Pokextinction

by THE CREATOR and Hydra

The world is on the verge of collapse when a man who despises Pokemon with a burning passion and the ruthless rampaging Necrozma threaten world destruction. With tensions rising between every single Legendary Pokemon, even Arceus and Mew won't be able to stop the coming fire... And when all hope is lost, the world will turn to Ash.

30. Chapter 30: Innocence Lost

Route 10, Unova.

Between Opelucid City and Victory Road, there was a large forest not too far from the standard route path. Now, that forest would have been empty, save for the inhabitants of the Dragon Village. In spite of that emptiness and lack of most natural life, there were loud sounds deep within that forest. The sound of metal clashing against metal. Four lavender-colored beings, looking nearly identical to one another, danced through the trees and let sparks fly from their steel claws with every slash thrown.

"Good work," Commended a red one to the smallest amidst them.

These beings were the Genesects, who had abandoned their former home in light of the incident with the Ursaring. There were a number of forests they could have chosen, but many were problematic. At a first glance, Pinwheel Forest was the obvious choice. It was the largest named forest in Unova after all. However, its position between two cities, Nacrene and Castelia, was not favorable.

Similar was the unnamed forest branching between Aspertia and Anville Town. It was immense in size, but the railroads running through it were unfavorable and were quite populous in comparison to most other forests due to how far it was from most cities. Thus they were left with only one option: an empty forest on a near-empty route. Their only shared inhabitants were mostly human and the few Pokemon that lived with them, but still, it was their best chance.

"I can tell that you're improving." The red Genesect turned to the youngest and gave her his version of a smile, which was the slightest curve of his rigid mouth. Cybernetics did not allow for much malleability. The young one, meanwhile, was knelt over and heaving for air after managing to keep up with her seniors for so long. "You've made me proud. I mean that."

He momentarily placed his clawed hand atop her head affectionately, then turned to address the group as a whole. "That will be it for the night," He announced. "Feel free to rest easy. I'll handle gathering food." The others simply nodded, so their leader turned and sped away. Gathering food in this forest proved to be somewhat tricky. The greatest of the forest's berries were nearest to the Village of Dragons. He assumed that was why it was built there.

Just as the berries came into view, he felt a sudden heat and stopped in his tracks. "...What is this…?" He said aloud. Was the forest on fire? There hadn't been rain since they arrived, so it couldn't have been caused by lightning. Deciding to get to the bottom of this, he jumped up onto the branches of the nearest tree and sliced away at the leaves. What he saw in their absence made his heart sink.

The Village of Dragons was up in flames, and he could faintly hear the screams of its inhabitants. His vision zoomed in close and found that a horde of Pokemon was at fault. Large, ferocious-looking Pokemon were blasting through buildings and people alike. Genesect had no particular love for humans, but this...this was too much. He wordlessly sent a signal to the others and descended to get a closer look.

It wasn't long before the air itself appeared to turn red to match the flames. A handful of Pokemon scurried past him into the woods. They ignored him, which was odd, considering most Pokemon were either fearful or aggressive to him and the others. For them to outright ignore him entirely must have meant that they were scared out of their minds of something else. It wasn't hard to imagine what. He crouched down once he found a spot where he could see the village fairly clearly without getting too close.

What he saw when his vision zoomed in was exactly as he had feared. There was nary a spot of the village not coated in orange hell, and the spots that weren't in flames were filled with people and Pokemon alike running for their lives from the offending larger Pokemon. A Manectric snarled and growled as it ran after a woman and her Oshawott. The poor Water Pokemon soon found itself falling behind the woman, and its eyes went wide with fear as it heard the Manectric getting closer.

Then, oddly enough, the Manetric ran past the Oshawott, leaving both it and the red Genesect utterly bewildered. The Manectric soon caught up to the woman and bore down on her. "That...is odd," Remarked the red Genesect. "It ignored the easier target...what are they after?" Now that he thought about it, he'd only seen Pokemon fleeing the village and not humans. Some, he saw with burn marks, but no other apparent injuries. "Are they...only attacking humans?"

The four other Genesect approached from behind. "It is terrible," One remarked. "What could have set them off?"

Shaking his head, the red Genesect turned to address the others. "It seems as if humans do many things that would anger Pokemon, but this? And this village, in particular, is supposed to be peaceful." He turned back around and scanned every inch of the village he could intently. All he saw were more runners and those they ran from midst an ever-growing fire. "Is this not the Village of Dragons? Where are their dragons to protect them?!"

"Maybe they were lost like the others," Suggested another Genesect, referring to the war they never took part in.

The red Genesect let out a long-winded mix of a groan and a sigh. "...That is probably right. But that does not explain the attack or why they're…" Realizing the sheer ridiculousness of what he was saying, he shook his head and cut himself short. "...No, nevermind. It doesn't matter. We should stay out of this. They're not attacking Pokemon, so it's unlikely that they would come for us."

If the young Genesect's jaw could move, it would have dropped at that. "Wh-what?!" She whimpered. "We're just...going to leave them?!"

It surprised the red Genesect to hear her say that. "Are you not afraid, young one?" He asked. "If we come to the humans' aid, we will be attacked. I cannot let that happen. We are a family, and we must think about our own survival." Solemnly, he added, "We are not natural. Aliens to this world. If we die, then that's it. We must think about our own survival first, even if it means making a heartless choice."

That didn't set the young one's mind at ease. "But...didn't you tell me to be brave…?"

"For your own sake," The red one reminded her. "For your survival and ours. You must fight when you need to. Picking fights will get you killed." He turned away from the village and began making his way back into the forest's depths, ushering the others to follow. "Besides, it's not like Pokemon to attack without a reason. These humans must have done something to anger them."

The young one, albeit begrudgingly, began to follow the red one until one of the others spoke up. "Actually, I'm detecting some human observers at the forest's edge. They are dressed oddly and all wear the same thing."

"What?" Questioned the red Genesect, whipping around. "Is it Team Plasma?!"

The ones who revived them and galvanized their bodies was a touchy subject amongst the group of Genesects. Not even the young one hesitated on that fateful day when they struck down the Plasma scientists who created them. Yet still, it came to a relief of even the leader when the other Genesect shook their head.

"No," They answered. "At least I don't think so. They seem to be wearing armor. It's different from anything from the lab." Their eyes flickered red as it began to scan these humans. "I'll download the schematics for their armor and see if there's a resembla-"

Then they heard something whistle through the air, approaching them at immense speeds. In the nick of time, the red Genesect pivoted to the other one's side and activated X-Scissor to block a strike that would have pierced their neck. A man in black armor wielding nothing more than a blade hovered in midair for a moment before pushing himself off of the X-Scissor and falling to the ground.

Armor Schematics Download: 7% Complete.

"You should have heeded the red one's word," Said Ryder to the scanning Genesect. Six other figures fell from the tree, surrounding the group. "Then you may have had more time to live and a swifter demise."

The young one looked around at the armored men fearfully. "Wh-who are they?!" She cried. "What do they want with us?!"

"...Who are you?" Asked the red Genesect as he sized Ryder up. His X-Scissor-coated claws were raised to strike but stayed still to hopefully prevent their attackers from attacking again. "Team Plasma?"

Ryder answered, "No. That lot has already died out."

The group of Genesects' eyes collectively widened at the news. "You mean…?!" The red one shook his head. The lives of their 'creators' were not as important as their own, and right now, it was clear that they were in danger. "Who are you, then?! Why did you attack us, and are you responsible for what's happening to the village?!"

"That is confidential," Quickly snapped Ryder. "Who we are and what we do is none of your business, and yet you decided to poke your nose where it didn't belong."

The red Genesect winced. If he didn't play his cards right, this could end badly for them. Even if they were just humans, there may be many more nearby. "We have no interest in...what you are doing," He said honestly. "I was simply looking for food when I stumbled upon this. We do not wish to make ourselves your enemies and only wish to live in peace alone. Please leave us be, and you will never see us again."

"That is exactly why we can't let you leave."

The red one's eyes went wide. "Wha-?!"

Ryder blitzed at him suddenly. The red Genesect was barely able to raise his arms in time to block a cut to his neck with X-Scissor. But he was taken aback at the sheer strength and speed at which the man before him struck. "We don't doubt we'll never see you again if we let you leave," Hissed Ryder, "And that other bug you protected has data on our suits. There's only one way to get rid of that information forever."

The red Genesect activated his cannon and fired at his attacker. When the beam subsided, there was no trace of the armored man. A feeling of elation grew within him as he believed that he had destroyed the man, but it was soon slapped down when an unharmed Ryder attempted to pierce through his head from above. The red one backstepped just in time to avoid the plunge and retaliated by throwing an X-Scissor at Ryder, who in turn parried the blow with his blade and went for another upward slash at his neck.

In the nick of time, the red one managed to tilt his head to the side and knock Ryder's sword away with the back of his claw. Yet another surprise came when he saw that, though Ryder's attack was deflected, he retained his grip on his blade.

Armor Schematics Data: 10% Complete.

"H-how?!" He cried. "No human is this fast or this strong!"

