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Freezington
Sometimes there is nothing left to do but scream.
-Chairman Bronze Tercano, final memoirs
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"Are you staking everything on the words of a drunken old man?"
"We think there might be a nugget of truth in his story," Hop said, leaning across one of the Freeze Inn's lobby tables. "We propose an expedition into the Crown Tundra to find the Rusted Shield and take it away from the hands of the cult that might harbor it! Do we really have anything better to do while we're here?"
Magnolia sighed, glancing at Peony and his daughter, several paces away. "No, we don't. But we aren't prepared for the frozen wastes, especially not at my age. You told me that those two were planning something. Do they have the knowledge and experience to roam the Crown Tundra?"
"Might," Bede said. "Who goes and tells them that we need their help?"
"Oh, we'll all do it," Magnolia scoffed. "I know that you want to be with that girl. I am old enough to see these things! You are attracted to her because she has what you do not: a father. She will be attracted to your maleness for the sake of your maleness. Do not try to hide your desires from me. The eyes of old women see much."
Bede went rather pale, attempted to obfuscate, but then fell silent. Magnolia stood and walked over to Peony, saw that the man was looking at a portable emergency radio. The device was a whirlwind of sound, giving hundreds of frantic reports from across the world. "Excuse me, young man, but you might be able to assist me and my young wards-"
Peony turned to face the professor, and Magnolia saw that his face was livid with fear. "Ma'am, there's something going on. You're that researcher on Dynamaxing, right? Well, get an earful of this!"
Magnolia listened, and heard someone hailing in a broadcast from Nimbasa City. "...repeat, we are trapped in the buildings near Pokestar Studios! The robots are cutting off routes and herding people into the Gym Complex! Pokedex Holder White is unaccounted for! Thermal burners are being used, and our devices not connected to Rotom or Porygon are malfunctioning! Send aid-"
There was a roaring noise, and the transmission cut off. "Something's going on in Nimbasa! Try another network."
Peony flipped to Saffron City. "This is an automated message. Gym is overrun. No reports from Cerulean. Radio tower damaged: scrambler net offline. Machine uprising. Repeat, machine uprising. This is an automated message. Gym is overrun. No reports from Cerulean..."
Lumiose City's emergency network only had radio silence on the airwaves. It seemed that Rustboro had fallen as well. "Seven spaceworthy vessels have descended on the city! Massive casualties! Machine death squads are moving people to the Gym and the Devon Corporation headquarters is occupied! All law enforcement personnel are to withdraw to Slateport!"
"Wait, check Galar," Marnie said. "Is there anything about this attack on the mainland?"
Wyndon seemed to be in better straights. "...twelve vessels repelled. Heavy damage to Wyndon Stadium and the Rose of the Rondelands Hotel caused by thermal burners! Association fleets are forming a perimeter around the region. Stay inside and do not interact with destroyed combat robots or inactive drop pods. Martial law has been enacted by the International Police Commissioner. Chairman Bronze Tercano has been contacted."
"What is going on?" Peonia cried. "Is this a terribly unfunny joke? I still don't know what this attack is about or how big it is! Daddy, do you know what's happening?"
A message from Roria filled their ears. "From what we know so far, a fleet of armed frigates appeared about an hour ago over an indeterminate number of major cities and towns. Some areas have been occupied by combat mechs sent from drop pods. The use of thermal burners has been reported. For citizens wishing to protect themselves and their families, know that combat mechs can be destroyed with Pokemon attacks. If you are a trainer, fighting back is not a hopeless cause!" Footsteps were heard, and then the broadcast resumed. "New reports say that individual drop pods are landing in smaller towns and villages! We will be back once the situation becomes clearer!"
And on and on the harbingers of devastation came.
"Sootpolis City is under attack! Heavy machine fire has breached the sea walls! We're suffering heavy flooding and require immediate evacuation!"
"We are coming live from Sinnosui! Veilstone City has fallen! Rocks slides resulting from a bombardment of the surrounding mountains have annihilated most of the outskirts! Request for weapons drop or evacuation!"
"This is from Shalour City. Everything is fine. We do not need help. If you are coming to help, please turn away. Everything is fine and other reports from this city should be ignored. We are human and trustworthy. Do not come to Shalour and divert resources from other defense efforts. Everything is fine and there is nothing to worry about."
