Chapter Twenty: The Pokéball Factory Part Three: Primal
Previously on Pokémon Azure Light:
-"he did what with her?"
"Oh, please. You should have seen what your parents did with you."
-"I need you guys to check up on the Pokéball factory. Ho-Oh will accompany you."
"My mom works there. Is everything okay?"
"I fear that someone has taken the workers hostage."
"What?! My mom's in trouble!"
-The Master Ball is the strongest Pokéball ever created, capable of capturing even the legendaries."
"That's a powerful Pokéball."
-"Ace watch out! He's got a Pokéball!"
-"If this Master Ball is broken, then your friend will die. Though, I suppose that beats suspended animation for eternity."
-"Shadow! Catch!"
"Run and get out of here."
-"Tell me"
"Tell you what?"
"You know what."
"Fine."
-"Darkora, place the child on the altar."
-"What is happening?! This has never happened before."
-"I've brought some playmates for you."
"The twins."
-"No! The Master Ball is cracking. I can't help him now!"
-The Master Ball shattered before her very eyes.
Chapter Twenty: Pokéball Factory Part Three: Primal
Hall of Origins
"Oh no!" Arcey shouted, jolting upright, a look of sheer panic on her face.
"What is it?" Mewtwo asked, also worried.
"The Master Ball just broke" Arcey said, her voice full of horror.
"What?!" Mewtwo exclaimed. "But Ace was still inside of it."
"What's all the yelling about?" Giratina said, Shadow Forcing his way into the room. "I'm trying to nap in peace."
"The Master Ball just broke." Mewtwo said, his voice full of shock.
"Those bastards built that?" Giratina said. "Well, if it's broken, then why are you so horrified?"
"Ace was inside of it." Arcey said, trying to contain her sadness.
"What?" Giratina said, not processing what he was hearing. "How did someone catch him in a Master Ball? He's smarter than that."
"Cyrus surprised him with it." Arcey said, a tear rolling down her face only to be caught by a long black shadow with a red "claw" that was of Giratina's own making (they weren't to Ace's level, but they were still functional and powerful-Ace was taught how to use shadows by Giratina).
"Cyrus" Giratina said, his voice somewhere between a growl and a shocked exclamation. "I thought I banished that monster to the Distortion World."
"Well, he's out" Mewtwo said plainly. "And it seems he's brought the twins with him."
"The twins?!" Giratina exclaimed. "How did they get free? I should have banished them with Cyrus."
"That doesn't matter now." Mewtwo said, bringing the Death God back to the topic at hand. "What matters now is that Ho-Oh and Eon are fighting them."
"Can they win?" Giratina asked, worried for the two Fire type's safety.
"If it was Ace and Eon." Arcey said gravely. "Then they might stand a chance. But both of the twins have advantages against Fire Types. The two of them will be hard pressed to beat a Ground Type and a Water Type."
"I thought Maxie was part Fire." Giratina said.
"Only when she does 'that'" Arcey said, shuddering.
"They can still do 'that'?" Giratina asked, also shuddering. "I thought I removed it from them."
"It was part of their cores." Arcey said. "They can still do it, but the conditions have to be met."
"Well" Giratina said, sitting next to Mewtwo. "The only thing we can do is hope Ho-Oh and our daughter can succeed."
With Eon and Ho-Oh
The twins had drastically changed their appearances when they went into pokéforme.
Maxie's body grew over twice its height, her skin turning red. Black lines traced themselves all over her body, essentially outlining her body in black lines that seemed to pulsate with inner aura power. Her hands grew massive and became giant claws, the claws white. Her shape grew into something resembling a dinosaur. Spikes grew out of her sides all the way down her body. Her legs grew thicker and her toes became claws, white in color. She grew a tail that was thick and had red "claws" pointing upward. Spikes came off of the side of the tail as well. Her neck grew longer and much thicker. The underside of her body turned grey, resembling soot. Her head came to a point, ridges appearing over her mouth. Her mouth had become much larger, her teeth pointed. Her eyes turned yellow, moving to the sides of her face. At this point, her height was about eleven and a half feet.
Archie also underwent a significant transformation. His skin turned blue as he grew to almost three times his size. His arms flattened and got much wider, becoming like fins. His fingers became thin, wide, and white. Red markings ran down his body, similar to Maxie's. His legs disappeared fins replacing them. His neck disappeared as his head grew wider. His mouth moved to under his body, almost hidden from view. His eyes became encircled by black, his pupils yellow and his irises black. He resembled a giant whale when he had finished. His current height (length in this case) was about fifteen feet.
