Amidst hails of gunfire and explosions, Nova's footsteps came to a halt. He checked his watch, prompting a holographic screen to appear from it. On it was described all information of the Tree of Beginning and its valley.
"Five miles," He noted simply before disengaging the screen to pick up his transceiver. "Lee, what's the railgun charge?"
"80%."
A gruff growl escaped from the shadowy man's lips, and he glanced down at the crystal by his neck. "We don't have time for this. Between Mew and Regigigas, the cells at this level will be a death sentence."
Up in the Azathoth, Lee lackadaisically kicked up his feet onto his desk. "Well, our only option is to stall for time or proceed and hope the Red Suits are enough for the cells."
"Not at this level," Rasped Nova on the other end, earning an eye roll from his General. "The Enyo proved that one shot from the Azathoth wasn't enough. Do what you need to do."
Christopher Lee waited until Nova had hung up to let out a loud sigh. "'Do what you need to do,'" He mocked, pretending to use his hand like a mouth as he repeated Nova's words. "Who does he think I am? Dialga? I can't just speed up the charging time."
Atop the Azathoth, merely a few dozen meters of steel between himself and Lee, Lugia continued to stand silently over the body of Articuno. As he looked into the burnt eye socket of the Bird of Ice, it reminded him far too much of what happened to Zapdos by comparison.
Lugia shook his head to try to lose focus on that memory. The last thing he needed right now was any memory of that demon. His upper lip curled, and with a growl, he forced himself at last to look away from his charge.
"When will I ever learn?"
A cyan glow covered Articuno's remaining eyelid to close it. Without looking back, Lugia drove his wings against the ship to send him into the air and flew away. There was nothing left for him there anymore.
Lugia first searched for a way out of the barrier bubble between him and freedom. He cast a Hyper Beam up at it to no avail. As it became evident that he wasn't getting through, he instead turned down. If he had to take down the entire ship, so be it.
Leaning forward, Lugia shot through the air to reach the front of the ship, stopping with a slack jaw upon seeing two colossal pieces of metal jutting out from the ship. Crimson streaks of plasma bounced back and forth between them with a steadily rising hum.
"What in the world…?"
As his eyes scanned the railgun, it wasn't long before he spotted a large window a ways above it. Hissing, Lugia tilted into a nosedive toward it. When he reached it, he spread his wings and sent out a pulse of fierce winds to stop his fall.
Reclining in his chair, Christopher Lee watched the numerous video feeds of the ongoing war. The drones of Commander Manuall and the Nuada Helicarrier appeared to be defending the ground forces against the hordes of Pokemon, including the likes of even Azelf and Uxie.
His show was interrupted by the ship hull suddenly shaking. Brief murmurs of unease quickly turned into screams of terror, and only when Lee's head shot up from his screens did he realize why the bridge crew was sent into such unrest.
None other than the Silver Beast of the Seas himself was on the other end of the bridge's windshield. It wasn't long before his eyes locked with Lee's. What followed was a roar that shook the bridge even more vigorously.
Rearing his head back, Lugia unleashed an Aeroblast directly into the windshield. Endless blades of savage wind raged against the thick glass. Though it had yet to make an impact, Lee wasn't about to wait until it did.
Swiping up a microphone, he announced, "This is General Lee! All units in engineering, redirect all energy unnecessary to life support for the railgun! I repeat-"
A loud cracking sound sent the entire bridge into hysterics. Lee quickly reiterated, "Speed up the charging time!"
Beneath the Azathoth, Rayquaza had returned to blasting the barrier with all he could now that there were no distractions in the way. He had yet to see that black jet again, and though his pride was stained with the inability to return fire, he could at least try what he had done before.
If he could break through and knock the ship down, he could at least give the tree some breathing room without all those turrets firing on it. And as he spiraled and twisted his body around the turrets firing on him, he felt a pang of sympathy for Mew.
Especially after what Ho-oh had done for her.
To Rayquaza's shock, the bullets headed his way suddenly ceased firing. He heard an audible dull droning sound, and the barrier's glow seemed to weaken.
Rayquaza paused for a moment, wondering what to make of this, before mentally deciding deliberating over it wasn't worth risking the opportunity to slip through his grasp. An emerald glow washed over him as he prepared to use Dragon Ascent to penetrate the weakened barrier.
That was, until a pink glow washed the emerald one away.
"And where do you think you're going, old friend?"
Against his will, Rayquaza was turned around. He tried to struggle and writhe to no avail. And when he was turned, what he saw would have made his jaw slack if he could move it.
Floating in the air before him, Rayquaza was met with the sight of a familiar face he hadn't seen in a long time. Scars and burns draped his body, and he held his wounds and heaved for each breath, yet behind his wild eyes and savage smile, the face unmistakably belonged to Mewtwo.
Nudging his head up toward the tree, Mewtwo asked, "Say, why don't you and I take a trip down memory lane?"
And then, he turned and hurled Rayquaza over his shoulder toward the tree. The serpentine Legend crashed into one of its high branches. From the dust, he quickly emerged and glared down at Mewtwo as he approached.
"When I heard you had turned traitor, I could scarcely believe my hearing," Admitted Rayquaza with a remorseful scowl. The wild eyes of Mewtwo sent a chill down Rayquaza's long spine. "…But I suppose I have to face reality. What a shame. Had I known this would have happened, I would never have helped you."
A wry, rising chuckle erupted from Mewtwo. "What's done is done, old friend. That's all in the past. And speaking of the past…" He held his arms out wide to motion to the colossal branches surrounding them. "Isn't this nostalgic? I almost wish the Regis were still alive to make things more interesting."
Rayquaza's face fell for a moment, then twisted aggressively. "What?!"
Rolling his eyes, Mewtwo haphazardly shrugged. "Don't look at me that way just yet. I'm not the one who killed them." And before Rayquaza could retort, a Shadow Ball was slung into his face. "And you should worry more about yourself!"
A Hyper Beam shot out from the shadowy smog covering Rayquaza, and Mewtwo held up a hand to deflect it around himself. With a booming bellow, Rayquaza descended upon Mewtwo. Over and over, he slashed at Mewtwo with Dragon Claw, and yet the clone of Mew weaved away from each strike with ease.
As Mewtwo evaded an upward slash by rising higher, Rayquaza opened his jaw to unleash a Dragon Pulse at him. Yet Mewtwo, a smirk ever remaining on his face, disappeared in a pink flash before it struck.
Rayquaza's eyes widened, and his gaze snapped from place to place to try to see where Mewtwo had gone to. After the seventh turn, Rayquaza's vision was filled by a shadowy mass. A smirking Mewtwo held it just in front of the Sky High Pokemon's face before unleashing it.
With a shriek of pain, Rayquaza closed his eyes and recoiled. His ensuing roar erased the smoke from the explosion and he quickly raced back toward Mewtwo. Just as he prepared to use Crunch, he was frozen in place as Mewtwo casually held up a finger.
Again, Mewtwo sent Rayquaza hurtling into one of the branches. And when the serpent fell from it and tried to launch a Hyper Beam, a psychic glow clamped his mouth shut, and he was flung into a different branch. Over and over, like a toy, Mewtwo tossed Rayquaza around like he was a rag doll.
Yet no matter how fiercely Rayquaza raged against the hold of Mewtwo, he wasn't given the chance to break free before being hurled into something else. As his back smacked against another branch, he snarled and shot a Hyper Beam at his adversary.