"Something is very wrong," Magnolia said, swallowing. "Something is very, very wrong."
...
No one thought to step outside until they heard a faint whistle quickly growing into a howl coming from the cloudy sky. Looking through a window, Hop saw a silvery bullet that tore through the atmosphere, then recognized the unexpected hum and whine of thrusters. A squarish object plummeted through the sky, spun about, and see-sawed in the open air as if choosing a place to land.
Magnolia noticed the new arrival, and had everyone leave the inn to take a look. The drop pod slowed, quad engines breaking its descent. Then, less than a few hundred yards from where they stood, the object slammed into the city square like the hand of a Machamp meeting a plazcrete block. A spray of dirt and snow shot upward before the mayor's house, embracing a tendril of dark soot that rose from the pod.
"Get ready," Peonia said, jabbering excitedly. "That's a drop pod! The thought of crushing some thinking machines gets my blood pumping. Come on, let's go!"
From inside the pod was a mechanical object the size of two men, with protrusion and components that hummed and moved, awakening now that it had landed. People came out of buildings to take a look at the strange machine. A spacecraft, perhaps? Such an exciting thing hardly ever happened in the desolate settlement.
Nathan Allen stepped out of his house, overzealously standing before the open pod. The combat mechs inside blinked ocular receptors, moving mechanical limbs, articulated claws, and complex machinery. Nathan Allen stepped through the churned sand at the edge of the pod. "What this ud be worth at th' tradin' towns! This village 'ill get th' largest salvage sale n' histery!"
The brash mayor, to the horror of the dozens of onlookers, grabbed an empty Poke Ball from his belt and threw it at a combat mech. It struck the composite material with a clunk.
The mech froze, then turned its lenses and weapons to the lone assailant. Nathan hunched on bended knees in the snow.
One of the bot's cannons flared blinding white. A gout of coherent flame engulfed Nathan and threw him backward in a crackling cloud of incinerated flesh and bone. A wad of smoldering clothes struck the town hall's door, along with charred pieces of the mayor's hands and feet.
Peonia screamed, and Magnolia ordered them to retreat back to the Freeze Inn. The foolish mayor had drawn the attention of the mechanical thing and paid with his life. The mechs poured out of the modular pod, setting fire to buildings and firing on any citizens too slow to get out of harm's way. Hop stopped before the threshold of the Inn along with Bede, sending out their Pokemon.
"These demons won't take Freezington, not while we're here!" Bede proclaimed. "These stupid machines won't know what hit them! Attack!"
Hop's Dubwool came in fast, its four legs making a pounding, rhythmic motion in the exposed ground. A mech waved its sensor arms and weapons systems, sending that it was being attacked, but not understand how until it was too late. The bot went flying, crushed into glass-like pieces and broken shards of metal.
Several more white-hot blasts of fire penetrated the loose snow, but Bede's Hattrem crushed two mechs with its ponytail-like growths. Peony's Copperajah charged, its mouth swallowing a bot whole. The drop pod was next, exploding in a stray attack, blown into clattering components. The remaining mechs lost integrity, power, and fell to hibernation, easy to destroy or disable.
In minutes, the foes were destroyed, scattered around the town square. Small groups of citizens extinguished the growing flames with Water-types or foam cannons, containing the blazes spread by the machines. "Yeah!" Peony shouted, sending back his Pokemon. "That's what I'm talking about! A good old-fashioned machine smashing, like back in the Jihad!"
"Well, you boys helped save the town," an old woman said, wrapped in a thermiblanket. "Anything that we can help you with you'll get. What can we do for you, young masters?"
"Something is happening in the wider world," Bede said. "Everyone in this town is going to have to band together and help us with our plan. We're going into the deep Crown Tundra, to the farthest southern latitudes. We lost our one source of information, the mayor, so everyone is going to have to help us find a rusted shield out in the frozen wastes, and unless you want these bots to return, you'll help us!"
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Isle of Armor
Ai! Ai! The dragon of sin and self lies in all the hearts of humanity! Beware, for I am the dragon!
-Mewtwo, Haraq-al-Ada recordings
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"As I said, we must venture to the Crown Tundra," Mewtwo said, stoic and immovable. "Our only hope to defeat this new Dark Lord and his armies lies there: the Rusted Shield. I also deem that there is another being that will be valuable to the cause of Free Humanity: Calyrex Tor-Oyarsa. Are your thoughts confused by these revelations, Bronze Tercano?"
