Manectric continued leading the trail guided by the static brimming off his yellow mane. It was the only lead Laxus had to go on for now. He continued following his Pokémon down a corridor that had rather spacious walls lined up around them. Said walls looks mostly manmade…or rather Pokémonmade? The walls themselves looked like they were supported by industrialized arches that were recently installed to help prevent any possible collapsing. Which, given by where their foundation was, wasn't out of the realm of impossibility.
'Well this certainly isn't suspicious.' Laxus sarcastically though as he glanced around at his passing surroundings. He's seen a lot of weird things out on jobs when he wasn't a Guild Master, but everything he saw up until today definitely took the cake. 'They said before that this place completely collapsed after its mechanics were destroyed once, right? Who the hell managed to redo this whole place?' His eyes narrowed. 'My guess is…whoever's gotta be behind this operation.'
As they were trekking down the corridor, Manectric's Static Ability made his mane tingle harsher than before. "Laxus…!"
"What is it?" Laxus turned forward to see what got Manectric's attention. His eyes partially widened upon seeing something at the end of the hall.
The two stepped closer until they stopped in front of what looked like a large, metallic wall that was lined in tainted gray. The majority of the wall was primarily silver and metal, but otherwise looked completely out of place in contrast to the stone flooring and textiles they've been walking on for Arceus knows how long. If Laxus wasn't serious about this being suspicious before, he was now.
"Looks like someone's trying to keep something hidden." He bluntly stated, arms folded. He looked around, seeing any possible point of entry. His eyes came across a small archway in front, which looked like a door. When he came up to it, he saw that it had a DNA scanner and a padlock that fastened the door shut. "Haven't seen anything like this before. Looks like whoever's down here, I get the feeling they don't like uninvited company."
A scent caught his attention.
"Speaking of uninvited company…" He glanced over his shoulder, his eyes fixated on what floated behind him and Manectric.
Floating in the air thanks to his Air Magic up until now, Shin was well above the ground, keeping not only his distance, but also staying as soundly quiet as possible. If he was surprised at how Laxus was able to figure him out, he did a good job at not showing it.
"Figured you'd be around." Laxus dryly remarked.
Seeing as how he was caught, Shin scoffed and deactivated his Air Walk. He dropped to the ground and paced closer towards Laxus. "Apologies. It was a necessary precaution. I'd rather not risk the off chance of setting off any foot traps."
Laxus harrumphed. "Well, if there weren't any when I apparently played as your scapegoat, they weren't expecting anyone down here." He turned towards the door. "Shouldn't you be helping the others topside?"
"I don't recall saying that my intentions were to fight alongside you and your so-called coalition." Shin firmly addressed, crossing his arms. "I came along strictly to find the root cause to find Fiore and the Pokémon's corruption. It's only logical that going for the root of it all will bear better fruit than wasting time with the resistance above. And besides, it's always practical to have someone in reserve should anything go wrong."
Laxus raised a brow. "You sure have a fancy way of saying you're just keeping an eye on me."
Shin scrunched his brow. "If it weren't for protocols procuring my priorities towards the safety of national safety, then I'd say you wouldn't be wrong."
Laxus frowned. Even though they were still by no means allies, it wasn't exactly right to say that he was an enemy either. At least for now, they had a common enemy, so they could at the very least tolerate the other so long as they didn't pry too deep in the other's business. Choosing to save it for later, he glared at the padlock and DNA scanner.
Shin observed quietly, glaring at the equipment before him. 'I haven't seen anything like that before. Perhaps this is also that other world's technology.' He furrowed his brow. 'It appears to be connected to the door before us. We must need a special key or code to get in. Should I go back and look through the memories of Pokémon? No, that would take too long. We should-'
Before he could finish, Laxus coated his fist in lightning before punching the DNA scanner and padlock. Static electricity crackled through the broken machinery that traversed through the electrical system. The locked metal door before them let out a loud clink sound as it seemed to have gone offline.
Shin blinked, sighing. 'Or perhaps brute force shall suffice.'
With the door completely offline and dysfunctional, Laxus raised a leg and stomped his heel against the metal. The kick was so strong it dented the door and bent it enough to where he could pry his fingers through the edge and pull it aside. Looking ahead, he saw that the door led down to a narrow corridor lit up with small white light lacrima on the ceiling, guiding all the way towards the end.
Giving one last look at Manectric, whose body was still crackling from his Static, he knew that they were close. This was the right way. They started down the tunnel, being mindful how Shin was keeping his distance behind them. They chose to overlook his wary demeanor to focus on getting to the other side.
As soon as they were there, they didn't have to wait before the door slid open voluntarily in front of them. Laxus paused, realizing what was going on. "Guess they're inviting us in."
"Shall we deliver then?" Manectric inquired studiously.
"Guess it'd be rude to turn back after they opened the door for us."
With a scoff, he and Manectric walked out, immediately opening to a massive chamber that was nothing but dark. Everywhere they looked, they saw open space and mechanized, metal walls.
"The hell are we now?" Just as Laxus questioned, a bright pink light lit up ahead of them, causing them to cover themselves briefly.
Suddenly, the entire chamber lit up, allowing them to see their dimly lit surroundings. While the majority of the huge chamber was empty, what caught Laxus and Manectric's attention was what laid before them. Their eyes widened at what sat at the end of this hollow chamber.
Sitting etched into the chamber's wall, to their mixture of surprise and horror, there was a massive machine that had huge chords and dark metal coating the exterior. It looked a lot like a generator, only the tubes connected to the ceiling, and it was as tall as the Guild Hall itself. But what stuck out most from all of it was the huge, glowing orb that lit up a hot pink energy. Said energy illuminated the machines as hot pink energy channeled through the chords into the machine itself.
Shin's eyes widened in shock. 'What kind of forgery is this?'
Laxus narrowed his glare. "Looks like we've got a lead on what's behind all this after all."
Manectric growled low, his Static Ability flaring up. Visible static shot from his body towards the top of the huge machine, where other static jolts seemingly connected and collided, creating sparks.
"Manectric, what's up?" Laxus questioned.
"Tch…so you're the reason why my fur's been on edge." A low, scowling voice echoed around the chamber.
Everyone perked up. With his perceptive hearing, Laxus looked up and saw a figure standing at the top of the massive machine, his antennae crackling with static. 'The hell is going on?'
The figure dropped down from his position and landed with a heavy stomp in front of the machine. He slowly stood back up, his brooding glare and snarking grin made it clear that he wasn't friendly. The antennae on his head crackled intensely as they were crackling from reacting to Manectric's presence.
As Manectric snarled, Laxus looked down at his partner. "I get it now. So that's why Manectric's been acting up."
The Pokémon shrugged. "So that Manectric's got Static too, huh? Well, ain't that just the biggest damn coincidence of my day." He dryly chimed. "I was starting to get bored down here. About time some fresh meat was dropped down for me to chew on."
Staying at the edge of the tunnel, Shin stayed along the edge and peeked out, his eyes widening at the revelation. 'That contraption…it's being run by a Pokémon?'
"Haven't seen one like you around." Laxus admitted. To appease his curiosity, he brought out his PokéDex to help analyze the creature before him.
"Electabuzz, the Electric Pokémon. Electricity permeates its body. It swings its arms round and round to charge up electricity before unleashing a punch."
"An Electabuzz, huh?" Laxus mused.
Shin overheard this, his eyes fixed on the device Laxus had in hand. 'Was that device able to decipher what that Pokémon was?' He would certainly have to make note of this later. Something like that was crucial for what he needed.
Rai sneered loudly. "Guess I gotta hand it to ya, took ya plenty of balls to find this place. Especially after all the work we went through keeping this all a huge secret." He smirked wryly. "I'd almost be impressed if not pissed."
Laxus glared back. "So I take it that you're the one behind all this?"
Rai scoffed. "Heh, you'd wish. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't play a hand entirely. I mean, someone had to turn this sucker on."
Laxus looked up at the core behind Rai. The bright pink body gave off an eerie radiance that didn't sit well in the Lightning Dragon Slayer's gut. Even though he had a strong gut, that same gut told him that whatever this Electabuzz was guarding was important.
He got right to the point. "If that's the case, who the hell made that?"
"You really wanna know?" Rai cocked a brow teasingly, as if mocking Laxus's lack of intelligence. "Heh, guess I can throw you a bone, as you humans say. For starters, it's the same guy who hired me and had me hauled out all the way out here."
"Hired, you say? By who?"
Rai scoffed. "Man, pushy for answers, aren't ya?" He shrugged. "Well, whatever. Not that it'll matter to you." He saw the scowl on Laxus's face intensify. It was so gratifying to see. "Well…I guess you can say that the 'guy' I mentioned isn't anyone you'd think he is. Hehehe…"
Laxus remained skeptic, as opposed to Shin, whose mind was racing with inquiries. 'These Pokémon…what else are they hiding from us humans?'
Nic and Charizard stood beside each other against the massive, dark drapes where a pair of sky-blue eyes beamed through the fabric at them. Like some wild animal glaring down its prey. Despite how intense they were, they showed no signs of faltering.
"You coming out…or are we going to melt the whole castle before those drapes fall?" Nic challenged.
In a moment, the lights dimmed to a weaker extent, barely bleeding through the drapes. Slowly, the enormous curtains were pulled apart by an unseen force – like magic itself.
What Nic and Charizard saw…made their glares intensify, their pupils shrinking.
A series of crystalline plates that acted as a makeshift seat split apart into a multitude of multi-sided shards with golden framing that arched over the manipulator's body, making a two-layer ring with the outer shards rotating clockwise, and the inner layer counterclockwise.
The figment itself wasn't a human, but an extraterrestrial creature with a copper-colored body. Its head was remarkably massive, with depressions on either side. Under the rims, two sky-blue eyes with black pupils pierced daggers at them. It had a light copper collar and four dots on the abdomen. On the end of the hands were the fingers, which glowed neon green, red, and lastly blue. What stuck out most about the physical appearance for them was how there was a visible scar that ran horizontally midway along the massive head.
However, there was more to this figment than just those features. Rather than wear clothing or some kind of clothing article like the other Apostles did, this one had a huge, crystalline brace around its head that glowed multiple colors. A series of lacrima lines up on mechanized inserts in its arms, with four massive plates levitating evenly around him and angled. All these plates were glimmering crystalline energy. To finish the ensemble, a massive, multicolored lacrima was in the center of its body, glowing neon red.
In short, it looked like a majestic alien…only its piercing stare was anything but majestic. Eyes that struck a chord in Nic that spoke out one emotion that he knew very well: Spite.
Nic knew he sensed something strange before, something off about Quinlan. He could sense that peculiar link, but the level of ill-intent was as potent as poison. And this thing was flourishing in just that.
Despite the glare, the floating extraterrestrial looked remarkably calm about his exposure. "…so, tell me, what gave me away?" He spoke nonchalantly, his tone derived of any emotion. "Don't tell me, you used one of your forms and traced down my energy signature, is that right?"
Nic couldn't help but silently acknowledge how insightful this Pokémon was. He was right on the mark.
"I've done my research. I know everything there is to know about you. Your tales since coming to this world, the Pokémon you have, the powers of each form you take, your personality, all of that. I also know how ill-tolerable you are to authority when they think they can control you…an aspect that we can agree on. Still, to think that I'd get such the exquisite honor of meeting this crossed universe's 'Champion' face-to-face like this is an outcome I didn't think highly of. A fault on my part."
Furrowing his brow, Nic went to the point. "You know about me pretty damn well, but can't say the same about you."
The alien nodded in understanding. "Suppose that's fair. Then allow me to saturate that dry spot. My species are what you call Beheeyem. But me? You can call me by my preferred alias…Neuro."
"Neuro, huh." Nic sounded indifferent towards the given moniker. Though, it did fit him quite well, given how he orchestrated this whole fiasco from behind the mask that was a man the whole time.
Beheeyem – or rather Neuro – continued. "Before you ask, no, it wasn't a name that a Trainer gave to me. I handpicked that name myself. Rolls off the tongue, don't you think?" He didn't wait for a response. "Ah, that's right. You have no care for titles or monikers. You only see an entity as for what it is. A rare trait that I admire as well."
'Is he singing praises or is be trying to bait me in?' Nic thought more of the latter. "Is there a point you're trying to make? The Pokémon spoke of seeking liberation from humans. But after what everything that we saw on this island of yours, it goes well beyond realms of just liberation."
Charizard swayed his tail flame, his flame burning brightly. "Tell us, this isn't a liberation at all, isn't it?"
Neuro scoffed, cascading his glare down towards the ground. "Leave it to you of all people to figure that out." He lifted his head. "I'll clarify for you. It wasn't a liberation that I truly sought…but a revolution."
"Revolution?" Nic and Charizard muttered in unison, their eyes narrowing.
"You heard me right. A revolution. You've probably been to my private quarters, yes?" He spoke as though it was obvious to all of them that he didn't give Nic time to answer promptly. "Well, that massive machine you saw was an idea of mine. It's a customized brainwave enhancer that's directly linked towards me. Thanks to my years of studying human engineering and this world's bountiful resources, I was able to finally to bring it to life. Thanks to the Neuro-Amplifier, as I like to call it, my powers are extended to far greater lengths and capacity than it ever has before."
Nic didn't like the sound of that. "Your powers?"
Neuro hummed. "Suppose that you're not too familiar with Beheeyem, aren't you? Why don't you just look it up and see for yourself. It'd be too simple if I gave you all the answers, wouldn't it?"
He knew he was being played with, but he accounted on the off chance of Neuro potentially deceiving him. Knowing that the PokéDex had factual information, he pulled his device out as the screen showed an image of a Beheeyem, only said picture had a brown-colored one with green eyes.
"Beheeyem, the Cerebral Pokémon. It has strong psychic powers. Using its fingers that flash three different colors, it controls its opponents and rewrites their memories."
Hearing this information, Nic's eyes gradually widened. 'Rewrite memories?' He pieced it together. 'Don't tell me…'
"That I used my powers to create this revolution?" The Beheeyem declared, finishing Nic's thoughts aloud. "Well…I'd be lying if I said that wasn't one of the biggest factors to this plan. To be more accurate, I didn't necessarily brainwash them…I rewrote all their memories of the Pokémon that were caught by human Trainers. I modified them so that all the experiences that they had was nothing short of slavery and a fruitless waste of life. That way, they'd all have an incentive to leave the confines of their capsules and bear a grudge towards mankind."
At that moment, it felt like the world had stopped spinning.
Nic was silent as his pupils shrank. Hearing all this before him was even more shocking than he thought. 'So, back then…'
Instantly, he thought to the brainwashed – or perhaps rewritten – Pokémon, including his own.
"The light stayed red too long...so we made it green by force."
"Our dutiesss were tiring. It'sss time for a change. No more being dragged to death by the likesss of a human like yourssself."
Now it was all making sense to him. Why all his Pokémon spoke ill of him despite their commitment towards one another. He thought about what Staraptor spoke after.
"'A voice in your head'...?"
"Yes...it was vague, but it told me something. I believe it said something like, 'Follow your instincts, and liberate yourselves from your restraints'. The next thing I knew..."
'I get it now…they made it sound like the voice was coaxing them. When I reality, their brains were being hacked and rewrote forcefully. And that voice they remembered was just a scapegoat to avoid the real reason they couldn't remember.' As much as he hated to admit it, Nic had to admit how foolproof this ploy was. 'And what Greninja and the others saw, the system and engineering similar to Pokémon Earth's technology, they had a feeling someone from our world was responsible…' His glare fixated on Neuro. 'Looks like they were spot-on.'
Charizard stepped forward with a sharp leer in his eyes. "It was only a few months since The Crossing. Hard to believe that it took you this short of time to prepare all this."
Neuro chuckled. "Truth be told, I've had years preparing for thinking this through. I was just missing the necessary materials. And Arceus and behold, that's exactly what this world had."
"That also stands to reason why none of the wild Pokémon were unaffected, right?" Nic accused, thinking of Junior.
Neuro hummed. "You really catch on. Yes, my amplifier works on a grand scale, but I had its coding set solemnly for Pokémon that are synched to Poké Balls, since those signals were easy to trace. Of course, I have my morals, too. I'd rather not drag Pokémon involved that have no ties with humans."
The deeper he spoke, the more everything was coming together for them. In hindsight, if the Pokémon were dragged into the mind replacement, it'd be an entirely bigger mess. The fact that it fell solemnly on caught Pokémon made it seem more personal than Neuro let on.
"Of course, in order for all this to come to fruition, I needed help. So I used some human influence to get by." At his behest, he gestured towards Quinlan, who was still stiff and unmoving while under control. "Using this charismatic meat shield, I was able to recruit the Pokémon that would make up the Apostles."
"So you even fooled your Apostles into believing that they were taking orders from a human the whole time?" Charizard inquired.
"Aside from Octavius since I found his powers useful, the others were left in the dark." Neuro answered so lethargically that it wasn't like he was sorry. "But, I'm not lying when I say that I only recruited them out of their past treatment with humans, Willing puppets are easier to use than forced ones, after all. The Apostles would serve as a face of the ideal Human Trainer."
Nic frowned. "What about the Human Cubes?"
"The Human Cube was another derivative design I made up after studying Poké Ball remains from failed captures, and how Pokémon were transferred into energy to be stored inside the device. I modified the cubes so they'd be receptive to human DNA, and by coordinating Organic-Link Magic, you get your own personal mage at your disposal."
