Author's Corner.
Awesome: Okay everyone! The final battle is starting so get to your places!
Scarlet: Hey! My hair's still messed up! Poketoddsweeney, you're supposed to be in charge of doing our hair, remember?!
Cynthia: Make-up! Where's my make-up?!
Ghetsis: And my suit is still not ready yet!
Awesome: Pipe down already. Poketoddsweeney, drop that new story of yours and get the cast's hair done! Skidz, Lights! Polardawn, Make-up! And Rikato, quit fawning over Scarlet's autograph and get the set ready! Hey, where's Sly?!
Draco: Of all the bloody times for him to go missing! I'll get him!
Slybill *breaks into the director's box*: Is it wrong to get breakfast for a few minutes?! Jeez, I'm here already. Now where's that director?
PikaMewGirl: Don't yell, I'm right here dammit! Now listen up, boys and girls! This is the last stretch of A.S.P.S and I don't care if your make-up is undone or your freaking shoe-laces are untied! Get out there and do a damn-good job!
Awesome: I can't believe we'll need two directors for this. Okay then, guys! Lights!
PikaMewGirl: Cameras!
Slybill: And...ACTION!
DISCLAIMER: SLYBILL DOESN'T OWN POKEMON! ELSE WE'D HAVE SEEN A REMAKE OF RUBY AND SAPPHIRE BY NOW!
Lacunosa Town. 3:30PM
It was faint but everyone could see the reddish tint in the grey clouds looming ominously over Unova. However, the blood-like rendering did nothing to the bustling atmosphere as everyone was too busy either participating in the town fair or, in the case of the overly-influential Unovan folk, attending to a certain ball held in the newly-constructed Castrum De Glacies (literally, Castle of Ice in Latin), a magnificent and rather large structure situated where the once-dreaded Giant Chasm lay and made of the finest and most valuable item found only in Unova, Black Ice. Various towers dotted its sides and at its high top stood a big, see-through dome sporting a beautiful statue of a possibly foreign pokémon belonging to the draconic family. Along with the angelic pokémon sculptures at each tower and pillar, even a child would know just how expensive such a building would've cost to be erected. And in a mere three days to boot!
Though it would've been safe to assume that such a building shot out of the ground, the high construction barriers did pretty well to mask any proof of the building's true construction and like any other human, the residents of the town simply shrugged their light suspicions off and basked in the sight of the grand castle built for the purpose of celebrating Unova's biggest event.
Yes, the Red Moon Ball was already here and the castle's grand gates were opened to its guests, Unovan dignitaries and lucky celebrities accompanied by well-groomed, almost regal, pokémon whose nostrils were so high in the air, one could've sworn they'd had their heads suspended on meat-hooks since birth.
The interiors, to say the least, were almost fantasy-like with rows of glowing chandeliers, Victorian hallways, carved pillars and red carpets along with dolled-up, bright-eyed, red-haired servants at your beck and call, ready to serve you anything you needed from the choicest of wines to the most scrumptious of meats in no time at all. And for those who preferred to socialise outdoors, the breath-taking courtyards provided a reliable alternative as exotic plants and trees dotted every available spot on the sides and walls.
"I have no words to describe such a structure other than beautiful," the president of Unova's most patronised jewellery company, Mr Hatterly remarked breathily to the young, dark-skinned man before him.
"You were never a man of many words," Draco joked and both laughed heartily. Seeing the teenage pinkette shifting bashfully behind her father, Draco raised a hand and almost-magically whipped out a blood-red rose from nowhere before bowing and holding out the item to her with his ever-handsome smile. "With the blessings of her wise father, I shall now ask my lovely lady Marigold for a dance."
"Uh…" and that was as far as she got as her laughing father backed off and left her at the mercy of the daring knight bowing before her. Taking her dainty hand, Draco took her to the bright-lit dance hall where several other couples had begun their activity. Unsurprisingly, the newcomers stole the stage and all eyes fell on the dapper ravenette as he twirled his prize around the hall.
"What a show-off," Joid spat, finger tugging on the white bow-tie that was slowly but surely strangling him. Dressed in the same apparel as his older colleague, the pale-skinned boy scowled again and looked pleadingly at Terra. "Can I at least take this bloody bow-tie off?"
"Certainly not," the dapper injun growled, bopping his head with his large fist. "Now be useful and usher in the meat- I mean- the guests."
"Haha! You said meat-OW!"
And with some choice grumbling, the boy slunk off while rubbing the healing bruise on his forehead.
Aqua, on the other hand, was too engaged in mercilessly entrancing the guests in the opera hall to welcome the ones outside and Terra rubbed his aching forehead at the workload placed on his shoulders. At times like this, he wished that boot-print on his face hadn't faded considerably just so he would be deemed unfit to show himself till the desired time.
"But if anything, I'm excited to see how the plan goes when the VIPs arrive," he muttered to himself and promptly smacked the head of the lazy grunt sneaking some food off the table. "Tch. Humans."
The main eye catcher of this lavish party though was the smartly-dressed young-ish greenette at the throne-room with a white-haired beauty standing beside him as he greeted and shook gloved hands with the ladies and gentlemen of affluence. He had the right to do such things as he was the very man who discovered the valuable jewel needed to create his magnificent building, Mr Grimwald Hartford or to the grunts, dragon knights and human accomplices among the guests, King Ghetsis Harmonia.
