Xerneas, the Lifebringer, raised his head, his multicolored horns pushing back the encroaching darkness of the chamber, shining like a thousand miniature stars. Yveltal, the Harbinger of Death, rose into the air opposite Xerneas, enshrouded in a storm of darkness through which those in the chamber could only see two glowing red eyes, narrowed to slits.
"Do not interfere." Xerneas's voice radiated through the chamber. "This fight is mine alone."
Yveltal's response was a mocking chuckle. "You always were so incessantly devoted to those beneath us, Xerneas. Someday, your devotion will be the death of you."
"Maybe," said Xerneas. "But that day will not be today."
The storm of Dark energy encompassing Yveltal crackled with power as the Harbinger of Death's blood-red eyes shone with rage.
"I tire of your ramblings," Yveltal snarled. "Dark Aura: Oblivion Wing!"
The storm surged forward. It had only taken a dozen tendrils to finish Lysandre, but now fully a thousand tendrils of pure Dark energy flew from the storm, each one glowing black and red, hungering for flesh, for Life. And with them they brought darkness so choking that even Xerneas's light flickered in the face of it.
The tendrils shifted, parting, morphing into two individual streams. Xerneas watched with little change in demeanor as the tendrils intertwined, Dark energy flowing together, taking form. Two vast wings of pure night rose above the Lifebringer.
"Begone!" Yveltal roared, the Harbinger of Death's voice encompassing all, echoing from every corner, every shadow.
Each massive wing birthed a storm of its own, two tornadoes of darkness descending upon Xerneas, glowing blood red as if lit by fire. The Lifebringer's form disappeared altogether as the tornadoes struck, consuming all in their path. Where they touched, the floor was ripped open, plates of metal tossed from their positions as if they were nothing but paper.
"Fairy Aura: Life Pulse."
And then a surge of blinding white light burst from the epicenter of the tornadoes, ripping them to shreds in an instant. The red light disappeared, the darkness fleeing to the darkest corners of the room and then dissipating when the white light reached even there.
"Dark Aura: Consuming Darkness!" Yveltal retorted. As the light surged towards the dark storm where the Harbinger of Death still resided, the storm lunged once again.
The light arced towards the oncoming storm. Xerneas narrowed his own eyes, and the light began to compress, forming into a single beam. The darkness responded in kind, collecting before the beam of pure light.
Medicham was reminded of Psychic Retribution. How long had it been since she'd used that technique? This beam, however, was much brighter, much larger, and clearly far more powerful.
But it was not enough to defeat the storm.
Instead, the two beams collided and held, neither one faltering or even giving an inch. Xerneas's eyes flared with power; so, in the storm, did Yveltal's.
The beams strained, rippling with Fairy and Dark energy, bursts of power exploding outwards in random directions. Medicham saw cracks forming along the metal walls; a single plate fell to the ground, the should-have-been-deafening crash of its landing obscured by the even louder sound of crackling energy as Xerneas and Yveltal poured more and more power into their respective attacks.
And then the red glow in the storm disappeared. The beam dissipated, and light burst forth and shattered the storm, scattering the darkness back to where it had come from.
Yveltal was not in the storm.
In the next second, Yveltal erupted from the ceiling, the one place where darkness still remained, the storm regathering around him as he dove. "Distortion Shift! Oblivion Wing!"
This time, the thousand red-black tendrils simply lashed out from Yveltal's own wings even as the Harbinger of Death descended on Xerneas. Tendrils wrapped around Xerneas's horns, his body, his limbs. To Medicham's horror, Xerneas began to rot. It was slow, but clear; flakes of skin were falling to the ground, bones were growing more defined.
Xerneas looked up into the face of Yveltal. "Fairy Aura: Life Siphon."
Small beams of light lanced out from each of Xerneas's horns, piercing the storm. Yveltal snarled as Xerneas ceased to rot, the Lifebringer draining Yveltal's life as fast as the Harbinger of Death could drain his.
Yveltal's eyes widened as Xerneas looked up, his eyes gleaming. "Life Pulse."
"Distortion Shift!" Yveltal abandoned the Oblivion Wing and disappeared into nothingness as light burst from Xerneas once again, ripping the red-black tendrils apart.
Xerneas sighed. "Distortional abilities?" he murmured. "Your power has grown, Harbinger."
Yveltal, yet again, descended from the ceiling despite not having been there a second ago. "Indeed, Lifebringer!" the Harbinger of Death exclaimed. "I have bargained with the Lord of Distortion himself to make my power even greater than yours! Giratina himself has granted me strength! Now you see that you can't defeat me, for I have obtained power you could never dream of! Distortion Blast!"
Xerneas glared at Yveltal. "Life Barrage."
The tips of his horns lit up, and a hundred tiny blasts of Life flew from them, arcing towards Yveltal from a hundred different directions just as a hundred spheres of Ghost energy surged from the storm. A hundred miniature black-and-white explosions dotted the chamber. "Distortion Shift!" Yveltal shrieked, disappearing again. This time, he reappeared right behind Xerneas, ever shrouded in his storm.
"Distortion Burst!" Yveltal screeched, hurling a blisteringly fast wave of Ghost energy right into Xerneas's flank. Xerneas staggered under the blast, his flank crackling with black and gray energy. "Dark Aura: Oblivion Wing!" Taking full advantage of Xerneas's staggering, Yveltal reached out with a hundred tendrils and wrapped them around Xerneas's hind legs.
"Fairy Aura: Life Pulse," Xerneas stated, but again Yveltal, with a cry of "Distortion Shift!", faded into nothingness and reappeared on the other side of the room. "Distortion Blast!"
"Fairy Aura: Life Barrier." Fairy energy sprang up into a floating wall before Xerneas, intercepting and dissipating the blast of Ghost energy.
Yveltal's red eyes shone in the storm. "Give up, Xerneas!" he cried. "Give in and accept that my power is greater than yours!"
