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Plains Of Har Meggido

Who is this coming from Deep Heaven, from Beuah, with His garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of His strength? It is the Original One, proclaiming victory at Har Meggido, mighty to save. The sword of Arceus is covered in blood, it is made fat with the flesh of His foes, and with the blood of Men and Pokemon: for the Original One hath made a sacrifice in Roria, and a great feast in the South-kingdom for the birds of the air.

-The Hisuian Coda

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As the battle had been finally won, Leon and Raihan flew on their Pokemon over the desiccated wasteland. They watched tens of thousands of fighters fill the whole field, walking arm in arm, hand in hand, singing, praying, praising Arceus, and looking at the retreating enemy army.

"This was what the War of Wrath looked like," Ego-Adaman said, to which Leon laughed long and loud.

"I was there," Ego-Adaman added. "The original Typhoon Struggle. The one where the Evil Djinn was overthrown for the first time."

Leon grinned. "I know what the War of Wrath is, Adaman. Rei told me. Were the soldiers rejoicing after the battle had finished, all the way back then?"

"I still remember the great celebrations," Ego-Adaman said. "No window was closed, and no man was grieved. For nearly a year the ceremony to honor the martyrs went on. All people from Hisui and the South-kingdom and Johto and many other lands came to Atun-Kaah, the City of Caves, for a great banquet. There we swore everlasting fealty to Arceus, and were honored beyond reckoning. Yet a shadow fell on Logaria, and they turned again to worship of the Dark."

About a mile from the L.S. Victory, the two could see where Bronze's capital ship had stalled. "They're probably deciding what to do next," Leon said. "I don't like our chances. Eternatus is probably already back at Castelia with the remnants of his army. While we have to fly for two days with our weapons, the bad guys will have already made up some new plan once we reach there."

Raihan returned to consciousness, looking behind them. He saw no more Dynamaxed Pokemon, the Darkest Day having ended. Strangely enough, although there were no drop pods returning to their home frigates, fewer and fewer soldiers were on the battlefield. A great cloud of dust was growing, and approaching the western sea rapidly.

"What's that?" Raihan asked.

"No idea," Leon said. He studied it and suddenly became alarmed. The cloud had formed in the east, and was now growing high into the sky, enveloping warships, fast-flyers, Pokemon, soldiers, the Swords of Justice, Henry and Casey, the Two Princes, and finally, the L.S. Victory. It was gaining on Leon and Raihan, huge and ominous.

On the backs of Flygon and Charizard, both were flying at over eighty miles per hour. Still the great storm caught and overcame them, and the three quickly made sure that their piloting goggles were sealed. The ground trembled and wind shook the two.

"It's people!" Leon shouted above the din. "Soldiers, warships, Pokemon!"

"They're running faster than we're flying!" Raihan said. "Look at them go! Smiling, laughing, singing! Like kids!"

"We wouldn't have needed our Pokemon to get around!" Leon said, flying under a frigate that was going the speed of a vessel with over four times its normal acceleration.

"Statin' the obvious!" Raihan said, laughing.

...

It had been Ruby's idea that the soldiers should try to make their way toward the western shore, in preparation for another long journey to Castelia. Still, the distance was too far to sail or even fly in less than two days, and with all their wounded to tend, it might be a week before the Vengeance Fleet could reach Eternatus's throne at their full strength. Lusamine had offered to fold space to Castelia, but she could only transport one vessel at a time.

So many warriors had begun the exodus toward the sea that it was impossible to tell who first got the idea of running. All that Gold knew was that a laughing, smiling group suddenly jogged past him. He decided to step along as quickly as he could, and then they began speedwalking, trotting, and soon they were at a full sprint. He felt as light as air, and while she was hardly running off the ground, it certainly felt that way.

Each step carried the soldiers further and further, and soon they were running faster than they ever had.

To Gold's amazement, he was not out of breath. Her strength and endurance remained, and so did that of the young and old alike. Ahead, Sapphire was running faster than he, and she was carrying an injured comrade! Piers caught up alongside Marnie.

A dust cloud rose, and now the vessels above were moving at the same speed as them, the wind pushing them westward. When the armies of the Vengeance Fleet caught up to and passed a Charizard and Flygon, Gold knew that they were running at miraculous, supernatural speeds. The wounded wanted to be let down so that they could run as well.

