Sparks flew wildly from the Nuada's engine room. Eagerly, Zeraora grinned as he pumped enough electricity into that engine to fry even the air itself. None of the helicarrier's staff could get near enough to fire due to the heat of the metal hallways leading toward the room.
There was a loud groan of metal when the entire aircraft began to tilt. Soldiers shifted unsteadily and cried out in panic as they were forced to grip nearby railings to avoid sliding into the walls.
Satisfied with his work, Zerora removed his claws away from the sparking machine and breathed. As he knelt down, his fur stood on end. Small blips of electricity raced from strand to strand, growing more plentiful until it coated Zeraora completely.
He vanished in a bolt of lightning that flew from the room. Each hallway between him and the bridge was flooded with lightning as he passed, shocking the men within. They uttered shocked gasps and cries as electricity coursed through their bodies.
When he arrived in the bridge, the result was the same. Again, its crew and the commander were paralyzed as he sped from person to person faster than their eyes could perceive. One by one, they collapsed.
As a parting gift, Zeraora stepped atop the control panels in front of the windshield and sent a pulse of lightning through it before jumping back out onto the cliffside. Commander Manuall growled helplessly, attempting futilely to move against the lightning afflicting his body.
Zeraora dusted off the palms of his paws. He did not bother to turn and look when he heard an explosion ring out from the Nuada. "Guess that solves that," He said smugly. "Serves them right." Steadily, he shifted his gaze over to where Ash had fled to and began walking. "Now let's get back to…"
A chill ran down his spine all of a sudden. Something drew close. Something fast. Whirling around, he tossed a Zap Cannon at the thing behind him. There was an eruption of sparks and smoke. With wide eyes, Zeraora stared at the smoke until it faded. His eyes widened upon seeing something within.
There was a man in black armor, covered in dust, grime, and burns. Many parts of it were splintered if not broken off. It was especially true for his helmet, having half of its visor shattered. A murderous yellow eye peered out from the darkness within that helmet. With the flames of the falling Nuada behind him, he held his blade before him defensively.
It took a moment for Zeraora to recognize him in his state. "You!" He roared, baring his fangs.
Ryder hissed, "Get out of my way."
"Murderer…!" Snarling, Zeraora seethed so intensely that the air began to sizzle with plasmatic sparks. "Of course you would be here. Your brain is already fried if you think you're getting close to Ash!"
The armored man turned his chin up to look past Zeraora. "So Ash is there as well," He spoke, intrigued.
With a guffaw, Zeraora inwardly cursed at himself for spilling that information. "You didn't know?! Why are you here then." His eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me you're here for me?"
Instantly, Ryder responded with a loud laugh. "You? Do not flatter yourself. The likes of you are among the least of my concerns." There was a ring in the air as he suddenly pointed his blade toward the obstacle between him and his target. "I will repeat myself: get out of my way and you may live a few hours more."
Lightning surged around Zeraora as if it were Aura. "As if!"
Ryder sped toward Zeraora suddenly and slashed upward, forcing the electric Pokemon to evade to the side to avoid being victim to the cut in the air that scraped the floor and ceiling. However, the moment Zeraora was out of the way, instead of pursuing the attack, he sped down the tunnel. Zeraora once more cursed at himself before doing the same.
Each breath Ash took sent out visible puffs of steam that faded quickly. In his arms, Mew and Shaun were held tight. Beneath his feet, ice allowed each careful step to slide him further. The same could be said of Pikachu, faithfully running alongside him.
They found themselves again in a chamber full of ice. A frozen lake and ice cold white walls lined nearly every inch of it. However, where steady drops of water lined some of the stalactites, entire streams fell from the ceiling at other parts. The lake itself, once more solid than stone, now groaned beneath Ash's feet.
It was a place Ash recognized from before the nightmare of this day began. Where there had once been Spheal and their likeness playing on the ice with joyful squeals, there was only eerie crackling in an empty, icy grave. Never had Ash thought he would want to see Regice again.
At the chamber entrance, two red figures emerged. Their dark gazes could not penetrate the frost in the air, so they waited until Nova came running after them. Once he entered the chamber, his eyes narrowed at the vague shadow of the fleeing boy in the distance. On his signal, the Red Suits crouched down to take after them.
Then, another signal came to the transceiver of Nova. "Approaching from behind."
Nova quickly sidestepped, allowing a black and yellow blue to race past him. Traces of electricity in the air trailed after them. After a spark passed by his face and fizzled out, he sent the Red Suits after the blur with a silent nod before following.
A sense of dread washed over Ash suddenly. He whirled around. Something approached rapidly—something far faster than he could react. His eyes widened in horror as a blade was pointed at him. Speeding toward the boy, Ryder's wide yellow eye evidenced his intent to spear Ash upon his sword.
Beside him, a yellow paw coated in lightning pushed upon Ryder's shoulder. The blade soared past Ash's head, nicking off a thread of hair as Ryder was sent into a front roll to avoid falling. His speed on the ice carried him into a slide that forced him to dig his blade down to grind to a halt. The effort made the frozen lake groan and churn in displeasure.
Again, Ash's Aura flared in warning. He looked up and gasped as he saw two men in red, maskless and peering down with voids for eyes, holding charged Hyper Beams in their hands.
Pikachu's eyes flickered white as Ash shared an order with him through their Aura, not having enough time to communicate it verbally. The two dodged and rolled in opposite directions just before an orange pillar descended upon where they had stood.
Their attack burrowed through the ice and shot down to its petrified bed. As it reached the bottom, there was a dull rumble that shook the lake. It trembled in shingles that raced outward atop its frigid surface like ripples in water.
Jagged shards of ice now stuck up from along the frozen lake's surface, making Ash wince. His footing would need to be incredibly careful. Would it matter, though, with so many enemies around him?
Just as he began to despair, he saw, in the distance, another tunnel. A weak sensation of Aura emanated from it. He betrayed his intentions with an unwitting smile that did not go unnoticed by Nova. With a hand signal, the Red Suits went into action the moment they fell upon the ground once more.
Turning in opposite directions, they each charged another Hyper Beam. The effort sent orange sparks along their bodies from their palms, burning the many wounds along them. Each beam put to rest Ash's ideas as they rocketed into the only two tunnels leading out of the chamber.
"No!" Roared Ash. He turned toward Nova with bared teeth and fury. Returning to his side, Pikachu's cheeks sparked threateningly.
Ryder returned to Nova's side to defend him. So too did Zeraora stand beside Ash for the same reason. With the exits sealed, Nova turned his head toward Ryder, looking him up and down to examine the damage.
"I presume you carried out your orders."
"Successfully," Answered Ryder.
With a gruff hum at the sight of Ryder's frayed and broke armor, Nova added, "Though victory did not come cleanly it seems. Given your opponents, it is more than understandable." He nodded slightly with an expressionless satisfaction before setting his eyes upon Ash again. "However, your duty is not yet over."
Ryder nodded solemnly. "I am your sword."
"Terminate them."
Again, Ryder lunged for Ash and Mew. In turn, Zeraora flashed forward. Their clash forced Ash, Pikachu, and Shaun to cry out and shield their eyes from the force. Several loud booms rang across the air from place to place amidst the invisible clashes between the fast fighters.
Shockwaves rang all throughout the air, making the frigid walls quake. Overhead, the trembling caused a large icicle to quiver and then fall at its base. It fell and shattered, scattering shards across the lake. They bounced between the legs of Ash and Pikachu, and upon nearing Nova, did the same.
Despite his nerves, Ash could not help but to chuckle as he saw that. "I expected those to explode or disappear or something. Not so invincible now, are you?"
"Paul certainly wasn't."
Ash felt his breath rush out of his throat upon hearing that. Taking the opportunity of his stunned enemy, Nova sent the Red Suits on the attack. The two men in red flew at him, but one was stricken and flung aside as Ryder was thrown into him.
The other found itself seized by its shoulders by two black and yellow paws. Coming face to face with the Red Suit, Zeraora's expectant smirk vanished upon seeing its face. Instead, he simply wasted no time in shocking the lamentable creature from head to toe. Blinding light reflected off of every surface, forcing Ash to shield his eyes. This, Nova took note of.