"Never," the Lifebringer murmured. "Do not presume you have won, Yveltal. You forget that I am one with the world. One with Life itself. And now…"
As the barrier disappeared, its energy seeping back into Xerneas's body, the Lifebringer bowed his head, staring at the ground. Energy rippled through his body, sparking and shining as Xerneas became enshrouded in an aura of Fairy energy.
"…I call upon the world," Xerneas murmured, "to lend me its strength. Geomancy."
The floor rippled as pure Fairy energy burst from Xerneas's body. Medicham beheld a scene that was not within their vision; in a far-off land, a tropical island chain, four beings looked up from their tasks and locked eyes with Xerneas. These four beings Medicham did not recognize, did not know, yet their names flashed through her mind as she beheld them:
Koko, the Tapu of the Skies;
Bulu, the Tapu of the Land;
Fini, the Tapu of the Seas;
Lele, the Tapu of what lay beyond the mortal world.
All of them raised their hands and began to draw Life from their bodies. More scenes flashed before Medicham's eyes: a tree aging and withering in an instant, a raincloud shrinking in seconds, an underwater reef dying while Pokemon both recognizable and completely unknown swam frantically away, and Lele, surrounded by nothingness and still drawing Life from somewhere.
Four beams of Life connected to Xerneas. Xerneas smiled warmly, casting his gaze over all four Tapus. "I thank you."
Then the vision was gone. A wave of Fairy energy swept across the floor, rippling and sparking with borrowed Life. A pink light pervaded over the entire room.
"You forget your place, Harbinger," Xerneas intoned, looking back up at Yveltal. "I may be called the Lifebringer. But my Ability, Fairy Aura, doesn't just bring life. It controls life. I could, in an instant, reach out halfway across the world and snuff out a life. But I don't. Because I care about this world, and I will defend it with my life. And if I need to, the Life of the world itself. You may think your new Distortional abilities can engulf my light, but no amount of Distortion can overpower Life."
"We'll see about that!" Yveltal spat. "Distortion Blast!"
"Fairy Aura: Life Pulse."
The Fairy energy-covered ground rippled and pink light flew from the floor even as Xerneas's horns flashed with blazing light. The wave of Distortion that the Harbinger of Death fired at Xerneas was overpowered in an instant by a blast of Fairy energy mixed with siphoned Life.
Yveltal shrieked with pain as the Life Pulse slammed into him too fast even for him to teleport away, ripping the storm apart before it to reveal Yveltal's body for the first time:. Medicham saw with bleary eyes a constantly-shifting red-and-black expanse, looking very much like a gigantic bird of darkness, with wings of night tipped with claws and feathers made of pure Distortion.
Yveltal's back slammed into the wall, part of the roiling darkness that made up his body torn away by the Life Pulse. Even as Medicham watched he began to heal, taking in darkness from around the room to patch the tear in his body. But the Lifebringer did not wait for his opponent to heal. "Fairy Aura: Life Barrage."
"Dark Aura: Oblivion Wing!" Yveltal screeched. A hundred tendrils leaped from the Harbinger of Death's wings at the oncoming barrage of pink spheres, but again the boost from Geomancy overrode even Yveltal's strength. "Distortion Shift!" Yveltal cried, barely dematerializing in time to avoid the blasts. The wall behind Yveltal exploded under the barrage and several more plates of metal fell to the ground.
Yveltal rematerialized behind Xerneas again. "Distortion Blast!" he screeched.
Xerneas didn't even look up. "Geomancy: Gravitational Pull."
Yveltal's eyes widened as an invisible force slammed into his back and hurled him to the ground. The Distortion Blast flew wildly askew as the force pinned Yveltal down. He struggled furiously, snarling in fury.
"With Geomancy bequeathing me a connection to the world itself," said Xerneas, turning to face the pinned Yveltal, "I can manipulate aspects of the world via its innate Life. Not even you can stand against the world's gravity increased by a hundred times."
Yveltal hissed in rage. "Where…how did you get this kind of power? Where did this new strength come from?"
"I always had this power, Yveltal," Xerneas rumbled. "There is a reason that Life is highly effective against Oblivion. All you achieved with your new strength…was finally getting me to stop holding back. This ends here."
"No…" Yveltal whispered. "NO! Master! I need more!"
"Fairy Aura: Life Barrage." Xerneas's horns began to glow as he readied another blast of Life.
"MASTER!" Yveltal shrieked.
Something in the air rippled. Medicham's eyes widened as a voice rang out, a voice that promised endless pain and suffering, a voice that she would never forget as long as she lived.
"Pressure."
Medicham screamed as her mind shattered under a wave of pure Distortion.
She was dimly aware of Chesnaught, Drapion, and the still-standing Mega Gyarados collapsing, their eyes rolling back and their mouths foaming, while the various surrounding Trainers clutched their heads with groans of pain. But she only saw those for a second before Distortion slid into her mind and ripped it into pieces, and an indescribable pain slammed into the inside of her skull. Medicham collapsed, barely even aware of the world around her as her head erupted with by far the worst pain she had ever felt, barely even aware of her own screaming.
With a rip like a tearing piece of paper, the world tore open and countless tendrils of Distortion emerged, pouring out of the tear with hungering swiftness. Xerneas's eyes widened and he took a step back, abandoning his attack, as a vast body, gray and gold and black, mingled with the endlessness of Distortion, rose at the other end of the tear, looking out into the chamber with two pinprick-like red eyes.
"Pathetic." Giratina's voice hammered at the watchers, each word he spoke sending a fresh wave of agony through Medicham's mind. "I entrusted you with power beyond what most dream of. And here you are, begging for yet more aid."
"He has received strength from the Tapus!" Yveltal protested. "He commands the power of the world itself! Your boon enabled me to handle him beforehand, but how can I fight the will of the Tapus as well?"