That earned a few laughs from the other armored men that surrounded their group. Not from Ryder. With his scanners, the red Genesect could sense an elevated heat signature from within his armor that indicated anger. "You know," He started, approaching the red Genesect slowly. He traced his sword over the ground carefully, making sure that it didn't even touch a blade of grass yet in Genesect's eyes was held almost lazily. "Whenever you Pokemon are able to speak in a way outside of endlessly repeating your own names, you always tend to speak badly about humanity. Weak and evil, right?"

On pure raw instinct alone, the red Genesect raised his X-Scissors just in time to block another attack from Ryder. But he didn't even see him move. He couldn't. What's more, the red one was sent skidding backwards from the force of the blow and a veritable firework of sparks flew as their blades collided. He considered it a miracle that he was able to even retain his stance after blocking the attack, let alone stay on his feet.

"What was it exactly that you said before?" Asked Ryder as he appeared within view once more, accompanied by a small gust of wind that made the young one shiver. "No human is this fast or strong?" Though he could not see Ryder's face, the red one could practically feel his smirk. "I suppose that, if that last attack rattled you that badly, that must make you quite weak."

Armor Schematics Data: 12% Complete.

These humans were unimaginably dangerous. If they really weren't allied with Team Plasma, then they were perhaps much worse. With a single flicker of his eyes, the red one sent a signal to the other Genesects to run. Without hesitation, three of them jumped into action and darted in opposing directions through the trees. The exception was the ever-reluctant young one who did not wish to abandon her leader nor face off against these terrifying enemies. Her decision was made for her when one of her three superiors swept her up in their arms and quickly bolted away.

"Your fight is with me!" Roared the red Genesect as two green blades of energy in the form of X-Scissor appeared from his claws. "You will not have them!" He launched himself at Ryder, who swiftly raised his blade to block the strike with a loud, metallic clang. Without a word, Ryder motioned to his men to move with his head, and without a word, three of them turned and ran after the other Genesects.

The red Genesect attempted to disengage the fight to pursue, but the distraction allowed for what would have been a decisive strike if he hadn't raised his X-Scissor to block. However, he was thrown onto his side from the force of the blow. When he attempted to get back onto his feet, he was immediately met with a sword to his neck.

"No," Said Ryder as the three men drew closer, "Your fight is with them."

Then, he disappeared into thin air with a breeze trailing behind. In his place, the large man, the one with the grenade launcher and the one with the portable turret turned their weapons upon the fallen Genesect. Nameless, they were titled 'Heavy,' 'Launcher,' and 'Auto' respectively.

"Can't say I'm sorry about this," Said Launcher cruelly as Heavy revved up his weapon behind him. At their side, Auto was setting up his turret and pulling out a multitude of odd silver orbs. "To be honest," Continued Launcher, drawing the red Genesect's glare back upon him, "I'm going to enjoy this quite a bit."

The red Genesect suddenly leaped up toward the trees in an attempt to escape the three men, but a sharp aching pain appeared in his midsection that made him fall back to the ground. With a pained groan, he pushed himself back off the ground and was met with the sight of a smoking turret and the sound of mocking laughter from Launcher.

"Not gonna happen," He said confidently. "We're not about to let a damn bug escape us."

Armor Schematics Download: 15% Complete.

Hissing with rage, the red Genesect flicked its arms, making the X-Scissors on its claws appear once more. "I…" His body began to vibrate spastically, causing the ground to the shred and tear at his feet as he activated Extremespeed. With a deathly, fiery glare, he charged at them. "WILL TEAR YOU ALL APART!"

---

The pyrotechnic armored man, titled Inferno, was pursuing one of the Genesects. He was quickly becoming frustrated as he watched the vastly-faster Pokemon was beginning to disappear out of view. He still had it on his scanners, but there was so much forest in the way that he couldn't get a clear shot. Scowling, he felt an unbearable heat rising into his face, yet his armor prevented him from itching away at it.

"On your left," Said Ryder as he approached from behind. Nodding to one another, Ryder grabbed Inferno by the arm, leaped into the air, and threw his partner higher. Now able to see where their prey was heading, Inferno took out a flare gun. This, however, was far from an ordinary flare gun. It fired a ball of raw steel harvested from a Steelx's hide.

That ball was hollowed out, and on the inside was a substance commonly found in the anatomy of Electrode to produce their explosions as well as azidoazide azide, the most explosive substance in the world. On the outside, a flame produced and harvested from Houndoom heated the ball until it burst, spreading the flames in every conceivable direction.

Inferno fired these rapidly in every direction, quickly causing a hail of hellfire that encircled the forest and trapped the Genesects within. And flames were their greatest weakness. Once his work was done, he gracefully fell back to the ground and readily awaited Ryder's orders.

"Pursue and isolate one of the single ones," He told Inferno. "Fighting two at the same time with their speed will be impossible for you, but fighting one while surrounded by your flames shouldn't pose too great a problem."

Inferno nodded to his leader and quickly ran after the escaping Genesect he'd lost. Ryder tapped the side of his helmet, making the visor light up as it showed the various life signals in the forest. It wasn't long before he found Sniper and raced after him.

Tucked away and hidden in the green, Sniper set his sights upon the Genesect that held the young one as it ran. As he scanned it up and down with his reticle, he cursed, finding it difficult to ascertain any weak points. Its cannon blocked the target's head and back which would have been prime weak points. He could have taken a shot at the cannon itself and hoped that his bullets could pierce the armor and cause it to detonate, but that was a risk that he simply couldn't take.

Then he thought of something. He reached into a case and took out one heavy armor-piercing cartridge and one regular lighter one. Loading the two into his rifle, Sniper peered into the reticle at the fleeing Genesects. The one that ran was moving its legs rapidly, but there was an unarmored spot between its legs and feet, particularly the ligaments of the ankle, that was unarmored. He surmised that it was for flexibility.

Falling to his stomach, he aimed the rifle at its feet. They were practically nothing more than blurs at the speeds they ran, but Sniper had yet to miss a shot before and he was certainly not going to end that streak now. He hovered the reticle to the Genesect's slight left, and far ahead of it, he noticed a large rock. That was his chance. He fired the armor-piercing shot first, which whizzed through the air at breakneck speeds. Then, he fired the ordinary bullet, and Ryder blitzed past Sniper to follow closely behind the round.

"Do not worry, young one," Cooed the Genesect that held her reassuringly. "Our leader is strong, and he believes you are stronger. We will survive. That, I am sure of."

But the young Genesect did not feel strong. She was paralyzed earlier when the Red one was fighting on their behalf, and now, she lay in the arms of her superior like an infant. She gasped as she sensed an incoming projectile, snapping her out of her stupor. "Behind you!" She cried. The senior Genesect whirled his head around to see what she meant but wasn't fast enough to react.

The armor-piercing round shot into the exposed ligaments of its ankle and out the other end, eliciting a cry of pain from the Genesect as it released its hold on the young one and tripped. But just as it fell to its knees, the lighter ordinary bullet whizzed past their heads and bounced off the nearby boulder right into the senior Genesect's eye. It reeled back and screeched with pain as it clutched at its shattered eye casing.

"N-no!" Cried the young one. She reached out to them but stopped when she noticed something else approaching them quickly. Out from the trees, Ryder appeared, preparing to bear down on the injured Genesect's neck. The world suddenly seemed so slow to the young one, and she felt her body move on its own. Before she knew it, she had used X-Scissor and was now warding off Ryder's blade with it. The senior Genesect looked up to her with shock, but she herself was even more surprised.

She dared a look up at the armored man's visor and immediately found her will sinking. It was eternally black, like that of an abyss, and it chilled her to her core. Using this, Ryder overpowered her and threw her aside through a tree. The injured Genesect tried to call out to her, but his voice was cut short when Ryder pressed his blade to its throat. He prepared to slit it, but the Genesect quickly fired its cannon into the air to both make Ryder back off and send a signal of distress to the others.

Leaping to its feet, the injured Genesect took a defensive stance against Ryder with X-Scissors at its claws. "Why are you doing this?!" It demanded. "We never had any intention to-" It shrieked in pain as another armor-piercing round from Sniper pierced its elbow. Ryder moved in front of the bullet and slapped it back with his blade into the Genesect's other arm and, before it could even react, sliced down the front of its body.

Its entire body spasmed from a damage overload to its systems, which Ryder took advantage of. A swift axe kick to the flat part of its head felled the cybernetic bug. Its body went limp and fell onto it back. Ryder pointed its blade to it cautiously but, after seeing its eyes turn dark, surmised that it was no longer active.

"Perhaps it could be useful for study," Ryder suggested to himself. He made his way over to the fallen Genesect and hovered over it. Amidst the bushes nearby, the young Genesect watched with bated breath. She was trembling with fear all over. When Ryder took his blade and stabbed it through her senior's remaining leg, it took all of her willpower not to shriek. Instead, she merely winced, turning away from the gruesome sight.

Her blood went cold when she heard Ryder ask, "Now where did the small one get off to?" He began walking in her direction. The young one's breath fell short, then suddenly became very rapid. She could not move or else this man would pursue and surely put an end to her, but if she did not move, the result would only be the same.

Or, she could fight.

That thought made her still. She did not know where it came from and looked around as if someone else had said it. But as she turned her gaze back upon the approaching Ryder, she felt her blood curdle once more. She felt utterly sick as her gaze shifted back toward her senior's broken body on its own. If she ran, she would die. If she stayed still, she would die. If she fought...wouldn't she just end up the same as them?

