The Unova region, contrary to most of the world at the moment, was largely tranquil. Its distance from the other regions allowed for comparative peace. Indeed, even a Nova Corporation base sat still and silent on a coast near Dragonspiral Tower, despite what the rest of its organization was doing.
Nary a soul was to be seen proximal to this base. Not human, nor Pokemon. Dragonspiral Tower had always been a place most Pokemon avoided given how frequently the likes of Zekrom and Reshiram visited it. As for humanity, anyone not associated with the organization wanted nothing to do with the base, and that base only gave Pokemon a second reason to avoid it.
On top of it all, not even any personnel belonging to the base could be seen. Not scouts, not guards, not even transport vehicles terrestrial or airborne. Even the nearby coast was rather still, contrary to Hoenn's oceans.
What disturbed this silence at last was a gleaming golden line that cut down through the air. It split away, prying the air with it until it became a rift. An uneasy breeze came from that rift, followed swiftly by sharp winds that caused the trees below to sway.
From that rift emerged Arceus, his eyes gleaming red with rage at the information he had just found. Those eyes turned down upon the silent base. His son was there. The thought of what these monsters wearing human skin were doing to his son sickened him to no end.
"Your torment is at an end, Palkia!" Bellowed Arceus, his powerful voice nearly flattening the forest he floated over. Several golden orbs of energy swirled into existence around him like divine fireworks. Their shapes warped into sharp edges.
As Arceus primed the arrows of Judgement to tear open the base, a sudden chill in the air made him pause. Between him and the base, a blob of shadow cut through the air. Red claws emerged from the shadow and pried it open. Beyond the dark veil was a harrowing face.
Arceus sneered down at his firstborn son. Besides him appearing here at all, there was something else suspicious about him. A look in his eye, a shake in his breath. And his shadows were somehow even darker than before. This odd behavior was the only reason Arceus had not addressed him yet. He studied his son, waiting for some kind of explanation.
Upon spotting his father, Giratina chuckled. "Looks like that odd human had his information right. You appeared here after all."
"What is the meaning of this?" Demanded Arceus, narrowly holding himself together while his anxiety crawled along his bones. "Do you understand what has happened?"
Giratina replied darkly, "I understand what needs to be done."
More black rifts appeared in the air, and from them, more shadowy tendrils emerged and attempted to spear Arceus. A golden barrier emerged in the Alpha's defense, halting the intent of the dark claws.
Rings of divine light gathered into Arceus's body, causing him to glow. A potent pulse blasted out from him, scouring the tendrils to the wind. And yet, the wings upon Giratina's back remained there. Arceus wondered if they had ever moved at all. It was only then that Arceus realized that Giratina had appeared before him in his Altered state, rather than the serpentine form he normally chose to occupy.
However, he had plenty of other things on his mind. "I have no time for your foolishness, Giratina!" He roared. "Begone! Do you even realize what you defend?! Palkia is being tormented within that building as we speak!"
Barking out a laugh, Giratina responded, "Do you honestly think I am foolish enough to believe that? When Palkia fled, he had access to every corner of the universe." His head tilted as he spoke to a continuously disturbing degree, far past what his neck should have been capable of. "And you decide that saying humans captured him was the best you could come up with to get me to stand down?"
Patience was running thin for Arceus. "Stand down, Giratina, and I will pry open that accursed building and show you!"
Without giving time for his son to respond, Arceus unleashed his Judgement attack upon the Nova Corporation Base. As they descended upon their target, dark rifts opened in the air to intercept each arrow and take them into the abyss.
"Not so fast," Chided Giratina.
Months of effort spent focusing his emotions began withering away within the increasingly irritated Arceus. "Get out of my way, Giratina," He ordered, "Or I will force you out! I will not allow your misguided judgement to endanger Palkia!"
Once more, Giratina bellowed with laughter. "I am the one endangering him? How rich is that? I have done nothing but take measures to ensure his safety."
Arceus's eyes widened, then narrowed down at Giratina. "What have you done?"