Ryder unsteadily rose back up. He raised his blade to prepare to spear Zeraora upon it until his eye turned from within his helmet to see an exposed and distracted Ash. He took the opportunity, positioning his sword to end Mew and the boy at the same time, until the smoking body of a Red Suit impacted him.
He turned with fury and managed to tilt his head to allow the sturdier half of what remained of his helmet to take a Plasma Fist. Though he swung with his blade, Zeraora managed to evade before tackling his enemy and shooting off with him.
"You're not as fast as you were before," Taunted Zeraora.
He went for a swing of his paw, aiming to tear into Ryder's peeling armor with his claws, when a blade was brought up to stop them with a resounding clang. Ryder growled as he flicked the wolf away, sending a rain of sparks down upon the ice.
Step by step, Ryder approached slowly. "I have more than enough…" The surface of his blade suddenly appeared as if it had sand running along its edge. "…To put down another mangy beast."
As he swung his sword at Zeraora, the wolf's attempted counterattack was snuffed out by a wave of sand rushing out of his sword. Zeraora's eyes widened as he saw the rushing electricity quickly fade. And through the wall of sand, the armored man rushed to cut him down.
Ash was left with one of the abominable men in red attempting unsteadily to rise up from the ice, and the other twitching facedown while lingering lightning coursed throughout its body. That, and a scowling Nova staring at him. The man's hand rested firmly on his gun in its holster, yet made no move to draw it.
He only made a motion with his chin toward Ash, making the Red Suit with the lesser damage snap its attention toward Ash like a puppet on strings. It gazed at him with its stolen face and hollow eyes, tilting its head as it began to move.
When it lunged for Ash, he shouted, "Pikachu, Iron Tail!" and leapt back. Pikachu hopped between his trainer and the Red Suit before smacking it with his steel-coated tail. It raised its arms to block, but was sent skidding back on its heels regardless.
Looking toward the downed Red Suit, an idea struck him. "Pikachu, knock it toward the hole they made and use Thunderbolt!"
Pikachu nodded and began speeding toward his target, nimbly leaping over the jagged shards of ice along the floor. Ash watched anxiously as Pikachu approached, gauging Nova's expression in case he tried anything so he could order Pikachu away if necessary. But Nova kept his steely gaze upon Ash.
Beneath the frozen lake, its frigid waters held something within its depths. Far below, where the sounds of battle became little more than dull echoes, and from the hole stricken into the stone, a red substance emerged. Bubbling up from below, cells of the tree looked to the lake's surface with terrible hunger.
With his tail, Pikachu knocked the downed Red Suit into the hole with a splash. "Now, Thunderbolt!" Ordered Ash.
Nova watched with an expression that was impossible to read as Pikachu set the icy chamber alight. The frigid surfaces, jagged on the floors, walls, and ceiling, acted much like foggy mirrors.
The light of Pikachu's lightning again sent a blinding flash all throughout the chamber. Nova took that moment, with Pikachu so close by, to reach for his watch. On his necklace, the grafted crystal shard gleamed. Purple dust leaked from its cracks.
It seemed, to Nova, worth the risk until he saw the result of Pikachu's Thunderbolt. The lighting lit not only the surface, but what was below. That brief flash illuminated the lurking terror beneath the lake.
The battle momentarily came to a halt when everyone witnessed a titanic red mass churning in the dark waters amidst the flash of light. Nova could not hide the grimace that tore his vacant expression from his face.
"What the heck is that?!" Shouted Zeraora, voicing the thoughts of the others.
Ash answered, "Cells of the tree, but…" Despite the cold, beads of sweat appeared on his brow. "There's so many. And they shouldn't be this active with how damaged the tree is."
On Nova's silent order, the second Red Suit dove into the water to retrieve the first, which was promptly thrown out of the water onto its face. Still, it twitched, electricity coursing through its body. Its comrade sent a Heal Pulse from its hand.
Sensing this, Ash was alarmed. "Volt Tackle, quick!"
Pikachu began to sprint toward the standing Red Suit, slowly chanting its name. An electric cone surrounded him, hastening his speed until he leapt up, smashed into the monstrosity's chest and sent it flying. However, the moment he landed upon the icy floor again, a vine wrapped around his tail.
"Pi?!" Chirped Pikachu in shock. His attention shot toward the base of the vine and saw it stretching from the wrist of the more damaged Red Suit. Pikachu tried shocking it, in turn provoking its ire. It rolled over and swung its arm, launching Pikachu into the air.
The second Red Suit flew back and kicked the yellow Pokemon into a wall. A shockwave rushed out from where his body hit, making the wall quake. A layer of ice flew out from it and rained upon the lake. The second Red Suit landed near the first, and with Pikachu out of the way, turned their attention upon Ash.
"Now, Ryder," Whispered Nova into his transceiver.
Ryder's head snapped toward Ash. He flicked up a wall of sand between himself and Zeraora before turning and sprinting toward Ash. The Red Suits held out their palms, each charging a Hyper Beam. Then, they fired.
Ash's expression was frozen in a state of shock, eyes wide and jaw clenched in resignation, as the beams closed in. He was woefully unaware of the blade that approached even faster from his side.
But then came a flash of light from Shaun as he cried out in terror. He, Ash, and Mew disappeared into thin air and Ryder's blade caught air. The force from his stab sent a thin cone of air into the far wall, and he leapt out of the way just in time to avoid the beams meant for Ash.
Just as he landed, a leg coated in swirling white flames honed in on his head from behind. Ash shouted as he unleashed a kick into the helmet of Ryder, sending him rolling. A yellow blur shot out from the wall toward Ryder, preparing to follow up with an Iron Tail to the back of the armored man's head when Ryder brought up his blade to guard.
A booming clang shook the lake. Though Ryder remained stiff under the force of the attack, the ice below them did not. Cracks quickly formed, and a circular platform of the ice sunk notably deeper than its surroundings.
With Zeraora rapidly gaining on him, Ryder leaned back beneath his Plasma Fists, grabbed his arm, and twisted both of their bodies in the air before kicking him down through the ice. The second Ryder landed upon the ice, he set his blade to Ice-Type and swiped across the hole he had made to freeze it over once more.
At the touch of the frigid waters, Zeraora's nerves cried out to him in agony as, ironically, shock washed across his body. It was only his desperate craving for air that forced his body into motion despite the intense discomfort. Below, the cells churned, steadily rising after him and eating away at the waters.
As the wolf rose, he searched for the entrance he had fallen through. To his horror, he found none. His paws traversed the underside of the lake in a desperate attempt to find a place to breach, scanning with all haste as the air in his lungs began to stagnate.
Pulling back his arms, he allowed lightning to course across his body. In the water, it extended out in wide flickering bolts that stretched across the lake's underside. These bright flashes illuminated the terrible monster writhing beneath.
Planting his paws along the ice, Zeraora channeled all the electricity in his body to his hand. From the lake came an ear-piercing bolt of lighting, its deep boom making the entire chamber tremble. The shards of ice adorning the lake's surface churned against one another unsteadily.
High in the air, Zeraora glared down upon the battlefield with the eyes of a predator as he rapidly searched for his enemy. Lightning coursed to his hands and he cupped them behind himself to charge a Zap Cannon.
"Where are you?" He growled.
He spotted Ryder leering at Ash. As Ash backed away from him, holding Mew and Shaun in his arms tightly, the Red Suits encircled him and Pikachu. Just before Zeraora could fire upon them, he held himself back upon spotting the odd man staring at the others from afar.
"That guy's the one giving orders, wasn't he? If he goes down…"
Ryder's black armored hand clenched around Ash's neck. The boy let out a sputtered choke upon being lifted into the air. Crying out, Pikachu shot to the aid of his friend, only to be knocked aside by one of the Red Suits. The other grabbed him also and pinned him down, not even flinching when Pikachu's electricity coursed through his body.
Just as the armored man brought up his sword to spear Ash and Mew in one fell swoop, he heard the attack of Zeraora get launched. The beast couldn't have been himself or the Red Suits it was aimed at or its allies would have been in danger. So it must have been…
Ryder's eye went wide and he threw Ash aside suddenly. Ash tried to scramble back to his feet, only to be thrown onto his face from the force of Ryder taking off. The armored man sped for Nova with all the remaining haste his broken body could muster.