"I must say that it is quite a pleasure to meet you, Mr Grimwald," a leading socialite remarked to the smiling man. "Especially after you went underground for quite some time."
"You're looking younger everyday," another one praised.
"Oh please, age is only a thing of the mind," the greenette laughed and looped an arm around White's waist. "I don't think she's introduced herself quite yet."
"My name is White," she greeted almost robotically and bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Oh, so this is the innocent one," the gentleman before her stated and nodded to himself as if judging a prized item. "It does make some sense that his sister would suffice."
"Our plans shall come to the fore very soon," another one said excitedly and stroked his beard. "And then we shall live as kings over all humans and pokemon."
"Haha, indeed," Ghetsis remarked, smirking deviously. Turning to face the rest of his guests, he raised both arms wide, instantly bringing silence to the hall. "To all dignified men, women and pokemon of Unova and beyond: I welcome and thank you for coming to our little party to celebrate Unova's remarkable lunar eclipse. The Red Moon comes once in eight years, as we all know, and like every other celebration held in years past, I wish to make this ball a legendary success. That is why at five o'clock sharp when the moon goes brilliant crimson and bathes Unova in its vivid red, there will be a grand surprise, the likes of which many of you have never seen before. So please enjoy yourselves and dine like never before! Make merry like today is your last and remember, it is all for Unova's peace and prosperity!"
"To Mr Grimwald Hartford for his glorious speech and magnificent party!" Mr Hatterly declared, raising his wine glass high.
"Cheers!" everyone boomed and fresh music from the orchestra burst through every hall in the gigantic castle, putting the Red Moon Ball in full-swing as the sky turned redder and darker on that very hour.
"And all that just remains now..." Ghetsis muttered snidely to himself as he took White's hand and left for a balcony to watch the coming red sunset. "...Is for the VIPs to arrive which, judging by the Shadow Triad's reports, should be in a matter of minutes."
Stopping in a dark hall, the king snapped his fingers and the lights came on, revealing rows and rows of armed grunts and Kyurem-corrupted pokemon.
"We've got enough guests now. Kill any newcomer other than the sacrifices."
"Yes, my Lord!" they cried and filed out the underground entrance. Smirking, the greenette turned...and came face to face with a steel-haired child sitting on an Arcanine and accompanied by his two aides, standing on either side.
"So you're Ghetsis Harmonia," the child cooed, staring at the man with big, curious eyes. Unsurprisingly, Ghetsis's smile grew wider.
"Mr Boss," he greeted semi-respectfully. "I do not remember sending you an invitation. So how exactly did you get this far?"
"Aww, is widdle Ghetsy-wetsy mad? I just came to wish your crazy plan all the luck in the world," Boss replied babyishly and his expression grew coy upon looking at White. "Just so you know, if your hands drop any further than her waist, Scarlet's gonna stuff your head up your butt."
"Thank you for the unnecessary warning," Ghetsis spat icily and opened his condescending eyes to stare them down. "From your strangely-unnoticed presence here, I shall assume the first part of Scarlet's plan is in motion."
Boss merely rocked back and forth on his pokemon's back while whistling semi-obliviously.
"Rest assured, Mr Ghetsis. Had it not been for Boss's insistence, I would've taken your head quite some time ago," Jerome commented, hand resting gently on the protruding hilt of the sword strapped to his waist. "Though right now, my hands are twitching for a good fight."
"One you'll get when the VIPs arrive," Luca deadpanned, pushing up her glasses. "With all due respect, Lord Harmonia, you are clearly insane. Many lives will be lost today for the sake of your goal and though I'm certainly no humanitarian, I can't help but sense how wrong your motives seem. However, Boss wants to give you a chance. Back down now, disappear off the face of the earth and he will keep the long arm of the law at bay for as long as you remain docile."
Ghetsis chuckled and pressed a hand to his temple. "Am I being ordered by humans to surrender? Well, here's your answer. For every soldier of Team Plasma, man or pokemon, that falls by your bullets and attacks, seven hunters and pokemon will suffer the same fate. So try and stop us, human. You'll still die anyway. If you'll excuse me, I have a date with the lunar eclipse."
Just as he and White passed Arcanine, Boss snickered and Ghetsis paused.
"There was once a man like you who lost a precious thing to him and by extension lost himself," the man-child stated ominously and his eyes narrowed considerably. "He went through the same mental degeneration you are experiencing and sought to inflict chaos upon the world by seizing and breaking an innocence very similar to that of the angel you hold in your hands. And he paid the price for it by being cursed to powerlessly walk the very world he hated for all eternity. Be careful, Ghetsis Harmonia."
Silently, Ghetsis left the room and Boss sighed before leaning to the right, instantly dodging a bullet from nowhere. Before another could be fired, a scream was heard and the seemingly disappeared Jerome reappeared again with a Meditite on his shoulder and a bloodied blade in his hand.