"You were right to accuse me in the Hall," Spoke Giratina proudly. "I told my young brother what you really are. I showed him what you really are." His own eyes narrowed into Arceus's challengingly. "But I did not take him anywhere. He fled you of his own free will after what he saw. By now, he could be at the corners of the universe, and if that means a life safe from you, let that be the end of it."
Primal rage welled up within the Alpha's throat. Were his missing son not right beneath him, he feared that he would have lost his senses then and there. Amidst a barely withheld fury, Arceus asked, "Do you know what you have done?"
"I know that I have freed him," Retorted the Renegade. "Wherever Palkia is now is more safe than he ever could have been with you."
Unable to stand it any longer, Arceus unleashed a golden pulse from his body as his rage boiled over. "Fool!" He roared. "How safe is Palkia supposed to be while in the clutches of the Nova Branch?!"
A dark red pulse cleaved through the air as Giratina chose to unleash his own power in response to his father's rage. "What a blatant lie! That is what you have always been best at. It was your lies that killed the first Palkia! I will not allow them to kill the second!"
That same primal, divine energy emerged from the core of Giratina's being. Yet, unlike Arceus's power, his son's was not alone. Within that core was a variable not native to any Pokemon. A pitch black crystal spun within the dark void of Giratina's core and crackled with untold energy.
"I will not lose another brother!" Swore Giratina as newfound power coursed through his veins.
Suddenly, Arceus could no longer sense Giratina at all, despite the fact he was staring right at him. "That power. What have you done?"
A wry grin crept up the face of the lord of shadow. "A foolish human offered me power. All I had to do in return was protect this base from you, so I am holding up my end of the bargain." His head tilted toward the base. "After all, if you want whatever is inside, then I would be more than happy to get in your way."
If Arceus wasn't letting loose his rage in his energy, he did not know what he would have done. "FOOL!" He bellowed with enough force to shake the ground and sky.
"If I am a fool, it is a hereditary trait," Retorted Giratina smugly.
Unable to stand his son's presence any longer, and unsure of what he might do if he let his mind linger, Arceus raced down and attempted to bypass Giratina to get at the base. What he did not expect was for his firstborn son to rise up to meet him. They clashed, their opposing energies burning the air around them.
Arceus roared, "Get out of my way, or I will-!"
"Or you'll banish me again?"
That made Arceus falter for a moment, which was long enough for Giratina to summon more tendrils to grab and throw his father off of him. Smirking, Giratina raised one wing toward the base, and a large rift emerged beside it. The land around the base broke off, slowly floating toward the rift.
Golden chains emerged to stop it. They took hold of the base and pried it back. Its walls began crumbling as the chains crushed them until more tendrils emerged from the large rift and shattered the chains with their claws.
Arceus growled and went to intervene, only to find himself unable to move. Tendrils wrapped around his legs suddenly dragged him down toward a rift. He found himself in the Reverse World, followed swiftly by Giratina. And yet, Giratina's form did not change despite the realm he occupied.
The rift to the normal world faded behind Giratina. "I have been waiting eons for the opportunity to drag you down here like you did to me."
Enraged, Arceus shook the world of distortion with his might as he let out his power all around him. "I should have seen this coming. The day you finally became foolish enough to betray me."
"Ha!" Laughed Giratina. "I have been waiting for this opportunity ever since the day you banished me. If I am foolish for finally freeing this world of you, then you are even more foolish to have not stopped this sooner."
Arceus's eyes were like daggers. "I had other things to attend to, and I had hoped you would see reason by now."
"Other things, such as sending your children to their deaths?" He shrugged, laughing to himself. "What's one more?"
Though Arceus tried to retort, Giratina gave him no such leisure. He disappeared in a veil of shadow before emerging behind his father with a Hyper Beam primed. Glowering back at him, Arceus summoned a barrier between him and his son, sure that the power of his plates would protect him.
Sinister energy manifested on the tips of Giratina's mandibles and reached out to the Hyper Beam while it formed. Just as Arceus raised a brow at this, that attack was launched at him, having become something that shouldn't belong.
A black Hyper Beam erupted from Giratina's maw. The beam ate away at Arceus's barrier, tearing through it like it was not even there at all. The barrier warped in shape before fading in a veil of dark mist, exposing Arceus. He had only the time to gasp before the beam consumed him.