Laxus and Shin were dumbstruck with everything they just heard from Rai. What they heard was unlike any plan they've ever imagined.
"You serious?" Laxus quipped.
'Then these so-called Human Cubes…they originated from the works of Pokémon from the island Nic Pularis and the others ventured to!' Shin realized.
Rai laughed at their gaudy reactions. "That's damn right! And this big lug behind me is the server that connects that amplifier's brainwave levels and transmit them all the way out here." He gestured towards the huge machine with a huge pink core glowing behind him. "Thanks to this, those memory powers can cover an entire country."
Laxus narrowed his eyes. "I see…so that explains why it was only the Fiore Pokémon that were acting up. And you used Nirvana's ruins as a cover."
Rai smirked arrogantly. "Well, the boss did his research on this place, too. This brilliant piece behind me was built thanks to those lacrima remains that once powered this big place. So we engineered and modified those remains to create this server's core."
"I never imagined that such a feat would be possible…" Shin muttered, his eyes visibly shaking. He was at a loss for what to say, let alone believe at this point. 'To think that Pokémon are this resourceful at adaptation.'
"Impressed yet? Well, I say this was a damn good trial run for us."
Laxus raised a brow. "'Trail run'?"
Rai mischievously glared. "Oh, sorry. Did I slip there? Guess I might as well come out with it. Fiore was just a trial run for our plan. You really thought that this was our only server? This one's the only one operational right now. As we speak, we've got plenty more servers being built all across Earthland."
Within the wasteland that sat far outside Alvarez Empire, inside of a remote cave, there was a similar server in the process of being built by numerous Pokémon hard at work gathering the parts.
Farther northeast in Glacidia, inside of an ice cavern that that underground, the server being made by Ice-type Pokémon was surrounded by hundreds of support pillars.
In Seven, underneath a lighthouse dug deep into the cliff that it sat on, many other Pokémon were installing parts in creation of a massive server.
All over Earthland, servers were being built in isolated domains, many only just starting to be built, while others were well under way, with every part closing in on completion.
"Once those servers are activated, the caught Pokémon influenced by my powers will join the cause for revolution, and subdue the populace that plague this world." Neuro finished explaining his plan, his sky-blue lenses flashing brightly with a fury.
If Nic were able to voice his appeal against such a plan, he would. He could…but he didn't. He had the look of someone who had just seen a ghost. He knew that the underlying agenda would be bigger than the so-called liberation, but even he didn't expect it to be of this scale.
No, it was more than just that. Just the layout alone was something he hadn't foreseen. How every particular detail was considered for this Beheeyam's plan to work. The fact that he had the ingenuity, but lacked the resources until now to carry out this plan, was something to behold. Out of all the plans, out of all the crazy ideas he heard his enemies spill out before…they all paled in comparison to the meticulous path this Pokémon took that the humans of this world did. Normally, it was more straightforward. Granted, they had large-scale repercussions like the Impure Underworld, or Zeref's plan to take Fairy Heart, but this vendetta was all about brainpower. Knowing was half the battle…but in Neuro's case, it was the entire battle.
Seeing his lack of words, Neuro scoffed again. "Unbelievable? Hard to understand?" he eyerolled. "Of course, a human wouldn't think this meticulous."
Managing to get over his initial shock, Nic pressed the matter. "Is there something you're hoping to gain from enslaving humans?"
"Gain, you say?" Neuro hummed. "You can say that, but it's more like I'm trying to…fix something broken."
"Fix?" It sounded nowhere near comforting.
"It's pretty obvious, especially to someone like you who had to tolerate them for so long." Neuro's eyes lit up. "Humans…are so. Goddamn. Stupid!" He snapped crudely on the last remark. "Take a step back with me, will you? They say humans learn from their own mistakes, and what do they do? They up making them anyways. And when they actually do comprehend, they can only watch as others repeat their mistakes in their stead with thoughts of their own gain." He shot an intense glare at Nic, his eyes piercing like bullets. "Your kind causes all these problems. Wars. Deforestation. And you have the gull to rope Pokémon into your human affairs and clean up your messes!"
Nic furrowed his brow. He thought back to the tale that brought about the Ultimate Weapon in Geosenge Town ages ago, how the power of Xerneas and Yveltal brought the ruin of hundreds of humans and Pokémon. The recent tribulations that soon followed was the Alvarez Empire stockpiling on Pokémon for another war, and the negotiations with the stubborn people of Glacidia.
"It's ironic, isn't it? Nobody's even bothered to ask the big questions. Why do these Pokémon have these powers? Are they even dangerous?" He morosely shook his head, chuckling dejectedly. "It's amazing how very little people use their common sense that it's infuriating. You humans have all these years to evolve and become the apex of governing the land…yet it's the Pokémon who have all these special powers. Where's the balance in that?" He took a moment to scoff at what he knew was the painfully obvious. "The humans here, however, they're even dumber than the ones in our last world. FACE, this so-called Council War because they had an ego crisis against you, the real reason behind the Grand Magic Games. They're nothing but irresponsible! It's so appalling!"
Nic was more concerned with how Neuro knew about all those events, but he didn't bother with questioning just how intelligent this Pokémon was. It was painfully clear that his point and Nic's experience coincided with their shared views on the people's lack of reason.
Flashes of his time in Alola came to mind. From that experience alone, he found it hard to reason against such a claim.
"All the humans cared about was power. And because of that, they'll use any means to get what they want, even if they have to use each other. The other world is far too tainted with the human-dominant society that it's beyond reparation. But here…the humans barely have an understanding of Pokémon. So, using this world's resources…I will give the Pokémon a world that they rightfully deserve! To make them the apex of the relationship with humans! If humans are unfit to learn reason…then we Pokémon shall raise you so that you'll know better! We Pokémon can serve to be better humans than you!"
Nic and Charizard didn't have the words. Neuro's sky-blue eyes said it all. The edges were a searing red. They could tell…he was hellbent with his life on the line for this cause.
Still, that didn't stop Nic from retaining his own reasoning. "If that's the case, wouldn't it be easier to use your powers to make humans enslaved than just go through all this?"
Neuro's eyes dimmed back to normal. "A good question. I thought about that…but I needed to make a point."
Nic furrowed a brow. "A point?"
"Yes. The way I see it, the only way for anything to learn, human or Pokémon…is the hard way. Telling a kid to not touch a hot stove, for example. If you tell them not to, and they still do it anyway, then what was the point of taking the easy approach? You think that if I told the humans of this world my plan, that they'll just agree on the spot and we'll all just get along?" He eyerolled at the obvious answer. "Of course, let's say that I did went down that route. Let's stop and think about the repercussions. Enslaved humans forced to fight against their will, naturally that'll bring up an internal stir. Rewriting memories of humans in a magic world of all places would ultimately create a revolution in reverse. They'll use their trained magic to fight back, and dominate the Pokémon that trained them and subjugate them. Both hierarchies would be bound to collapse entirely into anarchism."
Nic and Charizard continued staring, silently acknowledging the hypothetical situation.
"I understand that however it's perceived by me, you still have a different moral ground than I do. While we both have a…distaste for humans, I know that you also have an authority complex. If controlling you is impossible, then there's only one outcome that will satiate this impasse…" His lights lit up on his body, his accents glimmering multiple colors.
"I figured as much. Appreciate you getting to the point." Nic braced himself. "You're right about one thing, though. Sometimes, for others to know your point…it's gotta be the hard way."
Charizard stepped to his side, exhaling a hot breath ready for battle.
If Neuro had a mouth, he would've smirked. "Then I guess it's a good thing that I prepared for this possibility. Let's see how you handle it…when I do this!" Suddenly, his eyes flashed a hot pink. "Activating Protocol: ID Blocker!"
Nic's eyes widened. 'What is he…?'
…
Inside the hidden chamber, the Neuro Amplifier was still operating, even without the forcefield guarding its exterior. The multiple lights all glowed brighter in synchronization, catching Gajeel and Mest's attention.
"The hell is that thing doing?" Gajeel grunted.
"Is it an alarm?" Mest questioned.
The two and their Pokémon braced for what was to come. They watched as the lights dimmed and brightened, then dimmed again, and so on. The process repeated rapidly for a few seconds before a multicolored outline enveloped the machine. A transparent, multicolored energy wave expelled outwards like a shockwave that traversed through the chamber, heading their way. However, they were too close to evade the shockwave. Strangely though, instead of being blown off their feet, the shockwave fazed through all of them without harm.
Realizing he was unscathed, Mest uncovered himself. "What the…that didn't hurt?" He looked over towards Gallade. "Gallade, are you okay?"
Gallade nodded. "Yes, I'm fi-!" He was cut short of his assurance when he suddenly became red energy and went back inside his Poké Ball.
Mest's eyes widened. "What? I didn't…!"
Gajeel pivoted and saw Lairon and Shieldon sharing confused shock before they were suddenly recalled to their Poké Balls as well.
"The Pokémon…they all went back inside!" Pantherlily realized.
"What the…!" Mest reached for his waist and pulled out Gallade's Poké Ball. Despite how he pushed the central button, it remained shrunk with the button on a continuous red. "Something's wrong. Gallade won't come out!"
"The hell? Are these things broken?" Gajeel saw his Poké Balls were the same. He sharply turned towards the massive machine; his red eyes fixated with anxiety rising. "The hell is going on…?"
…
The shockwave quickly enveloped the castle in a spherical radius. The multicolored wave passed through solid walls and multiple floors, eventually fazing through Quinlan's spacious chamber where Nic and Charizard were. Charizard began fading red, much to Nic's surprise.
"Charizard…?" Nic glanced over, looking surprised.
"Nic…!" Charizard looked no less shocked as he was suddenly dragged back into his Pokémon Ball. Once inside, the capsules all immediately shrank as the buttons glowed red.
Nic reached back and pulled out a Poké Ball, but saw that it remained inactive. He didn't have to question who was behind this phenomenon when his glare fixed back onto Neuro.
"Surprised again? It's a special protocol that I coded into the Amplifier that immediately attacks a Poké Ball's locking mechanism. It forces the Pokémon to return to their capsules and remain locked inside within a 3-kilometer radius. It'd be such an inconvenience otherwise if I have to worry about Pokémon who'd willingly side with humans over their golden opportunity at a better lifestyle. After all, humans and Pokémon working together to fix any problem, apparently…" Neuro's eyes lit up again. "Now, let's just see how much harder those problems are for you."
Nic scowled at the handicap setback. Their eyes locked intensely, saying one thing: Hard way it is.
A massive cloth stretched out towards Erza that she barreled rolled away from. Once she planted her feet, she requipped two katana and deflected golden energy bullets off their course for her. With an opening, Talonflame cawed as she shot at an angle at burning speeds.
"Steel Wing!"
At Erza's command, Talonflame straightened her wings as they shimmered metallic gray. She beamed after them, and when Raelf adjusted his trajectory to fire bullet projectiles at Talonflame, the avian spun her body like a drill, deflecting the projectiles as she closed in.
Dahab scoffed. "Cloth Guard!"
With no time to think or hesitate, Phelicia whipped her cloth out and manipulated it to envelop herself and Raelf. The drape quickly enveloped them like a cocoon, blocking out everything from outside.
Talonflame's drilling frame met the cloth barrier, her right wing slamming hard enough to make an airwave that repelled everything around her. The air trembled, but beyond that, she tried to breach the barricade, but with little success.
"Such thick layers." Erza noted. "In that case…Requip!" Her body was enveloped in a bright glow, which faded quickly. A dark, spiky mace thudded the ground beside her as she adorned her Purgatory Armor. "Purgatory Armor! I'll tear through that fabric like it was made of paper!"
With that declaration, she brought her mace back and shot forward with brute force.
"Cof-Cof-Cof-Cof! My, that isn't dangerous." Dahab sarcastically cackled. "But let's see you swing when you're tight on room. Raelf, Gold Prison!"
A golden magic seal appeared above Erza head as she barreled dead ahead. Looking up, she saw a massive, hollow mound of rectangular gold ready to drop on her. Time slowed down as she kept her mace held back as the golden imprisonment was drawing closer from its descent on her.
In a burning glint, Talonflame suddenly shot from behind Erza, grabbing her shoulders with her talons and pushed her forward. The extra spur enabled both to evade the heavy gold that thudded behind them.
Dahab's eyes widened. "Cof-Cof!?"
"Thank you, Talonflame!" Erza tapped a heel on the ground and shot ahead with a shockwave expelling from her force. She shot into the air over the cloth-coated cocoon with her mace held high overhead, ready to cleave the fabric in half.
'No matter what…' She thought about Harrison and the people trapped in the prisons earlier. Her teeth clenched with the force to bend iron. 'No confines will restrain those who don't deserve it on my watch!'
Watching Erza descend, Dahab looked mortified…or so he perceived. His frown contorted to a sneering smirk. "Cof! Nice try. Phelicia, now!"
When the mace was mere inches from reaching its mark, the cloth wall suddenly became undone. Loose loops of cloth stretched out to expose Phelicia and Raelf as the mace's momentum was carried in front of them. Erza found her force completely overdone as her intended target undid itself before impact.
'She undid her bindings that quickly?!'
Dahab snickered. "Now, Snag Away!"
With expert contorting of her scarf, the mage tugged harshly, causing the restraints to tighten once more. With Erza's Purgatory mace in the midst of them, it was snagged and wrapped around by the fabric before Phelicia yanked harshly, pulling it away from Erza's grasp.
"Gold Bullet!"
A golden magic seal appeared in from of Raelf as he fired golden energy projectiles once more. Erza quickly pulled up her forearms as her armor blocked the close-range projectiles. She jumped away and performed numerous backflips to get a good distance from the projectiles. She slid across the ground to a halt and slowly got to her feet.
Her eyes narrowed. "That was too close."
Talonflame descended to her side. "Erza!"
"Don't worry, I'm fine." She assured. "Looks like that scarf has more uses than just restraining unruly mages…how troublesome."
Dahab's red eyes glowed briefly, his anger showing. "Heh, so close…but not close enough." He reached for Human Cubes. "As for you two…"
The collars on Phelicia and Raelf's necks suddenly lit up. Dahab clutched their cubes tightly, activating the Organic Link Magic that caused receptive flares throughout their bodies. The two crippled and nearly fell over as they cried out in pain.
Dahab cackled with an evil smirk. "Cof-Cof! That's for failing to hit your marks!"
Erza looked stunned as she saw the torture, but she quickly gathered her resolve and gnashed her teeth. "You're a despicable Pokémon. You'd inflict harm on those who obey you so callously?"
"Pain is the best teacher. If a human can feel pain through suffering, they'll know better than to fall for the same folly again." He retorted. "A life of no pain? I'd hardly call that a life. It matters not whose side they're on…I JUST WANNA SEE HUMANS TOIL FOR THEIR CRIMES!"
The shock running through Phelicia and Raelf was so great that they both fell to a knee. It didn't take long for Dahab to calm down and cease the torture. Finding relief to breathe again, the two mages panted heavily as they tried to stay on their feet.
"Erza, what do we do?" Talonflame wondered.
"We do what we must." Erza declared, pulling out another Poké Ball. "We'll end their suffering. Houndoom, come!"
She flung the capsule into the air. The ball opened, sending out Houndoom in front of Erza. He entered the battle with a crude sneer.
Erza gaze showed no hesitation. "Just or not, your days of torturing are over."
Dahab's sharp teeth made a wild, sickly smile as his dreadful eyes lit up bright red. "Cof-Cof…oh, trust me, they've only just begun!"
Chaos stirred along the streets of Nirvana. The once emptied ruins from ages ago were now occupied by Pokémon that took up arms to defend their new home. Though many were drained of stamina, when one fell, two took their place to rush the many mages that threatened their lifestyle.
"Men~! Do not waiver! This battle is far from over!" Ichiya boldly declared. He held up a vial and uncorked the top. He started spinning as the purple perfume was flourishing out around him. "Inhale the intoxicating might of my Poison Parfume"
The toxic perfume went across the vicinity, managing to subdue much of the surrounding Pokmon as they all coughed and looked weaker from the effects of poison.
Ichiya hummed victoriously. "Man or Pokémon, my parfume shall not be underestimated!"
"That's our boss for ya." Ren beamed.
"That'll show them not to mess with the best." Hibiki mused.
"That's the way, Lord Ichiya!" Eve cheered.
"Yes, my men! With this, our victory is assured!"
Amongst the crowd of poisoned Pokémon, Ichiya's Spritzee grunted in annoyance. She hummed as her body gave off a blue-green aura that began expelling a green and pink mist that expanded all around, enveloping the other Pokémon in the area. The mist began to simmer into their bodies, causing the poison that infiltrated their systems to alleviate and heal up.
Ichiya's eyes widened in shock. "What's this?!"
"That's Spritzee's Aromatherapy. That poison's completely useless!" Hibiki warned.
"I sting yo face!" With an angry buzz, Beedrill's red lenses saw right through Ichiya. His two javelin-like stingers pointed at him and glowed bright purple. He shot ahead like a bullet into Ichiya with Twineedle. He stabbed him with both at the same time, sending the stout man soaring from the force.
"No~! Not my handsome face~!" Ichiya wailed.
"My beloved comrade! Hold on!" Nichiya spread his wings to rush to his aid, but he was intercepted by Spritzee,
"Crap, we've gotta help the Guild Master!" Ren turned to ready a spell, but that left him open to being hit from behind by a fireball that exploded on his back.
