Ch.123: The Awakened Raven of Chaos! Let The Stars Burn Bright!
"Hmmm…"
Wes, laying back in the grass on a breezy afternoon, lifted the Star Amulet in the air to get a better look at it under the sun's glow. He tilted it slightly, letting the magic shimmering off its surface reflect in his eyes.
"What's on your mind, bro?"
Wes looked over at Flint as he read a book under the shade of a tree. The Umbreon sat up and dangled the amulet by its chain. "Do you ever think I'll be able to use magic on my own?"
Flint looked up from his book and pondered. "Well, I'm not a doctor, but…maybe?"
The younger brother groaned. "I hate not having full access to my magic. The fact I have to rely on this thing bites."
"Pokémon of all shapes and sizes are born with some weird quirks. Same goes for those born with magic." Flint smiled. "You'll find your footing eventually."
He sighed. "Everyone keeps saying that. Treasure hunting would be so much easier if I could just use magic whenever I felt like it."
"Amulets are generally made with the purpose of overcoming those shortcomings, or to use a diet version of a spell you can't use. Not everyone's great at everything." Flint closed his book and scooched closer to his brother. "You'll figure it out."
"I guess." Wes glared at the ground. "I'm just in a rut. I haven't had much luck finding treasure lately."
Flint frowned. "Maybe that's a sign to look in a new direction."
"But treasure hunting's everything I live for!"
"I stopped treasure hunting to focus on college. Same with Ella." He touched the Umbreon's shoulder. "I know you love treasure hunting, bro, but maybe it's time to call it quits and focus on school."
Wes fell onto his back and glared at the sky. "No way! I just need to keep reaching higher! Someday, I will become the greatest treasure hunter alive! I'll show everyone the greatest treasure the world's ever seen and make a fortune."
Flint sighed, but smiled. "Of course." He stood up and tucked his book inside his mane. "Well, just don't forget we have an essay due by the end of the week. You're lucky Professor Geno is lenient on you compared to your other professors."
Wes waved it off. "Yeah, yeah, I'll get right on it, don't worry."
"I don't believe you. See you later, Wes." Flint turned and walked away, leaving the Umbreon to his inner thoughts.
He picked up the Star Amulet again and dangled it over his eyes, admiring the magical shimmer off its surface. He sighed through his nose and rested it on his chest.
"Besides, even if I wanted to quit, what then? Treasure hunting's the only thing I'm good at. If not that, then…what else is left for me?"
The battlefield turned still, with mobs of stone and shadow vanquished and conflicts ceased, as all eyes turned toward the tower of magic bursting out into the sky. The power emanating from it stunned the senses of those with magic and the bodies of all with the intense pressure it unleashed. It was pure magic being funneled out all at once.
The most stunned of all was Apollo, who looked upon the bursting magic with a feeling of dread and anger, one reminding him of his first exposure to Dougal's descent and the other bringing back memories of the swordsman who ended his first conquest.
"That's…impossible," Apollo growled.
The silhouette of Wes took a step forward. "Finally catching on? The Ravenfields are the impossible."
"You…!" Apollo stamped his foot down and roared, causing the earth to shatter around him. "I tire of your defiance! Why won't you and your kin just stay dead?!"
Wes glared. "Apollo, end this madness now. Too many people have gotten hurt or killed in this war. You've already taken so much from us…" He looked back as the Undying Apparitions worked on keeping their dying captain stabilized. He growled softly before looking back at the Infernape. "I'm not going to let you take anyone else away from me."
Apollo breathed an annoyed sigh. "That unflappable persistence. You and your kin are the spitting image of Dougal's ideals. Always pushing the boundaries. Always tearing destiny apart. Bringing nothing but mayhem. You're just a—"
"Raven of Chaos?" Wes finished, a glowing smirk shining through the magic.
Apollo clenched his fists. "I am a god, Ravenfield. Don't you dare test my patience. I've proven my strength. Once I reclaim the other half of the idol's power, I'll wipe you and the rest of you kin off the face of this reality!"
"…How far have you fallen not to see the good in this world anymore? I know you used to be a good man, Apollo. You and Dougal were close as brothers. Didn't that mean anything to you?"
"…" Apollo glared at the ground. "Everything I've done was for Dougal. I saw the consequences of magic and the horrors of society. Nothing's going to change until I've stamped out both extremes. Even if I must cross lines I may never return from, this world needs to be pacified."
"That's your answer, then?" Wes sighed and dropped into an attack stance. "If you're not going to see reason, I'll just have to beat some sense back into you!"
"I've beaten you several times already. What will make today different?"
A soft, almost sad smile crossed the Umbreon's lips. "Because now I have nothing left to lose."
"H-Huh?"
"I'm not the brightest bulb, but I know magic. Here's an interesting fact for you: breaking a magical amulet unleashes all the crystalized magic stored inside. And it has some wild side effects when directly ingested."
Upon hearing that, Garret's eyes widened in shock. "Don't tell me…Wes! Did you swallow the Star Amulet's magic?!"
Ella grimaced. "Wait, is that a bad thing?"
"Wes is gambling his magic! The Star Amulet contains a vast quantity of magic. It gives an explosive power boost for a short time if taken in its purest form, but if Wes pushes himself too hard…!"
Flint gasped. "He could permanently burn out all his magic. Forever!"
"WHAT?!" Ella stared at the pillar of magic in horror. Wes, you're willing to go that far just for us?
The magic flowing off of Wes started to compress and contain itself around him. He chuckled softly. "I finally got around to using my magic all on my own. My magic has been dormant longer than it has been unleashed. I may have just got it, and it will suck losing it, but that's a risk I'm willing to take."
Apollo stared in complete disbelief. "You're insane."
"That's just the way I roll, Apollo!" Wes raised himself up. "Chaos is everything that makes this world great!"
He stomped down and released a magical explosion off his body. Apollo and Wes' allies braced themselves as the shockwave passed over them. Arid barely put up a sand wall to absorb the blast while Apollo anchored himself to the ground and endured.
