The Revenant

by The Vilified

Years after joining the Expedition Society and saving the planet, Miles and Claire find that there's nothing left to explore. Miles was content to accept that. But one day a proposition arrives... from another human. The world may be known, but it has yet to be tamed. Dark Matter may be gone, but there is still darkness to be quelled. And Miles will do just that. PSMD & GtI story.

6. The First Human

Chapter Six: The First Human

---

Miles was still trying to process everything. Someone who'd known them from their previous lives was still breathing? Or had been remade, at the very least? What sort of magic was involved with this? "Voice of Life? Are you Xerneas?"

"Me? No, I'm afraid not. I guess you might say I work for him, though."

"Really? Your master couldn't just stop at taking her away once, so now he's sending you to do it again?" Flames threatened to jump from his back. Hydreigon flinched at his accusation, surely not anticipating this outcome. Former friend or not, anyone who worked for Xerneas was suspect as far as Miles was concerned.

"What?! No, Miles! I just—look, I understand why you'd be upset about that. But I had nothing to do with that decision, I promise! I'm not sure why Xerneas did what he did, but he surely had a reason! And he has shown no desire to take Claire again! My visit has nothing to do with any of that!"

"So long as it stays that way, we shouldn't have any problems." Miles clamped his mouth shut as he felt the braixen's hand on his shoulder.

"Let's tone it down a bit, Miles. I don't think he means us any harm." How she had never shown an ounce of rage towards the legendary that had taken her once they had played their parts was beyond him. In fact, had they not drawn her spirit from the newly-made Mew, she would have faded away into the afterlife. Claire was never bitter, but neither had she gone through what he had. A life without the one making it worth living.

"I promise you I don't! I came here because you two are my friends and I wanted to see you!" He was desperate for them to believe him, that much was certain. Maybe he was earnest. Maybe Miles, like usual, was being paranoid. But he would rather be wrong and cautious. Once bitten, twice shy. Nobody was taking her away again. Not now, not ever. "Okay, there is one other reason, actually. It happens to be about this mission – but we'll get to that in due time. Right now, I'm just happy to see you both after so many years! Come, let's walk while we talk! Or fly, in my case."

They began making their way east. The sun had yet to reach its zenith and already heat pounded them relentlessly. Canteens would be filled and emptied several times before they left this mystery dungeon, though the water was never cool enough to ward off warmth for long. Miles eventually voiced his question. "How is any of this possible?"

"Pardon?"

"How can you be alive if you were really with us back then? You aren't a legendary."

"I'm the Voice of Life, Miles. If I were to die, the whole world would be gone!" He laughed at his own response as though they should be following suit. Or maybe it was just because it was a welcome redirection from their previous topic. "And I may not be a legendary, but I am a force of nature. I will be so long as Xerneas continues to draw breath. Unfortunately, that's also why I couldn't help in your last fight with Dark Matter. We were trapped."

"Mmm." As it turned out, he hadn't needed their help anyways.

"I was the one who summoned you to our world, Miles, just as I summoned the other humans."

"…Other humans?"

"Oh, naturally! You aren't the first. And you won't be the last, either. There's even one that's already here in the present day – but I'll have to summon him in the future, too. Geez, spacetime discontinuities are a real mess. Glad that Celebi and Dialga got that one sorted out."

"Okay, let's take like… five steps back…" Claire said. "How many humans are in this world now?"

"Just a few," the Voice of Life replied. "One of them I work very closely with, in fact. And he's been dying to meet you two. So he decided to set up a mission of some sort – and that's where we're headed next." So this itself wasn't the mission. Obviously, Miles thought. Hydreigon had just formed in front of them; there was no way he was holding the second half of their payment.

"There's another human… who wants to meet me?" Miles repeated. It was strange. Jirachi had mentioned that his case wasn't the only one. 'This sort of thing happens all the time,' he'd said then. That itself was terrifying given the fact that humans were only summoned in times of upcoming disaster.

"Yes! He'd have reached out sooner, but we figured that you were busy with the world map. But seeing as to how that's done…"

"Makes sense. So where are we going?"

"Right back the way you came! To Sahra Town. There should be a ship waiting for us once we get there."

Miles sighed. Great. More time on the sea – every fire-type's dream. "And where then?"

"Paradise." Miles stopped in his tracks.

"…Paradise?" The largest beacon of civilization in the world, encompassing nearly the entirety of the Mist Continent. Missions from that region had almost completely ceased within the past several years. A single town there could stretch for miles and might outnumber the population of Lively City.

"Yep! Have you two been before?"

"Haven't so much as stepped foot on the Mist Continent. A few others in the Expedition Society have, but we focused on the Water and Air Continents."

"Oh my! You two are in for a real surprise, then. I watched it all develop before my eyes, and even then I'm always fascinated by what Paradise's scientists have accomplished in such a short time." That much didn't come as a surprise. Paradise was known as one of the wonders of the world for a reason, though it was difficult to actually get there. They carefully screened anyone who wanted to step foot on their land, and if someone was deemed a threat, then they tended not to be without chains for very long. It had taken months just to get Mawile and Ampharos over there that one time – and they were world-renowned explorers! So how were they just going to march over there without issue?

"If we're being expected at the Mist Continent, why didn't you all just have us travel there?" Claire asked.

Hydreigon's heads tilted in sync with each other. What a silly question, his posture seemed to indicate. "I was in the Air Continent at the time, so I would have had to travel anyway. Plus, I wanted a bit personal time with you two. It's been over four hundred years, after all."

"Right… Well, I think you'll have to excuse our apparent ignorance, seeing as to how our memories were sorta wiped and all."

"Tonight, I'll see if I can help with that."

Claire folded her arms. "Oh? Storytelling time with the Voice of Life? Is that what this is?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of memory transfer, but I suppose we could settle for your idea instead." That stopped both of them in their tracks – a fact that Hydreigon couldn't help but smile at. "Got your attention now, do I?"

"…How?" Claire asked.

"Simple. I can't actually restore your memories. Not the way that Xerneas can, at least. But I can show you visions of what I saw back then."

"That's… kind of amazing," Claire admitted. "Miles! We can see what you actually looked like!" The typhlosion wasn't sure if that was a good thing or bad, but admittedly, curiosity was gnawing at him. There had never been an opportunity to gaze into his own past, but now that opportunity had presented itself with three separate heads.

There was little trouble as they made their way out of the mystery dungeon. Hydreigon inquired into their 'new' lives, and Claire filled him in on details of Serene Village and Lively City, of people they knew and places they'd been. Of an Expedition Society that was searching for their next steps.

Hydreigon chuckled at that. "What's so funny?" Claire said. "I pretty much just told you we're out of formal jobs for the foreseeable future."

"That's precisely it," he hummed. "I would suggest booking your calendars for the next several years."

---

There was an air of apprehension as they set up camp that night. As usual, wood was saved for a few moments after sundown, where the temperature would start rapidly declining. "We can bed down anywhere tonight. I always keep a third of my eyes open, even when sleeping!" The way he said that was mildly unsettling. Still, Miles felt that he was harmless enough.

"Alright, this seems as good a time as any. Bear with me – I've only done this one other time."

"Should… we be concerned or something?"

"Oh! Not the slightest! But you'll be pretty worn out, so it's a good thing we're about to call it a night anyways." They built their fire and ate without so much a word. Miles was starting to get second thoughts about this now that they were here. He'd long grown content with the thought that he would never know about his past. Lost memories were no sweat off his back. Claire picked up on this and cocked her head.

"Miles? Something wrong?"

"…A bit nervous," he admitted. "What will this do?"

"What do you mean?" Hydreigon asked.

"Is this going to change who we are?"

"Not at all, Miles. Like I said, you two were the same friends then as you are now. A soul transfer did not change that." He smiled with all three heads, doing his best despite his physique to reassure the typhlosion. "All this will do is give you a little more insight. That's all! Arceus as my witness!" Miles nodded, though not being fully convinced. He liked where – and what – he was now. Past memories might complicate that. But there was also that part of him that was curious, and they'd agreed to come this far.

Bedding was set up, several layers of blankets for each of them. Miles admittedly wasn't fond of each of them having one less cover; they hadn't been expecting a third guest, after all, but they couldn't leave a dragon of all things without protection from the cold.

"Are you both ready?"

"You know it," was Claire's response.

"…As ready as I can be." Hydreigon came unbearably close to them, no regard for personal space, and brought one of his smaller heads to each of them. Miles froze as those two smaller eyes started into his, a radiant light seeping out of them. His world was consumed with white.

---

There were no more options left. This… thing – whatever it was – grew stronger by the hour. Mew tried to keep everyone encouraged, but how could she? More people succumbed to the darkness with each passing sunset. They were losing the Water Continent, and if they didn't do something fast, it would only be a matter of time until it spread.

They needed a miracle.

Mew floated on her side, tracing her hand along a scratch – a near-encounter with death – and sighed. How much longer? But she abandoned thoughts of that nature as Machamp came into view. "Oh! Nice to see a friendly face. We could use some good news right about now!" He didn't smile, and that much told her that what came from his mouth would be anything but.

"There is news of both natures. Which would you prefer first?" She exhaled heavily.

"Good."

"We have made progress on identifying this abomination. It was born of the sins of mortals, every negative thought, wrathful emotion or impure deed. Hydreigon confirms that its spiritual signatures are similar to that of a dark-type's. It has begun to learn how to manipulate the world around it, and… we've learned that it has set its sights on Xerneas."

Mew scowled, puffing up her chest. "That's supposed to be the good news?! That would kill us all!"

Machamp flinched under her tone. "I am aware. But we now know what this thing wants and where it's headed. We have time to prepare."

"Oh, sure! Prepare how exactly? We don't even know how to properly fight this thing!"

"That's what Xerneas has called us to discuss!" Machamp stated. "Look, we'll figure something out. But that won't happen if we just try to run away from whatever inconvenience we come across."

She looked down in defeat. He was right. Usually she was the one to remain impractically optimistic. But a year of that with nothing to show was beginning to wear her down, too. "And what was the bad news?"

Machamp closed his eyes. "We found Tyranitar and his squad right outside the entrance to Purifying Cave. They were… turned to stone as well. We have recovered their bodies." Another group down. He was one of their strongest, and even he hadn't stood a chance against this threat.

"This sucks. Everything about all of this sucks." Mew plopped down on the grass. "So now what?" As if he would know. Nobody did – that was their problem. They were blindly aiming into the dark while it consumed more and more of their friends, turning them to stone, or even worse – turning them against their friends. The one thing they had learned was that it was tied to the movement of the planets.

Maybe this was fate, their day of reckoning, and there was no avoiding it. Mew didn't voice those thoughts, but every single effort they had taken, no matter how cautious or drastic, had been met with failure. It made it hard to want to persevere onward, or to do anything other than crawl into a ball and wait until death. Perhaps the afterlife would be kinder than this one. But she pushed herself up again, not even knowing what spurred her onwards. They would continue to fight.