Eon and Ho-Oh tensed up as they realized what they were seeing: the pokéformes of the twins. The one thing that had ended almost every fight they had been in. If they didn't think of something fast, then they would be toast. The workers in the cages also had shocked looks on their faces. They had also heard of the infamous Hoenn twins.
Eon leapt at Maxie, transforming in midair. Her body turned orange as she got on all fours. Her hands became paws and her legs and arms grew a little thinner. A tail sprouted from behind her, its appearance as that of cream colored fire. Her scarf grew much thicker and resembled a collar. Her head reshaped to resemble a dog or a cat's. Her eyes turned completely black, resembling glossy, burning coals. Her nose grew smaller and looked like a smudge of coal on her face. Her ears lengthened and turned black on the inside. A small patch of hair flared up on the top of her head, resembling a fire. Her current height was about five feet long.
Eon landed on Maxie's head and used a powerful Fire Fang on the Land Dino's head, cutting into flesh (or armor, I guess).
"Well" Ho-Oh said, beginning to transform. "I guess that's the way we're gonna do it."
Ho-Oh's body changed into a multitude of colors. Her legs turned black and morphed into claws. Her body grew rounder, resembling a bird's body shape. A multi-plumed tail sprouted behind her, its color a fiery yellow. Her arms morphed into wings, turning mostly orange with some white and green thrown in. Her neck grew much longer, a green stripe encircling part of it. The underside of her body turned a greyish white, making it seem as if it was slightly sooty. Her head shifted to the shape of a bird's, a large golden beak sprouting from the front of her face. Four wisps of golden hair curled up from the top of her head. Her eyes turned a more fiery shade of orange, seemingly fires themselves. Her current height was about twelve feet tall, with a wingspan of about twenty feet from wingtip to wingtip.
Ho-Oh flew at breakneck speed at Archie, firing her signature move, Sacred Fire, a Fire type move so powerful that it left heavy burns on the target that were nearly incurable.
Archie flinched from the heat and intensity of the attack, but didn't take much damage from the overall attack due to his Water typing. In fact, he looked more angry than hurt, despite the horrible Burn he had received.
"You're gonna pay for that" Archie growled, his voice similar to a man gurgling water. Almost immediately after that, Eon came crashing down next to Ho-Oh, landing on her head.
"Bring it on, motherf #$er!" Eon shouted, intensifying her aura to a burning hot temperature. She lunged again, her Fire Fang even more powerful than ever before. Maxie dodged her attack, but Archie was too slow to move out of the way.
Eon's Fire Fang sank into his unarmored flesh, drawing a decent amount of blood. Archie cried out in pain as Eon actually succeeded in ripping out a huge chunk of flesh from his back and increasing the blood flow.
Eon spit out the chunk of flesh from her mouth, charging up for another Fire Fang, when Archie used Recover to heal himself of the massive wound.
He charged up his signature attack, summoning Water energy to his mouth. It shot the orb it had gathered into the air, causing it to hover there. After about thirty seconds, the orb split into hundreds of other orbs, each of them about a foot in diameter. Eon and Ho-Oh summoned Fire energy, preparing for an attack.
Maxie also used her signature move. Her body glowed the colors of lava as she summoned the energy of the earth to her giant claws. She shot the power she had absorbed into the ground, causing certain spots of the floor to glow.
"Now fear this!" They both shouted simultaneously. "With the combined power of our signature moves, Origin Pulse and Precipice Blades, we summon the power of our ultimate move, Wrath of Gaia!"
As soon as they had said this, the Water orbs above them began to rain down powerful bursts of light on the two Fire types as the glowing portions of the ground below began to shoot up enormous pointed stalagmites that glowed with an odd power.
Eon and Ho-Oh dodged the orbs and stalagmites to the best of their abilities, but they couldn't dodge them all. Every so often an orb hit one of them exploding Water energy on contact. Every so often they collided with a stalagmite, causing it to explode. The super effective energy pulsed through their bodies. Soon, smoke filled the room causing all of the workers to cough from smoke inhalation.
When the smoke cleared, there were no more stalagmites or Water orbs. The two fighters had taken every single one of them, suffering considerable damage. Ho-Oh was unconscious, while Eon was very close.
