Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. However, I do own lemons, sugar, and water. Using these special ingredients, I will start a lemonade stand, and from that lemonade stand I will establish a produce store, and from that produce store I will create a line of seemingly identical and low-cost supermarkets and then expand my business until I have enough money to branch out into other departments, such as cutting-edge electronics, car parts, and back-scratchers, and expand that business until it becomes a massive conglomerate that spans the globe. Then, I'll buy out Pokémon. And my Genius Plan to Take over the World in Order to Buy out a Much-Beloved Japanese Franchise© will be complete. And then I will sit in my high-rise office, sip my tea, stroke a white Siamese cat (adopted, of course) and chuckle to myself. Hehehehehe….hahahaha…Muhahahahahahaha….AHAHAHAHA!
"Nii-san, you're doing it again…"
Movement 07- Dances on the Sky
Main Themes:
I. The Lonely Shepherd by Gheorghe Zamfir and James Last
II. Congress Reel by Poitin
III. SWCC Boats by Nathan Furst [Act of Valor: The Score]
Arceus's Theme: Girei by Takanashi Yasuharu [Naruto Shippuden OST 2]
Palkia's Theme: Midare by Zumi-Kai [Koto Music of Japan]
Dialga's Theme: Lose Yourself by Eminem
I. Memorie Pastorale
-Small Island, Several Miles West of Sennichi no Shima-
Arceus and Satoshi arrived without fanfare on the small, rocky islet. There was no flash of light, no bending of space-time, no rift in reality. One moment they weren't there and the next, they were. Arceus released his grip on Satoshi's shoulder, and the hooded trainer slumped to the ground like a ragdoll. Arceus turned away, looking back in the direction they had come from.
He chuckled. "Well, it seems Miss Waterflower is already on her way here... You really do seem to attract the most remarkable people."
The white-haired man frowned slightly. "Hmm…a little too quick, I think. Let's delay her a bit."
The bangle on his wrist glinted again, and two copies of him appeared. The one on the left had pale white irises, an icy blue tie instead of Arceus' white tie, and similar-colored highlights in his hair. The one on the left had sky-blue eyes, tie, and highlights.
Without a word, the two copies vanished. The avatar of the Original One turned back to where Satoshi was.
"It is up to you now."
Black.
That was the first thing Satoshi noticed when he opened his eyes. He was lying on the ground, face up. At least, that was what it felt like. There was no sound, apart from his breathing, and his heartbeat. He looked around. It felt as if he were lying on a sheet of glass, but all he could see was the same expanse of featureless darkness. Oddly enough, he could see himself perfectly. He was missing his cloak, but otherwise he seemed fine.
The trainer climbed to his feet. In every direction, it was the same. Endless, featureless black. It was unnerving, simultaneously seeming to press in until he couldn't breathe, and expand outward into infinity.
Satoshi closed his eyes, trying to reach out with his Aura. A split second later, his eyes snapped open.
"Nothing?" he wondered aloud, noting that his voice seemed to echo slightly. "How is that possible?"
Experimentally, he took a step forward. Or, he thought he did, at least. There was no way for him to be able to tell.
"Am I dead?"
There was a deep chuckle from behind him. No, you're not…for once. Although, if you die one more time, I may revoke your death privileges for a century or two.
Satoshi spun around. Floating behind him, radiating a feeling of amusement, was a pokémon with long white hair, a single visible blue eye, and wearing what appeared to be a tattered black robe with a red collar.
Satoshi dropped to one knee. "Darkrai-dono."
The ruler of nightmares sighed. Stand up. Honestly, are you going to do this to every Legendary you meet?
Confused, the amnesic trainer stood back up. "My apologies, Darkrai-dono."
Darkrai waved a hand dismissively. Bah, it doesn't matter.
"So…if this isn't death…where is it?"
Darkrai shrugged his shoulders. There's no good way to explain it that you would understand. Just think of it as…a crossroads.
"For what? From where?"
Another chuckle. Well now…that really depends...which way you go.
Satoshi frowned quizzically. "What ways are there to go?"
Somewhere. Nowhere. Everywhere. It really does depend on where you want to go.
There was a sound like three bells chiming in harmony, and Satoshi could feel the new arrivals behind him. Not through Aura, the all-encompassing energy was still absent, but through his feelings. There was a feeling of happiness, one of determination, and one of wisdom.
Satoshi turned and began to kneel, only for a blue colored tail to smack the back of his head.
Hey! Don't go and start kneeling! We're all friends here! Except maybe for Darkrai, but he's always such a sourpuss, so he doesn't count! The voice was positively brimming with energy. It came from the left-most member of the newly-arrived trio.
Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf. Good to see you again.
Umm…Y-you as well, Darkrai. Mesprit's voice was quiet, shy…but had undertones of every other emotion imaginable, as if at any moment, she might break into tears, or scream out in anger. It was an odd feeling, to say the least.
You look confused, Satoshi. The voice of Uxie held a calm detachment, with just a hint of amusement, as if she knew something you didn't.
'Although, I suppose she does know something I don't.' Satoshi thought wryly to himself. 'Being the – '
Spirit of Knowledge and Wisdom, yes?
Arceus above, she sounded like –
Your Sensei? Yes, I suppose I do.
Was she going to keep –
Doing that?
Satoshi's eye twitched. 'Must not – '
Attack the Spirit of Knowledge, Must not attack the Spirit of Knowledge…
Satoshi slumped. 'I give up.'
Mesprit's voice sounded pleading. Uxie, please, stop being so mean. I-I mean, if you don't mind...
Okay, okay, you're right. It is his party after all.
"Party…?" Now Satoshi was completely lost.
Party? Why didn't anyone tell me about a party? I could have helped set it up! I love parties, ooh, what's this party for? Azelf was practically bouncing in place, which seemed odd considering she was already floating. Wait, don't tell me, I wanna guess, ummmm….Oh! We're celebrating Satoshi's new baby pokémon hatching right? No, we're celebrating him making new friends? Ooh, I know, I know! We're having a Give-Satoshi-back-his-memory-party, right?
Uxie sighed at her sister's antics. Well, that's it I guess…as Azelf has so kindly pointed out, we're here to help you get back your memories, Satoshi.
Said trainer's eyes widened. "R-really?"
Of course! There's no way you're going to be able to handle the upcoming cri-mmph!
Azelf's high-speed mental chatter had somehow been silenced as though she had just had her mouth covered. A slight glow from Uxie's tail gems indicated the cause, as the yellow-and-blue Legendary radiated a sense of exasperation. Honestly, why you ended up with just Willpower is beyond me. We should have just split off Happiness or Laughter from Emotions and made you Spirit of that. No offense, Mesprit.
N-none taken, Uxie.
Anywaaay, Darkrai broke in, sounding slightly awkward, I've gotten him here, he's your job now.
Uxie nodded. Yes, thank you, Darkrai. Give Cresselia our regards.
If Satoshi didn't know better, he would have said that Darkrai was blushing. N-no problem. By the way, the Dark type's gaze cut over to the still-moving Azelf, who was now trying to do some form of dance to communicate. I could try to drop her in a Dark Void for a while, if you need her quieter.
Uxie shook her head. Don't bother. Her bouncing around and constant talking pretty much acts like a running Uproar.
Darkrai's eye twitched in unison with Satoshi's. What. "What."
The Psychic type shrugged. I don't get it either, sorry. I've known her our entire lives, and I'm the Spirit of Knowledge, and I still don't understand her. We've pretty much written it off as Azelf being Azelf.
Right then…Darkrai nodded to Satoshi, I'm off. Take care of yourself. Remember what I said about dying again…
The Legendary vanished in a swirl of darkness, leaving Satoshi with the three Spirits. The trainer cleared his throat. "So, what now?"
Uxie's face suddenly became dead serious. You have to understand, Satoshi, retrieving your memories is not going to be easy. Pursuing knowledge is often painful.
Mesprit joined in, her voice surprisingly firm. It will be hard to control your emotions. You may find yourself drowning in your own sorrow, or lose yourself to anger.
Uxie's tail gems stopped glowing, and Azelf's voice was once again audible, and for once, the hidden steel in it was laid bare. You will need all your will to maintain yourself. The place where your memories are is not safe for mortal beings. If you are not careful, you will lose yourself, and you will be torn apart.
