SKY TOWER, NIGHT
Laying perfectly still, Branna finds herself in distress. I don't know what it is, but… this feeling is hurting me more then I already am. Beside her, Djinn taps her on the shoulder. She doesn't look at him, but raises her head slightly.
"What is wrong, Miss Branna? You haven't said a word since Rayquaza, Jude, and Ferion left," Djinn says with a concerned look. She turns over to look at him, then coils up and rests her head.
"I'm not sure, it's just, um, something doesn't sit right with me."
"What is it?"
"I'm not sure, but it feels like…" like loss, Branna thinks with a realization. But I haven't lost anyone, have I? No, this isn't how I feel when I lose someone. This is how I felt when I lost… Frost. With a sudden pulse of her heart, she starts panicking internally. Not again, no one will take her from me again.
Djinn watches as she uncoils herself and slithers toward the edge of the tower. She looks down at the dome that covers Steel City with a frown.
"There's no way in," she says under her breath. "Come to think of it, there's no way for me to get off this tower."
"It should be that way," Djinn flies up beside her. "I was instructed to make sure you stay here until they return."
"Really? I must've not been paying attention," she says as she takes an apple out of her bag and starts eating it.
With a worried look on his face, Djinn moves forward and says, "Rayquaza said that eating will make your digestive system use more energy than your body has. You cannot-"
Branna stops him in mid air with a vine and gives him a serious expression, "I may have not known you that long, but um, I can see that you're anything if not honest. That said, uh, I'm going to eat to recover my strength, then I'm going to go find Frost."
Even when she's trying to be serious, she is still doing her best to be gentle, Djinn thinks. With a faint smile, he says, "no matter what I say, I know you will go anyway. So I will let you, but I am coming with you."
Branna looks at him in surprise, then looks back down at Steel City, "how do we get down from here, though?"
"This is a problem," the cyndaquil comments. "I am unable to lift you, and you are not supposed to move very much."
"We could… jump off the edge," Branna suggests.
It takes Djinn a moment to register this. When he does, he looks at her uneasily to check if she's serious. To his dismay, she is.
"What do you mean? There is no guarantee that we will survive."
She looks at him, "it's like my mother used to say; you never know what'll happen until it does. Besides, you can levitate."
He shakes his head, "I know, but you cannot."
"We'll see what happens, Djinn. Don't worry about me, I have to save my friend," she says with a smile. Before he can say anything, she Coils herself, then leaps of the edge of Sky Tower.
SKY ABOVE ASHEN WASTES, NIGHT
"Lord Rayquaza, I really don't think she will."
"I do."
"But how will she know you lied to her?"
"Lie to her? About what?"
"THE FACT THAT SHE'S NOT ACTUALLY GETTING WEAKER!"
"Don't raise your voice around me, Ferion."
"Right, I forgot that I'm in the presence of a Legendary."
"No, it's because it hurts my ears."
"Oh. In any case though, I can almost guarantee you that she won't leave."
"She will."
"She won't."
"She will."
"She won't."
"She will."
"She won't."
"She is."
"She won't- Wait what?"
"She's leaving, along with the cyndaquil."
"Oh," Ferion says. "What's she doing?"
Rayquaza doesn't respond, he only raises his head as if to point in the direction of Sky Tower. Ferion squints his eyes toward the tower, only to widen his eyes in disbelief. In the distance, Branna and Djinn rapidly approach the ground.
"Should we do something?" the aerodactyl asks in a worried tone.
"No," Rayquaza says simply.
"What? Why?! They're going to die!"
"Since when do care so much about ground dwellers?"
"This isn't about that! It's a matter of life and death!"
"No, it isn't. Do you know why I lied to her?"
"No, why?"
"It's because I sensed she was in turmoil, even when she didn't realize it. I sensed her longing for a sort of significant other. I lied to her, because I wanted to see what she would do under powerless circumstances. If she did not realize she was growing in power, rather then losing it, then she would never be able to save her friend."
Ferion nods his head, but then looks the sky dragon in the eye, "there's more to it then that, I know there is. Why would you go through all that trouble just for her?"
Rayquaza's normally temperate expression changes to embarrassment, "even being a Legendary, I do not possess the power to break through barrier of the mystery dungeon…"
"So you're telling me she does?"
"It is not so much that she possesses the power, rather she has the ability to absorb energy from others."