"I-Is that the b-best you got?" Eon asked, before her vision faded and she fell into unconsciousness.
With Shadow and Kiria
Shadow just stared at the shards of the Ball that had held her best friend captive just moments before. She couldn't comprehend the feelings running through her at the current moment. As she picked them up, some of them cutting into her fingers, she brought them up to her face. She began sobbing uncontrollably, unable to halt the flow of tears at the thought of her best and closest friend being dead and gone forever. Her tears fell from her face onto the shards, causing them to shimmer a little.
"Why?" she said, though not even she knew who she was talking to. Arcey? Arceo? It was unclear.
"Why did you have to die?" She said through her tears, falling to her knees. "Why did you have to leave me?"
Kiria just watched her friend cry. She had no idea how to comfort the Dark Empath.
"Why?" Shadow continued. "Why did I let this happen?"
"Shadow" Kiria said, still standing behind Shadow and to her left. "Are you gonna be okay?"
"No" Shadow sobbed, her hands bloody from the shards. "I won't. My best friend just died. I couldn't save him. And now the only way we could have saved him is gone."
"You'll be okay" Kiria said, trying to comfort the Dark Empath.
"No I won't!" Shadow cried, clenching her fists, causing more shards to enter her body, but she didn't care. The pain meant nothing to her at this point. The only thing she was thinking about was Ace. The man she loved. The man who died.
"Yes." Kiria said, taking hold of Shadow's arm, her voice firm. "You will. We have to go."
"Let go of me!" Shadow shouted, anger overtaking her. She shoved Kiria away from her, the Fighting type flying, but landing on her feet. She decided not to try to go the physical approach again, or the next time it would be worse.
Shadow continued to cry into the shards. Kiria decided to let her get it all out.
"It will be good for her" she thought. "She just lost her best friend and she needs to grieve. She's known him for a long time and they were in love, so she's probably got a lot to get off her chest. Plus she's a Gardevoir, so emotions are her thing."
Kiria just watched Shadow, hoping the Dark Empath would finish crying soon so they could exit and bring reinforcements to help her mother.
"Why couldn't it have been me?" Shadow asked herself quietly. "Why couldn't it have been me to die instead of him? He should have been the one to live on. I relied on him way too much. He cared for me and fought for me, even when I didn't deserve it. I don't deserve him and he didn't deserve this. Oh, Ace. I can't believe you're dead."
Shadow continued to cry over the shards of the Ball. Kiria walked over to Shadow and put her hand on her shoulder, rubbing it to comfort her. Suddenly, from behind them, they heard a voice.
"Why do you cry over shards of metal?"
In the Hall of Origins
"It seems Eon and Ho-Oh were beaten by Maxie and Archie." Arcey said, her voice grave.
"Should we help them?" Giratina asked, worried.
"No" Arcey said, sighing with regret. "If we get involved now, then we would put the workers at risk. We'll just let this one play out for a bit, and then we'll see if we need to get involved."
"If Eon couldn't beat them" Mewtwo said, concern in his voice. "Then we stand no chance, especially without Ace."
"Eon is very powerful" Arcey said. "But even she has her limits. She and Ho-Oh weren't capable of taking down monsters that powerful, especially since they had a type disadvantage. If she had Ace with her, then she'd have stood a chance. But both she and Ho-Oh were weak to Water and Ground types."
"I thought Flying types were immune to Ground type attacks." Mewtwo said, confused. "In my studies, I always read that."
"That's bullsh!t" Arcey and Giratina said at the same time. "A flying type is immune to Ground type moves ONLY if they're high enough off the ground to not be hit by a Ground type move. If Ho-Oh was close enough to the ground, then she could be hit by a Ground type move."
"Also" Giratina said. "They combined their most powerful attacks, Origin Pulse and Precipice Blades, to create a very powerful move, The Wrath of Gaia."
"What does that do?" Mewtwo asked.
"It basically combines the powers of the Earth and the Water" Arcey explained. "To create a force so powerful that most beings can't survive it unless they're on the level of gods."
"Woah" Mewtwo said, amazed that such a move existed. "So Eon and Ho-Oh took it?"
"And they survived." Arcey said. "I'm impressed."
"Yes that is impressive." Giratina said. He was about to say something else when two young girls ran into the room.
"Daddy, daddy." They called, running up to Giratina and giving him a hug.