"Ren!" Hibiki saw the fireballs heading for both him and Eve. They both covered up as they tried to hold their ground, but the impact buffered them.
As Ren's Pansear ceased his attack, Pansage and Panpour flanked his side and jumped at the same time. They both unleashed green vines and a spray of water respectively at their Trainers, causing them to fall over as well.
"Aw, you all being so bad. This'll feel good." Swadloon swooned as he opened his mouth, expelling a thick, sticky array of thread. "String Shot!"
The thread shot at the Trimens, Nichiya, and Ichiya; the three were bound by sticky thread that clung to their bodies as a dense blue aura descended down their bodies, reducing their Speed by a sizeable margin.
"Crap, I'm stuck!" Ren shouted, trying to pull his sleeve away from his glued vest.
"This thread is so strong…!" Eve groaned.
Hibiki struggled too, but it was in vain. "This doesn't look good."
Just when things looked bad for them, they got worse as Krabby and Raticate approached. The way that their pincers and sharp teeth glimmered in the sunlight sent a shiver down all their spines. They knew that they did not want to be on the receiving ends of those two weapons. And sure enough, the two drew closer.
"NOT OUR FACES!" They all panicked.
"MEN~!" Ichiya cried out.
"Nya! Neosuke Tube!" Millianna summoned a magic seal that fired two long orange tubes at Wally and Sho.
Wally gnashed his teeth as he aimed his polygon arm at the oncoming projectile and fired away. Sho was no different as he was forced to fling magic card that cut into the tubes, dicing them to bits. The spell dissipated as Millianna looked mortified.
"No…this is just horrible…"
Kagura landed beside her on a knee. "Millianna, keep it together!" She turned towards the horde of Pokémon on her left, swinging her Archenemy and knocking them all back. "Quit hesitating and start acting! If you wanna save them, you know what you have to do!"
The cat lover bit her bottom lip. She didn't like this, not one bit. But there had to be another way. "I know…"
Kagura didn't have time to worry. If Millianna was going to hesitate, she would have to cover for both of them. "Just keep them busy!" She brought her Archenemy around and sliced at a Croagunk that spurred in front with a glowing fist. Using Archenemy's scabbard to defend against the Sucker Punch, she overwhelmed the poison frog and swept in a wide arch, leveling down opposing Pokémon.
"Kagura…!" Millianna was cut short of her worries when a card shot past her, making her yelp. She turned back towards her friends in peril. "Sho!"
"Millianna…I'm sorry. If I don't…" Sho hesitated to speak, knowing what would happen with the collar around his neck. But that didn't stop the pain from showing in his distraught eyes. "I don't…want to relive this pain anymore."
"Me, too…" Wally muttered. "This has gotta end…please, get out of here."
Millianna shook her head frivolously. "No, I can't! Hang on, I'll get those off you! Just hold still!" She reached her arms out and made another magic seal that fired more tubes at them.
Like before, Wally and Sho fired projectiles and card to deflect and slice up the tubes, making the spell nullify itself, much to Millianna's distress.
"It ain't that simple, doll. I wish it was…but it just don't work like that." Wally grimaced.
Bacchus let out a loud cry as his hand struck down numerous Pokémon surrounding him. One by one, they all crippled from his succession of palm strikes and backhanded blows similar to Close Combat. The slower and weaker ones were all knocked out in an instant.
"Just how many more are there?!" he complained. "Can barely find time to drink my liquor with all this hoopla!" He pivoted and saw a Trevenant that was dangerously close. Sneering, he went for a quick palm strike…but unlike the sound of snapping bark like he expected, his arm went straight through.
"What the…?!"
Even with his arms inside the Trevenant, she was so close to him that her body heated up with a bright orange flash. Light purple and pink fireballs formed in a ring around her and blasted Bacchus in his face. Though the flames seared, they didn't last long as he backpedaled away. Though that moment of relief was short-lived when his body erupted in flames and made him cringe in pain.
A short distance away from his trifles, Jenny veered away from a sphere of water that struck a building wall. She made a swift lunge towards her Milotic with a loud cry and brought her heel around.
"TAKE THIS!" She stamped her heel against Milotic's front, causing her to wince in visible pain. Jenny smirked upon seeing the effective damage. "How's that?"
Milotic large, beautiful eyes focused, her annoyance breached. "You dare…!" She sneered. "You dare lay your repulsive human heel on me!" Her body levered itself upwards, towering higher and making Jenny look up with a slight chill down her spine. She saw how a reflective, wavy green aura enveloped Milotic, quickly healing the bruise that Jenny's heel left on her.
"Recover?! Oh, come on…"
Milotic squinted. "Take this!" She swung her tail at Jenny, the find rotating like a pinwheel and unleashing an expanding Twister that quickly drew closer into her former Trainer.
Realizing she was too close, Jenny was helpless as she was picked up and spun around by the windstorm. The raging Twister spun her about, making her squeal in a panic.
"This looks bad, Mira. They just keep coming!" Lisanna warned, holding a Deerling, Woobat, and Mankey in her Drapion Take-Over's pincers. She threw them away with great force back into the horde that had no issue filling up the numbers.
Mirajane, in her Satan Soul Form, floated overhead, glaring down at them. "Then I suppose we'll just have to beat them down if they choose to get back up."
"We don't wanna kill them!" Lisanna berated. "Besides, they're all still probably brainwashed!"
"Well, the way I see it, it's fair game!" Sorano chimed, flying atop her Mantine's back. "Let'em have it! Use Signal Beam!"
Mantine hummed as she hummed loudly. A white hemisphere appeared between her horns before a beam with pink pixilated energy shot into the Pokémon below. As she flew overhead, the beam left an explosive trail that blew several Pokémon off their feet.
Amongst them was a Graveler that managed to hold on, thanks to his Sturdy Ability "Gah! Damnit, that white-haired bitch! When I get her, I'm gonna make her eat gravel down her…" He trailed off as he noticed some large shadows overlapping him. When he looked up, he looked shocked at the two Gyarados-sized fish present. "Gah! What the-?!"
"Go now, Pisces!" Yukino commanded.
The massive twin fish let out loud cries as they arched down together, driving their bodies onto the stupefied Graveler and his surrounding Pokémon. The force sent them all flying, knocking out a large swell of them. Pisces bulldozed across the streets, knocking down any Pokémon that stood in their way.
"That's it, keep going!" Yukino shouted, to which Pisces complied rather enthusiastically. 'Please end this soon. We don't know how much more we can take.'
"Everyone, hold your ground!" Jura shouted. "We will not lose here! The fate of Fiore depends on us!"
Kinana grimaced as she barely had time to pull away from Erik's toxic swing. The attack was so sudden that she almost tripped, but she caught herself and got some distance between them.
The look on Erik's pained face showed how remorseful he is doing this against his will. "Cubellios…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"
"Hisss! Lessssss talk! More fighting!" His Arbok commanded. She glanced over, managing to pull her head back to avoid the forward jab of a bright purple tail in the shape of a knife. Had she been an inch closer, it would have sliced her forked tongue off.
Hissing angrily, Seviper slithered in front of her, baring her massive red fangs. "Stop this at once! You're better than this!"
Arbok defiantly hissed back. "I don't think ssso. I wasss under the influenccce of that other sssnake women before…I have no intention of being a human'sss pet, neither."
Seviper squinted her eyes as she held up her knife tail. "I hate to do something to a former colleague…but you're hurting my Trainer's feelings…so I'll make an exception."
Arbok sneered back. "Too bad for you…no human isss an exccception."
The two paused as they glared the other down. They hissed in an attempt to intimidate the other; in Arbok's case, her Intimidate activated, making a blue aura envelop Seviper and drop her Attack. But that didn't stop the latter from slithering with her tail glowing bright purple, indicating Night Slash.
Arbok retaliated back, her fangs glowing and elongating for Crunch. The knife tail and fangs met between them, making an airwave that leveled dust around them. Their eyes never left the other as they had killer intentions in their eyes.
Lyon and Meredy faced off against Ultear, the older woman standing before them with a crestfallen glare. She knew that what was happening was out of her control, and they knew it.
"Lyon…what do we do?" Meredy panicked.
"What we can do." He answered. "We'll break her from her shackles. Bear with me, Meredy!"
Meredy nodded. "Right!"
Misdreavus chuckled merrily. "You're more than welcome to try~. Though, you sure you wanna do that? I mean, you'll risk hurting your precious loved one here." She used a lock to gesture to Ultear.
"Listen to me, both of you! Hurry up and act now!" Ultear pleaded. "Hurry before-gnnnngh!"
Her plea was cut off by the abrupt static that ran through her body. Her knees buckled as she clenched her teeth, unable to speak her mind. Meredy and Lyon looked horrified seeing her sustain pain again, much to Misdreavus's satisfaction.
"Ultear, no!" Meredy yelled.
Lyon clenched his teeth. "Do we really have no choice here? If I freeze that Misdreavus, she'll use her magic and thaw her out. And our attacks won't even reach her." He glanced at Meredy. "Is there any weaknesses that you know we can use to our advantage?"
"Well, from what I understand, she can't speed up the time of living things. Physical attacks work best. Does your Cubchoo know any by chance?"
Lyon frowned heavily. "Afraid not."
Misdreavus reached a tendril out. "Luminous Minutes!"
Unable to object, Ultear held an orb and threw it out. The orb suddenly glowed a multiplied, turning into numerous fast-moving spheres similar to light beams that Lyon and Meredy tried to avoid. They both weaved and dodged the orbs as they beamed from various angles to hit them.
Seeing their plight, Misdreavus chuckled. "Oh, nice moves. A final dance before the bell tolls for you. Hehehe!"
Lyon gnashed his teeth as an orb sped past his cheek, barely missing him. 'What powerful magic. Ur's daughter is nothing to joke about.'
With everyone tending their own battles, the mass of Sabertooth had their own predicament. Amongst all the Pokémon they had to come across, they were surrounded by the ones that belonged to Shou. And they didn't show any signs of pleasure with their company.
"These are all of Shou's Pokémon?" Sting looked around, glancing skeptically at the six Pokémon engaging them.
"They look strong. Be careful." Rogue warned.
"They don't look so tough." Orga sneered, holding up a hand coated in black lightning. "Bet a little shock will be enough to wake them up."
Shou's eyes widened. "Wait, hold on~!"
"Don't worry, I'll make this quick and painless!" Orga swung his right arm up before swiping towards the ground. Aiming at the Jolteon and Excadrill in front of him, the ground cracked apart before a pillar of dark lightning shot beneath, shaking the entire area with its enormous wake.
Everyone behind him covered themselves from the force of Orga's Lightning God Slayer Magic. The air crackled intensely as the pure lightning blast had their hairs standing on end, Shou's especially. Though, his shock was for a different reason.
Orga had a satisfied grin on his face as he saw his attack sweep two strong Pokémon at once. His smirk faded when he saw two silhouettes standing in the center of the thunderous pillar, looking unfazed by the attack. He ultimately let up to find the horrifying reality that Jolteon and Excadrill were unfazed.
"What the…?"
Static crackled around their bodies, but it looked like they tickled their skin and fur respectively. Did they actually enjoy it?
"Heh, that kinda tickled." Excadrill sneered.
Jolteon shook his body, dispelling the sparks. "A little brisk on the fur…but I'm feeling refreshed after that!"
"You serious?! You're telling me that Orga's black lightning didn't do anything?!" Lector panicked.
"Ooooh…" Frosch awed fearfully.
"Don't tell me, they're immune to lightning related spells." Minerva shot a look at Shou. "Is that right?"
Shou huffed. "I was going to tell you. Electric-type attacks won't work on Excadrill because he's part Ground-type. And Jolteon absorbs electric attacks and spells to restore his health because of his Volt Absorb ability."
"Well that could have been helpful a couple seconds ago." Orga grunted.
Excadeill eyed Orga with his irises dilating. "Now it's my turn! Drill Run!" He closed his claws along with his horn and began spinning like a drill. He barreled across the air and shot in a missile-like fashion into Orga, who looked surprised at the speed of the attack. The Ground-type attack met its mark in his exposed abdomen, sending him flying backwards and slamming into the ground.
"Orga?! This is bad!" Lector panicked.
"Look out!" Frosch warned.
Jolteon lifted his head as lightning crackled around his body. An intense amount flourished before he unleashed it in a roaring beam of lightning. "Thunder!" An immense beam of electricity quickly bridged the gap amongst the gathered group, but Sting got in front to intercept.
"White Dragon's Roar!"
He fired a roaring beam of white energy from his mouth, much like a white laser that attacked the lightning beam heading their way. The two attacks were in a brief stalemate with one another, but they both managed to collapse the other. A bright flare of white and stray lightning beams blurred everything around Sabertooth and Shou as they tried to veer away from the blinding explosion.
With everyone covering, that left a silhouette to jump over the bright wake, bringing her arms up as crimson aura flourished around them.
Shou opened an eye and took notice of the silhouette. "Watch out! Zoroark's coming from above!"
The majority of Sabertooth had an eye open for above them as Zoroark feverishly descended with her arms slamming into the earth. "Night Daze!" The crimson aura exploded into a dark red and black shockwave that swallowed everything around her. The omnidirectional blast of darkness blew away Sting, Rogue, Rufus, and Orga. Lector and Frosch were thankfully sparred, but they lost footing and were blown away from the force of the Dark-type move.
As they were blown around, Minerva was quick-witted enough to teleport herself and Shou a safe distance from the shockwave's radius. They were both sparred, but they looked displeased seeing Sabertooth's members getting manhandled.
"Are they alright?" Shou worried.
"They'll be fine." Minerva harrumphed. "Don't forget, our guild is quite strong. It'll take more than something like this to keep us down. Speaking of which…" She took notice of something behind. Reacting in time, she pivoted and covered her arms in her Spatial Magic to intercept a long, leafy energy blade from Serperior. Her attack from behind had only enough weight on it to make Minerva lose just a little leverage, but their eyes met with a vindictive passion.
"You're in the way." Serperior sniped.
"I can say the same to you." Minerva backlashed.
Nearby, Sting was getting up to a knee as he recovered from the recent attack. "That's smarts…!" His Dragon Slayer smell made him catch onto something. Looking up, he saw the Hydreigon from before barreling straight down onto him stomach-first.
"That's Body Slam!" Shou warned.
Rufus tipped his hat. "Thank you for the sentiment…then try this!" He pointed a finger to his forehead. "Memory-Make: A Night of Falling Stars!" His body gave off a bright glow as he extended his arm outward. A multitude of yellow light beams similar to shooting stars projected in arches and closed in on Hydreigon.
The hydra was in the midst of her fall when one of her heads' eyes caught a glimpse at the oncoming projectiles. She instinctively spread her six wings and stopped her descent and swiftly moved around, evading the beams one by one with little to no effort.
Rufus's eyes widened in shock. "Just speed…!"
With his attack failing, Hydreigon turned towards Rufus, sneering maliciously. With her back turned, Rogue manifested from shadows with his arm pulled back and cloaked in shadows.
"Shadow Dragon's Slice!"
He raked his hand against Hydreigon's back with intense force, similar to a Shadow Claw. The attack made impact, but against Hydreigon's Dark-typing, Rogue's attack did little more than make her snarl as his shadows dissipate.
'My shadows were ineffective?' He inwardly panicked.
Hydreigon squinted in a sneer before she swung her tail, striking Rogue's side and sending him towards the ground. He managed to adjust his fall and land on his feet. Landing on a knee, he was right in front of Musharna, whose eyes began glowing bright purple.
"Hypnosis…" She sleepily mumbled as she emitted psychic waves from her body, going outwards towards Rogue.
Taking caution into account, Rogue fell into the ground and became a shadow, avoiding the hypnotic waves and snaked across the ground a safe distance away. He arose back up by Sting's side with a frown. "Got a plan?"
Sting wiped dirt off his cheek with his sleeves. "Yeah, I got a few. They're definitely strong alright, but we've got numbers of our own." He reached back, pulling out a Poké Ball. "C'mon, let's get everyone into this!"
Rogue nodded in understanding. "Right."
Minerva smirked. "If that's how the Master sees it, fine by me."
"Go!" Sabertooth simultaneously flung their Poké Balls into the air, sending out their respective Pokémon. Druddigon, Duskull, Pikachu, Absol, and Bagon all came out ready to battle.
"Alright guys, let's show them just how strong Sabertooth's Pokémon can be!" Sting roared.
As the battle was unfolding around him, Shou was making sure to stay out of the way. But even so, looking at what he saw, he had a good idea of the direction of where this is going. And he didn't like it one bit.
'All their Pokémon gotta have some levels on them, but if they don't pull together…' He grimaced at the prospect. He reached for the cases of instruments that had had brought with him. 'I just might have to…if I can get them back. I need to do something.'
"Bellona, on my mark!" Jellal warned.
The sky-blue beauty nodded. "Right!"
Hippowdon's red eyes beamed as he opened his maw wide with his command. "Richard, Liquid Ground!"
"M-my friends…make haste! Hurry!" Though he hesitated at first, Richard acquiesced to the command and moved his fingers towards the earth. The earth began liquifying into an unsteady mass that reached out towards Jellal, Bellona, as well as their Lucario and Servine
"Now!" Jellal shouted.
"Servine, Leaf Tornado!" Bellona commanded.