"How can that be, considering all we've seen her do is absorb Groudons artificial sun?"
"It might seem that way at first, but if you remember, she was still absorbing energy long after the artificial sun was gone."
"Then who's energy was she absorbing? It couldn't have been Groudon's, considering he only went down after the serperior used Solar Beam."
"Correct, she wasn't absorbing Groudon's. She was absorbing the energy of the Red Orb's wielder, Lyle."
"So in this case, whose energy can she absorb to save herself? It can't be the cyndaquil, he barely has enough energy to keep up with Branna's descent."
"Just watch."
Ferion looks on as Branna and Djinn close in on the barrier. As she gets closer, the collar-like leaves on the serperior's neck flare out and start absorbing energy. The aerodactyl watches in anticipation for her to release her attack, but she never does. Instead, she falls right through the barrier, along with Djinn.
"This might be a problem," Rayquaza comments.
"What happened?"
"I was expecting her to take my energy and use it to break the barrier. The blast from an attack would have slowed her fall and allowed you to catch them. Instead, she absorbed energy from the barrier itself so she could pass right through it. We only have a few minutes till it repairs itself."
"Well then what are we waiting for?"
The two pokemon abruptly shoot down toward the city with a quickness that leaves a sonic boom in their previous position
STEEL LABYRINTH (INNER WORKINGS), NIGHT
Straining, this is, it is. Keep this up, I cannot, for much longer. Sepullen and I still hold each other in place with our attacks. While I struggle to keep a grip on him, he begins to lose his Psychic grip on me. I smile as I am slowly able to move again. Across from me, Sepullen struggles to lift his limbs up. In a split second, he extends his blades, and I extend my claws, then we break away from our attack and rush at each other with full force. Our attacks collide with a spark that would have burned my eye if it wasn't made of crystal.
We press at each other, until a strong gust of wind blows us to the side. I hit the wall with enough force to make a small crater, while Sepullen stops himself in midair with Psychic. He looks around, until he sees me.
"It would seem that a mysterious force knocked us to the side. You have made a living off of exploring dungeons long enough to know what that means."
Shifting, the dungeon, it is. I look around in anticipation, as the city suddenly goes quiet. I start to run up a nearby ramp when I realize what's about to happen. I almost reach the next floor, when Sepullen Teleports in front of me with his blades drawn. Without hesitation, I launch at him with Foul Play. He tries to dodge, but my shadow suddenly comes bursting out of the ground and knocks him upward.
The impact knocks him right into my claws, so I flip over him. However, I lose grip on him halfway into the attack, causing me to throw him into the ceiling rather then the ground. To my surprise, he hits the ceiling with enough force to break right through it. I jump through the hole after him, only to do a spin dodge at the last second when his blade nearly Slashes my neck on the way up.
Remembering the way that Myro had attacked, I use the spin to my advantage and strike him in the face with my claw. I see a visible look of surprise on his face as he flies backward into a wall. As soon as I land on the ground, I use Shadow Sneak, then run at him with Fury Swipes. Without moving, Sepullen use Psychic to rip shards of metal paneling from the ground and walls. He points them toward me, then uses Psychic to pull my three shadows and I into them.
With quick thinking, I generate several crystal shards on front of me and use Power Gem. The crystals pierce through the metal and nearly hit the Relic Master. He looks back at them, as they hit the wall behind him. Shaking his head, he spreads his limbs out and closes his eyes. Recognizing this stance, I grab the Sablenite on my neck and poor my energy into it. As expected, he rushes forward with a Rapid Spin/Slash combo at frightening speed.
Even the burst of energy from my Mega Evolution is not enough to slow him down. A shower of sparks start to fly, as my gem pops out of my chest and grows just a split second before he reaches me. Even with these circumstances, he continues his onslaught. After a moment, I realize I'm being pushed back. Having no other option, I use Foul Play on my gem, flipping it over him and smashing it into his head.
I land behind him and smirk, as he falls onto the ground. I suddenly look up in surprise as the ceiling opens up and spreads out like a box lid, revealing several gears and wires. It only takes a second for the walls and ground to do the same. Seeing the ground start to seperate under Sepullen, I grab him and dig into the walls to try and reach the roof. With Sepullen unconscious, the task is a lot harder then I expected it to be. After climbing up a floor, I look down to see that all the floors had folded in, turning the building into a giant hollow shell of what it used to be.