The Grand Bashar strode forward in a towering rage, and then viciously cuffed Mewtwo across the face. The being turned its head away, tensing its muscles.
Mewtwo turned back to Bronze, and something in its eyes suggested grief. It spoke with a deliberate lack of emphasis. "I think we should be friends, Bronze Tercano. What I do now is out of friendship. I shall forget that you struck me."
"Where were you fifty-two years ago, during the Battle of the Demon's Tomb?" Bronze said, overcome with rage. "Where were you during the Darkest Day? Where were you defending the world when these warships attacked? And you swoop down and save us! Marvelously noble! How courageous! As if waving your piece of silverware about and destroying a few robot frigates should make me forgive you for your inaction!"
"I am sorry," Mewtwo said. "But my hesitancy to fight was mostly borne out of my fear of causing civilian casualties. Also, the foe you face is beyond me. I am not an Elohim, however powerful I might seem. This is a War of the Powers, of the Spirits, of the heavenly authorities in the high and low places. We are fighting a losing battle on two fronts: the physical and spiritual."
"Then tell us what to do!" Moon shouted, a red flush appearing on her face. "What has happened? Why are we under attack?"
"Your two greatest enemies have returned from the dead and activated a fleet that had been built inside the moon," Lusamine said. "Most of the world has fallen. Industry and commerce are being seized by the New Eclipse Order. Millions are dead or enslaved, all in a handful of hours. Roria and Galar have the most weapons and the strongest trainers. And you, Bronze Tercano, are the leader of both these regions. The command of Free Humanity is yours."
"Hah!"
Bronze began to laugh maniacally. He grasped the Rorian League confederation lapel pin on his uniform, and cast it into the ground, kicking it away. Next, he took off his signet ring, hurling it at the ruins of the robot frigates in the surrounding ocean. The soldiers burst into a flurry of conversation. What was the Grand Bashar doing?
"Bronze, why are you doing this?" Moon asked, concerned. "Are you to flee from your duties?"
"Flee? Why do fools flee?" he said. "Better to run sooner than never, for run we must! Go back to your rat-holes! And I? I will burn, like the heathen kings of old! To the desert I will go! To the sands! No tomb for Bronze Tercano. No tomb! No long slow sleep of death. I will die in the desert like the ancient kings before ever a Hisuian ship came to the South. The South has failed. Go and flee!"
He was screaming now. "I know the truth! I am no god or devil! I am human! I am only human! I can't do anything to save my own empire as it crumbles around me from the machinations of my enemies! What good am I, then? This flaccid empire...I see what is useless. Me! I am useless!"
"What is this for, Original One?" Bronze cursed at the sky, on his knees. "What is this for?! Am I being punished for being a hero? For thinking that I could save the world myself?! For thinking I was strong enough? Damn You, Arceus! I'll never be rid of my terrible purpose! A world that You created is not worth saving!"
Bronze's face looked like an impression of the fall of his empire. His great grief had exhausted him and made him despair of life. Everything had been lost. His road led to the desert: terrible purpose proved it.
The sight of this great man collapsing into a sorry pile of brokenness shocked Casey to her core. The death and terror of the past day had made her almost numb to the world, but such a visage was terrible to behold. Then, Casey resolved to do something that she felt had been a long time coming.
With Bronze hunched over on the ground without a single reason to get up again, Casey threw her Rotom Phone on the ground before him, the Pokedex application open. Lusamine made a warbling sound, foreseeing what she was about to do.
A booted foot came down on the device. Casey crushed her Pokedex underfoot, and then scattered the remains. "There! It's gone. The benefits of the device can't outweigh the costs. I am no longer a Pokedex Holder!"
Bronze cackled. "You think that will help?! Do you think that will help?! I destroyed mine years ago! No, the universe is not so forgiving. Terrible purpose...it won't let go! Once a Pokedex Holder, always a Pokedex Holder. No escape. No side door. Nothing at all!"
He looked to the East, toward Roria.
"My road leads to the desert."
"That's what you think?"