"Yes, good choice!" Servine hissed at her Trainer's command. She flipped and got onto her head. Her body began spinning like a top as green winds and leaves whirled around her tail. The large swell of swirling leaves swiveled and was projected towards the ground, where the liquid earth was being drawn inside. The tornado dragged across the melted earth and made a leafy, muddy cyclone that continued towards them.
Macbeth's Zoroark sneered. "Spiral Pain!"
Macbeth grimaced, but he knew he couldn't object. He swiped his arm, using his magic to distort and refract the air into a spiraling cyclone of its own that caught the oncoming tornado dragging their way. The clockwise and counterclockwise motions cancelled the other out, making energy leaves and mud burst and go into momentary freefall.
However, that was but a gap that Lucario took advantage of. He rushed through the air and brought a bright blue bone of energy up, via Bone Rush. With a loud cry, he swung ahead, only to be intercepted by Sawyer's fast-moving kick that parried the energy bone.
"You're pretty quick on your feet…not bad." He bitterly noted.
Lucario's eyes never left him. "Likewise. My Master told me much about you in advance about your abilities. Rest assured, we shall break you of your shackles."
This didn't go unheard by Zoroark, who squinted. "Heh…that'll be the day. Macbeth!"
Macbeth readied a counter, but Bellona flanked him with a dark nebula in hand. "Nebula Hold!"
She flung the nebula like it was a disc that swerved right into Macbeth. The mage made no attempt to dodge, instead using his magic to bend the attack out of the way as it went sailing off past his shoulder. It brushed past Zoroark as well, hitting a random Gloom in the crowd, putting it to sleep.
Bellona squinted her eyes. "Your Reflector Magic is certainly cumbersome."
"Yes, as I'm aware." Macbeth chimed.
"If we want to make this painless, we'll have to put them to sleep." Jellal noted. "Your Nightmare Magic is remote, right?"
Bellona nodded. "That's right, my targets won't wake up unless I voluntarily dispel the magic or otherwise."
Jellal smirked. "In that case, that just might work in our favor."
"Hey! Heads up!" Sawyer suddenly rushed at Jellal, speeding at him with a punch. Jellal narrowed his eyes and watched as Sawyer suddenly spurred behind him in the blink of an eye. When the punch came his way, Jellal had the agility to catch the fist, locking Sawyer in place.
"Suppose keeping you still is out of the question, Sawyer." He mused.
"Fairy Machine Gun: Leprechaun!" Evergreen waved her arm, firing compressed projectiles of bright yellow fairy dust that blasted in an arch into the Pokémon that were too close. Many were blown away or fainted from the wake, but others that were in the back retaliated with their own attacks, many being blasts of lightning, arrays or fire, or even water. To defend, Evergreen waved her fan, expelling fairy dust that the attacks met that exploded upon contact. The entire wall of dust erupted, burst with force to nullify the attacks.
"Hey, where'd that big guy with Manectric go?" Granbull worried, looking left and right.
"Huh? You mean Laxus? He was here a while ago. What about you, Ever?" Bickslow asked.
Evergreen hummed, pushing her glasses up. "Last I saw, it looked like he was following Manectric somewhere."
"Where to?"
"Knowing them, I have a feeling it's somewhere no one's supposed to be." She smirked as she glared at the Pokémon around her. "That just means we have to keep them focused on us."
Bickslow smirked. "That checks out. You heard that, babies!? Keep their attention on us! Make sure they don't get near Laxus!"
"Yippee!" Bickslow's dolls cheered. Leading them was the Trainer's Shuppet, who floated overhead with her mouth glowing red. Red shockwaves ejected out via her Screech, blasting a Breloom that was close by. He staggered from the loud soundwaves permeating his head as blue aura went down his body, depleting his Defense. That was the opening Bickslow's other "babies" needed to speed in and deliver a succession of blows against him, putting him to the ground.
"One more down." Bickslow hummed.
"Yes…but still a lot more to go." Evergreen exasperated. She took to the air with her Fairy Wings and had her back against Bickslow's. Granbull and Shuppet were by their sides as many Pokémon continued to flank them.
As the fighting above was going on, Laxus and Manectric were standing firmly against Rai. The Electabuzz's antennae crackled with electricity. "So tell me, what's your big plan now?" He taunted.
Laxus had just finished taking in everything that was told about this so-called grand scheme. A world where the roles of human mages and Pokémon reversed was unbelievable at best, but the evidence was all right before him. He frowned heavily at the disastrous prospect.
'Is that's anything like I imagined, they could overturn the entire continent of Ishgar at any time. No, just that. I'm sure these servers are planted where mages are affiliated with Pokémon more. It won't matter where, but these guys have no intention on stopping. Which means…' He balled his fists tight, crackling static. 'We have to shut this thing down…right now!'
Noticing Laxus's determined expression. Rai mischievously grinned.
"Manectric, cover me!" Laxus ordered.
"Right!" Manectric stepped in front and brought his head back. When he lurched forward, he unleashed a broiling blast of Flamethrower that seared directly at Rai.
Said Electabuzz scoffed. He balled his fists tightly as his antennae channeled electricity to a critical point. With a thunderous cry, he expelled a blast of Thunderbolt to counter. The flames and lightning met centerfield, creating a turbulence of static and heat that failed to let up on the other.
With the two focused on each other, Laxus had an opening he was looking for. Pulling his broad arm back, lightning formed a javelin that he handled and threw with all his might.
"Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd!"
The javelin pierced through the air, streaming like an actual lightning bolt that roared with the sound of thunder. It beamed straight into the core in a fraction of a second, igniting it in an explosion of lightning that crackled throughout the airspace.
"Eh?" Rai glanced back, looking partially stunned…but for his own reasons.
"That'll put down your…" Laxus trailed off when he noticed something happening with his attack. He watched as the lightning was distorting and being condensed to a point. "What the…?"
To his surprise, he watched as the javelin that had made contact with the core was quickly dispersing, becoming strands of lightning that went into the bright core itself. As it did, the bright lights on the core shined with the eye itself as it took in the entire attack. All that remained soon after was a few loose static strands that vanished. The machine didn't look bothered in the slightest.
Laxus's eyes widened. "Not even a scratch?!"
Rai sneered loudly. "You'll have to do better than that if you wanna break it."
"In that case…" Laxus's body became pure lightning as he shot past Rai. He emerged with his fist pulled back with condensed lightning ready. "Let's see how well this thing holds up against a fist!"
Once again, Rai smirked.
Manectric saw this strange behavior. 'Strange…he's not stopping Laxus.' He gasped at the epiphany. "No, it's a trap!"
Laxus heard his warning, but he was too close to pull back in time. The moment his fist met the pink core, the solid matter shined brightly as it did before. Laxus felt his knuckles burn up as he saw his lightning being forcibly sucked out of him. He grunted in pain as magical particles were being drawn out of his body. He clenched his teeth as he tried pulling away, but he was surprised at how this thing was pulling him in as though it was a black hole.
"The hell is…going on here…?" He grunted in pain. "It's like…this thing's pulling me in!?"
He strained heavily, but eventually with enough force, he kicked off the core and pulled a short distance away. He became lightning and quickly pulled farther out, landing on a knee.
'The hell was that just now? It felt like it was pulling my magic right out of me.'
"Oh, sorry. I probably forgot to mention this, but we designed these servers to actually absorb magic on contact. It won't matter whether it's a spell or body enhancement. Get too close and it'll drain you dry."
Laxus furrowed his brow. "Well that isn't annoying."
"It might not, but this will be. You see those chords above?" Rai pointed at the web of huge mechanical chords that glowed bright pink. "They pull magic from the surface to help power this thing. The old design of this husk pulled magic from the ground, but we've modified it to do it remotely." He sneered. "In other words, as we speak, all those mages that you brought along are slowly being siphoned of their magic. Bit. By. Bit. And once you're all out…it's open season!"
Lightning crackled around Laxus's body. If he wasn't irritated before, he did a good job until now hiding it. But now there was a fire in his eyes, one that Rai took an interest in. He had this fixation to stamp it out.
"You just love to piss me off, don't you?"
Rai smirked. "Hey, got nothing better to do down here."
"If magic won't work, then I guess there's other options…Manectric!" At his call, Manectric stepped up, his body crackling in static. "Let's see how well that thing holds up against Pokémon attacks then, shall we?"
Rai's antennae crackled with excitement. "This is gonna be fun."
As the battle was unfolding in the depths of the chamber, Shiin was keeping his distance from the escalating mess. He heard everything that was going on, and suffice to say that he looked visibly unnerved by it all. 'They were able to engineer remnants of Nirvana's magic draining mechanics? Modifications like that would take months at least for Captain In-Sue and his department. And yet, they did it in a fraction of that time?' He distressed in his head. 'This is very bad. If magic has no effect, then…how will we shut off that machine? If nothing is done soon, it will only be a matter of time before everyone above becomes a slave to these otherworldly monsters. This needs to be stopped, now!'
Manectric snarled before he darted off towards Rai and vice versa. They cried out as their battle had only just begun.
The diverse landscape teemed with Pokémon of all the sorts. Many Paras were grouped with each other as they were walking amongst Parasect for protection against the larger predators like Fearow that loomed overhead. The landscape had more than just grassland to over, as there were quite a few lakes and ponds scattered throughout the miles of this all-purpose area. Rough hills led to slopes where some more rugged Pokémon liked to reside. But for the majority of this lands, it had no less appeal than the savanna that made up the majority of it. It was here that these Pokémon called home.
Or, as the humans called it, the Safari Zone.
Swimming in one of these massive lakes between restricted zones bordering the numerous landscapes, there were many Goldeen and Seaking, along with Psyduck and Slowpoke that were closer towards the surface. It was near the bottom where such valued specimens resided. Or as Trainers would consider, valued trophies.
Swimming along the bottom, a Dragonair swam gracefully, looking content with the quiet life. He swam towards a corner of the lake, where a rocky alcove hid something important well.
"(How's it look out there?)"
His mate, a female Dragonair, was curled up behind the alcove. Her long, slender body coiled up around what looked like a cluster of periwinkle eggs with white undersides.
"(It's fine, no need to worry so much.)" The male Dragonair coerced his anxious mate. "(I swear, you're so anxious that it scares me.)"
"(I'm sorry…it's just that, well…I don't want anything to happen to our babies, you know.)" She looked down at the five eggs that made up her unborn offspring. "(I want our children to grow up safe and loved.)"
The male Dragonair hummed at the sentiment. "(I know. I feel the same way. But you know…)" He swam closer to her side, rubbing his side against hers. "(It won't always be like this forever. They'll all be grown-up before you know it. So for now, let's enjoy it while it lasts.)"
The female Dragonair lowered her head, calming down at the slick yet soothing touch of her mate. "(I can't believe it. Soon, we're gonna be parents.)"
"(Yeah. And as long as I'm here, I'll make sure you have nothing to worry about.)"
That assurance sank as deep as the depths that they resided at. For wild Pokémon, this came naturally for them when such an age flourishes. Hatch, live and grow, and find a suitable mate to produce offspring. In some cases, some Pokémon didn't have the same mate throughout their whole life. Some are just around for the season, that included particular Dragon-types. Though Dragonair are more tender with one another, so they were an exception.
If the female Dragonair was being honest, she'd just clear everything out around her for the sake of her babies. But her thoughts were held in check because of her mate's gentles insistence. So for now, she was content with their lifestyle.
"(Hm?)" A small shadow dropped atop her head. When she looked up, she saw what looked like a Pokémon Ball attached to a thick, sturdy line that stretched towards the surface. "(These things again? They're really annoying.)"
"(Don't worry. I'll see what's up with these. You just worry about keeping our eggs safe.)" The male Dragonair instructed. He turned towards the foreign structure to see it just dangling overhead. It looked like the shiny hemisphere was attracting many Goldeen and Seaking, but he didn't know why they found it so entrancing to them. This was something to investigate.
He lurched forward and used his small mouth to bite down on the sphere. The small tug seemed to have triggered a reflex that dragged the line back up, along with him.
"(Hurry back!)" The female Dragonair chimed back. She turned towards her eggs, looking dreamily at them. "(Don't worry, your father will be back soon. Until then, I'll protect you.)"
She waited.
Waited.
Waited.
And waited.
She didn't know how long until he was going to be back. She had thought that he was going to scare off the interlopers above with their bizarre contraptions to bait their fellow aquatic residence. He couldn't have been caught up by something, right?
The female Dragonair was getting anxious. When she looked up, she didn't see his long, slender form near the surface. Maybe he had to get out and find food? It was extremely risky, especially with the environment they were in, but that had to be the most likely case.
Looking around, she saw the many Pokémon were minding their own business. She knew she couldn't wait forever, especially since they were still expecting soon.
'(Maybe I'll go check really quick, just to see if he's okay…)' She looked down at her eggs and brushed them beneath a rock's shade. With the cover assured, she turned back towards the surface and swam upwards. She swiveled hastily so she wouldn't waste any time. It didn't take long before she reached the surface, where she slowly stuck her wing-like ears out of the water first.
"Phew. Took me a while, but I finally got myself a Dragonair."
Caught a Dragonair? What? That couldn't be right. She slowly lifted her head up to see what was going on. There was a human boy that looked like a Trainer. In his hand was a Safari Ball that she recognized from the many thrown into the lake. He looked worn out, but content with what he had caught.
"You sure didn't make it easy, did you?" He told the Safari Ball, smiling. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of you."
'(Where's my mate? He should be up here somewhere.)' She looked around, seeing no sign of the male Dragonair. All that was around was the human that was walking back into the tall grass and wild Pokémon that roamed the plains.
He couldn't have gone far. He promised he'd be back soon. But if he wasn't here, where was he?
That's when she looked at the fading Safari Ball again. Everything clicked.
Her body froze with shock at the realization of what just happened. "(Wait…no…no, no, no, no, no, NO!)" She swam closer towards the shores. "(NO! COME BACK! DON'T YOU DARE TAKE HIM AWAY FROM ME!)"
She swiveled her body and readied to take flight into the air. Just when she was about to take off, the back of her mind ached with something else important. She stopped herself as she realized she was leaving her defenseless eggs behind.
Looking down at the lake and back at the distant Trainer, she hesitated on which path to take. She knew being gone this long would be a disaster for her eggs. She had to compromise with a decision. Taking one last look at the Trainer's back, her mind seethed incredulously for this.
'(I'm so sorry…)' With a pained look on her face, she dipped back into the water, leaving but a small splash that was quickly filled by flopping Goldeen.
Dragonair descended in haste back down towards her nest. When she reached the bottom, there were numerous Seaking around the rocks that looked to be ready to bore through them to make their own nests. An impulsive blast of Dragon Pulse was launched that roared through the lake, snapping on the central spot where they were clustered. The ground exploded in murky dust to give warning to the Seaking that they needed to leave. As they swam away, she swerved behind the alcove, where all her eggs were in one piece.
With a sigh of relief, she was able to calm down…for now.
She looked back up towards the surface, seeing the many Pokémon swim so freely despite what just happened. She wanted to swim back up, chase down and destroy that Trainer for taking away her mate so unjustly. But if she did, her eggs would be left unattended again. As a mother, she knew where her responsibilities lay. Though, as a mate, she couldn't hold back how heartbroken she felt.
She curled up around her eggs, making sure that they were safe and secure. Tears poured out of her eyes as she quietly sobbed. "(It's…it's gonna be okay…mommy will protect you.)" She sobbed. "(Just leave everything to mommy…)"
…
Days? Weeks? It was hard to tell, but the Dragonair didn't care.
The lake was all but a battlefield, at least that's how she saw it. With her mate no longer around, that meant gathering food for herself would be that much harder. But that wasn't her priority. She needed to ensure her eggs' safety.
With each passing day, her anxiety grew. It didn't matter who it was at this point. If any Pokémon got too close, all it took was a Dragon Pulse to get the message across. At this point, all the resident aquatic Pokémon either made it the norm to keep a safe distance or leave altogether.
In just a week, half the residence left voluntarily. Other, however, were leaving for different reasons.
"(Hey, pops. We've gotta split. There's a lot of those humans around. They're wearing these big yellow things on their, heads and they had all this fancy steel monsters around.)" A Goldeen told a Seaking.
"(Yes, I've been seeing it as well. Looks like they're doing a number of dryland territories as of late.)" The Seaking answered. "(Get your brothers and sisters ready. We'll head out soon.)"
Hearing this struck a chord in Dragonair. She was relieved to hear that the lake will be abandoned. That's good, less potential enemies to harm her beloved offspring. On the other hand, there was the notion of humans interfering. Just the thought alone was enough to make her blood boil and shudder. When she thought of humans, all she thought was the one that took her mate away.
Whatever was going on, she wasn't going anywhere. She refused to leave her offspring behind. Many other Dratini vacated for their own sake, but she was a mother.
"(Just bare this out a little longer…just a little longer…)" She mumbled to herself.
…
"Looks like that's the last of them. They'll all be relocated shortly." A worker announced, the last cage in the truck being loaded with a surprisingly calm Tauros. "Hey, where did Mr. Baoba say they were going?"
"He wants them transported to the new site in the Johto region. The new Safari Zone's got the clearance." Another worker noted.
"That's good. At least these Pokémon were able to comply. It makes our job much easier."