The magic pillar receded back into Wes as the smoke cleared. A blinding purple light pierced through the smoke before blazing like flowing plasma. Apollo commanded the dust to blow away before gawking at the stellar transformation the Umbreon undertook.
Wes' fur and clothes glowed a blinding neon purple while the rings of his body turned onyx black. Wisps of magic flowed off from the tips of his ears and tail. His construct flowed out from his stump and took the shape of his missing foreleg. He opened his eyes, which glowed a brilliant red. The pressure he exuded, though not destructive, made all in his presence tremble ever so slightly.
"Mystic…Awakening."
Apollo growled. "What the…?"
Garret stared at his son in awe. "He actually mastered Mystic Awakening. Wes, you…" A smile curled over his lips. "You crazy, chaotic son of mine."
Flint glared. "Mystic Awakening? I'm not quite familiar with that one."
"It's bright, but will it be enough?" Ella asked.
"It's more than enough." Garret's grin grew. "If anything, this is the out Wes needs to turn the tables on Apollo."
Wes took a deep breath, basking in the magic flowing off him for a moment. He shuddered and laughed out loud. "Well, this feels…incredible. Oh, it's going to suck if I lose my magic. I haven't felt this energetic ever!" He then glared straight ahead at Apollo. "As for you…"
Apollo raised his fists. "Doesn't look that strong. You're barely exuding anything stronger than your Mystic Burst."
"That's your problem, Apollo: you can't look deeper than the surface." The Umbreon slowly advanced toward them. "You've caused my mentors great pain, killed my father, tortured my friends, killed my brother, and threatened my home. I don't think you understand how pissed off I am."
"Don't get cocky, Ravenfield. The second you try anything, I'll—"
All he did was blink.
A simple, quick, subconscious blink.
One second, he was glaring down the Umbreon.
The next, Wes was right up in his face.
"Wha—"
Wes hammered his constructed foreleg into the god king's face. Magic exploded off the air and blasted Apollo across the colossal crater. He soared like a comet through the night sky. He crashed and dug through the earth as he tumbled out of control, crashing through the remnants of his castle and flying out the other side. Even upon hitting the crater's walls, his back continued digging through the earth with his momentum showing no signs of stopping.
H-How hard did he—
"Boo~."
A flash of purple obscured his vision before following up with a kick to the jaw. The god king pierced out from underground and rocketed into the sky above, flailing out of control as he reached as high as the clouds. He barely managed to stabilize himself and dragged his fingers through the air, solidifying it enough to catch himself.
"W-Where did that speed come from, too?" he gasped. "He was just as fast as Sapienti. That couldn't have just been his amulet's doing." He covered his face, feeling dripping from his nose. "No. Something else is going on here. That spell, it's…!"
"Sorry about that!"
His eyes widened, feeling the Umbreon's presence above him. Looking over his shoulder, he found himself floating under a giant purple fireball that twisted like an inferno.
Wes grinned. "Still adjusting to my strength."
"What the flying hell was that?!" Ella gasped. "Since when was Wes that strong?!"
Ava, Alex, and Willow were finally rousing out of unconsciousness, having barely witnessed the Umbreon's assault. Alex smirked uneasily. "Well, guess all his training with Krystal and Cosette paid off."
Garret nodded. "Mystic Awakening is the most powerful of the four Mystic spells. It's the ascended form of Mystic Burst. While that amplifies one's own magic, Mystic Awakening has an entirely different effect. It draws on all magical sources within his range and temporarily adds them to his power so long as the transformation persists."
Ella's eyes widened. "All sources?"
"He's drawing magic from me, Flint, Ava, and even the air itself. But most importantly, he's drawing magic out from Apollo. It's a symbiotic relation between Wes and all magic. It doesn't drain magic from anyone. His own magic is supplied magic equally to wherever he took it from. However, what makes it so powerful is that he's taking in little bits of what our magic experienced. Magic grows through usage and battle. Wes has entered a state of complete focus. Everything our magic has experienced and endured is being subconsciously replicated by Mystic Awakening, and this will continue to grow until the transformation ends."
Flint gasped. "That's incredible. Wes might actually have a chance at beating Apollo!"
"Well, there's a catch."
Flint and Ella's eyes widened. "What?"
"There's a reason Mystic Rebirth was created in conjunction with Mystic Awakening. Wes is syphoning off all magic in the area and using his own to replenish what he took. While he's getting stronger from the magic he's taking, the spell only persists with his magic. Depending on where he's using it, it can have an enormous cost to maintain. And given our current location…"
Willow growled. "It means Wes is on a short time limit."
"Exactly. Not even the Star Amulet's power will help him since it's not his magic. Since Wes only recently started mastering his magic, he's going to burn through his reserves a lot faster. He either needs to end this fight soon or find a way to use Mystic Rebirth before he's really killed."
Flint and Ella looked back up at the sky as clashes of magic burst through the storm clouds. "Wes…"
Thunder roared between the clashes of god king and chaos spirit. Gold and purple light streaked through the wild magic clouds, striking into each other with reckless abandon.
Apollo skimmed through the upper layer of the clouds after escaping the Umbreon's vicious onslaught, but now lost sight of him. He scanned his surroundings hurriedly, but couldn't pinpoint Wes' exact location. The wild magic plus the Umbreon's newfound speed made it nigh impossible to get an exact read on his position.
"God Rending Rage!" Apollo clapped his hands together, releasing a fierce golden shockwave that ripped through the clouds and blew them apart, leaving the surrounding space bare. There was still no sign of Wes. "Where are you, Ravenfield?!"
"You rang?" His eyes flickered up, barely noticing the diving axe kick heading straight for his head.
Apollo dodged and caught Wes by the head, but the Umbreon's form shattered into crystal. One of his clones? The magic field glowing off him is obscuring their form. I couldn't tell the difference!
"Warp Pad!"
Wes rocketed out from the wall of clouds like a beam of light and kicked the god king in the gut. They flew across the sky for a moment, the Umbreon digging his paw deeper into Apollo's stomach before kicking off. He flipped through the air, landed on another Warp Pad, and launched himself past Apollo.