Half an hour later, the entire mass of a million men, women, and children, along with their Pokemon and warships had reached the sea of blood. They did not stop; rather, they rode on the blood, picking up ever more speed. Air resistance vanished, and now they were rocketing into the north at the speed of charging Accelgor.

Not one person was even breathing heavily. Which was good, Gold thought, because they had a long journey before them.

...

"Our engines can't reach these speeds in an atmosphere!" Bronze shouted. "Woodhall, make a projection!"

"No projection available!" Tess wildly said. "Grand Bashar, our engines have been turned off to conserve fuel. There is no scientific reason for us to go at the speed we are at. Our soldiers are following us over the seas of blood!"

The Vengence Fleet plowed through a storm caused by the seas turning into blood at superspeed, with their fighters on the ocean's surface continuing to race northward. The Power of Arceus moved them forth. Mewtwo and Deoxys were unaccounted for, but the Swords of Justice were present, and Latios and Latias. Glastrier and Calyrex had been left behind in the chaos, but Spectrier had returned to save

Henry and Casey had only begun to run once the dust cloud reached them, but they eventually outpaced it once they reached the ocean. Zacian and Zamazenta moved sluggishly behind them, the gods following the mortals. The combined force of the army passing over the oceans caused more bloody tidal waves to form in their wake.

"We're running on blood!" Casey shouted. "But it feels just water!"

"Yeah, water," Henry said. "By the way, how will we get anything to drink? What about the other innocent people that will die because of the blood oceans removing drinkable water? Ships can't travel across blood very well. What if the oceans never turn back to water?"

"Well, I haven't had a glass of water in over a day, and I'm not thirsty at all," Casey replied. "Maybe we no longer need to drink. And why should the oceans turn back to normal? This is the End of the World, right?"

"We don't know for certain."

"The signs are there. The Typhoon Struggle, and now the disasters. And all good things have to end, eventually."

The Vengeance Fleet had passed beyond Roria and was now in the disputed zone between Castelia and the Free Regions. Clouds of red mist covered the seas, sent upward in rolling plumes from the sun's heat. The host passed through unharmed, and the winds caused by their approach batted the steam away. The long journey continued.

The runners talked, made plans, and greeted each other all at impossible speeds. Gold had come up to the front of the advancing line, and no one had yet told him of Crystal and Silver's presumed fates. There was a strange and welcome feeling of oddity that after emerging alive from part of the Typhoon Struggle that the warriors would now be calmly talking to friends, old and new.

"I'm glad I get to meetcha," Sapphire said to Henry and Casey. "I thought we'd never get new Pokedex Holders again after th' skirmish in Roria a while back, but here you are!"

"I've heard of you," Henry said. "But hardly anyone hasn't heard of you. Being the Champion of Hoenn makes a person famous, no?" He looked at the sun, blinked, and then saw another thing. He also heard, along with every single member of the Association army, what sounded like a booming trumpet blast.

"What is that?"

...

With a crew alarmed by the noise of the trumpet, the L.S. Victory's scanners picked up a new object entering the Earth's atmosphere. It was no meteorite, but it was tiny, falling straight, and it had been descending for a very long time, yet had not been detected until then, as if it had been concealed. It radiated little heat, but seemed to consume light from the sun wherever it fell on the object.

"We project that it will land somewhere in Sinnosui," Magnolia explained. "Likely in the uninhabited northern regions. However, the increase in temperature from the, uh, mysterious worldwide oceanic phenomenon has caused all of the ice to melt. The object will probably land in blood."

"During those days people will seek death but will not find it," Bronze muttered. "They will long to die, but death will elude them. Prepare for another disaster!"

The Association sent an observation watcheye to view the falling object, but about half a minute later, the dark speck fell into a fissure that had suddenly opened in the Earth in the north of Sinnosui, near Snowpoint Temple. It was impossible for the single watcheye to approach the chasm without running the risk of being disintegrated.

A minute later, however, a geological eruption that registered high on the Richter scale appeared on seismology sensors all over the world. The thing that fell into the Earth had somehow triggered volcanic activity deep beneath the surface.