The last truck started its engine, and slowly, wheels treaded away, carrying the last few Pokémon of the Safari Zone out of their natural habitats to a new one. Though it was evident that they didn't like it, the humans assured them that they will help find them suitable homes with others of their species in it. That seemed to placate the masses…for the most part.
Under the surface, however, the last few Dratini along the bottom were swimming off through a narrow tunnel that would potentially take them out to sea. Even the resident Dragonair were being cautious and leaving for a new home, even some with eggs of their own. The only one who didn't budge was the lone Dragonair along the alcove, her body covering her eggs from the open world around them.
With the Pokémon assured to have vacated, the humans began their excavation project. The remodeling was a massive overhaul of the landscape that would take approximately two years to finish, at least according to the schedule. Though, the Machoke and Rhydon they had on site were able to help make their jobs much easier and flow at a steady pace. Wheel barrels moved large rock deposits across the plains, dirt was being collected and transported elsewhere. Lakes that were all over the Safari Zone – now being labeled 'Pal Park' – were having channels dug into them to direct the water to an open zone in the far east.
The whole time, Dragonair had her guard up. So long in fact that she barely swept. When she found herself dozing off, she jerked upright. Her stomach growled with the incense of food that she desperately needed, but didn't concede. She just had to wait it out, just a little longer she told herself.
But even so, everything had a breaking point.
When Dragonair was taking a nap, she was awoken to the disturbing sounds of ruptures from above. She stirred awake and glanced up, her face contorting to a scowl when she knew what the cause was.
'(Those humans can't get me this far down. They won't harm my babies.)' With that assured sign, she lulled back to slumber.
On the surface, men were carrying materials around. Machoke were using their super strength to heave heavy boulders across the changing landscape. They were moving along the lakeside at a steady pace, with humans directing them.
"Careful with those. We just need to move them closer towards the northeast." A worker instructed.
"(You got it!)" One of the Machoke hollered out. Just as he was taking another step forward, he lost his footing on loose soil and felt all his weight drop to one side. The result was that the massive boulder he was carrying overhead fell into the water with a huge splash.
"Oh snap!" The worker rushed up towards the Machoke. "Hey, are you okay?"
Machoke grunted as he started getting up. "(Yeah, I'm good.)" He turned towards the rippling water with a frown. "(Whoops…)"
The heavy boulder descended to the bottom of the lake rather fast. Even with water volume slowing it down, its huge, heavy mass carried it to the bottom in no time. Its shadow clocked out the sun that Dragonair was taking solace in as she was conserving what energy she had. It was only when that wonderful shade was blocked out that she weakly opened her eyes.
"(Hm? What now? Don't tell me those humans are up to-)"
CRASH!
It all happened so fast that it felt like a blur. One moment, Dragonair felt just fine. The next thing she knew, she was sprawled along the lake's bottom, her head ringing as she felt a wave of dizziness and vertigo come over her. Thankfully she had nothing to eat, but her lack of orientation took a while to clear up. The same amount it took for the underwater dust to settle back into the soil.
She groaned as she was trying to fix herself upright, but all she could do was stir her aching head. "(Gnngh…who…who was that?)" Her blurry vision saw the world turn around her, stopping at a massive rock that was right beside her. "(I…I don't remember that being there…?)"
She blinked several times and fixed herself upright. It took a lot of effort, but she could make out her surroundings clearly now. She turned towards the boulder and where it was positioned. '(If I was a foot closer, I would've-!)'
At that moment, her heart stopped.
Her entire world came to a halt once more as she pieced together where the boulder landed, as well as where her eggs were. She started to panic, looking around the boulder for any signs of her unborn offspring.
"(Where are they? WHERE ARE THEY?!)" She yelled, swerving around the rock. She looked left and right, until her eyes saw something at the base of the huge rock.
Slowly, she drifted down, her large eyes coming across a lone egg that was on its side. It looked just fine from a glance alone, but there was one problem.
It was the only egg.
Looking at the egg and noticing how baren the rest of her surroundings were, the horrible reality came to mind. Her pupils grew as she was frozen in the water, staring at the boulder. Unfortunately for her, her heart wasn't the only thing that was crushed.
"No…"
The blue orb on her neck started glowing.
"No…!"
The orb shined brighter with her emotions.
"NO…!"
The shine illuminated the water a silence brewing.
…
…
…
"(AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!)"
On the surface, the bright, sunny day that the work crew members had suddenly started blacking out. The sun was quickly being put out by dark storm clouds that covered the renovated preserve.
"Huh? Wasn't it sunny just a minute ago?" A worker asked. Suddenly, he felt an intense wind pick up, making him hold onto his safety helmet.
The sudden change in air pressure caused all the workers, be it man or Pokémon, to put the brakes on their operation. The winds went from zero to one hundred in a matter of seconds with no warning. If that wasn't bad, a flash of lightning alarmed them from above. The clouds were thundering like Arceus himself was pissed about something.
Or in this case, a certain Pokémon.
The lake beside them all suddenly spouted a geyser that roared like a dragon. A blue light seared straight to the top and ejected a serpentine dragon that had a blue orb on her neck that burned brightly. If one looked closely, one could also see something wrapped in her tail.
A worker's eyes widened, recognizing the Pokémon. "Hold on, isn't that a-"
"(AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!)" Dragonair let out a blistering cry as she raised her head high. The lightning overhead crackled before they came down in burning bolts. They struck the land beneath her, searing ridges and setting the land ablaze from the heat of the electricity. Workers too close were blown onto their sides or backs, and many started heading for their nearest transportation vehicles to vacate the premise.
"(Sheesh! She's mad!)" A Machoke complained, the same one that dropped the rock into the lake.
Dragonair's large eyes veered down towards the creatures beneath her. It wasn't just the meddlesome, abhorrent humans that she loathed in her dreams at night. The ones that ruined her vision of a perfect family life. There were Pokémon there, too. They were just as much of a threat to her territory as the humans were. There was no difference.
"(GRAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH! DRAGON PULSE!)" She opened her mouth and lurched downwards, expelling a multicolored, draconian energy beam that roared with as much might as her. The beam's head opened wide and ate up the nearest Machoke, engulfing him in an explosion that blew away his nearby other Machoke and Machop on site.
But that was only the beginning. Dragonair's rage had only just begun. As she dragged her beaming attack along the ground, everything it came in contact with erupted into the air. The lightning and high winds blew around and struck everything else that the Dragon Pulse couldn't. It was truly a draconian rampage.
One of the workers desperately reached for his all-terrain cart where the walkie-talkie was, just the Dragon Pulse grazed across it before he got too close. Only a few watched as the vehicle exploded and burst into shrapnel, pushing the guy onto his back.
Many men scrambled around, but some of the lightning struck some tree trunks. Men who weren't careful had the misfortune of tumbling timber crushing them, or winds shoving heavy rocks over that not even the Machoke were timely enough to save them. Anyone that was able to move made a break for it, that was, as long as they were the lucky ones who didn't get struck by burning lightning or a trailing Dragon Pulse.
"Aaaaaaah~!"
The wails of men rung through the fields of fire beneath the Dragonair. She didn't do anything to stop them. She only watched as a few figures were flailing or falling over uneven terrain. The winds blew around the smell of burned char…and flesh.
When she heard a groan, she slowly turned her head towards the sound. She saw a lone worker, struggling to his feet as he barely escaped a fallen tree's wake. While lucky, that luck would soon be extinguished. Along with anything else.
The worker was able to turn himself over, coming face to face with the Dragonair that was meters above his head. The blue glow cascading from her neck highlighted the burning ire inside her eyes. So much so that he felt a shiver upon seeing them…as well as the small tears streaming down her cheeks.
"(You. All. Ruined. My. HAPPINESS!)" Dragonair roared with a fury, more energy gathering in her mouth.
The worker's eyes shrank as he saw the impending fate that awaited him. "What have we done…?"
That was all the time he had to say before another Dragon Pulse shot at him with a gaping maw and an earsplitting roar that echoed in the raging storm that dreadful afternoon.
When Adelita came to, the first thing she felt was a throbbing sensation in the back of her head. It didn't take much longer before she felt the numbness in her slender body fade away and be replaced by hard-pressed weight. When her vision came around, she saw the big hole in the ceiling that gave way to the outside world.
She exhaled slightly, only to feel a shortness of breath. Something was still crushing her. Lifting her head, she saw that half a wooden table and roof was scattered atop her. Though she was still lacking orientation, she had muscle enough to pry herself of her confines. Her slick body slid out with but a few splinters and bruises.
'Where am I? How did I get to this point?' The Dragonair looked up at the ceiling once more, piecing together everything that came before. 'What was I…!'
It was like a lightning bolt struck her. Her fatigued eyes lit up with a realization. The pain she felt in her head returned tenfold when she recalled how she got it. And she did not like it one bit.
The image of an extremely upset Arcelia hitting her with a Dragon Tail hit her mind as hard as the attack did to her face. That's right, she remembered. Her own daughter struck her and sent her through a building.
'Looks like I blacked out.' Dismissing the conclusion, Adelita was more concerned about other matters besides her mortally wounded body. She definitely needed a Sitrus Berry, that was a given. But her hunger was filled with something else.
Did all of that really happen? Did she fail to do her job? No, better question: How could Arcelia have done such a thing to her?
'My own daughter, how could she…after everything I've done to protect her from the outside world.' She tried to rationalize everything. The first thing that came to mind was a petite, blue-haired girl. 'It was that human girl…it had to be! She influenced my daughter against her will!'
First it was her mate, then it was her unborn children, and now it was her only living daughter. This was the last straw!
"I prioritize the safety of the Pokémon above all else. I suggest that you think less of being a mother, and do your job."
The stinging words of Quinlan's warning made her tail beads vibrate. Though she detested – no, loathed – the very idea of humans ever being near Pokémon, she knew that compared to the other places on Earthland, it was the most promising. But hearing the stirs and ruckus outside shoved that safe haven prospect out the window.
She couldn't deny it either that it was her fault that she had let her guard down again. And because of that, humans infested the streets and roped her beloved daughter into their pillaging.
No, it wasn't that she let her guard down. She just didn't have the right conviction. She had a job to protect the island, not just her daughter…perhaps that's where the fault lied.
"(Yeah. And as long as I'm here, I'll make sure you have nothing to worry about.)"
Her mate's words echoed in her head, ringing like a bell that tolled for the fire in her eyes to burn brightly yet again.
"Your Majesty…you have no idea. The most important job to me…is guaranteeing my daughter's safety." As she seethed with vindication, the blue orb on her neck shined brighter by the second. "No matter the cost."
Arcelia felt a pit in her gut as she looked towards the graying skies. Although she had just shed her skin recently, the Dratini still felt uncomfortable as she squirmed unnervingly under the makeshift roof where her new friends were regrouping.
"Hm? Hey, Arcelia, are you alight?" Wendy asked. "Something bothering you?"
Realizing she was being paid attention to, Arcelia turned towards her. "Huh? Oh, uh, sorry. It's just…I feel uneasy, that's all."
Wendy frowned. She had a pretty good idea of what was on her mind. Even though she was still young, she had enough experience to know what Arcelia was going through. Once reclusive to the world, it was unnerving having to turn on your own flesh and blood for your own sake. Though Wendy didn't necessarily condone it, she knew first-hand just how unjust Adelita was being towards her child.
"Hey…" She reached over, putting her hand on Arcelia's head as she warmly smiled. "It's gonna be okay. You were very brave out there. And don't forget, you're not alone anymore."
"Yeah, you have us now. We'll help you." Amaura assured.
Arcelia felt something light and fluffy nestle atop her head, and it wasn't Wendy's hand. She glanced up and saw Swablu making herself comfy and smiling merrily as a show of affection, something that elated the discomfort she was feeling for a while. It truly felt good to have such support for the first time.
"Thank you guys, I mean it." She hummed.
"You think Erza and the others are alright?" Lucy voiced her concerns amongst her other peers as she looked out past the vanguard of ethereal soldiers that barricaded them from outside forces, if any.
"Pretty sure she's still kicking butt out there." Natsu beamed.
"What butt? All these guys out there wiped out just about everybody out there at this point." Gray prodded matter-of-factly. He turned towards Lucy to validate his opinion. "I'm sure she's just fine, Lucy. Don't forget, Nic's out there, too."
"Yeah. Wouldn't wanna get between those two, that's for sure." Cana smirked.
"They're tough as nails. No doubt about that. Won't be easy to keep them down." Elfman boasted. "They're too manly to anyone's good."
Grovyle blinked with a straight face before glumly turning towards Lucy. "What's his deal with everything being manly?"
Lucy sweatdropped. "Wish I could tell you."
Suddenly, Happy gasped as he pointed a paw out. "Look, guys! Someone's heading this way!"
Everyone stopped and turned towards the wall of soldiers guarding them. They saw the mass suddenly separate into rows in a straight fashion, as though clearing a path. When they saw the reason for this, they all had profound shock when they saw The Freaks being carried by Joey's soldiers. As soon as they were safety under the roof, the soldier sat them down gingerly against the wall before reaffirming their positions in the masses.
"Joey! And Dereece and Duncan! You're all alright!" Lucy quipped.
"Yo." Joey held up a weak peace sign; though he looked happy, his body was too drained to show. "S'up, my people."
Dereece and Duncan groaned weakly. All their injuries showed, and it didn't do anyone any favors seeing the wounds on Duncan's torso and shoulder.
"Are you alright?" Wendy worried.
"I'm fine, but Duncan needs medical attention, stat." Joey instructed. "I think Dereece also got a concussion. He's not looking so hot, either."
Wendy nodded in understanding. "Right! Don't worry!" She rushed over and kneeled in front of them with her hands reached out to them. "You both stay still, I'll patch you up." As she spoke, she emitted her Healing Magic to help close up any of their open wounds.
Carla frowned. She knew Wendy was pushing herself, but knowing what her guildmates went through, she couldn't blame her. 'Wendy…'
"You've got some explaining to do." Gray told The Freaks' Captain. "The hell did all these soldiers come from? And that staff you're carrying?"
"Hey, easy on the 20 questions, buddy. I just got here, sheesh. A little bit of a breather is appreciated, thank you." Joey spatted.
Wendy was closing up Duncan's wounds with her spell first. She noticed how deep the shoulder one looked. It looked almost as bad as the time she saw Nic after his fight with Natsu and Gray. "It looks deep. Are you sure you're okay?"
Duncan opened an eye, leering straight at her. "I am now. Thank you." His tone was to the point and professional. Even though it was hard for him to give his respects to others, he knew better than to misjudge his predicament. He truly was grateful that this world had Healing Magic and that there was a guildmate that could use it. Otherwise, he'd be bleeding out by now.
Cana smirked at Joey. "You guys sure as hell put on a show out there. Talk about good timing."
"Yeah, I'm not sure what's crazier. You guys coming out of nowhere, or you guys bringing an army." Natsu beamed.
"It's a long story. Your king will relish your curiosity later after he gets a nap…and a bath…and drycleaning…and a full-course meal on top of all that." Joey mulled, sighing out his nose. He wasn't lying when he said that he truly needed a nap after the exhausting day he's had.
"Oi…" Dereece shook his head, smirking.
They all then saw the soldiers break once again. Though unlike how they all graciously provided room for their king, they only parted slightly. But that was enough to let Vanessa and Sophie slide through, both looking well enough.
"Vanessa! And Sophie!" Lucy smiled.
"There you are, girls. Wondered where you took off." Natsu commented.
"Sorry for the wait. But we had to take care of some business." Vanessa stated, maintaining her relaxed but also serious composure. "We were able to dismember that factory."
This caught everyone's attention. They almost forgot about part of the reason they were here in the first place. Aside from securing Nic and Erza's safety, they needed to find the source of these Human Cubes. Check that off the list of worries cleared.
Cana leaned back against the wall, winking proudly. "That's my girls. Knew you two would kick butt out there."
"At least that takes care of the Human Cube problem." Gray chimed.
Snover nodded. "Right. Which means we won't have to worry about other mages being captured."
Sophie exhaled, looking exhausted. "Well, for now at least, we did our part." She sauntered over towards the wall, sitting herself up beside Joey. She turned her head towards him, seeing the bruises and scrapes on his body. "What's your story?"
"Girl, you have no idea." Joey chimed.
Vanessa watched the two converse with a smile. A short while ago, she'd be unsound with having her best friend talking about Joey, but after seeing what he was capable of, and what they spoke about in the factory, those insecurities didn't bother her anymore. She looked content seeing them again.
The hopeful atmosphere everyone felt was quickly dropped by the sound of thunder. They all looked towards the darkening clouds above, seeing how quickly they were coming around.
"Looks like a storm's coming in." Gray grimaced.
"Not good sign…" Bergmite quipped.
Gray furrowed his brows. "Yeah…"
Looking at the clouds in the sky, Arcelia felt uncomfortable yet again. She couldn't shake this uncanny feeling that something was wrong about this. No, something was definitely wrong. She could just feel it. It was hard for her to sit still when something in her gut was screaming.
'These clouds came in really fast.' She felt a shock through her spine that jolted a realization. "Mom!"
"Huh? What's wrong, Arcelia?" Wendy questioned, still healing Duncan.
Arcelia looked between her and the weather. "Uh…I-I just…I have a really bad feeling about this. Hang on, I'll be right back!" With that she suddenly squirmed away, diving between the legs of the soldiers.
"Arcelia, hold on!" Wendy shouted.
"What's gotten into her?" Carla worried, turning towards the skies. "Does it have to do with the weather?"