Seeing the oncoming attack, Nova scowled and went to twist his watch. Before he could do anything, Ryder shot up between his master and the Zap Cannon before deflecting it back into the floor in front of them.
The ground churned on the impact. Large cracks began to stretch across the ice floor, stretching to the walls. The Red Suits retreated to Nova's side on instinct once they sensed he had been threatened, but their master did not seem happy.
Zeraora landed far from them, near to Ash. As they regrouped, the cracks in the ice grew until a large break between the two groups opened the waters below. Nova's gaze did not leave them.
"You should have gone for the kill," Nova chastised Ryder. "If you had, victory would have been assured."
To that, Ryder knelt down and aimed his blade at Ash once more. "It was not worth your life."
Steadily, his master raised his index to give the order to attack. "My dream," Growled Nova, "Is more than worth my life. It can begin only when she dies."
For a moment, Ryder was silent as he mulled over the words of his master. "Very well. I will remedy my mistake."
He lunged for Ash. Only for a wall of red to suddenly lurch up from the water. With little traction on the ice with which to stop himself, Ryder dug his blade into the floor and, just as a tendril shot out from the wall of cells, he flicked up his Ice-Type blade and froze a chunk of it solid.
Steadily, a sizzle arose from the frozen portion of the cells. Layers of the gelatinous mass overtook the frozen portion and ate away at it. Ryder quickly leapt back toward his master defensively. All around them, the ice crashed loudly as more of the cells forced their way through the cracks.
Ash and those with him cried out in shock at the appearance of the cells. They arose in large, morphing pillars that rapidly changed shape. Several tendrils from one close to Ash stretched out toward him, eager to take him in for nourishment.
Electric shocks from Pikachu and Zeraora forced them back, eliciting a pained shriek from them as they retreated back into the main mass. Yet more of the cells only continued to pour up. Some of them spread along the ice, isolating the ground in patches as they sought to corner their prey.
Ash looked around with increasing worry. Didn't these cells know that if he died, they went with him? He was the only thing keeping Mew, and by extension them, alive!
His eyes fell upon the collapsed tunnel leading to the Aura Stream. An idea struck him. Surely it couldn't all be collapsed, right? Turning his gaze down at Shaun tucked in his arm, he recalled how the little Ralts teleported him out of harm's way before.
"Hey." Jostling the little Pokemon to catch his attention, he unintentionally made the boy, who was already freaking out, cry out in terror until he looked up at Ash questioningly. "Sorry, sorry. But I've got an idea and need your help." He nodded up at the collapsed tunnel to point Shaun to it. "Think you can teleport us through there?"
Ryder and the Red Suits encircled their master protectively against the mass of red. Nova's scowl deepened as he watched the cells crawling around him. He growled, "What now, monsters? If you think I will be as easy as Emily…!"
With each word he spoke, hate became more evident in his voice until he could no longer find the proper words to voice the black depths of that hatred's extent. Instead, he put it into practice. His bared teeth became covered by a twisted scowl. With a silent gesture, he sent in a Red Suit.
When the Red Suit loyally threw itself at the closest mass of cells, they accepted the offering wholeheartedly. In an instant, it was taken in and dissolved—its remnants spread through the gelatinous body. Its body, steadily disappearing, reflected in the black shades of Nova.
The cells suddenly began to writhe, quickly spreading. A rapid decay washed through them and spread quickly. As the wall steadily disappeared, Nova and Ryder spotted Ash at the collapsed tunnel. There was an order, a nod, and then Ryder took off like a bullet.
Just as a cyan light encompassed Ash and his friends at the behest of Shaun, Zeraora's fur stood on end. He shot away from the others and clashed with the man in black armor midair. With the cells writhing around them, the two glared into the eyes of one another.
The sound of their clash startled Shaun into using Teleport. Ash scarcely had the time to turn and reach out to Zeraora, crying, "Wait, no!" Then, he, Shaun, Pikachu, and Mew vanished into thin air.
After pushing back from one another, Zeraora spared a brief, remorseful scowl at the collapsed tunnel. "Don't worry about me," He said, returning his glare into the yellow eye of Ryder. Still, he could remember that day. Smell the smoke. Feel the flames. And see the corpse of that little girl. "I'm right where I want to be."
Beside Ryder, Nova and his lone Red Suit walked. "Can I presume you will handle…" He rolled his wrist, searching for the right word to describe Zeraora. "…This?"
Ryder nodded. "On your order."
"Then good luck. I will go ahead."
Nova went to follow after Ash, but Zeraora held out his sparking arm to stop him. "Not so fast. If you think I'm going to let you set foot near Ash again, you've got another thing coming." All around him, lightning flashed with enough intensity to carve the ice. As they struck the dying cells, they elicited another pained shriek. "I have worlds of pain to repay you with."
With no verbal reply, Nova stopped in his tracks and raised his head to look down upon the electric wolf. Though Zeraora bared his fangs up at the man, the depths of revilement upon Nova's face sapped a sliver of his bravado.
Ash looked back into the dark, frigid tunnel mournfully. Piles of fallen boulders lay between him and Zeraora. He reached a hand out at the stones, then thought better of it. He was too close to turn back now. Besides, he was close to the end. Mew could help Zeraora, and everyone else, far more than he could.
So, he turned away and began to run without another word as much as he hated that he had to leave his friend alone with him.
"I can save them," He whispered to himself as he ran. One foot after another; each step toward the end of this war. "I can still save them. They're fine."
Pikachu looked up at him with worry. Shaun, though panting with exhaustion, did the same for Mew. Drawing so close to saving her, after all they had been through, seemed like a dream. It didn't feel real.
It wasn't long before the tunnel stretched into a slightly more open area. The ceiling had been blown away, allowing Ash to see the smoky, black night sky. Ahead of them, Ash sensed the Aura Stream. But as he approached, he stopped when he saw a wall of red before him.
"Whoa!" Quickly, he grinded his heels to a halt and looked at the cells with shock. They made no move to attack him. Rather, they coalesced together to form a wall. Their form expanded and contracted like the beating of a heart. Ash silently wondered if this was the way of the cells' acting as life support for the tree.
Tentatively, he stepped forward and reached his hand toward them. His presence caused them to skip a beat. Shuddering, many tendrils reached out from the cells to grab at Ash, but the moment he retracted his hand, the tendrils retreated also.
Ash let out a shaky breath. "Seems like they don't want any humans passing through. Not even me."
His eyes fell upon Shaun. Kneeling down, he set the young Ralts on the ground and held out Mew's body. Aura swirled around him. Taking a deep breath, Ash channeled as much Aura as he could spare and sent it into Mew.
The effort made him fall over, unceremoniously dropping Mew into Shaun's stubby arms. He barely caught her on his shoulder. Her limp body slumped over his, and he yelped at the white flames coating her, expecting them to burn. When they did not, he was even more confused.
Having fallen to his hands and knees, a trembling Ash rasped, "That should…last for enough time. G-get going into the chamber." There was an explosion not far from them that made the ground tremble. Ash's heart sank. "Now! We don't have much time! He won't be able to follow you in there!"
Shaun staggered back, but ultimately nodded and faced the cells. As he stepped toward them, he felt a chill run down his spine from all he had seen from these things. What they had done to his father's men and those other people in the Time Flower—it couldn't be scrubbed from his memory.
But Mew was running out of time. Summoning any courage he had left, Shaun bowed his head so he didn't have to look at them and dragged Mew forward. Her matted tail ran along the rocky ground along the way.
In response to the presence of Mew, the cells again trembled. This time, the wall of red opened to allow him through. Ash and Pikachu watched with bated breath until the gelatinous wall closed together once more. A wave of relief fell upon Ash and he collapsed with a jubilant, high pitched sigh.
Pikachu went to him with worry, but a laughing Ash tried to dissuade his anxiety. "We did it, Pikachu!" His voice came out as barely more than a whisper, but his spirit was practically flying. "It's only a matter of time now…!"
"Until mankind's victory."