"Spears of Darkness: Golden Dusk Rain!" Apollo caught himself on the air and conjured hundreds of shadow spears wrapped in golden light. He fired them after the fleeing treasure hunter.
Wes caught sight of the pursuing spears and used Warp Pad to change his trajectory. He weaved through the storm of spears and made his way back around toward Apollo's vicinity. "Man, you really did lose a good chunk of your power! Pretty stupid to have half your magic stolen!"
Apollo growled, summoning up even more Spears of Darkness. "Don't toy with me, Ravenfield! HA!" He swung his arm and commanded the spears to rain down from multiple angles. This would guarantee they'd hit Wes even if he opted to dodge them.
Wes noticed this and smirked. "Alright." He curled into a ball and started spinning, generating an absurdly bright light. "Lumios Storm!" Purple arrows of light exploded out, easily matching the hundreds of shadow spears heading toward him.
The two clashing forces struck into each other, peppering the sky in explosions of light and dark. The destruction riddled the sky and the width of the giant crater below, no doubt stunning all witnessing the clash of defiant souls.
Wes was blown back in the blast, but skipped along a series of Warp Pads before bouncing back into the sky. Apollo burst out from the smoke and chased down the fleeing Umbreon, firing on him with a myriad of golden lasers. Wes twisted and turned through the air, making the subtlest of jumps off of smaller Warp Pads to avoid the beams.
"Infernius!" He spun upside-down and hiccupped a massive purple fireball that easily eclipsed the god king's field of vision.
"RAH!" Apollo thrusted his palm into the fireball and dispersed it in one strike. He winced as the lingering embers found their way up his arm and seared into his skin. He's getting stronger by the second. This power…! Their bloodline infuriates me!
Wes clapped his paws. "Magi Effingo!" Crystal clones spawned around him. He and the clones turned themselves right-side up just as Wes conjured a giant Warp Pad over the air.
Apollo stopped and gawked at the massive magic circle. "Oh no…"
Wes grinned. "Mystic Burst!" He and the clones erupted in a cloak magic before firing off from the Warp Pad, shooting through the air like miniature Mystic Beams.
Apollo immediately intercepted one of the attacks and shattered the clone behind it, but the energy continued to travel and washed over him. His eyes darted rapidly, desperately trying to track Wes' position. The speed of the clones and multitude of angles they bounced from made it impossible to tell where the real one was.
Two clones struck with a pincer maneuver. Apollo manifested barriers and halted their momentum before spotting a third attack diving down on him. He roared, firing a golden laser that obliterated both the clone and the energy around it. More clones rocketed toward him. He spun, turning his barriers into a golden wind that extended into a dense twister. It caught all the individual clones, swirling their magic through the twister, before shooting them across the space. They careened and exploded across the earth.
"Missed one!"
Apollo couldn't react in time, taking a brutal kick to the spine. Wes continuously formed Warp Pads behind him to increase the speed of his launch, digging his paw harder into the god king's back. As they neared the earth, he planted a Warp Pad on Apollo's back and fired him into the ground, causing a massive hole to collapse on impact.
"Infernius!" Wes exhaled another massive fireball, slamming it down onto the crater and incinerating the earth around it.
"RAAAAAH!" The god king burst from the earth, the power of his shout extinguishing the flames. He dug his hands down and ripped two chunks of earth out, throwing them at the airborne Umbreon.
"Rift Splitter: Blade Storm!" Wes formed two cosmic discs and threw them into the boulders. The two discs split apart into hundreds, slicing the boulders to ribbons. "Lumios Storm!" He rained down another wave of light arrows.
Apollo projected a force from his palm that detonated the light arrows. Wes braced himself as the shockwave passed over him. Upon recovering, he noticed the earth shifting into a liquid state and surging toward. It caught his ankle before he could escape and dragged him out of the air, slamming his body into the solid earth.
Apollo raised his hands and clenched his fingers at the air. The ground responded to his movements, trembling under the immense strain. Stone hands peeled out from the earth and clasped around the grounded Umbreon. With his prey captured, he unleashed a monstrous roar that let loose a wide golden laser. It engulfed the stone hands and incinerated it to ash.
"Not…YET!"
Apollo's eyes widened as the beam started splashing over something obstructing its path. Upon cancelling it, he looked upon two giant claws of energy projecting out from Wes' back. They retreated back into his energy-covered body, which showed minimal damage.
"Sorry Apollo, but I'm still fighting! Mystic Burst!" Erupting with magic, he lunged with such power that the earth was obliterated under his paws.
Apollo crossed his arms and intercepted the attack. The ground sunk and burned under his feet as he endured the Umbreon's colossal power. He noticed Wes kicking off Warp Pads to further his acceleration. The force drove down onto the Infernape, pushing him deeper into the earth.
"Just end it, Apollo!" Wes yelled. "We don't have to keep doing this! End this crusade!"
The god king clenched his teeth, growling deep from his chest. "You still don't get! There's no salvation left for me! I've sacrificed everything for Dougal's vision! I can't stop fighting for it! No matter what, this'll never end until the monsters are put to rest!"
Finding his footing, he took hold of the Umbreon's jacket and redirected his momentum over his shoulder. He threw Wes into the ground before stomping down on his head, releasing a golden shockwave that rattled the earth in a flood of fissures.
"Aquos Mist!"
The god king covered his face as a dense mist erupted out from under the earth and obscured the surrounding area. He kicked back and flew out from the mist's range. "Those tactics won't work on me, Ravenfield!" He fired golden lasers from his fingers and cut through the earth ahead, slicing it to ribbons.
"Cor Bestia!"
A giant set of claws plowed through the earth. Apollo dodged out of their way just as a second set came stampeding through the earth. He stopped it with his hands before punching it. His magic rippled down the giant foreleg and shattered it.
"Wrong one, Apollo!"
The god king looked up and gasped. Wes was high up in the air with a dozen smaller energy arms blazing from his back. They each conjured Infernius before raining them down like dodgeballs. Apollo clasped his hands together and fired pressurized streams of water to destroy the fireballs.
