, that's it; I'm totally using Petal Dance!"
Skyler groaned. "No, mate! If you do that, you'll get yourself high again!"
"I don't need to get high, I get high off life!"
"Get 'high off life' my ASS!"
Jeff and Skyler growled to each other, the robots who were advancing on them stopping in movement, and all because the two Pokemon they were about to attack had started to argue. Due to this, the only thing that covered the robots' faces were looks of bewilderment.
"Dude, you know what? Shut up!"
"You shut up, mate!"
"No, you!"
"No, you!"
"No, you!"
"No, you!"
"I'm not shutting up until the fat lady sings!" Jeff's face suddenly turned into one of apology, although it was obvious he was faking it. "Oh, I'm so sorry, dude, I didn't mean to…BRING YOUR MOM INTO THIS!"
Skyler was appalled, although his eyebrows quickly furrowed once again. Before he could do anything, though, the Roselia had already rushed forward and unleashed a storm of rose petals, which came flying towards the robots, causing them to move backwards until fellow allies that were passing by 'took over' from there.
"See?" Jeff then muttered, not noticing that the sparkling aroma of the Petal Dance attack was already showering over him. "I'm not hi-"
He stopped in movement as he breathed the strong aroma into his nose, and quickly began to topple over, his pupils becoming wide as they gained a dazed hue. He started to laugh like a two-year-old, his mouth hanging open in the form of a giddy grin, and thus drool began to leak down his chin. Skyler already knew what this meant, therefore he slapped his forehead out of annoyance.
Jeff had become stoned by his own roses, as usual.
"You know what, dude?" the Roselia began, his voice filled with goofy giggles, and Skyler knew that this was the part where he said random things. "I like cheesy romance songs about teardrop-covered guitars. I don't care what anybody says."
Skyler sighed and walked over to pick up his random, high friend, placing the Roselia on top of his head, which didn't cease him from muttering irrelevant phrases, or worse:
Singing.
"One hundred bottles of beer on the wall, one hundred bottles of beer! Take one down, pass it around…and um…uh…crap, dude, I forgot the words." Jeff giggled.
Someone shoot me, Skyler thought.
"Hey, Skyler," Jeff continued with another dazed chuckle, and he added a deep, robotic tone to his voice: "The force is strong within you." He broke out into loud laughter. "You get it? You see what I said?"
With another sigh, the Flygon, Jeff the high Roselia resting upon his head, flew forwards to catch up with the manmade Pokemon, Mewtwo, and the space virus, Deoxys, who both, after receiving the signal of Raikou's entry into the base from Drendan and Heatran, made their way towards the manmade structure to head in after the thunder tiger.
It wasn't long before Raikou emerged into a room, an eerie cerulean glow covering the long row of computers that decked the cold flooring of the cathedral-sized lab. He didn't pay any attention to what was is in the room, because sitting not too far away from him, imprisoned with their cages lined up next to one another…
…were the Legendaries.
They were unconscious, it seemed, although when his eyes came upon Darkrai, he gasped before flinging himself forward towards the cage, getting as close as he could before the iron bars ceased any further movement. The nightmare Legendary's eyes were closed, his face covered with wrinkles of discomfort, and even the swaying smog-like feature of his skin seemed to no longer work, remaining quiet like his very countenance. Raikou wanted to shake him and try to wake him, but such thoughts were subsided when he turned his view to the side and spotted Suicune in the next cage over.
He immediately rushed to that one, his eyes filled with hurt as he gazed upon her expression, which seemed to reflect some sort of mental conflict. He could feel himself whimper slightly, even sneaking his paw through a space between two bars so he could lay it over hers. He watched her breath ever so slowly, showing no response or signs of waking up despite his affectionate touch. He slowly pulled away, wandering his eyes over the other cages that housed the other Legendaries, his eyes slowly gaining a hue of pure horror. He knew that even if he managed to free them, Terotrey had done something that made them like this, therefore releasing them without obtaining the cure to fix it would be pointless.
"Eh…kid?"
Raikou gasped, turning his eyes to Darkrai, who had opened his sea-green gaze into droopy slits – that's all he had the power to do. The thunder tiger approached the cage, eyeing the nightmare Legendary with compassion, feeling sympathy towards him since the Pokemon could not get up, forced to stay in his laying position. Despite this, the dark type rose his barely-visible pupils towards the exile, his voice coming out as soft wheezes that were nearly too quiet to hear.
"You…you came to stop Terotrey…" Darkrai murmured, his eyelids slowly closing.