It was easily evaded by teleporting. Mewtwo quickly slung another Shadow Ball at Rayquaza, prompting him to quickly cut off his attack to curl his body so Mewtwo's passed through.
An idea struck Rayquaza. "If I can stop his sight, then…"
Instead of lunging for Mewtwo with the inevitable result of being grabbed and thrown again, Rayquaza began to fly around him rapidly. He became like a blur as he flew circles around Mewtwo, summoning a savage Twister attack around him.
When Rayquaza shot out of the tornado, he flicked his tail, and the winds converged upon his old friend. "Did that work?" He wondered aloud.
"No, I'm afraid it didn't."
Rayquaza whirled around to see Mewtwo behind him. "Did you forget that I could teleport? I'll have to remind you."
Rayquaza went to use Crunch on him, only to be smacked down as Mewtwo's tail impacted his cheek. Seeing Mewtwo warp in front of his flight path, Rayquaza tried to swipe at him, only to be met with a smirk, a pink flash of light, and a Shadow Ball in his place.
The explosion sent him back into another one, and then Mewtwo drove his fist into Rayquaza's chin with another. With harrowing laughter, Mewtwo appeared and disappeared around Rayquaza in brief pink flashes, leaving a Shadow Ball floating where he once was each time. Before Rayquaza knew it, he was surrounded by them.
He tried to unleash a Hyper Beam to clear a way through them, only to have his jaw forced shut yet again. Mewtwo threw a punch down onto his head to send him into the first wave of Shadow Balls. The explosion sent him to another, and that one to more.
Helplessly, he was bounced around between the attacks while subjected to Mewtwo's maddening laughter. It was as if he was only a toy to his adversary. It was infuriating! If only he could still Mega Evolve. But then again, wouldn't that let Mewtwo do the same?
So what could he do?
When the last of the Shadow Balls exploded, they sent him toward Mewtwo. With a furious bellow, Rayquaza curled his body around and tried to use his momentum to slam down onto Mewtwo's head with a Dragon Tail, only to be frozen stiff yet again by Psychic.
Mewtwo latched onto Rayquaza's tail and spun him rapidly before tossing him away. He warped toward where Rayquaza was headed, holding back his arms outward.
From each hand, massive Shadow Balls swirled into existence and continued to grow before Mewtwo smashed them together onto Rayquaza in a fearsome explosion that rattled the nearby branches.
Rayquaza was helpless. No matter what he tried, he couldn't defend himself from Mewtwo's onslaught at all, let alone retaliate. He had no defense against Psychic powers. He wasn't especially weak to them, but there was still nothing he could do to prevent his every effort being stopped.
As he fell from the smoke, a grinning Mewtwo dove down after him and clutched him by the throat. It was then that Rayquaza finally saw the yellow of Mewtwo's eyes, and a shadow steadily creeping over his skin.
"Wh-what-?!"
He wasn't given the opportunity to speak more before Mewtwo drove him into a massive branch. With ecstatic laughter, Mewtwo unleashed a massive blast of Psychic energy that made the entire branch shatter into splinters around them.
Rayquaza's head fell back, and his eyes whitened. Yet Mewtwo was far from done. Holding out a hand, Mewtwo caught Rayquaza with Psychic. But he wasn't alone. Every single shard of the broken branch froze in midair also, each one tilting so their most jagged side pointed toward the serpent.
"Psystrike!"
And then, Rayquaza was pelted by thousands of shards on all sides. He didn't even have the time to scream before he was completely entombed and crushed. And when the last of the shards flew, Rayquaza rested in an orb of jagged stone bark.
A malicious grin widened on Mewtwo's face as his eyes glowed. Crackling noises began to erupt from the orb en masse as Mewtwo slowly crushed it. At the center of the orb, Rayquaza laid there helplessly as the bark continued to push against his skin.
He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't see. Was this really his end? After coming so far and surviving the likes of even that black demon, he was to be humiliated and murdered by a former friend?
"Please, help him!"
Rayquaza's eyes shot open as he heard a voice cry out in his mind. "M-Mew?!"
He was especially disturbed at how Mew sounded. It was undeniably her, but he had never heard her sound this way before. There wasn't a sliver of pride or snide in her tone. She was desperate. She was sobbing!
"Please," She begged, "Save Mewtwo! That isn't him! There's something evil holding him!"
A surge of energy coursed through Rayquaza. All along the Tree of Beginning, broken as it was, a bright glow shone out.
An Absol stopped itself from delivering a killing blow on a fallen lone soldier as a glowing shell enveloped it. When that shell broke, its signature curved horn grew into a new curling shape, and stark white wings grew out from its back.
It howled to the sky above as the power of Mega Evolution overtook it. The Pokemon all across the valley who were blessed with the ability to Mega Evolve suddenly found themselves emboldened by that power. And the soldiers who beheld it found their wills weakening at the sight.
And between the branches of the tree, Mewtwo watched on with shock as a similar shell grew around the colossal mass of splinters before him. As it shattered, the shards were sent exploding outward in all directions, forcing him to raise a barrier to block them.
And what he saw thereafter firmly wiped the smirk off of his face. Twin golden, gleaming streaks of round shapes flapped in the wind, leading toward two jagged emerald mandibles. Rayquaza, renewed by the glow of Mega Evolution, floated above Mewtwo.
As Mewtwo tried to speak, he cried out, suddenly feeling an immense pain in his head. He gripped it, shaking and growling vigorously.
"I don't know what you are," Rayquaza spoke, "Or why you have Mewtwo, but now it is clear to me that you cannot be allowed to exist." The sight of Mewtwo writhing made Rayquaza chuckle. "You haven't taken his spirit either. That, you can't touch, or Mega Evolution would have overcome you by now."
Mewtwo's growls of anguish slowly devolved into hissing as he raised his head once more. And with a wide grin, he removed his hand from his face and replied, "Oh, haven't I?"
Half of Mewtwo's face had become covered in darkness. Rayquaza grimaced at the sight. He could see a shadow slowly but surely crawling beneath Mewtwo's skin.
With boisterous laughter, Mewtwo, or Marshadow rather, held out his arms wide pridefully. "His spirit has long since been corroding the moment I took his body as my vessel."
The Sky High Pokemon's eyes narrowed down at the shadow holding his friend. "You won't live long enough to see it."
He lunged for Marshadow until a dark grey Psychic glow enveloped him. However, red crackling energy crawled up Rayquaza's spine, and as it reached his head, it erupted around him.
With the energy of Dragon Dance empowering him further, Rayquaza momentarily spun around to shake off Marshadow's Psychic grasp. A brilliant white light made Rayquaza's body blur, and in an instant, the shadow was being impacted on all sides by Extreme Speed.
Rayquaza zoomed through the air at speeds Marshadow could not comprehend, driving into his vessel without cease. Around them, fearsome winds began to arise into a massive raging Twister.
To ensure that the winds did not harm the tree further, Rayquaza skillfully used his movements to control the way the wind moved with his speed until it concentrated solely around Mewtwo in a torrential orb.
Those winds ravaged Marshadow's stolen body almost as much as the impacts of Rayquaza's body. His anger rose with each blow until it boiled over. Dark Psychic energy covered his body, and his rage erupted in a roar that blew apart the winds with a ghastly burst of shadow.
Rayquaza's winds and Marshadow's darkness created a dark storm around them. Lightning crackled within the storm, briefly illuminating it with their flashes. Amidst those flashes, Rayquaza could scarcely make out Marshadow's form.