"Looks like Team Plasma has started their silent attack," he remarked, sheathing the weapon. "We'd best be careful, sir"
"I see. Have us teleported to the nearest balcony. I wish to watch this grand fight from a convenient stand-point," Boss ordered.
"Yes sir," Jerome replied and Meditite pressed both hands to its head before surrounding them in a bright light. A flash later, the hall stood empty save for the bleeding corpse hanging off the hidden railing.
...
The time was 4:15 PM.
"They're taking their time," Terra remarked, walking into Ghetsis's observation balcony.
"Indeed," the man replied blankly, more focused on the horizon than the native American lookalike behind him.
"Sir, do you think they'll show up?"
"Mm..."
It was a vague answer verbally but Terra knew Ghetsis was expecting, almost hoping, for them to show up on their own volition like Scarlet had said the day before.
4:20 PM.
"I'm pretty sure they bailed," Joid yawned, sauntering into the balcony.
"Shall I send for the grunts to have them forcefully brought?" Aqua asked.
"Or shall I do it myself?" Draco requested in a somewhat throaty growl.
"Not yet," Ghetsis replied coolly, eyes still trained on the sunset.
4:30PM. 4:44PM. 4:50PM.
Having had enough, Aqua turned and proceeded to give the grunts their commands when Ghetsis held up a hand and smirked.
"Duck."
"Where?!" Joid cried, drooling hungrily. A sharp blow to the head later, he finally noticed the tiny speck in the distance growing larger and larger as it came closer until the knights finally made out the shape of a big, fiery meteor hurtling towards them. Without so much as a grunt, they all neatly stepped to the right, dodging the object and, unfortunately, letting it smash into the side of the castle, making it shake considerably and leaving a rather nasty dent on the wall.
"Only one Garchomp is capable of pulling off such an attack of that size," Ghetsis deduced and looked back to the horizon to see a lone black car speeding forward. This car was soon accompanied by a hot rod, a Latios, a Garchomp and Zekrom.
"So, they came after all," Aqua commented and giggled. "Isn't that your car, Draco?"
"Shut up. I barely used it anyway," the ravenette hissed, narrowing his eyes at a certain blonde in the black sports car.
"It's almost time for the main event," Ghetsis stated excitedly and turned to go inside. "Have all the items ready for 5:25 PM."
"Uh…Kingie, what about those guys?" Joid asked pointing to the horizon again. All at once, the knights' eyes widened as a vast amount of motorcycles and cars came right behind the initial ones, all filled to the brim with rough and rowdy hunters, rangers and pokémon with a common look of staunch determination.
And right ahead of them, standing on his seat at the hot rod was none other than the ringleader of this makeshift army, a redheaded teenager with his ever-defiant smirk and troll-face Jolteon on his shoulder.
"Are you ready guys?!" Scarlet cried.
"YEAH!" they boomed back.
"Put the guns on!" he yelled.
"YEAH!" the hunters cried, cocking their stun-guns.
"Okay! We're not heading for any ordinary tea-party so listen up!" Scarlet raised a hand to the incoming castle. "We're not 100% sure of what the hell we're up against and frankly, we don't care! Some of us may lose some limbs and probably an eye or two but if I know one thing it's that we're all either going to live through this ball and stop those Plasma psychos or die trying and possibly (for the hunters) carry out our death sentences here! So we're not gonna stand for Ghetsis's crazy ideals, right?"
"FUCK NO!"
"So what're we gonna do about it?"
"KICK TEAM PLASMA TO HELL AND BACK! AND RESCUE THE BALDIE'S HOT GIRLFRIEND!"
That last part earned a loud anime drop from the redhead and his pokémon but at least they got the message through. Locking eyes with his green-haired enemy, Scarlet thumbed his cavalry and mouthed the words "Wings."
Despite their intimidating size and the redhead's confident speech, Ghetsis simply laughed and pointed a long finger downwards. "We'll simply open hell's gate for them. Now come, children. Let us inform our guests of the arrival of our sacrifices…and their contribution to our new world."
As one, the knights grinned ominously and exited the balcony, leaving Ghetsis and White behind, the former of whom was about following suit when he heard an airy voice.
"Scar...ly..."
Spinning around, Ghetsis was once again shocked to find White staring at the group making their way to the castle and for the first time in a while, he saw a brief flicker of happiness in her half-lidded eyes.
"Not just yet," he remarked, drawing her away and taking out a needle containing a rather large amount of fluid, a different colour this time. "Unlike those null-consciousness-inducing fluids, this is something much stronger, so strong in fact that I doubt you'll ever come out of it at all. It's not like you'll live after today anyway so you don't have to worry about the after-effects."
She didn't answer but he was sure she paled significantly at his statement making him grin.
Pushing the needle into her arm, he emptied the drug into her bloodstream and watched as she suddenly arched her head back, gasping at the raw pain burning through her veins. Unlike the other fluids that only drove her into a barely-conscious state, this one seemed to break whatever strength she had left and render her entire body almost-paralysed. Not to mention the other-worldly pain she suffered once the drug reached her head that threatened to drive her off the edge of her sanity. Everything around her spun once again and White swayed before falling into Ghetsis's arms, eyes wide open but body shock still. Interesting to note that her eyes had gone electric blue and her skin had also gone ghastly white, making her look like an ice sculpture.