And when that inevitably failed, they would die.

---

Mew hadn't known any of these other people prior to the world's approaching doom. The struggle for survival was what had united them, and while she wouldn't claim to have known any of them all that well, there was one thing she could tell by the look in Xerneas' eyes: he was learning to feel the fear that only mortals struggled with.

They gathered around the Tree of Life. Its emissary stood a few paces from one of its tremendous roots, his Voice on his right side and Celebi on his left. Mew took prominence over the others, both from her leadership status and her fighting prowess, but right now they were all equals within the shadow of death. Legendary and mortal alike were no match for the summation of all sins.

Xerneas, as usual, was the first to speak. "It has come to our attention that there are some protective measures that can be taken against the force of darkness."

"That doesn't have much of a ring to it," Mew commented. "I think Dark Matter sounds better." Xerneas looked at her without humor, though some light chuckles towards the back.

The words he uttered next, though, were successful in killing whatever traces of humor might've survived their failures this month. "Whatever we prefer to call it, it has already begun to manifest within my tree."

"What?" Mew looked down with wide eyes. So it had begun. Were they already too late?
Ariados chittered as her front legs tucked inwards. "What happens now?!"

"This… Dark Matter… is attempting to uproot the Tree. When it does, our planet will follow its source of life. If I had to wager a guess… Dark Matter will likely draw us closer to the sun until our planet burns."

For the next minute, there wasn't much said. What even could be said in response to that? Mew clenched her tiny paw and tried not to cry. No. They couldn't accept this. She didn't want to go out like that – any way but that! So they would do so fighting until the bitter end. "You said there were protective measures we could use…" Xerneas faced her again.

"Perhaps it is best we show you." He nodded towards the Voice of Life, who quickly retreated towards the tree. They heard him struggle to lift something, and when he came back into view, several people swallowed and looked away. Tyranitar's body was petrified, one hand in front of the other as he'd faced his threat head-on. A lot of good that had done for him. Hydreigon had lowered him beside a small stream. Xerneas caused for a small mass of water to levitate in front of him and bowed his head, a golden glow leaving his horns and permeating the liquid. Whatever he was doing only lasted for a minute, and then it looked as though nothing had happened at all. He hurled the water onto Tyranitar's body. Everyone watched, eyes going wide as cracks began to form among the surface. Glowing water seeped in and his body began to radiate like the sun.

Stone shattered and his body fell, gasping for breath with wild, frantic eyes. Tyranitar shot up, exhaustion pushed aside as he prepared to fight, but pausing when he realized who was in front of him. He instantly collapsed back down and lost consciousness.

"W-what the…" Mew and the others were at a complete loss for words.

"I have some limited ability to repeal the darkness' effects," Xerneas said, "but Celebi has already confirmed that this will not be enough. Not on its own."

It was something. Not much, but it meant that those who had fallen weren't truly gone. Hydreigon left to revive the other members of Tyranitar's squad while Xerneas lowered to his flanks. "So we've got an edge… but it doesn't matter?" Mew asked.

"That's right. It does nothing but slightly delay the inevitable. Dark Matter will come for me, and once it claims me, life on this planet will cease."

"Gee. Great job with the inspirational speech, Xerneas." Nevertheless, the pink feline sat up and tucked her arms against her frame. She had to keep up the façade since nobody else would. "Celebi. How many futures did you look at?"

"Twenty-eight." Her voice was barely above a whisper. Hers was a hard burden to bear; Mew couldn't imagine witnessing one's friends die countless times in a single day for months.

Mew perked up. "That's not a whole lot. Not at all! Why stop there?"

"Because the same thing happens each and every time! I watch everyone here die, and then the Tree of Life gets ripped up and…" She swallowed, staring bitterly through glossy eyes. "I've been doing this for months, Mew! How many more times would you subject me to that?!"

"We don't have a choice!" Mew's retort made Celebi flinch. She was right – everyone knew that much. But hope was something in short supply. Thousands of iterations had been observed. Every choice they made, had resulted in no change to their fate. It was as though Dark Matter somehow knew what they were planning, adjusting its own tactics to further drive them towards their doom. It made little difference to the abomination if their world burned in one year or ten.

Hydreigon came back after having carried out his task, followed by Decidueye, Zangoose, Heliolisk, Arcanine and Marowak, though any joy from seeing some of their friends again was lost upon returning to reality. They offered different strategies to Celebi, who looked forth over the span of a few minutes. Each time she shook her head, and after a dozen more attempts, everyone fell silent.

Xerneas looked down. For once, he knew what it was like to be mortal. "My sole purpose was to protect the sanctity of life on this world… and I have failed. I have failed each of you, and for that I am ashamed."

"No," Machamp stated. "We have failed. This beast was born of our sins. Perhaps this is how things were meant to be. Maybe this is what we deserve. If nothing in this world can stop it, then all we can do is fight to delay the inevitable."

Mew rubbed her eyes. Even he of all people had given into the somberness that had grasped ahold of them. She offered a bitter laugh, trying to be that one light among the darkness. "I guess we'll just have to find someone from another world, then." Stupid. Obviously nobody was in any mood to entertain humor right now. But Hydreigon looked up, then tilted his heads. His primary mouth opened but no sound came out.

"I… perhaps that could be looked into." After every other suggestion had fallen flat, there was no encouragement found in his statement. He turned towards Celebi.

She shook her head. "Please… no more today. I cannot bear it."

"I understand how hard this must be for you, but could you manage one more? After that, I think we would all do well to get some rest. But such an outlandish suggestion is far from any of our other methods. Perhaps we may learn something."

There was a nod. A hardened resolve as she closed her eyes in preparation for pain and disappointment. Moments passed while everyone stared off into space. Mew rolled her eyes. What a dumb suggestion. If none of us can deal with this, what would make someone else capable of fighting it?

And then… Celebi froze, her tiny arms trembling in place as she looked forth with wide eyes. "S-Someone killed it! It… it will manifest itself again in centuries – it's destined in the stars – but I watched someone destroy it!"

Everyone darted up, even Xerneas. "What?!"

"No one here died! Oh Arceus…" She released months of pent-up emotions, of the torment of seeing her friends die in countless ways. Mew's mouth felt dry. Her idea had actually worked? They had a shot? No – not a shot. A guarantee.

Immediately the conversation shifted. Mew spoke up. "What did this creature look like and how do we find it?"

"Almost… almost like him," she said, pointing to Machamp. "Two less arms. Taller. Very strong. He split it in half, Xerneas! He cut it and kept going until it shattered into a million pieces!"

"Did the creature have fur?"

"Umm… a bit? Only on his head, though." Eyes shifted towards Hydreigon, who nodded in realization.

"I believe you're talking about a human. Let's assume we are to bring one here. Can you observe that future, Celebi?"

Now there was no hesitation. A fire had been lit and she wiped her eyes, grinning as she used her powers again. "Same vision."

"Alright, so how exactly are we going to grab a human?" That certainly was the question. Mew's remark had been a thoughtless one, almost dark humor. Nobody had actually expected anything to work after nothing but news of failure.

Xerneas stood up proudly. Just like that, vigor was restored to him as well. "I will need to consort with Palkia. If we are to seize someone from another world, there will be spatial distortions involved. I am confident he will allow us to intervene in such a case as this." It would make no sense for the space-deity not to; after all, they had been graced with a vision of victory.

"I will go to him," Hydreigon said. "Unless there is any need of me here, I will leave tomorrow morning."

---

Everything was in order. Hydreigon motioned for everyone to stay back; there could be no interference with what he was about to do. Even the gentle nightly breeze began to die down in expectation of a breach between worlds. Mew held her breath. This 'human' as they had called him – what would he be like? He was bound to save their world, so she supposed it didn't really matter, but still the curiosity nagged at her.

Hydreigon's arms stretched out as a bright glow shone from his secondary eyes. A ripple in spacetime – a sliver along the fabric. Runes began to form around him, slowly drifting in place as the sigil of Arceus was formed around them. The dragon began his spell.

"Our world now faces a threat that we cannot fight. Our doom is imminent. But a human has what it takes to win this war. Deliver us this human – grant us a warrior's soul. One who will stop at nothing. One who will purge the darkness."

He searched for a soul amidst the vastness of their universe and those nearby. Mew watched quietly as the distortion intensified, rippling in place violently as though it might expand outwards and consume them all. Within it, countless golden lights drifted around. Hydreigon closed his eyes, his senses jumping from one to another, and when he didn't find what he was looking for, they all faded out.

Everyone was far too scared to utter a single noise as the Voice of Life continued his search. Mew couldn't help but wonder about each of those lights – souls in the abyss. Were they really looking for a particular one? Wouldn't any of them work? But Celebi had seen a set vision; surely there was someone who fulfilled the criteria they needed. What would he be like? A creature from another planet was as exciting a thing that had ever happened to them. Well… minus the constant near-death encounters this past year.

One stood out, and all the other lights instantly faded. "There you are," Hydreigon whispered. A figure appeared within some large, strange room, a golden light glowing from his body. Others were around him, standing up as they watched him with frantic uncertainty. But the Voice of Life had found his target and remained undistracted. "You who can now hear my voice. Might you be… a human? If you are, then please… Listen to my plea. I want you to save our world. We need your help… or else we all will perish."

The human glanced towards the distortion. Could he see them? Mew wasn't sure, but she shivered, his eyes containing no trace of fear. The portal spun to life, universes colliding at this slim link between worlds. The human didn't budge. He just… stood there. And Hydreigon, desperate for their one attempt, acted without hesitation. The human was pulled forth; one of the others nearly grabbed him but failed. The last thing they heard was someone yelling before the gateway closed.

There were a few things Mew realized about the human when he stood up. The green material over his body was not fur as she had initially thought, but rather it a cloth of some sort, tucked underneath another that covered his legs made of several other shades of green. There was fur, though – a brown bit poked from within the garment he wore on his head as well.

He darted up in a flash, eyes frantically racing between them as if assessing multiple threats. Hydreigon reached forth hesitantly, but then stopped himself when the human brought his hands close to his face, bending at the knees and ready to strike. "He's uh… pretty tall," Mew admitted. She floated close, throwing caution into the wind much to everyone's surprise – including the human's. His position didn't falter, even as she brought her hand to the back of his, seeing how pronounced the size differences were between the two of them. She glanced into his eyes. Confusion was there, but fear was not. This was most certainly their human – their ticket to surviving past this year.

Hydreigon spoke. This human understood no language they offered, but he was somewhat receptive to their telepathy. "I must grant him the ability to comprehend our words," Hydreigon said, coming to the realization that this creature had likely not understood his initial greeting. Hydreigon's eyes lit up as he prepared for a mental transfer.