Tess had appeared, covered in soot, carrying a very unconscious Marvin. Her eyes were red with tears and wrath. "Really! You never learned to ask for help when you needed it, Bronze Tercano! Stop talking about walking into the Rorian desert to die is a choice you have! You always blamed your own Pokemon for your mistakes as a trainer when we were younger, and now you blame Arceus! What the hell, hero?"
"Stop calling me that!"
"Oh, you listen to me. You don't understand a single thing about Casey Shield or Henry Sword, and don't pretend like whining now that the sky is falling makes them more comfortable. You're a little boy that can't think of anyone but his own terrible purpose. Consider her feelings sometimes! She was crying her eyes out! And if you want to save people's lives and not have them waste their potential, then why can't you see what they need?"
"They don't need me."
"They do! You might think you've done enough. So, we lost! But can't you see that we'll win in the end? We'll kill Cypress! We'll kill Emrett! We'll make sure that the Eclipse Alliance will never return after this! What are you trying to prove?! There are wounded soldiers and people out there! These men have families, children, and they fight for you! You're standing by and letting them die leaderless! If you won't finish things, what was the point of everything? What was the point of your own existence?"
"I don't know. I need to take a walk."
Bronze ran to the far north of the island, dwindling in the fading sunlight into darkness, a running figure, silent and yet screaming louder than the ear could hear. "He won't be back for a while," Sun said, shrugging. "Someone is missing. Where is Jake Albans?"
"I don't know," said Tess. "Sun, Cheren, Moon, please come with me. We have to talk some sense into Bronze."
...
Jake and his team of soldiers went further into the tunnels of Eclipse Base Lethe, knowing that they had penetrated the heart of the New Eclipse Order's stronghold. Machinery, pipes, and coolant tubes turned the fortress into an industrial nightmare. Sonorous electrical pulses throbbed through machinery. Jake's Infernape went ahead, his Dhelmise guarding the contingent's rear.
"We'll find them," he growled. "Once we do, we'll send them to five separate hells!"
As if Cypress had been eavesdropping, the tangled pipes and wires on the tunnel walls began to shift, extending forward with clicking sounds. Disguised weapons systems set into place: guns, projectile launchers, and other menacing-looking devices. "Watch out!" Jake dived to the shelter of his Infernape's body.
But the others did not react quickly enough. A hail of sharp slivers and hot bullets showered them, turning them into red meat before Jake's eyes.
Projectiles hammered against Infernape's body. The Pokemon's skin easily repelled them, but it was only a matter of time before more effective weapons were used. Dhelmise covered Jake's exposed body, protecting him from a ricocheted shot.
"You will fail," Cypress's voice said, booming through the corridor. "You have no chance of success, little boy. Ah, Jake! I am glad I got to see you one last time."
"Fail? Recalculate the odds." Jake grabbed a scrambler grenade from his utility belt, and threw it down the hallway. The air grew searing hot as it detonated, destroying most of the machine's firepower. He went forward, and cut down three turrets with his pulsesword. The automated security system failed, burning and useless.
Infernape kicked down a protected door at the end of the passage, and burst in on an empty control room. A device with many wires protruding from it and a timer counting down to zero lay on a console.
Jake did not stop to investigate. He ran like hell.
He came back the way he came, shouldering aside grappling arms that had sprung out of the walls and tried to block his way. He scrambled up the bolthatch, sent out his Fearow, and flew upward to the surrounding cliffs.
A dazzling nova exploded behind him in a glowing sphere of disintegration, destroying the small chain of islands in the misty Girdle. Above the blast radius was a lone shuttle, engines roaring as it fled. A retreat craft!
Too late. The escape shuttle's bulkhead had already jumped to foldspace, taking it to Arceus knew where. Lord Cypress and his lackey had escaped.
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Isle of Armor
Arguing with Arceus? You will fail.
-Hisuian saying
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Bronze looked to the brink of the cliffs, wondering if he should jump and cast himself into the breakers below. Close behind him were Tess, Moon, Sun and Cheren, walking slowly. The clouds darkened the Moon; not even her huntress's radiance brightened the island. Only fires and lightning gave light.
"Curse the day I was born!" Bronze cried, turning to face the three. "It is said in old legends that whenever an eclipse happens, it is a demon springing to eat the light of the Sun and Moon. Yet if that demon consumed the light on the day I was born, it would starve, for there would be nothing but darkness. I should have died at birth. The rich and poor, the good and wicked alike have a time of peace. I only have trouble."
