Huh. Would you look at that. Four days. (Basically.) Guess all that worry about long chapters was without merit.
Admittedly, this chapter isn't quite as long as the last one. But it's still pushing 12,000 words, so I'm fairly content. So yeah, looks like I'm keeping up my four-day schedule after all!
Side note: initially, when planning this arc, I had this chapter and the next one outlined as a single chapter. One of the various realizations I came to during my short break was that they would probably work better as separate chapters. At this point, that's feeling like the best realization I've ever had. Nobody wants a 24,000-word chapter.
…well, I don't want a 24,000-word chapter.
Medicham had fought many battles since her capture by Marcus months ago, so many that oftentimes they faded together in her mind. Some, though, she remembered so vividly she doubted she'd ever forget them. Her first Gym Battle, facing off against Brightwings the Vivillon. Her clash with Ripper and Celosia's Ursaring alongside Kriesh as they fought for the freedom of her Spearow flock. Betrayer-Of-Kin's first attack on Marcus. Her and Drapion's fight with Hellhound deep in the bowels of Team Flare's base. Her 'fight', if it could be called that, with Bringer-Of-Visions in the snowy clearing. Her desperate clash with Gholdengo as she fought to overcome the seemingly invincible Ghost-type and save her friends from his metallic grasp.
All of those fights had been unique in their own way. But Medicham could honestly say she'd never been in a fight where she was battling the world around her as much as she was the actual enemies.
She was fighting a surprisingly speedy Marowak right now, clashing against the Ground-type's bone with an Aura-formed blade. Around them, countless other fights were taking place across the battlefield, though calling it a battlefield was a stretch right now. For as they fought, the ground around them rose and fell in random towering waves, blades of grass abruptly increased in size and sharpness until they were as tall as buildings and as pointed as spears and then decreased back down to normal blades of grass just as abruptly, and the air itself fluctuated, one moment effortless to move through, the next a solid barrier, and the next moment after that a thick soupy substance more like syrup than air.
And that wasn't even taking into account the structure that had once been the stone wall around the Island of Dreams. The secondary wall around the Tree of Dreams was still mostly intact, but the main wall was a jumble of stonework that crumbled and uncrumbled and recrumbled again, or shifted into towering spirals of stone, or simply warped out of existence, reappearing a thousand feet in the air to be used as a projectile by Darkrai or the Aberration.
For it was their separate wills that vied for dominance over this plane of existence, their wills that were warping anything and everything around them like a child playing with their toys. Even the battling Pokemon were not safe. Medicham wasn't sure what happened when one died in the Dream World; she guessed that normally they would simply wake up, but with the Aberration around, Medicham really didn't want to find out.
As Medicham parried another swipe from the Marowak's bone, she spotted a duo of strange Pokemon that looked like stone-covered versions of Arcanine suddenly disappear as a mound of earth and rock was teleported by one of the two Darkrai right on top of them. Medicham didn't know which side they'd been on. But she felt a surge of revulsion all the same. She very nearly paid for the distraction with a bone-club to the temple; a swift Detect barely shifted Medicham's head out of the way of the Marowak's weapon.
"Pure Power: Aura Sweep!" Medicham lashed out with her right leg, aiming to trip up the Marowak. But with a retaliatory grunt of "Battle Armor!", the Marowak formed a piece of thick bony armor across its own lower leg, intercepting Medicham's attack with the newly armored limb.
This Marowak having Drapion's Ability was one of the many reasons it was taking so long to bring it down. This must be one of Necrozma's strongest…at least among his cannon fodder.
"Bone Chopper!" The Marowak hauled back and swung, aiming for Medicham's neck. But the air between them suddenly hardened, and the bone bounced off the newly-created barrier uselessly, much to the Marowak's clear annoyance. Unfortunately for Medicham, the barrier of air just as swiftly exploded outwards; unprepared, Medicham was sent flying backwards, straight onto a mound of earth that was rising quickly into the air, away from Marowak.
With a jolt, Medicham realized the mound was carrying her up towards the battle between Cresselia and Dark Matter.
The two were still going at it with vicious speed, Cresselia's Crescent Sickle against the numerous tendrils Dark Matter unleashed from its body. Medicham dug her fingers into the earth under her tightly, not wanting to fall off; as she did so, she saw Dark Matter unleash a powerful burst of darkness that clamped down upon Cresselia like a trap. "Moon's Command: Effulgence Expulsion," Cresselia intoned; just as quickly, moonlight exploded out of Cresselia's body in all directions, ripping through Dark Matter's attack, though it seemed to have little effect on the creature itself.
Cresselia lunged, swinging her Crescent Sickle down at Dark Matter in an overhead blow. As she did so, Medicham felt the mound of earth she was on suddenly jerk to the left, and realized she was now being borne towards the fight between Darkrai and the Aberration. In fact, she was being carried towards Darkrai, and with a surge of horror Medicham saw the Aberration's eyes shining as he manipulated the earth with a flick of his fingers, aiming it at Darkrai's back even as Darkrai transformed a cloud into a barrier to deflect one of the Aberration's Dark Pulses.
"Darkrai, behind you!" Medicham cried.
Darkrai twisted; seeing the situation, in an instant he waved his hand, teleporting both the earthen tendril and Medicham back down to the surface. Medicham heard a snarl of "Spacial Rend!" as the Aberration used the distraction to teleport next to Darkrai and unleash a Dark Pulse into Darkrai's side. Even as Medicham reappeared back on the ground, the remnants of the earthen tendril dissolving around her, she heard Darkrai's cry of pain and winced.
I distracted him. That was my fault.
Medicham shook her head - she couldn't think of such things right now. Find some Heralds, Darkrai had said, and so now Medicham looked around to see if she could spot any Absols nearby. Her eyes picked out a few, but they were all far away, and in the midst of the chaotic battle Medicham couldn't see any others even though she knew there were many Heralds here.
She couldn't even see the Marowak anymore - most likely the Ground-type had moved on to another opponent. Medicham worried for whoever had to face that Marowak; it had not been an easy adversary.
A low rumbling noise brought Medicham's attention to her right.
Her initial thought was that it was another earthquake, one of many that the Aberration or Darkrai had caused. But as she looked, she saw one of the many darkness-covered Pokemon that had ventured onto the battlefield alongside Necrozma's forces. The creature was moving swiftly towards Medicham, rumbling as it came. Initially, it looked like a Herdier, but as it moved closer, Medicham could see its form shifting, sprouting half a dozen darkness-covered tentacles that definitely weren't part of a Herdier's form.
"Pure Power: Aura Blast Barrage!" Medicham cried. She didn't know what this thing was, but she wanted it gone as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, it wasn't going to be that easy. The creature unleashed a wave of dark energy from its body, not unlike a Dark Pulse; the energy wave ripped through the barrage of Aura Blasts so quickly that Medicham barely reacted in time to bend backwards, propelled by Detect, and allow the wave to fly over her head. In that time, the creature had resumed its charge, and as Medicham rose once more she saw all of the creature's limbs and tentacles flying at her, elongating unnaturally.
"Pure Power: Aura Strike Flurry!" Medicham unleashed a barrage of Aura-emblazoned fists, batting away the torrent of limbs. The creature was strong, Medicham could tell, but surprisingly Medicham was able to knock its attacks away without expending too much strength. Thwarted, the creature reeled backwards; it snarled in rage and unleashed another energy wave at Medicham.
"Pure Power: Aura Wave!" Medicham cried; the two waves exploded against one another in a burst of Aura mingled with whatever energy this creature was using. Out of the explosion the creature lunged; this time, instead of trying for a flurry of attacks, the creature elongated its body as it flew, flinging its own upper body at Medicham as if it were on the end of a bungee cord.