"Yes…an unforeseen complication…" Giratina's eyes narrowed. "Very well, Harbinger. But with this new boon comes a promise…if you still fail me, your punishment will be unending. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Master," Yveltal whimpered. "I will not waste this chance."
"Then this power is yours," Giratina rumbled.
A wave of pure Distortion exploded out from Yveltal, and in it Medicham saw another vision, one much, much worse than Xerneas's, a vision that seeped into her fractured mind even as she writhed on the floor, nearly insensate to the world. For deep inside Distortion, she could see a sea of bright red eyes, the same color as Giratina, watching, a sea of heads turning to face a new master.
Giratina withdrew, sealing the tear in the world behind him, as Yveltal rose into the air, wings spread wide. Medicham realized through her haze of physical and mental agony that the Harbinger of Death was drawing a ludicrous amount of Distortion energy into himself. Another cloud of darkness was forming around Yveltal, larger and even darker than the previous one. Yveltal's eyes glinted in the storm.
"You may have the blessing of the Tapus!" Yveltal screamed. "But even they cannot compare with the power of one of the three Creators! Distortion's Vengeance!"
From the cloud came three tendrils, thicker than the ones that Yveltal had been generating earlier. Each tendril lashed out towards pockets of suddenly-appearing Distortion, three spaces of darkness where no darkness should have been possible, and each tendril pulled a struggling form from its pocket and dropped it on the ground.
The three forms rose, glaring at Xerneas with bright red eyes. A Salazzle, half its face missing, Fire and Poison crackling and bubbling across its entire body. An Excadrill, both arms replaced with Distortion facsimiles, claws of pure Distortion unsheathed. A Skarmory, its eyes cold and dead, its silver body dull in death.
Medicham stared in shock as the three clearly dead Pokemon stood, returned to the world they had once left behind by this new power of Yveltal's. Was this truly only a fraction of the Lord of Distortion's power?
"I call upon the dead," Yveltal snarled, "to rise. Destroy him."
The three dead Pokemon lunged. The Salazzle scurried forward, Poison and Fire surging from its body and lashing out in a torrent towards Xerneas. The Excadrill rushed Xerneas, and where its feet struck the ground the Fairy energy flickered and died. The Skarmory shot into the air and lashed out with blades of air and Steel and Distortion, flying at Xerneas with clear intent to kill.
Xerneas stood where he was. "Life Pulse."
"Dark Aura: Consuming Oblivion!"
The storm leaped forward, engulfing the charging dead Pokemon, and slammed into Xerneas, erasing his summoned light in an instant. Medicham could see nothing. By now, her mind had cleared enough to at least register what was going on, and as she strained to sense the battle, she could hear a grunt of pain from inside the Distortion.
Clearly, one of Yveltal's newly raised allies' attacks had found their mark.
Xerneas stumbled backwards out of the storm of darkness, barely avoiding a slash from the Excadrill. But claw marks across his flank indicated that the Excadrill had already landed a hit, and Medicham noted that the Fairy energy across the floor was flickering madly.
"Mold Breaker…" Marcus's voice came, riddled with shock as he watched the clash between the two Legendaries. "It's shutting down his Fairy Aura!"
Then the Salazzle and Skarmory burst out after the Excadrill, firing more attacks at Xerneas. Xerneas stumbled as a Sludge Bomb and a pair of Air Slashes ripped more scratches into his skin.
A low growl of pain came from Xerneas's throat. As the Excadrill lunged for his throat, Xerneas reared up and kicked it in the stomach with one bony black hoof. The Excadrill's spine shattered under the impact and it toppled to the ground, its lower half unmoving. At once, the Fairy energy across the floor reasserted itself and Xerneas's wounds began to close as he poured Life into his body.
Uncaring of their partner's fall, the Skarmory and Salazzle fired off more attacks. "Geomancy: Life Transportation," Xerneas intoned. At that proclamation, the Lifebringer seemed to morph into pure Life, and before Medicham's eyes he faded into the Fairy energy that covered the floor. The attacks missed, breaking against the metal walls.
The encompassing cloud of Dark energy retreated. Now, Medicham could see Yveltal hovering over the battlefield, still enshrouded in his storm of darkness and Distortion. The Excadrill was unmoving; come to think of it, so were the other two dead Pokemon. The Salazzle was a statue, caught in mid-attack, while the Skarmory was suspended in midair, wings frozen mid-beat.
Yveltal's eyes scanned the area. "Oh, Xerneas…" he hissed in a singsong tone. "You might want to come out. Because without you…" His eyes swiveled around the room until they alighted right upon her. "…there's nothing to protect them. Dark Aura: Oblivion Burst."
A streak of pure Dark energy flew from the storm straight at Medicham. She heard a horrified cry from Marcus just as it struck her; even if she had been able to muster the energy for a Detect, she knew instinctively that it wouldn't be enough to avoid this attack.
The Oblivion Burst slammed into her stomach, doubling her over. Medicham collapsed once more, curled up as agony ripped through her body. Yveltal cackled. "Who next? You're running out of time, Xerneas…"
"Enough." Through the pain, Medicham barely heard Xerneas's voice as it ripped through the room. "Geomancy. Earth's Fury."
And then the floor erupted.
Tendrils of pure light, clusters of earth and stone, and Life itself burst through the metal floor, as thick as tree trunks, wrapping around the Excadrill, Salazzle, and Skarmory and slamming them to the ground. Three lashed out towards Yveltal, but a cry of "Distortional Shift!" emanated from the Harbinger of Death's throat, and he disappeared a second before his surrounding storm of darkness and Distortion was utterly erased. The three dead Pokemon were erased as well, disintegrating into scraps of Distortion the instant their master disappeared, their remains promptly obliterated by the Fairy energy that poured out from the bases of the tendrils. Once again, the floor glowed pink.
Xerneas rose from the ground, horns blazing with Life. "No hiding this time, Yveltal. Fairy Aura: Life Barrage."