Ash and Pikachu gasped when they heard his voice. Stepping out of the shadows were Nova and a single Red Suit. Ever deepening seemed to be the man's terrible scowl.
But again, Ash laughed. "Hah! You're too late, and you can't get past those cells with your crystal like that, can you?"
Nova looked up at the cell wall and, with a simple head motion, sent the Red Suit darting for it. Pikachu intercepted it with a Thunderbolt. Though its body fried in the lightning, it brought up its arms and landed before Pikachu before turning and driving the tip of its boot into the rodent's chest with an echoing bang.
Pikachu let out a terrible squeal of pain as he shot off into a nearby wall. Ash cried, "Pikachu, no!" But in his state, he could do nothing to stop what was coming.
Pikachu bounced off the wall before the Red Suit caught up to him and planted him back into the stone. In the Red Suit's other hand, a powerful flame emerged and distorted the air. Ash helplessly tried to call his partner's name but was cut off by the explosion of Blast Burn.
Ash's vision was little more than a swirl as he awoke. Flames littered the tunnel walls, blotting much of his vision with smoke. Through the veil, he could scarcely make out Pikachu's body laying limp on the floor not far from him. Above him, the Red Suit turned to look at him before returning to the side…of its master.
Steadily, Ash's head turned up to see that man marching his way. Amidst the ringing of Ash's ears, Nova's voice came as a distorted warble. "You fool. You have failed. The Legends have failed. They were fools to choose you as their savior."
As Nova neared Ash, he sneered down at him with a dark, wrinkled expression. "Did you honestly think you could save them?" Dragged the rough voice of the man. "You could never save them, no matter how much power you think you have."
At that, Ash managed a weak, defiant laugh. "But I did," He retorted, motioning to the cell wall. "Mew's…already being taken to the stream."
And to that, Nova gave a silent order to his last remaining Red Suit. It leapt toward the cells unafraid before plunging headfirst into it. Ash's expression furrowed in confusion, steadily falling into dread when he saw a purple decay spreading through the cells.
"This world," Began Nova, walking past Ash, "Will remember the man who slayed the Legends themselves." With one hand, he gripped the crystal that hung from his neck. "The forces of the universe bend to my will!"
As a last ditch effort, Ash managed to lurch for him and grab his ankle. "Not yet!"
Nova whipped around with his gun pointed between his eyes. Eager as he was to have Ash rejoin his friends, he cautiously flicked open his gun to see how many bullets he had remaining. There were only two. And of the bullets that could actually withstand Necrozma's destructive power, he had none.
Deciding better of it, he wrestled his ankle from Ash's grip and turned away. Ash called a hoarse, wordless cry of despair as he watched Nova march away. Steadily, Nova worked his way up to a sprint, and then he was gone from Ash's view.
"No!" Wailed Ash, attempting and failing to scramble after him, but his strength failed him. His weakened arms gave out, sending him flat on his face. In frustration, he kicked and clawed at the dirt. "No, no, no! We're so close!"
His gaze returned to Pikachu. "Hey, Pikachu!" He called pitifully. His partner did not move. Bereft of usable Aura, Ash couldn't sense his life force. "Please!" He wailed. "Answer me! Don't leave me alone! Please!"
Silence. No answer except the crackling of flames.
Ash was at a loss. His voice caught in his throat as despair overwhelmed him. There was nothing he could do. He was helpless, weak, and alone. There in the flames, with his dreams and duty both gone from him, he collapsed and wept.
It was there, driven to the depths of hopelessness, that Ash did the only thing he could think of; something he swore to himself he never would do. In truth, he was unsure if he could even pull it off. It was all he had left.
Slowly and painstakingly, Ash forced himself up onto his knees with agonized grunts. He leaned back, looking up into the smoky sky. There, he looked into himself, pulling upon the Aura of his life force, uncaring of what would happen. Then, he called out to the one who gave it to him.
"PLEASE HELP US!" Wailed Ash with strength he did not have. "AURA!"
His raspy voice rang high into the blackened skies, echoing out across the tree and valley. Outside, the pitiful death pangs of the war's remnants raged on. Soldiers and Pokemon continued to brutalize one another mercilessly.
A Linoone collapsed. Not far from it, one of the soldiers, adorned with wounds and fractures on his armor, staggered toward it with a broken knife to finish it off. As he raised the blade, a light shining through the visor of his helmet made him wince.
As that soldier shielded his eyes and looked up, he gasped and dropped his weapon. Unconsciously, he staggered backwards before falling onto his backside. With wide eyes, he fumbled over his words helplessly.
Just over the Tree of Beginning, piercing through the dark, smoky veil the sky had become, was a pure white star. A pulse of light raced across the sky from it, rushing to dispel the darkness with hope the world no longer had.
Four hours after the Azathoth's destruction
Ringing.
Non-stop ringing. A piercing, dull noise was the only thing encompassing his mind. That was all he heard; all he could hear. Until suddenly, a muffled voice called out through the ringing.
"…eral Lee!"
The voice got louder and louder, causing a pounding headache.
"General, are you okay!?"
It was agonizing, having that voice only amplifying the piercing ringing in his ears. His vision began to unblur. Gradually, he could make out a figure looming over him.
"General! Respond! We need to get out of here!"
Christoper Lee suddenly woke up with that infuriating headache lingering to the point of nausea. Glancing around, he found that he was lying in the escape helicopter, but it appeared to be filling with smoke. Red warning lights beeped rapidly, warning of structural collapse.
He tried to stand but a sudden pain flared in his abdomen. Looking down, he saw that a sharp metal shard was sticking in his side. The realization caused his eyes to go wide and he gripped the metal shard trying to pull it out. This caused him to hiss in pain.
A Black Suit at his side pulled his hand away. "General, I wouldn't recommend pulling that out. If you did, you would die from blood loss within minutes."
Lee scoffed at him, nevertheless accepting his hand to be pulled onto his feet once it was presented to him. "So, do you wanna explain just what the hell happened?"
The Black Suit saluted. All around, sparks seemed to be periodically spurting from the walls and ceiling. "The Azathoth was completely destroyed, sir. We were pelted pretty badly by its debris. Hence…"
Awkwardly, he motioned to what stuck in Lee's side. "There was also contact with Mewtwo, who seems to have broken free of Marshadow's control. Auto seems to have resolved it."
Now that it was brought to his attention, the General saw many large shards strewn about or poking through the metal. Lee brushed past the Black Suit, hobbling his way out of the vehicle. His groggy eyes shot wide when the first thing he saw was a massive chasm a ways ahead of them, and upon looking left, the Tree of Beginning dangling over it by its roots.
He could hear the sounds of distant explosions and looked above only to find one of the massive halves of the Azathoth towering above them. Seeing it jutting out from atop the valley wall, coated in flames and leaking a steady waterfall of oil into the chasm, Lee steadily turned back around and jabbed a thumb up behind him.
"Did we win or lose while I was out?"
The Black Suit pulled out his radio and put it on some nearby debris. "Neither, sir. There seems to be a few skirmishes happening all over the valley, but all contact within the tree itself has been lost."
Lee groaned at the pain in his side, but resisted the urge to grab the area for fear of worsening it. At the very least, the area around it had already been wrapped. "What about the artificial Hoopa Ring?"
To that, the Black Suit turned and pointed to the helicopter. "It's being pieced together in there, but remains inoperational.
With a displeased grunt, Lee turned to scan the battlefield. It was difficult to see the extent of it with how much smoke hung in the sky, but scarcely, he could see small flashes in the distance. So, he clapped his hands together to grab the attention of the other four Black Suits strewn about the debris.
"Form a perimeter!" Came Lee's hoarse command. He winced, trying with all his might to stop himself from voicing the pain incurred by his injury.
The Black Suit beside him glanced at the other four curiously. "Are we going to be joining the battle, General Lee?"
"Heck no!" Exclaimed the portly man without the slightest hesitation. As much as his injury would allow him, he laughed at the notion. "You can stay and fight," He offered, pointing at the Black Suit, "But as for me, I think I'll pay a nice long visit to the HQ."
The Black Suit went to reply but, thinking better of it, vented his feelings with a sigh. "At the very least, may we phone for air support?"