"Perfect," he remarked, carrying her bridal style and heading back into the castle. Seconds later, he arrived at the podium before his guests and cleared his throat to call their attention. "We wish to apologise for the sudden disturbance due to the building's momentary tremor. There's nothing to fear though. No earthquakes or collapses whatsoever. However…"
Guns cocked, pokémon growled and the guests in the hall turned to see armed Plasma grunts and savage pokémon blocking the exits.
Mr Hatterly was the first to speak. "What is the meaning of this-"
BANG!
"Daddy!" Marigold screamed in alarm, seeing her father collapse with blood flowing freely from the gunshot wound on his side.
"As I was saying," Ghetsis continued, paying zero-attention to the girl's worrying or the frightened and confused looks on his guests faces, "Your safety at our hands depends on how eager you are to cooperate. Minutes from now, Unova is about to have a rather big event. Not just the Red Moon Eclipse that will drench the region in blood red but also a war of some sort that will very well determine the fate of humanity's existence- yes, that includes you all."
"All?" a fellow conspirator among the guests echoed.
"Yes. Speaking of which," Ghetsis replied and at once Terra's Garchomp appeared from nowhere and impaled the unsuspecting man with its scythe-like claw.
"W-what is the meaning of this, G-Ghetsis?!" he spluttered and hacked up blood as the dopey-looking but obviously deadly pokemon raised him high.
"Ghetsis?" a man echoed, eyes widening in alarm.
"Ghetsis Harmonia, King of Team Plasma?!" a woman screamed and all at once, people and pokemon began to run about in terror, hoping to break through the grunts at the doors. Within seconds, their paths were blocked by several pokemon led by Ghetsis's Hydreigon who gave a terrifying roar that sent the crowd into cowering silence.
"So the truth came out sooner than expected," Ghetsis remarked, grinning sadistically at the impaled man before him. "My insincerest apologies, fellow conspirators but you also happen to be the unfortunate lambs gathered specifically for Kyurem's awakening."
"I-impossible!" the man coughed out painfully and screamed as Garchomp gave a brutal slash to his side, tearing his coat and dress-shirt to reveal a glowing mark similar to Scarlet's and White's. At the same time, other people began to scream as the other Plasma members picked out the other clearly-ignorant sacrifices among them and dragged them before the throne.
"How can we be the sacrifices?" a woman cried. "I thought we were in this together to rule the world?!"
"Rule? With you?" Aqua asked and laughed cruelly. "Sorry, hag, but the world can only have one king and we'd prefer one from a more dominant species."
"Plus, you unknowingly became a sacrifice when you associated yourself with us and betrayed your race," Terra added, shaking his head as if in mock pity at the woman as she was dragged away. "Pitiful humans. Your foolishness knows no bounds."
"Hey guys! The VIPs are at the gates!" Joid called excitedly and Ghetsis's grin grew wider.
"Open hell's gates, release the pokemon and turn up the music!" Ghetsis declared and twirled before stopping right before a frightened Marigold whose eyes widened as her chest began to glow and form a similar scar. "Fear not. The real party, my lady, begins now."
KABOOM!
The entire wall behind Ghetsis exploded in debris and smoke, sending the guests-turned-hostages into a frenzy and setting the armed grunts and pokemon into attack mode, raining long-range attacks on the disturbance. To their surprise, the familiar glimmer of high-level Reflect techniques shone through the smoke and the dust cleared to reveal several psychic pokemon standing defensively before their ranger partners.
"Now that's an entrance!" Joid commented, mouth drooling expectantly at the tasty morsels of flesh before him. All of a sudden, his chest tightened rather painfully and his eyes widened to see Scarlet come up from among the rangers, accompanied by the other important sacrifices and Alphinia. "Damn baldie. Why don't you just die or something?!"
"No can do, Brainless!" Scarlet jabbed back and locked eyes with the smiling greenette holding White tightly. "Sorry we're late. Just had a few things to take care of."
"Trust me, your coming here only served to hasten my plans," Ghetsis replied darkly and gestured to the still girl in his arms. "So, I assume this is what you came for?"
Jolteon started to snarl menacingly and the pokeballs on Scarlet's belt rattled.
"With all the hell I've gone through, it'd only be fair to say White's worth the effort," Scarlet said and narrowed his eyes. "I know you won't give her back if I asked nicely but you have to admit that you are pretty outnumbered when it comes to who's got the larger army."
"So you think you can scare me with numbers?" Ghetsis asked and his knights began to giggle silently.
"Oi, what's so funny?" LP asked, arching an eyebrow at their creepy reactions.
Turning his back on Scarlet, Ghetsis began to walk. And walk. And walk.
"Hey! Give her back-nya!" Lightning barked and took a step before feeling Alphinia's strong grip on his arm. Just as fast as she pulled him back, a claw burst through the floor followed by several more claws that lined the floor like thorns before the ground exploded open to reveal an entire horde of crazed Garchomp clambering out with wide-open jaws and steely claws.