The human went off, throwing his weight into Hydreigon before any of them could react. The Voice of Life levitated upwards, receiving a swift kick to his stomach and lurching forth. Mew froze in shock as everyone leapt into action. Tyranitar charged with a far greater weight and the human quickly realized he would stand no chance there and dodged, bringing his shin to the back of Tyranitar's leg and making him roll over. Ariados caught him with a shot of her webbing, wrapping the human's wrist before he could bring a clenched fist downwards, but he yanked it and threw her off balance before going after Machamp.

She had to act. Mew reached out with her psychic powers and tried to pin him down, grunting as he struggled against her mental grasp, nearly breaking free until others joined. Xerneas stabbed a leg into the earth; roots obeyed his will and shot upwards, wrapping the human's ankles and shackling his wrists, pulling him swiftly to his knees. The human roared out and pulled, his heavily muscled arms straining to tear his restraints. "Now Hydreigon!" Xerneas cried out. Machamp held his face still as the Voice of Life made a second attempt.

A flash. The human recoiled back, his restraints becoming loose, and he clutched his head. Mew was sure to keep her distance, even though he was surrounded and exhausted. But he was definitely a fighter, and that was just what they needed. "Did it work?" she asked no one in particular.

The human's head shot up, sweat matting his hair. Somewhere along the commotion he'd lost the green hat his people wore. "What did you do to me?!" His voice was like that of a pyroar, filled with power and authority.

"Can you… understand us now?" Mew asked. She tilted her head, edging slightly closer. She was probably the sole person he didn't want to attack at the moment. The human's eyes singled her out, then came a slow nod.

"Sorry for the rude introduction," Hydreigon said. "You didn't seem responsive to our language, so I had to transfer the required knowledge to you. You have no enemies here."

The human worked his way back to his feet, one hand rubbing the opposite wrist where his bindings had bruised skin. "Where am I?"

"I… suppose you are a long way from home. We have brought you to our world to rid it of a threat that threatens life on this very planet."

There were some strange figures on the human's garment, though Mew couldn't read them. Small black lettering seemed to spell something out. The human straightened his posture as everyone's defensive stances were lowered. "Then you chose poorly."

"…I'm sorry?"

"If you knew the world I came from, you would know how much of a mistake you made. My world is in ruins, and we were responsible." Nobody said anything. This was the human from their vision, was it not? And here he was telling them that humans were just as much a threat as Dark Matter?

Hydreigon shook his head. "No. I made no mistake with my soul search. I am sure of it – you have what it takes to win this fight. We have already seen your victory in a vision of the future."

"Is that so?" the human asked in disbelief. "And how did you do that?"

"With my help," Celebi answered. The human turned around, his eyes going still as he met her gaze.

"…A celebi. Never thought I'd see one."

"Well we aren't that common," she said with a giggle.

"It is not a matter of rarity. Your kind is extinct on my world." His eyes drifted amongst the various pokémon surrounding him. "All but a few species are. Celebis were among the first targeted. They foresaw the intentions of humans and intended to stop us, but we had one of our own. In the end, his insight and our simulations were victorious and we were able to defeat them. He was then betrayed by the very people he worked with. They reasoned that he was far too dangerous to leave alive. Had they spared him, he might have been able to warn us of the disasters were about to inflict upon ourselves. Now my world is reduced to a radioactive wasteland, and the few of us alive are fighting for the scraps of what's left."

"Uhh… that's…" Mew's words died in her throat. Just who had they summoned here?

"Now do you see your mistake? My entire species could not even save our own world. What makes you think I can save yours?"

There was something else in his eyes, Mew realized. Contempt. They had, in their search amongst worlds, found a human that detested his own kind. One who was empty. Had the others taken his drive from him?

"No. There are many things I do not know," Hydreigon replied. "But I have seen your soul. It is one marked by tenacity and a thirst for justice. We all beg that you stand with us. We… are out of options."

There was silence among them. The human gave no indication whether or not he was actually considering their plea. But then he spoke. "Were you intending to send me back?"

"When you had defeated this abomination, yes. Again, I am sorry to have taken you from your world, but we had little choice in the matter."

"Don't. There is nothing left in my world for me. In truth, there is nothing left for anyone there. I will help you, but I ask to remain here in return." That was as easy an assurance as they could make. Truth be told, having a human around for good sounded really interesting. Mew couldn't help but wonder just what had happened in their world – and to him, for that matter.

"Very well. You have my word." Hydreigon released a pent-up sigh.

The human walked towards Xerneas, tilting his head slightly. The legendary who would soon be targeted had remained oddly silent. There was a curt nod of appreciation. "What weapons do you have?"

Hydreigon's heads all grinned in tandem. "Quite a few. Wands, blast seeds, iron thorns. Magmortar knows how to bend metal to his will as well." When there was no response but a confused stare from the human, he continued. "…Perhaps you seek something else?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of guns or explosives."

"…Huh?"

The human sighed. "Very well. I will have to make do with whatever technology you have available. You mentioned a blacksmith?" When there was no response to his term, he clarified. "The magmortar who can bend metal – where is he?"

---

It seemed that there was still much to learn. They had been told that he was something called a 'sergeant' – whatever that meant – and had extensive training in whatever combat humans used from his world. That was good; Hydreigon's spell had worked after all. And the lettering on his clothing read "Alder" according to him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mew asked.

"It is my last name," he answered.

"…Last?"

The human nodded. "Humans have several names. I would imagine the need is not that great for your kind to have names. Not when there are so many species, and only a few of a kind in one place. For us it is a necessity."

"Ohh, what's your other name then?" Mew couldn't help but be curious about this weird creature that had been brought to their planet.

"Miles. But we are referred to by last names where I come from."

"Nah. Not happening. Miles sounds better." The human in question didn't offer a response to that.

Miles did most of the talking once they arrived at Magmortar's forge, though the latter was taken back by the creature in front of him. It seemed as though Miles had quickly gotten used to that, though, even as Hydreigon paraded him around with a wide grin. A large blast furnace made of stone and brick stood behind him, and beside it were various fragments of pokémon that had passed. Iron and titanium and chromium glinted in the light of embers. A rather shy typhlosion stood out amongst pre-evolved forms of the forge master.

Magmortar approached with an irksome stare. They were a distraction from work, and having lived out in the midst of a volcanic wasteland, work was likely all his life consisted of. "Already heard. What is it you need? On the house. The world ending is bad for business."

"Sword and armor. I doubt this world will be seeing guns anytime soon."

"Sword'll take a few hundred hours. Armor can just be hammered into shape. What pieces you got in mind?"

Miles crossed his arms. "Something to protect everything, but not so much to inhibit mobility. Humans tend to be less durable than other species. We lack powers, so we make up for it in technology and technique."

"You… lack powers?" Hydreigon wasn't the only one bothered by this, but Miles only shrugged.

"Most humans do. I thought you would've known that prior to bringing me here." The Voice of Life opened his mouth to respond, but decided against it. The vision had shown Miles killing the abomination, after all. What did it matter how he managed to do so? "There is a reason we were the dominant species on my planet."

"Yeah? I'd like to see some of that reason, then," Machamp said.

Miles walked by Magmortar's stash of materials, carelessly strewn about in a mess that only its originator could navigate. "Looks like you're just using scrap from pokémon."

"Aye. Far stronger." The fire-type said it with confidence.

"No, it's not. You just probably haven't learned to make proper steel yet."

"Oh? And you – a human from a dead world – know better 'an me, do ya? We've been tendin' to this forge for ages, and here you are, walkin' up to my turf and sayin' you could do better?"

Hydreigon did his best to mediate. "Now, I think we're misunderstanding each other a bit—"

"It's fine," Miles interrupted. "Didn't mean any offense." He stepped carefully through the supplies. As it turned out, there was a bit of ore underneath the pile, hematite chunks the size of his forearm that were far duller than the pokémon remnants around him. Magmortar had likely pulled out his best supply for this particular job. "You throw it into the forge, just like this?"

"…Aye."

"I don't know much about the process, but I do know that we used to include carbon in our iron to make steel. They heated up coal in sealed buckets and turned it into coke, and that was used for fuel in blast furnaces. I'm not sure how all they did it, but I heard our metallurgists doing something similar. Lot more sophisticated, though."

"Huh…"

"It'll probably take some time to get right, but I'll give it a shot when all this shit is said and done." Miles dropped the ore back and turned back to the others. Machamp's hands were poised at his hips, silently watching the scene before him while Mew had her head tilted.

It only took a week with Magmortar's entire crew on the process. Measurements were taken before hammers pounded steel and sparks flew with fury. Everything was simply by design; crude plates from the body of an aggron were heated and stamped into shape, forming gauntlets and greaves while they used skarmory for thinner components. Leather – from what species they did not know nor wanted to – was used for the intermediate layer between armor and flesh. Magmortar himself worked tirelessly on the blade, not trusting any of his subordinates for such a task. Or perhaps he wanted to be able to claim to have single-handedly built the blade that saved the world. If that wasn't good advertising, there was none.

The crew was more than ready to leave that sweltering volcanic wasteland. On their way down, a pair of formidable leonine figures were positioned over an igneous cliffside, silently gazing at the party as they left. "Enteis," Mew chimed upon seeing Miles' confusion. "Surely those are still alive in your world, right?"

"If they are, then they won't be for much longer."

---

Dark Matter was beginning to make its presence more known in the world. Xerneas, when he did use his corporeal form, was more lethargic. The temperature was growing hotter. But there was something greater than even hope: there was assurance. Still, Miles did not seem to care for their visions of victory, having prepared himself for war and had instructed them to do so, too. His armor and sword had been enchanted by Xerneas while he still retained the strength. They weren't going anywhere; the enemy would come to them in due time.

Mew found herself watching him on any occasion she could. Sometimes it was as simple as him lifting rocks – only to put them right back down, much to her confusion. He laid out strategies and spoke of positioning, covering one another's weaknesses or blind spots. Cohesion. Miles bestowed upon them the knowledge of his world's destroyers so that they might be the protectors of their own.

It didn't go as well as she'd hoped initially. Nobody assumed 'command' as Miles had called it. They all listened to Xerneas, but there was little hierarchy aside from that. Machamp had stayed a silent observer until one day he decided that he'd had enough.

"It took you all of a month to start callin' all the shots around here."

"And I am more than qualified to do so," Miles answered without so much as looking up from a hand-drawn map.

"Well excuse me if I don't blindly assume you know what you're talking about." Mew wanted to fly forth – this wasn't going to do anything but sow discord – but Hydreigon shook his head. Let this play out, he seemed to say. Perhaps it was bound to happen sooner or later. "I mean, all this from a human that comes from a world that humans destroyed."

"You may take that up with him," Miles said, motioning to Hydreigon, "but so long as you all have need of my services – and you do – then you will listen to what I have to say on warfare. I have taken more lives than you have fingers."