This time, every single one of Xerneas's thousand horns fired off a burst of Fairy energy, and the room exploded in a dazzling display of light and color. It occurred to Medicham as she lay on the ground, still cradling her broken body and nursing her shattered mind, that even now both Xerneas and Yveltal still had power left untapped.
And as if to corroborate that statement, two of Xerneas's tendrils of earth and Life exploded into shards as Yveltal reappeared, a burst of Distortion coming into being alongside him and ripping through the immediately surrounding Life. "Dark Aura: Oblivion Wing!" Yveltal bellowed.
Xerneas's barrage of Life was already arcing towards Yveltal, but as the blasts of Fairy energy neared, tendrils of Dark energy reached out to grasp them and snuff them out. Again, explosions dotted the room as Yveltal's eyes burst with blood red light.
"Distortion's Vengeance!" Yveltal cried, and more dead Pokemon lunged from the surrounding Distortion. All of them were Poison, Steel, and Fire-types, at least two dozen of varying species and in various stages of decay, most of them with missing body parts replaced with Distortion energy.
"Fairy Aura," Xerneas rumbled. His head bowed in sorrow. "Life Transfer."
More, much thinner, tendrils of Life shot from the floor, wrapping tightly around the newly risen Pokemon. Their eyes suddenly blazed with Life as they were forcibly resurrected; in an instant, the pain of their still-existing wounds reasserted itself, and they began to scream, a many-throated howl of agony.
With a sickened expression on his face, Xerneas withdrew the tendrils. The injuries and diseases that had taken these Pokemon from the land of the living now did so again; the dozen Pokemon collapsed, screaming even as they breathed their last, and disappeared back into Distortion.
Yveltal scowled. "Just die already! Distortion Shift: Consuming Oblivion!"
From everywhere in the room, pockets of Distortion opened and more tendrils lashed out, aimed not just at Xerneas, but everywhere, at humans and Pokemon both. Medicham saw at least five aimed right for her and Marcus and, even through her haze of pain, reached out a feeble hand.
"Fairy Aura: Life Barrier."
With those words, the floor leaped up, a barrier of Life deflecting the tendrils inches from their targets. Xerneas himself was untouched, as more barriers formed in midair, shining with Fairy energy as they forced the Distortion back.
"I will have no more of this," Xerneas growled. "I tried being reasonable. At the clearing. In the weapon. Even here and now. But you've gone too far. Geomancy."
Xerneas began to glow even brighter as tendrils of Life shot from the floor, each touching one of the nearby Pokemon, conscious and unconscious, even reaching into the Pokeballs on their Trainers' waists. Another image burst into Medicham's mind, that of thousands, millions, billions of Pokemon around the world all starting as Life burst from the ground under them and touched them. An awful feeling ripped through Medicham's body. It was a feeling she couldn't describe yet knew what it was: her life being drained before her very eyes.
"You would siphon life from others for your own gain?" Yveltal cackled. "I'm impressed, Xerneas! I didn't think you had it in you!"
"You misunderstand," Xerneas retorted as the glow around him reached a fever pitch. "I had hoped not to resort to this extreme, but you leave me with no choice. We are Legendaries, Yveltal. You know how much power we can truly bring to bear. You know just how much we have to hold back. But I'm done holding back. I'm done showing mercy. Only a small facet of Life…a tiny fraction…taken from every Pokemon in the entire world. And with that Life, with that power…right here…right now…I will defeat you."
Medicham gasped as the tendril of Life attached to her snaked back into the ground, as did all of the other tendrils, their work done. And yet her body still burned, Dark energy and Distortion rippling across her body and mind, and she could feel herself growing weaker and weaker with every passing second.
It was as if she'd been holding her last vestiges of Life in her body, Life that was now gone, drained by the Lifebringer, and now there was nothing but pain and a terrifying emptiness.
"Distortion's Vengeance!" Yveltal snarled.
A veritable tidal wave of dead Pokemon surged from all of the Distortion pockets. Before they had been carefully chosen to take advantage of Xerneas's weaknesses. Now they were random, simply pulled from their endless rests to throw themselves bodily at Xerneas, with no care for their own health.
"Billions of spirits, giving me power," Xerneas intoned. "This will be all the strength I require to finish this. Fairy Aura: Spirit Pulse."
Xerneas's horns blazed with Life and hurled a torrent of light straight into the oncoming horde. The risen Pokemon flew, disintegrating in midair under the sheer force of Xerneas's attack. Once more Yveltal's eyes widened as his storm was blown away. "Distortion Shift!" he screeched, teleporting away from the searing blast of Life that slammed into the opposite wall and shattered the metal plate it struck into pieces.
Yveltal materialized directly above Xerneas. "Dark Aura: Oblivion Wing!"
"Fairy Aura: Spirit Lash."
A massive tentacle of Life flew from the crown of Xerneas's horns, slamming into the thousand tendrils that flew from Yveltal's wings and ripping them to pieces. Yveltal cried out in surprise and alarm as the Spirit Lash wrapped tightly around his body. With a grunt of effort Xerneas slammed Yveltal to the ground, leaving a crater in the solid metal floor.
"Geomancy: Gravitational Pull." A fresh wave of gravity pinned Yveltal down even as the tentacle of Life entangled the Harbinger of Death's wings. Yveltal screeched, struggling madly, but even with his boost in power the combined forces of Life and gravity held him down.
"This ends now," the Lifebringer growled. In the center of his forehead, a sphere of Life materialized, a sphere that began to expand and expand, growing to the size of Xerneas's head, then his entire body, and continuing even from there.
"A Legendary cannot kill another Legendary!" Yveltal cried. "You cannot destroy me!"
"No, I cannot," Xerneas admitted. "But I can destroy your physical form. And without that you are nothing. Nothing but an idea, an intangible construct of death. Without your physical form, you can do nothing in this world. And I doubt Giratina will be pleased with that outcome."