That beam flew across the Reverse World, destroying all it came across. The equivalent space in the normal world fell prey to this as well. Just as stone and soil, twisted already as it was, were obliterated within the Distortion World, the same occurred in the land above.
A grimacing Arceus emerged from the attack's aftermath. Although the attack had delivered little unto him than scratches, Arceus was taken aback by how little care Giratina had shown for the destruction he caused.
"Giratina, why?"
With a scoff, the renegade answered, "The world can heal from a few mere scratches. They are worthwhile if it means being rid of you."
Snarling, Arceus barreled toward him. "You are misguided!" He chastised, bringing up his knee against Giratina's chin. "Foolish!"
Giratina brought back his head, his crimson eyes gleaming as he prepared something. But Arceus beat him to it. His forehead gleamed as golden godly energy swirled to a point. Expecting a Judgement attack, Giratina brought up his shadow-coated wings. What he did not expect was his father driving his forehead straight through his wings and into his face.
Recoiling, Giratina flapped his pained wings and shook his head. He hissed, but grinned despite the pain he felt. "That's the father I know."
An icy blue plate appeared over Arceus's back. It fell into his ring, causing the ring to take its color. "Icicle Plate, open!"
Narrowly, Giratina turned his head to avoid a jagged icicle before it could hit him. It impacted a small island floating amidst the abyss and completely encased it in ice. He turned back to see a hail of these icicles coming his way and opened his maw against them.
A Hyper Beam sprayed through the air to destroy these icicles in a veil of fire and smoke, yet more of them pierced that smoke and fell upon him. It was difficult for him to evade the hail in his so-called Altered state. Without his serpentine body, he could not twist himself to better fit between the gaps.
One icicle clipped the side of his body, but that small touch was enough. The ice overcame him in an instant, turning him into a frozen statue. More icicles piled on, coating Giratina in more and more frigid material. Arceus ceased the attack only once he could no longer see Giratina within the ice.
His eyes narrowed upon something within it. A shadow, creeping along the cracks in the crystals. That shadow traversed the ice as if it was not there at all before exiting out an edge. The darkness of the shadow fell away to reveal Giratina with nary a mark upon his flesh.
"Perhaps that would have worked before, father." Giratina's shadowy wings flexed outward, growing colossally in scale. "However, my power has grown while most of yours is still lost to you."
Arceus scoffed, revealing the potent energy he had taken from the cosmos during his idle hours. "It is still enough to take care of a rebellious child."
Giratina's colossal wings bathed the Reverse World in further shadows, darkening it beyond sight. Arceus's power sent lights through the darkness. Those lights searched for their target, narrowly missing a shadow within shadows as it crept through the darkness.
As those lights were scattered, Arceus saw brief movements in the darkness where they passed. Arceus traced its movement, and when it neared closely enough for Arceus to see gold and red, he descended. Golden light around Arceus crashed down onto Giratina, dispelling the dark.
Yet Giratina did not budge even as Arceus pressed down against him. His dark wings shielded himself as he returned the favor. Their clash disturbed the unstable fabric of the Reverse World, causing the already unnatural landscape to twist and tear even further.
Within the ordinary realm, this energy caused an uneasy wind to begin picking up. Trees bent and swayed in response to this steadily growing wind until it grew to a maelstrom that raged against the walls of the Nova Corporation base.
Within that base, all was still. Nary a soul made a sound. No footsteps, no keyboard clicking, and no breaths. Save for one unsteady source. Within a sealed chamber, a young Pokemon laid upon a laboratory table, unconscious. It tossed and turned in response to the raging winds outside, and the disturbance below.
Arceus and Giratina were eventually forced away from one another as their colliding energy peaked. Yet neither let this impede them for long. The ring on Arceus's back became pitch black, rivaling even the darkness his son conjured. He flicked up his neck, sending a spiraling cascade of Dark Pulses down upon Giratina.
Each one of Arceus's attacks absorbed the dead light around them and reduced it to even further darkness. But Giratina was well versed in darkness by this point. Aeons trapped alone in a world of shadows had prepared him for that, even in spite of his type weakness.