"Rift Splitter!" Wes morphed the arms into two giant ones and conjured cosmic discs in each of them. "HA!" He tossed them into the earth, where they stuck and spun toward the god king while leaving widening fissures in their wake.
"God Howling Storm!" Apollo roared at the advancing spatial discs, releasing an overwhelming force that rattled the spells into self-destructing.
Through the dust, Wes rocketed into and headbutted the god king. Apollo stood his ground and hammered his fist across the Umbreon's side, throwing him across the earth. He then let loose a myriad of beams from his cupped hands, each specifically targeting various points on Wes' body.
Wes tumbled upon hitting the ground, but flipped back onto his paws as the lasers closed in on him. "Inprobus Winter!" The air rapidly chilled around him. He stomped his paws down and sent a surging wave of ice that crashed into the lasers. The ice exploded, firing off sharpened fragments all over.
Apollo barreled through the fragmenting ice and lunged at Wes while he was recovering from the spell. He grabbed him by the head and shoved his face into the ground before releasing a beam spell directly on top of him. The ground erupted underneath them and knocked them into the air from the blast.
"I'll keep fighting for my dream even if I have to tear every mortal who gets in my way to pieces!" Apollo yelled. "And once I reclaim the rest of the idol's power, I'll tear reality apart! I'll make sure no one obtains power like this again! I'll keep corrupted mortals like you from obtaining godhood—"
Recovering from the blast, Wes spawned an energy from his back and trapped the god king in its grip. "I hate to ruin your speech, but I only see one corrupted mortal. Just because you can't handle absolute power—" He lifted the capture god king up. "—doesn't meant the rest of us are as fallible as you!"
Wes smashed Apollo into the ground before catapulting off the energy arm. Spinning through the air, he let loose another wave of Lumios Storm, blasting down onto the god king. Apollo ripped himself out of the earth and roared as the shower of light arrows, dispelling them with ease.
"You don't get it! None of you will!" Apollo fired a sweeping laser across the earth which Wes jumped over and ascended with Warp Pad. "If not me, someone else! This world will resume a constant cycle of evil and suffering! I'm the only one brave enough to end it at the source! Cutting out the one thing that gives bad men power!" He raised his fist and punched the ground.
Wes gasped as a pocket of magic burst out from under and erupted into him. "GAAAAAAAAH!"
Apollo sailed into the stunned Umbreon and hammered his knee into his stomach. "And that's mortal ambition!"
The Umbreon went sailing into the sky, punching a hole through the clouds. He powered through the pain and caught himself on a Warp Pad, barely negating his momentum. Shaking off the aches, he kicked off and rocketed back down toward the earth. Giant beast arms formed from his back and channeled Infernius.
"Ambition is what makes us who we are! Let me show you! Infernius: Twin Beast Assault!" He chucked the fireballs ahead.
The flames merged and twisted into each other before taking the shape of a twin-headed fox monster. It sprinted through the air and darted straight for the god king, snapping its flaming fangs threateningly.
"RAAAAAAH!" Apollo let loose a monstrous roar that dispelled the flames upon entering his range. They dispersed around him, but weren't so easily extinguished. They twisted back into each other, reforming the beast, and struck him from behind. Snapping their fangs over him, he erupted in an amethyst blaze. "AAAAAHHH!"
"Inprobus Winter!" Wes landed and immediately lunged into Apollo. Upon kicking him in the stomach, the flames were instantly extinguished before following up with an explosion of ice erupting out from the fire monkey's body. The ice extended far out over the battlefield, resembling that of a small glacier.
Even still, Apollo refused to stand down. He powered through the walls of ice and destroyed the whole glacier in one move. He grabbed Wes by the throat and slammed him into the ground. The earth bubbled and melted into lava, to which he plunged the Umbreon deep under.
"How long can your magic endure this, Ravenfield?!" he shouted.
A response came in the form of an eruption of steam. Lava spewed up, splashing across his face, and quickly hardened into rock. More steam hissed from inside the pillar of rock until a leg burst out and kicked Apollo across the face. Wes broke through the hardened lava and tackled the god king with Mystic Burst.
"Warp Pad!" He placed another magic circle on Apollo and blasted him across the battlefield. He immediately formed one under himself and launched after him, bombarding him with a high-speed impact.
The resistance ducked and covered their heads as the duo blasted over them, destroying the sound barrier along the way.
Wes and Apollo crashed through the edge of the craterous canyon and soared along the stretches of barren land. Wes, having the upper paw, dragged the god king's head through the ground and proceeded to pummel him. "It's either you or me, Apollo! I'll destroy the entire Sky Zone if I have to!"
Apollo pulled his head out from the ground as he was being dragged along. "Y-You…!" He reared his legs up and grabbed Wes by the tail. He pried him off and twisted himself to toss the Umbreon aside. Now freed, he flipped out from the ground and dragged himself to a stop.
Wes tucked and rolled onto his paws and immediately rebounded. Anticipating this, Apollo ignited his fist in magic and parried the advancing Mystic Burst. The crackling shockwaves of magic nearly knocked him down, but he endured and struck Wes' face with his palm before releasing a condensed blast. The Umbreon went sailing over the land.
Apollo looked over his shoulder and noted the mountain behind him. Growling in frustration, he clapped his hands together. "Rise and crush!"
Fissures of magic traced the base of the mountain. Once they made their way around, pressure exuded out from below and commanded the mountain to rise up from the ground. With his muscles bulging with strain, he reared his arm back and motioned the mountain to fly toward Wes' position.
The treasure hunter recovered from his flight when he noticed the mountain arching over the air on a direct course for him. Rather than run, he smirked and launched himself towards the airborne rock. "Let's see how far I can really push my magic!"
With the mountain fast approaching, Wes tucked his body in and dove into a spin. Upon reaching, he projected his beastly arms out and drilled his way through. Carving and slithering through the flying boulder, fighting against the opposing force slamming into his body, he raced up the rock while spreading his magic along the walls of his tunnel.
He burst out the other side, leaving behind a ring of magic that expanded across the mountain's side. "Now, TerraSlash!" The space around the magic ring glowed. All rock within its area broken down into small shards and fired upon the location direct by Wes. Like a hail of bullets, rock shards trailing with his magic rained down across the land on a direct course for Apollo.