'I'm going to die!' She screamed mentally. 'I'm going to die!'

The young one closed her eyes and turned away from her approaching death.

"...What is it, Chrome?"

Slowly, her eyes blinked back open, and it took all of her willpower not to scream on the spot. Ryder was hovering right over her, and his blade was pulling back on the bush she was hiding behind. The only thing that saved her was that he was currently turning away for some reason. "What?" He asked aloud, making her jump slightly.

"The red one's giving us some serious trouble, sir," Said Chrome over their shared comms device. "Sorry to make you backtrack, but we could use your help." The armored man could hear the sound of roaring metal and breaking wood in the background. There were also occasional savage-sounding growls. "Hey, Heavy!" Called Chrome. "I told you not to take your eyes off the damn-" He cut himself off for a moment, and Ryder winced as the loud sound of Chrome's shotgun blast filled the audio before cutting off.

Shaking his head, Ryder turned back around to start making his way back to the others. He stopped upon noticing the fallen body of the Genesect he downed, mulling over the decision of leaving it alone or bothering to take it with him. If he left it, it could escape. Even with all of its limbs pierced, they did not know the exact physiology of these creatures after all. But taking it with him could present the red one with the opportunity of escaping with it.

He turned back around, making the young one instinctively duck down. Luckily for her, Ryder had his sights on the skies rather than her. "...The fire should have encircled the area by now," He mused, "So there's nowhere for it to escape to." So, he turned to where he came and called Sniper on his comms. "Sniper, Inferno, you head back toward the red one. If we can take out their leader, it'll be easier to round up the others."

With that, he disappeared in a cloud of dust as he raced back into the forest. After a moment, the young one dared to poke her head up and look out to her senior. His body was slashed, beaten, and broken in mere seconds by only two of them. Her leader was strong, but...all of them at once…? She scanned the forest where the bullet had flown from and found Sniper far away, sighing in relief when she saw that he'd already turned to follow Ryder.

With the coast now clear, the young one burst out from the leaves and ran to her senior's side. It was hard to look at them without feeling sick. "...Are you alright?" She asked, gently tapping her claw to its metal endoskeleton. To her relief, the senior Genesect's eyes flickered red as they awakened once more. She let out a sigh and embraced them, earning a pained chuckle from her senior. "Thank goodness…"

Her head perked up as she remembered the dire situation. "It's terrible!" She wailed. "All of those men are going to go after him!"

The senior Genesect's remaining eye went wide at that. They attempted to sit up, but the pain of their wounds quickly put a stop to their movement. "You have to get out of here," They said, much to the shock of the young one. "He would never forgive me for letting you die."

"I'm not just going to leave you here!" Asserted the young one.

But when she tried to reach down to carry the senior Genesect, her hand was pushed away. She gave them a questioning look, but her fears were quickly put to rest when their body began glowing. The spots where their limbs were pierced slowly began growing back in place. "Our leader taught us Recover for a reason," They told her. "Now, this may take a while, but I will be fine. You should either run or go to help our leader."

The two winced as a familiar voice forcefully entered their minds. "R-run!" Cried the Red Genesect. It was obvious from the tone of panic and strain in his voice that something was terribly wrong. "Y-you must flee to safety...before the flames...consume the forest!" His voice then suddenly cut out, momentarily dazing the two.

"...Flames…?" The injured one turned its head to the sky, noticing that there were traces of orange in this distance. "I cannot see from here," They said to the young one, who nodded in response, knowing what was wanted of her. She turned and leaped into the air, and as the trees rushed down out of her way, she was utterly mortified by what lied beyond. A wall of fire stretching on for as far as she could see at her height was devouring the forest.

When she fell back to the ground, she was still and unmoving, and her body shook like a leaf. "What did you see?" Asked her concerned senior. "Just how much fire was there?!"

The young one's only response was to shake her head.

Her senior growled, turning to look back from where they ran from. "Does that mean escape isn't possible…?" Their eyes lit up as an idea struck them. Turning back to the young one, they spotted the Douse Drive in her cannon. "You have the Douse Drive!" They cried. The young one's head perked up at that, and she turned back around to face her elated senior. "Quickly!" They ordered. "Find the other two and use your drive to get through the flames! I'll follow you as soon as I can move!"

The young one nodded hastily. She was happy to be of some use without fighting, and though her thoughts naturally drifted to her leader, she had her own mission now. Her own cowardice when it came to combat was something she conveniently ignored. Nevertheless, her duty remained the same. If her leader was fighting all of those men on his own, then she wouldn't have to fight at all to find the others.

She bolted away into the woods to look for them, activating her scanners. So far, there were no traces of them. "I wonder if they got far away?" She mused to herself as she ran. If they were already waiting somewhere near the flames, that would make her job all the easier. She could tell them about the other one that was damaged and together, they could escape all at once. But...that would still leave their leader. Could he defeat them all on his own? Just two of them were able to…

A beeping from her scanners alerted her to something. Two beings were moving through the trees at high speeds. "It's them!" She cried. "Heeeeeey! I'm over here!" The young one called out to them repeatedly and waved her arms to alert them. Yet they carried on regardless. Could they not hear her? Grumbling to herself, the young one pursued them and called out to them again. It wasn't long before she was unable to keep pace with them, and soon enough, they had gone too far to see.

"Where are they even going?" She asked aloud. They were moving away from the wall of fire, which meant that they were going to the forest's center. But what could they be doing there? Were they simply trying to get away from the heat? "...Oh no…" The truth of what they were doing suddenly hit her like a truck. They were moving toward their leader. They were going to fight those men like him. But where did that leave her? Should she pursue, or…?

---

Armor Schematics Download: 30% Complete.

The red Genesect let out a savage roar as he descended upon a downed Launcher who was in the midst of frantically trying to reload his weapon. Just before his claw met the man's neck, he was struck from the side by something moving at immense speeds and thrown into a tree. As he flew, he caught a glimpse of Ryder touching down.

The top half of the tree he'd been thrown towards was launched at Ryder, only for it to burst into splinters and fly past him without leaving so much as a scratch. The red Genesect, hunched over and glaring death at Ryder, roared, "Where are the others?!"

Ryder smirked behind his visor. "I'm back for you, aren't I?"

Pressing his foot into the ground, the red Genesect used Blaze Kick and used the explosive force behind it to launch himself at Ryder. The armored man raised his blade to block, staggering backwards when the Genesect struck him with so much force that the blade nearly flew from his hands. Still, he managed to keep his grip on it. He tried retaliating with a downward strike, but the red Genesect threw another Blaze Kick at his exposed chest and sent him flying.

The red Genesect's eyes glowed so brightly in his fury that they illuminated the immediate area. Though the other members of Ryder's squad hastily pointed their weapons at the red Genesect, he ignored them. His eyes were only on Ryder. Charging his body with Extreme Speed, he launched himself forward with enough force to create a veil of dirt around him that momentarily blinded the other armored men. In a sheen of silver, Ryder did the same from the green he'd flown into and the two clashed with a deafening clang.

"Looks like I touched the right nerve there?!" Ryder asked cruelly. "Then perhaps you would enjoy a retelling of how exactly I tore apart your disgusting bug friend?!"

Ryder's taunts were working their magic quite easily, as evidenced by the increasing intensity by which his eyes glowed. "I WILL MAKE YOUR DEATH WORSE!"

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Their blades pushed off one another, resulting in a blinding sheen of sparks that set the nearest leaves ablaze. With invisible speeds, they raced at one another again, disappearing into the trees as nothing more than whispers in the wind and the clashing of metal. Ryder back-stepped away from the red Genesect, who pursued him vigorously. When he caught up to him, the armored man leapt up the nearest tree just in time to evade a jab that severed the plant from its stump.

Ryder kicked the tree down upon him, but the Genesect smashed it to pieces in one fell swoop with an upward Blaze Kick that shot him above Ryder. He dove back down with a dual X-Scissor to the man's shoulders, but when he hit the ground, he did so while standing. When the red Genesect fell after him, Ryder crouched down and sliced at him with such force that his blade broke through the red one's X-Scissors and scraped between his eyes with a deafening clang.

The red Genesect's head flew backwards. Ryder smirked at the sight until he saw his adversary's foot cloaked with flame and rising to meet him. The red Genesect, using the momentum that the slash gave him, delivered a Blaze Kick to the underside of Ryder's chin and sent him hurtling into the air. He followed up with a Techno Blast from his cannon meant to end the armored man here and now. But he would not go down so easily.

Taking out a grenade, Ryder crushed it in his hand to immediately cause the detonation. A large blast of fire and smoke appeared in the sky and was pierced by the Techno Cannon, yet out from that smoke, Ryder came flying out. The explosion had jettisoned him out of harm's way at the last second, leaving nary a scratch on his armor.

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Still, this posed an advantage for the red Genesect, who was keen on taking it. Crouching down and setting his legs aflame, he launched himself into the air after Ryder and, when he tried the same trick again, slapped it out of his hand and delivered yet another Blaze Kick to his stomach to send him even higher. Using the explosion of Blaze Kick again, the red Genesect flew up after him and attacked again. When Ryder slashed at him, the red one kicked to the side and up behind Ryder.