Mewtwo's body had become completely entrenched with shadow. The appearance of his form made Rayquaza's heart skip a beat. It looked almost like Mewtwo had Mega Evolved, only into a twisted half form with a jagged yellow crystal jutting out from his right shoulder and two glowing horns curling from the back of his head.
"Well…" 'Mewtwo's' voice came out in a disturbed rasp. "…It seems like this vessel has finally given way."
"Please, save Mewtwo!"
Mew's pleas of desperation continued to ring within Rayquaza's mind loudly. "You lie!" He roared down at Marshadow. "Mewtwo would never fall to the likes of you!"
Yet the monstrous shadow parasite laughed in response. He ran a hand along his vessel, dragging the shadowy winds along his fingers to create a black Shadow Ball.
"There is no Mewtwo any longer. There is only Marshadow."
Rayquaza closed his eyes for a moment, his face contorted with internal struggle. Then, his face became lax, and he opened his eyes once more. "Then, Marshadow…" He practically spat out the name. "…I will erase you!"
He launched a Dragon Pulse down at Mewtwo, receiving a Shadow Ball in kind. When the two attacks collided, the two Legends shot toward one another through the smoke. Rayquaza's Dragon Claw collided with Mewtwo's fist until the serpent overpowered the shadow.
"Commander Manuall!"
The aging commander aboard the Nuada Helicarrier was alerted by a lieutenant below him, taking his attention away from the hordes of flying Pokemon they were combating.
"Reports of an intense storm above the Tree of Beginning have alerted our systems!" She cried up at him. "We won't last long in these skies, sir."
Commander Manuall scratched his beard. He looked out the window to the growing black storm rising amidst the tree's branches.
Then, he nodded. "Take us lower. We're going to be supporting the ground forces with the drones."
An ensign suddenly stood up, and though he saluted his commander, he voiced a concern. "But, sir! Our orders were to thin the numbers of the flying Pokemon!"
That ensign flinched when Manuall slammed the palms of his hands against the railing. "Forget the orders! I'm not risking your life and my crew in that storm!" Then, he pointed at some of the men on the bridge. "Take us down. That's an order. I'll take the blame from Lee. It's not as if he can afford to spare his forces as it is."
The battle between Marshadow and Rayquaza raged viciously. Amidst the swirling black winds, they shot back and forth, driving into one another with blow after blow. Rayquaza's Extreme Speed made him appear like a streak of light, and yet Marshadow kept pace with Mewtwo's teleportation.
As Rayquaza launched a Hyper Beam up at him, Marshadow weaved to the right and held a Shadow Ball in his hands. He flew down, dragging his attack against Rayquaza's to embolden it. He threw the attack down, impacting the serpent's face.
Though Rayquaza recoiled, he pivoted around to swing his tail up at Marshadow, who swung his vessel's own tail down in response. When their appendages clashed, the black winds went still for the briefest of moments before continuing to rage.
Marshadow's tail clamped around Rayquaza's, prompting him to swing the serpent around into the tree's bark. He teleported and grabbed Rayquaza by the neck before dragging him higher against it.
They drove straight through every massive branch in their path until they reached the top where Marshadow proceeded to toss Rayquaza toward the stars above. A dark glow coated three massive branches along the tree's top and pulled.
With loud groans and cracks, the branches gave way and were lifted high. They shot past a grinning Marshadow until they surrounded Rayquaza. The shadow swung his arms together, making the giant branches converge upon the serpent.
They collided with a thunderous crash, and Marshadow held up his hand to make sure every single piece remained in place to crush his enemy. The smile on his face was wiped away as a brilliant orange beam shot out from the branches.
The beam swirled rapidly in every direction rapidly, and then a burst of wind sent the shards outward. Rayquaza flew in swift circles, becoming so fast with Extreme Speed that he looked like a gleaming white halo in the air.
As he spun, the black winds around them began to converge upon him. The falling shards of the branches stopped falling and began to rise as the cyclone dragged them in. And suddenly, Rayquaza stopped.
All at once, he sent down the remains of the branches in cascades, following it by launching dozens of orange orbs into the air that rained down as Draco Meteor. In turn, Marshadow summoned legions of Shadow Balls all around himself and hurled them upward.
They raced for one another and clashed. Their savage battle heightened as meteors, shrapnel, and Shadow Balls collided in the air around them in bright and brilliant explosions. Fists and claws, beams and dredges. These met in savage clashes amidst a rain of explosions that lit up the black storm.
Below, amidst the branches of the Tree of Beginning, Zeraora embedded his claws into the thick bark and clung on for dear life. This was ridiculous, he thought to himself. As if the war wasn't bad enough, he had no clue where Ash could be and now was at the mercy of a storm that appeared out of nowhere.
To make matters worse, there was a sudden, loud, shrill sound that rang all across the valley. The sky suddenly reddened, allowing Zeraora to, at last, see more than a few feet in front of his face. However, it didn't exactly come as a relief.
Far ahead of him, he could see the colossal airship in the sky charging something on that massive railgun cannon. Judging from what he had seen happen to that giant Pokémon from before, he didn't want to sit around and see what would happen next.
"Pika!"
Just barely over the sound of the raging winds, Zeraora's ears perked as he heard the cry of a Pokemon. He looked down and saw a Pikachu crying out from a lower branch. Something sparked in the Aura given to him by Ash upon seeing it.
In a fit of roars and wrath, Marshadow and Rayquaza wrestled with one another, striking blow after blow. They spiraled downward like falling stars in the storm, and when they breached the dark clouds to what was below, Marshadow felt a sudden paralyzing shock run through his vessel.
As he glanced back, his eyes widened, seeing that he had been pressed up against the barrier of the Azathoth. A loud whir of energy caught his attention above him. The red sky was met with an emerald colored light to rival it.
Marshadow's breath caught in his puppet's throat upon seeing Rayquaza twist his body higher and higher into the air. Recognizing what the serpent was about to do, Marshadow called upon Mewtwo's ability to teleport, only for a splitting headache to suddenly afflict him.
A pained, desperate cry escaped Marshadow. "No!" He roared. "You're supposed to be dead! You're nothing more than a puppet on my strings, Mewtwo!"
Then he heard a ringing sound and gasped. The second he glanced up, he was met with a blinding green light. In an instant, Rayquaza's Dragon Ascent had shot straight into Mewtwo, through the Azathoth and its barrier, and out the other end in a tremendous explosion of the earth and sky.
Lee and those on the bridge of the Azathoth cried out and held onto their desks and railings for dear life as a massive quake rocked the ship. As it tilted, the metal beneath Lugia rose up and caught him, momentarily stopping his onslaught.
Atop the Azathoth, it did not take long for immense fires to begin brewing from the tunnel that had been carved through it. Many engineers and scientists aboard the ship stared with wide eyes at the sudden appearance of a diagonal chasm, orange with the heat of melted metal.
Gradually, the ship righted itself in the air, allowing Lee to pull himself back up to his desk. "What hit us?!"
A woman typing away furiously on a screen to ascertain the ship's status replied, "Unknown! However, the Azathoth has suffered extensive damage! Its flight has not been impacted, but life support is draining and the chords between Yveltal and the railgun have been severed!"
Lee felt a deep chill run down his spine. "Oh no…" With haste no man of his rotundness should be able to muster, he swiped up his fallen microphone and set the channel to the extraction room.