Lee nodded unenthusiastically. "If you think there is any support left in the air, by all means. Just make sure that you lot set up our defenses properly. I don't want to be caught with our pants down should a Legend still be around."
One of the other Black Suits began the transmission. The one that had been speaking with Lee replied, "With the exception of Mewtwo, we cannot confirm the status of any Legend."
"That's exactly why we should be cautious," Remarked Lee. He stroked his goatee with thought. "If any Legend is still around, we'd better be prepared to fix that."
One of the other Black Suits suddenly perked up. "Call received!" He announced. "There's one helicopter left in range and en route!"
They waited anxiously, the Black Suits taking the time to follow up on Lee's orders. As they busily hurried to take note of their surroundings, they began to hear the steady beating sounds of helicopter blades. There was a swirl amidst the black clouds above them, approaching the edge of the chasm.
From the sky came a strange series of noises. An array of high pitched hums with no rhythm and no direction. Horror dawned on Lee alone when he recognized the song. Suddenly, the pain in his abdomen became like a terrible chill. He turned and ran to the downed helicopter behind him wordlessly.
Aboard the flying helicopter, there were only its pilot and a lone soldier with a dirty piece of cloth wrapped around the stump that used to be his elbow. That soldier grimaced, disturbed by the song, and took with his remaining hand a flare gun and fired out into the smoky sky.
What he found was a grand and terrible shadow peering back at him from the darkness. It leered with dull, blank crimson eyes. Upon seeing it, the man's remaining blood ran cold and he fell back, screaming in terror. His voice made the pilot flinch and jerk the controls.
On the ground, the Black Suits briefly saw two shadows in the air until the flare fell away, leaving them in darkness once more. "Two?" One wondered aloud. Alarmed, they readied their shields and weapons.
There was a fearsome roar. A terrible explosion lit up the sky. From the dark clouds, a helicopter's flaming remnants fell in scattered pieces. They spun in the air, careening like meteors down into the chasm.
The Black Suits ran to the edge of the chasm to look down into its fiery depths, but a large shadow shot up from it with a powerful gust of wind. Barely, the Black Suits remained on their feet. They ran back from the chasm's edge before it could be used against them, but before they could return to their own fallen helicopter, winds began to grow around them.
Around them brewed a dark cyclone from the smoky air. They were swiftly cut off from any escape, and thus, grimaced as they put their backs together and kept their shields ready. Their eyes rapidly scanned the cyclone for any sign of that shadow.
One of them spotted the briefest glimpse and shouted, "There!" He shot a wire into the winds where it had been and went to bring up his shield, only to find his arm refusing to move. Before he could see the dull blue glow on it, he was yanked into the winds, and his screams were silenced by them.
In his place came the shadow, growling with a ferocity that sent quakes through the men's bodies. Lugia, rampaging monster of the seas, opposed them. They winced, keeping their shields and weapons close. One of the Black Suits, however, grinned.
"Back for more, are you?" He taunted. "I'm afraid I'm fresh out of spears to greet you with."
A limping Christopher Lee bumbled his way into the fallen helicopter, swiping away smoke with his hand. He hobbled over toward the last of the Black Suits, who was in the midst of welding the artificial Hoopa Ring together.
"Move!" Shouted Lee, throwing the man unceremoniously to the side. Grabbing the tool and welding mask from the extremely confused man for himself, Lee pointed to the door and shouted, "Get the automatic turrets up and running with Dark-Type rounds, now!"
Without a word, the Black Suit nodded and staggered back up before taking off. With Lee taking over the Hoopa Ring repairs, the Black Suit ran to the guns stationed near the door and ripped open a compartment from the floor. From it, he pulled up a belt of jagged bullets and shoved them into the mounted gun with a series of clacks.
It was then that he looked out into the darkness and heard the whirling winds and saw the shadow therein. With eyes shooting wide, he set the gun to pump raw dark essence into the rounds and automatically fire. The gun turned up of its own accord and began firing. Then, he ran past Lee to do the same for the other gun.
Orange light swirled into Lugia's gaping maw. Before he could fire, dark streaks shot toward Lugia from his side. His eyes shot toward them and attempted to still them with Psychic, but they tore through his psychokinetic grip effortlessly and began to pelt his body. The winds slowly stilled, and Lugia bellowed furiously at the source of the bullets.
To avoid the bullets striking his eyes, Lugia brought up a wing burnt black and red to shield his face. They stung the reddened areas they struck, making him hiss in further rage. Just as the wind died down, the remaining Black Suits darted off into different directions.
They took refuge behind the many pieces of fallen shrapnel from the Azathoth's remnants surrounding them. Pulling their weapons close, they each turned their heads aside the pieces of metal to peer up at the monster above.
With their hands, they began to send signals to one another to indicate their plan. With a final nod, the first Black Suit lurched out of hiding to shoot his hook up at Lugia. A hiss filled the air when Lugia's gaze snapped down at him.
From Lugia's mouth came a Hyper Beam meant for the helicopter, forcing the Black Suit to abandon his plan and bring up a shield just as his hook wire was annihilated. The beam sent him on his back and made him gasp as he struck uneven ground. That was all Lugia needed. The second the Black Suit tried to return to his feet, white overcame his fading vision.
Amidst a series of crackling, the Black Suit bent backwards with declining slowness as his body froze solid due to the Ice Beam that had taken him. As soon as he stopped moving, Lugia stomped upon him, scattering his shattered body to pieces before bellowing loudly again.
The remaining Black Suits took refuge from the flying pieces of ice behind the shards of metal. "What the-?!" Croaked one of them. He winced, pressing his gun to his chest. "Did it know what we were planning?!"
"Recall the briefings," Instructed the Black Suit responsible for the sea beast's burnt appearance. "It's fought many of us before. However, our predecessors didn't fight in vain. We know it has a weak point on its back; one of its scales is missing."
Another turned his gaze up as Lugia shifted focus toward the turrets as they resumed pelting him with ammunition. Looking past the sea monster, he saw a series of large electrical chords dangling down from the airship far overhead. An idea struck him.
"Bind it," He spoke into his transceiver. "I'll try to paralyze it. If anyone has an ice mine or a Toxic charge, use it on the open scale after cutting into it."
The others flew into action, each trying to wrap a hook wire around different parts of Lugia while the first took off into the air. Lugia writhed against the bindings, prompting the men in black to retract them and scatter.
At first, Lugia bellowed in fury and went to descend upon them until he heard another shot of their hook wires above. Though his eye turned, he focused on the rest below.
The Black Suit that had given the order shot higher, latching onto one of the massive black chords. With a second wire, he hooked another piece of churned steel hanging above Lugia. Then, he pulled, causing the massive chord to begin emitting electricity at its severed lower end.
At his pull, the chord slowly tilted toward Lugia. The Black Suit smirked in spite of the sweat dripping down his brow and heavy, unsatisfying breaths for his efforts. That was until a cyan glow coated his body and dragged him down.
Lugia twisted his body out of the way of the chord and smacked the falling Black Suit toward it with his tail as he turned. There was hardly a scream. Only the air lightning up as electricity washed through the man's body. His compatriots could only stare with slack jaws as his limp, blackened form fell from the sky only to be scattered to dust by Lugia's wing.
In an instant, he was upon the others, ducking low to avoid being stricken by the automatic turrets any further. One of the Black Suits took a charge and plasma knife in hand, shooting a wire from the top of his wrist to take advantage of the moment.
He intended to follow the orders laid out to him, swinging above Lugia's back, but the blackened monster suddenly lurched up and snapped the man in its jaws. He had only a moment to cry out before a pillar of orange light overtook him, scattering all he was to nothing.
The beam caused an explosion in the Azathoth overhead. More chunks of metal began to rain down from it overhead, leading to a second stream of oil leaking down with them.
With a loud series of cranks, the Black Suit in the fallen helicopter inserted the last belt of bullets into one of the guns before heaving in a breath of exasperated air. When he looked up and saw the falling pieces of metal, his eyes shot wide.
"Sir!" He shouted to Lee. "We need to…" But as he peered at where Lee had been repairing the ring, there was no one. Neither he nor the ring. Only the mask and welding tool left in his place.