"Helpless in the air, huh?!" Asserted the red Genesect with glee. "How does it feel?! I imagine it feels just like how my kin felt!" His cannon began glowing green once more to the point that the sky appeared to share its color in Ryder's eyes. The armored man's hand reached for another grenade, but the second Genesect saw it, he preemptively fired. Though the beam was weaker than intended, the pillar of green was more than enough to send Ryder crashing into the ground like a meteor.

The nearest trees' upper ends bent backwards from the force and sent a cascade of leaves up into the air, much to the red Genesect's chagrin. He activated the scanners in his eyes to locate Ryder's whereabouts, and to his shock, there was nothing in the crater. On instinct, he fired up a Blaze Kick and used the concussive force of its explosion to send him sideways. That was what saved him. Ryder, his blade aimed right where the Genesect's neck had been, flew up into the air past him.

Shock gave way to rage, and with that rage came another Techno Blast. Green energy swirled to his cannon en masse. He smirked as he saw the monster of a man still suspended in midair far above him. Even if he missed one shot, it still gave him leeway for another. And surely, he couldn't be carrying infinite explosives. So when Genesect unleashed the next beam, it came as a surprise to him when Ryder calmly reached for his blade instead.

In one swift motion, a massive wave of razor-sharp wind split the Techno Blast in two. The red Genesect was scarcely able to turn around, letting out a shrill gasp of pain as the wave sliced into his back and cannon before swiftly shooting him into the ground. His eyes flickered red from the damage, but a whistling noise from above snapped him out of his trance. He whipped around with an X-Scissor, narrowly blocking a descending slash.

40%

"What was that?!" Cried the red Genesect as he attempted to fend off the blade. To his horror, his X-Scissor began to crack under the pressure.

"You could say…" Started the armored man, "That it was a modification of Razor Wind." He chuckled as his blade slowly pierced the X-Scissor inch by inch like a hot knife through a block of ice, but stopped when he sensed something behind him.

Two other Genesects leapt out from the bushes, delivering a winding kick to Ryder's back that sent him momentarily flying backwards. He dug his blade into the ground to quickly drag him to a halt before speeding back at his attackers at speeds they could not follow. But before his sword could pierce through their necks, the red Genesect clashed with it with a Blaze Kick.

"You will not harm them!" He swore, using the burning fumes to push back against the armored man. His leg was not as frail as the energy projections of an X-Scissor. His two subordinates backed away as the air became increasingly hot. "I WILL NOT LET YOU!" Curling his leg upward, he soon found himself overpowering Ryder. The sweltering heat exploded, jettisoning Ryder into the sky and leaving him wide open to the three Genesect's combined Techno Blast.

Or so they had thought.

An armor-piercing round shot out from the foliage and pierced through the nozzle of the red Genesect's cannon. Their eyes widened with horror for a split second, and then the leaking energy erupted with a tremendous explosion that completely engulfed the three.

"Nice work, Sniper," Commended Ryder as he landed back upon the ground. With the wave of the flat of his sword, he blew the smoke out of the way to unveil the status of their targets.

The two underling Genesects had been blasted away into a wall. They were still moving, but their eyes were flickering, signifying that they had at least been significantly rattled by the explosion. The red one himself was in a vastly worse state.

The upper half of his cannon was black and peeled open, curling down at the sides. A thick, steady stream of a blackish-green smoke rose up from what remained of his cannon. Unlike the others, the red Genesect remained standing. But he was twitching uncontrollably and his eyes were flickering more spastically than the other two.

Ryder chuckled at the sight. "It's in shock. Paralyzed and delirious. I could lob its head off right now and it'd be none the wiser." He crouched down, putting both hands on the hilt of his sword. "In fact…"

From the bushes nearby, the hiding young Genesect watched on in horror. 'They're going to…!' She mentally debated jumping in to save him, then immediately cursed at herself for hesitating. "I have to be strong!" She cried aloud, pushing the bush aside. "I have to! Just like leader said!"

Her brief moment of courage was immediately cut short by the sound of a gun being loaded right at her back and a man's dark chuckling. "Now ain't that the cutest?" Taunted Chrome, pointing his massive shotgun right at the young one's back. "The small one trying to defend its leader. Well, unfortunately for you, you're not that lucky." He shoved it into her roughly, forcing her to step forward. "Now, why don't we go into the open where everyone can see you?"

Ryder blitzed forward at his prey, who was none the wiser. Sniper had his reticle on the red Genesect in case it tried to pull something, and the other armored men were nearby as well. The two Genesects, seeing Ryder closing in on their leader, snapped out of their trance and pulled themselves from the stone they were embedded in. But by the time they had done that, they realized they were already too late.

Because someone else had saved him.

An X-Scissor clashed with Ryder's blade mere inches from the red one's face. It was the Genesect that had previously fallen to Ryder's blade, evidenced by their missing eye case. Seeing them, the red one snapped out of it and swiped at Ryder, who backstepped to avoid it. Sniper fired two armor-piercing rounds at them, taking the red one off guard, but the injured one was prepared.

Using the most armored parts of their legs, they intercepted the bullets and forcefully kicked them back at Ryder. He was scarcely able to evade the first by leaping into the air, but the second one pierced straight through his right arm. He dropped to the ground in a heap, clutching the wound almost as tightly as his blade.

The injured Genesect spoke, drawing Ryder's glare to it. "That trick won't work on me twice," They said, pointing their bladed claw down at him. Their cannon fired right at Sniper, obliterating an oncoming bullet that flew toward them. On Ryder's comms device, he heard a sudden stream of static. "How does it feel having your tactics used against you?"

Ryder's response was to swiftly bring up his blade, cleaving straight through its X-Scissor and the claw underneath. He was immediately reciprocated by an Extremespeed-empowered Metal Claw straight to his visor from the red Genesect before his underling could even cry out in pain. When they did, as Ryder was sent flying, his blood boiled.

50%

"Are you alright?!" He cried, immediately going to his underling's aid and gasping at what he saw. Their claw had been split cleanly in two, and their wrist had an indentation as well. That may not be a wound that could be healed with Recover.

Nevertheless, the injured Genesect responded with a nod. "Y-yes sir," They stuttered in spite of the fact that they were kneeling over and clutching the affected arm to their chest tightly.

The red Genesect nearly gave them a piece of his mind, but quickly stopped himself because of the situation they were in. "Find the young one and get out of here," He ordered, walking toward the area where Ryder had disappeared into. "I won't have you dying because of that injury, understand?"

Without hesitation, the injured Genesect nodded. "Understood. I told her to find the other two and use her Douse Drive to escape through the flames, but…" They turned to the two behind them. "...Apparently that didn't happen."

The duo immediately bowed their heads in shame. "Apologies for that," One said. "We sensed her pursuing us, but at the time, we also sensed you in danger, leader." Nodding, the other said, "She is likely hiding near here, so it should not take us long to find-"

A shrill wind caught the attention of the red Genesect, who instinctively put himself in front of the injured Genesect and shot forward just in time to catch Ryder's blade with his armored forearm. His visor was visibly damaged; so much so that he could vaguely see a pair of yellow eyes behind the mask. At a first glance, the red Genesect could only describe them as the absolute pinnacle of conflict. They were focused, yet dull. Burning with rage, yet cold and lifeless. Narrowed on his current target, yet able to see the rest of them.

53%

As they pushed against one another, the other three Genesects leapt beside them and aimed their cannons at him, but a veritable wall of white-hot flames forced them to evade backwards to avoid being blackened instantaneously. Now, the red Genesect was on his own. But as he saw the flames crawl around them, he knew that Ryder was now alone as well. But then again, so were his underlings.

"SIR!" Cried the injured Genesect. But the cry was drowned out by the roar of the flames. Instead, they turned a piercing glare upon the source of the flames. Another man in black armor stepped through them as if they were nothing, wielding a weapon that looked like it had been forged in hell itself. A flamethrower attached by a thick black wire to the man's suit. It gleamed a dark red and carried holes all over its form, which intense flames constantly erupted from.

Just their luck. One of these men would have been little of a problem for the trio, but they had been unfortunate enough to be confronted by the one that completely countered them. The armored man, Inferno, took off a small black disc from his suit and threw it toward them, making them leap into the air in response. The disc implanted itself into the ground upon landing, and what appeared to be a sprinkler rose from it.

To their horror, it spewed jets of flame out from four nozzles like a hose and spun rapidly. Its activity quickly died out thereafter due to its small size, but it was enough to douse more of the ground in fire. The injured Genesect dared a look over their shoulder to see the ring of fire...but saw nothing but smoke. The entire sky had become red, and the crackling of wood was becoming louder. It was close. Far too close. It wouldn't be long before there was nowhere left to run.

The injured Genesect turned its sights back upon Inferno and, along with the other two at its side, lit up their cannons and prepared to fire. The man responded by quickly taking out his flare gun and shooting up another orb.

"A signal?" Mused the injured Genesect, unaware of what it truly was. "Fire on it! We can't let him guide the others to us!"