Yveltal's eyes widened. "No!" the Harbinger of Death screamed. "WRATH OF DISTORTION! CONSUMING NOTHINGNESS!"
Again did the world tear open. The back wall of the chamber disappeared and once again Distortion surged forth into the room, but this time it was a tide, engulfing all in its path. The watchers stood slack-jawed. Even if they had been conscious enough or present enough to run, they could not have made it to the room's door.
"Even power obtained from Giratina himself cannot overcome the gathered spirits of every Pokemon in this world!" Xerneas roared. The ball above him was now larger than the Ultimate Weapon, larger than even the storm surrounding Yveltal.
Distortion drew closer. The Ultimate Weapon groaned as it collapsed, disappearing into the embrace of the oncoming emptiness. Lysandre's body, lying beside it, was consumed as well. Medicham would have closed her eyes, but she could not muster the strength to do even that. She was a statue, awaiting her fate.
Xerneas's voice boomed, his very voice shaking the room around him, as the ball of Life above him began to shift, moving towards Yveltal, gathering speed as it flew, faster and faster, crackling with the gathered Life of the entire world as Xerneas bellowed the name of his final attack. "Fairy Aura..."
"...SPIRIT BOMB."
Xerneas hurled the massive glowing sphere at the immobilized form of Yveltal, shattering the twin tornadoes of raw Distortion that the Harbinger of Death hurled at it in a last-ditch attempt to blunt the attack and ripping away Yveltal's surrounding storm before he could disappear into Distortion again.
Yveltal screamed, a scream of denial, a scream of agony, a scream of pure terror, as Xerneas's Spirit Bomb struck him, ripping into his body, encompassing him in a storm of light and Life.
The expanse of Distortion halted, blunted by the massive concentration of Life, and retreated, disappearing as the tear in the world mended itself once again. Where it had gone, though, nothing remained; Lysandre and the Ultimate Weapon were both lost, gone forever into the endless nothingness that was Distortion. The Spirit Bomb dissipated, its work done, for where Yveltal had once hovered, nothing remained, not even ashes.
The Lifebringer gazed upon the spot where the Harbinger of Death had been pinned, retracting his Spirit Lash into the ground. The glow of Fairy energy across the floor dissipated along with the glow around Xerneas's body. Xerneas's head turned to where the Ultimate Weapon and Lysandre had once lain; now both were gone, drawn into Distortion along with the four unconscious members of his team that Lysandre had recalled into his Pokeballs. Lysandre's Noivern and Mega Gyarados lay on the ground, unconscious; Xerneas looked down upon them with pity in his eyes.
"Is it over?" Diantha asked.
Xerneas nodded slowly. Diantha sighed with relief. "All right, everybody, let's get out of here. And someone-"
A wet cough emanated from Medicham's mouth and she curled into a ball as something she desperately hoped wasn't blood flew from her throat.
"Medicham?" Marcus's voice came to her ears, echoing as if coming from the other end of a long tunnel. Medicham looked up to see her Trainer looking down at her with concern in his eyes. "Are you okay?"
"I'm…" Medicham coughed again. Yes, that was definitely blood. "Marcus, I…" she got out.
Marcus looked around wildly. "Xerneas!" he cried.
Xerneas half-turned to face Marcus. Medicham could not find the strength to turn her head, so she only heard the Lifebringer's footfalls moving across the ground.
A single hoof came into Medicham's vision, looking shockingly spindly, and she looked up to see Xerneas's face twisted into sadness. "No…" Xerneas murmured. "I only took…a small amount…"
"She didn't have any more to give!" Marcus snarled.
Xerneas bowed his head, his expression filled with anguish. A tear dripped from his right eye as he gazed down on Medicham. "This…this is my fault…" Xerneas whispered. "I did this…I, the Lifebringer…what have I done?"
Medicham felt something tug at her. Something immaterial, yet it latched onto her back and began to pull her down, down into a sea of darkness, away from the kneeling form of Marcus, away from Xerneas, away from the Trainers that were watching the scene with dismay in their eyes. Serena looked to be on the verge of tears herself, and even Calem looked solemn.
Medicham looked down. She could move again, but what she saw made her wish she couldn't.
Yveltal was below her, energy roiling in an approximation of his birdlike physical form, completely still with fear dominating his expression as the massive visage of Giratina loomed over him, fury sparking in the Lord of Distortion's red eyes.
"One Trainer and four of his Pokemon," Giratina snarled. "I give you a year, bequeath you power, even strengthen you further upon your request, and allow you to waste nearly two hundred bodies which are now broken and useless to me, and all you bring me is one Trainer and four Pokemon." The Lord of Distortion's eyes swiveled upwards and locked on Medicham's body as it gently floated downwards. Medicham felt terror fill her as Giratina stared into her mind. "Oh, and one Medicham…who was slain by Xerneas. Congratulations, Yveltal, you have truly outdone yourself."
No…
It had not truly sunk in until now, but as Medicham looked up at the receding forms of her Trainer and the Lifebringer, the realization that she was dead finally hit home.
…in 86.39% of all futures…you die. And your death would remove Marcus from his path for good.
"What?"
At Giratina's exclamation, Medicham looked at the Lord of Distortion to see his eyes glaring up at something above Medicham. Then she realized she had stopped falling and looked up herself to see Xerneas, horns blazing with Life as he stared down into the depths of Distortion. Medicham's body, still lying on the floor of the chamber, blazed with Life under Xerneas's gaze.
"You dare?" Giratina's enraged bellow echoed throughout Distortion. "You dare violate the terms of the Rei Accords? She is dead, Xerneas! She is mine now!"
"Giratina," Xerneas growled. "You have yourself blatantly violated the Rei Accords. You have planned, via your disciple, the deaths of millions. You have actively interfered in events in the material world. You have no right to call me out for rectifying a mistake."