Raikou slowly shook his head, treating Darkrai like a true friend who was mere seconds away from death. "I came to rescue you," he then replied, almost as if he was correcting the nightmare Legendary. Darkrai seemed to smile slightly, although with tiredness approaching him at a fast pace, he chose his last few words wisely.
"Kid…"
Raikou leaned in, proving that he would indeed heed his words, and the nightmare Legendary's expression and voice suddenly turned serious.
"…kick his ass."
Raikou blinked, but before he do anything else, Darkrai had fainted. As if on cue, a laugh suddenly tore through the air, echoing across the walls of the lab and sounding clear as crystal. The thunder tiger recognized the tone, which convinced him to bring his eyes towards the source of the cerulean light across the room, slowly walking forward until he could see it altogether.
Across the room was a large machine, an orb of blue towering above it that caged Arceus' unconscious figure. Below it sat a set of circular containers, and each held a smoky substance that blazed like wildfire, some in different colors that surrounded cores of blue or black. Instantly Raikou knew what the substances were, seeing as how he used to own one, and he turned his eyes to the Legendaries, finally understanding why they appeared too weak to do anything.
Terotrey had removed their Legendary essences.
The one substance that gave the Legendaries their life and power had been separated from them, leaving them as immobilized bodies with no action whatsoever. When Arceus removed one's essence, it only left them with power levels similar to a normal Pokemon, but seeing as how they had been forced out this time – no doubt from this machine – the effects it had on the Legendaries was devastating. He knew that reviving the Legendaries would involve giving them back their essences, but he decided that in order to do so, he would have to take care of the being who had removed them in the first place.
Because of this, he began to look for the source of the chuckle, which brought his eyes to a figure that stood over in front of the machine, the cerulean light from Arceus' orb-like prison framing him in blue as if he was an eclipse of some sort. The man's back faced the exile, his hands folded together, and as Raikou recognized the silver hair that ran down the man's head to his mid-back, the thunder tiger began to snarl.
He was only a few feet away from Terotrey Horrifiance.
Raikou was tempted to call out what he had done to the Legendaries, and what was the machine that sat in front, but he knew that humans weren't able to comprehend the Pokemon language. Because of this he remained silent, eyes narrowed, obviously trying to communicate his emotions through the sheer glow of his irises.
"Tell me, Raikou," Terotrey began to speak, his tone calm yet slow with vileness. It was almost as if he had been expecting Raikou to arrive and therefore wasn't surprised by his entrance, which showed through the fact that he didn't turn to face the thunder tiger, but instead kept his back towards him. "Do you believe in creating a better world?"
Raikou kept quiet, giving no heed to the possible meaning behind his words.
Terotrey continued to chuckle. "Oh, silly me, I can't understand your language. It's pointless to ask you this then, huh?"
Raikou snarled again. He caught the hints of sly sarcasm that drenched the scientist's tone, and it didn't take much to figure that he was toying with him.
"Of course…" Terotrey suddenly swung around to face Raikou, revealing the arrogance that leaked from his maroon eyes. "Even if you could answer…you wouldn't know how to…you Legendaries do not know the meaning of 'improving,' or 'fixing' for that matter."
Raikou quirked his eyebrow, trying to figure what he was trying to say.
Terotrey snorted. "Since the beginning of time this world has gone through hell, and all because of you – the Legendaries, inferior creatures who hide behind the powers they do not deserve, much less can control.
"You strive to protect the world you created, when you instead neglect it, using it as your battlefield and not even solving world disasters when they happen. You say there is always a balance of good and evil, but yet…where is the good to balance out the large extremities of evil I have seen during my entire lifetime? Answer me that – that one simple question with an answer I can be satisfied with – and I'll take back everything I said."
Raikou blinked in slight confusion, as well as curiosity. Did Terotrey really see the Legendaries as horrific monsters? He was not offended by his comments, but instead surprised that he thought such things. He turned his eyes to the ground, pondering for an answer to his own questions rather than the one Terotrey had asked.
Suddenly, however, the large sounds of shifting gears filled the air, and Raikou gazed forward to notice that the outlined platform the extraction machine was on was slowly lowering. It stopped when it sunk below the floor to the extent where Raikou could not see it, although Terotrey was able to since he was standing right on the edge that now overlooked it. Raikou wondered why he did this, although his thoughts were subsided when Terotrey turned to face him altogether, the machine's purring noises growing in volume as if it had been activated.
"I am the arbiter…" he began to chant, eyes closed. "I am the new bringer of light – the key to a world without sin – the God of a new natural balance – the ruler of a fresh hierarchy that will now serve as life's purpose for all of eternity." He held out his arms, as one would do if he was about to free-fall, and it didn't take much for Raikou to realize that he was doing so right on the edge to the lowered extraction machine, which was obviously a long drop.
