Masters flies through the air. Lightning from a Thunderbolt races through his partner, but Lucario's hands remain firmly around Masters, embracing him to the end as they crash into the cavern below..
Masters hits the ground hard, his breath is knocked out of him. Lucario tumbles away. Both pokemon lie there on the shoals.
It was not supposed to be like this. He had planned it, he had done everything in his power to prevent it…he should have taken the thunderbolt…it should…
The Typhlosion wheezes. Dark Pulse took a toll on him, but the explosion was just as abhorrent. Bits of burning wood protrude from his back like he was suddenly a Quilava again. He rakes his back against the cold floor, and they clatter like nails. He looks around.
And next to him, is Lucario, twitching on the rock. A sound, like stone grinding against stone, screams from him, and the little round rock falls out of his body, leaving its host aflame with aura. Lucario shambles towards Masters, then falls straight into his arms.
"Lucario?"
A dead groan escapes Lucario's throat. He is still breathing; though lacks the strength to speak.
Masters looks past him. He can still see the light globes on each pole shining brightly onto the Dark Waters. Either they can chase the boat, or clamber ashore to safety. With nowhere to run, Masters takes the latter. The heavy arms of Lucario wrapping around his neck as stands up, dragging Lucario with him across the uneven scoria.
"We're gonna go find Whiskey, you're hurt."
Lucario lets out a wheeze. The steady rise and fall on Masters' back is slowing with each arduous step towards safety.
"Thanks 'M, I knew I could always…"
The huge weight on his shoulders is destroying Master's back. Masters barely keeps himself upright, trudging through, pouring all of his remaining strength into his arms and his legs.
Until he can't carry him anymore.
Masters comes crashing against the rock - Lucario's dead weight smashing next to him. He looks over, the wound burned into Lucario by Dark Void returns, and it has already eaten up his entire arm. What is not taken by this curse is a flame with his own aura. He is burning from the inside out.
There is no time to waste; Lucario would be screaming at him to move. Masters stands up, then grabs Lucario by his one good limb. They exchange a glance..
"I'm not leaving you." Masters says. "You're coming, I'll drag you to safety. I promise.."
"I would never slow you down, Cole."
His voice is hoarse. Masters can hear metal things snapping, the heat of his body on his back. Dragging Rei, drowning out those infernal sounds behind him with his own pounding heartbeat, he reaches into his bandoliers with his spare hand.
The reviver seed, he used it already.
"That won't work here, you know this…" Rei sighs, "I wanted you to have it anyway."
A sudden sharp breath comes from Lucario. Masters stops, Rei digs his claws into the stoney floor. Freedom at the shore is so close, the golden lights shine upon their faces. Master turns around, and sees Lucario smiling. Aura seeping through the seams of his visage, and flesh. Lucario wraps his one good arm around Masters, bringing him as close as he can.
"It makes sense now. You gave me Honchkrow's gear because you were afraid of losing me."
Lucario shuts his eyes. He falls forwards as Masters is thrown onto his knees by the weight. Clutching him close, Lucario's burning body feels like a warm caress.
"Rei."
Masters' lips move before he thinks. He can feel his heart begin to race, his breath rising, only his mind refuses what is happening.
"...I'll get you to Whiskey, I'll get you to safety…"
The tears come.
"Rei…talk to me…"
"Rei, say something…"
Lucario's chest stops moving. His mind surrenders.
"...you can't do this."
"...Don't leave me again."
"...please, Dent."
"Hey, hey! It's you again, Cyndaquill!"
All around, explorers gather at this little place at the foot of The Grass Continent's biggest guild. It is underground, built in the cliff-like lands surrounding Treasure Town, and either through miracle or perhaps architectural genius, the highway running over top of this place has not collapsed down on it.
Today, it is as jam-packed as any other. The usual fair of people looking for aid are sat near the door, while the other guildies are strewn about, drinking themselves silly and taking in the joys of being in good company.
Cyndaquill glances around as races up to the barside, greeting the voice..
"It's Cole." He says to Spinda with a smile. "Did you see Dent anywhere?"
There is a glass already on the bar. Its contents are this cool, sweet-smelling blue. Spinda immediately motions towards it.
"Yeup, he had wanted me to make you this, had to run off and get something I guess - you know how much of a busybody he is."
Unfortunately, yes, he can barely keep up. Though if he had been here to prepare him a drink, then it's probably for training, or to get him peppy for the dungeon run later today. Nevertheless, Cole stands up as high as he can on his tiptoes and holds it in his hands. He gives it a sniff. It's Oran Berry, Oran mixed with something…? Maybe a Quick Seed? There is only one way to know.