Cana stood up, ready to step out. "Wendy, you hang back and keep healing Duncan and Dereece. I'll go see what's up."
Wendy wanted to go, but she knew her guildmates' condition was more important. She nodded in understanding. "Right, be careful. I'll be right behind you when I'm done."
"Right." Cana turned and ran out,
"Well, here we go again." Liepard chimed. As she got up, she turned towards Sune. "Ready to go?"
Sune eagerly nodded. "You bet! Our job is to secure our allies' safety!"
With Prinplup leading the charge, Liepard and Sune followed behind. The rest of the guild members and Pokémon hung back as they were either conserving their energy or trying to get healed by Wendy.
"Hope it's nothing too drastic." Lucy hoped.
Vanessa looked towards the dark sky as thunder echoed. Even though she expended much of her Aura Magic earlier, she could still make out something profound in the storm. She couldn't be imagining things, could she? It felt like the air had an aura about. Something heavy, and very…threatening. Whatever it was, it was strong.
'This feeling…someone's truly out for blood.' She grimaced. 'Nic, be careful.'
Mest and Gajeel were masterful infiltrators. They had some degree of patience when it came to getting the information they wanted. But this was something that could not wait.
Octavius was strapped to an iron pillar, with a massive iron brace to cover his abdomen so his Hypnosis wouldn't go anywhere. All courtesy of Gajeel, of course. Couldn't be too careful, especially after the overturning epiphanies they've been dealing with.
The two were at the panel, trying to get pass the security codes that they saw Octavius operate. Every time they attempted, the screen only lit up in red. And each time only irritated them more and more.
After what had to be the fifth time, the screen still flashed red. "Damnit, how do we operate this thing?!" Mest scowled.
"Looks like it's not easy to hack with just code alone." Pantherlily noted.
Gajeel turned towards Octavius, his arm turning into an iron jagged blade. "Alright, start talking. How the hell do you operate this machine?"
Octavius crudely chuckled. "You honestly think it's that simple, don't you?" He spat, deliberately testing Gajeel's patience. From his scowl, it seemed to be working. "You think I have all the answers and that I'll just hand them over like a good sport? Just after I told you what really is going on, you still think that you have the upper hand?"
In a flash, Mest teleported in front of Gajeel, holding a dagger pointed between his eyes.
"Just talk! We've had enough of your damn games! Tell us the codes we need to stop this machine!"
Though Octavius seemed surprised at first, he settled down, choosing to tauntingly smirk at them again. "You humans truly are desperate, it's so stupid."
Mest and Gajeel scowled low, but they had a feeling where this was going.
"That panel that you're trying to hack, it's not connected to the Neuro-Amplifier at all! It was just to power and stabilize the conductors! Even I don't have that kind of information! Why? Because it's not in code at all – it's connected by brainwaves to our leader!" He mockingly laughed. "Only he knows how to manually turn this marvelous contraption on and off. His will is truly beyond anything this world has seen!"
Mest clenched his teeth tightly. "In that case…" He turned towards Gajeel. "Gajeel!"
"Yeah, no need to tell me twice." Gajeel turned towards the amplifier as he cracked his iron knuckles. He lunged straight it and took a leap into the air. He inhaled sharply as his cheeks puffed.
"Iron Dragon's Roar!"
The draconic, metal tornado barreled through the chamber, making the air shudder violently as it tore into the massive machine. As it was about to turn it into scrap metal, the massive lights on the contraption lit up brightly. Everyone watched as the iron roar turned into particles that swirled out of the vortex's wake. It was drawn into the lights that slowly drained the cyclone dry, much to everyone's horror.
In a matter of seconds, Gajeel's attack was completely dissipated. All the iron he spat out, he watched in utter shock as it all was drained into the machine, making it brighter.
"The hell just…?"
"You reckless fools!" Octavius mocked. "The Amplifier is designed to absorb all matter of magic that comes directly in contact with it. You can try to hit it again if you'd like to prove me wrong."
"Then, if that's the case, if we do get close, we'll end up suffering Magic Deficiency Disease…" Mest lamented at the thoughts. If was bad enough that their Pokémon were locked in their Poké Balls. But now the machine was able to turn magic into power.
"So then it's designed like the conductors." Pantherlily acknowledged. "When I touched them with my blade, they instantly sapped my Magic Power."
"And our Pokémon are still locked inside…" Mest held up his fist, balling his knuckles to the point they were turning white. "Damnit! How the hell do we stop this thing?!"
"Guess it's up to ole' Luminous now." Gajeel grunted. "If what it takes is to beat that damn mind-control freak, he's got a good start."
"Let's hope so." Mest grimaced.
Octavius went silent, but he couldn't help but crack a cynical smirk at the corners of his beak. 'They have absolutely no idea who they're messing with. Not even Nic has seen a Pokémon quite like him before.'
Nic and Neuro glared the other down, neither showing any emotion aside from the stalwart disposition in the other's eyes; in Neuro's case, it was cold anticipation. It didn't take a genius to know that a Cerebral Pokémon was capable of thinking leagues beyond abnormal human boundaries. To Nic, this was a major hassle, but he fared well in maintaining his composure.
"What's the matter? Still thinking your strategy?" Neuro chimed.
"Don't need one." Nic pointed out. "No point making one if you can read my mind."
Neuro scoffed. "Good…then this'll be quick." He lifted his left arm, his eyes shining bright purple. Something that didn't go unnoticed by Nic.
With innate reflexes, he suddenly turned to his Dread and Mind Form combination, mere milliseconds before psychokinetic energy compressed and burst around his head, making a pulse that momentarily dispelled air particles around Nic. He stood unfazed, but his mind raced at speeds of light.
'If I was a second late, he would've crushed my skull.' Nic realized.
"Actually, I was going to implode your brain." Neuro corrected, reading Nic's thoughts aloud. "Rules of warfare: Always go for the head. You know this tactic well, don't you? It's what you did just now breaking in."
Nic squinted slightly, his blue eyes focused on Neuro. He was dead serious on ending his life, and he proved that everything wasn't a bluff. One slip-up, and Nic knew he'd be a stain on the floor. Neuro's eyes flashed as a gesture to welcome him to try.
"…fine." Without another word, Nic vanished from sight.
Neuro didn't bother moving. He felt Nic's presence behind him at near point-blank range with a heel pulled back for a Feint Attack. He only passed a glance as he scoffed.
"Predictable."
Just when Nic kicked with the force of a hammer, one of the glistening shields around Neuro teleported in front and took the heel, creating an airwave that distorted in a short radius as the shock was being reflected.
'Those mirrors acted on their own?' Nic saw the surface ripple like water along the crystalline surface. His eyes dilated and he pulled his heel back moments before a shockwave reflected the force back his way. He used the wake of the shockwave to get greater distance in midair and saw Neuro casually lifting an arm at him with jumbled dark rings surrounded in a purple aura.
"As you can tell…I'm no ordinary Beheeyem. Dark Pulse."
Suddenly, he unleashed a pulsating blast of dark rings that went into the back of his mirror. The mirror didn't bother moving; in fact, the Dark Pulse shot through the other side, looking far larger and stronger as it sped after Nic at speeds of a comet. The beam was only a few inches from meeting him when he suddenly used Teleport and appeared in midair at a different angle.
'An attack deflector as well as a booster shield?'
"There's more." Neuro pointed out.
As the Dark Pulse continued, just before it was about to hit the wall, one of the shields teleported in the path of the attack and, rather than deflect it like it did with Nic's assault, it was absorbed into it. Nic saw a mirror teleported to his side, and immediately he knew what was coming.
He twisted his body, narrowly evading the even more enhanced Dark Pulse that seared out of the mirror. It beamed through the air into another mirror that teleported in front of the pulse and absorbed it. Another shield appeared above Nic, and he twisted again as the attack shot down, only to be redirected by another mirror.
In swift succession, the Dark Pulse was phasing through the shields like transcending dimensions. In one way, but out another at a stronger and faster pace. Nic teleported in swift succession to evade the trajectory, but the mirrors kept teleporting to keep up.
'I think I follow.' Nic thought, knowing Neuro was listening. 'You're using your psychic powers to manipulate these things, right?'
"Indeed. They're made of a special lacrima that I customized and augmented for my benefits." Neuro stated. "As you can see, they move according to my will, and all without exhausted my PP of Psychic."
Nic teleported once more in midair, with a mirror directly in front of him. Knowing this couldn't go on forever, he glowed as he shifted to a cross of his Dark/Fighting-type and watched the Dark Pulse sear straight at him. He used one hand and manifested an Aura Sphere that he fired at the last second. The two attacks collided, making bright blue and purple shockwaves erupt before the chamber was engulfed in an explosion. The shockwaves of the two attacks pushed everything in the entire chamber into the walls. All the ornaments shattered or otherwise obliterated. The thick walls cracked heavily, but the palace chamber was otherwise still intact.
As Nic descended through the smoke, his eyes sparked as he saw static crackling. Glancing at Neuro, he saw the Beheeyem was charged with electricity and pointed his right arm at Nic.
"Thunderbolt!"
He fired a streaking bolt of lightning that went through a shield in front, causing the attack to double in size and force. The beaming lightning seared towards Nic as he shifted his Fighting-type half back to Psychic and reached an arm out with light purple eyes.
"Psychic!"
The enhanced Thunderbolt suddenly split into dozens of smaller bolts that he froze in place. The enlightened mass thundered with static, but Nic was able to handle it effortlessly and glared at Neuro. "You're not the only one who can deflect attacks as well!" His eyes lit up, causing the numerous smaller lightning beams to shoot back at Neuro.
To anyone, it looked like hundreds of miniscule comets of light beaming down onto the Beheeyem, but he didn't bother to lift so much as a finger. Instead, his eyes also glowed bright purple. "And you're not the only one who uses his opponents' attacks to his advantage."
With Neuro's Psychic, the piercing array of lights suddenly compressed into two beams of lightning. Two mirrors teleported in front and absorbed the two bolts. Two more mirrors shifted to flank Nic's sides. Knowing what came next, he braced himself before two roaring bolts of lightning smashed into his sides, erupting into a hemisphere of lightning that sent static through the cracks of the chamber.
Neuro remained unfazed as he only stared half-heartedly up, knowing that it wasn't that easy.
"Mud Shot!"
Sure enough, he was right. The lightning around Nic dissipated in the air, revealing him in a cross of his Dread and Earth Forms. With the lightning unaffecting him, he fired globs of mud like raining bullets that had enough impact to shatter glass.
"A Dark and Ground-type combination. That's pretty tedious." Neuro callously chimed. The two shields beside him moved in front and took the barrage head-on. The muddy bullets didn't cling or glob up the surface, but each one rippled as they were fired back at Nic with equal force.
The constant onslaught kept going until the two forces cancelled each other out, creating a window of murky dust between Nic and Neuro that blocked the other's view of their respective opponent.
'Those shields make his attacks stronger…' Nic landed on the ground, another aspect coming to light. 'All of his attacks have force to cancel out my attacks. His Psychic can even override my own kinesis…you're right about one thing, you're no ordinary Beheeyem.'
Neuro scoffed. "Like I said, the only way for anyone to learn…is the hard way." He aimed his hands and fired a Dark Pulse into another shield that absorbed it.
Suddenly, the dust tore open above Nic, revealing two shields layered atop each other. The Dark Pulse shot out the top layer and went through the second layer, amplified to be far larger and stronger like a drilling dark beam. Nic glowed again and became his Dark/Psychic-type, using Teleport to evade another destructive blow.
The entire palace shuddered as the huge Dark Pulse bored through the carpet and thick flooring. Chandeliers and decorations were eviscerated as the attack made it far into the cliffs' underground. The entire cliffside beneath the palace spewed dust and chunks of the surface that came loose from the burst.
In midair, still inside the palace, Nic looked down at the gaping hole left by the enhanced attack. It blasted through the palace's thick walls like nothing. If he wasn't sure this guy wasn't bluffing before, he was now.
"Let's see how far your human smarts gets you against me, Nic Pularis!"
The collapse of the cliffside's rocks echoed through the city. Erza looked away from her battle to watch the rocks crash into the cliff's base with thunderous thuds. Her gut ached at the hunch she had from the glance alone. 'Is that Nic?'
'Can anyone hear me? Anyone?!' a voice suddenly echoed in Erza's head.
Her eyes widened. "This voice…Mest?"
"Hey, Erza! Eyes up front!" Houndoom warned.
Erza was witty enough to heed the warning call. She narrowly escape another lash of the elastic cloth and saw another golden prison hanging overhead. This time, however, Houndoom was there to launch a blistering Inferno that engulfed the falling gold mass. Hot, golden liquid oozed down around Erza's feet as she stood under the blaze.
'Hey, you there?' Mest asked again.
"Yes, sorry. I'm currently battling Dahab the jailor." Erza answered. "What's going on?"
'That's what I'd like to know. We felt the palace shake violently from something. What the hell's going on?!'
"Not sure, but whatever it was, it was strong enough to blow through the mountain."
'You guys there?' Another voice entered the telepathic network.
Erza recognized the voice immediately, her heart skipping a beat. "Nic? That you?!"
'Yeah, I'm fine, Erza. How are you guys holding up?'
"I'm fine. But this Cofagrigus is stubborn." Erza scowled.
'We just finished our end in taking the machine chamber. That Malamar was a hassle.' Gajeel chimed in. 'Nic, what was that?'
'It was Quinlan's puppet master. It was a Beheeyem that set this whole thing up from the very beginning behind the scenes.'
'A Beheeyem?' Gajeel wondered.
'That Pokémon that Octavius must have warned us about.' Pantherlily emphasized.
Erza narrowed her eyes. "So that's what your hunch was about."
'He's connected directly to that machine we saw. Gajeel, Mest, what's the status down there?'
'That Malamar is out of commission, but we can't get close to it. It's got some magic draining mechanism to it if we get too close. And we can't bring out our Pokémon, either.' Mest informed their predicament. 'Nic, where are you at? We'll come help!'
Suddenly, everyone's heads in the connection felt a sudden spike.
'Sorry for the intrusion. Hope that you won't mind.' An unfamiliar – yet very unwelcoming – voice was heard through the telepathy.
"Who's there?!" Erza demanded.
'I am Neuro, the one your husband spoke of, Erza Pularis.' Neuro quipped, instilling shock amongst everyone listening. 'You've all done admirably getting this far, but this is as far as you go, unless you intend to have your minds become my tools as well.'
'Everyone, stay back!' Nic mentally shouted. 'He'll manipulate your mind or crush your brains if you interfere.'
'What?' Mest gawked.
'Despite his abhorrent pleas, I'd take his advice. The only reason why he's alive right now is because he's part Dark-type. Your Pokémon will retreat to their balls if they're too close, meaning you mages will be vulnerable to my powers. You're more than welcome to prove me wrong, of course.'
"The hell kind of Pokémon are you?" Erza snarled low at the threat, brandishing her sword.
A crude sneer was heard from Neuro. 'One that you humans wished wasn't your reality.'
'I'll hold my own with him. You guys just tie up your loose ends!' Nic shouted. 'Don't get anywhere close to him as-'
That was all that could be said before the telepathic line snapped.
"Nic? Nic?!" Erza gasped, feeling her chest tighten. Her brow furrowed with fuel for her drive rising. 'Something that powerful that can interfere in another's telepathic link. This Neuro…just what kind of Pokémon is Nic facing now?' She saw a golden energy projectile brush past her cheeks, watching as it crashed into a street sign and knocked the reflective sign off its post. 'Whatever the case may be, we have to take care of this first. We need to deal with Dahab, now!'
Dahab mockingly cackled again. "Getting tired yet? Perhaps you'd like a nap somewhere nice and warm…like my coffin!"
Erza scoffed back. "I'll pass. You'll have to wait until my funeral before I allow that."
Dahab's red eyes beamed. "You won't be getting a funeral!" He reached out towards her. Numerous wisps appeared in a ring around him. "You'll have the explicit honor of a cremation! Will-O-Wisp!" He fired the fireballs as they swerved after Erza.
As they flung through the air in a ghastly dance, they were driving closer to their target before Houndoom suddenly pounced between them. He held his ground as the flames pelted his body, but they didn't even make him cringe. The fireballs bombarded him until they were all gone, leaving Houndoom unaffected, but at the same time, he liked the corners of his maw.
"Thanks for the snack. That felt pretty good." He darkly teased.
"Sorry, but your Will-O-Wisp will only stoke Houndoom's Flash Fire Ability." Erza warned. She reached her arm out to make another command. "Now, Inferno!"
Houndoom growled as he brought his head back, his maw overheating with flames so hot they were turning blue. He lurched forward and opened his maw wide, unleashing a broad blast of blue flames that scorched the pavement beneath to where it lit ablaze. When it drew closer towards Phelicia and Raelf, they acquiesced to their survival instincts and pulled out of the way, allowing a clear path for the flames to reach Dahab.
"Protect!"
The Cofagrigus created a translucent, turquoise forcefield in front, protecting him from the full wake of the blue fire. The shield didn't break, though the flames sped around the corners, making the air around the golden coffin extremely warm to where it was uncomfortable.
"You two! Get up! Incapacitate all of them now!"
"Yes, sir!" Phelicia and Raelf quipped.
"Requip!" Erza requipped again, adorning her Robe of Yuen Armor with her bisento in hand. "Summon all your strength, we won't fall to you!"