Apollo once again expanded his magical pressure and roared through the onslaught. A visible bubble of protected space formed around him as the rock bullets exploded off his pressure while the rest riddled the unguarded earth.
"Prismatic Armatura!"
Apollo's eyes widened as the hail of rocks came in at greater speed and sizes. No longer the size of bullets, but instead railroad spikes wrapped in an iridescent light. They struck and exploded harder against his protected space until even his pressure couldn't keep up with their growing numbers. Feeling his concentration wane, the spiked rocks breached and shot through the Infernape. Several pierced through his body while some impaled through his arms, neck, and skull.
He summoned up the mental strength to teleport out of the line of fire. With a snap of his fingers, the rocks impaling his flesh disintegrated. His shadow and magic worked overtime to undo the damage, leaving him a tad fatigued.
Tired? I'm getting…tired? Apollo knelt to the ground and held his chest as he took long, haggard breaths. I shouldn't be this winded yet. I managed to hold off Dougal for an entire week without tiring. Even with half the idol's power, I…
He looked at his hand and noticed it trembling. As he glanced toward Wes, who landed on the ground, his trembling worsened. The magic flowing off of Wes was something fierce. The power it exuded brought back a swarm of terrible memories that couldn't be quelled in the heat of battle.
His early assumptions of the Umbreon's revival came back to mind, and it worsened the trembling further.
I'm not tired. I'm…scared?! He clutched over his heart and growled. I haven't felt like this in five hundred years. Not with Garret, his allies, or against Wendrake. No one brought out this fear within me.
"Slowing down already, Apollo? Septem Gladii Virtutis."
The god king looked up as Wes manifested seven sword constructs that hovered around him. Each one possessed a dense aura of magic that blazed like fire.
The Umbreon pointed one of the swords and asked, "Are you finally ready to surrender?"
"…" Apollo clenched his teeth and rose back onto his feet. "I won't lose…to another Ravenfield."
Magic burst out from his closed fists, taking the form of black swords with a golden hilt and guard. He clashed the dual blades together and ignited his own magic through them.
"I'll save this world from its own self-destruction, even if I must die for it!"
Years of planning. Decades of conquest to subjugate the corrupt society festering in its own darkness. Upon his resurrection, the Shadow King sought only one thing: to drown the cruel world in darkness and wipe their craving for power out of existence. A world without magic could never stand against him.
But the last five years proved to be a turning point in the Pokémon's favor, and now he was experiencing the results of those five years.
With his sword shattered and armored torn from his body, the possessed Feraligatr collapsed to one knee. With blood dripping down his body and his left arm sheared from his shoulder, the fallen king looked upon the ruins of his domain. Not a single shadow in sight. No Nightmare. No heralds.
Just him.
"It's over, Shadow King."
The Shadow King glared up at the one who led the opposing army and quivered under the intense aura radiating off his being. A young Meowstic approached in blue armor with a white cape billowing off his shoulders. His broadsword radiated in a concentrated white glow, as did his eyes. Though riddled with injuries from a long-fought battle, he continued to stand tall in contrast to the fallen king.
"Your tyranny ends this day," he said.
The Shadow King growled. "It's over…until my last breath, Buster Ravenfield!" He pushed himself back onto his feet, though it was clearly a struggle to stand. "I won't lose here."
Buster glared. "My father rallied the people with their latent abilities to quell your evil. We stand as one, thus we shall not lose so long as we draw a breath. Your army has been sealed. Your heralds have been dealt with. All that remains is purging the last of your evil."
"You think…you can contain me?"
"It took time and patience studying your army, but we now have a means to put this to rest." Buster snapped his fingers.
The king's eyes widened as five magicians suddenly spawned around him. Raising their staves, they struck the ground and trapped the possessed gator into a magic circle.
"What is—"
From the magic, chains of light burst out and pierced through his body. The Shadow King reared his head back and screamed in pain as the constructs dug through his flesh. They wormed their way deeper than the body, finding their way to the soul.
To his shadow.
"W-W-What are you…doing?!"
Buster stepped aside as a team of warriors approached the ritual, carrying an extravagant coffin on their shoulders. "We've created a sealing spell specifically for you. One that'll keep you locked away for the rest of time. Never again will your evil taint this world." He nodded to the magicians.
Digging their staves deeper into the circle, the chains reacted. The Shadow King howled in agony as they started retracting. As the spikes found their way out from the flesh, they dragged out something out with them: the shadow of the Shadow King himself.
"N-No!" He struggled and resisted, but to no avail as the chains continued to pull on his shadow like it was tearing the skin off his bones.
Buster snapped his fingers, commanding the soldiers to open the coffin. "Don't underestimate mortals. You hold us in so little regard that you forget what we're capable of together. Until the end of time, the world will know no evil as your own."
The chains pulled half the shadow out from the body, causing it to go limp. A demonic, furious face appeared over the shadow as it screamed out at its tormentors. "Fools! ALL OF YOU! I've seen the consequences of magic! You've doomed your own kind to destruction!"
"Your words mean nothing. Your fate will not be overturned!"
The Shadow King growled. "Just you wait. Your sealing spell won't hold me forever. I'll find a way out, and I'll drag this sick world into the abyss where it belongs! You creatures know nothing of your vices! I will never stop fighting! I will save you from your own incompetence! Your own ambition! JUST YOU WAIT!"
The chains pried the shadow from flesh and threw him into the open coffin. The soldiers quickly slammed the lid back over the top. The chains sprung from the circle and fused themselves into the stone. They wrapped around the entirety of the coffin before linking back together. Upon clicking into place, a brief hum and glow flashed over the coffin, signaling a succession capture.
Buster breathed a sigh of relief, placing his hand on the coffin. "It is done. The sealing ceremony is complete."
One of the magicians bowed. "What should we do with the coffin, Sir Buster?"
"I know a location where it can be guarded. Somewhere that magic runs strongest. The magic supplied from that location will fuel the sealing spell."
"Then…the nightmare is over?" one of the warriors asked. "Have we won?"