The first girl was about thirteen years old. She wore a white, sleeveless dress that went down to her knees. She wore white leggings under it. She wore green boots that had a white stripe on the top. She wore green and white gloves that looked as if they were made of blades of grass. She had a small red scarf around her neck, almost like an Exploration Team scarf, that seemed to be made out of flower petals. Her face was full of innocence and joy. Her hair was green like grass and had a pretty pink flower on it, a Gracidea. It had two white portions that fell below her ears that were white. Her eyes were soft and green like nature itself, showing both kindness and courage, compassion and a warrior's spirit. This was Cela's best friend, Shay.
The other girl was dressed in a cream colored dress that went down to her ankles. She wore orange shoes and orange gloves. Her hair was a mix between cream and orange, the orange making a V shape. She wore two cream colored wings on her back that were shaped like angel wings. Her face was adorable, not seeming to have any malice, but those that knew her knew just how powerful she could be. Her eyes were sapphire and appeared to be like pools of water. Her top eyeteeth were longer than normal and partially stuck out of her mouth. This was Shay's adoptive sister, Victory.
"How have you been, sweeties?" Giratina asked the girls, picking them up and bringing them onto his lap. They jumped off just after and began to tell Giratina what had happened that day.
"Cela, Victory, and I worked on perfecting our moves!" Shay said, preparing to demonstrate her special move, the Seed Flare, which caused Mewtwo to tense up. The Seed Flare could be a massively destructive move, capable of destroying cities even.
"How about later?" Giratina said, causing Mewtwo to relax and Shay to stop charging up the most powerful Grass type move. "I'm trying to see how this mission is going."
"Okay" Shay said, slightly saddened by the statement. "So what's happening?"
"Well" Giratina said, sadness in his voice. "Eon and Ho-Oh have been defeated by the twins and Ace was inside the Master Ball when it exploded."
"Is he…?" Victory asked, not daring to finish the question.
"Yes." Arcey answered the question. "The Master Ball was built so that if it was compromised it would kill the Pokémon inside. Ace was inside it."
"No" Shay said, mortified that the legendary she looked up to most (besides Giratina) was gone.
"It's all right, Shay." Giratina said, giving the girl a hug. Arcey smiled at this. She remembered how Shay's mother, Shaymin (Shay was named Shaymin, but everyone shortened it to Shay to remove confusion), and Giratina had fought like Seviper and Zangoose when she was alive. They were friends, but argued about everything. When Shaymin had died, she had asked Giratina first to take care of Shay. Giratina accepted and had raised Shay like his own (she already called him daddy, so it wasn't much different), taking care of her every need. She knew Shaymin was watching him from above and smiling as well.
She also remembered when Giratina had found Victory, an abandoned child, searching for someone to care about her. Giratina had been that someone, taking her in and raising her to be powerful and confident. He had even asked Ace to personally train both girls along with Cela, making them into strong warriors.
Arcey sighed with sadness immediately after.
"Another friend gone" she thought to herself. "It seems me and Giratina are the last ones of us left, besides Ho-Oh and Kyurem if she's still alive."
"How about you go get ready" Giratina said to the Gratitude Bringer. "And I'll take you out for ice cream later?"
"Promise?" The two girls asked, their eyes lighting up. They enjoyed ice cream despite being thirteen. It caused Shay to become a child again. It caused Victory to act like normal.
"After this mission." Giratina promised her. "I want to see what happens."
"Okay" Shay said, leaving to go find Cela. Victory followed her, shouting joyously about ice cream.
"You two seem to get along." Mewtwo said. "Considering I've heard how you and Shaymin used to fight."
"We always were fighting" Giratina said. "But if it came down to it, we had each other's backs. She personally asked me to take care of Shay. I couldn't refuse her."
"As much as they argued." Arcey said. "They were unbeatable as a team. Their teamwork was flawless. Even more so than mine and Giratina's."
"We're off topic" Giratina said, remembering what they were talking about before Shay entered the room.
"Right" Arcey said, returning to the topic. "Eon and Ho-Oh will need assistance. I don't want to ask Shadow to do this because she's still grieving Ace. And the only members we have that could fight them are us, but we can't leave."
"Why not?" Mewtwo asked. "Are you forbidden to leave?"
"No" Arcey said. "We need to keep this place safe. Many beings want to kill the legendaries, but with me, Giratina, you, Ace, Shadow, and Eon here, they don't dare try. With all of us gone, they might just try it."