"There will be retaliation for this," Giratina warned. "You know as well as I do that this goes beyond your own bounds, Xerneas. You know my power eclipses anything you can muster. Are you really willing to start another War of Legends over the soul of a single, insignificant Medicham?"
"Yes," Xerneas challenged. "I am. So go on. Make the first move. Bring all the powers of Distortion to bear upon me. And I will bring the Dogs of War and Arceus himself down upon your head for what you have done today. That is one choice you can make. But neither of us wants that, do they? So if you retreat into Distortion and allow bygones to be bygones, then I will abscond with this Medicham's soul and ensure that no retaliation comes your way. It is your choice whether we take the path of war or the path of peace. What say you?"
The Lord of Distortion trembled with fury, the red lights on his body shining as Distortion rippled around him. "Take it," Giratina snarled. "That soul is worthless to me anyway."
"A wise decision," Xerneas remarked. "Goodbye, Giratina. And, I implore you: do not overstep your bounds again. Others in my position would have thrown you to the Dogs of War without hesitation. Remember my mercy."
Giratina let out a furious, impotent growl as Medicham felt her spirit begin to rise again, the pink glow pervading her body in the chamber now extending to her spirit as well. Xerneas's eyes narrowed in concentration as Medicham drew closer and closer to her body, reaching out a hand as she neared it.
She felt her eyes blink open and gazed up at Marcus's tear-stained face. His eyes widened with shock, then joy. "You…you're alive?" he asked. "You…Xerneas, thank you…"
The Lifebringer sighed. "You are welcome," he said. "And Medicham? I…apologize for my actions in taking your life in the first place. But considering I nearly started a world-ending war for the sake of your life, this should go without saying: do not waste this second chance I have given you. Because there will be no more resurrections, especially since another one would probably send Giratina on the warpath regardless of the consequences."
"Thank you, Lifebringer," Medicham uttered softly, barely able to get the words out. "I…"
Her voice trailed off. For Medicham realized something, something about her mind, which Xerneas had restored along with her life. Something was in there that hadn't been there before.
Something that brought horrified tears to her eyes as she beheld it.
The outside world was bright and beautiful. The sun was shining brightly in the sky with not a cloud in sight. And yet…something seemed wrong about the world. As if something was ever so slightly muted.
Xerneas frowned as his eyes fell upon the three teenagers who had participated in the battle. Marcus he had recognized from earlier, a little more than a week ago, when he had detected a disturbance in the nearby Life and arrived to find him and his team under assault from a murderous Absol. Apparently that act had allowed Team Flare to find him. He recognized the other boy as the one who had freed him from the Ultimate Weapon. The girl he did not know at all. All three were sitting silently; their Pokemon had been rushed to a Pokemon Center as soon as they had gotten back up to the surface.
The Champion and her three remaining Elite Four were standing in a huddle off to the side, discussing the events, a discussion Xerneas was tuning out. Of the four Trainers that had come to help, Lusamine was off dealing with Xerosic's creation, which was apparently called "Type: Full", while Grimsley, Surge and Jasmine were aiding in the escort of the Admins, Executives, Grunts, and former Elite Four member Malva. Their Pokemon had gone as well; Lusamine and her fellow Aether Foundation members were the only Trainers here aside from Siebold who hadn't had their teams ravaged in the battle, and Siebold's Pokemon had gone off to help with the prisoner escort while Lusamine's were with her. From what Xerneas had heard, Xerosic himself, along with his team, had been dealt with by International Police Officers Looker and Emma upon their late arrival to the battle.
And Yveltal, of course, had been taken by Giratina.
Xerneas's eyes now settled on the one remaining outsider. Slowly, the Lifebringer stood up and strode over to AZ. The Immortal King was standing away from the group in front of one of Geosenge's many graves, three Pokeballs around his waist.
"How are you doing?" Xerneas asked.
"I don't know whether to be grateful or not that I only managed to find two of my Pokemon before going to confront Lysandre," said AZ without looking at Xerneas. "On one hand, given the rest of my team, I could have beaten him. On the other hand, if I'd beaten him, I doubt Yveltal would have taken too kindly to that."
Xerneas sighed, staring at the three Pokeballs on AZ's waist.
"That was a nice thing you did," AZ said. "Resurrecting that boy's Medicham."
"I'm the one that killed her," said Xerneas. "I…did it out of a desire to sate my guilt. And, I suppose, to irritate Giratina."
AZ chuckled at that.
"Where will you go once your team's healed?" Xerneas asked. "The Ultimate Weapon is gone again, this time for good. I'm sure, wherever she is, your Floette is happy about that."
Sorrow danced across AZ's eyes. "I hope she is," he said at last. "As for where I'll go…I don't know. Maybe go off to Mount Silver and battle Red again. I did promise him a rematch sometime, after all."
Xerneas smiled warmly. "Wherever you go, I wish you luck."
"Thanks, Xerneas," said AZ. "Same to you."
With that, the Immortal King turned and walked away, leaving Xerneas alone.
Xerneas looked down at the gravestone, eyes scanning the etchings on the rock.
Poochyena - 13. Fletchling - 8. Floette - 1.
"Xerneas?"
The telepathic voice burst into Xerneas's mind. He sighed. "What are you doing here, Zacian? I said I would call you if you were needed. The war is over. Yveltal is defeated."
"That is not what we are here about," Zacian responded. "We need to talk. Privately."
Xerneas stepped slowly into the copse of trees, instantly spying the two other beings currently occupying it. Zacian and Zamazenta, the Dogs of War, stood side by side with unreadable expressions on their faces as they beheld Xerneas.
Xerneas sighed. He knew what was coming. "I apologize."
"You do?" Zacian asked.