Buster sighed before smiling wearily at them. "Yes. I do believe we've won."
"HUZZAH!" The warriors threw their helmets off and jumped in the air in triumph. "The nightmare is over!"
"Signal to the rest of the army that the king has fallen," Buster ordered. "I shall join you shortly." The warriors, with arms wrapped over each other, marched out to give the word to their fellow soldiers. As they left earshot, Buster looked back to the coffin with a worried grimace.
"His final words have left you troubled," one of the magicians deduced.
The knight nodded softly, then looked at his own hand as magic ran through it. "I was raised within the tribe that took my father in. I've known magic my whole life. We've only just started breaking the secrets it holds. I do not doubt the king's words. The seal may not last forever."
"Then what are we to do to prevent this tragedy from occurring again?" another magician asked.
Buster closed his eyes for a moment, almost unsure, but smiled confidently at the sealed coffin. "I meant what I said. He underestimates what mortals are capable of. I hold hope in my heart that, should he ever return, someone will break through his darkness and show the true power of mortals."
A dance of sparks erupted across the battlefield. Flashing around at great speeds, Wes and Apollo traded strikes with their blades. They skidded along the earth through their own momentum, repeatedly lunging and tearing up the ground in between their clashes. A trail of lacerated earth was left in their wake.
Apollo dug his swords through the ground, spun, and sliced up a landslide. It crashed into Wes, but he pushed through with his blades spinning and shredding the earth to dust. He fired forward with Warp Pad, slamming into Apollo and forcing him into a defensive stance. The shockwave of Wes' rippling magic obliterated the ground behind the god king.
Finding his footing, Apollo twisted his blades around Wes' and sliced into the Umbreon's stomach. A beast arm formed to stop the blade before it sent him flying backwards. Wes instantly rebounded off a Warp Pad, zigzagging around until he was directly behind Apollo. He swung, but the god king crossed his blades over his shoulders and stopped a three-blade strike.
"Burn!" Apollo spun and kicked Wes away. He struck down on the ground and summoned up a chain of lightning rushing towards the flying Umbreon.
Wes grabbed one of the swords in his teeth and impaled it through the ground to catch himself. The lightning picked up speed as it neared him. Staring it down with a crazy smile, he crossed four swords together. "Infernius: Crossfire Slash!" He hiccupped a fireball into the swords and swung. The force of his magical pressure stirred the flames into a giant X that bulldozed through the lightning.
Apollo reared his swords back as the flames approached. Water surged up the blades, twisting into a combined vortex. He slashed, cutting down the middle of the flashes and extinguishing them.
Through the mist, the energetic treasure hunter lunged and clashed with the god king. Apollo staved off a few surprise strikes, but backed away as Wes gradually increased the tempo of his swings. As if he was dancing, he spun off his paws and back with the seven swords spinning around him like a buzzsaw. The faster he moved, the faster the swords spun. Apollo grounded himself and guarded against the blades as they grinded against his own. Magic splashed out in between the stalemate and washed over the god king.
"Enough of this!" Apollo stomped his foot down.
The earth burst open behind Wes. A golem in the shape of Apollo rose out with golden eyes and flames. It thrusted its arm through the aura of blades, its layers being chipped away little by little. It reached and caught Wes by the collar before delivering a powerful electric shock.
"GAAAAAH!" Wes screamed.
The swords stopped spinning, leaving him open to a punch to the gut. Apollo channeled magic through his knuckles, adding an explosive reaction that blasted the Umbreon across the ground's surface. With his golem crumbling back into the ground, the Infernape dropped to all fours and gave chase.
Wes fought against his momentum before turning himself right-side up. Seeing the god king fast approaching, he split up six of the swords. "Magi Effingo! And Prismatic Armatura!" He summoned up six crystal clones, each taking a sword in their teeth. They glowed in a rainbow light, as did the swords.
Apollo growled and lunged through the air. Clapping his hands, six stone Infernape burst out with their own dual swords expelling his godly aura. "Tear them down!"
The clones rushed each other down, their magic exploding over the atmosphere upon collision. Some crystal clones were smashed to pieces while some rock clones were torn to ribbons. One crystal clone was impaled and shattered upon hitting the ground while a rock clone had its head decapitated and kicked into another clone.
Running through a shower of crystal and rock, Wes and Apollo met halfway and dashed past each other with a clang of their blades. The collision sparked a delayed blast, rupturing the air and earth around them. They skidded to a stop, turned themselves around, and raced back at each other. They locked swords as their magical pressure ran wild, furthering breaking down their surroundings.
"Oh, this brings me back," Apollo growled. "A battle between two powerful warriors whose magic rivaled each other. The hero stands above the dark lord and vanquishes them to eternal slumber. Why, I've experienced both ends of these conflicts as hero and the dark lord, but today is the day darkness prevails!"
Wes' constructed leg turned more beastly, digging down to keep himself standing as he bit down harder on his sword. "Darkness this, and darkness that! Some of us have to live with our shadows without them trying to kill us. It's called being mortal, something you clearly forgot about!"
He twisted his body to push down on Apollo's swords. Once he had his opening, he flipped forward and kicked the god king in the face, knocking the swords out of his hands.
"As sad as it is, there's no point in living if there's nothing to feel from it. Happiness, anger, sadness, relief, surprise, grief, hardship, suffering, compassion—what's so wrong with any of that?! That's just what life is! Bad things will happen, but look at our world! For all your talk about how we're just as bad as the shadows we bury, the people are still fighting for freedom! If someone wants to abuse the magic gifted to us, we'll be there to set things right! If we can handle a god like you, what else in this world is left to scare us?!"
Apollo rolled to his feet and roared. "Nothing but the words of a sentimental buffoon!" He punched the ground, erupting magic from under himself.
Wes jumped back as the shockwaves blew into him. He shielded his face from the blinding light as the godly magic rose and twisted high up into the air. Peering out from behind his foreleg, he watched as the magic took on the shape of a giant Infernape avatar.
"Nothing will change! No amount of progress will change the corrupted core of this broken world!" The avatar cupped its hands together and fired down a massive golden beam that blew through the sound barrier.