Within that room, Yveltal continued to scream with rage and agony as the crystal shard above its head drained it of its energy and sent it up through many coils. Now that those coils were severed above, there was nowhere for the excess energy to return to except the source.
The container of Yveltal began gleaming a bright, crimson red as that energy coalesced back into the Pokemon that was an avatar of death. While the many scientists were busy picking themselves back up from the impact of Rayquaza, a grinning Dr. Benedict Mengele kept his fingers firmly on the controls.
"Doctor Death," Came the voice of Lee on the room's intercom, "Delay all power from Yveltal! The ship is in critical condition and the link to the railgun is severed!"
The bad doctor merely grinned, keeping his eyes firmly upon Yveltal. He eagerly met death's wrathful eyes with his own wide, gleeful ones. Ignoring Lee, he slowly slid the dials on the desk before him to their highest setting.
Sparks that tormented Yveltal from the crystal shard heightened, raging against the bindings and container as much as they did for Yveltal. His screams brought an ever-widening grin to the face of Dr. Death.
The voice of Lee rang out from the intercom. "The readings are…! Damn you, Benedict! Stop! That is a direct order!" There was an exasperated growl of desperation from him before he gave up on the doctor entirely. "All other scientists in the room, apprehend Benedict!"
Immediately, the other doctors sprang for Dr. Death, but stopped swiftly in their tracks when the glass casing of Yveltal cracked. A sense of dread fell over them, and with cries of terror, they fled their duties and left the last doctor to his fate.
Doctor Benedict Mengele opened his arms wide and stood back, marveling up at the agonized beast of death before him.
"Come, sweet death!" A laugh of pure ecstasy arose from him as he shouted this proudly. "The Pokemon of Death and the human of death! How brilliantly our union shall be! How sweet the song of torment that is yours! Come, swee-"
The glass erupted with a deathly red light that filled the room. That light, that ghastly red death, burst from the doors and spread. Metal erupted, hallways were filled. One second there were screams, and then only the chittering hiss of that deathly wave.
It spread through the halls of the Azathoth, taking many lives without mercy. One man, nearing an escape pod, cried out in terror as he witnessed the approaching red wave. His cries were swiftly silenced by an explosion that erupted from the Azathoth. And from that explosion, Yveltal soared free.
Yveltal announced his presence over the valley with a savage screech. Dark energy coalesced around him as he tucked his wings together, making a shadow begin to sweep across the sky.
A handful of soldiers dared to look up as the sky suddenly darkened, only to be met instantly with the hand of death. The dark crimson beam, Oblivion Wing, raced across the valley.
Soldiers ran and hid to no avail. In an instant, they were rendered as petrified statues with their lives drained. Their faces behind the masks of their helmets were eternally rendered frozen in shock.
That life force traversed up the beam back to Yveltal, and as it washed over him, he shuddered. For the first time in months, he felt something other than anguish. Relief.
The wounds of countless incisions, whippings, burns, injections, and more gradually were erased by the stolen energy of life. At last, the pain began to subside.
It wasn't enough.
He needed more. More! A thousand souls for what he had experienced! And he would get them. As many as it took to pay these monstrous men a thousandfold for their transgressions.
And so, with a harrowing screech, he aimed his wings down upon the valley and sent another Oblivion Wing to take back the life that was stolen from him.
Only when the ship had finally seemed to right itself did Lee let out a sigh to resign himself for whatever came next. He flinched when what came next was another resounding bang on the main windshield.
Lugia, having recovered from the sudden tilting of the Azathoth like Lee, resumed his assault. With Steel Wing, he began bashing against the thick glass repeatedly. His roars, though dulled by the glass and steel between them, still shook the bridge nearly as much as his attacks.
Lee slid his chair down toward the main firing button and slid up its glass casing. As he hovered a finger over the button, he asked, "Can the ship endure another firing of the railgun?"
A woman working on a computer replied, "The railgun is only at 88% completion. An incomplete fire would fry life support systems and, with the state the ship is in, result in it tearing itself apart!"
Another bash from Lugia's Steel Wing rocked the bridge. Lee snapped his fingers and shouted, "Get on the preparations regardless of that monster outside will tear the ship apart itself!" Then, he pointed toward an officer who was running around. "You! Ready the escape pods regardless of clearance levels!"
Sliding back over toward the center of his desk, he quickly grabbed his microphone and announced, "All non-essential personnel for the railgun, you are relieved of duty! Make ready for the escape pods and return to HQ for further instructions!"
Another slam resulted in the glass cracking, prompting Lee to quickly shoot for the firing button again. "Are all preparations ready?!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Then buckle down." As Lee instructed this, he met Lugia's savage eyes and took a silver ring out of his coat pocket. "We don't know if that glass will hold when it fires."
Along the railgun of the Azathoth, the crimson plasma gathering between its two ends crackled with greater haste as the accumulated energy was prepared for launch.
With the winds swirling around the tree gone, Zeraora at last managed to drag himself back onto the top of the branch where he fell on his back, gasping for breath. But the shrill whine of the airship set him on edge.
As he rolled over to see it, his eyes widened. It was nearly blinding. The Aura Ash had given him made his fur stand on end. A sudden sense of complete dread washed over him, and then, he recalled the Pikachu he had seen prior.
Jumping down from the branch with all the haste of lightning, Zeraora grabbed Pikachu faster than the mouse Pokemon could react. Electricity pooled around them, and then they shot high into the air with a great yellow flash.
Within the tree, Ash and his friends continued their trek through the tree. They ran, heaving for air that seemed to be more and more lost to them the longer this war raged on.
In Ash's arms, Mew suddenly stirred. Her eyes went wide, and she screamed with dread. "NO!"
Around herself and those near her, she created a gleaming pink barrier. The others, stunned, were not given the time to ask what was happening before a sudden quake answered their question.
Lugia momentarily ceased his attack on the Azathoth's windshield when the crimson light at his back suddenly heightened. He felt a rising heat along with it and turned to shield his eyes with his wing. It was that opportunity in which Lee pressed the button.
Soldiers all over the battlefield dove for cover behind anything they could find. There was confusion among the Pokemon as they witnessed the men running until a Xatu warned them in their minds of the impending disaster. Many cried out in terror for their lives, but the elder Pokemon turned and cried out that same terror for their beloved tree.
There was silence for a moment as the gathered energy of the railgun was coalesced into a single point. And then, a deafening roar. Lugia cried out as that heat became a burning glare that raged against his skin and washed over the windshield.
A single red shot flew from the railgun into the gash made in the Tree of Beginning. For all its sacrifices, Ho-oh could not prevent this. Zeraora brought up his arm to shield himself and the Pikachu from the intense glare below them.
Deathly waves raced throughout the tree's tunnels, blasting them wide open. A brilliantly-colored valley full of water and life disappeared in an instant, replaced by fire and obsidian.
Mew cried out in agony, yet still pushed herself to her limits to keep Ash, his friends, and her beloved Shaun from perishing. The agony of feeling her body burn away from the inside would have been nothing compared to losing more of her children.
Along the outside of the tree, explosions of red light erupted. Massive holes were blown out on nearly every inch of the tree, causing its bark to rain down along the valley. The entire tree was shaken and split apart. Its branches swayed horribly and shattered, their remnants raining down around it.