"Oh" Mewtwo said, understanding. "But how is Shadow now?"
"Let me see." Arcey said, closing her eyes to try and find the Dark Empath.
After thirty seconds, she opened her eyes. The look in her eyes was a mixture of worry and confusion.
"I can't see Shadow" she said, her voice confused and quiet.
"What do you mean?" Mewtwo asked, also confused.
"When I try to focus on the area Shadow is in" Arcey said. "Some force jams the signal. I can't view her or Kiria, so they must be in the same area."
"Is that good?" Giratina asked.
"It depends on what is jamming my signal." Arcey said. "The last time this happened was when Nightmare first appeared, but since Ace was in the Master Ball, which exploded, I highly doubt that he is the one causing this disturbance. Plus he doesn't like using that power because it's to insane to control, so even if he wasn't in the Master Ball, that most likely wouldn't be the reason my signal is jammed."
"Then what could it be?" Giratina asked, wondering what could block her signal.
"A very powerful being." Arcey said. "But I don't know of any besides Ace and Zygarde that are powerful enough to disrupt the signal like that."
"You think Zygarde has escaped?" Giratina asked, worried.
"I don't think it's him." Mewtwo said. "Why would he not attack here instead of taking on our most powerful members?"
"That is odd." Giratina mused. "Why would he?"
"I don't know" Arcey said. "I'm not even sure if it's him, but whatever is jamming my signal is very powerful indeed. I just hope Shadow and Kiria are okay."
With Shadow and Kiria
"Why do you cry over shards of metal?" The voice asked from behind Shadow and Kiria. The oddest part for Shadow was that, even though the voice was chilling and terrifying beyond anything she had ever heard before, she was, strangely, not afraid of it. The voice seemed familiar, even. She couldn't place the voice, but she knew it was familiar. For some reason, her heart rate was accelerating and her body heating up, not because of fear, but because of something she couldn't currently place.
"I cry" she said, blinking her tears back. "Because my best friend is dead."
"You cry over a Ball?" the voice asked, seeming to not be able to understand Shadow's sorrow. Shadow was too unfocused to turn around and confront the voice, but her anger came into her voice with her next statement.
"This Ball" she said, her voice shaking from anger. "Is what held my best and closest friend captive before killing him!"
"What did this friend mean to you" the voice asked, its voice understanding. "That you cry over him so violently?"
"This friend" Shadow said, finally turning around and confronting the voice at its source. "Meant the world to me. He was the l…"
She saw the source of the voice and stopped dead in her tracks. Now she understood the familiarity of the voice.
The owner of the voice was a creature that seemed to be made of pure black fire, Darkness evident. Its entire body was black and seemed to be radiating unholy black fire. It had hair that was white and behaved in a way similar to fire. Around its neck was a red flaming section that resembled a lower jaw of a creature. Its eyes were the most intimidating feature. They were blood red and were larger than human eyes, but were displaying anger and Darkness. In Shadow's mind she thought that this creature resembled Darkrai, but it seemed much more evil.
"D-D-Darkrai?" she tested her suspicions.
"Not at all." The creature said, his voice dark and menacing.
"Ace?" Shadow said, hoping that it was her best friend.
"Who am I kidding" she thought to herself. "If this isn't Darkrai, then it must be Ace. Only he can become this powerful."
"Ace" Shadow shouted, running up to "Ace" and hugging him around the neck. She began to sob into his chest. "Ace" just stood there for a full ten seconds, seemingly having no idea what to do. In ten seconds, though, he returned Shadow's hug, rubbing the back of her head comfortingly.
"Not exactly." The creature said, seemingly chuckling. "But I still know who you are, Shadow."
"N-Nightmare?" Shadow asked, looking up into his eyes. "Are you his other persona, Nightmare?"
"Yes I am." The True Nightmare said, looking into hers. He seemed to have no idea how to say what he was going to say. "I am Nightmare. It will be all right."
"You seem calmer than the last time we met." Shadow said, pulling Nightmare closer.
"I am still part of Ace Hunter"Nightmare said. "Since he would not harm you, neither would I".
"So how did you escape the Master Ball?" Shadow asked, remembering the Master Ball exploding.
"You think that weak piece of metal could hold me?" Nightmare asked, his tone displaying surprise.