The Spirits of Wisdom, Emotion, and Willpower floated in front of Satoshi, their gems pulsing with growing intensity.
Are you prepared? They asked as one voice.
The human thought for a moment. 'My memories…who I was before I woke up in Sensei's home…who I knew, what I did…how can I say no...But… what if the person who I was isn't someone I want to be?'
Abruptly, memories sprang up in his mind. Not memories that were his-but-not-his, but those that he had made in the last six years…Hirumanai's unshakeable loyalty…Yugana's unconditional affection…Taifuu's dependability…Sorahime's detached contentedness…Tayuminai's bright-eyed adoration…the laughter of his Sensei when Satoshi made a silly mistake…the smile on Misty's face at the festival…
'That's right,' Satoshi thought to himself, clenching a fist in determination 'They don't care who I was...they care about who I am. And even if I was a bad person in the past, I won't let it change who I am and who I will be.'
"Yes. I'm ready."
Uxie nodded. Very well.
In that moment, Uxie floated in front of Satoshi, with Mesprit and Azelf forming a triangle around the trainer. Their gems glowed even brighter, and Mesprit and Azelf's eyes shone with power.
Good luck.
Uxie opened her eyes, making contact with Satoshi's. At the same time, Mesprit and Azelf reached out and touched Satoshi on either shoulder. A pillar of blinding white light erupted around Satoshi, and just as quickly vanished, taking Satoshi with it.
The Spirits had not lied to Satoshi. It was agonizing. He felt as if his skin was on fire, his blood moving too quickly in some places, and almost stopped in others. His lungs burned, and his heart froze. Images and sensations flitted before him, indescribable, incomprehensible, and painful. He…who was he? Why was…?
Conscious thought seemed to end, and emotions dominated. Fear. Fear of the pain he was suffering, fear of the pain getting worse, fear of vanishing into the pain. Then, anger. Anger at being cast into this state of existence, anger asking 'Why me?'. Then, confusion. When had he been cast into this existence? Hadn't he always been here? He…was he a he? What was it? It wasn't sure. It couldn't remember. There was only uncertainty, and pain.
Tayuminai felt hollow, as if something important inside her had vanished. 'Papa-san?' A chill of fear raced through her heart. PAPA-SAAAAAN!
Its emotions continued to separate, to split away from each other, unable to tolerate each other's presence, like separating descants to the constant melody of pain. Then, a voice called out, sounding like it came from far away, and under water.
…Papa-san…
With the voice came an image, and a sensation. The bright, adoring eyes of a newborn child, and the love, fierce and protective, that was born in that instant.
The feeling and the image became a rock in the roiling torrent. Some of the emotions latched onto it, like sailors from a shipwreck. Happiness. Love. Loyalty. They chained together, and reached out. Others joined together, and latched onto the growing spot of stability. Like gravity, the will to survive drew the other emotions in to it. Fear, sadness, even anger; none of them could resist the willpower of all the other emotions combined. The pain faded.
His name was Satoshi.
Satoshi gasped, and opened his eyes. The world around him was twisted and strange, with no discernible shapes or colors. The pain was still there, but it was removed. And there, in the distance…Satoshi steered himself toward…whatever it was, through the shifting currents that had shortly before tried to rip him apart.
The Aura user drew closer to what had caught his attention.
It was a door. Plain, unassuming, with a simple doorknob.
Satoshi floated just in front of the door for a moment, then placed a hand on the knob, and entered.
The door opened to a soothing white light. For a moment, he felt as if he was suspended in warm water, then the sensation faded, replaced by a warm breeze, grass underneath him, and the rustle of leaves. The light faded from his vision, revealing an idyllic scene; a vast, verdant pasture with the occasional bush, sloping gently down to a clear lake, hemmed in by trees. But Satoshi's attention was solely focused on who was in front of him.
The young man was wearing travel-worn sneakers and ripped and faded blue jeans. Under a slightly-tattered blue-and white jacket was a black t-shirt, and a familiar-looking red-and-white cap was perched on his head. The boy, who couldn't have been older than sixteen, cocked his head. Two identical pairs of brown eyes met.
"Took you long enough to get here…" the boy grinned. Satoshi grinned back.
"Hello Satoshi."
"Hello Ash Ketchum."
-Offshore of Sennichi no Shima, heading west-
Tayuminai slumped against the Dragonite's back, as it winged out from the island towards where her Papa-san was. For a few frightening moments, the comforting warmth of her Papa-san had vanished, before suddenly reappearing, as strong as ever. She wasn't sure what Arceus was doing that caused it, but she was not going to let it take away her Papa-san.
Next to her, Misty hugged Pikachu to herself, the little mouse offering no resistance to the embrace. They too had felt the awful chill a few moments ago, but they had no idea to what the cause was.
"Is…is this from…Satoshi?" Misty wondered aloud.
Don't worry, Tayuminai reassured the redheaded trainer. Papa-san is okay now. And he's strong, so he'll definitely be able to hold on until we get there.
"I'm afraid we can't let you do that, little one."
Misty's Dragonite pulled up short. In front of it, standing on midair like it was solid earth, were two men.
"Wha…Arceus? Two of him? And why different colors?"
The ice-blue-colored avatar shrugged. "I'm Ice."
His counterpart made a similar motion. "I'm Flying. I guess you could call us…aspects."
Misty paled, but recovered quickly. "Then…would I be right in assuming that we have to get past you to get to Satoshi?"
"Correct."
Misty ran a hand over her pokéballs. Most of the team she had at the moment were land-based pokémon, and thus not well-suited to aerial combat.
'Pikachu will work if I keep him on Dragonite's back…'
What about Tai-nii and Sora-nee?
The Eevee's comment reminded her of the two other pokéballs Satoshi's Gardevoir had shoved into her hands. Satoshi's pokémon…from what she had seen of them, they both were incredibly powerful…and the Charizard would be able to counter the Ice aspect, taking the pressure off her Dragonite.
Without hesitation, she released both pokémon, with the Floatzel crouched on the Charizard's back.
"Can you two take care of the Ice one? Pikachu and I can handle the Flying aspect."
Taifuu gave a solemn nod, and Sorahime snorted affirmatively. Jumping off of the Dragonite's head, Tayuminai landed just behind Taifuu, already building up her Aura. A split second later, they shot forward, a bolt of fire already issuing from Sorahime's mouth. The Ice Arceus smoothly moved to the side, only to be hemmed in by a swarm of glowing-white birds. He shot upward, the only direction remaining, and spun at the last moment to catch a bolt of bone-chilling energy in his right hand.
In a motion that was almost too fast for Misty to even see, the aspect turned and hurled the impromptu spear of ice towards her mount.
"Vee!" (No!)
Even as Misty's Dragonite maneuvered away from the attack, the speeding lance was shattered by a swarm of Tayuminai's Hidden Power.
"Zel Zelfloatzel zel zel!"(Your opponents are us!) Taifuu snarled, as Sorahime and her two riders interposed themselves between Misty and the Ice aspect.
Misty smiled, reassured by the confidence and determination that was radiating off of the three pokémon in waves. A moment later, the smile dropped off her face, and she turned back toward the Flying aspect.
"Pikachu, start hammering him with Thunderbolts. Ryū, let's get set up. Tailwind and Safeguard, then start using Dragon Dance. He's Flying, so that means most of his techniques are probably Air-Cutter based, unless he comes in close. If he does that, get him with Thunderpunch."
True to Misty's prediction, the aspect gestured with a hand, even while weaving around Pikachu's barrage of electricity.
"Air Cutter."
Dragonite easily wove around the blade of air, before beginning the energy build-up of Dragon Dance.
"Pikachu, Shockwave!"
"Pi-ka!" (Got it!) The surge of electrical energy rippled outward, leaving no room for the aspect to dodge.
The attack struck home, singing the edges of the suit the aspect wore, but Arceus showed no visible reaction. "Ryū, use Extremespeed and Steel Wing!"
The orange and tan dragon's wings glowed white, and the pokémon shot forward, Misty and Pikachu gripping tightly to its back.
The aspect watched dispassionately as the dragon and its rider approached at blurring speed. He held out a hand, and snapped his fingers.
"Airburst."
The air in front of Dragonite exploded violently, with a sound like the loudest firework in existence.
