.
.
.
Isle of Armor, Tower of Waters
Most deadly errors arise from obsolete assumptions.
-the Bibliographer's Creed
.
Henry Sword saw the storm form as he reached the very pinnacle of the Tower of Waters. He stood on the edge of the roof, and realized that Kubfu had come out of its Poke Ball of its own accord as the tempest swelled. Something touched Henry's heart with love, and he felt as though his world contracted, and a new man-not a boy-emerged from his mind.
"What are you doing?"
The voice was the voice that had commanded empires to rise or fall. "I am at the Tower of Waters to stay safe from the attack. What are you doing? Why has this Pokemon come out of its Poke Ball?"
"Because the Elohim knows that it is at the end of its journey. I am the water, wherever it might be found. I am the Soul of Kyogre. I rest nowhere long, but ever since the Beginning, Men have loved me, but do not know why. I congratulate the Elohim for pursuing its destiny. But my concern is with you, Henry Sword. You are pursuing your own heart, not your destiny."
"My heart is a traitor," Henry said to the water. "It doesn't want me to go on and keep fighting."
"That makes sense to me," the water said. "Naturally, your heart is afraid of losing everything it loves. You should listen to both your heart and your terrible purpose, because if you do not, it will never be quiet. It will repeat truth about the world until the end."
"So I should listen, even if it is treasonous?" Henry said. "My heart is also afraid that it will have to suffer."
"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with Arceus and with eternity. Your terrible purpose will complement this."
"Why doesn't my heart want to follow my dream to have the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield?"
Kubfu seemed to be in a dialogue with the water as well, but now it was revealed that something had changed. Now it was not the water that spoke but the wind.
...
"I am the wind. I am the Soul of Rayquaza. I tarry where I will and delight in all places on Earth, from the grass and the great trees and mountains in lands that sunk below the waves long ago. The water does not know the answers to what you speak of. Your heart needs to be healed, Henry Sword."
"Can you answer my question?" Henry said to the wind.
"Yes. Following dreams is what pains the heart above all else. A man's help does not always help him. When it does, it also helps others who are trying to realize their destinies and terrible purpose. But hearts do help children, Pokemon, drunkards, and the elderly as well. This means only that the heart will do what it can."
"I am afraid for Casey. She needs to be healed with me. So much healing needs to be done to so many people. What are you doing to heal Kubfu's heart?"
"I am speaking to it in a language that you could not understand. All you need to know is that it dreams more of coming home than leaving. All hearts will be healed or marred in time. Tell me, Henry Sword, why are you called a gear master?"
"Because that is what I am," Henry said. "I am a gear master because I am a gear master. I learned the science from my father, who learned the science from his father, and so on, back to the creation of the world. In those times, magic formulas could be written on blades, and strange relics could be made by Pokemon and Men. But people began to reject simple things, and wrote tracts, and interpretations, and philosophical studies. They also began to feel like they did things better than others. Thus, they lost the Art of Magic in this universe."
"I will tell you another thing that will heal your heart. The wise understood that this world is a marred reflection of Paradise. The existence of this world proves that another, perfect world exists. Arceus created the world so that, through visible objects, humans could understand His spiritual teachings and the marvels of wisdom. Magic was not only removed from sub-creation because people were no longer worthy of it. It became less permissible as the past became defined and by that, the future."
Henry felt that his heart healed a bit more. "But how do I help Casey?"
"I have only provided a third of the answer. It is better to ask the sun for more."
...
So the wind blew with all its strength, and the sky was filled with it. Henry and Kubfu were buffeted in the thunderstorm sent from Arceus. Then a ray of light shone on the boy's face, and the sun spoke to him.
"I am the sun. I am the Soul of Solgaleo. I ride in the heavens above all shadow. Hope is found at my rising. What do you need, Henry Sword, for me to heal your heart?"
"I need you to tell me how to help Casey's heart heal. If this happens then mine will be mended as well. The wind told me that you might know how to do this."