"Ah, is that so? A human with no powers? Oh, I forgot – guns, was it? Sounds to me like your species had to compensate." Miles rolled up the map. There was no irritation on his face, but rather he looked up with stone-set resolve.

"If combat were only about muscles, then your species would have been more than a couple of ragtag tribes within the mountains. Each of you tends to think you're the biggest, baddest creature around. But if you were, then maybe you would have accomplished more in my world. Maybe you would have amounted to more than meat for the wasteland scavengers."

"If you ever want to amount more than a red stain on the grass, then I suggest you shut your mouth." Following that remark, Hydreigon decided pretty quickly that this wasn't heading in the direction he'd intended. But before he could intervene, Miles retorted.

"If you were enough, then maybe you would've been in Celebi's vision." Mew's breath died in her throat. Any attempts at pacification were sure to fail with a comment like that, and judging by the curled snarl on Machamp's face, they were about fail soon. "Can we get back to important matters, or do you still want to act like a child?"

"Only thing I want is to see if that shit-talking mouth is backed by action."

"Guys—"

"No," Miles said, cutting Mew off, "we have healers here. If this is what he wants, then maybe it'll teach him some respect." He spoke as though Machamp were a child in need of discipline, not a warrior who had broken enemy spines and crushed skulls. He stepped forth, unbuttoned the camouflage shirt and stretched his arms back and removed it. Underneath was a white garment, and when that was lifted above his head, Mew found her eyes frozen on his form. His arms were nearly as large as Machamp's; were it not for the color and the fact that the pokémon had two more, it would have been difficult to discern. Scarred tissue had long sealed over a cut on his chest, reaching from one shoulder to his opposite hip. If had not been made by claw, but by blade.

The human stepped forth to an opponent who had not expected for such a quick agreement to a fight. But he grinned nefariously, prepared for it and relishing the idea of bloodied fists and face. She wanted to stop, but decided against it. Males and proving their points. Hydreigon would surely stop them were it to get out of hand, or at least, she hoped so. Miles brought his fists to his face like he had when he first entered their world. Machamp cracked both pairs of knuckles and walked forth.

Miles feinted, then blocked the first blow of the fight before his fist contacted Machamp's jaw. Then the pokémon, quickly abandoning civility, roared a primal cry before his arms danced with fury. The human took several blows to his gut. Rapid yet unflinching – tightened and prepared. He sidestepped Machamp's uppercut and landed another blow, this one narrowly avoiding his neck and instead crashing into his collarbone. If something had cracked, it was drowned out as Machamp threw his full weight into a charge.

The human grunted as oxygen shot from his lungs, the unmoving weight of a tree impacting his back as Machamp drew back. He ducked. Machamp cried out as his head missed Miles' and crashed into the trunk, blood pouring down his face as the human capitalized on his moment of advantage, throwing his arm behind Machamp's knee and pivoting his whole body. The fighting-type surely found the ground equally as unforgiving. Pride wounded, fingers clutching grass and eyes bloodshot and wild, he pulled himself up and charged again.

Miles was too slow to stop them all, a flurry of arms jabbing underneath his guard to break his composure. And it eventually worked; a brutal hook resulted in a liver shot. Pain traveled through him like electricity, then there was the taste of blood. Miles opened his eyes, blades of grass and sparkling red droplets staring back at him.

There was confusion as to what to do then. Machamp glared without emotion, one way or another, and wiped his own blood from a split lip. But his moment of stoicism turned into hesitation as Miles pushed himself back up.

Miles dipped and dodged, keeping his core tightened and body hunched over. There was no way he could block four arms, each as powerful as his own, so he had to rely more on dodging and tiring his opponent out. And it was working; blows hit with slightly less force, coming a fraction of a second slower, and the human found one glaring weakness. He threw a roundhouse kick into Machamp's thigh. The pokémon snarled out in pain, throwing both arms into Miles, then following with an opposing hook as they were blocked. Miles' head snapped back but he remained upright. He stepped back to avoid another series of punches before responding with another kick to the same spot.

"You motherfucker!" Machamp yelled, clasping his leg. He tried to hide the limp in each step after that point, but it was clear: the pokémon, a product of vanity like the rest of his species, had prided in his upper body strength more than his lower. He favored his right side, and while the same could be said of Miles, he had been taught to use both with equal efficiency.

And with that, he threw a left kick into Machamp's right thigh.

Machamp adapted, grabbing Miles and wrestling him to the ground, each grappling for a headlock – a fight Miles couldn't win, and they both knew that. Hands found their way around Miles' throat and pressed forth. Somewhere amidst a fade to black, Hydreigon called out. No. This was going to be resolved on his terms. Miles punched the pit of Machamp's elbow and shed himself free of his grasp, then slammed his forehead into the fighting-type's face. In that moment of pained confusion Miles shoved him away and scrambled for footing.

The rest of the fight went by in flashes. Miles nailed Machamp with a jab to the mouth before the shorter yet bulkier pokémon slammed into him again, pinning arms and pushing with his sore legs as the human turned to his side and shoved back, curling his fist and instinctively preparing for a low strike, but he paused, then redirected it above the belt instead.

At one point, Miles dipped to the side, responding with two jabs and a hook, each finding their target before his vision blurred. He woke up again on the ground, Mew having rushed to his side in those few seconds, head pounding from a bruised jaw.

Miles got up again.

Machamp was panting heavily, each motion with exertion, and Miles found himself in the same position – but he refused to show it. His nostrils flared with each exhale. An iron taste had long dwelled within his swollen mouth.

Miles went on the offense this time, giving Machamp little time to deal with blocked attacks or counters. He brought the full force of a soldier wrought from iron, from desperation and ruin. Attacks combined into an onslaught, one fist finding another mark a split second after its predecessor, targets selected with cold calculation. From experience in killing man and pokémon alike. Machamp backed away on wounded legs, all four arms focused on defending himself, when Miles planted a front kick into his abdomen. It did nothing but put distance between them, but for a split second, the fighting-type dropped his guard to shield a wounded stomach. Miles launched the same kick but higher.

He stumbled back before falling to the ground, only catching himself at the last second with two arms as his world blurred. Miles lowered his arms, each feeling like lead, and became far more aware of his own pain. He clutched his side and fought the urge to double over. Just as Miles had, Machamp worked his way back up. Pride demanded it. But there wasn't wrath anymore. This time when Machamp stood, there was no fighting stance. He simply spat blood and hobbled towards Hydreigon.

"I take it we're done here?" Miles asked. Silence, then a nod.

Mew tended to him, casting healing pulses and mending split skin, though they did nothing to take the soreness or throbbing. "That was so needless and stupid! Do you have any idea how stupid that was? We need you to save the world, and you could've hurt yourself in a way we can't fix!" She couldn't understand, though. Maybe none of the others did. But Machamp did. That much was clear when the fighting-type spoke up amidst Hydreigon healing a bloodied nostril with magic.

"You don't bleed water, human."

---

The campfire began to die down as orange danced along the Tree of Life. The inevitable was drawing closer. Dark Matter was known around the world, and similar reports of people being turned to stone were reaching them, though Xerneas already knew. Leaves had begun falling from the Tree of Life, and for the first time, dark patches began making their presence known. Fragments of its great vines had begun to wither and fall, one of which was the kindling for their fire tonight.

Mew yawned, and disregarding personal space entirely, rested upon the human's shoulder. He didn't budge, continuing to stare off into the crackling sparks. Soon they'd retreat into the tents that Miles had shown them how to make with Ariados' help. And that had not been all; following his increasingly-frequent sparring sessions with Machamp, the articles of clothing Miles had worn were starting to need replacement, and he had prepared garments with the usage of her silk, wool and flax.

"I don't suppose you have any good stories to tell us from your world?" Mew asked. Miles continued staring, and for a moment, it was unclear whether or not she had managed to break him from his trance.

"If I did, they were long before my time."

She craned her head to the side. "Not even one?" He paused for a moment.

"Maybe glimpses, but nothing was enough to overtake the misery within my planet. We used to have billions. Now there are only ten thousand or so. We are not even aware of any settlements outside of our own, and each year resources grow scarcer. Many tough decisions were made on who to save or who to leave to their inevitable deaths." He slightly turned his head, eyes falling to the pink feline. "So no, not even one."

"Geez, I'm sorry I asked…" But Miles shook his head at that statement.

"Don't be. If anything, use it as an example of what not to do."

"How did your world end?" Hydreigon asked. "Well… I suppose 'end' is a poor choice of words since there is still life there."

"No, it isn't. Our Xerneas is dead." That got the legendary to perk up despite his sluggish demeanor. "All that remains for the most part is a few dragons and biomechanical pokémon – those that were more resilient – and a handful of other species that only survived because they lived within our settlement. The remnants of my world are mostly inhabited by the very people who destroyed it."

"Arceus…" Hydreigon murmured. Now it seemed like he, too, was sorry that he asked.

"Our world ended in fire, too, but ours was not supernatural. It didn't have to be." He looked back at the campfire. "We burned our own world to the ground. We made more than a hundred thousand weapons powerful enough to level multiple cities and then pointed them at each other. At other countries. And all it took was one single person – one single egomaniac to lash out over the state of the world not going his way. And within minutes it was too late. It has been fifty years and what's left of the world is still deteriorating."

"Fifty years? Nature should have begun to mend itself by then," Xerneas said. Miles only forced a chuckle.

"You would think, wouldn't you? We'd had several nuclear incidents prior to our apocalypse, and in those cases, even with the radiation, nature did find a way to come back albeit with mutations. But we made bombs that weren't there to just destroy everything in their path. We made weapons whose sole purpose was to spread contamination that wouldn't go away anytime soon, packed with cesium-137. Fifty years later we still have to scan for it every damn day. It's in the ground, it's in the air, and we've long run out of the medication needed to stop it. They say it will still be a problem for another century or two. All those who live on land are estimated to be gone within twenty years. They say plant life will eventually come back and that there are probably some pokémon who survived in the ocean. And then, after another few thousand years have passed, maybe they'll do the same thing all over again."

"I see now why you were so accepting of our proposition," Hydreigon admitted.

"You all still have something to fight for, and as long as I am able, I see no reason for your world to suffer the same fate as mine."

They dismissed for the night. Xerneas looked towards the heavens as they retreated to their tents, asking for a word with Miles while Mew prepared for bed. Her tent was shared with Zangoose and Decidueye – both members of Tyranitar's squad who had been reawakened from their stone-set prisons. Neither of the girls wanted to talk much about what they'd seen during that time. Miles eventually was dismissed, though his face was even more stoic than usual after wrapping up his private conversation, and he retreated to his private tent for the night.

She should have left well enough alone, but sleep came with a struggle that night and she eventually found herself back outside. Moonlight was the only source of light amongst the camp, though she could rectify that issue in a moment provided she had no qualms with waking anyone else up to a flamethrower. Mew went to the stream for a drink, then begrudgingly decided upon giving sleep another chance.