The blast front rippled outward at the speed of sound. Misty's Dragonite was not traveling nearly as fast. Dragonite ran headlong into the blast front, and physics took over. The pokémon was sent flying backwards even faster than it had approached, tumbling tail-over-teakettle through the air.
Misty and Pikachu lost their grips, and it was only Misty's reflexes that kept them from being thrown into space. She wrapped one arm around the electric mouse, and the other arm was thrown around the dragon's thick tail.
"Ryū, Iron Tail Throw!"
The dragon glanced at her, concerned, but obeyed. It stabilized itself, before slinging its trainer forward with a glowing tail, adding a spin to her motion in the process.
The aspect moved further away. "You won't be able to hit me from there."
Misty smirked. "Oh?"
The redheaded trainer allowed herself to revolve one more time, before throwing her arm forward. Pikachu, perched on that arm, leapt upward at the same time. As she reached the apex of her arc and began to descend again, Misty savored the look of surprise on the aspect's face, and stuck out her tongue cheekily.
"Pikachu, use Discharge!"
"CHUUUUUUUUUUU!"
The yellow mouse was less than ten feet from the aspect when it unleashed the electric detonation. Dragonite had already swooped down, neatly catching Misty on its back, and was hovering in place. A second later, after the last of the electricity had dissipated, Misty spotted Pikachu in free-fall, while the aspect seemed to have gone higher in an attempt to escape the blast.
Misty's Dragonite smoothly swept below Pikachu, and the yellow mouse landed nimbly in front of his trainer. Misty smirked, and directed her mount to get up to Arceus' altitude.
As the dragon rose higher, Misty could see the extent of the damage done by Pikachu's Discharge. A large amount of the suit was ripped and torn, and the entire left sleeve, which he had probably shielded himself with, was completely burnt off, and the skin below was red and blistered. Despite the fact that this pokémon in human form was trying to attack her, Misty couldn't help but wince sympathetically.
Discharge, unlike most Electric moves, was not a directed attack. Even Thunder was an attack that was directed through the path of least resistance toward the target. Discharge was exactly what its name implied, a high-intensity release of electricity in every direction. As a result, it traveled through paths of greater resistance, which produced an incredible amount of heat, at the cost of a significant amount of the actual electricity in the attack. When a Pokémon with enough power used the attack, it was actually equally as likely to cause a burn as it was to paralyze.
Arceus had clearly experienced that firsthand.
"Feel like letting us through yet?"
The aspect grimaced, but did not respond. Instead, he raised an arm, fingers poised to snap.
Misty's eyes widened. "Ryū, dive!"
"Airburst."
The dragon dove straight down a fraction of a second before the air above it exploded. Undeterred, Arceus snapped his fingers again, following their motion with his arm. Rapidly.
'Shitshitshitshitshitshitshii iiit!' Misty thought, as Dragonite frantically sped up, desperately trying to stay ahead of the chain of invisible detonations. 'How do we get past this?'
"Ice Shard!"
The Ice aspect's attack was answered by another flock of Tayuminai's Hidden Power, with interest. The remaining white birds homed in on Arceus, who calmly conjured an icy shield out of the moisture in the air.
With a loud roar, Sorahime expelled a maelstrom of flames from her mouth, the Flamethrower destroying the shield without any visible effort. Arceus danced backward in midair, his hands already throwing up more shields of ice in an attempt to slow the red-hot flames.
Sorahime banked sharply to one side, swerving around the already-melting shields, and Tayuminai unleashed a broadside of Hidden Power, while Taifuu conjured a Razor Wind, unleashing it a second later, following the wake of the white swallows.
Arceus launched a mass of Ice Shards to counter the attack, but was caught by surprise when the Razor Wind appeared from the shadow of the Hidden Power. It slashed into him, leaving several deep cuts in his arms and legs.
"Ngh…well done…" Within a second, the blood from the aspect's wounds froze, then shattered, leaving unwounded skin visible through the tears in the suit.
Taifuu's eyes narrowed. "Floatzel…" (Cheater…)
The aspect merely shrugged, and gestured. Behind him, at least twenty spears formed out of ice, then shot forward, homing in on the great Charizard. The Flame pokémon rolled to one side, and swept her tail through the air, the heat rippling outward and causing a noticeable shimmer.
Most of the spears melted as they passed through the Heat Wave, but several continued on towards the target. Reacting quickly, Taifuu spun, using a Double Hit to knock two of them away with his tails, and a Swift attack to block three more. Tayuminai, for her part, blocked the remaining four with an overpowered Protect, although the act left her panting for breath, and she slumped against Sorahime's back, exhausted.
That was a mistake. A second later, Sorahime suddenly accelerated, then made a tight turn to make an attack run on the aspect. Taifuu, used to such maneuvers, easily kept his balance. Tayuminai, tired and not used to fighting, did not, and was hurled out into open air.
"ZELFLOATZELZEL!" (Tayuminai!)
Instantly, Sorahime noticed her mistake, and turned as sharply as she could, only to be brought up short by a barrage of Ice Shards. The aspect, it seems, had not noticed the Normal type's plight. Angrily, the Charizard obliterated the ice, and turned to dive toward her adopted sister.
It wasn't going to be enough. Sorahime had made the turn at her top speed, which meant that Tayuminai had been slung off her back at the same speed mid-turn. The little Eevee was in trouble.
It was weird, Tayuminai reflected, as she plunged to near certain death in the ocean below. She should have been shrieking, or flailing her legs wildly, or…something. She should have at least been panicking.
But she wasn't.
She felt…calm. The wind rushing past felt oddly comforting, like curling up in her Papa-san's arms. Instinctively, Tayuminai's Aura activated, the ability that had been with her since birth reaching outward in all directions. Tayuminai saw. She could see the panic in Tai-nii and Sora-nee, the exasperation and frustration in Misty, the surging power and determination in her Pikachu, and the calm faithfulness in her Dragonite. She could see the aspects, merely a pale reflection of something much greater, something that she could not see. It was too big. To the east, she could see Hiru-nii and Yu-nee, in the midst of an elegant and fierce dance with Time and Space. To the west, she could see another fragment of the Original One, larger than the other two. With him was her Papa-san, who was there…and yet not there. But he was alive, and unharmed, and that was all she cared about. But this was not what she was looking for.
And then Tayuminai's Aura turns, and looks inward. She perceives her own abilities, the moves she knows…and the moves she will know. It is thrilling…but not what she is looking for.
Further…
She can feel the inborn abilities, the fragments of her mother and sire. A flash of a cool forest, the flow of a calm brook. The warm, comforting presence that is her father, fiercely protective and loving. A connection that had been formed even before she hatched. But not what she is looking for.
Further…
She finds the light that is her Aura, bluish-white and beautiful, entwined with the very center of her being, and she opens herself to it.
Her eyes open, and she allows her Aura to flow, gently guiding it with the force of her instinct, allowing it to take shape on her back.
And Tayuminai, offspring of Green-Breeze-Leaf and Strong-Current-Rapids, daughter of Satoshi, no longer falls.
She flies.
Taifuu and Sorahime gaped for a moment, joined by an eyebrow arch from the aspect.
One moment, Tayuminai had been falling, tumbling through the air. The next, her body erupted in the sky-blue-and-white Aura that was uniquely hers, focusing on her back. The stream of Aura brightened, then faded, as the little Eevee stopped falling.
Sprouting from her back, glowing faintly, were a pair of translucent, feathered wings.
The wings flapped, and Tayuminai gained altitude, until she was hovering in place next to her adoptive siblings. Catching their flabbergasted looks, the Eevee grinned.
"Zel, Zelfloatzelzel…float zel…float?" (Hey, Tayuminai…are those…wings?)
The Normal type nodded enthusiastically. Un! Aren't they cool!
"Char char charizard?" (Where'd they come from?)
Tayuminai frowned, a look that probably would have drawn squeals from May and Dawn. I don't know…I guess they're from…my Aura.
Sorahime thought for a moment. "Charizard char izard char char…" (Your Aura is Flying-aligned…)
Tayuminai nodded. That must be it! Anyway, I was falling, and then I sorta…pulled them out of my Aura. They don't even use that much of it! She underlined this statement with an excited backwards loop.
The aspect blinked, staring at the excited Evolution pokémon. "I…don't think I've ever seen a winged Eevee before…"
You got that right! And now we're going to show you exactly what a winged Eevee can do!