His black wings absorbed what little light there was left as he rose to meet his father. Within the veil of darkness only the sounds of vicious attacks rang through, followed by brief flashes of light that were quickly absorbed.
Each blow was more savage than the last, gaining speed and intensity. They were fueled by a burning, growing desire. Desperation drove Arceus's attacks to greater heights as his youngest son weighed upon his mind, and an ecstatic Giratina pictured the future he saw ahead: one without an oppressive tyrant controlling the world with puppet strings.
The frequency of their attacks and ferocity of their convictions only continued to heighten. Every fraction of a second became laced with invisible strikes within the dark veil. Eventually, the frequency of their blows created light within the darkness, as that darkness could no longer absorb the light created by their clashing strikes.
One final mutual clash dispelled their own darkness for good. Arceus glared into the eyes of his firstborn, a look that Giratina eagerly returned. Dark energy swirled onto Arceus's forehead, and he cast Giratina down into the void. Smirking, Giratina allowed the darkness to overtake him and disappeared.
A streak of red caught Arceus's attention. A black tendril thrusted its jagged claw toward him from the side. It narrowly missed his face, and only when he turned his head to follow where it had gone did he realize the mistake he had made. Giratina shot up at him from below, another black Hyper Beam between his open mandibles.
Giratina launched the attack so forcefully that even the land it passed was annihilated without coming into contact with it. He howled with laughter as he continued to pump energy into the attack, reveling in the thought of finally delivering justice upon his father. His laughter faltered when he saw two red orbs glaring at him from within the beam.
Those orbs closed the distance between him and them before he could react, and then his vision went red from sudden pain.
"Arrogant!" Roared Arceus as he struck Giratina's chin with his knee. "Foolish!" As his knee sent Giratina's head up, Arceus raised his foot and stomped it back down. "Selfish!" He barreled the side of his body into Giratina's, sending them both careening until they crashed into a spot of warped land.
With every hate-filled word Arceus spat, he delivered another savage strike to his son. "Despicable, traitorous, filth!" His plate changed to Dragon as more energy swirled onto Arceus's forehead. Giratina had little more than a moment to regain his composure before Arceus slammed his forehead onto Giratina's with enough force to annihilate the land they stood on.
And as Giratina sailed down helplessly into the void, Arceus, blinded with rage he thought lost to him, gathered draconic energy all around him and bellowed, "YOUR DELUSIONAL REBELLION ENDS NOW!"
Countless arrows surrounded the falling Giratina. All he could do was gasp before they were upon him. The arrows bombarded him, and in an instant, he disappeared into a growing cloud of smoke. Arceus did not cease the bombardment until every single arrow was fired unto their last.
When the heat clouding his mind fell away, Arceus realized what he had done, and panic struck him. Just as he was about to call out to Giratina, his fears were seemingly put to rest. Within the dwindling smoke, Giratina twitched, looking as if he was just a breeze away from falling upon his back. His eyes seemed empty as he choked on his own breath.
"Giratina?"
The sound of his father's voice made Giratina go stiff. Burning life returned to his eyes, as did his fury. Within him, a certain crystal began to spin rapidly, sending its energy coursing through his veins as it whirred. Giratina knelt forward and stomped down upon the island he had fell onto.
A darkness Arceus had seen only once before engulfed his son. Within it, he heard the sound of bestial roars of fury that were all too familiar to him. Those were his own roars from an era long past.
When the black veil was cast away, Giratina emerged in all his serpentine horror. Six tendrils jutted out from his back, red claws on each end threatening to rend the very space they touched.
Slowly, he turned his gaze up toward his father and smiled. "Glad to know," He rasped, "That your heart is in this. I had feared you would grow feeble, but you're the same as ever, father."
Author's Note
Pokextinction Fact of the Day: Although the Zygarde cells have little plot relevance, their role cannot be understated. They intentionally stay split to slow the Nova Corporation's efforts at gathering them all together and act as spies. Not to mention that they've had to pick up the balance slack of Yveltal being gone for so long. If the Nova Branch had gathered Zygarde and Yveltal, it would not have ended well.