"Pure Power: Aura Strike!" Medicham drew back her fist and punched the creature square in the face, sending its upper body flying backwards into its lower body. "Pure Power: Aura Blast!" Medicham growled, following up with a sphere of Aura from her other hand; already staggering, the creature took the blast head-on and toppled to the ground, an unearthly shriek emanating from its fallen form.
Huh…I expected that to be harder.
The creature rose shakily, abandoning its Herdier form and rising into a more bipedal configuration. Medicham recognized it as copying her own shape, replicating her slender arms and her muscular legs. The creature crouched, aping Medicham's own crouch. Medicham clenched her fists; the creature did likewise.
And then, in the blink of an eye, the creature split in two, and both the creatures charged straight at Medicham, fists drawn back.
I just had to tempt fate, didn't I?
The creatures' swings were slower - Medicham could tell she'd done some damage - but it was much harder to avoid two of them than it had been to avoid one, and it didn't help that both kept sprouting new limbs out of nowhere. Medicham could barely keep up, sweating as she unleashed barrage after barrage of rapid-fire punches that deflected the creatures' attacks inches from her body. At one point, one of the creatures even sprouted a spike from their chest that Medicham didn't completely avoid; Detect allowed her to dodge the worst of it, but it still ripped through the side of her torso, leaving a nasty gash.
Worse than the pain, though, was the realization that Medicham wasn't actually doing any damage. It was all she could do to keep the creatures back; they weren't giving her even a single opportunity to go on the offensive. Medicham knew as long as that continued, she wasn't going to win this fight; eventually they'd land a few more lucky hits, and Medicham would be overcome.
If ever there was a time for Darkrai or the Aberration to do some random thing to this general area, now would be the time…
One of the creatures leaped in from the side, unleashing a flying kick with an elongating leg that Medicham had to unleash an Aura Strike to parry. Another Detect shifted her away from the second as it delivered a punch with three left arms at once. "Psychic Blast!" she cried; luckily, as she'd already learned, these weren't Dark-types, and the second creature staggered under the sudden Psychic attack. But the first one was still coming; it reached out with one arm and shot out a dozen coiling tendrils, each one arcing at Medicham from a completely different direction.
"Pure Power: Aura Wave!" Medicham cried, blasting away all twelve tendrils at once with her attack; the creature countered with its own wave, and once more the two waves met and dissipated against each other. The second creature rose, shaking its head.
And then it split into two more creatures.
"Are you kidding me?" Medicham snarled as the three creatures now rushed her. "Pure Power: Aura Blast Barrage!" But two of the creatures unleashed dark waves of energy, and the combined attack easily overpowered her flurry of Aura Blasts. Even as Medicham ducked away with Detect, the third creature lashed out with more tentacles, and Medicham felt two coil around her ankles and yank hard.
She toppled to the ground; even as she landed, she could see the other two creatures rushing her from either side. "Pure Power: Aura Wave!" Medicham cried; the tendrils dissipated and the three creatures reeled backwards from the sudden expulsion of energy.
Medicham leaped to her feet, staring down her adversaries. She half expected them to split into six creatures, but they remained a trio, staring with featureless faces back at her. Clearly they knew Medicham couldn't defend against them all. But Medicham set her stance regardless.
If they think I'm just going to lay down and die, they're wrong.
The creatures shared a glance, crouched in readiness to charge as well, and then the central one sprouted an Oblivion-wreathed horn through the stomach.
The other two creatures whipped around in perfect synchronicity as the horn slashed upwards; the central creature collapsed, dissolving into a dark mist and revealing the form of Seeker-Of-Endings standing behind it. Medicham felt a measure of relief, both at the rescue and at the fact that it was Seeker-Of-Endings and not some other Herald.
Her relief was cut short as the other two creatures lunged for Seeker-Of-Endings, fists upraised. Fighting energy played around Seeker-Of-Endings' body as he called upon Detect and lunged forwards, slipping between the two creatures as they lashed out with uncountable limbs.
Seeker-Of-Endings twisted, skidding to a halt beside Medicham. "I'm not going to ask what you're doing here. But you'll need backup if you want to fight a Void Shadow."
"And what's that supposed to be?" Medicham asked.
"They're his spawn." Seeker-Of-Endings gestured up towards Dark Matter. "Shapeshifting creatures of darkness, though from what I saw you already know that part."
Medicham nodded. "Thanks, by the way."
"We're not done yet," Seeker-Of-Endings warned.
The two creatures turned to face them both; the creature on the left shuddered and split in two, but the other, the one who had already split twice, remained a single creature. Looks like they do have a limit to their splitting after all…thank Arceus for that.
"I'll take the two on the left," Seeker-Of-Endings growled.
"You're better one-on-one," Medicham protested. "I can handle two. Besides, you're still half-blind, right?"
Seeker-Of-Endings grimaced, clearly remembering his lack of battle prowess without access to Future Sight. "Fine," Seeker-Of-Endings muttered. "Let's do this."
"Right," said Medicham, and with that both lunged to meet their respective adversaries.
Darkrai snapped his smoky fingers, and at his command the clouds drifting through the air twisted and shot towards the Aberration, elongating into wispy white ropes as they did so. "Spacial Rend!" the Aberration snarled; Eterna blasted out from his body, and the clouds were ripped out of the air, rematerializing far below, thunking into the earth like spears one after the other.
The Aberration threw both hands outwards; the air in front of him crumpled in on itself, collapsing into a black hole that shot forwards at Darkrai. Darkrai could feel it tugging at his energy form, threating to pull it in; quickly, he reached out and pointed one finger at it, willing it to explode outwards. It did so, and though the force of the unleashed formerly-compressed air threatened to send Darkrai flying, the danger had receded.
Darkrai willed the air just behind him to harden into a wall; a crack sounded as the Aberration teleported behind him. "Spacial Rend - gah!" he snarled as his fist met the aerial barrier.
Darkrai twisted, clenching his own fists; the hardened air collapsed into a pair of spears, spears which shot forwards and embedded themselves in the surprised Aberration. Darkrai followed up by exerting his will on some of the surrounding landscape, willing part of the Island of Dreams to rise up in a series of twisting spires, coiling as they approached the Aberration.
The Aberration roared and unleashed a blisteringly powerful Dark Pulse; another wall of air was sufficient to deflect it from Darkrai, but his spires were obliterated, the remnants falling back down to earth in a shower of dirt and stone. "Spacial Rend!" the Aberrration growled, unleashing a blast of Eterna that scythed Darkrai's newest aerial wall in two. He raised another hand, and Darkrai felt the air around him harden from the Aberration's will; it began to collapse in on itself again, this time with Darkrai in the middle.
Darkrai's will was not extinguished yet, however. He shrank his own body to a dot in an instant, then took control of the air around him that had been freed up by his shrinkage and shoved it outwards. The two spheres of air shattered against one another, freeing Darkrai from the closing walls, and Darkrai followed up by willing it to begin raining. In seconds, the sunny skies had shifted to cloudy, and a heavy downpour had begun, filling the sky with rain.
The Aberration chuckled. "Getting desperate, are we?"
"Desperate?" Darkrai asked. "Please. I know full well you have not faced a fight like this in years. You are unpracticed. Your techniques are predictable. And you really aren't very smart. Because if you were smart…you wouldn't have wasted time listening to me talk."
Darkrai flicked his fingers, and the hundred or so watery arrows he'd been creating behind the Aberration flew straight into the Aberration's back.
The Aberration let out an agonized roar. "I'll kill you!" he bellowed. "Spacial Rend!" This time it wasn't a jet or a stream of Eterna, but rather an explosion, obliterating all of the falling rain within fifty yards of the Aberration. The Aberration raised a hand, and the rain came back into existence, flying sideways straight into Darkrai's face, forming into a stream of watery needles as it came.