"Bronze, when we went through difficulty, you told us to trust in Arceus and have Hope," Tess said, setting the sleeping Marvin down. "Should you not have hope, if you are blameless?"
"If I do not have hope, it is because I do not have the strength to hope," Bronze said.
"Arceus would not cut off good people from His goodness," Tess said. "If you plow evil and sow trouble, you will reap those things. Simply put, you have done something to deserve what had befallen you. Can mortals be righteous before the Original One? Can the created be pure in the eyes of the Creator? And if spirits like Eternatus can fall, what about Men who build houses that turn into dust and have bodies that can be crushed like moths? My advice from years of wisdom is this: seek Arceus and be glad, for He has chosen to correct you from your sins!"
"Happy?" Bronze said. "Why should I be happy about this?"
"Arceus does this to help you," Tess said. "He wounds you, but He will wrap the wound. Repent of your awful pride and you will be made whole."
"My empire lies destroyed and my friends and people are butchered!" Bronze cried. "But I have never denied Arceus or doubted His words, when they came to me! Show me what I have done wrong to deserve this, and I will stop!"
"Your arrogance, your lack of pity, your pride," began Sun.
"When, and from which one have I not repented?" Bronze said. "You can't tell me, can you? Look me in the eye when you say I am not innocent!"
"Bronze, your words blow in the wind," Cheren said. "Arceus would not twist justice. If you were really pure He would have answered you by now. Consider your Rorian wisdom! Our days on Earth are brief, so we learn what we can from the words of the ancients. Think of a plant without water. That is a Man, you, who has forgotten Arceus! Deep crops and weeds are uprooted and cast away. Arceus will not get rid of the blameless. He will not help evil people! Repent, Bronze, and He will fill your mouth with laughter."
"Cheren, even if I was the purest Man alive, I would still need to beg for His mercy!" Bronze said. "To go before one as holy as Him, I would need a spirit to speak for me! But who? There is no one there. Why would Arceus allow this darkness in my life when I could have just stayed in darkness!"
"Words, words, words!" Sun scoffed. "Words won't bring you forgiveness. Say that you are innocent, but words so not make it so. Arceus recognizes deceitful Men, Bronze! He takes note of them. And foolish Men, who are no likely to become wise than a horse is to become a Man! What are you, Bronze? And evil Man, a lying Man, or a fool?"
"Where will people hear wisdom after you three die?" said Bronze.
"This is no time for sarcasm, Bronze," Tess said.
"You spit out a few words, but they are mixed with foolishness," Bronze said. "Look at the world! The upright and just go hungry while thieves prosper. Cheren, aged Men have the wisdom of many years, but all their knowledge comes from Arceus! Sun, you dare accuse me of speaking for the Original One, but your words are lies! Lies! Provos of ash and arguments of clay!"
"Bronze, we're just trying to help," Cheren said.
"Then be quiet!" Bronze cried. "I see now that no matter what happens, I must trust the Original One! Because he is just and good and my only hope! "
"Do you think we are stupid?" Sun said. "We have eyes! We can see the destruction Arceus has brought upon you! This is what happens to an evil man! Terrors rise around him and the world forgets him. Do you understand?"
"Yes, it is happening now!" Bronze said. "Have pity on me, Tess. Cheren and Sun, give me mercy. When I die I will see the Original One. But you! You say that my evil ahs brought this upon me? It is you who should fear wrath! The judgment of Arceus! If this is because of my wickedness, wait till you see what is coming for you!"
"How dare you?" Tess shouted. "You're the one being punished for your sins, not us!"
"You keep saying this is happening to me because I am wicked, but what have I done?"
"You kept it hidden, Bronze," Tess said. "Your evil must have tasted sweet, hidden under your tongue from the world, but hidden poison is still poison when swallowed! The wicked have only one fate! Arceus has rained his anger down on your kingdom and taken away what treasure you had! You are left with nothing but dust!"
"Tess, you say that the wicked die young," Bronze said. "False! Rain falls on the just and unjust! I don't know why. Only Arceus knows, and I do not understand His ways."