He brings it up to his dumb little snout, and chugs the whole cup. He hears a nearby snicker, what is so funny about him drinkin-
After the burst of flavour comes that revolting feeling of Oren gushing up his throat. He looks frantically, the cup is too small, everything else is too far away. It rushes up his cheeks and he keels over, spitting out his drink.
"See, what did I say? He doesn't like your drinks at all!"
Dent, the source of the snickering, guffaws from behind him. Spinda gasps from behind the bar.
"I swear I made it perfect! Oh-oh gosh!"
Cole tries to say something, but he can't, he's choking up on whatever is in his mouth. Knowing the prank's gone maybe a bit too far, Dent comes up behind him, forcing a seed down his throat. A precious Heel Seed, gone for this little joke of his. Cole looks back.
And smiling at him with a dumb toothy sneer is a Riolu. The outsider in pokemon's skin, and his former partner: Dent.
He can't breathe.
Masters falls onto his hands and knees, nearly falling onto the pile of hot ash at his feet. His heart rages. His whole body feels like it's on fire as an awful lot of nothingness bubbles up his throat, and he wretches, hard enough to topple him over.
It doesn't stop. Through the pouring of tears he trembles on the floor, shaking, retching up nothing, unable to think and unable to pull himself together.
It can't have happened. Rei will come back. This is too cruel to make any sense. Why did this happen? His blurry thoughts drudge up nothing.
He is uninjured, he tells himself, he can pull through this. But his heart takes hold of his body and it begs him to weep, refusing to let him go.
He opens his eyes. He sees the pile of gold and red ashes. There is nothing left of Lucario other than bone. A Mega Stone, the artefact responsible for his demise, sits calmly atop the pile. His hat is there too, his cape has joined Lucario's body in becoming nothingness.
In the distance he sees the boat floating further out into the tunnel. Soon it will breach the Sea, there it will be impossible for him to even catch up. The battle is lost, though one still clearly rages atop the deck. He can only hope Halcion and Louisa have the guile to finish Rei's work.
"Sire."
A familiar voice hops onto the rocky shore, a soft pink glow illuminates from behind. Masters closes his eyes.
"He is gone. If only you were…"
He bites his tongue, now is not the time to blame.
"My spells only do so well, I could not have turned the tide of his fate. Ultimately, I lose my lord once more. I am merely a knight in service to whomever I swear to, a warrior to the end, so too was Lucario."
"He would not want me to weep for him, nor would he wish this of you."
Whiskey walks up to the pile, giving it a bow of sullen respect. He scoops the mega stone in Honchkrow's hat, then walks over, placing it Masters' feet. Honchkrow was not his father, he did not go through the sweat and grief Lucario had to be bequeathed this; although leaving it both here would be wrong.
He takes the hat, using his own cowl to tie across the back, and stows the stone in one of his bandolier's pouches. He collects himself. Whiskey is right. Lucario is so thick headed he would be screaming at him for sitting here and sobbing while victory flees from them. He can swallow his emotions, just for now, or however long it takes to mark this right.
"What about you?" Masters pushes the conversation to Whiskey. "What is your plan?"
"Louisa had asked me to come here, thus I will see this through. Then I will end my service and go my own path. Such is the life of a wandering knight, forever in search of his lord. Lucario was a great one, and you have my eternal thanks for freeing me of that frigid prison."
"Now, I return the favour for once and for all."
Both pokemon look out towards the distant ship. The bow is made of some dense iron, possibly distorted in nature, and it is through this mechanism it cuts through the distorted waters. With its sheer force it converts the water from its state back into something it can pass, leaving a trail of potable water like an incision cutting through The Sea.
Since their first fight, the battle with Honchkrow, to the fight for their lives against Louisa by the riverbed, then now - this malleable water is a constant in their journey. It has saved their skin time again. Now, Masters will use it to save all of them.
Masters leaps up onto Whiskey's back. He takes off his hat to reveal a mane of ghastly fire. The boat is steadily approaching the horizon. He needs to be quick.
"Then bring me to that ship as fast as you can, do that for me, and I'll let you go forever. You can cross the waters like it is clay. Stay to the sides of the ship! Do not hesitate!"
"I shall not, Sire Masters!"
With a tremendous bound, Whiskey lands onto the water. His mane lights with a spectral glow, and he leaves behind a trail of glowing, psychic hoofprints. He leaps from wave to wave, building up to a gallop not even the twisted waters can hope to deter.
The wind brushes against his ears. Somehow, Whiskey keeps pace with the ship. The war machine looms in their sights. Straight ahead the cavern leads outwards to a mass of time and nothingness. Whiskey faces it without fear.
Whiskey, for all his abilities as a knight's steed, cannot conquer the Sea. All he can hope is to get Masters to the ship before they are consumed.