The sound of banging metal took the Black Suit's mind from it. He abandoned the helicopter and sped toward his only other remaining comrade. Shooting his hook, he launched himself at Lugia. When Lugia brought up his wing, he brought up his shield.
The lone Black Suit left on the ground, seeing his approaching ally, desperately waved his arm and shouted, "No! Get back!"
Lugia twisted around the shielded Black Suit, who began rapidly firing upon him as he passed. Lugia used Steel Wing to defend himself, yet still growled in annoyance. Especially with the Dark Type rounds continuing to fire despite the falling shrapnel.
Infuriated, Lugia shot out his wings, sending a potent burst of wind out that knocked both Black Suits away. The one in his shield bounced across the rocks, wincing at being thrown around despite the damage being mitigated.
He dug his knife into the stone to drag himself to a halt just as his heels neared the edge of the chasm. The moment he forced himself to his feet, he was staring up into the bloodshot eyes of the beast. He had only a moment to gasp before Lugia smashed his Steel Wing into his shield, sending him careening down into the chasm.
"No!"
The last Black Suit flung himself to the edge with his hook wire and fired it again into the chasm. His comrade in arms, seeing the wire, fired up his own. The two wires met and wrapped together, just as the Black Suit on the surface allowed himself a sigh of relief, Lugia's foot stamped down upon his wire.
Color faded from the face of that man in black, finding it impossible to meet the terrifying gaze of the monster he had unleashed, yet being unable to look away. Lugia tilted his head over the side of the chasm and fired a Hyper Beam.
Blinded by the light, the Black Suit fell back. He tried to retract his hook wire and found its severed end, burnt red, for his efforts. Lugia's stomps shook the ground as he repositioned himself to better peer down at the last man standing. There was a knowing, cunning cruelty in the eyes of the monster.
The Black Suit could not help the chuckle that escaped him despite his fear. "Look at all that black," He commented, pointing out Lugia's burnt skin. "I remember you looking a bit more silver than that back in the hangar bay."
Lugia snarled at that, which only earned a smug look from the Black Suit. "So," Spoke the man, "You do remember me." Steadily, he shuffled back without standing, trying to prevent Lugia from moving more quickly than he could defend against.
In the distance, he spotted the silver glint of one of the turrets. If he could get Lugia to move in range… Bringing up his shield, he rolled behind the nearest piece of metal. Lugia growled and lurched forward to tear the man and his cover apart when his cheek was buffeted with dark bullets.
Recoiling with an infuriated screech, Lugia reared back and prepared an attack aimed at the helicopter. The Black Suit darted between shards of metal until he spotted the Toxic charge dropped by his comrade.
There, he snatched it by its handle, spun, and hurled it through the air like a disc toward Lugia's face. Though Lugia tried to block it, the element of the bullets penetrated and tore apart the Psychic waves he emitted. On contact with those bullets, the charge exploded with toxic material that rained down upon the barren earth.
The Black Suit raised his shield. He heard a howl of fury from Lugia, though his vision was obscured by the acidic sludge. A twinge of satisfaction came to him from that. Kneeling down, he dropped the shield and kicked off the ground to roll backwards before the acid could fall upon him.
An orange beam swept across the battlefield. It blasted apart any piece of shrapnel in its path until it reached the fallen helicopter. A thunderous explosion rang out, and flaming metal rained down. The last Black Suit watched this despondently.
"Even that…didn't do it?"
When he looked to Lugia, he saw the monster flicking toxic material off of metal-coated wings. Then, their eyes met. Lugia bellowed and flew at him. He didn't even have the time to turn around before a gust of wind from the beast stomping down behind him sent him rolling across the ground.
The lone Black Suit cried out. As he scrambled to his feet, he found himself slipping back onto his face. A slick substance poured down on top of him no matter how much he tried to scrape it from himself.
Lugia opened his mouth to finish the Black Suit off, but when his crimson eyes fell upon the oil dripping down, he cast his gaze up at the ship where it fell from. With a powerful flap of his wings, Lugia distanced himself from the lone Black Suit and craned up his head.
The Black Suit stopped squirming amidst the oil for a moment when an orange light caught his attention. He saw Lugia's open maw, charging a Hyper Beam, pointed up. The attack blazed through the air and crashed into the underside of the Azathoth's remnants.
As a harrowing explosion rang out, the metal was shaken. More pieces began to rain down, and fire quickly spread through the ship with renewed intensity. A trail of it began to spread down the oil flow. The Black Suit's blood ran cold for the final time of his life.
He squirmed and writhed against the oil, trying to distance himself with all of his strength. His grunts became cries of desperation. And then, in spite of his futile clawing for survival, the heat reached him. The last thing he heard aside from the crackling of flames was some bestial mixture of a growl and laughter.
When no more noise came from the final Black Suit and Lugia was satisfied with the returned wounds inflicted, his chortling steadily died down. It fell to a halt completely, stifled by a gasp, when he turned and saw a gleaming blue light in the distance.
Far in the distance, there was that man. Christopher Lee, General of the Nova Corporation, stood before an opened artificial Hoopa ring. That man, feeling the intensity of the glare burning into his neck, turned and saw Lugia racing for him. He gave a snide grin of victory before walking through the ring.
The first thing Lee noted upon crossing the rift was the smell. Somehow it was worse than the endless dust, gas, and smoke over the valley of the Tree of Beginning. When he stepped into Star Tower, he came face to face instantly with a number of guns.
"Whoa!" He cried, raising his arms. "Hey, now! Don't tell me you've already forgotten the face of the world's best boss, eh?"
Unsteadily, a series of trembling arms lowered their weapons. "G-General Lee!" Someone shouted. "It's General Lee!" They instantly lowered their weapons and saluted. "General Lee has returned! All men, attention!"
The same message was relayed through a transceiver. One by one, the soldiers and agents scattered around Star Tower began to return to the bottom floor to welcome their leader home.
"Welcome, General Lee!" Chanted many of them in unison. One of them gasped suddenly, breaking rank to point at the piece of metal embedded in the general's side. "General, y-you're injured!"
Lee nodded along. "Oh, am I? I hadn't noticed. Prepare a room and a medic to remove this nuisance, if you would all be so kind. And…" Glancing around at the bodies piled up by the sealed doors and windows with a wrinkling nose, he added, "…Do something about that please."
There was a murmur amidst the crowd and a handful of men broke rank to fulfill their orders. Pale faces among almost all of the living matched the likes of the dead surrounding them. Sweat dripped down the faces of many Nova Branch personnel as a single question they were too afraid to ask rang in their minds: 'Did we win?'
Just as Lee clapped his hands together and went to issue another order, he noted a blue glow on the reflective floor and turned around. Had he forgotten to close the ring? Eager to fix that, he pressed a button on his watch to close it. The artificial ring sparked, shrinking for a moment before expanding again with a groan.
"What? Don't tell me all that effort to fix that was-"
The ring expanded again, groaning loudly. Sparks flew from its welded joints, threatening to break apart again. Lee felt his blood run cold when he saw a familiar face on the other side of the rift. Lugia's eyes, upon spotting Lee, narrowed into thin slits.
Lee spun around to flee, only for a cyan glow to envelop him and lift him off of the floor. "Shoot the ring!" He screamed. "Shoot it now!"
Panic arose from the shaken, weary soldiers. Many of them raced for their weapons and scrambled to ready them properly. When the first bullet flew, it was only after a screaming Lee was yanked through the portal. The bullet, shooting off a joint of the ring, cut it off too late.
When Lee was pulled through, the first thing Lugia did was blast the ring apart with Hyper Beam. Lee watched as his hope faded to dust before his very eyes in a plume of fire. His gaze shot around, looking for anything amidst the smoke and dust to save him.
There was only the monster and Lugia.
At last, Lugia spoke. "Perhaps," Came his low voice like a long, hot breath, "I could assist you with what ails you?"
A glow surrounded the shard of metal sticking out of Lee's side and tore it out with a clatter when it fell to the ground. Lee could not suppress the hiss of pain that spilled from between his bared teeth, but even that was less irritating than Lugia's ensuing laughter.