"But it cracked." Shadow said, her tears returning as she buried her face in Nightmare's shoulder, which felt surprisingly warm (you know being Darkness and all). "And it exploded and I thought I'd lost you forever."
"Don't worry" Nightmare said in a voice that resembled Ace's more than his own (even though his voice was a twisted, sinister version of Ace's) as he hugged Shadow tightly as if she would disappear if he didn't. "I'd never leave you Shadow. I love you and won't let anything happen to you. It just took me a while to figure out that I should let Nightmare take over because he is far more physically powerful than I am. I could feel your sadness and decided to use any means necessary to escape and comfort you."
"You did all that for me?" Shadow asked, looking into Nightmare's eyes, which didn't seem so angry.
"Yes" Nightmare said.
"Shadow" Kiria said from behind the Dark Empath. "Get me out of this thing."
Shadow pulled away from Nightmare and turned around to find Kiria trapped in a field of pure Darkness, however it was translucent. It didn't seem to be harming her, just preventing her from escaping.
"Why is she trapped in there?" She asked Nightmare. She knew Ace was in there somewhere, but she had no idea what kind of person Nightmare was.
"When I become this powerful" Nightmare explained. "My aura affects anyone around me with horrendous nightmares. That field is the only thing protecting her."
"Get it off of her." Shadow said calmly.
"It will disappear when I'm out of range." Nightmare said, turning around. "When it does, I want you two to run. I will send Eon, Ho-Oh, and all the workers here. Wait for them and escape."
"Why?" Shadow asked the Ultimate Nightmare. "Aren't you going to come with us?"
"Ace Hunter will join you after I kill the twins and destroy this building of abominations." Nightmare said.
"You seem to be excited for that." Shadow observed.
"t's not everyday I get to kill the twins and blow up a building." Nightmare said. "Now remember: when Eon and Ho-Oh arrive with the workers, you all need to escape. Have Ho-Oh transport you all to the school and wait for Ace Hunter there."
"All right" Shadow said, understanding.
"Be safe" Nightmare said in Ace's voice before turning around and walking away.
With Eon and Ho-Oh
The twins stared down at their fallen opponents, remaining in their pokéformes just in case.
"They lasted longer than I expected they would." Archie said, pondering.
"Still they fell." Maxie said.
"But they have weaknesses to both of the attacks." Archie said. "They survived until the end of the attack. No one we've ever used this attack on has ever lasted that long."
"It's because they're legendaries" Cyrus said from his seat behind them at the wall. "They're in a class all their own."
"But we're more powerful than them." Maxie said, confused.
"Maxie." Cyrus said, shaking his head. "I've taught you both time and time again that you shouldn't underestimate an opponent because of his or her looks. They have power inside of them that may match yours. Especially the Dark one. That's why I acted quickly and used the Master Ball on him instead of fighting him."
"What's so powerful about him?" Archie asked. "The Master Ball could him so that was no big deal. He probably has no hidden power."
As if on cue, every being in the room felt a tremendous Dark power approaching them. Ho-Oh and Eon writhed in their sleep, seemingly tormented by something. Even Cyrus, who was normally a stone wall, seemed afraid of this power. The twins clenched their fists in an attempt to psych themselves up to face the power that they felt.
The doors burst open as a creature that resembled a demon walked into the room. Dark fields immediately surrounded Eon, Ho-Oh, and the workers.
"His aura" Cyrus (the only one who could read auras) said with fear. "It is exactly like Ace Hunter's. That monster is Ace Hunter."
"A-Ace?" Eon weakly asked, waking up.
"That's Ace?" Ho-Oh asked, looking at the creature in front of her.
"That must be what he became that caused mom to be unable to see him." Eon deduced.
Immediately after they realized that the shadows opened up beneath them, drawing them all in.
"What's going on?!" Eon shouted as she, Ho-Oh, and the workers were pulled into the shadows.
"You're being transported to Shadow" Nightmare said as they disappeared. "Once there, have Ho-Oh transport you to Pokémorph."
"So this is his pokéforme." Maxie said, summoning energy from the Earth into her claws. She ran up to Ace (Nightmare) and slashed at him, but missed. The reason she missed wasn't because she had bad aim; it was because Nightmare had dodged her attack and had shoved his fist through Maxie's chest, despite her having heavy armor.
"What are you?!" she gasped through the pain and blood leaking from her chest. "How did you escape the Master Ball?! It was supposed to be able inescapable, yet you've escaped. How?!"