"I have far more value than you in terms of labour, Scarlet," Ghetsis called, still walking towards the large door that appeared in the wall. "Come through hell's gate if you wish to stop me and save your friend before the entire region is drenched in red. As for the rest of you...the Knights can deal with your retrieval personally. However, no matter how hard you fight, I will ultimately prevail. Enjoy yourselves. Ciao."
And with that, he disappeared with White into the darkness ahead.
Silence.
Silence.
Slowly, Joid dragged a tongue across his lips. "I know I should be heading off with King Ghetsis...but I think I've got enough time to snack on the rangers."
"I personally wouldn't recommend that," Terra scolded and checked his watch. "Right now, we only have thirty minutes. Let's just open the gate, catch the sacrifices and get this over with."
"And Scarly's not among them, right?" Aqua asked.
"Of course not," Terra replied casually. "Since his older soul, the guilty one, is still inhibiting Joid's body, the Scarlet we see now is just another unimportant human."
"So I can eat him?!" Joid asked anxiously.
"Hello! I'm right here!"
BAM!
The lanky ravenette and his injun cohort were suddenly slammed against the wall with Scarlet's gloved hands at their throats.
"Why're you guys so confident of a win? And what's this hell's gate?" he asked, squeezing threatningly.
"Oh dear, he's gotten stronger," Terra remarked almost obliviously before both he and Joid gave Cheshire-Purrloin grins at the redhead.
"Interesting," they said in unison and just as the orchestra burst into a rather ominous piece, six massive, black and shadowy tentacles burst through the walls and would've clearly minced Scarlet had he not jumped away in time (a miraculous feat attributed to the electric-boost in his gloves given the closeness and speed of the incoming attack).
"Draco!" Alphinia exclaimed and Scarlet raised his left arm defensively. The man within the smoke took one disinterested look at the redhead before pointing his half-lidded eyes at the blonde boy with the wide-brimmed hat and the girl holding his arm.
His eyes went bloodshot.
"Kill..." he muttered and at once, his shadow grew wide until the entire floor underneath their feet was covered in black.
"Uh oh, looks like he's opening the gate here," Aqua cooed.
"What the fuck is Hell's Gate?" LP finally yelled, catching her attention.
"Exactly what it is, Elvis," she replied and eerie screeches suddenly pierced the air. The scary fact was that these screeches came from the demonic mass underneath them and to the cavalry's amazement, several lanky humans rose from the shadow like undead zombies, each with wired-shut jaws, snow-white hair and beastly yellow eyes.
"Are those..." Cynthia murmured.
"Joids-de arimasu!" Lightning cried and all at once, the beastly army gave a terrifying battlecry before kicking off and slamming against the protective force-fields.
"We should be safe inside here," a ranger remarked.
"Don't get your hopes up just yet!" Rain barked and on cue, the Joids raised their fists in unison before crashing them extremely hard against the Reflect, causing a rather surprising and massive crack in it at the cost of broken fists, a casualty rendered extremely minor due to their equally intimidating regenerative capabilities.
"Keep the shields up!" LP yelled and drew out his signature Cannonball 47s before launching two shots into the nearest Joid pushing against the field. "Hey hunters! It's fighting time!"
Giving joint cries of their own, ORPH's members began their counter-attack, blasting Joids left and right with either high-level pokemon attacks or powerful weaponry thanks to Vann and the other members of the Weapon Division.
"Make sure to fight in a group!" Cynthia called and instinctively ducked as her Lucario sent one Joid flying with a Force Palm.
"If they get their hands on you, consider yourself screwed!" LP chipped in, hissing in slight annoyance as the enemies before him began to regenerate. Quick as a flash, one was right behind him, ready to take a good chunk of his shoulder when Alphinia's Salamence engulfed the being in blue flames, roasting it completely to ashes. Giving the ex-knight a grateful smirk, LP released his Gliscor and ordered rapid Fire Fangs at the Joids. Soon, the others picked up that fire somewhat had more of an effect on them than other elements and in no time, fire-type pokemon ran amok, razing Joids left and right.
Lightning, on the other hand, had just gotten to the frightened guests at the centre and was just about ushering them over to the exit when a fat tentacle shot out from nowhere and smashed into the ground before him.
"Lightning," Draco growled in a rather animalistic tone. "I believe we've got some unfinished business."
"Draco, listen to me!" Alphinia cried, standing protectively in front of the blonde. "Please stop! Ghetsis is the one in the wrong here and I'm sure you know that! We have to stop him from destroying humanity and we could use your help!"
"...And why should I help you?" he asked rather coldly, making his sister freeze.
"Because...we're-"
"Siblings?" Draco cut in and laughed. "I thought you knew that my loyalty to Lord Ghetsis is far stronger than even the blood bond we share. Alphinia, why can't you just see that you're helping lost causes? Why can't you just become your old self again? Why can't you just return to us...to me?"
"Because I'm human! Can't you see that Ghetsis threw me away for that? You're human too, Draco," she replied and extended a hand. "Please realise that and be on my side. You'll definitely be much happier with us."
Slowly, Draco observed the hand stretched out to him. Lean, pale and fragile. Just like the Alphinia he knew...But there was a large difference between the one before him and the one he used to dot over obsessively.