"You need to love, Henry Sword."
"How do you know about love?"
"From where I am," the sun said, "I can see the Soul of Arceus in the Soul of the World. It communicates with my soul, and together we cause the plants to grow and the beasts to seek out shade. From where I am, and I am a long way from the earth, I learned how to love. I know that if I came even a little bit closer to the earth, everything there would die, and the Soul of the World would no longer exist. So we contemplate each other, and we want each other, and I give it life and warmth, and it gives me my reason for living."
"But it's not love to be in one place like the ocean, or love to be roaming about like the wind," Henry rebuked. "And it's not love to see everything from a distance, like you do. Love is the force that improves and transforms people and Pokemon when joined together. Because when we love, we strive to be better than we are."
"If you want me to help you, then why do you chastise me?" the sun asked. "What would you have me do?"
"Tell me what real love is, or tell me where I can learn to heal my heart and Casey's."
"I am recognized as the wisest being in creation. But I do not know how to give you what you seek."
"Then whom should I ask?"
The sun thought for a moment. The wind was listening closely, and wanted to tell every corner of the world that the sun's wisdom had its limitations.
"Speak to the hand that wrote it all."
The wind screamed with delight, and the storm raged ever fiercer. The Tower of Waters groaned and swayed. And Henry did speak to the hand that wrote all. And when he did, he felt the universe fall silent, and decide not to speak.
...
He found Arceus and the Soul of the World. He felt a miracle happen, and he smiled. His heart was healed, and two persons now were happy. His father, who would have found the perfect disciple, and Arceus, because that disciple understood the glory of Himself.
And there was another thing. Kubfu had changed into a new form, because it now had understood what Arceus told it. It was the hand that strikes quickly and is free of blood, because it had learned the Soul of the World in the Tower of Waters.
"Thank you, Arceus. You taught me how to heal my heart and Casey's."
"I only invoked what you already knew. Trials still await, but now that your heart is healed, you will be able to meet them and live. Your enemies are three; to the Crown Tundra, you must go."
.
.
.
Freezington, one day later
Never disturb tradition. For example, a week is seven days. Seven! How powerful that number remains. Mystical. It is enshrined in the Hisuian Coda. The Orginal One made the world in six days, "and on the seventh day He rested." Good for Him! We all should rest after great labors.
-commentaries of Bibliographer Tessa Woodhall
.
"It seems that civilization is collapsing."
Magnolia stood a little ways apart from Peony as she pronounced her diagnosis. The Gym Challengers, along with other important members of Freezington and some even smaller surrounding outposts, had gathered around a worn cartographic table in the mayor's house. Radios and old plazmeld televisions revealed scenes of carnage from ruined cities and towns across the world. The Eclipse Alliance had returned with a vengeance, and won.
"From what we know, Roria and Galar are the only regions remaining under Association control," Magnolia said. "And it has only been a day since the attack began! This was an attack based solely on lightning tactics: an unexpected and devastating strike, right when the Association was hampered and occupied with cleanup efforts in Galar."
"What will the fleet do in the future?" Peony asked. "Warships are hovering above captured cities, or moving outwards to destroy or siege smaller targets. Combat mechs are imprisoning people in their city halls, Pokemon Centers, or Gyms. We think they are being given food and water from the scant reports, but this attack could only be a means to an end."
"Also, cities with major industrial centers have been seized, but not annihilated with thermal bombs," Bede said. "They might produce more warships, and more combat mechs in the factories. Why? When I was under Rose's wing, he taught me all about the Eclipse Alliance, and how flawed its ideology was. But nothing about this battle lines up with their beliefs. It's almost as if these vessels aren't being operated by members of Team Eclipse that somehow survived, or that those surviving members' priorities changed drastically."
"I understand what you mean," Peonia said. "I looked into Team Eclipse, or the Eclipse Alliance, when I was younger. It sounded pretty cool, but then I learned about everything else they did. Not pretty. But I'll agree with Bede. Pokemon are being harmed along with people, something that the old Eclipse Alliance tried to never do in its early stages. Also, part of their strategy was the slow infiltration of regions and religions, not a brute-force attack."