"Well, Arceus isn't punishing you for your holiness," Cheren said. "Evil people hide their sins from mortal eyes, but you can't hide from Arceus."
"But I have spent my life trying to serve Arceus," Bronze said. "I built churches and exiled the pagan priests and sorcerers. I removed degeneracy from the streets! Arceus knows my heart, but I don't hear any of His words! Men steal and destroy, the poor are hungry and cold. Murderers murder. Men and women commit adultery. Under cover of darkness, dark people do dark deeds. But compared to them, I am not wicked. Compared to Arceus, I am. And I would wipe that evil away if I had the power. But Arceus doesn't. Why? Perhaps I should be glad that He does not, because I would be wiped away too!"
"Are you listening to yourself, Bronze?" Sun said. "You have not said anything untrue. Arceus is powerful. But Men? Men are maggots! We are worms in the eyes of the Original One."
"Amazing, Sun!" Bronze said. "You have lifted my spirits! Tell me, where did you learn this 'wisdom?'"
"I am just telling you what I learned from other wise men!"
"Other wise men, I see," Bronze said. "Then I will not speak against Arceus as you have. He has taken everything but my wife and the bitterness of my soul. Men kill to steal riches, the upright earn their living. We seek gold and silver. Both can be bought and obtained by traffic. They can be found and given and taken. But gold and silver can be stolen and lost! In the end, they will slip away. But not the greatest treasure, which is wisdom! Not just learned knowledge, but that which comes from seeking and understanding Arceus."
Bronze clenched his fists, got down on his knees. "I long for the old days when I felt close to Arceus! In those days, when I walked through the darkness of the Jihad, I did so bathed in His light! All people respected me. Unlike you three, politicians and elders would listen when I spoke. Why? Because I was blessed, and passed on my blessings to those in need. I defended the oppressed, comforted the mourning. I helped the lame and blind! I was a philosopher-king! Now I am treated no better than the wild animals! Arceus has taken away my wealth and strength. I look for good but find evil. I look for light but find more darkness. I cry for help by no one answers, except you, who wish only to count my secret sins."
"That is the only thing that can explain what has happened," Tess said.
"No!" Bronze said. "I have been faithful to my wife, not even looking at another woman with lust! I speak truth! I helped those in need! I have never truly rejoiced at an Enemy's misfortune, but treated him better than he deserved! You don't have to believe me, but you're not judges! Arceus is! If you've said anything true, then why hasn't this judgement fell upon me sooner?"
"You are being punished," Cheren said. "But for what? As we have said, no one can know the ways of the Original One. This is like nothing I have ever seen, though."
"Stop!" Moon said. "I wanted to hold my tongue and give you your say. You should have been full of wisdom, but that was not true. All you have done, with all your experience, is argue with Bronze. You still haven't proven him wrong! You just condemn him for some secret sin!"
"Thank you, Moon."
"Don't thank me yet, Bronze," Moon said. "It's time for your wife to give you counsel. I have things to say as well. You complaining against Arceus for not answering and explaining Himself. But Arceus does speak, just not always as we expect or want."
Moon lifted her arms up toward heaven. Rain was beginning to fall. "A dream, wise words, a spirit, experiences, tradition, punishment. When Arceus speaks, it is to help you know Him better. When He punishes, it is to help you turn to Him. We all deserve worse than we get. He does what he does to turn us away from the darkness and into the light."
"Moon," Bronze said, "I am innocent but Arceus denies me the chance to speak. And He won't answer me when I ask."
"He's not denying you anything," Moon said. "If Arceus won't listen to dishonest pleas, if He doesn't address those who speak in arrogance, why would He answer now because you're tired of waiting? Arceus doesn't torment people needlessly. He is a teacher, who teaches His law, which He created. The universe answers to Him. Do you say He is silent? He is here in the rain! It is right to hear him! It is right to bow before whoever commands such a storm as this!"
...
"Yes, it is," Bronze said. "Are you here then, Lord?"
And Arceus answered.
Strong and free, a wind of power from Deep Heaven came out of the Girdle. Lightning crackled through the sky, dwarfing the pseudoatomic explosion to the eastern coast and filling the clouds with heaven's light. The rain came in orchestrated rhythm, a surging rise from unlit ocean-waves. It was a storm that separated cowardice from heroism, good from evil, washing the stage clean for a final slate. The storm roared in obedience to the roar of Heaven's drum, and Bronze cowered low from the sudden tempest.