At once, the trio unleashed their Techno Blasts upon the ball. Inferno quickly hit the deck, which went unseen by the Genesects. The second the attacks met with it, a massive, concussive blast of hellfire crashed into the three, sending them plummeting back into the ground like meteors. Gasps of air escaped their lungs upon the impact; their eyes widening from shock. When they next opened their eyes, they were met with the sight of raining hellfire as trails of molten debris fell all around them.

In one fell swoop, this man had taken yet another chunk out of their available movement space. And they had played right into his hands. Rising from the ground, the trio of Genesects raced toward Inferno. In return, he unleashed another jet of flame their way. The trio split in opposite directions to avoid it and circled around the armored man. Realizing that they were closing in, he tossed another disc beneath him, which let loose another series of swirling streams.

The circle of fire forced the trio to halt in their tracks to avoid being scorched. They turned their glares upon Inferno, who had already gotten in position to attack once again. Raising his hellish flamethrower, he pulled back a series of small switches on it and pulled the trigger. The result was nothing short of a firework show. From every orifice on the weapon, a jetstream fired in every conceivable direction. Again, the trio was put on the defensive. They were able to evade the attacks with relative ease, but every passing second set something else on fire.

For a split second, the injured Genesect lit up their cannon upon seeing an opening, but to their shock, Inferno already had his free hand on his flare gun. "These armored humans…" Ever since the Genesects had freed themselves from the clutches of their 'creators.' they no longer feared mankind. Save for the young one, at least. In the other four, only a burning hatred remained. That hatred had simmered down into a cautious apathy over time, but…

The days of their rebirth lingered vividly amongst the memories of the Genesects. The torturous experiments. Their very flesh and body being transfigured into cold, hard steel like that of a machine. No. They were machines. Machines that had wrest control of themselves back from their creators and journeyed into an alien world to make part of it their own. After conquering their creators, the four older Genesects believed that they would never have to fear mankind again. Why, then, were their mechanical hearts beating so fast?

"What in the world are they?!"

A loud bang that was all too familiar to the injured Genesect snapped it out of its train of thought. It was the sound from that man, Sniper's, weapon. 'That one's still alive?!' Whipping around to where the sound had come from, their eyes went wide when they saw one of their own directly behind them. It wasn't aimed at the injured one this time. With the drive to spare their fellow Genesect from that fate, the injured Genesect activated Extremespeed and managed to tackle the targeted one.

The sound of something whizzing right over their heads made the injured Genesect feel a split second of relief. Then, they felt the approaching heat. Without thinking twice, they threw the other Genesect into the air and crouched down to leap after them...but the second their feet left the ground and sailed over the first jetstream, they were met with a second one fast approaching.

---

With a resounding clang, the red Genesect managed to catch Ryder's blade with the armor of his forearms. But his back was pressed against the searing flames that had separated him from his family, and the force of the strike served to push him further. "How?!" He cried. "You have a hole in your arm! How can you still attack with such force?!"

60%

The red Genesect managed to throw him off, but Ryder elegantly stuck the landing. In spite of his grievous wound, he held his blade up at his adversary as if the injury didn't exist at all. "Injuries cannot stop me from completing my mission."

Scowling, the red Genesect knelt down to leap at him again, only to suddenly let out a sudden gasp and stop in his tracks. He sensed one of his own in intense pain. They were practically screaming in his head. Without a second thought, he turned toward the flame wall and prepared to leap through it, only for Ryder's blade to catch him by the neck and pull him back. The two flew backwards, but the red one eventually managed to throw Ryder off.

The armored man dug his heels into the dirt to stop himself, then quickly raced behind the red one to put himself between him and the fire. "Where do you think you're going?" He demanded. "Our battle is not yet through. Did you finally realize that you stood no chance, or…?" Between the cracks in his visor, the red Genesect saw a hint of a smirk. "Are those other insects being burnt to a crisp? You can sense that? How painful is it?"

He raised his blade to block an incoming Metal Claw but was shocked by the sheer amount of force behind it. "Wh-what?!" A Blaze Kick swept his legs out from underneath him, and an X-Scissor skewered the hole in his arm, pinning him to the ground. His initial shock soon faded when he looked up and saw that the red one was pointing what remained of his cannon down at him. "Are you planning to destroy yourself too?" He asked with a chuckle. "Are you really content to let your kin die?"

"No," Hissed the red Genesect. He stomped down on Ryder's chest, earning a pained grunt from him, then set his foot aflame. Green energy began to well up within the now-much-larger hole in his cannon. It leaked out spastically, sending wild sparks of energy in every direction that tore up the ground wherever it hit. With his free arm, Ryder covered his face to protect it.

It was no use. Whipping around, the red Genesect kicked Ryder into the air in the opposite direction of the fire. He then reached up, piercing the area of his back that met with his cannon, severing it completely. "I don't need this!" He roared defiantly as he skewered his cannon. Paying no attention to the energy that was now assaulting his arm, he threw the cannon up after Ryder with a savage screech. Ryder quickly reached for his belt, but…

There were no grenades.

66%

---

Inferno stopped his onslaught when the sound of an explosion roared over the flames. The ground shook spastically but became still mere moments later. "What was that?!" He cried aloud. More static crackled from his comms device. From within his helmet, his eyes went wide when he saw that the static came from Ryder.

The red Genesect burst through the wall of fire, making Inferno and the three Genesect's attention snap onto him. The armored man scarcely had the time to raise his weapon before a Metal Claw smashed into his visor and slammed him into the blackened ground. But the leader of the Genesects was far from done. He briefly raised his arm, then drove it back down once again. Inferno's visor was badly cracked and was beginning to bend inward.

He raised his arm again, but Inferno managed to get him to back off by spraying the surroundings with his flamethrower. The trio happily greeted him when he landed by their side. "Leader!" They chirped with glee. But their joy was swiftly cut short when they saw the state he was in. "Wh-what...what happened to your cannon?!"

"It doesn't matter," He told them, shaking his head. "I feel lighter than ever without the damn thing, so it was getting in the way to begin with. Anyways..." He turned his sights upon Inferno, glaring daggers at him with an intensity that rivaled the surrounding flames. "What did this monster do to you?"

The injured Genesect merely shook its head. "Nothing that Recover can't fix. Let's just focus on taking him out before his friends show up."

Nodding in agreement, the red one's eyes flickered brightly for a split second. In response, the three at his side's eyes did the same. "I couldn't agree more. Synchronize now!" This was a technique to replace the red Genesect's old ability to forcefully take over the minds of his subordinates. Instead of taking over their minds, the Genesects, save for the youngest, could unite their minds to fight as a single unit. But only the red one could activate it, and it required them to be in the same place.

Which made this scenario the perfect use for it.

The family of cyborgs disappeared as swiftly as the wind. His eyes going wide, Inferno reflexively activated his flamethrower and sent a veritable web of swirling hell their way. But now, they were prepared. Sharing his skill and senses with his subordinates, the red Genesect was able to guide them through each stream of fire that came near. Realizing that their targets had nearly descended upon him, Inferno reached for his flare gun…

Only to drop his flamethrower as the action caused him absolute agony. He looked down to his hand and, to his horror, found that it had been bent and twisted like a pretzel. The moment he opened his mouth to yell out in pain, one of the Genesects darted beneath him and swept his feet out from underneath him. The injured Genesect descended from on high and stomped him in his abdomen, resulting in the loud popping and crunching of metal and bone.

70%

Finally, the leader of the Genesects had his fill. Appearing out of seemingly thin air, he shot down upon Inferno's head with a Metal Claw and pierced his visor, stopping mere inches from his face. "...No," The four said all at once, "You don't deserve such an easy end." The injured one stepped off of inferno, letting the red one take their place and stomp down on his exposed chest with a Blaze Kick. Inferno tried to spit at him, but the red one retraced his foot and turned him on his front with a plain kick.

For the first time ever, Inferno felt cold when he heard the sound of rushing air. The red Genesect punctured the first layer of his gas tank, and it was only a matter of seconds before the oxygen met with the substances inside. Once that happened… He tried to push himself off the ground, only to receive a blistering Blaze Kick to his abdomen that sent him flying. Together, the three Genesects that had cannons lit them and unleashed their combined power up at the helpless man.

As Inferno watched the trail of green sailing up toward him, he opened his mouth to let out one last scream. But the beams were faster. A green explosion lit the sky, followed immediately after by a massive, fiery one. It was a veritable firework show; fitting of an end to the crazed pyromaniac. The four couldn't help but stare up at it in a bit of a trance, proud smirks on their faces.

A drop of water fell upon the red one's face, snapping him out of that trance. "What the-?" He exclaimed. "Rain?"

"Brought on by the flames, I imagine," Speculated the injured one. "That's good. Maybe we'll be able to get away after all. But first, we need to find the young one."

Their heads snapped to their side at the sound of chuckling. "The young one? You wouldn't happen to mean this one, would you?" The four Genesects' eyes collectively widened as the youngest Genesect stepped out from the few remaining trees in sight, followed by another armored man wielding a massive shotgun that was nearly the size of himself. His title was Chrome.

The young one looked utterly terrified, shaking like a leaf, and that sight alone made their blood boil like nothing else. The four crouched down to launch themselves at him but stopped dead in their tracks when he pointed his weapon at the young one's back.