That is, until she saw Miles. She paused as he drifted past the edge of camp and into denser brush, holding something she couldn't quite make out in his right hand. Mew cocked her head, then turned towards her tent but couldn't find it within herself to fly to it. Instead, she decided to follow him from afar. He went to the large slag of limestone and sat down, and upon floating closer, she saw his tattered uniform in hand.

"You know, for someone who doesn't make so much as a sound when flying, you really could work on your stealth game." Miles didn't so much as turn around to confirm his suspicions.

"How did you—"

"Wouldn't be a good soldier if I couldn't tell when someone was slipping up on me." Mew groaned to herself, unsure if she should leave and respect his initial attempt at privacy. But he turned his neck slightly, the corner of his eye catching hers. "Couldn't sleep either?"

She shook her head. "Why do you have that?" His eye left her gaze, focusing on the uniform with his name embroidered up top.

"It's all but torn in half. Time to retire it." But his cap, which had shown nearly no similar signs of damage, was amongst the articles he was about to dispose of.

"Mind if I hang with you a bit?" He shook his head. "Awesome. We can fail to fall asleep together." Maybe it was more than a bit forward when he'd likely come out here to have a moment alone, but it was too late for thoughts of that nature. "So, I've been thinking…"

"Hmm?"

"You've told us about your world… or what's left of it… but you haven't really said much about yourself." A grunt left the human. His hands clenched the uniform a bit tighter.

"Not much to say on that front."

"Oh, nonsense."

Miles shifted in his spot to gain a better view of her, which she rectified by floating directly in front of him, albeit upside down. Whether he found her childish antics amusing, he didn't show it. "Why does it matter?"

"Why does it matter? Miles, you're the hero about to save our entire world. That's like… the most exciting thing ever. Obviously I'd want to know more about you." She rolled her eyes. "Of course, I can take a few guesses from Hydreigon's spell."

"Really? Not sure why he saw something like that in me. No one in my world fits the bill of some 'vanquisher of darkness' or whatever he was looking for. Hell, if anything, we're the best spreaders of it," he replied.

Mew giggled. "And yet here you are, willing to risk your life to save a world that isn't yours."

"There's not much of a risk if I'm ensured victory. Plus, it's not like I've got anything to go back to."

That couldn't be true. Almost everyone had family or friends, right? "So you mean to tell me that there's absolutely nobody you're close with."

"Kind of hard to get close to anyone when you see as much death as we have. Nobody is guaranteed anything, much less survival. That makes it hard to get close to anyone, let alone look forward to tomorrow."

"Well that's sad." She said it as though it were some formerly unknown truth. "But you know what? That's an awful lot like how we felt before you came into the picture. We'd lost all hope, and then one day we learn that there's a guarantee of victory somewhere out there."

"Not sure what that's supposed to mean in my ca—"

"I mean," Mew continued, cutting him off, "that there's nothing wrong with holding a little bit of faith that things might work out after all."

He forced a dry laugh at that one. "Faith as a concept more or less disappeared after we destroyed our own world, Mew. That didn't take some divine power. We did it just fine ourselves."

"And yet here you are, living proof that not all of your kind is the same. Guess what? You're no different than any other species in that regard. I mean if the world was dominated by my kind, then who knows? We might've done the same thing." He shrugged. Maybe he bought that, maybe not. "Now I'm not getting any younger here. So let's hear about friends and family."

Miles took a moment to answer, and when he did, she mentally punched herself for having pressed. "No family left. I killed Mom by being born, and Dad got a lethal dose of radiation after a mission went wrong. Took him a month to fall apart and waste away."

"I…" She swallowed nervously. "I'm sorry, Miles."

"Like I said, we have grown used to it."

"Are there… any friends at least? There has to be someone…"

"I guess. Some of my comrades aren't all that bad." She sighed; finally, some shine of positivity in a sea of black. "There's a young one in particular. Name's Joshua. Come to think of it, he's a lot like you. Always trying to look at the bright side of things. Like some naïve, overly-energetic child – even when everything around him was falling apart."

"Not sure if I should take that as a complement or an insult. I'll take the liberty of interpreting it as the first." There it was, though – a grin, paired with a few laughs, dying out just as fast. So there was still a sense of humor in there, and more than anything, it spurred her on. She wanted to draw that out of him, to kindle it and protect it from ever fading again.

"Yeah. He was neat to talk to. Always had stories about the days before the bombs – he'd gone through most the books in our library. Hell, by now he might've finished the rest."

"See? You still do have at least something back there."

"Kind of pales in comparison to the fact that we're all a few decades away from extinction," Miles said. "In this world, I don't have to walk outside in a plastic suit just to gather resources for a dying camp, then come back home and get my body scanned for contamination. Here I've got a chance… and I want to take it." That brought his gaze back to the uniform. "I don't want to go back, Mew. So I want to bury that life and never give it a second thought." She nodded – an understandable wish. Maybe he was the lucky one, summoned to save – and live in – a world without desolation. But that was fine. It wasn't like there was anything she could do about it, anyways.

"Well I think you'll have more than a chance," she happily chimed. "Before you came, we were in a similar situation. But we found you – and that proves that there was always hope. Things will work out for your world, too – I just know it!" He nodded, though it was clear that he wasn't convinced.

"Still, I do not wish to return."

"And why should you? You've made quite an impression here. Don't think I didn't see Xerneas calling you over for a private chat." Certainly hadn't been the first time. Mew waited for a response, but none came initially. "Soo… not gonna tell me what it was about?"

"Not sure you'd like to know."

"Well now I feel like I have to." She turned herself right-side up, placing her hands to her hips. Miles sighed.

"Xerneas is dying."

Mew's mouth opened but she failed to produce any sound. Of course, they knew to expect this eventually. Dark Matter had spread across the continents, stormed the seas, and was conglomerating within the Tree of Life with each passing day. But finding out that the source of life on their planet was starting to near its end was something she wasn't expecting tonight. Miles hadn't been exaggerating.

"The time's almost come," Miles continued. "Xerneas will no longer be able to maintain his corporeal form. I was told Hydreigon should still be able to do so for some time; apparently he was given much more autonomy from the Tree itself. But either way, the fight's almost here – and that fight will be ours alone."

It was certainly a lot of weight for two people to bear. But Mew had already become acquaintances with hopelessness before; she wasn't about to do so again. "If that's the way things are gonna be, then we'll face it together." And despite everything, she managed a smile. "Now, I do believe you had a reason for coming here. Were you planning on burying that, or did you have something else in mind?" He pulled out a small piece of flint, causing her to roll her eyes. "Well, if we're setting the forest on fire, then allow me." A simple flamethrower would make short work of it.

As the old uniform shriveled and darkened within the blaze, Mew rested on his lap.

---

When Xerneas didn't show up the following morning, neither Miles nor Mew were surprised. Leaves were falling from the great, decaying tree. Dark Matter was beginning to lose interest in maintaining secrecy, and as they ate in somber silence, masses of corruption formed and slithered towards the remnants of Xerneas' essence. Though Miles and the pokémon fought it off at every opportunity, it was never enough to halt the onslaught.

And eventually, Dark Matter began using other pokémon to engage in its war. Hydreigon encouraged them to stand firm; victory was theirs in due time, and nobody would be lost. But mortal fear began to seize ahold of everyone once people began to disappear. At one point a Haunter had lurched from the earth, intending on sinking its claws into Mew, and Miles dispelled the creature into writhing gas that faded away with a single swipe of his sword. She stuck to Miles like glue after that, never more than the stretch of her tiny arm away from him, as his hand rested on his sword's hilt. Both him and the Voice of Life seemed to be the only ones capable of maintaining their composure. And why shouldn't he? Miles had trudged through the valleys of death many times before.

Dark Matter made no effort to hide its effects on the woods, either. Once a quiet refuge of lush greenery, death surrounded them as it attempted to claim this world. Cries of pokémon carried across the land. Birds flew overhead, gazing down at them with predatory glares, and the ground itself seemed to churn with every step, Miles' steel clacking with each one.

"Hey Miles…"

"Hmm?"

"I don't… suppose you've got any particularly encouraging stories from your world in mind…"

He paused, checking a twirling mass of shadow as it ascended the tree. Soon. "We will be fine. You know this."

"Th-that doesn't mean this isn't terrifying now!" Despite the heat of an ever-nearing sun, the world was growing darker as the abomination claimed their environment.

"One comes to mind. A story of a detective by the name of Pierre Conrad who began to piece together a case against an organized crime syndicate."

Mew cut a glare towards him. "I don't know what half of those words mean, Miles."

"He was someone the authorities paid to find bad people. And he found a whole nest of them." That gave her a bit more to work with. For the moment, the fact that they were surrounded by evil incarnate was forgotten. "The detective began getting too close for comfort. Naturally, the bad people couldn't have that. They sent someone to meet him at the train station one night."

"Oh…"

"Not what you think," Miles said. "Killing a police officer is messy. It attracts all sorts of trouble. It was much better for those types to bribe Conrad – to pay him to stop looking into matters and to destroy any evidence he'd found. So they sent a messenger to Conrad to get that offer across. But Conrad sent a message of his own. He wasn't going to stop until they were behind bars, so as you can imagine, things escalated."

"I'd imagine not for the better…"

"They couldn't buy him, so they discredited him. He was incorruptible, but other officers were not. The mob paid one officer in particular to plant evidence against Conrad – to testify against him. And they threatened the judge by sending pictures of his granddaughter, telling him that a particular ruling would guarantee her safety – and any mention of the plot would guarantee her head at his doorstep."

"…And this is your planet before everything got ruined?"

"Conrad had nobody on his side. His wife left him, his job was gone, and as he awaited a trial that should never have been instigated, he decided to take matters into his own hands. If the law wouldn't right the wrongs, then he would do it himself. He armed himself, went to the mob boss' mansion, and took care of the matter. The law had been too compromised to enact justice, so he did it himself. In the end, it cost him everything – his life included. And after the deaths of twenty-three members of the syndicate – including the leader – information began to leak out and the world learned of Conrad's setup and his final stand. I imagine his wife felt particularly stupid amidst that."

"…You know, I think we need to have a discussion as to what an 'encouraging story' is…" Mew said.

"Not all good stories have happy endings, Mew." Miles eyed a mass of shadow that had quickly retreated into shrubbery. The air was stale and the world looked like an ever-stretching, darkened catacomb. If Dark Matter was sure to lose, then at least it would let everyone know what it was capable of. "A good story conveys a message. Conrad was deemed a controversial figure for having taken the law into his own hands, but everyone could agree that he was uncompromisable and courageous. I wager that if there had been more people like them, my world would not have destroyed itself."