"I know I overstepped my bounds," said Xerneas, "and violated the Rei Accords by bringing that Medicham back to life. But I was the one that killed her in the first place. I felt…guilt for my action of draining her life, and I wished to make it right. I do not regret my actions, but I am ready to atone for them. Punish me if you will."
Zacian and Zamazenta looked at each other. "Xerneas…while that's related to why we came here, that's not the real reason," said Zamazenta. "Does something about the world feel…different to you? Like it's…slightly muted somehow?"
"I do," said Xerneas.
"Look," said Zacian, "the ripples of your battle with Yveltal were felt across the world. You used Geomancy twice within five minutes. And…the first time the Tapus were able to control and mitigate it, but the second came completely out of nowhere."
"After she recovered from one of the worst headaches she'd ever felt, Zacian reached out to the Tapus but found them nearly unconscious," said Zamazenta. "The backlash of your second use of Geomancy hit them hard. But not nearly as hard as it hit everyone else."
"I only took a little bit of Life from each Pokemon," Xerneas protested.
"Xerneas, I'm not going to mince words here," said Zacian. "That Medicham was on death's door before you drained her life, and even your miniscule draining was enough to finish her off. Do you really think she was the only one in the entire world not in danger at that very moment?"
Xerneas's eyes widened. "How many?"
"Sixty-two, by our count," Zamazenta answered. "Not including the Medicham."
Xerneas felt as if all breath had been stolen from his lungs. He crumpled to his knees, gasping for air, eyes squeezed tightly shut as if to block all view of the Dogs of War.
"Xerneas." Zacian's voice sounded in his ear as her muzzle touched his shoulder. "We get it, okay? Yveltal had to be stopped, and would have taken a lot more than just sixty-two lives if you hadn't stopped him. But…the fact is, you took too much and you were uncontrolled in doing so. We don't blame you…but others do."
"Basically, what we're saying is we're going to talk to the others," said Zamazenta. "Convince them that it wasn't your fault and that you were forced into it by the circumstances. But it would probably be best if you laid low for a bit until all this blows over."
"What kind of power did Yveltal have, anyway?" Zacian asked.
Xerneas hesitated, remembering his promise to Giratina. He hated it, but the promise had been made. But he was not a very good liar, so he elected to tell a half-truth. "He had at least a partial command of Distortion," he said. "Enough to where he could travel through it and enhanced his Oblivion-based attacks with Distortion."
"Distortion?" Zacian asked. "That screams Giratina, but he hasn't been active in some time, and this would be brazen even for him…maybe it was Spectrier? No, he's arrogant, but he's not homicidal…"
"Possibly Marshadow?" Zamazenta suggested. "We'll look into it. And I really hope it's not Giratina. That would be the last thing we need right now."
A pang of guilt stung Xerneas's soul.
"Xerneas, everything is going to be fine," said Zacian. "We're not here to punish you. Just…we'll let you know when things have been patched up. Okay?"
Xerneas nodded.
"All right, let's get out of here," Zamazenta advised. "Galar's not going to protect itself."
The Dogs of War turned and dashed away in beams of blue and red light, leaving Xerneas alone.
The pain of lying to them mingled with the pain of knowing that he had caused the deaths of sixty-two Pokemon. Sixty-two souls, far more than Yveltal had managed.
Xerneas considered disobeying Zacian and Zamazenta's advice and going to Spear Pillar. That way he would be sure to get an audience with Arceus. He would admit his guilt, probably be sentenced to supervision or even relief of duty for a time.
But what would be the point of that? The Dogs of War were sticking their necks out for him; it would be downright cruel to make light of their efforts like that. No, he would follow their advice.
Xerneas turned and ambled back out of the copse of trees, his eyes falling upon Geosenge once more as he considered his options. He could simply wander back into the forest and disappear for as long as he needed to, but to be perfectly honest he didn't feel like it. He could travel to another region, but that would somewhat defeat the purpose of lying low.
Or…
His eyes alighted on the trio of teenagers sitting away from everyone else.
It was a crazy idea. Downright stupid, potentially.
But…he had to admit it would be far more exciting than hiding in a forest.
At some point, Siebold detached himself from the conversation between the Elite Four and Champion to walk over to the group of three teenagers.
The girl looked up as he approached. "Elite Four Siebold?" she asked, causing the two boys to look up as well.
"Hello, Serena," said Siebold. "And Calem and Marcus. I want you to know that what you did was very brave…but also very foolish."
"We know," said Marcus. "It wasn't our intention to get caught in the middle of this. At least, it wasn't my intention. If someone hadn't omitted the truth about where they were teleporting us to…"
"I'm sorry," Calem said coldly, "but I seem to recall it was you who dropped us into that elevator."
Siebold held up a placating hand. "Let us not argue about whose fault it was. As I was going to say, while your actions were foolhardy and could have gotten you or your Pokemon killed," - a flash of anguish slipped across Marcus's face at that - "the fact remains that you three played an important role in the downfall of Team Flare. Without you, Marcus, Malva might have caused far more devastation than she did, which would have been catastrophic considering the state our forces were in. And without you, Calem and Serena, Lysandre might have had more team members, or even his full team, ready to fight upon Diantha's arrival; his actions were almost certainly influenced by the fact that he knew Diantha's Gardevoir could defeat his remaining team members easily. And Calem, Diantha tells me that you were instrumental in the release of Xerneas. So, in summation, well done to all of you, and never do that again."
The three teenagers smiled at the praise even as their faces fell under the lecture, creating a kind of in-between expression.
"I will be arranging for some sort of reward for all of you," said Siebold. "After you three obtain your final Gym Badges, the Victory Road Gatekeeper will have something for you. It is the least we can do."
"Thank you, Elite Four Siebold," said Serena.
"Think nothing of it." With those last words, Siebold stepped away, moving back over to Diantha, Wikstrom, and Drasna.
And Xerneas continued to watch.