Wes stomped down and roared at the approaching spell as his own magic erupted from his body. As the beam came into range, a giant beastly arm lunged out from the glowing mass and blocked it. The lasers split off from the paw and peppered the rest of the area ahead in a lightshow of explosions.
"Cor Bestia!"
Ripping through the lasers, the beastly Umbreon construct stomped its paws down and roared at the giant Infernape avatar.
Apollo growled. "Why can't you and your bloodline just GIVE UP?!" He let out a guttural roar, firing a massive laser from the maw of his avatar.
The beastly Umbreon charged forward, its claws digging through and shaking the earth under them. He jumped aside, feeling the pressure of the beam grazing his side, and focused his strength through the hindlegs to catapult into Apollo. He swiped his claws and took the Infernape avatar to the ground, clamping its teeth around the neck.
Wes, floating within the center of his avatar, glared at the pinned god king. "Even if this is what Dougal wanted, we're descendants of Archibald Ravenfield! He's the one we aspire to be! Someone who sees the good in magic and how it could be used to help others!"
Apollo socked the beast across the cheek and knocked it off. He stomped his foot down and rose up. "Archibald was Dougal's reincarnation. All because of me. It would've all turned out the same had I not interfered and wiped out his town."
Wes rolled and leapt back onto his paws. "So, the people who defended him were just collateral?"
"War is not won through peace!" Apollo roared out another golden beam into the beastly avatar.
"Rift Splitter!" The beast whipped its foreleg, conjuring a circular blade of cosmic energy, and threw it down the middle. It split the beam in two, causing it curve around Wes and detonate in the far distance. He roared and charged through the splitting laser, lunging at Apollo with claws blazing in magic.
Apollo ducked under the Rift Splitter and caught the beast's ankles, holding back its claws as they inched toward his avatar's face. "I was this world's champion of peace. I saw everything before my time came. I saw how quickly the world descended back to its cruelty without something to keep it in check. Dougal descended into madness from his own rage, and plenty more like him followed in his footsteps. When I'm finished remaking this world, nothing of the sort will happen again. EVER!"
Mist and flames hissed out from the beast avatar's maw. "And we'll be there to break it all down! Aquos Mist: Infernal Roar!" Wes let loose a blast wave of pressurized steam.
"GAAAH!" Apollo, feeling the chest of his avatar being bombarded by tremendous force, lost his footing and flew over the earth. His avatar skidded along the ground and crashed into the remains of the mountain he threw earlier.
Wes charged after him, expelling flame from his maw. "Infernius: Terra Impact!" He fired a colossal fireball that pulled the earth out from under it. A rock shell formed over the fireball before cracks of heat split over the surface.
Apollo sprung up and drove his fist through the fireball. It exploded, sending shrapnel of fiery rock throughout the Sky Zone and beyond. Pieces pierced through the golden hide of his avatar and sliced across his chin. His shadow erupted from the cuts as his fury grew.
"Magi Effingo: Beast Impact!" Two crystal clones spawned outside of the beast avatar. With their magic flaring, they conjured their own avatars and ran alongside Wes.
Still staggered from the previous attack, Apollo doubled over from a twin clothesline maneuver from the clones. They struck hard into his avatar, causing the outer layer to crack. Wes' avatar summoned up magic through his paw and conjured a broadsword cast in rainbow light. Taking it in both paws, it drove the blade through the Infernape avatar's chest and struck Apollo from the inside. The force punched Apollo out and sent him flailing into the sky as his avatar crumbled.
"Warp Pad!" Wes burst out from his own avatar, causing it to crumble, and chased down the stunned Infernape. "Septem Gladii Virtutis!" The seven magic swords spawned and pointed toward their airborne target. "For all your blustering and hatred for this world, you've neglected the one thing that keeps us moving! Deeper than ambition and magic itself! Something you've forgotten in a sea of doubts and frustration!"
Apollo could only cross his arms defensively as the Umbreon soared in far quicker than he expected. He's going to tear me to shreds!
Wes readied to pierce the blades through the Infernape. "The one thing that keeps us standing is—"
POOF!
A burst of light flashed off from Wes. He and Apollo stared at each other in shock as the Mystic Awakening suddenly and unceremoniously blinked away, leaving behind a significantly weaker Umbreon with a missing foreleg and magic still surging in his stomach.
"…" Wes, as he and Apollo continued flying up into the clouds, looked himself over with utter bafflement. "Oooohhhh shi—"
Apollo stopped in the air and caught Wes by the neck, squeezing his fingers tightly over it. "You were saying?"
Wes grinned uneasily. "Hehe. Uh, can I call my first timeou—WAAAAHH!"
Apollo, with barely a second of delay, chucked Wes with all his strength back toward the craterous canyon where the resistance helplessly watched the battle. Wes screamed and flailed in a blind panic as the ground came dangerously close to being splattered with his blood.
"W-Warp Pad!" Summoning the magic of the Star Amulet still fueling him, he conjured a magic circle to break his fall. Unfortunately, the hasty summoning of the spell caused him to crash through it, though it did slow his fall some. "Faster! FASTER!"
One after the other, he summoned Warp Pads to cushion his fall as he neared hitting the ground. He couldn't break his fall, but he slowed down enough to tank the crash with his defensive aura. He sputtered and tumbled off his face, rolling over the ground before coming to a dead stop on his stomach.
"OoooOOOOoooohhh…" he groaned. "That one tossed up my lunch…" Even in his delirium, he paused at his own comment. "Wait, I haven't eaten in a week. Oh Arceus, now I'm hungry—"
A thunderous crash stirred the Umbreon back to his senses. The blast threw him onto his back. He scrambled onto his haunches and gasped as Apollo, wrapped in majestic golden aura, glared daggers at the depowered magician.
"Seems you've run the course of your magic."
"Crap!" Wes jumped to his paws and stamped down. "Mystic Re—" A blast of Apollo's pressure was enough to throw him, breaking his concentration. "AGH!"