---

The attacks became frequent. People started going missing, only to return with the void of darkness along their bodies, targeting former friends and buying time for Dark Matter's final offensive. Decidueye was one of the first wielded against her own, her previously fiery irises overtaken with pulsing darkness. Arrows flew towards her comrades far faster than they could have on their own accord, and everyone dipped and dodged, attacked from a distance but without wanting to harm her. They bounced harmlessly from Miles' plate armor.

Hydreigon rotated masterfully, an arrow scraping his underside as he pivoted around a tree with impossible maneuverability, charging Decidueye with a hastily-formed barrier, arrows being caught within it as he slammed into her. She screeched as she fell from the sky. Miles ran forth, sword raised as she tried to get up in her dazed state.

"STOP!" Hydreigon yelled.

It came down right as he landed. Decidueye fell to the ground, surely dazed for some time after a blow from the flat of his sword. He turned to face the dragon, eyes narrowed as sweat trickled between. "F-forgive me. It looked like you would…"

Miles grunted as he picked up the downed pokémon by a folded wing. The darkness infesting her recoiled away from his gauntlet as he carried her towards their wounded allies. All this work to spare a single pokémon – one which could have easily ended their plans. And now, having taken control of her, if only for a few days, Dark Matter was aware of their stockpile of luminous water – the one thing that they had to save one another from their stone-turned forms. He all but dropped her into the pool, submerging it so that the darkness was burned away, and lifted her just as quickly. Unconscious, but cleansed. But now that Dark Matter knew of the luminous water, there would surely be attempts at destroying it.

And when the last leaves of the Tree of Life began to fall, that was precisely what happened.

---

The final days began with tremors and fire. Miles readied his sword and the pokémon their powers. Mew levitated a mere foot to his right as the ground became unsteady, balance threatening to give way, before a geyser of dirt and sediment sprung up from beside the blessed pool of water, particles of light stinging him as it threatened to rid the darkness. But the damage had already been done.

"NO!" Hydreigon yelled, hurling the pokémon away with a fiery blast. Another came from directly underneath – both pawns that Dark Matter had been ready to sacrifice to remove their one defense. And it had worked flawlessly.

"Dammit…" Miles murmured as the steelix writhed in place, darkness trying to maintain its control over the first creature, froth forming at his mouth as he twitched. Then he snapped back and caught Machamp with a sweep of his tail, sending a resounding smack throughout the camp.

The fighting-type rolled over and tried to push himself up. His attempt was abandoned just as quickly, though, when the dark blotch raced along his skin, sinking inside of him as he howled out in pain, crawling towards the water source that had drained away.

There was no time to react. Pokémon swarmed the camp – a true assault. Dark Matter's attempt to subvert their expectations of victory. Miles' sword danced. He had no time to think of whether he should use the flat or the blade; reactions had to be made as the swarm closed in. His allies scattered and attacked, fending off the horde of faces, both new and familiar, as chaos was unleashed.

Miles squared off against their friends – if they were still in there at all. Zangoose made quick jabs at the creases of his armor, even drawing a slim trickle of blood at one point, while Ariados stuck webs to him and slowed his movements. The human spun around, slicing through the adhesive string and pivoted around in time to catch Zangoose with the edge of his greave. She rolled over as though she'd been decapitated. As he charged Ariados, a blast caught her and sent her flying. The tip of a mandible stayed in place.

Fire spread through the trees as Mew soared above. Tyranitar fought off Machamp's advances, absorbing blow after blow with nothing to show for it, stamping the ground and tearing it free, launching sediment as Dark Matter's puppet tried to assume control over him again. But a web caught his ankle, pulling him down – Ariados having landed her shot from the foliage. "Look out!" Mew yelled, barely managing to lift a boulder in time to protect him. Tyranitar still jumped back as it shattered, particles of void flinging off in every direction, and the ground began to quake once more. But not because of him.

A root sprung up and coiled around him swiftly, catching him in place as Machamp lunged forth. His roars died out as the darkness overtook his body, leaving stone in its place. The fighting-type turned towards them.

It overtook them like a hurricane, darkened winds whipping through the forest and stripping the Tree of Life of its final leaves as pokémon charged them. Hydreigon took on the two Steelix, immune to Dark Matter's capabilities but not to its physical prowess. Miles leapt over a low sweep of the tail – surely enough to shatter his legs – and went for Zangoose, swinging his blade and keeping her at distance while avoiding Decidueye's arrows. They bounced from his armor, getting dangerously close to joints. A dash to the side, then she pivoted. Her attempt at contact was interrupted by a kick to her front. The human rushed to the downed pokémon and stomped her leg against one of the Tree of Life's roots, hearing a crunch but no cry of pain.

"HUMAN!" the hurricane roared. His eyes darted around for the source. Darkness coagulated, and from within he could see Machamp's figure approaching. His massive hand was clutched around Mew's neck, squeezing the life out of her, and the fighting-type's gaze fell to Miles.

"LET HER GO!" Miles' grip tightened around the hilt, but he knew that if took a single step towards them, Dark Matter would end her. Hydreigon landed beside him, arms and frayed wings bloodied from battle.

"I know I don't win this," Dark Matter said. "I've absorbed enough of your friends' memories to know that you claim victory this time around."

"Then why keep fighting?"

He pivoted Mew's struggling body to face him, though he looked at her with disinterest. "Your kind and I are not all that different. After all, your people keep fighting despite their world dying more and more each day." Dark Matter held Mew towards Mile, and he saw the mortal terror in her. A look he'd seen before: someone's life flashing before their eyes. He was about to charge – she was going to die if he didn't at least try! But then the abomination spoke again. "I cannot win this time. I know that much. But I can drag her to the lowest pits of the abyss and spend the next several years slowly tearing her soul from her body! And when she passes to the life beyond, I'll leave you her skull!"

"PUT HER DOWN!"

"Sure." Stone spread across her skin as the life drained from her eyes. Miles could only watch as her body turned to stone, and Dark Matter dropped her in place, taking a step back, closing Machamp's eyes and tilting his head back. He inhaled and then sighed. "I smell her fear even from here. Ohhh, she's trying to put up a fight in my realm. But no one has prevailed there yet."

Miles looked at Hydreigon. For once in his life he knew fear. For once, he had lost something that he had wanted to protect. No… it wasn't lost. Not yet.

Dark Matter grinned, knowing that he had gotten what he'd wanted. And when Miles began removing his armor, the Voice of Life understood as well. "NO MILES!"

"I'm not leaving her to that monster!"

"SHE IS GONE!"

"No…" the human said, tossing his gauntlets aside. "I will find her."

"YOU CANNOT! YOU CANNOT JEOPARDIZE THE FATE OF THE WORLD!" He grabbed Mile's shoulder before he could continue, but the human only shoved the dragon off. Immediately Dark Matter lashed out. A black tendril shot outwards and grabbed Hydreigon, holding him still as Miles hesitated for but a moment. He thrust his sword into the Tree of Life's root, set his helmet on top, and finally unlatched the chest plate.

Ice shot through his veins as it began. Miles' vision faded instantly, his skin hardening from the outside first, and a final breath forced its way from his mouth.

---

His vision returned almost in an instant, and any coldness that had once been felt was immediately forgotten amidst the nearby pool of magma. His boots scraped against obsidian as he turned around and frantically looked for her, and it didn't take long. Shadow bled from the ground, liquid taking physical form and turning into various pokémon as it overwhelmed Mew and their allies who had met similar fates in the world above.

But all that stopped for a split second upon Miles' arrival. Dark Matter's horde lashed out and knocked them down before charging the human – their true target all along. Miles took a deep breath, and machine-like calm took over as they came closer. He tightened his fists.

A roar stretched across the pits and the ground was torn open. The human struggled to retain his balance as molten rock sprayed upwards, burning Dark Matter's minions as they cried out in warped voices, shadow burning into embers which faded in the wind. He looked around for the source, and it didn't take long for him to find it. Walking across the magma was a heavily-muscled beast, maw curled into an almost feral snarl as his eyes fell to the strange creature ahead of him.

Mew flew into Miles' chest. "W-what are you doing here?!"

The human swallowed as he still maintained the entei's gaze. "I came for you." Their allies looked puzzled – maybe even offended. After all their sacrifices, the human destined to save their world had tossed it all aside for this? But Mew stayed silent, clamping her mouth shut and looking down. They hadn't heard what Dark Matter had intended for her, and Miles wasn't about to let that happen.

"This isn't it," Miles stated. "We are far from dead. You've come back before." He motioned to Tyranitar and the few members of his crew present with him, consisting of Heliolisk, Marowak and Arcanine – the only other pokémon not struggling with the temperature here.

"But we don't have Xerneas or the luminous water. So what now?"

"I do not know." He could tell by Tyranitar's face that he wasn't satisfied with that answer, but any further questions died as the entei approached.

"You have taken a stupid risk coming here." She seemed to lack even a trace of gentleness, though whether that was her personality or due to the situation at hand was up for debate.

"Not a risk. We have seen the future, and it is one that I am victorious – and none of us die. Even Dark Matter wasn't confident about changing that outcome. But… I was not about to let the abomination's threats play out." And there was certainly comradery to be had by that; nobody could be upset with him over those words. "Given the certainty of our victory, there must be a way out."

"There is." The entei walked past him without so much as a glance. She looked towards a distant mountaintop – probably two days' travel if they pushed it – and huffed. It was evident that Dark Matter was trying to protect something there. The storm swirled around, and its very eye hovered over the summit. "My mate and I were close, but he fell there. If there is any chance of bringing him back, I will take it. He told me to seek out the human." She glanced towards Miles. "I assume he meant this hairless creature. Whatever you possess that we lack, I do not know, but you will have my aid in reaching the Door to Hope."

---

It never let up. Dark Matter, despite knowing of its upcoming defeat, was still determined to keep them here for as long as possible. What possessed such a creature to fight, knowing that defeat was ensured? But Mile knew all too well; the abomination and his own kind shared that. It was the desperation of a wounded animal, clawing and fighting for just a few more breaths. It was tenacity that anyone could unlock if strained hard enough.

They rested only when absolutely necessary and when they were sure that they weren't being followed. Mew had Tyranitar's help in carving into stone, detailing Dark Matter's existence and what its goals were. If this was going to happen again in the future, then it helped anyone who might one day find themselves in a similar situation.

Magma became scarce and the temperature approached semi-bearable levels. Miles' clothing was drenched in sweat as they scaled Reverse Mountain, but that didn't seem to perturb Mew, who decided to climb onto his shoulder and rest. At least it wasn't much added weight.

'Hey.'

'Yes?'

'Why are you here?' she asked. He furrowed his brow in response to that.

'Like I said before,' Miles mentally replied, 'I wasn't going to let that abomination hurt you. And that wasn't a risk. We know that we're both there to face off against Dark Matter – one way or another.'