Again Darkrai formed a wall of air; as the needles disintegrated into countless water droplets against his newly-created barrier, Darkrai glanced over to see how Cresselia and Dark Matter were doing. They were still dueling, Crescent Sickle against tendrils, Cresselia not allowing Dark Matter to move any closer to Yggdrasil.
Darkrai looked down towards where he'd teleported Medicham. He was relieved to see she'd found a Herald; he was much less relieved to see that the two of them were facing one of Dark Matter's Void Shadows. Hopefully she'll be all right…
"Pay attention!"
The Aberration lunged through the dissipating remnants of his teleported sideways rain, another Dark Pulse blasting out from his body as he did so. Reacting swiftly, Darkrai reached up, turned one of the overhanging stormclouds solid, and then dropped it on the Aberration's head. The Aberration let out a strangled scream. Darkrai quickly formed a large chunk of nearby raindrops into a massive spear, one which he sent flying towards the Aberration's stomach even as the solidified stormcloud forced the creature downwards.
But the Aberration abruptly lunged forwards faster than Darkrai had expected. Quick Attack, Darkrai realized as the raindrop-formed spear flew over the Aberration's head. The Aberration glared at Darkrai, and all of the rain falling around Darkrai suddenly bent inwards, flying at him from all directions; before more than a few of the closest ones could strike him, Darkrai took control of the air around him and pushed it outwards, deflecting the countless raindrops.
But the momentary distraction had given the Aberration a perfect opening, "Spacial Rend!" the Aberration roared; Eterna exploded out from the Aberration's body, and before Darkrai could react he felt his energy form beginning to come apart at the seams, ripped into pieces by the Spacial Rend.
Darkrai exerted his will on his own body, trying to pull himself back together. The Aberration reached out, floating upwards as he did so, yearning to keep Darkrai pulled apart. The two strained, mind against mind, neither one prevailing.
He's been forced to tap into some of his more long-forgotten techniques. Darkrai grimaced. I've pushed him to the point where he's realized he can't win by spamming Spacial Rend like he usually does. I was hoping his pride would get in the way of that realization for a little longer…
"Darkrai!" Cresselia's voice leaped into Darkrai's mind. "Do you need help?"
"Depends," Darkrai growled back, still trying to overcome the Aberration's will and pull his body together. "How wounded is Dark Matter?"
"I've gotten some hits, but he's tough," Cresselia admitted. "Pretty sure I can beat him eventually, though."
"Do you think I can beat him?" Darkrai asked.
"In here, definitely," said Cresselia. "That is, if the Aberration isn't around to counter your reality-warping."
"And do you think you could take on the Aberration if he couldn't warp reality?"
"Probably," said Cresselia.
"Good," said Darkrai. "Because I have an idea. The Aberration's pulling out all the stops - without my physical techniques, I don't think I can take him on, and I can only use so many of those before I run out."
"I can use Lunar Dance-"
"No, we still need you," growled Darkrai. "Listen to me. I need you to charge the Aberration. Abandon Dark Matter. And make as much noise as you can."
"Okay…" Cresselia sounded unsure.
"I'll deal with Dark Matter," Darkrai insisted. "Trust me."
"All right." Cresselia abandoned the mind-link; Darkrai saw her swat a flurry of Dark Matter's tendrils away with her Crescent Sickle, twist, and lunge towards the Aberration, streaking through the air with sickle raised. "Get away from him!" she shouted.
The Aberration twisted to face Cresselia. "Fool. Do you really think-"
"Dark Void!"
The Aberration's eyes flicked to Darkrai just as Darkrai, still split into pieces, unleashed a massive wave of Oblivion at both Cresselia and the Aberration. The Aberration couldn't react in time, and Cresselia chose not to; both were swallowed up by the wave, and when it had dissipated they were nowhere to be seen.
Darkrai had always been able to do that. But he'd known if he just teleported the Aberration out of the Dream World, the Aberration could simply send himself back in. That had not changed. But Darkrai also knew the Aberration was a prideful sort.
And someone so prideful would never turn their back and flee. Darkrai knew the Aberration would not return until he had beaten Cresselia. His pride would never allow anything else.
In a flash, Darkrai reconstituted himself, then turned to see Dark Matter, snarling victoriously as it lunged for Yggdrasil. Darkrai pointed; barriers of air sprang up around Dark Matter, cocooning the creature. Dark Matter twisted to face Darkrai, growling ferociously.
"This ends now," Darkrai growled. Just as long as Cresselia can hold up her end of the bargain…
Space contorted, and two forms materialized in the middle of a sunlit sky.
Darkrai glanced around at the place he had emerged in. He was hovering above an ocean that extended to the horizon in all directions, the sound of crashing waves echoing in his ears. He looked up at the form of Cresselia hatefully; the Lady of the Moon was floating above him, looking down with a serenity that did not match the anger in her own gaze, her Life-wreathed Crescent Sickle floating in front of her, held in a grip of Mind.
How annoying. The pretender is too scared to face me, so he warps me out of the Dream World, then sends another to fight his battle.
Nevertheless, if the pretender thought this would be enough to finish Darkrai, he'd have another think coming soon enough. Especially since that annoying Disable had worn off now that the pretender was on another plane of existence. With full access to both Dialga and Palkia's techniques, this battle would be effortless.
"So the Lady of the Moon deigns to face me at last," Darkrai growled. "Tell me, do you really think I have not overcome you before? In other timelines, you and Darkrai often come together. I have beaten nearly as many Cresselia as I have Darkrai! What makes you think you stand a chance against me?"
Cresselia looked down upon him, frowning. "You talk so much about other timelines," she said. "All of those timelines…they had one thing in common. The Legendaries of those timelines had grown complacent. Without a threat, they had allowed their power to stagnate, even to weaken. In some cases, weaken to the point where they could be captured and utilized in battle by ordinary Trainers."
The Lady of the Moon's eyes shone with pink light. "But in this timeline, that threat does exist," she said. "I shudder at the thought of thanking Giratina…but the fact is that thanks to him, we have never grown complacent. We have never ceased training. We have spent millennia honing our strength, growing more and more powerful. The Legendaries of this timeline are some of the strongest Legendaries ever to exist."
"Oh, please," Darkrai sneered. "I beat this timeline's Darkrai easily enough."
"From what I could tell, he was giving as good as he got," said Cresselia. "And besides, thanks to being trapped in his energy form for a thousand years, he hasn't been able to physically train like the rest of us. His only training has been mental - he hasn't been in a serious fight since the War of Legends. So congratulations on 'beating' him."
Darkrai glared at Cresselia, who smirked. "And another thing, Aberration…against most who dare to confront him in the Dream World, Darkrai is unstoppable. You happen to be the perfect counter to him, by virtue of being a more powerful version of him. I will not deny your power is greater than his. But I, on the other hand, am a completely different adversary. So maybe you dealt some damage to Darkrai, but the fact is that not even your power can stand up against mine."
"Let's test that theory, shall we?" Darkrai snarled, raising a hand. "Let's see how tough you are when your body's shattered into a thousand pieces! Spacial Rend!"
A wave of Eterna shot from Darkrai's outstretched claw, hurtling towards Cresselia with a force that would obliterate any defense raised by an ordinary Pokemon
Cresselia was no ordinary Pokemon.
Without a word, the Lady of the Moon unleashed a blast of Mind so powerful that behind Darkrai, the ocean cratered, a concave area fifty feet across forming upon the surface of the water. The Spacial Rend fizzled into nothingness, erased by the sheer power of the Psychic Cresselia had unleashed.