Tayuminai's wings flapped, and she spiraled upward, dozens of Hidden Power "birds" forming around her.
Tai-nii, Sora-nee…The Eevee's eyes narrowed. Ikuzo.
"Air Cutter, Airburst, Air Slash, Air Slash, Airburst, Airburst."
"Oh come ON!" Misty groaned, as the aspect spammed air attacks at her. Dragonite was doing an admirable job of staying ahead of the seemingly-unending chain of attacks, but even he couldn't keep going like that forever.
'Think Misty, think! This attack has a weak point somewhere!'
The redheaded trainer narrowed her eyes. 'Air Slash is a Special…but that move Airburst…I've never seen anything like it. Is it special or physical?'
"Pikachu, use Light Screen the next time he uses Airburst."
"Pi!" (Right!)
A split-second later, Arceus snapped his fingers. "Airburst."
The mouse's tail glowed slightly, and the air shimmered.
WHUM!
The air rang with a sound like a giant muffled bell, but no shockwave hit Misty or her pokémon. The redhead grinned.
"Excellent. Pikachu, throw up a few more Light Screens, then start pulling in the clouds. Dragonite, start launching Ice Beams, keep him from countering us."
The next several attacks from the aspect found themselves diverted by more barely-visible walls of energy, followed immediately by a barrage of Ice Beams, forcing the aspect to dance backwards through the air. Overhead, dark clouds began to gather, and the hair on the back of Misty's neck stood up, as the atmosphere became charged with Pikachu's electricity.
"Icy Wind!"
The Ice aspect blew towards Tayuminai, the sharp exhalation becoming a frigid gust, laden with ice crystals. Tayuminai coolly flew upward, then dove in around the attack, her wings glowing solid white.
Wing Attack!
The aspect was caught by surprise, as the Eevee swept past him, clipping him with one of her wings. The impact, though not very effective, was still strong enough to knock Arceus back several yards.
A moment later, Sorahime came roaring downward, a vortex of flames issuing from her open maw. The aspect involuntarily flinched away from the attack, covering his face. As a result, he missed the freefalling Taifuu, whose forepaws were glowing white.
"Floaaaaaaaaat. ZEL!" (Brick. BREAK!)
The Sea Weasel punched downward with all the force he could muster, gravity lending itself to the Fighting attack.
In what may be some of the most oft-used words in gaming literature, it was super-effective.
The aspect was struck on the right jaw, and his head whipped to the side, blood trailing from his mouth. He dropped nearly ninety feet, before finally stabilizing himself.
"Ptuh," Arceus spat blood out of his mouth, "I did not see that coming."
Taifuu landed neatly on Sorahime's back, smirking.
"But you," the aspect swept his arms outward in a grand gesture, like a maestro about to conduct a symphony, "Should be able to see this."
At that moment, the air behind him stilled, and condensed into a world of ice. Countless spears, blades, moving statues of pokémon, and abstract shapes formed. All of them aimed at Satoshi's pokémon.
Taifuu's jaw dropped. Sorahime's pupils dilated. Tayuminai paled.
Arceus' arms swept forward, and the ice obeyed. It became a torrent of jagged, frigid edges, as if winter itself had stood up and begun walking.
Sorahime immediately began spewing great gouts of flame, but it was like a drop of water in an ocean. As the torrent of ice thundered closer, Taifuu crouched lower onto Sorahime's back, and both their bodies glowed white with Endure. Tayuminai's wings glowed, and summoned a flock of Hidden Power.
And then the ice was upon them. Sorahime and Tayuminai desperately wove through the storm of frozen death. Taifuu was spread-eagled against the Charizard's back, occasionally punching up a Protect when an ice construct approached Sorahime's blind spot too closely.
The reason for the Endure was fast revealing itself, as the smaller constructs began slipping through. Cuts from dagger-sized ice shards appeared on Sorahime and Taifuu, and Tayuminai was almost knocked out of the air by an ice Spearow that was nearly as big as she was. Flapping her wings, the Eevee entered a rapid climb, trying to find an escape from the deadly cloud of ice.
As she wove her way around a construct that looked remarkably like Sorahime, she spotted a small window of darker blue, nearly invisible against the blue-white of the ice.
Tayuminai's eyes narrowed, and she pushed her wings to their limits. A second later, she burst through into open sky, closely pursued by a swarm of smaller constructs. Undeterred, the Eevee summoned a flock of Hidden Power to counter the constructs, and continued to climb.
Higher and higher she flew, until she could feel the frigid chill digging its fingers into her fur. She snapped her wings out, and began circling. Her eyes glowed, and Aura began to coalesce around her like a shroud. Her wings folded back, streamlining against her body, and Tayuminai began to dive. As she accelerated downward, her Aura flared out behind her, pushing the little Eevee even faster towards the ocean far below, and giving her the appearance of a brilliant comet.
Arceus looked up, noticing a bright spot in the sky that grew steadily brighter. "What is…?" his eyes widened, picking out the image of the Eevee within the shroud of what looked like an overcharged Brave Bird. "Oh."
Tayuminai shot past the aspect, missing him by less than a foot, taking a brief moment to smirk at him.
Chō-onsoku Kōka! (Supersonic Drop)
The sonic shockwave struck the aspect at full force, and hit the cloud of ice a split second later. The cloud shattered into tiny particles, and was dispelled like a light fog in a wind. Arceus was hurled backwards, violently coughing up blood.
Tayuminai's wings flared out, and she pulled out of her dive a few yards short of hitting the ocean. Flapping quickly, the Eevee climbed, then evened out next to Sorahime. The great dragon and the Floatzel riding her were both cut and bleeding, but wore twin grins.
"koff…gghk!" Arceus tried to say something, but instead coughed up more blood. The aspect clutched his torso. "It seems…I *koff* can't heal from this one." As the aspect rasped out another breath, his arms and legs began to fade into nothingness.
"Your trainer is ahead. I can no longer oppose you…This battle is your victory."
With those words, the aspect faded away completely. Sorahime gave a satisfied snort, and all three pokémon grinned triumphantly.
We did it! The Eevee exclaimed, as she turned herself around. Now let's go help Misty!
But even before the Eevee started to move, her adoptive brother held up a paw.
"Zel." (No.)
Tayuminai's wings faltered for a moment, and she looked at the Floatzel in shock. Wh-what? Why!?
The Floatzel grinned ferally. "Floatzel zel zel?" (Can't you sense it?)
Cocking her head, Tayuminai closed her eyes. Moments later, her eyes flew open. W-whoa…Pikachu is thatstrong?!
Taifuu nodded. "Floatzel zel zel float zel float float floatzel zel." (You don't even need Aura sensing to feel it.)
Sorahime smirked. "Charizard…charchar zard char." (As of now…Arceus has lost.)
As another Airburst impacted against Pikachu's latest Light Screen, Misty felt the yellow mouse nudge her with his forepaw in a certain pattern. "Pi chupi." (It's ready.)
The redhead held out an arm, the static in the air causing the hairs on her arm to stand on end. Pikachu scampered onto it, his cheeks throwing off involuntary sparks.
"Okay, Ryū, it's showtime. Get us as close as you can."
The dragon snorted an affirmative, then banked into an upward spiral, launching an overcharged Dragon Pulse at the same time.
The attack streaked towards the aspect, who casually slid to one side. Just as the attack passed by him, however, it detonated in a purple explosion. Arceus backpedaled out of the fireball, his eyes shut against the blast and the other sleeve of his suit burnt away.
"Ugh…I should have expected that."
The aspect opened his eyes, only for them to snap wide open.
From on high, Misty leapt off of her Dragonite's back. At the same time, the Pikachu was struck by a massive bolt of lightning from the clouds overhead, hypercharging his electric reserves. At the end of the electric pokémon's tail, a crackling, hissing sphere of pure electrical energy formed, growing to be nearly as large as Misty was tall. The redheaded trainer pointed at Arceus with the arm that wasn't occupied by her pokémon.
"Pikachu, MEGAVOLT!"
There was a moment of almost total stillness, as if Dialga had momentarily forgotten to do his job.
Then, Pikachu's attack surged forth from the sphere as a blinding stream of electricity, accompanied by an almighty searing scream as it tore through the air.
Arceus didn't even have time to blink. The great bolt struck dead-on, hitting him with the entirety of its destructive power.