'Then you could just as easily have stayed there. Maybe I would've found my way out.'

He sighed. If the future was set, then any path he could've taken would have gotten them to that same point regardless. That thought hadn't occurred to him when he'd begun stripping his armor.

Miles remained silent.

'I'm talking to you, ya know.'

'I am aware.'

'So what gives?' Mew asked.

'I do not know. You're right. But even if there was no chance of your death… I just… I had to be sure.'

Mew tilted her head. '…Why?'

'Because for the first time in my entire life, I have something actually worth protecting. And I'm not losing that. I'm not losing you.'

She didn't ask anything more on the matter, going as silent as he had been prior. But she did tighten her grip on his collar slightly.

---

Dark Matter had summoned all of its forces, raining down formless shadows upon them, taking the forms of powerful pokémon and throwing everything it had towards them. It roared and snarled at them, masses of hatred and venom swirling about, doing everything in its power to keep them here. Entei roared and met its challenge, shattering stone and raining down fire upon the enemy. A false charizard fell from the sky and released a distorted cry as shadow seeped from where blood should have been. The legendary charged and collided. He rolled over and she was immediately on him, pinning his body down with a massive paw and closing her jaws around the neck, tearing back and opening it up.

But it was never enough. A few times – a few precious seconds – and the door would reveal itself. Miles had to be careful; without armor or his sword, there was little defense aside from his own physical strength. And Dark Matter was sure to capitalize on that. If it couldn't win, it would at least injure the human – if only for the sake of inflicting pain. Cuts and gashes oozed from under his shirt as an aggressive bisharp targeted Miles specifically. It melted away with a feral shriek when Mew forced the steel-type back into a pool of magma formed by Entei.

Mew fought especially close to him. In that moment, when hope was but a few flickers in the distance, she refused to leave his side. She protected the human who had returned for her with every fiber of her being. And in that moment, as Miles slammed his foot on a downed electrike's skull, he knew why people fought when there was no hope left.

The swarm became greater and greater, and they were surrounded by masses of shadow, sometimes not even bothering to form into pokémon as Dark Matter closed in on them. The Door of Hope stopped appearing altogether. But Miles wouldn't abandon it. They had seen a future with their victory – Dark Matter couldn't change that.

"Run, human! You and the mew! Towards the door!" Entei yelled, her body becoming enshrouded in flames – enough to melt the flesh from any who might linger too close.

"Go! We've got this!" Tyranitar yelled. He and the others fell in line with her plan, shielding Miles and Mew from the shadow, lashing out and using their own bodies when necessary to keep the shadow contained.

"We… we're going to kill this thing! And we're coming back for all of you!"

"See to it that you do!" With that, Entei planted her feet and roared. The mountain seemed to tremble as pieces of it were ripped free, glowing hot as she unleashed every ounce of power in her arsenal. Miles' ears rang as a deafening silence overtook them. Flaming meteors crashed down; magma whipped and churned towards Dark Matter's army, cascading down the mountainside and consuming everything in its way. The door appeared and they rushed through.

As light encompassed Miles and Mew, he saw Entei fall on her side.

---

Miles snapped free as fragments of stone fell from his body. Each breath came with a desperate struggle as he looked around, trying to regain his bearings. The world shook violently; the tree's roots pulled themselves free as void coursed along its veins. This was it – the diversion Dark Matter had been hoping for. Nobody else was in sight. No one save for one other person.

She grasped at her neck as though the strain from several days ago had been seconds ago, then looked at him. Miles smiled despite the end. He grabbed his armor – unable to be touched by the menace – and felt renewed. His sword felt an extension of his own arm, and he looked at its shimmering blade. Destiny would not be forsaken. Hydreigon's words of prediction would ring true.

And he shall plunge his sword into the darkness.

"Come on. We've got a world to save."

---

The tree attacked them at every turn. Miles had to expect every step, every glance, to greet them with another attempt. "Stay close behind me," he told Mew. His armor could withstand Dark Matter, and she could offer a defense against attacks from behind.

And then it broke free. The Tree of Life rose violently, knocking Miles off his footing. Its roots lashed out, shadow pokémon lunging at them – a final surprise. Mew shot flames in every direction as Miles pivoted and slashed through the fire, twisting and slicing through his bindings as he worked back onto his feet. A rhydon charged forth and slammed into Miles but failed to knock him down. The human met him head on and shoved back, blade wedged between them, the creature's horn trying to jab at his neck. His gauntlet met the pokémon's stomach several times and he ducked under its grasp before shoving it back, pulling his sword back and thrusting forth. It fell shortly after, a hole carving into its chest cavity.

Each time he struck, the blade came back clean, shadow parting and burning away from the blessed steel. He lost count as it all merged into a violent blur. Heads rolled and evaporated away. Bugs swarmed as they ascended. A scyther constantly struck, attacking with blinding speed as its scythes bounced off of Miles' armor, only to flee and wait for another chance. And that chance eventually came. Miles hissed as the bug-type's blade found the unguarded spot of his gauntlet, opening the muscle on the back of his hand and causing the sword to drop. He faced the creature headfirst while Mew shot lightning at the gardevoir trying to seize ahold of their bodies.

He blocked a barrage of swipes with his gauntlets, letting his armor do its job as he tried to close the distance. The scyther kicked the sword away before lunging at Miles. It was blindingly fast, each twitch of its muscles leading to a motion that the human hardly had time to react to. So he threw caution into the wind altogether: Miles swung his arm aside as the blade connected, chipping the bug's blade and knocking it off guard. His helmet found the scyther's face and cracked the exoskeleton. Blood. Not darkness, but an actual creature under control. It made little difference at this moment.

Miles snatched the creature's arm, well above the blade, and slung him over his shoulder. The sound of chitin impacting wood could be heard throughout the tree. The scyther barely had time to utter a noise before Miles stomped its wings, then the joint of its leg, its warbled cries failed to be contained by its possessor.

Mew panted heavily as the gardevoir released a moonblast, deflecting it aside with a labored barrier. From the corner of her eye she saw Miles race to the side and snatch up his sword – and the enemy psychic did as well. She launched a thunderbolt towards Miles and connected, his steel armor serving as the perfect conduit, but only managed it for a second as Mew put herself between the human and her, deflecting the attack before responding in kind. She chased the gardevoir through the air, twisting and turning, dodging the other pokémon's projectiles while responding in kind. Gardevoirs were nothing if not threatening, but Mew was faster. She sped into the creature and struck with an iron tail, knocking the gardevoir back and stunning her for just a second. That second was all Mew needed to land a flash cannon.

The graceful psychic fell to the ground and cried out. Dark Matter wouldn't hesitate, though, still trying to wrangle control of a body barely conscious, and she rolled over – only for the flat of Miles' blade to impact her head. He readjusted his gauntlet and nodded towards Mew. They continued on their way.

---

It was struggling and it was dying. Dark Matter hurled every curse and every cry, unleashing its hatred and rage from within its gnarled, twisted shell. The monument of sin, blotting out approaching sunlight as air grew thinner, lashed out at them with everything it had left. Tendrils of shadow attempted to impede them. Large arms dripped with venomous void as spikes shot from the ground in a desperate attempt to impale the human. His blade and armor shone with a radiance the abomination could not bear.

Mew supported where she could, attacking in response to Dark Matter's advances. It slashed out chaotically; there was no calculation to its motions, but that of a wild animal flailing about, gnashing its fangs as it was bled dry. Miles' sword danced through the darkness and severed its limbs each time it struck forth, their ears ringing as it shrieked and slashed. The psychic-type caught a jab aimed at her torso as Miles brought his blade through its shadowy mass, breaking it free into particles which dissipated away, then spun and parried a slash away from his neck.

The abomination was running out of options and tried taking the tree with it. Massive limbs began to shake, fragments breaking free and being hurled at the two heroes – Dark Matter's last resort. "Mew!"

"On it!" She couldn't stop all their momentum, but she could redirect the projectiles if only by a little. And a little was all that Miles needed. He rolled to the side as the field of battle threatened to break from beneath them, leaping towards the enemy before his footing fell towards the unimaginably far ground. But his aim held true.

Dark Matter screeched as the sword slid against its core. Miles yanked it out and grabbed the hilt with both hands, slamming the blade down again. There was a sound like shattering stone as its black shell fractured and fell apart. The violet core within was naked. Defenseless. The human pulled back his glowing sword, ready to strike the abomination down for good.

'HheHeHehEHe… yOu will NEvEr bE rID oF Me. I WiLl aLWAyS Be ArOuNd.' Whether its voice carried throughout the hearts of all creation, or just theirs, Miles knew not. Nor did he care.

"Then I will strike you down again." He swung again, cracking the core almost entirely in half, ripping it free from what remained of the monster before swinging again. Perfectly in half. But Dark Matter still spoke.

'I-I… aM a pARt oF tHiS uNiVeRSe. In tHe EnD, eVeRYthInG wiLL bURn.' The human struck again, cracking each fragment of the core into smaller and smaller pieces, particles of the dying tree returning to it with each blow. 'L-LikE… yOur kINd… I w-wILl… pErSErveRe.'

"Then we will fight… until the end of time," Miles huffed, slamming his sword down again. Then again. Countless tiny gemstones containing the dying traces of Dark Matter shone underfoot.

'I rEtUrn fRoM wHeNCe I CamE… B-BacK iNtO… tHe heArTS… Of mOrtAls. AnD wHeN I r-reTurN… sTroNgeR tHan EvEr… I kNoW hOw tO StoP yOu…'

Mew snickered despite their exhaustion. "Then that sounds like a problem for then. But for now, you aren't taking our world." The pink feline glanced over at Miles and grinned. "Send it back to hell."

Miles aimed the sword at the mass as Mew forced it into a pile, lifting it with both hands, and thrust it downwards, keeping the glowing blade within Dark Matter's remnants. A shrill cry was released as the enemy exploded, shimmering particles contained within raining down on all creation.

And then, silence.

---

Mew was greeted by a smiling Xerneas when she woke up, informed that she and Miles had slept for nearly a day and a half after their fight, though the human had woken a few hours before her. Hydreigon had carried news of what had happened across the wind. There was great celebration to be had; candles were lit throughout the legendary's forest – throughout settlements across the entire world – and feasts were held. A wooden table was lined with vegetables and grains, fish and fowl, flatbreads and mashed berries and simple cakes.

She spoke of their journey and of their fights. Of the courage of Entei and Tyranitar's group in facing innumerable foes – of her and Miles' ascent. And she spoke of the human who had carved Dark Matter into a million pieces, freeing the world from its control. The human in question smiled but offered few words on his own accord. "It was mostly the sword and armor. So thank Magmortar and Xerneas."

"Aye! But I imagine the wielder wasn't too shabby!" Magmortar said with a laugh. The legendary bowed and gave a smile, but said nothing.