"I am the Moon personified," said Cresselia, eyes glowing pink again. "Every power the Moon exhibits is mine to command as well. For example, the Moon is capable of controlling the rise and fall of the tides, and therefore so am I. Allow me to demonstrate. Moon's Command: Tidal Shift."
Cresselia's body radiated with power, and at her command the ocean exploded upwards; a wave a hundred feet tall and stretching from horizon to horizon reached towards Darkrai like a massive grasping claw. Darkrai grimaced. She wasn't lying…most Cresselias I've faced relied far too much on their Psychic power to be anywhere near a threat to me. This Cresselia has tapped into deeper knowledge of her own abilities - she is manifesting powers no other Cresselia I've met has, simply because no other Cresselia I've met has bothered to try and expand their knowledge in this manner.
She is powerful. Darkrai grinned. But if she wants to overcome me, she'll have to try a lot harder than that.
"Spacial Rend!"
The top half of the massive tidal wave was split off from the bottom by a blade of Eterna that expanded across space as it flew, encompassing and tearing apart the entirety of the wave. The detached top half of the wave sailed above Darkrai, the rest of the wave flowing uselessly below. Darkrai lunged at Cresselia, firing a swift Dark Pulse from his claws, though for him a 'swift Dark Pulse' meant 'temporarily blotting out the sun with a vast expanse of Oblivion'.
"Another of the Moon's gifts is bringing light even on the darkest of nights," said Cresselia. "Moon's Command: Lunar Luminescence."
Life, glowing so brightly it was almost white in color, burst out from Cresselia's body in a shockwave that ripped apart Darkrai's Dark Pulse like it was nothing. "Spacial Rend!" Darkrai growled quickly; tapping into his control over space, he yanked his body forwards, phasing through the wave of Life and reappearing right next to Cresselia. "I've had it with your moon's gifts!" he snarled. "Take this! Dark Void!" He unleashed a grasping tide of Oblivion, knowing that if he managed to put Cresselia to sleep, it would be all too easy to finish her off from there.
"No."
Cresselia's word rose above the howling wind, emphatic and clear, as her body dissipated into thin air. Darkrai's surge of Oblivion fizzled as it encompassed nothing but empty air. Cresselia reappeared high above Darkrai, the Psychic glow around her body fading. She was still holding her Crescent Sickle in front of her; so far, not once had she used it against Darkrai.
"I'm sure that's a technique you're familiar with," said Cresselia. "I am one of the most powerful Psychics in the entire world. No Psychic technique is unknown to me. Teleportation especially is practically second-nature. I have honed my teleportation over the past thousand years until my reaction time is practically instantaneous. Now, Aberration…I tire of this battle, so I shall end you with my next attack. Because I have not even used my Ability yet. Levitate: Gravitational Pull."
It was as if someone had suddenly attached a massive ball and chain to the Aberration's foot; he felt an irresistible force dragging him downwards, forcing him to lower himself. "Levitate allows me to control the force of gravity," said Cresselia. "Most use it to fly, like I do, or to carry objects, or even as a telekinetic attack. But I have learned that Levitate can be applied against an opponent, dragging them in a specific direction at the expense of anything else." Cresselia's body shone pink once more. "This battle is over. Moon's Command: Effulgence Expulsion."
This time, what came out from Cresselia's body was the strongest Moonblast Darkrai had ever seen, a blinding shaft of white-glowing Life descending towards his immobilized form. Darkrai could not move from the sheer power of the gravitational pull, could not do anything to deflect the powerful attack Cresselia had called down upon him.
And then he did.
"Time Skip."
Time stopped, and in that space of stopped time the Aberration called upon his control over space as well. With a simple Spacial Rend, he was away from the gravity well Cresselia had trapped him in. The effort left him panting - were he Dialga or Palkia, the techniques could have been pulled off with no drawback whatsoever, but with only the stolen, incomplete techniques using them so freely left him slightly drained - but it was worth it.
All right, enough fooling around. Time to really get serious. You may be able to react quickly, but not even you are capable of reacting within stopped time.
Darkrai launched a Dark Pulse at Cresselia, dropping the Time Skip the moment it struck. Cresselia cried out as the surge of Oblivion slammed into her, reeling backwards from the hit. "Spacial Rend!" Darkrai snarled, unleashing a blade of Eterna at Cresselia's neck. Cresselia barely teleported away from the Oblivion Blade in time to avoid having her head separated from her body by his lashing blade. She reappeared some distance away; already Darkrai could see Life glowing across her body, the Moonlight technique healing the damage done by his Dark Pulse.
"Time Skip!" Again time stopped at Darkrai's will, though he had to exert some effort to use the technique again so soon. A pair of small pulses of Psychic energy had burst from Cresselia's body in the split-second before he could pause time, but Darkrai thought nothing of it. No Psychic technique would make it past his Dark typing. "Spacial Rend!" This time, instead of trying to slash Cresselia apart, Darkrai simply unleashed a powerful burst of Eterna upon her body, then allowed time to flow freely again. Cresselia's body flew apart in a massive shower of blood, each piece propelled in a different direction by the force of Darkrai's Spacial Rend.
Such a technique was a death sentence for any non-Legendary, but Darkrai knew it would not kill Cresselia. At best it would destroy her physical form, but as the eyes on both halves of Cresselia's detached head glowed pink and purple, Darkrai knew that would not happen either.
"Levitate: Reconstruction."
The pieces of Cresselia's body slowed to a halt, then began to rewind, flowing back together, drawn by Levitate. "None of that," Darkrai growled. "Time Skip!"
And then a pounding pulse of Mind exploded all around him as Cresselia's previously-cast Future Sight ripped into his body. Darkrai's mind screamed in agony as he reeled, the Roar of Time he'd been about to unleash dying on his fingertips. What? How could a Future Sight affect me? The only way possible would be Miracle Eye…but I didn't feel the sense of vulnerability that comes with the technique!
"I know what you're thinking, Aberration," said Cresselia. "How did you not sense the Miracle Eye I inflicted upon you? The answer is that I prevented you from sensing it. Miracle Eye takes away the barrier in your mind that protects a Dark-type from Psychic-type attacks, but I used a minute influx of Psychic power to simulate that barrier, preventing you from recognizing that your mind was now vulnerable. I'm not surprised you haven't heard of the technique - it's so advanced that not even the most powerful mortal Psychics are capable of utilizing it, and let me tell you, it took a lot of time and effort to make it work."
"Damn you!" Darkrai snarled, tapping into his latent strength. Cresselia suddenly cried out as Darkrai used Disable, targeting the Miracle Eye he could now sense eating into his mind.
Two can play at the Disable game, pretender.
Disable, on the surface, was a simple technique - it created a mental block in the opponent's mind to prevent them from remembering they could use a specific technique. But it had some pretty nasty complications when used upon a technique that was ongoing, like Miracle Eye. The contradictory nature of maintaining a technique that, in the enemy's mind, shouldn't even exist in their repertoire…well, 'extreme mental pain' was a good way to describe it.
Cresselia screamed; Darkrai felt the Miracle Eye fade from his mind, and smirked. Now that's dealt with…let's finish this off.
"Time Skip!" Once more Darkrai paused time around him, eyeing Cresselia as she froze mid-wail. "Dark Void!" Still in stopped time, Darkrai unleashed a wave of Oblivion at Cresselia. One touch of this, and you're done. And there's no way you can counter it this time.
I win.
Darkrai dropped the Time Skip just as the Dark Void hit, engulfing Cresselia's body in Oblivion. Darkrai smiled. "I'll admit, that was a little more effort than I normally need to expend to fight a Cresselia," he said. "But in the end, the outcome of this battle was never in-"
"You talk too much. Moon's Command: Crescent Sickle."