"Regardless, we will have to find the Rusted Shield to defeat both Eternatus and this fleet," Marnie said. "But without its companion, the Rusted Sword, I think that we will stand no chance. Casey is not communicating on her Rotom Phone, nor is Marvin. We can hope for the best, but it might be best to be realistic, not optimistic. We are at war."
There was silence for a moment. One of the members of Freezington spoke at length: "Well, we ought to go and find the Shield. Do you have any information? There's been some talk going on about strange doings in the south..."
"Exactly," Hop said. "Your deceased mayor told us that there is a cult in the south, that somehow got its hands on the relic. Say, what are Shaderoot Carrots? Have they been stolen recently?"
"Yes!" the woman said. "Shaderoot Carrots...good vittles. Legend surrounds them. Several were taken from our storehouses days ago. As for this cult, it is said that a group of squatters and degenerates dwells in the old Split-Decision Ruins. Strange murmurings around the Dyna Hill Tree in the farthest south have been heard. Even stranger, the southern tribesmen are flocking around the Crown Shrine."
"Then I propose an expedition to the Crown Shrine, firstly," Peony said. "I don't understand much about this Rusted Shield, but it means adventure, and a chance to protect the world. I've heard that the southern tribesfolk are friendly natives. We might be able to get more information about where to find this Shield, or something that might help."
"It will be a hard journey," another villager said. "It might take a week for a round trip, if we cover the minimum amount of ground a day. And you'll need a lot of equipment: water literjons, thermitents, energy caps, recaths, snowsnork, paragoggles, thermisuit repkit, baradye pistol, treadchart, filt-goggles, paracompass, ThermiPoke Balls, flamemelter, snowkit, fire pillar..."
"We don't need the whole safety manual!" Bede snapped. "We need speed. Could we please get going?"
From outside, a great roaring broke the mounting tension. There was a metallic thump, and the sound of snow being displaced and falling to the ground. "What was that?" Magnolia cried. "It could be another drop pod!"
"Not on my watch!" Peony left the cartographic room, walked out of sight. The sound of his footsteps faded as he went outside.
A yell filled the mayor's house.
"Come on out! There's a bloody spaceship outside, a big one!"
...
The Aether Foundation craft had folded space onto the ruin of the machine drop pod. Heavy bay doors opened, and new arrivals poured into Freezington.
Chairman Bronze Tercano, his face covered in red war paint, stepped onto the snow before the others. He saw Magnolia and the others come out to greet him, bewildered by the ship's sudden arrival. Pokedex Holders followed in Bronze's footsteps: Jake Albans, White, Red, Green, Blake, Leon, Sonia, Nessa, Raihan, and so many others. Mewtwo hovered out to the shock of everyone in Freezington. Sun stood by a clouded tank, filled with a freakish creature suspended amid blueish gas. Lusamine!
Henry and Casey came out with Moon and Tess, and saw Magnolia. What happened then seemed to occur on its own. They embraced, without any apology from Magnolia about abandoning them to their own resources, or complaint from henry and Casey about the peril that they had endured.
Presently, they stepped apart, looked at each other and the mob of dozens that had come from the spacefolding craft. "Lusamine brought us here, and all the other Pokedex Holders," Tess said. "With the aid of my abilities, she was able to fold space to the location of each surviving Pokedex Holder and bring them to the Crown Tundra, along with a few others. Lusamine will be essential to our plan to defeat the New Eclipse Order."
"Surviving?" Magnolia said, worried. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Two were lost." Tess's voice went quiet. "Black and Whitley. They will be mourned, but we have to make do with what is given to us. Oh, and we found the Rusted Sword."
The various threads of conversation grew louder and more spirited, as old friends greeted each other, exchanged jokes, and discussed what to do next.
"Another reunion of the Pokedex Holders!"
"You know how I always like those, but it should have been under better circumstances."