"Oh…" Rumbled Lugia. His head craned down, allowing his gleaming eyes and jaw to burn in Lee's sight amidst the darkness. "…I am going to enjoy this."
Lee managed to smirk up in defiance and retort, "Enjoy what? Beating a man when he's down? Oh, isn't that just like your kind? Your old buddy Moltres was the same."
Lugia's smile vanished.
With a mocking wheeze of a laugh, Lee jabbed a thumb at the chasm in the center of the valley. "But hey," He said, "Some good came of it. Tell me; did it go down as easily as Articuno and Zapdos?"
The Psychic grip around Lee returned, eliciting a pained howl from him. Lugia hissed, "Be silent!"
Defiantly, Lee forced himself to smirk. "A-and miss the fun of-" He coughed involuntarily. His vision momentarily flashed white. "-Our lovely conversations?"
Steadily, Lugia paced around Lee, making sure to stomp down upon the charred ground. "You," Blazed a seething Lugia, "Are finished. You can't hide behind your men or your technology anymore."
"Like you hid those people on the Elemental Islands?" Countered Lee smugly.
Barely, Lugia managed to hold himself back from annihilating Lee then and there when he lurched forward and snarled in the portly man's face. "At least they remain alive!" He bellowed. "When have you shown such mercy?!"
"Me?" Lee chortled in amusement in spite of the crushing force encompassing him. "Why, I'll have you know…" He wheezed. "…My worst crime is talking…!"
Lugia barked out a rabid scoff. "And look," Bled the mirth of his voice, "At what your talking has done!"
Still, Lee kept up his cheeky, irritating grin. "My, it's as if you hate me more than even Necrozma! Personally, I think reducing something to dust with Hyper Beam is slightly worse than talking, but-"
He was dropped unceremoniously. Pain shot up from his exposed abdominal wound when he fell and hit the floor. With his vision going white again, he hissed, trying to force himself not to voice any pain.
There was a fiery hiss in the air. He looked up when his vision returned to see Lugia facing away from him. A dull orange glow came from his mouth. The two stayed like that for a while, exchanging deathly stares of defiance until Lugia broke the silence.
"Let's find out, then, which one is worse."
Then, he turned upon Lee with a charged Hyper Beam. Alone, injured, and immobile, Lee let his head hang with mirthful chuckling. "So this is it, then? If this is truly the end, then…" A wry, dark grin crept up Lee's face. "I can rest easy knowing we exposed what you really were to the world."
An idea came to him suddenly. "Although," He began, raising his head. Darkness covered his face except for the shine of his terrible grin. "I seem to recall you saying something on that matter. What was it? 'Do you honestly believe that I care in the slightest about what humans think of me?' As you so aptly put it."
Lugia, at first, balked at the memory. Terrible fury wrinkled his burnt face. But then, thought crossed his expression. "…But," Spoke Lugia, "No one will ever think about you again."
Slowly, Lee's head lowered. His smile did not falter. Victory was still at hand. Thoughts of the future lingered in his mind as he stared into death's gaping maw. If anyone still had footage of this battle, just imagining the public's reaction, and the reactions of generations to come, only made his grin widen.
"We will see."
Lugia spoke nothing else. Neither did Lee. Tired of the silence, Lugia decided he would hold off his vengeance no longer. A brighter spark flashed from his mouth as he prepared to unleash Hyper Beam and finally bring himself peace once more.
Lee closed his eyes, never losing his smile. It was up to Nova now. Him, and the rest of mankind.
Hunching over, Lugia went to unleash the beam. Just staring at this man reminded him of every miserable thing that had kept him trapped in madness. Necrozma. The war. Lee. Humiliation. And all the terrible memories involved.
It was time to silence the voices at last.
But what was that light?
Above their heads, a gleaming white light penetrated the darkness. Lugia's gaze shot upward. His body quivered as he stared at it. A sensation washed over his body inside and out; a feeling of familiarity and…what was this feeling?
"This feelings. It's…"
Steadily, the orange light faded from Lugia's jaw. He did not even realize he began to close it. Lee seemed almost as bewildered as Lugia. He stared at the pulsing waves of light running across the sky in complete bafflement.
"What in the world is this light?"
The sensations Lugia felt brought with them a new set of memories. Battling alongside someone to save the world from ruin. Journeying with that person beneath the seas, saving one another, finding joy in one another's presence.
"Ash…"
Ash's Auric echoes seemed to run through Lugia's spirit. His nerves laxed. That terrible, horrid burning he felt—that he could never seem to escape—eased. Peace. At last, Lugia felt peace. He had forgotten what it felt like.
Yet when he turned to glance down at Lee again, he felt those infernal urges raging against his spirit just as it had done for so long. Vengeance and peace. Mere moments ago, Lugia thought those were synonymous. It was all he could think.
As if he could see the inner turmoil within Lugia, Lee's smirk returned to his face. "Losing your nerve at the last moment?" He asked snidely.
This set the feelings of fury reigning again. His eyes thinned and widened, and he opened his mouth again to prepare a Hyper Beam. But, as he did this, words came to Lugia's mind in faint echoes. He shook his head to no avail. They came louder, and he realized whose words they were.
In his mind, he heard Ash pleading with him again. Those same words from the island. The ones he had failed to heed before. Again, they came to haunt him. Slowly, the fury fell away. Yet it did not leave entirely. Still, in his mind, it raged against peace.
Lugia's eyes narrowed upon Lee. He opened his mouth wide. "…Not this time."
Lee frowned. "Hm?"
"I will not fail," Answered Lugia. "Not like before. This time, you are coming with me." His steely eyes narrowed with a feral intensity. "And you will answer all of our questions."
The portly man's expression was unreadable. "…Are you sure you want that?" He asked slowly. "It's a big risk, you know. Letting me live. Clearly you aren't as smart as I gave you credit for."
Lugia prepared himself for that feeling of terrible, bubbling fury. But it never came. His bared teeth slowly became covered again. For a moment, he averted his gaze.
"…No. Maybe I'm not. This just…" Raising his head, Lugia again stared up into the light. "…Feels like the right thing to do."
Author's Note
Pokextinction Fact of the Day: Christopher Lee entered this story at Chapter 5. He seemed like quite a footnote at the time compared to Necrozma, but evolved into quite the unique character on his own, didn't he?
At the time, he was a no name bystander blending in with the crowd, mysteriously being at the right place at the right time with a silver tongue and loud voice. In the end, he was a feared general, being partially responsible for the world being plunged into ruin. But conniving nature never left.
To the end, he was that. But now, he can escape no longer. Not even in death.
The Creator- Glad we could get this out before the end of November. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving for those who celebrate it. This chapter was a handful. What will happen to Lee now that Lugia has at last had a change of heart thanks to Ash? And what of Aura? Is that truly the enigmatic entity that saved the world? Is it here to save it again…or is there something more sinister?
Hydra- The scene you've all waited years for has finally come to fruition. The final confrontation of Lee and Lugia is something that I've been waiting to see for a loooong time. While mercy can be hard, in the end it is always the right thing to do. Lugia went to the brink of darkness and right at the end he saved himself from being too far gone.
Floaty- It's so interesting going from one Pokémon fanfic to this one. I read the latest chapter of Pokémon Source by M-Leman and read about caring about legendaries. Now I read this chapter which is like "let's kill them all" which is such a strange feeling going from one to another. Either way, great chapter as always!
The Creator- I read the first chapter of that fic. Seems rather interesting but a bit hard to follow. I guess that's bound to happen with stories that intentionally start in the thick of things before returning to the past though. To be fair, this fic is also technically about saving Legendaries depending on the perspective of the characters each chapter.
…But you're not wrong about killing them either.
Hydra- When originally making this story I wanted to pursue story arcs that didn't follow the typical arcs you see in other Pokemon fanfics. One of the biggest things that set aside this fic from the others is the amount of character deaths that occur with popular characters. No one is truly safe and it keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time knowing anything could happen.