Darkrai didn't have time to react before Cresselia buried her Life-wreathed sickle blade in the small of his back. He snarled in agony as Life burst from the weapon and rippled across his darkened skin in waves, each wave sending a fresh burst of pain throughout his body.
"I also happen to know Double Team," said Cresselia with a slight shrug. "That one I can't really explain…but illusion creation is never not a handy trick, so you won't hear me complaining."
"Are you even taking this seriously?" Darkrai twisted, tearing his own back open on Cresselia's Crescent Sickle, and hurled himself once more at the Lady of the Moon. "Time Skip! DIE!"
Cresselia murmured something Darkrai couldn't quite make out as time froze around her. The wave of Oblivion Darkrai unleashed at the time-frozen Cresselia would have shattered an entire city before it. This is it - I know this is no illusion! There is no escape!
Cresselia's eyes flashed purple and she teleported, slipping past the overpowered Dark Pulse and reappearing right next to Darkrai.
She can move in frozen time!?
"Moon's Command: Effulgence Expulsion."
The outpouring of Life sent Darkrai flying, his body careening across the open sky, the Time Skip dissolving around him as he flew. How is this possible? After all my work…after all the sacrifices I made to gain this power…how can I be defeated so easily?
"I already told you that I knew every Psychic technique possible," said Cresselia. "I don't enjoy using Trick Room. It brings back bad memories. But I am really tired of your time-stopping."
Darkrai managed to recover, though his entire body felt as if a superheated laser had been focused on it.
"You see," said Cresselia, "the difference between you and me is that, while you have a lot of power, you never actively trained with it. You just stole the secrets of space-time manipulation, and then expected them to carry you. Before you gained that power, you were just as weak as all of the other Legendaries you've fought across the multiverse. That is the difference between us - we both possess power, but unlike me, you lack the skill to properly wield it. Now let's finish this. Moon's Command: Tidal Shift."
The wave that erupted from the churning ocean below was even higher than the last one, seeming to claw towards the sky itself before finally giving up and dropping down towards Darkrai. Darkrai clenched his fists. I will not lose! Not after so much time…so much work! I will not lose to this!
"Time Skip!"
"Trick Room!"
Time froze once more, everything except for the two combatants slowing to a halt. If I want to win…I'll have to use even more of my lesser-utilized techniques.
"Oblivion Blade!" Darkrai bellowed. He was no Oblivion manipulator, but over the years he'd picked up a small amount of capability in that regard. And so he only had to exert a small amount of his will to form the Oblivion that flew from his hands into a black blade twenty feet long, flaring with wisps of darkness. He swept it in an arc as he charged Cresselia, manifesting a Quick Attack across his body as he did so to increase the speed of his charge.
Cresselia raised her Crescent Sickle in defense, facing blade with blade.
Darkrai struck, and Cresselia blocked, and the two came together in a titanic eruption of Oblivion and Life that shattered the time-freeze and sent Cresselia's tidal wave hurtling backwards into the tumbling ocean waters.
"Pure Power: Aura Blade!"
Medicham materialized her Aura-formed sword and slashed it sideways to block a blade the Void Shadow facing her had created from nowhere. The other Void Shadow came for Medicham's left side, brandishing two more darkness-formed blades. "Pure Power: Aura Wave!" Medicham cried, blasting both Void Shadows away with an explosive burst of Aura.
Medicham let out a breath, taking full advantage of the moment of breathing room she'd been afforded. Raindrops were falling all around her; she didn't know when, or for that matter how it had started raining, but that was the least of her concerns right now. She was doing fairly well against the Void Shadows, all things considered, but they were proving irritatingly durable.
How is Seeker-Of-Endings doing?
Medicham glanced to her left in time to see Seeker-Of-Endings knock his Void Shadow opponent backwards with a flurry of Pursuit rays. The Void Shadow lunged forwards, half a dozen bladed tendrils ripping out from its body, but Seeker-Of-Endings ducked and dodged them all, Detect driving his body into a gap between the flailing tentacles. He slashed downwards, cutting a smooth line across the Void Shadow's chest, then swiftly recoiled as the chest opened up into a massive toothy maw that slammed down where he'd been a second ago.
Medicham tapped into her own Detect as she heard a whistling to her right; the Aura surrounding her body forced her backwards as a trio of grotesquely elongated fingers shot past her face from the outstretched hand of the Void Shadow to Medicham's right. The Void Shadow in front of Medicham let out a shrieking roar and lunged, changing shape yet again; its form seemed to collapse into a puddle, resembling some kind of liquid shadow, and it hurled itself at Medicham as if it planned to drown her in darkness.
"Pure Power: Aura Strike!" Medicham caught the liquefied Void Shadow in the center of its form with an Aura-wreathed fist. Instead of flying backwards, though, the center of its body gave beneath Medicham's punch while the rest of it continued onwards. Medicham had just enough time to realize it was now wrapped around her forearm before the inside of its body sprouted uncountable teeth and clamped down on the appendage.
Agony ripped through Medicham's forearm, and memories of the Swarmlord's chitin ripping up the appendage at once flew into Medicham's mind. She retained just enough presence of mind to notice the other Void Shadow rushing her from the side, sprouting at least two dozen waving tentacles as it did so. Fear and pain galvanized Medicham into action. "Psychic Blast!" she cried, unleashing a burst of Psychic energy that sent the rightward Void Shadows staggering backwards and the center one flying off, openmouthed, leaving behind a ghastly network of bite marks on Medicham's right forearm.
"Pure Power: Aura Blast Barrage!" Medicham shouted, raising both arms towards the central Void Shadow. In a flash, it rose up once more into a vaguely Pokemon-esque shape, summoning several arms in front of it to try and take the barrage. But there were too many for it to deflect, and it shrieked in agony as Aura exploded again and again upon its body, each explosion blasting it backwards. Medicham only stopped firing when the shrieking ceased; as the energy dissipated, she saw the Void Shadow lying on the ground motionless, its form slowly dissipating into a cloud of darkness.
The other Void Shadow let out an ear-piercing scream and began to morph, growing in height and shrinking in width, rising into a thin towering figure of darkness twice Medicham's height. The figure was featureless but looked almost like a tall human, with elongated arms that stretched down past its waist. Medicham's right forearm still stung, especially when she clenched her right hand into a fist, but she powered through the pain. I can stop when this thing is finally dead.
The quasi-humanoid Void Shadow lunged, its long legs pounding across the ground as it reached out with both arms, its fingers extending until they were half as long as the arms themselves. Medicham extended both her arms towards the Void Shadow in what was almost a mirror of the Void Shadow's own attack. "Pure Power: Aura Beam!" she bellowed; the cylinder of Aura that blasted out from her outstretched hands made an audible crackling sound as it exploded out towards the charging Void Shadow's upper body. But impossibly, the Void Shadow bent backwards at the waist at a ninety-degree angle, continuing to charge even as the Aura Beam sailed over its backwards-bent body.
The Aura Beam ceased to fire. The humanoid Void Shadow's body bent back up to its full height, and with an echoing howl it lashed out with its elongated fingers once more. Tapping into Detect, Medicham stepped backwards, evading one set of fingers as they swung past her torso. The Void Shadow kept going, swiping wildly at Medicham with claw-strikes and even sending a few kicks her way. All were blocked or dodged, if only barely.
Medicham saw Seeker-Of-Endings out of the corner of her eye; his Void Shadow opponent was at this point effectively a spinning ball of arms wielding darkness-formed blades, swinging at least half a dozen sword attacks Seeker-Of-Endings' way every second. Even with his speed and strength, Seeker-Of-Endings was barely keeping up, his body a blur as he ducked and deflected with his horn-blade.