The Original One spoke, and it seemed that His voice was stern, higher than the Firmament, deeper than the Abyss, a chord that stretched through all the atoms and planets and the angels and demons and people and Pokemon in all creation, within all creations.
"Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man, Bronze Tercano, for I will ask you questions, and you will answer me. You speak as if you understand everything, but your words lack my wisdom!"
"I was only answering their folly," Bronze said, pointing to the three.
"I am speaking to you and not them! Now, where were you when I laid the Earth's foundation? Surely you know! Wise you are among men, but I ask you not of where the wind goes and doth dwell, or how the footings of creation were set and all the stars and Deep Heaven sang for joy? Can you explain how it happened?"
"I know that You can do many things and that none can thwart Your plans. But why has this thing happened?"
"You must tell me! For have you seen the deep springs of the world, or walked in the recess of the deep? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death? What is the way to the abode of light, and where does the darkness reside? Can you take them from their places? You must! You have lived so many years! Can you bind the beautiful stars, or move Orion's belt? Do you have knowledge of the Laws of Deep Heaven? Can you set up My dominion over the Earth? Speak to Me, the hand that wrote it all. Will the one who contends with the Original One correct Him? Let him who accuses Me answer!"
"I do not know where these things are, Arceus. I am unworthy to reply to these things. I have no answer."
"I see. Would you discredit My justice? Would you condemn Me to justify your peril? Do you have an arm like mine that can perform great works? Can your voice thunder like I do? If so, then adorn yourself with majesty, and strike down your foes in the fury of your wrath, and make every man look upon you. Crush the wicked where they stand and bury them in the dust, and then I myself will admit to you that your own power can save you."
"So, that was it? I couldn't stop the Jihad or the Darkest Day or this attack because I took rule from your hands and into mine."
Bronze felt a current of love rush from the mighty storm, and he began to pray. It was a prayer he had never thought of before, because it had no words or pleas. In the pealing of the clouds, Bronze still did not understand why so many had to die for his failings, nor understand why all evil must exist. But he knew that the Original One had a reason for all of this, and only that One could perform miracles, or transform his dead heart into new flame. Because only that One understood that it was part of a larger work that had moved the universe to the point that at Six Days of Creation it had reached a Master Design.
Bronze reached through to the Soul of the Original One, and saw that it was a part of the Soul of Elyon. And he saw, that he, a man, could perform a miracle.
"Thank you, Arceus. I know what I did wrong. It was me who second guess without knowing the whole picture. Forgive me."
"I am not angry with you, Bronze. You had questions for me and about me but never spoke against me. I call you my servant and my friend. As for you three, Tess, Sun, Cheren! While I have spoken to Bronze to correct him, it is not because he angered me. You, however, spoke about my power and justice but ignored my mercy. You called Bronze a lair, a hypocrite, a sinner! You said I am punishing him. You have not spoke of me rightly, as Bronze has."
"Mercy, lord!" Tess cried. "Forgive us! Forgive us all!"
"I will accept Bronze's appeal on your behalf and will not give you all what you deserve. I will instruct you all. Henry Sword is in the Tower of Water with an Elohim. This one has fallen far from My grace, but I do not wish to abandon it until all chances for redemption have passed. He is speaking with the water, the wind, and the sun, and Me within them. How he fares is not yours to control. Now, cast off the name of Grand Bashar and become yourself again. I will be with you. Go now to the Crown Tundra and find the Two Princes."
And then Arceus left with more love and splendor and glory than He had arrived with, and Bronze now knew that this encounter was the third time he had met the Original One in His presence. The first had been in the Demon's Tomb long ago. The next had been in the Space between Space with Elyon. From then, he had known that another would have to occur. Something that happened twice would happen a third time.
The terrible purpose was still there, but there was another thing with it. Assurance that if this one world was not lost to the Darkness, he would escape. There was no other way but departure. Not to the desert, he now realized, but to another place.
As the four looked on, Bronze withdrew his Logarian dagger, and cut a thin line across his palm. He damped his fingers with the blood, slid them down his forehead. A Rorian tradition before war.
"All vegenace be over to Arceus. May He give me justice! The time has come for a second Rorian Jihad."