"Don't you dare move," He warned, slightly shaking his weapon. "The shots from this thing can blow open the hide of an Aggron and snap a Steelix in two. I don't think you want to picture what it could do to the young one here." The Genesects glared at him fiercely but did not move. "That's what I thought," Mocked Chrome. "Now sit still for me." Activating his comms device, he said, "Inferno's down, but I have them all rounded up in the same place."

The red one's eyes widened when he heard an all-too-familiar voice from behind. "How resourceful of you, Chrome," Commended Ryder as he walked through the wall of flames as if they were nothing. Many parts of his armor were broken and exposed, but somehow, he had walked away from the explosion he'd been thrown into. Not even his visor had been completely broken yet. "Let's finish this mission and report to master. He is sure to be displeased with Inferno's loss, so we'd better not keep him waiting."

'Master?' Questioned the Genesects.

In a flash, Ryder appeared in front of the four senior Genesects and held his blade up to them. "Here is exactly what is going to happen: You are going to sit still while I cut you down. If you're lucky, we'll find some use for you." His thumb slowly inched toward a button on the hilt of his blade. "But if you resist in the slightest, I will kill you and the young one without leaving a trace. You'll be extinct and forgotten. Faster than the rest, at least."

"The rest?" Questioned the red one.

"That does not concern you," Hissed Ryder. "Now, what is your answer? Will you resist and die or behave like good animals and live?" Without hesitating, the red Genesect was about to issue an order to attack, but that notion was swiftly shot down when Ryder sped to the young one's side and held his blade at her neck. "You have one more chance. Pick wisely this time."

The red Genesect was at a loss for words. He was left with the ultimate ultimatum: To live in servitude or die free. If he were alone, he would have chosen the latter without question, but he was not alone. He looked back at his subordinate's faces...but they could not meet his gaze. When he glanced at the young one, any rebelliousness within his heart melted away at the sight of her shivering, terrified form. He could not sacrifice them. If they were to be slaves again...then at least they would be together.

To the shock of the young one, the leader of the Genesects knelt. The other four followed suit. "...Fine," He forced himself to say, practically spitting out the word. "You...have our loyalty. Just...please do not hurt my underlings."

Ryder stepped toward him, pointing the flat of his blade down at his head. "A wise decision. If my master permits it, you will be a fine weapon for his use."

The young one's eyes went wider and wider as Ryder raised his sword to deliver the strike that would put an end to their freedom. Her heart was pounding a million times a second. She wanted to close her eyes and look away, but something inside of her refused to let her do so.

"FIGHT!"

The words of her leader rang in her mind, eliciting a gasp from the youngest of the Genesects.

"When your life is on the line, young one, you must be able to call upon your strength and retaliate!"

That's right. On that night, she managed to fight back against her leader. Why, then, was she now cowering in the face of death while her family had fought in their name. Why was she so weak that she was nothing more than bait… She was less than useful. Right now, she was nothing more than a detriment.

"I know you are strong enough, even if you don't realize it. Perhaps stronger than the rest of us."

Strong…

"...I am strong."

Chrome jabbed the shotgun into her back, making her stumble forward. "Be quiet. If you so much as say another word, I won't hesitate to turn you into scrap metal."

Memories of her time in Team Plasma's laboratory flooded her mind. It was the most terrifying thing she'd ever known. Machines, needles, strange men, and the loss of her very body. She had been a slave, and if it weren't for the red one, she'd have still been one. After all, she was too much of a coward to stand up for herself. But now...even though she was terrified, she felt something else welling up within her. It was an irritating heat worse than the one surrounding them. Because this one came from within.

She recognized it as anger. Anger at these men for hurting her family and threatening to return them to that hell that stole their old home and bodies from them. But mostly, it was anger at herself for being so useless. If she wasn't such a coward, perhaps they could have fought back and not been in this situation. If she fought back against the man behind her, then the others could keep fighting without worry.

The dawning of this realization upon her fed her fiery anger even more. That anger, in turn, burned away at her fear. For the first time in her life, she was trembling out of something that wasn't fear. For the first time, she realized just how right her leader had been. For the first time, she realized how much of a coward she'd been. Her rage at herself burned away at the fear that clouded over the naive young one, giving birth to something entirely new. For the first time, she felt courage.

The young one suddenly dipped down, kicking up at Chrome. Her armored foot jutted straight through his shotgun, snapping it in half and littering the ground with its remains. "FIGHT!" She cried to the others as she prepared to face off against Chrome on her own. But her newfound courage wavered when she heard a laugh from the armored man.

"You animals are dumber than I thought."

At first, she was confused by what he meant. But then, it dawned on her, and her newfound courage sputtered out in an instant. When she turned back to the others, she saw something straight out of her endless nightmares.

71%

The red Genesect had raised an X-Scissor at the young one's command, but Ryder turned his blade back to its edge and cleaved through it like butter. It trailed up to his elbow and, with a shockwave of wind that split the flames behind them, sliced his left arm clean off. While the red one was left in shock, Ryder aimed another strike at his neck, but at the last second, he was pushed out of his way by one of the others.

Ryder easily broke the Genesect's guard with an upward strike that exposed his chin. What happened next did so in agonizingly slow motion to the Genesect family. Ryder plunged his sword forward straight through its neck. It came straight out of the other end. The Genesect's body went limp immediately, and its eyes sputtered for a moment before going black entirely. With his gruesome work complete, Ryder flicked his blade upward and threw its body behind him where it landed right at the young one's feet.

"I gave you your chance," Said Ryder, readying to strike again. From the flames behind him came his subordinates Auto, Launcher and Heavy. And from the trees far away, Sniper took aim. They outnumbered and outgunned the Genesects six to four, and they had them completely surrounded. "But you just had to throw your lives away. No matter. Consider this penance for taking Inferno's life."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The youngest and the eldest let loose wails of agony as they gazed upon the lifeless corpse of their kin. Their breath completely taken away by the sickening, hollow feeling of utter dread, the other two were stunned into silence. As the grief-stricken young one fell to her deceased sibling's side, the red Genesect immediately attempted to strike at Ryder. With only one arm and a flimsy stance, the rage-fueled wild strike was easily parried.

Ryder would have put an end to him there and then were it not for the injured Genesect quickly pulling the red one back and taking up a defensive stance in front of him. "You're in no condition to fight," They said, motioning to the young one with their head. Upon following it, his eyes went wide when he saw Chrome hovering over them with his broken weapon. "You should take her and get out of here! We'll cover you."

Through glancing at the young one and back to the other two who stood in front of him defensively, he was able to snap out of his trance and, albeit shakily, nod. What he had lost would not be outweighed by what he still had left to lose. "...U-understood," He replied, swallowing a lump in his throat. "But the second I go through those flames, I want you following right behind me."

"You'll be going nowhere," Insisted Ryder, leaping at him to carve a hole into his face. The two other Genesects stepped in front of him, raising their arms to guard against it and throw him back to the other armored men with a pair of Metal Claws. As their hunters were momentarily distracted by their leader's status, the two Genesects looked back to their leader, giving him confident nods. The red one was far less confident but managed to return the gesture before running off to the young one.

Guilt-stricken, the youngest of the Genesects helplessly sobbed over the corpse of her family member. Unable to cope with her role in their death, she frantically shook her head and murmured apologies over and over. Chrome, meanwhile, took this opportunity to ready a shotgun blast to her back. "Should've just stayed put and shut up," He said, loading another shell. "Maybe that way, it'd still be alive. Not like that little stunt of yours accomplished anything. This thing can take one hell of a-"

He was promptly cut off by a Blaze Kick to his chin that sent him skyward. Without looking back, he scooped the young one into his arm and hoisted her over his shoulder. As he sped off into the flaming forest, he convinced himself that it was to escape as quickly as possible. In truth, he did not have the strength to look back at the corpse of his underling, else his legs may have given out from underneath him.

Amidst a hail of bullets, the two Genesect that stayed behind continually managed to deflect them with their arms. When the injured one noticed their leader's successful escape, they turned to the other one, and they nodded to one another. Kneeling over, the two each fired a Techno Blast into the group of armored men, sending a cascade of emerald light in every direction as a dense cloud of smoke covered the field. With their cover now at play, the two ducked down and raced after the red one.

Something swift moved through the black clouds toward them. A blade pierced through, narrowly missing the injured Genesect by only a hair before piercing through a tree with such force that everything above the stricken area was knocked clean off. "As I said, you'll be going nowhere." He crouched down into a position to strike, which the two Genesects mimicked in response. "This place," He hissed, his yellow eyes glistening amongst the light of the surrounding hellfire, "Will be your shallow graves."

But instead of immediately swiping at the two, a gunshot rang out from behind the smokescreen. As if it were routine, the injured Genesect instinctively pushed the other one out of the way and raised their arm to deflect. Ryder lunged at them, so when the bullet penetrated the smoke, the injured one smirked at him and backhanded it right into his abdomen...only for it to bounce off his chest. Their eyes went wide with horror upon realizing the mistake they made.

'That one was weaker?!'