Then one strike was just a hair too fast for him, and the Void Shadow's blade ripped across Seeker-Of-Endings' left front leg, leaving a deep gash across it. Seeker-Of-Endings snarled in pain; Medicham lost her footing, momentarily distracted by the Absol's plight, and her own Void Shadow lashed out with a five-fingered strike and clawed Medicham across the face.
Medicham cried out, instinctively bringing a hand to her face. It came away bloody; the swipe had barely missed Medicham's eyes, but from the stinging had left five long, deep cuts. The Void Shadow did not let up, maneuvering into a spinning side-kick that elongated suddenly straight into Medicham's stomach, sending her flying backwards.
Medicham landed on her back, skidding across the earth. The humanoid Void Shadow didn't pursue, but as Medicham slowly sat up, she saw it lunging for Seeker-Of-Endings. The Absol didn't see it coming; it practically pounced on him, wrapping its fingers around his neck and tugging it backwards so hard that Seeker-Of-Endings was forced to rear back. The bladed Void Shadow took full advantage of the opening, lashing out with a trio of blades and scoring them across Seeker-Of-Endings' exposed stomach.
Medicham forced herself to stand. Like him or not, I refuse to let these monsters kill him.
"Psychic Blast!" she yelled, knowing Seeker-Of-Endings' Dark typing would make him immune. Sure enough, both Void Shadows were blasted away, letting go of Seeker-Of-Endings as they flew, while the Absol was unaffected. Seeker-Of-Endings staggered backwards as Medicham moved forwards, and the two stood side by side as the two opposing Void Shadows rose once again, the bladed one spinning threateningly while the tall humanoid one simply loomed, gazing down upon Medicham and Seeker-Of-Endings with its featureless void of a face.
"Your face okay?" Seeker-Of-Endings asked.
"I'll manage," said Medicham. "What about your chest?"
"Same," Seeker-Of-Endings grunted. "This makes no sense. These things weren't nearly as strong when this fight started as they are now."
"Perhaps they were holding back?" Medicham asked.
"I don't think creatures like are ones to hold back," said Seeker-Of-Endings. "No…they're adapting. They've been figuring out how we fight, and adopting forms specifically to counter our attacks. Yours is extremely flexible, so it's able to dodge your ranged attacks, and its limbs are so long that it can always keep you at a distance even in a melee clash. Mine's got so many limbs that even Detect and Double Team can't keep up with all of them, and it can slash my Pursuit rays right out of the air."
"Great," Medicham muttered. "So how do we beat them?"
"Simple." Seeker-Of-Endings unexpectedly grinned. "Switch."
"You sure it'll work?" Medicham asked.
"They've adapted to fight one of us, not the other," said Seeker-Of-Endings. "It'll take them time to adapt again. We've taken out two of these things. We can take down two more."
"All right, it's worth a shot," said Medicham. "Ready?"
"As I'll ever be." Seeker-Of-Endings leaped forwards, and Medicham charged alongside him, heading straight for the bladed Void Shadow. The Void Shadow in question charged Medicham, spinning wildly; the tall humanoid Void Shadow reached out for Seeker-of-Endings with one extending limb, grasping with all five fingers.
"Pure Power: Aura Beam!" Medicham cried; the bladed Void Shadow lunged straight into the beam and was sent flying backwards, while to Medicham's right Seeker-Of-Endings ducked the fingers, slashed out with his horn-blade, and sliced the humanoid Void Shadow's hand off with one quick cut. Both Void Shadows shrieked as they staggered backwards, the bladed one landing hard on the ground, the humanoid one keeping its feet.
"Pure Power: Aura Blast Barrage!" Medicham cried.
As the earlier Void Shadow had, the bladed one extended several of its limbs to try and block the barrage of Aura Blasts. And as the earlier Void Shadow had, the bladed one found itself unable to deflect all of them. Explosions tore apart its body, scattering darkness-created blades everywhere, and when the Aura finally dissipated it, too, was fading away, overcome by the barrage of ranged attacks it had simply been unprepared for.
Medicham turned to face the humanoid Void Shadow. Irritatingly, it was still up, and had transmuted its arms into twin blades to fight against Seeker-Of-Endings' horn-blade. The two of them were slashing at each other, their respective blades clashing over and over again, neither one gaining any hits.
Medicham reached out. "Pure Power: Aura Beam!"
Unfortunately, the Void Shadow was still just as flexible as ever, and with a snarl that almost sounded like laughter, it bent backwards once more to avoid the beam. Fortunately for Medicham and Seeker-Of-Endings, that left it wide open; Medicham winced as Seeker-Of-Endings lunged forwards and slashed his horn-blade downwards straight through the Void Shadow's groin.
The Void Shadow screamed. The scream grew even louder as Seeker-Of-Endings charged forwards, carving his horn up the Void Shadow's bent-over back, between its shoulder blades, up its neck and the back of its head. He burst out, horn-blade trailing darkness behind it; the Void Shadow's body fell in opposite directions, perfectly split down the middle. Medicham unleashed a pair of Aura Blasts on its falling body, just to be sure.
As the last of the Void Shadows dissipated, Medicham sagged, putting a hand on the ground to steady herself. Seeker-Of-Endings stepped to her side. "Don't quit on me now," he growled. "There's a lot more to be done."
"I know," Medicham gasped out. "I know." Slowly, she rose once more, gazing out on the chaotic scene all around. She could see Pokemon clashing across the entire Island of Dreams and the Darkrai-created field beyond. The main stone wall was gone, what few pieces remained useless against the horde; while the secondary stone wall was intact, enemy fliers were harrying anyone who tried to mount a defense from there. And Medicham could see dozens more Void Shadows amongst the battlefield, taking on various nightmarish forms as they battled against other Heralds and assorted Pokemon.
"Why isn't Darkrai helping?" Medicham asked. "With the Aberration gone, shouldn't he be able to warp reality in the Dream World basically at will?"
"Yeah, he should." Seeker-Of-Endings looked up; his countenance abruptly blanched. "Although I guess that could be a reason why he can't."
Medicham looked up as well, horror rising in her throat as she saw exactly why Darkrai wasn't able to help the fighters on the ground.
MINUTES EARLIER
"This ends now," Darkrai intoned.
Dark Matter snarled wordlessly, darkness surging out of his body on all sides, but the prison of compressed air held firm against the creature's writhing.
Darkrai looked down at the battlefield, where the Heralds and other assorted Pokemon were clashing against Necrozma's forces and Dark Matter's Void Shadows. Now that the Aberration's out of the way, I can turn the tide. Darkrai reached out and began to exert his will upon the Dream World once more, willing the earth to rise up and crush Necrozma's forces, willing the still-present rain to slice into the bodies of the enemies while splattering harmlessly off his allies, willing the air to solidify and imprison those enemies who stood alone on the battlefield.
"dArKnesS…"
Darkrai's gaze wandered back to Dark Matter, who had ceased struggling. Even though Dark Matter was still in the form of a glowing purple sphere encased in a cagelike construct of darkness, Darkrai could still tell Dark Matter was staring at him.
"thERe is DarkNeSs iN yoUr hEart…" Dark Matter's multitude of voices were like an omnipresent nagging thought in the back of Darkrai's mind. "yOu thiNk yoU Are puRE…no. YoU waNt tO tHinK you ARe pUre. thAt yoU aRe doiNG tHe RigHt tHing. buT you WoRrY yoU are NOt. tHat yoUR fOrmeR ProTeGe wAs riGhT tO aBanDOn You. tHAt eveN ThOugh yOu FeEl it IS foR A gOod cAuSE, tHE mEre fACt thaT yOu ArE alTeRing THe veRy tiMeLinE YOu sWore To prOteCt maKEs yoU The reAl MonStEr."
"Silence," Darkrai commanded, reaching out towards the sphere of air compressing Dark Matter and willing it to contract.