The mother of all Pokemon let out a final agonized wail until the red light had at last faded. And then, she fell. Ash scarcely managed to catch her, immediately flooding her body with his Aura.
"H-hey, Mew!" He cried with worry. Her lifeline was hanging by a thread. She gave no response to him. Her head fell back limply in his grasp, making his heart sink. The little Ralts accompanying them tugged at his pants, crying out with worry.
He shook his head, picked up the Ralts, and set it on his shoulder. "We need to go now! Mew won't last much longer like this."
Within the Azathoth, the lights began flickering and sparking as rogue energy fried its systems. Alarms and emergency lights began to flare up all across the massive airship.
The scientists and engineers inside piled from their rooms into the hallways following Christopher Lee's final command. People cried out as they were pushed against the metal walls, tripped, and trampled over while the others scrambled for their lives.
Lee himself waited carefully, observing this on the cameras. While those on the bridge continued to work to stabilize the ship as much as they could, a sudden thud against the glass caught their attention. Lee gasped and shot up from his seat, backing away.
As the red light from the railgun faded, a heavily burned Lugia slowly continued to beat against the windshield with his wing. After the railgun itself shook the ship so heavily, each Steel Wing attack seemed to crack the glass more and more.
It was seeing this that had Lee finally draw the line. From his coat pocket, he took out a silver ring and tossed it beside him. It grew larger, and from it, a blue rift appeared.
"Alright, bridge crew, pack it in!" He clapped his hands to garner the attention of those present. "We're returning to HQ! Everybody move!"
But as he himself made a move toward the ring, there was a sudden crash and savage winds that nearly dragged him off of his feet. He crashed into his desk, and then a deafening bellow made his ears ring.
Daring to look up, Lee's eyes widened when he saw the silver beast, wreathed in steam from the railgun's heat, dragging himself through the now-broken windshield. He went to the ring once more, only to be dragged back by a Black Suit who raised his barrier around them.
A Hyper Beam impacted where Lee had just been standing, bathing the area surrounding them in flames. When they subsided, Lee's expression became aghast at seeing the imitation Hoopa ring lying in pieces.
Another Black Suit swept up those pieces and ran toward Lee. The two men in black ushered Lee into a nearby hallway, narrowly avoiding another beam.
"Has an escape vehicle been readied?" Asked Lee impatiently as he raced alongside them as best as he was able.
"Yes, sir."
Lee sighed. "Good." He stumbled when the savage roar of Lugia echoed throughout the hallways, followed by explosions and screams from those on the bridge. Lee quickly added, "Get all available staff to stop that monster!"
One of the Black Suits nodded and spoke into a transceiver from his shirt. "All combat-certified personnel, your prior orders are rescinded. You are to make way for the bridge to combat Lugia. I repeat-"
A savage explosion tore through the ship, bending parts of the hallway behind them inward before flames flooded in. Thinking quickly, one of the Black Suits raised their barrier once more while the other dragged Lee toward their escape route.
A silver wing clasped the edge of the corner before suddenly bending outward from a cyan glow. Lugia's head craned around. With bloodshot eyes, he glared at the Black Suit and opened his mouth to launch another Hyper Beam.
That beam impacted his shield. Steadily, the metal around him began to melt from the sheer heat. Sweat ran down the Black Suit's forehead as his barrier began to redden as well.
Before the shield could break, he shot his hookshot toward a corner far behind him and let it carry him toward him, swiftly kicking off the edge into the second hallway before Lugia could turn the beam toward him.
Heaving for air, the Black Suit pulled himself back off the ground. He stumbled upon hearing loud bangs from the hallway as Lugia used Psychic to bend it outward to accommodate him.
Lugia gripped the sides of the hall, tearing into them with his wings to pull himself through while roaring loudly. That roar echoed through the metal halls, making the Black Suit wince and clutch his ears.
That Black Suit tossed a smoke bomb into the hallway where Lugia approached from, earning an enraged scream in response. The Black Suit readied his spear gun, sending the spear spiraling within its holster as he waited for the face of Lugia to appear.
Unbeknownst to that Black Suit, the results of Lee's earlier order bore fruit. Boots of the soldiers stationed on the ship clattered against the metal as they ran to combat Lugia. However, the deafening roar of the silver beast made them instinctively freeze as every inch of their body was shaken by the sound.
They spotted a Black Suit brandishing a weapon at some smoke. Suddenly, that weapon was yanked out of his hands by a Psychic glow and was crushed into scrap.
He tried to shoot a hookshot over the heads of the soldiers to escape, only for it to be grabbed by Psychic and pulled into the smoke. The Black Suit scrambled to take it off to no avail, and he was pulled in with it when the wire met its end. There was an explosion that briefly lit the smoke, and then silence.
The soldiers stood in shock, their faces pale. A thunderous stomp shook the hallway. Silver wings reached through the smoke and clenched at the walls. Then, the head of Lugia emerged from the smoke, glaring down at the soldiers.
One of the soldiers dared to raise their gun and fire. The bullet stopped just in front of Lugia's eyes. His gaze centered on the bullet, stopped by Psychic, and turned it back on its source. It shot down into the gun of the man and out the other end into his chest.
As he was knocked onto his back, the others gazed at him in shock. They weren't given the chance to even glance back at Lugia before he was upon him. He slammed his wing down upon the nearest one, denting the metal further, and roared at the rest.
The soldiers cried out with voices they could no longer hear as their eardrums were ruptured. Tossing the corpse of the man beneath his wing behind him, Lugia scrambled through the hallway at the rest of them. The ensuing quake was their only warning.
Dazed and disoriented, bereft of their senses, the men tried to raise their weapons and aim to little avail. Lugia's wings dragged the men against the walls, scouring them across it. Their heads slumped forward motionlessly as they lay embedded in the center metal.
Lugia grabbed one of them and planted him firmly into the steel at his side before dragging himself forward. And as the men wisely began to run, they were stopped by a cyan glow surrounding them.
One man, a lowly engineer who had been left behind, cowered in a nearby computer room. Each scream, crunch, and clang made him shiver and shake all the more. With tears streaming down his cheeks, he could only watch the distant shadows of man and beast through the doorway until all went silent.
One man ran past his room, abandoning his weapon, only to be caught by Psychic and erased by a Hyper Beam. Then, all went still. At first, there was only the sound of the alarms and distant trembles in the ship. And then, the sound of something massive dragging its way through the hall.
Slowly, it rumbled. Silver scales dragged along cold metal. Sweat began to fall from the engineer's skin as the heat in the room rose. And then, gleaming, cyan eyes peered into the room. He shivered, clasping a hand to his mouth, to not avail. His wide eyes already met the silver monster's.
So, he raised his hands and pleaded for his life. "P-please! I'm not a soldier like them! I'm just an engineer! I'm just doing this for my family! There weren't any other job openings!"
But Lugia heard nothing the man said. There was only endless ringing. And when Lugia spotted the insignia of the Nova Corporation, that exploding star patch, on his suit, he opened his mouth. In his wet eyes, the lone engineer sported a reflective orange glint.
"Go, go, go!"
One of the soldiers in the Azathoth motioned with his arm toward the direction of one of the ship's hangar bays. Just as the two Black Suits with Lee passed by, among many other employees, there was a loud booming noise that shook the metal.
Nearly being knocked off his feet, the soldier decided enough was enough and began running after the rest of them. Repeated sounds of groaning metal and roars began to ring through the hallways with greater sound as he ran. He didn't have the 'stones' to dare to look back.