Astonishing the frigate crew, the first evidence of what had happened beneath the Earth was the sudden appearance of a mushroom cloud at least a thousand times bigger and launched with far more power and speed than any other weapon in history. Also, the massive eruption came from a chasm deep beneath the Earth's crust, something never before seen in standard blasts.

Rather than being carried on indiscriminate winds, the cloud billowed, oily, black, and thick into the upper atmosphere. Cameras over a thousand miles away from the eruption caught footage of it within minutes. Massive and growing, the haze spread equally in all directions and threatened to blot out sunlight all over the world.

The bloated sun's rays were strong enough to pierce the cloud cover, but the sudden smog prevented the sun from scorching any more Eclipse members. Loyalists poured out of bunkers and basements, thinking that they were saved.

"The source of the smoke is likely some colossal fire, coming from another dimension," Tess calculated. "What was the last thing we heard on the watcheye footage? Play it again."

In the instant before the shockwave of the blast eradicated the probe, the sound of buzzing, and metallic clinking. There were faint traces of chanted syllables, in Old Hisuian. The frigate's communication teams quickly translated the message with Moon's aid, revealing a message sent from the heavenly body that had fallen into the Earth.

"Woe, woe to the inhabitants of the Earth! Three woes have passed, one woe is here, three more are to come. Woe, woe, woe to the enemies of the Orignal One, for your doom is at hand!"

...

Before the Mouth of the Dragon's Throat embedded in the deepest of the caverns of Earth, Darkrai came to a halt. It put a small, ornate key into an equally small lock, and turned it.

There was a small flash, and the world was irrevocably changed. The gates of Sheol opened, and the fabric of reality began to unfold before Darkrai's eyes. Appointed to journey there at that very year, day, and hour, he was content as the hordes of the Evil Djinn were released.

...

Leon could see no more than ten feet through the smoke, but he trusted his judgment in continuing to ride northward. The skies were growing darker, and the clouds of steam that covered the seas were gone, the sun no longer hot enough to boil them. What was that noise? It sounded like a dull rumbling, punctuated by the occasional clang.

Below, Cobalion issued a warning to Virizion and Terrakion. "It seems that Darkrai has fulfilled its mission."

The rumble had become higher-pitched, and now had developed a metallic resonance. "It's like chains clanging together," Henry said. "Maybe aircraft, but how could there be so many?"

The sky was now as black as pitch and the racket deafening. Bronze spun to look at Moon, whose face reflected a similar concern. Metal against metal clanged until even the runners had to cover their ears. Rattling, piercing, all jumbled together, the rumble had become an irritating cacophony that invaded the smoke that heralded the sound's arrival.

Henry stared at the cloud of smoke, not breaking his pace, and felt his heart thunder against his ribs.

From out of the smoke resolved a swarm flying creatures; hideous, ugly, black and yellowish hovering monsters. Buzzing like locusts, they looked like miniature Beedrill five or six inches long, with tails like those of Skorupi. The creatures passed the Vengeance Fleet by, but images from around the world proved that the locust's purpose was not only to frighten and scare...

The hordes of locusts, too tame a description for the revolting beasts, cried out in a mournful keen: "Apollyon! Apollyon!"

"So, those things can speak!" Sapphire said. "But who's Apollyon?"

"The Elohim of the Abyss," Henry answered. "I think it's either Celebi or Darkrai. And strangely enough, I think these ugly bugs are on our side."

Several demon locusts descended into the runners, but did not sting. Henry felt one land on his arm, and was surprised to learn that he had further capacity for revulsion as he looked at it. The demons taking the form of organisms were ugly beyond belief, in contrast with the beauty of Arceus's creation.

Henry tried to pull the thing off, but it seemed stuck as if by suction. It felt like an amalgam of metal, slime, and spiky protrusions. He dug his fingers between the abdomen and his arm and yanked. The demon popped free, twisted in his hand, and tried stinging him from one end and biting him from the other. "Apollyon! Apollyon!"

Thought it had no effect on him, Henry threw the locust into the ocean of blood, and was soon a mile away from it. Another locust landed on his chest, and Henry got a better look at the hideous creature's body. There was a metal breastplate across its thorax that accounted for the metallic noise when it flew. The rear consisted of five more segments and the scorpionlike stinger tail. Sloshing venom dripped from the appendage.