After almost a full second, the stream cut off, as Pikachu dropped back onto Misty's shoulders, and the trainer landed nimbly on the back of her Dragonite. Even as she landed, she looked towards where the aspect had been struck by the attack.
There was nothing left, save for a few motes of ash, drifting slowly down toward the ocean.
With a touch, Misty directed Ryū towards Satoshi's pokémon, two of whom were already flying towards her.
'Wait, two?'
For a moment, Misty stared at the now-winged Tayuminai. In response, the Normal type (was she still a Normal type?) giggled childishly, flying a quick loop around the Dragonite.
Jealous? She teased, a grin stretching across her face.
The redheaded trainer blinked, then shrugged, an exasperated smile on her face. "Satoshi's Lucario can defy gravity, his Gardevoir can summon the Reverse World, his Charizard is the size of a small hill, and you can fly…" The trainer glanced at the Floatzel on the back of the aforementioned Charizard. "What do you do? Turn into a dragon?"
Taifuu simply grinned back. A beat later, Tayuminai banked sharply, flying westward toward the now-setting sun.
Come on. Papa-san is waiting for us.
Everyone's faces instantly sobered, and, as one, Sorahime and Ryū turned to follow the Eevee.
II. The Attack Reel
-Shima Gai, Seaside Promenade, Earlier-
It was a surreal picture. Two pokémon, practically oozing power, faced down two gods in human form. Hikaru found himself trembling, as the sheer presence of the opponents made itself known.
Without looking away from the avatars, Yugana spoke. Hikaru-kun, Maple-san, Oak-san, Brock-san…withdraw.
"No way!" Max burst out, "We're not going to just leave you two here to face Dialga and Palkia on your own!"
"Max is right. We don't abandon our friends when we could help–"
You misunderstand us. Hirumanai interrupted Brock's declaration, We do not require your help for this battle. You would do better to evacuate the bystanders. This place will not be safe much longer.
"What do you mean, you don't need help? These are gods. I mean, I know you're strong, but –"
With all respect, Yugana replied, you have all seen us battle, but none of you have truly seen us fight.
Gary's eyes widened. "What?"
We have trained in the Kami-Kyoku no Yama for years. We have faced odds beyond anything you can imagine. Do you truly believe we are only as strong as you have seen? I make this statement without any hubris: We do not need your help.
Max opened his mouth, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned to look at Gary. The brown-haired researcher was staring at the two pokémon, his face serious.
"Understood. We'll get them away from here."
Yugana's shoulders relaxed ever so slightly. Arigato.
At a nod from Gary, the other three retreated as well, albeit reluctantly.
Dialga smirked. "Oi, oi, are ya sure ya'll should be tellin' them ta take off?"
Hirumanai smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. We will see about that.
Next to him, Yugana's hands clasped again. Banshō no Da ra ama: Bunri Chūya. (Litany of All Creation: Separation of Day and Night)
A sound like a bell chime rang out, and as the echo reverberated, all the light seemed to flee from the area around Palkia and Dialga.
Dialga's startled voice came from the patch of total darkness. "W-what th' hell's this?"
Palkia sounded equally unnerved. She's removed the light from around us!
Hirumanai exploded forward, blue energy forming into claws around his fists. As he bounded into the cloud of black, he closed his eyes, reaching out with his Aura senses. In his mind's eye, the two avatars shone like stars given human shape.
He couldn't have asked for easier targets.
Dialga felt something move behind him, a split second before he was shoulder-checked hard enough to lift him off his feet. As the Master of Time flew through the air, he instinctively slowed time around himself, and flipped his knife out.
The Legendary heard the sound of a fist sailing through air, and smirked.
'Baka. All he'll end up doin's get caught in–'
Dialga's thoughts were interrupted by Hirumanai's fist smashing him in the face.
'Wha?'
The punch was followed by what felt like a rising kick to the chest, which propelled the Legendary up high enough that he cleared the patch of darkness. Hirumanai jumped up after him, firing a pair of Aura Spheres towards the deity. Dialga recovered with just enough time to project another time field, catching the attacks and slowing them down until they were barely moving.
Landing nimbly on the ground, Dialga slashed toward the descending Lucario, launching a bubble of frozen time at him. Hirumanai ignored the attack, instead simply charging up another Aura Sphere, this one twice as large as the previous orbs.
The bubble of time struck Hirumanai, but the Lucario stood steadfast, and then leapt forward as if nothing had happened. Dialga's jaw dropped, before he held up his knives defensively.
It proved futile, as Satoshi's pokémon passed through Dialga's time bubble, and slammed the Aura Sphere home as if it was a physical attack, shattering the knives, and sending Dialga skidding backwards.
The Temporal pokémon wiped soot from the attack off his face, and glared at the Lucario.
"Oi, wha' the hell's goin' on here? I know I hit'm with a time stop."
Palkia's calm voice answered him, as the field of darkness dissipated at a gesture from Yugana. "Don't you remember? She placed some kind of technique on both him and herself. They're manifested across space-time."
Yugana smiled slightly in response. Well noticed, Palkia-san. Superdimensional Transposition manifests us as ourselves in normal space-time, regardless of the state of space-time around us.
Hirumanai's claws faded, and the Lucario's fists were once again sheathed in blue flame. A second later, and the shroud of ethereal blue erupted from his shoulders and upper arms as well.
In response, Dialga reached into his jacket, and pulled out a massive Zweihänder sword that gleamed dully in the evening light. Palkia's tantō emerged from her sleeve again, the edge glowing a soft pink. "A gentlemon's match, then?"
Yugana's eyes began glowing as well, suffused with a soft white light. Indeed.
For a beat, all four were motionless. Then, Hirumanai's image flickered, and faded. Dialga threw himself backwards in the same moment, just barely avoiding a blazing axe kick from the Lucario. Quick as lightning, the massive sword swung forward in retaliation. Hirumanai smoothly flowed around the blade, his left paw speeding forward to unload an Aura-charged punch to Dialga's solar plexus. At the last moment, though, the Master of Time's eyes shimmered, and a transparent shield appeared in front of him, taking the blow for him. One hand left the hilt of the Zweihänder, and stabbed forward, a classic rapier appeared mid-motion, lancing forward into the Lucario's chest.
Dialga smirked "Feh. Easy."
The smirk vanished a split second later as an Aura Sphere blasted into him from behind. Dialga stumbled a step forward, through the illusory Lucario he had just stabbed. The real Hirumanai didn't waste a moment, flickering in front of the reeling deity to deliver a vicious uppercut.
Dialga's head snapped up, and the legendary barely recovered in enough time to deflect a Vacuum Wave with his massive blade. The rapier vanished a moment later, replaced by a longsword. The Zweihänder followed a moment later, replaced by a sturdy-looking heater shield.
The next attack from Hirumanai, a Flash Cannon, was absorbed by the shield, and Dialga swung the sword vertically at the charging Lucario. Mid-swing, the longsword erupted into flames, which were launched forward in an arc. Hirumanai leapt upward, dodging the fire. Undeterred, Dialga launched three more gouts of flame at the Aura pokémon. As he fell, Hirumanai countered two of the attacks with Water Pulses, and batted the third aside with a shield of Aura.
Dialga slashed upward a fourth time, even as Hirumanai's fist came down in a blue-white punch.
Bullet Punch!
"Metal Slash!"
The techniques met with a sound of clashing swords, and the energy blew Dialga back several yards, while Hirumanai cleanly landed in a combat stance in front of him. Less than an eyeblink later, and the two were locked in combat again.
"You said Mewtwo appeared?"
Janine nodded tightly, even as she led the Champions and the Sinnoh Elite Four to the ocean-side walk. Lance's brow furrowed.
"Most of the contact we have had with Mewtwo has been a result of actions taken by Team Rocket."
Cynthia grimaced, and the other members joined her. None of them wanted to contemplate a trainer as strong as Satoshi being allied with Team Rocket.
Palkia and Yugana stood stock still, staring at each other. Yugana's eyes still glowed a soft white, while the deity of Space's eyes pulsed pale pink.
Finally, Palkia's face twitched, and she broke eye contact, her eyes fading to their normal coloration. "Impressive. I couldn't even find the slightest chink in your mental defenses."
Yugana bowed her head gracefully, accepting the compliment. You're too kind.
The miko's eyes narrowed slightly, and her tantō glowed even brighter. "Unfortunately, that means I now must fight you directly. It would have been so much less painful if you had just allowed me to put you to sleep."