There was a loud, rising, whirring sound. He slammed a button on the side of a control panel, initiating a loud buzzing sound. Behind him, metal doors began to gradually lower one after another.
Unbeknownst to him, a red glow began to appear at the center of each door as heat surged on those points. There were loud crashes and screams from the people he ran past. But he didn't dare to look back.
At last, he saw the final door before the hangar bay slowly lowered just after Lee was whisked through. Thinking quickly, the soldier ducked down and slid underneath the door just before it could close. Thereafter, he heard dull banging behind him.
While Lee was pulled away toward an escape route, the soldier, his fellow soldiers who had made it, and the Black Suits in the hangar crouched around nearby corners and held their weapons steady.
"Open the door!" Someone shouted on the other end. "Please!"
The soldier's eyes went wide upon recognizing the voice. "Bruce!" As he ran to the door, he saw the face of a dear, close friend on the opposite side of the glass.
"David!" Shouted Bruce, continuing to slam his fist against the door. There were many others beside him, also crying for their lives. "Hey, man, open the door for us. Don't leave us here!"
Without hesitating, David nodded. "Absolutely. You're my brother, man! I wouldn't ever-" As he turned to the control panel, he found a Black Suit aiming a pistol at his face.
"Don't even think about it, soldier." With that stark warning, the Black Suit took out his plasma knife and stuck it into the control panel. Its sparks deactivated the panel, sending up smoke and ensuring the door could not be lifted.
David's eyes widened. "No!"
He was jostled by the Black Suit grabbing the collar of his shirt and shaking him. "Know your role and get your head in the game. You knew there would be sacrifices when you signed up. Get your act together unless you want more people to die."
David's face fell as the realization of what was inevitable fell over him. Slowly, he backpedaled toward the door to face Bruce again. The two soldiers wore similar expressions. Despite his position, Bruce was the one to muster the last of his bravery first.
"Hey…" He paused briefly to ponder his words and keep his stature in check. "…David, my little girl can't be alone. Could you keep her safe for me? You gotta get outta here." He put an arm up against the door. "Promise me you'll do that."
Shakily, David nodded. "I will. I promise."
A loud bang rang out from behind that caused Bruce and the people trapped with him to stumble. Then, another. He and the soldiers with him took out their weapons and aimed at the second door.
There was another that bent the door inward, sending the skin of the trapped men crawling. Those without weapons—the employees never meant for combat—crumbled into the corners of the room and wept, lamenting their wasted lives.
After the sixth bang, there was silence. Some of the engineers and scientists dared to raise their heads. "Is it gone?" One of them asked.
Bruce kept his weapon trained on the door. He remained motionless, keeping his hands steady and a finger on the trigger. His fears were proven right when a high pitched noise rang out.
Steadily, an orange glow on the door began to spread. The metal hissed as smoke rose up from it. Creaks and groans from the door began to fill the room. Each pop was a dent not only in the door, but in Bruce's nerve.
Unable to stand it any longer, he threw down his weapon, turned to face David through the door, and opened his mouth to shout something. Before he could, orange light raged into the room, and he was gone.
David cried out and ran for the door but was grabbed by his suit by a Black Suit and tossed back. The soldier, heaving with sobs as he lay face down, tore off his helmet to bury his face in his hands.
The Black Suit went to bark something at him until he saw that same orange glow begin to emerge on the next door. His eyes shot wide, and immediately, he jumped back and began shouting orders.
"Everyone get back now! Get away from the door!"
He and the others began to run further into the hangar bay, preparing for the inevitable any way they knew how. David, however, remained on the floor. Scowling, the Black Suit grabbed him and tossed him toward the nearest escape pod.
"Get a grip!"
He held up his barrier just as a plume of smoke and fire erupted from the door. From that smoke, the silver monster emerged. Bathed black and red in burns, he held up his head and bellowed a declaration of war.
Immediately, the soldiers opened fire. Lugia received only the briefest of glances at Lee being escorted somewhere out of the corner of his eye until his vision was beset by hot lead.
Roaring, Lugia swatted a wing through the air to kick up a miniature tempest. The men, all of them, were sent onto their backs. David cried out in fear, slowly scrambling up to his feet with a look of horror frozen on his face.
As he stumbled into an escape pod, Lugia's bloodshot glare met his own eyes, and he could have sworn he felt lighter, as if his soul momentarily left his mortal form.
As the silver beast opened his jaw to charge a Hyper Beam, David pressed a button that closed the pod. Just as the attack was launched, the pod fell. Along the underside of the Azathoth, amidst a rain of debris that was beginning to fall as explosions wracked the ship, a pod fell through the smoke.
Lugia craned his head away from the smoke to face the others. Steadily, they were rising to their feet. One Black Suit tried to shoot his hookshot above Lugia, only for it to freeze above the beast's head and be flung right back.
Crying out as it pierced him, the agent fell back and sputtered. There was a rising whir sound that made the doomed man's blood freeze. He dared to look up and confirm his fears. He saw the wide maw of Lugia, and within it, a forming Hyper Beam.
When he tried to raise his shield, a Psychic glow held down his arm. A shriek of terror escaped his mouth, and he turned to look at the other soldiers and suits in the hanger. They stared back at him, mirroring his expression of hopelessness.
"Help-!"
An orange beam silenced his final plea. With a savage roar, Lugia dragged the Hyper Beam across the metal, sending up smoke and flame. Soldiers dove for their lives as the beam passed, though not all were so lucky.
None of them could escape the deafening bellows of the savage silver beast, which shook them inside and out. Hardened soldiers dropped their weapons at the sound and stood starstruck. The feeling of being completely overwhelmed; of being prey, was too much to bear.
Their lives were swiftly ended as Lugia smote them. His wings crushed, his beams erased, and his Psychic power gripped those who tried to flee and crushed the life out of them.
One brave man swung a fuel canister around and tossed it at the beast, taking aim at it with his pistol, only for a cyan glow to drag his arm right back down. When he saw that same glow upon the canister, his heart sank. He and those near him could scarcely let out a scream before they vanished in flames when Lugia shot it right back.
Some of the men, in their desperation, dove out of the hanger to try to grab onto something flying from it, only to scarcely miss the mark and sail down with a doomed scream.
The sound of propellers tearing through the air with their blades filled the air in the brief absences of Lugia's roars. He turned and saw as a massive helicopter departed from the Azathoth. Within it, Lee was hurried out of sight, but Lugia was not fooled.
He opened his maw and screeched, planting his wings on the floor of the hangar to obliterate the escape vehicle. Weapons all along the large helicopter took aim at Lugia and fired. The silver beast screeched, shielding itself with Steel Wing.
Behind Lugia, a lone Black Suit primed his spear gun. However, the memory of his comrade and what happened with their hookshot stuck out in his mind. Would the same just happen with the spear?
So he scanned the hangar bay until he noticed the large fuel lines along the walls. They were sturdy so no stray bullet could penetrate them. Evidently, even Lugia's attacks hadn't yet. But he wondered…
Rolling over, he took aim at the wall, set the spear drilling in its holster until the tip burned white, and fired. The sound caught even Lugia's attention, feeling the shockwave graze him. When he turned, he saw the spear drilling into the thick metal lines along the wall.
Sparks flew from it like rain. When Lugia's eyes went cyan, a black cylinder entered his vision from below. Everything went white, and the ringing in his ears became deafening.