Its compounded eyes were open, and it seemed to glare at Henry. In a strange way, it made sense. If these were demons, they must be madly conflicted. They would want to torture the allies of Arceus, but they were being forced by Darkrai and the Original One to torment only Arceus's enemies. What the Evil Djinn had intended for evil in the first rebellion, Arceus had used for good.

...

During the ensuing hours, the demon locusts attacked anyone who swore loyalty to the Eclipse Alliance or the Dark Lord. And those stung by their tails or bit by their fangs suffered so greatly that they wished for death, but their suicide attempts failed. Poison was rendered ineffective, Pokemon would not follow frenzied commands to harm their trainers, guns failed to fire, and bodies that threw themselves in front of cars were mysteriously rendered invulnerable.

Although the demons would move on after a victim had been stung, the wounds rose into massive blisters that induced untreatable pain. And along with the burning sensation came such thirst that people were driven to drink the blood, and became terribly ill, and their twitching bodies filled the rivers and seas in great floating heaps.

Some loyalists managed to hide in secure bunkers, behind energy fields that repelled the demons, or wore bulky protective gear. The locusts could be stunned for a time, but they were far more durable than even a normal Beedrill. Already devastated by the solar flare and the plague of blood, this judgment was intolerable for the collapsing New Eclipse Order's infrastructure. People broke free of their human handlers, clone and traitor, although combat mechs and enslaved Pokemon did not attract the locust's ire.

New footage came from Castelia City, showing Cypress sitting just outside the cloud of darkness with a locust on his shoulder, cooing like a loving pet. Unlike Emrett, he seemed unaffected by the Curse of Babel. "Do not fear these strange beasts! They are tame. The stories of poisonous bites are exaggerated, although I will not deny that the wicked geneticists of the Association have released these modified creatures to attack our population centers."

Cypress continued with his explanations for the recent disasters. "Loyal citizens, after inflicting massive damage upon the enemy forces at Armageddon, our fleet tactically ceded ground so that Lord Eternatus would be better able to administer to His glorious empire. It follows that Association spiritualists have blanketed Castelia City, which I will rename New Babylon, in a darkness that has not lifted. A similar thing has happened to our beloved and beautiful oceans, which have been now turned to blood."

"Our reserves of fresh water are untainted and rations will be given shortly, at the rate of sixteen cups per person daily. All Pokemon that have the ability to produce fresh water are to be confiscated by local authorities. Our wonder workers have produced success in reverting the blood back to water, and some small lakes and rivers around major cities will be purified in a day's time."

"The conditions affecting the sun are most likely caused by an abnormally strong solar cycle, usually ranging from hot to cold over the course of twelve years. The cloud of smoke has interfered with transmission lines over the world, but has negated the negative effects of the unusual solar phenomena. In case of further events, citizens are advised to not go outside without some form of protection, or to stay inside with potable water. More news will arrive shortly."

"If I didn't know better, I would be fooled by his explanations," Magnolia said. "Unusual solar phenomena, my foot. And why do you think the locusts aren't attacking Cypress?"

"They're demons, aren't they?" Sun said over the comlines. "It's probably a professional courtesy."

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Castelia City

Three Elohim sounded their trumpets, and there came hail and fire mixed with lightning, and it was hurled down to Earth. A third of the Earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and a third of the green grass was burned up. The hail was given authority only to harm the trees and the grass and other things that grow, but not Men or Pokemon. The fifth woe has passed, two are to come.

-the Hisuian Coda

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In the abyssal black, only by a faint flickering of violet flames could anything be seen. Eclipse Lord Cypress and Supreme Sorcerer Emrett gathered around a council table lit by Eternatus's demonic fire, their hands placed to their chins. Avery and Colress exchanged glances, troubled. For once, it seemed that the Anti-Arceus had no words to say. And if

Finally, Cypress spoke. "Eternatus, tally our remaining forces."

"We have four thousand vessels, and several thousand clone soldiers, although they are currently incapacitated due to our insect problem. It seems that the Darkest Day is no longer a boon for us; all Pokemon now fight against our armies. We have many more lines of defense around Castelia than we did at Har Meggido, however, I and the other Elohim included."