Dark Matter grunted in pain, but continued regardless. "yoU fEaR tHat You cHOse thE wrOnG oNe to LEad yoUr hEraLdS. yOu feAr ThaT yoU wiLl AliEnaTE yOur NEw prOtegE fOreVeR. aNd mOSt oF aLl, YoU FeaR thAt iT wilL All haVE bEen FOr nOthInG."
"I said silence," Darkrai snarled, compressing the sphere even further.
"thaT fEAr DriVes yOu," Dark Matter growled. "iT biNDs You. cOntRoLS yoU. fEar…tHat iS wHat mAKeS uP thE DarKNeSs wiThiN yOUr HeaRt. aNd thAt FEar iS wHY You haVe alReAdy lOst thiS baTtLe. AnGer, feAR, aGgrEsSioN…thEy arE NegAtiVity. TheY Are dArkNEsS. tHey aRe mInE. anD wHen YoU fEeL daRKneSs…yOu ArE miNe."
Dark Matter's voice had been slowly growing louder and louder, blinding and deafening Darkrai to everything else around him. As Dark Matter spoke its last sentence, Darkrai realized that the sphere of compressed air around the creature was gone. He didn't know when it had disappeared, but Dark Matter was now rising up in front of him. Darkrai reached out, but his body did not respond; he could feel his mind slowly fading, leaving his control bit by bit.
No.
"I aM dARknesS wiThiN thE hEartS oF aLL cREaTiON," Dark Matter snarled from inside Darkrai's mind. "i Am DArkNesS fEsteRiNG iN tHe miNDs oF aLl wHo eXisT, oR hAVe evEr exIstED, Or wilL eVeR ExiSt. i Will rEtuRn tHis WoRld, aND aLl woRldS, tO The daRknEss. to THe vOid. aND All wiLL bE trApPed foRevEr. LIfeLEsS, iN tOmbS oF StoNE."
"No," Darkrai murmured.
"iT Is pOIntLeSS to ResISt," Dark Matter growled.
"You…you think…you think that?" Darkrai retorted. "Really? Maybe…maybe in your world…that might be the case. But not here. In here…in this world…you are not in control. I am."
Darkrai let out a roar. Reality bent to his will, and Darkrai's will was that Dark Matter leave his mind. Dark Matter snarled in pain as his influence abruptly receded. Darkrai's vision cleared, his body regaining feeling, and he saw Dark Matter reeling back, several tendrils flailing; he realized that Dark Matter had been wrapped around his body.
"iF yOU wIlL noT Be mY paWn," Dark Matter snarled, "tHEn To tHe VOiD wiTh yOU!"
Darkrai felt his form begin to stiffen. As he looked down, he realized with a surge of alarm that his energy form was swiftly turning into solid stone. But without Dark Matter in his mind anymore, it was a simple matter to banish the stone from his form. Dark Matter backed up slightly, clearly suddenly very nervous at two of his strongest techniques being completely nullified.
Darkrai looked around. He didn't know how long he'd been locked within his own mind, warring with Dark Matter for control. He hoped it hadn't been too long.
"This is my realm," Darkrai growled, turning back towards Dark Matter. "You have no influence here. And I will not allow your so-called darkness to spread any further, Dark Matter." Darkrai spread his smoky hands. "Begone to whatever foul void you came from!"
"Spacial Rend!"
Darkrai blinked towards Cresselia, lashing out with his Oblivion Blade, only for her to teleport away, unleashing a Moonblast at him in return. Snarling, Darkrai used Spacial Rend again, blinking through the flying Moonblast and raising his Oblivion Blade to deflect a slash of Cresselia's Crescent Sickle. Batting the Life-made weapon away, he swung his Oblivion Blade at Cresselia's side, but with a burst of Mind she telekinetically twisted the weapon faster than Darkrai had expected and deflected his swing rose to block it. Cresselia pivoted into a spinning swipe at Darkrai's torso; Darkrai deflected it so close to his body that a few stray sparks of Life stung his side as he forced Cresselia's weapon away.
"Time Skip!"
"Trick Room!"
Again, frustratingly, Cresselia was ready, countering Darkrai's time-based technique with her own. Darkrai lashed out with his Oblivion Blade, but in response Cresselia narrowed her eyes. "Levitate!" The blade was abruptly wrenched backwards by a sudden gravitational pull, and Cresselia lunged, only a swift Spacial Rend saving Darkrai from being decapitated by her Crescent Sickle.
"Dark Void!" Darkrai growled, but Cresselia again teleported to avoid the attack, reappearing above Darkrai. "Moon's Command: Lunar Luminescence!" she cried, unleashing yet another ridiculously powerful Dazzling Gleam at Darkrai.
"Spacial Rend!" The Aberration blinked away from the surge of Life in a burst of Eterna, reintegrating at a point next to Cresselia. But the Lady of the Moon was ready. "Moon's Command: Celestial Chill!" Her newest attack took the form of an omnidirectional wave of Ice that didn't impact Darkrai so much as it settled upon him, chilling him to the bone. He could feel his body growing sluggish under the chill, slowing his movements.
Cresselia unleashed a flurry of strikes with her Crescent Sickle. Darkrai snarled, drawing upon Quick Attack once more to enhance his speed and counter Cresselia's Celestial Chill. Their blades clashed again and again, each clash generating a miniature explosion, sparks of Oblivion and Life bursting forth as the two fought. Darkrai felt himself being forced back as Cresselia slashed at him, his own retaliatory strikes deflected by her Crescent Sickle; with her extreme control over Mind, she was able to telekinetically manipulate it artfully, forming a nigh-unbreakable defense while simultaneously launching strike after strike at Darkrai.
"Levitate!"
And then, all of a sudden, Darkrai blade leaped backwards again, and this time he wasn't fast enough to evade or block the curved blade. Darkrai's right side exploded in pain as Cresselia buried her Crescent Sickle into his body. "Moon's Command: Lunar Luminescence!" As Darkrai reeled from Cresselia's successful strike, a blast of Life sent him flying, tumbling through the air. His Oblivion Blade dissipated as he lost concentration on the construct, the energies fading to nothingness.
"Moon's Command: Tidal Shift!"
A curving-downwards wave of water slammed into the flailing Darkrai like a block of solid stone, spiking him down straight into the ocean's surface. "Moon's Command: Celestial Chill!" Cresselia called; even as Darkrai landed, Cresseila unleashed a blast of air so frigid that the water around Darkrai froze in place, trapping him in a prison of Ice.
Cresselia teleported up to Darkrai. "I wield all aspects of the Moon," she said. "The chill, the light, the gravity. I give you this one last chance to surrender, Aberration. You know you're outmatched. You're running out of options, whereas quite a bit of my potential still remains untapped."
She's not even using her full power? Darkrai snarled furiously, struggling to break free from the surrounding Ice as Cresselia raised her Crescent Sickle. This is ridiculous! No other Cresselia has approached this level of power! Could she really have achieved all of this through simple training?
He rapidly perused his options. When I heard what Marshadow did to Necrozma and the Ultra Beasts, I thought it was a fluke. But now I realize that all Legendaries of this world are that strong. Even when I tap into powers that I haven't been forced to use in years…she still counters them! It's as if she knows all of my moves ahead of time!
Wait a minute.
The sudden realization sent a chill through Darkrai's body. Is that how she's doing it? Has she been keeping Future Sight up all this time, preparing countermeasures for my moves before I even use them?
She's been toying with me. Darkrai felt a pulse of pure rage charge his body. I will not allow this!
Darkrai roared as he unleashed a Disable all around his body. From Cresselia's startled cry, and the withdrawal of a Psychic pressure he hadn't even been aware of, he knew he'd been correct. Cresselia staggered as her Future Sight was disabled, the impact much like it had been when he'd Disabled her Miracle Eye.