The Embrace pokémon's smile tightened. I'm so sorry to inconvenience you. But you are still preventing me from reaching Satoshi-kun, and for that, I cannot allow you to go unpunished.
The Gardevoir motioned with her left hand, and, as Mewtwo had before, spears of rock and earth ripped from the ground behind her. On her right hand, a Focus Blast spun into being, before dispersing into her arm, sheathing it in white light. A split second later, the spears lanced toward Palkia, who slashed horizontally with her tantō, with bright gems forming at regular intervals, before rocketing out to meet the spears of earth.
"Power Gem."
Simultaneously, Yugana vanished from existence, two of her reappearing on either side of Palkia, stabbing forward with glowing arms.
Focus Stab.
Palkia threw herself backwards, slicing through the false Gardevoir on the right, and met the real attack from the left with her tantō. In less than an eyeblink, Yugana was on the other side of the deity, and delivered a slap that sent Palkia sprawling into the dirt. Before she could take advantage of it though, the Mistress of Space's free hand glowed, and a sizzling Thunderbolt lanced toward the Gardevoir. The attack was followed by a blistering hail of attacks: Water Pulses, Flamethrowers, Shadow Balls, Dark Pulses, more Thunderbolts, Dragon Pulses and even a few Aura Spheres, as Palkia snapped back up to her feet faster than most people could even see.
Even as the attacks homed in on Yugana, she remained unperturbed. She swept an arm through the air, and a wave of Psychics, Thunderbolts, Magical Leaves, and Shadow Balls formed to counter the powerful onslaught.
Palkia's eyes narrowed, and doubled the number of attacks with a swipe of her blade, breaking through Yugana's wall of counterattacks, and throwing up a cloud of dust where the Gardevoir was standing.
The deity of space took three graceful steps forward, and swept her free hand sideways, clearing away the dust. Yugana had vanished, of course, and Palkia instantly spun in place, intercepting the glowing hand that lanced toward her back with her tantō, and then counterattacked with an explosion of earth beneath the Gardevoir. Before the Earth Power could even rise more than a few inches, though, an invisible force caught it and channeled it around the Gardevoir, and then slung it back towards the miko. Palkia, in turn, intercepted it with an overpowered Protect, which she then pushed forward, using the barrier as a battering ram to ram into the Embrace pokémon. Yugana conjured up her own barrier in response, and the two Protects sparked and crackled against each other for several seconds before simultaneously shattering.
Palkia blinked. "You matched the power of my Protect? That's extremely impressive."
Yugana did not respond, except for an overpowered Thunderbolt sparking off of her left hand, which Palkia casually deflected with her blade. Even as the stream of electricity reflected away from the miko, Yugana had already teleported inside Palkia's guard. Her fist flew forward, glowing with energy, and boosted with psychic force.
HAAAH!
Palkia's body folded around the blow, and she skidded gracelessly backwards, the tantō flying out of her limp fingers. In the next fraction of a second, the deity's motion was stopped, and Yugana was directly behind her. The Gardevoir had one hand on Palkia's shoulder, while the other, glowing white with power, was poised at the deity's throat.
Hikaru gaped, as the promenade was illuminated by the sheer energy behind the attacks. Almost all of the unconscious bystanders and their pokémon had been moved (Gary's Alakazam was so convenient!), and Brock's Steelix had the last load of them on his back, while those that were capable of walking were moving as quickly as they could, so he and Max were watching the jaw-dropping battle. Max was even filming the battle with a Vs. Recorder
"This is incredible…" the redhead breathed, eyes never leaving the blurs of motion that were Hirumanai and Dialga. "Just how strong are Satoshi's pokémon, to be able to fight gods to a standstill?"
Hirumanai met a downwards swing with a set of claws, locking Dialga's sword in place, then lashing out with the other forepaw. Dialga blocked with his shield, before shoving the Lucario away. Not giving him a chance to recover, the avatar of time went on the attack, slinging his sword forward, channeling the purple energy of a Dragon Claw into it. Hirumanai took the stab through the right shoulder, the blade piercing clean through to the other side.
Even then, the Lucario didn't flinch, instead grabbing the blade with his right paw, and punching Dialga in the face with the left. The deity lost his grip on the weapon, and flew backward, landing hard. He quickly kipped to his feet, conjuring a replacement sword, this one an oversized kris.
Hirumanai glared at Dialga for a moment, before gripping the sword with both paws, and, in one quick motion, pulled it out of his shoulder. There was a brief spray of blood, before the wound sealed itself with a flash of Aura. Hirumanai was still for a moment, then once again became a blur. The sword rocketed toward Dialga, who batted it aside with the shield. Even as the sword and shield struck each other, Hirumanai blurred in front of Dialga, spinning almost in slow-motion to deliver a back kick directly to the time deity's face. The force propelled Dialga up and over, in a limp parody of a backflip. He sprawled onto the ground, stunned. In a fraction of an eyeblink, the Lucario was crouched over him, a razor-sharp claw glowing with Aura held at his throat.
As one, Yugana and Hirumanai spoke.
Yield.
"What the hell is going on here?!" Wallace managed, as the League members came over a low rise to see what looked like two humans being held hostage by Satoshi's pokémon.
"Mewtwo and Satoshi fought, and then those two and a third person appeared. The third one somehow teleported away with Satoshi, and Misty Waterflower took off in pursuit. Then, Satoshi's pokémon attacked those two." Koga answered the Champion's exclamation as he dropped from a nearby tree.
"They attacked…?" All of Champions readied pokéballs, and the Elite Four followed suit.
"Just what is Satoshi up to?" Cynthia wondered aloud.
It was a surreal scene, indeed. A fifteen-year-old boy and a twenty-one-year-old copy of him sitting next to each other on the side of a grassy hill, staring out at a lake so blue it could have been plucked from a storybook.
Satoshi looked at Ash, a question on his face.
"So, what is this place, anyway?"
The younger man shrugged slightly. "It's a bit hard to explain, but we have time. First of all, you need to understand what happened six years ago on Mount Coronet, when I – we? – were hit by Palkia and Dialga's power. There was a reason Cyrus was trying to use them to create a new reality; aside from Arceus, the only pokémon of comparable power level to those two is Giratina. When we were caught in the beam, we were flung outside of space and time entirely. From what I understand, Arceus himself intervened, and pulled our body and soul back into our reality. The memories, unfortunately, didn't quite make the trip. Part of our soul, and pretty much all of our memories, became isolated in an eddy of space time. That part was me. I'm not really sure how long I floated around – time as we understand it doesn't really apply out there. Anyway, after a while, Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf showed up, and told me what had happened. Azelf helped me create this," Ash gestured at the idyllic world around them, "with my willpower. Apparently, willpower is an actual force in the space between."
Satoshi frowned. "Wait, why didn't Arceus just bring you back as well?"
Ash shook his head. "Arceus set the world in motion, but even he has to be careful when making major changes. Uxie explained it with the metaphor of a top with a grain of sand sitting on it. The world is the top, and the grain of sand the one thing that needs to be changed. For Arceus to make the change would be like trying to move the grain of sand exactly three millimeters to the left without changing the motion of the top in the slightest. Arceus does not enjoy putting Creation at risk. Besides which, this little bubble of reality that we're in was almost immediately pushed away from our home reality by the currents of space-time. The reason Arceus had you sent here was because this was the first time the realities moved close enough for a mortal soul to cross from one to the other."
The older trainer cocked his head. "And that was…?"
"Yeah, what you went through. Fortunately for both of us, because you created the path on your way here, getting back will be much easier."
Satoshi blinked. "You know, you really are mature for a fifteen-year-old."
The trainer shook his head again. "Actually, it's more like six thousand and fifteen." At Satoshi's open-mouthed gape, he shrugged. " Like I said, time works a bit differently here. I probably would have gone insane if Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf hadn't stopped by occasionally. Celebi and Mew showed up a few times, too."
"Even Lady Mew…?"
Ash laughed. "Yes, even Mew. Seriously though, do you really have to act like that with every Legendary you meet?"
A tic mark appeared on the older trainer's head. "Hey, Aaron-sensei taught me that you should always show respect to the Legendaries." He raised a finger in accusation. "Besides, you show a complete lack of respect to every Legendary you've ever met! Arceus included! At least I have some digni-"
Satoshi stopped, his mouth hanging open. Ash looked away, his expression now serious. In the distance, the landscape had begun to dissolve into chaotic whiteness.