"I am Nightmare." Nightmare said, removing his fist from her chest.
"I think it's time we showed him our true power." Archie said.
"Agreed" Maxie said, using Recover.
The two of the touched orbs that they had on their chests that were previously invisible. After they had touched them, a red field with an Omega symbol surrounded Maxie, while a blue one with an Alpha symbol surrounded Archie.
When the light died down the two of them had undergone some great physical changes.
Maxie had grown to almost twice her size, the black stripes on her body turning the color of lave. Her red armor had lightened by at least three shades as well. The white spikes on her body turned black. Her tail lengthened and sort of uncurled. Her eyes lightened to the color of lava. At first Nightmare thought this was Mega Evolution, but he soon figured out that this was something far different. He decided to refer to it as Primal Reversion. After completing her Primal Reversion, Maxie gave a roar of challenge to the True Nightmare. Her aura had become visible and was the color of lava.
Archie had grown larger too. His rear fins had become longer as his body changed. The red lines on his body became white as they slightly altered. Symbols moved along his back until they appeared on his head and went under his eyes. His eyes became larger and more threatening as the symbols curved underneath them. Once his Primal Reversion ceased, Archie gave his own roar of challenge. His aura had reached its peak and was visible and dark blue.
"Oh, this is gonna be fun" Nightmare said, chuckling a little as he walked up to his two opponents.
With Shadow and Kiria
The Dark field around Kiria dissipated as Nightmare left. She fell to the ground as her momentum gave way (she'd been leaning on the field, trying to push it). Shadow ran over and helped her up, brushing some of the dirt off of her.
"Thanks" Kiria said, brushing some of the dirt off of herself. "What was that thing?"
"That was Ace" Shadow said, beginning to chew on her bottom lip in anxiousness. She knew what the twins were capable of. Did Ace stand a chance, even as Nightmare?
"That was Ace?!" Kiria repeated, making the statement a question. "That monster was Ace?"
"When he releases his hold on the monstrous nightmare powers inside of himself." Shadow explained. "He did that to break out of the Master Ball and defeat the twins."
"Why did he put me in that field" Kiria asked. "When he didn't put you in one?"
"His aura can cause Pokémon to have nightmares." Shadow explained. "So he put up that field to protect you from them."
"Can he beat the twins" Kiria asked, a little worried. "Whoever they are?"
"I think so" Shadow said. "But I'm not entirely sure."
"I believe he can" Kiria said, cheering for her friend.
"I do too" Shadow said.
Suddenly Eon, Ho-Oh, and all of the workers that were held hostage came up from the floor, cloaked in shadows. Eon and H-Oh were barely conscious, but the workers seemed to be fine.
"Eon! Ho-Oh!" Shadow cried, running over to her two friends. "What happened to you guys?"
"The twins." Eon said. "I almost got the Eon Gate open enough to obliterate those two, but my stupid body gave out."
"Is Ace in there?" Shadow asked.
"Yeah, he's in there." Eon said. "Or whatever he's become."
"What do you mean?" Shadow asked, confused at Eon's statement.
"You mean you didn't see him?" Eon asked. "That demonic, shadowy thing?"
"That's Nightmare" Shadow said. "He's what Ace becomes when he releases his nightmare powers."
"Well, whatever he is." Ho-Oh said weakly. "He's about to hand the twins their asses."
"Ho-Oh" Eon said, coughing. "Take us to the school."
"On it" Ho-Oh said.
"I'm going to help Ace" Shadow said, running towards where Nightmare and the twins were.
"Be careful" Eon said.
"Why aren't you going to try to tell her to stay?" Ho-Oh asked, confused.
"When it involves Ace" Eon said. "Nothing will stop her. Take us Ho-Oh. Shadow and Ace will catch up."
Ho-Oh nodded and summoned a portal beneath the legendaries and the workers, taking them to Pokémorph High. Once there the janitor, Mr. Sugimori (or Ken as he preferred to be called) was startled in the middle of his drawing, which resembled a Rhydon. Kiria explained everything to the man, who nodded and got some ice packs for Eon and Ho-Oh.
With Shadow
The Dark Empath ran down the hallway as fast as she could, too shaken up over almost losing her best friend to use her Synchronize ability to get there faster. When she reached the closed door that concealed Nightmare and the twins, she slowly and quietly opened it, careful not to make any noise. She silently looked in to watch the fight between her best friend (sort of) and two of the most sadistic and cruel beings she'd ever encountered.