A fatal drop.
"Judgment has come…" Terotrey muttered, his maroon eyes locked onto Raikou's own scarlet ones. "Scorch the sinners from all the Earth. Build anew from their ashes!"
As if on cue yet again, Mewtwo emerged into the room, Deoxys, Jeff, Skyler, Heatran, and Drendan not far behind. Although they all displayed shock from the things that surrounded them, Mewtwo instead kept his horrified eyes on Terotrey, who seemed to ignore the new presences.
It was just like his nightmare.
Raikou struggled to keep his attention on Terotrey, while trying not to ignore his allies, although the silver-haired scientist then did something that left them all with gaped mouths.
He allowed himself to fall back…
…and into the ditch.
Raikou's eyes widened.
Did he just…commit suicide?
Raikou rushed towards the ditch to see, only to cease in movement when Mewtwo pleaded for him to stop.
"What?" Raikou replied, turning his head to eye Mewtwo, whose horrified expression was stronger than before. "Why?"
Mewtwo fell forward onto his knees, widened eyes locked onto the ditch that held the activated extraction machine. "My prediction…it has come true…we're too late." His eyes turned to Raikou, his voice suddenly coming out as a roar of warning. "GET AWAY FROM THERE NOW!"
Before Raikou could question what he meant, he and the others were blown backwards when a glow of crimson engulfed the ditch, soon shooting upwards with such power that it tore away the ceiling, revealing the black of the night as debris spread out everywhere. As Raikou and the others struggled to avoid it all while rolling the Legendaries' cages to a safe position, black lightning surged across the beam's vast body that shot towards the sky like one side of a gamma ray burst, going on beyond what the eye could see. Raikou and the others were forced to the ground, such power emerging from the beam that it seemed to push down on them.
They gasped when they noticed the black sky metamorphose into a deep scarlet, the beam still shooting towards it, almost appearing to leak all over it and turn it into the color of blood. Clouds began to form, hiding away the moon behind growing storms that cackled with black lightning. Raikou was amazed…
What was happening?
How was this happening?
He was ready to faint from it all.
Suddenly, though, a demonic laugh tore through the air, seeming to originate from the core of the beam. Mewtwo fell backwards from disbelief, as he instantly knew who owned the voice, although it was hard to focus his eyes on it as winds picked up from out of nowhere. The walls around them slowly faded away, eventually revealing the barren lands underneath crimson skies, as well as the war from outside, whose fighters ceased what they were doing and now stared in both fright and bewilderment at what was happening around them.
The end had come.
The new Legendary – the new God – was here.
A large fiver-fingered claw emerged from the beam, its size outmatching the very army that gazed upon it in horror. The shrilling roar of a beast filled the air, demonic hues occupying its voice, and it wasn't long before the rest of the Legendary's body freed itself from the crimson beam.
Raikou and the others were awestruck as they watched the colossal Legendary tower before them, its size expanding theirs by dozens of feet. It was a dragon, its scales a shining silver like the moon before it was covered up, its human-like claws clenched with hatred. Spikes decked various parts of its body, from the jaw line of its long snout, down its chest which was covered in black armor-like scales, and to the tip of its long, grayish horns. Its wings stretched out, the membrane there thick yet covered with visible veins, ands its three-clawed feet were planted firmly onto the ground, successfully allowing the beast to stand on its hind legs.
As the dragon's head turned downward, its pure-maroon eyes that held no pupil or even iris narrowing with anger and gazing down upon the – compared to its size – somewhat-small army below, it revealed that a metallic chest piece covered its upper torso. The piece of mechanical armor reached towards its back, and as Raikou focused his eyes on it, he could see that the armor was actually the extraction machine. The circular containers that held the Legendaries' essence rested upon it, as did Arceus -
Raikou gasped as he turned his attention to Arceus. The God Pokemon was still trapped in his orb-like cage, although the color of the orb had turned into a deep amethyst, resting in the middle of the chest piece. He also noticed that Arceus' fur had turned obsidian, his eyes matching the dragon's, as if he had been corrupted from the vileness that drenched the dragon's heart. It was obvious that he, as well as the Legendary essences, were the source for the demonic dragon's power.
"T-that's Terotrey's final experiment – a g-giant dragon Legendary?" Raikou managed to stumble out, awed by the size of the supposed experiment that he felt overwhelmed, fear rising into his heart as he gazed upon the unbelievable monster.
Mewtwo slowly shook his head as he muttered out the correct answer, his widened eyes eyeing the silver hair that ran down from the dragon's forehead to the tip of its long, swishing tail.
"No…Terotrey is the dragon."