The Sea's all-consuming light pours through the cavern, engulfing it. The threshold nears; the ship so close he could reach for it. Masters gets up, balancing both feet on the back of the knight as he gallops.
"The Sea's ahead-"
"Leap when I say'eth!" Whiskey commands. "If fate ordains so, I will find my way out of The Sea and we may speak again! Should the Sea claim me, fret not, Sire! I chose this!"
Whiskey puts everything into one final burst of speed. He races towards the biggest wave he can find. Masters bends his knees, Whiskey crests the wave.
"Leap forth!"
His steed raises him to the heavens and Masters springs off of him. He is flung through the air, zipping past the second deck, nearly flying past the ship. The flames on his head ignite, he grits his teeth and glares below.
Halcion is nowhere to be seen. Louisa is at the front of the ship lying with the bodies of several ferals. A wounded, tattered Darkrai shambles over him, her hand about to strike his flesh.
During this split second, Masters hears a voice.
Destroy the ship! Blow it to smithereens!
Flames surge from Masters as he twists, his flames facing the ship as a loud deafening boom sounds behind his ears. Chunks of fire spew out, the force of which blasting him upwards. Eruption tears through the vessel's wooden facade while chunks of flaming stones melt through the metal hull. The boat lets out a metallic hiss as it is shoved aside by a spout of raging fire, the force throwing it off course directly into the cavernous walls.
Everything aboard, including the injured Louisa are thrown. Louisa and Darkrai soar overboard towards the Sea's glowing veil. In the split moment, Louisa's eyes lock onto her. His gear is noticeably missing. Did she take it already?
Louisa extends a finger, and fires two shots. One missing, the other striking her arm. Just as a third bolt forms on his fingertips Louisa's tail grazes the threshold.
The Inteleon is split apart into a myriad of pieces, head arms, and everything separating, wriggling around like headless insects. He tries to scream, then is consumed in the white light. Louisa is gone.
Darkrai teleports back to where she was as Masters hits the deck, catching himself on one of the masts. Ghostly flames burn all around them, he glances around him for any sign of a trap.
He spots Dexys and Halcion, both under an illusory coating by the destroyed captain's quarters. Dexys whispers something to her partner. Halcion, her cloak aflame from eruption, tries to stop her but Dexys slips through her talons, running through the spectral flames as if they were a breeze. Dexys spews a flamethrower from her mouth as darkrai narrowly avoids the flames, shielding herself with the body of an armored feral. By the time Darkrai flings out a Dark Pulse in retaliation, Dexys is already overboard - intentionally throwing herself into the Sea's depths.
"Masters!"
Halcion calls out behind her, drawing Darkrai's attention. She slings out a Dark Void originally meant for Louisa. It veers past him, striking Halcion - causing the yellow obnoxious thing around her neck to vanish after the eruption had burned off just enough for Dark Void to hit it. Her last move before drifting off into nightmares is throwing something which hits the mast.
A spear.
Masters tears it free. Lightning races from his fingertips across the lance as he charges Darkrai. A dark void builds in her hand. Not this time.
He rams the spear directly through her elbow, pinning her only remaining hand to the hull of the ship. Grotesque, shadowy fluid gushes out. Her fingers still move. They try to reach for her gear, but Masters shoves his foot against her wrist. With all his strength pushing on her last surviving limb, he hears a loud crunch and the spear flies away, her arm and gear falling to the wayside.
Utterly defenseless, her eyes glare through him. She faces her demise with a scowl.
"When your world faces a calamity, it will beg for me, and abhor your ignorance."
All his anger and pain explodes out of him through his fists. He digs into her torso with relentless punches, going deeper and deeper into her murky flesh, coating his hands in her ichor as each blow renders her a scored mass of darkness. Her muscles seize up, she becomes paralyzed, frozen in place.
At last, he rears his fist back, smashing straight into Darkrai's visage, his knuckles burying themselves deep as he grabs hold of her. He spins around, swinging the body of Darkrai like a ragdoll then lets go.
For a split second, her anger transforms into pure terror as she collides with the veil of light. She segments, her dark flesh being separated into chunks which gnarl and twist, being dragged into the light by the all powerful force she thought she could conquer.
Her last words are not even words. She screams in terror, her eyes facing down the man who rendered her ambitions for naught. Masters stares back, and lets her leave with a parting gift.
"Let the Sea have mercy on you. Because you're not worth mine, nor the world's."
She sinks beneath the veil piece by piece till no trace of her remains in this world. He goes over, wrests the gear from her severed limb, and lets the torn remains join her in the abyss.
With everyone around him lost to the sea, unconscious, or reduced to smoldering ash, Masters collapses to his knees.
And weeps.