"Good, that should be enough," Cypress said, a hint of levity in his voice. "Are the slaves still in their crates?"

"Yes, but they don't have enough food or water to last them another two days," Colress reported. "I project that the Vengeance Fleet will arrive in only a few hours, however."

"A few hours!" Emrett said in sign language, his fingers making an imperative sign. "How is that possible? How have they begun their journey so fast? They do not have enough spacefolder engines! They have been wounded and are sick with terror and exhaustion! What is this madness?"

"We'll see soon enough!" Cypress snapped. "And what of the next line of clones? Have they been pulled out of their tanks yet? Do we have available T-Probes?"

Avery swallowed in a dry throat. "My lord...we were not able to raise up enough men to meet our quota in the last hour. We don't have enough human soldiers for another assault. The ones that remain are trying to secure the damage caused by the flooding and the earthquake, completely in the dark, but the locusts-"

"That quota was an order!" Cypress shrieked. "The generation of a fresh batch of fighters was an order! Who do you think you are to disobey an order that I give? Is this what it comes to? The military, my generals, my engineers have been sabotaging me!"

Cypress slammed his fist into the table so hard that the stone shattered. "You are all contemptible, dishonorable cowards! You are liars, traitors, and failures!"

"Jonathan, I cannot permit you to speak of your administration in such a way!" Emrett signed. "Your accusations are outrageous! We have merely suffered a setback-"

"Your failure proves that you are the scum of my life!" Cypress screamed. "Not a shred of competence! All of you spent years learning your craft just to be able to hold a knife and fork! Last time, my administration hindered my plans! Now it happens again, dammit! You've put every kind of obstacle in my way!"

Let him scream, Emrett thought, gripping a shigawire garrote that he had hidden in his hair. He's gone mad. I'll have to take control of the war effort soon enough, if he won't calm down...

"What I should have done was to liquidate all my high-ranking officials, and do away with the inept admins that ruined everything and merely do everything alone! I should have crushed my allies after their momentary spark of usefulness had died! I never attended a military academy, yet I have conquered the world by myself!" He spat. "Traitors! I've been deceived and betrayed from the beginning! But you will all pay! You will pay with your own blood! You will drown in your own blood!"

Colress simply left, taking a candle with a magic flame to light his way. Avery glanced at the devilish Cypress, and then took his leave.

"My orders have fallen on deaf ears!" Cypress said, finally slumping in a chair. "Under these circumstances, I am no longer able to lead effectively. But if you believe I would rather leave this city alive and escape to hide, I'll tell you that I'd rather blow my brains out!"

"Calm down!" Emrett signed. "I know the next three disasters that are to happen. If you give leadership over to Eternatus, we can trounce the Association fleet like a lamb in a slaughter!"

"Explain your brilliant plan!"

Emrett drew in a shallow breath. "Your Excellency, we are standing on top of a nuclear bomb."

Cypress chuckled, threw him a playful smile. "And someday we might have to detonate it?"

"Imagine that the Vengeance Fleet has penetrated our last defenses, that our mechs are ruined, and that Eternatus has been defeated-"

"Impossible!"

"That is why this is an exercise in imagination, my lord. Now, think. The warships of the Association fly between our skyscrapers. They have pushed through the human shields. They are coming closer, closer. Just as Rose Venport was defeated, our entire empire will be limited to a few buildings. As the last soldiers of the Army of Humanity pour into the city, we remember that there is a stockpile of seven atomic weapons hiding in the tunnels that we dug under the city."

A wicked light dawned in Cypress's eyes. "I approve of this scorched-earth policy if it means killing Bronze Tercano."

"Not just scorched-earth. We will escape the city, my friend. After that, as Castelia City, New Babylon, explodes into atomic flame, we will rebuild. The New Eclipse Order will endure, and with the Association leadership gone, no one will stop us."

"I approve!" Cypress said. "This plan is now an official strategy of the New Eclipse Order." He stood up, walked toward the window of the chamber. It might as well have been blocked by a heavy tarp during nighttime. The light of the demonic fire only worked at a limited range; thankfully, robotic ocular receptors and Pokemon were unaffected.

The Eclipse Lord took a seat, sent Emrett off to amass a final defense, and waited for the fifth judgment of hail, fire, and lightning.