Sniper had used an ordinary bullet instead of the armor-piercing one, tricking the injured Genesect into deflecting it and leaving their arms wide open for a counterattack. In one swift motion, Ryder curved the blade up against their metal flesh and sliced toward the sky. He then quickly followed up by kicking them onto their back, and when they next cast their gaze upon him, he was already descending upon them with a plunging stab.

---

The sounds of crackling flames and muffled whimpers from the young one were the only things keeping the red Genesect's mind busy as he darted through the flaming forest aimlessly. Were it not for that, he would have been unable to stay focused. Otherwise, he would have been fraught with worry over his underlings. His body felt numb for the moment, which helped to distract him from his arm and the flames licking at his flesh.

The young one was in a complete, incoherent shock. Honestly, he couldn't blame her. Were it not for the instinctual motive to protect her, he would have been in a similar state of utter loss for what to do. But he still had that: a purpose. Prospects of doom had been creeping around his paranoid mind for ages, only silenced now by that sense of purpose. If he could secure the young one's safety, then his goal would be complete.

"I...need to…" To keep himself on track, he began rambling to himself as his head swiveled back and forth to scan for the few remaining areas of ground that weren't up in flames. "I must...save her…!" He briefly entertained the idea of asking the young one to clear the way with her Douse Drive, but as he felt her body shuddering uncontrollably on his own, he quickly dashed that thought. She was in no condition to do anything of the sort.

He winced, stepping backwards as he accidentally stepped into the flames for a moment. But as he did so, he quickly felt searing heat from behind and was forced to freeze in place. He was surrounded by the hellfire on all sides and it was quickly closing in. So, he looked to the smoke-coated sky and crouched down. This was the ultimate gamble. If he found no safer spots to land, then he would condemn himself and the young one to an excruciating demise. But what choice did he have?

Channeling a Blaze Kick into his feet, he used the explosive force to launch himself high into the air. He and the young one shut their eyes as they pierced through the thick bog of smoke. A sudden sensation of cold shocked them into opening their eyes again. It was the sensation of water. "It's...raining?" He looked back down at the forest, using his scanners to penetrate the smoke. To his shock, there were many open areas. They were burnt to a crisp but no longer burning.

The red one surmised that the flames below were the product of Inferno's work, then descended back into the smoke and onto a safer area. When the ground crunched beneath his feet, the eldest Genesect gently placed the young one back onto the ground. The action momentarily caused her to snap out of her trance, but before she could speak, the red one hastily cut her off.

"You need to run," He ordered, placing his remaining hand on her shoulder. "Now. I'm going back to help the others, so I need to make sure you're safe."

The young one looked up at him with wide, unsure eyes. "B-but I-"

She let out a gasp when he shook her firmly. "Absolutely not." His stern gaze and stance soon softened as he allowed himself to sigh. "...Please. I won't be able to fight properly if I'm worrying about you. I need you to live. For all of us."

The young one looked to the burnt grown, shuddering. "But...I…" She sniffled, shutting her eyes tightly as the shock wore off and the weight of what her actions led to came down upon her in full force. "It's my fault!" Unable to help it anymore, she threw herself into her elder's arm, sobbing uncontrollably. "I-I," Sputtered the young one, "I'm s-sorry! It's because of me that your arm...and-" The sight of her dead kin at her feet flashed before her eyes, eliciting a pained cry that she struggled to muffle.

She was stunned into silence when the red Genesect pressed his forehead up against hers, softly cooing a, "Shhhh," To quickly put an end to the young one's self-abuse. "Please...do not think on that right now. You fought for our freedom, and that alone is something I'm sure they were proud of. If even one of us can live freely, then all of us do. It is a better fate than for all of us to live as slaves."

He was making that up. In reality, his own mind was too boggled and fuzzy to even coherently think on their fallen family member. Rather, his mind was refusing to. But he knew above all else that he could not let the young one live her life hating herself. "Please," He begged again, "I need you to run far away from here while I go help the others escape. Like I said, if even one of us can live freely, then no matter what happens, all of us will live freely within you."

The young Genesect stared up at the red one with awe in her eyes. Managing to wipe away her tears, she gave a shaky nod. "O...okay-"

She let out a cry of shock and stumbled forward as the eldest Genesect suddenly tore away from her. The loud clanging of metal against metal and the shockwave that followed threw her onto her back. When she looked up at him, her eyes went wide, and her blood ran cold. Using his remaining arm, he held off an attack from none other than Ryder. But the armored man's sights were not set on him. No. He was clearly looking at her.

"Pity," He said coldly. "I was aiming for the small one."

75%

The red Genesect whipped around and cried, "GO NOW!"

His voice made her instinctively jump back to her feet. But she didn't move. She looked to him with uncertainty and fear. It didn't feel right to leave his side, but if she stayed, she knew she would only be a burden. But fear kept her firmly in place. Fear of the man that brutalized and killed her fellow Genesect. Fear of his blade carving against her skin. But mostly, it was the fear of leaving the red Genesect behind. She wanted to believe he would be fine, but…

"PLEASE!"

A shrill gasp escaped from her clenched throat at the cry of his voice. And with that sound, she felt feeling in her legs again. But she had never...never heard him cry out like that. He was terrified. The look in his eyes was completely unlike anything she had ever seen from him. He was not ordering her to leave. He was begging her to. Swallowing her regrets, she turned and obeyed, disappearing through the billowing cloud of smoke.

When the red Genesect turned back to face him, he saw a smirk between the cracks of his visor. "That one won't get away, you know."

"I'll make sure she does!" He retorted, pushing back against Ryder with all of his might. "No matter what it costs, I will make sure at least she lives on!"

Ryder pushed forward, leaning in so that the only thing the red one could see was his ever-black, empty visor. "Even at the cost of your own life?"

The red Genesect threw Ryder back. "If it means protecting her, then I would gladly give my life!"

"Then consider yourself lucky," Said Ryder as he readied to strike again, "Because, right here and right now, you'll at least do one of those things."

80%

Then, metal clashed with metal. As swift as the wind itself, Genesect and Ryder filled the air with red-hot sparks and loud clangs with all the rapidity of rain. Each blow one sent, the other met with equal force. The armored man slashed at the red one's side where his arm was missing, but instead of cutting into his metal hide, his blade met with an armored knee. The red Genesect twisted his foot around Ryder's hand and stomped it into the ground, making him keel forward and delivering a swift Blaze Kick to the side of his head.

He quickly chased after the man as he tumbled, digging his foot into the ground and kicking up a large mass of rock and dust. When Ryder regained his composure and sliced through the stones, he was met with the red one on the other side, who already had a readied Blaze Kick and was poised to strike. When Ryder's blade collided with it, the force was so great that the hail of stone was completely blown away. Yet neither of the two wavered in the slightest.

The red one kicked off Ryder's blade, causing his arm to jerk back and leaving him wide open. "You never let go of that sword," Remarked the red Genesect. "Is it special to you or something?!" Without waiting for a response, he ducked down and swept his legs out from under him. He went to follow up with another Blaze Kick, but to his shock, Ryder was able to flip backwards before falling to the ground and deliver a powerful upward slash that sent the red one flying back. Even the ground beneath their feet had been cut.

82%

Faster than the eye could perceive, Ryder blitzed toward the red one and knocked him back into the ground forcefully, ending his flight. As he tumbled across the ground, the Genesect pushed up against it to retaliate, finding Ryder's blade inches away from his face. Ryder sliced up across the entirety of Genesect's front side, leaving a large silver scar as the metal underneath his skin became exposed. When the red one raised his arm in defense, it was slapped down by Ryder's blade, and he kicked up at his face to knock him onto his back.

But he quickly got back onto his feet, making his remaining arm turn a shiny, silvery sheen as Metal Claw took effect. Ryder launched himself at him, aiming the edge of his blade in such a way that would pierce straight through the bug's metal skull. "I...will not…!" The red one threw his arm forward with all of his might, and likewise, Ryder followed. "Let you kill her!"

A shrill, nigh-deafening gong sound caused the nearest areas of the forest to tremble for a moment upon their collision. Though their arms trembled like jelly, neither side dared to spare even an ounce of energy as they pushed against each other. Sparks practically exploded out from the collision, yet neither side wavered in the slightest. The red one's piercing glare met only with the sight of the armored terror's black visor and the infinite depth that lay beneath and vice versa.

83%

Ryder's blade eventually slipped past, allowing the Genesect's Metal Claw to do the same. It met with the man's visor with a ground-shattering force, but likewise did Ryder's blade do the same for the red one's head. The thunderous force from both sides caused the two to fly back, only ending for the red Genesect when his head crashed into a large stone and shattered it. When his eyes next opened, he found that his vision was obscured and he could no longer feel the entire left side of his face.

83% 83-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8...

He reached up to it with his claw and found a large, jagged dent. His left eye had been completely destroyed by Ryder's strike, and part of his head was caved in. When he pushed himself back onto his feet, he heard a ringing in the back of his head. "I...will…protect her…" His mind was becoming fuzzy, as did the remainder of his vision. "I...will preserve...our existence!" Yet still, he stepped forward toward Ryder, who he could see clearly standing ahead of him.

The armored man...hardly looked worse for wear. His visor had caved inward, and what little parts of it weren't cracked were missing. Yet the majority of it was still there. "Ah, so that's why you're so desperate. It's not a matter of family to you," He surmised. "It's to prevent the extinction of your kind." The armored man pointed his sword at the red one. "It won't matter. Even if it escapes our grasp, that will only serve to give it an extension on its expiration date."