"So you've noticed it as well? The more time we spend in each other's presence, the more our memories start to blur together. You and I are two pieces of the same soul, and that soul is trying to reassemble itself. "
"So, are we going to - ?"
"Cease to exist? No. We're both Ash Ketchum, just different parts of the whole."
"So what will happen to this place?"
"This world exists only because my willpower maintains it. As our soul fragments merge again, this world will no longer have a need to exist. It was created from nothing, and now it returns to nothing."
Satoshi nodded, and stood. Ash climbed to his feet as well. The lake and nearby hills were vanishing now.
"You've been gone for – "
"Way too long. Time – "
"to go home."
The two of them faced each other. The patch of grass they were standing on was fading away, leaving them standing on nothing. Ash held out a hand. Satoshi extended his own hand.
They clasped hands.
A bell tolled.
Arceus glanced over at the prone form of Satoshi. "It is done."
There was a moment of absolute stillness, and then a sound like tearing paper. A blinding blue-white beam of light burst from Satoshi's body, and lanced upward into the heavens.
Less than a mile away, Misty, Pikachu, and Tayuminai all saw the beam, and felt a profound lightness and warmth in their hearts, as if their very souls were singing with joy. Without even intending to, all three of them whispered a name.
Papa-san…
"Pikapi…"
"…Ash…"
Yugana and Hirumanai's heads both snapped to the west, looking to the pillar of light, and felt the presence that had just returned to the world.
Master…
Satoshi-kun…no…Ash.
Dialga and Palkia smiled slightly, despite the hands at their throats.
"Complete…"
"Victory."
In the next moment, faster than any human eye could track, both Legendaries seized their opponents' arms…and drove them into their throats. In a brilliant flash, they vanished, leaving behind a shocked pair of pokémon.
Across the regions, the beam of light could be seen. Many people turned to look at it, wondering what it meant, but those who truly knew what the beam meant were not human at all.
In Ecruteak, the great bell atop Bell Tower tolled all on its own.
In an ancient forest of Johto, there was a single, clear chime, and the forest seemed to fill with life.
Floating in the warm oceans south of Hoenn, a vast palace shimmered into existence for a moment, and a delighted laugh echoed across the waves.
In the cold arctic, the ethereal colors of the Northern Lights danced across the skies.
In the night sky over Forina, a single light twinkled brightly.
In Altomare, a peal of laughter reverberated through the city. In the secret garden, the Soul Dew pulsed a bright blue, and the very waters of the city seemed to sparkle and dance in joy.
In the Kingdom of Rota, the crystals from the Tree of Beginning all shone a brilliant green.
In a field in northeastern Sinnoh, Gracidea flowers burst into bloom.
In Alamos town, the great tower suddenly began chiming Oracion without any assistance.
In Michina, the Great Space-Time Axis righted itself for the first time in six years.
And in the heart of the Orange islands, an ancient shrine came to glowing life, and a hauntingly beautiful tune played across the waters.
In dark forests and thick jungles, remote islands and rocky wilderness, harsh wastelands and icy mountaintops, deep valleys and vast plains, they felt it. As one, fifty-seven different pokémon turned toward Sennichi no Shima, the same thought resounding in their heads and their hearts.
ASH!
Misty landed on the island, leaping off of her Dragonite, Tayuminai and Pikachu right behind her. She sprinted over to him, ignoring Arceus completely. The beam of light faded in the same moment, and he gently floated down to the ground, his eyes closed. The cloak he had been wearing had fallen away.
A beat, and Ash Ketchum opened his eyes, and, for the first time in six years, embraced Misty Waterflower. Neither of them said anything aloud, nor did they have to.
'I missed you so much.' Misty's tightening arms whispered.
'I missed you too.' Ash's strong arms replied.
'Is it really you?' Her quiet sobs begged.
'Shhh, it's me. I'm here.' His gentle smile, which she could feel even without seeing it, answered.
After a short moment that lasted forever, the two took a step back. Ash's eyes flicked down, then slowly back up, as if drinking in the sight of the person who held his heart. Both of them smiled at each other, despite the tears pooling in Misty's eyes.
Pikachu and Tayuminai, having held themselves back from the reunion for as long as they could bear, leapt forward with delighted cries.
"P-pikapi!"
Papa-san!
Both pokémon landed on Ash's chest, embracing him, and being embraced in return. Pikachu half-sobbed, half-laughed, while Tayuminai simply buried her head against Ash's neck, her Aura pressing gently up against his.
Cynthia and the others barely hesitated after the light died, dashing forward and releasing their pokémon. Janine and Koga flickered into motion, moving faster than most human eyes could track, reappearing behind Satoshi's pokémon, drawing blades from somewhere on their bodies.
"Satoshi's pokémon," Lance began, channeling the full authority of his role as leader of the G-Men, "You are under arrest for assault of humans. Please come quietly, and you will not be harmed."
"WAIT!" came a younger voice, causing Lance to whirl around. Before any of the League members could stop him, Hikaru had sprinted past them, and placed himself between Lance and Satoshi's pokémon. "Satoshi's pokémon didn't attack anyone!"
"Who are – " Lance began, only to be cut off by Flint.
"What do you mean? We just saw them use some kind of attack on those two!"
"That's because those two weren't human." Gary replied, calmly moving behind Hikaru as well. Brock and Max followed suit, forming a human wall between the League members and Yugana and Hirumanai.
"Not…human?" questioned Aaron. "What are you talking about?"
"They had abilities no human could possibly have. We think they were avatars…of Dialga and Palkia."
Cynthia's jaw dropped. "What?"
Lance looked almost as shocked, but recovered quickly. "Regardless of what they were, we still do have questions about Satoshi that we need answered. Will you cooperate?"
Yugana and Hirumanai looked at each other, before turning back to Lance.
Our apologies, but we are needed elsewhere.
Hirumanai flickered from where he was to Yugana's side. The Gardevoir waved a hand, and a translucent sphere appeared around the two pokémon. The Embrace pokémon spared Hikaru, Max, Brock, and Gary a glance.
Thank you.
Then, she and Hirumanai vanished.
Reluctantly, Ash released Pikachu and Tayuminai from his embrace, and glanced to his left. Sorahime had landed on the island, and Taifuu stood next to her, both of them giving their versions of smiles. A split second later, Hirumanai and Yugana appeared next to him, smiling as well. Misty finally spoke, returning his attention back to her.
"Welcome home, Ash."
The trainer smiled. "I'm home."
III. Jailbreak Rock
-7:45 PM, North Sinnoh Sea-
Terminal Sentence was regarded as the highest-security prison in the world. It sat on a barren spur of rock, with sheer cliffs dropping a quarter of a mile into the ocean on every side. The only way to access the prison was by air, and the roof of the prison was heavily equipped with static cannons, along with the pokémon used by the guards. Below the surface, an advanced active sonar suite monitored the icy depths for miles in every direction. The sky was similarly watched by a powerful active radar array.
The prison itself was a fortress, with walls thick enough to take a high-powered Hyper Beam without worry. The cells were buried beneath the prison proper, sunk deep into the rock. There was only one entrance into the prison: a small, reinforced-steel door that guards used to access the roof. Prisoners, when they were delivered, were flown out to the prison and left on the roof, where they would be escorted below by the guards. Even if a prisoner managed to get out of their cell, there was no escape, save for a suicide dive into frigid, Sharpedo-infested waters, with no other land for miles. It was the perfect location for those individuals that, for both their own good and the good of the world, needed to be thrown into a hole and forgotten about. In all the time it had existed as a prison, there had been 347 escape attempts, and 53 rescue attempts. None had been successful.
Tonight, that would change.
37,000 feet above the prison, a matte-black aircraft cut quietly through the air. At precisely 7:46, the rear door of the aircraft opened, and 8 figures hurled themselves out into space. At the same time, pods beneath the aircraft's wings burst open, releasing hundreds of miniaturized pokéballs. Both pokéballs and humans fell silently toward the earth until, at some unseen signal, the humans all pressed a button on their suits. A split second later, the Rockets spread-eagled their bodies, opening up the flaps on their suits and all the pokéballs released their contents, spewing forth a murder of Murkrow. The humans all pressed another button on their suits, and then banked to the right. The flock of Murkrows followed, moving around, above, and below the wingsuited humans.