"You've been corrupted..." he muttered, expression morphing into that of a full-fledged mad man. "I was too late. You've been dirtied...stained...tainted...killed..." The man's eyes turned to Lightning. "You..."
"Alphy, step back-de arimasu," Lightning spoke up, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"I don't understand...Draco's acting different," she whispered.
Silently, Lightning stepped in front of her and slipped on his gloves. "You and the others should go after Ghetsis. The hunters and rangers can hold off these mass-produced Joids with their pokemon."
"I don't see how they will if we can't find their weaknesses!" Scarlet called, blocking a blow from the original Joid before kicking him off and letting Jolteon zap the living daylights out of their opponent.
Without warning, Alphinia appeared behind one Joid and delivered a sharp blow to the neck, severing it completely. The body convulsed for a second before falling and dissipating into ash.
"And that's how you kill them," she stated. "Everyone, aim for their heads!"
With that, the real counter-attack begun and heads started to fly in all directions. An uncomfortable sight but with all that was going on, they just had to bear with it.
"Guys, go!" a ranger cried. "We'll take it from here!"
Rain nodded and hopped onto Latios. "We're counting on you. Save the guests and finish the Joids."
Cheren. LP, Cynthia and N followed the bluenette with their pokemon in tow and disappeared behind the door in the wall. Scarlet was just about following when he saw that Lightning had remained rooted to his spot, staring Draco down.
"Hey catboy! Forget about him and let's go!" he barked.
"You go on ahead-de arimasu."
For the first time, Scarlet heard a dead-serious tone in the blonde's voice and from the way his eyes had narrowed, the redhead could tell that Lightning and Draco had some things to settle urgently.
"...Fine. You'd better be with us when you're done!" he stated and turned to Alphinia. "Come on!"
The girl hesitated. "But-"
"Alphy. Go," Lightning said with a small, reassuring grin and gave a thumbs up. "I'll be right with you-de arimasu."
Alphinia hesitated again for a moment before turning to the door with Salamence. "I know you've gotten way stronger but...if worst comes to worst, all you need to do is call. I'll be right there to help you, Lightning."
Nodding, Lightning watched her go with Scarlet before turning to Draco whose shadow was now spiralling ominously.
"Are you finished, thief?" the man growled.
"Thief? I've never stolen anything in my life-de arimasu," he shot back and backtracked. "Uh...except for this one time-"
Quick as a flash, the blonde blocked a tentacle with his seamitars and dodged another one before backflipping and landing a good distance away from the obviously annoyed knight.
"You stole her," Draco murmured and began taking slow steps towards Lightning while bashing off anything in his way, friend and foe alike. "You took Alphinia from me...and I'll make sure you suffer for it. As for the nuisances Scarlet rounded up, Hell's Gate is just beginning."
Suddenly, the ground underneath their feet rumbled before blowing up in several directions as familiar shapes resembling giant swords burst out.
"Chaos-de arimasu?!" Lightning gasped.
"Dozens of them!" a ranger added. Roaring loudly, the giant beings summoned rings of ice around themselves before launching it at the hunters and rangers below. Luckily, the ones with psychic-type pokemon blocked the attacks with their Barrier, Reflect and Light Screen techniques. However, it was quite obvious that their means of defense wouldn't last very long as each icicle had beaten cracks into each force field.
"There's much more where that came from!" Joid laughed and the Chaoses raised their hands high before letting out screams and charging red energy spheres above their heads. Just as they were about dropping their attacks on the intruders below, several Focus Blasts pelted their hilts and everyone looked up to see a massive airship with the Jhotonese flag emblazoned on its side. And standing on its top with a sizeable amount of fighting types was a certain redheaded woman staring defiantly at the monsters ahead.
"That's..." a ranger murmured.
"Natsuki Takahashi!" Lightning exclaimed, remembering her face from the TV interviews and magazines.
Said woman looked down at Lightning and scowled harder. "Don't just stand around and gawk. Can't you see that that Draco guy IS the Hell's Gate?!"
Only then did Lightning realize that more and more monsters were coming out of Draco's now-massive shadow and his brain immediately went into overdrive as he thought up various solutions on stopping the knight and closing the gate.
"I need a psychic-type!" he cried suddenly and dodged another tentacle from Draco.
"For what?" Natsuki called back before ordering another round of Focus Blasts at the recovering Chaoses.
Lightning deflected another tentacle. "I'm gonna teleport Draco to another section of the castle-de arimasu! A really dark place where his shadow can't form-de arimasu! That way, I can at least stop the gate without having to worry about accidentally hurting anyone. Besides-"
"You're mine, human!" Draco cried, lunging at him only for Lightning to side-step, trip him and pin him on his back to the floor.
"Like he said, I've got some business with him-de arimasu! Now get me a psychic type!"
Natsuki pulled out a pokeball while giving him a cautious glance. "But you're handling a knight who killed Drayden. I doubt you'll survive-"
"I know! Just handle the monsters here and get me that psychic-de arimasu!"
In a second, a Gardevoir was by Lightning's side and he quickly grabbed its slender arm before closing his eyes and thinking of the darkest spot in the castle. A brilliant flash later, they found themselves in some sort of hall beneath the castle, the one Lightning had seen White in back then on the screen. Before he could do anything else, a boot crashed into his chest, sending him a good distance away from Draco.