"So, we need to look for a rusty shield? Then what?"
"The Grand Bashar has led us to freedom, Gold! We will rally the legions of Roria and triumph over the evil Eclipse Lords and thinking machines-"
"Shut up, Emerald. Go stick your 'Preacher' nonsense where the sun doesn't-"
"I still don't understand why we didn't find Black."
"Why is Mewtwo here?"
"..."
"It's high time for another Rorian Jihad, one that doesn't repeat the mistakes of the first!"
"How did they come back? It makes no sense! Even if we kill the two, what about Eternatus? Atomics don't work on it!"
"That's what we came here to find, Crys. A thing that can destroy Eternatus."
"Order!" Bronze shouted, standing on a piece of metallic wreckage. "I call for order! I will tell everyone here that has not already heard what has transpired, and what we are to do now to defeat our enemies! In the name of Arceus, I swear that I will defeat the New Eclipse Order or die in the doing."
Continuing, Bronze spoke as the dozens of people stood at attention. Lillie activated a recorder, storing the footage on a private network to spread out to the people of the world. The Grand Bashar needed to be heard.
...
"One day and four hours ago, two men resurrected through the means of what we assume to be ancestral possession found an outpost, and activated a hidden fleet of military-grade frigates that had been embedded in the moon, likely since the defeat of the Eclipse Alliance or even before that. They broke through our orbital defenses and descended upon our cities and towns. Millions are dead, killed by artillery, combat mechs, or thermal bombs. Millions more are enslaved under a junta regime. Only Roria and Galar remain free."
"I will not pretend that I fully comprehend the magnitude of this disaster, or can understand the senseless loss of life due to what I believe was an act of spite. We here are the world's last hope. I will also not attempt to decrease the stakes at hand. Nothing less than the extinction of humanity is in the balance. The New Eclipse Order may fall if we attack now with our warships, but they have another advantage: the demon lord Eternatus. We cannot match it without the aid of something far older and more powerful than military might: magic!"
"Therefore, we must go into the Crown Tundra and find the Rusted Shield and the Two Princes of Galar, Zacian and Zamazenta, to destroy Eternatus once and for all! Many lives will be lost before the end, but I already have the blood of millions on my hands, due to my complacency and a tendency to underestimate the resources of my foes. Hear my words: my soldiers will fight and die for me on the open battlefield, and in the coming conflict that is sure to come. The Typhoon Struggle, one among many, is upon us. I am not afraid to wet my hands a little more."
"It is our hope, our only hope that Zacian and Zamazenta, the armies of the Association that still remain, and the powers of Mewtwo and other Elohim combined will be enough to triumph in the end. Yes, our enemies possess bullets, bombs, and the mindless cogs of industry, but we have one advantage that will turn the tide of this sudden war: our foes have few Pokemon. Against the power of the Children of Arceus combined, neither hail of metal death nor storm of burning energy will avail those who stand against us!"
"People of the word, hear my words! If you are under the control of the New Eclipse Order, resist in whatever way you might! Destroy warships! Pillage intact factories! Riot and break combat mechs! Free your brethren! The Association still lives! The Free Peoples still live! Prepare for a great conflict in the coming weeks. Flee to Galar or Roria with your families, if you must do so. But know that even in the darkest places, a glimmer of hope is found. We have a seed of hope."
"And remember that our foes are enemies of Arceus, and those who oppose the Original One will falter. We have Arceus on our side, and I see His word. We are commanded to fight against the servants of the Mbelekoro, and not waste our time with surrogates such as the Macro Cosmos corporation! One cannot go against the word of Arceus."
Bronze raised his fist in the air. "I declare a second Rorian Jihad against the Eclipse Alliance and all that stand with them! We are small when apart, but many drops of water form a great river, and many grains of dust change the mountains. In the name of Arceus, we must go to war. Against the brute efficiency and inhumanity of our adversaries, we have only the capacity for compassion, imagination, and love. It will have to be enough."