The Champion had gone. The Elite Four had gone. Aether Foundation, the International Police, and the teenagers had all gone, the last of them only a few seconds ago. Xerneas's eyes shone as the last of the teenagers stretched, stood, and sent out his Kadabra.
"Well, it's time to go to Snowbelle City," said the boy. "Kadabra…"
Xerneas stepped from the bushes. "Wait."
The boy looked up at Xerneas, both his and his Kadabra's eyes widening at the sight.
"I never did express my gratitude for your release of me," said Xerneas. "What is your name, may I ask?"
"Calem," the boy said. "And…it was no problem, Xerneas. I mean…Yveltal was gonna kill us. I felt…that you were the only one who could save us…"
"You do not need to feel ashamed, Calem," said Xerneas. "You did well. And…as thanks for your action, I wish to make you an offer. Will you allow me to travel with you for a time?"
Calem's eyes widened further. His Kadabra looked as if it were about to faint at the prospect.
"What…do you mean by that?" Calem asked haltingly.
"I mean that I wish to travel with you for a time," Xerneas responded. "I do not wish to battle for you. I simply wish to travel with you. To meet your Pokemon, and to experience the Gym Challenge and the Tournament through their eyes. I have…made a mistake. A mistake that has shown me just how detached I have become from this world. And so, ultimately, I wish to reattach myself by way of traveling with you. Is this acceptable for you?"
Calem's shocked expression slowly slipped into a full-blown grin. "Yeah. I'd say that's pretty acceptable."
The chatter of the surrounding Pokemon could be heard even through Kriesh's Pokeball, so when she was sent out, she knew to brace herself for a torrent of noise.
"-and then I evolved, and then everything was just so weird, because I have legs now! I can't fly anymore! I'm going to have to learn how to fight all over again!"
As expected, the voice belonged to Phantump - no, Trevenant now - regaling Cloyster, Houndoom, and Drapion with the tale of his evolution. Medicham was standing a little ways off to the side, looking somewhat detached from reality.
"Congrats on unlocking your Ability," said Cloyster to Drapion. "I can't wait to get mine."
His voice sounded oddly subdued, even more than usual, but the words piqued Kriesh's interest. "You unlocked your Ability?" she asked Drapion.
"Yeah," Drapion growled. "Watch this. Battle Armor."
At his words, spiked armor similar in look to his normal skin slid over his face and upper body, bulking him up and protecting his face.
Kriesh nodded appreciatively. "Not bad. But watch this. Sniper: Beam Impact."
She opened her beak, charging up the Beam Impact, and as it fired she willed it to curve. It obeyed, shifting to the left and arcing straight into a nearby tree.
"Well, now that's impressive," Drapion admitted. "Hey, Medicham! We're showin' off our Abilities over here! Wanna join in?"
Medicham looked up at the rest of them. "Maybe in a little bit," she said in an odd tone, and then returned to staring into space.
Alarm bells began ringing in Kriesh's head at the tone of Medicham's voice. Even as Drapion shrugged and turned away, Kriesh peered closer at Medicham, for the tone of voice Medicham had used had been one familiar to Kriesh.
The tone of someone who was holding back some kind of sudden trauma.
Quickly, Kriesh excused herself from the rest of the group as they fell back into their conversations about evolution and Abilities and stepped over to Medicham's side. The Fighting/Psychic type looked up at Kriesh as she approached. "What's going on?" Medicham asked.
"I was gonna ask you the same question," said Kriesh. "You're holding something back. I know that tone of voice."
Medicham glared at Kriesh. "I'm fine."
"I never said you weren't," said Kriesh.
Medicham's hands clenched into fists and she sighed, clearly recognizing that Kriesh wasn't going to leave. "Kriesh…how much did you see?"
"Well…the Lifebringer and the Harbinger of Death were fighting," said Kriesh, trying to remember the events. It had all happened so fast. "And the Lifebringer had the Harbinger of Death pinned down, and the Harbinger of Death screamed for his master, and then the last thing I remember is this awful voice…"
"That was the Lord of Distortion," Medicham said hollowly. "He must have knocked you out. He had some kind of Ability…he called it "Pressure"…that knocked out every Pokemon in the room. Everyone except me."
"What happened afterwards?" Kriesh asked.
But instead of answering, Medicham turned away. "I don't want to-"
"Medicham." Kriesh's voice was urgent and insistent. "Bottling it up isn't the right way to go about dealing with trauma. You have to-"
"I died!" Medicham shouted, whirling to face Kriesh. "The Lord of Distortion assaulted my mind, and the Harbinger of Death hit me with an attack to draw the Lifebringer out, and then the Lifebringer drained a little bit of my Life for one of his attacks…it was too much…and my body just couldn't handle it…"
Kriesh, shock pervading her mind, noticed only now that the conversation behind her had died down. She looked back to see the rest of the team staring openmouthed at Medicham, all talk of evolutions and Abilities forgotten.
"Go away!" Kriesh ordered, flaring her wings to get the point across. The team stepped away slowly, edging out of earshot.
Medicham sighed before continuing. "But the Lifebringer…he bargained with the Lord of Distortion for my soul…and he brought me back to life…"
"So that's it, then," soothed Kriesh. "You're alive. It's over now."
"No, it's not!" Medicham shouted. "I still died! You have no idea how that feels! You've never died, have you?"
"No," said Kriesh, "but-"
"And then the Lifebringer decided that, as if killing me wasn't enough, he'd give me another little gift!" Medicham snarled. "A gift that has singlehandedly shattered everything I know about my own life!"
She fell silent, taking in heaving breath after heaving breath. Kriesh was almost afraid to ask her next question, but knew she had to.
"What kind of gift?" Kriesh pressed.
Medicham finally managed to rein in a little bit of her temper. She bowed her head, breathing hard, forcing the tears that were twinkling at the edges of her eyes back. Then she looked up and stared dully at Kriesh.
"He gave me back my memories," said Medicham. "Every. Single. One of them."