I look back up at the top of the building and start climbing again. Only making a small bit of progress, I notice a bright flash of light through a gap in the wall. Looking closer, I see kyogre flying falling backwards directly toward the building I'm in. Not good, this isn't. I brace for impact as Kyogre hits the bottom of the structure. The shockwave makes me lose grip on the wall and fall downward, along with Sepullen.
If only, awake, the Relic Master, was.
STEEL CITY SKY, NIGHT
Perfect, it worked. Now all I have to do is aim it and… Branna looks down at the fight below her, as she falls through the sky. She doesn't panic, instead she watches carefully at Kyogre's movements. If I'm going to be able to affect him, I need more energy.
From Beside her, Djinn shouts over the rushing of the wind, "I sense two pokemon coming from above us! From the strength of their minds, I assume one of them is a Legendary!"
Rayquaza, I'll bet. Why did he tell me that my body couldn't handle using any more attacks? I don't feel that way. Whatever the case, I'll have to apologize to him later for this. Remembering the sensation she felt when she absorbed the artificial sun from desolate land, she focuses on Rayquaza's energy and channels it into her own. As she siphons his energy, she finds herself within distance of the battle.
Taking a breath at the massive amount of energy Rayquaza possesses, she says, "I think I'm starting to get the hang of this. Rayquaza said that I needed practice, but um, I guess this probably isn't the best way to do it."
It doesn't matter in the end, Lorem says, all your efforts will be wasted once you become one of us.
"That won't happen, Lorem, I'll make sure of it."
Oh well, do what you want. In time, you will SEE WHAT MADE US BLEED.
Ignoring him, she focuses on Kyogre and attempts to use Solar Beam. To her her surprise, the energy is released in a more refined, blue and white stream from her mouth. In a flash, it hits kyogre in the side. With a shriek, the Legendary flies into a nearby building and collapses it. It worked! Now I just have to get down there and… In her excitement, Branna feels a rush of weariness come over her, due to the lack of energy. I released all my energy along with Rayquaza's. I guess he's right, I do need more practice.
As she closes her eyes, Djinn shouts, "I told you, Branna, I cannot lift you! You have to think of something!"
With a smile, the serperior says in a light tone, "I already have," then she falls asleep.
STEEL LABYRINTH (EAST WALL), NIGHT
Felicia watches in silence as Branna falls out of the sky. Far above her, Rayquaza and Ferion try to catch up to her, but the gardevoir shakes her head in amusement at the futility of their attempt. If things keep going this way, she'll die. There's no question that I have to stop that from happening. The other Legendaries haven't even realized what happened yet.
She looks down at the building Kyogre had collapsed. The spawn will be fine, he's more durable then the rest of them. Right now I have to keep track of Branna. I know I can't get to her in time, but Aphot should have realized her situation by now. I wonder why he hasn't…
Felicia continues observing the situation, trying to keep a calm mind, but growing in anticipation as time goes by. An uneasy feeling begins to grow within her, as Branna passes below the height of the sky scrapers. Where is that darkrai? He's cutting it too closely. If she dies then everything will be ruined. I guess I should have taken the Red and Blue orbs from which when I had the chance.
She turns her head away, as Branna closes on the ground. She sighs in frustration when she realizes the reality of the situation. She suddenly looks up when she is no longer able to feel the aura of anyone around her. Looking at the scene in front of her, she thinks, how could this happen? Was Archiea's time gear removed? No, that can't be it.
In front of her, the entire city had grown dark, and all color dissolved into various shades of grey. The Legendaries flying over the city are frozen in place, along with the clouds, and the chunks of metal and rock the would occasionally fall off buildings. Felicia notes that she no longer feels even a slight breeze. There's no mistaking it; time has stopped here, but how?
"been a while, hasn't it?" a voice says from behind her.
She turns around in surprise to see the silhouette of a heavy set individual that reminds her somewhat of a skeleton. Even without being able to clearly see the figures face, she knows who it is almost immediately.
"Why have you come here?" she asks the figure.
"come on, that's no way to talk to an old friend. where's your spirit?"
"That's not funny," Felicia says with a unamused expression.
"geez, no one laughs at my joke anymore."
"Why did you come here?" the gardevoir repeats.