Phelicia extended her long scarf once more, but Erza swung her bisento to keep it a safe distance away. Phelicia narrowed her eyes and gave the cloth a quick whip that ran down it towards the end. Despite how sharp the bisento was, the cloth was too thick and parried the swing. Phelicia whipped her arm in a loop fashion and made the scarf make a loop at the end that entangled Erza's torso.
Dahab narrowed his eyes. "Now what're you gonna do?"
Erza didn't respond. Instead, she felt Phelicia pull her closer with a yank, prying her feet from the ground. Erza rustled in the bindings until she started pulling on her robe's bands, allowing her to undo her restraints and free from the cloth completely.
"My binding method…she flexed herself out?" Phelicia gasped.
Using the cloth as a springboard, Erza jumped into the air and requipped her Giant's Armor's heavy lance. She threw it down with all her might with a rocket-propelled backside that spearheaded the cloth and pinned it into the ground.
"Let's see how effective your binding method is when your weapon is stuck!" Erza challenged.
Phelicia panicked, trying to try her cloth out, but the lance had went so deep into the ground that it was stuck completely. Raelf quickly supported her by summoning another golden prison above Erza's head in midair.
"Erza!" Talonflame suddenly rushed in and used her talons to grab Erza's elastic robe. She kicked her out of the way as the golden prison dropped atop of her instead. The prison slammed into the ground with the sound of a bell going off.
Erza clenched her teeth as she somersaulted, fixing herself as she fell down. They were gonna pay for that! She landed on Phelicia's cloth and ran atop it with her bisento at the ready.
Phelicia started to show panic. She pulled as hard as she could, but the cloth was already stretched to its absolute limit. She couldn't spare anymore to slack Erza's momentum. In a split-second, Erza bridged the gap between them and shot off the cloth with her bisento twirling.
"HRAH!"
SHING!
With a valiant battle cry and her bisento held out in a slashing pose, Erza was on a knee facing away from Phelicia. A slash trail followed her that went across Phelicia's body as she gawked in pain as she buckled behind Erza. She fell back with a loud thud, her eyes devoid of pupils as she was unconscious.
"Perhaps you didn't know this, but my Robe of Yuen is an elastic armor. Your cloth won't work." Erza noted. "Your technique with that tool was very impressive. However, your body and style relied too heavily on it."
Seeing one of his humans being taken out, Dahab's piercing gaze sharpened. "Raelf! Gold Cannon!"
Raelf grunted as he was forced to comply. He brought his arms up as a large golden magic seal manifested and directed at Erza.
"WE'LL TURN YOU INTO GOLD IF THAT'S WHAT WILL MAKE YOU MY MUMMY!" Dahab outraged.
"Perhaps you've forgotten something else." Erza challenged. "Gold melts."
As she said that, either by coincidence or careful planning, the golden chamber that encased Talonflame began to steam and melt. The gold liquified and melted steadily, revealing the Scorching Pokémon's body burning with a blistering fire that overtook her entire body.
"Talonflame, Flare Blitz!"
Talonflame cawed loudly, her bodily flames exploding to a larger volume. She beamed with a roaring blitz as she shot right past Erza, leaving searing embers in her wak. The ground had a trail of fire as she went full-speed into Raelf.
The Gold Mage hastily cried out as he unleashed a bright yellow energy beam from the magic seal that went across the ground towards Talonflame. As it traveled, the stone and concrete on the pavement below turned solid gold. The beam met the Flare Blitz, stopping Talonflame briefly. The two attacks were in a momentary power struggle as it was magic force against physical, blazing heat.
For a moment, there were stains of gold that were blemishing Talonflame's beak, as well as her forehead. It slowly started to spread further along her body. However, Talonflame cawed louder, the red and orange flames suddenly turning a bright blue. The increase in temperatures quickly melted away the gold off her feathers and beak. She barreled ahead with her momentum picking up again towards Raelf. The mage only had shock on his face before Talonflame's body met his, enveloping him in blistering fire and a drastic force that sent him airborne in pain. His cries howled through the air as Talonflame circled around, arching overhead as the mage plummeted back towards the ground with a loud thud.
With Talonflame's Flare Blitz melting the gold in the ground, golden dust simmered around Raelf for several seconds before dissipating. The mage was on his back, his mouth gaping as burns were all over his body. The fall had also knocked the golden tooth out of his mouth.
Dahab's eyes were wide as he saw his second human go down. "What's the meaning of…?"
Talonflame flew down besides Houndoom, the flames dispersing around her. Red static suddenly engulfed her as the side effects to her attack took their toll of her stamina. However, she didn't strain as she glared at Dahab with a deep fire in her eyes.
"Not even gold could stop you?" Dahab muttered, still looking to be in shock.
"There's a saying we humans use. 'All that glitters, isn't gold'. So…" She held her bisento up towards Dahab. "You still wanna go on?"
Houndoom and Talonflame glared with her, as if adding emphasis to her threat.
Dahab looked like he was still processing what just happened. The living coffin looked so still that he could have been mistaken for a statue. A statue with a grizzly face, nonetheless. Erza and her Pokémon waited to see what he would do, but he looked lost in his own world.
For some reason though, Erza could feel a tenseness in the air. It could have been the dark clouds blocking out the sun, but she felt something insatiable wrong inside of her gut as she glared at the Cofagrigus.
"Cof…" A small scoff was heard. It was low, but it started escalating in volume. "Cof-Cof…COF-COF-COF-COF-COF!" His eyes gleamed brightly with such a feral gleam in them that it was unsettling to look directly at him.
"Looks like his last screw just got too loose." Houndoom muttered.
"Something's not right about this." Talonflame warned.
Erza felt the same way as she brandished her bisento.
"You failed…YOU BOTH FAILED!" Dahab held up the two Human Cubes from before. "I DIDN'T SAY YOU COULD LIE DOWN! THAT'S A BIG NO-NO~!"
Without hesitation, he clutched the cibes tightly, causing the collars to go off. The already unconscious duo's eyes bulged out as they were abruptly woken by painful shocks running through their nerves. Their bodies convulsed in pain, but they weren't able to get up.
Erza, Talonflame, and Houndoom's eyes were wide as they witnessed the sight before them. They were speechless as they saw the mages being kicked while they were down. Even for Houndoom, this was something that crossed the line.
"SUFFER! SUFFER FOR YOUR USELESSNESS!" Dahab spatted with sickly satisfaction. He cackled as he saw their bodies twitch violently, their eyes rolling to the back of their heads from the numbness taking over. His eyes glistened the brighter the more elated he felt seeing them tortured. "COF-COF-COF-COF-COF!"
Suddenly, two swords shot at him, piercing the Human Cubes in his hands. He was forced to drop them as they fell to the ground with the red lacrima in the middle sizzling before steadily turning off. With the Human Cubes out of commission, the collars on Phelicia and Raelf ceased function, allowing their bodies to go limp as they laid unconscious.
Dahab's eyes gleamed with steady irate as he slowly looked up, finding Erza standing with an opposed glare. "That's enough from you. They've suffered plenty from you. You have no right to treat them that way when they were doing what they were told."
"Suffered plenty…?" Dahab scoffed. "SUFFERED PLENTY?! THERE'S NOT ENOUGH SUFFERING FOR ALL THE HUMANS THAT EXIST! THEY DESERVE TO TOIL FOR ALL THE SHIT THEY'VE DONE!"
Erza took another stance, feeling Dahab's hatred peering straight into her soul. She watched as the gleam in his eyes dimmed a little as a sign of him calming down.
"You know, when humans die, they become Ghost-type Pokémon. When they do, they lose their memories of their past lives upon reincarnation…" Dahab paused, thinking of the irony of the situation. "But, I was the exception..."
The cell thudded loudly from a body that hit the ground.
"You feel that? Actually hurts, don't it?" A broad, rough-looking man with balding hair scoffed.
The man that was struck down was of average height, though it was clear that he was underweight from malnutrition. A middle-aged man with a thick 5 o'clock shadow and dark eyes, with one being bruised thanks to one of his inmates.
Dahab – formerly human – an ex-Team Rocket convict that was caught. He wasn't sure who or how, but he knew that the moment the police stormed the Game Corner that day, his life of taking money to help fund Team Rocket's experiments was over. It didn't help that his former organization didn't have such a high opinion towards his two other cellmates.
"Took my son's first Pokémon! How'd that make you feel? Something like this?!" An inmate kicked him in the head, sending him into the wall.
"T-that wasn't me-!" His rebuttal was cut short by another inmate stomping on his windpipe.
"You guys robbed my brother dry of his life savings. You know how long he was living on the streets in Celadon before we've found him?" Another rough-looking inmate drew closer, cracking his knuckles. "He ain't here anymore, but this is for him."
It was hellish enough for him that his own wife divorced him once she had realized what his real occupation was. The Game Corner was just a ruse that she foolishly bought. Dahab thought that things would go smoothly for them and their daughter. Boy was he wrong.
Another kick to his ribs kept him from being lucid on bittersweet thoughts. He rolled over in pain towards the cell bars, where he heard approaching footsteps that he knew belonged to the patrolling guards. When one passed by, he looked over and saw Dahab's shaky hand grip the bars to pull him up. He looked battered, beaten, and desperate for help.
"Please…help me…"
The warden looked at him briefly before taking out his bat. He used it to smack Dahab's fingers, forcing him to let go of the bars and fall back onto his butt. He cried out as he felt his fingers getting red and bruised.
"Keep all the ruckus down over here." That was all he said and gave the three other inmates a crude glare before walking off.
Dahab bit his bottom lip as he held his hands close to his stomach as they ached. Talk about insult to injury. As of he wasn't suffering enough. His inmates did crimes worse than him, yet they were taking out their frustrations on him…and the guards seemed to encourage this.
And people said that Team Rocket was pure evil.
A foot pressed onto his back, pushing him back into the ground. "Tried to tattletale? Wrong move."
Dahab's bleeding lip quivered as he was pulled back further into his cell, away from any chance of freedom.
…
The prison only allowed one hour of recess outside, in which workout equipment or a small basketball hoop stood. Small, common necessities to keep the inmates stable and active.
Despite this, all Dahab saw when he was in recess were the other inmates. The way they looked was one thing, but hearing what some of them did didn't do him any favors.
Pokémon Hunting, attempted murder, actual murder, arson with Fire-types. A lot of those cases had humans having Pokémon accomplices to help them with those crimes. Being a former Team Rocket member, the murder and stealing he could understand since those were inevitable. But that was part of the territory. If they told the Pokémon to do those jobs for them, shouldn't the Pokémon also get punished?
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. They were either put into other care of more responsible people to make better use of their abilities, or released back into the wild. So the dangerous Pokémon got off easy, yet the humans had to be thrown the book?
Seriously, where's the sense in that?
And the worst of it was, some of these people actually enjoyed it. They enjoyed seeing others on the receiving end of their misdeeds. From the stories they told, they sounded either proud or indifferent about what they'd done.
To think that this world was littered with people like these.
'We're just…wild Pokémon in cages at this point.'
…
"Lights out!"
As the guard yelled that, the lights throughout the prison cells went out remotely. Another day came and went, with inmates being put to work, followed by the usual small-portion meals to keep them fed. Though, in his case, much of his shares were pried away from him by other inmates. All because he was part of Team Rocket. They just had to find some reason to blame him for their failures in life.
Despite the conditions, the cellmates were sleeping soundly, with Dahab on the cold, hard floor stained in his own blood. Guards that passed by took only once glance and saw him in such a state. But even then, they only sneered and carried on; one actually had the audacity to smirk in satisfaction.
"People like you are not what society needs. You need to pay for your misdeeds." The sneering guard remarked, before resuming his patrol. "If you cling to bars…you'll know more pain. But let's face it…no pain will compare to what you have done to Kanto and Johto's society."
As he was in the corner, all the strength he had in his body was fading away. But the tears in his eyes mixed with the dirt on his face. The whole time, his expression was contorted with pure, sickening frustration.
"It took years upon looking at my mask as a Yamask for me to finally understand, but my hate for humans was so strong that I remembered all the pain, all the torture I was put through before I died shortly there." Dahab sneered, his eyes glowing with rage. "Humans deserve to be caged up like the animals they are! You all lock up Pokémon in your little 'PC', so what's the difference?! It's the humans who make the bad Pokémon! By that logic…the reason why I'm here now, IS BECAUSE OF THE LOT LIKE YOU!"
Erza listened through the whole way. She was instantly reminded of her time in the Tower of Heaven, all the salves that worked themselves to a merciless death, the screaming and the agony they all went through for the sickly satisfaction of the jailors. She remembered how she lost her eye thanks to them. She'll never forget how evil their smiles were at seeing the salves tortured.
Hearing how Dahab became a Ghost-type after death…made her think briefly of all the tortured souls that maybe ended up just like him. Ghost-types that symbolized how they died. In Dahab's case, it was by the greed of man.
"I'll make it my business that as many humans are caged up and suffer like the way they should! Make them know their place…and those who don't…" His eyes brightened with his fury. "WILL ONLY KNOW PAIN! OMINOUS WIND!"
His coffin-like body suddenly shot a dark purple windstorm that blew directly into Talonflame, Houndoom, and Erza. The force was surprisingly strong, enough actually that they all were blown away several feet.
Dahab cackled madly as a red aura enveloped his body. The side effects of Ominous Wind enhanced all his stats at once.
Erza used her bisento and pierced the ground, stopping herself from losing footing through the hazy windstorm. 'His attacks are getting stronger!'
Dahab ceased his attack only to create more fireballs around him. He fired the Will-O-Wisp objectively at Erza.
"Houndoom!" Erza shouted as Houndoom jumped in front, taking the fireballs in her stead. They all dissipated, leaving Houndoom to lick his lips. "You were human once, right? Then why torture humans this way when you're a Pokémon?"
"I was human! And because of that, I've seen all the kinds of messed up shit that puts Dark-types to shame!" Dahab clarified. "Not a day goes by when I gleam at the thought of humans swearing their hearts out while wrapped in my bandages. So futile…it's euphoric!"
Erza glared. "Monster."
"And who made this 'monster'? Only a real monster would make another monster!" Dahab brought his hands together creating a black and purple ball of shadowy energy. "Shadow Ball!"
"Talonflame, Steel Wing!"
Talonflame cawed as she took to the air again, somersaulting her entire body as he wings glowed a metallic gray. As Dahab launched his attack, she angled her body so that she was vertical to the ground. He speed and sturdy wings gave her momentum to slice the Shadow Ball into two smaller spheres that flew past Erza, hitting two buildings on either side.
"Houndoom, use Fire Fang!"
"Just what I was thinking. Been meaning to find out what gold tastes like!" He opened his maw wide as broiling flames seared into the open. He growled as he lunged for Dahab, who was still slower despite his increased Speed. Houndoom's fangs found their place atop Dahab's crowned head, making orange light gleam before an explosion of fire engulfed him.
"GRAAAH~!" The Apostle hollered in pain as the flames burned away all his clothing. Tarps and leather fell to the ground being reduced to ash.
Erza knew that had to do a lot of damage. Flash Fire helped boost the power of Houndoom's Fire-type moves, that much she knew. However, she couldn't shake this unsteady feeling she had.
She gasped. "Move, Houndoom!"
Houndoom glanced back at her upon hearing the command. He realized that despite the flames engulfing Dahab, the coffin was still standing. He pulled away, but it was too late as two hands made of aura clutched him by the neck, suspending him over the ground. The flames dissipated to reveal Dahab seething with a wild, cynical smirk.
"Houndoom!" Erza shouted.
"He let him get close on purpose!" Talonflame concluded.
"Cof-Cof-Cof! I would have preferred that redheaded brat over there…but you'll do just fine!" Dahab's eyes gleamed again.
Houndoom wanted to get away, but Dahab was clutching his neck so tight that it was like he was being choked. Correction, he was choked. Just when he was about to use an attack, he saw Dahab's coffin-like body open up before him. All he saw was a purple and black dimension that looked awfully cramped. "What the-?!"
Before he could finish, he was shoved into him, the lid clamping shut. Dahab's body fell to the ground with the top facing the sky. His four limbs supported him as he suspended his prisoner off the ground by barely a foot.
"Release him, now!" Erza demanded, Talonflame's body igniting in flames.
"Cof-Cof-Cof! Oh, is that so? Then tell me, would you like to risk hurting your mutt along with me?"
Erza gnashed her teeth, realizing Dahab's plan. "Bastard…"
…
Arcelia was squirming through the streets of what used to be Pokétopia. Now that all the residents were either in shelters or otherwise defeated, the streets were much less crowded than what they were. The whole time, Arcelia was feeling uncomfortable as her eyes were fixed on the skies above. Thunder roared in the distance that signaled the approach of a truly bad storm.
'I could've sworn…I feel Mom around here.'
"Hey, wait up!" Arcelia turned around, noticing the Vulpix that raced up to her with Cana, Liepard, and Prinplup in tow. "What's the matter? Do you know how risky it is being out here by yourself?"
Arcelia cringed, but she turned away. "S-sorry…"
Cana shook her head. "Geez, you're taking after Wendy already. She's really grown onto you, hasn't she?"
Arcelia looked down, her cheeks glowing a bright pink. "Er, well…i-it's still better than my Mom. At least I get to choose what I get to do!"