"Everyone here fought brutally. The warriors from my former world would have been impressed. I may have struck the killing blow, but you all built the path for me to walk. A human did not save your world – you all did. Thank Celebi for her revelations. Thank the Voice of Life for summoning me in the first place." The human took a sip from his wine, then nodded towards Mew. "And thank this little ball of fur for giving me a reason to fight again."

Mew smiled the same as anyone else there. But there was something else – something that made her freeze nervously. The human joined the conversation again, exchanging stories with the others and listening to their fights throughout the underworld, but Mew found herself unable to speak. It felt surreal to have had an effect like that on someone's life – to be someone's reason for fighting. In truth, she'd never had anyone like that. Yet a creature from another world that had known her for mere months had jumped into hell without a second thought just because he couldn't bear the idea of harm coming to her.

It was when she caught Ariados frantically waving out of the corner of her eye that Mew snapped out of it. The bug motioned her head aside. That's right! She flew away from her spot, ready to present him with their idea of a fitting gift.

Hydreigon laughed while eating, shoveling more food than Miles had touched all night into his main mouth in a matter of minutes. Does the Voice of Life even have an actual stomach? Miles wondered. Or does it just phase out of existence?

"Aye! You aren't tappin' out on us yet, are ya, lad?" After half a dozen drinks, Magmortar now spoke of the human as though they had been long acquainted. His own balance had been compromised half an hour ago.

His thoughts were interrupted when a tiny pair of paws covered his eyes from behind. "Alright, bring it over – quick! Miles, try to sneak a peek and I will knock you out." He was taken back as Mew began shuffling around his plate mail – something she had insisted that he wear to the feast. Then her hands went to his neck. The feline's warm breath was frantic, rushing across his face as she tied something around him. But it was gone just as quickly. "Perfect fit! Open your eyes!"

The pokémon went silent as Miles craned his neck and looked at the crimson garment. "Wow…" It was woolen – perhaps from a mareep? The threads had been woven impressively thin, its coloration deep and uniform.

"I remember you mentioning that knights from your world sometimes had capes," Mew said. "I thought it was silly, of course. Why make a garment that you'd be best removing before a fight?" She giggled, motioning her hand downwards as if showing off the human's form to the crowd. "But now I see why they wore them. It suits you very well."

"I'll say."

"…Okay, I may have had something to do with that. There could have been a few midnight measurements taken…" Miles rolled his eyes as a few people chuckled. Intrusive as the psychic might have been, the gesture couldn't be understated. Mew and Ariados – her work evident from the tiny seams and stitched knitting – had undoubtedly worked on this for dozens of hours these past few days. No wonder his partner had been so scarce.

"It's amazing. Thank you – all of you. Everything that's happened these past months… I know it hasn't been under the best of circumstances, but I'm glad that I was brought to this world. I'm glad to have been given the opportunity to know each and every one of you."

Mew folded her arms. "Look at you, giving a victory speech. Was that typical of knights from your world?" Several others laughed, and just how much alcohol had a say in that wasn't clear.

"I don't think we can call this a victory speech," Miles replied. "Celebi said it herself: Dark Matter will return one day. And when that happens, we need to be prepared to beat it again. As many times as necessary."

And so it was. Preparations would be made for their next round with the abomination. True to his word, Miles would give them what he knew. He would bolster their defenses against Dark Matter and bestow the little bit of knowledge and experience he could in hopes that they would avoid a similarly close call. But tonight, there was only celebration in order.

---

The scene warped once more. The human sat in his full set of armor, glistening from the setting sun as his cape hung idly. In hand, he clutched a set of silver necklaces, each with a pair of flat metal plates and inscriptions. Mew, Celebi and Xerneas were distant, engaged in a conversation of their own, as Hydreigon drifted a few feet away. But this time, things were different. A new look was on his face; he wasn't particularly expressive or jovial before, but now, he seemed devoid of emotion altogether – no different than the conjurations of Dark Matter that they had faced within its realm. Clearly some time had passed since the last vision. "I was asked… if I had any words for my future self. And it is to my understanding that these words will only be for myself at a later date."

This time, the typhlosion stood in front of his human form.

"As I've promised, nobody else will see this," Hydreigon said.

"Well… I never considered myself a man of many words, so I'll keep this short." The human stood up and paused. Then, without so much as a warning, he flung them into the stream below. "It's come to our attention that we will need to be unpredictable. Dark Matter continues to develop in response to any preparations we have made. The only solution will be for us to try something different, and because of this, we've elected to have our memories erased. It… will be a painful process, so I have chosen Claire to do it. I have no doubt that you will understand."

The typhlosion nodded slowly, even if the human couldn't see him.

"It's almost kind of funny. Here I spent all this time preparing for the next fight, only to lose it all at the last moment. I'm in my prime, and yet here I prepare for my own funeral." Ah, so this was it. This was the moment before Miles had stepped into the grave, sending his soul forth to be reborn into the body he now possessed. "I'm sorry that it had to come to this. I'm sorry to drop you off into a new world with only a name and a memory of being human, all to fix a problem that we failed to stop. But that is what it has come to. Hopefully by the time this message has reached you, Dark Matter will be gone for good. But if not…" The human looked towards the typhlosion. At that moment, it seemed like he was staring at a mirror. The typhlosion narrowed his eyes. "I'd ask that you don't make the same mistakes I did. And… not just with Dark Matter. I've helped you to every possible extent that I can. But if you've managed to kill the abomination for good, then you won't have the same situation at hand. There will be no more excuses, and then you will be in a race against the clock. Life is a game of risks, and if you're anything like me – and I'd wager you are, since you are me – then you've still not acted. One day it will be too late."

Miles wished that the message had been even more cryptic. He wished that he could say that he didn't understand what the human was speaking about, but unfortunately he did. They typhlosion only looked down.

"There comes a time for all of us, Miles. I'm not sure how much of me you'll be taking with you. Unless you were somehow to regain all of your memories, then you will likely feel like a creature of your own making. But you're still me. Our souls are still one, even if you don't feel it." He turned around. The cape glided across the wind with little a sound as steel slid across steel. "So I ask… that you succeed where I failed. I'd wager that your sanity will depend upon it."

Hydreigon tilted his heads, each sporting an uncertain frown. "Miles… are you sure this is the message you want sent? It's a bit dark, don't you think?"

"It is true all the same. I must be warned," the human said. "Because Arceus only knows that I'll make the same mistakes otherwise." Hydreigon offered no more words after that.

They walked in silence. The typhlosion felt himself keeping up with them, though his feet never felt any strain, and soon they were approaching Claire, Celebi and Xerneas. The mew drifted in front of him and held out a small hand. For the first time this vision, the human smiled. "It's time," she said in little more than a whisper. There was fear, uncertainty, anticipation. All of their work would be essentially undone. But it had to be this way; there was no shot at victory otherwise.

"Alright, I have ensured that there are no others who know of the plan," Celebi said. "I know we've gone over this several times, but for my own sanity, I'm going to run through things once more. I don't exactly have room for error. Miles will go first, and Claire will wipe out his memories. We will be sending him to the precise location of Dark Matter's puppets – it is imperative that it thinks that Miles lost his memory by accident. If it were to learn of the plan, then even the possibility of victory might be lost. After that, I take Claire to a point a decade prior as a newborn. Hydreigon will pass the scarves to the right people in the current day, then come back and have his memory wiped. Since these will be my final time jumps before my life comes to a close, I will be of no risk. We will have done everything to bury any knowledge of the plan."

Mew put her weight against the human and closed her eyes. It was then that Miles' present form noticed a large hole, roughly rectangular, near one of the massive roots of the Tree of Life. His grave. "I'll see you on the other side, Miles." And then Xerneas tilted his head upwards. A series of golden lights began to rise from the human's body and he closed his eyes. He fell to his knees, energy leaving his body as his spirit was drawn away. But it never moved on. Instead, Xerneas drew it forth, compressing it into a golden orb as particles began to rise. Just as Hydreigon had formed from the dust of the earth, so did the cyndaquil.

The human fell and moved no more.

"I can only take one at a time, so he goes first," Celebi said. The small fire-type was unconscious, unaware that he would wake up without a single trace of who he was. Unaware of the fact that every pokémon he had ever known from this time period – with the exception of three – would be dead when he woke.

Celebi disappeared with the cyndaquil and silence took over. Claire looked at the fallen human who had saved their world, devoid of breath or spirit, and closed her eyes. He wasn't dead, but yet there was a sense of mourning all the same. "…Hydreigon… help me carry him." They shared the load in levitating his body towards the open grave, setting Miles' human form within it. It was then that the typhlosion realized that Hydreigon had a pair of scarves wrapped his wrist. Claire then brought the human's sword over, laying it across his chest, pointing downwards like the knights he had spoken of in human legends.

A spacetime distortion formed and was closed just as fast. Claire's turn. The mew floated towards her fellow psychic, motioning towards the Voice of Life and his master. "I know I'll see them again someday, but… I don't suppose I can say the same about you…" That much was true. For Claire and Celebi, this was a final goodbye. Miles wondered how many of those they'd had before this moment.

"I suppose not. Not on this side of life." It was a rather abrupt way to part from someone you'd known for however long – someone you'd helped save the world with. "There will be one who takes my place, and he will help you in your time." She looked down and smiled, business having concluded. "I'll miss you, but I'll be watching, okay?" Claire swallowed, then nodded, bringing the small psychic into a hug. And then golden lights began to rise from her body.

Xerneas repeated his previous process, forming a new body from minerals of the earth. A tiny fennekin materialized, small enough to fit in both of his hands as a human, and her heart started beating as Claire's soul was drawn into her new body. The Mew collapsed, her still eyes staring towards the Tree of Life.

The typhlosion watched as Hydreigon buried Claire's former body into the same grave. Inseparable in life and in death. Celebi looked at the infant fennekin before her and sighed, then gave a last look towards Hydreigon and Xerneas. "Goodbye, my friends. I they succeed this time around."

Xerneas gave a slow nod. "As do I…" And with that, Celebi made her final time leap.

Now there were only two. The head on Hydreigon's right arm clamped slightly around the harmony scarves. Objects this powerful couldn't be taken through the temporal rift, and as such, they had to go the long way. Fortunately for immortals, though, time was in no short supply. The dragon opened ethereal eyes, searching for the soul Celebi had spoken of prior to her departure. A gentle dragonair sifted through the wreckage of a small wooden boat by the Water Continent's shores, coiling her tail around a silver chalice with rubies that shone in her dark, beady eyes. "There you are." She was only one person within the required lineage to get these scarves to Claire. "I will return before long."

"I will be here as always," Xerneas replied. The two turned around, with Hydreigon setting off for his destination while the legendary closed the graves of their previous bodies. And with that, the vision faded for good.

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A/N: Special thanks to FuryWrites for beta-reading this chapter.