"Spacial Rend!" Darkrai teleported out of the Ice around him, reappeared next to Cresselia, and unleashed a point-blank Dark Pulse into her body. As expected, without her Future Sight forewarning her of Darkrai's intent, Cresselia couldn't counter the move in time, and she screamed both physically and mentally as Oblivion ate at her body.
Darkrai could see the pink glow of Moonlight surrounding Cresselia even as she reeled, healing the damage caused by his attack, but he smirked regardless.
"I've seen past your tricks," he mocked. "All your talk about power, and yet you truly have none. One touch in the right place and the whole house of cards comes tumbling down."
Cresselia's eyes flared pink as she glared at Darkrai. "Trick Room!"
"Time Skip."
Cresselia teleported even as time froze, appearing next to Darkrai in a blaze of Life, but the Aberration was already twisting to face her. A Disable lashed out from his claws, and Cresselia's teleportation was sealed by the technique.
"Moon's Command: Effulgence Expulsion!" Cresselia cried.
"Spacial Rend!" Darkrai teleported away from the searing blast of Life. "Oblivion Blade!" he snarled, reforming his black blade in an instant. Cresselia attempted to raise her Crescent Sickle in defense, but Darkrai's blade carved into her back before she could; Darkrai snarled victoriously as blood and Oblivion burst from the deep gash he'd carved. He followed up with a Dark Pulse, once more sending the Lady of the Moon tumbling across the sky.
"Where's all that power now?" Darkrai gloated. "I don't care how much you've trained! How much you've honed your techniques! In the end, no amount of training can overcome superior power!"
"Levitate: Gravitational Crush!"
The telekinetic force of Levitate assailed Darkrai on all sides, yearning to crush him; Darkrai simply teleported out of the trap with Spacial Rend. This time Cresselia spun to face him as he reappeared. "You're getting predictable. Moon's Command-"
"Time Skip."
Darkrai froze time, lunged at Cresselia, and unleashed a Spacial Rend into her body, again tearing it apart with the force of the blade of Eterna. This time he renewed the Time Skip as her body flew apart, then cast his hands out in both directions.
"Dark Void!" Darkrai snarled triumphantly. Shattered into a hundred pieces and frozen in time, Cresselia had no defense. Oblivion engulfed her, driving her into unconsciousness; as the Dark Void dissipated, Darkrai could see her body still floating in the air, her detached eyes squeezed shut.
Let's just finish you off.
With one last Dark Pulse, Darkrai obliterated what remained of Cresselia's physical form; at the same time, he touched his other hand to himself and used Dark Void, pulling himself back into the Dream World and leaving the mortal plane behind.
I still have business to settle with this pretender.
Medicham breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank Arceus. For a moment there, I really thought-"
"Yeah," Seeker-Of-Endings growled; Medicham saw a hint of a smile on his face. "But he's Darkrai. Our Master. He's not going to let someone like that beat him."
Medicham stared up at Darkrai with genuine awe as he spread his hands wide. "This is my realm. You have no influence here. And I will not allow your so-called darkness to spread any further, Dark Matter. Begone to whatever foul void you came from!"
That moment, Medicham would reflect later, was perhaps the one moment in the entirety of this battle where Medicham knew, just knew, without a doubt, that they were going to get through this.
And then the world tore open behind Darkrai, and before Medicham and Seeker-Of-Endings' eyes, the Aberration emerged, eyes glowing with malevolence. He reached out, and chains of pure Oblivion lanced out from his hand, twining around Darkrai and yanking him backwards, away from Dark Matter.
"The Tree of Life is all yours, Dark Matter," the Aberration snarled.
Dark Matter twisted and began to float towards Yggdrasil. Medicham's eyes did not follow Dark Matter, for she could not take her gaze off the Aberration's form. She knew exactly what his return meant.
Cresselia…
Darkrai struggled, unable to shatter the chains the Aberration had bound him with. "What…how…"
"What?" the Aberration asked. "You actually thought she could defeat me? You thought that removing me from the Dream World would be enough to fell me?"
"Where is she?" Darkrai snarled.
"Stuck in her energy form somewhere in here," said the Aberration. "As for her physical form, it's currently crumbling into the ocean somewhere on the other side of the world. I doubt she'll be able to reconstitute herself before Dark Matter is finished obliterating this timeline and everyone in it."
Darkrai's struggles ceased. "Everyone?" Darkrai growled.
"Yes, even Necrozma," said the Aberration. "Truth be told, I wasn't going to betray him at first. But he's grown too volatile for my liking. And someone as volatile as him is no longer useful to my plans. So I made a deal with Dark Matter. I would give him countless worlds to scour of life and entrap all living beings' souls in the Void, their bodies drifting through emptiness, encased in stone. In return, I would rule the remains. Countless souls to do with as I please. Starting, of course, with this timeline, and then our own, and then all the rest, one after another. All will become darkness, ruled over in its entirety by the two of us. You know…just for all the annoyance you've caused me, I think Cresselia's soul will be the first one I play with."
Darkrai's answer was a guttural snarl and a resumption of his struggling.
"Don't bother," the Aberration. "I can tell your will has been eroded. Dark Matter really must've done a number on you. At your current power level, you won't be able to overcome my will. All you can do is watch as I tear this reality apart. Oh…"
The Aberration's face split in what Medicham could only describe as a grin.
"…and don't think I've forgotten about your little protege."
Medicham stepped backwards instinctively, her heart leaping into her throat, as the Aberration slowly turned to look down straight at her.
"Dusknoir," the Aberration growled. "Make it slow."
From a suddenly-opening gateway directly in front of Medicham, a Dusknoir floated out, its single red eye fixed upon both of them. Half a dozen Sableye moved into view behind Dusknoir, their eyes shining as they beheld Medicham.
Seeker-Of-Endings crouched, snarling at the group of adversaries. Medicham glanced around, searching for anyone else who could help, but everyone she saw was already engaged with a Void Shadow or another member or members of Necrozma's army.
And Darkrai was bound, helpless as the Aberration shifted, twisting Darkrai around so that he was forced to watch the unfolding scene.
"Sableye, get rid of the Absol," Dusknoir ordered. "I will fulfill our Master's order."
THE WAKING WORLD, SAME TIME
Zeraora stood up, panting slightly as he stood over his fallen foe. Xurkitree had been a little more problematic than expected, but in the end, even the strongest wielder of Lightning couldn't overcome someone who was, quite literally, made of Lightning.
He glanced around at the surrounding plateaus of Poni Island. Nearby, he could see the local Kahuna, Hapu, and the foreign Flying-type Gym Leader Winona working alongside the citizenry to fight off Necrozma's horde. It didn't look like they needed much help, but Zeraora was always ready to tear apart a gang of mortals who didn't know their place.
This'll be a good palate cleanser.
"Everybody?"
Zeraora recognized Zekrom's voice. Worry immediately struck Zeraora - the Lord of Ideals was renowned for his will. His very nature as the ultimate idealist made him practically unshakeable; if there was but a minute possibility of victory, Zekrom would exude boundless confidence. In all Zeraora's years, very few times had he ever heard Zekrom sound nervous.
And yet as Zekrom's telepathic voice came across the mind-link connecting all the Legendaries currently fighting in Alola, he sounded very nervous indeed.
"Everybody?" Zekrom called. "We…have a problem."
Another side note: the fight between Cresselia and the Aberration is one of the very few sequences I've prewritten. I've had that fight down on the page for months at this point, and was really looking forward to not having to write as much for this chapter because I already had one of the main fight scenes completely written already. So, naturally, when I finally got to it, one of the first things I did was rewrite the entire sequence because I wasn't satisfied with it anymore.
This is why I don't usually prewrite things.