Creator: Yes, that was a reference to Pokemon Legends: Arceus at the end there. This is potentially the shortest chapter we've ever written, but it accomplished what it needed to. We'll be seeing more of this a bit later…after the long awaited confrontation at the tree.
Hydra:I think everyone knew this confrontation was coming for awhile. With how Arceus and Giratina have treated eachother ever since the first chapter it seemed a confrontation was inevitable and now here we are.
SilverWolf1130: "Wow… once again, I'm left speechless.
I was expecting Manaphy to be doomed but nope. He brought backup.
Oh, Kyogre. You really need to work on your social skills.
Kyogre suddenly freezing up makes me worried something happened at the tree. Oh, boy. That has me worried…
Auto, you poor delusional fool. Oh, the naivety of the human mind can always have consequences…
The Nova Corp just really loves getting under Lugia's skin, it seems. Poor guy.
RIP the Soul Dew. As someone who adores the Eon Twins, that hurt me…
Looks like they're gonna get away with the Sea Crown. Crafty bastards.
Another great chapter, dude. As always, I was on the edge of my seat every moment. Can't wait for the next chapter :)"
Creator: Manaphy running away and pulling up with Kyogre is like a little kid running from bullies and then showing up with a bunch of Hell's Angels.
Social skills are a bit hard to develop at the bottom of the ocean.
Latias ain't gonna be happy when she finds out about this.
Thanks for reviewing! These give us inspiration to keep going. Always love reading em.
Hydra: I always love seeing Lugia get pissed, compared to how he was in the earlier chapters compared to now just shows have far he's fallen and Ryder certainly isn't helping the situation. Opening literal old scars will do that I'm afraid.
G: "Good chapter, so Ryder and his men sieged Samiya to takes the Sea Crown, well now we learned about their reasons to get the Soul Dew from Altomare, to uses its power to keeps away the water from Samiya during the extraction of the Sea Crown.
Also, was interesting, yet sad to see the interactions between Kyogre and Lugia, because despite to the latter comes to helps the former to fights the Nova Branch member, Kyogre refused the help of Lugia, showing that sadly the some of the remaining Legendaries, are reluctance to work together, something that could means a lot disadvantages, especially with the current situation, as thanks to the actions of Nova Corporation, now the pokemon ended like the number one enemy of the mankind, implying a lot problems for them, meaning that the remaining Legendary should to makes a truce if they want to triumphs here, otherwise, the Nova Branch could simply picks one for one, making this quarrels a bad plan.
And talking about Nova Corporation, to considers the sudden shock of Kyogre and Lugia about something regarding the Tree of Beginning, i wonder what happened there, as i doubt that their reaction would be only by the apparition of Nova Corporation in this place, as their shock could implies that Nova Corporation started to attack and destroy the Tree of beginning, something catastrophic, especially if Ash and Mew can't stops them, as this place and the Aurastream are the life-force of the pokemon world, meaning that Nova Branch could ends endagering the entire world in the process.
And talking about the world, i wonder if the events of the "Order 66", could appears in the next chapter, or the next to it, as i would likes to see the kind of effects and consequences for the pokemon by the actions of Nova Corporation, as i have a hunch that maybe the effects of this "Order 66", could be similar with the people that used to worships the Legendary birds and Lugia, and ended seeing them like demons for the actions of Lee, but this time, could be in a global scale, something terrific and potentially destructive, as basically this incident could means that the mankind and pokemon become enemies, with the possible exception of a minority that stil see the pokemon as friends.
Or even maybe this "Order 66", could ends causing more like a Great Schism, like in Halo 2, in the sense that after the propaganda of Nova Branch, could creates two sides; one sides that still supports the pokemon and refuses to listen this lies, and other side that supports the human supremacists ideals of Nova Branch and considers the pokemon as a threat, meaning that this "Order 66", could has as consequences not only pokemon purges, but also civil wars in some territories, meaning a lot consequences for the pokemon world.