With Nightmare
The twins were not going to underestimate their opponent this time. They had decided to go all out, using their ultimate attack: Gaia's Wrath. The power of the move as increased due to their Primal states.
Archie summoned the Water energy that gathered as orbs near the ceiling. Maxie punched the ground with Earth energy, causing an area around Ace with a diameter of three feet to appear below him, glowing the color of lava. The entire time Nightmare hadn't moved an inch.
After about thirty seconds the twins released the energy they had stored up. The orbs of Water energy rained down on Nightmare while pointed, explosive spikes of Earth energy stabbed at him from underneath. A large number of explosions followed, concealing the result of the attack from both Shadow and the twins.
When the smoke cleared, not only was Nightmare unharmed, but he hadn't moved an inch.
Maxie and Archie couldn't contain their fear as Nightmare slowly walked toward them, Darkness radiating off of him.
"my turn" was all he said before summoning two swords made of pure Darkness.
With Shadow
Shadow looked away in her hiding place, knowing that Nightmare wasn't going to let the twins leave the factory alive. She heard the sounds of swords swinging, blood spurting, and screaming, followed by the sound of energy being released, and then silence.
She looked out to see Nightmare standing in between two piles of ashes she guessed were Archie and Maxie.
With Nightmare
Nightmare walked toward Cyrus, who was visibly shaking with his fear. In Nightmare's hand appeared a ball of Darkness almost as black as his own heart. Cyrus looked at it, sweating profusely, the sheer thought of what Nightmare might do with it almost driving him to insanity.
What Nightmare did with it, however, was grab Cyrus by the head and shove it in his face, causing the effects of the Dark Void to triple due to point black contact. Cyrus writhed in his own nightmare before collapsing over, dead.
"That" Nightmare said, coldly. "was for the Master Ball. And for hurting my friends."
"But" Nightmare said, looking around. "This abomination of a factory still needs to be eliminated."
With that, Nightmare summoned forth Dark energy into his chest, launching the orb of Darkness into the air.
"Nightmare Hell's Comet!" Nightmare shouted, causing the orb to grow
After about five seconds, it exploded, raining down powerful bursts of Darkness all around. In about thirty seconds, the factory would be dust. If he hadn't used so much power escaping the Master Ball, he could've destroyed it sooner.
Nightmare collapsed, reverting back to Ace Hunter before hitting the ground. Before he actually touched the ground, however, Shadow ran over and caught him, picking him up bridal style (or in this case was it groom style?).
She summoned the powers of the shadows to transport her and Ace to the Hall, effectively using Shadow Force.
"Funny" she said to an unconscious Ace as they traveled through the Distortion World to reach their destination. "This is like the twenty fourth time I've carried an unconscious you back to the Hall."
Ace muttered something in his sleep. Shadow couldn't make out what, but it sounded somewhere along the lines of "thanks".
When she arrived, Arcey looked at Ace and shook her head, a smile on her face.
"I guess he'll get his answers tomorrow." She said, psychically carrying him to his room, tucking him in. Maura walked in and snuggled under the covers with him, falling asleep quickly even though it wasn't very late (it was around 7:00 PM). Shadow giggled and crawled into bed as well, shrugging her shoulders as she cast Sleep Powder on herself to fall asleep quickly and join Ace in his dream.
In an unknown location (to the reader anyways)
The man walked out of the shadows, throwing the girl down onto the ground before his "employer", a man cloaked in shadows. The man in the shadows looked at the girl with slight curiosity.
The man that had held the girl wore a black uniform with orange borders. Part of it had been ripped off, probably in a previous struggle. His face showed calculation and cunning. His hair resembled a fire, due to its shape and orange color. His eyes were ice blue and he had an orange goatee.
"This isn't the key" he said, his voice showing irritation.
"This is her descendant." The orange haired man said, ignoring the irritation altogether.
"So it would seem" the shadowy figure said, chuckling. "And you stole her from right under Arceus' nose. I have to say, Lysandre, that's impressive."
"Right" Lysandre said. "So can you break free yet?"
"Unfortunately no" the shadowy figure said. "I'll still need the other key to do that"
"But then you'll be free, right?" Lysandre asked curiously.
"Yes" the shadowy creature said. "And then I shall take my revenge upon these wretched mortals."