G- Great chapter, great indeed. It was cool to see Mewtwo finally free from the control of Mashshadow, as we can see his inner thinking, regrets and guilt for the current situation of the Tree of Beginning, adding his other memories about his past actions, to the point that he even wondered if this scenario would occured earlier if Ash wouldn't helped him in the past and he would defeated Mew during the events of the first movie of Pokemon, leaving Mewtwo notably overwhelmed for this guilt.
Adding that it was cool to see him briefly trying to act like an arbiter in this conflict, and made a desperate attempt for the peace, that sadly was a death point for this conflict, as the war escalated too much to that it can be solved through diplomacy, especially when Nova Branch is too fixed in finishes their objective and eliminates Mew to accomplishes it.
Also, it was really good to see Ash being rescued by Zeraora and his best friend Pikachu, just when the situation apparented be a lost cause. Allowing to Ash still escaping from Nova Branch with Mew, to tries to brings her to the Aura Stream, with the hope to saves her, and perhaps restores her, allowing to the heroes possibly a chance to turn the tables in their favor, because if Mew manages to retrieves her strength, she could easily gives the upperhand to the Pokemon side, especially to considers that Mew won't holds back this time, making that this possibility be a little ray of hope for our heroes.
Also, regarding to the predicament of Latias, Serena and her team, i agreed with you The Creator, this Red Suits are certainly fearsome and lethal war machines, seriously, to considers their cold programation, versatility and tenacity in combat, this guys gives me creeps, to the point of reminds me to Terminator, as they are dangerous war machines fixed in fulfill their mission, to the point of be almost unstoppable, making this Red Suits very dangerous enemies.
Adding that it was brutal the manner in that the Red Suit defeated systematically Serena's team and Latias, just after their false victory to "defeated" the Red Suit with the Horn Drill. Seriously, even when i watched this scene, for some reason it reminds me to the brutal carnage of Sindel in MK9, when the merciless empress defeated and injured gruesomely the heroes, one for one, as manner to show how much strong are the monsters, in comparison with the heroes, as a scary way to show us how much powerless are the protagonists against this villains. Well, i hope that Serena can be rescued as well, like Ash in this chapter.
Regarding to your point Hydra, i agreed that is awesome to see how some seemingly insignificant and minor characters in the story, become notably important elements in advanced parts, playing great roles in the conflicts and influencing a lot the events of the plot. Well, sometimes to makes a great story, you must be dynamic and flexible, to ajust the events and develops the characters, depending of how evolves the plot, to makes a great story.
Also, regarding to your question, personally, to considers the current bleak outlook, being honest, regardless if our heroes defeat Nova Branch, or they escape to still implies a future threat, i think that the story will ends with a sad ending, in the sense that even if the Pokemon side manages to wins this war, this conflict could ends with a pyhrric victory, for many reasons:
1. Many pokemons, including Legendaries, will died in this conflict, leaving notables casualties for the Pokemon world, that will implies more issues for the ecosystems and balance.
2. Even if Nova Branch is destroyed, their actions and propaganda in the world, could manages to sways the public opinion of the people against the pokemon, leading to that many people begin to shares the negative opinion of Nova Branch for the pokemon. Meaning that in the end, Nova Branch could ends being the iceberg tip, as possibly most of the mankind could shares this anti-pokemon sentiment, implying a lot headaches for our heroes.
Being honest, i imagines the ending of this story like the ending of Batman Dark Knight, in that the Joker managed to corrupted Harvey Dent to turned him in Two Face, forcing Batman to takes the blame for the crimes of Two Face to protect the reputation of the fallen attorney, leading to that the Dark knight become the most wanted criminal in Gotham city. Possibly much like this story, in that it will ends with the pokemon turned in the enemies of the mankind, leading to some notable schism in the pokemon world, adding that this tragic ending could even work like a cliffhanger for a possible sequel, in that we'll see more about the aftermath and consequences for the conflicts of this story. At least in my opinion.
To finishes, talking about consequences, i wonder if in some future chapter, we'll see again the current events in the rest of the pokemon world, specifically about the rigged pokemon attacks caused by Nova Branch, and how possibly the relationship between the humans and pokemon is getting strained. Adding that we could see the other Ash's friends trying to makes damage control regarding this situations.
Keep the good job.
The Creator- Well, Mewtwo defeating Mew in the context of this story is unlikely. But I get what you mean. There are a lot of people and Pokemon who could have become a sort of Necrozma or Nova themselves.
Ah, Pikachu and Zeraora. With how long they had been gone, seeing them again must have been, in the wise words of Professor Oak, "shocking, isn't it?" Still, like a flash of lightning, the salvation they brought to Ash was bright but short lived. But a new light seems to be just around the corner.
Had Zero been a success, it's likely she would have ended up much like these Red Suits, only with vastly more power and potency as she grew older. I have no doubt she would have given many Legends a run for their money.
However it ends, it won't be pretty. Can even Aura change that?
Hydra- You're very right about having to be open to change. Throughout the story there were so many plot points in the beginning that we were very dead set on, but when it finally came time to write the scene we changed our minds. Marshadow was an example of this where we never considered him at first to even be in the story and then later on he became an integral part of it.
I really hoped you enjoyed the end of Lugia's story arc. We always discussed his character in great detail, but its shocking to see it finally come to a hopeful end.
It's gonna be interesting to see how the Nova Corporation fares without their General. Things are starting to look hopeless for both sides with no clear winner emerging so far. But with how many losses that have occurred is true victory even possible at this point?
SilverWolf1130- Sorry, Mewtwo. Talk No Jutsu won't work here.
And just when it seems Ash is doomed, he gets saved not by Mewtwo but by Zeraora and Pikachu.
Some people just can't be reasoned with, Zeraora.
Throughout the story, the Nova Corps has become the richest and most powerful Corporation/Military on earth but this war will cost them almost everything. The question is… was it worth it?
It's not just Ash who will need therapy after this war but everyone else…
Latias… man, you guys have killed so many of my favorite Pokémon…
"Nowhere to Hide."? Gonna say that this is where Nova's identity will be revealed.
I really don't know if Mew will survive. This has been on my mind for months.
This story is so damn good. Can't wait for next chapter!
Honestly, I think the story will have a somber ending. Even if Ash stops the Nova Corps, they have left so many scars on the world. And their impact on the world will continue. Ash will never truly recover from all he's been through. He has lost so much… but all he can really do is try and move forward. Because when all hope seems lost, the world will turn to Ash.
The Creator- "It's not too late to stop this war…Nova." Gets shot.
Zeraora probably wasn't expecting these humans to actually care enough about their dream to die for it and thought of them as monsters that revel in destruction. I doubt he could even retort to that. Except with electricity that is.
How humanity will rebuild itself without a Tree of Life to support them, no one yet knows. But surely Nova of all people must have some sort of plan to have gone this far?
Therapists are going to be making bank when all is said and done. Especially considering everyone alive is going to need it. …Although, under those parameters, maybe they'll have some business troubles after all.
Ah, Latias. Could she be joined with her brother at last? Or maybe she will pull through? That depends on Serena, if there's still a life to save. The same goes for Mew. It all depends on the boy she stole away.
Thank you! I hope this chapter was even better than the last.
Hydra- This one is definitely gonna go down as one of my favorites. There's a few chapters like 65 and 76 that I like to reread often but the final confrontation between Lugia and Lee is one that I've been very excited for. You are quite correct about everyone needing therapy after this, but will therapy actually be able to help heal the wounds inflicted? I appreciate how much you're enjoying the story. It brings a warm fuzzy feeling knowing others are liking our story so much! :)
The Creator- Next chapter, the battle between father and son will at last see its finale. Will history repeat itself, or will the vengeful son's wrath emerge victorious? What will happen to Mew? Will Aura save her? Shaun? Or will it be too late for either with Nova in hot pursuit? Find out on the next chapter of Pokextinction, "Mother and Father."
Hydra- The world is in chaos. Both sides are crumbling fast and by the time the war finishes will there be anyone left to relish in victory? The end of another long story of hatred and anger has finally come to an end in an unexpected way, not through revenge, but through mercy. Things are looking quite grim for Ash, with no pokemon left to fight Nova, he has a straight shot towards the aura stream and Mew. The end of the war is near but who will come out on top and who will be buried beneath their feet?