"well," he says while looking over the city, "i couldn't help but notice this mess you've made. reshiram filled me in on all the details and sent me here to clean it up, due to you lack of intervention."
Felicia shakes her head, "you know as well as I, that there's nothing I can do in this situation."
"but is there really nothing you can do? after all, you've single handedly ruined the lives of everyone you've interacted with, so surely if you can do all that, you can save the one person you were assigned to protect."
"I was assigned to look after all three of them, not just her. Besides, why do you care so much?" she asks.
He walks over and grabs her hand and leads her in a random direction. Somehow in only a few seconds, they end up on ground level in front of where Branna is suspended in mid air. It dawns on Felicia that when time starts up again, she would hit the ground and die instantly. She looks at Djinn, who is locked in a pose of desperation while trying to save the serperior. In the sky above them, Rayquaza and Ferion sit at a hopelessly long distance away.
"you should know, she's a child of wings, like me. when you're in charge of taking care of one of my kin, and you don't do a very good job, that puts me in a bit of a pickle."
He looks back at her and shrugs, "but hey, that's just me."
Felicia stares at him, then at the serperior. She feels an empty feeling in her chest, one that she had been trying to supress for years, and had been successful until now. Leave it to him to be the to make me feel guilty.
"What will you do now?" she asks.
"it's simple; i'm not going to do anything, you are. after all, it's your mess."
"Then why bother coming?"
He chuckles, "i got you this far didn't i? one more second and everything we agents have worked hard to accomplish will have gone down the drain. but hey, if you don't care about any of that stuff, that's fine. like i said, that's just me."
Felicia doesn't say anything. She only continues to look at the pokemon suspended in front of her. Taking the agent's words into account, she tries to come up with a way to save Branna. After a moment, she comes up with two methods. Either to give her the energy to save herself, or knock her sideways to reduce momentum.
"I'm going to give her my energy so that she has the strength to stop on her own," she tells him.
"no, that's not a very good idea. with the small distance between her and the ground, and the fact the she's asleep leaves very little reaction time."
"So what would you suggest?"
"i was thinking about throwing her into that building over there."
"That's not…"
"it'll be fine. you give her your energy like you were going to do, so she can survive being knocked to the side. she won't wake up feeling all that great, but at least it'd be better then dying."
Felicia looks at him, then sighs, "do what you will."
She watches as he raises a single hand, then swipes it to the side. After a moment, it seems to have done nothing, until both of them are pulled sideways and slammed into the front of the building. The agent looks up to see Felicia standing on the side of the wall, whereas he had made a small crater in the concrete while landing on his back.
"i've made a gravity surface that will last until five seconds after time resumes. i'll leave the rest to you, so don't screw up this time."
As if exempt from the laws of physics, he jumps of the wall and lands on the ground, then walks into the doors at the front of the building. She tries to fly after him, but by the time she makes it through the doors, he's already gone. With a sigh, she goes back outside and stands on the side of the building using the artificial gravity.
After a moment, time returns to the area. Felicia tenses as Branna's descent abruptly changes direction. The serperior slams into the gardevoir, knocking the wind out of her. She almost collapses, but does her best to make sure she doesn't drop Branna. I wasn't expect her to be this heavy. She tries to catch her breath, but then she remembers, right, those five seconds should be-
Her and Branna suddenly fall to the ground as the artificial gravity fades away. Her and the serperior lay on the ground for several seconds, until Ferrion and Rayquaza descend a distance away from them. Then, from beside her, Aphot appears with a guilty look on his face.
With a soft glare, Felicia says to him, "we'll talk later."
She drags Branna over to Rayquaza, then disappears. I see, he was saving the spawn. Now the only one left is Frost.
ASHEN WASTES, NIGHT
Myro and Moon look down at Lyle's body. He isn't dead, but the empoleon can tell that he will be if they don't do something. Nearby to him, Pyros also lay on the ground with burns covering his body. Myro turns and looks at the destroyed wasteland around them.
"What could have happened here? Was it that serperior?"
The furret shakes his head, "no, that couldn't be it. Word is, she's weaker than Frost. If that's the case, there's no way she could have stood up to Lyle."
"Either way," she looks at the pokemon on her back, "we have the froslass, so they should come for us soon."
"How will they know where she is?"
Myro gives him a mischievous smile, "I left them a little present. Once they open it, the real finale will start."
"I'm looking forward to it."