"You really need to stop touching me," he growled and dusted his collar before looking around. "Oh dear. Now I can't use the gate since I can't feel my own shadow in this darkness."
"So you've officially been stopped-de arimasu," Lightning coughed and smirked before getting to his feet shakily. That blow had definitely knocked the wind out of him. "Now I can finally talk some real sense into you-de arimasu."
Draco mirrored Lightning's expression albeit scornfully. "Sense? Is that why you chose to seclude us?"
Lightning pulled on his gloves. "In your state of mind, I doubt it's possible at the moment. Sorry, Draco. But I'll have to knock you out and get back to the others."
The ravenette stared at him before giggling. "Do you think I'm powerless now, boy?" Raising his hands, Draco gave a toothy grin and Lightning could make out golden, scythe-like claws extending from his fingertips. "I can't use my shadow but Giratina's got some other nifty moves I can make use of to gut you."
"Gut me? I thought I was an important sacrifice-de arimasu?" Lightning asked, taking out a scale given to him by Zekrom and focusing on it.
"You are," Draco replied and tilted his head to the side with a cruel expression on his face. "Lord Ghetsis never said I couldn't put you in a near-death state."
From his tone of voice and glazed eyes, Lightning knew his opponent meant every word and he unconsciously traced the pokeballs on his belt.
Not yet-de arimasu, he thought to himself and finally activated Zekrom-boost. He was definitely going to need this power, a lot of time and dumb luck to take Draco down and perhaps get to the others if the knight didn't injure him hard enough.
"Zekrom Boost-activated," the gloves beeped as a wave of electricity formed around Lightning, donning him in the signature black attire and long sword. "Time left until complete discharge: 13 minutes and 10 seconds."
"Enough time for me to take you apart," Draco remarked and took a step before dashing forward and leaping into the air. "Let's make this a battle to see who's worthy of actually protecting Alphinia!"
Crimson energy spiralled around the knight's claws and Lightning immediately jumped back before charging currents into his blade and tearing the ground beneath their feet, sending rocks and debris flying. In the ensuing dust, he hoped to get a surprise shot on Draco but was promptly surprised to see the knight standing upside-down on the ceiling with two large Dark Pulses in his hands. With a yell, he let them fly towards the blonde who put up his sword to block the attacks, a technique that worked but pushed him a good distance away. Before Lightning could regain his balance, Draco was already behind him with a glowing palm at his side.
SLASH!
"You've gotten faster," the knight growled, finding his claws stopped by Lightning's sword. "But what about your strength!"
With that, he used his other hand to grab Lightning's collar and fling him into a pillar. Smashing into it, Lightning hissed a bit at the stinging but healing pain to his back and he quickly stumbled to his feet before putting up his sword again.
"I'm plenty strong, Draco. Why else do you think I'm still here after you broke both my arms-de arimasu," he jeered.
"Hmph. You say that but I can hear your heart hammering," Draco replied and let his hands dangle by his sides. "You're not fighting seriously. Is it your foolish pity again? Or is it because you think you've got an advantage over me in this darkness?"
"Pretty much," Lightning replied with a smirk as he pointed to his own red eyes. "I've got a heightened sense of vision with these gloves so bringing you here was solely in my favour. Even monsters can't fight what they can't see-de arimasu."
Draco's smirk grew wider. "Is that so. Ne, Lightning...did you know that Dragon Knights are blinder than newborn Deino?"
Lightning stiffened. "Huh?"
The man before him tapped his nose. "So Alphy didn't tell you? Apparently, we're so blinded by the light of Kyurem's magnificence that we're no longer allowed to see unclean things such as worldly light. In exchange for our sight, Kyurem gave us something much better. Have you ever heard of the Sixth Sense? Well, that's what you humans call intuition, no? Well then, Kyurem gave us a Seventh Sense."
"Seventh sense-de arimasu?"
"Yep. As we are right now, I can know what's going on here, upstairs, downstairs and around the castle up to a certain limit just by willing my aura to. Limited Omniscience if you might call it. We only keep our eyes open for the sake of appearances."
"So...you're like..."
"Demi-gods," Draco finished and cast a condescending glare at the blonde. "And you signed your death-warrant the moment you and I landed here. The same goes for Scarlet and the other fools up there."
"Tch!" Lightning hissed. This is going to be harder than I thought...but I can't give up now. "For the last time, Draco. Come to your senses, your human senses, and listen to Alphinia! She wants the best for you and you know you can't just throw her away for the sake of following Ghetsis-de arimasu!"
Draco's smile fell. "The best for me? What would she know? She should've just stayed back with me...but no...she just had to meet you, didn't she..."
The madness was coming again, a good and bad sign for Lightning who braced himself as Draco began to walk forward again.
"It's because of you..." Draco growled. "If you hadn't been there, I'm sure she would've returned to her old self again. I'll gut you...I'll make you eat your own insides!"
"This is it," Lightning said to himself and got serious. He was going to use every skill, every bone and every muscle of his body to get a hit on Draco and he secretly hoped he wouldn't have to lose a limb given the longer claws Draco had sprouted from his knuckles. "Scarface had better rescue White-nya. There's no way he's coming back empty-handed after all the hell I'm going to go through with stopping Team Plasma's strongest knight-de arimasu."