"I'm not giving you a second to recharge." Apollo summoned up magic through his hand, holding out to the Umbreon a concentrated orb of pure godly essence. "This time, I'll make sure I incinerate you so thoroughly that not even Wendrake will be able to undo your death."
Wes slowly picked himself up. "Let's be reasonable here—"
"I tire of reasoning. The Ravenfields are the key to my defeat, and I'll make sure you and the rest of your bloodline are wiped from existence forever! NOW DIE, WES RAVENFIELD!" Apollo fired off the golden laser straight for the weakened Umbreon.
"AH!" Wes ducked and covered his head, bracing for the end.
"…I won't allow anything to befall my team leader!"
Wes' eyes widened as someone jumped in front of the beam and tanked the impact. "Wha—" He staggered back onto his haunches and watched as the figure bathing in golden light nullified the magic with their sword.
Apollo's eyes widened. "What—"
"How utterly naïve of you to think he was your only problem!"
A spark of blue flashed under his chin before delivering a heavy kick that knocked him high into the air.
"We're just as much his family as his bloodline!"
Tree roots ruptured the earth and soared after Apollo, catching him in their tight snare.
"And he's proven that a god like you is nothing to be afraid of!"
Apollo's eyes widened as a psionic force built up from his blind spot and blasted into him, tearing him out from the tree roots.
"Time, space, or whatever! Team Ravenfield…will never give up!"
An orange crystal humanoid spawned over the stunned god king and kicked him across the neck. Apollo careened into the ground, landing with a deafening boom.
Wes rubbed his eyes and gasped as the five figures landed in front of him in a defensive formation. "No way. Guys?!"
Griffin shouldered Endless Regret and looked back at the Umbreon with a smirk. "Back from the dead, I see. You're full of surprises."
Tony straightened up and laughed. "As if we'd let you have all the fun around here. We're a team, remember?"
Ella spun Daybreak and rested it across her back. She smiled warmly at Wes and extended her paw to him. He took it and let her pull him up. "You really know how to make trouble." She took his fedora off her head and smacked it back atop his. "Then again, we all do."
Wes blushed and smiled back at her. "Sorry I worried you." He looked over at Flint, his eyes shimmering with glee. "Flint?"
The Flareon smiled and raised his forelegs. "Get over here."
Wes laughed and jumped into his brother's embrace, spinning them both around. "You're alive! You're alive!"
Flint grinned. "Yeah, I'm aware. Thanks for noticing—"
"FLINTY!" Both brothers were tackled to the floor by Gwyn. She gave Wes a quick hug before grabbing Flint's cheeks and kissing him deeply. She broke away and snuggled into his mane with tears raining down her face. "I'm so happy you're okay! I was so miserable thinking you were gone!"
Flint pushed himself up and hugged her back. "It's alright, Gwyn. I will never leave you again."
"I don't understand," she mumbled. She pulled away and wiped her tears. "How are you—" Her eyes widened as the shimmering teal magic flowing off Flint's aura. She recognized it instantly and covered her mouth. "No…"
Flint's ears drooped. "She…wanted me to have a happy life with you."
"Ambrosine…" Gwyn bowed her head and shuddered. She leaned into Flint's shoulder, who could do no more but rub her back.
Tony frowned. "We missed a lot."
"Clearly." Griffin glared over his shoulder. "I hate to ruin this time of mourning, but we're all pretty weak at the moment. Annnnd that little coordinated attack wasn't putting him down."
Team Ravenfield picked themselves up and glared as smoke billowed from the crash site. Apollo pulled himself out of the earth, tearing up the land in the uncontested storm of magic expelling from his body. However, there was something else going on with the god king.
His fur turned black and was tipped in gold. His eyes returned to their domineering blood red with his sclerae shimmering into a tainted gold with black veins stretching across them. His armor shattered from his body as tainted gold spikes protruded from his shoulders, arms, and spine. The majestic gold aura surrounding him turned darker with crackles of black lightning sparking off him.
"You should've just let me kill him," Apollo growled. "Now I'm going to tear all of you apart! Atom by atom!"
All but Wes took up defensive postures, raising their weapons or spells in the god king's direction. "We've killed your heralds and your general. And we neutralized your worst half," Griffin said.
Tony smirked. "At this point, you're just a glorified punching bag! You should've taken the out when you had a chance."
Gwyn cracked her whip across the ground. "Wes fought his hardest to taken you down, and we're finishing the job."
Ella's eyes weakly flickered with psychic energy. "And this time, we'll make sure you stay down."
Wes looked at his friends in shock. "Are you guys crazy?! You're just as exhausted as I am! You can't fight him like this."
Flint smirked. "What other choice do we have? Either way, we're dead, so might as well go down swinging."
"Flint…" He stared at his brother in awe. Come to think of it, Flint rarely ever got excited about fighting. I never noticed just how confident he's gotten during our journey.
He looked upon the rest of his team, all standing proudly despite their withered conditions. Each and every one of them, though so different from each other, formed a bond unlike anything he knew or wanted. They've been through so much together. So much hardship and suffering, but also so much fun and adventure. They were some of the best memories of his life. This…
This was the greatest adventure he could've ever imagined.
"…" Wes smiled at his friends and raised his paw at them. "You guys…"
"Huh?" Everyone turned back at Wes as magic rippled off the ground under him.
"You guys…are the ones that keep me standing. The ones that inspire me to strive for bigger and better things." He looked at them with tears shimmering off his eyes. "So, let's cap off this adventure the way it started: together."
In awe at the Umbreon, his team smiled back and raised their hands/paws, setting them down on his paw one by one.
"Let no rage hold us back."
"Through storms and madness…"
"Like a garden nurtured with compassion…"
"We won't let anyone tell us who we can or can't be."
"Though we are products of our past, we will unearth a new future."
Wes grinned as the magic glowing under the feet intensified. "Let chaos reign, and hope pierce the heavens!"
"NO!" Apollo lunged at the group in an inferno of magic. "I won't let you—"
"Now! Mystic Rebirth!"
A column of magic exploded out from the ground, and Apollo's vision vanished like smoke in the wind as the land was swallowed in light.
A light fueled by Team Ravenfield's chaos.