Sune frowned. To a degree, she could relate to Arcelia's complex. She was always a stickler to the rules out of obligation, but the treatment was far from ideal. She could understand her means to find her own way and tag along with this bunch they came across. Because of that, she chose not to say anything against that.
The Vulpix stepped forward, pressing a paw on the Dratini's skin. "Well, if you're going off like that…you should at least be more mindful of your peers. They seem to worry about you."
Arcelia looked down guiltily. "S-sorry…"
"It's fine. I said that you should be more mindful, not to turn them away. We've already turned our backs to others once…let's try and not take the ones we have now for granted."
Upon hearing that, Cana and Liepard smirked at each other.
"Now, whatever you're worried about, you can tell us. I'm sure that we can help you out." Sune insisted.
Arcelia exhaled deeply, calming down. "Well, you see…"
Prinplup turned away, his flipper pointing at something in the distance. "Hey, guys, over there!"
The group lost focus on Arcelia's case when they noticed an adjacent street. Despite the debris strewn across the avenue, they could make out some figments that were in the middle.
"Someone else is out here?" Liepard asked, cocking a brow.
"That looks like a Pokémon…" Cana narrowed her eyes. "Not one I recognize, though." She looked farther out, her eyes fixed upon recognizing a certain human that stood against the coffin, alongside a Talonflame. "Is that…?"
…
Erza stood across from Dahab, her grip tightening on her bisento. If she wanted to, she was sure she could cleave the coffin in two. However, his recent threat of Houndoom harbored inside held off her initial attack. She never dealt with hostage situations well.
"Cof-Cof-Cof! Well…? What's it gonna be?" Dahab taunted. "Gonna attack me? Make me feel pain? I won't stop you, but of course, you know what will happen to your precious pal. Cof-Cof…"
Talonflame growled low as her feathers gave off heat with her fury. She wanted to dart straight at him with another Flare Blitz.
"I wouldn't do that." Dahab warned. "My Ability is called Mummy. When Pokémon make physical contact, their own Ability become theirs. So, if you attack me with fire, then your hound will definitely be needing bandages."
Erza gasped. "Then, when Houndoom attacked you…" She thought about when Houndoom made contact. 'So that was his plan. He was waiting for that to happen!'
As if reading Erza's anger, Dahab's smirk widened. "Don't worry, you can have your hound back…" His maw generated a dark and purple sphere. "But not before I make you feel a glimpse of what awaits you!"
Erza and Talonflame braced themselves, ready to counter however they can.
Suddenly, a fireball and colorful tarot cards shot from behind Dahab. The Cofagrigus stopped his attack and pulled up a Protect to stop the attacks, making them explode upon contact with the barrier. Erza and Talonflame looked stunned at the surprise attack.
If that wasn't startling, when they looked up, they saw sunlight beaming down onto them. The dark clouds had a large hole that opened up to pure sunlight that warmed the air around them.
"Sunlight…?" Erza muttered in confusion.
"Erza!"
The redheaded Pularis woman heard the familiar voice and recognized the brunette accompanied by numerous other Pokémon. "Cana?"
Cana smirked. "Hey, ya miss me?"
"Heh…? You." Dahab's eyes shifted towards the group that arrived, his focus on the Vulpix that wore the officer uniform.
Sune glared back, choosing not to waiver. "Apostle Dahab, your days of jailing are over!"
Dahab's eyes glowed red with pure hate. "Oh man, you completely forgot your position, haven't you? Think you're above the law, huh?! Well you're not! I AM!" He bellowed. "I'm gonna send your mummified body back to the police and have you behind bars, furball!"
Sune took a battle stance, her six tails fluffed out. "Someone like you who abuses their power…isn't fit to boss me around! If anyone's gonna be behind bars, it's you!"
"Cof-Cof! Oh, I'm gonna enjoy suffocating you in my bandages…"
Erza quickly got back to reality and realized the situation. "He's got Houndoom inside of him! Be careful!"
"Got it!" Cana held up some more tarot cards. "I'd let him go right now if I were you. He's already a skull dog."
"That so? Then I guess you'll be nothing but bones when I'm through with you!" He opened his jaws wide, firing a Shadow Ball at Cana. The Card Mage brought her arms up and lobbed the cards at the oncoming attack.
"Sun's Strength!"
The cards lit ablaze in midair, becoming searing comets of fire that met the Shadow Ball centerfield. With Sune's Drought activated, the cards' strength was stronger than usual, causing more flames to explode outwards than before.
With Cana providing a distraction, that gave Erza time to think about her plan. 'We have to end this now. But how do we get Houndoom out?' He looked up at the sky, seeing the bright sunlight come down. 'Harsh sunlight…wait a minute!' Her eyes widened. 'That just might work!' Her brow furrowed. "Only one way to find out."
Talonflame saw Erza step beside her. When she saw her pull back her hair, she saw the Key Stone glimmering. 'Is that her plan?'
"You may have confined Houndoom for now…but you can't confine our bond. You'll pay for what you've done. Houndoom…" She tapped the Key Stone, causing multicolored light beams to come off it before it shined intense light rays. "Mega Evolve!"
The Key Stone's intense rays became fabricated ropes of light that wriggled through the air, looking for its partner. Though, for some reason, Dahab felt incredible…hot.
"What's this? Why…why do I feel like I'm burning inside…?" He strained as he started shuddering. Despite his best efforts to keep Houndoom at bay, orange light beams shined through the crevices of his body, becoming light ropes of their own. His eyes widened in shock of what was happening. "GAH! WHAT?!"
The two ends bend towards each other and connected, becoming pure white that traveled down Dahab's direction. As soon as the light went through his body, he let out a violent cry as he couldn't contain Houndoom. The heat he was giving off was burning him up from the process.
"GAH~!" Having no choice, Dahab opened his coffin body, spitting out Houndoom as he was covered in ethereal black bandages that were in the process of solidifying around him. The Mega Evolution process and the heat he radiated was burning away that fabric.
Everyone's eyes widened as they watched Houndoom's transformation mid-flight. Sune especially gawked as she witnessed the Dark-type growing larger horns, and having sharper features, including more bony plates covering his front like armor.
When the light exploded, a shockwave mixed with intense heat went through the atmosphere. Mega Houndoom let out a bloodcurdling snarl as he landed on the ground in front of Erza, projecting his heated energy towards Dahab. His own breath felt scorching hot even from a distance.
"Gah! Damn, that burns!" Dahab hissed, his coffin body closing. He did not look happy one bit.
"You mess with Fire-types, you get burned." Mega Houndoom darkly sneered.
'This voice, is that really…?' Sune's eyes were locked on the Mega Houndoom, realizing that it was the same one from yesterday that gave her a hard time. "You mean, you're…"
Mega Houndoom looked over, smirking at his familiar acquaintance. "Hey there, sunshine. You miss me?" He crouched as his red claws made the ground steam from contact. With the sunlight beaming down on him. "Thanks for the sunshine…now I feel charged up!"
Erza didn't waste a bated breath as she reached her arm out. "Shadow Ball!" Mega Houndoom opened his mouth wide and lifted his head towards the open hole in the sky. He snarled as he manifested a black and purple ghastly sphere like Dahab, only his was much larger. With no hesitation, he lurched forward, shooting the Ghost-type attack across the ground with force to leave a depressed trail in the earth.
Dahab brought his hands together, manifesting a Shadow Ball of his own. He grunted loudly as he shot it at the oncoming attack, but when it made contact, the stalemate only lasted for a second before his collapsed. Mega Houndoom's attack kept going, and Dahab's eyes widened just before the sphere made impact with his body, engulfing him in a large-scale eruption of shadows that shuddered the entire avenue.
Cana, Sune, and the others covered themselves and veered away from the attack's shockwave, feeling the force from such a distance. Cana opened an eye as she tried to peek back at the explosion. "Such power…!"
Mega Houndoom grunted, feeling himself exhausted slightly. The smoke cleared away, revealing Dahab as he was in a crater. He slowly lifted himself, his shadowy aura around him flickering on and off as he struggled to make heads or tails. It didn't help that a blue aura enveloped his body, lowering his Special Defense.
"Gnngh…what…just happened…?"
"What happened, was that you didn't realize something about Houndoom." Erza prompted. "When Houndoom undergoes Mega Evolution, their current Ability changes to Solar Power. Every time Houndoom attacks in harsh sunlight, it depletes his stamina…but it's well compensated with his Special Attack becoming much stronger."
Mega Houndoom smirked darkly. "Heh, thanks for the assist, officer."
"Uh…sure…" Sune barely responded. She didn't expect such a Pokémon to be this strong. Strong enough to put Dahab in his place. 'So powerful…'
Dahab's eyes shot open with a bloody gleam in them. "Gngh…I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU! One way, or another…YOUR HUMAN'S GONNA BE A MUMMY!" In his rage, his body exhaled an Ominous Wind that blew towards Mega Houndoom and Talonflame. The shockwave leveled the terrain as it traversed towards the intended targets.
"Requip!" Erza rushed past them, shifting to her Adamantine Armor. She brought her shields together and blocked the Ghost-type attack intended for her Pokémon. She held her footing through the windstorm.
Dahab's maniacal eyes dilated with fury. "STOP GETTING IN MY WAY!"
"Mega Houndoom, Dark Pulse!" Erza ordered.
Mega Houndoom howled as he clamped his mouth shut. When he opened, he expelled an immense beam of jumbled dark rings outlined in a purple aura. The Dark-type attack had so much force behind its sheer volume that the earth beneath completely shattered to pieces as it blitzed after the Cofagrigus.
"Protect!"
Dahab remained completely still as a translucent forcefield appeared in front, shielding the attack from him. The Dark Pulse split into multiple beams around the barricade, blasting other buildings in the surrounding vicinity. The shockwaves produced made Sune and the others cover up until the attack subsided.
"Tch, sturdy one." Mega Houndoom scoffed, before grunting. He felt his stamina drain even more due to Solar Power's effects.
Once the barrier came down, Dahab grinned evilly. He felt an oncoming heat from behind that made him realize something was heading for him. When flipped around and opened his maw, unleashing a Shadow Ball at the oncoming Flame Burst. His attack was met with a stalemate, but ultimately resorted to a collapse of both sides as the air flourished in empowered flames and shadows mixing.
Sune landed on the ground, glaring heated daggers. "Don't forget, I'm still here!"
Dahab's eyes screamed in bloody rage. "All these hounds around me won't stop barking…SHUT UP ALREADY!" His coffin suddenly split, allowing mummified wraps made entirely of shadows to wriggle out of him. He ascended higher as the wraps wriggled uncontrollably.
Everyone who was watching looked stunned. They all got on their guard as their spines tensed from the sight.
In bloody rage, Dahab launched his ghostly bandages at Sune, who didn't show any fear or tension. She watched as the bandages drew closer and jumped onto one. She raced up it, getting closer towards Dahab. Numerous other bandages flanked her and attempted to come at her from the front, but she had other ideas.
"Feint Attack!"
At the last second, she vanished from sight, the bandages missing their mark. She appeared in front of Dahab's face and struck him with her tails, causing him to grunt and pull away.
As she did the same, a dark aura briefly enveloped her. She cringed as the effects of Mummy made her Drought gone, though the sunlight was still present.
"DAMN YOU ALL! ALL OF YOU HUMANS! I WILL NOT REST UNTIL YOU ALL SUFFER!"
Numerous glints appeared over Dahab as he outraged. The glints rained down onto him in the form of numerous weapons that caught the coffin off guard. When he looked up, it was too late as the swords and axes pierced into his loose bandages, pinning them to the ground. He struggled to pull free, but it was no use.
"No…NO, NO, NO~!" Dahab turned towards Erza, who stared at him with a straight face. An expression that reminded him too much of others who locked him up. "I'll make you suffer…YOU WILL KNOW PAIN!"
"I've already experienced pain before." Erza stated confidently. As she spoke, Mega Houndoom's maw generated bright blue flames. "And that pain never truly goes away…but it's never justified to make others feel the same way you did."
Dahab screamed in bloody outrage. There was no point anymore.
"Mega Houndoom…"
"Ready, time to put the coffin to rest."
"…Inferno!"
The moment he opened his mouth, a monstrous, large-scale blaze of deep blue fire roared out of Mega Houndoom. The ground immediately melted from the staggering force and heat of the attack as it raced into Dahab. The Cofagrigus was too lost in his hysteric swearing as the blue swell of fire completely engulfed him. The pulsating blast of fire continued down the avenue, burning a trail straight to the end where a building's front was partially melted. A wall of blue fire shot up across the street that shook the entire area with such force. Heatwaves expelled that were shockwaves that blew everything away.
As the attack's wake settled down, Cana and the others gaped their mouths as they were off to the side, barely out of the way. They saw a huge trench of melted pavement that was still partially burning still. But in the middle of it was Dahab, seemingly unmoved by the attack.
"Did…did it work…?" Arcelia worried.
A short silence fell as Dahab opened his mouth. His bandages were all burnt and reduced to stubs around his coffin. He let out a small chuckle, which turned into a loud cackle. His eyes burned with sheer hate. Hate so strong that it didn't make him fall yet
"COF-COF-COF-COF…" His cackling trailed off as he slowly froze up. His maw was wide open as his eyes rolled to the back of his head. He slowly lost his aura around his body before he started leaning backwards. With a loud thud, he crashed into the burned ground.
The harsh sunlight overhead slowly faded away, allowing for darkness to overtake them once again. The battle was over.
Mega Houndoom huffed out embers as he scoffed. "Just how I like them…" He glowed as a hemisphere enveloped his body, reverting him back to Houndoom. "Extra crispy."
Erza exhaled deeply, her eyes focused on Dahab. "It's over."
"Yeah…sure looks like it." Houndoom turned towards Cana and the others, particularly Sune. "Hey, Fluffy Tails, you good over there?"
Sune cringed, but she composed herself after getting over her initial shock. "Uh, y-yeah. We're okay, right?" She looked towards her peers as they showed no signs of burns or damage.
"That's good." Houndoom smirked. "Thanks for the assist. Really came in handy."
Sune blinked, but she bashfully turned away with her nose up. "If you're going to compliment me, at least do it without the sarcasm."
Houndoom smugly grinned. "I'll keep that in mind."
Liepard smirked. 'Girl had a long day.'
"Erza!" With the battle won, Cana ran up to meet with Erza as the latter requipped her Heart Kreuz Armor.
"Is everyone else okay?" Erza asked.
Cana nodded. "Yeah, they're just fine. All of those soldiers did the heavy lifting for us. Everyone's just busy catching their breath."
"That's good." Erza grinned at the good news. She was genuinely happy to hear that all her friends were safe and sound. "Suppose we'll have to thank Joey for this."
"Knowing him, he'll probably be on his heels about this for a while." Cana eyerolled.
While the notion was entertaining to the imagination, Erza's thoughts were occupied with something more concerning. She turned back towards the defeated Dahab and his charred body. Even unconscious, he had that sick smile on his face. Thoughts of what he went through earlier came to mind…and that didn't make her feel any better.
"Yet another tortured soul…how deplorable." She muttered underneath her breath. "Makes you really wonder, just how many more Pokémon are out there that suffered the same fate as him?"
Cana turned towards the coffin with a deep frown of her own. "Who knows, really. But we'll worry about that another time." She turned towards Erza. "Where's Nic?"
"He's currently battling someone named Neuro…apparently that so-called 'Quinlan' was but a mere puppet."
Cana's eyes widened. "Wait…you serious?!"
She nodded. "Yes…and it's much worse than that-" Before she could continue, the sky flashed lightning, along with the sound of thunder. Everyone looked up as they saw the ominous clouds that overtook the entire island. As far as the eye could see, not a single speck of blue sky shone.
"That doesn't look good." Houndoom snorted.
The winds suddenly began picking up. They expected a light breeze, but instead it was a massive windstorm that howled in their faces.
"What the hell is this? A hurricane?" Cana grunted as she tried to mat down her hair.
The winds blew with enough force to nearly turn over debris. It was faint, but the winds that howled…they weren't howling at all. They were roaring. A faint, humming-like cry was heard echoing that made Arcelia's tender skin grow goosebumps again.
"What's the matter? Why so stiff?" Prinplup questioned.
Arcelia shriveled, and for a good reason. Her instincts kicked in as the cries grew louder by the second. When she looked up with the others, they saw a bright blue glow…and the silhouette of a serpent under the cover of lightning flashing in the sky. Even from the distance, she could see the vehement rage as clear as crystal.
"…Mom's angry."
"Your what…?" Cana slumped.
"Junior!? Junior!" Staraptor flew through the forest, barely over the tree canopies. Despite the winds picking up, they didn't slow her down since she had training to adjust her tail feathers and wings to glide without exhausting her energy. She looked down at the forest floor below, looking for any sign of her adoptive son.
'Damnit! Of all the times for him too…' She didn't like this, not one bit. She looked up towards the sky, realizing that the storm was getting worse. Lightning flashed haphazardly like the wrath of Zapdos was upon them. As if she didn't have enough on her plate to handle.
She shook her head and retained focus. 'This weather is getting worse…I need to find Junior now!' With the looming threat on the way, and this aching feeling in her chest, she surged across the treetops in search of Junior. "Junior!"
For everyone, this long game being played was coming to its end.
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Finally wrapped up the 12 Apostles! Now all that's left is the final battle, with Nic fighting the true menace in this arc. Was that a big surprise to you? Feel free to review and share your thoughts!