As Lugia screeched and writhed, the Black Suit sprinted for the edge of the hangar and shot his hookshot onto the landing rails of the departing helicopter. When his wire caught on and pulled, he heard the beastly roar of Lugia at his back.
Lugia scrambled after him, crawling across the burning metal floor like a shambling monster. And then, as he neared the edge of the hanger bay, the fuel lines behind him went off.
In an instant, an explosion engulfed the entire hangar bay. The metal of the Azathoth, already rocked and loosened by Regigigas and its own railgun, split apart with loud, shrill groans.
As Lee watched this from a window, his heart sank upon seeing two cyan eyes gleaming amidst the fire. The flames bent outward and away from Lugia by his Psychic strength, and met Lee's wide eyes once more with a paralyzing ferocity.
Suddenly, the helicopter's movement slowed as a cyan light crawled over it. The maw of Lugia opened to unleash a final Hyper Beam upon his hated enemy, seeking to strike him from his world once and for all.
There was another loud creak, followed by the floor beneath Lugia's feet tilting down. His beam scarcely missed the helicopter's underside. The sounds of metallic groans and screeching heightened as the hangar shook violently.
Screws fell out of place or were crushed. Plating, melted away, began to fall from their places. The entire hangar bay and its surrounding hallways bent and creaked. Lugia tried to take to the air and fly after Lee, only for the roof to come crashing down upon him.
With a final loud snap, the flaming hangar bay slid out of place and fell down. Lugia cried and raged, bathed in the gaseous heat, as the metal carried him back down to earth. His raving screams filled the air all the way down before being silenced by an explosion.
Christopher Lee raised a trembling hand to his jaw in order to shut it. When he saw the Black Suit that had set off the explosion pulling himself onboard, Lee rushed out of his seat to greet him.
"I swear to you," Began Lee, rapidly shaking his hand, "That if we get out of here alive, you are getting a fortune!"
Behind Lee, the two Black Suits that had acted as his escorts watched this, scarcely hiding their chagrin. The celebration was cut short when one of them glanced out their window toward the Azathoth and suddenly lunged for Lee.
"Get down, General!"
A massive flaming chunk of metal shot toward them. Seeing it, the pilot swiftly caused the helicopter to descend. Still, the chunk crashed into one of the four propellers and sent the aerial vehicle into a spinning free fall back down to the earth.
All along the Azathoth, fire and explosions ravaged the ship inside and out. Shards of it began to fall outward, propelled by those explosions, all over the valley like rain. Slowly but surely, it was beginning to tear itself apart.
Nova watched this from the ground with mixed feelings. A small black chopper slowly lowered itself beside him and his Red Suits. Nova brought up his transceiver and spoke to his men that remained.
"The valley is no longer stable, nor is it our target any longer. The holes in the tree are now large enough for all of our vehicles to enter. All aerial units take as many ground troops into the tree as possible. Cover what ground forces remain and clear a path for them to enter on your way."
Then, he ended the call and put a hand onto the helicopter's side to board it. That was until he saw a colorful glint slowly float past him. Vines shot up from the ground en masse. In an instant, the Red Suits were bound and the landing rails were tied down, causing the pilot inside to cry out.
But any vine that drew too close to Nova withered and died.
Slowly, he turned around. Standing near was Xerneas. In Nova's presence, Xerneas felt like the air was even thinner than it was already becoming. Each breath she took was labored, and she held her head low with her antlers pointed.
"You…" Her voice, though she was shaken, remained as gentle as she could manage. "What are you? I can't sense any life in you."
Then she saw the grafted crystal on his neck and gasped. "Th-that cannot be!"
Nova raised his hand to his watch slowly, not taking his gaze from the Pokemon of Life, and twisted a notch on it. The vines surrounding him and his men vanished into black dust. The sensation caused Xerneas to let out a shrill, shocked gasp.
A sensation more empty than death itself overcame her senses within her vines. Physically, she recoiled, shaking herself to be rid of that horrible, horrible feeling. With wide eyes, she beheld this terrifying man and stomped her hooves into the ground.
"You…!" Her voice trembled, just as shaken as the rest of her. It was like being in the presence of Necrozma all over again; a sensation she never wanted to experience for the rest of time. "That power shouldn't exist any longer. Why do you wield such a terrible thing?"
The man simply answered her by turning away and seeking to board his helicopter once more, only for it to suddenly explode in a plume of fire. The Red Suits shielded themselves, only to suddenly become entombed in stone.
From the flames, Nova fell and landed on his feet. He looked up to see a red and black glow coat the sky in dark miasma. At the epicenter was death, glaring down at something worse.
"Yveltal!" Xerneas cried up at him. She blinked, hardly believing what she was seeing. "You are safe and unharmed!"
At the familiar sound of his counterpart's voice, Yveltal's eyes snapped toward her. Her excitement upon seeing her opposite returned at last faltered when she saw the feral look in his eyes.
Yveltal let out a low grumble, finding the words to speak after what felt like years. "…P-partner," He rasped, lowering himself beside her. Each flap of his wing chilled Xerneas. From him, too, she felt something far worse than even the deathly pulse she was used to feeling from him. "It has been too long. Far, far too long. Had you forgotten me for this long?"
"N-no!" Protested Xerneas. "There were no end to…! There were so many…!" In the presence of Yveltal and Nova, she found it difficult to even think, let alone speak. That horrid energy she sensed from them both, or rather, the absence of any energy or life at all, was smothering.
With the claws on the ends of his wings, Yveltal scratched and scraped at the leftover wounds inflicted by Benedict. He set his sights upon Nova, snarling as he saw the insignia on the man's suit.
In turn, Nova clicked another notch on his watch, and the petrification of his Red Suits vanished. As if nothing had happened to them at all, those 'men' returned to the side of their master.
Every second of what was happening before Xerneas made her more unnerved. "What is…?" She could not find the mind to finish her sentence.
Anxiously, Yveltal scraped his tail against the obsidian ground. "It matters not. Wherever we are, whatever has happened…I will tear the lives of these men from their husks to pay back every wound they gave me!"
Xerneas, shaking her head, stood firm at the side of her opposite against the man. "There is much to discuss. Too much. But it will have to wait."
And so, the two stood against Nova. His Red Suits made no move. Slowly, Nova pulled up his transceiver.
"Ryder."
Further south, in a barren, quiet crater, Nova's voice rang out amidst fits of static. The armored man lay motionless, unresponsive to his master's call. Most of his body was entombed by stone already; a hollow burial.
But Nova's voice continued within his servant's helmet. "You have rested for long enough. How long will you stay down and let the beasts have their way? Today marks the dawn of mankind's freedom. I will need you to achieve that. Rise."
On Nova's order, the body of Ryder stirred. There was a sudden breath, and a beep from his life support signs.
Wordlessly, Nova turned and began walking. His Red Suits accompanied him. Xerneas and Yveltal stared at him, befuddled, as their enemy suddenly turned tail.
Yveltal snarled at him, "Where do you think you're-?!"
But he was stopped by Xerneas standing in his path. When he looked at her questioningly, he followed her gaze and saw a cloud of dust approaching rapidly. Nova and the armored man exchanged a brief glance as they passed one another.
As Ryder's heels dug into the ground to bring him to a swift halt, the cloud of dust followed after him and draped him, his master, and the Red Suits. Snarling, Yveltal swiped his black wing through the air to be rid of the dust.