To finishes, regarding the Tree of the beginning, i wonder what will happens here, Ash and Mew could at least stops the Nova Corporation from destroys this place, or they will manages to causes a notable blow to the pokemon. Well, even if Mew will be a notably dangerous opponent, as she is easily a matches for Arceus, adding that unlike many other Legendaries, Mew wasn't crippled physically in some aspect, or traumatized psychologically, meaning that she is still in her prime for this battle, implying a truly challenges for Nova Corporation to fights her, especially in her territory.
Though that even if Mew has the upperhand here, in terms of raw power, knowing Nova Corporation, i thinks that they have an ace under their sleeve, after all, they never acts without a plan B or plan C, meaning that is unlikely that they were reckless to attacks the Tree of the beginning without some kind of countermeasure or contingency plan against Mew. Adding that maybe they could plays dirty in this battle and simply tries to attacks any pokemon that lives near in this place, to forces Mew to plays defensive and protects this pokemon, leaving her more exposed to some attacks, or even incapable to defends all the fronts at once, especially if they have advanced Dark type weaponry, meaning that this battle could be truly interesting of see.
As other point, regarding Serena, i couldn't says the possible effects of the weapon in her, because to be honest, i don't sure if Serena truly got shot by this gun, or Paul or Riley got shot instead, or even shots Ash with it, as the last chapter leaves this scene open to interpretation, leaving me with the doubt about whom recieved the shot.
PS. To considers the Elemental types bullets, i wonder if the Burned man could have some of this ammos with him, or even an experimental variant from this, like a special Water type bullet, that if it is shot against a Fire type pokemon, this bullet could causes permanent damage to their physiologies and bodies, i mean, maybe this bullet could be like a jammer or a scrambler in their body, in the sense of injects the water type within their bodies, something very bad or even fatal for a Fire type pokemon, as in the best scenario, this water bullet could basically "nullifies" their fire type, disabiliting their normal resistances, like against fire, grass, bug, ice, steel and fairy types, but still keeping their normal weakeness, like against water, rock and ground types, adding that maybe as other side-effect from the bullet, the Fire type pokemon couldn't uses any fire type attack anymore, much like the Primal Kyogre's ability that nullifies any fire type attack. And in the worst scenario... Death
Meaning that maybe with this Special water bullet, the Burned man could set score in Moltres for burned him alive, and takes away a part of the Fire Bird; its Fire type, just like the Legendary did with him to forced him to lives in a powersuit forever, like Darth Vader.
Keep the good job"
Creator: No amount of words can describe how much I love your long reviews. These are an endless gift to writers.
It's nothing personal between Kyogre and Lugia. Kyogre's just a hardass. He'd tell almost any Legend to screw off, and for the ones he wouldn't, he'd still be thinking it.
Mew is one heck of an opponent to be sure. Although her power may not be as potent as Arceus at his prime, her variety of abilities makes up the difference. For an ordinary threat, Mew is unpredictable. But the Nova Corporation is no ordinary threat.
Good call about the alternate plans. One thing Nova is good at is even turning a plan's failure to his advantage. When Necrozma was no longer his ally, Necrozma still weakened the Legends enough for Nova to make his next move. When his island base sunk, it gave him the opportunity to shift the world's focus onto Team Rocket. When the brainwashed wild Pokemon he had gathered to attack New Goldenrod failed to allow Lee to kill all the CEOs and have the Star Foundation absorb their assets, the incident caused the surviving CEOs to send all their support to get Team Rocket out of the way.
Very few mission failures are truly failures for him. One door closes, another opens.
Hydra: While I won't spoil what's gonna happen I can say that I definitely got a lot of inspiration for Halo when making this story. Halo Combat Evolved is my favorite game of all time and over all the years of writing this story whether it be big or small Halo definitely had an impact for me. You know it's kinda funny how many similarities there are to Star Wars. I think I just subconsciously had Star Wars in the back of my mind without even realizing it and I drew from it a when you point it out it makes me realize "oh snap they're totally right" lol.
Creator: Next time…we finally get to revisit the Tree of Life. What will happen there? What occurred that made Lugia and Kyogre so stunned?
Hydra: Well guys while this one might be short I promise the next one will make up for it. It's gonna be a doozy so make sure you guys get some popcorn and be ready to have your jaw drop in shock. That's all from me, have a good day guys.