Clutching at his aching head, the red Genesect asked, "What...do you mean?"

"In due time, all Pokemon will be dead and forgotten," Answered Ryder cruelly, "And far sooner than you think. In that respect, you won't be alone...but you and your kind won't live to see that. For daring to take the data of our suits, you will die here and now." He pressed his hand to the side of his helmet and said, "Auto, kill one of them."

At those words, the red one's dizziness disappeared. "What?! NO-" His vision went white all of a sudden. Clutching at his head, he screamed out in agony as he felt yet another of his kin's life suddenly disappear. He wailed helplessly to the unhearing heavens for minutes on end, feeling an agony indescribable by words. When his vision returned, he found himself surrounded by the rest of the armored men. Stomping his burning feet into the ground, he roared and prepared to take their heads, only to be sent face-first into the dirt by Ryder.

"Find the young one," He ordered. The red Genesect heard his footsteps grow louder as he approached. "I'll deal with this one."

He forced himself to look up upon hearing those words, in spite of what his aching body told him. His terror-fraught eyes witnessed the other men walking toward the flames and his body acted on its own. "NO!" In an act of desperation, he shot off like a bullet toward Chrome, the nearest one, only for Ryder to obscure his view. With one swift motion, the red Genesect was stopped in his tracks...and his remaining arm fell to the ground beside him.

"I'm finishing this!"

Ryder crouched down, then lunged at the red one's neck to end him once and for all. He immediately stopped and jumped back when his adversary began glowing white. "What are you doing?!" He demanded.

85%

The former leader of the Genesects did not answer. Rather, he smirked at Ryder knowingly, earning a shocked gasp from the armored man that was oh so satisfying to hear. He was gathering the remaining data on their suits and compiling it. Preparing to send it. He lunged at the red Genesect's neck in the blink of an eye, his blade inches away from carving straight through.

"This is my last gift to you, young one. Use this data and become strong. No...you're already strong. Stronger than any of us were. With this data, you will be able to succeed where we failed. You will be able to carry on our memory."

"We…" Facing down his impending demise, the red Genesect made the ultimate choice. "Will not be forgotten! We will have our place in this world!" Ryder stopped in his tracks and darted back when the red one's body suddenly became blinding. "With this, I will carve ourselves into your memory! EXPLOSION!"

Ryder ran off like a bullet toward Chrome and grabbed him. "Hey-" He protested. "What are you-?!" He was put between the red Genesect and Ryder, and only when he saw the Genesect's glowing form did he realize what was happening. But before he could even open his mouth, a massive detonation that scoured the surrounding smoke silenced him. The last of the red Genesect's will pierced through the darkness and set the sky aflame.

---

Rain poured down upon the barren landscape freely, finally dousing the flames and revealing the blackened remains of a forest underneath. Ryder pushed the body of Chrome off of himself to stand up. He glanced down at the corpse for a moment, kicking it onto its front and glowering when he saw that the explosion had burnt through Chrome's armor. He was dead.

"Report," He ordered through his comms device to the others. After a brief moment, Launcher, Sniper and finally Heavy obliged. He allowed himself a sigh of relief. That was one less thing to report to his master. Of course, there was the matter of the utter mess they had made when their mission went awry. Was the preservation of data worth this? The loss of two of his squad members would be a major detriment to his master's resources, and the forest would be difficult to explain to the public.

Of course, there was the matter that they had yet to actually secure their data. The damnable red Genesect made sure of that. "Move out, men," He said, sheathing his blade and turning to move in pursuit of the young Genesect. "We still have one last-"

He cut himself short when his helmet began buzzing. He was being called...and only one person was able to do that. "No…why now of all times?!" How could he even begin to explain what had happened? Two of his most valuable assets tarnished, a mission gone wrong, the unknown status of the Pokemon entrusted to them, and for what?! An incomplete protocol?!

Biting his lip, he answered the call. "...Yes, my master?"

"Return to base immediately," Ordered The Man simply. He then hung up, leaving Ryder alone with his thoughts. His hands fell limp at his sides. His heart began racing. He had failed his master three times now. There was no telling what punishment awaited him.

Choking back a choice selection of colorful words, Ryder raised a trembling arm to his helmet to contact the other members of his squadron. "...Null that last order. Master...has ordered us to return to base…immediately."

The second he dropped the call, his head whipped around to cast his burning glare upon the burnt body of the red Genesect. Even in death, the bastard was grinning. It knew this would happen...it knew! Letting loose a howl of rage, sliced at the corpse with such ferocity that the ground for dozens of feet behind him was sliced open. The red Genesect's remains were dashed in an instant and cast into the wind.

---

Elsewhere, the young one slowly walked through the rain. All around her, her only company was burnt trees and blackened ground, along with the sizzling of the rain as it boiled upon contact with it. She had received her elder's final message. His final goodbye. She knew what it meant. He was gone...they all were! All of them! Her family...was gone...and it was her fault. If she had just kept silent...if she had just stayed useless as she'd always been...then at least she would still have them!

Unable to bear it any longer, she collapsed to her knees and buried her face in her cold, metal claws.

She was alone.

---

Author's Note

Pokextinction Fact of the Day: This chapter was originally meant to be the fourth chapter of Arc 2 and was one of the earliest plot points ever conceived for this story. Also, the Johto variant of Marshadow used in this story is different from the Alolan variant. While the Alolan Marshadow can enter people's shadows and copy their movements to become stronger, the Johto version enters their shadows to take people and Pokemon over temporarily, but permanently takes their memories and knowledge for itself. This means that its normal body is vastly weaker. The Alolan version will not be making an appearance.

Creator: Apologies again for the late update. You know how school can be. Can't promise the other chapters will come out any faster until summer either, but they will be coming. In the meantime, I hope you like this chapter. I always loved writing the sad stuff, y'know? Plus, there were plenty of battles to keep me occupied.

Hydra: Quite the emotional ride this chapter. It was so sad what happened to the young Genesect and now she's all alone. Sorry about the longer wait for this chapter but it couldn't be helped.

Creator: Now onto the reviews.

Charmeleon: "I can relate with you on the school part. I'm taking a course that started in a classroom but is now online because of COVID-19. I still have to get up early in a sense because the classes of the course start at 8:00 AM. The fortunate part is that the classes of the course are only on Saturdays. Anyway, I really like your story and look forward to reading the next part when you have time for it."

Creator: God, I feel that so much. Our math class is at 8AM too and we work on that class's homework for hours every day. No rest for the wicked…

Hydra: Math is an absolute nightmare bro. This dang virus had completely screwed everything up and it's affecting our lives in all different kinds of ways.

Amourshipper35: "Oh Karp, Marshadow has joined with the bad guys not good not good."

Creator: Yeah, it'll definitely be dangerous for Ash and the others. I wonder if he'll be able to stop Team Rocket and save the world?"

Hydra: One of them was bad enough, but now they've joined forces. Things certainly aren't looking too good for Ash right now.

British-Vulture: "Jesus Christ, Zeraora is paranoid like there's no tomorrow.

I definitely do think that Zeraora is probably about to get his ass handed to him by someone, especially since he's going to attack Ash and co. amongst others, presumably. For the love of fuck, if Arceus finds out, Zeraora is fucked.

wait, no, Arceus is weak as hell

Marshadow and Lee just began working with each other. Though, I do feel as if this will lead to a Miraak/Hermaeus Mora style duo. I.E. One is gonna try and betray the other and gets annihilated for it.

This chapter was certainly enjoyable, I think Zeraora is a prick, and I thought the Ghost-Type...

Okay, let me just put it into perspective. I thought it was Dusknoir or Chandelure, due to the whole consumption thing.

Good luck, lads. And remember, when a subordinate's getting uppity (cough cough Marshadow), show your dominance via Mace of Molag Bal to the skull."

Creator: There is definitely a reason behind why Zeraora is acting the way he is right now. This chapter was a glimpse at that. But as a lightning-fast Legendary Pokemon, there isn't much that can stop him. Yeah, Arceus isn't exactly in much of a state to help out at the moment, but the oldster still has some fight left in him. You wanna know something cool? He never stopped charging energy after the Necrozma incident. It's just not as fast because he's tired at the moment.

Hydra: Ah yes those two are certainly working together now, but who knows what could happen. Villains who work together do have a tendency to betray each other, so we'll have to see if that inevitably occurs here.

Guest: "This fanfic of yours reminds me of another pokemon story that was written back in 2006 or 2007 involving Ash, Pikachu, ho-oh etc. Also it was Advancing! Trying to find it so it'll take a while. Update soon! :)(:"

Creator: Did you ever find it? It's been a month now.

Hydra: Yeah I'm curious to figure out which story you're referring to.

Creator: That's all for today, folks. Back to our scheduled Ash portions. Stay safe out there, and remember to revolt against your local government. That was satire, feds.

Hydra: Well guys I hope you enjoyed the emotional roller coaster that was this chapter. The young Genesect is all alone now in a cruel world where she will have to fend for herself. Let's hope she has the courage to get through it and survive.