But what he and Xerneas saw on the other end was not the man they had just encountered. He and the bizarre men in red with him were nowhere in sight. And while Xerneas's eyes scanned the horizon in search of that dreadful man, Yveltal's were locked on what was left in his wake.
"You…!"
Yveltal recognized that sleek black armor in his endless nightmares. The man who dragged him into the torment he had experienced for so long to begin with.
Yet that black armor was no longer quite as sleek as he remembered. It was cracked and covered in black ashes, erasing any shine it had. Half of the man's visor was gone.
He brought a hand to his blade, catching the attention of Xerneas. With a splash of sparks, he drew his sword and held it at his side against the shadow of the tree and Azathoth alike.
Flaming shrapnel rained around them, clattering on the blackened ground with loud thuds. "Too many times," Began the man in armor, "I have failed my master. No more."
When he set his sword to Fire-Type, a stark blue flame erupted from the black blade. Far above, a fearsome explosion erupted from the Azathoth and split it cleanly in half. But Nova's most loyal servant paid no attention to that.
Instead, he stood against life and death, pointing his blade at them both. "As long as I live, I haven't failed my master yet." A singular yellow eye peered out from the darkness behind his half-broken visor. "But your lives are at an end, beasts!"
And then, Ryder, proud servant of Nova, launched himself at the two Legends.
Author's Note
Pokextinction Fact of the Day: Ryder has come a long way from being an expendable asset who was matched by a barely-trained Zero to an invaluable servant who squares up with every Legend he comes across. Loyalty this fierce doesn't come easily.
The Creator- Didn't expect two chapters in one month, did you? I suppose this makes up for how long the last chapter took? Mewtwo and Rayquaza felt a bit nostalgic. I'm not sure how many of you remember, but in Arc 1, Mewtwo and Rayquaza teamed up against powered up versions of the Regi trio in order for Mewtwo to try to discover how to achieve Mega Evolution.
Hydra- Something interesting you guys might not remember is my old username on here used to actually be called "Novastar", but as I planned out the story more I knew very early that I needed to change it in the new and old chapters so it couldn't be so easily figured out as to who "The Man" really was.
SilverWolf1130: Huh. I was curious as to where Xerneas was during all of this.
Oh you sad pathetic little pawns… I don't have any sympathy for the soldiers.
Man, I wasn't expecting the Beast trio to just run away like that… poor guys.
Maybe you should've called in Lugia, Hoopa. Or maybe Giratina and Arceus.
Man, that last battle with the Burning Man was crazy. He's just so consumed by vengeance, he'll destroy anyone in his path, even his own Allies.
And as Kakashi once asked "What will you do when you get your revenge? All you'll feel left is emptiness."
Man, Poor Latias. I wonder if she felt the Soul Dew being destroyed?
Yup. Revenge is a constant theme in this story. And as for the greater vengeance, it's Nova's vengeance against Mew for what she did to him years ago…
I'm ready to see them finally clash…
This was another great chapter, guys. Keep it up!
The Creator- Speaking of Xerneas, I hope this chapter hyped you up. Even proud Legends can get PTSD. Lugia, Chief among them. And speaking of Lugia, I think he was a bit busy to be called by Hoopa. Heh.
The Burned Man was absolutely nuts. Wonder who is more crazy for revenge between him and Lugia?
And I think you're the first person to make the connection with Nova. I didn't expect anyone to by this point! Kudos to you.
Hydra- Hope you loved the destruction in this chapter. I loved the horror elements with Lugia and just seeing his progression go from this tame honorable pokemon, to this feral beast that kills without mercy. After that scene with the engineer I have to ask, do you still have no sympathy for the soldiers? hehe
G: Good chapter, it was interesting to see Xerneas joining to the fight, as she like Mew tried to reasons with the Nova branch soldiers, than outright to attacks them in the beginning, even Xerneas was holding back in stops them, than kills them, showing that Xerneas is a few of the Legendary pokemon that still keeps their moral code largely intacts. Even she showed a lot surprise for the mindset of the Nova corporation, like that according them, the mankind is slave of the pokemon, leaving Xerneas very sad for this misplaced and negative opinion from them toward the pokemon.
Also, it was interesting to see the battle of Hoopa, particulary the part in that she called to the Legendary beasts to helps her. But sadly, the Beasts were notably traumatized by the demise of Ho-oh, adding their dread for the clear threat that the Nova branch implies, leading to that they ended running for their lives, than fights the Nova Branch. Well, this was very interesting to see, because regarding the psychological effects of this war in the Legendary pokemon, showed that while some of them, like Lugia, Reshiram and Genesect become pokemon ruthless and thristed for revenge, others like Suicune, Raikou and Entei ended developing a notable fear toward the Nova Branch, to the point of prefers avoid fights them, leaving clear that this war is starting to crushes the morale of the Pokemon side in some ways.
And talking about psychological aspects, it was very great to see the battle of the Burned man vs Moltres, Latias and Keldeo, as each one of them has revenge wishes, making that this was a personal battle. Without count the fact that during most of the battle, it was notably hard to see who could wins, because no one have the upperhand during this battle, making that this conflict was titanic and difficult, for eveybody. Though that it was notably admirable for the Burned man, managed to fights alone against three Legendary pokemon at once, as the Burned man wasn't even supported for anyone, as he coldly killed the Black suits men that were to helps him, much to the horror of the three Legendary pokemon, leaving clear how much dangerous was the Burned man, as he was so ruthless that he doesn't gives a shit for anyone, and also so lethal that he could fights against several Legendary pokemon without support.
Seriously, this was a great battle, thanks The Creator and Hydra for this.
To finishes, i wonder if Mew could appears in the next chapter, as to considers the sacrifice of Ho-oh, Mew should retrieves some of her power, allowing her re-joins the battle. And to considers the carnage caused by the Nova corporation, perhaps this time, Mew won't holds back, and she will unleash all her wrath in this cruel people that only want to purges every pokemon in this planet.
Keep the good job.
The Creator- Seeing as how Arceus described his relation with humans in his past history during Arc 1, maybe some of these Nova Corporation guys aren't ENTIRELY in the wrong. However, he unintentionally forced humans to obtain a level of creativity for their survival which they are using against Pokemon now.
You would think that a Legend could never get something like PTSD from war, but after Necrozma, their whole world view was shattered. They aren't so untouchable anymore. Inside and out.
The Burned Man VS three Legends was something we were planning for a long time since it was evident that Harper VS Moltres alone would NOT be an even fight. Originally, Registeel was going to be used instead of Keldeo. Then I had the idea for the brutalization of Registeel alone and so it was.
Hydra- That's another big thing to consider. Most of the soldiers that make up the Nova Corporation army are normal people who have either had their lives ruined because of pokemon or lost a loved one due to them. It really shows a side to the pokemon series that we never got to see, about how many people lost everything due to pokemon and their potential feral nature when they're not domesticated by humans. And when it comes to the legends. They have almost ended the world so many times that you'd think humans would eventually have enough of it and take things into their own hands.
The Creator- Next time, the war will be taken inside the Tree of Beginning. As the Nova Corporation forces scramble to find Mew and put an end to the war, the Pokemon will risk life and limb to stop that from happening.
Hydra- I think I said this in another chapter but I'll say it again. The reason my name is Hydra is because I got a lot of inspiration from the organization in Marvel because of how they had their hands in a lot of the problems that arose for our heroes. Anyway, you guys have a good week!