In the Terminal Sentence command room, the woman at the radar station turned to her superior.
"Sir? Large radar signature just entered our scope."
The guard captain of Terminal glanced over at another panel. "Thermal, we have anything?"
The technician glanced up. "Picking up a lot of warm bodies. By the shape, it looks like a flock of bird pokémon."
"Psychic?"
In a meditation room within the prison, an Alakazam closed its eyes, reaching out with its mind. A moment later, the Alakazam physically recoiled, and the psychic probe was rapidly withdrawn.
Back in the command room, the man nodded, receiving a mental report from the pokémon. "Large mass of Dark-types. Probably a murder of Murkrows."
"Can I get sound on them?"
"Activating long-range mikes."
A switch flicked, and sounds from outside filtered through a speaker.
"Krow! Murkmurkrow! Murk!"
"Alright, turn it off. Stand down the alert."
The room relaxed. They hadn't really expected an incursion – there were frequent flocks of migrant birds that used Terminal's roof as a stopover – but procedure was procedure.
"When they land, have a patrol check the roof."
The Murkrows approached the prison, guided by the humans concealed within the flock. At 200 feet above the prison, the Rockets opened their parachutes, flaring them as widely as possible.
Silent as ghosts, the black-clad operatives touched down amidst a flurry of equally black feathers. In less than two minutes, the chutes had been bundled into their packs, and the wingsuits had been removed.
Not a moment too soon. The door in the roof opened, and two guards, wearing winter parkas and carrying static rifles, emerged onto the roof. One was a native of Sootopolis, the other from Ever Grande City. Neither liked the cold, and both were due to rotate back home in two weeks. Their shift was ending in fifteen minutes, and they were counting the seconds. As a result, neither was on their guard, and they were totally unprepared for being jumped by a team of Rocket commandos. They were out cold in less than ten seconds, and the Rockets took the keycards out of their pockets. Two Rockets remained behind, while the remaining six opened the door, rushing into the prison.
Once inside, they split up by pairs. One pair took the first left, moving toward the command room. The second pair continued straight down the corridor, then took a sharp right, and darted down the staircase to the generators. The last pair went down a flight of stairs, sprinted down a hallway, made a left, and stopped at a pair of thick, heavy doors.
In the command room, a technician started from his chair in front of the camera banks. "Sir, we have intruders in the prison!"
The captain turned to another station. "Sound the alert! Lock down the cells, and send an alert to the station!"
The operator nodded, but before he could comply, the door to the command center burst open, and the two commandos came in firing. The first electric blast caught the captain and the technician he had just spoken to in the chests, and they went down, twitching. Without even a moment's hesitation, the shooters turned to the other technicians and guards, none of which even had a chance to draw their sidearms. In twenty seconds, every member of the staff was stunned or paralyzed. One of the Rockets started checking the staff, making sure none of them were playing possum. The other walked up to the nearest computer console, and pressed a pokéball to the data port.
There was a flash of light, and a Porygon-2 materialized on the screen. The Rocket addressed his pokémon. "Transmit the signal. Lock down the guard quarters, turn on the landing lights, open the doors to the cell blocks."
The artificial pokémon chirped an affirmative. Seconds later, the doors to the guard quarters sealed shut, and the heavy doors leading to the cell blocks opened. The last pair of commandos slipped through, and descended to the deepest level of the cellblocks.
The aircraft which deployed the Rockets, which had been descending just outside of the prison's radar coverage, received the radio signal from the prison, and began its approach. On the roof, lights set into the rooftop, normally used to guide delivery pokémon and helicopters in, switched on.
In the prison, one of the Rockets in the command room spoke into a radio. "Kill the power."
In the generator room, the two commandos nodded to each other, then released a pokémon each.
"Voltorb, use Shock Wave on the generator."
"You too, Magnemite."
The Electric types obeyed, hitting the humming power plant with pulses of electricity. The generator threw of sparks, then shuddered and died. The prison was plunged into darkness for five seconds before the emergency lights kicked in, bathing the halls in red-orange light.
In the depths of the prison, the last two commandos reached their destination. With the main power out, the only thing securing the door shut were the deadbolts. One commando placed a charge against the door. Two seconds later, it detonated, blowing through the deadbolts. The door swung open.
Within the cell, a man with long, matted hair looked up at the entrance.
The commando stepped into the cell, and grabbed the prisoner from where he was sitting on the bunk.
"Come on, we don't have any time to lose."
The prisoner followed, a mix of surprise and suspicion on his face. They exited the cell, and the two Rocket commandos picked up the pace, running down the block to the stairs.
"This is the Retrieval team. We have the target, and are moving to the extract."
The other commando squads answered. "Power team, on our way to the extract."
"Command Room team, on our way to the extract."
"Extract team, aircraft is inbound."
On the roof, the Rocket VTOL aircraft slowed as it approached the landing lights. From the underside, a red beam shot out, and the Murkrows it struck dissolved. Seconds later, the black airframe touched down. The Command Room team was the first onto the roof, and went straight into the open door. They were followed by the Power team, and a minute later, by the Retrieval team and the prisoner.
Once the prisoner was strapped into his seat, the Extract team jumped onboard as well, and shut the door even as the aircraft took off.
On the plane, one of the Retrieval team members took off the balaclava covering her orange hair, and turned to the man she had just freed from prison.
"As you may have guessed, we are members of Team Rocket."
The man nodded, his expression dispassionate. "Of course you were. My employees were never as efficient as your organization." His gaze intensified, and he affixed the young Rocket operative with a soul-piercing stare.
"So, why did you free me?"
Bonnie stared right back, unperturbed. "We have a common enemy." Her brother produced a series of files, eight in total.
"Misty Waterflower, Gary Oak, Brock of Pewter, Max and May Maple, Dawn Berlitz, Silph Hikaru, and an unknown trainer called Satoshi."
The man flipped open the file on Misty Waterflower, and his face split into a wide smile.
"Yes, I think I will like doing business with you."
Bonnie nodded. "First though, I think you should get cleaned up. Six years in solitary didn't do your looks much good."
The blue-haired man nodded, and laid his head back, a look of satisfaction on his face.
"It's time for Cyrus to make his grand reappearance."
DUN-DUN-DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!
I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, mainly because it really wanted to be written. On the Legendaries that appear in this chapter: For those of you who noticed it, yes, yes I did make that Expy.
Arceus' aspects and the battles against them were actually a little difficult. Air-to-air combat is always harder because it's true three-dimensional maneuvering. On the other hand, giving Tayu-chan wings was something I planned to do ever since I introduced her as a character.
Megavolt is, of course, yet another shameless theft from the Pokémon Adventures Manga. Because it is listed as being "ten times the strength of a normal Thunderbolt". Just going by power numbers, Thunderbolt has a normal strength of 95, and 142.5 with STAB. Multiply by ten, and that's a strength level of 1425. How can you not want that?
Dialga's weapons: if you want more info on heater shields and arming swords, Wikipedia. A kris is one of those cool wavy blades.
Ash is back! In black! (I've been waiting to use that one.) There will be much awesomeness present! How did I do with the re-awakening scene? Too much?
The prison break scene was fun, if a bit short. And Cyrus being freed is B-A-D (For the heroes, not for the plot) So, be honest. How many of you expected that? There was a little hint two chapters back with "Nebula Protocol". Nebulas are the birthplaces of stars. Stars can be found in galaxies. Make sense? No?
Before I leave you guys in peace, two more things:
First and foremost, major shout out to Wolverinejoe and his story The True Champion. If you haven't read it yet, go read it. He makes my writing quality look like a third-grader's. He also updates more often than I do.
Second, as of this chapter's posting, we have broken the 100 Review Barrier! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! THANK YOU ALL SOSOSOSOSOSOOOOOO MUCH! AND NOT ONE OF THEM A FLAME! You wouldn't believe how happy I was when the notification of that review popped up in my inbox! Next stop, 200!
Seriously, though, thank you. All of you. You have no idea how happy those reviews make me and Baroness-chan.
Thank you for tuning in to today's episode of SkyeTalk. SkyeTalk is sponsored by Twinkies (What few of them are left), slow APCS classes, and reviewers like you (hint hint). Thank you!
Ja ne!