Tightening his grip on the sword, Lightning took on a serious expression and charged up the highest voltage he could muster.
"Let's go!" both young men cried. And their clash was strong enough to blow the pillars around them to dust.
...
As soon as Gardevoir reappeared by Natsuki's side, she recalled the pokemon and undid the buttons on her collar while assessing each Chaos around the airship.
"About thirty Chaoses, each with about four to five layers," she murmured to herself and stopped at the button right above her chest. "Based on the reports from that Vann-scientist from ORPH, they're relatively easy to destroy once you have a high enough attack power. But I'd need several super-effective moves against their Ice-type attributes. And my fighting-types won't exactly suffice given our opponents' sheer size...I suppose I'll just have to use those guys again. Hmph...you owe me one, Scarlet. To all pokemon here, retreat back into the airship."
Sensing the sudden rise in tension around the redhead, the fighting-type pokemon retreated back into the airship leaving Natsuki alone atop its roof. Nodding to herself, the woman straightened up and pulled out two Master Balls from her belt.
"Regigigas. Detekoi!" she exclaimed and everyone below froze as two bright lights suddenly blazed across the red sky. A light tremour later, two gigantic beings stood side by side on the ground below, both resembling golems with seven dot-like eyes and golden bands. Unlike the real Regigigas though, these ones were a much darker shade of grey.
"Whoa..." Joid cooed at the two Colossal Pokemon.
"Without a doubt, those are Natsuki Takahashi's rumoured 'Giants'," Terra observed as one of them extended a palm for its owner to stand on before lowering her to the ground. "To date, no one knows if they're simply clones or real Regigigas as people assumed there was only one."
"One thing's for sure though," Aqua piped up, watching as the woman opened the last button, revealing an odd, multi-coloured crystal embedded into her chest. "She's going to be trouble. She IS Natsuki 'Beast' Takahashi. Think we should step in?"
"Her interference matters not. The same goes for the rangers, hunters and pokemon here," Terra brushed off dismissively and turned to the door where Scarlet and the others had gone. "For now, let's retrieve those sacrifices. Draco has released more than enough monsters to keep the scum busy."
With that said, the three knights departed for the doors and took one last look at the already-battered battlefield that was once the castle's reception.
Aqua grinned. "Adiós, resilient humans. I hope you live long enough to see Kyurem devour you all."
And the doors slid shut behind them as they disappeared into the darkness ahead. Meanwhile, Natsuki gently pressed a finger to the control crystal in her chest and used her free hand to press the receiver attached to her ear.
"Will, I'm going to perform a mind link with Titan and Gargantos."
"Alright. But remember that this is the first time you're synchronising with both of them. Are you sure your body can handle it, ma'am?" a male voice from the receiver asked cautiously, earning a cocky smirk from the redhead.
"I'm Natsuki freaking Takahashi. They don't call me Jhoto's Beast trainer for nothing," she replied and focused on the Chaoses ahead who had once again formed rings of ice around themselves to launch at the fighters below.
"Control Crystal: Online. Mind Link activated. Synchro-rate at 110%. Ready when you are, ma'am," Will said.
"Then let's do this!" she declared and clamped her hand around the crystal before giving it a twist, letting out an aura spiral around her frame. Fingers twitching at the sudden strain on her muscles as the energy poured into her bloodstream, Natsuki ground her teeth (which were beginning to fang over) and felt her thoughts and senses begin to go into some sort of overdrive with various codes, patterns and memories flowing in and out. At the same time, the two Regigigas beside her began to twitch and rear to full height with their glowing eyes flashing lights like stars.
"Full-thought-take-over, complete!" the receiver called.
"CHAOS!" the Chaoses bellowed and launched their attacks.
"Bring it!" Natsuki suddenly roared, dissipating the energy around her to reveal her multi-coloured eyes and glowing arms and chest. As she raised her left arm, Titan and Gargantos did the same, generating a Wide Guard barrier around themselves and their comrades. A defense technique that no doubt served a useful purpose as the icicles shattered upon colliding with the Wide Guard. Without giving them time to recharge, Natsuki shot a fist out and Titan let fly several devastating Megapunches at the nearest Chaos. With the other hand, Natsuki formed a half-closed fist and Gargantos bounded towards another Chaos before wrapping both powerful hands around its hilt. Clenching her fist, the redhead successfully had her powerhouse execute a Crush Grip on the opponent and the Chaos screamed as Gargantos shattered its layers in one go, crushing the orb within.
BOOM!
"So this is the power of Natsuki Takahashi...?" a hunter remarked as blood and small ice shards rained down on the battlefield from the destroyed Chaos.
"Those Gigases...no, she too," a ranger stuttered, seeing the blood-soaked redhead grin sadistically at the other Chaoses. "They're all beasts!"
And like the beasts they were, Natsuki, Titan and Gargantos attacked the deadly Swords of Damocles with every ounce of their fearsome power.
NEXT TIME: DANCING WITH MAD DRAGONS UNDER THE RED MOON!